Fallout Equestria — S.A.T.

by Faindragon

Chapter 11 (Unnamed)

“All this is your fault, you know.” Bolt said, for what had to be the hundredth time. “If you had just awoken when I tried to wake you up, none of this would have happened.”

I didn’t lift my head from the packed dirt that served as floor in our prison, neither did I make the mistake of trying to argue with her about it again. Knowing how it had ended earlier, I would be surprised if...

“And when you do wake up, you try to defend yourself with something as ridiculous as that Luna, the princess of the bloody war, forced you to stay asleep?” She snorted. “That is such a likely story, I mean--”

She had allowed it to pass. Rolling my eyes, I closed out her voice, and went back to looking at the wooden door to our prison. If I was lucky, it would take some time before she noticed that I didn’t listened to her and, once again, remind me about how much of my fault all of this was. It started to get irritating, hearing the same words over and over again.

The walls to our prison were created of thick wooden planks. When I had first awoken, before Bolt had started to blame me, the unicorn had urged me to try to buck a hole into the wall. But while the planks had looked murken on the outside, once my metal legs had connected with the wood it had done nothing but peeled the first layer off, revealing the sound wooden planks beneath.

While the door looked even more fragile than the walls had been, Bolt had stopped me when I had lined up to bring it down, hissingly reminding me that there would, most likely, be raiders guarding the door out.

If it hadn’t been for the door, the walls would have been completely empty. The walls had neither windows or decorations, and the only light source in the room was the dim light coming down through a hole in the ceiling and the little light that found it’s way under the door.

“Are you even listening?”

I could feel her eyes at me, but I couldn’t barely see her as I looked away from the door and into the darker parts of the room. “If I say no, will you stop?” I mumbled, louder than I had intended. Realizing my mistake, I quickly tried to talk it over, stumbling over the words. “I mean, not--”

“Of all the feather brained idiots I could travel with--”

“So this... Luna kept you asleep, to give you time to coupe with the feelings from the memory?”

I don’t think she wanted me to wake up. She said something about events working out in the best way possible, as if she kept me asleep so that I wouldn’t fight against these raiders. I sighed. She said she did it for me and for Bolt. I... I don’t know.

“She wanted you to be captured by raiders? Why would she want that? What’s--”

I don’t know, okay? I grunted. If I had known, I would tell you.

“Why didn’t I stay home?” the unicorn murmured, burying her head in her hooves. “Why did I have to go with you?”

“You didn’t have,” I said and looked back at the door. “If I remember correctly, you was the one wanting to go with me. Something about me being fun to be around.”

I heard how she took a deep breath, and prepared myself for a sharp comment. But, to my surprise, none came. Neither did any other word. For five minutes, none of us spoke a word, we just sat there in complete silence.

“Is she okay?” Spitfire asked, breaking the silence.

I don’t know. I peeked my ears at the sound of hoofsteps passing by the door.

“You should check on her. She haven’t been this quiet since... well, I don’t think she have been quiet for this long before. Not while we have been traveling with her, at least.”

There is nothing wrong with a little silence every now and then. The sound of the hoofsteps disappeared again. I, for once, find it pretty pleasantly to have her not just yelling at me over how all this is my fault and--

“Cogwheel...”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Fine. “Spitfire got worried about you.” I looked back at the unicorn. “How do you feel?”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Bolt looked up from her hooves. “And I guess that...” She took a deep breath. “But it wasn’t meant to be like this! We should find SAT! You should be able to tell me about your memories! About the time before the wasteland! I should find something worth scavenging, or maybe even unlock some great pre war technology!” She sighed and put down her hooves, slumbering down and rested her head on them. “It was meant to be fun.”

“Hey, it can still be fun.” I gave her a weak smile. “We will just have to tell that boss pony that he got the wrong ponies, that I ain’t one of Exo’s thugs, and I’m sure he will let us go.”

“You can’t be as stupid as to think so yourself. Not after what you heard him say.”

The smile died on my lips. “No, I can’t sa--”

“Great. If I get out of here, father will never let me leave Green Valley again.” She pouted slightly, before she sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t blame you.” She eyed me quickly. “Or, at least not all the blame. I shouldn’t have given up in trying to wake you up, shouldn’t have feel safe enough to just go to bed. I should have kn--”

“You couldn’t know.” I silenced her rambling, rolling my eyes. “Somehow, I think it had been worse had you been awake when they came.”

“Don’t you think I could have done anything?”

I snorted. “I don’t think any of us could have done much.”

“I could have--”

“They were more than us,” I noted drily.

She threw her hooves in the air and shaked them dramatically. “And suddenly the cryborg is an expert around combat.” Taking down her hooves again, she added with a mutter. “I’m sure I could have taken down a few of them at least.”

“Without a doubt.” I threw a quick glance towards the door as hoofsteps were heard outside again, but once again they just passed.

“Why would Luna keep you in your dream anyway?”

“She wanted to give me time to think over my dream.” Somehow, I doubted that Bolt would trust me if I said that Luna also held me in the dream to keep the ‘events to work out in the best way possible’.

“You had another dream? About the time before the war?” Bolt’s eyes practically sparkled as she scrambled up to a sitting position. I nodded. “Can you tell me about it?”

I’m so sorry. “I rather not,” I said, looking away from her.

“Why not? What happened?” I didn’t answer her.

I’m so sorry. I took a deep breath.

“Cogwheel? Are you crying?”

I wiped the lonely tear away from my cheek. “I threw out my own son.” My voice was barely more than a whisper. “Threw him out just because he joined the army and told me that his mother would have been proud over him.”

“I-I’m sorry to hear that.”

I laid down on the floor, once again keeping my eyes on the door, a sigh escaping my lips. “I have thought a little about it,” I said, avoiding to look back on her. “It had to be something more to it, I can’t just have thrown him out on those grounds.” Can I?

“Uh...” Bolt started awkwardly.

“Sorry. It’s just...” I didn’t finish the sentence. Didn’t know how to. I sighed again. “There has to be something more to it.”

“I... I’m sure it is.”

“Cogwheel,” Spitfire started softly. “You shouldn’t push it all over to Bolt. She doesn’t have the answer for you.”

“I know, Spitfire,” I muttered sourly.

“You can see the positive in all this. At least--”

“Positive? What could possibly be positive with being locked in here?”

“I didn’t talk about that. I talked about you regaining memories. You have been gaining back a few memories these few days, and I think we can be sure that your memories haven’t been removed. It’s simply amnesia, and I believe that, in time, you will get all your memories back. Although, it’s a strange amnesia, seeing that amnesia actually is caused by brain damage, diseases or psychological trauma. The scan I did some day ago didn’t show any brain damage, nor did it show disease. Maybe you suffered psychological trau--”

“Spitfire...” I rolled my eyes, a thin smile brought forward by her rambling on my lips.

“Or maybe we should just continue to call it memory loss ? Sounds much better,” Spitfire sheepishly added.

“What does she say?” Bolt asked curiously. “She can’t mean that it’s good to be locked in here, can she?”

“It didn’t have anything about our situation as such to do. She just told me that I had memory loss.”

“But... didn’t you already know that?” She sounded confused, and I understood her.

“It could have been something else. The day I woke up in the clinic, Spitfire told me that memories could be removed magically, and in that case could only the container that held my memories restore them.” I pondered for a moment. “Or something like that. But, it seems like me regaining memories means that she doesn’t think they were removed magically any more.”

“Actually, I have suspected that since you blacked out the first time, just before you asked me. I didn’t want to get your hopes up, should it only be a memory that had been missed or left by purpose. But after these many memories which, if what you have said is correct, have been from different periods of your life, I’m pretty certain that you only suffer of amne... a memory loss, and nothing else.”

“You went around looking for your memories, knowing that you might have had them... magically removed? Why would the ponies back then do that anyway? What could possibly be so bad that you removed pieces of who you are?”

“Maybe they just wanted to forget everything about the war. I don’t know.” I shrugged. “What else should I do? As you said yourself, the memories are something of who I was. Who I am. I want to know.”

“I guess I can understand that.” Bolt sighed. “But right now, I guess we have a more pressing problem. How are we to get out of here?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s not like we can just open that door and walk out of here, is it?”

“Not with guards on the other side. And with a door that fragile looking to lock us in, they must have ponies guarding the door.”

“There must be another--” I went silent at the sound of the door unlocking.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your plans of escape.” The light grey mare spoke softly as she stopped just inside the room, the door closing behind her. Multiple wounds, both old and new, scarred her body. Even though she had tried to obscure the left side of her face with her grey mane could I still see the black eye that had swollen up enough to hide her eye. She wore a collar of black-painted metal around her neck, a small lamp on it blinking a steady red. “But Sawdust have ordered you to receive food, and--”

“Tho... those wounds,” Spitfire stuttered. “I...”

A small filly, nearly a complete copy of the mare in terms of coat and mane color, jumped down from the mares back, carefully carrying a brick with two bowls containing... something in her teeth. She quickly made her way to me and put it down before me, sitting down on her haunches and looking up at me with big, bright-blue eyes. “Are you one of those meanies who kicked us out from our home? You look like one of them.”

“Tiny!” the mare shouted out in surprise, quickly stepping in between me and the filly, the only thing keeping her from stepping on the brick with food being Bolt who quickly levitated it away. “I’m sorry. Ple-please don’t be angry, she doesn’t know better.”

Surprised I looked up at the mare. “What are you talking about?” I slowly rose to my haunches. “Why would I be angry just because she asked a question?”

I could hear how Bolt snorted from behind me. “No need to be afraid of him being angry. He’s as harmless as a fly, really.”

The mare looked between me and Bolt, her eyes as wide as they could be. “Yo-You mean he’s not one of those--”

“He’s not one of Exo’s thugs, no.”

“Oh, thank Celestia.” She took a step back, completely ignoring the protests from the filly as she pushed the little one back with her. “I just overheard some of the others talking about the prisoner being one of Exo’s, and he look just like one of his, and--”

“But he isn’t.” Bolt said firmly. “They made a mistake, he isn’t one of Exo’s thugs.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“No offense tak--”

“Tell me, what happened between the raiders and Exo’s thugs?”

I glanced at Bolt, not surprised over the interruption. It seemed like allowing me to finish a sentence was some sort of crime here. Rolling my eyes, I looked back to the earth pony, who took another step back under the weight of our gazes.

“I-I really don’t think I should,” she stuttered.

“Don’t we deserve to know?” Bolt pressed. “After all, we are here for no other reason than those idiots thinking that he’s one of Exo’s thugs. Don’t we at least deserve to know why we are here?”

“Didn’t she just answer her own question?” Spitfire remarked, causing me to stiff a giggle.

“It really isn’t my place.”

The small filly poked forth from the earth ponies back legs. “You meanies just wanted to kick us out!” she chimed in.

Bolt looked surprised between the filly and the mare. “They wanted to kick you out? That... that doesn’t make any sense! Why would they want to kick you out, just to move on later?”

It took a moment for the mare to regain her senses, and once again closing her mouth. Snapping her neck back, causing her mane to whirl around, showing the wounds on the left side of the earth pony’s face and along the neck, she glared down at the filly, causing the younger earth pony to take a quick step back behind her leg. She looked back up at us again, and once again she seemed... vulnerable. “I-I’m really not the one to--”

“Oh, just tell us already,” Bolt snarled. “He might be as meek as a fly, but that doesn’t mean that I am too.”

“I would really appreciate it if you--” I didn’t get further before the unicorn silenced me with a hard glare. Once she had made sure that I would keep silent, she looked back to the earth pony.

“Either the guards outside thinks that you can handle yourself, or they don’t care. Seeing how you spoke when you came in here, I take for granted that you can hear out, correct?”

“C-correct.” The mare looked around towards the door, seemingly measuring the distance between herself and it. While she did, Bolt took another step forward, causing her to nearly come muzzle to muzzle with the earth pony as she turned back her attention to us.

“And, seeing how you wear that fancy collar of yours, I take for granted that it’s the last option, correct?” The mare didn’t answer, she only stared into Bolt’s eyes, paralyzed.

“How does that collar have anything to do wit--”

“I take that as a yes,” Bolt smiled, taking half a step back.

“Hey, stop being so mean to her you big meanie!” The filly shouted, running head first into the unicorn’s leg.

Bolt looked down at the small filly, her lips turning into a scowl, and it was as if the mare woke to life again. Her eyes bolted from side to side, before she looked down again and, dragging the filly back with her, took a step back. “I will tell you. Just, please, don’t be angry at her. She doesn’t know better.”

“Then speak,” Bolt growled, taking a step back, further widening the distance between herself and the mare.

The earth pony glanced quickly at the door, before she, to my surprise, took a step forward and lowered her voice. “L-Let me start from the beginning. Around four months ago, Sawdust order us to get move from the ruins we then ruled over, without any explanation why. After having... removed the ones wanting to stay, he led us to a hole beneath a ruined farmhouse around a half day walk from here. The hole led to an enormous metal cave, a stable. It took us nearly a whole month to work our way past the door, but once inside we met resistance. The stable inhabitants, cyborgs like you each and one of them, fought hard, but in the end we had scared them away, and Sawdust declared the stable ours.”

“So Exo’s a stable pony?”

“I-I don’t know. I didn’t see him during the initial battles, and none of those I talked with later had seen him during the fightings. He-he came later.”

“But it didn’t end there, I take it?”

“No, it didn’t. It only got worse from here. About two weeks after we had taken the Stable, Tiny disappeared.” She shot a quick glance back, as if to make sure that the filly was behind her still. “I started searching for her, and... a couple of cyborgs captured me.”

“Exo’s thugs?”

The mare sat down on her haunches, looking down at the floor. “They had Tiny. I-I couldn’t do anything but agree to help them. They had my daughter. I knocked out the guards and opened the stable door for Exo. He... he promised me that nothing would happen to Tiny. They killed everypony opposing them, but spared those who didn’t fight back. Sawdust wouldn’t stand down. He was captured. Tortured. His wife and daughter tried to stop it. They were captured as well. Some of the cyborgs wanted to use them, but Exo stopped that. Said he wouldn’t tolerate it.” The mare sniffed, tears dripping from her muzzle down at the dirt floor. “The cyborgs misunderstood him, killed them without a word.”

“I can understand why Sawdust is so upset about cyborgs,” Bolt whispered. “But... it doesn’t sound like torture is something Exo would resort to. Not after what I have heard about him.”

“He didn’t. I... I don’t know, but it didn’t seem like he was the one ordering it. Sawdust lost his conscious shortly after the execution of his family. That’s... That’s when one cyborg put him aflame.” She looked up at us again, tears in her eyes. “But that’s also when Exo had had enough. That... creepy cloud that had been circling him started to creep out, engulfing the one with the flamer and the two who had killed Snowflake and Snowdrop.” She shivered violently at the thought. “He screamed that they had gone to far... that they had overstepped their boundaries. I couldn’t see what happened to the ones he captured, but I could hear their scream as the cloud melted together into one piece, and I could see how their bodies had melted together when it crept back to him. I... I thought he would kill everyone in there, and I wasn’t the only one thinking it. The entire attire we had been gathered in was silent, you couldn’t even hear anyone breathe. That’s when Exo seized control. He ordered the fire engulfing Sawdust to be put out, and said that everyone of us was allowed to leave, but that we should take oru leader with us, give him a proper funeral.”

“He just let you go?”

The mare nodded silently. “He, as well as most of the cyborgs, left the stable with us. The other cyborgs, the ones who didn’t want to follow him, sealed the stable behind us. They escorted us away, before they left us to survive on our own. Exo’s last action was to give us a couple of healing potions and tell us to look over Sawdust, that he was still alive.” The earth pony looked away. “He recovered, and since then we have been hiding here.”

“What’s that around your neck?” I asked, pointing at the weird collar.

“This,” the mare spoke softly, moving a hoof up to the collar. “Is my punishment. Sawdust wasn’t happy when it came forth that I had been the one betraying them. The only reason he didn’t kill me was because of my daughter, that I had done it all to save my family. Each day he remember me about my betrayal, and each and every one of the others have right to remember me whenever they want.” She looked down at the filly, who had been silent all the time she spoke and had moved next to her mother. “But I would do it again, would something happen to Tiny.”

“Remin--”

“I think it’s time for you to leave, then, before they start to wondering why you disappeared for so long,” Bolt quickly interrupted me.

“Didn’t she say that the guards would hear us? Then they know why she was away for so long.”

“I guess.” The mare rose again. “I’m sorry. If there was anything I could do.”

“You could tell them that they have made a mistake,” Bolt mumbled.

“I’m afraid that wouldn’t help. I’m sorry.” The mare scooped up the filly on her back and walked up to the door, pausing with her hoof on it. “Someone will come and pick you up for the arena later. I... good luck.” The small filly on her back waved carefully at us as the mare opened the door and walked outside, softly closing it behind her.

I turned to Bolt and raised an eyebrow. “The arena?”

{Y-Y}

“Watch out!”

The cheer from the ponies standing around the arena, or rather, the deep hole with flat walls and two created entrances, both now blocked with a heavy looking iron gate each, filled my ears as I desperately jumped away from the giant sting shooting down towards me. My breaths came quick and swallow and my eyes darted from side to side, desperately looking for a way around the over sized scorpion in front of me.

Multiple red eyes peered down at me as the scorpion retracted it’s tail. For a second we just stood there, looking at each other, two creatures forced to fight for others entertainment. Then, snapping loudly once with it’s mouth, it rocketed forward, one of it’s pony-sized claws shooting towards me.

I quickly sidestepped towards his other claw, and luckily for me the scorpion was slow to react, allowing me to slip behind it. Bucking hard with my metal hooves against it’s tail, I was rewarded with a sharp hiss as the scorpion tried to turn around in the, for it, narrow space.

“Don’t piss it off!”

I stared at the enormous legs as they started to move the body around, the sound of the scorpion snapping it’s claws violently drowning, or cutting off, the sound of the audience. Then what am I supposed to do? That kick was meant to wound it, but it’s armor is too thick!

“Exoskeleton. It’s called an exoskeleton. I don’t know. Maybe try to flip it over or something? A creature with that mass and those legs shouldn’t be able to flip over again once on it’s back.”

My eyes darted to under the body of the scorpion as I moved together with it, desperately trying to stay at it’s side all the time. And if it decides to sit down on me?

“On second thoughts, don’t try to flip it. Give me a second, I will figure something out. Just stay alive!”

Yes. Stay alive. Good idea. I quickly jumped to the side as the scorpion decided to try and bring down the stinger on me again, much to the enjoyment of the audience. But I wasn’t quick enough to completely dodge it, something the pain in my shoulder and the health monitor directly announced to me. Luckily, the cut was swallow, but each step I took brought forward a jolt of pain.

“The outcome of this situation doesn’t look too good, I’m afraid.”

I barely heard her. My eyes followed the stinger up again, a plan forming in my head. Do you think the stinger would be able to penetrate the exoskeleton?

“No,” she said sharply. “Don’t you even think about that. You’re wounded, the chance of you keeping yourself on it’s back is to slim!”

“Is it possible?!” I growled as I hastily took a step to the side, this time completely dodging the stinger. Another wave of pain shot through my body from the wound and I fell down on a knee.

“I guess. I’m not sure.”

“Then we will have to find out.” I rose up again and, trying to ignore the pain, galloped the small distance to the scorpion and jumped onto it’s back, nearly sliding over it as my leg folded under me, the pain shooting through my body causing me to howl.

“If you survive this, I’m going to--”

The scorpion didn’t seem too happy about the addition on his back. Spinning around, it tried to make me fall off. It was close to succeed as well, I felt how I started to slide across it’s back with nothing to grab onto.

Then the scorpion abruptly stopped, just as I was about to fall of it. My eyes quickly darted upwards, to the stinger I knew was about to come down on me. My legs worked frantically as I desperately tried to crawl up on it’s back, the stinger cutting through my tail as it came down. With a final heave I managed to get up on it’s back. My breaths came quick and painfully, my throat was burning and it felt as if the world spun around me as I rolled over onto my back. But the scorpion didn’t give me time to breathe. I could already hear the sound of the stinger being brought up again.

The pony monitor announced that the cut was bleeding violently, and a small green box announced that I had been poisoned. I closed my eyes and took a deep, shaking breath. “I’m sorry.” The words was not more than a whisper on my lips.

“Movel!” Two of my cybernetic legs violently slammed into the scorpions body, causing me to spin around. I could feel the draught as the stinger passed inches from my face, could hear the scorpions scream and feel trickle of blood spray over me as the stinger penetrated it’s exoskeleton. “Don’t you dare think that you can die here! What about Precious and Dust? You promised them you would return! What about Bolt? What about your past?!”

A sickly sound reached my ears as the scorpion violently tugged the stinger out of it’s own body, without a doubt preparing to bring it down at me again.

“You can’t give up! Not now.”

I slowly opened my eyes and peered up at the dark, cloud filled sky above me. My head spun as I slowly averted my eyes to the wound the scorpion had caused itself. Beneath the exoskeleton, the scorpions brown flesh was exposed, the green-blue blood seeping out of the wound, slowly running down the scorpions back. “Help me, Spitfire,” I whispered as I tried to roll over to the wound.

“I can’t, Cogwheel. I would only end up wounding your shoulder, and leg, even more. You will have to do this on your own.”

With my eyes fixated at the wound, I slowly started to crawl over to it, each small step causing a jolt of pain to jump through my system and my head to start spinning. I could hear how the scorpion hissed as it stopped it’s stinger from shooting down over me again. Maybe it was intelligent and realized that it would hurt itself. But why it didn’t start to flail with it’s legs again was something my dizzy mind couldn’t understand.

“I think it managed to hit the spine,” Spitfire commented as I reached and looked down on the wound. “But... how it manages to move the stinger is beyond my understanding.”

“I don’t care,” I growled weakly between gritted teeth. “Just try and end it’s suffering.”

With all the power she could muster, Spitfire brought down one of my cybernetic legs into the wound on the scorpion’s back. The sound it caused couldn’t be explained as nothing but a scream of utter pain, but it didn’t move. Maybe Spitfire was correct, maybe it couldn’t. Again my cybernetic leg was brought down. And again. And again.

The whole arena was silent, the only thing heard was the scorpions screams of agony and the sickling sound as my hoof was brought down on the wound over and over again. Then, with a last scream, the scorpion stopped moving. The monitor at the bottom of my sight screamed out that I had lost a lot of blood, and that the poison was spreading.

“Stay awake, Cogwheel! We can fix this!”

As the world started to black out, I felt something thug in my body.

{x-X}

“And he couldn’t be a little faster?”

I opened my eyes just enough to allow the slightest traces of light to reach them, quickly closing them again as my head exploded in thousand pieces. Grunting, I tried to move over to my back, only to be stopped by... something holding me down.

“Lay still, Cogwheel,” the mare who had brought us food earlier softly spoke. What was her name? Had she said her name?

“What happened?” I mumbled. My mouth tasted funny, as if someone had grounded dirt and lemon together and forced it down my throat. “Where am I?”

“Apparently,” Bolt snarled as something cold hit me on the shoulder were the stinger had hit. “Somepony wasn’t quick enough to dodge the poisonous end of a scorpion, and now I have to tend that somepony’s wounds.” She sighed and gently started to smear that cold stuff over the wound on my shoulder. I gritted in pain as each small circle caused a jolt of pain to spread through my body. “Lay still. You don’t want to have dirt in the wound.”

“How long was I out?” I mumbled. My head felt as if someone was hammering onto it with an anvil.

“Not long,” Spitfire said soothingly. “An hour at most.”

“Not long,” the earth pony said. “Sawdust said that you should be given the antidote as quickly as possible, that it wouldn’t be fun if you died after having fought so bravely.”

“But he couldn’t dispose some drops of the healing potions we had with us here, could he?” Bolt growled and stepped away from my leg, cleaning her hoof against my coat. “There, all better. Now, don’t get dirt in it, or it might get infected. I think.”

“Thanks,” I said and opened my eyes. This time could I at least keep them open enough to see something. As I tried to sit up on my haunches, my entire world started to spin, and I quickly decided that the floor was better. I duly noticed the pony in the corner of my vision, prompt reminding me that I had a shallow wound on my shoulder. As if I couldn’t feel that myself. “Does that mean that we are free to go?”

The mare shook her head. “I’m afraid not. He was sure that you would die against the scorpion, and I don’t think that he’s happy that you actually bested it.”

“Then why did he give me the antidote instead of just letting me die?” I tried to sit up again, this time succeeding better. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know,” the mare said as she rose. “For all I know, he doesn’t even have something to throw against you next time, as long as he doesn’t want you to fight one of the others.” She sighed and walked over to the door. “Get some rest. I have my...” she hung her head, her ears sloping slightly. “Duties to return to.” Without another word, she opened the door and softly closed it again after her.

“I guess we’re still stuck here then, hu?” Bolt started, glancing at me. “Tell me, how did you even manage to bring down a scorpion? For that matter, how did they even get a scorpion that size here?”

“How did you--”

“Blueberry told me.” I rose an eyebrow and quickly glanced towards the door. “Yes, the mare who just left.”

“I don’t know how they got that scorpion there,” I started, bringing up a metal hoof to my forehead and slowly started to massage it, tried to make the pain go away. While massaging, I summarized the battle in the arena for her “I guess Spitfire is the one to thank, really. Without her... She reminded me why I had to continue, why I couldn’t give up.” I ended the story.

“You’re welcome, Cogwheel,” Spitfire cooed. “After all, my primary function is to look after you.”

Bolt raised an eyebrow at me. “You used it’s own stinger against it? By climbing onto it’s back, after having been wounded?” I nearly jumped in surprise as she smacked me at the back of my head. “That’s for not showing this toughness earlier.”

“Hey, this was an--” I cried out as the pain in my head violently grew in intensity and spread through my body. Hadn’t it been for Bolt catching me, I would have fallen down on the floor as I buried my head in my hooves, tears starting running down my cheek.

I could hear how she called my name, asked what was wrong. I could hear Spitfire scream, if it was in pain or my name I couldn’t make out.

Then, without any warning, it stopped. As sudden as it had arrived it disappeared, leaving me rocking back and forth, the tears still running down my cheek. The health monitor blinked one last time before it disappeared as well.

“Cogwheel? Are you alright?” Bolt asked. She sounded shocked. I understood her.

“I... I don’t know,” I croaked, my throat hurting after the screaming.

“I... have never felt something like that,” Spitfire said weakly. “Was it the salve? I have never heard about a salve that would cause such pain during the healing process but... Your wound has healed, so it must have been that. Right?”

Looking up from my hooves and blinking the tears away from my real eye, I took a deep breath. “I don’t know. But I feel better now.” It felt as if I had just awoken from a full nights sleep. My entire body felt rested. “Actually, I feel a lot better.” I gently brushed away Bolt’s hooves from myself and stood up, turning to face the unicorn. “What was that salve?”

“I... don’t know.” Bolt blinked up at me, surprised. “Something that Blueberry brought with her. Said it would help. But she said it would take days for the salve to take effect! Not minutes!”

“I’m glad it didn’t take days. That was painful, to say the least.”

“But it doesn’t make any sense. It shouldn’t be that painful. Not even had the wound been infected should it feel like that, neither should it have ended that quickly. At least not according to any of my medical records.” Spitfire sounded confused. “If nothing else, you shouldn’t have felt as refreshed as you do. Scratch that, you shouldn’t be as refreshed as you are! That is not logical at all, the body needs rest after having healed a wound! Not much after such a shallow wound, maybe, but still. You shouldn’t be refreshed!”

“I... heard that. You scared me.”

“Sorry about that. The pain was just... very sudden.” Miracle salve?

“There is no such thing as a miracle! Everything is explainable.”

How about this then. I ask Blueberry the next time I see her. You don’t have to scratch your head off, figuratively speaking of course, trying to come up with the answer, and if anypony knows it should be her, shouldn’t it?

“Yes, because she gave it to you and thus she have to be the mind behind it, great logical connection there.”

I rolled my eyes and sat down. Well, who do you want to ask then?

“Talking with Spitfire again?” I glanced at the unicorn. “What does she say?”

I nodded. “She wants to know what was in that salve. Apparently, it doesn’t make any sense to her.”

“Didn’t you download her in the clinic? Shouldn’t she know about salves like this?”

“You know, she nearly got the same logic as you. Just because I was downloaded from the clinic, doesn’t it mean that I had to had something with the patient to do. For all she knows, I could be a janitor or something!”

You did have something to do with the patients, I pointed out. “Apparently, I shouldn’t be this refreshed. And it shouldn’t be as painful as it was, or end as quickly as it did. It seems like there’s a lot of things that aren’t correct with this in her errrr.... eyes.”

“That she’s correct is beside the point!”

“And, apparently, not knowing something like this makes her upset,” I added, rolling my eyes.

To my surprise, Bolt actually laughed at that. “If she’s so worked up around it, maybe we can ask Blueberry about it? She might know something.”

“You know what the keyword there was? Might. Unlike you, Bolt seems to understand that you can’t just assume that she knows about it.”

I sat down on my haunches. “Give me a second, would you?” She blinked once, before she nodded. I gave her a thankful smile, before I closed my eyes. Okay, what’s the matter.

“There’s nothing wrong,” Spitfire said, a little too fast and defensive for me to believe her.

I sighed. That’s a lie. You haven’t been this touchy since... well, I don’t even think you was this touchy when Bolt called you robot. Would you really mind telling me? She didn’t answer me. Spitfire?

“You was about to give up,” she finally mumbled. “After all you have done, you just... stopped. I mean... I understand that you lost blood and that you was poisoned, that it drained you. I could feel it as well, although not as powerful as you. But just... lying down and stop moving, not even trying?”

But you helped me out of it. I smiled softly. Without you I would have died there.

“And when you woke up...” Spitfire continued, ignoring my comment. “I knew that you was alive, that you had been given the antidote, but... you were very close to death when it was injected into you. In worst case you would have fallen into coma, and out here? Who knows how it would go! But you woke up. It didn’t take more than an hour. You were weak, as should be expected, but quickly regained enough energy to sit up again. Your body’s endurance and resilience is remarkable. But I was worried. Can you blame me for that?”

I shook my head. I can’t, but that doesn’t explain why you are so edgy.

“And then the headache suddenly erupts violently, nearly burning up your nerves with information! The pain I could feel was unbearable, I can’t even begin phantom how you felt! But after just a couple of seconds, it disappears. As does your wound! Not only that, but your health monitor shows that you’re as sound as a bell, without any traces of tiredness or... anything, really! It just disappeared!” She sighed. “I guess I’m just overreacting, but I can’t help but feel irritated about something unexplainable like this happening. And I don’t like the feeling of irritation!”

Isn’t it good that I feel well?

“Of course it is! I never said anything else. But... I want to understand. As I said, a salve can’t, shouldn’t be able to, replenish your health like that!”

You know what? I took a deep breath, a tiny smile returning to my lips. I promise you that I will try my best to help you understand this. The next time I meet Blueberry, I will ask her about it. She might know something about it, as we have said, and if nothing else she might be able to point us in another direction.

“I can’t ask you--”

It’s the least I can do, and that’s that. Feeling better?

“I... guess. Thank you.”

Smiling, I opened my eyes again. “Sorry about that, Spitfire was a bit... edgy.”

Bolt lay her head to the side. “What’s wrong? Does she feel better now?”

“I think so. She... was worried. And irritated that she didn’t understand how I could just get all my energy back like that from the salve. So I promised her that I would ask Blueberry about it the next time I see her, to put her mind at ease about it all.”

The sound of a key unlocking the door caused me to rise and spin around. “Or I can ask her no--”

My words died on my lips. Stepping through the door wasn’t the mare. Instead it was Sawdust, flanked by a guard on each side, the smile on his muzzle twisting his already malformed face. “A spectacular show! I thought you was done with, but--” The former pink pony went silent, an eyebrow raised in question at Bolt. “Viper,” he said in a dangerously low, rumbling tone. “I thought I gave order about the mare to be released.”

“Y-yes boss. You--”

“Then why is she still here?”

“Released? What do you mean?” Bolt said confused. “Why would you--”

“Shut it,” Viper snarled, just to get a hard slap on the muzzle from the smaller unicorn. “What did you--”

“I don’t want to deny a free mare her... freedom. After all, we weren’t after you from the start, but your friend here. My plan was for him to die by the scorpion’s stinger and then release you, using you as nothing but a way to make sure that he stayed put. Seeing that he clearly survived... Let’s just say that I rather see that you return home to your family than having to stay here because your friend couldn’t just die.”

“But you’re raiders! Why would you--” Bolt went silent as the small unicorn snorted.

“Raiders? Is that how you see us?” He smiled. Had his face not been as destroyed as it was, it would have been counted as sweetly once. “While it’s true that we have killed others to take what’s theirs, we haven’t done it out of glee as a raider would. No, our reasons have solely been to feed the youngs and make sure that they have somewhere to live.”

“What about the stable? Or Blueberry?” Bolt moved closer to the leader. “How can you justify that with--”

“One step closer, and I will blow your head up with the gun you have hidden.” Bolt stopped in the middle of a step, and the two guards suddenly tensed. “Oh, you didn’t think I knew about it? Please, just because some of the guards are blind idiots doesn’t it mean that I am. Now, let’s keep this civil, shall we?”

Bolt eyed the smaller unicorn, taking a step back. “Let’s.”

I looked between the two unicorns, before I stepped up to my friend. “You should take the chance to leave.”

“Are you going to answer my questions?” She ignored me.

“Extreme times calls for extreme measures. The stable had the food and shelter our youngs needed, but they refused to take us in.” His face darkened. “Blueberry is simply paying the price for betraying us, a low price if you ask anyone of the ones losing someone they loved because of her actions. Now, I will count to ten. If you leave before then, I will promise you an uninterrupted travel away from here. Everyone under my command will let you go freely, as long as you don’t draw your weapon towards anyone. If not...” He left the sentence unfinished. “One.”

Bolt turned towards me, but before she could say anything I spoke up. “Go.”

She blinked. “I can’t just leave you with him!”

“Two.”

“You can and you will. Don’t worry about me, I will be fine.”

“You won’t. Just see how you--”

“Bolt. I’ll be fine.”

“Three.”

“But what about your memories? What about finding SAT?”

“I will come back to Green Valley.” I gave her a smile that hopefully didn’t mirror the lack of confident I felt. “As soon as I’m free from this place. I promise.”

“Four.”

“But--”

“Your father told me to look after you, I can’t do it while imprisoned.”

“You can’t do that if I go either!”

“Five.”

“Do you think he will keep you in here when he counts to ten? He wants to get to me, do you really think he will let you continue to be here like before?”

“I--”

“Please, Bolt. Take this chance. I’ll survive, I promise.”

“Six.”

She blinked, a few tears forming in her eyes. “I don’t want to leave you here.”

“And I don’t want to be alone. But if you don’t go, who knows what he will do to you? So please, just go.”

“Seven.”

“You promise to come back to Green Valley?” She sniveled.

“The first thing when I get out of here.”

“Urgh, such sentimentality. Eight.”

“You survive now.” She gave me a quick hug before she turned around. “I don’t want to tell the siblings that you died, you hear.”

“I promise.”

“Nine.”

Without another word she ran out from the prison, leaving me alone with the leader and his guards. Her departing left an emptiness inside of me. I was all alone, without anyone I could trust.

“You did the right thing,” Spitfire said sadly. “And you still got me.”

“Now, what shall I--”

“If anything happens to her,” I snarled, taking a step towards the former pink pony. His two guards raised their weapons and pointed them at me, but I ignored them. “The same will happen to you.”

Sawdust blinked once, before he snorted. “Don’t you trust me, cyborg? I’m a stallion of my words, none of my men will harm her as long as she leaves.” He grinned at me. “And stop acting so tough. Even cyborgs dies if you put a bullet in their heads.”

I took a step back, glaring at the unicorn.

“Now, now. I only came down here to congratulate you. That battle was... spectacular, even if I wished you could have dragged out on it a little longer. Using the scorpion’s stinger against it, and be lucky enough to have it paralyse itself? That takes balls, I will give you that. But couldn’t you just have died? It would have made all this so much easier.”

“You gave me the antidote. Why would you--”

“No need to thank me.” He waved a hoof in dismissal. “After such a battle and show of bravery, how could I let you die just like that, killed by the poison of your fallen enemy? No, only a coward deserves that kind of death.” He sighed. “But you have put me in a rather... tough situation. On one hoof, I want to see you dead for what you cyborgs did against my wife and daughter, on the other, I can’t send man after man to die, with a slim chance of taking you down. Trust me, none of my men would be able to take down that scorpion, and I doubt they would be able to take you down in an even combat.” He sighed. “So, I have made a decision. One of my men, one of my best, prompt wanted to duel you in the arena. You win fair and square, and you’re, once again, a free cyborg.” He sighed. “Trust me, that hurt to say. But I can’t have my men giving up their lives just because I want my revenge.”

“Why don’t--”

“Cogwheel! Don’t give him any ideas!” Spitfire sharply interrupted me.

“Why I don’t just kill you?” His grin turned into a wicked smile as he grabbed a weapon from one of the raiders in his magic and pressed the barrel against my throat. Surprised, I took a step back, but he pushed the weapon with my steps, didn’t allow it to leave my throat for a second.

“Good job, Cogwheel.” Spitfire’s voice shared my own panic. I could feel how sweat started to form on my brow as my heart started racing, my eyes darting from side to side.

Calmly, he rose and, with the help of the weapon and in utter silence, drove me into the corner of the room. “Oh, you have no idea how much I want to do that.” He moved his mouth to whisper in my ear. “You have no idea how... satisfying it would be to just pull the trigger and blow your brain out, cyborg.”

“Please--”

“Please what? Did you cyborgs listen to those words before killing my wife and daughter? Did you?!” His raised voice caused my ear to ring. “The only reason you’re alive is that you didn’t pull the trigger to the weapons used in murdering the ones I loved.” He took a step back and, after having spit me in the face, removed the weapon from my throat. “That and that you gave my men the chance to surrender instead of just shooting them. Gave them a chance of survival.”

As soon as the weapon had left my throat, I gulped loudly. My body trembled slightly, and It felt as if my biological leg would give up under me. The only thing keeping me standing was my cybernetic legs. Slowly I brought up my trembling leg to wipe away the spit from my face.

A moment later I was lying on the floor, my ears ringing and my head hurting. The healthmonitor was quick with announcing that I had a shallow jack on both my muzzle and my leg. Blinking, I looked up at the pink unicorn.

The unicorn grinned down at me, a croaking laughter escaping his lips as he turned around the weapon in his grip. “You know, that felt pretty good.” He stopped laughing as I weakly tried to stand up again. “You know what? Once more.”

My legs gave up under me as he smashed the weapon against my guts and I tumbled to the ground, trying to regain my breath.

“I actually thought more of you,” Sawdust hissed, violently tugging my head up until our eyes met. “I thought you would... well, be more.” He ran my head into the wall and rose from my body again. “I will be kind and give you the day to... prepare yourself. Win tomorrow, and you’re free to leave this place.” Spitting at me once more, he turned around. “Sleep well, cyborg.”

{z-z}

I slowly tilted the cup in my hooves from side to side, smiling slightly as the smell of the newly grinded coffee beans, mixed with the smell of the flowers in the garden around me, filled up my nostrils. My eyes wandered to the empty chair on the other side of the table. She was late.

With a sigh I sat down the cup on the table and closed my eyes. My breathing slowed down as I closed my eyes and leaned back, the sun gently gracing me with its warmth and the beautiful singing of the birds filling my ears. I could wait. She would arrive in time, and I hadn’t any other plans for the day anyway.

“Do you require anything, Dear?” A voice chimed next to me.

“Oh no, everything is absolutely perfect, Mrs Pyrus.” I smiled and opened my eyes, looking at the mare standing with a brick next to me.

The light green mare smiled as her eyes wandered the garden where more than one family had decided to take some time to relax. “If you say so. But would you be a dear and don’t fall asleep? I don’t want to have to run over here just to wake you up when your marefriend shows up.” She winked at me as she turned around and trotted over to another family.

I didn’t doubt for a second that I would be able to fall asleep in the comfy chair. With the sun shining above me, the birds singing around me and the smell of jasmine and roses filling my nostrils, everything felt peaceful. With a sigh of comfort, I picked up the cup and took a deep sip of the hot, bitter coffee.

The time slowly crept forward, some families left and midday turned into afternoon, but the seat on the other side of the table stayed empty. Yawning, I slowly rose from my seat and carefully bit down on the cup. Walking slowly, taking my time to enjoy the beautifully floral arrangements, I made my way to the small counter that had been placed in the middle of the garden. The counter was full with all kind of biscuits, cakes, cookies and fruits, and it had two pitchers, one filled with tea smelling of pears and the other filled with coffee, allowing the ones who actually arsed to walk up here to refill their cups. Often enough, it was Mrs Pyrus who filled the cups of the customers, nearly always before they knew that their cups needed to be refilled.

I had just placed down my cup when a wing draped over my eyes, completely obscuring my view. “Sorry I’m late, love,” the pegasus cooed and gave me a kiss on the cheek, moving her wing from my eyes. As she did, her soft feathers tickled my nose, causing me to sneeze and her to laugh softly.“Do you pick up a cup for me as well?”

“Tough day?” I smiled gently and moved over another cup to the pot, carefully filling them both up and placing them in one of the small carrying bag that stood next to the pot.

The mare sighed and wrapped a golden wing around my back as I picked up the carrying bag. “You should have been there. Remember the team of rockies I told you about yesterday? The ones who beat the academy record on the air obstacle course?” I nodded as we started to walk towards the table. “Today the leader of that team decided to create a twister to outshine the others during cloud testing. Had been a smart move, had her recklessness not put five outsiders in a tight spot, one of them Celestia’s pupil nontheless. Trust me, had the wingpony not been acting quickly and fixed the situation.” She sighed as we sat down at the table. “Then I would have had much more job than to just fill in an expelling form and divert some pegasi to overlook the air territory around the academy.”

I gently bit down on one of the cups and gave it to her. “Sounds like a eventful day at the academy.”

She smiled at me and picked up the cup in her hooves. “I wouldn’t have minded if she could have chosen another day to have her self expelled.” The mare took a deep sip of the coffee. “Or, even better, that Celestia’s pupil hadn’t showed up. Any other outsider and it would have been fine, a bit of paperwork and having to remind them that they flew into the academy’s air territory without any premonition or permission. But with her? Hopefully, the princess will let it pass since nothing happened and actions have been taken towards the ones responsible. But hey, that’s nothing to worry about now, how have your day been?”

“Long.” I smiled and took a sip from my own cup. “Mostly it have been waiting for a special somepony to show up.” Leaning back in the chair, I sighed in comfort. “But I can’t complain. If there is anywhere I can enjoy spending a couple of hours waiting it’s here.”

“Pyrus truly made wonders with this place.” The mare looked around, her orange eyes mirroring the smile on her muzzle. “It’s beautiful.”

We sat in silent, enjoying each others company and the beautiful garden around us, slowly emptying our cups.

“Did you have time to eat?” I asked, putting down my empty cup. “Or should I get you something?”

“A sandwich would be nice.” The pegasus smiled at me, a smile that easily could compete with the sun in brightness.

“A sandwich it is, then.” I rose from my seat. “More coffee?”

“Oh, no thanks.”

With a smile of my own, I bit down on my own cup and started to make my way back to the refilling counter.

“You’re not alone.”

{}

“He did say that you were free to go if you survived this, he didn’t say that you had to kill whoever it is he sent against you,” Spitfire remarked dryly.

I tried to shut out the sound of raiders screaming down insults and tauntings at me as I gently massaged my body where the unicorn had hit with the weapon. Luckily, the hits had only left behind a pretty big bruise, and hadn’t caused any serious internal bleedings or broken ribs. I only had to win, but thinking about what I have heard, and seen, of raiders... I guess they won’t let me go before... I sighed. The thought of killing another pony, even if it was a raider, caused my stomach to twist and my heart to beat harder.

“Are you sure you can do this?” The ai sounded troubled.

I don’t know, I admitted. But if it’s the only way out of here, I guess I have no choice, do I? My eyes wandered the arena, from the deep marks in the walls where the scorpion’s pincers and stinger had buried themselves time after time when it tried to reach me, to the gate the same scorpion had practically destroyed when the raiders had forced it into the arena. Lastly, my eyes wandered up to the raiders looking down at me, smiling, laughing and screaming insults. I shook my head. Something isn’t right.

“What do you mean?”

If Sawdust wants me dead, why doesn’t he just shoot me? Nothing Exo did would stop him from that. Besides, he should have seen that I only bested the scorpion because it couldn’t move around and not because I was stronger than it. I bet that at least half the raiders up there would be able to take me without any bigger problem. If not all of them.

“Maybe in a gunfight. But hoof-to-hoof... You’re in a better physique than most of them, most likely as a result of not having to grow up in this wasteland, and your skeleton should be more durable than theirs. I don’t think he would want you to fight with a gun, seeing that you might target him instead, and maybe even get a lucky shot away before he would manage to react, and he seems to want to keep it fair, so he wouldn’t send you against an armed force.”

I shook my head slightly, bringing a hoof down into the dirt. “It still doesn’t make any sense,” I growled, pushing myself up to standing. Restlessly, I started to stride between the walls. He wants me dead, he said so himself. So why doesn't he just kill me? He still believes I’m one of Exo’s thugs, who are the ones responsible for his wife and daughters deaths. Even if I win, he wants to see me dead.

“Cogwheel, calm down.” Spitfire sighed. “You know very well that you can’t do anything to change this, so why not hope that he keeps his words and let you go after you have won?”

If I win. I laughed bitterly, my eyes wandering to the other side of the arena, to the gaping gates. I stopped in my track. I could run for it.

“Maybe that’s what he wants? He’s not stupid. There’s, most likely, raiders waiting for you to do just that past the gate.”

“Can’t we just get on with it?” I snarled, beginning my pacing again, the nervosity gnawing on my nerves. Not once did I take my eyes away from the gate on the other side of the arena.

“Cogwheel, I told you to calm down. If you’re worried or nervous you will easier make mistakes, and a mistake here might mean death.”

“I know, I know.” I looked up at the ponies overlooking the arena, and my eyes instantly found the unicorn leader. He smiled down at me, twisting it more than the scars and burn marks already did. I don’t trust him, at all.

Spitfire sighed. “Neither do I.”

“Silence, my friends, silence,” the leader spoke, his deep voice instantly gaining the attention of everyone gathered. I stopped my pacing, glaring up at him. “The show is about to begin. We have two combatants ready. The cyborg, whom I have promised free leaving should he win.” The unicorn was cut of by the rest of the raiders showing their discontent. They were quickly silenced by him raising a hoof slightly. “Now, now, I know that you don’t want to see him free, but I have made a promise, and Sawdust is true to his words! He would already have been free, had it not been for the mare who wanted to prove that she could best him, who promised to kill him for me.” The unicorn snorted. “Isn’t it cute?”

My eye wandered to the other gate, where a pony had stepped forward. Her, I assumed it was the mare, body was completely concealed behind the same kind of armor that most of the raiders wore, but someone had dug forth a helmet for her as well, completely concealing her identity.

“We dug forth an old armor for her, to give her a chance.” His words were met with laughter. “Now, combatants, let the battle begin.”

I took a step back, lowering my front body slightly. The mare mirrored my moves, and we slowly started to circle each other, carefully following each other’s every move.

My opponent didn’t seem to used in moving around in the armor, nearly tripping over her own hooves. Seeing my opportunity, I charged forward, only to be sidestepped and smacked heavily over the back of my head, to the amusement of the onlookers. Quickly spinning around, I was met by another hoof, this time hitting me across the muzzle. The hit wasn’t hard, but I still took a step backward to get away from the mare’s hooves. I could practically feel her smiling scornfully at me as we started circling each other again.

“She doesn’t look very sturdy,” Spitfire commented as the mare lunged towards me. I sidestepped her, but she was too quick for me to get in a hit on her. “But she’s quick.”

I spun around, following the mares every move as she turned around to face me again. A small trickle of sweat ran down my cheek, but my breath came as steady and regular as if I hadn’t moved at all.

“Stand still, should she charge you again. A direct impact should hurt her more than you. If you’re lucky, she might even lose her hoofhold.”

Nodding, I spun around on the spot, forcing the mare to circle around me. After having circled me twice, the mare stopped and lowered her body slightly. I mirrored her move, preparing myself to take her tackle as she charged forward.

Without any warning, a cloud of dust rose from the ground in front of me, obscuring the mare from my eyes. Before I had time to react, a hoof slammed into my biological leg, followed by a quick and hard buck in my guts, right over the bruise left by Sawdust, that made me lose my breath.

My biological leg nearly bent under my bodyweight, the only thing keeping me upright was my cybernetic legs. But the mare didn’t allow me to regain my breath. She was quickly next to me again, bucking me hard in the guts, causing me to fall over into the dirt.

I could hear the audience cheer her on, yelling insults towards me, as I tried to regain my breath and get up again. But the mare didn’t allow it, bucking me hard in the back as I tried to get up. In the end, I just laid there, gasping after air. The mare flipped, with a bit of difficulty, me over onto my back.

Shaking her head towards me, the mare turned around and started walk away.

“And we have a winner!” Sawdust roared. “But, there is still one thing left for her to do!” The mare stopped at the words, her head turning towards the unicorn on the stand. “Kill him.”

I coughed and tried to scramble up on my hooves again, but it didn’t take long before I collapsed back again.

The mare looked down at the ground. “You said I should win to be free, you never said anything about killing him,” the mare growled. I recognized that voice.

“Was that... Bolt?”

“The plans have changed. If you want to get out of here, kill him.” He laughed.

Bolt tore of the helmet, her horn glowing, her eyes glaring up at the unicorn. “You told me that it was enough to defeat him, that I would never have to kill him!” A heavy stone flinged past her and towards the unicorn. “I will do no such thing!”

Sawdust caught the stone in his own magic, crumbling it to dust. “Then I will just have to kill you both.”

Bolt took a step back. “You... You can’t do that!”

“Oh, I can’t?” He smiled. “Watch me. Ready. Set.”

“Okay!” Bolt yelled. “I... I will do it.” She looked down in the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

During their word exchange, I had regained my breath. But still I laid completely still as the mare floated up the gun next to her and stepped up to me. “I... I’m sorry, Cogwheel.”

“He would have killed me anyway.” I took a raging breath. “At least you will live.”

“So that’s it? You’re giving up.”

What do you want me to do, Spitfire? I growled inwardly. Fight and risk that they decide to shoot both me and Bolt?

Bolt rolled her eyes. “I wonder that. Seeing how well he have held his word twice now.”

“I was meant to look after you, make sure you were healthy! I can’t let you do this! Not without trying to survive!”

You can, and you will! “Can you do one last thing for me, Bolt?” I will not allow you to risk her life as well!

“I guess I owe you that much.”

“Tell the siblings I’m sorry.”

“Get on with it!” Sawdust yelled impatiently. “Or do I have to have my men kill you both?”

“Have her shot through the eye.”

What?

“If you have decided to die, I’m not going to live on in your body without you to talk to, especially not while your body is rotting around me. That sheer thought... frightens me. Please.”

“I will tell them that. I’m sorry, Cogwheel.” Tears ran down Bolt’s cheeks.

“Shoot me through the eye. Kill Spitfire as well. Her request.”

The gun changed position, floating up to my eye socket. “I’m sorry.”

The sound of roaring gunfire filled my ears.

{}

Comments

[Luminous Lead]

Hmmm, supersalve, or hydra-paste, I wonder... Bolt should hit Spitfire and Cog more often, it could really help clear things up for them!

I can't send man after man

Is the use of the word "man" intentional?

Also, Cog's arguement with Spitfire over the salve seems to repeat itself, only using slightly different words. Was this to portray that Spitfire really, really doesn't get it, or was it a rewritten version of the same scene?