Chapter 7: Nowhere In Particular
"Allow me to tell you the tale of the pony in black."

The energy rifle was odd. I had seen them mounted in Enclave armor before, used by wastelanders, and by many ponies in the guard, but its inner workings were alien to me. For all intents and purposes, it was a long matte silver box with a square scope attached to the top. Axe's rifle had a hole to stick your forehoof into and a curvy stock to brace against your barrel with. She had attached a bipod to it and notched ten kill marks along the stock.

The unloaded weapon floated in my magic. Without having to worry about accidentally shooting myself, I inspected every inch of the strange arcane device. From the stock, to the scope, to the barrel’s side, even the battery port.

My eyes were slightly wide and a small smile was on my face. I had never been able to look at the internal workings before. Though I could not tell you what was what in the battery bay; it looked like a flashlight's interior to me. And that is what I shall call it. Axe's Flashlight.

"You try sliding the power cell in. Make sure the little ridge goes into the relief. Otherwise it won't slide in," Wraith explained to me. She had decided to allow me use of the Flashlight until we got to town where she would buy me a proper firearm, so we were going through the basics. Not that I needed a firearm. They were handy when I didn't feel like using magic, which was… most of the time, so I suppose I needed one until I felt like stabbing something.

Taking the battery in my hoof, I turned it around and placed it against the weapon. It smacked against the bay and refused to go in. I tried to shove it in until it dug into my fetlock. "It's backward, isn't it?" I grumbled and flipped the battery around before she could answer.

"Yeah." She had collected all of her things into her modified saddlebags. One bag had been removed and a small crib-like container was placed in its stead so she could carry her foal with her. The bag had been moved to her other side in an attempt to balance the weight, but she said the crib and foal were still too off balance to fly correctly.

The battery went in with a satisfying click. A whine emanated from the weapon, slowly increasing in pitch before dying off. I watched the power lights on the left side of the weapon go from nothing, to red, to yellow, and finally to a bright green.

"Anything else?" I held the rifle's 'barrel' away from her or I, aiming it toward the ruins outside the storage closet.

"Yeah. Aim at a hostile pony."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that."

“No I really do mean you have to aim at the pony. Like directly at where you want to hit since there’s no bullet travel time with a laser. The hit is practically instantaneous with no real need to lead your shots..”

“Oh.” I nodded slowly. The advice sounded… odd to me, but I trusted her judgement. She did hit me in the leg after-all. Axe could be messing with me even though she sounded completely serious.

"And if the weapon starts beeping and all those lights flash red? Throw it as far the fuck away from you as possible, hopefully as close to the enemy you can."

"Why?" I looked at her, tilting my head.

"Because that's an overcharged cell. It carries a slight risk of an explosive malfunction."

"Why?" Was all I asked. I stared into her glowing eyes and frowned.

Ammo that turns a gun into an accidental grenade? Preposterous!

She shuffled her weight side to side, then looked down at the sleeping grump cradled in her foreleg. Her wings puffed up, unfolded slightly. "Because I want to make sure I kill whoever tries to take my foal from me," replied Axe, her voice low and quiet. So sure was she in her ability to do as she said, that I did not question it further. Even though the idea sounded insane to me.

"How many shots does each pack hold?"

"Thirty," she replied.

My gaze went back to the energy rifle. The faint moonlight coming in through the slit cut into the cloth door illuminated its matte surface. Hardly any light reflected off of the dull weapon. Hell, the pegasus had wrapped the barrel in cloth and had taped over the scope to give a tiny view of the target that would not reflect light. I kept the wrap but removed the tape.

I found her name choice to be odd for her abilities. Axe preferred stealth to kill her foes. Her sister, Wraith, preferred to charge headlong into the enemy with a blade in her grip. It was as if their names were given backward. Or to purposefully confuse a pony as to their true abilities.

My thoughts were broken by a light touch to my side. I glanced to my right as Axe nodded at me. She had moved and our muzzles were a hoof width away from each other. That soft glow coming from her eyes reminded me of radiation.

It also reminded me that I was mortal again.

I quickly looked at the gun and smacked the safety lever into the safe position to be sure it wasn't going to accidentally fire some how. "This is a nice rifle, Axe. I'll try not to break it." I nodded slowly, letting my hoof rest over the switch. My ears folded back ever so slightly. "It's a nice rifle."

Mortal... Weak to radiation. Weak to bullets, weak to age, energy weapons, and even food. Goddess, I hate being a unicorn and Dead Hoof needs a good kick to the face.

"Shock, I..." she began quietly. Her voice had a faint hint of something deep down that I could not pinpoint exactly. Maybe regret, or possibly sorrow. I could not be certain. I tore my gaze away from the Flashlight and looked into her eyes. She nodded firmly, her glowing eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Axe licked her lips and gulped.

"What is it?" I set the weapon down onto the table next to us and turned to face her. My ears turned forward so I could listen intently.

She took a deep breath and held it for a moment. Her foal was being cradled in her foreleg and sleeping quite soundly. The foal rolled over in what looked like an attempt to stick its face against the front of her barrel. She looked down at the filly before looking at me. "I... don't need your help," Axe said in as few words as possible.

Still, they caught me off-guard and hit my mind like a bag of bricks thrown by a mule. My smile slowly faded as I leaned back slightly, eyes wide. I could not formulate much of a reply beyond a half stutter that sounded more like a croak. Most, if not all of my words caught in my throat and felt like they were weighed down by a boulder.

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly. My gaze shifted to the rifle lying on the table, Axe's face, her filly, the weapon, and back to Axe's face again.

It made no sense to me why she would show me the operational details of her laser rifle if she had no intention of letting me follow along. Nor did it make any sense why she would agree to follow my plan and contact the vertibuck using my radio, only to rescind that idea. Her words threw a wrench into my plans and everything came crashing down upon my shoulders.

At that very moment, it felt like I was alone in a dark pit with the pegasus armor just out of reach.

"Why...?" was all I managed to get out. I lifted a forehoof off the ground and tilted my head. Had I wings, they would have been fluffed up like a fat fluffball. My ears folded back just a bit more.

"You're dangerous." Axe nodded again, tapping a hoof on the floor. I Tried to say something to change her mind, but she left no opening. She kept talking firmly like an angry mother. "Do you think I don't remember the island? You got me separated from my squad. You nearly got me killed twice. You screwed up the city! Now in what universe would I ever allow you to lead me around again?"

"The one in which I saved your sister from being melted by an evil plant." I smiled and nodded at her. "You and I both know she could not have gotten out of that facility without my int-"

"You tried to kill her," she added.

My smile vanished instantly as my mind wandered. I nodded, again at her true words. "Well yes, I did, but that-"

"Was before you decided to use her. I'm not a strung out junkie like her. I remember my father's instructions; get the alicorn, get out. Under no circumstances are you to ally with or make deals with her. Her rescue is her payment for rescuing Wraith. That order still applies. Our contract is done, fulfilled to the letter. We owe you nothing."

Payment...? So they consider rescuing me to be the payment for giving them information and rescuing Wraith? Well that means one thing; never will I get a suit of power armor.

Unless I steal one.

My ears drooped to the side of my face. I turned away from her and walked toward the flap covering the door. My head hung lower to the ground, giving me a good view of the dark concrete.

Words were lost to me. I could not come up with a reason why she should follow me, nor could I force her at gunpoint as that would break our trust further. She had made it abundantly clear she wanted nothing to do with me.

"Shock?" her distant voice reached my ears as I pulled the door flap back. I looked over my shoulder at her only to find her pushing the laser rifle closer to me. "You can have this though. Keep it, sell it, I don't care.”

I looked at the rifle for a few long moments. It'd be nice, but I had absolutely no idea how to fire it effectively. If I tried to fire it, it'd be like giving a newborn foal a pistol. I could not hit the broadside of the barn. It'd be a more effective club than a fine precision instrument of death in my hooves.

Might be worth a decent amount of caps though.

*** ***

Hyde's hellhound teeth scraped quietly along the narrow passageway despite being sheathed in his holster on my side. The distance between the concrete wall and the underground subway car was just narrow enough that I had no room to maneuver in, but could still fit. All I saw ahead of me was rubble and darkness, my horn only illuminating so much around me.

Not that it did much good. The subway train was annoyingly long and I was forced to take the underground path because the surface route was blocked by collapsed buildings. If I was smart I would have simply scaled the rubble instead.

If I was smart.

No, no. Smart pony was not in my vocabulary. It was why I was busy hauling a stupid radio pack on my back through the ruined subway system inside a pitch black tunnel where I could only see perhaps ten feet ahead. A hidden raider could see me coming from many yards away. Hell a raider could be sneaking up behind me for surprise butt sex and I wouldn't even know until it was too late!

I stopped struggling through the narrow passage way at that thought. My ears swiveled to listen behind me as I tried to turn my head and look back at the inky void.

Alone by choice I was. Lost, well not really, but I was looking for a way out. I hadn't slept since before encountering Axe and been travelling in the subway system for so long I thought I was seeing shapes moving in the dark. Things that weren't actually there, but appeared to be at first. Not even Radio could reach me down here. All I got was static when I had tried to reach the mare.

Was she even real?

At this point anything could be real or fake. I would take that surprise raider if only to say hello before cutting him in half with Hyde.

I frowned and pressed on, wiggling my flanks a little as I took a few steps forward. The passageway became narrower and narrower until it was so tight I could not move forward any longer.

Frowning at the rubble, I took a step back and unsheathed Hyde. "How does anypony navigate this stupid system?" I asked myself.

"They probably crawl along the top!" I replied.

"But I'm not a pegasus or alicorn, so I'll have to do this!" Pressing the power button on Hyde, he roared to life with a deep throated snarl, the blades quickly spinning to a blur of death. The blade quickly met the railcar and sparks shot toward me. I grunted and cringed, looking to my right to avoid being blinded.

That was when I saw it. It was so obvious it was a wonder I had missed it when first passing by. A door stood not less than two feet to my right marked Maintenance with a broken light above it. It was covered in grime and dirt, almost blending into the wall around it, but the door was there. I saw the handle glinting in the soft green light of my horn.

Hyde stopped cutting the rail car. Tugging on the blade proved fruitless as he had jammed himself into the metal. Frowning, I wiggled the blade free and sheathed it. Hyde whined sadly as he powered down to await another time to be free again.

My hoof probed the door handle for anything out of the ordinary, but I found nothing. Luckily for me the door was unlocked, so I stepped through it into a dark hallway that reminded me of the tunnel system beneath Oakwood Isle.

I glanced left, then right, and quickly looked left again when my brain had registered words written on the wall.

It read, beware the ghouls, with an arrow pointing down the hall.

I frowned at my luck and whispered to myself, "At least we're getting somewhere."

"Yes, yes we are," I replied for no other reason than to hear another voice. "Maybe this way leads to the surface?"

"Maybe..."

The hallway was decidedly less cramped than that stupid tunnel with many pipes running overhead and along the walls. My hooves were annoyed by the dirty concrete covered with patches of metal, but still I pressed on. Every so often I would encounter warnings about feral ghouls and warnings to turn back.

It was not until I opened another door at the end of the small underground maze did I realize the warning was truthful.

Standing around large container tanks and pipes were many ghouls. The uniforms and clothes they once owned were a tattered mess more fit as rags than anything resembling real clothing. Each and every pony looked like they had stood far too close to a balefire bomb when it had gone off. Some had their manes, others lost most of their skin and were showing bones and meat. One even glowed a bright green where exposed flesh was, glowing mist floating around it. Luckily for me the irradiated ghoul was far, far in the back, but the others... were quite close.

Close enough that I could see their individual teeth through their exposed jaw. Even closer still, was the stench. Oh Goddess the smell of so many ghouls in one place was almost overpowering. I didn't mind barbecued pony, but living corpses was another thing all together that made my eyes tear up as I stepped back and covered my nose. My chest contracted as I attempted to heave out my empty stomach and failed. It turned into a dry hacking cough instead that alerted nearly every nearby ghoul to my presence.

And yet I heard no screams through my coughing. I couldn't see anything past my nose because it was all a blur of tears. My horn reached out and tried to slam the door shut, I thought it did at least, but it slammed into something else with a thud.

"My fucking nose!" a gravelly voice rasped to me from the doorway. A glance in that direction told me all I needed to know that I had slammed the door on a ghoul's face. He had stumbled back and was pointlessly holding his nose.

"That smell!" I blurted out to him without thinking. "Close the door before I puke my guts out."

"Stop breathing and it'll go away!" he shot back.

"Piss off," I grumbled at his remark as I stumbled away from him, tripping over something in the dim dark hallway. I couldn't see what it was, nor could I stop myself from face planting into the floor with a clang.

"Ow..." I groaned.

"Hah! That's what you get, smooth skin," he said the obvious. "If you heeded the warnings you wouldn't need to throw up, would you?"

"Screw you," I groaned as I picked myself up and looked in his direction. I had nothing to block the smell. No filtration mask, no flamethrower to burn the pony, nothing. So I motioned at the door, again, with my forehoof hoping he'd close it.

"I could screw you if that's what you want," he said, not closing the door.

"I bet you can't even get it up," I growled back.

"Care to find out?" he tilted his head. I wasn't sure if he was smirking or half his face had fallen off and it only looked like he was.

Where was a gun when you needed it? Well, I had Axe’s Flashlight in my bags but I’d probably end up shooting my own hoof off instead of hitting the ghoul, so that option was out.

I frowned at his retort and thought of just walking off, but my hours of trudging through the darkness would only be wasted if I did. That and I would have had to spend countless hours retracing my steps. And navigate twisting passageways that I already forgot the layout of.

"Maybe…? Not really, no," I said quietly as I shook my head. Either my nose had fallen off, or the smell had gone away. As it was I no longer smelled the horrid rancid stench of decay. Though I did faintly smell it when I took a deep breath. I facehoofed, rubbed my forehead and frowned. "No. Look, I'm tired. Is there a room to rent in... whatever that place is?" I waved my hoof toward what I guessed was an underground pumping station for sewage.

My vision steadily cleared up while I sat there and stared at the frowning ghoul.

I saw that unlike most of the ghouls I had spotted, his rags resembled armor of some type and he had an ancient baton in an easy to grab holster. Not that the unicorn needed it. He also wore a black ball cap on his head, possibly because I saw no mane sticking out from under it.

"It depends on your intentions he said with a slow nod as the baton was drawn and pointed at me. "For you see, we cannot let you leave just yet."

I frowned at the baton and drew Hyde with my magic, aiming the ripper sword at him in turn. "I'm looking for a town where a merchant mule or donkey is said to stop often. He gave me the wrong potion and I want a refund, okay?"

The ghoul twirled his baton in a circle while his mind churned over my words. He was hopelessly outmatched and I doubt he knew it, but... If I killed him I'd have the entire 'town' after me. Including a glowing ghoul that would probably kill me just by saying hello and asking for a hug.

The baton stopped its twirl at the apex and spun the other way. It completed one circle before being put back where the ghoul got it from. I slowly relaxed and sheathed Hyde as well.

"He'll be here in the morning for some water trading," he said, nodding slowly. "We don't get many smooth skins down here so you're out of luck as far as a hotel goes. But you can stay at my place." He grinned again.

I rolled my eyes as I leaned to one side. "Yeah. I bet you'd just love that. Me asleep in your room, helpless too. I'll pass."

His grin faded again. His one and a half ears folded back slightly. "Oh come on! I wasn't being serious earlier. I was just messin’ with ya."

I frowned, turning my head slightly. "What time is it?"

"Five in the afternoon. Why?" He tilted his head some.

I didn't want to go with the ghoul, but neither did I want to sleep in the hallway. If I slept somewhere inside town the glowing one might pass by me and give me a death hug in my sleep. I was screwed any way I looked at it with only one real option to take.

"If... And that's a big if with a capital I. If I go with you back to your room, we are following my rules, got that?"

He stood there for a moment before nodding. "Sure. Whatever you say."

"First, no turning me into food. Second, no screwing me in my sleep. Third, and most important of all, don't go through my stuff. If I find you took something of mine..." I lowered my head to show him my horn. "I'll shove this so far up your rotted ass it'll come out of your throat."

"Sounds kinky." He shrugged at my threat and nodded. That was when I realized I couldn't actually kill the ghoul by shoving my horn into his backside. Nor into his chest. He was already dead! I would have to cut his head off to fully kill him. "I don't know where you got the first two ideas from, but they shouldn't be hard to follow. Come on." He motioned for me to follow him as he turned around and headed into the room.

*** ***

I kept my distance from the ghouls as we walked along. No clue where the stallion was taking me, nor did I care so long as I could get some sleep. The ghouls to my left were watching me closely, frowns on their faces or craziness in their eyes. I couldn't be sure.

Sidestepping further away from them, I slowly spun in a circle and took in my surroundings as I followed the nameless guard, who I shall call… Bacon. As that is what he reminds me of.

Sweet juicy bacon flanks.

Ew… my brain retorted.

I rolled my eyes in response to my own thoughts. Of course I had no interest in the ghoul. He was, afterall, quite dead and in the unlife. Close to being a zombie I’d imagine he was, nearly turning on his compatriots at any moment. With a ghoul you were never certain if they were about to snap of not.

Except for Sienna. That harmless little filly. Why I could imagine her just calling my name and seeing her face as she ran up to me to say hello, complete with her glowing red eyes that normally marked ghouls as feral. And yet she would be normal, for whatever reason I could not fathom. Perhaps the magic of the pods, or the magic of having an alicorn yank her back to reality. Or even… friendship of all things!

Whatever it was, she was her.

Something slammed into my foreleg and held onto it tight enough that I lost my balance and slammed face first into the hard stone floor, knocking me out of my daze.

“Face, meet floor and say hello,” said Bacon with a hearty chuckle.

“Ow…” I groaned as I blinked, staring at the rusty grate for a floor.

That was when I heard it clearly. That unmistakable high pitched voice from somepony so young, yet had been ghoulified.

“Lilly!” squealed the filly firmly attached to my foreleg. My ears flicked, turning toward her voice as she continued. “Oh my gosh! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I've been looking aaaall over for you!”

Her voice was just as gravely as I remembered. Ever so slowly I pushed myself up into a sitting position and lifted my right foreleg up.

Her familiar face and her red glowing eyes were grinning at me. I tilted my head some, noticing that her brown coat still looked as shriveled as ever.

“You know her?” Bacon asked as he looked at Sienna.

She nodded rapidly. “Uh-huh! Lilly is my momma!”

I looked to Bacon for help, smiling sheepishly as I set my foreleg down and pat Sienna on the head. “Yeah.”

“You don't look like a ghoul,” he replied while Sienna rubbed her cheek against my fur. I wanted to cringe, to desperately push the filly away, because rotting smelly flesh could spread evil radiation or even fall off entirely, yet she was here in the flesh so to speak.

The filly was real. If she was real that meant others were.

My smile became more genuine at the same time I nodded. “Yes, well I’m not exactly her biological mother as you can tell. I rescued and adopted her as my own.” Then I looked down at her and frowned. “Why did you leave me?”

She looked up at me, ears folding back as she shook her head rapidly, causing her eye glow to create a solid pair of lines for a second. “I didn't leave you!” Sienna frowned and pouted, lip trembling slightly.

I let out a deep sigh and frowned as I pat her on the head. “Alright… you didn't leave me.”

“Yay!” Sienna grinned. She quickly crawled up my foreleg, used my neck as a booster and hopped onto the radio pack as I stood up. “Hey! This isn't fair! I don't wanna walk!”

I looked back at her and frowned, but the filly was losing her grip on the radio. Her hind legs dangled off the ground as she kicked them like she were galloping, tried to pull herself up, and flopped onto her back with a soft thud.

I looked toward Bacon, knowing whatever necromantic magic was keeping them both alive would prevent the filly from getting too harmed. Bacon continued to frown at me as if I were being judged for something I did not do. How was I supposed to know Sienna was looking for me? Celly was…

I quickly looked back toward Sienna. “Where’s Celly at?”

“I dunno!” She giggled as she rolled to her hooves and started hopping circles around me. “But you're back! We’re gonna go adventuring again! You’re back! You're back!”

I facehoofed. “Sienna... I’m tired, alright? I don't feel like doing anything but sleeping.”

“Then follow me! My house is this-a-way!” She grabbed my hoof in hers and dragged me away from Bacon.

I frowned. Not wanting to upset Sienna, I decided to follow her and look around the underground area, lest that glowing one gives me an unexpected death hug.

There were a few levels to the place, three in total with the upper floor appearing to be reserved for winged ghouls. Fences lined anyplace a pony could fall off a precariously placed catwalk with no railing. Small huts made from anything they could get their hooves on dotted the area.

Luckily for me I did not spot the glowing ghoul anywhere and that meant I would be safe for now.

For now. Assuming he, or she, did not actively seek out any smooth skin to turn them into a rock-voiced bacon pony. That would be bad for me, as then I would not be a pretty alicorn anytime soon.

Speaking of alicorns… Why had Sienna not said anything about me being a unicorn? Did she not remember? Or did she remember and was happier I was… ‘normal’?

My frown only grew the further into the complex we went. Sienna was babbling on and on about things, but I hadn't even heard a word she was saying, as I hadn't tuned her in.

“...Coltfriend!” she giggled, My ears definitely picked up those dreaded words I had wished she never knew about. I felt my face turn cold as my ears flicked back, eyes widening slightly and twitching.

“I’m gonna kill Celly,” I whispered under my breath as I stared straight ahead at a random ghoul who did not notice my stare.

“Um, Miss Lilium?” Sienna jumped in the air and waved her forehoof in my face, blocking my view of the random ghoul.

Blinking once, I took a step back and looked down at Sienna. “Huh?”

“I said you should get a coltfriend!” she giggled and pointed at my nose. “You could then cast the foal making spell and make me a little brother!”

I facehoofed as the blood suddenly rushed to my face and caused it to heat up exponentially. Even my ears burned. My eyes were shut tightly. “Oh… I… See.”

Yet I already had one, sort of… not really. Dead Hoof was alright, but not the sort of father material I would imagine Sienna needed. If she needed any at all considering she was almost as old as me, though, she did act quite like the filly she appeared to be.

Setting my hoof down, I smiled at Sienna and nodded. “Yes, I should I suppose. Maybe I’ll look for one tomorrow after I get some sleep, okay?”

She clapped her forehooves together once and pointed at a shack made from rusty grates, wooden boards and cloth for a roof and a door made from fencing. It appeared to be no bigger than your average queen-sized bed. “That’s my place right there. I built it myself using my horn!” said Sienna, pride in her voice at her own magic work.

It was crap, but let's face it. Everything in the wasteland was complete shit; the land, the ponies living in it, the air, and… the Destroyer.

I wanted to frown and tell Sienna that the shelter was a horrible death trap that any fool could get inside, but that would break the filly’s heart. And breaking a filly’s heart would lead to a scorned filly. A scorned filly leads to an angry filly. An angry filly leads to an enemy. An enemy which I could ill-afford to make. As angry fillies have learned to weaponize cuteness regardless of if they’re ghouls or living.

So I smiled and slowly nodded. “It’s… nice? Cozy, too, I think,” I muttered the last under my breath, unsure of what to call the death trap.

Sienna stuck her nose high into the air and trotted over to it like a dog who had been given a treat for doing something good. Using her magic, the filly opened the door for me and motioned inside. “You think it looks good from the outside wait until you see the inside!” She grinned.

I decided it would be best to continue humouring the filly and walked over to stick my head inside the door, as I wasn't sure if I could fit through it. Or if I would need a tetanus shot from looking at it.

The inside was indeed somehow better than the outside. Sienna had jerry rigged a laser rifle to power light strips that ran along the floor, illuminating everything from the bottom up. Glow in the dark stars of all sizes dotted the ceiling to provide a semi-pretty moonscape, if a false one. Clumped at the far end of the small shack were blankets and pillows piled up like a small nest or fort. Though running all along the wall to my right were hoof-sized green apples. Almost twenty bright, green, apples lined along the shelves.

“Is that food?” I asked, pointing at the apples and tilting my head. I was unsure if they were food or not as why would a ghoul need to eat?

Then again it was Sienna.

The unicorn hopped forward into the house and giggled as she shook her head. “Nnnope! Guess again, Lilly!”

I frowned and laid down outside the house contemplating taking off my radio pack and heading in. I honestly did not see the point in going further inside the ‘house’, as there wasn't much else to see. Just the apples, the bed, and some crayons next to a booklet. But if the apples were not apples according to Sienna then… that meant only one thing.

“Grenades?” I said to her as my ears folded back.

Sienna hopped onto her pile of blankets and dug her way inside them until she disappeared. “Yup! Green explody apples to fight the bad ponies with!”

My eye twitched. “Sienna… who are these ‘bad ponies’?”

The filly was insane! Keeping twenty live grenades all in proximity to each other. And not to mention the paint! What if she… oh Goddess what if some poor hungry pony tried to bite into one?!

Their poor teeth…

I rubbed my own jaw in response to my non-existing jaw pain.

“Bad ponies! Like them ponies who chop up other ponies for fun an’ hang ‘em by their guts.”

I let out a quiet breath and smiled when she described raiders instead of regular ponies, but it was still worrying… why would she of all ponies want to blow up raiders with plasma grenades? Let alone what insane pony is selling a ghoul filly plasma grenades painted green?!

More importantly, though…

“Who taught you to fight these bad ponies?” I asked, tilting my head.

“A featherless birdcat I call Kitty!” she giggled.

I scratched the back of my mane and frowned. “Can I speak with Kitty?”

She nodded. “Yup! But ya gotta go outside the city to do it. The others won't let him in.”

“Why?” I tilted my head. “He’s a ghoul, right?” She nodded. “So let him in!”

“They say he’s feral and will attack anypony on sight, but I swear Kitty’s harmless!”

All I could do was facehoof.

“But I can prove it!”

“No,” I said firmly and smacked my hoof into the ground. Sienna’s ears folded back at my frown and narrowing eyes. Her smile faded quickly. “I don’t want to hear it right now. Sienna, I’m tired, I need to find a donkey merchant.”

“Then sleep!” She squeaked like pair of rocks scraping against the chalkboard. Those two simple words smashed their way into my mind, causing my own ears to fold back slightly. I opened my mouth to speak, yet the filly was faster. “I told ya that you can stay here for the night!”

“But… Sienna, honey, I’m not a ghoul or an alicorn anymore. I die if that glowing one comes by.”

The filly stood there tapping her forehoof against her chin over and over. She looked up at the star studded ceiling, her barbecued ears folding flat then perked up and turned forward. Sienna hopped to her hooves and stomped a tiny hoof into the floor. “I got it! I’ll go tell Old Joe to steer clear!”

“You will?” I cracked a small smile and shuffled back out of the doorway.

“Uh-huh! He’s really nice an’ sounds funny, too! He’ll understand. Now sleep! You look like you need it, Miss Lilly.”

*** ***

True to her word Sienna had ran off and talked to Old Joe, who I assumed also kept his word as I was able to fall into a deep slumber all throughout the night and wake up again. Dreams came and went, fluttering through my mind like simple leaves on a breeze. One was of a place far to the south, another far to the west, to the north.

All were similar in that they had bleak wastelanders living in them.

Though the details were fuzzy. What was not fuzzy, was having a ghoul filly hop on your stomach to wake you up abruptly, shattering any hope of wanting to sleep.

After getting over the shock and grabbing my gear, the two of us headed out into the underground building. Sienna made me leave the radio pack behind so she could sit on my back and the filly’s familiar weight was re-assuring.

I mindlessly walked, not really paying attention to who was around me or where we were heading since all I had to do was turn left or right depending on where Sienna pointed to.

And after rounding the most recent right, I saw the merchant in the flesh. His coat was a deep dark grey, his mane a bright brown and eyes hidden behind thick shades. He wore your average scavenged wasteland attire made from various colored cloths with many pockets all brightly colored and grimy.

Around him stood a trio of ghouls including the guard from yesterday, which made me frown. Behind the donkey was his cart filled with barrels and crates.

The mere sight of the merchant made my blood boil deep inside. I grit my teeth and narrowed my eyes as I pondered how best to get the information from him. The first and foremost option was cutting a limb off and asking nicely with the promise of re-attaching it afterward with magic. The second idea was leaping through the crowd and strangling him until he gave it up. But then Sienna was here and I did not wish to do either of those things in front of her, so I let out a deep breath and watched.

A glass filled with murky water floated in the guard’s magic. He sniffed it as the merchant proudly proclaimed. “I drew that water direct from an irradiated spring high in the northern mountains filled with all the radioactive fallout you can imagine. The land is covered in snow and preserves the radiation better.”

The guard looked at the other ghouls before looking at the merchant. I stopped behind them and Sienna stood up, placing her forehooves on the back of my head so she could see over everypony.

“I highly doubt that,” I said loud enough for the merchant to hear me.

All of the ghouls turned to look at me, including a few nearby ones that were selling various items. The water and potion merchant seemed to be inside the ghoul town’s market and I noticed then that I was surrounded by shopping stalls and badly set up stores.

“And why not?” asked Bacon as he floated the drink back to the merchant’s table where I saw he had a canteen next to a pair of glasses half-filled with murky water.

“I can guarantee you this water is irradiated! Just look here!” The merchant pulled a Geiger counter out from his bag and held it over the water. Its needle suddenly spiked as it let out enough clicks that they blurred together.

Looking toward the merchant I sidestepped and slowly drew Hyde from his sheathe. Everypony took a step back as the blade was silently twirled in my magic. The guard quickly drew his baton, stared directly at me and frowned deeply. “Ma’am, he comes here every week. I have no reason to mistrust him.”

“Oh but I do,” I replied and took a step toward his cart. “See, I was sold one potion under the pretense that it would do one thing, but it did another entirely different thing.” My eyes narrowed to fine slits as I nodded toward the carts. “Open the barrel.”

“What?” The merchant frowned deeply.

“It's simple, open the fucking barrel and wave your Geiger counter over the water you're selling, and not a small sample of your choosing.”

Bacon frowned. “Sienna. Can you take her away before she makes a scene?”

“Uuuum. She kinda has a point.”

The other two ghouls remained quiet and gave me disapproving stares like I had interrupted something very important. Meanwhile the merchant was looking between me and Bacon.

“N-now there’s no need for that! I’m honest! All of this water comes from the murkiest most irradiated place deep in the far northern mountains!”

“Bullshit!” I shouted at him. “How can you go to the far north where this spring is if you’re constantly travelling in town?! Open the barrel!”

“I don't need to open the barrel! I have water right here! They saw me extract it with this canteen.”

The other ghouls all nodded one after the other while Bacon walked over to me. He hooked his foreleg around mine and glared daggers into my eyes. His rancid rotting corpse stench filled my nostrils again as my eyes teared up in disgust.

“Turn around and come back when this is done, okay?” His rocky voice was low, almost a garbled whisper. “We need this water shipment.”

“No,” I said loudly as I tried to pull my hoof free. He tightened his rotting grip to the point that I thought my hoof would pop free from my leg. Grimacing and letting out a quiet whimper, I shut my eyes as I tried to focus away the pain. “I am not a unicorn! This asshole sold me a potion that was supposed to turn me into a stallion, and instead it stripped my alicorn powers!”

The pressure on my fetlock ceased. Opening my eyes I saw the stallion take a step back and look at Sienna. I could feel the filly moving around as she nodded. “Mhm, it’s true! I remember Miss Lilium being an alicorn!” she said before he could respond.

Bacon looked at the merchant, looked at my tired exhausted face, and then back to the merchant. The donkey laugh-shrugged before pointing a hoof at me. “I’ve never seen this mare before in my life! I would remember her if I did.”

I frowned. “That's because I didn't buy the potion. My friend did as a gift. He’s a blue alicorn with a purple ponytail mane.”

“I don't know what kind of a friend gives a gift like that,” muttered one of the other ghouls. “That seems fucked up.”

“Mhm,” added the other.

“Why are you so defensive about the water all of the sudden?” Bacon tilted his head as he twirled the baton in his magic. Hyde continued to float in mine in a semi-non-threatening way. “If I’m paying fifteen hundred caps a barrel I ought to see the contents.”

The other ghouls nodded while one said, “Show us the water if you’ve got nothing to hide.”

The merchant smiled sheepishly. He gulped, took a step back, turned around and bolted off toward the far end of the market. “Hey!” shouted Bacon as he have chase. “Get your ass back here!”

Rolling my eyes and knowing that there were enough ghouls to catch him, I sheathed Hyde and floated the geiger counter toward one of the other ghouls. She had walked over to the barrel and, with her magic, popped the lid open.

She hovered the Geiger counter over the surface. Sienna hopped down off my back as I sat down. The filly went over to the murky water on the table and hopped onto it.

Miss Jerky frowned deeply. Then dipped her hoof in and tasted it. After a moment or two, she kicked the barrel over, tossing the ice cold water everywhere with a loud crash. “That fucking liar!” she shouted, tossing the Geiger counter in a random direction. I quickly backed away just to be sure.

“What's wrong?” asked the other ghoul.

“It's clean water,” I interjected.

The one sitting on the cart pointed at me and nodded. “She’s fucking right. The water isn't ‘spring water’. It’s fucking salt water from the bay!” she shrieked so loud I had to clutch my ears and cringe as her hind hoof slammed into the other barrel.

Her eyes flared bright red like Sienna’s for a moment, causing the other ghoul to shout. “Wait! Merry! Calm down!”

“Calm down?! How can I be fucking calm when we’ve been buying salt water from this asshole for the last year? It's no wonder ponies have been going feral even with the shipments!” She began panting heavily as she glared at the other ghoul with glowing eyes. Her jaw was closed tight enough that I thought she was going to bite through it.

I took another step back as I grabbed Hyde’s handle with magic, ready to draw at a moment’s notice. Sienna hopped from the table to the cart and hugged the ghoul’s foreleg before I, or anyone else could say anything.

Merry blinked once, twice, and finally third time before looking down at the filly. Her eye glow slowly faded as her eyes returned to normal. She pat Sienna on the head, slowly pulling her into a hug as the mare began to rock back and forth, humming softly.

“Why would somepony do that…?” The ghoul to my side whispered loud enough for me to hear it but not the other ghoul and Sienna.

I frowned at her, glanced at the one who had nearly gone feral in rage and shook my head. “I don't know.” In truth, the answer was quite obvious as anypony knew travelling sales ponies could be shady enough to rip you off for no reason other than you were unlikely to meet again. Unless you were me, and in that case you sought the bastard out to punch him in the face for his tuck-up. Hopefully the town guard would let me do the honors.

“I honestly don't know why.” I added as I shook my head a second time and turned away from the ghoul to avoid looking into what could have been my fate had I not chosen alicornification. Being a ghoul was not a fate I would wish on anypony.

“Smoothskin?” the mare whispered to me, my ears turning back to listen in. Though I kept my gaze on the weapons shop across the way. I had Axe’s Flashlight, that busted ass rifle no better than scrap, and the other pony’s smg. Not to mention the uniform barding I should sell

I did not acknowledge her because my name was not ‘Smooth skin’. Not even when she nudged my side did I look at her rotting visage.

“Miss? I wanted to say thank you and ask if you could… find it in your heart to help us survive. Without radiation, everypony here will turn feral sooner or later. We desperately need your help...” Her voice was quiet, grated, and coarse just like all the other ghouls I had come across, but deep down I heard something I hadn't heard from a pony in a long, long time. The sound of a desperate pony looking for help, asking me to save them from something. Not an order, not a request, not somepony using me for their own evil gains, but a genuine plea for help.

I frowned deeply, looking down at my forehooves for a long moment. She didn't need to tell me what they wanted, as I already knew the question and answer based off the fact that they were paying fifteen hundred caps for a fifty-five gallon barrel of water that should be irradiated. She waited while her friend Merry continued to rock back and forth with Sienna in a hug.

My eyes drifted over to the two and they fell upon the filly. So young to be a ghoul, but a very smart filly in my eyes. One who had built her own house to her liking and has survived without me for many years. If she were to turn feral now when I had the chance to prevent it… I would regret it until I died.

Sighing deeply in frustration from my choices at hand, I rubbed my forehead a bit and nodded slowly. “Alright… Alright. I’ll find you a source of radiation.”

Her rotting forelegs slowly wrapped around me and pulled me into a smelly bear hug before I could protest. “Thank you,” she whispered in my ear. All I could do was just sigh quietly and nod.

It can't be too hard to find them a source of radiation. The easiest solution would be to find a leaky stable generator and call it a day. Finding one in the half-sunk city shouldn't be too hard. All I would have to do is break into city hall, find their records and look where the large self-powered buildings are. Simple, quick, and easy.

Can't be too hard.

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Shell Shock: Level Up!
New Perk - Late Nights And Long Walks. You can ignore the first day of sleep exhaustion while travelling, but you’ll forget things easier and lose all track of time unless you get a full night of sleep.

Sorry this chapter took so long to publish. The next one shouldn't take so long.