Mistake.

The worst thing I’ve ever committed in the Wastelands was to leave Gale Storm in despair even after having her reunite with her older sister Cloud Storm. Now I’m a prisoner for only a mere day inside a sherrif’s office with the holding cell I’m in while relaxing back on a cot, thinking on about how foolish I was to even run off on my own and having left Gale severely disappointed from my actions.

Even after she forgave me, I still felt regretful of what I’ve done. What’s keeping me from breaking down yet again is listening to a not-so emotional radio as to try and forget everything that happened earlier today during our escape.

Gale Storm had already requested Quickdraw to be their security only for today, which he accepted. She’s just sitting outside of the holding cell, keeping an eye out for me. Even so, it was no consolation from what I’ve done to get her disappointed like this. All I’m just waiting is for her to hate me because of my foolish decision by leaving her be with her sister. I bet even her sister felt bad over what I’ve done.

Having left on my own accord became a painful reminder of my days in New Hampshore; to venture on my own with nopony to help and to stay by my side.

Nighttime had already dominated the dull, gray daylight and my saddlebags were kept in the locker along with my lab coat and armor vest for proper washing as per Gale’s orders. And she was right, and I was wrong. Wrong for me to run away from the problems I’ve caused. Wrong for me to hurt her feelings. And most of all, wrong for me to leave the inhabitants disappointed. I can tell Celestia is shunning me right about now…

I could hear the cell door swing open and close behind me as I was already curled around my body and hugging my own pseudo-Stable-Tec outfit as she took a slow approach and lays herself behind my back. Even after what happened, it seems that she’s still showing care for me as I felt the warmth of her forelegs wrapped around me as she gingerly whispered to my ear, “Like I said before, don’t take it personally. I may a badass Enclave pony with a high rank to go for, but that doesn’t mean I work for them and enslave innocent ponies for a living. I care for ponies, especially you.”

I slowly uncurled myself in response as to allow her to embrace me, with added warmth from her wing tucked around me. If I could speak, and maybe write, I would tell her thanks for still caring for me.

That was my first lesson on the story:

Never leave your friends and allies alike behind by running off on your own.

The next day I was let out of the holding cell by Gale and gave me back my lab coat and my saddlebags as she gave me an assured look to me that everything will be alright. Well, almost everything. Just needed to get my sniper rifle before I joined up with her.

The streets of Stable Town seems awfully empty, despite that the inhabitants do reside in this still-intact town. We were soon approached by Tootsie Roll and her robo-scorpion friend, accompanied by Quickdraw.

“Howdy there, you two! Sorry if this town got eerily quiet; them ponies are practicing a lockdown should we encounter any danger. Its their nature an’ all, but we’ll need security if we’re sure to protect Stable Town from future attacks.”

A lockdown? From what? Wait… I can bet he meant from a possible Raider attack, or even a Cazador that would threaten the whole town.

Of course, this was nothing more than a routine drill on practicing on defending oneself from another. Tootsie Roll waved at us in greetings, “Goood morning, you two! Ready for mooore adventure?! Because me and Bob are excited to see new places, and new ponies as well!”

If it means having to encounter hostile inhabitants with the intent to kill us, I don’t see the reason not to. After all, what could go wrong after our hectic escape from Little Nightlight anyway?

“I suppose we can venture further within the Wastelands, don’t you think?” Gale gave me a suggestion. I gave her a confirmed nod, so long as we don’t ever return to Little Nightlight ever again. There are several undiscovered areas for us to scout around except New Hampshore, which was currently engulfed by hungry Cazadores that’s sure to blanket the entire city.

My second lesson of the story are threats are still looming around the Wastes, far greater than any typical Raider pony would emerge from the damned surface. Of course, there are some ponies who are willing to join the cause - apart from Taser’s second-in-command Lightspeed - so long as they don’t happen to turn on your back and stab you with it. My decision was final; we continue on and venture ourselves deep into the Equestrian Wastelands to see what danger awaits us.

Tootsie responded with a gleeful expression, “Yay! Let’s go, Bob and the gang!”

Oh brother. We departed from Stable Town as I waved a hoof goodbye to Quickdraw.

“Y’all be careful out there, ya hear!” Quickdraw said his goodbye to us. Let’s hope we don’t run into an unwanted gunfight along the way.

We’ve come across a misty area known as Foggy Forest, which of course is farther north of Mayne. Much like the Everfree Forest but with fog that blankets the entire area. Even with the flashlight turned on, the visibility is still low as Gale stood close to me. While my cheeks started flaring up again, I’ve grown accustomed to her closeness whilst Tootsie Roll huddled up with us. Bob had no difficulties in dealing with the foggy weather; he’s a robot and isn’t hampered from reduced visibility.

Of course, that isn’t to say on what’s up ahead. Even if its daytime, it feels like nighttime came early. So far, E.F.S. hasn’t picked up any friendlies or (mainly) hostiles yet.

That’s not to say on how unsettling Foggy Forest is. Even without killer animals, the environment itself elevates the level of creepiness due to how fucking isolated Foggy Forest is. If no killer animals are coming out to kill us, what will?

It wasn’t long until we heard eerie noises from a distance. “W-W-What the heck is that noise?!” Tootsie let out a heavy, nervous gulp as I shone the flashlight around … nothing…

E.F.S. doesn’t seem to pick up any hostiles around it, yet the eerie noises makes it a very unsettling feeling. I stood closely to Gale as my uneasy look was shown, “Let’s just stay together, guys. We don’t know what’s ahead…”

Oh goddess I sure hope we don’t encounter a hellhound, Gale…

oooOOOOOOOoooohhhh…

What the-- am I hearing ghost ponies?! Better yet, we’re seeing them floating our way and my E.F.S. doesn’t pick up as obvious hostiles?!

“S-S-S-Scary GHOSTIEEEES!!” Tootsie screamed out loud as she quickly bolted herself forward from the pursuing ghost ponies. Hey, wait up!

Bob glanced at the ghost ponies floating towards us as he followed suit when he emitted frantic beeping noises, quickly skittering to his friend. I look back and saw them eerily floating towards us! Fuck! And don’t get me started on shooting them; no weapon can kill things that aren’t solid! “Fuck, let’s get out of here!” Gale yelled out, feeling my hoof clinched around as I was quickly pulled along for a ride, and not the ride I’m expecting either!

WhooOOOOOooooohhhh…

Fuck, I hate their spooky noises! As we made a mad dash, all of us soon began to tumble down on a steep slope whilst escaping from those damned, spine-tingling ghost ponies! Double fuck!

Its apparent that the goddess-damned fog had blanketed the steep hill for us to fall off and land ourselves onto our backs. We were dazed, but miraculously unhurt. The ghost ponies had soon vanished themselves into nothingness. I should’ve giggled at the ghosties, but that’s probably too late for that.

“Guh… is everypony okay?” Gale was dazed after the stumble and my only reply was a nod; my brain was rattling inside my head from the dizziness before regaining vision. Tootsie and Bob were also unhurt, but they too were stumbling to their hooves (and legs). I took a sip of the a Stable 13 canteen as I let out a quiet sigh. So much for going back up to Foggy Forest again. Up ahead was a large Stable 22 door that was ajar from the large vines that kept it from ever being closed down.

Wait, vines?! I don’t recall wildlife being within the Stables, is it?

I checked on the PipBuck and the map clearly shows that this is indeed Stable 22. The lever that was used to open/close the Stable door was rendered non-functional.

And there’s no way for us to climb back up to Foggy Forest. Even if Gale can fly us up there, she is bound to be spooked by ghost ponies who would keep us from heading back up. With no other solution, Gale gave us a suggestion, “Soooo anypony want to have a quick lunch before we can venture ourselves into Stable 22 that’s filled with unfriendly wildlife inside?”

I nominate on Gale’s favor on a short lunch break.

“Can’t you just take us up there? You can fly us back to the spooky forest!” Tootsie attempted to counter her suggestions but were quickly turned down. “With ghost ponies that are bound to spook us further? No can do, little Tootsie. And even if we could shoot them, our shots will phase right through them unharmed. And I don’t think we have such a device that could permanently repel the ghosts. We’ll have to find our way out, and that’s venturing ourselves into Stable 22. Hopefully there’ll be somepony inside that can guide us out of Foggy Forest.”

The Stable 22’s entrance has a slightly wide gap for most of us to enter inside, but this is clearly one unsettling place of interest to the next.

Tootsie reluctantly finalizes her decision to go to Stable 22 with us, “Fiiiine… the ghost ponies were too spooky anyways.”

As we went inside Stable 22, two shadowy figures loomed over to us from the edge of the hill and one of their eyes narrowed.

Stable 22.

Or what’s left of it anyway. Most of the walls were covered with black vines and leaves, with ceiling lights barely dim from its years of neglect and abandonment. Several rooms have their own gardens that were left unchecked yet grew normally without the use of water to keep them fertilized.

Behind the windows were oddly-colored spore pods within the makeshift garden. Not sure what purpose do they have, but they sure as hell don’t look good. At least it beats getting pursued by ghost ponies before making an unofficial discovery. After our quick lunch, we continued on within Stable 22. And by the goddesses, its already as unsettling as in Foggy Forest.

I heard faint, grunting noises in the far distance as E.F.S. had picked up a couple of red blips inside. Not ghost ponies this time, but real hostiles.

“This is rather unsettling for a Stable, especially when vegetation had dug itself deep within the facility, much left small patches of gardens being left untouched and strangely intact…” Gale muttered with a hint of uncertainty. I led my team inside a bedroom that was left to neglect but overall untouched by the out-of-control wildlife that had invaded inside Stable 22.

Tootsie felt obviously uneasy as she held herself close to her robo-scorpion friend. The lights were still barely dim within the ceilings. “This place is even spookier than ghost ponies themselves…”

Yeah, I don’t blame you. Its like a horror flick only much more real and way less fictional.

I kinda wonder what the hell is Pinkie doing in my head. And still no mental reply at all. I sat back on the chair and booted up the terminal. The screen is displayed from the following:

>Specimen #00
>Specimen #42
>Specimen #109
>Plants considered ‘Out Of Control’

Hmm… that explains why Stable 22 is creepy as fuck. Three specimens, two incidents. Let’s see…

Specimen #00

Name: Gutwrench
Gender: Stallion
Cause of death: Rapid mutation at a cellular growth as a result of spore liquids injected inside which led to multiple organ failure

Summary: Gutwrench was our first volunteer in our experiments on granting ponies eternal life with the use of modified spores from our spore pods and combined them with Rad-X, RadAway, among other drugs we’ve used. At first, he did not experienced any symptoms after testing our modified medicine inside, but within the next day, he started to experience harsh aggression, seizures, internal haemorrhaging, sweating and after at least three hours of these initial symptoms, multi-organ failure. Our final test was a fluke, but upon closer inspection, we’ve begun to see… changes from his body. Miraculously, he was alive thanks to the spores that’s keeping his brain active, although it wasn’t at it seems. He wasn’t himself; he… or it, was showing feral behavior, and his whole body became plant-like, leaves growing out of his body and his breath seems to emit deadly spores that are considered hazardous even by medical standards. We had to keep him contained until we can perform further analysis.

...I didn’t understood any of this. Why would anypony be this insane to use another pony as a live test subject only to turn out to be the biggest fail science itself has to offer. I’m not sure if they were stupid or they didn’t thought up of making different ingredients that doesn’t include mutating yourself into a mindless freak after an instantaneous death.

I glanced behind to make sure the door behind us was shut perfectly. Good. Still locked. Most of the doors were malfunctioned, most likely from the vines that prevents them from ever closing shut, just like the massive Stable door itself.

Gale was busy relaxing back against a rickety bed whereas Bob kept a watchful eye out. Tootsie was still feeling uneasy due to the Stable’s haunting nature and huddled herself over to the former Enclave soldier.

I read two more ‘Specimens’ from the terminal to see if I could find any clues before I could go to the last part.

Specimen #42

Name: Flower Petal
Gender: Mare
Cause of death: Paralyzation from spore gas

Summary: After our second experiment with the use of our modified spore pods to Flower Petal, she did not experienced any grotesque mutations. However, shortly after our experiments, she died suddenly from paralyzation from the noxious gas emitted from one of our spore pods, thus shutting down her brain in the process. We can’t say any further, but we’ll look into it the following day.

Spore pods emitting noxious gas results in paralyzation… I bet said gas is potentially lethal, should anypony breathe onto it, even unwittingly.

Let’s see what the third and final ‘Specimen’ reads…

Specimen #109

Name: Wild Card
Gender: Stallion
Cause of death: Unknown

Summary: Classified information.

No actual case from the cause of death, huh? I suppose that’s alright, as the three ‘candidates’ were likely dead from experiments gone wrong. I’m not sure how or why the Overmane or Overstallion expressed no concern over their victims after being used as specimens for uncertain reasons. If their intent was to try and seek the cure, then they were doing it all wrong which yielded more deaths than expected which later led to Stable 22 being overrun by sentient plants.

“Zero, ready to go?”

I gave a nod to Gale, but before we left, I wanted to read what it says regarding… plants.

“Shit! What the hell is going on?! Why are there black vines seeping out of the walls, and gasses leaking through air vents?!

“Somepony is gonna be held responsible for letting hell breaking loose! Goddess dammit… Stable 22 is gonna be consumed at any moment now, we’re gonna have to initiate a lockdown inside. All we can do now is prepare for the inevitable…”

It was short, but clear enough to see that Stable 22 was soon consumed by out-of-control plant life, resulting it in being next to inaccessible. But the only way back out is forward. I am not heading back to Foggy Forest without ghost ponies chasing us again. Not to mention hidden traps that dwell within the fog that are waiting to catch us by surprise, so we have no choice but to venture ourselves deep within the abandoned Stable facility.

I got off the chair and nodded to Gale Storm. Let’s keep moving.

As we traversed on, the black vines had soon come to live, snaking their way to cover up, with fresh spore pods growing along the stems. It didn’t took long for those vines to cover up the door behind us. Something tells me this is not gonna be good. Even though E.F.S. has detected at least three red blips, the main ones are the black vines yet are oddly not detected by the E.F.S. itself. Quickly, I armed myself with the sniper rifle whilst Gale and Bob arm themselves as we prepared for the worst. Gale Storm instructed the filly, “Tootsie, get behind us and cover your ears. Things are about to get a little crazy…”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Tootsie quickly covered her ears as we heard grunting, guttural growls closing in. Three same ‘specimens’ the terminal had told me about, only except they’re…

Plunderseed carriers?!

Shit! They’re black in color with plant-like looks popping out in grotesque ways, and they’re black like those damn vines, too! And if I’m correct, those spore pods are actually Plunderseed pods!

“Grrr… graaahh!!” One of the Plunderseed carriers began to lunge at us unexpectedly. I was first to fire off a shot and Gale Storm soon followed suit. He… she… it was soon gunned down with ease, but not before its body ruptured and emitted noxious gas in the air. Oh fuck!

I quickly shook Gale and pointed at the deadly gas that’s airborne, as to urge her to use her wings to ward it off. “Huh? Oh fuck!” Sure enough, she flapped her wing as to repel the gas away from us. However, two more Plunderseed carriers began to lunge at us aggressively as we were thrown aback and pinned against the floor.

“Gah! G-Get off of me, freak!” Gale struggled as the Plunderseed carrier was trying to bite through the sniper rifle I was using as a shield to prevent it from biting my face off. Bob jumped into action and fired off laser shots at the carrier that was pinning her down while Tootsie Roll quickly hid herself under the desk. The Plunderseed carrier was hit, but didn’t really flinched. Instead, the shots only made it aggressive as Bob fired off a couple of shots, seeing as Gale can’t get a clear shot herself.

TZZAAAT! TZZAAAT! TZZAAAT! TZZAAAT!

It was finally gunned down, but the noxious gas was soon emitted as Gale had frantically flapped her wings to keep the deadly gas at bay before she quickly rushes in to my assistance; my sniper rifle is getting teeth marks from that damn carrier! And they’re sharp as hell, too!

With Gale up to her hooves, she quickly took an aim at the carrier with the twin Plasma Rifles, “Hey, plant-freak! Eat this!”

I quickly rolled back when Gale opened fire at the Plunderseed carrier and killing it easily before the noxious gas was emitted. I’d get the sniper rifle, but the gas is hovering on top of it and making it risky for me to retrieve it. Shit…

Should I hold my breath and retrieve it while delaying the inevitable? No… I have a better idea. I waved to Bob and pointed a hoof at the sniper rifle to retrieve it; since he’s a robot, he can’t get poisoned by the deadly gas. Bob emitted a confirmed beep and skitters forward to retrieve the rifle for me as he clamped both of his metallic claws around it. Afterwards, he turns around to me and skitters away from the gas and gives it to me. I tucked it between my side and my saddlebags and patted his head in thanks.

“Are the bang bangs over, guys?” Tootsie Roll asked as to be sure that the gunfight is over. Gale trotted over and took a peek under the desk, “You can come out now, sweetie. We took care of those monsters.”

“Yay! No more scary-looking plant-pony things!” The filly cheered and slinks herself from under the desk and looks around a little. She voiced with concern, “Let’s find another exit before those mean-looking vines come to life!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself, Tootsie. Which is ironic as I’m still unable to speak in any way.

In front of us is a sealed door that wasn’t totally covered by the sentient, black vines as I pressed a hoof against the button and opened the door, revealing absolute darkness. Gale nodded at me to signal for me to turn on the flashlight. Once I turned it on, the light reveals to be more black vines! Looks like the vines did a good job at completely covering up the ceiling lights, but the stairs that are leading down aren’t covered up, thankfully. Narrow corridors, light obstructed by sentient plants… this is gonna be a long day.

We also need to be mindful of those Plunderseed pods; even if my PipBuck can’t detect any obvious hostiles, those pods can catch us by surprise without warning.

Geez, how far is this place anyway?! Hopefully those damn vines aren’t blocking the next area or we’ll be forced to trek back up the stairs again.

On the plus sides, the Plunderseed pods are relatively small and growing seemingly slowly, giving us enough time to navigate down without any issues yet. Goddess this is stuffy… and no breathing room, too! I’m seriously hoping Stable 22 has an alternative exit and that it doesn’t lead us back to Foggy Forest. Ghost ponies are too spooky for us.

We eventually entered the next room and in front of us were live, Plunderseed plants. And they’re sure as hell pissed!

“Hissssss!!”

“Eep! Evil plants!!” Tootsie yelled out, quickly scampering behind us as five - ten of them, maybe - began to spit unknown (yet potentially deadly) fluids at us! Fuck, scatter!

“Oh shit!” Gale quickly flew out of the way before the fluids had any chance of hitting us. It landed on the ground, with a sticky, splattering noise to go for. It released a steaming hiss, realizing now that those killer plants are spitting acid! Not good. Not only can it eat through metal, but also through flesh and bone!

With quick reaction, I fired back at the acid-spitting Plunderseed plant, slipping into S.A.T.S. for an accurate position. One from the open mouth, and taking aim at the second one. Here goes nothing!

BLAM! BLAM!

The Plunderseed plant emitted a pained screech as it soon began to wither and die off. The second shot however, only grazed against the second plant’s stem, which otherwise did little harm to it. It began to spit another ball of acid to us again, Bob narrowly avoiding getting splattered by acid as some of the droplets seeped through some of his legs as it began to chew through metal. Gale winced from the splatters that hit some of her cheek onto her power armor, “Aaahhh… fuck, that’s so damn hot…”

Second-degree burns had already begun to show onto her cheek as she responded by firing the Plasma Rifles back at the Plunderseed plants. They screeched in pain from her marksmanship as they were soon dissolved into green goo.

“Zero, throw me the Healing Potion!”

I nodded at Gale’s orders and quickly pulled a healing potion and tossed it over to her to catch it. She flew forward and caught the potion before it landed onto the ground. I gotta say that even as a scientist, I’m not an excellent thrower, but she did managed to catch it and downed the potion to repel the second-degree burns that were still trying to burn through her.

She rubbed her cheek that was burned to check if her parts of her skin and coat were restored; it felt smooth and the burns were never there, “Much better… we need to keep moving, guys. Those plants are starting to regrow as we know it!”

Looks like she has a point; the Plunderseed plants we killed are starting to regrow and our only option is to retreat on the left side of an open corridor leading to the living quarters of Stable 22! Let’s get out of here ASAP!

Those goddess-damned black vines are pursuing us now! Its like being chased by a damn Tatzlwurm all over again! Even shooting them will only cause the vines to regrow again and the only way to stop them is to form a barricade or - stupidly enough - ignite them. Of course, that would mean we’ll suffocate as no ventilations are working whatsoever.

Tootsie was riding onto my back because of how fucking narrow this section is, just to get to the living quarters! On the plus side, we’re almost there while the black vines were still pursuing us; at least they lagged back for us to arrive into the living quarters and shut the door behind us. Inside was a main hall with a few pool tables, some broken off and the others tossed against the sides.

Small tips of vines were trying to wriggle and pry the door open to no avail. Looks like we’re safe for now.

Tootsie then got off of my back, “Who made so many messies?! Why is this room too dirty?!”

I really don’t think complaining is gonna help. Its always been like this…

“Well, we might need to find an alternative exit and I’m hoping its in the Overseer’s office.” Gale instructed to us. We don’t know who the Overseer is based on any gender, but what matters is that we need to get the hell out of Stable 22 before the Plunderseeds could breach through the door. Hopefully the non-existent Overseer doesn’t mind us getting the hell out of here by finding an alternate exit.

We followed Gale’s lead as I looked around, seeing most of the section left intact but the walls are filled with rust that’s deteriorating the inside of the living quarters. No red blips so far, but I didn’t even let my guard down. Not one bit.

As Gale arrived to the door leading to the Overseer’s office (unclear whether stallion or mare), she pressed a hoof against the button only to receive an ‘access denied’ voice from the intercom. “What?! What do you mean ‘access denied’?! Open up, goddammit!”

I went to a vacant bedroom as Gale banged on the door. Nopony’s gonna answer, Gale. Just us and those Plunderseed vines being held back by the door, but who knows how long until it breaches through. There’s got to be an activation key somewhere to open up the Overseer’s office door…

I crouched down to take a peek under the bed; nothing yet. I took a closer look by sliding my PipBuck-attached fore-hoof underneath the mattress and still nothing. Lots of junk, but no passcode.

Looks like I’ll have to keep looking any unfamiliar areas that contains a passcode to enter the office. I hate to see Gale Storm losing her patience; I wanna get out of here as well, but I’m sure as hell am not gonna be taking on those fucking Plunderseeds that’s basically impervious to everything. At least the Plunderseed carriers can’t be regenerated after their death.

Now where’s that passcode? I checked the drawers, desks and terminals (which are non-functional, by the way) and found none. Dammit, where is it?!

“Zero, if you’re finding something, you oughta make it quick! That door isn’t gonna keep the vines at bay for long!” Gale yelled out regarding the Plunderseed vines that are slowly leeching their way through the door and close to prying it open. Not sure how she’s assuming it, but it doesn’t sound like good news to me and my search is getting harder than I expected! Where the fuck is the motherfucking passcode?! Goddesses, give me a hint for once for me to get us out of here!

I went to different bedrooms and scanned different areas to see if an Overseer passcode is there. I have a feeling that the door can’t be lockpicked at all, nor can it be unlocked through a terminal; only a passcode can unlock it open.

I arrived at the main hall again and it turns out she was right; the vines are already halfway through the sealed door! Fuck! Come on Zero, think! If I was Pinkie Pie, where would I hide the Overseer passcode? Apart from the letter ‘E’, that is.

I got it! Maybe its in the cafeteria? I better go and take a look-see before the vines could breach through the door. Hmm… lots of fresh, uneaten veggies stored on shelves and the kitchen table. On the left side are two refrigerators. Maybe I can stock up food for us to continue along and get out of this hellhole. After collecting up fresh and not-irradiated foods, my eye caught the sight of an Overseer passcode below the freezer from the fridge. That must be the passcode we need to unlock it! But… who in their feeble minds would keep a passcode in a freezer?

Regardless, I quickly grabbed it and galloped my way back up to the office entrance with the passcode in my saddlebags as I waved a hoof to the three. “Zero? Tell me you found the passcode.”

I quickly nodded to her as I was catching my breath before presenting her the saddlebags. She quickly rummaged her hoof inside, soon finding the passcode from my saddlebags and letting out an excited squeal, “ohhh yes! There it is! Thank you!”

“Yay! Our nerdy scientist has done it again!”

Heh, oh stop it Tootsie. I was suddenly kissed on the cheek by Gale herself, and now my cheeks and my whole face is burning up now! D-Dammit, that was too soon! My heart’s just jackhammering inside my ribs! Okay, okay.. calm down now... calm down…

I was close to sweating profusely from the sudden kiss while Gale went to unlock the door to the Overseer’s office with the passcode on hoof.

“Aaaanndd… got it! We’re in!”

The door hisses open after she unlocked the Stable door; once we entered the Overseer's office, the room was mostly intact. As I glanced on the window, the worst was yet to come when the Plunderseed vines had finally breached through the door, forcing it wide open! And its growing at a faster pace, too! Looking behind me, Bob pointed his claw at the intact terminal that could help reveal a hidden passage and hopefully make our escape.

I nodded to Bob and trotted over to the terminal as I booted it on. Gale informed me, “You gotta make it quick; those vines are gonna be coming back for us, Zero.”

All I need's a little bit of concentration, even if time is running short. I just gotta focus hard and figure out the password to reveal a hidden passage. I could hear banging against the glass window, revealing to be Plunderseed carriers! And the E.F.S. is flooded by red blips!

“Hurry! Those freaks are trying to break in!” Tootsie yelled out, which impeded my concentration for a short while before re-focusing on the terminal to find the right password. I can’t mess this up, not even once. I need to make it out because time is ticking away. Where… where?!

‘Backwoods’! There it is! Right, now to reveal the secret passage.

As the Overseer’s chair slides open to reveal the (hopefully) escape route, the carriers kept lunging and slamming their heads against the window as it began to crack. Ohhh fuck me, fuck me! Open up already!

We nervously looked on as the Plunderseed carriers were close to breaking in; at least the secret passage was finally revealed and I instructed Gale with basic hoof-gestures by pointing a hoof at myself as to indicate that I want to go inside first and then pointed my hoof to her before writing down a couple of words from the Pipbuck, reading as ‘cover us’.

Gale observed closely at the PipBuck before using her wing to give me a salute, “Will do! You three get ahead; I’ll cover you from behind!”

Thankfully, the passage isn’t too narrow as we were the first to enter inside whereas Gale Storm followed last as Tootsie looked back, “Come on, Gale! Let’s get out of here!”

Once she entered last, the window from the Overseer’s office was soon shattered into million of pieces, allowing access for the Plunderseed carriers to pursue us again. It didn’t took long for them to figure out that we were inside a secret passage as we followed along the path. “Alright you fuckers… come at me.” Gale had also given me a reminder, “Zero, when I yell ‘reload’, toss me the Plasma ammo, because I can hear them coming!”

Got it! Let’s hope this passage doesn’t take us deep within Stable 22 or it’ll be more trouble than its worth.

“Reload!” Gale yelled out as I went to get Plasma ammo for her from the saddlebags; the pursuit wasn’t over yet with some of the Plunderseed carriers still chasing us inside. She caught the unused Plasma rounds and resumed firing at the remaining carriers before we could continue. It was frantic, but on the plus side there doesn’t seem to be anymore of those creatures chasing us anymore nor are the vines and plants growing out of the stems.

“Okay guys, I think that was all of them.” She notified us once the carriers were taken care of. I gave her a nod in response and ventured ourselves deep into what appears to be a maintenance room. Once we were inside, we barricaded the doors with metal sheets to prevent the vines from breaching through again.

I’m wanting to find out what origin lies from the Plunderseeds and where did it come from. They can regrow when shot and may be resistant to fire and can only be repelled with a special magic of some sort. At least the inside of the maintenance room is intact, but nonfunctional.

“Bob, find us the exit!” Tootsie instructed her robo-scorpion friend as he responds with an affirmative beep and began to scan around for any possible exit routes. As for myself, I found a working terminal and booted up, displaying a single log from the screen. Curious enough, I read the words from the only log shown on the screen.

“Those damn Plunderseeds are everywhere! How did they burrow themselves deep inside the Equestrian soil?! I’ve heard rumors that the Plunderseeds were originated from a draconequus-like creature known as Discord. As far as I know, he must’ve been responsible for planting those fucking seeds inside. I just can’t figure out on how to stop them, and neither are those damn scientists who were clueless enough to use one of those Plunderseed pods for their experimental use… well, jokes on them!

“I’ve heard other rumors that only alicorn magic can repel Plunderseeds altogether so they wouldn’t have to regrow again. Sadly, none of the alicorns I found can be reasoned with and their hunger for sheer power and would only resort to killing so there’s just no hope.

“If anypony is reading this and you find a statue of Discord, tell him that he has doomed us all and that we’d wish that he’d never exist in this living hell of what was left of Equestria.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to have a word of that fucking Overmare and say that she’s overstayed her welcome in Stable 22. She shouldn’t have brought in those damn Plunderseed pods and turn our Stable Dwellers into living monsters! Fuck her! Fuck her life! ANd I hope to Celestia that she was never born! I’ll get her one of those days!”

Now I’ve seen it all. So this ‘Discord’ was the one who planted the Plunderseeds deep within the soil of Equestria that began to seep inside and had eventually made their way into Stable 22 and created monsters, but also transforming it into a living lair.

As cliché as it seems, the unnamed Overmare was also known to claim responsibility according to the log as she had also resulted the Plunderseeds to grow wild and out of control, going as far as to use her own Stable Dwellers as ‘subjects’ for the scientists to perform sick ‘experiments’ on them. And I as a scientist am offended of this greatly. The scientists I knew back in Lab-00 had never performed such sick atrocities, mainly using their own kind for experimental purposes.

If we had alicorns who aren’t quick to resort violence and death, they would’ve dealt the Plunderseeds with relative ease and eradicate them altogether. Too bad the ones from Little Nightlight weren’t as friendly as they look.

As for that Overmare? She’s probably dead or missing. Hopefully karma had hit her hard.

Gale approached to me, “Zero, Bob found the exit. Let’s get out of here.”

Yeah. Let’s.

The barricaded door is holding back the vines pretty well as we made our escape. All we’re hoping now is reach back to the surface and not back into Foggy Forest. Lights were buzzing along from the ceiling as we traversed along and out of the maintenance hall. All that leads are stairs that leads up into the depths of the unknown. Obvious enough, Bob can’t climb up the stairs so he hitches himself onto Gale’s back as me and Tootsie began to climb up the ladder.

“Just hold on tight, Bob. I’ll fly us up there.”

Bob kept his legs in place onto her back as we made our way up.

And that was my second lesson on the story:

Never, ever travel in unfamiliar areas that have spooky ghosts and Plunderseeds that contains parasitic ponies that are eager to carve your flesh inside out. And I bet this Discord here doesn’t give any fucks.

Out of Foggy Forest and into an uncharted territory that doesn’t involve spooky ghost ponies or Plunderseed-infested Stables. Fucking. Finally. I hated Stable 22 from the very beginning and I still hate it. Once we were out, I closed up the manhole cover and glanced around. According to the map, we’re in Manehattan East. Looks like a bustling city that hasn’t been ravaged by Cazadores, albeit left in ruins. Surprising enough, there’s some civilization with at least hundreds of ponies, all dressed regally with only some casually. There’s some signs of life there, all right.

“Ooohhh… we’re in a big city! Come on, guys! Let’s go sightseeing! I wanna go to that place over there!” Tootsie eagerly

I glanced to the right and I saw a really large tower adorning the heart of Manehattan. I then looked back at Gale and shook my head; we don’t have time to sightsee, much less explore all of Manehattan. I wrote down a couple of words from my PipBuck that reads ‘We don’t have time for sightseeing. We need to keep moving as we had only delayed the inevitable’. Even though the vines aren’t after us anymore, I have a feeling that we may not be welcome here.

“Well, let’s find a place for us to rest up before we can move any further, okay?”

Yeah. I suppose we could; we were pursued by those damn vines and I could use a bit of rest. We’ll have to ask one of the local ponies, but I’m also hoping they’ll be in good terms with Gale Storm; she’s an Enclave yes, but she doesn’t express any hostility after her own kind had betrayed her. I wrote down a couple more from my PipBuck to her ‘Ask one of the ponies if they know a nearby place for us to rest up for today’.

Gale carefully inspected her Enclave power armor as she grinned rather nervously, “Well if you say so… I’m not entirely sure how the inhabitants will react when they see a lone, Enclave pony with the three of you at my side. Let’s hope they don’t take me seriously.”

I’m sure they won’t unless you end up doing something that’ll make them run for their lives and have local security rain down all over our asses and force us out of Manehattan or face imminent threats. We approached towards a Manehattan resident as Gale was the first to ask him. “Excuse me, sir. Is there a place nearby for us to rest up for today?”

The resident was rather uneasy when he took a sight of Gale with her Grand Pegasus Enclave power armor, “Erm… I beg your pardon, but we don’t normally get along well with the Enclave, even they’re already gone…”

I’m not really sure if that’s the case. There’s different Enclaves from different regions so…

“But this one is not a baddie, mister! She’s a good Enclave! Honest!” Tootsie stepped in to defend her. He was a little skeptical at first, but soon realized Gale’s intentions, “Huh… I suppose not all Enclaves are bad so I’ll point you pony folk out the nearest direction so y’all don’t have to trot all the way to Tenpony Tower.”

...what the hay’s a ‘Tenpony Tower’? The one that’s this big from a far distance to where we are? Well there are different buildings that rivals its size so its pretty debatable. I’m not even gonna find out for myself anyway.

The stallion led us to a nearby hotel, which was partially abandoned but well-maintained to keep the building up to code.

“Here we are. This here’s Manehattan Hotel. Not the best there is compared to Tenpony Tower, but it sure gets the job done. Now, y’all take care now! And welcome to Manehattan!”

I’m gonna pretend that Manehattan Hotel is actually a Tenpony Tower, only less luxurious and more low-to-middle class. I’m still speculative that there’s even a ‘Tenpony Tower’, especially with bustling skyscraper buildings that could possibly rival their massive height. But, its nighttime and its time for us to call it a day. And we are not here for sightseeing, much less visit this Tenpony Towers that middle-aged stallion told us about.

We were taken to room #326 on the third floor, with at least two beds for us to rest on. Nothing spectacular, but still worth it for us to have a good night’s rest. Tootsie slept next to Gale as she let out a cute yawn, “Will we ever go sightseeing tomorrow, Gale?”

“We’ll have to ask Zero if he’s okay for us to go on a tour. Zero, are you okay with this?”

I wrote down a couple of words on the PipBuck and showed it to Gale, reading as ‘Yes, but we need to make our tour very short before we can continue further and not sooner’. Damn was I reluctant.

“Yay! We get to go on a tour and see Tenpony Tower!” Tootsie gleefully pounces onto Gale as she lets out a small giggle, “Now, now Tootsie. Save your energy for the next day, okay?”

“Okay! Good night!”

Why, oh why did I even bother to do this?

My third lesson of the story, is that foals/fillies like Tootsie Roll here always get what they want by being so fucking innocent! Why do I even bother…

Morning.

And the skies are clear for some strange reason. And they’re blue, too! Something strikes me odd. How are the skies this clear? Unless of course its just another crazy dream and if that’s true, then I’ll have to roll with it until I can actually wake up. No biggie!

Tootsie was already eager enough to pull my hoof as we approach to a nearby carriage that contains a couple of ponies seated. Great, I’m a scientist about to become a tourist. Whoop-dee-doo.

“Come on, the seats are almost full! I wanna see what Manehattan is like!”

Even Bob was reluctant to go on a tour while Gale just went along with it. This is gonna be a long day…

The bulkier pony began to pull the carriage once we were seated, with the mare acting as a tour guide for us. “Hello, everypony! My name is Compass and I’ll be your tour guide for today! Now, let’s begin our tour, shall we?”

I tilted my head back and went to take a nap while listening to our tour guide. Remind me when we get to this ‘Tenpony Tower’ and maybe I’ll be a little bit amazed. Otherwise, I don’t really care much anyway and I seriously blame my naivety for even accepting Tootsie’s decision in going on a tour around Manehattan.

“...and here we have the Tenpony Tower, home of the high-class but also a very secure building which has strict policies such as Raider activity and those caught doing so will be rewarded with steep penalties! And if you want to reside there, well good luck! That could take years before you’re granted citizenship within Tenpony Tower!”

At least we don’t plan on residing there. I’d rather work at a rock farm than to even try to live there.

We kept listening on to Compass as she gave further details of the Tenpony Tower.

“The Tenpony Tower is also home to the legendary DJ Pon3 who does broadcasts 24/7 throughout Equestria! And we recently had a word that a pony scientist named Zero who was doing his hardship in keeping what’s left of evil things at bay!”

ME?! WHAT?!

I quickly took off my lab coat and concealed it behind me, trying to feign my innocence as I whistled on. Who is this Zero? I’m totally not that pony!

“Yep, and he’s a good scientist!” Tootsie informed our tour guide. Goddess-dammit, you little tattle-taler!

All eyes were on me, mainly the tourist ponies, and they clopped their hooves and cheered for me. Umm… well, this is awkward. I got a standing ovation for being a tourist, all because Tootsie here wanted a silly tour! All I could do was let out a sheepish smile as I was cheered on. The level of awkwardness has now reached critical mass, now that my failed attempt at concealing my identity has been officially exposed.

I hope you’re proud of yourself, Tootsie! You made me feel embarrassed! And Celestia, don’t EVEN get funny ideas of my name AND my current status!

I simply put on my lab coat again because the filly managed to expose myself in front of everypony as we continued on to the next and final tourist stop; a large, concrete statue of what appears to be a… pony that’s roughly the size of Tootsie’s.

“And here we have a legendary heroine; once a Stable Dweller escapee from Stable 2 in search of her friend, Velvet Remedy, Littlepip became the Light Bringer of Equestria, but was also shunned as a Hellmare after the events of Arbu. Although her actions were deemed dark among all of ponykind, she had stopped Red Eye and the Grand Pegasus Enclave were eradicated from ever tainting all of Equestria.”

I wrapped a hoof around Gale and gingerly pulled her close to me as to protect her from possible harm. The name ‘Red Eye’ seems rather funny; I’m thinking like any variety of colors that ends with Eye. So long as it doesn’t involve me being called a Blueberry.

What got me curious is that there’s another Stable, but a mere 2, which was home of this Littlepip or however the fuck you name it and Velvet Remedy. (Why do I feel the need to eat a slice of cake for some reason from that name I heard just now?)

As I gave it a good look at the statue, my eye batted at the sight of her PipBuck attached around her hoof, which was a memento of my days in Lab-00 when I got my first PipBuck, only except it was much older and outdated than the 3000 model. At least with the 4000, I could make this statue jealous that I have a better PipBuck! But there are however, other things that got me wondering regarding this… Arbu, or, something like that. Why was this Littlepip regarded as a ‘Hellmare’? Did she turned to the dark side? Or did she do something to make Manehattan and all of the Equestrian Wastelands turn their backs on her? Then again, she did the impossible to put her own life on the line to restore Equestria.

“Umm, Zero… you can let go of me now, the ponies are fine with me around.” Gale instructed me with a small smile from her expression. I glanced at the hoof and nearly jumped as I quickly moved a hoof away from her! Awkwardness level rising again! And my face is burning up as well! Dammit, get a grip, Zero!

Compass began to give us further details regarding this Littlepip or whatever her name is called, “Littlepip also had a keen interest of mares, if you get what I mean.” She interrupted herself with a giggle before resuming, “But, all that aside, Littlepip became the savior of Equestria after overcoming the dangers the Wastelands threw at her, even if it meant for the death of SteelHooves. Her virtue is... well, we don’t want to spoil secrets for our tourists, now would we? However, these virtues are known as Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty and Kindness. The rest? Well, only you pony folk can discover them out for yourselves! Of course, those are just examples on how one’s virtue is earned and Littlepip has indeed found one virtue that became the pinnacle of all ponykind. Well, tour’s over, everypony! Our designated carriage driver will take us back to our destination spot so everypony can have a wonderful day. And we thank you for taking part of our very own Manehattan Tours! Have a pleasant day!”

Virtues?

This was the first time I’ve ever heard such a word before. But how to earn them? Well, don’t ask me. I’m a scientist, not a psychic. Virtues have a meaning, mainly for the greater good of all the remaining ponykind, or if virtues have a darker side to it that could open its wound with no way of mending it together. A virtue needs to have a strong, positive meaning that could repel every bad things that lurk underneath and then emerge without warning.

Whatever this Littlepip did, sure did a great job in making the skies look clear as bright as day. Yet for some reason, I’m not smiling. The joy of the skies is pretty much short-living as we’ll have to leave Manehattan right now so I can’t expect having a permanent stay. We’re outcasts in this territory, even if their kindness are well appreciated. The main reason why is because the Wastelands had still left a nasty surprise, and that’s the Cazadores repopulating to not just engulf all of New Hampshore but eventually other places as well, including Manehattan. Just because it feels peaceful, doesn’t mean its been fully free from the Wastelands’ evil ways. If this Littlepip can save Equestria, we can too. But goddess-dammit I really don’t want to be felt embarrassed any further just because I’m making good deeds. I’m just doing whatever it takes to protect myself and my friends from harm. And I also have to keep in mind on exacting revenge on Dr. Scalpel and his sickening ‘creation’, both who are responsible for the death of my two friends and teammates. To where I’m gonna find them is anypony’s guess. Right now, I need to focus on the upcoming tasks at hoof. The clear, blue skies will be the last thing I’ll ever see before we would head back to the other side where hell is still brewing.

Still, I’m really skeptical of what Compass explained during our tour. What kind of a pony’s name is ‘SteelHooves’? Like, hooves made of pure steel or something? I’m not sure, but the only hint I’ve ever gotten that it probably has an identical power armor that’s equivalent to Gale’s.

And as for Littlepip liking other mares?

...I simply have no comment.

“Yay! That was so much fun! Littlepip looks like me, except she has a cool PipBuck like you have!” Tootsie was jumping around with ecstatic as she gleefully squeals over her delight of having her first Manehattan Tours with us. And its all because I was so damn reluctant to accept her decision.

While Bob was gazing the sights at the clear blue skies, Gale Storm adorned the bustling skyscrapers before looking back to me. “Where do we go now?”

I checked on the map and saw what appears to be a geographical shape that resembles a dam. Not far away from Manehattan, too. I pointed a hoof at the direction we’re going, and that’s up north.

“So up further north it is, then?”

I gave her a confirmed nod. No reason for us to stay in Manehattan any longer. And I’m not gonna waste my time even trying to stay or look at Tenpony Towers inside. It’ll only force me to delay the inevitable anyway.

“Alright. Let’s move on, you two. Say goodbye to Manehattan, little Tootsie.” Gale instructed the two. Tootsie yelled out as per Gale’s order, “Byeeee Manehattan!!!”

Okay, that was just unnecessary.

Whoover Dam. Located in the outskirts of Manehattan, it seems to be left intact except most of the asphalt were demolished, rendering the whole route impassable. The only way through is to get inside the dam, and that’s where the stairs are that leads to the door. The broken-off road leads to the border of Caneighda.

Waters were roaring through Whoover Dam as we made our way down the stairs and into the entrance. As much as I love to talk, a screaming contest will be one-sided because the rushing waters are this loud.

“Whew… geez, the dam is really loud. Hmm…” Gale inspects the sign that’s mounted on the wall, “‘Whoover Dam’?”

Must be it. Too bad nopony is managing the dam so even though its functional, its pretty much left abandoned for unclear reasons. And there’s nopony maintaining Whoover Dam as well. Let’s see if we can investigate the Dam inside and find out what’s going on.

As we explored throughout Whoover Dam, most of the heavy machinery were still operating normally and allowing rivers to be filtered into clean, radiation-free water flowing through the turbines. Of course, I’m getting no blip whatsoever so there’s no trace of anypony inside. Could it be that they left it to ruin in order to seek a better life? Or were they dead and no trace was ever found?

“Hello? Anypony there?” Gale called out to see if there’s any response. There was none.

“Do you think anypony is there within the Dam, Zero?”

Hell if I know. It could be anypony using a Stealth Buck to conceal their identities, though my senses hasn’t detected any movement. Plus, its such a huge building so there’s no telling what we might find. I glanced at the electrical grid, which are still functioning normally. That still doesn’t explain the absence of the dam workers that went mysteriously missing.

Something isn’t right here. Unless there are invisible alicorns present, I haven’t even spotted one, much less sensed one that are ACTUALLY invisible.

As my mind spoke out, my ears twitched a little; I heard a bit of commotion at a far distance. My friends may not have heard this, but it seems I could detect it myself albeit without Pinkie Pie’s assistance in my head.

All I could do is wave a hoof to Gale and motioned her to follow me as I led them towards the direction of a seemingly faint noise I heard. She motioned a hoof at the two as they followed me, “Whatever Zero’s taking us might be important. Come on.”

Down below from a catwalk, I spotted some things patrolling around the pump stations. The E.F.S. had displayed them in red and they obviously don’t seem to be friendly. Oh fuck…

Ponelurks! And a Ponelurk King!

Gale gasped at the sight of the Ponelurks, which had a combination of crab-like appearances with deformed faces that resemble that of a pony. The Ponelurk King appears to resemble half-fish, half-pony with webbed fins for hooves, including its ears and cheeks that act as gills, and they spotted us! At least they can’t fly, but what’s to stop the Ponelurks from heading up the stairs to catch us?!

“Shit! Zero, Bob, get ready! Tootsie, get behind me!” We nodded at Gale’s orders as she positioned herself at the corner just outside of the catwalk while me and Bob crouched down and readied ourselves for Ponelurks coming our way.

The Ponelurk King took notice of Gale Storm’s presence as she opened fire at it. It took a couple of hits before the Ponelurk King retaliates with a sonic attack fired from its mouth as she and Tootsie barely moved out of the way. “Look out!”

The concrete wall that was used to provide flanking position was destroyed and I painfully winced from the high-pitched ringing noises as the catwalk nearly buckled. Fuck, that Ponelurk King is powerful, and it looks as if it took no damage whatsoever! The Ponelurks soon made their way up and began to relentlessly charge at us as I quickly slid into S.A.T.S. before they have a chance to close in on us. Need to make the shots count; with a section this narrow and the numbers increasing, I can’t afford to miss. All three shots go into its small, deformed face. Let’s hope they’re enough to bring it down!

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

All three consecutive shots the the face, enough for it to recoil back for brief amount of time and crippling it along the way.

However, it soon retaliated as it began to charge his head towards me and I was rammed onto it! I was tossed back and slid across the floor, losing my sniper rifle along the way and I clutched by fore-hooves around my chest; fuck, I felt one of the ribs crack! The armored vest does nothing!

“Zero!” Gale stopped firing at the Ponelurk King; even though it took a lot more damage from the plasma rounds, its tough skin makes it difficult to kill as Bob quickly ducked down from its claws and returned fire, quickly retreating back to catch up to the pursuing Poneluck. I was quickly scrambling back to try and retrieve the sniper rifle, wincing again from the sharp pain hitting my chest inside as I was struggling to breathe from the broken ribs. Goddess-dammit…

The Ponelurk King emitted another sonic attack at Gale to stop her in her tracks as it too began to make its way up towards us. She quickly skid to a stop to avoid getting hit by the sonic wave which barely grazes through her, still enough to make her ears ring loudly inside, “Gah! F-Fuck!!” Meanwhile, Tootsie Roll was screaming and barely avoiding the Ponelurks’ claws as four of them were surrounding the filly, trying to get her with their deadly claws.

Bob was firing off his lasers at the Ponelurk trying to get me. Its back shell was indestructible, but enough for it to turn its attention to him. As it charges towards him, he fired off another laser shot at its crippled face, resulting it to recoil back as Gale quickly realized that Bob is protecting me and soon charges at the pack, firing off another round of plasma, “Hold on, Tootsie!”

She quickly flew up as the Ponelurk pack were shot repeatedly while I quickly rummaged through my saddlebags to get the stimpak as my vision was slowly fading away. Gotta inject it… quickly…

Gah! Fuck! I pieced the needle into my abdomen and injected myself as the cracked ribs inside began to heal up together. Aahhh… that’s better… but there’s no rest for the wicked. I have to help Gale out. As for Bob? He’s single-handedly taking care of that Ponelurk as he was close to killing it. Right, time for me to get my sniper rifle and kill them. Of course, the pack weren’t able to reach their claws to Gale as she instructed Tootsie while firing back at the Ponelurks, “Tootsie, go with Zero! I’ll hold them off, I promise!”

“O-Okey-dokey-wokey!” She scrambled up to her hooves and quickly galloped her way to me, “Zero, fire at the ugly crab-thingies!”

No need to tell me twice! I’ve just reloaded, after all!

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

After landing a couple of hits, Gale finished off the rest of the pack while staying airborne, with their claws out of their reach as they were soon dissolved into goo. The other Ponelurk was dropped dead after Bob fired off a final shot at its face. He quickly skitters to us as Gale flew back down to the floor and offered a hoof to me. As I was gonna be helped up, my ears twitched at the Ponelurk King coming out way; I quickly shook her hoof and pointed at their leader!

“Oh shit.. quick Tootsie, find somewhere to hide!”

Seems we’re out of the frying pan and into the fire! Let’s fire at this bastard with everything we got!

And as we kept firing at it, we’re wondering what does it take to kill this bastard! Despite getting hit repeatedly, it doesn’t seem to go down easily!

Each wave of sonic attacks were almost dead-on as we barely moved out of the way, but Gale seems to have run out of ammo for both of her Plasma Rifles, “Zero, I need a reload, stat! Bob, cover him!”

Right! I quickly scooped a hoof down to my saddlebags to get a fresh load of plasma ammo (and the last ones as well) as she quickly retrieved them. Bob was distracting the King as it fired off sonic waves at him while skittering out of the way and firing off laser shots at it. Even though the lasers were doing little damage to it, mainly due to its overall thick and hardened body that further explains its high levels of durability. Thankfully, he bought us enough time for her to resume attacking it and me resuming firing. I’d enable S.A.T.S., but that’d be a waste; this fucker doesn’t really die so easily, even if you have badass weapons in your arsenal!

As we resumed firing at the Ponelurk King, it emitted another sonic attack at Gale which missed due to her aerodynamic speed, blasting through the ceiling as she was blasted back and landing onto the floor, leaving her dazed and clutching her head from the high-pitched ringing noise. The blast was strong enough to leave her dazed and despite Bob’s efforts, it seems to be relatively unaffected from the laser shots as it charges towards her and leaving me no time to reload!

At least Tootsie hid an unused and inactive pump station to avoid the Ponelurk King from getting anywhere near her, but now I gotta help out Gale and fast or she’s gonna get seriously hurt!

As it reared its head back for another sonic attack, I lunged at it as hard as I could, tackling it but also causing it to release the attack and missed her, but the blast was in close proximity and enough to penetrate into her right ear, resulting her to shout in severe pain, “Gaaahh!!”

Dammit, no! You stupid, wretched excuse of an abomination! Fucking die!

I punched my hoof against its sickening face repeatedly, again, again and again! Fuck you for hurting her! Fuck you for making her deaf! And fuck you for even existing in the fucking Wastes!

The final blow was enough to finally kill that bastard of a Ponelurk… and not unlike the one that chased me within the New Hampshore sewers. In this case, it had friends. Friends that must’ve left it to chase me and unintentionally used myself as live bait to lead it to a seemingly unknown, hostile faction as a means of distraction. Well, no more. At least now they won’t have to leave Whoover Dam and ruin the peaceful city of Manehattan. I panted harshly, and gazed my attention to Gale Storm. I fell to the floor from exhaustion and scrambled my hooves towards her before collapsing myself onto her. Dammit, no… not her… she.. she didn’t deserve this… at least she’s still alive. As she looked down at me, she wrapped a hoof around me with a soft, but pained smile. “Thanks… ack, my ear’s shot up… maybe with a couple of day’s rest, I could hear normally again. Bob, go get Tootsie.”

Me being mute was now the least of my worries; all it mattered to me was her well-being. As Bob went to get his filly companion from the unused pump station, I looked back up to her as if wondering if she’ll be alright.

“Let’s go and rest up a little before we continue on. And I’ll be alright. Again, thank you, Zero.”

Heh, not a problem.

As we moved on to rest up somewhere after a fierce battle with the Ponelurks and its King, I began to think about my final lesson of the story:

Never assume that any ruined or intact buildings are completely abandoned and that they’re not filled with hideous creatures that are waiting to attack you left and right. The Wastelands always leave nasty surprises to even the most well-prepared Wastelanders.

Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Math Wrath -- You are able to optimize your PipBuck’s targeting spell logic. S.A.T.S. attacks cost now 5 AP less.
Quest Perk Added: Too Drunk to Die (1) -- While you are drunk there is absolutely nothing that can stop you. You gain a +5 to your Damage Threshold while under the effects of alcohol.