Where am I? And why is this familiar? I blinked once, sitting behind my desk. I sighed as I balanced my pencil on the flat of my hoof while I listened on to our teacher explain the concepts of what to do in a situation when you are attacked by a Radigator and what is the best course of action to take. I was so focused on the pencil, that I didn’t hear my teacher call my name.

“Cadet Courier!” my teacher barked. His sudden voice breaking my concentration forced me to shrink back and my pencil fell to the floor. My heart was beating rapidly.

“Err… y-yes, Mr. Candlewick?” I squeaked. I wasn’t scared by my teacher. In all honesty, I didn’t care much for what he taught. I don’t need a pony like him to teach me how to be a courier when I had siblings who were already couriers. And who were also on top of the rank board no less. I was startled at the sudden break in my concentration. Mr. Candlewick frowned.

“Care to tell the class what you think is the best course of action during a radigator encounter?” I cocked my head.

“Well, if you want to be a badass, then you wrestle it into submission, snap it’s jaw in two and then hang up the head on your wall.” I said nonchalantly. I felt something hard pelt my forehead and I hissed in pain, rubbing the sore spot. Damn, chalk hurts like a bitch!

“Speak logically, cadet.” He said. I saw the eyes of my classmates look at me, some with amused grins while others seemed a bit perturbed that I gave a bullshit answer. I leaned forward, putting my hoof up and placing my chin on them, sighing.

“First thing to do is to make sure you have distance from the gator. Once you know you have a decent amount of distance, that’s when you can properly set up a good aim. However, radigators have mutated and can move quickly. So a probable choice would be entering S.A.T.S. and pray to the goddesses that your chances of hitting vital spots are a success.” I said. Mr. Candlewick hmphed.

“And?” he asked. I sighed, feeling even more bored.

“And if all else fails, you should run and probably think why you wanted to take on a radigator in the first place.” I said.

“But in some cases, it is unavoidable.” He said. He was obviously waiting for me to give him an actual logical choice in the matter.

“Then, it’s your fault for winding up like that.” I said. I growled, rubbing my head when Mr. Candlewick pelted me with another piece of chalk.

“And once again, cadet. You fail to pay attention in class.” He said. I shook my head.

“Honestly, I don’t see what the point of having to deal with just radigators.” I motioned with my hoof. “There are worse things in the Wasteland, don’t you think, Mr. Candlewick?” There was a sound of a small buzzer and the students stood up to head to their next class. As for me? Well, I did my best to sneak away into the crowd, but Mr. Candlewick wasn’t having any of it.

“Courier, may I have a word with you?” he said. I frowned, rolling my eyes. Oh, goddesses. Another one of his boring lectures. I turned to face him.

“Look, if you don’t mind, but I really hate being late for my other classes.” I said. Mr. Candlewick sighed, rubbing his face.

“Cadet, what is the matter with you? Never, in all my years of teaching, have I’ve met a student such as you. Your rebellious demeanor. Your terrible attitude with bizarre logic to situations?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Sometimes, not being logical is the best course of action. It’s more of a primal instinct in a small situation when you are having to deal with radroaches, radigators, radispiders, radiscorpions, you name it.” I shook my head. “Frankly, I didn’t understand the concept Multi Dollar described when dealing with a swarm of radroaches.” Mr. Candlewick balked.

“Why, I thought it was a great decision.” He said. I arched a brow.

“And since when do radroaches react to poison? Do you realize how long those radroaches have been around? The radiation that evolved them is enough to sustain them in even the most hazardous of irradiated zones.” I said.

“And yet, you prefer to squish every single one. You tire out by the end and only have more devour you alive.” Mr. Candlewick countered. I face hoofed.

“Wouldn’t you rather conserve the poison for something else? Radroaches may be big and they may have evolved, but really, they bite like ants used too two centuries ago.” I held up a hoof. “You will just be left with a welt and nothing more.” Mr. Candlewick sighed.

“Cadet. As much as your decisions may sound correct in your head, doesn’t mean they will apply to the other students.” He tapped his hoof on his desk. “I want a report by the end of this week on my desk explaining the properties of turpentine and what it could be used for.” I snorted.

“Sir, I mean no disrespect, but can you skip the simple stuff? You wonder why I don’t pay much attention. Well, here’s why. I don’t enjoy having to just sit at a desk and explain it to ponies who don’t have a single clue of the outside world.” I said. “I’d rather see first hoof what these lessons have to offer. I can’t be a courier if I just sit at a desk all day and write it down on paper.” Mr. Candlewick sighed.

“I see. But you must be patient, Cadet. It’s not for my amusement. It’s for your safety. A courier in the Wasteland is a helpless pony once they take on the job. Hell, you could be sniped by a raider as soon as you take one hoof step out of your own hometown.” He said. “Or any other town that even have RCE officials stationed there.” Hmph, figured as much. I checked my PipBuck. It was completely different than the one I had. But I remember. This is a cadet PipBuck. The settings weren’t as fancy as the ones the couriers in my hometown wear. These were meant for the stable and the town. Not the whole Equestrian Wasteland.

You couldn’t send messages. It didn’t keep track of your inventory. It also didn’t have a lamp spell function. But it could tell time, what your objective is and your schedule is programmed into it. I bit my lip, seeing that I was already a minute late for courier combat training.

“I’m sorry, sir. But we will have to talk about this later. I have to get to class.” I said as I levitated my tattered hand-me-downed saddle bags over to me and clipped them on. Mr. Candlewick rubbed his chin.

“Very well. But I do expect that report by the end of the week.” He said. I didn’t give him time to finish. I trotted out of the room, leaving him held at his next words. The halls of Stable 50. Dull and gray. Good old home. I trotted down the hall and turned the corner. I bumped into something and stumbled back. Oh right. I was a filly back then. But… wait… who? I blinked and looked at the grey colt with a slick black mane. He arched a brow coolly at me.

“Wow. You are a rebel if I ever seen one.” He said. I gapped. No… it couldn’t be… but it was. Comp smirked at me. “Hope I didn’t break anything in that frail body of yours.” I puffed my cheek out and scrunched my muzzle at him before sticking my tongue out.

“Just because I’m short doesn’t mean I can’t take you on! Size doesn’t matter!” I said, squeaking. Comp rubbed his chin and nodded.

“Hmm, alright then. We will see about that during combat lessons.” He said. I blinked and cocked my head. Of course… this is the first day. The very first time I met Comp. And it was also the very first time I had made my first friend.

I felt myself being shaken.

“Courier, are you okay?” Brick whispered to me. I shook away the daze and looked at him.

“I-I’m fine. Just… thinking is all.” I lied. Brick looked at me skeptically, but he looked ahead. I did the same. We were five miles west of Las Pegasus. Another part of Fiend territory. I glanced up, seeing the silhouette of Iris circling overhead. I looked down from where Iris had vanished behind a cloud and saw Goldenlee scan the area with her anti-material rifle. We were staked out over a hill with a road that led down into jungle of crumpled buildings and apartments. But there was no mistaking that we were indeed in Fiend territory.

In fact, there were more than a dozen of them patrolling the outer part of their territory. I had to hand it to them. As much shit they give to everypony, including themselves, their organization skills were far from dumb. I’ll say average at best, but organized nonetheless. Star and Sanity were with the wagon that was heading down to the area. I saw a pack of the Fiends descend onto our wagon. I closed my eyes and focused onto my copy I had hidden in the back of the wagon.

“Well, lookie here. A couple of traders so happily giving us their stock.” One of the Fiends said. I saw Star and Sanity pretend to be the scared traders.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. W-we didn’t mean to go into your territory.” Sanity said, putting on her best scared voice. Star nodded.

“P-please. We just want to get through without any trouble and we will be on our way.” He stuttered. The Fiends were laughing in amusement.

“Oh, so you think you can just waltz into our turf and hope that you go unnoticed? Well, you are in the wrong neighborhood. Take them in with the rest of the worthless shit bags and take their wagon.” One Fiend ordered. I heard Rex growl, but Sanity pet the timberwolf as a sign to stick with the plan. Rex whimpered as Sanity and Star were forced off of the wagon, being shoved and pushed around by the laughing pack of Fiends before being led into the ruined territory.

While a group of them led my friends into their turf, a few others decided to stay behind and loot our wagon. Thankfully, we bought enough junk to make it look like we had something of value for them. I looked to Brick and we both nodded. It was time to move. I looked over to Goldenlee and nodded to her. It happened so fast that even I had to take a bit to process what happened.

At the sound of Goldenlee’s rifle, two Fiends outside of the wagon went down while three more looked around, startled at the sudden attack. But before they could relay orders to one another, Iris swooped down and as quick as a bullet, zipped by them. I saw all three of their heads fall off their shoulders and onto the ground. Geez, the Shadowbolt armor definitely was a force to be reckoned with. Iris took back into the skies as the one Fiend who had climbed in peeked out, only to be taken out by Goldenlee’s rifle bullet to the head.

Me and Brick moved quickly down the hill and planted ourselves against a destroyed building. I broke away the last of the broken glass in the window before climbing on through. My EFS was flashing with red all over the place. I wonder if this is their center HUB? Brick climbed in and sticking close to me, we crept towards the door, planting ourselves against the walls before peeking out.

We had to duck back quickly when we saw a Fiend about to look our way. He made a small confused grunt before his hoof steps faded from hearing. I looked out and saw that there were even more Fiends on the roofs or inside buildings on the third or second stories. I saw one be taken out by a bullet from Goldenlee, leaving the others in the building to laugh at their dead companion. I frowned. They must be on chems. Speaking of chems, I’m still not over the withdrawal of the Mint-als. And when I saw one of the Fiends chomp down on one, I felt angry that such good chems were in the hooves of these ponies.

“Courier. Look over there.” Brick whispered. I blinked and followed his gaze to see slave pins. Massive ones. Ragged ponies were wandering the area, some being insulted by the Fiends watching them.

“We will save them, Brick. But not yet.” I said. Brick sighed.

“I know… but, I just can’t accept it. She must be in that cage.” He said. I had to put a hoof on the red pony before he made a move.

“Brick, we have to remain undetected. If we get spotted and have to fight our way out of a gunfight, we might end up killing not only the Fiends, but probably some of the slaves. Which case, either one may be your friend.” I said. Brick wasn’t too happy, but he remained stoic.

“Alright. But we must make sure we don’t go overboard with the slaughter.” He said. I nodded.

“Don’t worry. This is why I have you along. I’m sure that as soon as you see your friend, you’ll tell me and I’ll signal Iris to signal the others. Then, we can worry about the slaves.” I said. I know my friends were tough and could handle themselves, but I hoped that Star and Sanity would be alright. The way they bullied my friends made me angry. Me and Brick stuck to the shadows as we made our way to the center of the ruined Fiend turf.

“So, Brick. When you say your friend is a Fiend, where would you think would be the best place she would be at?” I asked. Brick remained stoic as he spoke.

“I can only hope not in the sex pins or in the cannibal dining area.” He said. Okay, not much of an answer. “But, if I wanted to be a Fiend, I would probably stick near the center where everything is going on. Entertainment, gambling, chems. The works.” I smiled at him and nodded.

“You definitely need to speak to us every so often.” I said. Brick gave a slight nod, not even looking in my general direction.

“I feel like I need to speak what is only necessary.” He said. Or probably when addressed too. Those mares at the wedding were definitely frothing from behind with each innuendo they mentioned to Brick. There is a thing as being too much of a gentle colt. My oblivious friend scanned the cages before turning to me. “Looks like some of them have been here a while.” I looked over my shoulder and down the street to see a group of Fiends heading our way. I tapped his back.

“Hide.” I said. We quickly ducked into an alley and watched the Fiends march past us over to the slave cages. The ponies inside cowered as the one leading the group banged the cage.

“Alright, shit bags. It’s fighting time.” The Fiend said. The mare smirked. “And is it going to be one hell of a fight too. In fact, Misty Fog is being a generous mare and offering freedom to the best fighter.” She scanned the ponies. “If you want your freedom, then by all means.” She looked over and one of the Fiends opened the cage. “But, if you don’t value your freedom, then stay here and remain a pathetic shit bag.”

No pony moved. They knew that even though freedom is a blessing, it can also be a bad thing with these ponies. There is a catch to everything. The mare arched a brow.

“None of you want to be free? Fine by me. If you won’t provide the entertainment in the ring, then perhaps you would be so kind as to watch my dogs, while we watch ponies beat the crap out of each other.” She said with a smirk. I heard growling and barking when a Fiend brought two cyberdogs out of the building behind the cages and released into the pins. The ponies screamed and some made their way out of the cage while the rest were cornered.

I noticed one unfortunate mare being shaken furiously by a cyberdog that had her by the neck. It put a paw down onto her chest and pulled her head clean off. The dog happily chewed on the spine that came with the head. The second cyberdog went over and tried to snag a bite when the one growled and barked back in retaliation. As the dogs bit and scratched at each other, the Fiend whistled loudly and the cyberdogs righted in attention.

“Well then. It seems we have some volunteers already.” She said as she turned to the ones that had escaped the cage to avoid being attacked. The other Fiends had them at gunpoint. “Such a shame. My dogs were really looking forward to play time.” She made a noise with her mouth and the cyber dogs rushed to her, but not before one decided to keep the spined head of the mare as a souvenir. The cage was locked and the Fiends laughed as they trotted back down the road, leading the unfortunate ponies to their doom. I looked at Brick and he looked disturbed.

“I won’t let it come to that…” he muttered before turning to me. “We have to follow them.” I arched a brow. “That mare. That Fiend with the dogs…” he said. I gapped.

“Are you saying that’s your friend!?” I said. To my surprise and my immense relief, he shook his head.

“No. But she was there when the raiders took her away.” He said. “I bet us anything that if we follow that Fiend with the dogs, we will find her.” He said. I nodded.

“Alright then.” I said. Me and Brick stuck to the alleys and the buildings of the ruined territory, following the group of Fiends leading the slaves to the very center. We ducked into a destroyed building and peeked out from the hole. The Fiends were gathered in a small mass around an electrified cage. In it were skeletal corpses and some oddly fresh, but rotten ones. It also seemed like two ponies were already going at it. I blinked in confusion.

One of them was a pegasus mare. What’s even stranger was that she had no form of protection on her, she was coated in blood and she had a tattered blindfold on. The other pony was an earth pony mare. The earth pony galloped towards the blindfolded pegasus, knife in teeth. To my surprise, the pegasus swiftly side stepped, slugged the mare before spinning and bucking her straight into the electric fence. The mare screamed as a million volts coursed through her body, her flesh beginning to smoke.

The mare fell off of the cage, twitching and spasming. Me and Brick exchanged glances before looking back. The Fiends were cheering. There was a tower that over looked the arena and a Fiend stood up, smirking.

“That’s it! Our reigning champion remains the unbeatable! Is there no pony that can stop this destruction of mass chaos? I doubt it, but you never know!” the Fiends cheered as the blindfolded pegasus casually walked out of the cage and into a tunnel. I pointed over to where the pegasus mare disappeared into.

“Do you think your friend maybe in there?” I asked. Brick rubbed his chin as he looked.

“Let’s hope so.” He said. I scanned the area, trying to see which is the best course to take without being spotted. I frowned.

“Let’s try going around. It’s too crowded.” I said. And so we did. Heading back to the slave pins and sneaking around patrolling Fiends, we found ourselves at the back of the building where the arena event was going on. It sounded like two more ponies were going at it, for the crowd was going wild. I picked the simple lock easily and we entered, closing the door quietly behind us.

“You’re late.” A voice said. I halted and looked back. A gruff looking, but otherwise fit earth pony mare frowned at me. I know exactly who she is.

“Mrs. Cracker, I can explain. I-.” I didn’t get the chance to finish. I quickly ducked in surprise as a sand bag flew over my head, slamming into the wall behind me. I was scared shitless of her, I won’t lie. My combat trainer used to be an RCE drill Sargent before she decided to settle down in Pleasant Town. My classmates were smirking and muttering. My magenta colored combat trainer with the slightly buzzed cut mane growled.

“You’re lucky it was only a sandbag. On the battle field, it won’t be a sandbag, but a two ton ballista missile coming at ya’ in the blink of an eye.” Mrs. Cracker said. I was dead scared of her. For years, her constant brutal training was over the top and occasionally crossed the line. But if anypony found it funny or thought it was stupid, they instantly found themselves on the floor with twisted legs and broken back by our combat trainer.

“B-but I…” I stuttered. The fire in her eyes made me shut up and I quietly placed my saddle bags in a corner before standing in the neat line we always did before training. Mrs. Cracker looked us over, scowling in the process.

“Think you are all tough shots, eh? Think that the courier business is all sunshine and rainbows.” A colt next to me glanced her way. Unfortunately, she saw it. “What’s that Sunshine?” she asked as she looked the colt in the eye. Sunshine Sprinkles shrunk back in terror. “You think you can be better than me? On the battlefield, it’s not about being better. It’s about being the victor. And you’ll do better by being a victor. Am I clear?” Sunshine nodded slightly. “Am I clear!?” she rose her voice.

“Y-yes, Sargent Crackers, ma’am!” the terrified colt said.

“Good! Now, pair up with your combat partner! We begin now!” she said. She took a whistle and blew it. It didn’t take long for us to pair up. I found myself once again paired up with the familiar colt I had met a few days before. Comp smirked.

“You almost got it with the teach.” He said. I sighed.

“It wasn’t my fault.” I muttered. Comp arched a brow.

“Oh? Then tell me what’s up.” He said. The whistle blew and Comp quickly rushed me. My instincts quickly kicked in and I ducked a swing of his hoof, blocking it with one before bringing my other one towards his gut. Comp maybe taller than me, but he had left himself open a lot. However, this time he didn’t fall for the counter. Instead, he locked his free hoof around my hoof that was close to his gut. He twisted his body and I found myself flipping over and landing on my back on the mat. Comp dusted himself off.

“Think you’re clever huh?” I said with a frown. Comp cracked his neck.

“Well, I realized you have a pattern. So, now that I know your pattern, what are you going to do?” I kicked myself up off of the mat, landing on all fours before turning to face the colt.

“Won’t let it happen again.” I said with a smirk. Comp readied himself when it was my turn to strike. This was how it always was in combat training. Two ponies, no matter senior or cadet, would pair up and spar. You would be the unfortunate one if it was your first day in combat training and you get paired up by a senior who claims they will hold back, only to find yourself being flattened against the dull grey walls.

In fact, I noticed one young mare already flattened against the wall, her sparring partner beaming in triumph. I focused my attention back on Comp as we traded blow after blow and counter after counter. Huh, this memory was a few weeks in my training. Me and Comp had always sparred together. None of us really held back. Each blow would be hard and fast. Each counter would be brutal and painful. But by the end of the lesson, we would only come out with bruises and minor cuts while the rest either were unscathed or had to be taken to the medical wing of the stable. I took a deep breath, feeling tired out.

“My brother and sister make it look so easy…” I sighed. Comp smirked and gave a playful punch on my shoulder, making me wince.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve noticed that you also improved as well. That counter you pulled off when I had flipped over you? Pure genius.” He said. I gave a tired smile.

“I-it was just luck is all.” I said, flushing at the compliment.

I blinked and found myself facing the door that I had closed. I looked back behind me to see Brick looking around. I shook away my confusion. What’s the matter with me? Chryxal brings back memories and now they decide to bombard me while I’m trying to help a friend? I trotted over next to Brick.

“Are we in a factory?” he asked. I looked around. Dull gray walls. Workbenches and terminal booths. I rubbed the back of my head.

“It looks like it. But I think we are just in a warehouse.” I trotted over to the faded out logo on the wall. They were so worn out that I couldn’t make heads or tail of any letter. Brick hissed and I instantly ducked down behind a booth while Brick took the one across from me. A Fiend had entered the room and looked around. It was just the one Fiend. But my EFS says there are more. But the dots appear to be above us. We waited for the Fiend to get closer before I popped out of my hiding place, locking my foreleg around her neck and muffling her yelp of surprise with my hoof. I drug her back and with a quick twist of her head, she crumpled to the floor, never moving again. I salvaged what I could off of her. Just a Med-X and ammo were all she was good for. Brick frowned at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing. Let’s just keep looking.” He said. There was a small hint of annoyance in his tone. Is he upset because I killed a Fiend? Or was it the way I killed her? As lovable Brick can be, he can be pretty confusing in his stoicism. I sighed and lightly kicked the body of the mare before following after him. Once again, we sidled against the wall and peeked out from the door.

Just what I expected from my recent encounters with Fiends. Gore. Lots of it. Dismembered bodies of unfortunate ponies on hooks and in cages. Raiders never cease to disgust me. We crept close to the wall. I checked my PipBuck. Again, whoever designed them were top notch. My objective was already highlighted and a marker on my map was already placed. I switched over to local.

“Hmm… I can’t tell if it wants us to go up or down.” I said, rubbing the back of my head in confusion. Brick looked at my PipBuck and nodded.

“Alright then. I take the top, you take the bottom.” He said. I blinked, watching Brick casually walk over to the door way that had stairs leading up.

“I… but… wait, Brick!” I whispered. But my quiet friend was already making his way up the stairs. I sighed. I know Brick is dead worried about his friend. Whoever gave him the lead, apparently made it a mystery whether Brick’s friend was alive, dead, a slave or a Fiend. What was strange, however was Brick acting a little more… passive aggressive. Or maybe he had always been passive aggressive and decided not to speak out in case he offended anyone.

I didn’t like the idea of splitting up. My EFS was showing signs of Fiend activity around us and I was worried Brick might do something stupid in his determined mind. I snuck down the hall and reached a metal door. It hissed open when I turned the latch. I walked quietly down the stairs that led to the basement level. Reaching the bottom of the steps, I couldn’t help but hear something… metallic. I strained my ears, trying to get a better listen on the sound.

It sounded like a piston. I followed the sound, keeping my eyes out for any Fiends that happen to be around. My EFS showed a multitude of blue and red dots. I found myself creeping low as I entered into a metal balcony. Looking out of the window, I gapped. Well, now I know that this is indeed a factory warehouse. The next thing I noticed were the ragged ponies slaving away at what looked like everyday metal junk. There were four conveyor belts that snaked through the wall and back out. Each conveyor belt had some sort of piston contraption that crushed the metal and spat it out for the next slaves to handle.

But what I couldn’t put my hoof on was what exactly were they making? I didn’t take long to spot neatly lined metal cargo crates against the far ends of the walls. Fiends were crawling all over the place. I witnessed a colt and a filly being shouted at by one of the Fiends before the Fiend took the butt of her rifle and smashed it against the poor filly’s face. I spotted a few other ponies that were lined up against a wall that seemed to be covered in months of blood. A Fiend slowly walked by, executing them, before turning to another group of frightened slaves and saying something.

I couldn’t look anymore when I witnessed a young filly be dragged away from her working post and was pinned down while a whopping Fiend had his way with her. I grit my teeth. Never cease to disgust me. I couldn’t do anything to help the slaves, even if I wanted to. There were just too many Fiends for me to handle. And I want to conserve as much magic as I could. Borrowing Din’s power would just put everyone in danger. Trying my best to ignore the screams of the helpless filly over the sound of hissing pistons, I walked down the metal hall and turned the corner.

I stiffened when I found myself in an small office area. Filing cabinets were lined against the wall next to a desk with a terminal. Behind the desk, however, was a Fiend. The mare looked up from the terminal and balked.

“What the hell!? Intruder!!” she bolted over to a button as I brought out Malice. I blew the head into oblivion, but a little too late. An alarm sounded and I grit my teeth.

“Fucking dammit.” I hissed. I rushed over to the terminal, hoping to find that it was some sort of defense setting. I beamed when there was indeed a defense system. I quickly reprogrammed the turrets targeting parameters and I heard the surprised yelps of ponies from the machine area. I had a terrible feeling that I accidently made the turrets fire onto the slaves. But my fears were snuffed when a Fiend came rushing into the room, only to be rittled with bullet holes from a turret that was by the door.

He fell to the floor in a bloody heap and I wasted no time in moving. So much for stealth. The one time I fuck up just so happens to be in the middle of a Fiend infested warehouse. I holstered Malice and brought out Courage, galloping out of the door and across a metal catwalk that had stairs leading down to the factory floor. I looked down and felt relieved when I saw the slaves staying low while the turrets fired onto the Fiends. Unfortunately, I was running out of turrets. The Fiends wasted no time in destroying them.

I conjured four copies and we headed down the walkway, jumping over the railing and landing on our hooves before firing onto the Fiends. I rushed over to a crippled Fiend and executed the mare. While my copies handled the rest, I scanned the slaves. Dammit, it would have helped if Brick told me what she looked like. I felt something tug the flap of my duster and I turned to see Sanity hiding under the conveyor belt.

“So, new plan?” she asked. I nodded, picking up the executed Fiend’s shotgun and tossing it to her. Sanity cocked it before firing at a Fiend that got too close. The buck’s body rag dolled with a missing leg.

“Where’s Star?” I asked as I shot down another Fiend. Sanity took out two more before speaking.

“I-I don’t know. When they took us in, they separated us. I hope he’s okay.” She blinked and looked past me. “Where’s Brick?” I sighed and motioned with a hoof upwards.

“He went upstairs to search the higher level. I was about to tell him it was a bad idea, but he went with it anyway.” I said. Sanity looked sad.

“Oh… is he alright?” she asked. I shrugged but smiled.

“Hell, Brick’s a demolitionist. He won’t let raiders get him twice.” I said. I heard a small whimper and looked over. I felt my heart shatter when I saw the helpless filly that had been violated only seconds ago. The Fiend laid dead on top of her. I quickly pushed the corpse off of her and held her close to me. “Are you okay?” The filly said nothing, but just sobbed.

I felt my anger boil deep inside. This shouldn’t happen to ponies like her. None of this should! The world is a sick place. I sighed. Of course, there is nothing we can do but to move on and deal with it. I saw a grinning Fiend aim at us, but I fired the first shot. The mare rolled back her eyes before falling to the floor. There was the sound of a crack and I turned just in time to see Fiends yelping and rubbing their eyes.

Sanity lowered her leg from shielding her eyes and looked up. Following her gaze, I saw Brick with his weapon drawn. He quickly loaded another grenade in and fired down. The metal canister bounced once before exploding into an electric frenzy. The blind Fiends spazzed and fell to the floor. And just like that, it was over.

The quietness that followed after was a strange thing for me to hear. I expected more Fiends to come in, but it seemed like Brick shocked them all to death. Or… put enough volts into them to knock them out. I had all my caps bet on the latter. Sanity smiled and waved.

“Brick! Down here!” she called out. Some of the slaves were peeking out of their hiding spots. Brick wasn’t smiling. And neither was he stoic. In fact, he looked… angry. What is wrong with him? Even Sanity seemed to notice Brick’s change of mood. “Brick?” Our friend said nothing but scanned the area. His expression changed to a sullen disappointment. And as quickly as he showed it, he immediately changed to surprised. And I knew why.

“Alright, boy. How about you drop that launcher of yours and be a good little shit bag.” The Fiend said. I heard the filly whimper and hug close to me. I looked to see one of the cyberdogs growling at us. They were a little bigger than I thought they were from afar. Me and Sanity backed away with the filly as the cyberdog took intimidating steps towards us. The second cyberdog jumped down from a railing and landed with a loud clink of metallic claws.

I didn’t like the odds of being surrounded by cyberdogs the size of Rex. And I didn’t want to involve any of the slaves too. I looked back to Brick, who had just tossed his launcher down on the catwalk, leaving the Fiend to kick it off of the metal walkway and smirked.

“I think we found our next contestants for the Blood Bowl.” She said.
hr]

I once again found myself without my barding or my gear. It shouldn’t feel strange. Most ponies normally don’t wear clothes. But I felt… naked. The same goes with my friends. The alarm had caused such an uproar. Eventually, some of the Fiends began to recognize me. I frowned when they started throwing vulgar insults directly towards me. I’m the one that killed Cooker after all. The Fiend with the cyberdogs had me shackled at the hooves and neck to prevent me from doing anything funny.

I stood with Sanity and Brick. Fortunately for them, they were being held at gunpoint while I was the attraction of the day. I glanced up once to see if Iris would come swooping down. I hoped not. There were just too many Fiends and slaves. And even though she is a perfect super soldier, it doesn’t mean that she can’t die or be injured like a normal pony. What worried me even more was that there was still no sign of Shining Star. I figured the egghead might be planning a great rescue and escape plan. The Fiend forced me back to attention.

“So, what’s this I hear about Cooker’s death? That you are the one who killed him?” the Fiend asked. I gave her a cold glare. Hopefully, that was a good enough response for her. She laughed in a hysterical manor. “Oh, that is just too grand! I have to thank you for the generous deed you’ve given me! With him out of the way, I have a better shot at being lead Fiend. Motor Head will just have to see me as his next in line!” I smirked coolly.

“Motor Head, the Fiend who had a chainsaw? Holed up in a Stable?” I scrunched my muzzle up in feign thought. I gave her a sly look. “And the buck I stabbed in the eye with a shot of Hydra and used his own chainsaw against him? That Motor Head?” The laughing Fiend faltered her laugh and turned to me. Apparent anger in her eyes.

“Come again, shit bag?” she asked. I continued to smirk as I spoke.

“Oh? Didn’t hear that Cooker’s own reaper also brutally killed Motor Head?” I scoffed. “I’m not surprised, considering I literally used your leader’s weapon to kill every Fiend there. Cooker and Motor Head included.” The Fiend slugged me good across the muzzle. I spat blood out and smiled. The Fiend was pissed.

“Motor Head is dead… by you?” she quickly turned to the expanding crowd of Fiends below us that were gathered around the electrified gated arena. “You hear that!!? Cooker and Motor Head died to this bitch!!!” she shouted. The crowd erupted into boos and insults. I chuckled.

“If you Fiends weren’t so busy with chems and fornicating, then maybe they would still be around. You guys are complete idiots to the very end.” I said. I noticed Sanity giving me a worried look. Brick remained stoic. Again, the Fiend slugged me twice. One across my muzzle and one to my gut. I felt the wind leave me.

“You have the balls to call us idiots!?” she yanked my head up by my mane and glared at me with a cold smile. “Let’s see how long you last in the Blood Bowl. Oh, and you won’t have the honors of being escorted to the cages. You are going to start right now.” As she said ‘now’, she turned and shoved me forward. I tripped over my shackles and fell down into the electrified arena. I gasped for breath, feeling the wind leave me again. It was painful to breath. I looked back.

I fell a good two stories and I’m pretty sure I would have broken my ribs or back if I didn’t have the star metal making up my bones. It still hurt like a bitch though. The cage sparked and crackled around me as I shakily stood up.

“Attention Fiends! We have a very special fight for you all! We have here, our own reaper, fight it out to the death with the other shit bags! Hope you brought plenty of flesh, because tonight… she will have no breaks! No form of rest! That’s right, she will be fighting in our special Gauntlet Match!” The crowd roared into cheers. I looked down at my shackled hooves and found that the two story fall broke the rusty chains. I sighed.

Once again, I find myself in a difficult situation. Because as soon as I rubbed my sore leg, a cage to the left of me opened up and two slaves were shoved out into the arena. I grit my teeth, seeing the utter fear in their eyes.

“The winner that kills the shit bag wins not only their freedom, but will have the privilege of never being attacked by us for the rest of their lives.” She said. A bell rang and I backed away as the terrified slaves remained at the spot.

“I-I don’t want to kill anyone… I just… I want to go home…” the mare cried. I was about to reassure her that everything was going to be okay when all of a sudden, the mare next to her bashed her aside the head with a rock. The mare was instantly on top of the mare, bringing the rock down on the mare over and over and over again. The unfortunate mare gurgled, her bones crunching at the sound of each hit from the rock. Dammit… what should I do? I don’t want to kill helpless ponies. I want to help them. The mare with the rock cried as she delivered the last blow that silenced the other mare forever.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… forgive me….” Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she turned to me. I readied myself.

“Think about what you are doing.” I warned her. She swayed a little towards me with each step.

“I… I have… I want to go back… I want to be free…. I want to see my precious daughter again…” she said.

“And you will. I can help you.” I said.

“No… you can’t. You don’t know what it’s like. Having to be constantly tortured by those… vile ponies. They mock you… Rape you… beat you… I don’t want that anymore…” she held the rock up. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see my daughter again.” I grit my teeth again.

“You’re right. I don’t know what it’s like having to be used as their tool. But I know the feeling all too well in my life. My childhood has been complete shit. And besides, do you really want to take on the very mare that slaughtered an entire Fiend territory let alone kill their leader and his right hand man and live to tell the tale?” I backed away as she swung the rock at me. “Don’t do this!” I said.

“I don’t care! I want to see my daughter! I want to go back home!” she charged me. Karma had come to rescue me again, but at a price. The mare tripped over her own hoof. I side stepped and the unfortunate mare fell straight into the electrified fence. She screamed as the electricity coursed through her. I backed away, seeing smoke rise from her and the smell of burnt flesh reaching my nostrils. The crowd booed at me and without warning, another cage opened up and this time, it was slaves that rushed out with the sole intention of survival.

But that’s what my father wanted me to be. A survivalist. Instinct kicked in and I ducked as a ragged mare slave jumped me. I bucked her off and dodged a hoof swing from a buck. I had backed up into another slave that locked his fore legs around mine and held me up. The buck that swiped at me rushed me and was about to slug me in the gut. But I lifted up my hind legs and planted them hard into his face. It was enough to leverage me over the buck that held me. I rolled to my hooves while the buck fell flat on his back.

“Stop it! I can help you!” I said. I blocked another hoof swing and shoved the mare into the other mare, making both stumble back. I found myself groaning in frustration as one of the bucks planted a hoof across my cheek and blocked his second swing, locking my hoof around his outstretched foreleg and flipped him over.

“Keep at it, cadet!” I heard a voice shout. I blinked and looked over, seeing my combat trainer shouting at me. I was once again in my class room. I was surrounded by two colts and two fillies. “The Wasteland is a harsh land! You’ll find yourself outnumbered multiple times!” Mrs. Cracker said.

I bobbed and weaved as a colt swiped at me with a hoof. I moved in, turning and locking my hooves over his outstretched foreleg before heaving him over me and into a sandbag.

“Don’t act like it’s over yet!” I blocked a filly’s swings and I noticed the other colt taking the advantage. I quickly strafed and shoved the filly into the colt. They crashed into each other and I followed it up by spinning and delivering a good applebuck to the filly’s back, sending them stumbling over each other into the dull grey stable wall. “They will come at you at every turn! A courier must be ready for anything! Never let your guard down for a second!” The last filly tackled me. We rolled and when I found myself on the top, I planted my hooves down and pinned her to the mat. “Finish it!”

And I did. I continued to pound away at the filly. The adrenaline coursing through me. The sheer satisfaction of injuring this pony. It felt amazing! I grinned as I kept wailing away at her. “Enough, cadet! You’ve won!” Mrs. Cracker said. But I ignored her and kept going. Eventually, the filly’s blood was spattering all over the mat. “Cadet, stand down!” I kept going.

“Courier, stop!!” I felt myself being tackled and pinned to the ground. I thrashed underneath Mrs. Cracker’s hoof.

“Why are you stopping me!? I have to win! You said so yourself, the Wasteland is harsh! It is never kind! That is what he said! He always told me that!” I shouted. Mrs. Cracker glared coldly at me.

“Look at yourself, Courier!” she barked. I blinked once, hearing the constant boos from the crowd. “Snap out of it, Courier!” I heard a voice say. I blinked again and looked up. Star was looking down at me, pinning me against the bloodied cement.

“S-Star?” I asked. He gave a sigh of relief.

“Had me worried there. You looked like you were ready to murder.” He looked to his left. “And I’m glad I was able to stop you in time too.” I followed his gaze and noticed the bloodied mare next to me. She was unconscious. Star stepped off of me and I stood up, shaking. “You going to be okay?” he asked. I nodded, rubbing my head.

“What’s the matter, shit bag? Don’t you want your freedom? The mark that will protect you from anymore Fiends?” The mare said over the intercom. I looked up to the tower, seeing Sanity and Brick still being held at gunpoint. I glared at the Fiend.

“You have no idea who you are dealing with, do you?” Star shouted back. “This is the Savior of the Roads! The very mare that has saved countless lives!” I flushed a little at the comment, but maintained my glare. “As her friend, I won’t let her be manipulated into killing innocent ponies!” Star certainly has a way with words, because the Fiend looked surprised.

“The Savior?” I saw her grit her teeth. Then, she changed it to a smirk. “Well then. I guess our luck is about to change!” she stood up on her hind legs and outstretched her forelegs out to the crowd. “What do you say we go ahead and throw in The Cold Wind?” The crowd erupted into cheers. Me and Star exchanged glances. He then looked grimly at me.

“In the short time being put into the slave pins, I heard about a certain pony they call the Cold Wind. Apparently a demon to them.” The cage in front of us not too far away opened and the crowd began chanting “Cold Wind! Cold Wind!”. Out from the darkness of the cage stepped out a familiar pony. The blindfolded pegasus stopped a few feet away from us and the crowd cheered. The pegasus mare had an ivory color hide and her mane was colored of cerulean. She wore no form of protection and I saw her cutie-mark in the design of three squiggle lines over a cloud. The mare shifted her head slightly to face me.

“I sense two maidens.” She said in a monotone voice. “Seems your sisters arrived earlier than expected… Shiva.”

Footnote: Level Up!

Author's Notes:

I apologize for the late upload. Whie yes, I ahve tehse chapters already typed out and revised on a word doc and can easily post them without much effort, I have been greatly finding myself a little... preoccupied. While I still intend to finish both this and Lucid Dreams, I have found them at the bottom of my priority list.

A certain original idea I originally had years ago came back to my mind and I wanted to see it fleshed out. An idea that was meant for another fic and on a different site. But the idea never came to fruition... until now. Some of you may know what I am talking about, but if not, feel free to check my profile and it will state what I am currently working on.