Just ain't natural... The plants grow...

The steel walls of 32 were covered in a thick blanket of moss. Blades of grass stuck through the grated floor of the room, beyond the 24 inches of reinforced steel that would have once been considered the only thing keeping the inhabitants of 32 alive.

Roots and vines dangled from the ceiling, which would have had me running, had they been hissing. But these ones were silent, and they weren't moving. That was good enough for me.

I found myself holding my breath, after I found them to be normal, then exhaled with relief, before continuing on my way. Fluky stayed by my side; just as wary as I was, I had noticed.

The lights that weren't already torn from the ceiling or shattered were either flickering uncontrollably, or just weren't doing anything. Some were even dangling, all while casting our shadow on the floor.

Even then, the ones that showed a hint that the power was still working were quite dim, even when they did light up for a brief second.

That was definitely going to be troublesome on my sight, and Fluky's... Especially with the raiders still wandering about, seeing what they could take... and kill.

The intercom was crackling, but I caught the faint sign of a message through all the crude interruptions that communicable technology had to offer.

Flaws...

I approached it silently and tried to listen to what the message was. I had doubts that I'd get the full thing, but I'd at least try to put the scrambled mess together to try and get the most of it.

"-sperate need of-" Chhk! "-ors are floo-" Fzzt! "-munition-" I heard an alarm blaring in the background, during what little I could hear of the message. "-sole survivor of-" Static had decided to take up the rest of it, but I didn't need to hear the rest to find out what the message was. I had heard it plenty times before, save for the alarm. The heavy downpour outside had canceled out that noise.

One final part came in, before the intercom gave up completely, and let the static take over once more.

"Help me..."

"If you're still alive, I'll do my best..." I spoke softly, staring at the intercom before me.

I felt eyes on me, and I discovered whose, after looking down at Fluky. She gave me a single nod of her head and started for the door on the other end of the room. It remained open, considering a root had grown through its passage and laid along the floor. The other side, beyond the door, looked as if it led to a corridor.

I caught up with her, and just like when we stepped past the door that was marked '32,' we stuck by each other's side.

We stepped into the next room, and despite the dim, orange lighting, we didn't have to deal with the strobe lights at the stable entrance, which put a lot of ease on my sight.

Roots, flowers, and grass grew from a field of moss that stretched along the corridor for a bit of ways. Where moss ended, dirt began, and through that, floral life looked to grow stronger and healthier than the life that arose from said moss. Even then, the plants from the moss looked fairly normal. Everything in here looked just like the flora I read about in books... only, they were in gardens. Not underground bomb shelters.

Something in my gut was screaming at me to get out of there. That whatever was here, it was best left undiscovered.

But... well... Curiosity killed the cat.

I really hoped that wasn't going to be the case, here.

We had already sacrificed the life of a pony to get here... I... I didn't want Para's death to be in vain... It didn't feel right...

"Fluky." I looked down at her, and she looked back up at me. "I think maybe I should go the rest of the way on my own. I don't think it's safe for you."

She frowned. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

I looked down the corridor, all the way down to the end, where it turned left. "I couldn't promise Para's safety... I can't promise yours, either. In the end, it's your choice, but I'm asking that you think about this carefully..." I looked back down at her. "Are you sure you want to come with me?"

She glanced down the same stretch of corridor, then back to me with a sad smile. "I'm a tough girl. I'll get through it."

I gave a single nod in reply. "I sure hope so..." I murmured under my breath, before continuing on.

For a second, I heard a voice at the far end, making me stop dead in my tracks as I stared ahead; my heart pounding in my chest.

Then came the hissing of static and the crackling of a malfunctioning system.

It wasn't just one intercom that was playing the message from earlier. It seemed to be the entire first floor of the stable, though most of the speakers and intercoms here were busted... thankfully. Otherwise, this would have just been another headache to deal with. Plus, I wanted to keep my ears open for any of the raiders, so that we could have enough time to find someplace to hide.

Without weapons or armor, I didn't stand a chance against anything right now.

"Watch my six, Flukes..." I said softly as we continued forward.

"Watch your... what?" She raised a brow. "Also, what have I said about calling me that?"

I shook my head and sighed. "Keep an eye on our rear. Make sure nothing is sneaking up behind us."

She nodded. "Got it."

We kept at a slow, cautious pace, and just as we were about to turn the corner, Fluky pressed her hoof into my side, causing me to wince and look over with annoyance. She immediately took her hoof away with an apologetic look, then looked down before her.

"What's that?" She asked.

I observed a variety of metal scraps, and picked up a burnt out motherboard and a thin, metal tube. I looked up at an empty, crackling socket in the ceiling, and that's when I knew what we were going to have to deal with.

"Turret..." I muttered, dropping the contents back down on the floor. "Sentry turret." I looked down at her with worried eyes. "Be vigilant. Try not to wander."

She quietly nodded, and I peeked around the corner to be greeted by another long stretch of corridor. At the end was a set of stairs that descended further into the stable. There were four doors on each side of the hall.

I didn't see anything that posed a threat, thus far, so I signaled Fluky to stay, stepped out into the open, and waited a few seconds.

Nothing beeped, clicked, or whirred, and I wasn't shot yet, so that had to count for something.

I nodded to Fluky, and together, we ventured down the new corridor, until we reached the first two doors. I tried opening both, but they seemed to be jammed.

Along the way, I tried the others.

The left door of the second set had succumbed to the vegetation over the last two centuries, and I couldn't find a way of going in there, even if I wanted to. The right door was jammed, just like the first two.

The left door on the third row didn't appear to be jammed, by my surprise.

But it was locked...

Sigh...

The right, however, was unlocked and unjammed, but upon it opening, all I was greeted with was a wall of dirt, rocks, and roots.

I shook my head in annoyance and continued on to the final set of doors.

The left was unlocked, unjammed, and didn't have a wall of dirt to disappoint me.

It led to a dimly lit maintenance closet, filled with a large variety of metal scraps. There was a series of tools that was secured in a thick, rolled up, black fabric on a shelf - which, admittedly, made my eyes light up with joy - a few busted radios, which rested next to the tools on the third shelf, and some hooflockers, which resided in the corner of the room.

I snatched the set of tools and discovered that there was a strap just big enough to fit around my chest. I wasted no time wrapping the strap around me and moved on to the hooflockers.

Inside the first one was nothing more than electronic scraps. Wires here, circuit boards there. By the looks of it, they were beyond fried, so nothing really fascinated me here. I moved on to the other locker. Chances were it was just the same as the first one, but it was still worth a look, either way.

I opened it, expecting nothing more than trash. Instead, I was greeted with a set of black and blue Stable-Tec security barding, a helmet with a protective visor that covered the upper half of a ponies facial features, a baton, and a 10 millimeter pistol with a box of ammo and two spare clips!

"Uh..." I heard Fluky say, but I didn't bother looking over. Finally, her hoof caught my attention, once she waved it in front of my eyes. "You okay there, Robutt?"

I blinked and looked at her, then closed my mouth and wiped away the drool that had been dripping from my bottom lip. "Oh, I'm just fine." I smirked, then grabbed the helmet and slipped it over my head.

I removed the leather jacket and slipped into the barding that bared the mark '32.' I'd have given Fluky the leather jacket, but she was far too small for it. It was loose, even on me. There was no way it was going to fit her.

I looked back in to take the baton and ten mil, but something else had caught my eye.

A folded note.

I blinked, then calmly reached out for it. I was curious what it had to say... or who wrote it, for that matter.

I unfolded it and started reading.

The overmare doesn't know what she's doing. I knew from the start that opening that mine was a big mistake. First, we turn from a medical station to a goddess-damned production line, and now we have... whatever the fuck these things are, wandering the damn stable and killing everyone. She needs to pay with her blood. Coward is hiding in her office, while everyone else is getting eaten alive and screaming. She keeps four guards with her. All of them are inside the office.

I managed to sneak some stuff out of the armory, during the confusion. Full set of security armor, 10 millimeter pistol, box of ammo, two extra clips, baton. If you can, try and make it look like an accident. Use some tools to make something burst or something, I don't know... If you take the security route, make sure you look the part, and don't let anyone recognize you. If you can, by any chance, lure the guards out, that would be the most advised option, in my book. I like to see it as taking the moral high ground. I'd do this myself, but we both know what's happening to me, and I'm too weak to fight at this point...

Remember. Try not to kill anyone else. Nopony else needs to die.

Just the one that started this whole mess. - O

Looked like whoever was going to assassinate the overmare never got around to it, seeing as all the equipment was still here.

And what was this about a mine?

I had a new series of questions popping up in my head, that I could only hope I'd get the answers to, for the sake of satisfying my own curiosity. This seemed a little more promising than my former experiences with the fragmented past, when it came to getting answers.

I dropped the note, bit down on the handle of the baton, and dropped it in front of Fluky. "Let's start you off with something simple."

She looked up at me with a raised brow and a mild frown. "You want me to get closer to danger?"

I shook my head. "No. But if you find yourself cornered, I want you to use it. Don't be merciful... The raiders won't give you the same courtesy."

"Sooo..." She paused, regarding me. "You want me to be you?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, before giving her a disapproving look.

"I'm kidding." She stated simply. "Thanks, Robutt." With that, she closed her eyes. Her horn started to light up, and that same, yellow aura surrounded the baton. The weapon twitched a few times before gradually raising off the ground by a few inches. She groaned and winced in desperate attempts to wield it telekinetically. Tears escaped her eyes as she fought to keep it under control. However, it seemed that the longer and harder she tried, the weaker her grip became.

It finally came down to her horn flickering a few times, along with the light around the baton, before it fell against the hard, steel floor with a metal clang that had me worried that we may have alerted our presence.

She sighed and hung her head down in defeat as she took large gulps of air into her lungs. Seconds passed, and she finally opened her eyes again. "I'm a joke..." She muttered under her breath.

"It takes time, Fluky." I said with a reassuring smile. "Equestria wasn't built in a day, you know."

"It was destroyed in one." She looked up at me with sad eyes, which soon became stern. "You're an Earth pony. What do you know about magic anyways?"

I let out a sigh. "You're great with magic, Fluky. I've seen it."

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Back at the motel, when Para and I were a few seconds away from being torn apart? I don't know what you did, but I saw a light come from the dumpster you were hiding in, and that's when they stopped attacking. That's when they died." I pointed my hoof to her chest. "You have a gift when it comes to magic. But you just don't know how to control it, yet."

She sat on her haunches and looked down. "Hm..."

I sat down before her. "And to answer your previous question, where I'm from, the unicorns your age don't have nearly enough ability to perform a telekinesis spell like you just did. If you had lived in my... er... the bunker, you would have been the most skilled one there."

"Yeah..." She hung her head down again. "Well, thanks for the pep talk, Robutt." She stood up as she spoke dismissively. She bit down on the baton and continued in a muffled tone. "Can we go now?"

Reluctantly, I nodded, before biting down on the grip of the pistol and slipping it into the holster of the armor I wore. I took the spare clips, checked if they were full, and after discovering that they were, I slipped those into a small satchel on my left side, towards the front. The box of ammo went in there with them.

We stepped out into the main corridor, and I tried the final door, across from the one we just left. I wasn't too surprised when I found out it was locked.

We both faced the plant-infested stairs that led further down into the stable, before looking to one another.

"You can turn back now." I said with a somber tone. "Once you go down there, that chance might cease to exist."

"I could say the same to you." Fluky replied with a blank expression.

I looked down the stairs and took a deep breath. "No... I won't let Para's death be in vain... and if there really is somebody left alive down there, I am going to help them..."

Fluky nodded silently, and together, we moved down into the second floor of Stable 32.

The bottom of the stairs had brought us to a T-intersection. Our options were either to go straight ahead, or turn left.

The route ahead had a series of window panes all along the left side, though many of them were covered in moss and various other plant life.

The left route went down a level, then ended with a door on the right side, remaining closed in the flickering stretch.

Yeah, I... didn't like the look of that.

I looked up at the two dimly lit, dirt-covered signs above us, which were side by side with each other.

The sign on the left read 'ATRIUM' and had an arrow pointing left, respectively. The sign on the right pointed forward, reading 'LIVING QUARTE-' A vine had covered up the last part of the sign.

Well, I knew where I was going.

I looked down to the filly beside me. "I'm going to check on the living quarters, and see if I can't find the pony on the broadcast." If they're alive, that is... "You coming?"

She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at me. "I have a choice?"

"Everyone has a choice."

Her lips curled into a mirthless smirk. "I'll stick with you."

"Safety in numbers." I nodded. "That's a good choice."

She turned her head and giggled softly, though I could tell she was trying to hide it from me. She was just failing miserably at it.

We made our way forward, and as we passed the first window that wasn't entirely covered in moss, vines, roots, and all of the above, I got a good view of what I figured was the atrium.

A tree stood tall and alone in the very center of the room, reaching up as far as the ceiling would allow it. Tables and chairs had been overturned or pushed to the sides, along the walls. The roots spread across the floor like snakes, and made their way up walls and into the vents. Some of them had even reached the ceiling.

All around the tree were various figures of ponies, standing still... As still and quiet as statues in a garden. There was an unsettling nature about all this that made me just want to keep moving forward and away from the atrium...

Upon reaching the end of the hall, we turned right, down another set of stairs. The door to the living quarters had been opened by brute force, causing us to carefully walk over the thick, metal steel slab with a series of warning labels about proximity while it was closing.

A rather large dent had impacted one side of the door like a crater to land, after say... a megaspell bomb went off. I imagined that the opposite end had a hill formed into it.

I found myself wondering what this door's metaphorical megaspell was, and that whatever it was, it was long gone.

That was a question I preferred to leave unanswered.

We stepped into the residential section of the stable and came to a stop at a four way intersection. I looked left, but was only greeted by a lot of roots, vines, and flowers, which resided on a floor of dirt. I had already seen what was ahead of me, which was pretty much the same thing, with the exception that there was a T-intersection at the end, so I turned right, and that was when I froze. My breath caught in my throat.

A sentry stood before us, on all four wheels... and fully operational. It's red, intimidating glare of a light shined through the bars of its head, looking directly at us with what I assumed was malicious intent.

"PRESENT YOUR BADGE."

I raised a brow as I looked on at the machine. "My... My badge?"

It raised its gatling at me immediately. "PRESENT YOUR BADGE."

I looked around in a state of panic. "I uh... I forgot it. Can I go back and get it? It'll just be real qui-"

"PRESENT YOUR BADGE. FINAL WARNING."

"Wait!" Fluky shouted, ripping something off the side of my barding. She stepped between me and the sentry, holding out a badge. "Here it is!"

The sentry grew quiet as it stared...

Staring... Staring... Scaring both of us in the process. We didn't know what to expect. Would it let us pass? Would it just bombard us without word of warning? Would it spontaneously combust!? The not knowing was starting to freak me out!

Agh! The silence was getting unbeara-

"INVALID. PRESENTATION OF PROPER BADGE HAS FAILED TO BEEN MET. LETHAL ACTION IS PERMITTED."

"Fuck, Fluky run!"

She dropped the badge and immediately booked it down the corridor across from the doorframe we just stepped through.

I had thought that I'd have at least a second to get out of the sentries sight, but the moment she ran was the same moment its gatling sprayed me with scorching hot lasers that, even through the protective barding, I felt all too well...

My chest was burning even worse than my flank was, back when Fire had shot me.

I turned left and started to make a run for it. I caught sight of Fluky jumping through the circular opening of a vent, just as a red light started coming down from the intersection ahead.

Before I could react, another sentry stopped me in my tracks, and I ran back out, heading for the left corridor. I wasted no time reaching the first door.

My flank was getting a lot of attention these past two weeks... First, I got shot by my good for nothing sister, and now I was receiving a full barrage of laser to the ass, making me cry out in agony and run just a little more unusual than I was earlier.

If only things were as easy as turning around, yelling 'TIMES!' and having everypony cease fire on me, back when I was a colt that had toy gun battles with the others. Ah, those were the times...

I certainly didn't have to deal with this bullshit.

Something I find myself thankful for was that there was a cooldown on the gatling, and the sentry was stuck on a root, so it couldn't follow me. It didn't seem to even consider using the missiles, for some reason.

I slammed against the panel to the first door, and to my surprise, it actually opened! Finally, some luck was coming my wa-

The door opened, and I found myself face to... sphere... with a dirt covered Mr. Handy. Part of its frame had rusted away, but it was still operational, it seemed.

"Well, my goodness! It seems we have an imposter on the loose!" The machine spoke in a classy tone as the rotary saw blade of one of its three arms came to life. It adjusted itself to swing down on me in attempts to dug into my skull.

Spoke... er... thought too soon.

I jumped back as it swung down and kept running. At that point, the gatling started up again. Most of my body had suffered injuries from it, and I didn't know how much left I had in me...

However, due to the distance between us, I wasn't getting hit nearly as much as I was earlier.

"Stop right there, you impersonating embezzler!" The Mr. Handy continued as he left the room, coming after me, to which the sentry ceased fire. "I know a klepto when I see one! Did you really think you could just saunter right in and take what isn't yours!? Pilfering is most unruly, and will not be condoned here, thank you very much!"

I slammed my hoof against the next door, and like the first one, this one opened, but looking back, I saw that hiding in here wasn't going to be an option. They'd search this room top to bottom until I was found, and there was nothing to really stop them from getting in.

With that in mind, I kept running.

I found myself reaching the end of the corridor. I didn't see it from back there, but there was another route to the right.

Another thing I didn't see was another Mr. Handy coming around the corner. It had one appendage that resembled its eye, instead of three, like it would have had if it came right off the assembly line at Robronco. Said appendage started from the upper half of its sphere-like body, then arched downward; the end being a smaller sphere with a yellow light that resembled its retina.

"I urge you to halt this commotion at once!" It blurted as it spun and looked at me. "This is a safe, peaceful society of ponies, and you are disturbing this fine establishment!"

"Get out of my fucking way!" I shouted as it pointed its flamer at me.

Before it could engulf me in flame, I passed by it, raised my two hind legs, and bucked it as hard as I could muster, which admittedly, didn't do any favors for the comfort on my injured hoof.

I glanced back to see it slam against the wall with a loud thud. It quickly recovered and shook its eye, before staring at me again.

"Well, I never!" He started chasing after me, and I spun around, bit down on the grip of my newly acquired pistol, and aimed at the machine that was about ready to cut my head clean off my body, as the saw buzzed to life. "Your behavior is most discourteous, and must be concluded at once!"

I aimed down the sight and pulled the trigger with my tongue, but the rounds only bounced off its frame, having no effect on it in the slightest.

The other Handy unit turned the corner, closing in after me.

"At once I say! I demand you stop!"

I couldn't keep running forever. I developed stitches in my sides, and I was far too injured to keep this up. My lungs were burning from the exhaustion; I didn't run far, but the amount of energy it took to even do so wore me out incredibly fast.

In my state of panic as I watched it grow closer to me, aiming was a bit tricky. Nevertheless, I aimed a little upwards and squeezed the trigger. The round struck the top of its frame.

Damn unicorns... They had a lot of benefits with telekinesis. Hell, with horns in general. Us Earth ponies had it rough. No flying, no magic... Ugh...

I kept firing blindly in its direction as it closed in on me, ready to swing the saw from left to right across my neck. The rounds kept hitting its frame, and I was growing even more anxious and irritated than I was not too long ago. The next shot had ricocheted off its metal sphere and struck my right forehoof. Had it not been for the protective plating that covered the area, I was more than sure the bullet would have penetrated and made home there.

I groaned in pain from the shot; despite the security armor deflecting the bullet, I imagined there'd still be a nasty bruise there, later on. I'd say it was the equivalent of slamming a heavy, metal door on my hoof... twice.

Not too fun...

Neither was being decapitated.

The Handy was a few feet away from reaching me, and the pain that lingered in my hoof wasn't doing any help on letting me focus my shots. Each pull of the trigger was a miss in regards to what I was trying to hit, but I wasn't giving up. I couldn't. Despite how much I just wanted to lie down and rest, I knew there wasn't any time for that. I had to fight.

To the best of my abilities, I steadied my aim, praying that I'd get this shot in. I didn't know who or what I was praying to... I was just praying to anything that was listening, I guess. This was starting to look like my last chance.

I squeezed the trigger.

The yellow light of its eye shattered, causing it to stagger and swing all of its arms around in a panic.

"Ah, blast! Where did you run off to, you pompous mule!? I'll find you!" He paused, then added in a hushed, sulky tone as I slowly and quietly backed away so that I was out of reach of one of its many arms. "... Eventually..."

The second Mr. Handy was still coming after me, completely unaware of the first one being blinded and thrashing about, despite it being in front of him.

I simply raised my hoof and gave a light wave with a boastful grin on my face.

"Yes, I see you, you treacherous meat bag!" The second one blurted. "You'll have to answer to the-"

Before he could finish his statement, he slammed into the blinded machine, which swung the saw blade at his body, grinding into the metal mercilessly.

And to think that was going to be if I had missed that last shot...

"Ah ha!" The blind unit shouted. "I knew I'd find you! Thought you could run so easily, hm?"

"I knew you were a stripe-spy! Have at thee!" The second handy swung his saw at him.

I'll admit, metal grinding against metal was like claws on a chalkboard. I had the misfortune to know what that sounded like, no thanks to Firebright's... er... imaginative creations, such as the severed hand of a hellhound turned into a gauntlet fitted for a pony...

My grin quickly turned into a grimace in the blink of an eye as I backed away, letting the two robots take out their... well, whatever it is they had... on each other.

I think the best way to describe it was 'confused anger.'

But even then, machines didn't feel emotions. They couldn't feel pain, whether that be emotional or physical. Not unless one programmed them to do so, but then again... it wouldn't be real. It'd be real to them, no doubt, but...

Right. No time for thinking.

I turned around and started down the plant-infested corridor, but one step forward into it, I heard another Handy unit coming in from the four way intersection. I wasn't sure if it was from the left or the right, but it clearly wasn't happy about my 'commotion' either.

"Where are ya, ya zebra scum!? I'll gut ya like a fish!"

Seriously, why were they going crazy about zebras now? Not too long ago, I was an identify thief and burglar in their eyes. Now, a zebra?

The two Handy units behind me had succumbed to each other's... eh... 'anger issues,' and had both fallen to their... how should I say it... Expiration?

I couldn't keep fighting these things off. I barely made it through the first two!

I looked to my left after holstering the pistol and immediately hit the door panel, but it was jammed.

Typical...

I swung my head to the right and hit the next panel. The mechanism within groaned in protest, but the door stilled opened just wide enough for me to crawl in.

Oh, I would have been so pissed if the door decided to close right then and there...

Well, I wouldn't exactly be pissed, per se... I'd be cut in half before I even knew what hit me. That'd probably be one of the better ways to go, honestly.

I guess those warning labels were there for a reason.

Just before I could shimmy the rest of myself in, I felt a clasp grab a hold of my rear hoof and start to drag me back out.

"No!" My fores scrambled for anything to grab a hold of, in desperate attempts to keep me from going back out there. The floor was a smooth metal surface, so there wasn't any luck there. I couldn't see much of anything inside, with the exception of the bottom of a few cardboard boxes, straight ahead. Those wouldn't have saved me either, though... "Let go of me!"

"Filthy stripe!" The Handy unit blurted. "No better than those pesky roaches!"

While the rest of the room was dark, I caught the faint lights of the buttons to the door panel on this side.

Celestia, I hoped this worked...

I put one rear hoof to the upper slab of metal that refused to raise anymore than it already did, then bit down on the grip of the firearm in my holster. I slipped it out and aimed at the panel, keeping my tongue on the trigger. That's when I realized this was a really bad idea. My panic would have had me losing a hoof.

I quickly diverted my attention to the clasp that held a firm grasp of my leg and fired repeatedly; some of the shots striking my leg, some of them missing entirely, and the last shot striking the clasp.

The wiring within burnt out, judging by the sounds of a malfunctioning tool I was hearing, and it let go, sliding back out of the gap. I pulled my hoof in, aimed up at the panel, and put a round in that as well.

The door slammed shut with a loud bang, and everything fell into silence. I holstered the gun again.

Phew...

I was safe.

In a dark room.

Where I had no idea where... anything was...

And... I just... probably... destroyed my only way of... getting out...

Oh... Oh dear...

I sat up and felt around the wall near where the door was, until I felt a button. Upon pressing it, the ceiling lights flickered to life, showing a variety of cardboard boxes, shelves, and a table; all of which held nothing more than metal scraps.

I turned my back to nearest corner of the room and sat against the wall, next to the door, sighing and removing my helmet. I tossed it on the ground in front of me, letting it clang against the metal surface. Everything was sore, and a large portion of iron coated my tongue... My insides felt chewed up, my rear hoof was burning like hell, and the wooden shards of the tree in my side wasn't feeling any better, either.

I hung my head down and spat blood.

That's when I heard a gasp...

Before I could react, the pile of boxes before me sprang to life, and out came a poorly made version of a Mr. Handy. One eye, no frame, one arm; a saw blade.

"YOU DARE SPILL BLOOD ON THIS SACRED GROUND!?" It yelled in a war general's voice as it charged for me, readying the saw blade.

"Goddess damn it!" I grabbed my pistol, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

Click!

...

... I hate everything...

I rolled over to get on my hooves, but before I could get up and get away, the saw slammed into my bloody, splintered side, and started digging through the barding. At first, I felt the pressure building, and the distance between the saw and my coat getting shorter.

Then, I felt it dig in, and go beyond...

I don't think I had ever screamed as loud as I had at that moment. I do know that I had never felt anything as worse as this, though...

I was getting chewed up, and I was finding it difficult to get away...

Even if I did, where would I run? There was nowhere to go...

Blood spilled from the crevice of my barding, and the saw made more than enough of it fly across the room, painting the walls, floor, ceiling, and anything that resided within its space.

"DIE, DIE, DIE!" He let out a sadistic laugh as it continued cutting away at me.

I reached out and grabbed the closest thing I could find; a damaged sprite bot on the table. I threw it as best I could at the Gutsy's eye.

He recoiled and shook his appendage, swiping the saw left and right, but not hitting anything.

"You... first..." I panted heavily, trying to keep myself from passing out as I moved to the other side of the room quietly.

"Oh, it's going to be like that, is it?"

I looked back after biting down on a metal rod on one of the shelves to see that I had cracked the lens of the Gutsy's eye. It looked towards me and charged again. Judging by how it held the saw, and how it was going to swing at me, I presumed it was going for the neck.

Before it could strike, I jumped to the side, which meant slamming against the shelf next to me. I wasn't in the most agile or fit state at the moment.

Still, though, the Gutsy scraped the saw against the wall.

"Ah, you bastard! Where did you run off to!?" He seemed to be having troubles moving his eye around.

I recovered as fast as I could, and with a muffled tone, I replied. "Over here."

Before he could look, I slammed the bar into the engine that kept him afloat. It sputtered, but didn't go out completely.

I continued striking it, refusing to give in. I had it... I wasn't playing nice anymore...

I started seeing other ponies faces from my past...

"Fuck you, Firebright!" Wack! In my mind's eye, I saw her beaten and bruised, and nothing satisfied me more. She looked up at me with pleading eyes of terror. I wasn't holding back... "You fucking bitch!" Wack! "You had this coming!" Wack! Tears escaped from my eyes as I kept beating her senseless, but the feeling felt so... rewarding. Blood stained her face as she lied there, crying.

Then came Crimsonthunder.

"You murderous cunt!" Upon striking him, he fell on his stomach, groaning in pain. "You monster!" I slammed the rod against his back, hearing something crack within. He cried out in agony as he laid there; his back arched. "Shut the fuck up!" I roared, slamming the bar into him over and over again, until blood gushed out with each strike.

Then came Shadowmark...

His eyes had been swollen shut by the time I was done with him...

Darkspark had bone sticking out from his hind leg.

Bristle; a missing ear.

Their screams were my muse. My inspiration to keep going. To be ruthless.

Blueshade was left gelded for touching Fluky...

Sting got his head bashed in.

Bloodwing, broken wings and crippled talons.

I was merciless. I was tired. I was fueled and blinded by rage from all the bullshit I had to endure this past week, and I had let it all bottle up, only to take it out on a machine that had nothing to do about what everyone else did to me and the ponies that accompanied me.

I found myself standing over a twitching heap of a Gutsy unit, out of breath from all the destruction I was causing to it. There were no arms left on it. The casing for the engine was far too damaged to use anymore. It's eye entirely missin- No. Not missing. I dropped it from my mouth, letting it strike the machine. I had beaten it with its own parts.

My body was shaking, and I was on the verge of collapsing. Blood was still spilling out from me...

I looked over at a bent metal rod. I couldn't remember anything that I had done to the Gutsy. Only what I did to the monsters in my head.

What had I become...?

The kill switch would have been the easier option, but that wasn't enough for me, apparently. I needed to relieve myself of my anger, and this was it.

I flicked the switch inside, and the Gutsy went limp immediately after.

I sighed, hung my head down, and after a few seconds of standing on wobbly hooves, I slowly slipped out of my barding. The inside of the suit rubbed against my newly acquired injury, making me wince and groan, but I knew it needed to be done.

I couldn't cauterize the wound with the Gutsy's thruster, seeing as it was far too broken. I wasn't seeing a whole lot of other options lying around, either...

After I got out of the suit, I stumbled around the room, throwing useless junk aside in search for something that would prove useful.

Broken toasters, radios, and pieces of other robots, here and there... If I had the time, I'd have been able to jury rig a toaster and hold it against my side until the problem was dealt with.

Darkness crept in from the corners, and I was growing weaker to the point where I couldn't stand anymore. I collapsed on my side, barely able to move. Blood filled my mouth, and I spat. Red continued to drip from my lips. Weights pulled my eyelids down, telling me it was time to rest...

Fate had other plans for me.

Author's Notes:

This. Was. A. Disaster.

First off, I felt like I got a bit snappy when it came to brainstorming with Pines, and I thank him so much for keeping his patience with me, even though he said he didn't really think of me as being bitchy.
Second, the stupid winter cold disabled my wifi, and I can't use it when I'm at home, so I have to take my laptop to my brother's place and use his. How dare the world throw me into social situations!
Third, my employers are messed up in the head, and rather sexist towards males, so that's been on my mind and distracting me from things I enjoy. I didn't get holiday pay for Thanksgiving, unfortunately. Which means I won't get holiday pay for Christmas, and I can't work on Christmas, because no one is going to be there. So I'm screwed there.

Stupid scam artists...

Anyways, this was chapter 6. A total pain in my ass to get done, but worth it in the end.

Special thanks to Kkat for creating the Fallout Equestria universe, special thanks to Somber for the beauty that is Project Horizons, special thanks to Pines for helping me out a ton with brainstorming ideas and sticking with me, and special thanks to Xfinity and Kelly Services for fucking me over and both taking my money and giving me nothing in return, or just not paying me in general.

I really need to get a permanent position at this job, so I don't have to deal with Kelly's shit anymore.

Ahem... In other news, let's hear what Pine's word of the chapter is. ^^

Now, a word from Pines: See folks? This is why I hate robots. Not because they can't be useful. I find them very useful. But unlike us, robots can't be reasoned with. They have what we call tunnel vision based on their programming. Let's hope our little pony here can make it out of this one. Find out next chapter of RADIO STATIC!