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Fallout Anon in Equestria 3

By: FitzAiE on Oct 28th, 2012 | syntax: None | size: 55.61 KB | hits: 112 | expires: Never

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>All throughout your dreams, you hear the splatter of blood and brains from the ponies you smashed the day before.
>Visions of mutilated skulls and grey matter floating through an infinite abyss.
>Leaving you feel uneasy, even though you know it was something you had to do.
>Your dreams dissolve, and you feel a pressure on your chest.
>As you start to panic, you open your eyes, but stop.
>Lying curled up on your chest is a small orange blob.
>Your breathing patterns become interlocked. You breathe in, she breathes out. Every breath causes her to lift slightly, then exhaling bringing her back down.
>It kills you to do it, but you need to get moving.
>Gently, you pat her on the head, and whisper to her.
“Scoots, time to get up.”
>She grunts and ignores you.
“Rise and shine.”
>Still nothing.
>In your early morning state of mind, you get an idea.
“Cock-a-doodle do.”
>Her eyes shoot open and immediately glare daggers at you.
>”Shut up.”
>Laughing, you pick her up and put her next to you.
>Sitting at attention, you slide out of bed and throw your pants and shoes on.
>They are getting worn down, you’re going to have to get some new raiment soon.
>Another idea, your brains on fire today, Rarity makes clothing; you could probably get her help.
“Come on Scoots, we gotta get moving.”
>She grunts again, her head plops down on your pillow.
>You poke her behind the ear.
>Another grunt.
>Poke.
>Poke.
>Poke.
>”FINE. I’ll get up.”
“I’m waiting…”
>She gives you a death stare as she rolls from the bed, landing anything but gracefully, on her hooves.
A loud “clop” noise resonates throughout the room, bouncing off of the walls and collides with your eardrums.
>”What are we doing today?”
“Not sure yet, we need to go ask Celestia, but I need to get some help from rarity, I need some new clothes.”
>She nods in understanding.
“Want anything to eat before we leave?”
>You walk over to the fridge, a small orange chicken in tow.
>Opening the door, you see it was restocked while you were sleeping.
>In unison. “Does it look different to you?”
>Again. “Yeah”
>You reach in and pull out a sandwich draped in what resembles cellophane wrap.
>Unraveling the shiny outer coat of the sandwich, you peel off the top piece of bread and see a couple of flowers and some hay.
“I think this is for you…”
>She grabs it; you still can’t grasp how they do that, with her hooves and takes a bite.
>It must have been good because she continued gnawing on the poor defenseless sandwich until it was no more.
>”Mmmm, you get the good stuff! All I ever used to get was the junk they were about to toss.”
>Reaching back into the fridge, you pull out a small container with a lid on it.
>The lid was a little difficult to peel off, but what was inside it was worth it.
>A medium sized container full of pudding.
>”What did you find?”
>With a sly sarcastic voice you say
“Nothing.”
>”No really what’d you get?”
>Tilting It down to where she can see it, you can see the desire in her eyes.
>”C-can I have some?”
“Yea-nope.”
>Opening a cabinet, you pull out a spoon and stir up the chocolate goodness, taking a test spoonful to see how it is.
>Delicious. It was delicious.
“Ohh this is soooo good.”
>She looks mad.
“So rich and creamy!”
>Getting another spoonful, you lower it and let her taste it.
>She must like it, because she won’t give you the spoon back.
“Can I get my spoon back?”
>”Yea-NOPE.” She says through gritted teeth.
>After sharing a laugh, you get your spoon back and finish your breakfast.
>Grabbing you equipment, you check inventory and leave the room.
>After a short walk through various hallways, you find Celestia.
>She looks pretty tired, that might have something to do with whatever it is she did to Rarity. You’re going to have to ask about that later.
“Celestia! Over here.”
>She trots over to you and clears her throat.
>”Ah Anonymous, how good to see you. How may I be of service to you?”
“I was wondering what I could do for you actually.”
>She looks confused for a second, but it clicks.
>”Oh, yes, I had forgotten. I haven’t been sleeping well recently, but don’t worry about me. The next element I need for you to recover is kindness, her actual name is FlutterShy. “
“Is there anything I need to know about her?”
>”Well it is rumored she has a small army…”
“A small army? Of what?”
>”A small army of… woodland creatures.”
>You try to contain it, but you burst with laughter, Celestia’s face remains stern and serious.
“Oh, you’re serious? What are they going to do, snuggle me to death?
>Scoot laughs, but Celestia still remains serious.
>”I guess you will see when you get there.”
“Oh, could you direct me to Rarity? I need her help for something.”
>”What would that be?”
“Well, I need new clothes, these ones are… well… look for yourself.”
>Inspecting you, she takes notice to the holes and burn marks all over your clothes and skin.
>You turn and point at the large hole on the ass of your pants, and poke the flesh.
“It’s drafty!”
>You say with a light hearted tone, and she finally chuckles.
>”I see. Follow me; I will bring you to her.”
>She takes off, slowly trotting down a hallway to her left.
>You come to a normal sized door, she opens it and you all enter.
>There lie Rarity, working diligently over a large sewing machine.
“Hey Rarity, how’s your new toy?”
>”Fabulous! Oh Anonymous, I simply can not thank you enough. Oh my, we simply must do something about those drab, disgusting clothes. A proper hero needs a suit of armor!”
>You can feel your blush.
“Oh, it was nothi-“
>”Nonsense, you risked your life to come save me, now I must repay you.”
>”Sweetie, get over here and help me measure him.”
>That familiar looking filly approaches from behind the sewing machine and nods at you.
>Rarity floats? a measuring tape over at you, holding it at each crevasse of your body.
>Up next to the tape is a notepad with a quill and ink writing down vigorously.
“H-ho-how are you doing th-that?”
>”What dear?”
“Making all those things float.”
>”Simple my dear Anonymous, magic.”
>Magic?
>Did she just say magic?
“Did you just say magic?”
>”Indeed. You seem surprised; do they not- not have magic where you are from?”
“No… well not like that, is that like… normal here?”
>”Yes, all ponies are magical in their own way. Unicorns have it the strongest though.”
>Some weird shit.
“That’s going to take some getting used to… So… think you could show me what you had planned for that “suit of armor”?”
>She waltzes over to a drawing board, a quill levitating behind her; she dips it in the ink and begins scratching away.
>It’s a blur as she draws out the design, you try to catch a peak, but she pushes you away.
>”You can see the final product, for now you must wait. Go find something to do its going to take a while.”
>Understanding you weren’t wanted there anymore; you walk over to scoot, who is talking at Sweetie, and nudge her to get moving.
“We should probably wait until she is done with that until we go out, so what do you think we should do?
>”I’m sure we can find something to do around here.”
“Anything in mind?”
>”Well, we could go to the training room.”
“Sounds like a plan. Can you lead the way?”
>She takes off down a hallway, a little unsure of where she is going.
>After a confusing 10 minute or so walk, you eventually find your way; she had gotten you lost in a “short cut”.
>Entering the large training room, you take into account all of the things there.
>It was empty at the time being, spare one or two ponies working out in a windowed room adjacent to it.
>Large mannequins crudely resembling bipedal dogs with various pieces of “armor” on.
“What are those things supposed to be?”
>”They are Diamond dogs, well not really, but they are training dummies modeled after them.”
>”Watch me.”
>She runs up to one, jukes left, then hops up behind it and delivers a buck to the back of its head.
>Landing ever so gracefully, she eggs you on.
>”Think you can do better?”
“I know I can.”
>You charge at it in a similar manner, except you have your club out, rearing it behind you, all of your body strength goes into hitting it and its head flies clean off.
>She stands there speechless.
“How’d I do?”
>”Beginners luck, I loosened it up for you is all.”
“Are you implying I’m a beginner? Maybe my memory is a little blurry, but I seem to recall saving a small orange filly from impending doom just yesterday.”
>”Shut up!”
“Relax kiddo, what else can we do in here? I doubt the guards would appreciate me knocking the heads off of all of their dummies.”
>”Well, we could do some Group assaults…”
“Group assault?”
>”You know, I charge in and get their attention, then you attack while I have them distracted, or you help me attack them, stuff like that.”
“Alright, what do you want to try?”
>She trots over to a midsized book sitting on a table and begins to flip through it.
>”This looks like it will do.”
“Alright, give me the run down on it.
>”How about you give me a boost, I fall down at them and while they are look at me, you attack their legs.”
“Sounds good to me.”
>She starts running side by side with you at one of the targets.
>No less than 4 feet from you, she jumps in front of you, you push her up in the air a good 6 feet, and she glides down, flapping her tiny wings as fast as she can.
>While she is falling, you wind up and unleash a swing at the things leg.
>You hit it and the metal rod bends under the stress.
>The vibration from the hit rattles you from your toes to your teeth.
>Clenching your hand, you inspect the damage.
>Nothing too serious, just a little swollen around the thumb.
>Your club on the other hand, that broke up rather badly.
>The once solid chunk of concrete that was on the end of the rebar now lays spread across the floor in many pieces.
>Only a slight bit of concrete remains on the club itself, it lost a majority of its weight in the process.
>You shake it off and say.
“Well I guess that’s enough training for today…”
>”Yeah… Let’s go see what else we can break, but let me wrap your hand up first.” She says with a laugh.
>You throw her some bandage wrap and she ties it tight, clipping it with a little metal pin.
>Exiting the room, you put the rebar back in your bag; you might be able to use it later.
“Think Celestia would have anything for me to use as a weapon?”
>”I would hope so. Wana go find out?”
“You know it.”
>Taking off in a sprint, you make your way to Celestia.
>You easily outrun Scoot’s but keep at a reasonable pace.
>When you are close to Celestia’s area, you speed up and rush inside.
>Standing at the doorway, you lean against the wall and tap your foot impatiently waiting for Scoot.
>Jokingly you say.
“I’m dying of old age over here” You say jokingly.
>You can see she is pushing extra hard, her face squinted in concentration as she rounds the corner.
>She slides to a stop right in front of you, panting and trying to catch her breath.
>Celestia speaks up.
>”What is it Anonymous? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Oh, we were just having a little race, but I do come with a question.”
>”And that would be?”
“I kinda broke my club, and I was wondering if you maybe… had some sort of armory or something?”
>She waves over a guard.
>”Guard, take these two to the armory. Tell the quartermaster they get the “hero” discount.
>Hero discount? Sounds interesting.
“Thanks Celly.”
>She just looks at you with an emotionless face.
>”Out.”
“ok”
>You follow the guard through several hallways, down a few flights of stairs, across a bridge, down some more stairs, through a door way and finally into an open room.
>He leads you into another doorway, this one with a gated in area.
>It looks like a prison cell, except full of weapons.
>Swords, axes, bows and quivers, hammers, some suits of clothing, but they are made for ponies, so no way they would fit you.
>You do like some of the designs though; maybe you could get Rarity to make human versions for you.
>The guard that escorted you tells the quartermaster about the discount, and then dismisses himself.
>She was mostly covered in a tight armor, various pockets and gadgets everywhere, a small time piece hangs from a chain, draped out of one of the pockets, but the little skin that was shown was a light purple, her mane was a darker purple, although still rather light.
>The quartermasters purple eyes meet yours and she asks you.
>”What can I help you with today?”
>Man, it’s going to take some time to get used to talking to ponies like this, but it must be just as awkward for them.
“Well… I kinda broke my weapon… I’m looking for either a replacement, or an upgrade. Have anything along the lines of close quarters blunt objects?”
>She trots over to a shelf on the far side of where she was standing.
>”Well, we just got some new sledgehammers.”
>Taking one from the shelf, she hooves it to you through the small opening in the gate.
>It’s quite heavy, but fits well in your hands.
>You give a few test swings in the air.
“This should do nicely. How much?”
>”Well, normally it would be 15 bits… but since you get the hero’s discount, I can give it to you for 7. How does that sound?”
>Looking over to scoot for reassurance, you get the nod that it must be an ok deal.
“Do you have any small knives? Something for stealth that is light and sharp?
>”Actually, no. I just rationed my last box cutter out, but I’ll be sure to let you know if I get anything.”
“Thanks.”
>Reaching into your pack, you pull out a handful of bits from the compartment.
>Quickly palming them, you go through how many you had.
>You had picked out 9 bits.
“Do you have any medical supplies?”
>She walks over to the wall behind her and pulls on a first aid box.
>It comes off the wall with ease and she brings it over and hands it to you.
>Inside it lays a few bobby pins, a bottle of disinfectant, some bandage wrap, a handful of matches and strike strip, and a stimpack.
>You pick out the stimpack, the bobby pins, the disinfectant and match set, and the wrap.
“How much for all this?”
>”4 bits.”
>Reaching back into the pouch, you pull out 2 more bits.
>You drop them in the collection bin.
“Thanks…?”
>”You can call me Quartermaster Berry.”
“How’s Berry?”
>”Like I said, Quartermaster Berry.”
“Alright, well thank you Quartermaster Berry, I hope to see you again soon, but before I leave, do you need help with anything around here?”
>”Now that you mention it, there was an order of darts that went missing, if you happen to find them, or just some darts; they usually come in packs of 15, I would really appreciate it.”
“I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for it, again thank you.”
>You wave her off and exit the armory.
“Think Rarity is done yet?”
>”We could go check.”
“Want to race?”
>”No.”
“Oh, you’re no fun.”
>”I know.”
>You begin on your way back to Rarity’s work shop.
>Scoot seems to be upset, she isn’t talking at all or respond to any questions.
“Is something wrong?”
>”No.”
>Now, you were never a master with the women, but you know that no means yes with them.
“What’s wrong?”
>”Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
>”No.”
“Ah, so there is something wrong.”
>She remains quiet.
“Is it something I did?”
>Still nothing.”
“The silent treatment? Really?”
>It’s like you’re talking to a… IDEA.
“It’s like I’m talking to a chicken.”
>She really seems upset, and turns away from you.
>Shit, now you know what you did.
“Is it because I keep calling you a chi-“
>She looks over at you scornfully.
>Yep, definitely that.
“What if I promise not to call you that anymore?”
>”I’d appreciate it.”
“I promise.”
>”Thank you.”
“Under one condition.”
>”Always with the catches; what is it?”
“Why does it bother you so much?”
>She looks away from you.
“Come on now, I won’t think any less of you.”
>”I can’t…”
“You can’t what?”
>”I can’t fl…”
“You can’t…?”
>”I CAN’T FLY! OKAY?”
“So? Neither can I.”
>”It’s different for you… you don’t have wings.”
>She extends her wings, which you just now realized are small in comparison to her body.
“It’s not a big deal Scoots, I’m sure you aren’t the only Pegasus that can’t fly, and look at it this way, it makes you unique.”
>She still looks upset. You have to do something to cheer her up.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to someday, you just need to keep trying.”
>”Do you really think so?”
“I know so, now come on, loose the sad face, we can’t have you skulking around all day.”
>You didn’t even need to say that last part, as soon as you said you knew it, her face lit up and all sign of sadness ran away.
>Just in time too, the door to the workshop was coming up on the right.
“Looks like we’re here.”
>You both enter, and call out together.
“Rarity!”
>S ”Rarity!”
>She climbs out from behind the sewing machine and speaks.
>R ”What is it darling? Oh yes, your uniform. It is complete; I’m just putting some finishing touches on it now.”
>”Go wait out in the hallway while I finish it.”
>You do so and go chill in the hallway for 5 minutes.
>For the next five minutes you shoot the breeze with Scoots, dabbling on about nothing really.
>”It’s fi-nished” She says in a sing song voice.
>Walking into the room, you cover your eyes in attempt to stretch out the surprise even more.
>When you uncover them, you see the sketchpad on the holding rack, design all laid out on the easel, measurements and everything.
>It’s a fine looking suit of amour, overlapping fabric cut into layers around the areas you would need to flex, like the knees and elbows and wrists.
>Plate on the chest and back that looked rather sturdy, but also flexible.
>She uses her magic to remove the holding rack, and there lay the suit on a human mannequin.
“Wow”
>”Do you like it?”
>”Oh who am I kidding, of course you like it, why else would your tongue be hanging from your mouth?”
>Sure it was a nice looking piece of armor, but there were jewels and rubies all over the thing.
>”Well, don’t just stand there, try it on.”
>You walk over to the mannequin and peal it from the body.
>From the looks of it, it’s a two piece with straps on the back you can adjust.
>After kicking off your shoes, you step one leg at a time into the suit.
>It’s a snug fit, but you manage to get in easily enough.
>The inside of the suit is a fine mesh like material, feels very good on the skin but might get a little hot.
>Next for the chest plate.
>Surprisingly, it’s much lighter than you had expected, but there is a catch.
>Getting your arms in is proving to be an issue.
“A little help here.”
>She magic’s over a pair of scissors and snips a string under each arm.
>They become much limper, and you can slip your arms in.
>It’s a nice fit, but you are most definitely going to need help getting out of it.
“It’s very nice Rarity, but how did you manage to get all of these gems?”
>”I had Sweetie go dig some up, it’s nothing.”
“Gems grow… in the ground?”
>”Well they don’t really grow, but where else would they be?”
“Well… it’s just, back on my world, people pay a lot for gems of much smaller size, and here you can just go dig some up like they were regular rocks.”
>”So no magic and gems are hard to find? Remind me never to go to your world.”
>Casual laughter fills the air.
“Thanks very much Rarity, but I have to ask for one more thing.”
>”And that would be?”
“Could you possibly fix my bag up? It got messed up back in one of my fights and I just don’t want anything to fall out of it.”
>”No need to dear.”
>She gallops away into a back room and returns immediately.
>Only, when she comes back she has a larger camouflage backpack trailing behind her magically.
“I can’t thank you enough Rarity.”
>”Oh it’s nothing. I absolutely hate the design, but yes you could pay me back. Get my friends back to their old selves, and make it back alive, oh and if you manage to find any wine, make sure to grab it for me, I’ll reward you well, and even share if you would like.” She says that last part with a wink.
“I’ll try my best.”
>You give her a salute and make off for the exit.
>Stopping in the hallway, you migrate all of the stuff from your old bag to the new one.
>Continuing your way down the hall, you pass a sickly looking young pony.
“Hey kid, you want this?”
>He looks frightened; like a dear in headlights. He refuses to make eye contact.
“I’m just going to leave it right here, and if you take it while I’m gone, I don’t mind.”
>You drop the bag on the ground, a foot in front of him and continue on your way.
>As soon as you pass him, you hear him exhale and scoop up the bag, and gallop away.
>”That was nice of you.””
“Well, I didn’t need it anymore, and I didn’t feel like going all the way back to our room.”
>”It’s okay to be nice, you know that right?”
>You playfully shove her.
>Approaching the exit to the building, you pull out the map and scour over it for where you need to go.
>There is a big circle in yellow around “The Everfree Forest” you check the legend at the bottom of the map, and see that the yellow circle=kindness.
“So, looks like we are going to the Everfree, know anything about it?”
>As soon as you said Everfree, her ears perked up and her hair stood up.
>”I know enough about it.”
“Why do you seem so spooked?”
>”It’s not a good place, lots of bad things, we were never allowed in there.”
“If you don’t want to go you don’t have to, I’m not going to force you.”
>”No… no I want to go; I need to get over the fear. I do have to tell you, there are some scary things in there, and I can only imagine them getting worse since the “radiation”, was that what you called it?”
“Yeah, that’s it. I guess we will see when we get there. Need anything before we get out of the safe house?”
>”Well, it’s going to be a rather long hike, we might want to bring some food and water, other than that I don’t think so.”
“Well, you can just eat some grass right?”
>”I suppose, the grass around here isn’t really good for us, with the contamination and all, but yeah.”
“I can probably catch something to eat, so we should be fine as far as food goes, and I still have some bottled water in my bag.”
>”Well don’t come crying to me when you’re starving.”
>You think of saying something about how you always like chicken, but you promised.
“Well let’s get moving, the sun is starting to peak.”
>Beginning on the long road, you pass into a large tree line.
>After walking for a good 35 minutes, you find a path branching out, large trees and bushes on both sides.
“This it?”
>”Yeah, be careful though, it’s dark in there.”
>You walk over to a dead tree on the side of the road, grab onto a midsized branch, and snap it off.
>Picking up some dried shrubbery from the ground, you wrap it around the stick.
“Grab that disinfectant from my bag.”
>She does and tosses it to you.
>Popping the cap off, you apply a generous amount to the tip of the makeshift torch.
>”What are you doing?”
>Reaching around, you pull out the match kit and strike a match.
>The torch ignites in an instant, illuminating an area several feet around you.
>”That’s really cool, you’re going to have to show me how to do that!” She says in an excited tone.
“Maybe when we get back.”
>As you walk down the path, various noises have you and Scoot on edge, some rustling in a bush nearby startles you both.
>A strange creature pops out from the bush.
>It’s a large dragon looking creature with the head of a chicken and the body of a dragon.
>After letting loose a loud screech noise, it looks right at Scoot.
>”DON’T LOOK IN ITS EYES!”
>Probably a good idea to listen to her.
>Gripping your sledgehammer, you rush the beast and drive a powerful blow straight to the side of its chest.
>It squawks in pain, then swings one of its beefy wings at you, razor sharp talons catching your left forearm.
>You go flying back several feet and slam into a tree.
>The wound isn’t too deep, but it’s rather long.
>Good thing you had that armor on, you might have lost your arm if not. It appears the armor is cracked along the arm though.
>The torch lay on the ground, the light dampened by its new location.
“Scoots, I need you to distract it.”
>”How do you expect me to do that??”
“Uh… act like a chicken?”
>”NOT FUNNY!”
“No seriously!”
>She reluctantly starts pecking at the ground; the chicken thing looks at her and stops in its tracks, just observing her.
>You take this opportunity to get behind it.
>Taking off in a sprint, you leap on its back and unsheathe your knife.
>It freaks out, squawking like crazy, and trying to swing you lose.
>Pulling the knife back, you dig it deep into one of its eyes.
>Another loud screech rings throughout the forest.
>It’s tough, but you pull out the knife and impale the other eyeball.
>The creature takes to the sky, you on its back.
“SCOOTS WHAT DO I DO?”
>”I DON’T KNOW.”
>In a state of panic, you pull out the disinfectant spray and shoot it into its eye sockets.
>Instant barrel rolls.
>You are hanging on for dear life, one arm around its neck, the other hand on your knife.
>All of the struggling must have implanted the knife in there, because you are having a hard time getting it out.
>A pop noise erupts, and the creature nose dives straight at the ground, crashing through several tree limbs, and digging into the ground.
>It fails to get up again, falling into a heap on the ground.
“Scoot, get over here.”
>She rushes over and inspects it.
“Gimmie a han-er hoof.”
>”With what?”
“Hold the knife in place.”
>Reluctantly, she grips the knife in place over the creature’s neck.
>You run over and grab your sledgehammer and run back.
>Drawing it way over your head, you slam it powerfully onto the knife creating a deep cut in the creature’s neck and lodging your knife deep inside.
>A spurt of blood shoots out, narrowly missing Scoot.
>Its wings fling around wildly for a short time before it falls motionless.
>You pull the knife out, a bubble of blood pops from the beast’s neck.
>Wiping the blood from the knife on the creature’s scales, you take grip and plant it in the body.
>The blood on the sledgehammer is pretty intimidating, so you leave it.
“What is this thing?”
>”It looks like a cockatrice, but the only ones I’ve seen were 1/5rd that size and nowhere near as terrifying. The radiation must have made them grow.”
“Well I hope we don’t run into too many more of them, that hurt like a bitch. Why shouldn’t you look into their eyes exactly?”
>”Well, before the mutation at least, if you were to stare into their eyes, they would petrify you where you stand. I hear it was a terrible way to go…”
“Sure does sound like it.”
>”What are you doing?”
>She just noticed you were cutting it up.
“Just getting some dinner. Want me to get some for you?”
>No reply, just a serious look on her face.
“Oh yeah, sorry about that whole act like a chicken thing, but it worked!”
>”Shut up before I hurt you.”
“Yes masta whateva be yo will masta.”
>Finishing that remark with a chuckle, you take the large hunks of meat you had sliced off and inspect them.
>They were firm, but looked quite bloody. It was inherently cold, so you didn’t know if you were going to have to cook it, but it would probably be a good idea.
“Want me to bring some for you?”
>”No, I’m a herbivore.”
>You cut off a small chunk for her just in case.
>”Your arm looks pretty bad; you might want to put some of that spray on yourself.”
>Not a bad idea, you pick the can off the ground and unload on your arm.
>Pain is not a sufficient explanation.
>It was like a flamethrower was unleashed right onto your arm for a solid 15 seconds.
>You were on the ground rolling around, cussing in pain.
>When the tears cleared from your eyes, you can see Scoot on her haunches laughing her ass off.
“I feel bad for that cockatrice, that shit burns like you wouldn’t believe.”
>”I know, that’s why I told you to do It.” she manages to say through laughter.
“Fuck you. I know where you sleep.”
>A bright light catches your eye.
>Looks like your torch is still lit.
>Running over to it, you scoop some brush from the ground and ball it up.
>You pick up the stick and put the ball on it.
“Alright, let’s get moving.”
>She starts off down the road, not even waiting for you.
>After catching up, you look down at her, she looks a little distraught.
“Something wrong?”
“It’s getting late, I guess I’m just a little cold is all- What are you doing?”
>You had scooped her up midsentence and held her to your chest.
>She was about to complain, but the warmth must have shut her up.
“Better?”
>”Thanks. I’m not a baby though, you don’t have to hold me.”
“Eh, I don’t mind, but if we run into something like that again, I’m dropping you.”
>”Oh, thanks for the reassurance.”
>Down the road, you can see a small hut with a lantern in the front door.
>You were contemplating going and knocking on the door, but when some more rustling in the bush catches your attention, you rush to the hut.
>Almost kicking in the door, you burst in and slam it behind you.
>?:”Who has entered my habitation without my invitation?”
>Fucking rhymes?
“Um… sorry to barge in, there was something in the brush out there; we just needed to escape it.”
>”Great danger lies in that domain, things there only seek to cause you pain.”
“Yeah, I figured that when a cockatrice nearly cut my arm off.”
>”Powerful evil is ahead, if I were not to offer it would not feel right, I have a free bed, if you wish to spend the night.”
“That would be great…?”
>”For me you may call Zecora, could I interest you in some of my flora?”
>She points to a large shelf of various plants and leaves.
“I’m Anonymous by the way. Maybe my friend over here would, but I’m an omnivore, I prefer meat.”
“If you don’t mind, I actually have some I would like to try to cook.”
>”Around these parts, meat is rare, I would appreciate it, if you would share.”
“I see no problem with that; do you know how to cook it?”
>”Cooking, you see, is no problem, for me.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
>You pull off your bag and remove the still bloodied meat.
>After handing it over to Zecora, you walk over and look at her shelves of knickknacks.
>”My work you see, potions for you and me.”
>She takes one off the shelf and passes it to you.
>”If this you ingest, you will sprint faster than the rest.”
“How about this one?”
>You pick one that was glowing green from the table.
>”This is a special brew, if clouds you seek, a sip or two, and you can walk for a week.”
“I could walk on clouds?”
>”That is what it for, if you wish I could make you more.”
“If it’s not a problem, yeah I would appreciate it.”
“Do you think… could you show me how to make them?”
>”What an honor it would be, to have you learn from me.”
>She pulls out some ingredients and hands them to you.
>”Follow my order and you will see, making brews is simple as can be.”
>She shows you how to mix certain things in proportion and explains what they do.
>You mix some green leaves with 4 small mushroom looking plants, stir it for a minute, then added a small white leaves.
>A small poof of white smoke bubbles from the cauldron and she grunts.
>”A bit of smoke you never fear, in most cases it means the end is near.
“So it’s almost done?”
>She nods at you.
“Well, let’s go get that meat cooking.”
>She leads you over to a spice rack, and pulls out several small sacks.
>Drizzling out ever so gently into a small cup she adds different powders and herbs.
“If you wish to improve the taste, then this powder you must place.”
>She guides your hands over, making sure you season it equally.
“Well, you heat this up, I’m going to go check on the brew.”
>The cauldron is settled, no longer smoking and looks ready.
>You grab a small ladle from the table next to it and scoop up some.
>As you are raising it to your mouth, something smacks it from your hand.
“What the hell!”
>”If you were to consume the potion, a great deal of pain would be set in motion.”
“Well… thank you for stopping me, but a simple “STOP” would have done the trick.”
>She pulls out another sack from on a shelf.
>Dribbling a little powder into the concoction provides a sizzling noise, before another calm spell.
>”Now it is read for you to taste, now take this cup and make great haste.”
>You down the bitter liquid and wait for something to happen.
“Nothing’s happen-UEAH”
>Your arm feels like it is exploding.
>You try to look at it through the pain, but it’s useless.
>Falling to the ground, you land on a small pad.
>The pain subsides after about a minute, and you look over at your arm.
>The long cut that was once there is no longer.
>Not even a scar, it was like nothing ever happened.
>Also the muscles on the arm look much more defined than previously.
“I thought you said that you stopped it from hurting?”
>”If you didn’t wait, the healing effect you would negate. The pain is just a side effect, maybe someday I can correct.”
“Well, after all that I’m feeling rather hungry, what say you to some dinner?”
>She walks over to the table and sits on a mat.
“Come on Scoot, I’m sure she has something for you.”
>She’s been really quite this entire time; you’re going to have to talk to her in the morning.
>Slowly she makes her way over to the table and takes a seat next to you.
>Zecora walks over with the meat on a large plate, and a small salad bowl on the plate.
>She plops the plate on the table, and you hand the salad over to Scoot.
>”Thanks Anon.”
>You pull out your knife and cut off a chunk of meat and throw it in your already salivating maw.
>Best. Steak. Ever.
“This is amazing, best I’ve ever had.”
>It looks like she blushes, but you still can’t tell with these ponies.
>Is she a pony? She doesn’t really look like one, but hey who are you to judge.
“So, is there a reason behind the rhyming all the time?”
>”An accent I can not lose, but in most instances, one I choose.”
“Interesting. Say, do you have anything to drink?”
>She rises from her seat and saunters across the shack, out of view.
“He Scoots, what’s up? You’re acting weird.”
>”I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Are you sure? Is it something about her? She seems nice.”
>”Not now Anon.”
“Okay, okay sheesh.”
>Right on quo, Zecora returns with a brown colored pitcher containing a clear liquid you assumed to be water and a few cups.
>You grab a cup and pour some drink.
>Reluctantly you begin to sip, but it tastes clean and your arms aren’t exploding so seems good enough.
“Want some Scoots?”
>”No, I’m alright… but could I try some of that?”
“My steak?”
>”Y-yeah, that.”
>You rip a small hunk of it off, using your knife as an aid to tear the meat and pass it over to her.
>She inspects it closely, bringing it up to eye level, sniffing it and then takes a small nibble.
>A strange look comes to her face, you can’t tell whether she likes it or not.
>Another bite follows, this time much bigger than the last tiny nibble.
>”This is pretty good, I don’t think I could eat it every day, but every once in a while seems like it would be okay.”
“Glad you like it!”
>The rest of the meal is relatively quiet, only occasional small talk breaks the silence, and even then it is short lived.
“I’m feeling kind of tired after that meal, how about you?”
>S “Yeah me too, something about a long day of saving your sorry flank really tires out a young mare like myself.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Mind showing us the sleeping area there Zecora?”
>Z “If rest need be, follow me.”
>She leaves the table, and you follow.
>Enter a somewhat dark room, the only light filling it is from some strange plants in the corners of the room with softly glowing pedals, a light green light layers the room in its ambience.
>Zecora points out an already made guest bed, a rather small bed at that, resting on the floor with a tattered pillow and small blanket.
“Thanks for everything Zecora, if there’s anything you need just let me know and I’ll try my best to help you out.”
>She exits the room with a nod.
“So, how are we going to work this out? I know you’re fond of my chest so I guess that would work.”
>”Alright well can you hurry up? I’m feeling really tired.”
>You plop onto the hard bed, the little cushion that was there was unnoticeable as your shoulders connect with the ground.
>Not even a moment after you collide with the ground, something collides with your chest.
>You go to say something, but her eyes are close and she is off.
>It’s hard to even comprehend how comfortable she looks, but you are currently in pain.
>Adjusting yourself, you pull the blanket over the two of you and begin to doze off.
>Your dreams are strange but unidentifiable, most of it an incoherent jumble of randomness.
>Something agitates you from your slumber, leaving you pawing at your face.
>Eyes open wide to reveal Scoots mane resting just upon your nose.
>You brush it from your face and take a deep breath.
>Gently, you slide her off of your chest and get to your feet.
>Reaching out in all directions, your body locks up tighter than an earthworms asshole as you stretch out, and a flurry of grunts escape you.
>Scratching your side, you exit the room.
>Looks like Zecora cleaned everything up last night before she went to bed.
>You walk over to the cauldron and see there is an idle potion in there.
>Looking around, you see a striped rump sticking up in the air, digging into a large chest.
>Stealthily, you sneak up behind her and tap her on the shoulder.
>Startled, she jumps.
“G’mornin Zecora.”
>”Good morning to you, my stealthy little shrew.”
>Did she just call you a mouse?
“What are you doing?”
>”An ingredient I seek, without it the potion is weak.”
“Well, what’s it look like?”
>”Blue and- Here it is, add it and watch it fizz.”
>She hooves it over to you and you drop it in the cauldron.
>Just like she said, bubbles erupt in the tank for a brief moment, before coming to settle.
“What’s this do?”
>”A cup of this concoction, and you’ll be strong as an oxen.”
“Neat, mind if I try it?”
>Scooping some up in a ladle, you down the brew.
>It’s rather bitter in flavor, and sticks to the back of your throat, with a foul after taste.
>Immediately, you burp a fowl smelling cloud of green smoke.
“That’s rough stuff right there.”
>She giggles.
>Turning around, you notice Scoot had emerged from the bedroom, sluggishly moving across the room.
>You run over to her and pick her up to test your new found strength.
>It’s as if she were a stack of papers, almost weightless.
>”Could you put me down please.”
“Right away.”
>You place her on the floor and turn to Zecora.
“Thanks for everything, Zecora, but we need to get going if we want to make it back by night fall. I hope to see you again soon.”
>She passes you a bag.
>”Good luck my friend, I hope you do not meet your end.”
>You reach down and give her a hug.
“Thank you.”
“Ready to go scoots?”
>”Yeah.”
>Picking up your bag, you head for the door.
>Checking your map, you see that you’re on the right path and continue.
>It’s much brighter outside today than it was today, but still pretty dark.
>Walking down the path you see gnarled tree branches everywhere.
>Faces carved into the trunks of every few trees are starting to spook both of you out.
>Scoot looks as if she is zoned out, and you get an idea.
>You slow down until she is ahead of you, then break to the woods beside her, outside the path.
>Rushing down the tree line, you climb up one and wait for her.
>As she gets closer, you prep yourself.
>She’s only a few feet away now, and you drop down and shout at her.
>She jumps into your arms and is visibly shaken.
“Gotcha!”
>”LOOK BEHIND YOU!”
>You turn, and see that the tree you had just fallen out of was beginning to shake.
>A cloud of dust floats into the air, blocking your vision, and making your eyes burn.
“Scoot! Get down!”
>You push her off behind you and take a defensive stance.
“How do I fight a tree?”
>”I HAVE NO IDEA”
>No time to think.
>A thin vine like limb comes whipping at you, and slams onto your back.
>It’s blocked mostly by the armor, but stings like a bitch, and sends you to your knees.
>Getting up, you grab your sledgehammer and wait for an opportunity.
>A much thicker limb comes slamming to the ground, and you easily dodge it.
>Winding up, you slam the hammer onto the limb, and bursts the branch wide open.
>The tree squeals out in an ear piercing tone.
>It hurt you like a bitch, and your hands are throbbing.
>That potion is really helping right now.
>Where the limb was just at, a thick green goo is flowing from it.
>It looks to be some sort of sap.
>While you were distracted by your throbbing hands, the thin branch wrapped around your hammer, and ripped it from your grasp.
“Scoots! Run!”
>She takes off down the path.
>Your sledge is floating in the air, well above your head, and you’re left with only your knife.
>You’re fighting a tree… what are its weaknesses?
>It all clicks at once.
>You rush out of its reach and reach into your bag.
>Pulling out your disinfectant spray and the matches, you ball up some brush and soak it.
>You settle the match in the ball, and take the strip in your other hand.
>Rushing up at the tree, you dance around it, waiting for it to strike.
>The wounded limb comes flailing down at you, sap dripping everywhere.
>When it connects to the ground, you jam the ball into it, and strike the match.
>The limb is engulfed in flames in an instant, apparently that sap is flammable.
>It begins to swing its limbs wildly, and ends up smacking you in the head.
>Night night.
>You’re running.
>You don’t know where, but you are.
>Looking behind you, smoke is filling the sky.
>That can’t be good.
>You’re still running, just now towards the smoke.
>It hurts to run, and to breathe, but you can’t stop.
>Anon is in danger, and you need to help him.
>As you get closer to the smoke, you can see the area ahead illuminated by fire.
>Your pace increases.
>It feels as if you were on fire right now, the smoke filling your lungs making it even harder to push on.
>You’re low to the ground, so you’re getting the cleanest of the air, but it’s still cloudy.
>A break in the fire shows a lump laying on the ground.
>You call out.
“Anon!”
>It remains unmoving.
>You make it to it and flip him over.
>Putting your ear up to his mouth, He’s not breathing.
>Laying on the ground several feet from him is his bag and his hammer.
>You run over to it and dig through it.
>After a little search, you find a stimpack.
>Rushing back over to him, you pop the cap off of it, and jam it right into his chest, only to be stopped by the plate.
>What are you going to do?
>Flipping him over again, you undo the rope holding it on, and begin tugging at it.
>You get his right arm out, and pull it over his chest.
>Grabbing the needle in your mouth, you jam it into his chest, and push the plunger in.
>He gasps to life, and sits up, coughing harshly.
>You rest your head in his lap.
>What the fuck just happened?
>One second you’re lighting that tree on fire, the next, you’re half naked in a cloud of smoke…
“Scoots?”
>”Yeah, Anon?”
“What the fuck is going on?”
>”I have no idea, but we should get out of here.”
“Agreed, let me grab my stuff.”
>You cough out a few more times, it’s only getting harder to breathe.
>Pulling the needle out of your chest, and putting your arm back in the sleeve, you go over and gather all your stuff.
“Alright, let’s get going.”
>She walks up to you, and you continue down the path.
>After a bit of a walk, the smoke clears and you can breathe again.
“So, have you ever been here before?”
>”Only once, and it was a while ago, but we’re going the right way, I know that.”
>You nod to her, and breathe in through your nose.
>A pungent odor floods your nose, and you turn to scoot, to see the same disgruntled look on her face.
“What is that?”
>”It smells like death. Blech”
>”I think I’m going to be sick!”
>She rushes off into the woods.
>You can hear her retching.
>”Anon! Get over here!”
>You run over to her.
“What is i-“
>A huge pit filled with the corpses of many different creature decaying, and a cloud of gas lays atop it.
“That’s disgusting.”
>Scoots is still dry heaving.
>You pick her up and turn around.
>A cottage sticks out in the distance.
>You begin walking towards it.
>The stench clears the air, and you can breathe easy again.
“How do you feel?”
>”Much better, but I’m still really queasy.”
“Well I get a feeling we’re about to be in for a fight, so if you’re not feeling well, do you want to stay behind?”
>”Are you kidding me? Then who will save your sorry flank?”
“Good point, thanks again, for that.”
“Think nothing of it.”
>She’s really starting to grow on you.
>Knocking on the door of the cottage, elicits no reply, so you open it yourself.
“It’s musty in here.”
>”I know right, I can hardly breathe.”
>You walk towards the next room, only to be stopped by a large white rabbit.
“Hey little guy, mind leading me to FlutterShy?”
>He hops up, rears both legs back, and kicks you square in the chest, sending you back several feet onto your ass.
“I’ll take that as a no…”
>He is already charging at you, and you unsheathe your knife.
>Side stepping his charge, you drag the knife along his left side, cutting his leg open.
>It whimpers and hops away, leaving a trail of blood.
“Think we should follow it?”
>”I guess…”
“Let’s get a move on, then.”
>Walking down another hall you follow the trail outdoors.
>Once you exit the home, you look out and understand what Celestia was on about.
>More monsters than you could count stand out in the field before you, fighting with one another, or attacking training dummies.
>You’re so speechless, that you don’t even notice the mammoth sized beasts floating down at you.
>That is, until they clasped onto your shoulders and lifted you into the air.
>Two large butterflies, one for you, and one for Scoots, bringing you over to the center of the army.
>They drop you onto a platform, right in front of the throne occupied by a small yellow pony.
>? “What brings you to my arena?”
“I was sent by Celestia to recover FlutterShy. You don’t happen to know where she is do you?”
>? “You’re speaking to her.”
>Really? She sent you all the way out here for this?
> F “If you wish for me to come with you, you must defeat me in battle.”
>Shit, piece of cake.
“Fine, let’s get this over with. I’ll try not to hurt you too badly.”
>"Well mister, if you think you have what it takes to make me go with you, then let's get started."
>The yellow pegasus floats up and hovers over to the clearing.
>She lands and crouches into what you assume to be a fighting stance.
>"That is, if you don't mind."
>You thought she was joking. She really wants to fight, but you're more than happy to oblige if it means she'll come with you.
>You walk to the side of the clearing opposite of her and stretch out your limbs in preparation. There's probably no need, though. This is going to be a piece of cake.
>After limbering up, you raise your fists and stare her down.
"Bring it on, little p0ny."
>"Oh, are you ready? Alright, here I go..."
>She's about ten feet away, so that should give you some room to maneuver.
>She's still crouched and moving towards you slowly with her wings raised. It's actually kind of cute; she looks like a yellow crab with pink hair and two claws sticking up.
>Unfortunate that you have to beat the shit out of her.
"I hope you don't mind if I end this quickly."
>You jump towards her and swing down at her lowered head.
>"Sorry!"
>She thrusts her hoof out with surprising speed and drives it straight into your solar plexus.
>Wut
>You fall to your knees and start gasping for air. You feel like you might throw up; your stomach hurts so bad that you can barely move.
"Whaa..."
>"Oh my, I'm sorry. I saw an opening and I took it. You really shouldn't just charge your opponent like that, mister. It's very predictable, and a tell-tale sign of an amateur."
>It takes a minute for you to breathe normally again, but she stands to the side and politely waits for you to recover.
>"I'm sorry, I thought you might be a little tougher than that, mister. I didn't know knocking you down would be so easy. I mean, even Mr. Bear doesn't go down in one punch."
>Mr. Bear sounds like an asshole.
>Scootaloo starts to yell at you from the sideline.
>"Anon, what are you doing? She just beat you in one punch! Stop fooling around!"
>You shoot her a death glare and she shuts up.
"That's not helping, Scoots."
>"S-sorry..."
>Damn, you didn't think she would actually know how to fight. This might be tougher than you thought.
>You get back on your feet and FlutterShy moves back into a crouch.
>Hopefully you won't have to resort to your sledgehammer; you don't want to kill her, just knock her out. Or maybe convince her to go with you, whichever is easier.
>Neither are looking very promising at this point, but you have to try.
"Look, FlutterShy. I don't want to fight you, I just need your help. I can't go home without you coming with me. Will you please reconsider?"
>"No sir, I will not. My animals like it here, and I can't just leave them unless you beat me fair and square."
>She didn't even move out of her fighting stance... guess there's no other choice. You have to solve this problem with your fists, or it isn't getting solved at all.
"Alright, then. But I'm not going easy on you this time, okay?"
>She actually smiles at that.
>"Oh, that's wonderful. I felt kind of bad that I hurt you so badly, but I thought you were being serious. Now I feel a lot better; thanks mister."
"Uh...glad I could help."
>You raise your fists again and move towards her, slower this time.
>When you're about three feet away from her, she pumps her wings and jumps into the air with amazing speed and spins in the air, bringing her leg down towards the top of your head.
>"Sorry!"
>You manage to jump back before she makes contact, but she was so close to hitting you that the wind from her attack blows your hair back.
>As soon as she lands, she leaps towards you and lands right in front of you.
>Taking the obvious opening, you jab at her head, but she stands on two hooves and slaps your fist away with a spin.
>"Oh, I'm sorry!"
>Using the momentum from her block, she smacks you on the side of your head with incredible force.
>Your neck snaps to the side and your vision becomes blurry. For a moment, the world spins out of control and you fall flat on your face.
>"Are you okay, mister?"
>She nudges you with a hoof.
>You grab onto it and drag her down to the ground with you.
>"Eeep!"
>You climb on top of her and punch her once in the temple, and her head bounces off of the ground.
>She pushes you off with her powerful rear legs and you're sent back about two yards.
>You manage to land on your feet, and you watch as she stands back up.
>"Glad to see there's still some fight in you, mister! Come and get it!"
>She goes back into her defensive stance and tries to circle around you to get to your blind spot.
>"Anon! Did you notice what she does right before she attacks?"
"Yeah, I did. Thanks, Scoots."
>"Oh dear, no cheating you two. That's not really fair."
"Sorry, it won't happen again."
>"It better not, mister. I won't fight anyp0ny that doesn't fight fairly." She continues to inch around to the edge of your vision.
>You're starting to get tired; that last hit was mind-blowingly strong. You can't take much more of this abuse.
>This needs to end now.
>"Here I come, mister..."
>Shit! You still haven't fully recovered from that last hit!
>She covers the distance between the two of you alarmingly fast. You don't have time to test your theory; just have to hope you're right.
>She jumps and spins in mid-air, and lands so her hind legs are facing you.
>"Sorry!"
>Now!
>You jump to the side, narrowly avoiding a kick that could have easily ended the fight for you.
>She was expecting to push back on your body, so she loses her balance for a split second.
>Just enough time to take a swing at her exposed rib cage.
>You lash out in a wild punch at her chest, and feel her bones crack under the pressure of your fist.
>"EEEP!"
>Her wing falls to the side and grips her chest tightly; her breathing is becoming ragged.
>You hear a roar behind you, and you turn to see where it came from.
>There's a bear right behind you, and god damn he looks pissed.
"Oh, shit!"
>"ROOOOAAAR!"
>He raises his arm to strike you down, but a stern voice stops him in mid-swing.
>"Don't you dare lay a claw on him, do you hear me?!"
"What?"
>FlutterShy walks up to the bear with her wing still on her ribcage and gives him an evil stare.
>It reminds you of the looks your mom used to give you when you were in deep trouble.
>The bear shrinks 3 sizes and scuttles away.
>F “Are you ready to continue?”
“S-sure…”
>She takes a swing at you, wing still holding her ribs.
>You dodge it, and throw another punch at her ribs.
>She falls down winded.
“Do you give?”
>You walk over to her, placing a foot on her chest.
>F “I submit, let me gather my things and we can go.”
“You fought honorably.”
>F “It’s the only way, mister.”
“Hey, it’s pretty dark out already, think we could spend the night here, and then leave in the morning? It’d give you time to set your wounds.”
>F “That sounds splendid, we could even have some post battle tea!”
“Sure…”
“I’ll meet you in your house, come on, Scoots.”
>You enter the cottage, and take a seat on the couch.
>FlutterShy comes in shortly afterwards.
“Hey, Scoots, think you could help FlutterShy and her bunny out?”
>”Sure thing, Anon.”
>You toss her your bag and she grabs some of the medical supplies.
>S “Are you going to need a stimpack, FlutterShy, or will some bandages do?”
>F “I’ll be fine with some badges, if you don’t mind. I can take care of Angle Bunny though.”
>S “Fine by me.”
>She goes to work, wrapping the bandages around her rib cage, Flutters whimpering every few moments.
“Mind if I sleep on the couch?”
>F “Where ever you’re comfortable is fine by me.”
>You’re starving, but you’ve nothing to eat, probably should have listened to Scoot before leaving.
>Just then you remember you still have a hunk of uncooked meat.
>You throw it down your throat and try and ignore the taste.
>It’s pretty foul tasting, but you get over it.
“You coming, Scoot?”
>S “Yeah, just let me finish up over here.”
>You lay your head back onto the cushion, and close your eyes.
>Not even a moment later, you feel the extra weight you had become accustomed to join you, and you fade into dreams.

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>All throughout your dreams, you hear the splatter of blood and brains from the ponies you smashed the day before.
>Visions of mutilated skulls and grey matter floating through an infinite abyss.
>Leaving you feel uneasy, even though you know it was something you had to do.
>Your dreams dissolve, and you feel a pressure on your chest.
>As you start to panic, you open your eyes, but stop.
>Lying curled up on your chest is a small orange blob.
>Your breathing patterns become interlocked. You breathe in, she breathes out. Every breath causes her to lift slightly, then exhaling bringing her back down.
>It kills you to do it, but you need to get moving.
>Gently, you pat her on the head, and whisper to her.
“Scoots, time to get up.”
>She grunts and ignores you. 
“Rise and shine.”
>Still nothing.
>In your early morning state of mind, you get an idea.
“Cock-a-doodle do.”
>Her eyes shoot open and immediately glare daggers at you.
>”Shut up.”
>Laughing, you pick her up and put her next to you.
>Sitting at attention, you slide out of bed and throw your pants and shoes on.
>They are getting worn down, you’re going to have to get some new raiment soon.
>Another idea, your brains on fire today, Rarity makes clothing; you could probably get her help.
“Come on Scoots, we gotta get moving.”
>She grunts again, her head plops down on your pillow.


>You poke her behind the ear.
>Another grunt.
>Poke.
>Poke.
>Poke.
>”FINE. I’ll get up.”
“I’m waiting…”
>She gives you a death stare as she rolls from the bed, landing anything but gracefully, on her hooves.
A loud “clop” noise resonates throughout the room, bouncing off of the walls and collides with your eardrums.
>”What are we doing today?”
“Not sure yet, we need to go ask Celestia, but I need to get some help from rarity, I need some new clothes.”
>She nods in understanding.
“Want anything to eat before we leave?”
>You walk over to the fridge, a small orange chicken in tow.
>Opening the door, you see it was restocked while you were sleeping.
>In unison. “Does it look different to you?”
>Again. “Yeah”
>You reach in and pull out a sandwich draped in what resembles cellophane wrap.
>Unraveling the shiny outer coat of the sandwich, you peel off the top piece of bread and see a couple of flowers and some hay. 
“I think this is for you…”
>She grabs it; you still can’t grasp how they do that, with her hooves and takes a bite.
>It must have been good because she continued gnawing on the poor defenseless sandwich until it was no more.


>”Mmmm, you get the good stuff! All I ever used to get was the junk they were about to toss.”
>Reaching back into the fridge, you pull out a small container with a lid on it.
>The lid was a little difficult to peel off, but what was inside it was worth it.
>A medium sized container full of pudding.
>”What did you find?”
>With a sly sarcastic voice you say
“Nothing.”
>”No really what’d you get?”
>Tilting It down to where she can see it, you can see the desire in her eyes.
>”C-can I have some?”
“Yea-nope.”
>Opening a cabinet, you pull out a spoon and stir up the chocolate goodness, taking a test spoonful to see how it is.
>Delicious. It was delicious.
“Ohh this is soooo good.”
>She looks mad.
“So rich and creamy!”
>Getting another spoonful, you lower it and let her taste it.
>She must like it, because she won’t give you the spoon back.
“Can I get my spoon back?”
>”Yea-NOPE.” She says through gritted teeth.
>After sharing a laugh, you get your spoon back and finish your breakfast.
>Grabbing you equipment, you check inventory and leave the room.
>After a short walk through various hallways, you find Celestia.
>She looks pretty tired, that might have something to do with whatever it is she did to Rarity. You’re going to have to ask about that later.
“Celestia! Over here.”


>She trots over to you and clears her throat.
>”Ah Anonymous, how good to see you. How may I be of service to you?”
“I was wondering what I could do for you actually.”
>She looks confused for a second, but it clicks.
>”Oh, yes, I had forgotten. I haven’t been sleeping well recently, but don’t worry about me. The next element I need for you to recover is kindness, her actual name is FlutterShy. “
“Is there anything I need to know about her?”
>”Well it is rumored she has a small army…”
“A small army? Of what?”
>”A small army of… woodland creatures.”
>You try to contain it, but you burst with laughter, Celestia’s face remains stern and serious. 
“Oh, you’re serious? What are they going to do, snuggle me to death?
>Scoot laughs, but Celestia still remains serious.
>”I guess you will see when you get there.”
“Oh, could you direct me to Rarity? I need her help for something.”
>”What would that be?”
“Well, I need new clothes, these ones are… well… look for yourself.”
>Inspecting you, she takes notice to the holes and burn marks all over your clothes and skin.
>You turn and point at the large hole on the ass of your pants, and poke the flesh.
“It’s drafty!”
>You say with a light hearted tone, and she finally chuckles.
>”I see. Follow me; I will bring you to her.”


>She takes off, slowly trotting down a hallway to her left.
>You come to a normal sized door, she opens it and you all enter.
>There lie Rarity, working diligently over a large sewing machine.
“Hey Rarity, how’s your new toy?”
>”Fabulous! Oh Anonymous, I simply can not thank you enough. Oh my, we simply must do something about those drab, disgusting clothes. A proper hero needs a suit of armor!”
>You can feel your blush. 
“Oh, it was nothi-“
>”Nonsense, you risked your life to come save me, now I must repay you.”
>”Sweetie, get over here and help me measure him.”
>That familiar looking filly approaches from behind the sewing machine and nods at you.
>Rarity floats? a measuring tape over at you, holding it at each crevasse of your body.
>Up next to the tape is a notepad with a quill and ink writing down vigorously.
“H-ho-how are you doing th-that?”
>”What dear?”
“Making all those things float.”
>”Simple my dear Anonymous, magic.”
>Magic?
>Did she just say magic?
“Did you just say magic?”
>”Indeed. You seem surprised; do they not- not have magic where you are from?”
“No… well not like that, is that like… normal here?”
>”Yes, all ponies are magical in their own way. Unicorns have it the strongest though.”
>Some weird shit.
“That’s going to take some getting used to… So… think you could show me what you had planned for that “suit of armor”?”


>She waltzes over to a drawing board, a quill levitating behind her; she dips it in the ink and begins scratching away.
>It’s a blur as she draws out the design, you try to catch a peak, but she pushes you away.
>”You can see the final product, for now you must wait. Go find something to do its going to take a while.”
>Understanding you weren’t wanted there anymore; you walk over to scoot, who is talking at Sweetie, and nudge her to get moving.
“We should probably wait until she is done with that until we go out, so what do you think we should do?
>”I’m sure we can find something to do around here.”
“Anything in mind?”
>”Well, we could go to the training room.”
“Sounds like a plan. Can you lead the way?”
>She takes off down a hallway, a little unsure of where she is going.
>After a confusing 10 minute or so walk, you eventually find your way; she had gotten you lost in a “short cut”.
>Entering the large training room, you take into account all of the things there.
>It was empty at the time being, spare one or two ponies working out in a windowed room adjacent to it.
>Large mannequins crudely resembling bipedal dogs with various pieces of “armor” on. 
“What are those things supposed to be?”
>”They are Diamond dogs, well not really, but they are training dummies modeled after them.”
>”Watch me.”


>She runs up to one, jukes left, then hops up behind it and delivers a buck to the back of its head.
>Landing ever so gracefully, she eggs you on.
>”Think you can do better?”
“I know I can.”
>You charge at it in a similar manner, except you have your club out, rearing it behind you, all of your body strength goes into hitting it and its head flies clean off.
>She stands there speechless. 
“How’d I do?”
>”Beginners luck, I loosened it up for you is all.”
“Are you implying I’m a beginner? Maybe my memory is a little blurry, but I seem to recall saving a small orange filly from impending doom just yesterday.”
>”Shut up!”
“Relax kiddo, what else can we do in here? I doubt the guards would appreciate me knocking the heads off of all of their dummies.”
>”Well, we could do some Group assaults…”
“Group assault?”
>”You know, I charge in and get their attention, then you attack while I have them distracted, or you help me attack them, stuff like that.”
“Alright, what do you want to try?”
>She trots over to a midsized book sitting on a table and begins to flip through it.
>”This looks like it will do.”
“Alright, give me the run down on it.
>”How about you give me a boost, I fall down at them and while they are look at me, you attack their legs.”


“Sounds good to me.”
>She starts running side by side with you at one of the targets.
>No less than 4 feet from you, she jumps in front of you, you push her up in the air a good 6 feet, and she glides down, flapping her tiny wings as fast as she can.
>While she is falling, you wind up and unleash a swing at the things leg.
>You hit it and the metal rod bends under the stress.
>The vibration from the hit rattles you from your toes to your teeth.
>Clenching your hand, you inspect the damage.
>Nothing too serious, just a little swollen around the thumb.
>Your club on the other hand, that broke up rather badly.
>The once solid chunk of concrete that was on the end of the rebar now lays spread across the floor in many pieces.
>Only a slight bit of concrete remains on the club itself, it lost a majority of its weight in the process.
>You shake it off and say.
“Well I guess that’s enough training for today…”
>”Yeah… Let’s go see what else we can break, but let me wrap your hand up first.” She says with a laugh.
>You throw her some bandage wrap and she ties it tight, clipping it with a little metal pin.
>Exiting the room, you put the rebar back in your bag; you might be able to use it later. 
“Think Celestia would have anything for me to use as a weapon?”
>”I would hope so. Wana go find out?”


“You know it.”
>Taking off in a sprint, you make your way to Celestia.
>You easily outrun Scoot’s but keep at a reasonable pace.
>When you are close to Celestia’s area, you speed up and rush inside.
>Standing at the doorway, you lean against the wall and tap your foot impatiently waiting for Scoot.
>Jokingly you say.
“I’m dying of old age over here” You say jokingly.
>You can see she is pushing extra hard, her face squinted in concentration as she rounds the corner.
>She slides to a stop right in front of you, panting and trying to catch her breath.
>Celestia speaks up.
>”What is it Anonymous? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Oh, we were just having a little race, but I do come with a question.”
>”And that would be?”
“I kinda broke my club, and I was wondering if you maybe… had some sort of armory or something?”
>She waves over a guard.
>”Guard, take these two to the armory. Tell the quartermaster they get the “hero” discount.
>Hero discount? Sounds interesting.
“Thanks Celly.”
>She just looks at you with an emotionless face.
>”Out.”
“ok”
>You follow the guard through several hallways, down a few flights of stairs, across a bridge, down some more stairs, through a door way and finally into an open room.
>He leads you into another doorway, this one with a gated in area.
>It looks like a prison cell, except full of weapons.



>Swords, axes, bows and quivers, hammers, some suits of clothing, but they are made for ponies, so no way they would fit you.
>You do like some of the designs though; maybe you could get Rarity to make human versions for you.
>The guard that escorted you tells the quartermaster about the discount, and then dismisses himself.
>She was mostly covered in a tight armor, various pockets and gadgets everywhere, a small time piece hangs from a chain, draped out of one of the pockets, but the little skin that was shown was a light purple, her mane was a darker purple, although still rather light.
>The quartermasters purple eyes meet yours and she asks you.
>”What can I help you with today?”
>Man, it’s going to take some time to get used to talking to ponies like this, but it must be just as awkward for them.
“Well… I kinda broke my weapon… I’m looking for either a replacement, or an upgrade. Have anything along the lines of close quarters blunt objects?”
>She trots over to a shelf on the far side of where she was standing.
>”Well, we just got some new sledgehammers.”
>Taking one from the shelf, she hooves it to you through the small opening in the gate.
>It’s quite heavy, but fits well in your hands.
>You give a few test swings in the air. 
“This should do nicely. How much?”
>”Well, normally it would be 15 bits… but since you get the hero’s discount, I can give it to you for 7. How does that sound?”


>Looking over to scoot for reassurance, you get the nod that it must be an ok deal.
“Do you have any small knives? Something for stealth that is light and sharp?
>”Actually, no. I just rationed my last box cutter out, but I’ll be sure to let you know if I get anything.”
“Thanks.”
>Reaching into your pack, you pull out a handful of bits from the compartment.
>Quickly palming them, you go through how many you had.
>You had picked out 9 bits. 
“Do you have any medical supplies?”
>She walks over to the wall behind her and pulls on a first aid box.
>It comes off the wall with ease and she brings it over and hands it to you.
>Inside it lays a few bobby pins, a bottle of disinfectant, some bandage wrap, a handful of matches and strike strip, and a stimpack.
>You pick out the stimpack, the bobby pins, the disinfectant and match set, and the wrap.
“How much for all this?”
>”4 bits.”
>Reaching back into the pouch, you pull out 2 more bits.
>You drop them in the collection bin.
“Thanks…?”
>”You can call me Quartermaster Berry.”
“How’s Berry?”
>”Like I said, Quartermaster Berry.”
“Alright, well thank you Quartermaster Berry, I hope to see you again soon, but before I leave, do you need help with anything around here?”
>”Now that you mention it, there was an order of darts that went missing, if you happen to find them, or just some darts; they usually come in packs of 15, I would really appreciate it.”
“I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for it, again thank you.”
>You wave her off and exit the armory. 
	

“Think Rarity is done yet?”
>”We could go check.”
“Want to race?”
>”No.”
“Oh, you’re no fun.”
>”I know.”
>You begin on your way back to Rarity’s work shop.
>Scoot seems to be upset, she isn’t talking at all or respond to any questions.
“Is something wrong?”
>”No.”
>Now, you were never a master with the women, but you know that no means yes with them.
“What’s wrong?”
>”Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
>”No.”
“Ah, so there is something wrong.”
>She remains quiet.
“Is it something I did?”
>Still nothing.”
“The silent treatment? Really?”
>It’s like you’re talking to a… IDEA.
“It’s like I’m talking to a chicken.”
>She really seems upset, and turns away from you.
>Shit, now you know what you did.
“Is it because I keep calling you a chi-“
>She looks over at you scornfully.
>Yep, definitely that.
“What if I promise not to call you that anymore?”
>”I’d appreciate it.”
“I promise.”
>”Thank you.”
“Under one condition.”
>”Always with the catches; what is it?”
“Why does it bother you so much?”
>She looks away from you.
“Come on now, I won’t think any less of you.”
>”I can’t…”
“You can’t what?”
>”I can’t fl…”
“You can’t…?”
>”I CAN’T FLY! OKAY?”
“So? Neither can I.”
>”It’s different for you… you don’t have wings.”
>She extends her wings, which you just now realized are small in comparison to her body.
“It’s not a big deal Scoots, I’m sure you aren’t the only Pegasus that can’t fly, and look at it this way, it makes you unique.”


>She still looks upset. You have to do something to cheer her up.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to someday, you just need to keep trying.”
>”Do you really think so?”
“I know so, now come on, loose the sad face, we can’t have you skulking around all day.”
>You didn’t even need to say that last part, as soon as you said you knew it, her face lit up and all sign of sadness ran away.
>Just in time too, the door to the workshop was coming up on the right.
“Looks like we’re here.”
>You both enter, and call out together.
“Rarity!”
>S ”Rarity!”
>She climbs out from behind the sewing machine and speaks.
>R ”What is it darling? Oh yes, your uniform. It is complete; I’m just putting some finishing touches on it now.”
>”Go wait out in the hallway while I finish it.”
>You do so and go chill in the hallway for 5 minutes.
>For the next five minutes you shoot the breeze with Scoots, dabbling on about nothing really.
>”It’s fi-nished” She says in a sing song voice.
>Walking into the room, you cover your eyes in attempt to stretch out the surprise even more.
>When you uncover them, you see the sketchpad on the holding rack, design all laid out on the easel, measurements and everything.
>It’s a fine looking suit of amour, overlapping fabric cut into layers around the areas you would need to flex, like the knees and elbows and wrists.


>Plate on the chest and back that looked rather sturdy, but also flexible. 
>She uses her magic to remove the holding rack, and there lay the suit on a human mannequin.
“Wow”
>”Do you like it?”
>”Oh who am I kidding, of course you like it, why else would your tongue be hanging from your mouth?”
>Sure it was a nice looking piece of armor, but there were jewels and rubies all over the thing.
>”Well, don’t just stand there, try it on.”
>You walk over to the mannequin and peal it from the body.
>From the looks of it, it’s a two piece with straps on the back you can adjust.
>After kicking off your shoes, you step one leg at a time into the suit.
>It’s a snug fit, but you manage to get in easily enough.
>The inside of the suit is a fine mesh like material, feels very good on the skin but might get a little hot.
>Next for the chest plate.
>Surprisingly, it’s much lighter than you had expected, but there is a catch.
>Getting your arms in is proving to be an issue.
“A little help here.”
>She magic’s over a pair of scissors and snips a string under each arm.
>They become much limper, and you can slip your arms in.
>It’s a nice fit, but you are most definitely going to need help getting out of it.
“It’s very nice Rarity, but how did you manage to get all of these gems?”
>”I had Sweetie go dig some up, it’s nothing.”
“Gems grow… in the ground?”
>”Well they don’t really grow, but where else would they be?”


“Well… it’s just, back on my world, people pay a lot for gems of much smaller size, and here you can just go dig some up like they were regular rocks.”
>”So no magic and gems are hard to find? Remind me never to go to your world.”
>Casual laughter fills the air.
“Thanks very much Rarity, but I have to ask for one more thing.”
>”And that would be?”
“Could you possibly fix my bag up? It got messed up back in one of my fights and I just don’t want anything to fall out of it.”
>”No need to dear.”
>She gallops away into a back room and returns immediately.
>Only, when she comes back she has a larger camouflage backpack trailing behind her magically.
“I can’t thank you enough Rarity.”
>”Oh it’s nothing. I absolutely hate the design, but yes you could pay me back. Get my friends back to their old selves, and make it back alive, oh and if you manage to find any wine, make sure to grab it for me, I’ll reward you well, and even share if you would like.” She says that last part with a wink.
“I’ll try my best.”
>You give her a salute and make off for the exit.
>Stopping in the hallway, you migrate all of the stuff from your old bag to the new one.
>Continuing your way down the hall, you pass a sickly looking young pony.
“Hey kid, you want this?”


>He looks frightened; like a dear in headlights. He refuses to make eye contact.
“I’m just going to leave it right here, and if you take it while I’m gone, I don’t mind.”
>You drop the bag on the ground, a foot in front of him and continue on your way.
>As soon as you pass him, you hear him exhale and scoop up the bag, and gallop away.
>”That was nice of you.””
“Well, I didn’t need it anymore, and I didn’t feel like going all the way back to our room.”
>”It’s okay to be nice, you know that right?”
>You playfully shove her.
>Approaching the exit to the building, you pull out the map and scour over it for where you need to go.
>There is a big circle in yellow around “The Everfree Forest” you check the legend at the bottom of the map, and see that the yellow circle=kindness.
“So, looks like we are going to the Everfree, know anything about it?”
>As soon as you said Everfree, her ears perked up and her hair stood up.
>”I know enough about it.”
“Why do you seem so spooked?”
>”It’s not a good place, lots of bad things, we were never allowed in there.”
“If you don’t want to go you don’t have to, I’m not going to force you.”


>”No… no I want to go; I need to get over the fear. I do have to tell you, there are some scary things in there, and I can only imagine them getting worse since the “radiation”, was that what you called it?”
“Yeah, that’s it. I guess we will see when we get there. Need anything before we get out of the safe house?”
>”Well, it’s going to be a rather long hike, we might want to bring some food and water, other than that I don’t think so.”
“Well, you can just eat some grass right?”
>”I suppose, the grass around here isn’t really good for us, with the contamination and all, but yeah.”
“I can probably catch something to eat, so we should be fine as far as food goes, and I still have some bottled water in my bag.”
>”Well don’t come crying to me when you’re starving.”
>You think of saying something about how you always like chicken, but you promised.
“Well let’s get moving, the sun is starting to peak.”
>Beginning on the long road, you pass into a large tree line.
>After walking for a good 35 minutes, you find a path branching out, large trees and bushes on both sides.
“This it?”
>”Yeah, be careful though, it’s dark in there.”
>You walk over to a dead tree on the side of the road, grab onto a midsized branch, and snap it off.
>Picking up some dried shrubbery from the ground, you wrap it around the stick.
“Grab that disinfectant from my bag.”
>She does and tosses it to you.


>Popping the cap off, you apply a generous amount to the tip of the makeshift torch.
>”What are you doing?”
>Reaching around, you pull out the match kit and strike a match.
>The torch ignites in an instant, illuminating an area several feet around you.
>”That’s really cool, you’re going to have to show me how to do that!” She says in an excited tone.
“Maybe when we get back.”
>As you walk down the path, various noises have you and Scoot on edge, some rustling in a bush nearby startles you both.
>A strange creature pops out from the bush.
>It’s a large dragon looking creature with the head of a chicken and the body of a dragon.
>After letting loose a loud screech noise, it looks right at Scoot.
>”DON’T LOOK IN ITS EYES!”
>Probably a good idea to listen to her.
>Gripping your sledgehammer, you rush the beast and drive a powerful blow straight to the side of its chest.
>It squawks in pain, then swings one of its beefy wings at you, razor sharp talons catching your left forearm.
>You go flying back several feet and slam into a tree.
>The wound isn’t too deep, but it’s rather long.
>Good thing you had that armor on, you might have lost your arm if not. It appears the armor is cracked along the arm though.
>The torch lay on the ground, the light dampened by its new location.
“Scoots, I need you to distract it.”
>”How do you expect me to do that??”


“Uh… act like a chicken?”
>”NOT FUNNY!”
“No seriously!”
>She reluctantly starts pecking at the ground; the chicken thing looks at her and stops in its tracks, just observing her.
>You take this opportunity to get behind it.
>Taking off in a sprint, you leap on its back and unsheathe your knife.
>It freaks out, squawking like crazy, and trying to swing you lose.
>Pulling the knife back, you dig it deep into one of its eyes.
>Another loud screech rings throughout the forest.
>It’s tough, but you pull out the knife and impale the other eyeball.
>The creature takes to the sky, you on its back.
“SCOOTS WHAT DO I DO?”
>”I DON’T KNOW.”
>In a state of panic, you pull out the disinfectant spray and shoot it into its eye sockets.
>Instant barrel rolls.
>You are hanging on for dear life, one arm around its neck, the other hand on your knife.
>All of the struggling must have implanted the knife in there, because you are having a hard time getting it out.
>A pop noise erupts, and the creature nose dives straight at the ground, crashing through several tree limbs, and digging into the ground.
>It fails to get up again, falling into a heap on the ground.
“Scoot, get over here.”
>She rushes over and inspects it.
“Gimmie a han-er hoof.”
>”With what?”	
“Hold the knife in place.”
>Reluctantly, she grips the knife in place over the creature’s neck.
>You run over and grab your sledgehammer and run back.


>Drawing it way over your head, you slam it powerfully onto the knife creating a deep cut in the creature’s neck and lodging your knife deep inside.
>A spurt of blood shoots out, narrowly missing Scoot.
>Its wings fling around wildly for a short time before it falls motionless.
>You pull the knife out, a bubble of blood pops from the beast’s neck.
>Wiping the blood from the knife on the creature’s scales, you take grip and plant it in the body.
>The blood on the sledgehammer is pretty intimidating, so you leave it.
“What is this thing?”
>”It looks like a cockatrice, but the only ones I’ve seen were 1/5rd that size and nowhere near as terrifying. The radiation must have made them grow.”
“Well I hope we don’t run into too many more of them, that hurt like a bitch. Why shouldn’t you look into their eyes exactly?”
>”Well, before the mutation at least, if you were to stare into their eyes, they would petrify you where you stand. I hear it was a terrible way to go…”
“Sure does sound like it.”
>”What are you doing?”
>She just noticed you were cutting it up.
“Just getting some dinner. Want me to get some for you?”
>No reply, just a serious look on her face.
“Oh yeah, sorry about that whole act like a chicken thing, but it worked!”
>”Shut up before I hurt you.”
“Yes masta whateva be yo will masta.”
>Finishing that remark with a chuckle, you take the large hunks of meat you had sliced off and inspect them.


>They were firm, but looked quite bloody. It was inherently cold, so you didn’t know if you were going to have to cook it, but it would probably be a good idea.
“Want me to bring some for you?”
>”No, I’m a herbivore.”
>You cut off a small chunk for her just in case.
>”Your arm looks pretty bad; you might want to put some of that spray on yourself.”
>Not a bad idea, you pick the can off the ground and unload on your arm.
>Pain is not a sufficient explanation.
>It was like a flamethrower was unleashed right onto your arm for a solid 15 seconds.
>You were on the ground rolling around, cussing in pain.
>When the tears cleared from your eyes, you can see Scoot on her haunches laughing her ass off.
“I feel bad for that cockatrice, that shit burns like you wouldn’t believe.”
>”I know, that’s why I told you to do It.” she manages to say through laughter.
“Fuck you. I know where you sleep.”
>A bright light catches your eye.
>Looks like your torch is still lit.
>Running over to it, you scoop some brush from the ground and ball it up.
>You pick up the stick and put the ball on it.
“Alright, let’s get moving.”
>She starts off down the road, not even waiting for you.
>After catching up, you look down at her, she looks a little distraught.
“Something wrong?”


“It’s getting late, I guess I’m just a little cold is all- What are you doing?”
>You had scooped her up midsentence and held her to your chest.
>She was about to complain, but the warmth must have shut her up.
“Better?”
>”Thanks. I’m not a baby though, you don’t have to hold me.”
“Eh, I don’t mind, but if we run into something like that again, I’m dropping you.”
>”Oh, thanks for the reassurance.”
>Down the road, you can see a small hut with a lantern in the front door.
>You were contemplating going and knocking on the door, but when some more rustling in the bush catches your attention, you rush to the hut.
>Almost kicking in the door, you burst in and slam it behind you.
>?:”Who has entered my habitation without my invitation?”
>Fucking rhymes?
“Um… sorry to barge in, there was something in the brush out there; we just needed to escape it.”
>”Great danger lies in that domain, things there only seek to cause you pain.”
“Yeah, I figured that when a cockatrice nearly cut my arm off.”
>”Powerful evil is ahead, if I were not to offer it would not feel right, I have a free bed, if you wish to spend the night.”
“That would be great…?”
>”For me you may call Zecora, could I interest you in some of my flora?”
>She points to a large shelf of various plants and leaves.
“I’m Anonymous by the way. Maybe my friend over here would, but I’m an omnivore, I prefer meat.”
“If you don’t mind, I actually have some I would like to try to cook.”


>”Around these parts, meat is rare, I would appreciate it, if you would share.”
“I see no problem with that; do you know how to cook it?”
>”Cooking, you see, is no problem, for me.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
>You pull off your bag and remove the still bloodied meat.
>After handing it over to Zecora, you walk over and look at her shelves of knickknacks.
>”My work you see, potions for you and me.”
>She takes one off the shelf and passes it to you.
>”If this you ingest, you will sprint faster than the rest.”
“How about this one?”
>You pick one that was glowing green from the table.
>”This is a special brew, if clouds you seek, a sip or two, and you can walk for a week.”
“I could walk on clouds?”
>”That is what it for, if you wish I could make you more.”
“If it’s not a problem, yeah I would appreciate it.”
“Do you think… could you show me how to make them?”
>”What an honor it would be, to have you learn from me.”
>She pulls out some ingredients and hands them to you.
>”Follow my order and you will see, making brews is simple as can be.”
>She shows you how to mix certain things in proportion and explains what they do.
>You mix some green leaves with 4 small mushroom looking plants, stir it for a minute, then added a small white leaves.


>A small poof of white smoke bubbles from the cauldron and she grunts.
>”A bit of smoke you never fear, in most cases it means the end is near.
“So it’s almost done?”
>She nods at you.
“Well, let’s go get that meat cooking.”
>She leads you over to a spice rack, and pulls out several small sacks.
>Drizzling out ever so gently into a small cup she adds different powders and herbs.
“If you wish to improve the taste, then this powder you must place.”
>She guides your hands over, making sure you season it equally.
“Well, you heat this up, I’m going to go check on the brew.”
>The cauldron is settled, no longer smoking and looks ready.
>You grab a small ladle from the table next to it and scoop up some.
>As you are raising it to your mouth, something smacks it from your hand.
“What the hell!”
>”If you were to consume the potion, a great deal of pain would be set in motion.”
“Well… thank you for stopping me, but a simple “STOP” would have done the trick.”
>She pulls out another sack from on a shelf.
>Dribbling a little powder into the concoction provides a sizzling noise, before another calm spell.
>”Now it is read for you to taste, now take this cup and make great haste.”
>You down the bitter liquid and wait for something to happen.
“Nothing’s happen-UEAH”


>Your arm feels like it is exploding.
>You try to look at it through the pain, but it’s useless.
>Falling to the ground, you land on a small pad.
>The pain subsides after about a minute, and you look over at your arm.
>The long cut that was once there is no longer.
>Not even a scar, it was like nothing ever happened.
>Also the muscles on the arm look much more defined than previously.
“I thought you said that you stopped it from hurting?”
>”If you didn’t wait, the healing effect you would negate. The pain is just a side effect, maybe someday I can correct.”
“Well, after all that I’m feeling rather hungry, what say you to some dinner?”
>She walks over to the table and sits on a mat.
“Come on Scoot, I’m sure she has something for you.”
>She’s been really quite this entire time; you’re going to have to talk to her in the morning.
>Slowly she makes her way over to the table and takes a seat next to you.
>Zecora walks over with the meat on a large plate, and a small salad bowl on the plate.
>She plops the plate on the table, and you hand the salad over to Scoot.
>”Thanks Anon.”
>You pull out your knife and cut off a chunk of meat and throw it in your already salivating maw.
>Best. Steak. Ever.
“This is amazing, best I’ve ever had.”
>It looks like she blushes, but you still can’t tell with these ponies.


>Is she a pony? She doesn’t really look like one, but hey who are you to judge.
“So, is there a reason behind the rhyming all the time?”
>”An accent I can not lose, but in most instances, one I choose.”
“Interesting. Say, do you have anything to drink?”
>She rises from her seat and saunters across the shack, out of view.
“He Scoots, what’s up? You’re acting weird.”
>”I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Are you sure? Is it something about her? She seems nice.”
>”Not now Anon.”
“Okay, okay sheesh.”
>Right on quo, Zecora returns with a brown colored pitcher containing a clear liquid you assumed to be water and a few cups.
>You grab a cup and pour some drink.
>Reluctantly you begin to sip, but it tastes clean and your arms aren’t exploding so seems good enough.
“Want some Scoots?”
>”No, I’m alright… but could I try some of that?”
“My steak?”
>”Y-yeah, that.”
>You rip a small hunk of it off, using your knife as an aid to tear the meat and pass it over to her.
>She inspects it closely, bringing it up to eye level, sniffing it and then takes a small nibble.
>A strange look comes to her face, you can’t tell whether she likes it or not.
>Another bite follows, this time much bigger than the last tiny nibble.
>”This is pretty good, I don’t think I could eat it every day, but every once in a while seems like it would be okay.”
“Glad you like it!”


>The rest of the meal is relatively quiet, only occasional small talk breaks the silence, and even then it is short lived.
“I’m feeling kind of tired after that meal, how about you?”
>S “Yeah me too, something about a long day of saving your sorry flank really tires out a young mare like myself.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Mind showing us the sleeping area there Zecora?”
>Z “If rest need be, follow me.”
>She leaves the table, and you follow.
>Enter a somewhat dark room, the only light filling it is from some strange plants in the corners of the room with softly glowing pedals, a light green light layers the room in its ambience.
>Zecora points out an already made guest bed, a rather small bed at that, resting on the floor with a tattered pillow and small blanket.
“Thanks for everything Zecora, if there’s anything you need just let me know and I’ll try my best to help you out.”
>She exits the room with a nod.
“So, how are we going to work this out? I know you’re fond of my chest so I guess that would work.”
>”Alright well can you hurry up? I’m feeling really tired.”
>You plop onto the hard bed, the little cushion that was there was unnoticeable as your shoulders connect with the ground.
>Not even a moment after you collide with the ground, something collides with your chest.
>You go to say something, but her eyes are close and she is off.
>It’s hard to even comprehend how comfortable she looks, but you are currently in pain.


>Adjusting yourself, you pull the blanket over the two of you and begin to doze off.
>Your dreams are strange but unidentifiable, most of it an incoherent jumble of randomness.
>Something agitates you from your slumber, leaving you pawing at your face.
>Eyes open wide to reveal Scoots mane resting just upon your nose.
>You brush it from your face and take a deep breath.
>Gently, you slide her off of your chest and get to your feet.
>Reaching out in all directions, your body locks up tighter than an earthworms asshole as you stretch out, and a flurry of grunts escape you.
>Scratching your side, you exit the room.
>Looks like Zecora cleaned everything up last night before she went to bed.
>You walk over to the cauldron and see there is an idle potion in there.
>Looking around, you see a striped rump sticking up in the air, digging into a large chest.
>Stealthily, you sneak up behind her and tap her on the shoulder.
>Startled, she jumps.
“G’mornin Zecora.”
>”Good morning to you, my stealthy little shrew.”
>Did she just call you a mouse?
“What are you doing?”
>”An ingredient I seek, without it the potion is weak.”
“Well, what’s it look like?”
>”Blue and- Here it is, add it and watch it fizz.”
>She hooves it over to you and you drop it in the cauldron.
>Just like she said, bubbles erupt in the tank for a brief moment, before coming to settle.
“What’s this do?”


>”A cup of this concoction, and you’ll be strong as an oxen.”
“Neat, mind if I try it?”
>Scooping some up in a ladle, you down the brew.
>It’s rather bitter in flavor, and sticks to the back of your throat, with a foul after taste.
>Immediately, you burp a fowl smelling cloud of green smoke.
“That’s rough stuff right there.”
>She giggles.
>Turning around, you notice Scoot had emerged from the bedroom, sluggishly moving across the room.
>You run over to her and pick her up to test your new found strength.
>It’s as if she were a stack of papers, almost weightless.
>”Could you put me down please.”
“Right away.”
>You place her on the floor and turn to Zecora.
“Thanks for everything, Zecora, but we need to get going if we want to make it back by night fall. I hope to see you again soon.”
>She passes you a bag.
>”Good luck my friend, I hope you do not meet your end.”
>You reach down and give her a hug.
“Thank you.”
“Ready to go scoots?”
>”Yeah.”
>Picking up your bag, you head for the door.
>Checking your map, you see that you’re on the right path and continue.
>It’s much brighter outside today than it was today, but still pretty dark.
>Walking down the path you see gnarled tree branches everywhere.


>Faces carved into the trunks of every few trees are starting to spook both of you out.
>Scoot looks as if she is zoned out, and you get an idea.
>You slow down until she is ahead of you, then break to the woods beside her, outside the path.
>Rushing down the tree line, you climb up one and wait for her.
>As she gets closer, you prep yourself.
>She’s only a few feet away now, and you drop down and shout at her.
>She jumps into your arms and is visibly shaken.
“Gotcha!”
>”LOOK BEHIND YOU!”
>You turn, and see that the tree you had just fallen out of was beginning to shake.
>A cloud of dust floats into the air, blocking your vision, and making your eyes burn.
“Scoot! Get down!”
>You push her off behind you and take a defensive stance.
“How do I fight a tree?”
>”I HAVE NO IDEA”
>No time to think.
>A thin vine like limb comes whipping at you, and slams onto your back.
>It’s blocked mostly by the armor, but stings like a bitch, and sends you to your knees.
>Getting up, you grab your sledgehammer and wait for an opportunity.
>A much thicker limb comes slamming to the ground, and you easily dodge it.
>Winding up, you slam the hammer onto the limb, and bursts the branch wide open.
>The tree squeals out in an ear piercing tone.
>It hurt you like a bitch, and your hands are throbbing.


>That potion is really helping right now.
>Where the limb was just at, a thick green goo is flowing from it.
>It looks to be some sort of sap.
>While you were distracted by your throbbing hands, the thin branch wrapped around your hammer, and ripped it from your grasp.
“Scoots! Run!”
>She takes off down the path.
>Your sledge is floating in the air, well above your head, and you’re left with only your knife.
>You’re fighting a tree… what are its weaknesses?
>It all clicks at once.
>You rush out of its reach and reach into your bag.
>Pulling out your disinfectant spray and the matches, you ball up some brush and soak it.
>You settle the match in the ball, and take the strip in your other hand.
>Rushing up at the tree, you dance around it, waiting for it to strike.
>The wounded limb comes flailing down at you, sap dripping everywhere.
>When it connects to the ground, you jam the ball into it, and strike the match.
>The limb is engulfed in flames in an instant, apparently that sap is flammable.
>It begins to swing its limbs wildly, and ends up smacking you in the head.
>Night night.

>You’re running.
>You don’t know where, but you are.
>Looking behind you, smoke is filling the sky.
>That can’t be good.
>You’re still running, just now towards the smoke.
>It hurts to run, and to breathe, but you can’t stop.
>Anon is in danger, and you need to help him.
>As you get closer to the smoke, you can see the area ahead illuminated by fire.
>Your pace increases.
>It feels as if you were on fire right now, the smoke filling your lungs making it even harder to push on.
>You’re low to the ground, so you’re getting the cleanest of the air, but it’s still cloudy.
>A break in the fire shows a lump laying on the ground.
>You call out.
“Anon!”
>It remains unmoving.
>You make it to it and flip him over.
>Putting your ear up to his mouth, He’s not breathing.
>Laying on the ground several feet from him is his bag and his hammer.
>You run over to it and dig through it.
>After a little search, you find a stimpack.
>Rushing back over to him, you pop the cap off of it, and jam it right into his chest, only to be stopped by the plate.
>What are you going to do?
>Flipping him over again, you undo the rope holding it on, and begin tugging at it.
>You get his right arm out, and pull it over his chest.
>Grabbing the needle in your mouth, you jam it into his chest, and push the plunger in.
>He gasps to life, and sits up, coughing harshly.
>You rest your head in his lap.


>What the fuck just happened?
>One second you’re lighting that tree on fire, the next, you’re half naked in a cloud of smoke…
“Scoots?”
>”Yeah, Anon?”
“What the fuck is going on?”
>”I have no idea, but we should get out of here.”
“Agreed, let me grab my stuff.”
>You cough out a few more times, it’s only getting harder to breathe.
>Pulling the needle out of your chest, and putting your arm back in the sleeve, you go over and gather all your stuff.
“Alright, let’s get going.”
>She walks up to you, and you continue down the path.
>After a bit of a walk, the smoke clears and you can breathe again. 
“So, have you ever been here before?”
>”Only once, and it was a while ago, but we’re going the right way, I know that.”
>You nod to her, and breathe in through your nose.
>A pungent odor floods your nose, and you turn to scoot, to see the same disgruntled look on her face.
“What is that?”
>”It smells like death. Blech”
>”I think I’m going to be sick!”
>She rushes off into the woods.
>You can hear her retching.
>”Anon! Get over here!”
>You run over to her.
“What is i-“
>A huge pit filled with the corpses of many different creature decaying, and a cloud of gas lays atop it. 
“That’s disgusting.”
>Scoots is still dry heaving.
>You pick her up and turn around.


>A cottage sticks out in the distance.
>You begin walking towards it.
>The stench clears the air, and you can breathe easy again.
“How do you feel?”
>”Much better, but I’m still really queasy.”
“Well I get a feeling we’re about to be in for a fight, so if you’re not feeling well, do you want to stay behind?”
>”Are you kidding me? Then who will save your sorry flank?”
“Good point, thanks again, for that.”
“Think nothing of it.”
>She’s really starting to grow on you.
>Knocking on the door of the cottage, elicits no reply, so you open it yourself.
“It’s musty in here.”
>”I know right, I can hardly breathe.”
>You walk towards the next room, only to be stopped by a large white rabbit.
“Hey little guy, mind leading me to FlutterShy?”
>He hops up, rears both legs back, and kicks you square in the chest, sending you back several feet onto your ass.
“I’ll take that as a no…”
>He is already charging at you, and you unsheathe your knife.
>Side stepping his charge, you drag the knife along his left side, cutting his leg open.
>It whimpers and hops away, leaving a trail of blood.
“Think we should follow it?”
>”I guess…”
“Let’s get a move on, then.”
>Walking down another hall you follow the trail outdoors.
>Once you exit the home, you look out and understand what Celestia was on about.
>More monsters than you could count stand out in the field before you, fighting with one another, or attacking training dummies.


>You’re so speechless, that you don’t even notice the mammoth sized beasts floating down at you.
>That is, until they clasped onto your shoulders and lifted you into the air.
>Two large butterflies, one for you, and one for Scoots, bringing you over to the center of the army.
>They drop you onto a platform, right in front of the throne occupied by a small yellow pony.
>? “What brings you to my arena?”
“I was sent by Celestia to recover FlutterShy. You don’t happen to know where she is do you?”
>? “You’re speaking to her.”
>Really? She sent you all the way out here for this?
> F “If you wish for me to come with you, you must defeat me in battle.”
>Shit, piece of cake.
“Fine, let’s get this over with. I’ll try not to hurt you too badly.”
>"Well mister, if you think you have what it takes to make me go with you, then let's get started."
>The yellow pegasus floats up and hovers over to the clearing.
>She lands and crouches into what you assume to be a fighting stance.
>"That is, if you don't mind."
>You thought she was joking. She really wants to fight, but you're more than happy to oblige if it means she'll come with you.
>You walk to the side of the clearing opposite of her and stretch out your limbs in preparation. There's probably no need, though. This is going to be a piece of cake.
>After limbering up, you raise your fists and stare her down.
"Bring it on, little p0ny."


>"Oh, are you ready? Alright, here I go..."
>She's about ten feet away, so that should give you some room to maneuver.
>She's still crouched and moving towards you slowly with her wings raised. It's actually kind of cute; she looks like a yellow crab with pink hair and two claws sticking up.
>Unfortunate that you have to beat the shit out of her.
"I hope you don't mind if I end this quickly."
>You jump towards her and swing down at her lowered head.
>"Sorry!"
>She thrusts her hoof out with surprising speed and drives it straight into your solar plexus.
>Wut
>You fall to your knees and start gasping for air. You feel like you might throw up; your stomach hurts so bad that you can barely move.
"Whaa..."
>"Oh my, I'm sorry. I saw an opening and I took it. You really shouldn't just charge your opponent like that, mister. It's very predictable, and a tell-tale sign of an amateur."
>It takes a minute for you to breathe normally again, but she stands to the side and politely waits for you to recover.
>"I'm sorry, I thought you might be a little tougher than that, mister. I didn't know knocking you down would be so easy. I mean, even Mr. Bear doesn't go down in one punch."
>Mr. Bear sounds like an asshole.
>Scootaloo starts to yell at you from the sideline.
>"Anon, what are you doing? She just beat you in one punch! Stop fooling around!"
>You shoot her a death glare and she shuts up.
"That's not helping, Scoots."
>"S-sorry..."


>Damn, you didn't think she would actually know how to fight. This might be tougher than you thought.
>You get back on your feet and FlutterShy moves back into a crouch.
>Hopefully you won't have to resort to your sledgehammer; you don't want to kill her, just knock her out. Or maybe convince her to go with you, whichever is easier.
>Neither are looking very promising at this point, but you have to try.
"Look, FlutterShy. I don't want to fight you, I just need your help. I can't go home without you coming with me. Will you please reconsider?"
>"No sir, I will not. My animals like it here, and I can't just leave them unless you beat me fair and square."
>She didn't even move out of her fighting stance... guess there's no other choice. You have to solve this problem with your fists, or it isn't getting solved at all.
"Alright, then. But I'm not going easy on you this time, okay?"
>She actually smiles at that.
>"Oh, that's wonderful. I felt kind of bad that I hurt you so badly, but I thought you were being serious. Now I feel a lot better; thanks mister."
"Uh...glad I could help."
>You raise your fists again and move towards her, slower this time.
>When you're about three feet away from her, she pumps her wings and jumps into the air with amazing speed and spins in the air, bringing her leg down towards the top of your head.
>"Sorry!"


>You manage to jump back before she makes contact, but she was so close to hitting you that the wind from her attack blows your hair back.
>As soon as she lands, she leaps towards you and lands right in front of you.
>Taking the obvious opening, you jab at her head, but she stands on two hooves and slaps your fist away with a spin.
>"Oh, I'm sorry!"
>Using the momentum from her block, she smacks you on the side of your head with incredible force.
>Your neck snaps to the side and your vision becomes blurry. For a moment, the world spins out of control and you fall flat on your face.
>"Are you okay, mister?"
>She nudges you with a hoof. 
>You grab onto it and drag her down to the ground with you.
>"Eeep!"
>You climb on top of her and punch her once in the temple, and her head bounces off of the ground.
>She pushes you off with her powerful rear legs and you're sent back about two yards.
>You manage to land on your feet, and you watch as she stands back up.
>"Glad to see there's still some fight in you, mister! Come and get it!"
>She goes back into her defensive stance and tries to circle around you to get to your blind spot.
>"Anon! Did you notice what she does right before she attacks?"
"Yeah, I did. Thanks, Scoots."
>"Oh dear, no cheating you two. That's not really fair."
"Sorry, it won't happen again."


>"It better not, mister. I won't fight anyp0ny that doesn't fight fairly." She continues to inch around to the edge of your vision.
>You're starting to get tired; that last hit was mind-blowingly strong. You can't take much more of this abuse.
>This needs to end now.
>"Here I come, mister..."
>Shit! You still haven't fully recovered from that last hit!
>She covers the distance between the two of you alarmingly fast. You don't have time to test your theory; just have to hope you're right.
>She jumps and spins in mid-air, and lands so her hind legs are facing you.
>"Sorry!"
>Now!
>You jump to the side, narrowly avoiding a kick that could have easily ended the fight for you.
>She was expecting to push back on your body, so she loses her balance for a split second.
>Just enough time to take a swing at her exposed rib cage.
>You lash out in a wild punch at her chest, and feel her bones crack under the pressure of your fist.
>"EEEP!"
>Her wing falls to the side and grips her chest tightly; her breathing is becoming ragged.
>You hear a roar behind you, and you turn to see where it came from.
>There's a bear right behind you, and god damn he looks pissed.
"Oh, shit!"
>"ROOOOAAAR!"
>He raises his arm to strike you down, but a stern voice stops him in mid-swing.
>"Don't you dare lay a claw on him, do you hear me?!"


"What?"
>FlutterShy walks up to the bear with her wing still on her ribcage and gives him an evil stare.
>It reminds you of the looks your mom used to give you when you were in deep trouble.
>The bear shrinks 3 sizes and scuttles away.
>F “Are you ready to continue?”
“S-sure…”
>She takes a swing at you, wing still holding her ribs.
>You dodge it, and throw another punch at her ribs.
>She falls down winded. 
“Do you give?”
>You walk over to her, placing a foot on her chest.
>F “I submit, let me gather my things and we can go.”
“You fought honorably.”
>F “It’s the only way, mister.”
“Hey, it’s pretty dark out already, think we could spend the night here, and then leave in the morning? It’d give you time to set your wounds.”
>F “That sounds splendid, we could even have some post battle tea!”
“Sure…”
“I’ll meet you in your house, come on, Scoots.”
>You enter the cottage, and take a seat on the couch.
>FlutterShy comes in shortly afterwards.
“Hey, Scoots, think you could help FlutterShy and her bunny out?”
>”Sure thing, Anon.”
>You toss her your bag and she grabs some of the medical supplies.
>S “Are you going to need a stimpack, FlutterShy, or will some bandages do?”
>F “I’ll be fine with some badges, if you don’t mind. I can take care of Angle Bunny though.”
>S “Fine by me.”
>She goes to work, wrapping the bandages around her rib cage, Flutters whimpering every few moments.


“Mind if I sleep on the couch?”
>F “Where ever you’re comfortable is fine by me.”
>You’re starving, but you’ve nothing to eat, probably should have listened to Scoot before leaving.
>Just then you remember you still have a hunk of uncooked meat.
>You throw it down your throat and try and ignore the taste.
>It’s pretty foul tasting, but you get over it.
“You coming, Scoot?”
>S “Yeah, just let me finish up over here.”
>You lay your head back onto the cushion, and close your eyes.
>Not even a moment later, you feel the extra weight you had become accustomed to join you, and you fade into dreams.

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