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WASTELAND! With Horses - Chapter 5

Jun 21st, 2016
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  1. >the sounds of elation fade away as you stare out into the empty wasteland
  2. >this land was fertile prairie not even one year ago
  3. >and now desert vegetation is conquering the sandy dunes before you
  4. >you have to squint as, even with the damaged Sun's dimmer rays, the bright glare from landscape stings your eyes
  5. >your squint becomes tighter when a lazy plume of sand meanders into your face on a hot breeze
  6. >you could almost believe that Ponyville was hundreds of miles away rather the measly hundreds of yards behind you where it stood
  7. ~"So what do we do now?"
  8. "We, um, go somewhere. And do something."
  9. _"Where do we go?"
  10. >hopefully somewhere close, this heat is awful
  11. >your gaze sweeps across the wasteland and rests at the base of a nearby mountain
  12. >you look up and see that it's crowned by once-magnificent castle, now melted and deformed like so much wax
  13. >you point at it
  14. "There. To Canterlot."
  15. ~"You know that's at the top of a mountain, right? What, are we gonna take a train? I hope not, because all the conductors are dead, and I'm the only one here who knows how to climb."
  16. "Oh, Red, please. We won't have to climb it. That's Canterlot Mountain; if there was ever a mountain with well-trod hoofpaths, that's the one. Why, we can even follow the train tracks to keep from getting lost."
  17. _"It's an awfully long way up."
  18. "And it would be a much longer journey still to go anywhere else. Aryanne, darling, you've been awfully quiet for this. What do you think?"
  19. /"I vill obey your orders, fuhrer."
  20. ~"Oh, come on! She's literally a fascist! Of course she'd say that!"
  21. "Two against two, tie goes to the squad leader. We're going."
  22. >Red doesn't attempt to argue your childish logic, likely due to the fact that she doesn't have a real leg to stand on either
  23. >you're already walking to the mountain, and your team is already following
  24. _"H-hey, I never said I didn't want to go! What are we gonna do in Canterlot? Is there even going to be anyone to help? Is it safe up there? You know Canterlot got hit the worst, is it even possible to go up there without dying?"
  25. "Relax, Sketchy. I've got the geiger counter, remember? It'll warn us well before we reach dangerous levels of radiation. And Canterlot was our capital city. There's bound to be at least some ponies up there eking out an existence."
  26. _"What if they don't want our help?"
  27. ~"That's their problem."
  28. "Change of heart?"
  29. ~"I just wanna kill shit. Doesn't mean I think this is a good idea."
  30. _"Wh-what could go wrong?"
  31. ~"Call it a feeling, kiddo."
  32. >chatting makes the time pass as you approach the mountain
  33. "Look, we're at the base already. There are the train tracks, leading right up the side of the mountain. It shouldn't take more than a couple hours to reach the city."
  34. /"Erm, fuhrer?"
  35. "What?"
  36. /"Do you hear zat?"
  37. >you freeze
  38. >there's complete and utter silence
  39. >no desert birds crowing in the distance
  40. >no locusts whining from the cacti
  41. >not even the sound of wind
  42. >but wait
  43. >one sound catches your ear
  44. >it's a hissing sound
  45. >not like a snake's hissing
  46. >like a hissing noise that a pony might make from the back of her throat
  47. >you glance around and spy a nearby cave bored into the mountain
  48. >from it peer three sets of glowing, indigo eyes
  49. >entirely indigo, there's no iris or white as far as you can tell
  50. >they shamble from the darkness into the light
  51. >you can tell that they're ponies
  52. >or, more accurately, that they were ponies
  53. >they're totally hairless
  54. >their skin is red and cracked like sandstone
  55. >you can tell from their desiccated forms that they've adapted to life as desert fauna
  56. >they keep ambling toward you, baring sharp fangs
  57. >the fangs, you fancy, show how these creatures get their primary source of hydration
  58. >blood
  59. >your blood
  60.  
  61. >the desert creatures pick up speed and lunge at you
  62. >your party scatters off to the sides
  63. >you try to jump backwards
  64. >but you aren't fast enough
  65. >one of the mutants sinks its fangs into your previously un-injured shoulder
  66. >the creature applies no suction, but you can feel blood leaving your body regardless, as if by normal osmosis alone
  67. >you jam the barrel of your pistol into the creature's head
  68. >it doesn't seem to notice
  69. >you fire
  70. >the monster's head explodes like a shattered vase
  71. >its body crashes onto the desert floor, dumping a pile of thick, black goop and pink dust
  72. >a healthy serving of this wholesome mixture splatters onto your face
  73. >seeing the ease with which you dispatched this adversary, Red and Aryanne move in to fire
  74. >Aryanne's shot cleanly hits a monster in the head, and it dies in much the same way yours did
  75. >Red, not to be outdone, tries to aim for the head too
  76. >her aim is a little bit low, and it pulverises the creature's neck instead
  77. >the head flies through the air and shatters on the ground
  78. >Red laughs triumphantly, apparently pleased with the display
  79. ~"That was great! Let's go see if there are more in that cave."
  80. "What? No! Let's not see if there are more in the cave. Let's keep moving up to Canterlot."
  81. "Oh, relax. Did you see how easy those things are to kill? We could take on a dozen of them in two seconds."
  82. "This one was wearing a ring!"
  83. >you look and see that Sketchy is pointing at the hoof of one of the vanquished mutants
  84. >indeed, it's adorned by a hoof ring of the brightest silver you've ever seen
  85. >in this lighting, it almost looks pure white
  86. /"A vealthy mare."
  87. "I'll say."
  88. ~"I'll bet you she and her little freaky friends used to live in Canterlot."
  89.  
  90. >naturally, you take the ring
  91. >being held in your magic, the ring feels nice
  92. >you hold up a hoof and deposit the ring onto it
  93. >you nearly drop the ring
  94. >it's ice cold
  95. >you take it back into your magic, where it can't give you frostbite
  96. >you can see gray, shapeless reflections very faintly on the surface of the white silver
  97. >and expertly embedded into the metal so as to be perfectly flush with its surface is a diamond that sparkles as though with the stars themselves
  98. "All right, we'll look into the cave."
  99. ~"Ha. You would've made a great pirate, Rube. Always on a quest for more shiny stuff."
  100. >she starts to waltz inside
  101. "Wait. Don't go in without my say-so. We'll go in together."
  102. ~"Fine."
  103. >she stares into the cave from just outside its mouth
  104. >Sketchy follows suit, and Aryanne goes to wait as well
  105. >you try to quickly whisk the ring into your saddlebag
  106. >but you encounter some resistance
  107. >you magic your saddlebag over in front of your face to see what's happening
  108. >when you try to insert the silver ring, your golden ring glows a fierce whitish-gold color and the silver ring is repelled
  109. >you're gonna have to find some way to muscle this thing in
  110. /"Fuhrer?"
  111. >the rings stop fighting and drop lifelessly to the bottom of your bag
  112. /"Vhat's wrong? Is zere something wrong vith your bag?"
  113. >Aryanne cranes her neck to see the inside of your bag
  114. >you quickly close it and place it back on your rump
  115. "Nope. Nothing's wrong. Let's go see what's in that cave."
  116. >Aryanne cocks an eyebrow
  117. ~"Fucking finally. I can't see shit, cap'n. Light that shit up so we can see what's in there."
  118. >you trot up to the cave entrance and light up your horn
  119. >it's a shallow cave without much room for an army of desert mutants
  120. >but there sure is room for a decent cache of loot
  121. >bits, ammo, a top hat
  122. >even an assault rifle
  123.  
  124. ~"Looks like booty to me."
  125. "Well, now who's being creepy?"
  126. ~"What? Ruby, that's pretty obviously just an expression."
  127. _"Yeah. What's so creepy about that? It's just a pirate word for loot."
  128. /"Maybe you should learn to be more tolerant of other cultures, fuhrer."
  129. "How in the hell does 'booty' translate to 'loot'?"
  130. ~"Pretty easily if your mind's not constantly in the gutter, you fucking creep."
  131. "Whatever. I'm holding onto the bits."
  132. >you step inside the cave
  133. >Red bounds after you
  134. ~"You can have 'em. I call dibs on that sweet-ass rifle."
  135. >Aryanne storms after her
  136. /"Vait, vhy you? You have ze jacket."
  137. ~"I'm a medic. I need armor more than you."
  138. /"And I have been training vith veapons for years. I can use zat rifle better zan you can."
  139. ~"Bullshit you can."
  140. /"Vhat is ze name of zat rifle and vhat kind of ammo does it take?"
  141. ~"Er, hold on, I know I read about this in that book yesterday…"
  142. /"It is an EQ 97, and it takes ammo from zose 7.62 millimetre clips right over there."
  143. ~"Fuck, fine, you can have the fucking gun!"
  144. _"Can I take that hat?"
  145. ~"Can I at least hold onto the ammo?"
  146. "Red, you took all the ammo from the root cellar yesterday. I think we should divvy this up more evenly."
  147. >Red sighs
  148. >the booty is properly distributed
  149. >you can't resist looking around the cave to see if there's anything more hidden in here
  150. >some rocks there
  151. >some bones there
  152. >actually a lot of bones there
  153. >a game of tic tac toe etched into the wall
  154. >O victory
  155. >you stumble over a book
  156. >you open it and light up your horn to read it
  157.  
  158. PARAGRAPH SIX:
  159. Las Pegasus is an island. Cloudsdale is intact, but the clouds it was on are
  160. damaged and the city is slowly sinking to the ground. Canterlot suffered a lot
  161. of damage. Ponies started changing. Desert ponies with red, rocky skin.
  162. Screamers with green, scaly skin. Even ghouls with grey, squishy skin. They
  163. all want to kill me. Escaped to this cave with brother and sister. Before we
  164. left, a white pony with cold, hard skin offered me this ring. Promised it would hold
  165. off the changes. She was right, but it doesn't last forever. Been here too long,
  166. changing into a desert pony anyway. Just heard about some ponies still in Canterlot
  167. who aren't changing. Can't go back to them now. Should have left with the guard.
  168.  
  169. So thirsty.
  170.  
  171. >you put the diary down and blink hard
  172. >you think about what this means
  173. >now you know that there are still ponies in Canterlot
  174. >but there are also hordes of mutants
  175.  
  176. "Hey guys, you may want to check this out."
  177. /"Vhat?"
  178. "I found a diary from one of the monsters."
  179. ~"I'm pretty sure they weren't literate."
  180. "They were when they were ponies."
  181. /"Vell, vhat did zey write?"
  182. "Well there's some stuff about some cities out there, some details of the escape, and a healthy dose of fear, but of more immediate interest to us: the current state of Canterlot."
  183. /"Vunderbar. How are things up zere?"
  184. "Good news or bad news first?"
  185. ~"Always pick bad."
  186. _"C-can we hear the good news first for once?"
  187. /"Vhat could be bad?"
  188. "The city is largely overrun with mutants and radiation."
  189. ~"What could possibly be good about this?"
  190. "There's at least one habitable area with normal ponies left."
  191. _"They must be having some sort of trouble."
  192. ~"Hopefully. Let's get up there and shoot some shit."
  193. "Do you all still want to go?"
  194. >your squadmates nod and make sounds of affirmation
  195. >actually still want was probably the wrong word
  196. >they didn't want to go, and now they do
  197. >an idea strikes you
  198. >you may need additional communication
  199. >you rip a blank sheet from the diary and pen a note asking for another copy of the communication spell
  200. >you pull out the spell scroll and go through the steps
  201. >a pathetic little piddling thing of a spark falls from your horn onto the paper
  202. >fire is not your specialty
  203. >but the paper lights up all the same
  204. >after a few seconds of burning it disappears
  205. >after another few seconds two scrolls materialize by your head
  206. >the first is another copy of the flame spell
  207. >the other is a question
  208. >"Why not just copy the spell yourself? Regards, Twilight"
  209. >well
  210. >that would have just been too simple
  211. "All right, let's go then. I'd like to get up there where it's cooler before noon."
  212. >you set out from the cave
  213. >you intend to go up, but you see something you didn't expect
  214. >there, on the train tracks at the base of the mountain, is a train
  215. >this would be perfectly if not for the fact that the train wasn't there when you went into the cave
  216. >and that civilization has collapsed
  217. >somehow it must have pulled in while you were grabbing your loot
  218. >there are ponies moving to and from the train with various equipment
  219. >they appear to be setting up some sort of encampment
  220. >a stallion sitting on the back of the caboose notices you and waves
  221. >you're nothing if not a polite mare; you can't resist waving back
  222. >should you maybe stop by to visit?
  223. >on the one hoof, that'd probably just be a waste of time
  224. >on the other, you're nothing if not polite
  225.  
  226. >hm
  227. >well, it doesn't seem like any harm could come
  228. "Before we go, let's talk to these ponies."
  229. ~"Why?"
  230. "Well that stallion there is waving to us. I think he wants to chat."
  231. _"Or maybe he wants to enslave us!"
  232. "Oh, that's nonsense. He probably has some more information about Canterlot for us."
  233. ~"What the hell makes you think that?"
  234. "Well, look how friendly the old fellow looks!"
  235. >somehow you've managed to walk all the way over to the encampment, team in tow, without any of your squadmates noticing
  236. >you're nothing if you're not the kind of mare who gets what she wants
  237. >"Well, hello there!"
  238. "Good morning, sir!"
  239. >"Welcome to the Train Tribe's humble encampment. We're only just now getting set up."
  240. /"Ze… Train Tribe?"
  241. >"That's right, little fraulein. We're proper nomads. We take the Great Train wherever the Mighty Tracks may lead."
  242. "Well that's fascinating."
  243. >"We've got three clans here in the Tribe. Over there we've got the Abaco Clan, a right upstanding bunch if I ever did see one. Over there is the Suffolk Clan; they're mostly quiet but also mostly harmless. And over there you'll see the Trakehner Clan, and that's a bunch I just don't trust one little bit."
  244. "Well, thank you s-"
  245. >"Oh, and about two cars up you can ask the astonishing Train Oracle about your future. He's mystical, I swear by the Sun itself! And one car past him is our shop, where you can buy any supplies you might need."
  246. "Well, thank you for telling us about your people, sir. I came here to ask if there was anything you knew about Canterlot."
  247. >"You're going to Canterlot? Well, say, are you girls Rangers?"
  248. "We certainly are, sir."
  249. >"Well, we got Rangers on their way up to Canterlot. Ain't that just a blessing? I sure could use some brave ponies headed up to Canterlot right about now."
  250. "Why's that?"
  251. >"Well, I got a letter for a pony named Skull Squisher living up in Canterlot, and it sure would be convenient if I could some strong young folks like you to deliver it for me."
  252. ~"What's in it for us?"
  253. >"I'm an Abaco. If you could carry out this task for my clan, we'd make sure to reward you."
  254.  
  255. "We'll take the letter up for you, sir."
  256. >"Really? Splendid! Skull Squisher should be waiting for you in Spot's Pub. You can just take this right in there and get it done."
  257. "It's not a problem, sir. We're out here to help our fellow ponies."
  258. >the old stallion hands you the letter, thanks you again, and goes inside the caboose
  259. ~"Ruby, why the hell did you agree to that?"
  260. _"Skull Squisher?!"
  261. "Oh, do relax, dears. This gives us somewhere to go when we reach Canterlot. We're not going to find anything to do by aimlessly wandering around the city."
  262. _"Skull Squisher?"
  263. "I'll concede it's a… strange name. But enough on that. We're heading up the mountain now. Do you all have enough equipment?"
  264. "Yessssss, we have enough shit. Can we go now?!"
  265. >well
  266. >you've got adequate ammo
  267. >adequate bits
  268. >your various tools
  269. >Twilight Sparkle's spell, complete with backup copy
  270. >even a little extra food
  271. "All right, let's go then!"
  272. >on your way out the camp, you pass the astonishing Train Oracle
  273. >he's completely passed out, and you can smell alcohol on his breath from twenty feet away
  274. ~"Ohoh, man. We have got to talk to this guy next time we stop by here."
  275. /"Vhy?"
  276. ~"I'm a seasoned pirate. If there's anything I've learned, it's that old drunk ponies are usually wiser than most can comprehend."
  277. _"Really?"
  278. ~"Of course not. It'd just be funny. I betcha he'd wake up and try to tell us our futures if we brought him some liqueur."
  279. "Can we please not bully the old drunk ponies? You're probably going to be one some day, after all."
  280. >Red scowls
  281. ~"I have no desire to live long enough to be like that."
  282. /"Ze trail is zat vay."
  283. >you see that in your conversation you've gotten a little sidetracked, literally
  284. "Oh, of course."
  285. >you turn and approach the mountain
  286. >and you take your first step onto it
  287. >and you proceed upward
  288. >for a while, there's no sound but the clip clop of hooves on the hard stone
  289. "Oh, Red, I meant to ask you something earlier."
  290. ~"What?"
  291. "What was that fake North Trottingham accent for this morning."
  292. ~"'Twasn't a fake accent, lass."
  293. "So you're from North Trottingham then?"
  294. "Most pirates are."
  295. /"How come you do not normally speak zat vay zen?"
  296. ~"I've been all over the world. I was actually… raised… in Saddle Arabia during my teen years… I can pick up a new accent…"
  297. >she rears up and claps her hooves
  298. ~/"…like zat."
  299. >Aryanne is unimpressed by the impersonation
  300. >you know North Trottingham to have been a suburb just north of Trottingham
  301. >you know that it was a poorer town, and it doesn't really surprise you to hear that pirates often came from there
  302. _"Saddle Arabia? What were the ponies like there?"
  303. ~"I don't wanna talk about that shit right now."
  304. /"Vait, stop."
  305. "What is it?"
  306. /"Shh."
  307. >there's a click-click-clicking noise, like hooves or claws or something striking the stony mountain, coming from a ledge above you
  308.  
  309. "Let's take cover."
  310. >wordlessly, you brace yourself against the side of the ledge where the noise is coming from
  311. >your team stands looking at you askance
  312. >you scowl and wave toward yourself with your hoof, and point at the rock wall
  313. >Aryanne takes the hint and follows your lead
  314. _"What are you doing?"
  315. >the clicking stops
  316. >you have to contain your response to an urgent hissing tone
  317. "Get over here you idiots!"
  318. ~"Why didn't you just say so?"
  319. >a snuffling, sniffing sound reaches your ears
  320. "Shut. Up."
  321. >Red and Sketchy finally take cover with you
  322. >the sniffing noise is right above your head now
  323. >you don't dare look up
  324. >whatever is up there offers a growl that strangely echoes in your mind
  325. >it bellows a mighty, unearthly howl that vibrates in your teeth for its depth while stinging your ears for its high pitch
  326. >you can see the shade below you flash a bright red and feel a great heat buffet the back of your neck
  327. >the clicking recedes into the distance
  328. >you finally look up
  329. >the rocks above your head, all the way down to a mere inch above your height, are scorched black
  330. >whatever it was, it probably saw you
  331. >Red and Aryanne see the scorch marks over you and stare wide-eyed
  332. >Sketchy is shaking
  333. "Let's keep moving. There's no sense in getting stuck on this mountain longer than we need to."
  334. /"Agreed."
  335. >you keep your ears peeled as you continue upward in silence
  336. >after about an hour of uneventful climbing, you hear a disturbing little growling sound
  337. >it's different from before
  338. >it's a frantic, vicious, and constantly changing tone
  339. >you stop and look around to try and find the unwanted company
  340. >but you see nothing
  341. >you're looking directly in the direction of the noise and see nothing but a cactus swaying in the wind
  342. >wait
  343. >there is no wind
  344. >the cactus shudders and shakes and waves its branches around
  345. >finally, the desert vegetation pulls itself from the ground and stands on its roots
  346. >twitching and growling, the cactus is approaching you, walking like a crab
  347. "Oh, come on! Why is this allowed?"
  348. >you're under attack from a mutant cactus
  349.  
  350. "Run!"
  351. >you fire at the mutant cactus and scramble up the path
  352. >the bullet hits its mark and punches a hole in the cactus' tough skin
  353. >it mouthlessly bellows a jerky roar
  354. >water pours freely from the cactus' wound and the beastly plant slows down
  355. >but it maintains its pursuit
  356. >the cactus raises its left branch and swings it hard
  357. >the manoeuver sends dozens of needles flying through the air
  358. >the needles stick Sketchy's rump like darts on a dartboard
  359. >she shrieks and tries to brush the needles off of her
  360. >she succeeds only in snapping a few of them in half
  361. ~"Sketchy, stop! You're gonna make it harder to pull those out!"
  362. >the cactus cries a strangled cry and you hear a crash from behind you
  363. >the cactus has fallen, and a weak dribble of water is piddling from its wound
  364. >the cactus has bled to death
  365.  
  366. "All right, can we please help Sketchy?"
  367. ~"Yeah. You guys hold her down. I'll get those needles out."
  368. _"H-hold me down?!"
  369. /"Relax, kamerad. Is for your own safety."
  370. >Sketchy considers this and stops shaking so much
  371. >Aryanne tackles Sketchy to the ground and lies spread out over her torso
  372. >Sketchy begins thrashing wildly
  373. >you pin down her rear legs with your magic
  374. ~"Sketch, you have to stop moving. If you don't, it'll only hurt worse and take longer to pull those things out."
  375. >Sketchy takes a number of deep breaths and she goes from thrashing to shaking to quivering to still
  376. ~"There we go. Don't worry; putting my mouth right next your plot isn't exactly the highlight of my day either."
  377. _"Y-y-your m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mouth?!"
  378. >Red leans down, takes a cactus needle between her teeth, nods up and down, and eases it out
  379. ~"Yep. There's no other way for me to get these things. My hooves would probably just jam them in even farther, and I don't have magic."
  380. _"Couldn't Ruby do it?"
  381. ~"Oh, come on, you're a medic too; you know there's a specific way in which these things have to be removed."
  382. >Sketchy sighs
  383. ~"Besides, do you really want Miss Creepy Trottingham-isms over there touching your butt?"
  384. >Red reaches down to grab another needle
  385. >you frown and loosen your grip on Sketchy's legs as she does so
  386. >Sketchy's lower back bucks up and hits Red in the jaw
  387. ~"Hey! Hold on back there!"
  388. "Whoops. My mistake."
  389. >:^)
  390. ~"Whatever."
  391. >Red yanks out another needle
  392. >Sketchy cries out
  393. ~"Hey! Be careful!"
  394. "Oh, right, yeah yeah yeah, sorry."
  395. >Red reaches down and eases out a needle properly
  396. >a sound like a toot on a horn rings out quietly
  397. ~"Sketchy, you motherfucker! Did you really just fart in my face?"
  398. _"S-s-sorry!"
  399. >you sigh
  400. >it takes an uncomfortably long time to pull all those needles out
  401. >but eventually it gets done
  402. >Red sighs
  403. >Sketchy's butt looks like it caught some sort of pox
  404. ~"All right. Let's get this thing bandaged up."
  405. >Red grabs a bandage from her medkit
  406. ~"Ruby, lift her ass up a little."
  407. _"Wh-what?!"
  408. >you lift her ass up enough for Red to operate underneath it
  409. >Red takes the bandage and deftly works it around Sketchy's flanks
  410. >she knots it off at the base of Sketchy's left hind leg and sighs again
  411. ~"All right. All done."
  412. >you lower Sketchy down and let go of her
  413. >Aryanne gets up and shakes her legs a bit
  414. >Sketchy slowly rises and turns her head to examine Red's handiwork
  415. "Good stuff. Can't stop moving though."
  416. >you slap Sketchy's ass
  417. "Come on! Let's get going!"
  418. >Sketchy moans loudly in pain and allows her front half to sink back down to the ground
  419. ~"Ruby, what the actual fuck?"
  420. "Oh! Uh, needles. Right."
  421. ~"Why in the fuck would you slap her ass in the first place?"
  422. "It's a-"
  423. ~"Don't you fucking tell me it's a Trottingham thing!"
  424. "No! It's a way you tell somepony to get moving!"
  425. ~"Yep. It's a Trottingham thing. Ruby, I have never once heard of that."
  426. "Oh, come on, you're from Trottingham!"
  427. ~"No, I'm from North Trottingham. We have our own brand of weirdness: kilts, bagpipes, relationships with sheep; but that shit I've never fucking heard of."
  428. "Well, I'm sorry then, Sketchy. But we do need to keep moving if we want to be there before it gets hot. Can you manage?"
  429. _"I'm fine."
  430. >to prove her point, she steps forward and winces
  431. _"Ooohhhh…"
  432. >this might take a little longer than you thought it would
  433. /"Up, up, up. On mein back."
  434. >Sketchy climbs onto Aryanne's back and wraps her hooves around Aryanne's neck
  435. >all right, Aryanne's a strong pony; this won't take too terribly long
  436. >after about another hour of walking up the mountain while discussing Trottinham and North Trottingham, the city gate of Canterlot comes into veiw
  437. "There it is! We're almost there. And in great time, too; noon isn't for another two hours."
  438. >the stagnant desert air is split by a scream
  439. >a green, scaly pony with a thick neck and a doll strapped to its flank tumbles into the path before you
  440. >it gets up, looks at you, screams a deep and dumb-sounding scream, and advances clumsily
  441. >this must be one of those screamers described in that diary
  442. >if you remember what it said correctly, then this thing probably wants to kill you
  443.  
  444. "Let's fucking kill this thing!"
  445. >the screamer's swollen face jolts at you with a look of fury
  446. >its clumsy, menacing advance becomes a flailing, rapid one
  447. >for something so apparently uncoordinated, it sure is fast
  448. >you fire off one round into it
  449. >the projectile hits the beast in the left foreleg
  450. >the leg swings back on its joint and the screamer goes tumbling to the ground
  451. >it rolls and slides right up to your hooves
  452. >it flails on the ground, picks up its right foreleg, and knocks you five feet back with its engorged hoof
  453. >you land hard on your side
  454. >Red fires into the creature's side and knocks it down before it can get back up
  455. >Aryanne does likewise when it tries to get up again
  456. >Sketchy aims to fire, but her gun jams
  457. >this gives the screamer adequate time to leap to its hooves
  458. >it yells its mentally-handicapped battle cry and pounces right on you
  459. >you're knocked onto your back
  460. >and you gaze into the bloodshot, yellow eyes of the screamer
  461.  
  462. >and the beast gazes back into yours
  463. >you lift up your head and try to poke the screamer with your horn
  464. >it's too tall, too far away; you can't quite reach
  465. >all you've done is agitate it slightly
  466. >it grunts and gives you a whiff of its breath
  467. >you audibly gag at this
  468. >the beast is visibly excited by your gagging and grunts again
  469. >you hear, but don't dare turn your head to see, Red and Aryanne arguing over what to do
  470. ~"We've gotta shoot that thing."
  471. /"Nein, ve cannot. From here ve could miss and hit Ruby."
  472. ~"Let's get closer then."
  473. /"Red, stop!"
  474. >the screamer looks to see what you assume is Red approaching it
  475. >it doesn't like this development, to say the least
  476. >it raises its head and screams, then it dips its face before yours and screams some more
  477. >now, it's close enough now!
  478. >you crane your neck up and jab it in the eye with your horn
  479. >the screamer's screaming intensifies
  480. >it covers its eye with hoof and falls down to the side of you
  481. /"Now!"
  482. >a mighty crack rings out and the screamer's head explodes right next to your face
  483. >you're splattered with warm, yellow goop
  484. >you leap to your hooves and claw at your face
  485. "I have had it with mutant entrails on my fucking face!"
  486. >a drop of it falls into your mouth and you shriek
  487. >actually, you'll never tell anyone this, but it kind of tastes like really sugary orange juice
  488. >you finally clear enough up to open your eyes
  489. >Red is laughing her ass off
  490. >even Aryanne is smirking
  491. >Sketchy isn't paying attention to you anymore
  492. >she's too busy trying to unjam her gun
  493. >and the remainder of her attention, judging by the winces on her face, is focused on her hurt butt
  494. "All right. All right now. Let's get inside of Canterlot and leave this awful mountain path behind us."
  495. >you walk the remaining hundred yards or so to the Canterlot gate
  496. >Red keeps glancing over at you the whole way there
  497. >she's biting her lip and holding back tears from her eyes
  498. "Shut up, Red."
  499. ~"I didn't say anything!"
  500. "You were thinking it."
  501. ~"It's not my fault you look so damned ridiculous right now."
  502. "What? What do I look like?"
  503. ~"Kinda like really ugly tye-die."
  504. /"I vas thinking more like ugly camoflage."
  505. "What's that supposed to mean?"
  506. ~"It means that pretty, creme-colored coat of yours is seriously stained, sister."
  507. _"I got it!"
  508. >Sketchy fires her gun to show you just what she's gotten
  509. >the round penetrates a wooden, hoof-painted sign right above your head
  510. >"WELCOME TO CANTERLOT"
  511. >you're finally within the city
  512. >another crude sign in front of you offers more information
  513. >"DR. SADDLEBERG'S CLINIC - ON CELESTIA BLVD"
  514. >"SPOT'S PUB - ON HORSESHOE STREET"
  515. >"CONESTOGA INN - ON CLYDESDALE WAY"
  516. >"CITY HALL AND COURTHOUSE - ON SUN STREET"
  517. >"CITY LIMITS ARE MOON ROAD, HARMONY DRIVE, ELM STREET, AND THIS GATE"
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