He crawled up into the gaping maw that lay open before him. Climbing over loose-tooth stones into the dry dusty crater of the ancient skull. Teeth of rusting steel bore down from over him as great chunks of concrete and broken masonry made a treacherous slop to climb. The air was still and ghostly as he came up, the breath of the structure was stolen away when Equestria was annihilated. But there was still something that came out. A breath of air not unlike a breath of its own. But without smell of its own. The heckling and hawing of ponies, rancorous laughter, and angry shouting.

“We searched the haul five times over and we didn't find it!” some-pony cried out. His voice rattled with a dry desperation. It ground through his throat like sandpaper. A pony wasted by cigarettes and dash if there ever was one.

“Meal Plan's going to have a shit fit if he doesn't get it! Haven't you heard? He already flayed three groups who refused to deliver!” the same pony cried, “And I'm damn sure we're over his limit!”

“Blister, can you even count?” another pony asked. Her voice was much more refined. But it carried weight on its breath. It wasn't the easy voice of a Tenpony unicorn. It's sophistication bore a military weight.

“I-I can!” the other one affirmed enthusiastically. But Rusted could here the wavering uncertainty behind it. He wasn't just lying, but he was doing it poorly.

He made it to the top of the rubble pile and found himself looking down a deep concrete pit. A maze and forest of rusting steel girders made a system of metal shelves that had long fell apart. Their contents a mushy and broken pile on the cement floor. Where the daylight outside didn't illuminate either, bright orange fires burned in random corners throughout the warehouse pit. Gathered not too far from the guttural opening of the warehouse's shell stood a grouping of some twenty individuals, in varying states of physical equipment, and armament.

To the most surprising, was a bright sky-blue pegasus. The stripped remains of power armor clad her flanks. The empty holsters of a saddle rig hung off her side as she impatiently beat her flank with the tips of her wings. A white tail dashed side to side as she stared down a meek, faded-red earth pony.

“Prove it.” the pegasi demanded, pounding a hoof against the ground. The crack it made against the floor echoed loud. Sparks emanated from the contact. She was packing power hooves. Rusted lay low as he watched the exchange.

“1...” the earth pony began, “2... 3... Ahh-” he stammered uncertainly, “6, and B?”

“Your mother should be ashamed of you!” the pegasi spat, she aggressively thrashed her hooves against the ground as she advanced on the Earth Pony. The loud clattering sounded off like fire-works, exploding and popping as she pounded. The earth pony, Blister, tore back. Shying back from her imposing form as her wings unfurled threateningly.

“OK! OK!” Blister squealed as he backed off into a wretched nest of twisted irons, “I'll play along, cunt!”

The pegasus mare abruptly stopped her aggressive advances, but held out her wings as Blister pressed more into the spears of metal. Rusted could watch him visibly shake from so high up.

“Is that all?” she asked demanding, craning her neck down to his lowered head.

“Y-yes.” Blister said.

“Is that ALL?” she repeated with emphasis.

“Y-yes, for fucking crying out loud!”

“That's not what I want!” she slammed her hooves on the concrete. The ancient stonework cracked and split, and a wide circle of cracked earth exploded from under-neath her.

“A-ah...” Blister began, “Y-yes Ma'am!” he cringed.

There was a long and drawn out silence between the two. The armored pegasus assumed a pose like that of a blue crow brooding over some sort of carrion underneath her claws. But in the place of a body was a raider, fur stained with piss and teeth falling loose.

“Do we have any more concerns to voice?” the mare turned, looking over her crew. There was mumbled silence from the lot of them as they shuffled on their horse-shoes. A lot averted their gaze. Some turned away to wander off to some other job.

“Now I don't give any amount of moist cunt on how many bosses you worked with before, how many would have done such-and-such differently. We know this thing this Meal Plan fellow wants is traveling in a Caravan. That much is sure. But what we can say is that these last caravans have not had anything! But more will come and we'll find out.

“I didn't fuck around as a staff sergeant during The War to sit on my ass now. So you best know who you're dealing with over your contracts.

“Strip this shit down and find me another target. Dismissed.”

Her group didn't need to be told twice. Or even at all. Loosely they had begun to disband themselves on their own accord throughout the warehouse. Some wandered off to clean guns. Some slipped off into the inky shadows that still soaked the further corners. To no doubt get high or to nap.

With the excitement at a close Rusted scanned through the open and rusting shelves, hoping to find the prize he was here to get. But with such a host before he severely doubted he could do it. The doubt clung his stomach and began to chew. He'd heard of ponies who could sneak through and open room without being seen. But this was not his realm. And a part of him doubted he could come up to the door and make a deal to swindle them out of a robot.

There was in the middle of the room a table laden down with all sorts of guns and scrap and other assorted items of junk. There was clothes, piece of scrap metal, crates of ammo, and at least a small pile of books than the majority of ponies present couldn't even think of reading. But under all the loot there poked a tangle of metal tentacles. There was a lumpy definition where that lay that had to be the robot.

He at least knew where to find it. But how to get to it. He lifted himself up and started to carefully trot down the stony bank of rubble. But as he hooves pressed against the chunks of concrete and steel something crashed down on his back.

He gasped loud for breath as the weight of a pony pounded down into his shoulders. The strength of a hoof threw him down into the chalky dust of the ruined embankment. The sharp edges of his assailants hooves dug deep into his spine between his shoulder blades, immobilizing him. With a painful cry he felt something bite the back of his neck and before he could register he was standing again. But not standing, in the air. Gray-blue forelegs wrapped around his chest, under his shoulders and he was rocketed up into the air. Wings beat the air alongside his ears and his eyes watered when he was rocketed into the air, and into the warehouse.

He was spun and he felt the world around him loose weight. He snapped about, looking for his assailant. He caught a glance at a corduroy-blue young stallion bearing over him. His eyes and smile glowed with a cruel sort of amusement. And as he dropped he began to scream in horror when the hand of gravity wrapped him by the tail and brought him down.

Inches from the ground he was rescued by the corduroy pegasi. His ears dragged along the swampy, greasy ground of the warehouse. The feet of warehouse shelving grated against his scalp. He cried and yelled pained at each impact against his skull as the young stallion dragged him low through the mess until finally the two crashed into a mess of moldy, swampy cardboard.

He choked at the wet dust that was kicked up by the impact. He groaned as everything caught up at once. From the swollen ache of his head to the pulverized and bitten tear in his shoulders.

“Hey Ma! I got someone!” the pegasus stallion bellowed, standing over top the curled Rusted Bits. His hooves were weighty and solid, stabbing into his gut as he was pinned into the messy pile. He wore a wild grin, and emerald-green eyes darted from him and out deeper into the warehouse with an excited fervor.

“What?” voices echoed in the din. With as much a a display as the colt had put on, it was no wonder ponies were suddenly curious.

“For fuck's sake, what is it now?” the pegasus mare demanded at a distance. Metallic hooves bound across the pavement as she drew near. Rusted could just barely make her out from behind the knots in the cardboard cushion.

“Looks like a scavenger!” the colt nickered excitedly. He swayed and danced on Rusted. His weight ebbing and dropping back into his gut. With each new press it burned a little harder. With each new prod he became a little more sick at the pressure.

“What!? Was no one keeping watch!” the mare roared. She was furious as she came over next to the colt.

“Oh, I was!” the stallion laughed. He was hot with excitement, that much Rusted could understand. “He thought he was being sneaky, he and that filly of his!”

“She's not mine.” Rusted croaked underneath the pressure of the watchpony. His eyes watered over the discomfort. He tried to curl himself more, alleviate the pain somehow. But his captor's weight was too much. His sides felt as if he'd herniate something if he moved. It was painful. It was a seering, biting pain in his stomach.

“There's two?” the mare asked.

“Two ponies and a pack Brahmin. Just the one!” the stallion snickered.

“Where there's one there might be more...” the mare started, “Blister! Get your lazy ass outside and keep a watch! I DON'T WANT SURPRISES!”

“Whatever.” an indifferent Blister said from afar.

“So who the hell are you?” the pegasi mare demanded, forcing the younger colt off of him. She hung over the crumbled Rusted. Her stare harsh and bitter. He could feel it burn against his skin. The force of her will made the hair of his mane stand on end.

“I- I-” he gasped weakly. The mare scowled and leaned over to hear, “I need to catch my breath.” he rasped weakly.

The mare wasn't having any of the excuses. With a slam, she pounded a forehoof clear through the mangled cardboard. The force of the impact from the power hooves rattled the entire building and he felt himself jump into the air with the detritus. Rusted's eyes widened at the sudden jostle and he forgot for a moment the whole-body pain as he waited to be again thrashed.

With a soft thud he landed back down with the trash. Balled pieces of paper rolled down onto his face as he starred up at the fuming pegasus. He blinked stupidly before muttering, “I work for...” he coughed, “Meal Plan.” he lied, cringing at the pain as opposed to the blatant lie.

The mare furrowed her eyebrows, glowering in incinerating disbelief in him. But behind him the anxious and superstitious raiders coiled and began stammering nervously to one another. “Fucking hell all mighty you already banged him up enough, don't get us all fucked!” pleaded a mare.

“He works for him?” a startled raider asked, “Shit, does he really? He didn't say he does, did he!?”

“SHUT UP!” the mare screamed. She leapt from over Rusted, turning on her men with the force of an angry bull. The blue pegasi stallion faltered to the side, narrowly dodging a swiping blow across the muzzle with a power hoof.

“If I haven't seen this fucking Meal Plan, then he doesn't exist!” she bellowed, “Now the caps are good, whoever is promising them! But it's not this Meal Plan! So stop fucking pissing yourselves around it!” she stomped her hooves for emphasis on the ground before advancing on them. Rusted lay in the garbage, weakly coughing up his guts as he watched, “The only thing that's real as far as I'm concerned was the down payment and the writing in the paper! Now you weak fuckers may not be able to so much count to five, but I sure can. And there was more than five zeroes on that payout!”

Rusted swore he could see steam blow from her nostrils as she huffed angrily. The pegasus stallion looked between her and them, lost and confused in what was going on. Slowly, she turned back on them. “You can fucking tell your non-existent prick boss that we're working on it!” she snarled, “You can put your own caps down on that!” she snapped angrily at the aching Rusted. He starred up at her, with a gaunt lost look on his face.

“Well?” she asked, annoyed that he wasn't leaving right there and then.

Rusted rattled through all the appropriate responses in his head. He could get up and run now, but he was close to what he needed. He could pull the lie again, but then there was the voice of no confidence whispering softly in his ears that he'd just fuck up and get flayed. And of course, he could shoot his way out and die for sure.

He smiled weakly. “Well uh- there's a problem with that.” he breathed meakly. Holding back his breath as he struggled to his hooves, “He's kinda got a possy on his way now and he wanted me to uh, check you out now.”

“Shit, he was a spy!” the blue pegasus cried, “Mom, let me do it now and we'll be done with it!” he shouted insistently.

“No!” the mare shouted. But the angry confidence seemed to be sapping with the anxious whispering of her own possy. She backed out carefully. The tip of her wings twitched. She looked him in the eyes, “I don't fucking like this.” she swore, looking up.

“And I can't believe I'm going to fucking believe you. Fuck all mighty. Alright, I'm leaving before he arrives. I'm heading out!” she exclaimed.

“W-wait!” her son called back, “I'm not seeing who this Meal Plan is either!” he shouted before taking fleight. Rusted watched in silent trapped awe as the two flew through the hole in the wall, leaving he and the raiders in the dark.

“Wait...” Blister started, “Who's going to lead us?”

“She will?” Rusted dumbly answered.

“Fucking Celestia's ballsacks, Sun Shimmer's on the withdraw!” the raider cursed, “Come on lads, we're not going down alone! We're following her out!” he yelled, charging off to the exit. A clamor or hooves followed suit, dust kicked up behind them as they stormed across the cement.

And then it was empty.