The gigantic mutant horses of post-apocalyptic America make are as powerful as they are dangerous. Some bold wasteland farmer types have tried their hand at taming and raising these massive, wild equines, with mixed success. Those who have been able to tame them will have a strong, reliable source of transportation for which to navigate the dangers of the wastes. However, these enormous creatures are not the same as the old, docile horses of the pre-war world; these are mutants, spawned by the harsh conditions of the nuclear wasteland, and as such, one must exercise caution and respect when interacting with one of these giants.
 
 
Weighing in at several tons, a given individual of this species has a very high, very demanding metabolism, which means the giant wasteland horse will generally eat anything or anyone it can find. While it's rare to find cases of humans falling prey to these creatures, it's not totally unheard of. The animal's massive, mutated frame enables it to swallow things around the size of a human being, albeit with some difficulty. Generally, these horses prefers to eat smaller, less difficult things, but any wastelander should always keep this information in the back of their mind.
 
 
However, the most unusual trait of the giant wasteland horse is its inexplicable ability to consume prey via it's anus. Now, this may sound like a urban legend borne from some Jet-addicted junkie's hallucinations, but the stories are as true as the day is long. The biological reasoning behind this phenomenon is dubious at best; why would the horses possess such a strange, disturbing adaptation? I too was wary, until last year, when I spent about month living on a wasteland farm with these animals. The notes and research I gathered during my time there can be found in later chapters, but for this section I want to share my chance, firsthand encounter with this creature's ability.
 
 
The following account is taken from my personal notes, on the morning of May 17, 2285:
 
 
...Awoke at 7 am. Today is my 7th day on the farm, and it seems like the past week has flown by! All my muscles are sore and the work is hard, but I am getting used to the routine finally. Mr. Hockenson told me that today he plans on taking me out to the caves up to the north and hunting the mole rats that keep breaking into the vegetable farms. Before that, he said that he wants to try and have another go at training the newest horse. I still think Yolanda is a terrible name and that's probably why she's acting so strange. Breakfast is at 7:30, Mrs. Hockenson is making a radscorpion omlette that is apparently her specialty. I've been dining with the other workers and farmhands and it seems like they're warming up to me. Except Franco, he's a hard guy to like.
 
 
Breakfast was was going great until Lucas showed up late and started asking if anyone had seen Amanda. Amanda was the newest worker besides me and was still leaning the ropes of farm operation. Lucas then said she was supposed to be on morning shift, but the brahamin were not let out to graze yet. Mr. Hockenson stood up and said he's take care of it, and directed me and Lucas to go look for Amanda.
 
 
Outside, Lucas told me he couldn't find her in any of the bunks, so I suggested we look around the barns. Lucas split off to go search the west barns and I headed towards the east side of the farm. She was not with the chickens, so I moved on to the next barn where the giant horses were kept. As I approached the barn's entrance, I could hear a horse whinnying and moving around, but there was different, muffled sound as well. Peering inside, my gaze was met by two shiny, black eyes belonging to the 15-foot tall wasteland horse that was Yolanda. Her massive size was always the first thing I noticed, but as I looked closer I saw she was squatting awkwardly, with her rear legs splayed out to the side. Then I looked down further, and found Amanda.
 
 
I called out to Amanda to ask her what she was doing back there. No reply. Yolanda continued to whinny and clomp loudly on the wooden floor. It took me a few more moments to realize why she wasn't responding. I instinctively rushed into the barn to confirm what my brain was telling me. As I rounded the side of the big brown horse, I called out again to Amanda, and still, no reply. And at the back end of the equine, my suspicions were confirmed. Amanda was down on her knees, half-naked and shoulder-deep in Yolanda's anus. Frozen, I tried to take in the situation before me. The rumors were true, it seemed, and Amanda was probably going to end up inside that horse unless I did something! I could go run and call for help, but Lucas and the others were on the other side of the farm and it might be too late for Amanda by the time they got here. Yolanda was quadruple my size and essentially a wild horse, so she would probably respond to my commands with a bone-shattering kick to the chest. Amanda, meanwhile, struggled weakly against the giant equine’s rear end, but it was clearly a losing battle. Yolanda’s already enlarged anus was stretched taut around Amanda’s thin figure, as the horse worked to squeeze past her shoulders. The ringed muscle was moving and contracting tirelessly, creating a grotesque symphony of moist, squelching sounds.
 
 
Thinking quickly, I kneeled down and got as close as I dared to Amanda, so that she might be able to hear my voice. I told her I was here, and I was going to try and pull her back out, or at least stop some of Yolanda’s progress. From my position, the horse’s rear loomed overhead, and in that instant, I could just feel the absolute power that this mutant had over us. Amanda must have heard me, because I heard her call back with a deeply muffled OK. Wrapping my arms around Amanda’s torso, I pulled and pulled but to no avail. She was stuck, and I couldn’t do anything by myself. Then I had to make another decision. I told her I was going to get help, and she had to try and hold on as long as she could. She replied, but it was too muffled to make out. Standing up, I was about to leave when Yolanda finally got past Amanda’s shoulders. Her entire back half squatted down, and with a slick, quenching sound, I could only watch as Amanda’s upper body was sucked inside in one single motion. I quickly got around the voracious horse and ran out the front door yelling Lucas’s name.
 
 
It was only a few minutes before I found him, but it felt like an eternity. I tried to explain to him what was happening and he seemed confused, so I told him to just follow me as quick as he could. I thought for a moment about going to get more help, but Amanda was running out of time, so we both ran back to the barn where Yolanda was. Lucas and I paused at the entrance to catch our breaths. I told him to put his work gloves on, and I did the same. Yolanda was still whinnying and moving around, so we both gave her a wide berth as we rounded to her backside.
 
 
Yolanda was squatted down much further now, her rear end having now claimed Amanda down to her upper thighs. Only her hands, legs and feet were outside the mutant now. I told Lucas to grab her foot, but he seemed to be in shock. He was transfixed on the sight before him, much like I was before as well. I turned to him to try and snap him out of it, and in that moment, Yolanda stamped her rear hooves and began to raise her rear into the air. A few moments later, Amanda’s legs were perpendicular to the floor, and Yolanda clenched, hard, drawing in another few inches of Amanda’s thighs. Lucas, without breaking his view of this spectacle, slowly backed away until he found the wall and slid quietly to the ground. All the while, I was frantically yelling at him to come help, but now I could see it was useless to try any more. I spun around and reached out to grab onto Amanda’s still-booted feet. Only a few feet away, Yolanda’s anus continued to consume more and more of my fellow farmhand, just now reaching the tops of her knees. More of her was inside the horse than not, now.
 
 
Outside, Mr. Hockenson apparently heard our yelling and came running over a minute later. At first he was trying to calm Yolanda, but once he saw Lucas and I, he came around the back. His expression told me everything before he even spoke a word. Amanda was a goner, he said, even if we tried to stop Yolanda now, Amanda would probably be gone already. And Yolanda was a massive, wild horse. He told me to let go of her leg now, before I got hurt doing something stupid. I was shocked by what he was telling me, but I knew it was the truth. I let go. As Yolanda continued to swallow Amanda right before us, he told us about the one other time he saw this happen. He said two of his farmhands were maimed when they attacked the horse and in the end, they couldn’t save the one who was being eaten. He then mentioned that it’s just nature taking its course here, and sometimes you have to go with the way of the wasteland.
 
 
A few moments later, Lucas stood up and apologized for freezing up. He was the closest to Amanda out of the three of us and I told him it was not his fault. Yolanda whinnied loudly again, and I watched as the unfortunate farmhand’s calves slid inside her. Mr. Hockenson then said she was a good worker, for the short time she was here, and now she would forever be a part of the farm. I thought that was a strange way of thinking about it, but it made sense. Farmers reused and recycled everything they could to survive in the wastes, so, in a strange way, Amanda becoming part of Yolanda was in line with this philosophy. Amanda’s calves were now almost completely inside the horse now, leaving just her booted feet sticking awkwardly out of the creature’s anus. Mr. Hockenson then told us to go take her boots off, and say our goodbyes if we wanted to. Lucas seemed to be locking up again so I walked a few steps forward to the massive equine ass and began undoing the laces of her boots. Up close, I could feel the heat radiating off the horse as it finished up having a rather large meal. My hands brushed up against Yolanda’s bulging, ringed anus as I undid the last of the laces and I realized that an entire human was just pulled through that powerful, muscular opening. I removed Amanda’s shoes and walked a few steps back to Mr. Hockenson and Lucas.
 
 
Amanda’s pale feet were now the only part of her still outside. Lucas suddenly spoke and asked what was going to happen to her. Mr. Hockenson explained that he wasn’t exactly sure how it worked, but Amanda was probably going to one of the giant horse’s multiple stomachs. Lucas nodded quietly. He took a step forward as if to go say his final goodbye, but Yolanda suddenly clenched once again, and Amanda’s feet finally disappeared into the fleshy orifice. Lucas managed a shaky goodbye, then turned and left the barn, making sure to stay far from the horse. I watched for a few more moments as Yolanda’s anus clenched inwards a few more times and finally became still. Mr. Hockenson grabbed my arm and told me we should go tell the others what’s happened, and that maybe we could go hunting tomorrow instead. As we rounded Yolanda towards the exit, I couldn’t help but notice the considerable bulge hanging from beneath her. The lumpy form of Amanda was being pushed through the hot, dark labyrinth of the mutant’s guts right now, just a few feet from me. The thought was intriguing and disturbing. I gave Yolanda one last look before I left, and I swear, if horses could grin, this one was.