Dull light poured through the window. I rolled over and pulled the blanket over my head, like I did every morning. It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t at home, but at the home of a wastelander. I curled up even tighter and stared at the old wall. My mind was filling with doubt as time passed down here. When and how was I going to get home?

Soft thunder clapped in the distance as I sat up on the mattress and sniffed the air. An unpleasant smell lingered in the air. Holding my nose, I stood up and searched the room.

Please, don’t be a body.

Finding nothing, I sat on my haunches and thought for a moment. Then, I put my nose to my wing.

“Oh, Celestia!” I said, gagging. I wanted a shower and I wanted it now! I’ve never went more than a day without bathing, so my nostrils were pretty sensitive to the sweat, blood, and dirt. I decided to go ask Nico where I could bathe. After checking my body over, I headed downstairs. My ears perked at the soft snoring on the couch. Sneaking closer, I saw it was Nico, still sleeping. Careful not to wake him, I tiptoed to the front door. I’d just wait until he woke up. I was kind of curious as to what was outside.

Shutting the door softly, behind me, I scanned the immediate area. Mud. Nothing but mud and stones everywhere. Nico’s place was in the middle of nowhere.

So nopony could hear the screams of his victims.

Rubbing my temple with a hoof, I groaned. If I was going to survive, I needed to at least pretend to trust him. A gentle breeze lifted my bangs slightly off my forehead. It actually felt refreshing! Not too hot, not too cool. I trotted a few inches farther from the big house. It was made of brick. Nico made a good choice of choosing a safe house. I turned back towards the vast opening of the wasteland. No sunshine. It was a little depressing, but at least it wasn’t raining yet. The thunder from earlier was still pretty far away.

I stretched and flapped my good wing. It would have been amazing to fly out here. It was so open! Aside from the dangers, that is.

I perked my ears towards the sound of a stone rolling. It came from behind the house. My hooves stayed glued to the ground, as I heard whispering.

No.

An earth pony stallion and a mare trotted from behind the west wall and chuckled.

“Lookie here, Tulip. More caps!” The stallion grinned, evilly.

“And a pegasus, too! She should get us a great profit.” Tulip said. She had her mane in an updo and her tail was missing.

I took a step back and screamed. “Y-you’re just some stupid raiders!”

The stallion cackled. “Raiders? Do we look like those yellow eyed freaks? We’re slavers. There’s a difference.”

“What’s the difference?” I said, nervously.

The mare circled around me. “The difference is, we sell slaves to other slavers for caps. Amount depends on the age, race, and fitness. You are a pegasus and in good shape. That means we will be rolling in caps when we find the right buyer.”

“And you get to work for free.” The stallion added.

I gasped. “You sell ponies? How horrible!” I took a few more steps back.

I felt something close around my neck. Bucking and shaking my head, I tried to get the metal collar off. It had a red light on the front. What was this thing? A third pony showed her face in front me. She looked a few years younger than me. I tugged at the contraption as they laughed.

“Nu uh. Don’t do that! See, this is a bomb collar. If you try to get out of it, I push this detonator and off comes your head.” The mare held up a small device with a switch. I swallowed. What else is going to happen to me?

“Now, don’t run, and do as we say. If you behave, you get to keep your pretty little head.” The stallion broadened his grin.

As they surrounded me, I heard a loud gunshot. The stallion jumped out of the way as the mare beside him dropped, dead. I darted my eyes back and forth. There was something else out here!

“Fuck! One more shot and I blow her brains to the clouds!” He screamed at the sky. “Grab her and let’s get out of here!” He yelled to the mare with the detonator.

I felt my chest tightening and I couldn’t catch my breath. Sitting on my haunches, I gasped for air.

“Get up or you die!” The mare hooked a chain to the collar and began pulling. “What’s your problem?!”

A pony shaped blur pounced on her and kicked the detonator away. I fell over and gasped for air, again. The collar was choking me! I couldn’t see who had snapped her neck, I only heard it along with her gurgling. My stomach twisted in knots at the sickening sound.

“G-get away!” The stallion barked.

My neck stretched around enough for me to see my savior. Nico! He stood between me and that slaver and stood tall.

“Get out of here.” Nico said, cooly.

“No! That’s my slave you’re taking from me! I’ll kill you!” The slaver pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at Nico.

No!

Right when the shotgun exploded, Nico rolled out of the way and charged the other stallion. He slammed into him, making the slaver fall to the dirt. I watched Nico dig his hooves into the buck’s throat. I thought he was going to kill him, but the slaver kicked up with his back legs and rolled Nico off him.

The slaver charged him and threw his head into Nico’s skull. He fell to the dirt and growled. The other buck just smirked and lowered his head about to charge again. This time, Nico jumped out of his path and bucked, his hooves coming into contact with his side. I’m sure the slaver’s ribs cracked.

“Bastard!” Yelled the slaver.

Nico didn’t give him a chance to get up before he rammed his horn into his shoulder. Blood ran down the screaming stallion’s chest and down Nico’s forehead, forcing him to wipe his eyes.

No! Keep watching him, Nico! He’s going to-

Just as he could see again, the buck put him in a headlock. I tried to yell for him, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything but watch my only accomplice fall to his knees, coughing. My veins turned to ice as the slaver stood and spit on Nico’s lifeless body.

“No! N-Nico! Get up!” I squeaked, holding my neck and falling onto my back.

“Shut up!” The slaver said, walking towards me. “I should blow you up for this shit. You better be lucky I need those caps even more now.” He said, gesturing to the blood coming from his wounds.

I cried. What else was I supposed to do? Death was close. Again.

The slaver picked up the detonator in his teeth and put it in his bag. He then snatched the chain, forcing me to stand up. He swore as I swayed on my hooves. “Worthless, now.” He complained.

An ear splitting crack made me fall onto my belly and cover my head. I felt a hot liquid splatter all over my coat and mane. Peeking through my hooves, I saw it was blood and brain matter. Screaming and stumbling back, I vomited. The body fell with a thump, missing its head.

When I could take my eyes off of the gore, I looked up and saw Nico. Relief flooded my body. I couldn’t stop myself. I ran as fast as I could and wrapped my hooves around him, shaking and sobbing. What? He saved my life! Again.

“Oh, Nico! I was so scared! I thought you were dead!” I buried my face in his neck.

“Can you… let go. I’m in pain.” He hissed.

I quickly pulled back and looked at his neck. It was bruised pretty badly. He also had a few deep cuts and more bruising on his side and forehead.

“S-sorry.”

He smirked. Here we go. “I didn’t know you cared, princess.”

I flattened my ears. “Ugh! I don’t care! I was just…” I couldn’t find the word for what that was. It hit me that I had hugged him. Gross.

“Sure. Are you okay?” He said, examining me.

I stared. “You’re the one who looks like you’ve been through hell.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“I-I’m not! Yes, I’m fine.” I sat up, tall, then fell onto my side. I almost passed out from the lack of oxygen.

Nico threw his gun on the ground and rushed to my side.I looked up at him, towering over me. My voice couldn’t escape my throat.
“Can you sit up? I need to get this off of you.” He helped me sit up on my haunches and examined the collar. If he messes up, I’ll explode! I shook and sobbed as he dug out a bobby pin from his pocket. “Please, trust me. I’ve done this several times before.” He looked into my eyes, letting me see that he wanted me to trust him.

A few seconds of muffled clinking and finally, the collar popped off and landed on the ground. I kept my eyes shut, afraid it could still blow. Then, I heard a short grunt and a loud explosion. I ran backwards, straight into Nico as I saw the smoke and dust a few yards away. A few seconds later, the dust cleared and I let out a breath. Feeling fur on my back, I slowly turned my head and looked up at Nico, with his eyebrows raised wearing a smirk.

Quickly, I shuffled away from him and hid my face. “S-sorry. Thank you for saving me… again.”

“You enjoy danger, don’t you?” He chuckled as he picked up his rifle and started towards the house.

I blushed and ran after him. “W-wait for me!”

He stopped and held the door open for me to run inside. “You sure you don’t want to hang around out here?”

I looked back at him and glared. He shook his head as he propped his rifle on the doorframe. I shivered again. I really did appreciate what he had done the past day, but I felt terrible for not even trusting him enough to befriend him. I had to do something.

“Let me look at those wounds.” I said.

“I’m fine.” He didn’t even look my way.

“You look terrible. Let me help you.”

“I said, I’m fine.” He argued.

I was getting fed up. “I’m just trying to help you, asshole.”

“I’ve been here this long and am still able to take care of myself. Don’t worry your pretty little head about me.” He turned towards me. “Besides, you don’t look like a doctor to me.”

I thought of ways to seriously injure this pony.

“Whatever.”

“I’m just messing around. I can clean this up.” He began wiping blood away with an old rag.

“You shouldn’t be so ungrateful. All you’ve done for me, and you won’t even let me do this. I’m not completely helpless! Now I see why you live alone!” I snapped.

He said nothing as I told him off. I remembered what he had told me about his father. Damn, I can’t do anything right. I sighed and walked up beside him.

“Listen, I’m sorry I put myself in danger. I was just curious as to what was out there. I didn’t even see those assholes until a few minutes later.” I shuffled my hooves and looked at the wood plank floor.

He straightened his mouth. I kept talking to avoid awkward silence.

“Where did you learn to fight like that, anyway?” I tilted my head.

“Well, for most out here, it’s a necessity to learn to fight. It’s the only way we can survive. I’m just glad I was here to protect you. I’d hate to have another pony’s blood on my hooves.” He said matter-of-factly.

Another pony’s blood? Sirens went off in my head.

“W-what do you mean?” I asked, getting ready to back up. He stretched out on the couch and covered his eyes with a hoof. I didn’t think he enjoyed being awoken by my screams.

Nico sighed. “Let’s put it this way: I told Fleece I would look after you. If something happened to you, it would be my responsibility.”

My cheeked flared with heat. “Look after me? I don’t need a foalsitter!” I stomped my hoof. “I was working my way up to captain in the Enclave! I boss around stallions bigger than you!” I was nose to nose with him by the time I finished my fussing. He sat up on his elbows and stared, dumbfounded. I grinned. Now, what did he have to say about that? Just when I thought I was intimidating, he laughed. He laughed at me! My face turned even redder as turned away and stomped towards the stairs.

“Ugh! I hate stallions! They are so insensitive!” I yelled.

“I’m sorry! I just couldn’t help it! A little, defenseless mare like you? Giving orders to stallions bigger than me? Oh, that’s rich! You pegasi must be a bunch of pansies!” He spoke through his cackling.

Stopping in my tracks, I was boiling with anger. I’m sure my mane started steaming. I stomped up to him and touched my nose to his and glared the hardest I could.

“How dare you speak to me that way! I may be a ‘little mare’ but I’ll have you know, I did take combat training for emergencies! Just because I’m afraid of everything doesn’t mean I can’t take you on, you… you… ground-walker! In fact, I’ll show you as soon as my wing's better! Then, after I take you down, I’m going home! At least you won’t have to ‘foalsit’ me anymore!” I roared. He was sunk into the couch after that. I may not be intimidating at first, but when I get angry, all hell breaks loose.

Nico lay on his back in a defensive position while I kept glaring into his eyes. He better have seen the flames! My good wing flared out to show him who was boss. The look on his face? Priceless.

“I, erm… Sorry?” He murmured. He then looked down and grinned. “Are you enjoying this?”

“What are you talking about?” I snapped.

His hoof pointed to me. I turned my eyes towards my body. I was on top of him! Quickly, I stumbled off the couch and fell onto the floor. My eyes went wide and I blushed furiously. He chuckled and offered to help me up, but I refused.

“I need to soak in a warm bath.” I mumbled.

“There is no running water here, princess.” He said sarcastically. “If you haven’t noticed, this is a post-apocalyptic era. The closest to a shower you’re gonna get is if you go into Fleece’s clinic. I go at least twice a week. She has a water talisman.”

Good enough for me.

“Fine. Let’s go.” I stood and stormed off.

“Hold on. Do you want to go through a hell like that, again?”

I stopped. I hated it, but he was right.

“What do you suggest we do, then, Mr. Know-it-all?” I countered.

He tapped his chin. “You need barding. Protection from stray bullets in case we come across more slavers or raiders.” Then he smiled a disgusting smile. “But don’t worry, I’ll protect you… sweetheart.”

I growled, ready to attack him with the biggest stick I could find. However, he did make a good bodyguard, so I let out a snort and followed him to another closet. He scanned over the cluttered space and moved a few things out of the way. At last, he pulled out a brown vest. It was horrifying! It literally looked like crap!

“I am NOT wearing that.” I turned up my nose.

“Say goodbye to your shower, then. I found this in the attic. It’s not like I pulled it off some dead body.” He tapped a hoof on the floor.
I groaned. That shower would be great.

“Fine.” I groaned.

The unicorn floated the ugly thing over to me. I snatched it out of the air and regretfully slipped it on. The fabric was itchy and falling apart, but it did have a protective layer of hardened leather. It was going to have to do. I needed that clean water! No radiated liquid was coming near my body.

“Don’t you look swell?” He chimed.

My glare promised him a slow and painful death. “Just come on, Freako!”

Ha!

The asshole rolled his eyes and walked to the door, holding it open for me. As I passed by him, I threw up my nose and slapped him with my tail. Looking back, I saw him rubbing his cheek and grumbling. With an “oops”, I trotted outside and waited for him. I gave him a sly grin as he continued on. I could be an asshole, too!

Eventually, we were almost halfway to the town. I could see the buildings in the distance. Other than being broken down, it looked just like a small town. I stopped to look at a wooden sign that had hoofpainted white lettering.

“Floater?” I repeated out loud.

“Yep. That’s the town I was talking about. Just about everypony there is friendly. Except one of the shopkeepers. She can be a pain in the flank to trade with.” Nico said.

I put on a worried look. There couldn’t be more friendly ponies here.

Nodding and swallowing the lump in my throat, I followed Nico, closely. I could see that stupid smirk on his face. He enjoyed this! He may have been taking care of me, but he didn’t have to be a complete jerk about it. I’d teach him a lesson soon enough. A few minutes later, Nico stopped walking. Since my head was low, I bumped into him.

“Fleece! What’s up?” He waved.

Curious to see who this Fleece was, I peeked from behind him.

I screamed. This was no pony. Its dark maroon hide was patchy and rotted, especially on its front hooves. I could tell it was flaking. Where its mane and tail were supposed to be was nothing but a few hairs, dried out and hanging down. It had a unicorn horn, but it was cracked. Did I mention it was missing an eye and half its lips?

Before I could run away, I blacked out and fell to the ground with my hooves straight in the air. I don’t know what that thing was, but it was not a living, breathing pony!

“She’s still adjusting.” Nico was talking.

I opened my eyes to see the monstrosity staring down at me. It seemed to be smiling, but I couldn’t tell. I screamed again and staggered to my hooves. Before Nico could say a word, I had jumped into his hooves and held on for dear life. Burying my face in his neck, I started hyperventilating.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry, hon.” It said with a scratchy voice. It could talk?!

“Erm… S-Sienna, this is Fleece. She’s a good friend.” Nico said.

Chancing a look, I slowly pulled away from Nico’s neck and peeked at her. She smiled a sad smile. I stared for a while before I could find the words to speak to her. This was Fleece? What else did Nico fail to mention about this awful place?

“Y-you’re Fleece? B-but you’re a-a… z-zombie!” I squeaked.

She let out a terrible sounding chuckle. “I guess I do look like a feral. I’m a ghoul pony, not a zombie pony, Sienna.” I shivered as she said my name.

“W-what’s the difference?” I asked her.

“Well, a ghoul pony, like me, is dead. However, we still have our wits and personality. We are basically the same pony before we died, we just look… well, dead. A zombie pony, or feral ghoul, looks like me, but they are not who they once were. They just wander around killing anything they get their cold hooves on. They weren’t always feral, though. Ghoul ponies turn feral when they absolutely have no spark left and no will to live. They lose their minds, to put it simply.” She explained.

I took in that information little by little as I had a hard time processing it. “S-so you aren’t going to eat my brains?”

She laughed again. “Goodness, no! I eat the same foods as you guys! Actually, I don’t have to eat or drink anything. I don’t even have to sleep. I just do it to stay as normal as possible. My favorite food is sautéed tomatoes.” She licked what was left of her lips and smiled. “Delicious!”

I just couldn’t believe it. This pony, er… ghoul, helped save my life. If a ghoul was nice enough to lend a hoof, there had to be more live ponies like these two.

Nico cleared his throat. I turned to him and saw he was a light shade of red in his face. I looked at my hooves around him and remembered he was holding me. I scoffed and pushed him away from me.

“Excuse you!” I said, harrumphing.

“What? You’re the one who jumped on me!” He argued.

I scoffed then looked to Fleece. Cautious, I took a step closer to Nico.

She bowed her head. “I’m deeply sorry for the fright. I know you aren’t from here, but I promise I help ponies better than I offend them. If they let me, that is.”

“Fleece wouldn’t hurt a fly. Unless you’re pushing around the innocent.” Nico added.

I lowered my head. Guilt replaced the attentiveness. I felt terrible for screaming at the sight of her. It made it worse that she went out of her way to save my life. Most pegasi wouldn’t even blink at the opportunity.

“I’m sorry, Fleece.” I tried not to stare. “I just want to go home. I don’t even like a change of scenery in my house, much less being stranded in unfamiliar territory.”

“Sounds like a case of chronic anxiety.” She rubbed her patchy chin. “You have anxiety attacks? Shortness of breath? Tension headaches?”

I nodded. “Y-yes. How did you know?”

“Nico didn’t tell you? I’m a doctor. Have been since before the war. I actually worked with Fluttershy on a few tough medical cases.” She smiled, lost in thought. “She was a saint. I stood by her one hundred percent on her opinion of war being pointless.”

“I didn’t know that much about her, just that she was the ministry mare of MoP.” I said.

“Nopony even knows what happened to her. If I could, I would plant a giant tree in memory of her.” Fleece sighed in disappointment. “Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be possible in this version of Tartarus. Anyway, what brings you guys this way?”

“Princess, here, needs a bath. She reeks!” Nico said, fanning the air in front of him.

I blushed, severely. “I smell better than you do!”

He laughed. “Relax, I’m yankin’ your tail. We can’t all bathe in luxury.”

I glared. I despised him.

“Well, Sia, you’re welcome to my clinic anytime! I have a room for ponies to bathe and take care of themselves, so they don’t have to use radiated water. I don’t use it myself, as radiation has the opposite effect on me.” She said.

Folding my ears back, I looked at the dirt. Hearing her call me Sia, made me think of my friends. It was a nickname they had for me.

“Did I say something?” She asked, concerned, as we started walking towards the town. It was only about a half a mile, now.

I perked up and gave a half smile. “No! My friends called me Sia. I don’t mind, I just miss them.”

“I understand.” She said in a calming and motherly voice. I had to listen, but the motherly tone was there. “I have gained and lost countless friends in my hundred and eighty years.”

“How have you been able to stay so calm about it?” I asked. “I mean, I’ve lost a few, too, but I know a sweet and caring pony such as yourself has had hundreds of not thousands of good friends and loved ones. I would go ballistic!”

“I never really thought about it. Ponies come and go. I can rest easy, knowing that even though they have left me behind, they are in a better place than this. A paradise with no fighting, no blood, and fresh green grass. Almost like old Equestria. It really doesn’t bother me that I’m here. It helps my conscious to know I’ve devoted my being to helping others fight this awful battle.” Fleece was definitely like Fluttershy. I supposed she was doing this in her memory.

“It’s so good to know there’s at least one pony fighting the good fight.” I told her with a friendly smile.

I was glad I made her smile, even though she looked so hurt.

“What about me? Aren’t I a good pony?” Nico spoke up from behind us.

I didn’t even notice he fell behind.

“Sure, Nico. You make a great transport.” Fleece said.

After a chuckle, I added, “You are good, too, as long as you’re not cracking jokes at my expense.”

It was odd that I took to Fleece quicker than I did to Nico. Maybe it was because he was a stallion? I don’t really know. Down here, it was so hard to judge somepony by just how they looked. To make it worse, it was extremely difficult to get close to them to get to know them! I was thankful I had Nico to be the judge of who to talk to and who not to associate with. His expertise in all things, wasteland, came in pretty handy to me.

“I’m starving.” Nico complained, as we approached the entrance to the town.

I stopped as I saw the many small buildings that were partly rigged to be decent shelters. What really caught my eye, though, was the enormous structure at the edge of the town. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was in the shape of a pair of cards. Even though it was in the middle of the day (or at least I think it was), the bright lights beamed, producing a soft glow on the surrounding houses.

“Amazing, isn’t it? That something like this would be strong enough to withstand almost two hundred years.” Nico stepped beside me and shared my gaze at the odd shaped building.

“What is it? Do ponies live there?” I asked, curiously.

“Depends how bad your gambling addiction is.” He joked.

“What?”

“It used to be called Pony Up Hotel and Casino. Now we call it The Beacon. Still functions the same, though. Casino and bar on the bottom floor, and hotels on the rest of the levels. I come here sometimes to unwind.”

I looked back at the amazing construction. “Can we go?”

He turned and stared in mild shock. “Really? I didn’t know you liked to have a good time.”

“I like fun! I just don’t consider dangerous things fun, but this seems… safe enough.” I brought a hoof up, defensively.

I heard hoofsteps behind me. “Are you guys talking about the Wild Formal? That’s tomorrow night.”

“Wild… Formal?” I asked Fleece.

“That’s tomorrow? Oh, dang. I sold my tux. Oh, well.” Nico said, walking toward a small cement building.

“Nonsense.” Fleece butted in. “I always have spare formalwear in the back of the clinic. I usually rent it out or trade, but I could let you borrow it. And Sienna can have a dress! Oh you guys could go together! It would be so adorable!”

“Er, you really don’t have to do that…” Nico sputtered as he blushed and rubbed his neck, nervously.

“Can somepony explain this Wild Formal, please?” I said, impatiently.

“It’s an event held at the Beacon every year. Ponies from all over dress in pretty dresses and tuxedos and come to gamble, mingle, and have fun! You don’t have to be fancy, though. That’s why it’s called Wild Formal.” She explained as we trotted to her clinic.

“Oh! That sounds nice, but I don’t want to ruin any of your dresses.” I said, humbly.

“Oh, stop, now! I’ll even give it to you! Isn’t that right, Nico?” She rolled her eyes to the stallion who waited by the door.

He curved his lips and blushed, not speaking.

Fleece chuckled. “It’ll be a fun date.”

“Date?!” Nico and I yelled at once. No way was I going on a date with him!

“It’ll be fun! You only live once. Besides, you can get to know each other.” She winked at us, setting down her saddlebags.
I blushed and slowly turned to the buck, who was already staring at me with a stupid grin.

“Fine, Fleece. I’ll play your game.” He trotted towards me and bowed. “Will you give me the honor of accompanying me to the Wild Formal, milady?”

I stared for a moment, then looked at Fleece, who nodded towards him, excitedly.

Rolling my eyes, I finally agreed. “Ugh. Fine. I’ll go with you. But this is not a date.”

He kissed my hoof and winked.

Oh, gag.

“Yay!” Fleece clopped her hooves together. “My little Nico is growing up! His first actual date!” She ruffled his mane, making him glare at her. If looks could kill a ghoul!

I giggled, getting the same glare from him.

This should be fun.

Level Up!

Health -1

New Perk: Friends on the outside - When you're in Fleece's company, your bargaining skills rises by %30.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Kkat for this amazing world!
After a few days of slamming my head into a wall, i finally edited chapter 4.
NOW i can probably upload daily for a couple of days. As long as things stay on schedule.
Thanks for reading!
-AP