As we left Rust Rail we stopped and dropped some more caps on supplies: a dozen healing potions, enough food and water to last a couple weeks. My pip-buck clicked ominously as I sampled the water, but Sentinel insisted that it would be good enough for now and rushed us out of the town. Sentinel was right to keep us moving. At least two different groups followed after us. I don’t know for certain they were after us, but Sentinel said that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone ain’t out to get you. With that mentality he kept us moving until we couldn’t anymore. When Jerry and I stopped to gulp down water and rest, he’d unsling his rifle and wander off only to return a few minutes later and sit with us for a few more before we started moving again. After three days, he seemed satisfied that we weren’t in any immediate danger and settled into a more leisurely and easily managed pace.

It was midday and while I stood in our small camp, Jerry and Sentinel stood several yards away, popping off shots at a trio of cans perched atop a small boulder. I had intended on watching, but when one of Jerry’s shots pinged off the rock and got just a little too close for comfort, I thought it safer to stay a bit further away.

With nothing better to do while the pair practiced, I tuned my pip-buck’s radio to the station I’d found the other night and worked on drawing Liberator. It wasn’t easy to twist and grab it. Its weight put too much strain on my neck. However, with a good strong buck, I could flip it out of its resting place, grab it between my hooves and swing it. It worked most of the time. Still not as good as a horn and magic, but I’d have to make do. If I was very lucky, or unlucky depending on the point of view, that buck would be the opening blow of a fight. As I practiced the move, the occasional shot would ring out, briefly overpowering the music that drifted from my pip-buck. After several minutes the music faded away.

“That was Dare Master by the Wailers. I tell you if not for those kind folks, we’d only be playing stuff from before the war!” a colt said in a cheerful yet dusky tone from my pip-buck’s speaker. “This is Arbiter Rain, bringing some news to all you souls out in the Badlands. As the illustrious Ghost Widow has already said, those terrible Gouged Eye freaks wandered a bit too close to Deepwater Gulch. But Deepwater has even deeper pockets and their mercenary guards sent the few Gouged Eye who survived the encounter galloping with their tails tucked.”

That was the second time I’d heard of this Deepwater place. It must’ve been a settlement or town. A big one, if I had to venture a guess. And these Gouged Eye ponies. Their name didn’t evoke much in the way of hope and their name only conjured up one specific thing.

“Don’t misunderstand me, folks. This was just a small raiding party, and the Eye are still a very real and dangerous threat. So all you good ponies out there, watch your backsides. Tenebraug’ll be pissed about this and likely have his psychopaths taking this out on anypony they can. The forecast for the foreseeable future is lead rain. Make sure you wear your armor and travel in groups.

“In other news, there’s been a bit of scuttlebutt ‘bout that slave mine to the west,” My ears perked up and I ceased my bucking to listen carefully. “People claim to have seen, get this, a tank come rolling out of its gate the other day. Personally, I don’t think that’s true. If those degenerates had a tank, then surely the EAF would’ve stepped in. Not that they’re much better... but I’d like to think that even they could see the problems that would arise from that kind of firepower in the wrong hooves. But enough of the bad. Let’s get back to the music, shall we?”

Music once more began to play, and as I tried to piece together what a tank was Sentinel and Jerry trotted over in silence. “Done with practice for today?” I asked as I switched off the radio. Jerry managed a nod, but didn’t look me in the eye as she sat herself down across from me and tenderly rubbed her face.

“She’s a tad sore, mate. Shootin’s like getting a hoof to the mouth. Ain’t fun til you’re used to it,” he said as he sat down as well. “Willin’ ta bet she’s also a little embarrassed she shot ya.”

Jerry’s face flushed and she suddenly became keenly interested in the dirt beneath her hooves. “I didn’t shoot him,” she whispered. “I only ALMOST shot him…” I offered her a smile.

“Sentinel, I got a few questions if you don’t mind,” I said looking away from Jerry and over at him. The ghoul’s milky eyes turned towards me and he gave a noncommittal shrug of approval. “You ever been to a place called Deepwater?” I asked.

“Aye. It’s a nice place. Did some merc work there for a spell. Why you ask?”

“Been hearing about it on the radio. The Gouged Eye has been harassing them,” I replied. Sentinel chuckled and shook his head.

“Them raiders are taking a piss if’n they think Deepwater is ‘fraid o’ the likes of them,” he said, his lips pulling back into a rather disturbing smile. “They got more caps’n they know what to do wif, and what they do wif’em is ‘ire mercs to protect them and theirs.”

“What makes them so wealthy?” I asked. The only rich pony I knew made his caps off the blood, sweat, and tears of ponies like me. I hated the idea that there could be more like him out there.

Sentinel rolled his eyes a bit and scooted closer. “Right, keep forgettin’ you lot are new,” he said. “Now look ‘ere, out in the wasteland, what’s the one thing everyone needs?”

I stared at him in silence for a moment before realizing he actually wanted an answer. Too used to being talked at rather than talked to, I guess. “Um… wat-”

“Got it in one! Water! Drinkable, life givin’ water. And Deepwater, shockingly, has gobs of it,” Sentinel said, jabbing a hoof into my shoulder as he continued. “Deepwater sits between the Badlands and the Haysee- shite, the Hellfire Swamps. ‘S like a natural fortress - only one, narrow way in, near the mouth o’ the canyon. Hellfire’s too dangerous ta traverse, so’s ya can’t come in the back. And nopony alive has climbed those mountains and lived ta tell the tale. That keeps ponies from comin’ in from above.” As Sentinel spoke he became more animated, gesturing with his hooves. “Aside from purifying water from the river ta sell ta blokes like you an’ me, they also have an underground wellspring what gives ’em fresh, clean water they keep for themselves.”

“But,” Jerry said, speaking up, “If they have all that water, why don’t they share it?”

“That’s not the way the world works, luv,” Sentinel said. His face fell and for a brief moment he stared off into the distance. “‘asn’t worked that way in a very long time.” Just as quickly as it had appeared, the bleakness faded to be replaced by his half smirk and he shrugged. “Anyway, ‘s not a bad place.”

“Is that where you’re taking us?” I asked.

Sentinel shrugged. “‘adn’t planned on taking you anywhere in particular. You said away, so we’re heading further away from them slavers what ‘ad ya.”

“Well, what’s in this direction?” Jerry asked, shifting a little closer as eagerness crept into her. “Anything?”

“Not a whole lot I’m afraid,” Sentinel said as he scratched the back of his head. “Mostly ruins and wastes for a good bit. Nearest place is Ministry Town I ‘spose.”

“Ministry? Wha-” Jerry asked.

“Don’t ask, love,” Sentinel cut her off with a shake of his head. “It's a long and boring story from well before your time.”

“Is it safe?” I asked. “This… Ministry Town?”

“Nothin’ is really safe,” Sentinel scoffed. “And Ministry Town is barely a town. Just a couple dozen or so folk live there. And that number dwindles when they get too close to the hubs themselves.”

“Have you got a better idea?” I asked.

For a brief moment Sentinel seemed like he wanted to say something, like he was mulling over various scenarios in his head. He looked… pensive, or torn. But instead he shook his head and shrugged. “At the moment? No. Can’t say that I ‘ave.”

“Then let’s head to this Ministry Town until you have one.” I continued. “It’s still better than where we were.”

Again, Sentinel shrugged. “You’re the boss, boss. Just promise to stay away from the hubs, ya?”

It was another couple of days before we reached Ministry Town. Gradually the dirt, mud, and brush gave way to pavement and civilization. Or, something that was like it once. At one point it must’ve been a bustling locale. I could almost see the ponies trotting back and forth as they went about their lives. Now, a bleached skeleton hung limply from a broken window, shattering the image I had been picturing. The blackened bones of bombed out buildings loomed on either side of the cracked and broken street or had long since spilled into it, making sections nearly impossible to traverse. The street itself was dotted with rusted and long abandoned wagons. Some of those contained the remains of their drivers. There didn’t appear to be anypony here, let alone a settlement. I glanced at Sentinel as we trotted, our hoofsteps echoing down the barren streets.

“You sure there’s ponies here?” I asked.

Sentinel nodded slowly, but kept his head on a swivel rather than looking at me. “Aye. There was last I checked,” he said. His hazy blue magic enveloped his rifle and moved it from his back to a more ready position. Cautiously, Jerry drew her pistol and moved to stand a bit closer to Sentinel.

I was about to comment on their paranoia when a shadowy blur flitted past just in front of us. Sentinel stopped in his tracks, aiming his rifle down the street in front of us. Jerry stood behind him, her eyes darting back and forth as she nervously chewed on her pistol grip.

“Hello there!” I called, taking a couple of steps forward.

“What’re you doin’?” Sentinel hissed out of the side of his mouth. I ignored him and continued forward.

“Hello? We’re looking for Ministry Town, can you help us?” A head poked around the corner at the end of the street and then pulled back almost immediately. “W-wait! Please? We think it's around here somewhere but-”

“Ain’t helpin’ no raider scum!” somepony shouted. A shot rang out and the pavement just in front of me chipped as the bullet missed its mark. Sentinel pivoted on a bit, his rifle roared and the masonry at the end of the street erupted in puffs of pulverized brick.

“Whoa! Hey! We’re not raiders!” I shouted, “We are NOT raiders!” I tensed, waiting for yet another shot.

“Yer not?” somepony called.

“No! Ya bloody, gormless twat!” Sentinel shouted angrily. There was a long moment of silence.

“Really? Cuz ya’ll look like raiders!”

Jerry holstered her pistol. “I promise, we’re not.”

Another drawn out pause.

“Ya sure?”

“YES!” the three of us answered in unison.

“O-okay…” A vaguely, pony-shaped collection of rags and filth poked its head out from around the corner that Sentinel had perforated. I glanced at Sentinel. His rifle was still raised, as if he were expecting a trap of some sort.

“Sentinel,” I whispered. His ear twitched slightly. “Put the gun down.”

“I will,” he said quietly, “Soon as I’m sure it’s safe.”

The filthy unicorn stallion approached us cautiously, a rifle that was held together with rust and hope floating just over his head. I glanced at his craggy features and the long, matted grey beard that hung from his chin. He was easily the oldest pony I’d ever seen. He stopped several feet away and eyeballed Sentinel.

“Ah, armed forces?” he asked, lifting a hoof and leaning back as though he might turn tail and run at a moment’s notice.

“Retired,” Sentinel said flatly.

The stallion relaxed and nodded. “Sorry ‘bout the shootin’. Gettin’ ta be ya can’t trust nopony these days,” he said as his rifle tucked itself across his back.

“Apparently…” Sentinel said as he lowered his rifle but didn’t completely put it away. “Can ya point us in the direction o’ Ministry Town, old timer?”

“Ministry Town?” the old stallion repeated, giving Sentinel a strange look. “Well, it’s about twelve streets over that way. But…” He paused, unease on his face.

“But?” I urged. The stallion looked pained.

“But they was hit by Gouged Eye th’other day. Couple’a folks lost their lives. Rest lost an eye.” he said solemnly. “They’s not too keen on visitors right now.”

“Shit…” Sentinel cursed. He turned to Jerry and I and sighed. “Ya sure this is where ya wanna go?”

Jerry glanced at me and then back at Sentinel. “I’m just following his lead,” she said quietly. “But… if there’s hurt ponies, we should try and help, right?” Sentinel fixed her with a blank look. “Isn’t that the right thing to do?”

“I ‘spose it is,” Sentinel said, looking to me.

“Then let’s see if there’s anything we can do. Even if it’s something as simple as giving them some healing potions,” I said as I trotted in the direction the old stallion had indicated. Jerry nodded politely and hurried after me. Sentinel hung back and wiped a hoof over his face as he sighed.

“You lot are gonna be the end o’ me,” he muttered as he trotted after us.

“H-hey!” the stallion called loudly. “You young’ins steer clear o’ them ministry buildin’s! They ain’t safe! A-An’ be careful! Them raiders is still roamin’ around.” He waited a moment and then turned and trotted in the opposite direction. “Nice folks.”

As the old stallion had said, about twelve streets over the road came to a dead end. A poorly constructed barricade twice my height stretched from blackened rubble to scorched wreckage across the street, barring passage to all. A single door had been built into it. Just big enough for a pony my size to wriggle his way through. Slowly, I reached out and banged a hoof on it. I gave three solid knocks, each one threatening to bring the whole slapdash wall crumbling down.

“Hello?” I called loudly. I could hear hoofsteps just beyond the wall, along with hushed and hurried whispering. “We’re not raiders,” I added. “We heard there was an attack and came to see if we could help at all.”

The door opened just a crack and a bloodshot eye peeked out. It darted nervously between us before the door opened more revealing a gaunt mare with a pale blue coat. Her mane, though unkempt was a brilliant deep blue. A bloody bandage was tied over right eye.

“You’re not here to hurt us?” she asked timidly.

“No. We’d heard of the attack. We came to see if we could help somehow,” Jerry repeated, stepping forward. The mare nodded and backed up. Behind her stood two bandaged young unicorn colts, that couldn’t have been much past their cute-ceañera. Each of them levitated a rusty weapon of some sort and looked decidedly nervous.

“I-I think it’s okay, boys. Now you run on home,” she said. The unicorns exchanged glances and then lowered their weapons and trotted away. “We’ll take any help we can,” she said softly as we entered. “Do you know any medicine? Some of the others are terribly injured.”

“I know a thing or two, miss…,” Sentinel said as the mare lead us through their little town.

“Moonlight. Moonlight Arrow,” she said. The town was an arrangement of shacks and small huts built in a circle around what was once a roundabout. Walls of scrap and wreckage were built on each road, creating what should’ve been a well defended area. At the center was a small raised dais with a large carved stone depicting the golden sun of the goddess Celestia. Shockingly, vibrant green grass grew from beneath it.

“Is that...grass?” I asked incredulously.

Moonlight nodded. “Its enchanted. That grass is our livelihood. It grows quickly, so we harvest and sell it to traveling merchants.”

The town itself was in shambles. Several of the huts and shacks had been set on fire or riddled with gunfire. Moonlight led us towards a long communal building as she continued, “We’re all injured, but some worse than others. We quickly ran out of bandages and potions in the first few minutes.” From inside I could hear the tell-tale sound of agony as several ponies cried out for help in a chorus of pleading voices, or babbled prayers to goddesses I wasn’t sure were listening. She pushed open the door and a dozen ponies looked our way. Some looked up with hope in their eyes, others with fear. Jerry and I froze, unsure of what to do. Sentinel stepped past us and looked around, quickly assessing a situation that left both Jerry and I stunned..

“Who’s the doc here?” he asked loudly. An older green unicorn raised his hoof and Sentinel trotted over to him quickly. “Triage, doc. Who needs help now?” he asked.

“H-help? Well, that’d be Miss Marble Twister,” the doctor stammered for a moment before gesturing to his right. Sentinel and the doctor moved over to a thin pink mare lying on a stained mattress and writhing in agony as she held one hoof up to her face. The other hung limply at her side, a ragged hole in the shoulder that had begun to turn black and weep pus. Sentinel looked her over carefully and leaned closer. “I need to look at your head, love,” he said softly as he telekinetically look hold of the mare’s hoof and lifted it away. I saw the mare’s pink hide give way to the deep red of tissues that shouldn’t be exposed and the faintest traces of bone under that. It too was beginning to spoil. “Mother fuckers…” Sentinel hissed as he looked up at us. “Give me a potion. Give some more to the doc ‘ere,” he said, “bandages too.”

“Of course,” Jerry said as she trotted forward. She fished in her saddlebag a bit before retrieving a bottle. The doctor took it in his magic as she went to retrieve another.

“Please, allow me,” the stallion said, and floated out a couple more bottles and a stack of bandages. “Thank you, this will help greatly,” he said as he moved off to treat his patients. Jerry followed, unsure of how to help but wanting to nonetheless.

“What happened to everypony?” I asked, turning to look at Moonlight again. The mare had a thousand yard stare, and only faintly turned in my direction.

“Raiders…” she breathed. “Gouged Eye. They… they’re the biggest band in the area. Normally we give them some caps and some of our grass and they leave content. ” She blinked and looked up at me, her ears plastered back. “B-but this time…” Her voice trailed off as she absently rubbed at her bandaged eye. She didn’t have to continue. I might be new to the wasteland, but I wasn’t new to cruelty for cruelty’s sake. I looked around carefully, noticing that everypony save the three of us had a similar bandage over an eye...even the foals. The realization began to sink in. Now I understood why they were called the Gouged Eye.

“No! NO! STAY AWAY!”

The screaming snapped Moonlight from her haunted reverie and she galloped across the room to a small gray foal as he thrashed and swung his legs at invisible attackers. She knelt down next to the foal and gently stroked his black mane as she shushed him.

“Shhhh, it’s okay sweetie,” Moonlight said softly. The foal thrashed around until his forelegs wrapped around Moonlight and he hugged her close.

“I-it hurts Aunty Moon! It hurts!” the foal wailed.

“It's okay, Charger,” she repeated, “Some nice ponies brought us some more medicine. It’ll help with the pain.” I stepped forward and set a potion from my pack down next to the foal.

“Here you go, buddy,” I said as I sat next to the mare. The foal stifled a sob and buried his face in Moonlight’s coat. The mare scooped up the bottle, pulled the stopper with her teeth and held it down to the foal.

“Here Charger, I’ve got a potion,” she said softly. The foal sniffled and pulled his face from her coat. His remaining eye was shut, though an old pink scar ran across the lid. He reached out a hoof blindly for the potion as Moonlight helped him guide it to his mouth. He drank it down quickly, coughing and sputtering as he curled back up against his aunt.

“Why, Aunty?” he whimpered, “They a-asked me... Asked me wh-which one…” Moonlight’s face fell as grief washed over her. She pulled Charger closer and rocked him gently as tears streamed down her face. “I begged them not to take my good one, Aunty! I promise!”

“I know, baby. It’ll be okay,” she said, her voice cracking as she tried her best to remain stoic for the crying boy. She looked up at me, and I knew she was hoping against hope that she wasn’t lying to him.

I was at a loss. An anger welled up inside me like I had never felt before. I’d seen and felt cruelty. But this… this was different. He was just a foal. I opened my mouth to say something. Anything had to be better than silently staring. But my words were drowned out by the burst of a rifle being fired.

“Get out here!!” somepony shouted from outside.

Moonlight’s face fell and she clutched Charger tightly. “Goddesses… they’re back…”

Good, I thought.

“I know you’re in there! Come on out! Now!”

I stared out of a hole in the wall of the building and carefully took in the situation brewing outside. Six raiders stood in a half circle behind the speaker, a large unicorn that was probably their leader. The door to the security wall we’d come through gaped open, the door barely hanging on a single rusted hinge. Those colts from before must not have locked it. The stallion was big, his green mane a mess of matted dreadlocks. His coat was a darker green that accentuated the scars all over his face. I might’ve had a bit of sympathy for him, except that the intricacy of the scars told me they were some kind of... decoration. That thought made me sick. Who would do that to themselves? His armor was a mish-mash of cracked leather and rusting metal. Long spikes jutted off one pauldron and the rust gave way to the ruddy brown of dried blood. A large shotgun with a drum on the underside rested against his shoulder, held in place by a gray magical field. The ponies with him were no less intimidating. Clad in cracked and sun-faded leather armor, studded with spikes. Each of them bore a stylized eye that looked as though it had been painted on in blood.

“My patience is wearin’ thin! Get your asses out here! Or I swear I will cut your throats and leave you to die!”

I stepped back from the hole in the wall and moved towards the door. There was a sharp whistle from behind me and I turned to see Sentinel giving me a concerned look.

“What’re ya doin’, mate?” he asked.

“If somepony doesn’t go out there, then everypony in here gets hurt. I won’t let that happen,” I said as I lifted a hoof and pressed against the door. Light spilled in through the open door and I felt Sentinel’s hoof scrape against my armor as he tried to hold me back.

“Goddesses damned fool!” he hissed, hefted his gun and braced it against the window frame.

The raiders tensed, their weapons suddenly raised as I stepped out into view.. They had been expecting an injured and timid settler. Not me. Two of them even shared a concerned glance. The green stallion locked eyes with me and sucked at his teeth.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, giving me a backwards nod of the head.

“Hi there,” I called out, “Name’s Free. What’s yours?”

The stallion chuckled and looked over his shoulder at his comrades. Disingenuous laughter spilled from them until the stallion looked back towards me and it cut out like somepony flipped a switch. “Is this some kind of joke?”

I shook my head. “No joke,” I said, “Just hoping to see if we could be… civil… about this.”

A wicked grin split the stallion’s face. “Oh sure. Plenty civil. We just came to take what’s ours. Then we’ll happily leave these ponies alone. ‘Til the next time at least.”

“What’s yours?” I repeated. “And what might that be exactly?”

“Whatever we want,” the stallion said, his words dripping with venom and ill-intent. There was a predatory gleam in his eye and I knew that he wasn’t just referring to property.

“I think you’ve taken enough from these ponies. I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” I said flatly as I raised a hoof and gestured towards the gate. The stallion’s eyes narrowed and he trotted forward, coming to within a few feet of me.

“Oh, we’ll leave,” he said, his shotgun lifting off his shoulder and pointing at me. “AFTER we get what we want from these fucks!” It took all I had to hold my ground. For a brief moment it crossed my mind that I might have made a mistake. But if I did nothing and somepony got hurt, then I’m just as guilty as the raiders.

“There’s no way I can change your mind?” I asked.

“Get the fuck outta my way!” he barked. The shotgun roared and I suddenly felt like I’d been bucked in the chest. I staggered back a step. That was explicitly a ‘no’. I took a breath, feeling an ache in my chest, but no extreme pain. On the plus side, the armor proved to be worth every cap as both it, and me, remained unscathed. The stallion balked when I straightened, unable to fully comprehend why I wasn’t lying in a pool of my own blood. I charged forward, looking to take advantage of his surprise. I lowered my head and barreled into him, driving the stallion into the ground. Before he could recover, I quickly reared back and brought both hooves down on his face, and the stallion went still. Shouts of surprise echoed from his entourage as guns were leveled.

That was when Sentinel opened fire. His machine gun loosed the throaty cough of a controlled burst. I saw one of the raiders lose the top portion of his skull in a puff of red and topple to the ground, causing the others to scramble for cover.

Sentinel kicked open the door to the communal building and galloped into the courtyard. “Ya bloody daft bastard!” he shouted as he dropped down next to the rusted hulk of a wagon. “Take cover!”

A staccato burst of weapons fire stitched across the ground on either side of me driving Sentinel’s point home. I scrambled into the shadow of the roundabout and pressed my back against the stone.

“Alright! I’m in cover! Now what?” I shouted at Sentinel as bullets bit into the concrete just above my head.

“Now shut up and let me work!” Sentinel barked. He twisted out of cover and with an almost machine-like efficiency began to return fire on the raiders as he moved forward. They scattered in all directions, ducking and diving to avoid gunfire. One pony, who wasn’t as quick on his hooves as the others, fell to the ground, blood spilling from the wounds that Sentinel had put in his side. He shrieked and pressed his fore hooves over the wound as he kicked his hind legs at the dirt, struggling to push himself toward cover.

“Help! Help me!” he screamed, reaching out with a bloodied hoof to somepony just out of sight. “Marrowsnap! Please!”

“Shut the fuck up, Patch!” one of his comrades shouted. Either unwilling or unable to comply, Patch rolled onto his back, his hooves clamped tightly to his wound, and screamed; the sound lending to the clamor of the warzone the town had become. Sentinel’s gun clicked on empty and he dove for a small seating area, rolling into the cover it provided. Once there he kicked over a table and dropped low behind it.

“‘Ey! Get your big grey arse out there and ‘elp me!” He shouted over at me. The magazine popped out of his gun with quick flick and a new one slammed into place just as quickly. Bullets pinged off and punched clean through the ancient table, quickly whittling it down piece by piece.

“How?” I shouted back. “I tried the diplomatic approach!”

“You can’t be diplomatic wit’ raiders, ya daft idiot!” He raised his rifle and fired blindly over his improvised cover. “They only know one ‘fing!”

I opened my mouth and promptly shut it as a bullet whistled past. The stallion had a point that was hard to argue with. “Fine! You want my help? You got it!” I shouted. I darted out of cover and dashed toward the raiders, my head low.

“What the fuck are ya doin’?” Sentinel screamed after me. I ignored him, galloping at full speed straight at the raiders. I saw eyes widen and weapons raise. Bullets glanced off my shoulder armor and flattened against my chest plating, but I was big, and had momentum. I leapt over their cover and landed hard on the first poor slob there. Leather armor might be good for some protection, but it doesn’t do too much against crushing weight. I dropped on him like a ton of bricks. I felt something give below me. I rolled over the raider and onto my hooves, locking eyes with the bewildered brown mare in front of me. For a moment we stood there, staring at one another, then she blinked and looked down at her comrade. I spun around and delivered a bone crushing buck to her chest that drove her into the open. The moment she broke cover Sentinel’s gun roared and she fell in a bloody, perforated heap.

Now there was nopony between me and the two remaining raiders. Bloodshot eyes glared at me and rifles raised.

“Incoming!”

Both raiders turned suddenly just as a glass bottle trailing flame fell and shattered against the concrete barricade they’d been behind. Fire splashed over them and suddenly I was the least of their concerns as they screamed and burned. I whipped my head around and saw Jerry and Moonlight standing just outside the communal hall, another firebomb at the ready. Sentinel trotted over carefully, stepping over the wounded Patch who had gone still in a pool of his own blood. He came to a stop next to me and casually put a single round into the head of each burning raider, ending their screaming.

“Goddess-damned fool,” he said, turning to me. “Ya could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

“What’d you want me to do? Let those psychos do what they want?” I asked. I was storm of emotion inside, unsure if I should be angry at the raiders, proud for standing up for these ponies, or sick at all the bloodshed around me. And now Sentinel was all up in my face about it.

Sentinel rolled his eyes. “Of course not! But ya bloody well don’t fucking chit-chat wit’em either!” he shouted, jabbing a hoof into my chest. I swatted his hoof away with my own and narrowed my eyes.

“I was trying to help these ponies!”

“Oh really? And ‘ow did this ‘elp them? Ya gonna stay and protect ‘em?” Sentinel asked, kicking the nearest burning corpse. “The Gouged Eye is big. They have a hundreds more just like this one. Ya gonna fight them all off?”

I glanced down at the body. “I-”

“All you’ve done is ensure that they’ll be back, with more ponies, and more guns,” Sentinel said, stepping almost muzzle to muzzle with me. I held his gaze as long as I could, but then my eyes drifted back towards the community hall where several scared ponies now stood, looking upon the scene of carnage unleashed upon their small town square: a half dozen dead raiders, blood and spent brass littering the street. My ears plastered against my head.

“I… I jus-”

“You jus’ didn’t think!” Sentinel hissed so only I could hear him. “You’re too green, too fresh, to be goin’ off ‘alf-cocked like that.” Without another word Sentinel turned his back on me and trotted back to everypony else, calling out to anypony who was hurt and needed attention. I looked around me again, taking in the dead raiders and felt my resolve weaken.

He was right.

I didn’t think. I’d just acted. I marched right out here, so sure I was doing the right thing. Positive I was helping protect others. I looked at the townsponies. They looked worried. Eyes darted this way and that, and hushed whispers of concern and fear.

“...what now?”

“They’ll kill us for sure!”

“What has he done?”

“We’re doomed…”

I hadn’t felt this small since Whips had first slapped a chain around my ankle. I scraped my hoof across the ground, searching for the right thing to say, if any.

“Alright folks,” Sentinel called, saving me the trouble. He clambered up onto the rusted bulk of a truck and made sure that all eyes were on him. “I know you’re scared. I know you feel like you can’t be safe ‘ere. Well, for the time bein’ that’s true.”

The townsponies immediately broke into an uproar. A disjointed chorus of voices, several of which called for my head for ruining their lives. Sentinel waved his forelegs at them to regain control. “‘Ey! Shut it! I’m talking!” he barked. Gradually the voices quieted. “Let me finish. Ya can’t stay ‘ere. Not unless you’re willin’ ta die.”

Again the chorus erupted. One pony in particular made his voice heard above all others. “Where in the hell are we ‘sposed to go!?” he shouted, waving a hoof in the air angrily. Cries of support and agreement followed and once again Sentinel waved them silent.

“That’s simple, ya go to the E.A.F.,” he said flatly. The crowd was looking more like a riot by the minute.

“The E.A.F.? Have you lost your damn mind?” shouted one pony.

“They’re just as bad as the raiders!” added another.

“You should just kill us yourselves and be done with it!”

Sentinel’s rifle roared as he sprayed the sky with bullets, and the ponies fell silent. When he was certain he had regained their attention he lowered his weapon and deposited it across his back once more. “Right, here’s the thing none of you seem to be asking! What other option have ya got?” Eyes glanced back and forth, but nopony spoke. “I know they ain’t great. Better than you lot, seein’ as how I remember when it was!” he paused, letting his words sink in. “Go to the E.A.F., let them take you in. Bad as they are they still protect and provide for their own. The other option is waitin’ here til the Gouged Eye come lookin’ for revenge.”

The crowd was a hum with whispers and Sentinel stood patiently, almost looking bored as he waited for them to come to a decision. All the while the thought that this was my doing as cementing itself in place in my head. I’d provoked the raiders. I’d doomed this town.

“Y-you’ve said your peace!” the doctor piped up. “And we’ll take it under advisement. But for now, we just want you to leave.”

Sentinel shrugged and hopped off the wagon and started toward the gate we’d come in. “C’mon,” he said softly. “Let’s go. We’ve done enough here.” Jerry nodded solemnly and followed him. I lifted a hoof to do the same, but remained rooted in place. It felt as though there was something binding me to this spot.

“I-I’m sorry,” I called to the ponies. A few heads turned my direction. “I was just trying to help.”

“How does this help?” A stallion shouted, pointing a hoof at the bodies.

“I-It doesn’t… But I couldn’t just… stand by and let them take more from you,” I stammered even as I backed up a step. “Nopony should have to live in fear…” I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps I had hoped for forgiveness. I don’t really think they knew how to respond either. I turned in silence and trotted after the others. Sentinel paused as we passed the raiders, taking time to pull anything valuable off of them. Ammo and caps floated off their bodies and deposited themselves in his saddlebags. He moved to step over the leader and hesitated. His rifle slipped off his back and he cracked the stallion in the head with the butt of the rifle. His magic enveloped him and he half dragged the dark green stallion towards the gate.

“What are you doing?” Jerry asked. Sentinel gave her a wink and said nothing as she followed him out. I stopped at the gate and looked back at the town once more. The ponies hadn’t moved from watching us leave. With my ears plastered back and my head hung low, I stepped out the gate and away from Ministry Town.

By nightfall we’d set up in one of the fire gutted buildings a couple of blocks from Ministry Town and a couple floors up. I couldn’t tell what it had been originally. The furniture that remained was either rusted metal or so much charcoal. Sentinel had taken great care in tying the raider pony to a reasonably sturdy chair, carefully pairing legs and securing them individually. Confident that the raider wouldn’t be able to free himself, he trotted over and sat next to the small fire Jerry had started.

I glanced at the trussed up raider and then looked at Sentinel. “What’re we doing with him?” I asked with a jerk of my head towards the raider. Sentinel glanced over, the flickering firelight casted his face into hellish relief.

“Oh that? Intel,” he said, like I should know what that meant. When he didn’t elaborate further I looked to Jerry who was quietly eating a can of Cram.

“Thanks,” I said. She stopped chewing and gave me a strange look. “For saving me in town,” I added. She nodded and looked down.

“They could’ve killed you,” she muttered. My ears lowered and my heart sank just a bit. Not her too. “You don’t need to charge headlong into everything. We hired Sentinel for a reason. We should listen to him.” To his credit Sentinel remained silent, fixated on stripping his rifle and carefully examining each piece.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “But I can’t stand by and…” I sighed and stared into the fire. “I need to be strong, Jerry. I need to be brave. I need to stand up for those who can’t or who are afraid to.”

“It ain’t your job to save the wasteland, kid,” Sentinel chimed in, not looked up from his disassembled rifle.

“I’m not trying to save the wasteland, I’m just…” I faltered, unsure how to continue. My thoughts were a jumble of ideologies. Hero of the wasteland. Savior of ponies. Jerry’s special somepony. All things I wasn’t sure I was or could be. “I’m just trying to be the best I can,” I finally said.

“You’re fucking stupid…” All eyes turned towards our guest as his head lifted, his matted dreadlocks wriggling like snakes at the movement. His eyes were bloodshot and not entirely focused as he looked between the three of us. He snorted and spat bloody mucus onto the fire. “You think you can help anypony in the Badlands?” he rasped. “Nopony is safe from us…”

“Tough talk from the bloke what got knocked stupid twice in one day,” Sentinel said with a smirk as he quickly reassembled his weapon.

“Why were you after the townsponies?” I asked. The raider strained against his binds, the ropes groaning.

“Let me go, and I promise your deaths will be somewhat painless,” he hissed. Jerry’s eyebrow raised and she stifled a laugh.

“With an offer THAT good how can we possibly refuse?” she said in an overly exaggerated tone. I got to my hooves and stepped in front of the raider. He slowly looked up at me, the fire light reflecting the rage and madness burning just behind his eyes.

“Answer my question,” I said. The raider sucked his teeth and after several seconds spat bloody phlegm onto my armor.

“Because they was there!” he hissed through grit teeth. “Because the Gouged Eye take whatever and whoever we want!”

“If you’re expectin’ anything like sanity from that one, you’re expectin’ too much,” Sentinel said flatly. I don’t know what I was expecting. I suppose I was just looking for an answer I could understand. Something that made at least a bit of sense.

“So,” I said after a moment, looking toward Sentinel. “What were your plans with him?”

“Figured I’d ask ‘im real nice-like for some intel on the Gouged Eye,” he said flatly. Sentinel drew a combat knife from the sheath affixed to his armor and then gestured with it at the bloody phlegm he’d spat onto my chest. “Then when ‘e spits on me face, I stop being all friendly.”

I glanced over at the raider and then at Sentinel. “Do what you gotta do,” I replied flatly. He fixed me with a genuinely confused look. Slowly his features warped into a wicked grin.

“Shit, don’t need to tell me twice,” he said as he hopped up onto his hooves. His horn flickered and his hazy blue magic grabbed the back of the chair. The raider tilted backwards and the chair ground against the floor as Sentinel dragged him out of the room. “C’mon then, let’s ‘ave us a tongue-wag.” Despite his gruff demeanor, there was a look of fear in the raider’s eyes as he was pulled from the room. Pushing the situation from my mind, I lowered myself down next to the fire. I stared at it for several seconds as I felt Jerry’s gaze boring into the side of my head.

“What?” I finally asked.

“He’s going to torture him,” she whispered.

“Probably,” I said with a shrug. I glanced at her and saw the confusion in her eyes. “What?” I repeated.

“You can’t let that happen,” she said, reaching out for me.

“Weren’t you just telling me a minute ago that we hired him and we should listen to him?” I asked incredulously. Jerry’s eyes fell and she looked away.

“Well… yes, but I didn’t expect him to go all… ZERO on somepony,” she muttered.

“That wasn’t a pony. That was a monster in a pony’s skin,” I said, pointing a hoof after the duo. “Don’t give him a second thought, because he wouldn’t give you a first.” Jerry glanced down at her half eaten can of food and pushed it away.

“I don’t know that I can do that,” she said, mostly to herself. “Nopony is born evil. Something twists and… and warps them that way.”

I tried to remain stoic, but Jerry’s words wriggled their way into my mind. I found myself seeing the faces of all the slavers I’d known. I watched as they regressed, their features softening and their scars disappearing, until all that was left were the smiling faces of foals.

Jerry made a good point.

“Dammit,” I muttered as I got to my hooves and trotted out the door.

Sentinel had relocated a couple doors down. I found him easily enough as his voice was the only sound save the creaking of old buildings and the skittering of mutated insects.

“Lissen, I’m a reasonable stallion. Jus’ answer me questions and I promise I’ll slot ya right quick. It’s really a deal ya see. Seein’ as how I’m sure them blokes in Deepwater wouldn’t offer such kindness.” Sentinel sounded almost reassuring, but judging by the silence, he wasn’t making much progress in convincing the raider. “C’mon. I can tell ya don’t mind getting bloodied. But if’n ya don’t talk, I’m gonna hafta start removin’ bits of ya. And believe you me, I’ve gotten quite good at it in my lifetime.”

There was another pause, broken only by the sound of the raider spitting at Sentinel.

“Screw off, rotter,” he hissed. “Haven’t you got brains ta munch on?”

“S’matter o’ fact, I do. Which makes you very lucky as I doubt ya got any in that noggin o’ yours. But keep up the lip, an’ I promise I will find out.”

I stepped into the doorway to see the tip of Sentinel’s knife pressed to the raider’s forehead. Their eyes were locked and neither was blinking. I cleared my throat and the raider was the one who looked away first, his eyes boring holes into me.

“Sentinel, I need a minute,” I said, jerking my head back the way we’d come.

“Can it wait? I’m just about to start carving this turkey,” he said, digging the point of the blade into the raider’s head just a bit. I could see a bead of blood well up at the tip and slowly run down his face.

“It can’t actually,” I said, raising my voice just a bit. Finally Sentinel looked my way. He seemed to struggle internally for a moment before the knife sheathed itself and he trotted over. He hooked a foreleg around my neck and we moved away from the door.

“Alright, what is it?” he said in hushed tones.

“Listen,” I said, pausing to organize my thoughts in a way that might make sense to the old stallion. Instead what came out was a jumbled mess. “I was… we were… you’re not gonna torture the guy are you?”

Sentinel rolled his eyes and gave me a look I was all too familiar with. That ‘You poor stupid pony’ look that I received frequently at The Dig.

“Course I was,” Sentinel said. “Ya think that bloke’s gonna spill ‘is guts without spillin’ his guts?”

“Well,” I said, once again picking my words carefully, “Can you… not?”

Yup, I tiptoed through that with all the grace I knew I could muster. Sentinel’s expression didn’t change. Poor stupid freed slave doesn’t know how the wasteland really works. “It's just… nopony is born bad, right?”

“Where was this compassion in Ministry Town?” Sentinel asked. I looked down at my hooves and scuffed the ground.

“Well… I…”

“Ya think he wouldn’t kill you ‘ere and now if given ‘alf a chance?” Sentinel said, gesturing back towards the room. “That thing in there is so far gone from a pony, boy. ‘E’d gut ya while ruttin’ your girlfriend if’n ya let’em. Go on, get back the lass, ya shouldn’t ever be alone out ‘ere. I’ll question ‘im nice and quiet like so as not ta disturb ya. Slot ‘im, and be back in a few minutes.” He gave me a pat on the cheek and then trotted back to the raider. “Right then! Where were we?” he called as he went back in and shut the door behind him. I was left standing in the dark. The voices from the room were muffled, but there was no screaming.

After a minute of hesitation I turned and trotted back to the comfort of the fire, leaving the grizzled soldier to his work. Jerry was sitting where I’d left her, not a hair out of place on her head. As I approached she looked up at me.

“Did you talk to him?” she asked.

“Y-yeah, sure did,” I said as I sat next to her.

“Did he listen?” she pressed. I shrugged, deliberately not making eye contact.

“I think he heard the words I said,” I muttered. Slowly my ears began to fall and I looked at Jerry. “But, I doubt he did much more than that with them.”

“Oh…” Jerry said softly, and we let the quiet wash over us.

Footnote: Level Up!

Author's Notes:

Chapter 6 is now completely edited and ready for public consumption. I hope you enjoy.