.:+:.

HIM

It was Him.

That damn buck from the highway.

The one who threatened to kill me.

The one who I knew robbed me.

He was sitting there, at the end of the bar, his hat resting on the counter as he held a shot glass in between his hooves, head bowed and eyes closed. He didn't budge when I opened the door, hardly anypony did, they were all to wrapped up in their own thoughts. I did notice that many ponies were shooting the buck dirty looks while they sipped at their drinks from time to time.

His bandana was pulled down to rest around his neck, but he still wore what he had been the night I saw him.

'The night he tried to kill you!' The Little Me inside my head shouted.

I glared daggers at his back, ears flattening against my skull, eyes narrowed. I remained in the doorway for a moment, too angry and shocked to see that he was here, to think about moving at the moment. I felt like lava was boiling inside me, I started shaking with pure, undeniable hatred. A hatred I wasn't going to be able to crush, a hatred I didn't want to crush. I felt insulted, how dare he sit there and drink? He had tried to kill me, he had robbed me, and he just sat there like it was nothing?! Like he had never done any wrong?!

This was unacceptable, it was disrespectful, it was insulting, and I hated him even more.

Level 10 Hatred.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" I screamed in fury, lunging inside the building in seconds, my moves swift and rapid, my anger fueling my actions to the point, I felt no pony would be able to stop me. I didn't want them to stop me, I wanted to hurt him, wanted to make him pay for what he had done. The buck's eyes shot open at once, and he started to turn toward me in surprise.

SLAM!!

I struck him across the face with my forehoof as hard as I could manage, successfully knocking him from the stool he had been sitting on. He hit the floor with a loud thump, the stool tipping over to land beside him.

The bar went silent, the small quiet murmurings that had been floating throughout died on the tongue's of the ponies who had been speaking. Even the radio seemed to dim, and all eyes turned toward me, hardly able to believe I had done such a thing. Some looked petrified, others speechless, and a few were giving me nods of approval. I could almost feel the tense shock that had settled over everypony like a cold, thick blanket. Even the stale, hot air seemed to grow cold, I could feel my fur rising, almost hear a certain static in the air, a current of crackling electricity biting at the space between the buck I had just hit, and myself. I stood before him, seething with fury, wings spread out to their full height, easily brushing the roof with my topmost feathers. I let out a snort of anger, fixing him with a burning stare of hatred. I wanted him to see how angry I was, wanted him to feel my hatred, wanted him to understand that I wouldn't sit back and take his threat for shit. I wasn't going to forget about it, I wasn't going to move on.

He was going to pay.

This was the first time I had felt this angry at anything, at anypony. I was furious, I wanted to destroy things, I wanted to hurt something, I wanted to hurt him. The Little Me inside my head was screaming to hit him again, but I refrained this time. He wasn't just going to get hit, he was going to sit there, let me glare at him, let my red eyes bear into him. I wanted him to feel my gaze burning into his soul, I wanted to make him aware of the wrath he had invoked upon himself.

My Wrath.

He winced, holding a hoof to the already bruising side of his face, glancing up at me slowly. His face slowly fell once he had noticed the look I was giving him. I wished I was a telepath in that one instant, because I would scream foul profanities and curses at him. I would do it until he went mad, he would forever know my voice, forever fear my anger.

You bastard. You fucking bastard. You have the damn nerve to drink here, act like you did nothing wrong. You slimy-ass mother-fucking bastard. You WILL pay. I will make you pay.

I could have said all these things to his face, I could have said them all, Celestia knew I wanted to. I wanted to soooo bad, but I had more sense than to say everything I wanted to right here, in a bar full of ponies I didn't know. I had enough self-control to keep my anger down to a certain degree, only so others couldn't see it.

Without the hat or the bandana, I got a better look at him, his copper colored coat, the way his hooves gradually turned a darker copper color, stretching from his mid-leg and down. His ears were the same dark copper color as his hooves, he had a shaggy, dark, and short russet/cherry-red mane and a long tail of the same color, they also grew darker toward the ends, just as his hooves did. There was a peculiar dark brown marking in the shape of a circle surrounding his left eye, which was bruising just underneath it in the perfect shape of my hoof-print. His appearance was new to me, not having been able to see him clearly the first time I had met him. But I remembered his eyes, those teal eyes I had seen under the shadow of his hat. The assault rifles strapped to his back, and the sniper rifle had tipped me off to who he was though.

I stomped down on the ground hard enough so the noise echoed through the silent bar, my head raised and standing tall. "How dare you?!" I yelled at him. He blinked at me, hoof falling away from rubbing his face, and the surprised look turned to a neutral one within moments. He slowly picked himself back up, he was a couple of inches taller than me, but I didn't flinch, I stood still as he adjusted. He gazed at me calmly, not seemingly bothered that I had hit him.

"Yer awake." He said simply. Awake?! Thanks for pointing out the obvious, you ass-hole! I snorted again at his stupidity,

"No Shit!" I snapped, I knew very well I was being stared at by the other ponies within the bar. I could feel their eyes on me, I knew they were watching in silence. But in that instant, he and I, we were the only ponies in the room that mattered. The only ones I cared about. Let the locals think what they want about me, I couldn't care less. I was much more concerned about getting back at this ass-hole, the fucking bastard who threatened to kill me, the one who I was most certain had taken the Sonic Emitter from me. I wanted him to see how much of a mistake he had made, nopony was going to cross me, threaten me, steal from me, without getting their asses kicked!

He blinked, and I glared.

"You two are going to need to take this outside."

I snapped my head around to glare at whoever had said the words, intent on telling them to kindly fuck off- only to stop short upon seeing a zombie pony standing beside me.

A literal zombie pony

I jumped back immediately, my anger disappearing as I stared at the horribly grotesque creature. Its coat was pure, rotting flesh. Not a single strand of hair over its twisted, warped, deformed body, I could see its ribs sticking out sharply. Its sunken, pale eyes looked at me, lighting up with frustration. My blood ran cold, my heart felt like it skipped a beat. By the Goddesses, that thing looked like it should be six feet under! Zombie Ponies shouldn't exist! How could they?!

But despite my own thoughts, there was indeed a walking, dead, rotting, pony-thing standing in front of me, frowning and looking very bored with my sudden behavior. It was a look that screamed; what an idiot.

"What the fuck!?!" I shouted, slamming into the bar hard enough to make the buck's shot glass bounce a little.

"You act like you've never seen a Ghoul before." The zombie pony told me in a rough, husky voice that made a shiver go down my spine. It rolled its eyes at me, but remained where it stood. "Like I said, take this, whatever it is, outside." It said firmly, waving a rotted hoof toward the door. I couldn't move, I could only stare. My mind couldn't wrap around what I was seeing, whatever that thing was, it should be dead, it looked dead, it smelled dead.

"Sure thang, Corn Cob." The buck spoke up, tipping his hat to the zombie pony, where he had grabbed the leather hat from the counter and placed it on his head when I hadn't been paying attention. He tossed a few caps down on the counter, and downed the rest of his drink.

I looked to him, appalled he was talking to the thing. Speaking to it! Wait...... why the fuck can that thing talk?!

"Ya heard 'im Darlin', we gotta take this outside." The buck told me, expression still neutral. Darlin'...

The minute he had said the word, he had poured the fuel to ignite the burning fire within my body again, and I whipped around to face him, bristling. He took no notice of my reaction though, he had turned and began to head toward the door. I stood there a moment, seething at what he called me, remembering very clearly he had called me by the same name back on the highway. It made me angrier, I was convinced he was trying to piss me off, and oh he was doing a very good job at it.

I stomped out the door after him. Ponies watched me walk across the building silently, thinking, trying to figure me out, trying to understand. I paid them no attention, my red gaze locked on to his back, bearing into him to the point I hoped he could feel his shoulders burning. I kicked the rotting wood entrance closed behind me as soon as I was clear, a little too roughly, and it slammed loudly, I could hear the wood crack a little, but I didn't care.

The buck had turned to face me, expression still neutral, and it only infuriated me more. How could he be so damn calm? How could he act like I hadn't hit him, like he hadn't tried to kill me, like he hadn't robbed me?!

I had thought I hated DireWolves, thought I hated raiders. My list of things to hate had grown even more when Vera had explained the basics of the Wasteland to me. When she had told me of its monsters, creatures, its evils. DireWolves? Level 6 hatred at the most. BloatSprites? Level 2. Raiders? They were at best only a level 5. Him, well, he topped the list, he was a record, a goddamn pinnacle of the most hated thing I could think of.

LEVEL 10

I glared at him, he stared back, and I let out a growl of agitation. I opened my mouth to speak, to shout, to yell, to curse, to let my anger fall out, to hit him, to make him understand how much I disliked him, "Knew ya wouldn' die easy." He said, "Vera though’ different."

I snapped my mouth shut instantly, narrowing my eyes in suspicion at him. I didn't like this neutral attitude from him, didn't like how calm he was being. I wasn't calm, I couldn't be, but he shouldn't be able to remain so utterly stoic, not when I was glaring at him as I was, pouring all my hatred and anger into the look as best as I could possibly muster.

Vera? Why would he bring up Vera? And why he have known what Vera thought of me? I couldn't imagine a pony like Vera, no matter how firm on money she was, she was still a medical pony, information regarding her patients were supposed to be kept between the patient and herself. So why would he have known about me, about Vera's thought on that I was going to die...

My jaw dropped, eyes growing wide, once the information all clicked together and I understood. I recomposed myself as fast as I could manage, setting the copper buck with a very serious look. "Woah, Woah! Wait one damn minute!" I yelled, pointing a hoof toward him accusingly. "You're saying that you're the one who brought me in?! You're the Mercenary?! You're Whiskey?!"

The buck nodded at me, dipping his head slightly. "Yep, Ah am." He replied, face still neutral, still so stoic.

The confirmation hit me like a slap in the face, I couldn't believe it, couldn't fathom it. I didn't want to believe it, I wanted to hate him, I did hate him, but was I supposed to? If he had been the one to bring me here? To get me to Vera? Bringing me here had been helping me, had been saving me. I would have most certainly died out on that highway had he just left me there, either from bleeding out, or one of the raiders finding me.

Why would he have saved me? He must have carried me all the way, taken care of the raiders, maybe even run from them. He had argued with Vera, told her I was going to live, convinced the green-maned medical pony to take care of me. He was the reason I was here, the reason I hadn't been left to die on the highway. But why? It didn't make any sense, I couldn't make any sense of it. It was so irrational!

'That's not fair!' The Little Me in my head complained, stomping a hoof down. 'How are we supposed to be mad at him, and thank him at the same time?'

I stuttered, not being able to come up with the words fast enough. How attractive Flash, go on, blubber for a minute, try to come up with something to say.

"First you try to kill me, then you rob me, and then you save me?! What the fuck!?" Finally finding my voice, I was happy when I sounded much more firm than my previous blubbering. Whiskey ran a hoof through his mane slowly, letting out a long sigh, face still so neutral, so stoic. I wondered if he looked like that all the time?

"Ah apologize."

I stopped, stared, lips pulling into a tight line, waiting for the words to process. I was having a hard time registering what he said, I didn't fully understand......... whoa, wait! He... apologizes?!

"Look, Darlin', it was all a big misunderstandin'." He continued, I bristled at the name, "Thing is, ah thought ya were part of the Enclave. And tha' means ya'd be muh enemy." He gestured a hoof toward my flank, pointing at my Cutie Mark. "Ah assumed ya mus' be, cuz yer not a Dashite an’ all. Ain't no Pegasi out 'ere who ain't a Dashite, and ain't part o' the Enclave…. Ain’t no unaligned pegasi-" He paused. "…Well, until ah ran inta ya." So calm, so neutral, his tone was so casual.

My wings dropped back to my sides, and I let my head fall a little too, confused more than ever, but still glaring at him suspiciously. I didn't like this, I didn't feel like he really meant what he said, I didn't feel like he was really apologizing to me, instead, it didn't even seem like he was admitting he made a mistake. More like he was casually having a conversation with me, like I wasn't the pony he had threatened and robbed. I grew infuriated with it.

But those words, Enclave and Dashite, they were not familiar to me, nor did I understand their relevance. It would seem Vera skipped out on that part of the History Lesson, brief as it was.

"Ah realized ya weren't part o' the Enclave when ya didn' know what a Dashite was." He went on, "Tha' sorta confusion can’t be faked, trus' me, ah know."

Fuck that! You don't know anything about me!

"Then why the hell did you rob me then?!" I asked furiously. It was a good question, his motives, his actions were confusing and suspicious. First he tries to kill me, then he robs me, then he saves me. What the hell kind of a goal was that? What was the point? From what I could tell, he had no reason to do any of those things. No obligation to save me, and I didn't accept that being in the Enclave would have made me an enemy. Robbing me, he had just been playing dirty and taken advantage while I had been unconscious, what a bastard.

He didn't flinch at my tone, he didn't blink, he didn't move. He remained looking at me with that neutral expression, so fucking stoic! Gah! It was really starting to piss me off!

"If Ah 'ad robbed ya, ya'll wouldn't have anythin' left to yer name." He said calmly, "All Ah did was take one thing." One thing, everything, don't matter! You still took it!

"That's still stealing!" I snapped, and he gazed at me. I tensed, something about the way he was looking at me.... it was calculative, he was thinking, and I wanted to know what about. He took a step toward me, so we were muzzle to muzzle, a darker look came into his eyes, a cold, demanding yet so infuriatingly calm look. But most of all, he suddenly looked dangerous, like a pony who could easily kill me where I stood, a pony who had tried to kill me before.

"Where did ya get it?" He asked lowly, slowly. It...?

"What?" I asked slowly, standing my ground and lifting my head high, not willing to be scared by his sudden change in demeanor. I wasn't going to show him I was afraid, and I wasn't afraid! Sure.. for a split second maybe, but I refused to be, this was the bastard who had tried to kill me, the one who had stolen from me, ignoring the fact he was the one who had also gotten me off that highway alive, I wasn't going to show fear to him, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"The Sonic Emitter." He told me, "Where did ya get it?" He asked again, I could hear the growl in his voice.

I narrowed my own eyes at him, why was he interested in it? What could he possibly want to know about the Sonic Emitter for, let alone want to know where I had found it? I looked into his eyes, searching the sea of teal. I could see it, how much he wanted to know, he wanted to know soooo badly...... It was deep-set desire, a fire burning in his eyes, he wanted, needed to know. I hadn't expected to see such want in anypony, let alone him. And for what? A stupid, weird, gun that I didn't even know what it did? I hadn't had anytime to look through the downloaded files on my PipBuck....

I quirked an eyebrow slightly, did he know what it did? How could he? For whatever reason, I had a hard time believing that a gun-for-hire, a buck who probably spent his time shooting bugs, would have any idea what it did, or how to use it.

"Why should I tell you?" I growled, and he leaned in more, eyes narrowing more and lips pulling into a tight line. I knew I had hit a nerve, he didn't look like he thought it possible I would refuse, and I got the feeling ponies around here didn't tell their resident Mercenary 'no' very often. He was going to have an ego then, but I could handle it.

"Ya don' know anythin about the Wasteland, do ya?" He asked after a long while, still neutral, tone still low, still cold. I stiffened slightly at the words without meaning to. How had he figured that out so fast? For all he knew, I could have simply been an idiot about Dashite's and the Enclave, whatever they were, alone. Who was to say I wasn't very uh.... knowledgeable on the rest of the Wasteland? I felt a twinge of annoyance and self-hatred for a moment, was my ignorance about the Wastes, was my stupidity on it all that obvious?

'Damn us and the stupid Magical Head Injury...' The Little Me grumbled. I scowled at her.

He smirked for a split second upon noticing my scowl. "Ah knew it!' He said in triumph, "Ya'll don' know a damn thang about the Wastes, no wonder ya jumped so much when ya saw Cob!" For the first time, he was not stoic, he was not calm, he was happy, pleased at my stupidity, and I felt the fire inside me blaze again. I hated how happy he was with my own short-falls. "So, ya got some sorta amnesia or somethin'?" He asked, neutral again. "Or 'ave ya been living under a rock all this time?" He paused a moment, before motioning at my PipBuck. “Or… are ya from one o’ them Stables? Stable Dweller’s always ask plenty o’ questions, and usually don’ las’ very long withou’ runnin’ inta trouble too.”

I looked away with a huff, he had hit the dot with two of the questions, and I didn't like that he had figured it out so fast. Maybe it really was that obvious I didn't know anything. 'So what?!' The Little Me in my head muttered, cross that we were so ignorant.

"I guess you could say it's a bit of both, of the first two." I mumbled through gritted teeth, not looking at him, I felt that if I did, I was going to see him smirking at me, and I might just hit him again if he was. Maybe hitting him again wouldn't be so bad? The Little Me danced on her hooves impatiently, very OK with the idea of hitting him again, smiling widely at the thought.

“I don’t have a clue to what a Stable is, so…” I mumbled lowly. After a moment, I spared a glance his way, and immediately regretted it. Whiskey smirked even more, damn, he really did enjoy being right, I could see it on his face, and I hated him more. I had to force myself to keep from lifting a hoof and striking him then and there, I could tell that he knew I wanted to hit him, he was trying to make me angry.

"Well then Darlin', looks like we got a lot ta talk about." He told me, "Seems like both a' us could learn a thang or two from each other." The smirk disappeared, and he remained neutral again. I was happy to have him return to the stoic look, though it still angered me deeply none-the-less. But the flames in my body blazed anew, that was the third, and final straw!

"Don't call me Darling, damn it! That's not my name!" I snapped, wings flaring out and raising a hoof warningly. He eyed the threat for a moment,

"Kinda need yer name then, if ya want me ta stop." He replied evenly, looking into my eyes and away from my hoof. "Let's talk fer a bit, ah bet ya we both have infermation the other coul' use." He suddenly sounded so business like, he was trying to make a deal with me. "Ah'll tell ya what ya need ta know 'bout the Wastes, an' ya can tell me where ya got the Sonic Emitter." His eyes glinted a little, "Ah'll bet ya my version of the Wastes is a whole hell of o' ton more helpful then Vera's." How did he know...?

Again, I was suspicious of him. He knew more than he was letting on and I hated it. I hated his neutrality, I hated his attitude, I hated his affinity for knowing things he probably shouldn't, I hated him damn it! There was no way in hell I was going to accept his 'apology', it wasn't even a proper apology! He had hardly even admitted his mistake, he had put no feeling into the words. No, 'Oh I'm sorry I was such a bastard, and tried to kill you! My Mistake, can you ever forgive me?'

No, he was going to be stubborn about it, I wasn't going to get a proper apology from him, and I wasn't going to trust him. I didn't trust his motives, I didn't like how much he wanted to know where I had gotten the Sonic Emitter. That kind of want did not spawn from nothing, he had a deeper desire connected to the location of the Sonic Emitter, a separate motive I didn't see.

But I would be a fool if I didn't listen to what he had to say. Vera's history lesson had been informative and all, it had definitely filled in a few blanks.... but I knew it wasn't anywhere close to being helpful. What the medical pony had told me, it wasn't going to help me survive out here, it wasn't going to tell me how strong certain creatures were, where the best places for money were, it wasn't going to keep me from leading myself into danger. Vera was not a pony to wander outside the wall around the city, she didn't leave, didn't fend for herself out in the Wastes, alone.

Alone is where I was headed, I had no friends and had no intention of making any. I was on my own for trying to pay Vera back, I was on my own for trying to find out what happened to me, I was on my own to live out here, on my own to survive. I needed a pony who knew what the wastes had to offer, had faced its dangerous themselves, had survived, thrived. I needed a pony who knew the Wastes like the back of their hoof, who could tell me what to expect.

BaleFire was a small town, filled with ponies who have found life easy on the inside of their wall. They were not survivors, they were not fighters, they were not wanderers. They were residents, residents who had grown used to their safety. They didn't need to go outside, they had everything they needed here.

I didn't want to admit it, but I needed some pony like him, like Whiskey, the Mercenary who had traveled the Wastes, fought with its creatures, and made a living doing what he did, even if it was at the expense of the ponies here. He had already proven to me that he had skill, he had taken care of those Raiders on his own, survived having a bomb thrown at him. He knew what he was doing, and his insight would be invaluable. If I refused to hear what he had to say, if I didn't learn all I could, I wasn't going to survive out there, that had already been proven. My ignorance had almost gotten me killed before, I hadn't known about DireWolves, I hadn't known about raiders, I hadn't been aware that ponies could, and would attack me should they want to. The Wastes' were not a safe place, the ponies and creatures in it proved to be even more dangerous than I could imagine.

I was stubborn, hot-headed, maybe a little ignorant about the Wastes sure, but I was not stupid. I knew I needed all the insight I could get, and even my hatred toward the copper buck wasn't going to stop me from getting the information I needed to survive. Nopony said I was going to enjoy turning to him for help though.

He had stood before me silently, unmoving, watching, neutral. I could tell he had picked up on my reaction to his words, and he knew I wasn't about to tell him no... I would be stupid not to listen.

"......Only if you tell me what I need to know first. That includes explaining the Enclave, and what a Dashite is." I said at length, speaking slowly and choosing my words carefully. "When you’re done, I'll tell you where I found the damn thing...." He stared, face neutral, ears back a little, he looked skeptical, and my own ears twitched a little at the look. He was hesitating, if only slightly, and I didn't understand why. It was possible he was thinking it through, I myself didn't have anything better to offer the location in which I had found the Sonic Emitter, but in the long run, that was what he wanted, and I could tell it was something he wanted really badly.

"Hm... fine." He murmured, "But if ya try ta fly off after Ah 'xplain everythin', Ah will shoot ya from the sky." He added in coolly, but firmly, a warning that struck home, and I frowned at him, not liking being threatened again. That, I wasn't willing to do, and my eyes switched from him to the Sniper hung over his back, I had seen how good he was with the damn thing, he had seriously deadly aim, I didn't think me being a flying target would make any difference to him. He waved a hoof in front of him casually, "Besides, Ah reckon ya'll gonna want the Sonic Emitter back at any rate," He added, "Won' be gettin' it back unless ya kill me."

'That can be arranged!' The Little Me shouted, and I quietly told her to shut up.

"...Or ya make a differen' deal with me." He continued on, completely unaware of the interruption from the Little Me. I gave him a questioning look, but he didn't elaborate, and instead turned away. "Come on, we got a lot ta talk 'bout, better ta do it someplace differn', 'way from pryin' ears." Prying ears? What pony was...?

I glanced sideways, finally becoming aware that a few ponies were glancing out the windows of the bar, all eyes fixed on us. I didn't care if others heard our conversation... but I would admit, I didn't like eavesdroppers any more than the next pony. So, I slowly began to follow him, alert for anything he might try, curious as to where he was leading me. He didn't look back to check I was following, but I could see his ears swivel back to pick up on my footsteps.

We walked along the top of the crater, alongside the thrown together wall circling the town. It was easily 20 ponies high, not an issue for me of course, with my wings and all, but anything that couldn't fly would be powerless to try and get over it. From here though, it was almost just as good of a view as being in the air was. The top of the crater was lined with houses too, but they were very few in number near the top. All of them were built into the edge of the crater, either supported by tall beams, or sitting atop a different building, adding to the maze of houses and shops all intermingled and overlapping one another. I faintly wondered if some of them were connected on the inside as well as the outside.

Whiskey kept along the rim of the crater, not saying a word, and he only kept walking until we were directly across from the bar, on the far side of the crater's rim. From here, he promptly turned down a well worn, steep track directly in front of the main gate. I paused to look at it, it was a fairly large, simple, metal gate that could be pushed open easily. I had seen a separate part of the wall extend and stretch out to cover the gate on the outside of town while I had been flying.

Looking ahead, I could see the sleek metal body of the BaleFire bomb at the center of the crater, again, why would anypony live near that thing? It hadn't even gone off yet, it could explode at any minute, turning everyone here into ash, or maybe it would just vaporize them completely, leaving nothing to let others know that there had once been ponies living here.

'Weird ponies who decided to live around an undetonated bomb.' The Little Me muttered. I silently agreed, this place was a little.. crazy.

Whiskey suddenly turned left off the track, and I stopped. There wasn't a path here, instead, he easily jumped on top of the low ceiling of a house, landing solidly before he jumped up onto a protruding ledge on a different house nearby that sat higher up the hill. He then jumped to a platform on the second level of the same house, swung around the corner to land with his back hooves only on a very, very tiny windowsill, and again launch himself up higher, hooking his front hooves over the lip of the roof and pulling himself up, before leaping across the space between the house he was on, and the one next to it even higher up on the crater's side. Wha...?!

I watched in awe, he made it look so easy. I knew those houses were oddly built, I mean, they looked like a bunch of rough boxes stacked on top of the other, with the middle hollowed out to make room for the interior. But.... that was crazy! He was crazy! And not to mention, he was carrying all his stuff with him! The mounted assault rifles, the very large Sniper Rifle, and his saddle-bags filled with who knows what! I had to imagine that everything he was carrying was not light in the slightest, and yet to him, it was like he didn't even feel it...... I mean, like, holy shit!

His movements were swift, collected and agile. He was agile, he was strong, he was.... he was sooo infuriatingly weird! I couldn't understand him, his motives, his actions, everything! He was a complete damn mystery! I had enough mysteries in my life without having to deal with him.

His hooves met a piece of sheet metal leaning up against the side of the next house, almost as soon as he touched it, he launched himself backwards toward another section of the house's roof, twisting before he hit the next section, before finally leaping up the last bit of way to land on the very top of the house on the very top of the crater.

My mind conjured an image of ponies inside their homes hearing the buck’s hooves running above their heads, and them sighing, simply muttering, 'That damn Merc is climbing the roofs again...'

Did... did he do this often?! I couldn't imagine he did, but then again.... UGH! Why is this buck so freaking crazy?!

He glanced over the edge of the roof slowly, eyebrow raised, having noticed my shocked expression. "Ya comin'?" He called down. Why would he choose to talk on a roof?! And besides, I had wings! If he really wanted to get on the roof, he could have just asked me to bring him up there! I narrowed my eyes, he was an Earth Pony. And Earth Pony who just did what no other Earth Pony should be able to do. I mean, Earth Ponies were generally strong, now that I thought about it... that would explain why he could carry so much stuff..... none-the-less! I couldn't imagine that other ponies could scale buildings so easily, even Unicorns would have a hard time doing what he just did with their Magic, where they could help themselves along by levitating themselves slightly.

Earth Ponies are weird, this pony is weird.

'We already figured that out didn't we?' The Little Me asked.

I shook my head, letting out an irritated and slightly exasperated sigh, before flaring out my wings and lifting off with a kick. Stupid, crazy Earth Pony who threatens, steals, and jumps all over roofs! I honestly believed he had to be the craziest pony in the Wasteland... well, I really hadn't met a lot of ponies in the Wasteland so far, but still!

My hooves touched down on the roof, it only taking me a few short seconds to make it, and in only three wing-strokes. I cast one fleeting look up at the cloud covered sky, before looking to the copper buck. Whiskey had taken a seat and set his saddlebags down beside him, along with the Sniper, though he kept the mounted Assault Rifles securely strapped to that.... saddleish thing. I walked across the roof toward him, head low and my eyes narrowed, stepping lightly because I was admittedly, a little paranoid about ponies that may be inside hearing my hoofbeats across their roof.

"Well then, now tha' we're away from everypony, lets get ta talkin'." He said once I had sat down before him, still not completely comfortable around him, I only nodded a little stiffly and kept a narrowed gaze on him at all times. The roof.... it was somewhere no other ponies would be able to hear us talking, I just felt it was a little... extreme.

"As Ah'm sure ya already got told, this 'ere, is BaleFire Town, one o' the safest places 'round these parts." Whiskey went in, neutral expression, calm tone and all. "This part o' the Wasteland, is full a DireWolves and Bloatsprites, with the occasional Radigator down by the river, and a whole ton o' Radhogs, Radroaches, Giant FireAnts, an' a bunch o' other critters. The biggest threats're the DireWolves, as Ah'm sure ya already got figured out." He said, giving me a look-over. I frowned, ears flattening against my head. Oh yeah, definitely knew DireWolves were dangerous.... but I was slightly confused at all the other things he had listed off, never having seen the things, or heard of them.

The copper buck, seeming to catch on to my confusion explained, "Mos' are pretty easy ta figure out." He told me calmly, patiently. "The only thang ya gotta watch fer are the DireWolves, most others are pretty easy pickings, not too much trouble, should ya avoid gettin' cornered, or takin' on a whole mess o' them at once." I nodded slightly, knowing I needed to absorb all of it that I could.

At this point, I was pretty sure that Whiskey was going to act like nothing had ever happened between us. I don't know if he really just didn't care he threatened me, or even saw it as an issue, or if he thought it was better to move on. I wasn't sure I liked either option, but I did know the latter pissed me off. But, as long as I got the info I needed, I would be perfectly fine with leaving and never seeing him again at this point. Maybe I would hit him again, but by now my anger and fury had dwindled away, I didn't feel like getting back at him, at least not right now.

"Bes' thing ta do, get a good weapon, some armor, and plenty o' ammo ta keep yerself alive." He stated bluntly, "Most folks don' really travel through the Wastes too much, it ain't somethin' everybody is built ta do. But, learnin' how to survive ou' there is the best thang anybody can learn. Its a useful skill, ya can find loot, earn caps doin' jobs others ain't willin ta do, and scavenge." He paused, "Scavengin', that is the quickest way ta make caps, and ge' supplies. Ya should always, always look in boxes, desks, anythin' tha' may hold somethin' good. And when ya do, ya can bring it ta a shop, er a caravan, sell it, or maybe ya'll keep it fer yerself." He shrugged, "Weapons are good ta keep, 'specially if ya find a few o' the same kind. Can take 'em apart, use the best parts together, and get rid of he worst. Ya can make guns better tha' way, more effective, more damage."

Guns, I knew I could take the best parts and put them together. However clueless I may be, it was guns and my PipBuck that had not left my mind. I knew how to use guns, how to take them apart, put them together, it was simple really, I just couldn’t remember where I had learned it from. The way he had emphasized the word, 'Scavenging', he thought it was one of the more important things to do, and however much I didn't like him, I was going to trust his advice.

I seemed to have already gotten a good start with everything, Armor? Check. Weapons? Check. Ammo? Check. I hadn't done much scavenging to say the least, but I could start.

"People, dependin' on who they are, an' who they work for, or don't, that'll decide who'll shoot ya, who won't, and who'll help ya." Wonder who that sounds like..?! He tapped his hoof to the roof a little, "Most'll shoot ya, better ta keep ta yerself most o' the time." He suggested, and I bristled. I wanted to snap at him again, tell him he was one of the ones that'll shoot you, but forced myself to sit still and silent. "There're raiders, slavers, workers, couriers, an' all sort o' others out there. Raiders will shoot ya' soon as look at ya'. Slavers are a bit different, some are hostile, others a bi' more mellow, really jus’ depends on the slaver ya run inta. There's mercenaries out around, like yers truly." He said tapping a hoof to his chest. "Most are decent, an' only shoot ya' should they see ya as a threat... or somepony paid 'em ta kill ya." Paid? Ponies hire other ponies to kill other ponies?! And what the hell is with slavers?! Vera had told me about raiders, but this was a lot more than the green-maned unicorn had told me, and I couldn't help but feel she had been trying to set me up for failure.

"Now, ah'm not sayin' all Mercenaries are cold-blooded killers, mostly, they only are if they don' got no problem with it. Ah never take killin' contracts.... less its fer some raiders or slavers." He waved a hoof before him, eyes closing. "Ah got no issues killin' them, they're so vile, its almost wrong not ta take 'um out when ya go' the chance." Vile? Didn't know he knew a word like that...

I gave him a flat look, raiders, slavers, regular old ponies, I didn't care, he was still killing ponies. In some part of my mind, maybe the naive and foolish part- I felt killing ponies was just wrong.

"Couriers work ta run messages and packages ta towns an' other places, fer a price o' course. Decent work, but ya might jus' end up gettin' yerself dragged inta somethin' that's got nothin' ta do with ya. Better stayin' away from that job, less yer feelin' lucky, and don' mind if ya get shot tryin to deliver somethin'." Couriers huh....? That didn't sound like too bad of a job, maybe not for full time of course. But with wings, getting things places would probably be easier for me, than it would be for ponies who had to walk to their destinations. Being a courier sounded like an easy job for a Pegasi, I thought I might just give it a shot, some time.

"There're a few factions runnin' 'round out there, besides raiders, slavers, mercs, and the courier office. A few 'er the Steel Rangers, Red Eye's Slavers, the Enclave, the Chairs out in New Pegasus, the Legion, Great Cai's........." Whiskey list the names out on his hooves, ".. an' the Pures. Best ta stay 'way from 'um if Ah were ya." I tilted my head, there were waaaay too many names there that I didn't understand. He eyed me for a moment upon seeing the confused face I was wearing and shook his head. “You’ll get ta know ‘um as you start runnin’ ‘round ou’ there.” So…. No explanation today? But wasn’t that the deal?

“Bu’.” He murmured, “Word ‘o warnin’, stay away from ole’ Solitian Mountain, dangerous ou’ there, you’ll end up getting’ yerself killed if ya go near it. Them Pures’ ain’t the friendly type.” Pures? Never heard of them….. but then again, what had I heard of?

Bing..

The notification that my Map updated itself flashed across my Vision, ‘Solitian Mountain’. I ignored it for now.

“As ah’m sure ya already figured out, Raiders and Slavers ain’t yer friends. The same can be said for the Steel Rangers, The Enclave, and Red Eye’s group.” He tilted his head toward the sky, “Legion ain’t friendly either, unless yer one o’ them…… And yer a Mare, so yer not gonna fit in with ‘um even if ya tried.” I’m a Mare? What the hell does that have to with anything? “And The Chairs, they’re a bit too far out o’ the way ta concern ya, unless ya decide to fly out ta New Pegasus anytime soon, then you’ll need ta learn a few thangs. Tha’ goes fer the Legion too- out in the Marejave, and that’s a long ways away as it is.” Whiskey nodded his head back toward the town, “Yer gonna wanna head to Craterside Supply, an’ get yerself a copy of Ditzy Doo’s Wasteland Survival Guide.”

It felt like a switch went off in my head suddenly, something popped, and I winced silently at the sudden stab of pain in my head. It felt like somepony had jabbed at the back of my neck with a Cattle Prod, not a very powerful one mind you, but it made my head itch, like there was some sort of frayed wire short-circuiting in my brain. But why? Why would I feel like that…… was it..?

‘Ditzy Doo?’ The Little Me intoned in an attempt to help me piece my thoughts together.

VVVZZZTTTT….

The shock went off again, I told the Little Me to shut up before I strangled her.

My focus returned to Whiskey, who had paused in his talking to watch my reaction with a tilted head and narrowed eyes. Shit, I must have winced out loud…..

“Continue?” I invited, trying to cover up my momentary…. Issues, as best as I could.

“It’s not the best read, bu’ it’s got a few good tips…” He murmured, slowly deciding whether or not he wanted to press me for answers. He shook his head slightly and gestured a hoof at my PipBuck. “Don’ know if ya like ta listen to music er not, but the news from DJPON3 is pretty informative, yer gonna wanna listen in pretty often.”

VVVVVVZZZZZTTTTTT……….

Gah!! Damn it! Stop short-circuiting you stupid brain!!

‘Gotta wonder why though?’ The Little Me murmured, hoof pressed to her chin, eyes narrowed in thought. ‘Seems almost like…. We oughtta know those names… maybe…?’

VVVVVVVZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT…………..

Shut up! Please! I pleaded with her, the pain itself wasn’t so bad, no more than a sudden flash of minor agony, but it was the sudden shock that had me wishing it would stop. Why was is happening? I knew what the Little Me said…. It sounded right, I guess. Like I should somehow know those names….? But why? Was it something I can’t remember? Something I lost, when my memory disappeared…?

‘Not disappeared really, just Magically blocked off.’ The Little Me reminded. ‘Or Magically Erased, either way.’ She is just sooo helpful, isn’t she?

I felt a little lightheaded, OK! Time to think about something else…… “What does me being a mare have to do with fitting in with the Legion?” I asked, trying to change the subject away from names that sent a shock through my brain. Whiskey remained silent a moment, he could clearly tell that there was something wrong with me when he spoke those two names. I knew he wanted to ask, because it was odd. Why wouldn’t you want to ask? I wanted to know why those names stuck me so hard, but I couldn’t think about it, or my head might fry itself.

“……..The Legion is a group o’ ruthless stallions who plunder, pillage, crucify, murder an’ rape to their heart’s content. Mares are seen as property, an’ often use’ only as slaves, an’ sex toys.” He told me slowly, still watching me closely for any sort of odd reaction. “Stallions ain’t really specific though, they’re actually all Zebras.” However, it would seem this time that my reaction was expected.

“What?!” I yelled, anger filling up inside me again. What kind of sick mother-fuckers are those ponies-er Zebras?! I wanted to fly off and find these Legion bastards, and kick their fucking brains out with my bare hooves! And wait a minute, Zebras!? Like, the things that blew up the Wasteland?!

‘Gooey, gummy, grey and pink brain pudding!’ The Little Me sang, dancing on her hooves still on the ‘kicking their brains out’ thing. I blanched a little,

Scratch that, what the hell is wrong with me?! And the Little Me for that matter?! Brain Pudding? Gah!!! Stop it Flash! Stop It! Why do I have to have a screwed up head? There was definitely something wrong with me…

“Ahem.” Whiskey cleared his throat, looking to me with a raised eyebrow. I had jumped to my hooves without realizing I had done so, but unfortunately, the red that had made its way onto my face in my anger, had quite clearly flowed away to leave me looking a little pale. I suddenly felt cold, despite the hot air all around us. It was all because of that stupid Brain Pudding comment, it made my stomach flip. First I was the one making comments on nasty things, and now it’s the Little Me, great.

I sat back down with a thump, I couldn’t care if the ponies in the house under us heard the noise of my flank hitting their roof. “Sorry,” I mumbled, looking to me hooves. “How about you explain the Enclave? And ‘Dashites’ was it?”

Whiskey blinked slowly, my eyes came up from my hooves to meet his. Teal on Red. He simply stared at me, like he could see through me. I stared right back, and I knew exactly what he was thinking;

‘Why did you act that way when I said those names? Why did you suddenly go pale after I explained the Legion? What is going through your head?’

You wanna know? Those names are going to make my brain short-circuit. I have a very odd Little Pony in my head whose thoughts are especially random, morbid, and gross. My mind is morbid and gross.

Intestine Streamers, all set up for the party! Ooh, ooh! Set the Brain pudding over on the Table for everyone to eat! Yum! Ugh! STOP IT!

What’s going through my head? The most disgusting, confusing, and utterly unimportant things you could imagine.

There was something wrong with my head, and it wasn’t just the Magical Injury.

.:+:.

It was with the next three hours that passed where Whiskey would explain everything he thought I ought to know about the WasteLand. Not everything he told me was in the best detail it could have been, but I understood that. Whiskey had been living in the Wastes for years, he had learned everything through years of experience and hard work, no amount of explaining or time would ever inform me as much about the Wastes as I may wish it would. For now I would have to live with the fact that I only knew basics, who not to talk to, who may or may not kill me, what I should do, the jobs, the factions, classes…….. The rest I would learn on my own.

However, I now knew why the sky was covered in that layer of clouds, and I knew why it would have been a bad idea to travel up there. When the bombs fell, and CloudsDale was destroyed, the Pegasi shut up the sky, shunned the rest of the land, and stood by while everything was consumed in fire. They had done nothing, and for the past few centuries they had remained in the sky, keeping the sun from the ponies who were down on the ground. They stole the sun, and they stole the moon.

I felt hurt, how could anypony be so selfish? How could they have let it all happen without lifting a hoof? For the first time, I was ashamed to be a pegasus…. Maybe having wings didn’t mean you were that cool.

Whiskey had explained to me that they had strict rules up there, and anypony willing to desert the government, the Enclave, they were branded as a traitor, exiled.

They were labeled a Dashite. In the beginning, just after the bombs had fallen, one mare, Rainbow Dash, she had stood up to the Enclave, she couldn't sit and watch ponies suffer. She left, came down to the ground, she was the pony who had started it. Her actions influenced other pegasi, made them see in the error in their ways, opened their eyes to the suffering down on the surface. From that day forward, any Pegasi willing to abandon the Enclave and come down to the surface, were named a Dashite, and their Cutie Marks were branded over with what Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark had been.

A symbol of treachery to the Enclave. A symbol of pride to a Dashite

Without ever knowing her, I loved Rainbow Dash, I respected what she stood for, applauded her for it. I wouldn't care if I was a Dashite, my Cutie mark branded off, I would be proud knowing I had stood up to the bastards who had let other ponies suffer without helping for hundreds of years…. But somewhere in the back of my mind, the name, her name; Rainbow Dash, it felt as if someone had shocked me a little. Again.

VVVVVZZZZZTTTTTT…….

What struck me the most was the way Mr. Whiskey Shot talked about the Enclave. For somepony who seemed very much able to keep a stoic expression and even tone even in the best of times- when Whiskey started telling me about the Enclave…. I don’t know, it was as if he suddenly changed. Like some part of him that never saw the light of the surface was suddenly bubbling up in a wave of pure, unbridled, anger and unhappiness.

His tone grew icy, his gaze hard, his body tensed and in his posture- it was as if some fire was emanating from him in pulsing waves. He seemed so suddenly dark and dangerous- even more so than he had when he was pointing a gun at me on the highway. I couldn’t place it very well, but to me…. It was almost as if I could taste a sudden blood-lust coming off of him in those moments the Enclave was brought up. In all honesty, it really put me on edge. I was a little glad I wasn’t part of the Enclave, not just because of their selfishness and their lack of regard for those suffering down on the ground- but because if I had been a member of the Enclave? When I lighted down on that highway, full of DireWolf Venom and hardly able to stand?

Had I been in the Enclave, one of the bullets in Whiskey’s gun would had assuredly gone straight through my skull, probably without hesitation. When he told me about them…. It was as if i could taste the blood-lust rising inside of him, I could see the light of murder make its way into his eyes. In those moments, I could very much believe that he was imagining sending a bullet through the skulls of every Enclave Pegasus alive… or maybe he was the type who preferred to set their homes on fire and leave them to burn alive. Thinking about how cold and dangerous he seemed to be with the subject made a shiver run down my spine and I quickly pushed the thoughts away.

On another (less disturbing) note…

Rainbow, had been one of six Ministry Mares. A group of mares who had represented the Elements of Harmony, who had been asked to lead separate ministries by Princess Luna Herself once she had taken over rule of Equestria from Her older sister, Princess Celestia. Rainbow Dash had been the leader of the Ministry of Awesome, (VVVVVZZZTTTTTT…… That name!) a very secretive organization that most ponies didn’t know hardly anything about. In fact, to most ponies, they were under the impression the Ministry of Awesome never actually did anything of true value. (Which I’m sure wasn’t true- they were some top secret organization that did tons of awesome stuff or other, right?) But, Rainbow Dash had also been the leader of an aerial strike force named the ShadowBolts.

VVVVZZZTTTTT……………….. The feeling hit again, and it made me shake involuntarily, the shock being larger than any other time so far, and it hurt more too.

Whiskey seemed to be very knowledgeable about Pre-War Equestria, I couldn't help but wonder how he had come to know so much, or why he even cared. Along with the information he had given me on the Enclave and Dashites, he had also briefly explained to me what the Ministries were, and who the Mares were that had led them.

Fluttershy with the Ministry of Peace

VVVVZZTTTTT…..

Rarity with the Ministry of Image

VVVZZTTTTT……….

Twilight Sparkle with the Ministry of Arcane Science

VVVZZZTTTTTT………..

Pinkie Pie with the Ministry of Morale

VVVVVZZZZZZTTTTTT…………………

Applejack with the Ministry of Wartime Technology

VVVVVZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT………………………

I scrunched my eyes closed a minute. While my blank mind allowed information to sink in fast and rather easily, it was talk of the Ministries and the especially the Mares who lead them that sent the shock through the back of my head. It was starting to give me a headache, why wouldn’t it just stop already?

Whiskey seemed really interested in the Ministry of Wartime Technology, considering he had talked about it with such vigor and pride. I was slightly surprised by it, I didn’t really think anypony here in the WasteLand would care so much for the Old World Ministries… But he did, I could see it in the way he acted, the pride that worked its way into his voice, the happiness that lit up in his eyes. Perhaps it was simply because he was an Earth Pony as Applejack had been…….. right? Did Whiskey tell me that, maybe…?

VVVVVVVVVVVZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT…………..

Goddesses… make that stop already!

“Now Darlin’, I figure that’s just about all ya need ta know fer now.” Whiskey murmured, straightening himself up from where he had started to slouch slightly. “Now its time fer ya ta hold up yer end o’ the deal.” He waved a hoof at me, “Now, where in the hay did ya get tha’ Sonic Emitter?”

I paused a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. Again I was hit by the want to know, why he was so interested in such a thing? I suppose that ponies, Mercs, scavengers… they may want to find the location of a place where they could find Old World Tech, maybe sell it off, use weapons they find…….. That seemed practical, it was all a way to make Caps. Caps; the life-blood of this Goddess-Forsaken Hell-hole, as I was sure to soon find out.

But I didn’t get the feeling money was what Whiskey was after, odd considering his livelihood was making money for doing jobs, or protecting ponies who paid him to. But this time, it felt like he wanted to know for a whole different reason besides the prospect of scavenging and earning a quick bit of caps…

“Ah’m waitin’.” Whiskey snapped me from my thoughts, his expression still neutral, but his tone betrayed a hint of agitation at my prolonged silence.

“What would it matter to you?” I asked.

“Why do ya care?” He countered coldly. “We had a deal, Darlin’. Two-way exchange, mah info fer yer info.” He stomped a hoof down in irritation, suddenly setting a deadly glare on me that made me fidget slightly. “A good pony keeps ta the deals they make.” I blinked once, good pony? Now who ever said I was a good pony? He seemed to sense my hesitation and frowned, “Honesty.” He murmured.

“What?” I echoed, slightly caught off guard by the statement.

“Honesty, it’s a Virtue.” Whiskey mumbled, “An honest pony woul’ stick ta the deals they make, whether er not they’re a ‘good’ pony.” He gave me a look-over with those teal eyes of his, “I don’ know if ya got any Virtues of yer own, bu’ ya don’ strike me as a dishonest type o’ pony.” It was my turn to frown,

“Now where in the hay did you come up with that load of bull-shit?” I growled and this time Whiskey looked surprised.

“Alrigh’……. First, nopony says, ‘bull-shit’…?” He mumbled, “An’ second, it’s not something’ Ah jus’ made up. It’s somethin’ somepony Ah used ta know once told me.” His voice lowered toward the end, I hardly noticed that though. Virtues? What the hell would anything have to do with Virtues? Virtues wouldn’t ever even come up on the list of things about Whiskey I could have thought up, and in all honesty I don’t think I could even care about Virtues. I didn’t have a Virtue, at least not one that I knew of, and I didn’t plan to ever find one of my own…… but……

“…………. Fine.” I muttered after a while. I actually didn’t like how……….. oh I don’t know, smart? Philosophical? He was all of the sudden.

‘Oooh, big words Flashy!’ The Little Pony in my head smiled, I scowled inwardly.

“You wanna fucking know, then listen up, it’s not somewhere you’re gonna wanna go.” I waved my hoof to the side. “The place is fucking crawling with those damn DireWolf things, turrets all over will shoot you down, there’s bloatsprites, and streamers of-” I blanched.

‘Streamers of intestines! Pink and Gray and Red, don’t they go well with your fur-color?’ The Little Me sang. Oh Goddesses, what is wrong with me..?

“Nevermind.” I hissed past gritted teeth. “I found it in a Base underneath a concert house out in Arabino.” I muttered, “The place where I woke up without any memories.”

…
….
…..
……

Ok, silence now?

Whiskey just looked at me, so still, so calm, so…. Stoic. He was simply staring at me, like he was trying to see if I was lying to him or not.

“I don’ know if ya got any Virtues of yer own, bu’ ya don’ strike me as a dishonest type a pony.”

Maybe if he thought I was really honest…… you know what, forget it.

“Wha’…. Kind o’ Base?” Whiskey murmured slowly. What kind? Hell I wasn’t for sure what kind of Base it was at all. Let’s see… guns, labs, dead ponies, music…… Military. Sort of, a Military Base that was hidden, and run by an organization I knew nothing about, and…. Something I wasn’t entirely sure that the rest of Equestria was aware of. I suddenly realized Whiskey hadn’t mentioned it, huh….

“Military… sort of, I guess?” I replied, running a hoof through my golden mane, eyes narrowed.

“Run by…?” Whiskey drawled slightly, “MoM? MWT? MoA?” He listed off a few, making me pause a moment to fully piece together who the acronyms are for. Ministries, yeah… Ministries right? Wait a minute MoM, the Ministry of Morale? I thought they threw parties? Isn’t that what Whiskey said? But…… ugh…. Nevermind, just forget it I don’t care!

“Uh…. No..” I mumbled, to be completely honest… in these three hours we had spent talking, ShieldTune actually hadn’t come up. I hadn’t even registered the fact until now, but how could Whiskey, with his insane knowledge for all things Old World, that ShieldTune and its mysterious leader ‘Katarina’ had not come up once, how could he not know? Nothing. Not the Zones, not the facilities,

I smirked slightly, Ooooh! I might actually know something Whiskey doesn’t! Haha! Score 1 for me!

“No, none of the Ministries.” I replied, “It was called the Zone 4: ShieldTune Facility. It was run by somepony named Katarina.”

Oh my goddesses…. He……. He………… looked so damn dumbfounded!

Whiskey’s jaw dropped altogether, his teal eyes went wide, he was still, he was shocked. No more stoic Whiskey, I finally got some sort of reaction from him. I had shocked him, or confused him either way, I loved it!

His eyes slowly fell closed and he let out a low breath, “That…… That’s………. no way….” He mumbled, his hoof coming up to rub through his dark cherry mane a few times. “In all……………. Is this…. ShieldTune Facility where ya got yer armor?” He asked, his eyes opening to rest on the insignia on my back. I nodded slowly, not quite sure where he was going with the question… “Ah… figured……….. but….. hmmm…….” He trailed off, looking away from me. “….. Let’s go Darlin’.” He said suddenly, getting to his hooves and heading over toward the edge of the roof. I stayed where I was, watching him go with wide eyes, very, very confused.

“Excuse me?” I said, jumping to my feet and kicking off, gliding over the short distance between us to land in front of him, “What the hell do you mean ‘Let’s go’?” I asked him, “And my name is not Darling!!”

“Ah said ya needed a Survival Guide didn’t Ah?” He told me, stepping around me without having to stop. “So come on.”

I stood still a moment, perplexed. Soo……… did he just, completely forget about the whole ShieldTune thing?

“But…. Wait… what?” I murmured, turning toward him only to see his tail disappear over the edge of the building. I jumped forward, glancing over the side, he was doing that… jumping thingy again.

‘Weird pony in a weird town!’ The Little Me huffed.

“That’s it?!” I called won to him, “No questions, nothing?” He came to a small pause at the very bottom, glancing back up at me with a bored expression.

“Fer now.” He answered, and continued to walk. We had spent three damn hours having him explain everything to me, he had let me ask my questions, and compared to that, it took one sentence and he was already done with my explanations? I hated him. Why was he so damn confusing? Why was he so annoying!?

‘Level 10! Level 10!!’ Little Me sang.

I jumped from the roof into the air, letting the warm breeze catch under my feathers and slowly, gently, angled down to find my hooves hitting the dusty ground underneath, trotting to catch up with Whiskey who had continued to walk away. “What do you mean, ‘for now’?” I called to him, eyes narrowed. “Whiskey! Come on already!”

“Quiet.” He muttered lowly. “Just keep followin’, and let me think, alrigh’?” I fell silent at his words, easily hearing the commanding tone in them, and deciding it better not to test the copper buck right now. I frowned at it though, I didn’t like how damn bossy he was. And I didn’t like that I was going to do as he told me. He still had my Sonic Emitter, what else could I do but stick close?

He continued to lead me through the town, continually heading up along the dirt tracks that had been worn into the side of the crater, over houses, sheet-metal walkways, past leaking pipes, and scowling ponies who caught sight of Whiskey. A flurry of red and pale brown flew past my path, and I came to a sudden stop to avoid running into the two colts who dashed across the path I was in, the bigger of the two, the red one wasn’t smiling, but looked content none-the-less, the smaller colt, the pale brown one was smiling widely and chuckling. I blinked watching them disappear around the corner, they looked so carefree…. I sort of wished I could join them.

“Oof!”

Something rammed into my legs, and I glanced down, my red eyes meeting chocolate brown ones. The small pale blue unicorn filly looked up at me with wide eyes, her smile fading into a look of wonder. I smiled slightly, “Hello there little one.” I said softly. The little filly got back to her hooves, her neck craning to stare up at me, her smile returning.

“Star!” Her head snapped around toward the voice that called to her, the two colts from before appeared back around the corner. “Come on! You’re still It!” The pale brown one called to the filly, the two having come back once they noticed their friend wasn’t following them. The filly, or Star I suppose, spared one last look up at me, before running off after her friends, giggling.

Whiskey hadn’t stopped to look back at me and my momentary distraction, instead he only continued to walk, not seemingly aware I wasn’t following anymore, or perhaps he didn’t care. None-the-less, I hurried to catch up with him the last bit of the way toward ‘Craterside Supply’. Whiskey stopped just outside the door and nudged it open, stepping aside and waving me in with a hoof and a small jerk of his head, looking to me, expression neutral. Again.

“Go on.” He muttered, I gave him a look as I passed, and walked in slowly,

“Hello! Welcome! Good to see you!” I shrunk back, there was a very excited dark brown Earth Pony mare jumping up and down on her hooves before me. She took my hoof in hers and started shaking it wildly, smiling widely. “Oh! You’re that Pegasus the Merc brought in! Goody goody! I have sooo many questions for you! Come in, come in!”

I was standing in the center of the small shop, glancing nervously at the mare who was circling me, inspecting every inch of me, pulling at my wings, prodding me, all the while with this weird-ass smile on her face. “So? Where are you from? What were you doing on the highway? How did you manage to get so poisoned?” She asked all in rapid succession. “Oh!! I should get samples of your blood, and send it to Ditzy Doo so she can add it to the DireWolf Chapter in the Survival Guide!”

VVVZZZTTT………..

Ok, no, no more, this mare is seriously crazy!

“S-Speaking of the Survival Guide…” I murmured, trying to gain her attention.

“OH!! You have a PipBuck! What Stable are you from? Where is it located?” She sent on a whole new barrage of questions that I wouldn’t have a chance to answer, she was talking too damn fast!

“Brownie Bits!” Whiskey snapped suddenly, causing the mare to literally jump out of her fur and hit the floor, shaking. I glanced toward him, a little shaken up too simply because I had yet to hear him yell at anypony like that until now. He had slipped inside unnoticed by Brownie Bits(?) in her fussing over me, like I was some kind of new toy. He was standing near the wall, hooves firmly planted and not looking quite so thrilled with the mare’s incessant questions, they must have distracted him from his ‘thinking’.

“Let the girl speak, Bits. An’ take a damn breath, alrigh’?” He muttered, and Brownie Bits nodded slightly, still crouched on the floor. Whiskey shook his head and looked away, taking to leaning up against the wall with his shoulder, hooves crossing one another, and eyes falling to the floor.

“Sorry, sorry…..” Brownie murmured, picking herself up off the floor, her voice lowering, “I get carried away sometimes, and I didn’t know…..” Her eyes darted toward Whiskey, looking slightly fearful. “… he came in with you…” She offered me a nervous smile looking back to me, her orange eyes meeting my own. “So? What was it you were trying to say?” She invited, taking a seat down in front of me.

“So.. uh… I’m kind of new to this whole,” I waved a hoof around the room. “…WasteLand thing. So Whiskey suggested getting a copy of the ‘WasteLand Survival Guide’?” I suggested, Brownie nodded enthusiastically.

“Ooh yes! I have a fresh supply, One free copy to everypony, courtesy of Ditzy Doo!” She smiled, getting to her hooves and turning away to trot behind the grimy counter at one end of the shop.

VVZZTTTT……

“Ifs fery fuseful, Fitzy Foo did a greaf jof on it.” Brownie told me around the book she held in her teeth as her head popped back up over the counter. She jumped up to settle her hooves on top of the grimy table, setting the book down on top. “Here ya are, being a Pegasus, The chapter on feathered friends’ll probably be helpful. And the Chapter on DireWolves too, considerin’ ya got into some trouble with ‘em.” Brownie pushed the book toward me with her nose, and I walked over toward the counter.

“Thanks.” I murmured, pulling the Book to me and dropping it in my saddle bags. “Was there anything else you needed?” Brownie asked, I could literally see her fidgeting. She wanted to start asking questions again, but Whiskey’s presence in the building was keeping her from doing so. Perhaps not all ponies in BaleFire hated the copper buck as Vera made me believe, others like Brownie here, actually seemed to fear him. Huh…. I’m not sure I wanna know why…

“Uhm.. maybe-” I cut myself off, suddenly remembering the very reason I was going to be looking for work. I am broke, I can’t buy supplies, nothing. So, I’ll keep my mouth shut for now. “No, actually, I think I’m fine.” I smiled a little.

Brownie nodded slightly, “Well alright, since there’s nothin’ else you need…” Her orange eyes slowly moved over to Whiskey, just to check and see if he was even paying attention. The Mercenary was still looking to the floor, deep in thought and completely silent. “So, were you from a Stable? Why were you up on the highway? Who are you really?” Brownie Bits asked the questions hurriedly in a hushed voice.

I blinked, Brownie Bits was……… erratic, excitable, slightly weird, but…. A nice enough pony by all standards. She was curious, which somehow struck me as odd, I didn’t get the feeling that most ponies in the Wasteland were as curious about things as this mare was. So… might as well answer a few questions before I high-tail it out of this store. I can only handle such a peppy and enthusiastic pony so long.

“Well…. I’m not from a Stable. I was in Arabino when I ran into those DireWolves, and I’m nopony special.” I answered in my own low voice, offering a small smile.

“Oh……. Arabino’s a red zone.” Brownie murmured. “Says is in Chapter 6 of the Guide, all sorts of places you’re supposed to avoid. Arabino’s one of the top on the list.” She tapped a hoof to my PipBuck, “If you’re not from a Stable, where’d you get this? It looks customized, got your Cutie Mark on it and everything.”

“Woke up with it on, don’t remember why.” I replied, taking a small step back. “I have to go…. Sorry, maybe some other time..?” I asked, backing up more toward the door.

“Oh… ok, next time I see you then!” She waved her hoof a little.

“Yeah..” I waved back, before swiftly turning around and heading out the door. I sighed once I was outside and had walked down a path to the right of the store. I came to a pause, leaning against the railing that had been welded onto the roof of a trailer, on which I was standing atop of. There was a table and two chairs set behind me, with an empty Sparkle-Cola on it.

My ears perked as I caught on to three blurs at the bottom of the crater below, one red, pale brown, and light blue. The three foals that I had seen earlier, I smiled slightly at it.

‘Aren’t you forgetting somepony?’ The Little Me asked suddenly. I blinked, what are you talking about? ‘You know, big, copper, annoying, weird buck who tried to kill you?’ The Little Me reminded, looking to her hoof with a bored expression. I snorted, the hell did I need him for, if he wanted me, he would have followed me-

“So Darlin’ what’s yer next move?” I snapped my head around to see Whiskey walk up behind me,

The Little Pony in my head face-hoofed, ‘You damn idiot Flashy! He has your Sonic Emitter still, remember?’ I felt like face-hoofing myself,

“Find a Job.” I muttered. “I need to earn some caps, and I would like my Sonic Emitter back.” I said firmly, holding out a hoof for it. Whiskey glanced at my outstretched hoof, before looking back to me.

“Owe Vera a shit-ton o’ caps?” He asked, ignoring my request for my property to be returned. I scowled,

“So what if I do?” I growled lowly, “Now give me my fucking Emitter back!” I thrust my hoof into his face forcefully, “I’ll tackle you and take it if I have to!”

Whiskey smirked at my threat, “You?” He chuckled, “Yer gonna tackle me? An’ somehow get the Emitter back?” He shook his head, chuckling more. “Goo’ luck with that Darlin’.”

“My name is not Darling!” I snapped, oh how I hated that nickname. Could I punch him in the face again and manage to knock him out and take the Sonic Emitter back that way? “And I can take you!” No, I probably couldn’t. We were nearly the same height, sure. But Whiskey was most definitely stronger, he had more muscle, I was a lot leaner than he was, maybe faster…. But tackling him would not work out in my favor and I knew it.

Whiskey knew it too, because he brushed the threat off. “Ya wanna job? Ah hear ol’ Sheriff Slim’s lookin’ fer sompony ta do an errand fer ‘im.” He jerked his head toward the entrance to Balefire, “If yer interested, Ah can take ya ta ‘im.” He smiled slightly, “Unless…. Yer interested in comin’ with me fer some Mercenary Work..?” He offered,

“Hell no.” I growled, he didn’t look surprised by the answer. I hadn’t had the best impression made on me about Mercenaries. Whiskey was the first one I had met, and he had tried to kill me. Even Vera’s words were ringing in my ears as he made the suggestion,

"Calls himself a Mercenary, says he's keeping people safe, but he's really just a gun-for-hire, hardly any better than a raider, and he's bleeding everybody dry. He's no good for this town, and he knows it. Wandered into town a year or so ago, stayed ever since. He's the only one willing to leave and explore, the only one willing to face the Wastes, that's why he's so good at getting money around here. He's a thief, preying on the good folk who live here, and it'd be better if he just left."

Even the looks, the glares, the attitude ponies here in Balefire had toward Whiskey was not helping. He was not liked, and even if it was only Whiskey personally that ponies here had dislike for, I was getting the feeling the Mercenaries in a whole were not very well liked. I hadn’t been in the WasteLand long enough to know for sure, but what I did know was that I didn’t want to go making enemies just yet, especially not enemies with the only friendly town I knew. So no, I wasn’t going to take Mercenary work, I wasn’t going to become a Mercenary now, nor any time soon.

“Mercenaries are not good ponies.” I hissed. “You kill other ponies for money. I don’t care if they’re raiders, innocent, whatever. It’s still murder.” I shoved my face in his. “I will not become a murderer. I will not kill ponies unless it is absolutely necessary.”

Whiskey didn’t back up, he didn’t blink, “Wha’ about the raiders ya shot on the highway?” He asked lowly. “You killed ‘um.”

“That was different.” I growled. “They would have killed me, it was self-defense.”

“Was it really?” Whiskey inquired, but didn’t give me time to answer. Instead he turned and started walking, “Come on, ya wanna talk ta Slim don’t ya?”

.:+:.

Footnote: Level Up
New Perk: Horse Sense-
You are a swift learner, courtesy of a blank mind that lets everything sink in no problem. You gain an additional +10% whenever experience points are earned.