I calmed down after thinking through how many weird situation could I get in for having blood as my ‘special talent’. After all, I just need to hide it, and I usually wear my armor or atleast something.

I decided to haul all the wares the traders had and build up my new home. The cart was filled with all kinds of goods. Metal plates, food, clean water, weapons with ammo and even armor. And, most importantly, a small pile of caps. I brought them upstairs to the second floor, which now was used as a storage. I brought the mattresses to the first floor to the middle room. That will be used as a bedroom for now. I put the mattresses on each other which made a big and comfortable bed. Then I set up some basic traps. A bell over the entrance which alarms if someone comes in. A tripwire that shoots them in their leg and that’s about it. I didn’t have supplies for better ones, but even if I did have I had no idea how to make them.

The alarm was really just a bell hanging from the ceiling with a small rope. The tripwire was a bit more complicated, because I had to hide the gun and connect the wire with the pistol. But after I broke a small hole in the wall it fit just right in.

When it was getting dark I put up some steel scrap on the third floor making a barrier for myself. After that I got really tired and sleepy, so I decided to go to sleep and play the trader tomorrow.

The bed felt great after all I’ve been through the last two days. I finally felt safe.

I fell asleep easily and I finally got my energy back. The sun was already shining and there wasn’t many clouds. Everything was bright and clear. It started as a good day.

I filled my cart with all that was left from yesterday. As I was about to go I realized that I should clean myself, because a trader stained in pony blood isn’t welcoming and they might suspect that I killed someone to get these.

I grabbed some water and poured it on my chest and hooves, where the most blood was. After a bit of rubbing I got rid of the blood and was ready to go to Tenpony Tower again.

The way there was quiet thankfully, but I was scared and cautious for the whole road. Walking alone while pulling a cart behind you is a huge risk always. Anyone or anything could attack you anytime, and you’re almost defenseless. After all I just killed yesterday a small group alone.

When I got there the guards gave me some suspicious look and asked what happened to the others for which I only replied, “I never said there are others.”

One of the guards got really suspicious about me, but then he sighed and said I can go inside.

“So… uhm, where can I keep this cart while I’m inside?” I asked.

“There are cages with locks. The keys are in the locks already, so just leave whatever you want there and when you depart just leave the key in the lock for others,” the guard on the right said.

“Uhh, alright, off I go then.” I said, while giving them any ammo I’ve got again.

The same view welcomed me, not really sure what was I even expecting, but it did lost it’s magic really fast. I put my stuff down where the guard said I should leave them and closed it, then I instantly headed to the bar with caps in my sleeves.

“Oh, welcome back, I thought you’ve left this city for good,” said the bartender pony.

“You remember me?” I asked.

“There aren’t many traders with an eyepatch, but without any caps, you know.”

“Oh, right I have caps now, could you just give me a beer?” I asked.

“Coming right up,” he said and gave me a bottle of beer while I gave him the caps.

While I was drinking it I looked for anypony who I could hire to kill Blueberry for or with me. I realized that just a simple traveler won’t be enough, because let’s be honest. One of those fuckers from the raider camp could kill these wannabe adventurers easily, while Blueberry killed all of them… alone. I still fucking don’t get how did she do that though.

An earth pony came to my attention. He had a black hat and cape. His fur was brownish orange and there were scars all over his face. He had a long gray mane with white stripes. He was sitting alone, drinking whiskey, but I could read from his face that he had experienced the worst of this fucking wasteland.

I decided to try my luck and ask him if he could help me, so I walked next to him. He looked at me with a dead cold look.

“What do you want?” he asked in a deep angry voice. I almost froze by only his look, and his voice didn’t help.

“Well,” - I gulped. “I need someone dead.”

“I can do that. I did it a lot of times, raiders, betrayers, all kinds of ponies.”

“This one took away everything from me, since then I had to start from zero.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the cause,” - He said and drank the rest of his whiskey. - “But know one thing. It’ll cost you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You’ll have your caps before you know it,” I said nervously. I don’t know how much he wants, but this is my best chance.

“Alright, meet me outside the gates this afternoon, so you can tell me the details.”

“Awesome, see ya there then,” I said and went back to the bar. I felt my heart beating in my throat through the whole conversation, I just have to pay him somehow... though currently, I’d give everything just to see Blueberry dead.

The bartender asked what did I want from that colt, and told me that I shouldn’t trust him, because he killed his ‘clients’ a several times already.

I spent the rest of the day chatting with the bartender. Turns out his name’s ‘Cheese Slice’ and this pub was left by his family on him.

When he asked my story I told him about Blueberry and how much she fucked me over, while I left out the parts of me being a raider. At one point he looked at me a bit surprised and asked.

“Are you a raider?”

Oh, fucking celestia, I said too much.

“Ehm… I have no idea what are you talking about... I’m not…” I replied, though it was really obvious that I was lying.

“It’s alright, I don’t really care,” - said the bartender. - “ If you ask me, it doesn’t justify anyone to kill someone just because of their faction’s killing everyone. I always give a small chance to anyone to prove themselves, which might get me killed one day, but hey, that’s life for you.”

We’ve talked until sunset, then I paid for everything I’ve drunk and said goodbye. I grabbed my weapons, some healing potions and headed to the guards asking my ammo back.

Outside, in front of the gate I met the pony from the bar. He was already waiting for me there.

“Let’s get going, on the way tell me the details,” he said and started walking to the east.

“Sure, “ - I said as I followed him. - “Her name is Blueberry, a light blue colored unicorn with dark blue mane.”

“Hmm, Blueberry. It rings a bell for me. Isn’t she from a stable dweller?”

“Yes, you know her?”

“More or less, I heard she’s wiping out raider camps, but I’ve never heard her attacking anypony else other than a raider…”

I was sweating. What if he finds out I’m a raider too? Is he with Blueberry? Maybe he wants to see me dead too? Why the fuck did I do this?! Stupid me… of course she has some reputation, after all she’s cleaning the land from my kind. Fuck!

“We’re here,” he said and stopped.

“Here? What’s here, why did we come here?” I asked surprised. I didn’t even notice that we were walking someone.

“Oh, you know, a mare who’ve just lost everything ask me to kill the one who did that to her without a purpose suddenly has enough caps to pay me. I don’t know how stupid you are, but it takes more to bullshit with me.”

Fuck me, I called it, but still didn’t do anything. Was I really that desperate?

But I’ve got no time to think because he already jumped at me with a switchblade in his mouth. In the next moment I was already on the ground while he got me in my right hoof, since felt a line of burning pain on it.

I was holding his head back with my weakened right hoof while trying to get some hit in with the left one and blocking his punches. At some point he managed to avoid my blocking and started to strangle me. Even as hard as I tried I couldn’t stop him doing that and was about to pass out when I grabbed the first thing I could locate with my magic and sent it to his head, which made him fall over. I could breathe and see again. I managed to stand up, but I felt weak.

I used what I grabbed, which now I saw was a piece of a nearby house’s wall, and started slamming it repeatedly to his face.

“WHO’S THE FUCKING BITCH NOW, FUCKER!?” I yelled when I noticed that blood started to stream out of his head. I wasn’t even sure he was conscious of not, I just kept hitting him with a rock as if I were a scared filly and he was an ugly insect.

At one point the rock broke into pieces, and that’s when I decided it was enough and he probably won’t remember anything if he manages to wake up and not dead already.

“Well, fuck. What now?” I asked from myself, while I drank a healing potion. I only one left.

Sure, I could go back to Tenpony Tower and just say he got killed by something, but how am I gonna find anyone who’s willing to help me, because I doubt I’d find anyone better than this fucker was. I just had to be born as a raider hadn’t I? Fuck you whoever gave birth to me, and fuck you too whoever had sex with my mom. Fucking shit…

Calm down Cold Blood, you won’t come up with any ideas if you’re just screaming inside of your head.

What the fuck did Pink said again? That’s my last hope. It was some bullshit if I recall it correctly. Something, that could even be a subname of a little fillies’ show, but what was it? Friendship is… good for noone? No, it was the opposite. Friendship is magic, yes that’s it.

So, I have to find real companions? In this fucking wasteland. Let’s think. There has to be someone I heard of who made friends somehow, but who was it? I don’t know her, but I definitely heard of her, somepony… an enemy. From my fillyhood.

Oh, right, that… that stable dweller from stable 2. What was her name? Lightbringer maybe? She made a really strong team with that pegasus and unicorn. And there was even that zebra too. But how the fuck did she met then and made friends with them? I know she knew that unicorn earlier, but the others… she helped them?

Well, I do have to agree that helping out somepony is a sign of friendship and can pretty much earn anyone’s trust way more easily, but even if Pink really meant that I have to do that, how the fuck am I gonna find anypony who’s in danger and needs my help… Maybe the bartender could help me.

I began walking back to Tenpony tower in the end. As much as I hated it, I was really in need of information, or at least a bit of guide on how to start this… thing called ‘helping ponies’.

I didn’t even know where was I, but fortunately after a bit of walking I found the main road of the city.

BANG!

While I was walking to Tenpony Tower a bullet hit the ground next to me. I looked around and ran behind a cart which was close to me.

BANG… BANG! BANG!

“Fucking… hell” I grunted as I felt a bullet hitting my left flank which made me fall over, thankfully behind the cart. I looked around and noticed two raider ponies on top of the building on the other side of the road, which had about 8 floors.

“What the fuck?” - I shouted. - “I’m a raider too!”

“I don’t give a shit about what are you! Surrender and we might keep you as a fuckslave!” shouted one of them back.

I grabbed my sniper and took aim as fast as I could then pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

The bullet hit the wall just below them.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Fucking shit,” I murmured. I gotta hit them, but I can’t aim too long or they’ll hit me. It was still my only option, so I took aim again, but a bit faster now, because I already knew about where were they, then pulled the trigger.

BANG!

“You motherfucking bitch, I’ll kill you for that! He was my brother!” the raider shouted.

Great one of them’s down. Now the other one. I ran to the other side of the road, through the building’s doorway and up the stairs. It sounded like the raider didn’t notice that, because he was still shouting things and occasionally shoot.

When I got up to the roof, I slowly approached him, trying to make as less noise as possible. He was really dumb, because he never looked back and I could’ve easily get to him.

“Surprise bitch!” I shouted and pushed him down the edge.

“Aaaah!” screamed the raider until he hit the ground and died.

“Who’s killing who know motherfucker?” I laughed and went straight down where I found his dead body. He landed on his head, which made a huge mess around it.

After this, my way back to Tenpony Tower was calm and peaceful. I got back in no time, and the guards thankfully didn’t ask anything. They just let me in after I gave them all of my ammo… again.

I headed to the bar the moment I got in, because there was the only pony I could talk to.

“So, how did it went?” asked Cheese Slice, the bartender.

“Do I look like everything was fine?!” I shouted back. I was annoyed just about everything.

“Lemme guess, he wanted to kill you, but you somehow survived.”

“Pretty much. He was so full of himself that he thought he could kill me with bare hooves…”

“Well, I’ve told ‘ya to be careful,” - he said and gave me a bottle of beer. - “There, calm down. It’s on the house.”

“Thanks, but why?” I asked.

“Things get boring here. You’re pretty much the only one who talks to me. Everypony else’s just here to meet someone else, or just to drink alone,” explained Cheese.

“No problem, I guess?” I said and drank some beer.

“So, what are you gonna do now?”

“I don’t really know. I was thinking about it, and I really have to find somepony to team up who isn’t just another shitty mercenary.”

“You mean friends?” asked the stallion.

“I… think so,” - I said embarrassed. - “Can you help me out?” I asked and gave him a pleading smile.

“Me?” - he laughed. - “Sorry, but no, I’m not good with any weapon.”

“Oh, alright, but do you know anypony who might need help, or rescue. I heard rumors that it’s a pretty solid way of getting companions,” I said.

“Anypony, who might be in danger… hmm,” - said Cheese. - “Now that I think about it, there were those two ponies… Oh, right, they were searching for something, but they came back every night for a drink. I haven’t seen them for a few days now.”

“Did something happened to them?”

“I don’t know. They were always here for a couple of months now, so it still could be that they’ve just left. Though from what I’ve seen they didn’t find whatever they were looking for, so why leave so suddenly.”

“I see,” - I said. - “Do you know where they went, or any lead that I could follow to find them?”

“From what I’ve overheard of them, they should be around Horseshoe Tower. That’s a bit north-west from here. But be careful, remember that you’re alone and they were together.”

“Noted, thanks! I’ll go then now… after I finish my beer,” I said realizing that I didn’t drink any of it yet.

When I finished I thanked Cheese for the free beer and went to get ready for this ‘quest’.

Armor check. Weapons (which includes the sniper and a gun) check. Meds, food and water, I bought some earlier to restock so, check. Ammo, I bought some of it too, just to be sure, check.

I was starting to use up more and more of what I’ve had in the cart, so I’ll have get more soon, but for now I was ready, hopefully!

Footnote: Level up! Tough filly.

You learned to solve dangerous situations with your hoof or any object around you.

+2 Strength and 20 additional melee damage.