“Where is he.” Demo was being rough with the guards.

The mare hit the wall with a solid thud. “I don’t know. I let the train carrying him in but after that I have nothing to do with it. Please just continue inside.” The mare curled up into a ball just before the front gate slammed open.

“Now what in tartarus is going on out here?!” The stallion in a cowpony hat looked down to the mare on the ground. “Now you better hope she isn’t hurt too badly. Or I swear to Celestia that I will not hesitate to kill you. Take her to the infirmary. I will deal with them.”

We were barely able to hold Demo back. “Sorry about this. He’s not thinking straight. We are looking for a stallion named Moonstone. I hope you have seen him or at least heard of him. Otherwise I don’t know if he will calm down.”

The stallion grabbed something from his saddlebags and turned back towards us. Before I knew what was happening a dart had been fired at Demo. The dart found its mark and was embedded into Demo’s shoulder. Onyx ducked underneath him before he collapsed.

“What the buck was that for?” Onyx was struggling to keep Demo from falling onto the ground.

“I was just doing my job. I’m the sheriff around here. Your friend was disturbing the peace so I had to make him stop. Seeing as he wasn’t going to yield to reason I used a tranquilizer on him. He should wake up in a few hours.” The sheriff slid the blowgun back into his saddlebags.

“Ok. Can we enter the town please. It would get him out of your mane if we found Stone.” I took a cautious step forward.

The sheriff looked at us for a second and then made a motion for us to follow him into Ponyville.

The city wasn’t in great shape. The few buildings that were still intact were made of scrap metal. Holes riddled the buildings. Pipes that I guessed moved water around the town were leaking. Everypony looked a little bit depressed.

A statue sat alone in the center of town. I was surprised that the statue still stood. The statue was made of many gems. Each one sparkled in the light.

“Welcome to our little sanctuary in the wasteland. We used to have a thriving community before a group of raiders attacked the place. Made off with most of our supplies. They killed off quite a few of the good ponies who stood up and tried to defend this town. I won’t even say what they did to the mares or the children. It was terrible. Now that you are thoroughly depressed what do you seek out of our town?” He stopped just shy of the statue.

“Well sir….” I wasn’t sure what to call him.

“Just call me Comet. Crimson Comet’s the name. Protecting what is left of the city’s my game.” Comet tipped his hat to us.

“Ok. Well Comet we seek our friend Stone, and maybe a stiff drink. This place is already bumming me out.” I looked around the depressing town.

“Tavern is over there. That’s where you can find a drink. Nothing to stiff though. Might want to talk to Shine. His actual names Moon but he took on the nickname Shine ever since he started to make alcohol. Strong stuff. Best to go easy on it. Don’t want to have another citizen complain that somepony has gone and over done it with the good stuff. As for Stone you might want to check Carousel Supply. It’s where the newly freed captives go to look for work. Ponies wander in from around the wasteland looking for supplies and Snowflake takes care of them. That’s all I can tell you about Ponyville. Enjoy your stay and don’t cause any trouble.” Comet trotted off towards a group of ponies.

I nodded my head and made my way towards the tavern.

Onyx looked to the store for a second before following. “Uh Midnight. Don’t you think we should go and look for Stone? He could leave here at anytime.”

“Onyx I swear we will go and look for Stone right after I get a drink. This place is depressing.” I kept on trotting.

The tavern’s front door was wide open not from somepony being lazy but because the door had been ripped off its hinges and tossed to the side. We made our way inside.

“Now listen here you ghoul bucking pig. I am the only pony in this town allowed to sell the good stuff. If I catch you selling my booze again I will tear off your forehooves and shove them up your ass.” Two stallions were fighting at the bar. The one closest to us looked like he was about to kill the stallion behind the bar.

“Listen Shine. I don’t know where you got the idea that I was selling your booze but I haven’t touched that stuff since the last incident we had in town. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a few customers who look like they need a drink.” The stallion motioned for us to come over. “So what will you have today. We’ve got an assortment of alcohol. Pick your poison and we can begin.”

Harmony stepped up to the bar and took a seat. “I’m not one for this type of drinking scene but set me up with a whiskey if you’ve got it.” I took a seat next to her.

“Make that two.” She smiled at me before turning to face the bar.

“This isn’t over. I will have my revenge and you will get what's coming to you.” With that Shine kicked the bar and headed back outside.

“Sorry about him. He thinks that I've been selling his alcohol. I wouldn’t sell that shit in here. Not even if my life depended on it. It is good strong alcohol but I’ll let you in on a little secret. That stuff kills you. Not a slow death either. It is quick and painful. Imagine being shot repeatedly in the flank. Not enough to kill you right away but it will get to you quickly. Heres your whiskeys enjoy.” He set a few shot glasses down before us.

“Well Midnight let's hope that he doesn’t follow through with those threats. Sounds like a horrific way to die. Being new in town we would probably be the number one suspects of such a thing.” Onyx took a seat.

“Whatever Onyx. Have a drink.” I passed a shot glass his way.

“I think I’ll pass for now. I need my wits about to keep Demo here under control. You saw how poorly we handled him at the gate. Just imagine what he could do if we got wasted.” Onyx pushed the shot back towards me.

I finished off my shot considering his words. I motioned for the barkeeper to come back. “Thanks for the drink. How much?”

“First timers get one free drink. So put your caps away I don’t need them. I’ll pay for those two drinks within the hour.” He waved a hoof at me and went back to cleaning glasses.

I put my caps back in my saddlebags and headed for the door. Harmony followed not too far behind.

I took a quick look back at her. “If you don’t stop staring at my flanks you might give somepony the wrong impression.”

Her response was quick. “Or maybe I would be sending them the right one.” She winked at me.

A nearly fell on my face after missing the next step. It took me a few seconds before I was fully on my hooves again. I turned and started to make my way over to Carousel Supply.

Harmony galloped for a few strides before matching my pace as she walked next to me. Her horn ignited as she picked Demo up off of Onyx’s back.

“Thank you Harmony. I hate to say it but he is heavy.” His next few words were lost to me as he lowered his voice to avoid being heard.

“No problem Onyx. I wouldn’t want you to pass out and have to carry you both. I figured this is the best way to prevent that.” Harmony kept pace with me.

The door was closed but a nice little open sign hung on the wall.

The inside of the shop was painted bright colors. A stage stood off to our right. A suit of armor stood alone on the stage. The suit was almost a perfect match of mine but looked better and more suited to a pegasus than a unicorn.

Harmony had gotten in front of me and was talking to the mare behind the counter. I was so intrigued by the suit of armor on the stage that I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going. I turned my muzzle forward again to be greeted by a soft and warm wall of flesh.

“Wow. Watch your step there Midnight. We are out in public you know. So what you are doing right now will have to wait until we find a place to call home for the night.” Harmony gave me a quick look.

I took a quick step back as the mare behind the counter leaned over a bit to see me. She giggled for a second before returning to the customer who sat in front of her.

“You're looking for Stone. Well I just sent him out five minutes ago to deliver a package. He should be back here in about fifteen minutes if you want to wait.” She looked over at a broken clock.

Harmony nodded and then motioned for me to come up to the counter. “Starry Diamond I would like you to meet Midnight. She has collected a few things out in the wastelands that are worthwhile for trading. We need a few things.”

“Well nice to meet you Midnight. We’ve got so much here at Carousel Supply. So what are you in the market for? Ammo, guns, maybe some food. We also have special items that are not to be discussed anywhere outside of my store.” This mare was very pleasant.

“Well we could use some ammo. We seem to have burned through most of the ammo we have acquired out in the wasteland.” I grasped at my guns with my magic.

“Well you are in luck. What type of ammo do you need?” The mare smiled warmly at me.

I levitated out the boar rifle and the two pistols that I had.

“Well by the looks of it. You are going to need some .32 caliber bullets. I’ve got a lot of that. That rifle shoots what looks to be a modified 5.56 cartridge. Lots of gunpowder to launch such a small projectile forward. Should prove deadly against unarmored ponies for quite a long range. Those are rarer shells. Boar weapons usually are though. I’ve got two boxes of ammo in the 5.56 variety and one or two boxes in the .223 variety. As for the other pistol. That looks like a .44 magnum. A rather heavy gun for a mare like you. I have a few bullets for that. So if that is all that you would like that will be. Carry the one.” She did a bit off math in her head. “100 caps.”

I nodded and grabbed the cap pouch out of my saddlebags. I presented the caps to her and she slid me the boxes of ammo.

“Thank you for your business. Unless you want to sell me something then you can take a seat anywhere on the floor.” She waved a hoof around the room.

Harmony was looking over the bullets we had just gotten. “Well this should last us for a week or so. Depending on how much gun fighting we do. I would like to sell you a few things.”

I went and took a seat on the floor looking towards the counter. I couldn’t hear the conversation between Diamond and Harmony but from the looks of things Harmony had quite a bit to sell. A few minutes passed and she walked over and took a seat by me.

“I was able to sell the guns we got from the slaver camp. Most of them were in bad condition and wouldn’t have lasted too much longer. I couldn’t get much for them so we are only about 100 caps better off. We’ll work it out though.” Harmony leaned her head on me.

I sat there just enjoying the fact that I had fulfilled many of my dreams since I left home. Something was nagging at me but I decided to push it out of my mind and just enjoy my time with Harmony.

A bell above the door rang as a stallion walked in. The stallion’s face turned grim as soon as he saw an unconscious Demo. He rushed over to him. “What happened to him?”

Onyx answered. “He was causing a scene at the gate so the sheriff knocked him out with a tranquilizer. He said it should wear off in an hour.”

“Ok. It’s a good thing he's not dead. That would imply a few things that I am not going to mention. I am just glad to see he is still alive.” Stone looked Onyx over. “No offense to you but you don’t seem to be the type that Demo would go for. We used to be… Well partners before I was foalnapped.”

“Well he did tell me about what happened. He thought you were dead and he has gone through tartarus looking for you. It’s nice to finally meet you face to face.” Onyx extended out one of his hooves.

Stone looked at him for a second before copying the motion.

Demo had come to and was trying to get to his hooves. Onyx lent himself to Demo. Shakily he got off the ground and was able to look Stone in the face.

“It’s been too long Demo. I’m glad to see you moved on. Now before you go trying to get back with me I need you to know something.” Demo merely nodded before taking a seat on the floor.

“I moved on to and things have happened. I’m not the stallion I once was and my tastes have changed. So to tell you the truth I’m a little more interested in mares lately.” He glanced back towards us before shaking his head. “I hope this doesn’t change things between us. Now let’s go find you a place to rest before you lose consciousness again.”

“That could happen?” I was curious as to why.

“Oh yeah. The sheriff ain't exactly the best chemist in the world. I’m surprised the dart didn’t wear off sooner. For all we know Demo here could be addicted to some drug that he used to make that dart. He’ll need to go see a doctor sometime in the near future. For now that can wait. Come with me I will take you to my house and you can rest for a while.” Stone turned towards the door.

“Thank you Stone. This means a lot.” Demo made his final statement before falling into the sweet embrace of sleep once more.

“Alright let’s get a move on. We don’t want to trouble Diamond here.” He gave a quick glance back at the mare. She smiled a little bit before returning to work.

“I can use my levitation to move him. Again we don’t want Onyx here to have the same fate as Demo.” Harmony’s aura surrounded Demo as he began to hover in mid air. Stone opened up the door and we started towards his house.

“What does it take for somepony to get a house here?” I looked around at the mostly abandoned houses.

“Well. I’m sorry I haven’t asked your names yet.” Stone stopped to look at us.

“Oh I’m Midnight that’s Harmony and you already meet Onyx.” I gave a quick glance down our ranks.

“Well It’s nice to meet you Midnight. To answer your question, a pony doesn’t have to do much to get a house around here. Hardwork and determination is how I managed to get my house. That and the previous owner had made enough caps to leave here and seek some place better. I think she liked me more than she should have. I walked into town one day and she offered me the deed to her house. After a day or so I accepted her gift. She left town quickly and nopony has seen her since.” We had reached the house by the time Stone had finished with his story.

The house he had brought us to was built into a large tree. Many of the branches on the tree were just barely hanging on to there place. As the door opened three or four large branches fell to the ground with a solid thud. Stone looked to me and shrugged.

The inside of the house looked much better. It needed some work before it would be the perfect place to call home. Shelves lined the walls and a few books and various items occupied them.

“What did this place use to be?” I took a closer look at one of the shelves.

“Well the lady who gave it to me said that it was a library before the war. Said some princess used to live here. I don’t have all the details memorized. She just seemed like a crazy fanatic looking back to the past like some dumb fan pony. The place has started to decay and some of the walls have gone down. Most of the time I’m on getting this place repaired within a day or two but caps are short now. Can’t do to many repairs or I might lose the house all together. Take a seat and we can talk.” Stone pointed to a few makeshift seats.

I took a seat on one of the makeshift couches that looked like they had been built by a foal. They were just as uncomfortable as they looked.

“I would like to know why you are out here in the wasteland. I like to know what has driven somepony to try and live out here. I like to know what it is that makes them do what they do. So would you please explain.” Stone took a seat facing us.

“I suppose I can while we wait for Demo to come to.” I thought about where to start.