"A pair of old Colt Firearm rifles eh? Rangemasters by the looks of it."

The Small mare was filled with ecstatic interest as she looked at and proceeded to disassemble my old rifles.

"Hmm, definitely a post war production... But pretty good quality. Where did you buy them?"

"The Heartbeat caravans, the Institute has a few lying around since most zonies prefer beam guns."

She nodded checked the receiver for something with some sort of magnifying glass that almost looked cybernetic. Whoever this mare was, she certainly seemed to know more about guns than I did.

"That would explain it, seems to be a Black Hoof production, a few decades old but scarcely used. I can offer 1 400 caps for the both of them."

I took a look to Amber but he just shrugged, it did sound like a lot of caps but I honestly had no idea.

"Actually... I hoped to get something else in exchange? Something that fits a brawling zony more?"

"Uh-huh."

She took a look at my wings and then started sorting through boxes filled with all sorts of weird guns and then exclaimed:

"Found it! Now where is the other one?.."

I stretched my neck to try to find what the stars she was looking for, some short ugly thing that looked more like scrap to me than anything else. Then she threw both on the counter.

"OK miss, this here are Trottingham machine-guns. And not the cheap mass produced crap they produced later in the war. No, these were built back when Celestia still sat upon the throne."

"Oooh. What else?"

This might be an odd reason for purchasing a gun but eh, I don't care.

"They were deemed too expensive to produce in large numbers, but they are far more sturdy. And most importantly they exist in more calibres than just 9 mm, these two are made for the heavier .38 round. Which means .38 Goldstar rounds."

Now I was really interested.

"How many bullets?"

"Each mag holds 34 rounds each, if you are going to use both that means 68 rounds. Should last the whole fight if you have any trigger discipline. Just remember to clean the guns regularly, machine guns collect a lot of dust and grime."

"I'll take them!"

Although Amber had rolled his eyes he had offered no protests. I did most of the fighting and the rifles didn't cut it, half the time I missed and if I managed to hit then it was against some monster that just shrugged it off like nothing. Due to an unexpected increase of funds in the from of a certain memory orb we purchased 4 sets of fully loaded magazines as well as spare spark batteries for Amber's pistol.

We had then spent the rest of our caps on medicine and food. The vendor had suggested radhog meat, a proposition that none of us took well. What is wrong with wasteland ponies? When had they decided to randomly eat the carcasses of dead animals?

Then we finally stepped out on the road north and it seemed the horrors of the last few days were nothing but a bad dream. The sun managed to shine through the grey sky, as the clouds had finally run out of the deluge they previously dropped on us. In fact the combination of Celestia's blessing and my new fancy guns caused me to whistle to myself, which wasn't fully appreciated.

"STOP WHISTLING!!"

Amber shouted with enough force and surprise to send me tumbling.

Ouch ouch, wings OUCH.

I sat up and scratched my aching wing.

"Was that really necessary?!" I shouted back.

Then he tölted up to me with Violette struggling to keep up.

"You know full well that I can't stand whistling. Do something else."

"Like what? I can't sing. And YOU know how bored I get if I only do one thing at a time. It is not like I can fly at the moment."

I realized that Violette looked between us and appeared to be in a state of distress.

Sigh

"Don't worry, this is normal."

Amber snorted at that, Violette looked mostly confused. So I tried to explain.

"We are childhood friends. More specifically we were the weirdos in our age group, and neither of us is really used to traveling. He does most of the thinking while I do the talking and the fighting. So... pointless bickering like this happen from time to time, mostly when I do something stupid."

"Yeah, like assaulting a shop owner, picking a fight with the steel rangers or rushing a raider. Take your pick... Radio. Turn on the radio, should provide enough distraction."

I blinked.

"Good idea, what channel?"

"Black Hoof, local news matter more when we are on the road. In case of raiders."

"Black Hoof it is."

I struggled for a moment but then managed to both turn on the radio and increase the volume properly. And this time I remembered to turn on the Eyes Forward Sparkle, in case of raiders as Amber said.

"...the far north. You see, my dear ponies, the weather back in the day was a lot calmer. A lot more controlled, with thousands of pegasi keeping the clouds in check. And with the guiding hand of princess Celestia, the winters were calm and gentle. I know I know... That sounds like an old mare's tale but our scorched elders, Administrator Sable Quil included, swear by the name of the Sisters that indeed. Our ancient records are true. And as such, is it much of a surprise that quite a few ponies decided to settle in the north at the foot of the Bighorn Ridge? Interestingly enough, the ponies stuck between said ridge and the northern Luna Bay had more diplomatic contact with the ancient bighorners than with the rest of Equestria. And as such, they grew into a quite distinct culture. A culture of fierce strength, determination and stoic silence. In fact, it was in this cultural environment that Icetear was raised in... But I am getting way off track, these ponies were largely left out of the war due to their isolation. And when the bombs fell, and Equestria with it... The climate turned wild, a lot like the old stories about windigos. It is the event that our historians call The First Winter. As even if there were winters before, it was nothing like it is today. And during that winter, the frostponies had little choice but to leave their ancestral homes behind. Sigh This, my little ponies is when the story turns..."

BOBOBOBOOM

I stopped and turned my head back to the southeast, distracted by the chorus of thunder. That was way too regular and odd to be just the weather...

Goldstar! The gigantic guns. Did something attack the castle?

"And in case anyone was wondering what that sound was, I can calm your nerves. We have been informed by Goldstar that there had been trouble with raiders alongside the southern road, and this is to be expected. As such, the cannonade is the sound of safety for travelers. It seems that miss Farstrider was correct in that the princess do take border security quite seriously. You know what, on that note. I haven't actually heard a report of zebras north of Roadfort in years..."

Wait. No, hold on... did they just blow up the bighorners with artillery? Not send a "platoon" to drive them off? They actually used guns meant to kill dragons, on a raider tribe? Hopefully they didn't have any children with them...

"FUCK!! I gave them the coordinates, they just needed to aim and fire. I freaking killed all of them!"

Both of my companions jumped at my sudden outburst, Amber didn't seem to get the problem.

"Uhm, Windstriker, they were raiders. Isn't a good thing their gone?"

He raised one eyebrow at me.

"Did we really know that? That it was really them and not some other group of bighorners? Or what if they had children, did they deserve to as well?!"

My mind started conjuring up images of innocents merely trying to survive, and then being blown to bits.

Due to me, my actions.

"The first is highly unlikely, and either way you aren't responsible. We took the job to protect innocent travelers, we finished it and then either the princess or that old buck decided to kill them. We had no way of knowing that it would happen."

"Still... I don't like it."

"You don't have to. If you don't like working for Goldstar, then we can just avoid it. There should be plenty of job opportunities in Flood Town either way."

"How in the name of Tartaros does the Stable Dweller do this without getting innocents caught in the middle?" I wondered out loud.

"I suspect that she is a hardened wasteland ranger or something, with the experience to know what to do. We didn't, simple as that."

Why was he always right? Especially at times like these? I wanted to feel horrid, and he made me just feel like I made a small mistake. Then Violette piped up.

"Who is this 'Stable Dweller'?"

After an enthusiastic rant from me, with Amber poking in with things I had gotten wrong I decided to start the radio again. This time DJPon3, I needed less wanton slaughter and more idealistic heroes. He seemed to be in the middle of a long-winded rant about the management of the tower he lived in and them discriminating against ghouls. Huh...

"At least someone out there get it. Why does so many ponies have to be jerks about what you look like. I can't help I was born with stripes. Not that I would change it if I could mind you, I am proud of my stripes. They are rad and badass, just like me."

"Hey Windstriker? You are kind of preaching to the choir here. I have known this dragonshit longer than you have and I don't think Violette is going to burst out into a bigoted tirade all of sudden."

"Yeah, but it makes me so damn frustrated. Can't people just live and let live for once?"

"In the wasteland? Frankly, no. People would rather kill or be killed most of the time."

"Well something has to change then. Big time..."

My brain started working in overdrive attempting to figure out what the problems were and how to solve them. Golden Starlight (my mind refused to call her a princess after certain experiences) seemed to have the right idea, giving people a chance and working towards a common goal. But what about the steel rangers? Are they here to help ponies or are they equestrian warlords? Like Redeye? That buck seemed to at least try something even if his methods are horribly wrong.

New question, what can I do to help fix things? Kill the bad ponies and zebras? Is that going to be enough? I am too dumb to figure out tech that can help ponies grow food or purify water. Heck, I seemed to be too dumb to figure out whom I should shoot to begin with. So what in the Stars' name do I think I am doing with this journey in the first place?

"And that was Sapphire Shores reminding us that The Sun Can't Hide Forever, one day Celestia's light might shine on us once more. At least I hope so, these days I seem to only see rain and and thunderstorms in Manehattan. On the bright side, it keeps the bloodwings indoors and the manticores far from my windows. But enough about the poor weather, it is time for the news. It seems that the Steel Rangers in Trottingham have a stronger sense of morality than the rest of their kind. They are working with local authorities to establish trade lines and hunting the dangerous critters in the area. Speaking of rangers actually helping ponies for a change, remember that group that left Manehattan a few years ago? The ones that wiped out a major slaver camp west of Canterlot? Unfortunately it seems their efforts proved only temporary as the place known as Liberty's End is back in business, this time funded by the new Ceasar's greed. Selling enslaved ponies to other ponies is bad enough, but selling them to a zebra warlord?? That is a new level of facehoof material."

"Hey, Amber, slavers don't travel this far north right?"

I asked slightly worried about the subject. Still, it was a reminder that we seemed to be sheltered from the greater conflicts of the wasteland.

"hm? No, not as a rule. Vanhoover is largely cut off from the rest of Equestria. With the Wyldwood in the south, the hills to the east and the Aurora in the north. Any slavers would either have to traverse the wilderness or go past Goldstar. And both them and the rangers claim to shoot slavers on sight. Some show up at Roadfort occasionally it seems though, but we don't plan on going close to that place anytime soon either way."

"So it should be a nice simple trot to Flood Town right?"

"Hopefully, but there are loads of weird critters in the forest."

OK, flashbacks to glowing eyes in the forest. Not reassuring.

Violette raised a hoof.

"What sorts of critters are we talking about?"

I honestly had no idea and looked to Amber for his expertise. Then he pulled out a book of all things.

"Let's see here... Vanhoover chapter, Wyldwood... Cragadiles, timber wolves, dragons, radhogs, bloatflies, basilisks, hydras, sea serpents and... ghosts it seems."

I silently mouthed 'what the buck' and followed up by jumping off the ground and shouting.

"You got to be kidding me?!"

Half of them sounded made up and the other half sounded absurdly dangerous if encountered alone. What was I even supposed to if we ran into them? Ask them to form a line?

A slightly irritated crystal pony continued.

"As I intended to say before you cut me off... Most of them never leave the forest, and it seems only the timber wolves are a threat enough up here to be worried about. Fortunately they burn well."

Then he tapped his beam pistol with his hoof.

"On that note, your E.F.S. Is it active?"

I tried focusing my eyes and saw three white bars, one in the forest.

"Yep, seems that way. And there is something in the forest. Not anything hostile it seems."

Then several red bars appeared around it and we became quiet as we heard a howl from the woods. The white bar remained, someone might be in trouble. I turned to the others.

"I think somepony might need help in there. Do we run in?"

Amber looked hestitant and Violette looked afraid. Buck it, time to try out these new machine guns.

"My decision then. Violette, find someplace to hide. Amber, back me up."

Then I kicked the safety off and ran headfirst into the direction of the monsters. Hearing swearing behind me, and sounds of combat in front of me.

As I ran past the trees and through the bushes I was spooked by some of the branches moving. And those where the glowing eyes I had seen earlier, and jaws. Big jaws. Shit. I reflexly activated S.A.T.S and as time ground to a halt I realized that I could check what was going on before I opened fire. OK, big wood creature in front of me. More big wood creatures to my left... And a colt? Yep, looked like a colt. Midair, no wings and some sort of chainsaw knife in his mouth. What to do what to do. These monsters are easily twice my size, brawling would be a bad idea and so... I aimed the targeting spell at the two glowing orbs staring at me in silence and bit the trigger.

Time began speeding up again and I felt the rattle at my sides as two streams of bullets flew into the beast. When the spell had finished the creature burst into an explosion of sticks in front of me. NEAT, Trottingham machine guns are way better than rifles! I turned to my left, saw the colt jumping straight into an open jaw, with the chainknife loudly munching loudly on the wood. Somehow I didn't think the creature was expecting that. On that note, opened fire into another of the creatures. The bullets punching through the wooden hide and...

it just made it angry. And now it is jumping towards me. S.A.T.S, aim at the eyes and...

RATATAT.

Another exploding pile of sticks. Then I heard the sound of a beam gun.

PZEEPZEPZEEOW

And another of the creatures lit alight in magical flames. It shrieked in pain, the one eating a colt began coughing loudly, beating its own chest and broke apart with a gasp. The rest ran away as at least a third of the pack had died in seconds. The colt seemed unphazed by the battle. Spitting out the knife and yelling.

"Ey, I got it und'r control!"

I blinked in confusion.

"What?? I saw a white bar and then a bunch of red ones, I can't just ignore a pony in trouble when I run into one!"

"Trouble?! It was just a pack o' timber wolves, not like they were dragons or nothing!"

Wait, weird dialects aside... I took a good look at the colt I was convinced we had just rescued. Dry, broken skin, slightly mad eyes... Oh. GHOUL.

"OK, OK... Sorry about stealing your thunder... Anyways, nice to meet a ghoul that isn't trying to eat my face off."

Might not have been the best choice of words in hindsight...

"Oy, I only do that when I'm on Rage. Or Stampede. Or if drunk and somepony pissed me off properly. Speaking of pissing me off. Who the hell are you ponies?!"

Then Amber returned with Violette, wait. When did he run off to get her? Anyhow, Violette out a sharp "EEP" and hid behind a tree.

"I'm Windstriker, the red one is Amber and the other is Violette. We're private contractors, and hopefully heroes if need be."

"Ya're what now? Heroes? In the wasteland??"

He stared at my wings for a moment and then noticed the pipbuck.

"Oh just run home to Zony Town before you get yourself killed, kids. The wasteland is not worth the effort, trust me on that one."

Well, that was a change in tone.

"Look, we know how to take care of ourselves and what places to avoid. And I dare say I kick enough ass for all three of us if need be."

He frowned his nose at that.

"Perhaps. But seriously, you have no idea how messed up the world is. The Aurora, Canterlot, Hoofington, Splintered Valley. Equestria hates ponykind these days, and if you are lucky then you just get killed..."

An uncomfortable silence followed, which was broken by an even more uncomfortable question from Violette.

"Are, are you ok? That looks like horrific burns and radiation sickness, how are you even standing?"

Her previous fear had been replaced with a worry and empathic care, the sign of a medic I suppose.

"Huh, yeah. Just a balefire bomb or two, nothing to worry about. I'm not one of all the weirder ghouls out there. Seriously, the Canterlot ones give me the creeps."

"BALE-FIRE. BOMBS. How are you even alive?? Or sapient for that matter?"

OK, so I'm not the only one a little unused to ghouls it seems. The ghoul in question seemed to mostly be melancholic, or nostalgic. Fortunately that meant he took little offense.

"Don't ask me, lady. I may experiment with chems but I ain't no scientist, ask Stormcloud if you want a proper answer. Me? I prefer staying alive and doing whatever I do and try to not think too hard about the whole thing. Probably what kept me sane all these years."

He paused for a moment.

"You ponies absolutely sure you can take of yourselves? Sounds like yo're straight out of a stable or something. I'll protect you til we reach Flood Town, then you're on your own. Got business to take care of."

Good, I got a feeling I'd like to talk to this random stranger. Call me chatty, it is what I do.

"I think we'll take you up on that, even if it is a bit ironic. How far is it?"

"Pretty close, we'll reach it tomorrow. Distances around Vanhoover are nothing compared to the greater equestrian wasteland. There is a mostly intact house on the way there that is used by the caravaners, we'll rest there."

Evenings have never looked so terrifying. The sun had gone past the far edge of the cloud cover, bathing the landscape in a deep crimson. My disaffection for the forest increased with the groaning of the trees and occasional strange roars, fortunately whatever was making the noise decided to not bother us. To make things worse, the tiny ghoul (who called himself "Earthbreaker" by the way) stopped us with a low voice.

"Some shit is wrong."

He sniffed in the air.

"Blood, recent."

I heard a gulp from the Violette and the sound of a beam weapon charging up from Amber. Hold on, checking E.F.S. Nothing. What kind of horror story is this crap?

"I got nothing on the E.F.S, so what are we expecting?"

"BAH, can't trust that junk. Too many blind spots."

He stood silent for a moment.

"Be quiet, be ready."

Then he began stalking forward with an eerie lack of noise, we followed. Towards the overgrown villa. Dark metal spikes stuck out from the bushes, presumably a fence once. An ominous stone structure lied in the middle, the wooden wings of the building had since long rotten through and fallen apart. Then we came upon the bodies hidden by the tall grass.

A shriek pierced the silence as Violette stumbled over the first corpse. Breaker facehoofed, yet there was no sudden ambushes. No sound of any wild creature. Yet my E.F.S. Flickered with a red bar to my right. I jerked my head in the direction and saw a faceless void in the shape of a pony looking back. I blinked, and to my surprise it was still there. A few quiet moments later it disappeared along with the warning on my E.F.S.

"Windstriker... did you see that?"

So I wasn't going crazy, good to know.

"Yeah..."

I got bad flashbacks to stories my mother used to tell me, about evil ponies sacrificing their souls to fool death. About waking nightmares that devoured the spirit of the living.

"Everypone, INSIDE. NOW."

Our traveling companion was seriously spooked (urgh, horrid choice of words). Nevertheless his suggestion sounded fairly reasonable all things considered, so we began running.

The front doors were hanging slightly off the hinges, and were promptly smashed open when Breaker tackled it hard. We ran past him and he proceeded to buck the door shut. The entrance hall had a remarkably sturdy staircase on the lefthoof side, some doors to the right and most noticeable a main hall in the front with an amber glow dancing in the darkness beneath the open doors. Somepony, or something was here.

"OY, who's the idiot who dumped CORPSES in a Van Hoof manor?"

Demanded our furious ghoul friend. An amused "In here" echoed from within the hall, I noticed a large armchair with its back to us, a hat hanging on one side and a crow sitting atop. Gazing at us, judging if we were to be a threat. I readied my battlesaddle, a distraught Amber held his pistol in a tight grip and Violette seemed to shrink in size from the oppressive environment.

As we walked I found myself distracted by the humongous portraits on the walls, in a near pristine condition. Well dressed purple and blue mares and stallions staring down on us, condemning us for infringing on their home. I really wanted to be somewhere else, but running back out wasn't an option. Then my gaze turned back to the dancing flames of the fireplace as Earthbreaker proceeded to buck the armchair with remarkable force, sending the pony sitting in it straight into the wall and the crow up into the air with an angry Caw.

"What did you do that for??"

The beige buck shouted, his dustcoat and mane all tangled up.

"I don't much know, perhaps disturbing the souls of the damned might have something to do with it?!"

And the shouting match between the bucks had began.

"What else was I supposed to do?! The bloody headhunters didn't want to wait until we had left and besides... the ghosts will be gone by morning anyways."

The buck began fixing his mane and through his coat to the side. Revealing his barding and revolver.

"No, they won't! They're Van Hoofs!"

"Oh, I didn't... know that."

The stranger scratched his forehead.

"So who the fuck are you anyways?"

"Fiver, at your service sir."

He had the nerve to smile. And the ghoul facehoofed.

"Of course, a freaking courier..."

He grumbled lowly. Then said courier noticed the rest of us.

"Oh my, not every day I encounter such an exotic beauty. Might I have your name?"

He held out his hoof in a greeting. Which I promptly smacked away, not in the mood for these horse apples.

"Windstriker, and is there a reason to why I shouldn't just shoot you right now?"

"Just my type then. Anyhow, if you shoot me then you might invite the ghosts outside to come in despite the wards on the building. And as such, disturb your chance for a safe place to rest."

"Still Tempting."

This whole thing was just plain surreal.

"So, Earthbreaker. What is the plan?"

"Wait til dawn, send this idiot out first and then make a run for it. Straight to Flood Town, they know this shit better than I do."

The little ghoul sounded profusely irritated.

"And if the courier does anything weird I'll break his limbs. Just the ones he doesn't need."

It seems like the threat was taken seriously as the courier in question shut up and didn't bother me anymore after that. We had an uncomfortable snack and an uneasy night of sleep, but morning came. And true to his word, Earthbreaker made sure Courier Number 5 left first. After an uneasy look outside he was promptly punted out in the yard and after struggling to his hooves he galloped away to the east. No ghosts in sight we left and all four of us ran straight in the other direction.

We ran for at least half an hour as hard as we can until we slowed down as neither Amber nor Violette could keep up. In fact, she had a few choice words that I didn't expect from such a timid pony.

"Is all of Vanhoover thrice damned, royally screwed, and a general clusterfuck abandonded by the Princesses?!"

"Pretty much, take ya pick between gangers, beasts, raiders and worse."

Our more experienced travel companion answered with a small grin on his face.

"And to think that ponies in Equestria think it is some sort of paradise. Not that those foals last the winter. Vanhoover likes to throw ponies into the storm and those who survive are like me, monsters filled with regret and rage."

Then Violette turned to Amber and me.

"And you two travel this place willingly?!"

"Well, I was bored."

And I shrugged my wings.

"And she would not have lasted through a single day without me."

Amber added.

"Bo- BORED?? You ponies are out of your mind!"

"Hey miss, let's be reasonable here. Being bored is a perfectly reasonable reason to do a thing, is the only reason to why I still have my senses about me. And by Vanhoover standards, these two are perfectly sane. At least they carry guns."

"Excuse me?? I'm an biomechanical engineer and a certified medic, not a soldier. I haven't even shot a gun before, I have survived thus far. Not everyone has suicidal tendencies you know."

"Great... you'll fit right in when we reach the town. At least most of the zonies have a healthy paranoia..."

Oh, plot hook!

"Hey, you have actually been to Flood Town. What is it like?"

He first went silent for a long moment.

"Like before. Before the bombs, before the assassination, before the wasteland. Not sure if I'd say its better, but its like the world was back then."

We reached the gates by midday. There was a large moat stretching towards the north side of the town, with a large mound and wall on the other side. If the ranger fortifications were raw and tough whilst the Goldstar walls were simple yet well guarded, these walls were actual proper walls. Stone works several ponies tall, with wooden structures on top. The moat really gave the impression that this was inspired by some ancient equestrian castle design. The gate, likewise was a proper heavy wooden gate with ropes and pulleys. Guard towers with snipers on both sides. Yet there was something else that was different. Their attitude.

"Hey, shorty! Weren't you banned for life?"

"Up yours Goldmane! The Administrator reversed that decision months ago! I got stuff I need to talk to her about, are you going to let me in or what?"

In response I heard some engine whirr to life and the gate opened up to reveal... another gate. Was this some form of joke? I looked to our guide but he just walked up and we followed. Then the gate behind us closed and I was getting really freaked out, the fortifications in here were just as thick and the parapets were filled with ponies armed with rifles, machine guns and... rocket launchers?! I flicked on my Eyes Forward Sparkle, yet everything was still white. Then they opened the internal gate.

This time the tension didn't fail me. A wide main road opened up before us, and stretched out as far as I could see. Before this I had no idea that timber houses could look so impressive and menacing, they were everywhere, upper floors stretching out over the street. Yet it seemed serene, like the air was warmer and the street was inviting. I took to the air, I had to get a better view of this place.

It was huge, not tall like Goldstar but it stretched on and on westward and into the forest to the south. I took to the air in order to get a better view. The whole town seemed to be built in districts, divided by the main road, a central marketplace and and the road south to a district that was decidedly old equestrian. This wasn't a town, this was a city. I could live my whole life there and never explore all of it.

When I had my fill of the scenery and returned to the ground, our ghoul guide had stayed true to his word and left. My proper companions however were talking with a pair of guards who patiently waited for my return. One guard was a thin pony with a white coat, a silver mane and a blank facial expression, the other buck was decidedly more friendly, had a glittery golden mane and a flamethrower of all things. I assumed this was "Goldmane".

"Good thing you came back when you did, I was about to ask Silver to wingclip you."

He was joking right?

"Flying above Flood Town had been outlawed the last century, the Administrator has made it very clear that unidentified fliers are to be shot on sight."

"And here I made the mistake of thinking this place was friendly. You had to be as shooty as the rangers or Goldstar."

"Hey, I didn't make the rule. The last pegasus in Tall Tale died decades ago, any flier is either a spy, a dragon or a blood wing. Hostile either way. Anyhow, your friends explained that you wanted to visit the library? Main road to the market, then left to the old town."

"Riiight. One last thing though, why the firepower?"

I pointed my wing at the positively unfriendly weapon of choice.

"Scares raiders, scares beasts, or I just really like burning things. Take your pick."

The friendliness of the place was surreal and when a group of foals ran past laughing someone had to raise the question in all our heads. Violette decided to be the one to break the silence.

"If they can fit all of these ponies, feed them and keep them safe. How haven't they rebuilt everything else around here?"

Amber being the only one who had at least read about our history was hesitant to answer.

"According to our teacher back home things used to be a lot worse outside the walls, only reason we can walk freely in here is that we have a history of cooperation. Tribe to tribe, most ponies not affiliated with a caravan wouldn't be let in at all."

Still rubbed me the wrong way.

"Yeah, but did you see the ordnance they were packing? They would blow even steel rangers to bits if they wanted, and they have had what? Two centuries to do what they want? Who even is this mysterious 'Administrator'?"

"Wait, were you hyped about Goldstar just because the word 'Princess'?"

Amber looked like he was about to facehoof again.

"You seriously have no idea do you?"

"Please explain to the outsider as well as the ignoramus?" Did Violette just insult me? It sounded like an insult.

Amber let out a loud sigh and recited:

"Administrator Sable Quil of Tall Tale, chosen by Royal Coordinator Icetear of the Equestrian Government, on her royal highness Luna's authority."

A stunned silence as both of us needed time to process the statement, I think I figured it out.

"Wait wait wait. She is the Sable Quil from the Vanhoover Provisional Government? As in, this place isn't ruled by some descendant of the government? She IS the government??"

"Poorly worded but I think I am following."

Violette seemed to be grasping the magnitude of the matter as well.

"The last remnant of the ancient equestrian government, and if I assume she has lived for two centuries then she has two hundred years of rule to solidify her authority as well. As impressive as that is, it just makes the previous question all the more important. Why hasn't she done anything in all that time?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know everything. But we are going to a library, you can ask there."

Level Up

Skill Note: Battle Saddles - 50%

Perk Added: Hunter
You specialize in fighting wild animal and magical beasts, dealing +75% damage against such creatures.