Bridget and Light Step had curled up on one of the medical beds. A thin blanket was gently draped over the two of them. They had spent much of the day running around playing with the other foals. Now they were out of energy.

“Was I ever this energetic?” I mumbled to myself.

“Worse.” Prism quietly chuckled. “But you were also surrounded by a lot of nasty ponies by the time I found you.”

“You two never did tell me how you became a family.” Jali noted as she slowly packed up her medical supplies. “I get Prism. There were just as many unicorns that gave themselves to the goddess as they were those taken, as strange as it sounds. But you, Miss Star Charter; when we first met, you seemed far too independent, too ready to fight, like a raider, but you were also too educated to be a raider.”

Prism began helping Jali pack up, as she said “Maybe later, but not while the foals are here. You know how wasteland stories are,” Mom quietly explained.

Jali smiled, causing the exposed mussels on her cheek to stretch. “I understand. Back at the main camp, Velevent banned any wasteland stories from being shared. It seems that even the more tame stories would cause ministry mare Fluttershy to faint.” A long sigh came from the ancient ghoul. "Long has this land not been the magical paradise my mother once told stories about. She was always sad about leaving Equestria behind when the war started. She also always feared what happened to my grandfather who stayed behind to work with the free doctors guild.”

I chuckled a little. “It’s funny that the softest of the ministry mares is also the one who survived the worst of everything.”

Another sigh came from Jali. “Yes, and she still cries herself to sleep over it, half blaming herself, half missing her friends. It’s a painful reminder to us all how our good intentions can cause the deepest of wounds.” There was a momentary pause before Jali shut her bag. “Well it’s getting late. I should return to the camp with the other ghouls. Ditzy is leaving in the morning. I still haven't gotten my order of glow water.” She eyes Prism. “You should order some glow water as well. You may last longer than us ghouls without radiation, but there's a limit to everything.”

Prism lifted up a hoof and looked at the scars on her fetlock. “I know that more than any pony else Jali, but as long as I don’t use my magic much, I’ll be fine until Ditzy returns.”

“If that’s how you feel, then I won’t push it.” The Zebra Ghoul placed the medical bag onto her back. “Still, I implore that you join the followers properly. You should reconnect with your sisters. They are worried about you.”

A slight smile formed on Prism’s face as she looked over to Bridget. “I’m fine where I am, with my family. I have no interest in joining their attempts at breeding. I’ve already been there and failed. What I have here is more important, and will always be to me.”

Jali shrugged. “I get that, and truthfully, don’t know why they want to make more alicorns. It’s not like they were born that way.” She trotted to the door. “See you in the morning. Please don’t go firing any more guns inside the clinic.”

Prism gave me a, 'that means you' look,' so I defended myself by saying, "Alright! I'll stop leaving a bullet in the chamber, but trust me, you never know when you don't have time to cock a gun."

"Let’s just hope that we will never need to fire a gun that fast," Prism said with a sigh, then smiled while motioning her head to tell me to look down.

At my hooves was the colt Copper Wire. He was holding a strange bundle of worn-out tech. "It's a signal booster, Aunty Star. Since the followers don't want you to use their radio anymore, I thought we can just make our own radio."

I ruffled the sweet colts head. I felt very proud that he would do this. This also made me sad because this was yet another reminder to me that he barely got enough attention from his mother.

"That's a brilliant idea,” I commended him. “In fact, it’s so brilliant I'm in awe of how smart you are. I mean, if you can make your own radio thingy, then maybe you can be the next DJpon3. I wonder if Roger Roger is willing to help."

Copper puffed part of his mane out of his face. "Roger thinks I can't do it."

I flashed him a grin. "I guess you just have to prove him wrong then."

He clearly took a moment to think about it before nodding. "I bet he’s going to be so jelly when I have my own radio broadcaster. He’ll still be stuck just looking at the follower’s broadcaster." Copper practically skipped as he rushed out the door.

"Aren't you going to escort him?" Prism grumbled at me.

"Right,” I realized with a roll of my eyes. “He's still a little colt." I breathed as I made my way out.

He hadn't made it far. It was easy to catch up to him. In fact, too easy since he was looking around an alley and not running home at full speed. "Copper, what-"

"Shhh! That sleeping mares is there. I think she's crying," Copper whispered.

Poking my head around the corner, I noticed that there she was. She was the short pink zony… or mirage pony as she had called herself. Harp Melody did indeed look like she was crying, but she was clearly trying to hold it in, even though she was by herself.

"Copper, can you stay put?” I requested. “I'm going to take you home, but first I should talk with her. Okay?" He nodded. After that, I slowly made my way to her.

Harp sniffled as I sat down with her. She hid her face. "What?" Was all she said.

"Need me to break the mayor's nose?" I asked, hoping nothing so serious was not needed.

She paused, slowly turning her head to look at me with eyes wide open. It took her a moment before she blinked, and shook her head. "No, I don't need you to do that… though he probably does deserve it."

That got a chuckle out of me. "That stallion is quite the sleazeball. I think it's why the NCR only sends their rangers down here. They are far more expensive to bribe than your standard soldier, with most rangers being former talons. From what Hardballer has told me, it's not that talons are above bribery, it's that they are skilled at taking you for every cap they can squeeze out of you if you don’t make it a contract."

"Takes a cheat to beat a cheat," she said, putting on a small smile.

"Yep, that's how the wasteland is. It’s where you're either the big fish, or you're the big fish’s dinner. That or you get good at dogging big fish." Getting up, I offered her my hoof. "Now why don't you trot with me and tell me what happened?"

She nodded. We made our way to Copper. "As you know, the mayor took me on to help him, but it turned out that all he wanted was a young mare to stand next to him." Harp gave a frustrated chuckle as she rolled her eyes. "Worse, he wasn't planning on paying me for all the work I did, and I had probably just helped him cheat other ponies out of a few hundred bits… no cap. A few hundred caps. As a result, I announced my quitting by throwing a drink in his face at the dance party."

I winced, knowing how badly the mayor took insults. “Ya, that will definitely put you in a bad spot in his book. That asshole loves to hold his grudges, so getting back on his good side would require a lot of work.”

Harp nodded and sighed. "I also met Quicktrot, the head of that merchant group Blue Skies. I don’t know where to begin with her, but it seems that she's supplying the town with everything it needs for the festival, and I know for a fact that she's not a pony you can trust. Not unless you trust her to stick a knife in your back. Then I met Victoria…"

"You met Victoria!" I exclaimed as I grabbed her. "Where is she? How is she doing? Can you take me…" I stopped, and let her go since I saw Harp flinch, almost cowering away. "Sorry. You can say I'm a big fan. I would love to see her, and find out what she's been doing."

"I don't think you…" she stopped herself and looked away.

Looking around subtly on the nearly empty street, I saw a pony in tinted sunglasses, even though it was dark now. Looking back at Harp, though she was still, I could tell something had her scared.

Copper trotted in front of us, looking a bit confused. "Say, Auntie Star, didn't you say you know…" I stopped on the ground a little extra hard to get him to shut up. I couldn't be sure, but if mentioning Victoria has her shaken up, then she might know something bad about her. If Prism was right, then she could still be the Victoria I knew eleven years ago, which could be a very bad thing.

"How about we change topics? Like how did you get that robot to move? No matter what Roger or Copper did, it refused to respond."

"Ya. It's batteries are too small and systems too power-hungry for it to work right," Copper added.

"It's mirage pony tech." Harp answered, looking a bit more relaxed with the change of topic. "Let’s just say that it requires Mirage Pony magic to function properly."

"That's no fair, locking tech to a race," Copper wined. "That's just like the steel assholes."

"The what?" Harp asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The steel rangers. They are assholes in power armor that hoard any tech they find. They think we’re too dumb to use it without killing ourselves," Copper explained.

"Yep," I added. "They are some remnant of the equestrian military. I met a few in the wastes years back. Luckily I'm low tech and Mom can turn invisible, so they mostly just ignored me because, you know, a lown filly in the wasteland, just walking by. I even stopped to see if one could spare me some water. They told me to go bang rocks together somewhere else. So ya, assholes."

"I see. Then I probably should avoid them," Harp mumbled to herself.

"Them, and about almost every group out in the wasteland," I warned with a chuckle. "Even with the radiation clearing up, ponies are still finding reasons to be assholes to each other. I've heard that they aren’t as bad as it once was, so there's that, at least."

Harp looked up at the sky and sighed. "It would be nice if there was some kind of megaspell that just fixed everything, but until then I'll take being able to trot outside without a gas mask on."

She seemed to have relaxed, so I turned my attention to where we were going. We are passing by the train station first… at which we found Slowtrot sitting on a bench, looking at his pipbuck. The three of us watched him for a moment before I spoke up. "So, ya quit, or did ya get fired?" The other two turned to stare at me like I was the asshole. Maybe I was. Such is life.

Slowtrot slowly scratched at his goatee before answering. "Well, I haven't been officially fired yet, but I don't feel like I will do me any good to go back and ask them, so probably both."

Well, at least this will be easier to deal with then Harp's problem. "Ohh, tough break, and with the general store too. Then again, only Heavy Hoof can stand Karat. At least you're not alone in this. I knew a few ponies that were not a good match for their first job. Seconds times a charm, as ponies say."

"Three, actually," Slowtrot said with a shrug. "Quacksalver, Spot Weld, and then I worked at Heavy Hoof's store. Worked for all three today. It didn't end well."

That caused me to pause as I tried to process what he just said. "Wait, are you telling me that you managed not just get hired and fired from one job in a day, which mind you, is not rare in the wasteland, but you did it with three jobs?"

Slowtrot nodded.

I face hoofed harder than I had done in my life. Well, at least he hadn't gotten the eye of a dangerous pony on him or pissed off the mayor, so his situation could be fixed at least.

"Well it can't be that bad. I mean, you didn't shoot no pony." I asked.

"No. Nopony died," he confirmed, and I sighed in relief. "But, because of my pipbuck, I gave unsolicited medical advice that made doctor Quacksalver upset. Then, with Spot Weld, I accidentally caused the A of the town's welcome sign to fall over. Nothing bad happened at the general store, though when Karat showed up, she accidentally hurt herself. When doing a medical scan on her, I found out something she rather others did not know."

"Medical scan?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you have that installed in your pipbuck? Back home, only licensed ponies can have that spell program. Privacy issues and all that," Harp added before grinning. "What was wrong with Karat?"

"Wait wait!" I interrupted. "As much as I like to have dirt on the bitch…" I face hoofed again. "Ya know, I don't think it matters. From the sounds of it, you both somehow completely screwed yourselves in town in less than a day.” I sighed, then said, “Here. I know a place you might be able to get some work. They're not so wound up in the politics of the town, but let's drop off Copper first."

The two stable ponies looked down at their hooves as they began following me. I was not sure it was out of shame or just the sense of failure, but they will get over it. Unlike the other wastelanders here in town, they were still healthy, had no obligation to stay in town, and those pipbucks tend to give them a leg up on other ponies.

Then again, with those pipbucks and their lack of knowledge of how the wasteland works, it made them good targets for any pony with bad intentions. From what I heard, even if they were under the protection of the NCR, a lot of stable ponies went missing in the first years after sunshine and rainbows. At least here in town they can get their hard lessons with some semblance of safety. The one good thing I can say about Ashy, she is able to keep the worst of the wasteland out.

We turned to trot through the slums bazaar. The shops were now closed. The beggars had finally gone home, but the whores and drug dealers were still about. It only took a few glances from me to cause them to look the other way. They knew that, as long as they didn’t bother me or those with me, they don’t have to lose a tooth. There were a few other shady ponies lurking about while eyeing the two stable ponies, likely plotting on robbing them if given the opportunity. If they managed that, then they would likely spend their ill-gotten caps on drugs and booze.

Passing the bazaar, we trotted into the part of town that had several lines of train carts stacked on top of each other Some were stacked three high, but most were just two carts high.

“Welcome to Old New Appaloosa. Copper, remember to lock your door. I’ll make sure your mother goes straight home after work.” I told the Colt.

“No boozing?” he asked as he looked away.

“Ya, No boozing. Now go get some sleep. I don’t want you to be late for school tomorrow,” I told him. He dragged his hooves off to one of the carts. I waited until I heard a thud and a click before relaxing.

“Do ponies really live like this?” Slowtrot asked, his face looking utterly bewildered.

“This would be considered middle class living back home for me,” Harp said with a sigh. “Back home, we all have to live underground, so most of the stations were quite cramped. The worst was a station called Charon's Stop. It was basically the only place you can go if you have nowhere to go.”

Slowtrot looked over at Harp, a bit more bewildered. “That’s horrible! I don’t know how anypony can stand to live like that.”

She shrugged “They live like that because they must, otherwise they’d die. Many did die anyways. It’s not like they have anywhere to go.”

“until recently, we had thought we were alone in the world. We thought that we were the only survivors,” Harp explained. “Some lived better, but most didn’t. That’s just how things were.”

“And still is,” I chimed in. “Now, if we just stand here and chat, we are bound to piss sompony off that’s trying to get some sleep, so follow me.”

We turned to trot to the outskirts, leaving the old part of town behind.

“Miss Star, do you live there as well?” Slowtrot asked.

"My mother and I did it for a while," I answered. "We were not too concerned with living standards at the time, but when my daughter was coming, we decided it might be best to move away from this part of town. Thanks to the Followers and the Gunrunners, we were able to move to a less run-down part of town." I pointed down at the other end of town, still on this side of the tracks. "There's several shacks that were built early in the town’s expansion when they were tearing down the walls for building materials. It's safe, but the rent does leave us light on caps."

A huff came from Slowtrot, who now seemed less uncomfortable with trotting through the slums of the town. "Almost forgot that rent was going to be a thing. Please don't tell me that the landlords raise rates every year like they did during the war. Though it’s hard to blame them now considering how everypony was trying to buy their way into a stable, and now seeing how Equestria turned out outside of the stable."

"Ya. That's a problem here too since proper building materials are hard to come by. Functional homes just get more expensive as more ponies come to town," I explained, a bit shocked that a pony from two hundred years back would have had some of the same problems as I have now.

Then again, I’ve never seen a pony get. and then lose three jobs in a day, so he may be a “special” case.

I then looked at Harp, who looked far more properly paranoid than Slowtrot. It could have been her scare with Victoria, or she actually knew how dangerous this part of town could be.

"Say Harp,” I began to her, “what was the rent like in your underground? It must have been crazy with how little space there must have been."

"I don't know. My family owned most of it," she blurted out before freezing. "I mean, we managed most of it, but I did have any involvement in the finances."

I grinned at her. "Oh, it looks like we have a landlord's little princess. Must have been fun not worrying about such things as rent while having plenty of food and a cozy bed."

She looked away from me. "Well ya, I guess I was lucky for all that." Her voice cracked a little.

Right. She's a fragile pony right now, I had to remind myself. "Oh sweety, I didn't mean to upset you," I said softly as I rubbed up on her with my shoulder. "Just a bit teasing. Nopony good would blame you for having a good life up till now, and if they did . . . fuck ‘em!”

“Anyways, when I was younger, I was in a position to have a good life too; warm bed, hot food, and plenty of power." I reminisce.

"What happened?" Harp asked.

"I chose Prism, and never regretted it once," I answered proudly. I decided to leave out the fact that my other choice was Victoria. What would I have become if I had stayed with the gang, I’m not sure, but I know I would not have had Bridget, and that's not a life I want to miss out on.

A smile formed on Harp’s muzzle as she said, "She is a nice mare. You're lucky to have her."

"That she is, and that I am," I agreed before stopping in front of our destination. Music could be heard playing loudly from inside the building. "Right. This is where I work, the Ruffled Feathers. I'll talk with the boss to see if there is any opening for the cleaning crew."

The front of the building had its name lit up in neon lights. Several drunken ponies sat out in front who then scattered when they finally noticed that I was here.

"Oh, it's a bar. I could go for a cold drink… if I had the money for one," Slowtrot lamented.

"I'll see if I can get you two one on the house," I told them and then entered.

The smell of smoke and booze hit my noise as the music could almost be felt as much as it was heard. The place was quite packed with outsiders looking for entertainment at night, of which they were getting. On the far end of the Ruffled Feathers was Brass Chains on stage. The outfit she had on enhanced her natural beauty as she straddled a pole, but she looked a bit more tired than she should.

"Okay, so not just a bar," Slowtrot realized. He barely heard himself over the audible music. "Hey, is this one of DJ Pon3y's classic party tracks?"

I trotted closer to them to make sure they could hear me. "Ya. Now go sit or stand by the bar. I'll be back in a bit. If you're bored and have a few caps, there's a poker table in the corner. Looks like blackjack is the game of the night." I told them. They nodded.

Making my way to the back, I had to push through several ponies. One nearly got kicked for pinching my flank. A lot of them had black leather jackets, marking them as belonging to the Desperados ganggers, of which was not the best sign for the night.

Passing one of the lounge tables, I saw Rusty sitting on some stallions lap, sharing a drink. She gave me a wink as I passed.

Further back, I saw that none of the brothel workers were hanging off their balcony, which meant that they were all busy with clients.

Finally making my way to the back, and away from customers, I found two of our irregular dancers. They were a married couple. The stallion laid face down on a cot as his wife fanned his flank with a clipboard.

"Oh thank Celestia your here, Star,” said the mare fanning her husband. “A few of us got pulled away for the mayor’s stupid dance shindig, making us short-staffed during a rush."

"Please don't tell me you need me on stage. I got company over right now," I said with a groan.

The stallion on the cot raised a hoof meekly. "At least one before Cloudy Sunrise can get back. I can't go back out there. The mares are too aggressive."

The mare doubled her effort to fan the stallion as she said, "There's some sort of a mercenary band at the bar. The boss doesn't want a fight, so they have the run of the place. Fortunately, the stallions have been relatively well behaved, but their mares act quite aggressive."

"They wouldn't stop slapping my flank!" The stallion groaned. "This is why I only want to work the gay nights. At least they follow the rules."

"Hush now, Honey. It's only until after the festival. If you like, I'll be the big spoon tonight," The mare said to comfort the stallion. He just groaned in agreement.

Leaving the lovebirds alone, I made my way to the back office where Water Spout was sitting. He was going over some paperwork. Catching his eye, he breathed a sigh in relief. "Get dressed, Star. We need you out on stage. Too many ponies have been harassing the dancers, and I need a mare with a strong kicking leg."

"Is Brass okay out there? You know how she really doesn't like ponies getting in her space if she's on stage." If a pony did touch her, their leg was going to get broken.

"It's fine, Star. It's either the scars or brandings she's got all over herself, but they seem content with just watching her. That's why she's been out there for nearly an hour now." The hippogriff said with a sigh.

"What! Are you trying to kill her?!" I shouted, then calmed myself. "Fine, but I got two guests over. They both got stable barding jackets and pipbucks on. Can you give them a bit of work? At least for tonight."

Waterspout scratched his beak for a short moment. "The two that fell from a clear sky you mean… alright. If you go out there and dance as long as you can, I'll go talk to them. But what did they do to end up here?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know right now, so let's just say it was a bunch of bad luck. They're here now so we should deal with them," I explained before heading to the dressing room.

"Oh, and just knock them off stage if anypony climbs up. We don't have the supplies for mending broken bones right now." Waterspout shouted as he got out of his seat.

The dressing room was a bit of a mess. With clothing having been thrown around, makeup partially scattered, and somepony left their inhaler of dash behind. I don't know who was doing chems at work, but I'll have to ask around after things settle down while reminding them to keep that shit at home.

Sitting at my dresser, I quickly pulled out a few outfits. I decided on the classic black fishnet ensemble, mostly because it's easy to throw on and it didn't come loose after a while. Makeup was an easy job. It is just more black thrown onto my eyelids and lashes, and dark red lipstick to make everything come together.

In the mirror, I saw a pretty pony with a long well cared for mane, a smooth coat, and the farthest thing that I was six years ago. With a few finishing touches, I was done, though not perfect. I doubted a bunch of drunk and rowdy ponies would care.

Trotting over to the stage, I signaled for the control pony to signal for Bronze to finish dancing. With the music lowering and lights dimming, an exhausted Bronze trotted behind the curtains and nearly fell to the floor. She was saved by my timely catch.

"Nearly an hour out there!” I breathed in astonishment. “Are you trying to put yourself in an early grave?" I chastised my friend.

While in my hooves, she arched back, placing her fetlock onto her head in a dramatic pose. "I suffer, for I must." She then relaxed. "And I need the caps."

"Let me guess; there were a few mares out there you fancied too?" She looked away to avoid eye contact. "Well you're not taking them home or staying at the brothel with one. I already promised Copper you'll go home tonight and go home sober."

She let herself slip out of my hooves and laid down on the floor. "Alright. Anyways, I don't think I have the energy to do much else tonight."

I gave her a hug. "Good. Just rest up a bit. I'll escort you home on my break. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow. You can spend some time with your son. He does love you, so please stop ignoring him."

Bronze nuzzled my neck for a moment, taking in my scent before pushing away and avoided eye contact again. "I… fine. If you're there, then I'll do it."

The music started to turn up. Strobe lights started flickering, signaling my time to head out, so I let Bronze go.

"Alright. Also, if you can, keep an eye out for Rusty for me. “ I requested. “She needs to head home later tonight as well."

With a smile and a wink, I trotted onto the stage. A more than excited crowd of drunken ponies waited for me. I was neither nervous or scared since I had done this for a few years now. I also had my share of bar fights in that time. If the rowdy gaggers try and upstage me, they are going to find me more than they can handle.