It had been two days since me and Firefly set off for the enigmatic Outpost Zeta. With the help of GIMP and over seven hours of staring at the Ember Mountains, I had found the telltale signs of a military base concealed inside a small hollowed mountain. It had been well hidden, I had to give the EAF that much credit, but the dead giveaway was the snaking dirt road leading up to its front gate. The trip was gonna be a long slog South and it would take us almost a week to get there even at the pace we traveled at. We only took what we thought we would need including food, ammunition, the explosives and a healthy supply of SparkleCola for my poor addiction.

“Gawd...can’t fuckin’ believe tha’ bitch Killer Queen attacked us in mah own goddamned camp... I swear she’s gettin’ more ‘n more ballsy as time goes on.” Firefly growled as we started to come up on our first town in days. “Ah swear, as soon as Ah get back tah New Pegasus Imma hunt her bitch ass down and kill ‘er. Not only is she trying tah kill meh wit’ no Bounty tah mah name but now she’s gone ‘n violated mah private property! Th’ Syndicate will have ah field day wit’ this shit…”

“Oh yeah? You guys have rules for this sorta thing?” I asked, continually surprised by how organized the killing game was out West.

“Oh hell yeah!” He replied with a chuckle. “Ain’t no infighting allowed in th’ Syndicate unless there be an active Bounty on ‘em and th’ Shadow Brokers do ah good job lettin’ ponies in the network know if they got on in their name on th’ Boards. Professional jealousy tah th’ point o’ murder ain’t allowed, just plain bad fer business ‘n their reputation.”

“And you’re sure you don’t have a Bounty on your ass?”

“Hell fuckin’ naw! Ah pay mah handler’s fees in full, Ah keep mah nose clean ‘o shady shit and Ah sure as shit ain’t eva had beef wit’ another in th’ network. If Ah had ah Bounty, woulda seen it on th’ Board when we left fer Black Steel or been told by ah Shadow Broker when we was droppin’ tha’ sonofabitch off at th’ Embassy.”

“Jeez...the more I learn about this Syndicate, the more I’m amazed…” I admitted.

“Oh yeah? Wha’ about?”

“Well...everything! Way back East if you wanted to take a Bounty you had to go from town to town looking at the notice boards, ask bartenders or get approached by shady individuals in a back alley. Out here, it’s a giant well-oiled machine with actual rules, a hierarchy and shit. I mean you guys basically made Murder Inc. It’s...well, it’s pretty fucking neat not gonna lie.”

“Heh...yeah, Ah guess so.” He chuckled, making sure his bush hat was in place as we approached the entrance of the town which was surrounded by a wall of old train cars and giant boulders. “This here is Pale Tree. Nice enough lil’ town but they ain’t too friendly towards strangers. Can’t blame ‘em wit’ Old Appleloosa only thirty ‘er so miles off…”

The ‘gate’ was really just a ramp leading up to an old freight car with a pair of extra thick sliding doors but for what it was, it wasn’t all that shabby since having a redundant door would create another obstacle to getting in. As we approached, the pair of guards standing on either side of the ramp raised their hooves to stop us while a few on the roof of the train car eyed us from behind burlap sandbags with the muzzles of their rifles poking out.

“Whoa there, hold up you two.” The guy on the left said when we got close. “What brings two weirdos like you to Pale Tree?”

“Jus’ passin’ through.” Firefly responded, puffing up his chest a bit so they would notice his NER branded armor. “We’re headin’ further South from here ‘n this here is th’ last friendly town wit’ ah saloon worth it’s spit.”

“That right? And what about your Steel Ranger buddy?” He asked, eying me with a mix of disdain and suspicion.

“I’m with him.” I replied with a grunt, annoyed that my armor had to be so associated with the Order and all its many, many issues. “Ain’t here to start shit, we just want a place to sit down for a bit and get off our paws. Er...hooves.”

He looked between Firefly and I for another few seconds before he sighed and pounded a hoof on the sliding freight door which then promptly opened from the inside as a stallion pushed it open.

“Don’t stay too long.” He grunted, pointing to the open door. “We ain’t the kind that likes strangers around here. Last thing we need is for the Steel Rangers or NER to start thinking this little town is now suddenly theirs. Get what you need and get outta here.”

We brushed past him with silent nods and walked through the freight car that seemed to double as a bunk room for the guards into the town proper. It wasn’t anything special, just several dozen makeshift houses thrown together from scrap like most settlements, but the saloon Firefly had mentioned was definitely a Pre-War building being made of wood to a higher standard of construction than everything else around it. Ponies on the street fled to the awnings of their porches or indoors entirely and watched us warily while we made our way to the saloon which was loud and lively with music and laughter.

The moment we entered, the main room stuffed with old wooden tables seating a dozen or so stallions and a few mares went silent. I had removed my helmet just to try and show I wasn’t here to shoot anypony and instantly regretted it as the smell of chewing tobacco and stale cigarette smoke hung in the air like tar making my eyes water. We stood in silence staring back at everyone else who stared right back at us with mixed expressions of surprise and concern. Even the lively old piano that had been playing as we walked in had gone silent and the poor mare playing it hovered her hooves over the keys as if unsure what to do next.

“Th’ fuck y’all lookin’ at?” Firefly growled. “If we was here tah shoot up th’ town we would’ve started at th’ front gate, dumbasses.”

There was a general murmur amongst them but slowly they all returned to their drinks and cards while the pianist went back to her earlier song filling the air with music and the general noise you’d expect from a saloon. We approached the main bar and while Firefly hopped up onto one of the stools, I scooted a few aside so I could sit beside him easily looking over the bartop that only came up to my chest. He plopped down the satchel of caps we had gotten from the Embassy in front of the barkeep and asked for a bottle of their finest while I gingerly handled the pony-sized menu of items from their kitchen. I was a bit surprised to see things like Molerat stew and Fire Gecko steaks on the menu but was grateful nonetheless to have come across a place that actually cooked meat; in the end I ordered four servings of the stew as the portion sizes were meant for people much smaller than me. The barkeep warmed right up to us the moment Firefly flashed the cash showing that anyone could ignore their feelings as soon as there was a profit to be made.

“So...Ah was thinking. If we manage to, you know, get a hold of that place and keep it from th’ SR shit heads, I say we make it ah home base.” Firefly said after he had a few shots from his bottle and I had gotten a cooking pot full of stew which made me perk up and look at him curiously.

“Wait, ‘we’?”

He nodded, which made me laugh a little and feel more comfort than I expected.

“Well alright then, I can’t say no to that sorta arrangement. But...I can’t lie, we're gonna need more than just me and you though to keep that place safe. It’s not like it's going to be the whole SR army that shows up, just a Platoon at most, but even then we’d still probably need one more on our side to take it and hold it.”

“Well...what do ya propose?” He asked as we paid for our food and drink and slowly made our way back towards the door. “Paletree is ah ways out but th’ Syndicate is sure tah have a Broker planted here. Can try tah find ‘em ‘n send ah request fer another Merc or Hunter tah come out here ‘n help out no questions asked.”

I shook my head and put my helmet back on as we exited out into the hot desert sun and meandered towards the building down the road that had a crudely made sign of a gun dangling over its door. “No...don’t want anyone else knowing where this place is. That, and I’m not exactly inclined to accept help when there’s a Bounty on my head that’s worth more than anything we could offer whoever actually showed up.”

“Eh...yeah, guess ya gotta point…” He sighed, adjusting the brim on his hat to keep the sun out of his milky blue eyes. “Plus...would take ‘em at least as long as it did fer us tah get here puttin’ us behind schedule…”

“Mhm...no easy way about this. We’ll just have to somehow handle this between the two of us...heard you and the barkeep talkin’ while I was beak-deep in that stew. Anything we can use?”

He shrugged as he entered first. “Not much, Says she's been hearin’ about th’ SR actin’ up just past th’ Gap ‘n somethin’ abou’ lone scouts in Power Armor wanderin’ around th’ area, probably lookin’ fer ya. Thankfully she's got more brains than most folk ‘n promised she ain’t seen ‘er heard of ya in her life if anypony comes lookin’.”

The shop was small and frankly too small to try and stuff myself through the narrow, rickety doorway so I stood outside while he went inside and checked over their inventory for anything we might be able to use. Wasn’t long before he returned looking a bit disappointed but carrying a few boxes of 7.62s and a couple landmines.

“How about the Outpost? Any rumors about something like that in the area?”

Firefly shrugged again. Said she ain’t never heard o’ it, or really anythin’ military this far North of th’ Badlands so that there was a bust. Though she did say tha’ the next big town has ah stallion who goes out on scrap runs every now and again, maybe he'll know somethin’.”

“Damn...expected as much. Well, let’s hope we can find where that dirt road leading up to it is before the Order makes it past the Gap or one of those scouts finds it first. That or worse. Would hate to get cornered by that Athena chick before we even hit the Embers.”

Firefly put his purchase in one of his saddlebags and replied. “Indeed, tha’ last one is probably th’ most scary tah consider. She ain’t one tah take ah Contract from th’ SR...or hell, even the NER ever since she started workin’ mostly fer tha’ Green Peace bastard in New Pegasus but ya neva know. She’s definitely th’ kinda mare worth takin’ the price on yer head.”

“Take your word for it my guy, I wouldn’t fuckin’ know either way. I haven’t even been here a month yet so I’ve had no time to get used to names and shit out here.”

Without much left to look at and good food in my gut, we decided to start hitting the trail again so as to not waste any more time; time that would only serve the SR’s goals. The guard seemed almost surprised to see us leaving only an hour or so after arriving but didn’t say anything as we swung around the edge of town and continued making our way towards the distant peaks of the Ember Mountains. After twenty minutes of silent walking and contemplating what lay ahead, Firefly stopped in his tracks and looked at me with concern.

“Wait wait wait, this outpost Zeta. How in th’ fuck are we gonna get in? Fer such ah secret base tha’ not even yew knew about it, Ah would expect it tah be closed to all but th’ highest security clearances. Ya gonna cut through th’ door?”

I chuckled, kinda glad he asked actually. “Don't worry about getting in, I have a few old access codes I’ve been hoarding that’ve gotten me into wayyyy more secure places than this. And even if it’s restricted to Generals and above, I’ve got those codes stored away too. Getting in should be the easy part.”

“Heh glad tah hear it! Nice tah see someone has a brain in this Wasteland, dunno how many fuckers Ah've worked wit’ who couldn't even hack ah fuckin’ alarm clock, ‘er even how tah open ah can ‘o corn er somethin’.” Firefly said with a hearty laugh and a big smile. “Also...uh...wanted tah say thank yew fer saving mah ass from Killer Queen. Ain’t many tha’ can say they beat ah proper Hitmare. And ya humiliated her!”

I chuckled and grinned at the heartfelt compliment. “Heh...well thanks, Firefly. Really, it wasn’t a big deal. She was gonna shoot you and I couldn’t just sit there and watch her gun down my new friend without fucking her shit up. What kind of friend would I be to let that sorta shit happen, eh?"

He smiled and we continued walking, talking idly about our favorite weapons and arguing over the finer points of ballistics and which gun was suitable for which situation. Soon we came upon an old Pre-War ghost town similar to the old mining town just outside Firefly’s cave. I wondered why it was abandoned rather than being refurbished but got an answer the moment my Geiger counter started to tick angrily as we got closer. With the sun starting to dip below the clouds painting the sky in dusk colors, we decided it was as good a place as any to shack up for the night. Even though it was irradiated, barrels of glowing green sludge scattered around with no rhyme or reason, it wasn’t enough to be dangerous to either of us. I had gained a high tolerance to arcane radiation thanks to playing guinea pig for the Stable’s resident doctor who had experimented with rad resistance while Firefly seemed delighted at the sight of the barrels.

“Mmmff...ain’t nothin’ make ah Ghoul feel better than some good ol’ Rads!” He laughed as he dug his hooves into the waste and smeared it on his face. “Wooooboy this feels great…”

“Heh...yeah, I’ll take your word for it…” I called back to him while sweeping every collapsed building and alleyway for any signs of life and stomping on any Radroach I could find. “This place seems completely abandoned, seems like a good place to camp for the night.”

“Oh yeah? Yew fine wit’ all them Rads in th’ air?” He asked as he joined me in what had been the town hall which was only partially collapsed and had enough room inside for the two of us plus a bit more with a roof over our heads.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. Stable I came from was all about genetic science so when the doc asked for volunteers to try out some experimental gene therapy to try and make ponies better adapted to radiation, I offered to be the first. Places like this aren’t all that dangerous to me now although I still need to be careful how much time I spend in RadZones. Besides...it’ll be nice to get off my paws finally, they’re killing me.” I said before climbing out of my Power Armor and enjoying my newfound freedom to stretch. “Ahhhh...fuck that feels so much better...”

“Yer just fulla surprises, ain’t ya?” He chuckled while getting himself comfortable on a bedroll and starting the small campfire he had assembled between us.

“Yeah, well it’s nowhere near as strong as your immunity to Rads but it definitely helps out. Anyways...I was thinking. When we take over the outpost, what are ya gonna do Firefly? Gonna stay with me fulltime or just fuck off back to your cave? I know you said ‘we’ when talking about the Outpost but...well, you’ve already got a cozy mineshaft for yourself that’s a hell of a lot closer to New Pegasus than this place is gonna be.”

To my surprise the Changeling blushed a little and tried to hide his face. “W..well Ah mean, Ah wouldn't mind. Bein’ all alone in th’ Wastes ain’t all tha’ fun. Not tah mention lonely...”

I grinned and scooted a bit closer to him. “Ohohohooo, is the badass Bug all of a sudden suddenly showing his soft side?”

The Ling growled a little and blushed even more, his glowing green face shining a bit brighter as irradiated blood flushed his cheeks. “S...shut th’ hell up Garand, it been ah long while since i've shacked up with someone so don’ be thinkin’ anythin’ of it. If Ah wanted sum action mah best bet would be one ‘o th’ casinos on th’ Stirrup. Course...not like any of em harlots would bed ah Ghoul anyway...or ah Changeling fer tha’ matter.”

I nodded and raised my SparkleCola in solidarity. “I hear ya on that, Firefly. But hey, you're free to stay with me at Outpost Zeta once all this shit is said and done. Besides, it’ll more than likely be a hell of a better place to sleep than an old mineshaft, even one with a big ass Nexus Crystal chilling in the middle of it.”

The Changeling nodded, the blush in his cheeks still present, “Yeah...might as well. Place like that would be a helluva badass base tah run ops outta. Sure, it’s a hella long way from New Pegasus but...well, like ya said. When ya compare ah military base tah some mineshaft in th’ desert, there just ain’t no contest. Even if its ah small bunker ‘o sorts, it’ll prolly have good bunks tah sleep in and an armory tah loot.”

I chuckle and smiled at him.” There ya go, now you're using that brain of yours.”

He growled a little but nodded in agreement. “So what’s yer plan,Garand? Don’t act like Ah can’t notice ya when yew start thinkin’ real hard ‘n good about somethin’. Yew got somethin’ in th’ works in tha’ bird brain ‘o yers and Ah wanna hear it.”

I sighed and looked at him.” Honestly, I just want….I wanna stop the rampant corruption of the Steel Rangers and, somehow, turn them back into an honorable group again like they were for a short time under Elder Lion. That or...maybe even make my own Steel Ranger sort of group, something like the Corps I fought in back in the day. The Wasteland needs people willing to help, not rob, murder, steal and hide away with other likeminded shitstains. It's complete bullshit.” I growl and add more kindling to the fire.

“The Order is not the saving grace they like to make themselves out to be. They’re a bunch of technophiles in shiny suits of armor that they stole from the remnants of the past who got it in their heads that they’re some sort of guardians of the future. We used to be the superheroes of Equestria, hell the whole of NEATO. We were the shining knights in armor who kept the free world free while following a reasonable set of rules...not a bunch of psychos with a warped perspective of reality thinking all your tech are belong to us.”

He chuckled but nodded with understanding in his eyes, the campfire light only slightly dimming the bright green glow of his body. “Well if tha’s wha’ ya wanna do Garand, Ah’m wit’ ya. Both fer th’ sake of th’ Wastes as well as th’ sake of fuckin’ over them Tin Head bastards. Wit’ someone like yew at th’ head, Ah don’t doubt yer gonna lead ‘em in th’ right direction.”

“Heh...that’s a pretty big statement to make towards someone you only met two-ish weeks ago. Ya sure you’re willing to follow along?”

He sighed and laid back on his bedroll, rubbing his eyes and staring at the wooden ceiling above before replying, “To tell ya th’ truth, Garand...if yew hadn’t reminded meh of th’ timeframe, Ah woulda swore Ah’ve known yew forever.”

“Oh…?”

“Mhm...Ah mean, yew ‘n I agree on a lotta shit, yer ah damned fine soldier an’ Ah enjoy talkin’ to ya abou’ shit. Ah’ve gotten along wit’ yew better ‘n any of th’ jackasses in 1st Recon. Not tah mention ya tear ass like nopony Ah’ve eva seen.”

I blushed modestly at his stream of compliments not used to being the subject of praise like that. The Order treated me like a big, dumb bird who was only good for his giant size (at least compared to ponies) and as a glorified pack mule for being able to carry four-times as much as anyone else. Anytime I tried to toss in my two bits on anything they would command me to shut my beak and let the brainiacs do all the thinking and planning. To get this kind of treatment from essentially a stranger...well, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy how it made me feel.

“W-well then…” I stammered, caught too off guard by his compliments to think of any clever response. “Um...well damn. That’s probably the nicest thing someone’s said about me in a long, long time...thank you, Firefly.”

“Ay, think nothin’ of it big guy. Ah might be ah right ol’ bastard o’ th’ Wastes but Ah ain’t no liar. Ah mean every word. Yer someone Ah want by mah side when shit hits th’ fan.”

“Heh...well with where we’re going, there’s gonna be a lot of shit hitting that fan so it looks like you’ll get your wish.”

We sat there chatting more by firelight for another couple hours until one of us realized we were starting to cut pretty deep into our sleep budget and forced a pause on our chat. While he snuffed out the fire so as to keep curious eyes in the night from finding us easier, I set my PipBuck to beep loudly if the E.F.S sensed something malicious within 100ft of our camp. He was entirely correct...curling up on my bed roll, I felt closer to him than any other military chump I had been forced to work alongside in a very, very long time. We shared a lot of ideals and philosophies which helped out a lot of course but the greatest factor was just how willing he was to listen to me. The SR seemed to get a kick outta marginalizing me and summing me up as a giant, dumb brute. Anything I had to share was immediately strangled out of my mouth...and then they had the fucking gall to call me out for not speaking up more! Firefly though...I could tell he cared. Asked constantly for stories of the War and let me speak for minutes at a time without a single interruption or back-hoofed comment trying to undercut me. Before I even realized it, I had drifted off with a smile of contentment on my face knowing I finally had a real friend again.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Rise n’ shine, it’s asswhoopin’ time!”

I cracked my eye open reluctantly, still half asleep and annoyed at how little sleep I felt like I got. Firefly was busy shoving me with all his body weight just to try and rouse me which I found rather amusing.

“Grrr...I was havin’ a really nice dream ya know…”

“Yup! An’ now it’s high time we got our asses movin, handsome. Gotta lotta ground tah try ‘n cover today!”

I blinked a few times, stopping mid-yawn when what he said finally clicked in my groggy ass brain.

“Hold up, handsome? That came outta left field...unless this is my first time noticing…”

He blushed a bit, the green in his cheeks glowing brighter for a second as he looked away.

“Uh...well...ahem…”

“Eh, think nothing of it.” I laughed, flopping my blankets off and stretching out. “I’ll just take it as a compliment and run with it. Unless you actually meant it?”

“Um...w-well…”

I bust out laughing, not in mockery of him or his compliment but at just how...cute he looked when he was flustered. His reaction to my prodding gave me all the answers I needed and I was actually pretty happy to get such a compliment. Life in the Stable opened up my horizons more than I expected a sinister government-funded social experiment to be capable of delivering. At the end of the day...didn’t matter what they had between their legs as long as they knew how to show you a good time and besides...there was an exotic allure to the bug that was rather intriguing.

“H-hey...no need tah get all ‘ha ha’ abou’ it…” He whined, pulling his bush hat low over his face in embarrassment. “Was tryin’ tah be serious…”

“Heh, heh, oh don’t worry about that, Firefly. I wasn’t laughing at you. No...heh, I was laughing because I just...didn’t expect ya to say something like that so...well, nonchalantly.”

“Neva been hit on by ah guy before?” He asked, peeking from under the brim of his hat in curiosity.

“A few but it’s been quite awhile. Don’t get a lot of action running death machines for the Order and they’re pretty anti-gay shit in the ranks. Buncha pussies…”

“Ah...didn’t know ya swung tha’ way too…”

“What? Swing towards the dick-on-dick side of life? Totally! Well...not exclusively. Will never say no to a good mare or Griffin puss if its offered but only a dumbass says no to some good boy puss too.”

He blushed extra hard at that and bit his lip, the tip of one of his fangs poking out from underneath and stood up quickly.

“Hoo boy…” He whistled with a nervous laugh. “Um...l-let’s jus’ get back tah packin’ up shall we?”

I nodded with a chuckle leaving him to stew in his shy embarrassment while I checked the load on my weapons and outfitted my Power Armor for travel. Handsome eh? Well...that was certainly a nice thing to hear from someone after months on the run and living solo for far longer than that. Was I suddenly head over paws for the guy over one little compliment? Not at all...but it did open up some possibilities that would be neat to explore a little as time went on. An ex-NER DeadEye turned Bounty Hunter Glowing One Changeling with an eye for the guys...there were worst friends to make out here.

After I finished climbing back into my armor and checked the response timing of the joint servos, I sat down to wait as the Ling finished compartmentalizing his bedroll across his back and slung his .50 and a new rifle I hadn’t seen him use yet on top. He had snagged it from his personal collection back at Glittering Caves, a weird but well-constructed hybrid of a gun that was the fuck child of a classy lever-action and an M16 service rifle. In reality, only the dusky orange wooden stock and brass plated lever plus a little of the original lower frame was all that remained from the lever-action while the upper, barrel, forestock and sights came from the M16. The oddest part of this odd crossbreed? The retention of the mag well and standard-issue 30-round 5.56 clip. It was no .45-70 beast but it had the benefit of fitting a lot more ammo that was a lot cheaper to obtain with the ability to feed from regulation M16 mags to boot. It was a weird ass rifle but...well, he was a bit of a weird ass himself so it worked out in my mind. Still...

“Soooo...those rifles you've been using. Where’d ya get ‘em? Not gonna lie...been centuries since I’ve seen a Kyevtian rifle anywhere this far South and that uh...lever-action of yours? That’s definitely a fuckin’ first for me.”

He chuckled and pointed to Krie which was magnetized securely to my back. “Same place ya got tha’ there big girl, th’ Gun Runners! Th’ lever is one of ‘em Runners Customs they been makin’ fer ah good few years now, perfect match fer th’ Wasteland weirdo lookin’ fer somethin’ neat ‘n shoots good, common ammo that ain’t too hard tah find. Next time we stop by there, remind meh tah show ya them funky Runners Customs ‘o theirs. Now, th’ big girl? The there was about as rare ah find as yer big ass bird gun. Said they nabbed it offa some merchant who said he came from th’ Far North but ain’t been seen ‘er heard from since. Damned shame if ya ask meh...whoever them Kyevtians are, they make some damn fine guns.”

“Heh...uhh...yeah.” I laughed nervously as faint snow-filled memories flicked by my mind’s eye. “They definitely made some hard hitting sons-’o-bitches like their 14.7mms or those damned RPGs everypony seemed to get their hooves on so easily…”

“Oh? Yew tellin’ meh ya fought them bastards too?” He asked with some surprise, looking up from ogling his own weapons.

“Firefly, I’m well over 300 years old…” I sighed. “Equestria sent my ass from the Badlands bordering that old desert Kingdom to the freeze-your-balls off Great North of the Duchy of Crystal on the border with Kyevshiv to the jungles and savannah of the Zebrican Empire...try finding someone I didn’t shoot and get shot by.”

“Heh...well touche Ah suppose...still, what ya think of ‘em, eh? Ain’t too shabby right?”

I chuckled and admired the odd lever-action he currently had strapped to his back. “Oh for sure! You definitely have one of the better personal collections I’ve seen so far and that includes those asswipes with the Order. Not to mention you’ve got better taste than some of those yuppy fucks… She gotta name?”

He beamed with pride and patted her on his back. “Skullsplitter! For when ya need tah get rid of tha’ killer headache. Ain’t no self-respectin’ DeadEye gotta gun he ain’t personally named ‘n baptised in blood himself! Er, herself too heh. Plenty ‘o ladies in th’ army.”

All things packed up and ready to go, I took point and exited the building looking around to see if the coast was clear. Aside from the occasional buzzard flying overhead wasn't anything out here waiting for us.

“Alright lets get outta here and back onto the road. Still got one more town to stop by before we hit the Embers.”

“Already walkin’ big feller. Th’ Rads here be givin’ me enough pep tah rival ah Cola high so Ah’m rearin’ tah go.”

Firefly followed me out into the sunlight, his hat brim pulled down to block it out. Today was graced with an uncommon sight: an actual gaping hole in the cloud layer above us. It was actually kind of incredible to see the sun itself for once after...I didn’t even know the last time I had actually seen the sun and blue sky. The Pegasi seemed adamant to perpetuate the cloud cover across the whole of the country so giant gaps like this one were rare indulgences.

“Damn...can’t tell ya how long it’s been since I last saw the sky…” I sighed, taking a few moments to let the warm morning sun heat up my feathers before plopping my helmet back on. “Easily like 10 something years now…”

“Tha’ so?” He asked in response, glancing up at the gap in the sky with a shrug. “Happens kinda regularly around these parts...sure th’ winged bastards’ll try tah plug th’ holes up but it can take ah few days ‘er weeks. Don’ think they have towns up there anywhere nearby so who knows, migh’ just get tah have th’ sun around fer awhile!”

“Heh, well...not gonna lie, I’m not all that used to being in the heat. Well...this kinda heat.” I replied, gesturing to the empty expanse around us. “Sure most places are warmer now than they were back in the day thanks to the climate getting molested but it’s been a long time since I’ve been in this desert.”

“Oh yeah? How long?”

“Eh...fifty-something years? Give or take...even then, I basically ran my way outta here to head East. Soon as I made it to the curve in the mountains we’re headed for right now, I beelined East and hauled ass.”

He laughed before furrowing his brow in thought and turning to me curiously.

“Yew said somethin’ abou’ bein’ in ah Stable? Take it that sucker be way down yonder?”

“Yeahhh...Stable 39 to be exact.” I sighed, mixed feelings about the place still lingering even after so many years. “It’s in the bottom fourth of the Western Ember Mountains right off the Badlands. I...well, I was stationed down there with my Squad, the Plague Birds as we had been named by the enemy. Nopony knew the place existed until the day of the Great War when me and my team were sent with a couple other Squads to try and escort the Southern Front’s leadership down to the safety of the Stable. Got ambushed on the way there and the fighting followed us right up to that giant fucking cog door...lost every member of my Squad trying to protect those fucking idiots...well, everyone who was still around by that point.”

“Oh? Wha’ happened next?” He asked with curiosity burning in his milky blue eyes.

“Heh...well, might be hard to believe but when those sirens started echoing up and down the Badlands valley, all the fighting stopped immediately. They had never gone off before so we all knew it was the real deal...everyone, and I mean everyone, piled into the Stable if they could reach it in time. I held the door until the last possible second...Balefire erupted just as the door was rolling into position. Next thing I knew...I was living amongst a mixed population of Zebras, Ponies, Griffins and a small smattering of other species thrown in the chaos. The world was getting raped and everyone outside that door was a lost cause so all the soldiers who had just been at each others’ throats now had no reason to keep on fighting, especially with all the foals who had been put in there a week before.”

“Damn...wha’ was it like? Ain’t eva seen ah workin’ Stable before so Ah’m curious what they look like when they ain’t abandoned ‘n rusty.”

“Well...lemme tell ya, it wasn’t all that fun. Took a few weeks for the soldiers to accept the reasons for war were all defunct and even afterwards for a year or two there was the occasional violent spat between a Zeeb and someone with the Equestrian Armed Forces. But in all actuality...it could have been a lot worse. The place had thankfully been built with Griffins in mind as all the hallways, doors and most rooms were larger than normal but even then, I was the only one there who was a genuine Gryphon.”

“Gryphon...Griffin...ya see, Ah hear th’ subtle difference in tha’ but…”

“Don’t worry too much about that, it’s unlikely going to matter much these days and I answer to either usually. But, if you wanna know, Griffins are the smaller birds that come from Griffinstone and are sometimes called ‘Continental Griffins’ because they emigrated from the Greifenländer thousands of years ago to the Continent. On the other paw, you’ve got Gryphons who are Greifenländer natives.”

“So yer ah Gryphon then?” He asked, looking me up and down gauging my height.

“Yep! If by a slim margin as far as our normal height goes. Seven-foot is hella tall by Griffin standards but I’m actually pretty short for my kind. Average is around eight-and-a-half and that’s just for the Sentients amongst us. You head into the Kogel mountains and you’ll start running into Ferals who can get as big as twelve-to-thirteen feet tall.”

“Jeeeeeez…” He whistled, looking above my head as if trying to picture how gigantic a Feral Gryphon could be. “Damn...guess yew are kinda small aren’t ya?”

I rolled my eyes and slugged him in the shoulder as softly as I could which still sent him stumbling a bit trying to regain his balance. With sour memories starting to rear their ugly heads, I decided to take full advantage of the distraction and change subjects before he could remember where we were originally talking about. It wasn’t that I was afraid to talk about Stable 39...but after 150-ish years spent cooped up inside it, I wasn’t ready to take a trip back even mentally.

“So, think anyone else around here might be after me? 150k in profits is a dinner bell for a feeding frenzy if I’ve ever heard one” I asked, making him pause a moment to consider.

“Well, ‘less Kay-Q gives th’ Bounty up completely, no one from th’ Syndicate will fuck wit’ us. But, that don’ mean there ain’t independents working the Wastes, especially ‘round here; not tah mention Merc Companies. Then ya got any Raider wit’ ah gun and some know-how. Other than th’ usual suspects...Ah dunno. Maybe a few underground Hunters but that's abou’ it.”

I growled in frustration. “Goddamnit...as if one psycho with a gun wasn’t bad enough...”

Firefly chuckled.” Well thankfully Ah got some contacts that owe meh some favors. Could always try ‘n ask ‘em tah join up with us. Long shot but hey.”
I sigh and put my helmet on. “I fucking hope so. Or else it's going to be just you and me against the SR and that’s not exactly a position I wanna be in for much longer.”

Hey All, Sorry for the long Wait for the Chapters. It takes a while on editing on my end, plus i have a habit of trying to get multiple chapters done just to get some reading content out for you all. if you have any question about anything in my story please dont be afraid to ask, im more then happy to explain it. Thanks again for reading. Two more chapters should be up as soon as they are done