When you hack for long enough, you begin to see the world in probabilities. Get within one or two letters of cracking a code on your third attempt and you really begin to weigh your options, like do you go with that guess you have and risk failure or do you back out and hope you can find it again? Get in enough situations like that and you start seeing everything as chances of failure and success. What is the chance I can sneak more dessert at dinner? What is the likelihood I’ll lose if I join the Best Young Sharpshooter Competition? The thing is, failure in those situations is not terribly serious, the worst that could happen is getting in trouble or being embarrassed. Until I fell into the Wasteland, I had never been in a situation where failure would get somepony killed, or where the chance of failure was so high.

I stared at the screen unblinkingly for a minute while anger, guilt, and depression warred for control of my thoughts. Of course this would happen! First I’m captured by griffons only AFTER I make the decision to leave these two ponies for their own well-being, and then they go and stumble into a security system I activated! They were going to die, I was going to get two ponies I cared for killed because I had saved myself not a half hour ago. But there was nothing I could do, I had tried to protect them, distanced myself, and they were going to die because of me anyway...

My eyes drifted back to the keyboard, there had to be something I could do. I wasn’t terribly sure what, since there was no shut off code on this console, but it had to be something. I spared another glace at the security monitor just in time to watch Scout barely duck a magical energy blast. “Stay alive.” I whispered to the screen before focusing on the terminal I had hacked earlier.

A few quick keystrokes later and I was looking at the localized network of terminals. I mentally thanked Celestia that the server was still working, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to turn on the security in the first place, let alone stop it now. I managed to exploit the same weakness on the server that I used on terminals and was soon scanning a list of possible security codes. The only problem was instead of words, they were conglomerations of letters, numbers, and even punctuation marks! “Damn you and your paranoia, Stalliongrad!” I hissed through my teeth.

The security code proved to be almost as difficult to crack as the third layer of the Cauterize encryption, but instead of figuring out loose correlation between letters I needed to puzzle out random characters with almost no correlation! “Okay, capital ‘H’, seven, exclamation point...” The speakers buzzed negatively when my guess proved incorrect. “Pissing rainbows! This makes no sense!” I screamed, mashing the command to back out of the system.

In my haste I accidentally selected another guess and felt my heart freeze like it had been caught in a vice. “Nonononono…” I muttered, tensing for the sound of the system locking like it was a physical blow. But nothing happened, and when I looked again my jaw dropped disbelievingly. “I…what?!” I had been allotted new attempts at cracking the code! The code I had accidentally entered had been just another random assortment for characters, but between two brackets. Finding another such piece of code, this one broken up between two lines, I selected it. Incorrect. After a bit of searching, I found an unbroken line also between brackets. Choosing that one ended up removing some of the dud security codes! “How did I never notice this before?” I asked, staring dully at the screen.

A floor shaking explosion shook me back to reality. Dust rained down from the ceiling, making it hard to see the monitor showing the battle in the lobby. I could just barely make out the shattered remains of the desk my friends had hidden behind, my stomach feeling like it had filled with icicles before I saw Scout dragging a seemingly unconscious Clarity to safety. “Still time, still time.” The mutterings did little to sooth my quickly fraying nerves, but it let my focus on the task at hand once again.

Wiping dust from the screen with my wing, I used my newly acquired skill to further thin out the list of possibilities. By the time I had ran out of brackets I had five choices and four chances. “Well that’s better than I usually get.” I grumbled. With only one heart-stopping moment when I almost flubbed the last attempt, I found the security key; the server for the whole building lay bare before me. Quickly navigating the menus, I found the nerve cluster of the security system. Amongst the clustered lines of code, I found the command to shut down the security. It may as well have been inside a tube of bullet proof glass, repeated attempts to execute it were met with errors that I was not on the correct console.

I screamed at the terminal until my throat felt like it tore. I was so Goddesses damned CLOSE! I could SEE the command, but because of the fucking paranoid director I couldn’t get to it! I futilely tried running the command again and again, my vision blurring with tears. “Please, just work…” I begged the unfeeling terminal. Through my tears I watched as the robots I had summoned closed in on Scout and Clarity. The earth pony had dragged them to cover behind a pile of debris, but it was only a matter of time before the security system overwhelmed them. Even worse, my friends were in terrible shape, Clarity hadn’t moved since the explosion and one of Scout’s hind legs was limp and immobile.

But despite it all he kept fighting, poking out of cover to shoot wildly into the advancing metal hordes. Maybe this was what he meant when he said he was a survivalist, his instincts refused to let him give up on the so-slim possibility of making it out alive. You didn’t have to see the world in probabilities to read the writing on the wall, there was next to no chance of survival, but even then he didn’t stop shooting.

Turning from the monitor, I raced out of the security station towards the sounds of fighting. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, I doubted these robots were as heat shielded as the ones in the gun store but Black Powder was still a pitiful answer to all that firepower. Nevertheless, if me being there did anything to shift the odds for them, then I had to go. I’d talk them down later, convince them that going our separate ways was a good idea, but that was after they were safe.

Rounding the first corner I came face to face with a turret that swiveled to aim at me. Freezing in my tracks, I braced myself, ready to dodge the oncoming stream of bullets. To my surprise, it beeped and resumed scanning the hall, completely ignoring me. For a second I was confused, then I remembered Key Ring’s badge was still pinned to my coat. And with that realization, like lightening from a cloud an idea struck me. Without thinking I whirled around and raced back to the security station. Once inside I scrambled at the keyboard like a madmare, quickly finding the security systems targeting parameters and selecting them.

My hoof hovered over the “delete” key. This would do one of two things, either it would remove the concept of a threat from the system’s programming, thereby shutting down all combat activity, or it would make the robots go berserk and start killing everything including each other. This would either save their lives or create an even more chaotic situation that could get all three of us killed. I glanced at the monitor, no time to hesitate; I pressed the key.

The silence was so sudden I didn’t notice it at first. I stood frozen, staring at the sudden gap in the code with my ears ringing in the thunderous quiet. It took a couple seconds for me to snap back to reality, and once I did I scrambled to the monitor showing the lobby. The robots had ceased firing and had returned to their idle patrols as if nothing had happened. Scout looked just as perplexed as I felt, but recovered much quicker than I had. While he rapidly produced healing potions and administered them to Clarity I slumped down to a sitting position.

“Holy shit…” I gasped, feeling the tension slowly ratchet out of my shoulders. “I did it…” After taking a moment to rest, I stood up and prepared for the tricky part, getting out of here without them noticing me.

Creeping onto the balcony where I had fought the raider with the baseball bat, I peeked over the edge at my friends below. Scout was binding his shot leg with a magical bandage while Clarity rested against a pile of rubble. Sighting Scout’s PipBuck, I resisted the urge to hiss is frustration. How was I supposed to get past him without triggering his E.F.S? Scanning the room I saw one of the robots patrolling along the outer wall towards a shattered skylight and got an idea.

Slinking over to where the balcony overlooked the robot’s patrol path, I silently took to the air, making sure to stay above the robot and as close to the ceiling as possible. If I was playing this right, then my contact on the E.F.S was being overlapped by the robot’s, effectively making me indistinguishable from it at a glance. Nevertheless I kept a sharp eye on Scout and Clarity, if either of them looked up I was done for. From up above I got a better look at the two and had to beat down a shocked gasp. It wasn’t their bloodied appearance that shocked me, in fact Scout seemed remarkably fine after the battle he had just been in. What hit me was how Clarity looked, her crystal skin was completely opaque, darkened to the point where she actually gave off a gray pall that seemed to sap the light around her. What happened? I wondered silently, until the little voice in the back of my mind reminded me. You left.

“Why did they stop attacking us?” Scout asked, looking around at the docile robots.

“Does it matter?” Clarity asked, her voice so low I could barely hear her.

“Yes it does, those raiders died recently. Somepony had to have turned the security on for them and off for us.”

“Letting the robots nearly kill us, a funny way of saying ‘hello’.” Scout sighed before leaving her to rest and scavenging amongst the robots he had defeated. Clarity watched him for a minute before speaking up. “You think it was her, don’t you?”

“I never said that.” Scout retorted.

“You don’t say much unless it’s about finding her.” Clarity said. When he didn’t answer back she continued. “Why do you care anyway? You don’t care about anypony or anything except your own survival.”

“And what do you call me bringing you along?” He asked angrily, whirling on her. “I could have left you in St. Ponysburg with nowhere else to go, just waiting for those slavers to find you!”

“What about Sister?” I cringed whenever Clarity spoke. There was no inflection in her tone, it was just a tired sigh with no life in it. “You could have left me with her, she wouldn’t have left the slavers find me.” Her eyes were equally jaded, half-lidded with the kaleidoscopic colors dulled. “I’m only here because my magic is useful. I’m another attachment for that knife on your flank.”

“That isn’t true.” He said through gritted teeth. “In this state you’re a danger to both of us. I’m bringing you along because Sleet told us to stay safe, and I can only guarantee that if you are with me.” He turned back to salvaging what he could from the robots. “Now rest, and let the potions fix you up.”

With a heavy heart I looked away, checking my progress. I was still above the robot and the skylight was getting close. Every fiber told me to go to them, get on my knees and beg their forgiveness, but I couldn’t. It was obvious that being around me was far too dangerous, Hell I’d nearly gotten them killed and they didn’t even know it! Reaching the skylight I flew up between the broken glass, ready to slip away unnoticed when Scout spoke up again, this time in hushed excitement. “Clarity! Come take a look at this!”

I probably shouldn’t have looked, since the robot was continuing on its path it would no longer hide my contact on the E.F.S, but curiosity overrode caution and I lowered myself a little to look. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from groaning in frustration, in one of his hooves Scout was holding an ice blue feather spattered with blood. Clarity slowly made her way over, seeming thoroughly unimpressed by the find. “So?”

“So? So this means she was here, and recently!”

The crystal pony was unconvinced. “How do you know that’s her feather? It may not even be from a pegasus.”

But Scout was shaking his head before she even finished the sentence. “No, it’s Sleet’s, it has to be. It’s the right color and who else could stop those robots?” Wait, what? What was he talking about? He didn’t know how much I could do with a terminal! I mean, sure he knew I hacked into a top secret government file, but that didn’t mean I could reprogram an entire factory’s worth of robots! And even if I did, that doesn’t mean Scout knew I could! While I mentally stuttered, Scout continued talking. “The blood is fresh, she may still be here.”

That made Clarity perk up, if only a little. The gray pall receded slightly and she stood a bit straighter. “Do you really think so?”

“Maybe, I…” Scout froze, staring at the wall just below me. My heart sped up as he whispered. “That wasn’t there before…” Beating my wings I flew through the shattered skylight, kicking off the roof to gain a bit of speed. I needed to get out of the E.F.S range, and the fastest way to do that was to go up. Flying fast as I could, I soared toward the cloud curtain far above but knew I would never get out of sight before he realized he needed to look outside. Fortunately I had a contingency.

Once I was fairly certain I was out of the range of Scout’s E.F.S, the factory being a good distance below me, I pulled out the little frozen ball of cloud and smashed the ice covering between my hooves. After allowing the cloud to billow out to its full size I darted inside it, making sure no part of me was poking out.

Once the cloud was wrapped around me like a slightly damp ball of cotton, I made a tiny hole to look out from. Looking down at the factory below, I could just barely make out Scout galloping out the front door. He was little more than a vaguely pony shaped green and brown dot on the landscape as he paced around, presumably searching for me. I waited impatiently for him to go back into the factory; at this height there was a cold biting crosswind that threatened to tear apart my little cloud cover.

Scout thoroughly searched the area, even circling the factory a few times before heading back inside. When he departed I stayed in the cloud for a while longer, making absolutely sure he wouldn’t come out again and spot me. Even still I did not want to leave the safety of the little cloud, not wanting a repeat of the last time I flew away from my friends. So, deciding to remain camouflaged as best I could, I poked two little eye holes in the front, spread my wings through the cloud and flew while keeping it wrapped around me.

I was certain that I looked absolutely ridiculous don’t mind me, just a little cloud flying by. “I think Stalliongrad is getting to me…” I muttered. Nevertheless with my friends on my trail, not to mention the Enclave and the Shadow King’s cronies, I needed every advantage I could take. Sighing into the wind I continued to fly south, lamenting. “I need to find at least one group that won’t try and hunt me down after I leave!”

I had never been a particularly strong flier, just another entry on my lengthy list of mediocrity. Even so I was able to get a decent distance away from the factory before my wings grew too tired to fly. I had been following a cracked highway for the better part of twenty minutes and the sun was beginning to set when I came across an overpass I could hide under while I packed away the cloud. After first making a quick aerial scan of the area, my little winged cloud sped under the overpass. Once I’d extracted myself from the fluffy stuff, compressed it back into a ball and reapplied the icy layer, and slipped away my wings I surveyed the twilit area.

The highway continued its way south before ending abruptly at a collapsed bridge, something that wouldn’t impede me once I rested my wings a little. Speaking of rest I hadn’t really slept since the final day of my imprisonment, the adrenaline from the factory incident had kept me going for a while but now the exhaustion was starting to wear on me. Maybe I could take a nap in the cover of the overpass, traveling at night would make my cloud disguise all the more effective anyway…

My train of thought was cut off by the sound of rustling wings above me. At first I thought it was an Enclave ambush, but these wings sounded more leathery than feathered. Slowly I looked up, and the sight that greeted me made my jaw drop. “Oh fuck…” I squeaked.

Bats. Giant, monstrous, BATS. A huge swarm of them was clustered on the bottom of the overpass, glaring down at me with hungry little red eyes. The smallest of them were easily as large as Apparatchik with the bigger ones rivaling sky tanks! I tried to will my heart to slow and my breathing to quiet, they hadn’t moved yet, so maybe I could sneak out. Very slowly putting one hoof in front of the other, I crept out from under the overpass, eyes locked on the stupidly huge bats the whole way. But naturally, since I wasn’t watching where I was going, my hoof kicked over a rock.

The clatter may as well have been a balefire bomb going off. One of the massive specimens gave a piercing screech that was just barely in auditory range and dived. The rest of the swarm followed closely behind it. Screaming in terror, I broke into a mad gallop towards the collapsed bridge with the dreadful sound of leathery wings just behind me. Fumbling out Black Powder I went to take wild pot shots over my shoulder, screaming again when I saw how close the giant bats were. I could see the individual hairs of the beast coming to chomp down on me!

Firing as fast as my tongue could pull the trigger, I sent a stream of incineration bolts down the monster’s gullet. Flailing manically, smoke streaming from its mouth, the huge bat dropped dead, but it was just one of what seemed like hundreds. My wild shots only hit every other bat creature, and most of them were glancing blows that wouldn’t kill. There was no way I could finish them all off, even if I had perfect accuracy.

So focused was I on running and shooting I nearly forgot about the collapsed bridge. Stumbling to a stop I looked down, preparing to jump off. With some luck I may be able to lose them in the… wait a minute. There was a settlement down there! Most of the gully was taken up by huge piles of scrap metal and other assorted junk, but dug into the refuse were homes and places of business. Ponies milled about between them, going about their business unaware of my plight.

There was no way I could dive down there now! Not only would I be bringing a swarm of super bats with me, I’d potentially endanger yet ANOTHER town by revealing that I was a pegasus! Snorting in frustration, I took off along the edge of the gully. I checked over my shoulder of the bats, but was surprised to see the air empty behind me. Where did they go? Did they not like traveling this far away from their nest? Maybe I was… a shadow fell over me. Oh shit…

The disgusting feeling of coarse hair and leather slammed into me, horrible fiery pain erupted in my neck as fangs sunk into my flesh. The impact knocked me over the edge of the gully, wind whistling loudly in my ears as the jagged stone wall flashed by dangerously close to the side. The sensation of falling was secondary to the sickening draining feeling as the huge bat sucked on the puncture wound with mutant strength. My head felt like it was rapidly being de-pressurized and would implode any second. It took all my mental and physical strength to twist my body around and grind the damned thing against the wall.

The beast was so intoxicated by its feeding that it didn’t seem to notice that it was being shredded by unforgiving stone. Blood sprayed from the flayed body as it was torn apart by the combined forces of gravity and rock. Even still, it continued to feed for an agonizing stretch of seconds, my whole body growing numb from blood loss. Finally the damned thing died, but my body had been so drained I couldn’t spread my wings even if I wanted to. Instead I just fell. Falling was good. It was much easier than climbing. Maybe I wouldn’t land, just keep falling…

No, I just hit something. Or I think I did… It’s kinda hard to think… Woozy, something hurts… something far away, my chest? Like thunder, again and again…getting farther…weaker…

There we go, can’t feel, just dark.

Dark. Blessed dark. Now I could just rest. I hadn’t rested in what felt like ages, always things happening, always those dreams waiting for me. No dreams here, just dark. Sweet dark.

Wait, what’s that light? A little green light, Scout? Is that you? Turn off your PipBuck, you’re ruining the dark…

“Wake up, little pony.”

Huh? Who’s there? Go away, I’m resting…

“No time for that little pony.” A hissing voice, coming from the one…no two green lights, growing brighter.

What do you want? Can’t I just rest? I’m so tired….

Slowly my eyes blinked open. The world was a blob of swirling colors and sounds came in like they were underwater. I could faintly hear a loud, deep voice saying something about getting a doctor. My body felt…distant, like I was only tangentially connected to it. There were little things, pressure on my right foreleg and the corner of my mouth, something dripping slowly down my throat.

Sluggishly, the world came into focus. Sensation returned as an uncomfortable body-wide tingling. Moving made it flare up, so I laid still while the swirling colors righted themselves into shapes. A large bright red stallion stood over me, looking unreasonably happy to see me awake. “Friend pegasus, you live! Apparatchik had feared you would not make it!”

“Apparatchik?” I asked, or at least meant to. Between the numbness and the thing in my mouth my words were jumbled, coming out more like “Ahpahakik?”

The big pony laid a hoof on my shoulder which I could only sort of feel. “Do not speak, friend. You suffered mighty bite from Bloodwing. Nearly lose all fluids! Lucky for pegasus, Apparatchik found you not long after you land, get you to doctor very quick.” Doctor? Wait, he was calling me pegasus! In spite of the flaring tingling feeling, I looked rapidly around the room, but it was deserted saved for the Stalliongrad pony and I. I even still had my coat on, the only change to it being the sleeve of the right foreleg being rolled up to make way for a needle in my leg. Surmising the reason for my thrashing, Apparatchik spoke calmingly. “Relax friend! I keep your species well hidden. Around others you are earth pony friend of mine, not pegasus.”

I settled back down into a reclining position, nodding my thanks. Not that the world felt less like I was feeling it through thick cotton, I noticed more about my situation. I was strapped up to some sort of multi-limbed machine, though most of the attachments hung powerless. Other than the needle in my leg, which was pumping a faintly pink fluid into my veins, there was a small tube dripping water into my mouth and what felt like thick gauze pressed to the puncture wound. Other than that, the room did not have much in it; a sink with some tools in it was the extent of the other furnishings. It was surprisingly clean for the Wasteland, probably a result of it being a surgery room.

Apparatchik regaled me with tales of his travels since we last parted, but in my still-fuzzy state I only paid half attention. It was in the middle of one such tale that the doctor entered. He was a tall, sky blue unicorn with a silver mane and beady eyes. “Awake are we? Good, it was touch and go for a while there.”

He levitated the tube out of my mouth, allowing me to speak. “How long was I out?” My voice was weak and raspy, making me cough after the sentence.

The doctor examined a screen on the machine while he talked. He spoke in a crisp, halting manner, each word carefully selected. “Just the night. You’re lucky, Bloodwings can drain anything dry faster than you can blink. Another five seconds with that beast and you’d be a shriveled husk.”

While the idea disgusted me, the disgust was overshadowed by a realization, I had gotten a full night’s sleep. Well, not ‘sleep’ per say, but the fact that the only way I could get such a thing was to be nearly killed by a blood sucking mutant nearly made me groan aloud. Repressing the groan, I slightly raised the foreleg with the needle. “What’s this?”

“Synthetic blood, not as good as the real stuff but it will keep your systems pumping until your body can replace what you lost.” Using magic, he peeled back the gauze on my neck to check the wound. “And your bite wound is healing nicely. I must say you’re a lucky filly, surviving a fall like that after losing so much blood, and landing so close to a friend.” He applied a fresh bandage to the wound, casting the occasional annoyed glare at Apparatchik.

“I don’t feel lucky…” I muttered, still getting used to the feeling of having limbs.

The doctor snorted, attending to my leg next. The motions he used to remove the needle and bandage the entry wound were as clean and methodical as his speech. “I doubt you will, at least not for another few hours. Anyway, once your hooves are less wobbly you should be set to go, then there’s just the matter of the pay.”

I stared dumbfounded at him for a few seconds. “Pay?”

He returned an equally incredulous look. “Well, yes. Miracle recovery or not this thing costs caps to run.”

Caps, I had completely forgotten about the concept of caps. I thought back to the Stable-Tec factory, the floor completely littered with raider corpses that I hadn’t looted. There may have been a small fortune there and I hadn’t bothered to go for it! “I…don’t have any caps…” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.

The uncomfortable silence was quickly broken by Apparatchik. “No worries, friend! Apparatchik will pay!”

I was taken aback by the sudden generosity. “Wait, really? You don’t…”

Before I could protest he held up an interrupting hoof. “On one condition! You have honest face, friend, and quick tongue you would make good salespony. Work with Apparatchik for the day, help sell wares to pay back debt! This works, da?”

Much as I wanted to keep going south, I needed to pay the debt and could use a day of relative rest. “Yeah, that works fine.”

With a boisterous cry of “Horosho!” Apparatchik grabbed my hoof in his magic and yanked me off the table. I could barely keep my three wobbly hooves under me as the over-excited merchant lead me out of the clinic. When we burst out the door I thought it was still night, so dark was the gully. A quick look up confirmed that it was indeed daytime, but the meager sunlight was having difficulty reaching into the crack in the earth. Apparatchik stopped suddenly, causing me to bump into him. “Welcome friend,” he said, not seeming to notice “to Scrap River.”

I got my first good look around the gully I had fallen into. Scrap River was an appropriate name, as there were huge mounds of scrap metal and electronics piled high against the walls. While it looked haphazard, it was obvious that the ponies living here had put some effort into organizing the huge mess. The mountains of metal were sorted by content, with ponies of all shapes and sizes clambering over them and tossing bit and pieces into other piles. Houses and other buildings were shaped from the largest pieces of refuse, forming rough squares with a myriad of other pieces forming doors, walls, and windows.

That was about all I could see before my hooves collapsed under me. Apparatchik just barely caught me with his magic, gently leading me over to his caravan which was waiting next to the clinic. “Careful, friend, you’re hooves are not yet strong. Rest here, I will be back after paying doctor.” I didn’t bother to point out that he was the one who dragged me along before I was ready.

The caravan guards ignored me, electing to watch the milling crowd of ponies instead. I leaned against one of the brahmin to rest, taking a second to remember they were sentient. “Um, I hope you don’t mind if I rest here.”

“Shoot missy, thas fine.” I recognized Agnes’ voice. “Ah’m jus’ happy tah see ya’ll alive. We wus worried bout yah when we heard ya’ll went missin’.”

My ears perked up. “Wait, how did you know I went missing?”

“Well, that thar DJ pony wus talkin’ bout it. Said how ‘our frosty friend up north went missin a few days ‘go affer being spotted rescuing a slave’”. If it wasn’t for the drawl, she’d have done a decent impression. “Ya’ll were rescuin’ tha slave, righ’?”

The thought of Clarity in her darkened state weighed on my mood like I was trapped under one of those mountains of scrap. “Yeah, I freed her, but I needed to leave her behind. Traveling with me was too dangerous…”

“Well thassa shame right there.” You’re telling me.

It was then that Apparatchik returned. “Are you feeling better, friend? We have much to do.”

Testing my hooves, I found them a little shaky but capable of supporting my weight. “Yeah, I should be good.”

“Horosho! Let us begin!” And begin we did, setting off down the main, and only, thoroughfare in the town. “Tell me friend, have you ever sold something before?”

No, but I’ve bought a pony before. “Can’t say I have.”

“Important thing to remember, you are not selling item. You are selling idea that item is needed by customer. You convince them that their lives are better with what you have, like when I sell you coat! You believe you are fine without it, I convince otherwise.” I nodded along, it made sense. The merchant interrupted himself when a pony approached the caravan, whispering to me. “Here is chance to practice.” Out loud he said in his usual boisterous way, “Welcome friend! You come to trade, da?”

The customer was a small, pink earth pony mare with a straight green mane, who looked barely old enough for her Cutie Mark. Her voice carried a forced steadiness when she addressed the huge merchant. “Um, yes I’m here to trade this.” She gestured to the bundle of weapons strapped to her back, even I could tell that the guns were in shoddy condition.

Apparatchik didn’t seem to care about the weapon quality. “Da, and what will you need? Food? Munitions? Medical supplies?”

“Um, just food.” She said, awkwardly removing the bundle.

I decided to help her remove the bundle, and in doing so noticed a nasty gash on her shoulder that was bound in dirty rags. “That looks terrible, what happened?”

The little mare flushed brightly, kicking at the ground. “I uh, was scavenging an old warehouse and fell off the scaffolding.” Noticing my concerned look she spoke quickly. “It’s nothing really! I’ve had worse!” Pointedly not looking at me, she nosed the guns to Apparatchik, who was sorting through the wares on the brahmin’s back. I glanced at the big pony, who surreptitiously nodded at me to continue.

“Do you want any healing potions? We have plenty.”

The mare looked unreasonably scared at the idea. “Um no, no I couldn’t afford it!”

I snorted dismissively. “Nonsense, you have plenty here. I’m sure you can get everything you need, plus some meds, right Apparatchik?” The Stalliongrad pony nodded encouragingly.

She shook her head. “No, you don’t understand, I have to feed my family, I really can’t spare…”

I put a friendly hoof on her uninjured shoulder. “It’s going to cost a whole lot more in the long run to fix an infected wound than to heal this up now.” I pointed to the gauze on my neck. “Trust me, you need healing on the spot, not when you can afford it. I’d be dead otherwise.”

The mare stared at the bandage for a second before slowly saying, “Yeah, yeah okay. I’ll take some healing potions too.”

My merchant friend nodded approvingly, completing the transaction and bidding the mare farewell. My eyes followed her as she trotted away, watching her purposefully ignore the ponies around her. Apparatchik interrupted my reverie with a too-forceful pat on the back. “You are natural, friend! We make many many caps together!”

And so we did. Ponies came and went regularly, drawn in by Apparatchik’s commanding presence while I helped cajole them into spending more caps. I modified my approach for each customer, for prospectors I told slightly edited versions of how I came across my things (carefully leaving out any mention of wings). For colts and fillies coming to trade for supplies I acted like a kindly older sister suggesting things they should get. That wasn’t terribly difficult either; I just had to do the opposite of my brothers.

When the day was over we had pulled in quite the haul, more than enough to pay off my debt. Apparatchik was thrilled, saying in his booming voice how I ought to be a salespony and travel with him. I wasn’t paying much attention, there had been something odd about the customers, they all looked nervous or even downright scared when they approached us. So preoccupied was I that when the big merchant tried to get my attention by poking me with his hoof I jumped like a startled rabbit. “Who, huh, what?” I stammered, looking around rapidly.

“I ask what is matter friend? You are not as happy as Apparatchik would think.”

I shook my head slowly, looking around the town as I did. Now that I was looking for it, it was obvious. “The townsfolk are scared of us.” I expected an outburst, but to my surprise he just nodded at me to continue. “I noticed it with that first mare we sold to. She looked so scared, way too scared for some nervous filly visiting a merchant for the first time.” Looking around I saw more signs. “I brushed it off at the time, thinking it was just that one pony, but it wasn’t. Everypony who came to us looked scared, and now nopony will even look at us. Some of them are even locking their doors!”

“You have sharp eyes, friend.” Somber wasn’t a tone I was used to from Apparatchik, I had thought the big merchant could be nothing but jovial. “Da, the ponies of Stalliongrad region never much trusted outsiders. It is how Scrap River became what it is.”

Okay, now I was perplexed. “What do you mean?”

“Even before war, ponies never trust zebras, but Stalliongrad took to new level. Ponies always scared of zebra spies and assassins, even if ponies mean nothing to zebra war effort.” I thought back to the gun merchant whose shop I had scavenged. Can’t have the Stripes taking out of the best arms dealer this side of Quebuck! “It got to point where ponies did not trust each other. Everything was zebra trick, even smallest gadget!” He swept his hoof at the piles of junk around us. “This is result, ponies throw away anything they think zebras get to. Paranoia flow like vodka at bar!”

“But why? What happened to frighten them so much?” I looked at Apparatchik, brow furrowed. “And how do you know all of this?”

As suddenly as it departed, his boisterous nature returned. “Like you friend! I read much, da! See many many things over course of travels.” He pointed to a mountain of scrap that looked to be made out of computer parts. “Here is inn, we rest here for night.”

Night? Looking up at the distant cloud curtain I could see that it was indeed nighttime. The light didn’t shift much down in Scrap River, distorting time similar to my experience in the griffon prison. Thinking about the prison made my wings ache with phantom pains of that accursed iron band. Shaking my head to banish the thoughts, I trotted rapidly towards the inn. “Yeah, sounds good.”

A short while later we were checked into the inn. The room was similar to the one in the Crater Ridge Motel, two beds (one for Apparatchik and one for me, the two guards would rotate between keeping watch outside and sleeping on the couch also in the room) a desk, and a bathroom. Everything looked to be in better condition than the Crater Ridge, but when I went to lay down on the bed I realized that while the mattress looked fine it was actually stuffed with scrap electronics.

Despite the uncomfortable padding, I was thankful for a place to rest. I still wasn’t completely healed from my encounter with the Bloodwing and trotting around Scrap River all day had been a lot more strenuous than it should have been. I was about to close my eyes and go to sleep, hopefully without any nightmares when Apparatchik spoke up. “Friend, what happened to leg?”

I looked where he was pointing, it was the spot where Clavicle had shot me. The material around the hole torn in the coat was stained dark red from my blood. “I was shot escaping imprisonment.” There was an uncomfortable silence, I glanced up at the big merchant who was watching me warily. “I was kidnapped by griffons, not arrested!” I said rapidly, holding up my hooves placatingly.

Apparatchik chuckled at my reaction. “Relax friend, I know you would do nothing to violate law.” I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “If you wish, I could take coat for repairs, perhaps even get armor so you do not get shot again! Consider it reward for excellent work.”

I couldn’t deny the appeal of not getting shot, after first retrieving everything from the pockets I handed over the coat with my thanks. Once Apparatchik left I settled down to sleep, but noticed something before I closed my eyes, the memory orb from the gun shop. I had been carrying that thing around for a while and had never gotten the chance to look at it. While it probably would have been better to actually sleep, the vague memory of those green lights and the hissing voice made sleep seem VERY unappealing.

Placing the orb in the Recollector and putting the crown thingy on my head, I laid back down on the bed. Now, how did I turn this thing on again? I just had to focus on the orb, righ-

Goddesses damnit, why couldn’t I get a memory from a pegasus!? I had had quite enough of being cut off from my wings when I was trapped by the griffons thank you and I… wait, what was that?

…O Celestia and Luna preserve me this pony was a stallion. I’d have squirmed uncomfortably if I had control of my own body. How did stallions go about their day with that there? Did they just ignore it?

No time to think about this, calm down Sleet, get your bearings. Once I had controlled my mental gibbering I took stock of the situation. The subject of the memory was an earth pony, male (much to my consternation), and was sitting at a familiar desk. It was the office that the Protect-a-pony had cornered me in when I scavenged the gun shop, which means that this was the gun store owner. I felt an irrational dislike for this pony, mainly because his paranoid security system had nearly killed me. Nevertheless I had already activated the orb and had no choice but to sit back (figuratively speaking), poignantly ignore the difference in gender, and watch.

The gun store owner was tapping away at his computer, installing, of all things, the software for the turret that shot me! At least this gave me a timeframe, this memory had happened sometime after he had acquired Black Powder. Without all the jumbled, corrupted data I finally learned this pony’s name from his log-in, Rootin’ Tootin’. He had the program successfully installed in a few minutes, wearing a huge grin. “Let’s see those filthy stripes get in here now.” He chuckled, getting up from the desk.

As Rootin’ Tootin’ trotted from the room I got a glimpse of in the mirror. He was a stocky, middle aged earth pony with a crossed-pistol Cutie Mark, a faded yellow coat and grey streaked orange mane. When he left the office, the turret beeped once and flashed a green light, letting him pass on his way to the main room of the store.

The place was practically abandoned, with only one bored looking unicorn mare standing behind the counter. Rootin’ Tootin’s eyes traced down her flank and legs, taking in her shooting star Cutie Mark and making me shudder mentally. “All’s quiet here, Constellation?” He asked.

“Yup,” She replied trying, and failing, to sound enthusiastic in front of her boss. “Not a soul has come in for at least an hour.”

“Well then follow me, I need you to do something and then you can leave for the night.”

The idea of leaving instantly perked the mare up. “Alright, what is it?”

Rootin’ Tootin’ had already begun trotting back towards his office. “I installed a new security system, I just need to register you so it doesn’t blow you away!” While the gun merchant found this hilarious, Constellation’s laughter was significantly more subdued.

When they entered the stock room, the turret immediately swiveled to face Constellation and beeped threateningly, flashing a yellow light. The unicorn squeaked in surprise, flinching away. “Isn’t that a bit…um…much?”

“Nonsense! With the nation at war it’s up to everypony to do their part to keep secure! Now hold still, I need a good picture with this thing if it’s gonna recognize you.” He trotted into his office, returning to his spot behind the desk while Constellation nervously stared at the turret.

With a few quick keystrokes Rootin’ Tootin’ activated the turret’s target registration camera, zooming in on Constellation’s face. The poor mare looked absolutely terrified as he snapped the photo. “Now turn to the side.” He called out. “This thing registers Cutie Marks as well.” Constellation dutifully obliged, and once again Rootin’ Tootin’ took the picture, lingering a bit too long on her flanks before doing so. “Alright, you’re set to go.” He said, trotting back out to her. The turret’s light had changed from yellow to green. “You’re a good employee Constellation, you’ve earned going home early.”

The mare looked far too eager to leave to enjoy the complement, nevertheless she thanked her boss before scurrying from the turret’s sight. The sound of the front door opening and closing signified her leaving. With her gone, Rootin’ Tootin’ locked the front door and closed the shop for the night. I assumed that would be the end of the memory, but it continued on. The arms dealer returned to his desk, working on some form or another.

I wasn’t sure why the memory was continuing, as far as I could tell everything interesting had happened already. Maybe there was something I missed? Was this just here for the lecherous gun dealer to remember eyeing up his employee? But then that wouldn’t explain why it kept going with nothing of import going on, his work was inconsequential business stuff. Maybe it had something to do with the turret…

Rootin Tootin’s ears twitched, there was a noise in the main floor. His brow furrowed as he looked up from the monitor. He glanced at the clock on the wall, at last an hour had passed since Constellation left (How had I not noticed that? Was this orb modified like Diamond Leaf’s?), and the doors were locked. Opening the safe, Rootin’ Tootin’ pulled out Black Powder, it was weird to feel the familiar gun in strange teeth.

The arms dealer crept out of his office, keeping low while the turret whirred dutifully above. He didn’t bother to turn on any lights, obviously familiar enough with his own store to make his way in the dark. Slowly pushing open the door, he quickly spotted a shadowy equine figure rummaging behind the counter.

Without hesitation he opened fire, streams of bright red light crackling towards the intruder. The intruder screamed as the red bolts set her coat on fire, collapsing and rolling rapidly on the floor. After a few seconds of thrashing, she fell still, the embers smoldering. The smell of burning hair and flesh was repulsive, but Rootin’ Tootin’ seemed not to mind as he went to examine the corpse. The intruder was female, unicorn, but was otherwise unrecognizable, save for her badly burned Cutie Mark.

Rootin’ Tootin sighed, shaking his head. “Stripes can get to anypony.” He muttered, remorsefully looking at the blacked shooting star Cutie Mark.

I had my eyes closed when the memory orb ended, which was fine with me, it gave me the opportunity to think about what I just watched. This must have been what Apparatchik was talking about, the paranoia of Stalliongrad. This pony bought a customized, personal magical energy weapon, a Protect-a-pony, and a security turret, all because he thought the zebras were coming for him. It got to the point where he shot and killed his own employee! What had happened to this place?

Before I could go any deeper done that rabbit hole I felt a breeze on my face. Breeze? Wasn’t the window closed? Opening one eye, I was met with a hovering giant metal bug staring at me. I screamed in surprise, lunging for Black Powder when a synthesized voice spoke. “Wait, calm down, I’m not here to hurt you!”

Whirling around, I shoved Black Powder in the bots…face. “Bhuulsheet!” I yelled around the mouth grip. “Nohing gudd hash come fro robots shurprishing meh!”

“I understand, but you have to trust me.” The synthesized voice held no emotion, but I got the feeling that the speaker was trying to sound comforting.

“And why should I trust you? Who are you?”

The bot was silent for a second before responding. “You can call me Watcher.”

“Oh because that it so telling.” I growled, glaring at the bot. “And what is it that you do, ‘Watcher’?”

“I try and help ponies survive the Wasteland.”

“And you do that by what? Talking through a robot?”

There was what I assumed was a surprised pause. “You picked up on that quicker than she did…” The little voice muttered.

“Yeah, I know a thing or two about accessing things you aren’t supposed to.” I was still very put off with this little robot for sneaking up on me. “Now, how are you going to help me?”

“By telling you where to find your friends.”

I was so taken aback that I forgot to be angry. “Wait what? How do you know about them?”

“Like I said, I’m Watcher, I watch.” He…she…it, said, and even though it had no tone I could tell the speaker was using that damned tone like they were talking to a filly. “Listen, I know why you left them and I understand, but the Wasteland consumes ponies who try and go it alone. You stand next to no chance without them.”

“And they stand next to no chance with me!” I retorted, now back to being angry. “If the Enclave finds me then they are dead! Ponies will die if they stick around me, and I can’t take that chance!”

“And you’ll die without them, and then what’s the point?” I had no easy answer and just glared at the bot. Watcher gave a mechanized sigh. “Listen, you already know they are looking for you. They won’t stop, and they are more likely to get killed just blundering after you than if you are all working together.”

I looked away, shoulders slumping as the fire left me. “I know that, but Scout said it himself, I take too many stupid risks. I can weasel out of them on my own, but eventually I’ll get one of them killed. I can’t risk that.”

Watcher fell silent for a moment before speaking gently, as least as gently as a synthesized robotic bug can. “I know how that feels, to feel like everypony is better than you and you just mess things up. But trust me, you don’t. Ponies weren’t meant to go it alone. You need your friends.” The robot bobbed towards the door. “I can show you where they are, nopony should have to face the world alone.”

I looked at the little bot, wanting to follow it. Even though it went against my better judgment I wanted to follow the bot to Scout and Clarity and join back up with them. Maybe Watcher was right and we could surmount this together. We had escaped the Enclave before, why not now? I got out of bed and went to follow the little robot.

An explosion shook the inn. Stumbling on the tilting floor, I crashed into the other bed where I found my coat waiting. Wait, if that was there, then where was Apparatchik? I had no time to worry about that as another explosion shook the building. “What the Hell is going on?”

“I don’tccchhhzzzzzzz…Can’t seeccchhhhzzzZZZZzzzz…interferrrzzzzzzbt.” Watcher’s voice gave out, replaced by an oompahing tuba. The little bot, now running on its own programming, floated out the open window into the suddenly calamitous night.

I didn’t have time to worry about what happened to my strange new acquaintance. I went to throw my coat on, and was surprised by a new weight. Shiny black plating had been sewn into the outside of the coat, providing a layer of protection I didn’t have before. The plates were segmented in such a way that they allowed fluid movement and were light enough that I was certain I could still fly. In fact, I was fairly certain that this was pegasus armor plating! How in the world had Apparatchik gotten his hooves on this?!

An explosion prevented me from questioning this little miracle any further. With my newly upgraded coat on, I dashed outside to find Scrap River in chaos. Ponies raced about in mad panic, smoky fires provided dim illumination and whizzing bullets shot through the air and into the frantic citizens. The town was under attack.

Whipping out Black Powder, I sought out the attackers. It wasn’t terribly difficult, they were the hooting and hollering ponies in black spiky barding. Raiders, specifically the Shadow King’s raiders, I would recognize that barding anywhere. I had no idea if they were here for me or not, but either way they were destroying this town, and no matter how useless I was in a fight I’d be damned if I didn’t at least try to stop them.

I sent a volley of searing red bolts into the nearest pack of raiders. Most of the shots went wild, but a few struck and set fires burning through the ranks of raiders. While this certainly got their attention away from the civilians they were terrorizing, they suddenly became much more concerned with the mare setting them on fire.

Bullets and screaming raiders streamed towards me, but for once I wasn’t as concerned with one of those things. The bullets were still painful, but since plating stopped them from penetrating I was able to withstand them far better than I could previously.

The raiders carrying hatchets, spiked bats, and crowbars however were a bigger concern, but I also had an answer to that. Considering the chaos of the situation and the urgent need for anything and everything that could help me, I decided to ditch my disguise. Spreading my wings through their concealing slits, I gave two mighty beats and sent a chilling gale at the raiders. The screaming, slavering horde came to a near standstill, frost coating their limbs like snow. Subsequent bolts from Black Powder dealt heavy damage to the group, since even I could hit a near stationary target.

The quickly spreading fire had that group more than taken care of. Leaving them to be cleaned up by the actually competent ponies, I galloped off to find another place to help. As I wove through the chaos, I heard somepony scream “GET DOWN!” Instinctively I obeyed, dropping to the frozen tundra. A small stream of bullets whizzed over my head, burying into a raider that was about to blindside me. Jumping to my hooves, I sent a stream of magical shots into a raider trying to sneak up on my helper.

It was only then that I noticed the two of us were surrounded. In the chaotic darkness I couldn’t get a good look at my helper, but frankly I didn’t care. We stood back to back, firing into the encroaching band of raiders, but no matter how many we took down another leapt into its place. Just as they were about to fall onto us, a shield of magical energy leapt into existence, stonewalling the manic ponies.

My teammate and I took the breather to reload, I changed out the spark batteries while he reloaded his battle-saddle. Still, when I took stock of our situation it looked grim. The raiders were beating on the shield like a dark tide, baying for our blood with no obvious way out. “Any ideas?” I gasped, glancing around the shield.

“There’s a break to the northeast. We can bull through it to my friend and take cover.”

I nodded, though I didn’t think he was looking. “Sounds good, on three?”

“One…”

“Two…”

Simultaneously, we bellowed “THREE!” Charging for the break in the raider line, firing all the way. We hit the raider line like storm clouds against a mountain, and for a second I thought we wouldn’t break through. A glancing blow bounced off my head just as a knife made a shallow cut on the side of my neck. I heard my ally grunt in pain as he suffered blows as well. Despite that, we broke through, charging headlong towards the glowing point of my allies friend’s magic.

The glow was at the top of a mountain of scrap which we clambered up, bullets ricocheting all around us. My ally let out a pained cry as a raider grabbed his leg, but I lashed out with my hind legs, bucking the rapid pony back down the mountain. My hooves slipped on a pile of wires and circuit boards, making me fall back towards the writhing darkness, but my ally sank his teeth into my tail, dragging me up to safety.

Eventually, thankfully, we crested the mountain, dropping into the cover of the unicorn pony’s sustained shield. Panting, I turned to thank my equally exhausted ally. “Thanks for the…” I cut myself off as I finally got a good look at the pony. He was an earth pony stallion, only slightly bigger than me, with a green coat and brown mane. He wore a battle saddle with attached hunting rifles and a PipBuck glowed on his right leg. “…Scout?” I whispered, staring at him disbelievingly.

The earth pony looked at me and froze, equally surprised. “Sleet?”

We stared at each other, lit buy the glow of the unicorn’s horn and the raging fires below, and screamed at each other. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

Before either of us could answer, the light from the unicorn’s horn moved closer to me and I felt a sharp smack across my face. “OW!” Looking up at my assailant, I saw Clarity’s kaleidoscope eyes glaring down at me. "Clarity?”

“You’re a bitch, Sleet Gray.” She growled at me, before wrapping me in a hug. “But I’m glad you’re alive.”

I was too stunned to return the hug. “But how did you two find this place?”

Scout was peaking over the top of the mountain at the swarming raiders as he spoke. “A spritebot told us to come here, said we would find a clue to where you are. I thought it was a trap but Clarity wanted to check it out.”

The crystal pony released me, her dark pall lightening slightly. “We got here just before the raiders did. There is a path leading into the gully from the north that we used to get here, the raiders must have come that way as well.”

Speaking of raiders, I poked my head over the top of the scrap mountain as well, watching the screaming mass of attackers. In spite of the panic, I could see the Scrap River ponies fighting back, even winning in some areas. “What are they doing here?”

“Raiders don’t need a reason to attack somewhere.” Scout growled. He ducked back down, barely dodging a bullet. “We need to get out of here.”

“We can’t just leave the town!” Clarity and I protested.

“We can’t do anything about this! The townsponies will be able to handle themselves, we need to get out now!”

Honestly, I shouldn’t have expected anything less from him, and much as I hated to admit it, he was right. “What do you propose we do?” I asked.

“Sleet!” Clarity yelled giving me a pained look.

“We’ll take out as many of them as we can on the run! We’ll need to carve a path anyway!” I shot back. “Every raider we take out makes it easier for us to leave and helps the townsponies. Now Scout, how are we gonna do this?” I turned back to the survivalist who looked shocked by my sudden commanding tone.

He shook himself back to reality quickly enough. “We stick near the base of the scrap piles, the shadows will help us stay out of sight. Take out any raider that gets close.” With that, he slide down the pile we were hiding on, landing between it and the neighboring pile. His PipBuck glowed a bit brighter and he placed three perfect shots in the heads of three raiders, freeing up two defender ponies. I followed suit, the black plating helping me blend in. I heard Clarity follow behind me, and sticking to the shadows the three of us set off.

The escape from Scrap River was perhaps one of the most harrowing moments I’ve ever had in the Wasteland. All around was screaming raiders, terrified villagers, fire, and death. The smell of burning hair and blood was all pervasive and smoke clogged the air. I took down every raider I could, shots from Black Powder turning the marauding ponies to ash, but no matter how many I killed more kept coming. Several times we were attacked when multiple raiders found us, charging into my blasts and Scout’s bullets while Clarity’s magic kept us safe. Even with the crystal pony’s shield, the crazed killers pounding away at the shield was enough to haunt my recurring nightmares for some time afterward.

As we approached the entrance to the town, the chaos faded. The fires were burning down, leaving behind ashes and cinders on top of the corpses of innocent ponies and raiders alike. There were still screams echoing from the source of the fighting, and the occasional horrible sounds coming from pillaged homes, but we couldn’t afford to help, even as it tore at Clarity and I. Finally, finally, we reached the entrance of the town. What had once been a gate was now a pile of blasted scrap, one door hanging uselessly while another sat in a pile of twisted metal. “Thank Celestia.” Scout sighed, quickening his pace. “I thought we would never…”

What happened next, I never quite figured out. There came a mighty crash and an equally mighty flash of light. Scout cried in pain and was thrown backwards, trailing smoke from vicious burns all along his chest and side. A blur of golden light rushed past me, whipping my mane and coat along with it and Clarity screamed. Whirling around, I was met with the tip of a large weapon practically poking my nose. I traced my eyes up the weapon, the triangular point, the winged cross at the base of it, and the long golden handle.

I followed said handle up to a pair of hooves and the pony attached to them. He stood impossibly on his hind legs, his fore legs gripping the spear leveled at me. He was coated from head to hoof in golden armor, stylized to look like a manticore, a pre-war chimera with a lion’s body, scorpion’s tail, and bat’s wings. The wings were etched into the armor in such a way that they almost looked flared and the scorpion plating on his tale was disturbingly similar to Enclave power armor. The head was what struck me, it was a helmet that fully obscured his face, etched to look like a majestic lion. The frill of the lion’s mane was apparently hollow, as the pony’s own bright red mane was pulled into a ponytail and projected from it. The entire striking figure buzzed with electric power, small arcs leaping from the carvings.

When the pony spoke, his voice echoed through the helmet and set my mane standing on end. “My King has a proposition for you.”
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Footnote: Level Up!
New perk, Salespony: Your skill at bartering makes you an excellent haggler, you get 15% better prices when buying and selling to any merchant.

Author's Notes:

As always, big thanks go out to Kkat for creating the original Fallout: Equestria and all the fun times that come with it, and thanks go also to my friend Mobius for staying up till Celestia raised the sun to proofread this thing! I hope everypony enjoys, feel free to drop a comment telling me what you think!