Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter Six: Measure of Strength
“Just because you have power over somepony else doesn’t mean you should use it.”

As idyllic as the scene seemed to be before us, and as much as I wanted this moment of relative peace to last forever, I knew it could never be, not so long as we continued to face these inescapable dangers, and especially not so long as there were still threats in the wasteland. The sweep of the blasted landscape before me spoke of total destruction; the legacy left behind by ponies that were supposed to have been so much greater than history has revealed to us. Yet, as I looked out towards the horizon, the sight of the blasted terrain retreated with it until all I could see was the sweep of the mountain sides, reaching up to pierce the clouds. At this distance, I could almost pretend that those distant grey peaks harbored something better than what the world had offered to us so far.

The shift of a body next to me brought my focus back to the here and now. I was sitting outside of a cave next to the only three ponies in the wasteland, that were still among the living, that gave two shits about whether I lived or died. I had truly reached the point where I considered each and every one of them my friends, including Autumn Mist, despite the fact that I was sure she still wanted to kill me. We had all faced so many dangers in the short time we had been together that I knew there were no others in the entirety of existence that I wanted at my side. I had come to rely on these ponies, when before I trusted nothing beyond my own knowledge and skill, and to lose any of them would be a loss so great that I doubted I would ever be the same for it. All I had to do to keep that from happening was to protect them as they had worked so hard to protect me.

“Well, I hate to be the one to say I told you so, but… I fucking told you so, Evergreen,” Autumn Mist finally said, breaking the silence. Trust it to her to break the sense of peace I had finally achieved.

I turned my head to fix the dark blue mare in my gaze, giving her a withering glare that I hoped would communicate my disappointment. “Look at it this way, Autumn. We managed to give a group of ponies a chance at life again. I’d call that a victory, even if you don’t.”

“That bunch isn’t exactly what I would call a ‘group of ponies’,” the dark mare sneered, her face twisting in disgust, “They’re more like a mobile maggot farm.”

Her bigotry towards the ghouls still surprised me. Everything I had seen about the mare gave credence to the argument that, beneath her rough exterior, was a pony that still cared deeply about the morals and values she had been taught as a filly, and yet she demonstrated such hatred towards ghouls, even going so far as to threaten them with her weapon when they had risked themselves to save us. Unsurprisingly, that hatred hadn’t made it impossible to accept a Pipbuck from them. I suppose anypony could put their racism aside long enough if they stood to gain from it.

“Why do you say things like that about them?” Suture asked, her tone accusing, “Especially after everything they have suffered? They were forced to abandon their homes with the war, and even in the Stable that was supposed to keep them safe they were forced to live in a way that even we deem hard. What have they done to deserve this kind of treatment from you?”

Suture was possibly the most compassionate pony I had ever met, to a fault. If there was anypony in our group that I felt the need to protect, it would be her. She was with us only because of her medical skills, which far outshone those the rest of us possessed. She had proven in the Stable that her combat skills left a lot to be desired, and that was if she didn’t allow her horror at actually handling a gun control her. I was pretty sure that the only reason she was still mentally with us was because she had finally managed to differentiate feral ghouls from sentient ponies, and that only after I had hit her to snap her out of her shock at having killed one of the things to save my life.

“What have they done?” Autumn shot back, her expression shifting to one of anger, “You mean beyond breaking the laws of all that is natural? Those ponies are more than two centuries old! They should have died decades ago! There’s no place for them in this world anymore, and yet here they are, taking up resources that those of us who should still be alive need to survive.”

“Autumn, do you really think that the Princesses would have cast them aside as you seem to want to do?” I asked, trying to keep my tone from becoming accusatory.

“The fuck do you know about it, Evergreen?” Autumn snapped at me, turning her glare from Suture to me and waving a hoof in the air as if to wipe away my argument. I felt like her stare was burrowing into me, searching out my soul to lay all of my sins bare to the world. “It wasn’t until recently that you gave two shits about ponies like them, or even like us. So don’t talk to me about what the Princesses would have done. They are dead and gone. Might as well leave them there, where they belong.” She stood and spun around to stalk back down into the cave, anger radiating off of her.

“I’m telling you, Ever, that one is unstable,” Crosswire stated, “We need to keep a closer eye on here. Every time she opens her mouth I’m worried that something she’s going to say something or do something we will all regret.”

I turned my head until I was looking at the ragged grey buck. His messy orange mane was hanging from his head like the end of a mop. Despite his best efforts down below, there were still streaks of blood left in it from when he had impaled a ghoul on his horn. He was staring off towards the horizon where the sun had set, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I know,” I sighed, dropping my head to stare at the dirt and rock between my hooves, “but there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it. She barely listens to a word I say, unless it concerns her chances at surviving the next five minutes. I’m trying to get her to loosen up, but I’ve only known her for three days. She still hates me, and she has every right to.”

That comment got the grey unicorn to glare angrily at me. “Stop doing that,” he snapped, frowning deeply, before turning to look back into the distance.

“Doing what?” I asked, throwing my hooves up in confusion, “She does! I murdered her family! What better reason is there to hate somepony?!”

“Ever since you’ve decided to chase after forgiveness, you’ve been doing nothing but say that you deserve the hatred and suspicion of every pony we’ve come across, even if you had nothing to do with their troubles!” Crosswire elaborated gruffly, “And it’s starting to drive me crazy. You used to be so self-assured and confident. Now I see you second-guessing every decision and asking what everypony thinks of your actions. The reason I chose to join your gang in the first place was because of your decisiveness, Evergreen, and now that value in you is disappearing.”

I was struck speechless, but even had I been able to say something, I couldn’t think of a single rebuttal. Crosswire was completely right. I had been allowing other ponies to walk all over me, under the argument that it was all to make up for the evils I had done. Those were no less real, but that didn’t mean I should change my whole personality simply so others would trust me more easily. If I did, I would be doing a disservice to myself and the ponies that looked to me for direction. Even worse, it would be a betrayal of who I was, and that was not something I was willing to give up.

“And one other thing, Evergreen,” Crosswire continued after a short pause, making me fear his next words, especially given what he had just been saying, “Thank you.”

“What?” I stammered, jaw dropping. “You just called me out on everything since… Why the hay are you thanking me?” I was struggling to organize my thoughts and follow the tech’s flow of logic.

Crosswire was looking right at me, lips pursed as he gathered his thoughts to answer my question. His eyes were filled with a level of gratitude that I had never seen him before, chasing away all the shadows of anger that had darkened his face. This Crosswire I had seen over the last few days was nothing like the one I had known for the last three years in the gang.

“You’ve pulled my tail out of the fire more times than I care to admit, and I don’t just mean from combat,” he finally said, “When you picked me up three years ago… I was going through a tough time, but that’s a story for another time. Just know that you saved my life that day. Beyond that, I had grown… settled… into my role in the gang. I’m not sure when it happened, but I realized in Metro that I had been losing myself to the raider lifestyle, after you told me you were done with it all. I had been committing acts that I used to believe were repulsive, yet I wasn’t thinking twice about them. I don’t want to think about what might have happened to me had we not left when we did. I feel like you saved me again by bringing me with you, just not my life this time, but my soul.”

Listening to the buck speak of me in that way, I realized just how badly I had misjudged him, and worse than that, underestimated him. I was so used to him being around that I was simply taking his presence and skills for granted when he deserved so much more than that. But simply coming to the realization wasn’t enough if I didn’t act on it.

“You’re welcome, I guess,” I answered quietly, “To be honest, I was just acting to save my own flank, at least at first. The fact that you were still alive was nothing more than a convenience for me then, and I’m sorry for that. Now, I’m proud to say that I consider you a friend, Crosswire. I promise that I’ll try to find a balance.”

The buck shrugged and turned his gaze until he was looking past me towards the south. A longing look came over his face and I saw his eyes focus on something far off in the distance. “That’s never really mattered to me, though I do appreciate the thought. We need friends out here if we’re going to survive, and I feel more at home here than I ever did down where I was born. It was enough to know that you were watching my back with the only expectation that I would watch yours in return. I’ve never asked for anything more. Fuck, I don’t even want anything more.”

“We can all only offer what we are willing to give,” Suture chimed in.

“Exactly,” Crosswire agreed, bringing himself back to the present. He stood and turned to look down the cave mouth, “I should probably get down there and make sure Autumn doesn’t start shooting our new allies. If I can, I’ll try to get some food ready. See you both down there in a few, assuming we’re not leaving until morning.” He shot me a pointed look, obviously expecting some sort of confirmation.

I nodded, “Yeah. I don’t like traveling at night: visibility is always shit.” When he nodded and started to walk down I called after him, “And Crosswire! Thanks for talking to me about this stuff. You’re not my subordinate anymore. You have something you want me to know, good or bad, speak up.”

A grin split across the buck’s features and his eyes lit up with a mischievous light. “No time like the present to start then,” he said, chuckling, “Figure your shit out and get a plan for what we’re doing. I’m fine with this mercenary work, but try to make sure it’s for something, rather than just to make us money. That’s barely a step above being a raider.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I shot back, “And I think I’m going to focus on watching how this whole Seahawk thing plays out. Fucker like him is the kind of pony you need to keep an eye on.”

“Works for me,” the tech said with a quick nod and disappeared into the crack.

The silence that followed Crosswire’s departure was loaded with tension. I could feel Suture’s disappointment in me as the maroon mare stared at me, her gaze boring into my side. I didn’t know what I was going to say to her. From my point of view, I had only done what was necessary, and I refused to apologize for that.

“Go ahead and say it, Suture,” I finally said, “I know what’s eating you, and I know I won’t get any peace until you vent.” I turned just enough so I could meet the mare’s gaze.

Her eyes instantly locked onto mine, brow furrowed in anger and mouth pursed in a position that told me that she was containing a lot of brash thoughts. “You had no right to do what you did to me down there, Evergreen. I thought you were better than that,” she snapped, “I considered you a friend, and all you think to do is hit me!”

“What else was I supposed to do?” I demanded, rising and walking until I was a few short steps away from her. I allowed some of my annoyance at her behavior to seep through to my face and the way I held myself, just enough so the mare could see that I wasn’t accepting her anger or guilt. “I needed you down there, we all did. Fuck, you saved my life! That ghoul was going to tear me to shreds had you not acted. Hell, it already was! Then, when we needed to get our tails moving to somewhere safe, you just stood there, completely unresponsive. What the fuck else was I supposed to do?”

“Talk to me, like civilized ponies do!” Suture shot back, “Not hit me. All that accomplishes is breaking my trust.”

“I tried to talk to you!” I shouted, “Several times! First time was right after you killed the ghoul, but you barely acknowledged me. Then, I tried to talk you out of it in the infirmary, but it was all I could do to get you to realize that I even existed!”

Suture glared at me in blatant disbelief. I could see the thought going across her face: ‘Yeah right you tried to talk to me. I’m sure all you did was smack me.’

“Don’t look at me like that! I did try! We needed you Suture, and you weren’t there for us. Had we not been in the depths of a Stable populated with hundreds of creatures trying to kill us, then I wouldn’t have done that, but there wasn’t time for the gentle help. What I did worked, as I knew it would. Besides, I didn’t hit you that hard.”

Suture held her gaze on me for a while longer before looking away, thought I couldn’t tell if it was in understanding or exasperation. “You really believe that, don’t you?” she asked quietly, closing her eyes and lifting her face so the breeze was blowing across it, shaking loose a few strands of her blue mane to flutter in the wind. It thought I noticed a trail of moisture seep down the side of her cheek.

“I do,” I said confidently, “I’ve seen ponies freeze up the way you did before, and giving them a good smack across the face is the most surefire way of bringing them back to reality, at least for a short while. The fact that you stayed with us is a testament to your will. You’re stronger than most ponies, even if you don’t admit it.”

Suture let out a sigh and hung her head before turning to look at me again, “Then I suppose I should thank you,” she said, “I’m still not happy with it, but I can understand why you did what you did, and it sounds like it was the right decision. Just… try to be gentler if it happens again.”

“I shouldn’t need to do it again. Most ponies only experience that once, unless they force themselves to do something equally traumatic, but I’ve never really seen that happen,” I said, standing and walking until I was standing side-by-side with the mare. “So how about we go down and get something to eat, huh? We could use a good meal after all the shit that happened today?” I asked, bumping her rump with my own to urge her towards the cave.

“Why not?” she agreed, a smile slowly creeping over her features.

Our meal consisted of little more than a few preserved pre-war snacks, along with what little food the ghouls had stored in the Stable, most of which was also at least 150 years old. Autumn Mist kept herself mostly separate from the group during the entire meal, choosing her own company over the easy camaraderie the rest of us had found with the ghoul population.

Speaking with them was an enlightening experience, as almost none of them refused to speak about the years before the war, as most ghouls that old did. We stayed up early into the morning, listening to tales of pre-war Equestria, where the greatest worry the ponies had was the occasional dragon roosting in a nearby mountain or a stampede heading towards a town; all difficulties that could easily be solved, and rarely through the use of violence.

It was a stark contrast to the reality we all knew today, where a pony’s survival wasn’t guaranteed for a single hour, much less a single day, but, at least for a night, it allowed us to forget our worries as we lost ourselves in the stories of a brighter time.

In the morning, we gave the ghouls a few helpful hints that would allow them to survive in the wasteland before starting out on our way back to Millberry. Just as we were about to start walking, Marmelade came up to us.

“I just wanted to thank you all for your help one last time,” he said, bowing deeply to each of us in turn, “You’ve given us back our lives, and that is something that can never be repaid. I know I already made the offer, but I feel the need to repeat it: If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask. We will help you in any way we can.”

I smiled and walked up to the ghoul, where I placed a hoof on his shoulder. When he looked up, I met his gaze and answered, “Thank you, Marmelade, both for the offer and for everything else. I hope we’ll never have to take you up on that offer.”

“If the world is as kind of a place as it should be, then you may never need to,” the ghoul answered somberly, “Now then, good luck in your travels. May the Goddesses watch over you.”

“And you as well,” I said, “I hope you find somewhere to make your home.”

With a final nod towards each other, we turned and started on our way, headed in opposite directions. Marmelade had told us of his intent to head west, towards the coast, where the damage from the war would hopefully have been limited since it was fairly far from Seaddle itself.

The day was gloomy, but the rain was holding off, at least for now, and we made good time. We were lucky enough that we came across nothing dangerous during our journey, beyond a few mole rats that quickly fled at our approach. It seemed that the day would actually be a good one for a change.

The landscape between Stable 60 and Millberry was largely made up of rolling hills, with a few gullies and the remains of farmland scattered throughout it all. From a distance, it appeared as though some of the blasted barns and farmhouses might have been inhabited, but in the Wasteland, looks were often deceiving. We followed what little remained of the old trade route between the coast and the city, which had been little more than a maintained dirt road before the war, leaving nothing but a portion of land that was slightly flatter than the surrounding countryside.

Every so often, we would pass the remains of some poor soul that had died before the war, or somepony that had been killed by the wasteland. Unfortunately, those fresher corpses were far more common than the old ones, a testament to how far ponykind had fallen.

We were barely halfway to Millberry when we came across a sight that made us stop dead in our tracks. A wounded unicorn buck was lying in the remains of the roadway, blood trailing after him towards a shattered farmhouse a few hundred yards off the road. We slowly approached the body, only to find, through some miracle, that he was still drawing breath.

Suture was instantly at his side, positively dumping out the contents of her saddlebags, trying to try to save the broken buck’s life, or at the very least postpone his death. His wounds did not look good.

One of his hindlegs was completely missing; the source of the trail of blood, and it appeared as though his other leg had been broken in several places, since it was simply dragging uselessly after him in the dirt. His hide might have been green under the obscene amount of dirt and blood that covered it, and what little that was clearly showing was crisscrossed with several angry wounds, many of which appeared to be fresh. His mane was a light orange in color, but was also streaked and matted with blood. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the top off his horn had been broken off. Both Crosswire and Autumn recoiled in horror when they saw that.

In an effort to save the buck, Suture took out two of our swiftly dwindling supply of healing potions and urged the unicorn to drink them. The potions closed many of his wounds, but I feared that all they really did was postpone the inevitable.

I slowly approached the buck, standing on his other side to give Suture the space she needed to work. “What happened to you?” I asked softly, hoping he was aware and lucid enough to answer, “Who the fuck is so sick that they would do this to a pony and simply leave him to die?”

The buck force himself to twist around Suture’s ministrations until he was looking up at me, agony carved into every line of his body. He cracked his good eye open just enough to fix me in a pain-filled stare. “Raiders…” he breathed, his voice just loud enough to be heard, “Came out of nowhere. Killed my crew, did this to me. I barely managed to break free. ”

I felt a terrible rage grip my chest, similar to the emotion that had ruled me for so long, but this time in response to a terrible evil done to another pony. This was not something I could let be. “Where are they?” I growled, already making up my mind to act.

The buck weakly lifted a hoof and pointed towards the farmhouse. “They set up their ‘funhouse’ in the house, but spend most of their time in the barn,” he answered hoarsely, “Do you have any water?”

I nodded stiffly and pulled out my canteen, which I then opened and held to the buck’s cracked and swollen lips, letting him drink deeply. “How many are there?”

The unicorn gasped as I took the canteen away, his tongue working wildly to catch the few drops of moisture left on his muzzle and swallow them before they could drip to the ground. He winced as Suture probed at one of his wounds before finally answering, “I don’t know. A half dozen, at least. More than we could handle, at any rate, and it ain’t like we weren’t fucking prepared.” He winced again as Suture moved to the remains of his missing leg, then screamed in pure agony as she started to tend it.

“Evergreen, hold him down! I can’t work if he’s thrashing about like this!” the medic ordered, her tone brooking no argument.

I instantly complied, holding the buck against the ground, both my hooves on his shoulders, leaning down on top of him with all my strength to try to stop the thrashing unicorn from tossing me and injuring himself any further. A few minutes later, Suture finally gave me the okay to let him up. She had bound up what little remained of his leg, but already, the bandages were stained red. A severed limb was not something that was easy to survive in the middle of the wasteland.

The broken stallion simply lay where he was, panting heavily as he struggled to regain his breath. Suture took my canteen from me and held it out to the buck, letting him finish off the last of my water as she cradled his head.

When his thirst had finally been slaked, he looked up at me, taking a moment to focus his gaze. “I can see what you’re thinking, stranger,” he said, his voice slightly stronger than it had been before, “Don’t try it. It’s not worth it. My crew is dead. Killing those fucks won’t bring them back. Those raiders were meaner than most, I should know. I’ve dealt with more than enough of those fucking psychopaths.”

“It’s not about your crew,” I snapped, struggling to keep my anger contained so I wouldn’t lash out at the buck or my friends, “It’s about the next group of travelers that come this way. What will happen to them if they aren’t equipped to protect themselves? If I don’t do something, they’ll be dead, and the wasteland will claim another group of ponies.”

The buck coughed, bringing up a glob of dark blood from deep in his chest which he spat into the dust by his side, then lay panting for another few moments before finally gathering the strength to speak again. “Please, stranger, listen to me. You’ve already done more than most by helping me. Don’t throw your life away by going after a gang of raiders. Your kindness can be put to much better use elsewhere. Don’t let it all go to waste here. The Wasteland needs ponies like you if things are going to get better.”

I shook my head, gaze narrowing on the buck as some of my anger leaked out. “No, it doesn’t,” I snarled, “I saved one life, sure, but how many will die if I leave those fucking sadists alive? I know how raiders work. I’ve seen it first-hand, more often than I would care to admit. Somepony needs to kill those fucks, and I say, why not me? You call me kind, and I understand why, but you don’t know me. All I’m good at is killing ponies.”

The unicorn gave me a worried look, then spun his head around to look at Suture. The maroon mare was staring at me, an equally frightened look on her face.

“Evergreen…” she started, but I lifted a hoof to silence her.

“I wanted to make a difference, Suture. This is where it starts. We stand to gain nothing by this, but that shouldn’t matter. Ponies like them need to be put down, for the safety of us all. Will you be fine here on your own for a bit?” I asked.

Suture remained silent, searching my face for answers. When she saw that I was completely determined to follow through with this course of action, she closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I… I can protect myself… if I have to,” she said, glancing nervously at the pistol in her barding.

I nodded curtly then returned to Crosswire and Autumn, who were standing just close enough to have heard the exchange. I took them both in with a single, determined glance. Crosswire looked prepared to go along with whatever I said, and even Autumn looked like she was prepared to join in.

“I don’t care what either of you decide,” I announced, “I’m going in there to kill those fuckers. Help me or not, it’s up to you.”

“It’s good to see some of your fire back, Ever,” Crosswire said, floating out his SMG and inspecting it, “I’m in.” A devilish grin spread over his features, and for a moment, he and I were back in the same position we had been in countless times before, right before we attacked a mark, except this time we were doing the fighting to protect others. It was a refreshing difference.

“I actually agree with this decision,” Autumn said, her face a grim mask, “Lead the way. I’ve got your back. Fucks like them need to be wiped out.”

I nodded to both of them, then turned to survey the lay of the land between us and the farm. There was a small rise a dozen yards ahead of us and off to our right: the perfect place for Autumn Mist to lay down some sniper support. I pointed a hoof at the rise and looked over to the sniper. “Autumn, get up there. You should have a clear line of sight to the barn, where most of them should be.”

The dark mare took a few steps towards the rise, then looked towards the barn before nodding. “Eeyup, that will do,” she said, pulling out her rifle and climbing the rise. Once at the top, she settled down in a half lying, half sitting position, her rifle floating before her close enough to peer through the scope.

Once she was in place, I turned my gaze to Crosswire. “We’re going in, guns blazing,” I said, “From what the unicorn said, there’s only a half dozen of them. Should be easy pickings for us.”

Crosswire nodded and racked the bolt of his SMG, chambering a round, smiling broadly. “Then let’s stop wasting time and get to work.”

I pulled Hammer from its holster and started running, making straight for the sun-bleached and blasted barn, Crosswire a half-step behind me. We made it more than halfway to the barn when the first sign of any sort of reaction became apparent.

An earth pony mare standing on the upper level of the barn paused in her rounds and stared out of the desiccated wall at us, almost as though she were stunned that two ponies would be crazy enough to charge the barn. “Attack!” she shouted, reaching for a pistol in her barding.

As she pulled it free, a loud crack echoed across the Wasteland and the raider’s head exploded, sending a geyser of blood into the air as the body slumped lifelessly over, tumbling out of the barn to land with a wet thump just in front of us.

I leapt over the body and crashed through the barn door, rolling as I hit the ground and coming back to my hooves several feet inside amidst several surprised shouts.

Facing me was a collection of ragged ponies dressed in typical raider attire: spikes, metal, and assorted gore. Most were still turning to face me, shocked looks actually chasing away the insanity on their faces. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and lined up a pair of shots at a crazed brown buck just in front of me who had already managed to swing his weapon around to face me.

Time snapped back to reality and Hammer fired, sending both bullets flying squarely into the buck’s chest, shattering his sternum and sending him tumbling to the ground where a pool of blood quickly started to form.

The four remaining raiders were just getting their weapons into a position where they would be useful when Crosswire reached them, unleashing a hail of lead from his SMG that felled another of the raiders before they had time to fire a single bullet.

One of the raiders started to turn to respond to this new threat, but the other two remained fixated on me. I brought Hammer around to aim at a unicorn mare wielding a .45 pistol and pulled the trigger, sending a round into her throat.

The bullet tore through her neck, resulting in a waterfall of blood that caused her concentration to snap, sending the pistol clattering to the ground. She fell to the ground, hooves grabbing at her throat to try to stem the tide of red.

I wasted no time to check that the raider stayed down, instead turning to face the other pony facing me: an earth pony buck with a severed head as a cutie mark. Despite the carnage Crosswire and I had unleashed, he was grinning broadly, his eyes wide, but pupils contracted to a pair of small dots. This buck was not sane, a fact that was driven home as he started to giggle, advancing towards me, lifting a rusty .32 revolver.

I heard a burst of SMG fire from Crosswire’s direction, as well as the retort of a 10mm pistol as he battled the other raider. I spun Hammer around to fire at the buck facing me, but just as I was about to pull the trigger, Autumn’s rifle fired again.

The sniper round tore through the buck’s back and shot out of his chest to hit the dirt at my hooves, spraying me with blood and debris as the buck collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.

I turned to help Crosswire, but he had already gotten the upper hand on the last remaining raider, backing her up into a corner where a last burst from his gun silenced her.

The immediate danger taken care of, I finally had a chance to look around the barn, and the sight would have made me feel sick, had I not already been used to seeing things like it. Bodies were strewn about the barn, many of them strung up from the rafters, dripping blood and bits of rotting flesh. Two corpses were stacked up on a nearby table and appeared to be fresher than the others, probably the bodies of some of the unicorn’s crew. One of them was a cream colored mare with a red mane, reminding me starkly of my mother. The other was a white buck with a dusky mane. Both looked like they had been torn to shreds as some cruel form of entertainment.

I tore my gaze from the bodies, trying not to think about what their last hours must have been like, and instead turned my attention to the boxes and containers that were strewn about the room. Most of them contained useless junk, but I was able to recover a few rounds that we could trade as well as a couple of simple frag grenades, which quickly disappeared into my saddlebags.

I could hear Crosswire rummaging about on the other side of the barn, likely doing the same thing I was. “Finding anything good?” I called over, dumping the contents of a small crate onto the ground and pawing through it with a hoof, but it was nothing but a few scrap components and a bottle of wonderglue: nothing worth picking up.

“Couple of low-caliber guns, some rounds. Nothing else worth mention,” he answered, “We should clear out the house. We can’t be sure that this was all there is. For all we know the house could be full up.”

I nodded slowly, “Sounds like a plan. I’ll lead, you cover me.”

We made our way out of the house, gaze fixed firmly on the windows of the house as we approached, but I couldn’t spot any movement, and judging from Crosswire’s lack of reaction, he saw nothing as well. I kicked the door open as we arrived, Hammer firmly gripped in my mouth and ready to fire, but there was nothing in the foyer beyond, except for the expected raider decorations. Severed limbs and heads decorated almost every surface that could hold them, and the floor was practically covered in blood and other fluids, but there was no sign of anything living.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” I ordered, slowly stepping into the building, “You go left and sweep that way. I’ll go right. Circle around and clear it room by room. We’ll meet up on the far side.”

Crosswire nodded curtly and started moving, his SMG floating out in front of him. In seconds, he disappeared behind a wall.

I turned my attention back to the task at hoof and started moving, starting with the simple dining room to my right. As I moved, it became painfully obvious that this group of raiders had fallen to depths that I would never have allowed. Everywhere I looked were the remains of ponies of all ages. Several appeared as though they had been allowed to linger for the raider’s pleasure, but judging by the way they were bound, with spikes driven through their limbs to hold them pinned against whatever surface they were lying against, I doubted many lasted long.

I kept moving, staying in each room only long enough to confirm that there were no raiders lying in wait. Each room held new nightmares, new images that would stay with me for a long time: a filly strapped down to a table, where she had presumably been repeatedly raped before finally being allowed to die; a buck, most of his limbs severed, yet the marks on his body showed that he had most likely survived most of the amputations; the corpse of a unicorn whose horn had been smashed off with a hammer and whose flanks had been branded over, destroying her cutie mark. The images made me sick and enraged me at the same time, making me hope that we would find a raider still in the building who I could make pay for these crimes.

When I finally made it to the kitchen where Crosswire was waiting for me, I was seething with rage. The kitchen itself was littered with empty liquor bottles, another example of the depravity these raiders had fallen to. Crosswire stood by a countertop, his expression mirroring mine. It was blatantly obvious that he shared my fury, and nothing but blood would satisfy it.

“I really hope one of these fuckers is still alive,” the tech growled, eyes narrowing as his anger leapt to the surface, “Because if I get my hooves on them, they won’t be anymore. My side of the house was clear. Let’s get up there and finish this.”

I nodded and made my way to the stairs, which I immediately started to climb. The footing was treacherous, as the stairs were covered in a layer of blood and grime, so I took my time, carefully watching where I placed my hooves.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard something to suggest somepony up here was still alive. I could hear a deep voice grunting, as well as what sounded like the rhythmic slapping of flanks. A white-hot rage consumed me at the thought that one of these raiders was actively raping somepony while I was here trying to save lives.

“Crosswire, cover me,” I ordered as I tore Hammer from its holster and charged into the room the sound was coming from.

I crashed into the room to find a raider buck mounted on a mare who was in very bad shape, tied down on the bed. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was sobbing as the raider repeatedly thrust himself into her. I immediately slipped into S.A.T.S. and lined up a shot to the raider’s side, aiming so that I would incapacitate him, but keep the fucker alive.

As the spell activated, Hammer fired and I screamed, “Get the fuck off of her you motherfucking son of a bitch!” The bullet struck exactly where I wanted it, sending the buck tumbling off the mare and to the ground. I leapt forward, spitting Hammer back into its holster and pulling out my knife. This goddess-damned, worthless piece of shit deserved a personal touch.

I placed a hoof on the buck’s chest, centered on top of his ribcage, and started to press down, much in the same way I had done to Crackshot so long ago. The raider was gasping desperately for breath and struggling weakly to shake me off. “This is what you get for living this life!” I shouted into the buck’s face, which was twisted in pain as his ribs started to crack, “And a simple death is far too good for a rapist like you.”

“Bloodclot? You all right in there? I heard a gunshot!” I heard a voice call from the hallway. It sounded like it belonged to a mare.

“Crosswire, take care of her. If she’s a raider, put her down. If she isn’t, get her under control so we can figure out exactly what the fuck is happening here!” I ordered, shouting around the knife before turning my attention back to the buck below my hoof.

Before I could say anything more, I heard Crosswire speak from the door. “Bloodclot is a little busy at the moment.”

“What?! Who the fuck are you?” the mare demanded, her voice rising in surprise and anger.

“Justice,” was all that Crosswire said in response before firing his SMG in a quick burst. In the silence that followed the gunshots, I could hear a body fall heavily to the ground.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now, Bloodclot,” I said wickedly, glaring down at the buck. His green eyes were wide and staring, full of fear and pain now that he was no longer the one in control.

“You think you’re so tough don’t you, cunt?” he wheezed, trying to sound tough, “Well just you wait. The rest of my gang will have heard the gunshots and they’ll be up here faster than you can say ‘Take me’.”

“You mean the gang that we’ve already wiped out, you sick fuck?” I demanded, increasing the pressure until I felt something significant crack beneath my hoof, eliciting a shriek of agony from the buck, followed by a flow of blood from his mouth, “Trust me, nopony is going to show up to save your life, and if they did, they would probably deserve to be killed for their efforts.”

At those words, he ceased his struggling, realizing that he had no hope of surviving this encounter. “Don’t kill me, please!” he protested, almost begging. Tears started to stream from his eyes and mix with the blood that was in his mouth, “I can do better, I swear!”

“I believe in second chances,” I said quietly, leaning in close so my knife was just kissing the surface of his neck, “Only reason I’m here is because of them, but you are not worth one. Nopony can do something like this to others and expect forgiveness. My evils were terrible, but not once did I ever force a pony to linger, or suffer.”

Before he could answer, I pushed forward, sliding my knife into his throat and ending his life. I pulled the blade out and cleaned the blood off on his barding before sliding the weapon back into its sheath.

“Is that all of ‘em, then?” Crosswire asked me, coming up to my side and surveying the buck’s body.

“Yeah,” I answered, “Now we just need to deal with this.” I turned my gaze so I was looking at the ravaged mare tied down on the bed. Her hide was light blue and she had a white mane streaked with strands of grey. Her cutie mark was a Sparkle-Cola bottle with its bottlecap still attached.

We both approached her from separate sides, and I pulled out my knife so I could cut the ropes holding her down.

She started whimpering as soon as my knife came within a foot of her. “Please… Please don’t hurt me. I just want the pain to stop.”

I stopped and looked over to Crosswire, who had a wounded expression. “We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help, I promise. Just relax and we’ll cut you free,” the tech said, then returned my gaze and nodded.

I slid my knife into her bonds and cut the ropes on her foreleg, then repeated the process with the hind one. Both legs curled up against her body as soon as they were cut free, an instinctual reaction on the mare’s part to protect herself.

“How… how did you get in here?” she stammered, her voice shaking with fear and pain.

“Because we were stronger than the raiders. They won’t be able to hurt anypony anymore,” Crosswire answered softly while I finished cutting the mare loose.

“That’s… good,” the mare whispered, curling up on herself on the bed. She started to shiver, then shake violently as the shock of what she had experienced caught up with her. “Oh, Goddesses, what has happened to me!” she started to sob, burying her head in the pillow.

“Shit, Crosswire, get out and let Autumn Mist know that everything dangerous has been taken care of, then get back to Suture and that unicorn and make sure they’re both all right,” I ordered, looking up at the buck with an urgent look on my face.

“Don’t you want some help here?” he protested, gesturing at the sobbing wreck before us.

“You’re a buck, Crosswire,” I pointed out, “and she was just raped. Trust me, get out.” I lifted a hoof and pointed at the door, pitching my voice so that the buck would get the point.

Crosswire hesitated for a moment, gaze flitting back and forth from the mare to me, before he finally turned and walked out of the room.

Once he was out of earshot, I knelt down next to the mare and placed a hoof on her head, where I started to gently stroke her mane. I wasn’t sure exactly how to deal with this situation, but I wasn’t going to allow this mare to deal with it on her own.

“Ssh,” I whispered, just loud enough to be heard over her sobs, “You’re safe now. Nopony is going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

Slowly, the mare’s sobs slowed until she was just lying on the bed, panting and gasping for breath. “Why… why did this happen to me?” she asked quietly, making me strain my ears just to pick up her words, since her head was still buried in the pillow.

“Sometimes bad things happen to good ponies,” I answered, “but you were strong enough to make it through. I know it’s not easy to admit it, but you are a lot stronger than you think, to have made it this far under that kind of treatment.”

“Are… are my friends dead?” she asked next, lifting her head and looking me in the eye. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but I could still see her hope reflected.

“Do you know a green unicorn? We found one on the road. He was the pony who pointed us here,” I answered, hoping that they knew each other so I wouldn’t have to tell her all her friends were dead.

“Hat Trick is alive?” the mare asked, her voice rising slightly, “Are… are you sure?”

“He was the last time I saw him,” I answered, “He was pretty banged up, but our medic was using every skill and resource at her disposal to save him. Knowing her skills, he should pull through. How about you take a little time to clean up and we’ll go down and meet up with them, all right?”

The mare nodded weakly and slid off of the bed where she stood shakily on her hooves, making me worry that she might fall over. She took about ten minutes to clean off the worst of the grime using a few bottles of dirty water, then we left the farmhouse together, with me doing my best to shield her from the awful sights. Unfortunately, I couldn’t block everything, and by the time we were outside, she was openly sobbing again.

“How could ponies bring themselves to do that to others?” she asked, tears streaming down her face.

I remained silent for a few moments as I thought of how best to answer that question. It wasn’t long ago that I had been involved in similar practices, if not quite that gruesome. “They think it gives them power,” I finally answered, choosing my words carefully, “To them, other ponies are nothing more than something to be used, then thrown away. They think, that since they are so much stronger than anypony else, that they have a right to exert that strength. Over time, it twists them into what you saw in there.”

“Oh…” the mare muttered, obviously not expecting such a detailed explanation, “Well, thank you, for saving me from… that. I don’t think I can ever repay you.”

“You don’t need to,” I answered quickly, “I couldn’t pass by knowing that those sick fucks were still around, destroying the lives of hard-working and good ponies. I consider it a bonus for me that there was still somepony worth saving in there that was still in one piece.”

The mare nodded quietly, and we walked the rest of the way in silence. When we finally reached the road, the rest of my friends were gathered together, watching as Suture was still hard at work trying to fix up the green buck.

“Goddesses! Hat Trick, what happened to you!” the mare announced, running up to the unicorn’s side and kneeling down next to him.

“What, Sparks, is that you?” Hat Trick asked, his voice still weak, but much stronger than it had been when we found him.

“Yes, it’s me. These ponies came in and saved me. We’re going to be ok!” Sparks answered, crying again, but this time, it appeared that they were tears of joy and relief.

“Yes, we are,” Hat Trick said, a smile creeping over his face. He turned slightly so he was facing me, “Evergreen, I can’t thank you enough for this. You saved my life, and the life of one of my closest friends.”

I couldn’t help but to laugh. It seemed as though everypony had been thanking me all day, and though I could admit that I had done some things worth being thanked for, it was just such a new experience for me, that I barely knew how to react.

“Don’t mention it. I couldn’t just walk by knowing that others could be in such danger,” I finally responded, “Now, we should probably try to get moving. You’re both in really bad shape, but between the four of us, we should be able to get both of you back to civilization, where you can get some real help.”

Hat Trick groaned as he shifted position, his face screwing up in pain. Despite Suture’s best efforts, it appeared as though his injuries were still very serious. Moving him would not be easy. “Are you sure about this? Millberry is a good distance away.”

“Leave it to me,” Autumn piped in, stepping forward. She slid her rifle into its strap on her back, then took up a broad stance and closed her eyes in concentration. After a moment of inaction, her horn started to glow, followed by a yellow glow surrounding Hat Trick. A few moments later, a second layer of overglow formed around Autumn’s horn, and Hat Trick started to shift. Slowly, he was lifted into the air until he was floating about three feet off the ground.

All of us were staring at the mare, completely dumbfounded. I had seen how powerful her telekinesis was, hell, I had even experienced it, but there was a difference between lifting a heavy object and lifting a pony. That she could manage a full-grown pony, without rage driving her as it had with me, like Hat Trick was impressive.

Autumn cast about, looking at each of us in turn, a sheepish look on her face. “What? I’ve been handling heavy loads for years, even needed to levitate myself on occasion. I’ll be able to handle his weight back to Millberry, so long as we don’t take too long.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You just took me by surprise. All right, let’s get moving. I’d like to get these two into the hooves of a medic that isn’t in constant danger.”

Everypony nodded in agreement and in the next few minutes we started down the road towards the Millberry. Sparks and Hat Trick kept expressing their gratitude to us, but between thank yous, we managed to hear their story.

Hat Trick had been in charge of a small caravan that ran supplies from Metro, through Millberry, and then to the west coast; a dangerous trail, but he had had a crew of nine ponies that made sure the caravan was well protected. Three days ago, when they had been traveling west from Millberry, they were ambushed by the raiders, who managed to cut down half the defenders in the first seconds of the attack. From there, it had only been a matter of time before the rest had been captured. After three days of torture and torment, Hat Trick finally succeeded in slipping his bonds and crawling away from the farmhouse, where we stumbled on him. Sparks, who had been hired as a guard and who had been working with Hat Trick for years, was the only other surviving member of the caravan.

We hadn’t seen them on our passage to the Stable because we had taken a slightly different path there, and the weather had kept us from paying that much attention to our surroundings. Regrettable, but they weren’t blaming us for not finding them yesterday.

With the two injured ponies, the remainder of our journey took longer than expected, as we had to take regular rests to give Autumn time to gather her strength. Even with her incredible telekinetic strength, lifting a pony for a long period of time was strenuous. As a result of this slower pace, the daylight was already starting to fade when we finally saw the walls of the town appear on the horizon.

Before long, we reached the town itself and were ushered inside. Our first stop was the infirmary, where both Hat Trick and Sparks were immediately admitted at no charge for the services they had done for the town over the years. The doctor and Suture spoke for some time about the treatment that she had been giving the broken buck, then she spoke with me about what had happened to Sparks. Once she had all the information, the doctor insisted that they would both be fine and told us to go report to the governor.

On leaving the infirmary, I could detect a definite change in the behavior of the citizens of the town. They had been relatively kind when we left two days ago, but that had been an ambient kindness that most likely came from the fact that we had spent a night in their town without causing any trouble. Now, it seemed as though ponies were going out of their way to help us or to show some sort of kindness. I suppose it was possible that some sort of tale of what we were trying to do to help the town was making its way about the population.

When we entered the town hall, the scene was significantly different than it had been before. This time, I took the time to take in my surroundings, and I was fairly impressed, as far as refurbished buildings could impress me, which unfortunately wasn’t much. The wood that the structure was made up of was barely rotten, and the floor was covered in richly colored carpets that cushioned the hooves beautifully. The walls were decorated with old, pre-war portraits with plaques beneath them, displaying names like Fancy Pants or Blueblood, representing what must have once been members of the nobility, or other important ponies, from that time. I felt like I was walking through a museum.

Another contrast was in the ponies we met this time around. I immediately recognized the two stuck-up, self-important assholes that I had tried to talk to before, and, surprisingly, they saw, and recognized, me as well. The buck I had talked to two days ago excused himself from his colleague and approached me.

“Ah, miss, it is wonderful to see you again! How may we help you?” he asked me, his tone overly polite. He even said it all with a slight bow.

“What the hell caused the difference in behavior in all you ponies?” I asked, backing up a step, “First time I showed up here, it was all I could to get any sort of response out of anypony, now here you all are helping me with any small issue!”

The buck laughed at my words, throwing his head back in the process. I was surprised to see that he even managed to laugh pompously, despite his apparent kindness towards me. “Why, I thought you would have figured it out, my dear, considering what you’re wearing on your leg there,” he said, finally getting himself back under control and pointing at my Pipbuck.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, “What the hell does my Pipbuck have to do with any of this?”

“Why, the radio of course! You’ve been all over it for the last day! We’ve heard all about your foray into the Stable and your rescue of the ghouls that have been trapped down there. Sure, some folks aren’t too happy about the fact that there are a bunch more ghouls to deal with now, but we here in Millberry are concerned with preserving our history, and those ghouls have a lot of it. Those of us who run things around here consider you lot heroes for what you did there,” the buck explained, grinning broadly as he led us down the hall towards the governor’s office, “Now I know the governor is going to want to speak with all of you immediately. Just walk on in!”

I nodded graciously, still struck dumb by the fact that I had been on the radio. Once we were done with this meeting, I would need to take some time to find that particular station to find out exactly what was being said about me.

The buck nodded in return and sauntered off to speak with the colleague he had left for our sakes. I watched him go, mind still reeling, before finally turning my attention to the door that led to the office.

I lifted a hoof and knocked. Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal the governor standing before us, smiling broadly.

“I heard you had returned, miss Evergreen. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me! We have a lot to discuss!” he announced, ushering us inside and past the gathering of other ponies waiting on his attention. He led us into his office where he offered us all a drink of some amber liquid he had stored in a glass bottle that was somehow still intact, despite the years.

I accepted and cautiously took a sip, finding the drink pleasantly alcoholic. It wasn’t my Apple Whiskey, but it was good enough, and I wasn’t going to complain about free booze. “So what do we have to discuss, exactly? I was just stopping by to bring you up to speed on a few developments,” I said, extremely confused at the whole situation.

“Oh I am quite aware of that,” the governor announced, waving my question away, “It is quite obvious what you are going to say, since you came back from the Stable with little more than a few new Pipbucks and the gratitude of the survivors. You were looking for the water purifier I requested, weren’t you?”

I nodded dumbly, unable to do anything else. How much was being said about me on this radio station that all these ponies knew exactly what I had been doing for the last day and a half, and how much of that was being picked up by my potential enemies, most notably Greymane?

“Yeah, that’s right. We did tackle that Stable for you lot. Took a huge fucking risk to do it too! What’s that worth to you?” Autumn demanded, stepping up to the desk and slapping her hoof down on it. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and she was glaring at the governor.

“Quite a bit, actually,” the governor answered, eyeing the dark mare warily, “It proves to me that you were telling me the truth the first time we spoke, and that Metro is serious about the agreement. I don’t know of any mercenaries that would go out of their way to enable an agreement before checking with their original employer, not even Greymane. As such, I am willing to accept the alliance, so long as, at some point in the future, a water recycler, or purifier, is provided to us. I know I can trust you to follow through with this agreement. I’ve even put my agreement into writing.”

The governor reached under his desk and pulled out a large piece of paper that was covered in elaborate writing and had his signature boldly displayed at the bottom, “This is a signed declaration of allegiance from Millberry to Metro. It will be honored,” the governor announced, sliding the paper over to me, “Now, then. Was there anything else you needed?”

I gingerly took the paper, giving it a brief look before rolling it up and sticking it into my saddlebags. The entire situation was simply surreal. This governor was far more trusting than anypony I had ever met, and yet, he seemed completely sure of the decision he was making. Maybe my attitude really was making a difference. “Uhh… yeah, there was one thing,” I finally said, “There was a gang of raiders holed up in one of the old farmhouses along the trade route to the west coast. We ran into a caravaneer on the road by the name of Hat Trick. He managed to survived the torture the raiders subjected him to, but he’s in bad shape. We got him and one of his guards, Sparks, out and into the infirmary here in town. We also took out the gang, but you may want to organize some better protection for any caravans headed out that way. I doubt we killed all the raiders out there.”

“Hat Trick’s caravan got hit?” the governor asked in disbelief, shaking his head slowly, “That doesn’t bode well. He had one of the best organized caravans in the region. That’s why he made the western run: he was the only one with the strength to make it safely. I’ll do what I can to fund a replacement. You said he survived. How bad are his injuries?”

“Pretty bad,” Suture answered, “One of his legs was badly amputated and the other was broken in multiple locations. Then there were several lacerations inflicted on his body, as well as many other injuries, both small and large. The worst was that he had the top portion of his horn smashed. I don’t know if he will ever recover his ability to use magic, and if he does, it will be far less powerful that what he is used to.”

I didn’t want to know how painful and far-reaching the effects of having a horn smashed off would be if Suture was claiming that it was his worst injury. I was still firmly of the mindset that the amputation of his leg was the worst. But then, maybe a horn injury was more psychological, rather than physical. It was, after all, the defining feature of a unicorn.

The governor hung his head at the news. “I wouldn’t wish that fate on anypony,” he said, his voice filled with sorrow, “but at least he is still among the living. His knowledge and experience will be a great aid to the town. Thank you for saving him. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Not that I can think of. We’ll be returning to Metro in the morning. If you need to get in touch with us we’ll be staying at the Drunken Mare for the night,” I said, turning to walk out the door.”

“Very well. Good travels, Evergreen,” the governor announced, bowing his head to me.

I bowed my head in return and stepped out the door. My companions followed me closely as we made our way back to the inn. Now that night had fallen, the streets were mostly empty, except for the occasional pony heading to or from a bar or brothel, and the short walk was uneventful.

The inn was full and loud when we entered, with many ponies sitting at the tables, drinking and swapping stories. I quickly spotted Pearlescent at the bar and pushed my way through the crowd towards her.

The white mare noticed me approaching and a broad smile sprang into existence on her face. She shooed four of the patrons off the bar stools and motioned for us to sit. “Evergreen, I was beginning to worry that I would never see you again!” she shouted with joy once we were seated in front of her.

“There’s no need to worry!” I laughed, “Everything went exactly to plan!” None of my friends managed to hold in their laughter at that statement.

Pearlescent looked from one to the next, one eyebrow raised as all three of my friends laughed at my statement. “I’m guessing that means you were being sarcastic?” she asked once they had quieted enough for me to hear her.

“You better fucking believe it!” Autumn yelled, still chuckling, “We didn’t make it five minutes inside that fucking death trap before we were fighting for our lives! Damn thing was full to the brim with feral ghouls!”

“I remember us being down there for almost fifteen before we had to start shooting!” I protested, pouting.

“Fine, I’ll give you your fifteen. Either way, that thing was definitely not empty!” Autumn retorted, “I can’t even get straight how many times we almost died!”

“Well, the important thing is that you didn’t,” Pearlescent stated steadfastly, pulling out four glasses and filling them with some kind of liquor, “And besides, I heard on the radio about the ghouls you helped get out of there. At least the trip out there wasn’t completely without result. Here, these are on the house for helping ponies in need.” She slid the glasses over to us.

I immediately picked mine up and drained it, letting the alcohol slide down my throat, where it started to burn comfortably in my stomach. Crosswire and Autumn repeated my action. Only Suture hesitated in picking up the drink.

“I’m all right. I don’t drink,” she said, lifting a hoof to push the glass away. Her gaze was still happy, so at least I didn’t have to worry about any imminent mental breakdowns, which made my next decision that much easier.

“Aww, come on Suture!” I insisted, pushing the glass back towards her, “If it helps, I promise none of us are going to get shot tonight! Come on, you deserve a drink for all the shit I’ve dragged you through since Metro!”

Again, the maroon pony hesitated, eyeing the glass warily. “I don’t even know what’s in it!” she protested, “How am I supposed to know it’s safe!”

“Honey, it’s alcohol, of course it isn’t safe,” Pearlescent said, laughing, “Now do as your friend suggests. I don’t give out free drinks often.”

“Come on, Suture! If any of us needs to relax, it’s you!” Crosswire added, nudging her with a hoof.

Suture cast about, trying to find support from somewhere, but found nothing. Even Autumn had an amused look on her face. “Oh, fine,” she finally said, reaching out and picking up the glass. She put it to her lips and tilted her head back, letting the dark liquid flow into her mouth. Immediately, she started coughing, much to our delight.

“What the hell was in that!” she wheezed, still coughing, several moments later. Crosswire was laughing heartily and started to pound on her back to help her catch her breath.

“It’s something I like to call ‘Atomic Whiskey’,” Pearlescent said with a laugh, “It has enough kick to it that I have never seen a pony drink more than five and stay on their hooves.” She looked at us all with a critical eye, as though challenging us to try it.

I sighed heavily, wishing that I was able to take her up on the offer, but we simply didn’t have the time to waste on recovering from the inevitable hangover in the morning. “I’m sorry, Pearlescent, but I have to decline. We’ve got to be moving early tomorrow morning. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Metro in a reasonable time, and given our experience getting here, I would rather not travel hungover.”

The mare nodded understandingly. “I can respect that. Want a normal drink, then? Something that you can enjoy without the downside?”

I laughed at that and reached into my saddle bag, pulling out the bottle of Apple Whiskey. “I’ll stick with this, thanks,” I said, and promptly opened the bottle and took a drink.

“I’ll take you up on the offer,” Crosswire said, placing a few caps onto the table.

“As will I!” Autumn announced, also throwing her money down.

Pearlescent nodded and got their drinks, then left us to ourselves while she tended to her other patrons.

We sat quietly for a while, enjoying our drinks in the relative safety that the town provided. I stopped drinking when my bottle approached the halfway mark, just far enough that I was feeling the buzz of the alcohol, but not quite so much that I would be hungover the next morning.

Before long, we started talking, mostly about our experiences during the last few days. Nopony was willing to offer up a whole lot of their past, except for Suture, who regaled us with tale after tale of her life in Metro, most of which was boring city drama that concerned ponies none of us had even heard about. All in all, it was a very pleasant evening, and we all retired to our room late that night, at least content with each other’s company, if not outright happy with it. While everypony else settle down to sleep, I remained outside the room for a few minutes to try to find the radio station.

It took me a while, but eventually, I found it, or at least, I thought I had from the descriptions I had heard other ponies in the bar give about it. It was in the middle of a sad song about a mare that had lost her husband to a buffalo stampede while living on the old Equestrian frontier.

As the song came to its end, the broadcast shifted to a loud and boisterous DJ. “Good evening, Seaddle! This is your DJ and eye in the sky, Shooting Star! Have I got some juicy news for all my faithful listeners tonight! Of course you all remember that nice tale I got to spin for ya’ll yesterday, right? The one about the mare who decided to crawl into that old Stable and dragged a bunch of ghouls trapped down there for two hundred years back to the surface? Well, I have just learned that she is still very much alive and doing what she can to make our home a better place! The report I got is that she went way out of her way on the trade route from Millberry to Seaside to save the leader of a caravan. Now why is this special, you ask? Well, this buck had a crew of nine protecting him, but still got hit by a gang of raiders that had taken up residence in the area. Now, as sad and unbelievable as that is, not only did our Heroine save the poor buck’s life, but she also decided to clean up the whole gang as well, saving one of the guards that managed to survive in the process! How’s that for a good deed, everypony!”

The buck’s voice cut out for the sound of a raucous applause, mixed in with a bunch of cheering, all of the noise obviously recorded.

“Now, I know a bunch of you are wondering exactly who this savior of ghouls and guards is, because I’m wondering the same damn thing! Where has she been hiding all these years, and what kind of society would result in somepony capable of all this? Those are the questions I want answered! So, Heroine of Seaddle, if you’re listening to this, would you mind stopping by my studio downtown sometime for a chat? I’d love to find out where you’ve been hiding out, and why you waited till now to act! Unfortunately, that’s all I have time for tonight! Good night, Seaddle. May the sun greet you with the dawn! This is DJ Shooting Star, signing off!”

The buck’s voice faded away and the music returned, leading into a song by some mare going by the name ‘Sapphire Shores’. The pop sound that emerged from the small computer was far too sprightly for me, so I switched the radio off, and simply stood where I was, trying to puzzle through what I had just heard.

Barely a week had passed since I had been driven away from towns, or had to explain myself in depth to the guards to be admitted, and now I was being hailed as a hero on the radio. For some reason, that didn’t sit right with me. I doubted this DJ knew anything about me, especially what I had been. No matter what he said about me, saving a few ghouls and a couple of caravaneers wasn’t even close to making up for the kind of shit I had done, or the evils I had committed. Unfortunately, I had more important things to do than detour to downtown to set a DJ straight.

I sighed heavily, mostly because I was unable to do anything about the broadcast, and returned to our room where I lay down heavily on the bed. Despite my racing thoughts, I fell asleep almost instantly.

I woke early the next morning, well refreshed and ready for the long trek back to Metro. Sometimes I was surprised at how well I slept, considering everything I had seen and done, but I was not going to question things that worked in my favor. I slowly pushed myself to my hooves, stretching my back and legs, and looked around, only to see that the room was empty. My friends must have already gone downstairs.

I grabbed my knife and Hammer from the nightstand where I had dropped them the night before, replaced them in their respective places, and slipped out the door. I made my way downstairs where I found my friends sitting at the bar, all enjoying a hot plate of food and talking jovially with Pearlescent.

“Ah, there’s our ‘Heroine of Seaddle’!” Pearlescent announced with a laugh, waving a hoof dramatically in my direction. Her gesture drew everypony else’s attention, and they all laughed loudly at the title, though none as loudly and violently as Crosswire, who nearly fell out of his seat, clutching at his gut.

“Yeah, I get it,” I muttered darkly, sliding into a free seat, “I don’t know why he’s saying these things about me. He doesn’t have a clue who I am!”

Pearlescent grabbed a plate of steaming food and slid it in front of me before answering. “That’s exactly why he’s reporting on you. Before the last couple of days, you were nopony. Now that you’ve done a few things that have had, or will have, a far-reaching impact, he’s taking notice and is trying to figure out who exactly you are. I would suggest taking him up on his offer and make the trip to Seaddle. Better he hears the story of your past from you, rather than from somepony that doesn’t know you for who you are now. That way, you’ll have the chance to present yourself in the most favorable light possible. Shooting Star isn’t known for being kind to wrong-doers, and if he gets the wrong image of you, well… it won’t be good.”

I nodded somberly, “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. Somepony like him sounds like they would have a lot of influence. Problem is, I have more pressing matters to attend to. I took on a job, and I can’t go on a random tangent just because not speaking with some DJ will be an inconvenience. I made a promise to the mayor of Metro, and if he decides to agree with me, I already have my next job lined up.”

At the mention of that possibility, I noticed Suture hesitate for a brief second, her eyes revealing a spark of guilt, before reverting back to the happier expression she’d had before. I shrugged mentally at the added mystery at what that could mean. Chances were I’d find out when I got back to Metro. Whatever it was, there were probably good reasons for it.

Pearlescent grumbled in halting agreement. “That makes sense, I suppose,” she said, “But still, I wouldn’t make any plans after that next job other than going into Seaddle. Trust me on this.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I answered, then finally started digging into my meal. As it had been two days ago, the food was delicious, a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as cooked food that had been preserved for two hundred years. In other words, it was a gourmet meal compared to what I usually ate.

While I ate, Pearlescent wandered around the bar, cleaning up the mess left over from the crowd the night before. While doing so, she wandered over to a corner and turned on the radio, tuning it to Shooting Star’s station. The soft music the buck usually played drifted throughout the bar, hushing us all so we could listen.

I closed my eye and simply let the music flow through me. It was an instrumental piece that sounded like it was being played by several well-trained classical orchestra players being led by an especially talented cellist. Unfortunately, as it was with all good things, the song came to an end and Shooting Star himself came on the microphone.

“Good morning, Seaddle. I hope that the piece by Octavia’s orchestra was enough to get you all perked up and ready to face the long, harsh day. I promise: I’ll try to keep the sad songs out of the rotation today! Now, for the news! I’ve been getting reports that the town of Buckview has not been heard from in some time, leading many to believe that something bad has happened to the town. I’m working on getting some eyes out there to let me know what’s going on, but that’s a dangerous road to travel, since a lot of slaver activity has been seen in the area. All we can do is hope that a caravan makes the trip sometime soon and lets us all know if those ponies are still alive. Well, that’s all I have for now. Good luck to you all until next time! This is DJ Shooting Star, signing off!”

The music returned, this time an upbeat song by Sweetie Belle, of all ponies. It seemed that the co-founders of Stable-Tec had managed to do quite a bit of side work while devising plans to kill the ponies that relied on their Stables to survive.

I sat silently while my friends discussed the news, thinking about what the DJ had said. The more I thought about it, the more nervous it made me, especially when I remembered the recording I had found in the Ironshod Firearms factory. It had mentioned that Seahawk would be making his move soon, and since I hadn’t heard of anything especially malevolent coming from the west, especially since the entire area was well-traveled all the way to the ocean, I figured the enigmatic character had to be hiding out in the east somewhere. Now, I just needed to see if the information fit the theory.

“Hey, Pearlescent, exactly where is Buckview?” I called out, shouting so I could be heard over my friend’s conversation.

“It’s a few days walk to the east, near the edge of the Bucklyn Forest,” the proprietor answered while she wiped off a table, “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, furrowing my brow in thought, “Something just doesn’t seem right about this. I might need to make a detour out that way to take a look at what’s going on.” The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. The work I was doing with Metro was to present a strong front to Seahawk when he started his push into Seaddle, so it would make sense that I would want as much information as I could get on the enigmatic figure. If my suspicions were right, and this town’s disappearance was due to him, then that would only help my cause.

“Didn’t you just say you couldn’t afford any detours?” Pearlescent asked, shooting a questioning look in my direction.

“Yeah, I did, but this might be related to what I’m doing,” I said, “Besides, isn’t it rather odd that a settlement to the east would just suddenly stop reporting in? Most of the gangs are to the south, in the mountains. It just doesn’t add up.”

“Do whatever you want dearie. It’s not my job,” the white mare said, moving to another table.

At this point, all of my friends were looking at me. “That your choice, then?” Crosswire asked pointedly.

“Yeah, we’ll check out the rumors about this ‘Buckview’. It should actually work out in our favor. Grovedale and the IF factory are almost directly on the way there, if we need supplies. I know I want to stop by the factory to stock up on ammo for Hammer. I’m starting to run dangerously low,” I said, standing resolutely from my seat to emphasize my decision.

“Wait, what kind of supplies do you guys have stocked up in the factory? Are there any .308 rounds?” Autumn asked, a hopeful look in her eye, “I’ve only got a couple of clips for my rifle left, and I’d rather not have to pay for more.”

“Yeah, there are .308 rounds, as well as a few small arms that you’ll be able to grab for close quarters work, should we need it again,” Crosswire answered.

“Sounds like a plan, then,” I announced, “We’ll detour to the IF factory, grab some extra supplies, then make for Buckview. If we really need to, we can try to stop at Grovedale on the way.”

“Why ‘try to stop’?” Autumn asked curiously, one eyebrow raised, “Couldn’t we just stop there for the night since it’s on the way anyway?”

“I wish. The law there recognizes me and knows my past. Last time Crosswire and I stopped there a week ago, the mayor turned us away and said he was doing us a favor by not shooting. If we’re lucky, and we really need to, we should be able to convince him to let us in,” I answered, seeing no reason not to tell the mare. She knew about my past, after all.

“Well, at least somepony out there remembers what you were,” she said, a smile spreading over her features, “It’s only right.”

I sighed heavily at that. It seemed that even despite everything we had been through, Autumn was still firmly in the ‘I hate Evergreen’ club. “Yeah, we get it, Autumn. I’ve done a lot of bad things. Can we please move on from that?” I looked up and fixed the dark mare in my gaze, trying to make her see how hard I was trying to change.

“What?!” the mare asked, throwing her hooves up like she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about, “I’m just saying. It’s karma!”

“Whatever,” I muttered, turning to walk to the stairs, “I’m going to get my bags. Let’s try to get out of here in the next few minutes, all right? It’s going to take a few hours to get to the factory.”

Everypony followed me upstairs to our room where our saddlebags were waiting, already packed. It took almost no time for us to pull them on and head back downstairs, where Pearlescent was now cleaning up the remains of our meal.

“Thank you for everything, Pearlescent. I appreciate the work you put in for us. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back here sometime soon,” I said as we walked by, pausing long enough to speak with the white mare.

“Don’t mention it, dear. The Drunken Mare will always be open to you and your friends. Good luck out there. I fear you’re going to need it,” she answered.

I nodded my thanks and started moving again, stepping out the door, where, to nopony’s surprise, it was raining. This time, it was a slow, steady drizzle that was just hard enough to make the ground soft enough to build up a layer of mud. We made our way through the side street to the broad central avenue which we followed out to the main gate, where the guards nodded their acknowledgment of us. A couple of them even muttered ‘Good luck’. Maybe things were finally starting to look up for me.

Before long, the walls of the city disappeared over the horizon behind us, and we were trudging through the empty wasteland, following the remains of an old highway that connected Millberry to the larger settlements and factories to the east, like Grovedale and the IF factory. Shattered carts and desiccated corpse of skywagons littered the highway, building a natural maze that we had to pick our way through, being careful not to cut ourselves on jagged pieces of rotting wood or rusting metal. Occasionally we could see movement in the distance, like a shadow on a hillside that disappeared as soon as we noticed it. I wasn’t too concerned with those. Any raiding party out here would be very hesitant to attack a group like ours. We were very obviously armed and walked with the confidence of ponies who knew how to use their weapons. It would take a lot of motivation, or insanity, on the part of a group of raiders to try to mess with us, or so I told myself.

With a good night’s rest behind us, we made good time, pressing through the remains of civilization. Midday was just passing when the factory first appeared on the horizon. After another hour of walking, we were coming up on its main entrance that was still hanging open after I had kicked my way in a week before. As we approached, the words “Ironshod Firearms Factory discovered’ flashed across my vision.

I slowed to a stop and lifted my leg to inspect my Pipbuck. With a couple of hooftaps I had the map pulled up and started to investigate. To my surprise, there were now several icons on the map, denoting the places I had visited over the last few days. I must have missed the notifications because of how tired I had been and since I had been focused on helping Autumn with Hat Trick and Sparks when we arrived at Millberry, but now I could see little icons denoting most of the places I had been recently: Millberry, Stable 60, the IF factory, and also something labeled Matchbox Farmhouse. That must have been where we fought the raiders.

“Hey, Evergreen, are you coming?” Crosswire called back to me once the rest of the group noticed I had fallen behind.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” I answered, trotting to catch up, “Was just playing with my Pipbuck. Didn’t notice before when the location tags activated. It caught me by surprise.”

“Well, pay attention. It’s been a week since we were here last, and we’ve told several ponies since then that we’ve cleared this place out. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some new inhabitants,” Crosswire said, walking through the open door into the lobby.

The remains of the protect-a-ponies were still lying where they had fallen a week before, their husks now covered in a thin layer of dust, but it didn’t seem like there as anypony here. Just to be sure, I walked out into the factory floor and turned in a circle, a careful eye on my E.F.S., but there was nothing except for the blue bars denoting my friends.

“It seems clear,” I announced, “let’s get up to the fourth floor where the armory was.”

Everpony else nodded their agreement and we started moving, climbing the remains of the rusted stairway to the second floor. The halls were dark and dreary, since there were almost no windows in the entire structure and the only light was coming from the small emergency lights set in the wall that were somehow still being powered. The walls were covered in ash, grime, and dust, giving the entire building the feel of a tomb. Every so often, we would stumble across the skeleton of a pony that had died here when the bombs had fallen.

As we pushed our way through the wreckage that Crosswire and I had caused the last time we were here, I thought I saw something move from the corner of my eye, and it looked like it had been heading for the infirmary. It had been no more than a shadow, a quick distortion of the light, but it was enough for my instincts to scream at me that something wasn’t right.

“Hold up!” I called out, bringing everypony to a stop, “I think I saw something move. Keep your eyes open. I don’t think we’re alone in here.”

“You sure?” Autumn Mist asked, “I’m not seeing anything on my E.F.S. except for us. These things are supposed to be foolproof.”

“But they aren’t always. If somepony is skilled enough at hiding themselves, they can fool the E.F.S. Come on, I want to check it out,” I explained, taking the lead and making my may towards the infirmary.

We turned the corner to that section of the building and saw the remains of the massive robot that Crosswire and I had fought. Even looking at its broken remains, it was a terrifying presence, and I was reminded of the sheer amount of power that the thing had possessed.

“Fuck, did you two have to kill that thing last time you were here?” Autumn asked as we approached it, walking around it to take in all of its armaments and the damage that had been necessary to finally disable it.

“Yup. Fucking thing was one tough nut to put down. Took a plasma grenade and four clips of ammo to finally do the job,” Crosswire said, grinning at the wreckage, “And now I can strip it for parts, since I forgot to do that last time.”

“Plasma grenade, huh?” Autumn muttered to herself as Crosswire walked up to the destroyed machine and ripped off one of the access panels. Wires started to fly as he gutted the machine, occasionally pocketing a component or mass of wires. I couldn’t distinguish how he decided one component was worth his time when others weren’t.

By the time he finally finished, I was starting to get impatient. I had the distinct feeling now that somepony was watching us, and I couldn’t tell if the intent was good or not. Unfortunately, knowing the wasteland as well as I did, their intent was probably not good.

“Hey, Evergreen, you find what you were looking for?” Suture asked, coming up beside me, “You were the one who wanted to check out the infirmary.”

I looked around me, staring at the corners and any spots of shadow where somepony could be hiding. “No, I haven’t seen anything else,” I admitted, “But something doesn’t feel right. It just feels like something’s… out of place.”

“I really don’t get where you’re coming from with that, Evergreen,” Autumn announced loudly, walking around the perimeter of the room, delving into desks and cabinets while she looked for worthwhile things to grab, “We haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary yet. I seriously doubt that anypony is here watching you, except for me.”

It was as she said that that I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I spun around to face it and called out, “All right! I know I saw something there! Get out here and show yourself instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward!”

In response, a deep voice started laughing from the darkness and I saw a pony-shaped shadow detach itself from its surroundings and approach us. “My, my, my, you have much sharper eyesight than most of those self-proclaimed ‘adventurers’ I’ve come across,” it said as it stepped into the light.

The buck before us appeared as nothing special, except for his weapons. He was wearing a battle saddle equipped with what looked to be a pair of powerful automatic rifles, not the kind of weapons I wanted to be downrange of. Besides that, he was just an average-sized buck with a crimson hide and a grey mane. The only thing that spoke of his potential danger was the way he held himself. He stood confidently, chest thrust out, as though he was sure there was nothing in the entirety of the wasteland that could put him down.

My mind screamed to a halt as it pieced the obvious together. This buck had a grey mane. Greymane. It had to be. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “So, how can we help you?” I asked, not wanting to tip him off to the fact that I was fairly sure I knew who he was. All the same, I saw him narrow his eyes at me as if he had recognized me.

“You can start by explaining why you’re here. Time was that nopony would come within a mile of this place, yet here you are, on the second floor scavenging components from my broken sentry bot, talking like you’ve been here before, like you were the ones who disabled it,” he said, his voice as cold as ice. His eyes were echoing his voice. This was not a buck I wanted to cross, yet I knew I already done just that.

“Yeah, we had to after it attacked us last time we were here. My friend and I needed some new weapons and ammo, since our supply was low. I figured that between both of our skills we should be able to scavenge something useful from here. Lucky for us, we managed to. The weapons we grabbed have saved our asses a half-dozen times since we were last here,” I explained.

“Hmph, likely story,” the buck snorted, “So why don’t we put all this bullshit aside. I know who you are, Evergreen, and you know who I am. You are messing with shit that you don’t want to be involved in. So here’s my offer: give me the money, ammo, and messages that you stole, and I’ll let you walk.”

Surprisingly, I didn’t become afraid when I heard him say that. I became angry, and also confused. “How the hell do you know who I am, and how the fuck do you know I took that shit, Greymane?” I demanded, taking a step towards the buck.

I could see a hint of uncertainty creep into his eye: a potential weakness. This buck wasn’t used to others standing up to him. He probably hadn’t been since he had built up the kind of reputation he had. Even so, he regained his composure quickly enough that I wasn’t entirely sure I had caught the look in the first place. “I’m busy, not stupid, Evergreen. I know how to listen to a radio and how to eavesdrop on conversations in inns. I know you’ve been working with Metro and Millberry, and I know why. I’m only giving you this chance because it is painfully obvious you don’t know what is going on.”

“Then explain it to me, because after spending the last week with ponies from both of those settlements, I’m awfully confused! Those are good folk, and they don’t need some sort of overlord coming in to fuck up the way they’ve been surviving for the last two hundred years!” I snapped, “From everything I have seen so far, there is no reason for anypony to come here with the intent to take charge. Sure, things aren’t perfect, but they never have been! Things are starting to come together, though! I’ve seen it with my own eyes!”

Greymane sighed heavily, dropping his head in exasperation before lifting it again to glare at me. “You really don’t see it, do you?” he asked, “Seahawk is coming to give us our future! For two hundred years, ponykind has been living broken, shattered lives. I should know; I’ve spent the last thirty years living one. Seahawk has found a way to fix everything, to make things back the way they were. Make our lives peaceful, without the need for ponies like you and me! Isn’t that something we should all want?”

“Evergreen, if this is Greymane, I really think you should watch what you say,” Suture muttered from my side, her anxiety clearly audible in her shaking voice, “Those guns look powerful. I don’t think we’d come out on top if it comes to a fight.”

“Listen to your friend, Evergreen. You don’t have what it takes to beat me. You’re better than most, I will give you that, but it is not good enough. You play at a life I have spent all of mine preparing for,” Greymane said, “Give up and go back where you came from. This is no place for somepony of your stature.”

I doubted that anypony could have said anything else at that moment that would have pissed me off more. Here was a buck that was known for being a merciless mercenary, who was capable of overcoming just about any sort of danger that a pony could come across in the wasteland, suggesting that somepony could just come into a region and set everything right, and yet he resorted to petty insults.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I said, “Are you even listening to yourself? I listened to that message, Greymane. You were given orders to kill the governor of Millberry if he didn’t listen to you! How the fuck could that possibly mean Seahawk has peaceful intentions!”

Greymane maintained his angry glare, but shifted his body slightly so he was facing slightly off to one side of us. “I should have known you wouldn’t listen to me. It is your own ignorance that stops you from seeing what is coming. When Seahawk arrives, there will be nothing standing in his way to stop him from taking over the entire region. When he has done that, then true peace will reign! I cannot believe that you are so opposed to having things return to the way they once were, before the war.”

“Maybe they shouldn’t go back to being like that,” I snapped, “Look how it ended up!” I waved a hoof around to gesture at our surroundings, “We live in the shattered remains of a world because the one that existed before failed at preparing for its own future! They lost sight of what is important, now we are here, living in the result of their mistakes. Going back to what was isn’t going to help anypony. We need to learn from our mistakes and build a new world! Sure, it will take longer, and a lot of ponies are going to die in the process, it’s unavoidable, but in the end, the result will be worth it! We will have a world we can be proud of!”

Greymane sighed again and shook his head slowly. “So I suppose you will not be giving me my possessions?”

“I guess not,” I answered, widening my stance and lifting my right foreleg slightly, putting Hammer within easy reach. I didn’t have much ammo left, but I should only need a round or two.

“More’s the pity. You had potential, Evergreen. Seahawk would have found a good place for you in the New Equestria,” Greymane said sadly, sounding sincere enough that, for a moment, I believed he meant the words, then he leapt, jumping off to our right to land atop a desk where he swept the barrels of his weapons to cover us.

Everything went to shit in the next few seconds. He opened fire, raining down a hail of lead with his weapons while we scrambled for cover. I ended up behind the remains of the sentry bot, but had no clue where any of my friends were. I cast my head about, searching for their blue bars. Two were off to my left, towards the door to the infirmary. Another was to my right, probably taking cover behind a desk.

I waited for the volume of incoming fire to lessen, then rolled out of cover, bringing Hammer to bear. Once I could clearly see the mercenary, I slipped into S.A.T.S. Time slowed, and my vision zoomed in to focus on the buck, but something wasn’t right. He was less than twenty yards away from me, standing motionless on a desk while he reloaded, but I had a zero percent chance to hit any part of him. It just didn’t seem possible.

I tried to set one round for his torso, but the system wouldn’t allow me, telling me that the chance to hit was too low. I growled in annoyance, then slid out of S.A.T.S. If I couldn’t line up a shot with the system, then I’d just do it on my own. I had lasted long enough without it anyway.

As time snapped back to reality, I took careful aim, centering the sights of Hammer on Greymane’s chest, then pulled the trigger. Hammer kicked in my mouth, and I saw the bullet fly true. To my horror, just as it came close enough to him that it should be burying itself in his chest, it was deflected off to one side by what appeared to be a translucent layer of magic.

The buck started laughing, throwing his head back in his mirth. “Did you really think that one shot would be enough to kill me, Evergreen! I am Greymane, the greatest mercenary to grace the wasteland! One simple revolver will not be enough to kill me!”

He swung his body in my direction, spraying the entire area with bullets. As I dove into cover, I felt a few bite into my flank and legs. It had been so long since I had been shot that the pain caught me by surprise and I landed with a thud that drove the air from my lungs.

“Evergreen!” I heard Suture shout in horror, then there was a scream of pain as the medic’s shout drew Greymane’s attention.

Slowly, I dragged myself back to my feet, gasping for breath. Hammer lay in front of me, almost forgotten, with blood on its handle. As I finally caught my breath, I coughed, and a small glob of blood came out with it, leaving a coppery taste in my mouth, to land with a wet slap next to the pistol.

“Evergreen, get your shit together!” I heard Autumn Mist shout. Her call was pronounced with a pair of retorts from her rifle. Judging from the laughter that followed her attempt, I could only imagine that she had had met with as little success as I had.

I swallowed, pushing the pain from my injuries to the back of my mind, and reached for Hammer. Once it was settled in my mouth, I could quickly tell where they blood in my mouth was coming from; one of my teeth had been knocked loose by the gun’s recoil. I was surprised it had taken this long to happen.

I took a moment to listen for Greymane trying to determine where he was, and where he was shooting. From the sound of things, he was trying to keep Autumn Mist and Crosswire pinned. I was guessing that the tech was with her, since I had heard the mercenary shooting to my right when Suture had spoken, and he was now shooting to my left.

With Greymane now occupied with the sniper, I crept to my right, coming out of cover where I could see the mercenary focused entirely on the infirmary entrance, which he was filling with an obscene amount of lead. He must have been shooting what amounted to a small fortune in ammo alone, without even taking into account the cost of the saddle and guns.

Grinning around the grip of Hammer, I leapt out of cover and opened fire, pelting the buck with bullets. He may have been in possession of a magical barrier, but it couldn’t last forever, especially after the punishment we had already inflicted to it.

Unfortunately, the five rounds I had left in Hammer’s carousel were not enough to break the barrier, and my firing only drew his attention. I dashed across the room, just barely ahead of his fire, and finally came to rest behind a desk that had been split in half, though I couldn’t tell if it was from the fighting that had happened here, or from the apocalypse. I reached into my saddlebags for a reload, but found to my horror that I had no ammo left. I didn’t have a single round left for Hammer.

Gritting my teeth in determination, I spat the revolver into its holster and pulled out my .45. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as Hammer, but it could still shoot. That would have to do.

Another pair of shots rang out from Autumn’s rifle, followed by a staccato of gunfire from Crosswire’s SMG. I reached into my bag for a grenade and jumped out of cover, launching the apple-shaped explosive at Greymane.

With the concentrated fire, Greymane faltered on his desk, unsure of which threat to face. As the grenade exploded, I saw the barrier shatter, rendering the mercenary vulnerable. I slipped into S.A.T.S., finally able to take advantage of the targeting software. The chance to hit his torso through the smoke of the grenade was lower than I would have liked, but you couldn’t always get everything you wanted. I lined up four shots and let the spell take over.

The four shots rang out, but only two found their target, eliciting a cry of pain from Greymane’s direction. I jumped up onto the desk I was behind and continued to fire, hoping I could inflict enough damage to kill the buck.

To my horror, Greymane had been expecting this and had jumped away from the desk to land by the door to the factory floor, where he turned his battle saddle on me. Several bullets hammered into my side, one of which managed to pierce through my armor and bury itself in my side, which sent me tumbling to the ground with a cry of pain.

“No you don’t you over-zealous son of a cunt!” I heard Crosswire shout. There was the sound of pounding hoofsteps as the tech darted out of the infirmary and turned his SMG on the mercenary, opening up with a fully automatic spray of bullets.

As I struggled to my hooves, I heard Greymane grunt in pain, then back away into the factory floor, shooting wildly as he retreated. By the time I was finally back on my feet, the room was no longer an area of immediate danger. I saw Crosswire dash into the factory floor, Autumn Mist close behind him.

I followed after them, but slowed to a halt as I reached the door, remembering Suture. “Make sure the son of a bitch gets what he deserves!” I shouted after them, “I need to find Suture!”

Not even bothering to listen for a reply, I turned my back on the door and stepped back into the room. I listened carefully, trying to pinpoint where the maroon mare was. I centered my gaze on her bar in my E.F.S. and galloped to where she was lying. What I saw almost made my heart stop.

Suture was lying in a swiftly expanding pool of blood, gasping for breath and struggling weakly to get into her saddlebags where she kept her medical supplies. There were three holes punched through her barding, gunshots in her chest that were the source of all the blood. I ran to her side and pulled out a pair of potions, ripped them open and offered them to the mare. She drank deeply, but the potions had little to no effect on her obvious injuries. I could only hope that they were mending the internal injuries.

Suture coughed weakly as I pulled the potions away, bringing up a small tide of blood. This was not good. I dug through her bags, and mine, searching for more potions, but could only find three. I pulled all three open and made Suture drink. As before, the potions seemed to have very little effect. The smell of blood was quickly becoming overpowering, and my hooves were already covered, resulting in me smearing the maroon mare’s blood over everything I touched.

“Suture, you’re going to be okay, I promise!” I said, trying to wipe the blood off her muzzle, but all I did was smear it around, “I’m going to be right back! I need to go into the infirmary and look for more potions, all right! Just stay awake, promise me that!”

Suture nodded weakly, but said nothing. I could see her struggling just to stay conscious. Given the extent of her injuries, I was surprised that she still hadn’t already passed out.

Leaving her where she was, I ran as fast as I could into the infirmary where I proceeded to tear it apart, searching for medical supplies. Unfortunately, Crosswire and I had completely cleared the area of medical supplies the week before. All I could find were a few pre-war packets of chems like Mint-als and Med-X, but nothing in the way of healing potions.

Giving the attempt up for lost, I ran back to the injured mare’s side, where I propped her head up so I could at least try to help her. The sounds of battle were still coming from the factory floor, but they were distant, as though the fight was happening on the far side of the building.

“Okay, I couldn’t find any potions, Suture, but I can still help you! Tell me what to do!” I begged.

“Stop… bleeding,” Suture murmured, so quiet that I had to lean in close just to make out the words.

“Right, the bleeding,” I said, pulling out a mass of white bandages. I pulled her barding off and started to wrap them around the mare, tying them as tightly as I could without strangling her, hoping it would be enough to stem the tide of blood still flowing from the gaping wounds. The bandages were quickly soaked with blood, and I had to wrap another layer on just to keep the blood from leaking out. By the time I was finished, it looked like Suture was some sort of ancient mummy.

Knowing what kind of pain Suture was probably in, I rooted around for a few shots of Med-X that I quickly administered. Suture’s eyes and twisted grimace slowly relaxed as the drugs took hold, easing some of her pain.

“Listen to me, Suture, you need to stay awake. Once Crosswire and Autumn Mist get back we’re going to get you somewhere where you can get help, okay. You just need to stay awake,” I said, pleading with her.

It was all I could to do keep from breaking into tears. She wouldn’t have been injured if I hadn’t insisted we come here. We should have just gone straight to Metro and paid for new weapons and ammo there. But I just had to go with the free option, even knowing that the site had been home to something I had taken from one of the best fighters in the entire wasteland. Now, she could be paying the largest price, just for a few guns.

Suture nodded weakly at my words, but I could see that it was a losing battle for her. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, I heard her mutter, “Not your fault.” Her eyes closed, and for a moment, I was terrified that the worst had happened.

I lowered my head to her chest and held my breath. Thankfully, I could still hear a heartbeat and she was still drawing breath. But more important, it was in that moment of total silence that I noticed that the sounds of battle had faded to nothing.

I lifted my head and turned my head to look back towards the door. Crosswire and Autumn were standing just inside the frame, horrified looks on their faces.

“Is she dead?” Crosswire asked, not unkindly, but entirely devoid of emotion. He wasn’t being harsh, it was just his way to ask the blunt questions.

I slowly shook my head. “No, she’s still alive, but only barely. Where’s Greymane? Did you kill him?”

The question prompted Autumn’s face to twist in anger. “No. The filly-raping asshole got away, but not before we gave him some wounds he won’t soon forget. Bastard is so wrapped up in his own reputation he forgot he bleeds just like the rest of us.”

It was with that comment that I noticed both of them were bleeding from multiple wounds, mostly gunshots. It was surprising that any of us were still on our hooves.

“So what’s the plan now, Evergreen?” Crosswire asked, a note of worry creeping into his voice in his voice, and a knowing look in his eye, “We’re in some deep shit and need a quick decision, and I haven’t got a fucking clue how to handle this.” He walked towards me until he was looking down at Suture’s unconscious form.

“We came here to accomplish something. I don’t want to leave without doing that, but nothing is worth the life of somepony else, so here’s what we’re gonna do. Crosswire, I want you to go up to the fourth floor and grab the weapons and ammo we came for. You know what we need,” I explained, pulling off my saddle bags and handing them to the buck for extra carrying space, “In the meantime, Autumn and I are going to start carrying Autumn out of here. It’s risky moving her, but she’s going to die here if we don’t.”

Crosswire nodded smartly, “Sounds like a plan. Where are you going to head for?” It was just like him, not to question a decision that had been made.

“Grovedale. It’s the only settlement close enough with the supplies we need to save her life. I’ll gladly take the risk of Just Law putting a bullet in my head if it means I can save Suture’s life,” I answered, drawing strength from my determination to see Suture survive.

Crosswire nodded somberly, but Autumn was giving me a confused look. “Just Law? Who the fuck is that? And what did you do to piss him off?”

“Just Law is the pony in charge of Grovedale. I used to live there before I became a raider. I already told you why Grovedale is a problem for me. Just Law is just the one who’ll carry out the sentence. Crosswire and I went back a week ago hoping he would have forgotten or that somepony else would be in charge, but that wasn’t the case. Now, are your inane questions done yet? Can we save her now?” I demanded, glaring at the dark mare.

“Yeah, sure. I’m warning you though, I don’t have near enough strength right now to carry the whole way on my own. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not in the best shape myself,” Autumn pointed out harshly.

“We’re all shot up. Just lighten her up and I’ll be able to carry her,” I growled, shifting Suture until I had her resting across my shoulders. I heard Autumn summon her magic and most of Suture’s weight disappeared off my back, making it relatively easy for me to lift her.

Once I was on my hooves, I shot a glance at Crosswire, who was settling the extra saddle bags across his back. “Crosswire, you don’t know how much I appreciate this. I would have died long ago without you. Be careful and try to catch up quickly. We’re going to get a head start; I don’t know how much time she has,” I said, looking up Suture with worried eyes.

He nodded tiredly, “Ok, but don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, but Greymane could still be out there. Keep your eyes open.”

“I’ll be careful,” I said, then started walking. Crosswire broke off to find the stairwell up while Autumn and I descended down to the first floor and made out way back out into the wasteland.

The rain was still coming down, but it wasn’t enough to wash away Suture’s blood from my hooves or the guilt in my heart. I couldn’t deny that it was entirely my fault that Suture had gotten hurt, regardless of what she had said. It had been my choice to come here, and my failure for not thinking of the possibility that Greymane would be waiting for us. Now, somepony I felt responsible for was paying the price for my failure. She had even suggested that I be careful talking to Greymane. Instead, I had completely ignored her and goaded the buck into attacking us.

The pain of my injuries quickly made itself known as the rainwater sluiced over me. Every step became a struggle as my body argued loudly to stop pushing forward. We had barely covered half the distance to Grovedale when I collapsed. I had been plodding along, trying to make my mind stop beating me up over the situation I had gotten us into, then my legs had simply given out, sending me to the ground and making Suture fall into the mud.

Autumn cried out in shock as I fell, her magic failing as she tried to take all of Suture’s weight. “Evergreen! What the fuck!” she exclaimed walking up to my side and nudging at me with a leg, “Get up! We’re not even close yet!”

I struggled weakly, trying to catch my breath, but my body simply wasn’t agreeing. “I’m trying,” I muttered, finally getting my shaking legs under me, but when I tried to stand, I simply fell over again, my exhaustion getting the better of me.

“I can’t carry both of you,” Autumn growled, leaning down and forcing me to my feet, “So you better get up and stay there. I am not letting you off the fucking hook!”

I stood there, leaning against the dark mare for a full minute before I was finally steady enough on my feet again to try to lift Suture. Slowly, I pulled the injured medic onto my shoulders and tried to stand, but her weight, even with Autumn’s help, was simply too much, and I collapsed again.

“I… I can’t do it…” I panted heavily into the mud, “she’s just too heavy.”

Autumn growled angrily and I heard her rooting around in her saddle bag. She walked over to me and knelt down by my head, floating a small, brown container in front of me.

“Eat two of these,” she ordered, pulling the cap off the small brown bottle, “Then you’ll be able to carry her.”

“What is it?” I asked, lifting my head slightly, but I couldn’t make out the writing on the label.

“Buffout. It’ll get you back on your hooves long enough for us to get to Grovedale. And if you’re worried about addiction, I’ve got two points for you: the first is that one use isn’t going to get you addicted, the second is that if you don’t, Suture is going to die out here,” Autumn explained, her voice harsh “Now swallow those pills and let’s go.”

Weakly, I stretched out my tongue and waited for Autumn to dump two of the small tablets onto it. I swallowed and simply lay in the mud, waiting for the pills to take effect. It didn’t take long.

The first sensation I felt was akin to a second wind. My breathing became stronger and I was able to make it to my hooves unassisted. By the time I was lifting Suture, I felt fit enough to take on an entire gang of raiders by myself. With the help of the drugs, Autumn and I resumed our journey, pressing through the rain and mud to get to Grovedale before it was too late.

When Suture’s breath became shallow and harsh, I knew we were racing against time, and that the odds were sorely stacked against us. I tried to pick up the pace, but Autumn Mist kept me in check, reminding me that the only reason I was even on my hooves was because of a bunch of drugs and that I didn’t want to push myself while under their influence.

It took effort, but I managed to restrain myself to Autumn Mist’s careful pace. With it, we managed a steady trot that ate up the remaining miles, until we were standing at the gate of Grovedale just as the day’s light was beginning to dampen.

“Hey, I recognize you! What the fuck you think you’re doing, coming back here!” the guard shouted down at us, “And what the fuck are you carrying?”

“I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t have a choice,” I shouted back, “but right now, I don’t. My friend is barely alive right now, and she needs help, fast, if she’s going to survive. This was the only settlement close enough for us to make it before she dies! Please, if you have any mercy left in your heart, let us in!”

“No can do,” the guard responded, “Direct orders from Just Law. If I let you in, I’d be no better than you, and he’d throw me out on my rump, if he doesn’t shoot me first. Looks like you’re gonna have to try something else.”

“There is nothing else!” I snapped, “If you don’t open that gate, she is going to die! That is a fucking guarantee! I’ve already done all I can to help her, but it isn’t enough! I don’t have the supplies or the know-how to save her!”

“Not our problem,” the guard snapped in response, floating her rifle around until it was leveled directly at me, “Now if you would kindly turn around and get the fuck out of here, that would be appreciated. Otherwise…” She chambered a round, making sure we could hear it.

“Listen up, you fucking bitch!” Autumn shouted, just as I was crumbling to the ground in utter defeat, “We just dragged our asses all the way out here to save our friend, and you’re just gonna turn us away? You’re no better than a bunch of fucking raiders!”

“What?! You’re calling us the raiders?” the guard shouted in shock, “What the hell do you know about it! You’re the one traveling with one!”

“Yeah, traveling with her to make sure she doesn’t fuck up. I’ll tell you right fucking now, Evergreen was an evil bitch, and I can never forgive her for what she’s done, but in the few days I’ve been with her, she’s done nothing but the right thing, so get off your fucking high horse and let us in so our friend doesn’t die! You’re nothing but a bunch of raiders if you don’t at least try to help those in need!” Autumn retorted.

I simply stood there, shocked into inaction. Autumn Mist was actually speaking out in my defense, and it seemed to actually be having an effect. It seemed there was more to her than I had initially believed. I would need to keep a careful eye on her from here on out.

“What… I… You…” the guard stammered, “Just Law, get over here, I need you!”

“What the hay is the problem now, Lighteye,” I heard Just Law say as he appeared on the wall and looked down at us. “Evergreen! Ya’ll had the gall to come back ‘ere?! Lighteye, shoot ‘em. I warned ‘em not to come back.”

“Fine, shoot us and let all of Seaddle know never to trust this town again. We came here because it was the only chance for our friend to survive. If you’re going to kill us for that, then I hope Shooting Star gets a good look, so the rest of the wasteland can see,” Autumn shouted.

The next few seconds were filled with a tense silence as Just Law simply glared at us, his mind obviously working overtime as he tried to decide what to do with us.

“Ya’ll got to be fucking kiddin’ me,” he finally said, “Is that why yer carrying a half-dead pony around yer shoulders, Evergreen?”

“Yes!” I shouted at him, “She took some serious fire earlier today. I did what I could, but it isn’t enough! She needs real medical attention! If you think I’m trying to kill you than just take a good look at us! We’re both shot up and injured. There’s no way in hell we could pull anything off!”

“Humph, fine! You can enter, on one condition, Evergreen! I get your guns and you don’t get them back until you leave. Is that clear?” Just Law shouted down.

I just about fainted in relief. “Yes, it’s a deal! Can you have somepony help us with her to the infirmary?”

Just Law didn’t respond, but simply nodded. I couldn’t imagine that he was too happy with the situation.

Slowly, the gates opened, and a group of guards came out to relieve us of our weapons, which they then took away to the town armory. Two bucks took Suture off my shoulders and started carrying her through the town. I followed after them, starting to shake as the Buffout started to wear off and I came down from the high it had put me on.

Every step through the town was a memory, and very few of those were good anymore. As long as I had lived in Grovedale, it had never been a happy life. My first memory of the town was my parents getting shot and killed just outside its walls. Now, the walk through the barren streets was one of regret and accusation. Many ponies here still remembered me, and they made the fact that they recognized me painfully obvious as they shot angry glares and hostile gestures in my direction.

The streets were much as I remembered them: narrow and suffocating. Lives here seemed to be lived in eternal hardship, as every pony had a duty and an expectation that that duty would be done without prompting. Every building had been renovated in some fashion, but the renovations were mostly slats of recycled, rotting wood thrown under a load-bearing wall to keep the structure from collapsing entirely. Even though the town was surviving, and on some counts thriving, it always seemed to be on the verge of total collapse.

Luckily, we were soon away from the claustrophobic confines of the buildings and in the infirmary. The building was dark and smoky, a result of the doctor’s habit of chain smoking, but he kept his work places clean, and I knew from experience his skill with medicine.

He was soon working on Suture with barely an exchange of words, doing everything in his power to preserve what little spark of life she had left. I took my place on a bed nearby, just wanting to get off of my hooves for a moment, but as soon as I lay down, my body took that as an excuse to shut down and I passed out.

By the time I woke, I found myself lying on an infirmary bed, barding missing and injuries bound. I shot up from where I was lying and cast about the room, searching desperately for Suture. Instead, my gaze found Autumn Mist and Crosswire, who were sitting quietly and talking in hushed tones on the other side of the room. They both appeared to be in one piece, and they had similar bandages wrapped around their various wounds, just as I did. However as long I had been out, it seemed that we had all been well taken care of.

Slowly, and painfully, I pushed myself to my hooves and joined them. “Where’s Suture?” I asked, not quite wanting to hear the answer.

“She’s alive. Doc has her in a separate room to recover. Says she needs at least twenty-four hours of total bed rest until he even thinks about letting her go. He’s got her sedated right now to make sure she can heal,” Autumn explained.

I nodded slowly, relieved beyond any measure to hear that she had survived. I turned to Crosswire, “Did you make it into the town all right?”

He nodded and answered quietly, “Yeah. They took my guns and all the supplies I grabbed from the armory, but they led me here once they knew I was traveling with you.”

“Good. I wouldn’t have put it past Just Law to have not let you in simply because you were with me,” I said, “He’s been known to be petty.”

Crosswire simply shrugged in response.

We fell into a conversation about nothing, trying simply to pass the time until somepony showed up to decide what to do with us, but I couldn’t get my mind off of Suture. Pearlescent’s words about how her life was not my responsibility any more than Autumn Mists’ or Crosswire’s were echoing in my ears, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe them. Suture wasn’t a fighter, yet I kept putting her into positions where she was in danger. There was no excuse for that.

After an hour of pointless conversation, the door swung open and Just Law sauntered in, his revolver very openly displayed in a holster across his chest, just out of reach of his mouth.

“So, Evergreen, tell me exactly what Ah’m s’posed to do right now. Ah’ve got a lot of ponies telling me I should put a bullet in yer head because ye decided to show yer face again. I’ve also got a bunch of ponies insisting that yer this ‘Heroine’ Shooting Star’s been goin’ on about these last few days,” he drawled, leaning against one of the beds and fixing me in a cold glare, vocalizing the quotes around the title.

“They aren’t lying,” I answered, deciding there was no use to try to deceive the buck, “Shooting Star has been talking about me, but I’m definitely no heroine. I’m just trying to help some ponies out, trying to make up for all the shit I’ve done.”

“That so?” Just Law asked, raising an eyebrow, “Well, regardless, my hooves are tied right now, and Ah can’t just let ye wander the streets of my town. Ah’m placing ye under house arrest here until ye leave, understood? And when you do, I expect you to not try to come back. Ye were exiled fer a reason, and Ah ain’t the forgiving type.”

“Then what happens if my employer gives me a job to come down here, Just Law? I’m working rather closely with the mayor of Metro right now, and there is every chance he’ll send me down here for a job in the near future. I’m not going to risk my job because of something like this. I changed my ways. Maybe you need to change yours as well,” I argued pointedly, letting some of my anger at the buck slip through into my voice.

“Then Ah guess that’s a hurdle we’ll need to cross if it comes to that. If ye’re doin mercenary work, I s’pose I can’t just turn ya’ll away, but if we do need to do business, it’ll be at the gate, deal?” he asked, spitting on one hoof and holding it out to me.

“Deal,” I answered, spitting on my hoof and bumping his. I felt another weight lift off my chest. When Just Law made a deal, he held to it.

The buck nodded slowly, then made his exit without another word, leaving us to ourselves again. We turned back to our conversation, trying to pass the time once again, but my heart wasn’t in it. Luckily, the next interruption was not long in coming.

The door swung open not ten minutes after Just Law had left and I was faced with one of the most bizarre sights I had ever seen in the wasteland. Standing before me, in an infirmary in the middle of a nowhere town, was a fully armored Enclave soldier, guns and all. His helmet was clipped to his side, at least letting us see his face.

The buck was a light blue in color, but his mane looked like a live fire atop his head, with swirls of reds, oranges, and yellows dancing around each other, as if in a fight for dominance. His face was set into an expression of determination, and I could see a fierce strength in his deep green eyes. The oddest thing about his appearance was that his armor was not jet black as most Enclave power armors were. He had streaks of gold painted on it, almost like war paint, but they made his armor appear much lighter and more streamlined that it really was.

The two guns hanging off his armor were a pair of 7.76 miniguns, not exactly the kind of weapons I wanted to be caught in front of. He also had a pair of knives strapped to his chest-plate, though I couldn’t see what use they would be if he was fighting from behind the confines of his helmet.

“Can I help you, Enclave?” I asked, not quite sure what to make of the buck.

“Are you the Heroine of Seaddle?” he asked in a deep, rich voice. The same strength that I had seen in his eyes was apparent in his voice as well, and he spoke in a direct fashion that brooked absolutely no nonsense or deviation.

I sighed and hung my head. “The DJ on the radio has been calling me that, but I’m no hero. I’m just a pony trying to make up for my mistakes and do a job. Saving those ghouls was simply a bonus to my real business out by the Stable.”

“But you are the one who performed those actions?” the buck asked, taking a step forward.

“Yeah, I am. What’s it to you?” I demanded, standing up to face the buck. Even on my hooves, he towered over me, an example of strength and power that I hadn’t seen before, even in most Earth Ponies. It really wasn’t all the surprising, though, given the strength needed to be able to use a set of power armor.

“I’m searching for some ponies that have been cast out by the Enclave leadership. From the news I’ve received, they may have ended up near that Stable. Can you tell me if you’ve seen anything that could aid my search?” he asked.

My mind instantly went to the two Dashites we had killed in the cavern, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell this buck about them. “What’s it matter to you where they are? If they were cast out, then they’re Dashites. I thought the Enclave didn’t fuck with the Dashites as a rule?”

“I’m not Enclave, not anymore. They simply weren’t in a position to take my armor or guns when I left. Consider me as much a Dashite as any other wasteland Pegasus. Now, have you seen them or not?” the buck demanded.

I remained silent for a moment, weighing my choices, and finally decided on the truth. “Yeah, I came across them, but they’re dead now. They were camped out in the cavern that Stable 60 was stashed in. As soon as my friends and I showed up, they tried to kill us. We killed them in self-defense. They weren’t sane.”

The buck was completely silent at the conclusion of my explanation, and his expression was one of hard determination, leading be to be nervous of what his next action would be. “Was there anything odd about them, other than their sanity, or lack thereof?” he asked, voice held carefully emotionless.

“Yes,” I answered, “One of them professed his loyalty to the Enclave with his dying breath. It struck me as odd since he was branded as a Dashite, albeit badly.”

“Fuck,” the buck swore, “I get so close, simply to have it torn from my hooves. Thank you for your help.”

As he turned to leave, I called out after him, “Wait! What the hell was up with them? And where do you think you’re going to go now that your lead is gone?”

The Pegasus paused at the door, the slowly turned around to face me. “The answer to your first question is none of your business. The question to your second is east. There are rumors of more Dashites that way.”

“East? Towards Buckview?” I asked, “That’s where we’re headed, once our friend recovers.”

The buck raised an eyebrow in interest. “Why are you going to Buckview? What’s out there for you?”

“Chasing a rumor, like you. There was a report that nopony has heard from the town in a few days. I have a theory, but I need to go out there to prove it. The reason for that is my business. I’m just thinking it will be safer to travel as a group, instead of alone,” I answered.

“You sure about this, Evergreen?” Crosswire asked, “I mean, he’s Enclave. Sure, he may say he’s a Dashite, but he’s got the armor and the guns that say otherwise.”

“I’m actually with Crosswire on this one. I don’t know if I trust him,” Autumn put in.

“Seems your friends are against me, Evergreen. Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think I can accept when the tables are against me,” the buck said, then turned to walk away.

“They didn’t say they were against it,” I called after him, “They simply said they were wary. I’m willing to trust you, because, for some reason, I believe you. I’m curious as to why those Dashites seemed to still be loyal to the Enclave, and it seems to me like it could be related to what I’m working on. To that end, I want you to travel with us, at least as far as Buckview. We’re both going that way anyway. It would be better to go working together than to get in each other’s way.”

The buck remained silent with his back to us as he considered my words, then slowly turned to face me, face set in determination. “Fine. Agreed. We shall leave as soon as this friend of yours is recovered. If our partnership is found to be agreeable, we may be able to continue it even after Buckview.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m Evergreen. These two are Crosswire and Autumn Mist. Our injured friend is Suture,” I answered, gesturing to each in turn.

“My name is Sergeant Steel Curtain, er, I mean Steel Curtain. I am still adjusting to life outside the Enclave,” the buck answered, blushing slightly in embarrassment at his slip, “I have lived my life so long in their service that speaking my rank, even if I no longer hold it, is simply a habit.”

“Understandable. I know how easy it is to fall into a rut,” I answered, “Welcome to the crew. With luck, we should be able to head out in the morning.”

Steel Curtain nodded his understanding. “Good. In that case, I will go to the market to purchase some supplies. Is there anything you need?”

“As many medical supplies as you can get, mostly healing potions. We’ve used all of ours in the last few days,” I said, reaching into my saddlebag that was lying on the ground next to me for a pouch of caps, which I tossed to the buck, “Here, to help cover the costs.”

He nodded in appreciation, then stepped out the door without another word.

“So, were traveling with a Dashite wearing full power armor now, are we?” Crosswire asked, “This is going to be interesting.”

I found myself nodding in agreement. “At least it’s another layer of armor and bullets between us and the other guys.”

Level Up!
Perk Gained! – Scrounger – You are much more likely to find ammunition when scavenging.
Skill Note: Medicine (25)

{And so another chapter is done. I hope you guys like the new description style I tried out this time around (I tried to not make it interfere too much with my writing style in general). Hopefully, it helped make everything a bit more real. I know it did for me. As always, thank you to Kkat for the creation for Fallout: Equestria, and thank you to my editors Cody and MUCKSTER. As always, here is the link to the Hub Page: Redemption.)