Chaff was screaming.

Knight Helado groaned. Blood poured from his gunshot wound. Trueheart yelled over his shoulder as he struggled to stymie the flow.

Two Invictus guards lay twitching in sticky pools. Zebras, or something like them. Even in death, their markings were eye-catching. The surviving mare gnashed her teeth and dove into the burrito stand. She levitated and shot her weapon, her own brand of response.

The pegasus had hit the dirt at the first shot. He huddled under a fast food table, swearing.

Knight Fluff sat next to Plough, under the counter of the burrito stand. He scowled like a disappointed deacon. Plough was certain a desire for some defense topped his list of thoughts.

Plumes of concrete exploded between them all. With bedlam falling around him, only one thought captivated Plough’s mind: I wonder how tasty these burritos were.

Chaff kept screaming.

“Plough!” He finally registered his own name being called. He whipped his head to the side. It was Trueheart. “Subway station! Move!”

Making it as far as his knees, a bullet ricochet pushed him back to his haunches.

“Shut da fuck up, dirt eater!” the pegasus screamed. “You’ll get us all killed! It’s late afternoon! The bloodwings’ll tear us apart!”

“You have a better idea, feather-brain?”

“Shut up, you two and just help think up a plan!” the Invictus mare quipped from inside the burrito stand.

A safe place to hide? Plough thought. A safe place. He sneaked a view behind the stand. Another dust plume was waiting for him. He pulled his head back, coughing and rubbing his eyes. Easier said than done.

“Mare!” he bellowed. “Hey, mare! Can you crack a safe?”

“What?” came the response.

“Can you crack a safe? From the inside?”

“Um, hold on!” More bullets. The pavement before them resembled the surface of the moon. “Yes! I think so!”

“Paladin Trueheart! The bank!” Trueheart looked bewildered for a second before his eyes widened in his most forceful “Hell no” expression. “It’s the best way to get out of this-ERGH-this firefight! We’ll avoid the bloodwings, too.”

Trueheart gave a reluctant nod. He lifted Knight Helado onto his back. “On three, run northeast as fast as you can!”

“Are you insane?” cried the mare. “That’s where they’re shooting from!”

“Remember to spread out and zig-zag! One!”

Plough wriggled the now-hoarse Chaff onto his own back. Her legs wrapped tight around him. Shallow breaths bounced dissonantly against her rapid heartbeat.

“Two!”

The pegasus fluttered over to Knight Fluff and clutched to him like a baby monkey. “Sorry, bro,” he said. “I need a lift.”

“THREE!”

The group sprang into action. The mare somersaulted out of the stand. Plough skidded around the corner. Chaff made him top-heavy.

His legs pumped. Bits of sidewalk exploded around him. Each zig and zag forced a skid. Legs squeezed his neck. Muscles burned. No breath. Stars twinkled in his vision. Each pounding hoof was a plea for sleep.

The stars flashed and gave way to comfortable non-existence.

Gasping for breath, he came to a second later. Throbbing headache. More stars in a field of olive gave way to blurry vision. He must’ve hit his head on the vault door.

With Knight Helado on his back, Paladin Trueheart tore through the building and into the vault.

Knight Fluff came into focus, the pegasus slung across his back. His knee exploded, catapulting the spasming orange shot into the building. The pegasus fluttered pathetically across Plough’s field of vision, and into the vault.

His line of sight cleared just in time to see Knight Fluff’s screams come to an end. Mockingbirds. He loves his sister.

Plough felt himself being dragged into the vault. The door creaked, then slammed shut. Locks ratcheted into place. Darkness. He didn’t realize he was falling asleep until he was already out.

But, I just talked to him. He was terrified for his sister’s safety. She was the one in danger, not him.

“Come on, buddy. Can't having you go to sleep with a possible concussion.” The friendly voice was encouraging and energetic, but the soothing warmth of sleep continued to swirl about him in a dance of seduction. The dance became more rough. His legs felt like spiders made of jelly. It dawned on him it wasn't a dance. “Up on your feet, initiate! We can't have you slipping into a coma before your ceremony.” His eyes fluttered open and caught a glimpse of Trueheart's hardened stare. “That's my boy! I have to go take- Hey, Plough. Eyes right here with me. Listen up. I need to check on Knight Helado. You go be with your mare. She needs you. Do you understand?”

Plough nodded drunkenly. Trueheart slowly made his way to Knight Helado, staring at something all the while. Plough followed his gaze to the barrel of the Invictus mare's glowing gun. Her appearance matched the exotic nature of her rifle. Standing in a corner, she blanketed the rest of the room with an air of suspicion. The pegasus in front of her fiddled with a lantern before lying belly-first on the ground, his face in his hooves.

Plough's eyes finally fell on Chaff. She cradled her trembling legs as she rocked herself. Her breathing kept the vault from being truly quiet. If eyes really were windows to the soul, her's said “vacancy.”

The floor was slick. Several times Plough slipped as he stumbled over to her. “Chaff,” he ventured. “Chaff, sweetheart.” The cold wall of safety deposit boxes sent shivers up his spine. He felt her shudder as he reached around her, pulling her close. “Come on, Chaffie. Your baby's right here. Everything is going to be okay.”

“She's never been in a firefight?” Plough circled his head over to the pegasus. The movement almost made him retch.

“Huh?” His head wobbled like ball on water.

The pegasus lay on his stomach, looking a bit like a filly staring at a teenage idol poster in her room. “Your girl. She's never been in a ganger or raider firefight?”

Plough looked at his mare. “No. When the Crazy Eights would try to hit Balk, her... father would keep her locked up in a cellar.”

“Daddy?” he heard Chaff whisper.

“No, love,” Plough countered. “Your dad's not here. You're safe. You're with your baby, Plough.”

“Daddy.” The word was more of a breath of reassurance than a whisper.

The pegasus must have read the look of confusion on Plough's face. “She'll be in shock for a while. Just stay with her.”

Her breathing slowed, but her eyes remained unmoved, fixed on avoiding her buried emotions. Plough took this time to attempt to retake control over himself. Iron will quotes fell like a monsoon in his mind. The imbibed thoughts put him back in control for a moment, but like a monsoon, the effect was temporary. The cracked desert waited for him, unquenchable.

Different thoughts and viewpoints pelted him from all angles. He questioned his choice to join the Steel Rangers, but wouldn’t they be useful against the slaughter he’d just witnessed outside? Trueheart seemed truly sincere, but was he competent enough for the power he wielded?

Perhaps most importantly, he regretted Chaff coming with him. She kept him anchored in a world so turbulent, but like an anchor would she keep him from sailing off to his calling? Chaff grew up with a fragile spirit, and like anything precious to him, Plough’s only thought was to keep her from more destruction. He looked over at the mare with the gun. Not to mention keep her from dangerous characters.

Farming, studying and protecting Balk from raider attacks prepared him for many things, he reasoned. True, removing a raider’s head from his body in adolescence was a profound experience, but it ill prepared him for the shock of seeing a mare as unearthly beautiful as this member of Invictus. Her body looked more like a sentient liquid than a real pony, an image only reinforced by the stark backdrop of safety deposit boxes. And then there were those eyes.

Plough looked down to the pegasus, who was shaking his head, a smug grin plastered on his face. He pointed over his shoulder to the mare then to himself, bringing that same face to a nod. The mare must have noticed, because she gave a solid kick to the pegasus’ ribs. He groaned and snickered as she rolled her eyes, sighing.

“So,” the pegasus choked out. “What’s the plan?” He exchanged glances with the mare before all their eyes fell on Trueheart.

“You hang tight for a bit, Helado,” Trueheart said, standing up.

“Sure thing, boss,” Helado croaked. “I ain’t going anywhere.”

He turned to glare at the mare. His eyebrows connected like a steel girder across his face: a pony trying to hide his rage behind an emotionless mask.

“Are you able to talk, now,” the mare asked.

“You,” Trueheart growled. He kicked away her gun and was at her throat in a second. “I lost a friend today because of you!”

“Take your hooves off of me.”

Plough could see his muscles tense, but it was useless. In what seemed like one motion the mare hunkered down, jumped up and with her hind legs latched onto Trueheart’s head. She spun in this position and launched him into the wall of safety deposit boxes. He landed upside down with a clanging thud. Chaff screamed before succumbing again to her blank expression. Plough looked the mare over and was thoroughly impressed.

The mare took a few deep breaths as she levitated her rifle back to her side. Plough still couldn’t find her horn. He wondered if it had been sheared off in an accident. Could they even use magic after an accident like that?

“Don’t be a fool, Ranger,” she scolded Trueheart as he was pushing himself to his hooves. “We both know who those ponies were out there, and if you didn’t notice, I lost two friends myself.”

Trueheart touched a hoof to his nose. Plough could see the glisten of blood. The Paladin hesitated for a moment. His rage at losing a friend was powerful, but he couldn’t hope to beat the mare in a fight. Anger imploded and turned into its true form. Pain. Trueheart impotently punched and head-butted the deposit boxes. “Damnit!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just I-”

“Okay, hold on, Fate,” the pegasus interrupted. “I’m going to suggest something, and I know it will sound a little weird right now, but we’re going to be waiting in here for some time. We should take this time to think and center ourselves before we start trying to kill each-other again.”

Fate. Was that her name?

Trueheart stared slack-jawed at the pegasus. Plough studied Trueheart’s eyes. Years of memories played like films projected onto the old Paladin’s face. He lowered his head and gave a bitter nod.

The pegasus sat up against the deposit boxes and took a deep breath, letting his forelegs drop to his sides. The intense atmosphere broke apart as he closed his eyes and let the sound of his breath fill the room. He spoke. “Serenity. Peace.”

Trueheart’s mouth slowly dropped open. “Tranquil waters,” he added.

The mare took the next line. “Cool grass on which to run.”

Plough’s heart raced. It felt strange to be so excited by something as simple as a poem, but Trueheart had talked it up enough to make it seem like some priceless relic. The rest of the poem sounded like a ritualistic incantation with all four ponies, including Helado, reciting every line with the same cadences.

“A warm sun. Play in its grace. Fertile ground to rest my weary bones. May my body feed the earth as it feeds my children. For these are my hopes, my dreams of the future, that my sons and daughters will have: the light of the moon in darkness, the breath of love in stillness, and tranquil waters, in fertile ground. Peace. Serenity.”

The end of the poem quickened Plough’s breath as much as it relaxed the others’. He was shocked at how the words matched his own beliefs, albeit in a less pessimistic way. Perhaps it was his constant worry over his parents or maybe it was all the time he spent memorizing book after book, but he hadn’t given much thought to his own mortality. He knew in his mind death was inevitable, but now he felt it. The words simultaneously set him on edge and charged him with hope. It felt as if the poem itself was reassuring him that his fate was not only inescapable, but benefitted the next generation of ponies.

A good death. One that meant something.

Plough shuddered and looked over at the others. Trueheart lay on his stomach, scratching at the ground with his hoof and mindlessly toying with his locket. The mare leaned against the deposit boxes still levitating her rifle, but was noticeably more calm.

The pegasus seemed positively chipper and ready to talk. “Ha!” he exclaimed. “That was fantastic. Almost like the pledge of allegiance.”

“I wouldn’t think your kind would learn to recite something like that,” said Trueheart. “Seems a more ‘down to earth’ kind of thing, if you catch my meaning.”

The pegasus motioned at the clouds and lightning shaped scar on his side. “Well, I am earthbound. But, yeah it was something we all had to learn growing up. Something about knowing your enemies.”

Trueheart cocked his head. “But do you really know its meaning?”

“It means you should leave the world better off than you found it,” the mare interjected. Trueheart regarded her with eyebrows raised. “That much like the pelican, we should give of our own blood if we have to, just so the generations to come after could live in more safety. And hopefully one day, a world without violence or slavery. Paladin Trueheart, what I have to say is simple. What we want i-”

“Excuse me, but how do you know me? How is it that I was called out by name to come out here? I’m not Head Paladin. I’m not Elder. I couldn’t even take those two to their initiation. Who is feeding you this information?”

The mare waited before responding. “I won’t discuss our tactics with you, Paladin. Suffice it to say, you were the only pony in the entirety of the Steel Rangers I would trust enough to fully understand what I am about to request.”

“Request?” Trueheart bit his lip and avoided her gaze. “I lost a dear friend today. I was there when he was foaled. I was there when...” He glared at her. “We were like brothers. I lost him coming out here to meet you and here you are asking for more? I don’t even know who you are.”

“I am sorry about your friend, I truly am. I made sacrifices coming out here as well. Even now I’m asking myself if it is worth it.” She sighed. “I am called Fate. An associate of mine found you after we discovered what the Steel Rangers were capable of under the guidance of a pony like Marrow. I don’t want massacres like his on my conscience.”

Trueheart blinked his resignation. Plough seemed the only one to notice. Fate continued. “You clung to the ideals we in my group hold dear. A desire for peace, for unity and to see Equestria brought back to life from whatever sleeping Hell she’s in.”

Trueheart paused. He stared at the ground through closed eyes. “Trade with outsiders,” he whispered. “Savages turned Initiates. Now I’m discussing politics with a terrorist. Alright...let’s hear the request.”

“You have ponies who massacre entire stables and I am the terrorist?”

Trueheart snorted.

“Change is on its way, Trueheart. The status quo cannot be sustained as it is. You may find ponies whom once you called brother, are more than willing to stab you in the heart. Our request is simple, really. We need an armed escort to and from a stable. There are ponies trapped inside. We’ve been in radio contact with them and they want out. In exchange, we’ll return Raze, here and the pegasus magic amplifier he lifted from the Enclave.”

Raze gave an unhelpful grin and shrug. Trueheart chewed on the words. “I see,” he said at last. “I see why you didn’t want Marrow’s input. They’re suffering? The ponies in the stable, I mean.”

“More than you or I know. They’re pegasi.”

“You’re kidding.”

Fate shook her head. “From what we’ve been told, not having enough room to fly around is extremely unhealthy for them. We need to do this soon.”

“I’ll talk with command. I’m sure they’ll listen. You do have them by the balls right now. I just wish you sent a ransom for that instead of bringing us out here…” Plough could tell the desire to vomit was not confined to himself. “But I understand why you’d like it kept from certain parties.”

“So Fate, honey,” Raze said like an unwelcomed relative. “I’m not sure how much air we have left in here. You gonna get started on that door any time soon?”

“Ugh,” Fate sighed as she pushed her way to the door. “Keep an eye on them, will you?”

She set to work on the delicate task of cracking the vault door as Raze sat staring at Plough. He nodded with pursed lips as if listening to an imaginary funk band. “What’s your story, slugger?” he asked Plough. Plough stared at the pegasus, who seemed genuinely interested. Fate’s magic warbled in the background, lending a surreal atmosphere to the room.

“Nothing you’d be interested in hearing,” said Plough. Raze nodded again. Plough studied his face. The expressions the pegasus wore were familiar, but not in a visual sense. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Reflections were perfect representations of something else, but could never be the actual thing reflected. There was always something in them that shattered the illusion. Plough was staring at a reflection of somepony, and he was curious to see what was behind the mirror.

“I suppose that’s true. You being a … farmer?” Plough kept his head still, unwilling to engage in the conversation. Raze took the slight in stride. “So, are you two an item?”

“Knock it off.”

“Jeez, sorry. Didn’t mean to offend.”

“It’s not the questions.”

Raze tilted his head, but seemed to catch on. His accent had come to haunt him yet again. He smiled and shook his head. “I guess it’s true what dey say: ‘Can’t bullshit a bullshitter.’”

“So den I say to Joist, I sez to him, ‘Well, at least the plumbing ain’t broke!”’ Plough shuddered and cried with laughter. “Now, you can’t tell me dat story isn’t funny as shit.”

Plough chuckled in agreement. It felt strange, laughing. Good. Like meeting an old friend and forgetting their name. Spend a little time with them and remember why you became friends in the first place.

“Okay, you win,” said Plough, wiping the tears from his eyes. “That was hilarious.” He looked down on Chaff who had fallen asleep. He kissed the top of her head. Her mane crunched against his lips.

“Damn,” said Raze as he shoved the safety deposit box he had been rifling through back into place. The scimitar-shaped tie tack he had found in one of the boxes dangled from his lips. He maneuvered the little, golden sword to the corner of his mouth. “My troat’s dry. Why don’t we turn on dat PipBuck you got and see if we can’t get some music. I’d ask Fate, but dat PipBuck what da Rangers gave me is so old it makes Celestia look like a foal. Besides, I tink Fate hates anyfing beautiful.” He winked.

“Shut up, Raze,” came a monotone response from the door. Raze rewarded himself with a smile at the successful ribbing.

Plough cycled through the pages of the PipBuck and clicked on the radio.

“-or a response she said, ‘We’ll stop hosting the games as soon as ponies stop attending or we run out of ghouls. Whatever comes first.’ Well, I’m not so sure about my feelings on the matter. Bloodsport doesn’t really entice an old nag like me, but I don’t want to see ponies rioting in the street on account of boredom.

“This next tune goes perfectly with my inflatable palm tree. Let’s hope we can all have a beach party in the next hundred years or so. Until then, shake me another room temperature margarita. It’s about that time of the day.”

Smooth sounds of a tropical flavor flowed out of the speaker. Knight Helado shuddered again. His coat shone with sweat. Plough feared if they didn’t leave soon the Knight wouldn’t be returning with them.

As if answering his thoughts he heard Fate say, “It’s taking longer than I expected, but I’m making progress. Should be done in another hour or so.”

“Ouch,” said Raze. “Hopefully you can hurry it up. I’m not sure dis room has da best ventilation.”

“If you’re so worried about using up oxygen you could always die.”

Raze’s face scrunched and forehooves raised as if preparing to fight the air between them. He resigned to scratching the stitches on the back of his neck. His gaze spun over to Trueheart, keeping his vigil over Helado. “You two doin’ alright over dere?”

A silent stare shot back from Trueheart. Raze leaned against the wall and slumped to the ground. His head beat a rhythm of bored frustration against the boxes, like droplets from a leaky faucet.

“Plough,” said a weak voice from Plough’s chest. His breath caught in his throat.

“Chaff,” he whispered back. “Chaff, baby are you okay?”

“Yeah. We’re … We’re in a bank vault.” She sat up to get a look at Plough. Her forehead was knitted and a sneer quivered on and off. Plough couldn’t tell if she looked more like a hurt foal or a wild animal. “We were shot at?”

Plough nodded.

Her eyes welled as she pulled him in close. “I hate it here.” She nuzzled into his chest. Tears mingled with the dust of their journey, making a warm mud. “They can keep Celestia’s Acre. I want to go back home!”

“Shh, shh.” He pulled her quaking form in close. “Once we get to the Steel Ranger headquarters, you won’t have to deal with any of this again. You could just sit and mingle and study all day, every day. Ponies in armor and thick, steel doors will protect you and keep you and our fillies and colts safe.”

Chaff gave a weary smile and shuddered a cough-like chuckle. Thoughts of having her own foals tended to calm her down. She and Plough had agreed long before to raise their foals their own way. The right way. Not the way their own parents raised them.

“Attention!” Fate said as she backed away from her work. Her rifle hovered motionless. Ratcheting sounds bounced around the room. “Someone is breaking in. Get ready.”

Trueheart galloped to the corner of the door. He leaned into the wall. Eyeing the floating rifle, he asked, “You a good shot with that?”

“I usually don’t miss.”

Trueheart’s eyebrows could have knitted a sweater.

“I’m good, Paladin. Just be ready.”

Plough’s heart raced. He stood directly behind Trueheart. Every scenario played out in his head. Ten ponies? One? One of the big gangs? An army of Steel Rangers?

His muscles tensed as the door’s ratcheting grew louder. He gave a wink to Chaff who had curled into a quaking ball. At least her eyes were alert.

The loud clunk shook his eardrums. A choir of squeaks and a growing ribbon of light signaled the opening of the door. Trueheart’s jaw was set. Raze shielded his face from the light.

Fate stared, unblinking through the breach. It was unnerving.

For a moment there was nothing. No movement. No sound, save Plough’s own thoughts. Trueheart’s leg twitched. He was ready.

Ready when the shadow appeared in the doorway. The Paladin shot out of the door taking whatever was in his way with him, to the ground.

Plough swore he heard a squawk. Raze shot up, stumbled and got back up again.

Fate pounced outside, her weapon leading the charge. Plough craned his head around the opening.

Trueheart had the griffin in a headlock. The griffin clawed desperately at the sinewy legs about her throat. True to his nature, Trueheart showed restraint by not snapping her neck at once. After scanning the area, Fate trained her rifle at the griffin's head.

“Wait, wait!” Raze screamed as he shambled out the vault. “Hold on a second!” He tripped again but regained his balance enough to stand over Trueheart. “Let her go, Trueheart!” The griffin’s claws landed like butterflies on Trueheart’s iron grip. “She’s a friend, you smeg-guzzling sonofabitch!”

Trueheart unlocked his organic vise. The griffin fell to the ground like sack of trash, her breath the sound of aluminum cans.

Raze rushed to her side and held her up as best he could. The griffin was nearly the size of his old cart. Lanky as a lizard sunning itself. The size difference unearthed memories in Plough. Foals waking up on Hearthswarming Eve, and in turn waking their parents. This would have made him smile, but Plough kept the smiles to himself.

“Lena!” Raze yelled directly into his ward’s face. “Da fuck were you doin’ here? Didn’t ya see da action? Stupid BP-16 tryin’ to expand into Crazy 8 territory. Ya could’a been shot, you ass!”

She sat up and hunched over. “You’re welcome,” she rasped through fits of coughing. Plough raised his eyebrows at her foal-like squeak of a voice.

“Ya watched me all day?”

She nodded.

“Atta girl.” Raze pulled her in for a solid hug and gentle head-butt. He shook himself to his feet and faced the group. “Dis griffin here, her name is Galena. She has an incredible eye for a long shot…” he turned back to her. “And salvage. Anyway, she’s a friend, and I tink we could use a few o’ doze.”

Fate and Trueheart, though not sharing a glance, wore the same look of suspicion. Plough, on the other hoof, knew how to read Raze and the prose was clear. Galena was an asset.

Plough felt movement at his side. Chaff walked cautiously out of the vault. She stopped, dwarfed in front of the now standing griffin. She reached up with a hoof. Galena shied away slightly. Chaff moved in closer for her own brand of hug.

“Oh, it’s so good to meet you, Galena,” Chaff almost sang. “We’ve had such a horrible day. You’ve really brightened up the afternoon.”

The rest of the group shared a look of bemused shock, but Galena was far more decisive. She grasped Chaff in her talons, stood on her hind legs and squeezed. Then the dancing and twirling started.

“Ohmahgosh!” she exclaimed, holding Chaff at arm’s length. “Thank you so much for existing! You are the fucking greatest!” She brought her in close for what was more of a face squish than a nuzzle.

Chaff’s squashed, putty-face returned to its smiling state after Galena reluctantly set her back down.

“Hi guys.” Galena held up her wiggling talons. “How’s it goin’? Been, uh-hmm, trapped in a vault, huh?” Fate and Trueheart responded with trademark wary stares.

“Don’t worry about dem, Lena,” Raze placated. “Dey’ll be like dat for a while until dey get to know ya. Like dem Duke movies you always used to watch all da time.”

“Ooh. Strong, silent type. The Pony With no Name. I getcha. Well, I’m the plucky sidekick who’s always there to help the hero out of a jam, but don’t be jelly; I’ll help to preserve you, too.”

She smiled the only way anyone could smile after firing off such horrible puns. Plough swore he could see her beak sweating, waiting for a response from the two serious ponies. Fate kept her stone face intact, but Trueheart smiled the way fathers do when their children tell their first, terrible jokes.

Trueheart nodded. “It’s good to meet you, Galena.”

“Thanks for getting us out of that vault,” Plough added. “You probably just saved our skins.”

Fate said nothing. Plough knew he gained no points with her by praising Galena’s safe cracking abilities. It didn’t matter. Better to gain favor with the denizens of Celestia’s Acre than a terrorist leader. He knew he’d have powerful friends in the Steel Rangers soon enough.

“Awww,” Galena sang. “Thank you guys so much. The safe wasn’t so bad, but the groups here before were really goi-”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Trueheart blurted. “But we should head to a more secure location before more gangers show up. Bloodwings will be out in a little while, too.”

“We have a safe house ready,” said Fate. Plough heard the faint wavering of distant tears in her voice. “Originally for if things went well. Should still work.”

Trueheart grit his teeth and nodded.

After fetching Helado and placing him on Plough’s back, the group filed out of the bank lobby, and started the trek to the safe house.

“Keep walking,” said Trueheart. “I’ll catch up in a second.

The Paladin made like a shot to a lump on the ground. He rooted through the debris and rubble until he lifted his head, a shiny chain dangling from his lips. He caught back up in no time, tossing the chain around his neck.

Holotags. One had been split half way down. The other was still intact. Knight Fluff. Trueheart gave Plough a knowing glance. Plough agreed. Sleepy Shores was sure to be heartbroken.

Hooves clopped, paws padded and talons ticked on the pavement. For almost twenty seconds time passed like this, until Galena spoke up.

“So… Do you guys like movies?”

Plough thought heard a whisper from Raze’s direction. “Fuck.”

Another sweltering day. Humid, too. As intimidating as it was trading with the Steel Rangers, Jimmy enjoyed their blunt honesty.

Calling his boss a snake in the grass might’ve been enough. Calling him a “skulking pit viper who sold his own mother for two bits (four bits above the asking price)” might also have been enough. No, Jimmy didn’t lose it until “And get a new manestyle. What you got now makes you look like a dick.”

Jimmy had been wiping tears from his eyes for an hour, snickering each time he caught a glimpse of the boss’ shadow. The brahmin, though not the smartest animal in the barnyard, would occasionally exacerbate the situation with their own brand of sophomoric humor.

“Hey, Jimmy,” said one head of the brahmin.

“What’s up, Petunia?”

“The sun is really bright today. Mind if Colleen and I borrow your hat?”

“Yeah,” the other head agreed. “I think ‘el jefe’ could use a Jimmy hat.”

The twin heads guffawed at their tag-team cleverness. Jimmy chortled and looked up at the caravan leader, sitting in the driver’s seat of the cart.

“C’mon boss,” Jimmy offered. “It’s all in good fun. You’re still the best salespony in the Acre.”

“Hmph!” was all the driver responded as he sucked down his tepid coffee.

The brahmin stopped suddenly, shaking the cart. The remainder of the driver’s coffee splattered against his gelatinous girth.

“What’s going on, girls?” asked Jimmy.

“Petunia smells something. In front of us. A few miles off, maybe?”

Jimmy held up his binoculars. The haze did nothing to help with the focus.

“What do you see, Ji-”

“Shh!”

He saw them a ways off, down the mountain. A small group of ponies came into focus. Something larger strode along side them.

“Ponies. I count… four of them? There’s a griffin, too. A big one.”

“Dangerous?” asked the driver.

“Maybe. Get set up. Tea Leaf, help Colleen and petunia out of their harness. Ringo, keep an eye out for me while I check this group’s intent.”

The other mercenaries hopped into action as Jimmy jaunted down the hillside, following the zig-zagging trail. He didn’t notice the shadow until its owner touch downed in front of him.

“Good morning, wastelander,” said the griffin in an impossibly high, feminine voice that mismatched her size. Her homespun rifle whined in his face. “Mind telling me what you’re doing around here?”

Jimmy stared up at her. She stood on her hind legs. Bronze feathers cascaded down her head and chest and were slowly replaced by a sea of gold from mid to tail. She shined against the dull cloud cover.

“Not gonna ask you again.”

Jimmy caught a glimpse of himself in her reflective snow goggles, mouth agape.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, miss,” he said as he fumbled with his hat. “My name’s Jimmy. I saw your group from up top and had to come down to warn you.”

“Warn us of what?”

“Well, it can be dangerous up there with all the bloodwings, chupacabras and what-not. Not to mention more dangerous adversaries.”

The griffin seemed to miss his insinuation entirely. “You know, I still haven’t seen a chupacabra in real life. Only in the movie Night of the Chupacabra.”

“And Chupacabra II: Montezuma’s Revenge?”

The griffin lowered the sight of the rifle from her eye. “Chupacabra III: Chupacabra Versus the Mad Lich of Saddle Arabia?”

“Or when they thought putting numbers into the name was cool with Chupababr4: The Return?”

“But the best one…”

“...the one that sticks in everybody’s mind…”

“...a satire and homage to all things b-movie...”

They stared at each other. Jimmy felt his heart beat wildly. Excitement thundered through his veins as they exclaimed in unison, “Chupacabra Unchained: The Reckoning!”

They both burst out laughing and gave a hoof-to-fist bump. The griffin lowered her rifle and sat down against a boulder. Jimmy looked around tentatively. He wondered to himself what the best course of action would be. Looking down on the smiling beak, he shook his head and sat down by her side. Interesting characters always topped his list of priorities.

“Ohmahgosh, I like, never get to talk about movies! It’s like I’m the only cinephile in the desert, or whatever.”

“That’s a shame. Film has a unique ability to awaken things hidden in our subconscious.”

The griffin pulled her snow goggles up and stared at Jimmy with golden eyes. He noticed her left pupil remained dilated, imparting more quirk to her already strange nature. “That is so true. It’s like the world is spending so much time surviving they forgot there were other things to live for, or something.”

Jimmy considered his own life. Protecting the wealthy. Getting paid. Removing threats. Yet the time he felt most alive was spent swapping tales in podunk towns on the edge of nowhere.

Accepting the life fate had in store for him was easy. Long and lonely walks. Going from poor to rich in a paycheck, loneliness alleviated. Poor again. More lonely walks. After years of this life, he found no alternative. The fluttering in his stomach and lightness in his limbs unearthed new evidence to suggest otherwise.

By the time the rest of her group had caught up, Jimmy and his newfound friend, Galena were embroiled in a serious debate.

“But Sapphire Stone was Hairerion Trot’s breakout role, you silly griffin!” Galena stood, mouth agape and brow furrowed. Jimmy shined a hoof against his coat and inspected it like some blase debutante. “Besides, you just can’t beat Ahuizotl as the best nemesis of the series.”

“You ornery little… Aren’t you forgetting about Liam Neighson’s portrayal of Starswirl the Bearded in Staff?”

“You are such a punk. I knew you’d bring that up.” A menacing rifle floated up around the corner of the trail. “Looks like your friends are here.”

Galena turned her head.

“Galena!” A little orange pegasus limped up to her at a surprising pace. Jimmy studied his sallow cheeks and darkened eyes. He had the look of an addict but the spirit of a mustang. “Da fuck, Galena? We were waiting forever. Tought you might have been killed, but here you are talkin’ movies again.”

“Sorry, Raze, I…”

“Who is dis clown, anyway?”

“He’s my new friend…”

“JIMMY!” cried a familiar voice. The little mare galloped towards the mule.

“Little Miss Sunshine?” Jimmy opened his forelegs and let the mare crash into him. “What are you doing way out west, girl?”

“Jimmy, it’s so good to see you. We’ve been through a crazy few days.”

He scanned the other ponies in her party. She wasn’t joking. Looks of trepidation surrounded him. It was the natural distrust of the foreign. A strange but fitting image of wolves growling at a vacuum cleaner hung in his mind. “I can see that.”

Chaff finally caught the distrust hanging in the air. “Everypony, this is my good friend, Jimmy. He’s a bodyguard for a caravan. Jimmy, this is Raze, Fate, Trueheart, that’s Helado on the stretcher there, and my coltfriend, Plough.”

Jimmy waved an awkward hoof. “Howdy.” He kicked himself inwardly. Howdy? When have I ever said “howdy?”

“I see you’ve already met Galena.”

Jimmy looked over to her for support, but the griffin was already sporting her snow goggles and tinkering with her weird rifle. “Yep.”The atmosphere of suspicion remained, like a drunk uncle at a reunion.

Chaff’s gaze shifted from side to side. She tired quickly, watching the world’s slowest tennis match. “So, Jimmy. Where’s your caravan?”

Jimmy stared at her like she had just spoken a foreign language. Replaying the question in his mind brought about a different reaction. In the stream of movie conversations and chance meetings he had forgotten all about his responsibilities. They were probably even more ready for a fight than when he left them. “Aw, Hell.”

After many grumblings, amusing anecdotes and sideways glances, the two groups parted ways. Chaff’s group were supplied with a decent lunch and Jimmy’s received an unexpected bonus of caps.

Jimmy walked along the coarse trail, sweat dripping from his face forming beads of mud on the ground. It looked like even the earth was sweating. He questioned his own abilities. Not from a stance of overconfidence, but undervaluing the possibilities the world afforded him. The job made him a rich mule, but he felt an inkling that he was selling himself short.

He saw the shadow. She landed only a few steps behind him. Turning, he asked, “Galena? What do you need, sweetheart?”

She pounced at Jimmy, wrapping him in a solid hug. Tearing off his hat, she planted a firm kiss on him. Now, kissing a griffin was a new sensation for Jimmy and as such, his mind raced through several different steps before he was even able to comprehend the shock of having a massive, muscular creature inspecting his tonsils with her tongue.

Well this is odd. Hard. Sharp. Warmer than I expected. Almost feels like she’s going to eat my fa- Is that her tongue?! Oh, wow.

“In case we don’t see each other,” she whispered in his ear. She threw a wadded-up piece of paper into his hat and crushed it onto his head. Coyly wriggling her talons goodbye, she jumped into the air and disappeared in the haze.

Jimmy stood dumbfounded. He could feel the other caravaneers’ faces mirroring his own.

After a moment of stunned silence his boss gave the word and the caravan resumed its journey back to Celestia’s Acre. Jimmy stopped, reached under his hat and pulled out the ball of paper. He smoothed it out on a rock.

On it were coordinates and a message:

Three days. We can watch Trials of Unity together. See you then.

-Galena XOXOX

PS: You’re wrong. Staff of Starswirl is still the best!

Jimmy smiled. He wondered if the feeling he was experiencing was similar to that of a plant being pulled from the ground, but knowing it was going to be replanted in a nicer part of the garden.

“Jimmy come on! What are you doin’?”

“I’ll be right there, Colleen!”

Sliding the paper into the lining of his hat, he rushed up to the front of the caravan, a foalish grin on his face.

“Simmer down, Assanova,” said Colleen.

“And take care of that scratch on your face,” added Petunia.

Jimmy touched a hoof to his face. Blood. There was a little cut on his cheek where Galena’s beak was a bit too intrusive.

He chuckled to himself, dreaming of the new possibilities life was throwing his way. With Galena’s smiling face in each day dream, one thing was for certain: the trip into Celestia’s Acre would be more lonely but much less empty.

Author's Notes:

This story is based on Kkat’s strange and wonderful, Fallout: Equestria. If you haven’t already, please do so. Here’s the link: Equestria Daily

If you’d like to read more Fallout Equestria Side Stories, take a look at: Fallout Equestria Side Stories post on Equestria Daily and the Fallout Equestria Side Stories thread on Ponychan

Thank you also to Arcane Scroll for the excellent site: Fallout: Equestria Resource. There is a chat function on that site, come say “hello.”

Extra special thanks to the contributors of this site, for making such great stuff.