Chapter 7-

Outside Bets

“Nopony’s that big, not even Big Macintosh, and he was ‘BIG’.”

“It’s bright…” I grumbled, squinting up at the sky.

I glared, half-closing my eyes over at one of the S.P.P. towers, speaking as though she could hear me. “Is it just your prerogative to make me miserable every single day, Lightbringer? How about you cut me some slack once in a while?” Whatever. As if she was even listening.

Yawning as I dragged my hooves into New Appleloosa, still groggy from the night before due to lack of sleep, this morning had been equally exhausting and I felt like I had bags under my eyes. Back in Gawd’s territory, the entire settlement was abuzz with rumors from events of the previous night.

My eyes briefly dwelled on the sight of one of the three downed Raptors outside the settlement’s walls as I walked past them on the way into town. The Raptor Graveyard as it were, just like the bartender in Unity said. It seemed less deserving of the name being here in person, but I hardly paid them as much attention as I normally would. Enclavers probably thought these gigantic black cloud ships were regal displays of their awesome power. I scoffed to myself. “Pretentious more like…”

I didn’t care about the Enclave anymore. Or at least there were enough far more pressing matters that I didn’t care about them at the moment.

Keeping pace alongside a hoofful of New Canterlot soldiers, nopony questioned me as I came into town. It might’ve been due to the fact I was wearing New Canterlot armor, so maybe they just assumed I was one of them… Lucky for me. I didn’t feel like talking anyways.

The sun was about late morning height, casting rays over the now expanded railroad town. The station house had been given a fresh coat of paint and the newly restored railroad ran all the way to Junction Town and back. Among many other fresh additions to the town, it brought stark contrast to my memory of when I’d last been here. More train cars had been added since then, likely to accommodate new wasteland citizens, but the overall look and feel of the place still felt familiar. Although it was much more lively now. Maybe that was partially due to the fact that the news of what happened last night has quickly circulated amongst all the nearby settlements.

“For real, another raider threat? Well, can’t the Lightbringer just throw a couple tornados at ‘em and be done with it?”

“Well, I heard that Gawdyna was discussing a plan of action with the Stable Dweller and her allies. There was a report about it not long ago over the radio.”

“That’s a relief!”

New Canterlot mercs were posted along the circular ring of rail cars serving as defenses around the town watching for threats in the distance. One of them had set up a lawn chair with a portable radio next to it reading off updates on the situation.

The Mayor/Sheriff was busy, caught up trying to address a few frustrated settlers voicing their concerns over the possible threat of a raider army now looming past the Ghastly Gorge. Some were wondering whether or not they should get out while they had the chance, holding mixed opinions on the matter, while others were discussing the possibility of postponing an election coming up, and whether or not it should be put on hold as the mayor tried to disperse the crowd.

Flanking his side was a bald-headed, scarred up, mean-looking deputy mare with a needle like dagger on her flank as a cutie mark. The mare was wearing some sort of cowpony getup with studded leather armor over her scarred coat, and I noticed her watching me through her squinted eyes as I passed her by.

Above, I could see Skyrangers circling somewhere overhead. New Canterlot’s presence in the area was really beefing up, taking the situation into account.

“Maybe I should move to New Bucklyn or Tenpony Tower? I don’t want to take my chances. Camp Brave wasn’t that far from here!”

“That’s it, I’m moving to Vanhoover!”

The mayor, Railright, stepped forward in front of the crowd in an attempt to calm their fears.

“Now, now, calm down… we’re all staying right here. No way in hell are we gonna let a few lil’ ol’ raiders scare us off. We New Appleloosans have weathered far worse storms than this.”

After the events of last night and this morning, I didn’t have the time or luxury to go back to Unity and cross-reference my sources, or to continue on some wild molerat chase after Enclave ships. None of that mattered anymore. I’d already decided where I was going...

I got approximately two and a half extra hours of sleep before I was rudely woken up by Hawkins, staring down at me. Surprising that she even gave me that much, before dragging me off to a secluded place where she sat me down away from the others.

That one Wartime Ministry office in Opportunity, which survived most of the fighting, had a small interrogation room tucked in the back where we could speak in private. Hawkins sat across from me, looking like a hard-beaked detective about to question her suspect.

I wanted to immediately get out of there and go after Sunny, and told her as much, but she ordered me to sit down so we could “have a little chat”. There were still a lot of things I had to supposedly answer for. Sitting here was just making my hooves itch.

So I told her what I saw up on that hill, insisting that I saw Enclave ships again last night. “They’re probably using the scheduled storms to move around undetected.” She didn’t believe me. Why wasn’t I surprised?

Frustrated, I kept repeating myself. “I really saw them!” But I caught her frowning for a brief second like perhaps she was thinking to herself, and she didn’t mouth off or insult me again like I thought she would.

“Listen,” she said, “Do you really believe that if there were Enclave vertibucks flying over the Smokey Mountains that nobody would notice? The Lightbringer would’ve seen them, no doubt.”

“What? Why would the Lightbringer see them? That’s stupid,” I scoffed, heavily confused by her dumb statement. Was that some kind of faith based thing? Didn’t imagine griffons to be religious, especially for some extremely recent wasteland heroine. She just rolled her eyes for some reason. “Didn’t you hear me? They’re using the storm systems as cover!” I repeated again. “O-Or something!”

Giving me a straight glare, Hawkins told me once and for all, “Listen, forget about Jagged Knife and forget about the Enclave,” and my eyes narrowed and my ears pinned back at her. “I’m not asking you to forgive them, but I scouted all over the Smokey Mountains and didn’t find a sure trace of them. There are details that we’re still confirming which you may be unaware of, and you running around screaming your head off about Enclave ships will only incite a panic.” I eased up a little from grinding my teeth together into a grumble. Much as I hated to admit, she was making some sense now, at least. Although I was still not entirely sold on it.

Again, I pointed back towards the Smokey Mountains and said, “Hey. I found a bunch of discarded New Canterlot armor pieces next to some of dead troopers laying buried in a ditch while I was out in no mare’s land. Know anything about that?”

As I waited for an answer, she squinted her eyes at me in annoyance. “I’ll look into it,” she said reluctantly.

“Right...” I muttered, not expecting much else.

“Anyways, we’ve got enough to deal with, and there would be serious political ramifications for not only you but New Canterlot as well. So do me a favor and keep your stupid mouth shut, Dirt Muncher.” She finished with an insult, naturally. But I wasn’t feeling right enough to get into an argument with her about it. I crossed my hooves and looked away, only barely responding with a single pouty nod.

“Good,” the griffon finished, seeing as we’d come to an understanding. She also added that anything regarding last night, should also be kept to myself from now on. Also to just play dumb next time I spoke to the Lieutenant or anyone above his rank that decided to question me about it. “Remember: things work differently now. Not everyone in New Canterlot is always looking out for your best interest,” she said.

“What, so I’m supposed to trust you, then?” I spat.

“I don’t care if you do or not. I’m just telling you that for your own good,” she rebuked. Wait, was she looking out for me now…? Was she confirming or denying? Or just trying to keep me out of her feathers? “So are we understood?” she repeated.

I sighed and repeated that I understood everything, and she promised that New Canterlot was going to stay in touch with me. “Great,” I thought, my inner voice dripping with sarcasm.

After subtly reminding me about my courier job, pointing to my slightly water-damaged bag which she left for me in the corner, Hawkins stood up and began to make her way towards the door. Pulling it open with her claw, she turned back towards me with a look like she was making a minor attempt at being sincere. I blinked back at her, waiting.

“Also, y’know…” she began, and I narrowed my eyes in spite. Was she going to take the opportunity to get one last dig at me? “You probably think I should’ve saved her instead of you, but there was only so much I could do in that situation. It’s partly your own fault for throwing off my aim so damn much with your struggling. But regardless, I’m sorry about your friend...” She closed the door behind her. I spat after the metal door shut, leaving me alone in the interrogation chamber.

“Tch.” Was that supposed to be her idea of an apology?

There was a smiling poster of a certain pink mare with a pink cotton candy-striped mane staring creepily at me through years of decay beside me. I stared back. Not the first time I’d seen her; that mare was damn near everywhere in the wasteland, like some kind of creepy stalker. Standing up, I picked up my things and exited the room, shooting her a dirty look out of the corner of my eye to let her know who was boss.

When I got outside, Hawkins had already gone. She didn’t even stick around to say goodbye or anything. “What the hell is her game?” I muttered to myself wondering about her motivation, but decided it was best not to trouble over it. Overall, I was still feeling kind of numb to everything. That sting of defeat was still weighing down on me to where I didn’t know what to think anymore.

It quickly dawned on me that I didn’t know any of what happened after I had been knocked out for the last few hours as I stepped out of the way of a pair of Applejack’s Rangers walking by with their trademark red accents and three apple insignia in full power armor. Because of the sheer bulk of their gear, they almost took up half of mainstreet! I almost had to squeeze against the wall of the Ministry office just to let them pass.

One of the Rangers spoke about how New Canterlot was sending one of their colonels to oversee things here. As they went by me, I overheard a bit of their conversation, but then I almost bumped into another New Canterlot pony going in the opposite direction and I huffed in annoyance.

“Any idea who?” the other one asked.

“Nope,” he replied flatly and with a hint of irritation.

“Great, just what we need, more bureaucrats...” the other Ranger griped. “Have you made contact with the Cathedral of Overcast yet?”

“No, but we’ve notified Elder Crossroads. Status seems to indicate they suffered no losses from the attack. Most of it was directed on the Outpost 52 and the Canterlot Salvage Operation. All New Canterlot locations.” He reported. All in all the attack didn’t cause too many losses, and it seemed like damages were mostly limited to this general area as Ponyville was mostly spared during the assault.

Three other griffons were leaning against the Tools Emporium across the street, mostly keeping to themselves. The lot wore New Canterlot dusters over their old Talon gear, generally looking bored. When one of them noticed me looking at him, I turned away and began looking for somepony I knew.

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

I side-stepped out of the way of another New Canterlot pony trotting in the opposite direction with supplies being carried across camp. Everypony looked busy here and I wasn’t sure who to speak to. “Maybe if I can find Page or the Lieutenant they’ll be able to help me sort through this mess...” I thought, muttering aloud.

Taking a quick survey, I couldn’t see anyone I recognized. Mostly soldiers, being either New Canterlot mercs or Applejack’s Rangers. The odd alicorn was here too, in the middle of a heated debate with a Protector. “Hey, I wonder if Sheriff Green is around here...” I thought to myself, I owed her big time.

As I searched, others trotted around me barely paying any notice. I saw that New Canterlot soldiers and the Applejack’s Rangers had established a larger base camp here in Opportunity. More dedicated tents and fortifications had been set up in just the last hour alone, with reinforcements currently being added to existing structures, especially to compensate for the damage sustained from last night’s battle. A couple of snipers were posted, keeping a careful watch on the Gorge.

Suddenly, I froze still as the grave and my mouth went agape, staring ahead. “Oh shit, it’s her!”

It was that bitch from the Outpost 52 who had given me a hard time before! She was wearing an Outpost 52 patch on her shoulder, looking off in another direction. “Dammit, she was here too?” I panicked. I think she said her name was Mags. If she told Fair Trade that I was here, then I’d get an earful for sure! I tried to duck out of sight so she wouldn’t notice me. Thankfully, I didn’t think she did, so I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I felt a heavy hoof slap my back and I nearly jumped.

Almost immediately I was surrounded by the Rough Riders, cheering me on and calling me a hero for managing to pull off a crazy stunt like that. It took a second for my mind to begin to process what was happening.

“Well if it ain’t the big hero!” Sugar cheered, pulling her muscular foreleg around my neck, making me look like a small filly in contrast. She was so strong that I nearly choked before she released me.

“A hero...? M-Me?” I asked, blushing slightly.

“Well heck, of course!” Wounded Legs chuckled, putting his hoof on my shoulder. “If it wasn’t for you running out there like your life depended on it and nearly getting yourself killed, then we’d all be dead more than likely.”

“What are you saying, Sarge?”

The old tobiano grinned. “If it wasn’t for her, then we’d have gotten to Camp Brave with no trouble.”

“So?”

Chipper Wind interrupted him mid-sentence and finished for him, “And since we were all forced to stop and deal with her medical issues and instead decided to wait out the storm for the night, since Camp Brave caught the full brunt of the first attack, in a weird way this mare’s incredible neglect for her own personal health and well-being actually turned out lucky for all of us.” The mare’s ears folded back and she apologized, “Oops, sorry Sergeant. I got carried away.”

The sergeant laughed to himself aloud. Oh, so that was the reason… I lowered my eyelids, appearing less amused.

“Know-it-all…” Ace grumbled, causing the pegasus to glare at him. Slumping over, he groaned. “Ugh. Got my pay docked by half...”

It was nothing more than dumb luck that one of those laser rifles hadn’t hit me during all that from my point of view and Green who did most of the work, but I still felt pretty awesome for it anyways.

Twister roared with laughter, slapping Ace on the shoulder like they were buddies as the jock sat deadpanning. “Ole Ace here is going to have to go back to New Canterlot as part of his punishment, and Sergeant Wispy Winds is gonna get to decide if any further corrections are needed. She’s probably gonna have him clean all the toilets at Shattered Hoof. With two hundred years of backed-up plumbing… Hoowee! I do not wanna be him right now.”

“She would too! I freaking hate that bitch…” he griped, and the other Rough Riders all joined in on the laughter.

I wasn’t too surprised then when the festivities were cut short by Lieutenant Alabaster approaching. He glanced down noticing my armor then looked back up at me. “I see you slept well.”

“Good morning, Lieutenant…” I replied somewhat sarcastically.

“It’s Captain now,” he corrected. “A field promotion, in light of Sweetroll’s untimely death.” Although he relayed the grim circumstance behind his sudden promotion, the former-lieutenant didn’t seem all too cut up about it, rather maintaining a rather stoic demeanor as he spoke. He cleared his throat as he continued, “So I suppose congratulations are in order. Thanks to your quick thinking, we managed to push the raiders back into the Gorge and establish a stronger presence on this side of the Everfree. But there is one other small matter to deal with...” Shoot! I only remembered now that there was still the issue of that “misunderstanding” from yesterday.

“So, about that report over the radio…” Alabaster began. I made a wry face, expecting the worst. Dammit, I was almost sure that I was going to get dragged off to New Canterlot for more questioning and be forced to file about a dozen reports. I didn’t have time for this! I tensed up, waiting for him to speak.

When he finally did, it was to reveal that the situation was far more anticlimactic than I could possibly have imagined.

According to the now-captain, apparently Daily Day had actually just made a simple mistake. Somehow I found learning that fact even more infuriating. “Wait. What?!” I exclaimed, shocked and a little pissed off. “Am I off the hook, then?” I realized.

I felt a wash of relief blow out of my chest at hearing that, shortly followed by about a dozen more questions. They said some pony named Watcher saw me fighting on the side of the caravaners during the attack and was willing to vouch for me. Whoever the hell he was. I scrunched my face in annoyance. “How the heck did they see me leaving, anyway?! There was nobody around!” I racked my brain thinking about it, getting nothing. “Well thanks Watcher, whoever you are," I said.

Another sprite-bot bobbed up and down the road, I followed as it hovered past me, playing that same familiar polka track. I sighed loudly, swearing I’d belt Daily Day one in his own studio and broadcast it across the whole territory for causing so much trouble.

As I did, Something possessed me to remember one of Hawkins’ offclawed comments from earlier. “Wait…” I paused. “The Lightbringer wasn’t seriously watching me from those towers. Is she...?” I felt a little uncomfortable, trying to keep my eyes from glancing back at the S.P.P. tower again. As I watched it, I realized how ridiculous that must’ve sounded. “Who cares, anyways?” I huffed. Long story short, I was free to go.

Captain Alabaster offered that he was willing to file another report based on what I saw, so long as I let New Canterlot handle things from here. He must’ve been referring to what I said yesterday since I hadn’t told him what I saw up on that hill. Didn’t Hawkins say I shouldn’t answer his questions for some reason? I rolled my eyes. As if taking advice from her now was a good idea.

“Uh...sure,” I agreed, but elected not to tell him about the second time I’d seen Enclave ships flying around during the storm. Less heeding Hawkins’ advice, and more feeling that I’d done enough obsessing over the Enclave for at least two days now. I had enough to deal with already.

“I will say, what you pulled off was extremely impressive. Heh, even I’ll admit, I had my doubts. I’m curious where exactly in the wasteland you came from?” he chuckled. “You wouldn’t happen to be another stable dweller, would you?” I couldn’t tell whether or not he was joking.

“Just your average wasteland mare.” I answered.

“Huh, interesting. Well with a bit of training you could be a great asset to New Canterlot one day. You said you were wanting to join up, right? That armor suits you, you should hold onto it. The rifle too.” I wasn’t sure exactly why he was trying to butter me up, but he was giving me what I wanted so I didn’t question it too much.

I heard Ace talking behind my back that he thought I was some kind of mutant freak now. “How else could she pull that off?” he whispered, “If I didn’t know better, I’d have guessed she was one of the raiders.” And apparently, I seemed like I was enjoying it a little too much. I’d have kicked his sorry flank for that if I were in a better mood… instead I frowned, all of a sudden feeling distant.

Captain Alabaster said that he was going handle any of the misunderstandings within the report that was sent out himself. I wasn’t expecting to hear that one. I guess on account of me saving the day, he was willing to be more amicable. It seemed like even I could catch a small break every once in a while, after all.

“By the way, I heard about your friend.” he said, and my heart sunk further. “You have our condolences.” I didn’t want to respond. He just had to say the one thing I didn’t want to hear. Instead I spoke with a barely audible grunt.

We all overheard the booming voice of a familiar Applejack’s Ranger, pausing the conversation to look in his direction. Apparently Ranger Huckleberry had survived the night as well, despite most of us thinking he was dead. He must’ve been stuck in the mud, forced to stay in that uncomfortable position all night.

As soon as they dug him and his suit of power armor out of the mud, Ranger Huckleberry burst out laughing like a mad pony. He was revealed to be a physically fit white stallion with a large blonde moustache and a sparkling slicked back mane. Having spent the whole night stuck in the dirt, didn’t seem to have fazed the white stallion a little bit. Boxing and bucking at imaginary raiders like he was already raring for another go at them. “Lemme at ‘em! Those sorry bastards won’t get the best of me again! They just got a lucky shot is all! Ahahaha!”

“C’mon Rangers, let’s get the whole Chapter in on this and we’ll send em to straight down to Tartarus!” he cried, his voice practically drawing the attention of the entire camp. “Just as soon as one of you scribes repairs my suit of power armor. Darn thing’s thrashed!”

A young initiate’s voice from inside a suit of power armor came up to him doing a salute and attempted to speak, “Um, Star-Protector Huckleberry sir? We’ve gotten new orders from Elder Crossroads to wait on engagement, sir.”

“What’s that now? Speak up now.” he said, inattentively cleaning dirt out of his ears.

“Elder Crossroads ordered us not to engage yet,” she repeated. “There’s been a development back in New Canterlot, thus the Elder has requested we hold further advances into raider territory and report back your mission status in the meantime. Uh… sir!” She added hastily, ending with another salute.

The stallion scratched his head in confusion at the orders, “You ain’t kidding? What’s that ole mare thinking?”

I wasn’t sure if I could fully blame him for the flying loop-de-loop clusterfuck of events from last night. Or maybe the raiders for attacking, or Sunny's dad for being a huge dick, or even Hawkins for dragging me away before I could save her. But I blamed myself more than anything, for not being able to help when she needed me to.

All the commotion around me was making me feel more and more like I wanted to be alone.

Another pegasus soldier landed beside Alabaster, delivering a salute. He was wearing New Canterlot armor and a courier’s messenger bag. “Captain, I was sent to inform you that the Colonel will be arriving soon.”

“Thank you for informing me, private.” he said, dismissing him and then he turned back to me waiting for him to finish. “Oh yes,” Alabaster mentioned, “And I spoke with Miss Green about your arrangement already. I’d be happy to take the town under New Canterlot’s wing. Excellent work.” Dammit, that reminded me, I had completely forgot to discuss it with him. Or I had been meaning to, but I was too caught up in the other things going on to get around to it. Wait, what did I do now and why was I getting praise for it?“Oh, whatever.” I relented, at least everything worked out for once. Mostly.

Captain Alabaster told me that New Canterlot soldiers would escort me to New Appleloosa and he’d handle everything. From there I could take the train from there to Junction Town. So all I had to do was say my goodbyes.

As thank you, and after some encouragement from the sergeant, the Rough Riders let me hang onto Jack’s battle saddle. Seeing that they all felt like they owed me. I thanked them back, with bittersweet feelings at accepting such a thing, but they insisted that she would want me to keep it. The thing was a bit heavy and annoying, but supposedly you got used to it. I still felt a little bad about what happened to her, but that was the wasteland. So I parted ways with the Rough Riders, figuring that wasn’t the last time I’d run into them.

Peering over my shoulder, I saw Page Turner, speaking with Sheriff Green and another pair of alicorns. Dismissing myself, I walked over to say hello and they both greeted me. There were only a couple of things I needed to ask him before being on my way.

“Hey, thanks for showing up at the last minute Sheriff. I really owe you one.” I grinned, being smart aleck-y.

“Why hello there, Miss Roulette. Happy to see you alive and well” she turned her body sideways to face me. “I was actually just speaking with the good Captain on your behalf. He spoke very highly of you.”

“Oh, did he now?” I grumbled.

“We’re already beginning talks now to bring the town of Unity under New Canterlot’s wing. He said you two spoke already on the matter.” Well that part was a blatant lie. I had forgotten to even ask him about it. Maybe that was the reason why he was being so helpful, because he had already taken the credit for everything himself... I folded my ears back slightly in annoyance.

Sheriff Green leaned down to me and asked in a hushed voice, “By the way,” she began, “you didn’t happen to mention anything about the Professor’s ‘side dealings’ to New Canterlot, did you?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t.” I assured. I’d failed to even consider that. It would’ve likely caused him and the town of Unity extra problems with New Canterlot.

Green raised an eyebrow, “Then I trust you’ll be sure to keep quiet about it?”

I replied with a silent nod.

“Good,” she beamed, raising her head back up to full height. “Doctor Page Turner here was telling me about possible assistance from the Followers of the Apocalypse.” She giggled, although her normally calm demeanor didn’t make her any less intimidating. She wore that sheriff’s badge well.

Green then motioned to the two other alicorns. “He was right in the middle of introducing me to a couple of his alicorn friends, actually.”

Page cleared his throat, caught off guard, “Right, um… Roulette, this is Nighttide and Eureka. I was instructed to teach them both about friendship and general sciency things. Eureka? Nighttide? This is Roulette.” The light blue unicorn gestured between us both. Then rubbing the back of his neck, added bashfully, “They followed me here to make sure that I was alright...hehe.” One of them rolled her eyes to the side. Nighttide was a dark purple alicorn who rarely spoke but wore a constant sour look, and Eureka was a green coat who was just a little...strange.

Eureka, the green one, walked up to me, looking down from her height. “You’re tiny.” she said, bending down on her knees so we were eye level. “You’re also missing your wings and your horn. Did they fall off?” The mare pressed on my snout with her hoof and then stood up.

I crossed my eyes. “Whu-?”

“No, no Eureka. She’s an earth pony. That means she doesn’t have a horn or wings.” he said as the strange mare sat trying to examine her tongue with her eyes crossed.

She gasped. “Whaaat?!” The green fell back on her haunches. She blinked, “What’s an earth pony? So she’s just...normal? You mean she has to walk everywhere?!”

“Yes, that’s usually how it works.” Page stated. He turned to me and whispered, “sorry…”

She pressed on her cheeks together, staring down at my hooves in mock examination. “Don’t your legs ever get tired?”

“No, they don’t.” I answered. “Page, uh, why’s this alicorn all… derp?” I asked, rather bluntly.

“Eureka is a very ‘special’ alicorn.” he corrected, scritching the back of her mane. “Not every alicorn came out of the Unity as functionally sound or as well-adjusted as Miss Green here did, but they’re ponies just like you or I. Our biggest task right now is to find out how to help many of them to better cope with and re-adjust themselves to living in the wasteland. The same is true of pegasi as well as Equestria’s many other residents.”

She responded happily with a rather fitting: “Pbbbt!” Then she slowly began examining her own tongue, crossing her eyes together, before skewing off in almost seperate directions.

“Gotcha…” I replied.

Sheriff Green observed her with a raised brow, “Intriguing. I’m sure you and the Professor would get along famously.”

She asked me if I needed anything from her or the Professor back in Unity and I shook my head. “Actually I just wanted to speak with Page, alone.”

Honestly, it would’ve been nice to see her if the circumstances weren’t so pessimistic. I wasn’t entirely clear on whether or not she knew about what happened with Sunny. Personally, I could could barely even stomach to admit to myself what happened, so I was thankful that she didn’t ask. It made things simpler for me. Although she was looking around like she might’ve been wondering where she’d gotten off to.

“That’s fine, I see you two have much to discuss then.” She tipped her hat with her magic. “‘Happy trails’, as my good friend used to say. Give Sunny my regards as well.” I felt a slight twinge, probably made more noticeable by the already sour look on my face.

She smirked, “Heh, I can tell by that look on your face that you’re worried. Fear not, I can handle New Canterlot on my own. I’ve already dealt with Papa Bighoof in the past.”

I drew back at the surprising revelation. “Hold up, you what?”

“And here I thought you were the investigative type,” she snickered to herself, her braided tail swaying as she walked away. “Don't worry, it's as I told you before. The long and short of this is, things are getting too chaotic around here and I need to look after my town.” Looking to the blue unicorn stallion, she smiled as their eyes met. “I should say this conversation has been delightful, Mr. Page Turner.”

“Please, call me Page. ‘Mr. Page Turner’ was my father’s name.” he smirked. I sneered in disgust. Good thing I didn’t eat breakfast yet.

Nighttide’s expression mirrored my own, remarking at Green with a hint of bitterness as she drew out of earshot, “Well, she’s certainly adjusted well Post-Goddess.”

Page turned nudged Nighttide, who granted him annoyed glance. “Nighttide, would you and your sister kindly check if anyone else needs help around camp? I need to speak with Miss Roulette privately. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.”

“Ugh. Fine,” she groaned, briefly glaring at me. The mare then teleported out of sight. Eureka stumbled to her hooves, trying to follow after, leaving the two of us alone. Finally. After all this, he was the only other pony I felt like talking to.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they won’t get into too much trouble...” Page said with a dismissive hoof gesture, trying to reassure himself more than me. “Sorry about all that. What did you need?”

I put on a snarky grin, “So Doctor, Historian, Diplomat and Teacher? What’s next, Friendship Councilor?”

He snorted. “You’re hilarious. Well let’s’ just say my education was rather informal, but there’s still a lot of good information you can find lying around in old books. In retrospect, wasteland education’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Ain’t that the understatement of the year?” I snarked, having grown up in the hard-knocks school of wasteland survival myself.

When page looked up at me, the light-blue unicorn was giving me a look racked with guilt in his eyes even though he was trying hard not to show it. I held up my hoof before he went to apologize. I could tell that he was just going to say something sappy. “Fair enough…” He relented. “I just wish I could’ve done something…” It was easier to see now that Page seemed to have a million things on his mind as well. “It’s just if I was better, they wouldn’t have-”

“You did everything you could. Besides, Sunny’s not gone.” I informed him. “They took her to Dodge is all. So I’m going to get her back.”

“Dodge City?” he repeated, and I nodded. “... Not the best place, from what I’ve heard.”

“No, but that’s where I’m headed.” I stated.

Appearing as though a weight had been taken off his chest he offered, “Would you like the aid of the Followers of the Apocalypse in this? We could help. Maybe one of the alicorns would be willing to teleport you and we’d be there and back within almost the same amount of time. Hell, they’d be able to provide great backup in a fight. We could also get that thing out of your arm and you help you with your, uh…” He said motioning at my shoulder, searching for the right word, “problem.”

The doctor seemed like the type of pony who’d try to put everything on his own shoulders, but was finding this whole thing a bit beyond himself. Seemed like we were in the same boat as well. It made sense then that a pony like him decided to join the Followers.

“Nah” I said flatly, scratching the underside of my chin.

He looked more than a little baffled at my response.“No, but we could literally be there in the same amount of time.” he repeated, utterly confused by my reasoning.

“I said I’m fine.” I insisted.

The bullet itself felt like penance I had to bear for not being able to save Sunny when I had the chance. A little voice in the back of my head was telling me that I deserved it, and I couldn’t exactly disagree with it. I liked Page, but I wasn’t fully ready to trust him or the Followers yet.

“I’m glad you’re alright though. I just want to do this on my own.” I managed, and he smiled back.

“Yes, and I have you to thank. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little in your debt.” he admitted, pushing up on his glasses. “I wish I could say these were better circumstances. But at least you managed to get a couple hours of sleep. I barely got any. Been up all morning dealing with New Canterlot soldiers prying into my research and inter-organizational politics.”

“Sounds boring.” I admitted

He rubbed his face in exasperation and replied, “You have no idea...”

There was something I felt like I had to ask him here. So I did. “Would you tell me the deal with the Neighvarro Provisional Government then, and why is everyone so damn uptight to tell me anything? You’re the only one I trust around here, so out with it. I’m tired of guessing.”

He looked a little hesitant to get into it at first, annoyingly. “Those are all… really complicated questions. Don’t you have enough on your mind already?”

“Don’t spare me the details. I’m not a child.” I snapped, pressing harder.

The unicorn sighed, “It has to do with the reintegration of the Pegasi post-Grand Pegasus Enclave. Some of them used to be former Enclave soldiers, so in the opinions of certain griffons they’re required to have a little ‘extra oversight’. You do the math. New Canterlot has their reasons for the way they’ve gone about it, whether or not I agree with them. I think it’s counterproductive. If you know anything about the state of the Enclave after Sunshine and Rainbows and Post-Reconstruction, then I’m sure you’re smart enough to put two and two together without me having to say it.”

“F-Fine, don’t tell me then.” I huffed, half-too embarrassed to admit I didn’t know any of what he was talking about. Or maybe it was because at the time I was too stubborn to fully grasp it.

“Anyways, I know a lot of ponies who were hurt in the attack. That’s my main focus right now. A lot of ponies still need help at the Follower’s Outpost, so I should get going." He suddenly grimaced, shrinking backwards. A hint of dread in his voice as if he’d realized something. “Sweet Celestia’s library. What will Velvet Remedy say...? Oh jeez… Not looking forward to that.”.

“What’s going to happen from here on out?” I asked.

“Well, logically speaking New Canterlot and the Applejack’s Rangers might end up forming another coalition to secure the west side of the Everfree, and collectively they’ll both become more serious about dealing with the raiders. But far more likely than that, they’ll act independently of each other causing more problems in the long term than they can solve in the short term. I overheard a few of the soldiers speaking amongst themselves, talking about New Canterlot now planning to go to war with Papa Bighoof over this… I’m guessing that means there’ll be some future implications on the political side of things too.” he said, sighing wistfully. “I respect his reasons of course, but I’m forced to wonder if we’d be looking at things the same way if Calamity had taken Gawd up on her initial offer….? We all have our place though.”

Turning my head to look back at the camp with him, it didn’t take a genius to see something big was about to happen. Except this time, instead of wanting to learn the truth I just felt defeated. “Well I dunno about any of that.” I admitted. “I’m just trying to get a grasp on things.”

“I’m just confused as to why Papa Bighoof would attack, since he has nothing to gain from picking a fight with New Canterlot. Despite his title of raider warlord, he’s been relatively peaceful, at least as far as raider warlords go. There were even a few towns under his protection. Call me idealistic, but before this incident, we were hoping we’d be able to deal with him diplomatically.”

“Not anymore, apparently.” I said, pointing out the obvious. I thought that I knew what was going on before all this happened. Now I wasn’t so sure. “Why so cynical?” I tilted my head sideways, “Aren’t you guys supposed to be allies? You sure don’t act like it.”

Page Turner let out a strained groan, “From a certain standing politics in the last two centuries have been nothing ‘but’ cynical.” but he likely realized that answer alone wasn’t good enough. “New Canterlot, the Applejack’s Rangers, and the Followers... All have their own vision for how they think things should be moving forward in the Wasteland. Most matters we agree on, but it’s always the minute details everybody always gets caught up in. Plus, New Canterlot isn’t exactly making it easy with how they’ve taken the lead. Celestia’s sun, it’s like the Ministries from the Great War all over again… only instead there are three instead of six… no, make that four.” The stallion rolled his eyes after his miniature rant, and I stared back waiting for him to finish.

“To be honest with you, you shouldn’t worry yourself over petty things like politics. They’re just as frustrating as they sound really. And once you get caught up in a certain way of thinking, it changes the way you see the world. Then you can never see things in the same way you used to...” The light-blue unicorn pushed up on his glasses, trying to smile. “But maybe that’s a good thing? It can be, anyways...”

“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “Nopony said that rebuilding Equestria was going to be easy.”

“Ponies are supposed to learn from the past so that we don’t repeat our old mistakes, but all too often we seem like we’re doomed to. We really do have our work cut out for us, don’t we?” he managed to force a laugh. “I suppose if we didn’t, then ponies wouldn’t need the Followers, now would they?” he chuckled. “Sorry for my “impoliteness”…”

“Don’t worry about it.” I said, my head not all together there. “I’ve got somewhere to be too. I just came to say goodbye.”

“Double-checking, now you’re sure you don’t want to accompany me to the Followers Outpost in Ponyville?” he tried asking again. “At the very least get you restocked on some medicine?”

“I said want to go it alone, and I meant it.”

The doctor stopped and sighed, realizing I was going to be stubborn about it. “To be honest, you’re the only pony I can think of who’d turn down willing aid from the Followers. You should hold onto that heart of yours then, if anything. It’ll find friends when you need them.”

“Thanks for the advice, but I don’t need any friends...” I replied, shooting my eyes off to the side.

“Well the offer is always open...”

“Page?” I asked, and he looked up. “Take care of yourself, and try not to get snuck up on by raiders again,” then putting on a light smirk, jabbed, “Wouldn’t want you dying on me.”

He scoffed, “I’ll do what I can from my end. Just do me one favor, would you?” he asked, and I turned my head away expecting to get scolded. If that was the case, I didn’t want to hear it. “Be careful,” he said. “This isn’t the same wasteland we grew up in.” and I glanced back at him and nodded, managing to smile, if only slightly. Strangely though he, added with a sparkle in his eye, “but everything will be alright in due time, that I can assure you.” I wasn’t sure where he was summoning this sudden bout of confidence from, but Luna help me, I was starting to get uncomfortable.

“Time to leave.” I told myself.

Mags finally noticed me as well, as I was beginning to walk away with my escort. “Hey! Aren’t you that mare from the 52? What the hell are you doing here?!” she called out, questioning. I pretended not to hear her and play it off like she was talking to someone else. Okay, now it was ‘really’ time to leave.

As we said farewell, New Canterlot and the Applejack’s Rangers were left to handle the situation in our place. Oddly, it was Huckleberry who got in the last word.

He called to me, approaching out of power armor and I stopped to wait while the other soldiers serving as my escort took a brief pause and waited for me. “You were the one who said there might be Enclave in the Smokey Mountains, right?” he asked, giving little attention to the other two.

“Yeah?” I answered. “Vertibucks.”

The Ranger looked back at the mountains tapping a hoof to his chin and glanced back to me. He frowned, briefly sizing up me and my story and then began to walk away. “Huh, interesting. Thanks kid. If you’re ever looking to join up with the Rangers, come visit our main chapter in Manehattan.” he said, his mind clearly on something elsewhere and that was all he said.

“Me join up with the Applejack’s Rangers? Pfft! That’d be the day.” I thought, almost immediately dismissing the idea as a complete joke. Although, then again… having the extra option never hurt anypony.

As we walked, one of the New Canterlot soldiers turned and asked me: “Hey, aren’t you that mare who’s supposed to be some kind of badass or something?” I raised an eyebrow. She turned to one of the others. “Took down a whole bunch of Mountain tribals on your own, then ran across the battlefield like a raving lunatic?”

“So I’m a badass now? Where’d you hear that one?” I scoffed. Seemed that I’d already begun to acquire something of a reputation among them for my deeds. Normally I’d be stoked, but I just felt empty inside as I marched towards New Appleloosa.

I eavesdropped, following along with my escort. From what I’d overheard, they didn’t take New Canterlot very long to decide it was Papa Bighoof who was responsible for those caravan attacks. To them the laser rifles and stealthbucks they used during the battle were enough to confirm it under the eyes of the top brass. Even if Jagged played a role somehow, he wasn’t that high on their list of priorities. Merely an accessory to the attacks. “A minor actor” if anything. They advised I post a bounty notice at New Canterlot Territorial HQ if I was really that interested. I rolled my eyes at the typically useless advice.

Outside of Gawd’s territory and especially out past the Ghastly Gorge, bandits and raiders were an altogether more common occurrence, although we didn’t encounter any others on the way back. In areas like Fillydelphia and the Hoof it was said to be especially bad. Honestly, I was a little surprised at how seriously they were taking the raider threat, but it was more like they were going full “shoot raiders on sight” mode in terms of their policy now. So much that it was rumored they were going to be bringing in more Skyrangers after they finished up with their individual missions stretching across the Equestrian Wasteland. If it was just some lil ole raider warlord, then why the need for such a heavily armed response? It felt like there might be other things at play here that I didn’t know about.

I still wasn’t so sure. Either way, Jagged was still high on my list. In fact, he was pretty much my priority number one. Before, I didn’t take it personally. Now I did. Plus, something wasn’t adding up with everything Angel Eyes said. Looking back up at the Smokey Mountains with steeled resolve, I turned away in the opposite direction. One thing was for sure. A dust-up was brewing in the near future and I was going to be right in the middle of it.

From my perspective, and the perspective of many others’ it sounded like New Canterlot was dead set on going to war now. Why? I couldn’t say. Maybe they took it personally, or they were really serious about their grand idea of civilizing the wasteland. A lot of them were holding something of a grudge against him now too. Me? I was simple. I was done chasing Enclave ships, and so I shoved that idea along with the growing list of inconsequential mysteries to the back of my head. I had my sights set on one pony.

Feeling determined to go solve New Canterlot’s raider problem myself, whether they wanted my help or not, I was headed for Dodge City.

As I shambled around the inside of the wasteland settlement, the only things I found myself able to think about was that one image of Sunny shrinking into the distance, and how I was going to squeeze that asshole’s brains dry for answers for everything he put me through. This time I was going to get my answers straight from the horse’s mouth. No more games. No playing around anymore. If Angel Eyes didn’t hold up his end of the bargain, I’d kill him and every last one of them.

It was all I could think about over the hussle and bussle of town square. Changing times had seen New Appleloosa grow into a more prosperous settlement in recent months.

The train station was empty, but the railroads themselves were pristine. Fresh steel forged-tracks, not the salvaged stuff. “Maybe from Fillydelphia?” I wondered. Or from some other place under New Canterlot controlled territory. A newly restored clock, working to tell time, was placed above the station house, telling me I had about two hours before the train arrived. If things kept to schedule. I thought that was how you were supposed to tell time at least…

Things weren’t like in the old days when caravans would ship supplies over long treacherous routes across the Wastes. They still had those of course, but shipping supplies by train or by courier was far more efficient.

You see, I actually had a very good reason for wanting to come to New Appleloosa first and take the train rather than going to see the Followers of the Apocalypse: Short of hiring a skycart to fly you there directly (which I was doubtful the raiders could manage), the train was the only other option they had for transportation to Dodge City if those raider bastards expected to beat me there. There was a good chance I’d be able to find them when the train arrived around noon-ish without even having to settle things on their turf.

Only one problem. I was flat broke. I didn’t even have enough for the train fare. For that reason, I’d have to take an extra job.

There was a pegasus sky carriage with “Ditzy Doo’s Absolutely Everything Mail Service” painted on the side was loading up cargo readying for take-off outside of New Appleloosa when I came into town. The store Ditzy Doo’s Absolutely Everything was moving their headquarters to Junction Town but planned on keeping the original store open. I did my best to keep my mind on other things.

I briefly saw a pegasus mare trotting by, eyeing me with a hint of nervousness. New residents I presumed.

I watched her, slightly being reminded of Sunny. I wondered for a second if I should just ask her some of these questions, but then reprimanded myself because of how stupid it’d sound. “Do you feel like you’re being oppressed by New Canterlot, former citizen of a totalitarian post-war government? And how does that make you feel?” So I just kept walking.

At least that hitch in my shoulder was holding up fine now. In fact, I was starting to barely notice it at all. I made a mental note, that I should probably make a point to avoid radiation if I could help it though. You know, just in case… Let alone, whatever mutation I had tried to kill me again.

Keeping my eyes on some fillies and colts playing with a ball, I had to consciously make an effort to put one hoof in front of the other. I was a little envious of them. It was almost like they were oblivious to everything going on. Also it made me feel longing for the good old days. Everything was so complicated now. Shortly after that I huffed, realizing how young I was and already complaining about my age. “Gee, I’ll be senile in no time.” I jibed.

A young mare galloped up to me and skid to a halt in my path, huffing to catch her breath. I stopped and waited impatiently. “M….Miss!” she gasped.

“What?” I asked, continuing to wait for the mare to catch her breath.

Standing in front of me was a mulberry unicorn with a silver-blueish well-groomed mane. She was also wearing a follower’s coat over her expensive frilly clothing underneath, and a pair of large round lensed glasses that all made her look completely out of place. She was also very young, maybe less than my age, and strangest of all, she was clean. I barely caught the first thing she sad because I wasn’t really listening.

“Thank goodness, the proper authorities. I’ve finally found you.” she asked again frantically, with a very deliberate educated way of speaking to denote status which I found slightly annoying. “You look like an experienced wasteland mare. Did you happen to see a young pegasus colt with a black coat run by here?” She gasped, sounding like she’d already run through that description a dozen times already. “Could you perhaps alert the other guards?”

She must’ve been mistaking me for a New Canterlot mare on account of the armor. The one and only downside to this look. I groaned and shook my head. “I’m not with New Canterlot, go ask somebody else.” I replied walking past her.

“B-B-but…you’re wearing-” she pointed at my armor in confusion.

“Who cares what I’m wearing? Leave me alone.”

This mare was so disorganized she made Sunny look like a wasteland veteran. The stray comparison going through my head only served to further sour my mood. My flat expression seemed to echo as such.

“Oh, dear Luna... I’ve only been in this rural wasteland town for a week as a part of the Friendship Outreach program for the Followers, and I’ve already gone and misplaced one of the children I was supposed to be teaching! He ran off while I wasn’t looking!” I rolled my eyes and began to walk away, not feeling like dealing with another tenderhoofed pony who barely knew her hoof from her head. She wouldn’t have lasted a week back in the wastes.

“Well, good luck with that…” I grumbled.

“D-Do please let me know?!” she pleaded with a weak smile.

“Sure, whatever...” I called back, not caring. “Just stay focused, Roulette.” I murmured. I wasn’t in a ‘helping ponies’ kind of mood.

I approached the strange building which looked like three different types of railroad cars fused together to create the general store. There was a “Help Wanted - Couriers” sign posted near the door of Ditzy Doo’s Absolutely Everything. “Perfect” I thought, stepping inside.

Hearing the bell sound as I entered the makeshift storefront, I looked around, and it appeared to contain a pretty competently run mail service and general store. Somepony had to employ pegasi after their reintroduction, so she had apparently taken it upon her business to do her part in helping. Despite me seeing it once before maybe some years ago, this was maybe the first time I’d actually been inside of the place. Standing behind the front desk, was a wall-eyed pegasus ghoul mare with a chalkboard hanging around her neck, and she greeted me with a happy wave.

A small lavender filly was drawing behind her in the corner, and a stoic griffon bodyguard stood leaning against the far wall like he never moved from that spot. Or slept. He eyed me without saying anything and I looked to the wall eyed pegasus.

“Uh, hi… “ I said, eyeing around the shop, “You wouldn’t happen to be the owner, would you?”

I awkwardly stood around waiting when she didn’t speak. Instead, she held up her chalkboard in a friendly professional manner. It read: “Hi, my name’s Ditzy Doo! How can I help you today?”

“Oh, awesome. See, I work for Fair Trade over at the Outpost 52? Though, cap payouts tend to be a bit low. I’ve got some other business in Dodge City, so I was wondering if you needed any extra courier deliveries that needed mailing there...?” I went with the most convincing story that came to mind.

Ditzy shrugged silently and then shook her head apologetically. She began scribbling something else down. “Sorry, but my last mail shipment just flew off. I don’t need anything else delivered…”

The small lavender filly jumped up next to her and struggled to push herself up onto the counter. She held up the piece of paper and showed me her drawing of her and her adopted mother with alongside a sunshine and rainbows. Ditzy looked proud, giving the young filly a warm, probably squishy, hug. “Hi! Lookit my drawing! I worked really hard on it!” she beamed. Briefly I felt the sick I was feeling wash away, and for a second I was alright. “Hey, that’s awesome! What’s’ your name kid?” I smiled.

“It’s Silver Bell!” she chimed happily.

“Hey, you’re really good! You should try drawing me.” I suggested cheekily.

The little lavender filly nodded, “Okay, I will!”

The griffon guard in the corner watched me curiously but didn’t move or say anything otherwise. Although he looked down when Silver Bell attempted to show him her new work of art, acknowledging her with subtle approval. “Look what I drew Gilgamesh!”

“Are you sure you don’t have anything?” I begged, turning back to Ditzy Doo.

Ditzy frowned and then shook her head again. I felt like I’d have to try somewhere else, but then a look of worry crossed her face as if remembering something important. She began looking around and smacked her forehead with her hoof foolishly, and then began writing something else down on her chalkboard. She flipped it over with a troubled facial expression and she put a hoof over her mouth. “Oh no! I forgot!”

Ducking underneath her front desk, she began tossing papers aside and then came back up with a single sealed envelope. She began frantically jotting more words onto the chalkboard, making the letters look rushed and sloppy. She spit out the bit of chalk and flipped it over, waving a letter in front of me. “I need this personal letter delivered from Apple Whiskey to his relative living in Dodge City. But I forgot to include it in the last shipment! No wonder they never wrote back…” it read, with an added frowny face at the end.

Picking up the stick of chalk again, she erased the board with her hoof and wrote something else. She flipped the chalkboard over again, showing me: “I’m too busy taking care of Silver Bell and overseeing the store to deliver it myself. Could you help?”

“Sure thing, it’s your lucky day!” I grinned, holding out my hoof tactlessly. “I’d be happy to deliver that letter for you!”

The griffon watching from the back of the shop raised his brow at me.

“Thank you!” she wrote elated. She flew over the counter, dashing over, and she gave me the letter along with a big hug. I couldn’t exactly fault her for being friendly.

“Uh, you’re welcome?” I laughed, turning over the letter.

It was addressed to an “Appleshot Brandy”. Taking the letter in my teeth and putting it into my saddlebag, I embarrassedly stuck out my hoof again. “Uh, would you mind upfronting me the caps though?” My ears folded back and I smiled nervously. “Hehe...”

Surprisingly, she happily did so.

Holding up her chalkboard once again, she nodded and beamed happily. It read: “Sure! You seem like the trustworthy sort of pony.”

I smiled a little, accepting her perhaps overly-generous compliment. “Uh, thanks? Hehe, this really helps a lot, I appreciate it.”

Silver Bell then climbed up onto the counter and gave me a hastily scribbled drawing she just finished. I smiled, staring at it.

“Hey that’s amazing. I bet you’ll be a famous artist when you grow up. known throughout the wastes. I bet this’ll be worth a million bottlecaps. A Silver Bell original.”

“I’m gonna spend it all on my mommy! B-but wait, you can’t sell it! I made it special!”

I snorted with a chuckle, “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of it.” And I stuck the piece of paper in my saddlebag as they both waved goodbye. Fillies and colts were the only other thing in the wasteland that didn’t make me feel completely terrible. It must’ve been something about their innocence that was often lost too quickly in the wasteland. I always felt like I could talk on the level with them without worrying about any of the bullshit. Like they weren’t pretending to be anyone else. Adults were annoying. Especially the ones trying to murder you. I smirked with jingling caps in hoof, and turned and trotted towards the door. Quite the send off for just some random courier.

“Well I’ll get that letter delivered.” I promised, stepping out of the shop. Then a thought crossed through my head as my eye caught my blank shoulder-pauldron. I poked my head back inside. The friendly ghoul blinked expectantly. “Uh, by the way...?” I asked. “Do you have any yellow paint?”

Silver Bell’s eyes lit up.

Strutting through New Appleloosa at a slow canter to show off my armor which now sported two freshly painted yellow chevrons, I slowed down to a depressing shamble shortly after leaving Ditzy’s store. As the cloud hanging over me quickly caught back up with me again, I felt a sickening rise in my upper chest and turned to look up at the clock above the station. I felt like ass again. The train wouldn’t come for another hour so I still had some time to kill, so I sauntered over to the Turnpike Tavern.

Looking for the closest seat I could find at the bar, I let myself soak in the wasteland atmosphere and ordered myself up a whiskey, unloading my saddlebag and rifle next to me.

“That’s the very same seat the Stable Dweller sat in when she first visited this establishment on her journey!” I rolled my eyes.

Tourists wowed at the transparent encouragement to get them to spend some extra bottlecaps. I just sat down, contemplatively eyeing my saddlebags with the sealed envelope inside, and I squinted in irritation. “Tch…”

I still had an uneasy feeling in my stomach about those New Canterlot Uniforms that I found buried in the ditch. Dead soldiers, I could buy. Even using them to sneak up on caravans. But why were they buried in the dirt like that? Why even bother hiding them so close to the battle?

A thought crossed my mind: That one raider in Unity did say that Jagged was planning something big. Could it be this…? Whatever this was.

Then an even bigger thought presented itself in front of me. One that made me pause and look over at my saddlebag. ‘That’ delivery was only bit of business I had left to take care of, but now something else was bugging me about that job. Those guys wanted whatever I got from the Outpost 52… The thing they mistook for that memory orb of Rainbow Dash that pony because of my quick thinking. I paused for a moment, thinking. Then I asked myself uneasily, “Did Fair Trade know about it...?”

I leaned my weight against the counter, staring at my bag intently.

From all my years knowing him, I couldn’t entirely rule it out as something he would do. All this business with New Canterlot, and Fair Trade’s operation at the old Canterlot ruins. What exactly could they have there that’d be that valuable? It was Ministry Central during the war, right? I started to think twice about all of this.

Thinking back, I was practically a filly when I first met him, and it had been years since then. I mean, it’s true. I didn’t know everything about the guy. There could’ve been things he never told me. One of his rules he always lined out was even a reminder as to not get sentimental. Almost forcing myself to Remember how the very first thing he made me do was repay my family’s debt by tracking down and killing one of his former business associates pissed me off a little. “That’s right! He’d throw me under a stampeding brahmin bull the first chance he got if it saved him a few extra bottlecaps! Of course he’d be willing to use me for his own personal gain!” I reminded myself. Did I mention I was just a filly?!

Evidently, that was the same day I also got my cutie mark… I took a sip of whiskey and gagged.

Staring down into the shimmering amber liquid, I grimaced in disgust. This was maybe the second time I’d ever had alcohol. Part of me was thinking I should’ve spent that money on a Sunrise instead, but I just wanted to stop feeling for a moment. It also didn’t hurt that I had a few extra bottle caps to blow. Or I would’ve, but the prices on everything were temporarily inflated due to resource shortages, especially following that attack.

“And what was the deal with Neighvarro Provisional Government? New Canterlot was somehow involved with that, or something…?” I thought. All the questions ricocheted around the inside of my skull, giving no answers. “What the hell was going on here...?” Ugh. No more questions! I pounded on the side of my head with my hoof furiously.

“Luna, help me. Things were never this complicated back in the wasteland...” I complained, slouching against the bartop.

For some reason, that thing that Sunny’s dad said about me had stuck with me from last night. “Like I’m ‘stuck in the wasteland’, huh?” I snorted. “That’s rich. We still live in a wasteland.” I jibed and took a sip from the glass, then screwed my face as I felt the burn down my throat, nearly gagging. “Blegh!”

Coughing, I pounded on my chest until I could breathe normally again. “This stuff is disgusting. Why do ponies even drink this?!” I thought it was supposed to make you feel good, not the other way around!

The questions barely felt worth asking anymore. Just a bunch of random inconsequential details that only an idiot like me would try to piece together to make her life more fun and interesting. Dammit, the buzz wasn’t hitting me at all either.

My inner monologuing was interrupted by shouting in the tavern, as a few rowdy New Canterlot mercs had arrived within the last few minutes. Pinning my ears back, I glared over at them. They were hardly anything to look at.

One of them was particularly loud and grating to my ears with an equally stupid nickname: ‘“Big Shot” Bingo’. It was hard not to overhear his entire conversation. “Yeah, so I was hired for this merc contract, where my employers wanted me to kill some raider scumbags causing trouble for his caravans. I kill em all easily, with my trusty sniper rifle. Pop! Right between the eyes, every one of em. And then it turned out to be my lucky day, because they were actually harassing some random shithole town!”

Not what I would’ve expected from New Canterlot soldiers when thinking of Gawd’s speech over the radio. The hired mercenaries that were being used to fill their ranks in the meantime just wore their usual combat armor or whatever they had available with “NC” scrawled across the front. I’d have half-mistaken them for raiders if they weren’t wearing the armor, all done up in warmarkings and with their own personal touches. I was beginning to learn quickly that the Rough Riders weren’t exactly the rule when it came to the general quality of Gawd’s troops everywhere. Barely any semblance of quality control for some of them.

Returning to the refuge of the awful taste of two hundred year old whiskey, I tried really hard to ignore them instead trying to focus on the radio in the background but I could barely hear it over their shouting.

“They all were so fucking thankful, they were practically bowing at my hooves. All the mares in that town were ready to blow me! And that’s why they call me ‘Big Shot’”

One laughed. “Haha, that’s a fuckin’ great story Bingo!”

“Yeah, Thrasher. New Canterlot is just handing out these merc contracts right now like they’re Celestia damned party favors. Cushy pay and I get to get in on the ground floor of the winning team. I bet they’d make me a corporal if I joined up with the army.” he took another swig of his drink and began thinking aloud. “Y’know, I bet I should challenge Deadshot Calamity to a rifle match and strip that title off him. How do you like the sound of “Deadshot” Bingo?”

One of them noticed me and nudged his buddy. I rolled my eyes and stared down at my glass.

The group of assholish stallions approached me in an attempt to flirt. Their leader leaned against the bartop next to me and waggled his eyebrows, trying and get my attention. I nearly gagged.

“Hey there cutie. Drinking alone at noon, all away from your squad huh? How about you come hang out with me instead?”

I was in no mood. “Go suck-start a shotgun, fuckface.” This caused his buddies to snicker amongst themselves.

“Hehe, fire. Don’t to be that way, baby. I saw you admiring me from the other side of the room. They call me ‘Bigshot’ Bingo. I’m a regular hero around these parts. I saved this little wasteland town from raider scumbags a while ago ”

I was trying hard not to vomit at his painful attempts at flirting. “Bear through it Roulette. Only one more hour of this…” I told myself.

“So how about it then? I got a couple of hits of cloud kiss.” he said flashing a strange looking Dash inhaler filled with a pink cloud-like substance. “We can get outta here, then you can get high off this stuff and reminisce about the night we spent together in bed."

I couldn’t take it anymore and groaned loudly, “Why is it that every dipshit who slightly knows how to fire a gun, suddenly thinks they’re the best damn shot in the entire wasteland? And that’s cute lil nickname by the by, but I bet you couldn’t hit a hellhound from point blank range with that rifle because you’d be too busy pissing yourself.”

“Hey ease up bitch. I was just being friendl-”

A well placed kick backwards into his tender area, left him unable to finish his sentence over the sound of clutching his sack on the ground in agonizing pain. “Rifle doesn’t help you much when getting your sack tapped. Does it?” Dusting off my hind leg, I turned back to my drink.

“You just made a big mistake right now!” one of his friends threatened, surrounding me on either side. Other patrons were watching in silence. The idea of getting into an altercation with New Canterlot mercs in the middle of town was probably a bad one, albeit entertaining.

I snorted. “You losers got taint in your ears? Didn’t I already tell you to buzz off?” Quickly, the urge to resort to violence was becoming more and more appealing. I clenched my hoof tight ready for it to get ugly and looked back at them with a death glare, almost welcoming the idea. I didn’t care, I just wanted to hit something.

Before we could get into it, we were interrupted by the bald scarred deputy-mare from earlier. As she entered the tavern, all eyes immediately went to her. She looked around the bar and her eyes fell upon the four of us ready for a fight and she growled. “Hey, what’s all this shit?” she barked, approaching us where I was sitting and looking down at the stallion who was still struggling to stand up. “Picking fights again Bingo? What’d I tell ya already, ya fuckwit?!”

He pained through his speech as she stood over him like a simpering dog and picked him up by his shirt-collar. “S-Stiletto...!”

“So ya went and got your ass kicked then,” she mocked. Her eyes flicked down at the strange chem which had fallen onto the floor with Bingo then looked back at him with an accusatory gaze. “Cloud Kiss? Where the fuck you get this?”

“J-Just a guy I know.” he stammered.

Cloud Kiss was a relatively new chem on the market. It was said to be a new super-chem, having a stronger, longer lasting high than the normal Dash inhalers. Stronger than ‘rainboom’ with just a hint of ‘magic’, although it came with some extra nasty side-effects.

“‘Just a guy’? Seriously, do I look stupid n’ shit? The Mayor already said he doesn’t want you bringing this stuff around, so why don’t you go back to huffing dash like a normal addict? If your damn face rots off and you ghoulify from this shit then you’ll be even uglier for me to look at.”

“S-She’s the one who started it!” he yelped, pointing at me. His knees were shaking as he was still making a genuine effort to stand, trying to use her for support.

“Oh, really?” She painfully dropped the stallion onto the floor, leaving him clutching his you-know-where, and stepped over him to get to me. Speaking in an accusatory fashion, she barked in my face, “Hey Mare! What’s your name? What squad are you with? I knew you were trouble since the moment you walked into town.” I stared back, squinting my eyes at the scarred mare, standing my ground while she did the same. I turned so that I was looking her straight in the eyes while others in the tavern said nothing. It was practically a standoff inside the bar while rest of the patrons watched us.

Finally exhaling, I bowed my head limp in apology. “I’m sorry, it was my fault… I was just leaving.” Then I turned away, leaving the glass half-finished on the counter and made my way to the exit. I just wasn’t feeling up to it today.

“You do that Mare.” Stiletto threatened, getting the last word in. I didn’t care enough to respond as she watched me to the door.

The sun had risen directly above me. Barely keeping my eyes above the ground, I glanced up at the station clock again, thinking the train couldn’t get here soon enough. Not too much longer...

Among all the ponies shuffling about through the center of town my eyes fell on the foals playing again, feeling nostalgic.

In particular I watched a blue pegasus colt playing with some of the other fillies and colts. One of their coats was dark brown, and another’s was bright gold. I sighed. As they bucked the ball he went chasing after it. I saw it coming towards me and did nothing as he ran and it stopped near my hooves. Then a mare who looked like his mother ran up to him and warned him not to play out in the open.

She noticed me watching them both and ushered her colt behind herself. I remained still without saying anything.

“C-can I help you miss? Is everything alright?” she asked, trying to sound nice.

Studying the mare’s expression, I could see by the way she was looking at the armor I was wearing. Her colt was giving me a weird look too, although not the same kind as his mother. More like he was confused. Snowflake, Sunny, this mare. These weren’t just ‘refugees’ from the Enclave, like I had initially thought.

This mare was hardly the image of an Enclave soldier. I was the one standing here in the armor.

“...Nevermind. Sorry to bother you.” I mumbled, averting my gaze as I walked past her.

“O-okay”

Looking up at the station clock again, I saw that the train was supposed to arrive within the next twenty minutes. I didn’t have very long. So I turned and ran towards the gate, drawing the attention of a few of the town guards who didn’t know where I was running off to.

Peering around the Raptor Graveyard, even the empty skeletons of the Raptor battleships lacking their floatation clouds were still huge. Up close they were just as imposing as I remembered, but now with a mausoleum ghost-like quality to them, like monuments to the war and the old world. I could’ve probably fit my head inside one of the gun barrels if I wanted to.

A battle had taken place here during the starting days of Operation Cauterize where the local hero of the town, Ditzy Doo, had taken down three raptors at once, leaving the remaining cloudships, which now functioned mostly as a local trade post providing a small economic boom to the nearby wasteland settlement. I’d have loved to know how she managed that one. Most of the good stuff had already been salvaged along with most of the raptors’ essential components, but the bartender in Unity said you could still find code breakers and information brokers here. A few New Canterlot mercs were standing by in the hot sun, but they were off and not really paying attention.

I had a short conversation with one of the grifters who caught my eye, under the remnants of a raptor cloud ballast that he was using for shade where he set up shop. Hiding various Enclave weapon components and ship parts but mostly junk from the outset. He was a ghoul that looked completely stitched together, wearing some strange adjustable eyewear with multiple lenses probably for discerning the quality of salvaged parts and some tacky sweater vest from before the war. He was probably the sort of pony who picked things off of corpses and brought them to trade at his shop.

He also had a terminal hidden in the back with some other things that stood out to me. Seemed exactly like the sort of pony who’d know something, so I approached him first.

Judging by my armor, he was almost immediately standoffish and reluctant to give me anything. “What do you want? Get lost New Canterlot! I already paid you guys your damn cut. I’m trying to run my business here! Freakin’ buzzards...”

”I’m not here to cause trouble,” I assured, “I just some need info.”

“Alright, fine. How much you got?” he said motioning his hoof for me to give over some of my bottlecaps. I shook my head.

“I don’t have any bottlecaps to spare.” I answered.

He quickly lost his temper, shooing me away, “Then get lost and quit wasting my time! Information costs caps.”

I tried to reason with him as quickly as I could, using ever ounce of self control not to look over my shoulder at the station. “I’m not with New Canterlot, I’m a merc. All I need to know about is New Canterlot’s role in the Neighvarro Provisional Government. Is there anything you know about what they’re looking for in the Old Ruins?”

The ghoul laughed out loud so hard it looked like his jaw might fall off, “Right! Like I’m supposed to believe that? Y’already took all my best stuff! What more do you want from me?” He was probably able to tell I was desperate for time and was using that to his advantage. I didn’t have time for this.

Getting rough, I grabbed him and pulled him close with a threatening cock-eyed shooty look. I uttered a low growl and spat, “Look zombie, I already told you I’m not New Canterlot, it’s just the armor. I’m also not stupid. I can tell an XVB02 Skytank from long distance, and I know the difference between a model Sunburst standard issue and a Novasurge rifle. That includes knowing the cheap-ass crystals used in the mass produced models from the real deal alchesynthetic stuff made in laboratories. And I’m smart enough to tell from a glance that you’re hanging onto the most valuable stuff for yourself while trying to pass it off for scrap so you can skim more caps off the top. Funny, I heard New Canterlot’s in the market for crystals so I bet Gawd would love to hear about that. So answer my damn question or I report your little “scrapyard bargain bin” to the proper authorities.”

“H-hey no need for that kiddo. I’m just trying to make an unliving. Seriously, that’s it? That’s basic day one stuff, kid! How else do you think New Canterlot became practically an overnight superpower in the territory after the Enclave Wars?” I felt stupid as it took me this long to start putting all the pieces together. It took me an extra second to wipe the equally stupid expression off my face as one by one, all of puzzle pieces were starting to fit into the larger picture.

Looking back at the station clock, I could almost see the train coming in the distance. “I gotta go…” I said, releasing him and rushed back.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” he shouted after me.

Galloping back to the station, I didn’t have time to waste. As I ran, I saw that one strange mare again. She was still looking around asking everyone who came close to her if they’d seen a certain black colt.

“P-please, someone? Anyone?” she asked in a the mare searched around frantically, looking very out of her element.

Groaning at feeling just a tinge of conscience, I skid to a halt next to her causing her to raise her hoof to shield herself from the dirt. “Ugh. fine, I’ll help you!” I relented. “I’ll bring him back here ‘if’ I run into him.”

She put a hoof to her breast, relieved. “Thank Celestia.”

I rolled my eyes. Why was I even agreeing to this? With a sigh I asked for a name, ”Do you have any idea where he went, whatever-your-name is?”

“Uh… n-no?” she replied hesitantly. Then corrected, “And it’s Star Blossom. I’m with the Followers’ Friendship Outr-”

Great. “Alright, whatever. Now pardon me, I have a train to catch-”

I heard another small voice speak up from close by, and we both looked over our shoulders at the blue pegasus colt from before. “Blip said he was going to go to New Canterlot on his own because he was tired of staying here.” he said.

“W-why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” The mulberry unicorn gasped, frantically waving her arms as she imagined the worst possible situation. “On his own in the wasteland?! B-but what if he gets eaten by hellhounds, or stung by radscorpions, or-”

“Rebellious little squirt, huh? Reminds me of myself.” I noted aloud. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do, but FYI, you really should ask actual New Canterlot ponies to help with this sort of thing in the future.

“But… aren’t you one?” she asked, confusedly. Oh right, I forgot I was wearing the armor. I rolled my eyes to the side in frustration. Then hearing another whistle blow at the station reminded me I had somewhere to be and I bolted to the station.

“Kid, do me a favor and tell that bald-headed deputy mare!”

I got to the station just in time. The train was waiting in the station when I got there, like a blast from wartime Equestria. Not appearing to be running on coal, or using train pullers or anything. Capable of crossing the wasteland in merely a few days. But the tech added to the engine car however looked suspiciously familiar.

I trotted up to the conductor pony standing on the platform. “One ticket to Dodge City.” I said, handing over the caps for the train fare.

“You are aware that Dodge is outside of New Canterlot’s jurisdiction, right?” he asked, taking and counting in his hoof to ensure I had the right amount. “You’ll have to talk to Colonel Peregrine when you get there about getting a work permit.”

“Yeah, I’m headed there for work reasons. I’ve just got some business to take care of and a letter to deliver.” I replied.

“Just making sure. In that case, make a transfer at Junction Town to the Dodge City line.” the old unicorn replied, letting me onto the train. “Alright, you’re the last stop. You’re gonna want to get off and make a transfer once we get to the J-R7 Station in Junction Town. Catch the four-ten to Dodge. Got all that?” he asked. I nodded.

One last matter of business. Pointing to the engine car at the front, I asked: “Hey, how’s the train running? Where are the pullers? Does New Canterlot have access to coal again?”

“Oh, see that’s thanks to New Canterlot scientists. They’ve adapted the same stuff the Grand Pegasus Enclave was using to power their raptors to work the trains. So now we don’t need no coal, and we don’t need no pullers no more. Classic arcane ingenuity, plain and simple. Real progress!”

Looking at the hybrid arcanotech made me feel a little uneasy at first. That was progress, right? “Right…” I replied. “Don’t Spark Engines explode...? violently?”

The old unicorn laughed, slapping his knee. “Only if you shoot at em! But this one’s encased in steel-magic alloy plating, and inside an armored locomotive car, so you really gotta be aiming real hard to blow it up. Plus we got a hoofful of New Canterlot mercs on the train working as guard ponies, so don’t worry your head.”

“Got it.” I said, boarding the train. I was finally beginning to understand, although now I really wished I hadn’t. The truth was a lot less fun than I imagined it would be.

When it was all accounted for he gave me a ticket stub and allowed me to step onto the train.

I shambled inside the passenger car and found the seat furthest away from other ponies where I could sit down. Blocking another pony trying to sit next to me, I muttered to myself. “The wonders of modern transportation.”

I heard the conductor calling outside to the front of the train, “All aboard!”

My saddlebag lay beside me. Remembering the Canterlot salvage operation, I pictured in my head all of the old wartime Ministry secrets he might be digging up there. Weapons from the back when times. Undoing the flap and looking inside, the envelope was inside.

The train lurched forward and began to calmly pull out of the station as I removed it from my saddlebag and set it in front of me. The ride was much smoother than anything I would’ve expected it to be and almost immediately the train began to pick up speed. Although I wasn’t sure if that was a faint buzzing noise in my ears or if it was just my imagination. Out the view of the window, New Appleloosa began pulling away from me in the distance, making way to open wasteland.

I looked down at the sealed envelope, and a million thoughts started racing through my head.

There was no question anymore, that those raiders wanted whatever I was carrying…

Did he use me...? Had I been unwittingly implicated in carrying something so dangerous? Was Fair Trade the one responsible for Cotton’s death? For all of this?! All because of whatever stupid thing was in this envelope?!

“Just open it.” I heard whispered in the back of my mind.

Even though it would be violating all the terms of the agreement and every ounce of trust he’d placed in me, I desperately wanted to see what was written inside. I’d probably be breaking all of his rules at once. If I did, there would be no turning back.

“But who could say it was even a report anyways?!” I reminded myself. He could’ve been lying through his teeth about that in an attempt to pull the wool over my eyes! What better courier than one who was blissfully unaware of what she was carrying? I was just some dumb freaking patsy who was none the wiser!

Letting out a growl in righteous indignation, I tore open the envelope and whipped out the paper inside. I couldn’t resist the temptation any longer! I had to know! Then as I read the water-damaged “report” inside, I stared in complete and utter shock at what I read. For all my years knowing him, I would have never suspected he’d be capable of something like this.

It read:

Dear Silver Spur,

This young mare’s name is Roulette, and I’ve known her since she was a lil’ filly. She’s a good kid, although to be honest can be kind of a hoofful at times. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a good use for her. Silver, we’ve known each other a long time, old friend… longer than most ponies lived back then. So you know I’m sending her to you with my best recommendation. Take good care of her.

Fair Trade

PS: Don’t let her read this. I don’t want her to think I’ve gone soft.

“...”

For a few moments I was stunned in complete silence at the letter, not sure what to think. My mouth hung wide open for a moment, taking me some time to fully process what I was reading.

Then slowly, a misshapen scowl began to stretch across my face. In anger, I crumpled up the piece of paper into a little ball and tossed it out the window of the speeding train.

I almost wished it was the other thing...

[You are still dressed as a member of New Canterlot.]

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