• Published 27th May 2012
  • 5,543 Views, 845 Comments

Fallout Equestria : New Roam - Delvius



The city of Roam is tortured by ambient and open hostility. Finally, a Praetorian arises to protect the city like the Legionnaires of old, and nothing will stop him. Nothing but himself, that is.

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Chapter 8 - The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 8
The Calm Before the Storm
"If you can take this bull by the horn, you better be ready for a ride!”




I opened my eyes, hearing a recurring electronic beeping next to me. I was in a small, fairly clean room with three windows and one door. The golden rays of early morning sunlight stabbed into the room, showing only a little dust floating around. The floor tiles were only cracked a little, and seemed to actually be the cleanest part of the room.

My sides felt sore from where the bullet had passed clean through me, and my head ached from what was most likely blood loss. I felt the back of my head on something soft, at least in contrast to everything else I had felt in the wasteland. I turned my head to the side, seeing Skyfire lying down on a relatively clean bed. Next to her, there was a monitor with wavy lines on it on a metal stand. There was also a small table next to her bed, which was also beside mine. Myst and Zaita were nowhere to be seen, though.

“Skyfire…” I grunted, trying to get off the bed. My sides stung in protest while my wings felt gave a few painful cracks, and I fell back down onto my bed with a loud groan of pain.

“Woah, now. No need to rush. Take your time, I heard you’ve been through a lot.” A zebra mare with a white doctor’s coat next to me said. I turned to face her, and I saw her pull out a healing potion.

“Who are you? And where the heck am I?” If these people were yet another group of hostiles, I’d have to start formulating a plan on how to take them out. Okay, so, there was just her here…

‘What the hell are you thinking? These people aren’t trying to kill you! They could have done that while you were out, you know.’ Oh yeah. Thanks, Tom. That’s one of the reasons I’ll side with you over Tod any day; you’re sensible.

The zebra mare chuckled, apparently finding something about my facial expression funny. Was it the suspicious look I was giving her? Weren’t people supposed to take you seriously if you were suspicious of them?

“Hehehe…sorry. It’s just that, well, you...,um…” She pointed her hoof at my wings, which were standing out long and wide. My own eyes burst wide at the sight, my mind conflicted as to whether to feel happy they weren’t broken anymore or embarrassed.

“It’s just that I heard that meant pegasi were… ‘interested’.” She looked at me with a little smile, probably trying to make me feel less awkward. It didn’t help, though, as I could already feel my cheeks burning up.

“Uh, yeah, well… I can explain!” Maybe I had a really steamy dream, and I couldn’t remember it? Damn, why’d I have to forget the one good thing I might have experienced in the last day or so?

The zebra chuckled some more, but got herself under control. She cleared her throat and put on a more serious expression, even putting on some glasses to complete the look. After, she poured the contents of the vial into a glass mug, the purple fluid looking more…substantial than regular healing potions.

“There’s no need to explain, Praetorian. And, allow me to introduce myself. I am Zeneta, the doctor of this place. As for your wings, it is most likely the after-effect of the restoration brews and physical therapy we had to give you. Oh, and as for where you are, you are at Verge: the only settlement this far out of the city.” She handed me the glass, and I had to take it in between my hooves (which wasn’t easy. How did the zebras do it with almost everything, anyway? It doesn’t make sense).

“Um, eh, well…thanks.” I mumbled, not quite sure what to do. It was apparent that these people had saved us, though I didn’t see Myst and Zaita yet, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have some plan in store for us. For all I knew, they could have been some group of crazy cannibals or something.

“There’s no need to thank me. In fact, the people of the Verge should be thanking YOU; you and your friends, that is, for saving us from that tank. Those things take a LOT of rockets to take out…” She shook her head, as if trying to banish a thought from fully forming in her head. Wait, I had? I was unconscious! Who could have blown up the tank? Zaita’s gun was strong, but not enough to pierce the ridiculous amount of armor that thing had on. Who could have…

“Myst.” I smiled as I brought the mug to my mouth, drinking the… grape flavored healing potion? Oooh, tasty!

“Who?” Zeneta asked in confusion, tilting her head down and looking at me from behind her glasses.

“Oh, just one of my friends. Have you seen her around? Earth pony, mare, wears a camo jacket? She’s a sniper, and a shy one at that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was trying to hide herself from you.” At my words, the zebra let out a laugh.

“Hahaha! Oooh, you mean HER! Yes, I know who she is. She’s gotten herself into quite a few funny situations while you were out. You should probably ask her yourself, though.” She placed a hoof over her mouth, muffling her continued laughter.

“Ah, yeah, about that…when can I get off this thing?” I asked, and the zebra took almost a full minute to calm down.

“Eh, ah, yes. Well, you were in pretty bad shape when we found you. Bleeding lungs, shattered ribcage, severe internal bleeding… it’s lucky the bullet that did all that passed through your body, because it would have been hell removing all the shards. As for your question, though, I’d say… a few hours? Right now we’re just waiting for the visible wounds to heal, which is probably why you feel pain when you move. It’s going to scar, though.” She said, tapping her hoof on the table in thought. I sighed. Well, my forelimbs already looked like a maze of scars, what was another one on my chest?

“Alright. Oh, and have you seen an APC? Big enough for around six people? It can also talk.” I said the last word with some hesitation, as talking, sentient APC’s wasn’t exactly a common topic of conversation.

“Oh, yes. It was the one that brought you here. From the bridge, or so your other friend told us. It looked pretty banged up, though. No doubt from it’s encounter with that tank.” Well, at least Zaita was still…’alive’. Okay, maybe ‘functional’ is a better term… I think.

“Ok, good. Oh, just one last thing. What about her…” I pointed at Skyfire, and immediately Zeneta’s facial expression turned grim. I was so not going to like this…

“She suffered even more severe internal bleeding than you, though less organs were damaged. Her brain suffered severe blood withdrawal, and the rusty metal we pulled out of her will likely cause tetanus. Hopefully, the physiological damage caused by the lack of blood will be minimal, if none at all. She didn’t lose MOST of her blood, after all. She’ll live…but I wouldn’t ask her to go through stuff like that again for as long as she lives.”

I let my head fall back onto the pillow, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. Well, I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t that bad.

‘Oh, Goddesses, thank you. I don’t think I would be able to live with myself if she had died.’ I thought. Honestly, if she had died on that bridge, it wouldn’t have been the Legion’s fault. It wouldn’t have been that damned zebra’s fault. It would have been MY fault. I had just stood there, watching her die, while I talked about philosophy with someone I didn’t even know! What the hell kind of friend does that? What kind of friend can’t be there for someone when they needed it? What kind of person just stands frozen while someone puts a gun to another’s head?

How do you expect to protect this place if you don’t know how to keep yourself from being manipulated?’ His words echoed in my mind, and I physically tried forcing it out by scrunching up my face.

‘Stop it.’ I thought at myself, not wanting the rest of his speech to play out in my head. But he was right; I couldn’t even protect my own friends, how much more for the rest of the city?

Unless you learn to pull the trigger without thinking about it, you’ll be easy prey for these people.

“Stop it.” I said, getting Zeneta’s attention. She seemed confused as to who I was talking to. No, I could still do this. One failure doesn’t mean every attempt will be one. There were people that needed me, damn it! And here I was arguing with myself!

What you want is a dream; an illusion. A perfect state of peace and security? There is no such place, and never will be, in this world.’ Despite my mounting hate for the guy, his words were so…sensible. Was it true? When I had taken up the task of protecting this place several days ago, was I really that ignorant? I couldn’t even believe I was considering his words. I hated myself for it.

“Fucking stop.” I said, a little louder this time. Zeneta looked a little worried, taking a few slow steps back. I turned to look at Skyfire, hoping to find some form of reassurance or comfort. Some sign that I hadn’t completely failed her on that bridge. Instead, the sight of her in such a dire state made me berate myself even more. Why the hell couldn’t I have just done something? Why did I have to listen to what that motherfucker said?

I felt angry. Not just at that zebra, or the Legion, or every other piece of scum that tormented the world. I was angry at myself, too. Angry and disappointed because I wasn’t good enough. All my life, I had thought that each day I was making myself better. Stronger, faster, more alert, more awake. Lighthouse made sure I did the right thing, and I always tried to, no matter what it was. And yet, when all that I had to do was kick someone’s flank and save my friend, I couldn’t. Was I really that inadequate? Was I really that weak? Skyfire’s battered, barely moving body told me I was.

“I’m sorry, Skyfire. Sorry I couldn’t protect you. Sorry you’re in so much pain.” I meant what I said. And I didn’t mean just physical pain. Although I didn’t have much reason to, I felt really concerned about her past life. I wondered how she was handling it, under all of her cocky, idiotic outer personality. How it was weighing down on her, beyond what she had let on. How much pain it was causing her, and how I could try to help her out with it.

I got out of the bed, much to Zeneta’s disapproval, and trotted up to her. She was barely breathing, barely moving. At first glance, I actually couldn’t believe that the scarred, battered, dirty, broken form before me was my friend. She looked so in pain, even if the only movement I could see was her chest going up…then down. In fact, if it weren’t for that, I would have thought she really was dead.

Pain…

The only peace you can give these people is the peace of the gun.’ That did it for me. All my emotion, be it anger, disappointment, or what little joy I had in me, overcame my senses. It felt like all the feelings I had had in the past few days was shoved into a box and kept in storage. But with this, that box broke, sending all of it out flying in all directions.

“SHUT UP!” I slammed on the table so hard it cracked, despite my un-armored hooves. I glared down at the bed, feeling like I needed to rip out that fucking zebra’s spine and wear it around for a few days before my anger subsided. I even grabbed the table with both forelegs (although how I did it didn’t matter to me back then) and threw it across the room, nearly hitting Zeneta with it.

“Come out here, you motherfucker!” I yelled at the ceiling, hoping that zebra would pop out of nowhere suddenly so I could rip his limbs off and beat him to unconsciousness with them, then wait for him to wake up, then do it again, and again.

I wasn’t angry at myself anymore. I wasn’t disappointed in myself, either. Right now, all my emotions were converted to the desire to beat the living shit out of that guy so hard he’d wish I dragged him across a field of sharp rocks while beating his nuts with a boulder instead.

I heard Zeneta yell something, most like regarding my sudden violence. But I didn’t care, right now all I cared about was venting out all this anger I had in me. All I cared about was trying to feel a little better about myself by letting all this raw emotion out.

Several more zebras, and one unicorn, got into the room. They seemed to be guards here, having weapons slung across their backs. But I didn’t care about that right now, either. Instead, against all logic and common sense, I charged them. But Why? I wasn’t angry at them, in fact I owed these people my life. Well, I guess you could blame my dysfunctional head.

“Paralysis spell!” One of the zebras yelled, and the unicorn’s horn began to glow.

Wait, paralysis? Wasn’t that being in a state of being unable to move?

I lost all control of my limbs, and all of my momentum only served to make crashing into the floor and wall that much more painful. The pain of landing on my still healing wounds made me scream, and I glared at the guards with hate. Okay, NOW I was angry at them.

“Damn it, he’s in post-traumatic bloodlust! We need to put him back in the bed before he does anything else.” Zeneta told the guards, who then went over to me and picked me up. I glared at each one, my mind thinking of ways to kill them despite my immobilized state. They placed me back onto the bed, and Zeneta trotted over, carrying a needle with her hooves.

“Okay, this should take care of his aggression. The spell might last for about another hour, so be ready. And don’t let him leave here; he shouldn’t even have gotten off the bed in the first place. I’m not sure how his body’s handling it.” She injected me with the needle, and at once I started to feel…calm. And woozy; really, really woozy.

“Guh…that it?” I asked as the guards slowly approached, holding their gun’s buttstocks ready in a position to bludgeon me in case I tried anything.

“Just take it easy.” Zeneta said, pulling out another needle from the table I had thrown across the room. This one was filled with a slightly yellow fluid, as contrast to the clear, water-like fluid in the previous needle. She injected me with it, and at once I felt…

Ugh…too tired…sleep now…

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

When I woke up, it was already afternoon. Either that, or morning moved really slow in this place. The guards were gone, either having found something better to do or they weren’t convinced I was a threat any more. On the table next to me was the unfinished mug of grape-flavored healing potion.

With only the barest of pain erupting from my sides, and none at all from my wings, I got up and took the mug. The fruit-flavored liquid took away the dry feeling in my mouth, and I took in a deep breath after I had downed the whole thing. I looked outside the windows, hearing what seemed like the laughter of foals; one of the sweetest sounds I had heard since I got out of the stable.

“The Verge, huh? Well, I guess I should get to know the locals.” I said to myself before I got up, taking one look at Skyfire, before continuing towards the door. There was a chest on the left side, with a piece of dirty-white paper on it. There was also another chest, this time on the right side. I took a look at the paper on the chest closer to me.

“Praetorian,

These were the possessions brought to us by your friends; the…’vehicle’ and the earth pony, who said they belonged to you. These are:

A segmented metal chest plate, with attached chain mail
A metal helmet
Metal hoof and leg guards
A dark blue Kevlar vest
One heavy shotgun, 47 shells
A heavy pistol, 2 rounds
A heavy revolver, 6 rounds
A gladius
2 saddlebags
2 healing potions
A submachine gun, 1 mag (though this one, it seems, is the pegasus’)
Various miscellaneous items.

Zeneta

PS: I noticed that your coat and skin have many scratches and bruises on it where the metal segments meet. There is an old, red shirt inside to help out with that.”

Well, it was good to know all my stuff was accounted for. I opened the box and, sure enough, it was all there. Including the sleeved red shirt, which I felt really grateful for. I placed on the shirt, strapped on the armor and the kevlar vest, readied my weapons (just in case), and stepped outside.

There were quite a lot of people here; much more than what was shown on my E.F.S. If this place really was the ONLY settlement this far out, then it at least made up for it with size. In front of me was a road, leading off north and south. The terrain was fairly hilly, and remained so for about a kilometer in every direction. On about half of this kilometer was constructed, as much as I could tell, various smaller settlements. The distant figures of moving vehicles and the forms of equines told me that, against all odds, this was a very large, thriving settlement.

A makeshift APC passed by, the armed zebras and ponies inside looking at me with curiosity before the armored vehicle moved on. There was a lot of activity going on further down the road, with many small shops advertising their wares to the passers-by. Colts and fillies were running around on the sidewalks, making sure to stay avoid getting hit by any of the vehicles or one of the many carts being dragged along by adult ponies or zebras.

“Hey, look! It’s that guy they brought in last night!” One of the zebra fillies said, catching the attention of her playmates. Immediately, they all started galloping towards me, making my eyes go wide at the number of children charging to my position.

“Oh, shi-…” I started backing up into the building, when the swarm of little colts and fillies surrounded me and began climbing up onto me. One or two I could have handled. Maybe even five or six. But they all seemed so hell-bent on climbing onto my back that my legs gave way and I collapsed.

“Were you really nearly dead?” Asked a little unicorn filly as she played around with the plumes on my helmet.

“I heard you guys took out a tank!” Said one zebra colt as he tugged at my chain mail for attention.

“What’s the name of your other friend?” Two earth pony colts, twins, asked together.

“Where’d you come from?” Asked several zebras in the crowd, one of the inquirers pulling at my shirt’s sleeve.

“Why doesn’t the shy pony talk to us?” Wailed a little zebra filly. All their eyes went wide, and they all took in a deep breath.

“WHY DOESN’T SHE TALK TO US???” They all asked in unison, stomping on the ground with their little legs. The volume of their question made my ears hurt, which wasn’t helping my slightly achy head recover at all.

“I…need… to BREATHE!” I yelled out, trying to raise my head enough to get some air. But I couldn’t; they were all just too heavy for me to get up. They didn’t relent, continuing to ask me a whole slew of questions.

‘You should probably pull out the SMG, I’m pretty sure it shoots fast enough to take this crowd out.’ Suggested my fucked up split personality. Wow, really, Tod? Asking me to race past a tank was stupid, but asking me to kill children was just fucking wrong.

“Alright, ALRIGHT! Come on, kids, I need to breathe!” I yelled louder, and at last the crowd got off, forming a circle around me while they waited for me to catch my breath.

“Okay, one question at a time. You, what was that you asked?” I pointed at the zebra filly that had started the torrent of questions which now made my head hurt.

“Um, I asked why the pony with the jacket won’t talk to us. She seemed fine, until we came along.” She looked down at the ground with a sad look, almost as if she blamed herself for causing Myst to avoid them.

“Okay, okay. Well, she’s just shy. When I first met her, I could barely even talk to her. Even up to now, I can barely get her to talk. I’m really not surprised about any of this.” She didn’t respond, instead looking at the ground with a thoughtful pout.

“Oookay. Now, uh, what else do you want to know?” I really hoped I didn’t just give them an opportunity to make my headache worse. At once, almost all of them took in a deep breath.

“And one at a time.” They all released their breaths, looking disappointed. One of the twins, though, took the opportunity to ask his question.

“Oh! What’s her name? Maybe we can use it to start talking with her later!” He said energetically, and most of the foals looked up at either me or him with a wide eyed smile.

‘Yeah, like that’ll work.’ I thought as I smirked. Oh, these kids were going to be Myst’s nightmare here, I just knew it.

“Her name’s Myst. Maybe it’s because of her super-shyness or something. But don’t get too excited, I haven’t seen her disappear into thin air just yet.” I answered, and most of small crowd began whispering to each other as they began planning on how to approach her later. A few though, seemed a little disappointed she couldn’t disappear into thin air.

As much as talking to these kids was happily getting my mind off things, I really needed to plan our next move. Unless this place needed my help (which wasn’t likely, considering how well off this place looked), we had to get moving as soon as Skyfire was capable of moving around again.

“So, kids, listen. I need to go find my friends, so we can talk about…important stuff. Do you know where they are?” I asked, and the entire crowd smiled at me. The two twins drew themselves up, one of them pointing further into the large settlement.

“To Myst!” He shouted, and everyone cheered their approval. At once the crowd began moving away at a quick pace, in the direction of a group of non-makeshift looking structures near a larger road. Despite the fact that they were just short of galloping, all I had to do to keep up with them was walk. A detail that slightly surprised me.

‘Am I really that big?’ I wondered. Sure, back in the stable I was one of the bigger stallions. But I never really got to compare myself in terms of size to a foal, unlike with all the other adults and zebras. And, now that I was able to, I came onto the conclusion that I really was as large as I thought.

We passed through the streets and in between shop stalls, the customers and merchants seeming visibly annoyed by the children. At the sight of me, though, they removed all signs of being disturbed and the shop owners instead offered to sell me some of their stuff for a discount. I declined for two reasons: one, I didn’t want their stuff, and two, Myst had just about all of our caps. All I had on me was…a dozen caps.

As we continued on and got closer to the buildings, I saw what looked like a vehicle hovering several dozen feet up in the distance. Whether or not it was Zaita, I didn’t know. I also managed to see five feet high concrete walls surrounding the Verge, with wooden platforms near them where guards would mount machineguns. I couldn’t see the gate, though. It was probably on the road, which was hidden from me by all the makeshift structures. There was also a small river running from somewhere outside the settlement which snaked through the middle of the place, giving people quick access to water. Though, whether or not it was clean, I didn’t quite know.

At last, we reached a small, one-floored concrete structure in a depression in the terrain. The children amassed at the door, grinning at it in anticipation.

‘This is probably where Myst is.’ I thought, and slowly started for the door. Just as I reached it though, all the children yelled out.

“MYST! Please come out!” They said it with a tone of pleading , putting a small smile on my face at their little voices. It was a nice break from all the other sounds I had heard the past days, especially Zaita’s ludicrous large storage of elevator music. Myst poked her head out for a split second, before darting back inside with an ‘eep’.

“Myst, come out. The children just want to get to know you, and I need to talk to you.” I said, and she poked her head out again, looking over the small crowd with such an expression of such fear that I thought she might have dug into the ground just to avoid them. Despite her looking like she was frozen, she managed to look at me.

“Please tell them to go away. Please. There’s…so many.” Her voice shook, convincing me to have to disperse the crowd. With a sigh and a roll of my eyes, I turned back to the foals.

“Okay, um, kids. Listen, Myst and I need to talk about really important stuff. She said she can talk to you later, after we’re done.” I could hear Myst gasp even through the concrete, and it put another smirk on my face. The crowd took it with mixed feelings, some seeming okay with it while others looked disappointed. The group began moving away, resuming whatever it was they were doing before I got caught up with them. I knocked on the door. Slowly, it opened.

“W-why did you do that? I can’t talk to kids! Not even one at a time. I might have to stay in here for the rest of my life because of that!” She looked a little pissed off at me, but it was evident that most of her mind was thinking of ways to get out of here.

“Sorry, Myst. But I really need to talk to you.” I said in an urgent tone, and she frowned a little before opening the door a bit wider. I stepped in, and she closed the door behind me. I turned around to face her, and I saw her trotting to the corner of the building. As she sat down, eyes wide and darting to and fro, I sat down next to her.

“Okay, well, this was unexpected. What happened at the bridge, Myst? And how did we get here?” I asked, looking out the window and at the afternoon light stabbing in. But then I heard a little sniff, and turned to face her.

“Myst, why are you crying?” I asked, seeing the light’s reflection off her tears. What, did she have a bad dream? Maybe she needed to talk about it?

‘*cough*Which she isn’t going to do.*cough*’ Yeah, Tod? Well, you know what I’m not going to do? Listen to you, that’s what.

She didn’t answer, instead turning away from me. Did I do something? Maybe something happened while I was out? Or…maybe she was sad about leaving Road Town again? Yeah, let’s go with that.

“Listen, Myst, if this is about you feeling homesick, then I completely understand if you want to go back. I mean, I was pretty upset when I left the stable, so it’s okay with me if…” I started to say, when she turned back to me and, against all Myst-like mannerisms, held me in a tight embrace.

‘Ooookay, this is…awkward.’ I thought as I looked away at random objects, trying to distract myself from what was happening. Next to the time Skyifre did this, it was at this point that I really didn’t know what to do.

“Shut up.” She said softly, her voice quivering. She drew me in tighter, making my eyes go wide. If other people saw this, I don’t know if I could have handled the embarrassment.

“Myst… I know you’re scared. We’re getting ourselves into a whole lot of trouble. But, if you want, you can just stay here or something…” I said, as I really didn’t have anything else. I wasn’t a very social pony, okay?

“Shut up!” She yelled in a surprisingly fierce tone, slamming a hoof down on my chest plate. Okay, what was going on?

“Myst, what’s wrong? Are you hurt or something? Maybe we can get Zeneta to take a look at you.” I said, putting on a small smile. She didn’t answer immediately, holding me tighter as she continued crying.

“I…I thought you two were dead. Zaita and Zeneta said you two would be okay, but I didn’t believe them. You two looked so…so in pain on the bridge.” She sniffed, burying her face in my shoulder.

So, she was worried about ME? Why would she be worried about me? I was fine! Granted, I had lots of new scars and wounds, but I was fine! I wasn’t hurt THAT bad. Aside from a bit of pain from my wings, I felt great!

‘Okay, then. Let me just perform a little experiment…’ Said Tod, and immediately my head burst with pain for a few seconds, and I had to grit my teeth to keep myself from screaming. Okay, maybe I wasn’t COMPLETELY alright.

‘Fuck you, Tod.’ I thought back at him. Where the heck was Tom when I needed a better part of me right now?

“Look, I’m fine. I feel great! My wings aren’t broken anymore and only hurt a little, and my scars don’t hurt unless you touch them. Now, you should be worried about Skyfire. She’s in a worse state than I am. Have you even SEEN her?” This conversation was ridiculous, I was just fine!... I think. Myst just shook her head, looking down at the floor.

“You’re not fine. Skyfire's not the only one who nearly died, okay? Maybe you don't care about that, or maybe you do. All I know is that I’m going to be sticking closer to you from now on. If you two get in trouble, I want to be there.” She said sternly, a tone I never really heard much from her. Speaking of them staying with me…

“Myst… about that. I… I don’t think you two should come with me.” I said, feeling a little pained at my own words.

“What?” Myst raised her head up, looking at me with wide, confused eyes. I sighed.

“Myst, in just a few days, I have gotten you and Skyfire, and even Zaita, into near-death situations. And we aren’t even deep in the city yet, just imagine what it’ll be like when we are. I can’t bring you three to your demise because of my own personal goal.” There, I said it. Now, if she could just leave it at that and let me go on alone, this wouldn’t be weighing down on me anymore…

“B-but why?” She asked, seeming hurt by my words.

“Because I don’t want people to die because of me. I don’t want people to follow me around, and get killed for it. I want to protect these people, not bring them to an early grave. I want to protect you, protect Skyfire, and Zaita. I don’t want people to sacrifice for my sake.” I didn’t care what I might have faced in the city, as long as others got to live. I wanted them to live, to be able to do good on their own. After all, a whole population of do-gooders was better than just one me. I looked down at the ground, and closed my eyes. I had finally said it.

Myst didn’t answer for a moment, instead thinking about what I said. She got up, and looked out the window for a bit. Maybe she was taking a look at her new home? If she was, then good. She could have a good life here, instead of the horrible one she would have following me around. She trotted back to me.

“No.” She said simply.

“No? No what? No…I want to go back to my old home, instead of staying here?” I asked, feeling confused.

“No, I won’t leave you. Goldwreath, in just a few days, you’ve shown that you’re willing to throw yourself into danger to help people. You’ve shown that you’re willing to sacrifice what you have, even your life, to make sure people get a second chance. People like you are just what the wasteland needs, and it would be a crime to say otherwise.” She sat down next to me, and smiled.

‘Aw, hell no.’ I thought, already getting an idea of where this was going.

“I’m not going to leave you because you genuinely want to help people. Because you don’t care who it is, or what they’ve done. I’ve seen you want to give people second chances, even if it’s hard. And, whether you like it or not, I’m not leaving. And I don’t think Skyfire and Zaita would leave, either. We want to help you. We are your friends after all.” She took in a breath, and said the sentence that I would later on in my journeys question over and over.

“Because you’re a good pony.” Wait, what? Since when?

“If I was a good pony, then I would have been able kick that zebra’s ass and maybe Skyfire wouldn’t be in so much pain right now! If I was a good pony, I would have been able to stop her from murdering that Legionnaire! If I was a good pony, then I could have saved Lighthouse from being killed, instead of looking at museum pieces!” I shouted, much to her surprise. She jumped up at the volume of my voice, and took several slow steps away. I glared at her for a moment, but not out of hate. I took several deep breaths, before I turned my head away from her in shame.

“If I was a good pony I wouldn’t be bringing the people I care for to danger. If I was a good pony, I wouldn’t be feeling so… wrong right now.” I closed my eyes, and slumped against the wall. I felt tired again, even though I had slept for practically a whole day. Myst approached me carefully, and sat down.

“Goldwreath, good ponies don’t have to be perfect. They make mistakes, too. Mistakes that can be small, or really big. But what makes them good is that they don’t lose themselves to the pain; that they still stay the same, no matter what they go through. What makes them good is that they don’t become monsters, even if that’s what the wasteland turns everyone into. What makes them good is that they keep doing good, even after their mistakes.” She said, and this time I decided to give it some thought.

‘I’m a good pony? But… but I nearly got my friends killed! What kind of friend does that? Weren’t friends supposed to protect and care for one another, and not get each other killed?’ I asked myself.

‘Yes, that’s what friends do. And this is her showing she cares for you. This is her way of making sure you don’t throw yourself into the fire alone. After all, friends stick together.’ Oh, so now you show up? Still, thanks, Tom. I really appreciate it.

“Ugh… are you sure about this? There’s no telling what we’ll find once we go into the city.” I asked, hoping to get confirmation on this. She nodded her head once, and smiled.

“I’m sure.” Okay, fine. Despite myself, I could feel a small smile form on my face. Why was I smiling? This was horrible! She was going with me into the most dangerous place I ever knew! Nevertheless, the smile managed to fully form on my face.

“I still don’t like it, but fine. I can’t force you to stay, I guess. It’s just…I don’t want to get you three killed.” This was my last, desperate bid to make her stay. My mind was conflicted at this point, one part feeling relieved that they were coming with me and the other still wanting them to stay here where they could be safe.

“I know you don’t. But if you go alone, then you’ll die for sure. And as your friends, we can’t let that happen.” I smiled at her, feeling thankful for her words. Even if they were still going with me, at least I wouldn’t be alone.

“Alright. Well…thanks. That means a lot, really. But, enough of that. Now, if you really are coming with me, we really should get started on planning our next move. Now, where the heck is Zaita…” I started to say, when I heard the humming of an engine start on the roof of the building. The humming moved, now coming from right outside the building, in front of the door. After wards, Zaita’s camera appeared outside the window, looking at us.

Yes. I will not leave you, as well. Also, I heard my name. Something about planning?” Was all she said. After the heart-to-heart chat with Myst, it was refreshing to hear Zaita's simple words. I looked at Myst, who’s cheeks were burning up. Apparently, she had meant only me to hear her words.

“Zaita, were you listening to all that?” I asked, and I saw Myst pull her hood over her head out of embarrassment. I had to admit, after that conversation, it was nice to see the Myst I was more familiar with. Even if she did look like she wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Yes. I was curious as to what you two were speaking about, so I listened.” I arced a brow at her skeptically.

It is a decision I do not regret.” She said with just a hint of defensiveness. Heh, if it were anyone else who said that, I would have given them a painful lecture about respecting people’s privacy. But, as it was Zaita, who seemed to be even more worse off than me when it came to being a sociable being, I guess I could make an exception.

“Okay, then. Now, about planning; it seems we’ve got to stay here until Skyfire wakes up. So, until then, we should probably look for something useful to do.” I said, and Myst began thinking. However, it was Zaita who spoke up first.

Well, there is one thing that might be useful. And this might be the only time we will be able to accomplish it.” Oh really, Zaita? And what could that be?

“And, just what is that?” I asked, now feeling curious as to just what this was. Myst seemed like she wanted to know, too.

Perhaps it is best to discuss this inside the cockpit. It is not a wise decision to let people hear what we’re planning.” True enough, Zaita.

“Alright. Come on, Myst.” We both got out of the building, my eyes painfully trying to adjust to the sudden light, and we climbed onto the vehicle and got inside.

“Okay, so… um, what’s this thing we can only do while we’re here?” Myst asked, her own curiosity for once overcoming her social discomfort.

Well…” Zaita started explaining, and we just listened.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

"...so, just let me get this, what EXACTLY do the updates do again?" I asked, still feeling a little bit confused. And, from the looks of it, Myst looked like her brain had been smacked with a brick. Heh, that makes us both, I guess.

Okay, so, apparently Zaita's software had 'updates' available that could only be accessed from a certain location. And what sucked was that we had to go there during the night. Something about 'less danger percentage' or some shit. As for the updates themselves, she told us what they did, but the complex words she used hurt my screwed up brain.

Well, I didn't really have a problem with that; I had gotten the whole day to sleep, after all. Myst, though, would have to rest the whole time. Well, it wasn't dark just yet. Maybe we could explore a bit before we left.

"As I said, the updates will give me better logic thinking and more accurate percentage calculations, as well allow me a greater degree of control over the vehicle's movement. Physically, the update stations came with spare parts and ammo, which, hopefully, is still there. My software will be updated remotely, while my hardware will be updated depending on whether or not the facilities are still functional. This update is also necessary, as the vehicle is heavily damaged. And, after our encounter near the bridge, my platform needs as much repair as possible before we go into the city. Hopefully, the place is not completely destroyed." Ugh... fine. Better control sounded good, anyway. And the repairs, that was the part that caught my attention the most. Hopefully, they would also prevent another instance of getting stuck in the side of a building.

"Okay, so, that's it? Anything else you're not telling us?" I asked a little suspiciously. She may have saved our lives, but giving a machine that much control might be dangerous. Especially if that machine was our one source of transport, and armed with a 25mm cannon.

"Well... as long as it keeps us out of weird situations. Like when we were upside down..." Myst said, closing her eyes tight as if trying to banish the memory of being stuck under a ton of rubble.

“Is there really nothing else we can do while we’re here?” I asked, feeling like I didn’t want to do this. It’s not that having a smarter, faster, fully operational and optimized Zaita wasn’t going to be useful. It’s just that, well, was this really the best way to spend our time here? Didn’t these people need help or something? Sure, they seemed well off, but everyone needed help in the wasteland. Hell, even that zebra dude I hated so much said so.

Not really. Unless you want to spend days just trotting around, there’s really not much much to do here aside from purchasing supplies and making friends.” Uhh…Zaita, I may not be a very social pony, but I’m pretty sure that making friends is important.

“Well, I’ll see if there really is nothing else to do here. It’s… 5:32 PM. I’ll go around for a bit, see if there’s anything else. If not, well… we’ll go, I guess.” Was this really the only thing to do here?

“Oh, um, where is this place, anyway?” Myst asked, much to my surprise. I wasn’t surprised because she asked a sensible question, I was glad for that. I was surprised because I wasn’t the one who asked. Maybe my brain was shutting down? Well, if it was, I knew which split personality to blame it on.

It is the Zebra Scientific Institution’s Roam-area HQ. Calculating from a number of sources and factors, there is a fair 53% chance of the structure being intact. It is approximately 34 miles away, to the east. If we leave soon, and if we do not encounter too much trouble, we may be back by tomorrow morning.” Zebra Scientific Institution? Was that where Maladus was going to say he worked? Ugh…MORE QUESTIONS! And so much for trying to not get sidetracked. How long were we going to stay here?

“Alright, fine. Just give me a while to… I don’t know, get some ammo? A pistol and a revolver with a total of just eight shots isn’t really a comfortable number.” Speaking of the revolver, it was in my saddlebags. I pulled it out and took a look at it.

It was a very worn looking weapon, and it showed through the many scratches and all the dirt smeared all over it. It was a fairly large gun, with a metal mouthgrip and wooden hoof handle. I couldn’t shoot for shit with my hooves, but the mouthgrip was comfortable enough. As I looked down the sights, I saw the light reflecting off small, more substantial and more purposed looking scratches which seemed to be forming something. I took a closer look.

‘Vengeance’ was engraved into the metallic barrel, the letters looking crude and rough. If it weren’t for the dirt that had found its way into the engraving, I don’t think I would have been able to spot it on the gun at all.

‘Yeah, when I spot that zebra again, I’m going to give him a good shot in the face.’ I growled, feeling my anger coming up again. As with all my other emotions, I stuffed that in storage, as well. I wanted to be as angry as possible when I kicked that guy’s flank.

I began trotting back out of the vehicle, and Myst curled up onto the seats. She let out a tired sigh, and placed her head on her forehooves. Oh, wait. There was one last thing…

“Oh, Myst, I’m going to need to borrow some caps. Unlike you, I’m not really keen on looting.” I felt a little guilty at disturbing her, but she didn’t seem to mind. She dug through her saddlebags, and pulled out a few cloth pouches. The noise of the caps came from inside, surprising me at just how much money we had. Now, if I could just get better at looting, I wouldn’t have to ask her each time I needed some…

“Thanks.” I said as I took the pouches and stuffed them in my vest’s pockets. She curled up again, and this time I didn’t disturb her. The lights of the cockpit went out, leaving only Zaita’s screen lit up. I went to the back of the vehicle, and climbed out of the hatch.

Wow, that’s… a lot of lights. All of the Verge was alight, countless candles and light bulbs lit up in all directions. The shops and stalls were still in business, and there seemed no shortage of customers. The sounds of vehicles came from all around, their engines mixing with the noise of the people making the place seem almost as awake as it was during the day.

“Wow. Doesn’t this place turn in for the night or something?” I asked, but I think I already knew the answer. Next to the pictures of Roam I saw, this place seemed like the most self-sufficient place in the whole wasteland. I got off the vehicle, and counted out my caps.

‘150 caps, huh?’ I felt a grin forming on my face, and I turned towards the hub of activity around here: a group of concrete structures surrounded by several makeshift buildings with a high concentration of shops. There was a wheeled, non-hovering, more heavily armored APC in the area, it’s turret swinging around and watching the crowd.

You know, one thing that really disturbed me about Roam was the extremely common presence of vehicles. You'd think the apocalypse would've rendered all automobiles non-functional. Did Equestria have this many functional vehicles? For some reason, I highly doubted it.

“Well, this isn’t going to be so bad.” I said, and I took in a deep breath. The night air was cool, and not an artificial cool, either. I looked up at the sky, and I saw the moon surrounded by a near-perfect halo of clouds. In between the gaps in the clouds, I could see the soft twinkling of the stars.

“Well, let’s see what this place has to offer.” And with that, I trotted towards the hustle and bustle of the Verge’s night life.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

Ok, maybe this WAS as bad as I thought! Everywhere I went, people and merchants would flock to me. The merchants would offer to sell me goods at a discount (though I suspect they were just saying that) and the people seemed to have an endless barrage of questions that 'needed' answering.

'All I wanted to do was buy some ammo!' I thought as looked at all the people following me everywhere. At least the salespeople would return to their stalls after a while, but the customers seemed to have nothing better to do than follow me around and 'silently' talk about me behind my back.

Also, it turns out this place wasn't quite as well off as I thought. Everywhere I looked, there were people lying down on the streets, some having large numbers of empty syringes near them. The areas around them stunk, and my 'followers' seemed to try to avoid them. A great number of those people looked like they didn't care about what was going on, and honestly I would have preferred them over the people watching my every move!

"Come, come! Shotgun shells and .44 bullets for only 5 caps each! Cheapest price you'll get in the Verge, and definitely better than what you'll get in the city!" Yelled one zebra mare merchant, and I trotted towards her. At least her deals sounded better than that of the others, but if she tried sneaking caps out of me just like the them...

"Is that so?" I asked, looking over her wares. I wasn't the only one, as a few ponies and zebras from the crowd who seemed like they were actually here for the goods trotted up and took a look as well.

"Oh, yes! Ammo like this is of great abundance in the city, but the place is a warzone! Between the Legion, the scavengers, the city's defenses, the Specters, and any other gang with guns, the city proper's alight with gunfire almost all the time!" She shooed some of the crowd away, giving me some room to breathe. They walked away with expressions that told me they were walking away because they didn't want to get hurt, but why?

Two guards in old, black combat armor trotted up, their weapons slung to the side. One was a zebra the other a pony. They both seemed to be mercenaries of a sort, as their uniforms were almost completely identical. Though, I didn't really know whom they are with.

"I mean, just look at that place!" The merchant said, pointing a hoof behind me. I turned around and looked.

The majority of the city was clearly visible, what with all the large flames that even from this distance could be seen. The fires caused an unnatural looking glow of orange over the place, which only served to make the city look even more hellish. The flashes of explosions and the small streaks of rockets whizzed all over, up and down, left and right. Grain-sized specks of light appeared and landed in different areas of the city with a small detonation. Large caliber rounds fired up into the air, causing the occasional explosion and small fire to light up and crash towards the ground. To my amazement, bolts of lightning shot out from the roof of a large structure and struck the ground near it. As I watched, a huge orange streak erupted from the mountains, the sound of the bullet audible even from this far out. The streak struck the building with a bright explosion which caused the building’s collapse, and the fiery impact made visible the surrounding structures.

The black thunder clouds to the south were even more worrying, even if the red lightning hadn't struck down since yesterday. What was worse, the clouds had an even more ominous and foreboding blood-red glow underneath them. And, worse still, it almost seemed like the red light came together to form what looked like red tendrils, which then danced around like fire underneath the shadowy forms of the clouds above. In the distance, I saw small points of light, most likely vehicles, slowly moving in on the clouds.

"What's the hell's going on with this place?" I asked, looking at the clouds, then back at the city. What the fuck was going on here? Was this place the very incarnation of hell or something? This city looked like it had seen nothing but war for the past two centuries!

"Well, that's just it; nobody knows. I mean, we've always seen fighting in the city, but never like this. Ever since the Legion showed up out of nowhere months back, the city's been hell. That 'fire from the sky thing' started, blasting away entire buildings. Then the Specters showed up, all the way from Canterium. Then Redeye showed up, then the black clouds. Roam is in a really bad place right now, and all the fighting isn't making it any better. Hell, this place is even worse off than some place called Hoofington in Equestria!" She yelled, seeming greatly distressed by all this.

"Are you sure? This place looks pretty well off." I asked, feeling a bit confused. Actually, the settlements I've seen so far were pretty well supplied. Road Town had a seemingly infinite supply of alcohol (though where they get it still baffles me), and the Verge looked like it was a small city! The zebra laughed a little; a mirthless and sad laugh.

"Heh, that's just because we're far out. The Legion doesn't come up here, they're much too busy trying to seize control of Roam. But if you go IN the city, you won't see even a single settlement that doesn't have at least half of them blown to bits, kidnapped, enslaved, starving, sick, or just plain lost. This whole place, this area Roam is built on, is a fucking death trap. Of course, it isn't so bad in the rest of the Zebra Nation. Bactanium's fine, and the Legion has absolutely no presence there whatsoever. The Gaulian plains are okay, and that's actually where most of this nation's population are trying to get to. In truth, more people have died here in Roam than almost all the rest of the nation combined." She looked wistful, like she wanted to go there. I couldn't really blame her. Looking around me at what was happening to Roam, I considered myself the dumbest pony in the world for taking on this job in the first place.

"So why don't people just leave?" I asked, and I saw the guards scattering the remaining on-lookers. The APC's turret swung to them, but turned away a bit later.

"Because they can't. More than just a few have tried, but there are more dangers plaguing this place than what you can see. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE that hasn't tried to leave via aircraft, like the Legion has, gets killed. By what, nobody knows." Oh, great! So, massive artillery batteries in the mountains, dictatorial military group with tanks, shadowy assassins with a philosophy about death and pain, a mysterious phenomenon going on to the south, two signals that screw around with our heads, and mysterious killers that stop people from leaving.

'This is a fucking nightmare.' I thought as I facehoofed, taking in the large number of things I was going up against. Honestly, if I had known about all this several days ago, I wouldn’t have signed up for this!

"Well, it isn't that bad." The merchant said with a cheery tone.

"And why is that?" I asked, removing the hoof from my face. If that wasn’t bad, I don’t know what is.

"Well, all the danger is making people buy more ammo. And that means more caps for people like me." She said with a cheeky grin. Well, even if that was a bit... exploitive, at least some good was coming from all this. Still, that just sounded wrong.

"Riiight. So, uh...can I buy some ammo now?" I asked, feeling like I had to take the conversation to a different direction. The zebra's eyes popped wide in excitement.

"Please do!" She said, and pulled out a few boxes of ammo.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

After I had finished my purchases, which amounted to a total of a hundred and five caps for twenty six .44 rounds (apparently, the heavy pistol and Vengeance used the same ammo, so I just sold the heavy pistol), I began exploring again. The merchant was generous enough to let one of her guards accompany me and keep another crowd from following me around. I could do that myself, but I accepted. Considering the number of people who seemed like they wanted to swarm me, I thought it wise to accept her offer.

I saw a small structure, mostly made of sheet metal and wooden planks. There was light coming from within, and the laughter of ponies and zebras. The smell of alcohol was present, as well. I smiled, as I couldn't really help but think of a certain drunk pony. Heh, if he were here now, he'd probably empty the place's alcohol supply.

I trotted inside, and was greeted by the sight of people talking and laughing as they drank from their mugs. There was music, mostly from a violin, playing from an old jukebox in the corner of the room. At my entrance, most of the patrons looked at me suspiciously. Some even stiffened and eyed their weapons -- like one of those generic cowboy movies where everyone looks at the new arrival suspiciously. I made sure Vengeance was ready, just in case. These people looked like the most they were capable of was pick-pocketing or drunken brawls, but I wouldn’t underestimate their potential threat.

I trotted towards the counter, and the guard decided to go and mingle with the crowd. The people didn’t seem to mind him, what with most of their attention focused on me. As I approached, the bartender looked at me with a slightly nervous expression. I reached the counter and sat down.

“So, uh, what’ll you have?” He asked, trying to suppress his stammering. Seriously, what was with people stammering around me? Did I look scary or something?

“If you have water, I’ll take some of that.” I said, only now noticing just how parched I felt.

“That’s the good stuff. It’ll cost you twenty caps.” Twenty caps? I may not have been very intelligent about wasteland economy, but I think that might have been a little over-priced…

“Fifteen caps.” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. He glared back, placing his forehooves onto the counter. After a moment, his glare wavered and he grit his teeth.

“Uh…seventeen caps.” He looked a little desperate. Almost too desperate. Almost artificial…

“Sixteen caps.” I said, not letting his facial expression cut him too much slack. Sixteen seemed the perfect balance between not feeling guilty and not letting him get away with taking too many caps from me.

“Fuck…” He muttered, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he slowly trotted to the back of the room. While he was away, I brought out sixteen caps from one of the pouches. When he came back, a bottle of water in his hooves, I placed the caps on the table.

I took the bottle, opened it and taking a few gulps. The guard was talking with the people, taking some of their attention off of me. I spotted a zebra stallion sitting in a corner, wearing a weathered brown Kevlar vest and a gray shirt underneath. On the ground next to him was a backpack, with a rifle strapped to it. He saw me looking at him, and he gestured me to come over. I made sure vengeance was just a quick draw away, and carefully went over to him. I sat down on the chair opposite of him.

"You're that Praetorian dude, right?" He asked, looking at me with questioning eyes.

"Yeah. Why, something you need?" Maybe he'd give us something else to do aside from getting Zaita updated. I grinned in excitement, listening in on what he was going to say next.

"Well, I don't need anything. YOU, though, could use some help." He said before taking a drink from his mug.

"What do you mean? You mean physically? In that regard, I'm more or less fine." I responded, feeling some of my excitement turn to confusion.

"You're going into the city, right? Bad idea. But I heard you were going up against the Legion. That true?" He asked, leaning on the table and looking at me critically. Like he was ready to analyze my next statement for inconsistencies.

"Yeah, I am. From what I've seen of them, the Legion are a terror to this city. Instead of using their power to help out, their using it to destroy and dominate. I can't let people like that take control." I answered earnestly. The zebra leaned back onto his seat, thinking about it.

"Well, if you are, there are probably some things you should know. I've heard a lot about you; sparing slavers and Legionnaires. Conversing with Legion officers like friends. Taking people you barely know into your little group..." He said the last sentence with a bit of hesitation, as if he were worried I might get mad and punch him or something.

"Yeah, so? Just cut to the chase. What's the advice?" My hopes of him giving me an alternate task went out the window the moment he brought up entering the city, so I didn't have quite as much enthusiasm about talking to this guy as I had before.

"My advice is that you don't be so trusting. Making friends is all well and nice, but for all your achievements; clearing out a Legion base, taking out Specters, and getting across a bridge with an Omni-tank chasing you, you're soft. You're too nice, too forgiving." He leaned in close, staring me in the eye.

"You're going to have to learn to kill without regret. Cause, Praetorian or not, the city isn't going to cut you slack. It isn't going to slow down and wait for you to catch your breath. It'll chew you up unless you stay one step ahead. And the only way to do that is to do what you'll have to: kill." I stared at him with wide eyes, then a frown formed on my face. Yippee, ANOTHER guy with a philosophy about pain and death.

"I know I'll have to, I really do. But I won't kill unless it's necessary. And even then, I'll always look for an alternative." At my words, the zebra sighed shook his head in disappointment.

"That's exactly what I mean. Don't you get it? There are NO alternatives! That attitude might get you respect for a while, but then it'll come back and bite you in the flank. In the city, and even out here, it's kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest, death of the weakest. Predator or prey. Just being in there is going to be a fight where every decision you make will either get you and your 'friends' killed, or let you live another day." I didn't know what to say. These were basically the same ideas that Specter guy told me about on the bridge, except in different form and without all the stuff regarding pain. What was worse, I started to get angry at this guy. Maybe it was my anger towards that other zebra, or maybe this was yet another guy I would get pissed off at, but I knew anger when I felt. I was about to shout out my response, even though I hadn't quite formed one through the fog of my anger, when the guard trotted up to us.

"Hey, who are you? I've never seen you around here before." The guard said as he came over to us, getting the zebra's attention.

"Oh, I'm just a traveler. Have been for years. I was just talking with Roam's defender about the city, is all." The zebra said with a calm smile and casual tone. Considering the serious nature of his previous statements, the sudden change in his tone made me suspicious about him, which didn't mix well with how much I wanted to buck this guy in the nuts. People that talked about killing like it was a necessity just didn't bode well with me.

"Yeah? Well, you're attracting more attention to this guy than my employer pays me to allow. So, I suggest you leave him alone. Or else." The guard brought his weapons to bear to emphasize his point. The zebra looked at him disappointedly, yet got off the chair and picked up his backpack off the ground.

"Fine. No need for violence." He said as he turned to face me. Funny, just a few moments ago he was talking about the necessity of violence.

"Think about what I said, Praetorian. It'll save your life one day." He began trotting out of the bar, the guard and the crowd watching him as he went. Though I wasn't quite sure of it, I thought I saw something on his shirt. It looked like... a circular logo, but the majority of it was hidden by his vest.

"Who was that guy?" The guard asked after the zebra had gotten outside. With him gone, the crowd had once again turned their attention to me.

"Don't know. He didn't tell me his name." I responded, still trying to process all of what had just happened. Who exactly was that guy? Another Specter? If so, did all Specters have a philosophy about killing and death and pain? What a nice-sounding bunch.

I had decided to go back to Myst and Zaita, as it was almost seven. If what Zaita said was true, it would take a fairly long while to get there, get the job done, and get back. And I wanted to be back as soon as possible, just in case Skyfire woke up. We still had a long way to go to get to the Forum, after all.

* * * Magnus et Potens Roamanus * * *

"Zaita, take us to the hospital. I need to check up on Skyfire before we leave," I told her, and immediately the vehicle's engine hummed in activation. The only illumination in here came from Zaita's screen and what light seeped in from outside. Myst had fallen asleep, curled up on the seats with her hood over her head. She seemed to have taken the time to clean up the inside, as all of the spilled contents of the supply box were now back inside.

"Very well," Was all she said, and the vehicle began hovering the distance to the hospital. Along the way, I managed to spot that zebra guy from the bar purchasing from one of the vendors. For some apparent reason, he was buying a LOT of .44 rounds and more assault rifle ammo than I thought he could possibly carry.

We reached the hospital, the glow of light coming from within. Zaita got onto the ground, and I saw a small icon appear on the screen. It looked like the rays of the sun striking a simple outline of the APC. Perhaps she was gathering energy? Before I got out, I turned to Myst.

"Zaita, you think I should wake her up? So she can see Skyfire before we leave?" I asked.

"It depends. Logically, there is no point, as Skyfire cannot hear what you two will be saying. Unless she is awake, which is unlikely. From a psychological perspective, though-..." Okay, I didn't really need a lecture.

"Come on, Zaita. Yes or no? We really should get going soon, and I really don't want to hear any complicated words."

"Yes. Considering how concerned she was about your welfare, it is probably a good idea to let her speak to Skyfire. Perhaps it will take some of the psychological stress off of her." Now, that's the answer I was looking for.

"Alright, thanks. Hopefully your updates will make you cut to the chase more." I started towards Myst, and was about to wake her up when Zaita interrupted.

"Actually, they will. You see, this article explains the inner workings of my programming and how the updates will affect my higher thinking functions and therefore-..." Okay, okay, I get it.

"That's exactly what I mean. You don't really have to throw all those extra details in. Sometimes a direct answer is more appropriate." I thought AI's were supposed to know things like this, yet here I was lecturing a computer screen!

"Ah, I see. Very well. I will divert some processing power to analyze your statement." Another icon of a brain with lightning striking it appeared. With an annoyed roll of my eyes, I shook Myst until she woke up.

"Hey, Myst. We're about to leave, and I thought you might want to say a few things to Skyfire before we go." Her eyes opened slowly, then turned to me.

"Oh, um, thanks. You're right, I really do have a few things to say to her before we go." She got up, stretched, and then yawned. After, we both got out of the vehicle.

We trotted the short distance to the door, and I pushed it open. I saw Zeneta sitting on a chair, taking down notes and watching the monitor. When she noticed us, she immediately stopped whatever she was doing and came over to us.

"Your friend is still in a bad way. The wound in her stomach is still healing, and chances of tetanus are substantial. Hopefully, the medicines we gave her earlier will localize the condition, should it occur. But, as I said, she'll live." She went back over to the chair and sat down. Myst seemed troubled by that, looking at the ground with a small frown.

"Thanks, Zeneta. When do you think she'll wake up? Because we really need to get going as soon as possible." I asked, and the doctor thought about it for a moment.

"Well, she's a healthy and strong pony. Blood production will occur quickly, and brain damage is likely to be minimal, if none at all. All-in-all, most likely some time from now until after tomorrow." Well, that was good to hear. At least we wouldn't be here that long, as I didn't quite have anything to do here. And I was sure Myst wouldn't want to spend too long being chased around by kids.

"Alright, thanks. Now, we're going to say a few things before we leave for somewhere. Could you give us a few minutes?"

"Of course." She got up and went outside, blinking her eyes rapidly and shaking her head. Well, maybe these people did get tired after all.

"Hey Skyfire." I said to her unconscious form.

"We're going somewhere first, we won't be long. You get better, okay? We need you... more than you think." I thought about the city, with it's hellish orange glow and all the fighting I saw going on.

"And I don't want you to take another doctor hostage, alright? Not like last time. I'd hate to have to take you down again." Some of my guilt was oozing out of it's storage, and I couldn't help but sigh.

"Again, I'm sorry this happened to you. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just...just did. I hope I can make it up to you, somehow." A thought occurred to me, and I let out a little chuckle.

"Heh, maybe you can buck me upside the head until you feel better, huh? That'll make us even. And maybe, in the process, you'll get rid of my split personalities. Wouldn't that be great?" I chuckled again, before I saw the massive scar where the car door had stabbed into her stomach. It was an ugly thing, like one of the disgusting growths I saw on that huge octopus.

"I'm...again I'm... sorry. Just...just sorry." I said lamely. It was pathetic. Here, the friend of mine whom I'd caused the most pain and suffering, and who might have gotten a dangerous medical condition, was lying down, and all I could say was 'sorry'? What kind of a fucking apology was that? Hell, I should be letting that wheeled APC run over my leg before I could even trot up to her and say I was sorry.

I couldn't bring myself to look at her any longer, as the guilt and self-loathing I had tried to keep in storage had gotten out. So, I turned away and let Myst take her turn. I sat down on the bed I had been in, and strained my ears to listen in on what she was saying. For several minutes, the only thing I heard was wordless whispering, like Myst was just making weird noises with her mouth. About halfway in, I heard what sounded like sobbing. Amidst her whispering and supposed crying, the only things she said that I got was something regarding 'good pony' and 'get better'.

Finally, she turned to me and wiped a few tears off her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, confirming my suspicion that she had been crying for the majority of her talking. What, did she blame herself for Skyfire being in this condition? Because if she did, then I'd have to find some way to convince her otherwise.

'What can she possibly have to blame herself for? It was my plan, and that plan nearly got us all killed! She shouldn't be blaming herself.' I thought, feeling even more guilty now than I did before. Myst blaming herself for this, or even just taking some of the fault, made about as much sense as throwing a rock at the ground and expecting the sky to explode.

"You done?" I asked carefully, not wanting to make the already fragile-looking Myst burst into tears again. If there's one thing I wanted right now, it was having to comfort her for the entire duration of the trip.

"Yup." She said softly as she nodded, and we began trotting back outside. After we had exited the building, Zeneta went back in. We climbed onto the APC and got in, and at once Zaita's engine powered up.

"So, we are ready to leave?" Zaita asked as Myst curled up again while I approached the screen.

"Yeah. Let's get on with it."

"Very well. I will pla-" She started, but already knew what she was going to say.

"And not more elevator music, please. If I have to listen to all two-thousand five-hundred seventy four tracks, I think I'll go insane." I said just as 'Elevator 71' appeared on screen. Seriously? Only seventy-one had played? It felt like I had listened to more than half of that stuff!

"Oh. Very well." She sounded a little surprised, and a little disappointed. Don't tell me she actually LIKED that music.

We hovered all the way to the nearest exit: a gated gap in the wall with guards. After we had told them we were going to be gone for less than a day, they let us through. Now, in front of us, lay the vast open plains of the wasteland. Aside from the city to the north, the road beneath us was the only sign of civilization on the wide open space.

"Alright. Let's get those updates." I said aloud, and we started hovering into the night.







Footnote: Level Up
New perk gained: Smart Shopper, Level One -- You know enough to not let yourself be manipulated, though you've still got work to do. You gain an additional five points to your barter skill.