The day to day struggles of a trio of friends, one unicorn and two earth ponies. Because not everyone in Equestria can be a Littlepip.
Ivory Night, Jackpot Comet, and Thunder Hooves are stallions who pride themselves on their friendship. Despite their differences, backgrounds, and personalities they've made a living. At least as much of a living as an ex-Stable Dweller, ex-merchant, and sufferer of heeves can out in the wasteland.
This story chronicles the daily struggles of these three friends. As much as war never changes, friendship is always in flux. Maybe their day-to-day lives will have more of an impact than anyone could ever guess. Including themselves.
Ivory Night woke to the sound of a crackling fire but for all the caps in the Wasteland, he couldn’t force himself out of his bedroll. He was warm, comfortable, and his body hadn’t started to argue with him yet. All rarities in everyday life.
Without changing position, Ivory cracked one bleary eye open, seeing only the tumultuous grey sky above. It was damp, and cool. Bet anything it’ll rain today.
“You awake or just checking that you still exist?”
“Is ‘yes’ an acceptable answer?” Ivory asked, his voice scraping against his throat.
Thunder chuckled dryly, “It’s good enough. Oatmeal won’t be ready for a few minutes yet, so you can sleep for a while.”
“Comet isn’t awake?”
“No surprisingly. I thought the smell of the oatmeal would’ve woken him by now.”
Ivory offered a crooked smile, “Must have worn him out with all the hills yesterday.”
“I’m still surprised you managed the rough terrain okay, I was worried I’d have to carry you.”
Ivory sighed, shutting his eye again, “It’s a miracle. Call the cultists and tell ‘em.”
“Yeah, we’ll get right on that after breakfast. Screw going to New Neighara. We’ll just skip over to the nearest band of crazy gangers and let them know we’ve got a walking, talking, bonafide miracle on our hooves.”
“They’d flip their shit when they realized I’m the supposed miracle. Nopony would want to believe us. Except maybe some weird-ass Stable Dwellers or some shit.”
“What’s wrong with Stable Dwellers?” Comet slurred out, still clearly half asleep. His forelock was tangled helplessly around his ears, and sticking up in all directions. The sight made Thunder laugh, which caused Ivory to peer over himself to see.
“Mane-styles for one,” Ivory replied evenly, “You and your damned mane. How do you do anything with it?”
“The length makes it so I have to care for it! Unlike you two, when was the last time you brushed your manes?”
Ivory and Thunder shared a look. Ivory shrugged, and Thunder shook his head, “Dunno, kid. Probably the last time I got it cut in a settlement.”
“When was that?”
“Before he met me. Which was...what? Six, seven years ago?”
“Goddesses,” Comet face-hoofed.
Ivory shrugged, “It works for us.”
“If you go anywhere near my mane with a pair of scissors I’m going to pummel you.”
“Good luck with that.”
Comet wriggled out of his bedroll, “Ohh! Oatmeal!”
“Now he notices!” Ivory rolled his eyes, flopping back onto the ground. Shutting his eyes again, Ivory tried to lull himself into relaxing.
“Breakfast is done!”
Ivory groaned, “Not hungry.”
“Don’t care. You’re eating something.”
“No point if I puke it up in an hour.”
“Then eat half a portion. You can always eat later.”
Ivory sighed, “If I puke I blame you.”
“C’mon. Get up. We’ve gotta get going soon if we want to get to the falls before nightfall.”
Ivory grumbled, easing himself slowly upright. Thankfully, his lungs seemed to be agreeing with him, however temporarily.
“Here,” Thunder shoved a bowl in Ivory’s direction, “We’ll eat then we’ll go. There should be some good salvage along the highway if we’re careful.”
Comet nodded, eagerly digging into his breakfast, “Good idea!”
“Can we ever go anywhere without you two deciding to loot everything senseless?”
“Canterlot,” Thunder replied, “Couldn’t pay me enough to go in there.”
“That’s the old capital, right? Where the Goddesses were?”
“The princesses, yeah. There was a weird megaspell that went off within the city. It’s called the Pink Cloud. It’s seriously necromantic: it’s not good. I’d probably die before we even got into the city; breathing it in is bad, and gask masks don’t work.”
“Oh...Neighara is good enough for me. After all, we’ve been all over this area and it’s the only place I haven’t been to yet.”
“You haven’t been to lots of places,” Ivory interjected, using his spoon to push the grey oatmeal around in the bowl, “and no, we’re not going to Fillydelphia. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back there.”
“Well...no Canterlot or Fillydelphia. What about Manehatten? Or Appleloosa?”
“Ponyville is full of raiders, last I heard,” Thunder replied.
“Appleloosa isn’t much better. Better to go to New Appleloosa. They’re a little better.”
Comet nodded, already scraping up the remnants of his oatmeal, “Can we go there after New Neighara?”
“Don’t get too excited. We want to make the trip to the falls worth it. We might be there for a few weeks: it’ll depend on if the scavenging will be as good as promised.”
“What if it’s really bad up there?”
“It’s really bad everywhere,” Ivory levitated his bowl to Comet, who’d been eyeing it enviously, “just depends on your perspective.”
Comet stared down at the half-full bowl, then raised an eyebrow at Thunder. Thunder nodded reluctantly, starting to pack up his bedroll.
Ivory put out the fire, and cleaned the pot as best as he could with his magic. Hoofing it over to Thunder, he rolled up his bedroll and attached it to his saddlebags, “Alright. Let’s go. What’s your map say?”
Comet brought up his PipBuck, “Um..says here that we’re supposed to keep to the highway, then turn off an exit. The exit’ll lead us to the city.”
“Get us to the exit, and I’ll know where to go. I haven’t approached from this way before.”
“Thank Celestia, I like your PipBuck, Comet. But I don’t trust your navigational skills.”
“Hey!”
“Not your fault growing up in a Stable robbed you of common sense,” Ivory replied, a small smile blooming. Almost as soon as it appeared, the smile was gone.
Comet sighed, “Fine. Let’s go.”
“Why do you wake them up with that damned light of yours!?” Ivory shouted over the sounds of Thunder’s pistol firing.
“I need to see!” Comet retorted around his gun, doing his best to not drop it or accidentally pull the trigger with his tongue while he talked.
“We can see just fine!” Thunder shouted.
Ivory rushed out of cover, squinting hard in the dim light of the once-convenience store. Firing three times, he took three ghouls out. Two more shots from Thunder killed the last two.
Comet sighed, holstering his gun, “At least we could see them!”
“Yeah until you moved! Either keep the light on ‘em or don’t use it until the area’s cleared!”
“You haven’t argued about it before!”
“Yeah, at night!”
“Enough!” Ivory barked, coughing twice when his voice broke from how high-pitched it had suddenly gotten.
Comet guffawed, and Thunder tried to suppress a chuckle. Ivory rolled his eyes. Sighing, Ivory walked to the bodies of the ghouls, wincing at the smell, “Ugh. I’ll tackle these, you guys go check the register and what’s left of the shelves. If we’re lucky, there’s some food left. Any settlement would pay well for some good quality pre-packaged food, but if we can hold off until Tenpony.”
Thunder nodded, making his way over to the toppled shelves nearby. Comet went to the counter, rifling through the broken registers and the shelving hidden behind the counters.
Ivory didn’t find much on the ghouls: nopony did, really. Rotting cloth didn’t sell. Jewelry did, since precious metals were all the more rare, but the right buyer had to be found first. Ivory found two caps and what looked like a gold bracelet. Not much, but better than nothing.
“Not much left, but there’s lots of pre-war bits!”
“I’ve got some canned stuff; fruit, tomato soup, one can of the Colt-R-D you like so much, Comet.”
“Ooh! We don’t have to sell that, do we?”
“Can’t sell the fruit either, unless somepony is desperate. Label’s been torn off-oh found a stash of InstaMash and noodles.”
“Would it kill ponies to leave behind some more vegetables?” Comet muttered under his breath.
Ivory shot him a look, “After the megaspells fell? Yes.”
Comet’s ears flicked back, “Sorry. It’s just frustrating, it’s all.”
“It’s life,” Ivory replied.
Comet stamped a hoof, “And?! You don’t have to lie down and take everything like it doesn’t matter! We’ve eaten nothing but carbohydrates the last three days! Not even grass! Did grass even survive or are you guys just pulling my leg?! Because I don’t know!”
Ivory stared at Comet blankly, shaking his head slightly, “It’s nowhere near Neighara. Out towards Vanhoover and Ponyville. Too much radiation here-”
“The grass isn’t the point! I don’t know why you don’t care but this is ridiculous! You’ve eaten one complete meal in the last two days, and still you say you’re not hungry! What are you trying to prove?”
“I’m not proving anything.”
“Clearly not!” Comet made an exasperated noise in the back of his throat, “I don’t understand! Why can’t you care! Goddess, you’ve gotten shot and barely noticed! Are you suicidal or something?”
Thunder, who was standing out of Ivory’s line of sight, tried to signal to Comet to stop. Comet was too angry to notice.
“Because you clearly need help! Thunder cares, and so do I, but it’s like you’ve given up on having any kind of happiness at all in your life-”
Ivory chuckled, which then turned into full-on laughter. Comet’s anger fizzled, then died, staring at the other pony in shock. Comet had never heard Ivory laugh before, and this wasn’t how he’d imagined it. It was hoarse and disused, things Comet had anticipated. The laugh was sardonic, and dared any sound after it to be joyful. It was heartbreaking to hear a sound like that leave a pony.
Ivory coughed harshly, still laughing, “Remind me to never bring you to Fillydelphia, kid.”
“Why!?” Over the sound of Comet’s anger, Ivory’s laughter dissipated.
“Fillydelphia would break you.”
“How do you know that?”
“It broke me,” Ivory replied, almost too quietly for Comet to hear. Without saying anything else, Ivory plodded through the door to the dilapidated store.
Thunder sighed, “Some ponies face hard times and come out the other end with a positive outlook. Lots of times, it breaks them. It’s not an excuse, not really; we’ve all seen and done terrible things up here to live. But, it is how he got to be the pony he is now. C’mon kid, before it starts to rain again.”
Comet watched as Thunder wearily followed Ivory’s hoofsteps. Steeling himself, Comet followed after him.
The original city of Neighara Falls was one centered around a cluster of three distinct falls. What was known as the ‘Horseshoe Falls’, because of its distinct shape, was the largest and most visited. It was a major tourist attraction, which in turn molded the city around it to make everything more tourist accessible. When the megaspells hit, Neighara was one of the cities that wasn’t attacked directly.
However, because of Neighara’s popularity, pre-war and during, ponies fled the city. They were unsure of their safety. A nuclear power plant on the edge of the city didn’t have the horsepower needed to keep it running safely, and suffered a massive meltdown as the consequence. A large section of the city was heavily irradiated, and fallout soon occurred. What was left of the city’s residents fled or died in the streets, making the nearly untouched city a treasure trove to those who ‘rediscovered’ it years later. Everything was available: raw materials, technology, information, and much more. Neighara was made even more attractive because of how few feral ghouls there were.
In comparison to the rest of the wasteland, Neighara was like a paradise. So settlers decided to create a settlement as far away from the nuclear power plant as humanly possible, which was coincedently right beside the falls themselves. Harnessing unfinished technology that had been uncompleted before the megaspells dropped, the ponies of New Neighara powered their city.
It was remarkable at all how New Neighara had flourished considering the odds. New technology with little-understood mechanics, a hot-spot for gangers and raiders of all kinds, and the threats of everyday life while simply existing in the Equestrian Wasteland. In all, it was a miracle that New Neighara was still a settlement town and not some slaver hub.
As Comet listened to Thunder tell the story of New Neighara and her people, he was reminded as he often was, of his Stable. New Neighara relied on thick, strong walls, and strong ponies, to keep itself running. Comet’s Stable, Stable 43, had similar ideals.
It hadn’t always been that way, not according to the terminals and locked files Comet had broken into, but it was what Stable 43 had descended to when system failure after system failure made it more difficult for ‘weak’ ponies to survive. Comet himself was an exception to the rule: his smarts and skills had made him an asset to the Overmare.
“You okay, kid?” Thunder asked suddenly, jerking Comet out of his thoughts.
“I was just thinking about the Stable.”
“Oh yeah? Still haven’t told us much of what happened.”
“I’ll tell you about Stable 43 if you two will tell me about where you’re from.”
Ivory snorted, “Fillydelphia is a shithole ruled over by a crazed earth pony who believes in supremacy for his tribe. The worst kinds of ponies are in power, and everyone suffers the consequence.”
Comet blinked, “Really? Can’t anypony do anything?”
“Ponies have tried, but the most anypony has done is gotten themselves, or their families, killed. No point. Red Eye is too persuasive, too powerful. He knows how to root out insurrection.”
“He’s the leader?”
“Tyrant, but yes.”
“The Overmare ruled over us. She killed the previous Overmare,” Comet said suddenly, eyes downcast, “I was too little, just a colt. I don’t know exactly what happened. After that things got...rough for ponies like me.”
“Like you?”
“Not built like a truck. I have a brain.”
Ivory nodded slowly, “Fair enough. Clearly you managed though.”
Comet snorted, “Barely. I don’t think I could ever go back now, they’d kill me on sight.”
“Why?”
“I broke into the Overmare’s terminal and downloaded all her files onto my PipBuck. I snuck out of the Stable after knocking out the guard near the door. I stole supplies too. All punishable offenses.”
“Shit, kid.”
Comet shrugged, “I had to. I couldn’t stay down there anymore.”
Ivory nodded, “I know that feeling.”
“Wow. I’m so boring compared to you two. I grew up on a farm.
Ivory scoffed, “Better than Fillydelphia. Why do you think my lungs are ruined to shit?”
“Years of smoking cigarettes?” Comet prompted.
“No. That causes a whole other list of problems, and isn’t the main cause of my shitty lungs. Red Eye is using Fillydelphia to manufacture things: bullets, infrastructure, weapons. He’s trying to make it the industrial giant it was during the war. When I left, he was really only beginning to make an impact on Filly. Apparently, he’s got most of the city under hoof now.”
“So...your lungs?”
“Dirty air. Smog, smoke, cramped and filthy living conditions. Bad hay. Lots of things added together over time.”
“Oh,” Comet replied quietly.
“Hey you two, keep it sharp. Lots of fighting going on nearby, and we don’t want to get caught in anything.”
“Fair enough. Any idea on how we’re getting into the city?”
“A couple ponies will remember me from my merchant days. I could probably claim one of you as my ‘assistant’...dunno if they’d let all three of us in.”
Ivory and Thunder shared a look that made Comet feel immediately anxious.
“Manoeuvre twelve?”
“Manoeuvre twelve,” Ivory agreed.
“Do I want to know?”
“No. Just act natural.”
Comet nodded, pressing his lips together in a firm line. He’d been out of the Stable for months; but there were many things he still needed to learn. Apparently, this was one of them.
Trying to keep his cool through the trek through the ruins outside of the settlement was difficult. Distant, and not-so-distant firefights were around every corner and every back alley that could provide some cover. Picking through rubble without stepping into the middle of a firefight was difficult enough, much less trying to avoid snipers and patrols.
Thunder led the way, since he knew where he was going. Thankfully there were plenty of houses and shops to duck into to hide from moving bands of raiders and gangers. Why none of them stopped to loot houses Comet didn’t know; he was stuffing everything of value into his bags.
Thunder was too, while Ivory just rolled his eyes and kept a keen eye on the entrances. He seemed more tense than Comet had ever seen him.
Eventually, after nearly four hours of creeping, hiding, and waiting, Thunder peered around a ruined wall and smiled.
“Alright. We’re here. Careful here, there could be an ambush.”
“Just outside the gate?”
“You’d be surprised,” Ivory murmured in reply.
Comet swallowed, nodding, “Okay…”
Thunder eased out of cover, trotting over to the large gate. Comet followed after, nearly stumbling over chunks of ruined concrete. Ivory was a little more cautious, his ears swivelling around to catch any noises.
Stopping before the gate, Thunder stared up at one of the guards standing with their guns ready.
One guard in particular, her coat a dirty off-white colour. Her protective helmet masked most of her face while a black bandana covered the rest. She shuffled the bandana away from her muzzle, “Thunder Hooves!? We thought you died!”
“Takes more than an ambush to kill me!” Thunder replied, smiling up at the various guards.
The mare opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when Ivory started to cough. Stumbling and half-collapsing against Thunder for support, Ivory lifted his breathing mask up, and fumbled for one of his inhalers.
Guns were pointed at them, “Is that the plague!?”
“No, it’s heeves!” Thunder shouted over the chattering of the guards, “He was at Filly, Orchid! I’ve been travelling with him for years. I would have caught it if it were anything el-”
Ivory coughed again, legs folding underneath him from the force. Choking and gagging, he vomited in between heaving coughs. Thin, watery oatmeal splattered against the torn concrete, and Comet winced.
Thunder, in a practiced movement, slipped out of his saddlebags and hoofed them over to Comet. Comet stumbled over the weight, but remained firm. Thunder somehow got Ivory slung over his back, still coughing harshly.
“Orchid, please!”
“Goddamnit, this better not be an ambush, Thunder Hooves! Open the gate, quickly!”
Ponies moved, and the gate inched open, just wide enough to allow entry, “Inside now!”
Thunder scrambled inside, Ivory nearly falling off of his back at the suddenness of the movement. Comet was right at Thunder’s heels, wincing as the door was almost slammed onto his tail.
Ivory hadn’t stopped coughing, his entire body jerking and trembling with the force.
“I’ll take you to Emerald Days, he’s the new doctor. If he can’t help your friend, nopony here can.”
“Thank you, so much Orchid-”
“Don’t thank me until after your friend here can-eugh.”
Ivory had vomited again, eye streaming. Somehow, he avoided puking all over Thunder. Thunder looked genuinely worried, and Comet couldn’t help but try to stamp down his own alarm.
“Is-is this normal?” Comet croaked.
“No, kid it isn’t.”
“Follow me, you two. Keep up.”
Thunder followed Orchid closely, his size clearing a path for Comet who followed after. Past the high metal walls, New Neighara was a nice place. Fairy lights were strung up from building to building, lamps were lit, and every building seemed to have some sort of electricity.
It was a short walk to the doctors, which was a good thing because Ivory was looking worse every second. Orchid didn’t bother to knock on the door, which screamed the fact that this was an emergency.
A tired looking stallion, with a bright blue coat and teal mane and tail jolted from where he’d been asleep at a desk, “I’m aw-oh goodness, is that heeves? Set him down on the bed here Thunder. Long time no see, we thought you were dead.”
“Almost was. Ivory here saved my life,” Thunder grunted, gently sliding Ivory off onto the bed, “Please take care of him, Doc. I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.”
That being said, Thunder moved away, looking concerned. After Comet shot him a helpless look, Thunder sighed, “Doctor Emerald Days is one of the few doctors that can actually help, beyond maybe some Stable doctors. He has electricity to help him with some of the old machinery. Ivory will be fine. Now, let’s go sit over here out of the way while the doctor does his work.”
Comet sat down on a hard chair, staring down at the floor between his hooves. All the while, he could hear Ivory’s whistling breathing from across the room.
“Here. I’ll give you some Med-X, that’ll knock you out so you will relax and your lungs will ease up. There we go, I see an inhaler in one of your pockets, is that your medication? You’ll have one dose now, and I’ll make sure you keep taking some so your lungs don’t seize up again...”
Orchid turned away from Emerald Days, “Alright you two, let’s get you settled at the motel, then we’ll chat some more in the morning. Hope your friend feels better.”
Thunder nodded, rising to his feet, moving to follow Orchid. Comet felt torn.
“Should we leave him?” Comet asked tentatively.
Thunder smiled reassuringly, “He’ll be fine here. Doc will have him up and moving by tomorrow no doubt. We won’t do any good waiting all night and cluttering up Doc’s space. C’mon. We’ll come over first thing.”
Comet cast one look at the unicorn, who was already unconscious and seemed to be resting more peacefully, “Okay.”
“I’ll hang his saddlebags over the end of the bed. Lad’s skinnier than he should be, but that’s no surprise. I’ll make him comfortable,” Doctor Emerald Days said, striding over, “I promise. He’ll be much better by morning.”
Comet nodded, needing to take solace in the doctor’s words. He reluctantly followed Thunder out of the clinic, and down the winding ‘streets’ of New Neighara. Soon enough, Orchid stopped at a large building, and gestured to the ramshackle door.
“Here you go. Honey Drop will set you up quick. Just tell her I sent you. I gotta get back to my post. Tell your friend I hope he feels better.”
“Thank you for this Orchid. If you need anything, just let us know. We’ll do our best to help.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Orchid smiled, “Have a good night.”
Comet watched as she turned tail, and walked away back toward the gate. He barely had a second to back up away from the door that Thunder swung open.
Thunder rolled his eyes, “C’mon, keep up.”
Comet followed, trying to keep the disappointment off his face when he saw how dirty the interior of the motel was. Tomorrow will be better.
A terrible weight was pressed into his chest, and he couldn’t breathe no matter how hard he tried. It was sweltering, and freezing, and he could feel sweat soaking his coat.
In the misery, moments of clarity surfaced: the taste of his medicine, the sting of a needle, lights above him. Everything was blurry and harsh, and made no sense to his fever-stricken brain. His mind was a minefield, turning his greatest asset into a weakness. Memories, out of focus but so vivid played at the edge of his vision.
“We don’t have collars, Ivie. I promise you that I won’t let that monster have you.”
Water. Water surrounding him, trying to tug him under the surface. Skin itching, coat falling out from the high concentration of rads. His lungs giving out just after climbing onto the slippery bank somewhere on the other side. Finding his saddlebags still on him, thankfully, and taking out a pack of RadAway, and fumbling to find a vein like the medical journal he’d read taught him to. Lying there, near the lethal river, trying to ignore the alarming clicking of the geiger counter in his bags. Everything hurt, he couldn’t breathe-
Soothing, gentle hooves. The taste of the medicine, and everything settled. He could breathe.
“Sleep now, if you can, son. Goddesses know you need it.”
Ivory felt himself drifting away into sleep.
Ivory struggled into wakefulness, able to breathe but confused as to where he was. He remembered the gate of New Neighara, and remembered puking all over the road into the city. After that, things were more muddled.
“I see you’re awake,” A raspy voice commented.
Ivory, heart in his throat, spun around so quickly that his head spun.
“It’s alright, son. I’m Doctor Emerald Days, call me Doc. Your friends brought you here after your episode last night.”
“Ah,” Ivory was at a loss about what to say otherwise. “Thank you,” Ivory tried to ignore the fact his vocal cords sounded like they had been sent through a shredder.
“Your saddlebags are at the end of your bed there. Take your time, your friends said they’d come get you. I have some food, and I’ll be more than happy to give you a physical if you’d like me to.”
Ivory shook his head, “No...thank you. I’m certain there’s nothing more wrong with me than the heeves.”
Doc chuckled, “Right you are. Beyond some malnutrition, but that’s normal for the wasteland. C’mon, I’ll cook us breakfast and you’ll eat it before your friends come. Hopefully they won’t show up before then. It’s still pretty early,”
Ivory scoffed, “Depends. Knowing, they’ll wait until when the shops will open. That’s why we came here, after all.”
Doc nodded, “A lot of ponies want to trade here. Neighara is a scavenger’s paradise.”
“That’s true enough,” Ivory agreed, “Lots of cities are.”
“I’ve got some fresh bread and some canned soup. It’s not quite breakfast food, but it’s all I’ve got-”
“It’s fine,” Ivory got to his hooves, deliberately keeping his breathing steady, “Thank you for this. How much?”
“For the treatment? Fifty caps. For breakfast? Nothing. You’re clearly in need of some food.”
Ivory levitated his saddlebags to himself, counted out fifty caps, and hoofed them over, “Here then, so we don’t forget. I have no idea what set me off, I was okay before I swear-”
“Probably the falls. The humidity and water content of the air can exacerbate chronic lung problems.”
“That makes sense, actually. Oh! I have several books about medicine, if you’d like to barter for them. Caps, or goods will do.”
“I’d need to see them first. No point in paying for things I’ve already memorized.”
“Obviously.”
“Breakfast first. Sit down. You’ll likely be weaker than normal for a few days. I’d suggest taking your medication more often while you’re near the water, and don’t be afraid to use that breathing mask of yours.”
“I will,” Ivory replied, sitting down at the rickety table.
Doc prepared the meal, which was shared over bargaining for the medical books. Once, Ivory had to use his inhaler during the discussion, and Doc had the tact not to mention it.
Just after Ivory had helped clean the dishes, Comet opened the door and poked his head in. At seeing Ivory, he entered the clinic fully.
“You feeling better?”
Ivory nodded, “Yes. Thank you. Thank Doc for that. Now, I assume our deal has been settled here.”
Doc nodded, staring at the two journals that he’d bartered for, “Yes. Have a good day, and if any of you need a hoof with anything, let me know.”
“Will do. Have a good day,” Ivory offered a smile, levitated his belongings to himself, and left the clinic after Comet.
Ivory squinted at the sunlight that was filtering through the clouds above, looking around for the first time at the city of New Neighara.
Walls made of scrap metal, wood, and whatever else that could be used surrounded the city on three sides, the other side being flanked by the waterfalls. The houses and buildings were a mishmash of prewar and postwar buildings, patched together and built up with whatever was around. Fairy lights were strung between buildings, and lampposts were erected at the street junctions.
It was a mishmash, it was a mess, it was loud, but it was life. Life that was rare in the wasteland, even if it was constantly under threat by outsiders who wanted to tear it all down to the ground.
Following Comet down a street to the left, Ivory was brought into a courtyard, where market stalls and stores were squeezed together in an amalgamation of noise and architecture.
Without even realizing it, Ivory slipped the breathing mask over his muzzle. Comet looked more excited than Ivory remembered feeling in his own life.
“Are all marketplaces like this?”
“Each city is different, so no.”
“It’s way bigger than I thought it would be. Now where did Thunder get off to? He said he’d-oh there he is!” Comet pointed, and Ivory could see Thunder’s hatted head above the other ponies in the marketplace.
Ivory rolled his eyes, “Let’s go before he sells everything to the first vender he sees.”
“Why does he do that, anyway?”
“He’s a merchant,” Ivory replied dryly, “And not one with a super-strong planning ability.”
“How did he make a living before he met you?”
“He almost didn’t,” Ivory entered the courtyard, trying to spot Thunder’s hulking figure above the crowd.
Comet scurried to keep up, desperately not wanting to be separated from his friends. Getting lost in the middle of the settlement was less dangerous than getting lost in the wasteland, but it could still cost him his life.
“Lughead!” Ivory called over the crowd, “Don’t sell everything all at once!”
“How many times am I going to have to hear that from you!?” Thunder teased, “That was once, almost five years ago!”
“I’m never letting you live it down,” Ivory replied, a smirk evident in his eyes.
Thunder shook his head, “Been able to breathe for less than a few hours and you’re already making fun of me. What kind of example does this set?”
“Sarcasm is life,” Ivory replied dryly.
The merchant, who had been patiently waiting, coughed politely, “That would imply I would buy everything. I’m a scrap merchant.”
“So any scrap bits of metal or salvage would be greatly appreciated.”
Comet, who had already been nosing through his saddlebags, lifted his head triumphantly, “Ha!”
Clutched in his jaws was a small sack filled to the brim with bits of scrap electronics and non-rusted out pieces of metal. Plopping it onto the counter, he smiled brightly at the merchant.
The merchant laughed heartily, “Aye. That, with yours there, is well worth a hundred caps.”
As Comet tried to sweet-talk the merchant, with limited success, Ivory nudged Thunder over a few steps, away from Comet.
“I’m...sorry about yesterday. Manoeuvre twelve got too real there.”
“Considering you actually have heeves it’s not too surprising,” Thunder replied wryly, “I’m just glad they let us in.”
“No kidding. Would have been a rough night for you guys. So, do you think he can be trusted with the manoeuvres yet?”
Thunder shook his head, “No. He’s still too fresh. He can’t bluff to save his own coat, much less anypony else’s.”
Ivory nodded, looking over in time to see Comet finish the transaction. Comet walked over to the pair, grinning. He tossed a bag of caps at Thunder, who somehow managed to catch it.
“Where next?”
“I’ve been asking around. There are a lot of places that haven’t been explored yet, but their dangerous. This place is ripe for scavenging, but we’ll need extra ammo.”
“Maybe an extra weapon, with all the raiders around,” Ivory mused.
“Is there anything else to worry about that isn’t just raiders?”
“Some ghouls, but not as many as compared to other places. Ever since ponies started trying to get into the main power plant, there’s been more of them, but that’s to be expected. We’ll need to be careful.”
“No shit,” Ivory replied, “We always need to be careful. We don’t want anypony getting themselves sick by slicing themselves open on a shard of glass.”
“That was once, and I’d been out of the Stable for less than a week!”
“In spite of everything, he’s been pretty lucky.”
“Only because we ran into that travelling doctor who needed what we had.”
Comet kept to himself while the trio crossed the busy square. At this time of day, the fairy lights were off, and what looked charming after dark looked sad and depressing against the grey skies of daytime.
Thunder opened the door to the cobbled together shack, and entered the store. Ivory and Comet followed after. Comet wasn’t sure what to expect as the number of merchant shops he’d been in numbered less than ten, and each of those ten were vastly different from one another.
He was ecstatic when he realized a lot of shelves were up, displaying various types of weapons and their ammo. A small magazine rack held several ratty magazines and stained books. Drifting over to them, Comet idly looked over the selection. Big guns, small guns, one book about battle-saddles, and two magazines about hoof-to-hoof combat.
Comet didn’t care about hoof-to-hoof combat, big guns, or battle saddles. Small guns though, that was a skill he needed. Bullets and You: The Art of Giving* was fity caps. A little more than Comet was expecting, but worth it.
As Ivory browsed the rows of guns, and Thunder talked to the owner, Comet continued to look at the array of weapons. Ammo, guns, melee weapons, and even some armour were spread across tables, shelves, and racks. Comet had never seen such a wide collection of weapons before, and was astounded at the variety and quantity.
“You gonna buy that?”
Comet almost jumped out of his horseshoes, “Er...yes, please.”
The grizzled looking merchant rolled their eyes, and held their hoof out for the payment, “Like the sign says: 50 caps.”
Fumbling momentarily, Comet rooted through his saddlebags to find where his stash of caps were (according to his Pipbuck), and hoofed over the caps. The merchant eyed them warily, but nodded, “Good.”
Comet turned away from the merchant, and nearly dropped the magazine: Ivory was standing directly behind him, almost nose to nose.
This close, Comet couldn’t help but see the exasperation on Ivory’s face, “Just. Move. Over.”
Comet chuckled weakly, and moved to the bench beside the door, idly flipping through the magazine. He was greeted with faded words, a few scribbles in the margins, and faded advertising for products that were over two-hundred years out of production. Some things were jumping out at him already, especially how to hold guns in his mouth more effectively. Absorbed in the words of the magazine, Comet almost missed Ivory sitting down beside him, affectionately examining his new pistol.
“Is it a good one?”
“It’s in better condition that my current one. Your magazine?”
“Good. It’s gonna be helpful.”
“Did you get any extra ammo?”
Comet looked up from the magazine sheepishly. Gently resting it in his saddlebags, he went back to the merchant for several minutes before coming back, “I do now.”
“Good. Few things suck worse than running out of ammo.”
“I can imagine. Has it happened to you?”
“A few times, before I met Thunder. I’ve never been a tire-iron type of pony, but I made do.”
“With what?”
“Anything I could find, usually. Bits of concrete, pipes, baseball bats. Anything that would help me survive long enough to get more ammo.”
“Have you ever run away from a fight?”
“More times than I can count.”
Thunder plopped himself on the bench on the other side of Comet, “So I’ve been asking around, and there’s a few places that seem promising.One of them is surrounded by feral ghouls. One has some protectrons. The other seems suspiciously quiet, so nopony has gone near it.”
“That’s...reassuring.”
“Sounds suspicious to me. How do we know these ponies aren’t lying? Could be a trap?”
“Nah. These ponies know me, and if we clear the places out it opens opportunities for locals. Scavenging and stuff, you know. Raw materials and the like.”
Comet nodded slowly, “I suppose so.”
Ivory shrugged, “They’ve got nothing to lose, sending us. Anyway, let’s get going. The sooner we get started the better-”
“Where are we even going?” Comet interrupted, moving so Ivory stayed seated, “We need some kind of plan!”
Ivory blinked, “Pick the closest location, and go from there. Scout it, and if it’s too dangerous, go elsewhere.”
“Something more concrete than that, please.”
“Kid’s gotta point,” Thunder rumbled, “Remember last time?”
“We promised to never speak of it again.”
Comet looked between the two stallions, then shook his head, “I don’t even want to know. We need to plan this out. What if you have another episode, Ivory? What if we can’t rush you back here? What do we do?”
“Have Thunder shoot me between the eyes,” Ivory replied dryly. At Comet’s alarmed look, Ivory shook his head, “Sometimes you’ve just got to wait. Wait until the coughing eases, then force me into taking some of my medicine. If nothing else, some Med-X usually works.”
“What if we don’t have any? Or you don’t stop coughing long enough for us to give you some of your medicine?”
“If Steady is around, use it. If not, shoot me. I will die of heeves eventually; there’s no way around it. Just don’t let me die suffocating. It’s...not quick.”
Comet nodded, apparently speechless. Ivory offered a bitter look.
Thunder coughed, “Seriously, though. Which place are we going?”
Ivory shrugged, “Bring up your map. We’ll plug the coordinates in and we’ll go from there. Deal?”
Comet nodded, sitting back down. Thunder loomed over his right shoulder, as Ivory peered around Comet’s left.
“So, first place is the Tower Hotel. It’s the one that has lots of ghouls nearby. It was this fancy-schmancy place that overlooks the falls. Probably some personal belongings in there, and who knows what else. Probably a good place to go before we go to Tenpony.”
A little beep, and the location appeared on Comet’s map. It was over the wall, across New Neighara. Opposite from the gate. Comet sighed. Figures.
“Next one is Twilight Sparkle’s Believe It or Not. Supposed to have lots of relics and stuff inside. She was a Ministry Mare, and-”
“Ministry of Arcane Science,” Ivory stated, “She was...incredible. From the bits and pieces I’ve seen, of course. A lot of it is just rumour, but...she did a lot to try to help. She accomplished so much-”
“Bits and pieces huh? Sounds like you idolize her.”
Ivory shot Comet a look, “She was one of six Ministry Mares. She ran an entire department that was supposed to come up with new magics and-”
“We get it. It’s the one with the protectrons.”
“Then there’s got to be something good inside! She wouldn’t have wasted that level of protection for nothing!”
“One problem, guys,” Comet said quietly, “It’s uh...kinda near the power plant-”
“Then we get some Rad-X, RadAway, Med-X and be as quick as we can!”
“You’re gonna make us go whether we like it or not aren’t you.”
Ivory smirked, “Damn right I am. Consider it payback for all the Good Pony stores you two have dragged me into.”
“The last one is the old city hall. It’s the one that’s been quiet.”
“Surviving records could be worth something to somepony,” Ivory mused, “Maybe an old armoury or something could be left. Worth a look, at any rate.”
“It’s technically closest. We’ll have to cross the river, but there’s a big bridge here.”
“Too risky. Is it the only bridge?”
“Only one nearby-”
“Are you three going to buy anything else?”
All three stallions froze, turning at once to face the owner.
“We were just going, so sorry for taking your time,” Thunder tried to soothe. Clearly he fell short, and Ivory stood up.
“One question before we go. Where is the best place to buy medicine around here? Emerald Days had his supply, but it wasn’t for sale-”
“Other side of the square. Peachy Keen will give you what you need, so long as you’ve got the caps. Now stop blocking the door!”
“Thanks!” Ivory shot the owner a charming look, and sauntered out. Comet scrambled after, and Thunder followed more calmly.
“What was that for?”
“Well, we need medicine for general purposes anyway. We’ll price whatever this Peachy Keen has and go from there. Maybe she’ll trade. No harm in going and taking a look.”
“Spoken like a true wastelander! I’m so proud,” Thunder beamed down at Ivory who rolled his eyes.
“So...that’s the pharmacy there?” Comet pointed to a building that had Pharmacy painted over the door in large letters. At least Comet figured, it was supposed to be pharmacy. It actually read Faarmasea.
The building was old, possibly one of the oldest in New Neighara. The paint was peeling, so Comet hoped that the writing had been done decades before. The thought of ponies not being able to do a simple thing like read was deeply unsettling.
Comet followed Ivory across the square. Alright, let's see if this Peachy Keen can help.
Inside the pharmacy was dark and musty, lit only by several flickering candles. The ground floor windows were covered by cloth or were boarded up, making it hard to see any details in the room.
Comet got the impression the pharmacy was absolutely filthy, making him not want to touch anything.
Squinting through the gloom, Comet realized there was nopony behind the counter. Clearing his throat, and moving to stand beside Comet, Ivory asked, “Hello?”
There was a shuffling from upstairs, and a loud thud. A pause, and the shuffling continued. The old floorboards above creaked alarmingly, and even through the gloom Comet could see them bending.
The three stallions watched with morbid curiosity as a pony appeared at the top of the stairs, and nearly fell down them.
The mare’s coat was so filthy it looked like it was brown, but highlights of the orange coat underneath the grime hinted at her real colour. Her mane and tail were tangled beyond all hope, and were just as filthy as her coat. Green eyes were glazed over and exhausted, red-rimmed and bloodshot.
Ivory went rigid, freezing in place. His breathing became more audible to Comet, who half turned to ask before the mare spoke.
“Who’re you?” Her speech was slurred, quiet, and hoarse.
“You Peachy Keen?” Thunder stepped forward, “We’re customers for her wares.”
The mare smiled sloppily, apparently not noticing the thin line of drool starting to drip from her chin, “S’me. What’cha want? Dash, Steady, Mint-als, Stampede, Med-X. All sorts of things.”
“We’re looking for medicine. Bandages, healing potions, Radaway. Have anything like that?”
“Prob’ly. Somewhere,” Peachy moved behind the counter, nearly smashing her head off of the sign above it. Muttering to herself the entire time, she bent down and began to pile chems on the counter.
Inhalers of Dash, bottles of alcohol, tins of Mint-als, and more soon joined the growing pile of things on the blackened countertop.
Apparently seeing so much at once unfroze Ivory, who took a ragged, sudden gasp of air. He took two, miniscule steps backwards. Only now, with Ivory seemingly pressed just a little closer in order to avoid touching a support beam, Comet realized Ivory was shaking.
“Hey, you-”
“Kid, why don’t you take Ivory to the fountain in the square? Pony watch and all that. I’ll deal with this, and be out as soon as I can.”
Ivory followed Comet out of the pharmacy without a sound, wincing as the dim sunlight stung his eyes. He shuddered hard, making his barding and jacket shake alarmingly. Quietly, and very monotone, Ivory spoke, “Sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I couldn’t handle that.”
“Thunder has it under control, I’m sure.”
“I know he does. I just...thought I’d be over ponies like her by now.”
Comet didn’t say anything while the pair got settled on a makeshift bench near the marketplace.
“You don’t even know why she bothers me so much.”
“You don’t need to tell me.”
Ivory shot Comet a sad look, “I know. But it’s about time you learn about the ponies you’re travelling with.”
There was a pause and Comet stayed quiet, hoping to spur Ivory on.
“After Filly, after I’d escaped and recovered, I wandered the wastes for a while. I met up with a group of ponies, they were bad. I was desperate and starving, so I ignored the evil things they were doing. I was with them for a long time, and I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. I took lots of drugs to try to help me forget, to make me seem tougher so I would be left alone. There was a couple of years where I was addicted to lots of things off and on. I would be hooked on Mint-als, take some Fixer. Then I would take Dash or something else to try to help me out on the next raid. Then I would get hooked on that. The cycle continued for a long time, until I finally realized I was killing myself quicker than the heeves was. I left the group. A week or so later, I found Thunder in bad shape. I patched him up as best I could, then the last of my stock ran out. He nursed me through the withdrawls. Since his brahmin was slaughtered, we decided to stick together. I was still too weak to be on my own, and his injuries weren’t quite healed.”
“What kind of ponies were they?” Comet wasn’t sure he wanted an answer.
“We were a cross between raider and gang. At first we weren’t all that bad, certainly no worse than anypony else. Things escalated the less scavenging opportunities there were...they-we. We were cruel and did a lot of damage.”
Comet nodded slowly, “Thank you for telling me, but why not tell me sooner?”
“Not many ponies I know know about who I used to be. Nopony has seen much of the group in years, but there was a time when our name struck fear in everypony. Raiders, settlers, wanderers...everypony. I don’t like thinking about what I did.”
Comet wasn’t sure he was supposed to have heard the last sentence, but kept his mouth shut.
“I’ve been luckier than I deserve in life. Thunder doesn’t like to remind me about my past. I don’t know what it was like in the Stable, but up here survival is hard. Nearly everypony you meet will have done something unsavoury to survive, or help their friends and family to live. Life isn’t pretty; it’s hard and rough and lots of times it doesn’t continue.”
Comet stared down at the flagstones under his hooves, “I can’t judge you. I nearly killed a guard trying to get out of the Stable. If I hadn’t stopped to see if he was okay...he would have died. I used one of my healing potions on him.”
Ivory nodded, “You’re still a better stallion than I am.”
“Maybe,” Comet kicked at the ground, hoping to try to change the subject, “I’m sorry she bothers you so much.”
“I was her once. I was exactly like her. The few ponies I knew who weren’t terrible didn’t do anything about it. They could have tried to help, tried to make me see what I was doing. They didn’t, and some of them encouraged me. Like the ponies here. I bet you none of them have helped Peachy Keen.”
“You can’t know that.”
“If anypony here really cared, they would get her out of that pharmacy. As is she’s killing herself and robbing herself of profit by taking those chems. Her situation will not end well if she’s left by herself.”
Comet looked up, seeing the door to the pharmacy open and Thunder step out, “Oh! He’s out, and he’s seen us already.”
“Good. We can get out of this town for a while.”
Thunder muscled his way past a few ponies, lumbering to a stop before the pair seated on the bench.
“How’d it go?” Ivory asked cautiously.
“She didn’t have much that helps us. Cleared her out of her bandages and healing potions. Gave her a few spare Fixers though. I hope she got the hint.”
“She wouldn’t have gotten it if you plainly told her,” Ivory replied, “She’s too far gone to understand much.”
“I know...but she looks like she’s coming down. Maybe she’ll clean herself up.”
“Unlikely. Not with all those chems there.”
Thunder shrugged, “It’s a good thought. Here!” Thunder rummaged in his saddlebag for a moment, then tossed Ivory something.
Ivory caught it with his magic, one eyebrow raising in disbelief as he saw a package of cigarettes.
“You deserve something for stopping like you did. There was a time when you would have just walked over and taken everything she was putting on the counter. She probably wouldn’t have noticed.”
“Thanks,” Ivory stuffed the package into a pocket, “I’ll have one when we get farther from the falls. Can’t smoke with the mask on and breathing is important.”
“So...you’re addicted to cigarettes too?”
“Comet if you can name it I’ve probably at least tried it. With the exception of moondust. I could never bring myself to trying that. Seemed to dangerous.”
“Why did he reward you with another drug?”
“Cigarettes are what I used to wean him off everything else. Stupid maybe, especially considering his lungs, but I didn’t know that at the time. It was better than anything else nearby, and it worked for the most part. Helped take the edge off of cravings. Helped keep his damned mouth shut too.”
Ivory rolled his eyes, “Whatever. Let’s go. Tower Hotel?”
“Yeah. Let’s get out of here. Hotel like that probably has a bunch of first aid kits, and some might be untouched if the ghouls have been around long enough. Especially the upper floors.”
“Administrative rooms too, maybe. Chances increase if they’re still locked.”
“Got lots of bobby pins, Comet?”
“Yeah. Got plenty left after that salon.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here.”
Exiting the town was a cautious affair, as there were reports of raider fights nearby. It took some convincing, but eventually the three slipped through, and turned left, following the wall around.
“Why don’t they have another gate?”
“They probably do, somewhere. No point making a backup plan public knowledge if they can help it. They probably don’t want us ‘wrong-types’ to spread the word.”
“Fair enough, especially with all the fighting outside,” Comet gingerly stepped over the leg bone of a skeleton. The rest wasn’t visible.
“Exactly. It’s a pain for travellers, but not many get past all the fighting. It only makes sense. Anyway, any plans for the Tower?”
“Nope,” Ivory replied, pausing to peer around a corner in the wall. Finding nothing, he eased himself out of cover.
“Try not to die,” Thunder agreed.
Comet rolled his eyes, “So much for planning.”
Ivory shrugged, “There’s only so much planning you can do before you doom yourself to failure. We’ll figure out what we’re doing when we get there, until then-”
Thunder lunged forward suddenly, plowing Ivory into a fallen chunk of concrete. On instinct, Comet dove behind the nearest bit of cover available: a too small chunk of ruined sidewalk. It was better than nothing though.
Over the sounds of Ivory’s coughing, a gunshot rang out. It impacted where Ivory had been standing, spraying dust and flakes of concrete everywhere.
“What now?!”
“Get over here! I’ll cover you!” Thunder pulled his gun out of his holster, risking breaking cover to take shots at their assailant.
Taking a deep breath, Comet galloped over to where they were hiding, trying not to make his ‘worried face’ at Ivory, who was still struggling to breathe.
Thunder ducked back, “I think there’s only one. A sniper. They’ve got a good vantage point.”
“Would they see a little white flag?”
Ivory snorted, “Don’t know if they’d know what it meant.”
“What now?”
“Not die,” Ivory replied in a deadpan tone, earning Comet’s ire.
“Seriously!? Now’s not time for sarcasm!”
“If I’m going to die being sniped, I’d much prefer to do it while cracking a sarcastic one-liner.”
“Ugh!”
“Anything else about them?” Ivory choked out, glaring as another bullet struck crumbling concrete.
“They’re yellow,” Thunder replied, shooting a few more times before ducking back into cover.
“Real helpful, anything else?!”
“Why does it matter, they’re trying to kill us!”
“They don’t know if we’re raiders or not! They’ve got us pinned! Diplomacy couldn’t hurt!”
“I can’t see a damned thing, genius. What are we supposed to do? Poke our heads out and hope we don’t get killed!”
“No!” Ivory choked again, taking a heavy dose of his medication, “Alright, alright…” His eyes lit up, and he levitated a broken piece of mirror from a nearby car.
Sliding along the concrete he was using as a shield, Ivory used his magic to bring the mirror up in the hopes of catching the reflection of the sniper, “Alright. He’s yellow, black mane maybe...holy shit he’s a pegasus-wait a sec…”
Ivory dropped the mirror shard, and began to dig into his saddlebags.
“What are you doing!?”
“Saving our plots, I think! I think I recognize this ass-oh there!” Triumphantly, Ivory levitated a length of yellow cloth into the air. He waved it in the air above the concrete slab. Several heartbeats passed, and Ivory slowly eased himself out from the cover, still holding the yellow cloth.
“You know this guy!?”
“Considering we can’t go anywhere without Thunder recognizing someone, it’s time for me to return the favour,” Ivory bit back, still breathing hard. Clearing his throat, he called out, “Yellowjacket!?”
There was a pause, and faintly, “Blackie!?”
“You son of a bitch, it’s been what, 8 years, and you’re still gonna call me that?!”
Laughter was the only response. Carefully, Thunder got out from behind the slab of concrete, Comet following his lead. As they straightened up, Yellowjacket glided down from his perch to land smoothly in front of Ivory.
Yellowjacket was surprisingly short and slender for what Comet had pictured in his head. When he was a colt, he’d read the few remaining books in the Stable. The pegasi described, and pictured, within their pages had been tall and strong war machines.
Yellowjacket looked no less deadly, but was diminutive in height comparing with everypony else Comet had ever met above-ground. This, added with a natural lean physique, made it hard to realize this was the same pony who had just been shooting at them moments earlier.
A yellow coat was mostly covered by leather barding, not unlike Ivory’s own. Unlike Ivory, Yellowjacket had forgone any other clothing overtop the armour. A bandana was wrapped around his neck, clearly meaning to act like a makeshift breathing mask if the need arose. A bandolier was wrapped around his barrel, almost like a belt. A holster was at his left hip, holding a .22 pistol.
The sniper rifle was resting along Yellowjacket’s right side, strapped into place with a special harness and partially hidden by a folded wing.
Trying to take in Yellowjacket all at once, Comet finally looked up to meet the pony’s eyes face to face. Dark, sunken eyes stared back, bloodshot and curious. A greying, black mane was cut short, and out of the way. A nasty scar crossed over his left eye, which was milky and white. A tip of an ear seemed to have been shredded away.
“Who in the hell are these people?” Yellowjacket’s voice was gruff, and Comet had to try hard not to wince at the smells of stale cigarettes and whiskey on Yellowjacket’s breath.
“The kid you’re staring down is Jackpot Comet.The big guy here is Thunder Hooves.”
“Hm. Good you finally got some ponies to travel with you that weren’t complete idiots.”
“Aside from you, of course.”
“Nah, I was just as big of an idiot as the rest. We should’ve just moved on when the pickings got slim, but it was my bull-headedness that nearly killed us.”
Yellowjacket backed away from Comet, turning to fully face Ivory instead. Lips twitching, Yellowjacket looked Ivory up and down. There was a moment of silence as Ivory returned the favour.
“The years haven’t been kind to you, Blackie.”
“At least I’ve still got all my parts. How in the hell did you lose an eye?”
“Lost a bet with a griffon.”
“Goddesses you haven’t changed.”
Yellowjacket quirked an eyebrow, “Clearly you have. I never thought to see you alive again.”
Ivory shrugged, “What can I say, I found a good a good reason to stay sober.”
Yellowjacket nodded, “Good. As much as you know I love small talk, we really should get out of here. Too many raider patrols come through here.”
“We’re heading toward the Tower Hotel. Feel like joining us?”
Comet blinked, feeling uneasy about letting some stranger join them.
Yellowjacket shrugged, “Sure. Nothing better to do.”
Ivory half-turned to Comet and Thunder. Thunder looked about as shocked as Comet felt. Thunder nodded slowly, and Comet repeated the action. If Ivory trusted this stallion, then chances were they would be fine. Ivory barely trusted Thunder and Comet themselves.
Ivory stuffed the yellow cloth back into his bag, and Yellowjacket smiled.
“I can’t believe you kept it.”
“Of course I kept it. It’s damned handy.”
“Looks like it’s been through hell.”
Ivory snorted, “Like me.”
“Can’t’ve been that bad,” Yellowjacket replied, leading the way to the Tower Hotel, moving at a pace that was comfortable for everypony, “I thought Filly was hell.”
“Equestria is hell. No point sugarcoating it,” Ivory replied, eyes scouring broken buildings for potential threats, “Just different circles.”
Yellowjacket laughed, “No kidding!”
“So...how do you two know each other?” Comet butted in.
“Remember how I told you I was a raider?”
Comet’s mouth dried at the casual usage of the term, but nodded.
“Yellowjacket was...not a leader but he would give advice.”
Yellowjacket snorted, “I was the only sniper worth his salt. I did lots of recon too. I actually had some brains in my head, and used them regularly.”
“Without frying his brain with whatever chems were available.”
Yellowjacket rolled his eyes, “Sometimes, Blackie. Not so much now.”
“Which is why I can smell the whiskey coming off of you.”
Yellowjacket looked taken aback, then smiled, “Goddesses, I’d forgotten how smart you are when you’re sober.”
Ivory winced, and Yellowjacket lapsed into silence. Comet cleared his throat awkwardly, “We’re taking a left up here.”
“Oh good, you’re practising with your Pipbuck. Let us know if your EFS picks anything up,” Thunder said quietly, ears swiveling around to hear anything coming.
Comet nodded in response, “Will do.”
Yellowjacket lowered his voice, “So...which one is yours?”
“Pardon?”
“Which one do y’like? I know you always had a thing for these old bones, but-”
“I’m not interested. They’re travelling companions.”
“One of which is big enough to carry you, your stuff, and probably me too. Do you have a thing for size differences-”
“They are my friends!” Ivory’s tone left no room for argument.
Yellowjacket snorted, “Should’ve known you’d want a partner with two eyes.”
“That’s not it. You’re as handsome as ever...it’s me that’s the problem.”
“Uh huh.”
“They don’t know,” Ivory looked back at Comet and Thunder, who seemed to be staring at a faded billboard and trying to figure out what the advertisement was for, “They don’t know about my preference. Or about Ma, Midnight, or Emerald.”
“Oh.”
“It’s too painful. Thunder knows some of the story, but I haven’t told the kid much.”
“Any reason why?”
“Any time I think about it, I just imagine the pity on their faces. Thunder knows Filly broke me, and knows enough to piece it together. Comet knows there’s something wrong with me.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you.”
“It’s been over a decade and I still can’t let them go. Red Eye’s men...they’re lucky I didn’t do worse to them.”
“They deserved worse.”
Ivory sighed, “They’re dead and I’m alive. Sort of. I don’t know if you’d call this,” Ivory gestured around and then at himself, “Living.”
“It’s better than Filly.”
“How is it down there?”
Yellowjacket grimaced, “Not good. Really not good. He’s taken over almost all of Filly. He’s built it up, and overtaken just about everything. Areas he can’t overtake he’s filled with trash and corpses.”
Ivory looked down at the ground, his ears drooping, “Did you check-”
“I moved them for you. Red Eye’s men were going to just...do unspeakable things. I buried them on the other side of the river.”
“Thank you.”
Yellowjacket shrugged, “It was the least I could do. I should’ve gotten you out of the group myself.”
Ivory shrugged, “I’m...existing. That counts for something.”
Yellowjacket nodded in agreement, “It does.”
“We’re coming up to the hotel,” Comet announced, “It’s on the right, past these buildings.”
“I’ll fly up to the roof-wait that’s a Pipbuck isn’t it?”
“Yes?”
Yellowjacket rummaged through his saddlebags, then produced a small box full of wires, tubes, and what looked like spare parts, “I picked this up forever ago. Wanted to wait til my next stop at Tenpony to sell it, but if you’re a friend to Blackie here you deserve it more than those stuck up snobs.”
“Thank you,” Comet began to sort through the box, and smiled, “Here! I’ve been meaning to find these, but haven’t been able to yet. They’re called ear blooms. They’re connected to my Pipbuck here and we can talk to each other and listen to recordings I’ve picked up without needing to worry about anypony overhearing us.”
Yellowjacket put the ear bloom in his undamaged ear, flicking it uncomfortably as he tried to adjust it. Ivory rolled his eyes, and used his magic to fix the placement. He helped Thunder with his, though Comet pulled one from his bags with ease.
“You gotta press the little button here, and the microphone will activate. We’ve got to stay within around 100 meters of the Pipbuck. Otherwise it won’t work.”
Ivory nodded, moving his ear and trying to get a feel for how it could impede his hearing, “How do we know if it works?”
Comet was fiddling with his Pipbuck, his tongue sticking out from his teeth with concentration, “I’m doing that now. Let me know when you can hear anything.”
There were several seconds of silence before Sweetie Belle’s sweet voice sounded in Ivory’s ear, “I hear the radio.”
“Same,” Yellowjacket said scant seconds later.
It took time for Thunder’s to be patched in, but soon all could hear the radio, and DJ Pon3 talking about hope.
“I’ll fly to the roof and let you guys know what’s up,” Yellowjacket sprung into the air.
There was a tense moment of silence, before Comet cleared his throat, “So...you know him?”
“He was the one that tried to help, but I was too gone to see it.”
“I thought you said no one helped you before Thunder.”
Ivory shrugged, “He didn’t do enough. He never cut me off or really tried to change my habits. He just...made sure I didn’t die.”
Soft static crackled in the ear bloom, “We might have a problem.”
Hoard was the word that came to mind, peering down at the group of feral ghouls wandering around outside the hotel from the roof. They weren’t staying still long enough for Yellowjacket to get a reliable count, but there were more than four ponies could take on without backup, or better weapons and armour.
Over the ear bloom, Yellowjacket asked, “Any plans?”
“Are there any balconies you can airlift us to?”
“You and Comet, maybe. Not Thunder.”
Ivory turned to Thunder, eyebrows furrowed contemplatively, “What about if his weight was reduced by half?”
Yellowjacket shrugged, “Probably, but how would we-oh levitation?”
“I could help carry the weight if you wouldn’t mind helping.”
Yellowjacket shrugged, “The worst that could happen is that he falls into that pile of ghouls down there.”
“Oh yeah, that’s definitely no big deal,” Thunder muttered quietly.
“Better than leaving you here or dying trying to deal with the ghouls,” Comet interjected.
Ivory nodded, “Comet, you go first. I’ll go last, so I can help Yellowjacket with Thunder here. I’m the lightest, so probably a bit of a relief.”
Yellowjacket snorted, “I’m not that old.”
Ivory made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, “Let’s go. Comet, don’t do too much scouting without us, ok? If anything happens use the ear bloom.”
“You won’t be able to hear. It’s too far.”
“Doesn’t mean Thunder and Yellowjacket will be too far away to hear.”
“Fair.”
“You ready kid? This’ll be uncomfortable for the both of us, but it’ll work,” Yellowjacket hovered over Comet, and Comet reared up to balance precariously on his hind hooves. Entwining their forelegs together, Yellowjacket slowly lifted Comet into the air, “Whatever you do, don’t look down.”
Comet nodded, squeezing his eyes shut, his face contorted with fear. Slowly, then gaining some speed, Yellowjacket flew Comet up several stories of the building and onto the nearest balcony. Yellowjacket set Comet down, then flew back to Thunder and Ivory.
“You ready for this?” Thunder asked, eyes shifting nervously between the pair.
Ivory’s horn lit with his magic, which surrounded Thunder, “Feel lighter?”
“Like I’m going to float.”
“C’mon, Yellowjacket.”
Thunder sighed, and did what Comet had. Yellowjacket grabbed him, and slowly lifted Thunder’s hind hooves from the ground. Cautiously, Yellowjacket gained altitude before leaving the relative safety of the rooftop.
“Ready?”
“Just go,” Thunder’s eyes were open, but he was determined to look straight ahead.
Ivory channeled his magic hard, feeling sweat prickling his skin. After what felt like an eternity, he watched as Thunder was set beside Comet on the balcony. Ivory let go of the spell, sighing in relief.
He had a few more spells in him, but not as many as he’d hoped. Not after bearing most of Thunder’s weight. Inhaling a dose of his medication, Ivory waited for Yellowjacket to return.
“You still good?”
Yellowjacket nodded, “Yeah, I could do this all day.”
Ivory reared up, grasping at Yellowjacket’s proffered legs, “Alright. This isn’t flimsy as hell.”
“You’ll be fine so much as you don’t move too much.”
Yellowjacket chuckled, slowly increasing his speed, “Yes you do. You’re doing fine.”
Ivory shut his eyes before he could think about looking down. Before he knew it, his hind hooves touched solid ground. Settling back down on all four, Ivory opened his eyes, “Thank you.”
Yellowjacket shrugged, “Better this way, probably. We really don’t want to alert the ghouls down there.”
“Yeah, no kidding. We couldn’t take on that many.”
“We could, but not all at once. If we could maybe set something up so we could take them in small groups-”
“If we alert a few of them, we alert all of them. It’s suicide.”
“Well, we avoided them for now. If we get a chance, maybe we’ll take it. We’re bound to find something interesting with that many ghouls.”
“The Tower first,” Ivory interjected, “We’ll see about the ghouls if and when it’s important.”
Comet nodded in agreement peering over the balcony, looking ill.
“C’mon, kid,” Thunder beckoned, “No point dwelling on the dead.”
Comet nodded slowly, joining the others near the door. Ivory, using his magic, opened the door. It was dark inside, but large bay windows allowed some light in; even with the grime coating the glass.
“Everyone be quiet. Room to room, try to stay within sight and shouting distance if need be. If we’re separated, we’ll try to meet back here, okay?”
“Alright.”
“Keep an eye out for anything. We’ll keep the ear blooms on and talk that way if we have to.”
Yellowjacket nodded, moving close to Ivory, “Alright, Blackie. Let’s go. Anything in particular we looking for?”
Ivory eased open another door, leading into a set of rooms, “Meds, mostly. Hoping to find some medkits that are intact. We’re almost out of Radaway, amongst other things. We’ll be ok short term, but we want to go near the plant and I won’t make it if we don’t have even just a few more chems.”
Yellowjacket nodded somberly, rifling through dresser drawers. Ivory moved to the closet, looking through the rotted cloth and ruined bits and pieces. Ivory moved to look under the bed, pulling out a briefcase. Smashing the flimsy lock, Ivory opened it. Nothing, as per usual.
“We might not find much in the rooms themselves, but I’m sure we’ll find something in the hallways or the administrative rooms.”
“Better to check rooms as we go. Sometimes you find good stuff,” Ivory opened a drawer, then smiled, “See?” He lifted a holotape up to his eyes, “It’s compatible with the Pipbuck; so we can listen later.”
“Why? It’s just some stupid recording of a pony who’s been dead for over 200 years.”
Ivory shrugged, setting the holotape in his bag, “Sometimes it’s interesting. You can learn a lot from the old terminals.”
Yellowjacket made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, giving up the search, “I’ve got nothing here.”
“Seems to be it here.”
“Yeah. C’mon, let’s go.”
Moving down the hallway, seeing bits of of Thunder and Comet as they moved down the other side of the hall. Ivory found little of value, but he knew Thunder and Comet were likely to find more; whether things were of true value or not.
When they reached the end of the hallway, Ivory found a supply cupboard. The main hallway was in more disarray than the other, but that was to be expected. Unlike most ruins, there were few skeletons underhoof, which made a nice change to most large buildings Ivory had been in.
Carefully, Ivory unlocked the door, and used his horn to light up the inside of the closet. It had been untouched. Cleaning solutions, spare parts, and a stack of medical supplies were the highlights: everything else had rotted or rusted to the point of ruin.
Radaway, two healing potions, Med-X. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. If there were fully stocked medkits elsewhere, and more closets, than they could leave with more than they needed. If they were lucky; they would find valuables at the Twilight’s Believe It or Not that would make it worthwhile.
(LINE BREAK)
Ivory handed over the holotape before they continued deeper into the hotel. After a few seconds, Sweetie Belle’s voice cut out, replaced by a fuzzy voice.
“Mom got me the recorder just for my birthday, isn’t that cool!? If I want to be a DJ, or a radio host I need to get as much practise as I can! So, this is a test. Oh I can’t wait to hear what this sounds like! I’m gonna listen on mom’s Pipbuck and then I’ll make another.”
Static reigned for several seconds before the tape cut out, once more replaced by DJ Pon3 talking about the goings on of Tenpony.
After a second, Comet’s voice cut through the gloom, marred a little by static, “Maybe they got out.”
Ivory sighed, “Maybe. Who knows.”
“This is why I hate those things,” Yellowjacket muttered, “They kill the mood.”
Ivory gestured to the filthy glass that the ruins outside could just be made out, “Yeah cuz that isn’t a mood killer or anything.”
Yellowjacket snorted, moving to inspect a small safe embedded into the wall, “Hey you have better ears than I do. Can you try to get this open?”
“So long as you remember to check the bathroom. Chems, drinkable water, all that good stuff.”
“As if I would do anything else.”
Ivory shot Yellowjacket a grin, and pressed his ear against the safe. Twisting the dial experimentally, Ivory could hear the mechanism. It was faint, but so long as he could concentrate, he would be okay. Goddesses how he wanted some Mint-als. They would give his hearing the boost he needed.
Ivory, none-too-gently, slammed his head into the metal safe. Dazzled for a second, Ivory squeezed his eyes shut. Using his magic, he fished around for a cigarette and his lighter. Pulling the breathing mask down so it hung around his neck, Ivory lit his prize. He stuffed the pack, and the lighter, back into his bag. Inhaling cautiously, he had to levitate the cigarette away from him as his lungs rejected the smoke.
Another drag, and even though his lungs aching increased, they didn’t complain as much. Ivory pressed his ear against the safe once more, and got to work. Yellowjacket reappeared before Ivory had cracked the safe, but he stood near the door and waited patiently.
Finally, the door popped open, and Ivory opened it fully with a flick of his muzzle. He stared at the contents for a moment, cigarette dangling loosely from his lips. He inhaled deeply, obviously fighting another coughing fit, before stepping aside for Yellowjacket to see.
The locked safe contained a single packet of Radaway. Yellowjacket opened his mouth, took the packet, and shoved it into one of Ivory’s saddlebags, “That was anticlimactic.”
Ivory snorted, throwing the butt of his cigarette onto the floor and stamping on it with the edge of a hoof. He exhaled the last of the smoke with a wheeze, and met Yellowjacket’s questioning look with an even stare.
“They help with the cravings.”
Yellowjacket nodded, “True enough. Surprised your friends let you have them.”
“They don’t normally,” Ivory said, stepping past Yellowjacket and into the hallway.
Yellowjacket fell into step beside Ivory, “Why do you have them now?”
“As a reward for not robbing some junky sap blind and then using all the chems to kill myself in a hole somewhere,” Ivory replied flatly.
“Seriously?”
“I wouldn’t’ve put it quite like that,” Thunder said, peering into the hallway through a door ahead, “But you did good, Ivory. You didn’t even try to take anything.”
Ivory shrugged, “Found another Radaway. Not much else. You guys?”
Thunder sighed, shooting an annoyed glance at Ivory, “Med-X. Couple of healing potions.”
Ivory nodded, “Good. We’ll search this floor and see what we have.”
“We’ll regroup and see what we have after that. Remember, stay in ear bloom range.”
“Got it,” Ivory replied, moving onward down the hall. Yellowjacket followed, his bad ear twitching a little as they moved out of sight.
“Is Ivory okay?” Comet asked, dumbfounded, “That...that couldn’t be serious.”
Thunder sighed, “I don’t know, kid. There are days where he’s okay, but...well you saw the one bad day where a raider almost brained him and he didn’t even flinch. He’s not...not suicidal. Not really, but...there are days that whatever happened to him haunts him; tears the wounds open again. He’s been...not better, but more mindful with you around.”
“Shit.,” Comet’s voice was somewhat muffled, likely because he’d chosen to try to pick a lock rather than have Thunder smash it open.
Thunder nodded, “Yup. Anyway, you done with that ammunition box? Why the hell is there an ammunition box up here? Nopony’s been up here since the bombs fell, looks like. Well, except maybe some ghouls. Could find more upstairs.”
Comet held the screwdriver in place with a careful hoof and manipulating the bobby-pin with his tongue. Grimacing, the lock finally clicked. Triumphantly, Comet opened the container. Inside were some .9 millimeter rounds, some .10 millimeter rounds, and some empty boxes.
“Maybe some paranoid pony thought they’d need their ammunition. Maybe there was a shooting range or something here,” Comet supplied, “Do you know why there’s all those ghouls outside, but...maybe none up here?”
“Hard to guess why without going downstairs. Could be because they got locked outside in the earlier days. The parking lot is fenced in, after all. When ponies ghoulified, maybe survivors just locked them outside. Or, maybe they locked them in the lower floors. Or they wandered down over time, swarming together and got stuck outside when the door shut.”
“I feel bad for leaving them like that,” Comet intoned, following Thunder out into the hallway.
“Don’t. The ferals aren’t ponies now,” Thunder eased open a closed door, and let it swing fully open as Comet shined his PipBuck through the darker corners of the room.
Comet nodded, “Okay. Still…”
“I know it’s hard for you,” Thunder entered fully, moving to the closet while Comet checked under the bed, “but you’ve gotta be practical about it. At least this time. Maybe if we find more ammo, and enough supplies up here, we can snipe some from the balcony. Make sure the stairwell is shut and this floor really is clear. Sometimes ghouls just...appear. They slid out of rubble and random hiding places. Scare the shit out of you.”
Comet shuddered, “Okay.”
Thunder pocketed a few pieces of jewelry, “I’m checking the bathroom. Don’t forget the closet.”
Comet nodded, finally succeeding in pulling a suitcase from under the bed, “I won’t.”
The ear bloom crackled to life, “When you’re done with that room, come down to the end of the hall. We have a lock that needs busting, Thunder. Another supply closet.”
From the other room, Comet could hear Thunder try to tap the button of his ear bloom, still not used to the controls. Chuckling, Comet beat him to it. “We’ve got you. We’ll be a couple minutes, just started.”
“That’s fine,” Ivory replied, “We’ve got another doorway up here we’re going to check out.”
“Let us know if you need help.”
Ivory didn’t reply, and Comet once more felt a ball of dread settle into his stomach. Comet took a breath to center himself, ignoring the peeling wallpaper and peeling carpet of the dingy room. He opened the suitcase, and smiled at the contents. Two Rad-X’s and some healing bandages. Stowing them away, Comet moved to the closet.
When he opened the door, he froze at the scene inside. A stallion, judging by the business suit, was curled into the corner of a closet, his empty eye sockets staring right at him. The suit was half-rotted and filthy, and the bones were organized in a way that made it clear this stallion had crawled into the closet in the hopes of outrunning death. Comet sighed, what the hell had killed him? The sirens would have gone off, but no bombs, except for the power plant, had gone off; and that had been months after the initial bombings elsewhere.
Turning his PipBuck light back on, Comet found an empty syringe glinting in the light. Horror dawned, and Comet shut the door. They didn’t want anything from this stallion; better to let him find what rest he could. Comet turned the light back off in time for Thunder to return.
“Found some more Radaway in the first aid kit. And some bandages. We’ve already replenished our old stock, and some. If this supply closet has another good stash, we might be set. Depending on if Ivory and Yellowjacket have been as lucky as us. Anything in the closet?”
“No. Let’s go meet up with Ivory.” Comet strode into the hallway, leaving a confused Thunder behind for a heartbeat before Thunder’s long legs caught up with the movement.
Ivory was crouched beside a door at the end of the hall, apparently trying to pick the lock while Yellowjacket watched. Yellowjacket had lit a cigarette, and was watching with amusement as Ivory cursed at the lock.
“I’ve gotcha,” Thunder said, smiling. Ivory stepped back and watched as Thunder bucked the door right off its hinges, it clattering to the ground, and sliding into the room beyond.
Comet shone his light through the door, and gaped. He could hear Thunder whistle in amazement, and even Ivory let out a breath.
It was a cornucopia of treasures to the modern wastelander. Several fully stocked first aid kits lined one shelf. Clothes, blankets, and pillows another. Two supply carts were shoved into one corner, clearly filled with cleaning supplies. Canned and boxed food made the most of the supplies.
“Shit,” Yellowjacket said quietly.
“No kidding,” Comet replied, stepping over the door and into the room, “I’ve got the chems.”
“I’ll check the food.”
“I’ve got these heavy boxes,” Ivory replied, levitating them over to him in the hallway. One box clinked when set down. Opening it revealed 6 bottles of whiskey. Yellowjacket whistled appreciatively.
“Damn there’s enough trade goods in here to buy all the potions, Radaway, Med-X and Rad-X we would need. Much less all this,” Thunder waved to the piles of chems Comet was still sorting through.
In the hallway, Ivory had tried to smoke another cigarette, but it had ended badly. Choking and coughing, Ivory had had to give it up to Yellowjacket who was awkwardly standing beside the struggling Ivory.
“Need some Med-X?” Thunder asked.
Ivory nodded, eyes watering from the coughing fit. Thunder fumbled with a smaller pouch on his bag for a moment before finding a syringe full of Med-X.
Ivory, using his magic, pulled up his barding so Thunder could inject the medicine into his shoulder. Several moments later, the fit eased, and Ivory took another dose of his inhaler.
“You good?”
Ivory’s eyes were glazed, but he nodded, “For now. We should finish this. Are we going back to New Neighara? Or staying here overnight?”
“We’ve got more than enough things to explore the Believe it or Not. Anything that’s too heavy, we can leave on the balcony and I can get it tomorrow,” Yellowjacket offered, “We should go back to town. I don’t trust it here.”
“Me either. Our luck is going to run out eventually.”
Comet nodded, shoving the last of the chems into his bags, “Yeah. Let’s get back. We can buy and trade tomorrow, then we can check out the Believe it or Not the day after.”
Ivory slipped his breathing mask back over his face, “C’mon. Let’s go.”
The group made their way back to the balcony. Yellowjacket flexed his wings, “Who first?”
Ivory lit his horn, “Thunder first. I’m...I’m fading fast. The walk and the coughing fit took more out of me than I thought.”
Thunder nodded, wincing as the glow surrounded him and the sensation he was going to fall up into the sky began. Carefully, Yellowjacket brought Thunder back to the rooftop they’d used earlier.
When Yellowjacket was setting Thunder down, Ivory bent over with another fit of coughing, his magical aura sputtering and dying. Comet watched anxiously as Thunder fell onto the roof, pulling Yellowjacket down with him.
A moment later, Yellowjacket was back into the sky, quickly covering the distance between the two, “He’s okay,” the ear bloom crackled, “Just shocked.”
Ivory tried to reply, but his words were strangled out of him by the coughing. Comet sighed, “What do you need?”
“Med-” Ivory choked again, pulling his mask down and desperately trying to get enough medicine into his spasming lungs to get them to calm down.
Comet pulled another syringe of Med-X from his pocket, and injected it into Ivory’s other shoulder. As Yellowjacket landed, Ivory’s coughing eased.
“You next, Blackie. Before your lungs stage another revolution.”
A dry chuckle was Yellowjacket’s answer. Inhaling another dose of his medication, Ivory reared onto his hind legs and let Yellowjacket bring him to the other side. Despite Ivory letting out one cough over the hoard of ghouls, the flight was thankfully uneventful.
While they waited for Yellowjacket to return with Comet, Thunder reached over and started to undo the buckles and straps of Ivory’s saddlebags.
Exhausted, and wheezing, Ivory didn’t protest. He simply helped Thunder get both sets of saddlebags settled onto Thunder’s wide back.
“Thank you,” Ivory’s voice sounded like Ivory had put a cheese grater to his vocal cords.
Thunder offered his canteen of purified water. Ivory took a careful sip before handing it back. Thunder sighed, “It isn’t a problem, really.”
When Yellowjacket and Comet returned, Yellowjacket was pleased to note that nothing had been too heavy, well except for Thunder. That wasn’t really a surprise though. The group picked their way back down to the street, and made for New Neighara.
All the while, Comet kept a close eye on Ivory all the way back to the gate.