Are old world virtues enough to keep back the madness of the wasteland? Longshot is about to find out.
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...
... harmony was supplanted by war and the magic of friendship that once suffused the land was pushed away by the magic of necromancy. However, all is not yet lost so long as somepony holds onto the old ideas.
Longshot is one such pony. A unicorn born to the Night Watch, a group sworn to stand against the dark of the endless night Equestria finds itself in, he grew up on stories of the old world virtues. Of heroes from the old world and the new who upheld them. He dreams of joining the ranks of such mighty heroes.
And then Night Watch died, leaving Longshot alone. Are virtues enough to keep away the madness? Longshot is about to find out for himself. Because war...
... war never changes. But ponies do, on the roads they walk.
Takes place in the Fallout: Equestria setting, created by Kkat
“So say goodnight to this The final setting of the sun Tomorrow dawns in darkness The nighttime has begun”
My lungs burned and heart raced, the muscles of my legs feeling like they were on fire. This was good. Physical pains like this were old friends. I knew how to focus past them. I ducked down an alley to catch my breath and make a plan. Review the facts. Make a decision.
We'd been ambushed, which was all kinds of wrong. We were supposed to be doing the ambushing. Or, the other Watchers were anyway. My squad, working with a more veteran one, was supposed to handle one of the secondary locations. We'd been hit before they got there. I hadn't even seen the attackers, but I saw Ace-
No. That was another kind of pain. One I'd never dealt with. I swallowed it back. I needed focus; relevant details.
An unknown enemy had ambushed us while the whole of the Night’s Watch had been hired out to attack a different target. Well, I assumed our ambushers weren’t the target. Raiders don’t generally make such coordinated attacks.
I wasn’t going to puzzle out who it was or how with the limited information I had. What was important is someone knew the Watchers were coming and they were determined to stop us. The other Watchers had to be warned. Magnum was squad captain, so she was the only one with a Pipbuck; the one with the radio and broadcaster. So either she'd already warned them or she was... Focus on the relevant facts. Worst case is she hasn't warned them, so I needed to. And that means I need to get to them.
The main attack was to happen a couple miles away, and I wasn’t the best runner. As evidenced by the fact I was still winded. Still, I couldn't see an alternative. I took a deep breath and summoned my will. My horn and armor enveloped in an amber glow that matched my eyes.
“Spirit of Wind,” I said. “I need you to speed my steps like never before. The Watchers are depending on us.”
There was no response, but I stepped out of my hiding spot and started sprinting. The wind whipped up behind me, pushing me along. It filled my lungs, easing my breath. My mind emptied of everything but the task before me; saving as many Watchers as I could.
The speed was incredible. The sheer joy of running with Wind never diminished, even in such a dire situation. My stride stretched out as I felt pushed from behind. My heart raced and my breath came so easy. It had been like this since the first time I’d called on this spirit. It always felt like wild, unadulterated joy. The rush of pure freedom. The press of despair was there, but its weight lifted. Enough that I could ignore it at least.
A burst of light followed by the thump of a distant explosion ahead pulled me out of my momentary relief. I didn’t know all the details of the plan, but I knew the gist. A massive explosion was not part of it. My heart sank, feeling all the worse after the high I’d just been on. I tried to focus. A plan, I needed a new plan. Survivors would be falling back. I had to help them somehow. High ground, cover the retreat. But I'd only be covering them if they took this route. I had no way to coordinate, and running around like a panicked chicken wasn’t going to help. I just had to do my best and hope it helped.
I looked around the rubble-strewn buildings and picked one with an unblocked entrance, racing around since Wind was still with me. The joy of speed had a much harder time rising to the surface this time, and I wasn’t sure I wanted it to. Focus was what I needed. The staircase inside was traversable all the way to its third story roof, miraculously. I moved some trash around for a makeshift blind and settled in.
I got itchy quickly. I squirmed around and tried to settle in, but was unable to get comfortable. The more I fought it the antsier I got. Until I realized it was Wind. It hated to sit still and was urging me to move. I scowled at the distraction, horn glowing as I concentrated once again. “Thank you for your service Wind.” The spirit left its temporary container and I was able to relax, though I was now entirely alone with my thoughts.
I was going to need different allies for this anyway, so I set my focus elsewhere. First on my rifle, “Light, guide my eye, show me the truest path so I will not miss.” As my horn’s glow faded, the gun got a glow of its own. Glowing like a candle, it would be a dead giveaway in the dark, but it wasn’t night yet and the payoff would be worth it at this sort of range. Not done yet, I pulled the clip out and focused on it as well. “Fire, help me bring justice down on the deserving. We will not let them get away with this unscathed.” The bullet on top of the mag itself flickered with a red-orange light. I slotted it back inside and sighted down the rifle.
Waiting was the worst part. Knowing something was coming but not knowing when. Being patient when my heart cried for action. This was the best action available to me, though. At least, I was reasonably confident of that. I could feel my emotions, the urging of my allies wrestling with one another. So much had gone wrong. My squad could be dead. Many Watchers surely were. But not all. They couldn’t be. Who would fight the dark without them? And anyway, Watchers were harder to kill than that. Some still lived. Some would always be there to fight back against the dark. And I was here, ready to pay back those who had taken from my family. Yes, they would pay. They would burn.
And soon. A line of bullets struck along the road in the intersection down the street. A moment later a Watcher came galloping around the corner at the top speed they could manage. I couldn’t make out who it was, but the armor with the shining eyes in a circle of stars was unmistakable even at this distance. My whole body relaxed. Ready to go, not too tight. My mind cleared of everything but what I needed to do.
Another pony came around the corner. I instantly recognized the armor as not our own and didn’t hesitate. Talent, training, and spirits were all true. The pony dropped not more than a couple of steps from the corner of the building. A third pony followed them around the corner and stopped on seeing the body. His cry of “Sniper!” reached me as I pulled the trigger, smooth and clean. The pony tried reversing course, but it was too late. This pony wasn't struck anywhere vital, but they didn’t need to be. Their flesh caught flame, Fire's power moving from the bullet to their own flesh, and their screams echoed up and down the hollow metal corridors of the ruins. They made it back around the corner, but the screams continued as they burned.
Nopony else followed and after a few moments, I examined the foe I'd dropped. No doubt a raider, what with the mismatched armor and the mane “style”, if you could call it that. One of the targets we were after then, not the more professional looking ponies who had ambushed my own squad. What exactly was going on here? There wasn’t time to think about that. The other Watcher had apparently made their escape while I was focused on my targets. There were others to save anyway. I focused down the sights again and waited.
I heard the fighting elsewhere intensified. There was a period of quiet, a few Watchers and their pursuers trickled in. Then the floodgates opened. A good chunk of the Watchers chose this as their escape route from whatever fighting was happening further on. Some died. Many died. But I had the ammo and had the angle to take down a lot of raiders. My world became the sights and the intersection in the distance. Pick a target. Line up the shot. Pull the trigger. Repeat. Sometimes I had to reload or renew the spirit's strength so they could keep assisting me.
Then my concentration broke as something touched my wither. I jumped, reflexively casting. No words, the Spirit of Diamond was simply imbued into my armor, making it that much tougher.
“Longshot, relax. It’s me.”
After a moment I came back to the world beyond the intersection. The magical fatigue from sustaining so much for so long hit me like a truck. My mouth had the taste of copper in it, must’ve bitten my cheek again. My legs were stiff from laying on them so long.
And yet, all that was just background noise, just a part of me taking inventory. My focus was on was a sight that squashed that black hole in my chest. An earth pony in Watcher armor and a pair of holstered .44s. Those amber eyes that matched my own. Mirroring the relief that washed over me, making the fatigue so easy to bear.
“Magnum.” I couldn't bring myself to say anything else. I didn't need to, though. That one word carried with it everything she needed to know. What I'd been through in the time we'd been separated. How glad I was to know that at least the two of us still breathed. That we were still a squad.
“Longshot.” A hint of a smile touched her lips for a moment. She'd been through just as much and felt the same. The situation was still too dire to spend more time on it than that. “I knew it was you up here. Your improvising is as good as ever.”
“I didn’t have much to work with, but I did what I could." I tilted my head back toward the intersection. "What’s going on out there?”
“Comms are a mess, so it’s hard to tell. A lot of leadership is MIA right now so unit commanders are trying to coordinate as best they can.”
“Now is one of those times I wish we all had Pipbucks, not just unit commanders.”
“Isn’t that all the time? Would’ve found you a lot faster if we did. Have you seen Cornerstone? Or Silver?”
I felt the black hole start to reform. I'd been hoping Magnum knew. We stared at each other for a long moment as the mood broke.
“Right. We need to move-”
I immediately cut in, “No. I’m doing a lot of good here. This is right where I need to be.”
“It was, but they’ve taken notice of you. There’s a lot of movement coming this way. They’re going to try something to get you out of here at some point; they’re raiders, not morons. We need to pull back and regroup with the forces that are left.”
“There are still Watchers pulling back right? We can do more good here, especially with you to watch my back now.”
“We’re not going to do anypony any good if we’re dead, Longshot.”
“We can deal with whatever they try to throw at us now that we’re together. Plus, if you found me here, Stone and Silver could too.”
“That doesn’t make sense, they don’t have-” I spotted a metallic orb drop into sight behind Magnum and it felt like time stopped. My subconscious recognized it as a threat before I knew what it even was. My heart seemed to pause in it's beating a moment. I could hear Magnum was talking, but it didn't register. The orb fell almost gracefully as my mind felt sluggish as it raced to determine what it was and what to do. As it was disappearing behind Magnum’s frame, I recognized it for what it was.
“Grenade!”
Time returned. Magnum turned her whole body to follow my line of sight. I reached out blindly with my magic to try and grab it, but not being able to see it anymore I missed completely. Even over the sound of fighting a few streets away, I heard the metallic sound of the grenade bouncing off the ground. Like nothing else in the world existed. My eyes tried to search the ground past Magnum but came up with nothing. She started to move.
And then a flash of light and muted boom tore away the world.
All was dark. Nothing hurt, which was a surprise. I thought I’d known what it was like not to hurt, but I'd never realized all the aches and pains I’d been accustomed to. Even beyond that was the lack of any fatigue. I’d been so tired. All the time. The sudden absence was blissful on its own, even devoid of anything pleasurable. What had I been before? What did it matter? Here everything was peaceful.
“No. Oh no. Sisters, please…”
That voice, though it felt distorted, murky, and distant, I knew it. Something familiar that I couldn’t place. It was disrupting my rest. She should relax into the peace like I was. What was there to be so upset about anyway?
He is here.
Another voice. This one much closer, crystal clear. I was sure he’d never heard it before and yet it was one I felt intimately familiar with. Confusion seized me but the presence was soothing; warm and soft.
Suddenly voices were everywhere, overwhelming.
Why do we hesitate?
We cannot let them get away with this.
He is most closely tied to us. He is our best choice.
There is the other-
She sees us as tools. She is useless to us.
“You’re going to make it. You have to.” Somehow I still heard the more distant voice clearly over the others. Like she was more solid somehow. She sounded breathless and weak, pausing occasionally to grunt like she was talking while she worked at something. “You’re too stubborn not to. You never did let Stone out-stubborn you.”
Stone… The word meant something. Something important. What was it? A rock, a lifeless object. Or, no. Wasn’t it name?
Quiet. You confuse him. The choice is his to make, not ours.
Where there is life-
There is hope.
But he must choose. We assist, not direct.
Someone had to fight? That would take a lot of energy. Energy I didn’t have, that's for sure. I'm glad it's not me. It's so much easier to relax and enjoy the lack of all those aches. Even all the talking wasn’t so bothersome.
He has chosen it before. He will do it again.
I am not so sure. He appears to be letting go.
He was born a fighter. He will fight.
A mortal only has so much fight in them. He has been fighting a very long time just to get here.
But he now has more to fight for than ever. Surely he will not give in when he is most needed.
Something to fight for… didn't I have that? It felt like an echo of a memory. I knew that drive once. It seemed like so much effort though, and for what in return?
“Just breathe damn it. You have to.” The more distant, yet more solid voice sobbed. “One of us has to make it. Please. Sisters above, please. Save him.”
Magnum. The voice belonged to Magnum. She was a sister. She was important. We had trained together to… do something. It was important. I couldn’t hold my thoughts together, they were fuzzy and refused to come together, but she needed me for something. I needed to get up.
He stirs.
Hold. He hasn’t chosen. He must commit.
He will.
We cannot lose him.
We'd trained to protect ponies. That was it. And we protected each other. She needed me now, for something. I couldn’t piece together what, but if she was telling me to do it then it was important. I was called. I must answer. I struggled against the darkness that seemed so inviting. Pain started to return and I couldn't help flinching back. Even the little sensation was too much after all the nothing. I wasn’t sure I could bear it, no matter how determined I was. I heard Magnum sob.
There.
Now.
Of course, Lady. As before.
Suddenly, something grabbed me, helped to pull me through the darkness. A warmth pushed back the pain and fatigue. It didn’t disappear but was manageable enough to fight through.
What do you think you are doing?
A new presence. Heavy. It grabbed hold of me, pulling me back toward the painless nothing.
You are too late.
I am here to claim what is my right.
Not today. Today, my son chooses to fight.
There was a pride in that voice that buoyed me, though I couldn't place why. Whatever it was, it was the last push I needed to get out of this noplace I was stuck in.
Everything was dark. Cold seemed to seep into my very bones. Somewhere beyond the ever-present cloud cover the sun had set, making it nearly impossible to see. I coughed hard, wracking my body with pain. I fought through it and struggled to my hooves, pain was nothing new. I was breathing and mobile, so I was good to go.
I couldn’t remember much of anything though, so I tried to piece my memory back together in the dark. Something important happened. I went back to the most recent memory I was sure of. The ambush. Right. I worked forward from there, following the sequence of events as best I could until- The grenade.
“Magnum?” My voice croaked out into the night. I went for the canteen at my side and found it empty. I couldn't remember drinking the last of it... I shrugged it off and tried to look around but couldn't make out much of anything. I realized I was being stupid and I lit up my horn, though even that simple spell put a strain on me. I was well spent, but now I could see at least.
I wished I couldn’t. My light threw harsh shadows over a gruesome scene. Magnum lay right next to where I'd woken up, far too still and clearly missing a foreleg below the knee.
My body seized up, which was good because it prevented me from vomiting. The analytical part of my mind kept running, taking in the details of the scene that weren’t here before. The missing leg had a tourniquet tied to it. I had bandages over my chest, right where the pain had been most concentrated when I'd coughed. Nearby lay some cuttings from the fabric she’d apparently used to tie her leg off, and a single feather just at the edge of my circle of light. Between her and where I'd been laying were a single potion container and a pile of small metal shards covered in something that was hard to make out but was surely blood.
The story I pieced together was... bad. She’d been close enough that the explosion had managed to take her leg clean off. I hadn’t escaped unharmed, taking some of the shrapnel right in the chest. She’d remained conscious somehow or had come to shortly after, sheer earth pony stubbornness probably. She had tended to herself first, as best she could, tying off her leg. But there was no way to cauterize the wound with anything at hoof; dying from blood loss was inevitable. Even if she could have, she was peppered with shrapnel.
So she had tended to me, pulling out what shrapnel she could from my body, and using her only emergency healing potion on me. She had no way to know I would survive either, but judged my chances better and spent her last minutes trying to pull me back rather than save herself.
The hole in my chest returned, so much worse than the physical pain. There was nothing to separate me from it anymore. There was a scream, shattering the silence of the night in the city, the sound echoing off the surrounding metal canyon. I think the scream came from me. I fell to the ground and held her body. Something wet ran down my face. I begged for the Royal Sisters to bring her back. She couldn't be gone. I'd give myself for her in a heartbeat. Just bring her back.
The returning, enveloping silence was my response.
I had no concept of how much time had actually passed but the complete cloud cover started to glow with the light of the sun they hid. The growing light revealed Magnum’s missing leg some distance away. Attached to it was her PipBuck. Duty managed to worm its way into my mind and I went over to it. Pipbucks could survive balefire, so it’d surely be fine. A lot of functions wouldn’t work with its user ... but regardless the broadcaster should be one of the functional ones. I carefully pulled the hunk of metal from the detached appendage. After a little fumbling, I’d never handled one before, I managed to get the radio working. So it wasn’t broken at least.
“This is Longshot. Unit Leader Magnum is- I need orders, is anypony out there?” Static.
“I need orders,” I repeated. "Is anypony reading me?" I got the same reply.
I started to cycle through channels, hoping to find something. I got some music at one point, the ever-present DJ-PON3 cast. I cycled again, and again, finding nothing new. I stopped on the somber tune DJ-PON3 was playing and sat down. Or really, my back legs collapsed.
"I need orders. What am I supposed to do?"
"Good morning, wasteland. I'm sure you're all used to me starting the day with something cheery, get the day started off right. But not all days can be like that. Sometimes I've got to be the bearer of bad news, and this is one of those days.
"All my good little children will have heard me talk about the Night Watch out Neighagra's way. They took fighting the good fight literally, never hesitating to put themselves on the line to protect somepony else. Well ... last night was their last night on watch.
"Details are sparse, but it looks like they were hired for a big job not far from the edge of the crater in downtown Neighagra. Likely dealing with the raiders who are willing to deal with some potential radiation in their homes. I'm not sure how, but those raiders seem to have won the fight. Right now, there are no confirmed Watcher survivors. Their headquarters is completely empty. No report on if it was hit or if those who were there simply cleared out upon hearing about the attack. Even the little town that cropped up around them to support them is empty.
"I'm sorry my little ponies, but there's no upside on this one. I have no good news to share. The good fight has lost some staunch defenders, and we're all the worse off for it. Those of you living in Neighagra better keep your guns close to hoof. Things are looking to get crazy in the city going forward.
"This is DJ-PON3. Bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts."
Big Debut: Failed
“The years now before us Fearful and unknown I never imagined I’d face them on my own”
“But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world.”
"The stars, the moon They have all been blown out You left me in the dark
No dawn, No day I'm always in this twilight In the shadow of your heart."
I woke with a gasp and sat upright in bed. Months later and the same dream keeps happening. I continued the motion and rolled out of bed. I pushed aside the images in my mind and focused on my barding. I paused to contemplate those eyes staring out from stars I'd never seen. I accepted the judgment they passed on me without a word and stepped into the black shell I wore like a second skin. Once all that was on, it was time to do a cleaning of my firearms. Old reliable, the 10mm sidearm that ponies of all types have trusted for 200 years. The 5.56mm service rifle, the backbone of any infantry unit because it covered just about any situation. The .32 civilian model with scope for when I had the luxury of long distance and time. Each of them disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled with careful precision and the speed that only comes with lots of practice. Last was the pair of broken .44 revolvers. They were beyond repair and certainly wouldn't work again, but I cleaned it as attentively as I did all the others.
I hadn't checked Magnum's PipBuck hanging around my neck when I got up, so I wasn't sure how long it had been. I did know nopony could run through that whole routine as fast as I did. Being able to manipulate each individual screw simultaneously did help with that; a little exploded cloud of parts making it easy to get at the hard to reach places. The sun hadn't risen yet by the time I finished, but I wasn't going to stick around in here any longer, so I headed out of my room and down the ramp.
I was not the first one up, as usual in the Coffee Inn. A tan earth pony with a creamy white mane was behind the counter in the common room leaning over a small mug. "Mocha, I don't know how you're always up so early."
"The miracle of coffee." White Mocha smiled as she looked up at me, then leaned over her mug and breathed deep through the nose to emphasize the point. "You'd like some yourself, I assume?" She smiled and took a sip.
I nodded. "And breakfast, if you don't mind."
"I'll go grab some of the freshly roasted beans." She took her mug with her as she walked off. I sat at the counter and waited, following her path in my head. Better her path then the well-worn one my mind wanted to go down. There was the greenhouse deeper in the city where her family grew the beans and the roaster they used as soon as they picked them. She'd be grabbing the most recent shipment from them, from the phrasing they must've gotten in yesterday. I heard the whirring of the grinder, turning the beans nearly to a powder. The smell was strong and hit me hard even in the dining area, overpowering the smell of metal and rust that most of this place was built from, for a moment at least. I breathed deep and sighed. I could just about hear her getting it into the coffee maker and listened to it start to boil the water.
She got my breakfast out to me while we waited for my coffee to finish. I popped the lid off and dug in, eating unenthusiastically.
"Up early again, I see," Mocha said, making conversation quietly so not to disturb the other guests sleeping upstairs.
"Evils never cease. It's hard to rest when you're thinking about what you're not there to stop." Close enough to the truth.
"I get it. Sometimes it feels like you're the only one putting a stop to any of it." She took a thoughtful sip. "I think that makes it all the more important you get your rest. When you're needed that badly, we need you at your best."
"Easy to say, but actually getting the rest is a lot more difficult." I looked down at my can of century-old food. I wasn't even sure what it was, I certainly wasn't tasting it.
Mocha didn't say anything and we sat in companionable silence, her drinking and me chewing until my coffee finished brewing. She brought to me as soon as it was done and I downed a good part of it as quick as I could. Coffee was impossible not to taste, few things were so bitter. I snorted and shook my head. "I don't know how you can sit there and savor this." It was well worth the effects though. I could already feel myself waking up like a kick in the muzzle.
"It's an acquired taste," she chuckled.
"How many caps does this leave me with?"
"I didn't check. You should be careful though, you're down to a bare few thousand caps." She smirked at me.
"Can't afford to let it slip my mind. I'm not good with caps. If we can't get supplies we can't help anypony."
"Well, you're not in any danger of that. Going shopping today?"
"I'm not exactly low on bullets or rations, but I'm always running out of medical supplies."
"You mean healing potions," Mocha sighed. "You should have an actual doctor treat you more often. There's more to injuries than what a potion patches together."
"In combat, you don't get much choice of who patches you up. Besides, I'm doing fine so far."
"Of course." She looked a little sad but didn't say what was on her mind. "I'll make sure the caps are ready to pay Nectar when he sends the bill."
"Thanks, Mocha. Your family's been great to me."
"Well, you've been great to us in the months since-" She stopped herself and I was grateful. I didn't need the reminder right after I'd pushed it all out of my head. She quickly changed the topic. "We're not a bank though."
"Of course you are," I smirked. "You just happen to have only one customer." I downed the rest of the coffee, finally braced enough to finish it. "I'll get going."
"It's still a little early for shops to be open."
"Yeah, but they'll be open soon enough and I feel like going for a walk." Really I felt the need to be moving but same difference, right?
She smiled at me, but there was a note of sadness to it. "Alright, stay safe out there Longshot."
"No promises," I said, heading out the door.
I stepped out into the dim light of early morning. The sun was rising somewhere beyond the never-ending clouds and a new day was beginning. Lock's Port was still sleepy though. The central square that the Coffee Shop was in only had a few ponies up and about yet, though that would certainly change through out the day. By the last lock was a guard who was doing his duty well, looking alert despite the fact his shift was likely about to end. I made no attempt to distract him and he offered no greeting.
Sadly the same couldn't be said of one of the others who were up this early. "Good morning, Watcher," came a chipper voice. "Out trying to do the impossible once again today?" The earth pony smiled widely. A little too wide for my tastes. He wore patchwork robes that were clean in places and disgusting in others.
"Still fighting the good fight, if that's what you mean," I said, more coldly than Compassion would allow. I couldn't help myself. "How about the Cult of Discord? Still cheerily wrecking things in the hope of being 'saved'? Or are you here today to preach how we're so lost and need a savior, even if it's not the savior we'd like?"
"Of course! You'll realize one day that ponies can't fix the mess we've made. When you do we'll be waiting to receive you with open hooves." He never lost that creepy smile. I couldn't tell if he were sincerely on the edge of insanity or was just trying to push himself to be, in order to better appease his god.
"I promise the day I think Discord could rule better than anypony is the day I throw myself into Tartarus."
He laughed. "That's a splendid idea! Why, if you could find and open the gates to Tartarus that would make for some wonderful chaos! Surely Discord would turn his eye on us once again."
"Read the history books sometimes, Discordant. Your 'god' is encased in stone, he's not coming back so easily."
"I see quite clearly what history tells me, Watcher. Perhaps you should look to your own and discover the futility of your fight."
I could feel the heat rise to my face and pushed it back down. I didn't always need to call on Fire to feel its presence. "Yeah well, let me know if you ever make contact with your god. Maybe we'll talk then." I turned to walk away.
"Oh, he speaks to me all the time!" I was hit in the back of the head with something and whipped around only to see a mutifruit on the ground near me and that the Discordant's smile had only gotten wider. "He suggests you lighten up and have something fresh."
I was sorely tempted to pull out a rifle and be done with him. I doubt anypony would complain, including the guard nearby. But this was something that Compassion wouldn't give in on. Everypony we kill is a pony we've failed. He was just a pony who had lost his way. I might not know how to help him, but I certainly wasn't going to strike him down for being annoying.
"Thanks," I said through gritted teeth and picked up the mutifruit. The Discordant just laughed as I walked away with it.
I nodded at the last pony present this early, a beggar unicorn whose name I'd never caught. She responded gruffly. "Don't you let him get to you, Watcher. We need ya."
I didn't respond at first. Digging through my saddlebags, I found a couple bottles of unirradiated water and passed them to her. At least I could still please Generosity this morning.
"Ah, the good stuff. Bless you, Watcher. I won't be sick today." She took it in her magic and took a careful sip. She obviously wanted to down it all but knew she needed to make it last.
I watched her for a moment, wondering how long she'd been surviving on the generosity of others. "I won't be around to give you free water forever, you know."
"Nonsense," she scoffed. "You're young yet, you're gonna be around a good long while. Besides, I survived before you started coming around, I'll survive when you're gone."
I wanted to ask if surviving was enough for her, but I doubt the mare had ever known anything else. It wasn't worth trying to push it. I inwardly shrugged and walked on.
"Hey, you gonna keep that mutifruit?"
I was caught a bit off guard, I'd forgotten I was still holding it. I shrugged, "If you're sure you want it." I passed it over to her.
"Can't live off water alone," she said and quickly tore into it. I let her enjoy it as I walked off, heading for the marketplace.
Lock's Port was a pretty busy part of Neighagra thanks to the canal that started here and ran out to Manehatten. Plenty of goods were shipped from here to Friendship City and Tenpony Tower. However, some goods were still sold here if a buyer could be found, and there were plenty of stalls. It was mostly empty at the moment, plenty of stalls were being set up but there weren't any customers yet. I got greetings from the salesponies, and I gave some quiet ones in return but paid little attention as I made my way to the local doctor's office.
Apple Nectar's place was, like many of Lock's Port residences, inside an old world building. It was an unassuming place with a sign outside showing a cross with butterflies on it to differentiate it from the actual residences. The colors were wrong, lacking the pink and yellow that normally designate medicine, but you used what paint you had. The shape was enough on its own to make the point clear; get patched up here. Stepping inside, it was pretty dark thanks to the boarded up windows but at least it was clean. That was a big selling point compared to some supposed doctors I'd seen outside the Night Watch HQ.
"Hey, doc? You in here?" I called out, taking a few careful steps forward in the dim light.
"Is this an emergency?" I heard from somewhere upstairs. "I'm not open yet if it's not."
"It's me, Nectar. Just coming to see about picking up some supplies."
"Of course it's you, Watcher," he said, sounding a bit weary. "Just a minute."
I took a seat on the floor where I stood, waiting patiently. The lights in the room came on and the big earth pony came downstairs, the thumping of hooves on the stairs announcing his presence before he actually came into view.
"I'm afraid I got some bad news for you, Watcher."
"You're not out of healing potions are you?" I saw, furrowing my brow in worry.
"Not completely, no. I need to hang on to what I got, though. I'm running low on everything right now, healing potions might be my only fall back soon enough."
"A doctor without medicine is a doctor who's gonna have trouble doing his job."
"True enough. Which is why I need the potions. I've been meaning to talk to you about it, actually. I'm short because I was supposed to be getting a shipment in from Manehatten a week ago."
"Why didn't you mention it the last time I was here?" Medicine was important, that was something I would've looked in on last time I was in town instead of a job checking out a possible raider hideout.
"It's not that unusual for a shipment to be a day late." He shrugged. "I'm willing to hire you properly now though, send you up the canal and see if you can't find out what happened at least. I'd pay a bonus if you can get the shipment back too."
I didn't have to think too hard about this one. "I don't need an upfront payment, but I am going to need the potions you do have."
"I give you all the potions, I've got no backup."
"If I get shot and bleed out you don't get supplied at all. I'll need a few at least."
He huffed reluctantly. "Yeah, fair enough. I can spare a couple. Especially if you're not charging."
"I'll still take the bonus if I can get any back."
"Yeah, that's fair. Hold on, I'll go grab a few of them." He headed through a door in the back. I waited patiently once again until he came back and put the vials he brought into my saddlebag. "You know, if you didn't get shot so much you wouldn't down so many of these."
"If I didn't get shot so much I wouldn't be doing my job."
"Maybe find a healthier line of work?"
That wasn't a suggestion I could take seriously. "Anything you can tell me about the barge it should've come in on?"
"Afraid not, I was dealing with the supplier himself, by letters. An honest-to-Celestia zebra living on the outskirts of Manehatten brews a bunch of chems himself, doesn't scavenge for old world stuff. Don't know who he hired to bring it here."
"Could be something happened to him before he shipped it then, not the barge."
"That's possible," he said, rubbing his chin. "I sent a letter along to him to let him know the shipment hadn't arrived, but I hadn't considered he might not have sent it at all."
"If I don't find any signs of an attack I could find this zebra myself, talk to him about it. I'd need to buy more rations and clean water if I'm going all the way to Manehatten though."
"Well, I was going to pay you something before you turned me down," Nectar said. "I'll pass along some caps to the Coffee Inn to help cover anything you pick up today."
"That's alright, doc. I'm already taking some health potions while you're short. I can cover supplies for a trip to Manehatten well enough, better you have the caps to buy more supplies if this shipment isn't recoverable."
"That's real generous of you Watcher, I appreciate it."
"Hopefully your patients will too."
"Don't doubt it. I'll be glad to have those supplies in, too."
"Don't doubt it," I echoed as I stepped back outside, planning out my new mission. Finding the supplies wouldn't be an easy task unless I found a survivor of whatever took the barge down. Or I'd have to track down this zebra and make sure he was alright, which wouldn't be any easier. And then if raiders were the ones who took the supplies, getting them back wouldn't be a walk in the park either.
Sounded like a good task for a Watcher. I adjusted my saddlebags and strode forward with purpose.
"I pray for the safety of all good ponies, but we can't expect the Sisters to do all the work."
Yesterday's walk had been a long one. I'd managed a pretty early start, being the only customer in the market meant getting supplied was quick and painless, and that meant a full day's worth of travel. Nothing particularly eventful had happened, passed a barge headed back down from Manehatten. Didn't have much time for chatting, but they did say they weren't carrying any medicine. Not a surprise, it was primarily caps that came back from Manehatten. They also said they hadn't seen any signs of an attack.
I cleaned out my guns carefully but quickly, contemplating my plans. It's hard to miss a barge abandoned in the canal. Signs pointed to this being a long walk to Manehatten. Couldn't say I was happy about that, I didn't like getting too far from home. It meant no support if things went bad. I berated myself for the thought, it's not like I had support in any case. And whose fault is that?
"Not mine." The low voice made me jump before I realized it had been me. But the sudden distraction had pulled me away from the meticulous details of my 5.56 and I realized my gut was trying to get my attention. Something was wrong. I looked around my campsite. It wasn't along the canal itself, that was too well worn a route. Never knew what pony was going to come upon you, and sometimes they weren't friendly. I was nestled low between some hills. It made it more difficult to be seen, but it also meant that right now I didn't have a view of anything around me. Nothing jumped out as an immediate sign of danger.
I set the pieces of my rifle down and drew my 10mm. Standing up, I turned a slow circle. There was nothing but the dirt mounds that were meant to hide me and some scraggly brush that I wasn't even sure was alive. Other than the light wind, everything was almost eerily silent. I'd already checked around before setting up camp last night, so I was sure there weren't any mole rat holes or the like nearby. I sat back down again, giving one last glance around. I could feel the eyes on me but had no idea where they could be. I set my pistol down.
"Hello, Longshot."
I about jumped out of my skin and whipped around, raising my pistol. Nothing there. My brain caught up with where my ears reported the sound coming from and I looked up to see a parasprite bot floating over my head.
"You," I growled. I didn't give him the satisfaction of using the name he'd given himself. The name he'd stolen. Explained my gut feeling though. My subconscious must've been aware of the bot's music and heard it cut off after I'd spoken.
"I didn't mean to spook you," came the mechanically flat voice. "Maybe you should look up when you're checking around yourself, though."
"I don't need advice from you." True enough. It was a reminder Watchers were given often. Pegasi, griffins, even dragons and hippogriffs. They were rare but not unheard of, and it only takes being surprised once. Technically I didn't need the advice, even if it was a good reminder.
"I remember. It's been awhile and I wanted to check in."
"Weapons. Armor. Got 'em. Had 'em the first time," I said dismissively, turning back to my rifle and ignoring the Sisters-damned imposter.
"Friends." The word was drawn out. Without inflection, it sounded more like the bot was malfunctioning. It took me a moment to realize whoever was on the other end was trying to give emphasis.
"I have plenty of friends," I said, trying to ignore them.
"You have customers and acquaintances. I know sometimes you team up with somepony, but you never stick with them for long."
"I didn't want your advice the first time, or the second. Why do you think I'd take it now?" I tried my best to focus on the rifle, but it felt like Fire was trying to claw its way out of me.
"I think you're one of the good ones, Longshot. I just." The bot didn't so much trail off as cut off. "I'd rather not see that change."
"I'm not your concern." I snarled. I just wanted the bastard to go the buck away.
"Maybe not then. But I am concerned from somepony else."
"You going to hire me?" I bit at them sarcastically. "Watchers do the work themselves, imposter."
"There's a pony not too far up the canal from you," they said, ignoring my comments. "You could use their help."
"I could use their friendship, could I?"
The imposter ignored me. "Raiders found her in a vulnerable state and she joined them for lack of choice but she wants out. Last night she took a chance to slip away, but some enemies she made in the group have decided to hunt her down. She thinks he's escaped, but-"
"She doesn't know they're coming." I rested my head against a hoof, holding it there. The son of a mule knew how to push my buttons. I wanted nothing to do with him but, if any of this was true I couldn't willfully ignore it. Compassion, Integrity, Generosity. Even Loyalty had its say. They were all in agreement on this one. It was a no-brainer. But I was not okay with letting this imposter tug me around.
"This particular raider group recently got their hooves on a couple crates of medical supplies."
"I hate you so Luna-damned much, you know that?" I spoke through gritted teeth.
I didn't get a response, just the pop of static as the music came back. The bot floated off, disinterested. I only kept from screaming at it in frustration because I was pretty sure the bastard could still see and hear me if they cared to. I cut my cleaning routine short, piecing the rifle back together as fast as I could. Something urgent had come up. Lives couldn't wait.
Unfortunately, the imposter hadn't mentioned how close 'not too far' was. It was midmorning before I realized that I could be going for many hours yet, but I wasn't willing to slow my pace too much. I couldn't afford to be late, even if my lungs protested. Thankfully, Wind made a good companion on long hikes like these. Granted I couldn't keep the pace it would like, it always itched to run. It still kept me going faster than I would have without it.
It was sometime after midday that I started hearing gunshots. They were far, too far for comfort if they were who I was looking for. I took a deep breath and started in at a gallop, I could feel the joy from Wind as it pushed me along, thrilled to finally be going at full speed. It was hard not to feel buoyed by the rush of joy and freedom, but I needed to focus.
It was a long time before I got close to the fighting. Gunshots can be heard from a long way off, especially in the quiet of the wasteland far from any settlement. I was hardly on the edge of hearing, but even a few minutes is an eternity in a firefight. The shooting was sporadic though, so whatever was happening, both sides were being cautious and slow. There was an explosion before I got into visual range and it worried me, but gunfire picked up again a moment later.
I came across the remains of a little old-world village, the ruins of buildings still upright but crumbling. Plenty of places to find cover, and not somewhere to walk in blind even when there isn't a firefight going on. I found myself a hill with a nice vantage point and settled down. I considered dismissing Wind but decided if I needed to move I was going to want to do it quickly. It was also going to help my breathing, well worth it making me antsy. A quick request for help and investment of magic and I had Light in the scope of my .32 once again. The glow might give me away, but the day was as bright as the wasteland got, so it was worth the risk.
After all that hurrying there was a lot of waiting. My breathing settled with a minimum of coughing. It was hard to keep still, with a pony who might need my help so close. I wasn't going to walk into close quarters with no intel though, not without a combat shotgun anyway. Muzzle flashes and the sound of gunfire kept popping up, but I couldn't get a visual on the
combatants. There and gone in a moment. Someone would occasionally shout something, possibly taunts but it was impossible to tell at this distance.
Finally, I got a visual. Truth be told I almost pulled the trigger as soon as I saw them out of simple habit until I remembered what I was looking for here. The mare was as plain as an earth pony could be, brown on brown. If it weren't for the raider armor they wouldn't be memorable at all. She carried a baseball bat in her jaw, but as I watched she tucked it into a strap to hold it in place and pulled out a small metal disc. I recognized the frag mine as she activated and dropped it in the alley she was running down. She took cover on the side of the building facing me, clutching the bat again and ready to swing.
Her pursuer came around the corner and, armed with foreknowledge, it was easy to tell the difference between the two. The new guy in my scope was wearing the same sort of patchwork, scrap armor but his mane was done up in that wild raider style and he had much more scarring. This was a lifelong raider, the one with the bat was clearly new to this particular game.
Whatever else I could say about him, the imposter didn't lie.
The idiot full of bloodlust somehow failed to notice the bright red light on the ground, or just failed to register it as important. The mine went off directly under him. After a brief moment of flight, he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Theoretically, he might've survived, but that was a worse case scenario for him. I doubt his friends would be willing to stop and spare some potions or Hydra before he bled out.
The next pursuer laughed, a mare levitating a beat-up 10mm pistol along in front of her, enjoying the battle frenzy. I wondered if she heard the shot that killed her as my bullet, guided by Watcher training and Light itself cleanly put her down. Likely a better end then her 'friend' just had.
That definitely put a stop to things. The pony I was here for clutched at her bat and looked around at the sound of the .32. You didn't have to know guns to know that wasn't the kind of retort that had been part of the fighting previously. She didn't seem to spot me though, and one of her pursuers called out loud enough "Where the tartarus did she get a gun?!"
There wasn't much movement after that. The mare was checking around the corner from time to time but there was no sign of the one who’d called out a moment ago. When she was looking out toward me I raised my rifle up into the air and waved it. No longer looking down the scope I couldn't tell if she'd seen, but I stood up and started moving toward her anyway. I kept my rifle in the air and waving and hoped she got the message I was friendly.
A brisk trot with Wind at my back had me there in no time. I could see her watching me warily as I approached, but neither of us said anything until we were at a reasonable distance to talk. Though I did stay a good few strides away. Her only weapon was a bat and possibly some explosives, no reason to take unnecessary chances.
"You okay?" I asked as I came to a stop.
"Why did you help me?" She'd pulled her bat out of her mouth and held it against her as she sat, looking at me suspiciously.
"You needed helping."
"No pony helps raiders."
"You're not a raider," I couldn't help smirking before getting back to the topic at hand. "Are you hurt?"
"I wasn't shot but, do you have any food to spare?"
I didn't quite let my guard down but I did approach and offer her a tato. I saw her eyes go wide as if she were excited, which confused me. But then she bit in and seemed much more surprised then she did when she saw it.
"Bleeaaaa..."
I chuckled. "Haven't had a tato before?"
"A what?"
"You just tasted one so you know about as much as you need to, I think. It'll keep you from starving at least."
She made an unhappy noise and took another bite, reluctantly.
I was about to speak again when I heard a strange noise and my brain went on high alert, much too late. Around the corner of the building this mare had taken cover behind came another raider carrying a section of pipe.
My rifle was no good in this situation so I went for my pistol, but he swatted at it as he closed. He easily knocked it out of my magic field and sent it skittering across the ground. I tried to back up and go for my last resort, a simple combat knife, but he was too close and too fast.
Thankfully, I was tall for a pony. It put my head at an awkward angle for him to swing at. I was not so grateful for where it put my knees, however. My leg buckled under the impact and I fell forward. I tried to turn it into a roll to get away from him but I got another crack from the pipe for my efforts.
I went to grab hold of my knife again, accepting that I was going to take another hit in the process and having to hope I didn't lose concentration when another crack came like the sound of thunder right on top of me. I expected from the sound a bone to be broken at best and waited for the pain. Until a scream came that wasn't mine.
Another impact, this one much wetter and I rolled to my hooves, and quickly letting off the injured leg, and saw the mare I'd come to save rearing up for another swing at my attacker with the bat. His back was at a bad angle, had she broken it? Worse, his skull was... clearly not whole. It only got worse as the bat came down again.
It came up for another swing and I grabbed ahold of it in my magic. "Woah, woah. You got him."
She looked at me, her eyes wild and I had a moment of fright. She collected herself though, letting go of the bat. "Sorry..."
"It's alright. Looks like we're about even now. Thanks." She smiled weakly at that and I returned it. "Was anypony else attacking you?"
She shook her head. "There was four, but I got one earlier.
That would be the other explosion I heard. I'd have to see if she had more mines. "My name's Longshot by the way."
"Bittercup," she offered.
"Nice to meet you, Bittercup. You still alright?"
"I'm not the one who was hit with a metal pipe."
Sarcastic already. "I didn't get hit by a bat, so I think I came out pretty well in this fight. I'll get the leg wrapped in one of my charmed bandages to keep the swelling down and I should be fine."
"What were you doing out here?"
I hobbled over to the wall. Sitting down and leaning against it, I dug out a bandage. It was a good excuse not to look at her as I worked on wrapping myself up, appear nonchalant. "Looking for a missing shipment of medical supplies. Could've been stolen, or maybe it had never been shipped to begin with."
"Oh. It was traded for safe passage."
That caught me off guard. I paused in my work to look up at her. "Traded?"
"Yeah, I guess some trader has a deal with, ah, that group. They leave supplies every so often and get to go by untouched."
I went back to wrapping. "I don't suppose you know where those supplies are now?"
She hesitated before answering. "I want you to escort me to a town. A real town, not like them."
"What, you're offering a trade?" She nodded. "No deal."
"What?" she looked startled.
"I would've done that anyway. We don't have to make that into a trade."
"Er, oh." She didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't surprised. It was a common problem for Watchers actually, ponies not believing that anypony would be Generous. I sighed internally, but let her work out how she felt about it for herself. "So. How about I help you get the shipment and then, unrelated, you help me back to town."
"You want to help?" I asked, now my turn to be skeptical.
"I helped them ambush ponies. Maybe I can undo some of that by helping get that medicine back."
That wasn't how that worked, but I could understand the instinct. "Alright then. Let's see what we can do."
In Search of Salves -(Optional) Rescue Bittercup: Complete
I'm a silhouette Asking every now and then Is it over yet? Will I ever smile again?
I'm a silhouette Chasing rainbows on my own But the more I try to move on The more I feel alone
So I watch the summer stars to bring me home
I knew what this was. I knew it when Bittercup had described it to me. Seeing it only confirmed it. It really shouldn't bother me so much. Why did it bother me at all? There had been some sort of natural cave here but the Old World had put one of those chain link fences up to block off the entrance. A chain link door allowed access when it wasn't locked, and it looked like the padlock had been broken off some time ago. The signs still attached were too faded to read.
It didn't look like much, but that had been the point. It was one of the military's emergency armories. Neighagra wasn't exactly close to the fighting, but the old world had contingencies in place for even the end of their world. Preparing for a fight on home soil was easy, relative to that. It was meant to be inconspicuous, so to not arouse curiosity, and the immediate inside was kept as unhewn stone so even if some juvenile delinquent were to break in they'd only see a cave. Deeper in there was once a stockpile, ready to be gathered up and given out to anypony read to fight for their home.
I knew as soon as Bittercup had described it just the same as I'd heard before. The Night Watch had gotten their start here. Or, not here, no. A place like this far away, before we'd decided to make Neighagra home. Before I was born. This was a different place.
This did not belong to the Night Watch. It is not mine.
No matter how often I said it, the burning anger only builds.
"Are you okay?"
I turned to look back at Bittercup, the fresh corpses behind her really put off a stench. We had mined the area outside the door, or she had as I covered her from a distance. She'd taken them as part of the explosives she'd taken with her when she'd left. It was easy then to lure a bunch of them out into our trap. Some were still inside, retreating back in when they realized what was happening. Or the ones who still could did, at least. There was going to be tense, close quarters fighting ahead. And I was standing here stewing just outside the front door.
"I'm fine. Four still left inside right?"
She nodded, then tilted her head at one of the corpses. "We got Top Gun." Top Gun, she'd explained, was the one in charge. Bittercup had explained he wasn't too bright. The mines were her idea, just for him. With their leader down, there was hopefully infighting about who was in charge. Even if not, they were still way down on numbers, now.
But the claustrophobic fighting we were going to find inside wasn't exactly my forte. Without a shotgun, I was not eager to go in. Thankfully, for once, I wouldn't be going in alone. "Take the lead, I'm right behind you."
Bittercup took up her bat, which would make it hard for us to talk, and confidently walked inside. I followed, more cautiously but careful to keep pace. Once we were through a few bends metal began to appear under our hooves. As the cave started to drop away the plates stayed level, keeping us above the sloping floor. I'd warned Bittercup to be careful about traps, but she was confident that she'd taken all the supplies they had for that, and they weren't going to have had time to put any more down. Since she was willing to go first, literally betting her life on it, I wasn't going to argue with her. We made it pretty deep in, our path only lit by the Spirit of Light in my rifle and the occasion lamp.
Bittercup stopped near a corner, setting down her bat. "The base proper is just ahead. You ready?"
She wasn't whispering. She spoke in as low a register as she could manage. I wondered where she learned that, but filed it away for later and responded in the same low register. "I've got the easy job. The question is, are you ready?"
She gave me this crazy smile. In one motion she turned to run, scooping the bat up in her mouth, and disappeared around the corner. I wasn't quite in position and was caught off guard by her eagerness. I quickly moved to where she'd been standing and leaned around the corner. I was just able to take in the prefab metal units where the stockpile would've been kept, with the catwalk run up to it, when a burst of light flashed in one of the windows. The sound of a gunshot in the cave was deafening. I barely registered it as I snapped my rifle into position and pulled the trigger twice. I couldn't be sure I'd landed my shots, but Bittercup was still running full tilt and more shots came from the other side of the doorway as I fired. I moved and double tapped where I saw those shots coming from as well. Bittercup had disappeared inside while I was firing.
Though my eyes were a bit dazzled and my ears ringing from the gunfire, I was fairly certain there wasn't any more return fire from the windows, so I followed Bittercup as quickly as I could. Bittercup was already engaged with somepony when I got there, but I paused to check the positions at the windows. Plenty of bodies, common raider decor started here, but two dressed in common raider mishmash lay by the windows.
Bittercup was pushing her opponent back and I didn't have a clear shot, but I raised my rifle anyway, ready to help if the opportunity presented itself. A unicorn stepped out of a doorway to my left, between me and the fight, and pipe floating next to his glowing horn. He turned his attention to me, eyes wide, and screamed. "You're dead!"
Bittercup's opponent made a clever move, pulling a leg out from under her. She stumbled. I fired. Her opponent dropped, a clean shot. Bittercup looked surprised. I had a moment to realize I'd made a mistake before my world was black from the intensity of the pain.
I wasn't out for long, but when I came back to my senses Bittercup and the unicorn were wrestling on the floor. Bittercup was under him, overpowered and choking. I didn't try to get up. My pistol came out and pressed into his skull, though I was careful to angle it not into Bittercup. He dropped the first time, but I put a second round into him to be sure before I dropped the gun.
"Ffffff, buck." I groaned, letting myself feel the pain now that all four were taken care of. My leg was screaming at me, trying to overwhelm me, but only now would I let it become the focus of my world.
Bittercup took a moment to try and catch her breath before coming over to me. "Are you....?" Her voice sounded bad and she didn't try to finish her sentence.
"Medical shipment." I reminded her. "See if, gaaaah, h-hydra."
"R-right!" She was gone in a moment.
I lay on the floor and focused on my breathing. I had an eternity to suffer before she'd get back. I knew my foreleg was broken, I didn't need to look at it to be sure. A broken bone is a distinct feeling. You don't forget it.
What had I done wrong? I couldn't place it. I knew in the moment I'd made a mistake, but that was a gut feeling. Review... Review, learn, move forward. A new enemy had entered the fight and announced itself. The current target got an upper hoof on my partner. I shot at them. My partner should have... Oh.
Cornerstone, after hearing the new opponent enter, would've used that trip to roll to face him and count on me to be there to cover for him. Of course, I covered for him. There wasn't a thought to it, pure instinct. It's just what we did. Bittercup was not Cornerstone. She wasn't my squad. She wasn't a Watcher.
How could I forget?
She hadn't been prepared for me to back her up and wasn't there to cover for me in turn. I fought like I hadn't for months. I fought like I was part of a squad again.
Lesson learned. Move forward.
As soon as Bittercup got back with the medical supplies anyway. For the moment I wasn't going anywhere.
She got back eventually, holding the easily identifiable bottle with the tubes running up to the mouth. "G-great," I said through gritted teeth. "Do you know how?"
"Needle in the cork. Pull up on the plunger. Inject it into your leg." She rattled off quickly.
"What're ya waitin' for?"
"Right..." She pulled out the needle and did as she said she would. I groaned from the pain, watching relief come oh so slowly.
"You know to- vein?" I grunted.
"I can do this," she assured me, walking over to me.
"Great," I grunted again, closing my eyes. It was only a moment later I felt the needle go in. Which was nothing compared to what was coming next.
I screamed as I felt my leg shifting on its own. The hydra went to work immediately setting the bone. The sounds it made were unpleasant, to put it mildly. Bone on bone didn't feel any better than it sounded. Eventually, with more of a crack, the bone finally set itself. I clutched at the leg and felt my hoof get wet. Oh great. Blood. The bone had broken the skin. How did I not notice that? The smell of blood should've... no wait, there it is. Guess I was too busy focusing on other things.
"Healing potion in my bag," I said, realizing blood loss might be why I was feeling light headed.
Bittercup went digging and came up with one. Healing potions were always kept on top. I downed it quickly.
"Feel better?" Bittercup asked.
"Ever needed hydra before? I'm gonna itch like a son of a bitch for a while."
"Sounds better to me."
I just grunted, giving it another minute. I didn't want to stand on it too soon. "I'll be fine." We fell quiet for a moment while I let my leg heal.
"You shot him."
I barked out a laugh, I couldn't help it. "Hi, I'm Longshot. Of the Night Watch. I don't believe we've met."
"No, I mean... you shot the one I was fighting, not the one coming for you."
"Paid the price for that." I grit my teeth and carefully got to my hooves. It didn't quite feel fixed yet, but it was taking my weight so that was good.
Bittercup was quiet as she watched me get up. "Thank you."
"Yeah, well..." It was hard not to think of Cornerstone in her place. We wouldn't be having a somber moment, we'd be celebrating a won fight. He'd rib me about not being able to handle a unicorn with a pipe, I'd tease him about how easy it was to make him stumble. Not exactly a steady cornerstone. One of us would challenge the other to some contest when we got back to HQ. Magnum would remind us the fight was over but not the mission... I reached out with my magic to touch one of the revolvers in my bag, just to make sure it was still there. "Next time return the favor a little faster, maybe."
I didn't wait for a response, heading back in the direction I'd seen her disappear in earlier. It wasn't hard to find the crate of medical supplies they'd dragged back here. I peeked inside and shook my head. "Looks like they used a bunch of the supplies already, " I muttered.
"Well they didn't take them to sell them," Bittercup said from the doorway. She actually caught me a bit off guard, I hadn't heard her follow me. "Plan to drag this crate back to Neighagra?"
"Not in the crate," I shook my head. "There's little enough left that if I can find a spare set of saddlebags I can just carry all this back in those."
"I'll do it," she said, stepping out of the doorway.
"Do what?"
She poked her head back in, "I know where a set of saddlebags are in here, and you have a healing leg. I'll carry them back."
I narrowed my eyes at her a moment, wondering if I could trust her with the supplies... I wasn't sure where the suspicion was coming from, she hadn't done anything to make me doubt her. Yet. "Yeah, alright..."
I sat down, staying off my leg as much as I could. Closing my eyes and trying to relax, though my head felt strange with the hydra still in my system so I couldn't really relax and refocus properly. Still... it was good to have somepony to share the load with, at least for a little while. In Search of Salves -Recover Medical Supplies: Complete
“It’s true some days are dark and lonely And maybe you feel sad But Pinkie will be there to show that it isn’t that bad.”
Unexpected developments are a part of the life of a Watcher. The old adage goes that no plan survives contact with the enemy. But developments like this one were more difficult. Combat was dangerous, but I'd trained for it since I was born; it held no fear for me. This was much more complex and couldn't be solved with good aim and the pull of the trigger.
"How many do you count?"
"Six," Bittercup replied.
"This looks like it houses more than six."
"If we're attacking, we should do it before whoever's missing comes back."
"We're not attacking."
Bittercup pulled her view out of the binoculars to look at me skeptically. "You have some problem killing raiders suddenly?"
We'd been following the canal back to Neighagra, and the canal more or less followed the river. At this point, there was a wide bend that adds a lot of travel time. Unavoidable on a barge, where dragging the supplies overland would take a lot longer. But we weren't on a barge. You might lose your way if you lost sight of the river, but I also had Magnum's Pipbuck around my neck. The map function still worked fine so it was easy enough to follow. We'd found we weren't alone in this patch of land, though.
"If they were raiders this would be simple, but they're not. Look again." It was well enough away from the canal that at worse a passing barge might hear the sound of gunfire if there were a fight here, but not much else. Travel between Manehatten and Neighagra was pretty much exclusively on barges too. It proved a nice little hideout with easy access to the canal without drawing too much attention. If they were smart, they'd never attack along the bend either, so nopony would have reason to suspect this was where they were hiding. Once we were here though, it was hard not to see it. We'd taken cover and started watching as soon as we'd seen it. It looked like we were lucky enough not to have been spotted in turn.
Bittercup rolled her eyes but did as directed. "I'm seeing a lot of crates." The original construction, if you could call it that, was scrap metal walls haphazardly welded together. They'd built out with the crates Bittercup mentioned. "Are you suggesting they bought them?"
"No." It looked pretty clearly like they'd been here a while, and I'd definitely have heard of a new trading outpost or settlement that had gotten this big. "But it's not just what's here, it's what's missing. For example, what did your last home have that you don't see here?"
"So the line between being a raider and not is decorating with dismembered bodies?" She turned to look back at me again, mildly skeptical though I got the impression she didn't much care.
From the speed of her answer, she'd already noticed. She just wasn't considering deeper. "It means there's a difference in mindset. Raiders attack caravans and barges for supplies, yeah. But they do a lot more than that, mostly to satisfy their twisted desires. This group hasn't gone that far. Not yet at least. They're doing it for survival. There's an opportunity for a more peaceful solution."
"So killing others purely for survival means you get to live, but killing for pleasure is too much?"
I sighed and rubbed my face, trying to find a way to explain. "There was a saying in the Night Watch. Every pony we kill is a pony we've failed." She clearly didn't know what to make of that, so I pressed on. "Our oath is about protecting everypony from the darkness Equestria has found itself in. If there's a chance to pull them back, I'm duty-bound to give them that chance."
"I don't think they'll give the same chance to you."
"Probably not. That's why we're watching from back here. Gotta find out if there's a way to talk to them that doesn't end in violence."
We lay on our bellies for over an hour watching. I'd pulled out the earbuds for Magnum's PipBuck, passing one over to Bittercup, so we could at least listen to DJ-PON3 while we waited. There wasn't much to gather really. A unicorn was on lookout, attentive. We'd get glimpses of the others as they moved around but saw little of them. Enough to ensure our count was correct, but we couldn't figure out anything about what they were doing.
Bittercup had the binoculars at the time, so I noticed it first. "Looks like some dust over there. Could be the rest of this gang coming back."
She turned to look in the direction I pointed out. "Can't get a clear count... I think you're right though." She passed the binoculars back to me. "Looks like a successful attack."
I had a look for myself. Too far to make out much detail, but it was at least as many as were already in those fortifications. I wasn't sure what Bittercup had been talking about at first, everypony looked like they were still traveling light. But then one shape stood out among the rest as carrying something. It took me a moment to realize what was slung across their back. "Is that a foal?"
"Looked like it to me," Bittercup said quietly.
I felt a familiar feeling, one of Fire eager to come out and play. I didn't see much reason not to let it out. "We're attacking."
"What, now?"
"I can't think of many reasons for bandits to be carrying back a foal, but none of them are good."
"What happened to being duty bound to help them?"
"I'm also duty bound to help the foal. Guess which gets priority."
"We don't have a plan," she said, clearly annoyed.
"We can't let them get the foal into their fortification or it'll be a lot harder to get him out."
"So what? Just start shooting?"
I pulled out my rifle and started inviting my spirit allies into it. Though here I realized Fire might not be best to put in the magazine after all. The ones coming back all had metal armor. Diamond would be better... "Once most of those coming back are dead or scattered, I'll keep down the heads of those in their little fort so you can get the foal out."
"If we'd talked about this an hour ago, we could've had a real plan."
"Well we didn't, so we're doing this."
She looked at me, clearly biting her tongue. I couldn't help but remember what I learned in the old world armory. Bittercup wasn't squad. Magnum, Silver, Stone; none of them would have objected. It was time for action, not debate. But Bittercup just wanted her 'I told you so' moment.
Thankfully, she caved. "Fine... but I don't have anything for this distance. It's on you."
"That's how I prefer it." I turned my focus back and started making plans. Unicorns usually got priority, especially at this range. You never knew what spells they knew until they cast one, and that could ruin your day, so best not to give them a chance. But an earth pony was carrying the foal, and I didn't want them galloping off somewhere, and it'd be much riskier to shoot at them while they were moving quickly, rather than at the slow, steady pace they were moving now. So the first shot, the surprise shot, would have to go there. Their weapons weren't in the best repair, so even the ones I might be concerned about reaching me at this range didn't change the normal priority list beyond that. Just has to wait for them to get into range.
It wasn't a long wait, but it felt a lot longer. Probably worse for the foal, which was exactly why I didn't want to put off rescuing them in the first place. My first shot rang out, the pony carrying the foal dropped almost before anyone reacted. With Light guiding my shot, I knew I wouldn't miss. Most of the bandits were too shocked to act, including one of the unicorns. They went down as well.
Chaos broke out, ponies running this way and that. Most broke for their home. That was fine. The ones outside the wall who might jump Bittercup when she went down were a much bigger concern than anypony behind the walls. I pulled the trigger only one more time when a shadow passed in front of me.
"Ah, Longshot?" Bittercup said, afraid for the first time since I met her.
I'd forgotten to look up... and what was above came crashing down. Celestia blessed us with luck though, as the dragon came down between the bandits and their home. It wasn't full grown, still in its bipedal stage. Its scales were a matte black, slit pupils dilated as it roared, towering over the ponies down there, wings spread.
"Get the foal," I barked. I didn't pay her any attention as she ran. The dragon was my focus. If they wanted to fight the bandits, fine. But if they turned on Bittercup... hopefully Diamond could pierce dragon scales…
The dragon didn’t notice Bittercup as she ran, it was far too busy tearing into the raiders in front of it. They had no chance against the dragon. The scrap metal armor wasn’t nearly tough enough to stop the claws, not that they needed to go through it often since it was so shody the dragon could just tear it off. They didn’t have very effective weapons against it either, one stallion went to stab it with a combat knife only to stop cold against the scales, finding the thrust exposed his neck. Not something you want to do to an angry dragon.
Soon, all the raiders who were coming back to base were down, Bittercup couldn’t have gotten even halfway there yet. The dragon spared a look for the foal, who had sat up but not moved. I tensed for a moment, but the dragon left them and headed off to the base instead. I couldn’t see inside, but the screaming was just as terrible.
I kept a steady watch through my scope, occasionally peeking out of it to check on Bittercup. A couple of raiders escaped the base and I gave considerable thought to shooting them but-
Every pony we kill is a pony we’ve failed.
I let them go.
I decided to make my way down to Bittercup, since she didn’t seem to bringing the foal back up here. The dragon clearly had some vendetta against the bandits and probably wouldn’t harm me or the foal. Bittercup looked like a raider though. I’d need to be there to vouch for her.
To my surprise, I found Bittercup offering the foal a Fancy Lad snack cake. A unicorn filly, it turned out. All for the better really, since she it turned out she was pink under the dust of the road. It would’ve been difficult for a stallion to grow up pink out in the wasteland. Her mane was a dull yellow, or maybe it was just that it needed a wash too. “Where’d you get that?” I asked Bittercup as I approached.
“It’s always good to have emergency snacks.” She responded without looking up. The foal was pretty unresponsive. Her yellow eyes weren’t really focused on anything. That was worrying. But Bittercup just opened the package for her and, with a little coercion, got her to take a bite.
I didn’t get a chance to say much more as the sound of wing beats got me to look up. The dragon was coming back from the base she’d just cleared, looking none the worse for wear. “Who’re you?” A female, from the voice. Her yellow eyes were narrowed at us.
“Longshot,” I tapped the emblem on my chest. “With the Night Watch.”
“Lame name,” she scoffed. “What’re you doing with this raider?”
She hadn’t heard of the Night Watch. That was fine, but I didn’t take too kindly to the snide comment. “That’s Bittercup, and she’s not a raider.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Looks like she did.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, “Right. Well, I’m going to take that foal somewhere safe now. If it’s all the same to you.”
“It’s certainly not,” I said, turning to face her again, holding my ground. “What exactly do you want with her?”
“What do you want with her?” She snorted back, the bit of smoke that came out was admittedly intimidating.
“I’m going to get her back to town, what else would I do with her?”
“I can fly, I can get her there a lot faster.”
“You could fly her off somewhere to eat her.”
“What?” Her anger exploded out in her voice and she took a step forward.
The grip of my magic went to find my weapons again, and I didn’t give any ground. “I don’t know you or what you’re going to do with her. I have no reason to trust you.”
“I don’t know you either, pony.” She jammed a claw into my chest. “You just gonna run off and sell her somewhere? I don’t trust you either.”
“We can all take her back to town.” The two of us were pulled out of our debate by Bittercup’s quiet interjection. We turned to look at her, she was sitting next to the filly and holding her against her side. There was a moment of quiet where she looked surprised at the two of us staring at her, until she realized she needed to explain more. “We’re all worried about taking care of her, and don’t trust each other. So we can just get her back to town together. Take care of her, keep an eye on each other.”
I looked back at the dragon. With the filly here, we were going to have to stop somewhere. We weren’t getting back to Lock’s Port until tomorrow at the best. I did not want to spend that time with her. And from the look I was getting, she was feeling the same.
“Seems the best option,” I offered grudgingly.
“Not worried I’ll eat you?” She snapped.
“You’re welcome to try.”
She snorted again, but no smoke this time and with a bit of a smirk. “Most ponies back down a lot easier.”
“Most ponies aren’t Watchers.”
“Right. Longshot, you said? I’m Scorch.” She held out her claw.
I was surprised at the sudden… almost civility. I was suspicious that she just wanted to get a hold of me, but I put a hoof into her claw anyway. “Just Scorch?”
She shook my hoof, “That’s all you need to know anyway.”
“Right. We should get moving. It’s going to be a long walk back.”
“I don’t think she’s ready to move,” Bittercup said, stroking the filly comfortingly. Poor thing hadn’t said a word. From the way she looked around, namely that she wasn’t, I wasn’t sure she was fully present.
Something about that seemed familiar. I’d see that look in the mirror sometimes.
“Let me have a look at her,” Scorch said, moving past me.
“What’re you going to do?”
“I have some medical training, just let me look her over.”
Bittercup and I shared a look, but she wound up stepping away from the foal with a shrug. I watched her closely as Scorch examined the foal. It was a few minutes as she examined her, giving instructions that were very sluggishly followed.
Scorch shook her head with a sigh. “She’s about as healthy as I could expect. Could use better food, but what pony couldn’t?”
“She’s clearly not fine,” I frowned at her.
“Hey, I said I had medical training, but I’m not a psychologist. The mental is something, ah, I don’t really know.”
“We’ll take care of her.” Bittercup insisted.
“Let’s find a place to stay the night. Scorch can you fly out ahead and try and find us a place?”
“And leave you with the foal? No.”
“We’re going to be traveling back toward Neighagra. We’ll meetup with the canal and follow it back, we’ll be really easy to spot.”
“If I trusted you not to run off with her, I wouldn’t need to be here in the first place.”
“He’ll keep his word.” I was surprised that Bittercup spoke up for me. She barely knew me, but was already backing me up? I appreciated it, but I couldn’t help but wonder why. Scorch didn’t seem convinced though, just giving Bittercup a skeptical look. “Please, she needs a safe place to rest.”
Scorch looked away for a moment, then back to me. “You’d better be on the canal when I come back.”
I nodded back. “See you soon.”
With a jump and a heavy wingbeat, Scorch took off and headed west. I looked back to Bittercup, “Hey, thanks.”
She blinked at me. “For?”
“Backing me up.”
She shrugged, “I just told her the truth.”
I suppressed a chuckle. “Think she can walk?”
Bittercup looked back at the foal and shook her head. “I can carry her.”
“Here, I’ll help.” I used my magic to help lift the foal and get her in position on Bittercup’s back. Once there she was at least responsive enough to grab on to Bittercup’s neck to help keep her balance. As soon as that was settled we set off.
The walk was a quiet one at first, but eventually I lifted Magnum’s Pipbuck and fiddled with it for a bit, bringing up DJ-PON3’s broadcast and letting it play out the speakers. I was hoping the music might soothe the poor filly. Honestly though, much like Scorch, I was no psychologist. It could make it worse for all I knew, but the longer we went in the quiet the more I thought it was a good idea until I turned it on. The filly stayed quiet and mostly unresponsive the whole time, and neither Bittercup or I had any conversation.
I kept my eyes on the sky, when I wasn’t being overly concerned for the pair next to me. The constant overcast wasn’t something I often looked at. Somewhere up there, the Sisters were looking down at us. But from down here it wasn’t anything but gray sadness. There was nothing up there to enjoy. Usually the only reason to look up was when the clouds got heavy enough that they might precipitate soon. That was part of why it was so hard to remember to look up, though admittedly I also never had so much drop out of the sky at me as I had these past few days.
Scorch came and found us, easy enough with the music. She was angry that I was putting the foal at risk, blaring music and potentially getting some raiders’ attention. I wasn’t worried about it though. Raiders and bandits were territorial by necessity and we had taken out one of each group in the area. There weren’t likely to be more. Scorch wasn’t impressed, which I was getting the feeling was her default state, but didn’t fight it. She led us to the buildings she’d found.
They were mostly rubble, honestly. They weren’t touched by balefire but had clearly seen a lot of fighting since. Bullet holes and scorch marks from explosives were everywhere. I wondered what sort of fighting happened here until Scorch pointed at a wall.
“Hey, isn’t that your Night Guard symbol?” It was faded and a little messy, but one of the walls did indeed have the Night Watch symbol.
And then I realized, I knew this place. At least by reputation. “The Canal Raiders.”
“What?” Scorch asked.
“Sorry, I just realized… when the Night Watch first came to Neighagra, we did a job on our own initiative to announce ourselves to the locals. Let them know we were here to protect them, and that we were good at what we did. There was a big raider faction here, it was a good staging ground for attacking the barges along the canal. No one was sure where they were coming from, and it was really hurting the business done with Manehatten. So we scouted around and found their home, here, and took them out. I’ve never been here myself. But from all the damage…”
“Thanks for the history lesson,” Scorch scoffed dismissively.
“Your merc group did all this damage?” Bittercup asked, looking around.
“Not all of it. I’m sure the raiders did some when they fought back.”
“Why did you leave your symbol here?” Bittercup asked, curious.
“It was before I was even born. But like I said, we were doing it to introduce ourselves to the locals. Someone must’ve painted it to mark what we’d done as proof.”
“Well you definitely did some good damage for a bunch of ponies,” Scorch said begrudgingly.
“Good enough we’re going to have trouble finding a sound shelter. Did you check inside anywhere?”
“No I thought you’d sleep on that pile of rubble there,” Scorch said, gesturing with a thumb to what was once a building. You could only tell from the fact the front wall was still mostly intact. Nothing else was. I just frowned at her. “I mean, I could. But you ponies are too soft for that.”
“Did you find a suitable place or not?”
“Of course I did,” she snapped back. Literally, I could hear her sharp teeth click against each other as she snapped her jaws. “I’m leading you there already.”
We fell quiet again after that, but it was only another couple minutes to the building she had picked out. It was reasonably intact, and before we even stepped inside the old storefront, we could see through the plate glass the inside was free of rubble. “Yeah, this will work. Let’s move some shelves around, make it a little more easily defended just in case we’re found.”
“Thought there weren’t going to be any more raiders around.” Bittercup said, surprisingly neutral.
“Probably not. Better to be safe, though.”
“By we, you mean me.” Scorch said. “You ponies are always expecting me to do the heavy lifting.”
I looked at Bittercup and she just shrugged at me. We went in and had a look around. Nothing of note was in the store itself, it had long been looted. Just some caps and old world bits in the cash register. There was a small staircase in the back that led up to a small living area. A bedroom, kitchenette, and a bathroom. A skeleton lay on the bed with a gun and an old, unidentifiable stain on the sheets. Or, it would be if it wasn’t obvious what happened. Couldn’t handle the world coming to an end. I said a prayer for the poor unknown soul and was glad Scorch hadn’t followed me up here. It looked like, other than the food being cleared out, this area had been untouched since they had died. There was a closet with a lock controlled by a terminal, which was a bit unusual. I poked at it curiously, but it was password locked. I didn’t bother with it, computer information systems were something I found interesting, but my studies were always elsewhere; more practical combat applications. I wasn’t going to be able to get in.
Back downstairs, Bittercup agreed to start setting up the sleeping area behind the counter, doing what she could about the dust and laying out the sleeping bags. Meanwhile, Scorch was surprisingly agreeable about moving the shelves around. She refused to let me move any of them myself, and was following my direction without question on where they should go. I was baffled that she was so agreeable about this all of a sudden, We got the plate window mostly covered, so it was hard to see in but easy to see out, from the right spot. Then made a single path from the door to the counter so anyone on their way in had only one easy to shoot down path to get to us.
I stood, admiring the work. Best defense I could set up with what was at hoof. But I was jolted out of it when Scorch asked “Where’s the filly?” I looked at her, surprised. We both turned to Bittercup, who wasn’t there anymore.
Scorch didn’t speak, rushing outside. I took a different path, heading upstairs again. I was much relieved to find both of them up here. Bittercup sat beside the closet, door open. Inside was the filly. There was nothing but a safe inside, which she was fiddling with.
“She’s surprisingly deft,” Bittercup commented quietly as I approached, not turning around.
“What’re you doing?” I asked, the filly not reacting to our speech.
“Me? Nothing. When I finished setting up I realized she was gone. Found her up here on the terminal. She got in and has been working on the safe ever since.”
I turned with surprise to the filly, “She hacked the terminal?” Bittercup just nodded in response. Who was this filly? She was active for the first time since I’d seen her and I didn’t want to interrupt. I moved to the terminal to check what was on it. A command to lock or unlock the door and a single text entry, dated long after the bombs. That seemed odd. I opened it up.
the raiders are still outside im not going to be able to stop them they dont deserve you they wont get you ill keep you safe they wont get me either but theres only one way to stop that i know you dont like it but i have to youre the only brightness in all the wasteland they cant have you youll be safe in here i promise
I looked back at the skeleton on the bed. Maybe they weren’t the original owner of the store after all. Sounded like someone who lived here before the raiders showed up that the Night Watch took care of. They didn’t seem… quite alright. What did they think was so important? I guess it was in the safe.
What if it was something dangerous? I took a step forward to talk the filly into coming back downstairs when there was a sudden thunk. The door of the safe swung open.
“Impressive little infiltrator,” Bittercup commented quietly. The filly just stared into it, not moving for a moment with the task done. I went to step forward again but she turned around and brushed past me, heading back downstairs. It was almost mechanical. She was so broken, and what could I possibly do about it?
Bittercup and I shared another quiet look, she looked almost concerned as I did and followed the filly downstairs. I hesitated, taking a moment to see what was so important to this poor pony from before the Night Watch. I had to turn the lamp function on Magnum’s Pipbuck on. It illuminated a lone little figurine on a stand. It was bright pink and seemed for a moment to move. A trick of the light that I blinked away, but even perfectly still the statuette seemed almost animated. Like it was going to start bounding around the room at any moment. It was a mare in a leaping pose, the mane poofed out in a fairly goofy manner. I realized I recognized her, she was on posters so ubiquitous that I basically filtered them out of my mind when I saw them. “Pinkie Pie is watching you forever.” It was the Minister of Morale, but younger and more vibrant than I’d ever seen her.
I reached out with my magic, and the moment I grabbed hold I felt a jolt. I felt everything sharpen, the shadows cast by my Pipbuck seemed a little less dark, I suddenly noticed the musty smell in the room and the slightest scent of old bone. It tasted like cupcake frosting and candle apples. (“What did? The air?” I wondered to myself.)
The zebra were the first to deal with spirits, and they did it by creating permanent fetishes, using gems to make new homes for them, and getting some sort of new benefit out of the item in return. I saw no gem that could house it, but I was sure a spirit was in here somewhere, much stronger than the spirits I was familiar with. I’d never felt their presence so intensely. I looked back toward the bed, wondering if the spirit in this statuette was their only friend. Or maybe it was what had driven them crazy. I was on friendly terms with my spirits, but not all spirits were that amenable to ponies. It may have even affected them without meaning to. Something to be cautious about, but something I’ll have to test later.
I took one last look at it, noticing on the base was written “Awareness, it was under E”. The first part made sense, some sort of spirit of sensation. But what was the E about? The Minister of Morale was known to be an unusual one, perhaps that’s all it was.
I tucked her away in my saddle bags and followed the other two back downstairs. The filly had curled up on a sleeping bag already with Bittercup watching over her. Scorch wasn’t back yet though so I headed outside, she wasn’t anywhere in sight. How far did she think the filly could’ve gotten?
I went to shout but stopped myself. Attracting the attention of an ally was just as likely to attract an enemy if you didn’t have a secure way of doing it. I shook my head, anything that might come at my call wouldn’t hold up well against Scorch anyway, I wasn’t going to be attracting the attention of Discord himself or something.
“Scorch! We found her!”
The rush of air displaced by the incoming dragon washed over me less than a minute later. She was actually slightly out of breath. “Where?”
“Inside. She’d wandered upstairs while we worked and Bittercup followed to keep an eye on her.”
“... Seriously?”
“Well, you didn’t have to assume the worst and fly to Tartarus and back. Could’ve checked the simplest explanation first.”
“Like you knew where she was the whole time,” she said dismissively, purposefully brushing past me when she didn’t even have to touch me. I had to keep myself from chuckling at the attempt at … I’m not even sure what it was. Like a cat trying to brush off a fall like they’d done it on purpose, with some intimidation thrown in.
Though on the other hoof, she had torn those ponies apart pretty easily. Probably best to let her have her pride.
Scorch took up a spot leaning into a corner, arms folded across her chest. As I walked in I looked from her to Bittercup. “How do we want to do watches?”
“You two sleep, I don’t need to,” Scorch said.
“Don’t need to?” I said skeptically.
“Yeah.”
She didn’t offer any more. “What’re you talking about? Everypony needs to sleep.”
“Well I’m not a pony,” she scoffed. “Look, you know how the full grown dragons hibernate? Well, I’m at a stage where can I do, like, a mini-version of that. I can sleep on a pony schedule or not sleep for a few days then get a full day’s rest all at once or stuff like that. It… can fluctuate.”
“And then you run off with the filly under my nose right?”
“She won’t.” I turned to Bittercup, giving her a look. She didn’t move and simply repeated, “She won’t.”
I was definitely feeling the distrust, but I was also clearly being outvoted. Scorch was giving Bittercup a peculiar look that I couldn’t decipher. I just sighed. “Fine, you can keep watch. Wake me if anything suspicious happens.”
Scorch snorted again as I slid into my sleeping bag. I lay my head down and relaxed as best I could. I told myself that I’d only have to deal with her one more day, just until we got back to Lock’s Port. It was comforting thought.
In Search of Slaves: In Progress
An Unexpected Meeting: Begun
-Strike a Deal: Failed
-Rescue the Hostage: Success
-Recruit Scorch Mark: Success An Unexpected Meeting: Complete
