Enforcement · 5:46pm Nov 1st, 2023
My first two years as Overboss went smoother than expected. The gangs and local farms fell in line pretty quickly when I proved I wasn't messing around. Sure, I was just a thirteen year old colt, but I was a colt who could kill every living thing in Galloping Gorge with my eyes closed. Could, and would, if these raiders didn't behave and follow my rules.
Getting caravans to take me seriously was another matter. I had three options for anyone passing through; Pay the toll, go back the way you came, or die. It took making a few examples, but these days none are stupid enough to pick option three thinking I was bluffing. They all know now that I never bluff.
It was brutal, and unfortunate, but necessary. Without caravans coming through and paying dues, a gang this large can't survive. Not without resorting to wholesale raids of major towns, like Atlas and Achilles tried to do. That didn't exactly work out for them.
*****
A rap of small talons against my sheet metal door pulled me from my thoughts. I groaned and rolled off of my assortment of stitched-together mattresses. "Snap? Come in."
A slim griffoness who was just as young as me stepped inside. She was a mix of dark and light grey, and speckled around her neck and cheeks. The tips of her wings and head feathers were bright orange, matching her eyes. "There's a big haul headed our way. Gun Runners."
That piqued my interest. "The hell are they doing out here?"
My second in command retrieved a paper map of the region and unrolled it across a table made from a street sign. "They found some old weapons factory in Rambling Rock Ridge, and now they're moving their operation there." She grinned. "They'll have a lot of caps, guns, and ammo. Based on the trail they're taking, they'll pass through the south corner of our turf tomorrow afternoon."
I haven't dealt with them yet. That made me nervous, concerned they wouldn't take my rules seriously and force things to get bloody. They'd be much more well-armed and guarded than previous merchants, too. That wasn't a problem for me, but my people would definitely get hurt.
"I can get thirty or so of us ready to move-" She started before I cut her off.
"No, no, a big show of force would be a bad idea." I alleviated her questioning glare with a smug smile. "Let's charm 'em. Show them some hospitality, work out an agreement."
Snap chuckled. "Catch more bloatsprites with honey, eh? Sure, I'll follow your lead."
*****
Snap and I, and five older raiders, made our way to the ambush site. Ambush wasn't really the right word. Unless an impromptu picnic could be considered an ambush. Our escort was confused to be lugging enough provisions to throw a banquet, but I was confident my attempt at diplomacy would work. If the Gun Runners were setting up in Ramble Town, they and their customers would undoubtedly pass through our turf a lot in the future. Setting up a protection relationship, like with our farms, would make more sense than hassling them for tolls all the time.
Besides, I've been wanting to deal with the rogue gangs in that area. This gave me an excuse. The more raiders were under me, following my rules, the less they were running amuck hurting people for no good reason.
The ruins of a neighborhood served as our camp. Soon enough the Gun Runners were spotted coming down the road. Snap followed me as I made my way outside to meet them, the others staying inside. One advantage to our age was that caravan guards weren't likely to shoot kids.
*****
There were a lot of them. I wondered if I brought enough food, as I counted four wagons loaded down with military crates, surrounded by ten times as many ponies and griffons. This was fairly larger than any caravan I've handled before.
Snap audibly gulped beside me. I leaned over to her. "You were born in a Talon base. Any of the griffs look familiar? I'd love it if you could break the ice somehow."
She winced at how unlikely that was, but nevertheless scanned the crowd. "I think I recognize her. The yellow one. Might have seen her in Canyontalon's mess hall once or twice."
"Better than nothing," I sighed before trotting out ahead of the lead wagon, causing it stop. All eyes were on me, but weapons weren't raised.
An earth pony mare hitched to the wagon barked at me. "Hey, kid, move." Her gaze turned from me to the griffawn behind me, and the assault carbine slung to her side. "What the..."
"My name is Zarrow. You might have heard of me? Overboss of Galloping Gorge? You're passing through my turf right now." My claim got laughs from some, and worried glares from others.
"They're raiders?"
"No way, they're just kids playing a dumb prank."
They tensed when Snap drew her weapon, some raising theirs. I gestured for her to put it away. "I'm not going to try and make you pay the toll. That'd be stupid. You're going to be doing a lot of business around here, and I wanted to make an offer." I smiled. "How long have you been trotting? All day? Stop and rest, I've got food and drink for you all while I chat with whoever's in charge."
*****
Whoever's in charge turned out to be an older griffon buck named Gunther Skyrunner, who decided to humor me. He took me a bit more seriously when my other companions began setting up food. The sight of a little colt bossing around grizzled raiders generally had that effect.
My people took the first bites to show nothing was poisoned, then we all enjoyed the meal. Snap took a seat beside the griffoness she recognized and offered a claw.
"Charlotte Snaptalon," she began. "I worked in the kitchen at Canyontalon Air Force Base a long time ago, before everything went to hell. I was a lot smaller then."
"Oh, shit, I thought you looked kinda familiar." The yellow griffoness with red-tipped feathers shook her claw. "Carmelita, or just Lita. How'd you end up here?"
Snap huffed. "Like I said, everything went to hell. A Raptor showed up, fucked up the base. Everyone who survived got scattered. Not much a wandering five-year-old can do when a gang decides to scoop her up."
Carmelita tossed me a glare, but Snap clarified. "Achilles scooped me up. Six years later, Zarrow killed her and took over. Protected me. The two of us have been thick as thieves ever since."
"None of the other Talons looked after you?" Lita gawked. "They just left a little griffawn to survive on her own?"
"They didn't like her," I spoke up. "Her mom was a raider, and they picked on her for it constantly."
A scowl played across Snap's face. "Their teasing is the only reason I knew. I hatched on base. I was as much a Talon as them, but because my egg was found in a shithole raider nest I was always just a junkie whore's spawn. Guess I was just... meant to be a raider." She raised her glass. "Here's hoping I don't die like she did. Tranqed, turned to swiss cheese, and left to bleed out in the rain." Lita wore an odd expression as my friend downed her drink. "Fuckers gave me the mission report."
Carmelita was rather awkward for the rest of their chat, and I turned my focus to Gunther. He wasn't convinced my gang's protection was good for business. Working with raiders would hurt his reputation. I pointed out that Glyphmark traded with me, and it didn't hurt their rep any. When I suggested using them as an intermediary, he considered it.
We were interrupted by gunfire and shouting.
*****
The Gun Runners rounded on me at first, assuming my people were attacking. The head of one of my earth ponies getting blown off proved otherwise.
"Shit!" Snap jolted back from the window she set up at as bullets flew past her. Lita covered her with a machine gun.
Gunther shouted for his people to stay in cover. To his bewilderment, I trotted past him out the door. My horn glowing, and my arrowhead floating beside me, I calmly made my way out into the open.
"What is he doing!?"
"You're gonna get yourself killed!"
The worried shouts stopped when my weapon darted swiftly around me, intercepting and deflecting any bullets that got close. In the meantime, I scanned the buildings ahead for the uninvited guests. Ramble Town raiders, a few dozen of them. After making a mental note of where each of them was hiding, I sat behind a sturdy concrete barrier. Giving Gunther a smug grin, I sent my magic arrow to do its job.
Seconds later, the gunfire ceased.
*****
The Gun Runners regarded me with terrified amazement while we tied up our captives. I didn't kill any of the attackers, just skewered their weapons and horns. It'll take some time, but these Ramblers will pledge loyalty to me soon enough. The leader of the attack was gifted to Gunther to be handled however he wished. A token to honor our new arrangement.
An example was set and an ally was made. If it weren't for the casualty my side took, I'd say it all went well. I didn't like how close Snap was to getting hurt, too. It was best that we make our way to base quickly, to avoid any other surprises and to put the body to rest.
Carmelita told Snap to look after herself, and we went home.
Dealing with a 13-year old gang leader would be quite a shock for anyone I imagine, but results are results.
And this is an interesting example of the sort of thing I wanted to portray with Longtalons: people are people, and everyone who gets shot or tossed under the bus was somebody who came from somewhere. Everything has consequences.
5753621
Oh, that's very clear. You took a random Talon who Littlepip shot in the throat and forgot about, and turned him into one of the best stories I've read. I love that kind of stuff.
5753621
Zarrow does become a little more raider-y as he gets older. At least, in terms of developing a recreational chem habit. His chem of choice is his own homemade StampDash (PsychoJet).
His trips while high range from this to this.
5754989
Sounds like a lovely combination that his companions would probably be quite fond of too.
5755056
While they mostly use it for a good time, it is a combat chem. They have no qualms using it in a fight if they have to. Zarrow's able to avoid outright addiction due to being half-zebra. The chems are derived from zebra recipes after all. They're mostly only dangerous to other races.
Snap doesn't use any chems at all for a couple of reasons. She's disciplined. It was only for 5 years, but she was raised on a Talon base. Those values stuck. Also, she has a bad heart, a birth defect likely caused by her parents' lifestyle combined with not-so-great incubation as an egg. A chem that strong could kill her.
5755184
Incubation related issues are an interesting angle I hadn't considered before, but that does make sense. It's also an excellent reason to not take chances with any drugs like that!
5755245
Heidi would probably view Zarrow's goals as deeply misguided and doomed to fail. He's trying to gradually reform an entire population of raiders from within, because he doesn't want that many people to get slaughtered wholesale. Because unlike most of the wasteland, he sees them as people. He wants them to have a real chance at changing their ways and be a civilized community. In doing so, Zarrow has to tow the line between doing what's necessary for his gang to survive, and not letting them cross certain boundaries.
If Heidi encountered them, Charlotte would recognize her and instinctually snap to attention and address her as Lieutenant. Post fall of Filly, I'm not sure how Heidi would react to that, or to the fact a former cadet ended up in a raider gang. Maybe she'd be disappointed at first, until she found out she'd been kidnapped and wasn't in the gang by choice until Zarrow took over.
I imagine for ex Talons, addressing their former superiors by rank would be a difficult habit to break. Especially for those born as Talons. Hell, Gritt still accidentally calls Freija "Lieutenant" instead of "Senator" any time he sees her in Junction Town. She, of course, can get him back by calling him "Cadet."
__
As for Lilith's coven of thestrals in Hollow Shade, I think Heidi would recognize how complicated their situation is. If the threat of the Well of Shade was explained to her, she'd understand how important it is that the thestrals maintain their secret, isolated vigil over it. 1200 years of such isolation has unavoidable consequences. Lilith, and all her predecessors, had done all they could to carefully mitigate them, but their people were on the brink of genetic collapse when Rosegold's group came across them.
5755245
Her condition was unfortunately known to her bullies at Canyontalon, and one of them was cruel enough to go way too far.
I cannot imagine how the LT on duty must have reacted when they heard that a four-year-old cadet had a near-fatal heart attack because someone sabotaged her medicine.
Silver lining, Snap didn’t get bullied at Canyontalon anymore after that.
5755636
That's the kind of thing that would bring out the worst of the Talons' instructors and command, so I'm sure if the perpetrator was found it never happened again. If the perpetrator wasn't found, everyone would be dealing with the consequences to make sure the right person was punished. Same result.
As for Heidi and Zarrow... yeah, I don't think she'd approve of what he's doing. Heidi despised raiders as wastes of time and bodies, leeching off of society at best and wasting her bullets at worst when they had to be put down. Even after Fillydelphia she found it hard to do anything but hate them. Zarrow may be trying to reform them, and maybe one day he'll have some luck with it, but as always she believed in a systemic solution, so she'd rather see them tossed in NCR prisons to make useful members of society out of them.
And she'd be uncomfortable with anyone referring to her by rank at that point. She had a lot of conflicted feelings about Talon Company after its dissolution, but at the end of the day she still feels like she failed everyone and was a big part of an oppressive regime that ended up failing and not being needed. It's a dark memory she wants to forget. She tries to be Zen as much as she can so she wouldn't snap at her over it, but would very firmly insist that she's not a lieutenant of anything and that they leave the past behind them.
As for Lilith, yes, Heidi would find her dedication admirable. What happened to her kind over time from inbreeding depression would be regrettable, and I don't think Heidi would have a clear idea of what she would have done in her place.
5755646
As terrible as Snap's life has been, she's grateful to have it. She knows how lucky she is to even exist.
If she met Kaz, Amy, Lita, Serge, Leigh... and knew they were the ones who conducted that raid, she'd thank them. If that raider camp never got attacked, and her egg wasn't brought to a Talon clinic full of people who could identify her condition and give her the care she needed, she probably never would have even hatched.
So despite how some Talons treated her, she was grateful to the organization as a whole.
There's also a good chance Kaz was among those who cared for her egg without realizing where it came from. Out of the Longtalons squad, he's probably the one she saw the most due to needing frequent checkups. She undoubtedly knew Zella.
__
Under Atlas and Achilles, Snap was little more than a captive. Under Zarrow, she was free to leave and start a new life if she wished. She stuck by him because he was the first person in a long time to genuinely care about her, and if he succeeded in his goals she could have a normal life anyway.
Snap came up with the protection tolls for travelers and local farms. She figured as long as they held up their end of the deal, it was the least dubious way for the gang to get by. If they couldn't get the raiders to be settlers, they could get them to be a militia.
__
Frankly, the entire narrative purpose of Galloping Gorge in The Storm was to highlight Rosegold's cognitive dissonance regarding what raiders did vs what the Storm King and Hippogriffia were doing. The current conquest of the Dragon Lands, and the previous conquest of Abyssinia which Rosegold was directly a part of, could easily be described as raiding. Hippogriffia needed a way to feed themselves, so they're taking it by force. Just like raiders. The ranks and uniforms just make it seem more dignified, somehow.
5755646
Zarrow addressing his haters.
5755646
Honestly, if Heidi knew of the event that led to Zarrow being a raider boss, she'd probably think there's something wrong with him.
Dude got kidnapped as a colt and decided "This is my purpose. These are my people. I'm home."
5757988
Yeah, pretty much. Settling in among raiders after being captured by them would seem pretty crazy to her, even if he managed to seize a leadership position. She'd probably just assume he really was crazy and was probably looking to be a raider already.
5758052
I didn't want to presume too much about Carmelita as she connected the dots and realized who Snap's mother was.
I highly doubt she'd feel any remorse whatsoever for killing a raider, but she might feel some sense of responsibility for Snap.
It may be similar to how Xenith and Xephyr feel towards Gritt. They do not regret killing Stern, but they do regret the hurt Gritt went through.
5762222
I think you got the right reaction. She wouldn't feel bad about killing the raider, or honestly even the fact that she was snap's mother. As far as she'd be concerned, Snap was probably better off for it. It's not like Snap even knew her, unlike Gritt and Stern.
But it's still really awkward, and the rest of the story makes it even more difficult. She'd just be glad Snap managed to survive and mostly turn out okay afterward.
5762354
Normally, Zarrow would agree with the systemic approach, but the problem is scale. The region of Equestria he took over has an enormous gang population. The NCR's prisons simply lack the capacity to tackle the issue, and force would result in an incredible bloodbath.
Zarrow is treating Galloping Gorge like a wound, keeping it quarantined so it can heal over time on its own.
5762354
I'm not sure what circumstances would ever lead to them meeting again, but Kaz would certainly know Snap. She would have been getting regular checkups for her heart, so he'd see her any time he was stationed at Canyontalon's clinic. Hell, he was probably there when she hatched and helped give her the immediate care she needed to survive infancy.
Actually... Zarrow would end up asking around about doctors capable of performing a heart transplant, so Snap doesn't have to rely on meds anymore. They can't go to Tenpony, Junction Town, or most major settlements, being the bandits they are. That kind of surgery would be outside the wheelhouse of Glyphmark's healers.
Snap might bring it up to Carmelita, when doing business with the Gun Runners, and Lita might mention that Kaz is alive and still a doctor. Sunburn seems far enough from major settlements for Zarrow and Snap to avoid issues, and Dr. Longtalons is someone Snap would trust implicitly. I'm sure once she reminds him who she is, and catches up with him, he'd be more than willing to help.
All Kaz would likely know about Zarrow is rumors from caravanners, describing him as a ruthless bandit warlord with countless high bounties on his head. (None of which are placed on him by the NCR, mind you. Gawdyna is well-aware of the colt's intentions and peaceful relationship with Glyphmark.) Kaz might have a hard time believing the 14-year-old sitting in his office is one of the most dangerous people in the world. Although, Zarrow providing the necessary griffon heart for the transplant in an icebox, along with giving him an innocent smile and the words "Don't worry about it" when asked for its origin, would probably give the doctor cause for concern.
Zarrow is a fucking gigachad--I love him so much! Great job, Vep!