Chapter 6 Sneak Peek · 3:47am Feb 24th, 2021
Ya'll know the deal. I apologize for lack of content and come up with some excuse and blah blah blah. So, instead of that here's a little bit of what I've written for Fo:E - WC. Enjoy!
"And now, children, on to the news. As I’m sure many of you know by now there is a lot of activity coming out of Fillydelphia. Not only have several of the ancient factories started spewing smoke again for the first time in two centuries but it also appears that construction on a wall has started. If you all remember last month, I told you about the dozens of slave caravans making their way to Fillydelphia. Well it doesn’t take a smart pony to figure out just who is building that wall. Because of this the demand for forced labor has been on the rise as of late and slavers aren’t holding back who they take. Please, children, be safe out there. Steer clear of Fillydelphia and make sure to travel with some extra firepower. Don’t let your freedom be taken because you weren’t prepared. That’s all the news I have for now. Let’s finish up the hour with our favorite gem, Sapphire Shores! This has been DJ Pon3, brining you the news no matter how much it hurts."
I took another shot of apple whiskey as the deep voice on the radio was replaced by the mighty vocals of some long dead singer. The liquid burned pleasantly as it went down causing me to shiver involuntarily. The chatter of the bar washed over me as I thought back to the time Rusty Blade had taken a few of us down to the ruins of Fillydelphia. How long ago had that been? Two, three years now? Back then the city had been crawling with dozens of rival raider gangs constantly at war with one another for control of the territory. We had gone there to establish trade but quickly learned that had been a stupid idea. We’d barely escaped with our lives and I’d lost part of an ear! Whoever was in charge now seemed to have either killed off the raiders or forced them to submit. The latter seemed less likely. I’d never known raiders to just bow down to some overlord. Chances were they had all killed themselves in their stupid war and somepony had taken advantage of the free land. Hearing that slaves were being used to rebuild the desolate city caused my blood to boil. The fact that there was nothing I could do to help them didn’t help, but I knew how to quell the feelings.
"Give me another," I said, slamming a hoof full of caps on the counter.
The bartender, a grizzled looking buck, turned to look at me with a raised brow. "How old did you say you were again?"
"Enough."
With a shrug he pulled a dusty bottle out from behind the counter and poured amber liquid into a shot glass. As he did so, I watched as two ponies walked in through the swinging doors and sit down at a table close by. The unicorn mare was an ugly shade of green with a black, matted mane. The color of her stallion companion reminded me of an old scab that refused to heal. When he caught me staring, he turned to sneer but the intimidation factor was lost when I saw most of his teeth were gone. Rolling my eyes, I returned my attention back to the shot glass, but I couldn’t help but listen to the pair as their conversation piqued my interest.
"They should be passin’ by in a few hours. If we’re quick they ain’t gonna know what hit ‘em," the buck said.
"You sure that moron got the timin’ right? If this ends up bein’ a bust like that Fetlock job Imma kill the bastard myself," the booger mare growled.
"Shuddup! This ain’t gonna be nothin’ like Fetlock. Look, there’s only four or five guards hauling a dozen slaves. We git in, snag the slaves fer ourselves, and drag ‘em to Fillydelphia for a higher price."
The anger returned with a vengeance and I stopped myself from lashing out with another gulp of booze. My hooves were beginning to tingle, my stomach felt warm and fuzzy, and soon I wasn’t going to feel much of anything. Sliding the shot glass back I tapped on the counter and it was returned moments later. I went to take that satisfying swig, but the glass started floating out of my reach. With an annoyed sigh, I watched the whiskey fly right into the mouth of that obnoxious unicorn I had been traveling with for three weeks now.
Vagabond tossed the empty glass back at the bartender with a stern look. "No more whiskey for my underage friend here. I’ll, however, take a bottle of whatever beer you’ve been able to scrounge up."
The buck looked at me and I just shrugged unapologetically. Nopony batted an eye at the gun holstered to my side or the leather barding that had clearly seen some action but suddenly it was wrong for me to have a Goddessesdamned drink! I slammed my head on the bar and growled under my breath when I heard Vagabond chuckle before cracking his own beverage open. I didn’t look at him as he started talking about doing odd jobs around the town for some minuscule caps while I had been busy getting drunk, but his voice faded away as my attention was dragged back to the pair of slavers.
"He’s runnin’ late again. I’m gonna wring his fuckin’ neck," the mare hissed.
"Let’s just go. We know where they’re headin’ and he can meet us there later. After we deliver the slaves you can blast the little shit in two for all I care but we need him alive ‘til then. His contact won’t meet us unless the idiot is with us."
Listening to their hooves I waited until they had walked past me before lifting my head to watch them leave. Waiting for a minute I stumbled off the stool and trotted out of the bar with Vagabond calling after me. The slavers were already past the town limits and heading west. Slowing my pace, I allowed them to get further ahead until they turned a bend and were out of sight. Vagabond caught up to me and nickered loudly.
"So, we’re forgetting my plan to stay in town for a few days and get some caps, so we don’t die, to do what exactly?"
I told him about what I’d overheard in the bar. He listened attentively as we made our way further from the settlement. I had added what I’d heard on the radio and his brow furrowed as I’m sure mine had earlier.
"It’s the right thing to do but we won’t be much help to those ponies if we die while fighting. Our supplies are running low and we were supposed to getting caps to replenish them…" he trailed off.
For a moment, I didn’t say anything as I continued to trot after the slavers. I could no longer see them, but they made no effort to conceal their tracks. "You don’t have to come with me."
"Shut up," he replied, ruffling my mane playfully before I knocked his hoof away...
Yay sneak peek! Can't wait to see how it all goes down