Fallout Equestria: Falling Shadows

by Drako Moon

Chapter 3: Stray

“This armor is so damn uncomfortable. I have no idea how raiders can wear this shit,” I said to myself as I worked my way down the road.

After killing Blade, I started to think about how I could get around the raider's encampment. If it was as big as he said it was, then I had no chance. So I came up with this little disguise, I took the spiked armor off of Blade’s body, found a helmet in his saddle bags, along with more ammo, and put it on. It didn’t all fit at first, but after some tinkering I made it work. My armored stable barding was tucked away nicely in my own saddle bag along with the ammo and a few other things.

I had to use some strips of cloth to hide my Pip-Buck. I used some of Blades blood to give me the insane pony look, messed up my mane, and did my best to hide my horn. Now I was walking down the road, finally going northeast, and I was gross, smelled like ass, and kept getting pinched by the armor.

I crested the last hill and saw it. Now I understood what Blade meant by, me not being able to sneak past. The camp was huge. From where I stood, I could already see over a dozen raider ponies walking around. They were armed to the teeth with, guns, knives, bats, and what looked like spiked horseshoes. I could see more ponies moving along small alleyways between makeshift buildings.

I’m really glad I decided to go with the disguise. There’s no way around this place without running into somepony. There were large cliffs running along the horizon with two large hills right behind the camp. The road headed east right through the camp and right between where the two hills met. There was a split between them making a natural tunnel and the camp blocked the only way in which also looked like the only way to get to the other side of the cliffs.

Having swallowed my pride when I put on the raider disguise, I washed it down with my fear as I started walking through the disgusting camp of psychos. I could smell all the dirty ponies that where cutting up bodies and hanging them by chains on strangely well put together towers. Others were sitting in some of the alleys either sticking something into their forelegs or huffing on odd looking inhalers. Now and then I passed by a pony or two just talking to nopony that I could see, muttering softly as if they were in their own little world. There were also well armed ponies standing guard along the main road that ran through the camp. Their eyes watching for anypony who didn’t look like one of them.

About half way through the camp I felt like I was gonna puke, the smell here was getting too much for me to take. It probably wouldn’t raise any red flags for how gross this place was, but I held it down as best I could. Come to think of it, I think my fear was starting to make its way back up. I was starting to panic a little. What if I get caught? What if they decide just kill the random pony walking through the middle of their camp? Then I ran into somepony, making me almost soil the armor I stole, “What the fuck!? Watch where you’re goin next time or I’ll turn you into paste,” the putrid raider pony shouted through his disgusting yellow teeth.

I wanted to say I was sorry, but I figured that would make him suspicious. Instead I answered in my best raider voice, “Yeah, fuck you too.”

“Bitch!” he replied as he walked away.

I moved toward a darker alleyway, and sat down, I took a moment to breath and collect myself. I was in the middle of a raider settlement, wearing their armor, and had no idea what to do next. I have to find where the exit that lead toward Cartwheel was and get the fuck out of here.

“Hey You! Why the fuck are you just sitting around?” said a familiar booming voice.

I looked up into the face of the scariest pony I’ve ever seen. He was taller than anypony I’d ever met, his coat was dark green, a white mane fell over part of his face, and on his face he had large scars going over both his eyes and down over his chin. He was wearing spiked armor with dried blood on the tips. His voice sounded like he had rusty nails in his throat. I knew I’ve heard his voice before, back when I was hiding in the shelter.

“Sorry Boss,” I said doing my best to keep my voice steady, “I wasn’t feeling well.”

He picked me up with one hoof and put his face right into mine, asking, “Do I know you?”

I started to shake as I answered, “I’m not sure Boss, I just got here not long ago.”

He dropped me and turned, saying, “Must be from that new group that came in last week. Fuck I still can’t tell you idiots apart. I’ve told your group a few times now not to get high in the alleys, only in the common rooms were I don’t have to see you.”

I put on a smirk hoping I could hide my fear under sarcasm, responding with, “Where’s the fun in that?”

He turned around and hit me across the face with those large things he tried to pass off as hooves, saying angrily, “Watch what you say to me. You young fucktards think you can get high and talk back to me, well you’re wrong. Hand over your stash before I decide to make an example out of you.” He pulled a large blade off his back and pressed the tip to my neck.

“I don’t have anything Boss,” I said shaking hard.

“Dump out your saddle bag and we’ll see,” he said around the grip of the blade.

I was shaking so hard I couldn’t even think straight. I tried to us my hooves to remove my bag. Before I could, another pony ran up to us, saying, “Boss, we have an emergency.”

“I’m a little busy if you can’t tell Nail,” The Boss said looking toward the other pony.

“It’s Blade sir. Blood Whip and I went to go get him like you ordered,” the raider mare Nail said.

“Let me guess. You found him passed out wasted on Buck again? That bastard can’t ever do what he’s told even for one fucking night,” The Boss interrupted pulling the blade away from my neck and placing it over his back again.

“No Boss, he’s dead. Found him with his head blown off near the road. His armor is missing, same for his weapon. I think he ran into the same pony or ponies, who killed the others,” she responded.

“Fuck, now this bastard has taken down four of my ponies?” The Boss said slamming his hoof into the wall next to me cracking it. It seemed as if he’d forgotten all about little old me, which was fine, “You said his armor was missing?”

“Yeah, Boss,” she replied.

“He might be in the camp then, I want everypony to be on the lookout. Lock down the back gate, I don’t want him making it into town,” he said looking back at me, “That means you Shrimp.”

“Yes Boss,” I said and started to run off.

“Hey Shrimp!” he bellowed.

I stopped and looked back, shaking in the bloody armor, asking, “Yeah Boss?”

“Grab a few of your friends and go toward town, keep an eye out for somepony heading that way in our armor. If you find him, try and keep him alive. I'm gonna to skin him myself,” he answered.

“Ye….yes Boss,” I said, then bolted as fast as I could without blowing my cover.

I didn’t get more than a few yards before two more raiders fell in beside me. One was the mare who told The Boss about Blade. At first I thought I’d been found out, but then she said, “We’ll go with you kid, most of your group is busy guarding the slaves right now.”

“Um…okay,” I said letting them lead the way.

Neither of them talked as we headed toward the back of the camp. As we passed through the gate the mare who spoke to me told one of the guards to close it up and lock it down. When that was done we started down the road. Now I was past the camp, but I wasn’t alone. I was lucky before when I took down the others. With Blade I had the element of surprise on my side, but now I had no idea how I could get away with my life.

“What’s your name kid?” the mare asked looking back at me.

“None of your business,” I replied looking away.

“Everything around here is my business, kid. I find it kinda odd that a new pony like yourself shows up at camp right after Blade and the others are killed,” she said, still leading the way, the other pony, a stallion, kept quiet as she talked.

“I’m with the new group, I don’t like giving my name to ponies I don’t know very well, or trust,” I said doing my best to keep a rough edge to my voice.

She laughed, saying, “Well at least you aren’t stupid. I’m just gonna call you Shrimp then, but I do still want to know where you came from.”

“Like I said, I’m with the new group. So why don’t you shut your fucking mouth?” I said trying to sound tough. I hoped they wouldn’t suspect me since it sounded like new raiders joined up recently.

She stopped at that and so did the stallion. He turned around, saying angrily, “You’ll show Nail some respect if you wanna make it back to camp in one piece you little bitch.”

“There's no need for that,” she said to the stallion, “She’s just a filly, no respect for anypony. She’ll learn.”

“I can help her learn some respect,” he said licking his lips, “Haven’t had a young thing like her in a long time, I could use a little fun before we get to town.”

“Shut up Razor, I don’t need your input,” she said and to my surprise he did as he was told. She looked back at me, “Now, how about you tell me the truth, if you do I’ll let you get out of here alive. I know you’re not one of us.”

I froze. She saw right through me, all I could do now is hope I’d get lucky one more time. “I’m not,” I said.

“I thought so. Are you also the one who killed the others?” her voice was calm, but her eyes spoke death. I couldn’t help shaking as I looked into those dark brown orbs.

“I…did, but it was only to protect myself. I didn’t know what else to do,” I answered nervously.

“She’s the one who killed the others? This little filly was able to take down some of our best, excluding Blade of course. I’ll kill this bitch!” Razor said aiming his gun toward me.

“There’s no need for that Razor,” she said pulling out a shotgun.

“Why’s that? She killed our friends…” he started to say. Before he could finish Nail turned, pulling the trigger, blowing his head into bloody chunks.

His body was pushed backward by the force, blood spraying over the ground, his body twitching a little. She turned toward me holstering her shotgun. She smiled down at me as I shook, laying on the ground in fear. “Please don’t kill me too. I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t,” I said frantically.

“Don’t worry kid, I’m not gonna kill you. You’re just lucky I’m the one who saw through your shitty disguise before The Boss did,” Nail said calmly.

I was so confused. “What do you mean?” I asked.

She reached over and pulled the cloth off of my foreleg that was hiding my Pip-Buck, saying, “That’s what I thought, you have the fish out of water look of a stable dweller. What stable are you from?”

“What? Why do you care?” I asked still shaking a little as I stood again.

“Listen kid, I’m not one of those raiders, I’m only working undercover on a mission that you don’t need to know about. As far as I know there aren’t any open or active stables on this side of the hills. Either you came from down south or you’re from a stable that my friends haven’t found yet,” she replied.

I looked again at the dead pony she just killed, then back at her. She had as far as I knew, just saved my life, so I answered her, “My name is Shadow Star, I just escaped from Stable 28. I was trying to get to Cartwheel to meet up with a pony called Box Tape.”

Her eyes widened when I mentioned my stable, and the smile left her face as she said, “Stable 28 you say, that stable’s location has been lost forever. Who told you to go find old Box Tape?”

“The pony who raised me, her name's Auntie,” I answered.

“Hmmm, yeah I'm about ninety percent sure that isn't her name but whatever, it's fine I guess. Well you’re really lucky because if The Boss would've found out you were from Stable 28, he would've beaten the location out of you. He’s been looking for that stable for a while now. He must know it’s near here, which would explain why he set up in this area,” she said, looking around a little, “Listen Shadow, I’m going to let you go. Get to town and find a building called Equestrian Express. You’ll find the old pony there, just make sure that you don’t tell anypony that I let you go. I have to keep my cover here,” she explained.

“What about The Boss, won’t he notice that I’m missing, and what about that stallion Razor?” I asked.

“He’s too busy to notice anything like that. I’ll tell him that Razor wondered off somewhere. They’ll find him sooner or later and think he was killed by this mysterious stallion like the others,” she replied nonchalantly with a wave of her hoof.

I couldn’t wrap my mind around what was happening, so I decided to just ask, “Why are you helping me?”

She smiled again, “Because that’s what I do. The band of raiders you ran into are bad ponies, but I’m not. I do however have to keep my cover with them for now. Just get to town and act normal, and don’t tell anypony about me okay.”

I nodded. “Okay, and thank you for helping me. It’s nice to see there are nice ponies out here.”

“Yeah, don’t expect it if we meet again. Try and stay away from the camp and you should be alright. Now get going Shrimp,” she said turning to walk back toward the camp.

I watched her go then turned and looked at the dead raider. I moved over to his body and started to look through his pack. I found more ammo for my rifle, three healing potions, and something called Rad-Away. I stowed them away in my pack, then started moving again taking one last look back at the retreating mare. I wonder if my luck can hold out just a little bit longer.

When I got a little ways away, I took off the uncomfortable raider barding as fast as I could. I tried to wipe off the blood that got on my coat from the armor with the cloth I used to cover my Pip-Buck, but all it did was make it worse. I cursed and threw the rag down.

Once I entered the dark pass between the two hills, I moved a little faster, trying to put as much distance between the camp and myself. A little while later I made it to the other side and that’s when I finally saw it. There was a small town at the end of the pass. If you could call it a town, it looked more like a bunch of shanties and a few pre-war buildings, put together behind a wooden wall. There was an open gate with a sign over it that read 'Cartwheel'. I smiled and ran toward the town.

“Stop right there raider, take another step and you’ll be eatin’ lead,” a pony in padded armor said blocking the entrance to town.

“I’m not a raider,” I said stopping in my tracks, maybe all the ponies in The Wasteland DID point guns at each other.

“Can’t be anythin’ but a raider, nopony could come through that pass unless they were. Now go back where you came from, we don’t want any trouble,” he said keeping his rifle aimed at me.

“I’m not a fucking raider, I just made it past their encampment,” I tried to explain.

“Likely story. Now get outta here!” he shouted in response.

“NO! I’m not leaving! I've been through hell and back trying to get here. I’m not going back to where other ponies want to kill me,” I yelled stomping my hoof on the ground.

He must've taken my movement as a sign that I was going to attack him. Next thing I knew there was a loud bang. It felt like something kicked me in the chest, I looked down and saw blood leaking out from a hole just under my left shoulder on my upper chest.

I couldn’t believe it, I looked up at him. “You, shot me? That really hurrr-uh...”

My vision started to go dark, next thing I knew my face was hitting the ground. I could taste blood in my mouth, and it was getting hard to breath. I could feel my heart racing, then the pain hit me. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. All I was able to do was gag a little as blood frothed up my throat and out my mouth.

“What the hell did you just do Switch?” came a mare’s voice.

“She’s a raider, she has to be. She just wandered out from the pass, she’s all bloody and stuff, just look at her,” he said, protesting.

“She’s only a filly, and look at what she’s wearing. That isn’t raider gear, she looks like a stable pony, and she has a Pip-Buck. Go tell Dr. Purple Heart what happened, and send another guard to help me get her inside,” the mare said standing over me. I felt my body being turned over and I found myself looking up into the cloudy sky. As the last of my vision faded away, I swear I saw a pony way up high flying over the hills. Then everything went black.

“Shadow sweetie, why are you still asleep?” Mom asked, shaking me slowly trying to wake me up.

“Sorry mommy, I didn’t sleep much last night,” I said pulling myself up and out from my blankets, the walls of the stable were grey and boring as ever.

“Were you having a bad dream again sweetie?” Mom asked, sitting on the floor next to my bed.

“Uh huh, it scared me. There was a big scary thing that wanted to eat me,” I said tearing up a little and putting my head on her shoulder.

“Shhh, it’s okay Shadow, you know I’m always here for you,” she said as her horn started to glow softly next to my head. Slowly I started to feel better. Mom always knew how to calm me down after a bad dream, “I have an idea, how about we go down to the dining hall and see if your little friend is down there.”

I perked up at that, saying excitedly, “Can I get something sweet to eat?”

She laughed, and replied, “Sure thing, just as long as you’re good for Auntie while mommy works today.”

“I promise,” I said.

I opened my eyes and moaned in pain, it felt as if I’d been kicked in my side. Looking around I saw I was in a small room with a blanket over me. I sat up a little more and tried to see where I was. A unicorn mare walked in the room, she had an apple red coat, a brown mane, green eyes, and a cutie mark of scissors cutting fabric. “Oh good you’re awake, I was starting to get worried you’d sleep forever,” she said.

My throat was dry and all I could get out was a whisper, “Who…are you?”

“I’m Silver Snip, I’m the local tailor and armorer. I’m the one who helped you when you got shot by our guard. He feels terrible about that by the way. I’m sorry that the first impression you got of Cartwheel was a bullet,” she said with a laugh.

I rubbed my eyes then looked back at her, saying, “Could I get some water or something please? My throat's really dry.”

“I’m not surprised, you've been out for few hours now. I’ll go grab the doctor for you,” Silver Snip said, walking out.

About a minute later a unicorn stallion with a purple coat and black mane walked in. He was wearing a lab coat that looked like it had a serious case of the dingies. “Hello there, I’m Dr. Purple Heart, I’m glad to see you’re up,” he said as he walked over to me, setting a glass of brownish water down by my bed.

I drank it ignoring the slightly sour taste, gagged a little, but felt a lot better afterward. “That was kinda nasty, but it helped,” I said.

“Well we don’t have much clean water around here, I tried to get the best I could find though. I have a few questions for you now that you’re awake if you don’t mind,” he said kindly.

“Um yeah, sure, go ahead,” I responded.

He sat down next to my bed and using his magic he pulled a clipboard close and a pen, asking, “Now first of all could I get your name?”

“Oh yeah, I’m Shadow Star,” I replied.

He jotted that down, saying, “Shadow Star, that’s a pretty name. Okay, when you arrived in town, I was told you came through the southeast pass. How did you get through there?”

“Does it really matter?” I asked.

He shrugged and gave me a look, explaining, “It does as a matter of fact, the raiders have kept that pass closed down for a few years now. They’re the only ones we’ve seen come through there. It’s one reason our guard was so frightened. They don’t normally bother us, but when they do they always leave in a wake of disaster.”

“I had no idea. When I left my stable, I wandered through some field for a while until I found the road, I followed that, and got jumped by three of those raiders. I was able to kill them and get away. Later more of them almost found me again,” I started to explain everything I could. How I met that metal bug, about the hideout, and sneaking through the camp. I did leave out how the one mare helped me though, only telling him that I was able to sneak past the gate.

When I finished he had a look of shock on his face, responding, “Well, that's quite the tale. You must be one lucky mare.”

“Well, it’s the truth,” I said simply.

“Hmmm, what field did you wander through?” he asked. I looked at my Pip-Buck’s map and showed him. “You went through Green Mist Valley?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“I think so, there was a lot of green mist. It was kinda spooky and the mist made my head hurt a little. I tried to get through it quickly, my Pip-Buck kept ticking at me,” I replied.

“That's because that area is full of radiation, it would also explain why I had to flush your system when they brought you in. You were very close to suffering from radiation poisoning,” he explained.

“Wait, I was poisoned?” I asked.

He smiled, saying, “Wow, you really are from a stable aren’t you? Well you’re going to need to learn more about The Wasteland. Why don’t you go with Silver, she should be able to help you out with that. She said you could stay with her while you get back on to your hooves. Plus a filly really shouldn’t be wandering around all by herself.”

I looked back at him, replying hastily, “I’m not a filly dammit, I’m just small.”

“Oh, my apologies Ms. Star. Well anyway, you're all patched up. I put a healing potion in an IV once I removed the bullet. You’ll be sore for a couple days, but you’re okay to go, oh and don’t worry about payment, Silver took care of it,” he said, ignoring my rude remark.

That took me by surprise. “Why would I need to pay for a doctor’s help? Isn’t it your job to fix up ponies who're hurt or sick?” I asked.

He laughed and said, “It is yes, but I also have to make a living and I can’t do that if I don’t get paid for my work. Now run along and do try and be careful.”

The concept of paying for medical care was so odd, in Stable 28 it was the doctor’s job to heal ponies, not to ask for money. I have to remember I’m not in my stable anymore. I looked around a little and asked, “Where are my things?”

“Your stuff is right outside the door with Silver, you can pick it up when you leave,” he replied.

I slid off the bed with a wince, and walked to the door with the doctor. Right outside waiting for me was Silver Snip. She had a smile on her face. “So, how about you come with me, I can show you where I live, and I have plenty of room for you to stay. Also I didn’t’ catch your name earlier,” she said.

“Shadow Star,” I replied, smiling back.

“That’s a nice name, I like it,” she said.

I picked up my saddle bags and rifle as she led me out of the doctor’s office and into the mucky streets. I took a moment to look around at the dilapidated buildings. As she led me down the road I looked up at her, saying, “I don’t know if I’ll need a place to stay, I’m here to find somepony.”

“Oh really, who are you looking for?” she asked.

“His name is Box Tape. I was told I could find him here in town at a place called Equestrian Express,” I said.

“Box Tape? It’s not often ponies come around here looking for him, unless they need a courier,” Silver Snip responded.

“I think he’s an old friend of the mare who raised me, she said I should go find him as soon as possible,” I said. At least that was all I could guess. I still had no idea how a pony who never left the stable knew anypony on the outside.

“Well his office is right next to my shop, so if you want we can stop by and see if he’s in, unless you’d prefer to rest first,” she said.

“No, I’ve done enough resting I think. I can’t waste any more time. It’s been almost a couple days now since I left the stable, I really don’t want to wait any longer,” I said.

“Okay, if you feel like you need to rest, just let me know. Also I've been meaning to ask you, do you know how to read?” she asked for some reason.

“Of course I do. Why?” I responded.

“Not everypony in The Wasteland can read, that’s why I asked. I have something for you at my shop that will help you out in The Wasteland. While you’re talking to Box Tape, I’ll go get it for you,” she explained.

“How is a book gonna help me out here?” I asked.

She smiled and said, “Just read it and you’ll understand, trust me.”

“I’m not sure if I can trust anypony right now. Ever since I left my home, everypony seems to want me dead,” I said looking down.

“You'll find a lot of that in the wastes, even in some towns. Equestria isn’t a peaceful place, it's every pony for themselves most of the time. Luckily for you though, you found a nice town, and I’ll be here to help you,” she said, trying to bring up my spirits a little.

I couldn’t help smiling as I said, “Thank you.”

“There we go, a smile is always a good sign,” she said as she turned down a side street then stopped next to a two story brick building, on the side it said ‘Equestrian Express. No matter what, we’ll get it there. “Here we are, I’ll go in with you and introduce you.”

I looked up at the letters a little amazed. So far everything Auntie told me was true. I still wanted to know how she knew so much when no pony has ever been out of the stable. We walked in and were greeted right away by an old pony. His coat was light brown, and he had a grey mane, his cutie mark was a box, “Hello Miss Snip, how're ya doin' today?” he asked with a slightly high voice. He had a kind look on his face, and was older than anypony I've ever seen before. He was practically ancient. The skin on his face sagged, almost covering his eyes.

“Howdy Box Tape, you’re looking well today,” Silver Snip said.

“Bah, every day I wake up with a new part of me feeling like it’s on fire. Seein' a sweet face like yours brightens my day. So what brings ya in, normally ya have the caravans handle your shipments,” he responded.

“That I do, I get a deal on trade that way. I’m not here for business, I have a guest who came a long way to find you,” Silver Snip said pushing me forward.

He looked over the counter at me, asking, “Who do we have here? Is that a Pip-Buck on your foreleg?” He sounded surprised.

“She’s a stable dweller, poor thing got shot coming through the gate. She said she was told to come to town and find you,” she explained.

His voice got shaky as he looked down at me, saying, “It can’t be, you can’t be from a stable out there. The only stable that way is 28 and they'd never let anypony leave, not after…” he stopped himself briefly then asked, “What’s your name, and who told you to find me?”

“I’m Shadow Star, and I AM from Stable 28 you old fart. If you have to know, Auntie sent me to find you, she said you could help me when I left,” I said arrogantly. I couldn’t help the attitude, my body hurt.

He cracked a smile and said, “Yep, that I believe, you talk just like her. Is she still going by that silly name?”

“Wait…what?” I responded. He got me with that one.

“Silver Snip, you can go for now, I have some stuff to talk about with this young mare," he said, looking at Silver Snip.

“Okay, I’ll stop by a little later,” she replied and with that she walked out leaving me with the old stallion.

“Come with me Shadow Star. I got a feeling we’ll be talkin' for a little while, and my old hooves can’t take standin’ for too long,” he said walking into a back room.

I followed him into the little room and sat down across from him in a chair that had a few questionable stains on it. He groaned a little as he sat, saying, “So you’re from Stable 28, I ain’t seen another pony from there in, oh about eight years I think. Tell me. Why is such a young mare like yourself out in The Wasteland alone?”

“I don’t know why, besides the fact that I was pretty much forced to leave,” I said choking a little. The water I drank earlier wasn’t agreeing with my stomach.

“Forced to leave? Did your Overmare kick ya out?” he asked sounding like he already knew the answer.

“No, she didn’t kick me out. She was actually the reason I left,” I told him the whole story of finding the Pip-Buck, The Overmare wanting to cut off my foreleg, and my daring escape.

“Holy damn girl! Now that’s some crazy story, like a squirrel kissin’ a rattlesnake!” he said surprised after hearing my story.

“Squirrel? Rattlesnake? What?” I said in confusion to his weird analogy.

“Oh don’t overthink it. It’s just a sayin’. So your overmare was willing to cut off your leg to get that Pip-Buck ya found. That sounds pretty grizzly, not as bad as what the monsters in The Wasteland'll do to ya. Like those raiders up the road, some of em would probably kill ya and mash ya like potatoes. Then they'd drink ya like a berry smoothie,” he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, Goddesses," I said with a gag. That was it, I was going to vomit. In a split second I looked for the sign above a door that said restroom and ran starting to heave. I was able to make it to a toilet in a stall and puke up the disgusting water, it tasted even worse coming out rather than going in.

“Ahh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I still got it he-he. Sorry ‘bout that, thought you had a stronger stomach. Hot damn, that’s funny,” he teased.

A little irritated I replied, “Yeah, real funny.”

“Here, I’ll make it up to ya. Have a Sparkle Cola it’ll ease your stomach,” he said.

“What’s Sparkle Cola?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, you’re from a stable. You probably don’t know what it is. Sparkle Cola is carrot flavored soda that used to be manufactured before the megaspells,” he replied.

“Okay sure I’ll have some. Thanks,” I said taking the bottle from his hoof. I opened the glass bottle and began to drink. Goddesses it was delicious, by far the best thing I’ve ingested since I arrived in The Wasteland. Actually the only other thing I’ve ingested in The Wasteland was that gross water and the bottle I found in the shelter. My dry mouth was relieved and it left a delightful carroty aftertaste in my mouth, but after finishing the Sparkle Cola my stomach started to growl and I remembered that I haven’t eaten since before I left the stable.

“Sounds like you’re runnin' on empty. Tell ya what, once we’re done talkin’ I’ll treat you to some dinner at the tavern in town,” he said, offering as if still wanting to make up for making me sick.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine,” I responded.

“Horse apples. You probably haven’t eaten in days and I ain’t about to let a mare like yourself go hungry,” he argued.

“Okay, if you insist. Just as long as I don't have to eat a deep fried bug or anything,” I said, conceding.

“Nah they only have that as a special on Tuesdays. How about this, lets go eat now and finish up later? You gotta’ get somethin' down your gullet before you pass out from starvation,” he said, getting up and walking over to me. As he walked over he picked up the bottle cap I'd just dropped on the floor and pocketed it. Okay that was a little odd, but maybe old ponies just were. So I followed him as he walked out.

He led me down the street and into a rundown looking building. He walked up to the bar and the pony running it looked over at him, “Hey there Box Tape. What brings you in here today?”

“What else? I’m hungry. Same for this little mare here, just give me two orders of the usual. Poor girl don’t have a very strong stomach,” Box Tape said.

“Sure thing, that’ll be twenty caps,” he said holding out a hoof.

“For two orders? One is normally six caps, learn to do your numbers,” Box Tape replied tapping his hoof on the table in front of him.

“Two orders will take me longer. Costs more for the extra time,” the bartender argued.

“Twice the time twice the caps. Here’s twelve,” Box tape said giving him a stern look, “Or if you want to charge me
more, I can do that next time you need somethin' sent out by courier.”

“Ah fine you old goat, twelve,” the bartender replied holding out a hoof.

“See, that wasn’t so hard. Was it?” he said as he gave him the twelve bottle caps.

I gave him a puzzled look as he walked back to me, and asked, “What was that? Why didn’t you pay him?”

“What're you talkin’ about? I did pay him,” he insisted looking confused for a split second, “Oh, I keep forgettin, stable pony. We don’t use bits in The Wasteland, we use bottle caps.”

“Oh, that’s…different,” I responded. Or a little crazy for that matter.

He waved a hoof and said, “You’ll get it all down. Come on, let's go sit down while we wait for our food.”

"Okay then," I said.

I followed and sat down at a table across from him. A few minutes later the bartender brought the food out dropping it in front of us. I couldn’t tell what I was eating at first, but it tasted amazing. We ate in silence for a while, I took the time to just relax and take in what's happened so far. So much happened and I hadn’t really had time to process everything.

“You look like you've got a lot on your mind,” he said.

“I kinda do, so much has happened. I still really don’t understand everything either,” I responded.

“How about ya tell me what’s on your mind then. Maybe it'll make ya feel a bit better,” Box Tape said.

“First of all, how in the Goddess' name do you know Auntie? Our stable's only been opened a couple times, once when my mother and I came to the stable, and when I left. Well I guess when she left too,” I asked.

“Hmmm,” he said leaning back, “Well, I can tell that your stable's changed some since I was last in contact with anypony from there.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Stable 28 normally keeps its door closed. However they did used to send ponies out to come here to trade supplies and such. That's how I know Auntie, she used to be one of those ponies. It was nine years ago that it all changed, one day the doors closed and never reopened. Well not for trading at least. Like I said, the last pony I saw from that stable was eight years ago,” he explained.

I hadn’t caught onto that before, but now with food in me, my brain was working a bit better. “Eight years ago?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yep, a cute young mare came through town on her way north. If I were younger I would've put the moves on her I tell ya what.”

“What did she look like?” I asked almost jumping out of my seat.

"Hmmm, a blue coat, greyish mane, can’t remember much else, but she did have a pip-buck and was from your stable,” he said leaning back.

I jumped up at that. “That’s my mother, it has to be. Did she tell you where she was going?” I asked.

“Ah so you’re the daughter she was talkin' about. She said something about leaving a little filly behind. I'm not sure where she was goin' for sure, but once she got her provisions she headed North toward Horseshoe,” he replied.

Was every town in The Wasteland named after an object? “How far away is that?”

“It’s pretty far, it’s also a dangerous road along the way, and you probably wont even find her there,” he replied.

I looked down at my hooves, saying, “I know, but I wanna try. She left me a long time ago, but I know there's got to be a reason why. If anything I want to find her and ask why she had to go and leave me behind like she did.”

“Has to be some anger in you somewhere, for her leavin',” he said calmly.

“A little, but I don’t know everything. I want to give her a chance to explain. I have nothing else to do since I can’t go home,” I said.

He cracked smile and said, “Well then, how 'bout ya work for me. My last courier hasn’t come back from his run, and I have a couple orders stackin' up.”

“A job working for you? What makes you think I’d be any good at it?” I asked.

“Hehehe, because you’re a lucky pony. I could tell from the moment I saw ya. I mean, you wanna find your ma’ and it's the best way to get to know The Wasteland,” he replied.

“He has a point,” a voice said from behind me, I jumped before looking up to see Silver Snip. She smiled at me and said, “Didn’t mean to scare you Shadow, I was looking for you two.”

“Why’s that?” I asked as she sat with us.

“I said I had a book for you, took me a little while to find it, but here you go,” she said, puttting a beaten up book down on the table in front of me, with the title 'Wasteland Survival guide, by Ditzy Doo'. “The author owns a store in New Appleoosa and she trades with us now and again, she gives this book out as often as she can for free.”

“How does she know so much about The Wasteland?” I asked as I picked up the book.

“She’s a ghoul and over two hundred years old, she’s seen and done a lot. Just read the book and you’ll understand,” Silver Snip replied.

I cocked my head. “Wait, what the hell is a ghoul, and how can she be over two hundred years old?”

Silver laughed a little before saying, “Ghoul’s are ponies who were exposed to too much radiation, but instead of dying they turned into ghouls. Radiation doesn’t affect them like it does normal ponies, and they don’t age like we do either. Most ghouls you see in The Wasteland however have lost their minds turning them feral, they can be quite dangerous. There are a few good ones though that you run into and Ditzy is one of them. The Book goes into more detail about them.”

“Okay then…I’ll give it a read,” I said. I wasn't sure I liked the sound of ghouls, no matter what Silver told me.

“You should also take Box Tape up on that job offer. Best way to find out more about what happened with your mother,” she said with a wink.

“Okay then, I’ll take the job,” I said looking back at Box Tape.

“Good to hear, now we should be headin’ out, it’s getting mighty late, and I have a lot to teach ya about the business,” Box Tape said.

“Where will I be staying?” I asked, forgetting about the offer from earlier.

“Well for now you have to crash on the couch. Not much room in my livin’ quarters,” Box Tape said.

“Or you can stay in my spare room if you want,” Silver chimed in, “I said before that I have room for you.”

“Thanks, I’d like that,” I replied, remembering earlier. Must've been all the distractions throughout the day that made me forget.

“Good. Well, when you two are finished up tonight just stop on by, I’m sure I’ll still be up working on something or another,” she said getting up and heading out of the tavern.

I watched her go not able to help myself as I eyed her flanks. I couldn’t help my small smile, it was nice to find such nice ponies out here in The Wasteland. When she was gone I looked back at Box Tape and saw a goofy grin on his face. “What…?” I asked.

“She does have a nice ass doesn’t she?” he asked with a laugh.

“I wasn’t….I mean…” I mumbled nervously.

“Oh who cares, so you like lookin’ at flanks, ain’t nothing wrong with it. Now come on lets be gettin' to it,” he said getting up.

I got up and followed him. He may be a strange old pony, but that only made him more interesting…

Throughout the next day, I was starting to get the hang of living outside of the stable. The book I’d gotten from Silver Snip did help a lot. There was a whole section on weapons, one on creatures to watch out for, foods to avoid, dangerous parts of Equestria to avoid, and much more. I learned more about what a ghoul was and the difference between a feral and non-feral were. Though it didn’t help when I first met a non-feral the next morning shopping with Silver Snip. Luckily the dead looking pony didn’t get mad at my screams, he only laughed in a rough voice that resembled a veteran smoker.

I also learned more about what I’d be doing as a courier for Box Tape. It looked like some ponies only trusted a courier, over a caravan. Some liked the prices, or couldn’t afford the guarded caravans. Box Tape had connections all over, I'd have to travel to those places with packages or whatever and deliver it. I'd also have to try to stay alive while doing so.

“Shadow wake up quick,” Silver Snip said shaking me out of my precious slumber. It was the next morning now, and I hadn’t gotten much sleep because Box Tape kept me up most of the night talking about his old days as a courier, and the adventures he used to have as a young buck.

“Huh, what time is it?” I asked getting up slowly.

“It’s early, but you have to get up now,” she sounded like she was in a panic.

“What? Why?” I asked groggily.

She looked over her shoulder then back at me, saying, “The raiders are in town, I don’t know what they want, but they could be looking for you. You have to hide.”

I jumped out of bed and put on my stable barding and said, “I’m not hiding, I'm done running away.”

“Shadow, this isn’t the time to be brave. Please, at least go next door to Box Tape’s and wait there in the upper room. They might only be here to steal supplies, I don’t want you to get mixed up in something that may not even be about you,” she said sternly.

“Fine, but if something happens I’m not staying put,” I said.

“Okay, just go, quick,” she said running out the door.

I walked out after her and moved next door to Box Tape’s office. He was at the door waiting, he opened up quickly, and said, “Upstairs, you can watch from the window.”

I didn’t have time to reply as he closed the door behind me and locked it from the outside. I cursed and moved upstairs to the window. The office had a good view of the main road leading in and out of town. What I saw was scary. A large mechanical pony walked in from the pass side entrance followed by eight other raider ponies, one of which was the mare who helped me get away.

“What the fuck is that?” I said to myself as I watched them walk into the middle of town.

The mechanical pony started to speak, and I heard the voice of The Boss masked a little by the helmet he was wearing, “Look at what we have here. A nice welcoming party.”

A pony walked forward, I recognized him now as the town’s mayor. “Why are you here? The deal we had says you’d let us be, as long as we didn’t stop you from blocking the road,” he asked.

“Yes, but part of that deal was that you wouldn’t let anypony come into town from our side of town unless it was one of us. You didn’t live up to that, five of my ponies are dead Mayor, and from what I found out, that pony came into town. I want this pony, I’ll only give you one chance to hand them over,” The Boss replied.

“No pony came through town sir, a guard of ours shot at somepony a couple days ago, but they ran off,” The Mayor said.

The boss moved his shoulder and a large gun moved from his back and pointed right at The Mayor, asking, “Wanna try that again? If a pony came through the pass, they'd have to go through town to get away, there isn’t any other way around.”

The Mayor started to shake, but before he could talk, Silver Snip walked forward, saying, “Sir, The Mayor is only scared. You’re right, a pony did come through town.”

He looked over at her. “And why were they allowed to pass through?” he asked.

“Allowed nothing, he was a large pony who was armed to the teeth. We had no choice but to let him go through,” she said. Damn she was a good liar. If I hadn’t known she was lying, I would've fallen for it.

“Hahaha, well now that's cute Silver Snip. You really do have a way with words you know that?” The Boss said.

“What do you mean?” she asked a little nervously.

In answer, his gun went off and blasted the head of The Mayor clean off. Ponies screamed and ran. However, Silver Snip stood her ground with tears falling from her eyes, but nothing else showing her fear. He got in her face, and said, “I know you’re lying, because the pony who killed my raiders was a small pony, and the pony was a mare.”

Her eyes went wide, asking, “How…would you know that?”

“First of all, a large stallion couldn’t have fit into Blades armor, he wasn’t a large pony, second I ran into a pony I didn’t know in the camp, and her armor was loose on her. At first I thought she was one of the new ponies I invited into my camp. Later I found out that she’d ran off right after I talked with her. One of my ponies who went after her was killed in the process. Now tell me where she is, or else,” The Boss said.

“A mare never came into town, I promise you that,” she said.

“Fine if that's the way you want to play it.” He looked around toward his raiders and said commandingly, “Grab a few of the foals and this mare here. The town has till tomorrow to hand over this mare who killed our companions. If not, their friends and children will be sold as slaves, and we’ll be back to kill everypony else in this fucking shit hole of a town.”

As he finished his raiders bolted, within a few minutes they were coming back with colts and fillies tied up and slung over there back’s. I ran to the door and banged on it, but it wouldn’t budge. I dug in my pack and pulled out my bobby pins and started to work on the lock. Unfortunately the lock was too strong. I broke all three bobby pins I had left.

I screamed and kicked at the door, I wasn’t going to let those raiders kill any more ponies because of me. The door wasn’t going to break, so I concentrated on my magic. I wasn’t good at teleportation, but if I concentrated hard enough I could go a few meters. That was all I needed to get to the other side of the door. I tried, but in my emotional state, getting a hold of my magic was hard.

I took a deep breath and did my best to calm down a bit. Finally I was able to hold my magic, and I cast the spell. In a flash I was outside, and I ran for the main road, but I was too late. They were all gone. When I reached the street, I only found crying mothers, the dead mayor, and a shocked looking Box Tape.

He looked over at me with sorrow. “They took her,” he said.

Anger flooded through me as I said, “Don’t worry, I’m going to go to the camp and get them back.”

“How're you gonna do that? Turn yourself in? It won’t work. They’ll kill you, and still enslave the others,” he asked.

“I’m not going to just let this happen, I’m going to help them or die trying,” I responded.

He looked over at me again, saying, “You ain’t gonna let this go are ya? Alright then, come with me.”

He got up and started to head back toward the office. I followed, asking, “What do you have in mind Box Tape?”

He looked back. “Just keep quiet, and come with me…”