“Ya see, Jackie, you prolly think these little stops with their dirty mattresses are just a naturally occurring phenomenon.” My rage bleeds into a mirthless laugh. “They are not. Couriers do more than deliver the mail. We keep up the roads. Caravaners depend on the routes We blazed. Scaver’s depend on the camps We established. The roads must roll.”
-?-?-?-?-
Foals are cruel. But she was there to stand up for me…
And that’s my model for strength. A green filly with eyes as blue as eternity.
She accepted her sacrifice. She was always stronger than me. Her brilliant blue eye’s always saw farther.
But this isn’t that world anymore….
Was it my birthday party, or hers? I remember she punched that bully… his name escapes me as Sweets shoots that raider with her face gun. There was cake though. Those were good times.
-?-?-?-?-
“Which ever of you is better at running away get’s to tell your boss that the couriers are still a thing.” In the rotted parts of my brain, I can see her turn away from what I’ve become. Sweets feeds me all the ballistics and I take the shot.
“Do you see where my reservations are coming from?” Jackie is still upset. This honestly vexes me. “I get that they’re bad, and you’re trying to make things better. But you just up and spaced out mumbling about your childhood in whatever Stable you crawled out of in the middle of a killing spree. I ain’t sayin’ those raiders didn’t need to be cleared out. But. That. Just. Happened, sugar-cube!”
“Jackie, girl, my sister from a prewar assembly line, try to understand.” I try to laugh it off as I loot my victims, for… not much honestly. “In between the amnesia spells and the flashbacks, I’m kinda on auto-pilot here.”
“I am a good autopilot!” Sweets exclaims, which seems to bother Jackie if the face on her screen is to be trusted.
“Do you even know how many ponies you killed today?” I have to wonder just how many disapproving looks she has uploaded. At some point during the war, did somepony just make it their life's work to draw the Minister of Wartime Technology making every facial expression possible on a pony? “You’re talking out loud again, and I’ll have you know I run a facial expression generator. Ain’t none of my faces off the shelf image files!”
“Sorry, Jackie, I swear I didn’t mean nothin’ by it. Your facial expressions are great!” I throw my hooves in the air in submission. “I know we ain’t known each other long, but me and you, we’re friends. And I really do listen to you. You’re the angel on my shoulder…”
“Error!” Sweets interrupts in her sing song, autotuned voice. “I am the one riding on your shoulders! Jealousy levels are at 2.3%!”
“Easy girl, I just mean I trust Jackie’s judgement.” I reach back to give Sweets mane-pat, and I’m pretty sure she just outright released a spike of dopamine directly into my brain. “Also please don’t alter my brain chemistry without asking first.”
“Personal boundaries are acceptable!” Sweets instantly dispels my suspicions I asume without altering my brain chemistry. “Jealousy levels are reduced to 1.7%!”
“Are you two? Ya know what? I do not want to know.” Jackie flails her arms to communicate that she has no idea how to communicate with arms. “Look, can we just clean out all the raider gunk and make camp? One of us requires sleep, and it ain’t me so I’ll just roll around patroling the area till morning because I seriously do not want to know.”