“You usually walk this all by your lonesome?” Jackie doen’t get it. She tries. Wastelanders don’t get it. Some of the tribals get it, a little bit.
“You ain’t never seen the sky for the first time Jackie. It’s like a big hole straight up that just covers everything.” I don’t know if I laugh or if I cry. “When your whole world from the cradle to the grave is inside… when they threw me out I was afraid I might just fall up.”
“There is no ceiling!” Sweets points out.
“We always had the option to leave.”
I chuckle as we walk that long road north. “We all did. That’s the thing, Jackie, that’s what made me a bad pony. I always coulda walked away. I coulda faced the black hole sun in the sky. We all could have. And we never did.”
“I don’t figure you’re being fair to yourself, pardner.” Jackie rolls along beside me as we wander down the road.
“I’m changing the subject. We’ve got a serious staff shortage.” And I pretty much figure the subject changed. “Right now, the Marejave Express is pretty much just me, you, and Sweets on the road. And we got Princess and the old nag working the office. So once we get to Fort Friendship, we gotta start lookin’ to recruit new couriers. We’re lookin’ for ponies who are comfortable travelin’ alone… and yet can somehow still be trusted with caps. After this run, remind me to talk to Princess about getting you a number. It’ll prolly be thirty something. Tirek’s flabby flank, I have been doing this too long.”
“Can you be a little more specific in what we’re looking for here? You’ve basically said ‘trustworthy and willing to take the job.” Jackie’s screen flashes me a raised eyebrow.
“Well, on the face of it, that’s pretty much it.” I let out a low chuckle. “Of course ya also gotta be able to do the job. Most of that just involves walkin’ from one place to another and not dyin’.”
“Giant tacky statuary detected!” Sweets stands on her hind hooves and points over my head at an indeed giant tacky statue of a pony in New Canterlot Ranger armor meeting in a hoof bump with a wasteland tribal forming a huge archway leading into the fort.
“Yeah, given the NCR’s record with tribals, that is really pretty tasteless.” I find I have to agree.
“I thought the NCR were supposed to be the good guys, sugar cube?” Jackie’s scream flashes a confused face. “Ain’t it the Legion that’s goin’ around crucifying ponies?”
“I dunno, maybe twenty years ago when it was still President Gawdina, in charge.” I shake my head. “Honestly, I’ve made deliveries into New Roam and New Canterlot. We have courier unions in both places. Caesar is ruthless when dealing with criminals and enemy combatants. And they practically wipe out the tribal identity of any tribe they done swayed under their banner. But they uphold the law. They got some weird Ancient Zebra Imperial Law, which is weird given that their mostly ponies, but they got laws, and they keep the raiders in check. But under President Harper, the NCR don’t see much difference between ‘tribals’ and ‘raiders’, especially if they happen to be sitting on some land they happen to want. And right now, they done decided they want the Hoofer Dam. So suddenly the whole Marejave waste is under their ‘protection’. But you saw how much protection they gave Primm and Proper. Luna’s skinny flank, they outright brought the powder gangers in with ‘em. I’d say at best they’re ‘less bad’.”
“Never woulda figured you for sidin’ with Ceasar’s Legion, sugarcube.” Jackie me squinty eyes. I guess I can see why. All she’s ever seen of ‘em is Neighton.
“That’s cause I don’t, Jackie.” I guess I need to set this can of worms straight. “They need to get back on their side of things, just like the NCR. The Marejave was always a wasteland. We didn’t need no Lightbringer, or no Caesar to bring no peace here. Life just went on. For whatever reason the megaspells just didn’t hit us as bad. And with no clouds, and no SPP towers, the Grand Pegasus Enclave just never made out here. So we just did what we always did. We traded. We entertained passers through. The wastelanders, the tribals, and the stable dwellers just made our own country that weren’t quite never a nation. And we did just fine.”