The room we were sent into was a ramshackle affair, and the only things in it were two tiny beds and a filthy wooden desk half-covered in grime. Of course Charnel would send us into the least renovated room in the whole place.
But that was beside the point.
I had questions, and Blueberry had the answers. No more secrets.
I waited until she looked mostly recovered from the…incident that happened a few minutes ago, and looked her in the eyes.” Blueberry, what is the matter with Tauronto?”
She was clearly not expecting that, and her mildly annoyed expression was proof of that.
“There is nothing the matter with it. It’s a city. A big one. In the wasteland. Do you want a list?”
I grimaced. “What does that mean, exactly? Because if the cannibal pony with fire magic says it’s horrible, than it’s clearly not the nicest place in the world.”
She clearly understood what I was going at, and she did not like that one little bit. “Watchful…it’s just a city. Any place that has a reason to attract ponies will attract some bad ones. Actually…”
She looked at me carefully, as if she was trying to see if I was trustworthy.
“Have I told you about my home?”
I was upset by that. “Don’t you try and change the subject on me!”
She just smiled. “Filly is a horrible place. Its home to the largest slaving empire in existence, and it’s easily one of the most cruel. There are probably a thousand ponies toiling inside its walls for the sake of creating the foundations of a new government powered by blood and sweat. The smoke from its factories fills the sky and the actual slavers and the Talon guards are among the worst scum of the earth. The only thing worse than a griffon with armor is one of the alicornian monstrosities that dwell there.”
Blueberry shuddered slightly, but it was nothing I didn't already know.
“The Rangers there, my family, are decimated and desperate. They are down to a hoofull of experienced knights and a bunch of colts and fillies who barely know which end of a gun the bullet comes out. The only reason my mother is still in charge there is because there is no one else who knew the old Elder is alive, Watchful. In fact, two years ago Red Eye invaded one of our major outposts and killed most of the scribes there, including my father. And do you know the worst part?”
I just shrugged.
“If I had too, if I really had to settle somewhere, I would got back there and ask for a job.”
I blanched.
“And you want to know why?" She took a moment to breath. "There is nothing worth saving in Manehatten. Maripony is a hellhole filled with alicorns. Hoofington is ravaged by militant scavengers and worse, and there are so many gangs and raiders that there is no pony worth saving. Whoever is in Vanhoover who is not a drug addict is a drug dealer, and the only place you can walk at night in Baltimare is near the harbors, and that’s because the Zebras living there kill every pony they see. Trottingham is filled with monsters. Chicagcolt is a rusting nightmare, and Detrot is even worse. Flankfurt is a den of drug addicts and those who can make a profit off them, and Shetlandston is inhabited by a few dozen raider gangs who hate every other raider gang. And Dis, well, Dis is special.”
She gave little bitter laugh. I took the bait.
“What’s the matter with Dis?”
“Dis is often called the last great city. The only ponies who say that, of course, are those who have never been there. The place is ruled by a pony named House and his Hizais. Do you know what those are?”
“No.” Inside, I was wondering if she even remembered Seas.
Blueberry looked surprised, but just continued with her little informative speech.” They are cyber ponies, every one of them, and they meddle in things House wants a part of, which is mostly everything in Dis. The whole place is a land of thieves and whores, and House uses his Hizais to make sure that they do not overstep there bounds. Frankly, it looks clean and respectable, which is only because there is a mad pony with too much power for his own good makes sure everything is running according to plan. The one we met was probably going to report on what was going on in Tauronto.”
I decided I have heard enough about that.
“Tell me about Tauronto.”
Blueberry began to snicker, and I glared and flexed an arm in her general direction.
“What’s so funny?”
“I thought your would, heh, never ask!”
I groaned.
“But no, really, it’s important, and I guess you do need to know about the place.”
She looked at me expectantly. I gave the best glare I could. She giggled.
“Okay, okay...where to start...Tauronto is odd, really. It’s at the border between Caldonia and Equestria, and there are enough ponies from both places that it’s hard to say who owned it before the war.”
“So who owned it?”
Blueberry snickered. “No idea. Doesn't really matter. There are Ministry Hubs there, and that’s enough for me.”
I was just a tiny bit annoyed. “Who lives in the damned place, Blueberry!”
To her credit, she did not look shocked. “Well, there used to be a bunch of gangs, but they got pushed out a while back. One’s with names like the Blacktalons and Flayers and stuff like that.”
Okay, good so far.
“There's also the Pure, who pretty much control a fourth of the city. It’s mostly well kept, for a piece of the wasteland. Bunch of powerful unicorns that have good magic. I nearly joined them a few years ago.”
Well, it could be worse.
“There also used to be some buffalo and Minotaur’s, but they got pushed out a while ago.”:
Oh come on! That was the reason I came up here!
“Oh! And the inner city is filled with ghouls.”
…..Oh, joy.
“And when were you going to tell me that, Blueberry!”
She tilted her head to the side. “What’s the matter, you scared of ghouls?”
“No, just about anything!” Did the Elder...lie to me?
Blueberry, to my own disgust, smiled. “Right now!”
If it were not for the fact I would probably be killed if I did, I would have picked up Blueberry and see how sturdy the walls were.
“Anyway, we need to go to the inner city. Now, that place is kind of weird. A balefire bomb went off, but it seemed to be lacking in the payload department. Basically, there are about a thousand ghouls in the place, and they shoot anything that breaths on sight. Luckily, they let outsiders in once a year, and according to what I know there going to do there annual gate opening in two weeks. Plenty of time to get in and get out. “
Well, joy. A city within a city filled with ghouls that probably want to kill anything that looked funny, and we have to go in it.....Wait a moment.
“Why do we have to get in?”
At that, Blueberry’s eyes widened and her jaw went slack.
I hoped I didn't break her.
I waved a hand in front of her blank, glazed over face. “Blueberry, you alright?”
Her mouth twitched. “I haven’t...told you the...plan yet?” she said carefully.
I forced a grin. “No. You have a lot of things to tell me.”
She took her time to recompose herself. “It’s simple. We go into ghoul town, get recruits, and go into the Crystal Empire.”
I blinked. That was just a tiny bit different from what I heard back at the commune.
“What?”
Blueberry just sighed. “Okay, it’s simple. The Empire is a very irradiated place. It is also filled with high quality gems. Very high quality. It also has a cache of technology that would be very nice if we could get it.”
“So we get some ghouls to help us get into this place alive?”
She nodded.
“ Yep. If we do a decent haul, neither of us will have to lift a hoof for the rest of our lives.”
“Blueberry, you do understand that I am only following you because I have no idea what to expect in the city, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
You could have lied, you know.
She saw the look on my face, flipped her light blue hair, and snorted. “No reason in lying, Watchful. Got any more questions?”
Why are you a sociopath? How have you lived this long being such a bitch? Are you on drugs? What’s your favorite color? Do you get off on killing, or is it a hobby? Why are you so stupidly powerful? Why am I the one asking all the questions?
And then it hit me.
“Blueberry, what happened with Emerald Seas?”
She looked puzzled, and tilted her head to the side.
“Who?”
I almost picked her up and threw her against the wall, but I didn't. I just clenched my fists and yelled at her.
“The mare you butchered, Blueberry! Like an animal!”
She looked genuinely shocked. “What? I never butchered a pony!”
“You’re a liar, Blueberry! You have lied every step on this little...I don’t know what you are calling it!”
Blueberry was...scared? “Watchful.....when was...this?”
I blinked, my mind clearing. “Do you really not know?”
What.
Blueberry looked scared. Very scared. “Watchful, I need to tell you something. Sometimes...sometimes I forget things.”
I was beginning to dread where this was heading. “Like what, Blueberry?”
“Time, mostly. It doesn't happen often, but when it does....”
I was starting to understand what she was scared of.
“Blueberry, what happened on the road with the irradiated pony?”
Blueberry Cream, crazy pony butcherer, ex-Steel Ranger, began to cry.
And I had the most horrible feeling in my gut that I was the reason why.
“I don’t know! I lied, okay! I don’t know why the pony was in our cart! I don’t know why there's metal parts covered in dried blood in my bags! I don’t know how I got to your leaders house and I don't remember when I agreed to mess with you! I thought you knew about the plan! I don’t know why this keeps happening! It happens every time!”
Oh, Discord. She really didn't.....
“What happens, Blueberry?”
“Ponies look at me like I am crazy and say that I have done horrible things! Even when I was at home, my friends always thought I was crazy! Crazy crazy crazy, all the time! Oh, what did I do! What did I say! Oh, Watchful, what did I do to that mare!”
I was not sure if I wanted to say the truth. But I did anyway.
“You cornered her, sawed off her limbs, and left her for dead. I had to..." I paused, taking a breath so I could actually say what I was about to say.
"I had to snap her neck.”
Blueberry let out an anguished cry and burrowed into the dirty brown bedspread.
Nice going, Ever Watchful. You made the little unicorn with mental issues cry. Dad would be proud.
And so, we had a few agonized moments in the room together. I sat on my bed facing the wall, looking at all the little cracks and molds in the wallpaper, while Blueberry cried herself to a tired sleep.
Which gave me plenty of time to think.
Okay, so Tauronto might not be that bad. Sure, the Elder might have been mistaken about there being decent folk there, but at least there is something of a spot for someone like me. There was also the issue of the Elder possibly sending me off with a crazed mare.
Also, there is a place that’s called the Crystal Empire that probably has a connection with those “Crystalites” I heard of in that memory orb. It's also horribly deadly and filled with nice stuff. Not the best combination.
Also, Blueberry is clearly batshit insane and might not be responsible for her own actions. She was also inconsistent, in a way. She had no issues lying about me eating ponies but she was horrified at the idea of carrying the body a few minutes later. I had no idea what to do.
And to top it off, I had the worst ringing in my head.
Knock Knock
Or, it was the door.
But when I opened it, surprise, there was an slim yellow guard pony on the other side, looking remarkably bored. Charnel looked like the sort to meet the meat in person.
“You got fifteen minutes,big boy. Your cart is outside near the gates. Don’t die on your way there. Have fun.”
I nodded, and bared as many teeth as I could when I smiled back at her. I was pleased to see her shiver slightly as she walked back out into the hallway.
At least, until I heard Blueberry sniffle herself awake.
“Wa-watchful, I need to show you something before we leave. Just head for the cart, I will meet you there.”
I carefully tried to stay quite as I walked outside. I guess that was a reasonable request.
It was nearly dusk outside, not that that was surprising. There were only a few ponies out and about, and they all took great care to ignore me and wagon.
Just the way I liked it, frankly.
Blueberry exited the building just a few minutes after I did, and she looked like a wreck. I noticed some guards look at her with pity and concern, and at least one looked like she wanted to pick the little mare up and give her a hug. Couldn’t blame her if she did, Her mane was matted with tears and she looked like someone ate her puppy.
Never less, she trotted near me and began to rustle through the cart’s bags, eventually finding a little black...I am going to say carrying bag and leaned in to me. From the added height from the cart, we were staring at each other eye-to-eye. Her dark blue eyes, almost purple in the light, were fearful.
“Watchful, within this bag is my most important possession.”
I spotted Self Defense in the cart, hopefully she hadn't forgotten about her gun.
“My mother gave this to me when I was very young. She found it in a Ministry building, and gave it to me on the day I became a Scribe. It’s some sort of advanced spell matrix set on a tiara or something, and it made me feel really good when I wore it. Really good. But, ponies started calling me crazy, so I stopped wearing it in public. But they still called me crazy, even when I only wore it when I was alone, and they said I acted weird and stuff. Like I was mad. I ran away from home because of this thing , I would think.”
I looked at the bag wearily. It was probably nothing good.
“I used to wear it all the time, but when I do it now it doesn't...do anything. I don’t feel different when I put it on, and I don’t know why. I want you to know your the only other…. thing I have ever let see this besides my family in Filly.”
Huh. Neat.
“Thank you, Blueberry.”
Her eyes, filled with appreciation, nodded. The bag opened up, and out raised the strangest thing I have ever seen in a little cloak of blue magic.