Fallout Equestria: The Wilderness

by Lusaminia

Chapter 2 - Top Priority

“Good evening everypony and this is EQ here with Wilderness Radio. It’s another beautiful night here in the town of Marechester and no doubt it’s just as beautiful out there for the rest of you. Now I have some great news for you all coming from the sherif of the Wilderness forest preservation committee saying that yet another Hellhound has been dealt with. Jeez, that’s the fourth one this week by the looks of it but hey, Nopony I think can complain about there being another Wasteland creature dead. We here in The Wilderness don’t need those around now do we?”

As Broken Record touched the surface for the first time in her life she was blinded by the moon's glimmer. When her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she was amazed at what I saw. Before today the only plants she had ever seen was in small pots in Stable 17’s lab, but less than a minute out here and already Broken Record had seen more plants than in my entire life underground. The amount of trees not only around her but also in the distance was crazy. From how high up she was, she must have be able to see into the rest of the Equestria from up from there.

Curious she looked behind her and up the mountain she was on. Ponies weren’t kidding when they said that Stable 17 was located on a mountain. She looked right up above her at what must have been some sort of monorail device leading to the top of the mountain. Maybe if she had time later she would ride it up and see what there is. That being said it only seem to lead halfway up the mountain. Follow the monorail with her eyes she spotted what must have been the place to board the monorail. It wasn’t that hard to make out since it was all green fields in front of her. It was already dark out, and this place was probably the safest to crash for the night in her general vacinity. Not that she was particularly tired, but she has heard about the things that come out in the night.

Deciding that this place was the best area to start asking she slowly made her way down. As she did she studied what must have been some sort of town in the distance at the base of another mountain. It was smaller than the one she was currently on, but lights seemed to be on everywhere over there. Perhaps that’s where Carrot Cake was heading? She shook the thought from her mind, right now the most important thing was getting to the bottom of the mountain.

From what her PipBuck said she was indeed in an area named Stallion mountain. Interesting name, that was for sure, but from the looks of things on her PipBucks map there were multiple possible towns around her at the moment. Some were somewhat bigger than others, but none of them compared to the size of Canterlot or Manehattan. Then again, that’s what she heard about The Wilderness, it wasn’t densely populated and that’s what saved it in the end. To think that this was above ground all along and they had never even known. Broken Record alway thought that emended radiation would have at least carried over from one of the other areas that had been hit.

As she reached the bottom of the moment a notification from her PipBuck suddenly popped up in front of her. Apparently she was now in an area called, the “Stallion Mountain Sun Pub”. It was an interesting name, but if there was a bar nearby then there was ponies to talk to. No doubt Carrot Cake had stopped here before heading out. Of course, considering how many hours have past since she had left there was no way to catch up with her tonight. All Broken Record hoped was that she could find her.

As she reached the bottom of the lift she looked to see a small platform standing in front of her. On the left stood a small building with some interesting equipment in there that included a terminal and multiple switches. It must have been controls for the gondola or whatever. However, taking a closer look at the “gondolas” she had mention she realized that they were more like rather large seats with bars attached to a wire. She looked back up at the mountain realizing that the “gondola” line ran through multiple small T-shaped towers as they went up.

She walked over to the door and tried her best to open it, only for her effort to be stopped by a pony coming out of a building she hadn’t even realized was there. “The doors locked you know,” Broken Record’s attention was drawn over to a green unicorn mare with orange and red mane and tail. The ponies cutie mark was that of leaf with fall colors on it. “No lift rides until morning, and I am the only pony allowed in that room. Wait, are you from Stable 17?”

Facing the mare Broken Record was put into an awkward situation. She felt like she wasn’t suppose to be here at the moment. It was the pony that really gave her the vibe, but the fact that her first action as soon as she got out to The Wilderness was breaking into a place she doesn’t belong in was wrong. Stupid, what was she even thinking?

“S-sorry,” Broken Record said backing away from the control room door. “I didn’t think anypony would be here. Please forgive me,”

The pony laughed at the reaction Broken Record gave her. Clearly she didn’t mean anything bad to the Broken Record, but that did make her feel any better about what she had just done. Not just that but she was rather embarrassed by the action. Her ears flattened against her head and she struggled to keep eye contact. The other pony however clearly didn’t care about that.

“It’s okay,” She responded. “I understand considering the stable suit you have on right now, you have no idea what it’s like up here. I considered that since most second time visitors from Stable 17 don’t act like that at all. Be lucky you were wearing that stable suit and PipBuck or else I would have had to call Pine Needle from the Mountain Village and no one enjoy that including him,” She paused for a second as she came up to Broken Record and held her hoof out. “Nice to meet you, the names Leaf Peeper and I run the Stallion Mountain Sun Pub, that’s the building right there,”

Leaf Peeper pointed behind her at a large building with a porch and balcony. It seemed to be really old but held up rather well for it’s age. The porch was rather small, just leading to the door that lead to the inside of the building. There was also a small little cabin Broken Record saw near it with the faded words “waffle cabin” on it. There was a few picnic benches in front of the cabin, the metal bars that held them together must have been replaced because they looked shiny compared to the woods quality.

“You a traveler needing a place to stay for the night?” Leaf Peeper said in an advertiser voice. “You want a good drink of The Wilderness’ great Long Prance beer? Or are you a stable dweller looking for a place to learn about the Wilderness? This is the place to do it. The great food of a restaurant, the friendliness of an inn, and the relaxation of a pub all in one,” She took a breath as she finished her self advertisement. “We would have called it something different but I can’t think of a name that combines the three,”

“Well I’m Broken Record,” Broken Record said introducing herself to Leaf Peeper. “Ex-Overmare of stable 17 as well as Ex-Radio mare for stable 17. Truth is, I’m the last pony that will ever be coming out of that stable,”

Leaf Peeper tilted her head in confusion at what Broken Record had just said. “What do you mean by Ex-Overmare?” She asked. “And what do you mean when you say that you are the last pony coming out of Stable 17?”

Broken Record let out a sigh as Leaf Peeper asked that last question. She was in a way hoping Leaf Peeper would have been one of those ponies who just accept things. Sadly, Broken Record had come to the conclusion that she wasn’t, and it was probably a good idea to tell her. Even if Broken Record didn’t now, no doubt Leaf Peeper would keep asking her until she is finally forced to give in.

“Something happened,” Broken Record said. “Something happened and I don’t know exactly what. One week ago we had a pretty bad earthquake and a damaged a lot of the piping and wiring in the stable. Not only that, but we found this weird door in the stable that we didn’t even know about,” Broken Record halted for a second, it was hard for her to speak about tonight's events. “Something called Experiment 17… killed them. It killed everypony in the stable except for me and my friend Carrot Cake who had left for an expedition out here probably just an hour or two before it happened. I’m trying to find her, did you meet her by any chance,”

“Carrot Cake,” Leaf Peeper said to herself, putting her hoof on her chin as she tried to remember. “Oh, I remember her. Wanna talk inside, I can get you a drink if you want to,” She started walking away before stopping and turn around with a strange smile. “and I’m sorry to hear about what happened in the stable. I’m feel terrible about it I do it’s just, I have never been able to express sadness for some reason,”

Broken Record didn’t need anything more than the constant smile on Leaf Peepers face to tell it was true. That being said, Peeper’s desperate attempt to sound sad didn’t bode well with Record, and made a mental note to keep an eye on her. Of course she was also the only lead Broken Record had for finding Carrot Cake and without any clue on where else to go she followed Leaf Peeper inside.

As Broken Record entered the actual pub she was rather amazed at the looks of it. To the right looked like what was once an old and cafeteria of some sort. There was a wooden countertop with multiple indents in it to probably place food into. Behind it stood what looked like some old cooking tools that were attached to some sort of piping. In front of the counter tops stood even more picnic tables that seemed surprisingly younger compared to the rest of the building. To the left of her was a small room with a newer looking couch and two other leather chairs of the same quality. In front of Broken Record was two other rooms. One was on the current floor and seemed to be more relaxing then the entrance and the other was merely stairs that led up to another door.

Leaf Peeper lead Broken Record into the other room on the ground floor “That’s just the entrance,” She told her guest. ”This is the actual pub in here,”

As Broken Record entered the room stopped, her jaw figuratively dropped to the floor and she simply stared in amazement. In front of her stood a small but relatively lively room with music blasting throughout. The music game from a radio on a counter, which held several bottles of wine, beer, rum, and every other alcoholic drink you could think of. To someone who didn’t grow up in a stable and was bounded by an age limit as well, this would have likely been a dream. The walls were covered in fresh teal paint and the floor was in much better shape than at the entrance. A comfy sofa sat against the far left side of the wall with two tables in front of it. There was also a nice fire going on the far wall of the room.

Two other ponies we're currently in the room, both of which seemed at least a little drunk. Leaf Peeper simply motioned Broken Record over to the bar stand as she went behind it. Broken Record’s ears and eyes were both on the music coming from the radio. Some of the music sounded familiar, but there was also some other tracks she didn’t recognize.

“You love it as well huh,” Leaf Peeper asked Broken Record, who was unknowingly tap her hooves to the beat of the song. “EQ is amazing, she runs the radio station down in Marechester and is probably the most authority we have here next to the Green Mountain Colts. She’s become a bit of a role model here in the Wilderness. I think she likes the attention she gets. As a fellow radio mare you must agree,”

“Not really,” Broken Record admitted. “You don’t really get a lot of attention as radio mare in a stable. Everypony is so busy working and doing other things I barely got any physical attention. I personally find that better since I do really care for attention and have… stress issues,” Things fell silent for a second before Broken Record finally spoke up again. “So you told me you met Carrot Cake,”

“Orange pony with a white mane and tail,” Leaf Peeper asked really quickly, getting a nod from Broken Record in response. “Yep, she was here probably three hours ago if memory serves me. Nice pony, but that’s expected considering she’s from a stable. She talked for about an hour before leaving for the Mountain Village west of here, said she was excited to explore. You could head out now but it’s to dark to really see the road. Besides it’s a close enough walk where you can get there in about an hour. The next closest town from there is Ponville at the base of the mountain,”

Broken Record looked out at the pitch blackness outside. “Guess you have a point,” Her ears flattened again as she realized just how late it was. Checking her PipBuck it was currently nine twenty-five at night. “Well since I’m going to be stuck here for a bit is there anything you can tell me about The Wilderness,”

“There’s a lot of things I could tell you,” Leaf Peeper said. “Since this is your first time here however allow me to first explain some law. Truthfully there isn’t any main center of authority here in The Wilderness but without one we would probably be part of the New Canterlot Republic. In that case the Green Mountain Colts are seen by many ponies as the main authority here. They aren’t your lazy politicians talking endlessly about Luna knows what, they actually get things done and has two simple rules. No pony can commit murder on another citizen and no pony can break into another's home,”

“Sounds pretty simple to me,” Broken Record replied.

“Well that’s only the basic law of The Wilderness,” Leaf Peeper said in a ’on the contrary’ kinda way way. “Different towns have different laws. We still use bottle caps since we don’t have a way to produce bits like the NCR does, and even then it’s still very iffy on whether they will adopt bits back. That being said whenever you head into a new town try and be at least a little cautious and try not to do anything extremely risky,”

“Wow,” Broken Record said surprised. “I didn’t think it would be that lawful,”

“Well when you are trying to prove that you can protect a large area like this then you kinda have to be at least somewhat lawful,” Leaf Peeper explained “This is still just a rumor and the radio mare EQ won’t say anything until it’s actually confirmed or denied but there’s actually talks of the Green Mountain Colts forming an alliance with the New Canterlot Republic. With all the wasteland ponies and creatures that are taking up residence ponies are believing that they might actually consider working together not as one country but just as protection until we have enough strength to defend ourselves,”

“I guess that makes since,” Broken Record said trying to sound like she understood, in reality she was somewhat confused. “So are there any other towns besides from the Mountain Village and Ponville that I should know of in any way?”

“Only two immediate ones that I can think of,” Leaf Peeper answered. “Marechester which is at the base of Equinox mountain to the west is one of the best towns still functioning after the mega spells. You’ll find many things here in The Wilderness can be found around there, that’s how we got these new floors placed in,” She tapped a hoof on the fresh wooden floors under her. “They are a main source of the recently started reconstruction program to try and get The Wilderness up to tip top shape. The other town - or city in this case - that I can think of is Trutland. It’s almost completely abandoned by all the ponies in The Wilderness, in fact the only ponies I think live there are raiders and such. I have also heard that a few Alicorns have taken up place there, and trust me when I say you don’t want to deal with an Alicorn,”

Broken Record was shocked by that last bit, through the ever present smile of Leaf Peeper she could tell that she was being completely serious about the Alicorn thing. She had heard about there being more Alicorns than before on the surface and Broken Record didn’t fully believe it at the time. It was an entirely different thing here it from a pony who had lived on the surface for her whole life. It gave the words more fear and more realism. In the end Broken Record simply hoped that she didn’t ever come face to face with one, considering that she was an Earth Pony and had no way to defend against magic.

A sudden yawn escaped Broken Record and watched as Leaf Peeper took out keys, almost as if she had predicted it. “Take the spare room,” She said to the Overmare. “Up the stairs and first room on the left, you can’t miss it. Also, I understand you want to find your friend but I have to teach you how to use a gun before you leave. Don’t want the possibility of you dieing out there,”

“Thank you,” Broken Record replied to Leaf Peeper, not having any problem with being taught self defense. “You have no idea what this means to me,”

------

As Broken Record sat there in bed she thought about everything that had happened in the past two hours. It was hard to believe she was out here. She wanted to feel excited about it but yet couldn’t, not after what happened. She managed to control the rage building up inside of her. It wouldn’t do any good to angry right now, no matter how much she wanted to. She stayed calm as she looked out the window at the stars. Looking up at the sky she saw the moon for the first real time. It was beautiful, glowing above her with all the stars in the sky. She recalled the stories she had heard about Luna and Nightmare Moon.

“Are you still out there?” She asked the moon, wanting an answer. “Of course not, otherwise the Equestrian Wasteland wouldn’t exist and The Wilderness would still be part of Equestria. In spirit at least? Are you still with our kind in spirit Princess Luna?”

The moon wouldn’t give her an answer, and Broken Record didn’t expect any different. She thought about what Leaf Peeper told her at the bar before she came up here. If the NCR were indeed coming to The Wilderness then they must know about what happened to Luna. Was she the leader, no that couldn't be true. Something deep within Broken Record told her that wasn’t true, she knew that Luna wasn’t alive. That didn’t fill her eagerness to learn what happened.

Still, she had no plan on going into the Wasteland. It was probably for all she knew dead and barren. Okay maybe barren was a bit too far considering ponies still lived there but it had to be at least somewhat dead. Still, she couldn’t think about going out there and living for the life of it. The radiation, large and deadly creatures (at least more than in the Wilderness), and who knows what else scared her just thinking about it.

As she was busy trying to think up every reason not to go into the Equestrian Wasteland a notification came up on her PipBuck. Looking at it she realized that her PipBuck had managed to decode one of the research logs that had been in the secret lab. If she was to learn about Experiment 17 and hopefully defeat it. Hopefully one of the logs had something for turning it off or destroying it, maybe a backup in case it went haywire. Of course if it had a backup they would have used it when it tried to kill them… right? Knowing that her best hope at learning what happened was through these logs, she opened up the recently decoded one and read it.

The stupid earthquake jammed the Celestia damn door. Without the ability to reach out to the other ponies in the stable we are stuck in here forced to eat whatever we have. That’s not the worst of it, Experiment 17 is STILL actively trying to kill us, even though he has no idea how. He’s pretty threatening when he speaks and wants out of here, but we can’t do that just yet. Hopfu-

It just cut off, the entire log just seemed to stop. Checking the date it was logged, it was actually the first day anypony had noticed the door was even there. That being said, whoever the idiot that was typing entered the log without finishing it, meaning that it wasn’t an error of the PipBuck. The random letters at the very end of the log told her that something scared the writer or that he fell asleep during typing, most likely the former.

It frustrated Broken Record immensely, not being able to know what they were about. She felt her ears ringing let an alarm clock as she tossed her pillow across the room. She was in almost blind hate at what had just happened, and she felt toyed with over the log entry. Her vision started to haze a bit in front of her, and soon she realized exactly what she was doing.

Shaking her head back and forth she tried to get the ringing out of her head, and after what felt like an hour of shaking it faded away. As her vision fully returned to her she found herself breathing heavily. It was reminder of something to her, something she ultimately regretted not just because it was wrong, but it made ponies fear her. She didn’t want to be seen that way out here, she didn’t want that side of her to be shown. Mostly though, Broken Record didn’t want to be reminded of that day she made one of the worst mistakes in her life. Falling down onto the bed Broken Record simply curled up and cried until she fell asleep.

------

The morning sun hit Broken Record right in the face as Leaf Peeper pulled the curtains away with magic. Record groaned as she slowly woke up, Leaf Peeper leaving the room without a word. By the time Broken Record had her eyes open it had been at least twenty minutes since she first woken up. She stood up in the bed and stretched as she tried to get the sleep out of her.

As she finally became fully conscious about her surroundings, she looked in front of her to see that the pillow she had thrown last night was back on her bed. Not only that, but she looked behind her to see the curtain opened, which had been closed by Leaf Peeper during the night. Broken Record realized also was under the comforter that had been under her when she fell asleep. After a quick blink she put a hoof to her face to feel multiple tear tracks on her face.

“How much did I cry last night?” She asked herself.

She was distracted from her own question by the rumbling of her stomach. Jumping of the bed she grabbed her saddlebag, which rested beside the bed, and opened the door to her room. As she made her way downstairs she spotted one of the two ponies passed out on the floor with an empty bottle of alcoholic apple cider on the floor next to him. Deciding not to wake him, turn to the right and walked into the main room of the pub.

“Good morning Broken Record,” Leaf Peeper said as she wiped down a spill on one of the tables from last night. “Um, is it okay if I just call you Record? Wait no, that doesn’t really flow off the tongue. What about Overmare? I know it’s more of a title but still,”

“Do whatever you like,” Broken Record replied. “Have you been think of this for sometime?”

“It’s just that your name doesn’t really flow that well when spoken,” Leaf Peeper addressed. “But if you are okay with anything than Overmare it is,”

Broken Record was surprised at Leaf Peepers choice of name, especially considering she wasn’t really an Overmare anymore. Broken Record had to admit though, she always prefer the name of Radio mare and Overmare better to her real one. As Leaf Peeper said, it rolled of the tongue much better then Broken Record surely did. That didn’t mean Broken Record didn't want to get rid of her name, she liked it but it was just hard to say multiple times.

“Anyways I made some pancakes if you want any,” Leaf Peeper said pointing to the counter she had been behind last night. “Since you have only been out here a day you don’t have to pay. Just know that after this you will have to pay caps for anything else,”

Broken Record nodded in understanding as she went over to the counter. Pulling out a stool she sat at the counter and study the pancake closely. It wasn’t that she thought it was poisoned or anything, but after being Overmare for two years she had for some reason gotten really picky when it came to food. That being said they looked like completely normally Blueberry pancakes, and with a smile on her face she dug in viciously. While she never showed it in Stable 17’s cafeteria, she was one of the messiest eaters ever. The blueberry stained the sides of her mouth and crumbs of pancake rolled of the plate and onto the floor. It was devoured in about a minute and Broken Record leaned on the table as Leaf Peeper brought her a napkin.

Taking the napkin she wiped a good portion of the blueberry off of her face before tossing it into the trash. Hoping of her chair she went to the window and looked outside. It was bright, not like the sometimes dim lights of the stable, it was different. She could see much more than she did last night. The trees stretched even farther than she had originally thought on the other side of the road. Mountains and mountains of green trees went into the distance with small clearings sometimes being visible. In those clearing she saw what looked like buildings huddled close together on the side of them. It was amazing, how had she gone her entire life without seeing this.

Looking to her left she saw more trees of in the distance, but it seemed to suddenly dissolve at some point. As she looked closer she started to see what looked like a dead world to the west of her, behind another mountain and town. That was it, the Wasteland that most of Equestria had become. How did the NCR ever live out there, why didn’t they ever try and take this place? Of course she wouldn’t argue about there not being a major superpower or anything to live with.

“It crazy huh,” Broken Record looked to the left of her to see Leaf Peeper looking as well. “Almost everywhere you look see green and then you look past Marechester and Mount Equinox and you see dead land. It’s so sad, but if the NCR really does live out there then there must be someplace else like this right?”

“I guess,” Broken Record considered. “Leaf Peeper, how long ago did the NCR form,”

Leaf Peeper put a hoof under her muzzle as she thought about the question. After a second she respond with the same cheery voice she always had. “Probably twenty years ago, maybe more maybe less. No pony here in The Wilderness really seems to know when they were formed. Then again I don’t know any pony who has ever been out there besides for possibly EQ,” She walked over to the door leading outside. “Since your done eating and I can clean later, you ready for some target practice Overmare?”

Broken Record nodded her head, making her way over to the door as Leaf Peeper held it open for her. As she stepped outside the pub, she felt something that she had never even knew existed, warmth. The warmth of the sun in the sky above her, it felt wonderful. This was the first time she had ever seen it and she was plenty amazed at it. It felt comforting, like a blanket on a cold winter night. She didn’t realize exactly why ponies held Celestia in such high regard till now.

“Wonderful isn’t it,” Leaf Peeper said with a more natural smile on her face. “The heat of the sun on your coat, the wind blowing through your mane. It’s what made me want to set the pub on up here. The view and the breeze alone was good, but the sun always just seems to hit the right spot on your body,” As Broken Record came on up to her side Leaf Peeper held out a hoof. “Mind if I see your gun,”

Broken Record took out the 10mm pistol as Leaf Peeper looked at it and sighed. Despite the smile on her face Broken Record could tell she was disappointed. “Is something wrong with the gun,”

“You don’t really expect raider attacks or anything do ya,” Leaf Peeper replied. “This here 10mm wasn’t meant to kill ponies, it was only ever meant to kill Radroaches as far as I’m aware. It can kill those buggers in one hit but if I remember what the gunmen in the village said it would take four bullets to even crack the skull,”

She dropped the gun to the ground and pulled one out of a box to the right of her. Broken Record eyed it curiously as Leaf Peeper put some rounds into the gun. The handle seemed to be made out of wood, and the nose of the pistol was shorter than the 10mm. It had a barrel reload instead of a magazine like she was use to seeing. As Leaf Peeper finished reloading she handed it to Broken Record.

“If you are going on out there you will need this,” Leaf Peeper said happily. “Woodchuck revolver, standard weaponry here in The Wilderness but it definitely gets the job done. It’s not as comfortable to grip but the best things usually aren’t. How about you take a shot, I’ll coach you through it,”

Looking down at the slope below her, Broken Record realized that Leaf Peeper had targets set up down it. A few of them were closer to her but there was a few that was at least a good fifteen feet from her. Broken Record gripped the Woodchuck Revolver in her mouth, which she agreed wasn’t very comfortable, and eyed the targets. Before she could fire Leaf Peeper came over to her side and quickly pointed to the gun's trigger. Nodding her head Broken Record looked back down the range. She eyed the target carefully before finally pulling the gun's trigger.

She watched as a clink sound came from one of the targets in front of her. Looking at Leaf Peeper the unicorn motioned her head to the targets. Aiming back down at them she fired shots one after another, three more hitting the targets before she was down to one bullet. As the last bullet circles around to be fired Broken Record felt her PipBuck act up strangely. Before her she saw percentages labeled in green, highlighting the targets. Without a thought she took a chance at the farthest target and fired off a bullet. As the numbers faded away she heard a slight clink sound again, this time farther away from her.

Out of bullets, Broken Record put the gun down as she looked at Leaf Peeper, who was looking through a pair of binoculars down at the field. “Looks like the farther away you fired the less accurate you became,” She said. “You barely managed to hit the last target and even then the bullet didn’t hit as hard as it would at close range,” Putting the binoculars down she looked at Broken Record. “Well Overmare I think that weapon is a perfect fit for you then. Keep it, I’ll give you some ammo for it,”

Broken Record looked at Leaf Peeper confused. “Why? isn’t it your gun?”

“Only a spare,” Leaf Peeper responded to her as she handed Broken Record a small box full of 45. cal bullets. “I keep an extra few around in case anyone comes out of the stable. Since you ponies don’t know much about combat I need to at least make sure you know how to use a weapon correctly. You definitely learned fast, but considering how fast Carrot Cake learned I’m not surprised. She’s got an unnatural talent for firearms that pony,” As she closed the box and locked it she turned around to see Broken Record had already put the revolver and bullets away. “Hope you don’t mind if I come with you to Stallion Mountain Village. I have somepony I need to talk to and I have somepony that might be able to help you out as well,”

Broken Record nodded her head as she saw Leaf Peeper put a large rifle with a strap out and through it around her back. Without another word the two headed down the road to the nearby town. Please tell me she’s there Broken Record thought to herself Please tell me she hasn’t gotten into trouble at all.

------

As the two ponies reached town the looked to see a large group of ponies surrounding two ponies. Pushing there way through the crowd Broken Record took a look at the two ponies they were all surrounding. One was a Pegasus mare with a blue coat and purple mane clad in strange looking armor with two similarly garbed ponies behind her. The other was a green Unicorn stallion with a brown mane and tail clad in an old fashion revolutionary war hat and garb with a strange looking rifle on his back. Behind him was two pony in full metallic suits with mini guns attached to their backs. Whatever these two were arguing about, it was clearly something serious.

“Look mister Pine Needle it not that hard really,” The Pegasus mare said in an almost seductive voice. “All we are asking for is residence in town for the night and food. We already turned our weapons when we entered town, isn’t that enough for a raider to do to show at least some friendship,”

“Do you think I care,” The Unicorn Stallion said in a much harsh voice than expected. “I’m not giving you a chance considering all the trouble that raiders have been for us. Not only that but do you think I would really make an exception for ponies who have previously tried murder us all. Now I will only say this once more, leave before I let my sergeants here have fun with you,”

The raider didn’t take that nicely aggressively stepping forward. “Why you mother-,” She was caught off guard at the sounds of the metallic ponies spinning up there mini guns. Quickly stepping back she looked to the two ponies behind her and motioned them away from the crowd. “You’ll regret this Pine, you will all regret this,”

As she pushed the crowd away from her Broken Record watched as the group surrounding the two ponies dispersed. The unicorn stallion had a smug look on his face and turned to Broken Record and Leaf Peeper. He motioned the two ponies behind him away before coming up to Leaf Peeper and shaking her hoof.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Pine Needle said to Leaf Peeper. “I didn’t expect you to be coming to town today, and with company no less,”

“Well you know me,” Leaf Peeper said. “I’m full of surprises. Anyways Pine Needles, this is Overmare Broken Record from Stable 17. Overmare, this is Pine Needles, one of the three commanders of the Green Mountain Colts,”

Pine Needles looked over at the Overmare, who felt a little uncomfortable in his presence. It wasn’t that he was scaring her in anyway, she was just scared of what he might do considering the guns his sergeants had.

“Is something wrong?” Broken Record asked after a second of him looking her over.

“Oh nothing,” Pine Needles said. “I just expected the Overmare to be more professional… and not have blueberry stains on the sides of her mouth,” He shook his head as he changed the topic of discussion. “Anyways if the Overmare is out here then you must have something important to tell me. We can talk about it at my office,”

He started to walk away and Broken Record looked to Leaf Peeper who was holding out another napkin. Taking it she quickly wiped the rest of the blueberry that wasn’t stained to her coat and vault suit off. Handing it back to Leaf Peeper she bid the young bartender farewell as she hurried after Pine Needles.

Author's Note:

In case any of you don't get why I gave Leaf Peeper that name, allow me to explain real quickly. Leaf Peepers are people who come to Vermont to watch the folliage in the fall. As for the Green Mountain Colts, it's basically a play on the revelutionary war group called the Green Mountain Boys. Since there lead Ethan Allen lived in what would be part of Vermont later I thought that this was the perfect way to put a none Steel Rangers or Enclave group into the story. Now they won't be the only group in the story of course but I just wanted to explain it to people who don't know much about Vermont or have never been there. With that please like, comment, and follow to keep track of this story and check out some of my others as well.