FoE: Vagabonds

by StapleCactus

Chapter 2: Change of Plans

Lavender woke up hours later, just as the sun started to peek over the horizon and a small hole in the clouds allowed its light to shine directly on her. Her magenta coat was spotted with dirt and grime from both her capture and the subsequent journey to their rest stop. Just as she raised her head to look, the cloud cover closed the gap, but the light was enough for her to view the room. Everything was as it sat last night while Force and Steel were sitting by the rusted desk, eating quietly from a few unlabeled, rusty cans.

The green stallion looked up and locked eyes with her, then glanced at the two fillies. His magic activated as two cans and a box of cereal levitated out of his bags by the mattress. “Eat up,” he said as he placed them on the side of the desk opposite him. “These raiders had food around, so I’ll let you share with the fillies this time.”

The magenta mare glared at the statement, but said nothing to avoid upsetting the girls or the sniper, and possibly losing the food for them. How could he allow the fillies to starve if the ponies didn’t have food? she thought. With a small nuzzle to either filly, she stirred them awake and they hopped off the couch, allowing her to do the same. All three girls yawned as they approached the furniture, but then the two young ponies froze in their tracks.

Noticing the sudden stop, the mare turned to see them staring wide-eyed and fearful towards the table. She followed their gaze to Force, who was looking right at them with a thoughtful gaze. “Force, stop that. You’re scaring them,” Lavender said as she stepped up to the desk. She waved the fillies over while offering words of encouragement.

Against her words, he continued to stare at them, just as much as they tried to avoid looking at him. Lavender brought the cans to them before opening the sealed containers. Just as she was opening the Sugar Apple Bombs, Force jerked forward. The two fillies jumped back and started shaking.

“Force!”

He narrowed his eyes and sat back. “Scared of dead bodies, scared of me, scared of everything. Where did you two come from? The wastes shouldn’t have children your age afraid of such things.” They continued to quake and he sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you two. I’m not a raider and you’re not a raider, so calm down and answer my question.”

His words did little to calm them down, but Lavender said nothing this time, only watching. Eventually, time in which Steel finished his meal and stepped over to the entrance, the girls calmed down enough to speak.

But they were interrupted before they could start. “Why do you care?” All of the ponies present turned to see Steel by the doorway, looking at Force with his normal steady gaze. “The world’s all gone to hell. Why do you care where two fillies originate from?”

All was quiet as Force studied the ghoul, his eyes searching Steel’s own as well as the being’s composure. He switched to the fillies, roaming between the two and their nervous expressions.Then, he looked back at the ghoul and seemed to think something over. He glanced to the girls once more, his face blank, and said, “Answer the question.”

“S-Slade,” one of the fillies responded quickly.

Force immediately turned back to Steel. “I don’t,” he said simply before starting on his food again.

Lavender watched as Steel silently left the building, leaving Force and the girls to their food. He sat down on the ground outside, settling into a comfortable position, and let his gaze search the surrounding landscape for any potential threats. Force finished up and grabbed his gear, putting on the saddlebags and setting the rifle on his back before levitating the minigun next to him. With a quick word for the girls to hurry up, he joined the ghoul outside.

Lavender sat with the fillies and ate at only a moderate pace, enough to placate the sniper and not rush the girls too much. As they were in the middle of eating the mysterious food in the cans, the filly on her left spoke up.

“Miss? Where are we going?”

“To some friends of mine. Hopefully we’ll get you two someplace safe after that,” the mare answered as she worked on the last crumbs of cereal.

“They scare me,” the other filly added with a glance to the stallions outside.

“I know, but they are good ponies. They won’t hurt you like the others did.” Lavender stood up and looked the two over. “Finish up now; we don’t want to keep them waiting.” Then, she walked over to the doorway and listened in on the stallions’ conversation as they scanned the wasteland with their backs to her. All she caught was the tail end of it, though.

“Just carry it for me. I can’t shoot and hold this thing at the same time,” Force said.

Steel stood, grabbing the heavy minigun with his magic and placing it securely on his back. Turning around, he saw both the fillies and the mare standing behind them. Without a word, the ghoul turned away and set off towards the mountain range. Force nodded to himself and waved the girls to follow after him as walked after Steel.

---

The voyage continued in silence as the stallions tread onwards with a lackadaisical gait. Only rarely did the group stop, to Force’s irritation, so the fillies could rest their hooves. This caused them to occasionally whine until they would receive a look from Force or Steel and fall silent again. Slowly, the base of the mountain range came into view and, as they reached the shadow of the mountains, the hush of their journey was interrupted by Lavender.

“Force, why did you want to know where the children came from?” she called from behind.

A heavy sigh escaped the sniper, and he slowed down to walk beside her. “Why do you want to know?”

“Is it wrong to know more about your travelling partners? Why are both of you so unforthcoming?”

“Because it’s none of your business and I, for one, don’t care to expose any weaknesses by telling you anything.” They finally reached the foot of the mountains and turned eastward, all the while letting Steel lead silently.

“Surely there’s nothing about the question that could make it a problem to talk about.”

“You’re certainly too weak to cause harm, but if someone forces the information out of you, then what?”

Lavender shrugged off the insult and thought about another route of inquiry. “If you are looking for answers, I might have them. I may have seen something.”

Yet another sigh left the stallion’s lips. “I’m not looking for answers, but if it will get you off my back, then fine. I’m warning you now: speak a word of this to anyone, and you’ll be the first to go down.”

She smiled in satisfaction and responded, “My lips are sealed.”

“I grew up in a town of relative safety, away from most problems in the wasteland. I wanted to know if they came from there.”

There was a moment of silence where the mare waited for him to continue. Unfortunately, he did not. “And?”

“And that’s it.”

“No!” she said indignantly and stomped a hoof. “You haven’t said anything about why you really wanted to know.”

“If they were, I was simply going to ask why they left. Happy?” Force said in a huff and trotted up to Steel, leaving the mare to stare after him in both confusion and irritation at the stallion’s continued silence.

Steel Wall and Force Factor. I just don’t understand them. Why are they so silent and yet expect me to follow unquestionably? she thought. Psychologically speaking, Steel should open up at any mention of the pendant and Force should have told me more than he did. Are all wastelanders as complicated as this?

With Force once again with the ghoul, Lavender was left with the two fillies at the back of the group. “Miss?” one of the fillies said, snapping the mare out of her musings. She looked down at the young pony with a smile that told the pony to continue. “You said we’re going to see your friends, right? What are they like?”

“Well, Time Watch is an Earth Pony. He’s always on time and carries a pocket watch, though it’s more for decoration more than anything else. He can usually tell the time just by looking at his surroundings,” the mare answered, a reminiscent smile on her face as she thought of her old friends in which she would soon be reunited.

“Then, there’s Wind Stroke. She was unique among the other members of our stable, as she’s a pegasus.” Both fillies ‘oohed’ over that. “Ever since I can remember, she wanted to leave home and fly in the free air.” She giggled. “It took me and Time Watch hours to convince her to land so that we could walk relatively unnoticed. She’s excitable and fun-loving and I’m sure that you two would love her.” The mare’s mind started to travel back to the day she had left her stable with her friends.

Soon after, the group began to round the mountain bend as the fillies once more began to complain of sore hooves with the distraction of Lavender’s story gone. As luck, whether it be good or bad, would have it, the new view showed a trio of approaching ponies, each in a set of heavy power armor. Force brought his rifle to bear as the girls stepped closer to the large mountainside. Steel, not caring about the approaching ponies, continued onward.

The Steel Rangers marched in the direction of the group, before coming to a stop as Steel’s silhouette swiftly solidified in their sensors. There was a brief moment of hesitation while the rangers examined the old stallion, then conversed with each other. One of the ponies stepped forward, but was halted by another. A small shake of the head to the pony and the three allowed the ghoul to pass. Force and the girls followed cautiously behind Steel, with the green unicorn’s rifle trained on the soldiers the entire time. The rangers paid the other four ponies no heed, though, and kept their gazes on the heavily built stallion.

As the sniper and girls caught up to Steel, Force set his rifle upon his back once more. Lavender glanced between the two, awaiting any response to the event and unsure what to make of it herself. After a minute or two of walking, during which Force studied Steel as well, she watched the sniper return his attention back to the wasteland before them. Seeing no forthcoming answers, and filing it away as a normal occurrence to the stallions, Lavender repeated the fillies’ plea for rest. Force told them to wait, as they were nearly at their destination and they could rest there.

By ‘nearly’, the green stallion had obviously meant ‘a few more hours’, as they continued on until even Lavender was growing tired. The fillies had just voiced their discomfort again, when a destroyed building started to come into view.

As they approached, realization dawned on the mare. A wave of panic began to run through her bones. “Nonononono,” Lavender rambled as she galloped ahead, leaving the girls with the stallions. In her panicked run, the mare easily forgot about her weary legs, dead set as she was on getting to the building. When she arrived, she paused to survey the damage that told the tale of a recent battle.

The structure was built of metal posts and sheets of thin steel. A thin stream of dark smoke rose from above the building. Bullet holes and laser burns scoured the walls. The makeshift door lay on the floor of the building, having been knocked inward from someone charging it. Just as the mare took a step forwards, a wall panel fell off, revealing the chaotic mess within.

Old cans and trash littered the floor. Anything of value she remembered the building housing had been stolen. Embers from an indoor campfire were the cause of the smoke she saw earlier, giving a slight sense of normalcy that proved to be only a small comfort. Finally, after her hesitant look around the building, Lavender spotted a pony in a pool of blood next to a glowing pile of ash.

She pushed herself forward, legs accelerating her through the doorway and over to the figure, hoping he was alive. When she reached him, she knelt and spotted holes burnt through him, one having gone straight through his chest and hitting the heart. Giving no more attention to the area around her, she dropped her head on the dead stallion and wept.

“Energy weapons,” came Force’s voice from behind her a moment later. “My guess would be those Steel Rangers we passed.” She continued to mourn as she heard the stallion walking around, occasionally hitting a tin can or digging through something.

The stress of the situation was too much for the mare, and the nonchalant care of the unicorn only made it worse for her. “Force... please...” she choked out through her weeping. It did nothing to stop the sniper from looking around, however. “Please... stop.” After a pregnant pause, she heard him step out and she returned to her solitude in tears.

Shortly thereafter, her loneliness was interrupted once again by the steady gait of the ghoul, who had immediately entered the building upon arrival. She heard him begin to search the room and had just started to speak up, when she was cut off by Steel’s voice.

“Why do you mourn for them? For they are not here. They are gone from this tormented existence and all the better for them,” he said with the same tone he had when he spoke with Force earlier that day, though there seemed to be something behind it. She looked up, shocked, towards the stallion as tears ran down her cheeks. After a moment of silence, a sad smile graced her lips.

“You are absolutely correct.” There was a pause where she stood from her position on the floor. “Thank you, but I need more time.”

After one more look through the room, the hoofsteps retreated back towards the entrance. “Time is the one thing that I’ve never had the right amount of.” The ghoul paused in his words for a moment before shaking his head. “Just don’t keep us waiting too long.” She watched as he left the building and then turned back to her fallen friends.

---

Roughly an hour later, Lavender stepped out of the ruined building. Her tears had stopped, but the redness in her eyes showed the fillies just how upset she had been. She attempted to smile calmly towards them, but even they could see the hurt left inside. Force turned toward her, completely indifferent to what he had seen and heard within the building.

“You done now? Can we go?”

The mare shook her head and looked over to Steel standing next to the door. “Could you help me give them a proper burial?”

With a grunt, the ghoul stepped into the house and Lavender followed after him. Force sighed and waited, but it only took a moment before the dead pony was carried out by Steel, with the mare carrying a rusted tin can of glowing ash. He watched as the two walked around the building and trotted after them, leaving the fillies to follow as well.

There, at the foot of a small mountain, a grave was dug for the deceased. For the ashes, Lavender climbed up and spread them in the wind as she reached the crest. When she came back down, she sat at the grave in silence. The others, too, sat, letting the mare grieve. In time, she spoke.

“Wind Stroke always loved the sky after we left our home. I’m glad I could set her off on those currents she loved and wish her all the best in the afterlife with Celestia. Time Watch was a constant friend, even through our arguments with what we should have done next.” She pulled out an old brass pocket watch and it glinted in the filtered sunlight. “I’ll keep your time for you, always.”

After she tucked the watch back into her bags, Lavender looked at the stallions and fillies near her, their countenance ranging from bored to sorrow. The girls ran up to the mare and hugged her, just as new tears threatened to fall. Then, as she returned the hug, she mustered up her courage and looked at the stallions.

“I have nothing left here,” she said. “If it’s all right, I’d like to join you two in your travels and help these fillies find a new home.”

Steel nodded and Force brought a hoof to his chin in thought. After a minute, he set his leg down and leveled his gaze at the mare. “Fine. I think I can deal with you two and the fillies for a bit. And besides, I need you to pay for your rescue, after all.”

---

Footnote: New quest perk for Steel Wall and Force Factor.

Two Jokers: When traveling with, and near, another with this same perk, you get +2 to whatever single SPECIAL your teammate has the highest (in alphabetical order).

Steel Wall: INT +2, Force Factor: END +2

Authors’ Note: Another round of applause to those that came before us, and the person that started it all (Kkat, btw). SC- I hope y’all are enjoying this story, cause we ain’t stopping. NF- And if you aren’t enjoying then you should because if you don’t you’ll find yourself drowning in a swirling mass of death and pestilence. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Yea, I think I need to find something to get me out of this mindset.

Comments

[Vilehoof]

how long does it take for these chapters to be written?

[StapleCactus]

1133077

Um... about a day or two, but between other things and our combined laziness, it takes a lot longer than that.

[Vilehoof]

hmm cool, well just keep up the good work.