> Fallout: Equestria - Wildfire
>  by Digital Ink
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One - Ignition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backdraft held a firm grip on the valve waiting for my signal as I watched the water pressure on the boiler rise. Somehow the pressure had dropped over our time off, and now we had to carefully get everything to level out or have the rest of the stable breathing down our necks for the next few days.

“Is it level yet E.B.?” Backdraft called out. My lifelong friend liked to shorten names, which he thought sounded cool. My name in fact was Ember Blaze, a Unicorn living in Stable 33. My friend, Backdraft, was a Pegasus and a bit of a dolt, but also a true and loyal friend that I would not trade anything in the world for. Also his ability to fly made getting to the valves high up much easier to do. “Cuz’ I’m starting to melt up here.”

“Just a little more… NOW!” At my signal Backdraft turned the valve, and the water pressure stabilized on the red line. 

Backdraft floated back down, his tongue stuck out as he panted. “I hate being up there, I thought my feathers were going to catch fire from all that heat.”

“Speaking of feathers and heat, can you fan me off? I need a cool down.” He just glared at me as I smiled. We both burst out in laughter. It had been a long day, a day that was finally almost over. 

Patting me on the shoulder Backdraft smirked. “So we’re meeting up at the bar later, right? You did say you found a mare that might be interested in me.”

I rolled my eyes. “For the fifth time, Carbon Cap said she would bring a friend. You still actually have to try.”

“Cool E.B., cool. I’ll get washed up and even throw on some cologne.” he smirked.

As Backdraft turned to leave, I stopped him. “Don’t throw the whole bottle on you, just dab a little, or you’ll smell like an idiot.” He nodded and trotted out. “And brush your teeth, remember what happened last time!” I could hear him make a puff sound right before turning a corner, and trotting out of sight. 

Double checking our tools, I safely placed them back in the locker. My work was done, and all that was left for me to do was get washed up, and meet up with Backdraft and Carbon Cap.


-        -        -        -        -        -


                The contrast in temperatures between the boiler room and the hallways of the stable took some getting used to when I’d first started, but it quickly became something I just shrugged off.
        
        Making my way through the stable halls, I took a look at the an old flyer on the wall. It was from back when the stable was opened up. It’s been six years since we closed the door, though we still trade with the outside, nopony leaves the stable, not anymore. I still clearly remember when we got to leave and travel to Junction 33. It was where I met Backdraft, and where we became best friends.

        Sadly a plague passed through the Junction, and made it’s way to the stable. Backdraft and I both lost our parents to it. It was a bad time, and the Overmare decided to close the stable door to prevent any more sick ponies from getting in. I still miss going to Junction 33, but not enough to want to leave.

As I approached the door to my apartment, I could hear the sound of two colts from inside. The door opened and I stepped through the doorway, greeting Charcoal and his friend Sparks. The two colts took a brief pause from their game to return my greeting before returning to their fun. From what I could gather, the two were pretending to be wasteland heroes slaying a dragon or something. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

        “Alright you two,” I started, trying to grab the colts’ attention. “Sparks, it’s time for you to head home now.” The young colt gave an ‘aww’ before saying his goodbyes to Charcoal and trotting out the doorway. Charcoal waved as his friend disappeared behind the door. “Get ready for bed, little bro,” I turned to my brother and shooed him off to his room.

        “Will you read me a story before bed?” The young colt turned and asked. I feigned deep thought to tease him.

        “Hmm… I dunno, Charcoal. It’s awfully late,” I tried to hide my smirk. My brother pouted and looked up at me with puppy-dog eyes.

        “Pleeeease?” Charcoal begged. Giving a snicker, I raised my hoof and mussed up his mane.

        “Sure thing. Go get ready for bed and I’ll be in,” I told him. Charcoal jumped in place happily before bounding towards his room. Trotting over to the bookshelf along the wall, I scanned for a suitable story. A red book with a gold trim caught my eye and I levitated it off the  shelf. The pages were filled with short stories from long ago. 

        Deciding on a story, I stepped into Charcoal’s room with the book. Charcoal was nestled under the sheets, the lamp on the side-table casting a soft light on the room. He looked up at me.

        “What did you pick?” he asked, softly. He was already looking sleepy.

        “You’re about to find out,” I winked at him.

Opening the book to the right page, I began to read. My brother listened intently as I recited the tale of a valiant pony knight felling a mighty dragon to rescue a princess. 

I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the corny beginning. “Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. In that kingdom was a maiden so fair that every stallion in the kingdom longed to court her.”
“What does court mean again?” Charcoal interjected.

I chuckled. “That is something you don’t need to know right now. Think of it as they liked her very much. They wanted to be around her all the time.”

“Oh. Even though she has cooties?” He stared in horror at the book.

“Haha! Yes. It’s funny, sometimes when you get older you start to like cooties.” I told him.

“Ewwwww!” He made a gesture with his hooves, shunning the very concept of liking mares.
“May I continue reading now?” I asked him, trying to hurry the story along so he could sleep.

“Yeah.” I could tell he wanted to know how the rest went regardless of his opinions.

“Okay, good. ‘Every day, she would wake and look out upon the yards and gardens from her balcony, and there, standing all around, was every stallion who sought her love. But it was all for naught, for she was already betrothed to the prince of another kingdom. She did not love him. Nor did he, her. So she took comfort in the knowledge that, if she were not the princess, maybe some of these stallions would still want her hoof in marriage. ‘Oh how I wish somepony would just take me away. I love this stallion, not, nor will I ever,’ she spoke softly to the stars.”

“Is she crazy?” Charcoal interrupted me once more.

“Why would she be crazy?” I asked him, back.

“Well, she’s talking to the stars! The stars don’t have ears!” He shouted.

“Shh! Shh, keep your voice down,” I chuckled at his energy and interest in the story. “Yes, she is talking to the stars. And you are indeed correct. Stars don’t have ears.”

“So she’s crazy, right?” He insisted that she was not sane.

“That is not so. Back then, people believed in something. Something that most of us have lost.” He looked up at me in confusion.

“How did we lose it?” Charcoal sked me with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I don’t know. I think that we forget where things go after a long time.” I wasn’t sure how to word it... How to word giving up on those that guided the way everypony lived, night and day. “But don’t worry, okay? It’s not like we lost something huge though.” I chuckled, trying to keep a smile on his face. I lived for his smile.

As I neared the end of the story, I heard Charcoal yawn. 

        “...returned home and lived quietly ‘til the end of their days. And the kingdom was at peace. The end,” I closed the book and sat it on the side-table. Charcoal’s eyes fought to stay open, the heterochromatic blue and red of his irises slowly disappearing beneath his eyelids. The black of his coat blended against the deep blue of his bedsheets as I shut the lamp off and mussed up his blonde mane, once more. “Night, Charcoal.” 

Stepping into our wash room, the first thing I did was take a wet towel off the floor and hang it up. Charcoal was good at remembering to take his showers, but still needed to remember to clean up after himself.

Turning a valve, hot steaming water shot out of the shower head, quickly warming up the washroom. Turning a second valve, the water cooled down to a good warm temperature. Removing my work jumpsuit, I stepped in, and let all the aches and pains of the day wash away. 

The water touched on the burns I had under my coat, little souvenirs from close calls with loose steam pipes. They were healing nicely, not hurting nearly as much as they had before, but still a strong reminder on safety, and where not to sit. 

Feeling properly clean, I turned off the shower and stepped out. Using the last dry towel (I’ll definitely need to talk to Charcoal later about this), I dried myself off. Wiping the steam off the mirror, I quickly looked myself over. My bright orange coat was clean from all the grease of work, and my charcoal black mane and tail puffed out due to the rough drying. The red and orange stripe running through my mane and tail gave them a smoky fire look, a look I took pride in, though due to my work, I had to keep them short, or risk actually going up like a torch. 

Sufficiently dry, I stepped out of the wash room, placing my work barding on my dresser. Putting on my clean barding I kept hung up, I patted it down to get rid of the winkles. Pulling out a bottle of breath spray, I made sure to pump it a few times to get my breath minty fresh. “Right, time to meet up with the others.”


_        _        _        _        _        _




Within what seemed like seconds, I was through the door to the lounge. A band was on stage playing some swing music as a gray mare with a red and white mane sang an old Sweetie Belle original to the tune. I spotted Carbon Cap at the bar with another mare, presumedly her friend that I had mentioned to Backdraft. 

“Hey there,” I called out as I approached. Carbon Cap turned to see who was approaching and, upon seeing me, grinned. 

“Where’ve you been, hot stuff?” Carbon teased. 

“Say,” Backdraft trotted toward us. “What’s up with that pet name?” I looked at Backdraft for a moment. “I mean, is it because you work down in the boiler room?” I heard Carbon’s friend giggle and I facehoofed. 

“It’s because his name is Ember Blaze,” Carbon explained. I watched the realization wash over Backdraft’s face as he made the connection. Carbon’s friend giggled even more.

“So,” I interjected. “Who’s your friend, Carbon?”

“Valentine,” the mare in question introduced herself. Valentine was an Earth pony with a dark lavender coat and a white mane and tail, both of which were cut short with her mane straightened off on one side. “Carbon’s told me a little bit about your friend here,” Valentine gestured to Backdraft. Looking at my friend, I caught the pleading look in his eyes. 

“Oh?” I turned back to address Valentine. “Backdraft here has been my best friend since the two of us were little. He’s always been a true and loyal friend to me and for as long as I can remember, there hasn’t been a time he’s let me down,” I noticed Valentine look over at Backdraft, eyeing him up. “He and I work together down in the maintenance wing,” I continued. “And you’ll never meet,” I paused to think about how often I found Backdraft asleep or face-deep in an issue of Wingboner magazine. “anypony who’s more passionate about his work.” I smiled as best as I could, hoping Valentine would be impressed with the sugarcoating. 

“Mmm,” Valentine hummed, eying Backdraft up and down. She seemed to inspect every angle of him she could. “I do like a hard working stallion,” the mare said approvingly. Something about the tone of Valentine’s voice seemed off. Her eyes were half lidded and she was looking at Backdraft in a manner I couldn’t quite describe. An awkward silence fell over us.

“Well,” Carbon spoke up. “How about we move out onto the dancefloor?” The mare grabbed my hoof and led me out onto the floor. Turning to look over my shoulder, I watched Backdraft and Valentine follow in tow. 

The four of us made it to the center of the dancefloor just as the band started a new song. As Carbon Cap and I danced together, I kept catching glimpses of our friends out of the corners of my vision. While Valentine seemed to be more than a capable dancer, Backdraft was fighting just to keep on his hooves. 

“Your friend has four left hooves,” Carbon said as the song ended. Valentine was helping Backdraft up off of the floor for what might have been the fifteenth time. Backdraft wore a look of embarrassment on his face, but Valentine only seemed more amused. 

“Well uh,” I clopped my front hooves together. “Drinks are on me.” The four of us headed to the bar and ordered a round of drinks. Carbon Cap, Backdraft and I each ordered the usual flair, but Valentine ordered a rather flashy drink complete with a fruit-kabob and a tiny umbrella. 

Taking our drinks with us, we moved toward a booth on the far side of the bar and settled in. Carbon Cap and I sat on a bench opposite Backdraft and Valentine, setting our drinks on the table between us. 

“So you two have been best friends your whole lives?” Valentine started off the conversation. I was in the middle of taking a drink, so Backdraft answered for me.

“Oh yeah,” Backdraft took a swig of his own drink before continuing. “We’ve been through a whole lot together, haven’t we, Ember?” Setting my own drink down, I nodded. The conversation dove deeper and deeper into the antics that Backdraft and I had over the years. As we talked, we drank.

“And,” Backdraft took a pause. “You remember the time when we were little and they had you and me put the candles on Old Stallion Red’s cake?”

“Oh yeah,” I laughed. Backdraft and I had a few drinks in us. Carbon Cap and Valentine watched and listened amusedly. 

“And and we found some trick candles in that cabinet so we put them on the cake,” Backdraft was laughing along with me. After regaining his composure, he continued. “But it turned out they weren’t trick candles at all and they exploded in his face.”

“But the best part,” I interjected. “Was when he started freaking out and ranted about how the ‘zebras were attacking’ and scuttled off in a panic.”

“Oh,” Backdraft chuckled. “I’d never seen a stallion as old as him move that fast in my life.”

“Hey,” a voice called from outside our booth. A large white stallion was standing nearby. “Purple cutie,” he addressed Valentine. “You wanna go somewhere and have a bit of fun?” 

“Go away,” Valentine said flatly, not even turning to address the stallion directly. The stallion only leaned in further. I noticed Backdraft tense and lean forward, only to be stopped by Carbon’s hoof. Carbon simply shook her head and Backdraft begrudgingly sat back in his seat.

“S’cuse me?” The stallion looked down at Valentine who simply stared down at the table.

“I said go away,” Valentine deadpanned. “I’ve no use for disobedient pets.” The stallion’s expression became one of annoyance. “If you refuse to leave me alone, I’ll have to punish you.”

“Why you,” the stallion lurched forward but was met with a headbutt from Valentine who proceeded to slide out of the booth and wrap her hoof around his neck, pulling the dazed stallion to the ground with a thud. In a flash, Valentine had pinned the stallion beneath her and held his hind leg twisted up in a painful looking angle. The stallion cried out in pain only to Valentine’s amusement.

“Oh, does it hurt?” The mare teased, tugging the stallion’s leg a bit more. 

“Aaaagh! Please,” the stallion begged through grunts of pain. “Let me go! I’ll leave you alone, I promise! Just let me go!” A small crowd of ponies had gathered to watch the one-sided fight. I turned to look at Carbon Cap with a confounded expression on my face. Carbon simply shrugged and turned back to watch her friend.

“That’s it,” Valentine purred. “Beg. Beg for mercy.” The stallion grunted in pain as Valentine tightened her grip on his hind leg, twisting it just a bit further back.

“Okay,” the stallion whined. “I beg, I beg. Let me go, please, I beg of you.”

“Good boy,” Valentine let go of the stallion’s leg much to his relief before standing up. “You run along now before I decide to charge you with assaulting an officer.” The white stallion rose up from the floor with a grunt of pain and hobbled away quickly. Valentine flipped her hair back and ran a hoof through it before turning towards the booth. She gave Backdraft a sultry look.

“That got my heart racing,” she said. She motioned for Backdraft to get up and follow her. “Come,” she commanded. Backdraft seemed to know better than to disobey and shuffled out from the booth, following Valentine out of the lounge.

“Is he going to be okay?” I turned to Carbon slowly. “He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?” Carbon Cap took another sip of her drink.

“He might have a few wax burns and bruises tomorrow,” she said casually. “But nothing serious.” Carbon downed the rest of her drink and grabbed my hoof, pulling me out from the booth. “If it really worries you, though,” she smirked. “I could think of a few ways to get your mind off it.” 

I followed Carbon Cap out of the lounge and into the hallway. In a matter of minutes we were through the door of her apartment and into her bedroom. In a matter of seconds we were tangled up underneath her sheets.


_        _        _        _        _        _


My eyes flitted open as I awoke. Slowly turning over in the bed, my hoof bumped something. Adjusting to the darkness in the room, I could make out the faint outline of Carbon Cap’s sleeping form. I kissed her lightly on the cheek before rolling off of the bed and groggily stood up.

The red glow of my magic wrapped around my discarded Stable barding and floated it over to me. As soon as I zipped it up, I heard Carbon yawn behind me. Turning my head, I greeted her with a smile.

“Mnnn...going to work?” she said groggily.

I nodded in reply “Yeah, just need to check on Charcoal first.”

She rubbed her eyes and smiled at me “Have a good day then. I’ll see you at the Lounge later?”

“You can count on it.” I said as I turned to leave.

Upon exiting the apartment, the lights of the hallway felt like somepony had poured fire into my eyes. Raising a hoof to shield myself from the offensive lights, I made my way back to my own apartment, trying to ignore the constant pounding in my head all the while. The walk only amounted to a few minutes, but it felt like much much longer. The familiar doorway came into view and was a much welcomed sight.

“Charcoal?” I called out, opening the door to the apartment and stepping through. “You up?” Peering into Charcoal’s bedroom, I found it vacant. The bed was unmade, no surprise. One of these days Charcoal would learn to make his own bed. Begrudgingly, I pulled the sheets back into place. Stepping out into the living area, I peered around into the other rooms. The rest of the apartment was empty, meaning Charcoal was probably out playing with his friends or something.

I stepped into the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet, magicking out a bottle of painkillers and downing two of the tablets inside. Turning on the shower, I waited a few moments for the water to adjust and hopped in. The warm water helped ease the soreness in my muscles that had probably been a result of the night before.

After drying off and stepping out of the shower, I’d resigned to get ready for work. Tossing the towel onto the drying rack, I stepped over to the sink to brush my teeth and comb my mane. Making sure I was relatively ready for the day, I gathered up my toolbox and stepped out of my apartment, trotting down to the boiler room.


_        _        _        _        _        _


“Oh great,” my pegasus friend exclaimed as he threw a wrench toward me. “I could use some help with this.” Catching the wrench in my magic, I rolled my eyes and approached the steaming pipes. As I began repairing the valves and connectors, Backdraft wasted no time starting up a conversation.

“Oh man,” Backdraft leaned down to speak over the whistling and hissing of the pipes. “I had the craziest night ever.” I focused more on the work at hand rather than Backdraft’s recounting of his, no doubt, adventurous night. “Val is one crazy mare. She tied me up and went off into the other room and when she came back she was wearing this really tight looking black leather. It was kind of intimidating but at the same time really hot.” Tightening valves and connectors, I repaired a few areas where steam was spewing out. “...and then she pulled this thing out of her dresser,” Backdraft continued. 

“I’d love to hear all about it,” I interrupted, levitating Backdraft’s wrench back to him. “But this boiler won’t keep itself running.” My pegasus friend gingerly took the wrench from my magic hold and stuffed it into his utility pack before giving me a skeptical look.

“You alright, man?” he asked in a somewhat worried tone.

I rolled my eyes as I replied“Yeah, just dealing with a hangover.”

A loud beep echoed through the room as the comm speakers turned on. “Attention, ponies of Stable 33. This is your Overmare speaking. I would like to inform each and every pony that Stalker has returned from his travels. To celebrate this occasion, everypony is relieved of their duties for today. That is all. Thank you.” With another buzz and a click, the announcement ended.

“Well,” Backdraft started. “Never mind, then. Wanna head to the lounge?” Backdraft wasted no time gathering up his belongings and preparing to leave. I decided to just leave my tools in the locker nearby and pick them up later rather than returning to the apartment to drop them off. Backdraft and I locked the door behind us and made our way upstairs.

Upon reaching the lounge, we spotted a group of foals, Charcoal included, sitting in a semicircle around Stalker. Stalker was the only pony permitted to come and go to and from the Stable freely. He was an old pegasus pony who’d traversed the wasteland extensively and had the scars to prove it. The old stallion was telling the little ones about his adventures in the wastes. 

        “I wonder what the old man’s been up to this time,” Backdraft said beside me. I looked toward the foals and noticed Charcoal listening intently; his eyes as wide as saucers.

        “I dunno,” I started. “But I’m sure Charcoal will tell me all about it later.” Backdraft chuckled and made his way over towards the bar to chat it up with a few mares. 

Curiosity beckoned me as I wondered what exactly Stalker was telling the foals. As I approached the group, Stalker halted his story and looked up at me. His eyes gazed directly into my own, as if he were looking into my soul. A smile broke out across his face.

        “Ah, children,” the old stallion started. “A kindred spirit approaches. Somepony with the same flame of adventure burning within.” The foals turned and looked up at me expectantly. 

        “Heh,” I chuckled nervously. “You must have me mistaken for my little brother there,” I raised my hoof and gestured toward Charcoal. My little brother beamed and nodded vigorously. The old stallion simply shook his head.

        “While the little one sees the excitement and has a love of adventuring,” Stalker remarked. “He doesn’t possess the nerve. I sense it in you, though.” 

        “I… see.” Turning my attention towards Charcoal, I told him not to stay out too late. My brother simply nodded and returned his own attention toward Stalker. I turned away and walked over to the bar, rolling my eyes at Stalker’s words. 

        “Morning, Ember,” the stallion tending the bar greeted me like always. “What can I get ya?”

        “Morning,” I replied. “Coffee please.” Watching the barkeep nod and trail off, I felt something nudge my behind. Turning my head, I spotted Carbon Cap bump her flank into mine. 

                “Good morning,” Carbon smirked at me and leaned forward. “I had a great time last night,” she whispered into my ear before nipping at it with her teeth.

        I could feel Backdraft staring at me, a stupid grin plastered on his face. Giving a soft chuckle, I turned to look at Carbon. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

        Carbon kissed me before she turned and started to trot off. “You know where to find me.” Watching Carbon walk off, I felt my face flush a bit as she flipped her tail aside and giving me a nice view of her backside before disappearing around the corner of the doorway and out of the lounge.

        “Nice!” I felt a hoof wrap around the back of my neck as Backdraft leaned on me. “You are one lucky stallion.” Backdraft exclaimed.

        “Uh huh, don’t let Valentine hear you say that.” I rolled my eyes and shoved Backdraft off of me before hopping up onto one of the barstools and leaning onto the counter. A mug of coffee wrapped in magic floated over to where I was sitting and touched down in front of me. I nodded to the barkeep before looking to Backdraft. My pegasus friend hopped up onto the stool next to me in silence. I poked his shoulder with my hoof and we both shared a laugh before I took the first sip of my drink. 

        Backdraft and I sat and chatted while I finished my coffee. Our conversations mostly revolved around mares and work and occasionally Stable gossip that interested us. Taking the last drink of my coffee, I sat the mug down on the counter and hopped down from my stool. I bade farewell to Backdraft and payed for my drink before trotting towards the door.

        “Off to have another go with Carbon?” Backdraft called after me. I could almost feel the grin on his face.

        “I’m going to the Orchard,” I called back over my shoulder. Backdraft’s grin disappeared.

        “Alright,” he nodded and waved before turning back to the bar. “I’ll catch you later, E.B..”



-        -        -        -        -


        I stepped through the doorway and out into the Orchard. The Orchard was a large area dedicated to growing various fruits and vegetables to feed the Stable. Trotting off toward the apple orchard, I made my way out into the cemetery. 

        The cemetery was a portion of the orchard that had been set aside for the burial of ponies that had been victims to a harsh outbreak within the Stable years ago. Usually when ponies died in the Stable they would be ‘processed’ and ‘recycled’. A pony who was recycled was basically used as an energy source for the Stable; a way for a pony to serve a purpose in the Stable even after death. Often the recycled ponies would be used to help plant and grow food.

        Ponies who had been exposed to the outbreak, however, couldn’t be processed and recycled for fear of contaminating anypony else. Instead, these ponies were buried after their deaths; the far corner of the apple orchard their final resting place. 

Trotting amongst the graves, I stopped in front of a double headstone. Sitting down in the grass in front of the marble structure, I read the names etched into it: Bonfire and Tinder. 

“Hi Mom,” I started. “Hi Dad. I’m sorry I haven’t been visiting you two lately. I’ve had my hooves full between work and looking after Charcoal. He’s doing great, by the way. Things are going well in school and he’s made quite a few friends,” I gave a sigh. “One thing that’s worrying me, though, is how obsessed he seems to be with the world outside. Stalker came back to the Stable today and was telling the foals about his adventures. Charcoal seemed to be so engrossed in what Stalker was saying that he might as well have been under a trance,” I rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof and chuckled a bit. “Maybe I’m just worrying too much...” I trailed off. 

An artificial breeze blew through the Orchard. “You two remember Backdraft? He and I used to play together all the time,” I reminisced about the days before the outbreak when Backdraft and I ran around just like Charcoal and his friends, having adventures within our own little worlds. “We’re still both working down in the boiler room, but when he’s not pretending to get work done he’s out chasing after mares,” I chuckled. 

Another breeze blew across the Orchard and through my short mane. Listening to the leaves on the trees rustle, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Once the wind died down, I got up from the ground and eyed the headstone. 

“I’ll visit again soon,” I said. “And I’ll keep an eye on Charcoal too, just like I promised.” Rubbing my eyes, I turned and trotted out of the Orchard.

As I exited the orchard, I heard what sounded like three ponies approach and saw Valentine flanked by two surly looking stallions; all three of them dressed in their Stable security gear. Valentine stiffened up and addressed me in a loud tone.

“Ember Blaze,” she boomed. “Follow us, please. The Overmare would like to speak with you,” Valentine seemed to command rather than request. My ears folded back as I wondered why the Overmare wanted to see me.






--Chapter End--


“I don’t want to set the world on fire. I just want to start a flame in your heart.”


Quests Finished: none


Quests Started: Ignition


Levels Earned: none


 Perks Earned: none

> Chapter Two - Sparks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How long has he been planning this?” Overmare Steam Engine questioned tonelessly. An awkward silence fell over the room as my mind tried to process the question. “I asked you, how long has he been planning this?” She repeated in the same manner.

“What’s going on? How long has who been planning what?” My own questions only seemed to irritate the Overmare. 

A glow of magic emanated from her horn as she levitated a folded piece of parchment over to me before turning her attention to the wall of monitors. Following her gaze, my eyes landed on a recording from a security camera. My eyes widened as a familiar colt snuck around between security ponies, and into an open crate.  None of the ponies around even noticed as the small hoof pulled the lid closed.

I tore my eyes away from the screen and frantically unfolded the parchment. My heart pounded in my chest as I read what was carefully scrawled down the page.  I’d recognize Charcoal’s hoofwriting anywhere...


Ember,

        By the time you read this, I’ll have made my way out of the Stable and into the great wasteland outside. I’m going to go on a ton of adventures and meet all kinds of exciting new friends. Don’t worry about me though, because I have Stalker to look after me. 

                                                                        ~Charcoal


I read over the note three more times. I felt my heart stop and my blood freeze. Looking up from the note, I stared at Overmare Steam in disbelief. The scowl she wore on her face just moments ago was gone, instead replaced with one of horror.

“You… You really didn’t know.” The Overmare muttered. I could feel my body trembling. Of course I didn’t know! How could I have? “Officer Valentine,” Overmare Steam spoke quickly. “Escort Ember Blaze back to his apartment safely-”

“Ma’am,” I choked out, interrupting her. “Let me go after him.” I couldn’t just idly sit by as he was out there, somewhere in the wastes!

“A-Absolutely not.” she clopped her hooves down on her desk. “It’s too dangerous out there.” I watched her sink down into her chair.  While I could understand her apprehension, she had to know what this meant to me.

“Please...he’s the only family I have left.” I pleaded with her, ready to grovel on the floor if that’s what it would take.

The Overmare sighed. “I understand, truly, I do. If I were in your place, I’d be saying the same thing. But I’m not in your place, and I simply can’t just let anypony leave the Stable.”

“I’m not just anypony, I’m his brother.” My gaze drifted down to my hooves for a moment before shooting back up. “Besides, I’m more than capable with a gun. You have to know that from my records.”

“It’s not a matter of whether or not you can use a gun.” The Overmare shook her head with a remorse filled frown. “Aside from what Stalker and the traders have told us, we have no idea what the world outside is like now.”

Just as she said that, a light bulb went on inside my head. “What if I was to leave with Stalker?”

“No, that’s not an option.”  She shook her head. “While Stalker was a capable stallion back in the day, he’s far too old for a mission like this.”

“And if I were to bring others-” I started to say, but was quickly cut off.

“Damnit, Ember! I said no.” She snapped. “I understand what you are going through right now, but you must let me handle things. Now please, leave me to sort this matter out.” Overmare Steam said angrily as she slammed her hoof down on her desk to mark her point. Not wanting to piss her off further, I turned to leave myself. Valentine wore a dejected frown as she turned around as well, following me out the door.  As soon as the door had shut behind us, she came up to my side.

“Let...me talk to her, Ember. I might be able to convince her to let you go…” She spoke in a sad tone that did nothing but make this all hit me even harder.

“You can try, but it seems that she’s dead set on not letting me go.” My reply had a very noticeable hint of anger in it, something I’m sure she picked up on. How could the overmare not let me go? I made a promise to mom and dad that I would keep Charcoal safe…

        Stopping dead in my tracks, I looked over at Valentine, noticing her ears folded back and her eyes looking at the ground. “I’m sorry...thanks for the offer. I’ll...be back at my place if you need me.” Without waiting for her reply, I pressed on and headed right for my apartment.


_        _        _        _        _


        As soon as I got home, I laid down on Charcoal’s bed and stared up at the ceiling. Why would he do something this stupid? I mean, I know he’s always wanted to go on an adventure of his own but… 

“Damnit!” My outburst echoed around the room as I shot up on the bed. I blinked a few times and looked at the open doorway. Both Backdraft and Carbon stood in the entrance, slightly startled by my anger.  Since when did they get here?

        “Is... everything alright, buddy?” Backdraft moved over to a chair and sat down. “Valentine told us to come stay with you, but she wouldn’t tell us why.”

        “No, everything’s gone to shit.” I sighed and flopped back down in the bed. “Charcoal snuck out of the Stable.” The shocked expressions on both of their faces wasn’t surprising. “Though I doubt I’ll get permission, I’m hoping Valentine can convince the Overmare to let me go out after him.”

        Carbon walked up to me.  “I know he’s your brother, but you can’t go out there! It’s too dangerous and the worry would kill me!” The look in her eyes resembled both fear and anger at the thought of me even considering going after Charcoal.

        “Yeah, but Charcoal’s the only family he has.” As expected, my best friend came to my defense. “If I was in his horseshoes, I’d probably have ripped that large slab of metal open myself and already gone off after him.” Also as expected, Carbon didn’t look at all thrilled about Backdraft’s response.

        ““If he goes out there, he’ll be killed!” Carbon turned to face Backdraft and stared him right in the eyes “Think about it, there’s a high chance Charcoal is already dead!”

        “Hey, I-” I started to say but got cut off by Backdraft.

        “Even if that’s the case, there is still the chance Charcoal is still alive! I for one think he should go. Ember has proven his skill with a gun over and over again at the shooting range.”

        Carbon stamped her hoof. “A shooting range isn’t like an actual gunfight! You’ve heard all of those stories Stalker tells. It’s hell-”

        It was my turn to cut somepony off. “Enough! None of this arguing even matters if the Overmare still says no!” I took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “Now, if you two would just go, I think I need some time alone.”

        Both Carbon and Backdraft shared a shocked look from my outburst. Honestly, I didn’t care that I yelled, this was my problem to deal with. I didn’t need them yelling at each other when all it was doing was making my already bad mood worse. 

Carbon turned around to face the door with a sigh “Please...just stay here, okay?” Without another word, she sighed and walked out of my apartment.

Backdraft only gave me an apologetic look before exiting after my marefriend. I wanted to listen to them, but they had no idea how this felt. Using my magic, I floated an old picture of Charcoal, Mom, Dad and I from the bedside table. Bringing it close, I clutched it tightly between my forelegs as I rolled over onto my side.  Why, Charcoal?  Why did you have to leave?




_        _        _        _        _




        By the time I heard the door of my apartment slide open again, an hour had passed with nothing but my thoughts keeping me company. 

“Hey Ember… how’re you holding up?” Valentine gently asked.  Her soft steps were just as careful as the words she chose to use.

        “How do you think?” I grumbled.

        “Well,” Valentine sighed. “I was able to get the Overmare to reconsider letting you go after Charcoal.” I felt the corner of the bed get pushed down as she sat on it. “Though if it’s too much for you to handle, I can see if I can get her to send me or one of my officers instead.” Wait, I could go?  

Quickly I rolled over and met her eyes. “No, I’ll go. I’m the one who promised to protect him, so I should be the one to go after him.”

        “Are you sure, Ember? I know you’re a good shot, but you’ve got no experience in a real gunfight.” Valentine said with a worried expression on her face. “Even if it’s just one pony shooting back, it’s hard to focus. When the adrenalin starts pumping, it’s easy to make a mistake, or even freeze up altogether.”

        “That just means it’s worse for my brother out there.” I muttered, shaking my head. “He has no experience with a weapon of any kind. Besides, I don’t give a damn about what happens to me. I just need to make sure he’s safe and bring him back home.” I snapped back at her, watching as she moved to retort. “There’s no debating this. Either you can help me get ready for what’s out there, or you can leave me alone.” With that, I put the picture back and rolled off of the bed. “There’s no talking me out of this.”

        “Fine.” Valentine sighed “I’ll have one of my guys give you access to the armory. Take what you need, just don’t take too much. There’s no need to exhaust our supplies and overburden yourself.”

        “Thanks… for convincing the overmare to let me go.” I nodded and gave out a sigh of relief.  “I’ll be off to the armory once I get my stuff together.”

        Hesitantly, she nodded back and left me alone.  While I had no idea what I was to expect outside the walls, I knew that finding my brother wasn’t going to be easy.  I was both terrified and hopeful that I’d find him again.

Wasting no more time, I gathered up my saddlebags and began filling it with whatever I had lying around that would be useful. Bottlecaps, bandages, the two healing potions that were in the first aid box, and what little ammo I had left for my dad’s old revolver. Finally, I strapped the old leather holster to my back leg and slid the gun into place. After making sure everything was packed, I began to head for the door, only to stop and look back at the picture I was hugging earlier. My magical aura wrapped around the old frame and slid the back part out, releasing the faded photograph of my family when it was whole. I folded up the picture and tucked it away safely in one of the side pouches of my bags before finally leaving the room.

As I passed everypony in the hallways, they just stopped and stared at me. Some with remorseful looks in their eyes, and others looking at me as if I was stupid. If they were in my position, though, they’d probably be doing the same thing. As I entered the atrium, a welcoming sight met my eyes. Backdraft was waiting right next to the door leading to the armory, doing his best to hide how he felt through a forced smile.

“Hey buddy...you really going through with this?” He asked, his smile fading away as I walked closer.

“I have no choice. You know that.” I simply replied, watching as his mood soured even further from that.

“I know, just… be safe alright?” Backdraft chuckled with another forced smirk. “I mean, who else is going to do my work for me while you’re gone?”

“Yeah, right.”  I did my best to smile back, but only managed a half-assed one. “Carbon not seeing me off then?”

“No.” Backdraft shook his head. “She’s pretty torn up over you leaving. I get what she’s upset about, but still.”  I expected as much, but I hoped she’d come around by the time I returned.

“I know. Take care of her while I’m gone, alright?” I sighed and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“I’ll make sure she’s waiting for you when you get back.” With a nod, Backdraft gave me a hug.

“Thanks. You’re the best friend a stallion could ask for.” With a slow spin, I turned around and headed off towards the armory. “I’ll see you when I get back. IF I get back, that is.”

My time looking for supplies was short thanks to the access Valentine had given me. The guard at the door let me in with no problem, even if he kept his eyes pinned on me the whole time. Though, as word travels fast in the stable, at least the look he wore was one of silent understanding.

As it was the only gun I was good with, I just stocked up on ammo for my revolver. With everything available for me to use, it was hard to both hold back from overstocking, and fight the fear that I wasn’t bringing enough. Without knowing what was out there, I decided to take Valentine’s words to heart and stick with just a few boxes of revolver ammo for if I found trouble. Rummaging around the explosives drawer, I figured I’d take along a few grenades in case things got really bad. Past that, I had all I needed, and it was time to leave the Stable.

I left the armory and headed right for the Stable entrance. As I left the atrium and walked into the Stable’s entrance hall, the door was sealed shut behind me. A pony in a radiation suit stood by the control terminal nearby to open up the large gear-shaped door. Upon seeing me, the pony pressed the button and the blaring klaxons in the room began to hurt my ears. The groaning of metal as the door remarkably beat out the noisy alarms.  Slowly however, it was pushed out and dragged off into a recess in the stable entrance.  As the klaxons cut out, and silence fell over the room again, it only cemented the fact that I was venturing out into a hostile land.  Alone.

After taking a deep breath, I stepped through the door and out into the rocky cave just outside the Stable. The cave dirt felt dry under my hooves, and the sheer grit of it felt alien to me. I jumped as the klaxons started up again from behind me. Ensuring that this choice was final, the large door slid back into place, making changing my mind impossible. Not that I’d want to.

I moved onward, out towards the large opening of the cave and the blinding light that was beyond. The feel of a breeze of fresh air felt both foreign and welcomed.

My brother was out here, somewhere.




--Chapter End--


“Oh misty eye of the mountain below, keep careful watch of my brother’s soul.”


Quests Finished: Ignition


Quests Started: Junction Blues


Levels Earned: none


 Perks Earned: none

> Chapter Three - Wasteland Woes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


        While I’d been outside the Stable before, that was a very long time ago, and only remembered bits and pieces about it. As soon as I saw the sky, everything started spinning. Everything quickly blended together, and I ended up losing my balance, falling to the dirt. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to get my bearings before trying to stand back up. Turns out, standing up was the easy part. The hard part was staying standing.





        After a few minutes, things had stopped spinning and my vertigo had passed. Opening my eyes, I finally got a good look at my surroundings. I was standing atop an inclined hill that rose up overlooking what was at one time before the war, a lush forest. The dead trees of old however, now stood outnumbered by the new ones growing and thriving. Off in the distance beyond the forest, was a walled off town built around the crossroads of three separate lines of railroad tracks.





	That town would be my first stop. I was sure that Charcoal would be there, or at least, somepony who’s seen him would hopefully be. One thing that did catch my eye though off in the distance, was a large metal tower with a broad communications dish atop it.  The metal structure loomed like a lone sentinel, standing tall amidst a vast sea of green vegetation and greyish brown rocks.





        The road down to the town, while long, was surprisingly safe and well worn. A few old overgrown rusted carts littered the sides of the path, the remnants of those who first entered the stable so long ago. Not to far from the cave did the path turn from dirt, into cracked and faded pavement. The forest’s trees towered high over me, and the ambient noise of birds chirping in their nests was the only sound to accompany my own hoofsteps. That is, until I got closer to the town.





        Several loud noises accompanied a crowd of voices.  Not quite the same hustle and bustle of a crowded stable, but it was most likely the equivalent, average sounds of a busy town. As I neared the wall made of train cars, A large painted sign overhead read JUNCTION 33. A fitting name considering how close it was to Stable 33. When I was a colt, my school teacher told me that when our Stable was opened for the first time since the war, many of the residents ventured out into the world and founded this town. Ever since, the relationship between traders of Junction 33 and the ponies who stayed in Stable 33 has been strong.





        My eyes couldn’t help but wander between the several shops made from old trainyard buildings and train cars. Dozens of ponies moved about the town hurriedly, some of which were pulling loaded wagons and carts. A few did stop to look at me, but when I looked back they just went along with their business. 





	Since nopony has been out of my Stable, I can only assume that they think I traded for a spare jumpsuit. But what really caught my eye, was something I hadn’t noticed when walking here. Just outside one of the gates on the far side of town, sat what looked to be a large, old world yacht. It was an odd sight to see outside of town, being so far inland, but my only guess was that it had been dragged over here for its scrap.


	


	On the inside of the town’s gate stood two very similar looking unicorns, both having tan coats and black manes, one of which wore a faded red bandana around his neck. The other unicorn bowed his head to the one with the red bandana and turned to leave. Moments later, a loud whine filled the air, and a gust of wind blew a wave of dust through the open gate. The large yacht slowly lifted up into the air, taking flight as all I did was stand there, presumably with my mouth hanging wide open.  Tilting a bit, the flying boat turned toward the far off mountains and began to drift toward them.





        With my brain just slightly broken from contemplating just what I’d watched, the other unicorn that had been at the gate turned around and walked right for one of the buildings. Turning my attention from the boat to the building, I found that it had a painted sign reading SUNSHINE CARAVANS OFFICE & SHOP. I shook my head and headed for the building, refocusing on my goal at hoof: find information on my little brother’s location.





        As I entered the shop, the bell that had been hung above the door chimed softly. A lazy looking old ceiling fan spun slowly over the center of the crowded room. It wasn’t croweded with ponies, but instead with all sorts of junk and gear.  Several shelves and displays around the place were lined with many different things, ranging from filled Sparkle Cola bottles to rocket launchers- wait, not Sparkle, it’s Sparple Cola? Wow, I’d known there were knock-off brands, but they really weren’t trying when naming that, were they? 





	At the back of the room was a counter. The unicorn I met earlier stood behind it, going over something on a clipboard. Okay, if my little brother snuck out in a shipment, maybe this guy’s one of the ponies who received him. As I walked up to the counter, the Unicorn looked up from his clipboard. 





	“Well well. Isn’t this a surprise. You’re from the Stable, I take it? The caravan we sent up there earlier did say that a part you fellas needed wasn’t with them.” The unicorn slid his clipboard to the side with a smile. “While I don’t keep that part in stock, maybe I can interest you in a few other things while you’re here?”





        “Actually, I-” I began to say.  But for the second time today, I was interrupted.





        “In fact, we just received a new shipment of reactor parts. Not usually cheap, but I’m sure we can work out a deal.” The stallion went on, not seeming to notice when I deadpanned at him. “We also have a stockpile of water talismans. Even if yours isn’t broken, they’re fragile little things, and it’s better to be safe than sorry!” 





        I shook my head. “Actually I’m wondering if you’ve seen a small colt around. His coat is black with grey spots, and he has a brown mane, almost like peanut butter. Oh! And he also has one red eye and one blue eye.”





        The stallion blinked before his smile fell away. “Oh, you’re not here for supplies then? Alright…” He looked over toward a staircase at the far end of the room. “Sis! We’ve got a Stable pony here looking for some colt or something!”  He shouted loud enough to make me cringe.





        My eyebrows raised as I too looked over to the stairs. A mare looking almost exactly like the stallion I’d been talking to shuffled down the staircase. While it wasn’t odd for ponies in the same family to share a common palette, what was really odd was the fact that she wore a rebreather mask over her muzzle. 





	“This better not be a waste of time… Who’s he looking for, Joker?”  Her muffled voice came through her rebreather, followed by a long, bored sounding sigh.





        “A colt with a black coat and grey spots. Says his hair looks like peanut butter and he has heterochromia.” The Unicorn next to me, Joker, replied.  “One red eye and one blue.”





        “Oh, he must mean that kid that I caught hiding in one of the crates earlier.” The mare said in a rather annoyed tone. “Yeah, I’ve seen him. Chased him off after I found him. He steal something from you? Seemed like the type.”





        “No, he’s my brother. I’ve come to take him home.” My eye twitched as I fought the urge to slap her.  But, that would be rash, and since they did see him, I needed their help.





        “Really? Good luck. He’s probably either in the hooves of gangers or halfway to Shatterpoint Ridge by now.” Once again, the mare made me want to hit her.  How can she be so uncaring when there’s a young colt gone missing!?  “Can I go back to polishing my rifle now?”





        “Yeah, I can take it from here.” Joker simply sighed. Turning to me, he tapped his chin softly with his forehoof. “I’m supposing you’ll want to know how to get to Shatterpoint Ridge, correct?”





	“The obvious answer is yes. I’m not leaving my little brother out here alone.” I could feel my patience wearing thin. “Just point me in a direction.” Never had I before met anypony so rude and blunt before.  It’s almost like they understand just how much family could mean to some ponies!


	


	Joker shook his head at me. “I’m not sure how things are in your Stable, but out here it’s tit for tat. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch your back.”


	


	“Fine.” All I could do was sigh and keep myself from setting this whole room on fire in frustration. “What do you want?”


	


	Joker smirked and leaned on the counter. “There’s a mine to the north-east with an underground reservoir.  It’s where the town get’s most of it’s water from since we don’t have any fancy reactors or machinery that works with our surplus of water talismans. Some ferals moved in recently and damaged the equipment we use to pump the water.” He moved out from behind the counter, going to look over some of his shelves. “You Stable 33 ponies usually know how to fix things. So, how about you put that revolver on you to good use, and clear out the ferals.  If you can also fix the pipeline, along with the information, I’ll throw in some caps or something extra as a bonus.”


	


	“Alright, if that’s what you want, I’ll take care of it.” I said, feeling a bit of hope that the task may be simpler than I thought. “Anyone who’s worked on anything in a stable should know how to fix a few leaky pipes.” Though… these things called ‘ferals’ might pose a problem. Could he be talking about wild animals? If so, I’ll just fire off a few shots and scare them off. Simple.


	


	“Splendid! I’ll be waiting here when you get back.” Joker said as a broad smile pulled across his muzzle. “Try to come back in one piece, you hear?”


	


	I nodded and turned to leave. The sooner I got this done, the sooner I could be on my way, and the sooner I’d have my brother back.


	


-        -        -        -        -        -





        To avoid getting lost, I was told to just follow the train tracks that lead north out of town. I followed it when the line split again, assuming that the one heading into the mountains runs right to the mine. It was a bit of a hike, but it only took me about an hour to get up to what looked like an old loading dock. Passed all the rusting ore carts and railroad bits, was an old wooden exterior that covered the entrance to the mine. Once outside the rickety old door, I unholstered my revolver with my magic and opened the door.





	“Alright,let’s get this over with.” I said before firing off three shots into the darkness inside. I’d been hoping to scare away any wild creatures inside, but what actually happened was something that chilled the blood of even a full grown stallion like myself. Three glowy-eyed pony corpses sprinted out of the darkness, screeching and growling like mad.


	


	Of course, like any sensible pony, I turned tail and ran.





        “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!” I screamed as my legs carried me back toward the old loading dock. The hissing and screeching didn’t die down or grow distant. If anything, they sounded like they were gaining on me. I flipped my revolver around in my magic and fired the remaining three shots left in the cylinder. Once the clicking noise reached my ears and signalled that I was out of ammo, I went into full-on panic mode. 





	Reloading while running for your life was not as easy as old books and movies made it out to be. I probably managed to drop at least a quarter of one of the boxes of ammo I brought with me.  But I couldn’t care about that now, just had to keep running and...





        My hoof caught on something and I was sent tumbling end over end.  I’d have scrapes and bruises to deal with later, but only if I could recover from this! Once I came to a stop, I quickly flipped myself over. By a completely glorious accident, I activated a mostly ignored function of my pipbuck. 





	S.A.T.s. Time slowed down to a crawl as the old world spell worked inside my pipbuck. The drooling maws of the zombified ponies to look even more horrifying in the altered time, but it gave me precious time to act. With a solid 80% chance to hit for each, I targeted each of their heads. My dad’s old revolver began to aim itself within my red aura. The spell guided my attacks, firing a single shot at the three creatures’ heads. Two shots hit their mark perfectly, blasting holes through two of the corpse’s skulls. One shot, however, missed completely and I soon found my hoof getting gnawed on by a snarling...thing.





        I screamed out in both fear and pain. The thing’s teeth managed to take a chunk out of my Stable jumpsuit sleeve and dig gouging lacerations into my hoof. I manually pointed the revolver right at the thing’s noggin and fired the remaining three shots into it. The zombie’s jaw unclenched from around my leg as it slumped over.  Blackened and putrid gore dripped down from half the remaining skull it still had. My heart pounded furiously and my lungs were working overtime thanks to my hyperventilating. 





	Valentine was certainly right, I wasn’t ready because this was nothing like training was.





        After taking several minutes to calm myself and tend to my wound as best I could, I stood up and limped my way back towards the mine. Once I find my brother, I thought, we’re going back to Stable 33 and -never- leaving again. The sad fact that I wished I could ignore was, those things probably weren’t the worst thing I’d have to face before returning home.  And if I could barely deal with them, what chance did Charcoal have?





        Once inside the mine, I followed the old piping that hung along the walls until I reached a dug-out archway. Beyond was a large cavern with a murky pond taking up two thirds of the floor. Above it, sat an opening where a small waterfall poured fresh water if from somewhere else in the mountains. 





	“This would be a nice place to just rest. Too bad I don’t have time for it.” I sighed to myself.





        The problem Joker had sent me up here for was immediately noticeable. One of the pipes had been gnawed almost in two. It was assumedly by one of those walking corpses, even if I didn’t know why it would, or how a creature like it even existed in the first place. Still, I got to work on trying to fix it.





	I sighed and turned one of the valves to stop the flow of water before getting to the patchwork. My magical aura held the two halves of pipe together, while my horn acted as a makeshift welding tool. Since I didn’t have anything to shield my eyes, I simply closed them and hoped I did the job correctly. After a few failed attempts, the two halves welded back together. It was going to be a temporary fix, but I wasn’t hired to do anything more than fix it right now.





        After making sure the pipe was sturdy, I turned the valve once again and the sound of rushing water met my ears. I smirked, contented in my work, and ready to get back to town. Alright, time to head back and get that information…


	


-        -        -        -        -        -





        The journey back to town, while longer than it should have been thanks to my limp, was thankfully rather uneventful. The bell chimed again as I entered Joker’s shop. He was still sitting behind the counter, but had taken to reading a yellowed old world magazine. When I approached the counter, Joker looked up and smiled. 





	“Well, color me impressed. The wastelander in the making has returned. ” Joker looked at my sour expression and my noticeably bandaged leg. “I hope those ferals didn’t give you too much trouble. You’re lucky you aren’t missing more than part of your sleeve and a bit of flesh, you know.”





        “You should’ve said they weren’t just wild animals…” My tone was of course, more than slightly bitter, but the ass deserved it.





        Joker tilted his head and looked confused for a moment. “When did I ever say they were wild animals? Surely that Stalker fellow in the stable has told you ponies up there about feral ghouls.” While I did somewhat remember being told about something similar, how was I supposed to know what they looked like or how they acted?  None of us in the stable ever thought that anything in that old stallion’s stories would actually help anypony at some point.





        “Whatever. ” I grumbled, looking and feeling rather defeated.  I hadn’t even been out here for the whole day and the wasteland was already getting exhausting. “How do I get to Shatterpoint Ridge?”





        Joker smiled and leaned forward on the counter “South-west, though you won’t make it there before nightfall. Trust me, you don’t want to be wandering about out on the plains at night.”





         “And why’s that?” I tilted my head with a grunt.  “More ferals?”





        “Yes and no.” Joker moved out from behind the counter and headed the back room, raising his voice again as he left my line of sight. “Packs of feral ghouls are only one part of the problem.  There’s groups of gangers, roaming bands of hellhounds, scorpions and manticores… you name it, it’s out there at night. While we aren’t cursed with the cloud cover of the north, unless there’s a full moon out, it’s still harder to see at night here in the south.”





        After about a minute in the back room, he trotted back out, carrying an odd looking weapon in his magic. “Besides, it’d be quicker to just catch a ride from one of the trains that pass through here every morning. Not exactly cheap, but it’s a hell of a lot safer than going on your own, and faster to boot.” Joker set the odd weapon on the counter and slid it towards me. “Here’s the bonus I promised you. It’s an old crossbow that some Zebra dropped off to be repaired a while back. He never returned to claim it, so it’s just been collecting dust in the back room.”





        I looked the crossbow over. “Don’t crossbows require arrows?” I asked, not seeing a single arrow on the counter.





        “No, they require bolts, which I can sell you. Lucky for you, I even have a special saddlebag/quivver combo I made myself. Was thinking of wearing it and using this beauty myself, but found out I can’t aim one of these to save my life.” He cupped his chin again and rubbed at it. “It’s yours for, let’s say... thirty caps.” Joker said before his muzzle was split again with a grin. “Ah hell, you’ve been understanding so far, so I’ll even throw in the bolts for free.  But you’ve gotta come back and do some shopping here once you find your brother or whatever.”





        All I could do was deadpan at that. “So, you’re giving me a weapon for doing a job for you, but you will make me pay for what I need to even use it?”





        “Oh that’s not true.” Joker shrugged and rolled his eyes. “It still makes a decent club if you don’t have arrows. And I just told you, I’m throwing in the bolts for free, didn’t I?” He laughed. “Tell you what. You pay for this, and I’ll even throw in a place for you to stay tonight, as well as a ride on one of the cars…”  Pausing, he gave me a look that downright made me uncomfortable. “however, if you agree to be in debt to me, and I’ll be able to call it in at any time.”





        I facehoofed. “Fine, I’ll take the deal.”  Even merchants back in the Stable weren’t this shifty. Still, I could deal with doing another job, and I could pay off any caps I owed. All that mattered to me was finding my brother, everything else was secondary to that.





         “Good boy.” Joker grinned and floated the saddlebag and quivver onto the counter. As he did, he raised a hooffull of bolts up and stuck them inside the quivver as well. “You know, has anypony told you that you’re kind of cute when you’re pissed?” All I could do was groan at that. “Spare room’s upstairs and to the left, make yourself at home.”





        Choosing to ignore his comment about me being cute, I nodded with a sigh and grabbed everything in my magic. I limped my way up the stairs, and turned left down a short hallway. The room I’d be staying in for the night had one musty old bed, a bedside table with a filled oil lamp on it, and an old desk pressed up against the far wall. While I didn’t like the idea of delaying, me running off into the wilds tonight and getting myself killed wouldn’t help anypony.





        I flopped onto the bed and lay there, staring up at the wooden ceiling. My mind was restless, and it wouldn’t be night time for at least another hour or two. I tugged off my stable jumpsuit, choosing to just lay it at the end of the bed for now. Flopping down to lay on the bed, I used my magic to unhook my things and float them over to the desk.  Might as well try to get some rest at least.  If I’d thought this place was exhausting in this short amount of time, then I probably was going to have the more tiring day in existance tomorrow...


	


-        -        -        -        -        -





        I woke with a start as I heard a loud whistle ring through the air. Wait, did Carbon get a new alarm clock? I rolled over and reached for the mare of my dreams, only to be met with the musty smell of my empty bed. I opened my eyes to see that I was not in Carbon’s apartment, or back in Stable 33. I was still in the spare room Joker had lent to me. 





	“Oh, that means…” Damnit. It wasn’t all just a horrible dream then. My brother really did leave the Stable, I really did get attacked by something called a feral ghoul, and I really am in debt to some asshole that owns a shop.





        “Wake up sleeping beauty.” The filtered voice of a mare caught my ears. “Your Train Car leaves in ten minutes. I wouldn’t miss it if I were you.” I rubbed my eyes and sat up, finding that Joker’s sister was sitting in the open doorway. “Don’t let the caps my brother wasted on you actually be wasted.”





        “Yeah yeah, let me just get dressed…” I replied, looking around for my jumpsuit. Once I noticed it wasn’t where I set it on my bed, I frowned. “Where’s my Stable barding?”





        “Joker has it downstairs. Said he wanted to make some modifications.” The mare said with a roll of her eyes as she stood up. “The name’s Trapshot by the way.” As she was leaving, she glared at me. “Just so you know the name of the mare who’s gonna kick your ass should you break your deal with my brother.” Lovely family. One’s a shifty salespony and one’s a violent bitch.





        “My name is Ember Blaze.” I said as I focused on collecting up my belongs. “Pleasure meeting…”  I paused my sarcastic response to find that she’d already gone.  Whatever.





	I got up and gathered the rest of my stuff into my new saddle bags. I didn’t plan on putting it on before I had my barding back however, so instead I headed downstairs. Joker was sitting behind the counter, still reading the magazine from yesterday. My Stable barding lay on the counter with, as Trapshot had said, some new additions. Along the forelegs and shoulders, he’d attached metal plates held on by various leather straps. The hole that the ghoul had torn in my sleeve was stitched up, though it was quite noticeable that there had been repairs done to it.





        My aura wrapped around the barding and levitated it up over my head. I pulled it on.  The straps were surprisingly straightforward in their placement. Tightening the straps only just a bit made sure that the armor plates wouldn’t shift around at all when I moved. Lifting everything else up, I slid on my saddlebag, quivver, my back leg holster for my revolver, and lastly my new crossbow, strapping the new weapon onto my back.  Again, it’s leather strap was easy to adjust, and I tightened it to the point where it wouldn’t slip over my saddlebag and get in the way of my legs.





        “Good luck, don’t die.” Joker said through the magazine his muzzle was still buried in. “Come back soon, or I’ll have my sister find and drag you back.”





	Without saying anything, I left the shop. Seriously, once I paid this guy back, I was never going to deal with him or his sister again.  But none of that mattered, not until I found my brother.


	


	In the middle of town, an old Train boxcar with a motor attached to the back sat being filled with crates and other objects by worker ponies. The odd vehicle was quite big and boxy, but didn’t look like the trains that I learned about back in school.  Other than the obvious makeshift nature of it, it just seemed to be this one car long.


	


	The few ponies who looked like they were passengers, seemed to be hopping aboard without waiting in a line or anything. Following their lead, I trotted up and hopped aboard. Once inside, I saw that at one end of the cart, the crates had been stacked quite high, leaving very little room for anypony to sit or stand on. On the other end of the train however, a few skycart seats had been bolted into the floor, and the ponies who got on ahead of me were taking their seats in them. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough seats on here, and being one of the last on, I found myself having to stand for the journey.


	


	Just past the chairs was a chair and electronic console. Past that was a cutout section in the metal of the boxcar’s front.  The scratched and blotchy glass pane that had been sloppily epoxied to the metal over the hole, meant that the seat there was where I assumed the driver of this train would be sitting.  Overall, it was… disconcerting how rickety and slapped together this train felt, but Joker was right in that it would probably be safer than walking.





        Last to board after me, was a pair of ponies.  The first of the two to climb on was a very white unicorn mare with a messy blue mane, who was quickly followed by a purple pegasus stallion with a black mane. 





	“...I’m just saying, taking this job is just suicide!” The pegasus said with obvious distress in his voice.





        “Chill, big bro. We’ve taken harder jobs, Hunter.” The unicorn replied as she stepped away from the edge.





        “But to clear the Wildmanes out of their own home base?” Hunter quickly responded, raising his voice enough to call the attention of those in the seats. “That’s insane, Dusk!”





        ““C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Taking a seat on one of the crates, Dusk smirked at her pegasus companion. “Besides, it pays well.”





        “Paying well or not isn’t the point!“” Hunter facehoofed “Shatterpoint Ridge is very defensible.”  Wait, Shatterpoint Ridge? “One pegasus and one unicorn won’t be able to take on an entire gang.  Even if we can surprise them, they have the high ground.”





        “Excuse me, did you say Shatterpoint Ridge?” I moved up and asked the pegasus known as Hunter. That’s where Trapshot said Charcoal was going.  Maybe I could enlist them to help me!





        “Yeah...” Hunter blinked and eyed me up and down. “My insane sister thinks it’s a good idea to take a job that involves wiping out the gang that lives there.” Squinting, he looked to freeze up for a moment with a nervous smile.  “Uhhhh… you aren’t one of them, are you?”





        “Do you think it’s possible I could tag along?” I smiled.  “My brother supposedly went that way, so I could help you with your job, no need for a share of the reward or anything..” If Shatterpoint Ridge was full of ‘gangers’, and they’re as dangerous as Joker had made the ghouls out to be, then I’d definitely need the help of these ponies to deal with them and find my brother.





        Dusk slid off of the crate she was sitting on, narrowing her eyes at me. “Never met a pony who’d not want part of a reward.’  Hesitating, she glared at me.  “What’s your game?”





        I frowned “Game? I’m not playing any game.”





        “Then why do you want to help us with our job?” Hunter asked, wearing the same expression his sister had.





        I sighed. “As I said, my little brother went that way.  He might even be there, and if these Wildmanes are as dangerous as everypony makes them out to be, I could use all the help I could get.” It’s probably not a good idea to give up info about one’s goals to strangers, but honestly, I could really use their help. And of course, the easiest way I was going to get that, is if I was honest with them.  Well, I’d hoped it would be the easiest way, as I didn’t have much else to offer them.





        “That barding isn’t just something you bought, is it?” Dusk raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re a Stable pony, aren’t you?”





        I blinked “Just because I wear a jumpsuit-”





        “It’s not because of the jumpsuit. It’s because you’re quick to tell total strangers your goal.” Dusk sighed.  Welp, I should have figured if I knew it was a bad idea, then they obviously would’ve caught on to that. “But we’ll help you out. Besides, maybe having the extra gun will put Hunter here at ease a little bit. Worst case scenario, we can use you as bait.” While not reassuring that I could be used as bait, I was glad Dusk had agreed to help.





        One of the worker ponies slid the car door shut with a slam, and shortly after the motor on the back of the boxcar fired up. Soon, the driver had the train car moving down the tracks and picking up speed. A window had been cut into the door of the car, and I walked over to it as we started our journey. 





	Rolling past outside, I saw green hills stretching as far as the eye could see away from the mountains. Way off in the distance, several more towers like the one I saw just south of Junction 33 could be seen.  Just under them however, was something… odd. A vast expanse of blue ran all the way from between the green hills, stretching itself all the way far off on the horizon.





        Dusk nudged me with a smirk “That’s the ocean by the way.”  The… ocean?  Huh, I guess that made sense.  The old equestrian map did have oceans around it, but I never thought that Stable 33 was so close to one. “Bet it’s cool to see for the first time, considering where you come from.” 





	I had to agree with her. While I couldn’t agree with Charcoal leaving, I was now starting to understand why he left. For the better part of my life, we’d been content living in a Stable, oblivious to the wide world out here. Honestly, when this is all over, part of me knows that I’m going to miss all of this.


	


	Though, the feral ghouls I could really live without missing one bit...





        After a good half an hour of traveling, the green soon gave way to more and more brown and red rocks. The only plants I could see outside now looked blackened and dead. Instead of grass everywhere, there were boulders littering the ground. When the train car began to slow down, I turned and trotted up to the driver’s seat. “Are we there already?”





        “No. There’s a bit of a problem on the track ahead.” The driver pony just looked at me.





	I did my best to squint through the glass window the driver used to see what was ahead of us, but found my attention pulled elsewhere when ponies opened the door behind me.





        The train car door rattled open, and a few worker ponies hopped out. Wanting to find out what had us stopped, I headed back to the opening and hopped out as well. In front of the train car, about five ponies wearing odd barding had dragged the wrecked husk of a skycart onto the tracks. One of them walked forward, a grin on his face exposing several rotted and black teeth.





	“Howdy! Don’t know if y’all got our memo, but frankly, I don’t care.” The stallion gave a pat to the holster he wore on his side and gave a little laugh. “Ta pass beyond this point, y’all gotta pay a toll. So, give up any caps y’all might have an’ leave a few of those crates ya got in there.”





        One of the worker ponies walked to the front. “You can’t do this. These supplies are for the Sidney-” The pony was interrupted when a gunshot rang out and a sizeable hole was made in the guy’s head. The other passengers screamed, and I jumped as my jaw fell in shock. The stallion’s body thumped to the ground, and his blood dribbled out onto the dry, cracked dirt. One of the ponies standing next to the lead stallion racked the bolt of a shoddy looking rifle before aiming it at me.





        “That ain’t tha answer I want ta hear.” The smirking pony gave another amused chuckle. “Either y’all pay tha toll, or y’all get dead.”





        Another gunshot rang out, but this time it wasn’t any of ours this time that fell over. It was the prick that killed the stallion. 





	“Sorry, but we’ll have to decline.” Dusk had said from behind me. “Now, how about you move that large hunk of metal out of the way so we can get going?” 





        Honestly, what happened next was to be expected, and I found myself standing in the middle of a warzone. Several of the remaining worker ponies either climbed back inside the cart or got shot and fell over. I, however, managed to scramble behind the boxcar along with Dusk. I quickly drew my father’s old revolver and tried to calm my breathing. My second day out in the wasteland, and of course, I was already in another fight! Today was going to be a long day, if I survived it at all that is.





        Hunter, it would seem, had taken to the sky. He was making long swooping arcs, and was firing down at the bandit ponies who had taken cover behind their skycart. Meanwhile, Dusk looked like she was having the time of her life sitting next to me. She kept peeking around the cart and firing back, shouting all sorts of profanity and insults their way. Me on the other hoof, so far, had only been cowering with my gun out. 





	I quickly peeked my head around the corner. I only saw that two ponies were exposed a bit before I had to duck back behind the car. Sparks flew as a bullet pinged off the metal where my head had just been. If I was going to fight, I’d have to be quick about it.  Lucky for me, I had just the thing to help!





        I quickly popped back out from cover again. Activating S.A.T.S, I queueing up all six shots, and divided them equally among the two that were currently exposed. Two for each head, and one in each chest. When I released the spell, my revolver moved into place and fired. The first two shots missed, but the third hit home.  The round punched right in the chest of the first pony I had targeted, and his outline faded away from the spell.





	My revolver swung it’s aim over at the other pony.  Again, the spell fired. All three shots zipped out, punching right into his neck and, to my surprise, lighting poor bastard on fire.  The third shot landing in his chest only saved him the trouble of painfully burning by stopping his heart right then and there.  


	


	Once the spell ended, I quickly pulled back behind the car and looked at my revolver. Now I understood the weird flame markings on the side… this thing must have been enchanted!  Oh, am I glad nopony in my family lost this thing throughout the years!





        It was about then that I looked up from my gun, noting just how quiet it’d become.  From the sound of hooves hitting the ground, and the sudden appearance of Hunter joining Dusk and I, the fight must’ve been over. 





	“Nice shooting, for a Stable pony.” Hunter patted me on the shoulder as I quickly stood up and holstered my revolver.  “Maybe we’ll stand more of a chance with you around after all.”





        From behind me, Dusk nudged me “How’s about you and I help the workers to get that skycart off of the tracks so we can continue?” she asked with a smirk. I nodded my head and followed her to the front of the now bullet hole ridden train car.





        While Dusk and I helped the still living workers slowly slide the rusting hulk off of the tracks, Hunter was moving the bodies of the bandits. And then… going through their stuff? Not what my first thought would be, but I did remember that Stalker said something about wasteland ponies having to scavenge to survive.  Plus, it’s not like they were going to use any of that stuff anymore. Once the skycart was off the tracks, the three of us walked back to the train car. 





	“You know,” Dusk nudged me. “I just thought you were all talk and no bite. Glad I was wrong.” she said with a wink. 


	


	I rolled my eyes and stepped into the train car. Soon, we were moving again through the countryside towards Shatterpoint Ridge. Towards Charcoal.











	--Chapter End--


“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”


	Quests Finished: Junction Blues


	Quests Started: Shatterpoint


Levels Earned: 1 → 2


	 Perks Earned: Rapid Reload - You can now reload your firearms at a faster pace!





> Chapter Four - Shattered
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


        The rest of the ride passed without incident, stopping right in front of a construction site. A painted sign over a mostly completed entrance read FORT SHATTER, a long flagpole next to it flying a flag with two swords crossed behind a colored silhouette of a Stallion.





        The first to hop off the train car was Dusk and her brother, followed closely by me. Piles of lumber and sacks of grey powder labelled cement. The uniformed ponies and workers moving about was an odd sight among the barren red dirt to the south and west and the deserted ominous looking canyons and crags to the east.





        “There it is.” Dusk said as she trotted up to a makeshift notice board. On it, a job posting to clear out Shatterpoint Ridge for the Sidney Confederacy along with several bounties were nailed to the wood. Dusk ripped the job for Shatterpoint Ridge down and folded it up, slipping it into her saddlebags. “Alright! Let’s get going.”





        I paused for a moment “That’s it? Don’t we need to talk to somepony or something?” Normally when fulfilling an order in the Stable, one would have to talk with the pony placing the Order first.





        “Nah, just need to take the paper and head off! Anyway, due east.” And with that, Dusk started trotting off towards the canyons, surprisingly just following the railroad tracks.





        Hunter trotted up to me “You get used to it. She’s not usually one to waste time when it comes to making caps.”





        All I could do was shrug and follow. The fort we were dropped off at was about a mile outside of Shatterpoint Ridge. The town itself was smack dab in the middle of a small canyon. Buildings usually found in old Western movies were lined up along the canyon walls. A large building with an old broken sign labelled SALOON. At the town entrance, an old rickety sign reading the town’s name hung slowly. Dusk, Hunter and I opted to flank the town, going up on the side of the canyon and looking down. I pulled out my crossbow and loaded a bolt into it, peering through the scope. Dusk pulled out her single-shot assault rifle and did the same.





        “I count four by the Saloon and five scattered about the town. No doubt there’s more inside.” Dusk said in a professional tone. Sure enough, I scanned the area with my own scope and confirmed what she said.





        “So what do we do?” I asked.





        Dusk was already one step ahead. She pulled a suppressor mod from her saddlebag and screwed it onto the end of her rifle “Take out as many as we can before they spot where we are. Hunter will fly about above as a distraction.”





        Wow, these two really were professionals. “What about my brother? If they have him, won’t they hurt him when we start the attack?”





        “Don’t worry about that. If they do have hostages, they’ll probably try to use them as shields if they grow desperate. If it comes to that, I want you to trust in my shooting.” Dusk said, probably lining up a shot.





        “I just met you today and you want me to trust you not to miss?” I asked.





        “Hey, you’re the one who wanted our help rescuing your brother.” She had a point…





        “Fine… just tell me when to-” Before I could finish my sentence, she pulled the trigger and popped one of the Wildmane’s heads like a balloon. Following suit, I pulled the trigger on my crossbow. The bolt flew fast from the weapon, sticking right in the neck of a panicked ganger. Hunter was noticeable up above by the occasional hail of bullets raining from the sky. I quickly reloaded my second shot as Dusk was on her fourth. Soon enough, the gangers were pouring out of the buildings. Wow, there were a lot of them. 





	It wasn’t long before they were returning fire and taking cover. One round flew right up at Hunter. All I saw, thanks to the blinding sun, was a rain of feathers and a purple pegasus spiraling towards the ground.


	


	“Hunter!” Dusk shouted, standing up and trying her best to catch him in her magic. It managed to slow his fall, but not enough! Soon, Dusk’s blue aura was made purple as my red one wrapped around Hunter as well. We managed to guide him safely toward us. Unfortunately, this gave away our position. My que to duck and hide was when a bullet pinged off of one of my armor plates. “Shit, there’s no cover up here. Quick, down to the town!”


	


	“Sorry sis.” Hunter said as we hurried down behind an old concrete road barricade.


	


	“No worries and no time to talk. Just shoot!” Dusk said quickly, poking her head out from behind cover every now and then to take pot shots.


	


	Possibly one of my worst ideas ever, I decided to charge out from behind the barricade and make a break for a boulder. I, however, didn’t make it as another bullet pinged off of my armor again. I quickly drew my revolver and activated S.A.T.s, targeting all six shots spread out among five gangers. My revolver aimed itself and fired. I managed to hit two of them and down one while wounding the other, but before time could speed back up, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and a stinging feeling on my flank. Once time was at full speed once again, I screamed out and tumbled forward, laying behind the boulder and bleeding from both my wounds.


	


	“Damnit, Ember!” Dusk shouted. “Hunter, give me cover fire!” Hunter jumped out from behind the barricade and fired full-auto at the gangers, forcing them back behind their cover. Dusk galloped across the gap and slid up next to me. She rummaged through my saddlebag and pulled out my remaining two bandages. Using her magic, she only caused me more pain as she pulled the bullets out of my flesh. As even more blood streamed out, she quickly wrapped my wounds up and the searing pain soon turned into a dull ache. Before I could thank her, I felt a bottle shoved into my muzzle and a sweetly bitter tasting liquid rush over my tongue and down my throat.


	


	Just as quickly as it was shoved into my face, the bottle was removed. “When we get out of here, you owe me thirty caps for that potion!” Dusk shouted before turning around and calling out to Hunter. “Hey, bro! Get up there and see if you can find the bastard ordering them around! See if we can end this quickly…”


	


	Hunter immediately stopped his hail of bullets and swooped up to the cliffside to do exactly as he was told.


	


	While my wounds were healed, the pain still remained somewhat. I winced as I leaned up against the boulder. I didn’t have time for simply sitting there and hurting, I had to help! I mean- these ponies were helping me afterall.


	


	I quickly reloaded all six bullets into my revolver and popped up over the boulder. S.A.T.s quickly activated and brought everything to a crawl. I targeted all six bullets into the only pony exposed- a rather dirty mare dressed in leather and metal. As soon as I released the spell, however, did I feel my horn flare up with a searing hot feeling- though not painful.


	


	My gun started to glow bright at the muzzle and -all- six bullets shot at the poor mare. Two missed, but four ended up hitting their mark square in her chest- and caused her to burst into flame like that pony back on the railroad!


	


	“Shit! What happened?!” I heard one of the gangers shout. Soon the sound of gunshots died down and there was a still silence that fell over the area, accompanied only by the screams of agony from the mare.


	


	“Scale!” a stallion shouted as he sprinted from cover to the burning mare.


	


	“Boss, no!” another pony shouted, but it was too late. A gunshot rang out through the small canyon and soon the burning mare found herself spattered with the brains of the stallion.


	


	Luckily for me, nopony got the idea to shoot me dead as I continued looking over the boulder like an idiot. Realizing my mistake, I quickly popped behind cover and reloaded my gun, getting ready for the firefight to come. However, no more gunshots rang out. I heard a younger mare- maybe a little younger than me- speak up.


	


	“Oi! Usin’ fire magic ain’t fair! Goddesses damn it…we give up!” she shouted.


	


	Dusk popped up over the boulder and readied her gun, aiming at the new pony. Though I had no reason to do the same, I popped up as well and aimed my gun at the mare. The stallion who had his brains blown out had landed on the burning mare- who had since stopped moving and was silently cooking. The rush of battle and adrenaline faded quickly as I looked upon the battlefield. Seeing the dead ponies and the mare who’d burned alive hit me hard. Yeah, I’d set a pony on fire before- but it was over quickly and we were moving before long...it was only a matter of time before the act of killing other ponies- even burning a couple alive- caught up with me. 


	


	I bent over and heaved- only nothing came out except air and bile. It then hit me that I hadn’t eaten anything since I left the stable, and had been running off of pure determination and luck this whole time. Soon I was on the ground and my vision fading from my lack of energy catching up. How could I’ve been so dumb? I knew I had to find Charcoal fast, but it’d be no good if I slowly starved myself to death...oh well.


	


	


	-        -        -        -        -


	


	I awoke with pain surging through my body, though my head felt the worst. Everything felt heavy and wouldn’t respond much when trying to move my limbs. As I opened my eyes, my vision was filled with cloth above me.





        “Be still, fiery one. Your body still is recovering from fatigue and malnourishment.” The voice of a mare spoke softly from beside me. Managing to turn my head slightly, my own red eyes met those of a zebra mare in a doctor’s lab coat...only she had something zebras don’t normally have. A horn atop her head. She must’ve noticed my eyes glance up to her forehead as she let out a soft chuckle before speaking. “My mother was a Zebra, but my father was the pony who owned her.” Well, that makes sense...she’s a zony.





        “....Ah….” was all I managed to get out of my mouth. I felt a dry tickle in the back of my throat as a wave of nausea washed over me. Not only was my throat as dry as the boiler room I worked in, but I was still nauseous from earlier...oh! Right! Dusk, Hunter and I were at Shatterpoint Ridge!





        “....Wh...where are my….” I managed to say before a zony hoof was pressed gently against my muzzle.





        “Your friends are alright. They are collecting their reward as we speak. Actually, you are lucky you have them. Many others in the world would have left you there to your fate.” the zony doctor said. All I did was slightly nod in return. So Dusk and Hunter are alright...with that question answered, a more important one pressed my thoughts. Did they find my brother?





        The sound of cloth flapping came from somewhere by the end of the cot I was laying on. “So Sleeping Beauty is awake finally! Thanks for looking after him, Doc!” the voice of Dusk called out from the entrance to, what I could now assume, was the tent I was in.





        “It was my pleasure. After all, you three did liberate Shatterpoint Ridge for us. It is the least I can do,” the zony said politely as she stood up “and please. Call me Zafera.”





        Before I could attempt to say anything, Zafera’s horn glowed and a small bowl of water floated over to me and my head was lifted up. Without her looking, she tipped the bowl lightly, allowing the water to pour down the sides of my cheeks. Getting the hint, I slightly opened my mouth to let the cold- surprisingly clean liquid trickle into my dry throat, moistening it and hopefully making it easier for me to speak if I tried. As the bowl was floated away, I felt a little saddened. I was still quite thirsty and there was still water left in the bowl.





        “Hunter and I can handle him from here, Doc!” Dusk said cheerfully as she came into view.





        “Very well. He still needs at least a day’s rest before he can be up and about. If he wishes to eat, I also left a bowl of oatmeal on the tray with the water. Though, only small bites. Eating so much in his condition would only do more harm than good.” Zafera told Dusk. I didn’t like the sound of small bites...I was so hungry I could eat a buffalo.





        As the zony left the tent, Dusk turned her eyes on me and a sigh escaped her muzzle. “You idiot. You didn’t pack any food or water when you left home, huh?” Her words stung because they were true. I was in such a rush to find Charcoal, that I forgot to pack the most important stuff. Good job Ember, you nearly killed yourself before you could find your brother.





        “S...sorry…” I managed to say in a weak tone.





        “Yeah, you sure are. Hey, Hunter and I were wondering...despite collapsing from starving yourself, you were quite useful back in Shatterpoint. How’s about you stick with us? We’ll help you look for your brother and you could help us with jobs. I mean- you are going to need caps if you plan on traveling Mustangia and all.” Dusk’s words shocked me. I personally thought I was more useless than useful back there. Though, with the words ‘help you find your brother’ indicated that he wasn’t in that town anyway. 





        Seeing as I was a complete novice when it came to the wasteland, I decided it would be best to stick with two ponies who’ve lived out here their entire lives and nodded.





        Dusk’s face lit up with a wide grin, her crystal blue eyes sparkling a bit in the light of a lantern next to me. “Great! Speaking of your brother, one of the Wildmanes told us- after we convinced him a bit- that they did have a little colt with them, but he managed to escape when we were shooting up the place. Since the only way out of town without us knowing it is through an old railroad tunnel that leads south, that’s our best bet on finding him.”





        Charcoal was there? Not to mention, I had just missed him?! Damnit… I tried to get up, but immediately regretted it. Dusk even helped push me back down with her hooves. “Whoa now, there’s no point in getting yourself killed. If your brother managed to get this far and only get captured, I can guarantee he’s alright. There’s an old pre-war SPP tower to the south. If he’s heading that direction, that’s the most likely spot he’s holed up in.” Well...at least we have a lead. I simply sighed and nodded, resting my head back down. I didn’t like the idea of taking time I could be using to find Charcoal to recover- but she was right. If I tried to leave, I wouldn’t get five feet before keeling over.





-        -        -        -        -





        After a few more hours of rest, eating nasty oatmeal, and staring at the top of my tent, I regained enough energy to get up and move about- though I still ached all over.





        Upon leaving the tent, the interior of Fort Shatter flooded my vision. The sun was already halfway through setting over the horizon, but I could still see most of the scaffolding and unfinished walls. Next to my tent were several others like it. Medic ponies entered and exited them carrying all sorts of medical equipment and bloody rags. I noticed that Zafera was among the doctors working, giving me the obvious hint that I wasn’t her only patient- though probably her most pathetic one.





        Dusk trotted up next to me and nudged my shoulder, sending a twinge of pain through my body. “Oww…what?” I asked. Surely she and her brother had other things to do than talk to me.





        “Oh nothing, just came by to give you your cut and to chat a little bit.” she said, floating a small sack of caps in front of my face. Close enough to my muzzle to where I went cross-eyed just looking at it.





        Closing my eyes and shaking my head to clear the bout of dizziness just from doing that, I wrapped my own magical aura around the sack and slipped it into my saddlebag. “Thanks...shouldn’t you be with Hunter though? I’m sure there are lots of jobs you two can take now.”





        Dusk burst out laughing, as if I had said the dumbest thing ever. “Oh, that’s rich. Nah, bro’s off getting drunk and hitting on an off-duty nurse. Even ponies like us celebrate a job complete, you know!”





        Her words only made me raise an eyebrow. “If you’re supposed to be celebrating, why are you here chatting with me then?” Not that I mind the company, though.





        “Eh, I thought I’d get to know you a little better. Seeing as Hunter and I are going to be counting on you to watch out backs, it makes sense.” Dusk replied with a shrug before trotting ahead. Until now, I hadn’t noticed where we’d been walking- or that we’d even been climbing the stairs of a completed part of the wall. By this time, the sun had fully set and the bright white moon hung just above the east horizon.





        We decided to sit down on a stone bench that had been placed near the railing. “I guess that does make sense...well, what do you want to know?” 





        “Hmm...how about what your Stable is like? Have somepony special to you? Maybe a mom and dad waiting for your safe return?” Dusk asked.





        I felt a tinge of sorrow run through me. I had left Carbon and Backdraft behind to go after my little brother. I know they knew I needed to do this, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about them...and missing them both dearly. “Yeah, I have a marefriend back in Stable 33. She wasn’t too happy I left, but she understood why. My best friend, Backdraft, is keeping her company while I search for Charcoal...as for parents, our parents died soon after my little brother was born. A plague wiped out a good number of ponies, Mom and Dad included.”





        Dusk’s ears folded back. “Sorry to hear that. I’m guessing you’ve had to raise your brother by yourself then? No wonder you came all the way out here on a whim just to find him.” She looked up at the moon. “Hunter and I are orphans as well. Mom died giving birth to me and dad went missing. Not exactly uncommon things nowadays, so it’s been easier to deal with. Hunter and I have been moving around almost our whole lives, going from job to job. Sure, the caps are good and I enjoy the adrenaline rush that I get from fighting, but it does wear you down after a while.”





        I simply nodded in understanding. I’ve complained before about my job back in the boiler room of Stable 33, but at least I knew I was getting paid consistently. Hearing Dusk’s words only made me appreciate my life in that place even more. “Do you and your brother have any plans? I mean, you can’t keep doing this forever.”





Dusk frowned. “Sure we can.” She then sighed. “Though, we’re trying to earn enough caps to start our own plantation.”





        “Plantation?” I asked curiously. I’d heard of them from old books. Some kind of large farm with many ponies working on them, I think.





        “Yeah, the slave trade is booming here in Mustangia.” Dusk smirked at my shocked expressions. “Nah, don’t worry. We’d hire ponies instead of own them.”





        I let out a sigh of relief. “Good to hear...not too fond of the idea of ponies owning each other.”


        


        Dusk shrugged at my response. “Eh, that’s just how things are out here honestly. You get used to it- though I guess being from a Stable, you don’t have to worry too much about things like that.” She was right...before yesterday, I had no idea what the outside world was really like. Sure, I had heard the stories Stalker told- but just hearing the stories wasn’t anything like living them. All the more reason to quickly find Charcoal and get back to the Stable…





        There was a long silence between the two of us- only eventually broken by the loud grumble of my stomach. I immediately folded my ears back and gave a nervous laugh. “Eheheheh...that oatmeal wasn’t as filling as I’d have liked.”





        Dusk burst out laughing. “No shit! Come on, let’s go down to the mess area and grab a bite. Maybe we’ll spot Hunter getting rejected for the tenth time.”





        For the first time in almost three days, I smiled and nodded. “Reminds me of something I used to do with Carbon everytime we went out with Backdraft.”





        Dusk raises an eyebrow. “Carbon?”





        I blinked- oh yeah, I said I had a marefriend but never actually said her name. “Yeah, my marefriend back in the Stable.”





        Smirking, Dusk stood up. “Then let’s give you a little piece of home away from home then! Hunter takes rejections drunk about as well as he does sober.” I simply nodded and stood up as well. Regardless of how much I may be enjoying this downtime, the goal of finding Charcoal was ever at the forefront of my mind.





-        -        -        -        -





        Turns out, Hunter turned into the dark and brooding depiction of Mare-Do-Well in those old pre war comics when he got rejected. Honestly, it was quite funny to see...though I did feel a little bad for him. While not as good as Stable-made food, this ‘gumbo’ I ate was at least better than the mushy oatmeal I was fed back in the tent. Even Dusk got a little drunk herself- and unsurprisingly she’s the ‘love’s everyone’ type of drunk. Oddly enough, she had more luck than Hunter and managed to take a stallion back to his tent.





        The moon was directly above me by the time I made it back to my tent full of gumbo and feeling a lot better. Morning rolled around before I knew it and Zafera was once again in my tent.





        “You are well enough to go out and adventure, my little pony. I prescribed you some of last night’s gumbo for the road as well, so you do not end up collapsing again.” she said softly.





        As she pointed it out, I noticed the locked plastic bowl next to my equipment. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to take better care of myself this time.” I said, wanting to get up and on the road as soon as possible. Zafera was a nice mare, but I already spent enough time not searching for Charcoal.





        As the zony left my tent, I slipped my armored barding on, followed by my saddlebag/quiver combo and leg holster for my revolver. The last thing I did before leaving my tent was slinging my crossbow across my back and levitate the bowl of gumbo into my bag.





        I was met by a smirking Dusk and a hung-over Hunter outside my tent. “Yo! You ready to head out? There’s no cart that runs by the tower, so we’ll have to hoof it.” Hunter punctuated what his sister said by just groaning.





        I still ached a little from yesterday, but not enough to keep me from traveling. Bidding Zafera and a few other ponies farewell, the three of us set out- heading back towards Shatterpoint Ridge. While Hunter wanted to just head straight for the tower, I insisted we take the exact route Charcoal might’ve taken- just in case we ran into him somewhere along the way.





        The town that turned into a warzone yesterday was now full of ponies, uniformed and not. There were several patching up holes in buildings as well as others throwing out what looked to be used chem containers. Dusk nudged me with a smirk. “Thanks to us, this place can become a regular settlement again. How much ya wanna bet we’ll get big discounts at the shops and bars here at some point?”





        As nice as that sounded, I didn’t plan on being out here long enough to really need such things. “Yeah, though hopefully things go well today and we find Charcoal.” I had a slight feeling that, just because I said that out loud, things would end up going horribly wrong.





        Near the back of the town, tucked away between some boulders was an old train tunnel. The tracks leading into it had long been covered with dirt and the inside looked as dark as that ghoul-filled cave I went into on my first day in the outside world. Suddenly, I felt a chill up my spine at the thought of running into more of those things… I barely survived the first time. Though, I didn’t have Hunter and Dusk with me at that point, so maybe we’ll be alright...maybe.





        Dusk whistled, the sound echoing out of the tunnel entrance. “If your brother did go through there, he’s sure got a set of balls on him.”





        The thought of Charcoal wandering around in the dark tunnel with Celestia-knows-what inside gave me a sense of dread. I swallowed hard before stepping forward first, my horn lighting up and casting a wide arc of light in front of me. “Let’s hurry and get this over with...I’m not sure how much more worrying I can take.”





        Hunter sighed. “Sure, let’s go into the old dark cave...it’d be one thing if we knew what was in there and were getting paid- but this is just ridiculous.”





        From behind me, I heard a whap followed by a yelp from Hunter. “Hey, you’d do the same for me if I was in Charcoal’s position.” Dusk said to her brother.





        “...That’s besides the point, sis.” Hunter grumbled.





        Dusk lit up her horn the same way I had mine and followed after. The three of us took it slow wandering through the dark, making sure not to trip over bits of bone or rock. Hunter did kick over an old lantern accidentally, causing the three of us to freeze and my blood to run cold. We waited for a few minutes before we let out sighs of relief in unison...which was a terrible mistake.





        Along the way, we’d found several side tunnels which we ignored. There weren’t any tracks heading down them, so there was no reason to go down them. However, that also meant we had no idea what was inside them. Like a choir of hellspawn, several screeches and growls echoed through the tunnel from behind us.





        “For fuck’s sake- run!” Hunter exclaimed loudly. To be fair, there was no more need for silence. The thud of too many hooves came closer and closer to us as we all broke into a gallop. Dusk took aim and began firing her gun behind us. From the sound of bullets hitting flesh, she hit at least a couple- though that did little to help overall.





        I smiled widely as I saw a bright light up ahead, resembling that of the entrance to the cave my Stable was in. I quickly looked behind myself to state the obvious to the others- which was a terrible idea. Behind us, several pale-green glowing eyes could be seen in the dark directly behind Hunter’s ass. I looked right up to the roof of the cave and my horn began to grow hot. The tunnel was lit up for only a couple of seconds as I launched a fireball right at one of the wooden arches keeping the tunnel from caving in. Sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time- but once the tunnel started collapsing, I quickly realized I only added to our troubles.





        “Oh that’s just fucking great! Now we have to outrun a horde of ghouls AND a cave-in! You’re a fucking genius Ember!” I heard a half-terrified half-annoyed Dusk shout at me. Yet another moment to add to the growing list of stupid things I’ve done...hopefully it continues to grow and this wasn’t the last stupid idea on the list.





        We managed to make it out of the tunnel just in time, all three of us diving out and lanting hard on the grass. An explosion of dust and debris shot out behind us as the end of the tunnel collapsed. Coughing as the dust cleared, I stood up and turned around. Bits of wood and ghoul limb stuck out of the rubble like some weird pin cushion. “Well...at least...we aren’t...being chased by ghouls...anymore!” I said with an out of breath chuckle.





        Hunter simply stayed on the ground, his rump high in the air. “Next time, we do things my way…” I simply nodded in agreement. Turning around, I quickly noticed the large tower off in the distance, near the edge of a mountain range.





        With a smirk on my face and my energy quickly returning at the thought of bringing Charcoal home soon, I took in a deep breath. A light breeze blew across the plains and over us, making my mane and tail blow a bit in the wind. “Don’t worry Charcoal, I’m almost there.” I softly said to myself.

















	--Chapter End--


	“I Have wondered about you. Where will you be when this is through?”


	Quests Finished: Shatterpoint


	Quests Started: A Blooming Nation


	Levels Earned: 2 → 3


	 Perks Earned: Pyromaniac! - You now have a higher chance to set your enemies ablaze with fire-enchanted weapons!





> Chapter Five - Confederacy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We took a short rest before heading towards the tower. The sun was high in the sky as we started out again. Luckily the tower wasn’t too far away and we managed to reach it with a couple hours of walking. There was a simple iron door at the base of the tower that was slightly ajar. Once I noticed this, I galloped towards it.

“Charcoal?! Can you hear me?!” I shouted as I burst through the door. My voice echoed up the large cylindrical structure and was met with no response. I frantically looked around, searching for some sign that Charcoal could’ve at least been here.

My ears folded back and my eyes went wide as I spotted a ripped and bloody stable suit that’d fit a colt perfectly. My heart sank and my blood ran cold. My back legs grew weak, causing them to give out. Just the thought of something horrific happening to my little brother caused my breakfast to vacate my stomach.

Dusk trotted up behind me. “Hey Ember! You alrigh- oh, shit…” Just from the sound of her voice, I knew she shared a similar expression as mine.

“H-hey guys? We have company...” Hunter said in a slightly frightened voice. I didn’t care. Seeing the bloody suit broke something inside me. Was everything I’ve been through to keep Charcoal safe for nothing?

A strange mare’s voice came from somewhere behind me. It definitely had a southern twang to it. “Well well well, more intruders.” More? What does she mean? Did she know what happened to Charcoal?

“Intruders? These towers are-” Dusk started to say, but was cut off by the other mare.

“-Under the jurisdiction of the Sydney Confederacy now.” The mare’s voice was stern, commanding. “A new law was passed by President Sydney Jack himself. Y’all are currently tresspassin’ on government property. That lil’ one we ran into before got off with a warnin’ due to his age, but y’all shoulda known better!”

I turned around to see a greyish-blue mare with a red combed mane and pink eyes. From the uniform she wore, she definitely was a high rank in the military. Her shirt alone was decorated with medals, but her facial scars and ripped ear told the real story of her military service. She was flanked by several soldiers like the ones we saw back at Fort Shatter.

I blinked, standing up quickly. “Little one? Did he have peanut butter brown hair and two different color eyes?” I asked as the hope of my brother still being at least alive returned.

The mare raised an eyebrow and raised a hoof to stop her soldiers from reacting to my sudden movement. “Yeah, he did. D’ y’all know him?”

I nodded furiously. “Yes! He’s my little brother! I’ve been looking for him for the past three days!” I could feel a big smile on my face. “Do you know where he is? I need to see him!”

“We took him back ta camp an’ boarded him on a cart ta’ Trotston.” the mare said.

I quickly nodded. “Which way is that?”

“Now hold on, y’all ain’t goin’ nowhere. I still got questions fer ya.” She said. With that, all guns were pointed at us. My ears folded back and a worried expression took over my face. Shit.

Hunter spoke up. “Now wait a minute, surely you can forgive a pony fresh out of the stable. I mean, he doesn’t even know of any laws, let alone confederacy ones.” he said, pointing to me.

The mare tapped her chin. “A stable pony, huh? Ah suppose ah can...but tha rest o’ ya ain’t gettin’ off so easy.”

Dusk whined. “Now that’s not fair! We’ve been traveling for the past few days! There’s no way we could’ve known about this new law!”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Tha law is tha law. It ain’t my problem y’all didn’t know about it. A stable-dweller ah can overlook, but ya two? Y’all look like bounty hunters.” She turned her attention to me. “As fer ya. We’ll take ya back to camp an’ send ya on yer way ta Trotston. Yer brother was gonna be sent ta an orphanage, but since yer here, ya can take him.”

While I was overly joyed about finally being able to get my brother and go home...the idea of Dusk and Hunter, two ponies that helped me get this far, being arrested just because they followed me? That didn’t sit right with me.

We followed the confederates out of the tower and toward the southern mountains. It wasn’t too far of a trek- maybe twenty minutes or so. Just like Fort Shatter, the fort we were taken to, Fort Sydney as the sign said, was under construction. However, it seemed much farther along than the other one.

“Pvt. Snowflake, take this here pony ta tha station an’ send him ta Trotston.” The mare barked. A pure white stallion saluted and nudged my side with a hoof, pointing towards the back of the fort. “As fer these two, take ‘em ta mah office. I’ll be by shortly.”

I gave a guilty look to both Hunter and his sister, who just rolled there eyes and pointed the same direction as Snowflake. “Go on, your brother’s more important. We’ll be okay.” Dusk said with a half-hearted grin.

The small station I was lead into seemed to be nothing more than a shack built in front of an old mining tunnel that cut through the mountains. A bulky earth pony stallion was arguing with a rather rickety old mare.  “We can’t send any more carts through you idiot! Those damn rebels released a bunch of scorpions into the tunnels. They’d just rip the thing apart!”

“Bullshit. They’ll just get run over.” said the mare dismissively.

The stallion facehoofed at that comment. “Some will get trapped in the wheels and force the cart to stop!” Seeing those two argue made a light bulb turn on in my head. Before Snowflake could do much of anything, I quickly turned tail and bolted out of the station. “Hey, wait!” I heard the stallion shout after me, possibly as he gave chase.

I galloped through the fort towards the most important looking building, slamming through the door and startling the mare from before as well as Hunter and his sister. “H-hey...those two...helped clear….Shatterpoint Ridge!”

The mare stood up. “Snowflake, I thought ah told ya to get this pony on a cart.” she said sternly as the private caught up, out of breath.

“S-sorry ma’am….” he said as he wrapped a hoof around me.

Before he could drag me away, I shouted out. “The tunnel’s infested with scorpions, there’s no way I could leave!”

The mare gritted her teeth. “Then y’all are gonna have ta walk!”

I shook my head. “Why do that, when the three of us can clear the tunnel out for you? If we die, it’d be no skin off your back..” I desperately hoped she’d see my point.

The mare looked at me as if she wanted to blow my brains out then and there. However, after a long silence, she sighed. “Fine. Y’all do dis, ya get yer freedom. No payments ’er anythin’.”

Hunter let out a breath he’d apparently been holding and Dusk smirked before she said “Should be fine, as long as Sparky here doesn’t cause another cave-in.”

I smiled apologetically and blushed lightly at her comment. “Don’t worry, that’s not something I want to repeat.”

“Fine then. Now git!” The mare shouted, slamming her hoof down on the desk. The three of us didn’t wait around long enough to see what would happen if we didn’t leave.

Once outside, Dusk hoofpunched my shoulder “Ah-ha! Way to go, Sparky!”

Hunter simply chuckled. “Good work, kid. Before you burst in, she was debating whether or not to ship us off to a plantation.”

I blinked. “Wait- what?” She couldn’t have possibly wanted to…

“Yep! She was gonna make us slaves!” Dusk chimed in. “Would’ve been temporary, but seeing as they haven’t finished clearing out that old Ministry Penitentiary up north, they just ship criminals off to plantations for a few years.”

Hunter sighed. “Some aren’t even released when their time is up.”

My smile turned into a frown. “T-that’s horrible!” I stopped myself from going on a full tirade about how horrible slavery is to begin with, as stating the obvious wouldn’t help matters here.

Hunter and Dusk simply shrugged, the latter speaking up. “That’s just how things are here. Our benevolent President Mr. Sydney Jack has constantly said that the End of the World was an extreme situation. To rebuild, extreme measures must be taken.” As she said that last part, she used a stereotypical southern accent and tried to deepen her voice mockingly. This gained her a few looks from passing soldiers.

I shook my head. Honestly, from the sound of it, he had a point...but the idea of one pony owning another just didn’t sit right with me at all. We neared the station where the two ponies were arguing before. It seemed that the one arguing for not sending a cart through won, leaving the mare in that argument very grumpy.

As we approached, she spoke up. “What do you want? Cart’s not moving because a few measly bugs in the tunnels.”

Letting out a sigh, I stepped forward. “We’re actually-”

“We’re exterminators. Heard you had a radscorpion problem.” Dusk said with a grin.  It was becoming a common game on who could interrupt me first.

The mare threw her hooves up. “Go ahead. It’s not like I can do anything myself.” With that, she simply sat in a chair and turned her back to us. Well. That was rude.

I rolled my eyes and drew my revolver. The three of us hopped down onto the tracks, Dusk and I lighting our horns as we approached the tunnel. There were lights along the walls, but they didn’t give nearly as much illumination as our spells. As we walked through the tunnel, I felt it necessary to actually learn about what we were up against this time.

“So...what exactly are radscorpions like?”

“You know what a scorpion is?” Hunter was the one to answer me. “Think that, but ten times bigger, more resilient, and has pincers that could snap a pony in two.”

I couldn’t help but feel a sudden urge to head back at that information. “A-and these things are common out here?”

“In the middle of Mustangia, yeah. Actually, there was a news report a couple days ago about a plantation nearly being overrun by the fuckers.” Dusk said as she tapped the tunnel walls with the end of her rifle.

As she did so, a single radscorpion popped out of the ground. Both Hunter and Dusk opened fire tore the thing to bits before it could scuttle over and impale any of us with its large stinger.

I simply blinked at the corpse of the scorpion. “Well, this’ll be easy…”

My hopes and dreams were dashed at that moment, when Dusk said with a smirk “Oh that? That was just a young one.”

“Great…” I said as Dusk tapped the wall again.

Three more scorpions popped out of the ground and my two companions opened fire. This time, I joined them. I fired off all six rounds from my revolver, about four of them hitting home and one punching through the thing’s exoskeleton to set it on fire.

The scorpion writhed and screeched as it was cooked alive. However, this prompted it’s two buddies to dig back into the ground, giving me a short opportunity to reload. As soon as I heard a noise behind me, I quickly activated S.A.T.s., and queued six shots in total to fire into the thing’s slimy maw.

I released the spell, and my revolver aimed itself, firing off all six shots in quick succession, all going down it’s throat. Soon enough, the thing was a burning lump of scorpion at my hooves. Smirking confidently, I turned to look at Dusk and Hunter, only to hear the other one pop up right behind me. Shit! I forgot there was another one!

Dusk quickly pushed me out of the way and I hit the floor with a thud. I heard her scream out in pain and I turned myself over to see that the radscorpion had impaled one of her front legs with it’s tail. Gritting her teeth, she fired off round after round into the thing. “Come on, you bastard. Take it! Take it all!” She didn’t stop firing until well after her gun started clicking, indicating she was out of ammo. Ripping the stinger out of her leg, Dusk turned and aimed a kick right at the scorpion, which was now a twitching heap on the ground.

“Sis!” Hunter shouted as he rushed over and placed a wing around Dusk. “C’mon, we need to get you back to the fort-”

“I’ll be fine. Not the first time I’ve been stabbed…” Dusk cut him off, wincing a bit as she looked down at her leg.

Standing up, I folded my ears back. “I’m sorry… I should’ve been paying more attention.”

Dusk half chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Sparky...rookie mistake.”

Hunter glared at me. “A rookie mistake that could’ve gotten either of you killed.” He pulled out some bandages from his saddlebag and gave them to Dusk, who began wrapping them around her wound. “It won’t be a permanent fix. We’ll need to get you back to the fort for them to remove the poison and heal the rest.”

The three of us walked along in silence, clearing out scorpions as we went. They were tough bastards, but with three of us, it wasn’t too much of a hassle. I kept a constant watch behind me, sometimes glancing at Dusk. She’d gotten injured because I was stupid, yet she didn’t blame me as much as she should, or at least as much as Hunter did.

As we killed the last of the scorpions according to my display, I let everypony know. Dusk was the first to relax. “Finally done…” She said, just before collapsing.

“Shit! Ember, help me!” Hunter shouted, rushing over to help his sister up. She was unconscious and burning up. Was… was this the effect of the poison from the stinger?

“U-uh, yeah.” I said as I hurried to help. Hunter hoisted Dusk over my back.

Hunter then rounded on me “If she dies, you do too. Got it?” The cold look in his eyes scared me more than anything I’d seen so far. I knew where he was coming from too. A few years back, a bully had gotten Charcoal injured. I’m not proud of it, but I’d said almost the same exact thing...

The walk back through the tunnel was long and worrisome. I kept hoping we’d make it in time. Not because I didn’t want to die, though that helped too, but because Dusk and Hunter we're the first ponies in the past three days that didn’t try to trick me or con me into doing anything. I could actually see myself being friends with them…though, once I returned to the stable with my brother, that wouldn’t matter much I suppose.

As we exited the tunnel, the mare looked up from a book at us “Done, huh? Good, now I can- what happened?”

Hunter flew up to her. “We need a medic, my sister’s been poisoned!” he nearly shouted at her. The mare simply nodded, got out of her chair, and galloped out of the station, assumedly to get a medic. A medic arrived shortly after with a stretcher. Once Dusk was hoisted off of my back, I felt a weight lifted off of me...both physically and mentally. Before leaving with the medic, Hunter turned to me. “You should get along to Trotston and get your brother. Dusk and I...we’ll meet you there when she’s able to move again.” Then he flew off after the medic and his sister, leaving me alone in the station with the mare.

After a long awkward pause, the mare spoke up. “So, Trotston huh? I can take you whenever you’re ready to leave, now that the tunnel’s clear…”

I sat down in the cart, the only other pony with me, the mare from the station, who I learned was named Caboose. An odd name for a mare, but I really wasn’t up for asking her the reasoning behind it. My mind was elsewhere. I had grown attached to Hunter and Dusk when I should’ve only been focussing on finding my brother and bringing him home. I guess it didn’t matter though. I was on my way to where Charcoal was now anyway. Soon enough we’d be on a cart back to Stable 33 and I’d be back with Backdraft and Carbon.

To stave off my boredom for the long ride ahead, I checked the radio tab on my pipbuck as we exited the tunnel. Remembering Dusk saying something about a broadcast. Sure enough, there was a station labelled ‘Confederate Radio’ on the list.

Clicking on it, I heard the voice of a rather chipper filly “Hello everypony! Little Talks here with another news update! Oooh, it seems the resettling of Shatterpoint Ridge is going smoothly! To those three ponies who helped stop those mean doodoo heads, this next song is for you! Take it away sis!”

The song that played sounded live, rather than a studio recording. The soft voice of a mare near-instantly made me homesick as she sang. “Spent 20 years trying to get out of this place, was looking for something I couldn’t replace. I was running away from the only thing I’ve ever known…who says you can’t go home.” 

As she sang, I thought back to the many times Backdraft and I got into trouble when we were colts. I thought of the night I fell in love with Carbon,the way she had her mane in a bun,but a single strand fell perfectly over her left eye. I thought of the first time I met my newborn baby brother, Charcoal. He was so little and the doctors thought he wasn’t going to make it…my parents and I were so scared. Finally, I thought about the day mom and dad died. I wasn’t even allowed to hug and kiss them goodbye due to the quarantine. I only talked to them through an intercom…that was the day I promised that I wouldn’t let anything happen to Charcoal. Thinking about all of this only made me feel even worse for getting Dusk hurt.

The song ended and I clicked the radio off before Little Talks could speak more. As time drifted onward, the green hills of Mustangia rolled by. The ocean to the south grew ever closer on the horizon. The whole situation was so peaceful, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and fall asleep.


-------


“Hey, we’re here.” I was gently shaken awake by Caboose. “I have to head back, but I’ll be back in a few days to pick you up.” she said gently as I stirred.

“Mnnhh…” Was all that came out of my muzzle as I opened my eyes. The sound of a busy town caught my ears as I pushed myself out of the seat and stretched. “Finally I can get Charcoal…” I mumbled as I exited the cart.

The station itself was empty, save for Caboose and I. “Good luck, Ember. Thanks again for you and your friends clearing the tunnel.” With that, she closed the door to the cart and started up the motor.

I simply waved as the cart pulled out of the station before turning and heading for the exit. The light outside momentarily blinded me, but when my vision cleared I saw ponies of all different shapes, sizes, and colors rushing through the streets. My jaw dropped, as I’d only ever seen Junction 33. While buildings here did look like they were repaired with bits of metal and wood, the city of Trotston as a whole looked more intact than what one’d expect from the wasteland.

With a bright smile on my face, I managed to make it two steps before I heard somepony shout “Halt!” Within seconds, I was completely surrounded by soldiers pointing their guns at me. Fuck my life.





--Chapter End--


“Two steps forward, one step back.”


Quests Finished: A Blooming Nation


Quests Started: Trotston Tribulations


Levels Earned: none


 Perks Earned: none

> Chapter Six - Trotston
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a grunt and a bit of pain in my rear, I was forced into a chair opposite a scarred stallion that looked around my age. He took one look at me, noticed my obvious expression of confusion and nervousness, and snorted. “So you’re the arsonist we’ve been looking for? Should’ve guessed it’d be some sissy cunt.” He thinks I’m a what?

“Now hold on one moment,” I leaned forward, the metal cuffs around my forehooves jingling a bit as I did so. “I don't know who you think I am-”

“You know very well that we know who you are, don’t play dumb with us!” The stallion slammed his hooves down on the table. This guy clearly had some issues. I began to speak, but was almost instantly cut off once again. “Our president has worked very hard to build a stable community in our beloved city, and it’s shits like you that think it’s fun to fuck it all up!” However, I wasn’t going to simply take it this time.

“MY NAME IS EMBER BLAZE AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS GET MY LITTLE BROTHER AND GO THE FUCK HOME!” My sudden raise in volume seemed to take the stallion by surprise. “I’M FROM STABLE 33 IF YOU COULDN’T TELL FROM MY DAMN BARDING!”

After my outburst, I sat there panting heavily for a few moments before feeling a sharp pain in the back of my head. I blacked out for a moment as my muzzle slammed into the table.  The feel of warm liquid and aching pain in my nose indicating I’d hit the metal surface hard.

As my vision was still returning, I felt the chair I was in get kicked over. My shoulder slammed into the concrete floor.

“Shut up!” He shouted. “Your lies are useless here! Now, tell us where your rebel friends are hiding! With the jobs you’ve pulled off, there’s no fucking way a bitch like you was working alone!”

“Like I said, I’m not-” Whatever words I was about to say were cut short as I felt a hoof impact against my ribs hard enough to knock the wind out of me.

“The next words out of your muzzle better be the location of your little hideout, or we’ll start removing things.” The scarred shithead said in an unnervingly calm tone. Having the shit kicked out of me made me realise that there was no way I’d get out of this, and with the threat of parts of me being removed?

I laid there coughing as I fought to get my breath back, my aching ribs either broken or at the very least bruised. “I-I told you…”

Another kick to my chest, a cracking feeling and searing pain rippled through my torso.  It caused me to scream out in pain, only nothing came out from the lack of air in my lungs. The room went quiet around me aside from the muffled shouts of the pony beating the shit out of me. Before my vision faded, I saw the door open and a blurred shape barge in followed by more shouting. The pain and lack of air became too much, and I finally blacked out.



-----



With a groan, I slowly opened my eyes. The bright sun shown in through a window next to the bed I was in. The terrible pain in my chest and muzzle were only a dull ache now, and when I shifted a bit, there was no stabbing sensation. As I sat up, I looked myself over. My barding had been removed and folded neatly at the end of the bed, my saddlebag and quiver combo hung off of a hook on the wall, and my crossbow and revolver were laying on a table a few feet away, glinting in the sunlight as if they were brand new. As expected, I was confused. Last thing I remembered, I was getting the shit kicked out of me by two ponies.

A mare with a long golden mane and bright blue eyes walked into the room and gasped. “Mon dieu, he’s awake!” The mare exclaimed as she rushed to my bedside, pressing a gentle hoof against my chest and pushing me back down. “Yu need tu ztay in ze bed, Monsieur.”

With a grunt, I flattened myself back on the bed. “Ugh...who are you? Where am I?” Confusion as well as thoughts of what was happening before I blacked out consumed my mind.

“Yu are in ze Prezeedent’s ‘ouse, Monsieur. I am Zouthern Zong.” The mare explained calmly, a warm smile on her muzzle.

I blinked at her for a moment, thinking of how a Pony could have such a name until my brain realised it was probably just her thick accent. After a few seconds of thinking, I spoke. “Southern Song? And what do you mean I’m in the President’s house? I was just in an interrogation room…”

Southern Song winced as I mentioned the interrogation room. “Monsieur, you’ve been zleeping for a ‘ole day...after what zey did tu yu.”

I frowned. “A day? Damnit…”

Southern nodded. “Oui, zey did quite a bit of damage tu yu. Luckily ze Colonel ztepped in and put zose zoldiers in zeir place.”

This Colonel stepped in and saved me? I should thank him later… I thought to myself as I laid there.

The wooden door that Southern Song had entered through opened once again. A burly looking stallion in a fancy buttoned up uniform jacket stepped in, his neatly combed short scarlet mane shining a bit in the sunlight, indicating a layer of mane gel had been applied.

“Didn’ ah tell ya he’s a fighter? Ah say, y’all had us worried there, mah boy!” He said in a rather charismatic tone.

As I noticed the stallion entering behind him, my jaw dropped. “S-Stalker?!” I half-shouted, sitting up rapidly and startling Southern Song a bit.

Stalker, who was now wearing a uniform longcoat with many medals on it smirked at me. “Hey kid. I knew you had the same flame burning within.”

The burley stallion looked between the two of us. “Hoho! So y’all know each other after all! Ah say, ah had a hunch, seein’ as Colonel Stalker here said y’all were from tha same Stable, but a Stable’s a big place!”

Stalker simply chuckled and shook his head. “Ember and I don’t know each other that well, but his little brother did frequently listen to my stories.” Stalker simply paused for a moment. “Speaking of, someone’s here to see you.”

The old stallion stepped aside and the first thing to meet my sight was a messy peanut butter brown mane and two different colored eyes.

“Brother!” Charcoal shouted happily as he galloped over and leapt onto the bed, right onto my aching chest. I didn’t care about the discomfort as I wrapped my hooves around my little brother. Tears started forming in my eyes and I held him tightly.

“Charcoal, you had me so worried...never run off like that again!” I half-sobbed.

“I_I won’t, I promise! B-but…” Charcoal pulled away from the hug a little bit. “We aren’t...we aren’t going back, are we?”

My heart sank as a look of sadness spread across his little face. I simply sighed. “We have to, buddy. Our place is in the Stable, not out here.”

My brother pushed himself from my hooves and hopped off the bed. “B-but I don’t wanna!”

Before I could say anything in response, the burley scarlet-maned stallion spoke up. “Ah say, yer brother has a point.  Our great Mustangia might be a beautiful place ta be, but it’s dangerous fer young’uns like yerself.”

Charcoal looked up at the stallion. “B-but Mister Sydney, didn’t you say you were working hard to make it a safe place?” Wait, Sydney? This was Sydney Jack, President of this Confederacy?

Sydney Jack simply chuckled. “Right ya are, Charcoal! But that’ll take some time. Besides! Yer brother came all this way, facing hell n’ high water. Y’all can see how much he loves ya!”  The President smiled and looked at me. “But I must insist y’all stay fer dinner at least! Yer mah guests afterall, and ya can’t travel on empty bellies!”

“Alright, we can stay for one more day.” While I wasn’t keen on wasting anymore time, he had a point. The last time I set out without food or anything, I ended up collapsing and nearly ending my journey right there.

“Yay! ” While Charcoal didn’t like the idea of going home, he was overjoyed to hear that we’d at least be waiting one more day before going home. “I’ll go tell Little Talks!”

I blinked once again. “Little Talks? The filly I heard over the radio?”

Southern Song smiled at me and nodded. “Oui, she iz my little zister.”

“So you’re the mare who was singing over the radio, then? You have a great voice.” I said with a smile, eliciting a blush from her.

Sydney Jack audibly cleared his throat “While this were a pleasant meetin’, Miss Song’s got a performance comin’ up!” He gave her a rather dark look, to which Southern lost her smile slightly and nodded. As she got up, I noticed a few bruises once hidden behind her mane and.

In putting two and two together, I started to dislike Sydney.



-----



When Southern Song said house, I thought of something in similar size to the shop that Joker had back in Junction 33. The grand foyeur of their large manor was at least twice the size of the apartment Charcoal and I have back in Stable 33.

An old, yet well taken care of chandelier hung over a grand staircase, the railings of which had wooden carvings of the Goddesses, standing tall and proud. A blue carpet draped over the wooden stairs connected with the one in the hallway I’d just left that lead to the front double doors. Several zebra mares in what I assumed we're maid outfits moved around the large room, cleaning vases and watering potted plants. As I took in the sight, my muzzle hung open in awe that something like this could exist in the wasteland.

After slowly moving down the large staircase, I heard the sound of a colt’s laughter coming from outside the front doors. My horn lit up as I slowly pushed the doors open, only to be met with the largest front yard I could ever imagine. It was at least the size of Stable 33’s Apple Orchard. A long brick road stretched from the manor to a gated fence at the far end of the yard.
The source of the laughter was soon made apparent when Charcoal ran by. He was chasing a pitch black filly with a short, pink mane, and the wings on her sides indicated that she was a pegasus. A smile crested my muzzle as I watched the two of them play, my mind drifting back to the many times I came home to find Charcoal having pretend adventures with his friends.

Charcoal finally managed to catch the speedy filly and the two of them tumbled through the grass, laughing and giggling “Gotcha!” My brother shouted with glee. “You’re it!”

The two of them continued to play as I simply watched. It may have been a good idea for me to go restock for the journey home, but that could wait. After the hellish past few days I had, a small moment of rest like this should be cherished.

I heard the door open and close behind me, the voice of Sydney following after. “Ah say, ain’t it grand ta see this nation’s future play free’a tha harshness’a tha wasteland?”

Without turning to look at him I simply nodded. “Yeah, Charcoal really likes it out here…” I continued to watch the two play, a small feeling of guilt building within my stomach from knowing I had to take him back to the Stable. Away from all of this freedom.

A firm and heavy hoof was placed on my shoulder, finally causing me to turn to face the President. “Ah say, y’all’r more than welcome ta stay! Iffin yer concern be about his safety, ain’t no place safer’n this here city!” Sydney flashed his bright white grin in my face. “Bein’ tha President o’ this fine nation, ah can set ya an’ yer brother up with a nice home.”

I blinked. “But earlier you agreed with me, said we should both go back to the Stable.” Shaking my head, I gently pushed his hoof off of my shoulder. “Sorry, no thanks. Our place is back in 33.”

Sydney’s grin disappeared for a moment before returning. “Ah understand, mah boy! Tho, y’all can’t stay underground ferever! See, ah gots a proposition fer ya that ah think we both might like…”

I didn’t like where this was going, but after all he’d done for my brother and I… “Alright, let’s hear it.” I said warily.

“Well, tha only part o’ Mustangia I ain’t been able ta bring inta tha fold, is Juncion 33 an’ that there Stable o’ yers...Stalker’s been tryin’ ta help with it, ta bring everypony tagether, but he ain’t been havin’ much luck on his own.”

Letting out a soft sigh, I looked him in the eyes. “You want me to help convince the Junction and my Stable’s Overmare to join you? That’ll never work. I’m just a boiler pony, nothing special.”

Sydney Jack laughed at my words, causing me to frown slightly. “Mah boy, iffin’ you ain’t nothin’ special, then how’d ya go through hell’n high water ta get yer brother back? In mah books, that takes a special pony right there, it does!”

“But-”

“Ah say, not just anypony can survive tha wild frontier out there!” Instead of giving me that flashy grin, Sydney gave me a genuine smile this time. When he put his hoof on my shoulder, it wasn’t firm and heavy like before...it was light and gently.

Charcoal ran up to me with the filly he’d been chasing. “Ember! Ember! This is Little Talks! She’s super cool!”

Sydney chuckled and looked at me. “Think on it, Ember. Might be better fer yer brother.” With that, he turned and walked away, giving me something more to think about.

Putting it out of my mind for the moment, I put on a grin and looked at Charcoal and Little Talks. “So, I guess you like cooties now?”

Charcoal’s face went bright red under his black coat and Little Talks giggled, covering her muzzle with one of her wings as she glanced sidelong at Charcoal. In response to my comment, he simply kicked my foreleg in frustration.

Little Talks and I laughed at Charcoal’s expense, though my laughter died down the moment I saw one of the Zebra maids wander the lawn. Something metal with a red blinking light caught my attention, as it poked out slightly from under her collar.





--Chapter End--


“Out of chaos, order arises.”


Quests Finished: none


Quests Started: Should I Stay Or Should I Go


Levels Earned: 3 → 4


 Perks Earned: Weathered - +5 [Survival, Poison Resistance and Radiation Resistance] per rank. Mastery: 5 extra points in Survival and both resistances.