Wasteland Equestria

"Canterlot?!" Octavia said. "Are you crazy?! That's where all of the raiders are!"

"Exactly," Vinyl said. "If they hang out there, there must be a bunch of supplies there. We'll just go in, get some supplies, and get out. Bing, bang, boom, we're outta there."

"What about the raiders?!" Octavia asked. "What if they catch us?! What do we do then?"

"Don't be so negative."

"I'm not being negative; I'm being realistic!"

"Look," Vinyl said, "if you don't wanna come, fine by me. But I'm going."

"Why don't we just stay in Ponyville? The royal guard has promised to provide for us."

"I don't wanna be restricted by the guards," Vinyl said, still packing her bag. "Out there, we can be free."

"Fine," Octavia said. "I'll come with you to Canterlot."

Vinyl looked at her friend and smiled. "Thanks, Octavia," she said. "Come and pack your stuff."

Half an hour later, the two were at the Ponyville border. A guard halted them before they could leave. "Stop," he said. "What are you doing?"

Octavia stepped forward. "We wish to leave the city," she said firmly.

The guard looked at his partner,then back at Octavia. "You do acknowledge," he said, "that once you leave, you are not allowed to return to Ponyville. You will not receive help of any kind from the royal guard."

Octavia nodded. "I understand."

"Okay, then," the guard said. "You may leave. Good luck."

"Thank you," Octavia said, trotting behind the guards with Vinyl following her.

When the pair were away from the guards, Vinyl looked at her friend. "So, Canterlot?" she asked.

Octavia took one last look back at Ponyville, knowing they could never go back. She looked at Vinyl and nodded. "Canterlot."

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"Here it is," Vinyl said. "The Canterlot railroad. If we follow it, we'll be at Canterlot in three days."

"It's getting awfully late," Octavia said. "Maybe we should sleep here, at the station."

"Come on," Vinyl said. "We just get out of Ponyville, and you're already tired?"

"We've got a place to sleep, and it's getting dark. If we rest, we'll be ready for tomorrow."

"Good idea," Vinyl said.

Octavia approached the door and knocked on it with her hoof. "Hello?" she yelled.

"Are you crazy?!" Vinyl said. "What if there's somepony inside and they attack us?!"

"Oh, buck," Octavia said. "Well, there's nothing we can do now." She opened the door and check inside. "It doesn't look like there's anypony inside." She carefully trotted inside. "Well, someone was here, but it looks like they're gone."

"What if they come back?" Vinyl asked nervously. "Sh-should we really stay here?"

"Vinyl," Octavia said, "you're stuttering."

"I'm nervous! W-what if they come b-back and tr-try to kill us?"

"Well, one of us should stay as a guard to see if the pony that lives here comes back. One of us will look while the other sleeps, and then we'll switch."

"C-could you watch first?"

Octavia nodded. "Of course. You go ahead and sleep."

Vinyl nodded and took off her saddlebags as Octavia went outside to guard.

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The moment Vinyl fell asleep, she had nightmares. She heard Octavia cry in fear, and then saw two stallions trot in, holding bloody swords, slowly approaching her. Vinyl tried to move, but she couldn't even get up.

Soon, the stallions were on top of her. They raised their swords and...

Singing. A calm, soothing voice began singing. The stallions disappeared in a puff of smoke and the room melted away, leaving only Vinyl and the singing.

DAN DAN Kokoro hikarete 'ku

Sono mabushii egao ni

Hatenai yami kara tobidasou

Hold my hand

Vinyl concentrated only on the voice. It was a stallion's voice, deep but smooth. It was also quiet, as if the singer didn't want to wake Vinyl up.

Wait a minute, Vinyl said. Who's singing?

Vinyl wanted to wake up, but the singing was keeping her asleep. She tried to concentrate on something else, but there was only darkness and the singing.

Suddenly, Octavia appeared, sitting outside, guarding the station. If this stallion had gotten inside of the station, that meant...

Vinyl's eyes snapped open. The first thing she saw was the stallion that was singing. He was a blue unicorn with a slicked-back, light blue mane. He was facing away from Vinyl, looking at a bundle up pony that Vinyl couldn't make out.

Vinyl snapped up. "What are you doing here?"

The stallion kept singing until then song was over. Then he whispered "Good night" into the pony's ear. He then calmly turned to face Vinyl. "I should be asking you the same thing," he said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "This is my camp, after all."

"What did you do to the mare out front?" she demanded.

"Octavia?" he asked. "I took the back door."

"How do you know Octavia?" Vinyl asked.

"Ask her yourself," the stallion said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep. Sorry for waking you." And with that, the stallion curled up beside the small pony and closed his eyes.

Just then, Octavia trotted in. "What are you doing awake, Vinyl?" she asked. She noticed the stallion sleeping and gasped. "Wh-who is that?"

"Apparently," Vinyl said, "he lives here. He said he knew you."

"I do know him. I tell you in the morning. It's your time to guard. Good night."

Vinyl hesitated, then walked outside and took her position.

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"So," Vinyl said. "How do you two know each other?"

Vinyl, Octavia, and the stallion were sitting inside of the station. The little pony for last night was sitting beside the stallion. She was a very light shade of purple with a blonde mane. She was also a unicorn.

"Vinyl Scratch," Octavia said, "this is my friend, Regal Masquerade."

"Call me Reggie," Regal said. "That's what this little foal calls me." As he said that, he wrapped his front leg around the foal.

"When did you two meet each other?" Vinyl asked.

"We were in the same music school together," Octavia said. "I helped him get his cutie mark."

"I sang at one of Octavia's concert," Reggie said. "The moment the song was over, we both got our cutie marks."

"Who's the foal you've got with you?" Octavia asked.

"I'm Dinky," the foal said.

"I found her huddled up under a bed inside a house," Reggie said. "There was a dead mare in the same room. Apparently, it was her sister."

"Bad ponies came in and killed her," Dinky said with her head down.

"I decided to take her with me. She's absolutely adorable, and it's nice to have company." He looked back at Octavia. "So, where are you headed?"

"Canterlot," Vinyl said. "We're headed to get supplies."

"Canterlot?" Reggie said. "That's basically suicide! Octavia, are you really crazy enough to do this?"

"If we can get supplies," Octavia said, "it's worth the risk."

"Hm..." Reggie turned to Dinky. "Anata mo issho ni ikitaidesu ka?"

"Karera wa suteki ni mieru," Dinky said. "Watashi wa, wareware wa karera to issho ni ikubekida to omoimasu."

Reggie nodded and looked at Vinyl. "We're going to come with you," he said.

"Really?" Octavia asked.

Reggie nodded. "I might find a way to repay you for getting me my cutie mark."

"I appreciate it," Octavia said.

Reggie looked over at Vinyl. "It'll be nice to get to know a friend of Octavia's," he said.

Vinyl nodded. "I looked forward to getting to know you, too," she said.