Chapter 15
The Town On The Edge Of The Forest

The rest of the trip through the forest took two days. Two mercifully uneventful days. Well, for the most part. There were plenty of shenanigans Patches thought up to pass the time while we traveled and Daisy was all too happy to help me pass the time while we rested in the evenings. Those nights were the most restful ones I’d had in years, normally I never sleep that well.

I was actually a little disappointed when we reached the town where the forest met the rolling plains and foothills before Canterlot Mountain. This was where Patches and I parted from Daisy and Bryon, the two were going to stay in the forest where it was safer. They had routes and plans and with the elimination of one of the larger nests, travel would be safer.

“Stay safe out there ok? I got the feeling this is going to get a lot worse in the coming months,” Daisy said with a half smile.

“Don’t worry about it!” Patches said with a wave and a smile. “I’ll keep an eye on your new boyfriend for ya!”

I gave Patches a quick jab in the side, my fist impacting the armor with a dull thwack.

“What? You two were at it enough to convince just about anyone otherwise!” He said with a shrug as his grin only grew.

“Look us up when you’re done with your mission ok?” Daisy asked as she turned away slightly, still looking back at Patches and myself. She took a few steps back into the forest, pausing just a moment for Bryon.

“Go save the world, or whatever it is you’re gonna do Alex. And you just keep kicking ass Patches,” Bryon said with a wave as he turned and started walking away. Daisy stepped along next to him.

“Keep yourselves out of trouble,” I said with a smile. “And don’t bother telling us to do the same! You know we can’t help ourselves!” I called to the departing deer.

I felt myself letting out a sigh as two of my companions departed, Daisy was right. They had become my friends pretty quickly and watching them leave just sucked. I want to say it in an elegant way but it really just sucked, I wanted them to come with us. They weren’t just an extra set of eyes to look out for danger, I genuinely enjoyed their company.

I stood there and watched to forest for a few minutes after they were out of sight, the foliage swayed gently in the breeze but there were no signs of the two deer otherwise.

“Come on Alex, lets go check out this weird walled town,” Patches said as he nudged me and started walking away from the forest.

The town was indeed surrounded by a wall that looked like it was hastily constructed. There were several hundred feet of clearing dotted with the stumps of the trees the townspeople had cut down. The gate was clear and easy enough to spot as it was a break in the vertical lines that made up the log wall. It was also flanked by a pair of watchtowers that looked equally new but had ponies currently working on them.

I could see a pair of Pegasi atop the left tower hammering panels onto the slanted roof. The right tower was having a walkway installed by a Pegasus and a Unicorn, it was suspended in a large magical field while the Pegasus drove large nails into the bottom of it. He was standing on a small cloud so he didn’t have to flap his wings. Smart.

A small door built into the gate opened and an Earth pony stepped out, he held up a pair of binoculars to his face then waved at us.

“Approach!” Came the distant cry as I realized he was waving us toward the town.

Patches and I both closed the distance at a brisk walk, well it was a brisk walk for Patches. More of a jog for me. The construction didn’t stop as we approached and the workers barely paid us any notice. They were either complacent or they had a lot of faith in the lone guard we were approaching.

“Or they have hidden troops watching us,” a voice in the back of my head nagged as I began scanning the wall. There were a few gaps large enough to slip the barrel of a rifle through. Then I caught a slight movement on the other side of the wall through one of the gaps. Had someone seen me looking and relocated? I scanned over to the next gap just in time to see the figure pass into the gap. I felt eyes on me when it stopped. When they caught me looking they moved again.

“Patches are you seeing?” I started to ask, continuing my jog.

“The shit in the cracks? Yep,” he responded as we neared the guard.

The guard suddenly held up his hand with his palm out. “That’s close enough!” He commanded, his right hand rested on the handle of a pistol at his hip. His fingers were curled slightly around the grip, ready to draw it. His eyes flicked between myself and Patches several times. His armor was crudely put together, it looked to be mostly made of scavenged metal and only covered his chest, shoulders, and forearms. He was a little over six feet tall and had watery green eyes that blinked frequently, his coat was brown and his mane was black.

“Names, infection status, business in Timberfold, and how long you’re staying,” he spoke clearly. He’d done this a few times before.

“Alex Rustwing, not a vamp, resting and trade, a day tops,” I replied, then glanced at Patches.

“Patches, also not a vamp, same plans and duration,” he said with a smile.

“Alright, we’ll have to verify your status then check all your weapons. You’ll sign in on our list and you’ll be free to conduct your business as long as you don’t stir up any trouble with the residents,” he explained as he motioned us over and opened the door for us.

We followed him into the checkpoint he had set up where a second guard was waiting for us. A female Unicorn was standing behind a desk with a set of papers before her, a quill in her hand ready to write.

“We got two travelers Lucky!” The Earth pony called to the Unicorn behind the desk, gaining a startled jump from her.

“Fuck’s sake, Cale! We’re indoors! You don’t need to yell!” She snapped.

“Then why are you?” He asked with a chuckle as he left, leaving us with the now irritated Unicorn.

She was significantly shorter than the first guard, maybe a little over five feet tall and she wore similar armor of a scavenged quality. Her ears were pressed flat against her head and she was wearing aviator sunglasses, her lips were pressed into a thin line and her brow was pulled down. She grumbled softly when we walked up. Sensitive to light and noise, a scowl on her face… Was she hungover?

“Names, and in case you don’t know the bite verification drill… Strip,” she grumbled in a flat voice. “Yes, I’ll be inspecting you and yours won’t be the first naked bodies I’ve seen, so none of that hesitation shit or I’ll have you thrown out of the town for failing entry procedures.”

Yeah, definitely grumpy enough to be hungover...

We gave her our names and began to remove our armor and undergarments. She turned away and began searching through the desk for something with a little groan.

“Long night?” Patches asked the grumpy Unicorn.

“Aren’t they always?” She sighed as she found a clipboard and attached two pieces of paper to it. She stopped a moment when she looked at us. “Shit, we got some giant freakish superstar athlete… Maybe pornstar,” she added as she looked at Patches’ crotch.

“I accept any credit that is due,” Patches said as he put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. He looked up in what would probably be some sort of triumphant pose were it not for his nakedness. But that didn’t seem to be bothering him.

The Unicorn huffed and shook her head. Judging by the twitching at the corner of her mouth she was trying not to smile. “A comedian too,” she growled as she looked at me, then let out a very obvious sigh that devolved into a groan.

“I’m gonna need a verifier for you,” she said with another little sigh. “What, did you get rubbed against a freaking cheese grater? It’s gonna be a pain in the ass checking all those scars,” she grumbled as she waved Cale back into the room. She looked a little flushed for someone used to seeing nude bodies.

“Checking my scars?” I asked, wondering why she’d need to check all of them.

“Vamps have been known to hide bite marks by biting existing scars, it’s not perfect but it can make it much more difficult to spot the bite scars. They can be spotted under a decent amount of scrutiny but are easy to miss if you don’t know what to look for,” she explained as she walked over to Patches and began inspecting him.

“Holy shit you’ve been through the ringer haven’t you?” The brown Earth pony asked as he started from my face and began checking each scar. “This one on your face is really fresh, what happened?”

“River rock exploded, little piece of it got stuck in my face,” I muttered with a small sigh of embarrassment.

“Damn, looks like it hurt,” he winced a little as he moved on to the next and questioned its origin as well.

The procedure continued until Lucky had finished inspecting Patches and joined her partner in inspecting my body.

“Let’s try to wrap this up quickly, hmm?” She said as she leaned over to check the scar by my left kidney. Her sunglasses dropped a little and I saw her eyes. They were bright red.

My heart skipped a beat. Was a vamp working here? I felt my heartbeat quicken slightly and her ear twitched. Was it in response to my heartbeat?

She glanced up at my face and made eye contact. Definitely red, she knew I noticed.

I started to take a step back only for her to hold up a hand.

“Easy there scarface, I’m not gonna bite you. I work here remember? Do you have any idea how bad for business it would be if a vamp bit people trying to get into town? Nobody would want through,” she glanced at my weapons set aside on the table. “You’re not gonna need those here, try to calm down ok? Your blood is loud as fuck.”

“You mean vamps-”

“Are treated like normal citizens and have jobs here? Yes that’s how we do things here. We keep track of everyone who is and isn’t infected and make sure there are no incidents. I’m guessing you’ve already had one or two bad run-ins with my kind since your heart is trying to beat its way out of your chest but I assure you, all the vamps in this town are residents and we won’t tolerate you attacking any of them. You’ll treat them with respect like every other citizen and if all goes well you won’t even know you’re talking to one.”

“That must be a shitload of paperwork, keeping track of an entire town’s population like that,” Patches commented as he tugged his pants back on. “How do you work out the whole feeding thing?” He asked as the two guards returned to my inspection.

“Donations mostly,” the mare replied as she pushed the glasses back up the bridge of her muzzle. “A lot of families are mixed and some travelers are willing to part with a pint for a meal at a restaurant. Some vendors take blood as payment and I think one of the innkeepers has started doing it as well. His daughter got turned so he takes any extra he can get to make sure she stays fed and her urges are in check,” she slapped a scar on my knee. “Story.”

The hammer fell and crushed Violet from the waist down. Blood sprayed several feet from her mouth and she let out a single gasp, her eyes bulging from their sockets. The Changeling warrior took advantage of my shock and swung his axe at my knee, hitting with enough force to knock my leg out from under me and get the blade stuck in my armor. The edge cutting into my knee.

“Axe wound,” I said as I shook my head and dismissed the memory.

Her arched eyebrow was all the signal I needed, she had noticed my little episode and hesitation. Thankfully she just moved on without questioning me further and they finished their inspection without incident. Though I noticed her gaze lingering on me as she tended to her paperwork.

“We’ve documented your weapons and sign in time. When did you say you’d be leaving?” She asked, looking up from her clipboard.

I looked at Patches and we exchanged a shrug.

“Before noon,” I said as I finished donning my armor.

“Alright, make sure you sign out when you leave. Last Pegasus that forgot to do it got his wing shot off when he tried to fly over the wall to leave,” she warned.

“Thanks for the warning,” Patches said with a grimace as he turned to leave.

“See you two around,” she said with a little grin as she lowered her shades and winked at me.

I felt my wings bristle slightly at the gesture. Was a vamp seriously into me? I hurried off after Patches, my mind full of other uncertainties. A town where vamps coexisted with non-infected and they didn’t have any incidents? Did they really blend in that well? Was it really safe to stay the night here? Could anyone here be trusted? I looked up at Patches as I caught up and walked alongside him.

If Patches had the same thoughts they didn’t show. He looked calm and relaxed and was taking in the sights around the town. He shuffled his pack a little and its contents shifted noisily, gaining a little smile from him.

“I managed to scoop a fair bit of scrap from that factory, should be able to trade some of it off for gunpowder and anything else we might need,” he paused a moment and lowered his voice. “Try not to look so freaked out, you look like you’re about to go on a fucking murder spree or something,” he said as he glanced around.

I took inventory of my facial expression, it was the usual stern look I wore. Patches must have seen some other sign. “My wings gave me away didn’t they?”

Patches offered a small nod before he continued. “They might do stuff differently here but the system they have works so don’t rock the boat,” he advised as he straightened up and continued onward.

I scanned the area as we walked down the main road of the town, there were quite a few people out and about that morning. Judging by the noise ahead, we were moving toward the market Patches was so eager to explore.

“So that guard,” Patches said with a grin.

“What about her?” I grumbled, pretty sure where he was going with this.

“She was totally into you man,” he said as his grin widened, his pitch raising slightly in excitement.

“I’m not going to go back there and flirt with her,” I said flatly.

“Flirt? She was eye humping the crap outta you! If you so much as went back there to ask when her shift ended you’d be getting laid for it,” he said with a chuckle, uncaring of the other people in the street who could easily hear him. “I know she inspected both of us, but she’s the size of one of my legs, it’s not happening for me. Plus she never touched me during that inspection, her hands were all over you, she wanted to touch each and every last one of your scars.”

“Patches I’m not going to go have sex with a vampire. Drop it,” I warned.

“Ooookaaaayyyy, but when you’re bored later this afternoon don’t forget about her,” he sang. “She looked like fun!”

“You really do have a one-track-mind Patches,” I said as I shook my head.

“Nah! I just know what I like!” He said as he leaned over and elbowed me.

I offered a halfhearted swat at Patches’ offending limb as the marketplace came into view. There were a few dozen stalls and over a hundred people milling around inspecting the wares.

“Holy shit this town is bigger than I thought,” Patches said as he looked around.

“Yeah, what do you want to get done first?” I asked.

“Well we need to secure a place to sleep, getting lunch would be nice too, and shopping around for extra materials couldn’t hurt,” Patches said. “Since we’re here we might as well poke around and see what this metal is worth,” he offered with a shrug.

The next two hours were fairly entertaining as we discovered the town used both bits and a bartering system. It basically came down to the individual we were dealing with and what they valued. We found a stall selling various types of ammunition and Patches traded away over ten pounds of metal for a good amount of ammo that wouldn’t work in his rifle.

“I’m going to reuse the brass casings from my fired rounds and just make new rounds out of the ones I bought,” he explained when he saw me about to ask.

We stopped at a stall and got vegetable kebabs, Patches ended up taking several more of them than I did to fill up and we spent several bits there. We also managed to catch a street performance while we ate at one of the tables near the stall. I was able to sit in one of the chairs but Patches felt more comfortable trusting the ground with his weight and thus sat on it.

“It’s weird,” I mumbled between bites of food.

“Hmm?” Came Patches’ response.

“Everyone around here is just going about their daily lives like the country isn’t falling apart. You wouldn’t guess people were fighting for their lives less than twenty miles away,” I said as I set down the bare stick and picked up another kebab.

“They just adapted to the times I guess, it would be nice if this could happen everywhere. This whole apocalypse mess is a lot less appealing than coexistence,” Patches said with a shrug before devouring an entire kebab.

“There would still be the danger of the vamps infecting everyone, there is a balance here but it’s a delicate one. It feels like an uneasy truce. Self-preservation of both sides is the only thing keeping it together,” I reasoned as I leaned back in the chair a little.

“I think that uneasiness will pass with time as they learn to trust and live with each other,” Patches said with a soft smile. “And even if this is some kind of ploy by the vamps to infect every last person here it would bite them in the ass later. They wouldn’t have anything to feed off of and their whole population would starve. It happens in nature all the time, something overeats its food source or reproduces too quickly and then there’s a massive drop in population usually due to starvation. If they’ve already drawn that conclusion then they have no reason to betray the people they’re living with,” he finished with a satisfied smile as he ate his last kebab.

“Alright, you win this one,” I admitted as I finished mine. “Let’s just enjoy the music and this show,” I said as I dropped the bare stick onto the table we were sitting at.

We spent a good half an hour just watching the show. A dozen or so individuals had formed a group and took turns performing various acts to make an entire show. At the end of it all one of them came around with a hat that viewers tossed bits into. I made sure to flick a coin into it before moving on.

“How much of that scrap metal you got left?” I asked my vermilion companion.

“A little over ten pounds? I should be able to get us a room at an inn and some dinner, maybe get a few bits on top of it,” he paused and chuckled a little. “Maybe I could be a personal escort for someone,” he raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times.

“Ok Patches, times aren’t so rough that we need to resort to whoring ourselves out for money, we’re actually doing pretty well. So you don’t need to go throwing suggestions like that out,” I said as I shook my head and chuckled.

“Oh I know we’re doing well! I’m just talking about making a little extra and having some fun while I’m at it. May as well get paid to do something I’m good at and have fun doing it at the same time am I right?” He asked as he elbowed me again. “Besides you never know when we’ll have another opportunity to make money and get extra supplies for the road, unless you know of another abandoned factory between here and Canterlot?” He asked pointedly as he leaned closer to me.

“No I don’t know where any extra salvage exists between here and our destination, and now that you mention it making extra money and stocking up on supplies is a good idea. This might be the last chance we get before we have to climb Canterlot Mountain,” I admitted as we rose and cleaned up after ourselves.

“For that matter, you have any idea how you could make some extra money while we’re here? I mean do you have any marketable skills?” He asked as he looked at me, waiting for an answer.

I hesitated before answering him, I hadn’t taken the time to strip the factory of useful materials. I was only going to be here a day so taking the time to train individuals to fight was out of the question. I looked around the plaza as I thought, allowing my mind to wander a bit. My eyes eventually came to rest on the stage that the group had been performing on earlier, it was made of very solid and well-maintained wood.

“The locals do seem to like a good show,” I said as a pair of Pegasi stepped up onto the stage to start another performance. One took flight while the other began juggling large hoops. The airborne Pegasus started flying through the airborne hoops and tossed a few tricks in with his maneuvers.

“YOU want to go up on stage and put on a show?” Patches snorted and put a hand to his muzzle, struggling to hold his laughter back. “I’m sorry but what are you gonna do up there? Dance? Can you sing? Is Alex a songbird at heart? Is that what your special talent actually is?” His fits of laughter returned as he continued to imagine what I planned on doing. “Is, is, is it gonna be a stand-up comedy act? Are you going to go up there and tell everyone war stories?”

“Actually I’m just going to go put on a little performance, I’ll need your help too,” I said before he could continue.

The offer for attention definitely gained his interest. “Ooh! What do I have to do?”

“Just catch a coin, and stand there and look pretty while you’re at it,” I teased as I walked over toward the stage.

“Catch a coin? How is that going to be entertaining? I mean I know the whole looking pretty thing is second nature to me but I don’t think it’s going to make us money by itself,” he asked and commented as we took our place at the edge of the stage. The Pegasi wrapped their performance up and collected a respectable amount of currency and stopped in the crowd to see what we had planned. One had his arms crossed over his chest and a cocky expression on his face as he viewed his new competition.

“Fillies and colts, mares and stallions! I come before you today to share the amazing marksmanship abilities of a one Alex Rustwing!” I shouted with as much theatrical flair as I could muster. It wasn’t so different from adopting a tune for marches.

I produced a bit and held it up in my left hand for everyone to see. “Today I will be shooting this coin not once, but twice! As you can see there are no holes in it, this is not an illusion! It is a demonstration that I hope will prove to be quite entertaining! If you’re sensitive to noise I’d advise covering your ears!” I added with a grin.

I looked at Patches. “Ready?”

“I still don’t know what I’m do-”

“Good you’re ready!” I shouted as I flicked the coin into the air above and slightly to the left of my head and drew my revolver with my right hand. I leaned forward slightly and folded my wings as close to my body as possible. I quickly brought my arm around behind my back and pointed the pistol up. One squeeze of the trigger later and the bit sang as the round passed clean through it and sent it on a new trajectory.

It flew right at Patches who jumped with a start and caught it. He looked down at the bit in his hand and held it up for the audience to see, a large hole punched clean through it and warping its edge. There were several gasps and some applause as I put the revolver back in its holster.

“You only shot it once!” Called one of the Pegasi. He was the one who was holding the rings.

“Now I must ask my assistant to walk to the left edge of the stage and hold his arm straight out! Bit in your fingertips!” I said loudly with a smile at the now nervous-looking Pegasus.

Patches looked at me like I was insane. “Are you serious?”

“Yes! I am! Now hurry I don’t want you to make a liar of me!”

He did as I said and took his place at the edge of the stage, holding the bit in his fingertips with his arm fully extended.

I leaned over to inspect his position. He was a bit off. “Two more inches to the left please!” I announced.

Patches nervously shuffled to the left and slowly cringed, keeping his arm extended. If anything this was a display of how much he trusted me.

Moments later there was a high-pitched zipping sound followed by a loud ping! The bit was knocked from Patches’ hand, causing him to yelp and the crowd to gasp and cheer. Patches picked the bit up and held it up for the crowd to see, the bullet hadn’t managed to penetrate it a second time but had hit it hard enough to warp the bit around itself.

“And that’s two!” I called as the viewers clapped. I bowed and Patches stepped down to collect some money. There were more performers waiting next to the stage, admittedly farther away from it after the display I put on.

We made off into the square and managed to put some distance between ourselves and the noisy crowd. Patches was still chuckling a little. “Fucking brilliant, scared the shit outta me though. Never thought you’d be that good at shooting,” he said with a shake of his head.

“We all have our gifts right?” I said with a smirk. “Speaking of gifts how did we do?” I asked, looking at the bits filling Patches’ hands.

“Enough that…” He trailed off while counting them and frowned. He looked up from the bits at me, with a little frown. “Can I still go get laid?”

I held up the pouch I was keeping my bits in. “Go ahead, just don’t get yourself killed or anything,” I said as he poured them into the pouch. “Don’t go asking for money for it though, just enjoy yourself,” I said with a dismissive wave.

“Alright,” Patches said as he turned to leave. “We gonna meet back up in that inn over there?” He asked, pointing toward a building with a sign hanging off it labeling it as the Lazy Griffon’s Inn.

“Sure thing! I’ll get us a room with two beds,” I said as I headed toward the building.

“Good idea! It’ll be cheaper than getting two rooms!” He called back as he headed down a street.

I entered the inn and was pleased to find the door opened into a lobby and dining area. One end of the dining area gave way to a lounge with several large chairs and a couch in front of a fireplace. I headed over to the desk where a Unicorn stood, he smiled at me when I walked up.

“Looking for a room or a bite to eat traveler?” He asked, taking in my appearance and the large pack on my back.

“A room with two beds, and probably dinner if you whatever you serve around here tastes as good as it smells,” I commented with a small smile of my own.

“How you wanna pay? We take bits and blood here,” he leaned on the desk. “I don’t drink the stuff but my daughter does so I get it when I can to care for her. If you donate a pint I’ll throw in dinner to go with that room,” he straightened up a little as he made his offer.

“Sure, I’ll donate a pint.”

Author's Note

Here it is! I hope I got rid of all the mistakes!

-Jake