Within twenty minutes, the duo had reached New Appleloosa. Dirt and Fizzy trotted past a pair of earth pony sentries, who greeted them warmly. Moving past the front entrance, they wondered where to go next. Dirt had only agreed to take Fizzy as far as the town, but he felt like he would be abandoning her if he said his goodbyes already. On the other hoof, he needed to hunt for Daisy as soon as possible.

"Wow," Fizzy Pop said as she marveled at the place. The buildings were made of old cabooses and boxcars, which had been lying around on the tracks near the town when it was first founded. Unicorns, with their powerful levitation magic, had moved them to their current positions long ago. The railroad tracks were even cleared, as trains still came through on occasion. "So, this town is made out of trains?"

"Yeah," replied Dirt. He knew he had to ditch the kid for a while if he wanted to find Daisy and... do what he needed to do. "Hey, I've got to take care of something. Can you meet me back here in an hour?"

Fizzy raised an eyebrow. "What something needs taken care of?"

"Personal matters," he said, hoping she'd take the hint that he wouldn't say any more on the subject.

"Oh, all right."

"Just explore the town until I get back, and we'll talk about what to do next." He reached into his bags and bribed her with a Sparkle-Cola. "But don't talk to anypony. Some of these guys aren't exactly friendly." The last thing he wanted was a dead filly on his hooves.

She levitated the bottle away from him and cracked it open with her magic. "Gotcha." With that, she trotted down the street with her prize.

Dirt turned his attention to the nearest saloon. He still had no caps, but he might be able to get information. He pushed open the building's doors and studied the interior.

Several groups of tough-looking stallions and mares were sitting at the tables, playing blackjack and drinking hard cider. Some of them looked up at him as he entered, but the rest didn't pay him any mind, instead choosing to focus on the game at hand. Dirt moved past them to the bar, where a pink bartender mare was banging on a broken radio with her hoof.

"Stupid thing," she muttered under her breath. When she saw Dirt out of the corner of her eye, she stopped and swung around to face him. "Oh, hey hon. Need a drink? Or, something else?"

"I'm looking for a mare," he said flatly.

"You've found one." The bartender winked at him.

"Cut the crap. The pony I'm looking for is yellow, with a flower cutie mark. Goes by the name of Daisy Petal. Ring any bells?"

The bartender frowned, rather upset at being shot down. "Well... you know the motto: 'Everything has a price'. How much are you willing to hoof over for information?"

Dirt glared at her. "I should be asking how much you're willing to tell me to keep your teeth." Sure, it was a bluff; he wasn't going to hit a mare, but she didn't know that.

"You wouldn't. The gentlecolts would gladly put down their cards to make sure of that." She gestured with a hoof to the blackjack players at the table.

He held back an irritated groan. "Tell you what: How about I fix that radio for you? Is that a deal?"

She tapped a hoof to her chin. "Hmm, I suppose so. But you've got to fulfill your end of the bargain first." She lifted the radio and placed it at the bar in front of him. "Go ahead. If you can fix it, I'll tell you what I know."

Dirt nodded and got to work, looking at the components. Unfortunately for him, the stallion had never fixed anything in his life. He was better at breaking them. After a few minutes spent doing nothing but staring at the damn thing, he was about ready to give up. He could always ask somepony else for info.

The doors to the saloon swung open. Fizzy poked her head into the building. "So this must be where they sell drinks," she spoke out loud to herself. Her eyes locked on Dirt. "Oh, hey!" She trotted right in and sat on the barstool beside the earth pony.

"Fizzy," he began. "This place isn't for little fillies."

"I'm no filly!" she argued. "I'm sixteen. Besides, you're here, and you have about the intelligence and maturity of a foal."

The bartender giggled. "I like this kid already."

Dirt sighed. "While you're here, could you help me out?" He pointed at the radio with his hoof.

"Sure," she said. She levitated the device over to herself and flicked the switches on it. "I know a thing or two about machines. Vending machines, at least." When it didn't turn on, she spun the radio around and looked at the back side. "Huh," she said, popping the battery lid off. Then she laughed. "Did you change these batteries recently?" she asked the mare behind the bar.

"How did you know?"

"You put them in backwards." She levitated the batteries out, then turned them around and placed them back inside. After putting the lid back on, she flicked the switch. A masculine voice spouted reports over the speakers, slightly staticky but still audible:

"...and they were never seen again. In other news, reports have arrived of raiders wearing the stolen PipBucks and uniforms of Stable 6, which was attacked earlier today. There have been no known survivors. If you see anypony wearing Stable 6 barding, be extremely careful. Do not approach them for any reason whatsoever. This has been an important message from Shout Out, your friendly neighborhood disc jockey. Stay tuned for more broadcasts."

The radio began to play soft jazz. Dirt looked at Fizzy, completely shocked. He knew, of course, that Fizzy was no raider. She had given him enough proof of that just by being so oblivious to Wasteland culture. What he couldn't believe was the fact that she hadn't told him this. That was why she had been alone when he found her. Her whole family was either dead or missing. Suddenly, he felt like a plothole for being so stern with her earlier.

A single tear rolled down Fizzy's eye. She quickly wiped it away. "Don't worry. I'm not one of those raiders."

The bartender picked up the radio. "Well, it is fixed, so I guess you deserve your info: Daisy Petal came by here earlier in the afternoon. Said she was heading northeast to trade away some gun or something."

Dirt nodded. "Thanks." He turned his attention back to his companion. "Are you going to stay here in New Appleloosa?"

"N-no. I want to go wherever you're going. You're the closest thing I've got to a friend out here."

He blinked. She considered him a friend? "Likewise." He figured that they could probably find a place to sleep in town, if they traded away some non-essentials. "In that case, we should spend the night here before we leave."

"Okay. And one more thing," Fizzy said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping me today. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

"It's my pleasure," replied Dirt.

Author's Note

I hate trying to make endings to chapters. Too difficult. Anyways, here you are. I'll post the next one in a day or two.
-Endless Madness