Fallout: Equestria - Lost Souls

The pair made it to the PAT named Saddlespur an hour before the estimated sunset with the good fortune of an uneventful trip. They had passed by a caravan pony from whom they exchanged greetings with and a few Geckos that paid them little to no attention. However they remained cautious, keeping their distance when Milky explained that quite a few of the oversized geckos had a poison bite.

As for Saddlespur it was a bit rundown, even for the Wasteland however they were grateful for the small dose of civilization in the middle of nowhere. A crude makeshift wall surrounded the town and a dark blue earth stallion armed with an old hunting rifle sat atop a damaged wagon in front of the town's gate. When Sane and Milky got too close for his comfort he raised the rifle, aiming in their direction.

“Stop!” His voice was raspy despite his middle aged appearance. “Who are you?”

Both Sane and Milky halted as instructed, figuring it better not to challenge the guard. “We are just a couple of wanderers seeking refuge for the night.” Milky raised her voice so he could hear her. “We don't want any trouble.”

The stallion eyed them suspiciously but lowered the weapon just enough to relax. “Your armed.” He stated.

“As anypony should be when wondering the Waste.” Milky replied.

The stallion seemed to accept this with a moments thought. “Come closer.”

Sane and Milky gave each other a quick glance before proceeding toward the gate. Sane was still uncomfortable with the cold greeting they had received and the rifle aimed at him. He had to fight the urge to draw his own weapon. When they got about ten feet from the wagon the stallion motioned for them to stop again with one of his forhooves.

“If you wish to stay a night in this town it'll cost you a few bits.” He remarked.

Sane's heart sunk in his chest. He didn't have a single bit. Staying in the stable had rendered the importance of money pointless. However when he saw Milky reach into a small pocket of her saddlebag his heart soared back to the surface. She pulled a small pouch from the compartment and tossed a hoof full of bits from the pouch in the guards direction who  made no attempt to catch the money. His focus was on the two strangers whom he searched for signs of malice. When he had convinced himself they were harmless he motioned them forward once more. He jumped from atop the damaged wagon and pulled a small key from his own saddlebag.

The gate had been chained and padlocked so only those with a copy of the key could enter the town so easily. He nodded his head at the two but stopped them just as they cleared the gate. “Start anything and I promise you both I will personally put a bullet in each of your skulls.”

The remark had left Sane even more disgruntled but seemed to have no visible effects on Milky who simply turned tail and proceeded into town. Sane followed her close. “What the hell was his problem?” He asked once they were out of ear shot.

“You have to understand Sane, they were not so well protected as Stable ponies. To be safe most ponies perceive anypony they don't know a threat.” She explained.

“I guess that makes since.” He replied, scolding himself again for missing another simple concept. He figured it would actually be natural for everypony to be a bit on the edge.

Their were only a dozen or so buildings in the town to include a motel the town pony probably stayed in. A few ponies who were out and about caught site of them and stopped to stare. Another aspect to make Sane even more uncomfortable.

Milky approached a young green furred earth stallion who looked as if he were deciding whether or not to run. He chose not to in order to maintain peace within the town.

“Hello friend.” Milky smiled pleasantly.

The stallion shot the two a suspicious look before replying. “What can we do for you?”

“We were just wondering if this town had a place we could spend the night in. We'll be gone tomorrow and we have bits.” Milky replied.

“You'd have to talk to Smalls, the owner of the motel.” He pointed at the motel's sign which was electric but remained unlit and covered in the desert's sand.

“Of course, thank you very much.” Milky nodded. “Come on Sane.” With out another word she trotted past the stallion with Sane right beside her.

“It is going to take a while for me to get used to all this tension.” Sane muttered.

“That's why I act so friendly, it doesn't always work but sometimes it helps put the others at ease.”

The windows on the office of the motel had all been covered with ply-wood and the glass door replaced with one you would find on a regular house, so it was impossible to see if anypony where inside. However there was a small electric sign that faded in and out which read open. Milky was about to try the door when Sane stepped in front of her. “Let me.” He stated simply before opening the door.

The office was rather clean on the inside and a tad bit warmer than the chilly weather outside. A total betrayal of the ruined exterior of the building. Behind a counter that sat in the far left corner of the room sat a rather large black earth stallion who hadn't even glanced up from the magazine he was reading.

Milky pushed past Sane giving him an exasperated look before approaching the desk. “Excuse me, were looking for a pony named Smalls.”

The Stallion yawned and turned a page on his magazine. “You talkin to em.” He replied gruffly.

“You're Smalls?” Sane asked disbelievingly and received a heavy hit to his shoulder from Milky.

“Nice to meet you Smalls, you wouldn't happen to have a room available for us would you?” Milky asked with a smile.

Smalls scratched the top of his head with a hoof and put down his reading material. It was then that he decided to face them. He gave them both a once over and sat back in his chair. “You have the coin?”

“Yes, yes we do.” Milky replied reaching back into her bits bag and laying thirty bits on the counter.

Smalls leaned forward and counted the bits before pushing ten back to her. “I'm no thief.” He did not wait for a reply as he reached below the counter and dropped a key on top, then picked his magazine back up.

Milky figured he wasn't much of a talker as she retrieved her change and the key. Before she could ask, Smalls spoke again.

“Three doors down from this one.”

“Thank you very much.” Milky told him.

Sane felt as if he should say something. “Yeah, thanks.” He just felt stupid when all Smalls did was grunt in response.

“Well he's a real bucket of sunshine.” Sane stated as they left the office and trotted down to their door.

Milky just giggled and unlocked their room. The inside was rather plain yet surprisingly well kept. Any damage that had been done before had been repaired and the light blue paint that covered the walls showed little sign of age. The carpet however looked well worn by age, and there was a small stain in the corner of the room by one of the old oak nightstands. Besides the wear and the stain however the carpet was clean. The only lighting in the room was a old lamp that sat atop the nightstand farthest from the door. They considered themselves to be lucky to even have light or electricity in the old town.

Milky hadn't heard a generator running so she assumed that somewhere in the town they had working solar panels to provide them with electricity. 'This PAT is quite fortunate” Milky thought to herself. A rather tacky set of sunflower decorated curtains hung low on the only window in the room. The bed that sat against the right wall was small, probably twin size. A dark blue sheet wrapped itself around the mattress accompanied by a pillow encased in the same color pillow case. Another sheet lay flat atop the first and a tacky quilt that matched the curtains sat atop that.

In the place where the TV would have been a book case took its place with only a hoof full of books. A small radio had been placed upon its surface.

Lastly their was only one other door which Sane found to be a small bathroom. When he flicked the switch he noticed only two of the five light bulbs shone and another flickered for a moment before losing power completely. The bathroom had plain white tiles across the floor and the same paint job as the rest of the room. A small sink with a single water handle was to his immediate left. Sane's morale boosted when he turned the handle and a slow stream of water escaped the faucet, sinking into the drain. Though to his disappointment he found the water to be cold no matter which way he turned the handle. Above that, was a mirror cracked on its uppermost right corner. Beside that was a pretty standard toilet and on the far wall was a good sized bathtub with a ocean print shower curtain.  Two white towels hung an a towel rack to his right.

Overall the room had far exceeded their expectations, the first good thing to happen to them all day. When Sane stepped out of the bathroom after turning off the light he found that Milky had turned the lamp on and was examining the books on the shelf. One book with a green cover peeked her entrance for just a moment. She took the book from the shelf and read the summary on the back before replacing it and moving on to the radio.

When she turned it on all she got was a harsh static until she played with the dial and heard an old song she had never heard before. When she went to tune the radio again she only found two other working channels. One was another old song she didn't know and a faint disoriented feed of a pony talking. However, Milky had quite a difficult time making out the words so she turned the radio of and turned to face Sane. “This is far better than I would have hoped.”

“It is.” Sane agreed, removing his saddlebags. “You can take the bed. I'll just grab the comforter and sleep on the floor.”

“What? Why?” Milky replied, removing her own bags.

“Uh... well, I figured you would want some space.” Sane replied.

Again Milky giggled. “We can share the bed Sane. I'm not gonna have you sleep on the floor while I am comfortable in the bed. I am taking the pillow though.” She added with a smirk.

“Oh... o-okay.: Sane replied.

“You don't have to be nervous Sane. I don't bite.” In truth however, the thought made her feel a bit funny herself.

Sane gave a sheepish grin before peeling the covers down enough so he could slip into bed. He took the pillow from the center of the bed and placed it on the opposite side of himself. “I don't mind sleeping without one.” He reassured her in case she had been joking or felt guilty for laying claim on the pillow.

Milky felt a little better at the remark and crawled on the opposite side of the bed. “Thanks.”

The bed had not been made for two ponies. so neither had much space and their fur brushed across the others if they stirred at all. The mattress itself was a bit worn but not uncomfortable to any extreme. The blanket was not a problem. It was oversized for the bed and allowed them both an equal amount of cover. The only words shared between them was the exchange of good nights. A few minutes later and they were both sound asleep.

Sane's eyes shot open in an instant yet he did not move. Something was wrong. Milky was still asleep, facing away from him on the bed so he figured it hadn't been her. He concentrated very hard, his ears turning, seeking out any sound nearby that may be related to danger and his eyes looked for anything that was out of place. It took all of a second to figure it out.

The doorknob was letting off a faint rattle and turned back and forth ever so slowly. Sane's heart began to race. The only thing that had stopped whoever was trying to get in was Sane locking the door behind them. However the rattling was persistent. The possibility that somepony may be picking the lock crossed his mind. He needed to get to his gun before they got the door open, whoever they were. The problem being his bags and weapons were set against the door's wall, only a few feet from the door itself.

“Shit.” Sane whispered. He was careful not to wake Milky seeing as she may let off noise given she was not aware of the situation and he did not want the pony to know he was aware himself. Sane lowered himself to the floor from the bed slowly and began to tiphoof toward the door, his heart racing faster than his thoughts from the adrenalin of fear that coursed through his veins. He was thankful to reach his pistol and checked to see that a bullet was chambered. He released the charge slowly so it would not snap and cause too much noise.

Sane stood a few hooves in front of the door and a hoof to the left of it with his pistol raised, pointed toward the door.  A moment later the lock unlatched and the door handle turned.