Chapter 3

It took the group about 2 hours to reach the market store. Out front was an empty broken lot with bits of garbage scattered about, all the windows dusty and cracked, devoid of life. The doors were open however, which would make it easy to trot in and out. Silver looked around the area, making sure the coast was clear. "Alright, the plan is we'll each check an aisle on our own for supplies, skipping two so that we don't overlap. If it looks like it's in good condition, grab it no matter what it is. We'll sort out whatever's useless once we're done. Also stay quiet, we don't know if anypony else is in there yet." As the group approached the store, Essie readied her rifle. She kept it aimed at the entrance, but her head swiveled and checked their flanks every moment or so. It would be shameful to get all the way here just to be killed by a raider because they didn't look left or right! Even Starsong was aware of the danger; She had levitated a rather spec-ops-grade pistol from an unseen holster. She aimed around almost clumsily, whereas Essie, the mare with the training, kept dead steady.

"Silver, ya got any idea whose turf we're on? Stomper, Talons, slavers..? Red Eye?" the sniper asked, "Or is it just raiders in these parts?" Silver looked back to the mares with a curious expression. "....We're only just between Manehatten and New Appleloosa, this is all still neutral ground as far as I remember, unless something's changed in the past month? And like I mentioned before, I've seen this place before and had planned to come back, so if I was sure enough to come alone, then we're totally okay with all 3 of us goin' in." And with that, Silver flapped his wings to get right at the entrance of the store, peering into the dark while grabbing a flashlight from his saddlebags and sweeping his light through the place. Essie nodded to Silver, and then glanced backwards, motioning for Starsong to stay close. Taking the side of the door opposite Silver, Essie checked the area that Silver would have had to poke his head in to see. Seeing nothing, she nodded. "Clear on my side." she said quietly. Starsong glanced at Essie's right side. Hidden underneath her wanderer barding, a bandage that had once been white, was now drenched in red.

Silver looked up in thought for a moment, and then inhaled sharply before going. "OI, YOU IN THERE..!" Inside the store....... And nothing happened. All was still and quiet. He smiled, and then turned to look to Essie. "Looks like we're all good..." He said, before his eyes wandered to the red spot on her armor, then frowned. "...Whoa hang on, when were you hurt?" Essie pointed her rifle's barrel at the ground and glanced at her side. Letting out a long groan, she scowled and started inside the store. "It ain't nothin'." she said, shaking her head. "Ah'm gonna get it fixed once we find Star some better med supplies."

Starsong trotted in after Essie, keeping her weapon drawn as well. "The grenades, remember?" she said quietly, looking at Silver. "A couple pieces got stuck in her side..." Silver winced slightly, remembering the trick that the raiders from before had tried to pull. "And you didn't bother asking me if I had anything to help out with? Come on, surely you'd have figured out that with me being on my lonesome, I would need to know how to stitch myself up." Essie turned around, rolling her eyes. "Fine... Ya can give it a shot when we get outta here. We're finishin' here first." she said, then turned around and raised her rifle. "Ah'm fine." He bit his lip, knowing that what she was saying was true. "Very well, as I said before, we'll all go down the aisles, skipping over two to the left so that we don't overlap each other." He pointed to the first aisle on the right. "Star, you go first.... Essie, down this way..." He continued to move his hoof down until he reached the third aisle. "And I'll go down this way... Ready? Go..." He trotted towards his designated aisle, getting started in the scavenging.

The mares nodded and each went to their designated aisles. Even though there was no response to Silver's shout, the mares kept their weapons out and ready for anything. None of the items Essie found were in any salvageable condition, whereas Starsong very quickly found a small pile of bottlecaps, a magazine giving a basic outline of how to repair firearms, and a small assortment of pre-war foodstuffs. Silver had the best luck of them all, his cutie mark coming into play: There were some assortments of packaged snacks in his aisle, ranging from dehydrated fruits, Sugar Bombs cereal, Fancy Buck cakes, and a couple bags of hay chips. It was time to switch aisles, all party members going down the lanes... They could knock out this entire store in four sweeps if they included the freezer lockers on the walls. Once they were all ready, the three of them shifted aisles. Essie had better luck, finding a hoof full of .50 rounds for her rifle and a box of Fancy Buck cakes. Starsong's aisle was empty, except for dried blood leaking from under the shelf. Some of it even looked fresh... "Essie, Silver?" The mare called out, raising her pistol. There's a bunch of blood over here."

Silver quickly passed over his aisle, coming back to Star's. His hooves were busy stuffing medical supplies down his bags from the next aisle, he apparently got lucky again and found a lot of magic bandages, healing potions and disinfectant to make proper first aid kits. "What's the problem, Star?" He called out as he trotted up to the younger mare. Essie glanced over, noticing that Silver had gone to help. She continued on her aisle, stuffing the items she could salvage into her bag. Once Silver was with her, Starsong pointed towards the drying pool of blood coming from under the shelf. "That... I think it's coming from the next aisle." she said, looking up at him. Silver looked down to see the blood without any real change in his expression. Blood and gore was rather commonplace in the wasteland, so it never came as a big surprise if one was to come across a corpse now and then. Still, ever so curious, Silver moved around to the other side of the aisle to investigate the source of where this was coming from.

Around the corner was a grisly sight, even for the Wasteland. Several corpses, mangled and destroyed by what were obviously booby traps, lay in the center of the aisle, focalizing around a pedestal. On the pedestal was a small pile of bottlecaps, and atop the caps, rested a pristine Plasma Rifle. Finally, as if to add to the already tempting score, 4 mini nukes lay on the pedestal, giving the rigged aisle quite a hefty price tag... A couple of the traps had already been sprung, obviously with the corpses as proof. One had most of his head blown away by a rigged shotgun; another had been filleted by a blast of knives. The source of the fresh blood was a mare, dangling by a bear trap attached to a chain, mounted to a bar suspended above the aisle.

Starsong came around the corner and gasped, covering her mouth and shaking her head. "This isn't right!" she exclaimed, lowering her pistol. "Who does something like this?!" Silver just blinked and stared at the sight, eyebrows raised high in surprise...He was also eyeing the 'bounty' a little too much for his own good. "Err....Somepony that is really, really bored, and somewhat of a deviant for wanting to 'troll' ponies to death for a laugh." He looked up to the most recent victim, grimacing slightly upon seeing a rather nice looking mare eviscerated in that manner. "....Any of y'all alive?" He called out curiously. After a second of silence, Silver was answered. A throaty, gargling noise, accompanied by a weak twitch, came from the mare suspended by the bear trap. Starsong immediately went pale, and her pistol clattered to the floor. "No..." she whispered, shivering. "Please, no...”
Silver flinched, not really expecting to be answered back as he grimly replied. "....Okay, this got real." As he reared up and flapped his wings, hovering over to where the mare was... He approached carefully, not wanting to set off other traps.

"Essie, we got a survivor here!" He called out as he reached up and cradled the mare in a way to let her lie comfortably in his hooves and made sure the weight of the bear trap was supported. "Okay, look at me," He said to her, keeping a calm, but commanding tone. "Can you speak? If it's too difficult then nod or shake your head." As the stallion jostled the mare, she gained consciousness. Her body was nearly limp in his arms, and her eyes simply couldn't focus on the stallion. She opened her mouth to reply, but more gargling only sounded.

As Silver continued to jostle her, the bear trap, clamped on her midsection from above, only tightened its vice-like grip. As the pain mounted, the mare's slow breathing rapidly sped up, tears streaming from her eyes. She tried to scream, but she could only choke on her blood. Essie rounded the corner after a few moments, hesitating at the end of the aisle. "What the fuck?" She said, eyeing the bait and traps. "Aw, shit...” she groaned as she spotted the mare.”Silver, that thing's gonna crush her t' death, we gotta get it off fast!" Silver inhaled sharply, looking nervous as he noticed the trap getting tighter, her blood starting to stain his coat and clothes. "I know that." He hissed back to Essie, looking around quickly, trying to think of something...anything.

He looked up to where the chain of the trap was connected to, seeing it attached to the bar. "Can either of you two unicorns use your magic to unhook this? At least get her lying down properly instead of hanging like a slab in a raider camp." Essie nodded quickly, slinging her rifle onto her back and climbing on top of the aisle. She bolted to where the bar was; either forgetting or not caring that there were live traps below, and quickly looked for a point to unhook the chain from. After a frantic moment of searching, she looked at Silver, shaking her head. "It's bent, Ah'm gonna need tools t' get it off!" she groaned. Suddenly, she gasped as an idea struck her. "Hold on, get ready t' set her down!" She said, reaching down. From between her thighs, she drew a .44 magnum and put the barrel on the chain. "Cover yer ears!" She called, and pulled the trigger. Immediately, the chain snapped!

Silver had watched her climb up, flying steady in the air for their victim. He had wondered why she was doing so in the first place. "....I said use magic, didn't I?" Still, he waited patiently for her to work on the chain, stroking the mare's mane as some form of comfort for her.

After Essie stated that the chain was stuck, his ears flattened from distraught, but then perked up when she said she had an idea.....And that was when Silver noticed Essie pulling a gun out...from between her thighs. It had caught him off guard, his eyes widening and jaw dropping as a blush appeared on his face. "...Where were you KEEPING tha-*BANG!*"

The chain had snapped, and Silver flinched from the gunshot, quickly getting away from the pillar of goodies in case the chain was to set off any more traps. The chain dropped, Essie dove away from where she was standing. Surely enough, the chain snagged a tripwire and a hidden shotgun blasted the shelf she had been standing on. The mare glanced back at what could've easily been the end of her, shook her head, and faced Silver and the injured mare. The weight of the chain could only add to the already unbearable pain that the mare felt. Not only were her broken ribs being compressed by the trap, but the teeth had dug into her skin. More blood began to ooze from her wounds, and due to her already horrifying amount of blood loss, she couldn't even lift her hooves to fight, if these ponies were playing some twisted game.

"Silver, set her down gently... Goddesses know she's hurtin' enough." Essie said, reholstering her revolver. "Star, bring yer supplies over here." Both Silver and the mare in trouble were on the ground, with her lying on her side to keep from having to lie on top of the trap that was enclosed around her. As he waited for Star to get closer, Silver was trying his best to keep the mare awake, tapping the side of the cheek and talking to her. "Can ya hear me? You need to stay conscious, we're gonna help out. Our medic's coming-"

Then a nasty sounding screech filled the air from outside. "....Over." Silver finished his sentence as he peered over his shoulders frightfully. The two shots that had rang from the store echoed to outside, catching the attention of whatever was nearby....And unfortunately, what was close by was a herd of ghouls, running down from a distance straight for the market. Silver's eyes went wide with distress, calling out to the others. "You guys better make haste, we got company!"

Essie quickly waved Starsong over, kneeling next to the mare. "Star, you need t' use that healin' spell of yours." she said, looking the filly in the eyes. Starsong ran to Essie's side, and cringed at the suggestion. "But...” she started, when Essie cut her off.”Ah know what it'll do t' ya. Ya jus' gotta trust me right now, Star." the mare assured her smaller companion. After a short second, Star nodded. "Okay... But we need to get that trap off of her first; otherwise her ribs will be all messed up." Silver heard her words and looked to the mare. "You hear that? This first part is going to hurt, so...brace yourself." Silver rolled the mare over so that she was laying on her back now, the pressure of the trap increasing slightly on her, causing her to cringe and whimper. He stood up and placed one of his hind legs on the bottom jaw of the bear trap, hooking his forearms around the upper jaw."Okay, pull her out the moment I get this open...One, two..." Then Silver grunted loudly as he strained himself in prying it open; it had budged and the trap loosened on the mare, more blood pouring from her open wounds now that the metal was not holding her together. Meanwhile, the ghouls were closing in on the store, now galloping across the parking lot at the front.

As soon as the mare was free from the teeth of the trap, Essie pulled her away from its grip. The mare whimpered, crying as more of her essence drained onto the floor, and certain that this was her death. Immediately, Starsong was behind her, her MoP cases open. She rifled through them for wound-sealing pastes, and went to work applying them to the holes in the mare's back and sides. Once she was sure the mare could bleed out no longer, she took a deep breath and looked at Essie. "I'll see you soon, okay..?" she assured.

"We'll keep ya fine, darlin'." Essie replied, pulling her rifle off of her back again. "Do yer thing." With a short nod, Starsong lowered her horn to the nape of the mare's neck, and clenched her teeth. Light built up from the tip of her horn, rapidly intensifying until it reached a climax. At the height of the brightness, the mare's body was enveloped in light, then instantly, the light evaporated. As the ponies around gained their vision again, they would see the filly slumped over on the ground, slowly breathing as if asleep. Next to her was the unnamed mare, breathing normally as well. Her broken ribs, once caved in, now were healed and reshaped. Essie glanced back at the unconscious ponies, then to Silver. "Not sure how long the mare'll be out, but Star usually comes back after a few minutes. We gotta hold out till then."

Silver had watched Star with keen interest, wondering just what she was about to do when the light from her horn made him cover his eyes momentarily, blinking as he regained his vision. Upon looking down, he saw Starsong unconscious and the mare....healed! He looked dumfounded, thinking that the most she could do was set up splints and bandages to make the mare at the very least stable. He wasn't expecting an almost full recovery. He looked to Essie with an expression that seemed to say 'How?', until the sound of glass breaking could be heard near the entrance. The feral ghouls were right at the windows now, trying to break them down in a desperate rush after the healthy ponies inside. It wouldn't take them long to realize the door was open though. "Ah crap; if they all come after us at once, I doubt that two ponies with semi-auto rifles can hold them off. We need more firepower here." He looked around, seeing if anything inside the shop could help them. That plasma rifle on the booby-trap infested pillar would have definitely evened the odds if he could only get to it...Unless.

"Essie, I've got an idea! You pick up Star, I'll get the mare. We put that pillar between us and the ghouls. They run over it and set off as many traps are left!" Essie listened to the stallion's plan, and a grin crossed her muzzle. She shouldered her rifle, chuckling, and grabbed Starsong, laying her across her back. "Hell yeah!" she exclaimed, "Save us some work, and get t' take some goodies afterwards!" As she heard the frantic ghouls' shrieks growing closer, Essie clambered onto the shelf opposite the ghouls and rigged pedestal, slightly struggling under the added weight of the scavenged supplies and Starsong's limp body. Once she was on top, she magicked her rifle back in front of her and made sure there was a round in the chamber. It was going to be an interesting trip after all! Silver picked up their mysterious mare, having her front hooves around his neck as he used his wings to propel him onto the higher shelves just like Essie did with Starsong. Unfortunately, due to the position of the mare, he couldn't get his rifle to swing forward to help with shooting....But if things went well, it wouldn't matter. The ghouls starting pouring in, from both the broken windows and the door now, locked onto the healthy ponies' scents now as they clambered over themselves to rush down the aisle...The same aisle where the treasure trap was awaiting... They were 10 yards away....7 yards....5....2....

Silver and Essie had to cover their ears from both the shrieks of the ghouls and the numerous explosives, rigged shotguns, and various other bladed traps that sprung and ripped them apart. The goodies on top of the pillar got knocked onto the ground due to their struggle, but that made it easier to reach them. What were once ten feral ghouls were now only two, one for each conscious pony. Essie watched as the traps triggered, making short work of the sprinting ghouls. The last two were maimed, but still 'alive'. To think that these creatures were ponies once... It invoked sadness deep in the mare's heart. She put her rifle on her back. These creatures, as deformed and monstrous as they were... Essie's bloodlust stood aside for respect, and she drew her magnum from her thigh. Since her first shot had already alerted the ghouls around the market, she decided she need not worry about attracting more. She ignored Silver, in case he was still astonished at the intimate placement of her pistol, and aimed at the injured ghouls. "Ah'm sorry." she muttered, and pulled the trigger. The first ghoul slumped to the floor. She aimed at the second one, took a breath, and pulled the trigger again. The second ghoul fell.

Silver had been excited to see that they were able to get out their situation unscathed, letting out a breath of relief with a smile as he celebrated internally upon seeing only two more ghouls left, easy to take out... Until he heard Essie's apology under her breath as she pulled the trigger for them both. Essie hesitated a long moment before reholstering her pistol, and sat down next to Starsong. She looked over, and noticed the unnamed mare stirring. The gunshots had brought her to consciousness!
"Rise 'n shine, sleepy..." Essie said, chuckling. "How does everything feel..?"

It had made him hesitate slightly as some humility washed over him, which was quickly distracted from the feeling of the mare wrapping her hooves around his neck, taking him by surprise as she hugged him.

"Gah..! Whoa there...” Her sudden movement had them falling off the shelves. It was lucky that Silver was a pegasus so that they could hover to the ground safely as he turned to pat the mare's back. "Heh, good to see you're doin' fine now...What had happened?" Essie trotted over and sat on the edge of the shelf, looking down at the pegasus and the mare on his back. "Yeah," she said, as soon as he asked, "What happened t' ya?" The mare sighed, and shook her head. "I own a general store in Los Pegasus. I figured I'd head down here and see what there was to scavenge, since nopony's really ever gone through here. I saw the rifle, the caps, and the nukes on the table, and I was fairly certain those others had hit all the traps there were... Apparently not, since a bear trap dropped down and snagged me. The loot would've had me set for quite a while, it would've been stupid of me not to try and get it!" Silver looked to her in surprise. "You came here all the way from Los Pegasus??" He then narrowed his eyes in thought. "...That's a bit strange, considering how far away Los Pegasus is this far inland, especially for a rundown market like this. How did you hear about it?" The mare chuckled weakly. "Hey, when you live in a place like Los Pegasus, you hear lots of things." she said, then prodded the back of the stallion's head. "You mind setting me down?"

"Right, sure thing..." Silver replied, finishing her answer good enough as he stooped down to let her off his back. He looked back to Essie and Starsong, noticing she was still unconscious. "You need help down from there?" The mare's knees wobbled, and she appeared short of breath for a second, but she slowly gained her sense of balance, and soon was standing on her own. As Silver spoke to Essie, she perked her ears. She had knelt next to Starsong and was attempting to bring her back to consciousness, to no avail. "Ah wouldn't mind it." she said, standing up. "Ah got muhself, if ya c'n get her." Essie clambered down from the shelf and glanced at her side. The bandage had begun to soak even through her clothes now, and she was slowly becoming aware of how much the shrapnel hurt in her side. She steeled herself, and looked at Silver. "Appaloosa’s got a good doctor, right?" Silver watched the mare get onto her hooves, happy to see that she was doing very well now. He turned to address Essie. "I think she's doing oka-...." He then frowned, noticing the wound. "...Oh man, I almost forgot. Essie, come on over here. I may not have Star's fancy spell, but I can at least do something about that." He sat down and dug into his saddlebags for the medical supplies he had found earlier in the store. Essie grumbled as she stepped close to the stallion and sat down. "Fine... At least make it quit bleedin'. Ah ain't in any shape fer surgery though, and quite simply, Ah ain't keen t' believe yer a surgeon. What kinda supplies did ya pick up?" Despite her request, Silver leaned down with his muzzle, pulled the bandage off of her, and dug his teeth into her side, gripping the shrapnel and tugging it right out of her body quickly.

Essie hadn't expected the stallion to roughly tear the shards from her body, let alone with his mouth. At the same time as jolting pain shot through her, she jerked away and slapped the stallion across his face, shrieking. The second she regained some semblance of thought, she turned on Silver. "What the fuck was that, Silver?!" She shouted, cradling her side. "Ah said make it quit bleedin', not rip the goddess-damned thing out!" From behind them, the mare spoke up. "..well, actually.. What he did was kinda, in a way, better than just letting it sit!" she offered, to which Essie scowled. "I mean.. You're lucky you haven't already fallen out and bled to death.. Plus you may have contracted an infection.. Better to solve the problem and seal it up, you know..?" Silver rubbed his cheek, glaring at Essie. "I ain't done yet either, now lie down, I got some work to do." Essie groaned, and did as the stallion said. The nameless mare trotted around to Silver's side, cautiously observing. "Oh my.. Now Silver, just think before you make a mistake.. She might want to get even if you do something to her!"

"Too bad, I still gotta do what needs to be done...Now then." He dug into his pack to pull out a cloth and disinfectant, pouring some of the liquid onto the cloth. He began to dab it around Essie's wound, cleaning up the blood. It had stung a little, would have caused Essie to wince slightly. After the area was clean, Silver placed the disinfectant down, pulling out magical bandages and one healing potion.....Then he reached for the new plasma rifle. "Since I can't use sutures like a unicorn can.." He mumbled to himself as he placed the tip of the barrel of the rifle to a metal rod that had fallen from the ceiling and fired a round...The rifle fired off, heating up the rod to an almost white hot color. He picked up the cooler end and picked up some bits of a rubber toy that used to be on the shelf, holding it in front of Essie's mouth. "bite down..."

As the stallion's plan unfurled, Essie groaned again. She looked at the toy in front of her muzzle, then to the white-hot rod, and shook her head. "Fuck me with a live grenade.." she cursed, then scowled at the stallion. "Ah get t' punch ya after this." she said, then bit down hard on the rubber. Upon seeing her bite down, Silver nods his head and lowers the hot rod. "On the count of three....One-" He then pressed the rod against her flesh, steam rising up as it burned and melded her wound closed. It felt like she was getting shot with a bullet that was on fire.

At the burning touch of the rod, Essie's whole body cringed. Her limbs went rigid, then pulled back, poised to strike the stallion, but the mare kept in mind that in the grand scheme of things, he was helping. Still, it didn't change the fact that it hurt like hell.. He didn't hold it against her long, quickly throwing the rod away after he could see the flesh around the wound charred and sealing it. He quickly got Essie to sit upright, pulling the toy out of her muzzle before hoofing her the healing potion. "Theeeere we go, almost done now. Drink this quickly. " He said softly, in a rather calming tone. After putting the bottle in her hoof, Silver quickly pulled out the magical bandages and made her lift her hooves up slightly, so that he could wrap them around her torso. Already the magic properties of the bandages was causing a cooling sensation to her cauterized injury, the pain deadening.

The cooling bandages were a much-welcomed relief, and sipping on the healing potion added to the refreshing sensation quickly beginning to course through her veins. Though she was sure that she would quickly recover, she was certain that it wouldn't be for a while. Now with new bandages around her torso, and healing potions repairing the stallion's impromptu 'surgery', the mare caught her breath and chuckled. "Shit.. Maybe yer a doctor after all." she said, shaking her head. "Ah owe ya. Right after Ah get t' punch ya."

Silver finished wrapping Essie up, fastening the bandages on her torso. "Well, I had to learn how to patch myself up somehow, and I bet this feels a lot better without pieces of metal...But yes, I suppose I owe you a punch since you asked for it." He backed up and looked to the plasma rifle he had recently used, twisting the corner of his mouth. He picked it up and held it to his side... At once, the battle saddle on his back had activated, a spare joint reaching out and locking onto the rifle before swiveling it into a idle position on his back, a few lights lit up, pointing to a couple of empty slots near the rifle. Silver then picked up the proper ammo and started to load it into said slots, the saddle chiming once it was full. Needless to say, it wasn't what most battle saddles could do, which was rather interesting to watch. "I think I'm gonna at least keep this, I earned it after saving your life, don't ya think?" He looked to the mare. "...What's your name anyhow?"

The two conscious mares watched the stallion add the plasma rifle to his battle saddle. While Essie would've loved to have sold it for profit, the mare seemed pleased with the trade.

"Eh... Small price to pay, to say I survived a trap like that!" the mare said, grinning at the stallion. For one so close to death only a short while ago, the mare was almost aggravatingly chipper. "And my name's Strobe! I guess I forgot to introduce myself." Essie nodded to Strobe as she slowly stood back up. The new bandages were actually rather nice! "Nice t' meet ya, Strobe." she said, dusting off her other side. "Ah suppose you'll be needin' t' get back t' Los Pegasus soon, right?" The mare nodded enthusiastically, causing some dust to puff out of her dirty, neon-colored mane. "Uh huh..! I've been gone for a couple of weeks now, I think it's about time to go back and see what damage my assistant's done to the business!" Silver nodded his head to Strobe. "Well, seems like you got someplace to be, and glad to see you're doing much better." He smiled, looking to the sleeping Starsong beside Essie. "We'll let her know that you were most grateful for what she did." After finishing that statement, he looked back to the pillar where the rest of the prize was, namely the bag of caps and the four mini-nukes.

"...Hm, since you had a bigger risk than us trying to get that stuff, considering you had no way of saving yourself... How's this? We'll split it down the middle. You take two nukes and half the caps, we'll take the other half. That way you at least go back to your shop with some profit. I'm keeping the gun of course, I could use something more than a single shot rifle. Sound fair to everypony?" He looked to both Strobe and Essie, wondering if either had any objections.

Strobe grinned as she trotted over to the pedestal. On the ground near where she had been suspended in the bear trap, a saddlebag lay on the ground. She picked it up and strapped it to her back, then trotted to the pedestal, where she filled the bag with the remaining items. She closed her bags and turned around, and started towards the door, giving both of the ponies hugs as she passed them. "Again, thank you so much for saving my life! If you come to Los Pegasus, swing by my store! You can't miss it, and you'll be very happy to find that sales pop up whenever you guys walk in the door!" she said with a wink, then trotted away. "Bye!" Essie returned the hug with an uncomfortable smile, and waved Strobe goodbye when she left. Once the mare was out of earshot, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, sighing. "Ah think there's only so much a' that pony Ah can take in one sittin'." Silver snickered at Essie's annoyance. "Hey, it's a nice change compared to what we dealt with before. I'd rather have ponies like her thanking us, unlike that caravan trader who wanted to shoot first and ask questions later."

He looked around them to take in the view of the market, a pile of feral ghouls to add to the already deceased that came from the trap. The shelves had been scrapped clean, and he felt as though there was nothing more to do here. Silver pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "Hm....We're about 20 minutes slower than I had hoped, but that's fine. Appaloosa is two days away anyhow. We got some goods for trade and plenty of food. I think we just need to check the coolers for water and we're good to go."

Essie chuckled and shook her head. "Ah suppose ponies like that 'r a blessin'. Remind folks that not everything's bad." she said, glancing up at Starsong, who had begun to wake. "Hm...’specially that one..." Star lifted herself up slowly, rubbing her eyes. "Did it work..?" she asked, looking around for the pony she'd saved. With no such luck, she looked at the two ponies in the aisle. "Is she..?" she started, when Essie cut her off. "Naw, she's gone back t' where she come from." she said. "Yer spell worked, Star. Like always..." The smaller mare looked relieved to hear the good news, although a little taken aback that she hadn't even gotten to see her for herself. "C'mon down here Star, we're about t' see if there's any water lyin' around." she said, and then turned to Silver. "Then straight t' Appaloosa, if it's gonna take two days."

Silver smiled, nodding to his two companions. "Eeyup, and the trip should have nothing to slow us down either, so let's have a quick look and mosey on our way." He turned to trot to the edges of the market with both of them, ready to find the last of their supplies for the trip ahead...

Not long after, all three headed down the road for New Appaloosa. They managed to find at least 11 purified waters sitting around with three Nuka-Colas as a nice bonus. Silver opted to take 3 and let the other two take 4 waters. When they were a good distance away from the market though, Silver gave a light cough. ".......So uhm.....Where exactly ARE you keeping that pistol I saw?"

The mares had been perfectly content to walk in silence, at least until Silver had broken it. As they continued trotting, Starsong glanced at Essie, who chuckled and shook her head.

The sniper gazed forward, grinning. She glanced over at the stallion with a look that bordered flirtation, and quickly shifted her attention to the front again. "Heh.. 's on the inside 'a my thigh." she said quietly, looking at him again for a reaction. "Stallions with bad intentions think Ah'm playin' with muhself, when Ah'm about t' blow their fuckin' heads off. 'a course, Ah've only had t' use it like that one time."

Starsong grimaced at the explanation, and rolled her eyes. "Sheesh.. Way to give me that image.."

The blush Silver had before in the market returned as his wings ruffled up slightly, biting his lip as he locked his eyes forward once more. "O...kay then. I'll be sure to use caution then if I uh...ever see your hoof between your legs." He had such a flustered look on his face, failing to keep a stoic demeanor.

Author's Note

Look at that, more excitement. Surely this isn't TOO boring now, huh? How can you not be, with blood and guts and violence and sexual innuendo you sick bastards......Just kidding, you're a lovely audience. And more characters thrown in too; this might not be the last we see of that mare in the future....probably, long as we don't forget about her. OKAY, let's keep trucking on...