Cannerlands

Every fiber of my being was on fire. Literally and metaphorically.

Everything around me was a lit a dark blood crimson color. Iron around me was on fire and melting beyond my very eyes. Sparks flew in every other direction. I was laying down in the wreckage of what was a the engine control room for the train that just crashed outside the Bordertown Outskirts. I could only tell you the name of the town because that's what my little vision doo hickey called it on my circle map thingy. I think Grind called it a HAYS...

Grind! My mind jumped to the thought of the light brown pony. I had to traverse the wreckage to find him!

He was right next to me, he shouldn't have gotten very far. Or at least logically he shouldn't have. I get up from my spot, shaking off metallic debris and dirt from my body. I feel the unbearable heat from the flames and I feel a little claustrophobic as if the entirety of the wreckage was going to collapse on me at a moment's notice. I look to where I think where the door was when the engine room wasn't completely destroyed and I make my way towards what I think the exit is.

It isn't a minute when I see Grind's body cut up and bruised like a vegetable at the farmer's market. I bend over and feel my entire body ache. It was at that point in time that I realized one very important thing about Grind. He has no cutie mark. I mean, I'm not inclusive about cutie marks or anything, but it just made me wonder what this pony was doing on the train with his dad? Was it 'Take your son to work' day? I shake the thought from my head and focus instead on the more pressing matter of getting out of the wreckage alive.

I don't know where I was beginning to find my strength, but I had a huge burst of it. I was determined to get Grind and I through this. It would honestly be the most incredibly lame thing ever if we died from a heat stroke instead of bandits during a train hi jack. Could you imagine what they would say at our funerals? Today, we are gathered here to mourn the loss of the bad ass Kale and Grind who survived a bandit hi jack but died in the train accident soon after. No thank you.

Grind was the first one to call me a bad ass and I liked the title. So no, I will not be dying today. I would like to be called a bad ass again, if you don't mind universe.

I see a weak looking wall in front of me that was a harsh charcoal black and was still slightly on fire. I gather most of my strength and I buck that thing to as hard as I can. It budges, but it looks like I needed a few more attempts. I hack up some blood and I let go of a hard breath. I buck again. Not dying, like I said, I will repeat it as many times as I must if that's what it takes. The wall looked like it was close to collapsing. One more should do it. I buck with all of my might and the wall gives, making a fresh air window for me and Grind to escape through.

I push him through the window first, panting hard. Boy, was this pony heavy or I was as weak as a lone piece of wood... Both. It was probably both.

I follow after him and I immediately collapse onto my back. I look up into the sky and I pant, my chest expanding and collapsing. I never enjoyed fresh air this much before in my life. The sky above us had twinkling little lights and huge ass full moon tonight. It looked pretty. I never really took time to appreciate the night, usually because I love sleep, but now that I got the time to I'd have to say it is beautiful to say the least.

With more effort than I would like to admit, I sit up and I realize that we made it to Bordertown. We were at the 'gates' of the town, the gates being a just huge wooden sign that had big, splotchy yellow painted letters that said 'BORDER'. I look past the sign and I can only count four buildings at most, a few shacks outlying the past the buildings. They all looked shoddy in quality to say the least, or it could just be because it was dark and I'm spoiled brat who is way over her head...

Calm down Kales, you're alive.

I sigh. You're totally right inner conscience. And I will enjoy this victory by sleeping, because a wave of exhaustion hit me like a pile of bricks as I lie down to take a brief nap. I was often told by many adults to never sleep on the ground. Fuck em.

I really couldn't tell how long it's been when I start hearing voices again. We get carried into a building and up some stairs. When I'm unconscious, different from a voluntary night of rest, my asleep hearing isn't as focused. I get tossed onto something and I barely have enough energy to listen to whatever the ponies around us were saying. I let my ears take a rest and I just try to get some decent sleep for once in my life. Another unknown amount of time passes by and I let myself back into whatever conversation I happened upon.

"She needs rest," A scruffy pony, who was called Sheriff Stallion earlier by another pony, I thnk Stanley, was arguing with him.

"She's a Trove Hunter! She's the reason Grind's dad is dead!" Stanley was being a prick like he always was, or at least always was compared the length of this conversation.

"Bandits were the reason Grind's dad was killed. Not her. She's just a kid Stanley,"

"And this kid will cause this entire town to get raided, scavenged, and killed," Stanley walked away without waiting for a response. Sheriff sighed. I assume he was looking at me for a long time. C'mon Kale! Wake up already! You can't be that tired!

And then I remember what just happened in the past twenty four and I realize that maybe my body does need a little bit of a break. Unfortunately, my mind comprehends my requests at such a slow rate, that it received my first request and didn't even consider to process the second. My eyes snap open and I see that two lovely fans twirl above us at such an abhorrent rate that it begins to torture me. Unfortunately, I can barely move without feeling mind numbing pain shoot across my entire body.

"Hey. You're awake," The Sheriff who was at the side of another bed, another bed with Grind laying down peacefully, stood up and trotted over to me. He was a old beige colored pony with a white fluffy mustache draped over his top chin. He wore a cowpony hat like you would see in those pictures of your great great grandpa. His eyes were kind, genuine pools of blue as he asked, "How're you feeling?" I turn over the conversation I just overheard and I decide to just dive into it; I never was one for subtlety.

"Is it true that Trove Hunters are the reason for bandits attack the town?" I asked him straight out. He bit his lip.

"You heard all of that huh?" Sheriff scratched theback off his head. I nodded weakly.

"Ears are always open," I tap my left ear, tilting my head in his direction. The Sheriff sighed.

"It wasn't always. But somepony has been putting out a request to kill all Trove Hunters that are about to enter the Cannerlands from the Bordertown entrance," I inquire that he specifically said Bordertown entrance and he shrugs, "There are other entrances to the Cannerlands, but none of them are as safely secure as this one... or at least they weren't until these bandits started attacking the town on a regular basis." The Sheriff explained how the attacks started off small at first until entire caravans were being attack in the middle of the day.

"Well, in all honesty, I'm not a Trove Hunter,"

The Sheriff chuckled, "If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and acts like a duck..."

"I simply found this gear on some bandit's corpse," Hey, you could never prove if that pony was a bandit or not. I didn't see a mask and my HAYS didn't label his body, not that I noticed between all the throwing up and killing anyways. "Do you know who's been putting out the request for dead Trove Hunters?"

The Sheriff just shook his head and sighed. "No. I've been interrogating bandits for months, but half the crap they all say is gibberish, the other half is insults." He looks out the window, as if he could see an answer in the distance. I try to look at what he's looking at but he turns to me what before I could angle my head correctly, "Whatever. You're a Trove Hunter now in the people's eyes. A hero. You saved little Grind from the wreckage. You could have just left him in the train to die,"

"He saved my life," I shrugged, regaining feeling in my hooves and my body in general. I slowly put my hooves on the ground and I feel my legs give out from underneath me. The Sheriff doesn't move to help me up, which I find totally acceptable, he does however ask me if I'm doing alright, "Just peachy keen,"

"Well, take as long as ya need. Don't pay Stanley any mind, no one really does these days. Once you fully rest up, I can give you a tour of the town,"

All four buildings of it? I think in my mind but I don't say it.

The Sheriff tipped his hat in my direction, "Again, the ponies here see you as a hero. We need more ponies like you these days, times are tough." And without further ado, he trotted into down the hall and downstairs. I sighed, a hero huh? If only my mom back home could see me as that, maybe I wouldn't go to jail...

I shake the thought out of my head and I stretch out my entire body, making sure I was all limber up and that everything was working correctly. The backpack was hanging off the bed frame of where I was sleeping. My weapon was on a night stand beside it, the weapon seemed to have been rotated in such a way that the button was sticking out slightly more than I remembered. Behind the weapon was a old lamp made of wood and gold plating. That seemed to have been the big design choice here. If it was in this town, it was wood with some sort of yellow back splash to it. The bed was wood with gold plating, the dresser that was on the opposite side of the wall of each bed had that design, as well as the night stands themselves. I wonder if the treasures from Cannerlands helped make this possible?

I guess time would only tell. It was time to explore the town. That's when my I finally realize my vision thing was back up. My health bar was at full, but instead of '50', it increased up to '75'. Strange. The map in the top right corner was labeled, 'Bordertown Inn' as well as a little objective below it, 'Go take a tour with the Sheriff'.

Gee, a little micromanager aren't ya? I smirked in spite of myself.

I take a look at Grind who seemed to have kicked his sheets off his bed. I trot on over and I tuck him back in, making sure that he was covered. I smile at him and I couldn't help but say out loud to him, "We made it," I give him a nod after making sure he was all set and then I retrieved my stuff from the nightstand and the backpack.

I trot down the hallway and I go down the stairs. The hallway was painted an ugly striped pink with roses running down the side. Typical hotel decor I guess. I'm in the lobby at this point and there are several ponies that are just keeping themselves busy with menial tasks. I reach the bottom of the steps and everypony stops with the annoying daily routine and stare at me as if I'm a monster that's come to eat their souls. Most ponies were wearing a cowpony attire, as if the Western era was alive and kickin'. Not that I mind, was probably more tasteful than whatever I would pick out.

I notice they are all still staring at me. C'mon Kale! They want you to say something Ms. Hero!

I clear my throat and wave at everypony, "Hello?" Everypony then decides to drop what they're doing and swarm me. "Ack!" I let out a whimper as I suddenly feel very claustrophobic. It was the train car all over again, except instead of fiery wreckage, I was surrounded by adorable ponies and compliments.

"We heard you took out the entire bandit raid all by yourself!"

"You crashed a train into a bandit caravan?! You are so bad ass! Can I get your autograph?!"

"We need more ponies like you! Can you become our Sheriff instead?!"

Gah. What's with ponies and rumors? No matter where I go, there always seems to be the rumor bug on the mind. "Alright everyone, break it up, break it up!" I hear Stanley's voice among the crowd. And then I heard a explosion shot. Everypony immediately scrambled off me and backed off. I assumed Stanley was the one who used his weapon when I instead see a light green pony with deep jade eyes emerge from the sea of ponies. On her shoulder was a small iron like cannon that had a bright orange glow emanating from its barrel as well as sides of the cannon. Her mane reminded me of tooth paste, white and green that twirled into two natural looking ponytails, one falling down each side of her head. She tilted her head to the side when she approached, trotting with direction, with purpose. It was kind of intimidating actually. I was slightly taller than her, but her presence just made me want to shrink into a ball.

"What are ya'll standing around for?! This inn ain't gonna tidy itself up!" Everypony slowly begins to shuffle around, still taking mental photographs of me as far as I could tell. The cannon on her shoulder extended out from her neck on some sort of metal extension and shot another explosion into the air, she turned her head and screamed, "I SAID GIT!" Everypony jumped and ran away from the scary mare. Honestly, I would too if I was in their position. Before she turned her attention to me, I saw a bronze headpiece attached to the side of her head, similar to my plastic one. Was she a Trove Hunter too? Her expression immediately brightened as she threw a hoof out, "Name's Cass. Sorry 'bout dat. My crew always love crowdin' around new Trove Hunters as they come to town. And since you'd be the last that's comin' for a while, you're all we gots for now." I tilt my head in confusion.

"Last Trove Hunter?"

"Sorry, what part of being a part of a train crash did you not understand?!" Cass and I look to Stanley, a deep shade of brown pony with tan hat. His mouth was covered by a red bandana as he was dressed to kill. His black robe like jacket and boots with golden spurs were definitely eye catchers.

"Don't be an ass hole Stanley. You're just mad you weren't there to wreck some havoc with ole Six Splitter," Cass grinned at him slyly.

"Wheel N' Deal is dead because of her. How can you be so chill?" I notice his dialect wasn't that of a stereotypical western pony and that just made me a little bit more intrigued that he wasn't sticking to the schtick of this place.

"Bandits killed Wheel. We're all surprised he didn't die sooner from all those bandit camps he raided solo," Cass commented, defending me, although I could tell there was sadness and loathing in her voice when she looked at me for a brief moment. Stanley stood there for a silent moment and looked at me.

"If it means anyting, I'm not a Trove Hunter." I eek out.

"Oh? And what are you then? A ballerina?" Stanley suggested. Cass hit Stanley, causing him to flinch.

"No, I'm a farmer," I announce proudly. Stanley's eyes widened in disbelief. Even Cass raised an eyebrow, as if to say, 'You should have stayed with the ballerina answer,'. "I mean it. My mother is a famous farmer! I just happened to pick this stuff up off a dead bandit," I stand my ground and I try to look defiant. This only causes a chortle to squeak from Stanley which snowballed in a burst of laughter. I feel my cheeks go red from embarrassment and anger.

"Y'know what? You ain't half bad, Green," He nicknames me on the spot and I feel that I'm going to kill him by the end of the day. Just a hunch. "Tell you what, meet me at the Sheriff's office and I'll help the old guy give you a tour and maybe you can convince the Sheriff of this insanity," He turns around, not even listening my attempts to make him stop.

I puff my cheeks out and I pout. "Who the fuck does that guy think he is?" I ask, looking at Cass. But I also find her suppressing a laugh. "It can't be impossible to grow here, can it?"

"Yeah, but why would you? There's like..." Cass pauses to count, "A bajillion places better to farm than out here. Why would you farm here?" She asked sincerely.

"I look at it this way. If I could get an actual farm going here, I'd be the first who's ever done so. Then I could help expand out this way," I say, not really wanting to tell her of my get rich scheme. Though, I feel that she sees through the explanation and puts a hoof around my neck.

"Darlin', I'm going to say this and please don't hate me, because I think you're really pretty," My eyes widen at the comment and I feel all the blood rush to my face.

"Y-You think I'm p-prett..."

"Don't change the subject," She waved her hoof in front of my face. She clears her throat and sighs looking downcast. She raises her head and looks dead into my eyes, "That is shittiest get rich quick scheme that only the most desperate ponies come up with," I'm about to raise an argument when she raises a hoof to my lips. "Just... come up with a backup plan in case this doesn't work out, okay? I've seen too many ponies die to the impossible out here. Why die when you could make something more... out of yourself?" Her voice was stricken by grief. I feel my heart throb at her sentiment. How many farmers came through this town talkin' the same amount of smack I have? Hell, how many Trove Hunters said they were going to come through this town to open the Trove?

"You don't even know how well I can farm..."

"No, but I do know that you saved a stallion's life on the train and I also know ponies who've been farming all their life to get their plans cut short by a pony bullet to the skull," She makes a motion with her hoof knocking against her own head. "I'm not telling you to stop trying, but don't put all your eggs in one basket hun," I look at her and she looks back at me, her fiery fierce green eyes were those of a fighter. Don't ask me how I know this, I just do, it's kind of look that you would see at the movies of a heroine who just saved the world. The same kind of look that was at the same time heroic, but also tragic.

I gulp and nod at her, unable to speak against her gaze.

"Good girl. Now git. Stanley is a jerk, but he means well. And I think the Sheriff will want to ponysonally thank you for what you did for Wheel's son," She smacks my flank with her tail and winks at me, trotting off and yelling and some other pony to work faster. I blink and I trot outside, the sun nearly blinding me. I look up the road and then to my map, noticing that everything on it is already labeled.

"Hey, HAYS device, can you add an additional objective? I wanna look around. Anything you can suggest?" I speak to it, hopefully it works its magic. Instead, nothing changes in my vision. I sigh, some help you are. I trot up the road where the little town is just bustlin' with energy. Vendors were on the street, ponies were chatting it up, and donkeys and it looked like some sort of humped creatures were passin' through here as well.

For this town only having four buildings, those buildings were humongous. There was the Cassket and Barrel's Inn, the Drownin' Despair Bar, the Sheriff's Office, and the 'GUN' Shop. It was such a strange name for a weapon that could kill somepony. 'I gun you to death!' Not quite catchy I find myself thinkin'. It was quite odd to see myself being able to kill a pony, but when I think back to when I killed those bandits on the train, I felt a surge of excitement pulse through my veins. I immediately ask if I would kill the ponies around me for fun and I immediately answer no. I'm not a monster... then why do I feel like one?

My insides churn with guilt. Those bandits might have had families. Those bandits definitely had lives. And then I removed them from existence with a single movement of my hoof. I justify it but I don't feel right saying the words this time. Those bandits were going to kill me and Grind. Those bandits killed Grind's father. It didn't help that I added to the end of each sentence, "But it felt good," I say out loud.

I try not to think too much more about is as I trot to the GUN store first. I first off needed to figure out how to work this thing. The outside of the store had a picture of several pipes, tubes, and barrels with huge red letters splashed in front, 'GUN'. I look at my weapon and figured it out from there. My HAYS device still told me I only had one bullet in my gun. I needed to figure out how to put more bullets in this thing. After all, I have '496' bullets left, I would love it if it became more accessible to me.

I trotted through a set of double doors and the atmosphere immediately changed. The entire shop glowed all sorts of different kind of lights. The wall was practically covered in guns. Some small, some ridiculously huge. Some of them were glowing red and blue, some of them seemed polished, some of them didn't look any special. "Welcome to The Stockpile!" I hear a voice from the other side of them room behind a counter.

"Hi?" I call out, trotting over to the counter.

"Hold on," The voice calls back causing me to stop in my tracks. After a few moments of things sounding like they're breaking and hoof stomps, a pony appears out of nowhere from behind the counter. "Hiya! Sorry about that, was busy below decks workin' on something," He was a white unicorn with a electrifying purple mane that couldn't decide where it wanted to fall. He had square glasses and a stubby snout. He was wearing a black vest that was covered in dirt and some other sort of grime. I got a quick look at his cutie mark which had a giant box with a bunch of weapons sticking out of it. He smiled at me as I approached.

"Yeah... I was wondering if you could help me out," I explain to him that I'm new to the area and that I found a gun on the ground, unsure of how to put more bullets into it and if I'm even using it correctly.

"Hm. May I see the gun?" He asks, rubbing his chin with interest. I show him my wrist and he nods. "That's an AJ alright. Do you have a preference on what brand it is? Do you plan on Trove Hunting? Do you want armor penetrating rounds? Do you just plan on running from place to place? Want something that can impress? What's your carry limit? How big is your backpack? What kind of..." All of these questions was making my head tumble.

I throw a hoof up which causes his questions to pause. "I only need to know how to put bullets back into it..."

"Reload." I raise an eyebrow at him, "It's called reloading. You really don't know anything about guns do ya?" I shake my head.

"Well, I got some spare time," He says as he looks at a watch mounted to his forehoof. "Come into my office," He then does a little hop backwards and he disappears from sight. I look over the counter to see a hole in the ground as well as a ladder sticking out from the hole. I look back to the exit of the shop and I feel a little apprehensive. Well, this guy seems friendly enough, what the hay?

I descend after the pony below the GUN Shop. My eyes take a moment to adjust but when they do, I immediately notice tons of trash spread out around. Scraps of metal and rusty dumpsters seemed to have held up the 'upstairs'. It kinda made me fearful of leaving for it seemed that one false move in the store could cause you crashing down into this graveyard of robotics and technology. "Over here!" I hear the shopkeeper call after me down towards the path of trash.

I trot forward, my mind becoming more and more unsure by the second. I get to the end of the path which leads to an opening and a large field. The opening was lit up by little neon blue mushrooms hanging from the ceiling and mounted on the walls. The large field was cut off by barbed wire and a wooden fence. The wooden fence looked worse for wear, yet a permanent fixture in time. The shopkeeper was busy looking in a chest of some sort. "Um, mister Shopkeeper?"

"Please, call me Stock. Stockpile Scratch is my full name. Most ponies just call me Stock though,"

"Erm, Stock. I just need to learn how to reload this thing..."

"You aren't going to get very far Trove Hunting if you have no idea about the tools at your disposal." I groan. Why does everypony think I'm a Trove Hunter? Just because I have this gun?

"Look, I'm not a real Trove Hunter. I'm just an ordinary pony looking to make a living out here..."

"By Trove Hunting." He finished for me.

"No! By farming!" Stock laughs at this. I bite my lip in frustration. Stock at this point has pulled something from his chest and went over to my right, where sat a giant locker and a work bench. He pulled something from the locker and slammed it into the thing he pulled out of the chest. It clicked which made my heart involuntarily flutter.

"You can farm all you want with this bad baby," A spark lit up in his eyes and I looked around to see if there was some sort of light fixture I was missing. I groan. How could a gun help me farm?

"Mister Stock..."

"Just call me Stock missy," His voice was getting a little more edgy and aggressive. I was a little unsure of his tone change but I continued.

"Stock. What if I just sell you the gun? I'm not a real Trove Hunter and..." I took off my bracelet holding my armanent and he takes it, tossing it to the side onto his work bench. He shoves the thing in his hooves into mine.

"Enough talkin' and more shootin'," He spat out at me. I blink as he points to the large field in front of us. There were several rock formations in the open field, all big enough for a pony to hide behind if they were to crouch behind it. "What you got in your hooves is an FS Brand Rifle. The more you shoot, the faster and more accurate it will become," I look over to him where he now is equipped with a remote and points it at the field. He presses a button and pony manikins pop up. He then trots over to me and I see a wide grin plastered across his face. He takes my hooves and places one below the small tube and another on a big button that sat between the handle and the thing I would later figure out is my magazine. "That button you're feeling is your trigger. Press it when you want to see you enemies go boom. A good tip is to hug the weapon when you want to live. Now get shooting!"

I feel the weight of the gun in my hooves and I take aim at one of the ponikins. My HAYS labeled it as a Practice Dummy and I would have to see it was a fair description. I get into a comfortable position and press the button. The gun spasms wildly in my hooves and I almost lose grip, "Hug it tightly! Teach it you mean business!!!" I missed my first shot and I take a another one for a different ponikin that is a little bit closer. The gun spasm still, but a little less wildly than the first shot. The shot chipped at the ponikin's shoulder and I feel my body tense up and get all giddy. I take another shot, the gun now completely under my control. I finish off the first ponikin with a 'CRITICAL' hit but sniping its head clean off. I move onto the next one and that one goes down within a few shots, as well as the next. I begin to mow through more ponikins as more appear. By the time my HAYS system warned me that I was running low on bullets, I found a huge smile on my face.

"That is a face of a true Trove Hunter," I hear him say and I immediately frown, "The FS Brand comes in a variety of different types and specializes in trading fire with an enemy, but what if you get jumped by a bandit who decided to flank your side?" He presses a button and a giant paper picture of a very bloody and dangerous looking pony with dark red eyes pops up in front of me. I drop my gun in fright when I hear a whistle to my right. Stock tosses me another gun, this one was pink and blue. When I caught it, I almost thought it was a joke, but the feeling of a familiar trigger, giant tube sticking out of, and weight told me otherwise.

I take a quick aim and I hug the gun close to my body. I am greeted with a new feeling of power as the paper in front of me gets ripped into shreds and I get launched backwards a few steps. Wow. This thing felt awesome! More ponykins appeared before me, sticking out of the ground and attached to something making them move slowly towards me. I aim my gun and point it at the closest one and I blast it away, watching the bullets obliterate any evidence that something stood there to begin with. "That is a Power Package Brand Shotgun. PPBS for short. These things are jammed with bullets, explosives, and other things that makes your enemy run for cover before they get torn to shreds. PPB usually makes wonderful weapons for personal encounters. But," He presses another button and I see a giant robot appear from the rock ceiling, dropping in front of me and pointing a giant gun at me. I'm taken a back and I fire another shot without thinking. The bullets bounce off the robot leaving little dents off it but not shredding it to pieces like it did the other ponykins.

"A pony jumps into a mech and is roaring to shut you down. But luckily, you're well equipped for the job," Stock tosses me another gun as I set down the PPBS. "This here is the R-Brand. This will shatter your enemy's expectations and replace them with brilliant awe." I take a few shots at the giant robot and I see it begin to stagger as holes appear all over its body. "The bullets plant themselves upon whatever it hits and separate in an explosion, shredding whatever armor they got. However, incredibly weak against most flesh and shields since the bullets they shoot aren't sharp enough to penetrate first." The mech starts to deteriorate and glow, then without warning, it exploded into a giant fireball. The entire display left me breathless. I put down the R-Brand and look expectantly to Stock.

He gives me a warm smile that makes me feel a bit off about using these weapons. These were tools for killing ponies and Stock was talking about it as if it was a game to him. I shudder at the thought and realize I was excited looking at him for another way to kill a pony. I gulp and I feel myself lose circulation in my body as my heart stops beating for a brief moment. Stock takes no notice, or at least he doesn't make a comment. He tosses me a large, or rather a longer tube than the rest he has given me. "This is a TS Sniper Rifle. TS Brand is known for bringing the elements within its control as well as interesting bullet decals to the table," The TS Sniper hummed with blue energy. I could feel a strange warmth emanate from its very core. The ends of my fur went straight up and I feel like I knew what element this controlled immediately. I reach for the trigger and then I realize there isn't one. I point such a fact out to him.

"Ah, keen observation. It was my mistake at first, but I decided to make it into a lesson. Some weapons are designed for special apparatuses such as your bracelet." He gestured to my bracelet gun on the work bench. "That one in your hooves is designed for a backpack apparatus. There are three different kinds as far as I know, but this is such a crazy new concept that there will always be something new created every day. There's one created for your hooves as you saw and also there is rumored to be some created for your head," He shrugs at my disbelief, "Your guess is as good as mine. What are they supposed to use to shoot? Their ears?" We both chuckle at the thought. He replaces the gun in my hooves and I quickly aim down at a nearby ponykin and I pull the now available trigger at my disposal. I was expecting a lightning bolt to pop out of the gun, but what instead happens is a small beam of light zipped out of the gun and enveloped the pony providing quite the light show. "TS Brand weaponry primarily comes in four elements. Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Electricity is a subset of fire. While TS Brand weapons are interesting and may not pack the biggest punch, you will be able to control the environment with gusto when it comes to these weapons. Whenever you see a cursive TS on a gun, you know you're in for a treat," I turn to him and I give him the gun. "You already touched the AJ Brand. Guns that don't rely on fancy gizmos, just straight shooting until the end. You'll see the ponies here are mostly satisfied with the AJ brand, but if you strike out into the Cannerlands, almost anything is possible when there is no laws to constrict how dangerous a weapon can get."

"All this is fine a good, but I still don't know how to reload my gun." I point out.

"These guns are all pretty much universal in Cannerlands. Your HAYS device will be able to tell you how to reload your instrument of destruction when you're running low on ammunition," Not wanting to seem like an idiot, I simply nod. Crap, I was already low on ammunition and the HAYS device has not said anything nor moved an inch towards helping me reload. "Now, about my payment," I stop dead in my thoughts.

"P-payment?"

"Oh sure. Those guns aren't free, and neither is any of that ammunition you used. Those guns were also in new mint condition." The pony then pulled out an abacus and started moving beads across at a rapid rate. "Each gun is now a fraction of the value it was originally worth. Of course I wouldn't expect you to pay it all up front, but I do expect..."

I don't hear anything else he said. He set me up. I'd be able to pay him off any amount of bits he'd want, but I lost my knapsack in the train. Now I really wish I could go back and look for it in the train wreckage, but it's probably been looted and scavenged. "And what if I don't pay?" I ask, interrupting his long list of things he could charge me for.

"Well... ah, right on time," Stock looks towards the entrance as do I. Standing right there is probably the biggest pony I have ever seen in my life. He was the size of two full grown stallions, maybe two full grown stallions and a premature colt. He was a deep pale red color, clay like. His mane was a faded green mo-hawk. He was covered in grey, tattered robes; belts were barely keeping his wardrobe together. But what caught my eye and captivated for a rather disrespectful amount of time was his eyes. They were not... well, they were pure white. Two small, very thin circles outlined what I assumed was the pupil. And then my HAYS did a peculiar thing, it threw up several images of ponies I have never seen before in my life as well as a huge devious looking gun in the background follow by old western print that said, 'Wolf River'. It was pretty intimidatin... no... it was bad ass. That was the more proper choice. Bad ass.

"I never did quite get your name miss," Stock looked at me with a powerful grin.

"Kale," I say quietly.

"Well Kale, meet Mister Wolf River. Wolf River is a lovely sir who helps me do menial tasks around the Cannerlands while I sit comfortably here in the safety of my shop. He was a Trove Hunter like you once, but he found it within his interests to help him out," I take a brief look at him as he does to me. I wasn't sure if he was blind or not, but he seemed to acknowledge my presence either way. He was a Trove Hunter like me? Or used to be? Did he get roped into this just like me?

My mind was racing furiously and I quickly grab the FS Brand Rifle that Stock didn't pick up and point it at him, making sure there's still some ammunition in it. Thirteen shots. Boy, I hope that's enough to threaten somepony who knows way more about these guns than me. I see my HAYS device reacts alongside me and makes him an enemy instead of a friendly on my mini-map. But as soon as I point my gun at Stock, Wolf pulls a cement slab off his back as well a giant tube with a bunch of little tubes planted inside of it, it would later be describer to me as a gattling gun. "Ya see? Wolf River has loyalty to me, just like you will 'Kale'," Stock grinned happily. "And good luck with that gun, I have a shield to protect me from bullets," He uses my own gun bracelet and points it at himself. Without flinching, he presses the trigger and a bullet hits him in the chin. He moves his vest slightly to the side and a weird circular device glows as a space around his entire body blinks blue for a brief moment.

"How many?" I asked, my lips suddenly feeling very dry. "How many ponies?"

"Oh, maybe a hooful. Six I think to be precise. You will be number seven Kale,"

"Six," Wolf River's was deep and reminded me of the word mahogany for whatever reason. He pulled something else from his back and threw it my way. It landed in front of me with a thud and a little jingle. "That is twenty five thousand bits. It's what he charges all of his 'customers'," He kept his gun pointed at me, but I saw that he got into a more comfortable position, no longer tense but wishing for this just to pass. Stock turns to Wolf River and narrows his eyes, a snarl forming on his once calm features.

"How much do you owe him?"

"That," He points at the sack of bits in front of me. My heart sinks. He was probably trotting up to finally free himself of this dick bag's reign. Bandits were evil, well, were being past tense. This was evil. Bandits were just bad. This was evil. I trot forward and kick the sack a few inches towards Stock.

"I will buy Wolf River's freedom," Wolf River's eyes widen at me as well as Stock's. "I have no intention of paying somepony worse than a bandit. This is slavery, and although I'm sure the Cannerlands is lawless, we're not in the Cannerlands," I snarl back at Stock. He quickly whips out some fancy gun with a red and blue design and points it at me before I could react.

"I have a shield. You don't. You could have just trotted away and accepted the get out of jail free card. But now you lost me my best Trove Hunter. I hope you enjoy pony hel..." Before he could finish the sentence, the gattling gun barrel poked him in the head.

"Five. You have five ponies now under your control," Wolf River didn't smile, but you could hear in his voice that he was enjoying this.

"I was going to let you off easy Kale. I don't get many Apps my way," He gestured to my bracelet, "I was going to let you off easily. Fifteen thousand at most..."

"Stop. Fucking. Talking." Wolf River poked Stock's head harder with the gun.

"And what about you big guy? That thing is mine. I made it especially for you, so it's mine,"

"You made it for me," Wolf River repeated, "Who else will buy it? The other pony my size?" Stock's face turned white...er. "I shall do you a service and keep it in my possession until you find a buyer," He then motioned for me to leave and I gladly take that as a cue to get out of here.

"Hey! That's my gun!" Stock was about to make a move to point the gun at me, but a lovely Wolf River's gun says otherwise.

"I'm trading it for the apparatus. You said so yourself, its rare right? So it should be an even trade for something that is universal," I comment, looking him dead in the eyes and seeing his face drain of whatever color was left to something that was pure blanch. That was the most satisfying thing I've felt all day. I almost skip as I leave the shop.

I hear a gunshot just as I'm about to leave the shop and I immediately ready my gun, "Wolf?" I call out. It was after a heart wrenching moment that I see the pale red head peek its head out from behind the counter.

"I gave Mister Scratch something to think about," He commented scruffly as he trotted past me. I looked at the entrance to the basement unsure while I stowed my rifle in my backpack. I follow Wolf River out into the road when I realize that he is nowhere to be seen. Instead, I am greeted with a very unhappy looking Stanley.

"There you are. Where have you been?!" Stanley was stomping his hoof as I trotted towards him.

"Oh, I was..." Before I could get any words out, he grabs me by the hoof and yanks me towards the Sheriff's office.

"We've been waiting all morning for you, kid! And stay out of that GUN shop. Sheriff suspects he is an ex-slaver with a nasty way to manipulate ponies." Stanley says as he pulls me along. "If you ask me, I think he's just plain creepy,"

You have no idea.

*~LEVEL UP~*

Level 3.

Action Skill Unlocked. Every Trove Hunter isn't just slick with a gun. We all have skills that make us unique. Yours is "Rage of Mind". You become at peace with your inner turmoil, if not for only a few moments. You accuracy and movement speed increases significantly while "Rage of Mind" is active. Every kill adds additional time based off of level and adds a stack of "iPromise". For each stack of "iPromise", your fire rate and critical damage is increased by a fraction. At 10 (+ your level) stacks of "iPromise": "Rage of Mind" cancels out, your health and shields refill to max, and is immediately off cool down.