Author's Note

After far too long it's finally here! I can't promise that I'll be posting chapters more regularly, but I feel like I'm getting my steam back. Enjoy!

13 - The Siege of Oasis Springs

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

The Siege of Oasis Springs

“Ponies are supposed to help each other and be kind. So let's stop this senseless fighting...”

They’d warned us they were coming.

Now they were here.

It took all of my strength to perform a controlled landing instead of just plummeting to the ground. I still stumbled when I touched down, jarring my limbs as faceless ponies rushed up around me. The earth trembled hazardously beneath me but when I lifted a hoof the limb kept shaking on its own.

Fetid breath blew across my neck...the raider mare’s snarling voice echoing wordlessly between my ears...the crippled ghoul bit down on High Brass’ shotgun as he died not a few yards away...the soft ringing of tinnitus filled the silence of the world as gunpowder and rotten flesh filled my sinuses…

“Skies!”

Leather Strap’s shout jolted me out of my mental freefall, her injured forehoof lifting my eyes to hers. There was anger in them, but a deeper well of compassion filled her gaze. Subconsciously, I knew it hadn’t been the first time she’d called out my name and something like shame or guilt made me turn away.

“No time for that, now,” her hoof guided my face back to hers, “I need you here now, Skies, not there.”

“But they’re here,” I whimpered, feeling the images of blood and death creeping up through my peripherals again. The raiders that had chased us for the past few days were back! How was I the only pony freaking out right now!? They were right outside our walls and—

“They’re out there,” Strap’s words were slow and deliberate as she jabbed a hoof to the gate. Following the gesture, I was distracted by the sight of muscle-bound ponies lifting great beams of metal and shoring it up. “We’re in here,” Strap’s voice drew me back to her face, “and we’re gonna help make sure they stay the hell out there.” Her hoof hooked around my own, further cementing me back in place, “I need you here to do that, Skies. I need your head in the game!”

“Flare!” I heard a call from above, my eyes snapping to the sky. Dark night greeted me, unmolested by the wicked red light. Whoever made the call was looking at something far away, the smart part of my brain realized as it started coming back online. That meant the raiders and their ghouls were still too far away to hurt me directly. Maybe that meant things were okay...

“Wh-what…” the word trembled past my lips so I took a calming breath and tried again, “What’s the plan?”

“Right now we sit tight and look mean; posturing,” Strap cast a glance to the walls, my eyes following and finding a large number of ponies crowding them, all armed and most looking scared. But they still had the courage to poke their heads out, weapons scanning the darkness before they ducked back down.

Those ponies were counting on me, I realized. If they were shot or wounded I was one of the only lifelines that they had. One of the few ponies in the wasteland who knew how to suture tissue or pack a wound. The last fringes of darkness faded from my vision, though a well of healthy fear remained in my guts. I turned back to Strap as she continued.

“Raiders are too far away to engage with direct fire, but if they’re watching they’re gonna see a lot of lights, heads, and guns waiting for them here. Dumb as they are, Raiders aren’t suicidal so if we can puff up big enough they’ll pack up and go. Ghouls probably don’t give a shit, but they can’t do shit, either. Not enough brains to use guns and they can’t get past the walls.

“It’s a game as old as predator and prey. We’re stotting and pronking to show the predators that they’re better off looking elsewhere for an easy meal,” she frowned a moment before adding: “Of course, since we’re in modern times, it’s more us showing them that if they mess with us, we’ll burn them down in a hail of bullets,” Strap’s glare returned to my face, but the mix of anger and hatred wasn’t directed at me, “Medical ponies are on standby down here. If things go to hell and bullets start flying, you keep your head down and wait down here,” she tapped her hoof in the dirt for emphasis, “Ponies get injured, there’s others that’ll bring them down and we’ll be treating them, again, down here. Don’t go flying off alone if you see someone take a bullet up there.”

“Got it,” I hoped the semi-darkness hid my mild blush, ‘I would not go flying off to do that!’ I mentally protested, wondering if it were true or if I was just being defensive.

“I’ve sent the others off to rouse more warm bodies and grab extra supplies. Meds and coffee, help keep folks lively and awake,” my shotgun floated up in front of me, held in the purple light of her magic, “Hope you don’t need this.”

I took the weapon after a moment’s hesitation, its weight returning with a flash of something painful behind my eyes. Moving to sling it over my withers, I stopped myself and checked the tube and chamber. Full and empty. After a moment’s consideration, I checked that the safety was on and slipped my forehoof into the pump’s loop, biting the slide release.

The loud racking sound the weapon made as I pumped it was music to my ears. I topped the tube off with a fresh round as Break Action had shown me the day before.

Locked and loaded.

* * * * *

The quiet times before battle, I was quickly coming to realize, sucked.

Terror still trickled down across the ridges of my brain, but it was little more than a dull ache now. Emotions that had run hot a couple hours before were drying out as the waiting game continued. Nothing was happening, no real moves were being made, we were all just waiting around for the other horseshoe to drop. For the raiders to make their next big move. Was our armed presence going to be enough to deter them and scare them off? Or would they heedlessly throw their bodies and bullets against us in an attack?

Or, a darker part of my mind whispered, was Oasis Springs about to become the next Burnout?

But that was silly, right? My eyes turned to the massive gates rising a solid thirty feet overhead. Even their reassuring presence didn’t stop the chill that ran up my spine or the quick shudder that followed it. My neck hurt as I tilted my head back, expecting to see a flare burst into the sky over the town. The continued darkness above did nothing to stop the butterflies in my stomach.

I tried to settle them by taking a small cup in my lips and tilting my head back, but the coffee I’d gotten earlier was still gone. Just like everything else in the wasteland, it had been dripping with a sharp, roasty flavor like nothing I’d tasted before. I didn’t even need to drown it in sugar and creamer like I did above the clouds.

Strap had given me odd looks at the almost orgasmic sounds I made when I sipped at it. The only thing that kept me from chugging it down was the scalding heat that burned my tongue with every succulent sip. I did my best to savor every drop, but the cup still emptied too soon and I really wanted another. But I had a foal to worry about and one cup was going to have to be my limit.

Oh, the sacrifices we’re forced to make for the ones we care about...

Seeking a cure for my rising boredom, I peered about the low light at the base of Oasis Springs’ gate. Leather Strap and Marrowbone were the only two ponies I knew in our small medical team. Doctor Holiday had come by, offering to take over for Leather Strap, who had turned his offer down, saying simply: “I’m already here.”

There were twelve of us in total now, spread out at the base of the gate with what appeared to be a good portion of Oasis Spring’s medical stock. I hadn’t asked the names of the other ten ponies and they hadn’t offered. Nopony was really in much of a mood for casual conversation.

Strap had procured a set of cots from the Workforce tents. While the idea was to use them to hold casualties from the coming battle, most of the medical ponies were using them to rest up for now. Strap herself was laid out on one of them herself, her eyes closed. The way her ears twitched this way and that, always cocked and listening, told me that she was just resting her eyes.

Two of the nameless ponies and Marrowbone were using another cot as a makeshift table, playing with a deck of old cards. I tried to follow the slow pace of the game for a few minutes before giving up. It wasn’t blackjack, go fish, or anything else in-between so I had no idea what they were playing.

“Flare!” A voice from the wall called out tiredly, and my neck was too sore to look up and see if it was overhead.

The soft rumbling of wagon wheels approaching from down the street made me jump. In and of itself the sound was innocuous, but my wired brain wasn’t expecting it amid the sounds of quiet voices and shuffling cards.

Peering down the road, I spied a pair of wagons being pulled by two-headed bovines. A small group of ponies led by a mare in a trench coat with the sleeves cut off shuffled along at the wagons’ sides. All of them were armed for war, and the ease at which the bovines pulled the wagons led me to believe that they were empty.

“Gate’s closed!” Strap hopped gingerly from her cot, moving to meet the caravaners halfway. Watching Strap, Marrowbone excused himself from the card game and trotted quietly after her. Looking between them and the approaching caravan, I did the same, not sure if I was supposed to or not. I had a feeling mine and Marrowbone’s weapons wouldn’t be very helpful against the fusillade of firearms the caravaners had.

“So open it!” the lead mare replied evenly, turning to her caravan, “Whoa, there, whoa!”

“‘Whoa’ yerself, missy!” one of the lead bovine’s heads shot back, but the creature stopped all the same. I tried to do a better job of not being transfixed by the bizarre beast of burden, but those twin heads were just so weird!

“Yeah, sure,” Strap didn’t move, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She tipped her head towards the large beams shoring up the gates, “Let me just take down those big old bars with my massive muscles and pop the gate wide open for you.”

“So get somepony else to,” the mare snapped back, her gaze dismissing Marrowbone and me as she fixed back on Strap. Her own ponies ambled up around her with hard looks, but their weapons remained relaxed or holstered, “Somepony obviously put them up, somepony can take them down.”

“Not my job,” Strap shook her head, “even if it was, it’d take an order from Wrangler or her folks to get the gate open. In case you haven’t heard, we're in a lockdown.”

The mare let out an annoyed nicker, “I know there’s a lockdown, that’s why I’m trying to get me and my ponies the hell out of here! Every second I waste here is a bunch of caps I’ll never see,” she took a moment to size Strap up before continuing, “Look, if it’s caps you want what’s it gonna cost? We’re riding empty, some good sales made yesterday so I’ve got a decent chunk of change to spare. I can give you two hundred caps to open the gates for me.”

“The gates are staying closed,” Strap didn’t relent.

“Fine,” the mare grumbled, “I’ll double it, four hundred caps.”

“Filly,” Strap countered with a huff, “I don’t care if you offered me a million caps and were good for it, too. Caps are only good if you’re alive and that gate opening threatens my chances of staying alive.” She gestured around with her injured foreleg, “Hell, it threatens the chances of everypony here staying alive. If you’d seen what I have of these raiders you wouldn’t be so keen to leave.”

“Fair enough, but you can bet your butt I’m good for a thousand...” Some of the mare’s own ponies glanced pointedly at her, and I wondered if she’d have enough to pay them after the bribe.

“Do you have a death wish or are you just plain stupid, filly?” Strap let out a sharp huff, annoyance coloring her voice. It felt nice not being the one on the receiving end of Strap’s ire.

“Excuse me?!” The caravan mare took a menacing step forwards, but Strap held her ground.

“Oasis Springs has walls, water, and weapons,” Strap was addressing the caravan at large now, looking between the ponies, who, for their parts seemed to be having second thoughts, “You go out there, you’ve got the water you’re carrying and the guns on your backs. I can tell you that ain’t gonna mean jack shit if those raiders decide they want you dead.

“My caravan left Coin-Toss Quarry over a hundred ponies strong with twenty wagons chock full of goods. Last headcount I got before we made it here was a little over twenty ponies, half of which are still bedridden, and one rickety wagon without even a percentage of our ideal payout. The bastards out there?” she gestured a hoof towards the gates, “They did that in a matter of days with only a fraction of our numbers. We killed a shit-ton of ghouls and a hoofull of raiders, but they just kept coming.

“Now here you are weighed down by all your guns and, no offense, your brahmin,” she gestured to one of the beasts, which gave her an amiable shrug, “You step out those gates, you’re good as dead.”

“Don’t listen to her!” the mare spoke up, looking back to make sure her ponies were listening. Some were, but most of them had their ears cocked towards Strap, “It’s dark out, they won’t see us leave.”

Strap jerked her head up to the wall where spotlights were searing out across the wasteland, “They’ll see you leave in all the light we’re putting out, that’s all they need. Probably wouldn’t even take more than three of them, no need for the ghouls.” She sized up the group, letting her eyes linger on the ponies around the main mare until they started to squirm. “They’d wait until you were well out in the wastes, blind you with one of those flares, and shoot you dead from cover of some rocks or ruins.” She lifted her injured hoof, “That’s how I earned this, and I was one of the lucky ones. The buck next to me? Couple shots through the torso; had to leave him and a bunch of others behind for the ghouls just so we could escape.”

I knew Strap was taking some creative licenses with that description. The ponies we’d left behind were all dead and we weren’t being chased down by ghouls in that instance, but I wasn’t going to say otherwise.

“I think you’re full of shit!” The mare bit back. But Strap was done with her, addressing her ponies now.

“My name’s Leather Strap and I’m the head medical mare of Dual Gauge’s caravan. We’re currently hiring able-bodied ponies who know their way around a weapon. Whatever she’s paying,” Strap gestured to the stupefied mare, “I’ll match if you hop up on those walls and help us hold the town.”

“How...how dare you try to poach my...hey!” The mare finally managed to sputter as a number of the ponies around her started to split off and start heading towards the walls.

“Sorry, Roach,” one buck offered his condolences as he passed her fuming form, “But the mare’s got a point.”

“To...to hell with the lot of you, then!” Roach snarled at their receding forms. She let out a low growl, turning to see that all she had now were a pair of other ponies plus her brahmin and wagons. Her glare settled back on Strap and she spat to one side, before growling: “Bitch!” And turning to leave.

“Been called worse by better,” Strap muttered once the mare and her scattered caravan had left earshot. Marrowbone let out an indifferent snort and headed back to his card game, Strap turning back to her cot. Boredom was the only thing waiting for me at the cot I’d claimed so I followed after Strap instead, searching for something to say.

“What’s Coin-Toss Quarry?” I asked as Strap hopped back up on her cot, “Did a pair of ponies settle some dispute there with a coin toss? Maybe the coin they tossed fell in and they never found it? Or is it just some old quarry where they used to dig for gold to make Equestrian bits?”

“Not even close,” Strap replied as she settled down, favoring her wounded leg, “It was an old gemstone quarry, dried up a while before the war. Stable-Tec bought it out and built Stable Fifty there,” she raised an eyebrow at me, “Guess where this is going yet?”

“A coin toss gives you a fifty percent chance and ponies thought it would be clever to work that into the name?” I ventured my best guess.

“Thought it would be clever not to draw attention to the fact it was a Stable, but there’s no doubt some smartass wit played into it,” Strap nickered, “Used to think it was dumb, but it’s grown on me. We’ll probably be headed there after we sort things out here.”

The idea of heading to a Stable was interesting to say the least. The only knowledge the Enclave had on Stables had been gathered well over a hundred years ago after assimilating the pegasus Stables above the clouds. Would they still have running water after all this time? Did water talismans last that long? The idea of having to miss a shower until the caravan returned to Oasis Springs was...unsavory to say the least.

“Lesson for you,” Strap spoke up in the sudden silence. She pointed a hoof down the road where Roach and her wagons had disappeared into the gloom, “when a big mare comes at you thinking she’s tough, go for the legs.” She swiped her good forehoof like she was doing just that, “proverbially in this case, but it applies in the literal sense as well.”

I nodded, though if a pony like Marsh Runner ever asked for my lunch money I’d probably just hoof it over.

“For a second there, I thought she might shoot you,” I said, only half joking.

“High walls tend to keep folks civil,” Strap said, shifting on her cot, “Unless you’re over in Fillydelphia or something.”

“Fillydelphia?” I scoured my memory for a moment, “Isn’t that a pre-war city? It sounds familiar.”

Strap nodded, “Red Eye’s slaver capital of the wasteland these days,” Strap summarized with a shrug.

“So not only are there ponies who’ll make you into a slave, but they’ve got a capitol as well?” I frowned at that worrisome thought, then another one popped into my head, “Do raiders have a capitol, too?”

Strap let out a snort of laughter at that, “Goddesses, no. Most raiders probably couldn’t even spell ‘capitol’ if you pointed to it in a dictionary; much less organize into groups large enough to claim anything bigger than a scrap of land here or there.”

“What about the ones…” I couldn’t finish the thought, casting a fearful glance to the gate as blood and gunpowder seeped up into my sinuses. But I still had to be strong, I couldn’t go wandering down terrible memory lane. My hooves ground into the earth as I cemented myself.

“The ones out there?” Strap finished my train of thought, suppressing a shudder of her own, “It takes more than figuring out how to train feral ghouls to make anything like what the slavers have. You could almost argue they’re their own nation, slavers. Red Eye, their leader, probably fancies himself a king or something,” she spat off to one side at the thought of that. “We don’t ever tarry into his territory. This far west you’re not going to run into anything but freelance slavers and the like, little more than raiders who figured they were better off selling prisoners than eating them. We still gun them down all the same.”

“Lovely,” I commented with a frown, “Here I thought I’d already seen the worst the wasteland had to offer.”

“Still think the clouds are any comparison to what we’ve got down here?” Strap asked, making me turn away with another embarrassed blush. In hindsight, that conversation sounded incredibly lame, but Strap changed the subject quickly enough. “How are you holding up?”

I started to answer, then frowned, “I don’t know the counter-phrase to that one.”

Strap returned my confused look for a second, an eyebrow raised before she realized what I’d meant. “‘I’ve never been better.’” She answered, “Hopefully you never have to worry about that.”

“If I do run into trouble, I’ll go for the legs,” I grinned, getting a quick chuckle from Strap.

“But seriously, how are you doing?” She pressed, poking a hoof towards my belly, “Stress isn’t good for a foal.”

“I…” I started, only to trail off.

I’d killed a pony, two ponies if you counted ghouls.

Three if you counted High Brass...

I’d witnessed the deaths of countless more, and not the painless healthy death that came from pulling a plug or passing in one’s sleep. Ponies had bled and screamed and suffered in their final moments…

More still had had their bodies desecrated, mutilated simply because...because...I didn’t even know why…

I’d been assaulted, threatened with death and less wholesome things, shot at, shot (even if it had only cost me a canteen), coated in ghoul blood and irradiated (even if it was only a few RADs)...

And all of it in the span of only a week.

“I don’t know…” I admitted, lifting my eyes to hers only to pull them away again, “Should I be okay after...everything? After all this?” I paused a moment before continuing, “I keep...seeing things over and over again in my head, I...High Brass and that raider mare…” I clenched my eyes shut, trying to tune out his gurgling and her cackling. I hesitantly brought my eyes up to Strap’s, worried she might be fixing me with a condescending glare, but she wasn’t, “You-you saw me when I flew up there…s-saw the raiders outside and...” I trailed off, and kept quiet for a moment before asking: “How do you deal with all this?”

“I’ll tell you, but my way might not be the best way for you,” Strap said after a thoughtful moment, “For me, it’s always been simple: you put one hoof in front of the other until you can’t anymore. You find the simple monotony of something and you focus on that; you eat, you sleep, you breathe, you…” she trailed off for a moment, her eyes glazing over and her tail tucking as her ears flinched downwards. I was quiet until the moment passed and she looked back up at me, “Throw yourself into your work, stay cemented in the present and don’t look back unless it’s to learn from your mistakes.

“For what it’s worth, you’re not doing so bad, all things considered,” I felt my spirits rise a little at that, “You still gotta work on not freaking out so much, or at least internalizing it so it doesn’t make you freeze up. You’re not always going to have someone there to snap you out of it, and the second you don’t you’re going to get yourself or someone else killed.” Strap grew thoughtful for another moment before continuing, “Some folks believe in finding your virtue. Radhogwash as far as I’m concerned, but maybe you can find something in it.”

“Safe to assume that’s something different than finding your special talent?” I gestured to my cutie mark with a wing.

Strap nodded, “A virtue’s supposed to be some sort of moral center or compass, like you’re always honest or faithful,” a scowl played across her face as she continued, “But most ponies who believe in that crap turn it into a crutch or some vice that they use to enforce their beliefs or their way of life on others.

“Me? And most ponies down here, for that matter? We’re too busy surviving to worry about that kinda crap,” Strap continued, frowning a moment before finishing, “Still, something to think about, maybe.”

* * * * *

The ghouls were charging Oasis Springs and I had to use my preening kit to stop them!

But no matter how many times I dug through and emptied my saddlebags I couldn’t find the damn thing! Had somepony stolen it? Had it been High Rise? She was the only one who made sense, nopony else around here needed one.

The sound of rotten, bony hooves trampled closer.

I hopped off of my cloud bed and over to my vanity, my reflection a warped mess in the mirrors. The drawers slipped in and out as I searched through them, pulling them out and dumping them into the dirt. Brushes and combs, bullets and bandages all spilled out into the dirt, but still no preening kit.

The stench of the ghouls was choking me now as they drew ever closer.

Desperation made me turn this way and that, scouring through one of the burnt-out homes in Burnout. Had I left it here, somehow, somewhere? I stopped before the final door, knowing what lay beyond: the bloody crib. Cold terror gripped my heart at the prospect of entering that room, but what if High Rise was there? What if she had my preening kit!? I needed that to stop the ghouls!

The ghouls’ vicious maws snapped and snarled just beyond the gates of Oasis Springs.

Steeling myself, I burst through the doors and found myself outside, the great gates of Oasis Springs stretching up to the clouds above me. Stars shone down from above, illuminating the empty stretch of street. Was this where High Rise had wound up?

I scowled, looking about, but didn’t see her anywhere.

I didn’t see anypony anywhere.

Oasis Springs was empty and silent.

The quiet should have been nice, I could relax now that the ghouls were gone, but there was something unnerving about it, something wrong with the silent world.

“What happened?!” I tried to call out, but my voice hitched in my throat and all that escaped was a soft squeak.

A deep sound drew my eyes to where the massive gates were rumbling open, a black maw through which pure darkness poured. The wasteland beyond the open gates was impossible to see as the stars were snuffed out.

Until a bright flare lit the sky...

“Skies,” I flinched awake to find Strap tugging at one of my legs with her magic, blinking my eyes against the soft morning light.

“Did I fall asleep?” I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes with a wing. When I beheld Oasis Springs’ large gates they were still forced shut. That fact and why it was important brought the events of last night back in a flash, a fresh unease settling in my guts.

“That or you’re really good at staying still for hours on end,” Strap replied with a touch of sarcasm. “Breakfast’s coming.”

“Please tell me it’s not fried potatoes,” A crick in my neck made itself apparent as I sat up, looking down at the naked cot beneath me. I winced, rubbing at my neck with a wing and cursing my past self for not getting my sleeping bag.

“Who doesn’t like fried potatoes?” Strap gave me a frown.

“Pregnant mares, apparently,” I gave up on trying to fix my sore neck, dropping down to all fours and stretching. “The smell of them frying up breakfast killed my appetite yesterday.”

“Huh,” Strap said, sudden nostalgia stealing away her gaze, “When I was pregnant, I…” then the look evaporated into a scowl as she trailed off, a darkness flashing across her face, “Nevermind, I’m sure we’ll get you something to eat.”

I was tempted to press her on the matter, if only to glean some insight on her own pregnancy. But already knowing the hard parts of her story I decided against digging my hooves into old wounds.

“Are the…” I cast a quick glance to the large gates, “are they still out there?”

“About to find out,” Strap pointed out an armed pony making his way down from the walls. The buck quickly spotted Strap and made his way over, “What’s the damage, Bleeder?”

“They’ve set up almost a mile out along the main road in,” Bleeder looked like a hard pony, but he still shivered when he answered, “Tried counting the ghouls once or twice,” he shook his head, “Going off estimates there’s got to be at least two hundred of the fuckers at the minimum, maybe forty or so raiders. How they’re not being torn to shreds by the ghouls is beyond me.

“There were also a couple of wagons, and at least seven prisoners based on the chains binding them,” he cast a quick look back towards the wall, “One of the mares on the wall said they were from your caravan.” Bleeder’s hard eyes rolled over me for a moment, gaze lingering on my wings, “One of them was a pegasus she didn’t seem too fond of—”

“Red Mist!” I blurted out, the cascade of emotions spilling out of my brain swallowed the world around me. He was alive! But he was a prisoner of the raiders! It served him right! But was he okay!? Was he hurt!? If he was, he deserved it! But did he really? Or was this just another thing that was my fault?!...Too many thoughts and ideas to process made me grit my teeth and grind my hooves into the hard earth to ground myself, bringing me back in the middle of Strap’s reply.

“...long can we hold out?” She was asking.

“Wrangler’s got an exact figure,” he frowned, flicking his tail as he thought, “Water’s good forever with the springs in the plateau, they’ll outlast all of us. We’re stocked up on food, last a month, maybe two. Not till winter, but I doubt the raiders will linger that long,” Strap nodded in agreement and I hoped she was right, “I’m honestly more concerned about all the caravans we’re essentially holding hostage. No ponies in or out means no business means no profit, some of them have gotten heatedly vocal with Wrangler over that issue, but she’s holding strong.” I figured I knew at least one of the caravaners he was talking about, “Let’s see...we got a message out over the airwaves, should be getting piggybacked from here to the DJ in Tenpony. That should keep folks away. Until then—”

“Raider approaching!” The call came from a buck on the wall, my stomach twisting in on itself; though from fear or the pregnancy I could only guess, “Just one!” The buck continued, eye pressed to a scoped rifle, “The rest of them are holding where they are.”

“That’s my cue,” Bleeder gave Strap a nod and me a thoughtful glance before turning, “Is it armed!?” Bleeder called up as he made his way back towards the wall.

“Not as far as I can see!” The buck on the wall called back.

“What do you think they’re doing?” I turned to Strap, who was watching Bleeder ascend the ramparts, “The raiders,” I specified.

“Probably sending a newbie they don’t like to gloat or taunt at us, see if we’ll shoot first and ask questions later,” Strap answered, burning a scowl into the gates, “At least, that’s what I’d expect your normal breed of raiders to do. These ones?” she let out a huff, “Well, maybe it’s an attempt at a distraction. They’ll try to get us to watch one hoof while they move the other, but Bleeder’s good at what he does, he’ll make sure folks are watching the rest of the pack while we deal with the lone body. Won’t get tunnel vision.”

I nodded my head, but still sent a fretful look to the gates. Burnout had had gates, and there was a very good chance that these raiders were the same ones that had turned that place into a...I stopped myself before my mind could dredge up any worried memories.

“Hey,” Strap put a reassuring hoof on my withers, “Don’t let them get to you, no matter how smart they still gotta get through those gates,” she jerked her head towards the gates in question. “Those gates are thirty feet high and practically all metal,” she fancied them with a look of her own. “Wrangler claims they’re transfigured from a stable door. Dunno if that’s just a story to help boost the town’s image or not, but if it’s true those things could stand up to a batch of balefire eggs and not even dent.”

I nodded at her reassurances, but her words did little to quell my worries.

* * * * *

A good chunk of my fear faded as breakfast lifted my spirits. Thankfully it was porridge and not greasy, fried potatoes this morning. I jumped at the chance to get another cup of coffee when a pot was brought out, doing my best not to burn my tongue on the savory, black liquid.

“They don’t have coffee above the clouds, do they?” Strap asked when she caught me staring forlornly into my empty cup.

“No, we do,” I assured her, spooning up the last few bits of my porridge, “But like everything else, cloud-grown coffee beans don’t impart a whole lot of flavor when you brew them.” I toppled my empty cup with a hoof and a sigh, rubbing a cramp in my belly.

“I’ll be sure to get you a tin of coffee before you have to return, then.” Strap scooped up my fallen cup and empty bowl with her magic, setting them aside with the rest. “Hell, maybe you can start a trade route between here and the clouds, make a killing off of wasteland coffee.”

I giggled at that idea, though something like sorrow worried its way into my brain at the thought of leaving the friends I’d made down here. There were certainly things I’d miss (like food), but as the past week had shown, this was no place for me to try and raise my foal. One way or another, I’d have to make my way back above the clouds when the time came…

“I need her,” I hadn’t noticed Bleeder arrived until he was right in front of us. It took my brain a moment to realize who he was talking about.

“Me!?” I stopped absentmindedly rubbing my belly, worry tearing my eyes up to the ramparts where armed ponies were waiting.

“For what?” Strap looked between me and him, “You’ve got folks for running wounded down here, and she’s—”

“She’s a pegasus,” Bleeder cut in with a sense of mild impatience, “I need to send somepony down the wall to see what the raider wants.”

“What?!” I regretted the volume I lent to my voice, earning more than a few glares, but it was entirely warranted with that insane request. Me? Talk to the raider?! That had gone oh-so-well last time I’d tried it!

“Yeah, I’m with Skies on this one,” Strap agreed with me. It was an insane notion, but I couldn’t have misheard her, “What the hell do you need her for?”

“The raider arrived a couple minutes ago, he shouted up that he wanted to parley face to face, didn’t want to shout things out.” Bleeder let out a sharp huff and admitted: “The fact that he knew that word might be promising in ending things with minimal loss.” His eyes turned from Strap to me, “As to why...Skies, was it?” I nodded, “As to why I need you specifically, it’s simple: I’m not opening the gates and we don’t have the horsepower to lower somepony down and bring them back up with telekinesis if things go haywire,” he let his words sink in for a moment, “That really only leaves a pony with wings who can fly up out of there on her own if this is a trap.” I followed a quick hoof gesture to the armed ponies on the wall, “You’ll have over a dozen ponies with guns all trained on the rat-bastard and he’s unarmed, so if he so much as sneezes we’ll be able to put him down before you can say ‘gesundhoof.’ All I need is somepony to, essentially, go down there, listen to what he has to say, and tell him to get lost or die.”

“Wh-what about High Rise?” I stammered, looking around for any sign of her. She was a mercenary, right? Could she be on the walls with the rest of the town defenders? “She’s a pegasus!” I blurted.

“Is she around?” Bleeder asked, though his eyes didn’t move from me.

“No…” I had to admit there was no sign of the dashite. Hadn’t I had a dream about this? Something about her and my preening kit? There were even ghouls and everything, if I remembered right!

“Then I can’t use her,” Bleeder reasoned, sighing, “Look, I’m not asking for much, but if you think it’s too much then just say so and I’ll drop it.” Bleeder gave a decisive wave of his hoof, “There’s nothing stopping us from dropping the bastard and daring his friends to come charging after us, but if the raider really just wants to chat, then maybe we don’t have to take the risk of return fire.”

“I’m not gonna tell you one way or the other,” Strap said, taking a moment to chew over her next batch of words, “But I’ll admit that maybe Bleeder’s got a point…” Strap looked at her hooves, “And if they’ve got captives, maybe they’d be willing to trade…”

“No!” I wanted to cry back, I was not about to go out there on my own and face down a raider! Even if...even if he was unarmed? Even if I had a dozen ponies watching my back? Even if I could fly safely away if trouble arose? Even if the raiders had Red Mist and other caravaners? Even if there was a chance I could bargain for their release?!

Damnit.

“Okay,” I said, gulping down my fear like a hunk of stale bread, “I’ll...I’ll do it.”

* * * * *

So far the coast was clear.

Careful wingbeats led me down the other side of Oasis Springs’ walls. My head was on a swivel, switching between scouring the wasteland for any sign of trouble to fixing the lone raider buck with a worried glare.

He didn’t really look much like a raider, at least not one of the ones that I’d seen so far; covered in filth and wearing the hides of their fellow equine. Instead, he was naked like me aside from my saddlebags, but also unarmed which was unlike me. When I finally settled on the dirt after another quick look around it was with only three legs. My fourth was slipped through the loop of my shotgun, ready to bring the weapon up to my mouth at the slightest provocation. I hoped that made me look mean and threatening, because if push came to shove I wasn’t sure I had it in me to shoot an unarmed pony...even if he was a raider.

The raider’s eyes were a deep, dark blue that was so close to black his irises almost blended with his pupils. His coat was so dark that it swallowed all definition, making him look almost like a living shadow. What little mane and tail he had were a midnight purple, his cutie mark (assuming he actually had one) seemed to blend with his coat, like a shadow in the night. When he smiled his teeth shone out past his dark lips, the expression not even trying to reach his eyes as it laid mirthlessly across his face. An old picture of a shark from a pre-war book swam through my head and the similarities were striking.

“You must be Healthy Skies,” I flinched when he said my name, my hackles rising at his quiet voice. It was smooth like a pool of water in the dark depths of a cavern, calm but hiding something terrifying beneath its still surface.

‘Must’ve got my name from Mist or one of the others,’ I realized, swallowing my initial question and offering another.

“What do you want?” I gave myself a mental pat on the back when I didn’t stutter out the words, putting on a firm demeanor as I continued: “You said you wanted to talk. What about?”

“Could you spare some water?” He licked his lips and cleared his throat.

“I...some water?” The request threw me off guard, a frown creasing my lips. I’d been prepared for a cackling monster telling me about how he was going to turn my mare parts into a purse. My eyes darted briefly to his distant encampment; were we sure this pony was from the same group that had been hounding us for the past number of days?

“I’m a bit parched from my walk over,” the raider gave a quick headbob of a nod. His eyes never left mine as he made the motion and I couldn’t remember if I’d seen him blink yet, “Left all my belongings back there, in case you didn’t notice.”

I considered his request for a moment. I could of course tell him to get lost or die as Bleeder had suggested, but so far he hadn’t made any unreasonable requests. That, and what kind of mare would I be if I refused someone water? Even if he was a raider…

“Sure, hold on,” I dropped my eyes to my saddlebags before quickly snapping them back up, fearful that the raider might try something. Perhaps his almost cordial demeanor was simply a ruse meant to lull me into a sense of complacency. But he was just standing there quietly; I still rummaged about with a wing and kept my gaze locked onto him. When I finally procured one of my water bottles I started to step forwards before re-thinking the move and holding it out in a wing.

He took my offering with his horn, his magic lingering just briefly on my pinion before I snapped it back to my side, sans water bottle. Could magic transfer diseases? Regardless, I made a mental note to wash the wing thoroughly the next chance I got.

The raider’s eyes continued to bore into mine as he unscrewed the cap and drank slow and deep, forcing my eyes away with the intensity of his own. I cemented my gaze on his chest, watching for the slightest twitch of a muscle that would betray his attack. But he remained perfectly still as he finished off the bottle with a number of slow gulps.

“Ahh, much better,” he was still staring at me when I lifted my gaze back up, seeing my emptied water bottle held out in his magic for me to take.After a moment’s hesitation I shook my head, let him keep the damn thing. No amount of sanitization would make me comfortable drinking from it again, “Thank you,” he said, and my skin crawled when the bottle disappeared into thin air. I had no time to ponder what kind of magic would do that as he got down to business, “If you come with me right now I’ll take my flock and leave the good people of this town to their business.” He worked another smile across his face, equally insincere as the first.

I started to ask why before stopping as I realized I probably didn’t want to know the answer to that question. Instead, I added a few more words before voicing my response.

“Why would I do that?” I tried on a scowl, channeling my inner Leather Strap, “We’ve got more than a hundred guns up on those walls and supplies to last through winter! You’ve got a few dozen guns and a few hundred feral ghouls that’ll never make it through those gates,” I jabbed a wing back towards the gates in question, “What makes you think you’ve got that kind of bargaining power?”

“Worth a shot,” the raider offered me a shallow shrug and another chilling smile, “I’m Mister Wizard, and I’ve got a proposition for you, if you’ll hear it?”

‘Is there a Missus Wizard?’ My brain snarked, but the thought of another pony like him made my tongue dry out so I didn’t voice the question. I gave him a curt nod instead, letting him continue.

“I’ve got prisoners, you’ve got caps,” he smiled again and I suppressed a shudder at the sight of it, “Let’s trade.”

“How much?” I tried not to sound over-eager at the prospect of freeing the prisoners. There was no way it was this easy, right? But logically it made sense. Mister Wizard knew he couldn’t take the town, so he was going to take our caps instead. I only hoped the prisoners wouldn’t arrive in the same state that Rock Runner had, “And they’d better be in good shape.”

Mister Wizard grinned a nauseating grin that cut through my harsh facade like a scalpel, “You enjoyed what we did to the earth pony, did you? Really outdid myself with her. I hope she got our message out before she passed.”

So he was the sick bastard behind Rock Runner’s torture? Maybe I could shoot him in cold blood after all...

“Actually, she’s doing quite well!” I snapped back with a triumphant smile, “In spite of your best efforts to break her down and kill her, we brought her back! She’s still very much alive and on track to make a speedy recovery.”

“Five hundred caps per prisoner,” Mister Wizard didn’t seem to hear my words, “That’s three thousand caps for the whole lot. I’ll even throw in one of the wagons to drive them over for free.”

“We counted seven prisoners,” I said after crunching the numbers, “That should be thirty five hundred caps for all of them.”

“Red Mist isn’t for sale,” Mister Wizard replied, “Though I’m sure he’d enjoy your company. Hay, I’ll even throw in a discount: four hundred apiece if you come along with me when we leave.”

“I’m not leaving with you!” I snapped back, managing to take a menacing step forward. The effect it had on the raider was dubious, but it made me feel better, “Deal with it.”

Mister Wizard considered my words in silence and I tensed under his unblinking gaze. Had I crossed some line? Was he about to strike? I was considering bringing my shotgun to bear when his lips parted in another gruesome grin, “Okay.”

Whether that meant he’d accepted my challenge or accepted that I wasn’t coming with him, I wasn’t sure. Somehow, not knowing made it all the worse.

‘It’s just psychological warfare,’ I tried to calm my racing heart, remembering Strap’s words two nights ago, ‘He can’t do anything without getting a faceful of lead, he’s just trying to psych me out and scare me!’

“You’ll send us the prisoners first,” I got back to business after a quick swallow to wet my dry mouth, “Then you’ll get the caps.”

“My terms are as follows,” Mister Wizard spoke as if I hadn’t said a word, “I’ll bring the wagon to no mare’s land between the town and my flock,” he inclined his head slowly backwards, his eyes still never leaving my own, “You will bring the caps there, where I will take them, count them, and let you take the prisoners.

“You will bring no more than two others to pull the wagon back to town and they mustn’t be armed. You may keep your fancy scattergun, if that makes you feel better.” He let a smile wiggle across his face, “I will be alone as I am now when I receive you, just me and the prisoners, my flock shall not intervene.”

“And then you’ll leave the town in peace,” I didn’t make it a question.

Mister Wizard only smiled his wicked smile.

* * * * *

“We accept your terms!” I watched Dual Gauge shout down from the wall, a sour glower on his face. It hadn’t taken long to bring him over and get him up to speed on the situation, he’d agreed almost immediately to Mister Wizard’s offer.

“You’re sure you’re up for this?” Strap asked me as Dual Gauge descended and started making his way over to us. A number of guns on the wall tracked upwards as they undoubtedly followed Mister Wizard’s retreating backside.

“No,” my wings were wringing themselves at my sides, but I gulped down my fear and tried to put on a brave face, hoping to reassure myself just as much as Strap, “But I’m still the best pony for the job…I can check the prisoners and I can fly.”

“Fine, I’ll give you that, but Skies,” Strap burned a hard gaze into my face, stealing every last bit of my attention, “If something goes wrong, get the hell out of there. Forget the caps, forget the prisoners, forget about any heroics. You with a shotgun against a horde of ghouls and raiders is not a fight you can win. Make sure at least one of you comes back alive.”

“I’ve still got the flare gun and one round left,” I told her my contingency plan, “If they try to send the ghouls after us, I’ll use it to throw them off. If they start shooting at me and forget the ghouls, same deal. It’ll at least cause some chaos and buy some time for the prisoners.”

Strap looked like she was going to shoot me down again, but after a moment she sighed and conceded, “Okay, that’s not the worst plan I’ve ever heard. But your priority is still getting yourself back here in one piece.”

“I agree,” Dual Gauge joined the conversation as he trotted up to us. His gray-eyed gaze settled on Strap, “someone’s getting the caps?”

“I sent Marrowbone off,” Strap jerked her head down the road, “Probably could’ve gotten a better deal if I’d done the talking,” Strap added, “Not to piss on your parade, Skies, you did the best you could.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be upset that she was trying to barter over ponys’ lives or accept her mild praise.

“Ponies are worth more than caps, Strap,” Gauge grumbled back, “I’d have gladly paid triple the raider’s asking price and let him keep the damn wagon.”

“Three thousand’s going to put us back a month if it doesn’t put the caravan under for good after all we lost,” Strap turned to him with a sour look, “We’ll probably have to sell the wagon off regardless, maybe get back a quarter what it’s worth after all it’s been through.”

“Insurance will come through,” Gauge asserted, helping to put my mind at ease, “We’re not going to go under.”

“Premiums are going to go up and we’ll be fighting to make back what we lost for months, if not the next year.” Strap’s frown was unconvinced.

“Damnit, Strap! We’ll make this work!” Gauge snapped back with a little more vehemence than necessary. Strap scowled, but said nothing more as he turned to me, “Are you certain you’re up for this? I’ll go out there myself if you’re not.”

“I’m good,” I nodded, gesturing to Strap, “We were just talking about it. I can light off my last flare and get to safety if something goes wrong.”

“Expect it to,” Gauge glowered through the closed gate, “That raider’s trouble, the quiet ones always are,” he let out a snort, “I’ll take a loud raider over a quiet one any day. I’d have put a round square through that grinning head myself if not for our prisoners,” he turned back to us, “if he comes back after they’re secure, you can bet your butts I will.”

“They’ve still got Red Mist…” I said, still not certain how I was supposed to feel about that. Even my worst enemy didn’t deserve to be held prisoner by ponies like that! But he was beyond my worst enemy!

“I’m sorry,” Gauge’s hoof ended my inner turmoil as it settled on my withers, “For what it’s worth, I’d have paid for his freedom, too.” I settled a wing atop his hoof, giving a gentle squeeze as way of thanks before he took it back, “Good luck out there, Skies.”

* * * * *

Sips of water kept my nausea at bay as the large gates of Oasis Springs crept open for me and two other ponies to leave. Restless was the first, Break Action was the second. Both of them were naked to keep weight down, and I’d ditched my bandolier of shotgun shells for the same reason. I’d have to make the eight shells I had count if things went teats up.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan as far as the raiders were concerned. We’d watched as six shackled prisoners were bullied into the wagon, which was then pulled out to the halfway point between us and them. The extra raiders had departed and now Mister Wizard and the wagon awaited us all alone.

The gates startled me when they slammed shut behind us, but I swallowed my second thoughts and pushed on with the other two.

“If this goes south, give me that shotgun,” Break Action spoke up as we made the tense trek, “You can fly away, but I’ll make sure the two of us don’t suffer if those ghouls bear down on us and we can’t get away.” She shivered and I remembered the screams of the ponies who’d been left behind in our mad wagon dash mere days before.

Restless nodded with a quiet grunt and I forced myself to nod in turn.

“Thanks, Skies.” Break Action turned her gaze back to the horizon, “Still hope it doesn’t come to that...”

“It won’t,” I tried to reassure her as a bout of tinnitus rang in my ears. But she only nodded and said nothing more.

It only took us about eight minutes at a careful trot to reach the spot where Mister Wizard was waiting. He just stood there, not moving, his eyes boring into mine with an almost reptilian quality. I still swore I hadn’t seen him blink yet, but I calmed myself by switching to a three-legged trot as I slipped a forehoof into the shotgun’s loop and flicked the safety off.

“Got the caps?” Mister Wizard ignored the other two as they poked their noses carefully into the wagon, nodding to themselves and strapping into the harnesses. That meant everything was good on their end, so keeping my gaze on Mister Wizard, I dug into my saddlebags with a wing, bringing up the fat sack of caps and holding it forth.

The raider weighed the sack in his magic for a moment, making it rattle with a soft shake. Then, like my water bottle before it, it seemed to evaporate into thin air. Was that what teleportation looked like? I refused to believe that anyone was mad enough to just destroy such a sum of money.

“I do love the good jingle jangle of payday,” I flinched at the quiet sound of Mister Wizard’s voice, “Don’t you?”

“You’ve got your money, now leave us in peace!” I would’ve stomped a hoof for emphasis but with a forehoof in the shotgun’s loop I didn’t have one to spare. Instead I just fixed him with my best Leather Strap glare, “You can’t take the town and you just lost the only bargaining chip that you’ve got!”

“Oh, so Red Mist really doesn’t mean anything to you anymore?” Mister Wizard cut at me with his words, “Just a tool for you to use and discard once its point is dulled?”

“What…I didn’t…how dare—!” I fumbled over my words at that ridiculous accusation only for Break Action to call out.

“Skies!” Break Action let out a snort and stomped, ears pinned back and tail flicking anxiously, “Forget him! Get in, let’s get out of here!”

Mister Wizard let a mirthless chuckle slip out past his dark lips, “Goodbye, Healthy Skies. I’ll let Red Mist know you said hi.”

I answered with a snort of my own, stepping back and hopping aboard the wagon which took off at a quick pace. Mister Wizard didn’t move, watching us depart with his shark-like features until he was just a tiny black figure in the distance. Seeking a distraction, I shoved my tumbling thoughts away from the raider and Red Mist and turned my focus to the now freed prisoners.

A wild variety of festering wounds greeted me. Cuts and scrapes and bruises and bites that were scabbing over or weeping blood and pus. What bandages they had were little more than dirty scraps of cloth turned brown with old blood. Clearly the raiders hadn’t bothered giving any of them treatment, though whether due to cruelty or a simple lack of medical knowledge I could only guess. Still, though, none of their wounds were immediately life-threatening and I wondered if that was because all those with life-threatening wounds had perished.

“Should’ve brought more water,” I thought out loud as I saw the last few drops disappear before everypony had had their fill. Dehydration had been setting in among the wounded, tenting skin, raising heart rates, and incurring fevers.

One of the ponies gave a wry chuckle followed by a dry cough as he heard my words. After a moment, I recognized him as Hot Wire, the head of the caravan’s fixers.

“Don’t worry about it, filly,” he wheezed as I stepped carefully over to him, “Plenty of clean water in Oasis Springs.”

“We’ll be there soon,” I gave him a nod and a small smile.

“Flare!” My smile collapsed as Break Action cried out the fateful word.

I stumbled quickly to the back of the wagon, trying my best not to step on any of the wounded. I could no longer see Mister Wizard, but as I watched a great cloud of dust began to rise from his camp. My wing, however, hesitated from grabbing the flaregun as I scanned the overcast skies for the slowly falling flare.

“Where!?” I called forward, “I don’t see it.”

“It’s over the city!” I didn’t miss the mix of unease and confusion in Break Action’s voice as I turned and trotted forwards to stare with my own mix of surprise and incredulity at the sight before me.

High up above the walls of Oasis Springs, a bright flare was falling slowly towards the ground.

“They lit it off?!” I couldn’t help the incredulousness in my voice, “Oasis Springs?”

“No way in hell a raider got in,” Break Action shook her head, “Are the ghouls responding?”

“They are!” I nodded, glancing back at the rising dust cloud behind us as something suddenly dawned on me, “But they’re too far out, we’ve got enough of a head start that we’ll get back well before they do!”

“Did someone inside the town light it off?” Hot Wire spoke up from his spot on the wagon bed beside me, “Perhaps as a distraction?”

“This was supposed to be the distraction,” I explained, showing him the flare gun in my saddlebags.

“Think you can beat us there on those wings?” Break Action asked.

“Yes,” I said, giving my wings a few quick flaps, “Want me to go find out what’s up?”

Break Action nodded, “Do it! But do me a favor, Skies…leave that shotgun.”

* * * * *

“No idea, accident maybe, get behind the wall and get ready!” Bleeder dismissed my question without even a glance as he held fast upon the ramparts of the wall. Others stood beside him, offering prayers to the goddesses as they prepared for the siege.

That answered one of my questions, but left me just as uncertain as ever. I hesitated in the air, frowning between the flare and the impromptu medical station below. Time was of the essence, did that mean I should go prepare to treat the wounded or go and grab the flare to distract the ghouls?

Glancing down, I saw the other medical ponies all taking position to intercept the wagon and unload the wounded with haste. Leather Strap had been joined by Holiday, both of them back away and discussing something. A final glance to the distance told me I had a few minutes before Break Action and Restless arrived with the wagon, maybe a dozen until the ghouls threw themselves upon the walls.

Biting my lip, I turned towards the flare and started pumping my wings.

I considered my options as I lined up my intercept. Did I bring the flare to the ground or fly off with it? If the ghouls lost line of sight on it what would happen? I suppose I could grab it, bring it down, and see what they did, then go from—

The breath went out of me as something struck me from behind, making me flounder and catch myself in the air. For a terrifying tearful moment I was worried I’d been shot again, the truth of the matter did little to ease my fear.

“High Rise!?” I wheezed out, turning in the air to see her as I clutched my chest.

“What’chu think you’re doin’, Healthy Skies?” the dashite snapped, kitted out in all her gear with her weapons trained on me.

“What do…you mean?” I spread my forelegs out to show her I was unarmed, taking a moment to recover my breath. “Why did you hit me? We need to grab that flare, the ghouls—”

“Ain’t no we, Enclave-lover!” she spat, casting a look over her shoulder and strafing around me so she could watch the gates. I followed her gaze, maybe a minute and a half until the wagon arrived. The gate was fully opened now, surrounded by large ponies ready to close it once the wagon was through.

“Look, whatever, fine!” I turned my attention back to High Rise, whose weapons were still aimed my way. “Oasis Springs needs that flare to disappear, the ghouls are following it! So please stop aiming at me and let me grab that flare.”

“There’s more at stake than Oasis Springs,” High Rise said, her eyes finding mine for a moment. A chill ran up my spine at the tone of her voice. “Fly back home, filly, ain’t gonna get another chance.”

“What…what are you…” I tried to piece together whatever it was that was going on. Was this some vendetta against me, against the Enclave? What did she hope to accomplish by screwing over everyone else just to give me a little shit? Was she really so blinded by her hatred that my words were falling on deaf ears? Was that a flare gun holstered on her breast?

I almost lost a wingbeat when I saw it, a flare gun just like the one I had, (or more importantly: like the raiders had) holstered within easy reach of her mouth. A piece clicked into place, not that it made any sense or made any greater picture come alive, but it clicked into place all the same.

“Did you light off the flare!?” I exclaimed, flapping a few yards back. A glance told me the wagon would arrive in thirty or so seconds, I could make out Break Action and Restless, huffing and puffing, nearly home free.

“Ain’t nothin’ you can do about it,” High Rise drawled, her eyes still focused on the wagon as she extended a…was that a radio antenna?...out with her teeth. Was she going to report in to someone? If so, was it the raiders or Oasis Springs?

“Please,” glancing at her guns, I took things a step back and tried a gentler plea. “I’m just trying to help the ponies down there, same as you! I may not be a…a dashite like you but there are ponies I care for down there, please just tell me what’s going on.”

High Rise spared me another glance, was that a splash of uncertainty I saw in her eyes? Her weapons shifted off me for a moment and her mouth opened and closed a few times.

Then her gaze hardened.

“They’re beyond help,” she said, pressing down on the pocket the radio antenna was coming out of. Looking down in confusion, I saw the wagon pass through the open gates of Oasis Springs.

Then it exploded.

My scream was a volatile mix of emotional turmoil; terror and disbelief, sorrow and confusion as the wagon disappeared in a miasma of dust and violence. The sharp crack of the detonation waited a moment before assaulting my ears, the pressure wave vibrating its way through my chest like the bassy crescendo of a rave.

Then others were screaming down below.

“Told ya,” the antenna clacked as High Rise collapsed it with a hoof, stealing my blurring vision from the catastrophe below. Her expression remained sour as I wheeled on her, fury and rage at seeing what she’d done boiling their way to the top of my head. “If it means anything, nothin’ personal.”

Nothing personal?

Break Action and Restless, Hot Wire, all those wounded ponies in the wagon I was going to help save…and how many more medical ponies caught in the blast as they tried to help!? Leather Strap and Marrowbone, Doctor Holiday and how many others!? Tears were blurring High Rise from me as I felt my breath hitch and rattle its way out of my throat.

Nothing personal!?

“You bitch!” I poured every ounce of anger I could muster into my cry, launching myself at her with hooves outstretched…

But she was a wasteland-hardened merc and I was just some nurse.

I barely heard the gunshot as sheer, mind-numbing pain lanced down my right wing. The blurry figure that was High Rise fell away from me…no, I was falling away from her! A cry escaped my lips with the taste of bile as I plummeted towards the ground; my right wing was a useless metal rod pulled hot from a forge and plunged into my side. My left wing flapped, useless without the use of my right, sending me spinning through the air.

‘Am I going to die?’ The thought came from the back of my head as the buildings of Oasis Springs rose up to welcome my corpse. The terror that came with that macabre thought brought a flurry of images to my mind, was this what it felt like when your life flashed before your eyes?

I saw my family again, smiling faces around the dinner table, then we played frisbee in a park down the street. Cloud Poker sat across from me on our last date. His lips pressed into mine for the very first time and the sound of his laughter filled my ears.

Little Reuben cried endlessly when mom brought him back from the hospital and then it was my turn as mother calmed me after I’d sprained my wing. My first test landed on my desk in high school, covered in sharp red marks. Then I was tossing my graduation cap into the air with all my best friends.

Had it been a good life? Perhaps, but it had not been a complete life. There was still so much I wanted to do! Get married, have my foal, grow old with Cloud Poker...was this the end?

My saddlebags saved my life.

I jerked to a stop with a sharp sound of tearing fabric as they caught on the corner of a roof. Enough of my momentum was lost in the split second that my saddlebags held that I hit the ground with an “Oof!” instead of a SPLAT!

It took my brain a few agonizing moments to realize I was still alive, staring up at the blurry gray sky and the lone flare falling down towards us, a harbinger of doom. High Rise was gone, or perhaps merely indiscernible amongst my tears.

Hooves galloped around me, cries and the distant pop-pops of gunfire growing steadily. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew that meant the ghouls were still coming. That they would be here in minutes with snarling maws and chomping jaws. Would the walls be enough to save us? Could we get the gates closed in time?

With a sob and a shout I rolled over and managed to get to my shaking hooves. Adrenaline had started to numb the pain of my wing, which I didn’t dare look at. My saddlebags felt lopsided as they hung from my body and I nearly tripped on the spilled contents from the side that had saved me, now shredded and torn open. Did I have time to collect the spilled contents? Did they matter?

I blinked my eyes to clear away the tears, staring down the main road to where the dust cloud kicked up by the explosion was thinning out. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected to see, but it was far worse than I could have imagined.

A crater sat between the great gates, all that remained of the wagon. Bodies and debris lay strewn about, some of it burning, some of it screaming, some of it still. Whining in pain and effort, I stumbled forwards. There were more medical supplies up ahead, Leather Strap…was she alive? She had to be, she’d know what to do.

My shaking hooves froze as a great groaning protest of metal met my ears. One of the great gates of Oasis Springs was swinging shut! Someone had to be moving it, closing it! Only…it was moving in the wrong direction, swinging slowly inwards as the wall it was attached to began to twist and crumble and wither. After all, the gate was transfigured from a stable door…but the wall holding it up? It wasn’t anything but a weak link.

Then, with a great whooshing of displaced air and a reverberating SLAM! the great gates of Oasis Springs tore free from the walls and fell crashing to the ground.

Footnote: Level up!

Skills increased:

+Barter

+Speech

Perk attained: Shotgun Surgeon – You’ve had enough time using scatterguns to learn how to use them with surgical precision! All shotguns now ignore 10 points of DT.

Pegasus perk: Falling With Style – You’ve had more than a few crashes and falls in your life, maybe you should be a little more careful! Regardless, you now take reduced fall damage.