Game of Circumstances

Chapter thirteen: Market day

‘’ Hey! C’mon! Wake up!’’

‘’ Whaaa?’’ I grunted, opening an eye. Instantly, pain flooded my brain. ‘’ My head… Hap’… you will pay for this…’’ I put both hooves at each side of my head. I felt like my head was gonna pop between them. ‘’ Celestia… this thing… it is liquid death…’’ I heard a chuckle coming from above me.

‘’ Well, waiting for make Hap’ pay, maybe you wanna get some breakfast?’’ Sirius, because it was him, asked.

‘’ Gosh… actually, I could use whatever you have against hangovers…’’ Another chuckle. ‘’ What? I’m being serious! You don’t know how it hurts…’’ Pain. Pain everywhere. I mean, even blinking was painful. ‘’ Painkillers, maybe?’’ I asked hopefully.

‘’ Hmm… nah.’’ He answered. Sheesh. And he dare call himself a medic… ‘’ I won’t take the risk of you being addicted. Here, take that.’’ He put me a glass filled with whitened water, like somepony had dropped flour in it.

‘’ Whazza?’’ I asked again.

‘’ Aspirin. Now, take a deep breath and throw it back. I want you to swallow everything. Do not drop any centiliters.’’ I nodded hesitantly and began to drink the water. Beeh, tastes bad. But eh, I’ve never heard of a medication having a good taste. Hmm. Maybe it’s to prevent the patient from being addicted.

Hmm. At least, it worked. I felt my headache going away. I retire what I’ve said; this guy’s a good doctor.

‘’ Thank.’’ I said, still rubbing my head with a hoof.

‘’ No problem. Just, try to not be like that every day, I’ve got only four of them, and it’d annoy me if you wasted them in the same number of days.’’

‘’ Got it.’’ My stomach rumbled. ‘’ but I think I’ll be way better after a quick breakfast. Your offer’s still?’’

‘’ Yeah.’’

Half-an hour later, we exited the tavern, our hunger calmed. Apples, of course, but you eat what is on purpose when you are hungry. Hap’ had joined us a quarter hour after, and she seemed to be in great form, despite the … forty-eight glasses she had drunk the previous evening. I still don’t understand how she survived this.

And no, finally, I didn’t make her pay, because she’s only a child in her head, and she’s scary when angry.

No, seriously. Do you know any other pony that can kill five enemies armed with hatchet and other sharp things when armed with a fork? Not me.

I hadn’t seen that much light outside in my whole life before that moment where we stepped out of the tavern. It was the ‘morning’, nine O’clock, I think. And boy, they had lighted up the streets. We could see perfectly each details, things like that. I guess that the town’s lighters had passed by.

The town lighters? In all the big towns of the wastes, there’re suspended light bulbs and big fires at all road cross and important buildings. The lighter’s job is to light and maintain all day each of them. They are often unicorns, but I think I already saw some Earth Ponies and even a Pegasus wearing the town lighter’s outfits.

Anyway.

It was like a real day, but, of course, there was neither blue sky nor Sun in it.

‘’I think I’ll go buy me some ammos. Wanna join?’’ I asked. Hap’ shook her head.

‘’ No.’’ Sirius declined. ‘’ I must go buy medical supplies. ‘’

‘’ Ok. We catch up here for five?’’ I asked.

‘’ I’m okay with that.’’

‘’ Okie-dokie!’’

I nodded, and then each of us went its way.

Hmm… Where can I buy ammunitions in that town?

I resolved myself to wander through town and look for any supplies shop signs.  After all, it was surely easy to find in a town like that. I continued to limp through the already numerous crowd that populated the streets.

‘’ You!’’ I turned my head to face a purple unicorn with a mustache. ‘’ Yes, you!’’ He confirmed. ‘’ Come here!’’ I walked to the pony. I know, I know, he could have been an assassin or a thief, but…

‘’ What do you want?’’ I asked.

‘’ Well, I was opening my store, and I saw you. I said to me: ‘hmmm, don’t know this one.’ So I figured that you were a wanderer passing by the town searching for chems and ammos! Or, I am myself owner of one of the only supplies shops of Happiness!’’

Wow.

At least, I didn’t have to search for the day.

‘’ What do you sell?’’ I asked. He made me enter his shop.

‘’ Everything, why?’’ He answered.

Okay, bad question. Let’s reformulate this.

‘’ What kind of ammos do you sell?’’

‘’ Caliber 12, 5.56 Mm, 5 Mm… all from the pistol to the sniper rifle.’’ He passed behind the counter. ‘’ What can I sell you?’’

‘’ Do you have any good flashlights? Or explosives bullets?’’

‘’ For the flashlights, I have this one…’’ he said, putting a small flashlight on the counter. ‘’…not too ravenous in electricity, illuminate like a real lamp on fifty meters. Or this one…’’ He put a bigger flashlight, totally chromed, with a beautiful Sun.INC on it. ‘’ … designed to be attached on weapons, slightly more potent. The two are battery-powered, the first using only one of them, against two for the other. In another way, the second has a longer lifetime.’’

‘’ I’ll take the Sun.INC one. How many?’’

‘’ One hundred bits.’’ He replied. I winced. Expensive. But I had got the bits, so I put them on the counter. He smiled at the amount of bits.

‘’ And, for the explosives bullets, I’ve only got a box for shotgun. Twenty bits a round.’’ Wow. More expensive than the flashlight. Sighing, I put… one hundred-twenty bits with the rest. Now, it was really a hill of bits. I could barely see the seller behind it. He passed me my purchases. I said good bye and exited the shop.

Now, you don’t buy anything else, Cal. Or you’ll be ruined in ten seconds flat.

I must say that it was totally right. When there’s a newcomer, they all try to sell you anything.

ANYTHING.

‘’ Forks, forks!’’

TOTALLY anything.

‘’ Interested in windows?’’ I facehoofed.

Do I look like in am going to buy all of their useless shits?

‘’ Please, leave me alone!’’ A mare’s voice said.

Wait a minute… that wasn’t one of these money-grubbing’s cry, that!

I pushed one of the merchant.

‘’ Step back, you fools!’’ I shouted. I glanced through the crowd, looking for the mare.

Here!

Four ponies were surrounding a poor white mare with a blond mane. Hm. Bastards.

‘’ Hey bitches! If you want to fight, fight somepony who can fight back!’’ One of them turned to face me. He was green with a brown mane.

‘’ That’s not your affairs, you crippled wanderer.’’ He said.

‘’ Are you threatening me, bastard?’’ I replied. ‘’ I might be more dangerous than your actual prey.’’ I slammed the ground with a hoof.

‘’ Hey, guys, look at the three-legged bitch who thinks she can beat us!’’ He laughed, and the other too. Till my left hoof met with his jaw. He fell on the ground, and the laugh stopped abruptly.

‘’ You know, I think I can manage three phonies and a vomit-colored pony.’’ I snickered.

‘’ What did you just said?’’ He asked. He, looked like I’d just found his weakness point.

‘’ That you were ugly.’’ I answered. ‘’ You stink, too.’’

He screamed and tried to hit me on the face. You know, being enraged isn’t the best way to fight in a hoof-to-hoof combat. Attacks too obviously. I dodged his hoof, letting him pass me with his dash, and tackled him. He fell on the ground another time.

The crowd gathered around us chuckled at his miserable fall. He got up, his nose bleeding, and tried to punch me another time. I dodged, throwing me on the ground, landed on my back, and knocked him in the stomach with both hind legs. He let go his air out of his lungs as he flew shortly. He went right in the nearest stand, destructing it.

‘’ My stand!’’ Somepony in the crowd yelled.

He got up again. He limped to me -he had broken his left hind leg in the fall- and tried again to buck me, but he was visibly exhausted. I dodged his weak punch easily, and punched him right on the muzzle. I heard something cracking, and blood spattered from his nose. He tottered a bit, and fell on his side.

I turned to face the three others.

‘’ Okay! Who’s next?’’ They stepped back a bit, before running away, screaming like little fillies. ‘’ Pfff… bitches.’’ I approached the mare, which had been rolled on her during all the fight. ‘’ Hey, that’s okay, they’re gone now.’’ She poked her head out and looked at me with big, green eyes. I helped her to get up. Around us, the crowd began to disband.

‘’Th-thank…’’ She stammered, visibly still in shock state.

‘’ Come with me.’’ I replied. She began to follow me through the street. ‘’ Do you know where is the Guard’s basement? Or do you have family here?’’

‘’ I… I used to live with my uncle, Blood Rain…’’ She said.

Strange, that name… remembers me something...

Of course, I’m sure you know of who I speak, don’t you? Aww, that’s too bad. C’mon! I’m sure you know him! He was in Sirius’s story. Personally, I can’t well remember names till I saw the real pony.

‘’ Where does that uncle lives?’’ I asked.

‘’ … Um… he… he’s in the town guard… just in the 6th street.’’ She said, cowering behind her mane in embarrassment. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I saved her! She could be at least feeling better!

Hmm. Maybe I’m too much of a badass and people sense my awesomeness overpassing them. What? I’m a show off? Oh, c’mon, I was joking.

Whatever.

Ten minutes later, we finally reached the basement, guarded by two ponies in the characteristic old red armor of the guard. They first moved to prevent us from entering, and then one of them let go a surprised cry.

‘’ Miss Rain! Where were you? Your uncle was so worried!’’ Hm. Ouch, it smelled the incoming family argues. And it seemed that I was going to be taken by the storm too.

‘’ Hm… ‘’ She said. ‘’ I… I wanted to wander a little in town, but… ponies … attacked me… and… and… she saved me.’’ She leaned a hoof to show me to the guard. He nodded.

‘’Well, miss, seems that you prevented the captain from another rage crisis. Seems that we won’t have to call the doc this time.’’ He chuckled. ‘’ You can pass.’’ He nodded to his fellow guard, who knocked on the door. Soon after, somepony came and opened it.

‘’ Welcome in the town guard basement.’’

The basement was a big plain of dust, with sheet-metal barracks surmounted by names. The shy pony led me to the biggest of them.

‘’ It’s the… the place where are locked prisoners. My uncle works here.’’ She said, seeming to have gained a bit ease to speak with me. And then, she opened the door, and I froze.

I was facing two well-known ponies.