Bottle caps.

That simple, metallic pieces used to seal contents inside a bottle. Previously worthless, now more valuable than gold, especially here in the slums. The city rules are dictated by ruthless merchants that only care about caps, if you have them, you can live in “The Core”, an enormous baseball stadium that now serves as home for the VIP ponies who can afford their own destiny. If you don’t have them, you’ll live in the filthy streets of the slum, where disease and poverty are the real rulers.

Everypony can enter The Core as long as they have the caps, but the only ones allowed to open up shops in the area to earn such caps are the ones that bought a merchant license on The Core. So the only thing you can do if you were born in the slums is to wish for a quick death or travel outside the city, through the harsh wasteland.

As a filly, I always wanted to get out of here, but my mom’s health was delicate and she couldn’t make the trip to the nearest city, Cartridge City.

I walked back home on hurried hooves, navigating my way through the cramped space between shacks on top of shacks we called streets.The foul stench of feces and urine only complemented the sight of misery as ponies carried their withering carcasses to and fro.

I’ve reached a rusty, metal structure that used to be an old world “trailer”, my home.

“Is that you, Heaven?” my mother asked from inside the house, coughing profusely. Our home was on top of an old wooden structure that used to belong to our late neighbor, so the clip-clop of hooves approaching the house could be heard everywhere inside.

“I’m back mom, sorry for the delay.” I apologized as I entered. My mother was an elderly earth pony mare with a beige coat and dark brown mane with streaks of gray. She was drinking her favorite red tea while laying down on an improvised net made of various pieces of cloth that I stitched together.

“Ah, it's good to see you’ve arrived safely. What did you bring?” she asked, coughing again. Her coughing was getting worse.

I retrieved two herbs from my saddlebags and showed them to her. “I bought the herbs I needed for your medicine! I’m gonna make it right away!”

My mother’s brows furrowed. “How much did you spend on that, child?”

I didn’t answer, it cost me a lot and mother would be angry if she knew it. I climbed the frail stairs that led to my room, it was filled with scraps and mechanical pieces, unfinished works were scattered across the shelves and on the far wall across from me was my workbench and chemical station.

The herbs were used to treat the symptoms of the “death plague” as ponies around here called it. It attacked the skin, lungs and eventually heart. There was no known cure, only treatment of the symptoms.

Minutes passed as I brewed my mother’s medicine. Almost finishing, I focused my hearing to know if her coughing was worsening, only to hear the sounds of hooves outside as somepony passed by, but the house was silent.

I ran down the stairs in worry, almost tripping on the tilted stair step.

My mother was lying limply on the net, her tea cup shattered on the floor with blood covering her chest and chin. She looked at me weakly when she heard my steps. “Safe…”

“Mother!” I darted to her side, tears streaming down my cheeks as I gently raised her head with my hoof.

She grabbed her necklace, an adorned key I made out of scrap metal and pointed to her room. “Get my chest… under the bed...”

I ran up the stairs, this time turning right, to her room. It was as simple as mine but way more cleaner. Searching under the bed I found her chest and brought it down to her.

“It was supposed to be… a birthday present,” she said through heavy coughs, more blood coming out of her mouth.

She opened the chest. Inside it was two science magazines and a pouch of caps. She locked the chest again and gave me the keys. There were enough caps to buy her medicine!

“Mom, w-why did you do this?” I asked, sobbing.

“I want you to… get out of here, get the caps… buy supplies, go to Cartridge City… and open up the shop you wanted so much,” she pleaded, her voice fading.

“But I can’t leave you here mom! Not like this!” I held her hoof like my life depended on it, or her life.

She gently stroked my head with her other hoof, holding my attention in her brown eyes. “You won’t child… but I’m afraid I will…” and with a final smile, her hoof fell.

“Mom? Mom?! Don’t leave me, please!” I cried, shaking her gently. But she won’t wake up.

I dropped to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably beside my mother.

Zzz.

‘What?’

I stood up and leaned over my mother, placing my ear on her chest. She was snorting!

“MOM!”

“W... What? Oh, Safe. I was feeling a bit sleepy and accidentally dropped my tea all over, sorry about that,” she said with a lazy smile as she fought to stay awake.

“Sweet Celestia, mom you scared the crap out of me!” I shot back with a little huff of annoyance. “I thought you died to the death plague!”

“Hahahaha.” My mother laughed hard at me, holding herself to the net so she didn’t flip and fall. “Oh, Safe Heaven you’re so silly! You really thought that dumb “plague” could kill me? I just caught a cold.”

“B-but what about that “I’m afraid I will” speech you just had?!”

“Oh… I’m kicking you out of the house,” she said flatly.

“... I don’t follow…”

“The caps I gave you, it’s for you to finally set up the shop you wanted so much, so I hereby declare you are devoid of a home! Oh, and the magazines are for you to pass the time on your travels.”

Shaking my head, I stomped my hooves on the floor to make a point and said, “Absolutely not! I’m not going to leave you here alone, no matter what you say!”

My mother recoiled, her ears pinned to her skull as she looked down, avoiding eye contact. “Okay… I’m sorry I tried to force you into this, it’s just… I’m getting old and I’m watching you wasting your time here with me instead of following your dreams, like your father did. I just want to see your dreams come true before I die…” she said, hitting all my weak spots, a sly smile showing on her face.

“Low blow mom, low blow.” I gave up. “I’ll go pack my things.”

As I began ascending the stairs to my room, I heard my mom shouting, “Sweetie, bring me another tea before going out, pretty please!”

…

I’m beginning to think that she spilled her tea on herself on purpose. Sly mare…

Footnote: Character Sheet

Name: Safe Heaven

Strength: 3
Perception: 2
Endurance: 2
Charisma: 9
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 2
Luck: 3

Tagged skills: Repair/ Science/ Medicine

Traits:
Junk Dealer: You can buy any kind of junk for half the price, and you find two times the amount of junk while exploring!
Strong Foundation: The key to a strong character is a strong foundation! You don’t gain new perks normally, instead you receive new perks for every new building your settlement has and these perks get better as your buildings improve!

Author's Note

Here's the introduction to a brand new story!

I hope you liked it!

Please let me know of anything you think I should improve in, so I can make better stories for your enjoyment!

bye!

-T.M.W.D.

Chapter edited by: EverfreePony