A Fallout Equestria Story

Chapter 02

Welcome to the Equestrian Wasteland

Alien.

If I had to think of a word that described how I felt in the current situation. I think “alien” would best fit the description. Everything around me was so new and unfamiliar. The “maintenance” tunnel I climbed out of seemed to be in the middle of a park (map updated, Equestria News Radio frequency found, Enclave Radio frequency found). At least I was assuming it was a park, it didn’t very much look like one, but then again, I couldn’t exactly see a lot of it. Looking directly up wasn’t exactly comforting either.

There appeared to be an endless void above me. If this place had a ceiling, I doubt I’d ever see it. Then there was that giant orb up there too. Was that the only source of light for this place? It seemed a tad inconvenient since it didn’t exactly offer much light. Especially when the clouds and buildings got in the way.

“Hello? Is anybody out there?”

No answer.

I didn’t know what I was expecting to be honest. For all I knew I was the only pony left in the entire world. This dark, cold, and empty world… Maybe I should try to find a spot that wasn’t so empty?

The scenery here was bland.

“Right,” I sighed, “time to explore… I guess.”

With that I began to move forward. Away from the maintenance tunnel, from the stable I used to call home, and from everyone I’d ever known. There was no telling what awaited me out here, but I wasn’t going to figure it out by sitting there and mopping. As I reached the end of the “park-like” area it occurred to me that I didn’t exactly know where I was going. Curiously I checked my PipBuck.

Fillydelphia.

My map had automatically updated itself! Probably when I stepped out of the tunnel. Not only that, but I seemed to have been picking up some new radio broadcasts. Immediately I dropped to my rump and started investigating my PipBuck more thoroughly. I wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed anything else while I was feeling sorry for myself.

I discovered that my C.P.I (Compass Placement Interface) and S.T.A.T.S (Stable-Tec Assisted Targeting Spell) were working again thanks to the reboot earlier. C.P.I is used for indicating which direction you are heading, as well as enemies, nearby locations, and quest markers (it uses special global positioning spells to do all that); and S.T.A.T.S aids in fights by showing you the best place to nail somebody, but only for a moment or two!

I made sure to keep that in mind for later. For now, I was too curious about these broadcasts, so I tuned into the first one labeled “Equestria News Radio.” My ears shot up as my PipBuck began to play music. Not like the music from the stable either.

Stay strong, Equestria (Equestri-ahhhhh)
The promise of a future awaits you
I know it’s hard, Equestria (Equestri-ahhhhh)
But I also know we can make it through

Despite the tune, I found this song a bit too solemn. Something from “pre-war” Equestria I figured. Especially since I didn’t recognize the singer. Of course, it could have easily been sung by someone in this era, but then the lyrics wouldn’t make sense. At least to me it didn’t make sense. I decided to tune into the other frequency. A monologue of sorts was already in progress.

“--take into consideration. The wasteland is vast, raiders, slavers, and beasts of all sorts, scattered throughout it. Yet we persevere! Someday soon I know we can learn to readapt to the way things used to be. Let us bring back the things that made Equestria the shining jewel of this world. The Enclave will guide us all to the future of our past. This has been your President, Victory Day.”

“President? Victory Day? Does this mean other ponies are alive out here?”

For all I knew this broadcast was decades old, but I didn’t want to throw away every shred of hope I accumulated. I wanted to believe there were others out there. Being the last pony in existence would be… kinda sad.

The “Enclave Radio” begun to play some sort music of its own. Like something out of a marching band. It reminded me of the annual parade the stable hosted. My heart began to hurt a little, it was too early for “nostalgia,” so I turned off the radio. Getting up again I looked around.

It was still quite dark, but at least I had my PipBuck to provide some light. I pressed further on into the surrounding area. The structures around me seemed unbelievably tall. Even though they looked decrepit and a lot of them appeared to have been mostly destroyed.

“I wonder if ponies used to live in these. They don’t exactly look very sturdy, but then again they’re probably over two-hundred years old by now.”

The environment was eerie. All I could hear were the sounds of my own footsteps. Gravel and rubble shifting beneath my hooves as I carefully made my way through “Fillydelphia.” There were several unfamiliar objects scattered along the path. Upon closer inspection, I assumed that ponies used these as a mode of transportation, since they heavily resembled carriages. Curiously I poked through the open panel in the front. Perhaps this was what powered the machine? Though there wasn’t very much left of it, someone had obviously picked it clean of any useful parts, making it useless to anyone else.

It was likely that all the vehicles around me had been scavenged already. I wondered if that held true for all resources that might have been in this area. Was there no food here? Only then did it occur to me that I might starve to death out here once my short supply of rations ran out. There had to be a place where I could get food and water.

As I pondered these things, I almost failed to notice the sound of voices breaking the silence. My ears twitched as I began to register the noise. These voices sounded distant. I wasn’t close enough to discern what they were saying—or shouting. I don’t think I would have been able to hear them if they hadn’t been shouting and laughing. Although, I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that laughter very much.

Still, I pushed forward and progressed to the source of all the noise, hoping to find other living, breathing ponies out here! Maybe they could tell me where there was civilization? Even a few lively shacks would be better than this big empty ghost town. As I approached their voices became clearer.

“…together like this! It’s like a great big happy… family reunion. Don’tcha think, Bones?”

“I sure do, Cross!”

Bones? Cross? What kind of names were those? I figured perhaps “new Equestrian” ponies were just named differently.

“Of course, families, ya know. They love and care for one another and support each other's interests. However, I don’t think you guys have been very supportive of my interests. First of which!”

It sounded as though there was a bit of a debate going on. One I hated to have to interrupted, but I was lost, and perhaps a little frightened being on my own. What I wouldn’t give to see some friendly faces. Turning around the corner of makeshift walls, I could see several ponies standing around a bonfire.

Oh, thank goodness. My heart felt more at ease finally. Knowing I wasn’t alone. As I went to step forward, the leader figure continued his speech.

“Is of course… shooting the fuck out of all you motherfuckas!”

Bang!

Whoa, never mind!

I played witness to gruesome scene. This leader figure had whipped out a gun and blasted one of the other ponies right in the face! The poor guys face had split open like a watermelon. Blood splattered everywhere while shattered piece of his skull and chunks of his brain littered the floor. Rearing back behind the makeshift wall I began to panic a little.

That one guy literally blew the others brains out!

Suddenly I felt my stomach lurching. Just what the hell was going on anymore? I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything I saw. Now I felt like I was about to vomit. The absolute last thing on my list of things to do. Despite myself, I cautiously peeked around the corner once more, and upon closer inspection I realized that two ponies were tied up and sitting in the middle of everyone else.

“Wooey! Wasn’t that a rush! Lez do it again!” The leader chanted.

I quickly looked away to avoid seeing what came next.

Bang!

Everyone in the camp screamed and cheered victoriously. These ponies weren’t friendly at all! They were a bunch of sickos who got some sort of twisted pleasure out of killing others! My stomach couldn’t take anymore of this, I wound up puking, but I knew it wasn’t safe to stay here. Quickly I ran off away from the camp in a panic. I was desperate for interaction with others, sure, but I wasn’t an idiot. These folks weren’t looking for friends.

In my panicked state, I ran off into some ruins. Everything in here looked as though it belonged to an old pre-war business establishment. My heart pounded in my chest as I looked for somewhere to hide. Hoping my laboured breathing and PipBuck wouldn’t give me away.

Suddenly, I realized... my PipBuck!

Hastily I turned off the glow. It hampered my vision, but at least it didn’t light me up like a beacon screaming “fresh meat!” For a while I sat there in the silence on the verge of sobbing. I hated the new world already. My heart ached, wishing I could go home to my family and friends, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

I could hear something through the darkness. Footsteps? They weren’t my own. Once again, I began to panic.

“Who’s there? What do you want?! No, just go away! I-I’m warning you, I’m armed, and dangerous!” Calling out to the darkness only made me feel more on edge. However, this time I received a response, though not a pleasant one.

“Should have stayed in your camp,” the voice called out before I was struck by a sharp pain in the side of my face. It knocked me for a loop and caused me to collapse off to the side. I was certain he’d just hit me with a blunt object. As though it wasn’t enough the first time, he struck me again in the face! “Take that… raider scum.”

My senses dulled as my consciousness faded. Before losing all self-awareness, I concluded that this would be my end. After all I’d been through tonight. The death that I narrowly escaped, the loss of everything I’d ever known and loved, and the horrors that awaited me out here in what was essentially a wasteland. I failed to keep my promise to my parents.

Before I finally blacked out. My psyche had shattered. Who was I now?

***

It was difficult to open my eyes. There was a sort of stinging from a bright light. On top of that my head ached from the previous beating it received. When my eyes finally adjusted to the new brightness, the view I had was… incredible. From what I could tell I was in quite the elevated location. Looking out over all Fillydelphia and beyond! The wasteland looked vast and empty for the most part, with a few areas that looked like settlements, or out of the way factories.

I was suddenly startled by a voice erupting from the side of the room. “Well, mornin’ Red!” There was a mare sitting next to me, she was close, uncomfortably so. As I looked at her she stared into my eyes. I didn’t exactly have any other choice than to stare back. Her eyes were a nice shade of blue.

“Uh, who’re you?” A good question to start off with. It was only then did I realize that I was tied to the chair I was sitting in.

“Yeah, ah reckon yer mighty confused bout now,” she chuckled, “no worries. We ain’t gonna hurt ya. We just ain’t sure if yer feeling the same way.”

I certainly wouldn’t have minded paying back the one from last night. Quickly I took a moment to examine my captor. Her coat was a sandy-yellow and her mane a sort of lemony yellow. She appeared to be wearing some leather armor or something. As well as wearing a country-style hat. Strapped to her side was a nice-looking revolver.

“Where’s my stuff?”

“Over there, we didn’ take anythin’ ah promise. It was temptin’ at first, but ah knew it wouldn’ve been right. We were surprised to find fresh food an clean water among yer things. Not somethin’ normally found in the wasteland, if ya catch mah drift. Proved you wasn’ a raider though. No way a filthy raider could get ther hooves on goods like these. You’ve certainly peaked mah interest, Red.”

“What even is your accent? Aint. Like. Nothin. I. Ever. Heard.”

“Nice impression, ah give it three outta five. Mah accent is southern, Red. Never heard a southerner speakin’ before?”

“Red… why do you keep calling me that?”

“Don’ exactly know yer name now, do ah? Only thing ah have to go off is yer red suit there. Don’ think ah’ve ever seen anythin’ like it either. Where ya from, stranger?”

“Hmm,” I paused to think for a moment, “’Red.’ It’s short, simple, and significant. Yes, Red will suffice.”

“Er, alright. Doesn’ answer mah question though,” the mare seemed puzzled.

“Yeah? Well, you still haven’t told me who you are!”

I wasn’t about to conform to all this questioning without knowing who my captives were or why they felt the need to question me at all.

“Okay, okay. Calm yerself, ah’ll tell ya. Mah name is Dust… an that gentlecolt loomin’ in the shadows over there, ya probly can’t see em, but he’s Shanty.”

“There aren’t more of you?”

“Nope, well there used to be, but they became a lil light headed recently.”

Finally, the stallion stepped into view and looked out over the surrounding area. He was larger than your average stallion, and a Unicorn like I was. Covered in a dark blue coat of fur with a short silver mane. Wearing leather armor like Dust’s and Carrying quite the impressive looking rifle around his back too. “In other words,” he said, “they had their brains blown out. A scene I believe you watched unfold last night.”

“Those were your friends?” I felt myself feeling a little sad for them, “well, I’m sorry to hear that… but wait, you’re the one who hit me!”

“Yeah, and I’ll do it again if you give me a reason.” This Shanty fellow certainly wasn’t a ‘people-person.’

“Don’t mind Shanty,” Dust insisted as she stepped forward and lightly pressed a damp cloth against the bridge of my nose, “he can be a bit of an ass sometimes.”

“Ow, ow. That stings,” clearly there had been more damage than I was originally aware of.

“Quit fussin’ already, you should just be glad he didn’ kill ya.”

“Uh-huh, so where are we exactly?”

It was time I started prying information from them. If there was anything I could learn about the new world, I was sure they could tell me, since they seemed knowledgeable enough.

“Good ol’ Fillydelphia,” she answered, “one of them pre-war cities that nobodies settled back into.”

“Besides the psychopaths at that camp you mean?”

‘Yeah, besides raiders, ghouls, an all manner of irradiated things.”

“Wait, ghouls and irradiated things?”

“That’s what ah said.”

“No, I mean I don’t understand what you’re talking about, please explain.”

“Don’ understand? How could ya not understand? It’s all sort of self-explanatory, isn’ it?”

“I get it now,” Shanty interrupted and stood in front of me, blocking the view of the city, “you’re a stable-dweller, of course! That explains the jumpsuit, the device on your left hoof, and the whole “fish out of water” look.”

“Ya think so?” Dust gave me a look over. It seemed she couldn’t tell as easily as he could.

“I know so, just take a proper look at him. He’s not wasteland material,” the stallion scoffed.

“He does look kinda frail.”

“Pathetically so…”

Right in front of me, nice. You’d think they would have had a little restraint because I was tied up right there, or perhaps that’s why they could speak so freely. I wanted these ropes off already.

“Still,” she continued, “ah think he’s a quick study. That’s a good trait to have out here.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Call it a hunch.”

I was getting a little impatient and decided to try and change the subject. “So, are you going to tell me about the ghouls and “other irradiated things,” or not?”

“Ghouls are… well, it’s sorta like this. Ther ponies who’ve been exposed to radiation that changed them. They resemble zombies, seein’ as how they try to eat ya alive, an look like walkin’ corpses.”

“That’s disturbing,” I commented.

“Yeah, smell ain’t too great either, but there are some ghouls that are okay. Ther regular ponies like you an I. They just look an smell like a two-century old death. Sometimes literally, some ghouls were alive before the war, an they can be kinda neat to chat with. Some of them anyways.”

“What makes these two different?”

“Well, one will always try to kill ya, an the other will only try to kill ya in certain situations.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Well, get used to it,” Shanty jabbed a hoof at me, “this is the wasteland, kid. If you came out of that stable expecting a thriving civilization and a big welcome home. You’re shit out of luck.”

“Look,” Dust sighed, “ah’m sure we could take ya back to Railway Junction with us. From there ah’m sure you could learn all ya need to about the wasteland. Might also be a good place to start yer new life. If what Shanty says is true, an you really are from a stable, then this is gonna be one heckova jump fer ya.”

These words weren’t exactly comforting, though I suspected that was the point. It appears Dust wanted to do her best to at least mentally prepare me for what was out there. Sure, it worried me, but I had to start adapting sooner or later. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to spend too much more time with Shanty.

***

I was finally able to grab a bite to eat and drink after they untied me. Dust told me that we had to wait for a clearer path out of the city. There was a noticeable gap in raider patrols that they weren’t aware of. When the time came, we begun to make our way through the gap, and out of Fillydelphia.

The journey back to Railway Junction wasn’t exactly a short one, even once we were clear of Fillydelphia. I decided to tune into Equestria News Radio for some music along the way. Dust was rather impressed by the fact that my PipBuck was also a portable radio, Shanty couldn’t be arsed, but I could tell he was still listening to the broadcast.

Another song was playing that I didn’t recognize. It was nothing like the last song I heard playing last night. This one didn’t have any words and sort of suited the scenery we trotted through. When the song came to an end I expect another to follow in its place, but instead, a rather charismatic voice came through.

“Good afternoon, Ponies of the Equestrian Wasteland! It is I, the one, the only, DJ-Pon-3. Live once again to bring you the news!

“We suffer a loss today as two great ponies from the Collective were apprehended by raiders and shot dead last night. Now children, I don’t want you losing hope or thinking that these ponies died for nothing. As we all know the Collective fights for the ponies of the wasteland. These two were no different. Their efforts will bring about better days for Railway Junction, they secured invaluable parts for a water purifier that the remaining two members of their team are bring home with them, and that’s not all. My sources tell me they found a poor lost soul along the way. One I believe is from the local stable! Good ol’ number five.

“This is the first stable-dweller we’ve seen in almost fifty years, isn’t that exciting? Hopefully our new friend receives a warm welcome from Railway Junction and the “welcome to the wasteland” starter package. Haha! Good luck, kid.

“Also… For those of you thinking you’ll be off to Stable 05 to try and get it. Don’t bother, the Stable door was sealed after the new kids’ departure. You can’t blast or force your way in either. That thing is like a meter thick and weighs at least thirteen tons.

“And that’s been your news for today! Unless I scrounge up something juicy later, I’ll let you know. For now, this has been DJ-Pon-3, woohoo! You’re listening to Equestria News Radio. We bring you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts.”

Once the voice faded out, music began playing again, but suddenly I was filled to the brim with so many questions.

“Who was that guy? What’s the Collective? How does he know about the events unfolding around here? More importantly, how did he know about me? I don’t understand this at all!”

“Whoa, slow down, Red. Yer gonna give yerself a stroke,” Dust chuckled a bit, “That was DJ-Pon-3 of Equestria News Radio. Sorta the voice of the wasteland, if ya will. If there’s ever anythin’ going down, he knows about it. Watches over us all through the ol’ EPS security towers. That’s where he’s stationed too, the EPS buildin’ in Canterlot, one heckova buildin’ built into the side of the mountain. One could almost call it a fortress. ‘Specially with the bucketheads around.”

“That just rises more questions,” I groaned.

“Ah’m sure it does… Can’t say ah got the answer to everythin’ you wanna ask, but ah’ll do my best. Anyways, the Collective is… well, it’s us. Shanty and I are part of the Collective. Used to be called the “Buckaneers,” back when it was just Earth ponies. Based on the ol’ war heroes or somethin’ like that. As more ponies joined up though, Buckaneers no longer made sense, since they were a “Earth pony exclusive” group. Which is why they changed the name of the group to the Collective.”

I did have a lot of questions, but I didn’t want to be asking questions all day, so I decided on only asking a few more.

“Okay, what’s EPS?”

“EPS stands fer Equestrian Protection Service. Kinda ironic if ya think about it, ah mean what could they protect when the megaspells dropped? Shit all.”

“Who are the bucketheads you’re referring to?”

“I can answer that one,” Shanty looked back at me as we walked, “They’re known as the Steel Crusaders. Bunch of pre-war technology hoarders who claim to be protecting ponies from themselves by making sure we don’t have access to the technology they’re gathering for themselves.”

“Shanty here used to be a Steel Crusader before he became a part of the Collective,” Dust explained.

“They call themselves an army, which I won’t argue with, but they aren’t protecting anyone but themselves. You’ll know a Steel Crusader the moment you see one, trust me on that.”

I nodded slowly. “So, how can you tell who’s part of the Collective?”

“Well, you can’t really. It’s not like we carry badges or something. A member of the Collective is defined by their actions. You go out and start helping ponies, even if you haven’t said so yourself, they’ll see you as part of the Collective. There have been some who go around gloating about being part of the Collective… usually because it tends to give you free drinks. Liars get sorted out pretty quickly though.”

“Members of the Collective are defined by their actions,” I parroted.

“Exactly! You can say you’re a part of it all you want, nobody's going to believe the shit you say unless you're doing things to back it up, and on the other hoof; you could go the whole time without speaking a single word and still get the full respect of a Collective agent.”

“So long as you're willing to go out of your way to help ponies.”

“I think you were right about this one, Dust. He is a quick learner.”

“Ah told ya so,” she shot him a smug grin.

Yeah, and Shanty wasn’t such a bad guy either. We got off on the wrong hoof, sure, but that was merely circumstance. To think I was in the presence of two very awesome ponies!

“Okay, one more question.”

Shanty gave a nod. “Shoot.”

“What is… the Enclave?”

Both sets of ears shot up as they looked at me a little surprised.

“The Enclave?” Dust repeated, “Now how do ya know bout them?”

“My PipBuck picks up the frequency they broadcast on, but what are they?”

“That’s… hard to say,” Shanty looked puzzled, “I don’t think anybody actually knows who the Enclave are. Their broadcast has been around for years. Playing the same damn music all the time from those creepy floating radio bots. Occasionally, the robot will also play a pre-recorded speech made by that “President Victory Day,” but nobody's ever actually seen them before. If we have I doubt we’ve realized it.”

“On the radio, they mentioned they were going to bring back the old Equestria, or something like that… they seemed pretty motivated. I thought it was a bit inspiring.”

“The Enclave, inspirin’? Not two words ah’d put in the same sentence,” Dust spat, “bunch of hoo-hah nobodies spoutin’ empty words.”

“At the very least they didn’t sound hostile. That’s something, right? It seems as though there are a lot of different organizations to familiarize myself with.”

Shanty seemed amused by what I’d said. He let out a chuckle and looked back at me once more. “Not even the half of it, still got folks like the Tenponies, the Initiative, and the Neighborhood. It’s a tough new world out here. Beyond having to watch out for other ponies, you’ll also have to learn to protect yourself from the Mutants and wild animals, but they’re easy enough to spot.”

“Ther still pretty deadly though,” Dust added, “giant spiders, wasps, flesh-eatin’ moles, death-dogs— “

“—please stop,” I begged her non-expressively.

“It’s no joke,” Shanty insisted, “once you’ve spent a month or two our here. Your nightmares will feel like vacations compared to the wasteland.”

It was hard to think about how excited some of the other stable-dwellers were about getting out. I didn’t want to imagine what might have happened to them if they had. This wasteland was starting to feel like it could put Tartarus to shame. For the rest of the walk I thought it best to remain silent. Anymore questions might escalate the fears growing within me.

***

It was evening by the time we arrived. The walls surrounding Railway Junction looked as if they could reach the ceiling of the atrium back in the stable. Armed guards watched our approach from the tops of the walls. We followed the railway tracks and approached a set of large metal doors that slid off to the sides to let us enter. My PipBuck had suddenly alerted me of the new location I'd "discovered" suddenly. Before we could even step through the doorway, somebody rushed over to greet us, but he looked kinda mournful.

“Dust, Shanty,” he called out, “I’m… I’m so sorry. Chipper… and Stardust.”

Shanty put a hoof up to stop the approaching pony. “Please, it’s okay. They wouldn’t want us to grieve over their deaths. I know for certain that they’d much rather us celebrate their victory.” Using his magic, Shanty pulled two electrical components from his saddlebag, and offered them to the other pony.

“Yes, yes of course. Thank you… and may they rest in peace.”

“We thank you for your support, Sheriff.”

“Absolutely, any time. Oh, and you must be the stable-dweller?”

Dust took the liberty of introducing me to the Sheriff. Well, the Sheriff, and everyone who happened to be standing around nearby. It appears quite the collection of ponies had gathered suddenly.

“Red, this is Sheriff Tumbleweed, the uh… Sheriff, an when the need arises, Mayor of Railway Junction. Sheriff, this is--, well I dunno his name, but we just call em Red.”

“Red works just fine,” I assured them, “and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he said simply, “Now I suppose we should get down to business. We’ve got a water purifier to finish building.”

With all the excitement of a foals on their birthdays, the town followed the Sheriff to the other side of town, and watched eagerly as he installed the final components for the water purifier. I looked around for Dust and Shanty. I was sure that they’d want to savor the moment, but immediately took notice of their absence. Taking a quick look around I just barely caught them going into one of the buildings in the center of town. Curiously I decided to follow them and see what they were up to.

The building I entered didn’t look incredibly old. Suggesting that perhaps it was built during this era, along with the rest of the town, and that would explain how the town was only now getting a water purifier. This building was a saloon from what I could tell from my surroundings. Dust and Shanty were sitting at the bar.

“Welcome to the Drowning Cow, what can I get you?” The bartender eyed me down furiously. I would be lying if I were to say I hadn’t been at least a little intimidated at first.

Dust glanced back at me over her shoulder and smiled. “Get em one on me, Cow. He’s our new friend from Stable 05.”

“Stable-dweller? Thought their jumpsuits were blue.”

Blue? Where have I heard that before.

“Does it look blue to ya?”

“Nah, guess not. Here you go, friend, this one’s on the house. Because of this being the first place you see outside your hidey-hole… lucky you.”

I approached the bar and sat down between Dust and Shanty. Looking down into the mug that was pushed over to me, I couldn’t exactly identify the liquid inside by sight or smell, but refusing a free drink seemed rude. Wrapping the mug in my magical grip I lifted it to my lips and took a decent swig. The taste caught me off guard and I found myself choking on the beverage suddenly. Cow, Dust, and Shanty all laughed at me.

“What’s the matter? Never drank Whinny before?” Shanty felt the need to tease me too.

“Maybe he’s a lightweight,” Cow added.

I did my best to answer Shanty’s question while I coughed up my words. “N-no… can’t say I have. I’ve only recently turned eighteen!”

“Whinny Whiskey,” Dust sighed contently, “Yer gonna need time to get used to it, but eventually you’ll love it.”

It was then that I happened to notice that Shanty’s mug was filled with something else entirely. “Wait, what are you drinking? It doesn’t look anything like what I’m drinking.”

“That’s because it’s not the same drink,” he took another swing of his own beverage, “this is a good old fashioned beer.”

Think I’ll just get a water from now on… save myself hassle of nearly choking to death every time I’m thirsty. Not sure I’d ever get used to such a drink.

Once Shanty finished his beer, he smacked the mug down on the counter and dropped a bottle into the “tip jar,” and it was at that moment I realized… the tip jar was full of bottle caps.

“That’s an odd thing to collect as tips? Would have thought to see bits in there.”

“Bits? What’s that now?” Dust simply looked confused.

Shanty rolled his eyes. “He’s talking about the pre-war money, nobody uses bits anymore. Currency these days is all bottle caps. Which are in way more abundance than “bits” are.”

“I guess that’s fair,” I nodded in understanding.

“Anyways, come on.” Shanty got up from the bar and seemingly waited for me to start following him.

“Come on? Come where?”

“If you’re going to stick around here for any length of time, you should know your way around town. Familiarize yourself with the area. Get to know the ponies that live here. Also, you’re going to need a gun, some armor, and a means of earning caps.”

“If I were to have been told all this yesterday, I’d think you were crazy.”

“Well,” Dust finished off her drink, as well as mine, she got up from the bar too. “While you two are off doin’ that, I might as well get the next job done.”

“On your own?” Shanty didn’t seem too keen about that idea.

“Ah’ll be fine, Shanty. It’s only a trip to Dodge,” she insisted with a confident smile, “the delivery job. Easy peas fer a mare like me, y’know that.”

“It’s dangerous to go alone. Just wait for me to finish up here and I’ll go with you.”

“Alright, enough with the fuss. Ah’ll wait up fer ya.”

Shanty gave his partner a nod before gesturing for me to follow. I suppose it was a good idea to learn more about this town while I was here. If I wanted any chance of surviving in these wastelands, it was a good idea to take every opportunity I could to prepare myself for what was out there, or else it might be the end of me.

***

“A Thing Full of Things?” It was a weird name for a store, like whoever thought of it just didn’t feel like putting any effort into thinking of a proper name, so they just pulled something random from their ass.

“Yep, “for all your general needs,” it’s been Railway Junctions most successful business since they settled here,” Shanty explained to me.

“Since they settled? Talk about a quick setup.”

“Hm? Oh, no… this shop was here even before the town was created.”

What?! Who in their right mind would build a shop in the middle of nowhere? I mean, I guess I was about to find out, but it just seemed nonsensible to me.

Shanty stepped forward and pushed opened the door to ‘A Thing Full of Things,’ motioning with his head for me to go in first. This seemed a bit odd to me. It wasn’t exactly like Shanty to play the gentlecolt. He certainly wasn’t trying to impress me, in fact I was under the impression that he only had an eye for mares, but still I took his offer. Eyeing him suspiciously as I passed by.

“And who the fuck might you be?” A gruff voice from inside the shop sounded off as I stepped through the door.

I turned to look at the pony who’d been standing near the doorway when I entered, expecting somebody like Cow perhaps, but instead I was face to face with the scariest thing I’d ever seen in my life. This pony's face looked scarred and rotten. His eyes were lifeless, muzzle broken, and filled with a set of sharp plaque stained teeth.

“CELESTIA’S MERCY!!!”

I’d reared back and smashed into one of the shelves, several items falling onto my head which I tried to cover a little too late.

Shanty stepped into the building and broke into a fit of hysterical laughter. That bastard! He’d planned this the whole time. So, that was his angle for letting me through first. He just wanted to see me squirm. Dusty was right about him. What an asshole.

“Sorry, Rumble. I couldn’t resist,” he spoke to the thing that was standing in the corner.

The dead pony-looking creature had a perpetually confused look about him. Overall, he appeared as a colt in his middle-late teens, what was left of his mane was black and swept back, his coat looked rough, crusty, and filthy, and he also had wings. This “pony” was a Pegasus!

Simply looking up at Shanty before looking back over at me. “Somebody's gotta clean that up now and it isn’t gonna be me.” With that he trotted his way back behind a counter and stood there.

“No worries! We’ll clean the mess.”

You should be the one cleaning the mess… you’re the one who caused this after all.

The other stallion helped me up and began picking things up off the floor. Lifting the shelf back up and setting the various items back into it. There didn’t appear to be any specific order to where these things needed to be. After that we trotted over to the counter. Me, more cautiously than Shanty, but I had just gotten my wits scared out of me.

“Red, this is Rumble. In case you haven’t figured it out yet. Rumble is a ghoul. One of the pre-war ghouls to be exact! He’s also the unofficial founder of Railway Junction.”

The “unofficial founder” of this town? Shanty explained that because Rumble was technically here first, that makes him the founder, but that he’s not one for leadership. Letting Sheriff take the role of “Mayor” was an easy decision.

“I take it this isn’t a social call?” Rumble kept shifting his gaze between Shanty and me.

“Not this time, no.”

“Not ever you mean.”

“Red is new to the wasteland, I’m just familiarizing him with the town, and getting him set up with the essentials.”

“Let me guess… stable-dweller?”

“Nail on the head.”

“The fuck’s wrong with his jumpsuit?”

My jumpsuit? I didn’t understand what he was talking about. Even though this was the second comment about it.

“Forget about it… you got any pieces that might suit our new friend? Perhaps something to make him less vulnerable.”

“Sorry, we’re fresh outta BB guns and baby blankets.”

“Just show us the goods, Dust is waiting on me.”

Rumble rolled his eyes and walked around the counter. Between Shanty and me, it was then that I finally noticed the smell, and I could barely resist reacting to it. I also felt Rumble’s body brush up against mine for a moment. Strangely enough it wasn’t as squishy as I imagined it to be. It kinda felt stale, like clay after it dries, or bread left out too long.

He used a key to unlock the counter and opened it up like some sort of chest. Inside was a rather impressive collection of weaponry. Pistols, rifles, and a shotgun or two.

“Whoa…” It was all I could manage since I’d never seen so many weapons in one place before.

“I’ll buy you one this time, along with some bullets, but after this time you’ll be expected to take care of yourself.” Scanning through the guns rather quickly, Shanty picked out one of the pistols, and examined it.

“A 9mm? I suppose that’s a good one to start off with,” Rumble yawned between us. He seemed rather bored despite his endless look of confusion. Once again, I was “graced” by the sight of his horrifying teeth. I wondered if he’d sharpened them himself. “I’ll charge you fifty for it and throw in a case of ten. Anything additional will cost you extra.”

“Twenty extra should suffice for now.”

“Seventy, and I’ll even throw in a harness. Call it a favor for all you’ve done for me.”

“You’re too kind, Rumble.”

“Shut up and pay me.”

Once the exchange was made, Shanty sheathed the pistol in the harness, and offered it up to me. I was a little hesitant to accept it at first. Surprisingly I knew the rules of wielding a firearm. Not that many of them applied to the new Equestria.

“I’ve never even fired a gun before,” I admitted while I strapped the harness around me (9mm pistol added, 30 9mm bullets added).

“Yeah, I figured as much, but don’t worry about it. You’ll get a lot of opportunities to practice. This is the wasteland after all,” Shanty assured me.

“Yeah, I keep hearing that.”

Curiously I began to browse the other wares this store had to offer. Some of the things in here seemed out of place with the other items. On one shelf were a few books, next to a pair of sunglasses, a Stetson, a few boxes of crackers, and a baseball. The other side of the shop seemed to display various mannequins wearing armor. Finally, my eyes fell on the weapons again, and a curiosity struck me.

“How much are these usually?”

“Be more specific,” Rumble looked at me.

“I actually meant all of it,” I admitted bashfully.

“Oh, great… Okay… pistols normally go for 120 caps a piece, ammunition for pistols is two caps per bullet. Rifles can go anywhere from 2500 to 6000 caps depending on what kind of rifle it is. Shotguns can go from 200 to 500 depending on the type as well. SMG’s, though I rarely ever see them anymore, can range from 1000 to 2500.”

“Those prices are insane, not only that, but you didn’t charge Shanty anything near those prices!”

“Members of the collective get a 50% discount, residents get standard prices, and outsiders like yourself… get increased percentages.”

“Are there any ways to get discounts besides being a member of the Collective?”

“Oh yeah, you can turn ‘round, bend over, and hold still as I shove my foot-long up your shithole.”

Shanty let out a chuckle. Clearly my struggling amused him. A part of me considered offering my rear as a joke, but I was sort of worried this guy would take it seriously, and I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about learning what it’s like to be screwed by an almost-sort of-dead guy.

“So forward, at least ask me to dinner first,” I insisted.

That seemed to make laugh, if only for a second. “You couldn’t afford it anyways.”

Ouch… well, he wasn’t wrong I guess.

“Come on,” Shanty interrupted, “we still got a few more stops to go and I doubt Dust will appreciate me making her wait too long.”

“Alright, get out of here.” Rumble shoved me toward the exit after Shanty left the shop.

Once we left “A Thing Full of Things,” Shanty showed me around the rest of the farm. A trip that included a visit to the Clinic, the Hotel which served mostly as a residential building for the townsfolk, the restaurant where food could be purchased, a mane stylists surprisingly enough, the guardhouse, and finally the farm.

Eventually we found ourselves approaching the Drowning Cow once more.

“So, does Cow always look so fierce?” I asked suddenly.

Shanty grinned. “He looks mean, but Cow’s a softy. Likes to sing quite a bit too. Though, I advise you not to sit too close to him when he does.”

We made our way inside. Various ponies had accumulated within since we were last here. Perhaps getting in some last-minute drinks before they went to bed. It was getting rather late. Shanty took one look around the room and groaned.

“Cow! Where’s Dust? She was supposed to wait for me.”

“Where do you think? You didn’t believe she’d sit put, did you? That mare has the patience of a grenade. Doesn’t wait for anybody,” Cow laughed amusedly.

“Oh, I swear that mare drives me crazy sometimes. Guess I’m going out after her. You know your way around town now. It’s time you started making your own way, Red. Good luck!”

Shanty patted my shoulder before hurrying off to the West end of town. It was clear he didn’t approve of Dust running off to do a job on her own. The only question I had left was: now what?

The sun had gone down by this point and I didn’t exactly have anywhere to sleep. To think that Dust and Shanty were already going off on another adventure. They were way more used to this though. In the end, I decided to pick a spot in the dirt outside next to one of the buildings, which wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it’d have to do for tonight.

It was hard to put a pin in where my mind was at. So much had happened so quickly, I felt as though I should have been more affected by recent events, but all the emotional trauma had likely broken my psyche by this point. I was a lot calmer than I expected to be and before I knew it I’d fallen asleep.