Fallout Equestria: Exiles

It was the day after I had left the Bloodhoof Angel's complex, and it was a blisteringly hot one. Unlike Stable City, where I would have just stayed inside, there was no respite from the heat out here. Waves of energy rose from the ground, making the colourless air seemingly ripple around me. As the day progressed, I felt worse. A headache was coming over me and mixing with complete exhaustion. The only fortunate part about the heat was that neither wild animal nor Raider, not that there was much difference, dared brave the heat. As my hooves started to crumple against the occasional breeze and gust of sand, I realized they had the right idea. I took shelter underneath an old overpass, which was dry and shaded. I still felt like I was cooking in my armor, so I started to strip down. As I was doing so, my exhaustion turned to sudden nausea. My world turned and flipped as I hurled next to my things, splattering the ground with bile. I knew that I was actually very hot, but my body was suddenly chilled. I collapsed next to my things, still in my pajamas and having trouble understanding just what was happening to me.

In my mind, I saw what I only assumed was a fever dream. I was back at the Raider camp, watching myself from outside my body as it murdered everypony in sight. It was a gory display to be sure, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't seem to avert my eyes. As soon as I mustered the strength to peel away from the carnage, I wished I had not. From out of my saddlebag I saw another pony climb out, matter simply emerging from an impossible space. Her features were fuzzy, but I could make out the furrowed brow and bared teeth. This spectre was as mad as the Arc in front of us murdering Raiders, but for a different reason. There was a flick of magic and I saw her raise a revolver. The moment that I tried to reach out and talk to her, I felt a voice pull me to the floor.

I didn't understand what was being said, but as my eyes flew open the headache struck me like a bullet to the brain. Some grizzled, older stallion was leaning over me. My pajamas had been stripped off and he had a hoof both on my chest and another on my neck.

I did the only things I knew how to do. Attempt to kick him in the face with a hoof and scream as loud as I could. The scream did not get very far as he slid one of his hooves against my muzzle, his other hoof deftly deflecting my kick.

“I'm trying to help you, ya twat. Goddesses fuck you, save a pony’s life and they try and kick you.” The pony had a gruff voice with a trottingham accent, and once I understood what he was saying I stopped aiming more kicks at him. The stallion leaned back, pulling over a canteen and opening it up. I couldn't quite make out where I was, but as I felt the hooves leave my body I was overcome with weariness from the brief and sudden struggle.

“Here, you need to drink water.” The stallion said. I took the water canteen from him, taking a weak swig from it and spilling much of it on my chin and neck.

After I had swallowed the pitiful amount of water, I looked back to my apparent savior. I mumbled weakly to him, “What happened?”

“Not totally sure, I didn’t find you, you were just here.” The stallion waved his hoof to the side, gesturing at the area around us. I was lying on some sort of padding woven together from bark, and we were in a dimly lit cave that was cool and dry. “Mist said some of the tribals brought you in, N’ she told me to treat your heatstroke.”

“Heatstroke?” I asked, sighing and laying flat on the ground. I was not in love with the idea of not knowing where I was, but I also did not seem to be somewhere that was dangerous, either. That was certainly an improvement over the last twenty four hours.

“Heatstroke, yes.” I heard another voice sing-song from somewhere else in the cave. The first thing I saw was crackling in the form of a rainbow casting beautiful hues over the cave. This was followed by a rather stunning looking mare dressed in tight leather across her body. A strange gun with every colour I could imagine bouncing around inside of thick glass coloured her fine features. She sat the gun down and laid on her belly, smiling at me before she continued to talk. “Heatstroke is what happens when you get a little too much sun.”

I sat up, brushing the back of my mane. My head was still hurting, and I wasn’t fully processing everything that was going on yet. The mare’s smile dropped as she idly held up one of her hooves, which had leather fastened around it to make a shoe.

“My guards tell me you are a Raider.” The mare said.

“No!” I blurted out. Those words had gotten through my head quickly. “I’m not an animal like them!”

“Oh yes,” The mare agreed, nodding sagely and winking at me as she said, “I realize that even Raiders aren’t stupid enough to run around in the heat wearing their pajamas and an old curtain.” I was silent, feeling a tiny blush rush over my face as she stood up, picking over my armor with a lazy look in her eye. “You’re obviously not a Raider. So, what are you?”

I put a hoof on my chin, thinking about that. I looked up at the doctor and the mare, both of them giving me different looks. The doctor looked bored, like he needed to leave the room and take a walk lest he fall victim to narcolepsy. The mare seemed to be uncomfortably interested, but not in a creepy way. She looked like a newborn foal observing a stranger with a funny face.

“I’m-- not a what.” I said, nodding and sitting up completely. “My name is White Arc.” The mare shoved her hoof to me, nodding for me to shake it. I took it, shaking her hoof as she introduced herself.

“My name is Scarlet Mist, I fly caravans.” She withdrew her hoof, and my mind wandered to the idea of a rather average mare like her trying to fly a wagon full of trade good through the air. There was no way.

“So, you’re one of their guards or something?” I asked, glancing at her gun and then at her leather clothing. She hardly looked like a guard to me, and her laugh confirmed as much.

“No no, I have my own caravan business.” Mist sounded like she totally believed this when she said it, but I didn’t feel convinced. I had met a lot of caravan owners that passed through Stable City, and she lacked all of the seriousness and demeanour common among them.

“Right.” I said, trying to shift the subject to something else so she did not notice I wasn’t buying her story. “So, where am I?”

“Eh, I can’t pronounce it.” Mist said, sitting back down. “Some town of tribals. I come by about once a year to trade with them. Nice place, I always try to stay for a couple days.” I looked up at the doctor with Mist, a feeling of belated gratitude washing over me. At least I got some real medical treatment.

“Anyway, I wanted to chat with you about something real quick, now that you’re awake.” Mist said. I focused my attention back on her, and she continued without letting me speak. “You see, White Arc, those tribals are going to expect something for rescuing you. I chatted with them, and they’re going to want you to go deep underground, and judging by their tones, they aren’t going to take no from you for an answer. I want to go in there with you, and you need to tell them as much.”

I sat there for a moment, repeating her words back to myself. After her sudden news and request registered in my mind I asked the only question I could think of to her. “Uh, why? Why- either of those?”

Mist smiled. “The first one, because they’re tribals. Don’t question their logic, it makes them cranky. The second one is because I think there’s some valuable stuff down there, and I want to recuperate the cost of your treatment.”

I scratched my chin. The random kindness from a stranger made a lot more sense to me when they told me they wanted something in return. “How are you planning to recuperate the costs of my treatment by spelunking with me?”

Mist flashed me a grin, the kind that I associated with caravan owners when they knew they were getting a good deal. I was starting to doubt her claim of running a caravan less and less now. Mist cleared her throat before whispering, “I believe that there is a Stable down there somewhere, and if I’m right, then that’s one hell of a payday. I’m not a thief, and usually not a scavenger, but there are nice things in Stables. Somepony will get more use out of it than these tribals that won’t even go in there.”

As much as I was so not in love with the idea of crawling threw a cave and looting a perhaps forgotten Stable, I had to admit that Scarlet Mist had a point about the potential technology down there. At the very least there was bound to be a cache of some kind of supplies, and it wasn’t any good locked up underground forever. I gave her a nod, attempting to stand up and immediately wishing I had not. My head spun, and I felt both Mist and her doctor holding me as I struggled to right myself. When I was on my hooves steady the doctor offered me his water canteen again. I tilted my muzzle back and took a good gulp, feeling little trickles run down my chin before they dripped onto the ground.

“I’m not sure I’m up to this…” I said, struggling to keep the room in focus.

“I don’t know that the Tribals will care.” Mist interjected straight into my thoughts, “Once they find out you’re awake they might just throw you down into the caves. Better to go on your own terms, right?”

Regardless of my thoughts I gave her a small shake of my head. She was being helpful and cordial, which was more kindness than I’d see from the rest of the wastelands so far. It would be wrong to be rude.

“That’s a good girl.” Scarlet cooed, nodding for the doctor to let go of me and still offering me her shoulder. “C’mon. I’ll help you trot until you can do it on your own.” The doctor hitched Mist’s gun onto her side and nodded. Mist began pulling me forward, and I urged my hooves to follow.

The dark hallways were filled with odd paintings that seemed to be made of dye mixed with charcoal. It would have been impossible to make them out without the lights from the rainbow bouncing around in Mist’s gun. I kept watching, observing decades of history until…

“Stop!” I said. Mist ground to a halt, losing her grip on me and sending me into a heap on the floor. Pain flared up in my hooves in chest, but I didn’t care. I sat up and looked at a rather large painting on a smoothed wall. The sky was breaking in half and below ponies were lying dead. The entire scene reeked of fire and death. A group of ponies wearing spiked armor was charging at the sky, and a third army was rallying and fighting both other armies. All around them, sunlight broke the destroyed land, and a giant rainbow encircled the scene.

“Nothing to see there.” Mist said shortly, picking me back up and urging me onward. She seemed to be a little uncomfortable about me stopping to look at that picture. As much as I wanted to stay and observe all it’s finer details, I continued on, smiling as i saw the pictures afterwards. Sick plants grew once more and tribal ponies were frolicking happily in sparse vegetation. It wasn’t exactly Equestria, but it seemed that after sunlight returned, these ponies were living much better than they had been. Whomever these tribals were, they knew about the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, and it was important enough for them to immortalize on their walls. Stable City didn't care for anything beyond it's own walls and interests, but the walls here were history itself.

We rounded the corner from the history hallway, ducking through two dark and narrow paths that zigzagged into a large cavern. There were a few torches in here, but not enough to make the room noticeably warmer. Several ponies wearing some of the most horrific things I’d ever imagined would pass for clothing were sleeping on mats like I had been on or sitting around with their heads bowed and eyes closed.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of the garb of the ponies as Mist took the lead, pulling me forward. The ponies looked like a mish mash between a gravedigger’s wastebin and a city dump. The aluminum soda cans and random leather or cloth were not altogether disturbing in and of themselves, but they seemed to all be held together with what were indisputably bones. Some of the tougher ponies had armor that was studded in bones and what were definitely pony teeth.

“They don’t like it when you stare.” Mist said, nudging me and gesturing at an area in front of her. I let out a short whinny as I turned my eyes away from the tribal ponies. Any sense of safety had evaporated now, and I fought to not scream when I looked at a pony sitting upon several mats.

The pony was perhaps, not hideous, but impossibly old. She had little fur left which grew in patches here or there. Her skin should have been sagging off of her organs and bones, but the tribals had found a way around that. Most of her body was covered with strips of leather and bones fashioned into artwork, creating an exoskeleton for her. She could have passed for an overgrown-- and pony shaped-- squishy bug.

“Thank you so much for allowing my doctor to treat my new friend here, Elder.” Mist chimed in an impossibly happy tone. While I was simply trying to not offend the ponies that were wearing bones and teeth of other creatures and very likely, other ponies.

“Of course.” The elder said, speaking slowly and in an almost dazed fashion. “You are a dear friend to us my daughter, and showing such selflessness to help another daughter.” I did not like the idea of being referred to as a daughter by the elder, and this matched a bad taste in my mouth for Mist. Selfless was the last word I’d apply to her in our current situation. I had to remind myself that we didn’t even know if there was anything in a stable to steal and sell. Hell, Mist wasn’t totally sure there even was a Stable, it seemed to just be her hunch. As if she was reading my mind, Mist gave me a nudge, gesturing with her head towards the elder.

I had completely forgotten that I was saved by these ponies when I collapsed in the middle of the wastes. My eyes wandered back to the elder, and I gave a gulp as I hoped words would come out of my mouth instead of the little water I had in my stomach.

“E-Elder? Thank you for saving me. Mist said-- you wanted to speak?” I squeaked. The elder let out a long Mmm, as if she was savoring a well seasoned meal. I felt a trickle of sweat rub past my ear and go down my cheek in the full minute it took before the elder reacted to me. When she did she didn't actually say anything, but instead gestured at one of the tribals. They hurried away, as if the elders hoof had repulsed them. They returned moments later with a bowl of cold, white water. It was deposited at my forehooves, the odd liquid sloshing around.

“Oh- one for me too!” Mist chimed, looking at the tribal and smiling. “My friend can't walk too well, she needs my help to move around!” There was a silent exchange of glances between the elder and the tribal, but I saw her give a nod. I turned my attention down to the bowl and it's strange contents. It could potentially be just water, but at the same time I didn't believe that.

Once mist had her bowl, the elder motioned at the bowls. I saw Mist sink her head down to drink. She slurped at the bowl like a farm brahmin at a trough. I magically levitated my bowl, eliciting a constrained sound of awe from the tribal that had brought me the bowl. Now that it was closer to me face, I could see the cold steam gushing away from the liquid. This stuff was so cold that the porcelain bowl it was in was sweating. I gulped and took a swig.

If this stuff was not water, then I couldn't tell by my taste. The only remarkable feature about it other than its colour was the feeling of nearly freezing liquid running down my throat. Stable City had cold water, but it was nothing compared to this. I hurriedly took a few more gulps, finishing the liquid off and setting down my bowl. I glanced next to me and saw that Mist had already finished her drink and was smiling at the elder.

“With the drink of Moonsblood the door is open. Go.” The elder flicked one of her hooves, causing a tribal to come close and grunt, backing a hoof to me and Mist to follow.

“Excuse me, who's blood?” I looked down at the bowl, hearing my stomach give a pang as it turned over.
“Arc, it's just a name.” Mist reassured me. “Moonsblood is what they call the spring water here.” Of course. I immediately felt stupid for believing that the white water that was freezing cold was actually some creature’s blood.

Mist and I followed the tribal for some distance, keeping a few hoof steps back from him as we went down dark passages. We finally took one final turn, ending up in a hallway that had a lit torch at our end, and darkness stretching into forever in front of us.

“Take light. Find you destiny in the dark.” The tribal said, pointing at the torch.

“How can I find something in the dark if I take the torch?” I questioned the tribal, lighting my horn and telekinetically lifting up the torch and holding it at my side. The Tribal moved very suddenly, holding onto the torch and standing in front of me.

“No fire. Just light. Go now.” I let go of the torch as the tribal pulled it away, holding it in his mouth. I was quite surprised by how quickly the tribal had moved, and without any of my weapons or armor I was not about to argue with him.

Mist gave me a tug, helping me down the hallway. I kept my horn lit up as we moved away, giving us far better light than the rainbow in Mist’s gun. I lost track of how far we had trot, but when I glanced back after several minutes I could no longer see the tribal or the torch.

“We’re definitely onto something here.” Mist said, pointing at the ground. There were gashes and slashes all along what otherwise looked like undisturbed stone.

“Somepony dug this up?” I asked.

“Well, I hope so. Because otherwise that means something dug this up, and we do not want to meet one of those somethings.” Scarlet Mist looked behind us as she sized up the markings, letting go of me. I managed to stand on my own hooves but I felt my body quiver as my legs threatened to give out under me.

“No, no.” I said, nickering as I took a few steps back. “I did not sign up for this! What the hell is even going on at this point!? There are ponies with teeth on their clothing up there, and we’re trotting around in some dark tunnel! I don’t even know you!”

“Sure you do, I’m your friend Scarlet Mist. You remember our introductions right?” She stopped for a moment, her tail flicking from one side to the other with a huge sweeping motion.

“Wha- Yes, of course I remember meeting you, that’s not the-” I was silenced as Mist leaned in and put a hoof on my mouth, shushing me.

“It’s a sin to tell a lie, Arc.” Mist said, her smile never quite leaving her face. She turned away from me, pulling her hoof back and starting off at a slow trot down the tunnel again. I followed behind her, feeling a sense of dread settle over me. I did not like this situation one bit, and although Scarlet Mist was not my last choice of pony to be stuck with right now, she was not high on my list, either.

“So what the hell is going on?” I asked, deciding to keep my question simpler in case Mist went off on another tangent.

“We’re trotting down a tunnel towards a Stable. There’s definately one here.” She said quietly.

“Okay, I’m glad that’s settled.” I could not help but to roll my eyes at her, letting out a pained grunt. “So now that we’re alone, want to tell me what the hell happened up there with the tribals?”

“I guess they think you’ve got some sort of destiny down here or something. Don’t believe that, that’s all horsefeathers.” Mist said, still keeping point in the tunnel. “The locals think that this place is the “Gauntlet of the Stable Dweller,” because a long time ago a Stable Dweller came here. I guess I wasn’t holy enough to get in here by myself, but then you showed up dressed like a Stable pony.”

“And how does that translate to them forcing us to go down here?” I asked.

Scarlet Mist turned and blinked at me, looking at me like I was stupid. “The Stable is probably sealed up, because it’s never open in any of their paintings. I don’t know what tribal nonsense they came up with sending you down here, but my guess is because you can go where they can’t. You and I can get into the Stable, they can’t.

“How do you know we’re going to be able to open up a Stable? Those things have passwords.” I could see the tunnel slowly widening up ahead, and Scarlet Mist gave a little skip as she picked up the pace of her trotting.

“Well if the password isn’t password, then they probably wrote it down somewhere. You’d be bound to forget something like that after a few generations underground.” Scarlet Mist nodded reassuringly. I blinked at the mare as she spoke the words, failing to grasp her sense of logic. I decided quickly to not question her further-- it seemed like a waste of time anyway.

The tunneled continued to widen as the light from my horn cast a shadow over a huge gearlike door. I had seen one of these back in Stable City, but that Stable was nothing special, just storage space. Mist quickly trotted over to a control panel, tapping her hoof on it. The screen lit up, sending a wave of characters flooding over the screen. By the time I had closed the distance over to her, she had made a few deft hooftaps and a “[Access Granted]” message rolled over the screen.

“Arc?” Mist said, turning away from the screen and glancing at me.

“Hm?” I asked, watching as the terminal behind her pulled a list of options.

“I don’t know what we’re going to find on the other side of that door. Can you press the open command on this screen?” Mist unslung her gun, strapping it onto her hoof and pointing it at the Stable Door. I gave her a nod as I trotted past her, tapping on the terminal screen to open the Stable door.
A loud grinding sound made me cover my ears. All the noise of the Stable door opening was echoing around the confined space, making the already loud noise almost unbearable. After about ten seconds the sound stopped however, and I saw the door was only half open. More than enough to trot through, but definitely not opened properly.

“What went wrong?” I asked Mist, uncovering my ears. My head was still ringing from all the noise.

“Maybe there wasn't enough power to finish opening it up or something.” Mist said, trotting over to the door and glancing around the corner. She turned her head back, giving me a nod and continuing, “Almost no lights on in there. The place is probably on emergency power at best.”

I trotted forward, standing behind Mist’s flank. She went in first, and my lit horn followed right after. We were in the atrium of a Stable, which was fairly unremarkable to me. Steel scaffolding, thick sheets of metal, and lots of iron bars. If the layout was not so pedestrian it could have passed for the entrance to a prison. I followed right behind Mist, letting her lead us up some scaffolding that served as steps from where we were to the atrium landing. Mist opened a metal door and pointed down a flight of stairs, already descending herself.

At the bottom we saw the first of what I was sure would be many skeletons in the Stable. I was aware that not every Stable was successful, and based on the lack of power I had already mentally prepared myself for this being one of Stable-Tec’s failures. I could not have prepared myself for what the pony was wearing though.

“That is a nice jacket.” Mist said, pulling a pink leather jacket off of the skeleton and trying it on. Deciding it was a little too big, she discarded it in dismay.

“Mist, what the hell are you doing!?” I exclaimed quietly, grabbing the jacket with my magic and draping it over the ribcage of the otherwise fully dressed skeleton.

“Yeah, that jacket wasn't really my style anyway.” She shrugged, her hooves clip clopping on the metal as she began to explore the room we were in.

“What? No! I thought we were here to look for supplies, not go clothes shopping.”

“Yeah. We are.” Mist stopped, trotting backwards slowly and standing by the skeletal pony. She pulled up the jacket again, gesturing at the skeleton. “Arc, what is wrong with this skeleton?”

I glanced down at the long dead pony, not thinking much of it. It wasn't something I wanted to look at for long though either. “It's wearing a lot of clothes?”

“Well, yes. But that's not the only issue. No PipBuck.” I glanced down at the skeletal pony’s leg. Sure enough, there was no PipBuck in sight.
“So what's that mean?” I asked Mist, not sure what she was getting at.

“It could mean a couple things, but most likely it means we aren't the first ones to visit this place. Which is quite odd!” Mist turned away from the skeleton and beckoned for me to trot and talk with her. “It seems like a lot of trouble for scavengers to close up the Stable door on their way out, not that they usually close doors anyway.”

“So why was the door sealed then?” I asked. Mist gave me a shrug, heading down a staircase as we followed signs on the walls. Mist was taking us towards the “Overmare’s Office.”

“Maybe we’ll find out, and maybe we won’t.” Mist offered to me as we closed the distance down two hallways, finally reaching the office. Mit opened the metal door, stepping inside and then taking a full step back. I peeked over her shoulder and felt a waft of cold air hit me. Now I was used to air conditioning in Stable City, but this frigid. Despite the rest of the Stable seemingly running on backup power,this room was well lit, well insulated, and freezing cold.

Scarlet Mist let herself inside, letting out a brief chattering noise from her teeth as she did so. I stepped into the doorway, looking around at the contents of the room and immediately wishing I hadn’t.

“Oh goddesses- what, what the fuck.” I blurted out, pointing one of my hooves at a pile of ponies. Or at least, that is what I initially thought them to be. Their bodies seemed to be covered in a light, flakey dusting, like seriously bad dandruff. Their fur stood at odd angles, from where they had all brushed together. All three were very obviously dead, although there were no wounds upon them.

“They froze to death, Arc.” Scarlet Mist said, tapping at a terminal on the overmare’s desk. “They look like NCR, but, they must have been here awhile.”

“Why’s that?” I asked, keeping my distance from the bodies.

“That combat armor they have on? NCR haven’t dressed in uniforms like that since they were founded. They have more proper uniforms now.” Mist continued working with the terminal she was at, and I allowed my eyes to meander back to the frozen corpses. They had on some rough leather and fabrics with combat armor strapped on top, but other than NCR being spray painted across the armor here or there, they could have passed as any regular pony. A glint caught my eye as I observed the armor, and I raised my hoof, pointing at it.

“Uh, Mist?”

“Yeeeees?” She said with a chattering of her teeth.

“That pony has something on it.” I said, pointing at a mare that was in the middle of the pile. Scarlet pulled away from the terminal, glancing at the pony. She carefully traced over to her, looking the mare up and down before reaching into her backpack and pulling out a knife with a heavy indent at the end.

“What the hell!” I said, wanting to step forward and take the knife away from Mist, and simultaneously realizing that was a horrible idea. Of the low chance that I did grab it from her, what was I then going to do with it?

“Arc.” Mist said confidently-- or, as confidently as she could with a knife in her mouth. “Please turn around.”

“Why? What’re you going to do- oh fuck.” Mist did not ask me a second time, and I felt myself turning away and puking all over the stable door’s frame. Mist had jerked on the stiff hoof of the mare in the middle, revealing something that looked like a block of steel with a screen on it. Mist had then begun using the knife to forcibly remove it from the pony.

I did not recover quickly, and I felt mist brushing past me back into the relatively normal temperature off the hallway. I looked up from my refuse pile and immediately felt my body try to hurl again. Mist had simply removed the mare’s entire hoof, and was now trying to pry the Pipbuck away from the severed hoof.

“Have you ever eaten clams?” Scarlet Mist asked, the sound of cold flesh being separated from metal hovering in the air as she worked.

“What? No. How can you even ask me that?” I gasped, forcing myself to not look at what she was doing. My vomit was not a pleasant sight but it was more pleasant than any of my surroundings.

“Oh. Well this just reminded me of eating clams. We’ll eat clams sometime. Lots of them.” Scarlet Mist assured me. I made a mental note to never eat clams.

There was a sound that almost seemed to be a squee from Mist, followed by the thunk of meat hitting metal. I looked up to see Scarlet dusting the Pipbuck off with a grin. She tapped the screen, admiring the device.

“You don’t have any idea what this is worth, do you?” Scarlet Mist asked me, looking the PipBuck over. The PipBuck looked like like it as brand new, fresh off an assembly line from pre war Equestria.

“Worth enough to cut off a hoof for it.” I mumbled. I was starting to get over the ghastly action of the pegasus, but I still felt ill in my stomach.

“Uh, yeah. I’d cut off another hoof to have it.” She held it out to me, giving me a nod. “You spotted it though, this one’s yours. I’m pretty confident from that Overmare’s terminal we’ll find plenty more.

“Why?” I gasped. “I’m not touching that.”

Scarlet Mist rolled her eyes at me and set it down next to my hoof. I pulled my hoof away, feeling the disgust wash over me in waves. I looked up to see Scarlet Mist trotting away, back down the hallway. There was nothing to stop me from following after her and leaving the PipBuck here. I certainly didn’t want to touch it. But my mind was hung up on Mist’s words. I knew PipBucks were valuable to caravaners. Valuable enough any group that could afford a pony with one, did.

For a moment, I was reflecting on m home again, and the obscene wealth that other ponies must see when rare technology was pedestrian. As much as I wanted to leave it behind, and as disrespectful as I felt picking the PipBuck up with telekensis, I carried the it shamefully with me as I followed after the Pegasus. I had both shame now both for disturbing the dead, and for taking what had been an easy life for granted.

As I followed after Mist I idly familiarized myself with the PipBuck-- the walls of a Stable were nothing particularly impressive or even new to me, after all. Although I had seen dozens of PipBucks over the years, none were as pristine as this one, which held my attention. It was too perfect. Although Mist had left a few scrape and gash marks on the inside, it had no other visible wear and tear. I tapped the screen, filing through the device’s files. It already had a map of the Stable we were in, which was marked as Stable 309. I was so engrossed in observing the device that I didn’t even notice when Mist stopped trotting. I walked right into her, quickly jumping back and offering my apologies.

“No no, its fine!” Mist said, fumbling with something that it looked like she had picked up off the ground. “I like brushing up against other ponies too. Can I see your hoof?” I nodded, not quite sure I wanted to advance the conversation further in that direction with Mist. Mist pulled up a long black glove that looked like it would go halfway up my foreleg. She slipped it onto my hoof, soft fabrics inside brushing against my leg, hard leather on the outside making the glove look tough and durable.

“Now you can stop carrying that thing around and use it properly.”

“Huh?” I said, staring blankly at the Pegasus.

“That thing has advanced mapping technology. I want you to wear it and navigate for us if we get lost. We’re going deeper into the Stable.” Mist said with a gesture at the PipBuck.

“I already told you I’m not touching this thing. Why don’t you do it? I don’t need to wear it to use it’s maps!” I could not begin to explain what the possibility of wearing this PipBuck was doing to my insides.

“Don’t be silly, you ran into me just now Arc. Who knows what you might trip over next!” Mist ignored my first protests, and I was starting to get an idea of how things worked with her-- one statement or question at a time. I watched, feeling my horror wane slightly as the glove fitted snugly over my hoof. Mist then took the Pipbuck and lifted up a screwdriver in one hoof and another tool I did not recognize in her mouth. There was a click, and the Pipbuck sprung open, ready to be attached to a hoof. I considered pulling my hoof away from Mist, but I realized that there wasn’t much point. She was even right, in a way. I needed to be alert right now, not zoned out admiring pristine pre-war tech.

With the glove securely on my hoof, I couldn’t even feel the PipBuck when she latched it on. The only true difference to me was that my left hoof was now heavier than my right hoof. I couldn’t get over the revulsion inside me of wearing the PipBuck and had to protest, if only for my own peace of mind.

“This is a dead pony’s PipBuck. This is wrong.” I said, glancing over my hoof.

“Generations in Stables wore these. You probably can’t find a Pipbuck that hasn’t been worn by a dead pony.” I glanced up at Mist, who had a small smile on the edges of her muzzle. Isuspected that Mist's honest attempt at cheering me up, even though it was not working. All I felt was a creeping dread running over my body from my left hoof to the end of my tail. Mist gave me a cheerful smile before turning, wagging her tail as she continued to explore, leaving me to wistfully trot behind her and watch as my new PipBuck mapped the area.

By the time we had reached the bottom of the Stable, I noticed that Scarlet Mist was looking more chipper than before. She had not stopped to make much conversation, merely poke over the bones of dead ponies or observe some old technology. I felt myself fading in and out of paying attention, occasionally messing with certain features on the PipBuck. Although I had known them simply as utility tools, now that I was working with one personally I saw that they had a lot of features that were surprising to me. While I had expected a lamp, a radio receiver, reference screens for building or repairing, note-taking, and personal inventory management, there were a host of things that I couldn’t imagine a typical worker needing in Stable City. A Geiger counter for deadly megaspell radiation, and program for mapping the area and observing other life besides myself, and combat targeting assistance were things I would expect the military to require, yet I had never seen any guards in Stable City with a PipBuck on.

“Can you turn on the light on that thing?” Scarlet Mist asked, turning around suddenly and snapping me out of my thinking. I hadn’t been paying the slightest attention to where we were, and I could tell by Mist’s face that she was absolutely aware of it. I flipped on the light sheepishly, looking around to figure out where I was. A large sign over a doorway read “Reactor,” but the word meant nothing to me.

“Even with a PipBuck you’re lost. I’m very concerned about you.” Mist’s voice would have felt patronizing if I had been able to take anything she said seriously. She turned away from me to face a terminal, using the light of the PipBuck to see what she was doing. She hummed a soft tune to herself as she did so, and I began to think of who I was really traveling with in this Stable. The more I considered Mist, the more I considered all the things the mare knew. She could unlock PipBucks once they were off the hoof, she seemed confident enough to hack any terminal that came in front of her, and she acted like the entire thing was a picnic.

“Who are you?” I asked Mist, just blankly staring at her, unable to get the real questions off my tongue.

“My name is Scarlet Mist!” She said, unhelpfully. With a quick motion she raised a hoof, furtively holding her chin as she turned to look at me. “Arc, do you have short term memory loss?”

“Huh? I mean, no!” I hadn't been expecting that question, and knew that my behaviour and reaction were not the most convincing. Thankfully Mist just gave a shrug and returned to tapping the terminal until it gave a pleasant digital noise. I saw Mist tap a few more times, and then there was a bright surge that momentarily blinded me. The otherwise dark Stable was now fully on, and I could hear the sound of rushing air going through the ventilation systems. In front of us was some device I did not understand, but based on the sparks of electricity flying between coils, it's purpose was obvious.

“There, that ought to do it.” Mist said happily. “Now, I want to make one more stop before we leave. After that I'll need you and your PipBuck for a couple minutes, and we'll be even for all those medical supplies you soaked up.”

While there were, again, several things I wished to ask Mist, I limited myself to one thing this time, a statement.

“This isn't my PipBuck.” I darkened my tone, hoping to let her know how seriously uncomfortable my sides felt. Mist turned to me and lifted up my left hoof, forcing me to stare at my leg.The Pipbuck looked even more pristine in the now powered Stable. It possessed an odd decal on it, a bird that was singing out music notes.

“It’s on your leg. C’mon, let’s finish, and get out of this old Stable.” She turned with a smile on her face, heading off towards an area marked “Mare’s Quarters.” I followed along behind her, giving the pristine PipBuck a sideways glance as we continued on our way.

When Scarlet Mist and I emerged from the Stable, there were a group of Tribals waiting for us at the end of the dark tunnel with torches. They stood aside and made a wide path for myself and Mist, pressing themselves into the walls as we trotted upwards. Mist whispered to me in passing that I should go speak to the Elder, something about ‘keeping up good relations,’ but first we were going to go to her terminal so she could have my PipBuck upload it’s maps. Although she had been certain we would discover more PipBucks, the skeletons of any long forgotten Stable ponies contained no PipBucks on their legs. This had not daunted Scarlet’s hope at all, and she seemed cheery as she was when I first met her by the time we got back to her doctor.

It was hard to believe that my still damp pajamas and reclaimed Raider Armor mixed with Zena’s handiwork had been ‘suitable’ clothes in my mind now. I began picking up my armor and weapons when we returned. While I was thankful the Stable was devoid of horrible monsters, I didn’t like being unarmed. Mist exchanged a few words with her employee before joining my side, watching me put on the armor.

“Some of that is definitely Raider armor, but--” She tapped my chestplate, thumping it against my chest lightly. “This doesn’t look anything like Raider armor.”

“A-- A Desert Ranger gave me some armor.” I said, pulling the curtain over my body and tucking it around my shoulders. Undernearth my Stable-Tec suit was still visible, but it was a different kind of clothing than anything I was used to. Scarlet had called it breathing clothes, designed to keep ponies cool.

“Oh, how romantic. A Desert Ranger teaching you how to survive! And make you armor! It’s like some old mare’s tale.” Mist grinned, not stopping to take a breathe, “Did this Ranger have a name?”

“Yeah? Zena.” I brushed the back of my head, watching as Scarlet Mist let out a sound that can only be described as a squee. Mist leaned up to me, showing her continued complete disregard for personal space.

“Oh, you’ve met Zena?” She whinnied happily.

“Yes-- Is she popular or something?” I asked. Mist gave me a smirk as she raised her eyebrow. I glanced away, thinking that perhaps 'popular' wasn't a word that anyone would assign to Zena's temperament. I looked back at Mist, clearing my throat, "She talked about heading to Grove. I was going there to see if I could find her."

“Ohh.” There was a bit of a shine in Mist’s eye, but that could have just been the lighting from the rainbow in her gun casting weird glares. “Oh, now I want to go to Grove too. Me and Zena are the best of friends! I haven’t seen her in forever!”

I greatly doubted any friendship between Scarlet Mist and any Desert Ranger at first, but then I reminded myself that she did fly a caravan. She’d probably met Rangers a few times, and it would make sense she might know some off them, or even have a friend among their number. Any faith I had in Mist and Zena’s friendship evaporated as I thought of Zena’s quiet and focused demeanour, and then Mist, who acted like the kind of pony Zena might slap.

Mist lead the way outside, causing us to stand on a cliffside overlooking the ground far below. A narrow path leading up the side of the mesa we had been in was the only natural way to leave.

In front of us, however, was one of the biggest things I had ever seen. I immediately recognized it as a ship, right out of those old stories. By some means I didn’t understand, it managed to hover in the air, clouds swirling around it. Long metal scaffolding with wooden planks laid over them formed a narrow and terrifying bridge from the mesa path out to the ship to a sort of hanger bay in the side. I watched as Scarlet Mist extended her wings, balancing herself on the scaffolding, which didn’t look big enough for more than two ponies to trot side by side. I stayed right beside the mesa, feeling a puking feeling well up in my stomach as I looked down. I instantly grabbed onto the side of the cliff, feeling horrible sounds of terror echo out of my thorax. The thought of risking my life by crossing flimsy metal and boards was competing with my awe for the large ship. I took a deep gulp and began making my way across the planks, clinging to the middle and almost crawling towards the ship. Mist happily skipped to the other side, causing the flimsy metal and boards to shake slightly with each impact from her hooves.

I felt my insides churn as I closed my eyes. I knew immediately I had to open them, and then I had to cross this scaffolding, or stay with some tribal ponies. I'd have to trot to Grove, and that meant trotting down the side of the plateau. I glanced at the narrow path winding across the rock and leading towards the ground, weighing my options. It was going to be much faster to cross the scaffolding, but it also was a promise of death if the scaffolding gave way or I lost my balance.

I opened my eyes and knelt down, wrapping my hooves around the narrow scaffolding and gulping as I looked at Scarlet Mist on the other side. There's no way I was skipping to the other side like she did, but I could easily hug the scaffolding and scoot my way to her. I kept my eyes locked on the next inch of scaffolding as I took in a deep breath and began going where unicorns were not meant to be. I could feel my heart hammering against the metal as I pushed forward. In spite of myself, In spite of all the other horrible things in the world, this was making me cry. It was torture, to be slowly making my way across the scaffolding while the mocking smile of Scarlet Mist watched me. I wondered if I fell, if she would catch me. I wondered if she'd be able to. The thought of my hoof being cut off and Scarlet Mist sliding the PipBuck off my corpse filled my mind, and I found the strength to stand up. not only to stand up, but to madly dash at her. Maybe if I tripped and fell I'd drag that mocking smile with me. At least I wouldn't be alone for my wild screaming freefall.

And with a quick sprint, I found myself jumping off the scaffolding. For a brief moment I was in the middle of the air, touching nothing, and the next moment my hooves and withers slapped into the hard metal of the ship. Scarlet Mist had taken a seat and was watching me as I slid across the ground slightly, coming to a stop past her, safely inside the hanger. I let out a huge sigh of relief, watching as Scarlet Mist stood up, offering me a hoof to help me off the ground. I took it, rising to my hooves and feeling like my legs were made of gelatin. Now that I was safe and not facing the immediate dread of crossing to the ship, I could feel my heartrate dropping, and as the beating faded from my mind, it was replaced with the features of the ship.

The first thing I noticed was that this ship was big. I had heard stories about Grand Pegasus Enclave ships like this one, but they had always seemed smaller in a story. Looking around, I began to take in the second feeling of the ship-- it was oddly civilian. Pre-war ships like this were supposed to be used for war, but gone were most of its’ weapons and defenses. The ship had one cannon at the front that was lit up with active plasma, but the ship otherwise had only a few laser turrets rigged up along the sides that clearly were not part of the original design. What should have been a warship looked more like a floating platform of metal and wood, at least from the hanger bay.

My vision swam as I rolled over, hugging the ground and looking up at the ceiling of the hanger. It was many feet above me, offering more than enough room for pegasi like Scarlet Mist to fly around if they wanted to. As if my thought had been heard by her, Mist popped into my vision and stretched out a hoof with a smile. I took it, letting her help me to my hooves.

“That was very brave of you, Arc.” Scarlet Mist said sweetly, giving me a quick nuzzle on the cheek before leading me towards a door that had a glowing blue orb in the middle, and blue outlines along the metal that made up the door’s frame.

“Thank you, Mist.” I wasn't sure if I was grateful to her for her comment, or just grateful to be putting as much distance between me and the scaffolding as possible as i followed behind her. Part of me wanted to hold onto her tail in case I tripped and fell, sliding out of the ship and to my death. This was, of course not physically possible, but my mind did not care. I tried focusing it on something else to distract myself, glancing around before looking back at Mist. “Where are we? What is this place?”

“This is my caravan ship. I told you I fly my caravan.” For the first time I was starting to believe that Mit’s cheery voice wasn’t a show. She was being much more truthful than I gave her credit for. I gave my head a little shake, looking at her as she smiled and continued, “This ship is called the Azure Gale. At one time it was a Raptor Class shp for the Grand Pegasus Enclave, but me and my crew have really fixed it up. You’re looking at the only Merchantmare class ship that does business in the NCR.”

“Merchantmare?” I asked.

Mist gave me a nod, tapping the blue orb in the middle of the door and causing it to slide open with a soft grinding. “Yep! There are not very many ships like this in the world, but this is one of them. And unlike all the others, this one’s mine.

“How’d you end up with it?” I asked her, trotting through the doorway and entering into a hallway.

“I won a bet.” Mist said. By the way she said it, you’d think that winning a cloudship was something that happened everyday. I could feel my hooves trembling as I trotted behind her, staring at every inch of the place. I realized I wasn’t shaking in fear from crossing the scaffolding anymore-- I was shaking in excitement. I was on board a cloudship, something I’d only heard about, and was sure that few, if any, still existed at all.

Mist reached another door that she opened up, stepping through onto some scaffolding. I was more cautious about moving through here, but at least this scaffolding had railing. I wrapped my tail around the rail as I followed Mist in, looking around. The middle of the ship had a few places where I could tell it had been obviously repurposed and no paint job had been applied over old removals or new additions. The best way to describe what I was seeing was large metal cabinets with giant doors that could be pulled up or down to garage their contents. Large areas were sectioned off by metal walls, and inside of each cabinet I could see cargo or common areas. Some cabinets were closed and clearly marked as bedrooms. There were two rows of these, taking up what must have been most of the upper portion of the ship. Both levels had staircases at either end and in the middle, and metal scaffolding with rails led from a two storey central walkway and the individual cabinets.

After I finished understanding the layout, I began to take in the locals. Earth, pegasi, and unicorn ponies sat together at a bar, enjoying beers with a giant feathered creature that had claws instead of hooves. I made sure to stay close to Mist as we went past, averting my eyes from the griffon. Although they were not the first one I had seen, I’d never considered them to be of fair temperament.

I blinked as Mist came to a stop in front of me. I was only about six inches away from her flank and found myself staring right into her neck as she turned around, her pink hair brushing over my face. She smelled like cherries and some sweet nectar mixed with a harsher smell, but one I couldn’t place at the moment. Mist traced one of her wings across a blue orb, letting it open up as she looked seriously at me.

“We’re going up to my office. My room is located right behind it, and you’re not allowed in there. Not even a peek!” Mist said seriously before turning and starting to prance up some stairs. I followed after her, wondering why she felt the need to be so serious about what was a perfectly ordinary and reasonable request.

Scarlet Mist’s office turned out to be possibly one of the dullest places in the Wasteland I could dream up. It had a simple rug that covered most of the floor. A lightning bolt of red, yellow, and blue was striking out from a cloud and pointing at the door. Right in the middle of these colours there was a spot where somepony had tried to patch a similar colour unsuccessfully, giving the otherwise great carpet a worn appearance. Mist had a desk sitting over the end of the cloud, with a terminal built into the wall behind her and two couches in front of her. Mist gestured for me to follow her behind her desk as she went to her terminal, typing in the password to unlock it.

“Don’t worry Arc, this is quick and painless! Just keep your hoof raised.” Mist assured me, taking ahold of my PipBuck leg and lifting it up. Using her mouth she detached a wire from it, plugging it into the side of her terminal before pulling her head back so she could see her terminal. No sooner was she clicking a few strokes on the keyboard then she turned away, unplugging my PipBuck. It had taken only a few seconds, and she was done in such a short time that I could barely understand what had happened.

“That’s it?” I asked incredulously. Mist gave me a little nod, looking at a map of the Stable on her terminal before taking a seat in her office chair. It was made out of leather and had an untouched old war look to it. I glanced around before trotting around the desk, sitting in a couch and taking in what was so different. Everything in her office looked clean, cleaner than most places I had been or seen in the wasteland, and cleaner still than many homes in Stable City.

Mist looked up at me, thoughtfully holding a hoof up to her chin as she leaned back. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking about, but before I could she was already speaking her mind. “Arc, how do you plan to get to Grove?”

“I was, kind of hoping for a ride?” I said back. "You mentioned wanting to see Zena."

“Hmm.” Mist mused, rubbing a hoof on her chin. I could see her tail wagging slightly as it hung out the side of the chair. She nodded sagely twice before opening them and speaking. “I do. But going there, we have to trot.”

“Why trot? This ship flies, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Oh yes, but it’s going to take a few days for my crew to load up the supplies from the Stable onto the ship. If I know Zena, then I don’t think that we’ll catch her in time if we wait around here. She doesn’t really stay in one place for long.” I knew that Mist was right-- from what little I knew of Zena, she seemed like the kind of mare that stayed in motion. I gave Scarlet Mist a hesitant nod, sighing at my hooves and the thought of trotting through more hot wasteland and not knowing how far it was to my destination.

“Great, then a road trip it is! I’m going to take care of a few things around the ship, and I want you to go talk with the tribal elder before they think I’ve stolen you away. Make sure you tell them that ponies will be fetching things out of the Stable to help you with… whatever it is they want you to do. Just make them happy.”

"So you conned a bunch of tribals into giving you a lot of supplies? Where are they now?" Limelight asked at the end of my story, heaving a small metal box full of packaged foodstuffs, five old shirts, and a wrench onto the kiosk counter. Scarlet immediately helped herself to another bag of chips, ripping it open with her teeth.

"Oof, probably where we left them." Scarlet Mist said, spitting out the packaging and sticking her muzzle in to eat a few chips, her voice echoing out of the shining bag, "Tribals don't tend to go too far once they settle down."

"I meant the supplies. Where are the supplies you took?" Limelight asked, glancing down at our meager salvage.

"Oh, they're on the ship." Mist chimed, continuing to feast on the chips as she buried her head further into the bag. I stood up, offering a shrug towards Limelight and then taking a step backwards. I'd found myself smiling at Scarlet Mist, remember more hopeful times, as well as how they always seemed to be crushed by the same face that was leering at us out of the darkness. Two green lenses flashed before a metal hoof ripped Scarlet Mist's mane back, pulling her head painfully out of the chip bag. I saw a flash as rainbow appeared Scarlet Mist's saddlebag, a disco of lights dancing around the kiosk as she aimed the weapon at Zena.

"Ow ow! Hey-- fuck off, I'm eating here!" Scarlet Mist whined, kicking her hind hooves as she flailed on her back.

"Why are you eating another bag of chips?" Zena growled.

"Because I'm hungry and I'm scavenging, so I get first dibs." Scarlet Mist let out another angry whine. "Let go of my mane!"

Zena relented, releasing Scarlet Mist, who rolled off the kiosk counter and out of mane grabbing distance. She amazingly kept a deft hold on the bag of chips, managing to not even spill a crumb as she stood between me and Limelight, the lights of her gun dancing too and fro around the kiosk. She took only a moment to stow away the gun, ending the mini-rave scene in the kiosk, before returning to finishing off her chips, never taking her eyes off Zena.

"We have to ration what we have, or we will run out." Zena said. "Arc, we have more salvage over here. Bring that box and take inventory on all of it. Then we pass out rations and sleep."

"I'll join you, Arc." Limelight said, picking up the box and using his wings to balance it on his back. I gave both Limelight and Switchwire a nod, trotting with them behind Zena. Scarlet Mist discarded her chip bag, fluffing up her wings and making her look like a large red peacock as she stayed in the kiosk.

After I finished with the inventory, showing us how little supplies we truly had, I followed Scarlet Mist, Limelight, and Switchwire into the back of one of the shops. What had once been a kitchen now appeared to be some sort of nest. A dirty mattress with old blankets and pillows had obviously been horded by somepony, and now Scarlet Mist had claimed it. The four of us settled down, finding comfortable spots next to each other as we began to eat our portions of food. I pulled open the tab on some canned carrots, watching the soggy, old salted veggies float around in weird broth. I let out a sigh, finding myself already missing the taste of fresh food, and realizing that there probably wasn't going to be any until we got out of here.

I felt a shiver as I was suddenly touched by Scarlet Mist, who leaned in and wrapped a wing around me, holding me close to her as she glanced at Switchwire and Limelight. I looked over at Mist, who had a furtive look on her face as she glanced at me, batting her eyelids once and showing a little, devious smile.

"So, Arc~ I found something down here. Something I didn't tell the others about." Scarlet Mist whispered. I saw Limelight's ear twitch, and his glowing eyes glanced up from his canned fruit. Even though Scarlet Mist's voice was barely more than a whisper, I could tell he was listening somehow.

"Oh yeah?" I said back, fishing out a carrot bit and swallowing it. Salty and slimy, not delicious even by wasteland standards.

"Yes! A maintenance tunnel leading somewhere. I'm not sure where. I was thinking that after you eat, we would go explore it." Scarlet Mist suggested. I glanced at the door to the kitchen, and then fished out some more carrots, shoving them into my mouth.

"Should we tell Zena and the others? Could be something dangerous." I suggested back.

"Oh, No. Did you see how she grabbed my mane?" Scarlet Mist sulked. "No, we're not telling Zena. And whatever is over there we keep for ourselves. It's important we stay in good shape. There could be something dangerous down here."

I facehoofed, setting down the empty can of veggies. "Yeah, okay sure." I wasn't sure quite what would be waiting down here, but at least where we had been, there hadn't seemed to be much life. I figured barring any pre-war trouble, We'd be okay poking our heads in. I ducked away from Switchwire and Limelight, following Scarlet Mist behind the store and watching her move aside a couple boxes. Sure enough, there was indeed an open maintenance tunnel leading into darkness. I activated the light on my PipBuck, taking the lead. Scarlet Mist ducked her head as she followed behind me, her hot breath running over my tail. It was comforting to know that she was still there, but like always, Scarlet Mist paid no attention to the concept of personal space.

Dark minutes crept by, and I could feel the tunnel sloping upwards. Very suddenly, the tunnel ended with a door. It was a simple hatch, not locked at all. I gave the hatch a push and found myself momentarily blinded. Evening light flooded the tunnel, and fresh air ran over my face. I felt myself pushed forward as Scarlet Mist pushed us both upwards into a small tool shed. The sun was setting outside of a window, and a warm breeze washed over the world. My PipBuck let out a sad, soft ticking noise as I frowned downward and looked away from Scarlet Mist.

"Ah, fresh air!" She squeaked, staring out the window. I couldn't bare to watch the smile on her face fade as she glimpsed towards the sky, taking in all the cloud and dust that had nearly blocked out the sun, reducing it to a distant ring on the horizon.

"That's, one hell of a dust storm." She said, turning back to me. I moved my face away from where she could see it, trying to not think about the sky outside. The thoughts slowly creeping back into my mind like little dark tendrils eating away at the edges of sanity.

"It isn't a dust storm." I said, holding up my PipBuck. "If we're grabbing anything up here, let's grab it fast. Scarlet Mist's ears wilted, and she frowned as she checked out the surroundings from the window.

"Just our luck that we'd find the only tunnel out of the underground, and we're right in the middle of a radiation puddle." Scarlet Mist said with disgust. "It's still low enough that we might be able to make our way from here--"

"No." I said, grabbing her tail with telekensis and pulling her towards me. I shook my head at her. "No, trust me. This whole place-- it's all irradiated. You'll be dead before you get clear of the city."

Scarlet Mist glared at me, and before I was able to think about stopping her she had launched out the window. I swore at the air, begging some goddess to curse that mare. There was a bang and I heard Scarlet Mist let out a cry, knocking me out of my mood as I rushed to the window. I was not sure how to describe the ponies that Mist was shooting at, but they certainly had once been ponies. Not quite ghouls, not quite pony, walking corpses were firing bullets at the third story of a building, where Scarlet Mist was nursing her side and pulling her gun free. I ducked down, pulling my new rifle free. I gave a look over the smooth wooden frame, the long, sturdy barrel, and the short range scope. I reminded myself I wasn't the scared filly from my stories anymore. I was a murderer. That thought bounced around in my head as I prepared to duck out of cover and aim some shots. My thoughts were interrupted by a flash of beige and green, rushing past my face and diving out the window.

I pulled my thoughts back to the gunshots that were smacking against the third story of the building across a short street, poking my head out and firing two shots at the corpse ponies. The flash of green was holed up behind an old bus stop, ducking between ruins and firing off shots from a service rifle towards the corpse ponies. Without a second thought Limelight had joined the fight from the darkness below, his face obscured by a pair of sunglasses as he worked his way to Mist. The corpse ponies, now far more concerned with a target they could actually see, began lining up shots towards Limelight. I poked back out from cover again, activating S.A.T.S. on my PipBuck and quickly turning the battle into a rout for the corpse ponies. I shouldered my rifle and peered out the window, looking up at Limelight and Scarlet Mist. Whatever they were talking about, I couldn't make out, but a moment later Scarlet Mist was slung across Limelight's back and he was gliding down towards the tool shed. I pushed open the door, staying inside in case any lingering corpse ponies decided to try their marksponyship.

Limelight stepped inside, sliding a bleeding Scarlet Mist onto the floor and closing the door behind him. I glanced up at his face, taking in demonic look of his amber eyes echoing through the sunglasses. His voice was short and cutting as he bent down and inspected Mist's wound.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Limelight said to Scarlet Mist, but glanced at me for his curse.

"I told her not too." I tried, but gave up trying to explain. If Limelight had heard Scarlet Mist whispering, then I was guessing he had probably heard everything that transpired above ground too. He gave his head a shake, pulling out some cloth and shoving it into Scarlet Mist's wound.

"Explain this to Zena." He said tersely, beckoning with his tail towards the hatch. I let Scarlet Mist and Limelight go in first, bringing up the rear and closing the hatch with my tail behind us. I kept my eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of me, trying to give Limelight a little more space than Scarlet Mist had given me.

Once we were out of the tunnel, I moved the boxes back in front of the hatch, sitting down next to Limelight as Scarlet Mist limped sulkily off to go explain herself to Zena. I glanced at him and gave a sigh, shrugging.

"I know. That was stupid." I said. Limelight took off his sunglasses and folded them into one of his many pockets on his armor.

"It's not half as stupid as the two of us sitting here." Limelight grunted. "You're wearing legion duds, and I'm an NCR scout. and we're both trapped together in a hole with dying or suicidal ponies."

"Well, at least we're the sane ones." I tried giving him a smile.

"Or maybe we're the crazy ones." Limelight returned my smile, and despite the decay and darkness around us, I felt a warm feeling stir in me. Not one I was used to feeling since I had left home.

"Are you going to sleep?" I asked.

"Somepony needs to keep watch, in case any of those assholes decide to crawl down here." Limelight nodded towards the hatch, pointing his gun at it. I gave a nod, sitting down next to him and unshouldering my rifle. I looked down at my PipBuck and idly tapped on the screen, wondering if it was appropriate to make further conversation.

"So, would you tell me more about your PipBuck? I mean, Stable 136." I asked.

"It was my home. Everypony gets one when they're old enough." Limelight remarked dryly, looking down at his own PipBuck.

"That's it?" I asked. Limelight's eyes flashed towards me, and I hastily added, "I mean-- sorry! Just-- well you know how I got mine. I thought there might be, you know, a story?"

"Everypony has stories." Limelight said quietly. "Most of us just don't share."

I frowned at that. I could think of a lot of reasons why somepony wouldn't want to share certain things. I stared right back into Limelight's deep amber eyes, saying, "Well just leave the bad parts out. Like I do."

Limelight gave a soft snicker, holding up his PipBuck leg and glancing over the aged brass. "Sit back. When you tell a story proper, you tell it all. The good and the bad.