Fallout: Equestria
Tales of Service
Chapter three: Camping in the Wastes

There were voices. Concern, trust, skepticism and distrust were feelings that the group behind Jake brought up. He couldn't blame them; His story didn't sound truthful, despite it being the truth. But honestly, he couldn't change it if they didn't trust him. Just as long as nopony else gets hurt while he's with them, he didn't completely fail.

He sat alone, outside the ring of wagons and carts the traders had set up around a fire. Inside, he truly wished he was closer to the fire; during the day the wasteland was cold, but at night? It was much colder without the little bit of light the ever so ominous clouds let through. Do the clouds ever move? Probably not; He and his platoon heard very quickly that Cloudsdale was one of, if not the, first cities hit by Balefire on that fateful day. The weather factory was most likely long gone, so the possibility for changing weather, aside from rain, was minimal. Are there Pegasi up there? He didn't seem to see a reason for there not to be; for all he knows there could be a safe-haven up there.

Jake lifted his head up; he heard something. Something behind him; not the chatter of the group of civies, but somepony approaching him. Jake placed his hand on his PipBuck, the light clicking on before turning to see his visitor. By no means has Jake had experience with one during the war; or even for much after he left Stable 14. The mare was caught by surprise by the sudden light, either that or by the PipBuck itself; Jake had mostly kept it under his uniform's sleeve. Jake lowered his guard upon realizing Maroon has the source of the noise. "You need something, miss?"

Maroon just shook her head. "I should ask you that. I realize that most of the others don't see it, but we owe you." She paused, half expecting him to interject like he'd done with her father. When he didn't, she went on. "I said I'd help you if you helped me. Well, you did, even if I had no expectation of you doing so. Come on, you're getting out of the cold." Jake could tell in her voice that this was no request; it was an order. Typically, military personnel don't take orders from civies, but he couldn't deny that he was shivering from the cold. He made a mental note to find or make a jacket for him to use, most likely the latter option. He opened his mouth to protest, but the mare's expression shot it down before he could find words to use, kinda like how his CO used to do. That mare was impossible to argue with.

Sighing at the very clear lack of room for argument, Jake rose to his feet and approached the mare. He actually had to try just to prevent a smirk from crawling up his face as she had to look up at him. While the young mare wasn’t that large -possibly not even fully grown-, the only two ponies Jake had ever met that were eye-level with him were the royal sisters. The rest, even Mac before he ended up KIA, rarely went past his belt line.

Several conversations stopped as the human sat down next to the fire, replaced by some ponies glancing at eachother, others nodding their welcome. The group really was torn on if they really want him; those who do understand that if he hadn’t agreed to Maroon’s terms, they’d all be dead and were thankful for the help. Others were grateful, but didn’t believe his motives, past or others of the sort. To them, he could have just repealed the raider attack just to put them into debt so he can up out of the blue demand something of them. The rest, didn’t trust him in the slightest. But all the same, they couldn’t just defy Nash’s wishes.

“Hey, Jay-cob, was it?” One of the guards spoke up, testing the foreign name slowly, hoping he got it right. With a nod of confirmation, the stallion continued. “You’ve ever been to New Appleloosa before?” His question was greeted by a soft laugh. It actually made sense to name a town after a old, pre-war town. Though Jake was unsure of its location -or if the town was the same as the one he remembered-, the mention of the town did bring a few fond memories, namely before the war started.

“Depends on where it is. If it’s in the ruins of an old town, then yeah.” He finally replied, his voice clearly displaying the nostalgia. “Shit, I thought I was actually going to die that hangover was so bad.” The added fact elicited quite a few genuine laughs from the group, including the man’s.

“Heh, do yourself a favor and don’t try to get that hammered in Old Appleloosa. Better yet, don’t go to that place.” The guard of whom had brought up the topic shifted his tone from joking to dead serious over the course of two sentences. He continued before Jake could even ask. “Unless you’re fine with the slavers taking you. New Appleloosa is north of that Slaver-cesspool."

The group looked at the man as he processed what he heard. Slavers? Was there slavery now? That idea made more sense than he ever thought -or hoped- it would. Was this just another day-to-day threat now? Being a slave? The idea sickened him. He had chosen to come to Equestria and abandoned Earth -and his own race- just in seek of the happier life he briefly got to have before the war started; the life he was promised in his dreams. "And not a single pony, griffon or whatever else there still is even bothered to try to stop them?" The looks he received was all that was needed for him to get the message; pre-war or even war-time values of law was irrelevant. Jake let out an agitated sigh. "Jesus, the world really did fall apart in the time I was in that ice-box."

Whispers broke out among the trading company. The human that had saved their lives, was so clueless on the world around him. Several ponies couldn’t help but imagine what would happen to him should he not learn how life is fast, he wouldn’t be around for a year. Jake took note of the facial expressions, yet one was more prominent among them: Worry. Whether for their lives or his, he couldn’t say. All voices stopped as a mare cleared her throat, and all gazes went to Maroon, who in turn gestured to her father.

“Alright, youngins. Here’s what’s going to happen tomorrow; We’re going to arrive at New Appleloosa. And we’ll be getting our new friend here a copy of that survival guide, while we’re there.” Jake pondered Nash’s words. A survival guide? He hoped that they weren’t old, scavenged copies of the Equestrian Army survival guide, he knew all the important bits from that. If it was, he’d have to skip the guide, no point paying for information he already knew. He proceeded to keep to his thoughts while the boss talked about his trade-plan. Jake knew one thing for certain, this world would never be the same.

Maroon shuffled in her sleeping bag again. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t sleep knowing that the stallion that had kept her and her father safe for almost a week died in her hooves. Could she have prevented it if she’d just stayed with them? Of course not, at least that’s what she keeps being told. By herself, and the others in the group. Did she really save more lives by bringing the almost two century old soldier to them? Did the human even wantto be dragged into this?

She turned over, looking at where Maroon thought she’d see the sleeping man. Only he wasn’t asleep. He was sitting up on the sleeping bag that he was offered, despite being several sizes too small for him. Jakob was still staring at the smoldering embers that remained of the fire, lost in the deep pits of his own mind.
Maroon just watched, her eyes shifting. Either this man had no intentions to sleep, or he was in the same boat as her; his conscience keeping him awake. He said nothing, but he did glance at her every so often. Was he mad at her? Maroon began to worry before he waved her over. After swallowing the lump she swore she felt in her throat, she climbed out of the sleeping bag and slowly made her way to him.

“Can’t sleep, miss?” Jake asked in a hushed tone. Maroon only nodded her reply, her voice having left her at mach five. She heard him sigh. “Me neither. Even if Shell was a merc or something, I feel like I should have been faster. If I was… maybe he’d be here.” Maroon took a silent note. As a soldier, he must have seen civilians die. At least, she thought he had. But she felt he should know what Shell was before he bit the dust.

“Raider.” She spoke up. Maroon had seen confusion on his face in the Stable, but now she saw it up close. His eyebrow was raised high enough to be hidden by his hair, something else she hadn’t seen that close up before. “Shell was an ex-raider. My dad had found him in a bar a week back, figured he’d be up for a job that entitled to being to opposite of a raider, y’know? Was a bitch getting him off the rage addiction, though.” Jake nodded slowly, trying to hide his thoughts about it, but Maroon could read his face like an open book. He felt even worse about it.

Maroon felt the sudden urge to change the subject. She had no idea why she should. Learn about how he thinks? That reason made a lot of sense; if she knew how he functions, the better he can be understood. She came up with a question, more based off of one her own resentments than his time in the war. After all, Jakob must have lost a lot, maybe all of his friends because of the Balefire. “Jakob,” She started, surprisingly nailing the name. “Do you hate the Zebras? I mean, you fought them and it’s their fault this wasteland exist.” His reply, however, couldn’t be more unexpected.

“No.” He stated, his brown eyes barely visible with the very little bit of light the dying embers emitted as he looked her up and down. Maroon could tell that her face must have been contorted in shock at the response. “I don’t hate them. Yeah, I’ve lost friends you can only make by fighting alongside each other. Yes, most soldiers wanted them to suffer after what happened at Littlehorn and Shattered Hoof. Yes… they took everything I had known away, but I can’t blame them for everything. I’ve done it too many times, had my sights lined up with young zebra soldier -no older then seventeen- and wondered if I should have pulled the trigger. If that kid even wanted to serve, whose family would never see him again. Yet I did it. There is no good guys or bad guys in the battlefield.”

Maroon was baffled. The concept of a soldier who didn't think zebras were evil? She might as well believe there is a entire planet of intelligent creatures out there. Yet here it was, living proof there was. "I... What?" Should she bring up her negative feelings for the zebras? No, she figured that'd make him mad, if he wasn't already. Then again, he did mention that a lot of his fellow soldiers hated them, so maybe he wouldn't hate her? She was yet again baffled when the human picked her opinion up from looking at her face.

"I can't say I blame you for disagreement. You have the right to be entitled to your own opinion, but... Be careful with that topic. It's quite sensitive still." Jake sighed and rubbed his face. Maroon had noticed the claw-like appendages on his paws -if that's what they are called for his case-, but not in this detail. What she assumed to have been bony, if not blunt claws actually were mostly flesh. Not only that, but they were exposed to the open air; the rest of his hand covered by almost leathery brown gloves, with holes for the fingers. "I... I just want things to go back to how they were..." Maroon was so caught up in starring she almost failed to notice his muttering. Her ears folded when it clicked in place with her mind.

The world must have seemed like an inescapable nightmare, one he'd have to live for the rest of his life.

Author's Note

Alright. That took longer than I had expected.

Fun fact: I had named the owner of the caravan after a Fallout Character. Johnson Nash (Fallout: New Vegas) to be specific. I just thought that was interesting.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and that I'll see you when the next chapter comes up. Take care, and keep fighting the good fight.