Chapter 6 - Vital Information

Gridlock and I had spent the last half an hour or so sitting within the confined space of his personal tent and simply talking. Or should I say the last half an hour was spent by me asking questions and Gridlock answering them. I had learned a lot within this little bit of time. I now knew that I was currently in a small raider outpost located on the outskirts of the infamous raider capital city known as The Baltimare Raider Pits, a name that I had already heard a few times since my abrupt introduction to what I could now call the Equestrian Wasteland. Apparently, Gridlock's camp wasn't even a powerful raider outpost, but rather one of the lowest camps on the apparent "raider totem pole" that Gridlock had previously informed me of.

According to Gridlock, the raiders within The Baltimare Raider Pits were unlike any other raider groups throughout the Equestrian Wasteland. Whereas other groups of raiders were small, unorganized, and for the most part highly unintelligent, The Baltimare Raiders were a physical force to be reckoned with. They had weapons, organization, numbers, an entire city under their control, and a legitimate form of leadership. Apparently this was something that normal raiders severely lacked. According to Gridlock, raiders without leadership were nothing more than a basic pest amongst the wasteland.

The way leadership apparently worked amongst the raiders here was also different compared to other small groups of raiders. Like Gridlock said, it sort of worked like a very gruesome form of a hierarchy. At the very top of this bloody totem pole was a zebra that I have both heard of and physically seen: N'Guvu. A name that I already knew would haunt my dreams and memories. A name that in such a short amount of time had taken so much from my life. A name that was apparently so powerful that only a select number raiders were allowed to say it, and as I have already seen, Celestia help anypony who was caught speaking his name without proper permission.

Gridlock was apparently one of the raiders allowed to speak his name, as he was given the title of a raider "Boss". Any raider who was put in charge of a camp was given the title of a Boss. The next step up from that were known as Wardens, a group of six individuals who were all assigned their own camps within the city, but were also given the ability to carry out their own orders and act on their own accord without N'Guvu's approval. The only step up from this was given to N'guvu himself, which was the title of Overboss. The Overboss was the sole leader of the entire city of Baltimare, and no one dared to challenge the Overboss.

In all honesty, the fact that someone like Gridlock had only held the title of a Boss, and a rather low ranking one at that, completely horrified me. What were the wardens like? Exactly how bad was N'Guvu himself? It turned out that the more answers I was given, the more questions my brain created.

"So what exactly did he want with me? With my stable?" I reluctantly asked, repositioning myself as I was still rather sore despite the healing potion that Gridlock forced down my throat healing most of my wounds.

"Long story short, your Stable was placed in the city of Baltimare before the land was put to rest with mega spells and balefire. Naturally, since it wasn't exactly a secret that it was set to open on a certain date, ponies grew curious as to what they'd find inside. Once Baltimare was taken over by raiders, it became more of a matter of anxiousness rather than curiosity. In the end, N'Guvu grew bored of waiting, and hacked his way into the Stable's systems. He sent a message from the Stable-Tec headquarters located within Baltimare to make it look official as a way to fool anyone inside, and then forced it open himself. Essentially, he just grew tired of waiting." The griffon cleared his throat as he continued to clean his massive rifle, something that he really didn't need to be doing right now. I was already frightened enough. "As for what he wanted with you ... The short answer is nothing. Much like any other basic raider, he likes to see others suffer. In the end, you're nothing more than a hoof full of bottle caps to him." He continued on, an odd, begrudging sound within his voice.

"Well ... You seem rather well informed." I sat back at the shock of his answer. "How do you know all of that?"

"Because I was there. Most of the bosses and wardens were."

"And why is that? How much firepower did you guys really need for a bunch of stable ponies with next to no combat experience?"

"Look kid, your Stable had been sealed for years. N'Guvu was hoping for some grand prize to be locked inside, but when it turned out that it was just some highly uninformed Stable Dwellers, he grew disappointed. And N'Guvu hates being disappointed." He continued.

Another group of tears began escaping my eyes upon hearing all of this, knowing that everything was taken from me simply because some sadistic piece of shit was disappointed with what he had found.

"There's no use in crying kid. It's best just to obey him. Any fate you'll get from going against him isn't a fate worth living." The griffon sighed. "Now, I have some rounds I need to make around the camp. You can either wait here and undoubtedly try something stupid and get yourself killed, or you could come with me, hide under my wing, and keep out of trouble. At least then you'll be as safe as you possibly could be at this given moment." The griffon then threw his massive, now freshly cleaned rifle over his back, the barrel nearly smacking my muzzle in the process.

I honestly had to think about his proposal. While yes, he was knowingly giving me a chance to escape, he knew all to well that I was too fresh to the Equestrian Wasteland to even survive an attempted escape ... and he was completely correct in assuming so. Hell, I didn't even have the proper supplies to sustain myself, let alone protect myself. In fact, I still had more than a considerable amount of questions that I had in mind. Plus, throughout our conversation, I had noticed something rather peculiar about the way Gridlock spoke towards me. He seemed to have a hint of uncertainty amongst his already scruffy sounding voice whenever he had mentioned pretty much anything involving N'Guvu. It was a sort of tone that made it seem like he himself didn't want to be here either. And quite frankly, I wanted to learn more. It wasn't like he was being hostile towards me by any means. In fact, it was more than likely safe to assume that he was simply doing what he was told to avoid the likes of N'Guvu for one reason or another, which I couldn't exactly fault him for.

"Yeah ... You're right. I'll just go with you. That seems like the safest option." I quietly responded as I sat up, my legs still feeling rather week from my recent thrashing.

"Hmph." He grunted as he swung open the flap of his tent, the now dim light of the outside world rushing inside, placing a dull yellow glow on any surface it touched. "That may be the smartest thing you've done all day."

Upon exiting the tent I once again had to take in my surroundings. Gridlock's tent appeared to be located in the back of the entire camp. It was also slightly risen in the air by a small mound that was connected to a vast and dense forest, the only separation between the two being a rather thick chainlink fence that was no more than five feet away from the tent. As I peered out into the camp I noticed the silhouette of an extremely large city in the distance, great walls seeming to keep it protected from the outside world. I had attempted to stand and take in more of the surroundings, but Gridlock seemed to have no patience to let me take in the view and smell the rather vile roses.

It took extra effort to keep up with Gridlock's rather large steps as we wondered throughout the camp, as it seemed that damn near every other raider within this place viewed me as nothing more than a delightful snack. It didn't take long for Gridlock to get rather aggressive with the raiders as they attempted to close in on me. If you would have told me just a few days ago that I would get to see a griffon physically throw another pony, I more than likely would have called you delusional and sent you to the doctor. But, I suppose in the Equestrian Wasteland there's a first for everything.

"So where's our first stop?" I nervously asked.

"Why's it matter to you?" He quickly responded in his seemingly permanently annoyed tone.

"I don't know ... I guess I'm just trying to make conversation." I continued, trying my absolute hardest to not make direct eye contact.

"You're barking up the wrong tree then kid. I've told you practically everything I can safely tell you." He sighed. "I can already tell that I'm gonna be receiving some sort of punishment for simply keeping you out of harms way. Doesn't exactly take long for word to spread amongst the camps."

There was a brief pause as we evidently came up on our first stop. It appeared to be a sort of pre-war barn that the raiders had converted into a rather crude warehouse for Luna knows what. Naturally, I stepped aside and began to observe as a more scraggly than usual looking unicorn pony stepped out of the shed. Her coat seemed to be that of a rust color at first, but once I noticed that her cutie mark was covered I realized that her coat was instead so dirty that it was stained with a gross, brown color. I watched as she levitated a small clipboard over to Gridlock, a look of disappointment going across his face merely seconds after looking at the crumbled piece of paper attached to the board.

"Where the hell is the ammunition shipment?" Gridlock questioned, the dirty unicorn cowered back as he rose above her.

"According to the ponies who dropped off this weeks shipment, it had to be relocated to one of the inner cities due to an alicorn wing that snuck into the city." The unicorn quietly responded, a small twitch beginning to form in her left eye. A new question came into mind at the mentions of alicorns, as I had had always believed that Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were the only ponies in all of Equestria who had held that title.

"And how in the actual hell did that happen?" Gridlock responded as he handed the clipboard back to the unicorn, a sound of disbelief escaping from his beak.

"Not sure. According to the ones who delivered this shipment it had something to do with the sewer systems not being completely sealed off. I guess that's how they got in." As the unicorn spoke, her voice became faster, and far more erratic.

"And let me guess, at least two units of dash are already gone as well, aren't they?" Gridlock leaned dangerously close to the twitching unicorn as he said this, a sense of confusion sweeping over me as yet another question popped into my mind.

"Umm ... No .... Maybe ... I don't know boss." The pony now seemed to cower in fear as she attempted to back step into the warehouse.

"Bullshit. I can see it in your eyes you fuckin' druggy." The griffon did a dramatic face ... claw? Yeah, face claw as he let out yet another disappointed sigh. "Look, just consider yourself on watch. If I catch you using another drug before the next shipment comes in, I'll be personally sending your dumbass out into the forest."

"Y - Yes Boss." The pony then made her way back into the warehouse, her head hanging at her hooves.

"Ugh ... Damn druggies. Hate every single one of 'em." Gridlocked sighed to himself as he turned and began walking once again.

"So ... I now have more questions." I slightly grinned as my ears flopped downwards.

"Lay 'em on me." He responded with a monotone sound of annoyance.

"So first things first, what was that I heard about Alicorn's? I thought the princesses from before the war were the only ones with that title?"

"They're not exactly legitimate alicorns, but rather a form of mutant infected by radiation. Most of them are as dumb as rocks from my experience, but damn can they hold their own in a fight." He paused as he let out a small chuckle. "Some even go as far as saying that they're some sort of DNA copies of the princesses brought to life by some sketchy ass project designed by the Ministry Mares. Apparently they were designed during the war to be used as super soldiers, and just so happened to survive the apocalypse ... But that sounds too damn stupid and farfetched to be true to me. Besides, they've only been a thing for around ten years, so the mutant story is far easier to believe in my eyes."

That was actually a lot of information to take in at once. Luckily, I wasn't unfamiliar with the six ministry mares and their work, as most ponies within Stable 76 were educated on most things that happened during the war. However, it still brought up the question as to how exactly radiation was able to infect somepony to such an extent that it re-arranged his or her DNA into becoming an Alicorn.

"How in the world does radiation do such a thing?" I questioned, now more curious and confused about the subject of radiation than I had ever been.

"Not exactly sure how to answer that one. Short answer: Radiation is some fucked up shit that shouldn't be messed with. I've seen some dangerous creatures in my days, and the more radiation that creature has taken in, the harder it is to kill. And even worse, there's talk of something within the woods that can control these creatures. And quite frankly, that terrifies me." The large griffon seemed to shiver as he spoke these words, a sense of fear seeming to drape over him. Something that I would have thought someone the likes of Gridlock was nearly incapable of feeling.

"What do you mean by that? Like, how could something control these animals? Is it another pony? Griffon?" I responded with a similar tone of fear, as I had only just learned about the creatures of the wasteland recently, so the thought alone that there was something out there that could control these beast was something next to supernatural to believe, yet Gridlocked seemed to believe in it with a burning passion. "I mean, how do you even know this creature exist?" I continued on.

"Remember when I told that druggy that I'd send her out into the forest as a punishment?" Gridlocked responded.

"Yeah, what about it?" I pondered.

"Well, there's a reason that's as bad of a punishment as it is. Ever since we set up camp here, there had been talk about our scouts spotting some crazy looking creature out in the distance of the woods. Apparently, it was around the size of a pony, but it had piercing, glowing green eyes that simply stared at you from a distance. According to my men, or at least the ones that made it back alive, the second you make eye contact with the creature all hell breaks lose. I've had men mauled by so many animals, I can't even keep track. Hell, just last week I lost one of my night guards to the creature." The griffon seemed to speak with a sort of respect for this horrifying beast.

"Have you ever seen it yourself?" I continued on, my curiosity at its peak.

"No, but it's hard to deny the facts." He responded.

"Do you guys have a name for it?"

"It's got a few, but The Mist Walker and The Tree Mother seem to be the ones that get used most often. Either way, it's best to avoid the forest ... But I guess you really don't have to worry about that, do you?" The griffon looked back at me once more, a slew of sadness once again sweeping over me as I realized what he was referring to.

"Yeah ... I guess not."

The next hour or so flew by rather quick. We only made a few more stops. One was at a less than clean cafeteria that was serving some less than edible foods, some of which I couldn't even visually recognize. After that we made a stop at what was apparently the guards barracks, however it seemed more like a general raider hangout spot for ponies to lose their minds with the help of this drug known as dash and listen to a less than pleasant radio station that consisted of a single, overly enthusiastic raider pony that was armed with nothing more than a detuned guitar and a slew of awful song lyrics.

For the most part, the rest of the "tour" was rather quiet. Every time I attempted to ask another question, Gridlock seemed to passive aggressively bat it off to the side with the simplest answer he could give. It was odd seeing this raider boss be this kind to me, as judging from what Gridlock himself had told me, Boss's were nothing to be trifled with, no matter how low on the totem pole they were. Yet here he was keeping me safe and answering my questions until these so called slavers came to take me away. It was honestly rather baffling, as I almost felt safe around Gridlock. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but I could tell that he was someone with a very wounded past. I could tell that he didn't want to be in the position he was in ... and I had a deep feeling that I knew why.

It was officially nighttime as we returned to Gridlock's private tent. The nighttime sky of the Equestrian Wasteland seemed far more enjoyable compared to the blazing hot sun that I was still highly unaccustomed to. In fact, it was almost peaceful once you got past the sounds of arguing and fighting raider ponies.

I once again had a bundle of new questions to ask Gridlock, but these were questions that I was honestly scared to ask, as I wasn't quite sure how he'd react. It wasn't until I had laid down on the makeshift bed of hay and wooden planks that Gridlock had reluctantly laid out for me until I had decided to finally ask a question.

"So ... Umm, if you don't mind me asking ... Why exactly are you here." I struggled to get the words out, as I knew that there was no grey area in how he'd react.

At first I received a hard glare, followed by a slight eyebrow raise as the griffon lightly rubbed his eyes with his talons, letting out a rather violent sounding yawn.

"That's a dangerous question you're asking kid. You know what could happen to you if someone even hears us talking about that kind of stuff?" He turned his back to me as he leaned his massive rifle up against the frame of his equally massive bed.

"I mean, it's not like anypony else can hear us. I'm just curious about you ... You seem ... Different." I was now shaking as the words left my mouth, as his answer would either be a proper explanation or an oversized bullet to the brain.

He sighed before sitting down on his bed, sprawling out and stretching as he let out an exhausted groan. "Look kid ... There's a reason I'm as low on the totem pole as I am. All I can get away with telling you is that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I'm here." He paused as he looked over me with an observant eye before turning back to face the ceiling of his tent. "I guess I see of lot of similarities in our situations. Hell, I almost wish I was in your position right now."

The tent then fell deathly quiet as everything began to make sense, and it seemed that my speculations about Gridlock were completely correct. He did not want to be here whatsoever. I could only assume that he owed something to N'Guvu, and that was why he was stuck in his position. He was yet another toy within the crazed zebra's toy box. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Gridlock turned out to be a rather nice individual ... But like he said, we were both in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"So ... I'll keep you safe as long as I possibly can. But once those slavers come to get you tomorrow, I'm afraid that I'll be unable to do anything to help without risking my own life, and I hope you can forgive me for that." A depressed groan escaped his breath.

"I understand." I then rolled over on my cheaply put together hay cot as I attempted to hide the tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. "But, thank you Gridlock, I hope you make it out of this one day."

"That makes two of us kid." He responded one last time before the tent officially fell silent, nothing more than the humming nighttime winds of the wasteland and the voices of tired raider ponies filling the air.

The night unsurprisingly turned out to be rather sleepless, as I could do nothing but toss and turn as my nerves, combined with the chill of the night, kept me awake. It didn't exactly help that Gridlock had a snore that could rival the sound of a fully grown Ursa, but that was the least of my concerns as I knew he needed the sleep.

The only window I currently had to the outside world was a small hole torn within the fabric of the tent. The fact that this hole gave me a next to perfect view of the dangerous forest that Gridlock mentioned didn't exactly help with my slumber. I couldn't help but think of the creatures that dwelled within, and I could only hope that I would never have to face them alone. It was odd to know that the only thing separating the camp from the forest was a thick, chainlink fence that I could only imagine would be next to useless when put up against the creatures of the forest. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but stare into the thick trees and brush that the forest consisted of. There was a strange beauty that seemed to emit from it, and I couldn't help but at least be a little bit curious.

On occasion I would even see a small bird that would circle around and land on the fence here and there, right before flying off into the forest to eventually come back and repeat the process. It was actually rather entertaining to watch, as it was easily one of the cuter and more light hearted things I had seen in the wasteland despite it having a large, rather unnatural growth resting on its neck.

It was rather odd actually, as whenever it would land on the fence, it would always land in the same exact place. Perhaps even weirder than that, it would always make prolonged, very direct eye contact with me as its head curiously canted from one side to the other, occasionally letting out a small squawk before once again flying into the forest.

The forest seemed to become covered in a thick mist as the night grew older, and eventually it was to the point where I almost couldn't see the forest to begin with. It made me think about this Mist Walker that Gridlock seemed to speak about. I was almost too curious to not ignore it, but as the mist grew closer I grew more tired.

It wasn't long until I was eventually able to drift off into sleep, the last thing I remember seeing was the same bird landing on the fence once more.

However, the sleep did not last long, as the sounds of the bird seemingly communicating with something caused my eyes to slowly drift open. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to see, but two bright green, glowing eyes from the other side of the fence was the last of my expectations.

I fell deathly silent as I froze upon making eye contact with the creature ... and then I began to panic as the realization set in. This was the creature, The Mist Walker, that Gridlock had talked about. The resemblance was far to similar to dismiss it as anything else. I wanted to move, I wanted to look away as it slowly crept closer to the fence. I was sure that I was about to die like the others who had made eye contact, yet all I could bring myself to do was wish for a swift death.

There was something mesmerizing about the creature. It walked with a sort of slow swagger that was anything but dismissible, and as it grew closer I was able to realize that it was wearing a sort of dark cloak that was draped over its body and face, preventing me from making out any details other than its overall size resembling that of an average pony.

I was in awe is it grew dangerously close, the mist from the forest seeming to pool under its feet as it approached the fence, all the while the same bird remained perched atop the fence, peering into the tent with a ferocious tenacity. It was official, I was completely frozen in fear. My mind was racing as the creature slowly reached up to touch the fence, finally revealing a piece of itself that was without a doubt a dark grey hoof.

We were now practically face to face as the mist began to peer in through the hole of the tent. I began to grow confused as this was very different compared to what Gridlock had told me would happen when one made eye contact with the creature. Where was the death? The carnage? The creatures? I was more curious than anything at this point.

"Who ... Who are you?" I whispered to avoid waking Gridlock.

The response I received was quick, quiet, and rather chilling as the creature blinked a single time before revealing a raspy female voice. "The animals have taken a liking to you, so I have come to save you."

A nervous shiver shot down my spine upon hearing these words. They were rather calming, and had a hint of kindness to back them up. I was beyond confused rather than scared now, as not only did this Mist Walker sound sincere, but she had also mentioned saving me ... Or at least she said the animals were? I was highly confused as to what she meant by this, and I wanted to ask her more, but I was instead ignored as she removed her hoof from the fence and began to return to the forest.

Once again I was confused and intrigued, but my questions soon answered themselves as a single creature of unknown origin emerged from the mist. It was of decent size, almost like that of a dog. It took the Mist Walker's place at the fence line and began digging a hole under the fence with tremendous speed. It was rather loud, and I feared that it was going to wake Gridlock, but as the creature continued to dig it occurred to me that Gridlock was something of a heavy sleeper to say in the least.

It wasn't long until the creature bursted from the ground on my side of the fence. I now had a perfect chance to escape, as it seemed that not a single raider within the camp was aware of what exactly was going on. However, I was rather uncertain at first. If I did go into the forest based on nothing more than a more than mysterious pony's words, then I was truly rolling the dice on my chances of survival. The Equestrian Wasteland didn't exactly seem to be a kind place, so I could very easily be running myself into a trap. But then I came to a dilemma ... Would I stay here knowing that I would live a life of slavery? Or would I take my chances and follow the creature into the forest?

The short answer ... Was yes.

I slowly sat up from my hay cot and began to tiptoe towards the exit of the tent. It seemed as if this day was definitely turning out in my odds, as on the way out I noticed a small leather saddle bag sitting on an end table that was placed beside the main flap of the tent. I looked back at Gridlock to ensure that he was still asleep before I grabbed the bag, as while he did seem like a good guy at heart, I could still see him keeping me here for his own sake if he caught me trying to escape.

I silently snatched up the bag and gave it a quick look over before I threw it onto my haunches. It contained a small firearm, six bullets, a full bottle of water, an apple, a single red vile of liquid that looked practically identical to the healing potion that Gridlock had used on me, and a... key? At first I wondered why he would leave something like this laying around in the open, as these seemed like some rather useful supplies that one would not like to simply give up ... But then I realized what this was. While it was nothing more than a hunch, I had a strong feeling that he left these supplies out on purpose, as he knew all to well that I would try something. He wanted me to at least have a chance ... He wanted me to have the chance that he was never given.

The key was enough to prove this, as I soon realized that the key was for the collar that was leaving me bound to this place. As I slowly removed the collar I sat it upon the same desk that the supplies were on, keeping the key for good measure.

I whispered a small thank you under my breath as I stealthily exited the flap of the tent, a single tear of thanks rolling down my cheek as I went around to the back of the tent where the hole was dug. It was the perfect size to snuggly fit a pony of my size through it. While I wasn't exactly keen on crawling through the dirt, I knew that it was far better than staying here.

I slid into the hole with both a sense of disgust and excitement. It didn't take long to reach the other side and emerge on the outside of the camp. As I stood back on my legs I looked deep into the forest, seeing the glowing green eyes of the Mist Walker watching me through the mist. I looked back towards the camp one last time, then looked down at the satchel that I had received once more.

"Thank you Gridlock." I quietly whispered as I took my first official steps into the Equestrian Wasteland, the mist of the forest slowly dissipating as I grew closer to the Mist Walker.

It wasn't long until we were face to face, only the light of Luna's moon showing her features as she lowered her hood to reveal a rather pretty looking purple maned earth pony. However, while I couldn't quite place it, there was something off about her appearance. It wasn't until she spoke once more that I had noticed that she had two fangs on her upper row of teeth.

"The animals trust you, so I will do the same. Please, follow us to safety." She then placed her hood back over her head as she turned her back to me and began to head deep into the forrest.

I took a single large gulp of confidence as I took a nervous hoof step forward, blindly following the mysterious mare in hopes for the better.

I had done it, I had escaped. Here's hoping to a better future.

Author's Note

We really hope that you all enjoy this chapter. This chapter has been rather difficult for us, as it is in a rather weird place within our story. This chapter was filled with a lot of crucial information that our main character Silver has learned thanks to her griffon captor Gridlock. We had such difficulty with this chapter as we were trying our absolute hardest to make it so none of the information we included seemed forced or rushed. We really hope that we did this chapter well, as this is an extremely important chapter for the story as it marks Silver's first official day within the Equestrian Wasteland. Please, leave any comments and reviews you'd like! Any constructive criticism is highly appreciated!