Chapter 4
Vagabond
"Not all who wander are lost”

It was the crackle of a fire that pulled me out of the darkness. I could see the comforting glow just beyond my eyelids and smell the heavy scent of burning wood. I was alive! As my senses began to awaken, so too, did the pain. It was everywhere. It didn’t help that as I slowly regained consciousness my body was wracked with violent shivers. How could I be so cold? The fire was right there! I could feel its heat on my face. I was drenched with sweat and yet I could not stop myself from trembling. As if to add more, my lungs decided right then and there to spasm and I coughed painfully. It was hard to breath as I gasped for air. Desperately, I tried to return to that sweet nothingness of sleep, but I had come too far. There was no going back.

Slowly, I managed to open my eyes. Well, at least one of them. My left eye refused to listen as I took in my surroundings. It was dusk and the last rays of sun were barely visible through the clouds on the horizon. I lay alone beside a small fire, a single can of beans heating up beside the flames. Gingerly, I lifted a hoof to my closed eye, and realized it was swollen shut. Then, suddenly, all the memories of what happened came flooding back. Flashes of violent ponies beating me mercilessly, ponies who I had once called family. I shuddered again, groaning pitifully as my injuries ached. My head pounded as I turned to look at my body and a sob caught in my throat. I was covered in numerous cuts and bruises of various sizes. One nasty looking, deep purple bruise rested along my ribs, a clear indicator of the broken ribs just under the surface. That would explain why coughing caused me agony.

Blinking slowly, I saw a single bandage stuck to my flank. It was dirty, blood soaked, and covering half of my cutie mark. The gunshot echoed in my mind as I relived Rusty Blade shooting me. My friend, one of the few ponies I trusted, had gunned me down as if I were nothing more than an animal. As if it were also reacting to the painful memory, the wound throbbed in time with my beating heart. It was at that point, it all became too much. They had been waiting but now I could not hold them back any longer. Tears streamed down my broken face, stinging a large cut on my cheek as they went. There was little I could do to stop the sobs and I just groaned as everything hurt.

Just like before all those years ago… I had lost everything.

I gazed at the fire with the same fearful, wide-eyed stare I had shown those slaver ponies who watched me on that stage. Once again, I was just a filly. A child lost and alone in the cruel Equestrian Wasteland. What was I going to do now? Maybe I could go back to Rusty and beg him for forgiveness. Make him realize what was happening to our family and change his ways. Even as I thought it, I knew it was foalish idea. I could never go back. I choked on another sob and winced at the effort it cost me.

For a long time, I simply lay there staring blankly at the glowing fire. It took a while for my brain to finally ask the important questions (probably thanks to a concussion): who had made the fire? Who had bandaged me? With a great deal of effort, I managed to sit up on my haunches. A wave of nausea crept up my throat and for several agonizing seconds I dry heaved as my empty stomach reeled from the movement. Gasping as I recovered, I waited for my blurred vision to clear as I gazed around the small camp. I was tucked into the back end of a ruined structure with three of the four walls surrounding me. The fourth had fallen a long time ago, bringing much of the ceiling with it.

Gazing through the large hole, though the fading light made it difficult, I could just barely make out the unmistakable ruins of Manehattan in the distance. They were much farther than I was used to which told me that I had been moved far away from home… No. It wasn’t home anymore. Stop crying. Somepony had brought me here, but who? As far as I could see I was totally alone with only the light of the fire to keep me company. That didn’t mean that whoever dragged me here wasn’t going to come back. With a growing sense of urgency, I managed to stand on shaky hooves before another shiver rushed up my spine. It took all I had not to collapse from the pain as beads of sweat dripped down my face. I felt like shit. All I wanted to do was lay down and fall back into that blissful sleep, but I knew that would be impossible. Leaning against the wall, I carefully navigated around the rubble that littered the floor. What felt like an eternity had passed before I finally reached the opposite end of the room. I was just about to pass through the door frame when a deep voice cut into the silence.

“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good.” Fighting through the fog in my brain it took me a moment to realize I was no longer alone. Looking up, I watched a large, unicorn casually trot into the room through the same doorway I was trying to leave from. He looked me up and down with a critical eye as he past. “I didn’t think you’d be up and walking so soon.”

I just gawked stupidly at him before my ears fell and my lips raised into a weak snarl. “Back off,” I croaked dryly. I was suddenly very aware of how thirsty I was.

With a shrug, he moved towards the fire and looked at the can of beans. “I figured you wouldn’t eat, but I really think you should. It might make you feel better.”

I couldn’t say anything. What little energy I had was almost spent and the idea of wasting it with words was not exactly ideal. My legs trembled and my vision blurred but I somehow managed to remain standing. Turning, he sighed and shook his head at my defiant expression. His horn began to glow with a soft, pale blue light. I growled and jumped back, at least, I tried to. Instead, I fell and only managed to catch myself on the wall. Through gritted teeth, I lowered my head to a pathetic fighting stance and pawed at the ground with a hoof. My wounds screamed at me, and though I tried to ignore them, I could not stop the single tear that fell from my opened eye.

He just continued to stare at me with a brow raised. Slowly, the flap of his saddlebag opened to reveal what he was levitating. A bottle. I instantly recognized the familiar purple liquid inside. A healing potion. I stared at it for a moment before looking back up at him suspiciously. He returned my gaze evenly. We stood there, watching each other for a long moment until the buck shook his head again. “Come now, girl, if I had wanted to hurt you why would I have just spent the last three days bringing you back from the brink of death?”

As if a light had been turned on, I realized I recognized this pony. “You!” I gasped. It was him! The stallion that had caused all of this. “Wait? Did you say three days?” It was too much. My legs gave out and I waited for the explosion of agony that was sure to come as I hit the ground, and yet, it never did. I became weightless as the unicorn’s magic enveloped me and carried me through the air. I didn’t have the strength to struggle as he set me down by the fire.

“Take it easy. I’m going to be upset if you undo all I’ve done to keep you alive.”

“W-Who are you?” I asked wearily.

He sighed again. “I’ll tell you if you drink this. I spent all day scavenging for it and I’d like to know my efforts weren’t wasted.”

Levitating the bottle, he set it down in front of me. I hesitated for a moment, but the pain was too much, and I eagerly gulped it down. The relief was almost instant. The multiple cuts began to stitch themselves up and the bruises quickly faded. Even the swelling around my eye diminished and I gingerly opened it again. The only things that remained were the broken ribs and gunshot wound. The buck silently watched me and when the medicine had finally finished, he nodded his head in approval.

“I thought as much,” the buck said. When I gave him a quizzical stare he continued. “That stuff is pretty old and isn’t potent enough to mend your ribs, and with that bullet still stuck in your leg it can’t seal up the wound. We should get that taken care of soon or else it will get infected.”

“We?” I said wearily. The magical properties of the potion had eased the pain a little leaving me feeling drained and tired.

With a twitch of an ear, the stallion moved to sit on the other side of the fire. He lifted the can of beans with his magic and beckoned for me to eat. When I didn’t react, he simply shrugged and slurped some of the food down. “My name is Vagabond and, as you’ve deduced, I am the pony you saved. If not for your warning, I would have been attacked by that band of raiders.”

“We aren’t raiders,” I snapped. “We’re just a group of kids who want adults like you to leave us alone.”

“From where I stood, you all looked like a crazy pack of ponies out for blood. You were the only one who seemed sane when you called out your warning.”

“You’re an adult, you wouldn’t understand,” I said, waving a dismissive hoof.

“What does my being an adult have to do with anything?”

I glared at him. “Adults do nothing but hurt kids! You use us, abuse us, and demand that we do what you say, even if it means putting us in danger.”

“Have I done that?”

I opened my mouth but found no words. Seeing me hesitate, he continued.

“Was it me who beat you within an inch of your life or was I the one who returned to scrape you off the ground and heal you?”

Tears began to well up causing my vision to grow blurry. No! I refused to cry in front of an adult. “They had to do it! They were my family and I betrayed them. How could they trust me after what I did?!”

“Are you even hearing what you’re saying? What kind of family does that to one of their own?”

A distant memory started to poke at the edges of my mind. A father and mother whispering in the night, a lost name spoken between them in disgusted tones. Before it could reveal itself more, I tossed my head back and screamed. “SHUT UP!”

Startled by my sudden outburst, Vagabond just stared at me with his brows furrowed as the light of the fire danced along his face. Laying opposite of him, gasping in anger and pain as I fought to keep the water in my eyes, I just glared back at him with my ears pinned to my skull.

With another sigh, he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “I’m sorry. Clearly, you’ve been through a lot. What’s important now is that you’re alive. We should get that bullet taken out of your leg so you-“

“You keep saying ‘we’. After tonight, there is no we anymore. I saved your life. You saved mine. You don’t have to pretend like you care anymore. I’ll find somepony to heal me and be on my way.”

He didn’t say anything. Those icy blue eyes just watched me from across the fire until he gave another small shrug. “If that’s what you want, so be it.”

With that he stood up and walked out of the camp. Once again, I was left alone. Only after I was sure he was gone did I allow myself to cry. Sniffling, I rested my head on my forelegs and watched the flames dance along the wood. It wasn’t long before my eyelids grew too heavy and I fell to a long, dreamless sleep.

When I woke the next morning (I hoped it was the next morning), I was still alone. There was no sign of Vagabond save for his saddlebags and a can of carrots sitting beside the firepit. The previous night’s nausea had gone, and my stomach gurgled savagely for the food. The smoldering embers had kept the contents pleasantly warm. After only two gulps I had emptied the can. Tossing it aside, I stood up and was glad that the overwhelming agony had dulled. The only pain I felt came from the broken ribs and bullet hole. Limping to the bags, I opened them and raised my eyebrows in surprise. Inside was a rusted pistol with eight rounds, two tablets of what looked like Med-X, a bottle of questionable water, and at least four days’ worth of food. A final parting gift from Vagabond? A sliver of guilt began to worm its way into my mind and I shook my head in a vain attempt to rid myself of it. There was nothing I could do to take back what I said.

With some effort, I managed to get the bags on my back. My ribs screamed in protest, but I shut them up with one of the painkillers. Moving out of the ruins, I got a better sense of my surroundings. As I had noted the night before, Manehattan was several miles away, but that was fine. I wasn’t planning on going there. With a little adjustment, I put my old home at my back and began to walk. Truth be told, I didn’t know where I was going. I had no direction, no idea what I was going to do now that I was clanless. For years I’d always had somepony watching my back. I thought of Ash Blossom and felt the tears well up. She’d been like a sister, a pony who I could always count on. Her smile could always brighten my day and her laugh was contagious. Even when things came crumbling down, she’d been the only pony to show me mercy.

But, in the end, she’d chosen Rusty Blade. I couldn’t blame her really. After all, if not for him, we’d have been dead long ago at the hooves of Madam Satin and her disgusting industry. Rusty had done so much for us and all he’d asked for in return was a bit of loyalty. Why couldn’t I have just kept quiet and let them kill Vagabond? He was just another adult coming to invade our land and take what was rightfully ours. So what if he came back to save me? He’d even left me with some supplies, but that was his loss. An old fool who would regret leaving me with his things. Just another rotten adult…

Stopping, I gazed back at the ruins. All my life, grown-ups had proven just how awful they were to those who were smaller and weaker than them. They’d abandon you when you became an inconvenience or force you into a life not suitable for a filly. And yet, there was at least one stallion who’d shown that he was different. With a sigh, I started walking again.

It was noon when the painkiller wore off. My leg started to stiffen until I was forced to limp, the jumpy movement causing my ribs to ache. What had started out as a relatively quick pace was reduced to a pathetic crawl. Several times I had to stop and drink deeply from the water bottle. I didn’t need one of those clicky machines to know there was an uncomfortable amount of radiation swimming around in the liquid. By late afternoon I was in so much agony I caved and used the last of my water to take the remaining Med-X. How long had I been traveling? Why hadn’t I come across any settlements yet? I was unfamiliar with this area and unsure of where I was going. In the distance, I could make out a section of the road that turned into a long, winding overpass that went on for miles. Several sections of the road had broken off and fell to the ground below, but the structure as a whole seemed relatively stable. Maybe I could get up there and check my surroundings. There had to be some settlements around, right? With a destination finally set, I quickened my pace as much as the medicine would allow.

Dusk was beginning to settle as I stepped onto the smoothly paved road. The climb up to the higher reaches was slow but once I reached the top, I was thrilled I had come this way. At some point when the balefire bombs were dropped, ponies must have thought they could get away with all their belongings in wagons. In the chaos they must have panicked and crashed up here. A pile of carts and wagons lay before me, their contents spilled out all over the road. As I made my way towards the nearest one, I could see the bones of the ponies who’d been unlucky to get stuck up here as the world burned. Even more interesting, however, was the untouched suitcase tucked neatly inside a ribcage. I barely reacted as I yanked the remains away and the skeleton clattered to the ground. Skeletons were a common sight in the wasteland, and I had learned long ago there was no point getting upset over them. The ponies were long dead and forgotten.

Their stuff, on the other hoof, was still here and ripe for the taking. Pulling the case towards me, I tried to lift the lid but found it locked tight. “Goddesses fuck me stupid,” I hissed under my breath. I had meant to learn how to pick locks but kept forgetting. There were other things to do, like getting stoned or black out drunk. How would I know it would eventually come to bite me in the ass? For a moment, I thought about leaving the case behind. Surely there would be other valuables up here I could take. Yet, I found myself growing angry with the locks. Before I knew it, I had taken the sturdy box into my teeth and threw it on the ground hard. It remained closed, taunting me with its tenacity. Growling, I bucked it as hard as I could, sending it careening into the side of a nearby wagon. The echo of it hitting the rusted metal reverberated in the silent air. Panting with effort, I glared at the case as it fell to the asphalt. No wonder this thing had survived the apocalypse.

A shrill screech rose up from the surrounding darkness and without warning the sound of fluttering birds was everywhere. Only they weren’t birds. Great, hideous bats with large leathery wings rose from beneath the overpass each one easily bigger than me. One was the size of a wagon and hovered higher than the others! They must have been hanging under the road waiting for the sun to go down before hunting and I had just rudely woken them up. Before I could utter another curse, the big bat screamed for its brood to attack.

Ducking beneath the nearest wagon, I fumbled to draw the rusted pistol. One of the bats landed on top of the cart while another two reached at me on both sides with sharp talons. With a painful grunt, I kicked at one with a hard hoof. Its piercing cry caused the others to swoop around me in a frenzied rage. The wagon rocked violently threatening to tip over and expose me like a bug under a rock. A grotesque face appeared in front of me and I greeted it with a bullet to the eye. Blood gushed from the beast as it thrashed about before falling dead. Before I could aim at a new target, my whole body was suddenly lurched back at the same moment a sharp pain surged from my hind leg. Turning, I saw a vile claw hooked into my hoof dragging me across the asphalt. Kicking in vain, the beast yanked me out into the open as I scrambled to free myself. It was hard to see how many there were in the failing light, but their wings beat so loudly I knew there had to be over a dozen. I only had seven shots left. Better make them count.

I pulled the trigger with a flick of my tongue and growled as it grazed harmlessly past the bat holding me. With growing desperation, I took aim and fired again. The bullet missed the ugly face but dug into its neck. Thankfully it was enough. The animal released my leg as it reeled back, and I wasted no time crawling back to the cover of the wagon. Only it wasn’t there anymore. The enormous bat clutched the vehicle in its claws and threw it off the bridge like it had been made of foam. My ears fell as the blood drained from my face. Time seemed to slow as the monster dove at me with its horde following closely. Griping the gun tightly I fired as fast as I could. Two bullets ripped through the thin wings of a smaller bat but the remaining five whizzed away uselessly into the night. Screaming, I continued to pull the trigger even as the hammer clicked pathetically. Countless claws aimed for my face and I waited for them to rip my flesh.

A single bolt of raw magical energy pierced the darkness and struck the massive beast through the chest. It was dead before it hit the ground only a few short feet from my face. The others didn’t have time to react before a blinding light burst from behind me filling the overpass in a dazzling blue light. The bats howled in confusion and pain as they slammed into each other and crashed into carts. One by one they took to the sky abandoning the corpse of their leader to flee. Only when the last beast stumbled away did the light fade. The adrenaline drained away from my body and the gun fell from my mouth as I just sat there gasping. At some point, the painkillers had worn off, but I was only just now feeling the dull ache from old and new wounds.

The clattering of hooves announced the approach of a pony and I turned to see a familiar pale stallion coming to a halt beside me. His horn glowed with the aura of another spell as he glared up at the direction of where the bats had gone. I could only stare in awe. I had never seen a unicorn use magic in such a way. There was a hole the size of my head in the chest of a gigantic bat and this buck didn’t even seem winded from the effort the spell must have cost him. Looking me up and down, he seemed to relax upon finding me relatively unharmed.

“Are you alright? Did any of them bite you?”

I could only shake my head as words failed me.

“Good. What on earth were you doing up here? Didn’t you see those monsters hanging just below you?”

“Were you following me?”

“Of course I was! Did you honestly think I was about to let a wounded child just wander off to her death in the wasteland?”

As my limbs finally stopped trembling, I managed to stand up. Looking up at him I could see his eyes were full of concern. Why? I was a stranger to him and yet he had saved my life twice now. A growing annoyance bubbled in my stomach. I was getting really tired of this buck constantly showing me how inadequate I was.

“I’m not a child! If I wasn’t hurt, I could have easily outrun them. I don’t need you to watch over me.”

“Do you even know where you are or where you are going?”

I opened my mouth to retort but quickly shut it when I realized he was right. We both knew the answer. Without the Youngbloods, I was hopelessly lost. I’d never learned how to navigate the wasteland outside of our territory because another pony would do it. I didn’t bother with the medical mumbo jumbo because there was always a friend who had mastered those skills. I suddenly felt weak and small, but I wasn’t about to show him that. Instead, I just scowled at him. “Look, clearly you have it set in your mind that I’m just a helpless filly. If you get me to a competent healer, I’ll be able to take care of myself and you can stop following me like some kind of mother hen.”

“You’re a stubborn brat, aren’t you?” he said with a sigh. “Fine. At first light, I’ll take you to Stableton. The doctor there should be able to fix you up. Let’s get away from here. Those bats will be back soon.”

“Why would they come back?”

“They have no need to hunt when two fresh corpses are ready for eating,” he replied, pointing a hoof at the fallen bats.

I shuddered at the thought and followed behind him as we made our way back down the road. The limp had returned in earnest, but I wasn’t about to show how badly my whole body ached. Several times Vagabond checked on me to see how I was doing but I simply ignored him and continued walking.

“I think we should be alright now. We can camp here for the night,” he said at long last.

I collapsed on the spot. He didn’t say anything as he went about preparing the camp and soon, with the help of a spark of magic, a comfortable fire was ignited to push back the dark. I pulled out two cans of carrots and pushed them close to the flames. We sat in silence for a long time. I was exhausted and in pain, but sleep was the last thing on my mind. Watching the stallion carefully I began to wonder just who he really was.

“Where did you learn to use magic like that?”

“Oh, I’ve picked up a few spells here and there from ponies I’ve met on my travels.”

“I’ve met a few unicorns and never have I seen them use magic like that. Most can only do basic things like levitation or use spells based off their special talent.”

It was at this point I realized I hadn’t bothered to see what his cutie mark was. Gazing at his flank, I could see it was a simple black circle with a white star in the center and in the middle of the star rested an even smaller, dark circle. There was nothing flashy or incredible about it. If anything, it seemed boring. Noticing my stare, he too, looked at the mundane mark. For a split second I thought I saw a look of grief flash across is face but in the blink of an eye it was gone as he moved to turn the cans by the fire.

“Anyway, I never did get your name,” he said.

My brow furrowed at the obvious change of subject. What was he hiding? For a moment I thought about hounding him but thought better of it. All ponies had secrets and pasts they weren’t proud of, me included. “Wild Chains.”

A smirk appeared on his lips that had my ears falling flat as I glared at him. He waved a dismissive hoof. “I should have known it would be something like that with a cutie mark like that. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Wild Chains.”

Just like that, he left it alone. No questions about my past, no poking into how I got my name. Nothing but acceptance. All my life adults had been nothing but cruel and yet this stallion had shown me more kindness than even some of my old friends. I still felt uneasy but maybe he wasn’t a bad pony after all. Not that I was about to let him know that. The subtle ache from my wounds had grown into an unpleasant sting and as I moved my leg I hissed in pain. I hadn’t wanted to look but now I had to. In the light of the fire, I could see small, red streaks forming around the bullet hole. It didn’t take knowledge of medicine to know the signs of an infection. I suddenly felt exhausted. At some point I had dozed off because Vagabond had nudged me awake to eat the warm carrots. A full belly didn’t help my heavy eyelids, nor did it stop me from yawning.

“Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be rough,” he said with a barely hidden chuckle.

I had already drifted off before he had finished his sentence.

Never before had the sight of an unfamiliar village made me feel happy. As we neared the little settlement the pain in my leg and chest was almost unbearable. Vagabond had woken me up well before sunrise and explained we would get to Stableton by midday. The going had been slow as the infection started to spread causing me to feel sick. I’d put on a brave face for a long time, but I couldn’t manage it any longer. Collapsing in a heap, I’d forced us to delay several hours before I could move again.

As we approached the main gate of the town, I took notice of how different it was from others I had visited. Whereas most settlements were made from the remains of old buildings, this one seemed to have been made from the ground up. It was located on the side of a large hill and surrounded by a tall fence made from large sheets of metal welded together. Inside I could see the buildings were crafted from the same metal along with wood that seemed to be cut from actual trees rather than pulled off the side of a house. Two guards stood outside the gate and as we got closer, one pulled out his gun while the other took a few steps towards us before calling out.

“What brings you to Stableton, friends?” he said with a casual voice, yet his eyes warned us not to try anything funny.

“My niece and I were traveling with a caravan when we were attacked by raiders. We managed to escape with our lives, but she was hit by a bullet. She needs to see a doctor and I’d heard there was one here.”

If I hadn’t felt so sick, I would have been dumbfounded by how easily Vagabond could spin a convincing lie. Even his voice trembled with worry. For my part, I simply stood beside him and swayed as I tried my best to stay upright. The guard watched us for a moment longer as if analyzing us. To him we must look like two, weary travelers with nothing but half empty saddle bags. No battle-scarred barding or obvious weapons between either of us. Finally, he stepped aside and motioned for his companion to let us pass.

“Doctor Willow’s clinic is just down this road and on your left. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, sir. Come along, sweetie. You’re going to be alright,” Vagabond said.

Even in my weakened state I threw him a glower which he only smiled at, furthering my annoyance. Ponies walked here and there as we passed by and I noticed several of them wearing matching blue and yellow barding. Some ponies watched us curiously but didn’t say much. Vagabond led me down the road until we stopped in front of a smaller building. The sign on the front had been painted yellow with three pink butterflies. Everypony understood the symbolism of those colors. Boxes with all kinds of medical supplies and drugs were marked with those same butterflies all over the Equestrian Wasteland. Once inside I was hit by the harsh smell of disinfectant which only aggravated my nausea. Unable to hold it back any longer I proceeded to vomit all over the freshly cleaned floors.

The sound of my retching summoned a mint green unicorn mare from the back of the clinic. She was older and seemed to have a permanent scowl on her face. “What in the goddess’ name is going on here?”

Vagabond politely repeated the same story he had told the guard.

Doctor Willow looked from me to Vagabond, then back to me again. “You’re her uncle just as much as I’m your grandma. Tell me the truth or get out.”

Watching his ears droop as he just stared at the callous mare made me laugh. It was a weakened, and somewhat alien sound, but a giggle all the same. Then, as my strength failed, I fell, but I didn’t hit the ground. Instead, I felt myself being gently lifted into the air as the world grew fuzzy and dark. Voices sounded far away, and I couldn’t make sense of them. After being placed somewhere, probably a table, I felt a needle prick into my neck and an instant later my whole body was pleasantly numb. Free at last from the pain of a day’s travel it wasn’t long before I had drifted off in to a peaceful semi-conscious state.

When I came too, I was lying on a bed. Not a filthy mattress but an actual bed! I had never experienced such comfort before. I imagined this is what it was like to lay on a cloud. How dare those greedy pegasi hog this all to themselves up there in their cloud fortress. As I became more aware, I noticed that the discomfort that had been my constant companion was like a distant memory. There was an ache and just an overall feeling of exhaustion, but I really did feel better. Sitting up, I took notice of the room I was in. Just as with the town, the clinic was furnished with objects not from the wasteland. The equipment seemed new and well cared for. Not a speck of rust could be found. It was odd, to say the least, but not unpleasant.

“Ah, you’re awake finally. Welcome back, Wild Chains,” said Doctor Willow as she entered the room.

At once my guard was up. “How do you know my name?”

She raised a brow as she stood beside the bed. Without a word, she pulled back the blanket to gazed intently at my ribs. The bruise had faded, and it was then that I realized I could actually breathe easier than before. Moving down my side, she then examined my flank. The nasty bandage had been removed (and probably burned) and replaced with a magical bandage. “You’ll live. Just add it to the other scars you’ve got. There are quite a few for such a young filly but I guess it’s not really unheard of for one such as you.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t matter. Your friend told me about what happened. I’m not going to press further but I am going to give you one warning. Stableton is home to good ponies. We don’t typically allow your kind here but since you’re just a child we made an exception. You will treat the ponies here with respect. If you lay a single hoof out of line, I will personally throw you out myself. Am I understood?”

Anger bubbled in my stomach as I glared down at the elderly mare. Did she think of me as just another blood thirsty raider? What had Vagabond told her? She met my eyes evenly showing no evidence that she wasn’t serious. With incredible restraint I slowly nodded my head, fearing if I opened my mouth, I would only cuss her out.

“Good. Now then, let’s talk about payment.”

My ears fell. “What?”

“You can’t honestly expect that my services were free. I have a business to run here and medical supplies don’t grow on trees.”

“Does it look like I have any caps? I was literally dragged in here half dead. Sorry, lady, but you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip.”

“A turnip no. But a pony on the other hoof…”

With a scream, I leapt at the doctor. I could hear Rusty Blade’s voice in the back of my head telling me about the cruelty of adults. This mare was no different! She stood still, watching with an annoyed expression as I bolted towards her. Before I could reach her, however, a light blue glow encompassed me, and I was sent flying back to the bed. The soft padding didn’t prevent a fresh surge of pain from shooting up my leg, causing me to cry out.

“Calm down, Wild. No need to go attacking the pony who saved your life,” Vagabond said casually as he walked into the room.

“Another outburst like that and I'll have everypony here chase you out of town," Doctor Willow growled, then turned to Vagabond. "If you reopened that wound, I’m going to charge you extra."

“Oh, I’m sure you will.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? This bitch is trying to rob us!” I growled.

“Hmm… doesn’t seem like a robbery. But, then again, you’d be the expert on robbing folks, wouldn’t you?” he said with a playful smile.

I opened my mouth, but Doctor Willow cut me off before I could respond. “Keep quiet, girl, the grownups are talking.”

I wanted to beat that stupid scowl off her face! It was only because of Vagabond’s magic that I remained in the bed.

“Now, now, Wild isn’t just some kid. She’s pretty tough and has been through quite a lot. I’d like to keep her in good health and you in business so let’s keep things civil and come to an agreement.”

Doctor Willow grumbled something incoherently but otherwise said nothing more. Vagabond released his magic and I pouted silently on the bed.

“Good, glad that’s settle. Now then, about payment. You were talking about a stable, right?”

My ears perked up. “A stable? What does that have to do with this?”

“Why do you think we call this town Stableton? Underneath that hill over yonder is Stable 42. We discovered it about five years ago and managed to get the door open. At first, we thought it was uninhabited and we used the parts inside to build the town,” Doctor Willow said, moving to sit in a chair.

“That explains all the medical equipment and metal houses,” I said.

She nodded. “When we used all the parts from the main entrance and several attached rooms, we made our way to the back, but a sealed door blocked our way. Of course, it didn’t take us long to force our way in. I wish we hadn’t. Turns out the stable wasn’t abandoned like we first thought.” Pausing a moment, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as if the memories were causing her actual pain. “Behind that door were hundreds of ghouls, all of them crazy and hungry for pony flesh.”

Even I couldn’t help but gasp. While they hadn’t been as common near the Youngbloods hideout, we would often find ghouls in ruined towns. They were zombie like ponies with their flesh peeled off by radiation exposure. Most were remnants of the war torn past, doomed to an extended life of madness and aggression. I had heard that there were some ghouls who were still sane enough to live a relatively normal life, but I had never seen one. To be honest, I hoped I never did.

“Before we could stop them, they attacked. We lost six good ponies that day. We had only just managed to close the door to the stable before they could wreak havoc on the town. There are valuable resources in there that could help the ponies of Stableton…” her voice tailed off.

I knew where this was going. “What moron would risk their life just to pay off some medical debts?”

“I’ll do it,” Vagabond said.

Footnote: Level up!
New Perk: Savage Loyalty – When your health drops below 35%, your companion’s attacks do 20% more damage.
Companion Perk Unlocked: More Than Meets The Eye – As long as Vagabond is in your party, you gain +1 to all stats.

Author's Note

As ever, thank you for reading! Whew, this one was a bugger to write. Not gonna lie, I thought about giving up half way through it. But then I thought of those who were looking forward to the next chapter and I muscled through it. Thank you all so much for your support! I wouldn't be able to keep going if not for you!