It was a much windier day than normal. The snow outside blew across the landscape much like sand blew across the desert sand dunes. Everything was covered with the white powder, the worse part about it was that unlike packing snow, the white dust was just cold and could find it's way into anything. It stuck only to the inside of your cloths, no point in trying to make snowponies. Two figures cut their way across the wind blasted white dunes of the toward the outskirts of the small town on the boarder between the Equestrian Wasteland and the Frozen North, which had been an arctic wasteland long before even the balefire bombs and megaspells. The apartment was quiet and abandoned seemingly forgotten by the world before with a boom the door opened. The strange floating creature floated into the apartment, following behind the strange mutated creature was a blue unicorn with a black underside. Her mane was black and she was completely suited up in a full fur coat. She closed the door behind her before kicking off her snow boots.
It's good to be back. One of the beholder's eyes looked back at her. It's surprising how cold it's gotten out there Iso.
"Yeah, you're not joking, it's about as warm and welcoming out there as folk's place." She smiled at her own joke. She walked over to the fireplace floating a match box off the mantle and lighting the wood that was waiting laying in the fireplace. Slowly the flames started to grow. she left it to eat the fire wood as she flicked several floor heaters on. She then flopped down on the couch. "Buddy could you float the bag over to me?" She asked the floating creature.
Sure, there you go. One of their saddlebags floated over to her as they hovered in the middle of the quickly warming room. Iso smiled as she started opening up the bag and looking through the supplies that they had scored while they had been exploring the wastes, and the semi-barren tundra. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She pulled two out and after passing one to Buddy lit her's in the fire. She floated it back to her as she put her hind hooves up on the small coffee table. We should probably save the rest of them for the crazy hobo trader that comes by every couple of weeks.
"Probably, but we've got plenty of cigs, and it's not like he has a lot of useful things." She let out a long drag from her cigarette as the apartment began to warm up from the floor heaters and roaring fire in the fireplace. She took another pull and sighed contently.
That's not what you said when he came around with that lava lamp. Buddy smiled and tapped the lava lamp as if to make a point.
"That lava lamp is cool and retro, and was absolutely worth those body pillows we found in that weird shop. Not like we were going to use those weird things." Her horn lit up and the lamp turned on. "Besides you you wanted it just as much as I did."
Well yeah, it is cool. Oh and speaking of look out the window and see who's coming our way. Buddy looked out the window of their apartment building looking into the frozen ruins of the city. Iso followed the large eye in the middle looking out she could just barely see what Buddy was talking about but sure enough she could see movement down on the street.
"Wait is that him?" Iso asked.
It looks like it. Him and his brahmin. Do you want to go out to talk to him?
"Yeah, I probably should, at least so the town knows that we're still alive out here, and nobody comes over to loot our shit." She got up and and put her snow gear back and saddle bags back on before heading out to met the trade out in the snow. At the base of the apartment tower. "Hey...What's up?" She asked looking over the trader and his pack brahmin. They were a donkey, well in their sixties and despite the cold wore very little aside from a half moth eaten coat and a khaki ushanka, and a two pairs of heavy boots.
"Oh, you're still alive, thought you were dead hadn't seen you in a while."
"We were just...Gone for a month." Iso avoided the old prospector's eyes.
"We? Oh right you and your talking beholder." The Donkey nodded.
"He can talk...He talks to me...All the time."
"Right, right, well I didn't think you were alive, but here you are, and on that note did you find anything good while you and your buddy were out and about exploring the wastelands? If so I think I got some stuff that you'll absolutely love."
"I mean we did...Find somethings you might...Want." She would look around a bit before pulling out a couple of things out of her saddle bags. "Some scrap parts...A couple shot gun shells...and cigarettes. What do you...Have of us?" She floated out the items from her bags as she said listed it off. The donkey listened with increasing interest.
"Smokes those are nice, but yeah I was running out of shot gun shells to too, yeah very nice very nice finds you got there Ms. Iso." He looked at all the items. "I'm glad that you don't sell these things at town, they'd price gouge them. Especially the smokes. What do you want for them?"
"What do you...Have for us?" She looked to the brahmin's packs.
"Well I've grabbed a couple of things coming out here, but like I said I thought that you were dead, or moved on, so I don't have a lot that you'd like. But, I'm sure that we can work somethings out. Lets see I've got socks you know if you have a special somepony that you want to gete kinky with." He looked at her. "Right, um, let's see. The donkey started digging through the saddle bags on his pack brahmin. I got a memory orb, should be something nice to watch for an evening."
"Okay...Do you have, anything else?"
"Well I do have one thing that is guaranteed to peak your interest." The donkey smiled. "So how about this." He pulled out a bag of crushed up grass. "Magic Buffalo Grass, this little bag came from the Buffalo lands between Old Applelossa and New Applelossa. I think that this is your fix right?" Iso looked at the goods that the donkey had put in the snow opposite her goods. "We have a deal Iso?"
"I guess these...are a good deal." She nodded and picked up the socks, the orb and the Magic Grass. "Have fun...Also let the town know...that we're still alive...Bye." She said walking back toward the apartment. She moved back to the quickly warming room. "Hey Buddy, talked to him. Told him to tell town we weren't dead." She put new stuff down on the table. "So I guess that takes care of that." She sat back down.
What did you get? Buddy asked looking over her haul.
"I got some socks, a tea pot, and some Buffalo Magic Grass." She answered.
socks, do you have a colt or fillyfriend that you're not sharing? Buddy teased Why would you want socks, they're not even a matching set. He looked at the socks, two were pink, one was white with green stripes, and the last on was black with a bunch of orange bats on it.
"I'm not in the market for a colt or filly either way. Besides the socks aren't for wearing, I heard that you can do a bunch of fun stuff with this magic grass and always wanted to try, now I got my hooves on some we're going to have a nice relaxing evening." She smiled. "Could you go fill the tea pot with the least glowing snow you can find Buddy, I'm going to see if we got what we need." She got up and put the two pink socks on her hind hooves.
I thought you said the weren't for wearing? The beholder said taking the tea pot and floating over to the door.
"Can't a filly wear clothes to feel pretty?" She walked over to the fridge as she heard the door close behind Buddy. She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of frozen milk. She leaned in and smelled it her nose scrunched up. "Euch, yeah that's ripe." She floated it over the stove top to start to thaw out. She pulled out what was left of their baking supplies, a tenth of a bag of flour, and mostly half cut bag of backing powder. "I might have to go back to town later." She mumbled to herself floating over a jar of watered down honey. "I guess I can do that tomorrow, or next week. Not like we use honey all that often anyways." She floated over the magic grass to her cutting it into small pieces. By the time Buddy got back in with the tea pot full of snow she had her magic brownies already in the oven.
So why'd you have me fill the tea pot with snow? Buddy asked putting the tea pot on the stove to melt the snow into water.
"We're going to Chillax the best way possible." Iso smiled. "Buffalo magic grass is fun to smoke but just as easy to cook with. We're having brownies and magic tea. I think we have two beers in the boiler room too. When the snow melts use the stripped sock like a tea bag.
When she reached the basement she nearly tripped on the two dozen empty beer bottles. "Well that sucks these are all empty." She started walking around with her horn lit up. The basement of the large block apartment building contained dozens of shelve loaded with empty bottles of booze and three large water boilers. "Empty. Empty. Empty." She grabbed one in her magic and floated it to her flipping it upside down and looking out the bottle. "That sucks. Though I guess we could fill these with ice and sell them in town as water. What the heck." Her horn lit up bright as an ice spike skewered a giant rad roach easily half her size. "Eww. Wait." she walked over the shelf the rad roach had been hiding under. She pulled four bottles of beer off the shelf. "Jackpot." She smiled before looking at the roach. "And I guess we can have roach meat for dinner." She floated them with her back up the stairs. "Hey Buddy got food and booze."
Was that just down there? Buddy asked as steam was coming out of the teapot.
"Yeah." She said good thing too because this grass is going to give us the munchies and we are completely out of food. Well we were." She put the beers down and threw the bug into the fridge.
Well the brownies should be nice and gooey soon, and it seems like the tea is done As soon as Buddy said it the tea pot started whistling. Iso smiled her horn lighting up.
"Then let's relax we absolutely earned this after a month and a half out looting ruins out in the tundra." She poured two cups and pulled out the magical brownies. "To friendship, and fun shit."
Friendship and fun shit.
After several hours the two of them were laying on the couch completely stoned out of there mind. "You know, lava lamps are just so awesome. Some times, I think we're...all in a lava bubble floating through space."
poetry.
"Yeah."
