Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Thirty six

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We arrived at a shabby looking shack, where the two pegasus that were with Cold Trails stood guard. The foals were hiding behind a third pegusus, a mare that wore an Enclave uniform with a ministry of peace band over her forelegs. The ghouls were keeping their distance from the others, looking just as worried as the three pegasus seemed to be about the company.

As we helped the ponies we saved off the wagon to take a quick rest, a few foals rushed out to what was likely their parents, but most of them just looked on with dejected eyes. This wagon was likely their last hope to see their parents, and if they weren't here, they were likely dead.

Cold Trails was not doing well, with the med-x quickly wearing off, he had trouble moving, even with the help of power armor. Thankfully we had a doctor here, so I called Coriander over for help. Strangely he was now in a white radiation suit, the suit glowing green from the face shield.

"Before you ask, the lovely lady over there gave it to me." He pointed over at the pegasus mare with the foals. "Now let's see what I can do. Fortunately I have made sure all my medical tools have been well cared for and sterilized." The head of the suit then looked at me bathing me in green light. "And you are clearly next to be looked at."

The pegasus mare then trotted over and addressed Cold with a salute. "Medical officer Chain Lighting, requesting permission to speak freely."

Cold Trails grunted and said. "Fuck... ya, permission granted."

Chain then scowled. "The fuck are you thinking. You said in and out, no taking major risks. But you flew back into that shitshow for the fucking dirt tredders." She then glanced at me, "no offense." Then back to Cold. "Now look at what you did. That armor survived the great war and two hundred years of bureaucratic bullshit, only for you to fuck it up. And where's the other plasma rifle, those MEW's cost more than a lifetime salary as a trooper, and it's gone!"

The mare then took a deep breath and sighed, then turned to Coriander. "Doctor, make sure he lives, but don't waste any pain killers if possible. It's clear we have other ponies who need them more than him."

Coriander chuckled. "Oh this brings me back, you field medics never change."

With this situation done, it was time to address the ponies we saved. Trotting over to them, I put on my best smile, doing what I can to put them at ease. "Hello everypony. We got a long road ahead of us, so the sooner we get moving, the sooner we will arrive at Ursa's Rest. "

One pony spoke up and asked. "We don't have food or water, will we even make it there?"

Fortunately this was an easy question. "I can hunt, and I know how to find water. We got a bunch of pegasus with us, so they can easily scout ahead. So let's stick together. Oh, and if any of you are hurt or need counseling, some of the ghouls are medical ponies, they will be able to help you."

They didn't seem to look all that sure about what I said, but just like before, the mare with the scars and fierce eyes stood up and took charge. She had found some clothes along the way, along with a jacket tightly wrapped around her flank, something I could understand why. "You heard the mare, anyways if we stay here, the raiders or ferals might find us. Let's just focus on getting somewhere safer, then we can nitpick the details. Having doubts now will get us nowhere. So if you can trot, get trotting, if you can't, load up in the cart, and the foals get priority."

That seemed to be what they needed and once I gave them a direction, remembering where we had come from, they all started trotting.

As I took the lead, Molo joined me, looking a bit nervous. It was out of character for her, and concerned me greatly. "Is something wrong? I'm not in the mood for any crazy shit you understand."

Molo rolled her eyes. "No, no, nothing of the sort. Well nothing raider crazy I mean." She then glanced back at Spell for a quick second. "Ahh, you know how I said I was born and raised in a brothel." I nodded and she continued. "And how I started out as a honey trap for more important ponies." I nodded again. "Well… the stallion I was with was a… Naysayer…"

My eyes felt like they almost popped out, and I was getting a bad feeling about this, but the dots were not connecting together. "Please don't tell me it was Tripwire."

Molo looked disgusted at the suggestion. "No, by Celestia no."

Inbreathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss Lottery, can we talk?" Spell Circuit spoke up, startling me as he matched my pace.

"Uh, ya, just let me finish talking to my friend here… oh, I haven't introduced you, this is Molotov, Molo for short. And Molo, this is, Spell Circuit."

Spell gave Molo a polite nod. "Hello miss Molotov…" he raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking of something. "Say, have we met before?"

Molo averted her eyes, looking at the sky instead of at Spell. "Ahh, no…. But, you might have met my… ahhh… sister, ya. Does the name Sparking Passion ring a bell."

Spell went silent for a moment as we trotted, then blushed profusely as he looked away. "I… I… I do believe I know a Sparking Passion. But it's been a long time… how is she faring?"

"Could be better, could be worse." Molo said nervously, not acting as herself.

I then realized something. "Say Molo, isn't you name actually-"

Molo cut me off by thrusting her hoof into my mouth and whispered in my ear. "Shhhh, don't say a thing, talk later."

As I looked at Molo, it finally clicked, and I was shocked! The foals Molo was trying to reclama, their father is Spell Circuits! I looked at Spell for a moment, and awkwardly smiled at him. "So… what was it you wanted to talk about?"

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We managed to get to the meeting spot, where the Talons would eventually show up to take us home, just as the sun began to set. That being a highway overpass with a shack under it. Using a barrel to set a fire, everypony quickly got warm and I got to cooking. I had also managed to catch a group of geckos, and now roasted them over the fire. It wasn't much, but it was clear that everypony was grateful for anything. Except for Low Pressure, who preferred something less crude, but was willing to settle for less.

The three pegasus had flown off, as it had turned out, there were a lot more of them in hiding. So we had agreed to bring them along, and so long as Cold Trails was with us, they could find us. Not that he was in any condition to fly off. The other ponies were worried about more pegasus joining us, partly out of worry for food and water, but likely more out of fear they would do something to harm us. We reassured them that they would be safe, as Talon should show up tomorrow to take us to Ursa's Rest.

Though it would be cutting it close, the three pegasus were confident that they would be back before then. Since they all could fly, I didn't doubt them.

Spell Circuit and I had a long talk about what the two of us had been up to. The stallion had been tracking his brother's movement, and doing what he could to slow him down. But it seemed all he accomplished was just being an annoyance until he met Cold Trails. I had decided to not tell him about my time working in the Red Light Showroom, but did tell him about how I had helped save Wiretap. He was glad that I was doing well for myself, though the possibility of having to talk to Grizzly did seem to make him nervous.

I had also tried to get Molo to clarify more about her relationship with Spell, but she became tight-lipped about it, not wanting to say any more so long as Spell was nearby. It was strange, as my normally brash friend was now uncritically shy. Though I understood why, as the stallion she had thought died ten years ago was very much alive and with us.

Fortunately the ghouls and the other ponies had started to get along. It was more tolerating each other than any real acceptance, but it was a start. Coriander was allowed to look at the other ponies, thanks to the enclave radiation suit. And the freed ponies were at least glad to have a doctor look them over, ghoul or not.

The nurses on the other hoof had gathered some of us for an as private as possible group counseling whenever we stopped. When I learned what it was about, I tried to run, but Mint managed to convince me to stick around and at least listen. I was fine, and I neither wanted to talk about, or hear another pony talk about their own abuse or rape.

So under the ruins of a highway overpasses, many of us sat in a wide circle around a fire to… talk.

…

"Well my father was against it, always saying that he will work twice as hard to provide… but that just gave mother more opportunities. While he was out, she would… she…"

Aloe gently held the mare's hoof. "It's okay, you don't have to tell us if you're not comfortable. Just remember we're here for you when you're ready."

The mare shook her head. "I'm fine… I need to say it… you see, my mother would whore me out when my father was away. To make extra caps for the family she say… but she only spent it on herself. Father came home from work one day and saw it all. He… he killed them all and beat mom to death… after that the town hung him and left me and my siblings on the street to starve." The mare then cover her face with her hooves, years flowing. "I did what I only knew what to do, but at least my siblings got the caps this time."

She was then hugged by Aloe until the mare calmed down.

Once things were silent, Mint got up and looked around. "Any pony wishes to share, were all friends here? No pony will judge you."

Most of us here don't really want to talk, some barely responding. The one stallion I saved hadn't said much since we got free, something I could understand.

Mint then looked at me. "Lottery, how about you?"

"Rather not." I grumbled.

"You sure?" She pressed.

I let out a sigh. "Fine. If you want to know so bad. I was the one who helped these bastards start this shit in the first place. When I found out I chose to fight them. My reward, getting fucked in every way possible, then escaping to only find out the set me up with their debt. Oh and I was too stupid to understand that I could have done other thing then to whore myself out to pay off the cap. Or do you want me tell you about how the Raider boss of the Murder Balls publicly scarred my cunt. Or how about how right after that I was delivered to a raider ganged rape!"

"I think I'm ready to tell my story." Spoke up the scared up earth pony mare. Next to her, holding her hoof was unicorn mare, in much of the same condition as she was. I could guess how bad the earth pony's story was, as the first time I saw her was over a month ago in the care of the Brain Nails. I could still hear her pained moans as I could do nothing to help.

As she spoke, her voice quivered, but also a sense of resolve to it. "I'm... A Steel Ranger Scribe… named Plasma Cutter. My job is to maintain the power armor… was, it was my job." There was a bitterness in her voice. "When the Applejack Rangers schism happened, I was too busy to even realize what was going on. And by the time the shooting had ended, star paladin Spritz Cookie saw me as a traitor for not joining the fight. Half the chapter dead, or captured and awaiting a joke of a trial. I was at least not executed, just banished without any gear."

A look of pain was in Plasma's eyes, taking a moment to collect herself before continually. "I… I managed to survive on my own for a few weeks, remembering my survival training. But then I stupidly trotted into a raider toll stop. I couldn't pay, and they didn't let me leave… I… I foolishly decided to get into an argument with some of them, not expecting their offer to have them all fuck me and then let me be on my way… lets just say I lost track of time as they still had their way with me in some dark cell. And when they weren't raping me, I was forced to do tasks they weren't bothered to do themselves."

Plasma then rubbed her abdomen and grimaced. "They made sure to mark my body, like I was some cruel art project. Later I ended up in that town, where the head mare of the Brain Nails showed me off with a few other ponies to the other raiders. The others… they were broken, and I knew she was trying to brake me like that too."

The Unicorn next to her squeezed Plasma's hoof, shaking ever so slightly. Unlike Plasma, she hadn't thorn on any clothes on, or we just didn't have any for her, so I could see all the scars on her. It was only a guess, but she looked like she was possibly pregnant too, the poor mare. One more oddity was that on her abdomen was a heart shaped tattoo that seemed to shift colors. Seeing the tattoo caused me to rub my abdomen too, wincing in pain from the touch.

"Only Silver Bristle Brush and I kept our sanity through it all" Plasma said as she held the other mare.

She then took a deep breath, looking at her chipped hoof. "I think they hated how we hadn't given up, how we weren't going to let them break us. So they just found new ways to torment, to hurt. But what the raiders did… It's nothing compared to how my brothers and sisters betrayed me."

Listening to her, I felt like I could understand. But her pain was deeper, yet she didn't let herself be broken. She been a raider slave but could still hold her head up high like that. It… it made me feel that I could go on for a bit longer.

As the night went on, eventually everypony had their say, either it being short, or longer than anypony expected. Strangely it helped me feel more… relaxed. Almost everypony had been through something similar to my own experience, and were scared by it. Mentally and or physically. Even Aloe shared her story, how a patient had stolen several chems and assaulted her. It was a reminder that bad things happened even back during better times.

"So you're really fine with it?" I asked Plasma.

The mare rubbed her belly, a resolved look on her face. "The foal is innocent, that's all I know or care about this." Doctor Coriander had looked Plasma over, and confirmed she had two at lest treatable STD's and was pregnant. Neither she was happy about it, but she also seemed relieved that it was not worse. Plasma then asked me! "How about you, miss hero?"

I rolled my eyes and answered, "I'm no hero, and I'm safe. My doctor gave me an immunity shot before heading out, and I took some contraception with me… I have a tendency to pick up stallions when drunk, you see. And I thought I was ready for the risks…"

She patted me on the shoulder. "We're alive and free thanks to you and your friends, so you're a hero. Ya, you got ganged raped by raiders, but almost all of us in the meeting had been. What's important is that we're alive, and they're dead."

Plasma then looked up at the moon and sighed. "Its sad really, my first sexual experience was being tied to a post and bread. I could have had a stallion in my Ranger compony, was courted a few times, but so absorbed in my work that I didn't pat them no mind. Probably why I was exiled over executed, some of them may have still liked me."

She then shook her head, and again rubbed her stomach. "Now its wait and see if the pony growing in me looks like a raider or not."

"I'm sure they will be cute if they look anything like their mother." I reassured her.

She smiled. "Oh I hope so. Been having nightmares about it, and if I was anything like those savages, I'd probably believe I had a monster in me then some unfortunate foal."

I didn't have anymore words, just the though of being impregnated by raiders was terrifying to me. It only made me glad I had those contraceptives.

The sound of wings caught our attention as Cold Trails laned in front of us, out of his armor and covered in bandages. He was looking better for a pony who had such a hard crash, but still was far worse then most of us. As it had turned out, the plasma rifle exploding had partly gone into his armor, burning the side of his barrel, his right back leg, and right wing. Fortunately med-x and a healing potion helped keep him going, but it was clear he was doing his best to hide the pain.

"You two alright? Heard your meeting was over." He asked

"Ya… it was a thing." I told him.

The pegasus had a solom loom on his face, then looked at the ground as though guilty. "I… I spied in on a bit of it… and is okay if we talk… about my sister, Chilly."

I signed and gave Plasm a look that told her we needed some space. She nodded and trotted off to rejoin Silver Bristle Brush and the other ponies.

Once she was far enough away, and I was sure the wind would mask our voices I looked over the horizon. This shelter had a nice view overlooking the mostly barren wasteland, the moon illuminating everything in a silver glow.

"I can't say I understand why she did it, not when she was so close to being free. But I can honestly say I understand some of the pain she felt." I told Cold Trails.

"I think i know why." Cold Trails said with a sigh as he look out at the scenery. "You see, she wanted to be an architect, to help build the next cloud city. She was even streamlined into the advanced program in school. When the letter came in, it was the best day in her life. All her dreams were in reach, she just had to work hard and then… then she…"

Cold began to cry, though his face remained stoic. "When the clouds fell, so did all her dreams. She was almost catatonic when I found her. Barely eating, hadn't even bathed, her wings disheveled. That spark in her eyes… it was gone. It was like she was already dead. Then Flyright got her hooves on my sister."

I just listened as Cold wiped his tears away and continued. "Flyright said she would unify all of us, drill in a sense of community. I guess my sister was looking for anything that would make sense of the world, and I was just happy that she was eating… then I lost her, and was simply told it was a soldier's duty." He then took a deep breath and let out a pained sigh. "I was too blind to see that Flyright was culling the weak, and unifying us through fear. I should have taken my sister and few as far away from the enclave as possible."

He then looked at me, and asked. "Tell me, what actually happened to my sister? Did she really sacrifice herself to kill the raiders?"

Slowly I breathed in, and slowly breathed out. "I think she flew down to save another pony who got shot out of the sky. Then they were overwhelmed by raiders, is my guess. I found Chilly as she was being raped, her wings wrapped in barbed wire. Almost joined her when I stepped on a bear trap."

The moment played through my head. The muffled groan of pain, the slowly moving raider. Frantically fighting while in extreme pain. All of it.

"It was a close fight, but I won and freed her." I explained, taking a moment to take a breath before continuing. "There was another raider, I managed to kill it, but the raider dropped a grenade… a grenade Chill picked up."

"That's when she died?" Cold Trails asked.

I nodded. "I think she just wanted it to all stop. And I can understand that. Still, I wish she hadn't, I know I could have gotten her to safety."

Cold Trails shook his head. "No, she should have never been there in the first place. She should have been somewhere safe."

"Like how I should have never left home." I said with a huff.

Cold Trails clicked his tongue. "Just like how the Enclave should have just minded their own business and stayed up in the clouds."

We then spent a long moment just looking over the horizon, sitting in silence. The wasteland was bustling with life, if you knew where to look. Mostly small critters going about their business, but there was even a pack of coyotes far off in the distance, tracking their prey. It was tranquil, and reminded me of home.

A yawn came from me, and I got up. "It's been nice, but I should get some rest. Molo's on watch, so you should rest too."

"Ya, I'll do that." Cold Trails answered as he rubbed his neck. "The Med-x is wearing off anyways.

I couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked, the parts not covered by bandages, much like the stallions in the old magazines. Though he looked more natural then that of Tripwire, no need for suits or accessories. A part of me wanted to comfort him, but another didn't want to be touched, or touch others. Yet another part of me twitched, wanting to be mounted by him, which filled me with disgust, as it only caused me to remember the raiders. I had to bite my tongue to calm down.

It was just so… conflicting.

Giving up, I left. Seeking sleep, but dreading the nightmares.

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I sat along the edges of a circle, along with other versions of me. One was in my Red Light Showroom outfit, chewing gum. Another was in the scout armor I had so long ago. A third in my jumpsuit.

They were passing along a pipe, smoking it before talking. One version of me let out a cloud of smoke, and as it passed, her face became mangled and twisted. "Turns out laughing in their face gets a led pipe to the jaw. Didn't stop them from having their way with me, even after I was dead, but not that I cared after that."

"Oh, after another month of whoring, I just accepted it and enjoyed myself." The Red Light me said, taking a puff. The smoke revealed a sickly and thin mare. "The chems are good too, though the shakes suck."

Again and again, each version of me was revealed to be… broken in some way. Then the pipe came to me, all of them looking at me.

"Come on, breathe it in." The voice of Strife spoke in my ear. I turned to loom for her but saw nothing. "Embrace the wasteland, it will make it all easier in the end."

I laughed, and the dream shifted and changed. Now I was at a table, and other versions of me were all rabbits having a tea party. "I beat you, killed those raiders and put a wrench in Tripwire's plans."

One rabbit began to clap, it was pitch black, like a hole in reality. "And it was wonderful. Their deaths were gloriously pathetic, truly wondrous. The terror and dread, along with the pure ecstasy of a real fight. You can't say you didn't enjoy seeing Pink Haze die so viciously. And I know you wish Onyx had died in a similar way."

On the table, the napkins turned into ponies, who fought each other, ripping their paper bodies apart. One was clearly Onyx, desperately fighting off feral ghouls, but slowly getting overwhelmed. Then they got her, taking small chunks out of her bit by bit until she was confetti.

"I'll not deny I wished her death was more… painful." I admitted.

The rabbit jumped onto the table, turning into a pony, and getting muzzle to muzzle with me. "That's the spirit! Embrace it, let it fuel you. There will be more death, more suffering to come, but you can survive it, master it. You still have three more ponies to see dead, and I will enjoy watching it."

She then offered her hoof, it sending a chill up my spine. "So, will you accept me, accept my power into yourself?"

A spark of blue light got in between us, and Strife jumped back as Will-o-Wisp formed and then danced.

Strife huffed and then vanished, the table I was at now became a stage covered in dead ponies.

Getting up, I shouted, "and what if I don't want that, what if I quit now?"

Strife chuckled, her voice coming from all the corpses in unison. "And let your own suffering be for not? You can't let it go now, you can't just let those raiders and slavers go free. They left their mark on you, on others, and you're going to make them pay for it. So fight my little pony, scream and shout out all your hate. Keep the fires of conflict burning."

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I woke up with a cold sweat, breathing hard and feeling horrible.

"You okay?" Molo asked me, she having been sitting near me.

I nodded. "Ys just a bad-" the feeling of my stomach churning sent me charging out of the shelter and to a ditch. Puking out bile, my stomach forcefully evacuating what little I have in my stomach.

As I wretched, Molo magickly held back my mane as she patted me on the back with her hoof. "Right, right, let it all out. You will feel better soon."

"Oh shut it." I groaned. "Was it all quiet last night?"

"As the grave." She answered. "It looks like none of the raiders or ferals followed us, so we are in the clear. As long as the bigger beasties don't find us, we'll be fine until the Talons show up. This is the right place, right?"

Wiping the sick from my mouth trotted over to the view from last night and looked over the land. Now the sun was rising, and everything had a pinkish red hue to it. "Ya, where we need to be, Grizzly told me she has them scouting the area for any major raider movements. A scouting party should swing by here in the morning, and they will get the recovery team."

Molo shrugged. "So we wait."

"Well in the meantime, why don't you tell me about you and-" before I could finish my question, Spell Circuit trotted out with Cold Trails, with them were the three Pegasus from before, along with at least ten more pegasus, and several more rough looking foals. They had arrived with time to spare, which was a wait off my shoulders, as I didn't like the idea of leaving ponies behind.

But to my surprise, with them was the robot Margaret hovering along, humming a song I didn't recognize.

The miss nanny's eyes seem to beam with joy upon seeing me. "Oh miss Lottery, good to see you again! Have you been well? Washing regularly?"

I don't know why, but seeing the robot got me to crack a genuine smile. "You're… okay! I mean I could be worse, but what about you? Why did you leave the manor?"

Margaret gave a polite chuckle. "Oh master Spell Circuit came to pick the maids and I up. Though it was pleasant to work under master Tripwire, his company has been all but polite to us. It was a shame, but when master Spell said he needed us, I felt it was best to go with him."

I raised an eyebrow. "You… and the maids?"

She bobbed her large eye spheres in a nod. "Oh yes, we have been following around master Spell for some time now. They should be here in but a moment. That aside, what have you been doing?"

"Fine, just… living." I told the robot.

Margaret didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but thankfully didn't press me. "Well once were back at the manor, we can get you and everypony washed up."

I looked at Spell, a bit confused, and he replied, "Her programing is not set for roaming, so she doesn't understand we're not going back to Naysayers Manor."

"I can help with that." Plasma Torch spoke up as she eyed Margaret. "Annoyingly enough, robots and power armor have a similar spell matrix." She then looked at Cold Trails. "Speaking of which, let me see your armor too. I bet you fly ponies never gave those things a proper tune-up, just let the repair talismans do the work."

The pegasus mare, Chain Lighting, then got between Cold and Plasma. "And what would a savage know about power armor?"

Plasma furrowed her brow at the pegasus. "Savage! I probably know more about arcano-tech than you will ever know, and with on hoof experience. I have been repairing power armor since before I was ten years old as a squire!"

Chain backed up a little. "What? Who lets foals touch artifacts, and what's a squire?"

Spell cleared his throat. "She's a Steel Ranger, as in the old Equestria Steel Rangers. They're very much still around, just like the Enclave."

Realization sparked in Chain's eyes. "What, seriously! The fucking ground military has been around this entire time and the Enclave said nothing!"

"Actually, the Enclave said they were all dead, and savages had taken their armor." Cold Trails spoke up. "By now you should have realized that the Enclave lied to us about a lot of things."

She then scratched her chin. "Wait, if the ground military survived, what about the navy"

"Maybe we can talk about all this after we get to Ursa's Rest." I reminded the mare.

Chain let out a long sigh. "Ya, I clearly have a lot more thinking to do."

"It will also be good to have a proper medical facility for us to give all these ponies a proper examination, and a private room for individual counseling." Mint spoke up, joining the ever growing crowd.

"And a place with a machine shop, I miss the smell of oil" Plasma said whimsically.

"0ersonal, I just want a proper bed and some booze." I said, only for my stomach to then grumble.

"Oh, how impolite of me." Margaret spoke, and from seemingly nowhere she pulled out a large and colorful loaf of bread. "Here, I have the Naysayers family fruitcake, filled with healthy herbs and tea leaves. There's enough for everypony!"

Though there was enough for everypony, the slice of bread didn't seem like much, but it was surprisingly filling. We were also offered some tea as well, which also lifted everponi3s spirits.

The five robot maids soon joined us, meaning that everypony was here now. The maid quickly got to cleaning the area, which was a bit funny, and helped get everypony's mind off of things as they "helped" out.

Actually they helped get everypony to feel more comfortable with each other as they shared gossip. I was starting to think it might become a problem, even after some of us had opened up. Most of the ghouls had been reclusive, beastly talking. The freed slave, well they were more open verbally, but understandably flinched at nearly everything. And the pegasus, they just looked disheveled and lost.

But now the atmosphere felt far less tense, and some of them seemed to be cracking honest smiles.

Spell trotted over and sat next to me. "You know, I didn't think I had gotten through to Cold Trails when I first met him."

"Oh, what happened?" I asked.

"Retraced my brother's steps, and came across them at Dead Ponies Pass." He explained. "When I found out that they had made a deal with my brother, I tried to warn them, but Flyright had me kicked out. Well Cold Trails took what I said to heart, and investigated o. His own. A week later he found me, and since then we have been trying to figure out how to stop Tripwire and Flyright. Unfortunately more pegusi followed Flyright, so it's going to be a challenge."

"And how did you find Pleasantville?" I further asked.

"The foals actually." He said. "Some of them are Crusaders, a collection of orphans who somehow survive on their own. Crusaders have been around for a long time, just don't ask me how. But a few of them got captured by the slavers, and they asked us for help. Pointed us to Pleasantville."

"So it was just by luck you happened to be in the area then." I said.

Spell shook his head. "Actually we had been watching the place for a few days, waiting for when they would transport the foals away so as to free them. Then we saw the horde of ghouls coming to the town and knew it was now or never. A brilliant play by the way."

He then looked at me with curiosity. "I never quite got to properly ask, but what have you been doing since we parted? I thought you were heading home."

I let out a long breath, feeling that now was as good as anytime. Anyways, Mint said it's unhealthy to bottle things up and such. "As it turns out, your brother had one more fuck you for me. He and his friends left me with a sizable debt, and Grizzly was not going to just let me go with it unpaid." I then flicked the neon pink streak in my mane. "Stupidly sighed a new contract to work off the debt, and was living as a wh… a brothel worker up until a week ago."

"WHAT!" Spell shouted in surprise, causing our group to lookin our direction.

"Keep it down will you." I told him sternly. "Anyways that's all behind me now, and I made friends with Grizzly and Wiretap. Your niece is adorable by the way. But it was thanks to Molo that I got myself out of that life before I let it consume me. And now we're both working to stop Tripwire, with Grizzly's support. Actually, that's who we're going to see once we get to Ursa's Rest."

Spell Circuit now looked nervous, and a bit sad. "I should have-"

"No!" I cut him off. "No apologizing for you brother, or for my own mistakes. I'm not the smartest pony, I mean I can't even read, but I should have known better. I was just too wrapped up in a fantasy to see the truth about your brother. Then too deep in my own self loathing to value myself and let Grizzly assign me my worth. It still hurts, and the nightmares haven't gone away, but if I don't take responsibility for myself… then when will I."

"Oh, s… I see." Spell meekly said.

I then looked over at the horizon, the sun now full over and bathing the land in light. In the distance I could see something flying to us, likely the Talons. "It's not like I'll just let it go, I want revenge for myself, and justice for all those hurt by him. I want to stop what I help start, and I have accepted that bad things will happen to me. It's the wasteland after all, it's not a safe place, not at all."

"No it is not." Spell said, then looked at me, still with sorrow in his eyes. "But must you go through… that? You can stop now, let others take care of the rest."

I shook my head. "No, I need to do this. What was done to me, I shouldn't have happened. Plasma and the other ponies shouldn't have been playthings to raider, but it happened. Chilly should be alive with her brother, and yet she's dead. Molo should be part of a happy family, not trying to get them back."

My eyes then locked onto Spell's, sharing my own sorrowful look. "I won't lie, I was just as terrifying when Spine Breaker had me as I was when Grinders had me… and when those raiders mobbed me. But I'm also angry about it, all so pissed off about it. So no, I'm not going to stop, not until at least other ponies are safe from them."

Spell looked away, eyeing the horizon as well. "Maybe… just maybe… If I had not stopped, if I had tried to talk to my friend more… Maybe I could have prevented all of this. But I didn't, and you all had to live with Redeye, and now… my brother." He then let out a sigh and smiled. "Lottery, you're a lot stronger of a pony then I am."

Quietly I said, "I don't know… But I hope I am."

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Hans looked down at us with a concerned look on his face as he passed over. Clearly wondering what to do with all the ponies we brought with us. Flying down the Talon crossed his… talons, then said to me in an annoyed tone. "I know you wanted to save ponies…. But what's with the parade?"

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed. "It just happened, so can you get them to Ursa's Rest?"

Landing, Hans face clawed. "Ya, though it will take more than one trip. But where are they even going to go? The town doesn't have a surplus of space right now."

Shrugging, I told him, "We'll figure it out later. There are a few ponies Grizzly might like working for her… and one she's going to want to talk to."

"That being?" He asked.

"Tripwire's brother, Spell Circuit." I informed him.

The Talon scratched his beak for a moment and then sighed. "Right, but before we go, did you get any documents?"

Molo trotted over, levitating said papers. "Right here, it has all the information on the supply routes and the places Tripwire has under his control."

Hans took the documents and quickly scanned them. "Lots of numbers and names, but I'm sure you're right. Now we just need to get this to Grizzly, along with you two to report it. And we should take Spell Circuit as well, all things considered. Once were at Ursa's Rest, I send a few wagons back here for the others"

I looked back at my two unicorn friends. "You ready?"

They both nodded, but Spell then asked, "what about the others, we can't just leave them here by themselves?"

"I'll leave a few Talons here," Hans answered, "we still need to keep an eye on the raider situation. Pick off any stragglers so to be sure."

With that, Spell Circuit stepped forward and we watched as two griffon laned with a crude looking sky carriage. The three of us got on, and soon we were off.

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