Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Sixty Three

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We left Low Pressure with some Talons before heading back to the penthouse floor of Ursa's Den, telling them that he needed some extra training. We also decided to not check up on Plasma and Spell for the obvious reasons. We trusted Spell, but too much was going on for me to deal with Plasma's problems until we got more potion for her.

Entering where the foals were being held, I was pleasantly surprised to see Margaret here, the robot currently cleaning the room while humming to herself. "Hey Margaret, how's the little ones?" I asked her as she floated by.

She smiled at me with one of her big sphere eyes. "Most wonderful Miss Lottery, though they're getting a bit rambunctious from having to stay inside all day. My subroutines tell me it's unhealthy for colts and fillies to be kept inside like this. But those in charge tell me it's too dangerous for them to go out yet. A shame really, but safety comes first."

Sad but true. With them being raised by Redeye, who knows what some pony might do to them. They may be innocent, but I have come to understand that some ponies don't care, and will take what they think is theirs. Even if it's misplaced revenge.

"Well Grizzly is working on a way to get them someplace safer. So for now just help keep them distracted." I told the robot.

Margaret bobbed her body in a nod. "Already on that. Master Spell has me doing a story hour, and they do love Daring Do."

She floated off, humming something to herself.

"We are fortunate she's with us. Considering how the rest of us are not all that together." Cold said with a slight chuckle.

I gave a slight nod. "Ya… let's just hope things will improve."

Trotting out from one of the rooms was a disheveled Ben Day, his mane and tail was now much, much shorter, and they no longer had that magical luster to it. "Oh, thank Celestia you're here." He said, and quickly came over to me.

"Uh… did something happen?" I asked as the imposing mare stood towing over Cold and I.

"Well… not much… just that well… after meeting Silver, things have been… well… weird." He stammered.

Right, he connected to Silver and freaked out. "Sorry about that, it caught everpony by surprise."

He stretched out a wing, pointing to a rather messy couch. "No… no need to apologize… not your fault." We trotted over to the couch, and taking a seat, Ben Day took a long deep breath. "Anyways I got one of my sisters to connect with Silver Bristle, since she has experience with such things. And we got some good news."

I raised my hoof to stop him. "Wait, experienced? But didn't Majestic say you were all the same? As in young foals before becoming alicorns."

Ben Day didn't respond right away, clearly thinking about something, or possibly using telepathy before explaining to us. "Sand Castle doesn't want to talk about it, but she says that before being saved by… the Goddess… She was owned by very bad ponies who did bad things."

That made my stomach churn in disgust.

"I hope the Goddess crushed them." Cold said through his teeth.

Ben Day just shrugged. "She's shut me out, so I don't know. And I rather not continue that subject eather. We may be around two hundred years old, but such things are still new to all of us… and personally I would rather keep it that way for now."

"Sorry, I'll keep it to myself." I told him, then asked. "So what with the mane and tail? I'm guessing they were too filly for you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Not just that, but they get stuck on everything. I mean it waving around on its own is fun and all, but once the magic fades it just drags around."

"Magic?" I said with an eyebrow raised.

"Ya, magic. Well more radiation and taint. Not only are we healed by it, but it invigorates us." He explained. "But… given enough time not around it, all the cool looking stuff stops working. I think the Goddess had our manes do that just because it looked cool, and not out of any necessity or side effect. Anyways, I felt it was time to cut it, to have it make me feel more like… well, me."

His eyes then had a distant look to it. "This body still feels wrong to me. Too big, the wings, and-"

"Being a mare." I said, finishing off his sentence. "I can't imagine how that must feel, I wouldn't know the first thing I'd do if I became a stallion."

"Other than Plasma." Cold whispered jokingly, so I jabbed him in the side.

Ben Day then sighed. "Thanks for understanding, though truthfully, I never got the chance to understand what it feels to be a stallion. So all of this is just new, ya know. I don't even know if what I'm feeling is even right or wrong, it's just… strange."

"Well you at least got the sisters, and there are other alicorns out there who can help you." I told him?

"True. And Sand Castle has been helping me out a lot lately." Ben Day said, now looking less distant. "Maybe once everything settles down and Auntie is saved, I can try and figure out who I really am. But right now I can't go acting like a foal and abandoning everypony for my own selfishness, not when others need me here."

It was hard to imagine that the big mare in front of us was in fact a young colt. One who has over two hundred years of experience, yet was never allowed to properly grow up. He had the right to act like a foal, but the maturity to know that it would not help him.

"So, what's this news you have?" I asked Ben Day, changing the subject.

The alicorn's mood quickly brightened up. "Oh yes, and it's good news… maybe. Well we have confirmed that Silver is in fact a purple alicorn, why'll not being purple or an alicorn. But she can use teleportation. And there's more."

"More? I think being a teleporting nympho is more than I can deal with right now." I told him.

Ben Day smiled wide. "You're going to love this though. You see, Silver has been to the Bailfire Friends. It's where she got cursed. "

I cocked an eyebrow. "Grizzly already knows where they are, the problem is getting in."

Ben Day sighed. "Sorry, I forgot that most ponies don't know how we work. Well other than special cases like Aunty Majestic, the rest of us specialize in certain spells. Blues can turn invisible, green like me have stronger telepathy and can make strong barriers. But the purple, they can use teleportation, and any place they have once been to, they can return there again. Along with being able to take a pony or thing with them. It's how the Goddess, and later Redeye, were able to extend their reach all over Equestria. "

The cogs in my head began to turn, but something stalled. "Like a… bomb?"

He rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Well ya, but also a pony. If we can get Silver to concentrate long enough, we can send a pony into the Bailfire Fiends base and steel the Venus root."

The cogs in my head then went into overdrive and I said with full excitement. "And a cure for the curse can be made!"

Jumping up, I gave Ben Day a big hug. "That's wonderful!"

After a moment I backed off, my head cooling down. "But there's still the problem of the Bailfire Fiends, and getting Silver to focus." I said.

"But we have an in now." Cold commented. "The rest can be sorted out later."

I nodded. "Actually, Sparkling might have a solution for the Silver problem. So it's all in the hooves of ponies better suited to deal with it." I then turned back to Ben Day, and said "thanks for telling me this. I needed some good news… but why didn't Grizzly tell me?"

With a loud slap, Ben Day, face hoofed! "Oh no… I wasn't supposed to tell anypony!"

This time I let out a long sigh with my teeth clenched. "Right, that makes sense. I'll make sure to keep it a secret. Just don't go telling anypony else, okay."

He nodded while still hiding his face.

"Oh, is Glittering Matrix available?" I asked.

With his wing, Ben Day pointed to one of the bedrooms. "Ya, she's expecting you."

Cold and I left Ben Day, and trotted to that room. Passing by the dining room, Margaret had gathered most of the foals, and was preparing to read them a book.

In the bedroom, three fillies sat on one of the beds. Crown was brushing Matrix's mane as Flashed watched, the three looking almost like sisters. They saw me, but said nothing as I entered, Cold staying outside, likely not wanting to interfere.

"You said you wanted to see me, Matrix?" I asked as I trotted over to them.

She nodded, and I took a seat on one of the beds near them. It was a bit awkward, as nopony said anything for a long moment, just Crown brushing her mane.

Clearly building up her courage, Matrix quietly asked, "What's going to become of us?"

And a question I didn't want to answer.

But it was something they needed to know. I think.

"I… I can't say for certain, but I do know one thing. Glittering Matrix, you can't stay here, it's too dangerous for you… and everpony." I admitted.

Crown gritted her teeth. "That's not fair, what did she do to deserve this!"

She got jabbed in the side by Matrix. "Is it because of my father?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Grizzly thinks that Tripwire will use your existence here as a way to sow chaos. And knowing him, I believe that too."

A huff came from Crown. "Tripwire, he's our uncle, right?"

Again I nodded. "Redeye had removed him from power long ago, and now he's trying to take that power back. He's a dangerous pony, like Redeye was, but from what I've heard, he lacks the ideals that Redeye had. There is no greater goal with him, not a future filled with friendship. Just Tripwire standing above all, holding all the power."

"But Grizzly has a plan for you, Matrix, someplace safe where you can live far from all this mess." I told her, but she flinched at my words. "Is everything okay?"

The small red filly shook her head. "I don't trust her… I remember her."

"Remember what?" I asked.

"When mommy was alive, I still didn't understand anything. Everything was hazy, but I remember her. Grizzly didn't like mommy, called her mean things, and called me mean things." Matrix clenched a hoof onto Crown tightly. "She thought mommy was trying to take away her daughter's place, that she and others would soon know who is going to be in charge."

I really didn't like the sound of that. But why would Grizzly think a pillow mare would take away Wiretap's place? What place? Leader of Ursa's Rest? Wait, something was adding up, but a peace was missing.

"Say Matrix… can you describe the pony that killed your mother?" I asked the filly.

She took a deep breath, clearly nervous about telling me, but told me she did. "There were all mares… dirty, wild. Raiders I think, but not like the one's Daddy warned us about. They… looked and talked a lot like the mare with Onyx's eyepatch. Like they really didn't like stallions. "

My jaw clenched, and I growled "Bailfire Fiends."

"M… maybe." Matrix said. "I remember seeing one of the raiders was with Grizzly, before mommy died. But the pony was all clean, but I know it was the same pony. And after mommy stopped moving, they argued about how they were told to kill me, but some wanted to keep me. Then daddy showed up, killed them… he cried, cried a lot, then snuck me away."

The final piece of the puzzle fitted together, and it made me sick. I could only guess this was when Grizzly got the Bailfire Friends to help her, but then they didn't stop. It would also mean that Matrix is related to her… was she a niece, or…

Face hoofing, I then muttered, "Rattlebones, has to be."

Matrix tilted her head as she looked at me, her eyes watery. "Miss Lottery… are you… okay."

I let out a sigh. "Ya, I'm fine. It's just that I have a few ponies I need to talk to."

"Will you help me go someplace safe?" She then asked.

I knew I couldn't promise anything, far from it. I was too stupid to do anything right, but maybe there was some pony who could.

Slowly I reached out, and ruffled the fillies mane. "I can try. If you can't trust Grizzly, then I can find some pony you might."

Crown then huffed with a tone of annoyance. "Coming from a pony with that raider as a friend."

I clenched my teeth at that, knowing she was referring to her own mother, but held back at doing or saying anything harsh. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling before saying, "your mothers trying to be better. And she knows more than anypony else the harm she's caused, but she's trying."

"Doesn't change that she's evil!" Crown said back to me.

I couldn't help but glare at her. "Then what does that make you! Half evil… no, your father is a Naysayer, the brother of the stallion causing so much suffering right now. So more than that, maybe all evil?"

Crown shut up real quickly as she looked away, clearly unable to counter my words. But then Flashed began to sniffle, having been shaken by my outburst.

"Sorry, I went too far." I said softly. "It's just that Molo… that your mother saved me, and I owe her so much… but… but I think I'm losing her, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"Good." Crown grumbled. "She should stay lost."

She was just as thick-headed as her mother, no doubt about it. Meaning there was no point in pushing the issue. "Well, I should find that pony I mentioned. If what I think is true, then they're going to want to see you, Matrix."

Getting up, I trotted out of the room, and almost tripped over two fillies.

"Hay Lottery!" Wiretap said, waiting for me outside the door. Next to her was a less than happy Cable. "What cha up to?"

"Adult things, you know, boring stuff." I told her, but then realized that she could help me. "Say, do you know where Rattlebones may be?"

"Grandpa, ya, he's with aunty Prickly in their camp." She told me.

Cable huffed. "Bunch of savages"

Cold ruffled the younger fillies mane. "That's the same thing we called you in the Enclave."

Cable resisted the hoof, glaring at him. "But you lost!"

I rolled my eyes at the brat. "So did your side… and will again." Then I turned my attention to Wiretap. "Can you take me to them, we can properly hang out once this is all done. Celestia knows I can use it, just too much drama today."

And then an intrusive thought crossed my mind. "You didn't go into my Penthouse first, did you?"

Wiretap smiled mischievously. "Ya, uncle was holding a door shut, like hecwas keeping an animal containec, told me it was not a good time."

Again I faced hoofed. "I should have the locks changed."

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Reaching the Pear Valley Tribes camp just outside Ursa's Rest, I found myself responsibly impressed. It was all tents, but not the decaying patchwork tents I'd seen everywhere else, but proper intact canvas tents. This camp was not just colorful and clean, but they had also brought green fucking plants with them! It looked even more vibrant than my home, even smelled more lively… well at least my home didn't have the smell of pony waste, but that probably just comes with having a lot of ponies in one place, since the rest of Ursa's Rest smelled far worse.

"Say Wiretap, what plants are those?" I asked the older filly.

"Well most are Mutfruit, since they grow easily in the wasteland, and aren't as affected by radiation. But the others are young pear trees. The tribe likes to plant them wherever they go. Grampa plans to take a bunch to the mountain we were on since it's clean up there." Wiretap explained.

"Once this war is all over, maybe they'll let me take one or two pear trees. I know my Ma and Pa would be able to grow em. They already managed to grow some lime trees, so it can't be much different."

A sharp whistle caught my attention as a pony trotted over. It was a mare in a studded leather duster and wide brim hat decorated in playing cards. Her voice was weathered and filled with harsh wisdom. "Lime trees you say. That's a rather rare treasure these days, only to be found in far off isolated pockets of Equestria." Tipping her hat up, I saw the Bandit leader Lucky Shot. "Good to see you again, Lottery, and may I add, you're even more dangerous and stylish looking than before."

I pushed both Wiretap and Cable behind me. "What brings you here, Lucky Shot?"

The old bandit chuckled. "Oh nothing nefarious I can tell you. Actually I'm seeing an old friend of mine. After meeting you, I figured he was going to be around here, so I thought why not swing by once my business at home was done."

I cocked an eyebrow. "And who would you… nooo, don't tell me."

"That's right. Actually old Rattlebones ran with my crew for a time, introduced me to my husband as a matter of fact." She said in a jovial tone. "I'm guessing you're here to see him too, then let's go."

The old mare trotted off, strangely happy from seeing me.

Cold then asked me. "Who was that, Lottery?"

"Not sure, I met her before dropping the feral ghouls on the raiders. She's a bandit, which I guess is like a raider, but not crazy, yet weirdly far more scarry. Oddly, she was really friendly with me back then as well, even gave me a deck of cards and wanted me to join her." I explained.

"Weird." He said and we trotted onward.

Entering Rattlebones tent, it was surprisingly spacious, and looked to house more than just the old stallion himself. Decorations were everywhere, and many bedrolls were stacked on each other at the back, along with a smoldering fire pit at the center. It just felt so… lived in.

Then an older colt trotted over to us, who looked just like Prickly. So I guessed Prickly must have brought her entire family with her.

"Hay cousin, back again?" The colt asked Wiretap.

She shrugged. "Kindove, Lottery is here to talk to grandpa."

He nodded. "You want to play toss rocks as they talk, we got a game started already."

Wiretap thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, but I got to bring this brat along. Unfortunately she's my half sister, and I got to keep an eye on her." She said, pointing at Cable.

"Hay, you should be fortunate to have me around!" Cable said in annoyance.

The colt rolled his eyes. "Typical adults. Ya, she can come, but it's not my responsibility to keep her in line."

The foals then trotted off, leaving us behind.

Trotting to the other side of the tent, I found Rattlebones and Lucky Shot sitting on mats across from each other. Prickly was a little further away, laying down as she was nursing two baby's, looking rather relaxed.

Seeing us, Rattlebones waved us over. "Come come, sit down." Doing just that, the old stallion passed me a vile of concentration potion.

Drinking it, my mind relaxed, and a feeling of doubt faded. "Thanks, does this mean you have a new batch ready?"

"Soon, Lottery. I didn't think you two would finish yours off in less than a day. I gues Venus root lives up to its name, and must not be underestimated." He said in an understanding tone as he took the empty vile back. "But before we talk about why you have come here, I'm rather surprised you know Lucky Shot. She's a rather elusive mare you know, rarely even gives out her name."

"More by chance than anything." Lucky Shot admitted. "You know how we old ponies get, letting whimsy guide us as we grow closer to death. Lottery here just reminds me of Poker Roulette, that's all."

"I don't know, she seems more like Citrus Explosion to me. And speaking of him, how's the old fool?" Rattlebones asked Lucky.

"My husband, old age has caught up with him. It's like he's aging a year every month now. So it won't be long now." Lucky said, a bit of sorrow in her voice.

Rattlebones lowered his head. "Sad to hear. I hope this damnible war ends soon. I rather see him one last time before the end. On that, didn't you check his will, since he can't read or write it himself?"

Lucky let out a huff. "Ya, and my niece predictably tampered with it, had to beat the shit out of her for that. Always power hungry that one, and I'm sure she will still get what she wants. That's why me and my gang are calling quits, and once Citrus passes, I'll be moving on. The others can stay in the villages, as they're going to need the extra hooves if the future turns out the way it looks like it's going. But for me, I'm sure they already dug a hole in the ground for me."

"A shame, but the bandit families have always been like that, even during the rule of Celestia. Harsh ponies for harsh lands as the saying goes." Rattlebones said before asking, "So what do you plan to do now? You can always come with me?"

Lucky let out a laugh. "A lecher like you, no, I don't think I will. Actually I'm thinking of looking for Poker Roulette. It's high time I make her pay back for the lime trees she stole from me. See if she gave me more grandchildren, I never got the chance to spoil her first." She then glanced at me. "Speaking of which, not all that long ago I met a mare I'm sure was Poker Roulette's daughter. Had the same fire in her eyes, like she could stare down death itself and not flinch."

This time Rattlebones laughed. "I bet, a mare like that tends to not get broken by the wasteland easily." He then looked over to me, still smiling. "So what brings you here Lottery, I do hope it's for the tea."

"Tea is nice, but no." I said, and realized something. "Lime trees? Oh, maybe that's where my Ma and Pa got them from. They must have bought them from your daughter."

Lucky Shot raised an eyebrow at me for a moment and muttered, "too much like my husband," before sipping on her tea.

Shrugging, I got back to the topic I was here about. "Anyways, about why I've come. Does the name Glitter Spark mean anything to you?" I asked.

Rattlebones went silent for a long minute, and it was Prickly that then spoke up. "The fruit of Father's misbegotten escapades. We know of her, but how do you know?"

I let out a long sigh. "I'd hoped I was making the wrong connections, maybe with everything else going on. Well, maybe my brain was just overworked."

"I'm guessing the Bailfire Friends told you something then." Rattlebones said calmly. "If you're going to tell me that you found out that Grizzly was behind my daughter's death, I already know, and Grizzly has already faced punishment for it long ago. Those guards of hers, they're not just there to protect her you see."

"No, that's-" I spoke up but Rattlebones raised his hoof to stop me.

"Before you go on, let me explain. Glitter Spark and Redeye, despite their intelligence, trotted into a twittermight nest without understanding the ponies they were pissing off. Pairing up to gain political power was a smart move, and gained me no end of grief from my younger brother for never removing Glitter from the Pillow Mares." He explained, and took a sip of his tea before continuing. "Well Grizzly got spooked, thinking that Wiretap might lose her place as the possible heir and the Bailfire Fiends used it as an opportunity to get in." He then sighed, "due to the fall of the Naysayers, and the rise of Redeye, his daughter would have more power then Wiretap you see."

"And the idiot unleashed Pandora's box on Ursa's Rest because of that." Prickly added.

Rattlebones nodded. "The reason our tribe was even near Ursa's Rest at the time was to see Glitter Spark, and her daughter Glittering Matrix. But we arrived too late to protect them."

That made some sense, though it didn't lessen my anger towards Grizzly for not telling me that Matrix was related to her. But strangely, I was not surprised. So many ponies I've made friends with out here have been terrible ponies in the past. Molo, Low, Cauterize, and Grizzly.

"Actually, it wasn't the Bailfire Fiends that told me… it was Glittering Matrix." I told him.

Rattlebones eyes shot wide open. "That is not a funny joke!"

"And I'm not joking." I said calmly. "She's currently with the other foals we recovered, you can go see herself right now actually. "

The old stallion then asked me. "Alright, let's say you're not lying, then how did a little filly, who was just a baby at the time, know any of this?"

"Truthfully, even I don't fully understand it." I admitted. "But, Matrix says that she can remember everything, like it's some sort of photograph or something."

Sitting up straight, Rattlebones scratched his beard for a moment before nodding. "She has the picture perfect memory, that would match if she's Redeye's child." I raised my eyebrow at that statement. "Right, most wouldn't know anything about that. It's a common trait among the ponies of Stable 101, where their memories are, well, picture perfect. Redeye told us about it when he visited our tribe, though he himself lacked the trait. Likely why he killed off his stable, since if even one of them escaped, they could easily rebuild elsewhere and start their Earth pony supremacy civilization."

"But all that aside." Rattlebones gritted his teeth for a moment before letting out a sigh. "It seems I need to talk to my foalish niece… and finally see my granddaughter for the first time. Thank you for telling me this, Lottery."

"Should I come?" I asked.

Rattlebones shook his head. "No, this needs to be strictly a family matter. Outsiders would needlessly complicate things. I'm sure you can understand, though you've fortunately been spared such problems." The old stallion stood up and gave Lucky Shot a polite bow. "Sorry to cut our reunion short, but such matters can't be put off."

Lucky Shot smirked. "Yall got that right ya old fart, who knows how much time you even have."

He chuckled at that. "Who knows, but ponies like us tend to be the kind that death hates the most, since we just don't die."

"Ya, ya, I get it. You're a badass, now git. Best make tracks before Grizzly dos something stupid again." Lucky waved her at him in a shewing manner.

After Rattlebones left, Prickly let out a groan. "Damn Grizzly, she is too much like her own father for her own good. Good for taking and maintaining power, but makes too many enemies doing so."

Lucky Shot rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it, the bastard put a hit out for my own daughter."

"If I remember correctly, wasn't that because she and her colt friend robbed Ursa's Rest." Prickly retorted.

A chuckle came from Lucky. "That they did, that they did. And damn was it stupidly glorious."

Letting out a huff, Prickly laied back down. "This is why no pony likes dealing with you bandits. Be all charming one moment, and savage cutthroats the next. Not to mention not having any allegiance to anypony but yourselves."

Lucky shrugged, clearly not feeling any guilt over the accusations. "It's how we survived for so long." She then got up and motioned for Cold and I to follow.

With the reason why we were here done, I didn't see any reason not to go with Lucky. Trotting out of the tent, and to the outskirts of Ursa's Rest, the dry expanse of the wasteland greeted us.

Tipping her hat to block the sun, Lucky let out a long sigh. "I'm still not used to things being so hot and dry, but that might just be me getting old. Thankfully my hat and duster does just as well blocking the sun as it did blocking the rain."

I nodded. "Ma and Pa were really worried the crops would all die when the clouds broke, thankfully DJ'pon3 was giving advice about dealing with the sun. Pa may hate him, but he knows when to listen to good advice."

"That sounds like him." Lucky said almost so quietly that I almost missed it.

Raising my eyebrow, but shook it off as my imagination, so I then asked. "So! You seem to want to talk about something?"

She nodded. "Just wondering how you were doing. I imagine things haven't been easy after dealing with those raiders."

"Don't see how that's any of your business." I told her, but decided to humor the old bandit. "But… it could be worse, could be better. Got my revenge, but they also left me a burden. Even so, my friends have been through far worse, so I have no right to wine and cry about it."

"Figured as much. Raiders love to leave their mark, no matter how fucked up it is. Went through the same shit at your age, though I had it coming." She said as she looked into the distance.

I was still quite done with drama and stories, yet I felt I had to listen. "How so?"

She chuckled bitterly. "Being young and dumb mainly. Blinded by love so much that I didn't see him change until it was too late. Before I married my current husband and joined the Bandits, I was a young mare who was in a gang of orphans, not an uncommon thing out in the wasteland. But to make a long story short, I was in love with our leader, and when he decided to pretend to be raiders to get what we needed to survive, I didn't question it. You can guess where that ended."

"What was pretend became all too real." I guessed.

Lucky nodded. "Oh ya, bigtime. Eventually I and other members of the gang smarted up, but we were still dumb little shits and made a pain of ourselves instead of running away. The boss decided to make an example of us, letting his new friends have fun with us, no need to go into detail, but I and a few others managed to survive and escape. We soon after got our revenge, but some months later, well, I and a few others found ourselves in an unlucky spot."

I touched my own stomach, understanding. "Must have been hard."

"True that." She said with a chuckle. "Had to whore myself out for a time just to get by. Wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it did put my head in a bad place. Unfortunately the wasteland is a cruel place, and my son caught ill and passed away. Unlike Ursa's Rest, most places don't have access to good medicine, if any."

"S… sorry to hear that." I told her.

"Don't be, I don't deserve pity for it. I wasn't the best mother you see, and rejected him for being forced upon me." She said in a tone, filled with regret. "It wasn't until he was gone that I understood what I had, and now had lost it. After that I got my shit together and returned to the wasteland, not long after I ran into a precocious Rattlebones, high off his ass from his own shit."

"So why tell me this?" I asked Lucky.

She smiled at me, it felt warm, and familiar somehow. "I guess this grandma just felt like hoofing out some wisdom."

"Then…" I began to ask, but hesitated, but swallowed it down and asked. "I have a chance to rid myself of this burden, but is it right to do so? It's not like it's their fault for what was done to me."

"Having a choice is always important, though it doesn't make things easier." She said carefully, as though watching her words. "It's not so much a matter of right or wrong… well not in your case. But I have no respect for a mare who fucks around and are unwilling to accept responsibility for their actions. But you, what was done to you was wrong, so the rest is up to your choice in the matter."

Lucky the pulled out a worn out deck of cards. "Making a choice is like a gamble. You don't have to go all in, but you never win big if you don't risk it all." She shuffled the deck of cards, moving them almost like magic. "But what's most important is that you don't regret your decision, so that win or lose you can keep standing proud." Another shuffling of the cards, it being more amazing then the last one. "We can all fall low, find ourselves in the mud, even unable to lift ourselves up. But staying there is still a choice, as is reaching out to another for help. Trusting others is a gamble, as is trusting oneself, both can betray you, but nothing changes if we don't take risks."

Shuffling the deck one more time, the cards danced through the air as though they were putting on a performance for me. "Lottery, things may become grim, and so very dark. But you are not alone, and whatever choice you make, remember that you have friends who care about you. So never be afraid to reach out to them."

The deck then exploded, cards going everywhere and as they flew away in the wind, Lucky Shot was now holding a paper package in her hooves. "Now, if you should keep the foal or not, personally I say keep it. Just remember that if you do, you chose to." She then tossed the package to me. "Now keep this, I'm sure it's a lot better than whatever you've been taking to battle with you. I'll also go well with that dress you got on, trust me."

"Umm… thanks?" I said, not sure why she was giving me this.

She tipped her hat to me. "Think nothing of it. Anyways, I'm going to pay Rainbows End a visit, see if the fat bitch will piss herself upon seeing me again." Lucky Shot let out a laugh as she trotted away.

Cold trails and I watched her as she left, then he said, "um, Lottery, don't take this the wrong way, but could that mare be your, well, Grandmother?"

"Cold, I got too much shit to deal with right now. I don't need you suggesting that my Ma has a bounty on her head, and I have a whole family of ponies that are more terrifying than raiders." I told him.

"Fair enough." He replied.

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