Fallout Equestria: Desperado’s V4 (Molly Manticore Mega Mall.)

Fallout: Equestria

Desperado’s V4: Molly Manticore Mega Mall.

Ch 2, Haven Valley.

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Even in the Smuggler, reaching the Desperado's founded city of Haven Valley took nearly a day. As expected, the place was mostly just tents, though the largest tent city that I had ever seen. I was sure some of those were two-story tent-like structures, along with actual buildings built along one side of a river that ran through the valley the city was in. There were a lot of plants down there, all very green but with a blue hue that shone in the light.

But before we could enter, we had to stop at a checkpoint. It was a small but well-built defensive structure that guarded the gate into the valley, protected by the Local Desperados, whose symbol was the normal flaming skull with a stetson hat on but had a big old seven next to it. Harp had been told that the Sevens were a domestic chapter of the Desperados, mainly filled with noncombatants, such as the elderly and children. That said, some of the Desperado's more elite fighters did protect them, and a very big and mean stallion looking down at me was probably one of those elites.

"I don't recognize your herd!" He said with a snort.

"Do you mean that you don't know us or don't like us?" I asked.

He looked down at me disapprovingly, which would be fine, except he had a belt-fed machine gun next to him and probably enough ammo to melt the weapon if he tried to fire it all.

Harp sat up and cleared her throat. "I am Harp Melody, leader of the Redcaps, officially recognized by my ancestor, Elder Big Papa. Now, is there an issue? I know a message was sent about us, and we received a response from your Elder, Quilted Comfort."

The stallion clicked his tongue in annoyance at us. "And I am sure my Elder called Arras a blithering fool whose brain is rotting. No, Celestia, damn way, you are some princess or related to Arras."

"Tire Iron!" The voice of an older stallion yelled, causing the big stallion to flinch. Trotting out of the small fort was a middle-aged stallion, a bit portly but in no way weak-looking. He glanced at us, then up at who I guess was Tire Iron. "If it's them Redcaps, then let them through."

"But the Elder said-!" Tire Iron tried to say.

"Elder Quilted can go huff glue! The ancient bastard is still pissed off over losing that card game last year, and unless ya want to fight Crank Shaft over this, ya better open that fucking gate."

Tire Iron trotted off with a huff, and the gate blocking our path opened.

The older stallion trotted over and greeted Harp. "Can't say I much believe the story myself, but I believe ya earned your right among us. Names Exhaust, just Exhaust, the elders second, and descendant. Also, the leader of Safe Haven's protectors."

"Harp Melody, leader of the Redcaps." Harp repeated herself to him with a bow. "And I must say, this place looks amazing from up here."

Exhaust smiled wide at that. "Don't you know it! Without this valley, there might not have been any Desperados after the war. So we're protective of it, as it still keeps us together and safe. That all said, do take care not to stir up too much trouble. The last thing we want to do is string up one of our own, but we will if we must."

"That I understand all too well, and I'll make sure the rest of the Redcaps understand that fully," Harp told him.

Slapping the side of the Smuggler, Exhaust then waved me off to move. Driving forward, we began a long descent down the smooth and secure road, the city becoming bigger as we got closer.

It became apparent how self-sufficient this place was, with several not-all-that-small farms, water mills, buildings meant for storage, and plenty of space for ponies to live. Several plots of land already had large tents being set up, and the ponies below quickly and efficiently got things together. Next to each plot were a lot of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, some being early war transportation trucks, others just pony-powered carts.

Finally reaching the valley floor, and though it wasn't a forest of green, I was still impressed with how alive this place was and how clean the air smelled. Even in the better part of the grand prairie, there was this lingering smell of rot in the air, like something was still wrong, though distant. But here, things felt… right.

Live Axle came driving over, waving us down. "Hey, follow me, I got us a good spot." She then quickly turned around and drove off. Following her, we passed by a few other herds, each with a similar flag marking them. All had the flaming pony skull like us, but one had a winter cap with side flaps, another had a hard hat, and a third didn't have a hat, but the flames were styled in a mohawk.

"Just look at them all. Each herd must number between twenty to a hundred ponies, and there are hundreds of them here," Harp commented. "If I had to guess, there's going to be thousands of ponies gathering here, at least under ten thousand by the time they all get here."

Star let out a whistle. "Ya, no fucking wonder they control so much territory, empty or not."

We finally stopped at a relatively flat spot, though not that big. This was fine, as our herd wasn't all that big, just a few stallions and a bunch of mares. So we only needed two large tents for all of us.

Parking the Smuggler and hopping out, I trotted over to Live, who was already talking to another Desperados mare. She was a slightly chubby mare with a short and curly mane and tail, but unlike other Desperado mares, she was much more conservatively dressed, though she had a lot of jewelry on. Her vest depicted her as one of the Sevens.

The mare smirked at me as she peeked over Lives shoulder. "So is this poor sod your mother's dragging to the isle?"

Live rolled her eyes at her. "No… well ya… it's complicated. Piston, this is Slowtrot. Slowtrot, this is the herd organizer, Twin Piston. She's here to ensure everypony stays nice and calm for the winter."

Twin Piston chuckled at that. "Oh, you give me too much credit; I just make sure certain herds are as far away from each other as possible. Unfortunately, though we're all family, that doesn't mean we get along. But seeing that you're on good terms with the Warband and the Ones, it makes things much easier."

Harp joined us, with her robot drone Order floating above us and the Nightstalker Fiel and Reina flanking her. Along with her cybereyes, Harp had a far more intimidating presence now. Which was rather impressive since we were surrounded by biker ponies.

Star stayed in the gunner's nest, hoof on the automatic rifle turret as she watched the area just in case of trouble.

"We very much appreciate any assistance you can offer. I'm Harp Melody, head of the Redcaps, and the rest of us should be arriving shortly." Harp said in her most polite tone.

The color practically drained from Piston's face as she looked at Harp. "My poor dear, what happened to you."

My friend sighed, likely knowing that she would need to explain this to many ponies many times. "We got enemies, and one of them felt that I didn't need eyes anymore, not that I'll let that hold me back."

Letting out a breath she was holding, Piston smiled nervously at Harp. "That must be one nasty enemy to do that to such a cute little mare like yourself."

"Same bitch ran off with my leg too!" Lair said as she trotted over, one of her legs having been replaced by a chrome and brass cybernetic leg. "I'm Lair Darkheart, sister in law of Swift Firemane', and chaplain of this herd. My family will be helping supply weapons, food, and booze to the Desperados."

Piston nodded at that. "So I've heard. It's good to see ponies take over the abandoned farms. Though I'd rather have my own family do it, they aren't the farmer type and can be… flighty."

Lair let out an amused laugh. "Ya, I hear that. My kin is much the same, but we know how to get the right ponies to work for us and we take pride in owning land. Maybe too much pride, if I'm being honest."

"Her mother already took over a chunk of Platinum Hill's outer city," Harp commented.

"Oh, you must tell me about it later; it's been too long since I got to visit the Hill," Piston said in excitement, then turned to Live. "Sorry, I'd love to stick around and chat more, but I need to check on the other herds before they start fighting."

As Piston left, Fizzy hopped over, "Oh, like, she was totally cute!"

As friendly and well-meaning as Fizzy was, her thick valley-filly accent grated on me, making me think that some joke was being played on Equestria for that accent to survive the war. And though she is a gorgeous mare, I didn't feel any way about her like the other ponies did. She came off to me more like a little cousin or something.

Caval jumped out of the Smuggler and over to me, so I gave him a scratch behind the ears. "So what do we do now, take a break?"

Harp stretched out her legs. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Once the others get here, we can set up the tents." She then looked over at the old stallion who had come with us. He slowly hobbled off in some random direction. "Should we just let Pewter wander off like that?"

"My Uncle's fine. Time may have crippled his mind, but I've never seen him ever get lost. It's best to leave him be; who knows what sent he's caught." Lair said before sighing. "Then again, as his apprentice, I should be shadowing him."

We watched as Lair quickly trotted off to join her Uncle, leaving the rest of us.

After a moment of awkward silence, Fizzy spoke up. "How about I start cooking something for everypony. I'm sure they will be hungry."

We all nodded at that and found our space to relax.

Live trotted to me, looking a bit nervous. Since she started growing her mane out, I had to admit that she was becoming adorable, though I was careful to not say that. The last thing I needed was to upset the biker mare and see her shave her head. "Say, can we talk… privately."

Agreeing to follow her, we trotted out to one of the watermills. The thing was more complicated than just one wheel being pushed by water, and it was ancient. As the wooden wheel creaked, a grinding noise could be heard inside the mill.

"So, is it about… us?" I asked.

She shrugged, "Yes… maybe… I don't know. The closer we get to the wedding, the more I feel… unsure."

"Ya, it's not like we were given a choice in the matter," I said honestly.

"That and you liked my sister more," Live said flatly.

"I… don't know," I said truthfully. I did feel more comfortable with Dead Axle, but it wasn't like I disliked Live. "Live, your sister wasn't interested in getting married or starting a family."

"Exempt she let ya fuck her, and then happen to forget to get the medicine to prevent pregnancy." Live spoke with a bit of venom in her voice. "I know my sister better than anypony else. I know she pretended to be stupid and was always holding her tongue when it came to the Desperado's future. Where… I just don't understand anything. And now, when she's half dead and petrified into stone, I'm stealing her stallion from her."

Ya, an emotional mare was not my area of expertise. But I knew one thing was true. "Live, your sister chose this; you didn't steal anything. It was you or her, and she chose for you to live, everything else after that… I'm sure she understands."

Live glared at me, tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, putting on a stoic front. "I… know."

"You know her better than I ever will." I said in all seriousness, "Anyways, as long as you don't become an alcoholic, this will be the best relationship I've had, though awkward as it is, I guess."

"You had a mare friend before?" She asked.

I nodded. "Ya, I was going to propose too."

"Was?" Live said questionly.

"It… ended poorly. Wartime stress will do that to ponies." I instinctively rubbed my eye socket; the memory of that bottle flying at me wasn't a good one or one I was able to forget. "Sometimes you can't save a pony, not even from themselves. But we can still save Dead Axle; trust me on that. Your sister will return to you one day, and you'll need to be there for her."

Lives hoof was so close to my face, her eyes locked on mine. She did have beautiful eyes.

We then pulled back, averting our eyes. "S… sorry." She stammered.

"No, it's fine," I said nervously. "Maybe we should go back."

Live nodded. "Ya, we should."

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As ponies trickled in and we set up the tents, I began to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. Platinum Hill always had a bit of tension in the air, along with the lingering smell of the city. But here, everything felt more at ease.

Amralt was a big help in getting everything set up. The Yak was stronger and better at building things up, which was funny because he liked smashing things. However, it seemed he was all smashed out after leaving Platinum Hill, as the Darkhearts were more than happy to pay him to smash many of the crumbling buildings on their newly obtained land.

But as the day grew late and everypony settled down, there were still things to do.

"Are you sure you need me to join you?" I asked Harp. I'm sure Lair would be better."

Harp attempted to roll her eyes, but they just twitched around, which wasn't helped by their inability to blink. "You're one of the founding members of this herd, Slowtrot, and you're marrying into the Desperados, so yes, you need to come. Anyway, the elders will be talking about what's happening in the west, and you, Star, and I should hear what they know."

She was right, but it didn't make it any less intimidating to trot into a big tent filled with biker gang leaders. "Alright, just don't expect me to do any speeches."

"Celestia, heavens no. Between you and Fizzy, I don't know who's worse at talking." Harp said with a chuckle.

"Thanks for the confidence booster," I said flatly.

Harp patted me on the shoulder to comfort me. "Hay, If we need a good laugh, all we need to do is turn to you. But seriously, we're in this to the end, no matter where it takes us. So let's go."

Trotting out of our little spot, Star was busy getting our flag up. It had the same color scheme and base design as the others, with it being a flaming skull with a red hoofball cap on, but unlike the others, it was encased in a shield with a Ghost Nightstalker on either side of it, looking more like a coat of arms from Canterlot.

Hooking the flag in place, Star and Caval join us. "So, we're off to see the old folks?"

"Careful Star, old we may be, but we can still whip foals like you in place," Arras said, flanked by Rack End and her husband, Stud Axle. My soon-to-be father-in-law eyed me with a burning hatred that only a father could.

"I'd like to see that," Swift said as he joined us, flanked by his two subordinates, Slick and Reed.

"So, how many ponies will be coming?" Harp then asked.

Arras scratched his chin. "Well, most of the herds that will be fighting need to at least sit in with the old bastards like myself. Those not attending are ones with responsibility elsewhere, not staying here, or just not here yet."

We trotted towards the valley's center to a massive and beautiful tent, carefully decorated to depict Desperado's history along the sides. As we moved around it, I could easily understand certain events woven into the canvas, one showing the Desperados leading ponies to safety and another in a fight against the Steal Rangers. Most of the scenes were of the Desperados fighting some group or another.

"Wait! You guys fought Redeye?" Star asked as she pointed at one scene. It showed the Desperados clashing with another group, whose symbol was a big red eye. On their side, leading them, was a red and black stallion in a blue cape.

Arras nodded. "It wasn't a major war like the one with the Rangers; it was just several border skirmishes. Redeye wanted access to Route 50, and we have never been a fan of the slave trade. The bastard thought he could push us aside, and we saw him coming. After that, he left us alone, though we suspected he had plans to return one day; but we'll never know."

"Right, and isn't that why Redeye never moved onto Friendship City as well?" Star further asked.

This time, Arras shrugged. "Possibly. We didn't get along with Friendship City much either, but by keeping Route 50 mostly slaver-free, Redeye couldn't block the trade into Friendship City. So, they were able to hire their mercenaries and stay independent. But we also suspect that Friendship City had their connections with the slavers, too, but they were just not open about it like most places."

"Makes sense to me. Hard to believe such a place staying independent while being next to such a power as Redeye's army and not having deals under the table." Harp commented.

We then moved on, the history lesson over, and entered the huge tent. Inside was spectacular, with many lights overhead illuminating the inside and several large rings of decorative pillows on wooden planks, with each ring higher up the further it was from the center. In the center was a stage, and on it was a massive rug in the colors of the Desperados.

As we followed Arras, Swift's group and ours took seats behind Arras, and ponies were on either side of his position, holding black decorative frames.

"What's those two about?" I asked Harp.

"There the Desperados who took over the place of founding members. The ponies on the left are the Bayonets, whose founder went feral four years back, and on the right are the Long Calls, who used to watch over Platinum Hill before the second Desperados Ranger war. The few who survived, I mean. Both used to be numbers before their elders passed on."

Looking at the innermost ring, I see it is filled with either ghoul leaders or ponies holding frames of ponies who must have been former ghoul leaders. Sadly, it was mostly only those holding those frames, with only six ghouls here and two empty seats of what was thirty ponies.

Harp then explained. "The surviving founders are Arras here as the Ones." She then pointed at a ghoul mare in a hood, her herd having taken over the territory around Platinum Hill. "That's Morning Light of the Twos, a sniper from the great war and probably the one pony that all Steel Rangers fear." She then pointed at a fairly well-put-together ghoul wrapped up in blankets, with Piston and Exhaust beside him. "That's Quilted of the Sevens; they are the Desperados who maintain Haven Valley." Her hoof then moved to the only ghoul with two ghouls next to them, all dressed in military hazmat gear. "That's Shepherd of the Threes; he's the keeper of Whinnyapolis, somepony we're going to be well acquainted with soon." Then Harp pointed out a bandaged-up Pegasus and a well-dressed Desperados unicorn, "And then there's Skyline of the elevens and Searchlight of the thirteens, who help manage the east territories." Lastly, she pointed at the two empty spots, with less than happy-looking ponies next to them. "Railway of the Fives and Smoke Signal of the Sixes watch over the western territories and are currently missing. Arras is confident they're still alive, but if not, their herds will be taking new names soon."

"There were originally fifty of us in our original platoon. Twelve died in the war, four didn't join the gang, two were killed by the ministries, and the other four died of radiation poisoning after the war." Arras said bitterly. "Though, sadly, only eight of us live today, I take pride that we've lived this long to see the sun again and that when my day comes, the Desperados will be in good hooves."

The chattering of the ponies here slowly died as they finally stopped trickling in. A pony trotted onto the stage with a microphone and speakers to ensure she could be heard. She was a white earth pony mare with a long cherry pink mane, along with the black vest; she had a very clean powder blue dress on.

"Elders and leaders alike, we are overjoyed to have you all hear again, and now that the first snow of winter has arrived, we can finally get to the issues at hoof." The mare spoke as another pony moved a podium over to her. Looking at it, she began to read, "First off, we know that the Brass Hooves did the Gold Fangs dirty last year, but that doesn't give the Gold Fangs the right to stir up trouble."

A loud "Fuck Them!" Came from behind us, followed by a "Fuck You" from the other side of the tent.

Arres face-hoofed as the mare in the center spoke up and growled out, "If you want to fight so bad, you can stay in Whinnyapolis and sort your shit over there, ya understand."

The tent became very quiet for a moment before the mare continued. "Good! In other news, we have new ponies joining us, the Red Caps." Eyes quickly fell on us. "From what we have been told, their leader, Harp Melody, is directly related to Arras from a fling he had with some rich bitch during the great war. Everypony, clap for her."

The hostility was thick, but Harp didn't seem to let it affect her.

"Just give 'em time. We don't usually have outsiders join us like this, so they're just weary of ya," Arras told us.

The mare continues once the mocking clapping ends. "As for good news, we have extra booze this year." Cheers erupted, "Shut Up!" The mare yelled, quieting everypony. "We will still be issuing the same rationing as last year but opening that extra stock for heartwarming and winter wrap-up. If anypony is caught sneaking into that extra stock of booze, you will be tard and feathered; you got that!"

"Now, why are we gathered here today? War!" Everypony began mer mermering to each other, the ponies next to us speculating on who was causing the problem out west, and the ponies behind us glad that they could finally prove their strength in combat. Once they quieted back down, the mare further explained. "As you all know by now, the trade route out west has been blocked, and almost all communication from the Road Crew has ceased. It has taken us time to find out what has happened and why, and in that time, we lost contact with both Elder Railway and Smoke Signal, with both their herds being driven out of the mountains. Since then, the Fives and Sixes have been skirmishing with hostile forces, keeping them from pushing east into our territory. Yet, only recently do we finally know who we are fighting and why."

Another pony trotted onto the stage; this one didn't look like a Desperado, dressed in a patchwork and armored construction crew uniform. "Hello, I'm a Road Crew courier serving Queen Luster. Thank you for hearing me out during this trying time. As you might already know, a few months ago, we conflicted with the Spectrum Alliance, the normal shit over borders and roads. You know how those feather brains can be. As we settled and made peace talks, some other group snuck into our territory, causing havoc. They even attempted to assassinate Queen Luster. The chaos also riled up all the bandits, raiders, and Enclaves in our territory, causing further havoc and forcing our own to pull back. By the time we were able to reorganize and start a proper counter-offense, the assholes had used our machines to dig in and block us out."

"And who are they?" The mare asked.

"Well, that's the thing, we don't rightly know. They called themselves the Ponies Equalists Revolutionary Army and used weapons and vehicles we had never seen before. Worse is their numbers; we don't know how they snuck so many ponies in, but practically overnight they had an army taking our core outposts."

"Excuse me." Harp spoke up, causing everypony to start murmuring among each other, but stopped when Arras raised his hoof and motioned for Harp to continue. "Was this assassination attempt performed by a cyberpony?"

The Road Crew courier scratched his chin. "Well… maybe. Everypony says it was a robot pretending to be a pony, but it could have."

"And the vehicles they were using, were they hoverboats?" Harp further asked.

He shrugged. “You can call them that. They did hover; it's why we're having such a hard time pushing back into our territory; they can just float over the minefields they lay."

Everypony began muttering again, and then Arras stood up, speaking. "Courier, did they send any messages, a declaration of intent?"

He nodded. "They said that they're here to free ponies from tyranny, to join all voices and bring about true equality through joining the C.C.N., but frankly, we don't have the damnedest idea what that even means."

Arras looked back at Harp, and the two nodded.

Harp then spoke up again. "This C.C.N. is the Collective Consciousness Network. Essentially, it is a cybernetically induced hive mind from the Marewaii Islands. They seek to bring everypony into their thrall under some misguided… no, that's incorrect; they know what they are doing is wrong and don't care. It's a hivemind bent on domination, one that hides its intent under ideas of equality and fighting tyranny."

"And how can we be sure you are not making up stories? We don't even know who you are; you are not even one of us!" A pony yelled, only to get glared at by Arras.

Harp tapped on her pipbuck. "Is this song familiar to you?" she asked the Road Crew courier as the music began to play, the same music Quicktrot Fragment showed Harp to unnerve her.

"United forever in friendship and equality, our mighty collective will endure.

The Equlist Techno Collective will live through the ages. A dream for the ponies, their fortress secure.

Long live our glorious collective, built by the ponies' mighty hooves. Long live our glorious collective, united in equality.

Strong is our friendship tried by fire. Long may our rose flag inspire, Shining in glory for all creatures to see."

The Road Crew pony nodded. "It sounds familiar, yes. Since the invasion, such music has filled the airwaves and prevented communication into our territory."

"We've heard similar music out west, too, blocking all radio communications into the mountains." One of the Sixes spoke up.

This got the Desperados talking again and taking in this new information.

"Miss Harp." Morning Light spoke up, pulling back her hood. The poor mare was more skeleton than a pony, with moss growing on her bone. "Since this is a threat you have dealt with before, do you have any advice on combating it? And you said a cybernetic hive mind. Then are we to assume anypony captured by them is lost to us?"

Harp took a deep breath, thinking about it for a good moment. "For combating them, I can't say for sure. But if they are taking locals into the C.C.N., they will know all the tactics of those taken, including our own. Our biggest advantage is that we know what they are and can change our tactics to counter them. At this point, we should assume they have the missing elders and know everything they know or will know. As for if our own can be saved, maybe, but the Equalists apply more than technology to control ponies; they use all sorts of psychological brainwashing. Surrounding ponies with loyalists and propaganda, providing rewards for loyalty while taking away privileges for wrong thinking, altering history, and changing the language to control how a pony thinks. Even if you can unplug them from the C.C.N., they could still have been made a loyal drone for their cause, unable to think for themselves."

"Sounds like what the Ministry of Image and Moral were trying to do before the war's end," Shepherd commented.

"They're most likely connected," Harp said to them. "The Equalits came out of the Marewaii Republic, who were effectively a surviving piece of the old Equestria government. My family was the old Nobility, and a third group was Stable-Tec. The Republic had many Ministry buildings connected to their underground, so they inherited much of what the Ministries left behind. It was suspected that the Republic had preserved what the ministries had been doing and secretly tried to continue those objectives and experiments. Then, when the Equalits took over the island, they inherited all of it."

"So effectively, these Equalists are what, the corrupted reminisce of the Ministries?" Quilted asked.

"Makes sense to me; we've been waiting for the Ministries to rear their ugly heads for over two hundred years," Shepherd said, then sighed. "Of course, when we finally relax in the knowledge that they're truly gone, their bastard offspring pop up to try and fuck us in the ass."

"I agree," Arras said to them. "But there's more to this than the Equalists. Harp and I have already talked about this, and if it was them, then the timeline is off. They would have only left their island less than two years ago, not enough time to start a war this size."

"So you think they have help?" Skyline asked

Arras nodded. "We suspect the Buccaneers, the Pirates out west on the Luna Ocean. They were invading the Marewaii Islands roughly around the same time the Equalists had left, and both groups had been in contact with each other."

"Fucking Pirates, must they shove their damn hooves into everything!" Searchlight yelled. "We already have problems with the Privateers raiding merchant ships on the Celestia Ocean. Not that we can't do anything about it without warships of our own, but it would explain a lot for such a group to infiltrate so deep into Road Crew territory."

"Let's not forget that they're not the only problem we're dealing with." Morning Light said loudly. "These Equalists have also stirred up every asshole in the northwest mountains, ponies who are likely not going to want the order reasserted anytime soon. Raiders are always a problem, but minor; the biggest problem will be the Bandits and Enclave remnants. Without anypony keeping them in check, I have no doubt they will boobytrap the entire mountain range, using this war to expand their territory."

"Not to mention the upcoming winter might be extra troublesome," Arras added. "Since the clouds have cleared up, the weather has grown more extreme. I doubt anypony will be able to fight until spring, meaning our enemies will have time to fortify their position. Undoubtedly, when the fighting does start, we're in for a brutal slog not seen since the great war."

"And yet, we can't risk leaving the Equalists be." Harp spoke up. "They're not the kind of threat that just sits and waits or makes any grand moves you can simply clash against. Their weapons are subversion and subterfuge, in which if they are ignored, soon you will find your population singing their propaganda while finding all your weapons scrapped."

Everypony became very quiet. Slowly, the chatter started, and soon, they were discussing tactics and strategies or just blustering bravado.

"You all can go take a break," Arras told us. "You've done well to convince them of the danger; now it's up to us Elders, to unify the Desperados into a proper army."

With that, we trotted outside to take a breath, along with a few other groups. Some of which wanted to talk to Harp personally. Most of them were relatives of Arras, sizing Harp up as their distant relative, and a few wanted clarification on who the Equalists were. Star stayed close, just in case anypony wished to fight.

I, on the other hoof, spotted two ponies who had gone missing early today. Pewter and Lair were trotting with two other strangely dressed ponies who clearly weren't Desperados.

Lair then saw me and waved me over.

"Found new friends?" I asked as I trotted over.

One was a very old and shriveled stallion who held onto a staff that had a bear skull on top. The other was a very young mare with a deep red coat, raven black mane and tail that had a rainbow streak through them.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lair said, filling me with dread. "Turns out they're here for the same reason as we are. This is Shaman Rattlebones and his granddaughter, Glittering Matrix.

Rattlebones smiled at me, and though I couldn't see his teeth, I was sure he was missing most of them. "So we have finally met, the pony I have seen in my vision, the one who will lead our way."

I could only take a deep breath, now sure as sure I could be that soon we were heading to that damn mall.

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