Fallout Equestria: Brotherhood

CHAPTER 17: THE ROAD TO FREEDOM PART 1

A dark ceiling, that's all the two brothers saw as they looked up at it from their beds in a small room in the inn. Together on separate beds, they stared endlessly into space. Neither said anything to the other as they both knew they were thinking the same thing. That one thing was, how they were going to leave, and where this place Sharp Note, or Cool Blue or whatever he was called mentioned the day before.

It was clear that if they tried to leave the normal way, all they would get was a face full of bullets and to become food for the wastelands monstrous creatures. It bothered them, it made them think about how much more of this hell they could take. Or if this hell was going to get worse, and if it did, how? Could there really be worse things in the world that were worse than what they've seen already? These questions really rattled in their minds, and it was also because of these questions that they didn't get much sleep that night.

They were on the second floor of the inn, and just outside the door they could hear the ponies down stairs murmuring to each other as the morning continued. The sound of plates, dishes, and chairs rubbing against old wood floors echoed faintly up to their room. And even though the sounds were muffled and quiet, it still broke their concentration every now and again.

"Adam." Neo sighed.

Adam turned his head to him. "Yeah?"

"Why do you think she left? As far as I can tell, nopony should be exposed to this, and if I were her, I would never think about coming out here. Even to escape boredom."

Adam thought about it for a moment and answered, "Well, I don't know... I'm sure she had her reasons to leave, but to just leave like the way she did and not tell us... it baffles me."

He sighed once more. "Yeah... I wish the stupid Legion wasn't around, then we could just go right now and find her."

Then, as if out of nowhere, there came a knock on the door to their room. It scared them half to death as they both jumped slightly at the four loud booms that came from the door.

They scrambled to pull themselves together as they recovered from the sudden shock. "Who is it?" Neo asked while getting out of bed and fumbled around in the dark looking for the light switch.

"It's me, Sharp Note." His muffled voiced replied.

After a little bit of goofy wandering Neo found the light switch and turned on the lights in the room. The light from the single light bulb in the room hurt both Neo and his brother's eyes as the light blazed brightly.

Neo went to the door and opened it for Sharp Note, he rubbed his sore eyes that were still adjusting to the light. "Yeah? What is it?"

"I came to get you and your brother. The Mayor wants to see you two."

Neo rubbed his eyes at him as if he didn't understand what he had said. "What?"

"The Mayor wants you kid. Both of ya, and it's pretty important."

Adam, who also stumbled about the room tiredly came up to the door next to his brother and cocked his head curiously to the side. "What is it?" He mumbled.

Sharp Note, who just stood there and frowned for a bit looked at them both and sighed. "Think there's a meeting or something, and she wants you two to come too."

"What for?" Neo asked, "We haven't done anything... Have we?"

"Listen," He insisted, "Just come on. She said she needs ya there now."

Neo rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Alright, let's just hope we haven't ticked anypony off."

"I don't think we've done anything to do that... I think." Adam added while leaving the room.

"Pretty sure you haven't." Sharp Note said taking out a cigarette, "But you did sneak in here, barge into the medical clinic and-"

"Let's just go to see what the Mayor wants." Neo interjected.

"Right, sorry got a little carried away there for a moment." With that, the three went downstairs, said hello to Cotsworth and continued to the street outside the inn.

The morning air was crisp and light with fresh moisture in the air to add that extra coolness to the early day. The three ponies went down the dirt road that went through the middle of town to the end of town. Most of the townsfolk seemed to be gathered around the town hall near the towns center. It was an odd site to see tens of ponies crowded around the small stone building, more so was it odd that they all lingered around the windows as if they were trying to see inside.

Sharp Note didn't seem to notice the odd amount of ponies gathered there, then again, he was mostly likely there not too long ago and as such, he already knew about them. Though, it seemed odd to the two brothers as to why the Mayor wanted them to go see her, or him. There were two outcomes, which bounced around in their minds as they walked to the center of town. One of those outcomes involved them getting in trouble, and the worst would be getting killed. The other outcome was either a greeting, or a favor. But then again, the number of alternatives was endless at this point.

As they approached to what looked like the front door, they saw the crowd of ponies part as the two brothers followed Sharp Note. The whole group of ponies outside gazed at the two curiously as a faint murmur befell the crowd. Neo and Adam, who looked sheepishly at the group, just waved and smiled nervously as they followed the Buck inside.

The Oak wooden doors closed behind them and the anxious crowd of ponies returned to the windows and peeked inside. The room inside was large with several small old flags hanging from the beams that held the floor above. Pictures and posters of old mares and stallions outside the building decorated the walls. Bookshelves with old books, lamps, old cameras and movie cameras lay on top of the shelves neatly.

In the center of the room was a podium with an old ministry of Peace butterfly on it. A sword went through the rusted yellow butterfly that posed on the old wooden podium.

Several small chairs with several ponies sat, were talking uneasily to each other. Next to the podium was a chair, where a gorgeous orange mare sat. Her red eyes and long wavy red hair flow neatly down her neck, her cutie mark was that of a heart with bottle caps stacked up in a uneven tower in the center. On the other side of the podium was sheriff Westwood, who sat uncomfortably as he looked over the room.

Neo stared at the mare in the corner and eyed her with wide observant eyes. The shape of her body, her mane, her eyes and hips they were just stunning to him. Adam looked back at his brother and waved a hoof at him to make sure he was still among the living.

"Hey brother, you okay?" Adam asked while Sharp Note showed him to a seat.

"Wha?" He asked snapping out of the trance.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just saw something cool, that’s all."

He raised an eyebrow at him. "Whatever, just don't let your mind wander too far or you might bump into somepony."

Neo and Sharp Note sat down and looked at the podium in the center. A tan mare with a flowing long mane and an orange stripe that went down the side of her white hair. Her cutie mark was a scroll which was rolled up and sealed with a blue ribbon.

She stood up to the podium and put her left hoof in the air so that everyone in the room could see and quiet down. As the faint chatter from the other ponies in the room died down, they all looked up to the mayor eagerly as she began to speak.

"Alright everypony calm down, we're going to begin."

She looked around the room to see if she had gathered the rooms attention completely, and once she was sure that she did she went on speaking. "Most of you know why we're here, and why I've selected you to come to this meeting."

"As you all can see, for the past two and a half weeks, the Legion has loomed over our town. It has been devastating for us to live like this, and it can't continue! We're down to our last few supplies and it's just going to get worse. We should have done something about this a long time ago... But we were scared, disoriented, and unsure of the consequences."

She sighed heavily as her tone became sad. "It is with a heavy heart that I say that I am to blame for not acting sooner. We've lost so many good folks... We've all had somepony close to us affected by those bastards and their order. But enough is enough! Good citizens of Arkcannon, our town was once one of the most prosperous and thriving settlements in the province, but now... Look at us... If we don't do something, then we won't last much longer."

A unicorn mare stood up and spoke. "And what do you plan to do? We've already lost our main defence force, and it's not like we can just leave!"

"Yes I know, but I think that we have to hold on to hope, the Coalition hasn't abandoned us yet, and-"

The mare interjected. "Of course they haven't! They just decided to leave us here and rot as they sit back and watch us slowly die at the hooves of the Legion! Face it, there is no help coming!"

A faint whisper of agreement and disagreement fell over the room. "But there is! The Coalition hasn't forgot about us!" The mayor shouted.

"Oh yeah?" A stallion disagreed, "Well if that's the case, maybe they can help us mine the mines and help build an army of robots to help us. Then, maybe, we could go off to the magical land of fluffy bunnies and shit where there aren't any problems at all!"

"Yeah," The mare agreed, "What proof do you have saying otherwise? How do we know the Coalition ain't forgot about us?"

The mayor gave them a proud hopeful look. "Because they sent us guardians! Guardians who have come to, not only help us, but support us till they coalition can come!"

Neo and Adams eyes popped open as they sat there shocked that she had said that. They hadn't said anything like that, let alone come to help. They were told to come by and see how things were, check if their mother was there and go. Quick and simple, but for some reasons, things just had to become more complicated.

Neo and Adam turned to Sharp Note who was calmly watching the mayor. "D-Did you say that..." Neo said in his bafflement.

"Why would you do that?" Adam added.

"Hey," He said without breaking his relaxed position, "I didn't say nothin."

"Well then," Boasted the mare, "Bring them up."

"Very well." The mayor insisted.

She turned her gaze toward the direction of the brothers, this imminently shocked them as she now stared directly at them. "Guardians, please come up here." She said with a motion of her hoof.

Neo looked at his little brother, who just like himself gulped. They both looked at each other nervously before turning their attention to Sharp Note. Who just shrugged solemnly and gestured his hooves for them to shoo and go up to where the mayor was.

They both glared at him suspiciously before sheepishly making their way up to the podium the mayor stood at. "Come on up, the whole town would like to hear the news come from your mouths."

Neo and Adam came up to the podium, Neo first stepped up to the podium and watched the mayor step back and let him speak. "Uhh..." He said in a scared tone.

He'd never had to do something like this, even when he was young, the class would look at him awkwardly as he tried to read a paper in front of the class. These memories and more came back to him as he looked at the crowd of ponies before him, each was eager to hear what the guardian had to say.

"Well... Uhh, the Coalition sent us to check on you..." Neo looked over to Sharp Note, who from his spot motioned for him to keep going.

Neo took a deep breath and built up the courage to speak again. "We were told that communication had been lost here, and so they sent us to come and look things over. We... Uhh, came here, with hopes that nothing would be wrong, and that everypony was fine."

Sharp Note continued to make his gesture to keep going. "Now, I've never lived in this town, and I haven't lived out in the wasteland my whole life either..."

There was a faint amount of whispers being exchanged around the room. "But that doesn't mean that what they are doing here is right, and the Coalition knows that. But when I see these ponies I know, I see strong, loyal, good folks here and with that alone, we can make it out of these hard times."

The mare who had spoken out before raised her hoof before speaking. "How do we know you're really guardians?"

There was a faint murmur of agreement amongst the group. The sheriff stood up proudly and answered the mare, "Ah personally checked em both. They are who they say they are, so don't think their'a lyin."

The mare shrugged and sat down again, and after she was seated, Neo continued. "I know I might seem like I know what's happening, but I don't. All I can say is that we're here, and as long as we are here, the Coalition won't forget about you. And even though me and my brother might just be two ponies, we'll try all we can to help. That’s all I can do for now..." With that Neo stepped down from the podium and let Adam get up and speak.

"Umm... Hi... My name’s Adam. I'm a guardian too... Yeah, my brother said just about everything, yeah... Thanks..." With a sheepish smile he stepped down from the podium and let the mayor take control over the meeting once more.

As soon as she stood up, a slow stomping of hooves started, and as seconds went by, it got louder and louder till it developed into a full applause. Ponies in the group were smiling and whispering to each other on what they had just heard. The mayor signaled the group to calm down, so that she could continue on with the meeting.

"Now that you all believe me, now comes the time were we decide to take action. With a show of hooves who here wishes to take action harmful or not to gain our freedom?"

There was a pause for a moment in the crowd, then just as one pony raised their hoof in the air another pony raised theirs. And just like that another one raised theirs, and another, and another, till a majority of the room was filled with raised hooves.

"And those that oppose?" The mayor asked.

Even those that did not vote the first time did not raise their hooves. "Then it is unanimous, after the meeting, I will take the main council and we'll discuss our next plan of action. Till we have our plans fully prepared and our options analyzed we’ll call for the vote of the town again."

"Till then," She pounded her hoof on the podium loudly, "The meeting is adjourned."

Ponies all over the room got up and talked to themselves in small groups as they slowly made their way out of the building, while discussing what they had just heard. The only ones who stayed inside the room was an earth pony mare with a medical band, the sheriff, the beautiful mare who sat next to the podium, and the mayor. This, and a few other ponies who sat quietly to themselves.

Just as Neo and Adam made their way to the door with Sharp Note, the mayor called for them. "You two! We'll need you here to help us plan out our next course of action."

They lowered their heads and looked up at Sharp Note. They both sighed heavily and looked at each other once more. "What have we gotten ourselves into now..." Adam sighed.

The ponies who had stayed took a seat in the first row of chairs around the podium and watched the mayor sit in front of the podium rather than stand at it. It puzzled almost everypony as to why she wanted to sit on the floor, but it was where she wanted to talk from and no one was going to argue with her about it.

Neo and Adam sat down in one of the chairs along with the few ponies who had stayed and listen to the mayor talk. "Alright, now that we have the main council here, how are we going to go about doing this?"

A unicorn stallion with a small pair of glasses and a silver mane looked over the group disapprovingly, "I think we should fight them. We have the ponies, and with the second armory that they haven't raided, we can use the weapons from there to beat these blasted ponies back."

There was a large amount of angry stares that looked at him as he made that statement. And, as if the very voice of heaven itself spoke, the younger mare next to the mayor stood up and looked at him. Though her voice was slightly angry, Neo still found it soothing.

"That option is out of the question! We don't have the food, nor medical supplies to support a militia, let alone, fight a well equipped army."

"So what? We've got the weapons? It won't take much to punch through their defences, so why not!?"

"I've counted the numbers, we don't have the resources! It would be like walking into lava with suits drenched in oil!"

He gave her a rude snicker and sat back down in his chair with a grunt. Adam sat and thought hard about what they could do. As he thought, Neo lazily stared at the mare whom he thought looked... Nice, Adam stared down and thought harder. Faintly and, in an almost muffled tone, he heard more ponies suggested brash, suicidal alternatives to gaining their freedom.

His left leg touched the ground and he watched his hoof move back and forth on the wood as he remember a pony talk about mining. "Mines..." He whispered to himself, "Mines... Mine... Mining..."

It then hit him that he had an idea that, like the others it was dangerous and risky, but it was an idea that he thought might work. He nudged his brother who quickly snapped out of his half bored and awed state for a moment and looked down at him as if he had just woke up.

"Yeah?"

"I have an idea, brother."

"Alright, raise your hoof then."

"But I don't want too. What happens if they laugh at me? What if they think it's stupid, it'll be like back in the stable... Like when I would talk to the class... I-I don't want that to happen. Can you tell them for me?"

"Sure." He agreed with a smile.

Adam leaned closer to him and whispered his idea to his brother. Neo nodded at him and raised his hoof. Damn this feels like school all over again...He thought to himself.

The mayor blinked at him. "Yes guardian... Neo was it? Sharp Note said that was the name of one of you two."

"Yeah I'm Neo." He said putting his hoof down.

"Well? What's your idea?"

"Earlier, somepony said there were mines near here. I wanted to know what kind of gear they have there."

She looked puzzled for a moment, but before she could answer, a red maned mare with a durag on her head stood up to speak. "Oi, why you want t'know?"

He looked at her and asked. "Just curious."

"Well, we've got about everything from pick axes t'drills. We've even got three large tunnel diggers, ones a little fritzy though, and might need some work before she'll work again."

Adam leaned over to Neo and whispered the rest of his idea to him. "Alright then." Neo added.

He quickly looked back at the mare and said, "I think we should dig our way out of here."

There was a large amount of confused looks that stared at the two. One mare, who was across the room, looked at them and started to chuckled a bit. "Wow, I have to say out of all the ideas, that has to be one of the most stupid!"

Neo's heart sunk, as he looked at his brother who just lowered his head in embarrassment. For a moment Neo put his hoof around his brother’s shoulder and gave the pony across the room an angry glare. The mayor motioned her hoof to the group so that the soft chuckles could stop.

"Okay that's enough... Now, is that really all of your idea?"

Adam raised his head and shook it at her. "No, it isn't."

"Then please, go on." The mayor replied.

"Yes, please do!" The mare mockingly stated.

The mayor gave her a hard stare. "Quiet you!"

The mare's face went sour as she sat there quiet. "Go on, please."

Adam sheepishly stood up and continued his idea himself. He hoped that hopefully once they had heard his full idea they would be more open and positive towards it. "If the drills that pony from before mentioned are Diamond Dogs mark-V tunnel clearers, then my plan would maybe work... Are they Diamond Dog mark-V tunnel clearers?"

The mayor nodded oddly, as if he had read somepony mind. "Yes... I believe they are."

Adam nodded to her then. "If that's the case, we could use them to dig a tunnel past the Legions perimeter around the town, and if they're in decent condition, then it'll take us only a few days to make it out... That is, if the perimeter isn't ten miles out."

There was an exchange of opinions in the room in whispers, as the mayor thought about what he had just said. "Well, from what we can tell, the perimeter is about three miles out. Far enough away to not be noticeable, but close enough to manage us."

Adam smiled. "Then, if that's the case, if we dig a tunnel five miles out, we can go right under their defences and sneak out without being noticed before they can suspect a thing! And with those diggers, it'll only take four to five days to dig the tunnel!"

After he was done speaking nods and signs of agreement came from several ponies in the room. "Are you sure about this? Do you have any knowledge about the diggers?" The mayor asked.

"I had to research stables and how they were made when I was younger. I found out about those diggers while I did my paper... I even studied the things out of curiosity. Cause Stable-Tech used the same kinds of diggers to make stables."

"Are you sure these calculations of yours are accurate?"

He nodded. "They should be, give or take hours and who we can get to operate them. But if we work most of the day, or if need be the whole day we can get out of here before we run out of supplies."

A stallion stood up to speak. "What if the Legion decides something's up? What then? If they find out we're leaving they'll slaughter the town!"

The mayor nodded at him. "Yes, I agree, what happens if they do find out we're doing this?"

"Then we need to stall them as long as we can. And if push comes, to shove fight them." Neo added.

The mayor lowered her head in thought once more. "This idea could work... If Iron Vain is willing to get his crew together we could do this... And if we got a small defense force together then maybe..."

"So what do you say?" Adam asked hopefully.

"It's worth a shot... What do you all have to say? Raise your hooves if you agree to this plan." Several of the ponies in the room including the sheriff and the mare next to the mayor raised their hooves. "Those that oppose?"

Only a few raised their hooves. "Then it's decided. I'll talk with some of our head representatives and see how we'll organize this. Till then, this meeting is over. I’ll talk to the town later about the plan at a later time."

With another loud stomp of her hoof the meeting ended, and the last of the ponies in the room left outside. Neo and Adam walked back out into the cool air of the morning as the ponies outside the building looked sheepishly at them both. Though they had a glint of hope that glimmered in their eyes, they couldn't help but notice. It was apparent that they had heard the whole meeting from the outside, which meant that a lot of them understood what might happen next.

The mayor was surrounded by several ponies, including the sheriff and Iron Vain, who talked privately to one another about how organization of the plan would work. Sharp Note, who had left the meeting earlier came up to them with two small warm opened cans of beans for them.

"You two did great in there. I got to listen to the end bit about the whole digging thing. Sounds like the way some prisoners would get out of a jail or something."

Neo and Adam sat down on the small porch in front of the town hall and ate the beans in the cans ferociously. "Whoa, slow down there, I'd make it last if I were you. You won't get much food till later tonight and even that ain’t much."

They both looked at him and slowed down. "Yeah, you're probably right, but right now you're my best friend Cool Blue, for bringing these." Neo added with his mouth full.

Sharp Note quickly put a hoof to his mouth and shushed him. "Don't call me that. I haven't stayed alive this long in the wastes telling everypony who I am. I’m wanted by several ponies, and they would love to know that I'm here."

Neo nodded with a rather shocked look on his face. "Alright, noted."

"Good." He stated sternly.

The mayor, who seemed to be done talking to other more important ponies in the town. Came over to the brothers and Sharp Note, along with the sheriff, Iron Vain the earth pony, and the gorgeous mare that sat next to the mayor before. “We talked for a bit and we've decided how things are going to work. About a mile east of here are the iron mines, one of the diggers is busted and the other two that we have there need patching up."

The rust colored stallion who had a pick axe and an ingot of iron as a cutie mark stepped up. "If you say you're good with these diggers like the mayor says, then I'll head up there with the boys and help fix them up and dig in the old waterways below the town."

The mayor spoke again in determined manner. "Yes, and we need extra fuel and food for the miners digging the tunnel below the town. Once we fix them up and get the other things we need we'll dig westward till we pass the Legion perimeter."

"What about the defenses?" Neo added curiously.

The mare who was next to the mayor stepped up and answered. "While we're away, sheriff Westwood here will start checking ponies and see who can and can't fight. Once we get back from our scouting mission, we'll start planning defenses that we could set up around the town and-"

Neo shook his hooves for her to stop. "Whoa, wait a second. You're telling me I'm going in the scouting party to go get the supplies for the diggers?"

She nodded. "Yes, and your brother there will go with Iron Vain and Red Glare to fix up the diggers while we're gone."

Neo shook his head fiercely as he stood up. "No, I can't let him do that, I won't have him go off on his own. His personal safety is one of my top priorities. Where he goes, I go."

"I'm sorry, but it's the only way we can take advantage of the situation. If we don’t take you both, we may delay the dig for a whole day, and we can't waste that time." The mayor said.

Neo looked cross, he didn't like the idea. Well, there was a lot of ideas he didn't like, but the very thought of leaving his brother even for a few hours made him edgy.

"I can do it, brother." Adam said softly.

Neo looked down at him surprised. "A-Are you sure about that? What if something happens and I'm not there, or-"

"I'll be fine." He reassured him.

The mayor chuckled at them. "You both should be gone for no longer than a few hours. Not much longer than that, and the mines are safe, we haven't had a accident for several weeks."

Neo wasn't sure, he still had a terrible feeling something might happen and if he wasn't there then who knows what could happen to Adam. "Adam, are you really sure about this?"

Adam nodded warmly. "How hard could it be? It's not like I'm going to fight raiders or anything."

"Great then!" The mayor interjected. "I'll see to it that the groups get together for each party. I'll also send for somepony to check on Red Glare, hopefully, we'll get this done in one sitting."

Neo sighed with an uneasy feeling in his gut. "I still don't like this, but I have faith in Adam... When do we head out?"

"Soon, I'll get each team set up. Once I've got everypony, you'll meet at the gate and your brother there will meet the miners at the clinic."

Sharp Note nodded at them all and turned his eyes to the inn. "Well now that y’all are set up, I'm headin’ off to the inn."

"Alright then." The mayor agreed. "As for the rest of you, we've got work to do!"

Adam had already made his way to the clinic as Neo sat there on a dead, dried up log waiting for the other ponies in his group to get ready. It's only a few hours Neo, he'll be fine... But, what if there's a manticore in the mines? No there can't be, they don't like mines... Do they? What if, there's a dragon? No, they don't like mines either, but what if there's gold in the mine and- He didn't want to keep thinking about the many terrors there could be. Still, the likelihood of giant monsters being in an old mine was for the most part very low. But then again, some of the freakiest crap he had seen had been out in the wastes, and from his understanding there was plenty more freaky crap to see.

The gorgeous mare from before, whose name he still didn't know, was preparing for their hopefully short trip. Along with her, there was four other ponies coming along. One was a strong black earth pony stallion, while the other two looked the same. Both were mares, both had purple manes and orange coats, only one had red eyes while the other had blue ones.

Neo assumed they were twins, either that or they were clones. Did clones exist in the wasteland? More irrelevants questions poured into his mind as he watched the group prepare for their departure.

It didn't take Neo long to get ready, after all he didn't really unload any of his things since they had arrived. The mare from before came up to him and motioned him to come join the rest of the group. Neo got up, and joined the rest of the ponies he would be traveling with.

"Where are we going again?" Neo asked as the black stallion talked to a pony next to the gate.

The mare just looked at him and blinked. "We're going to the ruins of Arkcannon outside the town."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "If those are the ruins, doesn't that make this town New Arkcannon?"

The question puzzled her. "No, but I can't give you a straight answer with that."

"Ah," Neo replied, "Then, what kind of stuff do we plan to encounter while there?"

"Hopefully nothing, raiders were spotted up there before the Legion came. We're hoping the Legion ran them out. And if that's the case the place and its supplies should still be there."

"Ah, what about the ponies who are coming with us? Who are they?"

The mare turned around and pointed to the black earth pony stallion, "He's Cosmo, we like to call him Cosmo." She then pointed to the two twins who stood there idly talking to one another. "Over there's Do and Ray." You can guess what they're good at."

Lastly she pointed to a green unicorn buck. “And he’s Carp, it’s short for Carpediem.”

Just as she had finished the front gate started to screech loudly as it opened for them. "Say, before we move out, can I ask you a question?

"Sure." Neo said in a calm low tone.

"Is your Pipbuck working?" She asked.

Neo looked down at his Stable Pipbuck with a curious expression. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"It has something called ESRB, or something. Does your ESRB work?"

For some reason Neo blushed at that. "Umm... Yes my ESR- I mean EFS works." He said nervously.

"Fantastic."

"Hey, Cherry! Gates open, we're ready to move out!" Cosmo called out to her.

Cherry is her name.. huh... Neo thought as the group started to make their way outside the town. "Neo? Are you coming?"

Heh, she remember my name too. "Yeah, one sec." Neo looked back to the clinic real quick before he went off with the rest of the group. Stay safe Adam, I'll be back a soon as I can.

It didn't take Adam and the other miner ponies long to get the tools they needed for their job. Red Glare, they had said, was also good with these kinds of things and was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group later. They had already taken off to the mines, which weren't too far away from the town, in fact, the mine was just about a ten minute walk from the town wall. From a distance, it looked like a small little hill with an opened entryway compared to the other small hills that surrounded the area.

The ponies Adam was with were Iron Vain, and six other ponies, whose name he hadn't been given. Adam had a feeling of excitement soar through him as they saw the mine entrance ahead of them. He hadn't been in a mine before, and nor had he repaired something so cool as tunnel diggers. He had always wondered what it would be like to see one of those diggers he had learned about long ago. They were the famous tools used by the old world to help make their home, and this was his chance to finally see one in real life.

The entrance to the mine was made of large old wooden supports that made up the frame of the entryway. Inside was a dark, spine chilling void that seemed to go on forever. There was an old metal box next to the entrance which Iron vain went to open. With a loud click he flipped a lever that was inside the box. He flinched as several sparks flew from the old lever as several hanging light bulbs lit up the interior of the mine.

Adam looked down the now lighted cavern before him with awe. Even with the lights on, he still couldn't see the end of the mine. The ponies made their way inside as Adam stood there for a moment just taking in the cool place.

"Kid, you comin’? We've got to hurry up as fast as we can. If this plan of yours is gonna work, we've got to get these things up and running pronto."

Adam quickly snapped out of his wondrous trance and nodded to him before he lightly trotted over to the rest of the group. Iron Vain told everyone to get into a single file line, and to watch their step as they went through the mine. Adam was right behind Iron Vain, and the other few ponies were behind him.

The air of the mine was cool, moist, and still, not like the dirt filled air of the outside. They made their way down several large tunnels with ceilings that were almost ten feet high. Small drops of cold water dripped down from the tunnel ceiling and landed on their coats as they went on deeper into the unknown. Large old metal supports surrounded the cave that held up the roof of the tunnel.

Finally after a few minutes of walking through what seemed like an endless amount of tunnels, the group had made their way to a wide open area that was not the same straight tunnels they had gone through. The area had several tools scattered around the floor along with three large drill like machines with large metal tracks on both sides of each machine. Pickaxes, old lanterns, and small drills littered the floor, along with a whole plethora of different small metal pieces.

The dim lights flickered on and off spontaneously every other moment. "Don't worry, the lights are old but they won't give out on us." Iron Vain said to Adam as they came up to the drills.

Adam marveled at how large they were. One alone looked like it could drill straight through the world and out to the other side. "This is really here... Wow... I never thought I'd see one before..."

"Well, yeah, here they are. The other two just need to be touched up, and the one in the middle there needs fixing badly."

Adam went over to middle digger that was placed next to the rough cave wall. "Why didn't you fix it before?"

Iron Vain made sure that the other ponies who had come with them started to get to work on the other two drills before answering him. "Well, the Legion loves the iron we get from these mines, and every time we dig some up, they just take it for themselves. We figured if we don't mine they don't get any. So far it hasn't ticked them off, but we haven't got to mining since we stopped for that very reason."

Adam looked back to the machine and put a hoof on the cold steel frame. "I've never fixed something so big before..."

"You havin’ second thoughts, kid? Cause we're here, we need to get at least two of these running and-"

"No," Adam added. "I think I can handle it... I studied about these things, and I can fix them if I try."

Iron Vain grinned at him. "Good, I think we can do it."

"Sure we can!" A voice echoed through the chamber.

Iron Vain and the other ponies in the room jumped at the booming voice. Iron Vain drew a pistol he had holstered and pointed it at the pony who had made the sound. It was Red Glare, and he was standing in the entryway of the small work area in the cave.

He sighed and holstered his pistol. "Damn it Red Glare, I was about to took your head off!"

He grinned nervously back at him. "Yeah I can see that, I was just having a little fun is all."

"We ain't got time for fun, the future of our whole town depends on us getting these working again."

He nodded at him and walked over the drill they were at. "I know, just calm down okay."

Iron Vain grunted at him. "Just try and don't fool around, okay?"

"Whatever you say, you're in charge."

"You're damn right I am! You'd do best to remember that."

Red Glare just nodded at him and sat down on the ground next to Adam. Adam looked up at him with a puzzled look. "You're the guy who helped me and my brother at the clinic, right?"

Red Glare blinked at him. "Yeah, the doc up at the clinic let me out after being cooped up in that place for a while."

Iron Vain coughed loudly to get their attention. "Now that you're listening. This drills engine and motor are busted, not sure what the problem is, but that's why we're here."

Red Glare saluted him and went about opening the small steel door to the engine and drill motor. "You're Adam, right? How's about you work on the drill motor, I'll take the engine."

"Alright." Adam said as he climbed the large machine carefully before opening the drill motor hatch at the top. Inside the machine was a twisted and tangled mess of wires, tubes, pistons, and gears. Adam felt a deep feeling of intimidation as he gulped nervously at the cluttered inner workings of the machine.

Adam pulled out his Pipbuck and turned on the lamp to have extra lighting before he got out his screwdriver from his bags. "Well Adam, here we go..."

Adam dug through the wires, making sure not to damage anything as he looked over the small metal motor box inside. It didn't take long for the sound of small metal pieces ringing and rattling to echo in the room as ponies were working busily on the machines. Red Glare picked up a wrench and a screwdriver from the ground and had already started working on the engine.

As he worked, he talked to Adam. "So Adam... where are you from?"

"Huh?" Adam sighed as he paused his work to answer him. "Why do you ask?"

"Don't know, we'll be here awhile, might as well get to know one another."

Iron Vain, who was oiling and tightening bolts on the drill, snickered at him for a moment. "Hey, can't we have a nice simple chat while we work?"

"Fine." Iron Vain grunted.

Red Glare picked up a monkey wrench and continued working. "Yeah don't mind him, he's been through quite a bit. I would feel the same way as him if I lost my whole family the first time the Legion came..."

Adam looked over to Iron Vain with a mournful look before returning to his work. "Why is his hate directed towards you?"

"I was part of the Coalition, and for the longest amount of time we were given the responsibility of protecting the town. When the Legion invaded the town, they killed all the soldiers stationed back there. I was late to my patrol and they thought I was another citizen. It's a little funny really, saved by sleeping in."

Adam didn't feel like chuckling but Red Glare didn't seem to mind his lack of laughter. "So Adam, if you don’t mind me asking again, where are you from?"

"I'm from a Stable."

Red Glare nodded with an impressive smile. "That's cool. That explains the Pipbuck then. So, what's it like living in a Stable?"

Adam paused for a moment. Just hearing those words made the life he lived before just come rushing back to him. Memories of what his life was filled his head. Adam smiled feeling the tingle of nostalgia tickle his spine. "It's great... You don't have to worry about life, just how you're going to go about living it. You have jobs, food, money, and... Loved ones to worry about."

Red Glare paused and closed his eyes for a moment and pictured what life like that would be. The wonderful scene he could picture left him having a goofy smile spread out across his face. "Sounds lovely.... Really lovely."

"It is." Adam said quietly before going back to work.

"So why did you leave then? Don't you have loved ones back home?"

That statement itself made him freeze. "No... I don't have anyone there anymore..." He sighed in a somber tone.

Red Glare looked up at him from down on the ground. "Really?"

Adam nodded dully. "My brother and I are all we have left. We look out for each other, and we make sure we get through the day okay. I bet brother’s probably freaking out thinking a giant monster will eat me or something." He chuckled for a moment.

"Heh, your brother sounds like a good pony. I wish I had siblings, or at least siblings like that."

"He's helped me out of hard times. And though I can't do much to repay him for all the times he helped me with in the Stable, I still feel like he just likes to make sure I'm safe."

"Well, I know you two are determined to find your mother, and with a brother like yours, finding her shouldn't be that difficult."

Adam continued to work on the motor and, as he did, he pictured the last time he saw his mother. That day, when he and his brother were sent off to work with the water purifier. "I hope you're right... But deep down inside, I can feel that we'll find her, and when we do..."

There was a loud roar like that of a monstrous machine howling out to the world that it was alive. Everypony in the room looked over to the drill on the left as its motor purred and hummed magnificently. "Well that's one down. Two more to go." Iron Vain said with a smile.

With that, everypony got back to work instantly. Adam worked hard trying to remember how the inner workings of the drills worked, but deep in the back of his mind, he felt a slight feeling of guilt. He felt guilty that he left his brother, and make him worry over nothing, and just imagining him complain and list the many things that could happen to him was lengthy.

"Be safe brother, I'm alright..." Adam whispered to himself.

Neo looked over the side of a large boulder that gave him and the others in the group a visual view of the ruins ahead. In front of them were large brick structures with blasted out holes and thick cracks lining the walls of most of the buildings. A small wall made of metal sheets bordered the outer part of the town. Large sharpened sticks with rotting pony heads were posted all around the outer area around the town. There were also cages with old pony skeletons hanging from large poles that extended outward from the wall, displayed so that the whole world could see.

It made Neo sick to his stomach, but it wasn't like it was an uncommon sight out in the wastes. Cherry, who scanned the scene eyed each small detail to the ruins carefully.

"Neo, how many enemies do you see?"

Neo looked at his Eyes Forward Sparkle compass which displayed several red dots indicating a large number of hostiles within the walls. "A lot, I can't even count how much."

"Can you give me an estimate?"

"Probably fifty or so... there may be more inside."

"Damn it!" She swore turning her head so she could think. "Guys, we need a plan, we can't storm in there, there are too much enemies to fight... Speaking of which, what are the ones inside the ruins?"

Neo popped into SATS and looked at one unicorn that patrolled the gate that lead into the town. His Pipbuck had labeled them as raiders in small red letters. Time unfroze as he came out of SATS and looked at Cherry with worry in his eyes.

"Raiders... lots of them." He said grimly.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" She looked over at Cosmo with a hopeful, yet troubled expression. "Cosmo, you're good with plans? Any suggestions?"

Cosmo went over to the edge of the boulder they were behind and looked at Old Arkcannon. "None on the top of my head, the only way I think something could get through here is if we were raiders, or slavers. But since we ain't any of those, I don't know what we could do."

Cherry sighed with frustration and patted him on the back. "It's all right. We might just have to head back and hope we don't run out of supplies. Because without the extra food, the miners digging out the escape tunnel will eat twice the normal amount if we work in nightly shifts."

The whole group lowered their heads, they had come out here prepared to help contribute to the effort for nothing. However, Neo thought about Cosmo's words, Only raiders.... and slavers....He thought to himself. Then, he got an idea which in his mind might have been a long shot, but it was better than just giving up and calling it quits.

"Cherry, I think I might have an idea."

She blinked at him. "Yeah? What's your idea?"

Neo looked back over at the town below and pointed to the raiders guarding the gate into the town. "Cosmo said that the only way we could get in is if we were raiders or slavers right?"

Cosmo nodded at him with a dumbfounded expression. "Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"

"How about we dress like slavers, and take a few ponies in the group and make us look like we are going to trade with them."

"Then what?" Cherry added.

Neo looked at himself and thought about how it would work. Then he looked at his Pipbuck and switched to his map. He had hoped that it had loaded the area onto his map, so that he had a good idea of what to do next. To his surprise the whole town had loaded itself onto his map, which was odd to him because after looking at other locations, it seemed that everywhere he had been was marked down on his map as a discovered location.

It looked like, from where they were, there was an armory which, hopefully had weapons that worked inside. "Then we head over to the armory once we're inside. Simple enough, we take some of their stuff and go."

"Easier said than done." One of the twins stated.

"Yeah, but if there's someway we can bribe them..."

"I think we should try it... The raiders out here in the southern province like to trade and deal with slavers." Cosmo said putting his bags down before looking through them.

"We could try." One of the twins said confidently.

"I do not know... but if she says yes, so do I." The other twin agreed.

Cherry sighed and put her own bags down and started to look through them. "I guess that's what we're doing then. I got rope, lets see how convincing we can make us look...."

Cherry had just got done smothering dirt all over Neo. The twins had been stripped of their gear and had ropes tied around their hooves and necks to make it look like they were in fact slaves. Cosmo had mixed up the little barding he had on to make it look more mean and unorganized. Neo wore the twins small leather barding over his duster, which made him look far more menacing than he actually was.

"There, all done." Cherry said proudly as Neo looked at himself disapprovingly.

"Never in my whole life have I felt so dirty... and not in the sexual way either."

"I'll take it that I did good then." Cherry teased him.

"Yeah..." He said sickly as he could smell the sweat and dirt fill his nostrils.

Cherry went over to the twins and roped and tied herself up. "Alright, so Neo's the slaver leader. Cosmo, you're a guard, and so is Carp. Listen we need to act as believable as possible, but hopefully them not being that bright they won't notice us at first sight."

Neo got up next to the fake slave ponies and nodded at her. "Okay take your positions."

Everypony got to where they needed to be in the group as each one of them hopped the plan didn't end up with them being dead. "Okay, just act normal, we don't want them suspecting anything."

They each prepared themselves as they got their most battle hardened, tough, and depressed looks on their faces as they went over to the raider settlement. Once they got to the gate, two rough, spiky maned ponies looked down at the group and prepared their weapons.

"That's close enough you little fucks! Who are you! Speak!" One of them yelled while pointing a sniper rifle at Neo.

"Hey, we're slavers, and we've got ourselves some fresh slaves here. I was hopin’ you might need some extra... Fun if you're low on it."

As Neo had said that the Cherry and the twins tried hard to not laugh or look suspicious. "Oh... Those slavers huh?" One raider pony said lowering his weapon.

He eyed the three ponies that they had in ropes and licked his lips as he stared at them with a lustful look. "Yeah, I see what you mean. Oi! Brawler! Get this fuckin’ gate open! We've got slavers!" The pony yelled moving off the wall.

The gate opened with a hiss, two ponies both of which were mares stood at the sides of the gate and eyed each one of them carefully. "Hey nice flank whitey, come by my place later, make sure to bring your friends too!" One of the mares tauntingly called out to Neo.

Neo just shrugged at her and didn’t reply, and continued his way inside the town with the rest of the group.

Overall there was twenty raiders in the small confined urban area. Chains with freshly hung body parts hung from the porches of each building with large profound and vulgar pictures drawn crudely all over each wall. Vending machines and crude artwork decorated everything that was metal. Bloody mats with pony bodies that had been raped and torn apart lay everywhere along the side of the main road. And in the eyes of the three would-be slavers, this was truly a cruel sight.

"So..." The evil looking raider stallion cooed.

He went over to Cherry and eyed her carefully. "How much for this one? I want her." Several other stallions looked at the mare he had chose and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Neo stepped in with an angry glare. "How much are you willing to pay?"

The raider thought about it for a second, "A hundred caps."

Neo thought about it, or rather acted like he cared at all about the price. "Nah, how about weapons? You willing to trade anything for her?"

The raider instantly nodded to him. "Follow me, I'll take you to the armory, and for that mare, you might get a special deal on a weapon." Neo got behind him and followed him off to their armory.

As they moved out the others followed them till they were stopped by the loud sound of weapons readied to fire. "Hold it!" A raider mare cried to Cosmo and Carpediem. "You two stay here, let him go with Claps to the armory. And if you dare complain, BAM! Hahaha!"

The two fake guard ponies looked at each other with worry. "Let's hope Neo knows what he's doing..." Cosmo muttered to himself.

Neo followed the raider to a brick two story building with an old wagon parked at the side of its entrance. The raider took out an old key and unlocked the rusted green metal door to the armory. The door squeaked open before the raider turned on the dim blue lights inside the cluttered building.

Neo's jaw hung open in awe as he saw hundreds upon hundreds of weapons piled everywhere throughout the building. Shotguns, rocket launchers, snipers, gatling guns, every kind of weapon one could imagine was inside this one building.

"W-Where did you..."

"Get all these guns?" He boasted, "Well, when that monster to the west of here killed somepony, not only did we get a free meal, but all the shit them caravans had on em. That was before the Legion came though, can’t get out much and scavenge with em around."

"So... See anything you like?" The raider added in a menacing cheerful tone.

Neo walked in with his eyes wide as he scanned the many weapons they were scattered about. This was the part he was unsure about, there was a few options he could choose from. Either he could kill the raider inside the building and with these weapons take out all the other raiders, or find a way to take the load of weapons without killing anyone. Neo didn't want to kill the raider, even if he was the lowest of all ponies, no even considering these monsters ponies was hard. However, he needed to act soon, either that or the group he had come with would die, and their whole mission here was for nothing.

"I need the opinion of my crew here. If I make an unfair deal with you, then where's the good in that?" Neo said with a smirk.

The raider frowned at him. "You fuckin serious? There ain't no way I'm lettin your guys in here, period!"

Neo shrugged and made his way back to the door. "Suit yourself, then I guess that mare you want won't be yours after all. So nice doing-"

The raider stopped him urgently. "No wait!"

Neo glanced at him oddly. "Change your mind?"

The raider looked confused for a moment as he debated with himself, then with a sigh he nodded at him. "Fine... Your guys can look, but don't touch a fucking thing, or I'll cut your balls off and make you eat em!"

Neo nodded and waited for the raider to let the rest of his crew come over to the armory. They themselves were marveled by the many guns that filled the structure. "Hurry up, I want to fuck my slave." The raider yelled as the three ponies looked around.

Neo looked at the local map on his Pipbuck and looked at the surrounding area. He hoped that there might be a tunnel or sewage pipe they could go through, and to their surprise the old building had one. Though it seemed that the entrance was blocked on his map, Neo wanted to investigate this new exit further.

Neo and the three other ponies walked over to the back of the room the weapons were in and saw where the entrance to the underground sewers were, however part of the ceiling above seemed to have collapse on top of it. Then Neo had another idea. One, that if properly done would mean it would be less dangerous for the group. But that was only if things went according to plan.

"Oh my dear sweet Celestia!" Neo shouted holding up one of the more damaged weapons.

The raider quickly un-holstered his pistol and came over to see what the matter was. "What the hell happened?" The raider exclaimed as he saw Neo with the gun.

"Each one of these weapons are rigged to explode! If several of them leave the building, half this town will explode!" Neo said in shock.

The raider holstered his pistol and marched over to the gun with a rather pissed off expression. "Oh yeah? Show me?"

Neo clumsily dropped the gun next to a small patch of grenades and looked at the raider sheepishly. "Sorry, metal hoof an all, you lose your grip on stuff."

He just grunted at him and rolled his eyes. "Clumsy fuck"

Neo went down to pick up the gun, and as he did he took one of the grenades from the pile and put it armed on one side of the gun. He lifted it up and threw it. "Oh fuck! Something's armed it!"

Neo, Cosmo, and Carpediem all dived off to the side and took cover as the raider went over to the gun laughing loudly. "Hahahaha! Look at you pussies! There ain't any armed exploding weapons in-"

Before he could finish his sentence the gun itself exploded sending small hot pieces of metal flying in all directions. "Oh fuck!" The raider cried as several pieces hit his legs and neck.

Luckily for him, it only left burn marks that stung fiercely. "Luna's hooves fuck my skull! What the living fuck was that!" The raider shouted getting up and going to Neo with his weapon ready.

He held Neo up by his collar till Neo's face and his pressed against each other. "You did this you little fuck! You tried to kill me!"

Neo shook his head quickly. "No no no! I tried to warn you! I can take care of the problem if you want? And get you even better slaves!"

The raider dropped him and thought about it. "Yeah? How's that?"

Neo got up and brushed himself off, "I know how dangerous these things are. They are rigged to explode in certain area's."

"Yeah? And if lots of these guns here are rigged to blow, how are we gonna get rid of them huh?"

Neo pointed over to the pile of rubble where the entrance to the sewer was. "If you clear that stuff there's a sewer right under it, the seal to the sewer should hold back the blast in case these things blow."

"So, just throw ‘em away? Fine, how much weapons are like that one?"

"About half of them."

"WHAT!"

Neo nodded. "Just image what would happen if the explosion hit those big bombs right over there and-"

"That's enough out of you! Now, what about the slaves? Since we're throwin’ half our shit out, I need more than just one slave."

Neo nodded in agreement once more. "I have some more slaves back at the camp."

With an unsure stare the raider looked him over. "Prove it."

"Well... Um... I..." This time Neo really wasn't sure what to do. Neo put a hoof up and looked through his bags quickly. Besides the supplies he had he didn't have anything to convince him. Then he found an old picture of a mare that went to his school when he was a teenager, he had forgot that these were the same saddlebags he used when he went to school himself.

"Here. Look at her." Neo said giving the raider the picture.

The raider stared at it with wide eyes, drooling at the mare. "Look at her, she's so clean, and look at that flank! Hot damn, I'd love to make her scream..."

Neo took the picture from him and nodded. "You can have her, and the other three if you give us half a wagon full of food."

Once again the raider thought about it, but his lustful urges and the urge to take one of those mares was too strong for him to think. "Yeah... I'll do it!"

Neo bowed to him, and nodded. "It's agreed then."

"Agreed."

"However... I don't have the slave collars here, and the mare you want is back at camp. Me and my boys here will need to get them and come back. I'll even clean them up for you if you throw in more food."

The more he looked at the picture the more and more the idea became a better choice. He couldn’t control himself, he felt the need to have these ponies for whatever the cost may be. "Yes! Yes yes yes! Do it!"

"Alright then. Also don't forget to throw those weapons out, we wouldn't want one to go off on us now, would we?"

The raider shook his head to snap out of his imaginative trance. "Oh yeah, that... Yeah yeah, I’ll get my guys to throw that shit out. Just know that if you bail out on me, and I'll go out there and hunt you myself. You hear?"

Neo gulped a bit. "Yeah, got it.... Deal?"

"Deal." He said taking one of Neo's hooves and shaking it.

Neo stood at the entrance to the area of the ruined raider town. Several of the raiders off to the side were cooking a large hunk of meat over a large grill which filled the whole area with the smell of cooking meat. Cosmo had the wagon hooked up to him with a small pile of food safely packed inside. A mare in leather armor came up to the raider who had sold them a lot of the food for the promised slaves.

She leaned over to him and whispered urgently. "You sure we should give em this much? We're getting like six slaves, and with the whole weapon things, we're gettin low on supplies."

He shushed her and continued to think about the many things he and his slave would do together. "It doesn't matter, what matters is that I get my slaves... My clean... Warm, soft, juicy slaves.... Mmmm." He purred.

"Yeah I know, but what about the rest of us? You ain't out there for yourself, are you?"

He gave her an agitated stare. "Are you telling me that I am not a good leader? Is that what you are fucking telling me!?"

She backed away from him cautiously. "Whoa there buddy, calm down. I just don't see why we need to give them all that shit for a few measly slaves."

He gave her the same stare as before as he got up to her closely. "Measly slaves? Measly slaves! Two of those slaves are some of the best looking mares I've seen in my life! I'm not going to miss out on this deal for the fucking world!"

She pushed him away from her. "Fine you whiny little bitch. Keep your slaves, I'm going to talk to the rest of the gang and see what they have to say about it."

As she trotted away he just gave her a pissed look. "Stupid bitch, once I got my slaves I won't need ya anyway."

He went back over to Neo who had the rest of the group ready to leave. "So let me get this straight, you are gonna go clean em up real good. Bring em back with the slave collars and that's it?"

Neo nodded, even though he wasn't too sure what a slave collar was. "Yep, by early tomorrow we'll have your slaves here all ready for you."

"Good, good." He muttered anxiously.

The raider scratched his head for a moment, "Hey speaking of slave collars, why don't these slaves have any?"

Neo was stumped again, but this time he could make up an easier lie. "Well, these are for show. To show what nice slaves we sell. I like to make sure you can see all of the slave, even the neck before I sell them."

"I guess that's fine." He said before nodding to the raider on the gate, "Just bring back my slaves by tomorrow or I'll find you. And when I do, I will kill you, your crew, and fuck the slaves myself and take em as my own." He menacingly keeled towards him. "Understand?"

Neo felt a sway of intimidation wash over him. "Y-yeah..."

"Good. Now go get me my fuckin’ slaves."

With that, Neo nodded and trotted off with their food and the rest of the group back to Arkcannon. Once they were out of hearing and visual range they took the ropes off along with the extra armor from the twins they put on themselves. "Well that went... Better than I hoped." Cherry said with a relaxing sigh.

"You're telling me." Neo added groggily.

"But, what about our weapons? I mean, as long as we go with food we're good, but with those extra weapons, the defence of the town would be better."

Neo smiled tiredly at her. "That whole thing with the exploding weapons was part of my plan to get them. They threw them into the sewer, and the entrance to that sewer is far away from the ruins themselves. All we need to do is go back to the sewer entrance and get the weapons at the end. Simple right?"

Cherry playfully nudged him and the rest of the group chuckled at the idea. "You did good Neo, and not one pony died. Though for a second there, I was sure you were gonna give me to that sleazy raider."

Neo laughed. "Hah, let's just get back to town, we'll get somepony to get the weapons tomorrow. Today was quite a day."

"Hey!" One of the twins called. “Where did you come up with such a funky? You know, the exploding weapons.”

“I hate to give him credit, but a trader pony taught me about those.”

“Well, I hope he knows that his idea saved us, we could have been slaves for our entire lives if something bad were to happen.”

Neo chuckled once more. “Let’s just call it a day, and be happy that nothing happened.”

"Speak for yourself, " One twin said.

The other twin spoke right after her. "We were the slaves the raiders drooled over."

Neo laughed before wiping his brow once more without answering them. Though they had made several close calls, and had almost went back with nothing, they managed to leave with more than they ever thought. But to Neo, the best part of the day was going back to the town, and seeing his brother again.

Foot Note: Level Up!

New Perk: Snake-like tongue: You gain +1 in Bartering with every level, and you also gain special dialogue choices while trading with another pony.

Foot Note: Level Up!

Would you like to level up Adam as well?

Yes-

No

New Perk: Free thinker: Usually normal obstacles with hard problems become easier. Because of this you gain +2 in hacking and +1 in lock picking with every level.

Proofread by:

Noakwolf

Wayofthepen

A racist zebra

LyonAzakura

(AN: Though this chapter took longer than I originally intended, I still had a good time with this. I personally think that it came out pretty good for the most part. As always if you enjoyed this chapter please don't hesitate to leave some feedback and tell me what you thought!)