Fallout Equestria: Worries in the Windy City (IC)

[Fantrum]

OOC

Sunlight. It filled the air around Chicacolt, signalling a new day, a better day. Spring was in full swing, summer was right around the corner, and the the radiation was gone. Purged from the land of Equestria were the radiation and taint. Finally free of the two evils that had held it back for so long, the land was recovering. In the four years since the great Lightbringer and her friends fired the megaspell and cleansed the land of all the poison that had inhibited it from healing, things had taken a turn for the better. No longer did radiation from the balefire bombs keep vast swaths of land unusable and dead, or water supplies undrinkable. At long last, plant life had returned, emerging from its few safe havens to spread across the newly fertile countryside under the warmth of an unconstrained sun. A new color had slowly taken over the Equestrian wastes: green.

With the loss of the ever-present killer, ponies and towns were able to thrive and enjoy the new sunlight; foals happily played in grassy fields with joyful smiles for the first time in centuries! All throughout the wasteland, things were finally looking up.

To most, this was a welcomed change of times. For the ponies in Chicacolt, war had always been commonplace. In the great city's past, it served as the largest military base in Equestria away from the front lines. With its tangle of railroads and highways, coupled with its strategic position halfway between Manehattan and Hoofington, and on the shore of several great lakes, Chicacolt became a bustling military town. On the Last Day, the Zebras targeted three balefire bombs at the doomed city. One was to be smuggled in on a train, much the same as the operation in Manehattan, another would be flown in via bomber squadron and unleashed upon the massive O'hare military Skyport, the third was converted into a missile warhead that would strike downtown, a redundancy should the smuggled device fail. As it so happened, the smuggled device was intercepted by MoM on the train moments before it was set to detonate. Simultaneously, the bomber carrying its great payload was lost over the massive lakes in a violent storm, and only the missile was able to strike its target. Having been thrown off course by unforeseen complications, the blast did not hit the city center, as intended, but to the north of it. This inaccuracy still ended the lives of millions, but left the downtown area more or less intact. The ministry hubs of Chicacolt were saved by a combination of their magical shielding and luck. Of course, all that history of war was in the past.

Except, for all the good that the Lightbringer had done for the Equestrian Wasteland, she had only managed to cure the symptoms. The cause, left untreated, had become an open wound. The cause, of course, is war. Now, in a world free of taint, the wound still festers. In Chicacolt, the New Steel Rangers reign supreme. Their strict rule inside the city is unopposed. But, they are beset to the north and west by the Applejack's rangers, the old Steel Rangers, and numerous raider tribes. The four factions wrestle each other day-in and day-out, unable to pull themselves above the others, but instead wearing their own forces thin while the Enclave remnants watch from their fortress at O'hare skyport, the massive military complex spared from the bomb by chance. To the northwest lays the New Canterlot Republic, still suffering from growing pains. No one knows what President Grimfeathers has planned for the area. But for the time being, the extent of the NCR presence in Chicacolt is a single border guard station at the northern highway interchange.

The moral of the story? Nothing is different for the ponies surviving in the largely lawless land of Equestria. A single threat among thousands was removed. But the effect it had was limited to the ground, as ponies still kill one another for a shiny bit and view each other with suspicion. Because, if it's not apparent by now, war . . . war never changes.

Welcome to Chicacolt! Please, enjoy your stay, and do mind the gap.

NCR Highway 94 Interchange Border crossing
Sapphire Sands
Sapphire trotted along the ruined, but thankfully clear, highway. Her legs hurt slightly from the sheer amount of walking they had to do with the caravan, but the end was in sight. The towers of Chicacolt rose up in the distance, a testament to equine over engineering simply by virtue of their existence. She wore her green army combat barding loosely, trying to stay cool in the hot spring sun and relishing the slight breeze that buffeted her grey and blue mane. The band she wore over the sleeve of her barding's foreleg signified that she was a member of the Followers, which acted as her passport and identification in most scenarios with sane ponies.

She and her brother had tagged along with a caravan run by a strapping young green earth pony named Shifty, just outside of Junction town after she had gotten orders from her section leader in the Followers. They had been joined by another good looking stallion going by the name of Redeeming Grace sometime after that, apparently also a member of the Followers with orders to go to Chicacolt. She hadnt questioned him to much and in general no one really spoke much on the very dangerous trip to the Chicacolt area. But he was very nice to look at, his flowing blond mane and tail which connected to a glorious posterior caught her eye more than once and she had to stop herself from staring often.

She trotted up to the front of the convoy, where Shifty was idly chatting with a few NCR troopers. "-Shouldn't be too much trouble on the road from here on in." One of the soldiers was saying, "Raiders are unpredictable though, we'd give you an escort further, but we dont have the ponies to spare. As it stands, command doesnt rate poor little us too much a priority. They're too concerned with pacifying Fillidalpha." It was the sargent speaking. He quickly noticed her quite approach and turned to her, "Well hello, I see you're one of the Followers. You guys are doing the goddess' work."

Sapphire blushed slightly at the unexpected compliment, "Oh, well thank you, we are simply trying to better the wasteland with what we have."

The sargent nodded politely and returned his attention to Shifty, "So you want to keep your caravan here until the next one? I guess there's safety in numbers." He turned his head and looked over the makeshift base, "You'll have to find your own place to sleep though, next caravan isnt due until tomorrow."

Sapphire checked the sun; it wasnt even noon yet. She couldnt just stand around all day doing bugger all just because the caravaner was spooked. So she turned and trotted away from the group up to her brother, "Thunder, it seems as though Shifty is erring on the side of caution, and keeping the whole train holed up here for the time being." She spoke easily, "I say we press on, we'll make better time just the two of us, like old times." She thought of inviting the handsome stallion to accompany them, but dismissed it and instead waited for Thunder's reply.

[Felkesjud]

NCR Highway 94 Interchange Border-Crossing
Thunder Flare

The dodger-blue pegasus sat relaxed on his haunches, resting in the cooling shade of the caravan. Above the small herd of ponies, the balmy sun warmed the pock-marked concrete surface of the highway they were traveling on, and the combination of the gentle wind and light cover created a heavenly sense of perfection for Thunder. Ever since four years ago when the lands were reshaped by the Lightbringer, roughly around the time that he and his sister reunited, the weather of Equestria had been so much more pleasant. As Sapphire--'Saph, as he called her--spoke with one of the guards at the front of the column, Thunder couldn't help but totally ignore the conversation at-hoof, opting to admire the expanse of landscape laid out before his eyes. The flat, green plains of Chicacolt surrounding the military outpost looked so tranquil and calming, End of the World, and all. Even the far-off city, it's decaying buildings that somehow managed to pull through the megaspells and the erosion of time, did little to ruin the view. Thunder felt truly at peace.

"Thunder, it seems as though Shifty is erring on the side of caution. . . . I say we press on, we'll make better time just the two of us, like old times."

Tipping back his ballcap and lifting his head towards his sibling, a great yawn escaped Thunder Flare's mouth. Being quite the amiable pony, especially when his sister was involved, the young stallion agreed to her suggestion without objection. It didn't matter to him if others adhered to caution; he and Sapphire always managed to crawl by just fine on their own, nevermind if it was a crawl! The main point was that they could handle themselves in the dangerous Equestrian Wastelands, raiders-be-darned. "Hmm, alrighty, Saph, sounds jus' fine by me," he spoke slowly in a slight drawl. Leisurely, Thunder lifted himself to his hooves and checked his equipment. Scruffy leather armour? Donned and ready for a-beatin'. Combat shotgun-battle saddle? Accounted for. Baseball cap, supply bags, and goggles? Check, check, and . . . un-check? Thunder floundered around for a moment as he furiously patted down his head, searching for the goggles. 'Did they fall off when I was wawkin?'' He thought to himself. Mildly frustrated, he absent-mindedly pulled at the strap around his neck and . . . found his goggles. With a soft chuckle at his own clumsiness, he bashfully notified Sapphire that he was ready to head out.

But, before they could start the trek to their destination, Thunder paused. Looking back at the caravan, he remembered that the other pegasus in the group, Redeeming Grace if memory served correctly, was another member of the Followers of the Apocalypse and headed to the same location as they were. Thinking back of the trip, the kind, white stallion had left quite a good impression with Thunder. It was a rare find to meet a pony so generous and of such good character in the Wastes. Thunder even thought he noticed his sister eyeing the--rather cute--stallion. But, that very well could have been his imagination, and nothing more. Either way, Thunder wanted the fellow pegasus to accompany them on their journery. "Heya, Grace," he called out to the white pony, "Saph an' I are fixin' tuh leave. Wan' tuh tag along, if'n yuh don't mind?" He didn't bother to run it by his sister, mainly because there wasn't much reason to. All three were headed to the same place, meaning they'd have to get to know each other eventually, and, not least of all, Thunder greatly enjoyed the company of Redeeming Grace. But, worst-case scenario, if push came to shove he'd increase their chances of living if they found themselves in a fix. Thunder felt a surge of guilt for thinking such thoughts; he didn't like reducing the worth of any pony to the status of meat-shield, especially not someone like Grace. But, as he often heard during his tuteledge under Say My Name, 'dems the breaks.'

[Fralinia]

NCR HIGHWAY 94 INTERCHANGE BORDER CROSSING

Sterling Silver was not in an excellent mood.

To be fair, his mood had been decidedly un-excellent for around a week now, as most victims of armed robbery are a week following their experience. He knew he was lucky to be alive after what he went through, but given his future prospects he sometimes wished he'd just been killed with the rest of his traders.

Only a week ago, Sterling had run one of the largest caravan operations in Chicacolt, sparing the intercity traders the risk of running the gauntlet of raider dens and factional ruins between the supply and the demand. It wasn't without its risks, of course- but then, having lots of guards and exaggerating the risks to buyers helped justify higher prices at market. He knew that the easy paths were fiercely guarded by various gangs, but with his convoy in tow, Sterling had always managed to either slip out of trouble or manage to fight it off.

Of course, angering too many gangs and making a name for oneself came with its risks as well, and he knew eventually his luck would run out. Ever since the rumors of a "toaster repair pony" cleansing the Wastes had proven to be true, the increasing safety of the environment and the burgeoning food supply had made the raiders ever more bold, and, unfortunately, more cooperative. His caravan hadn't stood a chance against what must have been almost a hundred and fifty head of the vermin. Death had been cleverly avoided with quick thinking and the convenient limp body of a former trader, but that hadn't saved his ear, which was now a mangled mess of a former organ.

Leaving his inner frustration, Sterling decided to put a faux smile on his face and try to scrape up a few caps. Food may be more plentiful in a clean Wasteland but the capitalism of the matter meant he was still going to have to pay for his meals. He had a few bottles of booze, a few doses of Dash and Rage, some loose gauze and healing potions, and a pre-War first aid kit he'd picked up from a military trader in the city center. He figured someone around the guard station must need something- plenty of ponies camped here each night, waiting for caravans, news, or just to peddle to those who were here for other reasons. Sterling had been stuck here for days, waiting for a caravan to tag along with to head into the city.

Sterling got up and regretted it, a pounding headache ensuing as he stretched his legs from laying down. He'd been sleeping most of the day, not having anything better to do, but now he needed some lunch and knew he wasn't going to get any without working for it. He hid his pain behind a beaming face and started to eye up some customers. Not much in the way of sales floating about, he thought to himself. Everypony seems to have what they need, and there's no addicts mucking about at the guard station right now. A stroke of luck befell him as he spotted not one but two bands of a Follower- or, as he had learned long ago, a reliable customer for all things medicinal. Remembering his kit, he quickly approached the two, who seemed to be with a blue pegasus. He noticed that the three were chatting but he didn't care enough to put off his lunch.

Walking directly to the Followers, he nodded to the pegasus companion and began talking in his classic salespony voice- warm, friendly, and just apologetic enough to seem personable. "Hi there!" he began excitedly, trying to weedle into the conversation. "I couldn't help but see your Follower bands, and once I figured out what it was I thought of how I happen to have some things you might need- doing the noble work you do does require some supplies, after all. I'd be happy to let you see what I have, if you're interested." He kept up his smile and looked eagerly at the three, hoping for a nice response.

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Ullerien,
NCR Border Checkpoint

At long last, Ullerien (or rather, his alter ego, Redeeming Grace) had finally arrived in the outskirts of Chicacolt. It would only be a fairly brief walk to the city itself, and since Redeeming Grace was a pegasus, it would be an even quicker flight into the city limits; Ullerien was very, very glad that he chose to make his alter ego a pegasus, it made getting around so, so, so much easier. While not having his regular magic made it slightly harder to kill people, Ullerien was still stealthy enough to ambush and kill people without too much hassle, and the extra mobility from having wings more than made up for his lack of magic in combat; pegasi were rather uncommon to find in normal pony society, with most of the pegasus race belonging to the Grand Pegasus Enclave, so being able to fly around gave Ullerien a rather distinct combat advantage that not many other ponies he'd come across would have. Either way, the biggest advantage of having his alter ego be a pegasus was that he could make a trip in a few hours that would take an earth pony or a unicorn well over a day; flight was certainly a huge advantage when it came to traveling around, that's for damn sure.

The Changeling felt rather relieved, knowing that it would only be another short flight into the city limits and then he wouldn't have to worry about traveling anymore. It would just be another short flight, and then he could get to work finding ponies who's love he could feed off; being a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse, a group with a very good reputation in the public, it probably wouldn't be too hard to win sympathy from the other ponies, especially considering the fact that Redeeming Grace was a very experienced member, having joined the Followers rather shortly after they were first formed. While most actual ponies would be preoccupied worrying about caps, or perhaps power, or fame, or even just basic survival, Ullerien, being a Changeling, cared about love first and foremost; not only did he need it to survive, but the more love a Changeling fed on, the more powerful their magic could become. Considering this fact, Redeeming Grace was one of the kindest, most morally sound ponies most people would come across in their entire lives; it was beneficial for a Changeling to be nice, as it made other ponies far easier to exploit and manipulate if they actually liked you, which was somewhat ironic considering the inherently parasitic and evil nature of Changelings.

However, just as Redeeming Grace was about to spread out his wings and fly into the city, he was interrupted by one of the other ponies, another pegasus; his name was something along the lines of Thunder Flare, if he recalled correctly. Thunder Flare had invited him to come along with him and his unicorn friend...Sapphire Shores? Sapphire Sands? It was something along those lines, anyway, as Ullerien recalled. Either way, Ullerien hadn't expected the other ponies to start taking a liking to him enough to invite him to travel with them so quickly; it wasn't too horribly surprising, considering Redeeming Grace's universally friendly and kind attitude, but it was at least slightly unexpected. Regardless, it was still an excellent chance to start getting a nice base of friends whom he could draw love from, so Ullerien decided he might as well go along with it. He certainly didn't fit in with Thunder and Sapphire, considering the fact that Redeeming Grace was wearing formal wear and had a very well groomed appearance to him, and those two were certainly more dressed for practicality over appearance, but that didn't dissuade him.

"Why, I would be simply delighted to come along with such a handsome stallion and such a lovely mare; I'm honored that you would invite me along with you. I was planning on simply flying into the city, since it would be faster that way, but I'd be more than happy to take a little longer to come along with you two." Redeeming Grace said to Thunder Flare, an unbroken smile on his face, speaking in a slightly posh accent with an ever so subtle hint of flirtation to his voice (Ullerien was pansexual, and would flirt with both mares and stallions, as were just about all Changelings, since gender didn't matter as long as you could get love from them). Almost immediately after his statement, a grey earth pony came up and approached the three, offering to do business with them.

"Normally, it would be better to approach the actual leadership of the Followers of the Apocalypse, as opposed to offering supplies to individuals; after all, its the administrators of the Followers that typically handle orders and business transactions, not individual ponies. It's very admirable that you want to support our cause, but if you want to do business, you really ought to go to our base and do business there. I just so happen to work as a negotiator for the Followers, but I don't actually have the money on hoof to start buying supplies from various merchants, and I don't know at the moment what the Chicacolt branch of the Followers actually needs in terms of supplies, so even if I had the cash on hoof to purchase materials from you, I don't know what I'd even need to purchase. Like I said, if you want to support our cause, go to the Followers base in the city, and we'll be able to do business there; the administrators of this branch will have the funds to pay for your materials, and they, unlike me and my two acquaintances here, will actually know what the Chicacolt branch needs in terms of supplies at the moment." Redeeming Grace said to the earth pony. Redeeming Grace was actually experienced in the field of business negotiations, and had done a ton of diplomatic work for the Followers, so he knew what he was talking about, and he figured it was better to speak up now rather than let Thunder and Sapphire potentially get taken advantage of or end up wasting their money on something this branch of the Followers didn't even need.

[Lunas Legion]

Halfway point between Luna Spire and Celestia Center

"Day 17." Fuses whispered softly as she peered down her binoculars at the Luna Spire, a small fire crackling next to her while a battered holotape recorded. She was currently squatting atop an old skyscraper, or what was left of one; the interior staircases had collapsed, the glass windows that had covered the sides were smashed and cracked and the elevator cables had long since snapped. The floor she was on, 19, was the highest with any structural integrity and high enough to see over the surrounding buildings so that she had good sightlines over the surrounding streets and her targets.

It was also completely inaccessible to any non-Purple Alicorn after she'd created a crude array of spikes out of metal and wood over the edges of her floor to prevent anyone just flying in while she slept. If she needed to escape, she'd just teleport outside her perimeter and fly away. It had kept her safe for two weeks and a bit, and dead bird was surprisingly tasty.

"No signs of attempted entry. Celestia's shields hold, and I have yet to get any coherent idea of Luna's security patterns." She glanced over to the wall. Two outlines were scratched into the walls, one roughly reflecting the Luna Spire from the side, the other the Celestia Center. Once she found some building plans or other info she'd scratch it into those outlines for her plan of attack. If she ever got anything on the internal structures, of course.

"Still nothing in terms of internal intelligence. 17 days with nothing to show and I'm seriously starting to consider asking the SRs if they have anything on the buildings." She never liked dealing with factions of any kind; they always tried to cheat you or somehow gain an advantage. Thus, she only dealt with them if she had to, which was almost never. She glanced over the towers one last time. " Nothing further to report."

[Das Metro]

The Rust House, just off Highway 94

The smell of stale alcohol and sweat hung around the Rust House like a bad omen. It had been a little rest stop for travelers before the Last, and now served a similar purpose. Though it looked largely dead from the outside, on the inside it was a relatively lively little bar. Gruff looking stallions, and even a few mares sat around and drank their warm liquor. No one had anything to say, except for several stallions playing cards in a far off corner of the bar.

There were five of them, each more world weary than the last. None of them seemed to be very thrilled about their new player. They had been enjoying a nice, friendly game of cards when this snow white colt waltzed into the stop with all the airs of royalty. The patrons didn't recognize him, but the owner sure did.

Opium Rush was shuffling a deck of old cards. The decorative images of the face cards were faded, and the edges of the deck were tattered. In spite of the almost solemn atmosphere, he wore a confident smirk on his face. "I think you you four need to buck up," Opium chimed, "By the looks on your faces, I'd guess y'ain't having no fun."

No one at the table said a word to their talkative new player. They had sat by and watched him win the last four hands, it could be said they stopped having fun as soon as he said hello. The oldest of the other four, a lime green stallion in a closk similar to the one Opium wore sighed. "Could you just deal the damn cards please?" he snapped at Opium. Seemed like the youthful colt had been shuffling the deck for the last five minutes.

Opium's deviant orange eyes glinted, "Relax there miser, if you go and give yourself a heart attack, you won't be here for the next hand." He finished up with playing cards and deftly dealt everypony at the table five cards. Silence returned to their little corner again, as the five looked to see if Lady Luck was smiling on them.

Another young stallion pushed some caps forward, "Call, and I'll raise two hundred..." The miser stallion and one other colt gave a sigh and threw their cards down. Opium looked down at the caps greedily. That right there was enough for a nice film in Moramane. The fifth pony called the young stallion's new bet with a confident smirk.

Opium chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "Hate t'raise the stakes like this, but I'mma gave to go all in on this one." The young stallion blinked and looked down at his cards. He had a pair of six's, but otherwise they were crap. Was his savings worth a bluff. Opium saw the colt's hesitation, and smiled, "Don't leave me in suspense, you gonna call, or wait till old faithful here kicks it?" He gestured to the older stallion, much to his indignation.

The confident smirk was gone, but the young stallion still managed to look sure of himself. Clenching his jaw, the young fellow sighed through his nose, "Hush up..! I'll call..." The fifth pony had folded the moment Opium opened his mouth.

"Looks like you ain't eating tonight then," Opium cackled madly and showed off his cards in an extravagant flourish, "Royal flush! Kiss my marshmallow ass!" There was a general cry of outrage from the table. After this hand they could start to put two and two together. They all let Opium shuffle the last four rounds? He won the lady four rounds. Nopony in Chicacolt was that lucky. The young stallion especially seemed heated. His face went pale, before going a furious red.

He shot up or of his chair like a pop rocket, and pointed an accusing hoof at Opium, "You're a dammed cheater." The other players all glared at Opium, their suspicions confirmed. Much to their alarm, before any of them could join in, Opium had the young stallion pulled across the table, and into the wall behind him. An ugly crunching noise filled the corner as the young stallion's nose broke against the wall.

Bleeding from his muzzle, the young stallion squirmed on the floor in pain. The other three stallions were all up out of their chairs, ready to intervene when Opium pulled a long, sickly looking knife from his bags. The child, jagged blade was pressed against the young stallion's throat. Opium lifted his hostage up like a sack of potatoes. "I do not cheat! They're called tactics!" he snarled.

Finally roused by the loud shouting coming from the card table, the bartender roared, "Oi! Get yer' ass out of here!"

"Shut your mouth before I drive a railway spike into your sinuses!" Opium roared back. He pulled all the caps on the table into his saddlebags, even taking some cards with him. No one at the bar knew what to do as he maneuvered his way to the exit with his frightened hostage. The black maned colt sneered when he got to the door, "Thank you all for a lovely afternoon, except you madame," he pointed the knife at the lone mare in the bar, "You and your ovaries disgust me."

Violently, he shoved his bleeding hostage into a table, and backed out of the door. The weather seemed that much better with a bag full of caps. Opium bolted for the highway, and looked both ways. He could see a caravan some ways away, and decided to spoil himself. The cackling colt took off for the caravan just as the bartender came out with a small pistol.

[Fantrum]

Snip

Sapphire was about to object to Thunder's invitation, but the other pegasus had already trotted over and started talking. Biting back her protest, she quickly found herself blushing again at being called a 'lovely mare.' He was a rather dashing young stallion, but that's all he was, she scolded herself, eye candy. Never get involved with someone just because your desires wanted you to. She had tuned out long enough to miss most of the transaction between the merchant and Grace, but got the gist of it. The merchant pony was attempting to con the trio into buying supplies that, by all intent and purposes, they didnt need. Looking him over, the sales pony struck her as falling on hard times, as his still mending ear and lack of any real product attested to something having happened just recently. So she could forgive his attempt at daylight robbery, its what the Followers did. She turned her head to the white stallion, "Thank you Redeeming Grace, for your professional handling of the situation. Its quite evident why the Followers value your skills so much."

The unicorn again redirected her attention, this time at the earth pony, "Why dont you come with us?" She said politely, 'two could play at that game Thunder', she thought. "I mean, Im sure that we could use an extra pair of eyes out there while we're walking to look out for trouble." Personally, Sapphire hated talking, she wasnt very good at it and felt like she stumbled over her words when addressing a stranger. Her horn lit up with its emerald aura and her saddle bags opened. Out floated two containers of veggie stew, which she floated over to the stallion. Smiling she set the closed containers down in front of him, "You look famished, here, Ill trade you these for a healing potion." She knew it was a rip off, but she wasnt any good at negotiating, plus, the act felt strangely satisfying, a feeling she encountered often working with the Followers and in other places of her life. It was a wonderful feeling, one of fulfillment and happiness, two things she seldom felt in the wasteland.

"Alright everypony, are we going to get moving soon?" She addressed everyone, keeping in mind a map she had looked at some time ago, "Because Fluttershy Medical is on the opposite side of the city and I'd rather not be out and about in a strange place at night." She said as she started trotting through the guard station.

[Fralinia]

Ah, we're going to be formal about it. Yes, very posh, bravo. Sterling sneered to himself. No matter. I've driven harder sales than you lot, with more guns pointed at me, as well.

Sterling was ready to launch into a spiel on the real usefulness and necessity of these products, when the mare made an interesting offer, not to trade with him, but to have him join them in going... somewhere. It seemed rather out of place, but given the opportunity he decided not to press it just yet.

He was just about to articulate a nice response when the mare levitated a few cans of soup in his face, asking for a health potion. His stomach screamed to take it and get out, that he could caravan into town and pick up a job as a hired gun on some caravan or another, but... these were Followers. As awful as this mare was at making a deal, he wasn't about to blindly rob her like that, especially not with her partners nearby.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn you down there, miss. I may be a con by trade but I'm not going to beg food off of you lot. I know pity when I see it." He paused, adding slight emphasis before continuing. "As for... joining you, I'm slightly confused as to why you'd want me along- don't get me wrong, an extra experienced hoof is always useful, and at this point, I'd march to Vanhoofer for some food and a pony to talk to, but why are two Followers and their pegasus friend hitting up NCR border stations for loose labour? Not that I think you're up to anything unsavory, of course- I'm just a bit curious, if you don't mind my asking."

[Felkesjud]

NCR Highway 94 Interchange Border-Crossing
Thunder Flare

After a short pause with a slightly open mouth, Thunder blushed furiously at Grace's overt (possibly coquettish?) compliment. Normally, no pony really said such things of him and his more-or-less average looks, especially not other stallions. And, it wasn't that Thunder's barn door swung that way . . . he was just very easily embarrassed, as was likely evident to any who saw his blood-flushed cheeks, the red hue peeking out from under his coat. For the time being, he was essentially speechless. He merely nodded quickly in kind when the grey salespony came waltzing up. He was tempted to buy some medical supplies from the grey Earth Pony, whose name he must have missed. Thunder and Saph's supplies had plenty of regenerative potions between the two. Yet, other than those, the pair's medical stocks were short on other commodities such as med-x and bandages for more minor wounds. But, before he could reply, to begin bargaining for a deal on anything they may need, Grace quickly stepped into the conversation and stopped it before they could potentially get conned. Thunder had no idea if that was the intention of the salespony, and he'd prefer to think it wasn't. But, as Grace replied, the thought did pass Thunder's mind that the deal seemed a little on the shady side. The grey stallion had yet to even offer his name, so far as Thunder had noticed.

However, the moment Sapphire invited the Earth pony along, he felt immediately unease. Inviting along Redeeming Grace, a pony they--or, rather, Sapphire--shared organizational ties with, was one thing. Yes, maybe he should have consulted her first. But, the salespony? They had no idea who he was. And, when she offered two plastic containers of their precious food for a single potion, which they had not much use for, he felt compelled to jump into the conversation to stop the deal. As it was, the grey and black pony denied it for some reason that sounded as if it had to do with their pride. How often that got ponies killed in the waste? Much too frequently. Still admirable, and very much appreciated, though. "Ah thank muh sister, here, was thankin' yuh might want tuh come wit' us tuh the Follower's Hospital. But, like Saph said, we really oughta' get shovin' off, here." Thunder said with as close-to a smile as he could muster for the unknown pony. "No time for dilly-dallying," he added in with a playful chuckle.

Suddenly, his ears picked up on the blast of a pair of gunshots as they echoed across the great, expansive plain. He quickly jumped to, bringing his combat shotgun at attention and the bit right in front of his mouth . . . and then immediately felt a tinge of embarrassment for it. The two shots in question were nowhere near the group of ponies, nor were they being targeted. "S-sounded like it was ways off . . . that-a-ways." He said, pointing his hoof in the direction the gunfire had come from. "Hey, Saph, ain't that the path we gotta' take, tuh get tuh the hospital? Should we go 'round, or chance it?"

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Ullerien,
NCR Border Checkpoint

Ullerien wasn't surprised to see Sapphire and Thunder blush from his compliment, but what was surprising, however, was the fact that Sapphire not only offered a horribly self-defeating trade to the earth pony trader, but actually asked him, a shady stranger, to travel with her. It was no surprise that Thunder invited Redeeming Grace to come along with them, since he was another member of the Followers of the Apocalypse and had been nothing but kind, but the earth pony (who hadn't even told them his name) was just a random stranger who had tried to cheat them into buying overpriced crap they didn't need; why in the name of Chrysalis she thought it was a good idea to invite him along, Ullerien would never know. Either way, at least Thunder had had the sense to try and steer Sapphire away from making such an irrational decision, which showed at least one of them had some intelligence in them.

"Mister Thunder, you do realize that you and I are both pegasi, right? We can have a brief flight down the road, scout for danger, and see if there are actually any threats on the road, then make a decision from there. After all, our wings give us the natural ability to do quick scouting missions, so why not take advantage of that fact?" Redeeming Grace suggested to Thunder Flare, his smile and friendly demeanor unbroken. The biggest advantage to being a pegasus was speed and mobility, so it would be kinda silly not to use those skills in situations like this; after all, spending a few minutes looking for threats could either save their lives if there turned out to be a huge pack of raiders or something, or save their time if there turned out to be nothing. It was kind of odd that Thunder didn't think of that fact himself, especially since his cutie-mark looked like it was supposed to represent something to the effect of speed.

Of course, it would probably be best if Ullerien could do the scouting himself, since if he had Thunder next to him he wouldn't be able to take advantage of his Changeling shapeshifting ability. Being able to turn himself into any pony he wanted at the drop of a hat made it incredibly easy to ambush small groups of raiders, and being able to change his appearance made it an absolute breeze to blend in with the environment and avoid detection. Ullerien was a natural built spy and assassin, as you might expect from a member of the Changeling race, and being able to actually utilize his Changeling abilities would make it way easier to clear the path of threats for his two newfound acquaintances and save them time. Still, Thunder Flare seemed at least like a remotely competent fighter, and he was sure that between the two of them they wouldn't have any trouble dealing with a few raiders, especially since they were both winged and most ponies wouldn't expect a threat to come from the sky.

[Das Metro]

NCR Highway 94
Opium Rush

It was funny how a bag full of caps put a skip in Opium's step. Any other pony would of lamented at the weight of the bags, but the smirking snow colored colt had long since grown accustomed to the weight. He had been pulling around bags like this since he was little. The first job he ever had in his little raider settlement was pulling bags of bullets to raiders defending the village. Nothing like a little hard labor to build up a tolerance for physical stress.

The job wasn't all that bad. Carrying around those cumbersome boxes of ammunition wasn't the worst part, it was dealing with the ponies he brought them to. Opium had little memories of his childhood beyond the departure of his mother, and receiving his cutiemark, though he distinctly remembered the smug, condescending look on their faces. Opium always knew they didn't like him, he has bruises to prove it. They were all a lot less smart with him when he controlled their chem intake. Opium had his hoof on the vein of the whole camp when he took up chemistry.

Mixing chems had proved to be a very valuable skill so far. In a land that not too long ago was ravaged with violence, there was a pretty nice market for chems. One reason Opium loved selling his addictive substances was that he could essentially create his own market through a little something called supply and demand. Opium always has a supply, but what was so nifty was that his supply created its own demand. All it took was one curious fellow, or rebellious foal, and Opium had himself a customer for life.

The revenue it brought him, combined with the pretty penny he made hustling that poor young stallion was starting to burn a hole in his saddlebag. The Rust House now far behind him, Opium treaded ever closer to the friendly looking caravan.

[New Willow]

Rook had been traversing the badlands of Equestria for only a few short years now, yet still, the political atmosphere and going ons of this land seemed unfamiliar, whenever she would inquire about a certain faction, she mostly just received the name of said organisation, as well as a: 'Oh, they're the good guy!', Or 'Watch out for those ruffians, they're nasty!' Ultimately none of this helped her evaluate whether a group could be trusted or not, opinions are capricious in a way, one day a pony could view a clique with outstanding appreciation, though the next, they could call them Tartarus in disguise. Due to the constant fickle nature of ponies, Rook found it best to ignore the inhabitants of the wasteland, but this did present a conundrum, without interacting with the residents of Equestria, she's at a loss for information, even now she has no legitimate idea as to why her first few months in the wasteland carried such a depressing tone, with constant overcast and dead vegetation, compared to now, where plant life is common, a blue sky reigns dominant for a good portion of the day, while later, a black void encompasses the sky. It's not that it was a change she loathed, quite the opposite, cloud gazing was something she quite fancied whenever she felt that she journeyed enough for one day and needed to relax. Her nomadic lifestyle had brought her to yet another dead city, which lay in a state of decay, tall sky piercing building complexes jolted out of the earth, creating a curtain, stopping her from viewing anything past their cracked windows, and chipped concrete. The city seemed endless, rows of commercial and business complexes towered in in the far horizon of her eyesight, city expeditions were always iffy, however they provided an abundance of scavengable resources, enough to set Rook up with a plethora of goods, which she could trade for supplies that are desperately needed in order to survive.

A constant slight thud reverberated across the scarce land with each hoofstep, the varying accoutrements that are strapped onto her bounced as she walked across the landscape. She took note of a deteriorated tarmac road a bit off in the distance, it led in the same direction she's taking, however she decided not to venture anywhere near it. The potential hazard of it being occupied by individuals with... more than malicious intent is too high to risk, taking the rugged ground of the wastes would prove to take longer, though it took her off of the beaten path, and away from harms way, at least concerning ponies that is, the wildlife could undoubtedly be hostile, however an easier challenge if Rook entered an inescapable situation. Her trek towards the desolate urban centre has been going quite decently, no visible sign of any life, except for the obscure gunshot, or blood curdling scream, the day is simply peaceful, but the calm ambiance of her surroundings could quickly change in a heartbeat, she knows all too well, though it's never wrong to just take in the tranquility of a situation, and try to let some of the stress induced paranoia seep away, at most for a short intermission, anyway.

Pausing, Rook fell to her haunches, with a slight glance in all directions, she moved her attention towards one of her saddlebags, before an Amber coloured hue enveloped her horn, and the buckle system of her pack came undone, with an olive drab polymer canteen floating out, unscrewing the top, she allowed the magical clasp on the flask to bring it up to her parched muzzle, and proceeded to help herself to a few long breathed glugs of the refreshing liquid. After her thirst had evaporated, she screwed the cap back on, and placed it within the confines of her saddlebag, and buckled it all down again. Still in a resting position, her stare caught the distant highway, before elevating towards the dodger blue sky, unleashing an exaggerated sigh, she continued to gaze at the infrequent cloud formations. Knowing that her chillax period would come to an end soon, and she'd have to carry on through the empty husk of a city once again.

[Fralinia]

The gunshot hardly fazed Sterling, he'd heard many before and many far closer. His good ear flicked to locate the sound, but he winced as the remaining muscles of his right ear tried to react and managed to yank at the wounded organ. He brushed it off and quickly addressed the two pegasi.

"Hold on a minute, I'm still not quite sure of what's happening here. If you're going to Fluttershy Medical, then it's certainly not out of my way, but I'm not quite comfortable with traveling for extended periods with ponies I don't even know the names of, Followers or not. And I'm sure that the two of you are questioning your friend as much as I am." he nodded at the mare.

He paused before realizing that hadn't given them his name, either. He figured that anypony might be a bit nervous talking to a stranger, and that nopony was going to bother hunting down a starving ex-caravansary, so he decided to talk. "My name, in case you were wondering, is Sterling Silver. Trader, when there's trade to be done." He turned to the side to allow them a glace at his cutie mark, three ingots of silver stacked in a pyramid.

[Fantrum]

The gunshot hardly fazed Sterling, he'd heard many before and many far closer. His good ear flicked to locate the sound, but he winced as the remaining muscles of his right ear tried to react and managed to yank at the wounded organ. He brushed it off and quickly addressed the two pegasi.

"Hold on a minute, I'm still not quite sure of what's happening here. If you're going to Fluttershy Medical, then it's certainly not out of my way, but I'm not quite comfortable with traveling for extended periods with ponies I don't even know the names of, Followers or not. And I'm sure that the two of you are questioning your friend as much as I am." he nodded at the mare.

He paused before realizing that hadn't given them his name, either. He figured that anypony might be a bit nervous talking to a stranger, and that nopony was going to bother hunting down a starving ex-caravansary, so he decided to talk. "My name, in case you were wondering, is Sterling Silver. Trader, when there's trade to be done." He turned to the side to allow them a glace at his cutie mark, three ingots of silver stacked in a pyramid.

Having taken the opportunity to levitate the containers back into her bags, Sapphire's face hardened considerably, because now the ponies in attendance had taken her act as her just being stupid. 'Well, no matter, think what they like, I'll not sell my own morals out just so I can look smarter in front of the other ponies.' Placing a hoof on Thunder's shoulder, she let Redeeming Grace sputter something off about flying off and scouting, thinking it rather out of place for him to want to go scouting with his formal wear. She let the two pegasi go about whatever it was they did and turned back to the sales pony, a one Sterling Silver.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sterling Silver. I'm Sapphire Sands, medic when there are ponies in need of me." She held out a hoof to the earth pony, while continuing to speak, "This is my brother, Thunder Flare." She waved a hoof toward her younger brother. Like everyone in the wastes, they had been though a lot together. Spending a year apart when she had taken up residence in the Collegiate had been hard for her, for both of them really. It was the first real time they had been split up ever since their parents had been attacked, and Saph had despised every second of it. She especially hated Thunder's choice of comrades when they had arrived in Hoofington. His living with the toughest gang around, the Reapers, had unnerved Sapphire, but he was a grown colt at the time and she couldnt bring herself to force him anywhere other than were he wanted to be.

At the time, he'd had some kind of obsession about proving himself to her, to be more than a mouth to feed. She had never told him that he never had to prove himself to her, that she viewed him almost as her own son, her only true friend in the wastes, her anchor in reality. Those things she kept to herself, like how she cried herself to sleep every night for the first two weeks of their stay away from one another, or how the happiest moment of her life was getting to see him again when they left that cursed city. She had never looked back when they trotted off down the road away from the city. Now she was here, in a new hell, there was no real telling what awaited her here, but as Velvet taught all new inductees to the Followers, its better to talk first with somepony and give them the benefit of the doubt. It was a central tenant of the Followers, and a message they tried to spread wherever they went.

"We'll go around Thunder." She said, turning back to her brother, "We arent exactly the most well armed group around." She didnt know about the trader, but Grace didnt have anywhere to keep a firearm and all the firepower between her and her brother was a shotgun and a pistol.

[Felkesjud]

NCR Highway 94 Interchange Border-Crossing
Thunder Flare

Thunder was now much less focused to the potential threat, knowing that whoever out there was firing off their gun was at a definitely safe distance. He breathed a sigh of relief. As much as the blue pegasus was trained for firefights, and even to kill, he didn't enjoy it. It wasn't that he dislike wasting ammunition, which was nevertheless true, he actually detested violence as a whole. That may have been odd, given the fact that he took up apprenticeship with gangsters who taught him their ways with the goal of him becoming one of them. After all, couldn't he have joined his sister, Sapphire, at the Collegiate? But, as much as he hated admitting it, Thunder knew violence was a necessary evil to survive in this world, with or without radiation. And, in order to survive, he'd be required to know how to hurt others. . . . What he hated, no, absolutely abhorred was his very own cutie mark. The symbol of meaning and purpose to most ponies was, to Thunder, his very enemy--his bane. For many who took a moment to peer at it, it seemed as though it depicted his skill in speed of flight. That estimate wasn't entirely off-base--Thunder was actually a pretty fast flyer. But, the truth behind the simplistic pattern on his haunches was much more grim. It was the result of a chapter of his life he would much rather forget. A past filled with murder, theft, deception, and--"Mister Thunder,"--w-wah? A disembodied voice brought him back to reality and the present. "you do realize that you and I are both pegasi, right? We can have a brief flight down the road, scout for danger, and see if there are actually any threats on the road, then make a decision from there. After all, our wings give us the natural ability to do quick scouting missions, so why not take advantage of that fact?" He stumbled with his words for a moment, as his mind was shaken to attention. "Er, ye-yeah . . ." he said. His mind had been wandering on its own. But, now that he was conscious of the thoughts, he did his best to roughly shove them to the back of his mind, where he could ignore them until they resurfaced later.

With a questioning look, he turned to Sapphire for approval. She put a hoof on his shoulder, and he assumed that meant she gave her consent, thought it was rather vague to him. Redirecting his focus, he pondered Redeeming Grace's words with more scrutiny. Sure, they could scout ahead. No harm in it, right? However, as the situation found itself, Thunder's armament was pretty limited: a single shotgun with less than two full magazines-worth of buckshot ammo. It didn't look as if Grace had a firearm of his own, unless he was concealing it. So, if they got into a brawl with raiders, they'd be screwed--especially if at a range. But, as he was about to reply to Redeeming Grace, he heard his sister introduce him to the stranger-salespony, apparently named Sterling Silver. Swiveling his head, he gave a second nod to the black-maned Earth pony. "Pleased tuh meet yuh," he stated. He had been quite worried when his sister had been willing to trade some of their food for a healing potion. . . . As great a characteristic it was in her profession, she could be a little too generous at times. But, it was one of the reasons he held her in such high regards. Thunder felt that even if he, himself, couldn't help the ponies of the wastes, he could atone for his actions by staying close to her and making sure she could. He smiled as she addressed him. "We'll go around Thunder. We aren't exactly the most well armed group around." He nodded in agreement; they unequivocally were no squad of Steel Rangers.

"Alrighty, Ah'm all packed an' ready. We gonna' get wawkin'?" The group had been standing around for a couple minutes, now. Not really that long a time period, but it wasted precious daylight they may need. As Sapphire had stated, their destination was a good day-long walk across the city. That was if they got lucky and didn't bump into any trouble along the way. Instead of waiting, as he normally did, Thunder decided to start walking down the deteriorating roadway covered in pot-holes, as his sister had done moments before. "Any a' y'all comin'?"

[Das Metro]

NCR Highway 94 Interchange Border Crossing

After a good bit of trotting, Opium could make out the features of the caravan. They all looked friendly enough. He had come across caravans before. From prior experience, Opium had found there were two types of caravans nowadays. There was the friendly 'hitch a ride' caravan, and the 'don't come within ten feet or we'll shoot caravan'. Opium couldn't tell if they were the type for their personal space yet, but they did have guns. Guns weren't Opium's favorite thing in Equestria, but when the going got tough, guns usually killed whatever was giving you trouble.

Opium detested walking almost as much as he detested mares. The whole affair just seemed like a waste of time. Pegasi and alicorns had it easy, they had wings. Flying was obviously a much higher form if travel, but there was Opium, using his legs. And ponies wondered why the young stallion could be so bitter. Truthfully, Opium had a whole lot to be bitter about. His life was an awkward cycle of traumatic events, followed by short periods of euphoria. Those little happy moments were usually full of Dash and Med-x.

When Opium finally got closer enough to distinguish facial features, a sickly sweet smile spread across his countenance. These ponies didn't have the asshole look to them, he could pick up a ride, Opium was almost sure of it. As a general courtesy, the white stallion waved at the group, "Why hello there. Am I glad to see you folks..."

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Ullerien,
NCR Border Checkpoint

Not exactly the best armed group, you say? It won't matter if somepony has the biggest guns in Equestria if they get ambushed and killed before they can even fire a single bullet. Ullerien thought to himself at Sapphire Sands' comment about them not being a particularly well armed group, and suggesting that they take a different path. Ullerien had always preferred stealth to firepower; after all, it was what his species was naturally suited towards, striking from the shadows. Carrying a bunch of big guns was unnecessary and, frankly, really just took up space and weighed him down; he preferred his simple switchblade, which was well hidden inside his coat pocket, and his machete, which he had stored inside his saddle bags. Of course, he wasn't going to object to Sapphire's decision, and stayed quiet, not giving any external indication of his disagreement or his combat abilities; spending an extra few hours on the road was probably a better option than making an open objection to Sapphire's choice and looking suspicious.

"Of course, mister Thunder Flare, let's get moving; if we're taking the long way around, we probably shouldn't keep dilly dallying, lest we spend all day standing around getting nothing accomplished." Redeeming Grace said, simply, as Thunder Flare started walking. Ullerien was not particularly looking forward to spending all fucking day traveling because he had a unicorn slowing him down, but, at the very least, being around other ponies opened up the possibility of making friends and getting somepony's love to feed off of, and it wasn't like Ullerien had anything better to do. Ullerien didn't care even in the slightest bit about money, since he, unlike normal ponies, didn't need to buy food, and he used melee weapons, so he didn't need to buy ammo; it wasn't like he was missing out on anything by spending his time befriending ponies as opposed to doing work and making caps. It was, honestly, quite convenient being a Changeling and not having to eat like a normal pony; it certainly made his bags a lot lighter, not having to worry about carrying a bunch of extra crap, that was for sure.

Before Ullerien could spread his wings and start slowly flying alongside Thunder Flare and Sapphire Sands, however, the group was interrupted by yet another pony. Ullerien couldn't help but wonder to himself when in the name of Chrysalis they were actually going to be able to make some progress, and if he would ever make it into the city at this rate. Regardless, Redeeming Grace kept his trademark expression of unbroken friendliness and turned to greet the new stallion; Ullerien would have preferred to just get moving and get into the city, but still, making friends was important enough for a Changeling to do that he elected to keep up his usual charade of acting friendly (and a little flirtatious) and trying to get ponies to like him.

"Why, hel-lo there, mister. You're glad to see us? Well, I'm glad that I get to set my eyes upon such an absolutely dashingly handsome stallion. What can a humble pony like myself do for a dazzlingly attractive stallion like yourself?" Redeeming Grace asked the stranger, an open hint of flirtatiousness in his voice. Ullerien didn't actually care about the new stallion (well, he didn't really care about any of the other ponies, honestly), but he was nonetheless an excellent actor (as you might imagine a shapeshifter would be) and his voice conveyed absolutely no hint of insincerity or anything other than friendliness and flirtatiousness. Ponies didn't always respond well to his flirting, but Ullerien figured he might as well take the gamble; after all, he was never going to get somepony to fall in love with him if he didn't even bother trying to seduce them.

[Fralinia]

Sterling politely shook the hoof of Sapphire Sands as his smile became a calculated crack wider. He then turned and nodded at Thunder Flare with the same pleasant look on his face. Thunder, however, seemed to be eager to leave- he had told them in no uncertain terms that he was going and then proceeded to turn and begin walking. Sterling had wanted to let the others go on ahead, and then ask if he was wanted along or not, a question which, at this point, still seemed rather up in the air.

It did strike Sterling as entirely too convenient, too easy, that a mare who happened to be going into town and happened to be a Follower just happened to be on the lookout for an extra hand to do, well nothing that she had mentioned, come to think of it- she had sort of just asked him to join them for... reasons, presumably. Then again, staying at the guard station another night meant dealing with more jaded and prideful caravanners like himself, which would mean, more than likely, no food for yet another night. These ponies did have that going for them.

Just as he was about to let onto his question, another random stranger came up to the small group. Grasping nonchalantly for the rifle slung across his saddlebags, Sterling looked him over and immediately noticed some interesting features.

This particular character had sunken, slightly bloodshot eyes, a soft wheeze to his breath, a mane that was unkempt and unclean, and a coat that was not only dirty but mottled with faint patches that looked oily and unhealthy. Such an array of poor health and hygiene either meant that this pony had not too-terribly long ago been through some serious hell, or- as Sterling was more inclined to believe- he was a rather far-gone user of some serious chemicals.

Sterling himself had never done any drugs- he'd never felt a need to ruin his body for the sake of a high- but he'd become very familiar with the symptoms of their users. Once, he'd made his fortunes feeding their addictions, but now he was more looking to earn a meal. Before he could wheedle in a sale, however, the white pegasus (whose name had not yet been revealed) began, flirting? Sterling didn't care for stallions, and didn't care what others did with their love lives, but it was rather strange to him.

"Hello there, stranger. If I may be so rude as to interrupt," he gave a slight smirk to the white stallion, "Why is it exactly that you're 'glad to see us'? Do you need something? You certainly don't look particularly well." Upon saying this, he realized that the stallion, who had apparently been flirting with the new pony, might not appreciate him noting the rather lackluster appearance of their newcomer. Internally, he berated himself for his carelessness and braced for whatever response the white stallion might come up with.

[Fantrum]

Trotting after Thunder, Sapphire heard another pony clop up to the bunch, a younger pony, by the looks of him. Looking a little closer, she could make out the tell tale signs of crippling drug addiction. As a medic working for the Followers of the Apocalypse she had seen many cases of ponies who had been subjected to horrific chem usage without any form of medical aide. This was one of the worse ones, even his cutie mark hinted at a dark past lush with chems and other substances. Grace and Sterling had already engaged the white newcomer in conversation, but Thunder and Sapphire were standing about thirty feet away, having already started walking away when the newcomer had interjected himself into the group.

She had invited Sterling along, and Thunder; Grace, but now they were engaged in a new conversation with this junkie and they were burning daylight. Sighing she turned away from the trio of talking ponies and trotted the rest of the way to her brother, "Come on Thunder, best we get on our way while the sun is not yet peaked." She disliked walking away after giving the two ponies an invitation to join them, but they looked as though they were going to be busy for a while, and there wasnt much time to waste dallying around. While she would love to help the pony with his problem, there were many other ponies waiting for her help at Fluttershy medical. Besides the pony had a look to him, a look that made him seem more shifty than Shifty and his whole family combined. She got the feeling that he was the type to slit your throat while you slept, and that set her on edge.

The road ahead was uncertain, but she had everything she would ever need, her brother. She knew that as long as there was yet air in his lungs, he would protect her, and vice versa. For that was what siblings did for one another, they had each others backs. While she had despised his decision to join the reapers, she couldnt deny that it had given the pair a very useful set of skills that they had generally lacked before, the ability to fight. It had come in handy more than once in the last several years, and Sapphire had the feeling it would again, sooner than she would like.

She cast one last glance over her shoulder at the caravan as the duo trotted past the southern barricades and machine gun nests and out onto the pockmarked surface of the roadway. Sighing again, she looked ahead and focused on the sound of their hooves clopping on the asphalt, and only one thought went though her head, 'Welcome to Chicacolt.'

[Felkesjud]

Highway 94 Interchange Border Edge
Thunder Flare

Soon after having departed from the New Canterlot Republic's border-guard station, Thuner Flare's ears perked up as a fifth pony made themselves known. After an initial glance while he was waiting for his sister to catch up, Thunder decided to not pay him much heed. The pony appeared a little worse for wear--as if the Wastes had done no favours for him in his life. Whether by drugs or sheer bad luck, Thunder didn't know. Although, his mind gravitated towards the former. Thunder's suspicions were increased because the pony had come from the direction of the gunshots. Oddly, almost immediately, he picked up on Redeeming Grace's words as he greeted the newcomer earth pony. Was he flirting with the other white stallion? It had surprised him enough when Grace had been a little more than friendly with both himself and Sapphire. But, at least the three had been traveling together for several days. Grace, as far as Thunder knew, had no idea who this less-than-stellar-looking pony was. The fact Grace seemed to keep his legs almost always open bothered Thunder, who was much more conservative. 'Oh well, it ain't muh business what otha' ponies do wit their free tuhme.' So, instead of returning to introduce himself or berate Grace for his promiscuity, Thunder merely kept walking.

"Come on Thunder, best we get on our way while the sun is not yet peaked," he heard his sister declare next to him. He responded with a simple nod. He may have felt slightly bad about leaving Grace behind. But the white pegasus seemed pre-occupied with the other two, whom Thunder did not know and would prefer not to travel with for that very reason. And, in any case, they could always meet up later, if Grace managed to catch up. If not, they would see him at the hospital whenever he arrived.

Slowly but determinedly, the pair of siblings walked towards their destination in a foreign land unknown to them. Birdsong graced the land, as grasses covering the soil off the paved highway grew wildly and without inhibition. Even the highway sported its own assortment of green weeds, with a rare daisy or other flower sprouting out from the cracked cement. The air smelled sweet in Thunder's nostrils. That brought back memories of soon after the Lightbringer, Littlepip, had cleansed the Equestrian Wasteland of magical taint. One day, Thunder had woken up and the air no longer stung to inhale, something he had never noticed because he grew up always breathing the same air, day after day. But, ever since then, everything was crisp and fresh. He loved it.

Diverging from the main path, Thunder took a few hesitant steps off the highway, over to a small plant he had noticed out of the corner of his eye. Leaning down, he inspected the veins under the leaves and the small protuberances. It was a plant that was rarely found in these parts, and it was still young, but it looked healthy despite that. Thunder deemed it safe to eat, and began picking the small plant free of its fruity, mildly bird-pecked growths. Of couse, the plant was not in-season, and the fruits would taste more tart than sweet, as well as have a harder composure. But, food was food. Gently placing two of the smaller, yet edible fruits into his pack for later, he tossed one of the four, with bottom seed still attached, to Sapphire. "Eat while it's fresh. When the nuts get stale, they'n go an' make ya see thangs," he informed her. But, suddenly, while he was standing back up, something far off caught his prying eye. It looked as if it whatever it was, was moving toward the city, like them. Fishing around in his saddlebag, he pulled out his binoculars by the grip with his teeth, focusing in on the object. And, upon closer inspection, he saw that a horn protruded from their head, indicating it was a unicorn. From what Thunder could see, they didn't wear any slaver or raider barding. No, it was something with a dark shade of blue. Perhaps they were a friendly--or at least non-aggressive--local? Thunder and Sapphire had yet to get any clear information about the native raider tribes, where they were, and how to avoid them. Maybe the wandering unicorn could help them out, in that respects?

"Hey, Saph, wanna' go ask that pony, out there, the safest path tuh the hospital?" He asked his sister, pointing out towards the lone unicorn with his right hoof.

[Das Metro]

Opium was immediately struck by the rather flirtatious pony. Seemed like somepony was already taking a run at him and he had only been there for seconds. When he had a good hit of ment-als, Opium could take the time to make himself look as handsome as he knew he could be. As of now, it had been five days since his last hit of ment-als, and he not only looked terrible, but felt terrible as well. That could explain his rather ornery behavior at the bar.

The flirty pony really did seem earnest, but his lackluster condition made Opium wonder if this pony was really flirting with him, or just trying to flatter him. Opium had come across this type before in his travels. It had been a hazy night. Once the morning came the shallow minx was gone, and so were his caps. Of course, Opium did find the dirty mare who took all his crap, buried her alive in a heap of scrap metal and barbed wire. Went back to visit her after a week or so, the wildlife and picked her clean.

"What you can do for me," Opium said, annunciating his words very particularly, "is try and find me some ment-als. Preferably a new tin. I hate using some junkies, or Sister's have mercy, a politician's sloppy seconds. I swear, those NCR folks aren't ponies, they're all abberant forms of hyena's... I hate them almost as much as I hate improper nutrition. There's a food pyramid for a reason isn't there? You hear all the crap about the food chain, and survival of the fittest, and I'm like, 'if you can follow the food chain, why not the food pyramid'?.."

He took a deep breath after his rant and almost choked on the air. Opium looked back at the much more up front pony. This one sounded like the much more typical wastelander. The white stallion popped his neck lime bubble wrap as he spoke, "I'm happy to see you, because you're not trying to turn my head into a canoe with a dose of lead. Happy to see you, because I can feel the good vibes around here. You got any food?"

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Ullerien,
NCR Border Checkpoint

Well, Sapphire and Thunder Flare were a wee bit impatient, it seemed; not willing to wait even a minute or two for him to have a brief chat with the newcomer. Oh well, it didn't matter; Redeeming Grace was a pegasus, if he wanted to catch up and travel with them, it'd take no time at all. Either way, he'd be seeing Sapphire (and possibly Thunder) at the Followers base of operations, since, after all, they were both members of the same organization and they would almost certainly be seeing each other again. Considering the fact that he knew he'd run across them again (provided they didn't go and get themselves killed before they even got into the city), Ullerien wasn't in any particular rush to catch up to them; he figured he might as well spend a few minutes trying to make a new friend out of the stranger, and possibly end up getting a sexual partner in the process. Flirting hadn't really seemed to work on the stranger, considering the fact that he didn't even respond at all to it, but that didn't matter; Ullerien could always try something different. The trader, also, had made some comments Ullerien was almost entirely sure were meant to somehow offend him, but he paid no heed; his alter ego didn't even bat an eye, keeping his unphased smile.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any chems on me. I'm afraid I don't have any food, either. I am, however, a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse, and I can perhaps get you a discount on fixer or treatment for an addiction if you'd like." Redeeming Grace said to the stranger, ignoring the trader's comments. It was pretty obvious that the new stallion had chem problems, and, his alter ego being a member of the Followers, Ullerien figured he might as well mention his organizational ties. He doubted a chem addict would respond particularly well to somepony offering a discount on addiction treatment, but he still did so anyway, continuing to speak in his typical friendly tone, trying not to sound like he was pressuring the stranger. Worst case scenario, the stranger would respond poorly to Redeeming Grace's statement, and best case scenario, he'd take him up on the offer, get help for his chem addiction, and feel gratitude towards him which would make it easier for Ullerien to seduce and leech love off the stallion.

OOC: I really don't like the way this post turned out, but I just can't think of anything more to add to it. I've been working for an hour and a half, and I still just can't think of anything better to add. Sorry for the shitty post, but this is the best I can manage to do.

[Fralinia]

Sterling looked at the new white pony one more time before mulling over the Follower's comment- it was a noble and proper thing to do, offer treatment for the clearly destructive addiction this newcomer was suffering from, but given the syringe on his flank, it was more than likely he wasn't going to be succumbing to mere medical care, or, for that matter, the offer. It was a lost cause, however valiant it may be.

"I'm fresh out of food too, or rather, I've been so for a while." Sterling started off. He could tell that the newcomer was much less receptive to the Follower than he was to him, and he intended to take advantage of it to the fullest extent. "The name's Sterling Silver, and I'm sorry to say I'm freshly out of ment-als as well. Matter of fact, unless you're looking for a health potion, a shot of whiskey, or some Dash, I'm fresh out of just about everything, caps included. I apologize for the company-" he shot a glance at the Follower, "- his mood seems to be firmly stuck on charmingly cheerful no matter what you say to him. 'Course, that armband demands it's respect. But no matter that. I'll cut to the chase and save some time, as flattery would be rather, well, transparent-if you've need of something you need that we have and you can make it worth our while, do kindly tell us now. Otherwise, feel free to go cause trouble with those caravanners over there, a right lot of bastards they are."

In his head, Sterling knew that taking such an aggressive and goal-oriented approach might actually cause the pony to do just what he had told him to- which was of course the last thing that he wanted. However, at this point, stuck with a somewhat suspiciously happy Follower and with less hope of food than he had before he started, he was willing to start making some more risky bets. This pony seemed like a proper Wastelander, and hopefully that could be leveraged in Sterling's favour.

[New Babylonia]

NCR Highway 94

Silent groaned at his aching legs and sore hooves. As usual, cursing the race that was the pegasi, bastards with their wings and flight. Of course, he was a unicorn. And its not like he couldn't teleport. So why the hell was he walking? Silent looked down the long, long road before him, and quickly found why. He would be dead from exhaustion long before he'd ever made it this far. Though, having survived this long in the miserable wasteland by himself with little more than two knives and a low-caliber pistol was a feat in itself, at least to a pony who'd never walked the wastelands before. He'd heard the stories of all the bandits, raiders, and other vagabonds running around. And yet, Silent had managed his entire journey, hardly seeing a pony anywhere near shooting distance to him. Aside from the ever annoying fact that this bloody highway should've led him to a damned city by now. Yet, before him he saw nothing but a miserable hell. Or maybe it was delusions from dehydration... hm. It seemed an interesting point to make, he'd been saving his water knowing he was almost out. With a reluctant sigh, what little was left was swallowed by him. Marginally, he realized how blurry his vision really was. Secondly, he realized he was about 70 feet to the right of the highway he was walking on before. Thirdly, he saw a city less than mile before him. And fourthly, what appeared to be some sort of caravan with ponies having a conversation.

It was impossible to tell what they were from this distance, or even if they would still be there by the time he'd made it. Assuming he would though, Silent quickly allowed his horn a bit of light, last moment changes to assure that his appearance was inconclusive and as androgynous as it could be. A small smirk covered his face, though realizing his attitude, quickly extinguished it. It was time to drop the confidence his talent gave him, and live up to his name, Silent Thunder. Quiet, and shy of course. But simultaneously dangerous and simmering beneath the surface. The point of this was simple. The shyness, would give him an idea of who to trust if he infact decided he would need that assurance for a period of notable time. The androgynous look, was to confuse ponies, of course. But also make them question what gender he really was, a pretext for him making a somewhat shy, but flirtatious and sexual implication to reveal the leanings of his targets. With this, Silent could find somepony to trust, and several targets whose buttons he now knew how to push.

The promise of civilization, caps, targets, and most importantly food and water set his body into burning its reserves and renewing its strength for a last push to the great finish before him. A depressing, dead landscape laid behind him, and a new breeze invigorated the feeling of a new challenge to present itself. Walking faster still, Silent was eventually able to distinguish the ponies he saw as stallions. From his experience, most of them tended to be straight, and it was often safe to assume such. Even still, confusing them with the completely neutral look, and neutral voice was amusing. For extra fun, he would often make his voice feminine, then masculine, then neutral, masculine again, and continue changing it, several times during sentences, even. The added confusion always made great memories for Silent.

He was closer yet, now, close enough he could start seeing facial expressions if he concentrated on focusing his vision. Knowing they could the same to him, Silent ensured the shy, somewhat frightened demeanor had full control of his body. With this finally in place, he slowed down slightly, and could hear the sounds of conversation. By now he began to walk in such a way as to make as little sound as possible. Closer yet, he could hear sentence pieces. Soon he could hear every word perfectly, he continued a few more feet, until the closest one was within a mere 15 feet. He stopped, looked more shyly at the ground then he had been, and spoke softly with a voice neither feminine nor masculine.

"U-uhm... h-hi..." Silent gulped, and kicked his right hoof against the ground, shying his body away slowly, making sure his act was flawless.

[Slorch]

Somewhere off in the distance a gun rang out. Rolling over Star swiped at the…something. She sat up groggily and thought about what exactly she was trying to hit. Unable to determine what it was she just assumes that it’s something from her past and puts it behind her. Looking around to see if anything had changed since last night and was unsurprised when nothing had.

She was in a derelict building similar to the 50 other ones she had looted or attempted to loot along the way. She had decided to spend the night on the second floor of the building after discovering an un-opened safe in a corner. She had spent the better part of the night working on it before it finally open to reveal absolutely nothing. The safe was now in a ditch about 50 meters away and the building had acquired a new window.

‘Poor sod,’ she thought as she stood up to stretch. Several popping sounds could be heard as she arched her back. Jumping out of the new windows, she set off in the general direction of the gunshots. Maybe this time she would get lucky and find something of value. If she didn't… well there was always another building to loot.

Flapping at a steady rhythm she eventually reaches the area where she heard the guns shots, and sees nothing at least nothing of real note. There were just more derelict buildings, some kind of bar like place that probably wouldn't serve her, and the guard post she had seen on her way in a few days ago. Well actually there was something to note a new caravan had recently arrived from the look it. Digging around for her caps she realizes that she only had a paltry number of caps on her. ‘Probably not even enough for the dirt on their hoof,’ she thinks to herself with a slight chuckle. Not having anything better to do she starts flying around enjoying the warm sun and slight wind through her mane. She also thought about things; something she tended to do a lot of recently.