[IC] Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

[Shoryu]

Friendship city, a beacon of peace in the wasteland, Built into the big Statue known as the 'pony of friendship'... Built around the little Statue island off the east coast of mane-hatten, only accessible by water or by the Bridge that connects to the Ruin's of Manehatten, a well watched bridge you should know... It is a City that boasts Safety and commerce for all who would abide their laws, as well as employment oppurtunities both inside and outside the city... There's never a shortage of bounties on the boards, scavenging requests, nor Caravans in need of protection... of course, since rarely anything happens inside the city that the guards can't handle, Anyone looking for adventure tends to take a job that keeps them on the move... More importantly though, gossip travels fast, and word was going around about a large Caravan traveling... they're known for traveling great distances, and since being 'known' in the wasteland attracts attention, they were also known for hiring lots of escorts, so they were a great oppurtunity for anyone wanting to travel a good distance, or just to get a fat load of paycheck.

Taking such a job was exactly the intention as Diamond Break tromped on into the silver shoe Tavern... what a name too, there wasn't a damn thing 'silver' about it! well, except for his armor... Sure, he'd been told it makes him a big obvious target, but seriously, he already 'sparkles' naturally, Shining his armor up hardly makes him any 'more' obvious... It didn't matter either way because the way he glittered and shined in the Light of the tavern drew a lot of eyes his way, and repelled a few from the mild glare, several that he noted appeared to be nursing hang-overs from the previous night... Something he immediately stopped paying attention to as he headed for the large bill-board to the right of the door, dotted with the usual run-of-the-mill advertisements and such, safe for the fore-told example that stood out.

--A Large fresh poster had been plastered right in the middle of the Board, it wasn't all that fancy, it's not like anyone would waste valuable time or cash on over-beautifying a pretty advertisement these days... It was simple but noticeable, mainly because it was 'clean', and explained in large red leters:

Cross Equestrian Caravan
Current Route: Friendship city <--- Tenpony Tower --- west Junction ---> Hoofington Area
Caravan Guards wanted

And in slightly less large black letters:
Passengers and non pony Races welcome, Fail to pull your own weight and you'll get dumped... we are also not responsible for any Racial issues you may encounter when wandering away from the Caravan.

And at the bottom in Red again:
Inquire in the back corner of the Silver Shoe Tavern... You'll know us when you see us.
--

Sure enough, when Breaker turned away from the Poster... it was pretty obvious... In the Back corner of the bar, with most of the other ponies keeping their distance interestingly enough, were a pair of well dressed ponies in slightly dusty suits, Tall and slim, blonde in coat, one with a green mane and the tail, the other with blue, and both with Eye colors matching their 'counter-parts' mane color. Around them were about half a dozen other ponies, 2 of which practically looked like Raiders, were their armor not much less 'gorey' than the general raider, the other's looked to be fairly standard guard's, Standard Combat armor, battle-saddles and the like, lacking their guns at the moment of course due to being in the peace ridden City. "well... that was easy..." It didn't take him long to head over and present himself for the job.

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Elsewhere in the same tavern was another who had already handled similar introductions, though he'd only wandered off to handle some 'natural business'... Of course, the stares were still very unnatural when a Thestral wearing a slightly worn tux trotted out of the Tavern's Restroom, humming a cheery little tune and stopping at the bar to collect a previously ordered Cup of wild Pegasus, a funny little irony since he was one step away from 'being' a pegasus himself.

After one deep swig and a little thank you he flutter off to a seat on the edge of that area around the Caravaneers, bringing a hoof up to click at his necklet so it loosened, and a strange musical tone began to slip from his throat... Something akin to the sound of a quiet flute and a high pitched humm began to fill the air, though he made no obvious physical motions to hint at singing. It seemed to penetrate the common noise of the bar unnaturally well, creating a little bit of confusion here and there, though miraculously it seemed to sooth the hang-overs of some of the suffering patrons.

[Strudel]

The Friendship city clinic was a depressing sight to the young unicorn as she gave it a final once over. For the last few years it had been the closest thing to a home she'd had. The room was about as clean as they got in the wasteland as it had to be for healing the sick. The beds lay empty for the moment and all medical supplies were locked safely away as they always were when things were quiet.

Two other ponies watched as the young white mare tightened her saddlebags and checked her belongings.
"Are you sure she won't change her mind?" One of them, an elderly blue mare asked the other.
"I already tried taking to her, but her mind's set, you know what she's like" the other, a greying stallion, replied.

Spark, surveyed the room closely, her eyes traced the shelves for anything she may have missed. Convinced she had everything, she turned to the ponies watching her, her magic drawing a thick cloak over her head as she did so.

"Are you sure you won't stay?" The blue mare asked, almost pleadingly. "The wastelands a dangerous place and we need you here"

Spark shook her head and looked between the two, her sad eyes just visible under the shadow of the hood.

The stallion stepped forward and wrapped a hoof around her, drawing her into a hug.
For a moment the little mare tensed up, before relaxing a little and returning the gesture somewhat awkwardly.

"Take care of yourself now you hear?" The stallions voice was rough but caring "remember, if you ever want to come back there'll always be a room for you here"

Spark nodded "Thank you for everything" she sniffed, trying to hide the sadness she felt at leaving. "You've been so good to me, but I just..." She broke off, pulling the hood down to hide her face.

"We understand" the elderly mare comforted, "You've done wonders for the folks round here, you'll be missed by everyone"

Spark gave a final nod to the two of them before turning to the door, ensuring as she did so that the cloak covered her fully. Before leaving she turned back for one last look at the two ponies behind her. They looked sad but waved her on supportivly. With a deep breath and a determined nod, she turned and stepped out into the city.

---

It didn't take long for Bright Spark to reach the Silver Shoe Tavern. Usually it was the kind of place she would avoid, so many ponies, a loud atmosphere and drunken revelers. Today was different, today was the start of something new.

It wasn't hard to spot the poster on the wall as it had been described to her. The page easily stood out from the rest of the papers on the board simply by being clean. Using her small size to her advantage, she ducked and weaved her way towards it and double checked the writing.

Once finished, she looked around the room and easily spotted a group in the corner. 'You'll know us when you see us' seemed fitting and Spark visibly cringed at the sight of them all gathered there. She took a moment to gather her courage before trotting towards the suited ponies. Unsure exactly how to introduced herself however, she hung off to the side hoping whoever was in charge would present themselves first.

[Zaresto]

Boreal Dusk

The tavern was noisy, too loud for my tastes, even though I had learned to tolerate such volume. The ponies that frequented this place were rowdy and short-tempered, which could prove to be a rather problematic combination. I stood across from where most of the commotion was, in a corner away from where they were recruiting. I was able to blend in seamlessly, or, rather, as best as I could. I was waiting for an opportunity where I could easily procure a role in the caravan without having to wait in a congested crowd of banal mercenaries. Most of them wore low grade stuff, good choice, mobility was key when in a caravan. Too much weighing you down and you could lag behind, but too little protection left you vulnerable to attacks. I noticed two guns for hire wore raider clothes, fucking idiots. Raiders almost always failed at protection, with their smudged and torn patches of leather loosely held together by rotten cloths, it was one of the many shortcomings of raider culture. The arrogance that the latest chem you took or the adrenaline rush given to you by a battle will stop you from dying isn't an ideal relied on by more civilized ponies.

Then I noticed an odd figure walking into the tavern. A crystal pony, no less, fully clad in refined metal armor. He was a hulking figure, a giant of a pony, but his movement lacked any grace or forethought, and the armor probably didn't help. I noticed him take a look at the poster, then go towards the two recruiters. Whoever was found in this stallions way made sure to move over while he made his way over to the other corner. Afterwards, however, I noticed somepony else enter the tavern. From what I could tell, it looked like some malnourished dark blue coated pegasus dedicated to dressing dapper in situations where it really isn't needed.

Then, another pony joined the fray. A hooded figure, so it was difficult to see any distinguishing features from where I was standing, but it moved with purpose. It stopped to check the caravan advertisement before heading to join the rest of the mercenary conglomerate. I had figured that this would be an opportune moment to sneak over and sign up for the caravan company.

I moved over to where the recruiters were standing, making sure to bob and weave my way past anypony that stood in my way. As I reached the two recruitment ponies, I saw they were conversing with each other, but abruptly stopped once they noticed me.

"Yes, I wou--" I began softly, but was cut off when some loud-mouthed mercenary sporting combat armor cut in front of me and started asking all these nonsensical questions, like 'How long is the trip?", or "Will we make frequent stops?" to which the two focused on making answers as abrupt as possible. This jackass was in the middle of a sentence when I tapped his flank to get his attention. "Umm, I was in front of you, I thi--" I start once more, my voice rather quiet, but the fuckwit doesn't take the hint as he starts turning on me now. "Who the fuck do you think you are?! I was tryin to get some work done, go fuck yourself, dillweed, and leave me alone!" he starts blabbering, but, fortunately, he had gathered enough attention for the two recruiters to step in.

"Yeah, sir, I think you should let this guy talk to us, then we'll answer your questions." says the one with the green mane. I blushed a bit, embarrassed by how I had to let a stranger solve my own problems. The jackass alternates from glaring at me and at the two recruiters, then storms off, obviously flustered. I manage to successfully get myself recruited into the Caravan company, even with my social issues and my ability to start conflict so easily.

[Darth Quadro]

“SON OF A BITCH!” *SMACK!*

“AND DON’T COME BACK!”

Sound slowly picked himself up off the ground with a groan before flipping back around to yell at the bar. “I told you I wasn’t cheating! I swear! Fuckin asswipes….. Can I at least have my winnings?” The only response he received was a beer bottle being thrown out the door at him flying right by his ear and just missing him. Sound didn’t even flinch, instead he just scowled.‘Those fuckers just took all my money…. Da fuck am I supposed to do now?’ Sound firmly planted his rump down on the street as he thought to himself what to do next.

After a few seconds of thinking, Revelation came to him! He was really thirsty and hadn’t gotten anything to drink while he was in the other bar. He remembered that the Silver Shoe Tavern was only a few blocks from here. Sound Chance promptly got up and started making his way down the street. He openly wore Second chance locked in place in his custom made quick release holster on his side with plenty of ammo in easy to reach places. Just as well, he also had his combat knife strapped to his leg in a thick nylon sheath. He wore his signature green bandana with his hair with bits of hair coming out the side strategically placed to pull off the dashing rogue look with precision. He also wore his more standard reinforced bounty hunters duster, custom tailored to his size as he was a bit taller than the average pony. As Sound walked he blissfully whistled to himself some tune he had stuck in his head.

After a few minutes of walking he was nearly at the Tavern when he spotted what looked like a cute young white mare heading towards the Tavern as well. She seemed determined however, not the face of somepony who’s just looking for a some good times at a bar. Maybe he would talk to her see whats up… maybe even buy her a drink. He was sure to have atleast a few caps hidden somewhere in those deep pockets of his duster. He trotted in a minute after her noticing she was looking at something on a board…. A Job posting board! Of course, that’s how he could get his money back. After she was done looking it over he made to look over the details and was of course instantly able to pick out who they were.

It didn’t look like the Caravan was going anywhere anytime soon so he figured why not talk to her now? She seemed a bit out of place and he had enough confidence for the both of them. Sound Chance than slightly and nonchalantly scooted in next to the white mare. He leaned in to speak to her as the tavern was currently pretty loud. “I see your looking to join the caravan. My name’s Sound Chance, how’s it goin? You don’t look like the adventuring type, what’s your reason for joinin them if you don’t mind me asking?” Sound gave her a reassuring and friendly smile. Before she could respond though, music in the form of what sounded like harmonics filled the room as it seemingly originated from a lone dark bat like pony. Even stranger yet shortly after the batpony began to sing, an acoustic guitar could be heard playing the same tones the pony was making with only a half second delay.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thunder Struck sat at a table directly in front of where the Caravan Company was located, with his rear hooves propped up on the table, a black Stetson tilted over his eyes and ad a fancy looking acoustic guitar resting in his lap. While his eyes were hidden from view he seemed to be expressing a wide grin on his face for no particular reason.

Thunder sat strumming his guitar to match the thestrals tones. Not to prove anything. In fact Thunder was pretty bored, he had already signed onto the caravan a while ago and was now watching to see who would be watching his back. Thunder was never one of those to charge up to the front lines and fight for others. He preffered having others fight for him, but what he did do was he made sure that all of his soldiers were as best equipped as they could possibly be. What use are soldiers to him if they’re dead right?

He watched a navy blue unicorn approach the table and then get pushed to the side by a larger pony, which made Thunder chuckle to himself a bit. He listened to the scene play out as he continued to strum his guitar. "Yeah, sir, I think you should let this guy talk to us, then we'll answer your questions." After hearing this Thunder began to laugh at first to himself and then the laugh sounded almost malicious. There was no mistake that the Yellow and black stallion was laughing at the navy blue unicorn.

Thunder finally spoke up after a few seconds of laughing. “Oh yes, defend the timid one. Cuz that’s who I want watching my back when we get out into the wastes. Fuckin Stupid… The other one may have been stupid but at least he had some big brassy balls and would have made an excellent meat shield. Speaking of big brassy balls…” Thunderstruck gave an impressed whistle when he caught site of Diamond Breaker. However, Thunder didn’t give Boreal time to respond to his mocking of him when he suddenly changed the tune of his of what he was playing on his guitar as he started playing faster and louder. Thunder than began to sing. (Just imagine the same beat except with acoustic rather than piano.)

“If it's groove you're looking for,
then you've come to the right place
Oh can't you see,
Classical is not the type for me

Now don't you look the other way,
cause this music's here to stay
Now wipe that grin right off your face
Cause it'll all be gone when you step into this place

So put down that cello and go grab the bass, cause we're swingin'
here tonight, this ain't no fancy music place.
You just gotta let it go, from everything that tells you no
Even if this is not your type of show, your type of show.

Now maybe you've learned a thing or two,
about how fast those hooves can groove
Now c'mon just take a chance,
these beats will put you in a trance

Now these things you just can't forget,
it would only bring regret
but there's one thing you must know
we can't stop this crowd from stomping on this floor

So put down that cello and go grab the bass, cause we're swingin'
here tonight, this ain't no fancy music place.
You just gotta let it go, from everything that tells you no
Even if this is not your type of show, your type of show.”

Thunder was now looking directly at Bolero, revealing his eyes to him. He still had the same big grin on his face, but the eyes… the eyes looked disturbed. There was something very wrong with this unicorn and he didn’t seem to be trying to hide it in the slightest. If you looked deep enough into his eyes you could also see the spark of brilliance amongst the storm of insanity inside those magenta eyes of his.

[Strudel]

The group of caravaners paid Spark no attention and continued to talk amongst themselves or watch the bar. It took a few minutes of internal conflict but eventually she decided it would be best to introduce herself before they left without her. However, just as she put a hoof forward, a large pony clad in some kind of thick armour pushed his way between her and another pony who had also just stepped forward.

She let out a little squeak of surprise as she was shoved aside and retreated back a few steps until her flank collided with somepony else behind her. The pony pushed her away with an angry curse sending her sprawling to the floor in a heap.
She stayed down for second letting out a dusty sigh before clambering back to her hooves with a pained groan. She was more or less back where she’d started on the outside of the caravan group. The armour covered pony seemed to be trotting away angrily muttering to himself. At least he wouldn’t be joining them on their journey… though she wouldn’t either at this rate.

For a moment Spark considered returning to the safety of the Friendship clinic, there would always be another caravan... Just as she turned to leave however, a brown stallion stepped up alongside her. He looked exactly like the kind of pony she would normally treat in the clinic. The thick duster he wore showed the classic signs of wasteland wear. A green bandana sat atop his head with bits of his blue mane protruding from beneath it. He was tall too, she suddenly felt very small standing next to him and magically pulled the hood of her cloak even further over her head as though it would hide her.

When the stallion finally spoke, she relaxed a little, though not fully. He seemed to be from the caravan she was looking to join! She lifted the hood of the cloak a little to look at him properly but before she could say anything, the sound of guitar and singing filled the room. The stallion seemed momentarily distracted and Spark used the opportunity to brush some of the floor dust from cloak while thinking about answers to his questions.

The song was quite good, Spark had always enjoyed listening to music on the radio at night or if things were quiet in the clinic. It was rare she heard something new though and the guitar player seemed fairly talented. When the song finally drew to a close, she turned her attention back to the caravan stallion.

“Umm” she responded, her voice small and devoid of any confidence she’d hope to project “I just want to travel a little. I’ve been helping out in the clinic here and I was hoping I could pay for the trip by helping out if anypony got hurt…” she trailed off suddenly unsure if they would take her if she couldn’t pay with actual money. “Would that be ok?” she asked uncertain.

[Shoryu]

[Juuust a little note to Zaresto... That's not a pegasus XD That's a thestral, and he has numerous different, and publically obvious, features that identify him as such =3 and his voice is totally normal XD Just amplified into the normally audible spectrum by his necklet XD]

Diamond Breaker actually stopped dead just as he heard the 'whistle' and what could only be interpreted as an innuendo directed at him... Slowly he turned his muzzle to glare at Thunder, gave a flick of his tail that produced a slight clank as a Ring of metal in his tail hit some of the armor on his leg, and gave the other stallion a teasing little 'smirk'... before immediately straightening back up and continuing up to the pair of 'business looking ponies' in the corner.

There was a short bit of mumbling between the 2 that ammounted roughly to 'well, that one looks like he can take a beating.' and 'give him one of the traveling cloaks so he doesn't shine out every raider for a mile'... One of the pair tossed a large cloak towards Breaker, which was caught with a deceptively fast motion of his fore-leg "Here, with just a 'look' we can tell you'll at least be good for drawing fire, and you don't seem to be an irritating loud-mouth either... but you'll need to wear this so you're not a shining beacon of 'come kill us we have valuables' in the wasteland."

He actually gave a quiet nod at that and set about spreading the cloak out and getting it over his back... luckily his armor was smooth instead of pointlessly spiky like 'some' ponies, and it didn't give him much trouble to slide it over... Though the cloak only went down to about his knees and the hood clung to the edges of his helmet to avoid falling down... one of them muttered a 'guess that'll have to do' and there were also a couple of relieved sighs else-where in the bar as suffers of hang-overs finally were rescued from the walking disco light... He just produced a little snort and trodded on around the table to take a seat along the wall just a bit down from the Thestral... However, when he plopped into his seat, his own impressive bulk, combined with the weight of a suit of metal armor, caused the chair in question to shatter like glass and scatter it's pieces allover the floor... while he just sat their calmly pretending it hadn't happened and just stared forward.

_____________________________________________________________

The Recruiters also took notice of the Quiet little mare hiding under her cloak looking shy about approaching, and subsequently getting pushed about along with another potential candidate by some rude noisy mercenary with a mouth full of piss and questions and a brain full of nuts from the sound of it.... after a little 'telling him off' the also added on "we'd rather have someone a bit meek who can work with us than a noisy braggart who's going to end up causing trouble." Of course without missing a beat they turned their attention back to the one who'd been interupted "Now then, name and intention, Guard or passenger?" "The same is needed from everyone else too.

A Sudden shout came from somewhere else in the bar... it was short, loud, and slurred "FLUBBERSHHHHHIIEESS ER TRRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" The shouting pony in question promptly fell over in the floor immediately snoring drunkenly.

_________________________________________________________________

The Previously mentioned thestral found it playfully intrigueing that someone else in the group was toying with matching his musical experimentation with their guitar, a teasing little grin crossing his muzzle as the individual broke into a totally different song. He took a deeper gulp from his cup before setting it aside and listening intently for a short while... Then when Thunder finished playing the song he broke out into song himself... though instead his voice or humming, a sound similar to a well tuned violen came out, said sound of an energetically played violen filling the bar's atmospher. It had a bit of playful irony playing that song using a 'fancy music instruments sound', but the notes rolled from his throat with disturbing musical accuracy despite clearly having no instrument present.

... All around the bar various patrons seemed compelled to tap their hooves or humm along... granted, a group that's half drunks and the rest half concious doesn't make for great back-up vocals, though his tune stayed at the top of the pile of noise... Once he finished the same song, he grinned playfully at Thunder...and missed not a beat in jumping right into another song! A Very lively tune, One that seemed to utilize 2 instruments at once playing 2 different parts a guitar like rifting note, and the same violen from before adapting to play the new peppy tune, standing up in his seat as his body actually got to shifting and swaying into the energetic tune.

It started nice and low and began to rise quickly, suddenly breaking into a frantic patterned Duet, continuing on down the line of the unknown song... one who paid attention to the patrons in the bar though, might notice that everyone was getting more... energetic... blood was warming, some that were tired began to feel more awake, some that were drunk started acting angry, it could possibly even put some pep in the step of some meek little personalities that were present... Then all of a sudden the Bartender shouted "SHUUUT UUUP!" And Chucked a Bottle of General Hard Cider at the singing Thestral... who proceeded to masterfully catch the neck of the bottle in his mouth without breaking it, snapping his head back a little and flopping back into his seat with a playful grin.

He got the bottle into his hooves, popped the top, and took a deep swig from it before a hoof came up to click his necklet back into it's tighter position... a big grin crossing his muzzle as he spoke, his voice actually sounded just a bit posh with a hint of a melodic under-tone. "Heheh... Free booze, works almost everytime." The effects of his musical 'riot in the making' cooled down only slightly, averting a bar fight, but keeping the general 'heated' air to it.

[Feel free to chatter amongst eachother after this one XD I'll post too still, but after a while I'll progress us to the next morning where we can actually get under-way =3]

[Darth Quadro]

Sound melted a little after hearing the timid mare speak, he always did have a weakness to pony’s he thought were cute. Though he did get a bit confused by what she said. He raised an eyebrow at her but kept up the comforting smile. “You do realize the caravan is paying us, to help them… not the other way around. But you’re a medic, that’s great! I always have a tendency to get banged up in these long haul’s so I’m sure everypony will be more than happy to have you along.” He leaned down a bit to get closer to eye level with her. “You have such a pretty face, why would you hide it under that cowl?” He lightly brushed aside her hood to reveal her face and mane.

Then another song began to play and this one had his heart racing for some reason and made him want to move. Sound offered his hoof to the mare. “May I have this dance?” Sound was actually quite the dancer, even though despite what his first name suggested he didn’t have much musical talent but his notable agility on the battlefield granted him the ability to dance quite well. Originally he was going to offer to help her over to the table to sign up with him, but his small attention span made him want to dance a whole lot more. Maybe after they signed up he would grab a seat with her at the bar.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thunder stopped paying attention to Bolero and his attention was drawn to the singer who sounded like an instrumentalist. He tipped his hat in the direction of the thestral and laughed when the hulking boulder of a pony broke his seat. Although he still felt that he needed to get in on this and began playing the part for the guitar.

After the song was finished, Thunder smirked at the thestral and ordered another round for himself. He then began strumming his guitar more softly and was now singing more to himself and kind of softly. The weird thing about it was that he was now singing in another language. While it held very little significance to the pony he still felt it as one of his personal favorites.

”Sue, le feu et la terre,
L’eau et la poussiere
Heros maigre toi.

Vois, le legend s’ecrire
L’histoire se construire
L’avenir est notre aventure.

Fais, vivre la lumiere
Parles les eclairs
La magie entre les mains

Pars, suiver ton chemin
Et regarde. Ton future, L’aventure,
Ta lumiere guider ton destin.”

It was a song he learned from some griffin he had traveled with a while back. He had also taught him a good bit of the language. Thunder tended to like somepony that could teach him something new and rather enjoyed traveling with the griffin. It was a shame the griffin died, but oh well kinda had it comin. Thunder warned him not to try and save those slave ponies. They weren’t worth the risk.

[Zaresto]

Boreal Dusk

Although I didn't take too kindly to this other unicorn trying to toy with me, I managed to dismiss his ramblings on the grounds that he immediately began playing some obnoxious tune with his instrument. I hated the acoustic guitar, as its intonation caused it to usually ruin songs that only relied on the instrument. This pony's tune was no exception. The song had no defined flow to it, even though the vocals were performed well. I then noticed the hulking pony with the metal armor receive a cloak from the two recruiters, obviously due to the liability caused by being so easily noticeable, as they mentioned to him directly.

Another pony fell into a drunken stupor after yelling something nigh unrecognizable. Although not much attention was payed to him, due to the fact that another musical number was being performed by that black abomination of a creature. However, I had other things on my mind, as I noticed I was rather low on caps. But that could easily be remedied, as I remembered about the stallion who was on the floor, unconscious. I trotted over to help him, and I was aided by another stallion sporting a very fine mustache. I could tell he was a regular to this place, due to how he looked accustomed to moving stallions. After we not-so-gently placed him outside, he turned to face me, "This yur bud?" he asked. I nodded solemnly. He didn't question me any further, he simply grunted and went back inside the tavern. This gave me a perfect window of opportunity to steal what I could from whoever this was. I stole about 53 bottlecaps from him, although I made sure to leave a note saying: I'm so sorry I took your caps, I'll be sure to repay you soon!

Even when I left a note, I still felt burdened by the guilt. Although I could always get a drink to cheer myself up a bit. As I re-entered the tavern, the black thing was in the middle of his own routine. It was much more professional than that douchebag, as this song actually had a good rhythm and musical progression. A very powerful piece, although not really tailored to my tastes, that I could appreciate. However, I noticed that one stallion in particular was getting rather close to another mare, as he took off the cloak covering her head and whispered a compliment to her. He then asked her for a dance, although I didn't pay much mind to them after that, as I moved to the bartender and asked for some Sunrise Sarsaparilla. He made haste to give me the drink and didn't even count how many caps I had given, as he turned out to be more preoccupied with the singing creature, noticing that some of his patrons were getting rather disgruntled with this uncalled for performance. I moved to a rather secluded part of the room, although still close to the recruiters. It was only proper that my 'safe area' was near those who I shared common goals with.

My mind once again thought about the mare and the overtly seductive stallion, who seemed to be pushing their relationship foreword, obviously trying to get what was behind that cloak. I chuckled as I levitated my Sarsaparilla to take a sip, "Date rape, much?" I whispered to myself quietly.

[Strudel]

Now Spark looked confused by the stallions idea of how the Caravan worked. Surely it was only the guards who actually got paid? It was hard to believe they would let her travel with them and eat their food on the basis that they ‘might’ need her help…
She was just about to voice her thoughts when she found the stallions face right up close to hers. He gently pushed the hood off her head, complimenting her as he did so.
Spark blushed a little but at the same time felt her body tense. It wasn’t often she ended up this close to somepony and finding him suddenly so close was a little scary.
The stallion didn’t notice her discomfort however, instead he seemed focused on the music that once again was filling the room. Turning back to her, he extended a hoof offering her a dance their previous conversation now forgotten.
Sparks eyes jumped between the hoof, the stallion himself and the rest of the bar. There was no way she could dance, she didn’t even know how and a large crowd was not going to help that! She took a step back, looking around for an escape from the situation. Finally her eyes fell upon the caravaners standing not to far away.



“I.. Sorry, I can’t” She managed to squeak, looking again at the stallion. Before he could reply she darted off heading towards to group, dodging the drunken patrons as she did so. She crossed the small distance in seconds, stopping just in front of the two suited stallions.

“I’dliketojointhecaravan” she blurted without thinking or drawing a breath.

[Darth Quadro]

The mare seemed to panic and darted off to the table with the caravan guards, leaving Sound back by the board to scratch his head and wonder what he said wrong. Sound being an excellent talker was strangely enough not very good at picking up subtle hints as he was very unperceptive. His inabilities in perceptiveness made him have a pretty short attention span and kind of ADD at times. However, he never let this get to him and was known to be pretty determined and almost naively hopeful sometimes.

Sound was not one to be dissuaded just because a mare rejected him once; it just meant he had to work harder for it. He did want to talk to that thestral in the corner as they are kind of a rare sight but it seemed that it was traveling with them anyways, so he figured this took precedence. Sound thought for a minute on how he should approach her now, she seemed to shy for a forward approach, so maybe be a bit more subtle this time… putting her out in a crowd may have been a bit too much. First was first though, he was thirsty and needed a drink!

Sound approached the bar ignoring the navy blue unicorn that was giving him funny looks earlier and began digging through the deep pockets of his trench coat. He was mostly getting mouthfuls of rifle rounds but eventually he was able to scrounge up just enough caps to buy two hard apple ciders. Sound had no idea what this mare liked but he figured everypony loves beer in some form or another and at least apple cider was a bit sweeter. After the gruff looking bartending stallion slammed them down on the counter, he was still clearly annoyed by the two musical ponies making a ruckus earlier, he put them on a small tray and then on his back to better balance them.

He made his way back to the sign-up table for the caravan that he had been planning on joining from the start. By this time though Spark had already signed up and sat down somewhere. The caravan leaders seemed to be looking over the map and discussing their route with eachother, so Sound tapped on the table to get their attention.

“Yeah? You comin to? Name and position?”

“The name’s Sound Chance and I’ll be actin as one of your guards, I expect a long haul like this pays well?”

“Yeah, sure. Skills?”

“I’m a gunslinger and a bounty hunter, you figure it out.”

“Alright. We’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning don’t be late.”

Sound left the table with a pleased look on his face. Next move was to find that mare again. It didn’t take long to find her sitting by herself at a table close by but in the back of course. He brought the tray around and put on the table with one of the bottles facing her and the other toward him. “I think we started on the wrong hoof, and to make it up to you I got you some hard cider. So if it’s alright I’d like to try again, this time no dancing.” He gave her an amused but reassuring smile, although he was a bit disappointed about not being able to dance with somepony. By this time the Yellow and Black Unicorn had started singing in that odd language as he more slowly strummed his guitar. “So, my names Sound Chance, what’s yours?”

[Strudel]

After signing up to the caravan, Spark retreated to the far corner of the room drawing her hood over her head again as she did so. It seemed the stallion had lost interest in her after she'd run away so she took the opportunity to relax a little. Her brief talk to the caravaners had revealed that they didn't leave until the following morning. This was a little problematic as she now had no where to stay for the night.

Finally the noise in the bar lessened as the music became quieter. Spark gave a sigh of relief. At least now she wouldn't have anypony asking her to dance. No sooner had she had this thought however when she heard hoofsteps approaching her table. She tilted her head silightly to see who it was and found herself looking at the brown stallion from before.

He still wore a smile on his face and offered her a drink from the tray he was carrying. Not wanting to seem impolite... Well anymore than she already had, she accepted it, taking it in her magic and placing it before her. After hearing the stallions name, Sound Chance, she was reluctant to answer with hers. Would telling him just encourage him to hang around? There didn't seem to be a way to escape this time however.

"Bright Spark" she replied at last reluctantly.
She tapped her hoof on the table awkwardly for a seconds unsure what to do. Conversation was not a strong point of hers.
"Thank you for the drink" she said finally, lifting it up and taking a mouthful simply as something to distract herself. Immediately she regretted it, apparently hard cider was nothing like sparkle cola or sunrise. Luckily her hood hid her reaction to the drink and she decided it would be best to ignore it from here on.

[Darth Quadro]

’Sweet! She does Drink!’ Sound thought to himself completely oblivious to what her actual reaction was. His face lit up a little more mow that he was making some progress with her, it was the little victories like these that made goin after ponies like her so worth the trouble. Now he wanted to see if he could get her to open up to him at least a little. Sound took a big swig from his bottle before he continued.

“You know this trip is over a week long, your gonna want to make some friends fast in the group your goin with cuz their the ones your goin to be relian on to keep you from getting killed when we run into trouble. Which is usually guaranteed on these long hauls. That’s why I was excited you were a medic, someone with your skills is almost essential for us….” He leaned in closer and spoke more quietly to her as if sharing a secret with her. “If you want, I could probably convince them to pay you a guard salary like the rest of us, seeing as how we will probably end up getting shot and/or stabbed a few times along the way.” He chuckled a bit and gave her his most charming smile he could muster.

He drank about half of his bottle before continuing on though. “I’ve talked enough though, I believe its your turn. Doctors aren’t all too common in the wastes, usually due to it requiring a bit of intelligence to actually do and learn heh, so what made you wanna become a doctor? I’m interested in learning the mentality behind it cuz anypony can pick up a gun and shoot another pony but you’re the one who deals with the consequences of that, it can’t be easy for you or is it?” Sound leaned in again to listen, he had the urge to brush back her hood again but he refrained from it as she must have had a good reason or she was just that shy. He also was wondering what her plans were for the night as they weren’t leaving till tomorrow and she didn’t seem to bring that much with her. True he didn’t either but usually he’d find a way to climb up on a roof or something to find a place to sleep… sense well, he just spent the last of his caps on a drink for her.

[Strudel]

To Sparks dismay, Sound Chance didn’t leave. Instead the stallion took a large drink from his own cider and began to talk about the journey ahead. Once again he leaned in close to her and she began to feel a little uncomfortable. Drawing back slightly, she lifted the cider and pretended to take a drink while listening. It had been years since she'd arrived at Friendship City and as Sound talked, the realization of just how dangerous it could be outside began to seep in.

The stallion took another large gulp of his cider before inquiring about her job. For a moment Spark dug at the table a little with her hoof, trying to decide how much she could tell him. Finally she raised her head a little for the first time since the one sided conversation had begun.

“I became a doctor because I wanted to help my mother when I was younger” She lowered her head again thinking “She was a doctor in the stable where I was born… I don’t really remember it much because I was only a foal at the time. When they moved to the surface most of the medical staff moved to towns nearby but mum stayed behind to help the others.”

“I always wanted to help out. When caravans arrived they would often have injured ponies with them. I hated seeing them hurt for no reason but there was nothing I could do. So when I was finally old enough I started trying to help out a little, mum taught me everything she could” A little smile crossed her face at the thought and she absentmindedly took a drink, grimacing at the taste.

“I’d do anything to help out somepony in need. The world seems so dark sometimes and all I want to do is help people see that there’s still some good out here” she finished with a sigh and began digging at the table again, avoiding Sounds eyes.

[Darth Quadro]

Sound took a long swig of his cider, finishing the rest of it before setting it down on the table. His smile had faded and he looked rather somber. “The waste is a terrible place filled with nightmares and monsters that no pony can comprehend. I have seen things that no pony should ever see,” Sound subconsciously looked at the revolver in the holster he was wearing. “things that I wish I never saw. I’ve seen ponies kill eachother for every reason imaginable, from squabbles over food to just cuz they think its fun….” Sound went quiet for a few moments, looking down at his empty beer.

“…. And yet.” Sound looked up at Spark smile returning to his face. “I think your absolutely right. There is still good out there… true its become much harder to come by but I’ve lived in the wastes my entire life and I have seen some amazing things crawl out from underneath all that darkness. I won’t lie to myself, I ain’t a very smart pony so I’ve never been able to understand any of those medicines or sciences. So I just do what I do best and see if I can make the wastes an easier place for ponies like you.” Sound drew his gun and flipped it into the air and let it fall on the tip of his nose and balancing it in place at the crook of the handle. “I may not be able to do the kind of good you do but I do my part.”

Sound lifted his forehoof and put it on the table and the naised it to her. “I propose a deal. I will make sure you get through this entire trek unharmed and whole, if you promise that you will stick to your goal and show these ponies that there is still good in this fucked up world. No matter what you see or happens, you never give up that dream. Deal?” Sound had a big grin on his face and nodded to his raised hoof.

[Zaresto]

Boreal Dusk

I watched as the earth pony and the unicorn engaged in conversation. Unfortunately for him, she seemed uninterested in dancing, as she quickly fled his company in order to sign up for the caravan. He, Sound Chance seemed to be his name, shrugged it off, heading to buy himself a beverage. But, surprisingly, he bought two drinks. By now, my curiosity was piqued, as I could assume that he was wither a heavy drinker or simply dulling the mare's senses in order to increase his chances of getting laid this very night. By the time I turned back to observe the pale unicorn, she was already making her way to a table. Of course, Sound seemed to be following closely behind after he, too, signed up for the caravan. I wanted to continue observing them from here, but I was rather paranoid that someone would catch wind of my glares at one just these two people, so I decided to upgrade my facade. I ran through the plan in my head three times before I moved a muscle.

All I had to do was get to a table near them, far enough away so that I didn't seem like some creepy stalker but close enough so that I could easily hear what they were saying, and place my flank on a chair and finish my drink. It was the perfect plan, at least, it was in my head. I began to move a bit quickly, but I immediately realized my flaw and slowed down, using my unicorn telekinesis to keep my drink stable in the air. My head was cocked over to where that asshat unicorn with his acoustic guitar were at, as now he started speaking fancy. Ugh, even more reasons to hate this guy. He's an asshole and a pretentious dill-weed. I thought to myself, but at least I wouldn't have to deal with him when I set off on the caravan.

By the time a sat down, Sound and the unicorn were already in conversation, although I did hear Sound mentioning something about her being a doctor. It definitely was uncommon for someone to be trained in medicine. I then heard her mention that she was born in one of those fancy Stables. By now, my eyes moved from being fixed at a dull, gray wall to being fixed directly at her. Only now did I notice the PipBuck near her hoof. Of course, I had a PipBuck, but hers was in almost pristine condition, well, compared to mine, which had a cracked screen and many dings. I envied this mare. She was born in an area where near limitless information was within hoofs reach, unlike my childhood where I had to hope for some modicum of Pre-War knowledge to be brought back from some loot piles. I then took another sip of my Sarsaparilla, looking back at the performer, who was finishing his act. I looked back between sips every once in a while, now noticing that Sound had himself a revolver which he started to show off. It would be fine for close range, but the relatively short barrel of it would prohibit it from being used at long ranges, although I suppose that's where I would come in.

I checked how many caps I still had: 44, counting the one I had received from opening my drink. I hoped that it would be enough to cover expenses for the night, but I would surely get screwed over one way or another.

[Shoryu]

The Pair of Business ponies, once having taken everypony else's little 'sign ups', and gotten the over-all plan organized, stood up slightly, one giving a short whistle while the other one talked "Alright Everypony! we've got a good plenty of Escorts along now, there's a couple more than signed up yesterday or are watching the caravan right now, you'll meet them in the morning, just a couple of things to mention before we go off to finish setting everything up."

The other one chimed in there suddenly "The 'pay' for this job depends on how far you go, and of course increases compensatorially depending on the kinds of trouble we run into, we try to avoid it of course, but this is a big caravan, naturally pay for a bunch of raiders is nothing compared to, saaay, managing to slay one of those Alicorn monsters, good luck with that though... hrm!"

"But yes, we have 2 stops still intended for this Region, the first obviously being Ten-pony tower, being still in the same city... we won't be going inside as a group of course... Ever the uppity prissies, we'll need you all to guard the caravan with 'real' ammo anyway, that rubber bullet shit of theirs is just insulting."

"If you intend to depart there, you're free to go, the pay will likely be small then, though we'll also pick up a couple of extra guards waiting there for us to pass by."

"The next Stage is west junction, or rather, Junction w-2 to be specific, farther into western Equestria. It's quite a distance overall, though there will be a couple of times we'll stop to make camp along the way that will be fairly near to other settlements... It is recommended to stay with the Caravan, but you 'are' free to visit these places, any issues brought about are 'your' problem though, unless those problems come to you while you are staying with the caravan."

"Beyond that, it's a couple day trek to the Hoofington area, It's a notoriously dangerous place, so if you want to avoid it, you'd best stay in west junction when we leave... Once we reach the north eastern border settlement around Hoofington though, we'll be taking a break to plan the next route, do heavy trading, and so on... Keep in mind though, if you see a member of the Reapers there, and you will know them if you see them, Do 'not' cause trouble... Remarkably enough they are Raider's with brains, and enough skill to make other gangs afraid to fuck with them... we are not responsible if you get yourself killed for picking a fight."

"Now then, after we organize in the morning, a 'mall' forward payment of 100 caps will be supplied, you can use this to get ammo, food, medical supplies, or just keep it if you want."

"Each of our stops on the way will bring a payment with it, incase you decide to leave at that point... Keep in mind of course, as a guard, if you puss out and Hide like a scared little foal instead of helping defend the caravan during an incident, you're pay will be reduced and given to those who 'did' fight."

"we're not blind however, if it just happens to be a small conflict and there was just no time to participate, we'll understand."

"That said, we shall take our leave to handle other business, Recruitment is officially closed now, we have everypony recorded and you'll be expected around 10am... consider it a courtesy period incase you have a hangover... and one last thing."

Both of them Called out together "A ROUND OF BOOZE FOR EVERYONE!" creating racous Cheers while one tossed a small Bit Bag to the bartender, packed to it's limits, and then they both bolted out, followed by the 4 more 'standard' looking guards.

__________________________________________________________

Breaker pretty quietly stayed right where he was, ignoring the pile of splinters under his ass, it didn't seem any got through his armor, so it didn't matter... though he most certainly ordered a Fat Mug of Hard Cider in tandem with the Business pony's Announcement of a free round for all, and passed the time observing the adorable little pair that seemed like lover-birds in the making.

good thing the conversation wasn't exceeding private, or he might feel awkward listening in and even commenting, though he did delay that a bit when his mug arrived, taking big viking like gulp out of it before slamming it back down with a pleasant sigh, and chiming in suddenly "Heheh, hey, if you need some cover, you can always duck behind 'me' HAHAHAH! You can just call me Mr. Meat Shield... I get the feeling the funny unicorn over there with the guitar is going to do that anyway."

__________________________________________________________

Symphony of course, spent the whole explanation draining the Free bottle he'd covertly extorted the bartender out of, Leaving an empty one laid out on the table moments later... then did the most un-gentlemanly thing he'd done since he got in there... Unleashed an echoing Thunderous Belch the likes of which should make any earth pony proud! though with his fancy unique voice stuff, it actually bowled over a couple of the tipsier drunks at their tables, and after a long inhale and a sigh he called out "EXCUSE ME!!" before breaking down into giggles and leaning his chair back against the wall... he quite suddenly put off the appearance of being a light-weight in the booze department.

The even weirder moment though, came when seconds later he calmed and quieted down, straightening back up and leaning across his table to chime on the conversation taking place between Sound and Spark... probably those freaky bat pony ears that let him hear what was going on "You know what's more worrisome in the wasteland? the things that 'don't' crawl out of the darkness, that wait for you to come to 'them' so they can come at you when you're at your most vulnerable... oh sure, there's critters 'literally' hiding the darkness, feral ghouls, blood wings, oozes, but the truly terrifying things... are the ones that toy with you, try to mess with your mind and drive you madness, corruption, or just torment, the ones that try to pull the darkness within us all out to the surface... The second greatest weapon you can have against them is courage and willpower... The 'greatest' weapon though, is friends, others that will pull you're ass out of the fire and make sure those nasty little things don't drag you down with them."

After this un-invited 'speech' he returned to his previous cup of wild pegasus and downed what was left of it from earlier, produced a slight cough instead of a noisy belch, then hopped right back into yammering "You've also got to keep an open mind, see the good that might not be so out in the open... Take the Reapers for instance, yeah, the badasses the 'bosses' Mentioned not to fuck with in hoofington, there's one in town by the way, moving on. They are classified as a Raider gang, they are violent, rude, debaucherous, and will probably still kill you for looking at them cross-ways... But, they keep the peace around hoofington, amazingly enough... They are known for being the biggest baddest bastards in the western wasteland, but also for still qualifying as being 'barely sane', don't fuck with em, and the other gangs will generally not cause trouble... Seriously, they even trade and have treaties with several of the local factions... That's not to say their 'good ponies', but they're are a prime example of about the most 'good' you'll find in a gang of Raiders... lesser of several evils and all that, that and noponies been badass enough to replace them with someone nicer yet...

Oh fuck I'm drunk, I never ramble like this unless I'm drunk or lecturing and I can't be lecturing about this, I just butted into the conversation totally uninvited, that's not a lecture... I should shut up now..." He proceeded to plop his muzzle chin first flat on the table and let out a strangely adorable drawn out squeaking sound.

[Strudel]

Spark listened as Sound talked occasionally sipping the cider despite the taste. Now and again she nodded solemnly as he talked about the wastes to show she was listening.
When he finished however she found her spirits were somewhat lifted. She even managed a little smile at his proposal.

"It's a deal" she replied, lowering her hood at last and raising her hoof to his. "I'm sorry about earlier... I don't normally leave the clinic here and I'm terrible with crowds..." She glanced around the room at the various drunken ponies and noticed a blue unicorn seemingly watching her. Immediatly she lowered her gaze back to the table and tapped a hoof against it nervously.

Said table suddenly jumped violently as a huge pony slammed his mug down upon it laughing as he did. Apparently he would be traveling with the caravan and she nodded politely at his offering himself as protection though she couldn't help but draw back a little. He really was huge, possibly the biggest pony she'd ever seen!

Spark opened her mouth to comment on the ponies size to Sound but before she could say anything the strange singing bat pony from earlier interrupted her. His words were unsettling, there really were lot of dangers outside the city! She didn't really even have friends, well except maybe Sound, he'd been nice but did he really count as a friend? She looked at him for a second uncertain but he was distracted by the bat pony.

The bat pony certainly seemed drunk. He smelt of alcohol and he'd just downed a glass of whisky right in front of them. The sound he made as he hit the table though was simply adorable... Even if he was drunk.

With a small sigh, Spark looked to Sound.
"Maybe I should take him to the clinic for the night. They probably won't mind... I'm going to have to stay there myself anyway..."

[Darth Quadro]

Sounds smile grew from what was just a friendly smile to one of joy as Spark finally started to relax a little around him and accepted his friendship. He wanted to jump over the table and hug her but he resisted the urge. Just as he was about to say something back to her the the large shiny pony slammed his hoof down on the table causing him to jump back a bit. He would have been a bit angrier at the pony for butting in if he wasn’t so damn friendly though.

The singing Unicorn from earlier jumped in as well after the big guy talked. “Your damn right I will! I want your ass coverin mine all the damn time.” The Unicorn was looking at the Crystal pony’s flank with a lewd grin on his face. Thunder Levitated his Stetson over to the Crystal pony and playfully shoved it onto his head and stuck his tongue out at him. It was kind of an adorable scene and it would have been cuter had it not been plainly obvious that the unicorn just wanted to get fucked tonight.

Just when he was about to start up the conversation with Spark again, yet another pony interrupted the two. Sound was starting to get a bit annoyed as he was just making progress with the beautiful mare. Though in his defense the thestral was actually giving some useful information on the wastes that he could appreciate… also despite the sharp teeth the batpony was actually kind of cute. Thunder all of a sudden chimed in again though. “You guys talkin about the reapers? I know those guys! They hire me all the time, they’re some of my best customers. They never tip me on my work though kinda pisses me off especially when they have me rig entire buildings… cheap bastards.” Sound was really hoping that he was just going off on a drunken rant…. But it was hard to tell if that unicorn was drunk or not.

The Batpony declared his drunkenness as he fell over with an adorable squeak. Spark offered to take him to the clinic but Sound stopped her. “That won’t be necessary, I’m pretty sure he has a room here at the tavern. If you could help me carry him up to it I would appreciate it. Besides neither of us has a place to stay for the night so we could just shack up in his room till tomorrow. Given his current state im sure he won’t mind. Don’t worry about me, I got the hint and I won’t try anything tonight. You can take the bed and I’ll find a comfortable place on the couch or floor for him and I, okay?” He got off the chair and walked over to her and offered her a hoof up.

[Strudel]

The thought of going back to the clinic after saying goodbye felt a little awkward. At the same time, Sounds offer of spending the night in a random ponies room seemed little better. For a moment she looked between the brown stallion and the collapsed bat pony feeling a little uncertain. Sound had been nice enough so far, he didn’t seem like a bad pony and the thestral… well... he didn’t look capable of even standing currently.

Finally she relented, taking Sounds hoof and getting back onto her own.

“It wouldn’t be right for me to take the bed” she replied “It’s his room, he should take the bed. Or you even? I expect you’ve not slept on a proper bed for a long time if you’ve been in the wasteland... I wouldn’t want you to give it up out of politeness”

It was a bit of a struggle but they finally managed to lift the sleepy pony between them. Spark wasn’t particularly strong and had to use her telekinesis to lighten the load a little. As they began to make their way across the room a thought struck her.

“What if he wakes up and finds us in his room during the night?” She asked sounding concerned “Oh I hope he doesn’t react too badly, I’d hate for him to think we stole from him or something like that…” She glanced at the bat pony. He hadn’t seemed particularly violent, then again, her only indication of this was his little speech before passing out.

[Zaresto]

Boreal Dusk

The whole bar had erupted into cheers when the two recruiters announced that everyone would get a free drink, and rightfully so, but I, unfortunately, couldn't join in their celebrations. It had dawned on me that this entire night had drained me, and the celebratory cheers didn't aid my plights. My head hurt a bit, the prolonged exposure to such dissonant speech obviously causing it. I needed some rest, but I could also pick myself up a drink from the bar. I mean, it was free, wasn't it?

As I left my seat, so too I had left my empty bottle of Sarsaparilla. Normally I would have picked up my trash, but I was both too weary and fed up with this establishment to care. As I made my way to the bartender, I slowly began to regret my decision, as I would have had to wait at least another minute in this dreaded atmosphere before I could get my drink and leave. Due to my impatience, the wait seemed to have lasted forever.

Finally, I managed to be in the company of the bartender, who, judging by the mess of bottlecaps behind the counter, was obviously joining in the good spirit of the celebration left in the wake of the two business ponies.

"Uhhm, yes, I'll have some Sparkle Cola . . . it's free, right?" I asked him, trying to keep my volume to the minimum amount he could have heard me with.

"For you, no way. You pay like everyone else!" he retorted, a smug grin across his face.

"But . . . everyone else didn't pay," I managed to squeak out, now starting to worry a bit.

"You hear the man, you bettah pay him or get the fuck out, ya damn weirdo!" said the mustached pony I had come into contact with before, when I carried out that drunk guy I later stole caps from. I felt a bit betrayed, realizing that my few seconds of cooperation and conversation with someone didn't necessarily mean that pony was an ally. I sighed and relented, handing over eight of my caps in return for a bottle of cola that the bartender make sure I didn't get the cap of. I levitated my beverage and began my walk out of the tavern, muttering a rather colorful curse which, unfortunately, I had said too loudly than I had intended to and was caught by that mustached pony.

"You bettah watch yo fukin mouth round here . . . queer!" he spat at me, and both him and the bartender erupted into laughter, giving themselves a rapid barrage of brohoofs. I soon made my way to the exit, although the bartender wasn't finished yet.

"Hey, thanks for your business!" he shouted at me sarcastically, which caused the duo to repeat their laughter-brohoof combination, before the bartender returned to his job and catered to another customer. Although, as I glanced back, I noticed the remains of the spilled coin bag still had some mass within it. I smirked a bit as the tip of my horn began to glow brighter, now enveloping the bag and quickly sending it straight towards me, while the other ponies seemed none the wiser. The pleasure is all mine I thought to myself as I exited the tavern, both purse and drink neatly levitating in front of me.

Now, the only problem was to find a place to crash for the night.