Morning found Nexus asleep under the twisted metal wreckage of a sky carriage. Dim light shone in through the ancient framework casting eerie shadows on the rusted walls. The cream pony shifted her hoof over her face and pulled the hood of her jacket up to cover her eyes, letting out a groan. Sleeping on the cold hard floor had done little to rest her tired body from the long walk the night before. Rolling on her side a little, Nexus stretched out her legs to relieve her aching joints.
“Oi, Tipper, Sky Carriage up ahead. Give it a once over will you?”
The sound of a stallion's voice broke the early morning silence and set Nexus heart pumping. As quiet as possible, she climbed to her hooves, searching around the carriages gloomy interior for anything to use as a weapon. Her hooves found a loose piece of metal, sharp at one end where it had been torn from the structure. She snatched it up in her magic and brandished it in her magic looking to the battered door ready to strike the moment these strangers showed themselves.
The sound of hoof steps drew closer and the thin beams of light gleaming in through cracks were lost as a figure began to move around the outside. With a squeal of resistance the door slowly began to open revealing a crimson colt with a somewhat bored expression on his face as he took in the interior. His eyes widened in surprise as a cream filly launched herself at him sending the pair of them sprawling backwards into the street.
Nexus pinned him to the floor as best she could, her limited weight working against her as she tried to subdue the squirming colt. The sharp metal spear floated above the left side of her head threatening to stab down if he tried anything. Before she could however, the sound of a imposing click drew her attention away from the fight at hoof and over to her right. There stood an earth pony stallion, yellow in colour with a large gun trained directly on her. The click had been his battle saddle flicking into a firing position. Just for a moment he seemed to regard Nexus almost with a look of amusement as she stood frozen before him. With another click the battle saddle was away again and he rolled his eyes.
“How many times do I have to tell you Tipper, guard up at all times.”
Nexus stood dumbly for a moment before remembering the colt beneath her, she looked down just in time for him to free his hoof and plant it firmly in her face. The colt was far stronger than he looked, Nexus was knocked back, losing her magical hold on the metal spear and sent sprawling to the floor.
"Little late there son. If she was a raider you'd already be dead"
A strong pair of hooves rolled Nexus over before picking up her up and setting her upright again. Her legs fell out from under her as her still dazed brain struggled to keep up.
"Hey, my guard was up! I just... I just thought it'd be best to bring her out where you could see her. Yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."
The colt was back on his feet and the pair of ponies now stood before her. They didn't look like raiders, in fact the pair looked relatively normal. They looked down at her with curious expressions as though waiting for something.
"So, you got a voice there or you dumb as you look?" The stallion asked.
"W...what?" Nexus struggled to her hooves, backing up to the wreckage and looking between them suspiciously.
"Dumb as she looks it is" the stallion nodded, scooping up the metal spear and examining it before tossing it to her.
"Just who're you planning to kill with that? I doubt you could take down a sickly radroach".
He let out a booming laughed that slowly trailed off as neither Nexus nor the colt beside him joined in.
"Aha... Anyway" he gave an awkward cough "What's a young filly such as yourself doing alone out here? Even I wouldn't want to be alone in the wastes"
"I'm... I'm trying to find a town... Or... Or something..." Nexus stammered finding her voice at last. Her initial courage had faded with the fight and now she struggled to speak.
"A town or something?" The stallion repeated her words back to her slowly raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Uh huh..." Nexus nodded "I was just scavenging."
"Scavenging huh?" The colt stepped forward, puffing out his chest as he did. "If that's true, where's your bags? Pretty tough to carry all that stuff around with just your hooves."
Nexus looked to the door of the sky carriage then back to the colt. He glared at her suspiciously before moving inside, returning a few moments later with her saddlebags. He dumped them on the floor before her and began rooting around inside.
"Hey!" She cried, running forward to push him away. "That's mine!"
The colt resisted, he was apparently much stronger when braced and despite her efforts her managed to push her back.
“If you’ve got nothing to hide you’ve got nothing to fear” he said matter of factly as he resumed rummaging through the contents “and it looks like you’ve got a lot to hide… Lots of drugs, must be a small fortunes worth in here. How would a runt like you come across all this?”
“That’s enough Tipper” The stallion intervened at last “You really think she’s a thief or highway mare with that for a weapon?” he jabbed a hoof at the metal spear again with a flat expression on his face.
The colt, Tipper, looked at the discarded piece of metal, then to Nexus and finally to the stallion before shrugging.
“Hey, I’m just saying she’s either a very lucky scavenger, which I doubt, or she came across this some other way.”
Nexus took the opportunity to drag the bags away telekinetically and place them on her back, looking between the pair to see what their next move would be. For a moment the stallion regarded her as though trying to make up his mind about something. At last he nodded his head clearly coming to a conclusion.
“Say, you got any Med-X in those bags of yours?”
“She does! I saw it myself, 4 syringes.” Tipper interrupted before Nexus could open her mouth to answer.
“Did I ask you?” The stallion scolded, clipping the colts ear with a hoof before looking back to Nexus expectantly.
Nexus nodded slowly, magically producing the syringes from her bags so that they floated before her.
“Mhmm” the stallion nodded “Tell you what, you give me three of those and I’ll give you my old gun. It’s not much, but it’ll serve you better than that old thing.” Once again he jabbed a hoof to the spear on the floor.
Nexus looked to the spear on the floor. On one hoof her weapon choice had clearly been poor. This guy had done nothing but point it out since the conversation began. However, on the other hoof, she knew nothing about using a gun. Was a gun even worth three syringes of Med-X? Was this a scam? The uncertainty must have show on her face because the stallion sighed, reaching into his own saddlebag and drawing a small pistol, depositing it on the floor before her.
“I’ll even throw in a few rounds to get you started. I’m not going to force you but even I’d feel much better knowing you’ve got something proper to defend yourself with. This is a good gun, real reliable, I’ve carried it from one end of the wastes to the other and it’s never let me down.” He pushed it towards her.
After a few moments more hesitation, Nexus nodded, passing over the Med-X and scooping up the pistol.
“Good choice” The stallion grinned, turning to the colt beside him. “Come on then Tipper, we should get moving. If this young lady can find a score like this, I’ve no doubt we can too.”
The pair began to set off up the path, in the direction Nexus had travelled the night before. As she watched the leave, a thought crossed her mind.
“Wait!” she cried waving a hoof to get their attention. “Where am I? Where’s the nearest town?”
“Hoover Wasteland!” came the reply as the pair continue to walk “Nearest towns a good days walk on that path! Good luck!”
-
Level Up, level 2
New Perk: Shadow of the Shadows - You have become adept at moving around unseen. Enemies are far less likely to spot you when sneaking. In addition, your agility is increased by 1 at night.