Strudel

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

Spark listened intently as Sound described the outside world. For once it wasn't all the usual doom and gloom that traders always talked about. She had only ever really thought of the wasteland as a place of misery and death, never really as a place ponies had once lived. It was silly really, especially as there was an abandoned city just over the bridge.
She nodded as he finished and returned to looking out over the view, enjoying the sensation of his hoof over hers.

The momentary silence was at last broken by somepony clearing their throat beside them.

"Not interrupting am I?" Asked the small, skinny stallion who had brought over the menus.

"Oh... No' Spark replied taking her hoof back and picking up the menu before her. She browsed it quickly despite already knowing what she planned to have.

"I'll have..."

"The Paradise Soup Special?" The skinny pony finished for her.

She nodded with a pleased expression.

He grinned turning to Sound "Same thing she always has. Now what can I get for you?"

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

Spark couldn't help but smile a little at Sounds speech. As he talked she felt the knot in her chest loosen somewhat and her doubt fade slightly. He was right and he really seemed to believe in what he was saying... Even if it was a little cheesy...

She spent a few seconds looking at the stallion as he held her chin. He was sweet... If a little rough in places... But he meant well and genuinely seemed to care about her. He was good looking too, handsome in wastelandy heroish kind of way. Different from most stallions she had met. She hadn't even known him any longer than a day and already knew him better than a lot of ponies in Friendship City.

She blinked, realizing she'd zoned out staring into Sounds eyes and looked away awkwardly.

"Thank you Sound... You're right I can do this. It's just a big step to leave everything behind..." She pulled a face "Sorry I feel like I've dragged you all the way over here just to worry about stuff." She looked around for something else to talk about and caught sight of Manehatten through the window.

"So what's it like out there?" She asking gesturing out the window. "I've only been outside a town once and I don't really remember that much"

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

Big Cook let out a large booming laugh at Sounds obvious discomfort.
"I'm just messing with you, you seem like the decent sort. Really it's good to know someone is looking out for her".
He showed the pair of them to a table next to a large window. The glass was immaculately clean and the view as clear as it ever could be on a cloudy day.

Spark climbed up onto the chair and turned to face the blue stallion.
"Thank you Big, could we have a couple of menus?"

The stallion nodded and headed off to the kitchen leaving Spark and Sound alone again.
Spark let out a little sigh looking out the window across the water at Manehatten.

"I'm going to miss living here... Not just the showers, beds and food but everything else. All the ponies are so nice and..." She broke off a conflicted look upon her face.
"Ugh, I can't believe I'm having doubts now. Yesterday I was all ready to go and now I'm just not sure!"

While she continued to stare out the window another stallion, this one short and thin, trotted up to the table and deposited two chalk boards with a list of foods scribbled on them.

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

Spark again felt herself blushing as Sound kissed her on the cheek. She didn't mind and actually quite liked it but at the same time she wasn't entirely sure what to do or say in return. Instead she scuffed the floor with a hoof shyly looking down.

The moment was finally broken as two bags of caps were thrown their way. Spark only just managed to catch them in her magic before they could hit the floor. She balanced one on Sounds head with a smile and held onto the other unsure. She had a quick glance round to ensure it wasn't meant for somepony else before slipping it into her bags.

It didn't seem like the caravan was going to leave immediately so Spark led Sound to the docks near the statues base. Only a few structures were built down here and they were mostly pre-war, not scrap built. A few rust covered boats were tied to the aged wooden posts along the docks edge.

Spark led Sound past a few crumbling buildings to a better maintained cafe on the water front. Most of the windows had been replaced by boards though it seemed a few had survived the years of weathering. The door was made from cobbled together boards and creaked in protest as Spark pushed it open. The inside was warm, heated by a little fireplace on one wall. The space was well lit by the light from the surviving windows as well as the fire and a string of fairly lights strung around the ceiling. Much of the floor space consisted of rickety wooden tables and chairs with a counter set along one side. A couple of ponies were seated at the tables talking quietly. One, a large blue stallion wearing a grubby apron trotted over to greet them. He walked with a limp on his right foreleg but crossed the room quickly a smile on his face.

"Spark! I thought you'd left! Didn't think I would be seeing you for a long time yet!" He then glanced at Sound "and who's this? A coltfriend?"

Spark had just lowered her hood and was now regretting it as she couldn't hide the light red that formed on her face.

"Um... Hi" Spark replied with a sheepish smile "This is Sound Chance, he's going to be travelling on the caravan with me. Sound, this is Big Cook, he runs the cafe." She gestured at the big stallion.

"Ah, good to meet you Sound" the stallion said grabbing Sounds hoof and shaking it firmly. "It's good to know Spark will have some company on her trip" he gave Sound a wink "She's a fantastic little mare, saved my leg y'know" he raised the leg he'd been limping on to show off a large scar running along it. "Anyway, table by the fire or by a window?"

Spark looked at Sound with a questioning look allowing him to make the decision.

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

Spark nodded at Sounds suggestion that they head to the caravan first and smiled a little as he rubbed her shoulder.
“That sounds like a good idea… Though I’m still not sure If I’ll get any caps.” She pulled an uncertain face “At least… It didn’t get brought up yesterday”. For a moment the mare tapped the table with a hoof looking thoughtful.
“I think I have enough caps for a small meal though. We can go to my favorite place!” She brightened up a little at the idea. “Come on, we’ll stop by the caravan and then I’ll take you there if we still have time”
She led the way from the tavern tugging Sound by the fore hoof with her magic as she did so.

Friendship City was pretty busy by this time. A number of ponies trotted about their business or sat around on makeshift seats talking loudly. As always in the wasteland, the sky was the uninspiring, dull grey of the ever present cloud.
Nopony paid attention as Spark weaved her way down one of the staircases that connected the various levels together. Once again she had her hood pulled up though this time it was against the wind blowing in from the sea.

The caravans meeting place was on the little island at the statues base so it took a little time to traverse the distance. When she finally stepped off the final staircase It was easy to spot the large group of carts and ponies all standing around waiting to leave. It surprised Spark a little, she’d never seen such a large caravan in the city before and the sight of so many ponies unnerved her a little. Suddenly feeling less confident she slowed down and waited for Sound to catch up.

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

I heard it was once a place where people talked ^-^

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

*Poke*
Remember this place? =P

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

Spark felt herself cringe at the thought of a pony eating meat. They were of course suppose to be vegetarians and eating meat probably had some adverse effects on their digestive system. Looking at the bat pony, Midnight Symphony, she could definitely see that meat was part of his kinds diet. She tried her best to hide the little shudder at the sight of his sharp, pointed teeth.

Turning back to Sound, she nodded politely at seeing him holding the door for her. As she took a step forward however, she became aware of a silight sensation alongside her. Before she could react, the bat pony appeared again in the doorway. Suprised, she backed away a little, suddenly finding the strange pony a little more intimidating despite his seemingly friendly demeanour.

As they made their way downstairs, Spark trailing behind Sound, they came across the giant pony from the night before. Spark immediately recognised his voice from the adjacent room and promptly stared at the floor, her face once again that bright shade of red, unable to look the pony in the eye. She hung even further back after he joined them not wanting him to catch on that she'd heard the entire thing through the thin tavern walls.

The bar at the bottom of the stairs was much quieter than it had been the previous night and Spark took the oppertunity to get some distance from the group. Despite what the thestral had said, she picked up a menu board and browsed it. The food actually sounded quite nice and there was even a selection of foods without meat! Disappointingly however the price was a little high and this reminded her that she had very few caps. With a small sigh she deposited the board back on the counter and looked back to see what the others were up to.

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

The small mare let out a surprised sqeak as she was hooked from behind and pulled against Sound. She felt herself blushing again as the stallion pecked her on the cheek and tried to hide her red face behind her mane while Sound swooped off the sofa and put on his duster.

Spark stayed put as the Brown stallion talked to the bat pony and Instead searched through her bag for a comb. Typically it had sunk right to the bottom and she ended up digging though healing potions and other drugs to find it. When at last she did, she set about taming her mane which had become a wild mess during the night. As she started working through the knots she heard Sound ask if either of them had any food. Where he planned to cook she had no idea but she did enjoy cooked vegetables!

Using her magic to comb her tail she had another search through her bags. Most of the space was taken up by medical supplies, she'd been relying on the caravan to provide the food. After a few seconds however she emerged holding a box of 200 year old cereal and placed it on the floor looking disappointed.

"All I've got is ceral" she replied still hoofing through her bags "Oh and some Fancy Buck Cakes... Nothing to cook though, I didn't want to pack anything that could go off..." she looked thoughtful for a second before adding "Maybe they do food downstairs at the bar?"

Fallout: Equestria - Once Upon a Time in the wasteland

The sound of movement roused Spark from her short sleep. For a small moment she panicked, not recognising her surroundings. When she spotted Sound on the sofa and the bat pony however her memory quickly caught up.

With a groan she rolled over and curled up again. It had been getting light when she'd finally fallen asleep meaning she probably only had a few hours at best. Hardly ideal for a long journey and the sound of the two stallions next door would probably haunt her for a while yet...

Finally she unravelled herself from the warm duvet, ensuring her traveling cloak was still covering her fully and flopped off the bed. Her saddlebags still lay on the floor where she'd left them the previous night. She quickly checked nothing had been taken and once satisfied lifted them onto her back.

By this point the bat pony had taken up position in the corner making high pitched sqeaking sounds and didn't seem too bothered by her presence. Despite her curiosity of what he was doing, she decided it would be best to leave him be. Instead she trotted over to the sleeping Sound and prodded him awake with a hoof. Luckily for her he'd rolled over in the night, though she still felt a little embarrassed by the memory.

"Wakey wakey" she sang right next to his ear before prodding him again. "It's time to get up and meet with the caravan"

She turned around hoping the tavern would have some form of shower but was left disappointed. The clinic probably had the only shower for miles and she couldn't really go back just for that...