Chapter 2: The Trade Caravan
I threw together my supplies I had laid out in my saddlebag and set off, wary of my surroundings, so as not to fall victim to a raider ambush. I pressed on through the ruins of what was once Ponyville, glancing around every once in a while to check for signs of danger. What I saw instead was definitely better - a trader.
Guarding the caravan seemed to be an orange pegasus with a battle saddle, two rifles attached, wearing a cowstallion hat similar to mine (his was a darker shade of brown). As I approached, he assumed a battle-ready stance.
"Easy now, sir, I just wanna buy something," I stated, eyeing him warily. He seemed a bit overprotective, but he was definitely doing his job. "I'm Starslash." I stuck out my hoof to him, offering a hoofshake, which he accepted.
"Calamity's the name," he finally said. "I'm escortin' Miss Shimmer here t' good ol' New Pegasus fer some tradin'." My eyes switched over to "Miss Shimmer" and suddenly, my jaw dropped. In front of me stood the most gorgeous unicorn mare I had ever laid eyes on. She had an orange-tan coat and a deep red mane and tail with streaks of yellow. Her cutie mark was obviously that of a trader (two gems and a small bag of caps between them).
This time, she offered me a hoofshake, which I didn't notice for a second. I gently took her hoof and shook it, staring, dumbfounded.
"As Calamity here said, my name is Shimmer. Gemstone Shimmer." The name suited her perfectly, not only as a trader, but as a thing of beauty. "You said you wanted to buy some things?"
I was oblivious for a second, lost in her shining ruby red eyes. "Uhm...huh? Oh, yeah. And, uh, sell some things, if you like." She and Calamity both definitely took notice to my hesitation, as they looked at each other with smirks.
By the end of the trade, I had a Gatling Gun, plenty of ammo for all my weapons, a few spare parts, and about 20 extra caps, as well as some new additions to my armor barding, which Calamity helped me assemble. As they started to walk away, I suddenly yelled "Wait!" Startled, they turned to look at me with confused expressions on their faces. I mentally facehoofed. What did I want them to wait for?
"Somethin' wrong, Star," Calamity inquired. I stammered over my words for a second before finally deciding what to say.
"I'd like to take Gemstone to New Pegasus." I felt my face get a little warm. I got internally angry at myself for blushing. This was nothing to blush about! "T-take your place as her guard, I mean."
He pondered my request for a moment, then looked at Gemstone. She shrugged, and Calamity looked at me. "How d' I know you c'n handle y'rself?" I quickly had an answer for that, remembering Maresquite and the raiders, but before I could say anything, he handed Gemstone a hoofful of caps and fished out five (what appeared to be) targets, quickly flying around the immediate area and placing them. I instantly got the message and was readying my Combat Shotgun.
"I'll be keepin' time on ya," he told me. I nodded and waited for his signal. Time seemed to slow as I waited. Finally, I heard Calamity yell, "Go!"
I sprinted near the first target, shooting it dead center. As I did so, I was levitating a grenade out of my saddlebag. Approaching the next target, I tossed the grenade into where Calamity had placed two close together. The grenade landed between them and blew them to smithereens. The last two were also paired together, side by side. I stopped by the one on the right, stuck the shotgun barrel to its head and pulled the trigger. The shells went clean through the first and lodged themselves into the next, halfway through its would-be skull.
As I turned toward the caravan, both of their faces looked rather stunned. I glanced at Calamity, hinting for my time.
He stared at me. "Eight seconds...and you destroyed the targets." I smirked.
I had gotten to know Gemstone over the time of the trade. She's 20, same age as me, but a few months older, her favorite color is red, which matches her amazingly gorgeous mane, and she lost her family, but in a different way than I did.
When she decided to head out to trade in the Wasteland, her family, as well as her town, had given her a decision: trading or home. She, obviously, chose trading, but she was shunned and banned for it. My heart sank, and I felt deeply sorry for her. As soon as I met her, I tossed away my decision to live the life of a lone wolf...or pony, I guess. She needed someone to be there for her, and already I was volunteering for that position.
We said our farewells to Calamity, and he flew off to New Appleloosa. Something about now having time to take care of those other traders. The both of us shrugged it off, as it was fairly normal for a caravan guard.
A few minutes down to road, I had decided to make an attempt at small talk. But it seemed nearly impossible, as I am likely the most awkward pony in the Wastes. The words I was attempting to craft had finally made their way past my lips.
"So, what's it like on the road all the time?" I felt my face get warm. It's fairly sad that such a small question made me blush, but with her appearance, I couldn't help it.
"Hm…" she began, her voice calm, much unlike my own. "Well, you learn to have to deal with plenty of raiders, that's for sure." She chuckled, which made my blush deepen. She obviously noticed, as her eyes were scanning my face, a small smile on hers.
"Ever had 27 at a time?" Gah, fucking idiot! Don't bring up your past!
Gemstone let out a small gasp. "Oh, my...no, I haven't. Why, have you?"
"No...I-I was just wondering," I lied. "Good, do what your brain says. If you bring up your past, she'll only feel sorry for you." My head was spinning. The last time I had been alone with a mare was the last time I saw my sister...and the last time I would ever see her. Dammit, stop. You're gonna break down to tears. You need to look tough, for Gemstone.
"So, Gemstone," I asked. "Anything specific bringing you to Sin City, besides trading?"
"Not really, there's just a lot of caps involved. And please," she added. "Call me Gem. There's no reason for a stallion like you to be so formal."
Our eyes met briefly, and, quietly, I said "...Gem." I formed a small smile and continued walking.
It got dark shortly, and we had quickly found a place to rest (a small house, surprisingly intact). I made sure the area was free of any threats, and we stepped inside. It was dark, but I found a box of matches and some candles. As I lit them, they let off a soft glow that filled the room with a peaceful aura.
Amongst the candles, I found a key. The first thing I tried it on was the door (the last thing we need is a midnight break-in). It fit perfectly, so I locked it and closed it. I checked my E.F.S for any sentient things, but nothing showed up, except for me and Gem.
"Have a seat over there and I'll look for bedding," I said. She nodded and sat. I walked out the back door and looked around and, sure enough, there were a couple mattresses for us to use (albeit I found them in the dumpster). I levitated them into the house, and Gem gave me a revolted look. "Just watch," I said. I performed a cleansing spell on the mattresses, and in moments they were good as new.
I let Gem decide where to put them. To my surprise, she simply placed them right next to each other in the middle of the room. She walked into what I guessed was the kitchen to look for food. Minutes later, she came back with a box of dry cereal and a couple cans of Sparkle-Cola. She sat the box between us and opened her soda. I did the same and took a sip. The carroty taste got to me immediately, and I let off a smile.
"Man, I love Sparkle-Cola. Always have, ever since I was a little colt." Gem just stared at me and smiled. Then, she burst into laughter, causing me to blush...again. "Wh-what's so funny," I asked.
"Nothing, nothing," she said, chuckling. "It's just that you remind me of my little brother. He was…" Her expression changed, drastically. "He was killed by raiders." Wow, looks like I wasn't alone. I put a hoof over her, trying to comfort her, but I wasn't sure how I was doing.
"I may have been shunned, but I kept up with my family. They were visiting Maresquite about four years ago…" Uh-oh. "Raiders blew up the town, and when I got the news…." Her eyes started to tear up.
"Oh, Celestia…" she looked at me. "I was there," I said. "I lost my family in that explosion. The whole town. I was the only survivor."
"Oh, my...I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to-"
"No, don't worry about it. I don't mind. I needed to get that off my chest to someone."
In a few hours she had fallen asleep, and I was alone in the quiet of the Equestrian Wasteland. I killed off my Sparkle-Cola and laid back. I had promised myself not to get close to anypony...I can't even keep my own promise to myself. In this case, I'd never wanted to get closer to somepony. She was perfect, in every way. My dream mare. I put my hooves behind my head and relaxed. I was asleep in minutes.
I woke up in the same position I fell asleep, but I felt much warmer. I opened my eyes to see that Gem had rolled towards me and put her hooves around me in her sleep, which, again, caused my face to heat up vigorously. I wanted to stay like this as long as I could.
Unfortunately for me, she woke up not long after I did. I pretended to be asleep, closing my eyes just enough to see out of them. She looked up at me, then at how she was laying down. It was her turn to blush. She looked back up at my face, nuzzled me a little, then stood up.
After a minute, I stood up to. She was sitting on the cushions on the other side of the room finishing her (probably flat) soda.
"Hey," I said. "Ready to head out?" She looked at me, and I noticed a hint of a smile on her face, which turned into a big grin.
"Sure, I'm ready when you are!" She seemed so jovial, so collected, and exceptionally cute with her ragged straight-out-of-bed look. It just made her that much more beautiful a mare.
I checked out my PipBuck and noticed it had picked up some data. I switched to the corresponding tab and looked on the "World Map" page. It showed my current location, which was marked as "The Cheese Sandwich Rest Shack". "Odd name for a roadside stop," I thought. But on the bright side, I had a place to fall back on if I didn't have a place to stay.
We headed out the door and went straight for New Pegasus. The trip, I knew, would be a long one, even if we left this early. I started making plans to get a place to rest straight away. I didn't want Gem's absolute beauty to reduce one bit.
New Pegasus was going to be quite the trip.
