10/6/14

Chapter 3

I tried my best to stay awake and walk in a straight line, but the weariness from the lack of sleep made me sway from left to right. My body felt tired and I thought that I was going to collapse then and there, as my eye lids try to close themselves and get some long awaited rest. Every step seemed to be a difficult task, while I also tried to keep my balance steady and straight. From a distance, I would bet that I looked like a drunken pony or a pony that just got up from a hangover. Although I could assure you that I wasn't drunk or had a hangover, it still felt that I did just come from one. Since the escapade that I did, to rescue the mares, I had only had an hour and a half of sleep. Seeing that I spent most of the night planning and preparing before conducting the rescue. It left me with a tired body and mind, which desperately wanted nice soft bed. The fact that Bolt wanted to start the day early didn't help. But I tried to fight back the pull of sleep, as I did not want to bring any suspicion from my partner.

The dark setting of the Equestrian wasteland filled my eyes, and I knew that it really different to any town of the Enclave. The clouds, placed there by pegasi hundreds of years ago, blocked the light from the sun, leaving the land with nothing but darkness. After spending days here on the wasteland I grew use to the gloomy sight, but it didn't mean that I missed the warm feeling of sunlight bouncing on my fur.

As we continued to walk, if you would consider what I did walking, I could see, through my foggy vision, ponies exiting their homes to start their day. Merchants began setting up their caravans, preparing their supplies for their long journey and checking their weapons. Caravans are potential targets in the wasteland, like the one we raided days earlier. So having a well-equipped caravan was always a good thing. Unless you wanted it to turn out like the one we encountered days before. I still fill a hint of regret for doing that, but if you wanted to survive then it was necessary.

We soon passed by the town hall and the buildings adjacent to it. I didn't actually want to pass by here, knowing that the entertainment bar I raided last night would have their eyes open for anypony suspicious. But I had no other choice, since the shop we were going to visit lay pass this area.

So instead, I tried to keep a low profile and avoid exposing myself to the guards who were now awake and standing near the bar. They were probably on the lookout for the mares, who escaped, that manages to pass by. But I knew that those mares were probably nowhere near the area. They were all hiding, if they followed what I said, and would most likely avoid the area. So unless they start searching every building in town, which I hope they don't, the mares would be completely fine. I could hear the angered voices of their customers as the frustrated owner, Mr. Greedy, tried to explain the situation. There was equal frustration in his voice, and I knew that if he saw me right now, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot me. It didn't help knowing that he manages to see my face last night and was willing to hunt me down. I did destroy his livelihood after all. But I did it for a good reason. Enslaving ponies and forcing them to do indecent jobs wasn't a good business.

The disappointed complaints continued to echo in the air, as I tried to move as far away from the place. I also tried looking away, fearing the Mr. Greedy might suddenly glance my way and recognize me. Luckily for me, he didn't. Instead, these weird acts only caught the attention of Bolt, who asked if I was alright.

"Yeah, yeah. I fine." I said, giving of the biggest smile I could do and hoping that he wouldn't notice that lying. I got to admit that I am pretty bad a lying, but I tried my best not to show it. I didn't want him to know of the things I did last night, since I didn't want him to get angry at me and leave me on my own. The last thing I needed was being all alone in the wasteland and not knowing what to do.

"Are you sure, because you seem a little jumpy and tired. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yup, slept like a rock." I said, faking another smile.

But he didn't seem to buy it, as he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to deceive him anymore, so I started to run the possible explanation in my head. So after a long sigh, I took a deep breath and begun to explain things.

"Well you see…" I began. "…I might have not been able to sleep last night."

"Oh, how come?"

"It's just, I miss my home…" I wasn't entirely a lie. It was through that I did miss my home. Although that wasn't the reason I wasn't able to sleep last night. "…and sleeping on a nice bed like the one we had last night reminded me of it." I wasn't sure if this second half lie would work, but I hoped it did since I didn't have any more semi fake excuses.

I looked at him as he gave me an emotionless stare. As he did, my heart was beating fast as my mind raced with thoughts. Please buy it! Please buy it!

"Well alright…" He said, before walking off, heading for the store we were supposed to visit. "…and for a moment I thought you were going to say that you weren't used to rock hard beds and that you prefer your old cloud bed. If there even is such a thing."

I gave out a sigh of relief before wiping off the sweat that was dripping on my forehead. Sure I lied to him, but not completely, but it was for his own good. Well mostly mine, but if I told him what I actually did, then he would blow as gasket and maybe have a heart attack. So I don't plan on telling about it to him anytime soon. He just wouldn't understand…

Entering the shop, my eyes were soon filled with the sight of extensive amounts of weapons. From all shapes and sizes, colors and variety, weapons hung from the walls as they showed of their deadly looks. Rifles of all kinds of ranges were displayed all over the shop, while battle saddles of different sizes and designs were also showed off. There were also area for pistols and shotguns, which were meant to be used by using ones mouth to fire the weapon. While boxes of ammunition lay in another corner, organized in their different types. This place looked more like an armory an armory than a gun shop and if we were back up in the Enclave, a place like this would be considered illegal (Since only the military was allowed to store weapons). It would also be a safety hazard, seeing that ammunition and explosives were just lying around, waiting for a small spark to blow this place sky high.

Sure I wasn't a fan of weaponry, but the interesting array of weapons was enough to wake me up from my weary state and admire the collection in front of us.

"Well what can I do for you two?" A dark purple earth pony asked as he approached us. He had a green steel helmet, decorated with leaves as camouflage (Though I doubt that it would be effective since the wasteland was mostly gray dirt and dust), and a large grin on his face. Looking at his cutie mark, I noticed that it was the image of a revolver and a bullet. My guess was that he was the owner of this place. Seeing that there was nopony else besides him.

"We need guns, the ones that are durable and very effective." Bolt said, getting strait to the point.

"Well I got all types of guns in here…" He said as he swung his hoof to point towards the large collection of weaponry. "…some that you might find to your liking. The only question is, can you afford them?"

Bolt grinned and shook the saddle bag behind him, emitting the sound of bottle caps banging against each other as the metal made contact inside the bag. "These bags are filled to the brim." Bolt added.

The gun seller's eyes grew wide as stared at the wall with a happy look on his face. His smile grew to a point that I didn't imagine was possible and I wondered how flexible his face must be. He must have been convinced by the sound of the bottle caps, since we soon found ourselves toured around the most powerful and expensive weapons that he had.

"This one over here is the Mk. 7. I designed and test fired it myself. It is one of the most powerful guns that I have, with a range of 800 meters and it is as precise as the pony wielding it." The gun seller said as he pointed towards a pair of guns on the table. Bolt was busy picking out a battle saddle for his new pair of automatic rifles, so that left me to pick out a gun for myself. Although I still didn't like the idea of killing, I wasn't an idiot. The small pistol I got wasn't enough for survival in the wasteland, so I needed to get myself a bigger gun.

"Mk. 7?" I said examining the gun. Next to it was the battle saddle it was supposed to be attached to. This was no different from any standard battle saddle, since it had connectors, which connect the saddle to the gun, and a metal reign that one is supposed to bite down on, so that the gun would fire. Its automatic loader could carry a lot of spare magazines, giving the user a lot of bullets to expend. The battle saddle seemed to be newly made or fresh out of the box, as it emitted a nice clean sent. Bringing my attention back to the gun, I noticed that it looked different from the others. It looked like a combination of different gun, all jammed up into one. Its long barrel resembled that of a sniper rifle, while the rest of its body, including the magazines, looked like the one of a light machine gun. It even had a laser pointer, which was rare for guns, which could be turned on and off. All together it made an interesting and cool looking gun that looked very formidable.

As I continued to study the gun, I couldn't help but admire the professionalism on it. Other than the fact that it used parts from other guns, it looked like a unique gun of its own. He must have put a lot of work on it to make it look this awesome. The fact that it had a nice coat of black made it look deadly and stealthy.

"Well this seems like an interesting gun, but can we see the others you made?" I asked, wondering what his earlier attempts on gun building looked like. I also wanted to see if the other guns he made were less grand and more simple, since a gun like this would be expensive.

"Others?" He asked, dumfounded. "Uhhh….what others?"

"Umm…you know…" I said, looking at him with a confused look. He was acting like this was the only gun he made, but surely it wasn't. Since that was the Mk. 7 after all, so there has to be others before it. "…the ones you made before this one."

"Well no…" He said with a shake of his head before bringing his hoof on the gun and patting it. "…the Mk. 7 is the first, and so far, the only gun that I have made to become an effective weapon. Whatever gave you the idea that I made other before?"

"B…but…but….it's called the Mk. 7….? I stated, eyes twitching.

"Yup." He said proudly. "An original name I thought of myself. Since Mk. 1 sounded a little mainstream, I decided to call this one the Mk. 7."

As I heard that, I couldn't help but slam my hoof on my face. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but my frustration led me to great annoyance as my hoof slammed with great force on my face. The impact hurt, but it didn't hurt as much as my brain, which was trying to comprehend the logic.

I ended up buying the Mk. 7, despite the weird reason for its name. It wasn't as expensive as I though, only a couple of caps higher than the other rifles, and was a very effective rifle. I actually didn't know why it was cheap, but I'm not complaining. Of course the bullets and battle saddle was sold separately and trying to find one that would fit me was very difficult. Apparently a battle saddle as small as my size was hard to come by, but we were lucky to find one. I was deeply annoyed that they didn't make battle saddles my size, but was quite glad that there was at least one that wasn't too big for me. By the time we finished, we manage to expend half our budget. This was a good deal, seeing that we got some powerful weapons and lots of ammunition.

We left the shop with our battle saddles on our backs and smiles on our faces. Sure we weren't allowed to have our guns loaded while in the town, but the feeling of having a battle saddle on my back made me more confident and safe. The knowledge of having a weapon to defend myself gave me feeling of security that I haven't felt since I left the Enclave.

"So, you think that I'm ready to survive the wasteland?" I asked Bolt, seeing that we were now armed to the teeth.

"Now don't get ahead of yourself." Bolt told me, as we walked pass the shops and start to head back to the Inn. "You may be armed, but I still have the experience. So if you plan on murdering me, to get more weapons, I suggest that you don't It would do you little good."

"Hey!" I said, annoyed. "What gave you the idea that I would murder you for weapons? I would never do such a thing. Don't you trust me?" I couldn't believe that he thinks that I would kill him just to claim his weapons. We have already been through a lot and having him killed would break my heart. Seems like he didn't trust me a lot. (Says the one who is keeping a secret from him)

"It's not that I don't trust you. It's just; your Pegasus nature might kick in and…" Bolt continued to speak, but I didn't listen. For my attention went to the two ponies in front of us and approaching towards our direction.

The first pony was a green unicorn, tall and prestigious. His walk was that of an arrogant pony, as he passed by the other. His eyes were covered by shades that were darkly tinted, making it impossible to see his eyes. While the other pony was a grey earth pony, who took gigantic steps as the two moved. His green eyes looked at the unicorn as they talked and as they continued to get closer, my suspicions on whom the two are were suddenly confirmed. It was Mr. Greedy and Golden Shot!

Panic immediately filled my body as my brain surged. What were they doing together? Did they know each other? Why did the two ponies, who most likely hate me, talking to each other? With every step, the two got closer and closer to them. Once they were close enough, the two would immediately recognize me and it would lead to a disaster. So I had to think fast if I wanted them to not notice us. My eyes looked left to right, trying to look for a place to run to or hide. I was lucky to notice an alleyway to our right, which had large metal trash bins, in which we could hide behind.

"Hey, are you even listening to…ahhhh…." Bolt exclaimed as I shoved him towards the alleyway. The force of my shove drove me off balance as the momentum took control. We landed on the dirt with loud thud and an annoyed yelp of pain from Bolt. But there was no time for that, we still needed to hide.

"Hey what was that for? Have you finally gone insane?" He asked, scratching the back on his head.

"No time to explain. I'll tell you all about it later. But right now, we need to keep quit." I said as I positioned us behind the large trash bins. Bolt was about to protest once more, but I put my right hoof on his mouth to keep him quiet. Right now, silence was the key so they wouldn't look here. Besides, if they pass by near us, then I would be able to hear what they are talking about.

Soon I heard voices talking and immediately recognize them. I kept quiet as I tried to concentrate on what they were saying. Didn't hear much, but what I did hear brought dread to my soul as I knew that it was no good sign for me.

"So it's pretty simple." The voice, which I recognize as Mr. Greedy's, said. "All I want you to do is hunt her down and bring her to me, then…"

I wasn't able to hear what else was said, since the two moved too fast, making it impossible to hear what else was said. But the words I heard made me take a big gulp as I felt nervousness fill my body. I soon felt myself shake as the confidence and safety, which I felt earlier, left the building. Fear was also flowing and it reminded me the fear I felt when I first step foot on the wasteland. The sense of hopelessness and the possibility of death were scaring me. Knowing that those two ponies were hunting me down was the cause of all of this and I started to wonder if they would find me. It would be difficult to get away, since my wing was still injured and I couldn't simply fly. I could escape by walking, but my survival skills still aren't that great. Some ponies might be able to stay calm in situations like this, but I must remind you all that I am not the bravest pony in the world. Add the fact that I wasn't experienced in wasteland survival, like Bolt said. Then that would leave you with a currently crippled Pegasus that has guns but scared for her life.

My panic attack raged through me, until Bolt caught my attention, by slapping his hoof on my face. I stared at him with a blank expression as he gave me a stern look that was filled with his usual seriousness. Shaking his head, he shook me back to reality as he demanded answers.

"Can you please tell me what's going on and why you're having a panic attack?" He asked me with a monotone voice.

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down as I tried to clear my mind. I must tell him about everything now, even about the daring raid I did. But I'm pretty sure that he isn't going to like any of this.

"Where do I begin…?" I said trailing of, as I begun to tell the story. Through all of this, Bolt took it worse than I expected. He wasn't just angry, he was infuriated. Least to say, it wasn't a great sight to see rage flashing from his eyes.

"YOU DID WHAT!"

"I can't believe that we left in a rush, all raided an entertainment bat to save some mares." Bolt grumbled, as we walked away from the town. The cold icy wind of the wasteland blew against u, as the surrounding start to get darker. The original plan was to leave the town tomorrow, as we start our long journey towards the Cloudsdale sector. But the plans were soon changed when we learned that I was being hunted. So now we found ourselves on the wasteland and were probably going to sleep her for the night, instead of the soft beds in the Inn. Now I'm starting to regret not being able to use the bed.

"Hey!" I said defending myself. How could he be so heartless? Sure you had to do cold and terrible things to survive, but surely he felt pity for those mares. His sister was killed mercilessly and I expected his to show some compassion for those mares. "Those mares were living through a far worst life than anypony could imagine. I couldn't just let them suffer."

Sighing, before looking down, Bolt stopped and stood on top of a small hill that we were just ascending. He stood there silent as I watched him contemplate in his head. I knew better than to talk or disturb him during these moments. So I stood by him and waited for him to reply. Bolt was that kind of pony that hid his emotions. The reason being his sister's death. He probably didn't want to show anypony his pain, thinking that nopony would care. But as I look at him, I could see the emotional pain building up. Sooner or later it would burst (Not that it wasn't already starting to crack. Since he burst into tears the last time we talked about his sister's death) and he would need somepony to comfort him. That's when I would show him that somepony did care.

"Listen…" Bolt begun. "…I'm sorry for getting angry at you. What you did was a good thing. Few ponies would ever do such a thing, since it is both stupid and crazy, and because most ponies have forgotten what is good at all. I'm one of them. My heart has seen too much dark that I sometimes feel no compassion for such things. But you… You risked your life to do what is good and I admire that."

I gave a sad smile as I moved closer to pull him for a hug. Now he thinks that he was bad, and incapable of good. This wasn't true, since he saved me when I was injured and help heal me. Now I made him feel bad about himself, and I didn't like the guilt that was pestering me. So I decided to comfort him and try to convince him that he wasn't bad.

"You're not bad…" I told him in a soothing tone. "…nopony is. We just need to look for the good in our heart and listen to it. Look, I understand that you do things for our survival and safety, but sometimes the good things are more important. Our conscience calls us to do what is good. Since it would bug as all the time, trying to tell as that we could have done something to change things."

"No…" He said shaking his head. "…I've been born in the wasteland, where good doesn't exist. I lived through life without it and blind from it. I can't change. The only thing I could do it follow somepony who is good and hope that I could repay the bad I've done. That pony is you."

I was shocked at what he said; did he really view me as that? I didn't understand on what made me look good to him, since any other pony could have done it. But maybe there was something about the wasteland that I didn't understand. Something that made pony's hearts cold and lost.

But I didn't persist further on what he meant. Bolt moved away from my hug and started to walk again. We continued walking, the cold wind blowing our bodies and hearts, till we got tired. This was the wasteland, where good ponies don't live long.