Sins of the Mother

"Pepperberries?" Trails repeated, wanting to make sure he heard her right. That was an unusual request to say the least, tartarus he only knew about them because of the Zebra trader his family ran with. "They don't grow here, not even in Equestria. There's an island named Ursland, off the western coast, that's where they are."

Trails rose to his hooves, tired of looking up at Zestari. "We can leave soon as I get the greenlight from Papa Khan. Itakuwa nzuri ya kuimba baadhi ya nyimbo ya zamani tena juu ya barabara."

Lock Stock and Papa Khan walked back to the long house after seeing to it that the Khans Trails had beaten were taken back to their yurts. Along the way Stock looked over at the yurt Trails had been taken to, to see Zestari helping Trails drink the poultice. He laughed and jabbed Papa Khan in the ribs to get his attention.

"Would you look at that, the new buck's got himself a nurse for an old mare."

Papa Khan's only reply was a grin as he continued his way to the longhouse. When they arrived he took his seat at the head of the table and wrapped on it. The members in the house all exited, save for Stock and three other ponies. One was a pretty young unicorn mare with a blonde mane and white coat, her cut bore a Treasurers patch, and her mark was a set of scales. Another was a short tan earth pony auburn hair, he was presumably the lowest ranked as he lacked any ranking patch other than the Dog of War one on his breast. The final pony was tall and muscled, his mane was shaved and his tail cropped, his charcoal coat scarred to high tartarus. He bore a Vice President patch, and took the seat to Papa Khans left.

"Alright," Papa Khan began in his tired gravelly voice. "we need to lock down this deal with the fiends. They're our best chance to get a second steady flow of caps to pick up the slack in our gun buys."

"Are you sure we can't just increase sales in the Strip and Everfree side," the VP interrupted. "maybe start selling to some of the smaller towns in the desert?"

The unicorn was the one to answer their question. "You know all other routes have been annexed, the fiends are the only independents left other than us and the families. We're gonna have to increase cap flow to keep buying guns as much as we have, and the families are tapped out."

The VP sighed and nodded, lighting himself a smoke. "What about retalliation? Nopony is gonna trade with us if they know about this deal."

"We cut them off soon as the NLR is out of the desert,we wont need them anymore after that." answered Stock.

"What about the legion?" piped up the short earth pony. "They've got enough caps to buy our current stock outright time and time again."

In unison the table turned at the pony and looked at him like he was the dumbest pony they'd ever seen.

"The legion are psychotic raiders and slavers, worse than the fiends they're organized. We trade with them and ponies find out, we wont just be out caps, we'll be the enemy of the entire damn desert." retorted the VP.

"Enough." Papa Khan rumbled. "The deal with the fiends has been voted in, we aren't talking about any other deals at this time. We need to work figure out just who we're sending on this first run, Hoof I'm putting you on this pick your team and leave tomorrow."

The VP simply signed in resignation and nodded at Papa Kahn's order. "Any suggestions?"

"New Buck." Stock said almost instantly. "He's being patched up by his old mare right now, he'll be ready for it."

"What old mare?" the unicorn asked.

"That Zebra that came wandering in."

"They aren't together." her voice was firm at with this point, unwavering.

"How do you know Betts?"

"Trust me, noway would she let anyone let her stallion get the shit kicked out of them that bad without being held back."

Stock laughed and leaned in his chair, "So it's decided, the rookie to the meet."

The VP nodded again, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. "Anything else Papa?"

With a second rap on the table the Khans rose and exited the the longhouse. Leaving Papa alone to walk to sit and think about his VP's comments. Ever since Joules had left the buck had been pulling away from the club, Papa had yet to tell him that Trails was his nephew, and honestly wasn't sure he should. Seeing Joules' kid would probably just make him miss her even more, pull his best friend even further away from what they had worked so hard to build. He drank from his bottle of whiskey and sat alone in the dark, thinking over all the mistakes of his past, and the mistakes he was sure to make. He hoped that this wasn't one.

Zestari found it hard to hide the crestfallen expression on her face as Happy explained that what she sought was not in the mohoofe but much further away and on another island. “Really?” she asked quietly, even when Happy offered to take her there, it didn’t raise her spirits much.

She sighed and rolled her eyes as he ignored her advice to rest and instead got to his hooves. Then he spoke the language of the zebras. Despite the simple comment she perked up instantly. Smiling, she responded “Unajua lugha ya pundamilia? Hiyo ni mshangao nje hapa!”

She chuckled, “Ulijifunza wapi kwa nani?”

Trails chuckled at Zestari's excitement that he spoke her language. "kulikuwa na mfanyabiashara wa pundamilia, akifundisha mimi wakati tulikwenda njia hiyo hiyo. Kwa malipo mimi kumfundisha lugha ya Stalliongrad." He offered a hoof up. "Najua jinsi nzuri ni kusikiliza lugha yako wakati wewe ni kusafiri. Husaidia kwa uchungu."

He exited the yurt and went to his saddlebags, flipping them open to search for his smokes and something to eat. He dug his pack out and lit one, ignoring the tenderness in his jaw as he did so. The nicotine helped in ways no poultice could. After a few long drags he went back to getting some form of dinner ready. Seeing that he had a lot of ingredients but nothing for a full meal he turned to Zesty, telling her he'd be back after he went to go grab some stuff for their meal.

He found that again the wastes seemed to love him and provided him with a full garden of to pick from, and again another three of everything. He grabbed everything and walked back to the fire. With everything here he could make some decent chili. He sat down and did just that, with the coffee pot being repurposed as a kettle for tea and a whiskey for himself.

(Survival Skill 100 Roll 93 + 20= 113 Amount Roll: 3)

x3 Broc Flower
x3 Xander Root
x3 Prickly Pear
x3 Banana Yucca
x3 Barrel Cactus
x3 Jalapeno
x3 Pinyon Nuts
x3 Buffalo Gourd Seed
x3 Coyote Tobacco
x3 Honey Mesquite
x3 Fresh Fruits
x3 White Horsenettle
x3 Agave
x3 Cave Fungus
x3 Datura root
x3 Canned Tomatoes
x3 Canned Beans
x3 Maze
x3 Carrots
x3 Potatoes
x3 Sugar
x3 Salt
x3 Flour
x3 Beer
x3 Purified Water
x3 Noodles
x3 Vodka
x3 Whiskey
x3 Cram
x3 BlamCo Mac & Cheese
x3 Crunchy Mutfruit
x3 Barrel Cactus
x3 Yeast
x3 Dirty Water
x3 Pitcher
x3 Surgical Tubing
x3 Vinegar
x3 Mutfruit
x3 Instamash
x3 Pork n' Beans
x3 Sugar bombs
x3 Coffee Cup
x3 Coffee Pot

Chili-
Effects: +15 Health for 3 Posts
Ingredients: 2x Canned Tomatoes, 4x Jalapeno, 1x Salt, 2x Canned beans, 1x Beer
(Makes 5)

Agave Tea-
Effects: + 3 to HP for 8 Posts
Ingredients: 3 Nevada Agave Fruit, 1 Coffee Cup (good for three brews), 1 Coffee Pot (will survive all uses).

Zestari gave a nod when Happy explained that he’d learned the language from a zebra trader, to Zestari’s ears, his grasp of the language was excellent. “Ni vizuri kusikia mtu mwenyewe lugha wakati wa kusafiri, ni kweli …” she trailed off with a distant look, thinking about how long it had been since she’d returned home, before blinking and returning to focus.

Zestari almost offered to come with Happy when he said he was going to collect ingredients for a meal but instead decided to spend what was left of the day exploring the camp around her. She was pleased to find most of the Jacket wearing Khans seemed quite polite and friendly, a somewhat refreshing change from the suspicion to outright hatred she got for simply being a zebra. She boredly watched Kestrel maintain his weapons and even considered seeking gun care tips from Kestrel. At one point she thought she saw the pegasus Sky looking at the arena, but thought nothing of it, what were the chances that Sky would be out here? Then she watched Safiya fly around.

She’d need to talk to Safiya; tell the griffon that they hadn’t found what they were looking for. Zestari was admittedly nervous, she had already just spent the past several days dragging the griffon all over the Mohoofe looking for Happy and now they still had a large portion of journey left if Happy was correct. The additional journeying might be asking too much and she suspected that the griffon would be annoyed by this news. Nervously pacing around the camp, she was pulled from her thoughts by the delicious wafting smell of cooking.

Investigating, she found Happy hunched over a campfire, preparing something aromatic that delighted her senses and she sat down quietly nearby. “Nini wewe kupikia?”

"Pilipili." Trails replied, offering Zestari a bowl. "Chai ni katika sufuria, kusaidia mwenyewe kuna mengi." Chili. Tea is in the pot, help yourself there's plenty."

He ladeled himself a bowl and began digging in. The soft chili, while spicy, was a godsend for his jaw. The poultice had done his job, but it still hurt like a bitch to chew. The whiskey helped with that though, while it burned his throat it numbed everything else. Tiring quickly of the sound of spoons scraping the bowls he decided to strike up conversation.

He turned to Zestari and asked, "Akili kama mimi kuuliza kwa nini uko hapa? Naweza kukuambia wewe si mmoja wa pundamilia wale imara." Mind if I ask why you're here? I can tell you aren't one of those stable zebras.

Kestrel had maintained his stoic mannerisms througout all of the recent events. He had observed Safiya taking flight and scanning for hostiles, a feat that showed that she was smarter than most gryphons. That she actually bothered with learning her terrain. He watched her out of the corner of his eye for a while, she was a powerful flyer. Graceful even.

The details of his observations became another note on Kestrel's mental file of the female.

Sky was staring at the Arena floo with some kind of emotion it seemed. Chalk it up to past experience but anytime Kestrel saw an arena he flashed back to Filly for a few moments, and the memories of the absolutely brutal fights he had been in there. Of the Blood, the Pain, and the Suffering.


Before he could take another trip down memory lane both Zestari and Trails walked up. The stallion Trails, despite having just had his ass handed to him, was starting to work on dinner while Zestari watched over his shoulder like some pup on a string.

When they opened their mouths to speak it was not equestrian that came out though. It took Kestrel a moment to identify and translate the tongue they were using, it had been a long while since he had spoken Zebrican.

Little known fact about Kestrel, the gryphon actually knew and could speak quite a few diffrent languages. Zebrican, Equestrian, Gryph, Neighponese, Cervine...the list went on.

A few like Gryph, Equestrian, and Stalliongrad's tongue he learned from his father; these were languages he was fluent in.
Zebrican and other such foreign languages his mother had taught him; again he was rather fluent in these tongues, though not nearly as fluent as what his father had taught him.

The remaining languages he knew, he had picked up from people in Filly. Living in a place like that for nineteen years, he had been forced to learn other languages, or at least enough of them to understand some conversations. Just so he could figure out what half the people were saying.

He said nothing to Zestari and Trails as they continued on with their talk, he just listened and subconsciously translated everything he could; all the while cleaning his rifle until it was in perfect condition once again.

((OOC: Stuff in italics is in Zebrican; saves time translating and reading.))

“Pilipili.” She echoed, not familiar with what he was talking about, still it smelled delicious and he’d offered some to her, so, why not? She scrounged up a bowl and put a small quantity into a bowl then helped herself to some of the tea he’d politely made for her offering him her thanks. She then sat down, noticing Kestrel nearby seemingly focused on cleaning his weapon.

She tentatively tasted the food, it was good, a touch of spiciness and nice combination of flavours. Happy seemed to know how to prepare his food well. As she took another bite she paused, “There isn’t any meat in this, is there?”

She took a sip of the tea and watched Happy take a bite, the drink she’d given him earlier seemed to be working, but it still must have hurt to eat. “Why I’m here? Well, looking for rare ingredients for my alchemy – and no, I’m not going to teach you, so don’t ask.”

She chuckled slightly. “Is it that obvious? You’re correct I’m not from a stable. I’m from the zebra lands.” She waved a hoof, “I’ve been travelling the wastes for the last year or so. Call it wanderlust or simply the fact I wasn’t interested in staying at home and settling down, but there you go. Most recently I’ve been staying in Stableton, it’s from there that I made my journey here with Safiya.”

“What about you? I assume you’re new around here,” she nodded towards the jacket he now proudly wore. “Where are you from?”

Kestrel soon finished his self assigned task. His rifle the very image of perfectly cleaned. Well...at least its internals were. The outside of the weapon was still scratched and worn from exposure and use.

With it cleaned the gryphon would reach back and replace the rifle into its proper holster and then move to stand up. He was rather peckish at the moment, and Trails had just cooked dinner.

Time to eat.

Kes walked up to the two without a word and grabbed a bowl full, nodding at them silently before moving back to his seat and starting to chow down. The lack of meat in the dish was overlooked, it was decently filling on its own, and it had a nice flavor to it.

When Kestrel ate he showed a surprising amount of manners. He did not just scarf it down like some rabid animal. He was quick with his meal, but careful not to spill anything.

Sky looked at the arena, how can so many make an arena to fight for entertainment out of the expense of others bodies. She sighed and began to walk were kestrel was, Sky looked around to the smell of something, food. She perked her ears around to see Kes off to get something to eat, so naturally Sky would do the same. She hasnt had anything in awhile and to stand around to do nothing for Sky to get food, she walked off to were kes went. And she saw Zestari, kes, and Trails. Trails had some new vest he was wearing and eating something, Zestari she had no idea where she came from. Total random event right there, kes was kes. Sky Grabbed herself a bowl of the stuff, looked good enough to eat so why not. she was still weird out by zestari being here, but when food calls that would a bequestion for later. Sky ate only in spoon fulls, as she could eat anything to fast.

Lightning had spent a large portion of the day away from the Khan and everything they were doing. While most of the action was going on there, he was out in the wasteland, practicing his aerial maneuvers. It was a while since he worked on his flight. Never had the chance on the journey so might as well do so now. The pegasus had already practiced these moves many times before but he was always finding out new things and learning better ways to pull them off every time he did it. Like that day, the warm desert air gave him more lift than usual. That allowed him to concentrate more on speed instead of height.

Now that Lightning was finished with his practice, he flew back to the others, panting, a bit out of breath, but satisfied. Locating them all by a fire, when he began his descent, he noticed a zebra that wasn't with them earlier. Zestari. Once he landed, he could see that Trails and Zestari were having a conversation so he chose not to interrupt them, just giving a bow for greeting to the ponies around. Food was finished so he respectfully made his way over and picked himself up a bowl before finding a spot to sit and just eat quietly.

Trails shook his head at Zestari's inquiry about meat and chuckled at her refusal to teach him. Don't worry, all I need to know when it comes to alchemy is covered by the poultice's and poisons I whip up with my survival knowledge."

He finished his bowl and saw that the chili had already been killed by the rest of his party, he'd have to remember to keep that thing on the menu. After a moment of consideration he decided a cigar was in order, and so he got to the process of rolling one as he listened to Zestari's story. Wanderlust was something he knew well, anytime he stayed in a place longer than a few days he got it. Well unless there was something else keeping him there, like that mare in Prance, or the war in Grad. He lit his freshly rolled stogie in time for his turn at story time was up. Trails smiled and looked into the fire as he weighed his answer.

"The road." He paused to take another swig of whiskey from the bottle. "I've spent almost my entire life going from town to town trading. You pick up a lot living like that, see even more. I like to think most of it's good, left me a better buck than I would have been otherwise. This is the latest stop for my caravan of one, yes. I'm hoping to make it a more permanent one, grow old under the Mohoofe sun."

Trails stoked the fire with a stick and watched the ember burn. He though about the idea of living the rest of his life in this canyon and again found himself torn. One side told him that it was what he should want, a tight knit family with plenty of excitement, the dream. The other said he knew better, he was a rambler, needed the sun at his back and the road under his hooves. He didn't like that last side, it was too honest. He wanted to grow old in a place he could lay down roots, and dammit this was it. Even though he knew it was a lie he chose to believe it, this was his home now. He needed to get his mind off of this, make some more chili.

"Kes, did ya find any jalapenos, tomatoes, and beans while you were out?"

-5 coyote tobacco for the cigar.

Kes nodded wordlessly and reached into his bags, tossing the requested materials at Trails. He had plenty to go around...and honestly he did not need all that he had.

The gryphon then pulled out his canteen and took a sip of his water, waiting on the next batch of chili to be cooked. Stuff was not bad...could use some meat though.

Trails nodded back to Kes and went back to his pot. He dumped all of the ingredients and emptied another beer into it after them. He went to take another sip of his whiskey and found it empty. He tossed it into the yurt and looked seriously at his other bottles. Two was too much, he grabbed a water instead and sat back down to watch it stew.

"How is Zebrica? Always wanted to go."

Safiya had circled the camp a fair few times before she was satisfied with what was around them. As far as she could see there was nothing but a few stray creatures walking about, nothing close enough to pose any risk. With that she began to bank as her sights fell upon Zestari. She fell into a stupor as she dove down a fast pace, coming close before curling out her wings to slow her into a graceful landing. She walked over to Zesty and gave the Zebra a nod before asking, "Find what you're looking for ?" she asked.

Kira had been looking in the the fire for longest time just watching the flames dance in her vision, she did not care much for what went on around her as she were like in a trance just watching the fire. She could her Trails and the Zestari speak with each other she could not understand it as she had never it, at most did she know to speak Gryph be never learned to write or read it. Still she did not care much about linguistics so she just keep ignoring them.

It was only when the other stared to eat she looked away from the flames and first then noticed the new vest Trials was wearing, maybe he passed after all how she could not understand. She looked at the bowl of food before eating it slowly keeping quiet as her mind was still a buzz on different thoughts that she one by one tired to make sense of while she listen to the other around her.

She smiled at Happy’s response to her up-front refusal to show him alchemy, “I’d heard you were quite the survivalist,” she nodded at her bowl, “You seem to know what you’re doing, that is clear.”

She listened to Happy explain his mostly nomadic existence. As he spoke, she wondered whether her travels had been as beneficial as Happy mentioned his own were. Certainly she’d matured a lot, she could recall how naïve she’d been when she first left her home, she had earned a lot of harsh lessons from the wasteland since; the scars she’d earned were testament to that. She’d also learned so much and had made so many wonderful friends in her travels, especially in Stableton. So yes, so far the journey had been worth it. “I’m glad that you seem to have found somewhere to settle. You certainly seem pleased enough about it.” He appeared to stare into the fire distantly for a moment, and Zestari wondered if she’d said something wrong.

“Zebrica?” she paused thinking about how to explain, “It’s different to Equestria, although no less dangerous. There are fewer raiders, but more monsters hiding amongst the steppes and forests. But despite the lingering radiation and destruction from the war, it is still a beautiful place. Just make sure you have zebra escorts, some of the towns and settlements still hold a hefty grudge towards Equestria. Kind of like here in reverse, really.” She shrugged, “Anything you’d like to know in particular?”

She noticed two pegasi appear and get food, “Sky? Lightning?” Zestari was surprised to see them. Apparently the sight of Sky earlier wasn’t a case of her eyes deceiving her. “I didn’t think I would see so many familiar faces here. What are you doing here?” She directed the question at both of them, before her attention was suddenly drawn to Safiya as the griffon asked a question.

“Ahh, Safiya,” Zestari put her bowl down and stood up, looking nervous, “Can I talk to you for a moment.” She stepped away from the fire towards the griffon and led her a few steps away. She tapped her hooves together with an awkward smile on her face before launching into it, “So I know we were only supposed to be coming as far as the Mohoofe looking for things, but I talked to Happy, and well, I need to go further. Apparently there’s an island and the plant that I’m looking for is on that island, not around here.” She took a breath, “Now Happy has offered to take me to find this plant, but I can understand if you don’t want to come.” She paused, the smile still sitting uneasily, “I’m so sorry for dragging you across the Mohoofe and to find out we aren’t near what I sought, yet. I could completely understand if you wanted to leave, but it would be nice if you stayed.”

“What do you want to do, Safiya?”

Sky waited for Zestari to finish with that gryphoness, who appreantly was named 'Safiya' New face brought out new conversation in the here. Still Sky would have to see just who is she, til then she got to answer Zestari's question. "We came with trails, here to and explore the mohoofe. More like travel with him, but its still worth to come and see the a new place I havent been to before." Sky answered accordingly, though she kept her gaze at all everyone around. Kes, Trails, Safiya, flash, Kira. This was a big group all around, one to just go help or better yet just to guard one pony. Its still something Sky did just to go and be useful, to help these ponies and zebra and gryphons out was a big step for her.

Safiyas face remained impassive as the Zebra spoke. She heard her out and could tell she was nervous about telling her. When she told her that the plant was located some place else and that she didn't have to go with her she raised an eyebrow. "My deal with Winter was to keep you safe... I can't do that if I'm not with you. So I'm going. The plant is nothing to do with our arrangement, keeping you alive and getting you home again is" she said. Her tone showed no anger or any emotion to be honest. But her point was clear. She didn't care as long as the Zebra was safe.

Zestari breathed a sigh of relief when Safiya told her that the deal was to keep her safe. “Oh thank you. I owe you so much Safiya.” She frowned, “I insist that I repay you when we return to Stableton.” She bowed her head for a moment before lifting it and smiling at the griffon and turned to return to her food, glad that she had discussed the issue with Safiya.

She looked over at Sky who explained the reason for her presence out here in the wasteland. “You came with Trails? From where, Stableton?” she chuckled. “A small world, indeed.” She looked up towards the sky. “It is worth it to come out here, always good to see new places, and the world’s beauty. Do you plan to stay here long?”

"Yeah had nothing better to do than to come with him and yeah from stableton," Sky looked around to see everyone and back to zestari. "I guess so, i just came to help stay for a bit and im back to stableton. This place seems different, not many raiders at all so probably worth it to stay but im going back home. Its just different i guess, just here cause its different." Sky finished, she really had no idea why she came. Other than to get out and do something, she thought.

Kestrel had continued to listen in on the conversations of the others as he waited for the next serving of chili to finish cooking.

Safiya continued to show that she was an admirable gryphoness. She was loyal to her contracts and to her friends. Most of the mercs Kestrel had met over the years were loyal only to the caps.

Her nonchalance at the mission details reminded Kestrel of himself in a way. He could care less what he had to do to get the job done, just as long as it eventually was finished up.

It was this little detail that helped him earn his reputation for being a brutal combatant.

Kestrel would have to agree with Sky's statement. Out here in the Mohoofe things were far closer to natural law than back in the wastes. Back there Raiders and Slavers marched about everywhere you went. Out here at least the slavers wore eaisly recognizable armor.

Safiya simply followed the Zebra back to the others before she began looking through her gear, making sure it was in the right places and all in top condition. As far as she was concerned a gun jamming could mean death and there was no way she was going to let herself fall prey to others for faulty equipment. She pulled out her 357 and began cleaning it. It wouldn't take long as she had been cleaning it regularly and hadn't needed to use it much. Though it never hurt to go over it a few times when you had nothing better to do. When she was finished she placed it back in it's holster before she gave a predatory glance around, ever watching, ever vigilant.

Trails felt the aches and pains from his fight coming back, damn meds never worked. He rose slowly from the fire and stretched, coughing as he yawned. The chili was still bubbling over the fire, he went and pulled it off before collecting his saddlebags.

"Good night all." He called to the group at large before walking off to his yurt. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The morning came early, the shaft of light that crept through the yurt's flap hitting Trails directly in his face. That was the last time he'd ever make that mistake. He walked stiffly out to the campfire and got to work with the morning coffee. The smell helped him shed some of the weariness he'd been suffering from since waking up in Zestari's lap last night. She was making an unusual request that was for sure. A few weeks to get to the coast, a week to sail there, a few weeks to get to the northern territory. A few months round trip, easily five. Doubt Papa Khan's gonna let me go on a five month long vacation.

From behind his coffee cup Trails saw Kick Start walking with a charcoal grey earth pony. The pair seemed to be making their way to Trails' little claim in the Khan camp, both carrying service rifles and saddle bags bursting with what Trails assumed were drugs. First job already? He finished his coffee and walked down to meet them.

"Morning." He said soon as he entered earshot.

The charcoal pony just nodded in reply, Kick Start waved enthusiastically.

"We've got a job for you." The charcoal pony said once he got next to Trails. His voice was a low whisper, with a world weary quality like Papa Khans. "Kick Start and I are going to make the first shipment in a new dealing relationship, want you to come along and provide extra muscle."

"OK, I'll go grab my saddlebags."

"Oh and wake your friends up too, they need to earn their keep." the charcoal pony called after Trails as he trotted back up the hill.

Trails walked into his yurt and grabbed his gear, choosing to leave the majority of it behind. It was just a simple security run, all he should need was his repeater and .45. He was glad to see just like his old vest, his cut fit perfectly over his armor. It was fairly simple compared to most of the cuts he had seen, Kick Start's was covered in Khan patches and milestones. His just had the Great Khans symbol painted on the back with Bitter springs on the bottom.

"Morning everypony." He called as he exited, levering his repeater.

After Happy had gone to bed, Zestari spent some quiet time in the evening simply relaxing by the campfire, chatting to friends from Stableton, she was surprised and curious to learn why there were fewer raiders out here than the equestrian wasteland. She guessed it was due to the inhospitable desert and the more organised society out here.

As the night crawled on, Zestari gave a wide yawn and let everyone know she was going to bed. She barely even felt her head hit the pillow before she fell into a comfortable slumber.

Morning came swiftly and Zestari had only just started wrapping up her bedroll when Happy Trials called out his morning welcome. Turning her head towards him, she smiled. “Morning to you, too. You seem much healthier than yesterday.” She chuckled, “Would you like me to check your dressings?” She stood and stretched, “I suppose you show me what and where we need to go for the Pepperberry, then?”