The walk to the Everfree shouldn’t take too long. The old medicine zebra, Zecora, had a hut out here that we cleaned up. There were some who thought it was desecration—we dismissed that concept, given how it looked as if others had been here before us. Now it’s our communal lodge and clinic while…
Oh, well, hmm. Well, first off what seems to be giving you the most trouble? Who are we defending against?
Right now, just the local denizens: hellhounds, the occasional parasprite that flutters by. Mostly it’s just day-to-day survival needs now. None of us have any sort of security training. Seems that the Enclave cowards that did this don’t want to tangle with anything down here in the Everfree—either that or they think we’re all dead.
*while the two were talking, Hazy Days lands behind them. She listens in intently. Fluttershy had sent her as a Followers of the Apocalypse envoy to assess the situation for the former Stable residents, being too frightened of her own experiences with the Everfree to be ready to return just yet.*
“First of all, what’s the situation with weapons?”
Octave turns around, caught off guard by the new arrival. She brought her PipBuck up quickly, using her EFS to see the intent of the newly landed pegasus.
The indicator shows up a static green, and the Overmare exhales in relief. It is then replaced by new inquisitional nature she’d developed since the Enclave’s attack on Stable 7.
“W-who are you, and where did you come from? Are you Enclave?” She looks to Proverb, hoping that the Dashite is armed.
Proverb whirls around at the new voice, her hoof flying to her pistol, only to slowly relax as Octave addresses the new arrival. At the mention of Enclave however, and taking a look over the mare’s uniform, she tenses up again.
Octave would note that she is in fact rather well armed, carrying a Dragunov SVD across her back, and having a Colt M1911 holstered to her leg.
She looks over at Octave briefly, the one-eyed mare remaining on her guard.
Hazy flitters up, only to raise her hooves to indicate she means no harm. At this point, her cutie mark (or rather burned out lack of one) would be pretty clear.
“Woah now. Miss Fluttershy sent me. She’s sorry she can’t be here herself, but she’s had bad experiences with this place, and the idea of ever coming back here still almost makes her wet herself.”
The name crosses Sunlight’s ears, and her face pauses in a skeptical pose. This may have been a friendly contact, but the story seemed downright unbelievable. ”You mean to tell me, that… Fluttershy, the Fluttershy, mare of the Ministry of Peace that by even my simple math should be long dead, sent you to see if we needed any help.” Pausing for a second, she doesn’t notice a brand on Hazy’s flanks, nor does the uniform she’s wearing resemble anything that any of the Enclave personnel that stormed Stable 7 wore.
“I’m going to take a leap of faith here and say that I believe you.” She exhales softly. "All of the Stable’s security ponies were killed in the attack, and the armory was one of many places near the primary entrance that we couldn’t reach once the Enclave began their bombardment. We’ve fashioned sticks, clubs—very rudimentary items, as well as a few unique surprises to anypony who enters that means us harm. The closest I’ve seen to a firearm here is what Miss Proverb has on her.“
"You said your name was Hazy Days, yes? I am Sunlight Octave, Overmare of… well, what remains of Stable 7.”.
Hazy can still recognize the reluctance in Octave’s voice, and sets down, trying not to look hurt by it. She figured that there would be reluctance to trust her.
“That’s….not that good. I’m pretty sure my former employers wouldn’t be too interested in tracking you down anymore, but the Killing Joke….that’s nother issue entirely.”
Octy’s eyebrows both rose slowly. “Killing Joke? I’m aware of the existence of Poison Joke, but… I’m sorry, Miss Days—this has been a lot for us since we tried to set up a permanent encampment. This is the seventh site we found, and so far seems to be the one that has caused us the least amount of trouble.”
She looks at her PipBuck for another moment, then has a thought. “Is it possible to speak with her? Fluttershy, I mean.”
Proverb blinks a few times, and then shakes her head. “Wait, hang on a second. What’s Killing Joke? And how is Miss Fluttershy still alive!?”
She tilts her head at Hazy. “And I can assume that your ‘former employers’ were the Enclave correct?” She asks.
Hazy wasn’t even going to try to hide it. She nodded her head, her eyes cast down slightly.
“You would be correct. And I won’t let any other pegasi be hurt by our sorry excuses for so-called leaders. Those cowards deserve the wrath of the goddesses brought down upon them for what they’ve done.”
She turned her attention to Octy, looking at her Pipbuck in consideration. “Does that thing have the ability to send and receive messages from any terminal? Because if so, Fluttershy might be able to talk to you from her terminal at Tenpony Tower.”
Octy smiles, raising her PipBuck again. “Class 3005-E. Higher capacities, internal communicator and three-dimensional EFS. Only 50 of them were made, and only given to Overmares. I don’t quite understand what Stable-Tec was thinking, but apparently Apple Bloom wanted to keep in touch with her family remotely. We’ve tried to retrofit the technology to the Class 3000, but haven’t had any major success. Let’s go to the Lodge to talk more. I trust my ponies but the Everfree still gives me pause every so often.”
The trot through the Everfree is a simple one: paths have been cleared, some by Red Eye’s torching squad that felled some of the more interesting specimens in the forest, but left the field verdant and ready to be planted in. Reaching the Lodge takes no time at all, and as the three enter, it is found to be empty.
Traces of Zecora’s influence in decoration have been carefully and tastefully kempt–from simple things as medicine and herb jars filled with exotic plants and spices. Pieces of Zebrican art are hung from hooks on the walls in various states of repair.
“All right. Miss Days, is there a specific frequency by which to reach Fluttershy at Tenpony Tower?” Octave takes a seat behind the desk where a terminal that had been repaired by the science teams of Stable 7 sat, glowing softly.
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