“Static Charge? Where are you?” Cross shouted, trotting up the stairs from his shop to the small apartment above it. He pushed open the door to his son’s room, only to find it vacant. A light scuffle came from across the hall, the augmented unicorn catching it and then opening the door to his and Minty’s room. Upon entering, he was greeted by me hanging helplessly from the ceiling, my hooves tied up in magically created ropes. Again. Cross sighed, but couldn’t help but release a little snicker. “Trying to steal Minty’s rifle again?”

I grumbled, swinging back and forth slightly from the ropes. Stupid unicorns with their stupid magic... “I’ll get around the spells someday, I swear it!” Cross chuckled again as his horn lit up, illuminating his graying mane that was slowly starting to match my own silvery one. The ropes disappeared and I fell to the floor with a thud. Oofh, couldn’t you at least lay a pillow down? Ouch... I rubbed my head with a forehoof, standing back up. “Anyways... ah, what’d you need?”

Cross led me back downstairs, levitating some saddlebags out from under his sewing bench. “You know Minty keeps that thing locked up for a reason, I don’t even want to think of what he’d do if it went missing. Not to mention what might happen to you.” Cross opened the saddlebags, folding some robes and coats into each side as he set it on my back. “Here, I’ve got some of the Steel Ranger’s order ready. You're heading there for a sleep-over with Night Strike anyways, might as well make a delivery, right? I swear, it's like they need new robes every day; I know they’ve got a lot of new recruits, but-” Cross was cut short by the door opening, both of us glancing towards it.

Minty stood in the doorway, levitating a box of bagels in the air with a wide smile behind his somewhat foggy glasses. His metal horn had dulled a bit over the years since his adventures with Twintails, his Pip-Buck leg squeaking slightly as he trotted up to the desk. “Morning!” He said cheerfully, slipping the box onto the desk and flipping it open, wiping his glasses clear on the collar of his coat before looking towards myself. “Oh, you’re heading out already?” His expression lowered a little bit as Cross secured the flaps of the saddlebags, trotting around to be alongside the tealish-maned unicorn. My stomach growled as the scent of baked goods wafted into my nose. “Heh, sure you don’t want to stay for breakfast?” Minty chuckled as he heard my stomach, a light blush crossing my face.

“Oh, shush.” I grabbed one of the bagels and bit into it, Cross grabbing one of his own as Minty undid his coat and hung it up. The shop had been getting steady business for a long time; it’s somewhat surprising just how few seamstresses there are in the post apocalyptic world. My dad, Minty, used to go scavenging a lot more when I was younger, though that was almost always because his friend Twintails dragged him along. Not to mention, his augmented horn and leg had needed a lot more care lately, so he's stuck to running short deliveries and errands for Cross more often than not.

“Static’s been trying to get at your gun again,” Cross said in between mouthfuls of bread. Minty sighed, a little exasperated as he put a hoof up to his temple. “I still say you should toss it off a cliff.” Minty’s expression quickly changed to one of plain disbelief, but before he could respond, Cross put up a hoof. “Calm down, c'mon, you know I’m kidding. Celestia knows you’re not giving Jolts up for anything less than becoming an Alicorn.”

“I doubt he’d even do it then.” I let off a small laugh as both Minty and Cross smirked, the former giving his eyes a small roll. We ate in silence for a while, my empty belly quieting down as I filled it with another ring of baked dough. I glanced up at the clock, stepping over to the coat hooks and slipping on a thick robe. “If I’m taking those robes to the Rangers at EQUAD, I better head out now so it doesn’t get too late. Don't want to be in Quebuck at night, right?” Minty nodded in agreement, wearing a faint smile as he also slipped a plasma pistol out of his own jacket and into my hooves. The wires and metal shone in pristine condition from his practically religious maintenance habits, myself stowing the pistol as Cross stepped up to me.

“Oh, I almost forgot, Minty and Razorwing finally figured out how to undo the genetic lock on this.” Cross gave a smile as he lifted his Pip-buck-clad foreleg, turning his attention to it. He fiddled with it for a moment before it popped open, resting it on the counter as he rubbed at his leg, continuing. “I doubt I’ll really need this anymore, and it’s not like Minty can loan his.” Minty rolled his eyes again as I tentatively took the old Pip-Buck, securing it to my left foreleg and looking back to Cross with a smile as the HUD flickered into my view. “Stay safe.” I gave my dads a hug before turning and heading out the door, turning up the collar of my cloak to shield my blue coat from the cold.

Trotting down the street towards the western gate of Mooscow, passing by the grand cathedral as I made way through the morning snow. A few ponies waved to me as I passed, though few were milling around with how cold it was outside. I swear, somepony really needs to find a way to actually get the sun back up around here... The sky was full of ominous clouds as always during this time of year, billowing about in the harsh wind. I was soon at the front gate, an older griffin with a few splotches of red on her coat and feathers sitting in a toll booth. “Hey, Bloodbeak!”

She waved and leaned out of the empty window frame, wearing that beaky smile. “Hey, Charge, how’re you doing?” I shrugged a little, tilting my head in a non committal way as a chill wind whistled over the wall. “Yeah, kind of the same. Not much has been going on since the storm season started, nopony's making the trip north with those kind of weather patterns about. Gotta say, been seeing a lot more ghoul traffic through here nowadays, compared to before your dad and his friend made that NEAMO place into a mile-wide crater. You think that place had some sorta ghoul-nip they spread by setting it off?” She let off a small cackle as I gave a roll of my eyes in response, shaking my head.

“Not that they’ve told me about, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that story at least fifteen times.” Bloodbeak smiled and shrugged, pressing a button that began to slowly open the heavy doors in Mooscow’s metal perimeter, the motors whirring and hinges creaking. A chill wind blasted through the opened slot, the griffin cranking up the heat on a hotplate in her booth, warming her talons above it. “Thanks, say hi to Razorwing for me!” I said as I trotted through the doors with a smile.

“Sure thing!” She pressed the button again, the doors closing up again as I turned back to the west, walking along the old road towards Trotisk. I paused, fiddling with the Pip-Buck for a moment before the radio clicked on, the air filled with the host’s voice. Thank you for letting me fiddle with your fancy personal one, Night Strike...

“Goooood Morning Wasteland! This is your host Bert the Turtle sending a wake-up out to everypony from Steel Creek to Emerald Ridge and all places in between, hope you haven’t all turned into pony-cicles yet! The weather isn’t going to be getting any better anytime soon from what Tommy's been telling me. Still, radiation storms have been on the decline for the last few years too, so at least you can freeze knowing that you’ll still be just as fertile when dragons re-conquer the world and thaw you out!” The wind whipped through my mane as I trotted down the road, Bert the Turtle continuing with a bout of laughter.

“Anyways, early morning news time! We’ve heard a few reports about the Steel Rangers trying to scour out what used to be Pripytrot, yanno, that old irradiated warzone. They say the radiation’s gotten better since the reactor was blasted open twenty years ago, but unless you’re already a ghoul or have some sort of death wish, they suggest staying near the edge of town if you need to pass through.” I immediately asked myself what pony would be crazy enough to head into a completely irradiated death trap, only for my mind to quickly respond with thoughts of both my dad and Twintails. Dammit, brain. “Remember, kids, radiation suits are your friend, even if they have been out of style for a few years. Anyway, enough rambling, let’s get you back to the music you’ve been wanting...” There was a moment of silence before the scratch of a needle hitting a record was heard, the song crackling in through the air.

"Somewhere,
Beyond the sea
Somewhere,
Waitin’ for me

My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships
That go sailin’~"

I hummed along to the tune as I walked down the road, the remains of two carts coming into view over the mounds of snow on the side. The snow swirled around broken bottles and wood, one of the wheels squeaking as it spun slowly on its axis. With a small smile, I hopped off of the road and crunched through the snow, digging through the carts in search of some un-pilfered cold soda. I tossed a few broken ones aside, sighing as the last few crates turned up only with empty and shattered bottles. Trotting out, I gave a glance back at the faded logos on the carts; Sparkle-Cola and Sunrise Sarsaparilla. Gee, wonder why they're both completely empty, between my dad and Night Strike's family... Giving my head a faint shake and smiling lightly, I began to head back down the road again, the radio still warbling away.

---

It wasn’t long before the ruins of Quebuck came into view over the horizon, some of the larger buildings looking like it wouldn’t take much more than a particularly strong gust of wind to knock them over. I turned off of the road, starting to travel around the city - No way in Tartarus am I heading straight through that ghoul infested blast zone with just a plasma pistol. I kept an eye on the edge of town, watching for any ghouls that might wander past the limits and spot me. Just to be safe, I removed the pistol from my cloak and slipped it between my teeth, searching around for the trigger with my tongue. Ugh, energy weapons were really not designed for non-unicorns...

A large explosion erupted from the city as I was passing through some debris that was once a neighborhood, causing me to jump in surprise, almost stumbling over into the snow-covered road. I stared into the mass of dilapidated buildings, trying to locate the source of the explosion. I couldn’t see anything except a few plumes of smoke and debris rising into the air in a faintly mushroom-shaped cloud, prompting the image of Night Strike coming out of her home with her dad's Balefire Egg Launcher to enter my mind for a second. Stepping a little closer towards the city, I admit I -was- tempted to go in to investigate. I managed to stop myself though, shaking my head as the realization set in. No, no, you don’t need to go and get yourself torn apart by ghouls you idiot. Slightly reluctantly, I turned and began to continue back around towards the road out of the city.

I didn’t have long to continue mulling over whatever had caused the explosion when a bloatsprite appeared from over a small snow bank, hovering for a moment before turning in my direction. It buzzed loudly through the air, as I closed one eye and took a few shots at it. The plasma struck the creature, causing it to squeak in pain before falling to the ground, part of it melting into goo. Ugh… yeah, that’s gross. I slipped Minty’s pistol back into my jacket, averting my eyes from the remains of the bloatsprite. I glanced over my shoulder towards Quebuck again, hoping to spot any hint to the explosion, but, again, nothing but that faint mushroom cloud.

---

The sky was beginning to grow darker as I approached the train car walls of Turnpike, lights inside the town reflecting up into the sky against the snowfall. I yawned profusely as I trotted up to the door of a passenger car acting as the smaller gate, sliding it open and stepping through into the town. Alright, Static, you've been here before, you should know where Night Strike's house is... at least, you did during the day. Guh. Taking a moment to rub at my head to try and get my bearings, a deep, soft voice rang out through the empty town. I looked over towards where it came from, catching the sight of a large, muscular, grey pegasus trotting over to me. “Hey, Static! Nice to see you again, here to see Strikey or just stopping through?” He smiled warmly as he stepped up to me, looking down slightly.

“Hey, Featherweight. Just running another delivery up to EQUAD, decided I ought to stop here for the night.” My stomach growled as I got up to my hooves, causing me to blush a little. “Eheh, suppose I should get something to eat, too.” Featherweight smiled widely as I trotted after him, a few ponies milling about in the small town.

“Well you're always welcome to stay with us, we’ve got plenty of extra beds still.” I followed him to his house, the door creaking on its hinges as it swung open and we headed inside. Slipping my saddlebags onto the floor and slinging my cloak onto the coat rack, the older stallion smiled, fiddling with a heater built into the caboose. “Just make yourself at home.” Featherweight trotted over to an old stove, pulling a pot out of the cupboard and a few chunks of odd meat from the fridge, turning on the stove. In zipped a young green pegasus, hopping up onto the table that I had sat down at.

“Heya, Static! What’re you doing here?” I restated I where I was going and she nodded, a set of magnification goggles on her forehead bobbing along with her. “Minty and Cross want another night alone, eh?” She smirked as I rolled my eyes, letting off a small sigh and turning to look at the Pip-buck. We sat in silence for a while as Featherweight set some stew on to cook, the water bubbling quietly away as he sat down with us.

“Say, where are Twintails and Night Strike, anyways?” It’d been a while since I’d seen him, and who knows how long since I’d seen his and Featherweight’s daughter - I've lost track. Buzzy shrugged, and Featherweight did the same, looking a little more worried compared to his sister. He shook his head a little before standing back up and going to lift the pot of stew off of the stove, pouring it into three bowls.

“He’s out trying to find Night Strike again; she ran out this morning. It’s the third time this week, going off to go scavenge in Quebuck again, or something. Twinny also said something about getting something for that tank of his, and some stuff for Buzzy.” Featherweight let off a sigh as he placed the full bowls in front of us, Buzzy already digging in. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, she is Twintails’ daughter as much as mine, heh.” Featherweight set the pot back down, and I began to eat the stew, warming up from the inside out as it slid down my throat. “I just wish she’d be more careful, or at least tell us where she's going. I don’t know what I’d do, if she... she…” Featherweight’s voice drifted off, all three of us sitting in silence for a moment, even Buzzy stopping her eating. The large stallion cleared his throat, rubbing at his eyes with a black hoof. “S-sorry, I just get worried sometimes.” No one spoke for a while, all of us finishing up our dinner before we dropped our bowls in the sink.

I let off a long yawn, realizing just how tired I was, the little clock in the corner of my vision giving me a good idea of just how long I'd been walking for today alone. “Nnh, I’m going to head to bed. Thanks for letting me stay here,” Featherweight nodded, wearing a warm smile and leading me to the guest cars. I closed the door behind me, flopping into the old bed and tugging the covers over myself. I thought back to the explosion I’d heard in Quebuck - my stomach tightened at that… that wasn’t her, was it? I turned over, wrapping the blankets around me, trying to keep myself warm in the cold night as I drifted off to sleep. Oh, Night Strike, please don't have killed yourself...

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Night Strike's side: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15440277/