Fallout: The New Arrivals

Wild Card had chuckled when Viridian and Verde spoke about Johnny, and then continued to smile happily as Verde explained to her mother what to do in this card game. He took the cards and dealt the mare two more, eventually going around those who were playing and doing the same depending on if they put down cards or not. As time passed by, more games were played, until eventually Wild felt the coach stop and he looked up from the cards.

With a swift motion of his hands, he collected all the cards and put them in the packet before hopping out of the wagon and stretching all six limbs. "Hey, not every hand was a Royal Flush. A few of them were only Four of a Kinds." Wild said playfully, accepting the bag of bits from Slidewhistle and thanking him politely. "Five hundred caps... it feels nice to have money back in your hand again. Hopefully it can do what he said and take me to Las Pegasus, and I might as well get some bullets too." He said afterwards idly, making his way to the list of towns and seeing the power-armour clad pony nearby, the emblem on his golden armour making him think that this was someone of the Solar Empire. 'Because who else would look as silly as that? It's like he was dipped in molten gold. Too bright in my opinion.' 'You say as we head to the one place you can probably see from space due to the amount of lights it has.' The pegasus thought to himself, reading through the list and grinning widely as he saw Las Pegasus on the list. "Fantastic. Well... um... I have no idea as to what you lot wish to do or where you want to go, but I've got my heart and minds set on Las Pegasus. You're all welcome to join me if you want, but if not well, I suppose this is goodbye until we meet again, possibly." The stallion said to the rest of the group with the grin on his face, obviously showing delight in the fact his destination was a possible place to go.

Wyvorn nodded and thanked Slidewhistle. "Five hundred... that's a lot, ain't it." he said, the time spent in prison lightly messing with his brain and forgetting how much were the bottlecaps worth. He gave a quick glance at the pony in power armor before looking away. "I'd never wear such thing... sure, it keeps you alive, but it must weight a ton and must be hot inside, especially in this damned land." he said before making his way off the cart, only to be rather touched in a not-so-helpful way by Verde. It almost felt like she was feeling his arm, but he shrugged it off for now after whispering 'thanks' to Verde and stretching and walking next to Wild, making sure that both his combat knives and his bag of bottlecaps were secured and hidden in his trenchcoat. "I suppose Las Pegasus doesn't sound so bad..." he said before worryingly shuddering at the name. "Well, I have no idea where else could I go, so... ehh, lead the way, boss." Wyvorn sort of talked to himself loud enough for Wild or anyone else that was close to hear.

Frosty looked over the supplies they managed to gather. “Well this isn’t a bad lot. Armor, food, some explosives. Dunno what we’re gonna do with a mini-nuke yet, but no harm in bringing it along. Might come in handy.” She said. Strawberry had taken the matches and started a campfire for them. Frosty gave her the can opener. “Well if you want to cook up a dinner for us, go nuts.” Letting Strawberry do her thing, Frosty went back to the door. “Damn… it sounds like an insect warzone out there.” With the SMG in hand, she opened the door just a crack and took a peek out at the bugs fighting. Thankfully, they were too busy killing each other to notice. It was then that Frosty saw the newcomer run right towards their little hole through the battle. “What the… What is that pony doing?”

Strawberry looked over at her friend. “You see another pony out there? The cave’s owner, maybe?” She asked.

Frosty shook her head. “Doubt it. Unless someone is that desperate enough to get to their stash. Must be a wanderer.”

Strawberry shrugged. “Well I dunno what anyone would be doing out in these parts in this weather. I say let the poor thing in. Carefully.”

Frosty nodded and opened the doors a bit more, waving at the pony to come to her. If those bugs tried something, she’d doubt her gun could stop them. Maybe a grenade though.

Star's ears twitched a bit to listen to the sounds of what was going outside the door. "Radscorpions and Cazadors...great." He said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "As for the mini-nuke...Who the fuck keeps a mini-nuke in a crate?! Seriously...We can sell it for some caps though. Maybe. Or if we ever find a Fat Man we can totally use that." He looked over at Frosty for a moment as she opened up the door. "Another pony? Make sure they don't shoot us in the back or something." He said as he got walked over near Frosty.

Tune perked his ears at the mention of a mini-nuke. "Excuse me? Did ya jus' say we have a bloody MINI-NUKE!?" Faster than one could blink, he was next to Frosty, sporting the biggest puppy-eyes and brightest smile he could muster, sending forth an unsaid message about Tune getting to keep the miniaturized bundle of radioactive destruction.

He was far too focused in wanting to keep the nuke to pay attention to anything else, though the coming of another pony did enter his brain, only to be put on the side for later.

The bugs made no real effort to follow the newcomer into the cave, though a radroach that had so foolishly wandered into the battle ended up tossed in after her with what looked distinctly like more stinger marks than untouched exoskeleton left; the small pest was clearly dead and the horrific crunches, hisses and aggressive buzzing from the warring Cazadores and Radscorpions was enough of a sign that getting between them was unwise even without the fact that looking out the door they could see the two warring factions tearing each other apart.

The radio on the pipbuck was having obviously interference from being under a large amount of rock and dirt but from what it sounded like the statistics being read off sounded rather like an obituary section; the length of it was worrying even if it was garbled, though considering enough bug death was going on outside to justify an entire bug wars memorial, there was more immediate problems.

The radroach that had been flung inside mad an off clanging noise when it hit the back of the wall; where it had hit and the slight disgusting splatter of insect blood revealed that the part of floor it had hit was shiny and reflective under the dust... almost like a metal hatch.


****

A large amount of merchants were gathered around the various caravan wagons heading out to different locations; some had pull carriages, others simply travelled in groups of brahmin but thankfully all seemed relatively calm. A group of ponies in bright golden painted combat armor seemed to be the ones dictating the shots, and negotiations seemed remarkably peaceful for a wasteland settlement, some of the carriages owned by the caravans even looked somewhat comfortable.

To give credit where it was due, for a town named after waste material, it seemed that Junktown was actually one of the more well balanced settlements of the Wasteland, at least on the surface.

"Hey if you're heading out to Las Pegasus we got a carriage leaving in an hour." A stallion called who, judging by his crouched position, had been eavesdropping on the group. "We can't promise y'all access onto the Strip but passage to Freeside's east gate should only be 150 caps a passenger." He proclaimed proudly like a salesman at work.

Slidewhistle and Bull Lily waved off any gratitudes. "There's no need to thank us, we're just doing what any reasonable ponies would've done. What's the alternative, let you poor folks starve?" Bull asked as Slidewhistle glanced at the power armor; even without saying anything it was obvious he agreed with Wyvorn's assessment of it's uncomfortable nature.

Slidewhistle turned to Verde as she imitated Jaeger. "Apologies but did you say you were going to Camp Everfree?" He asked, sounding more interested in the events going on around him than he had since they had met. "If so, I've got a way for you to make a little extra money on my behalf if you don't mind going a little out of your way... or maybe not, I got no idea where you folks are headed." Slidewhistle offered to the mother and daughter pair as well as Jaeger. For some reason Bull Lily looked almost saddened behind Slide Whistle but he said nothing and instead walked off to tend to the brahmin.

The stallion who had eavesdropped was busy trying to sell Wild and Wyvorn on a trip to Las Pegasus with what sounded a very well rehearsed speech, especially since they could see where he had written it on his hands.

When Verde started speaking in a similar manner to Jäger, the monstrosity barely disguised as a pony couldn't help but look down with a devilish grin at first. Then to play along with it, he turned his gaze back to the map, brought his mechanical prosthetic arm to wrap across the the front of his chest while lifting his other arm to rest the elbow on it and place his knuckles under his chin. Jäger then raised his chin a bit and thinned his eyes as he continued to look at and mock study the map. "Aye, ish a good plashe, but ay change of shcenereh vould be nishe und hyur shucheshtion shoundsh better den hany of mine," Jäger replied before looking back down and tossing Verde a wide grin and chuckling a little. "Hyu can talk good, now ve chust need ta get hyu ay good hat," Jäger added before he heard Slidewhistle's offer. "Vell, hy haff novhere hy need ta be. Vhat ish dish chob? Hor errand hyu'd vant ush doink?" Jäger asked from where he stood.

"Doesn't sound too bad? My friend it's Las Pegasus. It's about as good as it can get in the Wastes." "And it has its fair share of bad, just like anywhere else..." Wild Card responded to Wyvorn, before laughing. "Boss? What are you now, my bodyguard? Not complainin', but I do wonder how you could be my bodyguard when I'm the one with the gun." He chuckled heartily. Then he heard the stallion who mentioned a carriage to his destination leaving in an hour. With this bit of knowledge, Wild grinned widely.

"150 caps... Wonder what we get for it, 'cause a ride by itself sure isn't worth that." Wild mumbled to Wyvorn, before listening to the other stallion's rehearsed (and given the writing on his hand, slightly forgotten) talk about Las Pegasus. "Okay, okay. You don't have to make the place seem great to me, I already know it. My friend on the other hand, well, I'm gonna show him the wonders of the place. Now then, a few questions I have to ask. 150 caps for a trip to Las Pegasus seems a little steep, wouldn't you say? Also, is there a place around here we can purchase a few guns and ammunition? I ask that because my friend here is sadly ill equipped for the Wastes." The pegasus responded happily, the smile on his face as innocent as can be.

"We will see." Wyvorn somewhat doubtfully answered to Wild's first statement. "Y'see, I ain't exactly a part of the rich folk. I have my doubts about going to the place for rich folk." he said. "Wouldn't really mind becoming one of them, though." he added with a grin, which swiftly disappeared when Wild mentioned that he's the one with a gun. "What shall I call you then, Tour Guide?" Wyvorn asked and chuckled. He lightly tilted his head as he heard a different voice coming from Wild, but remained silent. He wanted for Wild to do the talking, as he was not exactly expert in it and thus did not want for anything to go wrong.

The mare sped up significantly, soon making it inside. She had a blue coat, although it was largely dust-covered, and a reddish mane. She quickly went to close the door, but kept an eye on the others. "Can I trust you lot?"

Viridian gives Wild a look of mild disapproval as she emerges from making her change. "Wild Card, what kind of talk is that? You'll go alone and see us later unless we also prefer Las Pegasus? I expect somewhat better of the stallion who seems our best leader, even if you didn't choose to accept the role of your own accord. And at 150 caps per passenger, you can take at most two of us with you, leaving the rest to do whatever we might, and that is at least as unwise as simply abandoning everyone to throw some dice at a casino table."
Verde nods to Jaeger as he offers his opinion and then gives him a devilish grin in return. "Ay 'at ood bay schmashin for schure. Mac eet brood an' brimmed an' will talk." She then looks back at Wild. "If I may, Wild Card, I think we'd be better off if we went somewhere where we could make bits and all could get passage to instead of a place where we could potentially lose bits and only some of us could follow."
"Exactly." Viridian joins Verde, still looking at Wild. "I think we need to pick a way to go that would keep us together and not expose us to unnecessary risks. The job that Mister Slidewhistle proposes, whatever that may be, appeals."

Frosty looked at the newcomer and nodded. “Yeah, sure you can trust us. If anything, we’ll use the pink one as bait to get away from the bugs.” She said, pointing at Strawberry.

Strawberry, only paying half attention, nodded. “Yeah, we’ll use the… Hey! No fair!” She huffed, to which Frosty laughed a bit. “Hmph, don’t make me toss you out there instead.” She said, half-jokingly.

Frosty shook her head. “You wouldn’t be able to. Anyway, I’m gonna check out that roach. It made a weird sound.” She approached the bug and blew away some of the dust around it. “Hmm…” She turned to the others. “Come over here. I think I found something.”

Star opened his mouth to say something at the newcomer, but was cut off by Frosty and Strawberry. He closed his mouth and relaxed slightly as the two joked around. "If we really needed to we can throw the one with the mini nuke out there and maybe he'd be able to set it off before he dies." He said with a slight smile, pointing his thumb at Coal, shaking his head. He raised an eyebrow at Frosty, trotting over to her and the radroach. He blinked and tilted his head to the side. "A hatch? A way out besides the front door maybe?" He scratched the side of his head, curious.

Coal chuckled a bit at Frosty's comment. This chuckling died down when Star Sentinel mentioned throwing him out into the battle between the bugs. "He-wait a second!" He realized what the thestral had said, glaring at him as a result while giving a angry pout that looked more adorable than it had any right to look like.

He then drew his eyes to the hatch that had been discovered. "A hatch, eh? Well, we could use that, but we have no clue where it would take us. We got food and other stuff here, we could hold it out until the bugs get bored and wander off." He shrugged. "But I'll go where you guys go." He finished. For some reason he felt like he needed to stay with them, even though being with them up to this point had only resulted in trouble.
Probably because it also got him a mini-nuke.

Wild Card chuckled and then shrugged at Wyvorn's amusing retort. "Well, could've been a tour guide of Las Pegasus, but now I don't know if it's the same or not, which is what I've got to check out and- hold on a moment." He said, holding up a finger to the stallion selling them the trip, as a small sign to wait a little, before turning on his heels and smiling at Viridian when she addressed him. This smile faltered a little at the sight of the mare's disapproving expression, and even more so at what she was saying.

Then Verde joined in, and Wild didn't even feel like smiling. One mare being disapproving was bad enough, but two? A stallion's worst nightmare. Either way he waited for mother and daughter to finish before nodding in acknowledgement to them. "I can understand the idea that what I'm doing seems a bit, not-well-thought-out, but remember that intercom back in the prison? It said head to Las Pegasus as soon as possible and seek out two mercenaries who could help us kill this Trench fellow. Not only that, but now we're out of there and free, I just feel I need to go back to that city." Wild then chuckled, completely ruining his serious tone of voice. "We're a good leader? Damn. We're fucking mad, then again given the Wastes... there's raving lunatics out there so we're pretty sane by comparison... Anyway, a few other things. One, we don't play dice, we play cards and we're very good at it. Two, we've all got money of our own and I'm sure as hay not paying for each person who wants to come along, hell, Wyvorn here'll be paying his own share of his travel cost. Three, I am not your leader. I just picked up a gun in a locker and who's-their-face saw the armed guy as the one in charge." The pegasus sighed and shook his head slightly. "Look, if it's any consolation, I'll help pay for a weapon for you or Verde, okay? But you can't sway my thoughts on where I am going."

The hatch was opened easily enough, no real effort had been made to lock it beyond the bolt latch which for some reason was on their end of the cave; that seemed an odd design choice for a smuggler's den but it would at least make it easy to get into without needing to draw attention by using any of the explosives to get it open, though with the noise outside that may well have been irrelevant.

The hatch opened out into what looked to be a disused mine shaft with a pair of gas lanterns hung on the wall beside the ladder which led down into it. 

+++++++++

Slidewhistle tried not to listen in on the conversation they were having while he routed around in his bag, Bull Lily having apparently wandered off on his own. Finally the stallion withdrew a somewhat battered looking envelope and handed it to Verde.

"Don't trust the gambler to not gamble this away." He said bluntly, not caring at all about how Wild Card would react to that statement. "If you're going to Las Pegasus, please deliver this to the leaders of the Bullet Club; they'll compensate you for it." He promised before turning to Wild Card and pulling out a crumpled, slightly yellowed piece of paper and holding it out once he had unfolded it.

"I'd watch yourself in Las Pegasus, Mr Card." He said quietly as they all looked at the wanted poster asking for 5000 bits for Wild Card alive. "You're lucky Bull isn't fond of bounty hunting or I'd quite happily take you in myself." Slidewhistle warned him, still as calm as ever even while openly admitting that only his employer's personal views was keeping him from dragging the pegasus off to who knew where to claim a bounty.

"Ah, name's Coffee House, pleased to meet ya." The stallion who had made them the offer said nervously before he caught sight of the poster Slidewhistle was holding up, his eyes widening until Slidewhistle noticed and promptly tucked the poster back into his duster. "Uhhh.... is your friend trustworthy?" He whispered to Wyvorn, seeming very nervous now with the bounty on Wild. "I can't imagine the Casino Lords would be happy to know I let him travel with me." He admitted, sounding like he still would but needed to know Wild could be subtle about it.

Slidewhistle seemed to be looking past Verde, Viridian and Wild until finally he gestured for them to turn around; a mare in full reinforced leather armor had stopped to stare directly at them in the middle of the crowded square. On her back she carried a loaded and active laser rifle and her long brown and cream toned mane was the only thing of her face they could see as the rest was hidden behind a large, opaque pair of goggles and a face scarf.

Dust took multiple steps back. "So you guys are keen on sacrificing each other? Is that how it goes?" She drew a large plasma pistol, hooves shaking a bit. "I might just take my chances with those bugs, to be quite honest with you..."

Strawberry gave Dust a deadpan look. “Okay, seriously… We’re just joking around. Put the gun down before you hurt yourself.” She said, trying to calm the nervous pony.

Meanwhile, Frosty had opened the hatch and looked down the shaft. “Okay… nothing ventured… I'll check it out. If either of you wanna join me, go ahead.” She started down the ladder, turning the light of her PipBuck brighter to give a little more illumination. She looked around for anything else in the mine before motioning for any volunteers to follow.

Star paused and blinked at Dust as the mare drew a gun. "Uh yeah...we were joking...We wouldn't actually do that. But you could go out there with the bugs if you want...I suggest you don't though, but then again you got that gun there..." He shrugged before turning back to Frosty. He peeked down at the shaft for a moment before shrugging again in response. "I'll come I guess. It's easier for me to see in the dark so I could help you out more." He said down to Frosty, waiting for here for a moment before climbing down after her, raising his revolver in ready just in case.

Tune watched as Dust drew the plasma pistol, then started laughing.
He then heard her claim about taking her chances with the bugs, which made him laugh even harder.
"You serious? You really think we'd actually do shit like that? In times of crisis it's better to laugh than to cry, as my mum used ta say." He said, letting a bit of his accent bleed through by the end of his sentence.
"Anyway, it was just a joke. And I think you and your pistol might come in handy down there. I don't wanna risk causing a cave-in." He said, tapping one of his grenades.
"But you're your own pony, come with us if ya want or take yer chances with our mutated insect friends." As an added incentive, Tune began to sing a little tune as he climbed after the others.

"Spooky scary giant bugs or a dark unlit mine shaft~♪ Cazadores will eat your bones, make you quite a snack~!"

Jäger just stood back for a minute while the hastily formed group was already showing signs of breaking apart and he had to pause to reflect on similar situations he'd seen back during the days of the wars, and that prompted yet another line of thought. "Goddess's be damned I'm old!" he thought momentarily with a slight chuckle. Still, the primary concern was now this poster that looked awfully tempting to act upon. The wasteland was a harsh place anymore from what he could tell and 5000 bits could go a long way to making the next little span of time rather enjoyable, but he'd managed to survive this long without actively betraying anyone... well anyone who didn't deserve it. There was always that one commander who not only held a position above others, but felt the need to rub it in all the soldier's faces. Then when the fighting started up, he'd scream for all the troops to do the dirty work. Oh how Jäger would cherish the look on that stallions face when the enemy had made a better offer and he'd taken it.

Ah, wonderful memories from a time long since past, well enough that something resembling a smile would creep onto Jäger's maw, but he soon realized that things were still happening in the real world and he'd probably do well enough to pay attention, especially to the new thing that had just seemed to take a notice to them. "I manage to draw enough attention to myself with look alone, but having a living monster and a wanted pony traveling together in the same group is just asking for all the wrong kinds of attention..." "Achtlly, it might be bettah ta split up deh group shome. Hy'm not hexactleh in-con-shpic-hyu-oush, und if hyu'ff got one vanted poshter, den dere's probably more. Ve could alvays meet bach up shomevhere lateh on, maybeh effen keep hin touch vid radio hor shometink, but vhile in ah town vhere dere ish lotsh of shneakeh places ta hide und shneakeh eyes ta spy..." Jäger left the end of the sentence hang confident that most would get the gist of what he meant.

"Still better than being lost in there on my own." Wyvorn chuckled in response to Wild's statement of not knowing how much Las Pegasus has changed. When the two mares began arguing against Wild, the griffon groaned in slight annoyance, only nodding when it was mentioned that he will be paying for his own trip but otherwise stayed relatively silent. It was only after Wild was done talking that the Wyvorn lightly nudged him and whispered: "Are you sure about this? I'm not tryin' to be greedy, but I believe we each received the same amount of coin for a certain reason. Now, I'm not exactly sure what it may be, but as for you, you could use that extra money in Las Pegasus...", hoping he didn't sound too greedy or against giving their cash away.

The griffon's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of his supposed guide being wanted for what seemed to be a rather nice sum. 'Wild is wanted? What the hell for, I wonder?' he thought, but was swiftly interrupted by a whisper from Coffee House. Wyvorn thought for a moment. He was not really sure, he had just barely met Wild, but so far the stallion seemed determined on keeping Wyvorn and the rest of the group alive. The griffon gulped and unsurely shrugged. "He better damn be. So far he meant no harm to any of us.." he whispered back to Coffee.

Viridian accepts the envelope with a quick nod, glancing amusedly at Wild Card. "Don't trust him to gamble it away, huh?" She accompanies this with a frown. "Sort of speaks to a reputation, doesn't it?"
"As does that," Verde comments, arriving by her mother's side in time to look over her shoulder and see the wanted posted for Wild. "Whoah, 5 kilobits! You must have pissed someone off but good, Mister Card. Or fleeced them really well at cards; I'm partial to the second one because 'won so good at cards they put a bounty on your head' seems like a more interesting explanation than just 'pissed someone off'."
"Yes." Viridian sighed. "Wild Card, I realize that we were told to go to Las Pegasus and meet some mercenaries to off this Trench wanker but stumbling in unprepared is probably exactly how we got grabbed and stuffed in prison cells with something to screw up our time perception. The more bits we have, the better we're prepared and the better we're prepared, the longer we live and the better-set we are to make Trench go away with the help of these mercs. You seem to be an expert card sharp, but this poster means you're an expert card sharp that a whole bunch of people will want to turn into a sweet payday, and I'll bet most of those people are at Las Pegasus. So your plan amounts to blindly following orders into a city where people want to turn you into a pile of bits, to meet mercs we know nothing about, without access to a large enough pile of our own bits to turn into preparedness."
"And yes, it'd make it worse to bring you along with the wanted pony, Mister Jaeger," Verde says to him. "But it's called risk-benefit analysis for a reason, and you're a bit strong, odd-speaking benefit in a cool hat. Wild Card here is a handsome, fast-talking, card sharp with enough voices in his head to make him the perfect adviser in every situation. It's great if we keep both benefits, despite the risk, so great that it'd be hell to throw one away or set one to wander off by himself into possible danger."
"Or in Card's case, certain danger." Viridian sighs. "Wild Card, doing this is the most stupid, impulsive, stubborn, and dangerous possible course of action I can think of... which is better than letting you wander alone into a den of sharks that want to divide pieces of you between themselves. If you're so damn stuck on doing something so damn pointlessly reckless..."
"...we're with you." Verde finishes, looking at her mother.
"We're with you." Viridian agrees with a sigh. "Dammit to hell, we're with you. If you make me regret it, I'll make sure to smash one of your kneecaps before I die, so you remember this conversation."

Wild Card's eyes followed the envelope and he gave a half-annoyed but half-amused snort at what Slidewhistle said to Verde about him, but when the Bullet Club was mentioned, his hand slowly went into his pocket and felt the small stone he had been given by the pony in the prison, that had an emblem on it and was supposedly a way to make ponies think they were part of said Bullet Club. It didn't help that the pony back in the prison said only very gullible ponies would think that, though.

Then came the second item that Slidewhistle held out, and Wild went wide eyed at the sight of his own face on the slightly yellowed paper, a sign of age. "Five... thousand bits. Okay, first thoughts for me, wow. Second thought, should I be insulted or amazed?" "Neither, it's a wanted poster." "And so that means we're important enough for them to care." "Hm... at least it says "Alive" though... that helps us a little. I'll also have to thank Bull for his viewpoints, or if I can't find him, could you give him my thanks, Slide?" He said to himself and the stallion, before placing a hand to his chin as his eyes shone golden for a moment. "I wonder, could I hand us in and get that reward?" "That's not how it works, Credit..." "But five thousand-" "No, Credit." The pegasus almost looked saddened by this fact of reality before cheering up a little.

"Right you are, Verde. Seems my past is trying to catch up to me in the form of that wanted poster. But damned be I if I let it catch up! So that means more running, and Las Pegasus is running in circles. What better? They'd never expect me to go back there, right?" "Cheshire, that is very strangely worded logic... They're counting on your addiction to lead us back to the main hub of gambling itself in the Wastes." "Hey, don't make it my addiction. You get all tingly when you see a winning hand too, y'know." "Anyway, what Jäger said about splitting up is an intelligent decision in my opinion, but Viridian makes a good point with that "risk-benefit analysis" thing and having such an intimidation factor and a strong... pony present in the group is a large benefit." Wild Card conversed, running a hand through his mane as he tried to think things through, making it look even more disheveled than before until he brushed it down with his fingers again. 

After a long sigh, Wild looked back at Viridian. "You honestly want to walk with me into the-" "-bright, neon lit-" "-hornet's nest? It's me they're after, not you. And they'll not hesitate to kill anyone with me given it's only me they want." "But on my word as a mostly honest stallion, I'll try as hard as I can to not make you regret that decision. We'll even be in your debt for it." "We already offered a weapon, now we're offering a favour of any sorts that may even turn out to be labour? Honestly, gentleme-" "Quiet, Credit. It's called gratitude. Anyway, we will get some supplies here, medical, weapons, ammunition et cetera, and then we'll be off." The blue stallion then smiled, just before spotting the looming figure that Slidewhistle has poked him about a few seconds ago, and having been lost in speaking he didn't notice the figure until now. 'Welp, time to be a leader' He thought to himself as he swallowed slightly nervously - due to the wanted poster having been in plain sight - and waved politely to the one who had arrived. "Good day." Was all he could say, as there wasn't much he felt he could say right now.

Wild Card hadn't even gotten within distance to handshake the figure before another, rather large, figure stepped behind him as he walked to them; the hulking stallion was bigger than all of them aside from Jaeger and was very deliberately cutting Wild Card off from the group and the oversized, slightly rusty Auto-Axe on his back seemed a very compelling argument to not antagonise him even without saying a word.

Despite that the two seemed reluctant to make a move. Aside from cutting Wild off from the group slightly neither had made a move for their weapons and in fact the mare had even taken a step back from him.

"There's 250 bits in it for each of you if you stay out of the way." A mare said from behind the rest of the group, making Slidewhistle jump; evidently he hadn't seen the grey mare with a wild purple mane walking up anymore than they had. Unlike the other two she wasn't wearing a mask or anything else to cover her face, showing off a face that would probably have been pretty if not for the fact she looked about as friendly as a particularly territorial dog. Her thick leather armor painted in pitch black except for a large skull with bullets for teeth on her back wasn't helping her make friends either, with a two bandoleers of shotgun shells crossing over her chest.

"Like hell there is." Slidewhistle grunted, drawing his magnum and pointing it at the newcomer. "Call of your mongrels." He ordered her but he had barely finished speaking before the mare grabbed him by the arm and flipped the much larger Slidewhistle completely over her head with a horrible snapping sound from his arm.

"Don't make the same mistake he did." The mare snarled at the others. "We're just borrowing the one in the ridiculous suit." 

"Hey Razor, you mind speeding this up?" The tall mare in front of Wild called as the large stallion kept him penned in. "I'd rather have this done before the world ends again!"

"Hold your timberwolves Bronze." Razor shouted back; if anyone found this suspicious they weren't intervening. "Look, let's be simple about this." She said, glaring at Viridian and Verde, Wyvorn and Jaeger. "Are you going to let us take your little buddy or not?"



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mineshaft seemed to go relatively far, far enough at least that they couldn't see the end of it even if they used both lanterns and the pip-buck's light. The wooden supports holding up the ceiling and walls were far too intact to be pre-war, whoever had made this shaft had somehow done it post-war and to a good enough extent that it seemed like it was holding up pretty well to sharing a mountain with all sorts of creepy crawlies and evidently not being very well maintained.

Helpfully whoever had been down here evidently didn't trust their memory, as large black and red arrows were scrawled on the walls leading down two different paths. Unhelpfully, neither the red nor the black arrows had any sort of written indication of where they were leading or what the end of the path would yield for them. 

Though given that behind them was a swarm of monstrous wasteland bugs, it was unlikely either would be particularly bad. Alternative to the arrows was a third tunnel which had been nailed and boarded over, with a pre-war "tunnel collapsed" sign nailed onto it... though one had to wonder why if that was all it was they had felt the need to scrawl "SWEET CELESTIA DO NOT OPEN" on it in the same black paint... probably one of the Wasteland mysteries they could do without knowing the answer to.