"W-What is that thing!?" P.B. asked as I looked behind the wall. There was a pony-sized, grotesque, and definitely evil, thing. According to P.B.'s PipBuck, we were in the ruins of an old town called... Well, it had no name, but the houses were in two lines, like an equal sign.

"I don't fucking know!" I held the knife securely in my magic. "But it sure as Hell isn't friendly!" I tried stabbing the creature with my knife, but it was difficult from far away. Unknown fact about Unicorns, they can't easily levitate things from far away. "Fuck! I'll have to get closer, shoot it!"

I jumped around the corner and charged. It turned towards me, yet before it could attack, a knife handle was sticking out of it's forehead. Then it's throat. I looked up and saw that P.B. had picked up the gun, and she looked like she was trying to shoot it, yet she just couldn't. "Why didn't you shoot it?" I asked, adding a stab to the heart for extra effect.

"I-I'm sorry, but I couldn't!" She looked shaken. She had the shame to look shamed. I hung my head so my purple mane faced her. I also sighed.

"It's fine, P.B.... Whatever. C'mon, I think I see a place over there we can hide." I led her over to a house, looking at the white-maned Pegasus-looking creature in disgust before walking inside.

It was dusty. Really dusty. As if no-one had been here in decades. There were pictures on the wall, as well gift boxes littering the floor, some opened, some still sealed. It looked like somepony had been planning a party.

I lifted a photo off the wall, blowing away the dust and coughing. The picture showed a blue stallion with another stallion, as well as two mares standing near them. The other stallion was a white-coated earth pony. The mares were a pink Unicorn and a black Pegasus.

"Those were my best friends... Cough.... Night Glider, Double Diamond, and Sugar Belle..." I whirled around. In front of me was another one of those monsters, leaning on a cane. He had a curly blue mane and tail, which were misplaced on his grotesque body.

I was about to slice him to bits when P.B. stopped me. "Crimson, stop! My PipBuck says he's not hostile!"

My knife had stopped inches from his face, and he had the nerve to chuckle! "Ah, so you ponies are from that Stable out west? You poor bastards.." He wheezed.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Who the fuck are you? What do you mean?"

"I'm Party Favor," He took a notice at my knife, "That blade ain't gonna keep you alive for long... Ah, I've got something for ya!" He reached into an unopened gift box, and what he brought out made me squeal with excitement.

"Night always wanted to be a ninja... Cough... Don't ask where I got these, because I honestly don't know..." In his decrepit hooves were two mint condition swords, matching my Cutie Mark. "They're called katanas... I never got to give them to her, cause a bomb fell here..."

I immediately grabbed them and jumped around like I was a foal again."OH MY GODDESSES THIS SO AWESOME THESE SWORDS ARE SO COOL!"

P.B. was holding back laughter, and failing miserable. "Oh God, I don't think I've seen you this happy since Jelly got an F on his report card!"

That soured the mood quickly. I coughed lightly and put down my old knife. "Well, uh.... Now I can fix this armor to fit you..."

It was out of my hooves in a flash, Party Favor already working on it. "I got it... Cough... You guys look around for anything that can help you out."

We started scavenging the place. I started taking down a few pictures. I found one that was out of place. It showed a very bright pink pony and Party Favor having a, you guessed it, party. For some reason, I couldn't tear my eyes away. "You can keep that, I've got plenty of other pictures from that party..." Party wheezed. I nodded thanks before stuffing it in my saddlebags, for reasons I wasn't sure of.

While we waited, Peanut Butter found a canteen of slightly radiated water, so we decided we'd have to split it. We were worried about food, but Party Favor spoke up. "It's not the nicest way of livin' but I've heard of ponies out in the Wasteland who kill monsters, not us ghouls, for food."

Ghouls. That's what they were. "Are you suggesting... We eat meat!?"

"Ew, what is wrong with you!?" P.B. said, sickened.

The old stallion cackled. "This is the wasteland, my friends. You have to survive anyway you can."

I found myself, sadly, agreeing. Hadn't I just killed two ponies to save one? I nodded. "I'm sorry, P.B."

She looked shaken. "I-I...."

Party looked at her kindly. "I know, it seems wrong. But everything is wrong in this apocalypse... Ya just gotta live through it... Cough." He gave her the new armor, and it was exactly her size. How in Celestia's name did he know her size?

"W-Wow... It fits perfectly," She marveled. Her innocent crystal gaze turned to me. "How do I look?"

I rolled my eyes. "Like a thousand bits."

Party Favor spoke up. "Actually, you might want to change that to 'a thousand bottle caps'." We looked at him in confusion. "Well, you see, cough, after the war, currency around Equestria has changed to bottle caps, as bits are incredibly rare now." His face turned serious. "Oh, and be wary of bloodwings. They're common around these parts, and have lots of radiation."

We nodded. Yet, he had one more gift before we left. He gave us two glass orbs, though I don't think he meant anything sexual by it. "These are memory orbs. Wait until you're in a safe place and then view 'em. That ghoul you slaughtered wasn't the only one..." It seemed painful for him to say that last part.

We walked out into the clouded day sky. P.B. was the first to speak. "That ghoul... That ghoul kinda looked Night Glider, didn't it...?"

I looked down. "I think it was, Butter. I think it was." The worst part of all of this? I felt... Nothing, over the fact I had killed Party Favor's old friend, even if he was one of the kindest ponies I'd met.

What was wrong with me?

We walked along for a while, silent as stone. That was when we heard the screeching. "DUCK!" The first bloodwing passed over us easily. "P.B., get out of here!" I slashed at the bloodwings, left and right. I was lucky I was an acrobat.

Slice. Slice. Dodge. Slice. Slice. "GAH!" I shouted in pain as a bite landed on his neck. "YOU FUCKER!" I continued slicing. Finally, the rest flew off. "Ha.... Ha...." I panted.

And then I collapsed. "CRIMSON!"

I woke to find myself staring at a male pony's flank, and thoroughly enjoying. I quickly looked around and found myself in another one of the houses. The stallion I was graciously admiring had a black flank and a red tail, with a medical cross for a Cutie Mark. "Is he going to be alright?" P.B.'s voice asked nearby.

"He will." The pony turned around, and I frowned as I lost my view. "As long as he doesn't keep staring at my flank."

"CRIMSON!"

"Oh would you look at the time!" I shot up, sweating. The doctor was not amused.

"I'm flattered, really, but you're not my type. Or gender." He deadpanned. "Ugh.... I'm Doctor Coal."

I was confused. "Wait... I thought Party Favor was the only pony here?"

He shook his head. "Nope. We just stay inside during the day because of the bloodwings. Which you got bitten by." He turned towards P.B., and I tried to admire his flank more discreetly. "I've been able to get rid of the radiation and poison at the surface of the incision. The rest is still in his blood, yet is seems not to have affected him. It'll be 25 caps."

We were silent. "Let me fucking guess, you don't have any caps." We nodded. He sighed. "Ugh.... Alright, well there's a factory around here that used to be run by some of the ponies here, but the robots went rogue and they don't know why. If you go deal with it, it's no charge."

"Understood. But can we rest the night first?" I asked, looking out the window. "The light is turning darker."

Doctor Coal nodded. "There's an empty house next to this one. Rest up before tomorrow."

I nodded, standing up. Yet before we left, I asked one more question. "Are you sure you're not into guys?"

I yawned as I awoke. It was peacefully quiet. No... My eyes snapped open. It was eerily quiet. I looked around. Peanut Butter was gone. I was out of that house faster than you can say 'Uh-oh'.

I looked and saw an odd sight. P.B. was standing over a...

A decapitated bloodwing lay at her hooves. I ran over to her, watching as she shook in horror, mouth agape. "Peanut Butter!? What the fuck did you do!?"

Despite her demeanor, her words were eerily calm and quiet. "Crimson... Go back in the house, and look next to your bed."

I was confused, but agreed. I found a bowl, with what looked like the remains of a bloodwing's head.I was horrified. "W-What the fuck!?"

P.B. spoke behind me. "You did this..." I turned towards her. I could tell she had seen something that could not be unseen. "You grew bat-like wings, flew after a bloodwing, sliced off it's head, and... Ate it..."

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe it. But her words confirmed my fears. "You're a threstral, Crimson. You're a bat-pony."

Footnote: Level up!
Skill Perk: Curse of The Vampony: When in threstral form, you have a 5% higher attack.
P.B. Inventory
Raider Armor
Pistol
25 Shots
4 Healing Potions
3 Rad-Aways
Canteen of Water
PipBuck
Crimson Inventory
Night Glider's katanas
Raider Armor
Party Favor's Picture