//------------------------------// // chapter 4: Glimpses of the Past // Story: Fallout Equestria: Distant Lands // by Crawver //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Glimpses of the past I could see her. I could actually see the great Phoenix. She burned a pure brilliant white. She was coming to collect me, to take me to the Afterland. I could feel her radiance wash over me. I had never felt so calm before in my life. I got up on my hooves, staring up at her. She hovered over me, her sad, soothing song lulling me into a trance-like state. I was ready. I had played my hand, done some good, tried to make penance. All I can hope now is that it is enough for her to be pleased. Suddenly my body shook with pain. The goddess had turned and was starting to fly away, her beguiling song fading to silence. “No! Don’t abandon me! I tried my best!” Pain coursed through me again. No! This isn’t fair. I only ever wanted to do right by my tribe. I swung my head around, maybe there was a final test. Why hadn’t the preachers ever mentioned it before? They had always insisted that the Phoenix would just embrace us under her wing. The ground began to crack and splinter, opening up in great fissures. Out of them climbed living corpses like the ones I had encountered in the stable. First tens, then what must have been hundreds of them were flooding towards me. I reached back to draw my revolver. It wasn’t there. None of my effects were. Even my Pipbuck had been removed. There was no way I could fight these creatures now. They shambled closer and closer. I just closed my eyes in acceptance. I was abandoned by even my own gods now. I had nothing left. Pain lashed through me yet again. I screamed out, collapsing to my knees. With a flash of bright light, I was blinded. I could hear the monsters shriek in fear and agony. When I was able to open my eyes again, the last of them were slinking back into their holes. I then looked up at the source of light, and my mouth gapped wide. Before me hovered a lilac unicorn, her long black mane flowing in an unfelt wind. Her wings were outstretched, and she gave off a bright and powerful aura of light. “Footlock…” I gasped. She didn’t even open her mouth, but her voice echoed inside my head. “Your work is not done. Return to the land of the living, and beware. Your time will come when the angels fall…” Her words echoed and lingered as she started to float away from me as she effortlessly beat her wings. I called after her. “Footlock! I’m sorry!” There was no voice to acknowledge whether she heard me or not. All there was in my world was another flash of pain. *** *** *** I bolted upright, panting frantically. My entire body was in so much pain that I couldn’t even perceive my surroundings. I heard a faint noise that slowly grew to become talking. “…longer and I would have let the goddesses keep you. How are you feeling Deadset? You’re back with the living.” I felt like shit. I turned to see Doc Muffinhair staring at me, beaming with delight. “I was…dead?” He nodded “For about two minutes. The moment we saw you collapse we rushed to you to make sure you were ok. It’s lucky I have these old things, or else you would have been a goner.” He reached forward, tapping two metal plates attached to my stomach lightly. “Emergency cardiac revivers. Very powerful enchanted items. Can restart the heart if used quickly.” He then winced slightly. “Sorry about the pain, it should subside in an hour or two.” I just fell back onto the bed, my whole body aching. He had taken me back to his house. I just stared up at his ceiling. ‘You brought me back to life. Why?’ I could hear him nicker slightly, almost as if out of offense. “You saved our lives, only right I return the favour.” I turned to look at him in confusion. The last couple of days flooded back to me. My standoff with the commonwealth, the monsters in the stable, the strange flying metal ball, Hellhound quarry, killing and burying Winter Dew, the attack on the tribe, and most vividly, the death of Footlock. I quickly pushed myself up, rolling off the bed and onto my hooves. My entire stomach lurched, and I began to cough up blood. Doc rushed to me, supporting my weight. “Easier there lad, just because you’re alive doesn’t mean you’re well. You were so badly irradiated I’m surprised I was even able to keep you alive, let alone make you conscious. Let’s get you back into bed before your body gives up again.” I wanted to resist, but I was far too weak to be able to. He hoisted me back onto the mattress, and then walked off. When he returned, he had a bag of orange liquid in his mouth. He threw it onto the bed. “Rad-Away. It absorbs the radioactive isotopes in your bloodstream, greatly reducing the effects of radiation sickness. If you drink enough, it will remove all traces of radiation from your body” he explained. I sipped at it, and began to wretch. It tasted horrible, like rotten oranges. “How many will I need before I’m healthy?” Please don’t be too many, I really didn’t want to drink a lot of this stuff. “At your current level of radiation sickness, about 10 bags” Oh shit. *** *** *** To my relief, I only had to drink one bag. The doctor was able to put a needle into me that could drip the rest of the disgusting liquid into me. I could almost feel my taste buds dance with delight. The downside however, was that I was going to be hooked up for a good few hours before it was finished. Still, be happy for the small victories I guess. When he had finished setting everything up, we began to talk some more. “How much is this going to cost me?” He gave a weak smile “I would love to give it to you free, I really would, but this is most of the rad-away I have that you’re using.” Suddenly I didn’t feel so happy about the line attached to my leg. “I’m afraid I will have to charge you 300 caps for this, sorry. But our previous deal does still stand, and I’ve put a few health potions and two shots of med-x with the rest of your items.” Wait, was he really apologising for saving my life, having me use up huge amounts of his medical supplies, and then charge me the bare minimum to make sure he could still eat? “Don’t apologise, I’m thankful you’re being so kind and giving. I feel bad to take so much.” He nickered. “You may not think it, but what you did with those commonwealth ponies was a miracle in itself. It’s rare that you find a pony with the strength of will to help others out in their time of need.” Was the wasteland really this cruel? Back at the tribe everypony helped everypony else, with a few caps passing hooves to ease tension. Point is, whenever somepony needed help, they got it. From the sounds of it though, out here you’re on your own. “I…just did what anypony should do. I couldn’t let them destroy this place after you helped me so much.” He gave a warm smile. “Well then, consider all my generosity a bonus for you doing the right thing.” I couldn’t help but blush. I knew it was the right thing to do, but the inflection in his voice made it sound like just doing the right thing was something to be praised. “So tell me Deadset, you come up from Neighas or any other town?” I gave him a quizzical look. Surely it was obvious I was a Claritian, we didn’t exactly blen-…oh wait, I have a cutie mark now. I guess most ponies can’t tell any more. “Actually no, I come from a tribe a few miles away from here called Clarity. Our village is built at the base of ancestral mountain.” When I told him this he looked quite intrigued. I guess he didn’t get that many tribals around here. I told him as much as I could about our history and traditions. When I told him that none of us had a cutie mark, he laughed, saying that was simply impossible, and pointed out that I had one myself. I snapped a little when that happened, and couldn’t help but shout at him. When he found out that I had been banished and hunted because of it, he did apologise. I then moved onto the raider attack, and finally about Footlock, describing what happened. I was crying by this point, reliving her death in my head. He laid a comforting hoof on me. “She was a close friend then?” “Closest I ever had. Please tell me, was there anything that could have been done to save her? If you were there, would she still be alive?” He froze, not sure what to tell me. After a few seconds he shook his head. “I’m sorry Deadset, no. From what you told me about her wounds, there was nothing I would have been able to do to save her. And I don’t think anypony else could tell you any different.” I pointed at the E.C.R that he had hooked up to its recharge station, wiping my eyes with my spare hoof. “What about that? You said that I was dead, and that saved me. Why wouldn’t it work on her?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry Deadset. It worked on you because your internal organs had just given up, but were still intact. Her brain was destroyed. If it’s any consolation, she wouldn’t have felt an ounce of pain.” He looked surprised when I began to smile, tears still dripping down my face. I leaned over and hugged him. “Thank you. I needed to know there was nothing I could have done. That it wasn’t my fault beyond the raiders being there.” He looked at me strangely. 2But…how were the raiders your fault? You tried to help your tribe fight them off. I don’t think you’re the type to help raiders into you village to slaughter everypony…” I made a motion with my head, gesturing to my cutie mark. I had already told him that they were curses. “It was because I got my cutie mark that my tribe was attacked, therefore it was my fault” I could tell he didn’t agree with my line of logic. He shook his head slowly. “Deadset, let me tell you the story of my past. I grew up in a stable myself; it’s why I had that Pipbuck. The moment I got my cutie mark, I was put in the clinic to heal any ponies who needed medical attention. It was there that I met my wife, Nightmist. She was a medicalpony as well, and was oh so beautiful and caring. We got married two years after getting to know each other. When the stables’ life support systems failed, and all attempts to repair it were unsuccessful, we headed out into the wasteland together. We became travelling doctors, crossing the wastes from New Appleoosa to the outskirts of Hoofington, until we made it here at the Collerodeo desert. One day when we were making our way to Neighas, we heard a foal crying inside a small ruin. It would have been impossible to have gotten our Brahmin into it, so she stayed outside to look after our stock to while I went in to investigate. I knew something sounded off about the cry, but it was only when it was too late that I found it was a recording. It was a slaver trap, and by the time I got out of the ruins again, they had overpowered her and were taking her away. I gave chase, but they shot me multiple times. If it wasn’t for the healing potions I had with me, I’d be dead, but I’ve always felt it inside…” He trailed off, tears rolling down his cheeks. He took a loud sniff and tried to bring back his composure. “What I am trying to say Deadset, is that I don’t blame myself any more. It was the slavers fault. They set up the trap, and we fell for it, but you can’t blame yourself for what other ponies have done. You’ll never survive if you do.” What he said made sense. While he could have done things differently, and maybe have saved his wife, it wasn’t him that did it. Why should he blame himself? And so why should I? Because the preachers made it clear tragedy would fall upon the tribe should anyone be ‘marked’, and not only were they right, it’s very hard to simply put aside sixteen years of lectures from your spiritual guiders. Still, what he said did make me feel better, if only slightly. He whipped his eyes and began to speak again. “Anyway, enough of that. It’s late and you definitely need your sleep. You should feel better in the morning. Tomorrow I’ll also teach you how to use that Pipbuck of yours.” I nodded, saying my thanks again, and he left me alone to fall into a dreamless sleep. *** *** *** I was woken up by light pouring through the window. I switched into autopilot as I rolled out of bed, and began searching for my tools. Hmm, where were they? Come to think of it, why has the dirt turned to wood? “Good morning Deadset.” Draconequus tear out my heart that made me jump. I whirled around to see Doc standing in the doorway. When did my tent grow a doorway…Oh yeah, I guess I’m still getting used to being out of the tribe. I couldn’t help but let my head droop slightly. “Morning…” He trotted towards me, pulling the tube out of my foreleg. I had forgotten I had that in me. I was grateful that there was no more orange liquid flowing through it. While I was glad that I didn’t have to drink the vile liquid, it still made me shudder having it flow through my blood. Still, I did have to admit it did the job. My insides had solidified again, and I was now able to move without feeling like I was about to melt. Doc made a gesture to the door with his head. “Would you like to come through with me? I made us breakfast, and then we can start your lesson on using your Pipbuck.” I began to follow him through to what was his living room. It was pretty small and dingy, but I wasn’t complaining. I had spent my entire life without a solid roof over my head, so dim lighting was something I was still getting used to. On a small table in front of a couple of comfy looking chairs was a tray with a couple of boxes of canned preserved food. We both sat down and began to tuck in. I can’t say it was particularly flavourful, but for some reason this ‘dried oats and corn’ seemed to agree with me more than radhog meat ever did. I made a silent promise to myself not to vomit up this meal. Once we’d finished, he began his demonstration. I must say, I knew Pipbucks were special, but I never anticipated it to be as amazing as it was. He first went over what I already knew, about how the map and inventory worked, about its ability to store recordings and messages, and explained what that holographic framework was. Calling it an “Eyes Forward Sparkle” or E.F.S. for short. It displays where you are currently heading to, anything alive around you, and even displays whether their hostile or not. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but Doc assures me it’s true. My Pipbuck even has a thing called a radio on it. Apparently I can hear ponies’ voices from miles away using it, but he says that only DJ Pon3 is worth listening to. To top it all off, it can even display my current medical health. I was also right about the clicking, it was a radiation detector. Now, as fantastic as all of that is, and believe me, it’s a lot, it all paled in comparison to what he told me next. “It’s called S.A.T.S. You can bring it up at any time, and the moment you do, the Pipbuck will sync with your brain, seeming to slow time to a standstill. It will allow you to lock onto any part of any target you want, and it even shows the likelihood of hitting.” Well, given my luck with shooting, I would imagine it would always say ‘not bloody likely’. Still, that may well help me hit next time I’m blindsided by a pack of monsters. “Think you’ll remember all that?” It was a lot to remember, I have to admit, but this was worth remembering. I’m sure I’ll do fine. I nodded. “Then that concludes our little lesson. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. I hung up all of your equipment by the door. When you’re ready, just head on outside.” As much as I would have liked to have stayed in the large cushioned chair, I had taken up enough of his hospitality. It was time I took my leave. “Thank you so much Doc. I think I’ll spend some more time in Hoofsprings.” He nodded politely as I reluctantly got out the chair and turned away from him. Stopping to collect and equip my effects, I opened the door and stepped outside. *** *** *** I had to squint to avoid the glare of light as I stepped out of the house. My eyes had gotten used to the gloom, so the morning light was sharper than I would have wanted. I decided I should go down to the saloon. I was thirsty, and who knows, I may be able to get an idea of what I wanted to do next. As I walked down the street, ponies were stopping and thanking me for what I had done. There clearly wasn’t that many residence here, and most of them looked like they wouldn’t last long in a fight. What, and you would? You should have died long ago and you know it. Don’t start judging others when you won’t last in a fight either. I hated myself sometimes. I took a good look at the saloon. It had clearly seen better days. It was made of old and weathered scavenged wood. It appeared as if it had been built in a couple of days, which struck me as rather impressive. I nudged open the door and entered. No sooner had I entered and adjusted to the dim light was I met with a cheer from the ponies sitting around the bar. The barmaid waved for me to come over to her. “Ah know ya’ll prob’ly heard it enough times already, but thanks partner. ‘Cause of you, we’re still breathin’. Ah know it ain’t much, but for today drinks are on th’ house.” I trotted towards her, taking a seat on one of the bar stools. I can’t say it was the easiest thing ever to sit on, but it was comfortable enough I guess. “Thank you. I was just wanting to help. Glass of water please.” She gave me an odd look. “Ah’m offering yah any drinks yah want for free and yah still choosin’ water?” I tilted my head slightly. “Ok, what else do you have? Any Sunrise Sasparilla?” She shook her head, looking slightly regretful about it. “‘Fraid not, but we do have Sparkle-Cola if ya’ll are interested. We also got scotch, whiskey ‘n’ whine if yah wantin’ somethin’ a little stronger.” I just looked at her blinking. I’d never heard of any of them. She just gave me a smirk. “We’ll start yah up with a Sparkle, then ya’ll can try the others later.” She disappeared under the counter, then came back up with a dark curved bottle in her mouth. She placed it on the counter and nudged it towards me. Taking it, I bit off the top bottle cap, and began to gulp, the liquid fizzing in my mouth. It had a smooth carroty taste, and a surprisingly hard kick for an aftertaste. It didn’t take me long to finish it. I dropped the bottle onto the counter. “Another one of them please…erm” I froze, I couldn’t remember if I had asked her name or not. She must have known my name now, everypony in Hoofsprings seemed to. I turned slightly red. She just smiled and gave a small warm laugh. “Name’s Scotchtap, an’ another Sparkle comin’ right up.” She ducked under the counter to pull out another bottle. The ponies sitting around me began to thank me for what I had done. I was now starting to feel almost as if I was a hero. I shook myself, I’m not a hero. I’m a lost outcast just trying to do what’s right. Scotchtap came up again with another bottle of Sparkle-Cola. She gave it to me, and then turned around to a metal machine sitting on the counter behind her. She gave the knob a turn, and the machine started to give out loud static. She gave it a smack with her hoof. “Stupid radio! Gone on the fritz again!” Radio...doesn’t my Pipbuck have one of them? Doc showed me how to use it, maybe I could fix it? If not, I could always switch mine on at least. I stood up and trotted to it. “Mind if I take a look?” She stepped to one side. “Be mah guest.” I took out a spanner and screwdriver from my belt and looked at the radio. Opening up the back of it, I shone my Pipbuck to illuminate the inside. I finally felt back in my element, all the wires and mechanisms were almost like second nature to me. I may have never seen a radio before, but that didn’t stop me from being able to work out what I needed to do to fix it. I saw that one of the wires had become severed. Spitting out my spanner, I took both ends in my mouth and by using my tongue was able to wrap the exposed copper into a knot. With a small electric shock, the radio bust back into life. Everypony in the saloon went quiet. ‘…so good luck Lightbringer. Next we have a story from down in the Collerodeo desert. After a raider attack on a tribe of ponies, a few survivors managed to escape, but ran into where a pack of Hellhounds had set up home. I thought the story would have ended there, but then to my surprise, one managed to make it out alive, and if that wasn’t enough, then wanders into a stable, and to top it all off, then goes and has a standoff with a gang of Commonwealthers by himself! And won! I don’t know what he found in that stable, but it seemed to give him the edge, stopping the gang from attacking the small town of Hoofsprings. I’ll be keeping my eye out for you now Tribal, keep up the good work. Now let’s all getting shaking it to the beats of Sapphire Shore’ The box then began to play some upbeat song. I can’t say I was really listening to it. I was too busy being shell-shocked at what I had just heard, as well as drooling from the shock I received to my mouth. The entire Saloon burst into cheering and laughter, a number of the patrons coming to congratulate me on getting mentioned by DJ Pon3. But…he was wrong. I was worried that he was able to track me like he could, but he was wrong. I wasn’t running with survivors, I was running away from hunters, ponies I used to live with. I only went into that Hellhound nest because I wanted to avenge them. I was not a hero at all, and yet the stallion on the other side of the speakers seemed content to make me out as one. I was brought out of my thoughts by the feeling of a rather strong pony smacking me in the shoulder with one of her hooves. “Not every day that you get mentioned by Pon3, calls for a celebration, don’t you think? Scotch, two glasses of your finest whisky.” I turned to see a bright yellow mare with a somehow even brighter orange mane with her horn poking out, clad in leather barding, calling out to the bartender. Two glasses of brownish orange liquid were pushed towards us. The mare tossed a few caps to Scotchtap, and then levitated her glass to her lips, taking a large swig of it. I just looked at my glass, it smelled a little…strange, but it fit in pretty well with the rest of the saloons’ musky scent. I tilted the glass towards me and took a small sip. It almost felt like it was burning my throat as I swallowed. I couldn’t help but go into a small coughing fit. My current drinking partner just chuckled, putting out her hoof towards me. “Not got much of the hard stuff where you come from, ‘Tribal’? The names Sunny Smiles.” I took her hoof and shook it, blushing again slightly. “Deadset.” I looked down at the drink again. “What is this exactly?” I took another sip and had the same reaction as last time. Maybe I was drinking it wrong; she swigged it down after all and didn’t nearly cough up her guts. Maybe I should try that. I tilted the glass and took a large gulp. Next thing I knew I was picking myself up off the floor. I thought my coughing fit was bad with just the sips, but it was nothing compared to what happened then. Sunny gave me a hoof and helped me back up. The world was starting to spin slightly, but in spite of that, I felt good. “It’s whisky. Alcohol. By the looks of it, you’ve not had any before.” I nodded, and my whole body started to tingle. It was as if the movements were happening a second after I was wanting them to. My insides were beginning to feel nice and warm. I was also beginning to sway to the music on the radio. I turned to Scotchtap. “Another two…glasses of whisky please.” She poured them and I drank mine down quickly again. I then danced through the day and night with Sunny. *** *** *** When I awoke I was expecting to be in Docs bed again, given how much my head was throbbing. Urgh, I can hardly remember anything that happened last night. I can remember drinking that whisky stuff, and dancing, and…nothing beyond that. Thinking’s hard. Where am I anyway? I tried to get up, but my body wasn’t too keen on doing what I wanted at the moment. It was content to just lay there. I looked around. I was on a mattress, nowhere nearly as comfortable as the bed I had spent the last two nights in, but since I wasn’t there, I could only assume I didn’t nearly die again. That is a good step forward for me. I have had enough of nearly dying. The door to the small room I was in then swung open, and Scotchtap was standing in front of me. “Ah, Deadset, good ta see yah’ll awake. Yah got a lil’ drunk last night, so ah let yah’ll sleep here in the back room. Come on, git up, Sunny’s waitin’ for yah.” I simply let out a mumble and groan of acknowledgement. Her words were drilling into my skull. I really did not want to get up. I rolled over, facing away from Scotchtap, hoping she’d leave me alone for a little longer. The kick I got in the back told me she wasn’t going to do that. “Come on, git up, or I’m gonna have ta start charging yah room an’ board.” I let out a few more groans and mumbles as I slowly rose to my hooves. It’s amazing the will you can find when you have someone fussing over you, if just to get them to stop. Once I was standing, she smiled at me. “There we go, not so bad, ain’t it? Come on now, Sunny’s waitin’ for yah.” She had better be joking. I felt terrible, it was as if somepony had put my head on top of a rock and stamped down as hard as they could. She held the door open as I stumbled out and into the main area of the Saloon. It was a lot quieter today, with only Sunny sitting on a barstool, tucking into some food. I was pretty hungry come to think of it. She turned to me and smiled. “Morning sunshine, hope you enjoyed last night.” I just mumbled and growled as I sat down on the barstool next to her. I may have, but I couldn’t remember it, and I really doubt I could have enjoyed anything that left me feeling like this. “Aww, now don’t be like that. Scotch, give him a dose of fixer and…what would you like to eat, Deadset?” She turned to me. I mumbled “carrot cakes” as best I could. She smiled and nodded at Scotchtap, who proceeded to rummage under the counter for a little while, before returning with a box of carrot cakes, and a small white tablet. I should have been happier to see my favourite meal sitting before me, but in my current state, I don’t think any emotion beyond grumpy would be even remotely possible. I began to clumsily open the box before Sunny stopped me, shaking her head. “Trust me, take the fixer first, you’ll feel a lot better.” She was bigger and stronger than me, so there was no point even trying to argue, even if I was certain nothing could make me feel any better. I grumbled, popping the pill in my mouth and swallowing. No sooner had I felt it go down my throat was my head beginning to clear and the pain disappear. I fell back slightly from sheer shock of the cleansing wash my body went through, waving my legs around to try and remain balanced. Once I had rocked back into place, I just stared at Sunny, mouth wide open. She giggled slightly. Scotchtap spoke up. “Yah’ll got drunk last night, so yah got a hangover this mornin’. That there fixer I gaves yah gone cleared up yah head.” Couldn’t have put it better myself. My stomach started to rumble, reminding me that I was actually very hungry. I turned back to my carrot cakes and began to tuck in. Could this morning get any better? First miracle headache cure, and now the sweet carroty goodness of carrot cakes. This is the life. Sunny looked up from her own meal, which she had been levitating to her mouth, instead of my tactic of eating, which was just shove my mouth against the counter and chew. “So, ready for the shooting lesson I promised you yesterday?” Wait, she promised me a shooting lesson? She can remember promising me one? Even with my head cleared, I can’t remember what happened last night. She could not have been drinking the same stuff as me. I looked up from my cakes. “Erm, sure…don’t remember you offering me one though…” She smirked. “Oh that’s normal if you’re not used to alcohol. Anyway, judging by how you struggle to use your horn, you could do with a bit of training.” She tapped my horn with her hoof, and I couldn’t help but blush. I must have done something last night to give away the fact that I was terrible with magic. I wish I could remember anything. She got up from her bar stool and threw some caps on the counter, then made her way to the door. I began to do the same, but when my caps hit the counter, Scotchtap began to push them back to me. I gave her a look saying that I had used up enough of her generosity for one lifetime, and she reluctantly scooped them up and put them away. I then trotted over to Sunny. *** *** *** We went outside and she led me around to the back of the saloon where there was a row of cans sitting on a fence. She turned to them, levitating out a magazine loaded rifle. With three loud bangs, three cans flew off from the fence. “Now you try.” Oh thanks for making it look so easy. I unholstered my revolver, and clenching it as tightly as I could between my teeth, I look aim at one of the cans and let off three shots. Each shot successfully managed to miss the can, only making small holes in the wall behind them. I spat misfortune out, thinking the name my Pipbuck gave it was rather apt. Sunny just looked at me with a confused expression. “Deadset, why don’t you use your magic? I saw you use it against the Commonwealthers, so I know you can do it.” I just stared down at my cracked hoof. “I can’t use it safely. It was a miracle I didn’t accidently shoot the talisman or one of the ponies. I just can’t do it without hurting somepony.” Her expression of confusion didn’t change, but at least she decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to ask further. I really didn’t want to think about Winter Dew any more. You just did. Dammit. “Well shoot, let’s just get you better with your revolver then. Now, bite it a little harder, and never take your eyes off the target. When you pull the trigger, don’t jerk it back, and finally, don’t flinch when you do fire.” That all seemed pretty obvious…still, she’s the expert, so I guess I wasn’t doing all of that. I reloaded my revolver, and then took aim again. I took my time with my shot this time. I locked my eyes on the can, pointing the barrel directly at it. I held my teeth down far tighter on the mouthgrooves. I slipped my tongue on the trigger and slowly pulled back. *Crack* I couldn’t believe it. I actually hit it. The can fell to the floor in a loud clatter. I had actually hit it. I just blinked, not believing my eyes. I was the worst shot in the entire tribe, I had never once hit a target first time, and yet the can had fallen off the fence. Misfortune slid out of my widening mouth. I turned to look at sunny, who was just smiling. I had really hit it. I couldn’t help but bounce a little in glee. Just a few pointers and I was able to actually hit something. Sunny just chuckled as I bounced around like a foal. “Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!” I finally came to a stop in front of Sunny, giving her a massive hug. She laughed, pushing me off her. “Guess you’re not used to hitting things the first time. Hit a few more and then we’ll head down to the old memorial, normally a few critters to practice on there.” After pulling myself back together, I trotted over, picking up misfortune and took aim again. Four shots later three more cans had dropped to the ground. Not a perfect score, but it was a dam lot better than my average. I still had a huge grin plastered on my face. “Well then, I guess you need to get some practice in with some moving targets.” She turned and trotted off, me following closely, revolver still between my grinning lips. I was still whispering to myself. “I actually hit them.” *** *** *** Well, all good things come to pass. Hitting a moving animal was almost as hard as I remembered. While it wasn’t so much of blind luck as it was before, it didn’t stop the majority of my shots hitting the ground near them. It wasn’t until I had a close call with a radscorpion nearly stinging me that Sunny decided to give me a little support. “Fuck that was close!” I yelled as the bug exploded from one of Sunnys’ shots. I was now a little covered in scorpion blood. Perfect. I whipped off the ichor that splattered onto my face, flicking it to the ground. I was pretty grateful Sunny was here. Although I was definitely doing better than usual, I would have taken a few stings by now, and I could remember a scout coming back to the tribe once after a run in with the sharp end of the scorpions. They’re not fatal, but by the gods do they make you sick. Sunny called out to me. “We’re here.” I looked over to her; she was standing by a large statue of a pony holding up a flag. On the base of it was an inscription. I trotted closer to read it. “In memory of wing commander Soarin’ and all other brave ponies that gave their lives in the defence of Collerodeo. May they never be forgotten” …Well that raises a lot of questions for me. Why would anypony ever defend this wasteland? What was there to defend? And against what? And who was this ‘Commander Soarin’? I turned to Sunny, confusion clear on my face. She just motioned with her head at a small ball encased in the stone. I looked at the sphere, then back at Sunny, even more confused. “Go ahead, try and levitate it.” Ok…I reached out with my magic and began to envelop the small glassy orb. “I’ll stay here to make sure you’re safe until you return.” Wait what? Too late, my mind was whisked away from me. <-=======ooO Ooo=======-> Oh Light and Darkpony Skewer me through my brain with their horns I’m fucking flying! How can I be fucking flying!? I was with Sunny only a couple of seconds ago! Where the fuck am I!? I tried to turn my head, but my body wouldn’t listen. I can’t even move my eyes by myself; they were flicking and darting from place to place on their own accord, the world tinted slightly blue. My eyes flicked upwards, and what I saw would have made my blood turn cold if it could. The ever-grey blanket that made the sky was gone. In its’ place was a great endless blue, with a few wisps of grey within it. Is this how I was flying? The gods had taken away the sky and I was being sucked upwards? No, oh Griffon claw out my throat, I can feel wings on my back. Everything felt wrong, as if this body wasn’t mine. I couldn’t feel my horn, and I had fucking wings on my back. I wanted to throw up, but I wasn’t even able to do that. I was clad in a skin tight blue suit with yellow lightning bolts across it. I could feel a heavy gun strapped to my side. It was then that I realised I wasn’t even a stallion anymore. The tight fabric just ran along between my legs as if there was nothing there. This couldn’t be my body… “Spitfire, get down!” I began to involuntarily look around, and saw a stallion, who was in the same tight blue suit with wings. This is turning into a really strange dream. The Stallion crashed into me, and we both began to fall out of the sky. Heat washed over my body as I turned to see an explosion where I was only a couple of seconds ago. It was then that I noticed I was in a battle. As I plummeted towards the ground, entangled with another impossible winged pony, all around us was gunfire and explosions. It was as if somepony had drawn a massive line in the ground as there was a gaping no-ponies land. My body sprang to life again, kicking off from the other flying pony, and with precision and grace, we wheeled around each other in the sky. Both of us were bleeding from the explosion. As far as I could see, no deep cuts, but both of us were flying towards a tent on the ground. When we landed, a group of ponies broke off from their positions. “Wing Commander Soarin, Commodore Spitfire, you’re wounded.” Both me and the other flying pony turned to look at a small blue earth pony, lifting up our goggles. So, I guess that means I’m ‘Spitfire’ in this dream. The other pony, ‘Soarin’ I guess, spoke. “At ease corporal, it’s only a scratch.” He turned to me and winked. I could actually feel myself blush. Was it me blushing, or this dream me? This was all so strange. The blue pony saluted and then stepped aside. “Marshal Fleetfoot is waiting for you inside.” The blue pony, and the rest of the group returned to their position and opened fire again. I had never seen a battle of this size. The biggest I’d seen was the battle against the raiders. This battle must have had hundreds of ponies fighting. Both Soarin and I pushed our way into the tent. All around us was the sounds of ponies talking into machines which I worked out must have been the input side of radios. There was constant clicking as ponies fiddled and adjusted various machines, and there in the centre was yet another winged pony wearing a tight blue suit, only she had her hood down. She had a blue coat similar to Soarin, but her mane was a pure white. She was flanked by various other ponies, paying close attention to her as she pointed at a board and spoke. As we trotted closer, she looked up with a look of great relief. “Spitfire! Soarin! You’re both safe. If a little wounded…” She spun around to a nearby pony and roared “Private Raindancer, get these two healing potions!” The young colt jumped, shakily gave off a salute and then ran off to the corner of the tent. I could then feel myself begin to speak. “Fleetfoot, both sides are locked in a stalemate. We need re-enforcements before the zebras bring in the centurions.” Fleetfoot looked slightly angry. By now Raindancer had returned with a couple of vials of purple liquid, and both Soarin and I began to gulp it down. I could feel my whole body tingle as it worked. “I’ve requested for a detachment from the ministry of peace, but that’s all. We can win this battle with nothing more. The army is strained enough, I won’t draw any more forces unless it’s urgent.” What were these ministries I was hearing about? I’d never heard of them before, but now in the past few days I had heard of them a few times. Soarin spoke again. “Marshal, don’t do this. The zebras are only using recruit legionaries. If they send in more experienced troops, it could tip the battle.” The marshal began to smile. I didn’t like the looks of this. “Only recruit legionaries you say? Well then, it appears there will be a change of plan.” She turned to the ponies that were gathered around him. “We turn to an attack. If they are only using less experienced troops, we shall seize the advantage and cripple them before they can do any more harm. Send out the message, we go over the trench in ten minutes.” I could feel myself step forward, my voice pleading. “No, Fleetfoot don’t do this. Belay that order, thousands of ponies will die if this doesn’t work. We don’t have enough troops to launch that attack!” Fleetfoot turned back to me, and I could feel my soul shrivel with the gaze I was met with. While filled with fury, her voice was disturbingly calm. “Commodore Spitfire I am giving you a direct order that you will obey. I am your commanding officer, so don’t you dare talk back to me. You and Soarin are to personally launch a strike against the zebra chain of command and cripple their ability to control their forces. Do you understand?” I could feel myself back away. I wasn’t even sure if this was a dream, or something else. “Yes Ma’am.” With that Soarin and I turned away and headed out of the tent. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes, although I was incapable of doing it anyway. I still had no idea what this was, as it was far too real to be a dream. Ponies around us were rushing into place, gathering various items they would need for when the assault happened. After a long silence, Soarin finally spoke. “Maybe she knows something we don’t? She is in charge after all. Would she just send us to die? Command always holds back secrets, in case zebras infiltrate us.” I could feel myself smile weakly. By now I was itching to be able to take control, it all just felt too restricting. “Tell you what, we make it through this, I’ll buy you a pie.” The light blue stallion began to lick his lips and almost began to bounce at those words. I chuckled, and then kissed him on the cheek. The Stallion began to blush, rubbing where my lips had been. Suddenly an alarm sounded out across the camp. Both Soarin and I dropped our goggles back into place and shared one final glance. I shouted to him over the yells of hundreds of ponies. “See you on the other side.” With that, we both shot up into the sky. I felt like my body should be lurching. This isn’t right. Ponies really aren’t meant to fly, and especially not at these speeds. I was travelling faster than I thought was possible. I could hear the all too familiar sound of bullets zipping past me, but I was skilfully rolling and dodging though the air. With all this whirling around, if I was in control of my body I would have vomited by now. I was now passing over rows upon rows of zebras. Some were firing futilely up at me, but when I glanced back for what I guessed was to check on Soarin, who was keeping close to my tail, was that the majority were firing at the advancing lines of ponies. They were being cut down in droves, but were closing the distance. It was going to be close. Spinning my head around and refocusing, my eyes squinted at a small encampment in the distance that was made obvious by a couple of campfires. In the centre of it was a large, flimsy looking building, far flimsier than even the saloon back in Hoofsprings. It was guarded by a couple of armoured zebras. I could feel myself bite down on a metal bar in front of me, and the large gun on my side give off a couple of loud bangs. One of the zebras fell down, a large pool of blood collecting around it, but its’ partner turned and began to return fire with a small automatic firearm, the rattling sound of its fire filling the air. I began to swerve again, trying to avoid the gunshots, but unable to target onto it myself. Pain rushed through my body as one of the bullets grazed my leg. I began to spiral towards the ground. Another loud bang struck out, and the automatic fell silent. I was flapping frantically, but with my concentration being on my bleeding leg, it was inevitable when I crashed into the dirt. *Thud* Beyond the pain in my leg, nothing else seemed to hurt too much considering I had just literally fallen out of the sky. I wasn’t even crying out in pain, although it was clear I was holding back. Soarin had landed next to me, the gun strapped to his side smoking slightly. He pulled out from his suit a small tube that I recognised to be med-X. I’d never used it myself, but I had been told that its’ effects where quite strong. I was about to find out as the syringe was thrown to me, and I injected it into the wounded leg. Almost immediately the pain died away. The weeping wound stopped bleeding, and it felt as if I could take on the entire world. I rose back up to my feet and gestured with my head towards the building. “Thanks Soarin, now let’s finish this before more ponies die.” We both reloaded our guns, and then rushed to the thin metal door that was the entrance to the shelter. With a slight nod, Soarin spun on the spot and bucked the door clean off its’ hinges. At the first moment I could, I burst through the opening and began scanning the area. I began to open fire at the zebras who were manning their own radio-stations, bullets tearing holes clean through their bodies before they even had the time to get up from their seats. Soarin dived in and started to do the same. Within seconds the room was nothing but a display of gore, with severed heads and torn apart torsos of unarmed zebras. We both just stood there, taking deep breaths. The radios in the room were begging to chatter loudly, the zebras on the other ends of them calling for guidance. I turned to Soarin and began to smile. Soarin smiled back at me, but his face quickly turned into one of horror. “Spitfire look…” My vision went dark, hearing blocked out by the loud crash of metal striking against my head. I could feel myself being thrown across the room. I crashed hard against something, feeling it fall on top of me. It was a few seconds before my senses returned to me. When they did, I was met with the sight of Soarin being under assault from a zebra nearly twice his size wielding a long, sparking metal pole. He would have made even my Claritian Elder look small in comparison. The zebra wielded his weapon in his mouth with far more grace and agility than I would have thought possible, each swooping arc narrowly missing the blue stallion as he leapt out the way, returning the attack with a shot from his rifle that harmlessly pinged against the zebras armour. The zebra barely seemed hindered by his weapon, roaring at us. “The Caesars will shall be done! Ponies will be crushed under his hoof!” I desperately tried to pull myself free, slowly squeezing myself out. I could hear every spark as the zebras spear swiped through the air. With one almighty push, I managed to squeeze myself out. I turned my attention back onto the zebra an- *BZzZZZzzzt* Soarin gave out a blood curdling shriek of agony as he was pinned to the ground by the zebra, the sparking end of his spear being pressed down onto Soarins’ chest. Smoke was beginning to rise off him and the smell of burning flesh was filling the building. The screams suddenly stopped and Soarin fell limp, bar a slight shiver from the electricity coursing through his body. I let out a howl of anger as I charged straight for the hulking zebra pinning the dying pony. With all my might I leapt at him, throwing all my weight into my collision. The zebra stumbled off of Soarin, but recovered, rolling back onto its’ hooves with grace, spear still gripped in his mouth. As he swung at me, I ducked slightly too late, the searing heat of the spear brushed my back, the suit melting from it. Even with the med-X coursing through my blood, that hurt, but not letting it stop me, I barely let out a cry of pain before launching myself at him again, smashing my skull into his. I gripped around his neck and repeatedly brought my head down onto his as hard as I could manage. One of the goggle lenses shattered and my vision turned red from both our blood. A shard of glass embedded itself into my eye as I still smashed against the behemoth. I was roaring in pain and anger. The zebra was stumbling around, dropping his spear. I finally let go, dropping down to spin on the spot and buck one of its forelegs with both hooves. A loud splintering noise and a roar of pain echoed out as the zebra fell down to my level. I quickly clutched the zebras spear in my mouth. In one violent thrust I lunged at the zebras head, the tip of the spear plunging through his armour, and driving deep down through his head. Only when my muzzle touched metal did I stop. The zebra just fell over, shaking violently, his body giving off a thick black smoke. I collapsed, crawling over to where Soarin’ lay. He was completely limp, a large burn mark on his underbelly. I shook him lightly. “Wake up.” No response. I began to shake him harder. “Wake up Soarin!” Still nothing. Tears were beginning to well up in my still intact goggle lens. I struck him against his cheek, yelling in desperation. “Wake up you bastard! Don’t leave me! Not now!” His eyes suddenly shot open, coughing up blood. When he stopped he turned to me, his breaths were weak and ragged. He was struggling to even whisper. “We did it Spitfire. I’m afraid though that I’m going to have to take a rain check on that pie though.” He brushed his hoof against my cheek, and with one final cough, let himself fall limp. I clutched him to me as tightly as I could, crying as the radios around the room rang out with the death cries of zebras and victory chants of ponies. <-=======ooO Ooo=======-> I opened my eyes, and I was back in my own body, which was currently lying in a heap in the dirt. Still, would take it over being in the sky again. I was met with the sight of Sunny sitting in front of me. “Welcome back Deadset. It’s pretty intense, isn’t it? Don’t worry nothing happened while you were gone.” I just gaped my mouth wide. I had so many questions, I didn’t know what to ask first. She just smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you more when we get back to the saloon.” Footnote: Level up New perk: Swift learner- after your experiences, you have had your mind opened to so many questions, and there is so much you want to know. You are now keeping an open mind and want to learn more. You now gain an additional 10% wherever experience points are earned. Extra notes: Guns skill-25 Repair skill-50