After a bitter war equestria is in runes and those left learn to fight and survive in this world.
Living in a world where everything wants to kill you is hard, that goes for everypony, As the young farmer Ransoms life falls apart, his friends and family killed, he is left with nothing other than a what he has on his back.
In this tale ransom will be faced with everything the wastland can throw at him and he will need to learn how to survive, but he will also learn how deal with something new to him...
*update I have redone the entire prolog and am working on redoing the chapters, I hope that they are a bit better, i will try not to rush them this tim around! /note This is my first Fanfic so i as that you would give me some feedback, i would appreciate it
There a lot of books that talk about how the war started, all of them have there own twist but the same basic idea. The dragons started to fight the ponies. Before the war started we did not bother each other, if we stayed out of there way they would stay out of are way, Those were nice times back then everypony lived to a ripe old age and died in peace but not anymore... But one day they wanted more than there mountains they wanted mare land also, they wanted are forests, are farms, are towns! So we fought back. It must have been year when they started running short on food and able body to fight. Those left had to make a dreadful choice they could send ponies into underground vaults where they would be safe from any harm that could befall them giving princess celesta room to create a spell that would destroy everything on the surface of equstrea, killing everything including the dragons and the ponies. But would save those who were alive in the vaults. The only other choice was to keep everyone on the surface and try there luck, and that did not like it would work out well for the ponies… Finally they are forced use the vaults, They chose to let the families go into the vaults first, after that they held a lottery to let those left into the vaults. Finally those who were left were forced to spend there last days knowing that they were about to be burned with the rest of the world . After that nopony knows what happened to anything outside of the vaults. We do know that for countless years if you left the vaults for some reason the level of magic left in the ground were to much for any living thing to handle, you would be dead in a matter of hours….
The young pony stops his fathers story at that point and says.” Wait if no pony was able to leave the vaults how could we still be alive, and who are there animals out still living there were not in the vaults?” The older colt looks at his son and says.” Well no need to cut off a good story ransom! I was just getting to the good part!” Ransom nods his head and says.” Yes father, but how could we still be alive?” Ransoms father smiles and says.” You always have been a smart one. Nopony knows why for some reason after a few hundred years the magic begin to lessen and soon the ponies in the vaults started to leave, It was about ten years ago that me and your mother left vault 117, and to answer your question about the animals, Well I don’t relly know…. Maybe its there lack of magical abilities that allowed there bodies to absorb the magic without being killed. But that is just what I think happened, nopony can be sure though…” Ransom smiles.” That makes since…”A thought crosses through ransoms mind and before he even knows what he is saying he asks.” Hey dad what was it like in the vault?” The colt smiles.” Well it was small, dark, and had the oddest smell, but it was safe, and we had food and water.” Ransom looks at his father and asks.” If it was safe why did you leave, you said that there were books and teachers and even running water!” The father nods and says.” Yes we did have all of those things, but a vault is only built to last so long, and are vault was the best stocked but somepony went mad, started a fire, most of are food stores were burned and we were forced to leave… “The colt lets out a long sigh, but soon he is back to his old self and says.” Why don’t we go finish up the work on the farm and then eat some food.” Ransom nods his head and stands up.” Ok, what is left, feed the cows and pick what ever is ripe, right?” The father nods his head and smiles.” Yep, I will feed the cows, you get out to the field and see if anything is ready to be picked!” Ransom nods and runs outside, The father sighs ands sits down for a second.” What have I done… bringing a child into this world… this burned, lifeless waste of a world… He looks out the small window of the farmhouse to see his son happly picking the corn that is growing in the field and smiles a little. “If anypony could make it out here though it would be him, even in a world where we need to sleep with a knife under a pillows, in a world where his mother is dead he is still happy, he still enjoys life.” He hangs his head for a second than gets up and walks outside to join his son in the work…
Later that evening the two were siting within the small farmhouse eating supper, the two are talking happly and enjoying there evening. All of a sudden there is a pounding on the door and a strong voice yells from outside. Ransom looks worried as his father says.” Ransom get under the floorboards like I showed you.” Ransom frowns and says.” But dad… what about you?” The colt smiles.” Oh don’t worry about me, I will be fine!” As he finishes replacing the floorboards where he is storing ransom the pounding on the door stops, the colt walks over to the the wall to grab the laser rifle he took with him when he left the vault, but as he is loading the battery into the rifle the door is not just kicked open but reduced to splinters. Four large colts walk in three of them with what look like homemade axes and the one that appers to be the leader has a old rife that must have been around since before the war. The leader smiles some and says.” Well hello sir, now it will make this a lot easer for my men if you just put that gun do…” The colt fires off a shot hitting on of the raiders with an ax, he fires again and again, the fight is short but soon it is just the colt and the raider leader left, the colt charges the leader and uses his rifle as a club to smash the head of the leader, he takes the blow right in the forehead and is knocked over. As the colt fumbles to stick another battery into his rifle he raider leader staggers to his hoofs and draws a knife, as the colt finally gets the batteries in and takes aim the raider lunges at the colt with the knife, he is able to get of a shot but not before the leader is able to stick the knife into the colts chest…
Ransom sits helplessly under the floorboards, all he can do is listen to the fight. It feels like hours, he just sits there, there have been no noises made for some time, than just as ransom is about to give up a weak voice calls out.” Ransom… Help….” when the young pony hears this be begins to kick the floor boards up untell he can get out, as he pulls him self up he runs into the main room. To his horror the front room is filled with dead bodies, as his eyes look over the bodies he spots his father who is under one of the raiders, he pulls the raider off his father and looks him over, There is a large knife loged into his chest, blood is flowing everywhere. The colt smiles weaklly and says to his son.” Well… glad that’s over…” Tears flow down Ransoms face. “Ho… how do I fix this… “ The colt frowns some and looks at his son. ‘There is nothing you can so… But its ok, I have lived a good life, but you need to promise me that you will not give up, you need to carry on and keep your chin up… I love you son…” The colt choughs weakly as he closes his eyes.” Its…ok…” The young pony can so nothing but cry as he holds his fathers dieing body, so he just sits there covered in a mix of ashes, tears and his fathers blood…
It has been 10 years since dad died, it has been hard but I have managed. The tall colt steps out of the house he has a long clock on and goggles to keep the dust out of his eyes, but bits of his black fur stick out with a his sliver mane in full view. He has what looks like a large wrist watch around his front right hoof, it is what is called a PIP-Boy It was his fathers, it one of the few things he left behind.
This day seemed normal as ever ransom got up watered his field, fed the cows, picked what crops were ready. During the midday meal The tall colts robot Tobin who is a mister handy, a kind of home butler from before the war he is about the height of a pony but is floating about two feet off he ground, he has a light blue paint on him and has six arms around his dome of a head that also acts as his body, the robot brought out some food and spoke to his master.” How is your day sir?" The colt replies.” Still alive I guess and almost done with the work." The robot says.” Very good is..."He is cut off by the sound of a loud motor as a motorcycle pulls out around the farm. Ransom puts down his food and get up to see what the noise is, but as he walks around the farm house The bike fly’s around almost hitting him. "What is wrong with you?" he yells. The rider of the motorcycle stops and gets off.“ Oh you don’t know how to have any fun!" As the pony get of the motorcycle and pulls off its helmet and goggles. She is a unicorn with tanish fur with a red main.” How goes the work ransom?" Ransom lets out a sigh and sits back down at the table.” You cant just ride up on people like that Mel, You know that somepony will think you are some kind of raider and shoot on sight..." Her full name is melody but most call her Mel.” Oh come on ransom you know it was just a bit of fun!" She walks over and puts a hoof on his shoulder.” Are you ok?" Ransom sighs.” Well...no...Its dads birthday..." Mel nods and sits down by him.” Do you want to talk about it?" Ransom just shakes his head. Mel nods and says.” Well...maybe we could do something." Ransom looks at her and says.” Yeah a nice drink at the haybale would be nice." Mel is quite for a few seconds that says in some what of a shy voice.” Well, I was thinking we could just go some where just the two of us... You know like a date?" Ransom looks shocked, the mare that he has had a crush on since he was little had just ask him on a date, but for some reason That just made him mad, like she was just trying to spite him, she knows this is his fathers birthday and she knows that he just wants to be left alone for a day to, so he snaps.” WHATS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU KNOW I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE RIGHT NOW!” He slams his hoof on the table, looking back on this there is no reason he should be acting like this, Mel has been his best friend for most his life, But there she is now run back to her motorcycle with tears running down her face. Ransom watches as the bike rides off into the hills and says.” Now I rely need that drink..." He get up from the table and walks around the back of the house passing some cows, they are horribly mutated from years of breading in the wasteland, they must have been some of the only animals to make it though the war with out dieing but it came at a cost… As ransom walks past them he walk over to a small barn and pulls out his own motorcycle, it is nothing fancy and covered in rusty parts but it is great for getting from point A to point B quick. As he pulls it out of the barn he stops and looks at two small graves right next to the farmhouse, there is a bushel of flowers that have been placed there recently. He is upset by this because the only other person that knew about today was mel and he had just run her off…
Ransom pulls out of the farmland and on to the rundown road, there is not much left of it but there is enough to give him an idea of where he is going, he checks the side pouch of the bike and gives a brief smile as he pats the bat that sits there ready for any kind of combat. As he drives through the wasteland he looks at the rundown state of everything, there are a few farms here or there but mostly it is just the burned ground for miles upon miles a few piles of ruble that were once houses. Ransom spots a stray pack of wolfs on a near by hill and makes a note to himself to check the fence around the farm in case they come to explore….
After about a half hour of riding he sees a good sized town with a wall made of anything and everything, he let out a sigh and pushes forward to make it to the city…
Chapter 2 : The burning city/ The Haybale :later that night
Ransom walks up to the bar and sighs, this is how he has spent most of his free time since his father died. As he walks into the rundown building, it is dimly lit on the inside and there is a few ponies here and there having a drink and talking. From behind the bar the old bartender lets out a shout.” Hey ransom! thought you might show up tonight, just got a fresh shipment of cider in, It is...well better than most of the slop we get!" Ransom sits down at the bar and give the tender a small bag of caps.” Yeah...going to be a long night..." The bartender looks at the colt and asks as he hands him his drink "Why are you so down son?" Ransom looks at him and sighs.” I don’t want to talk about it thunder..." Before the Old colt can say anything another pony walks up and says a bit to loud.” Another round for me and my friends Thunderhooves sir!" The bartender looks at him and says.” Do you have the cap?" The loud colt checks his belt for his coin purse and laughs.” Well... no but You wont mind giving an old friend some on the house, right?" Thunder yells at the colt.” This is the third day in a row you have not played me, I want you out of my ba..."Ransom pushes a hoof full of caps into the bartenders chest and says." Just give them what they want..." Both look surprised but say nothing, the colt just takes the drinks and walks back to his table in the corners. The bartender looks at ransom and asks.” Well, why did you do that?" Ransom takes another swig of his drink before answering him.” To shut you two up... To much to ask?" The bartender nods and say.” Mind if I ask wot happened?" Ransom looks up with somewhat of an angry glance and say.” You know what just get me a bottle of applejack Daniel to go..." And with that he sets the rest of his caps on the bar and gets up and gets his clock and goggles on, grabs the bottle and walks out of the dimly lit bar...
As ransom walks out of the bar and into the dirty street he fits his goggles on his face and passes an old sick looking colt who says.” You not sticking around for cards tonight?" Ransom looks over his shoulder and says.” Not tonight lucky..." Ransom looks at the wall that surrounds the town, they called it the burning city because shortly after it was built the wall caught of fire and everything burned, they rebuilt and carried on, guess its just a joke.
Other than the wall there is a few houses dusted around the town and near the center there is a market that is well lit with ponies going to and fro getting what they need for the night. As ransom walks threw the market owners of the stores try to get him to look at there goods and grab his attention. When he gets to the outer wall he climbs up the stairs and says to the guard.” Hey I will take this shift, go get some food." The guard does not need any pony to tell him twice.” Sound good to me ransom, have a good night!" He runs into the night.” Well...at least somepony is happy..." He takes a seat over the wall and pulls out a knife to open up his bottle of Applejack Daniel he bought, He thinks to himself.” I hope that the rest of the night can be peaceful…
Ransom does not remember what woke him up, it might of been the screaming, it could have been the guards rushing by him to get a look over the wall at whatever was at the main gate. Whatever it was it was causing quite the uproar, As ransom is trying to find out what is going on he is knocked out of his chair. He pulls himself out of the dust and looks over the wall. ” Oh god..."One of the guards starts to ring the warning bell and other bar the doors.” At arms, everypony be ready for a fight!" That should is yelled out after every few rings of the bell. Ransom stumbles down the stairs when somepony grabs him by the collar and asks.” What is it sir?" Ransom looks at her and her screaming child.” There are raiders..." She looks horrified, a few tears well up in her own eyes.” Ho...how many?" Ransom sighs.” More than enough...Im sorry..." Now tears are freely flowing from her eyes and she runs off into the crowd with her child. Ransom just walks calmly to some abandon corner and plops down. "Well...guess this is one way to go..."
Raiders, no one knows where the group started but they have been here as long as we have, they are a bunch of savages that tend to raid small farms and travelers, every once in a while they get a large enough group to hit a small town, but nopony thought that would every happen here, there was nothing they needed, the town was mainly miners and farmers...
Ransom is snapped out of his thoughts by somepony pulling off his hood and yelling at him.“You need to move, its not safe here! When ransom looks it he sees it Mel standing over him with a worried look in her eyes.” Why, so I can die somewhere else?" Asks ransom. Mel looks at him and yells.” Look I know you have had a bad day but suck it up for now, we are going to get out of here!" and with that she pulls him to his hoofs and starts running with him in tow.” Maybe we can hold them off..." Ransom stops and says.” Mel how could we stop them?" Mel thinks for a second, but before she can say here idea they are pulled into a crowd who is gathering at the gate. A rough looking pony stand on a crate and says.” Ok I need someponys who are willing to lead a charge to try to run off these raiders, I am not going to lie this does not look good, there are at least twice as many of them as there are us but we need to try, will anyone join us?" It is slow at first a pony here and there than Mel turns to ransom.” We need to help, we know how to use guns and fight..."And with that she pushes her way though the crowd to join the group. Ransom does not know what to say. He has never killed anyone before, yes he knows how to fight but he has never had to put it into play. He stands there for a second than mutters under his breath.” Fine...this ones for you pa..." As he says that he pushes his way to join Mel.
After being outfitted with a what they could offer he finds Mel cleaning her rifle.” How do you think we will do, Mel?" She smiles some.” Twenty some ponies agents a hundred savages, great odds!" Ransom sighs.” I am sorry about this afternoon... maybe after this we could go on that date..." Mel smiles but is cut off before she can say something by somepony yelling "We charge in thirty seconds!" Mel says.” Well guess that’s are cue, eh?" As they gather around the gate ransom checks his rifle, Its an older, maybe even from before the war but it still works, most of the ponies have swords and axes and swords but a few have guns, it is vary hard for a pony to learn how to use a gun they are large, awkward and you need to use two hooves to use it, But ransoms father thought him well. Him and Mel are standing near the end of the group. "Ten, nine, eight,..." The count down must have lasted forever, but as soon as it ended the gates flew open and they flooded out, to ransoms horror one of the radars threw some kind of Molotov cocktail, a favorite of the radars at a group of the ponies and with that five of the twenty lay burning in a pool of flames. Ransom stairs in horror not knowing what to do when out of the corner of his eye he sees movement and he raises his gun, it is thunder rolling on the ground fighting hoof to hoof with one of the raiders Ransom runs over, aims and shoots the raider in the head, the sound shocks the bartender and he looks up.” Oh its you son... Thanks for that.” Ransom loads another shell into the chamber and says.” Well better find a weapon sir." Thunder nods and gets up to grab the club of the body of the raider that was just killed, he grabs it and runs off to rejoin the fight. Ransom takes a glance back at the pool of flames that is lighting the battlefield, He spots a raider to he right about running at somepony and he raises his gun.” Sorry..."He pulls the trigger and pumps the next shell into the chamber…
The fight must have been hours, but it felt like just a few seconds.” I need some help!” Some pony yelled out who must have been somewhere near ransom, as he ran to the voice he seen two ponies in the dirt fighting for control of a knives. Ransom raises the gun, aiming it at the raiders head, but as he pulls the trigger and the gun just clicks.” No..." He fumbles in his pocket for a spear shell but before he can load it the raider overtakes the pony and stabs it in the chest. Ransom slams the shell into the gun and shoots hitting the raider in the leg. He runs over the see how bad the pony was when he sees it was Mel. Tears welt up in his eyes and he checks to see if she is still breathing.” Mel, Mel are you ok?!" Her eyes open a little and a smile crosses her face.” Hey...*cough* how goes it...?" Tears rundown ransoms face.” You are going to be ok Mel..."He looks at the knife sticking out of her chest and yells.” I NEED SOME HELP, SOMEPONY GET A DOCTOR!" Mel looks up at ransom and says. ” Its ok... everypony has there time..." Ransom shakes his head and says in a horse voice with tears still freely flowing down his face. "No You cant die, You are my best friend, my family... I love you Mel.." Mel smiles.” I know, *gasp*... You think I would not notice how you talked to me and how you talked to everyone else, *cough* But you know...I have felt the same way...guess that what we get for being quite..." She gasps for breath, you can tell she is in great pain. "No Mel not like this, you will make it we still have to go on that date. Oh god, there is so many things I need to as..." Than everything goes black as a sharp pain shoots though ransoms skull….
A crow screeches as it picks over the dead bodies only to be scared off by a scavenger, as he picks through the bodies he runs across ransoms bodies, he rolls it over and to his shock it is still breathing. "Hey boss we have got a live one over here!" Another, much larger pony walks over to the scavenger and says to him, "Is he hurt?" The scavenger shakes his head,"No sir he was just smacked in the head, he should be right as rain soon!" The larger of the colts nods and says."Well than get him out of the way, don't want any new slaves running off do we?".
As Ransoms head clears he hears the two ponies argue over a gun that was found, It does not take long for ransom to figure that the two are slavers. He feels around on the ground for any kind of weapon, soon he runs his hoof across the butt of a gun, he slowly pulls it closer himself and waits for one of the two to get close enough to grab him. It is not to long tell the smaller of the two walks over to ransom to see if he was awake yet, as he gets within a few feet of ransom he rolls over pointing the gun at the scavengers head yelling." Don't you dare move!" The scavenger is shocked but does not move at all. Ransom slowly gets up keeping the gun pined on the scavengers head." Ok now you two are going to walk out of here and leave this city alone, you hear me?" The larger of the two scavengers smiles some and looks at ransom." You mean that city." He says as he points to the blazing pile of ash that was once The Burning City... Ransom is sicked, how could anypony kill so many. Before he even knows what he is doing he is yelling at the two."Get on your knees, NOW!" The two do not need much more promoting and get on there knees." Ok tell me who did this or i will blow your heads off!" The smaller of the two is the first to speak." They were just a group or raiders, nothing special about them!" Than the larger of the two speaks up." No there was something about them, you see we traded with that group last week, they bought a lot of stuff saying they were working on something, but i did not ask, Thats all we know sir!" Ransom frowns."SO you sold them the weapons that were used here to kill everypony that lays dead around you..." He sighs deeply than shoots the larger of the two in the back of the skull. The smaller one cry out to ransom. "No please... I did not know, i just started traveling with this guy, just let me go!" Ransom lets out a sigh and says."Fine, But when i let you go you better run, and if i ever see you again you will end up like your friend here!" The pony nods and than stands up slowly. "Run!" Ransom yells. The pony does not need to be told twice, he darts off leaving everything behind.
Ransom looks through the bodies, among them he finds Thunderhooves, the lady who he spoke to just before he found Mel and meany others who he called friend. After some time of looking he found Mels body, with tears flowing from his eyes he sobs over her lifeless body stroking her mane." Oh god Mel... " After some time he wraps to body in some cloth he found in the runes of one of the stores and begins to walk back to his farmhouse...
As the sun once again begins to rise over the once grand world. Ransom looks up as he fills in the last of the hole that now stands a his best friends grave.He chokes back tears as he goes inside and slams the door. He looks around the house and begins to fill a bag, he fills it with cans of food, water bottles, first aid kits. Than he grabs his fathers laser rifle off the wall and loads a battier into it. He walks outside and fires off a shot into the sky to see if it is still working, after a shooting at a few rocks he get the just of the aiming and goes back inside. After packing up what he needs for a hour or so he sets down on the mat that serves him as a bed and calls his robot Tobin to him, as the robot shows up he says."Tobin, your plasma launcher still works right?" The robot replies." That is correct sir!" Ransom smiles some." Good, It will be nice to have another gun when we leave..." The robot does not respond and just stays where it is, Soon ransom falls asleep for what will be the last time in his childhood home....