KAMLAAM The sound of the sniper rifle was close to deafening as Bolt was in a small apartment complex on the second floor taking out some random raiders down the street. It was always important for Bolt to be on alert and watching for any raider ponies because of his disadvantage at close range as he owned only a small firearm and a Dragonov sniper rifle. He didn't like risks nor liabilities which some people considered his only flaw, but what could a sniper do but be cautious.

It had been a difficult journey from the Crystal Empire to the outskirts of Manehattan but Bolt had survived which was the only thing that seemed to matter in this hellhole.

Bolt fired another round as the last confused and startled raider with her raggedy clothes crumpled to the ground along with her two other friends and slowly levitated his sniper to the holster on his back from which access was easy for even an earth pony making Bolt even deadlier. Bolt liked to think that he was the deadliest sniper in Equestria and some of his closest collegues thought too but he knew out in the world there were better sniper's with better aim and rifles than him.

The clouds were gray and low, just like everyday and that didn't really help Bolt's mood considering she was tired, hungry, and very depressed from the fact that he hadn't had any friends around for at least 2 weeks considering he had to take the 70 mile walk from the isolated empire and Manehattan but now it was only a few blocks to the Tower and then Straight Bolt would be relatively safe from the dangers of the wasteland.

As Cloud approached the now dead raider ponies he raised their packs for any supplies that would prove useful for him either personally or financially. One of the raider ponies had an automatic weapon made from scraps which was worthless, but the pony did have a lot of bottle caps and ammo which people would trade for a nice prize or even more bottle caps. Another pony only had a lazer pistol that had seen better days and the last one which had a more feminine body had a semi-auto rifle that had plenty of rounds and would prove useful for trading.

The tower was just around the corner, which would usually fill him with glee knowing that he was close to friendly and sane ponies but what was filling him with dread was the Rata-TATa-TAt of automatic gunfire from two sides. Last time he left Ten Pony Tower they were running low on supplies, but it had been so long since then that Straight Bolt didn't know what condition they were in.

All Bolt could think of were his friends who had escaped the Stable 42 massacre who he had grown close to for the longest time. All those friends in danger that would probably die if he didn't do anything about it.

Glancing around Bolt made the decision to set up on the fifth story of the building that had a veiw of the entire street. It used to be a diner and an apartment complex which meant it had plenty of windows that would give him the perfect conditions to adjust when necessary. As he climbed the stairs Bolt realized that the gunfire had ceased to a light Bam BAm Bam and that meant one of two scenarios: 1) the invading ponies died or 2) the defending ponies died. If it was number two that meant Bolt had only a small amount of time to get adjusted before the invading force blew open the doors and chaos broke loose.

After finding the perfect room Bolt set up shop and levitated his handgun and his sniper rifle up to the window and bed-side table next to him. Getting comfortable with the position he was in Bolt also decided to pull out his binoculars in which he used to scan the depressing street filled with rubble and pot-holes. He noticed 15 ponies all dressed in an assortment of clothing getting ready to blow the door open. Scanning just a bit more before getting to work he also noticed that there were two ponies that in order to be quick, swift and effective, he would need to take out first. One seemed to be a grunt as he looked like any of the other ponies but the only difference was the detonator for the sticky bomb attached to the thick steel doors protecting his friends from the horrors of what was waiting outside. The other distinct pony was wearing a very unusual suit that seemed to be in very good condition, but thats not what scared him. It was the huge sniper rifle on his back that seemed to be a larger caliber and what also seemed to have destroyed Ten Pony Tower's defense seeing as all the cover on the lookout was blown to smithereens.

This situation was not going to be an easy one to fix considering the factors. The thing is if Bolt killed the grunt with the detonator first that would alert all of the other invaders to his location, which would include the sniper and would mean Bolt would need to change windows because the large caliber sniper could easily destroy. If he killed the one with the massive sniper first, the other ponies would know where he was and the doors would be liable to being blasted open. Either way, he would need to make every shot count because Bolt's long journey deminished most of his ammo and at this point all he had were 16 rounds.

After closer inspection Bolt got ready to fire and after some more inspection he let the round in the chamber loose with a solid KRACK!. An explosion rumbled through the city as ten pipebombs let loose on the raiders with extreme vigorous violence killing eight of them in the process.

Bolt had experience in taking in every element of every situation and taking advantage of every obstacle and resource at your disposal. Even though shooting the bag of pipebombs was a risky move, it was definitely worth it now that he had eight rounds to pare to use. He wasn't too worried about the rest of the invading force. One question was still racing through his mind though which was, "Where had he gone?"

The suited pony who seemed to have a severe advantage to Bolt had disappeared. Right after the explosion everything had gone to chaos at the receiving end of his rifle. Eight corpses were strewn about, mangled to the point of no return and the rest of the ponies were scrambling, trying to find cover from the phantom shot of his rifle. Thank god the explosion covered his tracks and no one, including the sniper had seen or heard where his shot came from. That gave Bolt a clear advantage over the Bandit with the oversized cannon and gave Bolt time to survey the area for points any smart sniper would head.

Bolt finally spotted where even the most basic sniper would most likely hide and searched there. It was a bell tower that overlooked the entire road 15 stories up. Searching carefully with his binoculars he spotted the glint of a scope and right as he pulled his sniper out and took aim he saw a flash at the end of the sniper's barrel which meant bad news. Bolt quickly and gracefully launched himself onto the bed next to him as the wall that he had taken cover behind decintegrated into dust and pebbles.

Recovering from the surprise shot Bolt quickly ran back into the hall to find a better spot, a higher spot to put him on the same playing field as his rival. Climbing the stairs Bolt found the best cover he could on the 10th level, the highest level of the structure he had set up in and adjusted to take the shot on the sniper. His rival still had an advantage over him, literally of five floors which was a difficult task at 500 meters. Taking aim he settled his rifle on the head of the pony. The suited pony took another shot, but Bolt was ready for this BAM the wall next to him collapsed from the sheer force and size of the large caliber.

What Bolt had decided to do was put up a mirror shard he found on the way up in a way so that it looked like a sniper glint. He also covered his scope with a fine mesh that kept most of his glint out of sight, but still left him the ability to aim.

With the queue for his turn to shoot Bolt shot three concentrated, consecutive shots straight for the hopeless pony's head and soon saw blood splatter everywhere as every shot hit its intended spot.

With that pony out of the way Bolt turned towards the rest of the ponies who at this point were starting to get assembled again to open the doors, but with sheer force. They had thought their friend had taken him out, but little did they know they were going to be in for quite a shock.

The day was coming to the end and he had just finished packing up his gear to go and scavenge the poor corpses that had lost their souls not too long ago.

Bolt had already looted the sniper rifle from the pony who had lost to him in the intense duel and had been surprised by its quality. It was a genuine Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle, that had engravings that were elegant enough to make the princesses cry. In the beautiful engraving there had been a phrase etched in calligraphy onto the barrel with a degree of care that only someone would do if they were emotionally attached to it. The words read; "Only those who are worthy enough of this rifle may keep it, for those who aren't will parish in hell."

"Damn right, that is how the world is now," Bolt chuckled as he continually evaluated the newly acquired weaponry. Bolt then heard suddenly that someone had gotten behind him and had initiated his reflexes which made him turn in an aggressive manner.

"That sniper rifle is huge, you sure you're not overcompensating for something bucko?" The blue pony chuckled.

"Yeah its to help destroy your ego Blue Jae. You stupid motherfucker." Bolt responded with a grin and a bit of sarcasm.

"Well I'm glad you haven't changed one bit brother. Even though I still hate your guts, I still am happy you're finally home" Jae said as he approached Bolt with a grin.

Bolt settled down his weapons and embraced the gesture and open hooves for a brotherly hug that had been waiting for him for the past few years.

"I'm glad you're back, and in the nick of time, and I know it has been a long journey, but we need your help."

Bolt sighed at this and knew it was coming but decided to go along with it, "Okay, but I get first dibs on ammo and rifles from these here fuckers, they used up the rest of the ammo I had and I need a more combative weapon than this here beaut'"

"Fine, but I get your stupid sniper that you used to take out all of them shitheads, and by that I mean literally shit-heads."

It pained Bolt to do it but he eventually handed over the rifle, but he did however get a wicked assault rifle that was enchanted to make any bullet escaping the barrel explosive on impact, which Jae commented on it being the biggest shit-head, motherfucker, anal raper in all of Equestria. He also begged for the amount of ammo he got which was plenty of ammo and soon enough they entered the Ten-Pony Tower.