//------------------------------//
// Aeron  
// Story: Thanatos' Creed 
// by Shadowflash 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1



Aeron



Edited by:
Gunsmith 
Eldorado
Sorren
Narlepoax III
RainbowBob

Pre-read by:
Regidar
ABronyLife42








Rainbow Dash burst through the doors of the Golden Oaks Library, furiously shaking the snow off her wings. A dim fire crackled in the hearth to her left, and she rushed towards it, warming up from the freezing weather outside.
"Rainbow Dash! What're you doing here?" a voice questioned behind her, causing her to turn around.
"Was freezing cold, and that snow’s making my wings too heavy!" she explained in reply to the voice, which came from none other than Twilight Sparkle.
"Well, a knock would've been appreciated, too," Twilight joined Dash by the fire, sighing.
"Sorry," Dash gave a small giggle, shrugging.
"Well, how're you going to get to your house in this storm? Unless you want to stay here," The rainbow maned pegasus shook her head.
"No way, I don't want to stay here! Clouds are way comfier. Besides, I was hoping you'd just teleport me to my house, or something," Dash said hopefully, but Twilight shook her head.
"Not in this weather. It'll disrupt the link between you and your house, and probably place you somewhere else. The chances of you ending up at your house are about one in one thousand," Twilight explained, and the pegasus groaned.
"Oh, come on! Like it'll actually happen. Twi, just teleport me so I don't have to go to my house in this weather."
Twilight shook her head again. "No, Dash. Just stay here. One night won't kill you. Besides, I have cocoa ready if you'd like some."
Dash sighed. "I'll take some cocoa, but no way I’m staying here."
"Why, because it's a library?" Twilight deadpanned.
She shook her head in retaliation. "No, it's because I want to be at my house. I don't like mooching off other ponies!"
Twilight put a hoof to her forehead. "Dash, is this a pride thing? Really, it doesn't matter. You're my friend and you're welcome to stay here. Don't think of it as a mooching thing. Think of it as me offering you shelter in an awful storm."
The pegasus thought for a moment, but shook her head. "Nope. No can do!" She snickered, making Twilight groan.
"Well, at least have some cocoa. Don't say I didn't offer to let you stay, either," She nodded as Twilight got up, heading to the kitchen adjacent the fireplace at which she sat at.
Rainbow Dash waited idly, staring at the flickering flames. The warmth brought blood to her wings, letting her relax and stretch out in comfort. She curled her wings and spread them out, before putting them at her sides  She laid down as Twilight re-entered the room, levitating two cups on a silver tray. Lowering the tray to Dash, the pegasus took the cup in her hooves, blowing on the piping hot cocoa.
"So, how long is this weather supposed to keep up?" Twilight asked, seating herself next to her friend.
"Until tomorrow morning. Morning crew will come up and sweep it away. About... six or seven feet of snow," Rainbow Dash took a small sip from the mug, letting the sweet liquid warm her throat.
"That’s quite a bit for Ponyville. Hopefully it doesn't cause too much trouble," Twilight took a gentle sip of her cocoa. Dash nodded in response.
They sat by the fire for the next few hours, discussing trivial things. New Daring Do books, Celestia, the upcoming weather, et cetera. Rainbow Dash kept looking back at a clock on the wall, keeping in check with the time. Six-thirty became seven. Seven became eight. Eight became ten. Once it hit eleven, she knew she had to leave. Her cocoa had been finished long ago, so she stood up, stretched her wings, and gave one last look to Twilight.
"Well, I'm off!" The pegasus turned around, heading for the door.
"Wait, Dash!" Twilight stopped her, causing her to turn around.
"Yeah?" 
"Are you sure you don't want to stay? I don't want you getting hurt," Twilight pushed once more, but the stubborn mare wouldn't have it.
Shaking her head, Dash grinned with pride. "I'll be fine, Twilight! I'm the best flyer in Equestria, after all! Besides, it’s only a little snow. Shouldn't be that bad." 
Twilight sighed, and nodded. "Be careful, then. See you tomorrow, okay?" 
"Yup! See ya tomorrow, Twi!" 
Dash swiftly opened the door to be greeted by a much gentler breeze than before. The snowstorm was still whiting out everything ten feet from her face, but she launched herself into the cold night anyways, forgetting to close the door.
Flying in the direction of her cloud home, the Pegasus sped off into the white sea of precipitation. A torrent of fluffy flakes trailed behind her as she did so, and the breeze turned into a rush of wind, chilling her sides. But it didn't aggravate her as much as before. This weather had the frigidity of a cold shower, rather than that of an ice cube. 
Nonetheless, Rainbow Dash kept her speed. Unfortunately for her, the storm decided to pick up further, causing her range of sight to shorten. Unable to see past her face, Rainbow  stopped. She was mostly hoping it was her speed, but it was not. No, the snow was raging furiously into a blizzard, and small shards of ice started to beat against her wings. 
“Hail?” She thought. “Only one place causes this weather... the Everfree.” Dash smacked a hoof against her forehead as the ice shards continued to beat against her wings with even more force. “I must've flew by my house completely! I gotta get ou  ”










Everything was hazy as Dash awoke. Darkness shrouded her peripheral, but a bright light was beaming onto her eyes. She squinted at it, her heart beating faster and her eyes constricting in retaliation. The pegasus coughed as she tried to move, finding herself unable to. Something next to her spoke with a high-pitched, raspy voice.
"... The hell is that thing, kid?" It sounded like a guy to Rainbow, but she couldn't be sure. 
"It's a pegasus, Jericho," a sophisticated voice replied. The voice was... elusive to Rainbow. It was almost like how Rarity's noble friends would talk, only male.
"A pega-what?" the guy named 'Jericho' responded next to Dash.
"I read it on some old files from an Enclave computer. Pegasus was a Greek legend  a majestic stallion with wings and was raised by the 'gods', only to be turned into one of the constellations. Which is a formation of stars, mind you," the sophisticated man explained, and Jericho grunted.
"Well, whatever..." A clink noise was let off, along with an audible snap. Dash turned over to see a something pointing at her.
"Let's eat, then?" Dash sat up upon hearing those words. 
Her eyes were greeted with a thick black circle in the middle of her vision, which menacingly stared at her. Feeling her heart race, and her mind telling her to move, she quickly blasted out of the way. A deafening noise entered into Dash’s ears, which sounded much like a firework going off, and soon began to ring in her ears. She looked to Jericho, seeing that smoke was coming out of his object. Whatever that sound was, it definitely came from that.
Heart racing, vision clearing and ears ringing, Dash started to make out the shapes before her. Although she could make out the shapes of the figures before her, she could still not make out their faces. The one on the right, which she assumed to be Jericho, was something she had never seen before. He stood up, on his hind legs, perfectly balanced. At its sides were were hands, similar to Spike’s only with five fingers, which were clenched in a threatening manner. Alongside that, he wore a brown and shiny-like metallic suit. It had the symbol of a talon on the left plate under the man’s shoulder. When trying to make out the rest of him, she could see that he wasn't a pony. 
On the left, the other creature wore a black material, instead. It was shiny like Jericho's, only it seemed to reflect more than the other’s, probably being metal. On the right side of his clothing, from Rainbow Dash's perspective, was an odd symbol resembling a talon of a bird. The man stood up next to Jericho, and crossed his arms.
The blur dissipated by now, and she could make out their weird faces. Jericho had small, beady eyes, which were of a sickly green colour. His face was an odd white, too, though stained with grime. Atop all that, his 'mane' seemed to be shaved.
The creature on the left seemed to be darker than Jericho. His—from what Rainbow Dash could tell—hide was brownish in color. Despite this man's eyes being beady like the companion next to him, they were a bright blue, surrounded by their whites. Somehow, they brought a sense of calm to Dash; though she was still scared for her life.
"Looks like it heard me, eh?" Jericho threw a backhand at his partner, making a slightly audible thud against his side.
"Seems like it..." They both stepped closer, Rainbow Dash scrambling back as they did, only to hit a wall, which crumbled around her.
"P-please, don't eat me! I-I'll do whatever you want!" Rainbow cried out, bringing looks of confusion to the faces of the creatures before her.
"Sapience; there's a variable I didn’t anticipate. Well, Jericho, we're not taking this as food."
Jericho let out a sigh. "Dang. Well then, what do we do with it?" Jericho held his tube-like weapon in one hand, aiming it at the ground.
Dash finally clued in to her surroundings. Everything was a hazy green against a sick yellow sky. The clouds above looked dark and polluted, accompanied by a lack of sunlight. Around her lay rubble and a lot of buildings which looked to be collapsing on themselves. Rainbow Dash looked around further, and found that what she hit was actually the door to a ruined building.
"So... you talk. Why not tell us your name? Do you have one?" The one in shiny black questioned softly, slowly walking forward.
"Uhh... uhm... R-Rainbow Dash," the creature raised an eyebrow, looking her over. Jericho was at his side, still holding... whatever it was in his hand.
"Odd name... Dash, what are you doing out here?"
Rainbow Dash struggled to answer his question. "I... I don't know. One minute I'm going home, the next I'm waking up to that guy wanting to eat me!" Jericho let out a chuckle as Dash pointed a hoof over to him. 
"Yes. Well, I can assure you, that won't happen. My name is Aeron, by the way. Pleasure to meet you," Rainbow Dash nodded, shivering slightly.
"So, Dash, seeing you're out here all alone, why not come with us? We're heading back to our home, and I'd like to get to know you a tad better."
"Kid, you sure that's a good idea? She's brighter than a fucking Glowing One, she’s sure to draw some attention."
Aeron nodded. "I'm positive."
Rainbow Dash shook her head at Aeron. "N-no way! I'm not going to trust you just like that!" she yelled, and Aeron put a finger to his lips.
"Shhh... Quiet. Never yell out here, Dash."
Dash shook her head again. "I'll yell all I want!" Dash stated. "LALALALALALALALA!" Dash sang, standing and starting to prance back and forth.
"Dash, sh—"
A few cracks of dirt shot up near Dash's hooves, making her jump back on instinct. Aeron and Jericho looked over to see where it came from.
"Ah-haha! It's killing time!" someone yelled in the distance, and Jericho held up his weapon.
"Incoming!" Jericho yelled out, the piece of metal in his hand bursting with light and a deafening report. The sounds of metal scraping metal and pressured gas hit Dash's ears as she hid behind the small wall of rock near her.
Aeron drew an object similar to Jericho’s in shape, except for some changes in colour. Rapid bursts of flame erupted from his weapon as he aimed it at the distant shouts, the chattering noise making Dash wince in pain. Blood-curdling screams could be heard in the direction they were firing as Rainbow Dash listened to the onslaught.
"Surprise, motherfucker!" A creature who looked like Aeron and Jericho, but obviously much less friendly, came out of seemingly nowhere with a large sledgehammer, a weapon Rainbow Dash actually recognized.
He swung for Aeron's head, missing and receiving a blow to the head from the other. Aeron shoved his weapon into the creature’s face, letting loose a volley of fire as blood spurted out of the man’s head and neck  some spraying Rainbow Dash. Aeron turned to Jericho, slapping him on the back. Dash, however, was far from impressed.
“You... you killed him?!” Aeron looked to Dash, only for more sprays of dirt to appear near him.
“Stay down, Dash!” Aeron yelled, firing loud bursts from his lethal object, Jericho joining in.
Maniacal laughing and screaming could be heard all around. Loud bursts were let off in the distance, and Dash could see small holes popping up around her. As the crackle of stone and dirt popped up around her, she instinctively backed away, trying to get to safety. Scared for her life, she placed her hooves on her head, cradling herself. Whatever was trying to hit them was missing.
“Fucking druggie maniacs! Can’t hit worth shit!” Jericho yelled as another scream echoed over the barren landscape.
“Fuck this! Grenade!” someone nearby yelled, as a small, yellow-and-black ball bounced off a nearby wall, landing in the rubble just a short distance away.
Dash was watching the scene unfold before her. It was utter chaos and warfare from her perspective. She was shuddering in fear, and the ticking of whatever the ‘grenade’ was was quite audible.
“Shit!” Aeron yelled as he and Jericho dove near Dash, narrowly escaping a plume of flames.
Metal chunks were flung everywhere. Many pieces lodged into the cracked building behind them and the rest were falling onto the road, either on fire or melting. Laughter erupted around them again  it grew louder and closer.
“Fuck sakes, Aeron! We can’t take this kind of fire. How’d Raiders get so well armed?” Jericho thumbed something into his weapon, and an audible click was heard.
“We just keep killing until they run away or stop. They don’t know who they’re messing with.” Aeron mimicked Jericho’s actions, refilling his own weapon..
“I’m gonna eat you alive!” Before Aeron and Jericho could react, their weapons were knocked from their hands, and two males grabbed them by their arms, holding them back.
“Fuck you, pigs!” Jericho yelled, spitting in one of their faces.
Dash looked up from her frightened state, looking up at the three Raiders that came near. They all wore spiked suits, much like Jericho’s, only bearing studs and other miscellaneous items. A few in particular stood out to Dash, however. From one Raider’s belt hung two severed hands. Dash cringed upon seeing what looked to be fresh blood upon them.
The one Raider that wasn’t holding Aeron and Jericho back approached Rainbow Dash. Dash wanted to do something, anything, but he was aiming one of the weapons towards her. Dash moved back, only to be grabbed by a fourth member of their clique.
“Ah, what’s a little horse doin’ out here? Never seen something like that before. Whatever. I’ve always wanted to ride a horse...” Dash’s face was shoved into the asphalt below her, and her tail was pulled into the air, making her raise her rump.
“This is going to be fun. For me, anyways.” Dash’s ears twitched upon hearing a sound of a zipper unzipping behind her.
No! Not like this! Please, no! Dash’s thoughts were raging as tears of anguish were spilling down the sides of her face. She’d ended up in... wherever she was, watched these things kill each other, and now she was about to lose her innocence. 
Just as she felt the heat of the male behind her, she reared her hind legs and bucked forcefully into him. He bounced back in pain, and Dash bolted free. The two holding Aeron and Jericho stared at Rainbow Dash with astonishment. Her allies looked at each other and immediately bunted their elbows into the Raiders’ groins. 
Collapsing, Aeron and Jericho immediately grabbed their weapons, aiming it at the Raider holding Rainbow Dash. The Raider let go of her tail and put his hands up; only to be killed by Aeron. Jericho’s weapon let off multiple bursts, consecutively, taking out the rest of the raiders.
“You okay, Dash?” Aeron looked over at Dash. She was breathing heavily and slowly rising to her hooves.
“Am I ‘okay’? I don’t know... I just woke up, watched you two senselessly kill those guys, and then my... m-my innocence was nearly taken from me!” Rainbow Dash turned around, her magenta eyes ablaze with anger.
“Do I look okay? No, I’m not okay! How could you just kill them?! What’d they do to you?!” Aeron shook his head, smacking his forehead.
“They were trying to kill us, Rainbow Dash. What did you expect us to do? Hand them lollipops and tell them we’re friends? Or, how about we let you get raped?” Dash’s brow furrowed at this.
“You could’ve talked them out of it!”
Jericho shook his head. “Kid, Raiders can’t be bargained or reasoned with. Alright? They don’t care who you are. They’ll either rape you, slowly kill you, or eat your dead corpse. In that order, if you’re lucky. You should be thankful we killed them for you. We never do that kind of thing,” Jericho explained simply to Dash.
“So, every now and then, you just get up in the morning and kill others?” Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches, “‘Today is a fine day to go out and kill some innocents who I could easily avoid!’” Rainbow Dash mocked Jericho raspy voice.
“Hey, watch your tongue, kid. I could just kill you right now,” Jericho threatened.
“Easy, Jericho. Listen, Rainbow Dash, it’s better to just not think about this. Those Raiders are hard to avoid, and will do anything to kill whoever is near. They just don’t care who you are. Just, calm down and let us talk about this a little, okay?” Aeron suggested calmly, and Rainbow Dash gave a nod, a little bit of anger still dwelling in the back of her mind.
“Fine. So, you killed them in self-defense. Is that what everypony does here?” 
Aeron nodded for a second. “Wait, everypo– nevermind. Anyways, yes. That’s what we do here in the Capital Wasteland. Essentially, anyways.”
“Well, what if no one is trying to kill you?” Rainbow Dash questioned.
“Simple. We don’t kill them. Unless they’re on some sort of hit-list,” Jericho answered.
“Mmm...” Rainbow Dash sighed. Her heart was racing with anger and confusion, but her mind was stuck on why she wasn’t home. How did a simple storm turn her world into... this?
“Rainbow Dash, it’s best if you come with us. We’ll provide you a place of safety until we get a few things sorted out,” Aeron stated simply, and Rainbow Dash looked up at him.
“Why should I go with you? How do I know you’re not going to just get up and kill me? I mean, Jericho was pretty close,” she reminded them, pointing at Jericho.
“That’s because we didn’t know you were sapient, and my radar wasn’t detecting if you were hostile or not.” Aeron held up his arm, where a green device was wrapped around it. Dash didn’t bother questioning it. Not now, at least.
“Dash, just come with us. I’m not asking you to go out of the way and trust us. I just want you to get out of this area, because nightfall is when most of the creatures start to lurk for food. I don’t think you’d like to know what an albino radscorpion would do to you.” Rainbow Dash looked at Aeron. He had a good point, and as stubborn as Dash was, she had to get out of here.
“Okay... I’ll come with you. But, if you guys try to kill me, I’m flyin’ outta here!” Jericho laughed at her ‘threat’.
“Oh, God, please... You’ll just get shot because you’re the brightest thing in this wasteland.” Jericho couldn’t stop laughing at Rainbow Dash.

I’m not going to like their relationship. As of now, Aeron thought, sighing.