''Brady? You here?'' Billy called out as he stepped into Brady's house, coming in fully when he got no response, Rainbow following close behind him. The house was dark, the only light source being from the open door. ''Brady?'' No response,
''Where do you suppose he is?'' Rainbow asked, worry growing withing her. She could sense something was wrong. She could feel it. ''I've not seen him for a while.''
''I dunno, Rainbow, but - hey, isn't that Brady's Pip-Boy?'' Billy said as he looked towards the table holding Brady's Pip-Boy and the photograph. When he saw the screen of the small device, he saw that a newly added file had a title. It read ''To My Friends''. Clicking a button to open the file, the recording began to play and Brady's voice filled the silence of the house.
By the end of the recording, Rainbow was in tears and Billy looked as if he was going to cry. They simply couldn't believe what they had just heard.
''B-Brady is gonna kill himself...?'' Rainbow whimpered, ''Oh, no...t-this is all my fault...''
''Rainbow? Just try to stay calm. Maybe we could still find him?'' He tried to calm her down, failing miserably.
''Billy, he's going to kill himself because of me! He tried to do it before when we were coming back to Megaton! He tried to shoot himself! I-I-I don't want him to die! He's all I've got in this world!'' She cried, tears trickling down her face. Billy said nothing as he hugged her softly.
''Hey, hey, we'll find him. It'll all be okay, Rainbow, you've gotta trust me on this one.'' Billy turned to pick up the Pip-Boy, placing over her hoof before attaching it with a small 'click'. ''There, if you have that, maybe we would have an easier time finding him. Now come on, we've gotta find him.''
*** *** ***
I have been walking for a long time, and being that I left Megaton at around five or six in the morning, it had only turned to the afternoon. I didn't have any specific place to go, so I just wandered in any general direction, for someplace quiet. The last thing I want is for Rainbow to find me. I ended up at some old rundown, metal shack. The area was quiet, too, only the sound of the wind blowing in the background, turning up dust and grime.
I sat on a small footlocker just outside of the shack and stared into the sky for a few moments, pondering about the past and all that has happened in that time up until now. Meeting Rainbow, saving her, loving her, finding adventure and ourselves...the list could go on forever. I pulled my ten-millimeter pistol from my pocket and placed it on my lap. I stared at it for a short while. When I pulled the hammer back and was about to place it to my head, a bright, purple flash stopped me in my tracks, making me shield my eyes with my arm.
When the light subsided, I removed my arm and froze as my eyes refocused on five figures in front of me, who stared back at me with a shocked expression. From what I knew from Rainbow, two were unicorns, one a pegasus and the two were earth ponyies. They would of screamed, but judging from that amount of shock that was visible in their eyes, it stopped them. I was actually surprised that Dash didn't react this way when I met her.
''Don't scream. Please...just don't.'' I said, holding a hand up. They seemed to just ignore me and they screamed. It was loud and probably attracted some unwanted wild animals. They all stared at me with small eyes, clearly showing their fright.
''You talk?!'' The purple unicorn shouted in shock. Jesus, why didn't Rainbow act like this? Was she just shaken up and scared that she couldn't care about who or what saved her? Probably.
''Of course I do. H-How did you even get here? Was that magic?'' I asked, motioning to her horn.
''Wha...h-h-how did you know? You know what, it doesn't matter. As crazy is it may sound to you, have you seen another pony like us? Rainbow mane, cyan coat-''
''Rainbow Dash?'' I asked softly with a raised brow, causing them to etch back a little. They had a look of uncertainty in their eyes, but if anything, all I could see was concern for their friend, especially in the yellow pegasus's soft green-blue eyes whom I knew was Fluttershy from what I was told by Dash.
''Y-You know Rainbow Dash?'' Fluttershy asked, her voice soft and heavenly. ''W-Where is she? Do you know?''
I sighed. ''Yes, I do know. How long has she been gone, anyway?''
''About...a few days. Why?''
Oh, christ. A few days? That means that a year in this world is equivalent to a day in their world...wow.
''Well...you're gonna be shocked by this...you see, um...it's been more than that, here. Three years.'' As I expected, they all gasped. The orange Earth pony, Applejack, if I remember correctly seemed to only be infuriated.
''Where's Rainbow, then?! We've been all over the place lookin' for her, and Ah jus' wanna find her! So where is she?!''
''Applejack!'' The purple unicorn scowled, frowning at the orange pony. ''Just let him explain, I-'' She stopped, looking behind Applejack. I did too, and what I saw made me freeze. In moments, all the other ponies turned and stared as well, gasping. It was Rainbow Dash, standing in the distance with Billy at her side. Her face held an expression of shock and happiness and within moments, she came running, smiling as she got closer. In seconds, Rainbow found herself tackling Applejack into a tight embrace.
All of her friends joined in the hug, holding her close and tightly. They all bombarded her with questions such as 'where have you been?' and 'how did you get here?' and stuff like that. I noticed her tears, along with everyone else's. I smiled softly as I watched them. All these years, she just wanted to go home, and it looks like it can finally happen. Her friends have found her. It just hurt to know I won't see her again once she's gone. When she does eventually go, I might just carry on with what I was doing.
Billy came next to me, seeing my expression. I knew that he could tell what I was thinking and feeling. He sat next to me on the footlocker, just watching me, his gaze piercing me.
''Just what the hell is wrong with you?'' He started, his voice holding a hint of anger and sadness. ''First you nearly die and break her heart, and then you say you're gonna leave us and Megaton to kill yourself, breaking the hearts of everybody who love and care about you, including me and Moira. Why?'' He said, a hand on my shoulder. I sighed through my nose before I could bring myself to look him in the eye.
''Because I don't see any point anymore, Billy.''
''A point in what, Brady?''
''No point in carrying on. I mean, look what's happened. I've been shot at, pretty much walked into my own funeral and nearly died from it, killing the one I loved the most, and on top of that, she now hates me and I know we won't be back to the way things were because she simply doesn't trust me anymore. That's why.''
''W-What? Brady, you can't be serious. Because of all of what's happened, you want to choose suicide as a way out? What the hell's gotten into you? The Brady I used to know wouldn't do this, the Brady I knew-''
''Yeah, well, I ain't that Brady anymore. He's gone. I'm different, Billy, we all change at some point in our lives.'' I deadpanned. Billy didn't respond. I noticed he was looking at the six ponies, or more specifically, Rainbow Dash. I did too. She looked so happy with her friends. They were still hugging, seeming to want it to go on forever. For a moment, Rainbow seemed to meet my eyes. Her look was unreadable, but I guess mine was, too.
I felt Billy tap my shoulder, and meeting his gaze, he pointed to the sky, making my heart freeze. It was small and a fair while away, but I could see a vertibird, or at least a fleet of them. About three in total. Heading this way. If they catch us, this is sure to not end well.
''Shit. We gotta get out of here. If they see us, we're dead.'' Billy said, getting up, as did I. I went over to Rainbow, catching her attention.
''We gotta go. Now. Enclave are on the move and headed straight for us.'' I pointed to the sky, and Dash visibly went slightly pale at the sight. Seeing as her friends didn't have a clue about the situation, they just shared confused glances. Before we could even find a place to stay hidden, the sound of the engines caught our ears and in moments, the vertibirds were right on top of us. They landed a few yards away from us, a few dozen soldiers in heavy and bulky Power Armour getting out, energy weapons in hand.
Two in Tesla Armour stood behind the man I remembered as Colonel Autumn - the one responsible for causing the heartache between me and Rainbow. His smirk was so ugly upon his even uglier face that I felt like blasting it off with a missile launcher. His personal bodyguards were more heavily equipped than the other soldiers, one carrying a Gatling laser and the other a minigun. All I could feel at this particular moment was hate.
Colonel Autumn approached me, and even if he was surprised or even shocked at seeing five more ponies of the same kind to Rainbow, he was very good at hiding it. He just smirked at me, the reason being unknown to me. Maybe it was the fact that he was once again face to face with me, or that I was the actual me. Not that murdering, brain-fucked hitman they created to hurt those I cared about.
''Oscar Brady, we meet again.'' He smiled just like the devil himself.
''What do you want, Autumn? Don't you have some innocent people to slaughter or something?'' I said, not too much enthusiasm or interest in my voice. He just laughed, also like the devil that he was.
''Haha, oh, Brady, you do amuse me.'' He smiled an evil smile again, ''I'm not a butcher or a killer of the innocent. We're trying to rebuild this country, not destroy it. All my men and I are doing is removing those who threaten to change it, and you're doing just that. You know the consequences of betraying this nation, and it's about time you made up for it. You know what I want, Brady, and there is only one way out of this, and that is if you give me what I want.''
''No. Screw you and screw the Enclave. You're seriously more stupid than you look. Me and my friends have done nothing wrong to affect this destroyed country, and you and your goons aren't really making anything easier, even for yourselves. You people are a disgrace. All you've done since you showed up is cause people to be killed, including innocent families. You're not going to take Rainbow or her friends, and if you try, regardless of how many guards you may have, I will rip your head off with my bare hands.'' I said in a low growl, the hate glowing in my eyes.
For some reason, it seemed to amuse him. He may of been a hypocrite on many levels, and truly, it only made me want to rip his throat out. He has fucked my life up, including Rainbow's by making her feel and experience pure fear of someone she was very very close to and had even managed to make me kill Gustavo in the process, against my will. Killing him right here and right now would be doing every living thing in the Wasteland a favor.
''I admire your determination and loyalty, Brady,'' Colonel Autumn said slowly before turning to his bodyguards. ''and you had your chance. You leave me with no choice.'' He turned to his bodyguards. ''Shoot him.''
On command, the two bodyguards took aim at me, about to fire just before Billy raised his gun, firing a couple rounds at the guards, one hitting the guard with the minigun in the head, knocking him down with a splat of blood and the second bullet impacted with the battery-pack on the Gatling's back, causing him to explode in a fireball of red energy, burning any nearby soldiers in the intense heat, Colonel Autumn managing to get out of the way just in time.
As fast as me and Billy could, we ran to the side of the old shack, staying hidden from the crossfire of energy projectiles and bullets as they came at us from all directions. The ponies hid with us, now in panic mode. Rainbow was shivering with fright, as were all of them, especially Fluttershy who was curled in a ball next to the white unicorn, hiding behind her mane. I knelt next to Rainbow, holding her shoulders.
''Dash! Hey, calm down, I need you to listen to me!'' Her frightened eyes made contact with mine, making it evident enough that she was thinking about the last time we encountered the Enclave (or more specifically, me as an Enclave soldier under their control). ''I need you to stay out of sight, got that? If they come, you've got to deal with them! You still got your sword?'' I asked, to which she nodded, motioning to the handle of the sword that was sticking out of the makeshift holster. ''Alright, good. Just stay safe, Rainbow, I'm gonna get them back for what they did.''
With pistol in hand, I took aim at the soldiers around the corner, firing bullet after bullet, making them all count due to lack of clips. (my only clip was the one in the gun). A ten millimeter wasn't all that strong, especially not against Power Armour Mark Two, but the less protected soldiers were easy enough to take down. With Billy's marksman skills, he managed to hit a couple in the head, killing them in an instant. Those smart enough to manage to dodge his shots fired back, the green plasma projectiles hitting the side of the shack, blackening the metal walls, luckily missing Billy.
A beam of red energy passed my face and blackened the wall next to me, missing me by mere inches. Looking over, I saw Colonel Autumn with his laser pistol pointed right at me. I aimed back, pulling the trigger rapidly in hopes of hitting him. only one bullet appeared to graze his arm, causing him to drop the pistol. Taking the chance, I charged towards him, knife in hand and slashed but before it could hit him, he jumped out of the way, taking out his own knife, one more menacing than mine. An automatic chainsaw-like knife called a Ripper.
He slashed and took a swing at me, only just missing me. Those teeth on the chain looked scary enough, if not painful to be cut with. While we were fighting face to face, I could hear a scream, sounding like Billy. Despite having an Ripper in my face, I looked over, seeing that he was holding his arm tightly. He had gotten hit with plasma, his arm clearly blackened. Even though it hurt, Billy still fought, using his other arm to shoot his gun.
Our knifes collided, both of us pushing against the force to get at each other's throats. The Ripper was far more effective and sharper than my simple knife and it cut away at the metal work that was the blade.
''Just give up, Brady, you're not getting out of this alive!'' Colonel Autumn said through gritted teeth, pushing harder as the blade of his knife hummed softly yet menacingly.
''No! I will finish what you started! If you want my friends, you're gonna have to go through me!'' I shouted back, nose to nose with him.
''As you wish.'' He then pushed with all of his strength, throwing my knife back (to my surprise) and thrust himself onto me, knocking me to the floor with him on top of me. He held the knife with both hands with a murderous gleam in his eyes, stabbing downwards and into my chest, the small teeth of the chain digging into me at a fast pace as the Ripper roared. I screamed at the pain over the roar of the Ripper, feeling it dig deep down into my chest. Pain burned around every inch of my upper body as he kept on pushing. All I could see was red, both splattering the knife and Autumn's face as well as oozing from my body and onto the floor at a rapid pace.
Over the roar of the mini-chainsaw knife, I heard a gunshot, then the weight on me being lifted. A bullet had pierce straight through Autumn's skull, blood splattering his face and trench coat. I could feel my life slipping as I lost more and more blood by the gallon, blackness threatening to take over my vision. I could taste blood in my mouth, mixing in with the burning pain in my chest, making every second unbearable. Out of all the ways it could of ended, it seems this one was the one to happen to me.
I felt arms being wrapped around me as I was dragged backwards, placing me so my back was facing the wall of the metal shack. I held my hands to the large open and bleeding wound in my chest as the ponies all looked down at me, worry and concern in their eyes. Billy held onto my shoulders, looking me in my just-about-dead eyes.
''Brady! Brady! Hey, come on, focus!'' He ordered, keeping his gaze locked on mine. I wasn't sure if it was the amount of blood that I had lost and still was losing at a fast pace, but his voice was sounding muffled to my ears and my vision was beginning to blur, my focus being drained away along with my life. I wasn't going to last long. He and I both knew I wasn't going to be walking away from this one. It looked like it was the end for me...
Even tough my vision was blurry, I could see and feel Rainbow Dash wrap her hooves around me, resting her forehead into the side of my neck, hugging me softly as tears burned her eyes and ran down her cheeks. I couldn't even hear anything now, it was as if the world had a mute button that had just been activated, and then my vision turned into nothingness.