//------------------------------//
// UB 2 - A Red Lined Stormcloud Chapter 1 
// Story: Unfinished Business 
// by TheFullCrumb 
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Prologue – The Bonelands, and You

Winds. 

If I'm going to start a journal, I guess I had better start at the beginning, right? 

Before the ponies, griffons, and other creatures I met.

Before I learned what it means to make a difference.

Before I start, let me say something about PipBucks, or at least, the one I prefer.

The PipBuck 2000 was a rather robust model, though it was more designed for a hoofheld device than something to be strapped to a foreleg. However, it definitely lasted well due to the large memory storage, and the fact that it survived where I live. I rebuilt that little thing from parts I found scattered around a particularly valuable scrap heap, something which looked like it came from before the war, before the big kaboom that ended the world as everypony had known it.

At least, that's what the pony who gave it to me said.

There are a few issues with the PipBuck 2000 model. First, there is no Eyes Forward Sparkle system. I learned that one the hard way one day. There was a pony with a PipBuck 3000, and they were always glancing around. I found out later that there was a massive concentration of parasprites in the upper floor.

Lost my leg to those little eat-everything bastards.

Second, since it is hoofheld, and not mounted on the foreleg, the usual StableTec Assisted Targeting Spell of other PipBuck units was a bit... finicky at times. I had to be pretty damn close for a good hit to register. 

Now, about winds. The San Palomino Desert, or as everypony else called it, the Bonelands, was a large expanse of barely irradiated sand, patches of scrap every little while. 

Being a tinkerer, those piles of scrap meant something more to me than the other residents of the Bonelands. A lot of parts went into building my Celestia-damned leg. All of which had come from the camp I preferred, around two days journey from the edge of the desert.

Oh, before I get too ahead of myself, I should say a few things.

My name is Grey Hunter, I'm an earth pony, and I'm a resident of the Bonelands. I should probably sit down and write more on my PipBuck – the thing's note-taking ability is second to none, if you get a grip on how it works.

So, now that we have our introductions over, let me tell you now a little something about Stormclouds...