Chapter 1: Everypony Has A Story.
Chapter 1
Everypony Has A Story
Written By: Dusk Andawn
My name is Burning Ember and I'm a fugitive. yeah not much of a intro but what do you want from me? OK, OK , OK ill tell you my story if your willing to hear it. go ahead sit by the camp fire, relax, And drink a little vodka, trust me your going to need it.....
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You see my in life i was never a clever pony, to be honest I'm not really sure how my cutie mark didn't end up being a screw and arrow pointing up instead of the crimson read shield with the flame in the center on my dark Orange flank. As a young and accident prone filly I always wanted to be a soldier. My father was a soldier, my fathers, father was a soldier, my fathers, fathers, fath- you get you point... The idea of serving under Princess Celestia and protecting Equestria if needed was so noble in my young and pure eyes. I remember in school when it was play time and I'd run past the frilly filly's and got to the colts and try and play soldiers with them and they would all say the same thing to me each and every day.
" Ember your a filly, filly's cant me in the royal army!"
And they were right, a female solider was never heard of. There were a few mares that were nurses and helped the doctors in the medical ward on bases or be eye candy to the other soldiers but that's all they were useful for in the military. But finding a mare fighting side by side with other soldiers or even so much as carrying a single bullet on them was as common as Finding a winning Canterlotto Ticket in a garbage can on the moon. But regardless, being a solider was my dream so I tried to trained my self in the hopes that when I grew up that the opinion of stallions would change. I did what ever I could, I studied and practiced Defensive and offensive magic spells and was extremely well in fire based magic. I even became immune to first degree burns. I stayed very active and was athletic, I ran, swam, weight lifted, and participated in almost every athletic event save for flying and extreme weight lifting ( I just wanted my muscles to be lean not HUGE) I also was very determined, Training myself to not give up. twisted my hoof? I still ran, Horn was sore? I still practiced magic, told I couldn't do something? I'd prove them wrong!
My father would also take me into the Everfree forest and give me shooting lesson when he came back home for his leave period. I was great and always had fun I even hit the bulls eye more then you'd think as a filly. My father knew I was trying to make him proud, he knew how much i wanted to follow in his hoof steps, He knew how much i trained and tested my self to achieve my dream.....but he also knew how many times i was laughed out of recruitment offices. they Would all say the something with there almost identical laugh
" you? A Solider? But your a mare! Mares cant be soldiers there too weak!"
To weak!?! at first it did phase me, I kept telling myself that there were a narrow minded stallion and then after going to every recruiting office in Ponyvillie and even taking a train to Canterlot to try there i started to feel beaten. These stallion had the power to grant me my dream, my goal, what I thought would be my lives only true desire but they would just say no because I didn't have a fucking dick. My father knew I was heart broken and how much pain I must have been feeling inside of myself. he'd always say that I tried my best but when you tried your whole life and you didn't get it because your gender stopped you at ever turn it can be a bit hard to push yourself froward at times and tell you your self everything is just dandy. But my father looked out for me, he had some friends that had connections to the higher ups in the military, the ones that talked to princess Celestia herself to discuss what was best for the military and on my 19th birthday my father gave me a scroll, inside was a written document that what ever recruitment office I gave this document had had to accept me into the Royal Army under the orders of The Princess. She personally signed and gave it her personal seal of approval, man i wish i could saw you the look on that recruitment officers face!
I gotta say that Boot camp was hell with every stallion and even drill Sargent's looking at me like a piece of meat and still having the balls to say I should never even be in the army but screw them. you can't stare at my flank and then tell me I'm not worthy, one or the other please! of course I did shut a lot of them up when I beat most times in course runs and had better marksmen ship skills then them but they’d still say that it was all luck or that I cheated or something like that but i didn't care anymore I knew I was better. After boot camp and basic training i was given my job and location. They sent me to out post Delta in Trotnobyl. they warned me that my job was mainly to keep ponies that they called " Stalkers " from leaving or entering the area and I was to shot on sight any pony farther then a 10 yards of the the outpost into "The Zone" they called it. he gave me a book to study up on the area and why it was to be guarded and sealed off . In Trotnobly the princesses were looking for other means of power and one of the few things that were tested was a Magic Nuclear powered Plant. well apparently These plants are VERY dangerous. April 21 At around 1:23 in the morning, reactor number four of the Trotnobyl. Nuclear Power Plant explodes, releasing dangerous radioactive materials over a widespread area, and forcing the evacuation of the nearby city of Pipyat and other settlements. This event is known as the Trotnobyl disaster. After the accident, groups of workers called 'Liquidators' were hired by the Princesses to build a containment building around the remnants of the Reactor 4.
A Vehicle factory set up in the near by area of the Agroprom Reaseach Institute to build vehicles fitted for removing and treating irradiated soil. After this point in the little book i was given it got a bit vague, there was a project that started in the zone And with Many high powered antennae in the area, And with the lack of ponies in the area and having a now functioning nuclear power plant provide the perfect setting for research in fixing pony kinds flaws. After a few years| The Zone began to attract attention. Rumours about strange phenomenas within the area , the city of Pipyat was often mentioned as a hot spot for sighting unusual phenomenas and strange creatures. After a bus full of tourists disappears the authorities seal off the Zone completely.
Six years later A blinding light fills the sky high above the Trotnobyl. Nuclear Power Plant. The incident lasted for two hours before stopping, with witnesses reporting it disappeared as if power suddenly failed. Just over a month later, the skies were once again lit by the same bright light. The clouds evaporated from the sky, followed by a huge thunder crash, lasting far longer than normal. After the thunder faded away, a 6.9 Richter earthquake shook the land. The glow in the sky continued, spreading over the entire region, while deadly energy disturbances shot through the Zone, making any rescue effort impossible. investigations turned up that the center of the explosion was two miles away from the nuclear plant itself. The Zone abruptly grew 10 miles after after an emission which came to be known as the "Second Disaster". The zone today filled, with the very laws of science being defied.
| With news of the possibility to survive in the Zone leaked, amateur researchers, marauders and poachers begin to make their way into the zone, soon becoming known as Stalkers, seeking artifacts in the dangerous environments. At first ignoring them, the Eqeustrian government was soon forced to make their policies, as "artifacts" make there way into private hooves. The government retaliated against the stalkers, during this campaign over 70 Stalkers were arrested and even some trading posts that started in the zone were closed down. to be honest after reading up on the area i wasn't sure wither to be happy, scared, or excited. after being shipped here with the thoughts that id be seeing some actions or strange creatures, or examples of the strange anomalies that plagued the land but instead all i got to see was a big fence. 3 buildings, and lots of grass, trees, and shrubs. so much for the dangers of The Zone.
I was tasked to spend the day checking any vehicles that can in, you know asked the driver whats his business here, papers that give him permission to enter the zone, and check for any possible Stalkers that hitched a ride with the driver. I never caught anypony on my shift but I did catch one trying to dig under the gate while going for a walk on the " Safe ” side of the fence, since he was on our side he was only arrested. After a year I stared to get suspicious of something I noticed when I was on my way to the mess hall or the barracks. Vehicles came in at night often while in a blue moon a truck would come in while i was on duty. but at night they came more often like 3 trucks a night every other week and they were ALWAYS trucks. They were similar to the one that brought me here in the first place.
One night I decided to do some snooping, climbed the roof of the mess hall and brought my binoculars with me and waited for a truck to come by and sure enough one made a stop at the outpost. I watched them at first without the binoculars and noted that nopony was doing there jobs. The ponies that were supposed to be checking the vehicle were just standing around with there rifles slung to there sides like nothing was happening and the pony that was supposed to check the drivers papers only had exchanged a few words before letting him on his way. Another hour passed and only the ponies on night shift were out. i started to here the rumbling of a truck coming and this time i put my binoculars to me eyes and watched over them more closely, it was the same as before. you pony doing there job but i focused on the driver and the solider he was talking to, I couldn't read lips so i didn't know what they were talking about but as soon as the drive hoofed over a small bag to the solider he was talking to and he opened the bag to pour some bits into his hoof I knew what was going on. They were letting these drives in and out every other week in return for money for them to keep it hush, hush. But here were i screwed it up, I thought it’d be just cute to wait for the next truck and inspect it myself! i climbed down the mess hall roof and hid behide some crates and hoped for another truck. It felt like ages but the next truck pulled up and as soon as it stopped i strutted out like a fashion model and went up to the driver myself.
" Drivers license and regastaion please~" i asked in the pretty pretty please sort of fashion but sadly i was greeted a rifle barrels pointed at the back of my head
" You should have stayed in bed you filthy bitch but you had to go snooping" the stallion sad in a cold tone, i could here the hoof steps hit on the pavement as the four other guards must have come to aid him
" I have no idea what your talking about, i was...i was just helping you out on this one?" wow that was probably the worst lie i had eve given but my smart ass wanted to bust these punks in the act.
" Don't act stupid, you think we didn’t see you on the roof?! we were going to wait until you morning to deal with you...."
I started to panic a bit, was this how my life was really going to end? I get my self killed for being a dumb ass? " Please don’t kill me...I wont tell anyone i swear" I said while still staring at the driver of the truck who had a worried look on his face also, probably not for me and more likely for if he was going to get busted or killed as well.
" Oh we wont kill you, not yet at least. I want you to run past the gate and into the zone"
" What are you craz-" I felt the rifle push against my skull harder he wasn't kidding. " Fine ill do as you say...."
I felt the rifle no longer touching the back of my head but i didn’t dare make any sudden movements " Start running down the road....NOW!"
If you ever saw me run in a marathon as a filly then you’d see how fast i could be but i can insure you that i ran even faster then i ever had in my life. I took off like this one Pegasus back in my hometown, Ponyville, her name was Rainbow Dash and boy when she went off all you’d see was a steak from her rainbow colored tail and all those solders saw the Flame like color steaks That mane up my sort Tail and mane as i ran down that road.
" WE HAVE A TRAITOR! EMBER IS GOING AWHOL, SHOOT HER! SHOOOOT HEEEEER!"
The sound of gun fire behide me only run faster. I knew tat on this road i was a dead pony and head for the trees for covers, I have to say these guys had some decent aim I felt the heat of a bullet whizz across my back and another past by my neck before getting to some cover, I didn't let just cover let me stop for a breath I wanted distance between me and them. I didn't even have a gun! all I had was my camouflaged uniform witch would be helpful for hiding me in the Forest.
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I ran and ran and ran some more, my legs taunt and my face sore from smashing it into so many trees from not being able to not see in the pitch black darkness in the Forest. The gun fire and the barking orders ceased and i was pretty sure that i escaped them. if the darkness of the forest was blinding me enough it was the tears that started to form that just made it worse. Every thing i worked for, my foalhood, my father pulling the strings for me to get here, all the bullshit I put up with being a mare trying to fit in with the military tough guys. It was all a waste because here I am in the Celestia damned Forest running away from my dreams all because of some corrupted assholes making it look like i went AWHOL and became a traitor to Equestria. My face, name, cutie mark will be put with the rest of scum that is hunted in Equestria and I can never go home. I’d either be but put in prison or when I come home to face my father he will believe what the government tells him and he will be ashamed of me....my life is over I should have just let him shoot me and get it over wit- Shit! I hit something! But not another tree.
I fell on the grassy floor and rolled a bit, what the hell was that? I looked over at to the side of me to try and see what it was. It wasn't a rock when i hit it, it felt softish and moved a bit. and i ran my hoof over the ground i stared to smell a terrible and foul smell fill my nostrils, it got more powerful every second stayed there sweeping the ground for the object i fell over from until i felt something soft, i poked it a few times and from the power of the smell what ever it wast it had to be the source of the smell. I knew a spell that let me start a small flame on the tip on my horn witch was good for using when i needed to start a fire or when i was in a dark room. i took a minute to debate if i should use the spell since the soldiers form the out post could be still looking for me. but i didn't hear hoof steps or any shouting of commands so i figured it was Ok, plus it was only for a second and its not like i had anywhere to go, i focused a bit of magic to my horn and the small flame appeared giving light to the void of darkness the forest appeared as. i looked at the soft object to instantly regret decision, I tripped of a dead pony, the body in a unhealthy greenish state with bits of him looking like he was partly eaten and missing a leg.
I started to vomiting on a nearby tree. i mean i expected to see dead bodies and even kill a few ponies if i even went into war while in the military and didn't think it would phase me but this...this was disgusting! i was about to get up and pay my respects to the pony and leave put a heard a noise
* Beep Beep!*
It came from the body, at first i jumped from the body, i was scared it was a explosive but a few seconds passed and there was a explosion so i rolled that out.
* Beep Beep!*
It was with out a doubt coming from the dead pony and i was interested but i didn't want to go searching the pocket of a dead pony and rave rob him...or her...i really don't want to check.
* Beep Beep*
I couldn't stand it i had to see what it was, I'm sure he wouldn't mind...i mean they do say that you cant take money and belongings with you to the after life right? I checked the jacket and pair of pants he was wearing with my magic, i didn’t feel like touching him. his clothes were practically glued to the skin so it was a bit hard to more the clothing around but i ended up finding the source of the noise. it was a PDA and despite how long the body seemed to have laid here it still looked in perfect condition, there was a scratch here and there on the casing but other then that it seemed new. the screen was lit up brightly with the picture of a scroll burning and the green flame that was burning it was moving off screen and it repeated this animation with the word MESSAGE in bold text under it. i had one of these when i was younger but it was more of a toy really but i pulled the stencil from a little slot that held it in the pda and taped at the screen while i held it in my hoof and worked the stencil with my magic.
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From: Thunder Trail
To: Bolt N' Dash
Hey bro, I'm headed to the stalker camp your staying at i got your coordinates, you said the camp was two miles near that military outpost? good thing those guys are just as corrupt as the rest of them, Ha-Ha am I right? well be careful bro I heard mutants are starting to go around that area and only Celestia knows those damn Blind Timber Dogs can take down even a veteran Stalker if they aren't careful. Also don’t try and pull and Daring Do shit on me like last time STAY THERE and wait for me, OK !? ill be there in a day or two I’m over at the bar and the Boars are really giving us hell. even the Duty guys are having a problem with keep them back. Well ill see you soon....I hope.
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" Probably should have listened to your Brother" I said with a sigh, i never heard of Blind Timber Dogs, only Timber wolves and that was only in a story. The message said something about a stalker camp 2 miles from the out post I was at maybe I can stay there for the night....no I'm still in my uniform and i heard stalkers didn't take kindly to The military. Also speaking of stalkers and military the message said good thing THEY were as corrupt as the rest of THEM...were they talking about those four that chased me out of the outpost ? and who was "Them" is there more of them? Ugh I really don't have time to sit around or ill end up like my new friend laying next to me. I did take a moment to look over the PDA’S functions....messages...dairy....map? i taped on that options and a map replaced to display of the screen. it showed Showed a satellite image of the Forest and a road and had a bright green dot in the forest near the road, that was probably me I guessed. I took the stencil and swiped it across the screen and the image of the map moved reveling more of the map its self. the was something interesting i found while playing with the map and it was 6 grayish blocks a bit more down the road and on the right side while i was on the left. i guessed it was maybe a small little town maybe? i wast share but the map seaid the location was around 2 miles away from the out post so my gusse is if i had to make a camp some where it whould be some place with walls and roofs if i chould find a place like that. i was about to head off but then i reminded myself, iff i walk in wearing my uniform i'm just begging for a lead sandwitch. but if i went in with nothing on id stick out more in the forest and probly freezze to death from how cold the days and night it was here....i chould take my new friends clothes...No...no no no no, thats just...just sick! what sick pony whouldent even leav a poor dead pony keep the clothes on his back!
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I'm oooone sick pony.... I found the Gray blocks that that map showed me and sure engouge it was a camp, it was on the right side on the road and another drith road lead me to the camp. there was a pony wearing a smiular out as me only his was as ripped and chewed apart. it was jean pants and a hooded jaket made of a thick syntictic leather matireal. the beifits of the warmth from leather with out having to wear a dead cow. i didnt seem to really care that i entered his camp he even said hello to me but as soon as i pasted him i heard him gag. oh yeah apart from his outfit not being as torn up as mine, his also did smell like death! i wasnt sure what to do as i walked down the road into the camp, there were camp fires with ponies sitting around it telling stories, jookes, some eating and drinking, one of them was even struming a plesant song on a guitar. i wasnt sure what to do but I did want something to eat. i walked uo to a large pegasis thats wearing a more aroumered outfit, it had a resarator arounf his neck, the mitreal was in dark grren and brown colors. he liked at me suprised
" Luna have mercy on you! ! what the hell happened to you? and whats that smell!?" he said before i chould even ask him anything.
" Um...I was attacked by a Blind Timber Dogs..." i lied, the huge stallion just luaghed
" What did those pups bite your ball off? you sound like a mare." he laughed more at his own joke for a few second before calming down. yesh i wasn't that funny
" I was woundering if you chould tell me where i chould get some food. I havent been to this camp" I had my hood up soo i gusse it was hard to tell if i was a mare, good im not sure how these guys whould act is they knew if i was a mare the officers that gave me this job said all Stalkers were mornic thifes and and pychopaths and i belived them. who the hell goses in a irradatied death zone on free will to get these "Artifact" witch were just radioactive rocks and stuff. they said we didnt want them to sneak them out and be in private hooves becuase they chould be used to make bombs
the stallion chuckeld abit more are pointed to a rectangle hole in the groun that wasnt more then tenn feet from him " Wiskey Rose will fix you up with some food and drink, as for sleeping im sure you know the rule, if you can find a spot on the ground or unused bed rollthen you can sleep there unless you want to share a be roll with another stallion" he said with a grin ear to ear, guess he was trying to call me gay but i chould care less i was pretty damn hungry since i skiped mess hall before i was ran out.
i headed down the step step that lead into the gron to see that they had taken a old bunker and converted it into a bar! i had to addmit it looked cozy they had tables and a few stalions were sitting and eating or drinking. i waked up to the bar and waited for somepony talk to me. i never been to a bar so i gussed it was kind of like going to a restarant and that somepont whould go up to you ans aske you what you whould like
" What can i do for ya!" a mare said in a southern accent when she came out of nowhere from behinde the counter, i jumped abit from the suprise and the fact that she was a mare! i hadnt seen one in a long time since i was shipped here. she and a dark orange coat simular to the wiskey bottles behinde her that she kept on selves with a few other bottles of alchohol and he had a dark red mane that she kept in locks behide her head. She didn't have a horn or wings so she was a earth pony. I noticed her cutie mark was a wiskey bottle half filled and a rose with its steam in the bottle as if it were a vase. she stared at me with her ruby red eyes and a smile on her face while i wiped the shock off of my face
" Um...Well i'm kind of n-" I was instantly cut off by her
" New? yeeeeah i kinda gussed that as soon as you walked into her to be honest" she said. matter of factly
"Howed you know?!"
She giggled and pulled out a rag and started to wipe down the counter " Well coindereing that you smell like death, dont have a backpack, your jaket have some skin still stuck to it, and the PDA your carrying from the dead stalker you picked it off over still hasnt be re-regesited under your name it and showns up as a gray dot on my PDA which whould mean your dead"
I just looked at her dumb founded, she noticed all of that? and what was she talking about with the re-regesiteing stuff? she saw the expression on my face and grinned " you don't even have the slightest idea about what your doing. do ya?"
" No...I don't.....” I Admitted “And I’m going to have a lot of questions..."