> Fallout Equestria: The Wild West
>  by Tigerdovefan34
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Slave? No. Freedom!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The buzzer to my cell door rings, signifying the start of the day for me... for us all, I mean. Getting out of my cot that I always slept on in here, I stood in front of the door and waited for my guards to open it and bring me out. A few beeps and the door opened revealing my guards, both covered in SF-67 Battle Armor and with their SK-165 pistol in their holsters. "C'mon, slave. It's time that you work." One of them, a unicorn, said, pulling me out of my cell quickly using his magic. His friend pulled his pistol out on me as he put the shackles on my hooves and a lock around my midsection, keeping my wings restricted.

'Joy. Another day of having practically no control of my body other than to work. What fun! ' I thought dryly. The two guards nodded and together they brought me to my work station. A conveyor belt that was used in the mass production of weapons for my oppressors. The so-called Great Western Caliphate owned me and owned anything I made. I sighed and began to go to work, placing rounds in their casings and piecing together SK-165s whenever one came my way. That was my job and I have no choice. I refuse to work, I get beat, possibly be sent to the Mamur Aleabid and probably get worse punishment from him. I shuddered at the thought, remembering a poor young filly who refused to work one day. I still can see her bruises in my dreams.

The mundane task that was my duty eventually just turned into robotic motions, just like I had done for the last 16 years of my life. For the next few hours I worked, every now and then touching red hot metal, but what could do but hold them with my bear hooves and dunk them in the water basket beside me, pain aching through my body as my hooves burned from the heat and my eyes sting from the steam. At least I wasn't working in the Armor department, those poor slaves were working with Liquid metal and, from what I have heard, many die every day. A loud Whistle removed me from my thoughts and I stopped my work. I knew what that meant. Every Guard and Slave did. It was 9 AM, 5 hours since I woke and time for Morning Prayer.

The  streets and paths that led to each place of Worship in our city were crowded not by civilian, but by slaves and their guards. That was expected, of course. Slaves had the industrial sector of the city, far from the civilian sector in order for a slave to not go rouge or whatever the excuse was. There was always a excuse. As I entered my place of worship, the guards took off my shackles and wingbrace before giving me a look that said 'you run and you're dead.' I rolled my eyes, as if I didn't already know that. I choose my rug and waited for the prophet to begin prayers.

It was nothing much once it finished. The prophet spewed some BS lines about good and some other horse shit that no one truly cared about. After 30 minutes of such nonsense, prayers ended and we we're brought back to our jobs. Put round in casing, but butt on pistol, cool hot metal, Rinse and Repeat. Again, the whistle blew and we went toward afternoon prayer before we were allowed to have our food break. We were crowded into the industrial cafeteria, guards on the railings above pointing  rifles at us, daring for us to start a rumble. All of us knew better. I got my tray and went down the lunch line with it, gathering the slob that I normally ate as I went along. The only good thing I was able to get was white calcium milk and even then I felt a little sick. You see, milk for us slaves doesn't come from a strange creature called a cow. It came from Slave skeletons that was grounded up with such energy that it became a liquid. I shook my head clear of the thoughts. I needed to feed myself lest I become to weak to work.

Picking a table, I sat down and began to use my hood to bring the spoon with the food in it into my mouth. I was making good progress with my meal when a orange earth pony with blue eyes walked up to me and sat down to my side. "Hey, Shadow Flower. How are you?" He asked and I looked down. We both knew my answer and it wasn't fun. "That bad, huh?"

"It wasn't bad per say, Steel. More uninteresting and nothing from the norm." I answered, giving a knowing glance to him. He chuckled and gave me a small peck on the nose, causing it to wrinkle. Steel Mustang had been my coltfriend for several years, always making me happier when I saw him during the lunch hours. Slaves weren't allowed to have relationships, but I was able to always sneak being in a relationship with him, mainly the lunch hour. "How's Onyx?" I asked him about my brother, Onyx Hooves. He was 7 years older than me and had known what life was like in the stable that we all lived in before we were enslaved. I have never seen him before but Steel had always told me things about him.

"He's ok, sweet pea." He said, giving me a kiss on the muzzle before he looked left, then looked right before staring me dead in the eyes. "Baby, you know I want you to have the best life possible, right?" He asked me, giving me the most serious look he had ever had on his face. I nervously nodded and he continued, bringing out a double edged knife. "I'm going to start a riot today. Me and several friends agreed that today was the best day to do it. We want as many Slaves to be freed that time allows. It'll happen at 8:30. Be prepared to run as soon as I open your door. Take this with you. Once you're out of here, get as far away as possible then stab this into the back of your head and dig out the tracker there. After, continue to run. Just get as far from here as you can." He said, handing me the knife.

"S-steel, you can't! If you do this then you can be easily caught and killed. Onyx wouldn't-"

"Your brother was the one who convinced me to do this." He silenced me with the phrase. I finally agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and grabbed the knife, placing it in my pockets before going back to my meal and he did the same.. Soon lunch ended and we all returned to our work, I however could not sake what Steel had told me earlier. Throughout the rest of the final work period, nightly prayers and rest time, I had the thought of what would happen in the revolt.

In Just an hour, the silence of the factory ended with an alarm blaring and several gunshots being heard. "ATTENTION: CODE BLACK IS IN PROGRESS!!! ALL GUARDS NEEDED TO QUELL SLAVE REVOLT!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!" The loudspeaker blared. I heard the clattering of my guards running from my cell to aid in quelling the revolt. I gulped as I stood up from my cot for perhaps, hopefully, the last time waiting for anything to happen on the other side. After a few minutes, the familiar beeping of my cell's unlocking codes had been sounded, followed by the familiar hiss of the door opening, Steel Mustang on the other side waiting for me.

"We've done as much as we can. Go. Hurry, we won't be able to hold them for long." He stated, giving a sorrowful look in the eye.

"Will we ever see one another ever again?" I asked gently and he gave me a kind kiss to calm me.

"Maybe, Sugarplum. Just hope that you will see me again one day and maybe you will." He said, giving me a short hug before pushing me away, yelling, "NOW GO!" As he ran right back toward the revolt.

No more delays. It was time to leave and I knew it deep down. Running for the Window that was only a few hoofsteps from my cell, I jumped clean through it and over the wall that surrounded my plant. As I landed, I felt a sickening CRUNCH on my left foreleg but I ran. I had to get as far from this place as possible. I shivered as the cold air of the night hit me, making me feel weak. Soon, the pain in my left foreleg forced me to stop. It was dislocated and I knew I could not do much of anything until it was reset. Placing it on a nearby rock, I placed all my weight on my foreleg and felt a sickening POP as it came back into place, forcing me to cry out loud from the pain. I had to do something else though. Something I knew I would never be able to live without.

Taking out the knife Steel had given me, I raised my mane from behind and counted down from 10. Upon reaching 1, I stabbed my head opened and my hood began to dig for something solid. Finally, I felt what I needed to find and began to pull. The screeching pain made me cry out but I had to continue. After a few more pain filled seconds, I finally pulled out the tracker that had been in my head since I was a foal. I immediately threw it on the ground and ran for it. The farther I got from the tracker, the lesser the chance I could be returned to Slavery. After what felt like forever, I slowly began to lose consciousness. The last thing on my mind was how free I truly was in that Moment before I crashed to the ground, the exhaustion getting the better of me.
> Freedom isn't Easy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I slowly opened my eyes as something bright began to pierce my vision. I slowly began to stand up, feeling a twinge of pain in my left foreleg as I put pressure on it. 'Oh Yeah.' I immediately remembered what had happened the previous night. The slave revolt, me jumping out the window and dislocating my foreleg, cutting my head open-MY HEAD WOUND! I immediately brought a hoof to the area where I cut out the tracker that was in my skull and brought it back to my vision. Dried blood was on but I didn't feel the warm liquid running down my neck, meaning it was most likely healing. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was finally free of my Slave duties, free from the over oppressive guards, free from...Steel Mustang.

'Steel, I hope you're doing alright. I'll come back for you and my brother one day. I swear.' I thought, nodding at the idea of saving both of them from their oppressors for so many years before I began walking off, further into the desert wasteland that was now my area. My home. Taking a breath of air, I choked, the stench of something brutal and dastardly taking place in my muzzle. Slowly, I began to look around, the cloud cover above me somewhat lessening my vision. Still, I brought out my knife and slowly began to trot to the smell's source. If it was a Caliphate patrol searching for me, I wasn't going to let them take me without a damn good fight. As I slowly approached the source, I charged silently, not screaming to not give away my position. I was ready to smack into a guard then stab him dead until my Hoof touched something soft and slippery. "Woah!" I exclaimed aloud as the surprise trip sent me tumbling into the desert sands.

I took a few seconds to regain my bearings before getting up, watching my surroundings for something, anything, that heard my exclamation and was coming here to check it out.  Once I recognized the coast was clear, I immediately looked at what had tripped me up. A pony, a green unicorn to be exact, was laying there with what looked like a gunshot in his neck, their eyes being shriveled up and pieces of bone sticking out amongst his flesh. The smell I had encountered only a few seconds later was very strongly present here, on them. Gulping, I quickly put two and two together and realized what I had tripped on as well.

Looking at the Pony's body, I immediately traveled my eyes towards their saddlebags and immediately I went to it. He was dead and he didn't need anything in his Saddlebag anymore. Finding several rounds, a few things that looked like potions or drugs I guess, and a map. This pony obviously had a gun but was killed and that gun was taken. Whoever killed him was more interested in the gun than the loot from the saddlebag which was quite strange. Whatever the reason, this guy was dead and while he had loot, I had nowhere to carry the loot. Sighing, I took the saddlebag off the dead body, feeling sick as I heard a wet POP as the skin split from the saddlebag before I flicked the small bits of decayed skin off the center wood and placed the bag on my back. It wasn't much but it would be a good thing to use when I needed to get some loot.

Before walking off, I noticed that one of his forelegs was not on his body, but instead a few steps in front of him, like someone had cut it off before leaving it. After I investigated it, it seemed like the foreleg once had something on it before someone had ripped it off the arm quite forcefully, as the skin was long gone, ripped open instead of just being there, decaying with the rest of the foreleg. 'Strange' I thought, curious as to what was on a pony's foreleg that would force such harsh use on it. I began to walk away from the body, the mystery tickling my mind but I did not pay attention to it. It was probably some random thing that did everything.

The desert was quite warm, despite the cloud covering above the ground keeping what I assumed was great light from reaching from the sky. The feeling of the warm desert sand touching my hooves as I walked soothed my senses, though the twinge of pain from my foreleg still came to me every five seconds to remind me of the injury. I just need to find a doctor out here and have him fix my leg properly was what kept me going every time my Foreleg stung from a step.

Within a half hour, I found a nice dune of sand to lay behind and went beside it to relax. I slowly began to take in the the gray sand as the warm breeze hit me, giving a sense of satisfaction. I had went quite far from where I was yesterday. By now, I would probably be praying in a place of worship. I chuckled at the idea. I was free from that now. There was nothing Anypony could do that could convince me to Pray once more.

"Viper Flash, can I have some of the Dash you took from that guy?" I heard a masculine voice beg from behind the dune. Out of Interest, I peeked my head above the dune, which was rather small, to see three stallions crowding around a campfire and just a few steps behind them, there was what looked like a warehouse. The stallion I immediately identified as Viper Dash looked to be taking a drug that was in my saddlebag and from what the stallion next to him said to be Dash.

"Bother someone else." Viper calmly warned but the stallion persisted.

"You promised you would share!" Viper Flash's eyes flashed in rage and immediately he took what looked to be a hammer in his hoof before smashing it against the skull of the stallion who had been next to him. I watched as he continuously rammed the hammer into the poor stallions face until it was nothing but a bloody pulp, pieces of brain and puddles of blood strewn all over the place. I almost vomited but held it in as the other stallion that had been watching the whole time came over to Viper Dash.

"Weakling. You did what you had to do. Jim wants only the strongest to survive and are you not one of our strongest?"

"I guess." Viper Flash said before the stallion took a breath of Dash that he had on his body. 

'Who the fuck is Jim?' I thought at the name. Jim, such a strange Name. As I began to think about leaving, I realized that the two ponies, both of whom now looking rather unkept now that I stared at them (though I probably don't look much better) were in my way of continuing. If I went in either direction besides back to where I came, an option I would never take, They would spot and probably attack me, considering how violent they were with a the stallion that is now dead. I brought out my knife and began to think as to how I would kill both of them without alerting their friends that were most likely in that warehouse that they were under attack.

"I gotta take a whizz. Be back in a bit." I heard the voice of the same stallion that re-assured Viper Flash say before Viper grunted. Hoofsteps assured me that he was coming behind my dune to take a whizz, whatever that meant. I decided to run a few feet back and sure enough, he appeared, a gun in hand and began to....urinate on the dune...huh. I guess that's what whizz means. I decided to ignore the fact and slowly began to creep on him and before he knew it, I slid my knife right across his throat while I muffled his mouth with my hoof.

I took the gun from his body and took the loot he had, which was just rounds and some...bottle caps? Strange but I guess this guy in particular liked collecting Bottle Caps. I realized I had to finish the Flash Viper off before he could look for his friend. Creeping around the dune, I approached him from behind. "Johnson, Jim just messaged me on my Pipbuck. He wants both of us to patrol the East side for any victims." He said as I began to creep up on him. What is a Pipbuck? is it some kind of messenger? "Johnson?" Flash asked warily, slowly turning around to see why his friend hadn't responded. Knowing my time was short, I lunged at him, knocking the Hammer out of his hooves but my knife was also knocked out of my hands by the force of the impact.

I began to punch him repeatedly before he could recover only for him to headbutt me and make a desperate Lunge for the Hammer he had dropped. Immediately, I regained myself from the headbutt and pulled him back, punching his spine and the back of the skull with a lot of force. He seemingly took little damage and was able to grab the hammer after a lucky strike in my groin. Knocking me on the ground, he raised his hoof to strike me with the Hammer and I braced for the hit.  THWACK! Only to feel something warm splash on me and his body collapse on mine. Opening my eyes, I tossed him to the side and saw the bullet wound in his chest. Someone shot him before he could kill me. Silently thanking my savior, I took the loot in Flash Viper's saddlebag only to find caps just like his friend Johnson. Guess this whole group collects bottle caps as a hobby. I grabbed and placed the Hammer in the Saddlebag and placed my Knife in the Saddlebag as well. I looted his friends only to find a few caps on him. I sighed and began to slowly walk off.

The Moment I was a good distance away from the warehouse, I began to run only to stop due to my damn foreleg. "Ah, Goddamn it!" I exclaimed, stopping my gallop before I could pick up a great speed, holding my Left Foreleg in pain. "Fucking, Mother Fucker!" I cried out as I shook my Foreleg in Anger. I didn't care if Viper Flash's friend Jim heard me and came to attack me. I was in Fucking pain, Goddamn it!

"I would calm down if I were you, Ma'am." I heard a somewhat metallic voice say to me. Immediately, I focused my vision on a...Pegasus in Armor. Not Caliphate Armer that I have gotten used to after 16 years of seeing it every day, but something very different. His entire body was covered in what looked to be some kind of metal and his eyes seems to be slitted colors of Orange and his voice had a very metallic sound to it. I immediately grabbed the gun I had in my Saddlebag and pointed it towards him, my hoof ready to pull the trigger.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my hoof teasing the trigger very lightly as a way to show I had every intention to pull it. The pistol's hoofcoil fit snugly on my hoof and gave me very easy access to the trigger. Slowly, the pegasus began to pull out his own pistol.

"Ma'am, I think it'd be wise if you get down."

"I won't get down until you answer my-"

"GET DOWN!" Right after he yelled, several round flew by my head. immediately, the stallion in armor tackled me and shot a few rounds off in the direction that the previous rounds came from, several splats indication that they hit their target. Pulling me up, he whispered in my ear "As soon as I pull you up, start running south and don't look back. I'll be giving you cover fire while you run." before pulling me up, nodding at me to run. I began to run and heard several dozen gunshots sound out as I ran from the battle. It wasn't long till the stallion in armor began to catch up me, shooting a few rounds behind us. "Start flying!" He ordered before he opened his wings and took off to the skies. I gulped. 

"I don't know how to fly!" I yelled after Him, hoping he heard me up in the skies. Running on 3 hooves was getting very tiring but I had to keep going or else  --- SPLAT  --- I yelped as a gunshot passed through my dislocated foreleg, bringing even more pain to myself as I fell to the ground, completely defenseless to the crazy ponies behind me, the gun in my saddlebag which I couldn't reach from laying on the ground.

"Hang on, Ma'am! I'll get help!" The stallion yelled back to me, flying away in the distance. I looked down and quickly rummaged through my saddlebag to find the gun. Finding it, I placed it on my hoof and pointed at 3 ponies who began to walk up with me, the leading one holding a knife and chuckling.

"Well, well, well. Looks like a little mare is helpless but thinks she can be a badass." He stated, his friends chuckling behind. "Listen you little whore. First, I'm going to slice you open, Second, I'll take everything you have, and third, I'll hang your Head on our warehouse. So wise up and prepare. to. di-!" He was cut off as I shot his head at nearly point blank range. The Stallion's head exploded in a mess of Brain matter, bone, blood, visercal, and eye from the force of the gunshot and the body fell limply to the ground. 

"Oh fuck! She got Dark! Kill Her quickl-!" I the stallion was cut off as I shot him clean in the throat, leading to him gurgling on his blood and falling to the ground, slowly dying from lack of air. His friend attempted to raise his hammer to kill me only for me to shoot him in the chest, ending his threat to me very quickly. I felt a slight sense as quiet reigned for a short while. It didn't last long. Several more gunshots rung out in the air and one grazed my cheek. Finding a good-sized rock to hid behind, I took it as cover, several rounds ricocheting off the rock's face. Taking in courage I had not known I had and fired several rounds at the ponies. 6 times I fired and 6 times I heard bodies fall. I Fired yet another round at a pony, tripping him up by hitting his foreleg.  The next time I fired, I heard a splat as another pony's head was blasted apart. I fired once more but I heard nothing, meaning my round missed. I raised my gun ready to fire at the down pony again and end him. Click. Wait what? I continuously pressed the trigger but it constantly clicked, meaning that it was out of ammunition. Normally, that means it would need to be reloaded and would not be a problem. Unfortunately, I did not know how to reload this gun. 'Shit!' I thought as the ponies got out from their cover and began to slowly trot towards me, weapons ready to kill. placing the gun in my saddlebag, I took out my knife and prepared to die fighting.

Just as the ponies approached my position, a VRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM was heard accompanied with several dozen splats. I turned around the rock to see several ponies dead and the others retreating, firing their weapons  at whatever was shooting at them. I gave a sigh of relief as I began to feel woozy from blood loss. "I'm here, Ma'am. Don't worry, we can bring you some place safe. just stay awake ma'am." I slowly began to black out as the stallion from before was talking to me. I felt myself be picked up and carried through the air, but to where, I do not know.

As we both approached a steel building, I slowly began to fade out. "Major, Sir! This mare was attacked by Jim's Marauders and is in some critical need of he-" was all I heard before everything Faded to black.





Gasping for breath, I immediately stood up from the dream of being a slave once again. Was that a dream? I immediately checked my surroundings and saw not the normal cell of the room I was once in, but instead, a very wide and spaceous room with plenty of space to take up. I looked at my left foreleg to see it covered in bandages, some red pouring out to it from earlier. I decided it would be best to not try my luck with my foreleg till I was positive that it was better. I began to look around the room even more. There wasn't much of anything, just a gray metal floor, gray metal walls, my Saddlebag, a Window, and the cot that I woke on. I began to walk on three hooves as to not agitate my injured foreleg to get my saddlebag. Once reaching it, I placed it on my back and began to trot lazily to the door when I heard a knock at the door. Immediately readying myself for a fight, I took my knife out and slowly and patiently waited for it to be opened. "Come in." I said, warily but not letting whomever was on the other side of the door. It opened to show the stallion from earlier trotting into my room. I instinctively placed my knife back in the saddlebag. He saved my life after all and I shouldn't repay him by threatening to kill him.

"Hello, Ma'am. I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing." he stated, trotting towards me. "But I can see  you're doing alright, so I'll try to help you get comfortable here." He said, placing a foreleg around my neck. His cool metal armor around my neck made me shiver. "I'll answer your biggest question that you have right now.Is it 'Where am I?'" he asked me. I nodded. I did not know where I currently am and if I knew then I would at least be able to put it on the Map in my Saddlebag. "Welcome to the Enclave Republic Outpost Alpha. This is currently the biggest military position for the newly branded Enclave republic, the Guardians of the Wasteland's civilians." He answered, giving a hoof to me as a hoof sake. "I'm James "Mad Dog" Mattis, Sergeant first class. You can just call me Mad Dog or Mattis, though. What about you?" He asked me.

"Shadow Flower." I answered briefly, wanting to get to the chase. "Listen, how did you find me? Also thank you for saving me from those crazies." I thanked and asked at the same time. I wanted to know how he found me so I could at least prepare myself for a future encounter.

"Wasn't hard, Miss Shadow Flower. With all that screaming you were doing, I'm surprised that a raider didn't find you before I did." He said, a smile most likely on his face. "Anyways, you don't know how to fly or reload? Meet me when you want to and I'll help train you. It'll be easy." He advised. "Oh, and here." He handed me a strange object. "It's a Pipbuck 9000. use it aid you in normal things that you need to do." Put it on your hoof and test it out." He said and I followed his instructions, putting the strange object called a 'Pipbuck 9000' on my hoof and turning it on. Immediately, a bright screen flashed on and on was the body of a pony with his forelegs and hindlegs all out while he was smiling.  Curiously, I swiped towards the section that said 'Map' and I was immediately greeted with a map of the whole desert, or what I assumed was the whole desert with one location already found I pressed it and it said 'Enclave Republic Outpost Alpha'.

"Thanks. This may actually help me when I want to go somewheres." I thanked, thinking of the exploring I could do now that I had this digital map rather than the paper one in my saddlebag. Quickly, I had a thought. Was the reason that dead pony's hoof was cut off was because someone tread to remove his Pipbuck? I thought.

"You're welcome, Shadow Flower. Come down by the trainig range at any ime and I can happily help you train for the future. I hope to see you soon." With that, he left. I guess I was here for the time being. Oh well. As the door closed behind the stallion, I thought silently about how much I would be able to do here and perhaps better myself for future situations. Maybe this and not my escape was my beginning in this desert place. I smirked, silently thinking of myself a hero. Shadow Flower, the Desert Vigilante. I liked that. I guess I would be trained by the Enclave for the time being. I almost fell to the floor after taking a step from sheer exhaustion. I guess training will wait until I rest up. I shrugged, slowly trotting towards and on my cot. Tomorrow, I begin my training. I hoped I could do very well as I slowly faded to sleep on my cot, giving me dreams that truly made me more hopeful for my future here than before I awoke in this place.
> Learning a Republic's Beginning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I opened my eyes and yawned. That was a sleep I haven't had in, well, forever. Smiling, I hopped off my cot, only to remember my left foreleg was injured once a twinge of pain hit me the moment it hit the floor. shaking a bit, I put the Saddlebag back on my hoof and walked toward the door, it opening upon me walking towards it. Gaping, I slowly walked out of the room to see many terminals and screens, with dozens upon dozens of Information on them. Locations, weapons, strategies. They had it all placed on the screens. "Wow." I whispered. This Enclave Republic seemed truthfully very advanced and ready for anything, like they were the most powerful thing in existence.

"Shadow Flower, over here." I heard Mattis' metallic voice to my side and I slowly trotted toward him, the pain i my foreleg slowly subsiding with every step. "Here." He said, injecting a painkiller into my foreleg, which numbed the pain very much so. "That should keep your foreleg from acting up while we train. We chemically enhanced this Painkiller to make sure the effect of drowsiness and lethargy was practically non existent. We use this on all our wounded members who aren't wounded enough for surgery, but are wounded enough to feel a shit ton of pain. Now, let's go training. Agreed?" He stated and I nodded. I wanted to see how the Enclave Republic trained their soldiers and I also wanted to know how to fly.

We went down the stairs to what I believed to be a shooting range, what with several dozen targets on the wall and there being quite a few weapons there. He walked up and choose the gun that was a lot like the one in my own Saddlebag. "This is the RB - 276 Revolver. 12 rounds are in it already. It's quite the powerful weapon and it's the gun you have in your saddlebag. Here. Try it out for yourself." He handed me the weapon and I easily fired it 12 times at the targets, with 7 of the 12 rounds hitting it while the other 5 missed. "Good shot." He said after a brief period of silence from the shock of my accuracy.

"I killed 10 Raiders on my lonesome with my RB - 276. I don't need lessons on accuracy. I only need to know how to reload and how to fly, James." I told him, rather impatient at my lessons being impeded by something I very much know how to do well.

"Very Well." He nodded. "I suppose we should start with the basics. Once you have the knowledge on how to reload and fire several guns that we have before we start flying training. I think we should have you just know how to Normally fly, just because that is something you need to know more than how to do strange, unneeded stunts." I nodded and together, we trained for several minutes, him showing me how to reload guns like the RB - 276 Revolver. "Only design that was produced when the Megaspells hit. We're working on improving it." He answered after I asked him why it was so complex to reload. We then went on to shotguns and rifles (getting pushed back from the blast of a shotgun is certainly not fun). Finally, he began to train me to fly.

"Jump up and flap your wings slowly but gently. Allow air to go through them. Think of yourself like a piece of cloth floating through the wind. Leave all thoughts of your weight behind you." James stated, flying upwards. I followed his examples and slowly, I felt myself lift off the ground, feeling the air between my wings and thinking myself to be as weightless as possible. I looked towards him, the biggest smile on my face. "You're doing great, kid." He said in an almost fatherly tone. It's funny. I've only known this stallion for only a day and yet I feel as if he is my father. Our friendly moment was interrupted when two ponies, a pegasus and a unicorn, both in what looked to be very light armor, walked down the stairs to face us. James immediately went down from his somewhat limited flight in this shooting range and turned to them. "Recruit Arcade, Recruit Lyons, What in the name of the three great spies are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be training with Second Lieutenant Long Shadow?" He barked out an order to the two obviously lower rank and younger ponies. Recruits? Maybe I could get some information from those two that I probably won't be able to get from Mattis.

"We were on our way, however, First Lieutenant Jackson ordered us to come down here and get you. He needs to speak with you, sir!" The unicorn, presumably Recruit Lyons from how prideful he looked, answered the order. James sighed.

"First Lieutenant Jackson is our leader. He's the reason why we are here in the first place. I'll be back in a minute, he probably wants to chew my ear out for bringing in some random mare that came from the wastes." James responded. "Watch her until I get back and you two will have a good word put in with the Second Lieutenant." He said, walking up the stairs, his armor clanking noisily on each one as he walked upwards.

"Yes, First Sergeant!" The Pegasus, Recruit Arcade I presume, replied as both Recruits saluted James before turning towards me. The silence was very thick but I wanted to know something about this I was finding more about group I currently am in.

"So, what the story behind this place?" I asked once I thought the silence had gone on long enough. It was time to get some answers, though I doubted  I would get much from recruits. Recruit Arcade simply smiled while Recruit Lyons simply rolled his eyes.

"Well, this place has been here since before we were born. First Lieutenant Jackson came here with a squadron of around 2 Raptor Cloudships and just made this place his home. By the time we were born, he had been here for 20 years, stopping raiders from killing and looting ponies, Slavers from making us, well, slaves, and Creatures from turning us to food. The moment we became of age 10 years ago, we both agreed to join, as repayment for all the help the First Lieutenant has given us. Anymore questions?" Arcade answered. This place has been here for over 20 years and this group has as well? Why did the Caliphate never mention them?

"May I ask if this is your only position in the Desert and how many recruits there are?" I requested to know. Arcade opened his mouth to answer but Lyons put a hood over his mouth, giving me a sneer.

"Why did you call this place a Desert?"

"Isn't that what this place is? With all the sand and barren land?"

"The Megaspells caused this. This place isn't a desert, it's a wasteland."

"Mega-what now?"

"You're kidding."

"I'm serious, what's a Megaspell?" After I asked that, Arcade and Lyons Shared a look that stated 'is this mare crazy?'. I rolled my eyes and motioned my hoof for him to answer. He answered with a story of an apparent 'Great War' between someplace called Equestria and a race called the zebras. He told that for a while, both sides were locked in dead heat until both sides sent Megaspells to each other in a last ditch attempt to win the war, Only for both sides to be destroyed. "Ok, I call it the Wasteland now, I guess. Can Arcade answer my questions now?" I didn't care much for some pathetic war that happened over a hundred years ago.

"Uh, sure." Arcade said. "For your first question, you're going to have ask the First Lieutenant or the Second Lieutenant for an answer. Maybe the Sergeant First Class. I don't know. We came a village that is quite a way from here. Raptor Cloudships took us here for training. For your second question, well, if I recall correctly from what I've seen, there are about 15 Recruits if you include us and 40 Regulars, making our force have a size of 55. Not very big, but what does size matter when you have technology?" He answered, a smile plastering his face while Lyons just stared at him with a disappointed expression.

"Well, nice to know I have a good sized force at my -" WIIIIIIRRRRRR! a loud noise that rang throughout the Outpost cut me off while Arcade and Lyons both stiffened at the alarm. "What the fuck is that?!" I demanded, putting hooves on my ears to at least soften the noise.

"Caliphate Raid! Lyons, we have to stop and help now!" Arcade said to Lyons whom nodded and ran up the steps. "Listen, Ma'am. Nice meeting you but for your own safety, Stay Here!" He told me before running up the stairs himself, leaving me to boil. There were Caliphate soldiers out there but I couldn't kill them because I just arrived here. The idea made my blood boil. I remembered every time a Caliphate soldier tased me far harder than necessary. I remembered every time one hit me when I had done everything I was ordered to do in the correct way. These assholes treated me like shit for 16 years but I couldn't take my revenge and kill a few of them? Horse. Shit. Grabbing a fully loaded ERSR - 196, I ran up the stairs to the upper levels of the Outpost, where several gunshots were sounding off.

I ran Right, where I heard the action was happening. Immediately, I reached a platform that Lyons, Arcade, and 2 Enclave Regulars from the looks of them all shooting at Caliphate soldiers. I ran up next to them and took up a position, putting my rifle on the edge and picking a target. The Caliphate soldier was dressed in red armor with several stripes green outlining his armor, his eye sockets a pale blue. I immediately fired at his skull and saw him flop face first into the ground, his blood seeping out onto the Wasteland sand. Re-cocking the Hammer and chose another target. "Ma'am, what the hell are you doing?! I told you to stay put!" Arcade yelled, firing several rounds at two Caliphate Soldiers while I took down immediately, hitting him square in the throat. I couldn't hear him, but his slow death was joyous enough to me.

"And I say fuck off! I have been a slave to these assholes since I was a fucking foal. For 16 long years, I was abused constantly by those soldiers. So Excuse me, but when I have the chance to kill a few bastards, I'm going to take it!" I yelled, firing a few more rounds into the bodies of a few stallions. Arcade looked at me in shock at what I had just said.

"You were a slave?!" Several rounds nearly hit him when he said and turned around to fire back. Nodding, I continued my Caliphate Shooting Range, wounding many and killing a few. It was like that for a few minutes, us above the Caliphate force shooting down on them while they foolishly shot up in a vain attempt to hit us. It always failed. Eventually, a regular held up a hoof to his ear and hissed an angry groan. "The Machine Gun on the upper is our one True chance to get them to retreat. Sergeant James Mattis has it but he needs to help him load the rounds as he fires! If you are up for it, go, but if you aren't, stay here and keep shooting!" He yelled but I was already halfway up the stairs by the time he finished his sentence. I reached the upper most balcony that wasn't the roof and from that, I saw James shooting down below using his own ERSR - 196.

"Hey kid. I don't know why you're here, but grab those casings and calmly tug them into the chamber as I fire the gun." He stated, putting down his rifle and gripping the handles of the machine gun. I nodded and slowly, I fed the chamber every round as he fired, spraying the ground below. For the next few minutes, this continued until their forces began to slowly pull back, the living dragging the wounded that could be saved. James stopped firing, but I took his rifle and began to fire down upon them, killing around 7 before James tackled me to the, the orange eyes of his helmet burning into my soul. "Shadow Flower, stop! Their retreating. It's done. You don't need to kill anymore of them." He calmly stated, allowing me to calm down. Slowly, he grabbed his rifle and began to walk down the stairs with me, the silence hitting us hard.

"Why were those Caliphate soldiers attacking this place?" I asked.

"Our supplies. We have a large stockpile of medical supplies, rounds, weapons, drugs, you name it. We give it out to Wastelanders when we can but the Caliphate see our stockpile as a way to get stronger." He snorted as we reached the lowest floor that was directly on the ground. "How much have we lost, Sergeant Major?" He asked the pony in front of him, who was overlooking the stockpile.

"It seems this Raid was very unsuccessful for them. Nothing taken, James." A feminine voice sounded behind the helmet. James sighed before he placed his hooves on his helmet, it opening with a Loud hiss.

"That's good. It means we can help more wastelanders than we could After previous raids." He said, his voice clean and calming as he spoke. He was a yellow Pegasus with a Brown mane and purple eyes. He turned his face into a frown when he received a message on his Pipbuck. "Take charge here, Posey. Tell First Lt. Jackson when you have the report ready. I have to talk to my friend for a minute." The mare, whom I realized was an Earth Pony due to her armor having no wings, nodded and began to talk everything in the stockpile.

Slowly we began to walk upwards and then straight forward. "You're a former Caliphate slave, eh?" He asked and I disappointedly nodded. "That's Nothing be ashamed about, Shadow. You escaped from them. That's fantastic news. Your story could even be an inspiration to other slaves in the future one day, to show that despite what you currently are, you can be greater." He said, smiling at me. I chuckled at his kind words.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Flower." He said. "Now, I believe you want to hear about how our little group started, don't you?" I nodded, having a curious look on my face as we continued down the hallway. My left Foreleg began to twinge in pain every few steps, though it was only small ounces of pain. I could bear through it.

"Well, my story begins 40 years ago. I was a young 8 year old Colt when the High Council from Cloudsdale stated they needed at least 30 brave stallions and mares and 10 brave colts and Fillies to join an operation under the command of First Lt. Jackson Featherstorm. I immediately signed up. My own father, Jesse Hawkswoop, had betrayed the enclave and Became a Dashite when I was only a few years old. A Dashite is a Pegasus who goes down to the Wasteland without the Enclave's orders." He explained due to my confused glance at the word Dashite. "Anyways, we left the clouds for this place a week after the announcement was made. To be Honest, the First Lt. Was happy to leave, After being harrased due to being my Fathers older brother for so long. Once we made landfall in this Wasteland, we immediately began to collect weapons and blueprints throughout the wastes, going by the motto of 'we are taking these things to keep the wastelanders safe from themselves' of course this philosophy didn't last long.

"After 2 years, there was an attack on a village by a bunch of raiders. We arrived just in time to stop the raiders After they killed just 3 ponies and threatened a poor Colt. After this fight, the First Lt found a location of an old ruined shack and rebuilt it to be this Outpost, declaring their new mission was to help and protect the ponies of this Wasteland. The Second Lt and I supported him and we rebranded ourselves the Enclave Republic, with Jackson Featherstorm as our president until we had an official population for our nation."

"Several members disagreed and 9 years ago, they split, declaring that they were going to follow the original mission that we were sent on. We call them the Enclave Loyalists. Nowadays, we take in local ponies to train and expand our ranks to give more protection for the Wasteland. Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasi. It didn't matter and still doesn't. If they're willing to serve, then we let them."

"That's the story of our little group, if a bit summarized. I hope you have plenty to think on now. Anyways, we're here." He said, stopping by a large door and ending his story. The story was quite interesting. The president of this republic was James' uncle and I felt like this group generally wants to help ponies. Though something began to bother me. I had a feeling that the Enclave sent these guys here for something more than simple technology confiscation.

"What's behind the door?" I asked, pushing my thoughts away to give that question.

"The Doctor. You need help with that scar and foreleg." The door slowly began to open upon him saying that. "Once you're finished, meet me in the cafeteria to get some grub and follow me to meet with the First Lt. He has something he has to give you." He said, walking away, his body armor making clanking noises as he walked away. I waved a good bye and entered the doctors room.

"Please Sit, ma'am." I heard a masculine voice demand and I sat on the the doctor's bed. The stallion walked out of the darkness to reveal that he was a green unicorn with blue eyes. "Shot Dislocated Left Foreleg and a Head scar inflicted from self surgery, for what I do not know however. I'm doctor Vanilla Swirl, I'll be helping you with treatment. Please, take some non-enhanced painkillers and relax. I promise you'll be fixed in no time." I followed his request and grabbed the Painkillers in his magic, stabbing it into my body. Instantly, my body felt Woody and I fell down, quickly fading out, the doctor stating, "That may have been a bit too quick." As everything went black.





"Wake up, ma'am. I'm done." Slowly opening up my eyes, I went up and stared at the stallion. "Everything has been completely healed. Now please go to the cafeteria. I'm very busy and you've taken up enough time." I smiled and hopped off the doctor's table, enjoying the non pain of placing my left Foreleg on the ground and began to trot toward the cafeteria, which James had given me directions to on my Pipbuck. This group didn't seem so be and who knows, perhaps my luck will turn around with them helping me.
> Enclave Republic Raider Cleanup
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I arrived in the cafeteria, grabbing a tray in my wings and grabbing several things that looked interesting from the bar and walked to the table James was sitting at. As I begin to dig in, I immediately enjoyed the taste of the sweet substance, it exploding in flavor every time I took a bite. James just smiled and shook his head. "How you holding, Shadow?" He asked, himself taking a small bite of his food. I had taken a big mouthful so I needed time to chew. It was faaaar better than Slave food and I wanted to savor every bite.

"I'm doing great. I feel a lot better since your doctor operated on me a few minutes ago." I replied after swallowing the food. I was feeling far better than I was only a day previous, but then again, I hadn't eaten in a day.

"You like Flashack eggs? I'll guess I'll write it down for future reference." He said chuckling after I had already ate 2/3rds of the "egg" that I had. "Flashack are a giant insect that fly very quickly and have a very poisonous stinger. It is really hard to get those eggs so it's nice to see you enjoy them." He stated after my confused glance hit his eyes. "Anyways, once your finished with that, go downstairs and take a left. Once you reach a room with an open door, go in. It's the briefing room. The First Lt. wants to give you n operation. I've told him about you in the time we talked before the Caliphate raid earlier and how much of a great shot you were. I doubt Recruits Lyons and Arcade haven't told him about how you did  so suffice to say, he's very interested in you." He said, standing up with his tray, which was empty since he ate his meal, and walked away. I continued my egg, savoring every bite slowly and calmly. Eventually I finished it and placed my tray on the cleaning table, or at least, that's what I thought it was, and began to walk the direction toward the briefing room. The way to the room was quite open and I had to admit, the multiple flags were quite the decor, gray with a black cross an black E and circle in the upper left corner, but there were also tally marks, I believe counting the number of days they've been here.

As I neared the room, I saw a pegasus pony walking towards the room as well. Walking up to them, I quietly and politely tapped on their shoulder to get their attention. "Hello. Are you going to the briefing room as well?" I asked and they nodded.

"Yes'm." He (I could tell they were a he from their voice) replied. "I'm Sergeant Major Thunder Storm, 4th in command of the Enclave republic. I already to know who you, Shadow Flower. I hope that you stay with us and serve the republic. It would be an honor to fight along someone like you, ma'am." He said.

"Why thank you but I think after this, I'll be leaving. I don't want to give you the brunt of Caliphate forces looking for me." I replied and he nodded as we both entered the briefing room, where Arcade, Lyons, two mares, and James was sitting on benches in front of a screen with a pretty big pony, by the looks of it a stallion, standing behind a projector.

"Hey, Shadow Flower. Glad you made it here. The First Lt. is about to start." James told me after I took a seat next to him. As if on cue, A rather large Blue stallion with Amber eyes walked into the room, his eyes watching all of us.

"At ease you 6." He said and I had just noticed that the 6 Enclave Republic Members around me were all standing up and saluting the stallion. 'That must be the First Lt. I thought as my mind put two and two together. Why else would 6 soldiers salute to a stallion? "Before we begin, I would like to give a promotion. Sergeant First Class James Mattis, Please stand." James stood up on all 4 hooves. "Come here and place your hoof on the Enclave Republic's Code of Law." James did as he told and went toward the Stallion, placing his left hoof on a book the stallion had in his own own hooves. "Repeat after me: I, state your Name."

"I, James Mattis."

"Do Solemnly swear,"

"Do solemnly swear,"

"To hold up the laws of the Enclave Republic with my new position as Command Sergeant Major."

James was silent for a few minutes before replying, the shock from this surprise to much for him. "T-to hold up the laws of the Enclave Republic with my new position as Command Sergeant Major." He said, his face lighting up in a large smile.

"Congratulations James. You deserve after all that you've done for the Republic. Please take a seat again." The stallion congratulated and James sat back down next to me, his smiling still ever present on his face. "Now, other than the promotion, there is a reason we are all here. Also, I would like to welcome miss Shadow Flower to Alpha Outpost. We all hope she stays a while. This is all related. I'm sure 3 of you 7 know who Jim is." Jim?

"excuse me, Mr. First LT.-"

"Just call me Jackson Featherstorm, never much for formalities." He interrupted and I began my sentence again.

"Jackson, I think I know who Jim is. Yesterday, I was attacked by several, what do you call them, Raiders? Before they began talking to me, one of them talked about a Jim. Is this the same Jim that you're talking about?" I asked him. It could be a coincidence, but judging from how close James was when he rescued me, I doubted it.

"You are correct, Shadow Flower. Jim was a raider we faced before, back at Marechester when it was just a few buildings and had only 6 residents. 46 years ago, he was part of a larger raider group that attacked the village hoping to get loot, food, and, sickeningly enough, slaves. We were able to arrive to the village in time and kill every raider but him, as a message to other raiders to stay away. Sadly, around 6 years ago, Raiders have begun attacking our patrols and we have reason to believe that Jim is the head of the raiders in this region. The newly appointed Command Sergeant Major--" At This, James sat up. "--At Ease-- found evidence of where Jim's hideout is. We have reason to believe that the raiders are held up in this shack just North-East of here." Upon him saying that, an image of the building that was in front of the dune in where I fought the two raiders from yesterday. The picture was from a distance and colored green but the "shack"  had damaged walls and the benches I fought Viper Dash near was there, though the bodies weren't. The picture was most likely taken before I arrived there. "We need a new base and it just so happens, Jim's hideout is located near a important road for the Caliphate. We take the Shack, we can take the Road. We take the Road, the Caliphate is just that much weaker. You're mission is to go to this Hideout and clear out all the raiders so we can come in and establish an Outpost there. James Mattis will be your commander for this operation and our visitor will go with you. May the Goddesses guide your path." Jackson ended as several more pictures appeared on the screen.

"You will come in quietly from behind the shack and clear our any Raiders within the area. Following that, if there is one, you shall go underground and clear out the rest of the raiders. Our last Raptor Cloudship will fly you in. Good luck." Finally, the screen went black and the lights, as I had just noticed they were dimmed, brightened. "Dismissed." With that, all 7 of us who were sitting down began to leave the room.

I decided to follow them to where the hangar was without asking idiotic questions about where it was. The trip to the armory was quick as we all got our weapons before walking into the hangar, I was specifically given Corporal armor, or at least, James told me it was armor for a corporal. It was a tight fit but I still felt somewhat comfortable with it on, as the metal had nice cloth padding on the inside to keep me comfortable without giving up protection. Was this how armor the other had felt? The giant opening between the Outpost and the Wasteland just outside was great as blue light shined in here why thick inky darkness appeared nearly impenetrable out there. Getting on, the Raptor, I felt my stomach drop as we took to the air.

"So you three want to introduce yourselves to Shadow Flower, as a way to show you trust her before we arrive?" James began, talking to Sergeant Major Thunder Storm and the two mares. Thunder storm smiled.

"I already met her on the way to the briefing room." We all turned to the other two mares, who looked at us  shyly.

"I'm corporal Lucky Petal and this is Sergeant Electric Snowflake. It's an honor to go on this mission with you, Shadow Flower. We heard how many caliphate soldiers you killed a few hours ago and let's just say, we don't think the raiders will fair to well against us." One of the mares stated. I nodded and offered my hoof as way to say "Nice to meet you." To which they both shook it. After a few more seconds, I felt our Raptor land and the door opened, telling us that we have arrived.

"Remember, try and muffle noise as much as possible. Lyons, is the muffling spell on our weapons?" James asked and Lyons nodded. "Very good. Remember, we go in quick and clean. We can not let Jim know we're here." He commanded before all of us began to slowly walk toward the hideout. From how many I saw, there at least 7 raiders outside. It seems that the fight a few days ago put a real dent in their numbers.

Taking out our rifles, we all picked a target and counted down from 5. Once 1 was reached, 7 shots, shots that we're almost completely muffled, were heard followed by 7 SPLATS giving us the sign that our shots had hit their marks. I ran over and began to loot the bodies of these raiders. All but one of them had things that were of no interest. The final one, however, had a note which read:

To, 

whoever it was addressed to was smudged.  You must be more careful. The another smudge that was quite large. If they find out, everything we have built would be for naught. Surely, you must realize that this is smudge we don't succeed, we all fail. You don't want that and neither do I. Remember to keep Project Manticore a secret. If you let it slip to your special friend too, then Goldenblood will shut us down. Keep this completely secret.

From,  it was smudged again. Date: 17th of March, 1067 AD.

Well that just gave me a bunch of questions. Who the fuck is Goldenblood and what the in the whole wide world of fuckity-fuck fuck was Project Manticore?  I placed the note in my saddlebag for safe keeping. Maybe I could decipher the note at a later date. I walked over to the group as they began to breach a hatch just in front of them. "Shadow Flower, where were you?" James asked and I shrugged.

"Looting the dead bodies. They're not going to need use of that loot anymore so why let them keep it?" It was true. James just sighed and behind his helmet I felt he rolled his eyes. Finally, Corporal Petal opened the hatch and we all walked in. Slowly, we all began to slowly investigate the corridors of the underground tunnel below the shack. It seemed was really prepared for an attack on his place, seeing how the place was directly under his shack. As I began to walk slowly to a room that was in the tunnel's wall, a CLICK was sounded around the tunnel. Quickly the entire group turned around to see Sergeant Electric Snowflake standing really still and suddenly, we all realized what the click was.

"Oh Sh-!" She was cut off as a large explosion erupted from the ground, sending her flying.  I immediately looked at her to see her right foreleg was completely gone, a bloody stump with bone sticking out of where it once was. Her screaming echoed through the tunnel, likely alerting the raiders to our presence. James faced her then shot at the ground, which exploded upon the rounds impact.

"Fuck, this place is Booby trapped. Thunder Storm, bring the Sergeant above ground and request immediate Medical Evacuation. Everyone else, watch your step from here on out." Thunder storm nodded and placed Electric Snowflake on his back, quickly running towards the hatch from where we came from. Quickly, the rest of us continued, Lyons using a trap detecting spell to help us get around booby traps while we searched every corridor in the case that a raider was waiting behind one. Reaching a crate, I saw a strange object sitting there. Approaching it slowly, it was a small greenish-bluish orb with something inside of it moving. Picking it up, I looked very closely at it to see what was in it. Slowly, I felt like something in the orb was pulling me in, forcing me to continue to focus on it. A gunshot sounded, forcing me out of the trance I was in and I ducked as several raiders approached use from the front.

At the head was a rather large black stallion with a red mane and blazing amber eyes. "You fuckers come to MY hideout and try to kill MY raiders so you can create a new base on MY dead body?  All of you will feel what happens when you fuck with Jim the Savage!" Looks like we found Jim. I took out my RB - 276 Revolver and shot at a raider only for it to miss and instead a hailstorm of rounds came my way, forcing me to take cover behind the crate. How the Fuck was this Crate taking so many rounds? I knew that I wouldn't be able to hit any raider or even stand up without getting shot into multiple pieces.

"Use S.A.T.S!" James yelled under the hailstorm.

"What? What is S.A.T.S?" I asked loudly, the rounds was starting to chip at our hearing and I could barely hear him.

"Go on your Pipbuck and access S.A.T.S!" He yelled again and I did as he told me, activating S.A.T.S. and with it, I felt time slow down, the rounds going very slowly into the tunnel. Looking at the raiders, their rounds were going out slowly. I targeted at least 4 raiders and decided to target their heads with 3 rounds each. Suddenly, my hoof pulled the trigger 12 times, switching between the 4 raiders I selected every 3 rounds. Time regained speed and suddenly , the hailstorm of bullets got slower as 4 raiders were now dead.

"Oh Fuck! Don't let them get passed here. You, You, with me!" Jim said at the sight of 4 of his raiders being killed in such a quick moment. The sound of hoofsteps traveling away from the fight gave me the idea that Jim was making a run for it with 2 other raiders. Oh, so Jim wants to run, huh? I reloaded my revolver and went up only for James to fire upon the other Raiders with his ERSR - 196 and for all of them to go down quickly.

"No fair, you used S.A.T.S." I yelled at him. Still, that word felt very unnatural and weird on my tongue.

"This isn't a game, now let's get Jim." James stated before running forwards and the rest of us followed, hoping to catch the lead raider before he could escape. Several rounds hitting the floor in front of us followed by a Yell of attack gave me the idea that now Jim was fighting once more. I took cover again and fired my RB - 276 Revolver at all 3 of them. They took cover and once the team's fire stopped, Jim appeared out of cover and fired several rounds at Arcade and Lucky Petal, both of them going down with ease.

"You Fuckers won't get me Alive! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Jim yelled as he fired at us.

"Goddesses Damn it! Lyons, get Arcade and Lucky out of here! Me and Shadow Flower can handle Jim!" Lyons saluted James and followed his orders, picking up both the wounded ponies in a magical aura and running toward the Tunnel's exit. Now, a true Firefight began as we trade rounds across the tunnel at each other. After a few minutes, I noticed the body of a pony and looking closely, I saw the filly had several bite marks and had liquid coming out of her...I looked at the three Raiders and saw Jim had blood on his mouth and his stallionhood, which was barely out, was covered in Liquid. Looking at the filly again, a sudden rage overtook me and I seized a Machete that was in the crate I was behind in my Mouth and charged for the raiders, despite James screaming "Shadow Flower, don't!"

I charged straight into the barrel of one's gun but sliced off his hooves. His screams were caught short as I sliced his neck. The other remaining Raider quickly focused his weapon on me only for me to throw the Machete straight into his skull, killing him instantly. "You fucker, you just killed my-!" Jim was caught short as I tackled him to the ground, forcing him to let go of his weapon. Quickly I grabbed the Hammer from my Saddlebag and brought it to bear. He deserves to be hammered in for what he did. No fucking mercy for those who do...That!...to fillies!

I brought my hammer down hard on his face, a sickening CRACK coming from the impact but I didn't care. He was going to die horribly for how he treated that poor filly. I brought down again, and then again, and then a fourth time before I turned the Hammer around for it's claws to strike Jim's face. Bringing it down, it sunk deeply into the Raiders soft flesh and I roughly pulled it out before brining it back down. After 2 more times, I flipped the Hammer again and brought it down. "She-" CRACK "-Was a-" CRRAACK "-FUCKING-" CRAAAAAAAACK "-FILLY!" SPLAT I yelled directly at him, each word being punctuated with a strike from my hammer. His soft flesh was now exposed than before with some of his brains appearing but I didn't care and continued to strike the body until James grabbed my hoof and pulled me back.

"Stop, Shadow Flower! He's Dead!" He yelled at me and for a second we stood there, him on me and keeping me from moving and I quickly panting from anger. After a few minutes, my panting stopped and I looked at him rather calmly despite there being some anger that burned inside me. He got off of my and I looted the the raiders first, finding things that had little use except bottle caps. James explained that Bottle caps was the currency of the wasteland and that there bits of paper called Enclave Republic Dollars that were the currency of the Republic's realm. I didn't really care and I grabbed the machete imbedded in the skull of the raider and pulled it out, a large THWACK coming from the head as I pulled it out.

Then, I got to Jim. I decided to take his gun, which had the label Sweet Heaven on it, and then I began to loot his body and picked up several rounds and drugs as well as some bottles with what I guessed was Alcohol. Meh. What really Mattered however, was the note I found on Jim's body.

To: Zep A smudge eze,

Subject(s): Project Orbital and Project Spire,

It seems that you heeded my warnings from earlier. That's very good. For a second, I was afraid that Goldenblood would find out about Manticore. Now with him having no evidence, I would like to discuss our next two projects. Orbital and Spire.
I'm sure you recall that both- there was a large smudge taking up most of the paragraph. I sighed angrily. It seemed like these notes had some big mystery behind that I needed to solve but in order to do that, I would need clues and not just 2 notes. I rolled my eyes and continued to read. -Powerful together. The Zebra Nation is getting weaker by the day and we all know it, however, we can assure they're defeat by establishing these 2 projects. We only need to keep these secret. Do not worry about your sister and her friends, The- another smudge is almost completely under my control. Foolish mare, that one is. I would like to continue discussing this face to face however. So when you have the time, come to my hotel and we can chat about our next two projects together.

From, Mr.  and a final smudge ture.

Date: 19th of July, 1067 AD

So, now there seemed to be two more projects and the two that were writing these letters were writing them around some pony called Goldenblood. A conspiracy. I must admit, my interest was very much peaked. It didn't last long as James and I went above ground, sending a message on his Pipbuck to most likely First Lt. Jackson about how the position was clear and ready for consolidation. "Shadow Flower, I know you're leaving after we're done here. I would like to say that I want to come with you. to Help you and to prepare you for whatever is out there. I asked the first Lt. about it and he agreed with me. So, I would like to tell you that you are now a Honorary Enclave Republic Corporal." James said, smiling at me and I smiled back.

"It'll be nice to have someone with me as I traverse this place, I guess and you saved my life twice." I said nodding, only for him to nod.

"So where will we go next?" He asked and I pointed West. 

"I want to look over something. It seems that there is something very odd about this place and I want to figure it out." I said and James nodded.

"Alright then, I'll just have to report to base about everything that happens."

"Why?"

"Only way the Republic can find out more about this Wasteland. And it was the only way to get Jackson to agree with me leaving." I rolled my eyes before we both set off, with James somewhat eagerly walking with me. "So what made you start thinking about uncovering this odd place?" He asked and I handed him the two notes that I had picked up from the raiders. After reading them, he took off his helmet and said "Shadow, this is a pre-war conspiracy but if it's about Projects, those Projects could still be active and if somepony with horrible intentions gets their hooves on them, there's no telling what they could do." I rolled my eyes

"No Shit, James!" I pulled out the orb and showed him it. "I got this from a crate in the tunnel as well." He looked at it with happiness.

"Shadow Flower, that's a memory orb." He stated, the smile on his face mixed with a slight hint of interest.

"A what-now?"

"A memory orb. It's a physical representation of the memories that were removed and copied from a living being and stored so one can see the memory within at a later date." He said then placed a hoof on it. "I wonder what sort of memory is in it."

"Well, I guess once we find some place to relax, we'll find out. Let's continue West until then, alright?" He nodded as placed his helmet back on and together we began to slowly take our first real steps into exploring the Wasteland. If only I had known what was awaiting me, I probably would've gone on the journey still. After all, A shadow can discover a great many things.
> A Secret Pre-War Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As me and James walked westward, we both took in the atmosphere of the gray desert that surrounded us. It was a quiet and dead place in which only the wind was heard and felt. Just the silence of it all made me quite uncomfortable. The chilly wind hitting my face was no better at soothing as the thought of a raider attack crowded my mind. Yes, we had defeated quite a few raiders just a few minutes ago, but that was in an closed space, where one can only go forward. Here, out in the open, we could be ambushed by an army of raiders, caliphate soldiers, or the like and have no chance to fight back. I quickly began to fasten my pace until I sighed a group of buildings ahead. It seemed that it wasn't far from the new Enclave Republic base but it was a good enough distance that we couldn't turn around. As we began to approach the town, James was the first to speak. " What building do you want to go into First?" He asked me. I looked at him and he forwarded his hood. "There could be a mountain of loot throughout these ruins. Which do you want to go in first?" He asked again.

"How about the most intact one. It's getting dark and what better place to rest than with a roof over our heads " with that, we started looking for a building that was mostly intact. Throughout the ruins, there were houses with gigantic holes, beams and pillars all lying in other places, sand filling each one. It took a while but we found a building in the town center that only had a hole in the top of the roof. It wasn't completely intact but instead of it being a collapsed house, it still had it's walls up and it's door hinges. I trotted up to it and was about to put my hoof on the door to open it before James grabbed it.

"We need to be careful. This house could have a few raiders in it, After all." In understanding, I nodded and pulled out my RB - 276 revolver while he got out his rifle before we slowly opened the door, the hundred year old hinges creaking in mighty protest from the slow movement. We both split up with James taking the upper part of the house and I checking the lower part. Slowly, I checked room after room only to be faced with nothing, only empty cans and empty bottles. Finding a cabinet in the fifth room I searched, I put my weapon on top of it and opened it's drawers. There weren't nothing much, just a few caps in each drawer and a few grenades. Placing the loot in my saddlebags, I began to grab my gun to check more rooms only to hear a can rolling towards my side. I grabbed my weapon and quickly had it pointed at the perpetrator. James looked back at me, his helmet giving me a freezing glance. "Clear." He said calmly and I put the revolver back in my saddlebags before we both walked right into the Center of the house.

There were only a few holes above us but that was to be expected of a building that was this old. As I looked for a place to rest, I picked up a gray rectangular object and then I picked up another two, sitting down with James who had taken his armor off and was laying on a large cushion. "Here." He said handing me a cushion for myself. Laying down on it, I felt a large sense of relaxation flooded throughout my body. I took out one of the square boxes and looked at it closely. "That's a recording. Place it in your Pipbuck and let's hear what is on it." James told me. I looked at him for a few seconds before I placed the first recording in my Pipbuck and pressed play, a click-like beep telling me that it was starting.

 Goddess, those bombs fell didn't they? I thought that it was just propaganda. Something to keep us loyal to the ministries and Luna. I-i heard an explosion that must've been a four minutes from here. If we just got hit by one...oh Celestia, how much is Canterlot being hit with? I'm in the town hall with my friend Amethyst and this town's mayor. If there is a rescue group, please looks for in the underground bunker under here. it clicked as the recording ended. I instantly took it out and popped in the next recording, pressing play quickly.

 We've been down here for what feels like a month. Our food reserves are getting smaller and smaller by the day. It turns out the mayor didn't have that much food for 3 ponies. Only enough for one. Still, she's getting tired. She's so weak now. The closer she is to death. I normally wouldn't eat another pony but in a desperate times like these, can I really afford to be picky?

I placed the last recording in my Pipbuck and played it. What happened to Moondancer? Why were these recordings up here when she was Below us.

"We found help! Or help found us actually.
Hehe. It's been a few months since the mayor died and just before me and Amethyst could turn on one another, these strange earth ponies and pegasi came to us, giving us food and water. I've never felt so Happy in my life. They said that they wanted to bring someplace. They call themselves the followers of-" "AHHHHHHH" "Amethyst?! Wait, what are you doing with that? Please don't. You were supposed to help u-AHHHHHHHH!" 

the recording clicked, telling me that it was over. It seemed Moondancer was in trouble. This was 200 years ago, However. She and those who hurt her must be dead by now for decades at least. I sighed and looked at James. "Do you have any interesting stories to tell?" I asked.

"Well," he looked up thoughtfully. "There was that time that I accidentally hit on Sergeant Major Posey when I was 27 years old and she 22." And he began perhaps one of the funniest stories I've ever heard. Turns out, him and Posey  did kiss but only on a dare and afterwards they agreed to never speak of it again. "I'm pretty sure I got your day in a great mood. Now, how about you access that Memory orb and see if it has something to do with those two projects on the notes you found." He offered and I took out the greenish-bluish orb, looking carefully at it.

"I don't know how to access it. It just kinda placed me in a trance when I first looked at it." I stated, shrugging at how to access it.

"Well maybe you can-" James was slowly beginning to blur out, his voice not even reaching my ears as I continued to fiercely look at the small orb. All of a sudden, I began to feel woozy and then I collapsed, James' frantic voice quickly fading away as everything went black.





Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock I opened my eyes After hearing a clock tick near me. There wasn't a clock in the town hall though. I looked at my hooves and saw they were a teal color. I tried to let out a scream but nothing happened. 'I must be inside the memory orb." I realized. This memory may hold the key to whatever I needed to learn for the projects so I began to accommodate myself with my host and paid very close attention to detail. I looked at the Paper my left. The biggest words stated in bold writing: MULTI-BILLIONAIRE MR. VENTURE, HEAD AND FOUNDER OF VENTURE INDUSTRIES, IS TO MEET WITH PRINCESS CELESTIA ABOUT ANDROID IDEA I guess I know who wrote the second letter. This pony named Mr. Venture was a multi-billionaire and seemed like an important pony though I had do not know who Celestia is. My host looked at their hoof and slowly, they picked up a pencil and began to write on several papers. I was immensely bored though the documents said they need a governor's signature, meaning I was in the body of a governor. Of where, I did not know but still, it was interesting to be in the mind of a pony in power. A knock at the door took the attention of my host and they looked up to see a pink mare with cute dimples perking her head in the room. "Governor Breeze, Mr. Venture is here. He says he needs to speak with you." She said, her rather beautiful purple eyes staring at me, waiting for a response.

"Let him in." My host said and the mare nodded before closing the door. A few minutes later, a White unicorn with a blood red mane and tail as well as menacing Amber eyes entered the room. "Hello, Sky Bristle." My host greeted, his voice cold to the ears.

"I've left that name behind. Please, call me Mr. Venture." The Unicorn said, giving a suave smile. "How is the governor of Turklac doing?"

"You're here for something, Bristle, I know it. Otherwise, you wouldn't of come here." My host stated matter of factly. It seemed these two had known each other for a while.

"Well, Zephyr, I can't just visit old friends?" I felt my host lower an eyebrow at this as if to say 'Don't try to avoid it' and I couldn't blame him. This pony was just...strange. "To be completely honest, I am here to offer you a preposition."

"A preposition? Of what?" 

"Oh trust me, this one you will be most interested in. We all know war with the Zebras is coming. Relations are far too heated for peace to be a solution. I predict that the war will happen 1 year from now and it will take around 30 years." The unicorn smiled.

"War isn't the best way." My host said.

"But it will happen. Zephyr, which would you rather be? Helping you nation prepare for a war a year early or wait until it's too late to help?" The unicorn brought up the question and my host stuttered, fumbling on his words.

"War can't be the only solution, Bristle! I-i mean, ponies and zebras have been friends for centuries before this. Yes, we are having rather heated relations right now, but in due times, these were cool and-" He was cut off as Mr. Venture threw down a piece of paper on his desk. My host and I looked at it. "Littlehoof...why would Zebras have arrows pointed at-" He trailed off, realizing what it meant. Looking back at the unicorn, he demanded "How did you get this?" the unicorn simply smiled a cold smile.

"I have friends in high places." He chuckled grimly and I felt very sick from it. It just seemed off how mysterious this unicorn was. "So, do we have an agreement? We won't be able to stop them without revealing my informants to Zebra and if they're caught, they will be killed. Which is more important to you? Ponies who have risked their lives to get information that most zebras don't even know and possibly more plans or stupid pathetic foals whom are wasting their time? You choose." That damn smile he had plastered on his face as soon as he said that. I don't care if it's for information, no foals deserve to die.

"I-i...If I agree with you, nobody else can know what we're doing. Alright?" My host seriously couldn't be considering this.

"So you agree. Splendid, come to my hotel and we'll discuss several plans I have. No one else will know, that you can be sure of. That is, on my side, of course. But your relationship with your sister and the princess can be compromising. Do you swear to not tell them anything?" The unicorn once again smirked, his teeth slightly bearing. I really wanted to smash his face into a hammer.

"Yes, I agree. I'll come to your hotel as soon as I can. Now, leave so I can work." Sky Bristle walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Once he was alone, my host sighed and looked at a picture of a blue unicorn with wings. "I'm sorry Luna, but I think this will be for the best. After all, when has Mr. Venture ever been wrong?"





I was quickly pulled out of the Memory after my host had said that. "Shadow, are you alright?" James asked frantically as I slowly woke up and began to stand.

"I'm fine, I just-" I stumbled as I felt vomit come up before I swallowed it back up, shuddering at the taste. "-I saw the memory that was in the orb." I woozily said. I guess I'll have to prepare better for the next Memory orb that I come across.

"Can you tell me what it was about?" He requested and I nodded before I began to tell him, his eyes widening when I mentioned Mr. Venture, Zephyr, and Littlehoof. "By the Goddesses, Shadow, Mr. Venture was one of the most important figures before the Last Day. If he was planning something, then it must've been big. He's the major reason why there are weapon designs that can't be found anywheres else. His company made weapons and Androids. Zephyr was the governor of this region before and during the war. If he and Mr. Venture are responsible for the projects that your notes mentioned, then there is no telling what they could do." He warned.

"And Littlehoof?" I asked and he visibly stiffened. "What is Littlehoof about." I got that the zebras had a plan to attack but surely that was a front right? Right?

"I, uh, I'll tell you in the morning Shadow Flower. Just rest now. We've both had quite an eventful day." He said, curling up on his cushion. I looked at him sorrowfully. So the Zebras would do such a thing as attack innocent foals. Monsters. If they planned to do such a thing, then I guess I'll have to return the favor. For every foal that had died in this war, I will kill any Zebra I come across. I hope many zebras come my way. I'll gladly rip them apart. I began to wonder to sleep , thoughts of what the projects were about and how many zebras I can kill filling my mind as I gave a smirk. Tomorrow, I will explore the rest of this place and we will continue to go west. After all, this can't be the only ruins in this region.