> Fallout Equestria: Endure and Survive
>  by goofnutgav
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world used to be a beautiful place once upon a time, with bright blue skies and green plant life growing for miles while even in the biggest cities there was color to be seen, and it was from buildings instead of the colorful fur of the creatures my species had formed friendly relationships with.

Looking back on it, I hated what the world had become and it broke my heart to see all of that beauty just gone and replaced with the color gray, brown, and nothing but ruins as far as the eye can see.

These days, the world was nothing more than a shitty place filled with those who would either try to take advantage of you, kill you, or worse.

There were times that I wished I could turn back the clock and spend one last time with all the friends I had made but I couldn't even have that, which made it all the more depressing.

I let out a quiet sigh before taking a sip from my canteen, sitting outside the ruins of what used to be a diner and I had forgotten the name of it but I do remember coming here and getting something to eat during lunch break while chatting to one of my deputies.

The building had seen better days with the roof halfway caved in, windows broken, old rusted wrecked cars just resting in the cracked parking lot, and the bones of a few ponies and humans who had been enjoying what had become their last meals on this planet.

The worst part about it is that I knew a few of them, one of the skeletons possibly being one of my deputies if the wrecked police car told me anything and then there was Rick, the human working at the register who I had enjoyed talking to from time to time but now his bones were on the floor behind the counter, forever to stay there without receiving a decent burial.

I showed a small smile as fond memories of the old world came to me and I recalled feeling happy back then, but my smile went away and I showed a solemn expression before I leaned back and stared up at the sky, the gray cloud cover reflecting my mood.

That's right, I used to be happy back then when the world hadn't gone to hell and everyone just enjoyed the simple things in life, but thinking about it reminded me that all of that was gone and nothing was left so I envied the dead sometimes since at least they died quickly and never had to experience a neverending hell.

Yeah, it was all gone and I was cursed to wander this godforsaken hellhole until I died, if I died that is because of me being ageless and it was that simple truth that made me wonder if I was being punished for my sins since the things I had witnessed in the war of Afghanistan back on earth and the great war here would never leave me as long as I never die.

I heard a slight whimper and something nudged against my arm, making me look at Bullet as the german shepherd stared up at me with his eyes that held a glint of intelligence in them.

Seeing the dog being worried for me made me feel a little better as I went and scratched the spot behind his ears, something he always loved as I smiled slightly.

"I'm okay, just thinking about the past," I reassured as Bullet's tail wagged at my response and I let out a small chuckle since he always did know how to cheer me up, even when I was at my lowest.

Bullet responded with a single bark as I quit petting him and went to remove my black baseball cap so that I could run my hand through my light brown hair that had grey in it.

'Okay, break's over,' I thought as I put my hat back on and went to stand up to grab my backpack and my rifle, which was an M4A1 with a reflex scope and a tactical light.

As I was ready to leave the place that held good memories for me, Bullet's ears perked up before he got up on all four paws and a low growl left his muzzle, making me tense as I narrowed my eyes and unslung my rifle before aiming at my surroundings.

"What is it, Bullet?" I asked quietly when I caught a glimpse of movement in the dead trees across the road.

I reacted quickly by ducking behind a car just as gunshots broke out and the bullets struck the old wreck, Bullet snarling as the fur on his pelt bristled and he stayed next to me while I went to check my Pipbuck that was on my right wrist.

I used the EFS to get an idea of how many hostiles I was dealing with, then four red indicators showed up on the screen with two of them behind the trees and the other two heading across the road to my left to try and flank me while I wasn't looking.

I lowered my arm and scowled, really not in the mood to be ambushed by a group of assholes that wanted to kill me and steal my shit, though I've been dealing with it for over 200 years so this wasn't new to me but I was still pissed from almost getting my head blown off.

The first two raiders thought they were safe behind the trees but they clearly had no clue who they were dealing with or they would've had second thoughts about shooting at the most dangerous man in the entire wasteland.

I turned and peeked around the car, spotting the raiders attempting to flank me when a few more shots came from the trees, and one bullet missed my head by inches while the rest struck the car.

I caught the movement of the human raider holding an AK47 and wasted no time in popping out of cover and firing twice in quick succession.

The human raider took hits to the head and shoulder before dropping to the ground dead, then I turned my rifle on the other two before shooting back at them.

The first one's head snapped back in a spatter of skull, blood, and brain matter while the second one appeared to have realized that he was out of his league and turned tail before galloping toward the trees.

I wasn't going to let him go that easily so I quickly turned and fired two shots at him until the bullets struck him in the flank and hind leg, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Ah, shit! Fuck!" the earth pony raider shouted as he squirmed in pain.

I ducked back into cover as the second human raider started firing at me, bullets embedding into the rusty metal but he eventually had to stop and reload once his rifle ran empty.

I let out a sharp whistle and Bullet zipped out of cover, the german shepherd snarling as I peered out of cover and could see the human raider widening his eyes as he didn't have time to reload his rifle and tried to run.

Unfortunately for him, Bullet was faster than him as the dog lunged at the raider and knocked him to the ground before savagely tearing into his arm with his teeth as the raider screamed in agony and thrashed around.

I popped out of cover and quickly snapped my rifle at the raider before activating S.A.T.S on my pipbuck and firing one shot, the bullet going through the man's brain and killing him instantly as his body stopped moving.

"Bullet, heel!" I ordered sharply, prompting the german shepherd to let go of the dead raider's arm and he bolted over to me before staying by my side.

I checked my pipbuck to make sure those assholes didn't have any more friends I needed to take care of, seeing nothing else on the screen to indicate that there were more hostiles waiting to ambush me.

Seeing that it was clear, I moved out of cover and saw the last remaining raider trying to crawl away by using his front hooves but I walked over to him and brutally slammed my foot on his wounded leg before keeping it pinned, getting a pained yell out of him as I slung my rifle and pulled my Beretta M9 out of my leg holster.

"Did you fuckers really think you could kill me and steal my shit? This world is already a shithole without you raider and slaver pieces of shit making it worse," I said menacingly as I aimed my sidearm at the back of the raider's head.

"Go to hell, you fucking prick!" the raider snarled defiantly as he spat at my combat boot that was keeping his leg pinned.

"You first," I stated coldly before I killed him with a single shot to the back of his head.

Once the raider was dead, I began checking the bodies for anything useful and found ammo and a few caps, also took the AK since I could always sell it to a weapons trader for more caps.

Much to my surprise, the last raider I searched had a tin full of Mint-als and even though it wasn't Party Time, I took it anyways since I'd take what I could get.

I stuffed the tin into one of the pouches on my black tactical vest and placed the AK into my backpack before starting to continue my travels through the equestrian wasteland.

As I walked, my boots crunching the rock and gravel underneath, I looked back at the decaying diner as memories of the old world came flooding back and I frowned as I recalled the time when I had heard about four Wonderbolts dying during their attempt to save seventeen ponies from zebra pirates.

***

(200 years ago)

It was a very nice day today in Ponyville as the sun was shining and only a few clouds dotted the sky with a mint-green pegasus flying about overhead, kicking them away.

I was walking through the streets of the town as other ponies and humans greeted me while passing by, and I kept responding with a nod as my mind was focused on other things at the moment since Twilight had come to the sheriff's station to find me and told me to meet with her and the girls since she had news that I also needed to hear.

I didn't know what she wanted to tell me and the other girls but it might have something to do with that incident where an entire squad of Wonderbolts had gone into zebra territory and managed to save seventeen ponies that had been held captive by zebra pirates at the cost of four Wonderbolts being killed.

I sighed as I thought about Rainbow Dash and hoped that she was doing okay since she took it pretty hard when she heard the news, though I hope the vacation she was on would help take her mind off it since she needs it right now.

It wasn't long until I found the girls in a field just outside of town as they were waiting for me, simply chatting to one another as I approached them until Applejack saw me coming.

"Howdy, sheriff," Applejack greeted and I sent her a nod while resting my hands on my duty belt.

"Hey, Applejack," I responded and the two of us went to watch the sky as the pegasus was doing a good job of clearing the clouds while a trio of bunnies darted between bushes, carrying radishes pilfered from someone's garden.

"Oh my..." Fluttershy said, watching through strands of her solid pink mane as the bunnies darted between her legs and for a moment, she seemed ready to break away from us and fly after them.

"New fella's doing alright, but it just ain't the same without Rainbow Dash," Applejack commented, looking up at the sky while Twilight used her magic to levitate a letter out of her saddlebags.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about because I got a letter from the princess today. She says that Rainbow Dash isn't just on a vacation, but had signed up for the new Equestrian Skyguard," Twilight told Applejack and I was surprised to hear that.

"Really? First time I'm hearing about this so she must've been more shaken up about what happened to the Wonderbolts than we thought," I said and I felt terrible for the female pegasus since lord knows what she's feeling right now.

"Poor dear took what happened to the Wonderbolts really hard, can't say that I blame her," Rarity commented as she adjusted her newest hat creation so that the feathers all flowed with the summer gentle breeze. 

"Yes, well, the princess doesn't want to see her get put in harm's way but it wouldn't be right of her to tell Dash no, so...Princess Celestia has given most of us a mission where we're to travel to the buffalo and try to strengthen diplomatic ties with them

Given Rainbow Dash's previous experience with them, the princess feels that she would be the ideal envoy," Twilight explained and I saw Pinkie beaming excitedly as she started bouncing.

"Oh goodie, I've been working on my song and I think-" Pinkie spoke up eagerly and I winced since I remember the last time she sang in Appleloosa, which caused the buffalos to nearly destroy the town and the town residents to throw pies back at them.

"Oh, hay no," Applejack moaned, cutting off Pinkie while she, Rarity, and Fluttershy grimaced.

"Oh dear," Rarity added.

"Umm..." Fluttershy trailed off while looking very uncomfortable.

"Pinkie, do I need to remind you of what happened last time? If I were you, I'd probably not do that unless you want to piss off the buffalos a second time," I pointed out and Twilight nodded firmly.

"He's right, so no singing," Twilight agreed sternly, causing Pinkie to look disappointed.

"Awwwww," Pinkie replied with a pout.

"Twilight, darling, did Princess Celestia say exactly why we are strengthening ties with the buffalo? I mean, other than to keep Rainbow Dash occupied?" Rarity asked, looking concerned.

Twilight shook her head and a heavy silence fell over all of us that was distinctly at odds with the cheery brightness of the day when Applejack was the one who broke it.

"I heard some talk from some of the folk at the farmer's expo last week and they're saying..." Applejack paused, as if she was scared of the words she was thinking and what would happen if she said them out loud when she let out a sigh and continued, "...we might be heading to war."

"Oh Jesus," I said quietly while my blood ran cold and Fluttershy gasped before disappearing behind a stump.

"T-That's impossible, Applejack. Equestria has never had a real war in..." Twilight paused, clearly running through her vast studies of Equestrian history and finding nothing as she said, "...I don't think Equestria has ever had a war. At least, not in over a thousand years."

"Shit, you're all lucky because I've been through war and...it's hell, plain and simple so even though I don't really like to talk about it, the thought of an actual war happening here makes me ill," I admitted as I went to adjust my brown ball cap that said sheriff in yellow letters.

"Yeah, well, we all know how mighty stubborn ponies can get when their livelihoods are being threatened, only this time, I fear it ain't gonna be pies they're throwing.

Big Mac brought home one of them new-fangled pony firearms to take care of the cockatrice that's been attacking our pigs-" Applejack said and was interrupted by Fluttershy, who let out an upset squeak after finally managing to come out from behind her stump.

"He wouldn't!" Fluttershy gasped in disbelief.

"Sorry, Fluttershy, but that thing was killing our pigs, and sometimes, ya just gotta take care of dangerous predators the hard way," Applejack said apologetically, though Fluttershy looked even more upset after hearing that.

"You should have told me since I could've stopped him for you, now your pigs will stay dead forever, you know. Only a cockatrice can reverse its own magic and he would have if I'd had the chance to tell him to," Fluttershy said, uncharacteristically raising her voice just a tiny bit and Applejack widened her eyes before looking none-too-happy.

"What? Aw, nuts and shrews," Applejack groaned and I sent her a look of sympathy since losing livestock in such a manner had to suck for the Apple Family but then Fluttershy went to look at Twilight meekly.

"There's not really going to be a...war...will there?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly, her voice faltering on the word 'war' and becoming a squeak.

"I hope not because I don't know what we'd do if there was," Twilight replied and I sighed.

"I pray to god there won't be a war because you girls don't know how devastating and horrible war can be, especially if firearms will be used," I stated as I recalled awful memories of losing fellow marines from an IED and ambush before letting out a shaky breath, causing the others to look at me in concern but I nodded to let them know I was okay.

"People and ponies would get hurt, and animals so we can't let that happen, we just can't," Fluttershy said as she was trembling, most likely at the thought of something so horrible happening.

"I think that's why the princess wants us to start talking to the buffalo," Twilight said with a look of uncertainty before I frowned thoughtfully.

"That reminds me, you said that most of us would be going on this assignment so what did you mean by that?" I inquired curiously, and Twilight sent me an apologetic look.

"Sorry Josh, I'm afraid you won't be coming with us since I'll be needing you to keep an eye on Ponyville while we're gone," Twilight told me and I sent her a reassuring smile.

"It's fine, politics was never my strong suit and besides, I'm the sheriff so I wouldn't exactly be doing my job if I wasn't here to keep the town safe," I remarked and a couple of the girls looked amused by my joke.

"Well, whatever the reason, we'll do this together so give me a few days to close up my shop and I'll be ready for the trip," Rarity asserted, prompting the rest of us to nod.

"You're right, ain't nothing we can't handle together," Applejack agreed, smiling at Rarity while Twilight looked more confident now.

"Right, whatever the cause, Princess Celestia has given us this mission and we will not fail. Girls, make whatever arrangements you need to since we may be gone from Ponyville for a while.

I'm gonna go get Rainbow Dash so let's meet back here in two days," Twilight instructed while I could almost see the faith she had in us virtually radiating off her.

The other girls nodded, even Fluttershy looking exceptionally nervous and particularly determined, then most of the girls galloped away to make their arrangements for the trip as Fluttershy and I were left alone.

"Oh, so much to do but we must not fail, Josh. We must not, must not, must not," Fluttershy fretted as she tried to stay calm, and I nodded in agreement.

"You girls won't fail, I just know it so as long as we all have faith in each other, then we can accomplish anything so I'm sure war will be prevented as long as you girls stay confident," I reassured and Fluttershy sent me a small smile for trying to cheer her up when she gasped.

"Oh dear, who will take care of my animals?" Fluttershy wondered and I was about to say something but I didn't even get the chance to.

"Can I help?" someone asked, startling Fluttershy as she jumped and crouched meekly when I looked and saw Ditzy Doo near us.

"It's okay, Fluttershy, it's just Ditzy," I assured her while I held up a hand at the gray cockeyed pegasus in greeting, and she waved back with a cheery smile as Fluttershy relaxed slightly.

"Oh, hello, Ditzy Doo...I didn't see you there. Um...sure, if you would like?" Fluttershy muttered while looking away shyly and Ditzy smiled happily.

"Well, I'm gonna go so I'll see you and others in a couple of days to say goodbye," I said before I started making my way back to town, then I smiled because as long as the girls are always willing to do what's right, then I don't think we'll have anything to worry about. 

***

(Present day)

I snapped out of it as Bullet barked at me to get my attention, making me look down at him and he was tilting his head to express his confusion when I realized that I was standing in the middle of the cracked road like an idiot.

"I'm okay, just lost in thought," I reassured quietly and sighed before I sent one last look back at the ruined diner and continued walking down the road.

I inwardly chastised myself for being lost in thought like that since any raider, slaver, or mutated creature could've snuck up on me and I wouldn't have noticed until it was too late.

'Goddammit, I need to pay more attention,' I thought as I felt like a complete retard for making such a rookie mistake.

I shook my head and scowled at nothing in particular as I continued walking with Bullet right beside me, wondering if I was close to the nearest trader yet since I had a few things I needed to sell so that I could get the amount of caps needed for ammo, medical supplies, and other necessities to survive in this post-apocalyptic hell.

I went to check the map on my pipbuck and froze when I saw that I was close to Ponyville, which was no longer a nice place to live in since raiders had made it their home.

The thought of those sick bastards defiling the place I had called home and making good memories there made my blood boil but I let out a deep breath since it wasn't a good idea for me to lose my shit out here.

I knew it was highly risky, but there was a good chance the raiders inhabiting the once humble town might have the supplies I needed and there was no telling how long it would be until I came across a trader to sell a few things, not to mention that I was starting to run low on supplies.

So, it was either avoid Ponyville and run out of supplies while traveling or risk going into raider territory and loot the place for any supplies the sadistic fucks might have while dealing with who knows how many said sadistic fucks, both options not really all that appealing if I had to be honest.

In the end, I made my choice and let out a shakey breath before starting to make my way to Ponyville, gripping my rifle and preparing myself for a huge fight ahead of me.
> chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had gone dark by the time Bullet and I had gotten close to Ponyville, hearing a faint sound of a shotgun blast coming from somewhere so some poor bastard must've gotten killed by a raider.

Even so, we were close enough to where we had kept low to the ground as we slowly crawled through the dead underbrush, making it just at the top of a hill where I reached back and took out my binoculars.

I looked through them to carry out recon on the former town, having a good vantage spot where Bullet and I currently are so I was able to see most of the ruined town.

I could see unicorn and earth pony raiders with a few humans in the mix as they were simply patrolling the town and I spotted a sniper that was set up on the balcony of Twilight's former library.

I put my binoculars away and went to remove my backpack before putting it down in front of me and taking out a bolt-action rifle with a scope, setting it down on the bag as an improvised sniper's perch.

I leaned right into the stock with my shoulder and moved the rifle around to make sure that it could swivel correctly and seeing that it did, I peered into the scope.

The bridge was a maze of barricades with the heads of two decapitated ponies skewered onto spikes at the entrance while at the gates, two ponies in heavy leather barding were talking to a raider on the ramparts.

One of them had a double-barrel shotgun, which explained the shotgun blast I heard earlier as I looked further down the road behind the two and saw another one in similar armor with a spear in his mouth, then I noticed that he had his back turned to two more ponies that were in chains.

Once I realized that those three ponies were slavers, my blood boiled and I felt nothing but pure hate for those sick fucks but I had to stay focused so I looked at the two captives, both of them unicorns.

One was male with beige fur while the other was female as her horn was slightly glowing, and I could see that she was using  a bobby pin and a screwdriver on the lock of her shackles when I noticed the stable outfit she wore and the pipbuck on her right foreleg.

The stable dweller had managed to unlock the shackles and they fell with a thump, getting the attention of the slaver guarding her and the male captive as the slaver turned around.

I knew he was going to cave her head in and I was about to intervene when a loud gunshot erupted from the gates, causing the slaver to look towards the bridge but I already knew the situation had gone to hell.

I fired my rifle and the slaver's head exploded, showering the stable dweller with blood and from the look on her face as the blood seeped into her gray coat, I knew that these were her first hours outside of her stable but she shook her head and continued to unlock her shackles.

While she was doing that, I turned the rifle and watched what was transpiring at the bridge as the slaver with the shotgun was the last one standing from what I could see, taking cover from behind a barrier.

The slaver levitated his shotgun over the top of the barrier and fired, hitting a wounded raider that was staggering out in the open and the pony jolted as he was struck by the buckshot, then he fell down onto the bridge dead and the slaver peeked over his cover to see what he did when a raider that circled around him had shredded his body with two slugs from a combat shotgun.

The surviving raiders on the bridge had cackled insanely as they stepped over the dead bodies while one had the combat shotgun she used to kill the last slaver and the other had a sledgehammer in her teeth while the stable dweller had freed herself of her shackles and was working to do the same for her fellow captive when she stopped out of fright.

"Looks like we got ourselves some prizes!" the unicorn raider shouted in glee while the other one with the sledgehammer was laughing.

I could see the stable dweller had seemed to ask the raider a question, most likely a plea for help and I shook my head since she had no idea of the kind of danger she was in right now because as bad as the slavers were, raiders were even worse since the twisted bastards prefer to keep their victims alive for an extended period of time while carrying out unspeakable things to them.

"Oh, I'll help myself to you, alright!" the unicorn raider shouted before kicking the stable dweller in the side, sending her to the ground as she tried to catch her breath.

The raider kicked her again, making her howl in pain while the other raider was focused on the male captive and I grimaced as I saw him get whacked really hard by the sledgehammer, making him cough up blood while the unicorn raider turned her attention to the male captive, and it was pretty obvious that the two of them were going to beat the poor bastard to death.

"Hold his leg out, I'm gonna shoot his hooves off!" the unicorn raider yelled as she leveled her shotgun at one of the poor stallion's legs.

Acting quickly, I fired my rifle and the raider's horn was shot off at the base before she screamed in agony and fell to the ground, clutching her head while the stable dweller and her fellow captive froze in shock.

The raider with the sledgehammer took a quick look around and her gaze settled on my location for a second before the male slave wrapped his chain around her neck and started strangling her.

I didn't give him a chance, shooting the raider in her right eye as the male captive was covered in her brain matter and then I turned my attention to the unicorn raider I had crippled.

The stable dweller was holding the raider at spear point, the unicorn raider snarling like a cornered animal and I finished her off with a shot to the esophagus.

The stable dweller jolted back as the raider's neck exploded and she fell to the ground convulsing, but the stable dweller shook it off and went over to finish freeing the male captive.

I was way ahead of her on that one as I activated my S.A.T.S. and fired at the lock of the shackles, barely missing the slave's foreleg as the cuffs flew apart and the two former captives jumped.

They went to look at my location but I was rolling out of view and moved my backpack out of sight, reloading the bolt-action rifle and putting it away before putting my backpack back on, Bullet's ears swiveling in my direction but he didn't react as he kept an eye out.

"Let's go, Bullet," I whispered and the german shepherd got up to follow me as we quietly made our way through the decaying vegetation and once we were close to the bridge, the railing exploded beside us and I got into cover quickly with Bullet right behind me while the tree next to us had exploded into dried pulp as it was hit.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed as I remembered the sniper that was still set up at Twilight's library and knew that was a problem that needed to be taken care of quickly.

With that in mind, I bolted out of the brush with Bullet at my heels while running to the bridge, nearly colliding into the stable dweller as we ran past her before I overturned a rotten wagon and used it as cover.

The sniper had shot off one of the boards on top and the other raiders opened fire, the low-caliber bullets unable to make it through the tough wood.

I scowled as I didn't like these odds but bitching about it wouldn't do anything good as I saw the stable dweller out in the open, gawking at me and Bullet like a fish.

"What the hell are you doing just standing there?! Get to goddamn cover, you fucking idiot!" I shouted at her, snapping the stable dweller out of her trance and she shook her head before quickly looking around for a suitable cover.

I could see that she had settled for Rarity's carousel boutique, diving inside and shutting the door before bullets peppered it but they were unable to go through the door and kill the stable dweller.

Now that she was out of danger, I can focus on killing these assholes as I reached for one of the smoke grenades on my tactical vest and went to pull the pin.

I went and rolled the smoke grenade out of cover and waited for a little bit when I heard it let out a pop and could hear the raiders sounding a little alarmed because they couldn't see anything.

I went and took thermal goggles out of my backpack, removing my hat and strapping the goggles to my face before slipping them over my eyes.

I left my cover with Bullet right behind me as I circled around to flank the human and pony raiders before taking cover against a building and peering out.

Thanks to the goggles, I could see the raiders' body heat through the smoke and I leaned out of cover to aim at them, activating my S.A.T.S. and targeting two unicorns and one human.

I fired my M4A1 rifle, single shots killing all three of them and I let out a sharp whistle to signal Bullet, who ran out of cover and attacked the nearest pony raider.

The raider screamed as she was being mauled and I targeted two others, killing them with expert shots to the heart and skull before shooting the last one that was firing wildly out of pure terror.

Once that was done, I removed my goggles and put my hat back before clicking my tongue and Bullet came running over with his muzzle covered with the blood of the raider he savagely killed, then I removed the empty mag and reloaded my rifle with a fresh one before I started making my way to the library while killing more raiders along the way.

***

It took a little bit, but I had taken out the remaining raiders in Ponyville and freed their captives that were locked up in cages, most of them in horrible conditions and terrified while the last one was a ghoul pony who was cockeyed.

Something about that ghoul was familiar but I couldn't quite place it because my memory of the time before the war wasn't all that great since fighting for 200 years in this irradiated mutant-infested hellhole made it difficult to remember what things were like back then.

Either way, one mare had offered to give me her supplies as thanks for freeing her and the others but I refused since she'll need them out here more than I do, then she and the other captives had left since all the raiders were dead.

Once they were gone, I started searching the former library for any supplies the raiders might have and tried to ignore the horrors all around me as I went into the kitchen and found a dead radigator on a table, though I didn't pay much attention to it while I took a look around.

I found a locked medical box that showed signs of how the raiders attempted to get it open, though I succeeded in getting it open by picking the lock and found a healing potion inside, taking it with me while I continued searching and found food, ammo, weapons, and other necessities.

After that, I just looked around at the gruesome sight of dead ponies and humans that had been raped and brutally murdered before being put on display, and I shook my head at the senseless loss of life and the horrible conditions of the place since I knew that Twilight probably would've dropped dead from a heart attack if she were alive to see this.

I continued searching the building and didn't find anything else, though I thought about how that stable dweller wouldn't last two days out here since the Equestrian Wasteland was no place for someone like her.

I had no idea why she would leave the safety of her own stable and come out into this post-apocalyptic hell, but I knew she wouldn't survive out here without a good set of armor, weapons, ammo, and knowledge of the Equestrian Wasteland and the dangers that inhabited it.

I frowned as I started considering if this was a good idea or not since I was not overly keen on the thought of playing babysitter to someone who clearly had no idea what she was doing, not to mention that the idea of traveling with someone again made me feel tense.

I remembered the last time I traveled with someone and how it ended pretty badly so I was rather reluctant in having the stable dweller travel with me since I had sworn that I wouldn't travel with anyone else again after that.

I tried to convince myself that traveling with the stable dweller would only end badly but I sighed in frustration and felt like groaning loudly as the thought of the stable dweller getting either torn apart by mutated creatures or raped and murdered by raiders or slavers made it more difficult for me.

'Dammit, this is a really bad idea,' I thought irritably as I removed my hat and ran my hand through my hair in exasperation.

In the end, I reluctantly decided to have her travel with me despite how it wouldn't end well so I went to the dead raiders and removed pieces of their armor, placing them outside the front door for the stable dweller and going out onto the balcony so that I could sit down on the chair meant for a human.

I waited for hours as the night passed by, taking sips from my canteen from time to time and since the stable dweller hadn't left carousel boutique, I assumed she must've passed out from exhaustion or was already dead from a raider that I might've missed.

Either way, the sun was now rising through the cloud cover and what little of its rays shined down on the former humble town while I yawned since I hadn't gotten any sleep last night, though I suddenly heard an explosion coming from the boutique.

That got my attention and I got my sniper rifle, looking through the scope and saw that one of the raiders had left a really nasty surprise in the form of a mine for the stable dweller if the scorched ground and the empty doorway told me anything.

I waited for a little bit and saw said pony cautiously leaving the boutique, then I put the rifle away and just watched her creeping towards the library with an anxious look on her face.

While it was smart of her to be cautious, it wasn't exactly a good idea to enter a raider stronghold without serious firepower and plenty of medical supplies, which shows that she clearly just came out of her stable and had no idea just how dangerous the Equestrian Wasteland could be.

I simply waited as she went below the balcony and I couldn't see her anymore, then several minutes went by until I heard a faint clopping sound from behind me and the noise stopped.

I had to give her props for trying to stay quiet at least but she had no experience out here so she made a couple of fatal mistakes, trying to sneak up on someone with serious firepower and a large dog unarmed.

"So, you finally took your sweet-ass time, huh?" I questioned as Bullet started growling at the stable dweller, and I heard her slowly backing up and was about to turn around to run when I quickly got up and pulled out my Beretta to aim at her.

"Don't even think about running, or I will shoot you in the face," I warned coldly, seeing the stable dweller looking terrified as she trembled slightly at the threat.

I walked up to her and kept my Beretta trained on her as I studied her with a calculating expression, getting a good look at her now that I was up close instead of seeing her through the scope of my bolt action rifle and could see that she had a brown mane and tail, her eye color green.

"I will ask you a question, and you will be honest because lying won't help you, understand?" I asked and the stable dweller nodded nervously.

"Good, now what made you decide to come out into the Wasteland?" I questioned but when she didn't answer right away, I pressed the barrel of my Beretta into her face.

"I asked you a question and you will answer," I stated and the stable dweller flinched.

"T-T-T-To find s-s-omep-ony," the stable dweller stuttered and I kept a neutral expression as I stared down at her.

"And who might that be?" I asked.

"Her name is V-Velvet Remedy," the stable dweller replied and I kept my cold and calculating gaze on her, reading her expressions for any hint of a lie until I was satisfied with her answer and moved the gun away from her face, holstering it and the stable dweller let out a breath of relief.

"So, you decided to leave the safety of your stable and chase after your friend, who also made the choice to leave and probably doesn't want to be found, right?

While it's noble, that can only go so far out here," I told her stoically as I walked back to the balcony, ignoring the stable dweller's gaze on my pipbuck as Bullet calmed down and looked a bit more friendly.

"You have a pipbuck, so did you also come from a stable?" the stable dweller asked curiously and I looked back at her for a second.

"No," I replied as I stared out at the town, scanning the area just in case I missed any raiders.

"That doesn't make any sense, everypony who lives in a stable has a pipbuck so you have to be from one," the stable dweller pointed out, making me send her an irritated glance and she flinched at that.

"Look, I'm not interested in sharing my backstory with you, and as a matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves because I'm not your friend or your priest to confide in," I snapped and the stable dweller took a few steps back, then I sighed.

"I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't know you so that doesn't give me a reason to trust you, even if you came from a stable," I said more calmly, causing the stable dweller to relax slightly.

"I see...hey, since we just met, do you want to travel together?" the stable dweller asked and I felt like chuckling at how naive this unicorn was.

Wanting to travel with someone she just met who had a gun in her face and threatened to kill her? Not very smart since she didn't know me or what my intentions are so that was one of the things she needed to learn since trusting the wrong person can get you killed in this type of environment.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, try not to ask random strangers about wanting to travel together since that's not a smart move out here," I stated and the stable dweller frowned.

"Oh...so you don't want to travel together?" the stable dweller questioned while sounding disappointed.

"I didn't say that, I'm just saying that you need to be careful about who to trust out here since I made that mistake once and it damn near cost me," I replied bitterly, awful memories coming back to the surface and I shook my head to clear it while the stable dweller sent me a quizzical look.

"So, we are going to travel together?" the stable dweller asked and I sent her a look.

"You certainly ask a lot of questions but either way, might as well since I have nothing better to do and it looks like you need some protection," I answered, causing the stable dweller to arch a brow at my response.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the stable dweller questioned as I was heading to the open doorway.

"Considering how you almost got enslaved within an hour of leaving your stable, almost got beat to death by raiders, and how it seems that you've never had any interest in fighting, I'd give you two days at most out here," I listed bluntly while Bullet and the stable dweller followed me with the latter scoffing.

"Just two?" the stable dweller asked.

"I rounded it up from six hours," I replied dryly and the stable dweller let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Oh, a wise guy, huh?" the stable dweller questioned sarcastically as we were heading to the front door when I stopped and looked back at her.

"Just a drifter," I replied before looking forward once more, continuing to exit the library and I noticed that the stable dweller wasn't following so I stopped and waited for her.

I took the opportunity to look at the map on my pipbuck to figure out where to go next after leaving a sniper rifle in a shoulder holster, a six-shot revolver, a decent amount of ammo for both, and raider armor on the ground behind me just as I heard the stable dweller leaving the library and she stopped so I knew she was studying what I left for her.

"Take it, you'll need it," I said while focusing on my pipbuck.

"You sure?" the stable dweller questioned and I simply nodded, then I heard her picking up the raider armor and slipping it over her stable jumpsuit, then she was done a few minutes later and I looked to see that she had the revolver in its new holster while the holstered sniper rifle was strapped to her armor.

"Alright, where should we go first, miss..." I asked but trailed off since I didn't know her name.

"Littlepip, but why are you asking me?" Littlepip inquired and I did one last check with my pipbuck before returning my attention to her again.

"You're looking for your friend so do you have any leads that could help you figure out where she went?" I questioned and Littlepip looked sheepish.

"Um...not really," Littlepip replied hesitantly and I made a face at that.

"So, you left your stable with no leads or anything on how to locate your friend? This is why you need to plan these things out or it'll come back and bite you in the ass, especially in this environment," I pointed out and Littlepip looked embarrassed.

"I know, so how about we get out of here first and then we'll go from there," Littlepip offered and I knew that was better than nothing.

"Alright," I agreed and went to look at Bullet, who was picking something off the dead raider below the balcony and I sent him a whistle.

"Bullet, come," I called out and I could hear Littlepip restraining her laughter at the name with a cough, but I ignored it as Bullet shot up from the body with something in his mouth and he headed over to me before dropping the item at my feet, which was a burlap sack full of caps.

"Good boy," I said, petting Bullet and passing the sack over to Littlepip, who grabbed it with her magic.

"What's this?" Littlepip asked as she untied the sack and looked inside.

"Caps, it's currency out here," I said as I started staring at one road that led out of town.

"So, everypony out here uses bottle caps for...currency?" Littlepip questioned in complete confusion.

"The good old Equestrian bit no longer has any value out here after most of them got destroyed in the war so we use caps to replace them, not to mention that it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it," I pointed out logically.

"Fair point," Littlepip conceded, putting the sack into her saddlebags and the three of us started to make our way down the road, Bullet and I continuously scanning for threats.

As we neared the exit of the town, we happened upon a large gazebo around the war memorial statue of Big Macintosh, who was rearing back with combat barding and a short sword in his mouth when I held up my fist to stop Littlepip.

"What's wrong?" Littlepip asked, though I didn't answer while I slung my M4A1 and took out my bolt-action rifle to look through the scope, then my suspicions were confirmed as I spotted a pack of radigators in the weeds surrounding the place.

"There are radigators in those weeds, they'll ambush us if we try to go on the road so we need some meat for potential food and you need the target practice," I said as I dialed in on one of the radigators and pulled the trigger.

The rifle fired and a plume of red mist confirmed my hit as I chambered another round and fired again, then Littlepip joined in as I killed two more and she took out a few herself. 

After about ten radigators lay dead in the weeds, I reloaded my bolt-action rifle and put it away before pulling out my serrated combat knife, prompting Littlepip to take out her own knife with her magic and we slowly approached one of the dead radigators.

As we got near it, Littlepip got an alert on her pipbuck to notify her what this place was and she looked down at it to read what was on it while I went over to the dead radigator, using my knife to take the choice cuts of meat thanks to my intimate knowledge of hunting for 200 years and fed extras to Bullet while Littlepip went to examine the inscription of the statue.

"In honor of Big Macintosh, hero of the Battle of Shattered Hoof Ridge and his noble sacrifice for all of Equestria," Littlepip read out loud, then I let out a scoff.

"Yeah, well, look how that turned out," I said bitterly as I recalled being there during the Battle of Shattered Hoof Ridge and how Big Mac had lost his life to save Princess Celestia from a zebra sniper.

I had finished harvesting the radigator meat, wiping the bloodied knife on the mutated animal's scales before holstering it and I looked around the area some more, seeing what appeared to be an entrance to either a manhole or ponyhole and I looked down at my pipbuck to see that some kind of radio broadcast had popped up on the screen and I tuned into it.

"...from those damned apple trees up near the stable and now he's terribly sick, too sick to move. We've holed up in the cistern near the old memorial but we're running out of food and medical supplies.

Please, if anyone or anypony hears this, help us...message repeats..." the broadcast said and I shut it off, then Littlepip sighed and it sounded like she heard it before but I made eye contact with her and motioned my head at the hole.

She noticed it and nodded before all three of us cautiously started approaching the hole while Littlepip had her revolver out and I had my rifle in my hands, keeping our eyes and ears open for any radigators.

We almost made it halfway there when a radigator suddenly came out of the weeds and lunged right at me, making me react accordingly by shooting it in its maw twice, killing it as the second shot blew its brains out.

The gunshots attracted the other ones that were in the weeds and two more soon replaced the one that was killed, prompting Littlepip to fire three shots into the open maw of one but it shrugged it off easily.

"Get inside!" I shouted, ducking under a lunge and sending a kick into the radigator's side that knocked it to the ground.

I quickly slung my rifle and pulled out my knife before jumping on top of it, plunging the blade into its throat and slicing across it as it drowned in its own blood but that didn't stop me from stabbing it a few times just to make sure it was dead.

"Bullet, come on!" Littlepip shouted as I heard her emptying her revolver into the backside of another radigator that barely flinched and turned to the mare, showing off its many rows of sharp teeth.

Bullet, who was guarding her, growled and showed off his own when the radigator was about to lung at them and I pulled out my Beretta to fire a shot at the back of its head, only wounding it while Littlepip squeaked in fright before she dropped her revolver and quickly opening the ponyhole cover, diving in and Bullet followed her.

Having no time in getting my rifle, I held my Beretta in one hand and my knife in another as I got into a combat stance with my wrists crossed as I aimed at the remaining radigators while holding my knife in a reverse grip.

One radigator lunged at me and I ducked before sending my knife into its abdomen, throwing it to the ground and aiming at a couple of others, activating my S.A.T.S before killing them with expert sharpshooting.

I pulled my knife out and fought like hell as I got injured a few times but I was able to kill the rest and fell down the ponyhole with the severed head of a radigator until I crashed ungracefully onto the floor of the concrete chamber.

I groaned as my body was in agony before I threw the head away and slowly sat up, then Littlepip gasped at the sight of my injuries as there was a gash on my neck, my left arm had a large bite mark on it, my ear was bleeding from a nick at the top, and my right leg had a large claw mark but I was alive.

"God...son of a bitch," I growled as my back hurt from landing on a concrete floor so I knew my ribs will be bruised from that.

"Are you okay?" Littlepip asked as she had gotten up and looked me over, reaching over to touch the gash on my neck but quickly pulled back when I hissed in pain from the contact.

More blood oozed out of it, staining my jacket but then I felt the pain starting to dull as my injuries began closing up, healing fast and Littlepip gawked at that until my wounds were gone and the only signs that I was ever injured were my slightly torn clothes and the blood.

"I'll be fine, just need a little rest is all," I said gruffly and Littlepip blinked at that.

"H-How were you healing that quick without a healing potion?" Littlepip asked and I stood up.

"Was mutated from radiation, gave me the ability to heal up from lethal injuries," I replied, then Littlepip nodded hesitantly and went to start up a fire until I gave her some of the meat I procured and she began to spit-roast it.

I took off my brown leather jacket and removed my tactical vest, showing that I was wearing a gray t-shirt while I took off my hat and ran my hand through my hair until I put my jacket on one of the bunkbeds when I noticed the skeletons that consisted of a foal and an adult.

"Christ..." I muttered while looking in between the skeletons and letting out a quiet sigh, then I picked up both skeletons and held them in my arms as I looked around and spotted a footlocker that was on the wall.

I opened it up, finding it empty and gently placed the bones inside before closing it, then I stared at the footlocker for a little bit and shook my head before hanging my vest and hat over my jacket.

I kept my backpack on the floor next to the bunkbeds and kicked my boots off, laying down on the bottom bunk and quickly pulling a large blanket out of my backpack before putting it around me, then I threw a matching blanket on the other bunk.

"Here, it'll keep you from freezing," I said while growing drowsy and Littlepip smiled widely, hopping onto the bunk and wrapping the blanket around herself until I tossed her a book that would be very helpful to her when I turned my attention to Bullet.

"Bullet, three hours," I muttered and the german shepherd shot his head up from his position on the floor until he sneezed in response.

I huffed before getting comfortable and started to drift off, but not before I heard Littlepip reading the title of the book I tossed at her.

"The Wasteland Survival Guide by Ditzy Doo..." Littlepip read out loud in a quiet tone of voice until I fell asleep.
> chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I vaulted over a desk, overturning it with a solid shove just as a lightning blast went over my head and struck the wall behind me while I scowled and remembered why I hated brain-bots so much.

I looked at Littlepip and Bullet, who were using a few filing cabinets in the back as cover and I grimaced when I saw the german shepherd snarling and knew that Bullet hated the brain-bots just as much as I do and the ruins of Ironshod Firearms was crawling with them.

"You okay?" Littlepip whispered as I looked pissed and wanted to dish out some payback on those metallic bastards for nearly disintegrating me.

"I'm good," I replied while getting into a more favorable position with my back against the desk, and instinctively ducked as another lightning bolt flew over my head and struck the wall.

"Are those...actual brains inside those robots?" Littlepip wondered, sounding highly disturbed and I sent her a grim look.

"Yeah, they're called brain-bots and they were created during the war while actual pony brains were used to help them function, though their sanity is completely degraded now," I explained while making sure to keep my head down so that I don't get fried or disintegrated. 

"Come on out, we only want to kill you for trespassing!" a brain-bot declared, proving my point as I popped out of cover and used two S.A.T.S-guided shots to target one of them at the bottom of the catwalk, the shots penetrating the cylinder body.

The brain-bot sputtered and finally died when a third shot shattered the glass casing and destroyed the brain keeping the robot functional, then I quickly got back into cover as a volley of lightning shot at my location and scorched the desk while Littlepip shot up out of cover and used her 44. to take out another before ducking back into cover so that she didn't get scorched.

"Surrender in the name of the Ministry of Technology, zebra scum!" a robotic voice growled, making me swear under my breath since that was a spider-bot and they were usually a pain in the ass to take care of because of their flamethrowers and plasma weaponry.

The spider-bot used said flamethrower against us, making me duck down while Littlepip and Bullet cowered as almost the entire room was engulfed in fire.

I knew that wouldn't be the only spider-bot that would show up so I had a little surprise for them as I went and took out a grenade, waiting for the spider-bot to quit using its flamethrower until it stopped scorching the area where Littlepip, Bullet, and I were at.

I pulled the pin and threw the grenade over the desk before ducking down and covering my head, prompting Littlepip to shield Bullet with her body as the grenade went off.

The explosion filled the room, though Littlepip and Bullet were still in cover behind the steaming filing cabinets while I was still behind the desk, which saved us from the shrapnel.

I peered over the desk and saw that a bit of the room was scorched with chairs and other objects in pieces, then I spotted the spider-bot as it was destroyed and saw the catwalk, which was sagging outside and I grimaced since that didn't look good.

Either way, we needed to get across it but the problem was that it might not be able to handle the combined weight of all three of us, then I had an idea as I crawled over to Littlepip and Bullet.

"Hey, you think you can carry Bullet across, Littlepip?" I asked as I sent her a hard expression, then she looked down at Bullet and appeared thoughtful for a little bit until she quickly nodded.

"Yeah, I think I can do that," Littlepip replied.

"Good, then I'll thin the rest out there with these," I said as I took out a couple of EMP grenades.

"What are those?" Littlepip inquired as she eyed the grenades curiously.

"EMP grenades, they'll fry those fuckers into next week," I answered while making it over to the window and made sure to keep my head down as I heard a few brain-bots down below.

I got the EMP grenades ready and primed them, then I dropped them down to where the brain-bots were at and the EMP grenades went off, frying most of them and disabling the robots.

I saw Littlepip had secured Bullet on her back and was using her magic to lift herself and the german shepherd across the catwalk, prompting me to unsling my rifle and I made sure to cover them by shooting at the remaining robots in single shots.

I took down a couple of brain-bots with well-placed shots to their casings that shattered and the brains got destroyed, only a stray brain-bot had shown up and fired rapidly.

I ducked down to avoid getting hit when a stray bolt struck the catwalk, the energy arcing all across the metal surface and I was relieved that Littlepip was hovering with Bullet on her back or they would've gotten fried by that.

I knew that I had to move since there was no telling when the catwalk would collapse and I would be separated from Littlepip and Bullet once that happened.

With that in mind, I left my cover and started to make my way across the catwalk as the metal groaned from my weight when Littlepip's magic failed, causing her and Bullet to fall onto the catwalk and the walkway shook and groaned loudly from the extra weight.

I grabbed onto the railing next to me as my heart started racing and I began sweating uneasily since it was only a matter of time before the catwalk collapsed.

I moved a little quicker so that I could catch up to Littlepip and Bullet, who were looking unsteady when I finally caught up to them and that's when I saw the brain-bot shooting at us.

"Don't run, we want to be your-" the brain-bot started to say, only I cut it off by pulling out the desert eagle mark 5 holstered on my tactical vest and firing a single shot.

The 50. AE round tore through most of its body like a knife through butter, destroying most of its innards through kinetic force alone, though the last bolt it fired had struck a large lamp on the ceiling.

The bulb had overloaded and exploded, causing the entire lamp to come crashing down into the catwalk behind us and I was alarmed to see the section being torn away with a loud shriek that only metal being torn apart could make.

"Run!" I shouted and that prompted all three of us to sprint down the catwalk as it started collapsing behind us.

Bullet had made it to the other side of the catwalk and waited for us when I made it to the other side as well just as the catwalk under Littlepip collapsed.

She threw herself forward and caught onto the last section, barely hanging on with her forelegs but she was slipping and screamed as she started falling off, only for me to throw myself forward and I caught her foreleg with my hand.

"Got you!" I growled and started pulling her up, getting her to safety and she let out gasping panicked breaths while she lay on the floor.

"Thanks..." Littlepip wheezed as she tried to catch her breath.

"Careful, it wouldn't do either of us any good if you're dead," I warned as I waited for Littlepip to catch her breath, my words making her let out a wheezing laugh until she managed to catch her breath and stood up when we heard something down at the factory floor.

"D-D-D-o-onnt ru-u-n littl-" a malfunctioning brain-bot sputtered while it was sparking, prompting Littlepip to kick the last of the catwalk loose and the metal pulverized the brain of the fallen bot, turning it to mush and Littlepip turned back to look at me with a small grin on her face.

"You know, that was oddly satisfying," Littlepip commented and I huffed before signaling that we need to keep moving until we continued forward.

***

I kicked open the door and scanned the room with my rifle, lowering it when I didn't see a living soul in the office and that appeared to have been the case for centuries.

Littlepip and Bullet followed me into the room with the latter going to sit down in a corner of the room while the former smiled at the chipped but still very warm orange paint and we both stared at the sign behind the desk that said 'Ironshod Firearms, how do you like them apples?'.

I rolled my eyes at the slogan since it had been made as a sort of inside joke based on the apple-bucking incident that AppleJack had completely worked herself to exhaustion, which resulted in Rainbow Dash being catapulted into the air, most of the town being poisoned by badly baked muffins, and a bunch of baby bunnies being scared into fleeing into town and eating most of the town's crops.

I grimaced since most of the human and pony residents were livid when that happened and if Applejack hadn't come to her senses, then there was a good chance that somebody might've pressed charges against her for reckless endangerment and I would've been forced to arrest my friend, which she wouldn't have been very happy about.       

Still, I shook my head and focused on the present since this was no place to get distracted when I looked at the propaganda poster on the wall, scowling at the words 'better wiped than striped' and felt like tearing down something that had been used to spread hate and fear throughout the nation during the war.

"What's wrong?" Littlepip asked, and I sighed.

"Back during the war, posters like that one had been put up as a form of propaganda to encourage people and ponies to enlist so that they could supposedly do their part for their nation when in reality...it just spread hate and fear like cancer.

Everything you're seeing now, it's nothing more than a result of that hate and fear because those were the two main reasons why the world is an irradiated shithole now," I explained bitterly and Littlepip looked confused.

"You say as if you witnessed it during that time," Littlepip pointed out and I sent her an empty look.

"I did," I replied without any emotion on my face and Littlepip widened her eyes.

"That's impossible, you would have to be over 200 years old and you don't look a day over 52," Littlepip gasped and I scoffed.

"That thing I told you about how I was blasted by radiation? It not only gave me the ability to heal up from lethal injuries, but it also stopped my aging so you're looking at someone who was born before the war happened," I replied as I went to pick the lock that was on the wall safe.

"Holy Celestia, you must've seen a lot so I imagine you probably have a lot of interesting stories to tell," Littlepip said while she sounded impressed and I sent her a glare.

"As I told you before, I'm not interested in sharing my backstory with you so let's leave it at that," I said with my voice hard and stern, causing Littlepip to stop talking after that.

There was nothing but a tense silence as I continued to work on the wall safe and Littlepip went to check the computer, proceeding to hack it as she took out an access tool from her stable jumpsuit and plugged it into the terminal.

As for me, I managed to pick the lock on the safe and found pre-war bits, a copy of 'Equestrian Army today', finance papers, bubblegum, a spark battery, and a stealthbuck.

I collected what was useful and went over to a glass display case that showed a familiar specially made 44. Magnum revolver that had a scope at the top, a gray metallic barrel and cylinder, and a white ivory grip that had three apples emblazoned on it in the same pattern as Applejack's cutie mark.

My eyes misted over as I gazed at the revolver that was created to honor the memory of Big Macintosh, then I recalled the battle of shattered hoof ridge again and memories of me holding my dead friend in my arms made me tremble slightly until I heard Littlepip activating an audio recording of Applejack trying to contact Braeburn.

"Cousin Braeburn, I know we ain't talked in some time, but Josh had contacted me and informed me that the war effort's taking a twist for the scary and I know what he means by that, so I might not have the chance to see you again.

I want to mend fences...now, I ain't gonna muck this up with words since we all know how well that went last time. Instead, I'm sending ya Little Macintosh as a gift and as an apology, to show you I'm sincere so keep him safe for me, will ya?" Applejack spoke until the recording ended.

I felt emotional hearing her voice again as I remembered calling her during the near end of the war and letting her know about how the omega-level protocols had been activated and that the stables might need to be ready for use in the event the worst-case scenario happens, which it did.

I let out a quiet shakey sigh as the same old question ran through my mind again, such as how did it all go so wrong and why did it had to happen?

Unfortunately, I knew the answer and the thought of how fear and hatred were the cause of our own destruction made it all the more depressing but I shook my head and tried not to let those dark thoughts get the better of me again since I didn't want a repeat of last time.

I stared at the lock on the casing and could see that it looked complicated when it let out a click, and I was surprised that it had unlocked itself so I sent a questioning look at Littlepip, who appeared sheepish.

"There was a way to unlock the casing on this computer," Littlepip told me, then I sent her a frown but shook my head and went to take out the revolver with great care before holding it and the stealthbuck out at Littlepip.

"Here," I said suddenly as I held out the objects, then Littlepip used her magic to take them and she gazed down at them before sending me a puzzled look.

"That's a stealthbuck and it'll temporarily make you invisible so use it wisely since there are not a lot of them out here," I clarified and Littlepip nodded, putting the revolver in her holster that once held her now-destroyed magnum, and the stealthbuck into her saddlebags until I gazed at Little Macintosh that was in her holster.

"Take good care of it," I told her as I went to the elevator and pushed the button, only nothing happened and I scowled at that.

"Why do you say that?" Littlepip asked and I looked back at her with an unreadable expression.

"That gun was made with great care and given to a relative to reconnect with family...if there's one thing that's important out here, it's family," I replied as I opened the side panel to check what the problem is and replaced one of the batteries, causing the elevator to activate.

I went in the elevator, Bullet following me and he laid down right next to me as I could see that Littlepip was thinking about what I said to her until she shook her head to snap out of it and hurried into the elevator so that I wouldn't leave her behind until something seemed to occur to her.

"Macintosh? Wasn't that..." Littlepip trailed off and I sent her a bitter look.

"Yeah, that gun had been created to honor the memory of Big Macintosh...my friend," I replied and didn't elaborate further as the elevator started taking us down.

***

The three of us moved past the collapsed buildings near the factory as Littlepip apparently has abandoned her original goal of finding Velvet Remedy for the time being, though I didn't care all that much since I just go wherever the road takes me.

"So, what are the things that helped you survive out here when, well, the world went to shit?" Littlepip asked, kicking a rock down the cracked road we were walking on.

"Weapons and armor for one, and as for friends? Well, that's a rarity out here, especially when it was everyone and everypony for themselves after the world went to hell," I replied stoically as I kept scanning the area for any hostiles.

"Am I your friend?" Littlepip inquired and I sent her a look.

"Unlikely, I'd call you an acquaintance more than anything else but you can think whatever you want," I replied gruffly and Littlepip gasped in shock, stopping suddenly and that made me and Bullet stop as well.

"How can you say that after all we've been through?" Littlepip questioned in disbelief but I scoffed and turned around to look back at her.

"That was just a Tuesday afternoon for me, literally," I said after looking at the chronometer on my pipbuck and Littlepip pouted.

"Well, it's kind of hard to make friends when there doesn't seem to be anybody or anypony friendly around!" Littlepip retorted and I sent her a scowl.

"Any 'friends' I made out here either don't last long or try to fucking kill me so trust me, I'm doing you a favor," I snapped irritably before I continued walking down the road until I came across what used to be a playground.

I stared down at a foal's skeleton that was curled up on a warped merry-go-round, another that had three skates on its legs, and a human child's skeleton that was laying on its back and in a pose that told me its last few moments were in agony.

I simply kneeled in front of the skeletons and started mumbling to myself as I heard Littlepip and Bullet approaching me until I was done saying what was necessary and stood up.

"What did you say?" Littlepip asked in confusion and I sent her an empty look.

"Justice to the innocent, and peace to the fallen," I replied without any emotion in my voice.

I continued down the road before Littlepip could respond to my answer as Bullet caught up with me, then I heard the unicorn hurry after me before I could leave her behind and it was quiet between us for a little bit.

"So, is there anything left out here?" Littlepip asked suddenly as a sprite-bot passed us, only we ignored it while I looked at her.

"What, like settlements?" I questioned and Littlepip nodded, then I frowned as I thought about the many places I've been to for the past 200 years.

"Yeah, there are a few but they'll be far and in between while some will be prosperous, some will be hanging on their last legs, some would be able to hold off bombs, and as for others...it'll be too late," I replied and didn't say anything else after that.

As we kept walking, Littlepip soon trotted over to an old dusty sparkle cola vending machine that was shielded by a few buildings and took out a few pre-war bits to use them on the machine, only I gently moved her aside and slammed my hand against the side of the machine.

A bottle of sparkle cola fell out and I picked it up before holding it out to Littlepip, who took it with an impressed look and she opened it before drinking from it.

"Be sure to keep the bottle cap since it is still currency out here," I told her and Littlepip blinked at that until she nodded.

I removed my canteen from the pouch on my vest and took a sip from it, also pouring a bit onto my hand and letting Bullet lap up from it when I noticed that Littlepip started wandering off.

I put my canteen back in my pouch until Bullet and I followed her and I could see that she was now staring at an old torn propaganda Ministry of Morale poster that had Pinkie Pie's face on it, and I made a face at it since it was like Pinkie's eyes on the poster was watching our every move and the deeply faded bold words 'PINKIE PIE IS WATCHING YOU FOREVER' didn't help.

"A happy reminder from the Ministry of Morale...what's the Ministry of Morale?" Littlepip wondered after reading the poster and I frowned while I stared at the poster.

"Another well-meaning idea that was so much better on scroll," a monotone voice spoke up suddenly, startling Littlepip as she jumped and I quickly spun around to aim my rifle at whoever snuck up behind us when I saw a sprite-bot and realized who that was.

"Watcher," I greeted stoically, lowering my rifle and Littlepip appeared to relax slightly when she saw that I wasn't going to shoot the sprite-bot but she was still hyperventilating.

"Watcher?" Littlepip questioned and I looked at her.

"I've encountered him a few times so he's harmless," I said while returning my attention to Watcher.

"Yep, just a ghost in the machine," Watcher remarked and I sent him an unamused expression for the joke when Littlepip growled.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Littlepip shouted irritably.

"Oh, sorry," Watcher said apologetically, only Littlepip glared at the sprite-bot and continued trotting away until Watcher turned to look at me and I simply shook my head when the two of us and Bullet followed Littlepip.

"I see you have some armor..." Watcher trailed off hesitantly and I knew why since she looked like a raider, which is going to get her shot by someone if we don't find better armor to replace the one she has on.

"It's the only armor I could find for her back in Ponyville," I said while keeping an eye out for any threats, Watcher turning to look at me in acknowledgment before returning his attention to Littlepip.

"Maybe the reason you're having trouble finding your place is that you haven't discovered your virtue yet," Watcher told her suddenly, making me narrow my eyes and I scoffed.

"There's no virtue out here, only vice and that vice is survival," I said cynically, causing the sprite-bot to stop and look at me.

"That's a lot of bull, coming from you," Watcher shot back, causing rage to flare up in me and the sprite-bot was rewarded with my M9 in his lens for his comment.

"You don't know me, so don't you fucking go there because you have no idea what I'm capable of," I threatened coldly as the air became very tense with Littlepip and Bullet looking completely anxious from how quickly things have escalated.

"I've seen enough, and if you two are as alike as I think, then I know what hers is," Watcher told me as the sprite-bot nodded at Littlepip.

"What do you mean by our virtue?" Littlepip asked, apparently wanting to change the subject and I grudgingly lowered my M9 before holstering it.

"The greatest heroes of Equestria, ponies with lifelong bonds of unbreakable friendship and strength, were each known for exemplifying one of the greatest virtues of ponykind.

Kindness, honesty, laughter-" Watcher explained and was cut off.

"Laughter?" Littlepip questioned with a puzzled expression.

"Roll with me on this," Watcher reassured her while I remained quiet, thinking about my long-deceased friends and hoping that they were in a better place now.

"Generosity, loyalty, and magic. They didn't really know themselves or each other until one pony came to realize that her friends represented those virtues and together, they grew to live by them.

Now, I'm not saying those are the only virtues, they are just a...particularly important set so I'm just saying that perhaps if you learn to recognize the dominant virtue in your own heart, you will find yourself and you won't need anyone or anything else to tell you your place in the-" Watcher continued until his voice fizzled out, then old music began pouring out of the speakers and the sprite-bot started floating away.

"Great," Littlepip muttered, finishing her soda and tossing the bottle onto the ground before pocketing the cap but I still held a sour expression on my face.

"I don't trust him, he keeps trying to tell me to find my virtue whenever we encounter each other and is insistent about it so whatever his agenda is, I doubt it's anything good," I said gruffly as I started walking back down the road, Littlepip and Bullet following me.

"You think he might be setting us up or something?" Littlepip questioned curiously.

"If there's one thing I've learned out here, it's that strangers are never usually a good thing and those who would rather communicate behind a machine instead of face to face isn't someone that should be trusted, despite appearing harmless," I replied just as the music behind us cut off, replaced by a deep masculine voice full of charisma that sparked a sense of recognition and rage in me.

"Friends, ponies, humans, rejoice! Although the world about you is bleak, scarred, and poisoned by the war of honorless, thoughtless, inferior ponies and humans of the past, we do not have to live in the shadow of their greed and wickedness.

Together, we can raise Equestria back to its former beauty! Together, we can build a new kingdom where all live together in perfect unity!

It's already happening, my good ponies and humans. Already, the foundation for a new and wonderful age is being built. Yes, it's hard work, but don't we owe it to ourselves and to future generations of ponies and humans to be better?

I'm telling you right now, as your friend, as your leader, that we can, we must, and we wi-" the voice spoke when I suddenly pulled out my desert eagle and shot the sprite-bot, sending fried electronics out a large hole in its steel hide on its opposite side, then I holstered the magnum after that while letting out quiet heavy breathing.

"Why?" Littlepip asked in complete confusion and a little bit of surprise, then I looked at her fully and she shrank back from the pure rage and flaming hot anger in my eyes.

"Because the fucker who said those words stabbed me right in the goddamn back," I snarled menacingly and stormed off lividly, then LIttlepip and Bullet caught up to me after a bit of hesitation and we continued forward.

***

I took point, keeping my rifle ready while Bullet was bringing up the rear, the german shepherd on high alert and he would warn me and Littlepip if danger were nearby.

After I had calmed down, we had spotted plumes of smoke nearby and spent an hour heading down this path so despite having a run-in with radhogs where Littlepip had tested Little Macintosh, our small journey had been an uneventful one.

"By this point, the town guards should be covering us," I said while lowering my rifle, relaxing slightly as Littlepip sighed.

"Good, I don't like being on edge all the time," Littlepip remarked and I sent her a stoic frown.

"Better get used to it because out here, letting your guard down is a certified death sentence but one thing, let me go first and do the talking because looking like that is going to get you shot," I said as I gestured at the raider armor Littlepip had on, then I noticed the blood and quickly tensed up as Littlepip appeared to realize what I meant and looked at herself with a terrified expression.

Suddenly, without warning, there was a white-hot pain that erupted on the side of my head and the sound of a bullet that whizzed by, the grazing impact sending me into the ditch on the side of the path.

I was dazed and my vision was spinning as I heard the gunshots coming from above, my ears ringing so I couldn't hear much of what was going on as Bullet threw himself into the ditch I was in, though I was aware enough to know that Littlepip was shouting at someone and whoever it was is responding with a deep male voice that had a thick southern accent. 

Bullet whimpered as he nudged my face with his snout as the bloody graze on the side of my head healed up and I grimaced as I went to sit up, clutching my pounding head as I saw who had attacked me and Littlepip.

The attacker was a male pegasus with rust-colored fur, orange mane and tail, and a black stetson as he had a battle saddle but that didn't matter since Littlepip looked like she got shot in her right hindleg and left shoulder.

She was definitely bleeding and she was struggling to stay upright while aiming Little Macintosh at the pegasus with her magic, though I noticed a nearby caravan as Littlepip was still shouting at the pegasus.

I noticed a young colt had left the caravan and was galloping over as Littlepip stumbled over to me and Bullet, just as my hearing cleared up as Littlepip collapsed with her gun skidding across the ground and her head slamming into the ground while falling unconscious, then the colt gasped loudly as his parents and the pegasus surrounded him.

"Calamity, what have you done?!" the colt yelled at the pegasus in shock as I picked up my rifle and stood up, causing Calamity to widen his eyes.

"The hell?! I shot you in the head so how are you still breathing?!" Calamity exclaimed in disbelief and I sent him a glare while quickly slinging my rifle, grabbing Little Macintosh that was nearby and stuffing it into the back of my pants.

After that, I headed over to Littlepip and picking her up before holding her in my arms, noting that she was slightly heavy but not enough to where I would have issues carrying her as I scowled at how she wasn't looking too good.

"That's not important, now you want to explain why the fuck you attacked us, asshole?! She might've been wearing the armor but she sure as shirt wasn't a raider and I looked nothing like one, dickhead!" I shouted lividly, causing the colt and his parents to flinch at my angry tone while Calamity winced.

"I thought she was a raider, didn't know she wasn't and I assumed you were working with the raiders or something," Calamity said uneasily and I scowled at him.

"We'll continue this later, now where's the nearest town? She's going to die of blood loss if we don't get her some help, right now," I stated urgently and Calamity quickly nodded.

"Y-Yeah, New Appleloosa isn't far from here so we'll take you there," Calamity said, sounding like he was still trying to figure out how I survived getting shot in the head.

I motioned my head in a gesture to lead the way and as we hurried to the caravan, I still kept my eye on Calamity with a look of suspicion and distrust since I wasn't going to lower my guard around him any time soon for what he did, even if it was caused by a misunderstanding but Littlepip's survival was a priority right now so I'll have to go with these strangers if I wanted to save her life.

With that in mind, we began to make our way to New Appleloosa as I stayed alert and kept my eye on these strangers for any signs of anything suspicious, Bullet looking wary while gazing at Littlepip with a whimper as we hurried to New Appleloosa to save Littlepip's life.