My Little Apocalyptic Wastelandby Mddocta122ChaptersPrologueA rude way to say goodbye.Ratchet The Repair Pony To The RescuePrologueDear future reader, Impenetrable gray walls, robots, the glow of a pip-pony 3000’s screen. These are all things that I see every single day, and with that every single day seems to be the same thing, wake up, go to school, eat, go to work repairing every pony’s broken items whether that be a pip-pony, a toy or a gun, eat again go to sleep, rinse and repeat. Oh where are my manners? My name is Ratchet, no not the slang but the tool, why? Well because my cutie mark is one, and why is that you ask yourself? Well because I’m really good at fixing things and I commonly use one. Anyway I live in this thing called a vault. The gist of it is that a really long time ago there was a war, a great war in fact. During it people started to bomb each other with magic, and that made the surface to dangerous to life on, but before that people made these underground vaults so people could survive. So someone a long time ago got into one and that’s why I’m here now. So here’s the thing about the vaults, a catch so to speak. There are many rules in the vault, simple ones but many. However the biggest one is that no pony ever leaves the vault and no pony gets in. But the funny thing is that before I was born we used to have an overseer, which is the person who runs the vault used to let certain people outside. Then he died and we got a new overseer who sat down in his chair with a stick up his ass and said that no pony gets to leave anymore. Now don’t get me wrong the vault is nice but there is so much more out there outside of the vault’s steel walls, outside of the place where robots help to serve us food and do the dishes and who help to take care of the sick, outside of vault 21, and outside of home. A lot of people agree with me and want to venture outside. Not leave entirely but just have some freedom, and so what if people don’t come back? It’s their decision. Their people with minds of their own. Not machines who have to think what the overseer thinks. Some ponies have different reasons than others. What’s mine you ask? Well many things, like how every day seems to be the same, or that I’m treated like a fool at my current job, or that I have no real friends except for one (His name is Flintlock) he works with old world weapons. That and I just don’t want to be stuck in a vault my entire life. I want to explore and help people, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. From Ratchet the repair pony Well I think that will do for my first entry into my journal. Yeah so I have a journal, hey who else am I supposed to talk to about this stuff. “Ratchet, when you are on duty I expect for you to be working not writing in your pip-pony.” Oh great Mr. Stick up his ass himself, the Overseer. “Yes sir, sorry sir.” Might as well be nice about it huh? I turn back to my project of the hour, fixing the cracked screen of some pony’s pip-pony. The process for this is simple, unscrew the screen, remove the wiring, get a new screen and then just put it all back together. “Hey boss, I finished the screen repair I’ll go return it. Um who does this go to again?” “Some green Pegasus in the cafeteria, her name is Cook Fly.” Well ok than, off to the cafeteria for me. I swear every time I have to walk down these halls I want to leave more and more. Hey guys guess what? There are other colors than gray. I mean put up some posters or something just anything that isn’t gray, oh but that would be against protocol wouldn’t it overseer? Walking to the cafeteria reminds me of the best part about the vault, the food, and the safety, fresh water, and very little risk of disease but hey the food is great. Whether you believe it or not they say that all the food is pre-war, but I don’t believe it because I think that they have a food cloning machine. No I’m serious think about it. Nearly 200 years and they never ran out of food? There is no way, and the ponies above ground would never give food to us, they need it far more. So walking into the kitchen I try to find the Pegasus. “Hello, is there a Pegasus named Cook Fry here? I ask. “Yes that would be me!” The green Pegasus yells as she walks from behind a rusted stove probably cooking a Salisbury steak. “Well I have your pip-pony here.” I say showing her the fixed up machine. “Thank you it looks great!” And with that I was off. Well I don’t have any other projects for today so I might as well go see Flintlock. I pass the armory on the way back anyway. On the way into the armory I can hear the loud pop of the pistols. Right over at the firing range I can see my white bodied, red mane and tail having, earth pony friend. I’m a unicorn; I have a brown body and a dark blue mane. “Hey Flint!” I call “Ratchet, what’s up?” he asks “Well not much, I don’t have anything left to do at work so I thought I might as well come and see my best friend.” “Great, I could use someone to talk to” he says “Wait you said that you have no work left right?” “Yeah that’s right” I answer. “Good, could you please fix up this rifle for me?” He asks. “It hasn’t been working for days.” “Sure what’s wrong with it?” “Well whenever it fires it can get about 10 rounds off and then jams up every time.” “Alright then I think I can fix this up” I respond “I’ll be back in a few hours.” Walking into the workshop my boss as usual is slacking off and having the new guys clean up and run errands for him. “Hey boss is there any other orders right now?” I call across the room. “If not then I have a gun to fix from Flintlock.” “No Ratchet, go ahead and work on the gun, but if you think I’m paying’ you for this then you’re out of your damn mind!” “So I’m doing my job and you’re not going to pay me for it?” under my breath I’m able to mutter “Fucking asshole.” “What the fuck did you just say?” “Oh nothing sir!” See what I was saying, treated like shit at work. Just another reason why I would like to see the vault. Fixing up the gun and wandering back the halls I begin to wonder. Maybe I should see if Flintlock wants to leave the vault to. We both know a ton about each other and from what I know about him his life (as mine) has been from perfect. Walking into the armory I can see my friend sitting down by the gun locker. “Hey Ratchet” he says. “Hi Flint, I have your gun here but I wanted to ask you something, something important” I mention “Do you ever think about leaving the vault?” “Ratchet that’s crazy talk!” He says as if in disbelieve that I would ask. “But it’s not, there’s no way in hell you have never even once thought about leaving, you know walking out of the door into the outside world, seeing what there is to see!” “Okay I admit, of course I’ve thought about it!” he admits. “But it’s like they say, no pony ever leaves the vault, and no pony ever enters the vault” “Well that’s what you think.” A rude way to say goodbye. “Well that’s what you think, don’t you hear the stories?” I asked “The stories of the overseer before this one letting ponies out of the vault, surely theirs somepony who went out there!” Rubbing his chin and thinking Flint gets that look in his eye. “Alright, well I did hear of this guy, who was the very last one to ever leave the vault, his name is Freefall.” “Perfect, well where is he?” “Not sure, last I heard of him he was living down in sector 2-B” “Well than lets go get him!” Ah that’s another thing about the vault, sectors. The vault is divided into 6 sectors. Sector one is security, sector two is residential and education which is divided into areas A,B and C , three is recreational, four is the overseer’s office and living courters, five is the reactor and workshop level, but then there’s sector six. No pony knows what’s in sector six. You can’t get to it by the elevator because you have to have some sort of key to be able to activate the button for it. Some say that in it is a place where they experiment on ponies and do horrible things, some think that it’s a backup shelter for the overseer if the vault falls, and others simply think it’s used to stash supplies for the vault. Walking into the elevator I push the button for sector two. While on the way up I begin to worry. I wonder if this guy will even talk to us, and how will we even find him, area B is huge! I feel the familiar hoof of my friend as he tries to comfort me. “Ratchet I can see it in your eyes, don’t worry, so what if this guy doesn’t want to talk, it’s not like he’s gonna be able to get us out or anything!” “I know but it’s the closest I’ve ever felt to being able to leave this place” “Why do you even want to leave so bad anyway?” “Because it’s a chance to help those who really need it, look at us, were pampered beyond believe but if what the schools say is true than there are people dying out there as we speak!” Flint raises his voice at me. “But what the hell are two ponies gonna do about it, what you just want to run out there and get slaughtered, is that it?” That was one of the only times me and Flint had ever argued like that. “No but, I just want to at least try to do something…” “I underst-“ EARRRR!! “Ahhh!” I’m thrown against the wall as the elevator carrying us comes to a screeching halt. POP POP! What the hell is that, gunshots? Looking over I see Flintlock on the ground with a large gash on his head. I can see the handlebars next to him with blood stained on them, marking the impact of my friends head. “Flint, Flint, come on wake up man, oh Celestia please let him be okay!” “Ahh, Ratch, guns, that was gunfire…” “I know buddy, look I’m gonna get you to the clinic, you’ll be just fine okay.” I press the button for sector three hoping this elevator can get us moving quickly. However of course a loud SCREECH signifies that this metal box won’t get us anywhere. Of course how silly of me to think that I could get just one break. Alright Ratchet just look around and think. How can we get the hell out of this death trap of an elevator? Ah-Ha the emergency shaft on the roof! Only thing is, how am I gonna get both me and Flint to the top of the shaft and to sector three? Opening the panel blocking the hole in the roof with my magic I levitate myself up on top of the roof and assess the situation. The elevator seems to have stopped between sector one and two. If I can find a way up to sector two we can take the stairs to the clinic. Well, this should be simple enough. Just levitate me and Flint up there that’s all. The start of the flight up is easy enough but the higher I am the harder it is to keep us from plummeting. “Whoa shit!” Damn it I knew I couldn’t strain my powers like that! Plummeting towards the ground is such an abnormal feeling. The feeling of despair yet hope that something will save you, and in my case, that feeling was correct. A large piece of metal is sticking out of the shaft. As I grip it with my front hooves I feel something tugging at the back ones. It’s Flint! “Flint just hang on, I’m going to get us out of this mess” I can feel myself slipping, as I desperately try to find something to get us out of here. “Flint we just have to climb our way up, listen I’m going to levitate you up first and then I’ll climb up!” I use what’s left of my power to throw Flint up to the second sector. All right Bolt Head (As the kids at school would call me to tease me) we just have to use our nonexistent upper body strength to get up there. Carefully I take my back hooves and plant them firmly on the surface behind me. After about ten minutes and some careful footing I manage to get up. Wiping the sweat from my brown coat and blue hair I pick up Flintlock onto my back and begin rushing up the stairs to sector three. As I get to the top of the stair well I hear two people talking with each other. “Hey Party-Cider what’s going on?” “I don’t know but I’m scared.” “Well don’t worry they’re rounding everyone into the cafeteria so let’s go!” And with that the two rush off. “All right then Flint c’mon let’s get moving!” I can still hear gunshots from the levels above and below us. I turn around to see how Flint is doing only to see that his head has been covered by a warm crimson liquid which is dripping onto my back. Finally we reach the clinic. “Doctor usangi; please help me Flint hit his head he’s bleeding, doctor, doctor please help!” There’s no response. Damn it all to hell, there’s no pony even here! “Ratchet, help…” “Don’t you worry I’m going to help you, you’re going to be just fine!’ My god how could it have come to this? Just hold it together Ratchet you can do this. I’m having a hard time holding back tears; it’s just so hard to see my friend in agony like this. As I search I can hear his groans of pain while I try to think through it. I can see a first aid box across the room, in it I find bandages and a red, glowing potion meant for healing in it. Perfect! “All right Flint this will fix you right up buddy!” Now I’ll admit that I have very little knowledge of medicine outside of the books I’ve read about it but I think that I can handle wrapping a bandage and having somepony drink a potion. I manage to wrap some bandages around Flint’s wounds and then shove the potion into his mouth and he thankfully has enough sense and energy to swallow. Flint shoots up off the table he was on. “Oh thank Celestia, Ratchet you saved me, thank you so much!” he says as he hugs me. However his gratitude is cut short. “Hey you two, come with us were getting out of here.” Yells a grey Pegasus with a gun in his mouth. “What do you mean getting out of here?” Flint asks “I mean that this is the revolution, were tired of the overseer keeping us locked in here!” Wait a minute I DID hear about this! People had been talking about forming a militia of sorts and leaving but I didn’t think anypony would have the nerve to actually do it! “So then that’s what’s going on?” I ask. “That’s right, now let’s go!” She says as she points to the doorway and runs out. “We’ll all right then let’s go!” Trotting out of the door with Flint in rear is the best thing ever. We have a chance now, a chance to leave. Finally in the 18 years I’ve been alive for I have my chance at freedom! Running down the halls I catch something in the corner of my eye. What is that? “Hey guys wait up, there’s something weird over here, I-I-I think it’s a body!” “Don’t you worry about that, he’s just some unfortunate soul who got in my way.” “Wait you’ve been killing ponies?” “It’s the only way; if they get in our way then it’s our only option!” “So your only option is killing, killing without remorse?” “Are you fucking shitting me, you think that I want to kill?” Now doing this just feels wrong. I want to leave but now that these ponies have killed, now we have to leave permanently. If these ponies return (and I guess now I’m included in this as well) than we’ll just get shot. Wait a minute, what’s that. Is that, hoofsteps, from above us? Oh Celestia. BOOM! Ahh damn it. There’s rubble covering me. I can’t move. There’s dust everywhere, I can’t see a thing! POP POP! “Ahhh!” Oh please let that not be Flint! Oh Celestia I think the rubble is crushing my ribs, I have to get this stuff off of me! Okay come on Ratchet you can do this just push. Come on just a little more! Okay I’m out! Now than, where’s Flint and what the fuck just happened!? I can hear a blurred voice. “Hey, hey Ratchet over here!” It’s Flintlock. I look behind me to see my red maned friend of which I can just barely hear over the constant gunfire. A bullet finds its way into my back left leg, forcing me into the ground. I can feel the blood rushing from my leg to the ground covering the chocolate colored coat of my leg. Flint and the rebel (what else am I to call the ponies who have guns and are trying to escape from the dictatorship that is Mr. stick up his ass the overseer?) rush over to me, picking me up and carry me down towards the stairs leading to sector two. I get placed down leaning on the wall near the stairs with bullets whizzing over our head with the rebel firing a pistol held in his mouth. “C’mon kid we have to get to the vault doors!” the rebel screams over the gunshots. “He’s gonna bleed out though!” “No he’s not it’s just a wound to the leg, we’ll get him patched up when we get back to sector one with the rest of us!” Flint reluctantly picks me up onto his back. I have to say if this is what death is like than it’s totally overrated. “Sweet blissful death!” they say. Well this is anything but sweet and blissful. In fact I would have to call this horribly painful and stressful. Then again maybe I’m not dying and death really is sweet and blissful. Another pony runs up from the stairs. “Soarin let’s go!” “Well than grab that unicorn and let’s go, be careful he’s been shot!” We begin running down the stairs and end up at the place I’ve always wanted to be at, the vault door. I hear the pony I now know as Soarin call something out. “We need a medic over here!” A red mare runs towards me, her white mane swishing in the hair. She knees down next to me revealing her cutie mark in the shape of a bandage. She reaches into the pack strapped to her side, pulling out a healing potion, tweezers and some bandages. “Alright kid, I ain’t about to lie to you, this is going to hurt, so just hold on and it’ll be over soon.” Just then she plunges the tweezers into the wound of my leg, spurting blood onto her hoof. “Ahhhh!” I have no choice but to scream out as I feel the most intense pain I could ever even imagine. I starting to pass out. I don’t think I can stand this for another second. “C’mon kid just hang in there, only a little more!” I can feel the tweezers digging into my leg grip the bullet and quickly rip it out. Oh thank Celestia it’s over! “Alright kid it’s over, I’m just going to wrap you up and then give ya this here potion and you’ll be just fine!” She says with a smile as if to comfort me. She then wraps the bandages around my leg and hands me a potion. I gulp down the sweet red liquid and instantly feel rejuvenated. BOOM… BOOM… BOOM… “Their trying to get through the door!” A voice calls out ringing throughout the room. “Spitfire open the vault now, we can’t wait any longer!” “I got it!” EHHHHHH! The vault door begins to swing open… as does the door leading to the control room was all in. “Hit the deck!” Me and Flintlock drop to the floor as quick as possible while I see ponies in front of me unfortunate enough to get got in the crossfire covered with blood. The air in front of them turns into a red mist as it covers the floor turning the previously gray steel floors into crimson. I turn around to see the vault door is completely ajar. “Flint c’mon we have to go!” I say as I pull him up and begin galloping towards the door. We make it out as I feel my hooves touch the dirt and for the first time not here a clank but instead a crunch as I leave a hoofprint for the first time. Behind us I can hear the door close again and I know that I may never hear it open again. Taking my first breaths on the outside world I immediately notice that the air is different, almost as if its poison. “Ratchet… we made it… we fucking made it…” “Yeah… yeah we did…” I get up out of the dirt and help up Flintlock. Looking around the both of us are in awe. Seeing the dead grass that at one point may have been green. The dead trees with blackened leaves and burnt wood. To the west, ruins that seem to be the remains of an old world town. It’s not pretty but it sure as hell is better than the vault. “Well Flint, where do we go now?” After all, with so much space where do you go first? “Well, those ruins over there look pretty promising.” “Alright then let’s go.” Walking through the Equestrian wasteland is overwhelming. Being able to truly see as far as the eye can see is unbelievable. It’s such a huge difference. Being able to see hills in the distance instead of looking a few feet only to be met by a cold steel wall. “Hey Ratchet it’s starting to get dark, we don’t know what’s out here so let’s stop.” “Alright” Looking around I relies that sleeping in the middle of nowhere is probably a bad idea but we don’t exactly have a home anywhere so what other options to we have? My first night of sleep in the wasteland. I wake up to hear something breathing close to me, very close to me. “Wake up little unicorn!” I kick up out of my deep sleep snapping my head up only to see some strange ponies with Flintlock in a headlock and a knife to his throat. “Flintlock don’t wor-“I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head forcing me to the ground. Looking up I’m finding it harder to keep awake and can only keep my eyes open for long enough to see my best and only friend in this world being dragged to the ancient Equestrian ruins. Ratchet The Repair Pony To The RescueSo here I am, alone, scared, confused. Those ponies, they took my friend. My only friend. I suppose I'm going to have to get him back then huh? But how? They had guns and knifes and all I have is my own two hoofs. Of course I have my magic to don't I? I'm about to get myself killed aren't I? Approaching the town a large concrete sign is standing on the ground "Welcome to Ponyville" it greets. Walking in this place gives you a creepy feeling. The feeling of someone watching you, but not like someone alive is watching you. More like one of the unfortunate souls that was stuck out here when the spells hit. So if I was a psycho pony who kidnaps others where would I be? After several hours of searching I manage to find a large barn out near, what appeared to be a large orchard, or at least was an apple orchard. As I get closer I noticed ponies standing outside, guarding it. I scan the area. Flintlock! Thank the goddesses he's still breathing, beaten to hell but breathing non the less. I run towards a bale of hay ducking down as to avoid being seen. Slowly but surely I make my way closer to the barn. Ducking down behind cover ever so often to avoid detection. As I get closer my heart begins to beat faster and faster. finally I make it to the barn doors, well almost anyway. The burnt up tree next to the barn door to be exact. Of course this just happens to be the same barn door that is being guarded by two ponies. I looked around trying to find anything to lob near them to draw them away from the door. That bucket there will do nicely! I levitate it in front of me, readying myself to run when I throw this thing. You ever get that do or die type feeling? That feeling of "If I fuck this up I'm totally screwed!" Well that's the exact feeling I have this second. Ok ratchet, on three, one, two, two and a half. Fucking three! I throw the bucket in front of the ponies. It lands in front of them hitting the ground with a loud clang They stop for a minute before rushing over to it. In this time I Gallop as hard as I can to the barn door and throw it open. Getting inside I close the door shut as quickly and quietly as possible before leaning on the wooden wall, catching my breath and closing my eyes. I look up to my horror, cages containing ponies are hung from the roof. Makeshift cells made from the stables of the barn holding ponies that have clearly been beaten and starved. I begin to walk around trying to locate my friend. "Ya- y'all gotta help me..." I turn around to see a blue coated Pegasus with a white mane that conflicts with the blackened wood of the barn, locked in a cage. Her face is bruised and scratched up. She holds out a hoof through the cage almost as if I was the key to her prison. "How, how can I help you?" I ask, there's no way I can just leave her here. She points to the key hole of the cage and stares me in the eyes, full of desperation. "One of the raider ponies in the farm house... they have the keys to all the cages, please, please get the keys and help me, help us." Raiders, so that's what their called. "Ok, just stay here, I'll be back!" What am I saying? All she can do is stay here. But before I leave I need to find Flintlock, he must be in here. "Flint! Flintlock! It's me, Ratchet! Are you in here?" I hear a faint whisper of a voice "Ratchet, I'm up here buddy." I turn my gaze to right above, seeing my friend. By Celestia, he's been here not even a day and already looks like all the others in this hell hole. "Don't worry Flint I'm going to get you and everypony else out of here!" =============================================================================================================================================== Getting to the house turned out being easier than I would have thought. A simple pattern of hiding and distracting the raider ponies proved that their not very smart. Then again what would you expect from a bunch of murders without the slightest amount of education exept for a lesson in killing other ponies? Entering the house I can't see any raiders in the room. Quietly, I walk near a room that seems to be a kitchen. Peeking around the corner I see a raider pony sitting down eating some sort of disguisting meat and quickly hide behind the wall. A pony in another room begins to talk. "So where did you find that white one again?" "Just out in the wasteland, sleeping. He had a friend but we killed that one. Ha! Smashed his head into the butt of my gun!" He boasts. The voices begin to get closer and closer "Ha! Nice one man!" I turn back to the kitchen to make sure the pony was still sitting in his seat. "Well look what we got here! Fresh! Meat!" I turn back and see the two ponies having the conversation standing in the hallway. Both of them with guns in their possession. One with a shotgun strapped to his back and the other with pistol in his mouth. The stallion in the kitchen stands up and reveals a knife strapped to his hoof. Well... Shit... I dive out of the way, just barely dodging the bullets as they whiz past me, flying through the air. Seeing a vase next to the shotgun pony I slam it into his face making him fall to the ground in pain. "Goddess damn him! Kill that son of a bitch!" The fallen pony yells. I levitate the table that was holding the vase and slam it into the head of the pony wielding the pistol, crushing his skull and making him tumble onto his friend. I turn and see a pony galloping towards me with his knife at the ready. He lunges at me pointing the knife straight at my chest. I move out of the way and force the pony to the wall, holding his hoof with the knife. After a brief struggle I gain the upper hand and plunge the knife into the chest of the raider pony. Blood pours out of his wound as he collapses to the ground, forcing the knife even deeper inside of him. A muffled voice comes from outside the front door. "Come on! In here!" I quickly run over to the corpse of the shotgun pony and take his weapon and head over to the wall of a bedroom, taking cover. I remove the drum barrel of my new weapon to check how much ammo is left. Ten rounds, well that'll have to do then. Four ponies rush into the main room. I dispatch one by shooting a shell into it's head sending bits of skull and brain onto it's allies and splattering blood onto the walls. A barrage of bullets find their way into the wall I was taking cover behind. Peeking the barrel of my gun out of cover I fire three rounds blindly at the raiders. A scream breaks out, signifying the success of at least one of my shotgun blasts. six shots left. I move away from cover to look through the sights of the gun and fire, sending yet another pony to the ground. Five shots now and just one raider. She gallops towards me with a knife causing me to back up further into the bedroom. I aim my shotgun at the door frame waiting for the raider to appear. As soon as she does I unload a spread of metal into her chest causing her corpse to fly back into the wall outside the bedroom and exposing her insides. Oh goddesses I think I'm going to puke! Wow... that was, intense, to say the least. Looks like Flintlock showing me how to handle a gun paid off. I give myself a moment to collect my thoughts before observing the room I was in. Looking to the wall I notice a damaged picture of presumably the owner of the farm. A orange coated mare with a cowboy hat and the cutie mark of three apples sat next to a large red stallion and a olive filly. The picture seems so innocent. I wonder what it must have been like before the world was reduced to what it is now. Remembering my mission I begin searching for the keys and relies where they are. On the corpse of one of the raiders. I return to the shotgun pony and look of his corpse. Can I really do this? I killed these ponies. Sure it was in self defense but their dead because of me, and now I have to loot one of their bodies. Noticing a saddle bag I open it up and look inside. The bag holds a surprisingly large amount of items, a screwdriver, a pack of ten bobby bins, five more shells for my shotgun, and thankfully the keys. Upon re-entering the barn I focus my attention to the pony from earlier. The pony gasps "y'all came back, I heard gunshots and thought you'd gone and gotten shot!" "Don't worry 'bout me, it's Ratchet the repair pony to the rescue." I boast. "Ratchet huh? I like that name. Helpin' Heart." "Well I like your name too Helping Heart." I say as I open the cage with a satisfying click. The mare stumbles out of her cell for a moment before finally regaining her balance. She spreads out her wings "Go help your friend." She suggests "I'm going to try to find some medical supplies in the mean time." I go up some stairs to the top floor of the barn where Flintlock's cage is located. "Thanks Ratchet but I could have handled this on my own." He jokes "Yeah, I'm sure." I respond. ============================================================================================================================================= As I look at the food in front of me it makes me want to eat less and less. Helping heart is practically stuffing her face as if she hasen't eaten in days, which to be fair, doesn't seem so unlikely as I think about it. "How can you eat this stuff? For a matter fact, what is this stuff anyway?" I ask as I levitate a strange, light blue fruit near my eyes, matching Helping heart's coat. "What do you mean, what is it?" she questions " ain't you ever eaten before?" "Of course i've eaten before! It's just that, there's nothing like this from where from where Flintlock and I are from." "Well where are y'all fro-" She stops as she stares at my vault suit for a moment. "Wait a moment, your from one of them vaults aren't you? can I get in, are they letting people in 'em?" "No, there was a fight and Flintlock and I were the only ones to get out." I answer. "Oh, i'm sorry" She appologizes. "Well listen, we should really get moving. I live in place called Grayhoof, now I ain't to far a walk so if y'all wanna come with me then let's go." "I'll go." Flintlock volunteers. Okay so much for talking about it then. "I guess that means me too." ============================================================================================================================================ Walking out in the Equestrian wasteland starts to make you miss the vault. The clean air anyway. Out here the air itself seems to be poisoned which has to make me wonder how anypony has managed to even stay alive. "So Ratchet, Flintlock, how do ya manage to get a name like that?" Helping heart asks. Flintlock speaks up "Well my dad used guns a bunch in the vault, whether that be him maintaning them or firing them, and a Flintlock is a weapon from long before the war." "My family were a bunch of mechanincs basically. They wanted me to become the best one in the vault so they named me Ratchet. My cutie mark ended up being the same thing. So, it seems like they were right." I look down at Helping Hearts flank to see her cutie mark, a heart with a blue, glowing potion inside. "How did you get that cutie mark?" I ask. "Well when I was a filly ma dad got shot by a raider and my home had no health potions, nothin' strong enough anyways. So I ran into our house and tried to make a health potion. To be honest I half expected for the thing to kill 'im but it never did, it made 'im better. So when he got up and was completely healed." She explains. "My cutie mark appeared. From that day I've wanted to help ponies, ah wanted to become a doctor. ============================================================================================================================================ After about a day and a half or so of walking, Grayhoof appears out of the distance. To be honest it looks more like a pile of rubble than a settlement. However to be fair what else should I expect? All of Equestria was hit by giant, destructive spells and I suppose that Ponyville looked just about the same. "So Helping Heart" Flintlock begins "How do you survive out here? I mean the air alone feels like it could kill you, let alone the raiders and Luna knows what else!" "Well I guess we all just got used to it out here. After all, it is more survivin' for us than living like y'all are used to." She explains. Wait a minute is she saying that she's angry with us for living in the vault? Sure, we had it much better in there but I didn't decide to be born there! "You and Ratchet were both pampered beyon' believe what with you gettin' the free food, clean air, clean water, the kind of things that ponies out here would give anythin' for." "I suppose you'd be right." I reluctantly agree. I can't help but feel horrible. We left the vault because we hated the overseer, because we hated our lives in there, but also because we wanted to help ponies. However at the same time we left without realizing how bad the ponies in the wasteland have it and how good the vault really is, but if I'm out here now than. I might as well do what I came here to do. Start in Grayhoof I guess. "Here we are!" Helping Heart announces. "Welcome to one of the few civilized places in the Equestrian wasteland!" A yellow coated, black mane wearing stallion practically busts down his door to gallop towards us. " Helping Heart! Thank the goddesses your okay!" He hugs Helping Heart Flintlock and I both stare at the two awkwardly. I just shrug to him as I turn and look at the town. As I expected the town was in shambles. Just a bunch of broken down buildings that house the families of ponies. Though I can't help but feel inspired. These ponies out of most others managed to band together and make a place to be safe at and live, though I can't imagine that the barbed wire fences keeps out much. "Ratchet this is my dad." Helping Heart explains. "Dad this is Ratchet, he saved me from the raiders, and this is Flintlock, he was captured by the raiders too." "Hello Ratchet, I'm Sun Stone. Thank you so much for saving my daughter!" He thanks. "Welcome to grayhoof."
PrologueDear future reader, Impenetrable gray walls, robots, the glow of a pip-pony 3000’s screen. These are all things that I see every single day, and with that every single day seems to be the same thing, wake up, go to school, eat, go to work repairing every pony’s broken items whether that be a pip-pony, a toy or a gun, eat again go to sleep, rinse and repeat. Oh where are my manners? My name is Ratchet, no not the slang but the tool, why? Well because my cutie mark is one, and why is that you ask yourself? Well because I’m really good at fixing things and I commonly use one. Anyway I live in this thing called a vault. The gist of it is that a really long time ago there was a war, a great war in fact. During it people started to bomb each other with magic, and that made the surface to dangerous to life on, but before that people made these underground vaults so people could survive. So someone a long time ago got into one and that’s why I’m here now. So here’s the thing about the vaults, a catch so to speak. There are many rules in the vault, simple ones but many. However the biggest one is that no pony ever leaves the vault and no pony gets in. But the funny thing is that before I was born we used to have an overseer, which is the person who runs the vault used to let certain people outside. Then he died and we got a new overseer who sat down in his chair with a stick up his ass and said that no pony gets to leave anymore. Now don’t get me wrong the vault is nice but there is so much more out there outside of the vault’s steel walls, outside of the place where robots help to serve us food and do the dishes and who help to take care of the sick, outside of vault 21, and outside of home. A lot of people agree with me and want to venture outside. Not leave entirely but just have some freedom, and so what if people don’t come back? It’s their decision. Their people with minds of their own. Not machines who have to think what the overseer thinks. Some ponies have different reasons than others. What’s mine you ask? Well many things, like how every day seems to be the same, or that I’m treated like a fool at my current job, or that I have no real friends except for one (His name is Flintlock) he works with old world weapons. That and I just don’t want to be stuck in a vault my entire life. I want to explore and help people, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. From Ratchet the repair pony Well I think that will do for my first entry into my journal. Yeah so I have a journal, hey who else am I supposed to talk to about this stuff. “Ratchet, when you are on duty I expect for you to be working not writing in your pip-pony.” Oh great Mr. Stick up his ass himself, the Overseer. “Yes sir, sorry sir.” Might as well be nice about it huh? I turn back to my project of the hour, fixing the cracked screen of some pony’s pip-pony. The process for this is simple, unscrew the screen, remove the wiring, get a new screen and then just put it all back together. “Hey boss, I finished the screen repair I’ll go return it. Um who does this go to again?” “Some green Pegasus in the cafeteria, her name is Cook Fly.” Well ok than, off to the cafeteria for me. I swear every time I have to walk down these halls I want to leave more and more. Hey guys guess what? There are other colors than gray. I mean put up some posters or something just anything that isn’t gray, oh but that would be against protocol wouldn’t it overseer? Walking to the cafeteria reminds me of the best part about the vault, the food, and the safety, fresh water, and very little risk of disease but hey the food is great. Whether you believe it or not they say that all the food is pre-war, but I don’t believe it because I think that they have a food cloning machine. No I’m serious think about it. Nearly 200 years and they never ran out of food? There is no way, and the ponies above ground would never give food to us, they need it far more. So walking into the kitchen I try to find the Pegasus. “Hello, is there a Pegasus named Cook Fry here? I ask. “Yes that would be me!” The green Pegasus yells as she walks from behind a rusted stove probably cooking a Salisbury steak. “Well I have your pip-pony here.” I say showing her the fixed up machine. “Thank you it looks great!” And with that I was off. Well I don’t have any other projects for today so I might as well go see Flintlock. I pass the armory on the way back anyway. On the way into the armory I can hear the loud pop of the pistols. Right over at the firing range I can see my white bodied, red mane and tail having, earth pony friend. I’m a unicorn; I have a brown body and a dark blue mane. “Hey Flint!” I call “Ratchet, what’s up?” he asks “Well not much, I don’t have anything left to do at work so I thought I might as well come and see my best friend.” “Great, I could use someone to talk to” he says “Wait you said that you have no work left right?” “Yeah that’s right” I answer. “Good, could you please fix up this rifle for me?” He asks. “It hasn’t been working for days.” “Sure what’s wrong with it?” “Well whenever it fires it can get about 10 rounds off and then jams up every time.” “Alright then I think I can fix this up” I respond “I’ll be back in a few hours.” Walking into the workshop my boss as usual is slacking off and having the new guys clean up and run errands for him. “Hey boss is there any other orders right now?” I call across the room. “If not then I have a gun to fix from Flintlock.” “No Ratchet, go ahead and work on the gun, but if you think I’m paying’ you for this then you’re out of your damn mind!” “So I’m doing my job and you’re not going to pay me for it?” under my breath I’m able to mutter “Fucking asshole.” “What the fuck did you just say?” “Oh nothing sir!” See what I was saying, treated like shit at work. Just another reason why I would like to see the vault. Fixing up the gun and wandering back the halls I begin to wonder. Maybe I should see if Flintlock wants to leave the vault to. We both know a ton about each other and from what I know about him his life (as mine) has been from perfect. Walking into the armory I can see my friend sitting down by the gun locker. “Hey Ratchet” he says. “Hi Flint, I have your gun here but I wanted to ask you something, something important” I mention “Do you ever think about leaving the vault?” “Ratchet that’s crazy talk!” He says as if in disbelieve that I would ask. “But it’s not, there’s no way in hell you have never even once thought about leaving, you know walking out of the door into the outside world, seeing what there is to see!” “Okay I admit, of course I’ve thought about it!” he admits. “But it’s like they say, no pony ever leaves the vault, and no pony ever enters the vault” “Well that’s what you think.”
A rude way to say goodbye. “Well that’s what you think, don’t you hear the stories?” I asked “The stories of the overseer before this one letting ponies out of the vault, surely theirs somepony who went out there!” Rubbing his chin and thinking Flint gets that look in his eye. “Alright, well I did hear of this guy, who was the very last one to ever leave the vault, his name is Freefall.” “Perfect, well where is he?” “Not sure, last I heard of him he was living down in sector 2-B” “Well than lets go get him!” Ah that’s another thing about the vault, sectors. The vault is divided into 6 sectors. Sector one is security, sector two is residential and education which is divided into areas A,B and C , three is recreational, four is the overseer’s office and living courters, five is the reactor and workshop level, but then there’s sector six. No pony knows what’s in sector six. You can’t get to it by the elevator because you have to have some sort of key to be able to activate the button for it. Some say that in it is a place where they experiment on ponies and do horrible things, some think that it’s a backup shelter for the overseer if the vault falls, and others simply think it’s used to stash supplies for the vault. Walking into the elevator I push the button for sector two. While on the way up I begin to worry. I wonder if this guy will even talk to us, and how will we even find him, area B is huge! I feel the familiar hoof of my friend as he tries to comfort me. “Ratchet I can see it in your eyes, don’t worry, so what if this guy doesn’t want to talk, it’s not like he’s gonna be able to get us out or anything!” “I know but it’s the closest I’ve ever felt to being able to leave this place” “Why do you even want to leave so bad anyway?” “Because it’s a chance to help those who really need it, look at us, were pampered beyond believe but if what the schools say is true than there are people dying out there as we speak!” Flint raises his voice at me. “But what the hell are two ponies gonna do about it, what you just want to run out there and get slaughtered, is that it?” That was one of the only times me and Flint had ever argued like that. “No but, I just want to at least try to do something…” “I underst-“ EARRRR!! “Ahhh!” I’m thrown against the wall as the elevator carrying us comes to a screeching halt. POP POP! What the hell is that, gunshots? Looking over I see Flintlock on the ground with a large gash on his head. I can see the handlebars next to him with blood stained on them, marking the impact of my friends head. “Flint, Flint, come on wake up man, oh Celestia please let him be okay!” “Ahh, Ratch, guns, that was gunfire…” “I know buddy, look I’m gonna get you to the clinic, you’ll be just fine okay.” I press the button for sector three hoping this elevator can get us moving quickly. However of course a loud SCREECH signifies that this metal box won’t get us anywhere. Of course how silly of me to think that I could get just one break. Alright Ratchet just look around and think. How can we get the hell out of this death trap of an elevator? Ah-Ha the emergency shaft on the roof! Only thing is, how am I gonna get both me and Flint to the top of the shaft and to sector three? Opening the panel blocking the hole in the roof with my magic I levitate myself up on top of the roof and assess the situation. The elevator seems to have stopped between sector one and two. If I can find a way up to sector two we can take the stairs to the clinic. Well, this should be simple enough. Just levitate me and Flint up there that’s all. The start of the flight up is easy enough but the higher I am the harder it is to keep us from plummeting. “Whoa shit!” Damn it I knew I couldn’t strain my powers like that! Plummeting towards the ground is such an abnormal feeling. The feeling of despair yet hope that something will save you, and in my case, that feeling was correct. A large piece of metal is sticking out of the shaft. As I grip it with my front hooves I feel something tugging at the back ones. It’s Flint! “Flint just hang on, I’m going to get us out of this mess” I can feel myself slipping, as I desperately try to find something to get us out of here. “Flint we just have to climb our way up, listen I’m going to levitate you up first and then I’ll climb up!” I use what’s left of my power to throw Flint up to the second sector. All right Bolt Head (As the kids at school would call me to tease me) we just have to use our nonexistent upper body strength to get up there. Carefully I take my back hooves and plant them firmly on the surface behind me. After about ten minutes and some careful footing I manage to get up. Wiping the sweat from my brown coat and blue hair I pick up Flintlock onto my back and begin rushing up the stairs to sector three. As I get to the top of the stair well I hear two people talking with each other. “Hey Party-Cider what’s going on?” “I don’t know but I’m scared.” “Well don’t worry they’re rounding everyone into the cafeteria so let’s go!” And with that the two rush off. “All right then Flint c’mon let’s get moving!” I can still hear gunshots from the levels above and below us. I turn around to see how Flint is doing only to see that his head has been covered by a warm crimson liquid which is dripping onto my back. Finally we reach the clinic. “Doctor usangi; please help me Flint hit his head he’s bleeding, doctor, doctor please help!” There’s no response. Damn it all to hell, there’s no pony even here! “Ratchet, help…” “Don’t you worry I’m going to help you, you’re going to be just fine!’ My god how could it have come to this? Just hold it together Ratchet you can do this. I’m having a hard time holding back tears; it’s just so hard to see my friend in agony like this. As I search I can hear his groans of pain while I try to think through it. I can see a first aid box across the room, in it I find bandages and a red, glowing potion meant for healing in it. Perfect! “All right Flint this will fix you right up buddy!” Now I’ll admit that I have very little knowledge of medicine outside of the books I’ve read about it but I think that I can handle wrapping a bandage and having somepony drink a potion. I manage to wrap some bandages around Flint’s wounds and then shove the potion into his mouth and he thankfully has enough sense and energy to swallow. Flint shoots up off the table he was on. “Oh thank Celestia, Ratchet you saved me, thank you so much!” he says as he hugs me. However his gratitude is cut short. “Hey you two, come with us were getting out of here.” Yells a grey Pegasus with a gun in his mouth. “What do you mean getting out of here?” Flint asks “I mean that this is the revolution, were tired of the overseer keeping us locked in here!” Wait a minute I DID hear about this! People had been talking about forming a militia of sorts and leaving but I didn’t think anypony would have the nerve to actually do it! “So then that’s what’s going on?” I ask. “That’s right, now let’s go!” She says as she points to the doorway and runs out. “We’ll all right then let’s go!” Trotting out of the door with Flint in rear is the best thing ever. We have a chance now, a chance to leave. Finally in the 18 years I’ve been alive for I have my chance at freedom! Running down the halls I catch something in the corner of my eye. What is that? “Hey guys wait up, there’s something weird over here, I-I-I think it’s a body!” “Don’t you worry about that, he’s just some unfortunate soul who got in my way.” “Wait you’ve been killing ponies?” “It’s the only way; if they get in our way then it’s our only option!” “So your only option is killing, killing without remorse?” “Are you fucking shitting me, you think that I want to kill?” Now doing this just feels wrong. I want to leave but now that these ponies have killed, now we have to leave permanently. If these ponies return (and I guess now I’m included in this as well) than we’ll just get shot. Wait a minute, what’s that. Is that, hoofsteps, from above us? Oh Celestia. BOOM! Ahh damn it. There’s rubble covering me. I can’t move. There’s dust everywhere, I can’t see a thing! POP POP! “Ahhh!” Oh please let that not be Flint! Oh Celestia I think the rubble is crushing my ribs, I have to get this stuff off of me! Okay come on Ratchet you can do this just push. Come on just a little more! Okay I’m out! Now than, where’s Flint and what the fuck just happened!? I can hear a blurred voice. “Hey, hey Ratchet over here!” It’s Flintlock. I look behind me to see my red maned friend of which I can just barely hear over the constant gunfire. A bullet finds its way into my back left leg, forcing me into the ground. I can feel the blood rushing from my leg to the ground covering the chocolate colored coat of my leg. Flint and the rebel (what else am I to call the ponies who have guns and are trying to escape from the dictatorship that is Mr. stick up his ass the overseer?) rush over to me, picking me up and carry me down towards the stairs leading to sector two. I get placed down leaning on the wall near the stairs with bullets whizzing over our head with the rebel firing a pistol held in his mouth. “C’mon kid we have to get to the vault doors!” the rebel screams over the gunshots. “He’s gonna bleed out though!” “No he’s not it’s just a wound to the leg, we’ll get him patched up when we get back to sector one with the rest of us!” Flint reluctantly picks me up onto his back. I have to say if this is what death is like than it’s totally overrated. “Sweet blissful death!” they say. Well this is anything but sweet and blissful. In fact I would have to call this horribly painful and stressful. Then again maybe I’m not dying and death really is sweet and blissful. Another pony runs up from the stairs. “Soarin let’s go!” “Well than grab that unicorn and let’s go, be careful he’s been shot!” We begin running down the stairs and end up at the place I’ve always wanted to be at, the vault door. I hear the pony I now know as Soarin call something out. “We need a medic over here!” A red mare runs towards me, her white mane swishing in the hair. She knees down next to me revealing her cutie mark in the shape of a bandage. She reaches into the pack strapped to her side, pulling out a healing potion, tweezers and some bandages. “Alright kid, I ain’t about to lie to you, this is going to hurt, so just hold on and it’ll be over soon.” Just then she plunges the tweezers into the wound of my leg, spurting blood onto her hoof. “Ahhhh!” I have no choice but to scream out as I feel the most intense pain I could ever even imagine. I starting to pass out. I don’t think I can stand this for another second. “C’mon kid just hang in there, only a little more!” I can feel the tweezers digging into my leg grip the bullet and quickly rip it out. Oh thank Celestia it’s over! “Alright kid it’s over, I’m just going to wrap you up and then give ya this here potion and you’ll be just fine!” She says with a smile as if to comfort me. She then wraps the bandages around my leg and hands me a potion. I gulp down the sweet red liquid and instantly feel rejuvenated. BOOM… BOOM… BOOM… “Their trying to get through the door!” A voice calls out ringing throughout the room. “Spitfire open the vault now, we can’t wait any longer!” “I got it!” EHHHHHH! The vault door begins to swing open… as does the door leading to the control room was all in. “Hit the deck!” Me and Flintlock drop to the floor as quick as possible while I see ponies in front of me unfortunate enough to get got in the crossfire covered with blood. The air in front of them turns into a red mist as it covers the floor turning the previously gray steel floors into crimson. I turn around to see the vault door is completely ajar. “Flint c’mon we have to go!” I say as I pull him up and begin galloping towards the door. We make it out as I feel my hooves touch the dirt and for the first time not here a clank but instead a crunch as I leave a hoofprint for the first time. Behind us I can hear the door close again and I know that I may never hear it open again. Taking my first breaths on the outside world I immediately notice that the air is different, almost as if its poison. “Ratchet… we made it… we fucking made it…” “Yeah… yeah we did…” I get up out of the dirt and help up Flintlock. Looking around the both of us are in awe. Seeing the dead grass that at one point may have been green. The dead trees with blackened leaves and burnt wood. To the west, ruins that seem to be the remains of an old world town. It’s not pretty but it sure as hell is better than the vault. “Well Flint, where do we go now?” After all, with so much space where do you go first? “Well, those ruins over there look pretty promising.” “Alright then let’s go.” Walking through the Equestrian wasteland is overwhelming. Being able to truly see as far as the eye can see is unbelievable. It’s such a huge difference. Being able to see hills in the distance instead of looking a few feet only to be met by a cold steel wall. “Hey Ratchet it’s starting to get dark, we don’t know what’s out here so let’s stop.” “Alright” Looking around I relies that sleeping in the middle of nowhere is probably a bad idea but we don’t exactly have a home anywhere so what other options to we have? My first night of sleep in the wasteland. I wake up to hear something breathing close to me, very close to me. “Wake up little unicorn!” I kick up out of my deep sleep snapping my head up only to see some strange ponies with Flintlock in a headlock and a knife to his throat. “Flintlock don’t wor-“I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head forcing me to the ground. Looking up I’m finding it harder to keep awake and can only keep my eyes open for long enough to see my best and only friend in this world being dragged to the ancient Equestrian ruins.
Ratchet The Repair Pony To The RescueSo here I am, alone, scared, confused. Those ponies, they took my friend. My only friend. I suppose I'm going to have to get him back then huh? But how? They had guns and knifes and all I have is my own two hoofs. Of course I have my magic to don't I? I'm about to get myself killed aren't I? Approaching the town a large concrete sign is standing on the ground "Welcome to Ponyville" it greets. Walking in this place gives you a creepy feeling. The feeling of someone watching you, but not like someone alive is watching you. More like one of the unfortunate souls that was stuck out here when the spells hit. So if I was a psycho pony who kidnaps others where would I be? After several hours of searching I manage to find a large barn out near, what appeared to be a large orchard, or at least was an apple orchard. As I get closer I noticed ponies standing outside, guarding it. I scan the area. Flintlock! Thank the goddesses he's still breathing, beaten to hell but breathing non the less. I run towards a bale of hay ducking down as to avoid being seen. Slowly but surely I make my way closer to the barn. Ducking down behind cover ever so often to avoid detection. As I get closer my heart begins to beat faster and faster. finally I make it to the barn doors, well almost anyway. The burnt up tree next to the barn door to be exact. Of course this just happens to be the same barn door that is being guarded by two ponies. I looked around trying to find anything to lob near them to draw them away from the door. That bucket there will do nicely! I levitate it in front of me, readying myself to run when I throw this thing. You ever get that do or die type feeling? That feeling of "If I fuck this up I'm totally screwed!" Well that's the exact feeling I have this second. Ok ratchet, on three, one, two, two and a half. Fucking three! I throw the bucket in front of the ponies. It lands in front of them hitting the ground with a loud clang They stop for a minute before rushing over to it. In this time I Gallop as hard as I can to the barn door and throw it open. Getting inside I close the door shut as quickly and quietly as possible before leaning on the wooden wall, catching my breath and closing my eyes. I look up to my horror, cages containing ponies are hung from the roof. Makeshift cells made from the stables of the barn holding ponies that have clearly been beaten and starved. I begin to walk around trying to locate my friend. "Ya- y'all gotta help me..." I turn around to see a blue coated Pegasus with a white mane that conflicts with the blackened wood of the barn, locked in a cage. Her face is bruised and scratched up. She holds out a hoof through the cage almost as if I was the key to her prison. "How, how can I help you?" I ask, there's no way I can just leave her here. She points to the key hole of the cage and stares me in the eyes, full of desperation. "One of the raider ponies in the farm house... they have the keys to all the cages, please, please get the keys and help me, help us." Raiders, so that's what their called. "Ok, just stay here, I'll be back!" What am I saying? All she can do is stay here. But before I leave I need to find Flintlock, he must be in here. "Flint! Flintlock! It's me, Ratchet! Are you in here?" I hear a faint whisper of a voice "Ratchet, I'm up here buddy." I turn my gaze to right above, seeing my friend. By Celestia, he's been here not even a day and already looks like all the others in this hell hole. "Don't worry Flint I'm going to get you and everypony else out of here!" =============================================================================================================================================== Getting to the house turned out being easier than I would have thought. A simple pattern of hiding and distracting the raider ponies proved that their not very smart. Then again what would you expect from a bunch of murders without the slightest amount of education exept for a lesson in killing other ponies? Entering the house I can't see any raiders in the room. Quietly, I walk near a room that seems to be a kitchen. Peeking around the corner I see a raider pony sitting down eating some sort of disguisting meat and quickly hide behind the wall. A pony in another room begins to talk. "So where did you find that white one again?" "Just out in the wasteland, sleeping. He had a friend but we killed that one. Ha! Smashed his head into the butt of my gun!" He boasts. The voices begin to get closer and closer "Ha! Nice one man!" I turn back to the kitchen to make sure the pony was still sitting in his seat. "Well look what we got here! Fresh! Meat!" I turn back and see the two ponies having the conversation standing in the hallway. Both of them with guns in their possession. One with a shotgun strapped to his back and the other with pistol in his mouth. The stallion in the kitchen stands up and reveals a knife strapped to his hoof. Well... Shit... I dive out of the way, just barely dodging the bullets as they whiz past me, flying through the air. Seeing a vase next to the shotgun pony I slam it into his face making him fall to the ground in pain. "Goddess damn him! Kill that son of a bitch!" The fallen pony yells. I levitate the table that was holding the vase and slam it into the head of the pony wielding the pistol, crushing his skull and making him tumble onto his friend. I turn and see a pony galloping towards me with his knife at the ready. He lunges at me pointing the knife straight at my chest. I move out of the way and force the pony to the wall, holding his hoof with the knife. After a brief struggle I gain the upper hand and plunge the knife into the chest of the raider pony. Blood pours out of his wound as he collapses to the ground, forcing the knife even deeper inside of him. A muffled voice comes from outside the front door. "Come on! In here!" I quickly run over to the corpse of the shotgun pony and take his weapon and head over to the wall of a bedroom, taking cover. I remove the drum barrel of my new weapon to check how much ammo is left. Ten rounds, well that'll have to do then. Four ponies rush into the main room. I dispatch one by shooting a shell into it's head sending bits of skull and brain onto it's allies and splattering blood onto the walls. A barrage of bullets find their way into the wall I was taking cover behind. Peeking the barrel of my gun out of cover I fire three rounds blindly at the raiders. A scream breaks out, signifying the success of at least one of my shotgun blasts. six shots left. I move away from cover to look through the sights of the gun and fire, sending yet another pony to the ground. Five shots now and just one raider. She gallops towards me with a knife causing me to back up further into the bedroom. I aim my shotgun at the door frame waiting for the raider to appear. As soon as she does I unload a spread of metal into her chest causing her corpse to fly back into the wall outside the bedroom and exposing her insides. Oh goddesses I think I'm going to puke! Wow... that was, intense, to say the least. Looks like Flintlock showing me how to handle a gun paid off. I give myself a moment to collect my thoughts before observing the room I was in. Looking to the wall I notice a damaged picture of presumably the owner of the farm. A orange coated mare with a cowboy hat and the cutie mark of three apples sat next to a large red stallion and a olive filly. The picture seems so innocent. I wonder what it must have been like before the world was reduced to what it is now. Remembering my mission I begin searching for the keys and relies where they are. On the corpse of one of the raiders. I return to the shotgun pony and look of his corpse. Can I really do this? I killed these ponies. Sure it was in self defense but their dead because of me, and now I have to loot one of their bodies. Noticing a saddle bag I open it up and look inside. The bag holds a surprisingly large amount of items, a screwdriver, a pack of ten bobby bins, five more shells for my shotgun, and thankfully the keys. Upon re-entering the barn I focus my attention to the pony from earlier. The pony gasps "y'all came back, I heard gunshots and thought you'd gone and gotten shot!" "Don't worry 'bout me, it's Ratchet the repair pony to the rescue." I boast. "Ratchet huh? I like that name. Helpin' Heart." "Well I like your name too Helping Heart." I say as I open the cage with a satisfying click. The mare stumbles out of her cell for a moment before finally regaining her balance. She spreads out her wings "Go help your friend." She suggests "I'm going to try to find some medical supplies in the mean time." I go up some stairs to the top floor of the barn where Flintlock's cage is located. "Thanks Ratchet but I could have handled this on my own." He jokes "Yeah, I'm sure." I respond. ============================================================================================================================================= As I look at the food in front of me it makes me want to eat less and less. Helping heart is practically stuffing her face as if she hasen't eaten in days, which to be fair, doesn't seem so unlikely as I think about it. "How can you eat this stuff? For a matter fact, what is this stuff anyway?" I ask as I levitate a strange, light blue fruit near my eyes, matching Helping heart's coat. "What do you mean, what is it?" she questions " ain't you ever eaten before?" "Of course i've eaten before! It's just that, there's nothing like this from where from where Flintlock and I are from." "Well where are y'all fro-" She stops as she stares at my vault suit for a moment. "Wait a moment, your from one of them vaults aren't you? can I get in, are they letting people in 'em?" "No, there was a fight and Flintlock and I were the only ones to get out." I answer. "Oh, i'm sorry" She appologizes. "Well listen, we should really get moving. I live in place called Grayhoof, now I ain't to far a walk so if y'all wanna come with me then let's go." "I'll go." Flintlock volunteers. Okay so much for talking about it then. "I guess that means me too." ============================================================================================================================================ Walking out in the Equestrian wasteland starts to make you miss the vault. The clean air anyway. Out here the air itself seems to be poisoned which has to make me wonder how anypony has managed to even stay alive. "So Ratchet, Flintlock, how do ya manage to get a name like that?" Helping heart asks. Flintlock speaks up "Well my dad used guns a bunch in the vault, whether that be him maintaning them or firing them, and a Flintlock is a weapon from long before the war." "My family were a bunch of mechanincs basically. They wanted me to become the best one in the vault so they named me Ratchet. My cutie mark ended up being the same thing. So, it seems like they were right." I look down at Helping Hearts flank to see her cutie mark, a heart with a blue, glowing potion inside. "How did you get that cutie mark?" I ask. "Well when I was a filly ma dad got shot by a raider and my home had no health potions, nothin' strong enough anyways. So I ran into our house and tried to make a health potion. To be honest I half expected for the thing to kill 'im but it never did, it made 'im better. So when he got up and was completely healed." She explains. "My cutie mark appeared. From that day I've wanted to help ponies, ah wanted to become a doctor. ============================================================================================================================================ After about a day and a half or so of walking, Grayhoof appears out of the distance. To be honest it looks more like a pile of rubble than a settlement. However to be fair what else should I expect? All of Equestria was hit by giant, destructive spells and I suppose that Ponyville looked just about the same. "So Helping Heart" Flintlock begins "How do you survive out here? I mean the air alone feels like it could kill you, let alone the raiders and Luna knows what else!" "Well I guess we all just got used to it out here. After all, it is more survivin' for us than living like y'all are used to." She explains. Wait a minute is she saying that she's angry with us for living in the vault? Sure, we had it much better in there but I didn't decide to be born there! "You and Ratchet were both pampered beyon' believe what with you gettin' the free food, clean air, clean water, the kind of things that ponies out here would give anythin' for." "I suppose you'd be right." I reluctantly agree. I can't help but feel horrible. We left the vault because we hated the overseer, because we hated our lives in there, but also because we wanted to help ponies. However at the same time we left without realizing how bad the ponies in the wasteland have it and how good the vault really is, but if I'm out here now than. I might as well do what I came here to do. Start in Grayhoof I guess. "Here we are!" Helping Heart announces. "Welcome to one of the few civilized places in the Equestrian wasteland!" A yellow coated, black mane wearing stallion practically busts down his door to gallop towards us. " Helping Heart! Thank the goddesses your okay!" He hugs Helping Heart Flintlock and I both stare at the two awkwardly. I just shrug to him as I turn and look at the town. As I expected the town was in shambles. Just a bunch of broken down buildings that house the families of ponies. Though I can't help but feel inspired. These ponies out of most others managed to band together and make a place to be safe at and live, though I can't imagine that the barbed wire fences keeps out much. "Ratchet this is my dad." Helping Heart explains. "Dad this is Ratchet, he saved me from the raiders, and this is Flintlock, he was captured by the raiders too." "Hello Ratchet, I'm Sun Stone. Thank you so much for saving my daughter!" He thanks. "Welcome to grayhoof."
