Prologue: Second Verse...

A PipBuck is a device, worn on a foreleg just above the hoof, issued to every pony in a Stable when they become old enough to start work.

....Is this thing on? It is? Well, uh... awesome. So I just go ahead and... yeah, yeah I got it. Well, here goes...
Hi. My name is Faith. I'm a unicorn, I like to go swimming, take long walks on the beach, and not get shot at every other day.

...Well, a mare can dream, can't she? Thanks, Mom...

Anyway, I live in a world unlike what used to pass as the norm. This is the land of Equestria.. the most dangerous, goddesses-forsaken piece of rock to exist, wrought with countless raiders, bandits, slavers, even mutated parasprites and radigators. It would take too long to explain what each of these is.. so I'll begin at the.. well, beginning. The start of my little tale.

My mother was somepony that everyone knew, a paragon of justice and fair judgement. From the corners of the wasteland to the heart of its madness she was revered, be it in glory or infamy. To the denizens of the Wasteland, she represented an inner hope all possessed but none adhered to. If not for her intervention in their lives time and again, they would have fallen prey to the true horrors the Equestrian Landscape could conjure into being.

This is untrue.

In fact, this is almost heinously inaccurate. The truth of the matter is that she is just like any one of them. A simple drifter, a Lone Wanderer among the decadent ruins of the old world, trying to find the means of survival in an otherwise bleak and lifeless world. She can fall prey to the same harsh realities thrown at her on a (Strangely) regular basis. Only one thing prevented her from following the same path many have traveled time and time again, always leading to the final unknown.

Friendship.

Friendship is what has seen her through the ordeals of her life. Friendship is what empowered her to take that fateful step from the confines of the great tomb of a shelter, Stable Two. It was Friendship that gave her the strength necessary to endure the odds, all the hardships thrust upon her so suddenly, to take all that in stride and do what needed be done in order to save that same very thing. If not for bonds shared with her group of misfits, the rouge band of mismatched survivors, I would not even be here today.

Of course, there's my.. well, other Mother. The mare in which the prior found sanctuary from her tribulations. The particular.. comfort that she offered was something so desperately needed. Some say that it was the only thing that gave her reason to go on. I don't understand why so many snicker when I talk of my mothers... well, suffice to say they were inseparable in spirit, no matter what life threw at them.

Boy, did life throw one heck of a curve ball.

What the little Stable Dweller could not expect was to suddenly find herself in control of all of Equestria's weather systems. The SPP, one Single Pegasus Project, created a means to do the jobs of the pegasi of old, creating sunny days when the plants need sunshine, rainy when the land grows parched, you name it, and puts all of it on a single pony.

Knowing this, the prospect seeming so tantalizing and extraordinary, my mother did what no other would; committed herself, body and mind, to the eternal task of weather control for the greater good of all of Equestria. This was no small task, it required immense focus and a constant, vigilant eye. Not only this, but the user must be willing to attach themselves to an apparatus that would supply all the nutrients their body could require in adequate portions... as they would be bonded to then SPP indefinitely. The amount of devotion needed to do this.. to leave her friends... her eternal companion... to give up everything for a land where a mere fraction would actually thank her is unimaginable. No matter what mistakes she has made in the past, this one moment proved just how good this pony truly was. All for the salvation of a pile of rocks and shabby huts.

...Oh, there was also one other last hope for the entire wasteland.

Before my mother strapped herself into the SPP, she discovered something immense. The something in question was called The Garden s of Equestria. This colossal machine was the ultimatum of the Ministry of Arcane Science's head, Twilight Sparkle, in the event the war progressed to unthinkable progressions.. which, uh, it did. The purpose of the machine is to purge the corrupted substances of the land, all of the radiation, taint, and other foul excretions, leaving a clean landscape in its wake. It evokes the power of the Elements of Harmony: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. Only the bearers of these Elements can power the machine.

...Which brings up a problem. We didn't know who all the bearers were. Homage, Calamity, Velvet, and Derpy each represented one of the elements, Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, and Laughter, respectively. Despite this, Generosity and Magic remained aloof and unknown. Thus began the final quest of this group of friends; the search for the Elements of Harmony.

They searched high and low, from the steepest mountain peak to the dankest sewer hovel, without any success. There have been some close ones, though never enough to truly act as one of the Elements. Eventually the group stopped searching, and settled down into their own families, hoping that one day the final Elements would reveal themselves. For a time, they were content.

Then.. the unthinkable happened.. again. Really, we encountered a lot of impossibilities.

The SPP, the source of clear skies and warm days, of starry nights and breathtaking sights.. broke. Not the sort of 'Oops I dropped your radio' broke. The kind that sent Equestria into a state of immense cold drifts and sudden temperature extremes. Staying warm had always been a problem, but these new extremes were severe even to the most weathered Wastelander.

It prompted the question: Why isn't Littlepip putting a stop to this?

That is what I hoped to find out, and what spurred me to take up a journey to the SPP and find out myself. Of course, my mother had immediate reservations on that idea, but I was not to be swayed. So, with nothing but the clothes on my back, a few dozen rounds of ammunition and an average stock rifle, I made way on one of the greatest journeys of my life, one that would shape my future in ways I couldn't imagine, much the same as the maternal figure I sought to find.

You know what they say.. Second Verse...

Author's Note

Before anything, I offer my immense thanks to Kkat for creating this universe. It is my all-time favourite story to date. All credit goes to her for the original idea. That said, Wow! I finally wrote a prologue, yay!... now to write the rest. *Sigh*

Well, I enjoy this nonetheless. Just wish I had more inspiration than once every blue moon. Credit to Piecee01 for allowing me to use the wonderful Image for the story. Hopefully, now that I have set a basis for the story as a whole, I can actually get this thing done!