Fallout: Equestria - Burning Earth

Ponyville, although usually filled with raiders, was completely empty. Not a single sound emanated from the desecrated ruins, which surprised Night Shade beyond belief. Despite the lack of visible enemies, she still kept her guard up as she sneaked from building to building. After all, the raiders had set traps, no doubt.

She darted down the street, making her way to the other end of the town. She noticed scorch marks littering the ground where land mines or grenades had exploded, leaving a blast mark in the concrete. Turning her attention further down the road, she was greeted with the sight of a dismembered corpse. Whether it had been a trader, a raider or a Stable dweller didn't matter now. They were deader than dead.

The sight of the body didn't disturb Night. She had witnessed - and done - much worse during her time as an Enclave grunt. Most of her comrades had. However, she did make sure to watch where she stepped from then on.

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She was quickly approaching the halfway mark. She had reached the town square when she finally encountered another living pony. Atop the town square's building was a lone sniper, scanning the horizon with the scope of her rifle. Night lay flat with the ground, staying out of the gunmare's line of sight. Unfortunately, the sniper was cutting her off from the exit.

She weighed her options: she could attempt to sneak past the raider and continue on her way; or, Night could try and catch her by surprise and take her out. She studied the mare's rifle from a distance. It appeared to be a completely average bolt-action rifle, but she could tell even from her distance that the gun was in poor condition. She could probably handle one little sniper, and she needed supplies anyway. Why not just take her out?

Night decided that was her best option. The pegasus silently crept past when her target was looking elsewhere. She looked for a way up: with her wings in their damaged condition, she couldn't just fly up. So how had the raider climbed up, then? Her question was answered when she discovered a service ladder leaned against one end of the building. She clambered onto the metal ladder and cursed inwardly as her hoof made a soft clang against a rung. However, the sniper must not have noticed.

Being extra careful to make no noises now, Night climbed up with little difficulty. Upon reaching the top, she peeked over the edge. The sniper had set her gun down and was now wrestling with a rusty can of beans.

"Damn it, open, you stupid piece of shit." The mare's choice of words clearly demonstrated her intelligence. Night Shade unholstered her weapon and hopped on top of the building. The mare turned sharply, surprised by this armored stranger. "Who the hell are you?"

Night didn't bother answering. She pulled the trigger of her pistol, and a red beam of light pierced the sniper's neck. The laser instantly cauterized the wound, but now the sniper was screaming in agony, which only aggravated the hole in her throat. Night fired once more, putting the murderer out of her misery.

Once that was taken care of, she immediately began to loot the roof. She snatched not only the rifle, still leaned against the edge of the roof, but the mare's can of beans as well. She decided that she would save it for later, when she had time. After strapping the rifle to her back, she prepared to climb down the ladder-

The sound of approaching hoofsteps silenced Night Shade's thoughts. "Did you hear those lasers?" said one raider to another as they made their way to her location. "Somethin' happened to Gorehead, I bet." She saw them approaching from the corner of the street. She swung her newly-acquired rifle forward, aiming down the scope at them. She fired.

The bullet struck one of the two raiders in the hind leg. He let out a rather ungentlemanly scream as he collapsed to the pavement. His blood spilled forth from him, pooling together around him and his partner. The standing pony dove behind a building as his crippled friend called for him, begging him to pull him to safety.

"Damn," Night muttered, pulling the bolt back and aiming again. This gun was really unstable. This time, she aimed for the space right above the stallion's head.

"P-please!" he cried to his friend. "Help! They're gonna get me!"

The other stallion merely called back, "Tough luck! I ain't going back to get ya."

She fired. The stallion's head exploded in a shower of skin, bones and other assorted gore. The hiding one panicked and galloped full-speed from the building, leaving him open. She cocked it back one last time and pulled the trigger. The stallion was dead before he hit the ground.

Satisfied that the job was done, Night Shade slid the gun onto her back and climbed down the ladder. She continued on her way, still irritated that her progress was being hindered by her wings. If it weren't for her stupid escape stunt, she would've been in New Appleloosa by now!

Still, she tried not to dwell in the past. A broken gem cannot be mended, after all. She tried to distract herself from the monotony of travel by any means, including and not limited to counting the skeletons on the side of the road. By the time she reached Ponyville's city limits, her count was up to about twelve.

As she exited Ponyville, she finally let out a sigh of relief. It had been almost too easy, as if somepony had just cleared out the place. Nearly all the raiders who usually lurked there were dead or missing. Not that Night Shade was complaining or anything. As long as it made her job easier, then it was good.

She spotted a rocky cliff just outside Ponyville and decided to climb it to get a better view. After a bit of stumbling and cursing, she made it to the top just in time to see the sun rise above the horizon. If she were any other mare, she would have thought it was a metaphor for something, but she was only here to see how much further she had to go.

She raised a foreleg over her eyes to block the sun's glare. Further down was New Appleloosa, only about half a dozen miles away. She was nearly there. With newfound eagerness, Night slid down the cliff and hurried toward her destination.