Stranger

by Locoattack1

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Romance
Length: 8446

Can a soldier find something in a post-apocolyptic Equestria that makes life worth living?

Can a soldier find something in a post-apocolyptic Equestria that makes life worth living?

Chapters 1-5 are short(1k-1.5k words), but from now on I'll try to pump out 2k word plus chapters.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: All author's notes are in red text. Except this one. Deal with it.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-03-29 01:25:15 UTC

Chapter 1: The Battle

War. Hate. The only two things that were consistent with my life. No mercy, they told me. Be relentless, they told me. In time, they trained me to be a warrior, and in time, I turned on them. Now I roam the wastes of Equestria, blade in tail, trying to survive. This is my story.

I woke up and glanced down at my hooves, just to make sure I was still alive. They looked the same as they did every day, grey and dirty, but in a post-apocalyptic world, better dirty than dead. I got up and scanned the horizon with my ocean blue eyes, not that anyone’s seen water as blue as my eyes in a long time. I don’t notice anything besides the occasional tumbleweed and decide to set out after packing my supplies.

I take my sword and sheath it on my right flank before setting out to the east. The road that I’m walking on has many hoofprints, indicating that it had been traveled many times, perhaps even before The Strike. Before the title of ruler belonged to he who could kill the most ponies, before every surviving pony had to fight for the very right to survive. I quickly shake the thoughts out of my head and concentrate on my goal.

I continue to follow the trail for what seems like hours before I notice that the road leads to a very old looking, intimidating forest.

”Ah fuck” I said, knowing that trekking through a, most-likely, monster-infested forest would be very wearing on both me and my supplies, though, on the bright side, I hadn’t had a fresh kill in at least three days. I decide to continue down my path not caring what horrors it holds.

While walking down the path, I spot a group of mutants, merciless pony-like creatures created by The Strike, walking about. They were at least as tall as me, and I was usually considered large by pony standards. They were presenting the perfect opportunity to strike, and I wasn’t one to leave Mr. Opportunity knocking. They never saw it coming, a few quick strikes to the throat and they were finished. I stared at my now-bloody sword as I relished in the thrill of the slaughter.

“Three down” I said as I examined the corpses, “About a million to go”.

After a few more hours of walking, I began to get tired and decided to set up camp. I put out my sleeping bag and ate some hay before dozing off.

I wake up, and after assuring myself that I was safe, at least, for the moment, I eat some hay and head down the road.

“Fuckin’ shit” I commented, “This forest is a hell of a lot bigger than I thought”. After another hour of uneventful walking, I came upon a sign. It was obviously very old and many of the letters had worn away with age.

FR G Y B TTEM B G

I thought and tried to deduce what the sign might mean. After about ten minutes of wondering, I gave up. I wasn’t a ‘thinking’ sort of pony; I was more of a ‘killing’ sort of pony. I started down the road again, wondering if this fucking forest ever ended.

While I was wondering this, I heard a hiss, and looked up to see a distorted face staring back at me. You’ve probably figured this out, but I’ve killed quite a few things in the wastelands, so seeing something new was both shocking and thrilling. Shocking, because this was perhaps the most disturbing thing that I’d ever seen, with a pony’s body and six fleshy appendages, it’s not something you’d want to run into ever, much less a dark and dreary forest. It was also exiting because I get the pleasure of slaughtering a new kind of equestrian horror. I immediately take my sword out and begin to swing at the thing’s face.

Whatever it was, it was fast, too fast for me. Before I’d even begin to swing, it jumps out of range. It was then that I started cursing my bad luck for having to fight the aracno-pony thing in the forest, as it clearly had a huge advantage in agility. I tried to keep up as it bounded from tree to tree, but it was too fast. I tried to think, but thinking isn’t my thing, as we all know, and thinking in the heat of battle was even harder.

Suddenly, the thing started fighting back, by lunging at me with its tentacle-leg things. I dodged the first few strikes. Heh, you’ll have to do better than that to do me in you fuckin’ bastard, I thought. Suddenly, I saw it plunge its leg deep into my abdomen, pain spreading to every inch of my body. With this pain came an idea.

After stabbing me, the monster jumped back. I waste no time as I take out my blanket and wind it into a rope. I then tie one end to my tail and the other end to my sword. I swing my sword at the aracno-pony and it tries to dodge it, but fails. The extra reach gained by the rope gave me the edge I needed to slice open the monster’s stomach. I quickly caught up with the spider-pony and finished it off by slicing its throat.

Seeing the wounds of the crawler, I look back at my own. It wasn’t pretty. I could see the hole, deep and bloody, exposing several bones. I can see everything fading to black. Shit, didn’t want it to end like this, I thought, Well, if its gonna end, at least nopony can lay claim to defeating me. I try to concentrate on the picture a bit longer before everything fades. The last thing that I see before I die is a rainbow blur, then I fade to black as the world crumbles around me.

I know, It's really short. This was the first chapter I've ever wrote, so bear with me, at least until chapter 6, where I'll try to pump out 2000 word plus chapters. Please comment.

Chapter 2: The Savior

I wake up in a white, fluffy room. How am I still alive? I wonder as I begin to examine my surroundings. Looks like some kind of bedroom, I deduce, but who, or what, brought me here? I wreck my brain, but I can’t remember anypony that I knew that I could call a friend. I’m thinking so hard that I almost don’t notice the large gauze covering my wound.

“Who would do this?” I wonder out loud, “I don’t have any friends or acquaintances that I can remember”. I start to remember the events immediately before I blacked out, then I recall the rainbow blur.

Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t natural. I haven’t seen a rainbow in a long time, at least three years. The only primary color in a rainbow that you’ll see in the wasteland is red. Mostly you’ll see shades of brown and grey, even the sky is brown.

I try to recall the , red, orange, green, yellow, blue, and violet. I needed to find out what it was.

Then a pony walked in through the door. I could only stare as I saw her rainbow mane. She was the first thing that I could honestly say didn’t remind me of how awful Equestria has become.

“You!” I scream as I make the connection,” You’re the rainbow blur!” My mind was exploding with questions.

“Yeah,” she answered, looking surprised at my outburst, “So what?”

“Why did you save me?” I ask her, in a more controlled voice, “Where am I?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asks, in a highly questioning tone, “What was supposed to do? Let you die?”

“What about this gauze?” I ask as I motion to the bandages covering my wound, “This shit is fucking expensive! Why would you waste that stuff on somepony you never met?”

“Um” she states, obviously confused, “Gauze is only, like, one bit for a foot, that not really expensive.”

“By the way, my name’s Rainbow Dash; fastest pony in Equestria!” She states proudly, “What’s your name?”

“Iron Storm” I answer, “and by the way, how are able to be so generous in a world that has turned into a living nightmare. I’m too busy trying to save my own ass to help anyone else.”

“Nightmare?” she asked, “Equestria is a very beautiful and peaceful land, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

“Ok” I begin in an annoyed voice, “It looks like someone needs a history lesson”

“About three years ago” I begin my story “Equestria was awoken to a dark sky. Everypony looked to the skies, only to find that a gigantic meteor was hurtling towards our world at a frenzied pace. This, predictably, set everypony into panic mode. In mere hours, everypony flooded Princess Celestia with questions. Those who didn’t boarded up their homes and tried to prepare themselves for the imminent impact. For most, it was a futile effort, as the shockwave of the impact was enough to lacerate anypony in a hundred mile radius”

The rainbow pony looked at me with a face of shock and horror, but the story of how our perfect world mutated into pony-hell had just begun.

“That alone caused the government to collapse and degraded Equestria from an organized, peaceful world into a lawless, brutal existence, but it’s not over. Then the smoke from the impact clouded the skies and the radiation from within the meteor was released into the atmosphere. That radiation caused water to become scarce and turned some ponies into mutated freaks who would love nothing more than to rip you to pieces.”

She looked at me in a horrorstruck stare, clearly struggling to absorb the fact that her world had turned into a hell. It almost hurt me to continue. Almost.

“The ponies that survived The Strike had to work hard for every breath they took. Some established colonies together so as to fend off the freaks of the wastelands. Others, like me, set off on their own into the wastes. We started calling ourselves wanderers and would rarely live in one place for more than one night. We also have to combat these freaks on a regular basis. It’s not fun, but it’s life, and that’s enough for me.”

Dash stares at me like I’m crazy.

“Hahaha” she begins in an unsure laugh, “Yeah right, Equestria will always be perfect, liar. It's just is a gloomy day”

“What!?!?!?!” I scream, enraged by her ignorance, “Are you fucking kidding me!?! You stupid fucking bitch! Where do you think I got this hole in my chest!?! I was fighting a mutant and it took me down with it, that’s how! Why would I carry a sword if I didn’t have to use it!?!

“What do you expect me to do!?!” She yells through a thin veil of tears, shocked by my sudden outburst, “Just completely accept that the world went to crap in my sleep? Just forget about my life and accept that my friends are most likely dead?”

“Well,” I begin, not wanting to hurt her anymore, “I guess that would be hard, but I wouldn’t know. I don’t remember anything before The Strike. I just woke up a sword and started walking into the horizon.”

“Oh,” She starts in an understanding voice, “So you never had a friend?”

“Nope” I answered, “Never needed one until now. Thanks, by the way”

“No problem” She responded.

“Well” I start to get out of the bed, “I’d better get going. Bye.”

I grab my rucksack and my sword and exit the room. I was almost out the door when I heard Dash yell after me.

“Wait!” she yelled as she flew to my side

“What is it?” I asked

“Um” she started nervously, “I don’t think that I can survive out there if it’s as bad as you say. I wanted to ask if I could maybe stick with you for a while. Just until I get used to this idea of a post-equestrian wasteland. Don’t say no because you think I’m not tough or brave, because I was the toughest and bravest pony in Ponyville!”

“Well” I reply, amused by her claims, “If you think that you can handle it, then I could use some company.”

“Awesome!” She exclaims, clearly happy to have me as her guide, “You won’t regret this!”

We walk, or in my case, nearly fall, out of the door. Side by side, me and Rainbow Dash walk into the horizon. While the sun sets, I can’t help but think, I’m not going to regret this.

Chapter 3: The Reality

About one hour after we set off down the road, I noticed the sun was going down. This was not good. I needed to find a place to sleep and fast, because if there was anything worse than daytime in the wastes, it’s got to be nighttime in the wastes, with mutants hunting in packs and very limited sight, I was not my favorite time of the day.

“Hey” I call to Dash, who is slowly flying about four feet above me, “It’s about time to set up camp, unless you want to get attacked by mutants”

“Okay” she responded, “Have anywhere in mind?”

“Hmm” I think out loud. I then notice a small cave carved into the face of a cliff, not big enough to be an Ursa cave though. It looked about half a mile away.

“There” I point my hoof in the direction of the cave, “We’ll sleep there tonight. It looks save from the elements.”

“Got it” she replies as she flies toward the cave at what I swear must have been ludicrous speed.

“Sheesh” I say to myself as I walk towards the cave at my normal pace, “She isn’t very patient, is she?”

Suddenly I heard a scream pierce the silence.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” It must have been Rainbow.

“Fuck!” I yell, “There aint no damn way you’re gonna die already! Not on my watch!”

I run as fast as I can, adrenaline pumping through my body. After about a minute of running, I finally get to the cave.

“Dash!” I scream, “Dash, are you there!?!”

I wait for a response. About ten seconds later, I get one.

“Storm!” I hear her yell back, “Get over here!”

I run towards the source of her voice to find her fighting against a mutant, and losing. She is trying to use nonlethal attacks, such as wind tornados, to put down her assailant. He is hitting her rarely, and by the looks of the situation, she hasn't sustained any real damage.

“What are you doing!?!” I yell at her, “This is how you kill a mutant!”

I unsheathe my sword, now tied to a rope, and swing it with all my might at the mutant. It’s a clean kill, the mutant is sliced into two grisly pieces with one swing. I relish the kill and look at my now-bloody sword.

“You see Rainbow” I say as I wipe the blood off my sword, “These creatures have no hearts and therefore no mercy. Meaning that to survive, you need to be merciless as well.” After the blood is off my sword, I sheath it casually and continue talking.

“You did show promise, however” I continue as I turn around to face her, “Those flying moves of y-“

I turn to face Dash and see her face. She looks horrorstruck. Just the look of her face makes me stop talking.

“Dash,” I start slowly, “I’m sorry, but this is life. It’s a brutal existence, but its life.”

“I… I had no idea” She starts, still looking quite shocked at my actions, “I had no idea just how brutal ponies are out here.”

“Are you talking about me?” I ask, slightly annoyed, “I needed to kill that mutant to save your ass! It would’ve killed you eventually! It’s like what you said, was I supposed to let you die?”

“Um,” She starts.

“Ya know maybe we should just set up camp, okay?” I respond, not wanting to argue with her anymore.

“Sure, okay” she replied weakly

“Dash” I look deep into her eyes, “I would never hurt you, I do this to survive, and to help you survive. You need to be brave and face reality.”

“Well” she begins, looking slightly stronger, “I guess I should’ve expected this, I mean, you did already tell me about this. It’s just that it’s scary to see that it is so real. I’ve never seen a pony die, much less chopped in half.”

“Its okay” I reassure her, “Lots of ponies were scared of this brutal reality. You still get points for facing that mutant one-on-one though!”

“Really?” She asks, “I mean, of course! I’m really brave, like I told you before!”

“Yeah” I say, surprised at her sudden boasting, “Well, I think we should set up camp now.”

“Okay” she replies, sounding much more happy than before. Who would’ve guessed, Iron Storm; killer of millions and an accomplished counselor for depression .

“We only have one sleeping bag” I announce.

“Oh” She responds, “Well, I guess were sleeping together then.”

“Yup” I reply.

After Dash gets into the sleeping bag with me, we begin to discuss our goal for tomorrow.

“So where are we going?” She asks, “Do you even have a goal?”

“Not really” I answer, “I just wander the wastes trying to figure out who I am and where I came from.”

“So if you don’t have a goal,” She begins, “Could I make a suggestion?”

“Sure” I answer, “Might as well have a destination.”

“Okay then” She replies happily, “How about we make a visit to where Ponyville used to be? Maybe someone is still alive there.”

“Ponyville?” I ask, “Where and what is that?”

“It was a town,” She states, “I used to hang out there a lot, because all of my friends lived there. I really hope that they are still alive.” She finishes weakly.

“Well” I start in a compassionate tone, “If it makes you feel better, then we’ll set out for Ponyville first thing in the morning.”

“Thanks” She says as she looks at me with her deep, rose eyes.

“We better get to sleep if we want to get up early” I say.

Dash nods in agreement before burying her head in my chest. I think must be to conserve heat. Still, I kinda like it.

I will never let anything hurt her. I think before going to sleep with Dash wrapped tightly around me. For the first time in my life, I feel...happy.

Chapter 4: The Promise

I wake up to find Dash's adorable form still wrapped tightly around me. Amazing. That was the only word I could think of. So this is what caring feels like? I could get used to- No! I can’t get attached to anything! But she’s so soft and beautiful- Arrrgg!!

I try to push the thoughts out of my head, but every time I glance back at her, a rush of feelings that I have never felt before take over me. Last night was the most peaceful and, well, happy night that I can remember, but that was yesterday and now is today. Besides, today I told her that I would take her to Ponyville.

I carefully and gently get out of the sleeping bag, trying not to disturb the peacefully sleeping Rainbow Dash. Once I’m out, I see Dash grasping for something. She then begins to wake up, slowly but surely. Fuck!

“Uhhh…” She starts, clearly tired and not used to getting up this early, “Why are we getting up so early? The town is only, like, another hour of walking.”

“Well,” I explain, “Those mutants like the dark and hate the sun, so around dawn, they tend to try and find a dark place, like a cave, to sleep for the day. I do not want to be caught in my sleep by a mutant, and I don’t want you to be caught either.”

“Oh” She responds, taking in the information, “Well let’s get going then, Ponyville is waiting! What are we still doing here anyway? I don’t want to die!”

I walk over to Dash and grab her, gazing into her eyes. I begin to talk, slowly and firmly “Dash, I may not have known you for long, but you have definitely established yourself as my favorite part of the wasteland. I have been roaming for three years, and you are first that thing or pony that I am honestly happy to be around. You are a living relic from a time when you didn’t have to kill for the very right to survive. I feel that it is my job to protect you, so believe me when I say this:” I say the next part clearly and firmly, while staring deep into her beautiful eyes.

“I will never let anything hurt you.”

She stares back into my ocean blue eyes for what feels like hours.

“St-Storm,” She begins shakily, “I-I had no idea. B-but I guess that explains w-why I feel so safe around you.”

I stood there shocked as she wrapped her hooves around me and I couldn’t help but smile. I returned the embrace. It felt hours, but even an eternity wouldn’t have enough. Even though this is how I felt, I knew that we would have to go soon.

“Dash” I begin reluctantly after awhile, “We have to go, ‘kay?”

“Kay, Iron” She responds in a trusting voice. I could never betray her, could never hurt her, and could never abandon her. I was more than just her guide through this living hell; I was someone she could trust with her life. I was not going to just shrug off this responsibility. I was her protector now.

I started to pack up the sleeping bag, wrapping it tight. Then I went into my vest pouch and pulled out a tightly wound packet of hay. I walked over to Dash.

“Here” I say to her as I hand her a portion of the packet’s contents, “its ration hay. What you’re holding there is enough to keep you going for another day. It tastes like shit though.”

“Ach!” She chokes when she takes a bite, “That does taste awful! How do you eat that?”

“When you’re in the wasteland, you’ll do anything to survive.” I explain

“Oh,” She says, apparently accepting that she can’t be very picky in hell.

We finish our hay, but right before we depart the cave I hear something; rain. I’ve heard that rain in Pre-Strike Equestria wasn’t a big deal, it just got you wet, plus it was controlled by other ponies, so nothing too bad really ever happened. Not anymore. Now, weather has been affected by radiation, so rain is now radioactive and acidic, capable of killing you in minutes. The good news is that, for some reason, the acid only melts biomass, so cloaks can deflect the rain. Too bad I only have one cloak.

“Stop!” I yell at Dash, “That’s not rain, it’s acid rain! It’ll melt your skin off!”

Dash freezes in place, and then quickly runs back to the cave. I feel bad for her; everything that she once knew is now trying to kill her.

“Its okay” I assure her, “Take this cloak and you’ll be fine. The acid only melts living matter.”

“Thanks” she responds. In a more worried tone she continues, “Wait, where’s yours? You have a spare right?”

Yeah, I have that sleeping bag! I can use that! I think.

I take out the sleeping bag and wrap it over my body. It is almost big enough. It’ll have to do. I think as I stare at my exposed area; my rearmost flank. Flank burns would be painful, but it would be worse to watch Dash die.

“This will have to do,” I start as Rainbow gives me a worried look, “I’ve been through worse.”

“Wait, Storm” She begins in a concerned voice, “You take the cloak and I’ll take the bag. I’m small enough so that I can probably fit under the bag.”

“Okay” I say in a cautious tone, “But if it doesn’t cover your whole body, then you won’t wear it, I won’t let you.”

Dash tries on the bag and it fits her perfectly, I breathe a sigh of relief. I already know that the cloak fits me, as it is my cloak, so I wasn’t really surprised when it fit me perfectly.

“C’mon Dash” I say with a hint of happiness, “Let’s go to Ponyville.”

“Okay” She replies affectionately.

As we walk out of the cave into the rain, huddled together, I feel like I can take on anything. I now have a purpose, a reason to live. I finally feel that living is worth the effort. I will never let anything hurt her, ever. Because if she dies now, I probably won’t last to long.

Having no reason to live never bothered me before, mainly because I didn’t know what I was missing. Now, though, I realize how terrible my daily life was. If my life reverts back to that, there will always be a hole left unfilled; I will lose the desire to live. I won’t let anything hurt her. Ever.

Chapter 5: The Town

Me and Dash walked along the road as the rain fell around us and dissolved any green that somehow managed to grow in this hell. I had never walked this road before, but it reminded me of just about every other road in the world. I didn’t focus on the scenery too much, though. I was busy listening and keeping a look out for the town that Rainbow mentioned.

I looked to the skies, and saw that the rain showed no intentions of receding anytime soon. I just hoped that this town was close, because while I had no problems with walking long distances, I could see that Rainbow’s legs were starting to give. She was built for flying and could beat damn near everypony at that, but walking obviously wasn’t her forte.

“You okay?” I inquire, “You look like you need a rest.”

“Naw!” She replied, “I could do this all day! Nothing slows down the fastest pony in Equestria!”

“Whatever you say” I wasn’t convinced, but I wasn’t about to make her feel worse, “Are we getting close?”

“Yeah,” She responds, “its right around this turn!”

I turn around the bend and expect to see a town, as does Dash. But what we see, neither of us could predict.

It was a town, all right. Well, it used to be a town. Half of the buildings were bombed out. There were blood stains on the ground and the smell of death reeked everywhere. I’ve been around and I know that a lot of times a colony will establish itself insides ruins that still look destroyed to avoid attention from mutants, so I knew that I needed to take a better look before I drew any conclusions.

I looked over at Dash; I immediately wished that I hadn’t. If she ever looked heartbroken before, it was nothing compared to now. She looked at her former town in a horrorstruck gaze of total despair. I saw tears begin to form at her eyes. I watched as she cried loudly at the ruins of her former town.

“Dash,” I say in a reassuring voice, “We haven’t even checked the town out yet. I know it doesn’t look promising, but if there’s anything that you need to survive out here, it’s hope.”

I see her start to brighten up slightly as she looks at me with her rose eyes, now leaking tears. I struggle to keep my composure.

“Without hope,” I continue, “There is no reason for anyone to live in this hellhole. Hope is what keeps us alive. All we can do, Dash, is hope for the best, I’m sure things aren’t as dark as they seem.”

I look into her eyes and see a glimmer hope start to rekindle. “Sorry” She responds weakly, “I, guess I shouldn’t give up yet.” She finished in a slightly more upbeat tone.

“Nope” I replied, glad that she wasn’t crying anymore, “We should start to look around the town a little more.”

She nodded in approval and began walking again. We began to explore the town together. Even the rain stopped as if the skies were trying to project happiness.

Dash looked like she was going to break down on several occasions, but she managed to keep her cool. I heard her calling out several names, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Applejack, Probably her friends from before the strike.

After about an hour of walking around the destroyed ruins of Ponyville, I noticed a building unlike the other buildings. Actually, building probably wasn’t the best word; ‘tree’ was a lot better. Anyways, this tree had a door and several windows, so I’m guessing that it was used as housing for somepony. The thing about this tree was that the windows weren’t boarded up and the door was cracked open. This is our best chance to find survivors. And my best chance to cheer up Rainbow, I thought.

“Hey, Dash!” I yelled to get the attention of a weeping Rainbow Dash, who looked at me with a forlorn gaze, “I think there might be somepony living here. We should check it out, if it makes you feel any better.”

Rainbow Dash seems to perk up immediately, her eyes lit up with hope once more. I began to walk with Rainbow Dash, who was now shaking in anticipation. We neared the door and I decided to peek in.

“Dash, wait here” I say in a serious tone, “I have no idea what’s behind that door, and I really don’t feel like putting you into a life-threatening situation.”

“No way!” She retaliates, “I’m going with you, like it or not!”

“Okay, okay” I respond, surprised by her sudden outburst, “Just let me lead.”

I walk through the doorway with Dash following closely behind. My first reaction was that I’d just gotten Dash exited over nothing. I mean it was just a dark and messy room, but I knew better than to jump to conclusions. My idea was confirmed when I saw a candle dimly glowing in the corner.

“Hey, anypony there!?!” I yell as Dash looks around enthusiastically, “Hey Dash I don’ think that there is anypony here!”

Suddenly, we jump as the floor opens to reveal a trapdoor. Dash holds her breath in anticipation; I knew that there was somebody here, still I couldn’t help but be a little exited. What comes out of the trapdoor is something that I would never expect: An orange Pegasus filly with a magenta mane. Her mane was ruffled and stained with dirt in many places. I also noticed that she was cut and scraped in many places. Why am I even noticing this?, I wonder to myself, I see ponies with bloody limbs and severed heads, why do I care if a little filly has a few cuts?

She looked at me and my bloodstained mane and my sword with a look of fear, then her eyes settled on Dash.

“D-Dash” She looked at the cyan Pegasus in awe and disbelief, “No way, is that really you?”

“Scootaloo!” Dash yelled while showing a look of happiness on her face, “Yeah it’s me, Scoot, I just can’t believe that you’re here!

“Dash!” The orange filly, presumably called Scootaloo, replied in an ecstatic voice, “You’re back! Omigoshomigosh! I knew you would come back! I knew that you weren’t dead! I just knew it! Wait, you’ve gotta meet everyone! They’ll be so happy when they find out they you’re still here! Follow me, come on!”

“Okay, okay” Dash replies as Scootaloo begins to tug on her, clearly overwhelmed but happy, “But he’s coming with us.”

“Um, okay” The orange filly replies, clearly unsure of me as of now, “But make sure he doesn’t pull anything.”

“I won’t” I reply in a gravelly voice. Scootaloo seemed surprised to hear my voice, but she nodded her head in approval.

Scootaloo begins walking down the trapdoor and motions for me and Dash to follow her. I follow closely behind Dash as we make our way down the narrow corridor, dimly lit by the occasional torch. After about thirty seconds of walking, we came to a halt at an iron door.

A panel of metal slid across the door, revealing a pair of amber eyes.

“Dash!” Exclaimed the pony behind the door as her eyes widened in surprise, “Scoot, where did you find her?”

“Not now Lyra” Scootaloo replied, clearly anxious to get behind the door, “Let us in.”

“Wait a minute” Lyra replies as her eyes lock on me, “Who’s he?”

“I dunno, but Rainbow Dash seems to trust him” Responds the small pegasus.

“Okay, fine” says Lyra while gazing upon me with an untrusting gaze, “But he better not hurt anyone.”

I watch as the door swings open to reveal the identity of Lyra, a mint-colored unicorn pony whose pale cyan mane has a white highlight stripe running down it. She looked at me with an suspicious glance before slouching back in her seat next to the door. Presumably she was the door guard to this colony.

“C’mon, we’re almost there!” Scootaloo announced excitedly, “Just down this hallway!”

I see another door coming up, with a glow coming up underneath it. I could practically feel the anticipation given off by the two pegasi as we walked down the narrow hallway.

I just hoped that whatever was behind that door wouldn’t cause Dash to abandon me. Because no matter how awful this world gets, when I’m with her everything feels perfect.

Perfect

Chapter 6:The Confession

Okay everybrony, this is the finale! An epic 2.5k word chapter that concludes this portion of Iron Storm’s story. I’m sorry if this took too long (Damn you, writer’s block), but I hope you enjoy it.

“Here we go,” Announces Scootaloo excitedly, “Welcome to Haven, the safest place in the wastes!”

I’ve seen underground vaults before, even underground homes. This is not an underground home; this is a fucking underground city! I have absolutely no idea how they built it, but it is impressive and looked well deserving of the title ‘safest place in the wastes’. Ponies are everywhere, just walking around doing their day to day business. Hell it even looks like there are a few pegasi flying around, which makes sense considering the ceiling is roughly five stories high!

It takes me awhile for me to take in the sight and judging by the looks of Dash; she is in just as much disbelief as me. Scootaloo looks quite proud of the city, as she begins to boast about it.

“Yep, biggest outpost in these parts of the wastes, nicest ponies, and cleanest water.”

Clean water. Two words you barley ever heard together. I can’t believe that they actually have access to such a valuable resource.

“Well,” Scootaloo starts, clearly getting impatient with us, “I’ll let the mayor fill you in on whatever else you need to know. Her house is this way, follow me!”

She leads us at a lively trot through a portion of the city, which is even bigger once you get inside it. Most of the houses are one-story homes though. I’m also noticing that barley any ponies have weapons at their side, which seems odd to me. I shrug it off and turn my attention to Dash.

Dash seems to be just as amazed as I am at the sheer scale of everything. I see tears forming in her eyes, tears of joy. Her world hadn’t collapsed in her sleep, she got lucky. I feel happy for her; I am glad that she won’t have to go any longer wondering what happened to her friends. I feel a smile come across my face.

“Okay, we’re here!” Scootaloo suddenly announces. I am surprised that we reached the house so quickly. The house is your basic fare; a few windows, a door, and brick construction. There is a sign on the door that says mayor in bold lettering.

Dash quickly bolts up to the door and gives it a fierce knock. I hear a mare’s voice on the other end.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Geez, I don’t get paid enough muffins for this.”

I have no idea what to expect when the door opens, but what I see is far from what anypony would expect for the mayor. A grey pegasus pony with a pale yellow mane steps out from behind the door, taking both me and Dash aback. She tries to give us a serious glare, but her wall-eyed look prevents her from succeeding in that attempt and actually makes her look rather goofy, a term rarely used in the wastes. I give her a funny look, unintentionally.

“Hey!” She yells at me in a threatening tone, “Don’t judge me by my looks, It’s a serious medical condition. I’m still just as capable of running a town, no, I’m more capable of running a town than anypony I know!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you” I reply in an apologetic tone, “But we have more important matters to deal with now.” I gesture to Rainbow Dash. “This mare, who you might know as Rainbow Dash, used to live here before The Strike. I escorted her here from her former home on her request, but I think that you might want to her story first.”

I see the mayor’s eyes widen as she looks at Rainbow Dash.

“Dash, is that you?” She asks in disbelief, “Come in, come in!”

I walk into the house, which seems normal enough. The mare leads us to what I believe to be a living room, as it has three chairs set up in a circular pattern with a coffee table between them. The mayor sits down on one of the chairs, and gestures for me and Dash to do the same. Once we are all seated, she begins talking.

“Dash, is that really you?” Asks the mayor, still in apparent disbelief, “We all thought that you had died when The Strike hit three years ago. Where were you?”

“Well,” Dash begins to explain, “This might sound really weird, but I went to sleep before The Strike, and then woke up and the world was like this. Yesterday, woke up to the wastes, and at first, I didn’t even think anything of it.”

I watch as the mayor listens in confusion and awe.

“After I woke up,” Dash continues, “I decided to fly around, you know, like I always do. This time, when nearing the Everfree forest, I heard a scream, so I decided to check it out. I found him”, She gestures toward me,”I found him as he was passing out from what looked like blood loss. He had a huge, gaping hole in his chest. I couldn’t just let him die there, so I took him back to my house. This is the part that I don’t understand. How did you manage to stand on clouds?”

“Well,” I show the bottoms of my hooves to reveal a disc-looking thing implanted in my hooves, “This device, allows me to stand on clouds, never came in handy until now.”

“Okay, well anyways” Dash continues her story, “I patched him up. Then when he woke up, he seemed annoyed by my ignorance of everything, because I had no idea about any of this Strike stuff. After he told me the story of how the world ended up this way, I felt like I was lost. I didn’t know if anyone I knew was alive. So I asked him if I could tag along, and he said yes. He helped me through this world and he didn’t ask for anything in return. I don’t think I would’ve made it very far without him.”

“Long story short” Dash says, apparently at her conclusion, “He saved my life.”

I tried to absorb what Dash had just said. Saved her life? I guess I did, wow. I thought that I was just keeping her spirits high.

“Well Stranger,” Starts the mayor, “I guess we have you to thank for Dash being alive, is there any way that we can repay you?”

“Actually,” I begin, “Just her being alive is enough of a reward for me. And call me Iron Storm.”

“Okay then, Iron Storm,” Says the mayor,” You can call me Derpy Hooves.”

“Okay then, Derpy” I say, “I don’t mean to pry, but could you tell me how the FUCK you managed to make an entire underground city!?!?!”

“We couldn’t have done it without Twilight’s magical abilities” Admits Derpy, “She exerted so much into clearing this area, we are forever grateful to her.”

“Wait, Twilight!” Dash perks up immediately, “Is she still here? Can I talk to her?”

“Sorry Dash” Derpy said sadly, “Twilight and the other elements of harmony left Haven some time ago to fix the world.”

“Oh” I watch Dash deflate.

Goddammit! I thought, this shit isn’t fair, why does she have to be in pain constantly! She didn’t do shit!

“Well we’ve gotta go, right Storm?” Asks Dash sadly.

“Where are you going?” Derpy asks Dash, “We have plenty of houses that are unused, and we always have room for an old friend.”

At this Dash smiles at Derpy and gives her a hug.

“Thanks.” Dash says.

“Do you want to stay,” Asks Derpy in a grateful tone, “After hearing about what you did for Dash, I think that you deserve a house.”

“I dunno,” I contemplate the idea, “I don’t know if I can slow down that much. I don’t know. I need to think about this.”

Both mares stare at me as I exit the room, trying to collect my thoughts. I exit the house and sit on the porch and think about the pros and cons of living here.

Well one good thing is that there won’t be any more fighting to survive, no more daily worries. On the down side, what am I good at but fighting? Nothing, plain and simple. I get a rush every time I swing my sword. I continue to think, But there is one thing that there is no downside to; Rainbow Dash. I’ll be able to see her every day. That would be awesome, but would she even still hang out with me? Dammit! So much shit!

I sit there, just trying to collect my thoughts when I hear the door open. I look over to see Dash walk out and stare at me with her rose eyes. She walks over to me and lies down next to me. She puts her muzzle close to my ear.

“Storm, don’t go” She whispers in a pleading voice, “Please, you saved me; I don’t want you to go. Please, don’t leave.”

I see tears building up in her eyes now. There is no way that I could say ‘no’ now, I would a heartless monster. Even I have morals.

“Okay, Dash” I whisper back, “I’ll stay, I’ll stay. Don’t cry anymore. Please”

As I sit with her, every con on my mental list becomes insignificant compared to the prospect of having to live without her. I don’t think that I could do it.

“Storm, could you, um stay with me tonight?” I hear Dash faintly say in my ear, “I mean, I feel safer when you’re around.”

My heart skips a beat as I respond to her offer.

“Yeah, sure Dash. I’ll stay with you.”

I hold her close, never wanting to lose her. I see her face, full of dried tears and shattered dreams. Dreams that she will never be able to accomplish. But I see something else other than those two things; I see hope.

I never want her to lose hope. Never want her to give up. I never want to give up on her. When I’m with her, nothing else matters.

After about ten minutes of sitting there with Dash, I decide to get up.

“Come on, I’ll show you where my new house is!” Says Dash in an exited voice, tugging at my legs.

“Okay, let’s go then.” I reply, “Chuckling at the cyan mare’s sudden upbeat tempo.”

We walked side by side through the streets of Haven, enjoying each other’s company. I was amazed at the prospect of a town that was, well, safe. Safety, as you could guess, was not very common in the wastes. In fact, this was the first time that I ever felt safe.

I don’t care that I’m safe, however. I only want what’s best for Dash. I could care less about my own well-being. I have never known peace and do not want to. If I become accustomed to peace, then I will be shocked when it is taken away. Like I said before, noting is consistent in my life except war and hate.

Eventually, Dash came to a halt in front of a house. There was nothing particularly special about this house; I noticed a dusty, old sign near the door: Rainbow Dash. Apparently, they were expecting Dash back a long time ago, then gave up hope and forgot about her.

“Well, here we are.” Dash announces, barely able to contain her excitement, “Ready?”

“Yeah Dash, I’m ready.”

I look into her eyes and then back at the door. She takes out the key and puts it into the lock. I hear a click.

Dash looks at me happily, and then walks through the door; I follow closely behind, ready to pour my heart out for Dash.

Once we’re inside, I notice that the house is fully furnished, which is odd, but nice. I close the door behind me. Dash leads me to what I assume to be the living room, where she takes a seat on the couch. I take a seat next to her. I figure that this is the best time to let her know how I really feel about her.

“Dash, I need to tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“Remember when I told you that you were my favorite part of the wastes?”

“Uh huh.”

“I wasn’t kidding. You make my life worth living, before you came along, I lived simply to live. Now I live for you. Hate and anger used to be all that I knew; now I know happiness. I never knew who I was or where I was from, but when I’m with you, I could care less. I only know killing, but when I’m with you, I only wish for peace. I only wish for what is best for you.”

Dash sat there shaking, trying to absorb what he had just said. It was like their first talk all over again, except this time, he cared about the outcome. The time of reckoning was now, as a shaken Dash opened her mouth to speak.

“Storm, I never knew you cared like that. I just assumed you were taking care of me. I didn’t know that you actually had feelings for me. I knew that you killed to live, but I had no idea that hate was all you knew.”

Her cheeks start to glow a soft red color as she continues.

“If pain was all that I knew, then I don’t think that I could go on. You not only continued to live, you saved my life multiple times. You showed me honest compassion in a world like this, you helped me keep hope. I like you a lot, that’s why I invited you to stay with me. I didn’t want to tell you, though, because I thought that you might not feel the same about me.”

By the time she finishes, she is blushing furiously, her cheeks a bright red. She begins to stare at the ground nervously. I take my hoof and place it under her chin, lifting her face up to eye level. I begin to talk

“Dash, I don’t think that you understand what I’m getting at. When I’m with you, I feel like I could crush mountains and raise valleys. You fill me with a power greater than any that I had ever known. That power is the power of love.”

Dash looks like she just saw a ghost. For a few seconds, I think that I just blew everything. Fucking shit! Why did I have to be so blunt? Goddammit that sounded corny.

“I love you too, Storm.” Said Dash happily as she wrapped her hooves around me and buried her head in my chest.

I feel as if I had just died and gone to heaven. I was beyond happy. The one thing that I loved in the entire world actually loved me back.

I wrap my hooves around her tightly, never wanting to let her go. She lifts her head up from the embrace and looks me in the eyes.

“Did I ever tell you that you have amazing eyes?” I say softly

The next thing I knew, Dash was kissing me, on the lips. My mind is reeling with ecstasy and I swore that every second I spent with her was better than the last. It tastes like the sweetest piece of candy that I’ve ever tasted. I can’t even describe my feelings at this point, as both I and Rainbow were reveling in the embrace.

I was laying there with Dash for hours before I started to hear her snore. She had fallen asleep in my hooves again. This was like that night in the cave, but about twenty percent better. All in all, this is a great conclusion to a perfect day, and hopefully a final conclusion to all of my sadness and rage.

I’m really sorry if this felt rushed, again. Anyways, I just want all you bronies out there to tell me what you think of this story, and keep in mind that this is my first fanfic, so I'm always looking for constructive criticism, NOT GRAMMER NAZIS. I have an idea for a TF2/MLP crossover where Scout get trapped in Equestria, tell me what you think of the idea in the comments.

Remake

If you enjoyed Stranger, then you might want to check out the rewrite I'm doing.

Here: Stranger: Revised and Rebooted