“Yea, and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”

I slowly sat up in the hundred year old bed that supported me during the night. My mouth stretched wide in a morning yawn. Strands of mane filled my view of the shack that I had taken shelter in the night before. I took in a deep breath, smelling stale and musty air; it made me cough before, I shook my head. Twisting my body out of the bed and onto my hooves, a few locks of my jet-black mane hung in front of my face; with a huff of breath they fled to the side of my head. After a quick stretch that resulted in a few satisfying pops; a wave of silence fell over me for a moment. My eyes diverted themselves to a pile of leather that was my barding, which lay at the foot of the bed. Flaring my horn with a subtle blue glow, I lifted my leather armor a couple inches away from my body. With a hoof, I swept away the thin coat of dirt that it had gathered the night before. I let out a small yawn, before I began strapping the pieces of armor to my body. Once I finished fastening the last straps, I trotted over to the old desk where I’d set my equipment. An old 9mm pistol rested on top of my saddlebags. I’d found it some time ago, next to some poor bastard’s corpse. It wasn’t in the greatest of shape, but it was all I had. The wood grip was cracked and worn with the checkering nearly gone. Steel was showing through where the black finish was worn. The sights were bent to hell, but usable. It had saved my hide more than once, especially from those damned molerats, the little ass pains.

Picking up the pistol’s holster with a practiced ease, I strapped it to my left shoulder. The fact that I could use my mouth to pull this thing was a big plus. Not many unicorns in the wasteland actually used their mouth, as magic was a mite more convenient, but this way, I had a faster draw, which came in handy on more than one occasion. The buckle snapped into place with an audible click, and I lifted the pistol, bringing with it a magazine of 9mm ammo. With a soft sigh I slipped it in the grip of the pistol before pressing down on the slide release, chambering a round. I took the 2 extra magazines and dropped them into the little chest pockets I’d sewn onto my vest and tossed the saddlebags over my flanks.They were devoid of anything of value -- just a low amount of caps, an extra box of ammo, a couple cans of food, a few bottles of water and a small first-aid kit. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get by from day to day. I glanced over at what remained of a shattered old mirror to double check everything. I stared briefly at the blue eyed, grey coated figure looking back at me before heading out the door.

I looked around the shack one more time to see nothing except for the old bed which I slept in the night before and a few pieces of trash scattered about the cramped interior With everything checked and strapped in; I walked to the door,taking a deep breath before opening it. “Here’s to another day in hell,” I muttered before opening the door. The sudden flood of light that came through the open door blinded; making me thrust my left leg into the air shielding my eyes for a moment; allowing them to adjust to the filtered sunlight. “Celestia’s fat ass, that’s bright.” I muttered, lowering my hoof down to the hard ground below. I blinked a few times, looking around the ruined remains of the once bustling city of Baltimare. The sound of the howling wind carried distant gunfire to my ears. I sighed softly before trotting over to the road next to me. I looked to the south and my right towards the ruins, turned left and began walking towards the silhouette of a small cluster of buildings. The campfire smoke rising up from it almost making it inviting…for raiders, that is.

I shifted my eyes back and forth looking for anything dangerous…well for anything that was dangerous near me; everything in this hellhole is dangerous. It didn’t take me more than an hour to reach the town. I stopped at the gate with four armed guards patrolling around the top of the steel and wood wall looking out for raiders. I looked up at the name that was painted on the large banner that was flapping in the wind. ‘Welcome to Resort’ From what I remember from the last time I was here, you could find anything that you need for the short term, weapons, ammo, maintenance for gear and other supplies that you would need to survive.Plus all the food, sleep, and chems you could ever want. If you had the caps that is. Maybe that’s why they named it Resort; because it gave you the time to relax and heal. I waited a moment before a single guard saw me. She peeked over the wall with a small glare in her green eyes. Her dark purple mane was tied back in a ponytail. A scar ran from her left cheek to her chin making a pink stripe through her egg white coat. She had a frown on her face with a raised eyebrow. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice a bit on edge and cold. A professional type.

I cleared my throat and looked up at the mare. “My name's Jack Rabbit. I’m just here to trade and look for some work.” I responded, my voice a bit rough from the lack of water.

She narrowed her eyes and began looking me over as if she was studying me. The mare continued this for a moment before snickering. “Alright, if you cause any trouble, you’ll be dealing with me. Got that?” She retorted. I nodded silently. “Alright, open the gate!” She yelled moving away from the edge of the wall. A few moments later, a large section of metal slab screeched as it was moved to the side by the three heavily built Earth bucks with ease. The thought of getting punched by one of them almost made me flinch. But, I just shook it off before entering Resort. As I trotted through the town I noticed that everypony was carrying various weapons from a few tiny pistols that my 9mm could beat in a gunfight to bigger, nastier weapons.. I could spot a few assault rifles, hunting rifles, and even a missile launcher battle saddle! I definitely didn’t want to piss anyone off around here. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash to my left. Turning my head, I saw a brown earth pony getting thrown out of a bar. I stopped to see what was going on. The pony got on his hooves to reveal his face was bloody and bruised badly; his breathing was heavy and labored like he was ready to blackout at anytime.

A moment later, two large ponies both clad in combat armor came out of the bar, looming over the brown pony. The one on the right, an orange unicorn buck a bit taller then me with a slicked back light green mane spoke up. His voice seemed deeper than it should. It looked like it should have belonged to the blue monster that stood right next to him. “You think you can get away with stealin’ caps?” The buck shook his head slightly like he was mockingly disappointed at the injured buck. “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. You know what the punishment for stealin’ is right?” The injured back stood there silently; his legs wobbling as they struggled to hold his weight. Then, like the crack of a whip; the orange guard pulled a pistol and fired. The sudden gunshot made me flinch as they looked upon the corpse of the now-dead buck. The bullet had gone through his left eye, tearing apart the upper left part of his skull and spraying brain matter across the ground. Blood was rushing away from his body as if it was eager to be absorbed by the earth. I felt sick, but I didn’t have any breakfast, so I couldn’t lose anything. I looked back towards the orange guard who had his smoking 10mm pistol pointed at the corpse. He smiled and turned to the monster-sized buck next to him, “River, please give me the caps that he stole and dispose of the body.”

River blew a strand of yellow mane out of his face before grunting. “Yes, sir.” His voice seemed disgruntled towards his partner.

The orange guard chuckled with a smirk before turning around and going back inside the bar. I continued looking at the body of the buck whose name that nopony would ever know. That’s the wasteland for ya. One moment you could be alive, and the next a bullet could end it like it was nothing. I shook my head getting rid of that thought, even though it will always be there. I turned away from the body as River slung it onto his back and carried off to Luna knows where. Hopefully I wouldn't find out anytime soon. I looked back and forth at the small buildings before I made my way towards a small one with a few Brahmin out front with a few ponies strapping supply packs to them. I stopped at the door and looked up at the name of the building. ‘Hay’s Caravan Company’. I sighed a bit and looked down at my depressingly low supply of caps.

I looked back at the door before slowly opening it to reveal a room that looked bigger on the inside than it did outside. There was a receptionist at her desk typing away at a beaten old terminal that had seen better days. I looked around before I slowly walked in. The door closed behind me. I looked around the room to see a few ponies sitting around in leather and metal armor, conversing with each other while they prepared their weapons. What caught my eye was that each of them were wearing large, softly glowing greenly, metallic bands around their forelegs. They seemed familiar but, I couldn’t place my hoof on it. I stood there thinking about it for a moment before shrugging and walking the rest of the way to the receptionist.

I stood there for a moment as she tapped away on the terminal; her shiny black mane moving side to side in time with her typing. Her green eyes had bags under them and as if to make sure everypony got the memo, she let out an enormous yawn.. I cleared my throat which got her attention and she looked up with a raised eyebrow. She coughed and looked me in the eye. “May I help you?”

I scratched the back of my head nervously before speaking. “Um, I’m just here to see if there is a job opening available. Is there one that I could fill, ma’am?” I asked with a nervous smile.

She considered me for a moment with a raised eyebrow before silently tapping away at the terminal with a sigh. “We have a recent opening for a caravan security position attached to a caravan leaving for Friendship City at noon sharp.moving her glasses and wiping her face. “You seem like a nice, guy so, I’ll give it to you straight. This job isn’t for everypony.” She paused a moment before she looked me over before speaking again. “This will be difficult, you know that right? Raiders everywhere, dangerous plants and animals, and robots? Not to mention the long distance you have to travel.” She peeled her eyes from the screen to me. “Are you sure that you want to do this job?”

I nodded. “Yes, Ma’am”

She sighed before removing her glasses and wiping her face. “You seem like a nice, guy. So i’ll ask again. Are you sure that you want to do this job?” her voice was filled with a little concern but, I had a feeling she didn’t really care.

I nodded again, feeling a little unsure if I should do this. “Yes, ma’am.”

She looked at me again and sighed before taking out a clipboard. “First, I have to ask you a few questions. Depending on your answers, I’ll determine whether or not you become a guard. You ready?” I nodded in response.

She looked me dead in the eye. “What’s your name, son?” her voice seemed practiced and tuned right, probably from using the same lines over and over again day in and day out.

“Name’s Jack Rabbit, Ma’am.” I said with a little pride behind my name.

“Alright, Jack. My name is Files. What race are you? This is for records.”

I raised an eyebrow before speaking. “I’m a unicorn, ma’am.”

She nodded again before checking something off on a clipboard. “Next question, have you had any past experience with Brahmin?”

I shook my head. “No, ma’am”

She checked something off on the clipboard. “Have you traveled at all? If so with a group or alone? And for how long?”

“Yes, ma’am. I traveled with a group for a while but, we were attacked by raiders during a scavenging run; during which we got separated… I haven’t seen any of them since. Since then, I’ve traveled alone for about a year ‘til this point.” I said feeling a pang of guilt at the mention of the group.

She wrote down some things; the pencil in her mouth having deep bite marks. She spat it out and looked at me again. “Have you ever used a Pip-Buck? If so, for how long?” she asked in the same practiced tone.

I shook my head. Oh hell yeah! That’s what those bands were. I’m an idiot! “No, ma’am. I haven’t ever used a Pip-Buck. Haven’t come across any, but I‘m willing to learn if necessary.” Yeah, they’re rare as hell. Usually, the only ponies that have Pip-Bucks are Stable ponies that just left their stables for some odd reason or some lost pony that is looking for a love she knows she’ll never have. But, to even find a working Pip-Buck in the wasteland is a miracle itself but, finding it isn’t the hardest part the real trick is getting the damn thing on. From what I’ve heard you have to have a special tool built specifically for that purpose. That was next to impossible to find. This is just common sense really. I’m no expert.

She sighed again before writing down again on the clipboard. “Ok, last question. Have you ever killed somepony? If so, for what reason?” she asked again in the same tone but, this time there was a little…curiosity? I don’t know but, it felt a little more like she was asking a personal question.

I sighed and looked at her in the eyes. “Yes, ma’am,I’ve killed once. For one
reason. Survival. I’ve killed several animals during my time as a small time hunter so I can hold my own.

She looked a little relieved to hear what I just said. “Ok, from this I can tell that you are qualified for being a caravan guard for Hay’s Caravan Company. Congratulations.” I smiled a bit as she continued. “You’ll be paid three hundred caps one way and three hundred on the way back. The pay will come after you delivered the shipment to Friendship City and the rest when you return.” She paused before getting up and going to a safe that sat adjacent to a series of filing cabinets that were probably filled with paper work. When she came to the safe she turned her head to me. “Come on, Jack. I’m going to need to have you over here.” I nodded silently, before making my way to her. When I got to her; she had gotten the safe open that had a Pip-Buck sitting on one of its ends. With her hoof she scooped it up with practiced ease; ease that I envied of earth ponies. She closed the safe before, she turned to me. “Are you lefty or a righty?”

I dangled my right leg. “I’m a ‘righty’, ma’am.”

She giggled a bit. “I thought so.” She nodded, before taking out a small key from a little pocket on her left shoulder. “Give me your left leg then, this will only take a second.” She said kindly. This time it was less of a practiced, professional tone but, more of a…how you say sisterly or motherly kind. I did as she told me and let her take control of my left leg for the time being. With a little hum; she placed the Pip-Buck on my foreleg and closed it like a shackle. I looked down at the device; it felt heavy and bulky. Before I knew it she turned the key, which made a mechanical sound and sealed the Pip-Buck onto my foreleg. She let go of my leg then, the weight of the pip-buck suddenly became apparent. The thing must’ve weighed at least 5 pounds!

Files with a slight hoof motion placed the Pip-Buck key back into her pocket. How they did that was a mystery to me. I placed my hoof on the ground, letting my leg get used to the weight. She spoke again, which broke my train of thought. “That there is a Pip-Buck 3000 on your leg, if you were wondering. I’ll give ya a brief explanation on what it does.” She cleared her throat, before she spoke once more in the same practiced tone. “This Pip-Buck is a masterpiece made by Stable-Tec. This device does a number of marvelous things. It can tell you where you are via topographical map and tells you the location of another Pip-Buck so long as you have the other Pip-Buck’s tag. The Pip-Buck also tells you how healthy you are physically, such as your limbs and how much blood you have left in your body, etc.” She coughed a little, before she continued with her lecture. “Then, there is a special spell matrix that automatically surrounds your saddle bags. The spell matrix scans each and every item that is on your person. Which means it keeps track of your stuff. Anyways, when you need an item just scroll in the items menu and click it with the little orange button. The spell matrix from there will move the item to the top of your bags for easier access."

I nodded slowly, kinda impressed at what this little thing could do. “What else can this thing do?” I asked just out of curiosity.

She smiled a bit. “How about this. Instead of me telling you,why don’t I show you?”

I raised an eyebrow at the question. “Um, sure, why not?”

She nodded a bit before pointing at a row of lockers behind me next to the sitting area. “Inside those lockers are standard caravan weapons. You supply your secondary arms while we supply the ammo for the primary. Now, go pick a weapon and a bandolier of ammo and meet me out back.” She said, her voice going back to the soft, motherly tones. After she finished speaking with me, she trotted out the door next to the lockers.

I stood there for a moment; looking around the room again. The ponies that were sitting in the waiting area talking amongst themselves. I looked at the row of seven lockers. Shrugging I went to a middle one and opened it. The door screamed as metal scraped against itself. I scanned the contents of the locker to see that the weapon and ammo were already taken. Sighing a bit, I went to the one on my left and opened it. The same result, nothing. I did this with four other lockers. Each one just as empty as the last. I got to the last locker at the end of the row furthest from the door. I sighed a bit. “If this last one is empty, might as well give my balls to a hellhound now.” I muttered opening it, revealing the weapon and ammo belt within.. I flared my horn taking the bandolier; its ten pouches all well worn and with more than a few holes. Thinking this is the best that I’m going to get; I lifted my right leg and letting the bandolier pass it without snagging. I wrapped the other end of the bandolier strapping it in place with a fastener making it snug across my chest.

I looked at the small caliber rifle that still sat in the locker before flaring my horn. Taking it out of its little prison. I rotated the bolt and pulled it back to reveal it was already loaded, a 5.56x45 round sitting right below the bolt. I pushed the bolt forward, chambering the round with a small clink. When was the last time this thing even saw the word oil? I studied the entire length of the rifle. The bluing on the barrel and receiver was fading, just like my pistol. There were a few dents and dings on the wooden stock, but somehow its finish is outlasting the barrel’s. I aimed down the sights, which weren’t all that great considering it’s a really beaten up rifle overall. No telling if the word, “zeroing” had ever even been spoken around them. Taking a breath, I put the rifle’s sling over my neck letting it set on top of my saddle bags. I looked to my right to where the door was before sighing. I trotted over to the door and opened it. The same damn sun blinded me again. “Luna’s forsaken asshole, that’s the second time that’s happened today.” I cursed, rubbing my eyes again before blinking to reveal a giggling Files. “It ain’t funny.” I hissed

She giggled again. “Oh, come on now. You would do the same if I were blinded by the filtered sunlight twice in one day.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You said you wanted to show me the last part of the Pip-Buck?” I asked my curiosity getting over the slight embarrassment.

She smiled again before walking around the corner and up a small hill. “Come on, Jack.” I silently followed her to the top of the hill. She was sitting down on her haunches when I got to her. She looked at the weapon I had dragged out of the ass end of the barrel. “So you got stuck with that crappy old thing, huh?”

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah but, hey I’m a good shot; so, I’ll make due with what I got,” I responded with a bit of confidence.

She raised an eyebrow before smiling a bit. “Alright, if you are so cocky then, shoot those Sparkle-Cola bottles.” She said indicating that bottles by pointing her hoof to a neat row of five empty Sparkle-Cola bottles that sat perched on a wooden fence. One round, one bottle. She watched me as I brought the rifle to my shoulder. I took a deep breath and let it out but before I could get a shot off, she tapped my shoulder. I turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “How about a little wager?”

I kept my eyebrow raised. “A wager?”

A smirk grew across her face. “Yes, a wager. If you can hit those bottles without missing a single shot, then the rifle is yours to keep and maybe if you're nice, you'll get a few extra rounds.” She replied, in with slight chuckle.

I nodded my head at the proposal. “Alrighty, that sounds good but, what’s the catch?”

“Oh, that’s the good part. If you miss a single shot. You’ll owe me a favor of my choosing. You’ll still get to keep the rifle, though, just for being polite, Jack.” She said, smiling softly; which put me kinda at ease. That favor part still bothered me though.. “So? Do we have a deal?” She asked, sticking out her hoof.

I sighed, thinking about it for a bit before speaking up. “Why the hell not. You’re on.” I shook her hoof with mine before aiming down the sights at the first bottle. I took aim at the first bottle, slowing my breathing as I concentrated. Inhale; line up the shot. Exhale; squeeze the trigger. Bap! The bullet sped out of the barrel and hit the Sparkle-Cola bottle, shattering it into hundreds of sharp pieces. I rotated the bolt and pulled back in one fluid motion; ejecting the empty shell before I slammed the bolt back home, chambering another round. My ears ringing a bit from the shot of the round. I aimed at the next bottle; firing again with the same result.

I ejected the empty case again and reloaded. I fired once more, getting the another hit. I reloaded; the sound of shells hitting each other reached my ears. I aimed again at the fourth bottle and fired once more. The bullet pulverized it, making the last bottle the last one standing.. I aimed at the last one and took a slow and steady breath before I pulled the trigger. But as I fired, a sudden gust of wind blew my aim a little to the right; making me miss the shot. I stared at the last bottle with an open jaw.

I kept staring at the bottle while a smiling Files went down to it. “Well, looks like you owe me a favor.” She smirked. “But, that will be for a later date.” She turned around to face me before, her face turned sour. She galloped to me at full speed before, making me turn around. What I saw was a few Molerats attacking some Brahmin. She took my left leg, almost making me fall over. She tapped away at something before; my vision became blurry and brighter. I blinked once to see that something was in my vision. I looked at it and I could see something that resembled a HUD of a helmet. “Use your SATS and lock on to those Molerats before they hurt the Brahmin even more!” she exclaimed, pointing at the three Molerats.

I looked at her concerned. “What is SATS!?” I asked my voice filled with panic.

“Just concentrate hard on the Celestia damn Molerat! The Pip-Buck will take care of the rest!” She irritably explained. I took dropped the magazine, making a small rattle before I opened one of the bandolier pouches and took out another magazine. I inserted it and reloaded. I took a hard breath. I could feel my heart pounding hard, just before I concentrated hard. What happened next amazed me. Everything slowed from a sprint to a dead stop. My vision then zoomed into the Molerats. I could see three of them. They were in a semicircle around one Brahmin as they clawed away at it. I didn’t really know what to do, so I focused on the Molerat closest to me; it had percentages all around its limbs, probably the chances of me hitting the damned thing. I had a 78% chance at hitting the torso of the Molerat. I made a mental sigh before I tried to pull the trigger.

A indicator came in the corner of my E.F.S that said Molerat: Torso. I looked at the bar below it to see that a third of it was taken up. I queued two more times before the bar was empty, but when I tried it a fourth time it wouldn’t let me.”Fucking hell!” I thought while looking at the molerats frozen in mid-attack against the brahmin. I released SATS and fired, the spell augmenting my speed and accuracy to far beyond my own admittedly impressive ability. The first shot was a little high, but the bullet hit the Molerat standing behind the one I was aiming for. The bullet went through the Molerat’s thick skull and into its brain, spraying gore behind it and onto the ground. The next two rounds hit home in the center of the beast’s chest. It went down and didn’t get back up. The last one reared up on its hind legs, looked at me, and snarled. It tried to charge at me, forgetting the brahmin until a raised hoof pulverized the Molerat’s head.

I flinched a little when the sound of the Brahmin’s heavy hooves smashing the Molerat’s skull. “That doesn’t sound pleasant.” I muttered to myself but, Files’ ears perked up as if she heard it.

“Yeah, it ain’t pleasant, and neither is the wasteland. You’re a good shot, I'll give ya that, but you could do better.” She looked back at me with a smile. “Also, when you return i want the Pip-Buck back along with the gear you are borrowing. But, enough of that." She cleared her throat So, you wanna meet with the rest of the team?” She asked.

I shrugged. “Alright, if its gonna be a long walk might as well get myself acquainted.”

She nodded walked past me towards the door. I guess the ponies waiting in the seating area were the rest of the team. I followed closely behind her. As we walked it in could feel the eyes on me. I wanted to freeze or run away like a feral ghoul from bright light. The door closed behind me with a soft click. Files stood next to me and tapped my shoulder. I turned my head looking at her in the eyes. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Her voice seemed confident about something, but I didn’t know about what. That I would make new friends? Doubtful.

I followed her back to the seating area where the others were They were all armed with various weapons -- probably the choice ones from the lockers. Some of them didn’t really pay me much mind, but two of them looked like they were studying me. Were they sizing me up -- were they looking for weaknesses to exploit? The black buck sitting alone and keeping to himself; who wore a cloak which covered the majority of him; why he was wearing it, I don’t know. Probably for the wind and rain, but whatever. The black and white mane that shielded most of his face hid part of his brown eyes. I couldn’t tell more, other than the fact that he looked small for an earth pony; a bit shorter then me. A small caliber lever action leaned against the wall next to him; definitely one of the weapons from the lockers.

I turned my attention to the buck who looked like wet sand, which was the second one observing me. He was more open about his appearance, such as color of his mane, coat and eyes. He struck me as an intelligent type by the way he methodically studied me, intently eyeing my equipment piece by piece from head to hoof.. His dark red eyes shifted back and forth, dashing between strands of a mane the color of dried blood. I hoped that wasn’t his natural mane color. He was definitely an Earth pony from the way he was built, although not as big as River from earlier, but still about a good four inches taller then me if not more. He wore what looked like a scraped together leather jacket with a bandolier of 20 gauge shotgun shells stretching across his chest. I could see his cutie mark or bits of it. It had to do something with wiring or something like that. Maybe a technician? What finished his look was the fact that he was loading shells into his bandolier and into his caravan shotgun. Nice choice. Not my style, but still. The shotgun itself seemed to be in better condition than my shitty varmint rifle. What can ya do?

I stood there for a moment silent; not knowing what to say before Files spoke up. “Alright, you slackers. We got the final member of our latest caravan. His name is Jack Rabbit. I expect that you would treat him like you would the rest of the guards.”

Just as she said that a random guard commented, “What? Like a piece of shit? Got ya sugar tits.” I turned to the source of the comment to see that it belonged to the brown buck who was studying me a moment ago.

Files pinched the bridge of her nose with her hoof. “I don’t get paid enough for this job.” She hissed under her breath. Standing next to her, only I heard it. She looked up and deadpanned, “Tracer, I know that you don’t like new blood but don’t scare this one off because we're short hoofed as it is, and the janitors keep saying that they could use some extra help... or I’ll have Mr. Hay either fire you or take you off the next several caravans. Got it?” She said the last part with a bit of venom as if it wasn’t a threat but a promise.

I was the only one to get this, when Tracer nodded and sighed. “Sorry, ma’am. It won’t happen again.” He said, his voice sounded hollow at the ‘won’t happen again’ part. Something tells me this guy is gonna be a pain in the ass. He looked at me with a bit of a smirk, like I was food to him. Eeyup, this guy has ‘douche’ written all over him. The one at the end of the row though, seemed distant; he was avoiding all eye contact with anyone. He felt off, looked it, too. He seemed cleaner than most ponies in the wasteland. Not as being filthy but, as in scars. Usually, if anypony is out for the wasteland for long enough; they always get a collection of scars. Somehow, this one didn’t seem to have all that many.

I looked at Files. “When are we leavin’, ma’am?” I asked, hoping to get this thing in high gear, whatever that meant.

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow before looking at her own Pip-Buck. “Oh, shit. If you don’t leave in ten minutes, then y’all’re going to be late.” She looked at the rest of the group. “You all get your asses up and movin’ before I give them a kick start!” Files barked, making everypony, including Tracer, jump up, grab their gear, and go. They were all scared of her and I could see why. One moment she can be the sweet receptionist, and the next she is the mare you don’t wanna mess with. She looked at me with a glare. “That means your ass too, Jack.”

Getting the message loud and clear; I followed the group of guards outside in a speedy trot towards the Brahmin pens. There was a group of four Brahmin all fully packed by their handlers and merchants. The merchants looked at us just before we got to them. “Took your sweet ass time getting here.” The mare merchant said while she tightened a strap on the heavily burdened animal. Her merchant clothes and barding hid any sense of color to her coat and mane. “Next time, I’m just going to leave you all and have you catch up.” She turned to us before she looked at each one of us. Now I could see that she was a light purple Earth pony but, all of her mane was hidden by her hat. She raised her hoof and pointed at me. “You, the one with the varmint rifle.”

I looked side to side and pointed to myself. “Me?” I asked.

The merchant face hoofed. “Yes, you idiot. You’re the only one with a varmint rifle.” She muttered something under her breath; most likely that I’m an idiot even though she just said it. She took a deep breath. She trotted to me and stared me eye to eye. She was maybe an inch shorter than me but, she kinda scared me. “What’s your name?” Her voice was calm but, firm. She looked me up and down from my horn to my hooves.

I looked at her as she looked back up. I responded, “My name is Jack Rabbit.”

She looked at me again. “How good of a shot are you?” She asked looking at the rifle on my back.

I just shrugged a little. “I say I’m ok shot maybe two hundred yards without trying maybe three hundred if I try. Why?” I asked truly curious.

She smirked. “Good, then that means you are gonna keep a bit of distance from the caravan and holler if you see any sign of trouble.” She handed me a pair of the most abused binoculars I had ever seen. “Raiders, mercs, animals, even your own mother. If they pose a threat to the caravan, you shoot to kill! You got that?” She said, poking my chest at the last part.

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled. “Great, I’m glad we got that sorted out.” She turned to the rest of the group. “You all know your positions -- get to ‘em!” She shouted to the rest of guards. Something told me I was the only rookie here; joy to the world! The merchant went to the front of the caravan train. I stayed back next to the one who had been keeping to himself the entire time. I looked at him. His face still hidden by the cloak. Even the holster to hold his cowboy repeater was over his cloak along with his bandolier of .357 magnum rounds. He was hiding something. I didn‘t know what and I wanted to find out. I was about to say something to the buck next to me when the mare merchant whistled, getting everypony‘s attention. “Everypony, listen up! We are leaving now! If you want to back out, now’s your chance! If not, quit your bitching and let’s do this!” She hollered before turning around and heading for the gate,he lead Brahmin following closely behind and the one behind it was pulled in the same direction and so on and so forth until all four Brahmin were all in motion.

I stuck close to the third Brahmin while we walked to the gate. It was already being opened by the same three large bucks from earlier. When they got it fully opened, the bucks fell on the ground exhausted. I looked at the slab when I trotted by it and out of the town. The damn thing must be heavy. I turned my head from the gate to straight ahead of me. There they were again; the ruins of Baltimare. Thank Celestia that we aren’t going in that hellhole -- city of death, lies and chaos; so much for the city of commerce. I’d heard about how bad Hoofington was and I’d rather go there then into Baltimare. Good thing we were going to Friendship City. I raised an eyebrow and pondered on how far we have to go before I stopped for a moment to look at the map of my Pip-Buck. I scrolled around a bit seeing nothing but Resort and the other seven Pip-Buck Tags. I followed the road that we were following to see that it went at an interchange before we had to make a turn towards Manehattan then, Friendship City. That’s all I know.

I looked back and forth to see who I can talk to, because if I estimated correctly, it was a five day walk from here to Friendship City. From all the things we had and the long road ahead, I guessed that we would have to re-supply sometime in the next few days. Deciding to use that to break the ice; I turned to the cloaked guard that was trotting right next to me. Even though he looked smaller in town, he was at least a foot taller than me. “Hey, name’s Jack. Nice to meet ya.” I spoke as friendly as I possibly could. The guard shifted his eyes toward me and grunted in acknowledgment before looking back at the empty road ahead. I raised an eyebrow. “Can I get your name?” I asked trying not to sound like a creeper.

He looked at me once more before, speaking. “My name is Bright Night.” He muttered, just barely audible.

I smiled and stuck out my hoof while I kept walking. Hard but manageable. Hey, if I lose a leg in this hellhole at least I know I can manage. “It’s nice to meet you, Bright Night.”

He looked at the hoof for a moment before raising his own and shaking mine. He looked nervous for some reason. “It’s nice to meet you too, Jack.” He looked back at the road again.

Mentally shrugging, deciding to press on with the conversation, I asked, “Bright, are there any stops along the way?”

Bright grunted and slightly nodded his head. “Yes, there are two stops on the way for any supplies that we might need.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Can ya explain some of this to me? I’m kinda new to this caravan thing,” I asked him.

Bright looked at me like I was crazy. “And you decided to take a job in the one of the most dangerous caravan routes?”

I suddenly feel really stupid at what I was about to say. “Yeah, I needed the caps.” I responded.

Bright sighed before chuckling a bit. “You know…you remind me of me when I first started out in this business. So, yeah I’ll tell you everything about this trip. We got a long walk so might as well pass the time.” He chuckled a little.

For the next few hours we made our way past the outskirts of Baltimare and onto the highway system. Most of it, even after the bombs and two hundred years of decay and neglect, still held. Bright told me everything about the trip itself, like the towns that we were stopping in for rest and supplies. One was a small re-supply station owned by Mr. Hay, and the next was a town called Arbu. The re-supply station is where the guards and caravaners can use the caps they made from the jobs to spend for what they need or want. It’s actually a good system if you think about it. It keeps the caps in the business allowing the chances of loss to shrink. When I get there I’m gonna see if I can get something better than my varmint rifle. Oh, wait, I know. I'm complaining because my rifle is a complete piece of shit. He told me a little about Arbu, but not much. He said that they are known for their Radigator farming but, he also told me that he feels something is wrong with those ponies. They seemed too friendly for Bright’s taste; he said they gave him the creeps as they were all too welcoming. Like the kind of ponies that had something to hide but, he just shrugged and moved off that subject. Everypony has a skeleton in their closet.

For the next few hours, literally nothing happened. We walked, took a rest , and walked some fucking more. Nothing but road, road, and did I mention more road? But, there was some dust swirling about in the wind which caught my attention for a bit before it died. When the light began to dim and turn orange from the sunset, the merchant mare at the head of the pack stopped. She halted the lead Brahmin, making the entire caravan stop in its tracks. She turned around and cleared her throat. “Everypony listen up! We are stopping for the night! Get yourselves some rest cause we leave at first light!” She hollered, getting everypony’s attention and a few grunts and nods of acknowledgement. “Now, you all know your watch times and don’t pull that ‘My Pip-Buck’s clock is busted’ bullshit!” she shouted again in a semi-mocking tone.

She loves to yell, doesn’t she? With that,the Brahmin caretakers untied the ropes from each of the Brahmin before leading them to places where they were tied down. Meanwhile, the guards went into two separate groups each making their own little fires. I stood at the edge of the road; wondering which group to go to before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head to see to that it was Bright with a big ol’ smile on his face, which I could barely see through the quickly darkening sky. “Howdy, Jack.”

I smiled and coughed. “Hey, Bright. What’s goin on?” I asked before looking at the two groups again.

He looked at the two groups each had their own fire ablaze before, looking back at me. “I’m about to go sit with the guards, I think you should do the same, Jack.” He looked at the Merchants that were eyeing me while they ate. “The merchants like to keep to themselves, so you might wanna sit with us” He said jokingly, before walking towards the fire with the guards sitting around. “Come on, Jack, it’s time for you to meet the other guards.” He motioned me to follow. But, as he motioned I saw something fall. I began following him to the small group of guards before, Bright just stopped right out of their earshot. He turned his head back to me; his face illuminated by the fire as he stared at me. When he spoke, all playfulness has vanished like water in the sand, and was replaced with the seriousness of a Steel Ranger with a laser rifle. “Whatever you do. Do not mention the Cult of Hakai. Ponies around here don’t like them at all.”

I raised an eyebrow at this, but before I could ask what that was, one of the guards spoke up. “Who’s the fresh meat?” I turned my head to see that it was Tracer. From afar Tracer looked shorter than he actually was. When he stood up to meet Bright; he turned to me and looked down. He asked with a sharp tone.

Bright sighed a little before, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s Jack Tracer. I know you don’t like remembering names but, he is new to the caravanning business so give him some slack before I kick your sorry ass.”

Tracer glared at Bright for a moment before, looking down at me. He stared at me for a moment. “Small little bastard, isn’t he? Why are you wasting your time on him?” He asked, again the word ‘Douche’ was coming off of him in droves.

I raised an eyebrow. “What crawled up your ass and died?” I retorted before, Bright could respond.

Tracer looked at me , this time with a bit of anger in his eyes. “What did you say you little piece of shit?” He barked, getting the attention of the other guards; some of them looked a little confused while others were tensing up, getting ready for the fight that might happen.

I opened my mouth but, before I could respond, Bright stepped in between us; shoving both away from each other. “Enough, you two. We don’t need a fight, save that for the raiders and bugs.” He said looking between both of us; shadows from the fire dancing across his face.

Tracer glared at me for a moment before he shoved his blood red mane from his face with a hoof before, huffing. “Fine, but when you aren’t around,” he said, looking at Bright before poking his chest. “That little fuck is mine,” he said looking at me with a grin.

Bright glared at Tracer back before, knocking away his hoof. “What the hell did he do to you?” Bright snapped.

Tracer chuckled. “Nothing, really. I just love messing with the fresh meat. Since when do you care about fresh meat, Bright?” Tracer asked when his chuckle died. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft on me.”

Just when I was going to burst out and say something that most ponies shouldn’t hear, Bright took a deep breath. “No, I’m not. I’m just giving him a chance. More to the point, it’s his job to make sure nothing gets the jump on us, and given the frankly shit retention rate, just be thankful that we even found a scout. . Now turn your ass around and sit by the fire before I beat your ass so bad the others have to carry you back.” Bright responded with as a calm of a voice as I ever heard.

Tracer raised an eyebrow at this. “Since when did you care about ‘Giving him a chance’? This is the first time I heard you like this, Bright.” Tracer’s voice seemed oddly surprised.

Bright glared at him again. “Well, maybe I have before, but you can’t see anything ten feet past your hoof. Maybe if you didn’t have your face in those comics that you always read you’d notice things.” Bright stepped forward; making Tracer back up for a moment. “Now. Back. The fuck. Off.”

Tracer growled low. “Alright, I'll back off for now, but the moment that you aren't around, I'm going to kick his ass.” Tracer growled. His entire upper body that wasn’t covered by the leather jacket tensed. He huffed before turning around and going back to his spot next to the fire.

Bright took a deep breath, helping him calm down; he turned to me with a smile. “That’s Tracer. As you can tell, he doesn’t like you.”

I snickered at that. “Yeah, no shit.” I looked at Tracer just as he angrily munched on a kebob of unknown food. “What’s up with him, anyways?” I asked, just out of curiosity.

I turned to Bright just as he shrugged. “Hell if I know. He’s always been an ass to the new ponies. But, he’ll warm up to you…if you don’t die that is. Now, come on it’s time to eat; I bet you’re hungry after walking for ten straight hours with only a few breaks inbetween.” He said with a slight chuckle, before trotting to the fire and sitting in an empty spot. I followed suit sitting next to him along with the rest of the guards. I made sure that Tracer was on the other side of the fire. He makes me wanna hug a raider…ok, maybe not that drastic, but still.

My ass grew a bit numb from the cold ground below me, but my front half was kept warm thanks to the fire. The guards began talking to one another, leaving me out of any conversation. Sighing a bit, I flared my horn, taking my saddle bags off and plopping them right in front of me with a dull thud. I open my right one which held all of my food and water. I began digging through it before, I found a can of corn and a bottle of dirty water. Popping the can open with my magic; I began shoveling the corn into my mouth. The hundred eighty five year old corn tasted bland and nasty, but my stomach didn’t care. I kept shoveling the corn in until the can was empty and I tossed it to the side. I made a soft sigh as I felt only half full before, I looked at the murky bottle of water.

“Well…shit.” I muttered before I unscrewed the cap and I levitated it to my mouth. Just before I could get any water down my gullet, Bright knocked the water out of my magic, spilling it. I watched the only water I had be absorbed by the ground, turning it into wet mud. I looked at Bright, a glare beaming from my face. “What the fuck was that for!?” I hissed.

He looked at me with deadpanned face. “I don’t want you to get Rad poisoning.” He said, his voice filled with all seriousness; just before he dug around in his own bag and took out a bottle of purified water. “Take this, ok?” He said just as he threw it to me. Flaring my horn I grabbed it in mid air and in one fluid motion I unscrewed the cap and chugged down half the bottle. “Whoa whoa whoa don’t drink it all.” He chuckled almost taking the bottle from me. I stopped and panted for breath.

“Thanks…I needed that.” I said screwing the cap back on and putting it in my bag.

Bright chuckled and patted my back hard. “It’s alright buddy. Don’t mention it.” His smile vanished a little as he looked toward the wasteland beyond the horizon. “What do you think is going to happen tomorrow, Jack?” He asked his voice seemed…ominous? Maybe, I couldn’t tell at the time.

I didn’t know how to answer that question because anything could happen tomorrow. I scratched the back of my head; wondering how I should answer. I looked up at Bright. “I don’t know, anything could happen. Why do ya ask?” I responded a bit of confusion echoing in my voice.

Bright looked at me and sighed. “I don’t know why but, I feel like something big is going to happen. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, or month or next year but, something…something is going to happen..”

I raised an eyebrow at this. Where did this come from? What was with his sudden shift in mood? “Is something wrong?” I asked, concerned about my only friend. Friend…I thought about that word for a moment. I never had many friends…either they died or left for something…I made a mental sigh before, focusing on Bright. “You can tell me, Bright.”

Bright shook his head slowly and looked away before sighing. “Nothing is wrong. Just a feeling, that’s all.” He responded softly before, looking down at his Pip-Buck. “Well, I say its time to go to sleep. We have a long road ahead of us and we need all the rest we can get.” Just as if they had rehearsed it, all the guards, including Bright, took out blankets and sleep rolls; each of them laying down or sitting down until Tracer and I were the only ones still awake.

Tracer was smoking a cigarette silently while he stared at the dying fire; the dark slowly starting to win the battle. I looked at him before I took out my nearly broken 9mm pistol and sat it on the ground. Flaring my horn, I began the tedious process of disassembling my pistol. While I began cleaning each little part of the simple pistol, Tracer looked up at me seeing how crummy my pistol is before he spoke up. “You call that a pistol?” He asked, getting up and walking around the fire. I tensed as he loomed over me. I slowly turned my head towards him and looked up, before nodding. “Hmmm…you need a new recoil spring and slide.” He sat down and lowered his head to study the parts. “Yeah, not only that, but the rifling in the barrel is nearly gone; so it's pretty much a shotgun.” I was dumbfounded at what he was saying and how expertly he was inspecting each part. How did he know all of this stuff? “The last and most important thing you need is a new firing pin. The damn thing is cracked and after a few more shots it will break and cause the entire gun to become nothing but a paper weight. Get a new gun that takes your ammo, if not mags, as soon as fucking possible.” He said before going back to his bag and scrounging around for something.

I was really confused by this as I looked down at the parts which I had laid out on a small piece of cloth. “What are you doing?” I asked, still dumbfounded at this turn of events.

Tracer came back with a pistol of the same model as my own, only in better condition. “I’m giving you a hoof, that’s what. Now be quiet or I’ll kick your ass.” With that I stayed silent as he worked on my pistol. I didn't even know why he was doing this; that’s what confused me the most. After about five or ten minutes, I didn’t bother keeping track of time, he pushed a repaired 9mm pistol towards me. I looked at it before looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. Tracer just got up and began moving around the fire to his spot. “Even if I don’t like you all that much; I want everypony to come back safe and sound, which means that everypony’s weapons have to be in good condition. Buy me some smokes and we’ll call it even.” He said bluntly before sitting down. Tracer sat there for a moment before laying down on his side. “You got first watch. Wake Bright up in two hours.” he said before softly snoring.

I sighed and holstered my 9mm pistol and looked at the cloud cover. The ever looming clouds were the wasteland’s constant companion. As I was looking up, I saw a flash of light. My jaw slowly hung open as I realized what the light was. It…it was the stars!. The last time that I saw them was as a colt. But before I could say anything the clouds were quickly and unnaturally moved back into place. I sighed at the fact that something would want to hide something so beautiful; but then shook my head to rid myself of the thought. I looked around to see I was the only one awake.

As fast as the day went, so did the night. After my two hour watch, I woke up Bright and told him it was his turn. When he was fully awake I took his spot and went out like a light. As dawn broke, I was awakened by a light kick to my back, startling me a bit. I sat up and yawned before looking behind me to see that it was Bright; all set and ready to go. “Come on, Jack. Ms. Merchant is almost ready, so get your ass up and into high gear.”

I stretched, cracking a few joints and providing some slight relief to the crick in my neck. “Alright, give me a minute.” I sluggishly got up and shook myself off. I flared my horn, getting my varmint rifle slung over my back. Double checking my gear through the pip-buck inventory, I noticed that my pistol was in much better condition than the night before. I guess Tracer really did know what he was doing. I kinda liked him a bit more now, but he was still an ass for no reason. I scrolled down to see that everything was in check. I looked back at Bright. “Ready.” Bright just shook his head and chuckled, then pointed at my mane. I felt my mane and found that it was everywhere. “Great, bed head. Just lovely.” I muttered before I licking my hoof and flattening my mane down. I looked at Bright once more. “Now, I’m ready.”

Bright chuckled before turning and trotting back onto the road next to the waiting caravan. I trotted around him to the other side of the caravan, where nothing separated us but the rope that tied the Brahmin; so we could still talk. “Now, Jack, we are going up to the first stop to do some trading, which should take about an hour. After that it’s a straight shot towards Arbu, then Friendship City.” I nodded in response with a smile. This job ain’t so bad, really; what could possibly go wrong?

I heard a whistle, which drew my attention to the head of the caravan to see that it was none other than the Merchant Mare. “Alright everypony, we're ready to go! If you forgot anything, get it now or kiss it goodbye!” She hollered, before turning around and spinning her hoof in the air. “Let’s move!” she yelled before moving forward.

I sighed. “Here we go.” I muttered before moving along with the caravan.

Bright chuckled. “That’s the spirit!”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh har har har.” I muttered sarcastically.

We walked for about a good four hours before we came upon a small little trading post. There was a small pen where the Brahmin were kept and taken care of along with a small shack made of scrap metal and wood. How the traders held together such a crappy building was a mystery. It seemed to be a one room shack. After the caretakers took the Brahmin into the pens, the Merchant Mare told all of us that we had one hour to shop. do shopping

******

After that I made sure that I got everything I needed for the trip ahead. Ammo, two bottles of purified water, and a healing potion. I looked at a few rifles that were hanging from the wall, but the dealer said that they were a few too many caps that I didn’t have; and selling my varmint rifle wasn’t an option unless I wanted my ass being chewed out. How about no. I walked outside to see that Bright was sitting on a bench enjoying a Sparkle-Cola. I sat down next to him, looking a bit disappointed about my rifle. He saw me and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, bud?”

I sighed again before looking at the path that we were about to embark on. It goes through a road surrounded by hills, which made me uncomfortable. “Nothing, just upset that I couldn’t get a new rifle to replace this piece of shit. Not to mention we are going through an area controlled by raiders and a valley known for ambushes according to what i heard from the others.”

Bright chuckled a bit before he took a swig of the Sparkle-Cola. “There isn’t anything to worry about, bud. There's a reason that there are eight guards on this caravan. It’s mainly for this area, so don’t worry; we got your back.”

I forced a smile and nodded. Still feeling unsure about this, I nodded. “Yeah, thanks; same from me.”

After a few minutes of silence, the Merchant Mare came up and whistled yet again. “Saddle up boys, we're leaving in five minutes!” She hollered before, going back to the Brahmin pen.

I sighed, before getting up and shaking myself. I stood there for a moment, gazing at the valley that we are about to pass through. It was giving me a bad feeling. I don’t know why, but I felt like running. I shook my head a little and moved towards the Brahmin being lead into the road. I got to my post, third Brahmin left side, before anypony else did. I unslung my varmint rifle and made sure that it was loaded. When I was happy with what I saw I pulled out my moderatly crappy pistol; pulling back the slide and chambering a round with a satisfying clank. I holstered the pistol back into its little home before drawing the rifle again and getting ready to go. Bright got on his side of the Brahmin train, but I was confused as to why someone new stood in front of me. Last time, there was a green pony with a white mane in front of me. Now it's Tracer, his caravan shotgun in a battle holster where he could just turn his head and grab it with his mouth.

I wondered about that for a moment, but just shrugged before the caravan began to move once more. I moved along with it as usual but, now…we were going into the valley. There was a reason that the supply station had more ammo to sell than it needed. As we walked into the valley, the hills began to grow higher. It was making me uncomfortable and I wasn’t the only one. Everypony was tense and looked worried while they scanned the hills; looking for something out of the norm or anything that would pose an immediate threat to the caravan. I believe the technical term was “head on a swivel”, or something of that kind. This was an uneasy travel. We kept walking as fast as we could with the Brahmin being as slow as they are. After about an hour of uneasy silent walking, I saw begin to appear red indicators on my EFS.

I turned to Bright and he turned to me. “It’s not just you There is a reason we are employing the Pip-Bucks this time around.” He muttered.

I looked at him with concern but before I could respond, a voice yelled out “MISSILE LAUNCHER!” I turned to the direction of the voice just in time to see the missile fly through the air; its exhaust trail making a clean line behind it. The missile flew to the head of the caravan, exploding on impact. The resulting explosion hit the Merchant Mare, another guard, and the lead Brahmin, sending them flying in different directions and showering the immediate area in blood and gore. I braced myself against the crumbling road and raised my hoof, shielding my face from the gore splatter. Before I knew what was happening, I heard a loud collection of hollers, yells, and battle cries from every side. I lowered my hoof to see raiders of all kinds charging towards us. They all had psychotic smiles on their faces, some even foaming from their mouths from apparent recent chem use. The laughter could be heard from here while they are still coming down the hills in droves.

The sounds of gunfire began to ring out from both sides; the bullets hitting everywhere..One hit me in the shoulder, knocking me down to the ground. I yelped in pain. “Celestia’s shining cunt, that hurts!” I breathed hard before I felt someone help me up.

I turned to see that it was Bright; he was blasting off rounds from his cowboy repeater as fast as it would let him. “Come on! You’re a caravan guard! Suck it up and fight!!” He exclaimed throwing me onto my hooves. “Got it?"

“Got it!” I exclaimed getting my varmint rifle to my shoulder and I begin shooting as much as I can. Each shot ringing my ears as it left the barrel. I fired all five shots; three of them missed but, I managed to put two shots in one raider taking him down. But, I couldn’t put that many shots out with the crummy varmint rifle. Most of the raiders were already on us and attacking the guards and caravanners. A group of four raiders saw me and began to fire at me. I jumped and rolled to the right behind the body of a dead Brahmin that was shot in the initial attack. I ditched the rifle; knowing that it would be useless and drew my 9mm pistol with my magic. When I heard that my band of raiders were reloading; I surged up and began firing off as many shots as I could into the raiders. The first few shots only bounced off the cobbled together armor that protected their bodies. The fourth round hit a raider in the neck; the bullet went through her throat and she fell to the ground with a tumble. The other three saw her fall and began to fire at me more aggressively. I ducked behind the dead Brahmin once more and checked my EFS, only to see that I had eight rounds left in my magazine. I took a deep breath, and when I heard the sounds of magazines hitting the pavement. I jumped up, once more firing several times. I got lucky with a headshot, downing one more Raider. The other two rounds struck the raider in the center of the chest; from the way that the raider just dropped; one of the bullets made it through the armor and into his heart. If they even have one. The last raider hit the deck as she heard return fire. She fired once again with a 10mm pistol; the shells clattering around her while she fired. The bullets kept getting absorbed by the dead brahmin. A bullet grazed my left cheek, sending a sharp sting through my face. I grunted through it and fired the remainder of my magazine into her. The first bullet hit the raider’s right knee; making her basically fall into the rest of my bullets. I breathed heavily, my empty gun smoking while it shook in my magic.

I slumped down behind the Brahmin; my chest thumping and my heart racing with all its might. I still felt the burning sensation from being shot in the shoulder. I could feel the hot stickiness of the crimson liquid that ran down my leg while I sat there; thinking of what to do next. I held my shoulder with my other hoof; keeping pressure on the wound while I hoped that the bleeding would stop. I took a deep breath before peeking over the dead Brahmin to see that a majority of the raiders were dead. Some were still fighting with a couple of the surviving guards. I slowly stood up; just barely able to walk with the bullet still lodged inside my shoulder. I looked at the last remaining guards and caravanners. The sound of Bright’s cowboy repeater along with Tracer’s shotgun reached my ears. I turned toward the source to see that they were being attacked by a larger group of raiders. Most of them wielded melee weapons like combat knives, lead pipes and even a sledge hammer. They stood on their hind hooves and had their backs pressed together. The raiders had stopped paying attention to me and had focused on Tracer and Bright, who were barely holding off the raiders while they circled them like radsharks.

I pressed my back against the Brahmin once again; I saw that my way down the valley was clear. I felt something in the back of my mind nagging at me that my only friend and the somewhat douchebag friend would be fine without my help. It told me that I could only survive if I ran. I turned around again, looking at them. I could see they weren’t gonna last any longer before; the feeling of running was replaced by a fire. I looked down at the fallen raider’s 10mm pistol. Jumping over the Brahmin’s corpse, I scooped up the 10mm pistol and two loaded magazines. Charging towards my friends, I reloaded and roared a battle cry. “GET SOME!” I shouted, drawing the raiders attention, along with Tracer’s and Bright’s. I began firing both the 9mm and the 10mm pistols as fast as my magic could. The bullets left the barrels one right after the other; traveling into different parts of raiders. When I got to Tracer and Bright, I had taken out three different raiders; making a big enough gap for me to run through to Tracer and Bright. I skid to a stop, my hoof kicking up rubble. I reared up on my hind legs, pressing my back against Tracer’s and Bright’s backs. The constant sound of gunfire was making my ears thump in pain but I had to keep shooting. I went from raider to raider, blasting each pistol, in a rough dual wield, into several raiders; just barely keeping them at bay.

I’ve made a horrible mistake…The thought ran through my head a million times while I fired my pistols. As I took out the sixth raider the slides on both pistols locked open. Dropping both magazines; I reloaded both guns with the last of my ammo. I jammed a magazine into the grips of the pistols and racked the slides; but before I could begin firing again, I heard something metal roll under me. I looked down, distracted for a second, only to see a blue and silver cylinder when it stopped. “Flash-bang!” Tracer exclaimed, before any of us could react it went off, exploding in a loud, bright blue light. The world turned white, and in a panic I began to fire blindly with both pistols. I heard a few dull thuds on the ground behind me; I turned around to see but the white was barely fading. As my vision began to clear, I turned around seeing five shadows looming over two fallen lumps on the road. I slowly began to realize what they were before I felt something hard hit the back of my head; turning the white to black.

********

I felt…cold. Colder than the wasteland’s harshest winter. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out where I was, but I could only see black. I looked down at my hooves, able to see those plain as day. I breathed and shivered as my breath steamed in the cold. I looked around once more, before seeing small white dots flutter down, one right after the other. I raised an eyebrow before one of the white dots landed on my muzzle; burning with the cold of snow. I looked at it while it melted, before looking forward to see that the snow was starting to make a path. The path wandered towards a little wood and metal shack, with tiny hoof prints leading to the ramshackle metal door. Getting colder, I began following the snowy path to the door; the snow crunching while I walked. When I got to the door, I heard voices…they were familiar. I slowly pushed the door open. I winced as it opened with the loudest creak imaginable. As I walked into the shack, the door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang, startling me. I looked around the shack once more to see that there was a single princess sized bed, a cabinet, a stove and a fridge. My ears perked at the sound of laughter and glee; which drew my attention to a small table.

What I saw next nearly made me want to run away into the ever increasing snow that howled behind me. I saw a colt, a buck, and a mare, all sitting around the table. The mare and buck…they backs were to me so I couldn’t see their faces but, their body language said that they were smiling. With the brush of her hoof; the mare moved her teal mane behind her shoulder. The lavender coat made the mane seem to pop from her head. The buck that sat next to her turned his head showing the side of his head; his black mane and emerald green eyes stood against his yellow coat. He pecked the side of the mare’s cheek making her giggle and peck him back. The sound of a small squeaky voice drew my attention to the colt; whose face I could see. It scared me to my very soul, his eyes the same crystal blue as mine, his mane the same black and his coat the same silverish gray. He raised his leg to block the view of what looked like his parent’s kiss. “Ewwww! That’s nasty!”

The mare giggled, before replying. “Come on sweetie, this is how big ponies show affection. You’ll learn this one day when you’re older.”

The colt ducked under the table out of my line of sight. “I don’t wanna be old! I don’t want filly germs!” he said, failing at hiding with his blank flank sticking up in the air.

I could tell the buck rolled his eyes, before chuckling. “Now come on, Jack. Open your present or I’ll take it back to the merchant.” The moment the buck said that every part of my body tensed. I know this place. I remember it clearly.

The younger me got up from his little hiding spot and sat in his chair. “Alrighty, dad.” He said with a big smile on his face. He looked at the empty table in confusion, then looked up at…dad. “Dad, where is it?” he asked the buck.

Dad chuckled, before flaring his own horn and levitating a large rectangular box wrapped in brown paper onto the table; taking up most of the table’s space. The younger me looked at it wide eyed and smiling, before looking at dad. “Go ahead, open it.”

The younger me gleefully tore apart the paper faster than a starving ghoul at a fresh kill. When all the paper was ripped away, the younger me opened the top of the box but, instead of the object I expected, a bright light emanated from the box. A moment later I was standing face to face to a buck in a white room. His entire body was a copy of mine, the way his mane flowed, the way his body curved to his flanks and legs. Everything was the same, except for his face. It was scared, burnt and covered in grime; almost as if he lived through the great war. Everything was the same, except for his eyes. When I looked into his eyes, they were a rich meadow green. He spoke five simple words, “Wake up, it ain’t over.” His voice sounded cold as the ice of the northern wasteland. When he spoke those words the world turned from white to black.

********

I sat up gasping for breath; the mattress and hole ridden blanket that I laid in soaked with sweat. I took heavy breaths, before I looked around to see where I was. From the dim light that illuminated the room I was in, I could make out rust covered bars that enclosed me and a damp cement floor that supported me and the mattress. My head was pounding and felt sore. I slowly reached a hoof to the back of my head only to feel blood soaked bandages. “The hell?” I muttered to myself, before I brought back my hoof to see it covered in blood. When i went to wipe it on my armor, I noticed I had been stripped down. I looked myself over to see everything was gone except my Pip-Buck. I looked at its hard casing and saw that the area around the key slot was scratched up. Apparently, who ever took me and all my shit tried to take this as well but failed. I rolled onto my hooves, before I stumbled and fell to my knees. I struggled to get up, finding most of my strength drained.

I plopped down feeling labored just to breathe; my mouth became more dry and parched with each shaky breath I drew. I looked around the dimly lit room once more to see two prone figures shivering next to the dying embers of a small fire. I limped towards them; pain lancing up and down my right leg, making me remember the ambush. “Damn…” I muttered to myself, before I stopped next to the fire and perked my ears, hearing something faint. I strained myself while I tried to figure out what the noise was and where it was coming from. I hobbled to the bars and poked my head through and looked up; the noise getting louder. We were underground from what I can tell, but I knew I wasn’t alone here; my EFS showed multiple friendly indicators that surrounded us, there had to be at least a good hundred to one hundred fifty others here. I looked back and forth down the corridor which seemed to go on for at least a couple hundred yards. The walkway which hung above us had shiny round things with barrels sticking out of them; they made up the majority of the hostile indicators that filled my EFS. ‘Those shiny round things filled with bullets are called turrets, and they don’t like you.’ A sudden voice popped out of nowhere making me jump back and fall onto one of the figures laying next to the smoldering fire.

He woke up with a startled yelp and surged to his feet, rounding on me with a left hook. The blow knocked me to the ground, where my attacker pinned me with a hoof to my chest. As he raised a hoof for the final blow, I saw it was none other than the douche himself, Tracer; his hoof raised as if he was ready to paint the concrete with my face. His entire body weight was on my chest, crushing my ribs. Then, before he smashed my face in a million pieces he saw my face in the dim light. “Jack!” he looked surprised, before getting off of me; relieving the pressure on my chest. He helped me up and studied me before getting to my head. “That’s a nasty bump on your head, kid” He said while he pointed his hoof at my bandages. I reached my hoof around to touch the bandages again, wincing, before Tracer slapped my hoof away. “Quit that, dipshit!” he barked, glaring at me before he sighed. “Well, at least you’re awake. The assholes around here were talking of just killing you.” He said with an edge of anger in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow, before I sat down. “Who?” I asked honestly confused about what he is talking about.

He sat next to me, before blowing on the smoldering ember, making them flare up again. The little warmth they provided felt good. He sat there for a moment staring at the flames while they crackled and popped. “In case you haven't noticed, we're kinda prisoners at the moment, dumbass.” he muttered, just barely audible.

“Again, to who?” I repeated once again, feeling a little scared at what I’m about to hear.

He looked me straight in the eye, his face showing naked fear. “We are prisoners of the Gladiators.” He said, his voice filled with nothing but dread and fear.

The moment he said that my blood ran cold. The Gladiators… a well known gang of raiders who go out and hunt for wastelanders, dragging them off across the wastes to an underground arena. No one knows who they work for. The odd thing was that they were known to have their arena in Manehattan …wait… I quickly went onto my Pip-Buck and went to the map function. What I saw shocked me; we were in Manehattan, one of the most raider and creature infested cities in the wasteland. 'We are so fucked.' I slowly looked from my Pip-Buck and stared into the fire. “Tracer?” I muttered softly.

He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “What?”

I took a deep slow breath, before letting it out. “What’s going to happen to us?” I asked, my voice weak from the lack of food and water.

He looked at the other figure; which thanks to the fire I was able to see that it was Bright…wait. Since when did Bright have wings? His back was to us, showing his glossy black wings that sat folded neatly on his back. Tracer looked at Bright and his wings which somehow were intact and uninjured. Tracer sighed, before he muttered. “The bastards…”

I looked over at Bright and studied his wings. “I always thought that Bright was an earth pony all this time. I have never seen a pegasus; let alone talked to one....” I was in utter disbelief.

Tracer looked back to Bright then, back to me. “He never told anyone. He barely told me and that’s only after i saw him grooming his wings. He said that he was born in the wasteland but, was always told to hide his wings.”

I looked at Bright for a moment thinking of what to say. He was my only friend...who wasn’t a douchebag. “Why did they beat him?” I asked, concern filled my voice.

Tracer sighed. “Just because he is different and couldn’t fight back. If he did, they would have killed you and me.” Tracer looked down and made a low growl. “They are going to pay for this.”

I tried to reach my hoof to pat his back but, the movement made me flinch. I took a deep breath; the pain subside for the moment, before I looked at my injured right shoulder. It was healing, but it stank, which probably meant it was getting infected. ‘Just fucking great. Why doesn’t Luna come down from the heavens, bend me over, and fuck me with her horn while she’s at it?’ I looked back at Tracer. “I got a question, Tracer.” I said trying not to pass out from the lack of food and water.

He looked slowly at me and nodded. “What?” he said sounding a little more like himself.

“How in the fucking hell did we get here?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Well…after all three of us got blinded by the Flash-Bang, we all go knocked out. I got hit with a knockout spell along with Bright while you got a baseball bat to the head.” He said indicating to my bandages with a nod of his head. “After a day or so, Bright and I woke up but, you were still out like a light. We were stripped of all our possessions except for food and water. Bright nearly got beaten to death for reasons you already know” When he said that he looked down at Bright; who was still snoring softly. “Poor bastard. He was forced to carry you the entire way here. Only stopping when they wanted to have a break. We had to force feed you water and some food to survive the trip.” He sighed a bit staying silent for a moment. “The bastards who threw us in here told us you had one day to recover or you’d take a bullet to the side of the head. I nearly jumped on them for that.” he said with venom in his voice. “You never kill a pony who can’t fight back.” He continued to make me wonder if he actually does care about me. He took a deep breath, before looking up at the ceiling where the noise was beginning to die down. He stayed silent for a moment, before he looked down at me. “We are the only survivors of the ambush, Jack. You, Bright and Me. The rest got raped and killed.” he said bluntly, before throwing a small plank of wood in the fire.

I was about to say something before the noise above us went silent; it made me raise an eyebrow and look up. I perked my ears again straining to hear, before I heard a single muffled gunshot then, the entire cell section was filled with the sounds of muffled cheers. I looked at Tracer who gave me another fear filled face. I spoke up, before he could. “We are going to be fighting for our lives up there, aren’t we?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He nodded in silence, just a moment later the sound of metal scraping against metal filled the cell block.

Tracer and I went to the rust covered bars and looked to our left where the noise came from. I could see the soft green glow of a terminal; most likely for the turrets above or for the door. I would have to keep that thing in mind. My attention was drawn to the gaping hole where the door is. A few moments after staring through, the sound of chains rattling came from it. Then, a large Earth pony about the size of River from Resort, came through the door; his legs were shackled together and were making the rattling noise from a few moments ago. Four heavily armed ponies with assault rifle battle saddles surrounded him; all of which were staying silent and were wearing masks. He was breathing heavily while he walked past the cells, blood was dripping from his mane and his face was bruised badly; similar to the buck in Resort whose brains were splattered on the ground. While he walked up to our cell, I could see more in the dim light. He was still bleeding from fresh wounds, some of them a bullet was definitely the cause, while others were caused by either a blunt or sharp object. When he came past us, his silver mane was soaked in his blood and maybe others; the same goes for his pink coat. Kinda odd for a buck, but what can ya do? He looked worn out and from the amount of blood he was losing, he was going to black out pretty soon. The guards stopped him about two cells right us and across the alley but, what surprised me the most was that before the guards left him in his cell, they threw in a small bag of sorts.

They quickly closed the cell and marched back towards the door but, before they made it all the way; they stopped at ours and one of them looked at me dead in the eyes. My blood ran cold while he spoke in his dry voice. “Looks like you’re up.” He turned his head to his buddies, which of whom nodded their heads, before he turned back to me. “You are going to be fighting in the arena tomorrow morning.” he said, his mask not hiding the big smile that was growing on his face. “Something tells me you’ll put on a good show.” He chuckled, before drawing his 10mm pistol and showing it off. “If not, I’m going to enjoy painting your brains on the floor. It makes the room…pop.” He said, before holstering his pistol and walking off with his buddies to the door.

My eyes were wide with fear and despair; I could hear Tracer sit down next to me. “You’re going to do fine, Kid.” he said, with a somewhat caring voice but, it had a hint of the doucheness that resides in him.

I turned to him with a cocked eyebrow. “How am I going to do ‘Fine’?” I held the sides of my head with my hooves. “I’m going to die up there!” I exclaimed, panic nearly taking over.

A moment later, I was forced to turned to Tracer, before getting punched in the face. I fell to the ground, grunting in pain. I looked up to see Tracer looming over me; his eyes were filled with rage. “You are going to make it! You are going to fight and survive! You are going to get your ass up and then, fight back!” he exclaimed, pressing his hoof on my chest. “We would have died in the ambush if you didn’t come charging in like the idiot you are!” Ok, that was hurtful. “If you can survive that ambush then, I sure as fucking hell know that you can survive a few fights with some more captives!” The moment he said that, I froze. I…I was going to have to kill innocent ponies, they weren’t raiders but, regular wastelanders who had the bad luck of getting captured alive. Tracer must have noticed the pause, before speaking. “You don’t want to kill other captives do you?” he asked, his entire tone changed from a hard instructor to a…friend? I shook my head. He said, before making a chuckled. “You know…Jack. I’m beginning to like you more. You only kill if you need to and that’s what I look for in a friend.” he looked out of the cell one last time. Without looking at me he spoke once more. “You need to get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big fight and you need all the energy you can get.”

I nodded once, before I got up onto my hooves. My strength, even if it isn’t much, was coming back and I just limped to the mattress which I woke up on. With a soft sigh, I laid down on the mattress and looked at the dying fire; my vision sideways from laying down. My attention was drawn to Tracer who was staring into the fire; his coat flickering in the dying light. I softly closed my eyes with a deep breath. As I was drifting into sleep, a familiar cold voice sounded. ‘If you’re going to survive, you need my help.’
_____________________________
Chapter one end.
Jack Rabbit: Level Up!
Tracer: Level Up!
Brightnight: Level Up!
New companion perks!
Rough Wrench: As long as Tracer is in your party, all armor and weapon repairs he does restore 10% more durability. All weapons and armor for all members of your party degrade at a slower rate than normal. If you do a repair that he isn’t satisfied with then, he will rip you a new one.
Feathered Inspiration: While Brightnight is in your party, Weapon spread is reduced and the fire rate is increased by 5%. Outside of combat, your speech is increased by 5.
New Perks!
Gunslinger: You know your way around pistols; now when using any type of pistol, you gain a 5% weapon spread reduction and you accuracy in S.A.T.S is increased by 15%
Companions have gained new perks!
Tracer- Kick Start: If combat occurs within an hour of Tracer waking up, He gains a temporary +10% attack speed boost.
Brightnight- Back to Back: When Bright and a companion are surrounded by four or more enemies in combat, his guns, energy weapons and explosive skills are increased by 5 until combat has ended.

Author's Note

Well, that took longer than I originally expected. But, I hope that all y’all who read this enjoy it as much as I did writing it. My thanks to my editors and friends Zombie_Dan, BJ, IronClad, The Patriot, Kalash93 and adanger2all; along with the rest of my friends who helped push me towards this. I thank you all. But, I can’t forget the one who started this. Kkat, I want to thank you for making this universe and leaving the rest up to the reader’s imagination; without you, none of us would enjoy what we do today.