Carter sat in the back of the train to ponyville, His face an impassive mask as he went over the last week in his head. He was walking fine now, although he'll probably need a cane for the rest of his life. (He can walk without it but it really hurts.). He'd just finished an audience with the Princesses as they went through the formalities of accepting him. Truth is, All three had been watching him as he'd traveled and protected Applejack, Rarity, Lyra, and Fluttershy. They had seen him at his best and worst, and they knew for a fact that he'd always done what he believed was right and moral. that didn't help him now though, as he looked dejectedly at his crumpled box of cigarettes. between the explosion and the bleeding, most of them had been ruined. He had four left in fact, and no chance or money to get more. Carter sighed as he lit up his zippo and began puffing away on one. three left.

Lyra on the other hand, was exhausted from the chewing out she had gotten. First she had purchased a dangerous and rare artifact, and then endangered and probably psychologically scarred half of the elements of harmony by teleporting them to a hellish, apocalyptic wasteland. The reason she wasn't imprisoned right now is because it was an accident, and that she had also been stuck in said hellish wastes. It was only through sheer dumb luck that carter had stumbled across them. He'd been camping nearby when he had heard them scream. He'd rushed in to find four (very nude and very pretty) girls fighting against an equal number of Fiends. Lyra remembered it clearly. There was shout, four loud bangs and silence. when she'd opened her eyes she found a new and worried looking face looking down on her.

"Did they hurt ya Miss? are you okay?" the figure had asked, his ice blue eyes rolling over her frame once before he took off his duster and placed it around her shoulders.

Lyra had gulped, before nodding and bursting into tears. The man, Carter had wandered off to help the others. After some words of solace and a few bandages all the girls were right as rain. Carter had bartered with a caravan for some better clothes than the worn out shirts and pants he'd given them. That was when twilight had contacted them the first time, and sent them on their way to get home... A quest that had led to Carter losing a Limb, and by extension, his ability to continue as a courier.

Twilight Sparkle sat and watched Carter from the corner of her eye. Since he came, something felt....off. Twilight couldn't put her hoof...Oh wait, had she always had hands? She hadn't. Now that she thought about it, she was a pony before he came wasn't she? Like, a full pony, four hooves and stuff like that? It was something to look into, and the fact that nopony else had noticed this meant that it was likely intentional.

Applejack was sound asleep next to Rarity, who was drawing up new designs for male formal and casual clothes (the fact that said clothes went well with a tan colour, and were for gents with a missing leg were coincidence...Right?). Rarity was tired as well, but...sleep came with nightmares. Luna had been helping, but the very nature of these dreams were painful for her. Rarity kept seeing Carter and her friends get hurt over and over gain, in ever more gruesome and painful ways. In the Mojave, she'd easily made the transition form making clothes to patching them. She, Like the others, had carried a firearm. It was a 9mm pistol with a pearl grip and a picture of a robed woman. written along the slide was 'ave'. Carter had bought the pistol from a gun runner who said it had once been a pair. Carter had blushed when he handed her the gift wrapped package. At the moment, it sat with all of their weapons in a locked trunk over in baggage. Rarity felt oddly naked without it right now.

Fluttershy Sat in a booth just across the aisle from Carter. No matter what she did, her eyes always seemed drawn to the tall fellow. she'd initially been scared of him...Until she saw how much he tried to avoid killing. Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder about him sometimes, how someone could go through so much hurt and still be so kind and gentle. Fluttershy absentmindedly rubbed a small scar on her palm, remembering the thug that had attacked her. While wandering through freeside, some drug addict had attacked her. She had raised her hand to block the switchblade when he struck, slashing at her with a sickening grin. Fluttershy still shuddered when she remembered. not just from the mad junkie, but Carter's own expression when he arrived. his normal bright demeanor had been replaced by a dark mask of pure cold fury. The junkie froze as a .44 Magnum pressed against the back of his skull.

"Fluttershy, How bad is that cut?" asked Carter in an even, calm sounding voice.

"u-um it's... not that bad..." she stammered, showing him her palm.

Carter nodded and leaned down until he was eye level with the attacker. "You got ten fucking seconds to run. If you ain't outta my sight by then, you get a bullet in the back. Understand?"

The junkie nodded vigorously. Carter lowered the gun, and in a flash, the fucker was sprinting away. Carter had knelt down and grabbed flutters hand and looked it over, before pulling out a stimpack and a medical bag. The stimpack promoted coagulation and disinfected the wound while he stitched it closed. His hat and obscured his face while he worked. when he looked up, he had a small frown on his face. "Are you sure you're okay? he didn't cut anywhere else right?" Fluttershy nodded the affirmative. Carter looked her up and down and sighed. "come on, let's get back to the others before Applejack loses all our caps on the card tables."

Fluttershy sighed and stood up. "Now now, Mr Daniels, You know those are bad for you." said Fluttershy as she removed the cigarette from his mouth

"but-" Carter began

"No. You are still recovering! I will not stand for it" Fluttershy huffed and lightly stamped her hoof to make a point, surprising nearly everyone. Carter just sunk lower into his seat and wordlessly handed over his last pack. zero left.

and thus, Carter's new life as a pony named Courier shield began. (wip name)

Author's Note

Things Carter is (or was) good at. / things he is not good at
Gunplay / Arm wrestling
maintenance and repair / fighting deathclaws
science / fighting cazadores
running / being vegetarian
running and screaming from deathclaws / Farming
running and screaming from cazadores / understanding pinkie
running and screaming from deathclaws AND cazadores / Cazadore-like sounds.
lockpicking / reading people
singing with guitar / staying awake while twilight talks.

hopefully next chapter will be better. I may end up editing this one a lot.~Whiskey.