Prologue
War.... war never changes. My grandmother always told me that. No matter how different the weapons, the tactics, the motives, the ponies, it is always the same. I always told her she was crazy. Guns, rockets, swords, bombs, they revolutionized fighting, revolutionized war, revolutionized the world. I glanced at her. She looked deeply into me. A tear fell slowly down her cheek.
The bombs fell. They scattered the great kingdom of Equestria like dandelions to a field. All that was left was fire... fire and ash. As well as hope. For out of the remains of the crippled land, emerged ponies bent on survival. When the end came, there were giant vaults, which we called "Stables", that housed the sole survivors of the fallout. That is where I come from. My name is Woodshop. I was a resident of Stable 98. I hated living in it. Everything was made of metal. The corridors were so short, no pony knew how to run properly. The walls were covered in pipes that would spew steam, and we were told if we ever were to touch one, all of the Stable Dwellers would die. I remember the first time I left the Stable. Food rations had run low, so the supervisor of the Stable ordered the families living there to draw from a raffle to decide who would have to leave for the others to live. I never truly understood how someponies could be this cruel. Sadly enough, my family was one of the chosen to leave the Stable. My mother and father begged that we stay, for I was still a small colt when we were chosen, but we were denied our request.
"Survival of the Stable," a guard told us, "Do you expect us to risk the lives of everypony living here just because of one fuckin' kid?"
I stamped my hoof in front of him in disapproval of that comment, "Hey! Show us respect! You were the ponies who sentenced us to death!" A hoof came crashing down to my face. I fell to the metal grate known as a floor with drips of blood gushing from my nose.
"You damn filth! Learn your place and let the big ponies talk!" the pony shouted as he raised hoof again.
My parents ran to my aid. My mother cradled me, while my father stood in front of the pony who beat me. "You stay away you brute! You should be ashamed striking a child!" My father wasn't as big as the other pony, but my father's courage was twice the measure as the pony's.
The pony lowered his hoof and chuckled, "Learn that mule some damn manners."
My parent's eyes beamed with hatred. My own, confusion. My parents took me to our family's apartment. Apartment 8C, it always was stuck to me, I never forgot it. We gathered our belongings. I brought a picture of my family. My father, my mother, my older sisters, Rosebud and Water Lily. They're twins, and they're inseparable. The final members in the photo were my grandmothers, Grandma Twilight, and Grandma Pinkie. One on my father's side of the family, the other on my mother's. They lived with us too, we were all one big happy family. I didn't have many belongings to pack. I had lived in the Stable for almost all of my life, and there was nothing that I was attached to hear, only the photo. My parents, sisters, and grandmothers however had much to bring. They had lived outside of the Vault before the war for many years. When all of them had packed, my father stopped me from leaving the apartment.
"Come here, Wood." he called from the back of the main room.
I stood puzzled in the doorway, and glanced behind me. I noticed all of my other family members were waiting in the hallway smiling at me. I walked back into the apartment, "What is it, dad?"
My father pressed a concealed button underneath a shelf. A compartment popped out with what looked like a bracelet in it. My father looked up at me and smiled. I stood there gazing at the bracelet. "Go on," he said, "Take it, its yours".
I looked up at him, "But, Dad, how did you..." I shook my head. I didn't matter now. I reached into the compartment and brought up a shiny bracelet. There was a screen in the middle of the bracelet. Above the screen, there was some lettering the read, "PipBuck3000". Scattered around the bracelet there was random knobs and lights. I looked at my dad and hugged him. We trotted through the corridors of the Vault, past the doors of the onlooking ponies that I called friends. They all had a sadness in there eyes, and I understood that deeply. The corridors led to a giant steel door. Several guards, one of which was the pony who struck me, were standing on next to the door. I gave an angry sneer at him, but looked towards the door again. The Stable 98 jingle began blaring from the speakers that were stationed above the door, which meant the "wise words of our fearless leader" would ensue.
"My poor, former residents of Stable 98, with a heavy heart, I must usher you off into the outside world for the survival of the Stable. This is heavy on us all, for we lose two of our most wise members, Mrs. Sparkle, and Mrs. Pie, two former wielders of the Elements of Harmony."
I looked back at my grandmothers. They almost looked, disappointed.
"We do not send you off unprepared, however, for we will give your family 500 units of the current currency of the outside world. A guard walked up to my father, and handed him a small fabric bag. My father took it, and shook it softly. We could here jingling of something in it. "Now, my friends, it has reached the time in which I must wish you all good luck in your future. Live smart, live safe, and life strong." the voice concluded. The Stable 98 jingle started up again, and the guards ran off into another room. They locked the door behind them. Red lights began to pulse, and the giant door slowly inched open. There were whirrs and mechanical strains as the door opened. Several bits of rocks and clouds of dust fell to the floor as it opened. A beam of bright light shot at my eyes, forcing me to shield my eyes with my foreleg. As the door fully opened a rush of wind hit our faces. It smelled awful. There was a scent of decay and smoke in the air. My vision was slowly becoming more clear. My near blindness slowly faded into a brown ground. I looked up and saw a wasteland or the same color. Ball of dust blew through the wasteland. I looked to the side and saw my family. My father, my mother, Rose Bud, Water Lily, Grandma Twilight, and Grandma Pinkie. I smiled, no matter how terrible the circumstances, we would always have each other.
The next night, we camped out a half mile from the site of our Stable. We carefully rationed out what food we had, but Grandma Twilight and Grandma Pinkie didn't want to eat. Instead, they just sat there, looking out into the wasteland. We slept, a sleepless night. Father said that there were many dangers out in the waste, and we should remain vigil. I checked my PipBuck, it said there was a small settlement in the north called "Everfree Post". He said in the morning we would have to walk up there. When we awoke we found that some of our supplies had been lost, or stolen. We lost half of our rations, and some of our extra tents, but we could do without them. We awoke very early.
"Right at the crack of dawn," my father told me, as he was packing the tents into his bag, "Before any of the bandit squads awake." We began to walk northward, toward Everfree Post. Burnt fields of grass, lakes filled with radioactive water, destroyed homes with foundations barely holding them up. Despite their age, Grandma Twilight and Grandma Pinkie were very fit and spry, they were able to keep up to the rest of us quite well. Eventually, we reached a ridge line. Father told us to stay back while he would look over the edge. A shot went out. My father came back running towards us. "Run!" he shouted. We turned and sprinted as fast as we could. More shots went out. I turned my head, three ponies with rugged clothing were running towards us. There were weapons pointed at us. Flashes were being shot out of the barrels of the weapons. Bullets were whizzing through the air by my head. No impact was made. I noticed that I was behind my family. They were all running much faster. I check my PipBuck. It said we were a couple of yards in front of the Everfree Post. But there was nothing. Only trees to the side of us. While I was checking my PipBuck, another shot went out. Instead of behind me, this shot was fired at my front. I stopped, and just fell. I knew that it was over for me, I was cornered. But I didn't die. Hoofsteps were running past me. Ponies were shouting, in front, and behind me. I looked up from my cowering and saw ponies chasing the bandits off. I was grabbed and was being dragged forward. I regained my running motion and started to sprint forward. I looked to the side and saw Grandma Twilight running next to me. There were more loud bangs and shouts as we ran forward next to the rest of the family.
"Where did those ponies come from?" I frantically asked while I was panting heavily.
"We're here, don't worry." my father replied. He stepped to the side to reveal a large sign with the words "Everfree Post" crudely painted onto it. More ponies ran from a gate that held the sign up, all with guns raised.
"Come on! Come on! Get yer wounded into the Post!" one pony shouted as he pointed toward the inside of the gate. Strange, we didn't have any wounded that I knew of. We ran past the gate, and entered a township. There was only one road, and it there were buildings on both sides of the road. The ponies who had chased the bandits away from us had come back to the Post. They took hold of me, "C'mon, boy! We gotta help ya!"
I struggled from their grasp, "Let go of me! What are you talking about?" I felt a drop of liquid slide down my right cheek. I stumbled to the ground. The liquid was red. I could sense that the others around me were shouting, but there voices sounded muffled, almost as if I were underwater. I slowly shut my eyes, I needed a rest.
Fallout Equestria: New Canterlot
by Kryptonian
Chapter 1: The Caravan
It has been 5 years since the attack on my family at Bandit's Gorge. My family and I had finally reached Everfree Post. I was given medical attention towards the hole that was left in my ear. I had not sustained any permanent deafness in that ear, but I did lose a permanent piece of it. None of my family was injured, thankfully. I have gotten a job working in the Everfree Caravan. The Caravan requires me to be steady with a weapon. I have become quite a skilled sharp shooter if I do say so myself. I have been trained to use all varieties of weapons, and I'm very much a fanatic. My parents have opened a shop selling random items I find on my journeys with the caravan. Whenever I regale my family with my adventures, and how we nearly escaped a pack of bandits, or how we almost lost the cargo to some mutant animals, my family seems to enjoy these tales. Grandma Twilight and Grandma Pinkie do not seem to enjoy the stories that much. Grandma Twilight is trying to create another library for the town. She says that she wants to regain some old world values. It is a very difficult job. Not many books come into town. I can only bring back books that are salvageable on my trips. But, even with the little supply she has, she still remains content. Grandma Pinkie has tried to give baked goods to the townsponies. There is a more upbeat attitude around the town because of her. She even hosts a party every now and again. Water Lily and Rosebud have tried to start their own flower shop. My mother told them it would be an even more difficult job than the rest of our jobs.
"You can't grow plants properly in an irradiated waste." she told them jokingly. They ignored her remarks, and they have even made some of the most beautiful bouquets in the wasteland. I try to sell them whenever I enter a town in my trading.
So far I have learned much about the wasteland. I know about all of the bandit gangs, The Reds, The Waste Scavengers, The Crimson Hoof. I also learned about the different creatures that live in the wastelands. Molerats, bloatsprites, Drooping Dragons, Mutated Ponies, Hull Crabs, and even more. As well as all of the factions that control the wasteland, the Steel Rangers, the Westward Movers, and the Old Kingdom Party. Everfree Post is controlled by the Old Kingdom Party, as well as all of the other posts across the wasteland, meaning my family had to swear allegiance to them if we wanted to live here. The Old Kingdom Party started as a political group opposing the first organized government in the wastes. When that fell, they seized control of the army, and have been conquering town after town controlled by the Steel Rangers. They are at war with each other, and there doesn't seem an end to it all. Finally, I have learned about all of the major settlements. Manehattan Ridge, Mountain Springs, Marefort, Ponyville Ruins, and... New Canterlot. New Canterlot is the wealthiest settlement in all of the wastes. It has a key trading point, as it is in the middle of the wasteland, forcing caravans to resupply and trade there. It has a dominating role in the wastes, because if a law changes in New Canterlot, then the rest of the settlements will change the same law, in trying to become as wealthy as New Canterlot. At the current time, New Canterlot is controlled by the Old Kingdom Party, but the Steel Rangers are trying to regain supremacy. My family tells me if I get a trade route to New Canterlot, that I must not accept running that route.
"It's just too big of a city," they tell me, "Add the fact there is a war going on in its outskirts!"
I dream of visiting it. The big city. It must hold some Old World knowledge. Something like a link to my past. Something to reignite the spark in me to know that things will get better than what they are now. I just hope one day, I will be allowed to visit New Canterlot. Maybe be showered in the wealth like everyone else has told me. Share some of it with my family, and be happy. But that journey is for another day.
I awoke bright and early, and walked towards our door. My grandmothers were surrounding a table, drinking what looked like tea. I pushed it open, and saw an envelope sealed with a golden crest laying on the ground. I called to my grandmothers, "Do you know where Dad is?"
"Isn't he standing guard at the gate, I thought he was picked for the night shift." Grandma Twilight replied.
I sighed. It would be a long walk in the cold morning to reach the front gate. I decided it was best to wait. I walked over to the makeshift table I had constructed from the broken trees surrounding the Post. I had made most of the furniture in the house, and had brought in most of the decorations. I had even made a woodstove for cooking. I sat next to Grandma Pinkie, she gave me a big hug and a welcoming smile. I looked over at Grandma Twilight, and she smiled brightly at me.
"G'morning my little Woody!" Grandma Pinkie cooed. I wasn't a baby anymore. I was 18 years old, almost turning 19, I could handle myself. But I endured the baby calls Grandma Pinkie would always give to me.
"Why do you need your father?" Grandma Twilight asked, taking a sip of her tea.
"Someone sent this letter," I held the envelope up to show them, "I assume it is for Dad. See this gold crest?" I gave the envelope to Grandma Twilight. She turned the envelope from the sealed side and looked at the address. Grandma Twilight gasped and dropped the letter. She hastily walked out of the room towards her room.
"Well that was funky." Grandma Pinkie said. She got up from her chair and walked after Grandma Twilight. I sat blankly at the table, and reached for the letter. I took the envelope and glanced at whom it was addressed to.
"Name: Mr. Woodshop. Location: Everfree Post. Employer: Everfree Caravan." I dropped the letter. "It was addressed... to me." I slowly tore the seal off, and opened the envelope. A white piece of paper was slipped neatly in the envelope. I carefully took it out and opened it. There was a full letter on the paper. The print was well written calligraphy, somepony actually educated wrote this. I read the letter. It was a proposition. To deliver some cargo through the wasteland, supplies to a settlement. But, the caps involved was enormous. "Five thousands caps," I told my family, as they gathered in the room, "Five thousand caps to deliver some supplies."
Grandma Twilight had a discerned look on her face, "I don't want you to go," she said. Grandma Pinkie was standing next to her, she nodding in agreement. "What if we need you here?"
I walked over to Grandma Twilight, "You won't though, Dad has and will take care of you. We need this money, it will be a simple route. We won't pass very many bandit camps, and even if we do, we are very well trained. We'll be back before you know it." I looked towards my mother, who still looked concerned, "Mom, please, trust me, I'll be fine." I placed my hoof on her shoulder to try to reassure her. She was able to muster a smile.
"He's right. We do need the caps. Just, Woodshop, make sure you're safe." she hugged me, and I thanked her. I packed all of the things I needed. Some loose caps, some food, some extra clothing, and finally my revolver and some ammo. I kept lucky revolver out whenever we went out trading. I said my good byes to everyone in my family. Grandma Twilight and Grandma Pinkie stopped me. They hugged me simultaneously, and they stepped back, with great sadness in their eyes. I don't think they could bear more far away trips like these. I walked out the door. and down the street. My first stop in town was to go meet my friend Kelvin. Kelvin was about the same age as me, and was a vault dweller as well. His family was kicked out of Stable 83 a year before we were kicked out of our Stable. I met him when we first got into town, and we became friends. Ultimately, when we grew old enough, we joined Everfree Caravan to help our families. He was my best mate, and we always stuck together. However, Kelvin is a pyromaniac. He always lights things on fire. I never really understood his obsession with fire, but, I chose not to question it. He would always help if we were jumped by bandits. Luckily, when I reached his home, he was already outside. I waved to him, and he noticed. He trotted up to me and we exchanged greetings.
"Alrighty Wood! I see that look in yer eyes! We got an assignment don't we?" he told me as we were walking towards his house.
"Actually, I do." I replied, amazed at how he could find that out.
He ran up to his door, and opened it. He reached his head in, and grabbed something off to the side of the door. He pulled out a saddle bag, and threw it on his back. "Bye Ma! We got another trade job!" he called from the door. He walked back to my side, "Alrighty then, what, where, and why?"
"Well," I replied, "We gotta bring some refugee supplies to a camp at Ponyville Ruins. This letter must have been written by an O.K. Party officer, so it must be important."
"Well, that doesn't matter to me, I want to know WHY." he smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes, "5,000 caps, we can split it in two." Kelvin stopped and looked at me.
"Yer kidding me. 5,000... for a supply run?" his expression was a mix of amusement and disbelief.
I stopped and laughed, "I know, and I checked on my PipBuck. Not many bandit camps near our route. Nothing we can't handle at least." We both started walking again. We began to joke about why the pay was so high. "Maybe we have to cross a whole field of molerats, or maybe an unlisted bandit army!" We made jokes like that as we walked to the Everfree Caravan building in town. Boy, if Grandma Twilight heard our jokes, she would forbid from leaving again. We entered the door, and walked over to the pony in charge, Mr. Move. We all hated that name, but he would never tell us his real name. Mr. Move used to be apart of the Western Movers, that is where we believe he obtained that name.
"Mr. Move, we have a supply route we would like you to check." Kelvin told him as we walked up to him. I gave the letter to Mr. Move, and he examined it with little intrigue. He finished reading and walked up to Kelvin.
Mr. Move, despite being a former Western Mover, blew smoke from his cigar into Kelvin's face, "Y'know the rules of the caravan are you can't go that far without more ponies."
"But... that's unfair!" Kelvin argued, "We both are yer best barterers! We're the best shooters! We're the best survivalists! Anypony else would just... slow us down!" I placed my hoof onto Kelvin's shoulders, trying to calm down. He took a step back and cooled off.
"Mr. Kelvin, I recommend you to calm the hell down. Now, Mr. Woodshop, y'know that these rules ain't jus caravan rules, they're the rules of the O.K. Can't break em' even if I tried." Mr. Move told me.
I sighed, "Well, can we at least pick who we want to go with?"
Mr. Move nodded, and Kelvin and I walked out into the meeting area for the traders. I knew exactly who I wanted to bring. I walked over to a pony sitting down examining his gun. I whistled to gain his attention, "Hey, Bright Eyes, c'mon, we gotta job to do." The pony looked up at me.
"What are we gonna do?" he asked.
"We gotta supply route, just gonna go deliver them to an O.K. camp. We're gonna get paid 5K caps for it."
Bright Eyes sat still for a moment, and I could see that he was pondering, "Alright, I'm in." he finally said. Bright Eyes wasn't particularly the strongest pony, but he had dead-on shooting. He could clean the eye of a molerat from 100 yards away in less than 4 seconds.
We took him on all the routes we couldn't go alone on. We all walked back to Mr. Moves. I handed him the letter again, and he approved of it. We walked out of the building and towards the gate. When we reached the limits of the town, I set a route on my PipBuck. "Alright, you guys go on ahead, I gotta do one last thing." I told Kelvin and Bright Eyes. They nodded and went on ahead. I ran up to the guard post that opened and shut the gate. "Open the gate, caravan business."
A voice came back, "Y'know Woody, its rude to not say your goodbyes."
I smiled, "I know, Dad, I was gonna say good bye, but, I'm a little too excited."
My Dad chuckled, "It's alright, your mother told me where your goin'. Be safe Wood." He hugged me.
I chuckled back, "I'll be fine, Dad, I promise." I left the guard post and walked towards the gate. I waved goodbye as the gate slowly opened. On the other side, a pony gave us all saddle bags that contained the supplies for the camp, and we were off.
The first night we camped about 8 miles outside of Everfree Post. As usual, Bright Eyes volunteered to be the night watch. We always set up the campfire next to him so we could chat while he scoured the wasteland.
"You never told me where we are going." he said. Kelvin and I looked worryingly at each other. "And judging by your expressions, our destination is pretty far from here."
"How did you..." I started.
"I can see you from the reflection in my lens. Now, where are we going?" he finished.
"We're going to Ponyville ruins." Kelvin told him, "It's about 20 miles from the Post."
Bright Eyes sighed, "Are you sure we should be going? I heard that there's supposed to be Drooping Dragon migration near the outskirts, gonna be a dangerous route."
I looked sternly at Bright Eyes, "Nothing we can't handle." I told him. I looked down at Kelvin, who was chowing down on some food he grilled. "Besides, we're delivering to a refugee camp, if there is a Drooping Dragon migration, they will need all of the help they can..."
"Wait!" Bright Eyes interrupted me, "Look!" He held a hoof pointing out into the wastes. I looked in the direction he was pointing, but saw nothing but darkness.
"What are you..." before I could finish talking, I was interrupted again by a random conversation in the darkness.
Bright Eyes held a hoof to his lips, to signal us to be quiet. Kelvin doused the flames, and we tried to be as quiet as possible. "They're Steel Rangers." Bright Eyes whispered.
"How can you tell?" I asked.
"See that headlamp and that tubing to their mouths, that is a model of Steel Ranger armor. It looks like they are just on patrol." he replied.
"Patrol?" Kelvin said, "Doesn't that mean there is a camp or something nearby?"
"Maybe, I don't know," Bright Eyes replied, "Just... stay quiet, I'll tell you if they spot us."
Bright Eyes kept the Steel Ranger patrol in his sight for about an hour, but they went over a ridge and were lost afterwards. We all remained awake however, in case they circled back and found our campsite. In the early morning, we investigated the Steel Ranger's route, in case they were heading in the direction to Everfree Post, or to Ponyville Ruins. Luckily they were going in a completely different direction.
"That was close." Bright Eyes said, as we were packed up and ready to leave, "That might have been too close, if they spotted our campfire, we may have been completely eradicated."
"I think that we would stood a chance." Kelvin stated proudly, "Besides, we are some of the most skilled shooters in Everfree Post, and it was a two on three situation."
"You don't understand, Kelvin. The Steel Rangers have advanced weaponry, and even more advanced armor. I think one of my sniper bullet would have barely penetrated the shielding, let alone both of you two's pistol rounds." Bright Eyes remarked seriously. "Maybe we should turn back." Both Kelvin and Bright Eyes looked at me."
"What do you think we should do?" Kelvin asked. I stood there silently.
"I think we should keep on pushing forward. It is only a day's journey to Ponyville Ruins, we will be safe there. The refugee camp will be protected by the O.K. The town is even O.K. territory." Bright Eyes reluctantly agreed to push on.
We walked through the wastes all day. I would occasionally turn the radio on my PipBuck up.
"This is DJ PON-4 and here is the news!" it would say. Grandma Pinkie and Grandma Twilight always used to listen to this radio station with me. They said that the announcer was the daughter of one of their old friends. "I hope none of you are thinkin' about traveling to Ponyville this week. The Drooping Dragon migration is happening about half a mile from town, folks. That's right. The outskirts of Ponyville will be as deadly as a lake of toxic waste!" Bright Eyes placed a hoof on my PipBuck. I knew it wasn't very encouraging for us. We passed a Red bandit camp. They fired on us, but the were quickly... dealt with. That is another thing that Grandma Twilight would have forbade to go on this route. We scavenged the camp. We found some caps, some ammo, some food, I even found some baking supplies for Grandma Pinkie. Imagine that, baking supplies from a group of bandits. Then again, they could of killed another caravan set on delivering the goods. We were about 2 miles from the point DJ Pon-4 said the Drooping Dragon migration was taking place. I stopped our caravan to assess what our strategy was.
"Alright, as you know, Drooping Dragons are very dangerous. Make sure to keep a distance of 10 yards from one if it attacks you. If you need help, just call for it. And..." before I could finish, I noticed a shadow moving in the distance behind some rocks. Kelvin and Bright Eyes noticed I saw something, and Bright Eyes quickly turned to look with his scope.
"Oh SHIT DUCK!" he shouted, and we all ducked simultaneously. As soon as I ducked behind a rock, a bullet ricocheted off of the top of the boulder. It would have been the perfect shot right in the chest.
"Did you see who shot at us?" I shouted to Bright Eyes, throwing him a sniper magazine from my saddle bag.
"No!" he called back, inserting the magazine, "But I saw his scope's glint, we're being hunted right now!"
"Did you at least spot his position!?" shouted Kelvin, cowering.
"Yes, but he has a fix on us! I can't pop up and get a shot off without getting hit myself!" Bright Eyes replied.
"So, you're saying if we create a distraction... you can tag him?" I asked him.
He sighed, "Yes, if you can distract him, I can hit him." he replied reluctantly.
"Alright," I took a deep breath, "Here we go." I ran out into the open and galloped as fast as I could. I could hear the bullets being fired, but none of them connected. I thought that I was home free, but I suddenly felt a huge rush of energy hit me on my side. I flew sideways, sliding on the ground as I made impact. I heard Kelvin shouting, and I heard Bright Eyes' gun firing. Also, I heard a faint grunt in the distance. Kelvin ran up to me and placed a hoof on my side.
"Are you okay? Are you alright?" he asked frantically, "Oh please don't say you've been hit."
I coughed and sputtered, but only was able to say, "I'm... I'm alright." Kelvin steadied me to my hooves, and I was able to stand again. And by stand, I mean rock back and forth until I was stable. "Wh... what happened?" I asked, still dazed from the sudden impact.
"You were hit. By the sniper," Bright Eyes said, as he trotted over to us, "But somehow you're completely fine."
"Yes, yes I'm fine, thanks for asking." I told him sarcastically as I tried to walk over to him. When I took one step however, there was a sharp pain in my side as if I was stabbed with a knife. I fell to my knee and groaned. As I fell, a dish fell from my saddlebag, the dish had a large dent on it.
"It... it looks like that dish deflected the bullet, but the impact must have broken one of your ribs." Bright Eyes examined. Kelvin rushed over to pick me up.
"Did you see who the sniper was?" I asked, as Kelvin assisted me in walking.
"Yes, I did," Bright Eyes said, "But I think you should see for yourself who shot you." We walked over to behind the rock the sniper was hiding. There lay a pony in metal armor gripping their arm. It looked like there was blood dripping from the arm he gripping.
"You didn't kill him." Kelvin said.
"No, I didn't. If I wanted to, I would have, but I felt like he could be useful to us." Bright Eyes replied.
"Wait, I thought you said that your bullets couldn't penetrate Steel Rangers armor." I mentioned.
"I said it could 'barely' penetrate Steel Rangers armor. Meaning this S.O.B. is in a lot of pain right now." Bright Eyes remarked.
"What do you think we should do with him?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Well, I know he could tell us why to hell he is trying to kill us."
"Oh for the sake of Celestia! I'm not a HE!" the Steel Ranger shouted. We all looked at the Ranger on the ground, cringing in pain, "And for FUCKS sake can somepony please get this damn bullet out of my leg!"
"First tell us why you attacked us." I told her. I bent down to take her helmet off. Underneath that helmet was a blue mare with beautiful white hair. I caught myself gazing at her mane until Kelvin shook me about.
"C'mon, Woodshop, we gotta get out of here, there may be more Steel Rangers lurking around." Kelvin told me, we hobbled off towards Ponyville Ruins.
"Don't worry," the Steel Ranger said, as Bright Eyes carried her on his back, "I'm the only one around here." We knew we couldn't make it into Ponyville Ruins with two injured ponies, so we stopped about a mile from the town. I wrapped some gauze around my side. My mother had been a nurse, and she taught me some techniques she said would "save my life". Once I was set, I walked into the tent that Bright Eyes put the Steel Ranger. I bent down and saw that the pony was still gripping her foreleg and grinding her teeth in pain.
"Calm down." I told her, "I can help with that." I always carried medical equipment I salvaged one trip. I brought out some tweezers and approached her arm with them. When the tweezers tapped her a few inches from the bullet wound, she cringed, and swung her limb at the foreleg holding the tweezers. Luckily, I wasn't holding the tweezers with my foreleg, instead I was holding them with my horn's magic. She realized this as soon as she swung, and she scuttled to the end of the tent. "It's alright, it's alright. That wound will get infected, and it will only hurt a whole lot worse. Let me just take the bullet out of your foreleg." She became less resistant once I said that. Reluctantly, she held her foreleg out to me. I took out a wooden board. "Here," I held it out to her, "You might need this." She rolled her eyes and groaned, then she bit the board, and I started digging. She wasn't jerking back and fourth, and she wasn't trying to pull her leg away. I could hear her groaning through the wood however. It took me 10 minutes to find the bullet and pull it out. When it was over, I quickly wrapped her fore leg in gauze to stop some of the bleeding. She let go of the board in her mouth. There were several indentations of her teeth in it. "Are you alright?" I asked her, as I was wiping of my tweezers. She solemnly nodded. "Are you at least gonna talk?" I asked.
She nodded, "My name is Starlit." Her voice sounded hoarse, probably from the shouting into the wood block.
"Alright," I questioned, "Why did you try to kill us?"
She took in a breath, and looked towards the ground, "It was my job. One of our patrols spotted you, but they didn't attack. They wanted me to kill you cause you all were O.K. citizens. They tracked you all the way from Everfree Post."
"Wait, you were tracking us?" I interrupted, "Why?"
"Your invitation to the camp. We needed it. And we needed to make sure you still had it. They sent me alone, because they expected me to kill you all easily." she replied.
I sighed and stepped out of the tent. I looked back at her, and shook my head. Outside, with discerning looks, stood Kelvin and Bright Eyes. The campfire was blazing, and gave off an ominous glow around the camp
"What happened? We heard groaning, and then some talking." Kelvin said.
"It's alright." I walked over and sat next to the fire, watching wisps of flames slowly climb and then dissipate. "But, the Steel Rangers have been tracking us. They wanted the invitation that was sent to me. I don't know why. But, we should remain more cautious if we leave any of our stuff behind." I told them.
"But... wouldn't they have killed us already, I mean, if they were tracking us?" Bright Eyes asked.
"No, she said that they left her alone to kill us." I replied.
"Well, if they sent an assassin to ambush us, that would mean we are on the Steel Ranger hit-list. Woodshop, you know what happens when a pony is on that hit-list," Kelvin told my sternly, "We're wanted by the Steel Rangers."
"I know, I know." I stood up and walked away slowly.
"Woodshop, you know what that means don't you?" Kelvin repeated, trying to stop me, "No pony lives with a Steel Ranger warrant hanging over them. It's damn near impossible! The only ponies that can live through that are O.K. officers! But they have their own troops to command and protect them! Who do we have? A sniper, a pyromaniac, and a gunslinger! We barely stand a chance!"
I stopped and turned, "We are some of the best shooters in all of the wasteland," I told him sharply, his meekness didn't grow.
"I'm not denying that, but maybe it would be safer if we just turned back, to the post, where we would be safe." Kelvin said, trying not to instigate an argument.
I sensed that an argument would be catastrophic to our assignment. I stood down. "Well, going back would be as impossible as remaining alive on that list. There is about 19 miles between us and the post, and we have 2 injured ponies. Plus there's the bands of Steel Rangers trying to hunt us down." I looked at Kelvin, he seemed to have calmed down. Bright Eyes remained lacking levity. "Besides," I told them, "Ponyville Ruins is in control of the Old Kingdom, they will be armed to the teeth once we tell them of the recent Steel Rangers activity around these parts. We can just stay there until our infamy with the Steel Rangers dies down." This soothed both Kelvin and Bright Eyes. There looks of worry soon died down to relief.
"That won't happen," a soft voice whispered as soon as I finished. I turned and saw the Starlit was limping out of the tent, her wrappings were stained with blood, "No pony just 'dies down' from being put on the list. You remain on the list until... you 'die down'." Kelvin and Bright Eyes drew their weapon and pointed them at her. I asked them to stop.
"You mean... what? We can't get off of the list?" I asked her.
She looked to the ground and nodded. My expression froze. I began shaking my head and walking away. Kelvin rubbed his head with his wings and coaxed the fire silently. Bright Eyes stood straight up and walked to his tent. Kelvin soon followed and walked towards his own tent. Starlit stood there, looking at the ground. The sudden news was a shock to all of us, and I knew we all needed our rest. I, however, was the only one left for night watch. I sat there silently gazing into the fire. Starlit walked up to me. I glanced up, and saw that she looked less under the strain of stress, "But, you can get off the list if you prove your innocence to the Steel Rangers."
I shook my head, "That doesn't help. We are O.K. citizens. How are we going to be able to appeal to the Steel Rangers, they'll shoot us, on sight."
She shrugged, "That isn't my problem." I picked up the stick Kelvin was using to poke the fire. I began prodding it. Starlit walked slowly to me. "So I guess, when we get to Ponyville Ruins, you're just gonna, turn me in?"
I looked back up and shrugged. "That isn't my problem."
The next morning, Bright Eyes and Kelvin awoke. Once Kelvin awoke, he became hysterical about remembering he was being hunted by one of the most deadly factions in the wasteland, but his senses slowly grew, and he calmed down. Began to trek to Ponyville again. Bright Eyes still had to carry Starlit on his back, but I was able to walk without Kelvin's aide. It tuned the radio on my PipBuck back to DJ Pon-4's station.
"...And the details will come shortly. Alright now ponies of the wasteland, we have some breaking news! Steel Ranger activity in the Southwest has increased. If you are a citizen of the Old Kingdom Party, I recommend being judicious on your journeys. Now, back to the news here in New Canterl...." I stopped the radio. I knew that my family listened to the radio often, and I hoped they didn't hear that.
We walked for half a mile, when I heard a faint roar in the distance. I stopped our pack, "Did you hear that?"
"We should keep moving. The Drooping Dragons are nearby." Kelvin reminded me.
I hushed him to try to hear clearer, I listened intently for more noise. I could scarcely hear a quiet roar and yelling. I ran up to a drop off, and saw ponies in red uniforms firing at a herd of Drooping Dragons. I called Kelvin over, and we ran as fast as we could with our weapons drawn. Bright Eyes sat at the ledge carefully aiming with his sniper. We darted towards the battle, despite the sharp pain I felt from running. When we came into range, both Kelvin and I started to unload our weapons on the ravaging creatures. I turned my head and saw a pony in uniform being scooped up and thrown behind a Dragon. I turned and fired a round. While the battle was in full sway, I heard a pony calling for help. I glanced back and saw a frightened young colt standing there not firing a bullet, in front of him was a Drooping Dragon, gnarling at the scared pony. I ran right towards him, and slipped myself in between him and the monster. I tried to seem intimidating to the creature, but it just swept me aside, throwing me far backwards. I was laying on the ground in pain, when I looked up and saw the Drooping Dragon raising its claw once again to the colt. His eyes were sparkling with fear and disbelief. I cried, "No!", but it was to no avail. When the Dragon raised his arm to full height, he began to swing, but his arm was cut short, and it dropped. It fell backwards, and I noticed the large full left in it head. I looked over to were Bright Eyes was perched, and I raised a hoof to him in thanks. I looked back at the colt, now sitting in shock. "What the hell are you doing? Get out of here!" He shot a surprised look at me, and frantically nodded. He ran away, to a nearby rock. He kept peeking above the rock to see the action commencing. I turned and went back to assisting the red uniformed ponies. It was another five minutes of fighting until the Drooping Dragons began to scatter, and whimper away. The aftermath was a milieu full of dead dragon bodies, and a few bruised, our killed, soldiers. The uniformed ponies, despite the death of their comrades, picked up their injured soldiers, and kept a stoical attitude. I walked over to the pony that seemed to be the officer in charge. "What the hell was that?" I asked him, as I turned and saw Kelvin slicing the scales off of the dragon.
The officer quit giving a pony orders and turned to me, "We were attacked by a pack of dragons, what does it look like." he looked at me, annoyed.
"I mean, what is an Old Kingdom Troop doing outside of a settlement?" I asked, slightly annoyed myself. I turned again, and noticed Kelvin was looting the bodies of the deceased. I shook my head.
The officer looked at me like I was a lesser being. "Why the hell does it matter to you, mule? This is strictly business of the Old Kingdom Party." He leaned to the side, and looked at Kelvin, still kneeling over the body of the pony he stripped of equipment. "And you, didn't your mother tell you not to steal." He turned back to me. I could tell Kelvin gave him an insubordinate look, as he always does to authority figures he didn't like. "You two better know your place, mule, and let the real ponies handle things around here." he walked off, as if he had single handily won that battle. Kelvin trotted next to me with saddle bags full of the items he had scavenged.
"What an asshole." he said, as we watched the officer walk away, shouting orders to his troops, "He could of at least said thank you." Kelvin turned and walked off. He was waving to Bright Eyes, signaling the fighting had ended. Bright Eyes picked up the packs, as well as Starlit, and slid down the drop off. He threw Kelvin his saddle bag, and me my own. I hitched it up. And we started walking towards Ponyville Ruins. As we walked, we kept hearing pebbles turning, faint panting, hoof steps behind us. Bright Eyes told me to stop worrying, and to pay attention to what was ahead of us. We walked slowly up to the metal gates of a town. We were all exhausted from the battle we had fought. The gates, despite their battered appearance, felt welcoming. We reached the checkpoint between the wasteland, and Ponyville Ruins. The guard in charge of the gate stopped us.
"Are you citizens of the Old Kingdom Party?" he asked. We all nodded, and I gave him our caravan paper work. "And what is your cargo?" I gave him the letter that was sent to me. "Very well, you may enter." The gate was slowly opening, as the gate in Everfree Post did, and the door to Stable 98 did. We walked into the town, but the guard held his hoof out as Bright Eyes was going to enter. "Who is this." he was pointing at Starlit, who still was being carried by Bright Eyes. Starlit sighed, and held her head low. I walked up to the guard, and took a deep breath.
"This is another in our caravan. We were attacked, and they partially burned our camp. We lost her papers in the fire." I showed no emotion of deceit, but Kelvin still looked worried. The guard looked at him, and showed intrigue.
"Do you have any proof of this attack, I mean, other than her injury." he asked.
I looked back at Kelvin, and nodded. He seem to have know exactly why. He opened his saddle bag, and pulled out the Steel Ranger helmet Starlit had worn, it had a bullet hole in it. I took it, and gave it to the guard. He store at it in awe. He shook his head and turned to us.
"Uhh...um, you.... uh.... may enter, I apologize for the delay." he raised his hoof and Bright Eyes entered the town. We all sighed in relief. As soon as we entered, another guard walked up to us.
"As accordance to the Caravan Act of the Old Kingdom Party. All caravans entering a Old Kingdom Party controlled settlement, shall be considered a friendly ally, and they shall be treated to a temporary residence for the duration of their stay. They will also be given any medical attention if required. I stood their stammering, but regained focus and agreed. The guard lead us through the old remains of Ponyville, and how the ponies living their had changed it. There were vagrants scattered among the streets begging for caps. There were crudely made signs for casinos or gun shops. But some of the town was very much the same. There were old stores that kept their old signs. I looked in to some of them. They had old ponies, just as old as my grandmothers in fact, still working the store. They must of survived the war, and moved back to Ponyville. I tried to imagine what this place looked like, before the end of the world. How Grandma Twilight and Grandma Pinkie's old town used to be like. I sighed. I will never be able to see it. The guard led us to an old building. It looked as though it was freshly painted. The guard pointed the hoof to the building. "This is the residence that will be provided. "If you inquire for another one, please just ask the Old Kingdom Party representative in the town center." He walked off. Bright Eyes and I walked him walk away, but Kelvin ran in. He burst through the doors, and ran around the building. We turned back, and ran in after him. Inside the building seemed well groomed. Everything was tidied up. Not a speck of dirt was found, not until we were walking around. Bright Eyes dropped Starlit, and we investigated the house. Our hoofsteps were loud we scanned every spot of our temporary home. There was a kitchen, a main room, some separately built bedrooms, and a backyard, that seemed to have actually grown grass! The main room was full of blank mannequins, and different kinds of fabrics and sewing materials. Kelvin ran up, and accidentally knocked all of the mannequins down. It caused a loud crash that could be heard throughout all of the house. After the noise was finished, an old, white pony slowly walked down the staircase, with an angry face. Her hair was purple, and it was done in a manner I haven't seen any pony have in the entire wasteland. It was beautiful. She turned to Kelvin, and gave him a grim stare.
"How dare you come into another pony's home, and just, WRECK THE PLACE! Do you have any idea how long it took to clean everything in the house and wash away that dreaded "nuclear" residue?" she walked around inspecting everything we had touched. She looked closely at us, and shook in disgust. "Honestly, a true, well mannered pony would ask if they were to visit me." she walked up to us, and held out a hoof. "But, you seem like good company, so you will have to do, my name is Rarity." Kelvin stood up, and blatantly shook her hand. After he was done with his rather lengthy greeting, he walked off to explore more of the house. Rarity wiped the grime left from his hoof on the floor. She held her hoof out and greeted both Bright Eyes and Starlit, and she finally stood towards me. She held her hoof out and smiled warmly. I smiled back and held my hoof out as well, and we shook hooves. She started to investigate my clothing. I always wore a gray coat with the shirt from Stable 98. She looked at the shirt, and her eyes widened. Her hoof felt a little more hesitant, and shaky. I looked worryingly at her. She took my jacket, and opened it so she could see the inside pocket, I did not stop her, she felt, familiar in a way I could trust her. She took out the photo I kept of my family. And looked at it with a wider mouth that her eyes. She dropped the photo, and lunged into me to hug me. "Oh sweet Celestia, Woodshop! It is you! Oh my, I thought," she began tearing up, she was kissing my cheeks and hugging me over and over, "I thought your family would have died, oh my Celestia, thank goodness you're okay!" I took a step back, trying to cut the bond she had made. I tried to think back, to my childhood. To the only days I could remember before my family was sent to Stable 98. That's when I remembered. I remembered my Auntie Rarity, and my other Aunties, and playing with their children's children in a field outside in Ponyville. Those were some of my first memories. I opened my eyes, and my they began to tear up. I hastily walked back into Rarity's embrace. I could feel the tears of joy run down her face, and hit my forelegs I wrapped around her.
