Chapter 1: Pink Eyes of the Ghost

“... A larva, which after hatching, followed me like a confused child.”

Samus’ log, date: unknown.

Innocence.

There will always be a time when we lose our innocence. As we age, the world becomes harsher, causing us to look at things from a cynical point of view.

Yet, we all pine for those days without worry, without responsibility. We all miss our innocence. We all have point where we lost our innocence. I lost mine when Space Pirates took my home and family away from me.

I guess, in a sense, we envy children, for they have what we lost.

Samus stumbled to her left as she attempted some walking. She looked up at her ship's computer,”Computer, what happened to my suit?”

“Your current biological make-up is now incompatible with your Power Suit. The suit is now currently rebooting itself to properly be used by your new pony form.” The computer said in a male voice.

“Any idea how long it’ll take before I can get it back?”

“Analysis... Result Inconclusive. The amount of time for your suit to return is unknown.”

“Great.” Samus growled,”That means it could take days for my suit to reboot.” She looked behind her at her stun pistol in its holster,”I can’t fire anything with my hooves, or mouth even. I’ll have to survive without any weapons. Computer, what is the status of the planet we’re on right now?”

“The atmosphere is breathable for you, Samus, but there are faint traces of radiation.” The Computer said,”The traces are small enough for you to survive.”

Samus looked out the window at the wasteland before her,”This place looks barren, but looks can be deceiving, I’ve learned that a long time ago.” She walked to a special platform on the ship,”How long will it take for the ship to repair itself?”

“3 weeks, Samus.” The Computer said.

“All the more reason for me to leave.” Samus tapped her hoof and the platform came down to the ground,”I’m not staying here for that long.”

Samus looked around the area, noticing the dead trees and decayed metal. She frowned,I never liked seeing dead worlds. She thought as she looked ahead of her and noticed a small yellow thing walking towards her. The yellow thing had a helmet with the head of a small pink pony with a yellow mane inside. A filly? Samus thought, So this world still has some life in it.

The yellow thing jumped up and ran towards the huntress,”Whoa, are you an alium? I’ve never seen an alium before! I’ve always wanted to see one!”The filly then stopped herself,”Oops, I forgot! Mommy always said to introduce myself when I meet somepony.” She smiled,”Hi, I’m Puppysmiles!”

Puppysmiles? Well, I’ve seen weirder names. She’s also pink, so I can guess, considering my own mane and tail color, that ponies on this planet must come in different of colors. Samus knelt down to Puppysmiles' level,”Yeah, I’m an alien. My name is Samus.” She looked around,”Where are your parents, kid?”

Puppysmiles looked up,”Well, I’ve been trying to find my Mom, have you seen her?” She looked up with hopeful eyes.

Samus frowned,”No, sorry. “ She thought for a moment,”But I can help you find her. A little filly shouldn’t be going around all by herself anyway.”

“You’ll help!?” Puppy hopped around Samus,”Yay!” She suddenly hugged Samus’ neck,”I have a new friend!” She bounced off and walked to Samus’ side. She began to trot off.

Samus shook her head, My, she’s upbeat for living in a world like this. Samus started to walk towards the child, until she fell flat on her face.

Puppysmiles turned to the sound of Samus’ head hitting the ground,”Are you alright, Big sister?” she ran to Samus.

“Sorry,” Samus groaned,”I kinda... um.” She looked up into Puppy’s glowing eyes.

“Oh, I get it!” Puppy gave a wide grin,”You don’t know how to walk because you’re an alium blending in using a pony’s body as a disguise!” She leaned in to Samus’ ear and whispered,”Don’t worry, I won’t reveal your secret.” Puppy hopped up and turned,” Come on, I’ll show you how to walk!” She started with putting one hoof forward,”You put one hoof in front of the other, and...”

Samus got up and started to follow Puppy’s movements,I’m being trained by a child, this is kind of embarrassing. Samus thought to herself as she slowly followed the filly step by step.

Samus turned and bucked at a rock, causing a crack to form in it.

“Wow!” Puppy exclaimed. She began to hop up and down,”You’re really strong, big sis!” She had latched on to Samus’ back.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” Samus said with a smirk,That was stronger than normal. Guess this body has some nice perks after all.

Puppysmiles began to speak aloud,”Mister Voice, could you play some music?”

“Scanning for radio stations.” A voice came from Puppy’s suit. Several staticy noises went by as Samus carried the little filly further out in the wasteland. The noises stopped at a melancholy voice.

“Hello again, wastelanders, Lonesome Pony here with some news. It has been two years since the purge of the pegasi from their homes in the clouds. Two years since our beloved Velvet Remedy was taken from us in a horrible accident. Two years since the alicorns started their war with each other. It’s a miracle that there are ponies that are even alive now with all the crap that’s been going on. The Steel Rangers are worse than ever, going on massacres in every stable and settlement they can find that might have some technology, the slavers are more numerous after taking over Chicacolt and Las Pegasus, and settlements are being overpopulated.

That being said, there are still places that will take in refugees, including pegasi and former Enclave soldiers. These places include Friendship City and New Appleoosa.

Tenpony Tower has gone dead a few hours ago, and I fear the worst.

That’s all for the news. Stay safe, wastelanders, here’s the late Velvet Remedy’s famous hit, Already One Year.”

As Puppy attempted to sing along with the song on the radio, Samus began to think,It’s just not a planetary adventure without people in danger now, is it? She looked up, noticing that the clouds covered the skies completely,So, where do I begin saving the world this time? then she had a thought, Wait, pegasi exist here? Do unicorns exist as well?

A bullet ricocheted off the ground in front of Samus. The huntress’ ears perked up as she looked around.

“Well, look what we have here? A sexy mare and her little bitch.” A rust colored pony with rusted armor that looked to be cobbled together from bits of metal came up from behind a rock. Samus looked around and saw three more, two holding what looked like to be guns on mouthpieces. One looked to be holding a pipe in his mouth. The first one to speak grinned as he reached for a pistol,”Time for us to have-”

He was unable to finish as Samus ran up to him, grabbed his neck and twisted it around with a sickening crack. She felt a bullet hit her ear. Samus turned, blood pouring down the side of her face. She felt the dropped pistol on her hoof as she watched two ponies take aim, Judging by their bloodshot eyes, they’re probably high on drugs, so it might take more than a few bullets to take them down, if I aim for the body. She hit her hoof on the pistol on the ground and caught it with her mouth. She felt a few bullets hit her shoulders,Their aim is off by five degrees, possibly due to their crazed minds and the drugs they've been taking. I'll probably be fine handling them head-on. She ran to the left, dodging more gunfire. She took aim and shot one in the leg, stunning him until she got to his head. She could barely hear the sounds of enjoyment from the filly around her neck. She looked at the other raider and ran towards him. The raider hastily fired at her, but grazed her leg. Samus pointed the gun to his head, and fired. Samus turned to the last one. This one trembled, So I did take out their leader, didn’t I? Judging by how unsure this guy is She walked slowly towards him.

The raider raised up his pipe in defense,”I-I’ll hurt you, bitch.”

“Really?” Samus said,”I doubt that.” She looked into his eyes,”Let me guess, you were a gang of overly drugged raiders, who killed, raped and tortured many defenseless ponies. Tell me, how many did you kill?” Samus cocked her head.

“I-I don’t remember!” The raider gulped as he stepped back.

“I figured that. I guess you were once a normal pony until you went crazy and found a group just like yourself, and you started hunting down canaries. You killed maybe ten or twenty poor ponies before you found a seemingly defenseless mare with a little filly to go with. However, judging by your look and stature, you never had this happen before, did you?” Samus chuckled,”Instead of finding a canary, you found a hawk, and she’s got you by the talons.” She pointed the pistol at his face,”I'll give you five seconds.”

The raider screamed as he raised his pipe.

“Five.” Samus dodged one swing.

“Four.” Samus dodged another.

“Three.” Samus jumped back.

“Two.” Samus let the pipe her face. She turned to the raider and smirked,”One.” She fired, right between his eyes.

Puppy squealed in delight,”Can we do that again?”

Samus chuckled,”Sorry Puppy, but I can’t play with these guys anymore!” She frowned,These- raiders, judging by their flimsy looking armor, that’s what I’m going to call them from now on- won’t bother anyone again. She spat out the gun on her hoof and watched as the gun’s mouthpiece magically cleaned itself, Huh, guess I don’t have to worry about tetanus or any other kind of diseases She looked at the gun closely. The gun’s mouthpiece was yellow, its muzzle and barrel were a metallic blue. On the sides were yellow and purple stripes. There was an engraving on the side of it that read ”Flash Sparkle.” Samus noticed the trigger in the mouthpiece that she had instinctively used to fire it. She saw a button on the side and pressed it,’Now I know how to reload it. It looks to be a 5.56mm pistol. Primitive, but it’ll have to do.’ She thought. She turned to Puppy,”Alright Puppy, where do we go?”

Puppy gave a grin,”The little arrow is pointing towards... that way!” She said, pointing her hoof.

“Wait!” A voice shouted. Samus turned to see a grey unicorn stallion with a five-o’clock shadow run up to her.

‘What do you know, unicorns exist in this world.’ Samus thought.

The stallion looked at Samus,”You... were amazing!” He looked down and kicked one of the raiders,”Thank you, whoever you are. These raiders,” He shook his head,”They killed my daughter and took her gun.” he pointed towards the Flash Sparkle,”I was going to take my revenge on them, but I was too scared.” He chuckled,”Imagine my surprise when you scared that guy to death! I’ve never seen a raider act like that.” His horn glowed and a saddle bag and a holster with the initials FS appeared. They floated to Samus and hooked themselves onto her body,”As a token of my thanks, you can keep that gun, and in those saddle bags contain bullets for it. My daughter, may the goddesses help her, found that gun in a tower. It’s quite powerful.” He looked Samus over noticing some of the cuts on her,”It also contains some medical supplies, including some disinfectant and health potions.”

Samus hooked the Flash Sparkle onto the holster and looked at the stallion, Health potions? What is this, an RPG? She smiled and turned,”Thanks.”

“Wait, what is your name, hero?” The stallion asked.

“Samus Aran, a bounty hunter.” Samus said as she walked away.

“Then I shall call you The Huntress, Scourge of Raiders.” The stallion said as he watched Samus walk off.

Footnote: Level Up!

Companion Perk Added: BSBFF(Big Sister Best Friend Forever!): You gain a special conversation option when talking to young children when Puppysmiles is with you.

New Perk: Rapid Reload: Now that you’ve investigated the firearms of this world closely, you can now figure out how to reload a lot quicker. Your reload times have been shortened by 2 seconds.

Author's Note

Already One Year

Thanks to Alchemystudent for proof-reading this

The stallion is named Exposition.

I'm hoping Samus isn't too over-powered in this. Any feedback on that would be appreciated.