Fallout:Equestria - Burning Hope

Chapters

Introduction
0-Beginnings
1-Just another Day
2-Wasteland Business
3-Sunshine
4-Buck and Bar Fights
5-Junction Blues
6-Graves Unearthed

Introduction

When the megaspells fell, thousands of ponies retreated to underground stables, anyone unfortunate enough to be left outside retreated to the skies or died in the balefire and radiation. Years later, ponies left the stables in hope of a bright future, but they were greeted with the desolate hellhole that was once Equestria. The ponies spread out, hoping to rebuild the once beautiful land, but they didn’t even come close to succeeding.

What the instead made was the wasteland. A harsh unforgiving place where it seems everything and everyone is out to kill you. Sure there are pockets of what could be called society, but you’re more likely to stumble across raiders or ghouls before you get anywhere vaguely pleasant.

The wasteland is like one big board game, make a wrong move and that can be the end of you. One bullet can mean the difference between life and death. And karma always comes back to bite you in the ass, or shoot you in the brain. And it usually has something to do with somepony you pissed off somewhere down the line.

That is where ponies that were like me come in. When someone really wants a pony dead and they don’t have the skills to kill them, they go to professionals like I was. That was my life, I killed ponies for a living.

In all fairness, most of the ponies I killed were gits anyway and deserved to be shot. And it was a very well paying career. Though I had never particularly enjoyed my job, it was always for my friend. In one very brief moment of intelligence, I figured that if I earned enough cash, my friend Midnight would be safer. I then learnt that I had a particular skill in putting bullets through ponies brains, so that’s how I started.

And for 3 years, I traveled the wasteland, depositing lead into skulls. Nothing too special happened, and I was pretty content with my life. Then one day, I screwed up. I tried to do something good and in return I got my eye shot out. It was then that I quit my bloodthirsty job and turned to digging around old buildings, looking for some shit that I could sell.

Then, my life truly changed. I ended up on an adventure I didn’t know was happening until I had a bunch of fuckers hunting my ass. So, I’m gonna tell you all about it, but first I best tell you how I ended up in the wastes to begin with.

I was born in Stable ‘17’, down near some place called Dodge City. It was a pretty decent place to grow up in. The stable was always peaceful and friendly, and it was safe. I was raised by my mum and dad, along with my little sister Lillyflight. Mum was a security mare and dad was a doctor, pretty average parents. When they were busy I hung out with my best friend Midnight, causing trouble around the place.

And one day we did something real stupid, we found hobbies. Midnight found she had a real knack for making weapons out of scratch, and I had a talent at using said weapons. Now most ponies would say that there was nothing wrong with a harmless hobby, but that was different in the stable. Because the last thing you wanted was to get a cutie mark in an unproductive hobby.

When a filly hit school, they would first learnt the basic stuff. Maths and the like. Once that was sorted, they’d learn ‘work skills’. Which meant they’d drag kids down to maintenance to screw up some disused pipes, then up to the kitchens to give the overmare food poisoning (no lie, I actually did that) and then pretty much the same routine with all the other jobs available in the stable. And then the routine would go on and on until they go their cutie marks, usually when they were young adults. After that a pony would go into their field of work while learning all the extra’s in their spare time, such as history and music. Unless a pony was like me.

I was an ‘irrelevant’, somepony looked down on by the stable. An irrelevant was a pony whose talent had no purpose. Artists, singers, dancers, athletes, all irrelevant in the overmares eyes. Most of our entertainment came from dancing maintenance mares, or singing chefs. Anyone irrelevant was kicked out the stable and quickly forgotten about.

My cutie mark was in shooting, shown as a black arrow with flames on the flights. Unfortunately for me, our stable had never used firearms, having kept them locked up for years. That made my talent ‘irrelevant’ so I had to go. I wasn’t alone though. Midnight had got her talent in making and mending weapons, shown by a revolver with a spanner over it. We were the first in years, and looked down on by the whole stable. But leaving was the worst part.

And that is how we ended up in this shithole, scrounging through pre-war junk for scraps to sell. Then, like I said, I ended up on the most life-changing adventure. I almost changed the fate of the wasteland, and then I continued to change the land in hope of redeeming myself.

My name is Fireflight, and I am the pegasus who was hired to kill Littlepip. This is the story of my adventure across the wasteland. And why I changed my mind.

Author's Note

So, finally I have gotten round to fixing the first part of my story. Hopefully its a lot better than before, and if there is anything I can improve on please say so in the comments :twilightsmile:

0-Beginnings

Chapter 0: Beginnings
“You can’t fix dead!”

Three months and 19 days earlier, 1 day’s flight east of Manehatten:

*BANG*

A loud boom echoed around the valley as my sniper rifle fired, promising a swift death to the mare at the receiving end of the weapon. I lowered my rifle and flicked the safety back on with my hoof, looking down as I did so. Just as expected, a few hundred meters downhill, my target had dropped dead with a fresh hole in her skull.

My mother’s words came to mind, “All ponies are children of the Goddesses, and should be respected. Never kill, or disrespect another for we are all equal.”. What would she say if she saw me now, killing ponies for a living.

I felt a feeling of guilt strike me. This mare had once had a life, she probably had a family too. Feelings, thoughts, ambitions and dreams. Was I a bad pony for ending her life?

However, these feelings of guilt evaporated quickly. Most of the ponies I had ever killed were scum anyway and deserved death. If they had done nothing wrong, then ponies wouldn’t be paying me to kill then, would they? This was my life, and I couldn’t let something as stupid as guilt stop me from doing my job. After all, this mare was no different from all my previous ‘targets’.

I brought up my slightly battered pip-buck and checked my EFS, making sure there were no hostiles around. Many times I had killed a target only to find there were a few dozen raiders nearby with the same idea, and dealing with raiders was just a waste of ammo.

Pretty sure that I was alone, I slowly stood up and stretched my long legs happily. I must have been sitting on that rock for a few hours waiting for that mare to turn up, and sitting on a hard surface for that long was something I could never get used to.

My large wings spread out and stretched before I flapped them a little and glided down to the body. As I did so, my orange eyes scanned the area, making sure nothing had slipped my EFS. It had happened before, usually when magical creatures or complicated tech were involved, but one thing that I would never be able to spot were fucking stealth bucks. Even though I owned one, I was of the solid belief that pip-bucks were a plague on the wasteland. I could get shot by a dumb pony fresh from the stable who had never held a gun before, just because they were using SATS. Made any contract involving a dumb stable dweller a nightmare. I didn’t even need SATS that often, I could easily shoot stuff without some dumb targetting system. The only reason I kept it was because of the maps and radio.

My eyes fell on the dead mare as I landed beside her, folding my wings closely to my sides as my hooves touched the rough ground below. I examined the mare I had killed with slight curiosity.

She was a grey pegasus mare with a thick and curly red mane. Her wings showed signs of bad grooming, honestly, some pegasi had no idea how to properly care for wings. I looked at her badly cobbled together armor, which had probably been taken from a raider judging by its shit condition. A dashite brand was only just visible on her flank, figured really. Why else would she be on the surface.

The pony who hired me was some stupid ex Enclave officer with an equally stupid name that I couldn’t quite remember. I wasn’t quite sure why he wanted this mare dead, just some ramble about how she got him stuck on the surface. Not that it was any of my business, all I needed to do was to grab some necklace from her and I’d be on my way.

I smiled at the thought of the sweet cash I would be getting for this job. Many ponies told me that life had no price, but I had a price list on my pip-buck. An average wastelander cost 300 caps, and then the price would just go up depending on various factors. My best ever payment was 1500 caps for a Steel Ranger Paladin.

Of course I had never got a better contract than that, and most jobs usually got a little less than 400 caps these days. Honestly, it was like ponies had run out of assholes they wanted dead. I was getting 375 caps for this mare, nothing amazing really.

My eyes drifted to her saddlebag and I seized it in my hoof before yanking it off her back. I popped it open and tipped it upside down, letting the bag’s meagre contents fall to the floor. Unfortunately for me, it seemed this mare hadn’t owned much. Her possessions had consisted of a laser pistol with no battery, a couple of cans of food, some photographs and some strange outfit which I assumed was Enclave uniform. I kept everything but the uniform and the photos. Enclave ponies were despised down here and I had little need for it anyway. The photos were faded and old, nothing useful for me.

My hoof ran down her neck, searching for the proof of her death. It eventually touched a thin chain and I pulled it off her and looked at it. The necklace was made of a metal chain with a small pendant in the shape of a wing on it. I sighed and tucked it into my pocket, happy that the job was done.

Making sure that my sniper rifle was secure on my back, I flapped my wings and rose into the air, dust blowing around me as I did so. For most pegasi, flying was something stupid to do over long distances. It was all too easy for a raider to spot you and blast you out of the sky, but there was no way I was walking all the way back to the rotten apple. Anyway, I was pretty agile when I needed to be, despite the weight of my reinforced armor and weapons.

Below me, the dusty wasteland seemed to go on forever. There were very few notable landmarks to see, just the odd pre-war wreckage and a few rotting corpses that littered the road. Not for the first time, I wondered if any of those rotting skeletons were results of previous contracts, but I didn’t dwell on that thought. My wings kept flapping and I continued on my flight to the city, listening to the joyful music of Sapphire Shores on my pip-buck radio.

Some ponies questioned this line of work, saying that it was immoral. But for me it was a job, a way of life. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

1-Just another Day

Chapter 1: Just another day
"Equestria, we have a problem"

Silence.

Silence was rare in the wasteland. Almost every second, the sound of gunshots and screaming could be heard, or a growling animal, or a spritebot playing it’s infuriatingly cheerful ‘music’. But this morning, it was silent. At least for a minute or two anyway. Apparently, before the war, ponies could see the sun shining in the sky and birds soaring through the air, but the sun was never seen down here now. Perfect days hadn’t existed since before the bombs, but this day was the most perfect a day could be in the wastes. So far anyway.

I looked at my reflection in the cracked window, staring at my blood red mane that was tied in two places. My pale yellow coat shone in the early morning light and my beautifully large wings were spread out, sending a shadow onto the ground behind me. An orange eye sparkled in the reflection, but only one eye. My hoof drifted up to where my right eye was, gently running over where the eyelids had been sewn together to keep my eye shut, or what was left of my eye anyway. I shuddered a little as I felt the thick scar which covered the side of my face, only just hidden by my filthy mane.

Shaking my head, I stopped looking out of the window and turned towards a very familiar unicorn. I must admit, I had always envied her when it came to looks. My scruffy and tangled mane was no match for her soft and curly brown mane which matched the colour of tree bark. And her deep purple coat practically shimmered in the night time, and was useful for hiding during the dark hours.

Midnight turned and looked at me, her hazel eyes staring into my lone orange one. I noticed her horn was glowing it’s earthy aura, and she was holding a battered revolver in her telekinesis. A few pieces of scrap metal and gun parts were spread over the rusty metal table in front of her as well as a half empty bottle of sparkle cola.

“Are ya just gonna stare in that window all day, or are you gonna check the top floors of this flat before it goes down.” She said, staring at me before taking a sip of her cola.

“Yeah, sure. Aren’t you going to come with me though?” I sighed, flopping down on the faded sofa I had been standing on. Midnight rolled her eyes and put everything down on the the table before standing up and stretching her legs.

“Fine, I’ll go help you find some vaguely sellable shit.” She mumbled and kicked her chair back under the table.

I gave her a small smile before going to grab what I needed for scavenging.A 30 cal gun,a bag,a crowbar, some rope and two grenades,just in case. Midnight poked me in the shoulder and smiled, holding a lockpicking kit in her magic.

We opened the door that was at the end of the room and walked down the corridor, looking around as we did so. It seemed there were no rooms on this floor that we hadn’t already explored the day before when we found this building. Midnight and I had dragged several pieces of the furniture into the lobby of the building, which was now our temporary home.

At the end of the corridor was a large staircase. I looked up and frowned, the stairs seemed to have collapsed on the second floor, which meant we could only explore the first floor. My hooves stepped onto the first step, which cracked under my weight. The stairs were completely made of wood, no wonder they were in a terrible state. I frowned and flapped my wings, deciding to fly up so that I wouldn't break any of the steps. Midnight looked up at me before starting to climb the stairs, eventually reaching the top where I had landed.

We looked around the room that we were in. It seemed to be some sort of hallway leading to several rooms,probably apartments. The walls were covered in pre-war faded wallpaper which had a pattern on flowers on it and the floor was coated with a dirty and faded red carpet which had obviously not been cleaned in a couple of hundred years. Slightly rotted wooden doors lined the hallway, a small glass lantern beside each door. I could only assume that this had probably been home to many rich snobs before the bombs.

“We split up. I search half the rooms and you search the others. Ok?” I said, turning to my friend. She nodded and pushed open a nearby door before walking into the old apartment. I turned to a door that was just behind me and bucked it open with a powerful kick that sent the door halfway across the room. A small smile appeared on my face and I walked into the apartment cautiously.

The room I entered was an old living room. There was a faded floral pattern on the wallpaper that had probably once been beautiful, just like the expensive looking rugs that littered the floor. A large red sofa was in the corner of the room beside a wooden table which had a small dusty radio on it. I took the radio and tucked it into my bag, knowing that it was probably worth a few caps. The rest of the room merely consisted of a bookshelf and a large cupboard. I looked at the books, but they were mouldy and rotten so therefore had no value. Shrugging, I made my way to the cupboard and looked inside. There wasn’t much in there to be honest, then again I hadn’t expected there to be. Inside was a couple of old keys and some ancient magazines, including a few copies of ‘wingboner’. The second I saw those magazines, I slammed the cupboard closed, blushing bright red. I didn’t think that posh ponies read that type of thing, then again, the pegasus on that front page could have drawn anyone to buying such an explicit magazine. Turning away, I walked towards another door and pushed it open, stepping into what must have been the kitchen.

I’m not sure what I had been expecting,but it certainly wasn’t this. I looked out of the enormous hole in the wall,which gave a brilliant view of the rest of Manehatten. In the distance I could see Tenpony Tower as well as the Friendship City statue. The eery river snaked through the city, giving a slightly ominous feeling to the place, but it melded well with the destroyed buildings. A few ponies moved around, obviously scavengers and travelers.I sighed and turned back to the room I was in.

The kitchen was rather bare,compared to the last room. Filthy tiles covered the floor and whatever pattern that had once been on the walls had long faded away into almost nothing. It seemed that most of the kitchen cupboards had fallen out, but there were a few left in there. I flicked open one of the wooden cupboards and looked inside, where I found a couple of tins of pet food. The cupboard was slammed shut and I moved to the next one, which had two boxes of sugar apple bombs. Not perfect,but they would do for food. Further inspection of the kitchen showed that there wasn’t anything else of value there so I left and moved on to the bathroom.

The bathroom was filthy. Almost every surface was covered in grime and dirt. I had a hard time seeing the tiles below my hooves as I walked around the disgusting room. There wasn’t much in there, just a toilet next to a sink which had a cupboard over it and beside that was a shower. The cupboard caught my eye and I opened it carefully, revealing a small stash of dash inhalers which I swiped before pulling a tub of buck from my pocket and taking one.

“So whoever lived here was a dash junkie” I thought aloud as I scanned the room before leaving again. The moment I left that room I frantically wiped my hooves on a nearby rug in an attempt to wipe the grime off. Even though I was in the wasteland, at least I had some sense of hygiene left. After I was certain that my hooves were vaguely clean, I made my way to the last room, which was the bedroom.

The first thing that I noticed was the skeleton on the bed, which was spread across the dusty covers. It seemed to have belonged to a mare, not only because of the shape of the bones, but because there was still a tattered dress covering it. After that little surprise, I looked around the room. The walls still showed the pink floral pattern and a pale blue carpet coated the floor. I was surprised that the wooden wardrobe was still in fairly good shape, just like the rest of the furniture. However, a quick inspection of the furniture reveal that the contents had long rotted away into worthlessness. I came to the conclusion that there hadn’t been much of any value in the apartment, apart from the dash of course. My wings flapped and took one last look around before leaving the apartment.

As I moved towards the next apartment, the clear sound of Midnight swearing met my ears. I chuckled and opened the next door, wondering what had got my friend so angry. It was probably a tricky lock or something. The door I had pushed swung open and I stepped in, only my hooves didn’t meet any ground and I yelped as I fell down. My wings sprung out and flapped as I hovered in the air, looking up at the huge hole which I had fallen in. The room below was covered in smashed furniture and planks of wood, telling me that the floor had collapsed. I slowly flew up and out of the apartment before shutting the door, there was obviously nothing of value there anymore.

“FIREFLIGHT, come look at this!!” I heard Midnight yell from the other apartment. I ran in and looked at her, half expecting a rabid ghoul to be there.Midnight chuckled and looked at me. A quick scan of the room showed that there were no feral ghouls or disgusting mutated beasts.

“Wow, you really do stress too much” she giggled. I rolled my eye and pulled the tub of buck from my pocket before downing another one of the sweet little orange pills, making sure Midnight couldn’t see. Yes,I had a buck addiction that I hadn’t told Midnight about, but it wasn’t like it was causing any harm, right?

“Don’t scare me like that, I was half expecting a feral ghoul to be in here” I yawned and looked at her “What is it?”

Midnight grinned and pointed to a terminal that was in the cramped room, expecting me to take a look. I sighed and looked at the glowing green screen, my eyes widening as I stared at the text before I looked at my friend.

“Why the hay am I looking at erotic pre-war messages?” I said, hoping that I would forget what was written there. She giggled and turned the terminal off. I probably didn’t want to know why.

“Anyway, it’s getting dark. Let’s go back downstairs and settle down” the mare said to me before yawning loudly. I nodded and leapt out of the window, spreading my wings and gliding down to the street below. There really was no need for me to do that, but I felt like stretching my wings. As I landed on the street, I took some time to think about the next day’s plans.

We were planning to trade with New Appleoosa that day, but it was too late to head out now. Traveling at night is something only a fool would do - Manticores come out at night and maul you to death, if you haven't already been killed by raiders... or worse. Midnight wanted to trade with Tenpony Tower, because we were already in Manehattan and, apparently, they would pay a fortune for some items found in the wasteland. But then she realized that the bloody security there would shoot me on sight.

Being an infamous bounty hunter was one of my greatest mistakes, and it could never be fixed.

I switched on the radio, only to quickly turn it off again. The only thing that seemed to be on the radio over the past few days were stories about the mysterious stable dweller, or the crazy wanderer as I called her. She did all sorts of heroics around the wasteland. I had no interest in selfless acts done by somepony who had left her stable a few days earlier. I thought that by next month, she'd probably be long forgotten and, possibly, dead. If there's one thing that I’d learnt in the wasteland, it's that heroes usually met a rather horrible fate eventually - and I was pretty sure this pony was no exception. The last time I had done a heroic act, I lost an eye.

Three months previously, I was hired to kill some unicorn by a raider who had offered a huge payment for the unicorn's head. It was a large payment for one unicorn, but some ponies never forgive and it was well known that I only worked for big payments, so that didn't bother me too much. But after doing some research, I found out that the unicorn was protecting a town and that the person who hired me wanted a couple of gems that the town had. I refused to do the job, so the raider decided to burn the town down. I tried to stop him, and I succeeded, but that act of heroism cost me my right eye. I never visited that town again, and I retired from bounty hunting the next day.

“Oooo, look Slit Throat, it’s one of them winged ponies” a high pitched voice said before erupting into giggles as my hooves touched the ground.

I looked around and saw two raiders staring at me. One was a caramel mare with a filthy brown mane that was tied back, and she didn’t seem to have a tail. Her ‘friend’ was a blue unicorn buck who had a short messy black mane. They both wore armour made of scrap metal covered in blood and other stains which I didn’t even want to know where they were from. The mare held a small 10mm pistol in her mouth whilst the unicorn held an assault rifle in his magic. I would have given anything to have my battle saddle with me at that point.

“Fucking raiders” was all I could manage to say as they slowly approached me. I hated those ponies, if you could even call them ponies. In truth, they were sadistic phsycopaths who liked nothing more than killing a pony and using their internal organs as decorations.

Midnight ran out onto the street and looked at me, then at the raiders. She then ran back inside, hopefully to grab her gun or another weapon.

“This is the reason I wanted to leave Manehatten today!” I yelled at her while trying to grab my gun in my mouth and line up my first shot. I aimed for the unicorn, since they could usually get a better shot than non-magic users.

My shot blasted through his head and sent a chunk of his brain flying through the air. The raider mare looked at her fallen comrade then at me.

“THAT WAS MY BROTHER YOU WHORE” she screamed before charging at me with incredible speed which could only have been achieved by use of Dash. The mare slammed into my side and sent me flying into a nearby wall.

“Fuck you” I spat and stood up, staring at her. Since when had I been unable to kill raiders? I must have been getting sloppy.

She pointed her pistol at me and fired, but missed completely. I grinned and flapped my wings, rising into the air before aiming my gun at her and pulling the trigger. The bullet hit but I didn’t stop there. I shot all four of her legs and giggled and I put my gun back in my back. Her screams echoed in the shallow street but I just grinned and landed on the ground. She would probably bleed out, eventually.

I smiled and walked back into the building before flopping down on the sofa. Midnight glanced at me from the small campfire she had built before turning back to tend to the fire.

“Those raiders get worse at shooting every year,” I remarked before opening a can of Sparkle Cola. I'm not a fan of Sparkle, but there was nothing else to drink. Unless you wanted radiation poisoning that is.

“I swear some don’t even know which end the barrel is” I muttered, drinking the warm carrot flavoured liquid.Midnight dug out some tins of food and an old pot, then began to cook a mea on the small campfire.l.

“So what did you find in the apartment?” she asked me.I shrugged and tipped my bag open to reveal the few items I had scavenged.

“You serious?” she looked at me “At this rate, we won’t have much to sell” Midnight grumbled. I was about to remind her that it wasn’t exactly my fault that there wasn’t much to scavenge but I was interrupted by a small bowl of food appearing in front of me. My irritation disappeared and I started eating hungrily. It had been a few days since I had actually eaten properly due to lack of food,so this was special.

The food was delicious - by wasteland standards. It was probably corn mixed with some other canned vegetables. I then fished out some cake from my bag and washed it down with a little cider. My pip-buck gave a small warning about the slightly radioactive food, but I probably breathed in more radiation every day.

Midnight finished her food and put the fire out before trotting to her sleeping mat and settling down on it. I smiled and stayed on the sofa, lifting my rifle towards me.

“Night Fireflight,” I heard her call.

“Goodnight Midnight” I sighed and looked out of the window at the destroyed buildings. Hours ticked by and nothing happened, not even a radroach in sight.

A hoof poked me and I turned to see Midnight looking at me.

“Your turn to sleep now sugar” she smiled and sat on the sofa, taking my rifle in her magic. I nodded slowly and leapt off the sofa before settling down on my own sleeping mat. My eye closed and I drifted off to another dream of blood and screams. But I didn’t mind nightmares.

Because in the wasteland, a nightmare is as scary as a butterfly. Reality is the most terrifying thing around. And unlike dreams, reality can kill you.

Level Up

New perk:Wonderbolt Wannabe - Your innate knowledge of Wonderbolt maneuvers and tricks from the Stable’s films have inspired you to fly like a pro. All offensive aerial maneuvers deal 10% extra damage.

2-Wasteland Business

Chapter 2: Wasteland Business
"Oh, Applebloom. You can’t get away from your own shadow."

I was younger, a lot younger by the looks of things. I could feel my old stable clothing clinging tightly to my fur, without the weight of armour plates pressing down on me. A saddlebag was secured to my back, which was light compared to my clunky battle saddle.

I looked to my side and saw a younger looking Midnight staring at me. She didn’t have her usual tired look, but her eyes were red, an indication that she had been crying. I noticed that we seemed to be standing by the stable door, the thick metal cog like a grave for all those who left. Behind me were my parents, who also seemed to be crying. There was my mother, whose normally immaculate red mane was messy and unkept. Beside her was my father, who was attempting to comfort mum. Underneath him was a small green filly with a yellow mane, who didn’t seem to know what was going on. I don’t think they told my sister what was happening until I had left.

A gun was levitated into my bag and I looked to the unicorn who put it there. She was a grey unicorn with a pink, black and white striped mane tied back in a ponytail. Her cutie mark was quill with a heart shaped nib.

“I’m so sorry” she said to us, the tone of her voice genuinely apologetic.

“It’s ok Overmare, we need to leave for the good of the Stable” Midnight replied, looking down to the ground.

“Well I wish you both the best of luck.” The Overmare forced a smile before turning to a security guard “Open the door.”

The guard went up to the control panel and typed the code in before pulling a lever. Lights flashed and sirens wailed as the enormous door rolled open slowly, paving the way to an uncertain future.

A gust of stale air met us. All I could see beyond was the remnants of an old barn. I patted Midnight on the shoulder and walked out of the Stable, heading to a new world….

Mornings, I hated mornings. I always said that if the sun came out I might actually like mornings. Shame the ‘Grand Pegasus Enclave’ didn’t care. Sometimes I was half tempted to fly up into the clouds and tell them exactly what I thought about their cloud cover, but Midnight reminded me that I’d probably be dead before I could speak. In the Stable I would often sleep right through the morning, on weekends anyway. But that wasn’t exactly a great idea in the wasteland. Daytime was the safest time to travel, especially in the early morning before the raiders came out.

As I slowly woke up, I became aware of the faint light streaming through the window and brightening the dusty room I was in. My ears twitched and I opened my eye, frowning as my other eye attempted to open as well, but was sewn tightly shut as always. I groaned and looked around, wondering what time it was.

“WAKE UP FIREFLIGHT!” Midnight cheerfully yelled in my ear, seemingly out of nowhere. My instincts kicked in and I sat upright, my hoof moving around behind me in search of a weapon. I relaxed at the sound of Midnight’s laughing.

“Not funny” I growled before stretching my stiff legs. The pesky unicorn continued to giggle.

“Was funny” she smiled.

“Was not” I frowned. I saw my opportunity and spread my wings, whacking Midnight right in the face. She frowned and rubbed her muzzle.

“Ok, I guess I was asking for that” she muttered.

“Okay, okay. Just be quiet,” I groaned and lifted myself off the sofa. My legs made their way to all my stuff and I started to get ready for the journey ahead. I made sure that all the armour plates were inserted into my old Stable Barding before I slipped it on and added the leg guards onto my rear legs. Then I put on the holster for Lullaby and tied my mane back as well as my tail.

I looked over to Midnight, who had gotten ready as well. She had slipped her leather armour over her Stable maintenance barding and had put on her brown boots. Her saddlebag rested on her back and a holster holding her favourite gun, Black Magic. I must admit, I had always been jealous of her little gun. It was a 6 chamber black revolver with its name painted in red on the bit. Midnight had brought it from a trader in Manehatten and customised it.

I was so busy gun admiring that I didn’t notice Midnight placing my battle saddle onto my back. An exclamation of surprise escaped my lips as I felt the heavy weight of my weapon drop onto me. Not to mention that the ammo box was stuffed full, making everything even heavier, It was a wonder I could still fly wearing this thing. Though it was a bit of a nightmare to try any aerial maneuvers.

My eyes drifted down to Peacemaker, the light machine gun attached to my battle saddle. I then slipped Lullaby into its holster. Lullaby must have been my favourite gun, and my oldest one. It was given to me the day I left the Stable and I named it after the Overmare. Wasn’t a special gun, just a very reliable revolver. I then checked that I had my sniper rifle secured to my back and that my crossbow was disassembled and tucked in my bag. The second Midnight turned to check something, I quickly pulled out my tub of buck and swallowed one before hiding the pills in my pocket again. This was one of the things Midnight didn’t need to know.

“We best get going” Midnight muttered and walked out into the street. I nodded slowly and followed her.

We walked the route from Manehatten to New Appleoosa. On the way we would be going through raider territory, but that didn’t bother me too much. I could take on a group of crazed cannibals. For the first few miles, the journey was peaceful. We didn’t even see a trader or a raider. I yawned and stretched my wings before turning on my pip-buck radio. Cheery music played out as Midnight and I wandered down the road. But I turned the radio off when the ‘Stable Dweller’ was mentioned, or the Crazy Wanderer as I called her. Who had time for false hope in random strangers?

I jumped as I heard a gunshot from behind and let out a stream of bullets at the raider behind me. Five bullets landed in his skull and one in his neck.

“Fireflight?” Midnight looked at me shakily as a gun cocked behind my head. Just as I was about to say something, a hard object came down on my head and I passed out.

A hoof struck me in the cheek, waking me. I looked up to see Midnight’s face staring down at me.

“Hey, you’ve finally finished napping.” she forced a small chuckle as she helped me sit up. I looked around us to try and figure out where we were. We were in a small concrete room which looked like it had once been a shed or outhouse. There was a large iron door and a tiny window, far too small for any pony to get through.

To my horror, my wings had been tied up securely.

“Where are we?” I mumbled, rubbing my head. She shrugged. “I didn’t think I should try anything until you woke up.”

“Good idea” I stood up and made my way to the door before banging on it with my hoof.

“YOU FUCKERS BETTER LET ME OUT BEFORE I TURN YOU INTO PONY CARPACCIO”

That moment, the door swung open, flinging me across the room. My body seemed to scream at me, the impact of hitting a concrete wall knocking the wind out of me.

“Fuck you” I spat at the mountain of pony who had barged in. To be honest, the first thing about him that hit me was the smell. The vile stench of corpses is not something easy to forget, unless you’re this guy, since he didn’t even seem to notice. And that was clear, because half his armour was made up of pony hide. I’m sorry, but being naked is better than wearing another pony as a pair of trousers.

“Crimson Hunter wants to see you” he barked, lifting me up with his filthy hooves. My legs trembled and I fell over again.

“NOW” the mountain screamed, his face turning redder despite his red coat.

I felt myself being lifted again, only this time it was Midnight helping me up with her gentle magic. Once I got to my hooves I smiled at her before turning to pony mountain.

He growled and marched out of the room, his stench following him closely. Midnight and I carefully stepped out of what we now knew was definitely a shed, and walked behind mountain, but not too close. As I looked around I got a good view of the camp, and it was with no doubt that this was a raider encampment, and a large one too. Almost everywhere I looked there was a crumbling building which housed several raiders, and at every corner I could smell pony meat being cooked. Most of the buildings seemed to be run down shops and houses which once formed a tiny village, but there were a few tents as well. We passed a giant hole in the street surrounded by a makeshift fence, which was probably used for fighting tournaments. I hoped we weren’t destined to be the next event.

Eventually, we arrived at an old shop, surrounded by several raiders. We were led through them into the building, but I could clearly see some of the raiders staring at me, the way a starving pony would look at a can of food. And I knew that they wouldn’t hesitate to eat me, or do worse things. As I shrugged off that horrible thought, I stepped into the shop.

I seemed to have arrived in the main office for the raider gang, which was surprising to say the least. The wallpaper had been stripped to just show concrete, and the ground was also concrete. In the centre of the room was a desk with a terminal on it and two chairs in front. Behind the desk was a unicorn sitting in a revolving chair. He was brown with a black mane and a blue eye, and he was also staring right at us.

“Leave us” he ordered, and all the raiders, including mountain, left us alone with the strange stallion. He motioned for us to sit down, and I did so. The chair creaked slightly, probably because it seemed to have been fixed half a dozen times. Midnight sat beside me, her chair shaking as if it was about to collapse any moment now.

I got a closer look at the stallion. His mane was filthy and unkempt, part of it obscuring his left eye. His body was covered in numerous scars, including one or two on his face. A tattoo covered his left arm, and as far as I could tell, it was of Celestia and Luna.

“Hello, I apologise for the roughness of my henchponies, they do like violence.” he said in a smooth, refined voice. I had many questions, but I decided to start with the most important.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU????” I yelled, standing up and smashing my forehooves on the table “I COULD QUITE EASILY SNAP YOUR NECK IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME ANSWERS!!”

He stayed surprisingly calm despite my threat, which was strange. Even Midnight seemed on edge when I yelled.

“My name is Crimson Hunter, though most simply call me Hunter. Please, there is no need for violence and blood, I am here with an interesting offer for you.” Hunter replied, not even the slightest hint of irritation in his voice.

“What sort of offer?” Midnight asked, pulling back down into my seat. By the looks of it, I had put a massive dent in the metal desk.

Hunter smirked and looked at me “The kind where Fireflight here kills somepony, and I pay a generous amount of money.”

I shook my head “I’m retired now, I don’t do that sort of job.”. ‘Because it kills innocents.” I thought, rage building up inside of me. I felt my friend’s hoof pat my shoulder.

“Well that’s a shame. Oh well, If you’re not taking the job then I guess I can leave you for my gang to devour. Or, you could take the job.” he grimaced. Now this was some sick psycho.

“Who do I have to kill?” I sighed, looking straight at him with my best ‘Prepare to get your face kicked in’ sort of look.

He grinned and passed me a photograph. It was of a greyish unicorn with a dull brown mane. A pip-buck was attached to one of her legs and she was wearing stable maintenance barding. A closer look showed she was from Stable 2, one which I wasn’t familiar with.

“Her?” I blinked, confused. Why would he want some stable pony? She didn’t look at all powerful, or important. And I could only assume Stable 2 was unopened, so she would know nothing about the wastes and probably get killed anyway.

“Yes, her. According to my sources, she is known as ‘Littlepip’. I want her dead. No questions, no tricks.” he said, staring at me with his blue eye.

“How much?” the second most important question in a contract. More often than not, the price indicated how important/powerful/dangerous the target was.

“50,000 caps guaranteed. 200 caps up-front to pay for any expenses, the rest when you bring me her cutie mark. Just one will do, either side, doesn’t need to be pristine, just recogniseable. The info is on the back of the pic.” I gasped, dumbstruck. Midnight looked exactly the same.

To any rookie, this would be the perfect contract, but I knew better. For one, there must be some reason why someone is wanted dead. Usually for a personal agenda but, occasionally, something bigger. And when you stumble into something big, you become the target of professionals. Also, what the employer wants as proof of death is a sign of their mental stability. A piece of armour, a weapon or perhaps a necklace meant that it was probably a pretty stable pony. Any body parts, and it was likely that your contractor was a nutter. More often than not, a nutter that would rather kill you then pay you.

All these facts meant that I was liking this contract less and less. No personal reason? Check. Body parts? Check. Raider employer? Double check. Only an idiot would willingly take this job.

“And if you dare go back on the job, then I will kill the ones you love. And that is a promise.” Hunter smiled and pushed a bag of bits towards us. Midnight shakily lifted the bag in her magic. I could see that her brown mane was stuck to her face with sweat, and her hooves were shaky.

Hunter placed some stuff on the desk, our weapons and clothing. “I will leave you ladies now. My guards will escort you out when you’re ready.” and with that, he left the room.

Midnight lunged at me and wrapped me in a spine crushing hug. I could see that she was crying, so I wrapped my hooves around her in an attempt to comfort her. After she had quietened down, I stood up and let her untie my wings. As the rope was pulled away I stretched my lovely yellow wings. Doing that also revealed the numerous scars that covered my body in a strange sort of pattern.

I started putting on all my armour again, which was irritating to say the least. Some of the armour plates had shifted and I had to get Midnight to fix them, but finally, we were ready.

Midnight checked our weapons, and then we headed out of the shop. Pony mountain was waiting for us outside, and he led us out, not saying a word. The second we reached the edge of the camp, he left us.

I checked my pip-buck to see where we were, and found we were a little off the road to New Appleoosa. Midnight held the picture in her magic “Last seen headed to Manehatten.”

“So we go back?” I sighed and started walking. Since my back was turned, I pullled out my tub of buck and downed a pill. Then I took another for good measure.

“YOU’RE DOING THE JOB???” Midnight exclaimed.

“I have no choice.”

And with that we set off, back to the rotten apple. I didn’t know it then, but this was the start of an adventure, one that could change the wasteland’s future.

Level Up

New perk:Terrifying Presence - You can intimidate non-hostile contacts, causing a 25% chance they will turn and flee or give in to your wishes. If you have the biggest weapon, there is an extra 5% chance. You can only intimidate up to four at a time.

3-Sunshine

Chapter 3: Sunshine 
"But how do you break into uplifting musical numbers with no singing?  "

The light was beginning to fade as we entered Manehattan. It was far too late to be looking for ‘Littlepip’, so Midnight and I decided to set up camp and start looking in the morning. We had found an old office building which was relatively intact, and decided to camp on the second floor. There was a large window, which was completely smashed, and numerous terminals on broken tables.

Midnight set her bed roll down on the floor and pushed her saddlebag off her back. I yawned and looked out of the window, looking out over the street and the ruined city. It gave me time to think, to reflect.

Was this job the ending of my retirement? Would I continue to kill just for a few caps? Could I keep Midnight safe forever? How much more blood would be on my hooves? Was I a bad pony?

I felt a hoof on my shoulder and I turned to look at Midnight. She was staring at me, concern filling her hazel eyes.

“You ok Fire?” she asked, looking into my eye. “You look sad, is something wrong?”

“N-no.” I mumbled “I was just thinking. Does doing this job make me a bad pony?”. A memory came to mind, and I suppressed the urge to shoot myself on the spot.

“No, you aren’t a bad pony. No one is perfect, especially not in the wastes.” she said in an attempt to cheer me up.

“What about that filly? The one I……” I gulped, staring down in the wild hope that the ground would swallow me “The one I killed.”

“Not your fault. You were told to shoot her from the opposite building, you couldn’t have known.” she mumbled. I looked away.

“Anyway, you sleep, I’ll take the first watch as usual.” Midnight sighed and unrolled her bedding. I listened as she settled down before a soft snore could be heard.

The city looked quiet. A few spots of light littered the city as settlements prepared for the night. A tower of light shone over smashed buildings, as posh ponies sat down for their third meal of the day. I was lucky if I got one a day. In the distance, there seemed to be a celebration in one of the settlements, because I could hear music being played. It sounded out of place among the screaming that echoed from the next street along.

My ear flickered and I heard the screaming again, coming from a mare by the sound of it. And, in the corner of my eye, I spotted a group of ponies turn and walk down the street below. Several ponies in battered old armour were walking, pulling a few cages behind them on large carts. There were about ten ponies and two cages, with several other mares and stallions inside the cages. It was without a doubt that the armoured ponies were slavers. I had no intentions of doing anything, but I saw Midnight standing behind me, having woken up, holding my battle saddle ready in her magic. It was dumped on my back and I prepared to attack, even though I wasn't wearing any armour. With my trusty weapon loaded, I took off out the window.

They didn't notice me at first. Pegasi aren't very common in the wastes, so it must have come as a surprise when I started shooting at them from above. I didn't bother with S.A.T.S, I had enough ammo so I just rained down lead on them. One of my shots struck one unlucky sod in the head, but the rest only scraped the slavers if they hit at all. Then, they started shooting back.

A bullet whizzed past my face, nicking my right ear. I flew high into the sky and swooped down, firing more bullets as I did so. Another slaver got shot through the eye, while the buck next to him got a new hole in his chest. Red looked good on him. The crack of my rifle sounded out, and I guessed Midnight had joined in the fight.

Turns out that thinking while fighting was bad, because the next thing I knew, I'd been shot in the side just beside my cutie mark. Screaming was unavoidable, but that was wasting more time.

I growled and dodged another bullet before speeding up and flying sideways along the side of the wall. Before they knew what was coming, I shot two from behind. My wings snapped shut and I plummeted down to the ground, the feathery appendages spreading the second before I landed on top of a slaver. She fell to the ground and I shot her in the head for good measure. Another bullet pierced my skin and made its home in my lower chest, lodged between two ribs. Nothing important was hurt, probably, so I grit my teeth and ignored it.

My head turned to whoever had shot me. It was an orange earth mare with a yellow mane, tied back with bands that had spikes on them. Her tail was cut so short it was hard to see, especially with all the armour she wore. A necklace of dash inhalers hung from her neck, and her bloodshot eyes indicated she had taken some sort of chem, if not multiple types. The strange mare charged towards me.

She was a little slow, by the time she got to where I was, I was hovering in the air above her. My mouth bit down on the bit of my battle saddle, but my gun didn't fire, just let out that horrible click. I was out of ammo. Midnight was clearly trying to shoot the final two slavers, which just left me with this nutcase.

“I jus wanna playyyyy” the slaver called, clearly insane. “I like playing. I play with da slaves. They don't like playyying.” Her tone of voice shook me a little.

I flew high into the air, higher than the building before dashing down at high speed. My eyes watered and my wings ached, but none of that mattered. My hoof made contact with her side and I slammed into the mare, sending us both sprawling to the ground. A disturbing fit of giggling erupted from the mare. She recovered before I did and leapt onto me, her disgusting slobber dripping onto my face. My legs desperately tried to push her away, but I guess the blood loss from being shot and the exhaustion from all that flying was beginning to catch up.

She pressed her hoof against my stomach and I wailed. The mare was wearing shoes with spikes on the bottom, spikes that were pressing into me. A shot rang out and she stayed there, frozen still as a waterfall of blood erupted from her skull. The mare was pushed away from me and landed on the cracked concrete. Midnights face made its way into my view as she stared at me with concern.

“You ok Fire?” She asked. I nodded and slowly stood up. As my unicorn friend made her way to the cages I searched the mare. She hadn't owned much, but I didn't mind. Two of her buck pills were swallowed by myself and I took one of her med-X shots, ramming the needle into my shoulder before feeling the sweet numbing sensation.

Her spiked shoes caught my eye and I pulled them off before slipping them onto my own hooves. With a little work, they would be a perfect fit, but they were fine for the time being.

I grinned and bounced over to Midnight, who had unlocked both cages by then. Most of the freed slaves had gone to search the bodies of their former captors, or just ran away the instant they were free. Two eyes under one of the carts stared at me and I looked down.

Underneath was one of the slavers, who had hidden when I started the attack. He shuffled out from under the cart. I ran behind him and leapt onto his back, planting my spiked hooves firmly in his back. A scream escaped his lips, and I stamped on his neck, driving the spikes through his windpipe. As I removed my hooves from his body, blood spurted out of him as if he was a fountain. It was almost beautiful, the way the blood rose into the air before arching down and falling to the small lake of red surrounding the body.

I made my way back to my friend, so was having a conversation with one of the ponies she had set free. They had obviously found everyone's property because I could see several slaves sifting through a large chest and pulling out bits of property. Then, many of the free ponies set off back into the city.

Midnight was talking to a mare. She was an earth pony by the looks of it. Her coat was a dulled pale pink and her mane was a rather dull yellow with a magenta stripe through it. The mare’s eyes were the colour of the stripe, but something about them reminded me of crystals. Both her mane and tail were limp and flat, drooping down to the ground. She wore a set of leg guards and a wartime medic bag. Around her front was a belt with several small knives strapped to it. A gun was inside a holster strapped to one of her hind legs, slightly covering her cutie mark which looked like a yellow butterfly made from crystals.

My unicorn friend turned to me “Fire, this is Sunbeam. Sunbeam, this is Fireflight. She’s a very close friend of mine.” She said. I gave Sunbeam a pleasant smile, and she smiled back.

“J-just call me Sunny” she said quietly, almost in a whisper. I guess it was then that she noticed the two bullet wounds in my side, probably due to the fact that my hind legs shook and I almost fell over. The pink mare gasped.

“Oh, goodness. You're hurt.” She said, dashing to my side. Midnight looked concerned.

“Not too bad.” I mumbled “I've had worse.” She stared at me in shock.

“You really should take better care of yourself. There are bullets stuck in you and you don't seem to care.” I guess the only reaction I could think of was to shrug, so that's what I did. She then went on. “I should be able to fix it. Not in the open though.”

Midnight walked back towards the building we had set up camp and I followed, with Sunny insisting on lecturing me about my health as I walked. When we reached the second floor of the office building, the pink pony forced me onto a table before getting Midnight to yank my battle saddle off. Then Sunny started pulling stuff out her bag.

As I sat on the table, I watched in a fascination as a bright light radiated from Sunny. Her mane was suddenly brighter and bouncier, and was tied in a ponytail with large blue hair bands. Her tail had experienced a similar transformation.

“What the….?” I began but she interrupted me.

“I'm a crystal pony.” She said, still looking through her bag for something. I was sure I could remember something about crystal ponies at school, but I probably wasn't listening properly. But I liked to keep an open mind about this sort of thing, so I said nothing.

Sunbeam ordered me to lie down, much like a master would order their pet. And I subconsciously obeyed, lying down on my side. Something pierced my neck and the world spun around.

“Wha?” I mumbled before losing my grip and falling into the black.

I seemed to have woken up, still on the table. My midsection was wrapped in bandages, and my pip-buck was no longer on my forehoof. I looked around, but no one seemed to be there.

“Midnight?” I called out “Sunbeam? Where are you guys?”

A gun cocked behind my head and I turned around. Behind me was a tall white unicorn with a neatly brushed white mane and bright red eyes. He wore a cream coloured cloak that reached down to the floor and covered his tail. The clasp on the cloak was metal and looked like a snake eating its own tail. He was holding a large rifle in his red magic.

“We meet again Fireflight. It is truly a shame I failed to kill you last time. But now, I can finish what I started.” He said in a smooth voice.

“What you started can never end, it spirals on forever. Isn't that the Guild’s logic?” I spat at him.

“You know I don't care for that.” He grinned and pressed the rifle to my head, the barrel pressing between my eyes. I swore that his eyes glowed as he grinned at me.

“You never should have left, Fireflight.” He said before a loud bang. And everything faded away.

Level Up

New perk:Survivalist - You are an experienced citizen of the wasteland. Congratulations?? You have a better ability to survive in hostile environments, such as radioactive cities.

4-Buck and Bar Fights

Chapter 4: Buck and Bar Fights
"…Well, that was interesting alright."

I gasped and woke up, looking around frantically. A blanket was draped over my body and I seemed to still be on the table, but with my bedroll underneath me. Bandages seemed to be wrapped around my middle, and I was completely naked apart from my pip-buck.

A groan escaped my dry lips and I slowly stretched my legs, looking out of the nearby window at the sky, which was slowly brightening. Nopony else was in the room, but I could hear some commotion from the office next door. The raised voices were clearly Midnight and Sunny, but I couldn’t quite figure out what they were yelling.

A door opened and my unicorn friend walked in, followed by the pink pony. They both stared at me, Midnight looking away slightly. Sunny smiled and trotted towards me, her mane still bouncy and bright.

“Morning Fireflight, I hope you slept well.” she said in her weirdly cheerful voice as she started checking over me. I was about to say something but she put her hoof over my lips.

“I must apologise for the tranquilisers I gave you. And no, I actually mean animal tranquilisers, it’s easier to find than anesthetic. Anyway, Midnight informed me you don’t usually let anypony check your health, so I figured that I’d have to knock you out to get a good look.” Sunny gave a happy giggled and set about pulling the bandages from around me. For some reason, Midnight was looking away.

When Sunbeam was done, my unicorn friend walked towards me silently, holding something in her magic. She stared at me, much like the way my mother did when I had done something wrong.

“Fireflight….” The purple mare began “What the hell are these?” She showed me what she was holding in her magic. Several tubs of buck and a few dash inhalers as well as a shot of stampede. “Why have you got so many drugs? Buck in particular?”

I froze, no idea what to do. Like a stable filly in the sights of a rifle, numb and shocked. “I-I…..” Her eyes bore into my soul.

“Would it have something with you being a MOTHER FUCKING IDIOT WHO GOT HERSELF HOOKED ON BUCK???” she screamed, slapping me in the face as she did so. My left cheek throbbed and I looked away, ashamed.

“How long?” Midnight growled “How long..have you been hiding this from me?” she was clearly hurt, angry, sad. And she had a right to be.

I struggled to find my voice. “Th-three months. Ever since Burning Hope.” The name of that town tasted like poison, but it was true. Burning Hope, the town I lost my eye to save. She gasped, holding back tears.

“You never thought to TELL ME??? I could have helped. Got you help. WHY DIDN’T YOU THINK??” tears poured from her hazel eyes and I gulped.

My eyes scanned around the room. Saddlebags were stacked near the window, the one on top being mine. Beside it was my sniper rifle, leaning against the wall. All my clothing was folded next to the bags and my battle saddle was on top, along with Lullaby, just out of reach.

I looked to my unicorn friend, who seemed to be yelling at me about the dangers of drug use. She paused and stared at me, stepping back a bit. This was my chance.

The others had no time to react. I leapt up, grabbing one of the tubs of orange pills as I did so. My wings spread as I charged towards the window, ignoring the yelling that came from Sunny and Midnight. As I neared the window I dropped the buck into my bag and lifted the bags in my mouth, throwing them onto my back. I then grabbed the strap of the sniper rifle in my teeth before leaping out of the window, entering the air.

Midnight screamed at me, but I didn’t listen. I wiped away the tears and flew east, soaring over the ruined skyscrapers. No one could stop me, Midnight would be happier without me to worry about. So why was I crying?

My wings flapped as I flew over the desolate wastes. Nothing could be seen for miles, just road and emptiness. I kept flying, it must have been for hours but it felt like days. The shades of brown and grey could have gone on forever, and I probably wouldn’t have stopped until I reached the end of the world. But the end of the world had already happened, and the wasteland is what was left behind.

I spotted something in the distance. A town, one that I knew very well. Smiling, I sped up slightly as I approached the town. An enormous metal wall surrounded the place, with a large drawbridge like gate leading inside. Guards patrolled the outside, and a large collection of them guarded the gates, probably to deter raiders. I used to just fly over the wall, since the guards were used to me coming and going as I pleased. But I hadn’t visited in quite a while, so it was probably safer to go through the gate, since I didn’t feel like being shot down.

My hooves touched the ground near the gate and I folded my wings before approaching the guards. They smiled before walking towards me, but they seemed familiar, apart from the one who was in charge.

“What do you want here, pegasus?” the guard in charge spat, I frowned.

“I have a house here.” was my reply. One of the guards, who I knew as Night Watch, poked him in the side and whispered in his superiors ear. I listened in.

“Sir, this mare is a respectable resident. She just hasn’t visited recently.” he said. The green earth pony in charge frowned.

“I don’t care what you say. She could be an Enclave spy!” he growled before turning to me. “Show me your flank. NOW! Night, keep your gun on her.”

I sighed and moved my bag out the way to show my cutie mark, intact. The black arrow pointed to the sky, the flames coating the flights. A small scar cut through the center of the arrow.

“SEE! She isn’t a Dashite! She must be Enclave.” he yelled, almost victoriously. The other guards rolled their eyes, and so did I.

“I’m a Stable pony you dumb fuck.” I growled, pointing to my pip buck. I then looked into my bag and pulled out an old piece of scratched metal with indentations on it, including a small image of my cutie mark scratched on. “See, I have a resident’s card.”

He took it and examined it closely, frowning. The green pony then gave it back. The other guards looked at him expectantly, not sure what to do and clearly uncomfortable with pointing their guns at me.

“Fine, you’re free to go through. But watch your back, pegasus.” he spat at me. I glared at him before watching as a guard started spinning a cog in his magic. The huge metal gate was lowered slowly and with a loud clang, it hit the ground. I smiled and walked into the town. A large sign beyond the gate greeted me.

‘Welcome to Luna Junction’

The town was exactly how I remembered it. It was mostly made of tiny houses created out of scrap metal and old bricks, with all the badly repaired pre-war buildings being used as shops or important buildings such as the police station and clinic. This town had been a farming village at a junction before the megaspells, but grew into a town when the Stable underneath opened and rebuilt what they could. Eventually, outsiders were allowed in to help with trade, and the town has only been growing since then.

There were many things I wanted to do in Junction, but the most important one was ‘get hammered’, so that’s what I set out to do. Not wanting to attract too much attention, I stuck to walking instead of flying. Pegasi were hated across the wastes, more specifically, pegasi who still had their cutie marks. My wings, while folded, covered my flank due to their size. So while walking, ponies often assumed I was a burnt flank. Even so, the muttering of passers by was obvious, and I felt the eyes of several ponies descending on me. All of my instincts screamed at me to take to the skies, but I remained calm and walked through the street. A few ponies seemed to recognise me, and waved at me happily. I waved back, and somehow, it seemed to calm the other ponies once they realised I was known here. Then, the walk was much nicer.

I rounded the street and approached possibly my favourite place in the wasteland. Celestia’s Hooves Tavern, by far the best drinking hole in the wastes. Well, that was my opinion anyway. The windows were plastered with pieces of paper advertising jobs, which I couldn’t help but glance at. Ponies wanted to raid Stable, pony wanted dead, missing foal, courier wanted, pegasus wanted dead. I paused at that last one and looked over it before chuckling. Looked like I’d pissed somepony off down the line, because they were offering big caps for my head. The picture was recent too, due to the distinct lack of right eye. I smiled and walked in.

The tavern hadn’t changed much. It still had an intact wooden counter and several tables and chairs. Behind the bar were stacks of bottles and barrels, as well as pint glasses and a large rifle. A sign declared ‘We reserve the right to refuse to serve anyone. I don’t give a shit how big a lightning rod you have shoved up your ass.’. That made me smile happily as I walked to the bar and sat down on one of the plush bar stools. An aged brown earth pony was cleaning glasses behind the counter, his cutie mark a beer bottle. I tapped the wooden bar with a hoof and he turned to me.

“Fire, haven’t seen you in a while. What can I get ya?” he grinned, showing off his yellowed teeth.

“Cider and a buck please Bottles” I replied. Did I forget to mention this place sold drugs as well? He pushed a glass of cider and two orange pills towards me. I took both the orange treats at once before sipping some cider. Reminded me of cider season at the Stable.

“Where’ve you been?” Bottles asked, having returned to polishing his glasses.

“Places.” I mumbled and took a considerably larger gulp of my drink. “Nothing exciting.” I then added.

“Blue Wire told me you lost your eye. Apparently he visited you in the clinic. Went nuts and drank his weight in beer here. You alright?” He tilted his head. I sighed before nodding.

“I’m always alright.” was my reply before I took a few more gulps of my drink. Before long, my glass was woefully empty, but soon got filled with a drink even better than cider. Beer. I drank that as well, so it was refilled. I must have drank three pints of beer when the door crashed open and a group of ponies wandered in.

There were two earth ponies and two unicorns, all wearing the same red collar. They were with the Emerald Clan who, among other things, believed that all pegasi were scum and deserved death or worse, loss of their wings. They all stared at me, the barkeeper, then back at me.

“HEY BOTTLES!” one of them yelled “WHAT’S THIS WINGED BITCH DOING IN HERE?” I glared at the one who said it, a tall blue unicorn with a red mane. He glared at me before spitting.

“She is a respected customer.” Bottles growled. I smiled slightly at him before taking another gulp of my drink. The unicorn wasn’t going to take that as an answer. He walked up to me and punched me in the face, making me fall off the barstool in a pile of fur and feathers.

“ENCLAVE SCUM” he yelled at me and I stood up, opening my wings slightly to shake the dust from them. “See? She still has a cutie mark!”

The Emerald ponies all approached me and I growled, adjusting the saddlebag on my back as I did so. I hoped the rifle on my back was alright. There didn’t seem to be a way out of this situation. Bottles couldn’t do anything, not without putting his bar in danger and at the mercy of the Emerald Clan. I was on my own.

The two unicorns levitated what looked like metal pipes, but I knew better. They had spark packs on them rigged to give an electric shock to anyone who touched the metal. The earth ponies seemed to be putting together some sort of strange gun. Well, this was going to be fun. The entire bar had gone silent apart from the odd murmur, everyone was watching.

The blue unicorn charged first, letting out a strange sort of battle cry as he did so. I flapped my wings and flew up to the ceiling. Even so, his horn scraped my leg as he ran past before swiping the pipe at me. I only just managed to dodge, my concentration hindered both by the alcohol and the jeering of many ponies.

Taking the chance, I dropped down on the edge of the table in front of him, making the table tip over and smacking him in the jaw in the process. The other unicorn, a tacky neon green mare, ran at me from behind and hit me in the leg with the pipe. Electricity shot through my body, making me scream loudly and fall on the floor. The two unicorns laughed at me before approaching. Somehow, they both lifted me in their magic and hurled my battered body out the window.

Passers by gasped as I flew through the window and landed on the street, shattered glass digging into me all over my body. I shakily stood up, struggling to keep balance. The four ponies were there, and the blue unicorn was holding the strange gun in his magic.

“Goodnight pegasus scum” he spat before firing the gun. Something sharp hit my arm and I dropped to the ground. As the black crept into my vision, I saw the ponies looking over me before tying me up. Then, I fell asleep.

“Why do you want to leave?” the pony in front of me screamed. “We have done so much for you, and you just want to run off and leave us? Think of all our secrets you could sell! I cannot let you leave here alive.”

“Just try and stop me.” I spat.

“Will do.” he smiled and levitated a sword in his magic. “But first, let’s have some fun.” His sword pressed against my right cheek. He slowly dragged it up the side of my face, leaving a trail of blood. I bit down hard on my lip, determined not to show pain. He simply laughed and pressed down harder, slicing through where my right eye was in a swift motion. Then he did it again, and again and again until half my face was a bloody mess.

I gasped and woke up, looking around frantically. The room I was in was dark,so I couldn’t see much. I tried to move my legs, but they were being held down by something. Where was I? Why was I tied up? My memories slowly returned to me, my brain fuzzy as an effect of the drugs.

Just as I was trying to make sense of my surroundings, I heard the squeak of a metal door opening and saw light streaming into the room. I probably could have looked around, made better sense of where I was. But my gaze was locked straight ahead.

A pink mare walked in, grinning wildly as she trotted towards me. She was a unicorn, but seemed to have the muscles of an earth pony. Covering most of her body was a white cloak with a red clasp in the shape of a snake eating its own tail. The mare stared at me and smiled.

“Hello Fireflight. Welcome to your death, three months overdue. But don’t worry, we can make it extra fun.”

Her cackling echoed through the room.

Level Up

New perk:A little Dash - While wearing light armour or no armour, you move 20% faster. Though maybe heavier armour is worth losing speed, bullets don’t care how fast you run.

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter took a while to write :twilightsheepish: , been a bit busy and then I bumped into a block. A writers block. :pinkiecrazy:

5-Junction Blues

Chapter 5:Junction Blues
Don’t use your fancy mathematics to muddy the issue!

The mare cackled for what seemed to be an eternity. A few of the Emerald ponies in the doorway rolled their eyes and sniggered slightly. What was this pony high on? Finally she stopped and giggled slightly.

“Aaaaanyway.” she said in a singsong voice “I promised these lovely ponies here that they could do whatever they wanted to you, as long as your mark is intact.” the horrid pink pony pointed to my cutie mark. “Soooo, enjoy.” And with that, she bounced out the room. Was she a member of the Pinkie Pie fan club or something?

The blue unicorn and the tacky green unicorn entered the room, grinning wildly. Well, this was going to be fun. I tugged at the rope binding my legs to the upturned table I was on, but my efforts were in vain.

“No escape for you, Pegasus Scum” the blue one spat while the mare gagged me with a filthy cloth, violently stuffing the fabric into my mouth. I tried to bite her, but that didn’t exactly work out and she punched me in the jaw.

“Fwwth ooou” I yelled, though I was attempting to say ‘Fuck you’. The blue one merely chuckled. I lost sight of the green mare, but the clattering of metal told me she was perhaps looking for something.

“Oh, pegasus, don’t try to resist. We will turn you into a screaming wreck, eventually. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Though, don’t worry about your wings. We won’t touch those ‘til you’re dead. They can be cut off and sent to your unicorn friend.” I growled at him further and once again tried to yank my hooves free.

Realising my pip-buck was still with me, I glanced at my EFS compass. Seven red dots, well I was screwed. A few yellow dots going back and forth, leading me to believe I must be in the Emeralds base. Was there any chance of escape? Or was I just going to die here?

My muffled screaming filled the room, along with the occasional fizz of electricity. Warm blood trickled down my sides and front, and the rag in my mouth was turning red too.

“I think it’s in pain” the blue unicorn, who I now know was called ‘Onyx Armour’, giggled before shocking me with electricity again. The tacky green one, ‘Moonstone’, stared at me and sniggered.

“Onyx, it looks like it’s gonna pass out.” she remarked, and I replied with a growl. Though she was probably right, I didn’t want to know how much blood I had lost from the deep slices in my sides, and I felt weaker after every shock. The pain in my chest had dulled slightly, but it was still agonizing, I would have given anything for some painkillers.

“Oh, well we can’t let this thing pass out, we haven’t killed it yet.” Onyx frowned and poked one of the deep cuts in my side, sending spikes of pain over half my body and causing me to emit a shriek of pain.

“Maybe another shock, then we kill it?” greenie suggested, grinning like a raider who just found a corpse. Her friend nodded in agreement and pulled a lever. The multiple wires stuck to my body fizzed as electricity blasted me again. My whole body screamed and convulsed in agony, and I think I screamed out loud as well. It felt like an eternity before the lever was yanked down again and it stopped, allowing me to catch my breath.

“Yes, I think it’s in agony” the blue git said in mock sadness “We best put it out of it’s misery.”

My legs tried to free themselves but it was no use. Part of me wanted to give in, to welcome the black creeping into my vision and the certain death that would follow. But another part of me knew I should keep fighting, and that was the one I agreed with.

A ‘friendly’ appeared on my EFS, and moments later, Midnight’s pip-buck tag. Of course, she must have tracked me all the way here. Which did raise the question of how long had I been here.

A few shots rang out, followed by yelling and screaming. Unfortunately for me, it didn't seem like the two idiots in front of me had noticed.

Cold metal obscured part of my vision as a shotgun was pressed between my eyes. The blue raider grinned as he levitated the gun in his yellow magic, which matched his piss coloured mane.

“Time to put you down, you disgusting creature.”

I closed my eye and sighed, my ears folding back slightly. So, this was it, the end. I wasn’t exactly expecting my death to be like this, I was expecting to kick it in some sort of brutal fight, or possibly from a chem overdose. I didn’t want to go like this.

A shot rang out and I clenched my eyes. But then I realised I wasn’t dead. I opened my eye and blinked. Onyx was still there, but with a brand new hole in his skull. The gun clattered to the ground, but the vile pony stayed there. I could only guess his armor was keeping him upright.

Screaming filled the room, and the sound of bones crunching cracked through the air. A purple hoof pushed the body of Onyx over, the sight being replaced by two hazel eyes.

“FIRE! It’s me, can you hear me? FIRE?!” My unicorn companion screamed. I nodded slowly, though somehow my brain was having trouble processing what she was saying. Her words turned to mumbles, but I suspected that they weren’t directed at me. With a few clicks of metal, my body was freed. My legs prepared to support my weight but failed and with that, I fell to the floor.

Midnight stared over me, and the pale pink face I had recognised as Sunny appeared too. Their words drifted away as I gave in to my body’s demands, and fell into the dark.

“Yes, she’ll definitely be fine. Using both your own supplies and what we found here, I had enough to fix her up.” an unbearably cheerful voice attacked my ears as my eye opened and the strange blanket of fuzziness was slowly pulled from my vision.

“Thank you Sunbeam” came another voice with a vague and poorly concealed country accent, a voice I knew as Midnights.

My hooves shifted a little as I finally regained feeling in them, and I managed to shift my body to sit up. I dragged a hoof through my normally tangled mane, only to find it was smooth and straight. A quick inspection of my tail showed it had been given similar treatment. Then my attention was turned to my wings. Luckily, there was no major damage, but they would probably need taking care of later.

I looked about next, and the familiarity of the place struck me. The building was made of old caravans and various pieces of metal and plastic, but somehow made a lovely atmosphere of home. On the main table, an old radio blared out some old country music, and my two companions sat on the old sofa nearby.

The jolly song on the radio drew to a close before being replaced by the cheery voice of a mare that was almost certainly high on dash.

“And that was yet another pre-war classic from Ol’ Appleoosa. Now for a bit of local news before we get back to the music, and after that a little talk on the dear gangs of Junction. The gang wars have been heating up down in the Red sector, so just be careful if you’re crazy enough to go. In other news, it seems our local pegasus has returned to the junction, and was last seen in a bar fight with some of the Emeralds. If you happen to see her, say hi. Don’t need judgemental ponies here.

And finally, it seems that a new gang has put in a bid for power. They call themselves ‘the Guild’ and seem to have a huge force, which means that they probably ain’t from around here. My recommendation? Stay away from these lot, they mean trouble.

Now, for your enjoyment, I fished out some classic Sweetie Bell for you all. Enjoy the music.”

The colour drained from my face as I stared at that radio, cold beads of sweat running down my face.

“Fire, what’s wrong?” Sunbeam asked innocently. Midnight looked at me nervously before staring out the window.

“Fireflight? FIRE?!”

Level Up

New perk:Tough Hide (level one)-The tough and unforgiving world has made you more resistant to it’s damage. You gain +3 Damage Threshold for each level of this perk you take. Doesn’t make you bulletproof though…..just so you know...

Author's Note

Hey, sorry about the huge delay......and the short chapter......and the quality of writing. This chapter was quite hard to write, and I haven't been having the greatest of times at the moment. Anyway, sorry for all of that and I hope to update again soon.

6-Graves Unearthed

Chapter 6: Graves Unearthed
“It is beyond even our understanding.
That’s not very reassuring.”

“You can’t run, you can’t hide. You know Fireflight….I don’t know why you try. I will always find you, and then you shall suffer.” His smooth voice mocked me, words coming from an invisible mouth.

“The prophecies say that one of flames and fury shall fall. I don't know anyone else who fits the description.” Even though I couldn't see him, I could tell he had a smug face.

“What prophecies?” I asked, after having thought of which question to ask first.

“That is not for you to hear. All you must know is that she knows all, and she sees all.”

“Why are you in my head? You spoke long ago, and then you stopped. Why the fuck are you talking to me now?” I struggled to keep my voice low. Midnight and Sunbeam were busy packing stuff for the journey, and the last thing I needed was them thinking I was crazy.

“Ah, that is for another time. For now, let's just say I'll be sticking around a while.” And with that, he shut up.

I scowled and began to dig through an old chest, which I had crammed random crap in over the years. But of course, there were some gems in amongst the rubbish. Stuffed in between a box of ammo (the type of caliber that I don’t use) and a broken rocket launcher was my old combat barding. It wasn’t that fancy, but offered decent protection from bullets and shrapnel. Though, as I lifted it in my mouth, I was reminded that it hadn’t been washed in..well…. forever.

Dropping it on the ground, I stuck my head back into the box but found very little stuff that was actually useful. My ears flickered as I stood up straight and turned around, to see Midnight and Sunbeam whispering to each other. Two glistening magenta eyes stared at me.

“Fire, before we run off scared, you need to tell us exactly what this is about.” she scowled. I sighed and flopped down onto a chair, watching as the others did the same.

“What do you want to know?” I said grumpily, this was really not something I wanted to talk about.

“Who are the Guild?” Midnight tapped her hoof on the table nervously.

“A gang. They employ the best assassins, bounty hunters and mercenaries the wasteland has to offer. Provide them with equipment, contacts to high ticket jobs, the only thing they want in return is help in raids that benefit them. Attacking rival gangs, capturing towns, that sort of thing. They have some sort of agenda, not sure exactly what.”

“What do you have to do with them?” Midnight looked down at the table, and my eyes drifted away from my friends.

“I used to work for them.” I admitted “I was one of their best in the area, it brought in more money, so Midnight and I could survive.”

Midnight stared at me before her horn lit up and a bottle of wild pegasus whiskey landed in front of her. She popped off the cap and took a large gulp of it.

“What went wrong?” Sunny pushed the whiskey towards me “I can only assume something went wrong by the way you reacted.”

“I tried to leave.” I took a sip of the lovely alcohol “They thought I knew too much, so they tried to kill me so I wouldn’t spill any secrets. I escaped, so they’ve been hunting me.”

“Well, that clears things up” she blinked. Midnight stood up quietly.

“I’ll go pack the rest of the supplies.” She mumbled before walking to the other end of the shack, packing canned food into saddlebags.

Sunbeam stood up and walked to me before kneeling down. She gently began to unwrap the bandages around my waist, revealing two small scars along my sides, scars that were almost certainly new.

“Looks good.” she smiled slightly, her eyes glistening like crystals. The mare then leapt off to help my unicorn friend prepare for our journey. We were to return to Manehatten, try and find my target, and survive.

I stretched one of my wings and looked at it. A few bent feathers, a few dislodged ones. Shifting my head slightly, I bit down on a bloodstained feather and yanked.

*Pluck*

Why am I dragging Midnight through all this?

*Pluck *

Why does she stick around with me?

*Pluck*

The Guild is going to catch me at some point, why does she stay?

*Pluck*

This contract, why am I doing it?

*Pluck*

Am I a bad pony?

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

I was snapped out of my strange trance and turned towards the door. Midnight lifted Black Magic in her hazel glow, and Sunbeam stepped towards the metal shutter.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Sunny gripped the bottom of the rusted metal shutter and threw it up. The safety of Midnight’s revolver clicked off.

A brown unicorn mare looked into the shack, her navy blue mane tossing about as she moved her head. Over her back was a huge sword, her magic curled about the handle.

“This is the home of the pegasus known as Fireflight, correct?” she snapped, her voice tense. Before we had a chance to speak, she drew her sword.

“The traitor shall come with me, or die.” the mare glared at me, her eyes filled with hatred and blood.

I guess she hadn’t noticed Black Magic, because the next second, the mare had a brand new hole in her skull. The gun smoked slightly as Midnight stuffed the gun back into it’s holster.

“Well, now what?” Sunny asked me. I didn’t have any smart plans, no sophisticated ideas. The one word that filled my mind, a single instinct.

“Run”

Level Up

New perk:Horse Sense-You’re a swift learner (By idiot standards) You gain an additional +10% whenever experience points are earned.