Fallout Equestria : The Bounty Hunter

The path down memory lane,well its quite a ride...

         As the trio of ponies and the griffon made their way towards Oasis,they engaged in a conversation about trading that went really in-depth leaving Spring and Xavier debating on what is a fair price of two hundred years old tin cans of food,leaving Quick and his father making sure they don't stray from the path.Meanwhile,that was their occasion to 'catch up'.

"Since i wasn't there for the last fourteen years,can you tell me how have been you doing or at least give me the short to medium version?",asked Snap Shoot.

"Well,i'll try to make it as brief as possible.",said Quick.

"OK so the night you left...".

             ~FOURTEEN YEARS AGO,OASIS,LATE AT NIGHT~

Snap Shoot was tinkering with a radio that was heavily modified,when his attention was drawn by a nearby yawn noise,Snap then turns to face the direction the yawn came from,in the door frame stood a really young Quick Draw.

"You should be in bed at this hour.",said Snap Shoot.

"I *yawn*cant sleep*yawn*.",said Quick Draw between yawns.

"Well,then i guess that makes two of us and actually i might need your help.",that was the only thing that took to make Quick change his mood from sleepy to eager helper.

"Sure thing.",Quick said,Snap Shoot just smiled.

"Never lose that enthusiasm,now from what i can understand you are getting better at telekinesis.",he asked Quick,the little colt nodded with a touch of pride on his face.

"Good,now listen the radio's on button is broken it seems that a wire is a bit off and to fix it i need to put it back in place,but i can't reach them."

"Can you do that?";

"Alright,i will try.";

Of course there was more than a wire that needed fixed,but it didn't matter much to them,neither Snap or Quick seemed to grow any tiered.Finally they manage to fix the radio.

"OK now the moment of truth.",Snap said as he reached out to the on button of the radio,but before he could press it he then looked at Quick and said.

"Um,son you might want to step back a little.",the child took few step back and then ducked behind a box,Snap then turns his attention back to the radio and takes a deep breath.

"Alright,now please don't explode.",after saying that he closes his eyes and turns on the radio,but the only thing that came out of it was a symphony that denoted a military march that ended then shortly after it was replaced with the usual Grand Pegasus Enclave propaganda.Opening his eyes and letting out the breath he was holding,Snap Shot sighed.

"From all the radio frequencies,i had to find their propaganda one.".

"What does propaganda mean?".Quick asked.

"Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.",Snap responded matter of factly,at the confused expression he received,Snap clarifies.

"Bad ponies are lying to a lot of other ponies so that they can gain their support.";

"Why would they do that",the colt asked.

"By gaining the other ponies support those bad ponies can do whatever they want.";

"That doesn't seems very nice.";

"No it isn't,lies are never a good thing,keep that in mind.";

"But what if i really had to lie.";

"Well...um...if its only for a good reason...i mean...ugh...not really,but...",but before he would come with any explanation he was cut of by a feminine voice.

"So this is what you are teaching our son?",it was a mare with a grey coat,dark purple mane.She had as a cutie mark a big red plus surrounded by three small green ones,the green and red pluses used to be found on medical kits as well as they were used to decorate the outside of clinics and hospitals signaling the purpose of that building.Of course that was long before they were replaced with Ministry of Peace logo.The mare was giving a sharp glare to Snap Shoot,Snap just looked at her giving a sheepish half-grin and kept scratching his back of his head,then she turned her amber eyes to Quick and said,her expression softening.

"Just don't listen to daddy now,dear,at this hour he tends to say stupid things.",she said with a little smile.

"Oh come on Solstice,when did i ever told you a something stupid?",Snap said in defence;

"It will take five lifetimes to count every single one of them,but i know for sure that not so long ago around this hour you were telling me about how the sky is actually green.",Solstice said.

"I never said that.";

"So you call me a liar?";

"What?...no...yes,wait,no,UGH...how are you doing this!";

"Well ...",but before she could finish her sentence,the radio let out a loud buzz.Snap tried to turn it off by pressing buttons at random,but he only managed to change the frequency to a nearby enclave military channel and Snap's biggest fear came true,a male deep gravelly voice came in from the radio accompanied by a lot of interference.

"Final debrief*BUZZ*";

"Target*BUZZ* Snap Shot.";

"*BUZZ*teal*BUZZ*,mane black,*BUZZ*eyes.";

"*BUZZ*escaped branding *BUZZ*on a lookout for a sniper rifle scope view on a red target cutie mark*BUZZ*.";

"*BUZZ*guilty of destruction *BUZZ* raptor Cirrus *BUZZ* death *BUZZ* General Wind Swirl*BUZZ*.";

"*BUZZ* target *BUZZ*terminated on sight.";

"He is one of *BUZZ* operatives *BUZZ*ever had,the best of the best,*BUZZ* with caution.";

"*BUZZ*Sierra one,*BUZZ*full report on the settlement *BUZZ* defences *BUZZ* target position .";

But unlike the first transmission,the ones the followed were interference free meaning they were closer to the radio range.

"Sierra one reporting in,the surroundings consist of flat land on all sides,defences consist of approximately five meters high and three meters thick,reinforced steel wall,four guard towers with spotlights and one guard for each,one sniper on top of the main tower in the middle of the town,no air defence emplacements,still no visual on target.",came in a feminine voice.

"*BUZZ*Affirmative!*BUZZ*Strike team Epsilon*BUZZ*.";

"Epsilon leader,we are awaiting orders.",a surprisingly smooth male voice responded.

"*BUZZ* that Epsilon leader,*BUZZ* clear to move *BUZZ*.";

"Roger that.";

"Sky-Tank Viper six,to Epsilon Leader,we are ready to take off,E.T.A sixty minutes.";

"Roger that Viper six.",

"Squad,on board.".

Snap didn't spent much time pondering on the matter at hoof ,as he was already wearing a combat armor and his battle-saddle.Solstice didn't lose any time as she was giving him two saddle bags filled with supplies,they moved fast,because they were prepared for moments like this,but not for what came next.

Snap gave Quick a hug and said:

"Listen i have to go now and i need you to be strong,for me,for your mother,for your own sake.",the colt only could nod.

"Don't worry,i will come back,i promise.",then he turned towards his wife,hugged her and after a goodbye kiss he flew off into the night.

Meanwhile the enclave radio chatter once continued.

"E.T.A thirty minutes.";

"Sierra one to Sierra two-four,report.";

"Sierra two,all clear.";

"Sierra three,all clear.";

"Sierra four,i got movement on west side of the town wall.";

"Affirmative,Sierra four keep me posted.";

"Affirma...tive...",

"Sierra one,i got visual on target,positive ID,its him.";

"E.T.A twenty minutes.",Viper six came in again.

"Sierra four are you sure.";

"Never been so sure in my life,ma'm,he just took off towards west.";

"Roger that Sierra four.",

"Sierra squad regroup at my position.",

"Sierra one to command,target is moving towards west.";

"*BUZZ* Sierra one.";

"Command *BUZZ* ,Epsilon leader *BUZZ*.";

"Epsilon leader reporting in.";

"*BUZZ* captain,the target *BUZZ* move and you *BUZZ* chase,intercept if *BUZZ*can,but *BUZZ* we need *BUZZ* his termination *BUZZ* understood?";

"Loud and clear,sir.",

"Heard that Viper?";

"Clear as day sir.".,

"Viper six changing course.".

The enclave radio chatter slowly died out as they were leaving the range of the radio.

Meanwhile Solstice and Quick were listening closely to the radio,but when all they heard was a static buzzing Solstice decided to turn it off,then her gaze fell on Quick,the little colt was began to sniff,fighting back tears he was trying to be strong.The sight was unbearable,she pulled him into a tight embrace and said:

"Don't worry,he promised he will come back,he always keeps his promises.",

"He always does."

                       ~ PRESENT DAY~

"He.Always.Does."<i hope you get the point>;Quick said,with a deep sigh Snap said:

"I guess that's a promise i didn't quiet keep,did i?";<you are not the only one tho...>

"I wouldn't say that,you just took your time and all,i mean i did promised mom i would bring you back and that was three years ago.",Quick said.

"THREE YEARS!",

"I cant believe this,for three years you've been looking for me?",asked Snap in disbelieve.

"Well,not really.",Quick said a touch sheepishly.

"What do you mean.",Snap asked.

"I'll be getting to that part.",

"Now getting back to the story,which most of it i can sum it up in few sentences."<now the things that are relevant.>,Quick then took a bit of time to sort out what was relevant.

"Well after you left i continued to go out on the firing range and pretty much becoming the best shot in town.",but before he could continue,he was interrupted by Spring,who apparently 'over heard' their conversation.

"Wait weren't you like six?",at that,Quick smirked and said:

"I was seven and i've been shooting targets at the firing range since before i could talk.",hearing this Spring turned her gaze to Snap Shot,

"Do you really let a foal play with a gun?",Snap Shot was quick to defend himself.

"I was watching him closely.",at that response Spring looked at Quick with an expression than one might describe as a 'what the fuck',Quick just rolled his eyes,that made her shook her head.

"Anyway...getting back at the point,ugh... i forgot were i was.",

"Oh right,life back home was calm,made two of the best friends i had,finished schools as top of the class,",then Quick was interrupted by Spring and Xavier,they both said at unison:

"Egghead!"<of course>,Quick chose to ignore that comment and continued:

"Anyway,i also became a doctor.";

"Doctor?i assume it was your mother idea.",Snap Shot said

"More or less it was either signing up with the town lookout which required me to look into to horizon all day long or something useful,like lets say learning  something like medicine.",

"And mom really needed some help at the clinic.",at that Snap rise an eye brow,seeing his expression Quick added.

"They were building new houses and expending the town wall.";

"That explains a lot.",indeed it it does,the ponies of Oasis while they were decent builders,but they lacked group coordination and that left them more prone to accidents.

"Wait a second!",Spring Rose said,

"You?A doctor,i found that hard to believe,especially with that cutie mark.",

"Its not that type of cutie mark.",Quick Draw said,

"Type?what do you mean by 'type'?",the mare asked,

"Well you see,i have a theory on cutie marks and it might be a far fetched,but bear with me on this one.",

"I believe cutie marks come in three types,the ones that are kinda vague and cryptic that shows one's destiny which i find hard to believe,there are the ones that show one's personality and those like mine and yours which shows a particular talent in something,i got a talent for shooting pistols,but that doesn't mean i cant be good at other things and same can go for you.",Quick explained,

"Hmm,well when you put it that way it does make some sense.",Spring said,with that the silent thinking began,but it was interrupted by Quick.

"OK,now i'm just getting distracted,were i was again?",to which Xavier answered,

"You were talking about how your dad left when you were but an ankle bitter.",

"Right,now i think i can skip a bit over to more relevant subjects,so..."

                     ~THREE YEARS AGO,OASIS,MORNING

        It was the day when Quick Draw began his journey beyond the safe walls of Oasis,but first the final preparation and of course the goodbyes.As Quick was heading out of hes house,he stopped few meters in front of his house to take one more look to the tower that withstood the test of time and a megaspell.

More than two hundred years ago,that tower was a Ministry of Arcane Sciences hub, in the industrial city of Sunny Field.The name was more appropriated before the war,because back then it was a small little town,but getting back to the point that one small town became a big industrial city.Unlike others,the industrialization of Sunny Fields was towards civic purpose rather than a military one,but that didn't make it any safer.

One day before the world was drowned in balefire,the city suffered a premature 'extinction',in a research lab a team of scientist was testing with terraforming megaspells,but unfortunately one of their experiments was unstable and threaten to go off any time.The failsafe of the labs managed to keep it at bay while ponies evacuated,of course they couldn't evacuate everyponie . Many were told to take refuge inside the M.A.S hub,one might ask why,but the answer is quiet simple,the building had a powerful shield spell that would stop most megaspells and inside the M.A.S hub basement was a little surprise.In its basement was a stable,stable fifty four,one of the few non fucked up stables out there.The tower and stable served as a shelter when the terraforming megaspell went off and a home after the apocalypse.Given the whole city was sucked underground by the terraforming megaspell,the region was spared from the balefire treatment that rest of Equestria suffered.Wasting a balefire bomb on empty flat land wasn't going to win any war.

Realizing he spent a touch to much contemplating at one prewar building,Quick made his way to Lock Work's shop,the town locksmith and 'fixer of all that is broken',that is also from the wasteland,he and his daughter,Snow Flower,happened to stumble across Oasis almost ten years ago,now while Lock Work was more into cracking locks,terminal passwords and fixing broken stuff,his daughter domain was in explosives and guns.Lock Work volunteered to give Quick some equipment and some tips on how to survive in the wasteland.

As Quick entered the shop he was greeted by a  white unicorn mare,that has a striped mane with two different kinds of whitish blue and sky blue eyes, that stood behind a counter.

"Hi there Quick.";

"Hi,Snow,how are you doing?",Quick said,

"Fine,I assume you came to pick up your gear right?".Snow asked.

"Yes.";

"Alright just let me find it.",the mare said and went into the back room to search for the equipment mentioned before.

Meanwhile Quick took a look around the store,it was filled with guns,scrap,explosives and books,but one thing missing.

"I got to ask,were is your father?",Quick asked Snow when she came back.

"Oh,dad went down with a mining crew,it seems like they found some stuff and wanted him to take a look.",Snow said.

Sunny Fields was still intact,sorta,the buildings are as intact as they can be,but they are buried deep underneath Oasis and the surrounding areas,to get to them  and their useful resources,the ponies of Oasis had to dig and of course when Lock Work wasn't at his shop he is usually down in the mines cracking what locks and terminals he can find.

"Anyway,there is your armor,supplies and of course...",then she pulled a case from under the counter and opened it.

"Your guns with all the modification and enchantments you asked.";

"Thanks.";

"Don't mention it,i mean this is what friends are for.",Snow Flower said with a smile

"Now gear up,i want to see how it looks.";

Quick obliged and puts on the armor he received,the saddle bags with supplies and sheathed his guns in the holsters,then took a good look at the armor that fitted him almost perfectly,it was a reinforced stable security armor,it might not have been the best armor Oasis could offer,but it was the best he could get,then he turned to Snow and asked.

"How do i look?",Quick asked,the mare took a good look at him and said.

"Well,with that blue jumpsuit,the armor over it and those saddle bags,not mentioning the the fifty four on your collar..."

"I'd say you look like an over-prepared stable pony." ;

"OK,but why the jumpsuit?";

"I mean i know the stable armor comes over it and all,but why?";

"The stable jumpsuits is made from special materials that maintain the body temperature,now finding a warm shelter out there wont be easy and with all the extreme weather conditions that can be and all the...",Quick motioned to the mare to pause.

"Alright,alright,i get the point.",Quick said.

"You know its not polite to interrupt somepony.",Snow said.

"I know and i apologize,but you tend to stretch out to much on details.",hearing this the mare sighed and said with a little chuckle.

"Well,you know me,that's what i do.",after that an awkward silence settled in.

The pair spent few seconds looking at each other before the silence was broken by the door opening and a grey earth pony stallion,with similar colored mane,he looked at Snow,then to Quick and said.

"Soooo...what's up with the awkward silence?",he then grinned,

"Am i interrupting something.",at that Snow blushed a little,while Quick rolled his eyes and replied.

"Darn it,Tin Can,how long are you going to keep that up?",Quick asked,the stallion which name was indeed Tin Can shrugged and said.

"I don't know dude,when it will get old maybe.";

"Dude,Its already old!";

"At least his not chanting.",Snow mused;

"Please just don't...",Quick groaned;

"Oh come on dude,do you really think i would start chanting like a little filly?",Tin said in defence,but that didn't stopped Quick from trying to come up with a retort but Tin cut him off.

"Don't answer that.",hearing that Quick raised an eyebrow.

"That was one time and it doesn't count.",Tin blurted out,the memory made Snow and Quick laugh,after a good laugh Quick sighed and said,

"I will miss you guys.";

"I um...i mean we will miss you too.",Snow said.

"Yeah,but are you sure you don't want us to come with you?",Tin asked.

"Yes,i'm sure.",Quick said,looking at Snow then back at him.

"I don't know how to fell about dragging you or Snow with me through goddesses know what dangers.";

"Your decision dude.",Tin said,

"I guess i should be going,i mean the faster i find dad the faster i come home.",Quick said with a tone of finality.

"Be careful and bring me something cool from out there.";

"Alright dude?",Tin Can said.

"You got yourself a deal.",Quick said with a smile.

That was the goodbye he would receive from Tin Can,he then turned to Snow Flower,the mare was clearly having a hard time with goodbyes.

"Well Snow i guess for now this is...",Quick was saying but he was cut off by Snow that hugged him,take a bit by surprise he just stood there for a moment,but returned the hug in the end.

"Promise you come back alive in one piece alright?",Snow said.

"I promise.",Quick said,with that Quick departed the store and headed towards the town's gates,saying goodbye to to ponies passing by.

At the town's gates was the last line he would cross from his life of safety  to a life of peril,but there was one more thing to do.As he approached the gates he saw his mother waiting for him,the mare was on the verge of tears,but trying to hold them back.

"Promise that you will find him and you will stay out of trouble and you will be careful.",Solstice said.

"Don't worry mom,i promise i will bring him back,stay out of trouble and be careful.",Quick said with a reassuring smile.

"I-i know you will but i-it just i-if h-he is... an-and th-then y-you... a-an-nd-and...",Quick took his mother into a tight hug and said.

"I know what you want to say just...just don't...i...i will be fine and i will bring him back.",then he let her go and looked her in the eyes with the same reassuring smile and managing to bring a smile to finally bring a faint smile to her face and with a sniff she said.

"Goodbye and good luck.";

"Goodbye.".

With that Quick's journey into the wastes began.

                             ~PRESENT DAY~

"And,well that is how it all went.",Quick said.

"Now if i think about it was making a lot of promises that day.",he smirked.

"But not derailing from the subject again.";

"I had left Oasis for almost a month and i already had enough.";

"I ran into all kind of trouble,from raiders,bandits to nastiest critters until..."

                               ~THREE YEARS AGO,MIDDLE OF NOWHERE,DUSK~

        It has been almost a month and Quick already had enough of the wasteland,but he wont just turn back now especially when he got this far west,Quick knew his father went west and that was the only lead and he was bound to follow it until he finds him or the ocean,then he would change directions,but getting back to the point were Quick had hard time.

His first encounter with raiders went bad,most of his encounter with anything hostile went bad,he wasn't used to kill on sight things,he survived the encounters,but  this far he only found raider's nests.This encounters left him with no medical supplies or ammo for his guns,but at least in his small arsenal of magic tricks he had a healing spell,which unfortunately wasn't of much use in mid-combat because it requires the user to focus on its wounds,which in fight that leaves the unicorn casting the spell completely defenceless,also it didn't help that his armor which was battered beyond any repair Quick could make,the reinforced armor plates saved his life on many occasions,but they became dented and had holes from the bullets that penetrated the thick steel and the kevlar of the stable armor wasn't going to hold much,if he wanted to survive more hostile encounters he will have to scavenge some armor from the dead opponents,a thought that made Quick fell sick,taking stuff such as ammo and healing potions off them was somewhat ok for Quick,but wearing their 'clothes',was the only line he wouldn't cross when it comes to looting dead bodies.

After a long uneventful walk he spotted a light coming from a wrecked building nearby,at the sight of the makeshift camp Quick ducked behind a nearby rock for cover and pulled out his pistols and checked how many rounds he had before peaking over the rock just to have a bullet flew above his head,he ducked back to cover then went to the left of the rock to return fire,but stopped when he heard a female voice yelling.

"RAIDERS!",followed by a barrage of bullets hitting the rock,when the barrage stopped,Quick yelled back,

"I'M NOT A RAIDER.",to which a male voice responded;

"YEAH,RIGHT,PROVE IT.",at that Quick Draw took some time to think about it and talked back;

"WELL I WOULD ASK YOU IF I LOOK LIKE ONE TO YOU,BUT THEN I WOULD HAVE TO COME OUT,YET I STILL GOT THE FELLING YOU ARE GOING TO SHOOT ME ON SIGHT,SO NO THANKS.";

"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS,HE ISN'T A RAIDER!",an older feminine voice said,hearing this Quick slowly peaked over the rock ready to lower his head at any moment.When he got a good look out to the direction were the bullets originally came he saw four ponies,two griffons and a zebra,they all looked a touch confused,but then on old mare appeared among them.They talked,but Quick was to far to hear,then the old mare,escorted by the two griffons,approached the rock Quick hid behind;

"I can say your not a raider,you still have some sanity,you are neither a slaver,they never walk alone and you are definitely not a trader,so the question is who are you?",the old mare asked,her voice was soft and warm,it sounded like she was talking to her grandchildren;

"A traveler.",Quick said;

"A traveler you say,well then,why don't you come out so we can talk face to face."';

"I would,but i'm allergic to bullets.",to that the mare gave a little giggle;

"Steeltuft,Dashtail,i want you to return to the others.";

"Don't worry,i know what i'm doing.",the mare said,after a minute she then continued;

"Now it's just you and me,you don't have to afraid.";hearing this Quick was still a bit skeptical,so he took another peak over the rock,he saw that the griffons were back with the others and the mare was all alone,given the circumstances,he decided to holster his weapons and come out,but he didn't lower his guard,if anything went down he was ready.Quick was coming out from behind the rock with caution without losing sight of the well armed group.

"Hmm...so a stable pony it is then,i haven't seen one of you in a long time.",the mare said drawing Quick's full attention.He took a good look at her,it was as old as she sounded,her mane was an aged white,signaling the fact that the original color of her mane was gone,her coat and eyes were a dull lavender,she wore an honest friendly smile;

"My name is Caretake,who are you?";

"My name is Quick Draw,nice to meet you miss Caretake."

"Stable ponies,polite as always.",the mare said.

"I assume you've met a lot of stable ponies before.",

"Indeed,but not many,now may i ask you what are you doing out here?.",Caretake asked;

"I...uh...";at that moment Quick wasn't sure if he should lie or not,he already did when he went with the stable pony facade,but that is just to keep Oasis a secret and he was also told stable ponies were less likely to be shot by others,that is if they were not murderous psychopaths,now building a web of lies wont do good for his conscience.

"I'm looking for my father,hes a middle aged stallion and looks a lot like me,well actually i look a lot like him,but you get the point.",hearing this Caretake leaned closer to Quick to see him better,then took some time to think,but in the end she shook her head.

"I'm sorry to say,but i haven't seen any pony fitting your description.",Caretake said,hearing this Quick sighed;

"Still heading west,i guess.";

"West?";

"Yeah,he went west,now i'm not sure if he changed directions or not but i hope he didn't.";

"Well,you might still have a chance to find him";

"How can you be so sure?";

"Not far from here is a place called Rust Town and i'm sure someone there might know something."

"Hmm...Rust Town you say.";

"Yes,but now its getting dark and traveling in the darkness is not a good idea.";

"But you are welcome to stay at the camp,that is if you want to.",the concept of sharing a camp fire with those that almost killed him didn't sound really appealing to Quick Draw,but he way too tired and cold that he was more content with that idea.

Once they returned to the makeshift camp Quick heard some loud whispering then a sound that was something close to a whistle,but it was more as a cue to stop the whispering and a brown stallion poked his head out from behind a wall.

"So is he alright?",he asked the old mare,she just nodded,the he turned his gaze towards Quick,

"OK,um,sorry about all that shooting you thing.",at that moment Quick recognized the voice,it was the same pony that asked him to prove he wan't a raider,then a griffon poked her head out looked at Quick then called turned around and tell to someone behind her;

"I told you i've seen something blue.",then suddenly she turned her head back to Quick;

"Oh,right,sorry about shooting at you.";after that a green mare came from behind them with an apologetic smile that turned into a half sheepish,half awkward grin.

"Oh,hi...um...no hard feeling...you know...about shooting and stuff...sorry and uh yeah apologies and sorry and um... ";Quick recognized this voice too it was the mare that called him a raider.

"No hard feelings.",Quick said,hearing this the green mare left out a breath of relief.

"But you might want to warn first then shoot second.",hearing that the mare resumed her half sheepish,half awkward grin.

"Um...yeah i kinda panicked there for a second,you know acting out of instinct and with raiders you can't really take chances";

"Maybe,but i got to ask."

"Do i look like a raider to you?",Quick Draw said;

"Well,i din't actually took in your looks,i assumed you were a raider because around here that's the only thing you will find."

"That explains a lot.",Quick said;

"Let me guess you ran into some of them didn't you?",The mare asked.

"Saying i ran into 'some' is an understatement.";

"Well,i'm sure its an interesting story,why not sharing it at the camp fire?",the mare said,shivering a bit;

"Its getting cold.";

It was indeed getting cold,the weather was still as wild as it was two hundred year ago when the pegasi closed the sky.Rain storm that could last for days,strong winds and the lack of sun are just enough to give a literal 'cold death' or just a nasty cold.Now in Equestria was supposed to be late autumn which meant winter was coming fast.The cold outside was more intense around this time of the year and that was just the beginning,but not derailing from the story,Quick got himself a warm shelter and someone to talk to.Now talking with the members of this little group proved to be quite interesting,apparently they all came from a distant village up north in the mountains.The relative position of the village was supposed to keep them safe from raiders,the idea itself looked good on the paper,but in practice was something else.The village was getting hit at least twice a month,that left many casualties among the settlers and many orphans,apparently Caretake got her name right as she was one that took care of the orphans,after some time Caretake just couldn't live like that,she was afraid for the poor kids that lost their parents,she knew that,some day the village will get attacked and the only pony left to defend it would be her,so she decided to try and convince the others to leave,but she failed.In the end Caretake took all the orphans with her and left.

Even tho the stories told were really interesting,they all soon fall asleep and in the morning they set of to Rust Town.

                    ~PRESENT DAY~

"Now it's a proven fact that big groups travel easier,well raiders still took shots at us,but they were not a big deal,the road to Rust Town was pretty much a walk in the park.",Quick said;

"Well that is if you don't count in a random hellhound in the middle of nowhere.",he said dragging his hoof across his chest;

"That was a close one,but i only lost what armor i had left on the chest area and i also got a nasty claw mark that is still there.",the he sighed.

"Half dead and still up for a fight,those damn things are tough as fuck.",at the confused looks he received,Quick added;

"It was pretty much filled with holes and i approached it just to check if it was dead,well the damn thing was still kicking.",from the looks he received now it seemed that his explanation was enough,so Quick continued his story...

"So...Rust Town...it wasn't really as i expected,but honestly i didn't know what to expect,it was...".

                     ~THREE YEARS AGO,RUST TOWN,NOON~

     Rust Town was something that could be described as that side of the town were you should never go alone if you care for your belongings or even your life,although in concept it was something close to what Oasis was,but this seemed more of a jaded and wicked version of Oasis,not to mention dirty and way bigger.Rust Town was an entire prewar city with many barricades and walls built around it,the  original city name was unfortunately lost in time as nobody in town knew what name the city had.The name Rust Town was given when a group of scavengers lead by an earth pony named Rusty Horseshoe settled in,hence the name,Rusty Horseshoe was the one that had the idea to settle down here.Now for the decent folks around he was some sort of hero,but from what Quick heard from a ghoul,that he almost shot because he only encountered feral ghoul,so his first reaction was to pull out his gun,but first time mistakes aside,the ghoul said he was,with really colored terms that can be summed up in just few words which are 'selfish','egotistical' and 'arrogant',also the word 'asshole' was used frequently alongside 'fucker' and many others.

Although the history of the place and the locals opinions on it seemed really interesting,Quick was on a mission.Now that he was in a 'civilized' town,the most sensible thing that he could do was to ask around politely,but he was either told to go shoot himself or go bother the local law enforcement,the latter suggestion seemed the most logical solution to his predicament given the former being downright rude,but the only problem was that the local law enforcement was busy with preparing for an attack,apparently Rust Town was under siege even though there was no one attacking, sheriff Lucky Ace,which was the one incharge of law keeping,told him that he doesn't have time or resources to go ask around for Quick's father and kept saying that 'she' is coming,but unfortunately Quick never got the chance to ask who was he talking about,because apparently a guard bursting in the sheriff's office and telling she heard a rumor about some suspicious mercenaries skulking around was more important.

Leaving the sheriff's office with a sour taste in his mouth from the lack of assistance,Quick then went asking around some more until he gave up asking the town's folk and got himself a nice table in the corner of one of the few bars in Rust Town and emptied three Sparkle Colas and was on the fourth when he was approached by an orange earth pony mare with yellow mane,wearing a brown duster and a cowboy hat.The mare pulled a nearby chair and sat at the same table as Quick,she pushed up her hat and looked at Quick with her bright green eyes,meanwhile Quick just looked at her,not sure if he should say something or flip the table and pull out his pistols.The look the mare was giving him was cold with a 'if you sneeze wrong,your dead' vibe,but Quick decided that maybe starting a firefight wont end well,so he was more content to talk.

"Can i help you?",he said in a calm voice,hearing that the mare smirked and said;

"No,but I can help you.",the mare then reached in her duster and pulled out an envelope;

"Here it's all you need to know.",she said putting the envelope on the middle of the table;

"Why should i trust you?",Quick Draw said a touch skeptical,the mare just smiled;

"If you really want to find your father,i would suggest that you should at least take a peak inside that envelope.",with those words the mare stood up and left the bar.

That envelope gave Quick a lot to think about,but in the end he decided that he didn't had anything to lose if he only looked inside it.In the envelope was a map of the local area that had an white 'X' marking a spot on it and a piece of paper that had something written on it.

"You might not have any reason to trust this,but knowing the folks in Rust Town you wont find much help,now i'm sure you have questions about who gave you this letter,from who it and if its a trap or not,well i can respect your decision if you chose not to trust this,but i really have one time deal were i help you find your father and you help me make Rust Town safer,if you are interested come and listen the full extent of my offering,thank you. Signed,A Friend"

The letter seemed all kinds of suspicious,but it was worth a try.The map lead Quick south-east of Rust Town,it was a twenty minutes walk to a makeshift shack neatly built inside a huge cave,of course Quick was ready for any possible ambush,as any other sensible pony would.He kept a constant magical grip on both of his pistols ready to draw them any moment ,he also had a hunting rifle he picked up from a shop floating by his side, as well as two frag grenades,one plasma grenade and a EMP grenade inside his saddle bags and just in case three combat knifes tucked well in his saddle bags.He was ready to pull out every thing he had.He also might had the chance to fire out every thing he had.To set up an ambush inside that cave was near impossible as even the tiniest sound echoed loud enough to be heard and since Quick entered the cave,he kept hearing hoof steps behind him,the hoof steps belonged to at least two other behind him and they were close,Quick also noticed constant movement on the right of his peripheral vision,the noise coming from that direction was something close to flapping of wings which mean that there was a flyer creeping around as well as he heard more hoof steps coming from his left,which meant another ground stalker was there,but what worried Quick the most was the sound of mechanical hoof steps coming from ahead which meant they had some sort of robot ready to roll in at any time.

The closer Quick got to the makeshift shack,the closer his attackers were getting.To reach the shack Quick had go around a big rock and from the noises around him the two attacker behind him were close enough to hear them breath,the one on Quick's left seemed to have went on top of the rock as the sound of hoofs scraping against the rock signaled the fact that he or she was ready to pounce,the sound of mechanical hoof steps seemed to come from right around the rock which meant that if Quick was to round up the corner he would be directly in front of the presumed robot,as for the flying assailant a sudden flap announced his or hers intention to sweep down,at that moment Quick pulled out the EMP grenade and lined it up so he could toss it over the rock and disable the robot,he also pulled one of his combat knife,he pulled out both of his pistols,then he lined up his hunting rifle on the trajectory the flier would take to sweep down on him but kept the gun pointed at the ground so that Quick wont alert the flier,Quick's plan was simple,but mostly based on chances,he had to pull the pin of the EMP grenade and toss it to the robot direction,roll forward and rise the hunting rifle in the face of the incoming flier at same time,then quickly turn around and point the pistols toward the two behind him as well as holding the knife at the neck of the one that tried to pounce on him.The waiting felt like an eternity with every tense second,but the sound of wings flapping on Quick's right,the movement behind him,the noise of a mechanic hoof step in front of him and the sound of hoofs scraping against rock on his left set his plan in motion.Quick sent out the grenade first and synchronized his forward roll with the hunting rifle rising its barrel,in the whole motion of things the world seemed to crawl even slower,while mid roll Quick could hear the grenade go off ,the hoof steps behind him as well as a thud signaling the fact that the pony that pounced missed and a gasp of surprise probably coming from the flier that found itself with a hunting rifle in the face.When Quick came out of his forward roll he heard a metallic thud signaling the fact that he got the robot,then he swiftly turned around to point his twin revolvers at the two that were behind him and quickly lift the combat at the neck of the assailant that tried to pounce on him.Quick's plan worked in great proportion,minus some details,but given he still had the knife and hunting rifle in a position that would discourage any movement ,not the places he expected,but it will do for now as for the two behind him were not in a position to take any shots at Quick.Now that situation was locked down,Quick took in the looks of his attackers,the flier was a a dark blue pegasus stallion with white mane which seemed to be wearing the same brown duster as the others and had horseshoes with blades coming out of them,that wasn't moving,well he was as still as a pegasus can be while being airborne,but with a hunting rifle aimed at his guts he wasn't going to move that much,now the one that tried to pounce on Quick was the mare that gave him the envelope,now she was staring at the blade of a combat knife pointed at her eye,the other two that were now looking at the barrel of two forty four magnum revolvers pointed at each ones head,one of them was an unicorn mare and the other was an earth pony stallion,which had the same ivory coat and pink manes,the stallion coat was darker,but from the looks of it it seemed like they were siblings,the stallion had a battle-saddle with two hunting rifles mounted on and it was pointed at the exact spot were Quick was before he rolled forward,the mare didn't even got the chance to pull out her shotgun.Then Quick turned his attention towards the robot,it was shaped like a pony and was painted with grey and black in a camouflage pattern.Quick realized that he was in its line of fire even though it was down on the ground,but just to be safe Quick stepped out of its line of fire and floated the two frag grenades he had left to its head just in case,you just don't joke around with robots that have miniguns mounted on both sides.Then the silence settled in for a second then the mare that sent Quick here began with an uneasy smile.

"Your fast i'll give you that,but it will be nice if we had a civilized conversation without grenades,guns and knifes and stuff like that.",she said with an still uneasy smile,Quick just raised his eyebrow and said;

"So you invite me to my own ambush and now you expect me sit down at tea and biscuits with you.";

"Who doesn't like tea and biscuits,they are good any time,right?",the pegasus said;

"Well,now it depends,but given the circumstances,you might savor that tea and biscuits in heaven.",Quick said,hearing that the pegasus gulped,but before anypony could say anything else,the robot seemed to be returning back to life,then a feminine voice sounding very synthetic,like somepony was talking through a speaker,came from the machine.

"Ughh...what the hell just happened?",apparently that bulky metallic beast of a war machine was a she,at that very moment she tried to get up,but fell back in place when Quick floated the grenade in front of her visor;

"Well,fuck,i told you guys this was a stupid plan,but you never listen.",she said;

"Hmm,so its an armor not a robot,good to know.",Quick said,drawing a synthetic laugh from the mare inside the armor;

"Well surprise,i guess,now would you kindly explain what is up with the hostage situation?",the mare cladded in iron asked;

"I still demand some explanation from your friend here,but if you want to say anything useful to save your skins then go ahead.",Quick said;

"Everything will be explained if you kindly let them go,i promise you are among friends here.",a female voice said from behind Quick,that made him slowly turning to face the new comer,it was a mare that if she was at least ten years younger she would have been a carbon copy of the mare that gave Quick the envelope that lead to this mess.

"I'm Desert Wind,leader of the local bounty hunter services,i asked for your presence here so we can talk.",then she looked at the mare that given how alike they looked might have been her daughter,seeming a bit disappointed.

"But from what can i see the way you we welcomed you wasn't as i intended to be,for that i apologize on behalf of my bounty hunters,that is if you stop aiming your arsenal at them.",hearing this Quick puts back in his saddle bags his knife and grenades,holsters his pistols,but given his hunting rifle din't had any hanging belt he just hit the safety on and floated it by his side.

"OK,now that we are on slightly better terms,i want you to come with me into my office to discus why you are here in the first place.",Quick obliged,but didn't lowered his guard,he followed the mare into her office.The office was really simplistic,just a desk with two chairs in the middle of an empty room,they both took a sit in one of the chairs.

"So,in the letter you said you wanted to help,but i got to ask how and more importantly what do you want from me in return?",Quick asked;

"I got my ways,asking isn't hard,what is actually hard is to find the right ponies to ask,fortunately i know such ponies all over the place as for what i need from you,well i assume you know about the 'siege' of Rust Town",the mare said,

"Yes i do,but sheriff Lucky Ace wasn't really keen on giving more details.",Quick Draw said earning a sigh from the mare and a shake of her head in disapproval,

"OK,listen kid,i will give you the short story",Desert Wind said then cleared her throat;

"Five years ago Rust Town was lead by a iron grey pegasus mare known only as Iron,not a particularly creative name,but she lead with an iron hoof that's for sure,yes she was a damn tyrant and it was up to a band of eight ponies me,sheriff Lucky Ace,my husband,mayor Marble along four other good old friends.We took the fight to that damn bitch and we won,with considerable loses in the end it was me,Lucky and Marble who survived.",

"I hate to interrupt,but since when i came to town i never heard of this mayor.",Quick said drawing an angry look from Desert;

"Because she is dead,you see,about a month or so ago,Iron came back to leave a clear message to Rust Town and that message was found on Marble's body,yes i said 'body',i hope you don't need me to detail what kind of message that was.",Desert said,reverting to a calmer tone.To that very statement Quick took the obvious hint that the 'details' of what happened to Marble were not in any way something someone would want to remember.

"Now,history lessons aside,our actual situation is not pretty,you see she has her own mercenary company as well as an army of thugs and mercs,now that the situation might not had been so grim for us,Lucky's law enforcers can keep the regular thugs and mercs at bay,with ease if he is smart and has some good tactics going on,but the table swiftly change when Iron's henchpoines show up,those damn bastards are using Lucky's ponies as target practice,but that is were WE come in."

"I hope this will clarify our terms of business.",Desert concluded;

"So,i help you in your war and you help me find my father hmm...";

"It sounds a bit too suicidal for me."Quick said;

"OK,listen i know from what you've seen so far Rust Town isn't that much,but think about what you didn't see,there are foals,children,parents,young,old they are all innocents and if Iron wins this i can assure that she will kill all of them slowly and without mercy.",Desert reasoned;

"Would she really do that?",Quick asked,the mare nodded in response and added;

"Yes,she would and she will if we don't stop her,during her time as Rust Town mayor she had several colts and fillies shoot just for petty theft,now a thing i left out was that,under her reign of terror poverty and hunger were common,they just tried to survive and she had them line up in front of the firing squad.",Desert said.To this words Quick took his time to weight the situation then he came to a conclusion,

"You got yourself a deal",he said...

                             ~PRESENT DAY~

        The gloomy cloud cover was pouring down rain.Quick and the rest took shelter inside the wreck of a convenience store were they settled for tonight,meanwhile Quick was still relating the events of  his story that kept the others very captivated.

"At that moment i pretty much signed up to one side of a brewing war."<only if i knew what was going to happen in the end>,Quick ended,then looked at his companions that were still waiting him to continue in utter silence.

"You know its getting a bit late for story telling.",Quick said a touch tired,he did in fact did shared his memories for the whole day and aside from few words they exchanged in the beginning,the others were silent the the entire time he narrated his story.

"But i want to know what happened after that.",Rose said;

"Maybe*yawn* tomorrow.",Quick said;

"OK,heh,and i said you weren't the story teller type,i guess i was wrong.",she said,the lied down on her spot,made herself comfortable and then said after yawning;

"Good night."

Xavier didn't said much,the griffon just slipped into the sweet land of dreams,Snap Shot just smiled and said in a soft voice.

"The things you've been through just to find me,well i hope you tell me more in the morning",

"Good night."

"Good night,dad."