Fallout Equestria : The Bounty Hunter

by Ice of Spade

Rating: mature
Tags: Alternate Universe, Adventure, Crossover
Length: 22727

I am no hero,neither a villain.I am a mercenary.Plain and simple.

The world got blasted to smithereens by a great war between the ponies of Equestria and the zebras.Fun times…right?

Now,two centuries later,one might think we've learned our lesson,but we didn't. Even to this day we seek to kill each other over the smallest things.If you don't like somepony's face,you kill them.They got some cool gear and you want it? Kill them.This is the bloody truth of the world we are now living in,but some are bound to change that.The one who will bring the light back will change everything.

Unfortunately our protagonist is not the one who will fix everything.Nope,Quick Draw is just a unicorn that happened to get a taste of how the life it's outside his secluded and relatively safe home town.

That bite of real world left a bitter taste in his mouth as he found himself in a world were he could no longer make out what is right or wrong.He is just another lost soul in the wasteland with no clear path to follow.A traveler seeking a ghost.You know,the usual …tsk-tsk…if only that was the case…

Future,to some degree,is very unpredictable,even if it seems monotone.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-04-19 17:09:40 UTC

The Bounty Hunter

Don't judge at the first glace,i'm not that bad...

On a ridge a pony with the aspect of a rotten corpse stood,gazing into nothingness waiting for something to happen,meanwhile another pony approached him,it was a teal unicorn stallion with a black mane and amber eyes dressed in a worn combat armor with a brown duster over,he also had a sniper rifle strapped to his back,two pistol holsters holding both a custom forty fours magnum revolver,the ghoul noticed the strange figure approaching him, he sighed and said:

"You took your sweet time finding me isn't it smoothcoat?,"

"And here i thought you mercenaries are supposed to get shit done quick",then the ghoul sighed again and said in a louder tone:

"And don't give me that 'bounty hunters are different' crap, at the end of the day is the same thing",then the ghoul turned around to face the bounty hunter and in a mocking voice he said:

"Oh look at me i'm so bad ass",then reverting to his normal raspy voice :

"Well to bad you are as stupid as i predicted",then the ghoul with smug smile said:

"GET HIM BOYS!" ,the bounty hunter then enveloped his revolvers in a magical teal aura and drew them out of their holsters,in a blink of an eye he shoots the ghoul in his forelegs,crippled the ghoul went face first into the ground,but rolled on his back and yelled:

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING SHOOT HIM!",the bounty hunter smiled and in the most cold tone he could muster he said:

"I'm sorry to say but your little ambush was more predictable than my stupidity" <Talking about stupidity,that line was really stupid.>,

"And if you didn't guessed already your thugs are dead"then he added,

"You should have hired more aware thugs,i mean stabbing them in the back was to easy",hearing this the ghoul panicked and try to rise and run but he was shoot in the legs again,

"OH FUCK,YOU SON OF A BITCH,FUCKER,WHO THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU ARE?",the ghoul yelled in pain and desperation,to which the bounty hunter said:

"My name is Quick Draw and unfortunately for you it will be the last name you will ever hear",the ghoul tried to crawl away as fast as possible but the bounty hunter grabbed him in his magical aura and turned him around,he looked him right in the eye,the ghoul struggled against the magic enveloping him but his efforts were futile,the bounty hunter smirked:

"When you go to Tartarus send me a postcard"<Now that sounded cool i should write it down somewhere> and with that he floated the revolver to the ghoul head and boom,the ghoul head  exploded in pieces,that splattered all over the place,dropping the body and putting his guns back in the holster,Quick Draw sighed and began to wipe ghoul brain of his face

"One down,Celestia knows how many left"<And now i need a shower too.>

Suddenly the sky exploded with crackling lights and rain began to pour in like a wave.<Well not this kind of shower i had in mind but it works,i guess.>

And so the bounty hunter began to walk through the falling rain.

Chasing Heroes

The unexpected comes in many forms and ways...

         Walking the distance between Tenpony Tower and Bucklyn Cross was uneventful which means only one thing,that Quick's job will get a hell of a lot harder when he reaches his destination,but getting back to the point hes almost there,,as he was closing in to the steel rangers camp he decided to stop and take a better look of his surroundings and of course find a good vantage point and see where the rangers are and how many they are.

Sitting in a nearby tree to get a higher up view with his scope on the steel ranger outpost,Quick had a weird felling that something isn't right,he couldn't see any steel ranger at all,and what seemed more odd was the fact that their turrets were down..

After quite a while Quick decided that there is totally something wrong that is worth checking out,after taking a small stroll along the shore,Quick spotted a small wooden boat tied to an old wooden pier that is somewhat intact,with a smile he said:

"Well my luck might be crap,but when it works,it just works",to his surprise the wooden boat was still in a usable shape,or at least it will hold for a little ride to the bridge and back.,Quick slowly climbed on the boat,he then,untied the boat,grabbed the oars and began to row.

Once Quick reached the Bucklyn Cross Bridge, he tied the boat down, and lifted his revolvers out of his holsters,this was after all a steel ranger base and steel rangers are not known for being welcoming to intruders,he slowly and stealthily as possible made his way to the top of the bridge,were he remained dumbfounded at the sight,steel rangers,dead steel rangers littered the whole front entrance and from the looks of it even inside,the only words that Quick could come up with at that moment were:

"Sweet Celestia!",the bounty hunter proceeded with caution,whoever did this might be around,as Quick Draw checked the base room by room,he come to a conclusion:

"I don't want to mess with whoever did this",then a thought struck him,he then tried to remember for a bitthen his eyes widened in shook,then ran to the boat as fast as possible

After he reached the shores again,he jumped out of the boat and bolted off towards the general direction of the town,after he climbed a hill he spotted the town,at that very moment he hugged the ground pulling out his sniper rifle to peer through his scope at the town that seemed all alright ,then he let a breath of relief:

"Phew,thank the goddesses!",but as before he could get up and holster his sniper rifle a shape caught his attention,,he followed the moving shape till it passed by a faint light for a second but it was enough to make out her features,it was a small framed unicorn mare with a strange yet specific cutie mark,it was a mare Quick Draw recognized only from descriptions received from Homage,Quick then focused more to see if she had something on her right foreleg,since it was dark it was hard to see a thing,but the green color of the device made it easy for Quick to see,at that moment the gears in his head,,at that moment Quick was to caught in his thoughts to realized the mare moved out of sight,moments later she reappeared with a striped gun by her side and looking like a pony of the apocalypse,,were his last thoughts when he witness how she slaughtered an entire town.

When Quick Draw recovered after seeing this horror he starts muttering:

"No,it cant be her,no the stable dweller is a heroine she would never do such a thing,this has to be somepony else",then another thought struck him,it was something he heard a long time ago and with a his voice close to a whisper he quotes exactly what that somepony told him:

"In the wastes a hero either dies or turns into a monster...",with that statement his blood runs cold,and with a resigned sigh he continues:

"...and monsters like that need to be taken down.",and with that he begins to aim at the the fallen heroine's head preparing to take the shot,but before he pulled the trigger something drew his attention from his target,it was a black coated unicorn mare that surrounded herself and a small group of little fillies and colts behind her in a protective bubble,while her steel ranger and pegasus friends were talking,but Quick Draw's crosshair fell again on to the stable dweller,.

Later on the stable dweller's group left towards Friendship city with the what survivor of Arbu were left,meanwhile Quick Draw tries to find a  reason for why she did this and the only way to find a good explanation was to get it from stable dweller herself so without losing anymore time he starts trotting towards Friendship city himself,although chasing a sky wagon will prove quiet a challenge,Quick wont give up until he gets an answer from that mare.

Around afternoon,Quick Draw finally reached Friendship City,the city itself was built in a massive prewar monument depicting a pony holding up a flaming torch known as 'The Statue of Friendship' that was separated from the mainland,to get in you needed to use the intercom to tell the city guards to  extend the bridge.

Friendship City was a sight to see and Quick was gazing at it in awe for a good while but the sun was going down so he had to go see if anypony knows anything about the stable dweller,as he approached the intercom Quick had the sensation that he was watched,after taking a better look at the statue's torch,he could spot a shape,a pony shape but it was too far to identify<i guess a sniper got his or hers eyes on me,this is the 'most secure' city in the wastes after all.>,Quick then puts his hoof on the intercom button and say:

"Hello?",

"Yes?,can i help you?",came a voice from the intercom,

"I'd like to enter your town",after a few to many seconds later the bridge extended to welcome the bounty hunter<and here i thought they won't let me in>,when the bridge extended Quick began to walk across,when he reached the end he was greeted by a couple of the city guards,the guards took a good look at him and one of them said:

"OK first of all,you need to give all the weapons to the guard post at the entrance",said the guard<at least they don't ask only for the ammo>,then the other guard took another glance at Quick and said:

"Actually clothes off,i know your kind,you always carry hidden weapons"<wow those guys are not messing around>,after getting stripped of his gear,the mare at the guard post began to make a list of his stuff so she could keep a record so that nopony else would come and claim his gear.

"OK so...Name Quick Draw, possessions two custom forty four magnum revolvers,a sniper rifle,ammo,a brown duster and ... five combat knifes?",to which Quick responded with a half sheepish grin :

"What can i say,my life is dangerous"<five concealed combat knifes are a good bet when you are disarmed like this,but i wasn't expecting them to be this strict about safety>

"Right... now if you please sign this to confirm that those are the possessions you wish to leave here and afterwards you will be given access to roam the city as you like",the mare said offering him a pencil and pointing were to sign on the paper she puts in front of him.

After the whole paper signing,Quick finds himself in the market area of the city,inside a general store were he takes an important decision<well i guess my days of  traveling light are over>,then he turns to the shopkeeper and says:

"I will take those saddlebags",then he looks at the combat armor on the shelf and points at it,

"And that combat armor",

"So we have a pair of medium size saddlebags and a combat armor,now,what do you got?",said the shopkeeper.

"I got this worn combat armor,three spark batteries and of course bottle caps."

"Well let's see, i will take the combat armor and the batteries,but it will still cost you one hundred and ninety caps",Quick then gives the shopkeeper the gear and the caps and leaves the shop,with his pockets a bit lighter<OK,gear check,supplies check,i got all i need to pick a fight with the stable dweller or at least have some sort of chance,now i hope she will have a good explanation that wont result in death for anypony>,as Quick was planing on how to handle his little 'situation' a familiar voice interrupted his trail of thoughts:

"Um,excuse me but do you know were is...",the bounty hunter then turned to face the red mare he meet three days ago,

"Quick Draw?"

"Spring Rose?,what are you doing here?"

"You know,shopping",she answer with a as little smile,

"But what about you?"

"Its a long story",

"Right...did you delivered my letter?"

"Delivered as promised."

"Well thanks then,so would you like to come take dinner with me,i am starving and we will get a chance to talk a little more"

"Um,yeah... i kinda have to ...",but before he could deny the offer his stomach growled in protest,

"Actually that sounds good,lead on",and with that the pair started towards the mess hall were they picked a table in a corner and began to talk about what they did after they last seen.

"So you are telling me you made your way from Gutterville to here without dealing with any kind of danger?",Quick said in disbelieve.

"Pretty much,but why are you so surprised?",Spring asked,

"Well lets see,when i have to travel a distance i usually run into armies of raiders,bands of slavers and hordes of ghouls and of course on more rare occasion i get attacked by some other stuff that still want to kill me,i try to avoid that from happening but its not working very well."

"Hell,even just when i want to go to the bathroom i have to fight a whole pack of hellhounds."

"Really?",then she took another bite out of her daffodil sandwich,after finishing chewing she said,

"Wow,talking about some bad luck";

"No kidding, i guess everypony with its on luck.",then he took a sip from his glass of water,

"Now i guess is my turn to tell how i got here",

"Yeah,i thought you were still in Tenpony Tower,"

"I was,but i received a 'special' job."

"'Special' job?like what?",asked the mare,

"Is something i call a 'guardian angel' mission,you see i was hired to watch over somepony"<and i was thinking on how to kill that somepony,at least i wont have to if she is in a chatty mood and of course she isn't a murderous psychopath>,after one more bite she finished her daffodil sandwich,the mare asked.

"Who?"

"The stable dweller",he said in a low voice,so he wouldn't attract to much attention,

"Y-you mean t-that monster",said Spring with a mix of anger and confusion,Quick then deeply sight,

"I know.",but that didn't calmed down her in the slightest,

"You know what she did",she growled,<alright that wasn't such a good idea>,in a calmer tone he said:

"Yes,i do and that is why i'm going after her,but when i find her i will first get some answers and then maybe blow her head off"

"Y-Y-you DO WHAT!...",

"MAYBE BLOW HER HEAD OFF?,SHE IS  FUCKING MURDERER SHE NEEDS TO BE SHOOT ON SIGHT FOR WHAT SHE DID",she spat out.

"I KNOW ALRIGHT!it's just that something is missing in this story,this thing that happened it's to sudden for her to truly turn into the a evil murderer,something must had happened.",Quick explained,but this didn't defuse the situation,then Spring began to say something but she was cut out by an old stallion from a nearby table,

"He's right!",<say what now?>to the confused look he received he then said,

"I lived there and i know what happened,what exactly happened.",to this words the pair remained stunned,but Quick was... well quick to break the silence;

"Um...who are you and do you care to elaborate,please?",

The old stallion cleared his throat and explained:

"You can call me grandpa Rattle,you see the folks in Arbu had a diet that consisted of meat...pony meat.",at that statement both Quick and Spring looked in disbelieve,then in shock,then looked like they were about to lose their dinner,

"T-t-they,they...they were...e-e-eating...",Spring tried to say but felt a sick the instant she imagined what those ponies did she cover her muzzle and clutched her stomach,

"That is...that is just..."<and here i thought i had to go kill the stable dweller,hell i would have joined up if i knew>Quick said shivering slightly,

"But...but wait a second,what evidence do you have?",asked Quick,

"Yeah do you have any evidence of this?",Spring added,the old stallion then nodded and pulled from his saddle bags a book,but not just a book,a ledger,

"In this ledger are records of everypony they've eat and how many times i tried to warn them and how many times i told them i had a shotgun"<huh?,OK what is a shotgun had to do with this,i mean it would make them think you are crazy...OK now Quick focus this seems...quite solid proof,i hope is not>,he said as he gave the ledger to Quick and Spring to read.

After going through the pages of the ledger Quick and Spring just stood there speechless,then the old stallion took the ledger back and said:

"Now you need to take me to this DJ of yours."

"W-why?",Spring said,her voice being no more than a whimper.

"I assume he wants to tell him about what really happened in Arbu",Quick said,

"Well yeah,now if you want to shed some light on this you'd better get me there",said the grandpa Rattle,the pair shared a look,after giving it bit of thinking time Quick opened his mouth to say something but Spring was faster this time,

"So what are we waiting for?shouldn't we go,like about now?",that made Quick rise and eyebrow,

"What do you mean 'we'?"

"I'm coming too of course!",Spring said,then turns her gaze to Quick Draw and added,

"And before you say something,i know you get into dangerous shit but i can handle myself",then Quick smiled and said:

"You should make a shopping list you will need some better gear if you come with us."

"Alright let's do this!",Spring said with all the enthusiasm she could muster,

"Ahem!i like to see your enthusiasm but first of all ,who are you two? and second it's almost nine, i don't think going out at night is a good idea",that might have put a small dent in their plans but tomorrow is another day,

"Oh right... I'm Quick Draw"

"I'm Spring Rose"

Chit-chat and Bullets

I hate escort missions...

       It was somewhere around ten in the morning when Quick Draw,Spring Rose and grandpa Rattle began their journey to Tenpony Tower it was pretty quiet... quiet as in there were no shooting,but at that moment Quick would gladly go hug a hellhound and be ripped to shreds than listen to Spring complaining,

"I still don't get how you folks can wear combat armor this heavy and this battle-saddle is even heavier.",Spring whinnied,

"They are not heavy,you are not used to carry that kind of weight,plus i traded my sniper rifle and all the ammo for the rifle and convincing the guards i was going to sell it instead of shooting somepony gave me a headache,so please can you please,please,pretty please whine less"<where is that horde of feral ghouls when you need one>,said Quick in a exasperated tone.

"Me...whining? i will let you know i wore combat armor before and it was lighter than this."<right...>,Spring said in her defence,

"Maybe,but i agree you are whining to much."<thanks the goddesses i'm not the only one!>,grandpa Rattle intervened,

"I'M NOT WHINING!",she yelled

"Whatever,now can you stop yelling!"<sheesh>,Quick said

"And here i thought this would be fun.",Spring muttered,

"Right,right lets just change the subject,alright?",suggested Quick

"Ok,lets see...how about a cutie mark story?"<you got to be kidding me...at least she is no longer whining",said Spring with little smile,

"Cutie mark story?why exactly",Quick said rising an eyebrow,to which Spring answered,

"Well,i'm curious,i don't know any interesting story,maybe grandpa Rattle here knows a story or two and you don't seem the storyteller kind."

"Fair enough,i could say i'm curious too,but of course...ladies first.",Quick added with a little smile,to those words Spring smirked:

"And here i thought i knew you well.",

"First,we know each other for a day or two and second,i can be quite surprising."

"If you don't mind,but i'd rather not talk about my cutie mark",grandpa Rattle said and with that the old stallion leaved the conversation to Quick and Spring,

"OK then...so...anyway since somepony decided to be 'surprising' i guess i will start.",she then stops and points at a rose shaped gem that decorated he flank<i have to say that cutie mark looks quiet interesting...and that fla....whohohoh,nope i wont let it happen again,nope i wont think about it no matter how cute or hot she is but i won't...DAMN IT!>.

"I got this when i made and sold my first jewelry."<say what now?>,she said proudly,

"Wait,so you worked in a jewelry store before?",Quick asked,

"Yeap, my family owns a jewelry store in Tenpony Tower,we make our own jewelry, and before you ask,yes that sounds safer than roaming the wastes but i'd rather live a short but exciting life than a long boring one."<huh,i do think i saw a jewelry store while i was wandering around Tenpony Tower,now that explain why i almost confused her with an older mare...wait,no way that was her mother,but she did looked too alike to be a simple coincidence>,

"Now is your turn,mysterious 'bounty hunter' what is your story?"<and here i thought it was a long story>,Spring said,then Quick sight a little and lifted his duster revealing two crossed guns that looked like they are made of silver,they had ivory handles with yellow lightning,but oddly enough they looked exactly like the ones he carried in his holsters.

"I got it when my father taught me how to shoot.",Quick said,Spring looked at his guns and then at his cutie mark then at him,

"So what you are saying is that your cutie mark resemble the guns you carry?"<really?>,she asked in utter disbelieve,

"What?no,no, i got these guns after i got my cutie mark...they are the gift i received at my cutie mark party,they are very special...to me at least",he said pulling out both his revolvers with a smile and giving them a nostalgic look<good memories>.

"I must say that those are quiet a gift,i might not be into guns that much but even i can tell they really look special."<you have no idea>

"Its not just the looks,the silver plating makes them more durable,the muzzle and barrel is enchanted to increased precision and they also have a modified firing mechanism for faster rate of fire,also the handles are enchanted so if the user is an unicorn it will have a better magical grip on them,will reduce recoil and make them easy to hold.";

"Wow,i don't get half the things you said,but it sounds like they are really good guns."<and that is what i get for going into too much detail>;Spring said rubbing her back of the head and then asked:

"So...enchanted?";

"The pony that made them was a master gunsmith and a unicorn with a lot of tricks under her sleeves.",then he added:

"Any other questions?"<why did i said that?>

"Yes,i was wondering where are you from?"<me and my big muzzle and from all the question she had to ask that> ,that question made Quick tense and frown and Spring drop her ears,

"I-If you don't mind t-that is..."<ok calm down she just asked a simple question>,she said with an uneasy voice,she never saw him like that,well given she only seen the not serious Quick when they've first met and the thoughtful Quick before finding out what happened in Arbu,he seemed more thoughtful than upset or mad,now he looked totally pissed off.

"I'm..."<ok easy now Quick>,he said,then closed his eyes,took a deep breath and exhaled to calm down a bit,that made Spring let a breath she was holding,

"I'm from a little town that was far north-west in the middle of nowhere called Oasis"<its just a simple memory and nothing more>,Spring seeming to understand that asking about the town in general is a better idea than asking personal thing,she then continued.

"Middle of nowhere?";

"Yeah,the closest thing to the town was at least 4 miles away,anything around the city was just a barren field of nothing,that is why the town was called Oasis,its like a patch of water in the middle of the desert."

"Really? a town with nothing around"

"Well,there were the occasional rubble patches from broken down building,but they hardly count as something"<that unless flattened building count as something and even those were not that common>

Since going more in-depth about Oasis wasn't a good idea,they changed the subject and then talked about more mundane subjects like the wasteland cuisine and how to avoid and disarm traps,but in the end their conversation died out leaving the trio of ponies walking in silence towards their destination.

As the trio was almost there,only a hundred meters or so they were stopped by a cry of help,it was a blue filly that was galloping towards them yelling:

"PLEASE HELP ME! I NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE!",

"What is going on?are you ok?";Spring asked the crying filly,the filly said in a hurry.

"I-i'm fine,b-but mammy and daddy are need you help..."she then tried to catch her breath,she clearly ran a long distance,

"OK easy now tell us what happened",Quick said trying to calm down the filly.

"Its mommy and daddy they are trapped in building and some bad ponies are trying to hurt them..."

"Please you need to help them!",at that moment  Quick looked the filly in her big teary eyes,then looked at grandpa Rattle and said:

"Tenpony is just down the road...",to which Rattle responded

"I'll make it in one piece.",then he turned and walked towards Tenpony Tower,after that Quick turned his gaze towards Spring:

"I'll come with you."; the mare answered,then Quick turned his gaze back on the little filly and with a reassuring smile said:

"Don't worry i promise we are going to save your parents.",hearing this the filly tries to wipe some tear out of her eyes and nods,then Quick lifts the filly of the ground and on to his back and said:

"Point the way and hold on tight.".

When they reached the spot,they stopped right around the corner where the filly's parents were pinned down inside a post office by a group of six other ponies,the office seemed fortified,but from the looks of it the ponies inside didn't seem to hold for much longer,the six ponies were spread around front of the building three were clustered together behind a bench on the left side of the building and the others were more spread out two took cover behind piles of rubble in front of the building entrance,the third behind a lighting pole:

"Bandits!",Quick whispered to Spring

"How many?"

"Around six,they got assault rifles and pistols and they are waiting for the ponies inside to come out that means we can get the drop on them.",then he turned his head towards the filly.

"Listen here we are going to take care of these bandits,while we do it can i trust you to stay put until its all over?",the little filly nodded in response,then his eyes turned towards Spring:

"Now out of six,three are clustered together behind a bench and they are close enough to each other that i can guarantee i can take them out with a grenade,now the other three we need to take out ourselves.";

"Alright, i'm ready when you are.",she said a bit nervous.

"Are you sure?you seem a bit nervous."

"Yeah,i mean, i killed before,but i don't like the odds,they are six and well you might take out three but..."

"That's why i don't ask for odds,but hey don't worry about the other three,we can take them."

"Yeah but what if i miss a shot and then i get shot or you...",Quick then smirks,

"Do you remember who are you talking to?don't worry i'm sure if you miss i will be able to take out the ones left before the bandit could fire any shots and we got the drop on them,so missing the first shot wont be a big deal as long as you hit the second time.",that being somewhat reassuring to Spring they both then began to sneak towards the group of bandits.

When they got in position,Quick drew his guns and pulled out a grenade, he then took aim to the two hiding behind the piles of rubble and Spring aimed at the one behind the lighting pole,meanwhile Quick tries to float the grenade right above the three behind the bench making sure none of them will notice,the plan was simple Quick drops the grenade to take out the bandits behind the bench and then shot the remaining one.

Quick pulled the pin of the grenade and dropped it on the bandits behind the bench.

"NOW!".Quick yelled,after it exploded both Quick and Spring took out the other bandits.

"Wow,it actually worked.",Spring said in amazement

"And you were afraid that it wouldn't work",Quick said,

"Honestly,your plan seemed a bit far fetched,i guess i was wrong."

The Plan was a success but as stated long before Quick Draw's victories are short lived,

"Fuck.My.Life!",Quick said while looking down the barrel of a pump-action shotgun pointed at his head by a griffon that came out of nowhere and to spice it all up there were at least four more bandits coming.

"I must say that stunt you two pulled was quiet impressive,but to bad now you are in deeper shit than before",said the griffon with a smug smile,

"Any last words?"

Quick Draw and Spring Rose were indeed in big trouble,surrounded by four bandits and a griffon ready to blow Quick's head off.

"Not very chatty eh?to bad.",said the smug griffon,

But before he could say something,Quick heard a distant gun shoot then the griffon head exploded into a thousand of pieces,being caught by surprise by the sudden death of their griffon partner gave Quick enough time to grab the griffon's shotgun and unloaded it into the two closest bandits,there was another distant gun shoot that confirmed that there was only one bandit left,unfortunately the last one was using Spring as a meat shield,fortunately he only had a knife.

"STAY BACK OR THIS BITCH DIES!",the last bandit yelled,hearing that,Spring tries to get out of his grasp but he was holding her tight,,while Quick was trying to find a way to help Spring,a black figure landed behind the bandit holding Spring,the black figure was cladded in power armor,it also had a scorpion tail and wore a helmet that resembled some kind of insect that covered his entire face except his muzzle,the bandit then lets Spring go to turn towards the newcomer only to be impaled in the chest by its scorpion tail,then the stranger took of his helmet,it was a middle-aged teal pegasus with a black mane and violet eyes.

"Are you kids alrig...",the stranger began to ask before found himself face to face with Quick,the stranger jumped back at least three meter,Quick only glared at him.

"Um,Quick i ain't sure you should glare at the pony that saved our lives.",Spring said,but Quick ignored her and said through gritted teeth:

"Sup dad,surprised to see me?.",that statement left Spring jaw hit the floor,

"T-THAT'S YOUR FATHER?",Spring said in disbelieve.

"Yes he is.",Quick then took a step forward and the stranger that apparently was Quick's father took a step back and with an uneasy smile said:

"Ok,listen son i know your mad because i left you ,but you have to understand the Enclave was after me and i had to run."

"Don't worry dad i can get that,but what i don't get is why you never came back.",

"I-i,um...er i... y-you know had them hot on my tail for some time and i,ugh,was planing to come home very soon.",

"Very soon you say..."

"Y-Yeah..."

"Alright , alright,let me rephrase the question then.",Quick then cleared his throat and took a deep breath,exhaled and began to not hold back.

"Ahem..."

"WERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST FOURTEEN YEARS!",

"YOU KNOW HOW HARD IS TO GROW UP WITHOUT A FATHER?",

"B-b-but you were grown up a-a-and you had your mother right?",his dad tried to reason

"GROWN UP?I WAS SEVEN FOR FUCK SAKE AND YEAH I HAD MOM,BUT WERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?",Quick was yelling out loud,almost tearing remembering  the times he needed him.

"AND WHAT ABOUT MOM,HUH?DO YOU THINK SHE HAD IT ANY EASY?",

"I know son,i know how much it hurts but you have to understand that,it wasn't as easy as leaving and then come back and hour later,the Enclave won't let me get away with shooting a general and blowing up a raptor that easy,all i did is to protect you,your mother and Oasis,goddesses know what they might have done,they tend to just blow up the places were 'dashites' live no matter if they are killing innocents."

"MAYBE,BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAD TO DISAPPEAR LIKE THAT."

"I'm sorry son,i hope you will forgive me."

"FORGIVE YOU?" then he took another deep breath and continued in a less pissed off tone.

"Of course i will,you are my father and i get it,i might have done the same,but i had to get this out of my chest."

And with that the conflict died out as they stood there,then a thought struck Quick.

"OH SHIT,the filly's parents...",he exclaimed.

"They are alright,they left like two minutes ago,you know while you went all haywire",Spring said.

"Now,care to introduce me to your father,now i know you two ain't in best relations but that doesn't mean we have to forget to be polite,right?"

"Oh right forgive me for not making the presentation...ahem...Dad this is my friend Spring Rose."

"Spring this is Snap Shoot my father...my terrible father.",said Quick,still being a touch mad.

Snap Shoot turned towards Spring and said.

"Nice to meet you."then turned to Quick

"That is how you forgive me?"

"I'm trying,alright.",then Snap Shoot opened his muzzle to comment but he was cut off by another stranger.

"Oi,Snap Shoot are the little buggers alright?"said the new stranger,it was a griffon holding a sniper rifle and dressed in the black combat armor of the Talon Mercenary.

"You took your sweet ass time again,Xavier.",Snap Shoot said,the griffon which name was apparently Xavier just shrugged.

"Sorry mate,anyway who are those."

"Quick,Spring this is Xavier."

"Xavier,this is my son Quick and his friend Spring.",the griffon took a look at Spring,then a longer look at Quick

"I see that the apple didn't fell far from the tree,its like looking into a mirror,except for the horn and eyes.",the griffon said.

"Now all we need is your wife and we have a family reunion."

"You know what,i think i was far from my family for long enough.",Snap Shoot said then turns to face his son.

"I hope you don't mind coming home with me."

"Are you kidding,that is why i'm here.",

"Wait,so you left Oasis just to find me?",Snap Shoot asked in disbelieve.

"Yes,i promised mom that i will bring you back home,even if i had to drag you all the way back.",Quick said with little smile,Snap Shoot also smiled and then hugged him... a bit to tight.

"Dad....cant.....breath",

"Oh,sorry,i should not give hug in power armor.".

"Power hugs are bad.",Quick's joke might have been all kind of unfunny and dry,but it didn't matter for his father they hugged again,

"Its good to see you again dad."

"Yes,it is son",but the moment was interrupted by a nearby sniff,they both turned to look at Spring and Xavier,both had a small tear in their eye and both said.

"Beautiful..."

"I'm not heartless.",said Xavier

"I'm emotional.",said Spring

"Right...i get Spring,but dude really?",said Quick to the pair and all he received was a shrug from the griffon he continued:

"Anyway,about the trip home.",he then turns to Spring,the mare looked thoughtful for a second then smiled and said,

"Not a problem,i like seeing new places."

"Ok,i guess we are set on that matter,but what about you Xavier?"

"I made a habit from saving your father arse so you can count me in."

"Alright then,but first we need to gather some supplies,the road ahead is going to be long."

Memory Lane

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."

Grey

When black and white are no longer viable options,you will look for a middle ground,but is it really worth it?...

       The morning light came shining through the thick cloud cover,it was as dull as always and it might not have been the warm and bright ray of the sun that once shined upon this land,but it still lights what is left of this land.Some believe that Celestia's soul ascended to the sun when she presumably died and the cloud cover was pulled by her as she was to ashamed to look at what her subjects had been reduced to.That in some degree is true,Celestia is certainly dead,but the rest is just a story you tell to little fillies and colts when they ask why is this all real,the wasteland,raiders,radiation,mutants and why there is a cloud curtain floating above their heads.The pre-war ghouls that are still sane talk about the sky with so much admiration,yet for others that blue that adorned the sky as well as the mighty tapestry of stars that covered the night sky are just fairy tales.Being on the subject of stories,some stories are true some are fake,some are just creation of our imagination,but one might ask why anypony should let themselves drawn in a fairy tale land especially in an age as dark as this,when surviving is more important than telling stories about dungeons,dragons,heroes in shining armor and mares in danger that can only be saved by one brave hero?The answer is quite simple,the stories that are now told by campfire are of terrifying,sick,sad,bloody and unfortunately true,a little bit of fantasy were the hero saves the day,bringing peace and order is the only way to escape this nightmare,a dream,a small dream,but a good dream nonetheless,a safe heaven that can only last so little.A place were we can find some sort of peace,a glimpse of hope,a sanctuary.Once all this was seen as common,usual,but now dreaming of happy days is as rare as finding  a clean breath of air.

Now to return to our story or more precisely Quick Draw's story,a tale that yet again tells us that these days is the evil that thrives and heroes fall.

They were still in the convenience store and didn't plan on moving anytime soon.Xavier proved to be an early bird.No pun intended.He was the first to wake up and went to scout ahead to make sure the path is clear while the rest slept.When he returned Snap Shot,Spring Rose and Quick Draw were already up.He then he explained that they might cross paths with a group of steel rangers if the were to leave in the next hour or so,apparently they were looking for somepony. Of course passing by them wouldn't be that bad,but given they had a pegasus in enclave power armor with them made the 'peacefully resolution' seem rather improbable.Steel Rangers were not very keen on pegasi,especially enclave.

"So,were was i at?",Quick Draw asked,

"You just accepted to work for...ugh...what was her name again?",Spring Rose said,

"Oh right.",Quick said,then began to relate his story;

"Her name was Desert Wind and she was incharge and she was doing a damn good job keeping five bounty hunters in check,six with me.";

"The others were...",Quick said then gave a little laughed;

"Let's just say they all had their own thing,but when it came to get the job done they always worked as a well oiled machine."

"Dusty Winds,was Desert's daughter and she was the 'second in command',well sorta she was more that pony we point out at when we were asked who was leading the group,that is when we were out of town"

"Hunter was a pegasus born below the clouds,he was our air recon and melee specialist,well more of a stabbing specials as his favorite weapons were usually very sharp knifes.Cinnamon Biscuit was a steel ranger that left her chapter.Apparently there was a struggle for power from which resulted in a bloody fight and well she was the only one with some common sense to leave the fight.She was our heavy weapon expert.Twinkle was our demolition expert,she loved two simple things,explosives and shotguns,while her brother Twirl was our designated sniper,he was a damn good shot with a sniper rifle.Then there was me,the team medic."

"We were building up quite a reputation taking out the nastiest bastards that around Rust Town,especially Iron's Tugs,which were the toughest of them all."

"So that is how things went for the past two or three years.We fought some power crazed lunatic.As for my deal with Desert,well i kept my part of the bargain and so did she.",Quick then looks at Snap Shot,glaring slightly.

"Say whatever you want about her,but she kept her promise even though the one she helped me looking for never stayed in one damn place more than two minutes.",hearing this Snap Shot which was still encased in his power armor,began to look aimlessly around,while Quick looked at him,but then Quick began to take in the power armor he was wearing,in design it was less bulky than the steel ranger one and since it was a power armor designed for flyers it had to be aerodynamic and light,at that moment Quick considered to take a break from his story telling to ask.

"I forgot to ask,were the hell did you find that?";

"Well,lets just say i still have some 'buddies' up there that are willing to help with few 'odds and ends'.",Snap Shot said

"I could also ask about what is up with the duster?";

"Uniform.",Quick responded;

"Uniform?Really?Since when bounty hunters care about style?",Snap said,

"We all wore it,its more professional that way.";

"If you say so."

"Anyway.",Quick said then continued his story.

"Things went alright until,shit really hit the fan,about two month ago.";

               ~TWO MONTH AGO,RUST TOWN,AFTERNOON~

        Sheriff Lucky Ace was pacing frantically in front of Rust Town's main gate,but then suddenly stops when he hears multiple hoofsteps coming towards him,those hoofsteps belonged to Desert Wind and her bounty hunters,Quick Draw included.

"Finally!Desert we are in so much deep shit you wouldn't believe.",he said in his rough voice,Lucky Ace was a dark green stallion with a grey mane and a well groomed mustaches.

"Yeah i know and yet you wont give me the details,what is going on Lucky?",Desert Wind said;

"Its Iron,she is trowing in every thing she got.",Lucky said,

"Ww...what?"Desert said,

"One of my scouts spotted out a big camp nearby,over a hundred and i will let you guess who is leading the assault.",Lucky said,

"OK,ok,we don't have to panic,that is what she wants."

"Listen,ring the alarm,evacuate every civilian and gather anypony willing to fight,this is going to be our stand.",hearing this the sheriff lost it,

"ARE YOU CRAZY?SHE GOT OVER A HUNDRED COLD BLOODED THUGS AT HER SIDE,DO YOU THINK WE CAN JUST FIGHT THEM?",at this statement Desert calmly approached him and starred right into his eyes.

"Listen,if we don't fight we die,but if we fight then we might stand a chance,all i ask you do is to show the same courage you did when we faced her the first time.",

"And that ended up so well back then.",Lucky said;

"I know,i was there,but it doesn't mean we should surrender without a fight,it's not like Iron would let anypony live,at least give them a chance to fight back.",Desert reasoned,hearing this the sheriff went through the motion rather fast;

"OK,fine,i will ring the alarm and gather any battle able pony,but how we will get the civ's out?",that was a question Desert Wind already had an answer for.

"Remember the old metro system?",she said;

"Right,but who will escort them?And more importantly who will make sure they're safe?",Lucky asked;

"I will send one of my bounty hunters,now lets get the plan in motion.",Desert Wind said,then turned towards her bounty hunters.Her gaze went over all of them then stopped on Quick Draw.

"Keep them safe at all cost.",she said,Quick nodded in response.Desert then turned and looked at Twirl and Hunter.

"I need you both to go out and keep an eye on Iron,if you are engaged you can fight back,but keep your distance,if things get out of hoof pull back.",

"Yes ma'am!",Twirl said,Hunter just nodded.Desert turned toward the other three bounty hunters

"Dusty ,Cinnamon and Twinkle,with me.",she said.

The evacuation went well for the most part.Quick knew how to hold a crowd under control.He never thought that Desert's lessons on how to keep crowds under control would really be of any use.One might think that a bounty hunter learns from experience which is true,but what Desert was running was hardly called a band  of bounty hunters,at that time that is.Before Iron's 'siege' they were in fact going after bounties.Now they are more of a task force.They had to learn tactics,strategies and tricks on how to over come anything Iron trowed at them.Of course Quick being very keen on learning new things as well as honing his skills.So he got some extra lessons from his new friends.He learned everything about explosives and how to use shotguns effectively from Twinkle.Hoof to hoof combat and the basics of reconnaissance from Hunter.How to spot and snipe from Twirl.How to lead a group from Desert and Dusty.He also tried to learn how to use a power armor,but that was more of a bumpy ride as there was the obvious problem with the power armor helmet which wasn't made for unicorns.Now going back on topic the evacuation would have been a success.

Quick pushed his way through the crowd and faced what impended their progress.

"Well shit.",Quick cursed under his breath,staring at the collapsed tunnel,then turned around to speak to the crowd.

"Plan B folks,follow me.",he said,those words brought an wave of murmuring and whispering from the scared crowd.

"What plan B?",somepony in the crowd asked,

"Yeah,what plan B?i've never heard of any plan B.",another pony asked.Those question were asked by several others,making the current situation go down hill fast.The whole metro was drowned in sound of conversations,protests and generally loud speaking ponies.In all this mess one would simply lose it ,but Quick Draw kept his calm,

"QUIET!",Quick Draw yelled,but no pony seemed to hear him.He pulled one of his pistols and unloaded two bullets into the ceiling in order to receive some attention from the panicking crowd.After the two gunshots the whole crowd went silent,

"LISTEN UP!THE SITUATION MIGHT BE BAD,BUT NOW IS NOT THE  MOMENT TO LOSE OUR HEADS.",he yelled out to make sure every pony heard him,then reverted to a tone that wasn't yelling,but it was loud enough to be heard by everypony in the metro,

"Plan B consists of you all keeping calm and heading as deep into the metro as possible,understood?"

"What if that lunatic comes down here?huh?did you think about that?",a masculine voice said.Quick scanned the crowd until he saw the one who spoke,it was a stallion Quick meet few times before while walking around town,he was actually the first to tell Quick to go shoot himself when he asked if he saw his father passing through.That stallion was,in Quick's opinion,a coward that barks,but doesn't bites and at that very moment his opinion was as correct as it can be.The crowd Quick Draw leaded through the metro consisted of children,mares with young fouls,old ponies and some wounded stallions and mares.Any other pony that could run,hold a gun,aim and shoot remained behind to fight.All except for him and he was as healthy and battle able as the ones that stood behind.

"The metro entrance,as you have seen is well hidden from sight.I doubt that we will be find down here.",Quick said,

"Yeah right,it's not like we won't be jumped by fifty armed thugs when we least expect it.",the stallion said,

"We won't be jumped by anything down here,I personally checked this place inch by inch several times and there are only two viable entrances.Of course now just one,given that the other one seemed to be collapsed for no damn reason.";

"So we are trapped and i assume you will be siting in front of the metro entrance holding back an army.";

"How reassuring.",the stallion kept mocking.Calmly,Quick responded with;

"If by some miracle.You somehow grew some balls.Then you can fell free to hold the line with me.If not then get back in the line before i put a bullet between your eyes.",that was enough to put that loud mouth in his place.

"Alright everypony,down we go.";

Soft whimpers echoed through the metro.The refugees are scared,they got two lines of defence between them and an army of blood thirsty invaders stalking around the horizon.The first line is held by their loved one,most of their family,their sons,their daughters,their parents,their friends.The second and last line was held by a lone gunslinger down a forty meters long corridor.The corridor was a good choke point,narrow and with solid cover on the defender side.Quick could hold back Iron's army,he had to,but he wasn't sure if he could held all of them back.The thought of holding the line against all odds kept flying through Quick Draw's mind.He was starring down the corridor and wondering if this is it ?The end of the line?He came this far just to die?,these questions clouded his mind until his trail of thoughts was broken by a newcomer,his first reaction was to pull out his twin revolvers.Then he holstered his guns when he saw Twinkle,which seemed a bit surprised at the sudden hostility,then smiled,

"Just like good ol'days,eh?",she said

"Oh,its just you.",Quick said,holstering his guns,

"So,plan B?",Twinkle asked,

"Yeah pretty much."Quick said with a sigh then asked

"So,why are you here?",

"Well,Deseret thought that you might be stuck in here so she wanted me to give a little something to you as for Iron.Well she will attack in like an hour or so.",Twinkle said,then pulled out of her duster pocket a letter and a pocket watch.Quick took both item in his magical aura and floated them to his side ,then said,

"You seem rather calm about it.";

"Panicking doesn't help in moments like this.";

"You don't say,but i got to ask how are the other holding out there?",Quick asked;

"Well they are scared,but most of them are ready for whatever come.They are doing well i say,but don't take my word for granted."

"As for line holding,well i'd better get back before i miss all the fun.",she said,the fear in her eyes betraying the smile she wore.Then turned back to leave,

"Ugh... HEY!",Quick called after her.Twinkle stopped in her tracks not turning around to face Quick,

"What?",she asked,

"Try not to die!Alright?",Quick said,she turned around smiled and said,

"I'll try,but i can't promise anything.".With these words she departed from the dark metro.Then the realization that he didn't asked for what the pocket watch was for struck Quick's mind.Fortunately he just now noticed that there was a sticky note on it that read:"If nopony comes by ten p.m. open the letter."

The words that were written on the sticky note kept repeating in Quick's mind as he checked the pocket watch every hour.The watch case was gold with the inscription "Only time will tell,if we are to fall or prevail." ,very fitting words for the situation Rust Town was in.The watch mechanical components worked flawlessly,the nice gold plating was clean and well polished,but the most noticeable aspect of the watch was the trim on the edges of the watch were shaped in what looked like wings and the engraved lightning below the inscription.The watch was pegasi made for certain. Of course,another factor that gave its origins away was the small engraved words on the back of the watch that were easily missed at the first glance,that read "Made in Cloudsdayle.".That pocket watch was both a work of art and a piece of history.

The time was ticking.Quick took a glance at the pocket watch,sighed and muttered,

"Huh,i guess you didn't try hard enough.Did you?.",the watch was just few more seconds away from midnight.

"I guess praying and hoping are really for nothing.",he said in a whisper,then with another sigh he opened the letter and read,

"Well,if you read this then i guess we failed,we are all dead,but you are still alive,Quick.I know you are,it will take more than Iron and her army of tugs to put you down.Its funny if think about it you know.I never thought you would do so well in this line of work.Yet here you are probably reading this way later than ten p.m.I do know that you are one to hardly believe something without proof,but sometimes you just got to believe simple words.Even if those are words you wouldn't want to be true,but i digress.You are smart enough to know that we didn't actually stood any chance,yet here you are.One thing i liked about you was your sense of what is right or wrong.You did right by staying and helping those who needed the most.This fight wasn't your fight,but you chose to stay and help us even when we couldn't help you.I'm sure you father would have been proud,i know i am and maybe you will some day find him and tell him about us.You will find him,never lose that hope.Now i know what i will ask,will give you something to think about.It's just that,well you know,sometimes a lesser evil is needed to defeat a greater evil.Yes i want you to kill Iron,she is a threat not just to Rust Town,but to what is left of Equestria. Imagine what will happen when she realizes she can change things on a higher scale.She will conquer all she sees and she will kill anything that stands in her way.That must not happen.I know i ask much,but please don't do this out of petty revenge.Do this just because its the right thing to do.Please,all this land needs is somepony to do the right thing for once.Please be that pony.

Now it seems that i'm sending you on a wild hunt.Well i won't do that,i never did.So here is the plan.I know you hate slavers,but you will have to get over it for this plan.You will have to go south east to big industrial site.There is a building with two large doors,you go knock on it and then you will have to tell them this 'Take me to were the sky is burning' they will get it.Yeah and don't say anything else,they are,kinda weird and you don't need to offend them in anyway.They will then let you in and offer you fast transportation to Fillydelphia. There you will go and ask for a griffon.His name is Recker and tell him i sent you,he will ask you about a key phrase too.The key phrase you tell Recker is the inscription on the pocket watch.To find Recker you will have to do a something rather dangerous.I'm sure you can do it,i hope you can.You will have to go knock on Red Eye's front door and get to talk to Recker,then Recker will take you to Red Eye.You will have to make a deal with Red Eye.Hopefully he will be in a bargaining mood,but all you really need is his help,that's all.I also forgot to say that Red Eye is the 'smooth talker' kind of guy,so be careful.

Well,i guess this is all,Goodbye!

Signed,Yours Truly

Desert Wind.

After he finished reading the letter.Quick felt like he had a big rock crushing his heart.That day he lost good friends,but he couldn't just stay there and mourn the lost.Nope,that just wasn't his thing,he got a mission.He was determined to put an end to Iron,he had to stop things like this from happening again even if it meant it could kill him.

The plan Desert left to Quick was very uncertain in some aspects.The fact that the weird ponies at the industrial site were all pegasi and had a skywagon came as a surprise,but now it was the moment when the uncertainty began.Knocking on the gates of Tartarus seemed more appealing than knocking on Red Eye's gate,but it had to be done.The sun was setting as Quick Draw approached the tall walls of Fillydelphia trying to put on his best 'i mean business,but i also don't give a fuck' face,an act that was held rather hard.With every meter Quick walked towards that hell hole.A sentiment of unease crossed through his body.That was to be expected since that was the felling Quick always had when he felt like he had a gun pointed directly at him,but this felt more powerful,probably because there were several guns pointed at him.Red Eye had his soldiers and slavers sitting on the walls with guns pointed towards the horizon all day long,now those guns were pointed at Quick Draw.Its to be expected the higher ground and the fact that nopony with half a brain would approach Fillydelphia like that made a lone traveler going towards Fillydelphia to stick out like a camp fire in the dark of the night.

When Quick Draw reached the front gate he was welcoming committee which consisted of six Talon Company griffons.The most ruthless mercenaries that ever walked the wasteland.In Fillydelphia that is.In other places the Talons are seen as not that ruthless even just mean,but those facts depended on who they were working for.The griffons in their signature black armors strafed around Quick Draw until a grey feathered griffon stopped right in front of him,

"Listen up pal,i will give you thirty seconds to tell me what are you doing here or else i will slice you to pieces and feed you to dogs.",the griffon said,Quick Draw which at first was surprised by the fact they didn't shot him first,responded retaining a certain degree of calm in his voice,

"I'm looking for a griffon called Recker.";

"We got some business to do."

"Recker you say.";

"Wait just a moment.Guys keep an eye on him",the griffon said as he ascended back on to his guard post on the wall,

The waiting was really tense,most likely because Quick was still surrounded by almost half a dozen well armed mercs ready to shoot him from every angle if he only sneezed.After few more minutes the griffon that first talked to Quick came back this time accompanied by another griffon,this one was older,had brown feathers with a white tint at their tips,he wore the usual Talon merc armor and had an eye patch over his left eye.The griffon looked at Quick Draw,taking in every detail about him,but mostly looking at the brown duster,Quick wore over his combat armor,

"I'm Recker. So whom do i own the pleasure?",the brown griffon asked,

"Quick Draw.",Quick bluntly stated,

"Quick Draw?I never heard that name before,but i've seen dusters like that.I assume you have something to say don't you?",the Recker said,

"'Only time will tell,if we are to fall or prevail'.",Quick quoted the inscription on the pocket watch,

"So,she finally bit the bullet.Well,that was to be expected given the odds she was fighting against.",

"Well,i assume you are not one for stalling so follow me.",Recker said then turned to face the still closed gate and yelled,

"OPEN THE GATE,WE GOT A VISITOR.",

The way to Red Eye's office was rather unsettling for Quick Draw.He seen the slaves,the state they were in,the punishments they receive from the slavers,he even seen some getting shot from falling behind because they were to exhausted to continue.This was what he thought hell would be like and hated the fact he couldn't change it.After passing through the horror that was Fillidelphia,Recker lead Quick to a balcony were a crimson red earth pony stallion with jet black mane and wore a black cape looked over to the slaves below.The stallion then looked over his shoulder to look at the new comers,he looked at Recker,then at Quick Draw,his gaze then shifted to the hard working slaves down below and then completely turned to face both Recker and Quick Draw whom he regarded with his blue eye and his other red cybernetic eye.Red Eye wore a confident smile,

"Ah,Recker, i see you bring before me yet another one of your associate.",Red Eye said in a smooth,almost benevolent tone,yet keeping a certain level a firm tone to it;

"Not as much of an associate,this is more of a deal i made long ago."

"A deal you say.Should i remind you about the last time you brought 'a deal' before me?",Red Eye said,Recker scratched his eye patch with one of his claws;

"You don't need to remind me.But this one is different.He is here to help us solve our mercenary problem.",

"Is that so?",Red Eye asked turning his gaze towards Quick Draw,

"How could you help me with this little nuisance who calls herself  Iron?",

"I,ugh...i.",Quick stammered.Red Eye wasn't really that intimidating,but his cybernetic eye was the tool he used to instill fear in others.It was working well on Quick Draw.Quick wasn't in any way the 'bravest of them all'.He always knew when he should pick a fight or run.This might not have been a fight,per se,but it was enough for him to lose it for few seconds.Fortunately he managed to focus on saying words again.

"I fought these mercenaries for the last three years.I know how they operate.I know how they fight and more importantly i know how she thinks.",Quick

"If you do,then why did you come to me?"Red Eye asked,

"From what you say,you can handle them with ease."

"Well,i'm neither stupid nor suicidal.If i want to take out Iron i will need some help.Given you are the major power in Fillydelphia and there is also the fact that Iron from what i've heard is not on your good side.I assume we can make fair deal.",

"And what would this 'deal' will consists of?"

"You help me take out Iron and i will lend my services to you without requesting any payment in return.",Quick said,

"I will think about your offer.Now i hope you don't mind,but me and my guest will have to discus in private.",Red Eye said then hes gaze shifted towards something that was behind both Recker and Quick.Quick looked over his shoulder to look at what caught Red Eye's attention.The sight of the newcomer that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere left Quick with his jaw hanging.It was a tall majestic dark purple alicorn that could have easily towered over the tallest pony.Seeing what reaction Quick had made Recker smirk.

"First time seeing an alicorn?",Quick just nodded;

"Well that won't be the last time you will see one.Alright kid,enough starring we should get out of here",Recker said while slightly pushing Quick towards the way they came up on the balcony.

Time passed as Quick starred down from a catwalk that overlooked over the slaves that were working.Waiting for Red Eye's decision.One slave in particular caught his attention.It was a dark green stallion with a dirty blonde mane and tail.What actually got Quick attention was how he looked.He was unusually small,hes ears were disproportional.He also wore a vest tie well around his skinny body by a belt.Quick Draw was impressed by the fact that somepony in this state would even be able to stand,let alone work to death like that.Then Quick attention turned towards the griffon that approached him.

"Well?",Quick asked;

"He agreed to help you.Of course he demanded that i would watch your progress closely which means you will drag me with you.",Recker said;

"Sorry for the inconvenience.",Quick said;

"Eh,i was bored anyway,seeing some action might be a good change of pace.",Recker said;

"If you say so.Now let's talk about the 'generous' help from Red Eye.",Quick said;

"Well,i'd say he got us covered very well.",Recker responded;

"How many?",Quick asked;

"Forty two of his followers and believe it or not,but we also got two full wings of alicorns.",Quick perked at the word 'alicorns';

"Really?";

"Yeah,really,trust me when i say i was as surprised as you are.";

"Wow...just wow."

"Yeah i know.Unfortunately now you also got the Goddess watching.";

"The Goddess?";

"The mother of all them alicorns and that's pretty much all i know about her."

"Why would she be interested in what are we doing?",Quick asked,but only received a shrug from the old griffon;

"Hell if i know kid.";

"Yeah,anyway.So what do you have on Iron and her mercs?",Quick asked,

"We know that her base is somewhere close to Fillydelphia and also she has two lieutenants in this area from which we would gain the location of her base if we ask them 'politely' ",Recker said;

"Alright kid,since we got this out of the way,i'll go catch some shut eye,you'd better get some too.We will be heading out early",he said holding back an yawn,

"Agreed.",Quick said.

The morning light usually came as a refreshing sight.Although not so refreshing for the unfortunate souls trapped in Fillydelphia. These days a pre-war city fells like an empty ruin that inspired sadness and melancholy,but what Fillydelphia inspired was just pain and suffering.These thought were the only things that flew through Quick mind,as he was starring into the gloomy horizon on the wall that separated the wasteland from Fillydelphia .Then a small bump in his shoulder woke him up from his daydream.

"Still there kid?",Recker asked;

"What?oh...ugh...i just thinking about stuff.",Quick said,

"Well stop thinking,your troops are waiting for you.";

"My...oh right.";

"Welcome back to reality.Now listen they woke up early and they are kinda pissed.Well minus the alicorns,they couldn't give two shits about it,but listen you might want to hold a little 'motivational' speech before we head out.To get them going with some more eagerness."

"Motivational speech?What should i say?",Quick asked;

"Mention you will be cracking some skulls or something,that should be enough.";

"Now let's move,we are burning daylight.",Recker concluded,

The group that Red Eye sent to help Quick was waiting at the gate of Fillydelphia. They were all looking expectantly in the direction of a wooden box of nothing else but soap.Quick took in the sight he was expected to give a damn good reason to why they all woke up this early in the morning and he had to make it good. Recker leaned in to whisper in Quick's ear;

"Now or never kid.You go climb on that soap box and motivate these guys so we go kick some ass.",hearing this Quick gulped,closed his eyes,took in a breath of air,exhaled then went and climbed on the soap box then cleared his throat.

"OK listen everypony,we will be going out to hunt some assholes,but those assholes are not in any way your regular run of the mill  kind  of assholes.Nope,they are strong,fast and the worst is that they are actually smart,but that doesn't mean they are invincible.No that makes them a target we will be proud to tell others that we left in puddle of blood.";

"They are the toughest sons of bitches you will ever face,but now we are the hunters and they are the prey."

"Me as a bounty hunter i can safely assure you that there is no greater satisfaction when it comes to killing a target that tries to escape you by trowing everything it has at you in desperation.It's efforts being futile.Then the felling,the adrenaline rush when they are cornered,the fear in their eyes is a delightful sight.Especially when they are a bitch to put down,but i think we wasted enough time.ARE YOU READY?",Quick Draw ended his speech.The crowed seemed to react to his speech rather slowly,but one of them began to stomp on the ground,then another cheered,shortly after that the whole crowd was stomping and cheering.

"LET'S GO CRACK SOME SKULLS!",the crowd then lined up and began marching towards their first destination with Quick Draw himself in front. Recker landed by Quick side and said;

"Nice one kid.If it was just a touch longer it might have even been inspirational.Yet you did well.";

"Well,what can i say,i know how to put the right words together.";

"Also,a soap box?really?",Quick asked

"That was more for emphasis than anything else.",Recker said;

"Right..."

                ~PRESENT DAY~

      The after noon sun shun through the thick curtain of clouds as Quick and his group were finally on the move.The steel rangers moved out of their path and they managed to cover quite a lot of ground.They almost reached Oasis.Meanwhile,returning to Quick's story.

"We went out hunting for Iron's lieutenants.After a bit of searching we found our lieutenants.The first one we found was not that helpful,but the second one was more forthcoming with the location of Iron's little base.After he spilled the beans.We went to kill Iron.We found her and i put a bullet between her eyes and i was done.",Quick finalized;

"Wait...that's all?",Spring Rose asked;

"Yeah,that's all.What did you expect?",Quick said;

"Well...i don't know,it's ...It's rather underwhelming.",she said;

"Well,what did you expect?";

"I don't know,some epic fight or something.";

"That would had made the story more interesting,but it didn't happened.Well,she did give a monologue,but it was just bullshit.";

"Eh,fair enough i guess,but finishing a story like that it is just as i said underwhelming.";

"Well,at least i finished it in time.",Quick stopped and said,Spring just blinked in confusion,then Quick nodded ahead.That made Spring turn her gaze ahead,the sight made her jaw drop.

It was a flat field filled with nothing but grass.Green healthy grass.The terraforming megaspell that dragged Sunny Field underground was just potent enough to hold the ground it affected healthy and radiation free.The sight itself was a unbelievable.

"Wow.",Spring Rose said;

"Yeah,its quite a sight.";

"So, how do you fell going home after all this time,dad?",Quick said turning his gaze to his father;

"It's...i got no words.",Snap Shot said;

"Well,you'd better find some words for mom.Now let's go,we are almost there.",Quick said and began to walk towards his home.Quick then out of curiosity asked Spring Rose who walked by his side the whole way from the convenience store.

"You know,i've never got around to ask you why are you coming with us,i mean you said you like going to new places,but it fells like there is more than that.";

"Well,you could say my curiosity needed to be satisfied.I mean look at all this.",she said then sighed and added;

"But to be totally honest,i don't really have anywhere to go.",taken by surprise by those words Quick asked;

"How so?Didn't you had a family back at Tennpony Tower?What about the caravan you were travelling with?";

"About the caravan,well my stocks were low and that lifestyle was hard and it was getting harder,as i was barely making any decent caps.As for my Tennpony Tower.Well,i'm not allowed there anymore?";

"Say what?";

"Eh,well i might have poured a drink on some fella head and i also might have thrown my dinner plate which was still full in the face of another,but they were jerks.Important jerks as they managed to convince the Tower leadership to kick me out.";

"Oh,that rather harsh.";

"Yeah,but what else i can do.It was either me alone or my whole family,but i can't do that to them,can i?";

"I see,but hey we might find you someplace in Oasis.";

"Would you?i mean i don't want to bother anypony or something but...";

"Don't worry about that,folks in Oasis are very welcoming and nice.Almost all travelers that found Oasis settled down there.";

"Well,thanks.";

"That's what friends are for,right?";

"Right.Thanks again.".

The Road To Tenpony Tower

There is always something to do...

        After receiving the reward from Red Eye's contractor for the death of the ghoul slaver,Quick Draw decided to check out a little encampment of traders in the East Manehattan area,north of Gutterville to be precise and see if there is any work to be found.

Upon arriving the encampment Quick Draw was greeted by a pale red maned earth pony mare with a light red coat and cyan eyes that was wearing the usual trader clothing:

"Hey there traveler,what brings you around this places?",to which Quick Draw said:

"Hi,i heard that some traders settled by and i wanted to check out what you fellas got"

"Sure thing stranger,if you got the caps we got the stuff's,so are you looking for something in particular?",the mare said,

"Well i was hoping to buy some ammo for my forty fours",this words seemed to make the day for the mare,

"You have to look no further if come with me to my tent i assure you will get the finest quality ammo for a reasonable price.",the mare began to trot fast towards her tent and Quick Draw following her,in her haste she almost bumped into a trader,but the trader managed to get out of her way,unfortunately she bumped into a caravan guard,a big one at that,the impact sent the mare on her rump but the caravan guard didn't even moved,towering over the red mare,seeing what happened the guard said to the red mare in a deep serious voice that sounded close to a stallion almost.

"Is this guy bothering you Spring?",Spring pick herself off the ground and said:

"Who..oh him nah,his my customer",then she turned around to the other merchants and with a louder tone she said:

"MY costumer!",the caravan guard looked at Quick Draw and then at Spring and then at the crowd,then she shrugged and carried on with her patrol ,

"Ahem!",the bounty hunter draw back the attention of the mare name Spring,she flushed a little then,recompose herself and said

"Amm...Right ammo sorry about that.",after that little show the pair began to walk again towards the tent with the ammo,to brake the silence Quick Draw said

"So let me guess you are not getting many costumers,do you?",the mare nodded,

"Well it ain't like i don't get any but the others merchants tend to steal my costumers",Quick Draw raised and eyebrow ,

"Really?",the mare nodded again,

"Well,at the end of the day it matters how many caps you got not how you got them or at least that what i heard.",after they passed a another tent the pair finally reached Spring's tent,and the trade began.

"Now here ya are two boxes full of forty four round,fifteen caps",offered the mare,

"Alright now,fifteen caps for this rounds,but do you have any three'o'eight?",the mare shook her head,

"Sorry i'm out of those"

"Well damn,i guess i wont use my sniper rifle that often",in curiosity Spring asked

"Well stranger,i got to ask what do you do for living?"

"Well you see i'm a bounty hunter,now i go after scumbags only so please don't worry and i also do other jobs that don't involve killing".Spring took some time to think and then said:

"Well then that explain the look,but i wonder if you'd like to do something for me?",Quick Draw took a moment to think about it

"And what that something would be?",Quick asked,the mare smiled

"Well its nothing hard actually,i need you to deliver this letter to a friend in Tenpony Tower,and i give you three more ammo boxes and maybe i can find some sniper rifle ammo to,so what do you say?".

"Deal,now i should go,thanks for the ammo",the mare's smile widened,

"Thank you ugh... I believe i didn't quite introduce ourselves.",the mare the looked shocked for a moment,then recomposed herself again.

"Sorry i forgot were my manner were when we've met,I am Spring Rose,who are you?"

"Um,Yeah i'm Quick Draw nice to meet you",

"Are you alright?"

"Um,yeah,"

"I'd better get going,"

"Is getting dark and Manehattan,"

"Dangerous at night,"

"Ugh..BYE!"

And with that Quick Draw the 'badass' bounty hunter runs like there is no tomorrow from a mare that he had some 'certain' thoughts about.            "Huh...what and odd fella."

After bailing out of a awkward situation Quick continued his journey to Tenpony Tower.

A ghoul lunges forward but its head is torn to pieces by two forty fours magnum rounds<well fuck that son of a bitch,coming out of no were ,pft,still not fast enough but i should keep an eye open for...>,a cacophony of roars comes from the distance and with it a whole pack of feral ghouls<Well shit>as the horde is making its way through the ruins of Manehatten Gardens Quick Draw is looking frantic for a better and more defensible spot to hold his ground against the incoming horde<come one,come on>,he sees a broken down sky wagon<death trap>,a ruined house<hmm... maybe>,he starts toward the ruined house then stops and spots more ghouls coming out of it,<well fuck>,then he spots a coffee shop that seemed clear, and runs as fast as possible,he jumps through a broken window draw his guns and scan the room<nothing,great,now lets barricade and pray>.

The horde of feral ghouls reached the coffee shop and then hell broke loose as they charged the windows and the door,breaking through the makeshift barricades and right into a mine field,as Quick Draw runs through the back door yelling:

"SEE YA LATER YOU UNDEAD BASTARDS!",the coffee shop full of feral ghouls is obliterated in big bang while Quick Draw resumes his path to Tenpony Tower giggling<Mines,never leave home without them>

Of course Quick Draw's victories are usually short lived as he gets attacked by raiders,give the circumstances,the only thing he could do,is of course to curse his luck,

"OH COME THE FUCK ON,AT LEAST GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!",and well of course shooting them is a more sensible thing to do,but its not Quick's thing,but still it has to be done,given the raiders had knifes and bats  and the fact that they were just three it was no big deal,so you find out ,if you didn't already,Quick Draw's name is literal,in seconds the three charging raiders dropped dead to the ground

"Pft, a walk in the park",that is if you consider a second wave of better armored and better armed raiders 'a walk in the park',Quick sighed in annoyance:

"Here comes more,i hope they got their tickets ready for a RIDE TO HELL",then Quick pulls his sniper rifle and takes a better look at them through the scope<...four,five,...,six...assault rifles,hunting rifles,shotguns,oh well they got ...some guns...wait what is ...what the actual fuck?>There was a seventh raiders and he had a big minigun,

"Nah,fuck this,i'm out of here",and for the second time in this story our 'badass' bounty hunter runs like there is no tomorrow,at least this time he runs for his life.

After getting his ass shoot twice and gulped his last healing potion,Quick finally got away from the raiders,<FUCKING HELL,that was close>,then he sat down hard and winced from pain and jumped up in the air;

"OH FUCK,fuckidy ,fuck,fuck!"<ok are those damn potions working or what...oh wait they heal wounds not fix pain...silly me...damn it and i don't have any med-x>,

"Um,karma no offence ,BUT YOU ARE A FUCKING BITCH",then he start trotting forward hoping to find that damn tower already,when he turns a corner,Quick stops and with a sheepish grin said:

"Sorry Karma",there it was Tenpony Tower in all its fancy and unscorched glory,"OK,now just to get in and get paid.".

"Halt!,outsider what brings you to Tenpony Tower?",said a stallion guard<what the...oh right these fancy asses don't let everypony or should i say everyone inside>,

"Business."

"What kind of business",asked the tenpony guard.

"I got a delivery for your DJ and a letter for another one of your residents",when the guard heard this he seemed skeptical;

"What resident and for that matter what delivery?"<OH COME ON>

"Give me a second",<i accepted to deliver a letter,but never checked to who should i deliver it>,then Quick pulled out the letter and read to who the letter is addressed to

"For Helpinghoof."<huh were did i heard that name before?>,"As for the deliver,well,your DJ keeps complaining about the fact that he doesn't have that many new songs".

"And i should believe you why?",<UGH! ,From all the fucking guards of this tower could have i had to bump into the most skeptical>,but before Quick could lose his temper and do something he would regret a more feminine voice shouted:

"JUST LET HIM IN ALREADY!"

"But...",the stallion guard began to say,but he was cut off by the same mare guard this time without shouting,

"No buts,no asses,no nothing,he has the damn letter out and the DJ really needs some new songs so stop being an overzealous ass and let him in already,is getting late too,now you wont like having him on you conscience if the blood wings get him,do you?",after that little outburst the gates to Tenpony Tower finally opened to welcome the bounty hunter.

As Quick enters the tower the stallion guard that 'interrogated' him was making the 'i got my eyes on you' sign,while the mare that let Quick in approached him with a welcoming smile and said:

"Welcome to Tenpony Tower sir,now if you wish to proceed further inside you will have to turn in your ammo.",at the confused look she received,she shrugged and added:

"Those are the rules".to which Quick said:

"No offence,but it is  a stupid rule,i mean why not save time and energy by taking the guns rather than the ammo in them.",<now please don't get offended and kick me out>

"I know,but i don't make them,i just enforce them."

"So give in all the ammo you carry,please."<at least she is polite.>

After getting stripped of all the ammo,and looked in awe at how clean the tower is compared to the rest of the wasteland,to bad the residents were regarding Quick Draw with some sort of worried disgust probably because he was covered in the dirt and grime like any other wastelander was cover in,but walking the wastes isn't like going to a spa.<of course,if you are not as fancy as them they will look at you like they are a bunch of bigots and you are ghoul,to which i  think they are,if i recall they don't allow ghouls in just because they look like corpses,anyway i need to find this Helpinghoof and DJ Pon-three.>,so Quick Draw tried to ask the tower residents that passing by were he can find DJ Pon-three or Helpinghoof,but they just ignored him or just ran off,Quick sighed in exasperation,but after a bit of wandering around he found the tower's clinic<Helpinghoof Clinic?.. oh right now i remember it that was the name of those prewar clinics,hmm... interesting,so this guy is named after them...so he is a doctor,talking about dedication.>,he entered the clinic and spotted a brown earth pony stallion,with a stethoscope hanging from his neck looking over some papers.

"Good evening,doctor Helpinghoof,i assume.",

The brown earth pony stallion put the papers on a nearby table and turned to face his guest.

"Yes,i'm doctor Helpinghoof what can i do for you?",

"I got a letter for you",then Quick Draw pulled out the letter that somehow was still pristine,well as pristine you can get out in the waste and gave it to Helpinghoof,the doctor smiled a little when he read from who it was and said:

"Spring Rose,still looking for adventure's and fortune?",the doctor said with a smile,out of curiosity Quick asked:

"So did you know her?"

"Yes,she used to live here,but always complained about how boring it was to live in here,that's why she left,thanks for bringing this to me,i assume you didn't had a easy time getting here,so is there any way i can help you?"

"Well i'd like some medical supplies,if you got any to spare that is."

"I'm sure i have some supplies to spare..uh...i don't think you introduced yourself",<now were are MY manners>

"Oh,right,I'am Quick Draw."

"Alright Quick Draw i will see what i can find."after lightening his pockets of some bottle caps and then filling them with some healing potions and med-x,Quick left the clinic and instead of asking the impolite to the strangers residents,he decided to ask the tower guard were he can find DJ Pon-Three,and fortunately the guards were more cooperative than the residents,unfortunately the DJ was unavailable but Homage,his assistant was,to which Quick gave a small box with some holotapes with songs he bought from a merchant oblivious of their true,now of course he had to do something,apparently even the DJ had jobs to give him,at least the job is paid well,but the mission seemed a bit odd.

"So what does this little 'guardian angel' mission involves and who am i watching after?",asked Quick a touch skeptical.

"The DJ received some info on the stable dweller,apparently she and her gang are to participate to a prisoner exchange between the steel rangers and the steel rangers outcasts at the Bucklyn Cross,now i'm not sure if i can trust them to be civil so since you are here he will pay you a nice price for making sure that the stable dweller has some backup.",explained Homage,<HOLY SHIT THE STABLE DWELLER NEEDS MY HELP...but wait there a second,why me?>,still skeptical Quick Draw said:

"Are you sure i'm fit for the job?",

"The DJ has many contacts and well you got a quiet a reputation,competent and always get's the job done,and well you are already here so, what do you say?"<OK first i have a reputation?well i had but not here...and second me...competent...ME,well i get the job done but i wont use such a big word>

"Point me to the nearest ammo shop and you get yourself a deal."<well,now i know pissing off the steel rangers isn't going to be a good idea but what can i say helping the heroine of the wastes and getting paid to do so,why not,plus i always wanted to take a shot at those bastards.>

Looking more relaxed and a touch happier she said:

"Thank you,you have not idea how much this matters to me"<'how much this matter to me'...i knew the stable dweller had fans but never thought they were so dedicated.>