Somewhere outside Manehatten ruins.

Morning...well sort of. It was closer to mid-afternoon and apparently the chems that Doc Feather had given me kept me out for almost a full day. I felt like shit too, everything hurt. My wings and my legs hurt, even my chest. All of it was hurting but was a dull ache when compared to the torrent of thoughts going through my head. I didn't know what to do from this point. My life was suddenly upside down. Yes, somepony needed to get to the bottom of what was going on at Tenpony and why I was cast out. There was also the question of where the only other pony I might be able to trust had gone to. Homage. She'd worked up in the radio station atop the tower broadcasting DJ Pon3 for as long as I could remember. Homage had recently taken Dawn Star in as an apprentice. It had only been about four months and Dawn Star barely knew how to operate the station, but she kept DJ-Pon3 on air despite Homage's sudden disappearance last month. All just so the tower's residents wouldn't know anything was amiss, or that the wasteland's beloved DJ had lost his right hand mare. I needed to find Homage because the longer I thought about it the more I thought she'd know something about the society. She did work up in the top of the tower after all, and I had heard rumors that she was involved with the Council, or New Twilight Society or whoever they were. I just had this feeling that she would be as good a place as any to start looking for answers. The catch was that I had no idea where to even begin looking for her. Plus, even if I did know where Homage was, I knew nothing about the wasteland. Even more of a reason to find her was if the rumors were true, she was very important. Important ponies don't just go missing without reason or death.

"Fuck me." I groaned at the ceiling.

The more I thought, the more I realized just how much I'd been ignoring at Tenpony. I had caps, booze, and mares. I had nothing to worry about, and got away with anything. Well until... however long ago it was that I'd been kicked off a tower. Now look at me. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no clue how to survive without having a nice cushy tower around me. It was like whatever was in control of the world wanted nothing more than to fuck me over, which was fair since I had always wanted action. I guess I finally had what I wanted. My thoughts drifted back to the day I came out of the stasis pod and I frowned. The memories of seeing everything die and the feeling of hopelessness just pissed me off. I came into this scarred and shattered world with nothing but my figurine and was given a life. I had apparently fucked that up and now I had nothing again, save for a hoofful of random belongings and my little Rainbow Dash figure.

"Why, the actual fuck, does my life have to be so damn confusing!?" I shouted this time at the cracked ceiling. My head was hurting now.

Good thing I had a contingency plan for that. I rolled painfully to my hooves, and I achingly took a few shaky steps over to my saddlebags, dug through them for a moment and withdrew a half bottle of Manehatten Mischief. It was a brand Slackjaw had concocted and boy was it strong. I also withdrew the little cyan figurine. Turning, I shuffled agonizingly back over to the mattress I had been on for the past…however many days and flopped heavily back onto it. Once I had shifted myself back into a position that offered some semblance of comfort, I took my first pull in Celestia knows how long from the bottle. The figurine stood next to the mattress silently observing my self-medication.

I delved once more into my thoughts...and Manehatten Mischief. I needed to come up with a plan. I had to move and go somewhere, do something. Then suddenly it came to me. The SPP towers, they were used to broadcast Pon-3! If I were a radio mare I'd probably look to them for some form of comfort or hideout or something. It wasn't much, but it would be somewhere to start. Check the SPP towers, hopefully find Homage, and question her about the New Twilight Society. If I didn't find her there maybe I'd at least get some clues. I sighed. That sounded so stupid. Like it was really that simple. Just flutter on over to an SPP tower and poof, I get all my answers. If I couldn't find her then what? Just go back to Tenpony and fight my way to the top, just to ask questions? I couldn't do that. I'd have to fight all the ponies I had worked with. They were once my comrades and I couldn't do that to them. My thoughts were interrupted by the flutter of wings and the sound of hooves. Icewind and Doc feather must have returned.

"Hey! I hope you brought alcohol. I only have half a bottle!" I stopped and looked down. "Make that a quarter bottle!"

As they entered the room, I could tell right away something was off. The griffin had seemed irritable but more good natured than not when we first met. Now she definitely looked flustered and angry. Icewind, on the other hand, was very pale. Instead of flustered he looked scared and angry.

"No alcohol unless you're going to go into raider territory for it." Icewind said flatly.

"What happened out there?" I replied with a quizzical look at both of them.

"Raiders have decided to take the territory between here and New Appleloosa, so we're stuck, unless you'd like to go through Junction. Before you ask, I can't because I've made a few enemies. Even I am not a saint and have a past," Doc Feather said sarcastically.

Well, that would put a damper on things. We could go north, I surmised to myself.

"What about going around and through Shattered Hoof?"

My statement was met with two dumbfounded gazes. I had either said something insanely genius or really stupid. I went with genius and smiled a little. I may also have been getting a buzz what with the bottle being almost empty. As it turned out I was right about one of those things. I was definitely buzzed. One out of two isn't bad.

"You are aware that you have wings right?" Doc feather said dryly.

"Painfully." I responded sarcastically gesturing to the bandaged appendages.

"Pegasi aren’t exactly friends of the Talons. Even if the Light-bringer and that pegasus she ran around with had connections to them, the Enclave attacked them on the day of sunshine and rainbows and any pegasus they don't already know is likely to be shot on sight," Came the Griffin’s reply.

"Ah. Well...I guess there were some things I did not learn in Tenpony then. I know the only other direction is towards Maripony but I'd rather not become a ghoul." I said.

All of the talk of pegasi and Talons reminded me of the day of sunshine and rainbows. It was a good day, five years ago. I was...fifteen? At least I think so. From what all the doctors said I was around five when I came out of the pod, so the age thing is kind of blurry. But I remember that day well. It was beautiful and I'd never seen anything like it. I wanted to fly forever the first time I saw that vast expanse of color, but I never took to it. Tenpony was safe, keyword: was. Now that that was gone, however. I could do it, at least when my wings healed, but for the moment I was grounded. I wasn't getting anywhere sitting around reminiscing and I knew the only other way around would be for me to go back towards Manehatten and through Junction. But even then, I didn't want to leave Doc Feather hanging. She'd saved my life, so I owed her a little assistance. The least I could do was to help her travel to New Appleloosa, and I had an idea of how to do that.

"We go straight through." Again with the stupid looks. Were they going deaf or was I slurring already? I wasn't drinking that fast was I? I looked down. Oh...it was gone. My poor alcohol, drank before its time. “Seriously, all I need is a high point to use my rifle. I can provide cover if you two can fight up close," I said, my gaze flicking back and forth between each of them hopefully.

"Well...I guess that's not a terrible idea." Doc Feather agreed.

"Yeah, but there’s one problem, I'm not a close-quarters fighter. I'm the best damn sniper the Wasteland's ever seen. Bet I could even give that Calamity character a run for his money." Icewind added.

"Okay then, Icewind, you and I will set up in a sniper position. Doc, can you fight?"

"Of course I can fight. What? Do I look like a fledgling?" The griffin said irritably.

"Then it's settled." I smirked. "Let's go take out some raiders."

"Waaait. Wait, wait, wait." Icewind interrupted. "Why should I listen to you? For that matter why should the Doc? For all we know you're going to walk us right into a death trap."

I fixed the earth pony with a stare. "I can't give you reason to trust me, but honestly. I'm sure I'd be shot on sight in Manehatten so I can't go back to where I came from. I owe the good doctor here at least a little help for saving my ass."

"You know what? Fuck it. I don’t have anything better going on right now. I'm broke anyway, so it's not like I can pay my way through any tolls or buy any supplies and New Appleloosa is currently the only place within a day's walk with .50 Caliber ammunition. I'm in," said Icewind.

Doc simply nodded ascension and I grinned broadly. Now all that was left was for me to work all of my belongings onto my back and we could go- Oh...right...that. Everything still hurt. Shit, I hated being injured. Still, I rose painfully to my hooves once again and crossed the room. Stopping in front of my saddlebags I turned to Icewind.

"I guess we will need to wait until I've healed enough to walk without constant pain. You said you needed .50cal Icewind?"

His eyes widened. "Yeah. Do you have any?"

"Wouldn't be talking if I didn't, would I?" I asked with a smirk.

I turned back to my bags and toggled my pipbuck. I kept forgetting I had the stupid thing. I had only gotten it six months ago and I kept ignoring the damn thing unless I wanted the radio. Honestly, the only reason I had it on the night I got chucked off the tower was because we had an inspection earlier that day and I was required to have it on. Ever since the Council at the tower had given it to me, they wanted me to keep it on but I hadn't really seen the point. Sure it was useful, probably more so out here, but I had never cared for it before. I toggled it regardless and searched the menu for my ammunition. I had ninety-seven 20mil rounds for the AntiMaterial rifle, forty-nine for the shotgun, and a full one hundred for my 10mil pistol. I scrolled a little further. I also had two grenades, and...Ah! Forty-one .50cal rounds. I tapped my pipbuck and out came the box of ammo. Icewind's face lit up instantly before becoming a mask once again.

"What do you want for them?" He frowned.

"Weeeelll...how about a bottle of something stiff? I know you guys are holding out on me. I may be from security but I'm not a mare so I won't be castrating you while singing songs." I beamed at him and held the box of ammo tantalizingly close to his muzzle.

"Fine. I have two full bottles of Wild Pegasus left. Take them." Yet he had a strange look on his face and he honestly seemed confused. He looked like he'd just been given the deal of a lifetime.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Well, normally it'd cost much more for that many rounds, and what in Celestia's name were you talking about castration for?" He questioned still looking at me in an odd way.

"Well, I can't use it, plus we are going to need it. Dude, honestly, you mean to tell me you never heard the story of the security mare from Hoofington?" I said, smirking again.

"Fair enough. I'll take the deal. And no, I don't read stories, they're full of lies. Something happened to Hoofington but I highly doubt it was one mare." He trotted out for a moment before returning with two bottles of Wild Pegasus...sweet nectar.

With the deal done and all interested parties satisfied I turned to the griffin. "So how long before I can operate normally again?"

"Well," she said with a close look at me, "you could go out right now. Your injuries are healed. The pain you're likely experiencing is nothing more than lingering soreness. You'll only be sore for however long it takes your body to finish the healing process. Get through today and everything should hurt less. You'll be fight worthy if you're prepared. Now if you'll excuse me. I'm tired."

I nodded to her, signaling my willingness to fight and with that, she left. Icewind followed shortly after and I was alone again. Three hours later, I had drank almost all of my trade by myself. I hated drinking alone. Faintly, the voices of Icewind and the Doc could be heard through the cracked walls. I hated that too. They were talking as though they were friends, and chatting about the wasteland. I was alone and I hated it. I was always alone. I patrolled the tower alone. Took my watch alone. Ate alone, and slept alone. The only social life I'd ever had were fleeting hours with mares, and drunken nights when the other regulars in the bar would get drunk enough to talk to me. Even Dawn Star and I hadn't had much contact. Just a few, mostly short, conversations. We were friends when we were young but she told me I had changed the older I got. “Colder,” was the word she used. We still cared for one another when it came to it, but it was never the same. I stared down at my pipbuck and turned on the radio.

"-Even though there was quite a fight, it seems the lovely little mares all escaped to safety. All thanks to Applejack's Rangers. Now my little ponies, DJ Pon3 is feeling a little sad tonight. Ya see kids, my lovely assistant here just lost a friend to some nasty business and asked me to dedicate a song to his memory. Well, here it is.”

My head fell back against the wall with a soft thump as the last of the Wild Pegasus was pulled from its bottle. This is totally what I needed. I knew that was Dawn Star dedicating the song. It was sad and sounded of loss, fitting for a dead pony, but it wasn't a song I cared for. I knew she had tried to give me a proper send off in the only way she could and for that I was grateful. At least she thought of me one more time before I slipped from her mind forever. My eyes snapped open in an angry glare at the ceiling and I smacked my pipbuck on the filthy floor. No one ever fucking cared to stick it out with me. Apparently not even Dawn Star. Sure she cared, but how much really? I got a song, but I was sure that in a few weeks she'd be counting her lucky stars that I was no longer a pain in her flank causing trouble all the time. She couldn't give less of a fuck about who I was. Nopony ever gave a crap. You know what? Fuck them all. When I got to New Appleloosa I'll tell feather thanks and fuck off to the nearest bar. Ponies really pissed me off sometimes, which was why I was surprised to see Icewind walk in once more.

"It's two words by the way. My name. You've been saying it wrong. My name’s Ice Wind. You were on her Med-x when I told you my name so I'll let it slide," He said softly. I realized I'd only been paying attention to their words and not how they sounded. Nor anything else about them really. They were simply shapeless things in my mind, just accessories to a world. "Just call me Ice."

"Oh. Sorry. I've had a strange couple of days. My name's Ross."

Suddenly Ice had a shape. He was an actual pony and a real being. Maybe I'm the one who doesn't give a fuck about ponies and that's why they didn’t care about me. He produced another bottle from the saddlebags he now wore. This one was "Applejack's finest" whiskey.

"I can see that," He responded. "I hate seeing a pony drink alone, especially downing that much so fast. You drink like you're running."

"I'm always running," I said, leaning back once again.

"You and me both." I heard him open the bottle as he spoke, and take a long pull. "Hoofington, by the way. I'm running from Hoofington."

I was silent for a moment, pondering what could have happened to him there. I knew it was a rough place. It would kill those who were not the toughest of the tough in an instant. I decided it would be best not to ask him about it. I barely knew the guy.

"Myself," I said simply, offering no explanation.

"Must've fucked up big time to get literally thrown off of Tenpony tower. If Feather hadn't seen you falling you'd be dead." Ice-space-Wind said with another pull from his own bottle.

So that's how I came to be here, Feather caught me. "Funny thing is, I tried to save some slaves and this was the thanks I got." I gestured to all of my injured appendages. I heard a snort, which turned to a laugh. I couldn't help myself and soon I was laughing as well.

"You…you mean…to tell…to tell me that…that you got kicked the fuck out...of TENPONY...for doing something good? Fucking priceless! Oh fuck this wasteland so hard!" He tried to take another swig and nearly choked on it in between laughs.

"Yeah, yeah. Fuck you too Ice," I said smiling again. It was a genuine smile. I was drunk, but Ice Wind had to be sober. He was only on his...whoa...that bottle was almost empty already.

I guess that meant I had two things on my list for Appleoosa. I had to help Doc Feather, outdrink Ice Wind in a bar, and then I could fuck off. We spent the rest of the night talking. I told him about Tenpony and he told me about the Hoof. (That's what they call Hoofington I guess.) Doc Feather was asleep long before we were. Our conversation took us long into the night, and we drank almost all of the alcohol Ice kept in his saddlebags. I wound up sprawled halfway off of the mattress I had been resting on for the past few days with a bottle stuck to my face. (No. I have no clue how it got there.) All too soon however the morning sun was peeking through the windows of the ruined home, where they let in little of the grimy, dusky light. It was truly the first dawn I had seen since the day I got kicked off of Tenpony. My head was aching a little, but nothing I wasn't accustomed to. I had had many a hangover and this was nothing new. I sat up and heard the sound of the empty bottle detaching itself from my cheek and clattering to the floor. I rose and stretched the best I could. My body protested the action but I told it to quit hurting. It didn't listen. The pain, however, seemed lessened just as the griffin doctor had said. Speaking of, there she was, stalking in with a very uncomfortable looking Ice.

"Time for your hangover medicine too," she said as though she were going to enjoy what was about to happen. My eyes widened as she withdrew a very evil looking syringe from her saddlebags and stalked towards me with a malicious grin. "Come here little pegasus. You want to fight well right?"

Nope. Sure don't! I would have just taken being shot over being stabbed with a gigantic fucking needle. So I did the only thing a sensible pony in my position would do.

"Pleeeeeease no! Please don't Doc. I'll do anything! I'll polish your beak and preen your feathers for life! I’ll clean your bathroom forever!" Then it happened. She stabbed me in the flank. "OHFUCKINGSHITFUCK! OW! OW! OW! CELESTIAFUCKMEWITHACASTLE!"

It hurt worse than being kicked and thrown off the castle for all of about one half of a second. But still, it was excessively painful and my words were one hundred percent justified. It also had the benefit of making me vomit instantly. Which by the way, it smelled just like pure alcohol. So it was super nice. I didn't actually care that I felt great until I had finally recovered from the harrowing ordeal enough to finally speak.

"What the fuck was that!?" I asked breathlessly.

"A cure for a hangover," Feather stated. "It's a Zebra potion. It works better if every drop is directly injected into a pony."

"So why would you inject it into my fucking ass!?" I shouted.

"Eh...wanted to see your face when I did," The griffin replied.

Have I mentioned how much I was starting to hate the wasteland? With all of that out of the way and my dignity shattered on the floor of the ruined home, everypony and griffin set about gathering our things. I dismantled and cleaned all three of my firearms, then checked the ammo once more. As I was taking stock of all of my supplies, I heard hoof steps behind me and turned to see Ice with a very well-kept .50 caliber sniper rifle in a battle saddle of his own. Upon closer inspection, I noticed an engraving on the barrel. Rose.

"Rose?" I asked, tilting my head. "Aww. We get drunk together one time and there you go spinning my name to make it sound feminine and putting it on your gun."

"Actually it's because it's a beautiful weapon, just like a rose, but roses have thorns. Thorns make a pony bleed and my rifle makes ponies bleed." Ice replied evenly. How lovely. "What's yours called?" He continued.

"It's...uh...it's a gun. I mean, it doesn't need a name does it?" My head cocked to one side in confusion. Why in Equestria would I name a gun?

He simply shook his head and muttered something about me not having been in the wasteland long enough. Apparently in the wasteland you named your guns. We had finally checked and double checked all of our weapons and were prepared to fight. I had taken off all of my bandages, and sore as I was, I had to hand it to Doc Feather. Whatever she had done to heal me had worked wonders. Either that or I had been fading in and out of consciousness for more than a day in recovery. Equestria may never know. All of that aside, I was ready to go out and do whatever we had to do to make it to New Appleloosa. It was easy with the slavers, so how much different could it be with raiders? I just had to kill them before they killed me right? I heard the aforementioned griffin glide in through a hole in the roof of the small ruined house, or rather I assumed there was a hole in the roof, otherwise this house was huge enough to have flying space for a griffin. She stalked into the small room I had been occupying for the last few days, dressed in armor. Most of it was made of junk though. It was just some steel plates hammered into a helmet and old cart wheels made into armor for her legs. A single 10 millimeter pistol hung at her side along with four knives. Two were quite large, more machete's than actual knives whereas the other two were of a more average size. They were sort of like kitchen knives, only these had wickedly curved blades.

"You all ready to take on some raiders? Since I guess it's the only way to get through this with all of our collective asses relatively intact," she addressed us gruffly.

Ice and I simply nodded in assent. Feather turned and lead us into the other room. All of its windows were boarded up, and the front door had a large pile of junk in front of it. It was effectively blocked from being opened. There was a large hole in the ceiling, however. (Called it!) Doc fluttered up a short distance before latching her talons onto Ice's shoulders, making him wince.

"I hate flying." He muttered as she carried him out of the house.

This left me standing in a shaft of sunlight, in a place I didn't know along with a griffin and a pony I didn't really know either. I knew what this was. It was a metaphorical precipice. I would fly out of the house and face a new life in the Wasteland, one that was quickly becoming soaked in blood. So now I would fly out, and add a few more quarts to the stream of crimson I had started. Funny thing is, I wanted it. I liked the fight and the adrenaline. I liked that it was them or me, black and white, simple. This was their blood or mine and I wasn't keen on the idea of loosing any.

"Guess it's time to see what Equestria's really like," I said as I spread my sore wings and prepared to exit.

I began to rise slowly, tentative of my wings, testing them to see how they would react to flight. They seemed okay, if a bit sore. Then I saw Equestria. It was beautiful. Although everything was ruined making it a nightmare wrapped inside a dream. The landscape was bright and sunny, with barely a cloud in the sky, yet everything was so desolate. There were broken trees and homes. It was like staring out over a graveyard of the past. For a split second, I saw the small village as it used to be. Ponies of all shapes and sizes were trotting to and fro. There were smiles on all of their faces. The vision changed and I watched flames engulf the happy neighborhood while ponies screamed. Foals died, and mares held their charred children’s remains in their hooves as radiation took their lives as well. The end of the world flashed before my eyes as though I were back in my pod.

"ROSS! HEY ROSS!" The voice snapped me out of the grisly vision and I shook my head.

"Yeah?" Ice Wind was looking oddly at me and Doc Feather seemed intrigued.

"You were screaming. Your eyes glazed over for a few minutes and you just started screaming."

Oh...is that all? I always thought that I just zoned out whenever that happened. Apparently not. Maybe that's why ponies avoided me. "Mister crazy who screams at nothing." Eeyup. That's weird enough that if I were them I would avoid myself too.

"Oh. Sorry. It's nothing, just...let’s just go okay?" I said stupidly.

They continued to stare at me as though I'd just turned into an alicorn before they shrugged and turned away. I simply followed in silence, examining the shattered remains of Equestria. The burned remains of the small neighborhood we trotted through seemed to call out to me. Every few steps another vision would flash through my head, but none as vivid as the first. I was happy to finally leave it behind as the visions seemed to lessen and eventually stop all together. Soon after leaving the small neighborhood and my nightmarish visions, we came upon a ridge. One side was covered with several outcroppings of rock and sparse underbrush, which we had to pick our way up. There was a sheer drop on the other side. We needn’t go further, however. It was pretty clear that we had found the raiders. Set up against the bottom of the cliff was a small town-ish...thing. It was mostly buildings constructed purely of junk. The makeshift township extended out into the burnt out wasteland maybe a few hundred feet to a junk wall. The wall had guards that were scattered along the top as it stretched from one side of town to the other and encompassed the community in a semicircle with the sheer cliff at its back. It was kind of ingenious actually. The only way anypony could take them by surprise is if they came from behind, but that would require flight. Snipers would also work as well. Good thing we had both of those things. I turned to Doc Feather.

"So, I have to ask, is this what you thought it would be? Because that looks a little bigger than I was expecting."

"Well kid, you ain’t wrong. I was figuring on a smaller camp myself. Problem is, they have patrols and this group is a little more organized than most. More like a gang than actual raiders. They have a leader and everything but they're too bloodthirsty to just be a gang. No moral code," Doc feather replied. I frowned at that.

So what was happening here was that I had just gotten us all in way over our heads and now, everypony…er…and griffin, was going to pay the price.

"So," I said, "you guys still in? We've come this far and I think it's worth a shot. Worst case scenario, we all die."

Ice snorted in response. "I think you must have been kicked in the head at Tenpony. There's got to be at least a hundred raiders down there. They're organized and they're protected."

Ice had a point. It was near suicide, but so was going any other route. So what if ponies died? It happened all the time. Yeah, I would still try and keep Ice and Feather from dying as well as I could, but unless they wanted to all split up then we were stuck right where we were. We could always go back the house but then what? Wait until they find us? Even if I owed Feather, it would be an easy way out of debt. We’d just go in trying to move and have my debt holder die, or I would. Win-win. Not like they would have anything to do with me once we made it to Appleloosa anyways. Not to mention, they apparently wanted to stick together, safety in numbers I surmised. Fuck it, let them stick together. I'll find answers alone.

"Well unless you guys want to split up, this is what we have to deal with. I can't fly far enough with injured wings to be out of range of their marksponys, and you can't fly at all Ice. So what do you say?" I responded with a smirk.

The reply came, dark. "Not like I have anything to look forward to anyways. Fuck it."

Without another word he dropped to his belly, braced his rifle, sighted and fired. A body dropped from the tower.

"There's your fucking fight. Go ahead and kill us Ross," Ice said coldly. He chambered another round, bit down on the trigger mechanism, and fired again. A second body dropped and the town went insane.

Doc said nothing and launched herself down the side of the cliff and off to the left of the wall. Waiting for us to pick off the bulk of the force, no doubt. So without another word, I braced my own rifle and looked through the scope. It was chaos, with ponies galloping to and fro. Some carried weapons and fired wildly, while others tried to hide from our sniper fire and pick out our position but it was to no avail. Each one that stopped in our sights fell. My rounds packed more punch than I really needed. I guessed Tenpony just gave us huge guns to be intimidating since nopony really needed this kind of firepower. So I sighted clumps of ponies under the walls. Some were running for the exit but I watched each come into view and drop. Two by two. My rounds would tear through one and annihilate the other. I was silent, as was Ice. We were focused on our work. Ice's face was a mask of anger and determination. I was calm, but could almost hear the hatred he felt for me in those moments, as if each blast of his rifle was a thought. Fuck you Ross, eject, reload, fuck you Ross. I ignored it and continued the onslaught for nearly an hour before they found out where we were firing from. At which point things got much more complicated. There was a dull thud and Ice stopped firing.

"Shit," I heard Ice grunt. I turned to see him lying on his side with a hole in his shoulder and a steady stream of blood flowing down his chest. "Ross, in my saddlebags I have a healing potion. Get it out for me."

Turning away, I rifled through his bags until I found the potion. With Ice slowly healing from the round I turned my attention back to the small town, vaguely aware that the shooting hadn't stopped. Feather must have begun her assault as well, but that was soon to be the least of my troubles. As I sighted my rifle, I saw a pony stand up on his hind legs and hoist a very large weapon onto his shoulder. Fuck. He had a missile launcher. We pulled our triggers at the same time. The raider dropped but his missile was already flying towards us. Without thinking, I rolled and hooked my hooves into the straps on Ice's saddlebags.

"Going down!" I shouted as we dropped off the ledge. I opened my wings to catch the air and yes, it hurt like hell. Trembling with effort, they stabilized enough for us to glide down to the top of one of the buildings and land, almost softly. We tumbled across the roof of a shack, and I heard Ice grunt in pain. "Ice, find a high spot. I'm going in. We're fighting down here now. I'll find feather," I said as I swung my shotgun around. Ice nodded and rose slowly to his hooves ejecting a spent magazine and began to limp for cover.

Time to die motherfuckers. I hopped from roof to roof, which made some convenient stairs I might add, until I found a place to get to the ground. A pile of junk and boxes gave me access to the narrow streets below. As soon I made it to the ground my world was lit up in a flash of blinding light, and I felt myself being thrown backwards to tumble across the dirt. I was dazed, and felt as though I had been bucked by an electrical cable, but as soon as I looked up I realized what had happened. A very large tan stallion holding some kind of electrified bat was standing before me with a manic grin on his big stupid face.

"Oh fuck you, and your big ass bat," I spat.

He simply laughed around the bat held in his mouth and struck out once more. I leapt backward and could still feel the heat and smell the ozone as the bat narrowly missed my face. Once I landed, however, it was different story. This time I was ready. I braced my shotgun and fired 3 rounds consecutively at the bastard. Once in the face and twice in the chest. I turned to continue my dash to find Feather, but I was stopped in my tracks by a gurgling sound. I turned to see the stallion standing once more. His once blue mane was still soaked in blood but his face was regenerating. My eyes widened in surprise and fear until I saw the Hydra at his feet. Of course Raiders would use chems.

"Oh, just fucking die already." I spat once more as I prepared a more thorough barrage of rounds for him.

"How ‘bout you die BITCH!" He screamed as he downed what appeared to be an entire bottle of buck. I saw him tremble for a moment before, with an almighty swing, he lit up my world once more and I was flung down the street.

Crack. I heard my head hit the wall I was flung into, which was followed by an explosion of pain in my skull. Everything was blurry. My vision swam, and so did the stallion. He came in and out of focus, trotting almost happily toward me swinging the bat in his teeth. I was only able to focus on him for a split second but I could see he was shaking violently. Apparently that much buck at once had side effects. He was probably on the verge of a heart attack. His heart! I chuckled as he approached and a little blood began dripping from my mouth. I had probably bit something in it. He grinned broadly as the bat came up, crackling with electricity. If he hit me I was done for, but I wouldn't go down that easy.

"Make it count." I said, flecks of blood dripping down my chin.

My rear hooves rose and moved toward him. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion, and I bucked him as hard as I could in the center of his chest. The electrified bat hit the ground next to my head, sparking, and sending small electric shocks into my face causing me to wince. He stopped as though he had hit a brick wall. His pupils dilated as the shock went through his system. The stallion fell sideways, bat forgotten, with both fore hooves pressed to his chest. I could hear him gasping for breath but I didn't care. It was time to finish what I had started. I left him to die, and galloped in the direction of the gunshots.

Small shacks flashed by and made me dimly aware of the life that thrived here. Vile and disgusting life, but life all the same. I saw mares pull their foals inside and slam doors. I even saw windows being closed in fear of the attack. All of this as I flashed by and I didn't care. Anypony who chose to live with raiders were scum. I galloped along, left turn, right, right, straight. The streets were a maze, more like alleys as they were so narrow but I cared little. I was running for the sound of gunshots and then I found them. I saw feather bloodied and beaten. She still fought with all of the ferocity I would have expected out of a griffin, twisting expertly and plunging a knife into a throat here, pulling her pistol and ending a threat there. She was poetry in violence, but I was not here to admire. I was here to fuck shit up, so that’s exactly what I did. Three raiders leapt at me. The first was dispatched with a single round from my shotgun, the other bucked into the rampaging doctor’s path. One knife to the throat and that threat was ended. The third however proved to be a little more resilient. It was a mare. She hit me while I was busy with the other two and soon, I felt a blade at my own throat. I smirked in her face.

"Don't bring a knife to a gun fight babe."

In her frenzy she had apparently forgotten that I had guns literally strapped to me. (How could someone miss a battle saddle?) There was a muffled thump as her insides exploded out of her back. I rolled to my hooves ready to fight more, but we were down to one. He looked young, barely out of foalhood. His features still carried that of a youth, his crimson eyes held hatred, and his blue body's posture held fear. He would die all the same.

"STOP!"

A voice called loudly and the raider froze up as though he were a soldier given a command. Confused, Doc Feather and I both turned our gazes to the direction of the voice, and there before me was a beautifully armored Zebra. I mean it was gorgeous. All hoof crafted magnificence. Glyphs and images adorned each curve and edge and glinted harshly in the sunlight. Sure, it wasn't anything as exotic as starmetal, but it was still amazing.

"You are worthy fighters!" She said in a strange accent. "You have bested my stallions and mares, as well as my compound. What is the meaning of your attack on us?" She queried.

I was dumbfounded so I answered in the most eloquent way possible. "You're between us and New Appleloosa."

The Zebra laughed. She actually laughed at me. That was, well, new. The leader of a gang of raiders laughed at me, but then, what wasn't new these past few days?

"I like you. You are very fierce. But you see, we are not raiders, though bloodthirsty my soldiers may be. We are but a humble settlement. I simply decided the best defense is a good offense, so I've created a ruthless army to keep my home safe. Welcome to Cliffside!" She proclaimed.

Wait what?

"What?" Feather said, echoing my thoughts. "Why would your ponies attack us when we were scavenging then?"

Once again the mysterious mare laughed. "Because in order to deter violence, we must BE violent!"

"Well that makes sense," I said sarcastically. “‘Let’s kill everypony who may want to be part of our settlement.’ I mean, I thought ponies were nuts in Tenpony, acting like the wasteland wasn't there. But you, you're batshit crazy lady."

"Well, since you believe that I am as you say, ‘batshit crazy,’ I will give you an insane proposition. You leave now, and take your sniper with you, or, I'll kill you both where you stand." Now that...was much better than anything I expected.

"Alright we'll leave," Doc replied, clearly eager to put this place behind us.

"Ah, but it's not that easy, for you have killed fathers and mothers. So I must give one of you a parting gift." The zebra said cryptically.

Almost as if on cue, Ice was brought out draped across the pack of a unicorn stallion of about my age. Ice was in really bad shape, however. He was black and blue and it looked as though they had broken almost every single bone in his body.

"This should get you to Appleloosa quickly, for if you don't, he will certainly perish." The Zebra smirked as Ice was thrown at our hooves. He didn’t even have the energy to cry out. All he could do was groan.

Look what you did Ross. Now he's going to die because you're a Celestia dammed fool. Just ignore it like you always do. Who cares if he dies. He knew what he was in for right? I balked at the beaten form of the stallion whereas Feather simply looked unamused.

"Oh! You beat him half to death," the griffin said with a crack of laughter. "Yeah, that'll be hard to fix. We're leaving, Ross let’s go."

Okay, now I was confused. Ice looked pretty bad to me, but Doc Feather acted as though it were a paper cut. Instead of voicing that, I simply watched as she gingerly hoisted Ice onto her back and trotted in a direction I assumed lead to the exit.

“I am Zula. Remember my name, for if you cross me again, you will not survive," the
Zebra called out to us.

I smirked. "Yeah? I'm Ross, and if I cross you again, we'll see who doesn't survive."

In only seemed like a tenth of a second before she was on me. She had both hind hooves planted on my back while one fore hoof was on top of my head, and the other holding something sharp to my back of my neck. I was forced to the ground and my face pressed into the dirt.

"The challenge has been issued then. If we meet again, the fight will be to the death,” she whispered in my ear. "You have made an enemy this day, Ross."

Zula shoved my face into the dirt once more before releasing me. I hoisted myself to my hooves and turned to spit the dirt the she'd gotten into my mouth at her hooves. She fixed me with a glare that could melt metal, and I returned it with one as harsh as I could muster. We simply glared at one another for a moment before I finally turned to leave. As I trotted over to where Doc Feather had stopped, to watch the fireworks I assumed, I simply got a shake of her feathered head and a look as if to tell me how stupid that was. Without a word from either of us we parted, leaving the town and its army of raiders to tend to their wounded and pick up the pieces. Soon the place was well behind us, and Cliffside was quickly fading into a memory. We walked for hours in silence before the doctor finally spoke up.

"I don't understand you, Ross."

I chuckled. "Not much to understand. I got thrown out of Tenpony, you saved my sorry hide and now I'm here. I'm with you ‘till Appleoosa at least."

The griffin shook her head. "That’s not what I mean. What kind of pony, new to the wasteland, would pick a fight with the leader of a town guarded by raiders?"

"Oh. That. Well, I don't appreciate being threatened. She told me she'd kill me, which means I'll have to kill her first. She told me she would so I told her the same," I responded pointedly.

"Yeah, well watch yourself Ross. If there’s one thing you don't want in the wasteland, its enemies," Feather huffed.

That was good to know. I just did the one thing I shouldn't do out here. Well, no use in crying over it. I would probably never even see her again. It's not like I ever planned to go back to Cliffside anyway. I simply shrugged and didn't respond. So once again, we were left trotting along in silence. My thoughts began to travel back to Cliffside and I started to wonder. Were any of those fighters truly fathers? What about mothers as Zula had said? Had I shattered families once more without even thinking about it? They were simply an obstacle when we went in. Why should I feel remorse now? I tried to just forget it. I couldn't allow myself to care. They would have killed us had we tried a diplomatic approach. It was nothing more than a necessary evil. At least, I kept telling myself that. We trotted in what seemed to be a meandering path for hours until my soreness from the skirmish finally started to get the best of me. I dropped onto my rump.

"Hey Doc, how much farther do we have to go? I'm starting to feel that fight," I said.
Doc Feather looked over her shoulder and Icewind who still lay unconscious on her back.

"Just over that rise should be New Appleoosa. You can rest there."

Damn, I was going to have to keep walking. I stood once more, shaking with effort slightly and began to trot on. Oh, how I'd love to just fly the rest of the way there, but I knew my wings would need a few more days of recovery if I was to use them again without serious injury. So I grunted my annoyance at nothing and mumbled about "fucking raiders" for the next half hour until at long last we arrived at the gate to the town. It was oddly open or at least odd to me, because Tenpony kept its gates closed. Maybe the rest of the wasteland was more open to visitors? I shrugged mentally and we trotted into town with Ice still draped across Feather's back. We headed for a larger building situated on one side of the street that looked to be a tavern. (Yay I could get a drink!) Hopefully they had beds too. I felt like I could sleep for a whole year. I followed the doctor inside and for the most part the place was empty. Considering it was mid afternoon, I imagined that was not abnormal, but the evening crowd would be coming in soon. Again, I was assuming, but who knew. This could have been the most underpopulated tavern in the entire wasteland. Feather was talking to a bartender. I think his name was something Whiskey? All I heard was whiskey. Soon though, the stallion turned to me.

"Your friend here says y'all need some place to stay. I got rooms if you got caps. Fifty per room."

"Yeah sure." I replied as I withdrew one hundred and fifty caps from the first equestrian bank of me. "Also, how much for a bottle of liquor? I'm thirsty."

"Now that I can do at a better price! Ten caps. All I got is Wild P though. The name’s Apple Whiskey by the way. Pleased to meet you!"

"Ross," I replied, "and Wild P is just fine."

Apple Whiskey seemed to have just noticed my wings because his eyes suddenly went wide and proclaimed, loudly I might add, "Sweet Celestia you're a pegasus! I haven’t seen a pegasus in months. Heard some say half of ya went into hiding when the skies cleared. Were you Enclave?"

At this point I just wanted my damn liquor and a bed. "Nope. I'm 200 years old. Now, if you don't mind, the bottle please?" I asked as I tossed ten caps on the bar.

"There's no way you're 200 years old," Feather piped up halfway up the stairs.

"Yeah, I am. I was in a stasis pod up until roughly twenty years ago," I replied flatly.

"We're going to talk about that once I have Ice Wind here patched up." Feather replied matter of factly before continuing up the stairs.

Whatever. I turned back to the bartender and extended a wing to pull the bottle off the bar when it seemed he had found his voice one more.

"Your friend is strange. I asked if she would like to take that injured fella over to see Candi, but she refused. Said she'd prefer to work on him herself," Apple Whiskey said.

"So you're saying I'm not strange? I'm pretty sure you've only just picked your jaw up off the floor, and she's a doctor. He's in good hooves...er...Talons." I responded.

"Are you really 200 years old? Do you remember the world before...well...it got like this? I heard it was quite a sight," Apple Whiskey asked.

"No. I remember the moment the door closed, and the next 200 years went by in roughly 200 seconds, then I was waking up. Now if you don't mind, I'm going upstairs to drink this whole bottle and sleep."

Without another word, I headed upstairs for one of the rooms I had paid for. I was going to get some much needed rest and relaxation. I locked the door to the room, and situated myself on the dirty mattress that had been set up on cinderblocks and boards so that it resembled an actual bed or at least somewhat. I tuned on the radio on my pipbuck, removed my battle saddle, and withdrew a healing potion from my saddlebags. I was about to down the potion when I heard DJ Pon3 start the news with an announcement that stopped me dead.

"And now for the news! It seems I've heard some shocking reports about a fugitive of Tenpony. Shouldn't be too hard to spot as he's a pegasus. Now your ol’ pal Pon3 has been told to inform the general public that if this stallion is found, he should be brought back to Tenpony for the authorities to deal with. Word is he's dangerous and to be careful, but now my little ponies, I think I'm feeling a bit rebellious tonight so I won't tell you that. What I'll tell you is that one week ago this pegasus flew from Tenpony to the aid of slaves taken by slavers and saved all but one, and today he and a few freinds launched an attack on the vicious gang at Cliffside. So I say to all of my listeners, if you see him, don't turn and run. Just keep an eye on him. A loaded gun may be some good insurance as well... just in case. And that's it for the news! Now you know what I love hearing? The wonderful tones of Velvet Remedy! Let’s hear one of her tunes shall we?"

So now I was a fugitive, Tenpony wanted me dead, and apparently somehow DJpon-3 found out I wasn't dead and knew about my fight with the slavers. I downed my potion and sat back on the mattress. My 10 Millimeter pistol rested on a makeshift table beside my right wing, just in case. It was light enough to handle with just a wing. I had trained myself for months to be able to pull off that trick. The look on everypony's face the first time I pulled it out using one wing at the range and hit three bullseyes had been priceless. Now it was nothing more than a useful tool. I sat up steadily taking pulls from the Wild Pegasus I had just bought and waiting to see how the townsponies would react to my presence. I didn’t have to wait long until I got my first sign that they had heard the news. There was a click at my door, a lock pick no doubt. A dark pony, almost black, wearing heavy barding that covered his features stepped into my room. Magic pulled a revolver from beneath his coat and aimed it, naturally, at my head. So I laughed.

"I'm not a murderer and you don't know what you're doing." I said.

"Shut up fugitive! You're coming with me!" The mysterious pony shouted.

"Oh sure, sure, but the name’s Ross." I climbed off of the mattress and took a few steps towards him. "Also, you really shouldn't let that gun shake so much." I said.

My right wing slipped expertly around my 10mm pistol and my other wing came down on the barrel of his revolver hitting it and the release to reload simultaneously. His gun cracked open in his magic and fell forward sending his rounds all over the floor of the room. My pistol swung around in the grip of my wing and aimed directly at where his horn would be if I could see it.

"Now who are you, and what do you want?" I asked.

He trembled as his magic fully collapsed and left the revolver to fall to the floor with a clatter. "I'm...I'm nopony. I just...I just thought Tenpony would give me a reward and I saw you come in here earlier. Please don't hurt me!" The pony was visibly shaking and every word he spoke trembled with fear.

"Oh, I'm not gonna hurt you. You don't look like you could injure a foal the way you're shaking. Hurting you wouldn’t be any fun. Get the hell out of my room and don't come back. Tell anypony else who thinks they're going to take me to Tenpony to meet me outside of town tomorrow. Tell them if they can kill me, they can take me. If they can't kill me, I kill them. Clear?"

The stallion nodded and ran out as quickly as he could, leaving me standing alone in my room with a newly acquired gun and three quarters of a bottle to finish. I shut the door once more and crawled onto my mattress. Well, I guess I'm going to see what this town is made of tomorrow.

Author's Note

Level up! New perk added: Gunslinger. Attacks with non automatic weapons now do more damage!

Sorry for the long wait, had to deal with some work stuff taking my time and had some editing trouble. Once again thanks to Kkat for writing the original Fallout Equestria and Vihuff for putting up with my shit through this.

Hope you all enjoy!