Fallout Equestria: Rebirth

Chapters

Chapter 1: Awakening
Chapter 2: The Snake and The Oaf
Chapter 3: The Rose
Chapter 4: Requesting Assistance
Chapter 5: A Teaching Moment
Chapter 6: Rain

Chapter 1: Awakening

The darkness surrounded me like a comfortable blanket. I couldn't help but smile as I drifted from one dream to another. This was peaceful. It was just what I needed. I felt my mind begin to unravel as my heartbeat slowed in my chest. Finally peace. If this was death, then death wasn't so bad.

In the comfortable silence, a pinprick of light suddenly appeared, making me squint.

"....dawn! Dawn please...hold on. We'll find another way!" A male's voice said from the light sounding impossibly far away.

Huh? Stop, I thought, leave me alone, let me sleep, I was already dead anyway, just go away and let me be.

"Berry...there is no other way. Come on, let's get out of here....this place stinks." Another voice said sounding like it was about to break.

I wondered what they were so upset about? I thought drifting closer towards the light. This place didn't stink, this place smelled of nothing, perfect nothingness. In a disconnected way, some part of me noticed that the pinprick of light was coming closer.

Hee hee, silly little light, I was already gone.

Yeah, fuck you light I'm gone.

That was when the pain started.

Thick hot beams of pain suddenly lanced up my sides and down my hooves. I felt for a moment like I was on fire. I could almost feel my hooves crack with the heat.

No! NO! Let me back into the dark. It was safe there. There was no pain there.

Letting out a soundless scream, I looked down at my legs and gaped in horror as orange lines of fire coursed up from my hooves to my chest, then my face. The fire was inescapable, it was in my veins, in my blood, burning me from the inside out. Convulsing, I barely made out a computerized voice mutter from somewhere beyond the veil of death,

"Resurrecting in 3....2....1"

The pain suddenly doubled, then tripled, as the pinprick of light engulfed me in it's flames. I screamed for death but instead my lungs sucked in the first breath of air.

I shot upright on the medical table screaming, my entire body hurting from the fire still trapped in my veins. Looking down at my hooves I continued screaming, no longer seeing the flame but still feeling it nonetheless.

"Welcome to the world of the living." A robotic voice said from the strange eight-legged mechanical wonder that stood beside me.

It's top half looked like a pony, distinctly male but where it's hooves should have been, metal cords stretched out holding different tools. Most of which looked medical in nature.

My scream died away in a small squeak. Staring at the thing in horror I tried to recall the moments before. They fell away from my mind like a dream, the only thing I could grasp at was that it was nice, so completely opposite from what I had just experienced.

"How would you rate your experience?" It asked.

The pain in my limbs was slowly receding, crawling it's way upwards towards my chest. The fire was huddling together in my heart, determined to keep me burning.

"Fire!" I coughed, my chest heaving with the effort it took to take breath.

My lungs felt as though they had shriveled to almost non-existence and each breath tore at the tissue inside me, forcing it to expand.

"Oh yes, it does hurt quite a bit I would wager." The robot said happily. "But you're alive. How would you rate your experience?"

Rolling onto my stomach I coughed again and closed my eyes tight.

Think, I told myself.

I felt a pang of panic shoot through my body. Looking back at the robot I asked.

"Who am I?"

The robot paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry madam. I haven't any clue in the slightest. You see, I was just turned on today, and Stable-Tec looks to be unresponsive to my inquires. This stable is currently working at 33% capacity. However I noticed the Pip-Buck on your leg and recognized you as a Stable 40 inhabitant. We must save all Stable 40 inhabitants." The robot droned, nodding it's head in a slight bow.

"Pip-Buck?" I echoed looking down at my leg.

The little computer wrapped around my leg just below my knee blinked green for a moment before a message appeared.

"Diagnostic system reinitialized.

Attempting to connect to Stable-Tec: Error.

Reestablishing basic parameters from system file 99."

The screen went dead a moment before lines of code began scrawling across it.

"These things are damn near indestructible love." A voice purred at the back of my mind.

Blinking I sighed and sat up looking around the room for the voice before realizing it had come from inside my head. The robot asked me again to rate my experience.

"A 9." I said with a sigh, wanting the thing to shut up and let me think.

The room was a brilliant white, it's only defining features being the medical table that I was currently on and the steel gray door to the south.

"Okay, let's start with something simple." I said to myself. "What is your name?"

"My Stable-Tec designation is XA-324C." The robot chimed happily. "But you may call me Charlie."

"Not you." I growled, a headache growing around my temples.

My mind searched though the hollow remnants of itself, back to before the pain, which I now noticed had collected stubbornly in my chest, refusing to ebb away further. I forced myself to recall the darkness, the peace. There had been voices hadn't there? They had used a name.

"Dawn....Dawn please hold on...." The male's voice had said.

Was he talking to me?

Something in my head clicked as familiar and I smiled in spite of the pain in my chest.

"Okay, My name is Dawn." I muttered. "Good. That's something."

"Dawn? Very well." The robot said. "Updating on site databases. Pip-Buck user number 221, Dawn. Would you like a surname?"

"W-what? Oh...um...no thanks." I said awkwardly, not being able to pull up an accompanying name.

"Very well Ms. Dawn. As the last resident of Vault 40 would you like me to show you to your room?" XA-324C asked.

"Last resident?" I asked.

"Yeah, these vaults are made to hold 500-600 ponies right?" The same voice from earlier asked inside my head, making me look around a second time before groaning and rubbing my temples.

I tried to hold onto it but it slipped through my mental fingers. Like I was trying to hold sand in my hooves.

Damn it! This was aggravating. I couldn't remember anything but the meager bits of conversations that my own mind was feeding to me. Like handing a single piece of hay to somepony starving.

"Yes ma'am," The robot answered. "Current diagnostic indicate that their are no other inhabitants. Would you like me to take you to your room?"

Slipping off the table I found it extremely difficult to get my hooves under me but, eventually managed. After a couple of failed attempts that left me on the floor gasping for air. Every intake of breath made the fire in my heart burn hotter, causing me to wince.

"Sure." I said not knowing what else to say.

Standing her wasn't doing anything.

Confusion overwhelmed even the pain. The only thing I knew was that my name was Dawn. Try as I might, my mind refused to recall anything before the darkness. It was damned frustrating. I obviously had been something before the ball of pain on the medical table. I could speak and understood what a robot was. I knew the basics, which meant that I was taught the basics, and since I hadn't spent longer than 15 minutes with this robot, all the time of which, we had spent teaching me none of these things I had to assume that I had learned this sometime before the dark. My head let out another pang reminding me that maybe now wasn't the time to be thinking so deeply.

Fine brain.

"First things first." I said, my stomach growling. "I'm hungry."

"We have the most excellent cafeteria here in Stable 40!" The robot exclaimed gliding across the floor on it's tube-like legs to the door. "It should serve your empty stomach perfectly."

"Great." I said walking across the room to the door, "At least something's working in my favor."

"May I be the first to welcome you to your very own Stabe-Tec Stable, Ms. Dawn." Charlie said with a low bow pressing the button on the wall and opening the door into the rest of the stable.

I was immediately glad that I hadn't had anything in my stomach at that moment because if I had, I would have relinquished it to the floor. The hallway beyond the door was in stark contrast to the pristine white room behind me. Nearly every inch was covered in dirt, grime, and blood. Pieces of what I could guess was only pony lay scattered down the hall like garbage.

Backing away quickly, I stifled a scream in my throat as the robot turned to look at me.

"Ms. Dawn? Is something amiss?" It asked bobbing up and down. "The cafeteria is this way."

"What happened?" I managed, the stench wafting from the hall making me gag.

"Whatever do you mean Miss?" The robot said kindly, bobbing towards me to gently press me forward. "This is your stable Ms. Dawn and the cafeteria is this way."

Half walking, half being pushed, I advanced down the hall, trying as hard as I could not to step on the fragments of meat that lay strewn down the hall. That was difficult enough, however it was nearly impossible not to stare.

Gagging on the smell I had to take several breaks as we passed the many doors lining the corridor. The robot, obviously not seeing the same stable I was, chatted politely giving me the rundown on the place.

"This corridor is one of many Residential quarters." He chimed, "And up ahead you'll see the common room where you and yourself can retire after a long day of hard work."

"Hard work?" I managed through clenched teeth.

"Hard work is happy work of course." Charlie said back completely failing to answer my question.

The hallway opened up into a rather large room. Some of the lights were broken or flickering and, for a moment, I could almost pretend that this room wasn't painted with blood but then my eyes adjusted to the dimmer light and all of the gore seemed to jump out at me like some nightmarish beast.

Dead ponies lay strewn about the recreation room like discarded napkins, various portions of them horribly mangled or, in more and more frequent cases, were simply missing. One mare lay near my hooves, halfway underneath a billiards table, her face turned towards me, a hole in between her eyes. My mind conjured a cruel image of her enjoying a game of pool with her friend that sat pinned to the wall by what looked like railroad spikes just a moment before she was horribly murdered by some unseen deathpony. Several chair were upturned, small holes adorning each. The dead ponies behind them telling a story of a failed attempt at dodging bullets. Trying not to look at any one pony too long I kept my eyes adverted, choosing to look up at the almost black ceiling.

Stealing a glance down, I grabbed the pool cue laying across the table and held it's least bloody end in my teeth, gagging again on the copper taste it put in my mouth.

I wasn't going to be sneaked up on, I thought, backing up towards the wall, and I wasn't going to be killed without a fight. If the thing that did this was still here it'd get more than it bargained for if it tried to attack me.

Snapping off the end of the cue into a jagged spike, I slowly walked along the edge of the room towards the door where the robot currently bobbed telling me that we needed to be moving on if we were to make it to the cafeteria before he rusted. The tinny laugh that followed the joke echoed through the stable only deepening the uncomfortable feeling that had found room alongside the pain still stubbornly clinging to my heart.

The next hallway was less gruesomely decorated, thank Luna.

Wait a minute! Stop hold on! Reverse!

"Who the hell is Luna?" I almost screamed at my brain spitting out the cue into my hoof.

It was as if my mind was toying with me.

"Luna?" The robot said immediately sounding confused. "Why she's our goddess of course."

Goddess? Okay so now I'm religious? Then my brain did something that caused me to completely forget about the hunger pains that hadn't been deterred by the gruesome spectacle in the room and hall before.

I saw an image of myself in a priests attire. This in itself wasn't all to concerning, it was the fact that when I tried to focus on what I looked like I couldn't picture it. I had no idea what I even looked like!

"Charlie! I need a mirror, now!" I ordered hoping that the Pip-Buck on my leg, still scrolling with data would give me the right to command the robot.

After all, he seemed enough like a servant.

"A mirror ma'am?" The robot said stopping a moment before continuing down the hall. "Luckily enough, our excellent soda bar has a mirror behind it. Will that suite your needs?"

"Yes, that will be fine." I said feeling suddenly tired, biting back down onto the cue I followed the robot obediently, silent until we reached a door marked "Soda Pop's Bar".

With a hiss, the door slide up into the wall and out of the way, revealing the soda parlor behind. Booths sat bolted into the floor with tables, across from the counter on the opposite side of the room. Behind this counter a mirror hung taking up the length of the wall. It was dirty and had a plethora of obscenities scrawled across it in what looked like green paint. Stepping up to the mirror I almost hurled the pool cue at the half broken robot laying behind the counter.
It's legs had been removed, leaving only sparking wires. Looking down at it I felt a sudden pang of pity for the machine.

"Well-wel-welcome to Soda Pop's bar! I'm S-sss-s-s-oda Pop!" It said twitching as it tried to great me, obviously not realizing the shape it was in. "Would you like a Sp-ar-ar-arkle Cola?"

"Now XA-324S don't bother Miss Dawn, she's here for your mirror." Charlie chided jovially.

"Well you are wel-elcome to it Miss Da-a-wn." The broken robot chimed happily.

Looking back at the mirror I pressed my hoof against the glass and wiped away the first several layers of grime, with a deep breath I looked at my reflection.

I don't know what I was expecting but the face looking back at me was only slightly familiar. Not nearly as much as I would've wanted it to be, especially because it was mine. I already knew I had a deep orange coat from looking at my legs, but my mane seemed wrong somehow, and the horn that jut from my skull seemed completely foreign to me as well. Okay I was a unicorn, unicorn's had magic, that was a plus.

However unicorns had to learn their magic right? A piece of a memory floated to the forefront of my mind.

I lay on a bed focusing hard on a bullet sitting on my end table trying to make it move. I strained for a moment and my horn started to glow. However the memory cut short before I could recall if I moved the damned thing.

Back to my mane, it frustrated me less.

It was cut short on one side leaving the other side longer, my bangs sat curled behind my ears. Reaching up, I pulled them free from the scab I found sticking, still wet, to the back of my skull, and they fell neatly over my left eye.

I felt slightly more relieved, looking back into the mirror now, to recognize my own face a bit more.

"Charlie? What happened to me?" I asked gesturing to the wound on the back of my skull.

"I don't know ma'am. However, when I found you you were much worse." He said proudly. "I did the best I could ma'am."

"You did...great..." I said smiling despite the sadness that suddenly found it rooming with pain and uncomfortable in my heart, it was starting to get crowded there. "Thank you."

Looking back at my reflection everything was suddenly blurry as I started to cry. Everything was wrong. I barely recognized my own face, had no idea where I was and it didn't help the fact that where I was, was a graveyard. A bloody broken graveyard. Dropping to the floor I wrapped my forelegs around the broken robot XA-324S and sobbed. I don't know why but I needed to hold something right now, and holding something that seemed as broken as I was just felt right.

"Ms. Da-aw-n? Is something the matter-rr-r?" He asked. "Would you like a spa-rkle cola-a?"

Nodding in between my sobs I let him go feeling suddenly embarrassed.

"You piece of shit! Quit your crying before I give you something to cry about!" Another voice popped into my head, far less kind than the one before.

"I'm sorry miss," The soda pop robot said, "I seem to be stuck. I will send for the Technician right away.

"What?" I asked for what seemed like the hundredth time this hour, this time more to the memory than the robot.

"Here! Must I do everything myself?" Charlie scolded bobbing over to the nearby refrigerator and taking from it a small bottle with a label reading Sparkle Cola. "Here you go miss."

Taking the bottle I unscrewed the cap and took a sip of the liquid trying to remember the voices in my head. The sweet taste of carrot's tickled my tongue and suddenly I was much more interested in getting something in my stomach than my brain. My brain was being an asshole right now. Drinking down the entire bottle in one gulp I gasped for air a moment before standing up and rushing over to the refrigerator.

"How long was I out?" I asked the medical robot.

"The resurrection procedure took 5 days." He answered.

Looking at the contents of the refrigerator I grimaced, along with the bottles of Sparkle Cola in the door, there were several wooden spikes spearing some strange meat unfamiliar to me. Pulling off the meat I stared at it in my hooves a moment before closing my eyes tight. I was so hungry.

Popping the meat in my mouth I gagged at first but my stomach overrode my throat and soon I was eating the strange gray squares of meat with gusto. After five days on an operating table I could afford this one lapse in judgement. Ponies were vegetarian's, this was a piece of information my oh-so-helpful brain deemed worthy enough to clue me in on.

"Not all of us." He had said.

Wait, who had said that? Growling at my brain again I gently beat my horn against the wall.

Son of a bitch, if I had the ability I'd get Charlie here to take out my brain just so I could punch it. Hard.

"Ma'am? Should I get the cook to make more?" Charlie asked gesturing to the food. "He is a real talent if I do say so myself."

"Talent? Yeah s-sure." I mumbled.

Just then my Pip-Buck beeped. Looking down I saw the Stable-Tec logo flash across the screen followed by a diagnostic screen showing medical readouts for what I could only assume was myself. All in the green.

Wait a minute.

Jumping to my feet, I couldn't help but beam at the thought in my head. Of course there was a way to learn who the hell I was! My cutie mark! It would at least be one more thing I'd know about myself other than just my name.

Turning my head, I felt the smile melt from my face, nothing....there was nothing there. It felt like a rock the size of my head had dropped into my stomach. My flank was completely blank. Shaking my head I fell back to sit on the dirty black and white checkered floor.

"Madam is some-th-thing the matter?" The Soda Pop robot asked.

"I...Well I don't know who I am Soda Pop. I woke up a hour ago and have no idea who I am or what I'm doing. I'm lost." I said feeling infinitely stupid for confiding in a robot.

"May I suggest going to Securit-y-y-yy?"

"Security?" I asked perking up a little.

"Yes ma'am. They monitor the-e-e entire stable. If anyone can help you find your way back to the Residential w-ing-ing-ing, it would be them." The broken thing suggested.

"Thank you..." I said, I wasn't trying to get to the residential wing but a place this big had to have some type of surveillance. "Could you tell me where to find Security?"

"Absolutely ma'am. Simply go out the door to your left and follow the s-s-signs."

Picking myself up I rushed out the door. If the Security wing monitored everything that happened in the vault then maybe I could find some video of 5 days ago. Maybe I'd finally get some answers. I wasn't going to hold my breath though, the uncomfortable in my heart told me that not hoping for too much was a good idea.

Sliding up to the Security station door I slipped in the blood on the floor almost falling face first into it. Catching myself on the door frame I winced as sharp metal cut into my hooves. Son-of-a...Pulling myself away I looked at the door and blanched. It had been blown out, black charred marks stretched away from the breech like tentacles reaching out to consume the rest of the Stable.

I noticed that all of the tables on the other side of the breach, had been blown backwards into the wall of screens lining the back of the room. Several of the lights overhead had been completely shattered making this room the darkest yet. Stepping forward carefully I pushed my way through until my progress was impeded by a table. I waited and listened. I was suddenly scared, the darkness that seemed so peaceful before my waking now seemed ominous. I really wished I hadn't left my pool cue back in the Soda Parlor.

Moving the tables out of the way, I finally reached the screens. A dark smear marred the floor at my feet. I stared at it for a moment and shivered, then I turned my attention to the screen. Pressing the power button I watched as the computer booted up, its screen illuminating the room in an eerie green glow. Reaching down I grabbed a small stool laying slightly bent beneath the terminal and sat on it.

I watched as the screen started running the same program that my Pip-Buck had when it had come online. Taking a few minutes I pulled the little computer and started flipping through the different tabs. Glancing back up at the screens, I turned my back to them so I could watch the rest of the room as I looked through my Pip-Buck.

Finding a tab labeled 'Notes' I clicked on it and watched as a almost blank screen appeared. One file sat at the top, "Your New Pip-Buck and You". Clicking on the file I watched as a greeting message appeared.

Glancing up I checked the room for any deathponies and, being satisfied with my 'all clear' assessment, turned to look at the security screen behind me.

"Downloading recent Video Feeds."

Good, in a few moments I'd hopefully have the answers I was looking for. Looking back at my Pip-Buck I scrolled down the screen a bit and began to read up on the little computer. It wasn't much information, just the basics but the basics told me that this little machine was far more magical than I was, at the moment.

I wanted to grow up to be like it, I thought sarcastically.

A beep sounded behind me, thankfully distracting me from the bombardment of information.

Turning I looked back to the screen.

"Log in Requested:

Please attach Pip-Buck"

Looking back at the computer on my leg I turned it over and found a thin wire connected to a small black connection box. Connecting my Pip-buck to the security terminal I waited as the screen indicated that it was validating my credential. Now I was holding my breath.

"Log in Accepted.

Welcome to your station Security Mare 221 Dawn."

The screen winked off a moment before different options populated. Finding the option labeled Security Video feeds I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Finally I was getting somewhere. It requested I put in a day and time. Looking down at my Pip-Buck I found the current date and time at the top right of the screen. Counting back five days I typed in the date and pressed enter. The screen then requested that I designate which feed I wanted from a list of camera's. Starting at the top I pressed on the feed labeled 'Entrance'.

The screen went to static after a moment before blinking to life. A moment later, all of the other screens turned on, all of the one's that weren't broken that is, each showing a different angle of the Entrance room. The room beyond the screen was large and slightly cleaner than the rest of the stable I had been in, not counting the medical room I thought. A long ramp bisected the it, stretching towards a large gear shaped piece of the wall marked with yellow paint around the edges. Boxes sat piled up in the corners of the room almost to the ceiling containing Goddess new what. For a long couple of minutes nothing happened, the only change being the timer at the top left hand of the screen ticking forward. Then two ponies came into view. They were ragged and looked beaten. Whatever had killed all of the other ponies didn't get them.

"Look Rain, I know it hurts okay. I'm hurting to" The gray stallion at the front said. "but now it's up to us to make sure her death isn't in vain."

"Shut it Berry!" The blue mare behind him suddenly snapped, stopping. "I'm done trying to help these ponies. The best of us gave their life to try and make the world a better place and guess what? It won't change a fucking thing!"

"Come on Rain!" Berry said with a sigh, "I know you don't believe that. We've done a lot of good, sometimes the wasteland is cruel but that doesn't mean you can just give up on it."

"She was a good pony," Rain said and even from this distance I could see her body shake, with what? Rage, sadness, or both. "She was a good pony and she was killed by some sadistic raider just for the hell of it. I'm done."

The blue mare pushed past him and walked over to a large yellow console. Sliding down a lever I watched as a large metal arm extended from the ceiling and screwed into the hole at the center of the gear. With a loud screeching noise I watched as the gear slid out from the wall and rolled with the arm to the side leaving a large opening in the wall.

"I'm done trying to help these ponies that don't deserve it." Rain said walking down the ramp turning to back at him sadly. "Good luck Berry, I hope you're able to do whatever you think she would've wanted but we're no Lightbringer."

Then she walked away leaving the stallion alone with his thoughts.

I watched him sit down and sigh, shaking his head. Looking up I heard him mutter, "Sorry Dawn. I can't do this alone."

My heart went out to him.

"But you're not alone, I'm still alive." I whispered hanging my head a moment, pressing my hoof into the screen.

I knew this stallion, I just felt it. He was a good pony and he needed me to tell him that his heartache wasn't for nothing. I was alive and I was going to make this right for both of them.

When I looked back up he to was gone, leaving only the timer ticking forward. For a long moment I stared at the timer, ticking slowly to the moment where I'd come to in a world of pain.

"Ma'am, there you are!" A familiar voice said suddenly nearly making me soil myself.

"Son of a bitch!!!" I yelped almost falling off of the stool.

I put myself quickly together and looked up to see Charlie bob towards me holding a tray. Placing it at the station he waited a moment before stating.

"The cook was not there so I brought you what I could find."

Looking at the box of snack cakes I nodded and began opening and eating them.

"Thank you." I said between a mouthful of sweet.

Pressing a couple of more keys I went back to the previously entered date and searched the vault. No one was alive. Whatever killed all of these ponies had already happened. Could Rain and Berry have? No, impossible, these ponies were good. I knew that with more conviction than I even knew my own name.

Changing the date a couple of hours prior I felt my heart sink as the screen indicated that no data existed beyond this point.

"WHAT?!" I cried slamming my hoof into the keyboard.

"Whatever is the matter miss?" Charlie asked.

"Where is the video feed from more than 5 days ago?" I asked aggravation tainting the sweet in my mouth.

"Ma'am, sensors indicate that this Stable was rebooted 5 days and 2 hours ago. All information was wiped per protocol Windstorm." The robot informed me.

That's it, I was done with this bloody dirty stable. I was leaving!

"Charlie, take me to the entrance." I ordered thoroughly pissed.

"Of course ma'am, right this way." He said happily, bobbing out of the room.

I glared at the screens one last time and stomped out of the room.

Fine, if this Stable wanted to side with my brain and didn't want to tell me anything I'd find Berry or Rain and go from there. They obviously knew me and, a thought interrupted my inner rant, I had friends who could help.

I found myself smiling as we reached the entrance room.

Looking at the giant gear that sat as a door for the Stable I felt a stale breeze blow in from the tunnel beyond. It was cool, almost cold and felt great as it beat back the gore infused air of the stable.

"Ma'am, are you planning on leaving?" Charlie asked, his normally cheerful voice suddenly sounding sad.

That was weird, could robots feel sad?

"Yes Charlie," I said, "but maybe not for long. I have to find my friends. Until I get back I want you to clean this stable okay? Any refuse you find, just burn if you can."

"Yes ma'am." Charlie said his tone returning to a more cheerful one. "When you return this stable will be so clean that you can eat off of it."

There isn't a cleaning agent powerful enough, I thought turning to face the gear shaped hole.

"Before you leave Ms. Dawn, please take this with you as a parting gift from your Stable to you." Charlie said rushing over to a box in the corner before floating back with two saddlebags. "Inside you should find some supplies for a journey on the outside."

Putting on the saddlebags I saw my Pip-Boy flash a message. Bringing it up in front of me I noticed that it now had a tab for inventory. Pressing it I saw that the contents of my saddlebags now showed up. 3 apples, 3 purified waters, 9mm pistol, and 20 9mm bullets.

Huh, handy.

Checking my saddlebags I found that all of these things were there and all of them were sorted and stacked to maximize carrying capacity.

"Thank you again Charlie, for everything." I said stepping out of the vault.

"Programmed to serve ma'am." I heard the robo-surgeon, cook, and apparent janitor call back.

The dirt beneath me was hard, as I walked through a long winding tunnel, the ground was littered with bottles and strange inhalers that stunk of methane. Every couple of feet I would stop to listen ahead, not liking the darkness that the tunnel had forced upon me.

After a few minutes I saw a soft blue light ahead. Rushing forward I found a door, pieced together with rusted bits of metal, wire and broken planks of wood. Between these broken pieces the light from the outside shone inward.

With a deep breath I pressed on the door and stepped out into the world beyond. I was going to find Rain or Berry or both. I didn't know who I was but I knew that I had been given a second chance at life and refused to waste it. I was going to make my death mean something.

LVL UP: Perk Added- RoboAlly: You gain plus ten to speech when consorting with Robot kind. This perk also opens up new dialog options with the mechanical wonders of the world.

This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat; a familiarity with the source material may aid your understanding.
You can read Fallout Equestria by Kkat on Equestria Daily
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/story-fallout-equestria.html

Chapter 2: The Snake and The Oaf

Stepping out into a ruined building's basement, I sighed looking up at the cloud covered midnight sky. I had not thought this through, I should have at least waited until morning when the dark wasn't so blinding. Looking back at the door I had came through I imagined myself slinking back inside with my tail between my legs for a nap.

Nope! Not happening.

Stepping through the rubble carefully I kept my eyes and ears peeled.

Man, I really hated the dark.

Reaching the blown out front wall of the building I stepped up to some makeshift stairs and out into the open. Looking around, I shivered at the eerie quiet of what I now realized to be the desert. From what little I could see, I realized the area around me was empty of life, both plant and pony.

Yep, definitely should turn back, right now!

No, you scaredy filly, if you have to sleep do so but...You Are NOT Going Back Inside!

Shaking the fear from my bones I looked around a moment, it was so dark I could barely see my hoof in front of my face. Lifting up my pip-buck I tried to make the dim glow of the screen illuminate the area in front of me. Son of a bitch, if only this thing had a lamp. Grumbling mentally, I squinted and managed to make out a small structure almost directly ahead.

Trotting over to it, I searched its parameter until I was able to find a door. It was a small ramshackled one room hut that swayed precariously in the breeze but, damn it, it was a place to bed down for the night.

Really Dawn? You're going to just plop down right outside of the stable in some rundown shack just to spite yourself for going out so rashly? I argued with myself. It's literally ten feet away from the stable.

Damn straight!

I shut the door gently, any harder and I feared it would fall, and laid down, trying to shut out the sounds of the desert night. Needless to say, It took a hell of a long time to get to sleep.

The morning came rather abruptly, waking me from a strange dream. Immediately the details fled from my mind causing me to rub my eyes, not only from the sleep but to also try and remember. My ears perked hearing nearby voices. Craning my neck I looked through a few holes at the bottom of the shack where the metal had been eaten away by time and rust.

The two stallions walking between me and the demolished school house where the stable lay beneath, wore simple leather barding. From where I lay I could see that one carried a rather large shotgun while the other stuck to a small pistol holstered to his shoulder for easy access.

"Damn, they really pissed someone off huh?" Some pony said, right outside of the shack I had made a bedroom for one night.

"Looks like it. Well good, these ponies needed to be put down." The other one said as I craned my head to look out of a hole in the shack. "Stable 40's a bad place Boomstick."

"Well it was." Boomstick said, shifting his a shotgun from one shoulder to the other, chuckling.

"True, thank the Goddesses. At least they're still some decent ponies out there, willing to risk it ya know." The nameless one said.

"Long as it aint us right Whix?" Boomstick said with a laugh, "Can we get to looting now? Huh? Can we?"

"Sure Boom. Let's go."

With that, the two strange ponies walked down into the decaying basement of the school house and into the stable.

I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and pulled myself cautiously to my hooves. What the hell were they doing---

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes landed on something laying at the bottom of shack nearest the door. It was red and hairy, a hoof stuck to one end of it. I turned my nose away from the disembodied leg and almost threw up, realizing that I had been sleeping near it the whole night. I hadn't seen it due to the lack of light. Looking outside I noticed that the leg had an owner, she however, had never made it to the shack.

Some part of me joked that the leg had beaten the mare to the shack. I punched that part of me as hard as I could.

Looking at the dead mare I pressed my hoof against my mouth to keep from dry heaving. She was dressed in strange barding that looked like it was made from tires and rebar, a pistol lay on the ground nearest her mouth.

Poor thing, it hadn't helped her at all.

Stepping carefully over the disembodied hoof, I looked back towards the stable and this time, I did throw up. The dead mare behind me wasn't the only one. Several ponies lay dead around the entrance of the stable, each sporting a grotesque wound that reminded me of the ponies on the inside of the stable. I couldn't believe that two ponies had been standing in the middle of all of that and were carrrying on a conversation like nothing was amiss.

Lowering my head I turned and immediately began running.

"Nope, ain't dealing with it." I said spitting the bile from my mouth.

What kind of world was I thrown into? Who could have killed this many ponies, and for what? What was the reason? Stamping hard at the ground as I ran I didn't slow until the fire in my chest made it difficult to breath. How long had I run? Half an hour? At top speed? I was suddenly impressed, I was incredibly fit, and sent up a prayer of thanks to the Goddess that I apparently believed in.

However I was slightly concerned in some back corner of my mind as I realized that the fire in my chest hadn't gone, sure it had lessened but with the strenuous activity it had flared back up with a vengeance. Stopping for a few moments I waited for my heartbeat to slow before continuing forward, once the pain died down a little.

I found myself on a cracked and barren road leading towards a mountain range sitting impressively on the southern horizon.

"One day D, we're going to head that way and never come back." The kind one had said smiling at me,

"Yeah right! We're going to be stuck here forever, got too much to do." I remembered saying looking towards the same mountain.

Alright! Now we're getting somewhere, I thought, guess a good restless night's sleep was all I needed to kickstart my brain. Okay, now what does he look like?

My brain suddenly slammed to a halt and, instead of giving me an answer, pulled a blank and refused to give up any more information.

"WHAT!" I cried smacking my horn painfully against an old rusted roadsign. "COLT-OF-A-GODDESSED-DAMNED-MOTHER-SUCKLING-FILLY-FONDLER!"

After a few more cracks at the sign the overwhelming headache forced me to stop. I sat down and leaned against it. Reaching in my saddlebags I pulled out a bottle of water and an apple. Maybe I just needed breakfast.

Sitting and eating I remembered the Pip-Buck's note from the night before and started skimming again as I swallowed a third of the water bottle, trying to rid my taste-buds of the old taste of vomit.

"So this thing can tell me if a pony wants to hurt me huh?" I wondered aloud. "Excellent!"

If there were ponies out there that could do what I had seen since I woke up, I'd like to know them sooner rather than later.

Bringing up my Eyes Forward Sparkle, after a few moments of fumbling with the technologically advanced bracelet, my vision suddenly glowed with a simple compass. Turning, I noticed that the compass turned with me, always keeping me aware of what direction I was facing.

"Neat."

A small bar sat at the bottom of my vision but after it didn't do anything for a full minute I got bored and went back to checking for hostiles. Eating the last of my apple I slowly turned until something made me stop. A small yellow bar sat westward, moving back and forth slightly. Raising an eyebrow, I smiled and drank the rest of my water. Come to think of it, I could hear faint music from that direction.

"Who knows maybe somepony's having a party." I snorted doubting it severely.

The yellow bar belonged to a small strange robot that buzzed around in circles loudly playing the same strange song.

Too much tuba, I decided.

"Excuse me?" I said, having met and talked to two robots the night before I felt that there may be a chance that this one could be just as helpful.

The robot just continued bobbing up and down, not seeming to notice me until a red bar blinked into existence on my E.F.S. The robot seemed to have noticed as well, it's loud tuba filled song cutting short in a fanfare of trumpets. Looking for the hostile using my E.F.S as guidance, I saw only one place the angry entity could be, It was to the north, behind a rather large stone. Red did not mean friendly, and I didn't need the note in my pipbuck to tell me that. Red was bad, very bad.

Quickly I searched in my saddlebags and grabbed my 9mm. It looked familiar enough, the mouth bit shaped to fit in an earth ponies mouth. This struck me as incredibly stupid and hard to aim, I mean, I understood that Earth ponies and pegasi couldn't levitate the weapon to aim, hell at this point I couldn't either. Having no training in using my magic that I could recall, thanks brain, I had as much of a chance of picking up this pistol with my magic as a traincar. Grabbing the pistol in my mouth, I turned to stare at the rock that both the robot and I assumed hid the innocuous red blips. After a long few seconds a small reptilian head peeked out from one side, looking up at the two of us quizzically.

It was kinda cute, I mused.

Lowering my pistol a moment I blinked and then had to do a double take.

Where the lizards head had been, now there were two. Checking my E.F.S I noticed that another bar had appeared almost overlapping the first. Shifting my body slightly I noticed a third red bar and looking up, confirmed that my pip buck wasn't lying. Now a third head had appeared.

"Gecko's." A voice said from somewhere nearby, answering my unspoken 'what?!'. "Nasty things, don't let them bite you. They're poisonous."

I checked myself, did that come from my brain or?

No, I decided it definitely came from outside my skull which meant I had someone trying to help me. Maybe I wouldn't die on my first real day alive.

Suddenly one of the three let out a clicking sound and the trio jumped three of the rock rushing me and the robot. My tongue hitting the trigger rapidly, I let out three shots and backpedaled away from the approaching reptiles, each about the size of half a pony, and cringed as each shot missed.

"Help!" I squeaked through my grip on the gun, bumping into the flying robot as I fired another two shots.

"Use S.A.T.S!" The voice from earlier ordered.

I realized that it was the robot that was talking and If I hadn't been afraid of the large lizards coming to kill me I would have thought this was pretty cool.

Three robots in a row. Go me!

"HUH?" I grunted firing another 3 shots, one of which punched a hole through the closest one's leg, causing it to stumble, however it did have three more so I was still screwed.

"Stable-Tec Assisted Targeting Spell! Don't you know how to use that thing?" The robot said sounding strangely frightened, though it's voice stayed monotonous.

"Kinda!" I said dropping my gun into my hoof, bringing my pipbuck up to look at the button's on the side.

Wasn't there a button labeled 'S.A.T.S?

I squealed as the nearest gecko, the one I had shot, lept at me. It burned away in a brilliant flash of light as the robot fired a laser into the things neck. Ash floated quickly to the ground making the other two lizards stop to rethink their targets. Sure, the pony was tasty but the metal thing hurt, I could almost hear the thoughts bouncing around in their underdeveloped brains.

Careful who you're calling underdeveloped brain, I thought, you haven't worked right for as long as I can remember.

Glancing down I would have face-hoofed under better circumstances seeing the small lever on the top of the pip-buck labeled S.A.T.S.

Just then another of the gecko's jumped forward, this time aiming at the robot at my side. Flicking the lever I felt magic suddenly course through my body. It was a very familiar feeling but something told me that it was quite a bit more powerful than anything I had ever done, even when I knew magic. Time slowed as the gecko neared the friendly robot, and looking down I realized, slightly upset, that the pistol was still in my hooves.

Well damn it, I could waste the spell putting in back in my mouth or I could just bash the damn thing with it. Simplicity won out over intelligence almost immediately.

Bringing down the pistol with both hooves I cracked the thing over its head sending it into the dirt. Noticing that time was still slowed I smiled and whacked the thing another three times.

Really this was great, I could just slow time down whenever I wanted and beat the shit out of whatever was trying to kill me.

Turning to look at the other gecko which had decided that suddenly the pony was a threat, I smiled as I readied my pistol, I was doing more damage using it as a bludgeon anyway.

I'm going to beat you flat, I thought readying myself for another three swings.

That's when the bar at the bottom of my E.F.S that had previously done nothing, emptied itself and the world decided it was a good time to start moving again. Jerked from the slowed perception of time, I watched as the gecko bowled into me, knocking the pistol from my grip and pushing me to the dirt. Immediately the creature started clawing at me with its feet while it's teeth tried to go for my throat.

In a panic I shoved my non-pipbucked leg down the creatures throat as wounds popped up over my stomach due to the creatures claws. It's eyes suddenly widened as it stopped breathing and couldn't close its mouth, my foreleg sunk down to my elbow in its gullet. It shook it's head wildly, and I felt several teeth scrape against my coat.

Great, now I was going to die of poison and that'd be the end of me, spec-fucking-tacular.

Another bright beam of light struck the creatures side twice and the thing went limp.
Pushing it off of me, I shivered as I pulled my hoof out of the dead thing's mouth. Pulling myself to my feet I looked down at my stomach and grimaced. It had gotten me pretty good with its claws. Also my hoof was now swelling slightly. My pipbuck switch screens automatically making me look down at it in surprise. A medical screen popped up alerting me to minor blood poisoning, scrapes, and bruises.

Wincing I realized that it wasn't a good idea to walk on my poisoned leg and held it away from the ground turning to the robot.

"You alright?" I asked, feeling the poison coursing up my leg.

"I'm....fine." The robot said after a short pause, "You however are not."

Looking down at my hoof, I nodded.

"Why didn't you focus on the one coming for you?" The robot asked.

"Eh. Couldn't let them destroy you, every since I woke up the only halfway decent things I've seen have been robots." I said, not wanting to admit that I thought I could just play in time limbo for as long as I wanted, "Maybe I'm biased."

"Well...thank you." The metal bug said.

I had the distinct feeling he wanted to say more.

"If you go back the way you came, I noticed two merchants heading to Stable 40, they may have an antidote for you." He said after an awkward moment, or five.

"Yeah, I saw them, they were talking about looting my stable." I admitted looking down at my hoof that had swollen to twice its original size.

"Your stable?" The robot asked, and for a moment I could almost hear surprise hidden behind the emotionless speak.

"Yeah, I woke up there yesterday." I said, suddenly remembering a very important detail. "Oh! You wouldn't have happened to have seen two ponies come by here, one blue one gray would you? They're my friends, at least I think they are."

"....No...I just got here a few hours ago." The robot said, "Look I'm running out of time but if you want to find your friends I suggest going north. There's a town called Primrose there. It's the nearest one, they may know something."

Looking up slightly puzzled I echoed the name, 'Primrose'.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean you're running out of time here?" I asked, looking up at the bobbing bug.

"One more piece of advice r-" His voice cut short a moment as if he were trying to keep from saying a particularly rude word, "pony. I wouldn't tell anyone you're from Stable 40."

Then abruptly, the music from before started blasting from the robot as it turned to bob away, suddenly unaware of my presence. Looking after the robot I felt a headache coming on. What the hell was his problem?

Turning north, I glanced to my pip-buck and noticed a small square several miles north on the map, labeled 'Primrose'. I also noticed that Stable 40 now showed up between me and it. Looking down at my leg I shook my head.

"Well I'm not getting that far on this thing." I told myself, trying to move my leg only to find it incredibly stiff and painful.

Looking towards my stable I picked up my pistol, tossed it in my saddlebags and started limping towards it, my tail in between my legs.

At least I had to go that way to get to Primrose right? That had to count for something.

"Pathetic." I mumbled, noticing that the bar on the bottom of my E.F.S was slowly refilling, "Well at least I learned something today."

After what seemed like an eternity of limping, I returned to the ruined building that sat above my stable. Peeking out from around the side of the building I held my breath and glanced at my E.F.S compass. I saw a single yellow blip and let out a sigh of relief. Another sigh of relief soon followed as I realized that there were no longer the dead bodies littering the pavement like trash. The relief soon replaced itself with yet another uncomfortable feeling.

Where the hell did they go?

Limping out from around the building I turned my attention to the stallion standing at a makeshift kiosk now blocking the tunnel to the giant gear shaped door, Whix was what the other had called him this morning right. As soon as he noticed me a giant smile grew across his face.

"Hello little lady!" He boomed raising his hooves in welcome, "And welcome to my humble shop."

For a moment his smile flickered as he looked down at my swollen hoof, but then the show pony got even louder and more friendly.

"Step on over, take your time, I got everything you could need," he said with a pause, "and don't you worry about that hoof there ma'am, I got something to fix what ails you!"

For some reason I didn't like this pony, he made me think of a buzzard, waiting to pick up scraps from the dead.

Which, I realized, that's exactly what he was doing.

"Ma'am?" He said uneasily.

I realized that I had been glaring. Wiping the animosity from my face, I put on a fake smile and continued limping towards the kiosk.

"Hello." I said, stopping in front of the small wooden structure and looking at the different items that hung on pegs here and there.

"You seem to have had a run in with one nasty gecko." He said back in salespony mode.

"Three actually." I replied, smiling slightly. "Got bit but they're worse off."

"My my my little lady, if what you say is true then you sure can handle yourself." The one named Whix boomed an impressed look on his face.

"Had some help." I said with a shrug, before lifting my swollen hoof. "You said you had something to help me."

"Why yes I do little lady, yes I do. However an antidote like that doesn't come cheap, oh no it doesn't." The salespony chirped. "Everything has a price and my antidotes are the best around so..."

He trailed off and waved his hoof as if telling me to pay up, without him even giving me an amount.

"And just how much would it cost?" I asked slightly aggravated by this pushy pony.

"I'd say, you're looking really bad, 75 caps bad." He answered all pretense of kindness gone from his voice. "You also look new around here, probably from the New Canterlot Republic I'd reckon, so I'd say for a refugee that's more than a fair price.

I barely registered the second part of what he had said. Caps? What the hell did he mean?

"Look at this haul D!" He said dumping a load of bottlecaps on the table in my room. "Just a couple more and we're fucking out of here!"

A thrill ran through me for a moment, brought on by the happiness of that memory. I found myself smiling like an idiot, that was until the salespony coughed and brought me back to reality.

"You alright ma'am?" The merchant asked, I noticed that he'd shifted his head to his right side, easier access to his gun I noticed.

"I don't have any." I said, now even more aggravated with the merchant for snapping out of the memory before I could try to get anything more from it.

The rest of the wind went out of the pony's sails and now he just looked at me uninterested and slightly aggravated.

"Well, then I can't help you now can I?" He drawled looking away from me and down the road, as if trying to find another customer.

Just then the other stallion, Boomstick, I think, stepped out from the tunnel rubbing his rump and limping.

"Damn it Whix, the security there is just to damn good. Those robot's are--" The stallion stopped when he saw me and straightened up. "Who's she?"

"Nopony." Whix said, "She was just about to be limping away."

Boomstick just looked at him dumbly.

"No caps." The merchant explained, and a look of understanding flashing across the other's face.

"Alright ma'am. Nothing more to see here, get going alright." Boomstick said stepping up beside the kiosk.

Glaring at the two, I entertained the thought of smacking them across their hard heads a moment but realized they probably wouldn't take too kindly to that and that shotgun beat hoof any day.

"Fine fuck you to, graverobbers!" I snapped turning to leave.

"Yeah yeah lady, good luck surviving out there with that leg of yours." Whix shot back before laughing.

A split second later the laughter cut out followed by,

"Hey lady!"

"What the fuck do you want now you dumb bag of gecko shit!" I yelled deciding to use the new bit of information about this world to create a new insult, I was moderately happy with it.

First he wouldn't help me, then he threatened me with his brute of a brother, and now he was taking up more of my time calling me back. It was going to take forever to get to Primrose on this leg, if I even made it there at all.

"Now ma'am, there's no reason to be so upset." The salespony was back again, his voice oozing with kindness and generosity. "I decided to help you."

"And it only took you 3 seconds later to have a change of heart? You must be the most reasonable pony in this desert." I said sarcastically, shooting him a dirty look before turning away.

"No, no, no!" He said running up to my left side, his brother stepping up to my other.
This was very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about my previous behavior, you see we've had some bad luck around these parts before and were just being careful." Whix said good-naturedly.

Either this pony was full of shit or had more mental issues than I did. Stopping I noticed slightly amused that it took Boomstick another two steps to realize that Whix and I had stopped. He was a bit slow wasn't he?

"Yeah," Boomstick said once he realized that we had stopped. "There used to be raiders here, we had to give them all of our apples."

His voice was slow and had just as high a concentration of stupid as Whix's did false kindness but he wasn't lying, I could tell that much.

"Too true brother of mine." The salespony said, and I could suddenly see the resemblance.

They had the same green streaked mane and eyes.

"Well what the hell do you want?" I snapped still aggravated, "Other than to give me an antidote out of the kindness of your little pony heart?"

Something about this was all too familiar and I couldn't put my hoof on it. I waited for the other hammer to fall.

"Why I just now noticed you have a Pip-Buck don't you?" He asked.

I just looked at him like he was an idiot.

"And it's slightly cloudy today." I said dryly.

I watched as Boomstick looked up at the perpetually cloudy sky like it was the first time he had noticed it.

"Hey brother, she's right!" He said with a smile, "Why do you think that is?"

"Shut it Boomstick." Whix snapped before turning his fake smile towards me, "well we seem to have a problem with our stable here."

"Your stable?"

"Why yes, we've been here all of our lives right Boom?" He said looking at the slow one.

"Yep." He lied picking up his brother's cue.

Alright, these ponies took me for a fool, I'd play along.

"You see we were just minding our own business when our security system had a bit of an accident." The salespony said shaking his head. "It seemed like an alarm was rung and the security became hostile. It slaughtered our entire stable and we barely escaped with our lives."

Now I knew for a fact that these ponies were full of shit. Well, at least Whix was, Boomstick was just playing along for his brother.

"But then the Goddesses sent you to us." Whix said, "How silly of me for not noticing."

"Really?" I said giving the smoother talker an incredulous look. "And just how can I be of use to you?"

"Why, with your pip-buck of course. With that, you can simply waltz into that vault and shut down the security system." Whix said with a point at my foreleg.

"Well well well then," I said smiling wide. "Look who needs somepony's help, too bad my leg's busted up or I'd be of some use, oh well."

Stepping forward I tossed my mane and tried to look as above it all as I could.

"Lucky for you I have the best antidotes this side of the Cloudsdale river." The merchant said.

Damn it, he had me beat.

Turning around I glared at the salespony.

"Alright fine, but I get the antidote first," I said deciding that if this pony wanted my help that he'd pay through the nose for it. "And when I get back you'll have a nice even stack of 100 caps for me as well."

"You'll get the antidote before," The salespony agreed, "however instead of the caps I'll not have Boomstick blow your leg off and hand me your Pip-Buck so I can do this myself."
Boomstick just grinned at me stupidly.

I stepped back in shock. I knew this pony was a vulture but I couldn't believe that he'd outright threaten my life like that.

"Offer's going once." Whix said, and I saw in his eyes he knew he had me back into a corner. "Offer's going twice."

"Alright, alright asshole. You got yourself a deal." I growled looking down at my leg, I'd really like to keep it attached.

"Excellent, knew that you'd be smart." The stallion said, and suddenly I didn't see him as a bird at all, now I only saw him as a snake. "After you my lady."

Limping back to the kiosk I waited for Whix to get the antidote. He pulled the small brown bag off of a hook hanging on the small wooden structure and turned towards me. Pulling out a knife he advanced and instinctively I took a step back and bumped into Boomstick, who just waved at me.

"Won't hurt but for a second." The merchant said slashing out at me.

I let out a scream as pain seared up my leg from where he'd cut me.

"What the fuck!?" I said, the wound oozing a sickly yellow liquid. "I thought you weren't going to cut my leg off?!"

"Gotta get the antidote in somehow," He said with a grin, something told me he cut just a little deeper than necessary.

He sprinkled a grey powder from the sack into the cut and then sliced the bag in two. Tying the bag into a strip he then wrapped the strip around my leg and pulled tight, knotting it.

"Give that five minutes and that leg will be good as new." Whix said now gesturing towards the vault. "After you."

"No way!" I argued, "My legs getting better first."

The next five minutes were the longest five minutes that had ever existed. Eventually I looked down and, begrudgingly smiled when I noticed that my leg was back to it's original size. Looking up at the grinning merchant I felt the smile fall from my face, replacing itself with a frown.

"See, we aren't bad ponies." He said, gesturing back to the tunnel again. "After you. I insist."

With Boomstick at my back I felt a strange inclination to oblige.

Shooting him another dirty look as I stepped passed, I pushed my way back into the dark tunnel and let out a sigh of relief once the door shut behind me.

I was going to get back at Whix if it was the last thing I did.

Walking past the giant gear I froze when a robot I didn't know greeted me at the door with a minigun to the face. Where the hell did this guy come from?

"Identification please." It said, it's red eyes locked on me.

Lifting my Pip-Buck I held my breath and waited.

"Validating Credentials....Accepted Security Mare 221 Dawn." It said wheeling out of the way to let me pass.

Stepping cautiously around the large metal robot with a mini-gun for a foreleg I took off running. Get to security! Turning a corner I almost plowed into a familiar metal face.

"Charlie!" I said with a smile.

"Back again so soon?" He asked, "Ms. Dawn, will you be staying?"

"Sorry Charlie, I can't." I said shaking my head, "I need to go to the security wing though, I have to open this place up for bozo outside."

"I do hope you aren't speaking of the one named Boomstick." Charlie said, "He destroyed two of our turrets at the entrance way."

"He's not a bad pony," I said with a sigh, "He's just an idiot. His brother on the other hoof..."

My voice trailed off as I got an idea.

"Charlie, would you like some payback?" I asked.

A few moments later I walked to the front door of the tunnel and pulled it opened. Whix looked up from a game of cards he was playing with Boomstick and smiled.

"Is the job done ma'am?" He asked, his tone insinuating something bad if it wasn't.

"Yeah, the job's done!" I snapped, "Can I go now?"

"Actually I've been thinking and, to be honest," He said Boomstick taking his shotgun in his teeth. "I can't, in good conscious, let you walk away with such a valuable item on your hoof."

"You double crossing snake!" I snapped taking a step back.

"Sorry filly, I gotta take care of my brother and that Pip-Buck will have us set up nice and easy." Whix said as my rump pressed against the door. "So hand it over and then you can be on your way."

"Sorry ma'am," Boomstick said, and I could see the regret in his eyes, "Just do what Whix says so I don't have to hurt you."

It was like he was begging me all of a sudden. My stomach twisted uncomfortably with mixed emotions. I felt bad for the oaf but his brother needed to have some sense beat into him, however I was now backed into a corner and was in no position to give said beating.

I stood in an empty room, a drug addled psycho in front of me, a combat knife in his jaw. There was nowhere to run and even less places to hide. I didn't even have a weapon, but I wasn't scared. My mind and body were on high alert, a certain electricity ran through me making everything clear. He lunged forward. Jumping backwards, I noticed he was biting the knife so hard his rotting teeth were cracking.

Dropping low I jumped to the side as he reached me and bucked him hard in the face, his teeth shattered and the blade sailed across the room. The buck however barely registered as he shook off the blow and came at me again.

Must be the drugs, I thought stepping to the side and catching him by the neck. With a crunch he fell in a heap and that when I heard the door slide open and another pony stepped in. I wasn't getting out until no pony stepped through that door.

"There's a problem with that." I said trying to think of a way out. "It's stuck."

"What? Really?" The merchant said with a unamused smile, "You think I'm going to believe that?"

"I think that you're smart enough to come here and see for your self you fucking moron." I growled holding out my Pip-Buck.

Taking a step over, Whix turned my hoof over to examine the strap. I watched his eyes go wide as I wrapped my other hoof around his neck and pulled him in front of me, in between me and the shotgun wielding buffoon. Tightening my grip I whispered in his ear.

"Now, you're going to tell Boomstick over there to drop his gun and kick it towards me or I'm going to snap your fucking neck."

I heard Whix wheeze and pull at my foreleg. Loosening my grip slightly he managed to relay the orders to Boomstick. Bucking the shotgun behind me I stepped forward pushing Whix along with me.

"See, here's the thing," I began, keeping my eyes on Boomstick as I walked us out from behind the kiosk. "I don't like ponies who steal, or kill, or hurt innocent ponies and you've done one of those things and are trying to do the other two."

Boomstick glared at me as I continued backing away from the Stable. He cared about his brother, I could see that in the hatred for me in his eyes.

"You've taken your brother who is a good pony and you make him do your dirty work." I growled feeling the rage in my chest cause the fire there to twinge painfully. "Now this is what you're going to do, you're going to tell your brother to stay right where he is and I'm going to walk away with you. You'll wake up in a few minutes and be right as rain except for the headache, and I'll be gone. Do you understand?"

The begrudging nod I got from my personal shield didn't fill me with confidence but it was something. Loosening my grip slightly I looked back to Boomstick who had stepped up onto the steps.

"Boomstick...stop." Whix whined, "Don't follow. I'll be back."

The look on the oaf's eyes made me wonder if what I was doing was right. He cared for this bad pony, deeply. I could see the uncertainty in the stallions eyes. He was scared. He was scared I was going to take someone he loved away from him. My stomach twisted uncomfortably.

A few moments later I was heading north along the road, towards Primrose a few caps in my saddlebags and a new pistol in Whix's holster that now sat on my shoulder. Sure I felt bad for Boomstick and wasn't sure that I was doing the right thing but I wasn't going to let Whix wake up and shoot me in the back. It didn't matter that he didn't wake up until I had already disappeared down the road. However it did matter that he now sported a new scar across his foreleg identical to the one he'd given me.

LVL UP: Grappler- Provided that your strength stat is higher than your opponents you have the ability to choke hold, and use their body as a shield effectively.

Chapter 3: The Rose

The arid breeze picked up the mini dust clouds brought about by my hoofsteps and carried them through the air behind me in little swirling storms of sand. Blinking the dirt from my eyes I shook my head angrily. It was almost impossible to make head way while the wind was blowing against me.

The desert around me was hot, incredibly so despite the constant cloud cover that blocked out the sunlight but seemed to let through the heat. I started imagining that the earth itself was the source of the heat, a giant oven trying to cook me alive. I found myself begging for a rain storm. Pushing ahead, my eyes, already hot and red, spotted a group of ponies that were heading my way, little black specks advancing along the road.

Well wasn't this a busy little stretch of the hellish wasteland.

Checking my E.F.S I noted that they were of the yellow bar variety of pony, however this didn't mean they couldn't be thieving threatening assholes intent on ruining my day, so I kept my mouth close to my pistol as I neared them. I knew I wasn't good with the gun, the gecko's from earlier had proved that, but there were at least five of them, surely even I could hit one of them before I went down.

Some good it will do you, I chided myself.

I could see the same guarded look on their face that I knew was on mine, as our paths intercepted. I couldn't help but notice their eyes kept glancing around searching the rocks and hills behind me, trying to detect a possible ambush I guessed.

"Coming from Stable 40?" A mare, almost my age if only a couple of years my elder by the looks of her, asked me as her caravan of five shifted uneasily.

She was a strong looking pony, pretty in a sort of rugged way. Her could was a deep blue, almost the same shade as the pony I was hunting. Her mane however was very different from Rain's short cut steel gray hair, it was stark white and contrasted oddly with the black cowpony hat that rested on top of her head.

"No, a little ways off." I said remembering the warning from the strange flying robot. "You heading that way?"

"Yep, heard that the raiders who called that place home were killed." The mare said with a nod. "Heading that way to see if there's anything left to loot."

Looking at the group I noticed that all of their eyes had the same look. They were scared but hopeful. A small one, still a colt, looked up at me with large goggled eyes. I noticed with a slight smirk that the goggles were too big for him and he kept having to readjust them to keep them on his face.

"Yeah, we may even find enough to buy grandpa a new cane." He blurted out, his eyes holding more hope than fear. This little one hadn't had his spirit broken yet.

Wincing I nodded stiffly and started heading down the road again. My oh so helpful brain reminded me the trap that I had set with Charlie's help for Whix. With him knocked out the trap wouldn't spring, it reminded me, it was still waiting, and if this group of ponies got their first. I shivered.

Just keep walking, it isn't your problem Dawn, I told myself, they're graverobbers just like that snake.

Oh yeah? The little one to? I shot back making me sigh.

"Son of a-" I grumbled, turning to the caravan that had carefully resumed their traveling. "Wait!"

The group stopped, one even drew his gun, spooked. He'd obviously seen more than his fair share of lunatics. The older mare from earlier took point. From where I stood I could see the tactic. She would speak with whoever the potential hostile happened to be, assessing the situation closely while giving her group time to arm themselves.

"Yeah? Had something you needed to say?" She asked, I realized she was trying to give me a chance to give her group a reason to relax before they started shooting.

This caravan had been through some serious shit.

"Yeah," I said trying to think of a way to dissuade them from going to the stable but finding nothing but the truth would be sufficient. "You might not want to go there."

"Oh yeah?" She asked, and I could see the incredulous look in her eyes. "And why's that?"

"Well, I passed by there," I said deciding to cover up a few details, "there were already two ponies there looking to loot but they seemed to be having some major issues with the security."

I could sense the hope leak out of the group like a balloon that had a pinprick of a hole somewhere in it, too small to see. I looked to the little one whose gaze fell earthward.

"Well, we have a lot more than just two." The mare said trying to keep the group's spirits high. "We can handle a little security."

An image flashed across my mind of the colt laying dead, his body filled with a particularly large security robot's bullets, a security robot that I had set up. I grimaced and shook my head.

"I wouldn't if I were you." I said, I really wanted to help these ponies but if they weren't going to listen then they weren't my problem.

Okay deathpony.

"But you're not," The mare said shortly, then her voice lowered significantly, "Look, I appreciate the warning but we've had a hell of a time lately and I'm not letting my family lose any more hope than they already have."

What?! I wasn't a death---damn it, alright.

The group had continued forward as I argued with myself. By the time I looked up they had moved some fifteen feet down the heat cracked road. Galloping to catch up with them I watched as the group immediately turned towards me, hearing my hoofbeats, several of the adults pulled their guns.

"Wait, I...uh..." I stammered glancing down at the colt who looked up at me and smiled. "You said you had an elderly one to tend to?"

"That's right missus." The colt said with a determined nod before the lead mare could answer for him. "Grandpa's been sick for a while but I know that if we bring him a new cane he'll get right back up and come out with us when we leave Primrose!"

The looks from the other's made me doubt any chance that this was going to happen. The lead mare turned back to me and noticed the look on my face.

"Yeah, Ace here thought it be a good idea to get gramps a new walking stick." She said putting her hoof on his head. "Gramps been laying down awhile."

The way she said, 'laying down' told me that there wasn't a cane in all of this desert that could get Gramps up and at 'em. Looking down at the colt I felt a pang of sorrow latch onto my heart. That little colt was walking headlong into some major disappointment and didn't even know it.

"Well...." I paused steeling myself, if there was any doubt before, it died when I saw the hope in that colts eyes, "Maybe when you reach the Stable, if the security is still up, you should tell them that your friends of Dawn and that you need a little help. A number 221 should help."

"....uh huh and that's supposed to do what exactly." The mare said suspiciously.

"Don't know," I said looking at the colt, "Never been to Stable 40 myself remember?"

Turning away from the group I checked my pip-buck through the sand storm that had persisted through our conversation and began heading towards Primrose again.

"Lady!" A small voice said from behind, a second later.

Turning I saw the small pearl white colt rushing towards me something between his teeth. As he neared I noticed that he was no longer wearing the too large for his face goggles, and that one of his eyes was blackened and swollen. Stopping near my hooves I glanced up and noticed that every one of the caravan had their guns raised, barrels targeted in on my head and chest above the colt, ready to shoot. I made sure to move slowly as the colt smiled up at me.

"My dad always told me to repay kindness in kind," He said, slightly out of breath, "and your eyes look awful red."

Holding up the goggles in his hooves he pushed them at me.

"Here take 'em missus."

Looking down at the gift I glanced up at his family and found myself smiling. They'd kill me dead if I so much as laid one hoof on this colt's head. Graverobbers they may be but they were still good ponies.

So what's the difference between these ponies and Whix? I asked myself.

Whix pissed me off and threatened my life for no good reason, I thought back.

That shut the little voice in my head up.

Good, I had to win sometimes. I tried not to think about the fact that I had lost to myself in the first place. The arguing thoughts made my head hurt.

Slowly taking the goggles from the child I placed them on my head and pulled them down around my eyes.

"How do I look?" I asked the colt glancing down to see the smile grow even wider almost breaking his young face in half.

"Like a desert princess!" He said with a laugh before running back to his family.

I noticed that as soon as he had turned the group put their guns away in a hurry. They were still trying to save the colt's innocence. My heart broke for him all over again.

"The world is cruel D." The elder had told me, "This isn't the Equestria of the past, here ponies die and fight and shed their blood over a scrap of food. The wasteland is just a giant graveyard for innocence."

A shiver ran down my spine, like my mane had been dunked in ice water, as I watched the group go, my new goggles shielding my eyes from the sand. After a few minutes of thinking and watching them shrink in the distance, I looked down and noticed a small light blinking on my Pip-Buck. I had picked up a radio station.

Shrugging I hit the button labeled 'LasPegasus Radio' and flinched as my Pip-Buck let out a blast of static before a voice came through. It was soft and sweet, a voice that could break your heart if you weren't careful.

"Could we begin to mend,

The pain that tore us apart,

The cheating and the lies,

That broke all our wounded hearts"

The song was sweet and sad and slow, I found myself unable to move until it was over. The guitar that accompanied the singer slid it's tone up at the end as if asking a question, then the song was through. The question was timeless and any filly or colt would know it, but it eluded me, as did the answer. Blinking as if waking from a dream at the end of the song, I looked up and saw the road stretching on to Primrose.

I'd better get moving.

No more distractions.

After a few moments of nothing but silence and wind, another voice came from my Pip-Buck.

"Hello chiiiiildren!" The deep voice of a stallion boomed, "This your DJ, DJ Arthright and that was Velvet Remedies newest song from the NCR Wasteland, 'Mending Hearts'! How's everyone doing?" He asked rhetorically. "Looks like we have some, dun-dun-dun!!!! Bit of news! While the relationship between the New Canterlot Republic's budding army and the mysterious ruler of the LasPegasus Strip has always been strained, it seems as though a new chapter is beginning. After months of long and incredibly boring politics, none of which would entertain any of you wonderful ponies, the NCR's commander has finally sealed the deal with the enigmatic owner of the strip and has set up shop near the south gate. As you all know, the NCR's LasPegasus branch was, up until this point, ran out of Fort McCarot but now it seems they have a more heavily fortified position behind the Strip's walls. Meanwhile Caesar's Legion continues to grow across the Cloudsdale River. Is it just me, or does somepony smell a battle brewing? Well, that's just this DJ's opinion so take it for what it's worth. Also, I got a wonderful bit of news for all of you faithful listener's out there, we here in the LasPegasus wasteland have recieved correspondence from the one true DJ Pon3 from the NCR wasteland so listen up. DJ Pon3 says that we could be expecting a cloudbreak here any day. That's right! The Capital's very own Lightbringer has decided that it's time to open up a little more sky. Well this DJ says, get to it Lightbringer, maybe it'll let some of this heat escape. Anyway's, I've done enough jabbering for now, here's a LasPegasus Slim's original, "You Don't Need What I Don't Got."

Staring at my pip-buck for a long time I tried to process the news quickly but all of the names just swam in my head. The only one that stuck was the 'Lightbringer', Rain had used that name. With a sigh I shook my head and picked up the pace, couldn't get distracted.

Looking ahead I could see the road begin to slope downward, cutting it's way through crags of rocks on either side that jutted up into something that was between a large hill and a mountain in size. A long black metal snake sat coiled in the town below dwarfing most of the buildings at it's base. Looking up at the sign hanging half broken over the road I walked, I grinned, 'Primrose Fun Farm' it read through a splatter of bullet holes.

I found myself rushing down the hill. The quicker I reached Primrose, the quicker I could find out where Rain and Berry had headed. Midway down the hill I noticed a red blip had appeared on my EFS to my right and almost stopped but I wanted some answers damn it!

I was tired of getting distracted and slowing down. First with the snake merchant, then with the caravan, then with the colt from the caravan, one thing right after another.

I growled to myself and tossed my mane back speeding up as I ran downhill.

I felt the road level out beneath my hooves and turned to look behind me just in time to see a Gecko lose interest and return to the crags some ways off the broken road.

HA! I wasn't going to deal with that headache.

Reaching the town, the first thing I noticed was that it was strangely quiet, the second thing I noticed was the giant billboard hanging on the side of a large, mostly intact building. The billboard showed the top half of a pink pony's head, her white and red mane looking like a candy cane, her enormous blue eyes playing peekaboo at the bottom of the sign. Large orange words at the top of the billboard read, "Welcome to PinkyPie's Fun Farm!" at the bottom in smaller letters read, "Fun For The Whole Family!" and below that, once again in the same large letters up top, "Everything the Grand Galloping Gala should've been, Every day! Forever!". For some reason the sign unnerved me and I quickly turned back to look at the road which forked in two some feet in front of me.

The left hand road went down under a bridge, and back up into the desert on the other side of the town, effectively cutting it in half. On either side of the right road side sat a bundle of blown out brick houses. I didn't see but one pony and as soon as he noticed me his eyes grew large and he immediately disappeared into a nearby dwelling and slammed the door shut.

Shaking my head at the odd behavior I took the right path and stepped into town, keeping my mouth near my pistol just in case. A whistle blew through the eaves of the house and I felt a little tingle in the back of my throat.

With the buildings shielding me from most of the sand I pushed the goggles up onto my forehead just under my horn and looked around. I could see several ponies inside the nearby buildings but they refused to maintain eye contact and merely shot worried glances out from half cracked windows. The entire town felt tense, every brick seemed to vibrate with terrified energy and the windows glared down at me with the same look the ponies inside had. This town was in a major amount of trouble.

Thankfully we'll be on our way as soon as we find out where Rain has gone right?

Dawn? Right?!

"What is wrong with these ponies." I muttered walking further into town, purposefully ignoring myself.

The road turned left and, looking ahead, I saw the bridge the left fork had snaked under before leading out towards the desert. The bridge itself however just lead to the giant metal snake. I noticed that my assessment hadn't been too far from off, it really did look like a snake, the rusted metal tracks looking like the rib-cage of some giant serpent. A large building standing some ways away from the metal carcass, blocked my view of the lower half of it but from where I stood I could make out another smaller building behind it at the snake's base.

"Hello?!" I called after a long moment of silence. "Ummm....I could really use some directions!"

It sounded lame even to my own ears but technically that was what I was doing and even so, I couldn't think of any other reason to bother these ponies that obviously didn't want to be bothered.

"SHhhhhh are ya nuts! Come here! Quick!" An aged voice called from a nearby building.

The building was an old post office, the sign above the door depicting a smiling mailpony holding a letter. The front windows of the office had been boarded up with mismatched boards pulled from Goddesses knew where. Glancing back I noticed that this wasn't the only building that had done this, almost every building I had passed had this shuttered up look.

Turning back to the door of the post office, I saw a flash of a pony's face for just a moment, before the darkness swallowed it. Pushing the door open with a hoof I yelped as two maroon hooves grabbed me and pulled me inside. Instinct took over and I pushed back hard, pushing the assailant into the wall behind the door, pressing my hoof to her throat.

Looking at the, now thoroughly shocked mare, I noticed that she could have easily been my grandmother and quickly jumped away muttering an apology.

"Goddesses! Try and do a favor for a pony and she damn near takes my head off." The maroon mare with a dark green mane streaked with white huffed, rubbing her neck. "Better thank your lucky stars I stopped ya before ya went and done a foolish thing like crossin' that there bridge."

"Sorry ma'am," I apologized again, I was one jumpy pony wasn't I?

"Yeah, yeah," The mare said stepping away from the wall and walking further into the building. "Come on in and sit a spell so's long as ya don't get violent on me again."

Burning with embarrassment I took her offer and followed her into the humble lodgings. An old torn couch and coffee table sat in the middle of the living room, on one side sat a small kitchen and straight ahead two doors stood beside a rather large cabinet which leaned at angle due to a missing leg. Glancing through the busted glass windows on the front of it I saw a suit hanging with a cowponies hat sitting atop it. It reminded me of the leader of the caravan's hat.

"And don't get ta being too loud if ya please. We got some ponies trying ta sleep." She said quietly, a dark look passing over her face, "Damn occupation."

"Occupation?" I wondered trying to keep my voice down as the elder mare went over to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of slightly grey water from a pantry.

"Sure as the sky's grey." She said with a nod tossing the bottle across the room at me before grabbing her own.

"Thank you," I said looking at the water with thinly veiled disgust before opening it and drinking. Sitting on the couch I smacked my lips at the strange taste of the water, it was slightly grainy.

My Pip-Buck softly clicked for a moment, a sound that I hadn't heard it make yet. Looking at the computer in confusion I barely noticed that the granny had stepped up to look over my shoulder.

"Haven't seen one of them thar Pip-Bucks in a long time." She said looking at the computer with one eye as she drank. "Don't worry, you'd have ta drink quite a bit of this here water afore ya grew another head."

"Huh?" I grunted looking up at her in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, them thar pip-bucks have a built in Geiger counter don't they?" She explained tapping a gauge at the top right of the computer.

Examining the gauge I noticed that it had a needle slowly bouncing back and forth in a green zone. Holding it up to my ear I noticed that it was making the clicking sound. Putting down the dirt water I nodded when the clicking ceased.

"So it tell's me things are radioactive?" I asked dumbly.

"Rightchoo are." The mare said with a nod. "Good thing too, the wastes are fulla radioactive goo. How long ya had that thing fer anyway?"

"Two days I think." I said, knowing for a fact that I had it longer but since I couldn't remember, and didn't want to try to explain, I erred on the side of simplicity.

"Uh huh," The mare grunted, "Well hope the pony ya took it offa was at least dead by someone else's hoof before ya went and stole it."

The mare walked to the otherside of the dusty couch and sat down, a hole in the back of it near my head pushed out stuffing filled air into my face, making me sneeze. Shaking my head to realign my mane I looked up at the ceiling a long moment, trying to formulate a question in my mind.

"You're wondering why all of these ponies act like they're being hunted aintcha?" The mare guessed.

I nodded, surprised that it had been that obvious.

"Well, they kinda are." The mare said, "You see, Primrose was one of the best little trading posts south of the Strip, we had enough caps ta eat and trade with the caravan's that passed through here from all over. Well, folks started seeing what Primrose had and started wanting that for themselves, only they weren't the type fer askin'."

"What happened?" I asked after the mare paused, her aged eyes seeing something I couldn't.

She blinked and continued.

"A group of escaped convicts, originally from the NCR, showed up in town one day and took a large number of Primrose as hostages. They called themselves the Blasting Crew and said that if we could make enough caps that they'd let our families go but..."

"No one wants to trade with a town when that town's being held hostage by some thugs." I guessed, nodding.

She nodded gravely and spat into a spittoon by her hooves.

"The only caravan still running through here is my kin." The elder said tiredly, "They think that they're going to be able to come up with enough caps to save us all."

"And you don't think they can?" I asked, something in her voice unsure.

"Well, it ain't that I don't believe in 'em. It's just," she paused a moment trying to find the right words, "I don't believe that the Blasting Crew's going to let anyone go."

We sat in silence for a long moment, the building creaking in the wind.

"My grandson tried to fight one of them convicts but he's justa colt." She said with a sigh. "They beat him something awful."

My mind thought back to the colt I'd met earlier, surrounded by his family that loved him.

"Was he a white earth pony?" I asked, "Black eye?"

"That'd be him, Ace." She replied looking up at me slightly shocked. "You seen 'im."

I tapped the goggles on my head and was surprised when a flash of anger jump across the old one's face.

"He gave me these as a gift for helping them get into Stable 40." I explained quickly before the grandma had anymore wrong ideas.

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled shaking her head.

"That lil'un is the best thing to happen to these wastes." She said, love clear in her voice. "It'll break his heart when he gets back."

"His grandpa is already..." My voice trailed off already knowing the answer.

"That's all he talked about init?" The mare said glancing at one of the doors behind us, a sad smile on her face.

I nodded stoically and sighed. I understood this family's love for the little one, there was something about him, he was going to make a lot of lives a lot better one day.

"Alright damn it!" I snapped at the mare causing her to look up at me, old yet ready to defend herself. "What can I do to help?"

Damn it Dawn!

The look on the older mare's face was all I needed in payment.

A few hours later, as the light on the other side of the cloud cover was beginning to fade I stepped out of the mare's home, who I had learned was named Razzberry Dancer. The leather barding she had given me was for a stallion, it had been Grandpa Dancer's when he was younger, and was therefore slightly big on me but I figured it was better than nothing. The hat didn't look bad on my head either, but I left it in the cabinet. I imagined that Ace would want it.

We had decided that if I could free the hostages that we could take the fight to the convicts. This was if Razzberry was able to convince her neighbors to do an idiotic sort of thing like fighting unarmed. She had said that she had faith in her town and I had kept my mouth shut, choosing not to say that if her town really cared I wouldn't have to do what I was about to do.

The hostages were held in the casino which sat directly across from the bridge. The building on the other side of that, nearest the old broken roller coaster, was called Buffalo Bill's. That was where the main force of the convicts had made their home. Razzberry had told me that the bridge had been mined but taught me how to disarm them quickly so that I could not get blown to smithereens and also reuse them.

Now that I stood on this side of the bridge, looking at the explosive orange discs, I felt significantly less confident.

Oh well, if I'm not good enough, I won't have to worry with being mediocre for long. I thought stepping up to the first mine.

Immediately it began beeping and I began my work.

Beep! Beep! BeepBeep! BeepBeepBeep!!

With a click I disarmed the thing and let out a sigh of relief. Something about that felt familiar. I couldn't put my hoof on it, but I knew that I'd done it before.

Only, one, two, three, four, five, six, to go.

Taking my time between each one, I waited until my hooves stopped shaking before trying the next. Finally I had reset them all and had them sitting in my saddlebags safely. These would definietely come in handy.

Ahead I saw a large open parking lot with a small shed to the rear of the building. Between the shed and the casino I could see two yellow rusted dumpsters. Perfect hiding places if the need arose.

Checking both my EFS and line of sight for hostiles I saw two ponies patrolling the left side of the building and one to the right. I weighed my options.

On one hoof, if I went around the left side I could use the shacks for cover, however there were more ponies patrolling that area. On the other, if I went around the right side there was only one convict patrolling with no cover. Chewing my tongue a moment, I tossed different scenarios around in my head. Finally I decided to use the shacks for cover and try and get through without raising an alarm.

That was what a smart pony would do right? I thought trying to channel my inner smart pony.

Goodluck dumbass, you're going to die.

Slinking along the fence that partitioned off that half of town, I waited until the convicts were facing away and ran to the shacks. Catching my breath I squeezed in between the shack and the fence and slowly moved forward. Once I had reached the edge of the second shack I peeked out from around the corner, my nerves on fire. I could see another dumpster, it's lid open, sitting along the nearest wall.

Excellent!I was going to use my dumpster diving idea.

Really, you're excited about this?

"...Yeah, boss can be a dick but at least he got us these sweet digs." One convict was saying to the other as they walked.

"I guess, but does he have to hit so damn hard?" The other complained stepping out of view, fully in front of the shacks I was hiding behind.

Tracking them only by E.F.S only now, I waited until they were the farthest away that they could be and made a dash for the dumpster ahead. It was empty so I slipped inside and hunkered down, watching the red bars move back towards me.

"I dunno, but this town is worth it." The first one was saying, "They're going to be bringing in a fuck ton of caps."

"That's the plan anyway." The second said unconvinced.

From where I lay at the bottom of the yellow trash receptacle I waited for the two to walk up to the front of the building, then waited for them to head back my direction. Once they passed where I lay hidden, I slipped out of the dumpster and slid down the wall towards the front of the casino. Glancing back I saw that the convicts still had their backs to me, now in a deep discussion over the value of a town in ruin. Around the corner I saw the pony on patrol on the otherside of the building head my way a moment before turning and heading back the way he had come.

Looking back at the two ponies behind me I gritted my teeth in impatience at the lone convict.

Hurry hurry hurry!!!!! I screamed at him mentally.

Finally he disappeared around the corner and I was able to step around to the front of the building. Good thing I did too, the other two were on their way back. Stepping up to the door I cracked it open and peeked inside, from what little I could see, slot machines were everywhere. I held my breath and prayed for a miracle before stepping inside.

Immediately ducking behind a row of slot machines that sat in the lobby to the casino I checked my EFS for hostiles. Three stood at various points around the room, walking a worn pattern in the once red carpet that sat at my hooves. It had aged terribly and was now the cooler of dried blood. I shivered. I also saw 6 yellow blips across the room and decided to distract myself with the important things. Looking out from around the slot machines I could see a cage labeled 'Bank' in large black letters that had once lit up.

Okay, okay, let's see. I tried to come up with a plan.

I needed the three ponies on the inside of this place to not be.

Brilliant Dawn, simply brilliant.

I moved to the other side of the row of slot machines to stay hidden as a guard stepped into view. I wracked my brain hard for a long moment. Looking back towards the door I saw the red blip of the pony outside as he made his way around in front of the building. Suddenly I had an idea. It was a gruesome one but I couldn't think of any other way to get the guards out at the moment, so I grabbed a mine from my saddlebag and sighed.

Things were about to get really loud and really messy.

Arming the thing I rolled it outside to where the red blip was just now turning to continue his route back around the building. I heard it start beeping as his proximity triggered it. Slipping back around the other side of the slot machines, I closed my eyes tight waiting for the boom.

"What the--?" I heard the muffled voice from the pony outside as his day abruptly got a whole lot worse.

BOOM!!!

The shockwave blew the doors open with enough force that they bounced back shut...twice. In the brief moments the doors were open I could see a red smeer on the ground, where the patrolling pony had once been.

I frowned at the gore, I needed to get out of this wasteland and take a vacation.

You've only been out for what? Two days now?

"The FUCK!?" I heard one of the ponies nearest me yell, snapping my attention to him.

"Sounded like an explosion." I heard another one call from across the room.

"No shit it did!" A third said, "Let's check it out, I swear if these townies grew some balls, I'll show them what it's like when you mess with a Blaster."

The sound of hoofbeats echoed through the room as the three Blaster's rushed outside to see what was going on. I knew that I didn't have enough time and so, I jumped up from where I had hid and rushed across the casino towards the bank. I didn't notice the stairs that lead down to the casino floor, effectively separating the casino into upper and lower levels, and promptly fell on my face. It was only two steps but it still hurt like hell.

Son of bitch!

Jumping up I shook off the fall, sniffed the blood back up into my nose, and made it to the area labeled bank. On the other side of the bars I saw the most pitiful looking ponies I had seen yet. They were thin, way too thin, I could tell that they had been starved. One jumped at the bars seeing me.

"Are you here to rescue us?!" The yellow stallion asked, his voice a little high in his throat.

"That's me!" I said with a nod, "Now, how the fuck do I get you out?"

The other five ponies clambered to their feet and looked at me worriedly.

"There's a door that way," The stallion said pointing behind a counter to my left, "but it's locked."

FUCK!

Looking at the door behind the counter I walked around, and tried the knob anyway.

"I said it was locked!" The stallion chided.

"Hey, who's the pony needing saving?" I snapped at him, bucking the door to no avail.

"Fine fine!" He hissed, "But you better hide, they're coming back."

Across the casino I saw the door slam open as one of the Blaster's came back inside. How the hell did the yellow one know? Hunkering down behind the counter, I listened intently.

"Fucking Lime Round!" I heard him sniff, "I swear if I find the motherfucking pony responsible I'll shove a stick of dynamite up their ass and make them wish they had never come to this shitty fucking town."

Peeking out from behind the counter I saw him walk over to the bank.

"Guess what meatbags!" He said, "One of you are coming with me."

The way he'd growled it made me wince.

Just then my brain connected the dots, he was going to go get one of them, which meant that he had to open the door that was barely a hoofstep away from me. Looking around frantically I saw, that unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide. The pistol suddenly weighed on me. Maybe I didn't have to shoot him, maybe I could knock him out like I did with Whix.

What's the problem Dawn? You just blew a pony to smithereens outside.

It was different though, I had never killed a pony before directly. The mine had been out of my hooves and the door's were shut when it went off. I didn't have to do anything but wait.

"That's right motherfuckers, you're town just killed one of ours so we're repaying in kind." He snickered venomously, "However, unlike you cowards that kill without showing yourself, we're going to execute one of you useless fuckwits so the whole town will know not to fuck with us."

I heard his hoofsteps as he walked around the counter. I could only imagine his surprise when he saw me pop out of nowhere and press a pistol to the underside of his throat. Everything stopped in that moment. Could I really just blow this pony away?

Damn it Dawn! Yes! Yes you can! Pull the fucking trigger!

I could punch him in the throat, drop him easily. I don't have to do this.

He see's you, he's already moving for his gun, its too late. Pull! That! Trigger!

I watched as his brain splattered the backs of several slot machines a moment before his legs gave way and he crumpled to the floor. Dropping the pistol I shook. With a gag I looked away from the grey matter that was now slowly dripping it's way down to the floor.

I tried to shake the image out of my head but it was still there when I closed my eyes.

You got a job to do, I told myself.

Looking down at the dead stallion I tried to avert my eyes from his head and found a keyring on his black and blue barding in the process. I snatched it up and turned back to the door.

Unlocking it I poked my head in and forced a smile at the ponies cowering inside.

"See, no problem." I said still feeling queasy. "Careful when you step out though, there seems to be a bit of a mess."

Great joke Dawn. Really, spectacular.

"Yeah, wonder where that came from?" The yellow stallion asked dryly before turning to the others. "Come on guys, let's beat it."

"Are you kidding me Rimshot?!" A brown mare asked from where she sat, curled up in the corner. "You heard them, they already want to kill us. You want to make it worse? We don't even have weapons."

"Yeah," another spoke up, "We ain't leaving if we don't even have a way to defend ourselves."

The one named Rimshot looked back at me pleadingly. With a sigh I wiped my hoof down my face and grimaced.

"If I bring you scaredy ponies something to shoot with will you get the hell out of here?" I asked feeling more like a babysitter than a savior all of a sudden.

The half hearted nods from the prisoner's made me sigh again, this wasn't going to be anywhere in the realm of the word easy. I handed Rimshot Whix's pistol. I didn't want to touch that thing ever again. Hoping for a small miracle, I asked:

"Do you know how to shoot?"

It felt kind of strange asking him like that, hell I barely could myself.

"I reckon I could learn real quick." He said tossing the pistol in the air to catch it in his teeth.

Something told me that he had practiced this before.

"Here's hoping." I muttered, then, pointing at the door, "If any pony comes through that door, shoot them."

His gazed wavered a moment but I decided to ignore it. Turning to the Blaster I had killed I looked down at his side and grabbed his the pistol that would have killed me.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

Looting him for bullets I tossed what I had found towards Rimshot and nodded.

"There, just need four more weapons." I said before turning to walk across the casino.

As I reached the door, I pulled up short hearing voices from the other side.

"What the hell is taking Buckshot so long?" I heard a pony say,

"Someone better go check on the poor bastard." Another said, "He was pretty upset about Lime Rounds, no telling what he's doing to the hostages now. Hey, Black Powder! Get your ass in there and get Buckshot, and try and make sure that he leaves at least a few of the prisoner's alive."

I felt slightly better about my decision.

Just then the door cracked open and I could see the head of a unicorn male peer inside from where I stood beside the door.

"HEY BUCKSHOT!" He yelled, "Where are y-"

The question died with a squeek on his lips, as he turned his head just enough to see me, and my 9mm pistol pointing point blank at his temple. I weighed my options, I could shoot him and add another pony to my kill count, all the while alerting the other's outside the door, or I could be smart. I wasn't surprised that my brain sided with smart over easy this time.

"Shteph inside now and I won't blow your brainsh all over these pretty slot machhhineshh okay?" I said from around the pistol, my words coming out slurred and way less threatening than I had wanted. In the stallion's eyes, his pupils constricted with fear, I could see that they had done their job regardless.

The dark grey unicorn did as commanded and stepped forward, I shut the door for him.

Look who's a smart pony, I thought sarcastically.

"They'll come looking for me." He said, his voice tight.

"Uh huh." I nodded and pushed him forward towards the bank.

Rimshot came out to meet me half way.

"We're keeping this one?" He asked, pulling out his new pistol and putting it up to the unicorns head.

"Yep!" I said happy to spit the pistol out of my mouth, "Bargaining chip. Besides, why waste the bullet."

Might need it for another pony right?

The one named Black Powder laughed harshly.

"You picked the wrong pony to use then, bitch." He said with a laugh, "I'm the most useless Blaster there is."

I punched him hard over the back of the head before I realized I had even raised my hoof, and watched him drop in a heap. I really didn't like being called a bitch for some reason.

Looking up at Rimshot I couldn't help but giggle at the shocked look on his face.

"Strip him, take his weapons and I'll be back when I've got three more." I ordered, turning to walk back towards the door.

"Thanks." I heard Rimshot mutter and I honestly couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or sincere.

Reaching the front door again, I pressed my ear to it and listened.

"Boss says that if we don't get this shit handled that he's going to come down here and handle it." One was saying causing the other one to groan. "He's calling everyone back to The Buffalo."

"Well let's grab the two dumbasses and go."

Reaching into my saddle bags I grabbed a mine, armed it and threw it in front of the door before leaping behind the nearest rack of slot machines. I was slightly sick at how comfortable I was with setting down an explosive and hiding.

As long as it's out of your hooves, right Dawn?

The door swung open barely missing the mine.

"Come on Buckshot! Black Powder!" An earth pony called as he stepped into the dark lobby a cohort at his side. "If you two are fucking again I swear..."

Three quick beeps later and the door's blew off their hinges, having finally taken enough abuse. A splatter of meat stuck to the wall in front of me, reminding me of the stable I had woke up in.

How in the hell was this better for me again?

The slot machines bowed forward from the blast, pressing painfully into my back. I stood and looked to the front door. I really wish I hadn't. Two very splattered ponies lay dead, several pieces of them both on the inside and outside of the now blown open doors.

I turned away from them, doubting there were any guns left of value on these two anyway. Poking my head out of the door I looked around carefully. There were no more ponies to patrol around the casino now. A second later the sound of a shot made me jump back as the door jam beside me splintered and blew out showering me with splinters.

My heart racing, I breathed hard trying to steady myself. That could have been my brain.

I thought back to the stallion I had shot and grimaced at how it would have been perfect irony if the sniper pony hadn't missed. I shook my head and thought about the roller coaster sitting some twenty yards away, a perfect post for a pony with a long ranged rifle.

Okay, so you have some vague idea as to where he is, now what?

Well, when all else fails....

Waitaminute! No Dawn! Stop!

I bolted from the door immediately under fire from the unseen sniper pony. Sliding up to the front doors of Buffalo Bill's I looked up towards the roller coaster skeleton and sighed with relief as I found the front wall of the little hotel was just enough cover. Stepping around the side of the small building, I inched towards the corner and waited. I could hear a pony running down the tracks.

That's right dumbfuck, get close, I thought.

That dumbfuck nearly shot your fucking head off.

I rolled my eyes and pulled my 9mm, waiting. It couldn't be avoided, I was going to have to kill this one or die. Watching my EFS as the red mark moved back in forth in time with the sound of the footsteps on the other side of the building. I heard a light impact and a grunt and then the red blip was on it's way again. Readying my pistol, I waited, hoping that the pony would be stupid enough to press his stupid muzzle right into the barrel of my gun. I didn't trust myself with it enough at any other range.

He wasn't that stopped however, he knew that he had a long ranged weapon and wasn't going to be caught too close to an enemy.

I watched as the sniper pony stepped out from the side of the building several yards away, his rifle floating in a telekinetic sheath by his head. I felt my blood grow cold as a smile appeared in his eyes.

DUCK!

Diving to the dirt I felt a sting on my rump as his first bullet pierced my flank. Hitting S.A.T.S I felt time slow to a crawl and lined up my shots. One to his chest, one to his head, and...one to his nearest leg, why not? In that moment I slightly hoped to just hit his leg but other ponies were depending on me so I had to give it my all.

The three shot's rang out as time reasserted itself. The first hit home but I could tell that his armor had absorbed most of it. The second was a complete miss all together, I sent up a thanks in prayer. The third, however, did exactly what I had hoped for and took a hoof from underneath him. He hit the ground screaming. Good, now if I could get over to him!

Limping as quickly as I could, I reached the pony and stepped on his rifle breaking it free from his telekinetic grasp. I sheathed my pistol and raised up on my hind legs, my flank flaring with pain from the bullet hole, ready to come down with both hooves, hoping to knock this one out. I noticed something though, something rather concerning. He still had a smile on his face despite his condition, and his horn was still glowing. Looking around I noticed a small metal apple drop to the dirt at my side, his telekinetic grip holding a stem. Shit! Grenade!

"....sweetheart, you have to learn to protect yourself." A kind mare's voice suddenly came to mind. "And that doesn't always mean that you have to beat someone into a bloody pulp. They're family, you know."

"But mom," I had whinned, "how am I supposed to do that?"

The light blue shield that had suddenly engulfed me made me feel loved. It was as if her love strengthened it to an almost unbreakable degree, no one could hurt me here. It was nice.

I awoke sometime later, tasting blood in my mouth. The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't move my legs as they were tied together, definitely not a good sign. The second thing I noticed was the strip of cloth shoved in my mouth.

From where I lay, I could see that I was now in a kitchen of some kind, on a counter, my legs tied together with coarse rope that had already rubbed blisters into my legs. Blinking, I let out a groan as my entire body screamed. My legs and hooves had been pincushioned with shrapnel.

Son of a bitch, grenade's hurt.

No shit!

Just then the door to my right opened, and a hulking brute of a pony walked in flanked by two others. He was the color of sand and had at least twenty knives and three guns strapped to his leather barding. Over the barding he wore the same black and blue vest I had seen previously. It must be their uniform, I thought rolling my eyes.

"So, this is the little pissant that's been causing all of the problems?" He said stepping over to look me in the eye. "Took a grenade to the chin and ain't dead. Neat little trick bitch, but you sure don't look like much."

"Leth mph gfph aph imph showfh." I tried to shoot back but the gag prevented it, so I just glared instead.

"What's that bitch?" He growled, I guess he was smart enough to realize that I had nothing good to say, reaching for the gag, "Say it again I dare you."

I really, really hated being called bitch.

Snapping at the brute with my teeth, I couldn't help but feel a streak of satisfaction when I latched onto his hoof and clamped down hard. I felt something crack.

"AGH!!" He roared, smashing his free hoof into my chest.

The pain from the fire that still made it's home in my heart, along with the after effects of the grenade, made me see stars for a moment, my vision growing dim around the edges.

"Cunt!" The big one said hitting me again.

My vision swam with the pain, tears flowing freely. It was embarrassing but this hurt almost as much as burning alive during the resurrection procedure had.

"Hang her up and bring her outside, we have a show to put on." The Blasting Crew's leader growled to his lackey's.

"Yes sir! Boulder sir!" The guards said, snapping to attention.

His name was Boulder? I thought, that would be hilarious if I didn't feel like dying right now.

The next thing I knew I was being hoisted up by a long metal pole, hanging by my hooves like a slab of meat. I closed my eyes and tried to think of a way out of this but I kept pulling blanks. The pain in my chest wasn't helping either.

Back outside I hung limply as the two guards carrying me brought me around to the back of the casino. A large platform had been constructed in the empty parking lot.

Damn, how long had I been out?

Looking up at the sky I realized that it was already dusk, the sky in the west was now a dull orange through the cloud curtain.

The guards walked me up to the platform and unceremoniously dropped me on a small round disc just big enough for a pony to fit. As they untied me from the pole and retied me to the disc, I realized that I was that pony. Great! Raising the disc upright they propped it up and left me hanging from the bindings on each of my hooves.

In front of the platform, I saw that quite the group had gathered. I could see the prisoner's nearest me, all tied up together. Like a chain gang, I thought. Rimshot looked up at me, shame clear on his face. Behind them sat some of the ponies I had seen from the other side of town, Granny Razzberry among them. I caught her eye and could see her crying. I tried to smile but I knew the pain made it look more like a grimace so I looked away. Behind the townsponies sat the Blasting Crew each sporting some very nasty looking weapons. Black Powder was back among them and looked so smug I could kill him with my bare hooves.

I noticed something right then, between the anger towards these convicts and the pain in my torn body. I noticed something that not only gave me hope for this town but also pissed me off. The townponies of Primrose outnumbered the convicts 3 to 1.

"What a waste." I muttered, coughing, tasting even more blood.

"You see townponies of Primrose! This is what happens when you try and double cross the Blasting Crew!" The booming voice of Boulder addressed the crowd without much introduction, as he stepped up onto the platform tossing a grenade in his hoof. "We tried to be fair! We tried to keep those of you we captured nice and cozy and even extended our deadline for the caps you owed us time and time again and this is how you repay us." He pointed the grenade at me, and a very specific fear ran threw my body remembering the threat Buckshot had made. "By sending some bullshit assassin to try and kill us despite our kindness."

"Kindness!" I laughed hoarsely, "You've killed this town."

The leader looked up at me still tossing the grenade up and down.

"Oh really bitch?!" He asked, "You think so?"

He turned to the crowd.

"You know what? Maybe she's right." He said after a long pause getting confused looks from every pony in the crowd including me. "Maybe we've caused a bit too much heartache for this kind little town that took us in."

The irony oozed from that sentence.

"Maybe we should show our hosts a little hospitality, like they have us." He continued, "Maybe we should give the wonderful ponies of Primrose a little fun."

Catching the grenade again, he suddenly pressed his hoof against my throat. For a moment I tried not to react, just out of spite, but it didn't last. I began gasping for air and when I did he shoved the grenade into my mouth so far I felt teeth break.

"Who want's to play a game?" I could see a look of giddiness go through the Blasting Crew.

The town of Primrose gasped. I only groaned.

"Oh you look displeased!" The leader feigned confusion, "whatever could it be."

They aren't sick and twisted ponies like you, I thought fighting back tears, Damn my teeth hurt.

Then he got an idea.

"AH! I got it!" He exclaimed, "What's a game without prizes!"

He paused a moment.

"How about this! The first one to shoot the grenade gets the top prize of getting to go free with a loved one!"

An uneasy shift went through the crowd.

"But don't worry, if you get a leg I'll spare your life." The leader went on, "Chest and you may go free. Head and we'll make you a group of our little family, it gets better than that though folks. If you hit the grenade, you win the grand prize. I'll let you and one loved one leave, free as a bird." His face darkened then, as he addressed the crowd. "However, if you don't play, or you miss, we feel it's only right that you repay us the caps you owe by meeting our slaver friends down the road."

I could see the warring going on behind the eyes of the town of Primrose.

"So who will it be?!" The leader asked, "Who's first!? Oh and remember, you really want to go first because if you don't and someone else hits the grandprize, well, there won't be much to shoot at will there?"

That seemed to have done it. These ponies could only be as good as the world around them allowed, and the world around them was being just a cruel as the ponies before them.

Two townponies stood and began walking to the guard holding the rifle that would kick off this twisted game. Shortly after they stood I saw Razzberry Dancer stand as well and walk over.

Well great, I thought with a sigh, no friends for Dawn....not now, not ever.

I should have just asked where Rain and Berry went and left.

"Sweetheart, could you let me go first." I heard Razzberry say sounding older, her voice thick from the previous crying, "I have a hard time standing fer too long and I'd really rather go afore my aim get's too weak."

A sick feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. I knew that she had no ties to me but, I had promised her that I would try and help her town. Didn't that count for anything? The stallion handed the rifle to her and my heart fell even farther as she turned to face me. Hefting the gun up she looked at me dead in the eye, a shiver ran through her body and she dropped the barrel to the dirt, leaning heavily on the gun.

"I'm sorry folks," she addressed the crowd, "I seem to be having a hard time holding this thing straight."

"Get on with it lady!" Boulder barked from the place he now stood, near the casino wall.

"You know, I remember a time when my husband, Mint, would hold up a rifle just like this to protect this town," She said her eyes misty, "You know, that's all he ever did, protect this town. Even up until the end."

Looking out at the crowd, I saw the townponies turn their eyes to the past remembering, and then look away ashamed. Everyone of them looked away, suddenly finding something infinitely more interesting in the ground or the clouds, or their own hooves.

"You know why?" Razzberry said, despite the growing rumble of uncertainty in the Blasting Crew. "He said that this town was full o' good ponies that had the right idea of it. He said that Primrose was the Desert Rose because of the ponies in it that knew how to band together and stand up fer each other."

"Listen grandma!" The leader barked, "If you ain't gonna shoot then you'd better quit with the story time and give it to someone who will."

"You know what, yer right sonny!" The old mare said, "I should give this gun to somepony who's gonna use it."

Turning to the town she held up the rifle.

"Well who want's it?" She asked her arms shaking with it's weight. "Who want's to save their own hide at the cost of their soul. Go ahead, take it."

But no one did. They were all too busy seeing memories in the ground and sky.

I felt a moment of pride for this town, and it wasn't just because it was my life in danger.

"This wasteland is filled with shit." An angry voice flooded my memory, "All of the ponies in it are shit and so are we."

You're wrong, I thought suddenly hopeful.

"Oh come on! I give you ponies a chance and you turn away!" The leader roared walking over to snatch the rifle up, "I gave you two chances, and will not give a third you hear?! The lot of you will be in some slaver's death pin by tomorrow."

When no pony moved to take the gun the leader raised the rifle up towards me.

"Fine then, I'll kick off the show myself." I heard him growl.

Well, I didn't really want to die, and that feeling of hope was now deader than I was about to be, but I was suddenly feeling slightly better about making this my final resting place. At least this town still had a soul. A scared, shaking, slightly cowardly soul, but a soul nonetheless and that was more than the Blaster's had.

More than you do, I thought to myself thinking back to the stallion I had shot.The sudden bad taste in my mouth made me grit my teeth over the grenade harder.

The shot rang out and I tensed waiting for the fire to engulf me. I suddenly thought of Charlie saying how quick it was I had returned to the stable. I opened my eyes after a moment and surprisingly found myself still in one piece.

Did he miss?

After all that, this loser fucking missed!

The crowd however started looking around for answers and found it standing at the bridge. A small caravan stood just on the edge of the bridge, all of them with their weapons drawn. It was the lead mare's barrel smoking from the recently fired bullet that gave me and the crowd our answer. Our eyes traveled from the barrel to the leader who stood, shock clear on his face, his rifle still raised, pointing at me. A deep red stain dripped down from his neck onto his barding. In the next moment, he dropped. The moment after that, the Blasting Crew had readied their weapons aiming at the caravan. No one seemed to want to fire first.

Razzberry Dancer looked to her family in relief and saw the Ace wave from where he sat on a large bundle on the lead mare's back.

"Hey grandma! We gotsa lotta cool stuff for grandpa but we gotta take care of these guys first okay?" He called, waving at his grandma happily, seemingly unaware of the situation he's was in.

No, he's aware, he just think's that his family is invincible.

"Really? There are 15 of us and only 5 of you." Black Powder called out, "You won't be but a few wasted shells in a couple of seconds."

"Actually dear." Grandma Razzberry said walking over to the caravan. "I think you'll find that there's a lot more of us than you."

The look on the old mare's face made the Blasting Crew turn around to see some very determined townponies. The tension in the air was palpable. I could almost see the gears in the Blasting Crew's head turn as they did the math. I wasn't a genius but I could see that they were going to come out on the losing end.

They saw it too.

One by one the Blaster's dropped their weapons and bowed their heads to the will of Primrose. Soon the weapons were being taken by the town who began escorting them into the casino. I let out a sigh of relief and allowed my body to relax where I hung. A moment or two later and I saw the caravan and Grandma Razzberry step up to cut me down.

The lead mare of the caravan helped me down to my feet and stayed by my side when I wobbled. I leaned against her as Razzberry Dancer thanked me and apologized for the worry.

"These folk just needed ta be reminded where their hearts were." She explained as Ace bounded up to me after kicking one of the Blasting Crew in their rump.

I couldn't help but smile after I had spit out the slightly bloody grenade from my mouth.

"Hey missus! You found our town!" He said hugging my hooves.

I thanked the Goddesses that the other mare was there or I would have fallen.

"Your metal friends were so nice." He continued bouncing playfully in front of me telling me about the adventure he just had. Apparently, Charlie had been more than hospitable once given my security number.

My mind was elsewhere, I had seen movement behind the little colt. From the platform, I watched as the leader of the Blasting Crew twitched, then, like some sort of nightmare pulled an overly large pistol from a holster at his side. I could see the hole in his neck expand with his ragged breath, his teeth biting hard at the handle. He was aiming at me but I could see, even from this distance that his aim was off. He was focusing on my chest and he either, didn't register or didn't care about the colt bouncing up and down in front of me.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the dying leader pulled the trigger. As if I had accidentally hit S.A.T.S I watched as fire erupted in a puff around the gun's barrel, the hot steel bullet breaching into open air. Looking down at the colt, I saw every hair on his head shift and bounce with his hopping. He had no idea. The mare beside me did and I could see out of the corner of my eye the realization dawn on her that she was about to lose this little colt.

I stepped weakly towards the little one.

Just let me move him, I begged, please I'll even take the bullet instead.

That's when the sun seemed to return to Primrose, only this time, it was coming from my horn. The flash of light that erupted from it blinded me. For a long moment the only sound was the compressed bullet bouncing off of my shield and dropping down to the wooden platform beneath me with a soft thud. The colt smiled up at me in awe and I felt myself smile back before the light from my shield and my vision broke, throwing me into the dark shroud of unconsiousness.

"There is no nobility in sacrificing yourself for your country, your religion, or another pony." My mother had said, "But to sacrifice yourself for love. That's always worth it."

Fame Gained: Primmrose-Friendly. (Turns out nearly having your head blown off for a town comes with some perks.)
Infamy Gained: Blasting Crew-Villain. (You might as well shoot first before you get shot with these guys.)
LVL UP: Stubbornite Soul- When your health is below 20% you gain an additional 10 points to your Damage Threshhold.
Quest Perk Gain: A Mother's Love (Rank 1)- Your shield can withstand 20% more damage than most, (40% while protecting others).
You can read Fallout Equestria by Kkat on Equestria Daily
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/story-fallout-equestria.html

Chapter 4: Requesting Assistance

When I awoke there was only the sound of my breathing to keep me company. My body hurt and a strange pain enveloped my horn. It was somewhere between a muscle ache and an all-encompassing exhaustion. Opening my eyes to drink in the dark room around me, I blinked in confusion for a few moments trying to remember the events that lead up to my awakening.

In a rush, the past two days came back to me and I couldn't help but feeling a little grateful towards the brain that had, up until this point, been less than helpful. I closed my eyes for a moment and I sighed deeply before turning my head to look out of the window. It was night, that much was clear, the air had grown cool and I could hear the strange clicking noises of some nocturnal creature.

The wind blew in from the crack underneath the window and licked at my mane. It felt nice as it caressed my bloody and bandaged body.

The next time I opened my eyes it was morning and I had no recollection of having fallen asleep again. The door to my room was cracked and from the opening I saw the backside of a familiar mare.

"Well grandma Razz, you did everything you could." The lead mare of the caravan was saying, "Now it's up to her."

"She'll be alright," The sweet voice of Ace spoke up. "She has too."

I noticed that it was tainted somehow, sadder.

He had found out, I thought.

How could he not?

"I'm up!" I called my throat dry, my attempt at being chipper for the colt failing miserably.

The door opened as Razzberry Dancer and Ace stepped inside the room. Sure enough, the young one's eyes were red and puffy, but when he saw me he smiled just the same as he had the first day I met him. Trotting over to the ancient bed that I had awakened on, the young colt looked over at me and beamed.

"I told them you weren't dead!" He said, his voice cracking cutely, "I said that you just needed to sleep. I was right!"

"Yep, you sure were." The old mare said, smiling back at the colt before turning to me. "And look at ya now."

"Not dead." I said with a chuckle.

The laughter hurt my throat and the burn prompted a rather sudden and slightly familiar response.

"Could I get some water?"

Razzberry nodded and placed a hoof on the young one's rump pushing him back towards the door.

"Ace, now ya go over ta the Buffalo and git some water, purified ifin they's got it."

The young one looked put out a moment, then straightened and saluted the older mare.

"Yes'm. Be right back!" He said before running out of the room, the door swaying shut behind him.

An awkward silence settled over the two of us. I tried to think of something to say to break the ice but I was too thirsty, and still rather exhausted. Razzberry did it for me.

"Now I'm not all too good at thankin' folks but," She said smiling a weary exhausted smile, "Thank ya."

"No problem." I said trying to smile back, "I just wanted to help."

"And that's as rare a thing as finding a pure spring fer water around these parts." The elder said, "You ain't like most folks. Most folks woulda tuck tail and run at the first sign of trouble, but you stayed. Why?"

Her question wasn't accusatory or suspicious. It was like she was asking me why I liked snack cakes. My stomach growled at the thought and I mentally bucked myself.

Way to go, guess that's one more thing to make me uncomfortable.

Damn I'm hungry.

Shut up!

"I don't know," I answered honestly returning mentally to the conversation trying to ignore the now burning hunger, "I just wanted to help. Should there be more reason than that?"

"Yep." She said with a nod of her wrinkled old head, "Let me tell ya somethin'. In the wasteland it's every pony fer themselves. No pony does a thing for somepony else unless it helps them out in some way, you hear? Even this town, for example, the only reason why so many ponies decided to settle here was cause it's safer in numbers. So why then, did ya just walk out of the desert and risk yer life to save a group a ponies that ya never met?"

Again, I couldn't hear any accusation in her voice.

"I don't know." I said slightly aggravated at the continued questioning. "I did it because I didn't want to walk away without having done so. Besides, it was that caravan that actually did the saving. Without them, I would have been splattered all over the casino."

The mare looked at me for a long time, searching my eyes for a moment. Then she shook her head and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Well from tha way I heard it, it was you that helped them into that thar stable." She said, "They woulda had a hard time of it without you, and that woulda meant that less of 'em woulda come back."

A short pause followed as our minds conjoured up images best left unspoken.

Bloody, brutal images of slavery, death or worse....

BEST. LEFT. UNSPOKEN!

"So tha way that I look at it," She finished, "Is that we have you to thank as much as them, even before ya did what ya did with that fine shield of yours."

I thought back to the bright flash of light and the crumpled bullet.

"Never did anything like that before." I muttered rubbing my horn which still hurt quite a bit.

"Glad ya did. We woulda been lost without Ace. He's kept this town together more than the caravan's do." She chuckled, smiling.

A long moment of silence stretched out between the two of us as I thought of the bouncing colt, beaming at me, completely unaware of his impending death. I frowned.

"He found out about Mint?" I asked recalling the name from Grandma Razzberry's speech.

"Eyup." She said with a nod. "Couldn't hide it forever. We had ta bury him yesterday."

"Yesterday?" I asked, "How long have I been out."

"Two days." She answered shortly.

Again the room filled with silence, then:

"Noticed ya don't have a cutie mark." She said looking up at the ceiling.

I winced, something told me that you didn't just ask a fully grown mare why they didn't have a cutie mark.

But she didn't ask did she? She had stated it just like it was, a fact.

"Yeah." I said looking at my flank. "Ever heard of a grown ass mare without one?"

"Nope." She said, still staring up at the ceiling. "Where'd ya come from Dawn?"

For some reason this question took me more by surprise than the question about my cutie mark. I guessed because I knew I'd have to lie.

Well that's what the flying robot had said anyway right?

"I wouldn't tell anyone that you came from Stable 40?"

Looking at the mare who sat a few feet from me staring up at the ceiling, I argued with myself for a moment, before sighing.

"Stable 40 I guess." I answered, searching her face for...what? Hostility? Fear?

I received neither of these, her face was unchanged by the information.

"You guess?" She asked, turning to look at me.

"Well, that's where I woke up two days ago." I confessed, "I don't remember anything before that. Well, I do, but it only comes to me in snippits."

"Hm." She grunted looking away again, "Wouldn't be tellin' folks that."

I wondered what was so terrible about Stable 40 that I 'shouldn't 'be tellin' folks that', so I asked.

"Welp, first and foremost it was a nest for raiders." She said, "course that was before Rain and Berry killed every pony in it, cept you."

Great, answer one question and get two more. My body already hurt but I could imagine that the headache waiting for me in my near future would make the pain everywhere else pale in comparison.

"What's a raider?" I asked what I assumed the simplest question to be first.

"What's a raider?" She echoed with a nasty laugh that didn't fit the kind old mare at all, "A raider is what's left once I pony gives up on trying to be any sort of decent. They steal, kill and do far worse. They try to make this wasteland that much closer to hell just to make their own existences feel one bit better. Only it doesn't though, so they resort to chem's to make 'em feel somethin' until they go completely off their rocker. They're the reason that my daughter, Ace's and Deuce's mother, and her husband are dead."

Looking at the mare I barely felt the bit of confusion at the unfamiliar name, Deuce, over the rage that the image of these 'Raider's' brought up in my mind. I wanted to hurt them, I wanted to hurt them bad. They all deserved to die and suffer and---

"Dawn!" The mare said snapping me out of the spiral of rage I was following, "Ya alright there girl? Yer face just went inta a whirlwind of pissed off I aint seen on ya."

Blinking, I felt the rage disappear just as quickly as it had come.

"Uh....sure. Sorry," I said, then, when she didn't look convinced, "I just really don't like the sound of these raider ponies. Who was that pony that you mentioned, Deuce?"

Razzberry regarded me a moment longer before untensing and answering.

"She's the lead of the caravan."

My mind conjured up the blue mare with the white mane. For some reason that name fit her perfectly.

"I gotta thank her once I get up." I said deciding now was a good enough time to try. "Suppose I should go ahead and try."

Pulling myself up to a sitting position, I winced and wobbled before leaning back against the wall.

"We didn't have a healing potion fer ya. Tha Blaster's cleaned us out shooting at each other for sport. So we just gave ya some whiskey ta keep ya warm and kept your wounds clean so's ya wouldn't get infected." She said gesturing to the empty whiskey bottle sitting on the bedside table.

"Thank you Razzberry." I said looking back to her. "Really."

"It's nothin," She said, getting off the bed and walking towards the door. "Beside's it's Deuce ya really should thank, she was tha one that saved yer bacon."

Bacon? I wondered as she stepped out of the room, giving me the time to gather myself.

My saddlebags sat on the floor nearest to me and, after a few moments of trying to put them on, I finally succeeded. The extra weight made it hard to walk but eventually I was able to step out of the bedroom and into the familiar front room of the post office.

The lead mare, Deuce looked up at me and shook her head.

"Well, you look like shit." She said with a smirk.

I liked her.

"Feel like it too." I said with a nod, walking across the room to sit on the couch.

"So what are you going to do now." She asked an eyebrow raised.

"Hopefully get a drink." I answered honestly.

Just then, like an answer to my prayer, the door opened and Ace trotted into the room, smiling wide. Two water bottles sat slung around his back, connected by a thin black cord. He smiled as he walked over to me and tossed the drinks onto the couch beside me.

"Sorry it took me so long missus." He said, "They tried to make me pay but when I told them it was for the savior of Primrose they didn't have much left to say."

"I'm not a savior Ace." I said grabbing one bottle greedily. "You saved me remember."

"Yeah but we wouldn't have made it through that stable without ya." Deuce spoke up mirroring her grandmother in logic. "We couldn't have saved ya without ya having saved us. That was some high tech security. I can't believe I thought we could handle it."

A dark cloud passed over the mare's face for a moment before she looked away.

Drinking from the bottle, I found the slightly cool water to be more than refreshing, it was revitalizing. I sat back and let the wonderful liquid work it's magic.

"So Deuce, your caravan find anything good?" I asked after a moment.

"Sure did." She replied, "Ton of chems. Normally I don't like selling 'em but I figure that Primrose is going to need the influx of caps. Especially after all this."

"Left over from the previous owner's I 'spect." Razzberry said with a nod looking over at me with a strange look.

"Yep," Deuce grunted with a nod, "oh well, at least they're now going to a good cause."

"Them DJ's up in that thar strip have already heard of the good ya done." Razzberry said nodding to me, "I spect a caravan or two to be comin' through here in tha next couple of day's or so."

"Chalked full of all sorts of goodies!" Ace said beaming.

I looked at the little one for a long moment and couldn't help but smiling.

Damn, this little colt just won't go down will he?

Nope. I want to be like him when I grow up.

"Well, I think I'm going to take a walk around outside for a bit. I hurt like hell and it's not going to do me any good just sitting around all day." I said, putting the rest of my water back in my saddlebags.

I stood up with a wince and started walking towards the door when Duece stopped me.

"Mind if I come with ya?" She asked, the look on her face was an enigma, it was like she wasn't asking a question. She was telling me that she was coming with me but she still needed my approval.

"Yeah....uh....sure." I said with a nod stepping out of the post office with Duece in tow.

"Where you headed?" She asked as we walked down the streets of Primrose where the townsponies already looked much happier, and much more well armed.

"Don't know," I answered simply before getting an idea, "Where's Mint buried?"

Deuce nodded towards the mountain behind the roller-coaster and, from where I stood I could barely make out a small path cutting up it's side.

"There." She said pointing a hoof at the top, "Think ya can trot it?"

"One way to find out." I said heading towards the path.

The journey there was a long one, in my condition I kept having to take breaks as I climbed, but finally I was there. A water tower had been erected her some years back and had since rusted and crumpled in on itself. In the plateau around the steel legs of the long forgotten thing sat a small graveyard. A large mound sat some ways off towards the edge, the dirt having freshly been dug.

I stepped over to the gravesite, my breathing ragged. I tried to imagine the stallion below the earth but it was impossible. I had never met him, so instead I chose to imagine an older Ace, roughly Grandma Razzberry's age. It fit so I stuck with it.

"Thanks." I said finally, after having stood there awkwardly trying to think of something to say for several minutes, "You kinda saved my ass back there."

"How'd ya figure?" Deuce asked with a chuckle stepping up beside me, "I put the bullet in his throat."

"Yeah yeah," I said smiling at the mare, thankful for her pulling me out of the one sided conversation. "But without him the townsponies wouldn't have realized that they were still good ponies."

"Yeah," Deuce said touching the gravemarker which was little more than two sticks bound together. "Grandpa was always like that. I think that's where Ace get's it from."

I nodded and for a few moments we sat in silence. I stared out at the long expanse on the other side of the mountain. In the distance I could see the ruins of some great city, a tall spire jutting up from the ground and raking into the sky.

"But I still saved your ass and you're going to repay me right?" Deuce said out of no where breaking me out of my reverie. "That's what ya good Samaritans do right?"

Blinking at the mare I suddenly felt really uncomfortable.

What the hell did she want all of a sudden?

"Uh....maybe. Depends on what it is." I said taking a step back.

"I'm coming with ya." The mare with the stark white mane said, and even though I didn't quite understand I was beginning to see that there was no room for argument.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"I'm coming with ya when ya leave Primrose and if ya leave without me I'll come find ya and shoot your ass." She said with a tone of finality turning to leave, "So tell me when you're leaving."

With that, the mare walked away leaving me feeling stupid.

She was coming with me and....what?

Wait why!?

Looking after the mare I opened my mouth to call her back but closed it as she disappeared beneath the lip of the plateau. I doubted it would have done any good to call her back. She didn't tell me so I could agree or disagree, she told me as a warning not to leave without her.

"Making friends I see." A familiar tinny voice chimed from the small flying robot as it appeared over the rim of the cliff, nearest Mint's grave.

Despite it's familiarity I still almost screamed. The shock to my system made me wince and have to sit down.

"Damn it robot!" I growled, rubbing my rump. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Yeah, I suppose you would hurt after nearly killing yourself saving a town like that." The voice said as the robot bobbed closer.

It was nearly impossible to tell due to the inflection-less nature in which the robot spoke, but I could almost swear that he was smiling.

"I nearly died and the town saved me." I grumbled with a sigh.

"That's not the way I heard it." The robot said regarding me, after a moment, "I've decided."

"You've decided what?" I asked dryly, still aggravated at this robot for scaring me so badly.

"You're not a raider." He said making me frown.

"You thought I was a raider?" I asked grimacing at the image the word conjured up.

"You did come from Stable 40." He mused, "But I suppose I was wrong. Raider's don't save ponies do they, they kill them."

"And where did you come from oh wise annoying flybot?" I asked rolling my eyes.

"Far away." He answered cryptically, "And my name is Watcher."

"Huh? Watcher? Why's that?" I asked a new curiosity pushing back my aggravation for a moment.

"Because I watch." He said infuriatingly. "Now look, I'm running out of time. You said that you're looking for your other friends right?"

"Yes." I said warily, getting an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"I've done some looking around and two ponies were seen leaving Primrose. One went east heading towards the last NCR outpost on the way out of the LasPegasus wasteland, and the other went north heading towards a town called RedLight. If I was you I'd hurry. A lone pony is a dead pony traveling to the Canterlot Wasteland alone, so anypony leaving LasPegasus goes with a caravan and those are few and far between." He droned a moment before pausing, "Listen, if you really are a good pony you'll need your friends. Also, if you plan on getting shot up, which is more than common in the wasteland, you're going to need some armored barding and a gun."

"I've got a gun, but I'm terrible with it." I interrupted feeling another migraine coming on.

"Then grab a sledgehammer and hope you can get to the gun wielding psycho before he kills you." The robot named Watcher said and laughed, which was a rather strange sound that grated against my ears uncomfortably. "But I've got to go, good luck and one more thing, stay away from the Cloudsdale river."

Then, annoyingly, he simply started blaring the obnoxious music again and floated away as if he had never noticed me. I really hated that music and I really hated the fact that he couldn't have stayed another two minutes to explain why I should stay away from this Cloudsdale river. With a growl I picked myself up and dragged myself back into town. By the time I crossed into town under the roller coaster it was already midday and the sun was baking me alive.

As I walked back to the post office I caught the eyes of several ponies. Most smiled apologetically and looked ashamed, I tried to give them my best reassuring smile. They were good ponies.

Here's hoping I am too.

Reaching the post office I noticed a familiar group of ponies leaving the front door. The caravan that had saved my life was leaving and, upon seeing me they started snickering.

"Hey Savior." One said smiling wide as he walked up to me and clopped me around the shoulders with his hoof. "Good luck girly, you're going to need it. That bandit Boulder ain't nothin' compared to what you're going to have to deal with."

"Yeah, but just don't ask her about her hair and you should be alright." Another said grinning just as wide.

Then they were off, laughing as they walked down the street, looking back at me only to howl with laughter again. For some reason I was blushing and for some reason that pissed me off. Why did everyone I spoke with have to be so mysterious. Couldn't ponies and robots just say what they meant. Pushing open the door I stepped inside and turned my attention to Razzberry and Deuce who were sitting on the couch discussing something. What this something was I had no idea because, upon my arrival, they shut up. The elder smiled at me while Deuce simply looked elsewhere.

"What the hell were they so happy about?" I asked jerking my head towards the door.

"Well I spose they think it the funniest thing that there leader is going to ride second saddle to some drifter." The elder answered causing Deuce to glare at her.

"I ain't going to ride second to no pony Gran." The mare said, "It's just right that's all."

"Excuse me? This has something to do with me right so....yeah." I grumbled, "And what did you mean you're coming with me?"

"Are you just that thick?" Deuce snapped back rolling her eyes and standing up. "I'm going with ya until I save your life alright?"

"Oh yeah," I groaned sarcastically, "Because that makes a whole hell of a lot of sense."

"Well tha way I figure it," Razzberry spoke up after a snickering fit, "Deuce here thinks that Ace owe's ya his life since ya saved it and all, but she ain't about to let Ace go with ya so she's taking his place."

And I reiterate, what?

"Well that's fucking stupid." I said looking to the lead mare.

In a flash she was in my face a hoof pressed against my chest hard enough that I would have winced if I wasn't feeling threatened all of the sudden.

"Listen drifter!" She snapped angrily. "I don't give a fuck what ya think alright? I just know what's right in my eyes and if ya don't want me then just fucking say it. But I ain't gonna feel right until I've saved your ass like you saved my brother."

"Deuce," I groaned taking a step back, "did you forget that you saved me to begin with?"

"That was for standing up for my town." She said stomping her hoof. "So the way I figure it I still owe you."

With a sigh I looked to the old mare for help but found only a proud grin plastered on her face. Growling a moment I rubbed my muzzle and closed my eyes.

"Fine," I said, "If you feel like you got to then..."

"I do." She interrupted harshly.

"Then get ready because we're leaving. Now." I snapped aggravated at this pushy pony.

"Now?" I could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Yes, like the moment after the one that just passed but the one before the moment that comes next." I said dryly walking passed her to Razzberry. "Thank you for everything. I have to catch up to Berry and Rain."

"You hero's always come in three's don'tcha?" She said with a smile standing up to hug me. "You know you ain't in no condition ta be journeying."

"I gotta know who I am Razzberry." I admitted hugging the old mare back. "Rain and Berry know, and one of them is going to the NCR outpost nearby. I gotta catch up with them before they leave."

I realized that I wasn't quite sure what the NCR meant but that's what Watcher had said. My pipbuck's map even populated a location at the mention of it, so maybe it was common knowledge.

"Well alright then," The elder said pulling away from me and walking back to the cabinet leaning against the opposite wall. "Then ya should take this."

The leather barding that she returned to me was familiar alright, it even still had some of my dried blood on it.

"I did a little patchwork ta it. Should fit a bit better." She said helping me put it on. "And Deuce don't ya worry about tha little one. I won't let him go out anywhere too dangerous."

Deuce, who had been scowling since our spat, softened slightly at the mention of her brother. She walked up to her grandmother and hugged her gently.

"Thank's Gran." She said, "Sure you can make him understand?"

"Eyup. Reckon I can." The old mare said, "But I'd suggest you go ahead and git ifin you're going. He'd probably try and tie himself to yer leg if he saw ya tryin to sneak off."

"She'll be back as soon as she saves my ass once." I said making the lead mare glare at me.

I could tell that she really didn't like to be ordered around but this was an order she wanted to obey.

Let's piss her off.

Yep.

"Which may be me saving her ass from myself." Deuce growled pushing past me and out the front door.

"Do try and not be too hard on her." Razzberry said as I followed. "She's had a pretty hard life for someone so young."

I told Razzberry that I would do my best and stepped outside. As I did, I thought at first that she had left. After a moment of looking around I saw her standing at the fork in the road that lead into Primrose, glaring back at me. Walking as quickly as I could, I reached her and with a snort she turned and took the road leading beneath the bridge.

"Hey, sorry about being an ass." I said after a few moments of silently trailing behind her as we left the town.

"You are who you are." She said stiffly.

I remembered that I had once thought I liked this mare. I didn't know if it was the pain or her attitude but I was quickly changing my mind.

We walked in silence for what seemed like an hour when she stopped.

"We won't make it before next year if you don't pick up the pace." She said.

Yeah, she was pissing me off again.

"Would you like to carry me? No? Then shut the fuck up. I'm trying here okay?" I growled forcing myself to move a little faster.

My joints felt like the cartilage had been replaced with glass but I noticed that the sun on the other side of the cloud cover was heading down the sky. I wondered a moment if the clouds ever went away.

"Look if ya want to make it to the outpost before night you're going to have to either magically produce a healing potion out of your ass or suck it up and kick it into high gear." She said flippantly.

"Well excuse the fuck out of me." I said rounding on her forgetting about the clouds.

At my best I may have been a threat but now, wearing the clothes that still had more of my blood on them than anything, I knew that I must have looked pitiful.

"I apologize for getting my shit kicked in while you were playing in a stable," I growled, "Which, I may add, you wouldn't have been able to do if it wasn't for me."

This shut her up and I felt a little better as we continued to trudge forward in silence.

"Making friend's everywhere you go eh D?" He had said nuzzling my neck.

I had smiled then and nuzzled him back taking in his scent. It was a deep rich scent even through the blood, and made my mane stand up. He was cut deeply but alive, and he was mine.

"You know it." I had said kissing him gently.

"Okay, ya shut me up and then stop after taking ten steps." Deuce said breaking me out of the memory. "How the hell am I not supposed to be a bitch to ya when ya are asking for it so hard?"

Blinking I took in my surroundings and tried to reassert myself into the present. It was difficult though, I really liked that memory despite the gore.

"W-what?" I asked looking ahead, "Yeah, sorry."

"You're weird. Ya know that right?" Deuce asked.

"Yep." I said breathless now from more than the walking.

"Stop!" The mare said suddenly pushing me down to the road.

"What the fuck!" I yelped, "You were just saying!"

"Shut it!" She snapped pulling out her pistol.

This close I could see that her gun was a beautiful one, it's bit was made out of red wood and the barrel had two roses entwined around it. I imagined the irony of the last thing somepony saw was something as beautiful as that.

Following the mare's line of sight I traced it to a small building sitting some twenty feet away beside the road. A large sun faded billboard stood at it's side advertising some sort of mechanical doll that time had forgot. I could see several large metal carrages sitting out front, one of which had a pony shaped figure sitting in the back of it.

Crawling on her stomach Deuce moved into the ditch, me crawling close behind. Half-way hidden by a large dead shrub and the natural dip of the ditch we peered up over the edge and tried to get a bead on the unknown. Looking at my E.F.S I mentally grumbled at the computer's lack of range. While it wasn't a perfect judge of character I'd like to know if this pony was hostile or not before approaching.

"Okay," Deuce whispered having spit her pistol into her hoof. "I got a plan. Ya walk up to him and if he tries to shoot ya then I'll kill him and win win all around."

I blanched.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked incrediously glancing back at the pony. "How about this, you lick my plot and like it?"

This mare seemed so different from the mare that I had seen three days ago. She was still strong and more than capable but she seemed much more afraid than when she had stepped away from her group to speak with me on the way to the Stable. I thought about it a moment and realized that I knew exactly why but couldn't put my hoof on it.

"You two can stop your hiding now." A voice called from near the building, snapping me back into focus. "That is unless you're going to cause trouble. In which case I'll put you down right now."

With a sigh I popped my head up and looked at the figure of the pony sitting in the carrage.

"Well that ain't much of a choice now is it?" I called back standing up.

"Are ya nuts?!" Deuce snapped glaring up at me from where she lay.

"She know's we're here. Might as well go say hi," I said lamely with a smile that I knew was less than reassuring.

"Sure might as fucking well." The mare grumbled, echoing my thoughts, pulling herself up to her hooves.

The short walk to the building was more than tense. Duece refused to holster her pistol and the closer we got, the more we realized that something wasn't right. The pony sitting in the carrage wasn't moving. It was little more than an overly large doll stuffed with old hay, propped up in the shadow of the carrage to look like it was a pony just relaxing from the heat. It was a decoy.

"You two from Primrose?" The voice asked and my ears honed in on it this time.

It was a younger voice, not a filly but not quite an adult and it was coming from the roof of said building.

"Yeah." I said looking to Deuce to see if she had figured out as much as I had.

From the look on her face she had.

"You Blaster's?" The voice asked.

"Nope." I replied, "They're still captured in Primrose. You a Blaster?"

"Nope." The voice answered. "Who are you?"

I didn't know if I should answer honestly but I did know that I couldn't come up with a convincing lie quick enough.

"Name's Dawn." I answered, "My friend here is Deuce."

I could almost hear the sarcastic 'thanks' coming directly from Deuce's brain.

"Dawn huh?" The voice said sounding slightly surprised. "You the one who kicked them out huh?"

"Something like that." I answered.

After a moment I heard something shift on the roof and a moment later I saw a strange head poke out over the edge. This thing wore a brown helmet on top of a head covered in white speckled feathers.

"One of our first leader's was a griffon." My mother had said with a smile. "He was a strong but compassionate one. He found us our home."

Looking at the griffon I noticed two things, one, she had the letter's N.C.R printed in white on a band around her helmet and two, she had the largest gun I had ever seen clutched in her talons. With a flap of her wings she jumped from the roof to the top of the carriage we were nearest and peered down at us curiously.

"You don't look like much." She said after a moment of sizing us up, then, with a smirk. "Course I don't either." With that gun, I'd beg to differ, "Name's Ghost. Nice to meet you drifter."

A few minutes later we were sitting inside the building which I was told by the NCR soldier was a refilling station for the carriages outside. Well it had been two hundred years ago when the carriages still flew.

"So I was set up here to make sure that the escaping Blaster's weren't going to head up to outpost Last Stop to cause any trouble." The griffon was saying as Deuce wiped down and cleaned her pistol.

"Are we far?" I asked looking down at my pipbuck to check the map.

"Naw, just up the hill between the two mountains." Ghost said jerking a talon towards the pass that we had been heading towards through a small window at the back of the rest stop.

"Great." I grumbled, "Hills."

The 'hill' that Ghost was pointing to was less of a hill and more of an incredibly steep slope arching upwards to peak almost half way up two mountains.

"They used to be called The Twin Peaks but now they're just known as The Last Stop." Ghost explained. "One way or another, if you're coming from The Canterlot Wasteland they're your last stop before you're in the Las Pegasus wasteland and from the other direction..."

"Yeah, we get it." Deuce said holstering her pistol while pointing to me with a hoof. "I don't think she's going to be able to make it up that before next year."

"Yeah, getting blown up will do that to ya." I shot back. "And I can fucking make it alright? I just need a little rest."

"Aw, you two having a bit of a lover's spat?" Ghost said snickering. "Just leave before you get to business, I don't want to see any of that. You ponies are some strange fucker's you know that?"

"Hey fuck you birdbrain." Deuce snapped looking at the rifle now slung across her back. "What you packing anyway?"

I mentally thanked her for the change in subject.

"Sniper Rifle from Canterlot." She said proudly, setting the gun on the table between us. "Standard issue of a sniper in the N.C.R."

"Looks like it can cause a hell of a lot of hurt. Wouldn't happen to have anything to help with said hurt would ya?" Deuce asked.

"Yeah I got some med supplies. Just the basic's. Why you wanting to know?" The griffon said, her smile dropping slightly.

I could see her talon twitch half an inch towards the strange handle of her gun.

"Well, I seem to have some extra caps on hand and this one needs to move a little quicker than not at all." The caravaneer said reaching in her saddlebag to pull out a small leather bag.

"Sorry, I only accept N.C.R currency." Ghost said immediately shutting the trader down, then she smiled. "I could sell you some though."

Less than thirty minute's later we were waving goodbye to Ghost. We were down a couple of hundred caps but I couldn't say it wasn't worth it. The minor restoration potion the griffon had let us have for 20 of the NCR's currency was amazing. From the time the slightly sweet liquid hit my tongue it felt like my entire body had just received a jump start. Looking up the 'hill' I suddenly felt a lot better about tackling it.

"Ya sure took to that healing potion quickly. Normally it takes a bit more of it than a small to get a pony that had been through as much as ya have up and running." Deuce said as we started our assent.

"Maybe the NCR has some better shit than you're used to?" I wondered aloud smiling at the fact that I could now keep up with her without straining.

"Humph." She grunted shaking her head and speeding up slightly.

I frowned at the mare and picked up pace to.

"Hey Deuce, what happened to you?" I asked making her glare at me. "I mean, when we first met you seemed....uh....well nicer...no offence."

"Yeah? Did I?" She asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes before dead panning, "Couldn't be that I now have to follow your ass around this piece of shit wasteland until I save your life."

"I didn't ask you to." I said, sighing and pushing my mane out of my face.

The mare stayed quiet a moment before sighing as well.

"It's tha right thing to do Deuce, you repay kindness in kind ya hear?" She said as if reciting a scripture she had long before memorized.

I remembered Ace saying something similar and looked up at the mare quizzically.

"It was the last thing our dad said to us before raider's killed 'im." She answered and I could hear old heartache in her voice.

Thinking back I tried to remember my father and pulled a blank.

"Sorry I guess." I said lamely, "At least you knew them though. That's a plus."

"Ponies you don't remember can't hurt you." She said obviously not taking any comfort from my clumsy attempt at comforting.

"Well, I must be the most invincible pony in this wasteland." I chuckled darkly after a moment, "I can't remember shit."

The rest of the walk was hoofed in silence, the old broken down carriages around us picked clean of any useful parts years ago. For some reason they reminded me of my own mind, nothing of use, just old scars on the land. Shaking my head I picked up my pace and made it past the last of the piles of scrap.A large fence stretched across the road connecting the two peaks.

Two ponies stood on either side of a rusted gate, two large guns strapped to a leather holster on their back. I could see the bits in their mouths connected to said weapons of major hurt.

Deuce whistled upon seeing them. I nodded mirroring the sentiment.

"Battle Saddles." She mused as the ponies snapped to attention.

"Battle what?" I asked, understanding as I did so. "Huh, neat."

"Hello Wastelander's. Welcome to the Last Stop. State your purpose please." The NCR pony to the right said, his elder companion eyeing us suspiciously.

"Looking for somepony." I said nodding to the two. "Blue mare, short hair, kinda cut like yours. Goes by Rain."

The look the two gave each other made my stomach twist with dread.

"Uh....Rain isn't taking visitor's at the moment." The younger pony, not wholly intent on keeping his mouth on his trigger said obviously uncomfortable.

"Please, it's important!" I said immediately, afraid I was going to lose my only opportunity. "Tell her Dawn's here! She'll want to see me."

"Dawn?" The soldier asked shocked.

"Dawn's dead." The other finally spoke up, anger clear in his voice. "And you're about to be too if you don't turn around and leave. Rain's been through too much to have some Wastelander bringing up painful memories."

"No, please, listen to me." I said halfway begging halfway ordering. "I know she think's I'm dead but I'm not, okay? I'm right here!"

"Dawn, hold on a second." Deuce piped up, placing a hoof on my shoulder and turning to the two soldiers. "I'm certain we can come to some sort of agreement right? There's got to be some way that we can prove that she's who she says she is."

"Well...." The kinder soldier began.

"No Tinderhoof." The older stallion snapped, "Just cause Rain's out of commission doesn't mean we're going to send some delusional wastelander to their death. If they want to die then we can just shoot em them here, save them the walk."

"That ain't our way and you know it Bedrock." Tinderhoof said, his gaze locking with the other for a moment before he looked away shaking his head. "You say you're Dawn? Well alright then. I ain't never seen her personally but I've heard that she's just as good a pony as our ex-commander Rain, maybe even better. Hell, she even took the fight to Kaiser's legion several times."

"Who's Kais-" I started asking before Deuce stomped hard on my hoof making me yelp.

The suspicious look from the soldier's prompted me.

"How can I help?" I asked instead, mentally glaring dagger's at my pushy comrade.

"A town nearby, RedLight, hasn't come to trade with us in a while. Normally we'd send someone to go check but smoke's been seen coming up off the town and we ain't too keen on sending one of our own to die. This is where you two come in." The soldier, Tinderhoof, explained. "You go to the town hall of RedLight and find out what's going on and we'll let you in to see Rain. That's it. You don't have to kill nopony, you don't have to fight, just a little scouting."

I had been waiting for a hammer to fall on my horn but instead it was just a simple request that amounted to nothing more than a little walking. Also, I remembered that name, RedLight, that was where Berry was heading! I couldn't help but smile, jackpot.

"Deal." I said immediately, Deuce glared at me a moment before sighing and turning to the soldiers.

"You wouldn't happen to have any supplies would ya? Ya know, for scouts." She asked.

"We do, for NCR scouts. Which you ain't." Bedrock spoke up. "You're just some hired help."

Deuce just glared at the soldier. I clapped her on the shoulder and turned her to face away obviously feeling better about this than she was.

"Come on Deuce! This is easy. It's just some walking." I whispered.

"Just some walking?" She asked grabbing my pipbuck, "Let me see this thing!"

After a few moment's of fumbling she found my map screen and scrolled north a little ways which must have been several miles before setting a way-point.

"That's where we're going. And on the way there's FireAnt's and RadScorpions! Does it seem so easy now idiot?!" She snapped poking me in the chest.

"Well then it's a good thing that you have to save my life to get out of this stupid debt you think you owe me." I shot back pushing her hoof away before turning to the soldiers. "Thank you sirs, we'll be back before you know it."

The two stallion's looked incredulous at best but I ignored it and pushed Deuce back down the road darkening road a little ways before she begrudgingly started walking.

"So who's Kaiser's Legion?" I asked making sure we were out of earshot of the soldier's.

"Really?" She asked rolling her eyes, "No. I ain't gonna answer another one of your stupid questions before you answer one of mine."

I sensed that this had been welling up for quite a while now, I also could almost bet that I knew what the question was.

"Who the fuck are ya? And why in the hell don't ya know nothin'?" I would have been offended if it wasn't true. "I mean ya show up out of nowhere with the key to a stable and give it away as generously as ya please. You then step into my town and save everypony without asking a single thing but a drink of water for yerself, and now yer running off across the desert chasing some random pony because ya say she know's ya. What the hell's tha matter with ya?"

With a sigh I shook my head and stopped.

"Look Deuce," I began, "I woke up in that Stable and have no idea of who I am. My memories keep playing hide and seek with me and the only ponies that may be able to help me are these 'random' one's. If you had everything taken from you, wouldn't you want it back? Or at least wouldn't you want to find out who took it from you?"

A hot arid wind blew down from the pass behind us pushing my mane into my face. Shaking my head I shrugged at the mare.

"That's all I got." I said pushing my mane over to one side and grabbed my googles from my saddlebags and slipped them on to keep my mane out of my face.

Deuce regarded me a moment before speaking.

"I know a place we can make camp. It's a filling station, like Ghost's, just a little farther this way but it should provide at least some shelter from the bugs. It's a long hike though." She said and I let out a breath I hadn't known that I was holding.

"Really?" I asked, my brain hurting at the speedy change in topic.

"Yes, really." She replied and I knew that she was talking about the shelter being a good shelter from the bugs and not 'yes really I just changed the subject without giving it any closure', and for some reason that pissed me off more than the change in topic itself.

Muffling a scream I stomped my hoof at the mare that was now moving on.

"Oh, and ya probably don't want to be making too much noise this close to dark." She called back making me cut my tantrum short.

Chapter 5: A Teaching Moment

We reached the waystation a little before dark and made camp. The building had all but fallen down, leaving only two walls standing in a corner. Bricks littered the area, many halfway consumed by the shifting sands. Deuce decided that the corner where the walls met was the most defensible spot and so she began making camp. I found that it was awesome watching Deuce work. She was an expert and it showed that she had set up and taken down camps all of her life. Once she began making the fire however, she slowed and then, with a grunt of aggravation, stopped.

"Wouldn't happen to have a spark spell in that horn of yours would ya?" She asked throwing the small pieces of flint and steel down at our hooves.

"Sorry, I might as well be one of you earth ponies with how much magic I got in me." I answered tapping my horn. "All I can make is a shield and I'm not even completely sure on how to do that."

"You're kiddin' right?" She asked looking at me in confusion. "With a shield like that?"

"What? Lot's of unicorns can make shields right?" I asked, her confusion sparking my own.

"Yep but not like that'un." She said with a nod of her head, "Shield's around these parts are really only good for small caliber's directly, and they don't last long even at that. When it comes to a large caliber you better hope it's a glancin' shot. That pistol Boulder was packing was a .44. Nothing to sneeze at."

I shrugged walking over to the fire-to-be and picking up the flint and steel.

"Besides a shield aint fire. Show me."

A few moments later the fire sparked to life. I couldn't figure it out but Duece finally got it up and burning. She tucked the fire making tools into her barding and started shrugging it off. In the flickering light I saw that her cutie mark was a single playing card with a two at it's top left and bottom right corner. The suite was of diamonds.

"So you are a filly fondler eh?" Duece asked catching my eye before sitting down pointedly. "Sorry, I don't go that way."

I flushed and shook my head.

"Nope, nothing like that." I started explaining, "I was trying to see your cutie mark."

"Mhm." She said unconvinced.

"Least I think I'm not." I said with a chuckle turning my gaze skyward. "Can't remember much but I think there was a stallion in my past."

"Oh yeah? Thought ya couldn't remember anything." She said, and something in her tone made me think that she thought she'd caught me lying.

"They come to me in pieces..." I said sighing suddenly aggravated at her and my own brain. The fire in front of me flickered fighting off the chill of the oncoming night.

"Must be frustrating." She said wistfully and I forgot my indignation.

"It is." I replied starting to take off my barding.

"What do ya think you're doing?" She asked suddenly. "Ya keep your armor on girl. You're taking first watch."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked halfway out of the leather clothing.

"That means that I'm going to sleep and you're going to make sure that nothing comes to try and nibble at us while we sleep, dumbass." She explained laying down by the fire. "Get to it then."

"Hey, wait a minute! Why do I get first shift?" I asked, tired after the day of hiking.

The only thing I got in response was a very loud, very fake, snore.

Rolling my eyes I shrugged back on my armor and sat up against the crumbling wall looking out over the desert that seemed to be bedding down for the night. Opening my saddlebags I took stock. I still had an apple left and a bottle of water. There was also my box of bullets for the 9mm but I was less than eager to use the weapon. I knew it would be necessary but something about a gun just seemed wrong.

If you're going to kill somepony you might as well do it with your own hooves.

I blinked at the thought suddenly feeling slightly sick with myself. I hated to admit it but the thought of snapping someponies neck felt better than putting a bullet in their head. My mind went back to the Blaster that I had executed. Shivering from more than the encroaching cold, I tried to force the thoughts from my mind and return my attention to the duty of watching the wastes.

Nothing moved except when the night breeze disturbed the small dry shrubs that littered the landscape. I started stacking up bricks by the wall out of boredom. I had three stacks of twelve when I heard it. It was the sound of gunshots and screaming. It only lasted a moment before the desert returned to silence but I had locked in on the direction by then.

I looked towards the noise and stood up walking around to the back of the wall and saw something that chilled my bones. A town sat on fire some hundred feet away.

How did we miss this?

I turned to Deuce but she was still sleeping soundly.

Great, just fucking great.

"Hey Deuce?" I called only receiving a light snore as a reply.

I shook my head and decided I might as well get some scouting done. This way we could simply leave in the morning instead of having to waste even more time. I wanted to speak to Rain and the longer it took the more I felt like it wasn't going to happen. I stepped away from camp and stayed low. I didn't know if anypony was around but it I didn't want to take the chance. Walking towards the brightening light coming from the town on fire, I saw buildings caving in on each other and crumpling under the flames. The road beneath my hooves was hot, as if the fire was taking the cool from the night, consuming it. Looking up I saw ponies hanging from street posts, their bodies in different stages of decomposition and smelled even worse than the thick black smoke that curled through the air.

"RedLight." I heard Deuce say from beside me and when I looked, there she stood sleepy eyed. "Kaiser's legion alright."

I was surprised that she wasn't angry at me for leaving but I couldn't say I didn't feel grateful for her presence. Shivering I forced myself to turn and take in the town. A four way stop sat in the road not too far away, a large building sitting on the opposite end, what I assumed to be town hall. The right leg of the intersection curved around through the town and out back into the waste's heading north. The left leg merely stopped at a small general goods store labeled, 'Whiley's'.

The flames were growing higher around us almost blindingly so, I turned to head back but saw Deuce step forward into the growing light.

"Well come on." She muttered darkly, "Let's get this over with."

"Deuce, don't you think we should wait, until morning or at least until the fire dies down?" I asked a deeply uncomfortable feeling sitting in my stomach.

"We're already here. The quicker we get in the quicker we can leave." She mirroring my previous thoughts about coming her alone before pushing forward into the cloud of smoke surrounding the town.

Fearing of losing track of her I rushed forward into the smoke and stopped dead in my tracks. She was already gone.

How did she disappear that quick, I was right behind her!

The sound of the crackling fire enveloped my ears growing louder but it was what I heard along with it that scared me. I heard voices.

"Hello D." A smooth familiar voice muttered from the smoke. "Nice to see you again."

Following the voice I found myself at the base of one of the posts that held the hanging ponies. The glow of the fire lead me to it and if it hadn't been obvious before, it was obvious now that something was seriously wrong. Peering up through the smoke swirling around the top of the post, I coughed the acrid stench from my throat and blinked the tears from my eyes.

"H-hello?" I said, my voice weak.

"Yeah yeah, it's me. Like you care..." The voice said hurt flowing from it like water, the smoke started pushing upwards away from the post, revealing the battered body of a blue stallion with a familiar Bronze saber for a cutie mark. "You've already forgotten me."

"You! How did you get here?" I asked taking a step back as the smoke continued to swirl up and away from the post.

I knew this pony, he was the one that I had talked with about leaving....somewhere....with.....we had saved caps together hadn't we? My brain refused to cough up an answer and for a moment the smoke seemed to thicken before swirling faster around us.

"Oh, you don't know?" He sneered, his voice taking on a nasty edge. "What a pity"

A streak of fear shot through me as the post began burning. I couldn't see the flames but the wood started sparking and splintering. Every crack sounded to my ears like the sound of breaking bones.

"Let me get you down..." I begged suddenly weak at the knees.

"Say my name D." He ordered angrily, the smoke crawling away from his neck as the wood burned upwards singing the coat around his hooves.

I wracked my brain trying to remember but the name was just as much of an enigma as this ponies eyes.

"Please, let me help you." I begged again, feeling tears fall from my eyes, and now it wasn't from the smoke. I wanted to help this stallion, I needed to.

"Say my name!" He ordered again and now I could see his cheeks, deep red stains streamed from where his eyes would be and in that instant I knew that I had to run.

I had to get away! I couldn't see him like this.

Don't move Dawn. You have to be here for him.

I don't want to! It hurts!

Fight it you pathetic piece of shit!

No!

"You don't know it do you?" He said the anger in his voice being replaced with sadness, pulling me away from my internal arguing. "Fine, okay. I'll leave you be then."

And with that, the post burst fully into flames that charred the body to a crisp. Before I closed my eyes from the flash of light I saw his face and crumpled under the weight of seeing. His eyes had been plucked from his skull leaving only two dark holes. His face contorted in rage and pain as the flames took his body.

My tears fell to the pavement below as the smoke around me cleared.

I awoke with a start scattering the last pile of bricks I had been stacking. The clattering of stone on stone woke Deuce who jumped to her feet, her pistol already in her mouth. She grunted a sleepy question of alarm.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and shook my head.

"Sorry," I muttered now even more exhausted than I had been before my sleep.

She blinked the sleep from her eyes and frowned spitting the pistol back into it's holster.

"Ya look like shit." She said.

"I feel like it too." I replied leaning back against the wall.

"Well, get some sleep. Tomorrow we should make it to Red Light." She said putting on her barding and walking over to take my spot.

"Don't feel like sleeping." I said taking her place by the fire.

The night had grown almost uncomfortably cold and the warm spot she had made by the fire was more than welcome.

"Yeah? Well do anyway." She said, "We don't know what we're walking into tomorrow."

I'm pretty sure I do, I thought shivering at the dream.

It's a fucking dream Dawn. Don't be a bitch.

Closing my eyes I felt another tear slide down my cheek. Tonight was going to be hell.

"Hey Deuce." I muttered feeling the claws of sleep dig there sharp points into my mind.

"Yeah Dawn?" I heard her ask.

"I fell asleep." I admitted. "Sorry."

"Yeah, well, you're useless." She said shortly, but I heard the smile in her voice and fell back into a fitful sleep.

The morning came quickly and greeted me with a the smell of smoke. My mind raced back to the town of Red Light and the hellish nightmare that I had found myself in. Jumping to my hooves I looked around wildly expecting to see more grotesque visages of pain and death but instead found Deuce sitting at the fire a pan sitting over it, a spatula in her hooves.

"Ya always wake up like that?" She asked amused.

Forcing myself to calm down I took in the scent of the smoke and smiled at how good it smelled.

"What's that?" I asked choosing to ignore her question.

"Bacon." She said flipping the thin strips of meat in their boiling grease.

I sat down across from her and raised an eyebrow.

"Ponies are supposed to be vegetarian's right?" I asked my mouth watering at the smell.

"Supposed ta be but when you gotta eat to live and eatin's slim, ya do what ya have to." She said with a nod, "This here is gecko bacon. Damn good eatin' as long as ya know just how long to cook it."

"Gecko." I said making a face.

For some reason, I couldn't imagine eating those lizards.

"Eyup." she said nodding, "As long as ya cook it long enough to kill the disease but not so long it's too tough ya got some decent breakfast from those things."

"I'll stick to my apple and water this time." I said shaking my head.

I had almost convinced myself to try but, at the word disease, I decided against it. Things were bad enough in the wasteland and I couldn't imagine laying somewhere spewing sick out of every orifice would be an improvement. Taking the apple from my saddlebags I started eating and the sudden intake of nutrients made me realize how thirsty I was, so I gulped down my last bottle of water and was soon sitting done with my breakfast just as Deuce began hers.

She ate it with exaggerated slowness and when I commented she simply told me to keep my nose out of how she ate her breakfast.

"I didn't question how fast ya at yours." She had said.

After what seemed like hours, though it couldn't have been longer than thirty minutes, Deuce packed up her cooking gear and started stamping out the fire.

"So ya ready?" She asked looking at me where I sat stacking up another three piles of bricks to entertain myself.

"Yeah, but first I have to ask you something." I said standing. "If I asked you to stay here would you?"

"Nope." Was the short of it.

"And why would ya ask a stupid thing like that?" Was the long.

"I just don't know what we're walking into and I don't want to see the only companion I got skewered." I said.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Skewered?" She asked.

"Or shot, or killed or maimed." I continued looking up at the sky.

"Uh huh....so when we leaving?" She asked after a moment.

Facehoofing I shook my head and started down the road.

"Now I guess."

The road to RedLight was a lot longer than the one in my dream. We had to stop several times to circumnavigate one hazard or another. The ant's were the worst of it, giant six legged insects, almost the size of a pony, that spewed fire from there mouths were nothing to take lightly. If Deuce hadn't been there I would have been toast.

Eventually we reached the bottom of a small hill, a sign nearby painted over with the word 'RedLight' in red paint. Beneath the sign hanging on two rusted hooks hung a small wooden plaque depicting a mare bending over, her tail raised, blatantly showing off her marehood. The words above the mare read, 'Closest thing to Obsidian outside the Strip.'

Deuce walked past it without a second glance, I however couldn't help but gawk at the pornography hanging out in broad daylight were any filly or colt could see. That should've been the correct response right? I suddenly felt very strange in my own skin.

"Uh Deuce? What kind of place is this town." I asked blushing.

"A shit one." She answered bluntly, "Ponies here make their living offa flesh, chems or worse."

The information stole the blush from my cheeks and replaced it with a frown.

"They raiders?" I asked unsure if raider's even had towns.

"No. Every pony here lived here of their own free will and wouldn't shoot ya unless ya shot first." She said stopping to turn to look at me. "It's just that the ponies here value money over their own well being. Well at least they did, currently we don't know the status of the residence of the little whore town. Which, if you remember, is why we're here."

The way she said it made me realize that she wanted to keep moving. Nodding, I picked up my pace and stepped into the town of RedLight.

It was surreal, seeing a town for the first time while already knowing what was there. The town was exactly like the one in my dream except without the fire. These fire's had since died away leaving nothing but smoldering remains. Smoke still clung to the air like a wet blanket but it wasn't blinding and didn't bring tears to my eyes so I guessed it was an improvement.

"Yep, Kaiser's Legion was here." Deuce said snapping me out of my shock and pointing up at a dead pony hanging on a lightpost some three ponies high, "This is their handiwork."

Looking up at the female pony I grimaced, bird's had already taken her eyes and her lips leaving a jagged smile of teeth in their absence.

"Who is Kaiser's Legion? Raider's?" I asked recalling the attempted question of the previous day.

"Nope, they're in some ways worse." She said gesturing to the crucifixion. "But in some ways they're....well I don't wanta say better but...."

The uncertainty in her voice made me feel suddenly very weary. She shuffled her hooves in a way that made her look like a filly.

"Well they take care of their own and will take in a pony provided they have some use." She explained, her voice torn between extreme dislike and respect. "Raider's won't do that, they'll just kill ya. Also, Kaiser's Legion will let ya leave if you no longer see eye to eye with em, also something else raider's don't do...but...."

"What?" I asked confused.

"Look, just forget about it and let's get this over with." She snapped suddenly. "Quick look inside the townhall and we're out."

Carefully stepping through the burned out town I noticed two things. One, the townhall seemed to be the only building that wasn't burned to the ground, and two, we weren't alone. A group of ponies in strange armor stood on the steps to the townhall and upon seeing us readied there weapons. However, Deuce didn't ready her weapon and continued moving forward, so I simply stayed on guard and moved forward with her.

"Who goes there?!" One called. "Friend or Foe of Kaiser's?"

"And state your intent honestly or take your place with those hanging around you." Another called.

"Well, here goes." Deuce muttered under her breath before speaking up, "We have heard of the glory of Kaiser and wanted to see it for ourselves. True to Kaiser!"

I blanched staring at my companion.

"Very well, you may approach us further but be warned." The first strangely armored pony said, "Any brandishing of weapons will result in your immediate destruction."

"Well heard and well met." My companion called and the words sounded funny being said with her accent.

"And who is the one that walks in silence behind you?" The Legioneer asked, I noticed that they had not yet lowered their weapons.

"She is a mute." Deuce said pointedly. "My guard. I am a caravaneer from Primrose."

The Legioneer's looked at one another for a moment before the one in lead nodded to another who immediately disappeared inside the townhall.

"A caravaneer you say?" The lead mused, "We have been in need of a traveler such as yourself."

"Uh....what?" Deuce said taking a step backward.

"Our leader will be with you shortly. Please stay where you are and no harm will befall friends to Kaiser's Legion." He said, and with that the two remaining guards took up positions behind us.

Great, good going Deuce, I thought.

Let her struggle with it. Dumbass said I was mute.

My companion looked at me, worry clear on her face, and mouthed the word 'sorry'. I mouthed back 'damn right you are'. After a few moment's the door's opened and the pony who had left previously returned with an unfamiliar pony. Taking a second look I realized that it wasn't a pony but a zebra.

"Your footwork is terrible." My teacher had said knocking me to the ground with two well placed kicks, "You are no fighter."

Trying to learn Fall Caeser Style, my zebra teacher had splattered me every time.

"This is the caravaneer?" His deep voice rumbled gesturing to my companion.

"Yes my Pretoriate." The other said bowing.

"She is a mare." The zebra said with disgust shaking his head. "You expect me to give any task other than birthing to a mare?"

"My apologies my Pretoriate but she is a friend to Kaiser's Legion." The grunt groveled.

The leader turned his attention on my companion before stopping, his gaze falling on me.

"And just who is this?" He asked taking a step forward.

From this distance I could see his weapon of choice. His hooves were covered in metal, welded together to create a full shoe.

"She is my guard." Deuce spoke up. "She is mute."

"I did not speak to you mare." The Pretoriate snapped, "And I suggest that you know your place."

Deuce simply bowed her head in submission. I could see the effort to do so strained every fiber of her being.

The Pretoriate stepped towards me and glared down from his spot a few steps upward.

"I asked who you were." He growled.

I couldn't help but glare back, refusing to speak. It wasn't just about keeping to the stupid plan Deuce had forced on me, it was about pissing this zebra off. I could feel Deuce staring at me but refused to break eye contact with the asshole. A long moment passed the two of us glaring daggers at each other before his face cracked into a smile.

"This mare believes she is on equal footing with a male." He said with a laugh. "The wasteland has corrupted her views. The wasteland has a way of doing that. This town that you now stand in the remains of were corrupted as well. They sold the flesh of their people and the innocence of there children. Do you know why we're here?"

I simply shook my head, hating this zebra.

"We were sent here by the great Kaiser to rid this wasteland of the town of whores. He saw that this town was a cancer on the land and requested it be dealt with swiftly, and so we did. It was easy. The mayor of this town sold it's inhabitants for his own freedom." The Pretoriate said and I felt the disgust that showed so clearly in his muzzle.

He pointed a hoof at the nearest light pole and grimaced.

"And so he was given his freedom from this life for his corruption. What about you mute one? Have you been corrupted by this wasteland?"

The look in his eyes made me want to put my hoof through his face.

"No." I said not being able to stay silent a second longer, and I could hear Deuce groan. "I have not been."

"And yet you stand up to a stallion and speak as if you are on equal ground with one." He chuckled, "Your sex brought about the end of the old world. You are not fit to do more than be a machine to breed colt's."

I couldn't help it. We were surrounded by these Kaiser's Legion and completely outmatched but I was going to be damned if this fucker said one more word. I'd show him just what this 'colt machine' could do. Spinning a bucked him square in the chest. The smile that came to my face was short lived as I looked back to see that he had caught both of my back hooves in his.

"This mare has fire in her heart." He said with a chuckle pushing me away. "Let us see just how much fire she has when she is begging for death."

Looking at one of his lesser's the Pretoriate nodded.

"Damn it Dawn!" Deuce snapped.

I heard the sound of hoofbeats and quickly turned to see the guard rush me. He was however running up stairs which gave me enough time to drop low and buck him in the face. He fell backwards and skidded down the stairs groaning from the broken muzzle. Turning to face the zebra I smirked at him, I couldn't help it, the shocked look on his face demanded it.

"Your stallion just fell to a, what was it again? Machine to breed colts?" I cooed.

The look on his face turned smug as he nodded to the guard beside him who readied a machete in his teeth. Jumping back immediately, I nearly snapped an ankle on the stairs but caught myself before it could do more than twist painfully. I limped back to level ground, and watched the machete wielding Legioneer carefully. He lashed out at me and I stumbled back further.

Just snap his fucking neck Dawn!

He has a machete remember.

Wait for him to swing and buck him in the teeth.

Good idea.

I decided that I would take my own advice, and stepped forward just to jump back. The idiot took the bait and lunged at where I had been only to find that I wasn't there anymore. Bucking him in the teeth as my brain so eloquently put it I heard his teeth snap and the machete flew from his mouth. With another buck the pony went down. I turned back to the Pretoriate with another smile.

Now he looked aggravated.

"Please kill this insolent bitch." He snapped to the two guards and I couldn't help but feel accomplished at forcing him to lose his high and mighty way of talking. However I didn't like being called a bitch so the joy was rather short lived.

The two remaining Legioneer's walked down opposite sides of the steps.

They're trying to surround you.

I know, thanks.

Keeping both of them in my line of sight I backed up and stepped over the unconscious guard behind me.

So what's the plan now?

Uh, hope that one of them make a stupid mistake.

Wait a minute, where's Deuce.

Looking to the place on the steps that Deuce had stood I noticed with some alarm that the mare had vanished. I had been so intent on the zebra that I hadn't even checked on her.

Son-of-a...

Just then the guards lunged towards me having made it to each of my sides.

SHIT!

Jumping backwards I fell sprawling to the pavement my previously twisted ankle letting out a spike of pain in protest. Luckily enough I had just enough time to get free and the two guards pulled up short to keep from ramming into each other head first. I thought a moment about how funny that would have been. Then the guards each pulled a machete and advanced towards me, my humor vanished in an instant.

Shoot them.

Yep.

Scrambling, I quickly pulled my pistol to their immediate horror and slipped into S.A.T.S.

In the enhanced state I noticed that the zebra had completely lost his shit at this point and was fuming angry. Lining up two shots into the chest's of each of the guards I frowned as I pulled the trigger four times. I really hated doing this but there was no way I'd be able to knock both of them out without one of them killing me.

The two guard's dropped from the impact but I noticed, slightly relieved, that their armor had absorbed most of the damage. They may even be able to live. I looked up at the zebra to see him stepping down the stairs in forced calm. Walking over to the guards he pulled them up to their feet.

"You have lost to a mare. You are no longer useful to Kaiser's Legion. End yourselves and retain a shred of dignity." He ordered and after a moment they obeyed.

The two remaining guards slit their own throats with the machete's that had, a moment ago been directed at me to my horror. I couldn't help but yelp and step backwards away from the pooling blood. The zebra looked disgusted but I couldn't tell for which reason. Was it that they had lost to a mare as he so eloquently put it or was it that he had lost to a mare. Looking up at me the disgust deepened.

"You have defeated my guards and as such deserve praise for besting those of Kaiser's Legion." He growled. "I suggest you leave quickly before I change my mind."

"And my friend?" I asked dropping my pistol into my hoof.

"Since she is your employer she will be taken as payment for the loss of my guard." The zebra said with a smile.

Deuce taking my place? That wasn't happening.

"Get fucked!" I snapped. "She's staying with me."

"Do you wish to take her place?" He asked amused. "Truth be told I would much rather have you but the law is clear, you have earned your freedom."

"And just why do you think that you have the right to be making any demands?" I asked. "I have kicked the shit out of your guard and now it's 2 on 1. You don't have a chance."

"I would watch my tongue if I were you, your friend is nowhere to be seen, she will be hunted and captured as payment, besides," The zebra growled, his eyes narrowing. "I am a Pretoriate in Kaiser's legion, you are but a common wastelander. I am more than enough to kill you and your friend."

"You thought the same about your guard." I shot back smirking.

"Would you like to test it little mare?" He asked taking a step forward, his hooves clanking against the asphalt.

I glanced down and couldn't help but imagining those thick metal shoes pummeling me into oblivion. I took a step back and grimaced.

"That's right bitch." He whispered a smile on his stupid striped face. "Stand down and leave with your tail tucked in between your legs."

Dawn, you're afraid of him you know that right?

Yes but he called me a bitch.

Yes but you can't beat him.

Why the hell do I think that?

I lay broken and beaten on a cold steel floor, my teacher looking down at me with a snarl.

"Get up or stay down the rest of your life little one." She snapped.

I was only five....I couldn't win.

I stood up anyway, wobbling on my hooves. The next kick sent me into unconsciousness my chest cracking from the impact.

I put the pistol into my saddlebags and hung my head. Count to ten.

"That's right now turn around and walk away." His voice growled in my head.

"One, two, three." I began trying to calm my heart like my teacher had taught me.

"Did you not hear me? I ordered you to leave with your tail tucked in between your legs." He snapped.

"Four, five, six, seven." I continued trying to ignore him.

I couldn't remember if I had ever bested my teacher but I was about to best this zebra and that would be enough. Besides, this zebra needed to have the shit kicked out of him.

"What are you doing?" He asked hearing my counting. "Leave now."

"Eight, nine, ten." I finished looking up at him my heart now calm.

Stepping towards him I lashed out with my front hooves starting with the basics. Staying low I tried to get him off balance but I only had a moment of surprise before he had gathered himself and was on the defensive.

"You fight as a Legioneer does. Fallen Caesar Style." He mused. "But your form is bad."

Lashing out at my front left hoof, he knocked me onto my face and I had to scramble backwards to keep him from crushing my skull.

"Tell me mare, who taught you to fight like a stallion does." He murmured.

I looked up to see the dent in the asphalt where my head had been a few moment's ago.

"No idea who she was." I said emphasizing the 'she'.

"No wonder your form is lacking." He dismissed it and spun kicking with both of his back hooves.

I barely had enough time to react and brought up my front hooves to block. At the same time I hopped and allowed the force of his kick to send me backwards onto the pavement. It was better than standing my ground and having him break both of my hooves.

"Rising Phoenix style." He said with a smirk. "All evasion and no power."

I barely got back to my feet when he rushed me and swiped my front legs out from under me. Catching me he flipped me over him and sent me flying back towards the stairs. I landed painfully on the bottom stair and let out a cry as I felt my back pop. My legs tingled and I would have worried about the possibility of my back being broken if it wasn't for the zebra rushing me.

Sitting up I readied myself for another assault. The only thing I could do now was hope that I could stall long enough to formulate a plan. I deflected his kicks the best I could, trying to time my movements just right to catch the non metaled part of his legs and push his hooves out of the way.

"The Phoenix cannot defeat the Bull." He grunted landing blow after blow into the stairs on either side of me. "The phoenix may duck and dodge all he wants but eventually the horns of the bull will pierce flesh."

I could feel the tingling in my back legs stopped and flexed them to make sure they were still working.

Yep, still there.

"Well the bull should know something." I said my front legs screaming in pain at the beating. "He's exposed."

Kicking up with my back legs I sent him sprawling back onto the pavement, two hoof prints in his soft underbelly. I stood up and wobbled a moment on my front hooves before running over to him. Striking down at his head I winced as he brought up his hooves to deflect the blow. He kicked up at me with his back legs but I wasn't going to fall into my own trap. I jumped backwards and tried to catch my breath as he got to his hooves.

"I tire of this game." The zebra growled. "I was chosen as a Pretoriate by Kaiser himself I will not be made a fool of."

"Blah blah blah. Are we going to talk or continue?" I chided feeling my front legs wobble from their beating.

I glanced down for a moment and grimaced at the blood pooling there.

"We're going to end this mare." He shot back pulling a long thin blade from his barding.

"Uh...I thought this was a no weapons deal!" I yelped stepping back.

"Mare's do not think." He said with a smile rushing me with the blade.

I backed up as quickly as I could but quickly realized that I couldn't back up forever. Staring at my oncoming death I winced.

Well this sucks.

A shot rang out and the blade in the zebra's teeth shattered, shrapnel flying out behind him, bloodying his cheeks and side.

"Now now, hoeld yer horseshoesh." Deuce's voice called from the doorway of the townhall a rifle in her teeth.

Deja Vu.

Well now she's paid back her debt, I thought with a smile.

I was amazed at how well she could talk around a gun when she needed to.

The zebra turned and saw the high powered rifle, it's crosshair's set on him. I couldn't help but smile at my companion. She was smart and resourceful, however I was slightly confused as to where in the hell she had gotten the rifle. My musing was interrupted when the zebra dropped low and swept my legs out from under me only to swoop upwards and grab me by my throat with his hooves.

Good feelings gone.

It was strange standing on my back legs like this but the zebra seemed comfortable having apparently used this grapple many times before. My mind went back to my teacher trying to remember if there was a way out of this. The metal shoes dug painfully into my throat making me wince and tearing me away from my thoughts.

"A mare will not hold a Kaiser's Pretoriate hostage you stupid pony." He growled. "You will drop your weapon and return to your place, kissing my hooves. Be a good mare and you may even become a bedwife through your slavery."

"Kill him." I managed to gasp from my position, this only warranted a tightening of his hooves around my throat.

Deuce wavered a moment before sighing and dropping the rifle. I could feel the smile stretch out across the zebra's lips where they pressed against the back of my neck. I shivered in disgust at the sticky smear of his blood that stained my mane.

"Very good mare." The zebra growled his grip tightening on my throat.

Black spots appeared in my vision, my eyes rolling up in my head. Gasping for air I pulled at his hooves a moment before going limp looking at my companion.

Deuce if you want to even up the life saving score now's the time to.

It was like she heard me.

Leaping from the stairs Deuce pulled her pistol from her holster and slammed painfully into the pavement in front of the town hall on her belly. I heard the shot and felt the zebra's grip fall away. We both hit the ground, the smell of fresh blood permeating the air. I pushed myself away and turned to look at the now screaming zebra, his back left hoof spurting blood.

Deuce had shot between my legs and severed his back hoof. If I hadn't been trying to breathe the black spot's from my vision, I would have been very impressed.

Scrambling to her feet my companion limped over to the Pretoriate and pressed her pistol into the side of his head. I heard her whisper something to him and his eyes shot wide before she pulled the trigger.

Rolling onto my back I stared up at the cloudy sky and gulped in air for a few minutes. Deuce sat beside me and started cleaning her pistol.

"So...where did....you disappear....to?" I asked between breaths.

"Checked to make sure that there weren't no more of them and picked up that rifle to deal with Stripes over there." She answered nodding to the now dead zebra. "Shoulda known that Whiskey here was all I needed."

"Whiskey?" I asked and she simply held up her pistol in response.

"So...I guess it's back to the outpost?" I asked.

"You're not going to ask?" She questioned looking down the road from Red Light.

I knew exactly what she meant. Now that my life wasn't in danger the questions were starting to form as to how well she knew Kaiser's Legion so well. They killed ponies and hung there bodies up from light posts but they seemed to do so with a purpose. It wasn't killing just to kill, it was killing to send a message. What that message was I hadn't the slightest idea but apparently Deuce did.

"No." I decided shaking my head. "I can't answer all of the questions you have about me so I wouldn't feel right interrogating you about mine."

I saw a look of relief wash over my companions face and with a sigh she nodded.

"Thanks."

After a few moments of catching my breath, Deuce helped me to my hooves and had to catch me when I nearly toppled forward. Now that my life wasn't in danger I was really feeling the beating I had took.

"Got something for that." She said sitting down and pulling out a small bag from her saddlebags. "It's not the best, it'll make your vision blurry for a little while but it should stop the bleeding and help with the bruising."

"Don't care." I groaned sitting beside her and holding out my hooves.

I watched carefully as she sprinkled powder on my hooves. It reminded me of Whix's antidote powder but was tinted slightly orange. Once the bag was empty she rubbed it in and wrapped up both of my hooves in strips that she tore from the bag.

"Is that just something all of you wasteland ponies do?" I asked gesturing to the torn bag.

"Huh?" She asked, looking to the bag with a shrug, "Make's since don't it?"

"Guess so." I nodded as I felt the pain start to ebb away.

As it did my vision did darken as Deuce had warned. Things were slightly fuzzy and I tasted a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Where'd you find this stuff?" I asked shaking my head to try and clear my vision.

It didn't work.

"This group was leaving shortly, they had a few bags of supplies so I commandeered them as I went." She said with a smile. "Should be able to get a pretty bit for what's left by the time we get back to the outpost.

"Rain." I said looking towards the outpost. "We need to get moving."

"Eyup." She said standing and helping me to my hooves again.

"So I guess we're even now?" I asked as she helped me limp out of town.

"Eyup." She said quietly.

"Yep." I muttered as we walked past the sign post labeled 'Red Light'.

Hitting it with my tail I felt a sudden since of relief as the picture of the mare showing her sensitive parts fell face down in the sand.

Good, no colts or fillies needed to see that right?

Sure....

Infamy Gained: Kaiser's Legion- Disliked. (So you beat the shit out of several guards, at least you only killed one, right?)
LVL UP: Iron Hoof- Your gain 5 additional damage when using unarmed weapons.
Quest Perk Gain: Remember Your Training- With the memories of your teacher comes some additional fighting moves, you can now disarm opponents provided your STR stat is higher.

Chapter 6: Rain

We reached the waystation as the glow in the sky began dimming. We stopped a moment to eat and found that silence was much to plentiful, it aggravated me. I knew that she wasn't going to stick around much longer and for some reason, this was really starting to bug me. It wasn't that we had become the closest of friends, that was obvious, but I would be lying to myself if I said that I hadn't grown to love having someone to talk to. Even if it was just in short snippets of bitchy comebacks.

Damn, are you really that pathetic Dawn? Kinda quick to get attached isn't it?

She's company okay? I don't like being alone.

How do you know? You haven't been alone since you woke up in the stable.

I just know okay!

I didn't have anything left to eat, so I just sat there as she pulled out her provisions. I couldn't help but drool slightly upon seeing them. I tried to look away before she caught me gawking but, unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough. Rolling her eyes she passed me some incredibly old snack cakes that had enough preservatives in them to weather the apocalypse and, after a few minutes of just sitting there filling my mouth with the sugary treat, I shook my head and chuckled.

"So what did happen to this world?" I asked, deciding that asking a question I assumed everypony and their grandmother's dog knew was better than sitting in the depressing silence that had decided to follow us.

"Oh someponies wanted what other folks had and vice versa, so they decided to take it without asking. One fight lead to another and someone decided that dropping a spell to end all spells would stop the fighting. Too bad the ponies and zebra's in charge weren't raised with the moral that violence only lead to more violence." She said with a sigh, "Guess that's what happens when you live in peace for too long, you stop respecting it."

"Peace? Doesn't that sound nice?" I mused, eating the last snack cake and testing my front legs.

They didn't hurt nearly as much as they had. The healing powder that Deuce had sprinkled on them really worked wonder's and after a while my vision even returned to normal. The second part I was almost more grateful for, I really hated not being able to see as well as I normally did, it was more than uncomfortable, it was disturbing. After a couple of minutes I had even started worrying if it was permanent. Deuce had laid my fears to rest by asking me if I was always this much of a filly.

"You ready for the last push?" She asked.

"Yep." I quipped, standing up and jogging in place a minute.

Leaving our campsite, we continued down the road until we reached the point where the asphalt diverge into two paths. One side lead to Primrose and the other, the Last Stop Outpost. For a while we stood in silence until, once again I couldn't stand it.

"Well thanks for the help Deuce." I said turning to the mare. "I really appreciate it. Don't know what I woulda done without you."

"Probably die a horrible agonizing death." She said with a smile holding up her hoof. "You stay safe Dawn. It's a helluva wasteland out there."

"Yeah you too." I said shaking her hoof. "I would say it's been fun but, you're an asshole so..."

I couldn't help but beaming at her.

"And that was only a couple of days." She said smiling back. "Imagine what my caravan has to deal with."

"Think they'll take ya back?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"If they don't, I'll buck em till they do." She replied, letting go of my hoof.

I watched for a few seconds longer than I should have as she turned and began her trot to Primrose. Her white mane seemed to glow in the dim evening light and reminded me of a question that I had forgot to ask.

"Oh, hey!" I called making her stop and look back at me. "Got a question?"

"Well what is it?" She called back.

"What the hell's up with your mane?" I asked recalling a caravaneer's bit of advice from when we left Primrose.

"Got scared once." Was her enigmatic reply before she turned and continued down the road, until she was just a speck on the desert highway.

"Huh." I grunted shrugging to myself. "Well that don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that."

Looking ahead, I saw the building that Ghost had roosted in some yards away, almost at the base of the hill that lead to the Last Stop.

Maybe I'd stop by and say hello.

Only for a second though, I had a pony from my past that was going to give me some answers.

And hopefully, if the stars aligned right, would be happy to see me.

Popping my head in the door, I looked around a moment to find the building empty.

"Hey Ghost! You around?" I called and when no answer came, I stepped back out and looked up to the roof. It was empty as well.

Welp, she's gone.

Yep.

Wonder where she went?

Maybe to the outpost that, I don't know, you're supposed to be heading to.

Right.

Starting the climb, my front legs began aching again. Either the healing powder was wearing off or the extra work of climbing was getting to be too much. I just clenched my teeth and pushed through it. A week was too long to not know who you were.

You sure you want to know?

I stopped. Now where did that thought come from?

"I absolutely want to know," I told my brain and, when no more strangeness came from it, I moved on.

The uneasiness that came from such thoughts was hard to shake, but I managed, choosing instead to think about Rain and the stories she must have.

I reached the gate a few minutes later and noticed that the younger soldier, Tinderhoof, was nowhere to be seen, however Bedrock stood glowering at the encroaching darkness. As I stepped into view, he seemed to snap out of whatever reverie he was in and stood at attention turning his unhappy gaze on me.

"Who goes-" He began, then stopped, recognizing me. "Oh. It's you."

"Yep and I did as you asked, now can I see Rain?" I said already aggravated by this pony, he hadn't been too kind the last I saw of him, and was already looking like he was going to be a pain in my ass this time.

"And your companion?" He asked ignoring my question.

"She went back to Primrose." I answered quickly, "Now can I see Rain?"

"NO!" He snapped, his nostrils flaring with anger. "You can't. You have to go see Commander Saber Sheen to debrief first! Then you can be on your fucking way Waster."

"On my fucking way?!" I snapped stepping towards the grizzled soldier, forcing myself not to focus on the battle saddle that seemed all to happy to point in my direction. "And what's that supposed to fucking mean?! I didn't get my ass beat into the dirt so you could tell me to go the fuck away!"

Grabbing the trigger of his battle saddle in his teeth, the soldier kicked a lever and I heard the barrels on either side of him load with fresh rounds. The thought of being riddled with holes from the death machine wasn't something that I was too keen on but I decided to stand my ground. The asshole could shoot me but he'd better kill me with the first shot. I had a good idea of what my hooves could do to lesser ponies, and in my eyes this soldier was looking lesser and lesser and lesser.

"Private Bedrock!" A gruff voice called from beyond the fence. "Stand down soldier."

I stole a quick glance in the direction the voice was coming from, not wanting to take my eyes of the weapon wielding soldier. I could see a large building, three times the size of the post office in Primrose.

Immediately the soldier snapped to attention and turned away from me.

That's right soldier buck, stand down.

A large stallion neared me from the other side of the fence, and I noticed that he was even more worn than Bedrock. His face told the tell of a hundred battles and I couldn't help but notice that he wore the scars handsomely. All of them except one, that one had taken his left eye. The stallion was dressed in army attire, this much was obvious but the many badges that clung to his barding were all a mystery. The uniform did fit snug over his flanks, I noticed, as if he'd eaten a little too much over the past several months. I could assume that not all of the ponies in the waste's could say the same but I reserved judgement on him for the time being. After all, he did call off his lackey.

Turning his one good eye to the gate he unlocked it and swung it open.

"Dawn? Would I be correct to assume as much?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I just got back doing some bitchwork for your lackey here," I said, still angry, shoving a hoof at Bedrocks chest."And he tells me that I can go get fucked if I expect to get my reward."

"Oh?" He said, surprise tinting his voice. "And what was your reward?"

"I ran a little scouting mission in Red Light," I said emphasizing the word 'scouting' with as much sarcasm as I could muster, "and I'd get to see my friend Rain."

"Ah." He said simply, turning to face the building he had exited from. "Come with me."

"Thanks for calling off your mutt." I said still heated, shooting the soldier a dirty look, "I assume you're Commander Saber Sheen?"

"I am." He answered. "And you will refrain from insulting my soldiers while in my presence."

I stumbled a moment at the sudden power behind his voice, it just an order, it was like he was making me order myself.

"Okay....then I can 'debrief' you as you take my happy ass to Rain." I demanded shaking off the momentary confusion, finding my anger again.

"Very well." He said, obviously not taken aback by my rudeness, for some reason this just aggravated me more.

As we walked I filled him in on the details from Red Light, trying as hard as I could to stress how much of a pain in the ass it was.

"...and then I reached Private dumbass over there and he tells me that I can't fucking see Rain." I finished, the commander gave me a look that suggested I not call his subordinate's dumbasses but also admitted to him having done so himself on multiple occasions.

This pony confused the hell out of me.

We had walked around the outpost to the back side of the barracks. A door sat sunken into the back wall, it looked like it hadn't been used in a while except for the new scratches around the key hole that told a story of one very drunk pony trying to unlock it. Beside the door an old ramp sat slanting up towards the roof.

"I see." The Commandeer said calmly, "Well thank you for your service, the NCR appreciates your sacrifice." It sounded like he had recited this a hundred times before, but then his tone shifted to one of extreme seriousness. "I have just one question for you."

I looked at the pony in the dim light of the oncoming night and noticed that he looked quite a bit older than he had before, almost Grandma Razzberry's age. I couldn't figure out how this pony had aged so quickly over such a short walk. My anger almost spent I glared at him.

"Well?" I asked.

"Are you Dawn?" He asked, making me groan.

"Yes! I already said that I was!" I yelled, shaking my head with the last of my rage before burning out and sighing. "Why doesn't anypony believe me?"

"Then I apologize Dawn." He said ignoring my question and placing a hoof on my shoulder a moment before turning and walking up the ramp to the roof.

I stood alone for a moment confused yet again by the whiplash I had been given by this ponies change of tone, demeanor, and apparent age. Then I turned to the door that I assumed was where Rain was hiding and took a deep breath.

This was it! I can finally get to get some answers!

Don't count on it.

Shut it! Let me have this one, please.

Pushing open the door I stepped inside.

"Rain! I'm alive! I'm---" My words died on my lips.

The room beyond the door was a modest one. A few different cabinets lined the walls, cluttered with various nick-naks. A stove and toilet sat in opposite corners of the room and pushed along the back wall lay a bed. A thin trickle of red liquid dripped onto the floor at the head of it and I couldn't help but stare at the body laying on it, an empty bottle of whiskey by her hoof, a bloody knife sitting where she had left it in her throat.

No....why?

Told you not to count on it silly pony.

The door closed behind me as I took a shaking step forward, my front legs now suddenly much weaker. It was as if the healing powder never existed.

"Rain?" I asked stepping towards the familiar blue mare. "What? Why did you?"

No, this wasn't happening. I had done everything asked of me only to find....this?

Placing my hooves on her chest I stared at her for a long moment. That's when the weight of it hit me like a ton of bricks. Here I was, standing in front of my dead friend, cut down by her own hoof no less, and I couldn't remember a single thing about her. I took a step away.

"No." I heard myself whisper, "That's not fair."

It wasn't fair! This mare was a friend that delved into a nest of evil psychotic raider's to save me and...and she had killed herself thinking that she had failed. This wasn't right, and the worst part about it was that I couldn't even feel sad for her.

"I don't even know you and you....you died because of me." I muttered stepping towards her again to pull the knife from her throat.

I recalled the surveillance footage from the Stable. She had given up because she thought that she couldn't save me. My heart felt suddenly heavy and I breathed a deep sigh of sorrow for...what? Her? No? I didn't know this pony. The most I could do was feel sorrow for the circumstances that had lead to this and would lead from it.

That was all I could do.

I couldn't feel sorry for this mare, only the situation?

I've gotta do better than that don't I?

"You did save me Rain." I tried for her, placing the knife on the floor. "You did save me."

I didn't know what else to do. She was gone and there wasn't anything else that I could learn by staying here. It felt cold hearted but it was true. I turned away from her and heard the clatter of something metal falling to the floor. Turning back, I found a small square box just about the size of my hoof. Her front legs had slipped from her chest when I had turned away and, almost like a gift dropped this.

You don't want this gift Dawn. Leave.

But...

I stooped and picked it up, turning over the metal square in my hooves. My mind pulled out a name from the darkness surrounding me.

"It's a Holotape." I muttered glancing back to the mare.

Turning over my PipBuck I slipped the tape in and downloaded the sound file. It took me a while fumbling with the damn computer to make it do what I wanted, but then a green button lit up on the screen saying 'Play'. I hit it and, for a moment, there was just silence, followed by static, and then:

"Well, here I am." A very drunken sounding Rain muttered through the speaker on my pipbuck, "Back at this goddessforsaken outpost shoving these goddessforsaken papers through and trying to stay alive. Fuck you Dawn." I gasped at the venom in which she said my name but then her voice changed in an instant and held all of the sweetness in the world. "Fuck you for making me love you."

It made me hurt in ways I didn't know I could hurt and I found solace in that fact. This mare needed somepony to hurt for her. She had obviously been hurting so much that it had killed her.

"But no, you had to be hung up on that fucking stallion. Well alright, I guess I understand. I couldn't help that I loved you just like you couldn't help that you loved him. That's what Berry always told me -hic- never helped though." The sound of her drinking filled my ears for a few seconds. "Think that maybe we can get together on the other side? Maybe just have a little fun? Heeheehee, I swear I'd make you forget all about what a stallion could do." A pause. "Would that be necrophilia?" I almost hit the stop button, this was just sad and pathetic and wrong but I decided to give her this much.

"Guess not. We'll both be dead right.....Dawn, I'm sorry girl. I tried to hold on, I really did but after I left Berry I....I just don't know what to do. I know he'd take me back but....but I don't want him to." Her voice caught in her throat and now I could hear her crying freely. "I don't want him to take me in his arms and tell me it's going to be okay. I don't want him to tell me that there's another way because I know he'll be lying. He hasn't given up on you Dawn....He's going back to the bunker and he's going to keep trying to save you." She stopped again to take another drink. "Maybe he'll succeed, he's got a hundred of those tin can's helping him right?" Suddenly she sounded hopeful, and I couldn't image that the voice on the recording was the same voice of the pony that now lay dead before me. " We could---He could head back to Stable 40 and save you like the hero he is." The laughter that followed was hollow and tired, like wind passing through an old train tunnel and with it the hope died in her throat.

"Maybe.....I hope he kills that Raider bitch again!" The sudden anger that flared up in her voice caught me off guard and almost made me trip over the whiskey bottles littering the floor. She was losing a battle, that much I was starting to understand. "I shot that mother fucker three times in the throat for you! I swear I did...I promise I did...." I listened to her cry for a full two minutes just standing and staring at her body. "Didn't bring you back though. Still laying dead on that medical table." The sound of shifting scratched its way into the audio.

"Dawn, I don't care anymore. I love you dear. Always had, since that first time I saw you heading my way. Remember when we met? You strode up to the front gate and demanded passage into the Capital Wasteland." I could hear the clinking of empty bottles, now. "I told you that you were running to your death but you said that a better pony than you deserved to live and that if I didn't let you through that you'd....what was it again? Kick my teeth in? Hot little shit back then weren't ya?" I could picture her story, our story and it hurt. "Thought you were the sexiest fucking mare I'd ever seen....damn, out of whiskey...oh well, I won't be around long enough to get sober.....I was the only one on patrol that night, and there was something about you that made me want to help. I could see your heart from the very beginning. I told you that no one could cross into that wasteland unattended and you grabbed me and started dragging me towards the unknown. You dragged me a long way love."

The recording went silent and I started to wonder if that was it. Then I heard a deep breath.

"Dawn, I know you'd kill me hearing me talking like this but....but if you do somehow manage to get back to me....I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I never told you. I'm sorry I wasn't quick enough to save you, and I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to live long enough to see you again." She said and I wanted to tell her that I forgave her and that she didn't have to do this, but it was already too late. I was already too late.

"You're the best of us Dawn. Better than this wasteland deserves. Goodbye love."

The next sound was the worst sound I had ever heard. I shut off the recording as soon as she began choking on her own blood. Sitting down, I noticed that I had been crying but couldn't remember when it started. She was a good pony and didn't deserve any of this. Even in death she still gave me a piece of what I was looking for, she gave me a memory. I looked up at her laying on her bed, and that's when a thought occurred to me. Why was she here?! Bolting to my hooves, I kicked open the door to her room and mounted the ramp to the roof.

Saber Sheen was still there and all of the anger from earlier rebounded ten fold.

"WHY ISN'T SHE BURIED?!" I screamed at the commander who turned away from his whiskey to look at me as calmly as if I had asked the weather.

"She isn't buried because she didn't want to be." He said simply.

"What the fuck do you mean she didn't want to be?!" I yelled, my breathing suddenly ragged with the effort it took to be this kind of angry.

"She didn't like the thought of being eaten away." He said quietly, drinking the last of his whiskey.

The gall this pony had. I'd kill him if he said another stupid fucking thing like that!

"How the fuck do you know Commander?!" I spat. "How do you know that she would rather rot in her own bed than be laid to rest?"

"I know." He said pouring another shotglass full.

"Tell me how you sack of shit!" I screamed stepping closer. "Tell me how you know that!"

"A father knows his daughter." He said making my world suddenly stand on its head. " and he would also not let her rot."

Wait....what? No. That wasn't fair! I needed someone to rage at and he was her fucking father!?

This is bullshit!

"Have a seat." He said pulling up a stool around to the other side of the table where his whiskey sat.

My anger continued to boil over at this whole fucking day but I had no pony to direct it at and so it just rebounded on my mind like waves against the shore. First I lost my companion, then I found one of the only two ponies that knew my past dead, and now I had called the father of said pony a sack of shit.

Great going Dawn!

After a moment I found the strength to sit on the stool as the Commander poured another glass of whiskey and slid it across the table to me. We sat in silence for a long time, me staring into the whiskey, wishing that it would burst into flame just so I could feel like I killed something. When it didn't, I simply drank the stinging liquid and slid the shotglass back for a refill. The stinging in my throat helped to push down my anger enough to speak.

"I'm....I'm sorry." I shuddered.

"Don't be, Dawn." He said kindly, taking another drink. "My daughter loved you, you know?"

"I know." I said downing another shot, feeling like the worst pony in this hell of a wasteland filled with terrible ponies.

"But you didn't love her." He said, and his words held no hate.

"I did!" I snapped, a knee jerk reaction.

Looking inwardly, I tried to force memories of our time together but nothing came. Like always, my mind was empty except for small tidbits of this memory and that, like snapshots of a time long past. Like the world I lived in, my mind seemed to only hold the ruins of what came before.

"But not in the same way." He finished a sentence I didn't know I was saying. "You do know that she didn't blame you. She merely wished for something more than what she got."

I could imagine us sitting around a campfire, her, Berry and I. Talking, laughing and I would look up at the clouds only for her to be staring at me. I hated myself for this image, one because it was completely manufactured and two, because for some reason, I believed that it had happened not once, but many times.

I stared at the old stallion and couldn't help but feel the wrongness of this entire conversation. He didn't know that I had no idea. So, I explained what had happened. Everything. It was a short story, and one that hurt me infinitely to tell but when it was done the look in his eyes told me that I had made the right choice. He understood....

"Saber Sheen?" I asked suddenly feeling small.

Wait where had all the fire gone? I didn't like feeling like a filly, so small and weak and insignificant. I wanted to be angry again but there was nothing there, it had burned away to ash as I had told my story. Only hot coals remained.

"Yes dear?" He replied.

"Could you....please tell me about her?" I asked feeling more tears stream down my cheeks as he poured another shot and handed it to me.

He nodded and after a long moment, he began, recalling his daughter's birth and younger days.

That's when I learned of this pony that had died because of me.

Rain and Commander Saber Sheen left from the Capital Wasteland, shortly after her mother died, as part of the first group the NCR had organized to scout out new lands and lend aid to ponies in need. The NCR's arbiter, a griffon named Gawdyna, had started a rapid expansion of NCR territory once it became apparent that not only did the NCR have the power to, but also a need for, expansion. Saber Sheen explained that the council that ran the NCR had calculated that even with all of the good the Lightbringer (the semi founder of the army) had done, that they still had limited fuel and would need to begin expanding to find more before they ran out. They estimated a good 15 years before the need was crippling but, Saber Sheen chuckled, explaining that Gawdyna was a shrewd griffon and wouldn't fail for lack of trying early on.

He explained how their group had set up shop here in this pass as a way to not try and encroach on other's territory before they could get some sort of decent reputation going. They sent a regiment of their army, the Follower's of The Apocalypse, into the LasPegasus to lend aid to ponies who needed it. The group traveled throughout the wasteland and helped everypony that they could before returning with information on said wasteland. Rain worked closely with these ponies for a long time before setting down ties to the battle regiment of the NCR and making the Last Stop Outpost her home.

Saber Sheen almost glowed with pride as he recounted her quick rise through the ranks of the army before taking over his command.

"She worked here for almost a year until you came along." He said smiling at me as he concluded his story, "After that, she left with you and didn't return until just recently."

We both knew that she hadn't returned the same headstrong mare that she had been when she left. She had returned broken and I didn't need him to tell me that, the recording had said enough.

"I'm sorry...." I said my eyes welling up with tears.

I hated the tears almost as much as I hated myself at the moment.

"I'm sorry I let her down."

"She let herself down. She gave up, but you? You are a good pony Dawn. Maybe one of the best the LasPegasus Wasteland has seen." He said gently placing his hoof on my chin forcing me to look at him, "You have made it possible for many ponies here to live and even prosper in some places. You have saved lives Dawn."

I could barely catch his words from the downward spiral I suddenly found myself at the bottom of. I didn't know if it was emotional exhaustion or the whiskey.

"But I couldn't save her." I said feeling miserable, ignoring the praise. "I took too long getting here."

"And just what did you do while you were 'taking too long'?" He asked, his bushy eyebrows raising. "From the way I've heard tell of it, you saved a town from those who had it imprisoned, and from your very own words you have struck a major blow to Kaiser's Legion in this area by ridding it of a zebra Pretoriate."

"But I didn't do either of those things. The only thing I did was screw up so someone else had to do it." I moaned pulling my face away and pressing my horn into the table.

"Had to? Or could?" He asked in his simple way of talking that made me feel like a filly.

I sat there gently sobbing as the warm liquid washed over me and only made it easier to cry.

"We will burn Rain tomorrow." He said after a long pause, standing up and picking up the bottle. "I do hope you will still be here. It would mean something to her."

"Could you leave the bottle?" I asked, letting self pity take over me.

I hadn't saved Primrose, I hadn't killed the zebra Pretoriate, and I for damn sure didn't save Rain. I really was, as Deuce had said, useless. The following hour was a blur as I drank the rest of the whiskey and fell into unconsciousness. The dreams were terrible in their peacefulness because I knew that I didn't deserve them either. In the dream, I sat around a campfire with Rain and Berry, only this time it was I who stared at Rain as she looked into the heavens.

The light of dawn awoke me before the sound of hoofbeats on the ramp did. My head pounded and my mouth had a gunk in it that I didn't believe I would ever stop tasting.

"Good morning Dawn." A familiar voice said.

Looking up, I saw Private Tinderhoof standing at the top of the ramp.

"The ceremony will be starting soon, you should get ready. The barracks showers are free at the moment." He said looking at me apologetically. "Sorry we didn't have a better room for you than this roof. Though the Commander did say that this is were you would want to wake up anyway."

"A 'better room'." I scoffed, pulling myself to my hooves shakily. "I don't deserve your kindness Tinderhoof."

I was feeling like shit and goddesses knew I deserved it.

Still wallowing are we?

"Well, the showers are open and, you should take a bath because you smell like vomit." He said bluntly.

So that explained the gunk in my mouth.

I shivered and spit over the edge of the rood, then turned to follow Tinderhoof to the showers. The next hour passed by with incredible slowness. Every movement I made caused my head to throb painfully, but once I stood in the cold water of the shower my mind started to clear. The ice cold water was lessening the vice that had attached itself to my skull. Washing out my mouth, I spit the gunk into the drain and started cleaning my mane as I pieced together last night's events, staring into a small mirror beneath the shower head.

Go ahead, hurt a little.

My mind tried to skip over the scene in Rain's bedroom but I refused and forced it through every moment. I wasn't going to let myself get off easy. If I couldn't feel any more for this mare that killed herself over me than a distant sadness, I was going to feel that sadness as much as I could.

Damn right, you kinda fucking suck, so go ahead and hurt a lot!

My headache was almost gone now. That wouldn't do, I thought morbidly. I recalled the tears from the night before and slammed my horn into the shower wall making my hungover headache rampage back into being.

You're weak Dawn.

I know.

I hated myself for those tears. Most of them anyway, because most of them were for me. They were for the poor broken little filly that couldn't remember anything. They were for the moment when the poor little filly saw something that she knew was supposed to make her feel complete sadness, and instead she cried because she couldn't feel that lost.

"Pathetic." I muttered ramming my horn into the bathroom wall again for good measure.

Any good the shower had done me was overwhelmed by the pain in my head now.

Good, you deserve it.

That's enough Dawn, you do know that you're just feeling more sorry for yourself.

No, this is payback there's a fucking difference, and stop arguing with me, I'm not in the mood.

I was beginning to hate these little talks with myself.

I shut off the shower, grabbed a towel and began drying myself off. I shook off the remaining water and nearly ran into Tinderhoof as I opened the door and stepped outside.

"Oh, hey Dawn!" He yelped, stepping back to keep me from knocking him over or vice versa. "You look better."

I just shrugged, not really feeling up to chatting at the moment.

"Well, the services are starting." He said after I didn't offer him anything back. "This way."

I followed the soldier back around behind the barracks and noticed that a large pile of wood had been arranged in a box some three feet high.

"Hey, little one!! Come watch! Your mommy is going to go up in smoke. Pachoooo!" The voice sounded like gravel and the laughter that accompanied it, a sick sound of joy and hate.

I almost tripped at the horrible feeling the voice in my head brought on. Stopping in my tracks I shook my head until the laughter inside subsided.

"-Dawn?" Tinderhoof was staring at me again. "Do you want to?"

"Want to what?" I asked looking up at him, obviously I had missed something.

"Do you want to help carry Rain?" He said, "The Commander is her only living kin so he'll be doing it alone."

Blinking at the thought of the old stallion having to carry his daughter to her resting place alone, I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat and nodded.

"Yeah." I muttered.

"He's in her room paying his last respects. You should go in and tell him we'll be ready in five minutes." Tinderhoof said gesturing to the ponies and griffon's coming from the barracks.

One griffon, I recognized as Ghost, the other's were strangers to me though. For some reason it caught me as odd that there were so many griffon's in one place. Ghost nodded solemnly to me as she caught my eye. This must be why she wasn't at her post today, I assumed as I returned the gesture before turning and walking towards Rain's room.

It had been cleaned since the night before. There was no more blood and no more bed. All of the cabinets had been taken from the room including the stove and even the toilet. In their place sat a single table where Rain now law, a black blanket thrown over her. I thought for a moment how deeply I must have slept to have missed all of the moving going on beneath me.

The commander stood looking down at his daughter's face. I noticed that someone had sewn her throat closed and was surprised at the relief I felt for that fact. Upon my entering, Saber Sheen looked up and turned to face me, a sad smile on his lips.

"Good to see you up and about so early." He said and I could see that his one good eye was wet and glossy.

"Yeah." I said with a nod.

"You're going to help me aren't you?" He breathed and I couldn't tell if he was grateful or upset by this.

"Nothing in this wasteland could stop me." I said with a nod, then rethought that statement and added, "Except for you, sir."

He stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.

"I couldn't tell you no even if I wanted to," He sighed. "Which I don't."

Yeah right, you know you hate me for killing your kid.

I nodded and stepped over to Rain. The nothingness I felt for this mare made me sick. She was a close friend but my brain didn't know that. I couldn't help but grimace.

"Stop bucking yourself over it Dawn." The old one beside me said placing a hoof on my shoulder. "Won't do anything."

"I just hate the fact that I sit here, being the cause for this fucking tragedy and I can't even bring myself to feel something for this mare, because, to my mind I never met her to begin with." I said looking at the father who had lost so much. "Doesn't that bother you? Don't you hate me for it?"

"I learned a long time ago that hate isn't something that can heal a wound like this." He said gently touching his daughter's face. "It only tears it open and makes it bleed. It leaves a scar behind so deep that it never fully heals."

"That's a cop out and you know it." I said looking away from her.

"Maybe, but it's also a truth that I nearly died to learn." He said making me look at him. "I have a question to ask you."

"What?" I asked pity for myself and sadness for this father beating out my anger.

"Are you going to make this right or are you going to wallow in it?" He asked and I felt like I had been slapped.

"I can't fix this!" I snapped back in response, indignant anger raising up to take the lead in my chest. "How the hell are you supposed to fix dead?"

Good, anger. Anger was safe....

Some emotion flashed across his face, but it was so quick I couldn't understand what it was. I only knew what it wasn't. It wasn't anger.

"No. But you can spend the rest of your life doing everything you can to make up for it." He said refusing to look away. "You can do that."

"How?" I asked feeling the anger subside again, I tried to grab onto it and wrap it around me like a security blanket but something in his gaze stole it from me.

"I'd suggest finding Berry as soon as possible and telling him that your alive. Then..."He said with a pause. "Finish what you came here to do."

Find Berry, finish what I came to do. Find Berry....finish....

It was something. Something better than this smallness that was consuming me.

I nodded looking back to Rain.

"It's time." I said walking over to one end of the table.

"I suppose it is." He said stepping over to the other.

We bent low and placed either end of the table over our backs and, lifting together, raised Rain into the air. Stepping out of her room we stared for a moment at the regimen of NCR soldier's standing at attention in two long lines leading to the pyre that would serve as her final resting place.

Walking towards the pyre, our heads bowed, the two of us lay her down gently on the top of it then stood to the side as two soldiers wearing the same large barreled battle saddle stepped up about five feet away from the the body.

"Begin salute!" Saber Sheen suddenly barked sounding nothing like his kind self and more like the commander whose clothes he wore.

On either side of us the NCR raised their weapons to the sky and fired a single shot into each of the wastelands. Another ten seconds passed and they fired again.

Spend the rest of your life making up for this? I thought as the boom of the rifles sounded again and again.

Making up for what Dawn?

This life that I stole by being too damn slow. I will not stop again.

BOOM!

For anything?

Yes for anything?

And if another pony is in trouble.

BOOM!

They can die.

Then what of them? Isn't that another life that you owe.

Some lives are more important than others.

BOOM!

"Light the pyre!" Commander Sheen barked, and the two ponies wielding the overly large barreled battle saddle bit their triggers.

Flames erupted from the barrels and, this close to the pyre, singed my fur. My bangs were singing turning black and curling up, crawling towards my face. Glaring at the flames I could feel my skin beneath my coat scream out in pain but I refused to move. Out of the corner of my eye I watched the commander suffer the same in silence.

Do you truly believe that?

Yes.

Then who's decision is it to decide which life is important?

Mine.

Are you so high and mighty?

No, but I refuse to feel this way again.

Oh! Look at poor pitiful you.

That's it, shut the fuck up! I'm done arguing with you! I'm done having a 'you' to even argue with! I will not be late again!

I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." The voices of fillies and colts filled my mind along with the strange movement that went along with it.

I watched a little cherry red filly swipe her hoof over her heart. A little blue colt waved his hooves as if trying to fly. All the while, a little orange filly sat at the back of the class and placed her hoof into her eye as if smushing a pastry against it, glaring at the two.

I noticed, in some dis-attached far off way, that my proximity to the flames had caused my bangs to catch fire and the tongues of heat were crawling up my face. The heat left searing trails of pain from my chin up my cheek. As the flames reached my right eye I stamped it out finishing the movement that accompanied the little nursery rhyme that had suddenly popped into my head. That little orange filly was me and for some reason I knew that the dark glare on her face in the memory mirrored my own.

I will not be late to save my friend again.

The rest of the ceremony was short lived, the flamethrowers had made short work of the pyre and my friend with it. The Commander had offered no more words to me or anyone else and simply returned to his daughter room in silence. After that, the rest of the regiment quickly abandoned the area, some crying in silence, other's indifferent. I wanted to hurt those that seemed to feel nothing. I wanted to make them feel something, even if that something was pain.

Standing, staring at the scorch mark on the ground where Rain had been, I couldn't help but glare.

"Hey Dawn?" I heard the familiar voice of Ghost before I turned my gaze on her.

She stopped in her tracks as I glared at her.

"Yeah Ghost?" I asked trying to lighten my tone but finding it incredibly difficult.

"I heard you were close to her so I wanted to offer you my condolences." She said awkwardly, pushing her helmet father back on her head.

"Yeah we were." I said mentally wincing at how the word, 'were' hit my own ears.

"So what are you going to do now?" She asked, looking away from me scratching the back of her neck.

"Going to find another friend." I muttered, "and this time I'll make it in time. I refuse to be without my memories any longer."

"Well maybe this will help?" She asked reaching into her bags and holding out a pack of foodstuffs with a smile. For some reason I hated that fucking smile,

"Know where they went? Your friend, I mean."

"No I don't dodobrain." I snapped, swiping the package into my saddlebags, "I get to search this entire fucking wasteland for him. Turn over every fucking rock and rummage through every fucking trash bin."

"Whoa. Sorry I asked." She yelped taken aback, it made me feel good to see that smile go. "Good luck I guess. I like your new hairdo by the way."

She was trying to leave.

No, that wasn't happening, especially not with the send off of 'I like your new hairdo'! It happened because of the fucking fire you moron! It's not a fashion choice! I felt a burning hate suddenly well up in my heart, it bit at me. This was different than anger, this was all consuming.

"Now hold on! Does the little birdie have any helpful fucking hints for a lost little lamb." I growled stepping towards her, something told me that she knew something and she was going to help me damn it.

"Whoa girl! Back up a little." She said holding up her talons in a sign of weakness, taking a step back. "Look I know you have had a really bad time but you're looking at me like a hungry manticore and I don't much appreciate it."

Taking a step to her side I pushed forward and when I did, the fucking chicken backed herself into a nice corner for me.

"Do I look like I give a fuck?! He was heading north! Where was Berry going?" I growled my nostril's flaring, I don't know how I knew but something told me that this fucking bird knew where he was, something in the way she kept shrinking away from me, and if she knew something that was going to help me get to him sooner rather than later then I'd kill the birdie bitch over it.

"Look I don't know Dawn! I don't know who you're talking about but if they're heading north and Red Light's busted then he must be heading to LasPegasus!" The griffon squawked.

Pressing my muzzle against her beak I snorted.

"You better not be lying to me chicken, or I'll make your name fit you to a motherfucking T." I growled shoving her back into the wall before turning to leave the outpost.

The ponies still standing around gawked at me as I pushed my way past them and out through the gate. If I wasn't in such a fucking hurry I would have made them regret it. The pistol in my saddlebags was suddenly feeling really friendly.

Fucking pathetic! Couldn't even keep one of their own from taking the cowards way out.

Stop it Dawn!

Now I knew how Deuce had felt, owing a life debt.

At least that bitch was able to repay her's to the pony she owed.

She didn't owe you remember, she saved your ass.

Yeah, yeah, that's not how I've heard it.

Finally free of The Last Stop, I started galloping and didn't stop until I was halfway to Red Light again. Back on flat ground, I slowed my pace a little, breathing heavily. My chest was hurting and with every twinge of pain I could feel my hate it itself away, no longer having no one to direct it at.

Stopping where Deuce and I had camped previously, I opened the bag of supplies the griffon had given me and scarfed down a box of snack cakes and some strange meat. It tasted great and also familiar so I was content with the meal. Pulling out a bottle of water, I chugged it down and laid back. I couldn't help but smiling to myself, happy to be rid of that stupid outpost.

What kind of name was The Last Stop anyway?

I rested for a moment in the shade, looking up at the cloudy sky above. The angry dark clouds swirled here and there painting pictures of blood and death in my mind. I saw a cloud that made me think of a scorpion stinging a father trying to protect his colts.

Tough luck, I thought.

You're going to have some tough luck too if you don't start paying a little more attention. Just laying here, wide open for anyway to take potshots at.

I had a point. No telling what dangers lurked nearby. Snorting in laughter at the melodramatic thought I nonetheless took out my pistol and began looking it over. How had I ever hated this thing. It was cool. It was power in this wasteland right? I thought about Primrose that suddenly went from being a city of prisoner's to a city of badasses just because they got their hooves on some guns.

You're remembering it wrong.

Shaking my head, I lay the gun on my chest and closed my eyes. I almost started dozing when I heard something moving down the road. I rolled quickly to my hooves and crouched down low on the wall and checked my Eye's Forward Sparkle, shifting my pistol in my mouth. Sure enough, two yellow lines were heading my way from the direction of Red Light. Raider's? Legion?

I didn't know but I damn sure wasn't going to be caught sleeping.

As the two lines neared me, I waited until two ponies came into view and quickly took stock. One was a brown male with very little barding.

No threat, I can take him easily.

The other was a mare, a little taller, about my size, in leather.

She's first, I thought as they failed to notice me in the shade of the walls.

Easy fucking targets! I kicked on S.A.T.S and lined up my shots, two into her stupid fucking indigo mane and one into his neck, I had decided.

I wasn't going to be caught napping by these raiders. I was going to shoot first! Better to do that than to be dead, I thought closing an eye before I pulled the trigger.

I realized that this was going to get bloody and for some reason the thought filled me with a sick twisted sort of joy. Too bad, them's the brakes fuckers!

I felt my tongue twitch with anticipation, one more pound of pressure on the trigger and...

WAIT!

I watched them walk on by me as I clicked off the targetting spell. Suddenly shaking, I leaned against the cool brick of the wall and spat the pistol into the dirt at my hooves. What the fuck was wrong with me!?

"HEY!" The stallion yelled turning to face me, a small pistol in his teeth already.

I could barely focus on them as I tried to reestablish who the hell I thought I was.

Was I really about to shoot those two?

They could be raider's and if so, you're fucked now.

"Hold on Pinwheel!" The female said looking over at me. "She must be hurt."

And now comes the looting.

Can't you....I....hear that she's fucking concerned?

The headache from earlier was coming back with a vengence. It was like all of a sudden that bathroom wall was breaking against my horn and in return my skull was splintering. Putting my hooves over my head, I whinned as I tried to keep my skull together.

Get the fuck up!

I grit my teeth even harder and tried to rid the thoughts from my mind. The shaking had my entire body in it's grip and only made the headache worse. I felt tears of pain drip down my muzzle onto the desert sands, my head dropping into the dirt exausted.

I could hear movement close by and when I looked up I saw the female pony looking down at me with cautious concern.

"You alright there traveler?" She asked kneeling down to look at me as the one named, Pinwheel walked closer, his pistol still in his teeth. "Now I'm not normally the judgemental type but you look like you're withdrawing."

"Uh....what?" I asked more to myself than to her, trying to right myself.

The headache refused to let me up from the ground.

"Are you okay?" She asked again, slower. "Look's like you're needing a fix."

Drugs? No, I was pretty sure I'd remember that. I looked up at the mare and winced at the light filtering through the clouds. With a massive amount of effort I pushed off from the ground and sat up. The mare was looking at me in a sort of shield concern and I tried to smile to let her know I was at least sane but that was when I saw the pistol at my feet.

I could hear myself audibly yelp as I kicked it away from me. Scrambling back, I tried to get a grip on myself again.

The shaking wouldn't fucking stop!

The female who stared back at me with much more caution than concern now, shifted uneasily. I could almost hear the thoughts in her head, 'well fuck, she's a lunatic.'

She's going to shoot you now, you know that right? Can't have you stabbing her in the back.

Taking in a deep breath, I tried to put on a look that wasn't insane in spite of the dark thought. The shaking slowly ebbed away and I exhaled, shaking my head.

"I'm fine." I said but I couldn't help but stealing a glance at the gun. "Thank you for your concern."

"Uh huh." The mare said following my gaze, standing up and taking a step back, "Well....alright then."

I tried to think of something to say. Anything to explain the reason for acting this way but anything I thought of just made me sound more nuts. So instead, I stood up slowly and kicked the pistol over to the male who still had his clenched tight in his teeth. He looked like he was about to wet himself.

"Here, this looks like it's in a little better shape than yours." I said, the look on his face made me almost want to laugh.

In fact I was almost one hundred percent certain that I would have had I not been the victim of the worst headache that I was sure had ever plagued pony kind.

Even though my experience in the wastes was small, I knew ponies just didn't walk around giving guns to complete strangers. I dropped the box of 9mm ammo and turned to walk away.

"Hey, crazy pony." The mare said giving up on trying to be courteous, "thanks and all, but...do you have a death wish?"

I chose to ignore her and continued on my way to Red Light. I tried to piece together what moments had lead up to me nearly putting a bullet in two innocent ponies.

"How in the fuck did you talk to Ghost like that?" I said in sudden horror at myself.

Looking down at the heat cracked road, I stopped and stared at my hooves. Something was wrong, this much I knew but what in the hell was it? I was almost certain that I wasn't the kind of pony that would treat a friend that way, that was just cruel. I was a good pony, that was what the commander had said right?

I was suddenly feeling exausted, even more than I had the day I woke up after almost eating a grenade. Thinking back I remembered Ace's bright face as he bounded up to see me.

"I'm sorry Ace." I muttered shaking my head and sighing.

I wasn't exactly sure why I had said it. I guess I just knew how disappointed in me he would have been if he had seen the way I had been acting today. Reaching into my saddlebags I pulled out the goggles he had given me and put them on. For some reason, that made me feel better. The pressure in my skull lessened significantly and I was able to take another step forward towards Red Light. It didn't explain anything, I was still confused as hell but it did something good for me just picturing the bouncing colt that gave them to me, even if I had to think about how ashamed he would be of me at the moment.

Well I didn't shoot them, I thought trying to make myself feel better.

Congratulations Dawn, I thought back sarcastically.

I shook my head and continued looking ahead. I noticed several dead ant's laying across the road and silently thanked the two traveler's that I had nearly shot, for dealing with this mess. I was weaponless now and was fairly certain that I would have become ant chow if they had still been alive.

Eventually I reached the sign post labeled 'Red Light' and felt a sense of pride as I looked down and noticed that the shifting sands had almost fully consumed the wooden whore sign.

I trudged up the hill and passed the first buildings of Red Light, stopping to try and figure out where to go from here. I slipped behind a building and checked my E.F.S. I sighed a sigh of relief as it came up empty of anypony, hostile or otherwise. The townhall loomed ahead with the remains of the two dead Legion's baking in the heat. I could almost smell it from where I stood some several feet away and decided that I refused get any closer. It was slightly disturbing that I couldn't see the Pretoriates body though. My mind suddenly, and forcefully, raced from one insane possibility to another, ranging from him coming back from the dead like me, to aliens.

I forced the insane thoughts from my mind, the crossroad's of Red Light were before me. Taking one last look around, I proceeded down the right path that circumvented the town and headed out through a plateau heading north.

Not over, or around, but literally through the plateau.

It at least momentarily distracted me from my timultiuous thoughts for a moment musing at the ponies of the past who had broken through solid rock to build a road. The rock walls of the plateau stetched up some ten to twenty feet on either side of me as I walked, creating a sort of pony made canyon and casting a nice bit of shade that cooled my heat licked body. Today wasn't getting any cooler dispite the cloud cover. It was hot and humid and my coat stuck to my skin like a wet blanket.

Taking a break, I leaned against the rock face and stared up at the cliff above, thinking about this road. It was like a hoofshake between cities. It was in this train of thought that I almost didn't notice the rock that slipped from the top of the cliff my back was pressed against and crashed to the road below.

Nearly jumping out of my skin, I frantically checked my E.F.S and saw a red bar wink out.

"Damn it!" I hissed getting to my hooves and pressing against the wall as close as I could.

Something or somepony was watching me, and I definitely didn't like the feeling of being watched by unknown entities. I waited, listening intently for a long moment before something glinted along the top of the rock face. I was suddenly very grateful for the bright light of day that had escaped the cloud cover. I looked up and squinted at it turning my head slightly to get a better look. It was metal and glass and it kinda looked like a....oh shit....scope!

I dropped to the road as the shot rang out, chunks of the rock wall behind me blowing out and sticking me in the back.

I shook the stone splinters off and jumped to my hooves. I bolted as fast as I could down the road, deciding that staying in the same place to let them have target practice wasn't the smartest idea. If somepony was wanting to shoot me, I intended to make said act as difficult as possible. I wasn't going to turn back and I desperately needed to get out from this kill box. I poured on the speed, my hooves pounding the pavement beneath me, as another shot echoed in my ears, followed by yet another. Glancing up, I noticed that there were now at least three of them shooting down at me.

These ponies were terrible shot's, I thought zigging and zagging down the road.

Or they're not trying to kill you.

I almost stumbled at the thought, but I could see the end of the canyon just ahead, twenty feet and closing, and I wasn't going to stop now.

I just need to run a little faster!

Another barrel had added it's 'BOOM' to the cacaphony of the first three, I could hear the bullet's hitting closer and started doubting the disconcerning though.

I could literally hear them as they zoomed by.

No they're trying to kill me, good.

Under any other situation, I probably would have laughed at the absurdity of the thought but I was being shot at so....run now, laugh later.

No shit!

Reaching the end of the canyon, I started searching desperately for some place to hide but my vision was blocked by steel bars.

Wait a second, what the fuck?!

A large cage sat wheeled out into the middle of the road it's front wall opened, ready for some stupid pony to run into it. That some stupid pony, I was begining to realize, was me. My hooves screamed out in pain as I tried to slam on the brakes but I quickly found that I already had too much momentum going to make such a speedy stop. My hooves clacked on the road beneath me, as I sat down to try and stop but instead, bruised a very sensitive area as I hit the lip of the cage. The momentum carried me forward and slammed me painfully into the cage face first. I fell onto my back with a scream and looked up through the bars, dazed as I heard the front wall of the cage shut behind me.

Okay, so I was right when I thought that they weren't trying to kill me, great!

"SON OF A-" I started to scream, when a sharp pain in the back of my neck silenced me and I fell forcefully into the maw of sleep.

LVL UP: "An Ancient Minotaur Once Said..."- When you need to you can throw your weight around to get your way, however this isn't the advisible way to make friends. Opens certain dialog options for the more forceful residents of the wasteland.

This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat; a familiarity with the source material may aid your understanding.

You can read Fallout Equestria by Kkat on Equestria Daily

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/04/story-fallout-equestria.html