Fallout Equestria: Rebirth

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.

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