“It Always Seems That At Darkness Of Times, That Is When You Find The Light.”

Satisfied.

That’s what I felt as I wandered through the halls of the Salt Lick City Temple. Me and Breeze no longer having to worry about assholes coming and bothering us. Me and Breeze having either killed or scared off a group of three stallions. One of which even chaining me to the ground and trying to rape me. Needless to say, it was very satisfying to see when Breeze put a bullet through that stallion’s neck. And it was even more satisfying when I put all of my rage into beating the final stallion’s skull into the ground.

Changely, I hadn’t heard anything from Breeze since I beat that stallion’s face into the ground. My claws were still covered in the smallest stallion’s blood, but I didn’t care. I could wash them properly later.

The two of us continued to rummage through the various metal and wooden boxes that were all over the Temple. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have dared to steal from this place. But this wasn’t normal circumstances. The two of us might have been pretty well stocked with supplies already but you never know what you can come across in this shithole of the world that was outside the ‘safety’ of Stable 70.

This might have been a Temple, but as the stallion that had tried to rape me said. That was a long time ago. As much as it internally pained me to admit it. This place was no longer a Temple. The Alpha answering might have been a sign as proof that this place still had some of its great power remaining after all of these years and only Alpha knows how heinous acts that have been committed inside of its crumbling walls.
But how much of the great power still remained, I couldn’t say. As far as I was aware the Alpha answering my prayer by allowing Breeze to still be alive and willing to kill, something that I would never imagine Breeze ever being capable of doing, might have just been the last thing that the Alpha could allow happening within the Temple’s boundaries.

My thought were interrupted when I heard the voice of Breeze call out to me. “Hey, Eta!” I heard the voice of Breeze call out to me.

“What is Breeze!?!” I called back to Breeze as my lifted my head to an empty box that didn’t hold anything of that screamed ‘take me, I’m going to be worth the extra carry weight’ to me. But when I did lift my head to talk to Breeze, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Breeze!” I shouted with heavy concerning my voice, my heart rate jumping about 20 beats per minute and my body began to shake as I couldn’t for the life of me relocate my friend.

“Where did you go!” I shouted into the empty room of what must have been the chapel of the Temple. My unicorn companion still nowhere to be seen.

I felt an internal sigh of relief pass all over my body as I saw Breeze’s head poke out from around a corner.

“Over here, Eta!” Breeze called out to me with a wave of his non-Pipbuck hoof. Breeze’s horn being lit with his familiar light blue magic. Something that I labeled as strange but didn’t question any further than that.

“Come check this out, I think I found something that could surely help us.” Breeze said as he disappeared behind the corner again.

“Ok…” I said with a shaky voice as I stood up and started walking toward the hallway. I hadn’t notice the hallway before, maybe I was so busy searching through the Temple’s chapel that I just ended up missing it. I don’t know, but whatever. I guess it didn’t really matter.

It didn’t take that long for me to walk over to the hallway and I started walking down it. The hallway was dark, so dark that it required me to turn on the lamp that was on my Pipbuck. The waist-sized terminal emitting a bright purple light from its scene. It didn’t take me long to find Breeze, my unicorn companion having his horn lit up a Hearth’s Warming Tree with his light blue magic.

“What is it that you wanted to show me, Breeze?” I asked my unicorn companion.

“It’s in here.” Breeze said as he used his magic to open a door that was at the end of the hallway. The door opening with a loud creak, not a good sign, and my eyes burned as they were met by a bright light.

I quickly shut my eyes and let out a small groan as I rubbed my eyes with my un-Pipbuck hand.

“You alight, Eta?” I heard ask as I reopened my eyes. They still burned but it was as bad as before. My eyes having quickly readjusted to the new levels of light that whatever room that Breeze wanted to show me was sending them.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I said to Breeze as I rubbed both of my eyes for the last time.

“What is it that you wanted to show me?” I asked Breeze as I opened my eyes. Them having readjusted the bright light was coming from the room.

“I-It’s in here, follow me.” Breeze said as he walked through the opened doorway and into the bright room.

I followed after Breeze and was stuck with a strange sense of deja vu as I entered the room.

The room was an office, much like the office of the school that I had searched earlier that very same day.

It was just in even worse condition than the one that I found in the high school. If that was even possible.

It didn’t take me long to find out why the room was so much brighter than the hallway that led to it. Turns out that the ceiling of the office had craved in and I was able to see the grayish blanket of clouds that made up the sky above. Seeing the sky while still being in a building being strangely not weird to me. I never thought that I would be able to say that I had gotten used to seeing a hole in a ceiling and not thinking that it was weird afterward. Huh, this wasteland does some weird shit to your brain.

Anyway, aside from the office’s ceiling (or lack thereof) the floor of the room was also a complete mess. The had boxes, both metal and wooden, spread all over the floor of the office. There were mounds of pieces of paper spread across the floor. Most of the papers looking to have destroyed beyond the possibility of reading anything due to the moderately sized room’s lack of a ceiling.

While the papers that spread across the room might not have been that interesting that didn’t mean that whatever was in the boxes weren’t.

I sent a knowing look Breeze’s way and he nodded his head in response.

“You take left, I’ll take right.” I said to Breeze as we broke off to search the room for semi-needed supplies.

“Copy that, boss.” Breeze said as he followed my command. I liked the sound of that. I was a boss, the boss of a stallion at that. Take that Overmare. No matter how hard you might try to knock me down, you will never be able to be able to stop me from getting back up and fighting back.

“Maybe coming across those three stallions wasn’t such a bad thing, without them showing up we might have just left without seeing what this place had inside.” I said as I searched through my three box that was in the room. The boxes so far not having anything of great worth.

“Speaking of those three stallions. What do you think happened to the last one, the one with the messed hind leg?” I heard Breeze ask me as he closed the wooden crate that he had been searching through and trotted over to another. The office of this Temple was filled with lot. I was little surprised that any looters hadn’t taken any of this lot before we came here. Well, whatever they lose and our gain.

“I don’t know, maybe he saw the writing on the wall after you took the one tried to rape me and took to the hills. I said back to Breeze with a level of casualness that surprised myself.

“Maybe, do you think that we have to worry about him?” Breeze asked me as pulled out what looked like a small snow globe, being no bigger than an apple, out of a metal box that had the word “Private” written in bold letter on the front. Breeze must have seen some worth in the snow globe looking object as he carefully put the small object into his left saddlebag.

“I don’t think that we have to worry about him.” I said as I continued to run through the various metal and wooden boxes that were in the mane office of the Temple. Most of the boxes being filled with various religious items. You know, scriptures, robes, prayer rugs, that kind of stuff. I didn’t take any of them. I already had my set of scriptures that I had ‘saved’ and I don’t really think that a bright red long robe and prayer rug would be that effective in the wasteland.

“What makes you say that?” Breeze asked me as he closed the box that he had searching through with a loud slam.

“Because he was only one that was actually willing to help me.” I said and I could almost smell the amount of disbelief that was coming from Breeze the moment that I finished my sentence.

“What do you mean?” Breeze asked me, disbelief reeking from his words the moment that he spoke them.

“He was actually willing to help me.” I said to Breeze as I explained what had happened when I was chained down to the tile floor and how the third stallion, Cool Headed I think was his name, was willing to help me. And how he actually argued with the larger stallion to let me go.

“I see…” Breeze said, but I could sense a ‘but’ coming to quickly follow, and my senses were correct.

“But what do we do if we come across other ponies that want to kill us?” Breeze asked me, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at his words.

“I don’t think we would have to worry about any kind of other aggressors for now on. And even if we come across someone else.” I said to Breeze as I used the red magic in my claws to hover the revolver that I had found in the high school only about an hour earlier into view.

“I’m pretty sure that we can handle ourselves.” I said with I’m sure a smug look appearing across my muzzle, maybe even a small blush.

“Keeping of which…” Breeze said as he stared down at his father’s pistol. “What do you want me to do with this?” Breeze asked me.

“Keep it.” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. “It was yours to begin with anyway.” I said as I walked over toward a section of the office that I hadn’t search yet. Me walking behind the desk of the mane office. My movements coming up to
“Hmm… thanks, Eta.” I heard Breeze said behind me as I searched behind the desk of the office. Me giving Breeze an affirmative ‘hmm hmm’ as ran my claws across the books of the bookcase.

My claws stopping when I went across a section of the bookcase that felt strangely different than the rest. While none of the books were in perfect condition. Most of them being an unnatural color of black and having varying degrees of water damage, these books looked to perfect. And there were three of them, all of them right to each other. The book being just about eye level and being in the center of the bookcase.

Out of curiosity, I pressed the set of three books forward. And that was when the magic happened.

The set of the three books popped out of the bookcase and fell onto the ground as one. The books seeming to have been false as none of them allowed you to open their pages.

The bookcase than began to change. The bookcase widening until it had grown a solid two feet wider. The bookcase barely fitting without scraping up against the walls of the office. The shelf of the bookcase that had held the three books that had started this whole process moving up until it hit the shelf that was above it.

I then heard the unmistakable sound of scraping metal as this strange process continued. The scraping being an horizontal elevator as a small metal box came into my vision from the blackness of the large hole that had been formed in bookcase.

It was a safe! What would a Temple have any need for a safe. Especially one that was hidden so expertly. This wasn’t a normal safe that some behind a picture that everyone knew held a safe. This was hidden behind a mechanical mechanism that most would completely miss. I was just lucky and found the right set of books.

Maybe it was where they held all of their money from tithing. But even if that was the case. This safe was complete overkill. The safe having been made out of heavy duty steel that looked to still be in good condition, despite having gone through a megaspell explosion.

I had tried some lockpicking in my youth, only as a means of revealing boredom. I never stole from anyone, pony, or dragon. But even so, my lockpicking was on small wooden chests, and that was years ago. This was a high-end safe designed to keep out lotters like myself out and whatever goodings that it held in.

Maybe Breeze would have better luck than me when it came to this, and it didn’t hurt to just ask. So that’s actually what I did.

“Breeze, how good are you at lockpicking?” I asked my unicorn companion. A look of confusion appearing on his face at my question.

“Not really, I never tried anything of the sort.” Breeze said offhandedly. “Why do you ask?” Breeze asked his own question as he started maneuvering around the many either empty or otherwise useless boxes that were scattered all over the office of the Temple.

“Because I have found a locked safe and I don’t see any kind of key to opening it.” I said to Breeze

“Are you sure that it is locked?” Breeze asked me and my muzzle dropped into a disappointed frown. I couldn’t tell if Breeze was just being sarcastic or if he was really being serious in his question. Either way, he wasn’t helping in the slightest.

“Yes.” I said as I turned the handle for opening the safe to prove my point. The handle doing a half turn and then there was a loud clang of metal. The clang of metal being the safe unlocking, or just allowing me entry to whatever goodies were held within.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I said wide-eyed as I effortly swung the door of the safe open.

I went right to search the contents of the safe. My movements came to a halt as I sensed with my very core that a sarcastic comment was going to be coming from Breeze at any moment. A moment that I wasn’t going to allow him to have.

“Shut it, Breeze!” I shouted at Breeze as I held up one of claws.

“I didn’t say anything.” Breeze said in as I saw him hold up his forehooves in self-defense.

“Yes, but I know you wanted to.” I said as turned on the lamp of my PIpbuck to help in my search of the safe contents.
Breeze was silent for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

“I guess you’re right.” Breeze said after some time passed and I heard the usual sounds of hooves hitting the ground as he walked away. Me assuming to search anymore boxes that we might I have missed.

The safe was much larger than I had expected it to be. Me not being able to reach the back of the safe, even when I stretched my forelegs as far as they could go.

The safe that was hidden in the bookcase must have been nearly as big as I was, and properly weigh just as much.
The began my search of the safe by scanning through the many papers that were at the front of the safe or had fallen onto the ground when I opened it.

None of the papers being really that interesting, but one thing that caught my eyes about almost all of them, only a few being an exception, they had almost nothing to do with the Temple or religious practices. Instead, most of them, were about troop deployments during the Great War. One piece of paper, from what I could gather from a light scan, was an naval order to the fleet of the Dragon Empire to something that went by the name of the Omega, maybe it was a ship. The Omega having the orders of finding the Caesar of the Zebra Empire. How a ship would be capable of finding the Caesar of the Zebra Empire, I had no idea. I was still confused as to why the most famous Temple in the Dragon Empire had military orders in a massive safe that was hidden inside of a bookcase.

Maybe the Temple had been turned into a base operations for the military of the Dragon Empire during the war. That was the most likely reason, even though it was a reason that I didn’t want to believe. How bad had the war became for the higher ups in the Empire’s military to be forced into using a bucking Temple.

But that was an issue for another date and time. If this was a safe for military document, and rather big one at that, maybe it had more helpful items for our journey. And oh boy, was I right.

I continued to search through the contents of the safe until one of my claws hit something that didn’t feel like it was made out of paper. A ‘thunk’ sound happening everything I hit whatever I had just found.
“What in Tartarus.” I thought outloud as I found what felt like a carrying handle on the top of whatever I had found. I must have found some kind of crate. The contents of which I was still yet to discover.

“What did you find?” Breeze asked me as he trotted back to where I was currently searching the contents of the office’s safe.

“I don’t Breeze, could give lend a little bit of your magic in getting this thing out.” I said to Breeze.

“Sure, one second Eta.” Breeze said as he trotted over to where I was currently sitting on the ground and doing my best to get whatever I had found out of the safe.

“Ok, I’m here.” Breeze said as he sat down next to me and lit his horn up with his light blue magic. Me being able to feel his magic wrap around the strange box/crate thing that I had found in the safe.

“This that want you are looking for?” Breeze asked me as I felt his magic tighten around crate.

“Hmm… that’s it.” I answered with an affirmative nod of my head.

“Alright, on three we both pull at the same time.” Breeze said as he ready to help me pull whatever I had just found out of the safe.

“On three.” I said as I wrapped my claws around the sides of the box/crate that I had found.

“One.” Breeze said

“Two.” I said less than a second after Breeze spoke.

“Three!” The both of us said in unison and we both began to pull. Me with the muscles in my forelegs and Breeze with the power of his magic.

With the combined power of both my muscles and Breeze’s magic it didn’t take long until whatever had found began to break the confines of the metal safe.

From what I could see, I was right. What I had found was some kind of crate. A green one to be exact.

“One more time, on three.” I said to Breeze while breathing heavily. Who knew that simply getting a single crate out of a safe could be so taxing. Maybe I was just really out of shape. Probably the later, but whatever.

Anyway, Breeze gave me another silent nod of his head.

“One.” I said, starting off the countdown this time around.

“Two.” Breeze said less than a second after I spoke.

“Three!” The both of us said in unison and we both began to pull again. This time was the charm. The green crate sliding out of the crate and falling onto the ground of the office with

“Way to go, Breeze.” I said as I tried to regain my breath as I held out a closed fist to Breeze. Breeze accepting my gesture by tapping my fist with his left hoof.

“You alright, Eta?” Breeze asked me as I slide the crate a few more feet across the floor.

“I’m fine, I just…” I said to Breeze while holding up a thumbs up. I was still trying to catch my breath. But I was doing better than before. “I just really should’ve went to the gym more before leaving the Stable.” I said to Breeze as I lay on top of the green crate. Breeze and I both sharing in a short laugh.

“Now…” I said as I regained both the control of my breathing and my composure. “Let’s see what’s inside this thing.” I said to Breeze as I looked down at the crate that I was currently sitting on top of.

I didn’t have any fear of the crate breaking underneath my weight. The crate being out of a heavy duty plastic that had been painted green with golden latches made out of the same heavy duty plastic on the side of the crate that kept it closed and sealed from the elements. This thing was as military grade as the safe that it had come out of. This crate being designed to withstand far more punishment than a single young adult dragon mare sitting on top of it.

“After you, boss.” Breeze said to me, a small smile spreading across my face at his words. I was probably also blushing, but I didn’t care.

“Is you calling me boss going to become a regular thing, Breeze?” I asked Breeze as I hopped off the crate.

“It can be if you want it to be.” Breeze said back as I kneeled and prepare to open the latches that held the green crate closed.

“Hmm…” I mused as I scratched my lower chin with my index claw on my right claw.

“I could used to it, but I still like being called by my name.” I said to Breeze, my unicorn companion just shrugging his shoulders in response.

“Now, let’s see what this thing has to hide.” I said as I shifted my attention back to the green crate was resting in front of me. Me opening the golden latches that were on the side of the crate. The latches of the crate opening with a small snap.

The crate opened with a small creak. I opened the crate completely and then I froze. I couldn’t believe what was in this crate. I probably wouldn’t believe what this crate held even if we were both on an actual military base, yet alone a former Temple.

“What is it?” Breeze asked me as he trotted up to me.

I didn’t respond, I was in too much shock. What was in front surprised more than anything that I had seen in the Temple.

The crate held a gun, and not just any gun. This gun wasn’t like the small revolvers that me and Breeze both had. No, this was a rifle. And not the tiny BB rifles that I saw fillies and colts play with when I was just a hatchling. I had asked my mother with I could have, but that was when I learned that dragons weren’t allowed to have firearms of any kind in Stable 70.

But those fillies and colts could go fuck themselves. They might have had little BB guns to play with but I have a real rifle.

“It’s a rifle.” I said to Breeze as I pick up the rifle in my claws and brought up into Breeze’s field of vision.

“A rifle!” Breeze exclaimed as I held the rifle in my claws. Breeze having the same amount of surprise, maybe even more, than I did in finding a battle rifle in an office of a Temple.

The rifle was definitely dragon made as it had a trigger that was designed to fired by a creature that had claws, unlike the strange mouth triggers that the two pony made revolvers had. The trigger was closer to the pistol that I fired in my dream. The trigger being contented to a long pistol grip that was covered in a black leather that allowed me to wrapped my paw completely around it. I also couldn’t see a pony being able to create a weapon that was so beautiful to the eyes.
The rifle was long, easily three and a half feet in length. The rifle being much longer than any other BB rifle that I had ever seen. It was also much heavier. While most BB rifles I had seen in my youth were made out of wood this was made out of steel, aluminum, and type of plastic that reminded me of the plastic that the crate that protected it was made of. The barrel of the rifle was long and slender, the barrel having a small muzzle brake that had three small holes that were drilled into each side at the end of it. The rifle’s claw guard being made out of a brown colored hard plastic that had three holes cut into the top of it. The holes being so that it didn’t overheat during continuous fire. The rifle having a long box magazine located a few inches from the front of the trigger. The stock of the rifle being made out a the same heavy duty plastic as the claw guard.

“Why would a Temple have a rifle!” Breeze exclaimed as I held the rifle in my claws. My claws running across the plastic and leather of the rifle. Breeze shouting as if he was me.

“Does it really matter, Breeze?” I asked my unicorn companion as I used the strap the came with the rifle to wrapped the rifle around my right shoulder.

“What do you mean?!?” Breeze asked with complete shock in his voice.
“While, true, I am just as surprised as you are that a Temple would having something like this.” I said as I pointed my index claw on my right foreleg at the long battle rifle that was strapped to my shoulder.

“Does it really matter?” I asked Breeze a rhetorical question as I continued to speak to him.

“Is it really that important how or why that there is a rifle in this Temple. All that matters is that there is a rifle and based on what we have come across in the short amount time that we have been up here, I would say that we need something that can take out anyone that tries to kill us, at a distance.” I said to Breeze. He was still a little physically shaking around me having gained a battle rifle from a crate that was in a safe that hidden inside the office of a damn Temple. I understood his uneasiness. Tartarus, I was even internally uneasy at the idea of a Temple having a battle rifle hidden in its mane office.

“I guess you got a point, Eta.” Breeze said with a shrug as he began to trot of toward the door of the small office.
“Where are you going?” I asked Breeze as I stood up, gathered up any extra ammunition that was also in the crate (there was three extra magazines filled with ammo), and closed the crate and kicked it back toward the opened safe that it had come from.

“I’m leaving Eta, it seems that there’s nothing left that could benefit us in the long run in this place.” Breeze said back to me as I stood back up. “That is, unless you think it is still worth searching the rest of the Temple?” Breeze asked me, putting me into deep thought.

I look one long look at the remains of the Temple’s office, all of the boxes inside either having already been searched and their contents taken by either Breeze or myself or were empty. I didn’t want to leave the Temple, despite what had gone down in here, either it being in this radiated or whatever in the fiery pits of Tartarus happened in this place when the Dragon Empire was still actually a thing.

But I knew, even though I didn’t like it, that Breeze was right. He always seemed to be, I guess that would make him the logical one of the group. I guess that would make me that the mentally unstable one of the group that always managed to get herself hurt. Huh, that’s sounds about accurate.

“Huh, I guess you’re right Breeze.” I said with a sigh of defeat. “Lead the way.” I said to Breeze as I followed after him out of the office. Breeze using his magic to close the door behind us.

“So, what now.” I heard Breeze ask me as we continued to walk through the ruined streets that used to make up Salt Lick City. The two of us wondering through the leftover streets after leaving the Temple literally behind us.

“I don’t know.” I said to Breeze with shrug. I continued walking in front of Breeze as the both of us walked out from around a corner and into an opened area.

That was when everything changed.

BOOM!

The sound of high-powered rifle firing shattered the calmness of the evening air. Less than second later I felt something big and unbelievably fast tearing through my back. My armored scales making almost no resistance as the bullet from whatever had just shot me torn through them and down to my underlying meaty flesh like a hot knife through butter.

“SHIT!” I grunted in pain as hit the ground in loud thud. I could feel my blood running down my back as felt the soft magic of Breeze wrap around my body and begin to lift off of the ground.

“Eta, are you alright!?!” I heard Breeze asked me as dragged me into cover behind a pile of rubble using his magic. The pile of rubble being made out of a thick piece of concrete. The slab of concrete was several feet high and probably acted as a military barrier. Despite being made of heavy concrete, it didn’t seem to give that much protection from what was shooting at the both of us. A large junk of the concrete barrier that we were both hiding behind being shot off as another shot that sounded like a tornado went off.

“No, I just got bucking shot!” I cursed as I winced in pain. What the had shot having torn straight through the scales of my back. If you didn’t know you probably think that my back had been cut by some kind of sharp sword. But no, I had just been shot.

Whatever that had hit me, must have been a really power rifle. A rifle that would put even one that I had found inside the Temple to shame.

“Don’t worry Eta, you’re going to be alright.” Breeze said with panic all over his voice as he threw his saddlebag on the ground and began to dig through its contents.

“Are you sure?” I grunted in pain as I heard even more sounds of gunfire going off in the distance.

“Yes, just hold still.” Breeze said as he stood above me as he used his teeth to bite off a long piece of medical gaze and began to wrap it around the area where the bullet from the sniper rifle that had ripped through my scales and flesh on my flesh. Breeze also having upwards of five magically enhanced bandages hovering above the ground in his light blue magical aura.

“The shot came from over here!” I heard the voice of someone that I didn’t recognize called off from the distance.

“Was it a sniper?” I heard another voice say off in the distance.

“Does it matter, maybe we can have a little bit of fun before we feast.”

“Breeze, wasn’t going on?!? Tell me?” I asked Breeze as groaned in pain.

“It doesn’t matter, what matters is making sure that we can stopping the bleeding.” Breeze said as he continued to wrapped the protective gaze over the wound on my back.

“Breeze! Behind you!” I shouted as I saw the crazed haired pony pointing a rifle at my best friend’s head.

“SHIT!” Breeze cursed as he whipped his body around to face his attackers. Breeze dropping the remaining bandages that he was holding in his magic and

Breeze standing protectively in front of me and everything seemed to slow down at that moment. Everything seeming to go in slow motion.

I could see the pony that was attacking Breeze slowly raising and aiming his rifle at Breeze. I could see Breeze in turn aiming his revolver at the attacking pony. I could see the individual chambers of the revolver that Breeze was carrying turning as he magically pulled back the hammer of the weapon.

That was when I realized something. Something that brought tears to my eyes.

Breeze was willing to die for me, he was willing to stand in front of a pony with a rifle and get shot, to protect me.
I couldn’t bear seeing my friend getting hurt, because of me. Good thing I didn’t have to. Because just as the pony that was attacking Breeze was about to fire that was a loud...

Boom!

The shot from something that wasn’t the revolver that Breeze was carrying went off. The gunshot being much louder than Breeze’s revolver but not as loud as the sniper rifle that had ripped through my scales. Then the head of pony that was pointing a rifle a Breeze exploded in an explosion of blood and brain matter. The headless body hitting the ground with a loud thud and splat.

That was when a flash of gray entered my vision. It was a pony. A unicorn to be exact. The gray unicorn taking cover behind the same concrete barrier that we were using as cover.

The pony was a gray unicorn that was about the same size as Breeze, maybe a little bit smaller. The pony having two-tone light and dark blue mane that was both dirty and messing. The pony having a pair navy blue eyes.

“Don’t point that blasted thing at me.” The gray unicorn said to Breeze. Me being taken a little back as the voice that came out of the pony was very different than what I had expected.

The pony was a mare.

A mare that had a slight exotic accent that I didn’t recognize. None of the other ponies that had come across down in Stable 70 speaking with an accent that was similar to the gray mare that had just saved not just Breeze, but also my own life.

Breeze followed the mare’s orders and slowly lowered his pistol.

“I’m here to help both of your sorry arses.” She said to Breeze before returning her attention back to the group of armed ponies that were advancing on our location.

“Now, keep your heads down loves.” The mare said as she reloaded her two pistols. Both of them looking to be the same type and model. The pistols looking similar to the one that I had fired in my dream, just much, much bigger.

This also being the fight time that I noticed that the mare was also wearing pair of saddlebags that were similar to our own. The mare having a belt of high caliber rifle rounds wrapping around her body. The mare also having the barrels of two rifles sticking out of her saddlebags.

“I’ll take care of these raiders.” She said as she ran out of the corner, both of her pistols blazing away.

“It’s her!” I heard a pony shout off in the distance.

“Open fire!” I heard another pony shout in a grave voice as even more gunfire erupted into the air. The gunfire being deafening.

“What now?” I asked Breeze as I grunted in pain. The sounds of more and more gunshots going off overhead.

“Nothing, don’t worry Eta. You are going to be fine, just hold still.” Breeze said to me as bite off another piece of his magically enhanced bandages.

“This gray pony looks to be saving our flanks right now.” Breeze continued to speak, more to himself, as he wrapped his bandages over my injured back.

The gray pony jumping back over the concrete barrier and taking cover behind it. The mare ducking down low to the ground, making sure to not show any part of her body to the incoming fire.

This mare had some kind of expert training at some point in her life. Her movements were to suffocated, too perfect. Too…

“Shite!” The gray mare cursed in her fancy accent. An accent that I found oddly… cute.

“These bloody raiders, they’re being tougher than I thought.” She said to herself as she reloaded her massive pistols. The pistols hovering on each side of her head in her magical aura.

“Raiders, what are those?” I asked the gray mare as I grunted in pain again. My back roaring with indescribable pain.

My words seemed to have broken the mare’s concentration for just a second as she turned her head to look directly at me. The mare’s beautiful dark blue eyes staring directly at me. The mare having a look of confusion and almost disgust on her muzzle. The look that was mare was sending me hurt me to the core, or maybe to was just the massive gash that had in my back, I couldn’t tell.

“Raiders are insane ponies that are all over this shitehole of a wasteland.” The mare explained to the both of us as more shots rained down on our position.

If I knew anything about these ‘raiders’ already, they were terrible shots.

“They are all shot first ask question never kind of blokes. You can’t talk to them, you can only hope that you are better armed and armored than they are.” The mare said, her playful tone evaporating. She was being serious, she wasn’t telling me information for later logging. She was warning, and her message was received

“Good thing I have always won in that regard.” She said, her playful tone returning as quickly as it had left.

“Are you two Stable Dwellers?” The mare asked the both of us, her seeming to notice the bright blue jumpsuit that Breeze was wearing for the first time since had come into contact with us.

“Yes, we are both former resistants of Stable 70.” Breeze answered.

“Stable 70, wait that thing is actually real. I thought it was just some cockamamie legend that raiders and crazy travelers told.” The mare said as another shot rang out. The mare letting out a high-pitched yelp as she dropped to the ground.

“Shite!” She shouted as she covered her ear with her hoof, small drops of her red blood hitting the cracked cement. The mare groaning in pain as she muffled some curses under her breath.

“Are you alright?” Breeze asked the mare, taking his medical focus away from me and over to the newly injured mare.

“I’m fine love, that bastard just grazed me.” She said as she lowered her hoof away from her ear. The bleeding seemed to have stopped. The mare’s gray hoof having turned a slight shade of red from her own blood.

“I’ve gone hoof to claws with a Hellhound before, this is nothing.” She said with a small laugh. I didn’t know what a Hellhound was, but in the manner that she spoke of it I could tell that they something that you didn’t buck with.

“You blokes, got to do better than that you want to take me down!” She shouted off into the distance. Her words getting around the barrage of gunfire in response. The mare letting out a hearty laugh as she took cover behind the safety of the concrete barrier.

“Was that really necessary?” Breeze asked the mare with a raise of one of his eyebrows.

“Of come on mate, you gotta let a mare have her fun.” She said with another small laugh. Breeze rolling his eyes at the gray mare in response, him only getting another laugh from the mare.

I liked this pony, she was fun.

“We can all get properly acquainted and all after this is after with.” The mare said as she looked was about

“Agreed.” Breeze said with a single head nod, a nod that was copied by the gray mare.

She looked like she was about ready to head back out from cover, but then she stopped. Her eyes falling unto me. I felt my body heat up, even hotter than usual. It was a strange sensation. Why was she looking at me. She was the expert on all things above the surface. And I was injured, what did want. Tell me!

“Yeah, are you using that?” She finally asked. The mare pointing one of her pistols at the rifle that I had wrapped my shoulder.

“No, I’m not really in the health for combat.” I said to the mare as another zap of pain rushed through my body.

“Great, can I borrow for a second.” The mare said holding out her left hoof.

“Sure…” I began to say, the mare’s indigo eyes widening at my words. “But on one condition.” I said, the mare’s eyes quickly returning to their original size.

“Ok, what’s that?” The mare asked me, with a look of confusion appearing on her cute muzzle.

“What’s your name, if you’re going to risk your life to save ours. Then I would like to, at least, now your name.” I said to the mare, her look of confusion quickly warping into a small smile of happiness.

“Silver Bullet, that’s my name love.” She said with a smile that warmed my heart, even more so than usual.

“That’s all I needed to hear. And the name’s Eta, and this is my friend ” I said as let the rifle dropped to the ground. The rifle not even hitting the concrete group as the mares magic wrapped the rifle and she quickly returned to her role as our savior.

“Pleasure to meet the both of you, hopefully we will be able to survive long enough to become acquainted further.” Silver Bullet said as she cocked my battle rifle. The grey mare quickly switching back to the hardened traveler that must of had some kind of professional training at some point in her life.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Silver Bullet said more to herself than to either of us.

She then took a deep breath and turned her head slightly so that she was facing the both of us directly and she spoke to us.

“If I’m not back in five minutes, then well…” She began to say becoming silent. The mare seemingly beginning to realize something, and I think I know exactly what it was.

“We understand, good luck… Silver Bullet.”

“The same to you, loves…” Silver Bullet said to the both of us, before pausing slightly and shifting her indigo eyes so that she was looking directly at me.

“And I’m sorry.” She said speaking directly to me. I don’t know what she meant by her words, but I nodded my head in response anyway.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” She said as she did a dodge roll out from the concrete barrier that she was hiding behind and immediately started opening fire with the battle rifle that I had found not even an hour earlier.

The rifle was loud, like, really loud.

I felt my muscles tense up, which brought a zap of pain as the damaged muscles of my back found it was a start idea too also join in my body’s reactions.

The recoil of the rifle was also very strong as the mare also had to use her magic in order to stop the weapon from raising too high.

“Shite!” She shouted as quickly rolled back into cover.

“What’s wrong?” Breeze asked Silver Bullet.

“I’m out love. I need another clip.” She said quickly as she expertly through the spent magazine out of the rifle and tossed unceremoniously onto the cracked concrete sidewalk.
“Breeze, I have more ammo in my bag.” I grunted in pain. “The left side.” I continued as Breeze heeded my words.
“Copy that Eta.” Breeze said as she rummaged through my saddlebags. Him pulling out two magazines filled with the rifle's ammunition.

“Thanks love, and don’t worry. I’ll get us out of this.

“Us?” I asked the mare. I mean sure, she helping Breeze and me out of a sticky situation was great but, was their really any us, in this situation. Had Silver Bullet really just added herself to our little group.

“Why of course, we are in on this together love. And if we make it through this. I would more than glad to show the both of you the ropes of how not to die this shitehole of a wasteland.” Silver Bullet said to me with a warm smile.

“But before any of that. I got a job ta’ do.” She said as she did a dodge roll out from the cover of the concrete barrier and started opening fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three shots from my battle rifle sounded off. The three shots being quickly followed by three screams in agony.

“You bitch!” One of the raiders cried out in pain.

“You’re welcome, love!” Silver Bullet shouted back as she continued to open fire.

The Raiders than began to return fire. Silver doing another dodge roll back behind cover as she was fired upon.

The Raiders weapons sounding like nothing more than pop guns in comparison to my new battle rifle. It certainly is a great find, at least when in the hooves of a trained fighter.

“How many are left?” Breeze asked Silver Bullet.

“Two, maybe three.” She said with a little uncertainty in her voice. “Don’t worry loves, I got this.” Silver Bullet said to Breeze as she did another

“Is that you all cockers got!” She shouted standing up.

“Just another shitty day in the Dragon Wasteland.” Silver Bullet said more to herself as she casually trotted back to where I and Breeze were currently hiding behind cover.

“Is that all of them?” Breeze asked as he helped me to my feet. A feat that was harder than it seems as I was nearly double his size and weight.

And I’m not fat.

“I think so, and even if it’s not. I think they got the message not to mess with the three of us for the time being.” Silver Bullet said to Breeze as she assisted him in helping me to my feet.

Silver Bullet lifting me up from my right shoulder as Breeze lifted from my left.

“Can you walk, love?” Silver Bullet asked me.

“Maybe.” I said shaking off the assistance of both Breeze and Silver Bullet.

I could still walk, it felt like I was walking on lava, but I could still walk.

“Alrighty then. Follow me, I got a place where we can mend that nasty wound of yours, love.” Silver Bullet said with a pleasant smile on her muzzle. Her satisfied with my slight limp.

Then again, a slight limp is probably nothing compared to some of the shit that she has seen throughout her life.

“How far is it, I don’t want Eta out in open for any longer than she has to be.

“Breeze, I’m fine… ugh… I’ve been through worse and come out just fine.” I said to Breeze with a slight groan as a zap of fine rushed over my body.

“No, your not Eta. And if you're referring to happened in the Stable you were out for a week and almost died, twice.” Breeze said to me, his words being a massive wake up call to me. He hadn’t told me how long I had been out, yet alone that I had nearly died. Twice.

“Relax, loves. My flat’s not that far. You won’t have to walk for a few minutes, tops. I promise.” Silver Bullet said, changing the subject. Thankfully.

“And why should we even trust you? You could just be leading us into an ambush.” Breeze asked Silver Bullet. I understood why he was being cautious around our new ‘friend’ here. But he was taking this a little too far. Silver Bullet had just saved the both of our lives. She had earned the right for us to take her at her words.

“I just saved the both of your lives without asking for a reward, just because it was the right thing to do. Trust me, most others wouldn’t give a shite about you. Leaving ya to just be another victim to this shitehole of a wasteland.” Silver Bullet said to Breeze. Her words seeming to be affective against my unicorn friend as the muscles in his shoulders relaxed.

“You have… no reason to not trust me, love.” Silver Bullet said to me with a slight pause. I acknowledged her pause mentally but didn’t question it any further.

“Alright, lead the way.” Breeze said with a heavy sigh, submitting defeat. At least, externally.

“Excellent, follow me. My flat isn’t far.” Silver Bullet said holstering her weapons. My new battle rifle wrapping around her neck from its sling. Silver Bullet making a ‘follow me’ motion with her right hoof.
The two of us did as she command. Me slowing following after the silver mare. I could walk just fine, aside from a few zaps of pain from the wound on my back.

But despite of my perfect, given the circumstances, walking ability. Breeze still stayed close to my side. I guess, just in case, I fell. At least he cared, that’s a good sign, right?

And that is how I met Silver Bullet, a silver mare that would quickly become the most important creature that I had ever come into contact with throughout my travels through this wasteland.

And I still alot more stories to tell, but that is a matter for another chapter.

Level up! New Perk: Scavenger-- You luck in the wasteland seems to have turned for the better. As a result you will find more ammo in crates and off the corpses of your fallen enemies.

New Companion added, companion name Silver Bullet: You now have your second companion. Your perception increases by one point automatically and you can now call on Sweet Breeze for support in battle, combat training, and moral support.

New Weapon Added: Alpha’s Hammer: A powerful battle rifle that you found in a crate while searching through the Temple of SLC. This weapon gives you a +50% chance of crippling the limbs of all enemies that you come across through the wasteland. This weapon can be given to your companions.

Author's Note

I apologize for how long that it took me to write this chapter. I hope to have the next chapter is done much sooner.

The scavenger perk that Eta gets at the end of this chapter is meant to function similarly to the Scrounger perk from Fallout 4.