Fallout Equestria Girls: A Snipers Tale

Dear Diary,

It's been a year since I came to this country, and I STILL can't seem to find work.  From everything I had heard, Equestria was supposed to still be a land of plenty, had a strong economy, and nobody was ever left needing for anything.  It's why a lot of people were angry with them for hoarding the wealth and leaving the rest of the world to waste away.  But it seems the situation isn't much better here afterall.  Granted, I suppose some of my hardships are because of where I'm from; nobody wants to hire a woman from one of the very nations that the news broadcasts continuously slander.   And here I am, stuck in a foreign country without a bit to my name, forced to sleep in a box.  A BOX!  Seriously, I wondered why I ever bothered listening to anyone back home.  I wish I had stayed.  At least there I still had a proper roof over my head and a soft mattress.  Oh well... Tomorrow I suppose I'll try to make my way to a different town.  Eighth time is the charm, right?  It's a long shot, but maybe Ponyville has need for help in one of their orchards.  It's not much, but it's something.  At this point, I just want to eat something that wasn't found in a waste bin...

"Almost... There...  Need to... Keep... Walking..." Solana said between pants.  What would have normally been a two day trip had already taken six hours longer than expected, being slowed by an aching leg, brought on by the bite of a ghoul, and treated by nothing more than a bandage, as well as the radscorpion venom she took on when the noise of that battle attracted a few of the creature's attention.  Her whole body felt like it was on fire, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she would succumb to its final effects.  Her vision swam and spun, her head felt like it was splitting open, and her mind couldn't tell if the things she saw were real or fantasy.  Once she thought she found a trader caravan she could purchase medication from, only to discover it was a rock.  Once she thought she found a small town, only to discover it was nothing but her venom filled mind playing tricks on her.  By this point she had given up making sense of what she saw.  Fields of radroaches as far as the eye could see,  tall tree-like creatures hurling bright red objects at her and laughing, even the stars in the sky seemed to be mocking her.

Finally giving up, Solana stopped and collapsed onto the ground.  "Well... Vera... It's been a good run..." Solana said, closing her eyes, deciding to embrace the comfort death would bring.  The fiery pain she had been feeling began to fade to a soft warmth, the pain in her leg softened to a dull throb, and slowly, her world began to fade to black.

Before she could drift off, she could sense a bright light on the other side of her eyelids.  Opening them, she immediately regretted letting in the blinding light and snapped them shut immediately.  She lay there for a few moments longer before trying to open them again, slowly this time.  As she did, the sharpness of the light receded as her eyes adjusted to the unwanted disturbance.

"Good mornin' sunshine!  I was startin' ta think I was gonna need to fit ya fer a box," she heard someone say.

Groaning, she turned her head to see a man seated next to her bed.  'A bed?!?  What happened?  Is this another hallucination?' she thought to herself.  She tried to sit up, only to be met with one of the worst headaches she has ever felt, instantly sucking all desire to move out of her, and leaving her to collapse back on the mattress she found herself lying on.  "Ugh... My head feels like it made sweet, sweet love, to a rock."

"Easy there darlin'.  Ya ought not be tryin' ta move right yet.  Ya know where ya are?"

Opening her eyes again, she began to take in her surroundings.  On the walls were shelves filled with books.  From the names on them, they seemed to be medical.  Most of them pre-war, but there were a few that looked to be handwritten post-war books mixed with them.  On other shelves and tables around the room there seemed to be bits of old medical equipment.  At the foot of her bed, she could see the top of a footlocker with her beloved rifle laying on top.  She could smell the faint hint of apples, and looking through the window, she could see apple trees in the distance.  "A-apple... town?  H-how?  When?"

"Well..." The man replied.  "Ya arrived here three days ago.  Stumbled right through town ya did, mutterin' somethin' ta yerself.  Everyone thought ya were drunk an' just let ya be.  Didn't think nothin' TOO odd til ya started wanderin' figure eights through tha orchard an' collapsed.  One o' tha boys checked on ya, said your were "burnin' up" an' drug ya to mah office.  Been here e'er since.  From what I could tell, you'd been stung by one o' them scorpions, nasty critters those, an' it looks like I was right.  Ya also looked ta have a bite mark that became infected.  Should be good now."

Closing her eyes again, she took a moment to process this.  Somehow, she had managed to make it to Appletown, and nearly walked right by it.  Radscorpion venom is a bitch.  Apparently, she passed out in the orchard, and was taken to the clinic, and had been sleeping for "THREE DAYS?!?" Solana shouted, Immediately being reminded of her throbbing headache in the process.  "Ooowwww... Remind me to NOT do that anymore..."

"More or less.  Ya were quite tha sight.  I give ya some anti-venom, an' ya spent tha rest o' tha night either talkin' to yerself, or screamin'.  Had to strap ya down to tha bed after ya fell out fer tha second time.  Last couple o' days ya been pretty quiet.  Ya seemed to wake up a couple o' times, but ya would just mumble things I couldn't understand, and would pass back out just as quick as ya woke up.  Gotta admit, ya had me wonderin' if'n ya were gonna make it."

"Hope you enjoyed the show.  How long am I gonna be cooped up in here, Doc?"

"Well, I s'pose you can leave whenever ya want.  Might be a bit 'fore you're up ta a hundred percent, but the venom should be out o' yer system now."

Hearing this, Solana began to sit up to gather her belongings, once again being reminded of her head splitting migraine, and collapsed back down on the bed.  "Ya know what?  I think I'll just lay here for a while longer," Solana groaned, clenching her eyelids together and clutching her head.

Early the next morning,  Solana collected her belongings and stepped out of the makeshift clinic.  All around her, she saw people going about their daily chores.  In the orchards, there were people tending the apple trees that were the towns livelihood.  In town, shopkeepers were opening their businesses, and others were milling about, repairing and reinforcing various buildings.  On the outskirts of town, she spotted a trader, one whom she recognized as 'Cap Collector', doing business with a few locals.

"Bingo!" Solana whispered to herself, knowing this would be her best chance to re-stock at a decent price.  "Come along, Vera.  We've got some shopping to do!" she said