Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

by InsanityDanity

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human, Other, Original Character, Comedy, Adventure, Crossover
Length: 29254

Set in a parallel universe to the original Fallout Equestria university. One man must defiy everything to save his own skin as well as the fate of an entire world from a power hungry military organization. Will he succeed or fail?

Booker Evens, professional cave explorer, now the lone survivor of a cataclysmic cave in, has just set off a chain of events not supposed to happen. Now with the fate of an already destroyed world resting on his shoulders, he'll make dangerous friends and allies while his enemies rip holes in space and time itself. Follow him on his adventure through the Equestrian Wasteland, laugh at his stupid antics, and watch as he is forced to kill those who he though he trusted before. They say that the right man in all the wrong places can make all the difference in the world, let's hope to hell their right.

First story and it isn't perfect and I like it that way. Grammar may suck and sometimes may be misspelled. Let me know if something is misspelled and I'll try to fix it if I can. Can't do much for the grammar, so sorry. Story is just for fun, hope you guys enjoy. Also a huge shout out to one of my friends for lending me a few of his OCs.

Published 2016-09-18 22:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-02-22 03:22:53 UTC

Chapter 1

Author's Note

Hey just to make a few things clear before you read. I only own my orgininal characters and CrossTech Indistries, nothing else. If I make mention of real life people, places, or events it is for entertaminet purposes only. I do not mean to copywrite againts anyone. This will follow a more straight forward game like design. Lastly Booker goes by a unquice skill tree that adds a new skill to master, Archery. If you hae any comments, questions, or concerns please let me know-ID out

Chapter 1

Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

Chapter 1

The Cave

Part One: Down the Rabbit hole and Through the Looking Glass

" Ok CrossTech feild log 01. Date is March 27, 2018. Time is 11:37 AM. Ok I think its recording." The camera flashes on to reveil a slightly stocky mane with sandy blonde hair with glasses. He's wearing a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. What surrounds him is dense jungle, foliage towering over his head. The camera rotates to reviel three other people. Two more guys and one girl, all wearing the same button ups, plus navy blue jeans, and black hiking boots. Except for one who is wearing faded tan cargo pants. Behind them is a small camp set up, nothing to goggle at but serves its purpose." Now to document the crew. You are hearing the voice of Richard Temp, technical expert and supplier during our adventure. Now can the rest of you tell me who you are and what you do?" The man chuckles behind the camera. The camera walks closer to the people." First up is the lovely lady." The girl in question has blonde hair as well but dark chocolate eyes.

" I'm Meggain Livily, First Responder. I'll be treating anyone who gets hurt while out here." She smiles warmly and contiunes paking up a hiking backpack. The camera wobbles over to an African Amercan man paking up is own bag." And you are?" The man behind the camera questions.

" Omar Slips, Geologist. I'll be leading us through our desinated cave." He chuckles.

" Hmm nah I think the spot of leader is reserved for Dewitt over there." The camera rapidly moves over to a man with brown hair packing up." Oh haha very funny." He snarks."Fucking asshole." He mutters under his breath but is picked up by everyone else.

" Oh come now Booker, I'm just trying to have a bit of fun out here. Give something good for the camera." Said camera moves closer to Booker.

" I'd take this a bit more profesionally if I were you, Richard. Splunking is a very dangerous endevor. You fuck around even just once and you could trap yourself down there for good. Now for your little roll call thing. I'm Booker Evans, Adventurer and semi profesional splunker. Now get the camera out of my face." Booker shoves the camera away with his hand. Richard just laughs. Meggain pipes up though." Richard could you put down the camera and pack your own bag now?"

" Ok fine." The camera cuts off.

---Booker's POV---

I finish stuffing the last water bottle of mine in my orange hiking backpack. I love doing this kind of suff. Call me crazy for being a bit dardevilish for jumping off buildings, cliffs, and running into dark caves, but it just reves up my adenerline. But safety is a must expesially for what we're going into. Apperantly our employers bought a massive ammout of land and had a large expansive cave system about a hundred miles from here. Then this cave system was unearthed. So for the past mont I've spent working with trio of urban explorers. Meggain, Omar, and Richard, ah these three are an odd bunch. Richard is the son of the weathy polotican but Richard was always tech savvy, if yiu call waving a camera in someone's face tech savvy.

Meggain, ah Meg, your so full of hopes and dreams. She loves helping people, even at the cost of her own health. She earnd a bachlors degree in medical science at Chicago university. She signed up because she thought it would be fun. All I know is that she will have more than just minor bumps and bruises to take care of. Omar is kind of mystourious guy. He actully just showed two weeks ago and CrossTech put him in charge of taking us to the cave, lovely. Still thought this is just what I need, time away from the city." We packing food or not?" Richard looks up from his previsions.

" We're only gonna be there for 4 hours or so. Pack small food items like granola, protien bars, and beef sticks. Pack plenty of water though. Dougt we'll run into fresh spring water down there." I tell him. Omar speaks up.

" If we do find spring water down there it should be safe enough to drink. The sedimentary rocks should filter it out enough to drink." Hmm gotta agree with Omar now.

" Okay Omar has a point but still pack water." I zip up my bag." Okay I'm ready to go. Anyone else ready?" I look over at Meg, who stands up right after I did." I'm ready to rock and roll." I sigh after she said that." Please don't ever say that again."

" So you tell her not to say rock and roll, yet we can't call you Booker Dewitt?" Richard laughs. I pick up a chunk of dirt and toss it at him. The dirt splatters on his whilte shirt." Oh you fucking ass." He laughs. Omar clears his throat.

" You two love birds done horsing around? We've got a good half an hour of jungle walking before we get there. We all set?"

" Yep I'm good." I answer. Every puts on a yellow hard hat with a flashlight attched to it.

" I'm ready." Meg answers.

" I guess I'm ready." Richard sighs, oh this is going to be a fun trip." Ok then lets go then." Omar annouces.

The entrance is right in front of us now, yay. Its your tipical cave opening, nothing special about it. Richard taks out a cilynder shaped object and hits a black button on it. A red light flashes on as well as a slight beeping." What is that?" Meg points out the object.

" Dunno. The higher ups gave it to me and told me to turn it on before we enter the cave. They said when the beeping gets loud as hell then stops, I am to stick it in the ground. I guess its some kind of homing becon." Strange.

" Ok everybody, turn your headlamps on and lets head inside." Omar says turning on his headlamp. I follow suite as does Meg and Richard." In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again." I mutter and Richard laughs.

" Seriously Booker? An Alice quote? Aren't you a bit old for that shit?" I roll my eyes ad walk into the cave. Dark and damp, boy a teen could make tons of momma jokes just from those two words, heh. Meg follows behind me as I look around. The walls have been eroded to the point of being smooth. I run my hand against the stoney wall. Cool to the touch compared to the outside Carribean tropics. Nothing of interest so far. I set my bag down and pull out a notebook. I'm in charge of taking as many notes as possible about the cave and everything inside the cave. I start putting down notes about the cave's condition. I get a very Minecrafty feel from this whole fiasco. We don't split up due to the increase of getting lost." So Booker, how many caves have you explored so far?" Omar asks out of the blue.

" At least 20 so far. Three of them were underwater. Trust me when I say this, you won't know closterpohbia until your wearing a scuba tank and underground."

" Damn, you must have cahonas made of diamonds and the size of Texas." Richard chuckles and I flip him off. We continue deeper into the cave. I hope down a ledge and help everyone else down. Richard decided to take out his camera and starts documenting everything he sees. Its pretty funny and the echo is great down here." Booker come check this out!" Meg wave over to where she's at. I walk over to her and to my astoisment, there is a clear cave painting." How old do you think it is?" I take a closer look. It depicts man hunting wild animals with sticks and bows. There appears to be a main hunter in the middle with bow in one hand and a spear in the other. Next to him looks to be some sort of small horse drawn by his waist, odd.

" Well judging by the design of it and what kind of structure it has. I'd have to estemate it at around 6,000 to 5,000 years old. Nice find Meggain, not everyday you can look apon a depiction from 6,000 BCE. Hey Richard get your camera viewing ass over here and document what we found." Richard walks over, careful of tripping over rocks and a stalgemight near us. He gasps and quickly starts filming. I take note of the much more known beeping coming from his belt, where the tracking becon is hung from. I look over my shoulder to see Omar picking up small rocks and putting them in sample bags. After a few minutes Omar waves us over and he points us in another path way. I take lead and and we come across something definatly strange. There seems to be a support beam system in this chamber. Three big logs jet up into the celing while a major log rests on the while. Three more logs jet into the stone floor below us.

" Wow, was not expecting this." Omar coughs." Guys you smell that? Smells like sulfur." Yeah the gross as BO oder that is sulfer. Richard's tracking device beeps like mad.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Then silence. Richard unbuckles it and presses another button on the device. A metal spike shoots out of there, I guess using for drilling it into the ground but what about stone? Richard, for all his might, rams that thing into the stone floor. To my surprise it actually sticks to the floor quite nicely. Then a blueish flash is emmited from the device, next thing is that our flashlights all go out at the same time.

" I've got a bad feeling about this." Omar mutters. I've got a bad feeling cliche. the ground starts to rumble and shake like an earthquake, hey that rhyms! My eyes adjust to the pitch blackness just enough to see both the celling and the floor giving way." OH SHIT MOVE!" I shout and try to shove Meg onto safer ground. But before I can get to her the ground gives way and we free fall into the the abyss, which leads us down a rocky slide down. We all scream...

InsanityDanity presents-

I hit a rock right in the chest knocking all the wind out of me. We are hitting everything like a bunch of ragdolls.

An inspired story based of another-

Omar gets impaled on the way down to where ever this leads. I smack another rock causing me to roll head over heels down.

For all of the FoE fans out there-

The slide abrumptly ends leading off a cliff face down. I see Richard smash into a large slabe of rock just before the cliff face.

I present to you-

We all fall into the unknown now. My hands are flaling all over the place as I scream, then nothing but cold hard stone. I roll a few times. The last thing I see is Richard's smashed and bloodied body land right next to me, his face a mere foot away.

FALLOUT EQUESTRIA: OTHERLANDS...

Loading....Loading....

THUMP THUMP...THUMP THUMP....THUMP THUMP

" Ugh....uhhhh, uhhh." My eyes creek open to see Richard's frozen face, still locked with his eyes wide open in fear. I groan again as I look ever to my left, to see Meggain's body laying on her side. Oh fuck....oh fuck....oh fuck oh fuck. I try to lift myself up but immeditly raked with agonizing pain in my chest, definatly broke several ribs, shit. My breathing is shallow and rapid. I can't move and I'm surrounded by dead people. Okay, okay Booker...power through this, get up. My breathing becomes rapidly fast as I push myself up. My screams echo through out as I sit up." Oh shiiit, fucking Christ." I grab at my thumping painful chest, I feel a few bumps out of place, yeah broke ribs. I don't want to move anymore right now, too much pain. I look around and see something shocking, yet at the same time brillaint, if not for the situation right now, I would be grinning. There is some natural light being brought in by a vast celling above me, it doesn't even seem like there was a cave in caused by us. There are a few holes where light was being brought in, its greyish, dim, and almost life sucking, yet it was light none the less. I feel strong enough to crawl over to Meg. Pain, all I feel is pain as I drag my legs behind me." Meg? Meggain, please answer me." I groan as I shake her shoulder. All she does is nothing, no movement, nothing, fuck.

"Fuck...fuck...FUCK! GODDAMMIT! WHY!?. Oh shit, oh fuck. NO!" I scream out, my voice echoing throughout the caveren. I need to get up, stand up. I try but fall back down on my ass as pain exploded through my right leg. I look down to see a large shard of rock stabbed into the side of my shin, shit." Oh fucking hell." I mutter. Great broken ribs, dead people, and now a punctered leg. I reach down and try to move the shard, it moves and bleeds. I wince and groan as I try to wiggle it around. Blood covers my hand quickly and with one scream filled pull, the shard pulls free, covered in blood, I toss it away. The faint echo of stone bouncing off stone sounds. I quickly realized I was bleeding out from my now gaping wound. Quick on instinct, I rip off my white button up shirt, despite the pain from my chest, and rip off one of the sleeves to wrap around my leg. My shirt was already covered in dirt, dust, and...mud? Thankfully I was wearing my grey tanktop today. I wrap it around my bleeding wound tightly. I take a deep breath, the pain now being slightly replaced with sadness, curiosity, and slight hope of a way out. Okay Booker, time to get up now.

I struggle to my feet, almost falling foward but I catch myself before I could. I look to my right to see Richard's body still battered and discolored now. Okay moarn later, right now fix yourself so you can moarn. I try to take a step forward only to collapse to my hands and knees. Oh god, the pain I feel is terrbile, fuck. I groan and try to move, only to almost collapse in a heap. I move my hand and feel something bump against it. I look down to see an orange pill bottle laying on the cobble floor. I pick it up and read it:

'Avinza, Morphine. Please use wiselly. Take two caplsals by mouth once daily.' Perfect, painkillers. I would have settaled for more safe pain meds but this should help tremendiously. I pop opn the pill bottle and down two capsuals. I'm been on morphine before so I'm used to the effects, not drug abuse but regular medical stuff. I groan as I try to stand again, I have to power through this. I can't though, my leg feels useless, need to find something to prop myselft up with. I look to my left to see the broken pieces of log that feel with us, its splintered and rotten, but it will work. I grab the broken wood and use it to stand up. The morphine is starting to kick in now so the pain is lossening its iron grip on me. I take a look around and see that our bags have been ripped open during our fall, strewing our supplies all over the place. I don't see Omar though, oh wait, he got stuck through by a stalagtight. I take a few limp steps forward, gazing at the cave. Its huge, a massive cavern full of dark corners, holes to other chambers, and random stalagtights and stalagmights everywhere I turn and see. I hear the sound of running water, that's a very good sign.

I take a few breaths and limp over to Meg's body. I roller her over on her back to see, well a rock where her right eye should be."Oh god..." I mutter," You had your whole life ahead of you, but now your just gone. I'll burn you peacefully." I sigh, this is hard enough, but I hate to sound like a complete ass, but I still barely knew anyone here. Each of us were plucked from our respective jobs and surrounds to work together. Richard is the only person I had any kind of contact with outside of work. I kinda hated him though at the same time. I sigh and close Meg's left eye, rest in peace I guess. I sigh again and stand up, with the help of the stick. I go over and repeat the same process with Richard, not wanting to think about it.I know them but didn't know them well. Well except Richard.

Okay, now tim to make a plan of action. Your injured but not dead, find a way out. Remember, when one door closes another opens up. Oky its still retty dark in here, but luckily I'm in a natural light spot. I need to gather whatever I can, bags, food, medicine from Meg's bag, wood, anything I can salvage.

It took me a good half hour to pick up most of what I could. All of our bags were ripped open, scattering all of our shit all over the place. I managed to collect 5 bottles of our water, a few granola bars, 2 of the beef sticks, a few medical supplies, two of my notebooks, and several scraps of wood and fabric from the riped up bags. The technical equipment were all either crushed, fried, or dead. None of it works. The sound of water is comforting enough to the point I could use it to clean out my leg wound. The pain in my chest still hurts but with the help of the morpine I took, I can barley feel it right now. its to dark though, and I'm afraid of falling over another edge or accidently impaling mysekf of something. I pick up a modist piece of wood, yeah this can work.

I rip another sleeve off my shirt and wrap it around the top of the stick. Ironicly I found a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, which is flamable. I squirt a bit of the top and pick up two small stones next to me. I hope this works. I strike them togethar, and I smile a bit after seeing small sparks shoot off. I strike the stones next to the torch, once, twice, a third, then I see a tiny flame start on the wraped side. I blow on it til the flaw spreads to the rest of the upper part of the wooden club. Great now let there be light. I move the torch around to make sure the fire won't go out.

" Okay find the water source. Maybe that might lead to an exit." I mutter to myself. I get up from the rock I was sitting on and star my wobble to another chamber enterance. The light of my torch flickers and dances off the cave walls as I slowly march onward. The sounds of water increase as does the sounds of, I think an animal, fuck. Okay don't panic don't panic. The tunnel I passed through leaded into anoter large chamber with a stream! Oh fuck my luck is turning around slightly. I hobble over to the stream and immediatly take a few sips of water. It tastes a bit funny but overal it s fresh enough. I notice that there is mud all along the bank of the stream, along with a few plants. These plants look stooky and resembale reeds, still they are not reeds as far as I know. I go over and before I touch it, the sound of an animal's rawr echos throught the cave. Ok I think I know what I can use these reed like plants for.

I pluke them both, as it grew into two stooks from one root. I don't feel like cleaning out my wound now know that I'm not along in this place. So I hobble my way back to the main area I cam from. Time to formulate a plan of action or else I will die down here like the others, prehaps I should burn the bodies since I can't dig out stone.

Either way, I'm mostlikly screwed.

Footnote:

Level Up!

New Perk: Intense Training- Increase one of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes, (Preception raise to 6).

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3

Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

Chapter 3

Wasteland

My eyes flicker open a few times before completely opening. I sit up and yawn. I was hoping for a split second I would be in my house and all of what happened was just a dream, but now still same place as before. Fucking reality, I can't tell anything now. Well knowing that whatever time it is, I'm not going back to sleep. I've overstayed my welcome in this cave so I think there has to be a way out through here, somewhere. I stretch a few times before standing up. Okay need to think of something. I look down at the Pip-boy, and its still on the note section. I flip to the status section and I see a time desplayed in the upper right hand corner.'8:15 am', well at least I now know the time. I look over to the rack I set up to dry outh the hog's hide. Seems like the fire dried it out while I was asleep.

Speaking of the fire, it died out sometime while I was asleep. I don't have any spare wood so I can't reginite it. I sigh and decide to work in the dark. Seems like my eyes have adjusted to the point of temporay low level vision, I guess I can't argue with that. Okay now I need to make a bag, how hard can that be? I go over and grab each strip I cut out for pockets and lay them out on the ground. I grab the main set of hide used for the sack and I also grab the strips being used for the quiver. I take out from the small sack I already made, a bone needle and some thread, the tread being small strips of clothing I still had. I lay out the sack hide and start looking at where I could put the pockets at. Hmm, I have five larger strips as well as five smaller ones.

I've got it.

I'll put three larger strips on the inside, all wrapping around the inside as a folder style. The five smaller strips will be used for five smaller pockets on the outside. I'll use the last two strips as two strpas, one going across my chest and one going under my right arm to the middle, yeah that could work. I could sew a kind of fabric lock system out of the old sack. As for the quiver? I'll just make a larger quiver than the one I have, but I'll still use the old one as a base for the new one, build from it to be more prescice. Okay I hope this works out...

Time flies pretty fast when your occupied. I manged to craft with my own two hands a bag and quiver. You know that feeling of pride when you do something your good at or something you've never done before? Well I'm feeling pride from this, that old moutainman pride. The bag came out better than I though, to be honest I figured it was going to fall apart as soon as I tried to use it. I tested it out by packing everything I had and ran aound with it on. The straps held together well. Everything bounced a bit inside but thats to be expected. I may have looked stupid running around but it works, so sue me. The lock system I made is basiclly just a knot tieing system, simple but pratical.

I even jumped off a few of the bed frames and rolled on the groud to see it it would hold up. It moved up slightly but it held. I did the same with the quiver and it held too. I feel better both physically and mentally, and with a small boost of confidence I'm ready to leave. I snuff out any still burning embers, hey fire safety 101. Okay so where would an exit be? I guess just try the command area first. I follow the tunnel back to the fork and take the left again. I hum to myself along the way. I walk back into the command area, now without table or chair, and begin looking every inch of the place. Every carved out stone wall, behind the desk, everywhere. Shit, nothing. Okay the only other place is the body room, great just great. I sigh and march back to the living area and then go to the door to the body room. You get like two feet from the door you can already smell the death inside, ugh. Okay hold my nose hold my breath. I open the door and the room is almost illimnated by some sort of small light. Its not my pip-boy but some souce of natuarl light, that's a good sign.

I walk around the lone natrual piller that stood in the middle of the room, also I had to dodge the dacying bodies. Fuck the smell in here almost makes me want to vomit. But cleaning out the hog wasn't the best smelling area either. I still faintly smell like it, so walking through its lair shouldn't be that bad, I'm not particularly cresent fresh myself.

I see the faint, very faint, light coming from a boarded up wall, or door in this contect. Yes a way out of this hell hole! I praticly run up to it. Its boared up from the outside, like someone didn't want anyone getting in here, and they'd be right. I push on one of the borads and kick something in the prossces. I look down to see another burnt horse with something metal near its face. I reach down and pick it up. It looks like some kind of...gun. No regular trigger but some sort of grip off to the left side. Whatever it is, looks important so I'll take it. I pocket the gun like object and push on the boards again. One starts to become lose, good sign. I then slam my left shoulder into the boards hard, it hurt but I saw a board collapse. I do it again, two more fell, exelent. I rear back and slam my shoulder into the boards and I bust through them and fall right on my chest hard. That hurt. So I guess hit something three times in a game cliche actually works in this.

Okay out of one dark hell into a less dark, more grey, but fuck me sideways with a road sign, goddamn burned hell. I pick myself up and what I'm staring at comfirms my suspishon. Goddamn burn nuclear holocost wasteland. It is nothing more than burned land, very few patches of vegatation, and scorched trees, fucking perfect. I look up to see no sun but a thick ass wall of just solid cloud, holy hell.

Ever have that moment of clarity? Where your just like' Holy Fuck, this is my life.' Well I'm having that right now. My breathing is rapid and my eyes are just all over the place. I've done something to piss God off greatly. Despite my mental state corrding away I walk down the rocks, careful not to fall, until I find proper footing on the ground." Welp out of the oven and into straight hellfire." I mutter to myself. Oh boy what horrors wait my ass out here?

I step down to the groud and my pip-boy makes a noise. I look down at it and it has labled the cave I came out of as 'The Remmants Hideout'. Okay so that must have been some post war group of enemy soliders trying to hide out after the war, only to meet a grizzly end via gigant warthog, seems legit. Speaking of said hog, the meat I still have I need to eat within the next day or so before it spoils, old pork equals bad pork.

Boring grey burned land. Nothing but a few scorched trees, dirt, and rocks. I did grab a few pieces of wood from the trees, hey its still wood after all, just a bit black around the edges. I can make out the faintness of a building up ahead, still far away but closes enough to see it in the distance. I start to hum to myself again, just something I do to keep myself calm. The orst thing you'd ever want to do is freak out constantly and have no plan of action. If you just allow yourself to remain calm in most situations, you'll be amazed on what you can accoplish.

Okay the building looks to be an old run down farm, maybe someone is inside? I get closer and my pip-boy makes the same noise as before.' Sweet Apple Acres', so this is or was an apple farm? Not the worst thing to grow but still really? I get to the actual farm house and the door is already busted in, so much for a plesant knocking then. I draw my machete and walk in slowly, eyeing every coner for movement. Seems like its barren and deserted. The whole place is in a complete state of decay and disrepair. Nothing of worth, even for me, is in here, well minus the few boxes of soaps strewn all over the place. I could find use for those eventualy. Do I dare go up the stairs? I mean my fat ass would probaly break through them easily. I sigh, my urge to explore taking over, and carefuly make my way up the stairs. I go into one room to find another computer, only the sickly green glow is iluminating the room slightly.

I go over to it and its already logged on. I see a few messages on it, most displaying corrupted next to them, save for two. I select the bottom message only to see its some kind of downloadable file, nah I'm not gonna risk fucking up the pip-boy for a stupid message. I select the other message.

' To any pony who has left Stable Two in search of me:

Please, go home. I am doing what I have to do. The Overmare understands, even if she can never agree, and I hope one day you will to. I will not be back. Do not look for me. Do not endanger yourself further for my sake. Please forgive me.

Velvet Remedy'

Okay an odd note definantly. I look down at my pip-boy and I see some kind of small port on the back. Maybe that plugs into the computer? The games were never very spesific about how it downloading notes. Hmm I've got time considering that I've got nothing better to do. I poke at the port on the pip-boy and then a cable pops out like a spring....CONVENIANCE! I pull the cord out more and I find a pluggin port on the computer. I manage to dowload the note, which is now labled 'Velvet's Message'. Okay learing things everyday, perfect. I leave the computer and cheak the other rooms, nothing of interest so I leave the house entierly. I walk around the house and go inspect the barn. Its in shambles like th house, full of rusted farm equipment, but nothing I could properly use. I sigh and walk back out in the open. Nothing of....hey are those apples on that tree over there? Once again, strange luck.

I walk over to the decaying tree which still is producing its fruit, strange but fuck all reality. I look at one of the fallen apples on th ground. Its got a greenish hue to it and its delpitated. I look back up and go for the closest apple, better eat what I can find so to save previsions later I guess.

" I wouldn't eat that if I were you." A metallic voice sounds off behind me. I whip around with machete in hand to see a floating ball of metal. Its got a grill like face plate, four wings that are moving rapidly, two antenas, and a small gun like thing on the bottom of it." The fuck are you?" I ask the metal ball, not expecting an answer.

" I could ask you the same thing." The voice responds, it...responeds, great, just fucking great." I saw you walking toawrds Sweet Apple Acres not far from here, and when I saw you going for one of thoes apples, I felt like I needed to intervein." Yeah I'm crazy, just crazy.

" Uhhuh yeah thanks for...stopping me from eating an apple, very heroic of you, you desirve a gold star." Ah sarcasm is something I tend to fall back on.

" Hey! I could have just let you eat that and die then if thats how your gonna act. Ugh never mind that, just what are you exactly? Through out my exploration of the Equestrian Wasteland I've never encountered something as yourself." Hmm he, or it seems rather curious now.

" I'm a human. Wait, you've never seen and human before?"

" A human? I'll have to make note of that for later use. Do you have a name, human?" Okay offically gone insane now, yay for mental health decline." Uhh my name is Booker, Booker Evans. What about you?" I hear a metallic chuckle from the bot.

" You can call me Watcher. Your name is odd and funny, but not as strange as some that I have heard. Where did you come from exactly?" I point out twoards the rocky hills." From in a cave system not far from here. I was exploring a cave with some of my friends," If I'd even call them that." The was a cave in, and I was the only one to survive. I ran into some sort of warthog, managed to kill it, and fashened myself a ruksack from its hide. No I'm here talking to you, whatever the hell you are." The bot seems to inspect me from behind as well as front.

" I'm impressed to see you've made all of that yourself. I also see you have a Pip-Buck on your, uh arm there. As for what I am, well actually I'm not there where your at. I hacked one of these sprite-bots to investigate the wasteland. Look I've got a limitated time on these bots before I'm kicked out of their systems. I'm going to give you something to search for and some advice. You look like somepony who likes reading. There's a book you'd propbaly like, called 'The Wasteland Survival Guide', it should be in the Ponyville Mart store not far from here. I'll send the information to your Pip-Buck. Now for the advice, first off don't eat the apples, their all posionous..."

" Posionous? Hmm that may just come in handy then." I cut him off and pick one of the apples anywhay." So what kind of posions are we talking about?"

" Uhh don't know for sure myself. I have seen poines attempt to cook them, only for the apples to burst into a massive could of toxic gases, killing them. Why do you ask?" I pull out of of my arrows and stab it into the apple, watching the almost gooey juices cover the bone arrowhead and a bit of the shaft, yeah this might work." Oh nothing, figure I'd up my antey a bit then. So you have other advice?" I put the arrow back in my quiver.

" Um yes, yes. Get some armor, the outfit your already wearing won't cut it againts bullets, gain better weapons, that bow looks like it would fall apart if you draw it back," I nock an arrow and draw back and fire the arrow striaght into a nearby tree." I dunno, seems pretty sturdy to me." I chuckle, I'll get that arrow in a moment.

" Riiight, anyway, have a bit of guidence, and lastly but most importantly, make some friends." Wait, make some friends?

" Make some friends? How? You said you've never seen a human before, who would be out there if no humans exist here, based from your view?"

" Look the impotance is," There is static and then the sounds of marching music plays. The bot ten buzzes silently off without a care in the world, why do I have the feelin that I'm going to run into that Watcher person more than once? I walk over and retrive my arrow from the tree, then I pick a few more apples, the more deadly the arsenal the better. Ah varitity, the spice of life. I use the same apple I used before to make two more posion arrows, I hope these aren't duds.

I look down at my pip-boy and see that something has come up in he objectives menu' Retrive The Wasteland Survival Guide from the Ponyville Mart', hmm how hard could that be?

I fucking hate the existance of my life. I need to learn shut the fuck up, even in my head, beacuse I jinx and balls everything up. Not five minutes into arriving in this shit hole of a town, and some bugger is already taking pock shots at me from a balcony in tree. I nearlly got shot in the shoulder, but their piss poor aim left a dent in the dirt rather than in me. I am now hiding behind wooden rubble, just my luck. I still don't know who, or what, is taking shots at me. The shooting seces and I hear two voices, a man and a woman.

" The fuck are you shooting at dammit? You're wasting ammo!" The man yells.

" I...I saw something headed this way. It looked tall and was wearing strange shit. I shot at it but, fuck these chem withdrawls are making me shoot all over the damn place. It dove behind some rubble over there." Boy does she sound cranked off her high horse.

" Your seeing things now. I would say go get a fixer to calm your withdrawls but somepony used them all!"

" Fuck off! Wasn't my falt. Go ask somepony else and see who used them! I've got to go bag us dinner anyway." She sounds fucked up. The guy doesn't fair much better but wow. Why are they saying somepony though? Mus be whatever their on I guess. I peek out of cover but I can't make out who is up there. Something moves up there and I dart back down. I feel like my Skyrim sneak skill has just gone up by 1." Di-did you see that?! Fucker is spying on us! I say we go and kill it!" The women cries, or screams in that matter.

" Ugh you stupid bitch! You know what, fine, fuck I'll get Slash and the three of us can go chash down your fantsy monster."

" I'll get my shotgun!" Oh fuck, yay visitors, no wait not yay, fuck. My heat is pounding against my chest now. I hear what sounds like a door opening, then what sounds like...the clopping of hooves? What? Ugh your hearing things, just be ready for whatever comes near. I draw my bow and nock an arrow. I don't draw back yet but I sit waiting, hiding behind a rubble barrier. I feel like I'm in a motherfucking Call Of Duty game, the good ones though, the Worl War 2 ones." Come out come out wherever you are." Another guy coos, okay kinda creepy. I hear the footsteps, getting closer to me, fuck.

Okay another moment of 'Holy Fuck this is my life.' Out from behind the rubble comes out this four foot, I think, horse. Its fur coat is a dark blue, sporting sevral scars and cuts. its wearing barding made out of I think leather and metal bits. Its mane is a brownish color with green streaks in it. Its the hog all over again. We each blink at each other, now this begs the question, do I shoot it or no? I notice on its right front leg it has some kind of holster with something sticking out of it. It still stares blankly at me." Uhh, hi?" I say while drawing back if it tries to charge. Its left ear twitches. Its right eye twitches, then it...it screams." AHHHHHHHHHHH!" And it gallops off, okay one way to meet a horse. I hear the voices again.

" The fuck you screaming about!? You find it or what?"

" I...I...I saw it! Behind that rubble over there! It was huge and had something in its paws!"

" You two are pussies. I'll go kill your beast for you." The sound of steps again. Another horse rounds the corner. This one is a purplish with a blue mane. It holds some short of object in its mouth, oh shit, it looks like a gun." Goth ya!" It fires and the shot hits me in the left shoulder, grazing it thankfuly.

" GAH FUCK!" I draw all the way back and fire an arrow blankly at it, I manage to hit it in the leg.

"Ahf shth!" It stumbles back and I take the opertunity to vault over the rubble, only to see the other horse I saw along with...another." Hey there it is! Kill it!" The one that screamed when it saw me pulls out another mouth held gun thing and starts shooting aimlessly at me. Really? Gun shooting, talking horses? This world is fucked up on so many levels. I dart behind more rubble. I look at my shoulder, damn it burns but luckly the bullet grazed it. I whip the blood off and I nock another arrow. Okay I've only got four arrows left gotta make them count. I peer out over the cover to see the three hourse coming towards me. The one I shot is limping, I'll put it out of its missery. I pop up and draw back and fire. The arror rips through her left coroted aritry and collapses in a pool of blood, dropping its gun object. I nock another and fire at the closest one to me. I hit its chest and it collapses in a heap, don't know if its dead yet though. The last one charges at me holding I think a knife in its mouth. I side step to avoid its poor attack and decide to fight mono e mono. I kick it back and draw my own blade. Okay it rears back on its hind legs and swings like a man at me, fuck.

I step back and as it swings again I block with my left arm and headbutt it in the face. While he's stunned I close the gap between us and stab it in the stomach. It lets out a gasp and I let it go. It stumbles back holding its stomach with its hooves amd then falls on its back. Blood has already started to pool around. It gazes up at me." Wha- the fuck...are you?" I respond with the first thing that comes to my mind.

" Your worst nightmare." Its head falls back, its dead. I let out the longest sigh. What the hell is goin on with my life. I guess anythng can happen now can't it? Well obvisouly talking tecnicolored horses which can shoot guns from their mouths, I'm pretty sure I'm in hell now. Hmm figured there'd be more hellfire. I look down at the horse, I'm not taking whatever armor they have, despite what that robot said. It wouldn't fit either way, too small for me. I go ahead and quickly retrive th arrows, only for one to snap while I do, oh well. Okay so I got into a fight with a horse, heh just call me Booker Evans Horse Puncher haha. I should document this for later retelling, though no one will belive me if I do. I drag the three bodies out into an open area and I pull out my notebook. I start marking down different details that may come in handy. I make note on how the two with larger more profound heads are male while the one with the smaller head, also she is the one who shot me, her head is smaller than the two guys. I make rough sketches of their heads, bodies, and their legs, noting on how strangly they move like human arms despite actual horse legs only bending downward not upwards. I guess growing up in Colorado actully paid off in the sense that most of my neighboors where farmers and they had at least one or two horses. But whats the deal with the tattoos on their asses? Strange indeed. I put my notebook away and I look around. Okay so I'm injured but still kicking. I'll need to find some bandages or something to covr up my shoulder. Also Watcher may have been right about my bow being shit.

Some of the wrappings I used are starting to fray and two of the four major wood pieces I used to make it are starting to crack and splinter. I do have the some of the parts to fix it but I need like a workbench or something to help. Well maybe if I'm lucky this store I'm heading to will have something to help. So where do I head to? I pick a completely random direction and start walking further into town. So this place is right shithole I'll you that. Oh hello creepy billboard. Its a pink horse with a candy cane mane, smiling eerily at you with a caption saying' Pinkie Pie is watching you Forever'. Creepy as hell.

Destroyed building, destroyed building, oh look another destroyed building, what does it mean? Soda machine? Hey thats new! I walk over to the machine and it...looks like its seen some shit but looks like I can get into it. I look around on it side to see the locked area, where the vendor would open it to restock. Its rusted to the point that just the right ammount of pressure would break the lock. I pull out my machete and press the tip into the small area etween the lock and the machine. I pull down hard and SNAP, the lock breaks. I'm either extremly lucky or just...good. I pull open the machine and see two intact bottles.'Sparkle-Cola' with a purple lable and red bottlecap lid. Hmm a lunch break should be in order. I sit on the ground next to the veding machine, and pull out the cooked meat from last night. I take my machete and open the meat, cut off some small chucnks and eat them. I pop open the soda and take a swig. I spit it out." The fuck is this? This isn't soda, taste like carrot V8! Ugh.." I take another sip. Once again radiation is being absorbed, great.

I let out a belch, fuck table manners. You know what, I think I can get used to the taste.

Level Up!

Footnote: Medicine(25)

New Perk: Mongal Teachings- Your ancestors would be proud. Headshots with bows do 15% more damage. Allows running with an arrow nocked.

Chapter 4

Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

Chapter 4

The Shotgun Mare

Okay after my short lunch break, which also gave me time to tend to my shoulder, I used he last cloth rag I had. Oh well it went to good use. Now I'm having trouble find a store, lucky me. My pip-boy isn't providing much help and I still don't know how to fucking use it. Ugh I hate...just everything now. No one has showed up so far so I guess thats good, I hope. No traps so thats good. Anyway of getting home, nadda. Ah fuck I'm just gonna get consumed by this place aren't I. To kill without mercy is to kill without purpous. And thats how you become a serial killer. Though killing horses that shoot back...its either the pyshcoactive LSD trip or a mental patinte's nightmare. I'm just saying though, I'd rather have the LSD trip. Yay more broken shit. I sigh and kick a bent can, I better find this store fucking quick or I'm gonna-

Ever have that moment of just plan lucky couincidence? Well I just ran into fucking wall, a wall of an intact building. My pip-boy sounds and the place is labled' Ponyville Genral Mart', holy fucking shit on a shingle, goddamn conveniance. Okay so I ran into my objective, counicendentaly as well as conveniantly. Now to get inside, hmm no door on this side of the building. Okay try the front of it. I round the corner of the mart and I deadpan...mines, fucking mines sterwn out on the lot. About twenty or so layed out to the point that if one goes off all go off. Hmm this may be fun as hell if I can get them to go off. Should I? Should I? Okay extreme hopsotch lets do this! I take one step forward in a gap of two mines and I step forward.

You put one foot in front of the other, oh god I almost started laughing my ass off. Okay I see the door and OH SHIT! I stop dead in my tracks as I almost step right down on mine, fuck that was too close for comfort. I breath heavily and I long hop to the door area, which is surprisingly mine free, thank christ. Well at least I didn't set one off, wait aren't mines supposed to ya know...go off when you step NEAR them? Okay you know what this place is broken reality so I guess mines don't act the same. Either way I didn't become the next Metallica song material. I open the market door to discover another trap, a grenade trip wire. Okay I may not be the brightest and sharpest tool in the shed but I'm smart enough to STEP OVER the bloody thing.

I step over and walk into the actual building. Okay its majorly dark in here, much darker than outside defiantly. Alright if I were a book in some sort of creepy supermarket, I think I'd be in the very back. Oh god the smell just hit me, death and disease, ugh. I step in a dark pool on the floor....ye thts blood, fanfuckingtastic. I look up from where the blood pool is and there's a hanging body there, another horse body, lovely decor.

If this place wasn't infested with psycho horses, it would make a great Halloween horror house. I haven't actually ran into any in here but I'm hearing talking and I'm sneaking around here like a bandit." You think the entrance is safe? I'm not pissing on your ideas here but the entrance isn't particuly hidden."

" I fucking know that you dolt. That's why we laid down those fake mines out there. Nopony in their right mind would dare wonder near an exposed minefeild, but if that dosen't stop the exploritve ones, the grenade trip wire is at the front of the doors. Full proof. Now if your not gonna use that Med-X give it over."

Well that explains why those mines didn't go off. Good thing I'm past pissing myself if I get scared as hell, otherwise I would have soaked my pants. Okay so this place is inhabited by more horse, but they seem to have let their guard down due to their 'sheer engineering prowless', time to piss on their paride. But how? I would get torn to shit If I just went all blazing, plus with the lack of more arrows really sets my standards low right now But maybe I can do the 'throw something to disrtact then assassinate' trick? Could work. I reach down and scoop up an empty can and I toss it at a darkened area near me but I should be hidden enough. Sure enough they hear it.

" The fuck was that?" A girl cries.

" Hang on I'll go check it out." The sound of hoofsteps start coming my way and this horse has...a horn and is floating a gun along with it. Holy shit a unicorn, a unicorn, oh boy. He gets to about the point where I threw the can at annnnd he never saw it coming. I jam my blade into the back of his skull and I break his neck in swift motion. He drops and I grab what he was carring with him. It looks like a sawed off twelve gage shotgun. Akward as hell to hold though, the side grip it has on it is on the left, not the right. Good thing I've watched Die Hard like a thousand times or else I wouldn't know that much about guns, well playing Far Cry and shit probaly would have made up for that but hey. I eject the shells to see two in there, nice a full clip. Okay my survival has gone up slightly due to now owning a beat up shotgun." Hey! Shell? You see anything?" Oh fuck the other one has noticed the lack of extra horse. Should I fuck with her? I mean she's gonna die if she attacks me anyway. Okay time to improv." Yeah I'm here. Didn't see anything, must have been a rat then." I pull off the best I could do.

" Oh well good then. Now get back over here."

" Nah I'm taking a piss right now. I'll be done when I'm done."

" You are a fucking idiot you know that." Okay don't fuck around anymore, just kill the bitch and get the book, simple. I pick p an empty soda bottle and I chuck it over the shelves I'm hiding behind. It shatters an I hear the girl jump. I peak out around cover and I see the poor girl looking around, there's a small table with a lamp on it. She's a unicorn with a two toned dirty blonde mane and her coat is a dark pink color. To be honest why do I get the feeling that I should spare her? Oh boy this should be good. Maybe take a hostege? No why am I thinking like that? Fuck it, I'll die otherwise. The mare is looking around, kinda freaked out maybe? I take the oppurtinity to climb the shelf and perch there like a cat, or a bird, whichever." If you're looking for your friend, you're to late." I call out to her below. She looks up and gasps, and backpeddles into the table, well into her chair, and trips, wow.

" What the fuck!? The hell are you?" She tries to grab at something but I draw my bow faster.

" I wouldn't do that if I were you. You've got two choices right now, cooperate and live, or fight and die. Your choice." I draw back expecting her to whip out a gun and blow me back to kingdom come. But surprisingly she stops grabbing at whatever she was trying to get." Fine, oh you got me. You've got five seconds to explain what the fuckshit you are. Or else I'll call my friends." Okay she's temping me to shoot her. I can read her mouth from here.

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One...

" HEY WE HAVE TROUBLE HERE!" She shouts, shit. From a few shelves away a door burst open and about 7 other horses rush in, each with their own weapons. One is covered in makeshift plate armor and has two miniguns on its side. I can't tell if its a guy or a girl. Sratch that...he lets out a blood curdaling scream and I'm now in a firefight with horses, fuck. I fire off the one arrow I had drawn and I hop down behind the shelves. The miniguns blaze out and pepper the walls around my area, he don't need to aim. One horse runs up to me and tries to stab me with knife. My knife's bigger though. I throw my bow down and slash her throat open and kick her back. I'm covered in her blood now, great. I remember the shotgun so I whip that out and another horse rounds the corner.

BLAM

He drops dead. The gun handles alright but is still hard as hell to hold. Damn one bullet left in it and I hove no spare ammo. Fuck I need to get out of a corner. I rush to the other side of the store room. The miniguns rowar and next thing I feel is a ringing in my ear and pain." AH MY EAR! I GOT SHOT IN THE EAR! Fuck that hurts!"

" HAHAHA little fuck got shot. Now yer gonna die!"

Fuck you asshole. I look down at the ground to see if there's anything I can use. Shit nothing but empty bottles and cans. Something hits me in the head from above and clatters to the ground. Its...its a handful of shotgun shells, what? Screw it, ask questions later. I manage to reload the gun and I decide to rush out of cover to shot. I manage to hit one in the leg, got her enough for her to scream at least. Another mare rushes at me with I think is a pistol, not very smart by the look on her face when I took aim at her. No more face, no more life. I'm much more calm about blowing off someone's face than I thought. Well actually they are all mutated animals to me so I'm doing them a favor. I got shot in the fucking ear though, dammit. I pop out of corner again only to get blasted in the same shoulder I got shot in earlier, again. That asshole with the miniguns. UGH fuck that stings. You'd be surpised that it doesn't hurt as bad as you think, most of your adreniline will dull the pain for the time being. I need to get the upperhand, somehow. I reload again and pop out of cover to fire blankly, I must have hit someone as hear him scream out in pain. That asshole with the miniguns fires at me more, then, clink. He ran out of fucking ammo, idiot.

" Ah shit I'm out!" He screams, now's my chance. Wait...my bow! I rush back to where I threw my bow down at and I take out the one poison arrow I made. I nock it and run out in the open, stupid yes, I'm not a solider so I don't know much militray combat tactics. I draw back and aim at the minigun horse. Suddenly it feels as if time is at a crawl now as I aim right for his heated minigun barrels, hope Watcher was right about those apples. I fire and I'm surprised that I hit right. This puff of greenish hued cloud blankets the minigun horse and the two others helping him reload. They cough and sputter and one grabs for their throat as they coke to death, wow I'm serious deja vu right now. They drop presumibly dead as the gas dissapats and I see the two I injured struggling to get to their hooves and fight. I actually pick up a piece of wood the minigun ripped out by the gun fire and I smack the closest horse to me over the head. He tries to put up some sort of struggle by bucking at me with one of his hind legs but I cheat him out of that via boot to nuts, dirty cheap but effective. I then strike him twice and he's not moving. What the fuck is wrong with me? I've gone violent in a matter of hours of being outside, what's happening to me?

I get shot again in my left arm. Fucking hell. I swing at the mare amd strike her upside the head and she goes down. I think thats it for the enimies. Fuck I can feel the bullet in my forearm, need to get that out. I find a broken piece of wood, sharpened and I hope this works as well as Far Cry shows it. I stick the sharpened end into my bullet wound, it hurts like hell but I manage to get the bulle out, covenient. I let out a sigh and look at what I caused. Sure they attacked first but I guess in their case it was self defense. Wait....there's only seven, where's the mare I said 'hi' too?

BLAM

I fall to the ground cluching my stomach, godammit I got gut shot! I cough up some blood and watch said mare walk towards me, floting a double barrel shotgun at me. The gun floats next to my head." Go ahead, shoot me." I cough out. Hey I gave it my all. She glares at me for a few moments but then her expression softens. She lets out a sigh and then I feel a prick in my left arm, the pain begins to weaken. Why is she even trying to help me? I blew away her friends, with a really shitty firefight skills none the less. She pulls out a bottle of some sort of liquid. She uts it to my lips." Drink. Don't ask just drink it." She praticly shoves the liquid down my throat, it taste like cherry syrup, gross. I feel sorta strange but my body feels, better. The mare steps aside and I sit back up. My clothing is peppered but the holes are closed and the pellets removed, how. I look over at the mare and she's already lotting her fallen friends." Wha-? How? Who the fuck are you?" The mare looks back at me with a smirk.

" The same mare that just saved your sorry ass. I can also ask the same of you. What sort of fucktard like yourself just walts straight into raider territory and tries deplomacy!? Your lucky I even spared you to be honest. I could take my gun, put it in your mouth, pow, and your done."Okay creepy factor with her is defiantly high. Raiders, huh? So this has to be some fallout based orld, just replace people with horses." Ugh, look I'm lost and was sent here for a damn book by a..., oh what was it? A sprite-bot." The mare's ear twitches slightly.

" So you met Watcher, huh? Damn bot keeps sending ponies to their deaths with his stupid fetch quests." She lets out a sigh." Okay look yes I'm a raider like the rest of these dead dumbasses, but I try to do what I can to get ponies the hell out of Ponyville. A double agent if you will. Now you've got a lot of explaining to do bud. Just remember to chose your words wisely, otherwise I'll bash your damn teeth in." For better effect she smacks the butt of her shotgun on one of the dead horses, wait didn't she say ponies? Well horses are, I assume taller than a pony, so I guess these are ponies then?

" I'm waiting.." Oh shit she's serious isn't she?

" Uhh well what do you NEED to know about me? I'll at least tell you that I'm...not from around here defiantly."

" Yeah I can tell. Okay I'm going to break a deal with you. You tell me what the fuck you are and I won't break your face. Deal? Good. Start talking." That was suttle.

" I'm a human. Watcher sent me to get some sort of Wasteland book. Okay question for you. You shot me in the gut then healed me with...whatever the hell that was you used, are you going to just shoot me again?" She actually rubs her chin with her hoof.

" That depends if you piss me off or not. Look I'll admit that you seriously strike my curiosity right now, so that will decide if you live, or die. So what is a...hooman?"

" I'm not going to explain the vast defintion on what a human is, okay? Look...just give me the damn book and I'll get out of your hair. Plain and simple." For that I get a surious bruise on the side of my ead via shotgun butt. The gun floats around and the barrels are pointed straight in my chin. She giggles kinda wickedly.

" Don't get jazzy with me. Remember what position your in." We kinda stare at each other for a few until she laughs." Wow even in th face of unsertenty and death you just have the strangest squint. Like you don't even care. Okay tell me hooman, do you have have a name?" Wow from violent to 'hi do you have a name?', in 10 seconds.

" I'm...Booker, Booker Evans. And I assume you have a name too or is it 'Horse #285?'" On that note the shotgun pokes at my neck again, so threatened in this manner again huh?" Name's Double Barrel," Double Brrel, really?" Don't call me 'horse' you freak fuck. That's a deogritory term for 'whore'. If you call me something it better be my name or here's your other option." Her gun pushes my chin up. I'm sensing a pattern here.

" Okay, okay, I get it. I won't call you horse. Can you get your shotgun out of my face...please?" I give a slight pleading eyes and she actully smiles, still the creepy yellowed teeth raider smile, but a smile non the less." See how things go differently when you say please? Now considering that you layed waste to my crew, you owe me big time, but also considering that you didn't killed me, consider your 'Owe Me' token taken. Now I'm giving you the chance to leave now, or else I will shoot you dead this time." What the fuck? I get shot by her, she revives me, now she's gonna shoot me again!

" What? Fuck no! I just walked my sorry ass all the way here to retrive a fucking book for a stupid ass robot. Then I get into a firefight with your whole fucked up 'family', now your telling me to leave or die. So you know what, fuck you all. I'll just kill you and take your shit myself." I jump up and draw the machete. I'll go down with a fight, fuck this world, and fuck this bitch right here. Double Barrel seemed surprised and then she gets this grin, this Chesire Cat like grin, but she doesn't attack or point her gun at me again.

" You jump to more conclusions than anypony I know. First off put your little toy away. I was just fucking with you. Go ahead take our shit, the book,and everything that isn't nailed dow, fuck take the nails too for all I care. Hell kill me and do what you want with the body too." Hmm she calls me jumpy but I think she's high or something. I sigh and sheath my weapon." Alright. I'll get what I need, leave you the rest, and then I'll be on my marry way." As I say that there is a loud booming crash outside and what sound's like heavy rain pounding everything." Aw fuck." Double Barrel chuckles.

" Good luck with that. When it rains like that outside theses days you bet your ass there's gonna be huge floods of radioactive mud and water everywhere. If you want my advice. Don't go outside." Lets see, go outside, get irradiated wading through water to...fuck knows where, or stay with a raider in a shitty store, where she may or may not slit my throat in my slee. Descions descions. You know, dying of drowning and/or radiation is probaly worse then peaceful death from a raider in your sleep." Ugh, look can I...stay here tonight. Look we don't need to be in the same area."

" Fuck it, fine. But if your staying here your gonna have to help me clean house, then."

" Clean house? Like what, dust the shelves, mop te floor, pick up everything in here?" She gives me a serious look.

" No fuckwad, I mean move these bodies somewhere else. So we have more moving space." She starts to drag, with her hooves mind you, one of the bodies. Seeing that this is the only way to, I guess, stay here for the night. I grab two of the bodies by their hooves and drag hem over to where Double Barrel decided as a 'proper' place to put them, behind a few fall shelves. We continue the process untile the only things left are the blood smears, bullet casings, and broken shit." There see how muc nicer it is now? Okay so considering that we'll be in each other's presenace for the time being till the storm passes, I guess we should at least learn whatever, about each other." I sigh and take a seat across from her, god I hope I made the right decision.

" Sure I guess. Okay I'm just putting this out there, I am not from here, not from this world to say. I just want to get back home."

" I could figure that ou'd be some freaky alien in this shithole. There's ALWAYS something fucked up in this wasteland. What surprises me the most right now on how you managed to take out the entierty of this place. Your fighting skills are....to say, complete shit." I give out a very slight chuckle, why is she is trying to nice to me." Well I've never been in....a firefight. Okay I have to ask, aren't raiders supposed to be...ya know, bloodthirsty killers, rapists, and theifts?" This time Double Barrel chuckles.

" Your not wrong kid but some are more fucked up than us. Some raiders you meet may let you live if you give you everything you have, some willl kill you for food or sport, or some may foalnap you for slave labor or sex. Your lucky that you ran into me. Us Scorchers like to only pick on the weak and weary but learn not to mess with some ponies. Me personally, I'm more curious than others. I'd rather learn that fight at first, but that won't stop me from shooting your ass with a shotgun." Yay me, a slightly psycotic mare with a shotgun fetish, just what I need.

" So what do you do for the raiders, then? You definatly are smarter than the others."

" Haha your damn right I'm smarter than those bozos. I was what they called, the Shotgun Surgeon. I'm as capable of killing you with my trusty twelve gage as well as patching you up when you got hurt. Of course though I, tend to take some of my stock for personal use, but I'm their medic so to speak. By the way you owe me for that Med-X, that shit is precsious to me." Wait, Med-X....isn't that the same shit I got from the cave? I pull out the medical box from my bag and I take out the little needle. I feel like I don't need it." Here take it. I found this in the medical box yesterday but I'm not a fan of shooting up shit like this. So here for the Med-X you used on me." I slide it over to her, and ya know what, the look of genuine generosity hits hard. She seems to just stare at the needle in her hooves, don't know how they work like that, just gonna call it radiation mutation, whatever. Either way she seems genuinely surprised by this." Tha-thanks, this is a shock. Normaly nopony willingly gives away drugs, without payment of somekind."

" Well I've been clean for years and only take drugs when I need too. Alcohol not included because I'll still drink till I'm dead. Look I know we are still able to kill each other in our sleep, but maybe that nice gesture will sway your opinion of killing me." Double Brrel lets out a chuckle.

" I'll admit while its tempting, I'll let you stay safe through the night. Though tomorrow your gonna have a fun time getting to the nearest settlemnt. I'm assuming you know where that is?" I shake my head no and she sighs." I figured as much. Okay here is a proposal for ya. You need guidence and somepony that knows their way around the area. I'll take you to New Appleoosa, for a price of course."

" Raider offering her services for a price then, huh? Okay all I have on my is the shotgun I picked up from your friend, 15 bottlecaps, some meat, and my bow and arrow. And the pip-boy." I hold up my left arm for her to see. I see her already tiny eyes, I swear she's high, widden.

" Damn! Stable-Tech technology all shiny and new. I haven't noticed that till now. It's been a long time since I've seen a pip-buck before." Okay tere's that word again, pip-buck.

" Okay so is this thing called a pip-buck? I have too many question and not enough answers." I look over the computer around my wrist. Double Barrel nods, I don't understand her, she's like fucking bipolar or something." Yeah. It says so on the side of the thing, can't you read? Well...I guess the question would be CAN you read?"

" Of course I can read. What made you think I couldn't? Ehh nevermind that, I'm just....dunno trying to make a rational sense of whats going on right now. Fuck I'm a mess." I sigh and grab my head with m left hand and hold it there, I can't make heads or tails of anything anymore. Double Barrel just shrug and gets up, and walks away. About a minute later I'm hit by a book, THE book I came here to get mind you." There's what you were after."

" Uhh thanks, I guess."

" Whatever. Well I'm going to go lay down where I normally sleep at. Study that book and live or don't and die out here, your choice. Night." She walks away with me just staring at...just everything. I notice she has a tattoo like everyone else I've seen so far. Well tattoos are nice so I'm not one to judge, mostly.

Ugh, I feel like shit, like I'm hungover or something. I don't know when I feel asleep last night. I whoke up in a puddle of blood, not mine thankfully, but still I smell like shit. No signs of the mare, so should I just leave? Don't know if I should though. Sure I may survive for a few days but that book only helped cover a few basics of survival in what they refered this place as 'The Equestrian Wasteland'. Plus that mare, Double Barrel, provided some usefulness. I don't have anything to pay her though, and I know payment of anythin here is blood money in this place. Food, medicine, caps, or weapons, anything useful. The fact the she's a Raider scares me enough, she could kill me and take my shit anyway. But I think she's good enough not to kill me at least. Kick me out of her home maybe but I dunno. I look over my bow, it still needs fixing after yesterday. I need something to get my mind shifting from sleep to alertness. I prefer to do stuff when I first wake up so my mind can wake up faster without the need for coffee, I've always done that for years.

I start to replace broken pieces of wood with the stronger parts I gathered yesterday. Its definatly not perfect but it will work, for now at least. I still want some coffee. Fuck I want to go home, go home back to Denver where I can rock climb all I want, drink purified fresh water, just go....back o normal. Well as normal as it can get for me, with cops still checking in up on me every now and again. My thoughts are inturpted by glass bottles moving around on the ground near my area. I quickly draw my bow an aim at the dark area that I heard the bottles move from. Out of the area Double barrel walks out. I get a better focused look at her now that my mind isn't clouded by post firefight thought. She has scares that dashed all over her body. She looks battered but not broken definatly, I can say she has warrior's beauty to say." Damn you are jumpy as hell in the morning." She trots out alll they way into the open as I put my bow down. She looks like she's packed with some sort of bags hanging on either side of her. Her trusty shotgun is strapped to her side as well.

" Sorry, you just scared me is all."

" Being on edge like that 24/7 will run you into the ground. You've gotta learn relax, even in the worst of situations, that way your better off suriving to live another day."

" Wow phylosiphy from a Raider, now I've heard everything. By the way that book isn't very specific about some things. Like somethings aren't as detailed as other areas. And the section about the world's fauna, boy am I gonna do some serious hunting if I get the time."

" Okay first off of screw you, and second off I don't control how the book is written. I was pratily the only one here who actually read the damn thing. Either way I hope your up and ready to go already. Time doesn't wait for us and we don't wait for it, so grab your shit and lets go."

" Yeah, yeah, give me a moment to piss at least." I stand up and wipe of the loose dirt off my pants. Double Barrel points a hoof over to to a tipped over shelf." Behind the shelf over there, in a bucket. Hopefully you can follow orders better then the others." I nod and walk over to the shelf and do my buisness. I finish and walk back out to find a pile of random junk.

" I took the liberity of gathering up what I found I could take and use from my dead 'friends', but I saved all the shit I didn't. Mostly pieces of cloth, empty soda bottles, some boxes of nails, and I think some old home cleaner. Take what you want or don't, don't care. Just get your stuff together and lets go." Well she grabs all the good shit and gives me crap, well you know....I can make this work. I grab a bit of everything and pack up." I'm all set on my end." I pick up my bow and string it on myself.

" Alright, to hell and back again."

Footnote:

Level Up!

Small Guns(25)

New Perk(s): Gunfighter: You're getting the hang of it. Small Guns increased +5

Quest Perk: Takedown-When prompted use this to take out a single enemy. Progress further to aquire better/allternative versions of it.

Chapter 5

Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

Chapter 5

To New Appleoosa

You know, even if this place is supposed to be like a Fallout type world and destroyed and stuff, its got a hidden beauty to it. Like the old saying 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder', this place has a very interesting atmostphere to it. It reminds me alot of old watercolor paintings of Wourld War 1 landscapes. The baren scorched earthy, dead trees, and crater shells, yet it had beauty to a disatorous land.

We've been walking for I guess a little over two hours now. Gone from Ponyville and headed off into the unknown. Little has been said between us and it's more or less peaceful. I've noticed a few small animals roam around, but nothing dangerous. Just some small odd looking yet large bugs hovering around. I didn't get through the whole chapter on fauna here so I have no clue what they are." Hey not to inutrpt your thoughts and all but what are those things floating over?" Double Barrel looks over to where I was pointing too.

" Those are bloatsprites. Mutations of magical taint and radiation. They're mostly harmless unless you stray too close."

" Taint?"

" Uhh its hard to explain. Basiclly its bad shit. Don't mess or get near it. There's really no cure for it, apart from apputation of the infected area which my lead to death either way."

" Oh well I'll keep a look out for it. What does it look like?" Double Barrel just glares at me, I'm guessing that I'll be getting that look more often." Did you even look at the damn book you killed for?"

" Yes a few chapters and I skimmed through the rest for anythinhg important. I don't recal coming across anything in there about 'Taint'." The Raider lets out a sigh.

" Ok I'll give you a very summed up version. Taint is the color of the rainbow. There done."

" Wow very short indeed." I give her a snarky expression. Her response is pretty much the same.

" You are a real piece of work, ya know." With that we are silent again. Dirt, dirt, and more dirt, how covenitent? The mountains that loom over head, though getting pragressivly larger still hold beauty." Man I bet it would be amazing to be able to climb those mountains." I mutter while gazing up. Small streaks of sunshine escape through the amlost seemingly impenaterable cloudy blanket. That is a good question too, whats with the thick cloud cover?

" Hey why is the clouds so thick in the sky? The haven't moved at all since I've been here." Okay I sound stupid but it's an honest question none the less. Double Barrel facepalms, facehoofs? Either way she's problay not happy.

" It is going to be a terrible fucking journey if you keep asking question. It's the Enclave's doing. They closed up the sky during the Last Day. Now if you'll shut up, lets keep walking." The Enclave, The Enclave, The fucking Enclave....they exist here. Either that is all too real, or maybe this is all in my head. I'm just delusional, in the loony bin somewhere in the Carribeain. This is a mistake waiting to happen, I just feel it. So lets see here, fallout themme of distruction check, fallout like chems check, major factions check, little hope of survival nah. I'd rather go out like that then die of old age or some shit like that. But I'm smart enough to survive, for a little while at least. Give it my all or go down trying. Double Barrel lets out a studdered cough." Ok I have to ask. How did you get here? was it like death or somesort of portal?"

" Thats actually a good question. I really don't know. I was given orders to take a small group into a cave, then things went to shit fast, then I woke up in a cave not far from Sweet Apple Acers." Double Barrel lets out a whistle.

" A cave huh? So what are you, like somesort of cave explorer or something?"

" Well, yes and no....mostly yes, yeah just call it that. I get paid to take tour groups into caves. Pays pretty good most of the time. Then there's CrossTech trying to do cave exploring so they hired me. And that's the last cave I went in. The good old rabbit hole."

" Damn. Well...welcome to whats left of the world. Good luck finding anything good here Alien." I gaze down at her.

" I have a name too ya know."

" Hey I gotta call you something insulting sometime." That fucking smirk on her face. I smirk back, two can play at that game.

" Hmm alright Shotgun Stuffer." She actually laughs at that.

" Heh, thats actually pretty good. Was not expecting that. Alright considering that we've broke the ice already, might as well teach each other about the world we are going to share for a while. By the way I took those 15 caps from you in your sleep, just so ya know."

" Wha-, how'd you?" I check the poket I put them in, yeah they're gone. Double Barrel smiles her yellowed smile holding up a bag full of I presume MY caps. Fuck it you know what, I don't even care about them. I sigh and pull out a bottle of water I still had, and take a long gulp. Double Barrel looks up at me while I drink and her eyes widen.

" Is that fresh water?"

" Yeah, why?" Then she uses her, I don't know what it is I think magic or something, to snatch the bottle out of my grasp, and she downs almost 3/4ths the enitre bottle, that bitch." Hey, I was drinking that!" I shout at her, this is going to be a long trip.

" Holy shit that was good. Like the water came straight out of the heavens!" She examines the bottle closely." CrossTech Natural Preserves. Bottled for your pleasure." I let out a sigh. On the lable is a large electronic yellow cross, not assoiated with the Christain cross, just an easy to draw cross for easy printing, that's how they explained it to me at least.

" Fucking money grabbing lablers. They'll slap a lable on anything and call it their own. But they make good tablets, sooo."

" So ya done talking already? You just started talking to yourself. Please don't do that, it's kinda creepy." I take the bottle back and put it back in my bag." Whatever, lets just keep going."

" Damn. Sounds like you've got bad blood between them."

" Well look at it like that, they sent us down into that cave for some reason, but deny telling us what we're looking for. I think they sent us to die down there." The Raider chuckles.

" Death missed a spot then, cuz you're here instead of the afterlife. Either way sounds odd but eh, you'll survive here, if your lucky of course heheh."

" Oh laugh it up over there." The next half hour or so is completely silent, save for the occasional gunshot. I scratch my pip, ya know what, I'm just gonna call it as it's called here, pip-buck arm. I need to figure out how to work it, well better than just flipping menus. Prehaps this 'Stable-Tech' company leaves booklets on how to operate them.

" So what can you tell me of Stable-Tech?" Double Barrel taps a hoof to her chin in thought, how she is able to walk still with three legs is beyond me.

" A Pre-War company that...well from what I found out, built terminals, Pip-bucks like the one you have, and Stables."

" Stables?" So far they sound likew a horse version of Vault-Tech.

" Huge massive underground shelters for pony kind if the world ened, and it did, many were built all over Equestria and its alling countries. From what I've heard, there's a Stable not far from Ponyville, actually it's in Sweet Apple Acers, Stable umm Stable 02 if I'm correct."

" Hmm. My pip-buck didn't pick it up when I was there, must not have been close enough to it for it be reveiled. Oh well."

" Yeah. Rumor has it that it's still operational yet a mare escaped from there, off to find her friend or something. The buck on the radio has dubed her the 'Stable Dewller', said she was headed to Manehattan."

" I'm assuming Manehattan is or was a city?"

" Yeah. Now nothing more than a destroyed husk of buildings, full of Raiders, Slavers, and very little saftey. The only safe places would be Tenpony Tower or Friendship City. Not that I would want to go there though." Is it just my way of thinking but I'm sensing sudtle forshadowing here.

" So what about your world? I'm assuming it's nicer than here."

" Yeah its got its good and bad places, depending on where you live at. I lived in the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. Beautiful place, moutain side view with vallies below. Great place to hunt, fish, hike, rock climb, pretty much whever you could imagine."

" Sounds really lovely. Sounds so much better than here. I take it that this world of yours is peaceful?"

" Oh hell no. War is a huge part of Earth's history. For thousands of years humans have always fought each other, for either land, food, or just sheer dominance. Many weapons have been deployed over the years, from simple rock and bone tools, to metal swords and armor, to weapons that are capital of destroying life as we know it." Damn I sound like somneone on the fucking History Channel after that. Double Barrel seems to need a rebot after that.

" Fuck that's alot of information to take in at once. But either way it sounds way better than here. Anywhere is better than here. Oh by the way we should stop for a moment." She stops dead in her tracks.

" What? Why?" I stop walking.

" That's why." She points a hoof over to a lower ridge to where a cage cart is parked, with four ponies are stationed. One on top of the cage and rest are on the ground, with one fixing one of the wheels, the other two seem to be passing the time with cards. Actually there may be tree more ponies in the cage." Who are they?"

" Slavers, nasty fucks. But I speak their language well. Let me do the talking and wait for my signal."

" Signal? What signal?" What the fuck is going on?

" You'll know. Just keep watch." With that she trots out in the open." Hey fuckers. You guys slavers?" The ponies all point guns in her direction but she doesn't give a fuck." Who the fuck is this bitch? She just walk up and try to start shit with us?" One pony yells, his voice kinda raspy like a smoker.

" Relax fucker, I'm just a wee raider looking for an easy...helper per say. Just somepony to fill the void till they die." The slavers look at each other in confusion, mostly. Double Barrel holds up the same bag she showed me, and of course the slavers look happier that money has been shown." Well why didn't ya just say ya had money. Come take a look at our fine selection." Okay fuck these dirty half witted dicks.

Double Barrel is led to the cage, where now I can see, three ponies in rags and chains. My 'friend' seems to show false interest as she looks over the 'stock'.

" I think I've made a decision. Allow me to go back behind that rock over there to grab the rest of my caps." the stallion hesitates but allows her to come back to where we, well I, am hiding." Well?" I whisper low.

" Four drugged out slavers. One mare on thr roof with a carbine rife, the other three are armed with minimal weapons, mainly pistols and shotguns. They've got three captives, two mares and a colt, poor bastards. I think we can take them. They'll be scared of you if you show your face to them. They seem to be suffering from heavy withdrawls so they'll think you're a ghost or monster or something. Just follow my lead and get on the top of the rock." Wow she really saw through to these guys. This will be...interesting to say the least.

She walks back around with her shotgun out and ready. I climb up the rock with my bow at the ready. I gave Double Barrel the shotgun I had so she could use it for parts." I do believe you guys are genuine salesponines, so I'll be taking everything you have, including the slaves." The ponies pull out their weapons.

" Oh you think you're sooo clever bitch! Well it's 4 against 1 so we'll be taking your things AND you." Double Barrel cracks a wicked smile and uses her hoof to whistle. There's my signal. I fire a warning arrow at the stallion's hoof. They all look up at me, even the captured slaves." I wouldn't do that if I were you. You'll be dead before you can even pull the trigger." I've already nocked another arrow.

" Wha-what the fuck is that thing!? Holy shit." The stallion is flabbergasted. The roof top mare tries to fire off a shot at me but I peg her in the foreleg." Not a smart move bitch."

She freaks out and I end her pain. Pretty easy to kill a talking animal if they have some reason to kill it in the first place. The other ponies kind of stand there, dumbfounded, yet still holding their own.

" You...you freak! I was gonna get in that tonight! Argh! I'm gonna-" Double Barrel kocks him in the face with the stock her shotgun." Enough talk now. You gonna comply willingly or will we be tearing the flesh from your eyes? Booker, you can come down now." With that I hope down off the rock. A good 8 foot drop, but I managed. the stallion has shut his face, while holding his now bleeding head." Ack! Fine, fuck. Lugnut give 'em our saddlebags and the keys to the cage."

The pony he asks, well he is actually a she, though she has a broader complextion to her." Bu-but?"

" No buts dammit! Just...give it over so we can at least walk away alive." With a huge groan she hands over the keys then drops her bags. The others do the same." Now, I want the three of you to get the fuck out of here AND NEVER COME BACK! If I hear so much as any slavers near my turf I'll hunt you down and rip you spines out, through your ass!" Despite those slavers seeming to be tough, they aren't, at all. The three of them run for the hills with their tails between their legs, oh wow one tripped head over heels, lovely. Double Barrel immediatly starts going through the four sets of bags." Wow. Lots of bark from you missy. Wasn't pegging you for the leading type."

" Eh, it comes and goes. To be honest, that felt, different ya know? I usually let them still have the slaves, but then now I just took the slaves over. I feel, I dunno, odd or something. Umm care to unlock the ponies in the cage?" I nod and walk over to the cage cart. I can see why they were stopped, the front left wheel was shattered. Looks like a piss poor repair job too. The ponies in the cage are huddled together, the two mares and a colt...which a colt, I'm assuming is a little boy horse, I dunno I'm not a horse expert.

One mare looks up at me, yeah they have all been through hell, she looks beaten and only god knows what else they've done to her. She shows fear, yet thankfullness as well." Shh, its fine, you're going to be fine. Let me get the door unlocked for you." I try to keep a calm and soft voice. I unlock the cage and stand off to the side. Soon the mare hobbles out and stands shakenly on the ground." Th-thank you." Her voice sounmds cut up and dry as bone, I can genuinely be saddened by this, strange.

" No problem. Do you know how to get back to where you live?"

" Ye-yeah. Not far from here thankfully..." She looks over to see the other mare climbing out of the cage, the colt is unconcious." What happened to him?"

" They...they broke his front leg when he tried to run. He passed out from the pain. It's only been a few hours though." Fuck, they deserved worse than running like little bitches. The colt makes some sort of moan, but doesn't move." Well...shit. How bad is the break in his leg?" The mare that hasn't spoke yet just shrugs. I look over at mare I was talking too before.

" I don't know. Could be a simple fracture or completely shattered." Hmm, wait, that bottle of morphine I still have. It's much better than that Med-X crap. I dig into my bag and pull out the little yellowy orange bottle of pills." Here take these. Give him half of one when he wakes up, one whole pill if it's sever. If he can't swallow it, crush it and mix the powder with something edable. It may taste like shit but it'll help." She reluctantly takes the bottle in her hoof, however she is able to hold it is beyond me.

" Morphine? What's that?"

" It's...it's an extremly powerfull painkiller. Can be addictive as hell though so watch how much you give him till he can see an actual doctor. And where are my manners, I'm Booker." I slightly hold out my hand and I don't expect her to shake my hand. She looks frightened still but she actually shakes it.

" It's uhh...nice to meet you, Booker. Uhh I'm Piper, well that's what I was told my name was at least. Look I want to thank you for freeing us, thank you both." Double Barrel trots up with a saddlebag." Here, I gave you a few supplies from the other packs. These should be used sparenly."

" Thank you both. It's truly nice to finally meet some good hearted ponies well...whatever his is, but still it's truly greatful. We'll take the colt to the doctor in New Appleoosa in the next few days after we return to our camp." I look down at Double Barrel, who just shakes her head, I really can't tell if it's yes or no.

" Actually we're heading to New Appleoosa, if you want you guys can tag along. Double Barrel? Is that alright?" She glares at me but lets out a sigh.

" Fine. You guys can come along. Thankfully I got something out of this trip so far but I don't want any complaining! It shouldn't be no more than three or four hours by now." Oh boy, she's getting pissy. This is gonna be interesting...

Well this is going just fine. This makeshift group of ours is already kinda fucked over. How? Double Barrel seems to hate these additions to our group already, if looks could kill they would already be dead and buried. The colt woke up and freaked out after seeing me, well I kind of expected. He tried to run but his leg seemed to break even more and he started to cry. The mare who seemed to be the motherly figure, doesn't talk, no tongue at all. Aparently taint fucked her tongue up and was removed. Either way the mare took to care for the crying child, who couldn't be any older than four or five.

Piper is...a chipper one. She seems interested in me, and other things about humans in general. Kinda funny how she seems to open up alot more than expected. She doesn't have much to go on though, as I think she has some mental issue with her memory. She needs to be constantly reminded about simple things. I will say that she is sweet though. I'm still wondering what those butt marks are on them. Double Barrel has a miniture shotgun on her ass, It looks the same as her actual twelve gage shotgun. Piper has somesort of box her ass. The other mare, I dunno, I didn't look. Thankfully Piper has run up front to talk to the mare and the colt. Now's the time to ask.

" Hey Double Barrel, can I ask you something real quick?" She looks upset.

" First off you fucking owe me BIG time. If I have to deal with that mare, though she's quite cute and all, again, I'll fucking kill you! Now what was it you wanted?" Well...shite.

" Umm. I was wondering about those marks on your...uhh...flank." I don't know horse anotomy that well. Double Barrel lets out a snort.

" I could ask the same of you. That...mark on your left shoulder. What we have...show what a pony is good at, rather it be rapin' and killin' or farmin', they define an important part of us. Now what about yours?" My mark? Oh....oooohh that...mark.

" Umm...it...its an old part of a past life of mine." Truly I don't talk much because I try to cover up that tattoo as much as possible. Lets just say it was....a darkened time for me. Double Barrel smirks.

" Consider me prying at you as part of your payback to me. Now what does your mark mean?"

" It...it doesn't signify anything about me other than a darkened light in my life. My dade just died during that time and I kinda...turned sour so to speak. Turned to a gang for comfort mostly."

" Heheheh I knew there was something off about ya! You don't look like gang material though. Too soft, too easy. If you tried to be a Raider, they'd kill ya and eat ya for breakfast. Trust I've seen it actually happen." She looks ashamed of that. Alright don't pry too much.

" Well it was a differenmt time. You get in good with them and you may become a member. I did become a member of Das Omega until I got arrested and ratted everyone else out."

" So you're a snitch then?" That fucking sly look on her face.

" No it was either take a plea deal and only stay in prison for a year then parrol if you're good or stay in there for ten plus years. I chose the plea and never looked back. I cleaned myself up and made a living out of going underground. There we're done." I cut the conversation off cold. I don't care for talking about it. I guess not everyone can be the perfect person anymore. We continue to walk in relative silence. Double Barrel shut up finally and so did Piper. We come across an old mostly destroyed shack." Hey lets stop for a second. Catch our breath." I suggest.

" Yeah my hooves are hurting." Piper chips in. The mute mare nods in agreement. The little colt is asleep again, which is good for him. I think they gave him that morphine. Double Barrel sighs and slips off her packs." Fine. We can rest for a few. Don't go wondering off though. I'm not waiting around." Good, hmm maybe there is something inside that shack I can use. I head over to the door and try to open it but it won't budge. Hmm. I look over and see a palm size rock on the ground. I grab it and with one good strike I take off the entire doorknob. It's still locked, fuck. Okay this is stupid but ehh fuck it. I take about ten steps back. Double Barrel just shakes her headv at me." It's locked dumby, ya gotta use a bobby pin to unlock it." Of course but I'm not one for graceful enterances. I charge straight at the door and ram it with my right shoulder. That hurts like hell but I bust through the door pretty easily.

" There, its open now." Double Barrel facehoofs. Piper giggles a bit. I get up off the ground and see that this is nothing more than a toolshed, lucky find you idiot. I look at the random rusted tools and junk laying about. The shed itself loks slapped together with metal scrap laying around. I look at the workbench table. Hmm some sort of axe is on the table. I pick it up and examine it. A curved shaft with a blade at the end that looks like it would be used for prying open containers. Hmm judging by the wear and tear on it that's probaly its main purpose. I see a worn leather holster system for it. Couldn't hurt to take it. I slap the holster on my left leg and hang the pry axe there, ah Tomb Raider flashbacks here I come.

I look on the table again to see something interesting. It looks like a piece of a bow, strange yet good for me. I pokect the bow part and walk back out.

" The hell did you find in there?" Double Barrel looks less than happy.

" I found what I do believe is a bow part and this pry axe. I figure we can use it to pry open locked doors and containers if we don't have any bobby pins."

" Hmm good thinking actually. But that bow part or whatever would be good top sell for quick caps. If they'll take it of course. Now we should get moving before it gets dark." How the hell can she tell if its dark or not when there's no damn sun?

Well we made it, mostly. This town, New Appleoosa is made mostly out of box cars and train parts. It's only about a half a mile away yet I can tell this is going to be interesting.

" Well this place looks like a train wreak waiting to happen, oh wait, it already did." I mutter to myself. Double Barrel hears me however.

" Let me do the talking. After the Stable Dweller's come through here, they may not be too keen on letting anyone like me in. Let alone you. So just keep you're mouth shut." I let out an audible groan.

" Yes 'mother'."

" Fuck you then. Get shot then." She huffs and trots ahead of me. The traincar city gets closer and closer until we are stopped by gun fire." Stop right there!" All of us look up to one of the box cars next to the gate to see a stallion, I guess Earth Pony from what Piper told me. Her and the colt were earth ponies while the mute mare was a unicorn. This guy is pointing a rifle at us." Stay where you are! All of you! Expesially you, creature." Okay he's dewfiantly talking about me.

" Look, we're here to trade, not cause trouble. Just let us in for the night. Besides we have a small colt needing immediate medical attention." Double Barrel has this on/off switch for crazy. The guard ponders for a moment." Alright fine. The four of you can come in but that, that thing with stays outside the town gate." Fuck this guy.

" Ya know I hve name, though clearly you don't know it yet." Okay the guard kind looks terrified.

" Oh great now the ghoul hellhound speaks propper and fluent english!"

" You know what? Fuck you man!" I flip him the bird." If I don't go in, we all don't go in." Double Barrel glares daggers at me and mouths my name." Booker, shut the fuck up." Its a really low whisper from her but I'm already pissed.

" I walked all that way for this! To be stopped by some fucking gate guard!?" I shout up at him. He seems half way pissed and shocked.

" Look...whatever ya are, I ain't letting ya through. The other ponies can come in if they cause no fuse but you gotta stay out creature." Okay seriously fuck this guy, he's gonna have a really fucked up piece of my mind.

" What are you? The fucking gate guardian!? You shall not pass!? What are you? The fucking French Insulter!? You gonna catapult a cow at us?" I throw on a fake as hell French accent." Your mother's a whore and your father's a mule, I spit in your general direction!" I spit at the ground. The looks I recive are genuine 'what the fuck' looks." Ya know what!? Fuck this! I'm climbing my ass up there, and you're gonna be fucking sorry!" I start climbing the rough side of the box car.

" BOOKER!" Something wraps around my waist and pulls me back down to the dirt. Fuck this place. Double Barrel looks extremely fucking pissed annd the guard looks...broken. I seriously fucked his head up, good." Uhhhhh." He took up a monotoned voice. I lean over to Double Barrel." Now's your chance, I destroyed what brain cells he had left and left his mind open to you. Talk him into let us all in." I whisper to her.

" With that little fucked up stunt of yours, good fucking luck with that. But I'll try because I'm tired of waiting." She steps forward.

" Ok look that, uh stunt of his was not part of our argument. We are all tired and worn from travel. I know you don't trust him, or us, but we need supplies and medical help. The creature with us is lacking proper sleep, which is to blame for his reckless actions. Please for Goddesses sake, just let us in for the night." The guard is still in a state of mind fuckery but compsess himself enough to listen.

" Ugh, my head hurts. Okay fine you win. But if I hear any trouble about any of ya'll, I'll see to it myself, kicking you out of town." And speech check passed, good work Double Barrel. Who knew a Raider had a sliver tongue?

" Deal." Double Barrel puts on a grin and mouths at me.'I didn't think that would work.' The guard opens the rusted metal gate and we all grab whatever we layed down during the conversation, and walk in.

Not even a minute into this place and I already get the feeling I'm not welcome here. Numrose ponies are staring directly at me. Granted I'm no where as deadly as everyone here sees me as. I mean yeah I got a big knife and all but my bow is vuritly a pile of sticks and wrappings now. No use repairing it now. But these ponies are looking at me with ill intent, lovely.

" Mamma! Mamma! What is that thing?!" I hear a small child...er foal I mean, cry out. Piper and her two other companions already made a be line to the wherever the doc's office is here. Now it's just me and Shotgun Stuffer, I'll be dead come morning then. Ponies stop and look at us while we walk, Double Barrel leading the way.

Oh how I feel the love from this town.

Footnote(s)

Level Up!

Archery(40)

New Perk(s): Iron Grip- Climbable enviroments and objects are easier to climb.

Chapter 6

Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

Chapter 6

Safe Haven

So things are going great, juuuuust great. Five guards have already tried to shoot me, not surpising. Everyone has given me the evil eyes and a few ponies have even thrown things at me. One threw a wrench at me while screaming something about mutants and me being somesort of hellhound. I couldn't waste the oppurtinity though, so I pickied up his wrench looked at him and said." If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball." I don't think I've ever seen anyone run that fast in my life.

But now we are still trying to find Absolutly Everything. Some general store of somesorts. Double Barrel leads me to...well look at that. It's the fucking store. It's about bloody time." Come on, in here." She waves me in. I'm a bit hesiant actually. What withy everyone already trying to kill me and all I'm expecting someone to blow me away as soon as I walkn through a door.

" Uhh you sure? Like yes this is the shop as far as I'm conscinered and all but how will the shopkeep react to me? Probaly with a bat or somekind of gun."

" Oh relax Booker. Trust me when I say this. Ditzy isn't the violent type, she may be causious at first but not violent." I let out a sigh and walk in. Okay so this is defiantly a store. Lots of stock line the walls and a large faded chalkboard that reads,'Yes I do deliveries! No hooves, nasty stingers? No service. Ask me about special orders! I won't answer, but I'll get right on it! Wasteland Survival Guide! Available now! First copy for every family is free!' okay intresting sign.

Double Barrel knocks on the counter with her hoof a few times to signal for the shopkeep to walk out. What walks out from a back room is...really surprising to say the least. A pony...with no fur just skin covering it. It has stubs sticking out of its back, bones maybe? No mane but a few strains. It...looks like a she but I don't know for sure. It looks at me with, I dunno a strange look. Double Barrel clears herb throat." I'm back Ditzy. It's been a long time since I've seen you. And don't mind the strange creature. He's mostly bark if anything. Go ahead and say Hi."

" Uh, Hi. I'm Booker. Pleased to meet you, uh Ditzy correct?" I give an open palmed wave to her. Instead of freaking out or actually attempting to hit or throw stuff at me, she gives me a slight wave with a decaed hoof. I'm expecting a respones by now but the shopkeep Ditzy starts to write something down on some on some paper. She slides the piece of paper to Double Barrel and she reads it outloud.

" Welcome back Double Barrel, it's been to long. Your strange firend seems extremly odd but he seems nice enough. Just keep him out of trouble and we'll have no problem here. Feel free to look around and let me know if you're looking for something spesific." Double Barrel smiles, still the yellow tooth grin but she seems happier at least.

" Glad to see you've missed me Ditzy. Me and my, err aquantance here are just looking to trabe some items for some quick caps." She starts to unload a bunch, and I literally mean a bunch of random ass shit, to sell. I start to look at a few guns that are behind the counter. All look like shit compared to an actual gun store but I'm guessing they get the job done. I spot something hung up, the other bow piece, just chilling with a price tag of 50 caps.

" Well what luck. Hey Double Barrel I found a second bow part." She looks up from her dealing at me.

" Really? That's...strangely convenient. Does it have some sort price on it?"

" Yeah. 50 caps. That's some really strange luck right there." Double Barrel nods and continues talking with Ditzy. She looks at the stuff I piled in.

" You had a pistol with the whole? Yet you still used that piece of shit bow of yours?" Pistol? When did I have a pistol? I see that strange shapped thing I picked up at the enterence to the outside. That's a pistol??

" That is gun? Like for real? The looks awkward as all hell to shoot." I walk back over and look at it. Yeah now looking at it in better light, it's definantly a gun. Welp it looks too small for me to hold in my hands, based on the grip for the mouth alone." Ehh sell it anyway. Would be too small for me to properly shoot it. I'm more interested in the bow part. With that it would make much more powerful."

" 50 caps for a piece of wood and some string? How would that make your bow better?"

" Well actually its a polished pressed hard wood with a thick wax coat over it. The string is also coated with wax to prevent it from fraying. With both pieces I would be able to costruct a proper bow rather than this pile of sticks. It will make the bow more powerful." Either I forced Double Barrel's brain to reset but she looks dumbfounded.

" Ok I'm gonna pretend I understood any of that. Ugh fine, Ditzy how much can you drop on that stick my 'friend' wants." Ditzy begins to write down something for us. Double Barrel reads it outloud.

"' Your friend seems nice despite being strange in apperance. I tell you what, I'll cut the price down to 20 caps and it's him. Sound alright? And feel free to use that workbench over on the back wall.'" 20 caps for the bow piece, that is a steal.

" Ok do you have the money, Booker?" She actually smirks at me! That bitch steals my money then asks me for money, that I don't have! Fuck! Hmm, wonder how much I can get out of my piece of shit bow and that pistol. I begin the procces of talking with the mute corpse of a mare but it seems that I have a little more than 20 caps, about 40 caps now. I know Double Barrel will probaly steal the money later. I make my purches and slide the pile of caps left over to Double Barrel. She genually looked surpised.

" Why are you giving them to me?"

" Becuse I know you'll steal them from me tonight." She grins the swipes the caps from the counter.

" I'll give you that you are a quick learner! Now go put your stupid bow together while I talk with Ditzy." I nod and head over to the workbench. Its not what I had back in Denver but its a start. There seems to be a port like on that computer at the farm for my Pip-buck. I plug in my Pip-buck and I am met with a list of blueprints! Buildable guns, ammo, explosives, melee weapons, and bows. Crafting is easier than it seems but I think my Pip-buck may be helping with creation.

I notice that there is a blueprint called 'Soda Bottle Bomb'. A simple makeshift explosive handgrenades. Hmm I could use these if needed. I finish up my new proper bow, a wooden Recurve Bow, awesome. The Soda Bottle Bomb is a simple craft, hell I could craft this out in the feild if I need. A combination of a soda bottle, nails, a rag, and the explosive poperties of the Abraxo and the household cleaner. IED hand grenade, nice. I download that blueprint onto my Pip-buck. I step back band examine my new bow. Almost like magic my arrows have been replaced with steel tipped arrows instead of bone, as well as my shitty quiver too. Not gonna question it, just accept it.

" Done now?" Double Barrel has collected whatever she bought. She seems ready and eager to leave. I am too. We say goodbye to Ditzy, the rotten pony waving back with a wall eyed smile. Seems nice enough but, what is she exactly? She can't be a ghoul can she? If so I'm stabbing myself with a fork. We leave Ditzy's shop and now are standing next to the building." So now what?" Its already getting darker outside and most of the shops are starting to close up.

" I figure we can go to the inn and rent a room. Then tomorrow I leave back for Ponyville."

" Ah I see. But can you answer something for me? What is Ditzy and how do you know her?"

" Well Ditzy is an example of of what radiation exposer can do to a pony. She's a ghoul, though probably the friendlist ghoul you'll ever meet. As for how I know her, I've done biusness with her in the past. Hey wait, why the hell am I answering your questions when I could get some answers outta you!?" I fucking knew it, but Double Barrel is right.

" Okay I tell ya what. How about we go to the inn, get a drink and talk. Sound alright?"

" Ugh fine, I guess I could use a drink. Follow me then." On that note I sling my bow on my back and follow close behind her. Ghouls, Vault-Tech ripoff company and products, and war lost of war, fucking great. Some of my best and worst in gaming come from the Fallout series, I'm not competetive when it comes to gaming, just casual play. I feel as something bad is gonna happen, and I'm gonna be forced to make a choice of defiance or resitance. Double Barrel leads me to a building that I assume is an inn. We get inside and are greeted with many ponies, about ten. Each enjoying the slightly finer things in the wastes, well till my ugly mug makes enterance. All eyes are on me.

" No, get that retched thing outta mah shop!" The, whom I assume is either the barkeep or owner, shouts at us, mainly me.

" It's that creature from the wastes." One pony sneers.

" Ay unicorn! Ya deaf? Get that damn thing outta here! It's not welcome here!" The Bartender shouts again. I let out a sigh.

" Look all we're here for is to get some drinks and some beds for the night." Double Barrel pulls out a cap bag. The best way to anyone's heart is money.

" And I promise to be on my best behavior." I snark. The sarcasm is real. Now everyone looks afraid because I spoke. Double Barrel shakes the cap bag." I can make it worth your while." He's gonna cave, I can tell, I've been in his position before.

" Argh! Fine, but I'm watching you both closely, very fucking closely. Take the table in the corner over there." He gestures to a two person table complete with shitty chairs in a corner of the shop, away from everyone. We take a seat and he follows." So what do you want?" He ignores me and turns to Double Barrel. She in turn looks at me. Fuck these hypocritical horses." Booker?"

" Largest bottle of Whiskey you can get and two glasses if you can."

" Hmmph wasn't asking you, creature, but I think I can manage that." He turns to Double Barrel, who has already started counting out the caps." I assume you'll be paying for it then?"

" Yep. Here ya go. Now go get our drinks." The barkeep collects his money and goes away. Double Barrel looks back at me." Never expected you to be someone that can hold his drink well."

" Well let this be the first of many things to know about me, I'm a man of my drink. But for now while we wait for our drink, learn a bit about each other." Double Barrel nods in agreement." So lets start with simple introductions. I am Booker Dewittdale Evens, and you are?"

" Uhh Double Barrel. You have three different names ya know?" I chuckle a bit.

" My first name, middle name, and last name actually. Its a usual thing for most humans like myself. As for actually calling me something, Booker is fine. Some think its funny to call me 'DeWitt', please don't."

" Dually noted then." The bartender arrives with our glasses and drink. He glares at me for a moment before walking away. I crack open the bottle and pouur us both a drink. The glasses aren't shotglasses but they will fair. I take a sip and relish in its taste.

" So now that we have our drinks, shall we discuss then?"

" Sure. Might as well talk before our drink sets in." Double Barrel sips on her own glass of Whiskey.

" Because I'll have to explain more than you would have too, Double Barrel do you mind explaining your side of the story first?" Double Barrel nods slightly and lets out a sigh.

" Boy where to even begin? This is the first time in a while that I've actually talked about myself much. Well I'll try to leave precious details out. Well the furthest memories I have is of me and my mother when I was 6 back in Neigh York. It was just me and her scavenging for whatever we could to survive. Things were going good until we ran into a group of Scavengers. They, uhh demanded everything from us. Caps, any and all salvage we had, and me. Unless we gave them everything, bad things will happen. Well my mom told me to run and I did. Across the street and hid in a dumpster." Double Barrel stops for a moment and takes a drink." Heard three gunshots and they were gone like the wind. Took my mom too. And at that moment, I was alone."

" Damn. Not a good start at all." I comment as I pour her another glass.

" Yeah, tell me about it. But back to it, I was alone for about a good month or so, using what my mom taught me to survive. I was always pretty smart for my age. But either way I was found apon by a group of Mercenaries. Seeing me in a starving state like I was, they took me in, feed me, took care of me. That shows that even ponies like them, sometimes can care. I stayed them for a few years without working for them but they started to pressure me into working for them. Seeing that I had nothing else to do, I agreed. They started training me. When I was 13 or so that's also around the same time I got my mark, a short stock double barrel shotgun. But I also learned I had love for science, medicine mostly.

I loved talking with the medic of our group. But good things don't last forever. On one of our contracts we came across another mercenary group, the Talons. An all out fucking firefight ensued. I was the only one who managed to escape, but not without getting a bullet in my foreleg. No one else survived, sadly. Once again I was alone, but I was more prepared than before. From there on I just started drifting. Earning some caps here and there doing odd jobs. Then one day I just ended in Ponyville. Ran into a group of, well, rather nicer Raiders. One thing led to another I managed to, ehh, persuade to let me join. I learned to be, well rather persuadsive from the my mercenary boss, Power Hoof. But I joined those Raiders because they reminded me of my mecenary friends. That was 3 years ago. Then you show up, kill them all, and the cycle continues." She downs the last of her second glass. I've only been sipping on mine.

" Damn. You have some shit luck left and right. But you seem to adapt well so thats good at least."

" Yeah. But I've spilled my guts so spill yours kid." She leans back a bit with her glass, uhh in her hoof, don't question it.

" Alright, where to begin, hmm I know the perfect start. Well unlike you I never knew my mother. No she didn't ditch my dad, she passed away during child birth, giving birth to me. So it was just me and my dad for years. From an early year my dad taught me the basics of hunting and fishing. I've always held family in high order so to answer your constant question on why I use a bow, it feels like my family is still with me. But my dad an I both had our....own problems. I devoloped an early taste for alcohol." I stop and pour myself another glass, both to quence my thirst and to prove my point." And my dad invested thousands into drag racing and building a rat rod from scratch."

" Rat Road?" Double Barrel cocks her head a bit.

" Its a pieced together vehical. I know you probably don't know what a vehical is either, short answer its a type of transportation. But my dad was a grease monkey. Always building his dream car bit by bit. I went to school and did normal young teen stuff. Started hanging out with the wrong people, got into trouble. My dad had some come-a-parts with me over stuff like smoking and petty troubles. But not everything lasts forever. Right after I graduated High School....well my dad went racing. Missed a corner doing 95, crashed right into a tree. His car crumbled and wrapped itself around the tree. Died on impact. Found out the next day, as I was out partying with a few of my friends. I was utterly devisated by the news. Losing family is terrible but losing close family like that is even worse. I became...err...whats the word? Depressed? Unstable? Either way I started heavy drinking trying to cope. A few of my friends did help, which I am greatful for. Thats when I met Jimmy Schill. Son of one of the Das Omega leaders. He saw my pain and helped like any man such as himself would, he offered my work to take my mind off my issuse.

" Seeing as I was unemployeed at the time, I had no other real options so I took it. Jobs were, ehh simple. Get stuff for actual gang members, occasional shake downs, rough ups, tyipical newbie gang stuff. They saw my potentional with tracking though so I started to earn a small rep. Jimmy was an actual friend and stuck by my side. We grew to like each other. My rank increased and so did the type of jobs and pay. Das Omega was into organized crime, much like mobsters. Eventually I was a full member, got the tattoo you saw on my shoulder to prove. I felt happy, though I knew deep down my father wouldn't approve."

" Sounds rough to lose someone your really close too. My unfortunate situation at the time I was only six so I didn't have all the memories of my teen years. So I'm sorry to hear that." Double Barrel's apology is genuine, that I do know.

" Thanks. I appreciate your apology."

" We at least have a bit of an understanding of each other now. Both of our pasts have been shit, we've done things we're not proud of, but we can't change the past now can we?"

" I suppose you're right. Enough feeling sorry for ourselves." I take another sip of whiskey. The effects are slowly coming to me, but I've built up somewhat of a tolerance.

" Exactly. Now I have to ask, you seem to have knowlege of...wasteland survival, yet you've only been in this place for a few days, right?" Okay Double Barrel does desirve some answers about that.

" Alright I suppose you desirve some insight. Well on Earth, my world, there's a frachise that explored that 'What If' senario of totalk nuclear annilation of the world, Fallout. They were a serise of electronic games exploring a futuristic world 200 years after what they call in the game 'The Great War of 2077', which only lasted 2 hours and killed off much of the world. the games varied in locations, people, and lore. They were fun though to play." I smile remembering the binges of Fallout 3, New Vegas, and Fallout 4. Double Barrel gives me strange looks.

" So your telling me that in your world, there is entertanmint in exploring a radioactive world in the form of a game? Damn...I have no words for that."

" Figured you wouldn't have much to go on. But the simalarities are stagaring between Fallout and this world. Chems are named similarly, companies share similar interests, even factions are similar. I'm assuming there is much difference bewteen them of course, but I have a mutual understanding of this Equestrian Wasteland."

" Boy things just got interesting then." Double Barrel takes a sip of whiskey.

" That it does. So tell me, that mare, Ditzy, why doesn't she talk?"

" Raiders cut out her tongue decades ago. She's been alive since the Great War. Used to run a delivery shop called 'Ditzy Doo Deliveries'. Heard the wreakage is near here. She's the one who wrote the Wasteland Survival Guide."

" So she's a ghoul who's been alive for over 200 years. She wrote the Wasteland Survival Guide, yet can't talk. Her eyes are all over the place, so I'm guessing her eye sight is based on movement then?" I smirk a bit. Double Barrel rolls her eyes.

" Why do I get stuck with assholes?"

" There's more where that came from."

" And I look forward too 'every' minute of it." Just then there is a loud bang and we both look behind us. At the bar is a buck close to a radio." Will you two shut the hell up? We're trying to listen to DJ-PON3." DJ what?

" Hello ponies of the wasteland, It's DJ-PON3 here with some...interesting reports coming from all across the wasteland. I have been getting reports of strange creatures moving about. These strange creatures have been reported as being mostly bald, bipedal movement and moving in groups. They seem to be some sort of mutant form of Hellhound but they appear to be organized. They appear to be armed and dangerous. So to all you poinies of the wasteland take my advice and keep your tongues, hooves, and horns on your triggers and stay away from them." I zone out after that. Armed humans, CrossTech, you bastards. They are fucking with laws that they have no rule over. This will come back and bite them in the ass in the end. I zone back in to see the entirety of the bar, minus Double Barrel, staring daggers at me.

" What?! He's not talking about me. Moving in groups and heavily armed. Thats not me." They seem to go back to whatever they were doing before." Double Barrel, that DJ knows alot about the situation than I. Where is that DJ at?"

" Tenpony Tower in Manehatten. Look, whatever your planning, have fun with it. Tomorrow I head back to Ponyville."

" Look Double Barrel, I understand your home is back in Ponyville, but you're the only one who knows the wasteland and isn't afraid of me. Ugh, look I have nothing of real of value to give you, but prehaps we can strike a deal?" Double Barrel face hooves and sighs.

" Goddesses, why am I a sucker for this? Fuck, fine, tell me this 'deal' of yours. If I don't like it I'm out."

" Fine. Chances that we get side tracked getting to Manehatten are somewhat high, I assume. And I figure we'll find plenty of abandoned supplies out there. So my deal is, 70-30 of whatever we find. You get first dibs on any ammo, medicine, and chems. Sound like a deal?" She rubs her chin, and I can tell whiskey is taking her, her movement is a bit choppy.

" Ugh, its either the booze talking our you've picked up some charm, but fine. I'll go with you for now. I guess my rading days have ended and my merc days returning. Hey, I think we should get some sleep soon. Follow me." I get up after she does and we gather whatever we set down before hand and make our way to the bar with the buck from before. He looks at us and lets out a sigh." What do you two want? Leaving now? Great."

" No we need a room for the night. Got one avaible?" Double Barrel is still charming as ever, ugh I actually may be drunk now.

" Ugh, you two will be causing trouble I just now it. But for ONE night, 25 caps for the two of ya."

" We'll take it. Which way?"

" Up the stairs, down the hall to your left, and third door on your right. Now get outta my sight before I change my mind." He collects what DB, figured I should shorten her name down, gives him and I follow DB up stairs. We find our room pretty easily. Its a very simple put together room. Old as hell bed, makshift floor, and all together trashy set up. I can get used to it.

" So you want the bed or the floor?" DB yawns.

" You paied for the room, you get to pick." I shrug. I'm holding my end that she gets to have first pick.

" I figure you can...you can have the bed. I'm jused to sleeping on the ground. Night." With that she, wait she's heading into a little closet like room, ehh don't bother it. I set my stuff down and lay on my back on the bed. Now will my mind wonder for bit or-

Rest for the weary.

Footnote(s):

No level up

Double Barrel has joined your party.

Companion Perk unlocked: Habitat Addict- Alcohol and Chems last 50% longer at the cost of extra 10% chance to get addicted.

Chapter 7

Fallout Equestria: Otherlands

Chapter 8

Play of the Enclave

I've only ever seen a handful of vehicle wreaks, one of which was my dad's fatal crash. The Vertibird crashed not far from our firefight, still on fire in some parts. One wing was ripped off and crashed landed a bit away. Metal bits are blown everywhere. One body of these 'Enclave' soldiers is hanging out of the open side of the Vert. It's kinda hard to remember what a Vert looked like in Fallout 3 and 4 because my memory is shit sometimes.

" Took that rocket hard." DB chuckles." I'll start picking apart whatever is laying around. You can handle the inside of it." Can't argue with that, there's enough metal bits to supple IEDs to every terrorist group in the world.

" Alright. Let me know if you find anything or anyone." We split up and I walk right over to the dead pony hanging half way out. I grab him by his underarms and drag him out of the way. He's defiantly dead because his left back leg is torn off, poor bastard could use a leg up in the game. I set him down on the ground and look him over. He's a stallion by looking at him and the drawings in my journal, however he has wings, heh ponies with wings, aren't they called a pegasus?. He's not wearing power armor like I would have expected him to have but his armor is like light armor of some kind, don't know I'm not an expert. I'm at least guessing its scouting armor of some kind. I check any pockets and find very little. I do take his dog tags at least, could probably turn a profit.

After taking what I could from his body I move into the very buckled interior of the crashed Vert. I see two more ponies, one sitting upright with a large piece of shrapnel in his chest. His outfit is more...official, fuck an important Enclave guy?

Well sheeeeit. The other is covered in blood and laying on the ground near the officer(I'm guessing okay), and I should clarify that inside of this Vert is actually pretty large. Could hold at least 5 guys, not including the pilots. Speaking of pilots, they are smashed against the console like smashed sardines. I actually can't get to them due to how smashed their bodies are to the console. Also both pilots were mares, so I could make a sexist joke about women drivers but I digress. Welp I guess I should check the officer's body then.

I go over and kneel down next to his body and start poking around in his pants pockets, don't know why or how ponies would need pants pockets. However my arm is grabbing suddenly by his hoof! FUCK ITS CONDEMNED ALL OVER AGAIN! I yell out in surprise. He is surprisingly strong enough pull me close to his face. His eyes, while a purple color, are totally blood shot as well as blood slightly dripping out of his mouth and nose.

" Where....is...my....daughter." He breaths out heavily.

" I...I don't know where or who your daughter is." I say confused. He looks away and down at the body near him. He sounds older, at least in his 50s by now. He looks back up at me.

" Please find her. For....for my sake." Just then DB calls to me from outside.

" Booker! I found somepony still alive! She's still breathing, but bleeding a lot! Please tell me you found any medical supplies in there!" Fuck, didn't even think to look for shit like that, I suck at looting and scavenging." Ask...ask for her dog tags." The Officer asks me very lightly. Okay I have enough respect at least answer a dying man's request." Okay fine. What was your daughter's name?"

" Night...Nightshade. Her name is....Nightshade." Hmm odd name.

" Hey Double Barrel!" I call out to her.

" What!? Kinda busy here!"

" Does this girl, er, mare have dog tags on her?" I can literally hear DB groan or something out there." I'm not even gonna fucking ask right now. She does have dog tags with the name "Nightshade" on it." Please never fail me Luck. The older stallion lets out a sigh of relief.

" My baby girl...my daughter. Please protect her for my sake." He looks up at me. He seems to almost trust me, such cliche.

" Why me? Why suddenly trust a strange creature?" He actually grabs my hand with his hoof and is...is smiling?

" I can see...can see past your appearance. You have...a uniqueness about you. Please get my daughter to our Enclave outpost in the near by mountains. That one right there," He points his other hoof to the dead solider near him." He had a radio. Use it and contact Rolling Thunder, he'll know what to do." Fuck I feel like I'm making a dangerous decision right now.

" And what about you? We can get you help-" I go to say but he cuts me off.

" No, no. It would be...wasted time trying to save me. Its getting harder to breath every second. Please just protect my daughter with your life. Here take this," He pulls out his dog tags and puts it in my hand. I think he's at peace right now, kinda sad actually, to see someone dying yet at peace with it all at the same time." Give this to her when you can. I can finally go in peace knowing that....that I did the right thing. Please do one more thing for me. What is your name?"

" My, my name is Booker. And you are?" Okay this is getting kinda weird.

" I am...Thicket, General Thicket. Booker, such a strange yet charming name. Please protect my little Nightshade with your life. Then one day, we'll meet again, all of us, heh heh he-" He starts to lightly chuckle and then his head lowers, and now he's dead. I let out a sigh and close his eyes then wave my hand openly at him." Walk free old man, walk free." I think my have to come to terms with somethings later, but...not now. I guess I should do as I was told, like a good boy, and call the Enclave.

I move over to the dead solider and turn his body over. He die laying on his stomach at the time of the crash, I assume that's how he went. I flip over and low and behold there is a CB radio box. Must of died clutching it. It looks completely portable, once again convenience! I grab the radio and climb out of the Vert and walk over to where DB was. The Enclave mare she is working on was a light bluish purple coat with a faded purple mane. Her armor isn't once again power armor but some kind of lighter armor. There is a visible blood trail behind her.

" Well? Anything?" DB looks up from her work. Her barding is covered with fresh blood.

" Dead Enclave, well one was dying. Uh her dad to be exact." I point down to the soldier or 'Nightshade' I guess. DB cocks her head to the side slightly.

" Her father? Damn. Well looks like she'll be seeing him real soon. I can't do much for her, well not like this. No proper instruments, chems to help heal her wounds. You get the point. She's gonna die without proper treatment. Her left eye is completely destroyed, she has broken ribs, and I think one of her wings is broke. It's a shame though, would love to get some well deserved answers from her, then kill her myself." She ends that chuckling and I roll my eyes.

" Well unlike your passive-aggressive approach, I actually can help her." I set down the CB radio while DB watches me.

" A plan? From you? Don't make me laugh. But what's with the radio?" I manage to figure out to turn it on somehow." Yup! I'm radioing the Enclave to come get her."

" WHAT!? Hell no! Leave that bitch for dead and lets hit the road!" She tries, actually tries to wrestle the radio box away from me. However I put her in a one armed choke hold while I press the talk button on the radio piece." I'll get you...for this you bastard." DB coughs.

" Hello? Anyone there please respond." I say into the com." I repeat, anyone there please respond?" All I hear is static.

DB laughs a bit." They aren't going to respond you jackas-" And just like that there is a voice at the other end!

" Hello? Vertibuck squad 4289 please respond." I don't know much military lingo but I'm gonna try my best.

" This isn't your Vertibird squad sadly. They were shot down. Look you don't know me and I don't know you but you have only one survivor and they need immediate medical attention." I wait for a response.

" Who is this? Respond."

" A traveler who saw them go down. Me and a friend of mine was able to stop the soldiers who shot your Vert down. Look you have injured. You should send someone to retrieve her." I wait for a response again.

" We acknowledge the risk of losing our solider. Do you know the identity of the survivor? Is it by chance an older stallion by the name of Thicket, General Thicket? Respond."

" No sir. He sadly past away. It's his daughter, er Nightshade I think. She's critically injured." I can faintly hear whoever on the other line actually faintly say 'shit' and start talking with someone else. He comes back online a few moments later." Okay we have sent a recovery team to your location. Under normal circumstances we would let you surface dwellers be afterwards, however my commanding officer would like to speak with you personally. So stay put and wait for the recovery team. Over and out." Well I may have made a mistake.

" Good! Gives me something to shoot at!" DB starts waving her levitating shotgun around up in the air. I go over and grab it out of her grasp.

" No! You're not shooting at anyone right now. Let the Enclave come and talk to us. It'll be fine." DB lets out a sharp groan and huffs over to where Nightshade is laying.

Only a few minutes later I hear the sounds of almost what sounds like jet engines. I look up to see 5 objects diving from the air and right to us." HIT THE DECK!" I drop to the ground thinking they were gonna hit me but I was wrong and they land near us. These guys are wearing black armor with...scorpion tails, what? The leading pegasus takes off his, wait scratch that, her helmet." Scouting 6th Battalion lead pony MerryWeather reporting....in." She looks at me and seems to stop in her tracks. DB has gone into a defensive state as two more soldiers put Nightshade onto a stretcher of some kind. I look back at this 'MerryWeather'. Her mane is a platinum blonde color while her coat is a light blue.

" Uhh were you the one who radioed us?" I nod and she presses a button near her neck on her armor." Come in Blue Sterling, MerryWeather reporting in." Must be a radio then.

" Blue Sterling here, what happened MerryWeather? Is the injured secure?" I can hear the voice even from where I'm standing.

" We have a situation here. I'm currently standing in front of one of the unidentified creatures that have been reported for the past 3 weeks now." 3 weeks now? Hmmm.

" Is it hostile right now?" Oh you got to be kidding me...

" No sir. Actually it is the one who made the radio call to us. What should I do?" Wow feeling the Enclave love right here. There is a longer than should be pause.

" Still bring it and anypony else in the area in. Rolling Thunder wishes to speak to him regardless. However the entrance to our base of operations remains secret." She cuts him off now." Okay listen there, er, nice creature. You and your friend over there are coming with us but you can't see the outside of our base for now. So this may sting a bit." Before I can say anything something stabs me in the back and I whip around to see another solider retracting his stinging tail. I feel really light headed now and I can't stand up. I collapse and watch my vision start to blacken and DB gets the same treatment, though with some aggression from DB.

Was I stupid enough to fall for a trap?

Am I an idiot for thinking the Enclave would help me of their own if I told them? No. Am I an idiot for trusting the

Enclave so easily? Maybe. But let me say this, the Enclave shouldn't be just classified as 'The Bad Guy'. There's always two sides to a story, no matter what kind. They are a large power player in the world. Working with them may prove to be useful to us in the long run. But how do I gain their trust? Don't ask me, I wouldn't know.

Go figure you wouldn't know.

Oh piss off! I'm not the one who called them in the first place. Either way I suggest to make amends with them the best you can.

A powerful ally like them can turn the tides.

My eyes slowly open to immediately blinded by lights, florescent lights, typical. I'm laying on my back on a bed. I start to get feeling back in the rest of my body and I see a few bandages wrapped around my arms, what happened?

" Ugh, where the hell am I?" I ask myself out loud.

" In Medical, sir." A new voice says and I actually jump a bit. A new pony, dressed in a doctor's outfit, is a pegasus, and a mare. My vision is still blurry but her coat is some kind of white while her mane is scarlet red." Wha?" I ask feeling my tongue try to slide its way down my own throat. The mare simply smiles lightly at me.

" Don't try swallowing your own tongue now. I can tell you're waking up well now."

" Why am I in Medical? And where am I at then?"

" You're with the Enclave. After you were brought in, we took you and your unicorn friend in for decontamination and proper medical treatment. Before you ask why, Rolling Thunder clarified that the both of you are not to be harmed and to be given proper treatment." That's fucking weird.

" Why and where is Double Barrel?" My mind isn't forming proper sentences right now. The doctor sighs and walks over to me and helps me sit up on the medical cot." There now. I'm sorry but your friend isn't here. She's still in decontamination right now. You two have taken a beating out there. You personally had some minor internal bleeding, a few bruised ribs, minor radiation poisoning, and a concussion." Damn, didn't even realize I was that hurt. I creak my left arm but see my Pip-buck is gone!

" Where's my Pip-buck? And my gear?"

" Confiscated, as required. We can't have any unauthorized personal walking about armed. I'm Doctor Bed Rest by the way.

As for your Pip-buck, it was confiscated for scanning." I can see some reasoning for that I guess.

" It's...it's nice to meet you Doctor Rest, I'm Booker. Sorry I'm still...ehh coming out of whatever I was injected with."

I rub each of my wrists with my hands." What happened exactly, to me and my friend?" Still trying to decide if Double Barrel is actually a friend or just hired help? Doc Rest looks down at my fighting hands.

" Well, honestly your asking the wrong pony. You'd have to ask somepony else. Now I do know that you were at least given a light sedative. Your friend was given the same but her body is more tolerant of chems so she woke up much earlier, freaked out and attacked a nurse. She had to be given a much heavier dose." Hah." Now I need to ask you a few questions before-" She is cut off by another mare's voice, this one I recognized." Hey Doc! Is our sideshow freak up yet?" The same mare I was talking to when I was drugged.

" Oh I wasn't expecting you to show up this early MerryWeather. He is up but still under slight sedation. But I suppose you'll just take him anyway, like usual." Rest groans out as MerryWeather walks in, still in her really cool yet weird armor. I give her a glare as she walks up to me.

" Hey look big guy, no hard feelings. I'm just doing my job. Look first off before we get off on the wrong hoof, you did do the right thing to help a dying soldier. She's doing better before you ask. She's in a somewhat good condition right now. How I know is that I just came from her room. Now I came here to see if you were up for a bit of a walk, to show you around a bit and take you to Rolling Thunder." Oh boy, an armed escort. Doc Rest steps up to us.

" I don't think that would be a good idea right now. His motor functions aren't working as well right now. You should wait for his body to fully flush out the sedatives first." MerryWeather rolls her eyes at her, I'm guessing there is some beef between them, ooh maybe I'll get to see a cat fight! No dammit boy don't think of them like that! Ugh my brain. I decide to test out to see if I can walk myself. I push myself up out of the cot and start doing balancing myself out as I walk.

I've drank enough to have gotten DUIs before so I've mastered the 'Drunk Test', trust me you don't want to know how many DUIs I have under my belt, and I ain't even 30 yet. I start straightening myself out as I walk over to the two mares." So what we talking about?" I get right next to both of them and they both jump a bit.

" Well, I see that he is...walking, not well be well enough to send him on his way with you." One question that now is bugging me all of a sudden, how do they know I'm a guy?" Okay but one question before I go, uhh how do you two know I was a guy?" Both mares look back at each other, is that a faint blush I see?

" Well, uhh, I had to do a full examination on you while you were passed out, so I saw what...well what you were packing."

Oh hell no.

" I was there too, guarding like I was suposed to." MerrWeather pipes up." Wasn't very impressive." Well there's a way to bring a man down. Also I just realized that I am still dressed, thankfully. Well...I can't compete with a pony or horse or whatever." So where am I heading then?" I ask trying to change the subject.

" Follow me bro." MerryWeather waves her wing at me and I follow her out of the room, a bit wobbly but still walking, and into....holy shit a massive cave chamber, damn. This place was massive and full of buildings and ponies. We start heading in one direction and yeah these are defiantly the Enclave. I'm getting looks, extremely dirty looks and some sort of wing gestures, don't know what it means.

" Soooo I take it the Enclave must really want something from me to let me walk among'st them not in chains." I look over at my escort.

" Yeah it seems like it. But don't let them get to you. You had enough balls to contact us in the first place. I've been instructed to lead you around." MerryWeather looks up at me while we walk. Okay time for some questions." Okay so where am I exactly?"

" Welcome to the Junction Caverns Enclave Research Base. You don't know where we are from the outside because of we need to remain secret. But that's where we are." Figured being drugged had to do with some sort of secret, oh well can't turn back time.

" So why set up shop in a cave?" Stupid question is stupid but oh well.

" Because its safe, less contaminated, and more or less secret." I figured I shouldn't have asked." So I guess I should explain a bit more about this place so you don't have to ask a lot of question. This base is funded by New Cloudsdale Enclave Division. We have about 200 or so personnel working here, guards included. And we are still expanding as more and more parts of this cave is discovered." Damn that's impressive. Things get quiet and I start to hear some of the passing conversations. Most are about me and why I'm even allowed to walk around without being collared or shackled. A few ponies are talking about random topics but one conversation was about rations, hmm I smell quest plot.

" So how long has this place operational?" I ask.

" About 5 years. Me and my brother have been working here since it started. Me as a guard/scouting leader and my brother as our Tech Aministrador. Both of us are from New Cloudsdale." MerryWeather chuckles.

" So one more question. What species of pony are you?" This is something I kinda need to know for my notes.

" We the Enclave are made up of pegasi. Though there are a very few Unicorns working for us. What about you? What is your kind called" I knew it, they are pegasus ponies." Humans, we are called humans." MerryWeather nods at my response.

We arrive at one of the larger buildings a few minutes later." Well here we are. Might as well tell you that Rolling Thunder is not somepony you want to piss off. Well might as well head in." She opens the door and I walk in first.

Computers, tech stuff, science shit I have no clue about. There's only a few ponies in here but no major looking officer.

We go over to what I think is the control terminal. A large machine with two separate smaller terminals manned by two ponies, who are both talking to each other." I'm telling you that book one will always be better than book 4!" One, a stallion, shouts, his coat is light blue and his mane is blonde, platinum blonde. The other pony besides him, a mare, snorts. Her coat is green with a dark blue mane.

" As if. You know every book after book 2 is beter." What the fuck are they talking about. MerryWeather chuckles at them both." See you two love birds are still arguing books." Both turn ponies turn back to look at her, and me.

" Oh, sis! Didn't know you would be dropping by so soon!" Sis? Oh boy this be MerryWeather's brother! A twin to be exact! He looks at me next." So this must be our neighborhood alien then? I'm Blue Sterling." He is friendly enough to extend his hoof our for me to shake, which I do.

" Nice to meet you Blue, I'm Booker. You're the third Enclave person to actually give me the time of day." MerryWeather snorts, its kind of funny actually how she did." Shit if it wasn't for me keeping you guarded while you were out cold, Bluey here would have been trying to poke and prod you, him and his marefriend." She glaces at the green mare. Oh I think

I get it, they be alien believers!

" Oh, someone who believes in creatures of unknown origins I assume?" Blue nods vigorously.

" Absolutely! And you are living proof of that! Now putting personal stuff aside for now, I'm assuming you are here to see Rolling Thunder, well he had to do something else. I don't know where he went." Well this was a waste then. Blue Sterling looks over at me and probably my almost blank expression." However while we do wait, Rolling Thunder gave me access to the Pip-buck we took off you. I'm just going to say it but you are a extremely lucky." I raise an eyebrow at him.

" How so?"

" Your Pip-buck is...basically new despite the few dings and dust, as well as some unauthorized tinkering, but still overall its brand new . I was looking through it to see what kind of old pre-war files would be it. There was nothing on it, other than a few product info files and a few interesting notes. Where did you even get this in the first place?"

" In a cave, well it was more like an unfinished bunker of sorts, don't know who or what owned it. I just happened to stumble upon on the bunker and a safe, which had that Pip-buck in it. That's all I know." I shrugged.

" Well still its a very remarkable find. Anyway I managed to unlock most of the other features that were restricted originally. Such as E.F.S, or Eyes Forward Sparkle navigation indicator and S.A.T.S or Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell. I updated your map so it actually shows up this time. It was slightly tampered with at some point but nothing to bad. Anyway I've been allowed to give it back to you so here you go." He grabs it with his wing, don't know where he was hiding it on his person. I take it and put it back onto my forearm. I'm a bit surprised that the Enclave are so...nice.

" Okay why are you guys so...nice, to me mostly?"

" Could ask you why your so trusting of us? And why there's a large symbol on your back?" MerryWeather asks as she walks around me, kinda like a cat stalking prey. Before I can answer her another voice is heard walking towards us

" That's because I instructed them to." A stallion, a huge almost as tall as me with a dark brown coat and jet black mane, walks up wearing an officer's uniform and two guards following behind him. They see me and start to look more defensive." Welcome to the Junction Caverns, I am Lieutenant Colonel Rolling Thunder." Okay I'm going to go full petty mode and ass kiss a bit with him, as for I am in a hornet's nest.

" It's nice to meet you, sir." I give a small salute to add to the ass kissing. Thunder smirks a bit at my display.

" Well it's nice to see sompon-err someone with some discipline and respect out here. I presume your name is Booker, correct?"

" It is. So I'me assuming the reason why I'm not dead yet is because I have valuable information?" Its a good assumption.

Rolling Thunder nods slightly.

" Well I'm not going to lie that we would have killed you, even if you had information, if you showed resistance, but clearly you are much more civilized than we intentionally thought. I first off want to apologize for not being here when you arrived. I was visiting Nightshade and checking up on her condition, then I went to see if you awoke yet and you were so I headed back here to greet you in person." Well at least I'm not dealing with another Colonel Autumn...

" I appreciate that your're at least honest with me. So how is Nightshade's condition?" I ask.

" She is stable right now. Her eye couldn't be saved however. The doctors managed to set some of her broken bones and heal as many internal wounds she had." Thunder looks a bit upset at that. I start rubbing my hands and wrists together, I'm a bit nervous on what happens next." So now with me being able bodied and holding information I assume that you are going to put me through the ringer, good cop and bad cop style?" Thunder chuckles slightly at that.

" Ah levity, at least we know you're adapt quickly to stressful situations. But to answer your question, no we have already gathered what we needed. You see when we confiscated your gear and equipment we found some advanced technology in your bag. So naturally we took it to have it examined. Our fantastic technical expert, Blue Sterling over there, discovered various files relating to this 'CrossTech'. We are still sorting out all of the information-"

" DAMMIT!" Blue interupts us with his shouting. We look at him.

" Is something wrong?" Thunder asks.

" Sort of. Another one of our spirte-bots just went offline. Dammit, we can't figure out whats down there if our sprite-bots keep going down." Now all I can think of is that one song, 'I'm going down, I'm yelling timber!' whatever the name to it was. Thunder seems to be thinking now.

" What's down where?" I ask.

" Other parts of this massive cave system. We've only discovered so much, but the rest just goes deeper and deeper." Hmm I smell quest plot." So why don't you just send someone down there instead of robots?"

" Because us pegasi hate enclosed spaces, its hard enough living down here in a cave but to actively explore it, hell no!"

One of Thunder's guards speaks up, he sounds like a dick just by the tone of his voice." Permission to speak freely sir?"

He asks Thunder.

" Go ahead."

" Why the hell are we even listening to this creature? Can't we just throw him and his bitch unicorn lackey back out in the wastes? We already have enough problems to deal with, last thing we need is this kiss ass little mutant!" I rest my case.

Thunder goes to answer but I stop him." Don't worry, I think I can handle this punk." I walk calmly over to him and kneel down right next to him. Covered in black metal armor but yet still meek on the inside.

" And what makes you think I am a mutant?"

" Because look at you! Tall and lengthy like one of those damn Hellhounds! You reek of waste grim and disease and are covered in filth! Why the hell do you need to know the obvious?"

" And does it matter if I am a mutant? Because from the looks of it, you guys are seriously fucked already. Now who's to say I'm here to help you or not, hmm? You can barely help yourself you judgmental prick. So if you are done judging someone who could possibly help your stupid ass, that would be great." I walk away feeling satisfied. That guard is more or less confused. So are Thunder and Blue.

" You two, uh, wait outside for now." Thunder waves both of them out while they mumble out 'Yes, sir'. He turns to me."

Well that was...something."

" That was one way to deal with it." Blue chuckles.

" Its called not caring. He was a prick so I just throw his shade back at him."

" Well you are becoming more and more useful to us." He stops and thinks for a moment." In light of this new information, I think you could provide useful to us again. Booker how would you like to assist Blue Sterling here, in retrieving his downed sprite-bots?" I fucking knew it, quest time.

" I would but what will be getting out of this? No offense but I am not a miracle worker, I must have some motivation."

Thunder rubs his chin with a hoof.

" I'll allow you to use whatever equipment you would need from your stash of gear." Okay that seems fair, I could put that

climbing axe to good use." Okay you've got yourself a professional spelunker."

" Excellent! Blue will fill you in and I'll have MerryWeather lead you to the armory where you can retrieve what you need. I await your return." With that Rolling Thunder walks out a happy man, or stallion, whichever. I look over to Blue now."

So what do I need to do?"

" Well I would need you to retrieve their data banks. Here take this tool kit. It has what you'd need. Bring them back to me. Now if you find something down there that has been taking out the sprite-bot, destroy it." He tosses me a small tool box." Also take this so we can stay in touch." He tosses me a two way radio set, almost drop it but I manage not to.

" Alright. I'll let you know what I find." MerryWeather waves me along and I follow behind her. We start walking towards,

well somewhere. " So can I ask something?" I look over to MerryWeather.

" Yes? What is it? And can ask you something in return?"

" Alright fair enough. So whats this I over heard about rations?"

" Oh that. Well you see we don't grow our own food and we don't have fresh water. We have to import both from the Enclave. But for the last 3 weeks or so we haven't been getting our usual supply runs thanks to your kind. With that we have been rationing a lot of our food. Water is running out fast. Now you answer my question, what the hell is that mark on your back? Like what is it?" Figured someone would ask about it.

" Its, uhh, a show of loyalty. I ran with a gang a long time ago. They branded me like so." Simple explanation is simple.

MerryWeather nods a bit and we continue to walk in relative silence. MerryWeather leads me to building labeled 'Armory', I guess a relative sign is necessary. We enter in and a guard stops me in my tracks." What the hell is this thing doing here?"

" Fuck off Frost, he's helping us right now. Move aside." MerryWeather is just done, heh. The guard glares at us but moves aside anyway, I'm assuming MerryWeather holds some kind of higher rank. MerryWeather leads me through some of the rows and rows of guns, ammo, and gears. Fuck me they have a bunch weapons. I see my stuff set up almost like it was on display, meh probably is anyway. I immediately grab my climbing axe and its holster, which is just a belt loop. I grab one of the Tec-9s and the holster. Thankfully the twin holster can detach for a single leg holster, convenience!

I look over to MerryWeather, who is watching me intently.

" Technically I'm not legally allowed to own a gun, hope everyone is okay with that." MerryWeather just rolls her eyes at me.

Ehh its true at least.

Footnote(s)

No level up.

Author's Note

Hey guys sorry for the wait, I've been busy. Now I do want to clear up a few things.

1) I extremely appreciate all the feedback I've gotten, good and bad, so I can't thank you guys enough for it.

2) I understand that my story isn't for the faint of heart, and for those who say I'm copying from others, this story is simply for fun. I mean no harm by it at all, and if that still doesn't satisfy you, go read something that does then.

3) I have an editor now, my good friend DrunkenSympathy, so we'll try to edit the new chapters whenever they come out( i have no clue tbh when they well) also another shoutout to my friend for lending me his OC Rolling Thunder.

So until next time, I'm InsanityDanity, so stay awesome out there