Fallout Equestria: The Light in the Dark

by silvermoon15000

Rating: mature
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Adventure
Length: 7747

Ever since a pony was little he wanted to be a hero, but he soon learned that any pony that tried to be a hero in the wasteland was either killed or corrupted by the wasteland itself, but after a few events occur, he learns what it means to be a hero

Ever since he was a colt, Nightwatch wanted to be like the heros in his books, but when he learns every hero in the wasteland is either killed or corrupted by the wasteland itself, he gives up on the dream. Years after his realization, a few events occur that force him into the heroic life. Now, he travels the wasteland in search of the corrupted in hopes of destroying them for the betrayal to the ponies they protected.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-29 22:21:29 UTC

Introduction: Who Am I

"Sometimes you just gotta ask yourself...who am I?

Unknown Source.

______________________________

STRENGTH: 7

PERCEPTION: 6

ENDURANCE: 6

CHARISMA: 4

INTELLIGENCE: 5

AGILITY: 8

LUCK: 4

_____________________________

I stared up at the dark, cloud covered, sky, my amber eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly. I let a sigh of relief escape my mouth, it had been a couple of days without conflict (other than internal), but tomorrow morning I would have a job and in the afternoon I would exchange gun fire with either a couple raiders or slavers or just some random ponies that needed to be dealt with. I pulled my black duster over my dark blue coat of fur with my amber colored magic as a chilly breeze went over me. I ripped my hooves out from under the cloth and set them behind my head, pushing my thick, short, silver mane against the back of it. I felt part of my duster fall away from my flank to reveal my cutie mark of a constellation in the shape of a hunting rifle with a scope on it.

I kept my own modified hunting rifle close to me, an empty magazine sitting inside so a pony couldn't use it against me if I was asleep and carved into the stock two words, NIGHT HAWK. In a holster sitting on a belt that lay under my duster, a revolver, its wooden grip covered in white duct tape. In a sheath on the other side of the belt, a hunting knife lay, its blade sharp and clean. With another sigh of relief I opened my mouth and spoke,

"Well Nightwatch, if you don't get some sleep you will most likely be killed by your own gun," I chuckled at my remark towards myself.

I let the chuckle subside and closed my eyes...hoping for a good nights rest.

                                                                                        $$$$$$

SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH

I opened my eyes to see nothing but darkness, the sound of squishy footsteps being the only sound. I blinked a couple of times to adjust to the dark as the sound grew closer, its silhouette closer than I had thought. I reached for knife, the light on my horn dim and under my hood, I grasped the hilt with my magic and pulled it towards my chest. It was clear that it was a ghoul, from the bald pony silhouette and the wet footsteps, which meant there were probably more close by. Luckily, it hadn't spotted me, but now I had a decision to make, kill it or hope it didn't spot me and wait for it to leave. Unfortunately, it stopped and toppled over into a dead state, the usual trap for an unsuspecting wanderer of they weren't careful. I waited a few minutes before finally moving, creeping towards it with my knife drawn.

Finally, I reached the undead corpse and stared at it with an expression of disgust. This one was definitely not a friendly one from what I could tell. Its teeth were bared in a snarl, it's eyes closed, its limbs were more decayed and any clothes it had worn before the megaspells were demolished. I stared at it for one more moment before raising the blade, just a stab to the head while he was in this position would kill him. I held my breath and brought the blade down into its temple, the blade sinking in easily to the hilt. The ghoul squirmed for a moment, blood leaking from its muzzle as I held the knife in its head.

Finally, it stopped moving and I pulled the blade out, causing a slurping noise as I removed it. I sighed and put the blade in the dirt and twisted it around to clean the blood off, not a very reliable method, but it worked. I sat down and kept twisting to get the best results minus the damage to it, but I just shrugged it off and kept going,

"There is no way I'm going back to sleep now, not like I needed it though," I told my self, pulling the blade out of the ground and up close to my face.

I focused on the blade and looked at it from all angles to make sure it was "clean" before shrugging and putting it back in its sheath. I levitated my rifle over to me and looked at it, from the stock to the barrel. It was in pretty good shape, other than my shortage of ammo and lack of spare parts to repair it. I perked my ears to listen, although yes I could see in the dark, (my special talent, also one of the reasons my cutie mark was a constellation of a rifle.) I didn't have eyes on the back of my head so there was still a blind spot. You never knew if somepony was watching unless you went with instinct, but my instinct wasn't kicking in. I sighed and focused on the gun, listening to night sounds and staring at the stock, a name carved into it, Starcloud.

I felt tears come to my eyes for this...this was my mother's rifle before she had me. She taught me how to shoot it and taught me everything she knew about the wasteland. My father was part of a slaver group, and when she found out she grabbed me and we ran far away. It wasn't long before he hunted us down and tried to take me away. I remember it all happening...it comes back to me every time I look at the name on the rifle. They fought over me to the point where they were at a stalemate, guns pointing at each other and a blade held against my throat. She knew she could kill him without hurting me, but she didn't pull the trigger, instead a bullet came through the window and hit her square in the temple, a kill blow. My father dropped the knife and the gun and sat back against the wall, a smirk on his face, he had won in his mind, but his victory didn't last long. I took the knife he dropped and drove it into his heart before repeating the same movement over and over and over until my rage faded.

Now here I am, years later, a mercenary looking for caps to survive like everyone else in this hell hole. As I came back to the present though I completely forgot about what was going on and I felt something hard hit the back of my head. I felt the blood rush to my head as my eyes closed and everything went dark.

Chapter 1: When the Stars Align

Only when the stars align will you know your purpose

-Night Hawk

A throbbing pain in the back of my head and a bright light woke me from what seemed to be an endless slumber forcing me to open my eyes and groan in pain. It wasn't long before a shadow loomed over me and I had to blink to realize it was an actual pony and not a figment of my imagination. I stared up at a mare, a chain collar around a yellow collar with light green fur sticking out of it, the color of the rest of her coat except it was covered in dirt. She had purple eyes that stuck out like plums and had a reddish orange mane that was long and curled near the bottom which still looked messy. I opened my mouth to speak, but she put a hoof to her lips and shushed me before nodding her head to her right. I lifted my head to see three stallions all wearing the same combat armor. I also noticed the collar around my neck as well. I nodded and slowly sat up trying to keep my chain from rattling as much as possible. I succeeded, and looked at the mare, she was slim but had some slight muscle, well that's what I could tell by looking at the uniform she had on. It was your standard issue Stable-Tec uniform with a pipbuck and probably no knowledge of the wasteland, which led me to one conclusion, she was a stable pony.

I mentally sighed, why did I have to get kidnapped...better yet, why did I have to get kidnapped during a job worth at least two-hundred and fifty caps. I moved my hoof to push the mare's face out of the way only to realize it was stuck to the ground. I moved my head to see what held it down, a cuff that was nailed to the ground, which was metal.  I tilted my head up to see what I had to deal with. It was a building, a bunker to be precise, and it was all metal, rusted metal.

I did my best to get a good view of the room, three ponies were in the room, not counting myself and the mare. They were all dressed in combat armor so I could only guess that they were the slavers that knocked me out. They were all facing away and whispering to each other, but instead of eavesdropping I looked around the room some more. There were cages sitting against the wall, all rusty and filled with pony remains, Shelves filled with flasks, burned books, and some jars were surrounding the rest of the room, there was a table in front of the three slavers and I guessed the door was also in front of them. I could barely see a duffle bag under the table, my rifle's barrel sticking out. I looked at the mare before deciding to break up the group conversation,

"HEY," I called out, "you just going to sit there and whisper or you going to explain why the mare has a bit more movement while I'm stuck to the damn floor,"

They turned and looked at me, well I guessed they were looking at me, they all had masks on. The one in the center walked around my body before looking at me as if he was upside down,

"well look who decided to wake up," a rough, muffled voice said before looking up at his companions, "I guess you didn't kill him after all, Lace," he told the one who pulled a bat off of his back,

"damn it, well I owe you forty caps, Strap" she said, her head facing the unnamed pony next to her. Strap let me know that he was a he when he chuckled,

"good, because I was running low," he looked at the pony that was once again looking at me, "quit eyeing him, Barrel, it's bad enough that she won't talk to us anymore because of you, we don't want him to be silent either,"

For a second I thought he cut the mare's tongue out,

"No, I just don't like talking to a pony when I can't see their face," she said, glaring at Strap,

"she speaks," Lace gasped with mock surprise,

I grinned slightly, this was the funniest group of slavers I had ever met. Strap sighed underneath his mask, which was just an average gas mask,

"I already told you Stable, that if we were to take these off, we would have to kill you," he told the mare, pulling a familiar weapon from his holster with his magic, my hunting knife, he saw me looking at it, "thanks by the way," he said, a smile probably forming under his mask.

I looked at the mare before looking at Strap,

"you still haven't answered my question, why am I the only one stuck to the floor this way?" I asked again, raising an eyebrow,

He laughed,

"you are THE Night Hunter, why would I risk my life just for you to be able to move freely," he told me.

Night Hunter? Last time I checked I was just a normal pony doing jobs, when did I get this title,

"excuse me, what...Night Hunter?" I questioned in a confused tone,

He laughed again and pointed a hoof at the pony next to me,

"ask her, she says you are some big hero, guess not though huh," I looked at her, she had a surprised expression on her face,

"but he is a hero, they talk about him all the time on the radio," she said, looking at me.

"I am? well that is something new, I didn't even know I was considered a hero, but how do you know that the Night Hunter...is me" I tried to shrug my shoulders but with the way I was positioned it was extremely difficult,

Strap decided to answer my question,

"well for starters, the DJ said you never sleep, and I guessed you were a hunter because of the rifle and knife you had, plus the job you are on is a bounty hunt, so lucky guess, although I did expect more of you," well that was a great guess, although the description was almost on point, I didn't know if I was this Night Hunter.

I looked at the mare and let a plan creep into my mind...and it would start with a simple lie,

"well you got the hunter part right, but never sleep...yeah that's a good one, you just caught me on a night that I was on alert, plus you would think the Night Hunter would have been a bit scarier looking and wouldn't have let you catch them so easily," I pointed out, raising a hoof slightly.

I let that sink in before continuing,

"besides...would the Night Hunter want to join a slaver group and was just waiting for the right group to come along," I lied,

Strap put a hoof to his chin in thought, he looked at Lace and then Barrel,

"group meeting," he told the others as he moved back to the original spot and turned away.

The other two grunted, but obeyed their leader and joined him, facing away from me and the mare once more. I looked at her as she looked at me, a terrified and angry glare stabbing me in the face. I grinned at her and winked, signaling that it was an act. She relaxed a little and nodded, telling me that she understood. They turned as we looked back at them,

"alright..." Strap said, "...we have come to the decision that we will let you join and be our sniper, just in case things get ugly or if it is an enemy slaver group, but-" he hesitated, and the other two came towards me to let me out of the cuffs, "-you have to kill this mare because she has seen your face,"

She gulped, and started to cry, I couldn't tell if she was acting or if she thought I was only in this to save myself, but either way worked. I did feel a small sense of sympathy wash over me, that was my weakness. If I saw a mare, filly, or colt crying, I almost couldn't help but either cry myself, leave them alone, or comfort them, be it raider, slaver, or any other pony. I kept my composure though and looked at Strap,

"I have one condition though if I am going to kill her, I want to do it with my side arm," he sighed and looked at Lace,

"give it to him, he is on our side now," he told her,

she mumbled under her breath as she lifted the gun out of her holster and into my range of magic where I took it from her. I tried to aim it at her, but lowered the gun,

"I can't do it while she looks like this blindfold her for me," I said, Lace and Barrel opened their mouths to complain but decided against it and moved to hold her down while the other put a blindfold on, the mare squirmed giving me more time to distract all three of them, "and Strap can grab my sniper for me please," I asked.

He sighed and turned towards the table, I took this opportunity and aimed my revolver at Lace's head, at this range her head would turn into a bloody mess of an explosion. I pulled the trigger and felt the slight recoil as the bullet left the barrel, a loud splattering sound followed and then a thump as the dead slaver hit the ground. Barrel turned and charged into me instantly, pushing me against the wall, his hoof against my throat,

"who the fuck do you think you are?" he said pushing his hoof harder into my windpipe, I squirmed and tried to kick him off, but he wouldn't budge. I felt weaker as he continued strangling me,

"HEY," a feminine voice said behind him,

He turned his head and I watched as his head exploded, blood covering my face and chest as his body and I dropped to the ground. I looked up to see the mare, my revolver enveloped in purple magic, her magic. She lowered the weapon as I gulped for air and stood up. It wasn't long before I remembered that there was a third in the room and charged into the mare as a shot rang out. I felt it dig into my left shoulder as I pushed her to the ground and fell on top of her. I rolled off as I heard him pull the lever back, and lifted Lace's corpse, and my revolver as he fired again, this time hitting the dead body. I took this chance and threw Lace at him, hitting the barrel of the rifle up towards the ceiling. I aimed the revolver at his heart, pulled the hammer back, and fired, the bullet hitting him the chest. I pulled the hammer back and fired again, hitting him in the head and killing him.

I let out a sigh of relief and lowered the gun as smoke came from the barrel. I looked at the mare,

"you ok?" she nodded,

"good, now lets get you out of that collar," I went to Strap's body and starting searching for a key, which was in the same pocket where twenty caps lay as well. As I walked back I decided to spark a conversation with the stable mare, I mean it was the least that I could do as she did save my life, although I did take a bullet saving her, the wound was bleeding, but you get used to it after living in the wasteland for twenty five years,

"Thanks for saving me back there," I told her as I put the key into the collar,

"it's not really a big deal, I mean you took a bullet for me," I chuckled,

"well that is true, anyways...I'm Nightwatch," I introduced myself, unlocking the collar and letting it drop to the ground with a clanging sound,

"Amethyst Rain," I nodded,

"nice to meet you" I said turning around and heading towards the table, I turned my head slightly to face her,

"so, how long have you been out here," I asked as I turned my head back so I could lift the bag that was underneath the table and put it on top of it,

"two weeks," she answered, I heard her move towards me,

"have you encountered anypony else or just me and them," I questioned, reaching into the bag and pulling out a 10 mm pistol,

"well no, I ran into a couple of crazy ones too, they tried to kill me the second they saw me though," I chuckled,

"those were raiders, don't even try talking to them, they will always try and kill you, no matter what. They also dress crazy, but every now and then you will come across that one group that has an actual leader who may talk, but that's like one out of thirty," I told her, lifting 10 mm ammo out of the bag and placing it on to the table next to the pistol.

I lifted the pistol and turned to face Amethyst,

"here you are going to need this when you are out there...why did you leave anyways," I asked as she took the pistol from me and looked it over,

"I left when my dad decided to leave, we left together, but...we were only two days in when those raiders attacked us, they killed him and came after me, fortunately those three saved me, unfortunately, it was to enslave me. It wasn't long though before I heard them talking about explosive collars and how Barrel forgot to grab them before they left, now I'm here with Night Hunter, a pony I never thought I would meet," she said, a sober look on her face,

I looked at her,

"sorry about your dad, but this place is a cruel one, you and your dad were better off in the stable, if I was a different pony I would have killed you or even worse, but I am not a different pony so...you got lucky," she nodded,

I turned back towards the bag and pulled some more items out, my duster, the ammo for Night Hawk, my sniper, and what was left of my revolver ammo. I turned towards Strap, Night Hawk laying next to him, it was a gruesome sight, his body lay still, a bullet hole in the middle of his head, leaking blood along with the chest wound he had. I took a step forward and picked up the gun with a smile, it was good to have it back. I turned to see Amethyst adding some pieces of the combat armor to her vault suit,

"you're a quick learner," I complimented, rolling the bat that Lace had to her hooves, "you are gonna need that too," she lifted it,

"kind of heavy, don't you think?" she said spinning it,

"use it only when you have to then, but I wouldn't suggest using a gun when somepony has got a plank of wood or an iron pipe, a few bones may crack," I told her, pulling the knife from Strap's gun holster, I don't think I would ever understand why he put a knife in a gun holster, because he had plenty of pockets.

"oh yeah you may need these for food and water," I added lifting a small pouch with thirty-seven caps inside it, "bottle caps are our currency out here, I suggest you found more," I threw it at her, she caught it in her magic and shook it, making them jingle for a moment.

I checked myself over making sure I had everything before looking at the mare,

"maybe we will meet again sometime, but for now I wish you luck out there," I told her as I walked towards the door,

"wait," she said abruptly, stopping me in my tracks,

"can...can I come with you," she asked nervously,

I sighed and turned to face her,

"I travel alone...that and I have a job to do, and it has deadline, a two day deadline so-"

"you were out for a week," she interrupted, I froze,

"a...a week," she nodded,

"damn it, that was a lot of caps," I told myself,

"please...only for awhile...just until I get the hang of the wasteland, plus I have medical supplies so I can treat your shoulder," I sighed,

I hated it when ponies pull crap like this, I was just nice enough and she wasn't wrong, the wound was starting to sting,

"fine...but you are only staying with me until we get into a settlement and then you are on your own...deal," I told her, lifting a hoof for her to shake,

"deal," she nodded and shook my hoof with hers,

"by the way, I am no hero, I am just another pony in the wasteland," and with that noted, we left the bunker.

__________________________________________________________________

"we stop here for the night," I stopped moving and sat down, my hooves were more sore than they had ever been.

We had been traveling nonstop for since we had left that bunker, that was a long time ago, now then sun was setting and I wanted to start a fire with whatever I could find. I heard a thump behind me and turned around,

"thank Celestia, my hooves are killing me," Amethyst complained, the first time she had spoke since we had left the bunker,

I chuckled and turned away, studying our surroundings as I did. This was what was left of a forest, so wood wouldn't be hard to find, I knew I had a fire starter somewhere in my duster, I had found it in a safe along with a canteen that I left at the bunker by accident. I took in the smell of the area,

no bodies, doesn't smell like there is anypony close by, and I can't see any smoke to identify if anypony is around so...

"this area is as safe as it gets out here," I said, a small breeze pushing my duster back,

"well that's good I guess," Amethyst said behind me, I turned and looked at her,

"I'm going to get some fire wood, stay here, and if I am not back by sundown...you may want to leave...got it," she nodded,

"got it...in the mean time I'm going to try to clean this stuff off of me," she indicated the mud and dust in her fur,

"good luck with that," I told her as I turned away and went into the dead forest.

___________________________________________________________

I looked straight ahead as I lifted another stick on to the pile hovering over my head. I was almost back to camp, and I had yet to see anything hostile, which wasn't a bad thing. I went around another tree, this trip was an easy one,

"just follow your tracks, Nightwatch, just follow your tracks," I told myself,

I had used this method many times when I was in an area where everything looks the same. It wasn't long before I could make out Amethyst's combat armor, but she wasn't there. I felt my heart skip a beat, this was not good, I went from a walk to a trot as I had a bad feeling. Finally, I made it to the spot and let out a sigh of relief. There was only one set of tracks, hers by the size and depth of them and they led into the forest, good news she was ok when she left, bad news she could have ran into anything while in there. I sighed,

"great, she wandered off, should've made her come with me," I blamed myself as I dropped the sticks on to the ground beside me.

There was only one thing left to do, find her and bring her back here...safe.

_________________________________________________________

I followed the trail of hoofprints,  my eyes scanning the area looking for any sign of struggle, so far there hadn't been any. She also took a lot of turns, what ever she was looking for or following, it was probably flying. I looked down and stared at the trail as I trotted on,

"where did you go," I asked myself and as if on cue the sound of running water filled my ears, which led me to think back to a couple of hours ago,

"I'm going to try to clean this stuff off of me,"

Oh yeah, it would make since for her to try to find water, especially since she was a stable pony. I looked up to see a figure putting something on and stepped through the trees to see that it was indeed Amethyst putting her stable suit back on, luckily she was zipping it up as I saw her. She looked up and out of a scared reaction raised her pistol. I lifted a hoof up,

"don't shoot...it's just me," I told her, putting my hoof down,

She lowered her gun and glared at me,

"how long have you been standing there," she asked, her eyes like daggers piercing mine,

"just got here actually, I thought I told you to stay put," I said, changing the subject,

"actually-" she used a hoof to straighten her mane, "-you never did, I told you I was going to try to find a way to get that stuff off of me,"

I shrugged, she wasn't wrong,

"well next time at least tell me you are going to 'look' for a way to get it off," I argued, feeling a bit irritated at myself for not telling her to stay there.

That's when another thought occurred to me,

"how deep did you go into that water," I asked, she looked at me angrily, I should have listened to myself.

I continued, "if you went as far as your belly, you will have a lot of radiation, and the side effects are not good if you gain too much," she relaxed a little,

"I went knee deep and only gained a small amount," she said, straightening the other side of her mane,

"uh huh," I said unconvincingly an eyebrow raised,

"you start to vomit and I will give you some Radaway ok," I told her, "now lets get back to camp," she nodded in agreement and we started our way back to the spot.

_________________________________________________________________

It was dark when we got back, everything was just as we had left it, that was good. Amethyst yawned,

"you tired?" I asked her, confused, she was a grown mare and it had just gotten dark,

"my stable would have already been in bed, so to me it feels like it is five in the morning," she said with another yawn,

I laughed, she was still on stable time,

"well starting tomorrow, you are getting on wasteland time, because you are going to be alone for awhile once we get to town," I told her as she lay next to her combat armor,

She nodded and lay her head down, she probably hadn't slept when she was with the slavers now that I thought about it, but I shrugged and took my rifle off my shoulder. I looked at the stock with the name etched into it, tears coming to my eyes,

"night mom," I whispered before raising the rifle and looking through the scope, this was going to be a long night.

I listened to the crackling sound of the fire, it had only been an hour since night had fallen and Amethyst fell asleep, she was a silent sleeper too, a good thing when it came to the wasteland. I decided to start the fire mainly because it was starting to get cold, but I also wanted it so I could see slightly better, my enhanced vision would only go so far. I held my rifle close to me and scanned the area around me, this place was quiet...but it wasn't a good quiet. There had to be something out there, no place in the wasteland was ever this quiet. I looked through my scope once more and finally something caught my eye, a manticore, and a big one at that, I moved quickly and put out the fire, keeping my eye on the creature,

"wh...what's going on," Amethyst said, now awake,

I put a hoof to my lips and with the other pointed at the manticore, which was closer. Her eyes widened, but she kept her mouth shut, I leaned in and whispered in her ear,

"grab your combat armor and follow me, put it on as we go, ok, that thing can crush our heads in one blow, so stay quiet," she nodded and we started to move,

The creature kept moving towards us, but it was just moving at a normal pace, that was a good thing, a great thing actually. We left the camp just as the smell of it hit my nose. I let out a sigh as we got further away,

"that was too close," I said, moving around another tree,

"what was that thing," Amethyst said, her voice wavering,

"a manticore, one of the strongest and deadliest creatures in the wasteland and we were in its territory, that was why this place almost had nothing in it, I should've realized it sooner," I said, staring straight ahead,

"this forest is probably its territory, lets just hope we get out of here before it finds us," I added raising my rifle,

The rest of the journey through the forest was quiet, neither of us spoke until we saw the end of the forest. As we got out of there the wasteland was lit up again as if to say it was morning. Amethyst jumped in joy as we got out of there,

"we made it, I didn't think we would actually get out of there," I chuckled,

"what...you doubted me," she laughed,

"no, nothing gets past the Night Hunter," she said as if she were a child, I frowned,

"listen...don't call me that, that's a title for a hero, something I am not," she stopped and frowned,

"what do you mean," she tilted her head,

"no pony is a hero in this place and anypony that has tried was either killed or corrupted by something in the wasteland," I told her sternly,

"no pony has ever succeeded," I added dropping my head and letting my ears droop as I thought of my mother,

"well then...be the first, don't let their failures stop you," I looked at her, I wanted to tell her what happened to my mother, what happened to everypony I knew that tried to do it, but I couldn't, instead I went with it,

"yeah...sure...maybe I will give it a shot," I told her with a mock smile,

"great...umm...do you mind if I turn on the radio," I shrugged,

"do what ever, but if I tell you to shut it off you better shut it off," she nodded, lifted her pipbuck, and turned on the radio.

"-that was Sensational Remedy by Sweetiebelle, now why don't we check in with our new favorite, The Night Hunter, it had seemed like our hero had gone off the radar for the week only to turn up again when he saved a mare from a small group of slavers known as The Masked Bunch, the mare is now following him around and we has earned the nickname, The Mare with the Red Mane. In other news our stable dweller has turned up in the small town of New Appleooza and-"

The radio went to static, "seems like we are out of range of the tower," I joked as we continued moving through the area,

"yeah seems like it," she said as she turned it off, "that DJ PON3 literally knows everything, its weird," she added,

"probably cameras in the bunker," I said trying to bring logic into it,

She just shrugged, "I don't know, but that nickname seemed kind of long," I laughed,

"yeah it was wasn't it," I stopped as a few buildings came into view,

She moved to stand beside me, "do you know that place," she asked, looking at me.

I shook my head, "no but it looks like it was almost completely destroyed after the megaspells," I said,

ghouls and raiders roamed areas like that, but I couldn't hear any gun fire, so I couldn't tell. I started to move toward the buildings,

"well looks like we are going through," she looked at me as if I was nuts,

"why don't we go around, there has gotta be something bad in there,"

"yeah but there could also be something good, and I am willing to take the risk if it means we get stimpaks, food, or even water," she sighed in defeat,

"I guess," I smiled,

"lets go,"

__________________________________________________________

It wasn't long before we could see inside the ruins, there were a few buildings intact, but there were others that were a few columns and a pile of rubble. We finally got to the entrance though and the smell was horrific, gun smoke, burnt flesh, and other smells filled my nose,

"Hoofview," Amethyst said, looking at her pipbuck,

I looked at her confused, "that's the name of this place, my pipbuck can usually tell me where I am but all the names were from before the megaspells," I understood and gave her a nod,

"well whatever this place was called, it is one of the worst places ever," I said looking up at one of the buildings,

"might as well search it, but be alert, the smell of burnt flesh is fresh and so is the smell of smoke," she nodded and pulled her pistol from her side.

I pulled the stock of my rifle to my shoulder and let my body relax. We moved through the area, our weapons swinging left and right and up and down. I could see movement in my peripherals, but I acted as if I didn't notice, it wouldn't be long before they attacked us, all we had to do was be patient.

"hey you know we are being followed too...right," Amethyst whispered,

"yeah I have for awhile..." I noticed the movement was a lot closer now, "...they are really close now...I have a plan," she glanced at me,

"shoot," she said,

"when I say turn right do it," she looked at me confused, "trust me," she nodded and looked straight ahead again.

I glanced to left to see the shadow in a position that only meant they were going to jump. I waited for it and right as the figure jumped I cried out,

"TURN," immediately, Amethyst turned right and I followed, two machetes landed right where our heads used to be,

We looked at the two ponies, they were wearing different clothing and wore a yellow smiley face mask. They cackled loudly and pushed their shoulders into us, pushing us away from them. I stood up and looked around, they weren't the only ones, more ponies wearing the same mask and holding machetes landed all around us, all cackling with laughter. I watched Amethyst levitate her bat off of her back,

"their weapons are faster, you are just wasting time," I said maintaining eye contact with the one that had pushed me, I heard her put the bat back where it was before.

I looked at her, and then at the cackling crowd,

"who are you," I called out to the two in front of me,

"who are we he says, why don't you recognize us we recognize you Night Hunter, there is a large bounty on your head, we want it," one said pointing his blade at me,

"hmmmm yes...and your mare here will do nicely for a trophy heh...heh...HEH," another said, taking a step forward.

"a bounty," they all howled with laughter,

"yes a bounty, Lord Grin wants the bounty and we are to retrieve it for him," the one from earlier said,

"who put the bounty on me," I asked, trying to maintain my bearing,

"Carny Slice," I heard one behind me say,

Carny Slice? the pony who gave up his life as a hero to run a small settlement, why does he want me dead,

"why does he want me dead," I decided to ask what was on my mind,

"he is afraid that he is next on your list just as we are," the one that had pointed his machete at me said,

"why would I go after him...he hadn't caused a problem until now, and why would I be after you," I questioned, watching as they all took a step forward,

The two in front of me looked at each other, they were unicorns so their horns stuck out. They looked back at us and took off their masks, the one in front of me was a stallion, his head bald and his coat orange while the other was a mare her mane short and yellow and her coat a light blue,

"the Gun Sorcerer and Lady Blade," I said in shock, they hated each other back in their hero days and tried to kill each other after they started their own raider groups,

"heh yep," Lady Blade said her voice now feminine,

"you would come after us because we are corrupted," Gun said, his voice deep,

"but, I have no reason to, I don't understand," I told them shaking my head,

"you don't have to Hunter...kill them," Gun said and they all progressed towards us, machetes raised,

Amethyst looked at me as if I had a plan, but all I could do was shake my head. The time was ticking though and I had to think of something. I studied the Gun Sorcerer and Lady Blade, the Sorcerer was known for his gun play and brutal strength, while Lady was known for speed and melee weapons. Most Raiders were mindless, but if they were led by somepony like those two they acted as a hive mind. I had to take out Lady Blade first so I looked at Amethyst and nodded my head toward Lady and mouthed "shoot" to her. She instantly aimed her pistol at Lady Blade and started firing a full magazine at her. My theory was correct for a raider jumped in front of her and was hit by every single bullet, I smiled and pointed my barrel at the Sorcerer,

"quit playing with them and CHARGE," he cried out and sprinted towards me as his raiders came after us at full sprint.

I fired a bullet at him only for a raider jump in front the shot, two down. This also caused the Sorcerer to stumble over the dead raider and slowed him down. I heard Amethyst call out something before I felt something warm hit the top of my head, I looked up to see a raider fly backwards and hit the ground. I looked at Amethyst who turned and fired at the other raiders. I looked for Lady Blade who was cackling and heading straight for the mare. I looked through the scope of my rifle and followed her hooves, everything seemed to move in slow motion as I took a deep breath and steadied my aim. I pulled the trigger as I let the air leave my mouth, I watched on as the bullet hit her square in the leg and sent her toppling on to the ground. This pissed the raiders off and they started coming faster, their cackling now screams of rage.

I dropped the rifle and pulled my revolver from its holster, I had for left in its wheel and seven raiders were heading for me. I pulled the hammer back and fired, hitting one in the chest, I fired again, this time the bullet missing completely. I fired again and managed to his one of them in the leg making him fall and tripping another one next to him. I turned and waited for one of them to get close, I waited until the last moment and fired, the bullet hitting him in the eye. I dropped the revolver and pulled out my knife, I side stepped one as he swung down, managing to graze my shoulder. I winced and stabbed him in the temple following him to the ground, I quickly pulled it out only to realize the other four stopped in the tracks. Confused, I took a step forward before I felt something heavy hit my side and felt my hooves leave the ground. I flew a couple feet before I hit the ground with a thud, I had forgotten about the Sorcerer. I slowly stood up and looked at him, his orange face was now red with anger, and he had dropped his machete,

"I am not letting you kill me, and I will not stand for you killing my gang either, bitch," he said aiming my own rifle at me,

There was only one reason why he was known as the Gun Sorcerer, he knew how to fire a good with one hundred percent accuracy and he could conjure up bullets, that was his special talent,

"say goodnight Hunter," he said, raising the scope to his eye, I closed my eyes and waited for the gun to fire, but instead I heard a loudSMACK,

I opened my eyes to see him flinch as Amethyst's bat hit him in the back of the head. He turned his head and looked at the mare before looking at the corpse of Lady Blade a machete dug into her skull. He laughed through gritted teeth before picking Amethyst up by her throat with his hoof,

"that hurt bitch," he said before throwing her into the ground and stomping his way to her,

I took this as a chance and grabbed my knife. I slowly stood up and sprinted towards him before jumping into the air and stabbing him in the back. He howled in pain as he collapsed to the ground taking me with him, he rolled over me forcing me to let go of the knife and roll away. I now stood in between him and an unconscious Amethyst, my shoulder bleeding horrendously, my lip bleeding from the impact of the ground, my breath ragged, but I wouldn't give up, not now, not ever. He lunged at my throat forcing me to duck and bring my hoof up into his chin making him flinch. His raiders cheered for him as he backhoofed me to the ground. I grunted from the hit, but stood back up, a machete in my teeth.

I waited for his shadow to cover the ground below me before swinging my head and body back to get that extra momentum behind the swing. I watched the blade slice his throat open, blood spraying from it, his eyes widened and his mouth opened in a gasp as his life drained from him. He fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming below him. I stood up and looked at the four remaining raiders who stepped back. I looked down at myself, blood covered my chest and legs, I looked back up to see them running away, afraid that they would be next on my list. I dropped the machete and limped over to Amethyst, still unconscious. I lay next her and felt darkness wash over me.

footnote: Level Up

Perk acquired: Champion's Blood- you now have a 20% chance to intimidate raiders when aiming your weapon at them