October Twenty-First, Year One.
Zzztztbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppp. HA! Piece of junk! Finally got you working. Huh..? This is pointless!
Alright, fine. I just picked up payment for the Dash job, and I've never seen so many bits before. It would be nice if half the country weren't on fire so I could spend them somewhere other than the pegasus cities. There's still a lot of fighting below the clouds. Pegasi bucked all the cloud machines into overdrive and sealed the sky away. They call it the 'Cloud Curtain.' Smart move, all the radiation is kept down below. Can't tell if the Striped are still kicking or not. Roam sure as hell ain't. I can still see the fire through the Curtain. I saw the missile that blew it to hell fly by a few days ago. Eerily flying across the sky like a falling star of retribution. Wow. I've gotten poetic, haven't I?
I'm going try to get a suit of power-armor tailored to fit me. Maybe take a trip down below to see if anypony's looking for a pair of wings. I don't have anything else to do except visit this old therapy buck. Pegasus military's been making everyone that's gone down below go in for counseling. I'd tell them to shove it up their tail holes, but after what happened to that mare from Stable-Tec I don't think that would be in my best interest.
That, and Lightning Dust kind of insisted. After what happened she thought it would be a good idea to 'get a read on my mental state', and 'make sure I was okay'. Bunch of garbage. But she did just give me the biggest payday I've ever had. Might as well indulge her a bit. I think she's going for the 'mare of the ponies' routine. Trying to act like she actually cares about folks. She's running for some new government position they've set up. Never thought I'd see democracy in Equestria. Maybe if they had a democracy instead of those immortal bitches, this whole thing wouldn't have happened...
Then again, I probably wouldn't be rich either.
The military's been bringing in pegasus refugees from all over the country. I didn't see any earth ponies or unicorns though. I guess the Grand Pegasus Enclave's name is more literal than I thought. There's a lot of other Talons up here too, but no one else from my company. It's kind of bumming me out actually. We're supposed to be the best! Best of the best! And... it's just me here. Nothing I can do about it. Shit happens...
I think I'm done for today...
October Twenty-Third, Year One.
This thing on? Oh right, the light. Didn't think I would find this recorder comforting, but that smug ass pegasus was right. It feels good to talk to someone. Anyone. Even if it's just me. The pegasi avoid me for the most part. I think I make them nervous. After what happened to Dash I get it but... Ugh! Whatever, I don't need any of those whiny bitches. I never did, and I never will!
I'm going below the Cloud Curtain tonight. I bought a bunch of gear off some of the soldiers at Neighvarro. No power-armor, but I did get some supplies to repair my Talon armor. A bunch of healing potions, chems, ammo, the works. The bucks over at Neighvarro just about shit themselves when I told them what I was doing. Pussies. These guys are supposed to defend the skies from the apocalypse. Laughable.
My sword is still busted. The pegasi don't have the tools I need to fix it up here. Made out of metal they don't have access to either. My first stop will be an old smelting plant called Shire Steelworks on the outskirts of Fillydelphia. Lightning Dust gave me a Pip-Buck with detailed maps of the whole country. Gonna come in handy down below. The Steelworks is my best hope for fixing my sword. After that... I don't know, to be honest. I can't just stay up here doing nothing though. Boring as hell.
October Twenty-Fifth, Year One.
I went below the Curtain. Almost died getting to the ground. Air is seriously irradiated, and the wind's gone completely crazy. Nearly got thrown into the ruins of a few skyscrapers and the top of a mountain. Without the pegasi, the weather's gone wild. Didn't even think it could. I won't be flying anywhere for a while. Have to wait for the storm to subside. I have plenty of rad drugs for now, but if I'm down here for more than a week, I'll be in real trouble.
Cleared out Shire Steelworks. Bunch of ponies with hoof-made armor and guns had taken over the place. Killing them was easy but... I've seen a lot of really fucked up things in my life. Before the war. During the war. But I've never seen anything like that steelworks. The ponies there... they were torturing ponies. Cutting them. Burning them. Mutilated corpses and severed limbs all over the place. It was... sickening. I've cut zebras in half on the battlefield, so I'm no stranger to entrails and the like, but that was nothing compared to this building. The ponies here weren't fighting a war. They weren't fighting for their lives, or country, or their families, or even profit. They were hunting other ponies and doing horrible, unspeakable things to them just for the hell of it. Just for fun.
Found some journal entries on a terminal in the central office. There was a mare in the office too, but she had nothing to say after succumbing to a sudden case of decapitation. From what the terminal said she was the one in charge. Some bitch out of Trottingham. She had her 'raiders' go out into the Wasteland and capture any folks they came across. I think she was trying to build an army. Bunch of crap about initiation rituals and the like. It took me three hours to read through them all...
They all deserved to die.
October Twenty-Seventh, Year One.
Took me all day, but I finally repaired my sword. Found a lot of ingots made out of material I've never seen. High-grade metal. Tough stuff. Kept my old handle and replaced the blade with the new stuff. Sharp as hell. Grandpa Gruff would be proud. Thought about adding Dash's pin to it but I didn't. A trophy is a trophy. Doesn't have to be on my sword for me to know what I did. Not like anypony down here would know what it meant anyway.
Winds are starting to die down. They should have gone down enough to fly by tomorrow.
I got some unlikely visitors today. A couple of stallions out of Buckford. Had a bunch of junk they were trying to sell. Most of it was garbage, but there was one thing I just couldn't live without. Cost me a good chunk of gold, but I don't think it would have felt right killing them for it. After the Steelworks... I don't know.
Killing aside, it's not every day that a hen comes across a balefire bomb.
October Twenty-Ninth, Year One.
Those mother fuckers! Had a great few days! Went below the Cloud Curtain, killed a few dozen ponies, did a little shopping, and got banned from the pegasus skies! Apparently, my previous exposure to the surface means I'm not allowed anywhere near pegasus population centers. 'Contaminated' they said. 'Danger to the Pegasus people' they said. After everything I did for that cunt Lightning Dust, she's kicking me out on my tail! I don't buy that 'contaminated' crap either. All the other griffons are getting the boot too. Enclave forces in power-armor have been rounding us up in groups and forcing us below the curtain. I've heard they've even killed some wings that resisted.
I thought about taking that bomb and rigging it to blow that entire damn air fleet right out of the sky, but I'm saving it for a more personal matter. Got together with some other Talons and decided that since we're all being deported anyway, we might as well give them a memorable send-off. I hope they don't mind losing the Luna. That ship of theirs is a certifiable killing machine. Way too dangerous to leave Lightning Dust with that at her disposal. If they come after us with it, we'll be in real trouble.
Okay, and it's Lightning Dust's favorite. Go ahead and call me vindictive.
November Third, Year One.
I had a great party with the Enclave last night. I didn't use the balefire bomb. Found a Sparkle Cola machine and ripped it open, and it just so happened to have a dozen Sparkle Cola Rad inside. I can't even imagine what makes ponies stupid enough to make a drink with magical radiation as an ingredient. 'Like a buck to the face! With radishes!' Hysterical. Rigged 'em into bombs and stashed them in the engine compartments and ammo storage areas on that big damn Thunderhead of theirs. The Grand Pegasus Enclave's Luna. Largest in the entire fleet. Thunderhead Class, Type C. Can carry thousands of troops, has dozens of magical energy canons. Real beauty...
It's a damn shame that it's only a pyre in the Fillydelphia Crater.
The pegasi sent a few squads after us when the ship went down. The other Talons bailed or got shot. It took some doing, but I killed all the soldiers. Hell of a lot harder than the Shire Steelworks. If it weren't for my sword, they would have got me. The new blade cut through their armor like butter. I used the last of my armor-piercing rounds too. It's a safe bet that I won't be going back to the pegasus skies anytime soon. A few of the guys who came after me were from Neighvarro...
To make a shitty day worse, those shifty little bastards from Buckford really got one over on me. Should have known they didn't have a working balefire bomb. Dropped it right on that damn farm and hightailed as fast as I could, only for the thing to not explode. I'm going to find those cheats and stick a few real grenades right up their asses! No one crosses me...
I thought it would be funny. Blowing that dweeb Pinkie's stupid farm right off the map. One last middle feather before I start looking for work again...
I already found her. Pinkie Pie. Flew into Manehatten just when it started snowing. The Ministry of Morale Hub was fried. Most of the building was still on fire. The top windows were blown out, and only smoldering a little. Pretty sure it was her. It was her office. Tried to get into the terminal but I couldn't guess the code. Probably something asinine.
It was strange. Seeing her there. Just a bunch of bones lying on the floor. All I remember about her is that hyper-annoying pink flash running by me so fast she was just a blur. Heh. Why, can't you watch me like a griffon? Never really appreciated that one. Not that it was very clever. It wasn't. I just set myself up for it. I should have known better...
I saw something in her rib cage. A little doll or something. It looked like the Arcane Science mare. Twilight, I think. Dash told me about her. She was a real egghead apparently. Don't know how it survived the blast. I don't think anypony put it there afterward so maybe it's magic or something. Knowing who it's made to look like, it probably is. Thought about taking it but I didn't bother. I don't need a stupid doll. I would've burned my paw pulling it out of her chest anyway. The damn skeleton is still smoldering.
November-Fifth, Year One.
I don't know why I'm still doing this. These recordings. Just to have someone to talk to I guess. I... I... oh fuck it.
November Sixth, Year One.
Scavenged a good amount of food from an old grocery store. It should keep me fed for a while. I'm still a little surprised there was anything there. Bunch of boxed and canned foods, Sparkle Cola and The Egg knows how many pony skeletons. Sarsparilla... damn it. We used to drink it all the time. Me and Dash...
It doesn't matter. She's dead, and I'm not. That stuck-up bitch can never say I'm second best again. She's the one who's just one teeny weeny little hair behind now.
I've thought about her a lot. The last time we talked. Way back when in Ponyville. That lame party. I've seen her a bunch of times since then, but we never spoke. Never really had a reason to. It was always on the battlefield anyway... wait. No. No, there was this one time. We were fighting the Striped down south. To the southwest of Littlehorn Valley. I was grounded. I got shot through my left wing after taking down a zebra assassin. I was trapped in the trench, spraying the Striped that got too close with my SMG. She yelled at me from the air. Told me to get down. I don't even know why I listened. Her voice was just so... urgent. I guess that's the right word. Right after she told me to get down the top of the trench exploded from a grenade or missile or something. If she hadn't said anything... I would have been killed...
She saved my life... and I killed her...
November Eighth, Year One.
I found out where those bucks went. I followed them along Highway Fifty-Two until they reached Salt Cube City. The city center is super irradiated, but they aren't anywhere near there. Idiots left their Pip-Buck tags in an old terminal in Shire Steelworks. They're both holed up in the southern outskirts of town. As soon as I find them, I'm going to show them exactly why you don't fuck with Talons!
November Tenth, Year One.
Waste, waste, waste, waste, waste. What a fucking waste of time. I followed those cheats on foot for nearly fifty miles, and the bastards are already dead! Their tag showed they were holed up in an old coffee shop. I waited until night and kicked the door in, I had both my .45s ready to go, and what do I find? Both of them dead. Surrounded by used syringes. Assholes overdosed on Med-X. I can't even imagine how they got their hooves on that bomb. Must have stolen it from a zebra base or something. Or they just made a good replica. They were unicorns.
There are massive amounts of magical radiation everywhere. Good thing I stocked up on rad drugs before leaving the skies. Things are really fucked up down here. There's green snow everywhere. As far as I can see in every direction. It hasn't stopped snowing since it started a few weeks ago. Pip-Buck's going crazy. Must have gone through half the Rad-X already.
I'm heading southwest tomorrow. My Pip-Buck picked up a distress signal from the Steel Rangers on the front lines. With that armor of theirs, they might still be alive. Maybe they're even looking for a good pair of wings.
November Fifteenth, Year One.
The winds died out enough for me to fly. Five straight days in the air. No wind, nopony shooting at me. Nice little holiday. Made it to the outskirts of San Franciscolt without a problem, but there were no Steel Rangers. Not that any of them were alive. Just a bunch of burned out suits of power-armor. All of them died running away from the city center. The center of the city is glowing bright green. I can feel the heat from here, miles away.
There are some trails of pink smoke pouring out of some buildings in the city. I can't get close enough to see what it is. The radiation is lethal a mile from the crater. I think it may be Littlehorn Toxin. It looks just like the clouds surrounding Canterlot.
I found a Ministry of Peace hospital just outside the lethal zone. There were some ponies there, but they weren't a problem. Armed with clubs. I am really sick of seeing ponies.
I thought I knew evil. I did. I've seen a hundred zebras lined up and shot with machine-guns. Pony civilians with bomb collars around their necks released into Equestrian cities to kill the first ponies they come across. I've stood by and watched while ponies tortured the information out of Legion captives. Hell, I've done my share of fucked up things. I killed a lot of people during the war. Legionaries, zebra sympathizers, other Talons. Tortured some prisoners myself.
Hey, Dash? It has been a while, hasn't it? Been a while since I smashed your spine in that crater. Since I broke your wings. Since you broke my sword. Since I slit your fucking throat. Your fancy power-armor didn't protect you from me, did it? I hope your corpse turned to goo in that crater. Hope a manticore came, drank it and pissed you out in some stream somewhere. Teach you to break my sword. Teach you to make a fool out of me!
Sorry.
The ponies in the hospital, they were cannibals. Cannibals. I know there's a lot of terrible things down here. Equestria is nothing but an irradiated hellhole now, but what these ponies were doing... I remember reading the old storybooks, about cannibals. I thought they were just stories. Griffons eat meat, but I've never even heard of a griffon eating another griffon. Not in that sense at least. There must be a hundred bodies in this place. All lined up on tables in the emergency rooms, their bodies dissected. The ribs cracked open and the meat carved out.
I'm going to start a pyre for them before I leave. I'm scavenging everything I can from this place. There's a bunch of chems. Healing potions and bandages too. By the time I'm done my bags will be full to bursting. Good thing, I was out of radiation drugs when I got here.
There were other Talons in the city. None of them are staying though. Most of them are flying to Stable 14 to hide. All the griffons are hightailing back to the Griffon Skies. Idiots. There's more money to be made here than they could ever imagine. There's endless work in this Equestria. Everypony's going to need a guard. Or require someone taken care of. All I have to do is find the right pony.
November Twentieth, Year One.
I got everything packed up, heading north tonight. Mainland Equestria is way too irradiated. I can't survive off scavenged Radaway potions forever. All the ponies have gone manticore shit. Almost every pony I've come across has tried to kill me. Griffons stick together, for the most part. I haven't seen any Talons shooting up other griffons and eating them yet anyway. Ponies though, they're doing that all over. The ponies in the hospital, at the steel plant, I think I was hoping that they were a minority. Just a few crazies in the bunch.
I was wrong. It seems like the megaspells let loose the demons. No cops. No soldiers. No one to keep folks from slaughtering each other for petty shit. Saw some mare chuck a homemade grenade at her neighbor's house. She was the only pony I've come across that didn't just shoot at me. I asked her why she did it, and she said that the 'bitch next door' had stolen her buckfriend. The world is irradiated, full of cannibals and killers, and she wastes her time and supplies blowing up an empty house.
I hate ponies.
I'm heading up north to the Crystal Empire. I haven't been that far north in a long time, but I still remember the way. It shouldn't take too long, as long as the winds don't get too bad. The Crystal Empire's pretty far away from the front lines. It might not have been hit. Even if it was that magic shield of theirs would protect from anything. Lucky bastards. The entire world is burning except the ice chest.
November Twenty-Fifth, Year One.
Another balefire bomb detonated outside Vanhoover. I was doing some recon in the outskirts of town. Bunch of damn Striped moved in. Maybe a hundred. They went right up to this old tower, a Ministry hub I think, and suicide bombed the place with a balefire bomb. I felt the heat wash over me. The radiation. The wind was tearing at my coat and sending debris flying everywhere. The sound was unearthly. Like the world just shattered.
I was wearing protective goggles, so I can still see, but some nearby ponies sure as hell didn't. I didn't even know they were there. An old couple, unicorns. The bomb blinded them and scorched the fur off their fronts. They were crying. I tried to tell them I wouldn't hurt them, but they kept screaming, 'That's what everypony says!' I told them I was with the military, that I was there to help them and they calmed down enough that they stopped trying to crawl away.
I promised I'd help them. That I would find a doctor and heal them. I propped them up against a ruined passenger wagon. Watched them hold each other for a minute or maybe two. I don't know how long really. They talked a bit. Thanking Celestia and Luna for sending somepony to help them. Wondering if their kids survived. They talked about heading to Canterlot to see if they're okay once their eyes were healed.
I put one bullet right through both their temples. Better this way, they would have never survived out here. I'm surprised they made it as long as they did. They were old, the buck had a bum leg, and there's still green snow everywhere. Probably just dumb luck they didn't get killed by somepony else or a damn manticore or something.
November Twenty-Seventh, Year One.
The winds picked up for a few hours, but they died down enough to fly. I covered over a hundred miles today. Following the train tracks is out, they're covered by that toxic snow. There are monsters everywhere. Ponies killing each other all over the place for scraps. Raping and torturing each other for no reason.
You know what? Maybe it's good that the megaspells were cast. Maybe... we should all die. I know I should. I've done terrible things. Not out here though. Not in the Wasteland. You have to do what you have to do. Otherwise, you end up inside a mutant's stomach or splayed open on the wall of some freak's den. But I fucked up bad before. It's not like I had to be a mercenary. I could have stuck with a job that didn't involve me, well, killing people for a living. I could have just stuck with the scone stand... I should have stuck with the scone stand. I... I...
I'm sorry, Dash...
December First, Year One.
I made it to the Crystal Empire. The entire province is surrounded by a massive snowstorm. Makes it hard to travel. I'd be dead for sure without my Pip-Buck. The Crystal Empire isn't as irradiated as the south, but it's still deadly. The road connecting to the mainland is totally fucked over. More irriadiated than mainland Equestria. Must have been hit several times.
Cold as hell too. It looks like the shield went down. I can hear lots of gunfire near the city. Heavy weapons. Explosives. Magical Energy Weapons. Whoever is fighting is really slugging it out. Passed half a dozen wrecked Raptors and even a Thunderhead on the way to the city. The armor is blown to hell. Hundreds of pegasus corpses littered the land around them. I couldn't find a single working suit. Not that one would fit me anyway. There's nothing salvageable from the ships either. Nothing I could reach anyway, the damn things are still burning.
December Third, Year One.
Coward. You're such a fucking coward, Gilda. The world goes to shit, people killing and raping and eating each other all over and what do you do? You kill the only friend you ever had. For some gold that's completely useless now. She tried to talk you out of it. She said you could be friends again. Try to help all the ponies that are suffering. No, you killed her. You piece of shit. You waste of a life. You should walk outside, bitch. No one will miss you. No one even knows where you are, and if they did, they wouldn't care. They shouldn't care.
I left the city. The air's dark purple. I think it's radiation, but it's hard to tell. Radaway seems to work, not Rad-X though. There were some really fucked up ponies running around. Glowing white eyes, their manes flowing like smoke. I must have put down a hundred of them just getting out of the city. The suburbs are fucked. I got good salvage from some dead Steel Rangers. Three service rifles, a few hundred rounds, grenades, the works. Lost my sword getting away from the ponies though. They swarmed me, snarling like animals. They would have eaten me alive if I didn't take to the air. Left my blade sticking out of one of them. I was pissed at first, but now I feel a little relieved. After what happened with Dash, I don't ever want to see that sword again.
The wind went crazy again. I ended up crawling through the storm until I found a path leading into some old nature preserve. I think it's called Ambrosia Valley. Nothing but a big old valley full of canyons, a couple of streams that pool into a good-sized river, and a shit load of monsters running around. It's a good thing I found this cave. The radiation has gone lethal a dozen feet from the entrance. I should just walk outside, end this. The world sucks. There's nothing but horror everywhere. I thought so many times if I just found the right pony, the right employer, it would set everything straight. But it won't. Nothing ever will.
I had the dream again. Dash and I hovering just above the clouds. Right on top of that mountain. We sang the song, that lame ass song, and we just hovered there. Staring at each other. Then, out of fucking nowhere, she started talking about helping Equestria. How maybe the two of us could convince the pegasi to open the skies and help everypony down below. Maybe even finish the fight with the zebras. That got a chuckle out of me. Dash, loyal to Equestria to the very end. I was stupid though. Stubborn. I always have been. There was no way I would let the past go, and I told her so.
She didn't disappoint. She was the toughest fight I ever had in my life. She almost got me a few times too. She would have had me if her power-armor wasn't total shit. Enclave armor is scary looking, but it isn't anywhere near as protective as other power-armor. Hell, even my Talon armor is more protective. The only thing she had on me was speed. That Enclave armor doesn't weigh a damn thing when it's powered. Didn't help her though. Not in the end. I still look at my talons sometimes. I know her blood is gone, I washed it off a long time ago. I can't help checking though.
I took her old academy pin from her. Thought it would be a nice trophy, but now I talk to it as much as I talk to this damn recorder. I'm sorry, Dash. I'm so sorry. I've said it every day since. A bunch of times without even realizing it. Even when we were fighting, I knew it was wrong. I knew I was making a mistake. I... I was... just so fucking angry...
I'm sorry...
December Twenty-Third, Year One.
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday you old bitch, happy birthday to me.
Something strange happened today. Pip-Buck showed the radiation drop by more than seventy percent. It's still lethal if I stay exposed for too long, but I have enough Rad-X and Radaway potions to risk going out for supplies. I set up a water purifier in the back of the cave, but there's nothing to eat in here. Ran out of food a week ago, so I'm heading out to scavenge what I can. I don't think I could stay in here any longer even if the radiation was still crazy lethal. I've been going stir crazy. Nothing to do but clean my guns and sharpen my knife. Must have organized my packs a hundred times. This cave is way too small. No room to fly.
Not that I deserve to.
December Twenty-Fifth, Year One.
It didn't take long to find enough food to fill my gut and stock up for a while. There's plenty to eat in the valley. There's lots of game. Mostly those yetis, but meat's meat. As terrible as it tastes. I found some snowberries too. I thought they might be poisonous, but the rodents are eating them. I took one and rubbed it against some bare skin. No visable reaction. After an hour I licked it and nothing happened. Finally tried one and after another hour I didn't feel any different, so I started grubbing. They're good. Really sweet and they're growing like crazy all over the valley. I even pulled a few out of the ground at the root and planted them in my cave. They're growing just fine. No sunlight or anything. I don't think I even have to water them. As long as it's cold, they seem to grow. Ugh. And it is fucking cold here.
Storms roll into the valley a lot. It snows almost every day, but it's not too bad. The cave blocks the wind, and the snow doesn't get more than five feet in the entrance. The yetis don't climb this high in the canyons, so I don't have to worry about them. I'm still going to put together some traps though. Something to leave on the ground, so I don't have to worry about anything sneaking in here at night and ripping my throat out. Maybe rig up some rifles to tripwires or something.
It feels incredible to fly again. I can't fly out of the valley. The winds are way too strong above the canyon walls, but below that, I don't have any problems. It feels good. Calming. Reminds me of the good old days.
...come on... piece of shit!...
...fucking yetis... screwing with my life...
...so this wire goes here? Okay. This one goes herepzzzt!... fuck!...
...dumb assholes. Don't even know a radio from a gemstozztpop!
...everything just has to fuck with me! Every-fucking-thing!...
...Why does all this... keep happening to me?! I'm going to... with an Egg damned Pig!...
... JUST... FUCKING... WORK!... damn it...
August Fifth, Year Thirteen.
Zzzzzzzztttttttpfft Ha! HA,HA,HA! Finally! Twelve years. Twelve fucking years to find the parts to fix this thing. Cheap recorder. I got surprised by a yeti when I was hunting, and the damn thing slashed one of my packs open. Cut the recorder right in half. I've gone into the city twice a year every year for salvage and ammo, but it took a damn long time to find the parts I needed. Even had to take apart my Pip-Buck for parts. The recorder on it never really worked, and the map stopped working five years ago, so I figured it was time to put it out to pasture. Every electronic store I came across had been picked clean. I don't know by who. The freaks in the Empire aren't very good with technology. Except for the magical-energy weapons that seem to be just about everywhere in that damn city. Stroke of luck that I found that old radio.
Damn, this feels kind of weird. Surreal. It really has been a long time since I've used this thing. Thought it was appropriate though. I was out fishing at Clearwater Creek when I saw some movement by the Ice Caverns. I've left the valley tons of times to scavenge for supplies, but I haven't seen ponies in a very long time. There were thirty of them, give or take two or three. About a third of them were foals. I hightailed it out of sight and watched while they set up camp. They don't look like the toughest bunch. A few of them have hoof-made spears and some rusty old pistols. I don't think they'll survive very long out here. I can make it just fine. I have weapons, and armor, and way too many years under my belt. These ponies though, I'm surprised they didn't starve to death navigating the Ice Caverns. Especially with that buck with the bum leg.
Give it a month. Either the cold will get them or the yetis will.
August Fifteenth, Year thirteen.
Stupid ponies! They just can't do anything themselves. I've watched them almost every minute of every day since they got here, and they have got to be the luckiest bastards in the world to have made it this far. They have no winter gear, no food, no nothing! It's disgusting. Foals are freezing their little tails off while their idiot parents are fucking a few yards away every night.
I thought about it for a while, and I'll admit it now it may have been stupid, but I sneaked into their camp last night and left them some supplies. A bunch of yeti pelts, some medicine and healing potions. A couple of waterskins, and a few sacks of berries. I left them some guns and ammo too. I've found plenty on my shopping trips to the city, so I figured giving them a few good hunting rifles wouldn't hurt me any.
Well, as long as they don't end up shooting me with them anyway.
August Nineteenth, Year Thirteen.
I've been doing recon on my new neighbors, and it's absolutely hysterical. The adults thanked Celestia and Luna for sending them all those supplies straight from the heavens. By The Egg, I've forgotten how stupid ponies can be. At least they'll be able to hunt for some food for the foals though. They're all looking pretty skinny.
Speaking of the kids, I think one of them saw me last night. I got close enough that I could hear the kids talking. There was one filly named Silver Whistle, and another filly but I don't know her name. They were talking about something with bright blue eyes bringing them all the supplies. I think she was talking about my helmet. I found an old military stash on the outskirts of the valley a while back. It was filled with ammo, guns and a few suits of winterized combat armor. It took a lot of work, but I managed to get one to fit me. It's a little big, but that just means I can wear extra layers underneath. The helmet has night vision goggles that glow blue, so I think it's a safe bet that she saw me. She didn't sound scared though. I doubt she'll tell any of the adults.
I must have looked pretty strange to her. Apparently, I look like a ghost or something. The filly kept calling me a spirit from the snowstorm. Ha! Look at old Gilda the Storm Spirit! Ooooooooooo!
February Second, Year Fourteen.
I was hunting on the northern side of the valley when I heard somepony scream. It was a foal's scream. I flew as fast as I could and stopped at the edge of the high rise. Silver Whistle fell down the cliff and broke her hind-leg. She was too far from the camp for anypony to hear her. I was going to start yelling for somepony to help, but then there was the yeti. Damn thing came out of nowhere. I had no choice. Flew right in and took it down. I used my hunting knife and my talons. Didn't want the others to hear gunfire. They would have spotted me, and I don't see that ending very well. When the yeti was dead, Silver Whistle looked at me like I was some sort of superhero or something.
I scooped her up and flew her to the edge of the camp. Told her not to tell the adults about me. That they wouldn't understand. Kid hugged me and promised she wouldn't say anything. Told me her name and thanked me for the help and all the stuff I leave around the camp. I don't do it often, but once in a while, I leave some supplies in their camp. Food or ammo. Sometimes medicine. I left the kids some old story books I pulled out of the ruins to entertain them. They seemed to like them.
I've been watching their camp through my scope for the last few hours. They found Silver Whistle and patched up her leg. She should make a full recovery as long as she rests. Saw her talking to the other foals and now they keep looking around the camp. Staring at the spots where I usually leave things for them. Like they're waiting for something to just magically show up. It's pretty funny.
February Twentieth, Year Fourteen.
Had a real close call today. Watching the camp from the river when Ice Arrow came to the water and took a piss. If the dumb ass looked three inches to the left, he would have seen me. I have to be more careful. Give them some space.
Even with the close call, I have to admit it's been pretty nice having these folks in the valley. It feels good just to have people nearby who aren't trying to kill me. Still going to fly under the radar though. If they found out about me, they might just try to track me down. I'm going to move my main camp higher into the canyon. I'll be able to watch the camp from the spot I picked out. The cave is a lot bigger too. It'll be a major bitch moving all my supplies, but it'll be worth it.
Silver Whistle got her cutie mark today. I never really understood why ponies were so obsessed with their damn tramp stamps but after seeing her bouncing around the way she was, screaming and crying tears of joy at the flowers on her flanks, I couldn't help feeling happy. It's been a very, very long time since I felt happy, and I felt even happier when I went to the camp that night. She left a letter for me on a stump I've been putting toys on. The damn thing was ten pages long. She told me all about her cutie mark and her special talent for growing food and the like. I have to make a mental note to find some plastic bags to put it in. The snow is pretty harsh on paper out here.
I think I'll leave her a letter tomorrow night. She'll like that.
March Fifth, Year Fourteen.
Ah, there we go. I dropped this thing down one of the canyons during the move. Good thing it landed in snow or I'd be a helluva lot more bored during the day. It was a bitch to fix it. I still don't have a lot of electronic stuff around here. At least it didn't take twelve years this time.
I was watching the foals while they played, keeping an eye out for yetis when I saw Sugar Cane and Crystal Berry sneak off. Little shits were making out in a clump of trees near the edge of the camp. Laughed my ass off! Overdid it a bit actually, they heard me laughing. They took off running back to camp with their little tails between their legs. I hightailed it back to my cave and watched the camp through my scope for a couple of hours. It doesn't look like they know it was me.
I guess the girls thought I was one of the parents, or maybe another kid. The Egg knows the colts are all crazy little bastards.
Winter's rolling through again. I mean, it's always kind of winter here, but it still gets a lot colder during the winter months. They've gotten pretty good at hunting for how long they've been here. I don't need to leave them pelts or food anymore. And every one of them has a thick yeti hide coat. Still, they're getting better at surviving. I had to make a silencer for my rifle so they don't come running every time I go out for meat.
March Seventeenth, Year Fourteen.
My neighbors have set up a nice spot for themselves. The trees in this valley are weird. Not green like normal ones, the trunks are white, and the leaves are ice blue. They cut down a bunch of them and turned them into a wall around their camp. You can't even tell there's a camp there from the ground. Pretty defensible spot. I'm actually proud of them. They're carving out a nice little living out of the Wasteland. Perfect for the kids.
I've thought about just flying down there a few times. Introducing myself, but I don't know. The kids think I'm some kind of spirit. Always watching out for them. I'm not a spirit. I'm just a broken-down old griffon with a rifle. They'd be so disappointed. They think I'm this great thing and I'm... I'm not. If they knew even half the things I've done, they would run away in terror. No, it's a stupid idea.
I think I'll leave the foals another letter. Tell them how proud I am.
October Nineteenth, Year Fourteen.
Silver Whistle has herself a little coltfriend. He's a unicorn named Star Beam. Smart colt. Next time I get out of the valley, I'll try to scrounge up some magic books. I've seen tons of them out in the ruins, but I never really thought they'd come in handy. I'm kicking myself for not grabbing some. I don't like leaving the valley. It's not just the walking corpses and occasional psychopath I have to kill when I'm out there. I don't know how to put it. I just... I don't like leaving them alone. I know they're doing good, but they've had a lot of close calls. I don't want anything to happen while I'm gone.
I have enough terrible things to haunt me every night. If one of the kids got hurt while I'm gone, I'd never forgive myself.
It was fourteen years ago today. Fourteen years. Damn, when I say it out loud like that. Never thought I'd live to be fifty-nine. Shit, just a couple months and I'll be sixty. Sixty! I'm not as fast as I used to be, but I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I can still shoot the tattoo off a parasprite's ass at a hundred yards, and there isn't a person alive who can take me in a fight.
Damn, I'm rambling. Bet Grandpa Gruff would be laughing his tail off if he saw me like this. I know Dash would be...
I'm sorry, Dash. It's been fourteen years since... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I've said it so many times. Every day. I let some petty bullshit get between us. You were the only friend I ever had. I'd give anything to see you now. To tell you in person what an idiot I was. How sorry I am. Hell, I'd give anything to see that dweeb Pinkie Pie. I... I...
I'm sorry...
December Twenty-Third, Year Fourteen.
Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me.
Happy Birthday you old crow, happy birthday to me.
Sixty years old. The big six zero. Holy shit. I remember Grandpa Gruff telling me it would happen one day. I'd get old like him, and there was nothing I could do about it. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Thought it was total bullshit. If someone came up to me on the street and told me I would be sixty years old, I probably would have slit their throat. Or probably just broke their face in. Now that I'm here it feels really weird.
Went down to the camp early in the morning, before light, and left the kids a few letters. I was feeling a little more festive than usual. Left them a few stacks of paper, some pens and coloring pencils. Even found an easel and sealed paint for Star Beam. I feel stupid for getting that kid magic books. He's terrible at magic, but he has a helluva talent for painting. I've watched him crushing up berries and painting on the canyon walls with Silver Whistle. Making paintings of the trees, and yetis, and Celestia, and Luna... and of me. Or what they think I am anyway. It's weird to see an image of what I look like to them. I look a lot more impressive on the canyon wall than in the mirror.
Then they just had to ruin it by kissing. I'm happy for them and all, but after listening to all my recordings, I'm starting to see how creepy my hobbies are. I spend most of my day watching ponies in secret, and I spend most of that time watching the foals. If it were thirty years ago, I would have been arrested. Watching a couple of kids making out is not something I ever thought I'd be able to say I've done.
September Ninth, Year Fifteen.
I had a bit of a scare today. A bunch of those walking corpses came through the Ice Caverns into the valley. I was tracking some game near the entrance, and the damn things rushed me. I spent a hundred rounds killing the freaks. Even emptied my .45s into them. I came close to being discovered. My pistols don't have silencers, so it was only an hour before the parents rushed into the clearing at the Ice Caverns' entrance. I cleared out all the bodies and hid them in the Ice Caverns. Thank The Egg these monsters don't have blood. All that comes out when I kill one is purplish smoke. They never go inside the caves, so I should have enough time to burn the corpses later.
I'm going to be putting some traps in the Ice Caverns. Keep any other horrors from the Wasteland from getting in here. Ambrosia is a special place. Yeah, there's yetis and other dangerous animals like the big horners, but it's still the most beautiful place left out there. I don't see any other place in Equestria being radiation-free like Ambrosia Valley. I have to keep the Wasteland out.
December Twenty-Third, Year Fifteen.
I never thought I would get another birthday present. But today I got the best present I could have asked for. Silver Whistle is pregnant. Pregnant! She's going to have a foal! She's a little young, but it's incredible! Her mother doesn't seem to think so though. She gave Silver Whistle a smack right upside the head. To be honest, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same if one of my cubs got knocked up at fourteen. It still pissed me right off though. Thought about leaving a letter for Silver's mother, telling her to watch her hooves, but it's not my place. It's not like she's my kid.
I thought for sure Star Beam was going to bail on her. I've seen it so many times. Back in Griffonstone. In Equestria. Girl meets boy, boy says he loves her, boys knocks her up, and then boy bails. Pretty simple formula. But I think he's happy about it. His letter said he's going to focus more on Silver Whistle than his painting, and that he's going to start memorizing the medical books I gave them in case something happens. I'm proud that he's stepping up like this, but he's kind of bumming me out to tell you the truth. He's getting really good at painting. It would be a damn shame if he just abandoned it.
December Twenty-Fourth, Year Fifteen.
I left a letter for Silver Whistle and Star Beam. Told them both I was happy for them. Told Star Beam not to give up on painting. He's got some real talent. He needs to nurture it. I watched them read it through my scope. The looks on their faces still have me smiling. They really love each other.
It may sound kinda weird, but I'm actually a little envious. They're just so happy, and I'm... alone. Well, not totally alone it's just... I never found anyone. They make me happy when I see them together. So happy, so in love with each other. It warms my heart.
Damn. I've gotten really sappy, haven't I?
September First, Year Sixteen.
Silver Whistle had a fight with her parents, and it's all my fault. Star Beam and Silver Whistle are getting married tomorrow. With the baby coming soon they thought it was best to go through with the ceremony. Silver Whistle and Star Beam and all the younger ponies wanted to put up one of Star Beam's paintings of me instead of one of the Goddesses Celestia and Luna. All the older ponies think it's some kind of blasphemy or something. Silver Whistle is really upset about it. She said that her parents think she's lying about the letters. That it was just some fantasy they made up to pass the time. Her mother, Shiny Saddle, said that they would have a 'Proper Celestial Wedding.'
She feels terrible about the fight, and Star Beam is pissed. I'll leave them a letter tonight. Tell them I'm sorry for causing a fight. Hell, maybe I should just go down there and tell them the truth. Might be for the best.
September Tenth, Year Sixteen.
Didn't do it. Thought about it for hours, but I just couldn't do it. I almost did, but I stopped when I saw some ponies leaving the camp last night. Silver Whistle, Star Beam, Crystal Berry, Sugar Cane and all the other youngsters left the camp and had their own ceremony by the Narrows. It was beautiful. They said their vows. Silver Whistle made a tree grow right out of the ground, and Star Beam used his magic to make it look like the two of them kissing. I... I never thought I'd be this happy again.
I threw together some presents for them. It's not much, and I'm not exactly the creative type, but I wrote them each a nice long letter congratulating them. I gave them a dozen super restoration potions, and a bag of sunflower seeds for Silver Whistle and three gallons of paint for Star Beam. I hope they like it. That paint was a bitch to find. Their parents aren't pleased about their Goddesses not being involved, but they have to be happy that their kids are happy. If not, then maybe I should make a trip to the village to have a nice long talk with them about it.
September Twentieth, Year Sixteen.
Silver Whistle went into labor last night. I had a pretty good scare. From what Star Beam's letter said the foal started coming out the wrong way. 'Breached' he called it. It's good to see he took those books seriously. Everypony banded together and waited outside the medical tent while Star Beam and the healers delivered the baby. It's a filly. They named her Cherry Belle.
Silver Whistle's parents were so relieved when they heard the good news. Even apologized for their behavior before the wedding. They still think I'm just a figment of their daughter's imagination, but at least they're talking again. They even wrote me a letter, but I think they just did that to show Silver Whistle that they cared. I wonder what they'll think when I leave a note lying on their night tables.
I left a special present for Silver Whistle and Star Beam. I'm not much of a craftsgriffon, but I know enough to build a mobile...
And alright, I did something stupid. It was risky, but I had to. I sneaked into the camp after dark and I went into Star Beam and Silver Whistle's tent. I was going to leave her a stuffed toy I found, but after putting it in her crib, I just looked at Cherry Belle for a while. I just watched her. She looked so peaceful. So beautiful. It was nice. Calming. I was about to leave when she woke up. She looked up at me with those bright blue eyes of hers. She didn't cry or screech or anything. She just giggled and smiled at me. I even picked her up and held her for a while. She's a feisty little shit. It took me almost an hour to rock her back to sleep.
I think I'm done making these recordings. I... I don't think I need them anymore.
October Fifth, Year Twenty-One.
No. No, no, no, no, no, no! I... I was only asleep for a few hours. The bastards... the fucking bastards! They... they came into the valley this morning. Ponies. Tons of ponies. At least a hundred, maybe even two hundred galloped into the valley. They attacked the camp. All the bucks are dead! Star Beam, his parents. They're all dead. All the younger mares are alive, and so are the foals. Silver Whistle's okay. She's okay; she'll make it through this. She has Cherry Belle with her. She's a good kid. Smart just like her mama and papa... they won't make it! They're going to die, and it's all my fault! Fuck I should have been watching the entrance!
Fuck! Get a hold of yourself, Gilda!
Alright... alright! I've got to focus. I'll do some recon. Get a read on these bastards and get them out as soon as I can. Then we'll leave the valley. I don't know where we'll go, but there's no way I'm letting those monsters hurt any more of my ponies!
October Sixth, Year Twenty-One.
Recon around their camp. We're in some real trouble here. These assholes are organized. Very organized. They beefed up the camp's defenses with sharpened pikes lining a trench surrounding every inch of it that's not on the creek. The creek is covered by three towers they set up. They have metal barricades, sandbags, and their ponies are armed to the teeth. Automatic rifles, SMGs, grenade rifles. I even saw a couple of ponies carrying mini-guns and grenade machine-guns. They all have the same armor too. Standard military issue combat armor. Painted field camo though. I don't know why. There isn't a single piece of green foliage in the entire valley.
They have every single entrance into the camp covered. Regular patrols are moving throughout the valley, scaring all the game away, and blowing up what doesn't run. There's no way to enter from the ground. I can fly in but not until night, and even then I'll have to be careful. They have all the mares and foals locked up in cages and barbed wire pens. These assholes have guns trained on them, making sure they don't run. The foals are terrified. I've been watching them all day, and the only reason they stopped crying is because one of those fucks came into the cage and bucked Winter Magic in the head. I know that bastard's face. I'm going to geld that buck before we evacuate the valley.
October Seventh, Year Twenty-One.
Final recon at the camp. I put together a few Sparkle Cola Rad bombs and placed them at three different points in the valley. Once the patrols are away, I'm going to snipe that entire camp and get them out of there. I took a risk tonight. I flew above the camp and dropped a few storybooks into the pen for the foals. Not much, a few about Star Swirl the Bearded, and something about a sphinx but it seems to have calmed them down a bit. I also dropped some healing potions for Winter Magic. Poor girl has a lump on her head the size of an orange.
I left a letter for Silver Whistle. I told her everything would be alright, that I'm going to get them out of there tomorrow. I have to get them out of there. It's what Dash would do. It's what I have to do. For the mares, for the foals. For Cherry Belle, Winter Magic, Golden Oak, Storm Bright, everypony. I have to save them. I have to...
I have to...
October Eighth, Year Twenty-One.
There's a helluva lot more of these ponies than I thought. A bunch more came into the valley this morning. Couldn't detonate the bombs without getting spotted. I tried counting them, but I lost track at three hundred and twenty. Where are these guys coming from!?
It looks like their leader arrived. A big bastard in a suit of power-armor I've never even seen before led the second group into the valley. There are more ponies in the second group than the first. They're ruining Ambrosia Valley. All the game has left the valley or been shot by grenades and missiles and shit. I was watching the camp when Winter Magic started talking to one of them. It has taken a long time, but I can read their lips pretty well. She told them about me, a spirit that helps and protects them. She told him that if they didn't let them go, and leave the valley, that I would come after them.
That I'd hurt them.
The fuck laughed, put his gun right to her head and pulled the trigger. I saw her blood and bits of brain splash on the other foals. Cherry Belle wet herself, and the others didn't stop screaming until he shot Storm Bright.
Winter Magic may be wrong about me being a spirit, but she was sure as hell right about one thing. I am going to hurt them. I'm going to hurt them so much!
October Ninth, Year Twenty-One.
I... I failed... fucking... they're all dead. Everypony's gone. Silver Whistle, Cherry Belle, Golden Oak and everypony else is dead. They... they ate them. They fucking ate them! I can still smell the fire! These fucks killed everything in the valley... all the yetis are gone. There's no meat left, but there are berries everywhere! The things are like weeds; they grow on everything! There are tons of them right in the camp. Why did they do this!? WHY!? There was no reason for them to be so evil! So... so...
Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhh! Fuck it!
October Tenth, Year Twenty-One.
Ambush along Clearwater Creek. Killed seven of them. I booby trapped the bodies with some magical-energy grenades. Scavenged half a dozen SMGs and an anti-machine rifle. Two thousand 9mm rounds and fifty anti-machine rounds in addition to a dozen standard frags and an incendiary. Their hardware is in perfect condition. It's all fresh off the assembly line. They can't be scavengers; they're an army with a steady supply of factory-made weapons and armor.
Only makes the hunt more fun.
I waited for about half an hour before another squad showed up. These guys aren't exactly subtle, but they're disciplined. Checked every possible angle before approaching their fallen comrades. Shame they didn't think to look up their tail holes for those grenades. Hell of a light show. Three were turned to ash, and another died from shrapnel. One mare got away with a few scratches. She left her two buddies bleeding out on the ground. I thought about shooting her but didn't waste the bullet. I'll get to her soon enough.
The other two would have died if I just left them there, but I decided to have some fun with them. All these ponies have radio headsets. They can connect to any other receiver in the valley. One of them just happened to be the buck who shot Winter Magic and Storm Bright.
The looks on their faces when they saw me. Started screaming. Kept yelling, 'It's real! It's fucking real!'.
I made sure every last one of them heard his screams...
October Twelfth, Year Twenty-One.
Ambush near the Ice Caverns. Dug a dozen holes and planted makeshift mines in each. Emptied a clip of 9mms into the air and waited for them. Didn't take lon. Maybe ten minutes. Dumb bastards galloped right into the mines. Killed five with the mines and shot another three with my service rifle. I was right about their armor. Makes it a lot easier to hit 'em. My armor is plain white. They probably couldn't see me unless I was right in front of them.
Didn't get much salvage from them after the explosions, but I did get two hundred rounds for my rifle and a hundred .45 caliber rounds. Their armor is useless, mine is made out of different material, so I just left their gear there.
Just like last time, I waited. Another group showed up and I gunned them all down. Used my pistols this time. Got up close and personal. That makes twenty confirmed kills in just two days. Not bad for an old bitch like me.
October Nineteenth, Year Twenty-One.
They ambushed me along the Narrows. Would've got me too if it wasn't for all the yeti traps I set up. Took out three of them with my rifle and killed another four with an incendiary. There's another three that I've invited into my cave for the night. These ponies are scared of me. Very scared. I think they remember that spirit crap Winter Magic told that buck. Good! If these ponies are scared, then the rest of their comrades should be scared too.
They should be.
They're tied up in the back of the cave. I thought about recording it, but this recorder isn't meant for that. It would feel like... desecration? No, that's not it. It will make my recorder... unclean! There we go. Anyway, it's high time I had a chat with my guests. I've left them waiting far too long. I have some questions to ask them after all.
October Twentieth, Year Twenty-One.
Twenty minutes. It only took twenty minutes. These pussies broke after twenty fucking minutes! I didn't even get to use the hot plate and hammer! Besides giving me their ranks and serial numbers, they said they came out of a Stable in the city. They call themselves the 'Stable 34 territory acquisition expedition.' They were ordered to find a chunk of untainted land in the Crystal Empire and secure it, no matter the cost. They want to acquire farmland to rebuild the Empire and create stability for future generations. What bullshit.
They said it so many times. 'We're so sorry, Spirit', 'Please don't hurt us, Spirit', 'We didn't want to hurt anypony, Storm Mother'. Storm Mother. That's what Winter Magic called me. She and Cherry Belle always called me that in their letters. These ponies, these Gunners as they call themselves, are absolutely terrified of me. They think I'm some supernatural abomination of balefire magic trying to murder them all. They aren't exactly wrong.
The Storm Mother. I like it.
November Fifth, Year Twenty-One.
A storm rolled into the valley last night, so I decided to take the opportunity to snipe a few of the bastards at the camp with the anti-machine rifle I got from them. I set my self up on Cherry Ridge (I thought it was appropriate), and opened fire. The look on their faces when their friend's heads would explode into spaghetti just feet from where they were standing.
Priceless.
I shot one after another. They were screaming for everypony to get down. Stay out of sight and all that. Watching those monsters run around like ants under a magnifying glass was very satisfying. In ten minutes I shot about thirty of them, killed at least two-thirds of who I hit. I saw their boss. That power-armor wearing bitch. My house guests told me his name is Colonel Striker. A high-ranking officer from the Stable. Brutal pony. They said he was the one who ordered them to kill all of the savages. I had my gun trained on him, but I didn't take him out. I just killed as many of his ponies in front of him as possible. His time will come. I have something special planned for him.
I kept shooting for a while, maybe an hour, and then all at once all of the Gunners raised their guns and opened fire into the valley. Shooting blindly into the air like they were trying to hit the fucking snowflakes. I don't know how many rounds they wasted. Thousands at least. Maybe tens of thousands, or maybe even hundreds of thousands. They fired for over an hour straight before stopping. I never came close to being hit.
I waited a while, just watching them look into the snowstorm around them. It's like they were waiting for me to just fly into the camp or something. I've made some stupid decisions in my life, but there was no way I'd be dumb enough to do that. I couldn't just leave them hanging though, that would have been very rude of me. After about an hour, when they finally started to calm down and go back to what they were doing, you know, sorting their ammo and preparing for patrols, cleaning up their dead and the like...
I started shooting again.
November Twenty-Fourth, Year Twenty-One.
Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky. I have got to be the luckiest hen in the entire world. Those bitches in Stable 14 have nothing on me. Those fucks almost killed me last night. They found my tracks along the canyon walls and followed them back to my cave. I've got to admit; it was pretty clever. I've mostly stuck to the air, but I've scaled the canyon walls so many times that my talons have left some pretty noticeable gouges.
They rushed into the cave, maybe fifteen of them, and let loose with the SMGs. 9mm ammo didn't do shit to my armor. Stopped every single round, knocked the wind right out of me and bruised the shit out of my chest though. I just stayed on the ground and tried not to move while they came into the cave. Didn't have to close my eyes with the helmet on. I count myself lucky I sleep in the damn suit.
They stayed back from me for a while. I don't know how long, but it felt like a damn long time. When they finally believed I was dead, they walked right up to me, casual as you please.
I gelded the closest buck and flew out as fast as I could. Pulled the pins on every grenade on my belt before dropping it right at their hooves. They fired at me, but I think I surprised them enough that they weren't thinking straight. Or they were just terrible shots. The last thing I heard before the cave collapsed on their heads was that buck screaming bloody murder. It was like music to my ears.
I have to be more careful from now on. I've been sloppy, arrogant. These guys may be about as sharp as marbles, but they can find me, and they have the skills and weapons to put me down. I'm too old to be taking the risks I've been taking. I lost a lot of good gear too. A bunch of weapons and ammo, medical supplies and salvage. I have my rifle and my armor, and there's still my other caches, but I have to be more careful.
If I die, then no one will remember what happened here. No one will know about Silver Whistle, and Cherry Belle. No one will remember them.
December First, Year Twenty-One.
Ambush at the Yeti Geyser. Got creative this time. Found an old stroller and rigged a balefire egg to blow inside it. I've had the damn thing sitting in one of my caches for years. Didn't want to keep it around the house since the damn thing could vaporize me. I found an old recording of a crying foal from some stupid radio commercial for baby formula and played it really loud. A patrol came by a few hours later. I thought for sure they would just shoot the damn thing, but they went right up to it. Like those fucks care about children.
KABOOM! Nothing left of those guys but some ashes spread so thinly you couldn't find them with a microscope. It killed a dozen of them. Real shame I couldn't get anything from them, they had some good guns.
December Tenth, Year Twenty-One.
I set up an ambush at my old cave. I've watched them send patrols up there every once in a while, so I thought it would be a good ambush spot. I was wrong. Took a bullet in my left hind-leg and another in my right foreleg. Armor soaked up the other shots good, but I think my right foreleg has a fracture. Still killed six of them though, and got a full restock on my medical supplies. One of the Gunners was a medic. She had a bunch of good shit on her, but there weren't any healing potions. It'll just have to heal on its own unless I can find some.
Med-X is helping with the pain, but it's still going to hurt pulling the bullet out of my hind-leg. Good thing those bastards are preoccupied searching the southern half of the valley. Gives me some time to do some upkeep on my weapons and yank the bastard out.
As soon as I can walk I'm going to the Ice Caverns. I'm going to set up so many mines and traps that even if they do kill me, they'll never, ever, leave this place. If I die here, they die here.
December Fourteenth, Year Twenty-One.
I am really fucked up. I lured that bastard Colonel into the Ice Caverns, and the two of us had a good old-fashioned pre-war shin-dig. I emptied every clip I had into that bastard. Lost all my armor-piercers, all my ammo and it did nothing to him. I've never seen a suit like his. It wasn't just powered by magic; it was powered by pistons and hydraulics. Any damage I did to the suit was pointless. The damn thing just repaired itself. He almost shredded me to pieces with those damn mini-guns of his. He broke one of my wings. Broke half a dozen ribs and my left hind-paw too. It's a good thing I stripped the medicine out of that suit of his. Otherwise, I wouldn't be alive right now. My helmet is too damaged to wear, and I need to repair the breastplates. He kicked my ass pretty good. And he was really fucking smug about it too.
He had me pinned against the floor of the cave, strangling me. Damn mechanical talons on the end of his forelegs left bruises all over my neck. He would have finished me then and there if it wasn't for my dead-fall trap. I detonated some C-4 explosives I stashed on the ceiling around some stalactites. His armor protected him from twenty-three grenades, two hundred rounds of .223, a hundred rounds of .223 armor-piercers, a hundred .45 caliber rounds, and three hundred 9mm rounds, but it couldn't protect him from ten thousand pounds of ice piercing his torso. He never saw it coming.
A few of his boys followed us in, but the traps got them. I'm heading back to my cave above Cherry Ridge. I don't think I'm going to be able to walk these injuries off like the other ones. If I don't get some rest... oh hell... I think... I think I'm going to sleep for a while...
December Twentieth, Year Twnety-One.
I'm alright. Woke up. Took a bunch of meds. Feeling... woozy.
Fuck my head hurts. Back on the hunt tomorrow.
December Twenty-Third, Year Twenty-One.
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.
Happy Birthday you old bitch, happy birthday to me.
What did you think? You think I could be a singer? Should I quit my day job?
Please let me go! I-I swear I d-didn't want to hurt your children, Storm Mother! I swear! I was just following orders...
You ate them.
I didn't want to! We had no choice. We were hungry! There isn't anything to eat in this Celestia forsaken place!
There are berries everywhere. There were plenty of animals before you and your friends started using them for grenade target practice.
I'm sorry! Please, I have foals back in the Stable! I just want to go home. I just want to hold my little girls again! Please let me go, and I'll never come back. I swear!
Funny. I'd like to hold my children again too.
I'm so sorry! It wasn't my choice! I was just following orders... what is that?!
Just an old toy from before the megaspells. One of my personal favorites.
No! NO!! Please don't hurt me, please!!
Don't worry; I won't...
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Ugh. Fucking rippers always leave such a mess.
February Third, Year Twenty-Two.
It's over. It's finally over. The last of the Gunners left the valley this morning. Three hundred and twenty-four. I killed three hundred and twenty-four of them. That's more than my kill record down south, and that took almost five years. They weren't even here six months.
There was maybe a hundred of them left, and I'll tell you the truth, I thought for sure I was dead. Low on ammo, no healing potions, all out of medicine except a few healing bandages. My wing's in a sling, hind-leg is still messed up pretty bad, and my back is fucking killing me, but they left. I was watching them from the Narrows when they turned on each other. Started out as an argument, started shooting a few minutes later. It didn't last very long, and when it was over, there was only a dozen of them. Without that fuck Colonel Striker keeping them in line they just fell to pieces.
They ate their dead for strength, took as much as they could carry and headed for the Ice Caverns. I could have killed them all. They wouldn't have been able to stop me. I can hit them from five hundred yards...
I could have killed them all.
I let them leave through the Ice Caverns. I heard some screams a little while later. I'm pretty sure the traps got them all. I thought... I thought that, once it was all over, I'd feel better. That I'd be victorious. I avenged them. I avenged the ponies that were the closest thing I had to a family since the world ended. I should feel proud, but I only feel numb.
The war wasn't scary; it was just business. Fighting the Striped was right. They were monsters. They destroyed Equestria because they were evil. They sent millions of their people to die for stupid fucking rocks. For every one I killed, I got a payment, and that was that. Fighting the Striped wasn't scary.
Fighting the Gunners wasn't scary either. It was right. Hell, it was fun if anything. Those monsters were evil, and they got everything they deserved. Hell, I could have given them a lot more. I killed over three hundred ponies. They were murderers. Cannibals. I killed almost all of them, and the last of them killed themselves. In a way they all did. I killed three hundred and twenty-four ponies, and I don't feel good about it. I don't feel bad either. I don't feel anything. I just feel numb...
And it scares the hell out of me.
Hey Dash? I know it's been a real long time since we talked. I just want to say one more time how sorry I am. I shouldn't have left you there. We should have never fought. It's all my fault. I remember it like it happened yesterday. Had the knife to your neck. Lightning Dust wanted your head, but I couldn't do that. I knew she'd accept the pin as proof you were dead. She knew you'd never give it to me. Even to save your own life. I'm so sorry, Dash. Soon I'll be able to say it to your face, and you can tell me what a fucking fool I was. I'll finish burying everypony's bones, and build the pyre for the Gunners. Then I'll finish off their whiskey, and I'll be coming to see you. It'll be just like the old days eh?
One round through the roof of the mouth. That's all it will take.
February Fourth, Year Twenty-Two.
I didn't do it. Chickened out I guess. Huh, that's pretty good. I bet Pinkie Pie would get a real kick out of that one.
December Twenty-Third, Year Forty.
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday you creaky old hen, happy birthday to me.
Eighty-six years old. Holy shit. Where did the years go? Where did Equestria go? I haven't used this thing for so long. I've looked at it plenty of times. Thought about turning it on but I couldn't. It just didn't feel right I guess. But today is a special occasion.
I don't know why I haven't done this sooner. Guess it would have been insulting their memory if I just offed myself after everything that happened. I buried them all by the tree in the Narrows. I couldn't tell who was who so it was only a mass grave. I carved all their names on the tree trunk. It was the best I could do without a bunch of headstones. I think it was fitting. More than I could ask for anyway.
I think... I think I'm finally ready.
December Twenty-Fourth, Year Forty.
I was all set to go. I left my armor and my snow coat in the cave. I found a nice spot pretty high in the valley. It was peaceful. Calming. I was just going to wait for the elements to do what my claws couldn't...
Then I saw them.
Walking into the valley, for the first time in a very, very long time, were ponies. They were young ponies by the look of them. Only a pawful old enough to even have cutie marks. There were just over thirty of them. I rushed to the cave, threw my armor on, grabbed my rifle and watched them. They settled right where the old camp used to be. The older kids, the oldest probably twelve and the youngest just out of diapers, were telling the younger foals stories and looking for food.
The yetis and other wildlife came back a few years ago, so I had to keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't get hurt.
The foals are all emaciated, shivering, and exhausted. I remembered all those years ago. Like it was just yesterday... I left them supplies. I wrote them letters. I tried to help them, and they all died. They were all killed, and it was all my fault. I could have saved them if I was faster. If I was smarter, but I wasn't. They all died, their corpses desecrated. I've been watching the foals, thinking about what I should do. If I should do anything at all. I've thought about it all night and this morning. I didn't sleep at all, just watched them. Small foals. Hungry, tired, freezing their tails off in the cold. I stayed hidden last time. Never talked to them face to face. Not even Silver Whistle. The one time I spoke to her, I had my fucking helmet on, and I told her to keep her mouth shut.
I will not make that mistake again.
July Second, Year Fifty-Five.
It's been a really long time since I used this thing. Haven't had the time. Hunting, gathering, and scavenging for three dozen children doesn't leave a hen with much spare time. As it is, this will be my last recording.
I've done everything I can. I've been coughing up blood for months, and I can't keep drinking their healing potions anymore. They'll need them more than I will. I've lived longer than I have any right to, and it's time for me to go. I can't protect them anymore anyway. Damn arthritis. Back hurts like hell. Haven't been able to fly in seven years. If you can hear me, fuck you, Striker. You fucking prick. No wonder Grandpa Gruff was such an asshole. Still, I'm proud to say I'm a chip off the old block. He was winning bar fights in his eighties, and I... never mind.
I've prepared them for the future as best as I can. I gave them books. At first it was just stories. Things to read to them at night so they wouldn't be so scared of the valley and the yetis. After a while, I started showing them textbooks. Medical manuals, repair books, some scrolls I wrote up on the flora and fauna of the valley. I taught them how to shoot, and by The Egg that was fun. I think I may have overdone it a bit actually. The looks on their faces when I stood between the targets and told them to shoot. Priceless. Not going to lie though, I got nailed a few times.
I even showed a few of them how to use a sword. I found my old blade a few years before they arrived, on one of my shopping trips into the city. Still stuck in that damn zombie. I thought about leaving it there but... I don't know. It didn't feel right. I have it here with me now.
I hunted game for them and foraged for food until they were old enough to do it themselves. I always kept the helmet on. Told them I was a spirit, and I was there to protect them.
They weren't very trusting at first. They were actually terrified of me. When I first came into the camp half of them started crying, and a few of the older ponies pulled knives on me. It was adorable. If only I had a camera.
I used some ground Ignisroot and started a fire. Another plant in the valley that's come in handy over the years. Start a fire in a few seconds. I started cooking some yeti meat and berries. They swore at me. Some threw a few rocks but I didn't react. Just kept cooking. After a bit they came closer. I passed around the food and after some hesitation they started eating. After that they became comfortable around me. After telling them I was friendly and giving them something to eat. Ponies can be scared of you all they like, but you offer a starving pony food, and they'll like you just a little more.
No matter how scary you are.
After a few years, I started coming to the village less and less. Let them get used to taking care of themselves. Still left them letters every night though. Signed every last one of them 'The Storm Mother' because... just because. I told them all how much I loved them, how I'm always watching out for them. I taught them how to read and write. Everything I know about hunting and foraging. I told them to stay in Ambrosia Valley, away from the Wasteland. It's terrible out there, and they know it.
They're starting to have their own kids now. The oldest couple, Misty Mane and Strong Horn, just had a filly a week ago. I helped deliver her. She's beautiful. She's so beautiful. They asked what they should name her.
I told them Cherry Belle was perfect.
I'm sad that I never talked to them face to face. With my real eyes. It's for the best though. They need to think I'm the spirit. If they do, I can give them hope and comfort long after I'm dead. If they knew I was just a shriveled up old hen in an old suit of armor, they would lose that hope. And without hope, there's no reason to keep living.
I've had the same dream every night for the last year. Dash standing on the clouds, waiting for me. That smart-ass look that says I'm going to get a really good talking to when I reach her. That dweeb Pinkie Pie standing right next to her bouncing around like a... I actually don't have anything to compare her to. Pinkie's just Pinkie.
That's my hope. That when I die I'll see them again, and I'll listen to every second of that bitch out that I got coming. And every single giggle Pinkie has to throw at me. After everything that happened here... after everything that happened here...
I just hope I made her proud.
I made one last recording for the children. It took about twenty tries before I could do it without coughing up blood or crying like a bitch. I like it. It's kind of sappy, but hey, that's how I roll. I left it in their camp this morning. They should be finding it about now. It'll take some time for them to understand, but it's for the best. I left them maps of every single cave I stashed things in. I even dug out the collapsed one and got all of the gear out. They should have enough weapons and ammo to last them a very, very long time. I disabled all the traps in the entrances too. Almost forgot actually. Wouldn't that have been fucked? I also put enough traps in the Ice Caverns to keep out any undesirables for the next hundred years. I made sure to tell the children to stay well away from the caverns... but just in case I left them a map of where I placed the traps.
It took me weeks to make this roost. It's nice, pretty big, sticking right out of the top of Ice Arrow Peak. It's comfortable. I have one helluva view up here too. I can see the entire valley from up here. The Narrows, The Ice Caverns, The Village. At least now... I won't be lying to them.
I can feel it coming on... what did they always say? You start to feel warm right? Well, I sure as hell feel warm... maybe it's just the whiskey, but I can feel it alright...
I'm coming Rainbow Dash. I hope... I made... you... proud...
Goodbye, my children.
Children of the Storm, I am sad to say that I must leave you now. For your entire lives I have watched you, guided you, and protected you from the harshness of the world, but now you must take care of yourselves. I want you all to know that even though I shall no longer come to the village, that I shall no longer embrace you in my forelegs, and read you to sleep every night, I still love you all.
I must go away for now, but know that I will always be watching you. I shall always protect you from the horror of the world, but you must protect yourselves. Though I will no longer wield the weapons for you, I will keep your aim true so long as you practice. As long as you keep yourselves strong, I will keep you strong. I will guide your hooves, and as long as you try hard enough, you can do anything. Keep your minds sharp. Protect the knowledge I have given you, for it is far harder to recreate knowledge than it is to preserve it.
Ambrosia valley is a special place, a peaceful place, and I leave it to you. Take care of your home, my children. If you take care of the land, it will take care of you. Don't fight. Don't let petty squabbles get in the way of friendship. For without friendship, we are all truly alone. Be kind to one another, and be kind to others if you come across any outsiders. Never hurt each other, or others just to hurt, but if someone hurts you, or your friends, or family, you must strike back with righteous fury. Never let anyone take what's yours without a fight. Never bow down. Never lose hope. Never give up. I will be watching you always.
With Eternal Love,
The Storm Mother.
Author's Note
Hello everypony! I wrote this one shot in honor of the fandom's favorite Griffon. I am a huge fan of Fallout Equestria and the sub fandom that has sprouted up around it. Before I found the Brony fandom I was in a bad place. To keep this note short, I was very depressed for reasons that would take far too long to explain. I was depressed and even suicidal. But that was before I found Fallout Equestria by Kkat. After reading it I couldn't beleiev something like My Little Pony helped inspire it. A friend had suggested I watch the show long before I read the book but after watching a few episodes I thought it was too silly. Too girly. But after reading Fallout Equestria I saw it in a new light. I began watching again and it took a while but I began to see the appeal. After a while I started loving the characters and the world they live in. And now I write stories. I make Youtube videos. I Love my little pony friendship is magic. And I'm not afraid to say it. I love it. And if it wasn't for My Little Pony Freiendship is Magic, if it wasn't for Fallout Equestria and the fandom full of people who were so supportive and so nice to me when I talked to them, I wouldn't be here today. When I first read Fallout Equestria, it was one a clock in the morning, and I was holding a gun with a single bullet. I don't know why I decided to read it. Maybe I was just too scared to go through with it, or maybe I knew that suicide wasn't the way. All I know is that I owe this fandom so much. I love you guys, and I really, truly hope that you enjoyed reading. Because I really enjoyed writing it.
I Love you guys! Have a great day.
-Gary
