Fallout Equestria Scorched Sands

a

Unhappy Together

Day 29
No day 1
Outside I wasn't sure what I expected it would be like outside my little hole, I couldn't remember anything beyond when I woke up in that vertibird but I did consider one thing sand, sand, and more sand everywhere I grabbed some goggles and a helmet from the vertibird.

I hadn't been out of my hole more than a half day before my silent thoughts were pierced by the raspy voice of silver.

"So come up with a plan yet?" he was patronizing in tone and The question came from nowhere but despite that I managed to collect my thoughts and answer.

"Well uh walk." I answered dumbly it felt weird talking when the other person didn't visibly talk

"Walk?" he seamed perplexed.

"Yes walk I'm gonna walk us forward until we hit something." admittedly it wasn't the best plan but it was something.

"Wow what a great plan." Said silver in the clearest of sarcastic tone earning an eye roll on my part.

"Ha ha." again silvers raspy, bony, laugh permeated my thoughts.

Damn that laugh damn it right down to tartarus not to mention silver somehow knows I rolled my eyes despite me having on goggles and a helmet not to mention he's a Celestia damn skeleton.
Turning my head back to eye at the skeleton on my back and giving him the remark of,

"So I'm insane right your just my mind playing tricks on me all you are is a construct of my insanity to cope with this unending solitude or something right."

Nothing complete and utter silence again I was alone with nothing but my thoughts and the sand blowing out from the ground beneath my hooves.

I began trotting along yet again.

I'm not sure how long I walked but I'm also not sure what time I left my cave so my perception of time has been well and truly fucked. All I know was that it's day one going on two and finally I saw something far ahead I couldn't quite make it out through the exhaustion and what I was only just noticing.

The thirst... I was parched my mouth was nothing but desert I suspected it was drier than the sand I was walking on but I didn't want to test my theory instead I just ran towards the odd indiscernible structure well to say I ran is actually a pretty massive overstatement for the raged shambling of my hooves towards the structure as the heat continued to bore down on me.

"You aren't gonna make it."

Yet again after what I think was hours of silence Silver spoke to me in factually patronizing tone and you know what I said?

"Shut up!" I said it meaning to yell at the pile of bones but all that came out was a strained rasp of the words.

"You need water." thank captain obvious

"Yeah I think I now that." Again my rasp, that now sounded worse then Silvers came out before it happened

my legs started violently shaking and straining to move let alone carry myself and Silver as I got five feet further still not even halfway to the structure I collapsed upon my side rolling down the sandy dunes of this hell-scape staring at the boring sun as it was passing directly overtop me.

"Hey Iron she's coming to." I heard an unfamiliar voice, one soft yet excited and energetic.

"Well by golly Shine your right she's alive." Another voice this one more stern yet equally kind with hints of a strong accent like he'd been raised by farmers which was ridiculous since nothing could grow in this hell-scape.

"Hello." Again I tried to speak only to have a rasp come out that vaguely sounded like the word I was trying to say.

"Please..... water." Without a second thought they floated over a canteen and I drank it happily.

"So fella why the hell are you out here all by your lonesome?" Glancing over I noticed the remark came from a more stern earth pony I think his name was Iron or at least that's what the teal yellow unicorn with pink mane called him and he called her Shine.

Taking my mind off the unicorn I responded to Iron's question.

"I'm not alone, I'm trying to get supplies and some shelter." I was glad to hear my voice returning to me no longer sounding like. I ate the sand.

"Your not alone well then where's your other companies?" the earth ponu was a berly sorts who kinda laughed with everything he said sort like he was on a buzz

At his remark I quickly raised myself up and glanced around for Silver before I saw him there in the sand clutching the plasma rifle close to his chest and seeing it I hopped myself up.

Leme till ya bad idea the blood immediately rushed out from my head making me put a hoof to my head and stumble back after I regained my composure I went to get Silver up and my rifle.

"Hey uh pal are your alright I think your should sit down." Shine remarked in kind words having sorta lost her excitement at my sudden jump.

"Pal I agree with Shine your should probably take a seat your probably still not all with it you know."

Sigh "I'm fine"
I said as I picked up my plasma rifle and looked at the name written on it's stock Silver Streak
I used my tk to pick my friend out of the sand and put him back on my back sure I might be insane and it's certainly going to freak out Iron and Shine but this gun belongs to him and if I can hear his voice I have to believe that he is still somehow hear.

Turning towards the two ponies that saved me whom I had been ignoring.

"Hey pal uh why are you carrying that skeleton?" He said this with a great degree of confusion and shallow fear or maybe it was unease. I don't know which maybe neither I can't read minds I leave that stuff for Silver.

"Yeah uh friend what's up can we at least know your name?"
Piped up Shine with slimier unease

My name was pretty unremarkable but I told them it anyway.
"Desert.... Desert Care."

Iron looked to his friend for a second but then back to me.

"My friend or as your call it companion hear is Silver Streak."
I quickly gestured to him as he lay on my back.

I could see Shine looking into the eyes of the skeleton.
I promptly turned the head away from her gaze because I knew what looking into those eyes would do to somepony.

"But he's dead." Iron said bluntly.

"Yes but some part of him is alive he talks to me."
I also said bluntly without thinking.

And right on queue Silver spoke to me.

"I see you have made some new friends." he was still sarcastic as usual

"Yeah it seems I have." I said it bluntly and openly not having a care for the onlookers we're all just a bunch of blunts.

Out of nowhere Shine spoke with a similar tone and expression of Iron’s earlier but a bit worse.
"Wha what he say."

This prompted Iron to look to her with disbelief and say with a subsequent tone of disbelief.
"Sweetheart you can't be taking this seriously I mean."

"Quiet Iron!" Commanded the little mare just a tad smaller than me.

This sent Iron back a bit I could tell he wasn't used to hearing that from her.
Much more calmly than any sane pony would be talking like right now I said.
He said I've made some new friends.

"Indeed."he exclaimed proudly but this time Shine heard it I could tell just by the look on her face.
It was silent for a bit after that before finally Iron broke the silence.

"Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on."
He said it with clear confusion and disdain for what's happening.

And yet again Shine spoke up.
"She's telling the truth."

Iron gasped out what in remark to Shines statement and I didn't blame him they had no reason to believe me.

"I don't know how but she isn't lying that thing" their was a pause" it can talk."

"Silver Streak" said the skeleton putting great emphasis on his namesake like he had done to me in the hole, but after all was said and done Iron just laughed.

"Nope, nope no I am done." he was as he said done with this

And with that he pulled out a bottle of something before beginning to drink it down.
And as I gazed upon him as he drank he stopped for a moment to regard me and speak.

"What you want some here take it I don't care anymore." he was not hysterical but had just stopped caring

And at that he threw Shine and I a bottle before starting again before stopping once more to talk.

"Oh wait can't forget Dr.Bone over here"he was sarcastic, and at that I piped up again.

"He doesn't drink."
wait how did I know that.

I looked over to Shine who was promptly staying quiet and whom had already almost drank all of her drink.

Than back to Iron as he started rambling on to himself.
"Of corse he doesn't why would he fucking drink he's a damn skeleton." he was frustrated

I eventually just tuned him out as I drank my ‘Moneshine’ clearly misspelled and meant to be moonshine I drank it.

I'm not exactly sure what followed that but I had made it to the structure I’d seen before passing out it was a train car sticking out from the sand with a tarp attached to the top most part of it and some spikes putting it firmly into some more solid sand

evidently they had been storing their food, water, and possibly moonshine in the train car. Yeah evidently they’re moonshiners I woke up to Shine talking to Silver whom she had propped up in a chair and Iron drinking more of that moonshine from yesterday I didn't bother getting out of the bed they provided me instead I chose to glance around some more seeing they had a makeshift still off in the corner near the base of the train car and a fridge which was partially in the sand and missing the door but it was there

they had been storing all sorts of miscellaneous stuff in it as far as I could tell there were broken bottles, pieces of bark, spare ammo, and all sorts of other shit that I don't feel like listing besides that there were two beds counting the one I was in and the table Shine was sitting at and to top it all off they had a lantern hanging from the roof of their little hut? Yeah that sounds right taking my mind of that I decided to listen in on Shines conversation like the nosy shit I am

Shine was the first to start talking but it seemed like they'd been talking long before I woke up I briefly wondered what they'd talked about what if they had talked about me I quickly pushed the thought away and chose instead to focus back on their conversation.

"Wait let me get this straight, you're an Enclave Remnant? " There was a great deal of disbelief behind her statement but I didn't have a clue what an Enclave even was so I stayed quiet.

"Yes I am from up north specifically above the Hoof where a long time ago I along with a lot of other Enclave were forced to flee our captain or chief in command or something had done a bad thing in the eyes of..."

I could tell he was having trouble remembering but I didn't remember anything at all so I couldn't stand to say anything eventually Silver found some footing for his raspy words and began talking again.

"I don't remember her name but she was big business and admittedly we were cocky we really didn't think much of her but man were we wrong after a pretty nasty battle with her using some fancy gun that generated a shield or something around her before firing honestly I don't know exactly what happened I only got a glimpse of it when she fired but nonetheless she forced us to retreat and move our pony's into this territory and once we tried to cross we got caught in a particularly nasty rad-storm that had fused with a sandstorm needless to say at least half of our birds went down as far as I know."

I felt bad for him honestly

"Wait one pony forced all y'all to run away, and another thing I thought you had to be a Pegasus to join the Enclave?"
Again Shine spoke with a great level of disbelief a disbelief I shared one pony driving of what sounded like a metric shit ton of ponies in vertibirds it dident sound right to me.

"Yeah one pony she sure was a special one we were on, or uh near some some uh ships yeah the Celestia I think it was big ships and, yeah but besides that your right your have to be a Pegasus born or at least a real lucky Unicorn born above the clouds for a near guaranteed position in the Enclave I was a Pegasus at least until we had to retreat my vertibird crashed into another one sending me hurtling to the back of the bird"

"I was sprawled on my back and tried to get up when to metal sheets came flying back at me they severed both my wings from my body and by the time the bird crashed into the sand I was already bleeding out and about to die."

That's interesting I thought Silver was an earth pony but I guess it makes sense with his wings missing and all.

"That's terrible." she sounded sorry for him

"Yeah well look at me now I'm nothing but bones but I'm still kicking hell I don't even remember my own name but i saw that name on his gun Silver Streak and started calling myself that." he sounded triumphant

Interesting I never knew you could learn so much just by staying quiet and not moving.

Finally I got out of bed and trotted my way over to Shine and Silver and it's about this time Iron left the tent.

"So what are we talking about fellas?"
Man when I'm not dying of thirst my voice sure does sound good.

"Oh Desert your awake oh and I was just talking to Silver here." Her mood sure had changed when she first met Silver your could cut the air with a knife now she's back to being a joyful pony full of enough energy to put a foal to shame.

"I can see that, say Silver what all your been telling sweet Shine here?" whit that light heart'ed comment I got a chuckle out of him and what can only be described as a hate glare from Shine.

"Oh nothing much just my life story as best I could." was that sarcasm

I'll admit that got a little snicker out of me before I spoke.
"Hey I might have to hear that someday when we got time to talk"

"Yeah maybe I'll tell it to you sometime." I was gonna hold him to that

After that Shine got up and checked the still she was fiddling around with some tubes and stuff until some of that shiny gold came flowing out as she called it and despite wanting to remark that gold was already shiny I didn't.

She took the new bottle of moonshine and slapped a label on it with the misspelled moonshine on it before putting it in a crate with about five others.

Than I heard it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out three specifically from the outside of the tarp.

I got up from the chair I had unconsciously sat in and grabbed my rifle jumping in front of Shine between her and the flap of the tent. Looking out through the tent I could see the silhouettes of five no six ponies and one uh.., What the hell is that thing?

It was tall, more than double the size of the average stallion it was like a turtle but on its hind legs standing taller than all the others it was with outside than it spoke I'm not sure how I knew it was him speaking but I knew it was him he was a gruff stern I could tell just by his voice it was angry and assertive it commanded respect from all the ponies around him.

"Crimson, Sting search the place and take whatever supplies is in the train Cherry, Sky stand guard.
Pyrise with me we will get what we came for."

And with that a Unicorn broke from the others to join him as he came towards the flap than out of nowhere Shine fired off a shot from a rifle I'm not sure where she got it from but she evidently missed because both the turtle thing and unicorn were still standing

the unicorn came rushing in with a shotgun in tk firing in she was a bright purple pony you could see from miles but she was covered in rags much like my own with some leather armor atop them her shots flew in the general direction of Shine thankfully the two shots that she got off missed hitting the still behind Shine the first set the still ablaze and the second well I'm not rightly sure what it did but the still started being encased in this black crystal that turned a sizable part of what the shot hit into the stuff

before she could get anymore shots off I picked up the table and threw it with as much force as possible with my telekinesis slamming it on the Unicorn against the base of the train car than I felt it the touch of a revolver barrel against the back of my head audibly I said the thing all people say when they got a gun to their head.

"Shit." I hissed it out

"Now what do we have here someone trying to play hero and save the fair maiden" at that he let out a chuckle.to go with his gravely voice

I slowly looked over to the Turtle he had a scar over his left eye and Shines mouth covered by his hand holding her squirming body to his chest evidently he noticed me eyeing because he brought it up.

"Oh what is it your afraid for this little gal?" his sickly gravel voice was like rocks on sand paper to my ears

The truth is that I didn't know why I was staring at her all I knew was that she saved my life and I always repay my debts and for this debt this fool needed to die.

"Don't say much do you *sigh* oh well goodbye little miss hero." he was a tad sad at that statment

"Wait!"
I shouted out not sure what I was going to say I just yelled it out
But I did start working on a plan.

"What missy?"
He said it with such a level of sarcasm I only thought Silver could manage but at least I got his attention.

"You can't kill me."
I started putting my plan to work.

"Oh yeah and why is that?"
Because your stupid I thought but I didn't say.

"He won't let you."
I jested towards Silver chanting in my head Please look at Silver please.

He looked away for a split second but that's all I needed I grabbed the trigger of the revolver in my tk and despite my better judgement I prayed that my plan worked as I pulled the trigger making the gun explode in his hand as I had disassembled the gun and shoved cloth in the barrel during our conversation.

man was he blind

Then with his hand gun exploding in his hand ironically he released Shine who gasped for air quickly ran and grabbed the combat shotgun from the unconscious Unicorn and by this point the other four ponies came barging in three Earth Ponies all but one of them with spears in mouth and a Unicorn without a horn but the one Earth Pony had a battle saddle and two pretty shit rifles on it I first took my rifle and started shooting its energy at said battle saddle ponies as Shine put the table down as a barricade which I picked up immediately after shooting and beat one of the other Earth Ponies over the head with it.

Shine promptly shot a look at me and then buckshot at the Turtles face point blank three times until it was unrecognizable and rightfully so

he collapse over dead this left one Unicorn holding a 10 mill in it's mouth and a very badly burnt Earth Pony who promptly booked it as I ran after him and finished the job I started, after which I came back in to Shine with shotgun pressed to the Unicorn's temple making her drop the 10 mill and cry for her life.

"Please don't kill me I haven't done anything I'm just here as support I I ..."

she was pidiful even for someone who attacked and raided moonshiners, a raider

"Shut up! Shut up Celestia damn it you killed him! You killed Iron!"

Shine cut her off permanently and continued to swear.

Shine continued to fire shot after shot into her until the shotgun was empty than picking up the Turtles revolver she unloaded all of the bullets from the Turtles revolver straight into his skull before collapsing onto me mid last shot.

I can't say I Knew Iron or how she was feeling but I did know much pain that this had caused her

A few hours passed we looted the raiders I inspected the bullet hole in the still from the dead Unicorn's second shot it was black and hard as a rock and the still even without knowing how exactly it worked I knew it wasn't fixable at least not in the wasteland let alone this desert we got a bit of drugs mostly Dash and Jet and I got a Sparkle Cola and three canteens. The turtle thing however didn't have a canteen instead i found a jug of water on him .One of the Earth Pony's had his canteen shot through by my plasma rifle but none of that mattered to Shine

we spent the rest of the day digging out a solid grave in the sand to bury Iron personally I think we should have interrogated that unicorn I knocked out but Shine shot her to saying they needed to pay so we can't do that now Silvers currently in bed with Shine she finally stopped crying

I was standing guard as the sun set and I pulled out the journal.

Day 3
I wrote about what I was thinking but.
More specifically I wrote about not being alone and how i'm still unhappy I wrote about how.
Maybe just maybe it's better to be unhappy alone than unhappy together but what do I know i'm just some unicorn who's best friend is a skeleton.

I eventually went to bed but instead of sleeping I just laid there and thought about everything that had happened.

I woke up in a cave talked to a skeleton collapse in the sand was saved by an earth pony and unicorn stayed with them for a day and then saved the unicorn from raiders after they killed the earth pony doesn't sound like much when I say it or in this case think it and at that I think I went to sleep because Silver actually got out of bed and with each step of his hooves flesh and fur grew rapidly up his legs to his torso and up to his head regrowing his wings and mane he was an almost pure wight pony with a black mane with silver streaks in it same with his tail.

"Hello desert." His voice sounded so smooth it had completely lost it's rasp and I was baffled at first I had no clue what the hell was happening than as I started to reason it I responded to him or at least I was about to before he spoke.

"Yes your dreaming i'm not actually moving let alone have my body back." he was delicate and tired in his words

He had a point but still he can somehow talk to ponies even though he's a skeleton so id believe it if this wasn't a dream he walked over to the table that we had finally put back in place stepping over shine who was just laying their sound asleep as he spoke.

"Tell me desert why do you fight." he was still in the same tone

The question came out of nowhere and I told him.
"To survive,"

"Really is that all, that's not much." he was judging me

"That's all"
well what did he expect me to say.

"So you fight to survive and that's it." he was so patronizing no inquizatory

He looked up at me it was so sudden and I finally got a good look at his eyes white pure wight and then he walked toward me as his eyes rotted and fell out of his head and the flesh and fur rotted and fell from him starting in the eyes and mouth going past his wings to his tail and down his hooves bringing out his bony rasp once more.

"than tell me desert why why did you save that poor innocent pony put yourself at and everything else at risk." his rasp and bony tone was coming back more and more

I reached at the sight I saw not to mention how badly it smelled but it all stopped when he reached my face and in the most eldritch of voices he whispered into my ear.

"Wake up."

And at that I woke up.

Looking over at shine and silver who had somehow rolled to be staring directly into my eyes.
I again cut contact and stood up walking over to shiny to wake her up.

"Hu iron is that you." she seemed a tad happy must have been a nice dream

"No it's just me." i felt bad saying that but the alternative would have been much worse

"Oh desert it's you and," she falter'ed "and it wasn't a dream was it."

the question hit me it was worse than any shot I could hear it in her voice a despite plea for me to say no but I couldn't not on good couches even if it makes her happy I know it would be wrong to make her believe he was alright just to walk outside looking for him and finding nothing but a grave so I told her.

"yes he's dead." i was soft in tone as to not hurt her feelings to fast

I saw it in her face she wanted to die right there and then.

"Oh so ...he's dead."she was broken and crying again and I instinctively Neal'd down and hugged her.

She stopped for a moment before crying once more but it wasn't as bad I don't know how long I sat there but she eventually spoke.

"Why." she was tired and questioningly

The question permeated the silence like a light suddenly turned on in a dark cave
But I being the fool didn't now what she was talking about.

"Why what."
I said with a level of confusion even a dumbass could tell that they were confused.

"Why save me why not just let me die or be taken by that brute." she was still sad and the color had left her fce but it was getting better

I didn't think about what I was going to respond with I just did.

"Because you saved me and in my eyes that was a debt to be paid."
That was the truth as best as I could put it anyways.

"Thank you" She sounded so sweet and was clearly still fighting back tears.

At that I released her went and picked up silver onto my back and at that we took all of what we could carry and we set off Shine said that there was a town down to the south past were they found me by a few miles so we went on our way to Tabby Town as she called it

Footnote: level up
New perk:explorer you have more endurance to the deserts heat and gain more xp when you discover a location
Skill M.E.W 25

Author's Note

hears second chapter tell me if y'all like it