Fallout: Equestria - War, War Never Changes...

Since the "Great Equestrian War", Ponyville has become a bleak old town... without anything relevant...

That's what I thought in my mind after having gazed at the landscape, which was occupied, its most part, by the old town; the image of Ponyville ruins was not very encouraging, but at least I knew how to avoid the raiders who could attack us.

I turned to look at LittlePip, who was observing the surroundings very carefully; while she kept an eye on the surroundings, I was in charge of looking ahead and exploring the area a bit before moving on. I remained alert, as I held my Winchester rifle with both hands; for a while, LittlePip and I took turns watching the area and checking the surroundings with our sights, but nothing relevant happened… although, everything changed as the following happened…

"Marcus, you see that?"

LittlePip had caught my attention by asking me that, not having understood what she was referring to, I looked where she pointed her hoof; then, I managed to observe the fire of a bonfire behind a few trees, which were still standing, and a pony sitting in front of a tree trunk; that pony was on its back and could not be seen properly, although it appeared to be asleep. But, before anything else happened, LittlePip jogged towards the pony wanting to know if he/she was okay or not.

Fortunately, I stopped her before she arrived at the pony, she looked at me confused; it was then I whispered her...

"Be careful, LittlePip. It doesn't seem right to me, usually, these situations are more like bait or a trap for the clueless and fools who don't take into consideration its circumstances. It's possible there are raiders or slavers waiting for some fool ponies to go innocently to the place, and then capture them. So, you have to be more careful.”

LittlePip understood what I tried to mean, so she calmed down and stopped before making any other move, then she looked at me and asked...

"So, what do we do now?"

“If this is a trap, it's better that one of us goes as a decoy to find out if it really is; while the other one stays here hidden, and when the slavers or raiders come out, he/she shoots them. The only problem is… who stays here and who goes there?”

We both stood silent for a few seconds, we'd been thinking about who would go to look at the pony and who would stay covering his/her back; it wasn't until LittlePip spoke, that we were able to plan our strategy...

"I'll go."

I looked at her for a moment with a surprised and terrified face, since I didn't want to risk her life for another living being, so I spoke...

Sorry, LittlePip, but I won't let you risk your life for another pony's life, whom we don't know. It's better if I go-”

“Marcus, think about it… You know it, I have no experience in the use of firearms or in close combat weapons; how could I possibly help you?... Otherwise, you have effective precision, besides, it's noticeable that you know more about this wasteland than I do. So, let me go look at the pony. Obviously, if it's a trap, don't begin to kill them all either; I wouldn't like to witness something like that.”

What LittlePip said made sense, I hadn't taught her anything about the wasteland yet. However, I didn't want to risk her life for this; although, unfortunately, I had to ask...

"You're sure about this? It could be dangerous."

She nodded in response, for what I just gave a sigh of defeat and answered her...

"Alright, LittlePip. But if that pony or someone else tries to do something and doesn't stop, I'll blow his/her brain out with a clean shot right to the head. I'll try to not kill anypony at first, but I can't promise anything, LittlePip… Do you understand?”

She thought about it for a few seconds, but her decision was already taken, she was going to see if that pony was okay; consequently, LittlePip nodded and I sighed...

“Just… be careful, LittlePip. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Okay?"

"I understand, just focus on protecting me, please."

I nodded, so LittlePip slowly approached the pony for a closer look; every step she took was heard with such clarity that I thought if it was really a good idea what we were doing, but my thoughts were interrupted after hearing LittlePip exclaim out loud...

"But what-?!"

I observed her gaze, her sight had turned to one of surprise and bewilderment, it was obvious that she had seen something in that pony; but, again, my thoughts were interrupted by several male voices coming near to where LittlePip was...

"Well, well, well... Look what we got here."

"A lost and confused unicorn..."

"...Not to mention the fact that she comes completely alone and without weapons or any kind of protection."

There were 3 male ponies approaching LittlePip with bad intentions; they were two earth ponies and a unicorn holding various weapons, two melee weapons, and a sawed-off shotgun. Looking at them and seeing their looks of malice, I knew immediately that I had to help her before any of the ponies hurt her.

Then, I pointed my Winchester rifle at the white fur unicorn and pulled the trigger...

*BANG!*

Immediately, the unicorn fell on the ground with his brain being pierced by the shoot of my rifle, he was definitely dead. So I proceeded to fire my weapon again at the earth pony that held a shovel between its teeth.

The pony saw me and tried to hide behind the trunk on which the pony we came to look at, but I managed to shoot him directly in one of his legs, so the earth pony could no longer walk well.

Next, I switched targets to the other earth pony, which was struggling with LittlePip; I tried to shoot him, but the pony managed to grab LittlePip from behind by putting a knife close to her throat. Because of this, I couldn't shoot him, as there was a risk that I would hit LittlePip and not him; seeing the situation, I shouted...

"LittlePip, move!"

"How?!"

"Hit him with your head's back!"

LittlePip tried to hit him with the back of her head, but it was unsuccessful; although, she forced him to back off and took the opportunity to hit him on the nose with her head; the earth pony took a few steps back and I fired my gun...

*BANG!*

"Die, motherfucker..."

A few hours passed after our confrontation with the ponies who turned out to be slavers, LittlePip and I managed to finish them off, including the earth pony that I wounded in his leg.

The pony we came to look at was captured by the slavers, who used him as bait to attract anypony who would be foolish enough to go help him without thinking twice before doing so. We released him and he thanked us, but at the next instant, he levitated a rock and threw it to me before I could do anything; he seized the opportunity and left with the sawed-off double-barrel shotgun.

He hit me very hard on the back of the neck, but I didn't pass out, instead, I was still conscious; although, by an act of generosity and forgiveness, I didn't shoot him, since it was clear that he did not need any help.

LittlePip looked at me confused, but I only told her that it was better to let him go, that it was his decision to come with us or not; so, we both picked up supplies that the slavers had and headed towards Ponyville...

"Marcus, can I ask you a personal question?"

I looked at LittlePip for a few moments before refocusing my sight at Ponyville's ruins and the Raider Toll Bridge, which we were about to cross; so, I replied...

"Sure, what is it about?"

"C-Could you please teach me how to use a weapon?"

I smiled when I heard her ask that question, it was funny to hear her babble and nervousness when she wanted to talk about something involving personal or intimate issues; then, I replied...

"Of course, LittlePip. But, first, we must find you a weapon that suits you perfectly; sure, you can grab any weapon and shoot it, but you must be comfortable with it in order to get the most possible advantage from it. Like, for example, my two weapons: my beloved Peacemaker and Perfectshooting.”

"*Giggles* ...Perfectshooting? Seriously?"

“Well, I've put a lot of confidence in my Winchester rifle and it never failed me; it has a perfect shot.”

LittlePip started laughing as I smiled when I saw her happy, I liked to see that people/ponies could have a good time and that those could finally have a smile on their faces; I was grateful to be able to see her with a positive attitude and a legitimate smile on her face...

"You know what, LittlePip?... I love these kinds of moments, I really love them. Seeing you laugh and smile like that reminds me of... a beloved one... Now, LittlePip, I'd like to give you a little advice... *Ahem* ...If you ever manage to possess some happiness, don't waste it, okay?”

She looked at me with a smile, anyone could tell she had the element of laughter, but I think she was more loyal to her values than anything; then, after a few seconds, she replied...

"Okay, Marcus. Don't worry, I'll try to keep my smile at any time. I promise."

Before I could respond, a projectile from a rifle passed beside my head; immediately, we both knew that a sniper was targeting us, so each one of us covered itself as best we could. While LittlePip took cover behind a cart, I covered myself with a pillar of the bridge, which was made of concrete...

*BANG!*

Another projectile hit the floor next to me, the sniper really thought on killing us; LittlePip looked at me with her face covered in mud, after having fallen while trying to take cover, and a look of terror, it was noticeable that she was not used to the wildness that the Equestrian wasteland became. I made a gesture to her to calm down, which worked for a while; meanwhile, I proceeded to reload my Winchester rifle to shoot at the sniper...

"Can you see him?!"

She looked at me with fear and denied with her head, so I tried to see where the bastard was; I poked my head through the concrete pillar and looked across the river, when I surveyed the area, another projectile passed very close to me, brushing my head very lightly.

The shot disconcerted me for a moment, but at least I could make out where he was, the damn bastard was leaning against a stone on the small hill across the river; it was then that I prepared to shoot and poked around the pillar...

*BANG!*

A fourth projectile grazed my face when I tried to cover myself behind the pillar again; seeing this, I knew that I only had one chance to hit the shot in his skull. So, I prepared to jump sideways toward the center of the place so I could shoot him while I "flew".

When the time came, I jumped sideways and aimed my gun at the sniper, who pointed his gun at me, too. We both look at each other for a thousandth of a second and fire our rifles...

*BANG!* *BANG!*

I woke up lying on the ground a little sore, it seemed that the sniper had hit me on the right shoulder; but, on the other hand, I had killed him with a direct shot on the right eye. How did I know this? Well, the corpse of the unicorn was lying about 2 meters from where I was lying.

Seeing that if I could stand up, I did and then proceeded to approach the corpse of the pony to see if it had any ammunition or medicine; unfortunately, I didn't find anything, so I got up and walked towards LittlePip, who was sitting on the stone near the bridge...

"You okay, LittlePip?"

She didn't answer, even ignored my question. When I did not get an answer, I turned to see her to verify that she was still awake, and she was; however, it seemed as if LittlePip didn't want to speak for a moment, so I spoke…

"You are in shock... Don't worry, that's natural in a living being after having a traumatic experience. Like, for example, witnessing someone you know being hurt by someone else… But, as I said, it's natural in living beings.”

"Then, why am I feeling like this?"

I turned to see her again; LittlePip had finally said something, but her question confused me a bit, so I asked...

"What do you mean by that, LittlePip?"

LittlePip looked down and sighed, she looked tired, choppy and in shock, she'd been through a lot in just a few hours; however, she knew what kind of situations she was going to witness beyond her Stable...

"I feel... distressed, sad, scared, guilty, tired, I'm not able to keep calm and now I feel so worried for your sake... You've been the only one who has accepted me and you are the only one I had interaction with for more than 1 hour... You are the first friend I've ever had.”

“Thank you… It's normal to feel that kind of emotions, usually negative and exhausting, but it's logical. You, LittlePip, care about me and my sake, and I appreciate that very much… It's been years since I had someone to talk to without being someone who should stay in a specific place.”

LittlePip smiled as she looked at the sky, fortunately, part of it opened on its own and let the moon itself be seen for a few moments; it was spectacular, that was my first time seeing the moon in more than 15 years. Without any doubt, I would treasure this moment in my memory for so many years. I turned to see LittlePip, who also looked at me for a few seconds and looked at the moon again, then said...

“In Stable 2 we were told so many stories about Princess Luna and her symbol, the moon itself, there we always saw images and recordings of the moon; however... this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Undoubtedly."

“That's funny. From my part, I've only seen the moon a couple of times; the last time I saw it was about... 15 years ago, during a trip toward the ruins of Hoofington and the city's dam. Fortunately, that night was quiet, so I could appreciate the moon as long as I wanted until I fell asleep. It's funny how something so simple can be so beautiful, especially in times like these.”

LittlePip nodded in response to what I said; when the moon finally disappeared, I realized how late it was, so I told LittlePip that it was better to keep going until we reached Ponyville and that I knew a place where we could stay to sleep at night...

About 30 minutes had already passed, but LittlePip and I had not yet reached the place where we would sleep, Carrousel Boutique; during our walk, we were both wondering about several more personal issues, such as who our family members were before we met…

"So... do you have family, yet?"

"*Sigh* ...I had once, but they're all dead."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"There's no need to apologize, LittlePip. You didn't know about it; however, in the future, you'll have to know about them."

We both kept walking while remaining silent for a few minutes; when we weren't talking, our footsteps were loud enough to be heard from several meters away, the whole atmosphere was very quiet... and I didn't like that at all.

I decided to hold my Winchester rifle in my hands while I kept an eye on our surroundings, LittlePip noticed this and asked...

"Something's wrong, Marcus?"

I continued to watch over the whole area with my eyes while, at the same time, I replied...

"You feel that silence, right?... Well, this calm and quiet environment may be enjoyable and relaxing, but we must also still be alert because there's still the possibility that there may be enemies nearby."

LittlePip remained silent after listening to my explanation, she was surely processing the information that I had told her, in the end, she replied...

"That makes sense, we never know what the future holds for us, right?"

I smiled when I heard her say that sentence, it was obvious that LittlePip could quickly learn about the wasteland; I looked at her for a few moments with a small smile on my face, while she reciprocated the gesture, by doing the same, smile.

When I turned to look forward, I spoke to her...

“You learn very quickly, LittlePip, and that's good; if you continue like this, soon you won't need anymore my teachings. Although, if I can advise you something: Never forgive someone who has done much harm to another, even if he begs you to not harm him or tells you that he has a family.”

"Thanks, but... I don't think this advice you're giving to me is nice at all, is-"

"Is cruel, I know... However, there are ponies who have no regrets after having raped, kidnapped, tortured and/or killed innocent living beings. Those kinds of ponies don't deserve to live, they are cruel… And you know it perfectly.”

She didn't dedicate a word to what I said previously, so I decided to not say anything else until we arrived at Carrousel Boutique; for another 5 minutes, neither of us said a word. After those 5 more minutes of walking, we both managed to reach Carrousel Boutique, which was still standing, but with much of its structure damaged...

"We're going to sleep here?"

“Well, if I could, I would have taken you to a luxurious 5-star hotel; unfortunately, I can't, so… here we are.”

"*Sigh of Defeat* ...Okay, we better sleep now, I'm tired."

"Okay. Follow me, I know where there's a room in which we can sleep.”

LittlePip and I were already on the second floor, inside the room where we were going to sleep; we were both tired after the long journey we'd taken, so we went to sleep, but not before examining the place to know that we could sleep peacefully, at least for that night.

Surprisingly, we didn't find anything at first until we examined the roofs; dangling, there were several dismembered corpses of ponies, filled with blood and guts. LittlePip saw this and vomited instantly, having never seen such an atrocity in her entire life. Immediately, I went to comfort her and we decided to move the bed in which she was going to sleep; we moved it to another room, which appeared to be empty of corpses and clean enough to be viable for sleeping in.

Although, before sleeping, I found a chest locked, I opened it with little difficulty and, in it, I found a black dress, it was very elegant; seeing it, I whispered...

"This is unexpected to find."

LittlePip heard me whisper, so she walked over to where I was and, seeing the dress, began to say...

"Wow... that's a beautiful dress-"

"Do you want it?... It doesn't work for me, but maybe it does to you."

Almost immediately, LittlePip levitated the dress and put it inside one of her bags; later, she turned to look at me and said...

"If we meet Velvet, I may give it to her as a way of apologizing for looking everywhere for her."

"Alright then, it's all yours, so... Now, we better go to sleep."

LittlePip nodded in response, but remained thoughtful for a few seconds and asked...

"But where are you going to sleep? There's only one bed.”

"Don't worry about it, I'll sleep on the floor while you'll sleep in bed... And don't worry, I'll be fine. I've slept in worse conditions.”

LittlePip nodded in response, then headed for the bed to proceed to sleep; at the same time, I sat on the floor, leaning against the wall next to the bed. So, I spoke...

"Have a good night, LittlePip. You'll need some rest, tomorrow's going to be a shaken day.”

"Good night, too, Marcus. Sleep well."

At next instant, LittlePip fell asleep after closing her eyes. Meanwhile, I was looking towards the entrance of the room, seeing the last place before finally falling asleep...

TO BE CONTINUED...