Fallout: Equestria - All Roads Lead Home

by Lone Writer

Rating: mature
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Adventure, Fallout, Gore, Violence, Crossover, Dark, Death
Length: 31983

A stallion finds himself returning home after years of banishment to atone for his past.

Wildcard found himself chasing down the ponies who tried to put him to an early grave. But in his quest for revenge finds himself returning home to the dead city of Stalliongrad, a city trapped in the embrace of an endless irradiated winter. There the inhabitants of the city survived for two centuries by retreating into the vast underground Metro system. Now returning home, Wildcard finds himself in the middle of a war to determine the fate of all that live in the Metro.

Welcome Home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is also a updating wiki behind this story found here!

Wildcard cover art by: | BezierBallad | and can be found on the wiki.

Broken Echoes (Current) cover art by: | Me |

Edited by: Holtinater

Published 2020-06-10 18:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-01-14 23:33:04 UTC

Prologue {Redux}

Prologue: Going Postal

"No need for bombs, when hate will do."

War, war never changes. But ponies do, through the roads they walk.

My father once told me that. I never really understood what he meant. Maybe that’s why I still remembered those words even after he passed away. Or maybe he knew I would become a glorified courier when I grew up. He always had this weird way of predicting the future, and that dumbfounded a small colt like me. I only wished he could be with me.

“Equestria to Wildcard. You awake in there?”

A green hoof waved in front of my face. To my left was the most talkative mare in all of the Wasteland, Ivy Jewel. I still couldn’t believe I got stuck with the new filly. At least Vineyard was nice enough to give me an easy supply delivery this time. All we had to do was head to New Appleloosa, drop off the shipment at the local general store to receive payment, and return. So simple that a foal could do it blindfolded. But my sanity could only handle so much.

“So when are we going to fight off some blood thirsty raiders?” Ivy was bouncing up and down as we walked across the dry dusty, brown ground. “I’ve always wanted to show those scumbags how a unicorn like me dances. Hey! Are you even listening?!”

In the corner of my crystal blue eyes I saw her spin a weathered 10mm pistol in the air with her magic. It was standard that all couriers of Wasteland Express be supplied with a weapon in case some ponies along the way wanted to be “problematic”. I, personally, carried an assault rifle that was covered in blue duct tape and welding marks from all the times I’ve upgraded and repaired her. On the top of the rifle body’s picatinny rail sat a 2.5x compact scope. I had made it a hobby of mine to restore all the equipment I used to working order, or at least tried to. But, judging by my cutie mark, you would never guess that this dark, dirt-tan stallion had a thing for repairing things. The cutie mark that fate had gifted me was a single playing card, a joker with each suit in the corners of the card. I’d pondered its meaning for most of my life, only ever coming up with one halfass answer: I was just lucky.

I could feel wrinkles on my face form as the crack of a sudden gunshot and a scream sounded from off to my side. Snapping my head towards the source, I saw Ivy stunned as her pistol was now in the dirt of the road, still smoking. I facehoofed.

“You know, I thought pulling the cargo was going to be the only pain in my flank, but you’re getting there.” I could’ve felt her puppy dog eyes that were trying to melt my irradiated heart. I let a sigh escape my lungs and helped Ivy up. A blush raced across my face. “Sorry, I normally don’t like to work with other ponies.”

The young mare smiled and picked up her pistol with her magic. Usually, I’d have lectured my traveling partner for doing something so incredibly stupid that even the director of the old world’s Ministry of Morale would have facehoofed, but it was her first delivery, so I decided to cut her some slack.

A question broke through my train of thought. “Hey Ivy,” She looked at me with pure innocent eyes. “Why did you become a courier? Usually, ponies your age think this is the most boring job in all of the Wastes, so what made you join?”

She lit up like a gift tree on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “Well, my father was a courier before he retired, and his father before him. I guess you could say it’s a family tradition for the stallions in the family. I’m the only child in my family and I wanted to make my father proud, so I signed up.”

Family, the only thing most ponies really had left. It’s what I considered one of life’s great virtues. Like a single, warm beam of light that pierced the thick clouds that locked our skies.

“Is he proud of you?” Ivy stopped in her tracks. Clearly, her family hadn’t approved of what she’s doing. But what could I’ve done? Some random ponies’ advice on someone else's life is just too unwelcome.

I shifted my hooves as I tried to change the conversation. “Sorry.” I tipped my desperado hat down. “We could talk about something else if you would like.”

Her reddened yellow eyes started to swell up with tears. ‘Excellent job, Wildcard. You made another pony cry.’ Ivy wiped away her tears and began to happily trot next me. She smiled at me. "I would like that.”

*** *** ***

The next few hours were uneventful. We decided to build a camp for the night. After gathering some wood for a fire, I went to check how far we had gotten. Judging by the map I carried with me, we’re only roughly a half an hour away from New Appleloosa. I looked over to the now sleeping mare next to the fire. She was actually doing quite well for her first delivery. Usually, new couriers would be either completely gung-ho, actually trying to pick fights with ponies, or scared of everything, including their shadow. But Ivy was different. She had the making of a great courier.

I let out a hearty yawn as I put the map back in my travel saddlebags and pulled out a half filled bottle of apple whiskey. I popped off the cork with my teeth and spit it into the dirt. With a movement that would make a light weight blush, I downed the crisp apple blended. No drink in the whole Wasteland would top Applejack’s Crispy Apple Whiskey. The world started to spin a little in my view, but the feeling went throughout my whole body was great.

I lay down on my back, looking up at the grey cloud cover. I always wondered what was up there. What the sky looked like without clouds. What the sun would look like. Would it be just like how the old world books described it? The thoughts danced in my brain as I drifted into sleep.

*** *** ***

I felt a cold barrel jab my shoulder.

“Get up.” A voice demanded.

I opened my eyes to see three ponies standing in front of me; all armed. The one that woke me was a dark grey pegasus that wore a thin black suit lined with extremely advanced technology with a rifle battlesaddle. He was giving me a stoic look, his blue eyes filled were a hazed void of emptiness. The beautiful tan-coated unicorn mare next to him gave me a wicked smile.

“This is a robbery, darling.”

“You ain’t getting shit from us!” my young companion boldly proclaimed.

An eight-shot revolver pointed at her head. I looked to Ivy Jewel, “We’ll just give them what they want. If they wanted us dead, we already would be.”

The emerald mare gave a loud sigh, “Fine.”

“You’re wiser than most,” the third pony, a white coated earth pony with a slicked back silver mane, said. Dressed to the nines in a grey suit and black tie, he approached me.

“We don’t want anyone to get hurt, so would you kindly retrieve your shipping manifesto for me?”

I followed the orders, slowly walking over to my bags and beginning to search for the documents. Ivy Jewel’s pistol was only a few feet away from me. All I had to do was—

“Don’t even think about it!” the tan bandit ordered.

‘Shit.’ I grabbed the documents and returned to the suit. I placed the shipment order on the ground and backed up.

“This isn’t right!” Ivy whispered to me.

“Just follow what they say. We don’t have any power here.”

The white earth pony smiled, “This is the one.”

“You can’t get away with this!”

The elegant one sauntered over to the younger mare, “And why not? Who’s gonna stop us?”

“I will! You ugly bitch!” Ivy spat at the unicorn.

I could see in her eyes that something snapped. The tan mare levitated a shotgun out of her bag and placed it to Ivy’s head, pulling the trigger without hesitation. The young mare’s body whipped back violently as her head was turned into a fine pinkish red mist. I felt sick as Ivy Jewel’s crimson blood dampened the dry ground.

“Who’s the ugly bitch now!” the unicorn mocked the corpse.

The pegasus was in shock, “Honey, that wasn’t part of the plan!”

“Whatever,” Honey poked the exposed flesh of the left side of Ivy’s face. “No one will care that another little pony is missing in the Wasteland.”

I couldn’t hold back my blind rage any longer. I lunged onto the mare, knocking her to the ground. She lost control of her weapons as I repeatedly tried to cave in her skull.

‘Save me a spot in Tartarus, cock sucker!’

The grey pegasus was completely frozen to the ground, but not the earth pony. The suit picked up the shotgun with his mouth and shot at me, center mass. I felt a few of my ribs bruise and crack from the pellets as I was thrown off the mare by the sheer power of the weapon. My whole body ached as my vision slowly grew darker with each passing second.

“Well, that was a shit show,” The pegasus said bluntly.

“Just get the damn tape!” The other buck demanded.

I turned to Ivy’s body; the right side of her looked back, stuck forever in astonishment. I would’ve cried if I could. The darkness finished eating away at my sight.

‘I’m sorry, kid.’

*** *** ***

“Forget your troubles, come on get happy.”

Beautiful singing from Sweetie Belle herself. Was that just a dream? My head hurt like hell along with the rest of my body. The music continued from humming.

“You better chase all your cares away.”

I opened my eyes to one of the most beautiful mares I’d ever seen in the Wasteland. The unicorn had a charcoal coat with streaks of red and gold in her white mane. Her voice was like fine silk as she sang and worked on bandaging my torso.

My head grew uncomfortable as I went to touch the left side of my face with my hoof. I felt multiple long scars across my face and one on my ear. I felt my ears droop as reality sunk in. That wasn’t a nightmare.

“Shout hallelujah com— Oh, you’re awake! That’s great!” The charcoal mare said proudly.

“Where’s Ivy? Where am I?” Panic had settled in. I tried to get off the table but was stopped by a hoof.

“Slow down! That’s the after effects of shock talking. Just relax and drink this.” The mare floated over an almost empty glass bottle of red liquid.

I gladly accepted the healing potion by guzzling it down. My body felt better. I went to touch my face once again and the scars were still present. I frowned.

“Sorry, but I don’t have any more. My name is Velvet Remedy by the way,” the mare told me.

I got off the table, not stopped this time, and stretched out my body. Near the bed was a dirty cracked mirror. A tan stallion with crystal blue eyes and a messy, short chocolate-brown mane stared back. The left side of his face looked like a small mountain range due to the scars that now sat on the left side of his head: parting gifts.

‘I guess I have to get used to the new look.’ I thought.

“Looking good so far,” Velvet Remedy inferred.

I felt myself flush at the comment. I took a deep breath to compose myself, “Thanks for patching me up.”

“No problem! But it should be the town’s guards you should be thanking. They went to investigate the gunfire a few nights ago—“

“A few nights ago!” I cut her off with my hoof slamming into the floor.

Velvet backed up a little, “We didn’t have a lot of the medical supplies we needed since you were robbed by those raiders. I’m… sorry about your friend by the way.”

I bowed my head. Ivy’s death was my fault. I should’ve stopped her before she acted so childish. What was I thinking?

“There’s good news,” Velvet tried to cheer me up. “They didn’t take your gear.”

I watched as she walked into the room adjacent and returned with clothing and a rifle in her telekinetic grasp. She approached and rested the items on the bed.

The charcoal unicorn watched as I dressed. I stopped as I was putting on my shirt and blushed, “Do you mind?”

“Oh!” The unicorn turned around.

Kind of her. From what I could tell, she wasn’t from here. By the way she looked and acted there was no way she had been born in the Wasteland. But, it’s not my place to judge. At least she was kind enough to patch me up.

I looked into the mirror once again. What stood in front of me now was an earth pony dressed in a sandy brown duster with rolled up sleeves of a white undershirt sticking out of the duster’s sleeveless holes. On the back of the duster was a roughly painted image of the flag of Equestria. Across his torso he wore a ballistic vest, scavenged from the ruins of a police station in Hoofington. Around his neck hung a half-mask respirator, useful for protecting against environmental airborne hazards. I nodded to my reflection and turned towards Velvet.

“Thanks again for patching me up.”

The charcoal unicorn gave me a warm smile and a small cute chuckle, “No problem. Now try not to get shot again.”

I gave a small smile back and picked up my rifle. I loaded a magazine and pulled back the cold steel charging handle with only a single thought: vengeance. For who? I couldn’t say, but someone had to pay the price.

My father once told me that war, war never changes. But it was after he died that I learned another more important truth about the world: That the old rules no longer apply.

Footnote: New Game+

Starting Perk: Ain’t That A Buck To The Head? -- 25% decreased damage to the head.

Chapter One: All In {Redux}

Chapter 1: All In

“I like to think all ponies have enough sense to do the right thing.”

New Appleloosa.

A small town surrounded by a rusty steel ring wall made from old train cars. It turned this settlement from a raider’s wet dream to an almost unbreakable fortress. Guards lined the top of the walls, ears perked, as they watched the horizon. Houses made from the salvaged rail cars made up most of the settlement. It was a nice town. Maybe one day, when my travels are done, I’ll settle down here until I become one with the dust of the land. But death was gonna have to wait.

I felt my ears burn and redden as I walked through the town. Dirty unicorns and earth ponies stared at me, some in empathy and others in prue astonishment. It’s not everyday you get to see the dead walk again. I quickened my pace to the settlement’s store: Absolutely Everything. It was run by a ghoul named Ditzy Doo. I’d never had a problem with her kind as long as they didn’t actively try to eat me. Then there’s a problem.

The hacked together building was truly an architectural marvel. Three completely different types of train cars were welded together to make up the settlement’s general store. Old wood signs hung above the door, but I couldn’t be bothered to read them for the thousandth time. I pushed the door open and stalked into the building.

A dark wood sales counter took up a majority of the room. Paper orders and supplies were shattered around the whole room on shelves and tables. On the front counter was a small bag and a note that read:

Sorry I couldn’t be here to greet your delivery

but I had to make a delivery myself.

In the bag is your payment.

Just lock the door on your way out!

:)

My eyes drifted to the bag. I picked up the pouch with my teeth and proceeded to place it into my weathered bags. This wasn’t money for me. It was for Ivy Jewel’s family back in Manehatten. I know caps wouldn’t bring her back, but what else could I do for them?

My ears drooped as I looked down at the dusty floor in shame. ‘I guess I really fell out of grace with lady luck.’

On exiting the building I was greeted with more questioning stares than I would have liked. I quickly scurried off to the gate of the town.

*** *** ***

Death had always been nothing more but a normality for me. Everypony’s clock stops eventually, but there is a difference between a justified death and just plain murder. Ivy was barely even a mare before her light was snuffed out. Now she lies in a shallow grave.

My hooves were dirtied from properly burying the cold body of the green mare. The corners of my mouth arched down. I sat down and prayed to the goddess that the young mare would find happiness in another, better world.

I slid the late mare’s pistol into my left leg’s holster and pulled out my hoof-drawn map. Wrapped into the paper was the shipment manifesto; it listed where all items in the delivery were from. My eyes searched through the list until glaring on the name: “holotape.” Looking across to the right side of the page, it was stated that the item was received from Canterlot, specifically Stable City.

Using New Appleloosa as a land marker, I located the fastest way to the ruin of the great old world capital of Canterlot. Grabbing a black pencil from my bags, I marked a path to the once grand mountain city on my map. While wrapping everything up, my eyes drifted over to another open grave. I removed my cowpony hat from its place atop my head and softly placed it in the center.

“So, how does a pony like you manage to escape Death’s knife? Did your rage prevent you from dying, or are you just that lucky?”

A deep, almost robotic voice caused me to turn around. I came face-to-face with a huge griffon fitted with solid steel power armor, the likes of which I’d only ever seen from the Steel Rangers. Twin pipes connected to his helmet, which was covered in white tally marks. Across his torso were multiple steel plates that were held together by nuts, bolts, and weld marks. The breastplate proudly portrayed the mark of the Talon that was colored with a dripping red paint. Even the wings were protected. I had only seen armor like this from members of the Steel Rangers, so clearly it was their version of the suit.

I forced myself to remain expressionless, even after I noticed the six-barreled minigun attached to the griffon’s right side. “It would have been better for my killer if I was still in that grave.”

He removed his helmet and revealed a handsome, muscular, ruby face with tan feather accents and a black beak. His crest feather’s were tied back in a small bun, and his eyes were ash grey. The ironclad griffon’s eyes lit up as he broke out into laughter. He kept going for so long that I almost turned back towards Canterlot, but just as I was about to, he spoke again.

“Wow, I haven’t laughed like that for a while. Anyway, if you’re really set on tracking that pony across the breadth of the Wasteland, I’ll help guide you.”

“Sorry, but I don’t believe I have the bits to pay you.” I began to walk away from the mercenary. Clearly he was just looking to make some easy caps.

A tidal wave of solid brown rolling across the horizon was visibly approaching and looked only a few miles away from me to the east. I tightened my respirator around my muzzle and mentally prepared myself for the journey ahead. Because this was going to be one hell of a storm.

*** *** ***

My eyes were burning with sand as I continued down the road towards Canterlot. I couldn’t stand this storm any longer. If I had to walk through that wall of brown any longer I was going to lose my shit. Up ahead was a faded bright purple house that stuck out in the brown wind. The two story building’s roof had caved in on one side, but it would do for some quick shelter.

With one hoof shielding my eyes, I trudged through the sea of dust until the rotted wooden door was before me. It probably used to be white, but the decades of fallout had stained the door a sickly yellow. Swiftly, it was open and shut to keep the storm outside of the home.

My sigh of relief was cut short by the pain of something small quickly biting through my left flank.

“Well, it looks like we have some fresh meat lads!”

Behind me was the smoking barrel of a half-aimed shotgun, held in the magic of a bright blue unicorn mare covered in scars and spiked armor. She inhaled a dose from a red inhaler, better known as Dash, that was held in her teal magic. Blood shot into her eyes as her pupils grew to the size of bottle caps. I quickly threw my body through the archway of the room adjacent to the entryway to avoid the next shot from her.

I landed into what looked like a kitchen. The whole room was covered in the bloody body parts of ponies. The overpowering smell of iron grasped my nose. Even through my mask’s filters I could smell the decay.

Blood began to ooze quickly out of the multiple holes on the left flank of my body. If that raider’s aim was any better, I would have died. The wound didn’t break bone, so I could treat it later. I quickly removed my pistol from my front right leg holster. My ears were on edge listening for the smallest sound.

“I’m sure he's alone. Go tell somepony to get their fat flanks out of the basement! I need help up here!” A female voice screamed.

Then an eerie silence followed. Only the soft sound of hoof steps were audible. I slowly pressed my ear against the drywall and heard the loading of multiple firearms.

“Fire!”

I quickly went prone as the sound of bullets roared through the wall. Smoke and dirt engulfed the entire room in a thick brown mist. Shell cases bounced off the floor in an almost sing-song tone.

The shooting continued endlessly until a muffled voice yelled, “Stop shooting, you fucks! Johnny Cake, go check if we got him!”

I pushed myself off the floor and slowly edged my way towards the sound of the hoof steps. The barrel of a rifle entered the room, followed by a young cream-colored unicorn stallion, shaking. Quickly, I knocked the barrel of the firearm down towards the floor with my hoof and quickly tongued two rounds point blank into his head. It exploded like an overripe tomato into a red mist that painted the fridge behind him.

I launched myself out of the archway of the kitchen into the hallway and was faced with three more raiders, all with bloodshot eyes. A stallion with broken welding goggles tried to quickly shoot at me, but his gun jam. With a flurry of shots I killed the mare that injured me. I bolted at the stallion to her left and slammed him into a wall with an audible crunch. With a quick buck to the mouth of the last pony, I disarmed every threat in the room. The stallion screamed and dropped his pistol from his mouth. Any other ponies here would be coming to the ground floor shortly.

I swiftly shot two bullets towards the last raider still standing and missed hitting the wall behind the stallion. He laughed as he head-butted me onto the floor. The sheer force caused me to drop my gun. His howling continued as the pony began blindly throwing punches at my face. My eyes rapidly search for an out. The only thing next to me was a burnt book. I desperately reached for the item with my hoof. After a few tries, I grabbed the book and slammed the raider’s face with its corner which caused him to backpedal away from me. Wiping the blood out of my eyes with a hoof, I picked up my pistol and fired a single round into the stallion’s unprotected chest.

He stumbled backward and crashed into a cabinet behind him as four more ponies rushed up the stairwell from the basement and into the hallway. I stared at them coldly after breaking the unconscious stallion’s neck under my hoof.

The first pony up the stairs shot two rounds from his own pistol, which hit me square in the chest, knocking me back. I roared out in pain as they impacted my armor, mindlessly realizing that they'd probably leave some nasty bruises later. I regained my hoofing just in time to dodge the swing of a spiked bat from another enraged raider.

I jammed the heated barrel of my pistol into his face. I could smell the flesh start to burn. I proceeded to push him backward towards the other ponies. They opened fire on the poor soul. The stallion screamed out in agony as I used him as a meatshield. Using his momentum, I guided the now lifeless corpse of the pony into another raider, which caused both of them to fall down the stairway into the basement.

I turned to face the last two hostiles. The first was a large stallion covered in an unhealthy amount of spikes. The mare that followed him wore dried marks of blood on her face like a mask. I swung my hoof as hard as I could muster, hitting the mare in the face, and turned to shoot two rounds into the neck of the other. The remaining pony stumbled back as I thrusted my pistol into his face and tongued the trigger.

*click*

I looked down at my pistol and, to my surprise, I ran out of ammo. After a swift kick to the chest of the mare, I reloaded my pistol and fired a single round into her head, which caused the pony’s eyes to roll back lifelessly. I shook out my left flank as I prowled down the stairs.

It was a dimly lit basement with only a small hoof-full of candles keeping the place lit. As I slowly stepped down the stairs of the house, I removed the flatten bullets from my vest. I saw a cornflower-blue mare chained to one of the walls in the room. She wore a torn and bloody stable suit. The collar read the number 11. Behind her was the last raider, shakily holding a knife to the mare’s throat. His back left leg was bent like a straight razor.

“Don’t move or I’ll fucking kill her! T-the Goddess knows I will.” I took aim at the pony’s head. That caused the pony to press the blade a little tighter.

‘Fuck me sideways.’ I slowly lowered the pistol in my mouth to the floor, and a smile grew on the stallion as I did so.

He gestured with his blade to the far corner of the room, “you know what to do.”

The chained mare began to stir and woke up. Looking around wildly, she began violently trying to escape her cuffs. In her flails, she knocked the raider back into the basement’s concrete walls. The pony responded by knocking out the mare with his free hoof. Immediately, I galloped at full speed at the distracted stallion. With a rapid kick I freed the knife from the pony’s hoof.

With little hesitation, I turned the blade on it’s previous owner, slamming it right through his throat. A face of pure terror was the last look on his face as he stared into my own. I gave no emotion for him to feed on. Only an empty look from a pair of blue eyes.

As the fresh corpse dropped to the ground, I looked over to the unconscious pony on the wall. I let out a groan as I checked over the pony’s body in detail. Dark rings hung around both her eyes. Going down the rest of her body I located multiple cuts and gashes. Looking lower I noticed an area on her right flank where dry blood caked around a hole where flesh used to be. She would need to be patched up.

I looked over the lock that held her hooves in place. I couldn’t pick that lock. Remembering the bodies upstairs, I proceed to loot each corpse around the house, looking for the keys. After roughly half an hour I found two hoofuls of a variety of ammo, some medical supplies, and the keys for the locks.

On my return, I unlocked the mare from her chains and, carrying her on my back, trudged upstairs to treat her wounds.

Footnote: Level up.

New Perk: Sneering Imperialist -- You don’t take too kindly to raiders or junkies trying to “settle” or “stay alive” in civilized lands. Against raider and junkie types you do +15% Damage and gain unique dialogue options with them.

Chapter Two: Sea Mist {Redux}

Chapter 2: Sea Mist

“I think your destiny brought you here...”

The open red canyons that ran all across the mare’s body were cleaned and bandaged. Now a calamity of blood and towels lie scattered around the room. After concluding my small amount of medical assistance to her, I looked over myself. I slowly removed the weathered armor rig that wrapped around my body and rested it on the side of a faded flower green chair in the room. It squeaked and sighed as the iron plates pressed into it’s soft fabric.

I began painfully removing my shirt and duster as I glanced over at the mare that lied unconscious on the living room’s wooden coffee table. She was slightly smaller than most ponies, with a cutie mark of a film reel, and actually looked somewhat well fed. Clearly, the little pony had only recently left her underground prison before she was kidnapped by the rotting worm-food in the hallway. My mind pushed away the incoming ‘what if…’ thought. What was important is that she was safe now.

After a short review of my injuries, it was clear that most of the pellets would need to come out or the mushroom of infection would run through my aged body. I sifted through my saddlebags until locating a small orange container with a painted cross on it’s extender. This beauty was a medical kit given to me a long time ago. Opening the case revealed five white syringes, all neatly lined up. They all contained the same painkilling drug, morphine. Also, it was very easy to use, simply grab and inject the liquid directly into the bloodstream. The effect occurs shortly after and lasts for up to four hours. Or at least that’s what the chemist who made them said.

I carefully removed a single dose out of it’s protective strap and proceeded to roll it in my hoof. I fucking hate needles. Just the feeling of it penetrating through the skin silently makes my skin crawl. It’s unnerving.

With another hesitant second gone by, I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I injected myself with the needle. My ears sprang to life as I moaned out in pain, “Fuck…”

Wasting no time, I quickly removed a bottle of Applejack’s Crispy Apple Whiskey from my dusty bags and poured the liquid over my wound. My nerves began to dance as the drink made contact. I felt my ears drop down as I started to remove each pellet I could find out of my skin with my knife slowly. Each steel pellet hit the floor with a cheery little thunk. The wound was then bandaged using the clothes of the dead ponies in the house. It was kind of them to lend me a hoof like that.

The cornflower color mare groaned as she arose from her short nap.

“Goddesses my head hurts.” She held a hoof up to her head. Her body was swayed side to side as she looked blindly around the room.

“That’s good. Means you’re still alive.”

The mare’s head snapped in my direction and she violently jumped off the table, grabbing a knife off the ground. A small growl came from her as she began to shakingly try to defend herself.

I simply raised a hoof to try to calm her fiery nerves. “Relax. I’m the one that was killing the raiders, remember? Oh yeah, by the way, I fixed your suit. It’s on the chair to your right, along with your pipbuck.”

The white freckles on her muzzle started to soften as she looked around the room. The fresh corpses were visible just outside the room. She stood there silently as though she didn’t know how to reply. Then the unicorn started to put on her gear as I finished reapplying my own armor and clothing. I looked out the boarded windows and saw a clear sky. Well, as clear as the Wasteland let it be.

“The storm cleared up, so I’m heading out now. I’ll be wishing you safe travels.” I changed the filters on my respirator and set my watch for their usage.

The mare finally managed to squeeze out a small response. “Wait! Why did you do this? I mean, why did you save me?”

“Old habits die hard I guess. Well, to be honest, you could just say I was in the right place at the right time, stable dweller.”

“I seem to be getting that a lot up here. How about we restart? My name is Sea Mist. What’s your name?” She extended out a hoof to me.

Giving her a prolonged stare, I took her hoof and shook.

“Wildcard.”

“Nice to meet you, and thank you for saving me. That was mighty fine of you.”

She gave me a cheery pat on the back with a wide toothy smile. The cold casing of her pipbuck tickled my spine. This was a strange pony even compared to the ones I knew and that was saying something. Then Sea Mist did something I didn’t understand. The mare paused for a moment as she touched me. Her horn and amaranth eyes began to glow a brilliant shade of crimson.

I hesitated reaching for my gun asking, “What did you just do?”

“Now listen, Wildcard, would you mind if I traveled with you? It seems like you’re a decent pony and I feel like spending time with you would be a great benefit to both of our survival.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question. Just who are you?” This is why I rarely trust unicorns. They’re always up to something.

“Who am I? You already know who I am.” She stared at me with a big fake smile.

“You know what I meant. Before I travel with anyone I want to know everything about them. At least, enough to know that they won’t stab me in the back.”

“How to explain this? You know how Stable Tech built the stables and ran experiments in them, right? Well, I was born in Stable 11, an underground shelter with only unicorns. There, they were testing new and dangerous spells. The one that myself and quite a few others were a part of was nicknamed ‘chrono-vision’. The ability to see the past and the future. After centuries of failure, the spell itself was sadly highly successful, and it caused good ponies to turn on one another. All claiming to have seen the others cheat, steal, and even murder them. Chaos ensued as the overseer was murdered in the middle of night. There was so much noise. So much blood. I survived because I saw it coming and hid. The aftermath of the carnage was unspeakable. I-I just couldn’t stay there.” She brushed the floor with her hoof, shying away from me.

‘What do I say? Do I pity her or tell her, good job surviving?’ I stirred at the thought. Finally, I spoke. “Well, what did your spell tell you about me?”

“That you’re a stallion unable to control his...uh...feelings. A pony that wants to simply go home, but can’t. I-I can’t see why not. That you hope, upon enacting out your vengeance, that the feelings of failure and sorrow will release their choke hold on you. It’s so dark.”

“And what of the future, Sea Mist?” I asked quietly, almost hoping not to get an answer.

“I see you wearing a shattered mask while laying the mark of the old world to rest. At the end, you stand with the...um...rats, united. You filled them with hope. But in taking that one more step, they’ll never know your...um...sacrifice as you begin your travel on the eternal voyage. From there i-it’s all foggy. I’m sorry.”

We stood in a thick silence for what seemed like forever. Our gazes locked as if destiny itself came down and chained our two souls together. To be honest, I didn’t know what I expected when I asked her the question.

I quietly gestured for her to follow me out the door, and we walked in step with each other as we headed out towards the ruins of Canterlot.

*** *** ***

We had been traveling the wastes for a few days in silence except for the odd talks of where to set up camp and about supplies. As we approached the base of Cantorlot’s mountain, finally I found the courage to break the ice as we began our ascent to the ruins of the pre-war city.

“So, what’s it really like to live in one of those fancy stables? Must have been amazing having running water and clean food to eat.”

Sea Mist’s facial expression didn’t fade. ‘Come on Wildcard you can think of something! Anything will do really.’ Lost in thought, my gaze wandered to the castle atop the mountain of pink mist.

“You know, I’ve always enjoyed the stories of the past. The ideals of the two princesses and the legend of the Elements of Harmony. Sometimes I really find it hard to believe a world like that existed. A world filled with friendship wrapped around every being and endless horizon. Maybe one day the world can be warm again. . .one day.” I was studying the clouds through my monologue, hoping to find even the smallest crack in it’s never-ending grey gate, but it was as useless as trying to win zebra roulette with a loaded gun. Small tears formed in my eyes, which I swiftly wiped away with a hoof.

“I want to believe there’s a better future too. I want to dream. That’s why I’m traveling with you.” Sea Mist gestured with her hoof. “Because if you put your heart into it, your dream can’t fail.”

I gave the mare a soft smile. Sea Mist was smart, if not overly optimistic. She truly was one of a kind. Maybe I could share just the tiniest drop of her vast idealism in the future. One day. It’s nice to dream every once in a while.

My thoughts were stopped by the sound of music playing from my partner’s pipbuck. It was a country song from before the war that ended the world. I had never heard pre-war music before I came to Manehattan. Most of the music I grew up with was classic folk songs played on the guitar of an old trader. I tried to play once myself, but never really got into it. I leaned in closer to listen to the smooth voice on the radio.

"Well, princess, princess please come quick.
Cause I got something to admit.
Somewhere in dark I meet a pair strips out in the sticks,
The dark old sticks.
They approached with a devilish smile that stretched across their lips.
Don’t you know that,
The Zebras wear their stripes with pride?
As they march ever closer to taking our lives.
Crazed as a manticore as they walked through night.
I heard them howling as they passed me by."

The guitar riff of the song continued to play as I quickly put out a hoof to stop Sea Mist. She gave me a puzzling look.

“From here on out I need you to follow my exact movements. When the bombs fell on Canterlot, the zebra’s released a toxic pink gas here. It is extremely lethal.” I put extra emphasis on the final sentence.

“Why do you need to go to these ruins?”

“I thought you saw why with your spell.” I asked with a long questioning look.

Sea Mist facehoofed and advised me, “The spell only searches for what the user wants to see and is very cryptic about it. Magic isn’t this all powerful force, you know.”

I let an angry sigh release from my lips. “I’m looking for information on the only item that my ever-so-friendly miscreant took from me. The shipping manifesto I got stated that the object came out of the Canterlot ruins, so that’s why we’re here.”

Sea Mist gave an understanding nod and started to sharpen her blade with a rock from the earth.

“Is there a way to get through it without dying?” She asked.

“The only safe time to travel through is when it’s raining, so it looks like we’re gonna have to wait until the next rainfall. Shame we don’t have a pegasus around to schedule that for us, eh?”

The cornflower mare gave out a cute chuckle and grinned. “You’re right about that,” she replied.

My facial expression darkened as I thought once again about what Sea Mist told me. About my future. Was that really gonna be the end of my journey? Am I nothing more than a puppet controlled by some other pony’s strings? I continued to think about the seer’s words as I set up camp for the night.

Footnote: Level up.

New Perk: Daddy’s Colt -- Just like dear old father, you’ve devoted your time to patch up other creatures in need. You gain an additional 10 points to both the Science and Medicine skills.

Chapter Three: A Cold Deck {Redux}

Chapter 3: A Cold Deck

“To live without hope is to cease to live...”

The soft glow of a small fire illuminated the haunted walls of the tunnel. It seemed like all of life ended at the edge of the flame’s dull glow. I stared down at my readied machine gun. It was an old pre-war rifle colored in black and white with a flashlight on it’s right picatinny rail. A zebra rifle. I’ve only ever used one back at home...

I turned on the light’s weak beam and scanned the area. Something wasn’t right. I could sense it. Suddenly, quick, staccato hoofsteps filled the silent void of darkness. In a panic I shouted, as I flicked the safety switch of my rifle off, “Stop!”

Whatever it was retreated further into the wall of black. With my tongue on the trigger, I slowly moved into the unknown until it completely engulfed me. The pipes that ran along the walls sang a melody of silence that filled the air. The tunnel that I traveled was totally black, and an unusual, total absolute darkness reigned. It was frightening. Like a porous sponge, the shroud greedily swallowed the ray of my flashlight, which hardly illuminated even a foot ahead of me. After a while of wandering aimlessly, the gentle sound of crying began to bounce throughout the tunnel, breaking the vivid silence. I eased my weapon down, searching frantically for the source.

To my left was a very young filly with unnaturally pale green eyes that was curled up in one of the tunnel’s many alcoves. Her heavy sobbing halted as we locked eyes. I held out a hoof to her and tried to speak, but my voice refused to call out. Instead, it left my throat in the form of a weak, quiet breath. The small filly rose to her hooves and pulled out an old, faceless book from the darkness. She whispered a single sentence that rang in my ears as she opened the book.

“Will you help us, Wildcard?”

I blinked, and the filly disappeared as the endless darkness of the tunnel was replaced with a frozen wasteland. A dead city of broken concrete and restless spirits. The sound of rapid crackling projected from my left hoof. I pulled it up to find a simple Geiger counter adjacent to my watch. The lone arrow of the small machine rocked violently in the red area of it’s scale. Instinctively, I reached to my back and pulled out a gas mask. The seal of the protective mask clasped snuggly around my face as I set an alarm on my watch. My hot breath periodically caused a small amount of condensation on the cool glass of the mask’s transparent lenses. I removed the zebra rifle from its resting place on the snowy ground and scanned through the snowfall.

The flakes of snow grew heavier and heavier as a loud roar ripped through the air. A huge pack of deformed ghouls were all staring at me. Drool was slowly dripping off their rotting, broken teeth onto the white ground below as they licked their lips.

Without remorse, I unloaded multiple bursts from my firearm into the thick crowd of crazed mutants. Five ghouls burst into blinding flames as I continued firing nonstop. The ghouls galloped towards me through the snow like an angry wave assaulting a beach. I started slowly backing up as I fired until the conductor of dread began to play his tune. Fear spread throughout my body as the bolt of the rifle locked back into place, accompanied by a deafening click. The sound caused the horde of ghouls to go berserk as they ran after me faster than before. I quickly threw my empty rifle to the ground and ran away.

I never ran so fast in my whole life. My heart felt like it was punching through my chest as I ducked into the basement of a ruined home. Quickly catching my breath, I gazed out the cellar’s small window in horror as the ghouls found a new prey. In the snow were three bodies quaking in fear: two unicorns and a small zebra.

Again, the filly’s heavy question echoed through the air, much louder this time.

“Will you help us, Wildcard?” She spoke again.

My body reacted before my mind did as the small group began to flee from the enraged horde of undead beasts. My hooves glided over the snowy terrain towards the conflict as I raced to help. My brow grew serious as I drew nearer. I watched as the party hastily ran into a run-down donut cafe for protection. They were followed closely by the beasts that gave chase. The horde crashed through the windows and door toward their prey.

As I finally reached the entrance of the building, screams of agony rang out. I felt my brow furrow and my mouth open slightly in my mask. The pupils of my eyes grew to glossy, full moons as I watched the horde devour the small group alive. My ears drooped as the young zebra reached out his hoof to me. Flesh and blood began to slowly engulfed the colt as he weakly pleaded with streams of tears running down his face.

“Please. . . help us. .”

My heart sunk, as if stabbed by the dagger of failure. I darted my eyes away and found myself face to face once again with the filly, now in a snow-white, unfurnished room. She still had the book open, now with the title: D6. With a soft movement, I removed the novel from her hooves and closed the book.

*** *** ***

I awoke to the sound of soft raindrops. After hours of waiting, lady luck blessed us with rain. But the mistress always had a sick sense of humor. She gave us a huge, roaring thunderstorm and, of course, started in the middle of the night.

I thought over the dream I had. It was strange. Whenever I dreamed before, I simply told myself it was just the fruit of an excited imagination, but this one felt real. The filly’s eyes filled with an incomprehensible uneasiness, an expectation of something very significant, something that might happen at any moment. . .

Sea Mist was awake, too, and was getting completely soaked. Avoiding her eyes, I offered her my duster, still partially trapped in thought. She gladly accepted it and quickly put on the coat. Now, the tears of the sky pitter-pattered down the sides of her worn duster. Matching the rhythmic sound of the rain, we trotted up to the edge of the pink mist. I didn’t even bother putting on my mask. From the stories I heard from other couriers, it wouldn’t help me here.

I slowly gestured to Sea Mist to stop and held out my pistol to her. “Like I said before, follow me and don’t stop moving until we get to the Ministry Walk. There will be many feral ghouls along the way. Don’t waste any rounds unless you have to. You know how to use that right?”

Mist hesitantly nodded and took the weapon in a pale, light blue telekinetic grasp. She studied the many scars and welded marks that covered the pistol’s skin. ‘Goddesses, I hope she knows what she’s doing.’

“What’s Ministry Walk?” she asked with a confused look.

“Did they never teach you history down in those stables? The Ministry Walk is the area of Canterlot where all the ministry buildings are located. Thanks to this,” I held up the shipment list, “I know exactly where the stolen tape came and maybe, just maybe, it’ll give me a lead on where the Suit that shot me is. I know it's a big maybe, but at least there is a chance.”

I gave Sea Mist a shrug as she stared at me blankly.

“So your whole ‘plan’ on tracking down the pony that tried to kill you is based on chance.” She stated with complete disbelief.

I could see why she was skeptical and she was right to be. But I needed this to work. Not only for me, but for Ivy.

“Well,” I smiled, “it hasn’t failed me yet! Let’s go. The Ministry Walk isn’t getting any closer.”

I heard a very regretful sigh from behind before Mist followed me into the accepting pink misty clouds.

*** *** ***

We tactically moved through the abandoned buildings of the ruined city, avoiding ghouls along the way until we reached the Ministry Walk. A plaza watched over by six ministry heads stood before us. We watched as the rain combined with the pink water of the center fountain, causing it to overflow and puddle on the ground. Six preserved buildings encircled the plaza silently, with the shadow of the ruined castle of the princesses overcasting it in the moonlight. It was the broken ghost of what was once a great government, now basking in the light of it’s ultimate failure. This was the Ministry Walk I was told about. It didn’t disappoint.

At the back of the plaza was the building I was looking for, the towering building of the Ministry of Wartime Technology. The complex matrix of glass panes remained, surprisingly, clear after all these years of fallout. It’s masculine simplicity completely dominated over the rest of the ministry buildings.

I turned to Mist and pointed to the doors of the three story building. She nodded and we quickly made our way across the pink misted atrium. Opening the doors, Mist rushed into the building’s lobby. I closed the door behind me as I followed behind her, but something caught my eye. I could have sworn I saw something moving on the roofs of the buildings. Something fast and almost completely green amidst the pink cloud. I informed Sea Mist as we walked towards the building’s front desk.

The corpse of a receptionist hung over the center of the wooden desk next to a still working computer. I moved the body over as I began searching on the computer.

“You don’t mind if I use this, right?” I asked jokingly to the lifeless body.

Most of the online connections were cut long ago, but lucky for me I was just looking for directions. Upon scouring the database of the offline computer, I found what I was looking for. In the building was a paper archive of important information. It was listed as containing information on a project titled D6. My thoughts raced once again.

This couldn’t have been a random chance, could it? Was this fate?

My curiosity took hold as I wrote down the room's location on a piece of torn paper from one of the dusty desk’s drawers. I closed out of the system to cover my tracks and walked over to Sea Mist, who was gazing out the window.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Well, I found a location for the information, I think.” The response didn’t spark any change out of the mare’s face. Then I noticed she was shivering, but not for the rain.

“What’s wrong? Did you see something?” I asked worried.

“Something feels wrong about this place. It’s like we’re raiding peaceful graves,” she paused for a moment. “Let's just get what you need and get out of here fast.”

I gave her a sympathetic nod and waved her to follow me. Thanks to the data found off the computer, we easily found the archives room in the building in no time. The door was simple, with an intercom on it’s right. Sea Mist tugged on the cold metal handle with a strong magical grasp. The door refused to give ground to it’s new opponent. She gave the floor a frown. I began scanning each and every dusty crack in the hallway for another way in the sealed tomb.

Above the door was a steel cover of an air vent. Who knows where it would lead to? I poked Mist on the shoulder gesturing to the vent.

“You can’t be serious.” She was visibly uncomfortable just staring at the enclosed space.

“It looks like the only possible way in and I’m a little too big to fit in there. Do you mind helping out? Because the faster we get in there,” I pointed to the locked room, “the faster we can leave this cursed place.”

With a heavy sigh she replied, “Fine.”

I walked under the vent, ready to support the mares weight. Sea Mist hopped onto my back and began to slowly unscrew the air vent’s cover. After a small period of waiting, and a bit of back pain, she magically lowered the cover onto the ground with a soft thud. I felt weight lift off my shoulders as Sea Mist began to venture into the vent.

As I saw I was alone, I sat down next the door and began reviewing the contents of my travel bag. A lighter given to me by my late father followed by my orange medical kit were organized first. I continued arranging filters, batteries, bullets, and other supplies until my hoof touched a small tan book at the bottom. I pulled out the journal. It was a very worn book with the symbol of the old-world printed on it, just like my coat. It showed an eclipse ending as the moon began uncovering the sun’s light. A pair of wings were encasing the circle, each different from the other. Next to the moon was a dark blue wing with the ending feather appearing to mimic the night sky, like shiny nails hammered into a shell of darkness. Next to the sun was a bright white wing with rainbow end-feathers. Below the picture was the words: ‘If Not Us, Then Who?’

I failed to hold back a simile as I stared down at the relic. I used to write in this journal all the time when I was young. It tells the tales of heroes, fall of villains, and more wild adventures from the mind of a small colt in the dark world. I pulled a pencil out of my bags and began writing about the events of the past few days. Someday, I would look back at this tale and laugh.

But during all this happy thought, my recent dream hung over me like a shadow. Was it real, and if so who needed help? Where were they? What was D6? I pushed aside the thoughts as I began reading what I wrote.

My peaceful bliss was cut short by the sudden sound of what seemed to be movement. I quickly put the journal down and readied my rifle to what I thought was it’s location. I slowly rounded the hall’s corner to check what could be lurking just around and found. . .nothing. Just the sight of a single light, still on after all these years, flickering on and off down the hall. I felt cold, as if the air had begun to drop in temperature. I slowly crept back to the door and cleaned up my mess, making sure to not lose sight of the end of the hall. I put my bag back on and waited.

A loud crack caused me to jump out of my skin. I whipped around to find Sea Mist opening the once sealed room. She looked at me up and down, she smiled, and said, “you didn’t miss my company that much, did you?”

I didn’t realize my face looked like something out of one of the pre-war posters about zebras. I removed the look on my muzzle with a slight blush and walked past her into the room.

Metal shelves covered every wall in the room. Every drawer in the archives of different shapes and sizes with small labels above their handles. I frantically began tearing up the room in search of anything about the holotape. The metal drawers seemed to fly out the shelves as Sea Mist and I looked for information.

There was everything in here, from documents about the development of the first power armor to the creation of Steel Rangers. They didn’t matter to me as I tossed them back into their drawer. But just at that moment a label caught my eyes. A small drawer with the flawless label of: D6. My curiosity peaked as I carefully opened the drawer.

Inside was a small documents folder with the project title of ‘The Dragon’s Den’. The picture of the ministry’s logo was covered by a big red ‘Classified’ sticker.

I blew off the dust on the folder’s cover. Sea Mist approached me and looked over my shoulder at the folder.

“Is that what we’re here for?” She asked excitedly.

I didn’t respond to her question. I was too encapsulated by the contents of the folder. The project, as they called it, was a backup plan in case the zebra nation decided to attack the survivors from the stables. With the help of a third party, a secret Metro line was constructed under the diverse city of Stalliongrad. Being next to the already existing metro system, it was perfectly hidden in plain sight. The underground rail lines ended at a huge government ‘storage’ station, as the public knew it as, doubled as a megaspell factory and launch site. They were preparing for the continuation of the war, but they could have never predicted this grim future. Flipping through the pages of documents, I reached a page about the Metro’s protection against balefire bombs and megaspells. The whole Metro, with the help of stable tech, was converted into Equestria’s largest fallout bunker. Hermetic barriers and airlock-sealed entrances were found all around the underground railways, and could easily keep its occupants safe for years. It also described the serial number of a hooful of holotapes that could unlock all of the Metro.

I grabbed the shipment paper out of my bag and compared the two items' serial numbers. They matched each other verbatim. Sea Mist shook me, trying to gain my attention.

“Is that it? Wildcard, what’s wrong with you?” She asked quietly.

I just couldn’t stop staring at the document. Stalliongrad’s Metro. My home. The holotape. It all was some clever joke that the Goddesses themselves made up to tease me. To give me false hope. The document shook in my hoof as I closed it and placed it into my bag. I avoided Sea Mist’s amaranth eye as I continued to dive deeper into thought.

If that holotape was a master key to all the Metro, then why would that group want it? Do they know about D6? If so, why did they want access to it?

The thoughts raced through my head like a pegasus in the air. Pain splintered across my right cheek as Mist slapped me. Her hoof left part of my face red as she looked at me, concerned.

“I’ve seen that face before. What is wrong? What’s in that document?”

“We have to go to Stalliongrad,” I replied sheepishly.

“Is that where you think those folks are? That far up north?”

I paused, then spoke with complete conviction, “I’m sure. Let’s get out of here.”

As we walked out into the hallway, Sea Mist persisted with her questioning. She wanted an answer.

“Why are you acting so cold?! Just telling me what’s in the damn file!”

“It’s a project from the old world that was built at my home, Stalliongrad’s Metro. I’m sure that’s where that group is. You can call it destiny or whatever, but that’s where I need to go. You don’t have to come along. It’s not your home.”

As the words left my mouth I saw a blast of magic shoot out from the end of the hall. Quickly, I tackled Sea Mist out of the blast’s path. I locked gazes with our new foe, a green alicorn encased inside a shiny lime green dome. The mutant smiled and spoke.

“Well what do we have here? A pair of lost wanders exploring the ruins of the old world. This should be fun! We’ve been so utterly bored here. Why don’t you entertain us?”

The alicorn laughed uncontrollable as I got up and readied my rifle.

“We don’t mean any trouble. We got what we came for so we’ll be leaving now.” I flicked off my firearm’s safety switch and glared.

She continued to laugh through her response. “You’re quite the card, but do you really think a pathetic pony like you could ever best us?! Enough of this! Unity doesn’t need a rat like you.”

The alicorn shot another blast of green magic before I could react. I caught the shot right in the middle of my chest armor. A sharp pain cracked from inside my chest as the force of the blast slammed me back into a wall. My breath escaped my lungs as I tried to race to catch it once again. My eyes began to pulse with pain as I looked at the alicorn.

She approached me with a small victorious swagger in her walk. “This ends now, and you,” she pointed at Sea Mist, who was stunned on the ground looking helpless, “are next.”

Her shield dropped as the horn grew a bright green, warming up the air, as she readied a killing blow. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mist slowly float a pistol silently towards the back of the alicorn's head. With a quick flash, the beast’s head had a new hole in it, that ran from the back of it’s skull through its left eye, that blood began to pour out of. The alicorn had a look of complete surprise as her body fell limp on the floor. I looked over to my savior.

“Holy shit. Thanks for the help,” I said in a harsh whisper.

“No problem!” Sea Mist said with a smile. “Now let’s get the hell out of here before more of these fucking creatures show up.”

I nodded in silent agreement, and we began to move towards the exit of the building once again. In the cover of the late evening’s darkness, we escaped out of Ministry Walk down the ruins of the once great city, now covered in pink mist, to the safety of the base of the grey mountain.

*** *** ***

Home.

It was strange to think about where I was born. The Metro was where I took my first toxic breath. My first steps into a dark, broken world. A place that first showed me the horrors of the Wasteland. It was where I was supposed to die. Just like everyone before me.

We were on the road again and Sea Mist couldn’t stop peppering me with questions.

“What’s the Metro? You called it home, but what are you doing here? Why didn’t you go back?”

Her mouth raced on and on as the gravel of the broken road crunched softly under my hooves. I finally looked at her and spoke.

“You want to know about the Metro? My home?”

She nodded, anxiously waiting for my answer.

Footnote: Level up!

New Perk: Rad Resistance -- +25% radiation resistance permanently.

Chapter Four: The Forest

Chapter 4: The Forest

“Free at last! This should be fun. . .or dangerous, even better right?”

I took a deep breath of stale tasting air as Sea Mist and I began our long journey to the city of Stalliongrad. The gravel of the old road crunched under our hooves. I finally had enough of Mist’s questions and without losing pace asked, “So you want to know about Metro? My home?”

Her eyes beamed with life as she looked at me, anxiously waiting for an answer. Clearing my throat, I began to tell her of home.

“The Metro. It’s the final stronghold of all sentient life in Stalliongrad. There the species of many different nations survived the horrific effects of the megaspells. Seeing themselves trapped, they survived by farming mushrooms, which need little to no light, and by trying to keep order within the tunnel system. They formed makeshift cities from the stations. Everything from government to schools and housing can be found there. But like the world that preceded, it didn’t take long for war to break out. Like I said before, multiple species survived by retreating into the Metro’s safe underground walls. That included members of the Zebra Nation. Both blamed the other for the outcome of the war, and for years they killed each other over it. Some ponies signed a treaty and assimilated all stations of the middle line of the metro. These pony-only cities called themselves The Old Guard. Just across a short underground bridge stood a collective of Zebra-only stations who called themselves The Stripes. The government in each respective group rose out of the ideology and bureaucracy of the old world.

“Of course, there were those who didn’t pick a side and decided to either stay independent or join the Ring. The Ring is made up of traders that live in the transfer stations of the Metro. The Guard and the Stripes fought until the members of each group forgot what the war was about. They fought until a small collection of ponies, zebras and other races had enough of the pointless bloodshed. This faction brought a stop to the old war and took over the massive middle stations of the Metro. Together, this group formed The Order. The Order protects and polices as much of the Metro as possible with what troops they have. They’re true heroes back home.”

I paused to glance at Sea Mist, who was captivated by the story. Silently she hung on to every little detail as if trying to picture a world where every race lived in peace. I pulled out a canteen from my bags and threw back my head to take a swig. The semi-fresh water revived my dry throat. I offered Mist a drink before continuing.

“It may seem like a happy ending, but I left out the most important part out of the Metro and the frozen world above it. During the war, not only were megaspells dropped on the city, but biological weapons as well. This turned everything that didn’t die in the spells’ blast to mutate into horrific, otherworldly beasts. Everyday down there is a fight just to exist. Pony and Zebrakind lost their spot as the alpha predators. Now everyone down there is the prey just trying to prolong their existence.”

I let out a long sigh that depressed both my body and my soul. It was true that the mutated beasts were something to fear. But I didn’t know what was worse, the beasts or the inhabitants of the stations themselves. I decided that it was best to leave this fact out.

Sea Mist shifted on her hooves.

“What about the stables?” she asked. “I thought all Equestrian cities had some.”

“There are stables there, but only two. Stable 27, which hadn’t been opened last time I was there, and Stable 43.”

I paused. This caused Mist to raise a questioning brow at me.

“What happened to Stable 43?” she stepped closer to me..

“No one really knows,” I responded quietly. “All that is known is that nothing is known about that stable. But I had heard this from a trader a long time ago. . . Tell me, do you believe in ghosts?”

“You mean like the ones that roam around the wasteland?” she responded, barely managing to hold back a chuckle with her hoof.

“Are you serious? You stepped out into a world where ponies eat each other just to stop the constant pain in their stomachs. . . Or just for fun of it.”

Her eyes grew a little as she realized what I was hinting at. My nerves slightly burnt as Sea Mist punched my left side. I winced in pain.

“Don’t tell me that you’re only interested in things you can see and feel. Do you really believe that the world is only constructed around those things? Take a mole for example. You know what a mole is, right?”

Sea Mist nodded her head slowly.

“Good. Well they can’t see. They’re blind from birth, but that doesn’t mean that everything that a mole doesn’t see doesn't actually exist. If you. . .”

“OK! Enough with the example. So what’s this story? What did the trader tell you about the stable?” she rudely interrupted, leaning an ear towards me.

“Well, the trader met this one stallion that lived in one of the northern stations of the Ring. They call it Sun station. Over there, they have a direct passage to Stable 43. But no one lives beyond that edge of the northern tunnel until Sparkle station. The only thing there is a Ring patrol. They take measures to protect it. They think since the space is uninhabited, you never know what will crawl out of it, and so they made it a buffer zone there. No one goes beyond that line. They say that there is nothing there. That it’s a complete dead zone: not an animal, not any kind of vermin, there’s not even rats there!”

I took the drink back from Sea Mist’s magic and placed it back into my bags. She leaned towards me, eager to hear more. I studied the clouds as I playfully said, “But I’m just some crazy stallion, and clearly you don’t want to hear this. Just an old pony’s tale.”

Her face reddened and ears perked up at the statement. “No! Tell me!”

“Ah, so you are interested!? Well let me continue then. This stranger told the trader that he actually went pretty far into the Stable. He said that you could walk forever there and never hear a soul. There’s nothing and no one. Only the sound of dripping water softly hitting the floor. Abandoned stations just sit there in darkness. They always make you feel like you’re in danger. Well, this stallion explored that stable for about a full day. I would love to visit Stable 43 and find its secrets, but alone? That’s insane. Tired from all the walking, the stallion decided to spend the ‘night’ there. Finding some old clothes in the Stable, he lit a fire so the night wouldn’t be too awful and crawled into his sleeping bag. He fell asleep next to the fire and all seemed well, but in the middle of the night he’s awoken by a strange sound. A completely sanity-challenging and impossible sound. Covered in a cold sweat, he jumped up. He heard fillies’ laughter coming from within the stable. He’s miles away from the nearest station! Rats don’t even live there! Could you imagine?”

Sea Mist’s mouth was agape. She asked, “What happened next?”

“Well the stallion, now all wild-eyed, tried to search for the source. In the room next to him was a family of ponies having a conversation in total silence! Not a single sound. The fillies he saw were playing with dolls on the floor. They were all smiling. The stallion sat down and stared at the merry scene in shock. One of the young fillies then looked at him. Looked directly at him, pointed and laughed. . . And the laughter was audible. He rubbed his eyes with his hooves and glanced at the room again. Nothing. The family was gone. He only heard the sound of his own heartbeat in the horrific silence.”

“Then he woke up?” the small mare asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

“If only! The stallion ran back to his extinguished fire, quickly gathered his things and then galloped back to Sun station. He never stopped until he saw the lights of his home.”

I finished my story and gazed at Sea Mist, who had gone quiet, completely frozen from what she heard. Then she asked as indifferently as she could, “You actually believe all that?”

“Well, it’s not the only story I heard about Stable 43, “ I replied. “I just haven’t told you the rest. It's just not easy to talk to somepony about this topic. Anyone who would listen would usually interrupt and leave. But that’s enough ghost stories for now.”

I pulled out my map and began to study its crude markers.

“We need to head to the Black Forest to recover my gear or we won’t be able to enter the border of the frozen city. Let’s just hope the locals are still nice.”

Sea Mist tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, “The locals?”

Still following the map, I replied curtly, “A group of zebras that survived the war. They farmed the land there and like to keep to themselves. In my opinion, they’re alright.”

Mist nodded slowly and followed me.

‘I hope they haven’t changed.’

*** *** ***

As we entered the Black Forest, the sky was snuffed out by the thick tree cover. Only a few dim beams of light broke through and hit the earth’s soft body. We walked quickly, looking out for any signs of life. After an hour of trotting in the forest, we came upon a very ornate sign written in what appeared to be some sort of tribal language. I spent a few minutes trying to decipher the message, but to no avail. Now slightly pissed about my recent failure, I continued down the path with Sea Mist close behind.

Ahead of us was a small village built into and around the thick oak trees of the forest. Bridges, made from old, rusty scrap metal, animal bones, and wood connected the tree huts that hung in the sky. Torches dimly illuminated the ring of darkness that surrounded the only direct natural light that had broken through the leaf cover overhead. In the light stood the makeshift statue of a zebra, adorned with multiple shades of blue and green that shone in the sun’s beams. The statue held a book in it’s left hoof and raised it’s right hoof towards the sky, as if it was trying to speak. A group of young colts and fillies were gathered underneath the colorful idol. A mare wearing the skull of a wolf on her head was speaking to the crowd as she read from a book.

“The Teacher has brought us many things, young ones. The gift of reading, writing, and more. Do not forget who guided us into safety. The Teacher was buried here where the most holy light touches. Never forget that.”

The children echoed in chorus, “Never forget!”

Sea Mist began to cower behind me. I didn't blame her. She had never seen a living zebra till that day. I looked at the faces of the young fillies, a sea of black and white.

‘They don’t know anything about the horrors of the world outside of these woods, and hopefully they never have to.’

I didn’t slow my pace when the mare noticed me. I gave her and the zebra crowd a small wave. The young fillies and colts stared in wonder at my party. I put on my best smile as I spoke.

“Haki, it’s been a long time old friend. Still teaching, eh?”

With a hearty laugh the zebra replied, “Ah, Wildcard. I just can’t seem to give it up, you know? So, are you finally going to take my offer and rejoin the Pioneers? We could use a great warrior like you again.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

Haki’s grin turned sour. “I was afraid you were going to say that.” She turned to the children, “Young ones, you may return home. Today's lesson is over. Just remember that the Teacher is always watching.”

The group nodded their heads and ran off in different directions, laughing and screaming in joy. Haki returned her gaze to me. She gestured with her head for me to follow her to a large colorful hut behind the statue.

As we walked towards the door of the building, many zebras, covered in different colors of body paint and clothing, stared down at us from the sky bridges in both wonder and disgust. Some even spat down at us. Haki raised the leather belt door and let us inside.

The hut consisted of two floors, a huge open main floor and an upstairs where Haki lived. The main floor contained a desk covered in books and papers, a short distance away from a fire that was in the middle of the room. On top of it sat a black cauldron with a purple liquid boiling inside. To the right of the open fire was a short table with two vermilion cushions on either side of it. Censers hung from the roof, filling the room with sweet-smelling smoke. The zebra closed the curtains to the only window in the space.

“Your visit here will bring quite the unrest, friend. So tell me, why are you here?” Haki asked as she walked over to the table and sat down on one of the cushions. Sea Mist and I followed her, sitting on the opposite side of her.

I nervously looked down at the scratches on the dark wood table. “I need my gear back. I’ve decided to return home.”

“I see. Going back to embrace the cold of the Dead City? Well, you know that in order to break the deal with the tribe you must pass the trial of the stars. Are you prepared to take on such a task?”

The question dangled in the air. ‘Fuck.’ The trial was what I dreaded.

“Do you know where the Master is?” I asked quietly, breaking the silence.

“Yes.”

Sea Mist finally spoke, “What are you two talking about? The trial of the stars and the ‘Master’ what are they? Why can’t Wildcard just grab his things and go?”

“I made-”

“Let me explain,” Haki cut me off. “Wildcard, the spartan, he took an oath to our people to forget his old life and start anew under the Teacher. For eleven moons he helped defend us from bandits and beasts alike. There was peace until the twelfth. My brother, Kifo, was unhappy with the spartan’s presence, claiming that he brought the bandits to our lands. He wanted to end the battle before it started. So in the middle of the night, he and a few of his new followers, calling themselves the ‘Protectors’, the damn fools—” Haki stopped and bowed her head. “Sorry Teacher. They went and killed all of them. Kifo returned covered in blood and demanded to see the spartan. Against my wishes, Wildcard went to face him, but instead of bloodshed, they talked and you left.”

Her hoof was pointed at me shortly as if waiting for an answer. Then Haki turned to Sea Mist. “But that no longer matters. Little one, in order for the spartan to regain the burdens of his old life, he must pass the trial of the stars. He must kill the Master of the Forest and then never return to this place after he is done.”

“But what is the Master?” Mist asked, shaking a little as she leaned towards the zebra.

Haki stood up and walked to the boiling cauldron. She grabbed a dirty jar off a nearby shelf and sprinkled in its contents of what looked like dried yellow leaves. As the leaves hit the boiling liquid in the cauldron, a small explosion of transparent dark blue smoke rose from the pot, overpowering the light in the room. Slowly, a face with blood red eyes and equally as crimson teeth formed in the wavy mist. Small white dots appeared all over its dark blue outline like shiny nails hammered all over a dark dome. The beast gave out a roar as Haki finally continued.

“The Master of the Forest is a beast made from the stars above. Its strength is second to none. It was the Teacher’s belief that anyone who could stand up to the might of the Master could overcome whatever troubles their past contained. That is the trial, young one.”

The smoke from the pot dimmed as Haki grabbed a hoof-drawn map and a bottle of fizzing red liquid from the desk in the room. She handed me both, which I placed into my bags. She warned me, “The Master can be found wandering the cliffside down by the Rushing Falls. I marked it on that map for you. But be careful, Kifo’s ‘Protectors’ are also over there, and the Forest Court can’t control them. Please, spartan, they are nothing more than children whose minds are being twisted to a dark version of the Teacher’s lessons. They don’t deserve to die for it.”

“I’ll try,” I responded softly.

“Good. Now, go find the Master and complete your trial. That bottle will strengthen you, but only for five minutes. Use it wisely, spartan.”

I bowed my head to Haki and stood up. I walked over to the door and Sea Mist tried to follow me. I stopped her at the door.

“You can’t come with Mist. This is a trial for one, and it’s very dangerous out there.” I looked to Haki and pleaded with my eyes. “Could she stay here? The mare knows only the basics of survival, so could you teach her? Please? I know I’m aski-”

“After what you’ve done for us, I would be honored,” she stated boldly.

I looked down at Sea Mist again. She was visibly displeased, but walked over to Haki’s side. With that, I walked out of the hut and into the village.

Following the map given to me, I exited out the north of the village towards the Rushing Falls.

*** *** ***

Countless hours passed as I trotted, with my rifle in hoof, through an endless mirror of trees. Branches and dead leaves crunched under my hooves as I grew closer to my destination. I let my mind wander to prevent boredom from killing. I thought about the days spent patrolling these woods and how everything changed. Nothing was the same as before.

Suddenly, the sound of movement brought my senses back. Quickly I readied my weapon to the general location. I waited and listened to every sound in the forest. Only a small breeze and the rustle of tree branches were audible. I scanned the area cautiously as I kept my gun trained on where the noise came from.

Out of the trees bursted a small pack of three wolves. I took aim but couldn't fire off a shot before they ran past me deeper into the forest.

‘What the fuck?! What kind of crazy shrooms are they on?’

They vanished as fast as they came. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to move down the dirt trail. After a few minutes I could hear the sound of running water, and then caught sight of it. A huge, sallow blue-green river laid before me. To the right of this clearing was a cliffside where the fluid jumped to the bottom. Rocks were placed randomly in the waterway, and almost made a makeshift bridge to the otherside of the channel. With nothing else around the area, I took out my water canteen and filled it with water. Before capping it, I took a small swig of the liquid. I felt it bit back, undoubtedly irradiated to tartarus. Like all water in the wasteland.

I then gazed into the horizon and my eyes widened. ‘Wow…’ Looking over the cliff was a breathtaking carpet of dark green that stretched out below a bright twilight evening in all directions. From the way I came, Canterlot’s glory was still visible on the horizon. It’s pink glow shone brightly even from here. Directly in front of me was the huge city of Hoofington. I’ve never been, but it’s towering buildings and soft green glow made me very hesitant to visit.

Finally, I glanced to the left and saw home. A mass of dark grey clouds hovered over the dead city, dropping endless waves of snow and leaving the visible buildings covered with a thick layer of frost. Even the area surrounding the city was covered with frozen water. Small winged beasts were circling around the cities’ last standing skyscrapers.

‘Demons.’ I thought as my spine tingled, and I tightened my hold on my rifle. ‘I would rather be sent to the moon for a thousand years than try to fight those bitches again.’

As I placed my canteen back into my bags, an ear-deafening roar ripped throughout the air. Birds quickly flew away from the branches they were perched on. Turning around, I saw trees loudly being pushed out of the way by a mighty force. I swiftly took out the bottle of liquid Haki gave me and drank it down. The taste of raw rat combined with lemon hit my tastebuds. I hit myself in the chest to stop me from throwing up and took aim at the sound. I felt my blood start to move faster and my veins began to pop out. My mind cleared and vision was now hyper saturated.

The tree in front of me was ripped aside by a huge bear-like creature. Its body was covered with stars, as if the night sky itself was ripped out to the earth below. Its crimson eyes stared down at me, piercing my soul. Without hesitation, I unloaded bullets into the Master. Each round had no effect on the beast as he charged towards me, swiping wildly.

I barely dodged its claw as I rolled out of its way onto a rock and continued to shoot. This did nothing but annoy the creature as it lunged for me again. That time I wasn’t so lucky. Its left paw slashed me across my chest. The Master’s claw left a collection of sparks flying through the air as it left a huge mark across my armor. The force of the hit knocked me into the water, coming to a halt at the edge of the cliff, and I watched as my rifle flew off the cliff. I raced to catch my breath as the beast approached its prey, but before it could kill me, the current of the water pulled me over the edge and into the dark unknown below.

*** *** ***

‘Fuck!’

My body crashed against another rock under the water.

‘Come on!’

The overpowering current of the water pulled me wildly in the darkness as I tried and failed to escape its grasp over and over. After a painful few minutes, I got my head out of the surface and rapidly looked around for a way out of the water. A little bit down the rushing river were the roots of a big tree sticking out into the water. I prepared myself the best I could to grab the roots. Successfully, I grabbed the roots with my teeth and my right hoof, stopping my momentum and, with a great effort, I pulled myself out of the river and onto the dry ground. I coughed up water and searched around the area. Nothing but thick trees met my sight.

‘Where in Celestia’s name am I?’

Night had fallen while I was in the water, so I made a fire with the sticks and twigs around the impromptu campsite. I removed my armor and clothes and dried them next to the flame. I placed my soaked bag on the ground to check what the damage was. Using the flickering light, I began pulling items out.

The hoofmade maps were torn into nothing more than wet ink and shredded paper. I tossed the now useless directions behind me. Next, I felt around the soggy bag for my plastic medical case. Pulling it out with my hoof, I opened the cover and, to my relief, the contents were completely dry. I removed my journal. It's dark leather cover kept most of the water out of the page, but the paper would need to be dried. Other little bits and bobs were removed from my bag as I placed them around the fire to dry along with my clothes.

I laid on my back and looked to the sky for answers. Not to any particular question. The rapid movement of blood in my veins settled down as I studied the lines of the clouds. For years I wanted nothing more than to see the sun. To be wrapped in what the books in the Metro called its ‘warm hug’. That when I got out of the Dead City, that everything would be fine. I don’t really know why I thought that, because reality is often disappointing. My thoughts wandered for a while till I fell asleep.

*** *** ***

I raised my head from my desk and listened to the soft hums of a radio scanner. I began turning the small green gem on the device, searching for any radio chatter. The soft, dim red light made the numbers on the dial hard to see, so instead of looking for numbers I just listened. That was my job for the day. Wait for a response and respond by the Order’s protocol.

Time slipped away as I rocked from side to side, waiting for a call. My eyes began to search the tiny room for anything to do. All that was there were cracks on the wall, a small mirror on the desk, and a single picture that hung on the cork board to my right. I squinted to see the details on the drawing. In the frame were two figures, a young pony, beaming, standing next to a smiling zebra stallion. In the tan pony’s hooves was a badge he presented to the painter. A pair of wings surrounding an eclipse.

‘When they talked about the Order, it was always the battles they fought. No one ever said anything about the boring jobs!’

I stared at the dull grey void of the walls. My ears perked up at a gargled call that came through the headset. I pick up the headphones to listen to the message.

I pressed the unmute button and spoke, “This is Starswirl station. How copy?”

“H..I…..ghbrrrr..W…c...ghbrrrrr”

I turned the gem around to clean up the voice.

Laughter filled the speakers as the audio finally cleared up.

“I repeat, this is Starswirl station. How copy?”

“Hi Wildcard!” the female voice said cheerfully.

I sighed. “Dusk, these channels are meant for emergency calls only.”

“But I heard you were working the radio waves today, so I wanted to say hi! We haven’t talked for a while.”

“You’re right but why didn’t you just visit me when you had the day off?” I asked.

“My da- Sorry, ‘Captain Miller’ wanted me to work some overtime at the factory to help pay for my mom’s medical bill.” Her tone deepened at the end of her sentence.

“But the doctors say her condition is improving, so that's good news!” she added brightly.

“That’s great news!” A smile formed on my face. I looked in my room’s small desk mirror and saw someone standing at the door.

“Sorry Dusk, but I have someone here. Stand by.” I said formally into the mic before muting it.

I removed the headset and stood up, approaching the pony. My eyes widened as I took a step away from the thing. The creature was the same size as a pony but lacked a mouth. Off its pure black glossy skin hung a pair of light-blue wings and atop it’s head was a horn. Randomly across its body were holes. Its pair of unnaturally pale green eyes stared at me in silence.

“Stay back, Dark One!” I yelled.

“Wildcard,” it spoke. “It’s time to wake up.”

“What?!” I bumped into the desk while moving back and quickly armed myself with the mirror.

“It’s time to go home.”

*** *** ***

My eyes cracked open, and I was now covered in a cold sweat. The light of the sun had just pierced through the clouds.

‘A Dark One?! Here?’

Fear came over my body. The Dark Ones. Creatures that, by themselves, slaughtered stations of Metro dwellers. Everyone knew the myth of them. Just a tale that parents would tell their filly or colt to stop them from going off and adventuring the dark tunnels.

‘It was just a dream, right?’ I asked myself. ‘But it felt so…real.’

I shakily checked the dampness of my items next to the smoldering fire. Everything seemed to have dried off nicely while I slept. I packed my items into my bag, except for my knife. It would be my only weapon for a while. After I put on my clothes and armor vest, I began to survey the area for anything that would lead me back to the village. The waterfall I was thrown off of was to my right. That meant the village was somewhere in front of me.

I looked for a way to cross the water in front of me. After searching for a few minutes, I noticed a fallen tree just down the river made a nice little bridge across it. I made my way over and crossed the waterway with no problems.

I glanced deep into the thicket for a moment before venturing onward back to the village. After that dream, my hopes for a peaceful adventure to the Metro faded away with the light in the tree cover.

With a long sigh, I entered the forest.

Footnote: Level up!

New Perk: Stalker Instincts -- Your senses have become so keen that you can feel the slightest vibration in the ground. You gain +1 Perception and Agility attributes while outside.

Chapter Five: Parabellum

Chapter 5: Parabellum

“We reap what we sow. Force answers force, war breeds war, and death only brings death. To break this vicious circle one must do more than just act without any thought or doubt.”

Hidden birds chirped a playful melody around me. The wind blowing through the trees singing a quiet chorus to their sound. ‘This would definitely be a beautiful place for a roadside picnic,’ I thought to myself. My hooves marched softly in the dirt to the forest’s beat. Every so often the sound of a distant howl hauled the wood’s song before it continued again as if nothing happened.

This went on for countless hours as I continued towards what I believed was the path to the village. Hunting the local wildlife was enough to keep me fed. I had been on this path for days. My surroundings never changed. It was just rows of endless trees. My mane stood on end as I thought about being lost in there forever.

‘Stop that!’ I hit myself in the head with my hoof. ‘You’ll be fine,’ I constantly reminded myself.

The grip around my knife tightened as another howl echoed through the forest. I scanned for the source but to no avail. My breathing became more erratic as a sharp crack came from behind.

A brown rabbit hopped out from behind a tall, dark oak tree and tilted its head as it looked at me. My breathing slowed as the muscles in my body relaxed. It was just a rabbit, nothing to be scared of. The small creature then hopped away further in the trees peacefully.

The picture of trees extended once again as I began tracking again. My mind focused on returning to the town.

But before I could go any further, an arrow slammed into the tree to the left of my head. Stumbling backward, I looked around the area and then, after finding nothing again, I looked at the arrow. It had a piece of paper wrapped neatly around its wood body. Upon opening it up, it read:

Leave this place now Bandit. This is your only warning. Stay and you will die.

‘Well, this day is getting better and better.’ I dropped the note on the ground crushing under my forehoof and continued to walk forward.

*** *** ***

After what felt like a few minutes, I came upon a campsite covered in vines, leaves, and cattails at dusk just ahead in a clearing. Rotting wooden cabins placed sporadically around a collapsed gazebo. The dry dirt of the tree line gave way to a wet swampy mud that covered the open area. Torches illuminated from a top of spikes and hung from walls all over the place. Three zebra stallions armed with hoofmade crossbows guided a mare, covered in metal spikes and bloody scars all across their body, over multiple bridges made from wood pallets that connected the buildings in the camp. Each adorned dark colored fur capes and wore different skeletal jewelry around their bodies. Some hung necklaces of claws, talons, and teeth around their necks while others simply covered their faces that were painted with dry blood with different animal skulls. The group near me laughed at the pony as they marched her to a slanted two story bell tower. The second floor was missing a wall. A sniper sat there drinking and looking out at the swamp. The stallions were stopped by some mares with clothing of similar appearance.

“Another bandit?” The mare on the right spoke.

One of the stallions shoved the pony to the ground. “Yeah. We found this one entering from the southeast alone. I’m afraid there’s more coming. We need to speak to Kifo about this immediately!”

The two guards nodded and the group vanished into the building.

‘Well fuck me with Luna’s blue moon.’ This was a Protectors’ camp. I thought of different ways around the problem in front of me as eyes continued to scour the settlement.

I looked down at my blade, then back at the camp. ‘Going in gung-ho isn’t an option, and without a map there’s no point in trying to find another way back to the village. I’d just be more lost then I already am.’

My ears perked up as I gazed over to a small watchpost hanging in the trees to the right of the campsite.

‘Well, looks like there’s only one option left.’

As I stalked my way towards my destination, my tan coat blended with tall cattails, my eyes kept wandering to the Protectors’ camp. About halfway from the bell tower to the tree house was a foundation, surrounded by ponies in dark leather with spikes, hung from countless wooden beams that had been hammered into the wet ground. The ponies were tied to the ground posts or just hung from the higher beams. Some were rotten corpses that birds were eating the eyes out of while others were very much alive, some of them screaming. A pair zebras that passed by approached one of the stallion screamers and cut out his tongue. The pony passed out in shock and other ponies shut up and just stared in horror. The pair laughed and walked away to a nearby building. I looked away and kept my head down. There was no point in trying to play the hero here.

About fifteen minutes later, I reached the base of the building in the tree. It was a combination of thin sheet metal, rope, and wood. A ladder hung from the balcony that encompassed the watchpost. Next to the ladder was a makeshift pulley system wrapped around one of the tree’s thicker branches. My eyes drifted up to the roof of the building. From what looked like a chimney on the roof came out grey smoke. I readied my knife and climbed up the ladder.

The soft music and laughter was audible through the door. I pressed my ear up to the thin wall and listened closer to the voices. There were three different voices only a few feet away from the entryway. I was far enough away from the main camp that no zebra would probably notice what was going on over here, but I would have to be quick about it. I turned my back to the wood door and, with all the force I could muster, breached the building with my back hooves. Quickly turning around, I entered the first room, knife ready.

“Rat got your tongue, so you can’t knock on the door anymore, eh? As the Teacher said, ‘courtesy distinguishes us from bandits and other animals.’”

The young zebra that spoke was at the table with two others. He was strapped to a pair of pipes that connected to some rough looking wheels. His back legs hung motionless by a couple of belts that connected the pipes to his body. The zebra used the edge of the small table he was at to angle himself towards me. I quickly pocketed my knife in one of my bags.

He squinted hard at me, “Wait a moment… You’re not one of ours! A bandit, then? But you don’t look like one… Though, you never know with them bandits! Different shit everyday…”

He turned to one of the other zebras at the table. “Am I right or what, Jengo?”

The disabled zebra used one of his hooves to cover up his mouth, “You’re always right, General, Sir!”

I raised an eyebrow at the zebra. The ‘General’ waved his hoof at Jengo and chuckled, “Ah, put a sock in it, your muzzle is brown enough! ...Where was I? That’s right, the bandit… Well you’re here, which means that all those spineless worms and wannabe protectors are all dead. Am I right? Don’t bother answering, everyone knows I’m right. And good riddance, I say!”

“Perhaps, we should offer him our hospitality, General, sir? He is a guest, even though he’s a bandit!” ‘Jengo’ said.

“That’s an idea! Take a seat, bandit, let’s have some tea,” he moved himself to the edge of the table and gestured to the chair opposite of him.

“I bet you’ve never tried anything quite like it. I gathered, dried, and brewed it myself.” He beamed with pride.

I sat down in the chair he pointed to and finally got a good look at the other two zebras at the table. Both had their head slumped to one side. Their black and white were noticeably more grey. The zebra’s face to my right was visible. His lips were purple and heavily chapped; as was the rest of his face. His eyes stared blankly to the dark wooden tabletop that playing cards were sporadically scattered all over. Each seat had a mug in front of it.

The General gave a hearty laugh as he took each mug, emptying out their contents, and filled them with a light brown liquid with a teapot from the fireplace next to him. “Can’t get any help with this useless lot! At least they don’t eat that much, eh boys?”

He didn’t receive an answer as he placed a cup of tea in front of everyone at the table. So, he answered for them.

“Yeah!”

“Trying our best, sir!” The zebra to my left ‘said’.

I tried my best to not raise an eyebrow. ‘What the fuck is wrong with him?’

I stayed quiet as the General scolded the corpses, “Ah, quit yer yapping! Making a worse racket then the damn wolves in heat! No respect to our guest, either - he can’t even get a word in edgewise!”

He raised his cup and followed suit. “Don’t mind them. To our meeting!”

As he drank the tea, I only took a sip and immediately started coughing. The tea was bitter and stung on the way down. I quickly poured the tea onto the floor before the General put his own mug down.

“Now that’s a good tea! But, these fussy rats don’t drink it though. ‘Radiation, radiation!’ Radiation my crippled ass! Just look at us, we’re all as healthy as can be!” He chuckled and looked at me. I gave him my best fake smile in return.

‘You could say that again.’ I quickly stole a glance at his legs. He reminded me of my best friend’s father. A nice stallion from the Metro’s best ponies. Sadly he lost his legs during one of the intervention missions the Order loves to do. Thank the Goddesses for the earth ponies and zebras down there that patched him up with some new hind legs or he would be like this.

‘If we had one of those techies here now, they could...’ I caught myself looking sadly into my cup, slightly blushed and threw those thoughts into the back closet of my mind. ‘You have a job to do, Wildcard. Focus on completing it.’

“Thanks for coming here! See how happy my boys are? We don’t really have anyone to talk to here anymore. We’re all but forgotten here…”

“Forgotten?” That was a word I didn’t really expect to hear. That word reminded me about the last encounter I had with Kifo. What seemed at the time like the beginning of a bloody fight, ended with a single question: ‘I’m here to protect my brothers and sisters. What about you, Spartan? What… Who do you protect?’’ Goddesses I hated that Kifo of all zebras was right.

I felt my heart strings plucked at the young zebra’s tone and asked only a single word, “Who?”

“Everyone. They all left.” The General began refilling his cup with hot tea. For a brief second he acted like his physical age. With soft, misty yellow-tinted eyes staring blankly at his drink he said in a quiet voice, “Even Kifo forgot about us…”

Quickly his expression changed to anger as he slammed the table with a forehoof. I jumped a little at the noise. I thought to myself ‘Maybe I asked a little too much?’ But quickly brushed the question aside. This was nothing more than a colt in pain.

“Yet he was here when we built this damn base! All the boys remember that.” He turned to the corpse on his right and gave it a playful punch with his hoof. “Don’t you, now?”

“Yes! He was here!”

“We remember General!” Jengo stated.

The General was beaming with pride. “That's right! You all remember but that bastard just forgot along with the rest of those fucks! They forgot about what we’ve done to protect them!”

He drank his refilled cup. “Those rats scream all the time about taking back the village! Judgement is coming! Hell, from what I heard out today over the radio, Kifo’s planning to go and confront the Pioneers tomorrow morning. I wish I could go with them, but who needs a cripple?” The General added in a darkened tone while trying to readjust his position at the table. He then proceeded to down his recently refilled cup.

I couldn’t hide my shock any longer. “They’re going there tomorrow?!” I blurted out.

“Yeah! Apparently they are harboring a dirty outsider.”

‘Sea Mist. Shit!’ I felt myself start to heat up all around my body.

He gave me a smile. “But there’s no need to worry about that. Kifo will deal with that situation personally. He never did really like outsiders. I don’t know why… But not my problem. Besides I have my boys with me to keep me company!”

What he did next disgusted me. He used his forehoof to move the mouth of ‘Jengo’. The muscles of the corpse's jaw moved rather unponylike, making little wet squishy noises as it was shifted around.

“Yes sir! We stayed here with you!” the General said in his high-toned voice.

“Yes. You boys did stay here. I had to do some convincing to make them stay though,” the zebra said to me.

He turned to the other corpse getting up into its face and shook a hoof at him scoldingly. “Even you were gonna abandon your old friend, weren’t you? Weren’t you?”

“Come on General,” the body responded in a deep voice. “We’d never do that!”

“Sure. Tell that to the bandit! You’re all as easy to read as a book and I say you were going to leave me!”

He picked up his teapot proudly in his teeth and managed to speak out. “Had I not brewed my tea extra strong that day, you would have left.”

He poured himself another cup of brown liquid, then placed it back on the stovetop.

“No doubt,” he finished.

I was saddened by this young zebra and it was visibly obvious. The General noticed my frown.

“No need to be sad my friend! How about I put on some music?”

He pulled away from the table and awkwardly moved towards a ducted metal radio near the table. The unevenness of his walking aid caused him to wobble side to side on his way there. A knot in the wooden floor caused one of his wheels to jump up violently and he began to fall. I jumped out of my seat, but before I could help, he caught himself with his teeth, biting into the table that the music box sat upon. He put his hooves below him and stood up.

“No need to worry friend! I’m fine, just relax,” he said with a stoic look on his face.

I sat back down in my seat as he turned the radio on. A soft glow from a small yellow gem inside began to glow as a hum came out of the box’s wire mesh speakers. The voice of a male pony spoke, “Good evening wastelanders! How's everypony doing? Got some great news for you today! Remember that little Stable Gal who took on the slavers of Appleloosa and saved all those ponies? Well don't ask me how, but she survived takin' a nosedive off a cliff in a speeding train. That's right, fillies and gentlecolts: she's back! And what's she been up to now, I hear you ask? Well, sit down an' put on your listening ears, cuz it's time for DJ Pon3 to tell you a story. Ready? Good. This is the story of a little filly named Silver Bell, a sweet little filly whom the Stable Gal helped by letting old Ditzy Doo to take care of her. I hear she is doing just fine folks. That’s all there is for the news. Now back to the tunes with Sweetie Belle singing her version of the lovely classic: Funny Love.”

My jaw gapped as the General wheeled his way back to the table. ‘There are more stable dwellers roaming the Wastes?! Stick a unicorn horn up my ass and spin me. What have I missed? That pony is lucky to still be alive!’

I felt the scars on my head. Maybe it wasn’t that hard to believe based on current circumstances. Best to just accept it. I closed my mouth and lost myself in a bliss created by the singer’s beautiful voice. When I got home, I needed to put these songs on the radio there, or at least add more songs to that list.

“Pack up all my cares and woes, here I go, singing low,
There goes, my funny love,
I hope the next one stays with me,
Love is sweet, so was he,
There goes, my funny love.”

The zebra coughed violently, and when he stopped he proceeded to speak. “Your kind definitely knows how to make good music. The sound is more of an acquired taste for my kind, but I like it a lot, and my boys here don’t have any problems with it… Not anymore…” He shut his eyes and began to sway slowly to the music.

“No one here will ever know or understand me,
Oh what a sad love story the world gave me.
Praise the sun and the cool moonlight, I hope the next one’s right,
My love, bye bye.”

“The tea is good though...” He moved the cup in front him closer to the center of the table. “Makes me sleepy.”

The General raised a hoof at me and began to make small circle gestures. “Look bandit, you know what… Just stay here with us! Living here with us will be fun; we can talk, eat and drink tea all we want…” He struggled to keep his head up.

“No one here will ever know or understand me,
Oh what a sad love story the world has given me.
Praise the sun and the cool moonlight, I hope the next one’s right,
My love, My funny love,
Bye bye.”

“We’ll find you a bed tomorrow. I’ll take a nap in the meantime. Just a little rest…” he finished, resting the side of his face on the table. The general’s back raised and lowered as he started to snore quietly.

I sat there quietly just looking at the young stallion. Part of me wanted to take him with me, but how? He would die on the trip to the Dead City. As guilt washed over me, I sat up and searched the place for useful supplies. I mentally tuned out the radio’s DJ, who was talking about some pony named Red Eye, at the same time.

‘Kifo’s making a move tomorrow? Some zebra from the village must have told him I was here. Not good,’ I thought.

In the mess of junk over every counter and surface, I found a map of the forest. I thought about possible ways to get back to the village before the Protectors, but due to their knowledge of the land verses the shitty drawn map I wouldn’t beat them there. I pondered more ideas as my eyes found some clothes hanging on the wall. The outfit was a few wolves’ pelts sewn together with one of the animals’ skulls as a helmet. Next to the dangling equipment was a small bucket with some red liquid in it. I gave it a sniff to the content and cringed. Whatever the liquid was, it smelled sour.

An idea popped into my head. ‘Oh fuck, Luna guide me through the hell of a plan I made.’

I wrapped the dark brown coat around me, which almost covered me completely. Next, I used the red content from the bucket to paint markings over my face and body. One of the perks of living with zebras for years is that I picked up their culture and traditions quickly. After anointing my face, I placed the wolf skull over my head. It slid down and rested on my muzzle snuggly.

I looked back at the General. In a sad tone, I whispered, “Sorry.”

As silent as I could, I walked to the door, but stopped when something next to the door caught my eye. It was one of those hoofmade crossbows that the Protectors were wearing earlier. I picked up the weapon and the two magazines next to it. I examined the bow as I began to strap it to my right forehoof. The body of the weapon was constructed from different bits and bobs of metal pipes and wood. A tongue trigger connected to by a side pipe. The wire of the bowstring was most likely made from some kind of nylon or other material that connected to the two ends of the wood arc that was bolted horizontally to the body. The center of the crossbow was a rectangular hole which I figured out was for the magazines I found. Each one housed six arrows, all made from various things from wood to steel. After putting one of the magazines into the weapon’s side mag-well, I pulled the string back with my teeth to the back of the rail until I heard a successful click. Instantly an arrow pushed its way onto the rail. My ears perked as I grinned at my new toy.

Placing the rest of the crossbow’s ammo into my bag I exited out the doorway, but not before turning around and giving the General a silent salute. When Kifo asked me who I protected, I hesitated on how to answer at time. But now I knew for sure who that was.

*** *** ***

The wet pallets gave a deep, echoing thunk every time one of my hooves stepped on it. I was “walking into the den of the manticore” as folks back at home would say. They were right, and I was scared. If I was found out, there would be a bloodbath ending with my demise, and Sea Mist’s. That was something I just couldn’t allow. The plan had to work.

I drew closer to the camp as dawn shone its first rays of flat scarlet light through the grey roof above. Ponies were crying softly to my right but turned their sounds into whimpers as I walked by. They feared my appearance due to the example set the day prior by one of the Protectors. Their petrified expressions almost made me empathic. Almost.

‘Pony willing to turn savage should expect punishment,’ I told myself. ‘Anyone who doesn’t is just dense.’

As I approached the center of the camp, I saw him. Kifo was an average sized zebra with scars all over his body. The most noticeable was a huge clawmark that covered half of his face with pink slashes. His hair was short, black and white striped, and knotted in different varied length braids pulled back into a ponytail with a rope. Feathers dangled alongside his tied locks. A headpiece made of earthly materials and animal bones which went across his forehead wrapping around his ear for support. He was standing on a platform slightly higher than where a mass of other zebras were beginning to collect. Looked like someone was planning on giving a speech. I moved into the crowd and watched Kifo as he began to speak.

“My brothers and sisters, today we take back control of our home. I truly love my sister, Haki, but for too long she has tolerated the outsiders and bandits that take our crops, our children and our lives. We need to unite together, by force if necessary, in order to save our family,” he spoke out to his listeners, who were flooded with compassion and complete belief in his words. His short speech was met with thunderous applause from the crowd, rapidly stomping their hooves onto the wooden pallets below. Then Kifo raised his forehoof to signal for silence, and the mass listened.

“In order to help the so-called ‘Pioneers’ understand the gravity of the situation. I have enlisted the help of our own outsiders.”

Just then a small group of colorful griffons landed loudly on the stage. Each one wore the mark of Talon on their armor. The griffon in the middle was clearly the leader due to the heavy protective suit of armor that covered every inch of his body. His Talon symbol was on his side, painted in blood red. The iron beast and his minigun walked up to Kifo, the metal joints of his suit squeaked and sighed, until the two stood next to each other. The crowd of Protectors broke out into a loud protest to the sudden arrival of outsiders calling Kifo a ‘traitor to the cause’ and a ‘lair’.

“Shut up! We’re here to do a job. Once the caps are paid then we’ll leave. Anyone who has a problem with that speaks directly to me.” The deep, booming, robotic voice of the ironclad griffon silenced the masses.

Kifo's tone was filled with determination this time as he spoke, “We will unite. Even if it means war! That I can promise you that. So like the griffon said, does anyzebra have a problem?”

The silence from the crowd was deafening.

“Good. Let’s move out!”

And with that, all of the Protectors began to move in a direction I could only assume was towards the village. I followed suit and prayed to the Goddesses that this conflict wouldn't result in needless bloodshed.

*** *** ***

Chaos.

Complete chaos, like the kind that I read about from the trickster god, Discord, before Celestia and Luna took him down. Zebras were panicking, running all over the village, rushing their children home, worried about their kin’s lives. Some of the young zebra fillies were crying, others were confused, most were both. It was the kind of chaos that could only be truly experienced.

As we marched in unison ever closer to the statue of the Teacher, Haki bolted out of her hut, the most pissed I’d ever seen her. Hell, she could get a Manticore to run away with its tail between its legs in fear.

She got right up in Kifo’s face and screamed, “What are you doing Kifo! You’re scaring the tribe!”

“I’m doing what you could never do,” he responded coldly. “Hand over the outsider you’re harboring or we’ll take her by force.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, brother.”

Kifo’s displeasure was growing more visible on his face. “I’m done playing games! Your rule of the counsel has done nothing about the bandits that slaughter and rape our kin!”

His eyes softened as he pleaded, “Please Haki, help us destroy this threat at the source.”

“And what? You know what the Teacher said about violence. The Teacher said…”

“Don’t lecture me on the Teacher!” he cut her off. “His pacisfitic ways didn’t work when Mom died! We’ve saved more lives killing the bandits before they could cause us harm.”

Both siblings locked eyes. Kifo’s gaze was filled with only endless rage. Her’s was filled with a heavy dose of sorrow. This battle of ideals was rudely interrupted by the last pony in the only Wasteland I wanted in this. Sea Mist walked out of Haki’s home confused.

“What's going on Haki?” she asked in a small voice.

Kifo directed his rage towards the only pony in his sight. He raised his forehoof and aimed his crossbow at Sea Mist. I felt my heart race just watching. My hooves felt stuck to the ground as I tried to think of a way to cool the boiling hot situation.

“You’re coming with us,” he demanded, moving closer to the cornflower blue mare.

Haki put a hoof at her mouth and let out a high tuned whistle. Zebras from different houses and levels of village began to leave their home with forehoof crossbows of their own. One of them tossed the extra one they were carrying for Haki and she swiftly equipped the weapon to point it at her brother. Three of the four griffons hovered in the air above the air waiting for commands. Now two battle lines were clearly visible. This was getting out of hoof.

“She is nothing more than a child, Kifo. You try to take her and you leave us no choice but to defend the pony.”

Kifo scowled. “You're willing to sacrifice your lives for an outsider!”

“The Teacher always said to defend those who can’t,” Haki lectured through her bone mask.

“That’s what I’m doing,” he said, stoically looking in his sister’s eyes.

‘Well shit,’ I thought to myself as I walked out of the massive crowd of Protectors. All eyes were on me, waiting to see what I would do next. I pulled up my mask to audible disgust and shock.

“Spartan...” The only word to leave Kifo’s lips as his eyes were now fixed to me.

“So is this where this conflict is going? To bloodshed?” I was royally pissed off.

The scarred zebra stood facing me, completely still. I knew I would have to choose my words carefully. I let myself ponder only for a moment to search for the right ones.

“Kifo, let me ask you a question about this plan. When you’ve taken back the village and killed all the bandits. When you’ve finally made the village into that exact perfect place that you want. What are you gonna do with the zebras who think like you?” I asked, pointing a forehoof to this heart. I didn’t wait for a response. “How are you gonna protect your rule from the next version of the Protectors?”

“We’ll do what we must,” Kifo told me with assurance and only a small hint of sadness.

I laughed. A laugh that made a majority of the zebras around me cringe. “Oh, will you? Okay, let's say you do what you must, but for how long? How long will the ground be slick with a river of blood? How long will the wheel of war keep turning for you to realize? So tell me, will you break the cycle?” I pleaded.

His stoic look didn’t fade as he asked, “Why are you still talking?”

“Because I want to understand the path you’re about to walk down.”

“You know what I see, Spartan?” Kifo growled, clenching his jaw.

He aggressively stepped towards me. “I see a problem within my village, my people, and I have every tool I need to fix it. I’m doing what I have to in order to protect us from them.” His eyes burned with determination.

“Me too,” Haki stated. Her admiration for her older brother was replaced with contempt.

My cynicism broke me as I playfully pranced around looking at the siblings smiling. Sea Mist coward into a small ball on the ground trying to hide her look of fear from me with her forehooves.

“And here we go!” Trying to sound as close to a radio host as I could. “Tongues on triggers! Are you feeling readied? Are you ready to play the game? Who’s gonna be quickest? Who’s gonna die?”

“This is not a game!” Haki screamed.

“No, you're right! But are you willing to make the sacrifice?” I playfully bounced the words with my tongue.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Kifo demanded.

Haki lightly blushed. “I want to know as well. What's the point?”

I grew annoyed with each passing second. “I’m trying to get you to see that this is all pointless! This is the beginning of a war! Every war ever fought started the exact same way. That is why the world is the way it is. And it’s always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who’s going to die! You’ll never know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many families will be forever broken. How many lives will be changed. How much blood will have to be spilled before you two will just do what everyone should've done: talk!”

I wiped my face with a hoof. Why did no one understand? I felt memories of my past start to flood into my head, causing me to cry. Something I hadn’t done in a long time. Both siblings looked at each other then at the statue of the Teacher. Many zebras did the same. Kifo returned his gaze to me while Haki looked at the ground in shame. I moved towards him.

“Please just listen to me, listen to me. I just want you to think over your choice one more time.” My soft tone was filled with regret. “Think abou—”

He shook his head. “I will not change my mind.”

“Then you’ll die like the ones from the Great War; stupid. But you can still just step away from all this. Turn to your faction and stand them down. Unite the village peacefully,” I returned.

“No, I can’t stop this. I’ve broken so many of the Teacher’s rules. You really think I’ll be let to roam after all I’ve done?”

I facehoofed. “You folks are just the same, you know that? Always thinking; ‘look at me, I’m unforgivable’. Here’s the funny thing, those teachings were never rules, they were more like guidelines. We all make mistakes and it’s everyone's responsibility to forgive. Everyone knows this life is too short for hate. So let me say, I forgive you for everything.”

Stunned was the only way to describe the look on the zebra’s face. His iris seemed to shrink in disbelief. It was like an unexpected wave of water rushed over him. He looked at the ground with his upper eyelids drooping as both of his ears fell limp. He was saying something quietly, and it wasn’t until his voice grew louder that heard what he said.

“... You don’t understand, do you? The great Spartan doesn’t understand.” His disappointed look connected with my teary eyes. “You will never understand.”

I’ve never felt more disgust directed towards me in my life. Anguish filled my body, drowning every happy thought and replacing them with memories. The type of memories I would pay any amount of caps or bullets to forget. I began to rapidly stomp a hoof into the dirt and scream.

“I don’t understand?! Are you actually shitting me? Of course I understand. I mean, do you call this conflict, this little thing you’re doing here? This isn’t nothing more than two fillies fighting over a favorite toy. I fought in a bigger war then you’ll ever know! I did worse things than you could ever imagine!” I grew bitter with each word. My hair was standing on end. The tears from my eyes completely blurred my vision, turning the world into a mess of black and white. No one dared to cut into my speech. They just listened.

“When I close my eyes, I hear the screams of those I damned and the ones I couldn’t save! I followed orders like a good soldier, got shit done and slaughtered the ‘enemy’, and for what? Nothing!”

In the corner of my eye, I could tell Sea Mist was holding back tears. I turned my head away with shame. I didn’t want her to know. I couldn’t be another pony’s problem. She already had too much to worry about.

I shook my head and started to approach Kifo. His Protectors tensed at the movement, watching me closely.

“Do you know what you’ll do with that pain? Should I give you some advice on it? I would if I knew what to do with it myself. ‘Til you find that solution, your mind will burn and scar from the memories of your past choices. You’ll wake up every morning realizing that the wasteland changed you. For better or worse is for the Goddesses to decide. But one thing is for sure, no one else should have to live like this. No one should feel this pain. That is the real mission for a soldier. A protector's responsibility to carry the pain for others. But it seems I had forgotten that ‘til now.”

I rubbed away my tears with my forehoof and looked to the two siblings who were now simply standing there. Even Sea Mist was uneasy from my sudden outburst of emotions. I wiped my damp hoof to my coat while the crowd of zebras in the town began to whisper to each other, most likely forming their own opinions on the matter. Both Haki and Kifo put down their crossbows and gave each other an apologetic look.

“Thank you,” I said proudly to both of them.

It felt like time slowed down. Haki gave me the sweetest smile after lifting her mask to let her long grey and white hair flow. Her yellow eyes almost twinkled. Kifo turned to his troop, about to tell them to stand down. Sea Mist was practically tripping over every bump and crack in the dirt as she galloped towards me. I felt strangely blissful for the first time since… ever.

But the Wasteland is truly a wicked beast. A single shot rang out and struck Haki in the side. She yelped in pain as the zebra mare fell to the ground. Her blood turned the dirt to a rust color. Panic set in as I looked around for the shooter but found nothing. The Pioneers were screaming for revenge. One the zebras behind Haki aimed and fired his crossbow at the Protectors. Kifo turned around, only to be met with an arrow to his left shoulder and stumbled backwards. He screamed for his troop to attack and the Pioneers responded with their own force. Both sides clashed over the statue of the Teacher as it started to rain. Droplets hit the monument’s eyes and the water began to run down it’s face, heartbroken.

‘Damn the Goddesses to hell!’ was the only thought that crossed my mind. I watched brothers and sisters cut each other down with blades and arrows. It didn’t seem to matter at that point who fired the shot. The fight had begun.

*** *** ***

White.

Dim, white gemstones powered emergency lights to light up the station from the shroud of darkness. Ponies and zebras wrapped in patchwork winter sweaters conducted business, paying with ammunition or bartering what little they had for food, clothes or whatever else. These merchant tents mixed with the tent housing that lined the stations. What was once a shiny new railway in the center of the station, which carried the past inhabitants of the city to work, school and home, had been removed and replaced with a mushroom farm, used to feed a majority of the citizens of Sparkle Station.

I watched ponies hard at work on wooden scaffolding painting the walls and ceiling. As much as the intricate lines and patterns being placed were beautiful, they all meant nothing. The station was remade into the image of its former state, brilliant shades of purple that complemented the massive amount of magical imagery, before the passage of time caused it to fall out of repair. But it was all form without function here; only designed to try and echo the few images of how the station first looked, and it still felt off. From the postcards I’d seen of this once busy metro station, with its crowds of ponies, zebras and even griffons all rushing to work, home or elsewhere, the recreation almost made me want to laugh at the repair ponies’ attempt at reproducing the atmosphere of the place without the joy and smiles of the people that once filled it. The sight of the station just made me sad.

“Done stargazing, Wildcard?” A deep voice called out from behind. I turned around to face a big, muscular yellow buck wearing welded-together metal armor plates, a vision helmet strapped to his head, and a battle saddle equipped with twin submachine guns. Well they were more like strange pieces of metal piping constructed together to make something sort of resembling a firearm, but that’s why they called it the “Bastard”.

I tried shifting around the saddlebag radio that sat uncomfortably on my back. Its thick casing had started to dig into the side of my torso. ‘I wish someone would make this thing smaller.’ I finally gave in to my anger and began to remove the radio from my bag with my teeth.

“I hate dis ting,” I mumbled.

The stallion laughed at my dismay. “That radio might one day save your life, kid. So, put it back and let’s get moving. The others are waiting for us.”

I listened and put the radio into my left saddlebag, hoping it would be more tolerable than it was in right. The pain still annoyed me as I responded, “Yes, Commander Spark.”

I followed him, staring a little at his robotic hind legs as we galloped to the southeast exit of the station where a mixture of zebras, unicorns and bat-winged ponies, all dressed similar to the Commander, were waiting. His legs were made out of metal and wire and radiated a soft blue from the gemstone in the middle of each of his calves. As we approached the small group of ten, they turned their heads to face us.

“Finally came to the party, sir?” One of the batponies chuckled.

An ironclad zebra looked directly at me and then to the yellow buck. “Dawn Spark, Who’s the kid?”

“His name is Wildcard,” I felt Spark put a hoof on my back. “He's going to be our radio pony for today.”

The buck glanced down at the watch on his forehoof. “We’re late. So, if there’s no more questions then let’s move.”

Our small group moved past the ponies standing guard by two sandbag covers that stood on either side of the metal track, each having their own mounted flamethrower. One of the younger mares waved to us as we walked past. The air grew colder and darker as we ventured further away from the station. My teeth began to chatter in the cold, but the others in the party were unfazed by the change in temperature. The zebras leading us through the tunnel turned on their headlights when the path ahead grew almost pitch black. The pipes seemed to sing as we marched in silence.

“Eyes up! We’re close to the reported area of Old Guard activity,” Command Spark spoke in a harsh whisper.

Uneasiness filled my body as more time passed without anything happening. We scanned every nook and crack of the tunnel but found nothing. Everyone was on edge with their weapons at the ready. Out of the darkness a small silver stick flew towards us with a lit fuse on one of the ends. One of the lead zebras dived to the side to dodge the object, but the other wasn’t so lucky. The stick was an improvised explosive that instantly deleted the poor zebra from existence. His inner organs and body parts shot off haphazardly painting everything within a 10 foot radius of where the zebra once stood in blood. His blood shot into my eyes and I panicked while failing to wipe one of the party’s fluids out of my eyes. I jumped at the sound of gunshots filling the void.

“They’re everywhere!” a voice called out.

Feeling my way to the alcove of the tunnel, I listened to the sounds of screams and wet thunks from all around me. I huddled in the corner, trying again to clean my eyes. ‘Come on!’ My mind scolded my forehoof as I rubbed harder and harder. Finally my vision returned with the aid of a cloth quickly rubbing my face clean. Finally being about to see, I noticed Dawn Spark standing over me, releasing rounds down range until the barrels of his guns grew red. His helmet's vision was now down protecting his face. His horn glowed in a blue light as he handed me his revolver with his magic.

“You okay kid?” he asked without looking at me.

All I could manage was a nervous nod as I took the gun in my mouth. Both of us exited out of the alcove and were met with the view of dismembered and burned corpses. Cells of fighting were all over the place, making it almost impossible to tell friend from foe. The muzzle flash from gunfire helped light up the tunnel along with parts of the tube now on fire. A pony at the end of the tunnel dressed in golden colored armor unleashed a huge spurt of flame from the side of his battle saddle, lighting a batpony on fire. The pony’s blood-curdling screams filled the tunnel air as he ran around, trying everything to put himself out. Eventually he fell over, limp with the smell of cooked flesh floating into my nose. I gagged. Spark riddled the flamethrower pony with holes with a volley of shots. One of the ponies nearby, after pulling up a zebra’s chin to cut his throat, jumped at my commander with the blade. Spark spun around, aiming his barrels at the hostile, and tongued the trigger.

*click*

He looked down at his guns. Sparks eyes went wide after he noticed the jamming of his weapons. He tried to clear the jams but he would be able to complete it in time. I quickly rushed to jump in front of him and prepared to block the attack.

*** *** ***

I used my left hoof to block the attack from Kifo. His blade sank cleanly into my forehoof, causing me to yip in pain. I dodged back and quickly glanced at the rest of the battlefield. Protectors and Pioneers were clashing on the sky bridges, and on the ground their blood was mixing with the rain. Children rushed out of their home to scream over to the lifeless corpses of parents. Sea Mist was trying to fight off zebras to my right, getting assaulted by a gang of Protectors.

‘Fuck!’ I jumped in between her and the zebras. As nonlethally as possible, I kicked the shit out of the zebras attacking Mist. She quickly ran off and hid in Haki’s hut.

‘Goddesses fuck me with both of your cel…” My train of thought was cut off as I was brought back to my senses by the war scream of Kifo. He swung his knife at me again, which I side stepped to the left to evade. My hoof stung with pain when I slammed it in order to dodge his second swing. I looked at him, pleading with my eyes to stop. All I got was a grim glare. I never wanted any of this. Why didn’t he understand?

I continued to attempt to block and dodge Kifo’s barrage of attacks, but his strength easily overpowered me. My body and armor had started to collect the slashes that connected and my blood began to race down my sides. The pain constantly beat my nerves like a loud war drum. I couldn’t take much more of this, I had to try something, anything.

“Why won’t you fight me!” His eyes were the size of pins as the zebra demanded an answer that he seemed to know he wouldn’t get. I spit out blood from my mouth while removing my medical box out of my saddle bag and quickly numbed myself with one of the syringes. I groaned with pain. ‘Fuck.’ The drug caused my hearing to grow muffled but at least the physical strain was gone. Yet the fighting’s noise around us was still intense. I readied myself for the next chorus of Kifo’s swings. He rushed at me but slid to a halt after the booming sound of a great roar overpowered the sounds from the battle. Zebras everywhere stopped and turned towards the beast now entering the village from the treeline. The dark oaks were violently pushed to the side as the Master of the Forest charged into the clearing, quickly crushing a group of zebras under his massive paw.

Kifo called out to his troops, “Quickly! Use the flames!”

The Protectors in the crowd swiftly dipped their arrowheads in a flask connected to their sides, loaded it in the crossbow and shot the mass of stars with the arrows. The projectiles didn’t even scratch the skin, but magically fire from the ammo jumped onto the bear, engulfing it in white-hot flames. I shielded my eyes, turning away from the light. The Master howled, crashing into trees and homes alike, spreading the fire everywhere. The battle had turned into a completely different beast. Zebras on both sides fought each other and the burning bear blurring the conflict more than it already was. Haki had finally risen from the ground and was trying to stop the fighting. Not a single soul listened to her. She yelled in my direction and pointed a forehoof at the whole situation.

“Spartan, help me!” Haki demanded and I turned to reply to her. Kifo didn’t care. He came up behind me and cut my flank. I fell to the ground and felt my rage overflow.

“Fuck this.” I punched out my crossbow towards Kifo.

*** *** ***

One shot put the unarmored pony down. His body fell limp in the air and crashed onto me. I lost control of my gun as both my weapon and I hit the ground with a thud. I screamed in horror, trying to remove the corpse from atop me. Spark’s magic enwrapped the dead pony and pulled it off me. I was covered in blood and mud. My hooves didn’t look like mine when I stared at them. Their sight filled me with nothing but dread. I almost didn’t hear Dawn Spark calling out my name.

“Wildcard,” he pulled me into cover. “We have no time to reflect. We have to fight or die.”

“O-okay…” When did my mouth get this dry? I grabbed Spark with a shaking hoof. He swung around with an angry eyebrow raised.

I did my best to form words in my current state. “H-how do we…um…know, who to sh-shoot at?”

Commander Spark grit his teeth and barked in a low voice, “If it’s hostile, you kill it.”

*** *** ***

The taste of iron filled my mouth as I tongued the weapon’s trigger. The arrow launched from its resting place into Kifo’s shoulder. The impact knocked him back, with blood squirting out of his fresh wound. I didn’t even bother to reset the string of my bow as I galloped at full speed to the zebra. He swung wildly at me. The knife landed in my left shoulder but I did even feel it. All I could feel was rage. I back-hoofed Kifo with the crossbow, knocking him onto the ground. I ripped the knife out of my shoulder with my teeth and, as the zebra got up, I slit his neck.

The blade easily went through. Kifo pressed a hoof to his open neck to try and stop the bleeding. He tried to say something to me, but all that came out of his mouth was blood. Haki screamed, running over to her brother. Kifo fell to the ground, desperately fighting for his life, using both hooves now. I stared at that maniac and expected to get one final fuck you, but my expression quickly turned sour. His final emotion was fear. His wide eyes’ plea was misty with bloody tears. Kifo died just as the Master fell to the heat of the flames, the bear crushing the statue of the Teacher. Zebras everywhere had stopped fighting at the sight of one of the leaders falling in battle.

My senses all came back to me at once. My body’s muscles ached with pain. I couldn’t handle the mental strain. I covered my face with a hoof. I… killed Kifo. I just couldn’t describe why. It’s like I couldn’t control my body. Like I was just the passenger in someone else’s train. I was broken.

“No… no… no no no!” I repeated to myself. Sea Mist was at my side trying to comfort me. But I didn’t want comfort! I wanted to be punished. As bad as the zebra was, he didn’t really deserve to die. He was nothing more than a misguided foal. ‘By Celestia’s grace, what have I done?’

“I-I’m sorry.” My apology fell on Haki’s deaf ears. She stood up from her brother's side and approached. Her long hair was covering her face, but I could tell it wore nothing but a grim expression.

*Smack!*

“Take your things and go.” I didn’t argue with her. I didn’t want to. I just felt tired. Haki said nothing and pointed to a small woven basket next to the door of her house. Then she left, trying to help the zebras put out the fire still burning the east side of the village. I told Sea Mist to get her stuff and I hobbled over to the front of Haki’s home. Inside the basket was my old gear and two gas masks. I picked it up by the straps with my teeth and limped out of town with Sea Mist.

The mare looked at me as I stopped on a hill looking at the village. Mist’s ears perked up at my statement.

“Oh Goddesses, what a wonderful world I’ve destroyed.” I let myself hang at the sight of the children in the forest, then at my gear. I swore that I won’t wear it again, but I guess it was just another promise I couldn’t keep. I felt sick to my stomach.

I removed each piece of my current outfit, giving the chest armor, my watch and one of the gas masks from the basket to Sea Mist. I had to remove the bottom part of the three-leveled plated armor in order to fit the smaller mare. I did my best to patch up my cuts with my torn shirt and what little medical supplies before I started to put on my Spartan gear. After I slid into my grey long sleeve jacket, I began strapping on my armor plate carrier, which had pockets and quickdraw hooks neatly attached to its front. Each steel shoulder plate I put on had the same logo as my duster. The symbol of hope in the Metro: The Order. I strapped a brown bracer, which had a sewn-on geiger counter and watch, on my left forehoof and re-equipped my forehoof hostler over my right hoof’s sleeve.

Only a few items remained in the basket: a flashlight that attached to my right shoulder, a map of the Metro with the map of Stalliongrad on its reverse side, full gas mask with five filters and a hoof dynamo universal charger, a useful device for transferring labor into power. I placed the charger, filters and map into my saddlebags, then clipped the gas mask to my side. I turned to my companion who was in awe of my transformation. The uniform felt welcoming, but alien to me.

“It’s time to go, Mist.” She followed me as I limped towards the direction of the Stalliongrad: The Dead City.

Footnote: Level up!

New Perk: Lessons In Blood -- You’ve finally chosen to accept and learn from your past. You gain unique dialogue options with certain characters and gain +10% XP when XP is earned.

Quest Perk Added: Retribution (1) -- You decided it was your responsibility to become judge, jury, and executioner of the wicked. Your damage from critical hits, including Sneak Attack Criticals, is increased by 25%. This does not affect the chance to cause a critical hit.

Chapter Six: The City Of The Dead

Chapter 6: The City of the Dead

“There are some things that you don’t want to do and you pledge to yourself that you won’t do, you forbid yourself, and then suddenly they happen all by themselves. You don’t even have time to think about them, and they don’t make it to the cognitive centers of the brain: they just happen and that’s it, and you’re left just watching yourself with surprise, and convincing yourself that it wasn’t your fault, it just happened all by itself.”

The stale tasting healing potion slid down my throat, relieving me from its case of dryness. I threw my head back and drank every last drop of the liquid, and when the battle was emptied I tossed it to the ground, shattering the glass container as each one of my cuts and gashes healed.

Sea Mist and I had been house hopping for three days. Our actions became a blur to me. We would scout out the area, eliminating any ghouls or beasts there, then scavenge the ruins for supplies and a safe spot to sleep. Every time we would only find the bare minimum of essentials to survive the night. We couldn’t keep doing this.

The fire’s light had died down a bit as we ate old irradiated food with cooked roach in silence. Being out in the Equestrian Wasteland seemed to have really changed Sea Mist from helpless stable dweller to waster in a matter of weeks. Her once long, clean, crimson mane was now filled with dirt and mud. The vivid color was nothing more than a dull red mess of knots and split ends. Her mental state wasn’t great either. Though she downplayed or out right dodge my questions on the topic, I could tell something was wrong.

I let out a long sigh. I wasn’t doing too well either. I hurt those I cared about every single time I let my rage go unchecked. ‘What could I do?’ I let my mind think for solutions, but my mind’s fog stopped me before I could find the right answer.

“Wildcard?” The cornflower blue mare’s voice grabbed me from my thoughts.

I turned to her. “Yeah?”

Sea Mist’s eyes were filled with determination. “Could I check your past again?”

I frowned at the mare. What was I? Just an open book to be studied? “Why?”

“I want to know why you’re so angry all the time,” she said bluntly.

I sighed again as I tried to cool my emotions. Then an idea popped into my head and a wide toothy smile crossed my face. “Sea Mist, let me tell you a story. It’s about a little colt who grew up in the frozen north with a foster family because his real family died along with his home station years prior. He studied hard, reading and learning from everything: ponies, zebras, books, etc. Some days nothing would happen. Life was just motion. Other days were nothing but pain for the kid. You see, this colt was adopted by two loving zebra parents and other fillies his age didn’t get that. They were told by their pony parents that it was the zebra’s fault for the hellscape above. To them the colt was nothing but a filthy traitor to his own kind!”

I was yelling at that point. My voice began to crescendo even faster than before.

“It’s okay…” Sea Mist said soothingly.

“No, it’s not okay!” Tears were flooding from my eyes but I still continued. “That colt watched as he almost lost his home again! But then came the Spartans of the Order. Like angels they killed every single one of the wicked beasts that tried to enter the station, eventually saving them. That colt then had a dream to help others like the Order did. But guess what happened when he achieved that dream of becoming a Spartan! Guess!”

I paused to take a breath, but answered before the young unicorn mare could.

“He participated in the massacre of hundreds: zebras, griffons and ponies alike. That once small colt thought that in order to fix a problem you needed to attack it at the source, so he went with a small team to open one of the Metro’s big mechanical steel entrances to try and be a hero!”

I let my anger out on a pile of dented tin cans on the ground. I kicked one into the wall with all my force, denting the container even more. Sea Mist laid there quietly. I fucking hated laying my problems on somepony else. I failed to give a stoic look as I continued. “Everyone in that station died that day, except for him and one bat pony. The two of them retreated home, saying nothing about what happened. Eventually, more and more beasts from the surface started to flood the underground tunnels all because of his idiotic illusions of grandeur! He couldn’t take it anymore, so he thought about taking his own life, but was too weak to even do that. So he left. Packed his saddlebags and left his home, friends, foes and mistakes behind. He hoped the storm on the surface would take him out but of course he found more survivors of this fucked up story. He found out that the rest of the world was just, if not more, fucked up then the home he left. Alicorns, slave cities, cannibals and more of the same fucking thing! That’s why I drank myself into the ground for five years! Becoming null to my reality, but of course I’m heading back home!”

I couldn’t hold back my scream. My lungs burned as if Celestia herself filled me with the sun. “Fuck this world!”

My explanation seemed to truly intrigue the younger mare. Great how everyone thought my pain was entertaining. She just stared at me with her own tears walloping in her eyes. She wiped them away with her magic. “Why are you heading back home?”

“Don’t you already know? You saw my past. This is just one big,” I paused, unsure of my own words, “quest for vengeance.”

Now it was Sea Mist’s time to lecture me. “My spell only can see what the subject saw. Not your thoughts or emotions or strong words. So tell me, why are we going there?”

To be honest, I didn’t know why I was going home. Did I think I could save the Metro because of what I found in Cantorlot? Was it because I couldn’t kill my old dream? Maybe it was really just about getting revenge. My head hurt from all the questions of motive bouncing around in my brain.

“I don’t know,” I answered in defeat.

She smiled. “Well, no matter what your reason is for going back I still think it’s a good one. At least you're facing your mistakes again.”

‘Facing my mistakes? I don’t think I can.’ I laid down on the cool, dusty, wooden floor and started to play with my hooves. My eyelids grew heavy as I thought more about how I was going to explain my disappearance to the Order. They’d never had a deserter before. I wondered what they’d do to me. I closed my eyes as Sea Mist took watch over the night.

*** *** ***

A hoof shook me out of my slumber. I didn’t dream about the Dark Ones or anything that night. In fact, I didn’t have a dream in the past four days. I rolled over and stood up to stretch. My back cracked with almost every movement. I let out a big yawn.

“Good morning Wildcard!” the mare said cheerfully.

She seemed a little too excited to venture into a frozen, irradiated, ruined city trapped in an endless winter storm with death waiting around every corner. I didn’t really have the guts to ask her why after my ‘story’ the night before. I cracked my neck. “Morn’n.”

I stomped out the smoldering ashes of the campfire and made my way out of the house. Well, if you call a building with no roof or windows and only three complete standing walls a house. The outside greeted me with a frosty nip at the nose. We were only an hour away from the city. The first signs of its freezing cold winter were showing this far out with the ground turning a tint paler and some of the trees losing what little leaves they had.

Sea Mist came out just after me, loading her pistol which was held in a magical grip. I gave her a disappointed look and a facehoof.

“What?! We’re going into an extremely hostile event. You even said it yourself!” she whined.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but there are a lot more beasts on the surface than we can fight. It would only be a matter of time before our weapons run dry and we’re ripped to shreds. What bullets we got is what we have to fight with, so until we find a lot more ammunition or a way into the Metro it’s best if we don’t shoot at anything unless we have to.”

Truth be told, I didn’t really have a plan on how we were going to get inside the tunnels. There were multiple access points like buckcovers and stairways, but many of them were closed off to the deeper parts of the system due to beasts or tunnels just collapsing. My entire plan was to silently get through the city, look around and pray something would clue me in on where to go. With dismay, I accepted the very real possibility that we might be trapped on the surface for hours or even longer. But I couldn’t let myself fold to the pressure. The Metro was counting on me even if they didn’t know it, or at least I thought so. I needed to get this information on D6 to General Dawn Spark.

‘One hoof at a time, Wildcard,’ I reminded myself.

“Wildcard, you need to have a little more faith. Not every building in that city could be looted.”

I scoffed at her idea. “You could be right.”

We walked for half an hour according to my bracer’s time piece. The ice and snow grew ever more present around us. Every step of our hooves let out loud crunching from frozen ground until the white carpet became softer and the noise grew quieter as we closed in on the outskirts of the city. I pulled up the hood on my jacket.

The zebras were never able to handle the colder weather, so they invented the baridi style jacket. It was standard issue for their troops during their winter campaign, and like many things in the war eventually became a product to civilizations on both sides of the conflict. For me personally, I didn’t care too much about its history. I just really liked the look. The shades and tints of webbed camouflage matched well with my armor and the environments of Stalliongrad.

I stopped Sea Mist and pointed to her gasmask, then my watch. “The winter storm trapped a lot of the magical radiation from the original megaspell detonations. The air is extremely toxic, so keep eyes on your Geiger counter. Keep your mask on. Also change your filters if you find it’s getting harder to breathe. Set your watch for around five minutes, that’s usually how long they last if you don’t want the guesswork.”

She gave me a nod of understanding. I pulled out my map of Stalliongrad. Running my hoof down the grids of streets and buildings, I found a buckcover nearby that was used as an old utility tunnel for work on the metro system. That was great news. But we still needed to get there. This trip would be easy with the amount of filters we had if only a single pony was going. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought of a solution. ‘I guess I’ll just have to use less filters.’ Technically speaking anyone could survive on the surface without a mask, but only for a few minutes before suffocating to death.

“Here.” I carefully removed three of the five air filters out of my saddle with my mouth. I tried my best to ignore their metallic taste. The small cornflower blue unicorn floated the items one by one from me into the pockets of her stable 11 uniform that was now under the duster I gave her. I set my watch for five minutes and gestured to Sea Mist to follow.

After a few minutes my Geiger counter started ticking. I brought my left hoof up to the face and saw that the device’s little arrow was now the upper green area. In one single trained motion, I took a deep breath and slid my mask over my muzzle, the seal wrapping snuggly around my whole face. My hot breath was visibly condensing on the cold visor of the mask. I started the timer on my watch then looked over to my traveling companion; Who was struggling at applying her own mask correctly.

“You need some help?” My voice buzzed through the mask. Sea Mist looked at me completely flushed while pouting. She was a lot like me when I was younger. A strong drive to be independent yet still unable to do simple little things like put on a gas mask. I sauntered over to her, helping her apply the mask correctly, making sure the seal was airtight, then fastening the straps with a strong tug from my teeth to her head. The mare looked down in her mask and followed my previous motions of adding one of the air filters to her mask then setting her own watch. Her eyebrow raised along with a question look.

“What’s with the weird muzzle piece?” Sea Mist asked, trying to cross her eyes and peer straight down her muzzle.

“The rubber mouth piece was designed for earth ponies and battlesaddle users to still use firearms even with the mask equipped.” Not everypony could use magic, so thank the Goddesses for this creation.

Without further procrastination, I gestured Sea Mist to my side so we could start moving. Ice and snow howled and wiped at us, sticking to our clothes. The sky was no longer grey, instead replaced with an eerie dirty-white mist. Wagons filled with the remains of folks trying to escape the megaspells packed the road we were walking though. Skeletons of ponies and zebras alike holding their children tightly to their body, covering their kin’s eyes. Their hollow skulls still echoed an expression of deep locked fear. I had to wipe the visor of my mask every few minutes due to the flakes sticking to it. Sea Mist was crying at the sight of the concrete graveyard. Her mask fogging up from the heat radiating off her face. I would be crying too if I wasn’t so desensitized to the appearance of corpses both fresh and old. This was something she would have to get used to here.

‘Dead city has never looked better. Welcome home, Wildcard.’

We hopped wagons and sky carriages until we were over one of Stalliongrad’s six bridges that all went over the massive, now frozen river that the city was built next to. The skyline was blocked by towering skyscrapers as we moved through the valley of broken concrete below. The snow that popped and crackled soft under our hooves was drowned out by the sound of heavy wing beats. Quickly, I shoved Sea Mist into the entrance of a Donut Joe’s Diner as a gigantic grey-colored Demon landed in the middle of the street. Its pale pinkish-red wings blew snow away from its makeshift perch and its claws ripped into the container of the vehicle below. It was bipedal. Its mouth was split into three parts, each with a numerous amount of sharp teeth. Its two bottom lips readjusting to the movement of the creature’s tongue licking his lips. The blue-coated mare’s eyes grew to the size of Luna’s full moon as she lost her breath at the sight of the large winged creature. It sniffed around the area while presenting its teeth with a low snarl. I slowly gestured to my companion to follow me through the kitchen door in an attempt to put as much distance between us and the beast as possible.

In the kitchen, Sea Mist asked in a shaky, quiet voice, “What is that?”

“That’s a gargoyle,” I responded without removing my eyes off the beast. “Most folks around here call them Demons. They’re quite common in these parts, so try to avoid staying out in the open.”

“Noted.”

She nodded and searched around the room. The kitchen was a mess of rusty bent pots and pans thrown all around the area. The body of a spider web-covered corpse appeared to be looking into the fridge. Parts of the galley were missing. Whole stoves, counters and even overhead lights were gone.

‘Fuck me, Luna. We’re in luck!’

Stalkers had been here. It was hard to tell when, of course. But where there were Stalkers meant there was an open Metro entrance. A single door led outside behind me as pointed out by Sea Mist. I told her to watch the Demon as I slowly tried to open the back door. Which was harder than I thought. A pile of snow was pushing against me on the other side. I swore under my breath and gave the metal entryway a powerful push. The hinges quietly cried as the door slowly submitted to my strength. The alley was empty except for the bodies of a few snow-covered dark grey canines. With the size of their body they could easily crush a pony with enough force. These corpses were covered with claw and bite marks. One of them still had their teeth into another one. Good thing the Trackers hated each other as much as they hated us.

I turned around to gesture Sea Mist to move with a hoof. She took notice and started to back out of the room. In the alley, she froze again at the bloody pile of corpses. The mare shook herself out of her state and walked closer to my side. I pulled out my map and looked for our location. We were in the outermost ring of Stalliongrad’s city limits. According to the map there was a Metro service point only a few blocks from the donut shop we were at. I placed the paper back into my bag and moved closer to the edge of the alley to check the street. Both sides were clear in what area I could see. Going straight would be the faster way to get there.

I checked my bracer. My filter had a minute left on it according to my watch. I turned to Sea Mist and pointed to the other side of the street. She nodded and we moved quickly across the open area. We paused on the other side for a few seconds to change our filter. I twisted on the new air talisman to the free spot on my mask while removing the used one and placing it in my saddlebags. I reset my timer of five minutes while watching Sea Mist do the same.

I listened to the surrounding area for any mutants. The cold winter wind was roughing up a piece of cloth in the distance as well as forcing a metal gate into submission with a creaky moan. We seemed to be in the clear, at least for now. The both of us continued to move down the alley, periodically wiping the snow off the front of our masks’ visors. I scanned every rooftop and corner for mutants. They could drop on us at any moment, so being paranoid was a plus here.

I blindly backed up into Sea Mist causing her to stumble a little.

“Why’d you stop?” I asked, turning around.

She pointed to the tower of rubble blocking the path. One of the buildings had crashed into the alleyway, filling it with a roughly three story tall pile of concrete and metal; it was impossible to climb.

“What now?” Sea Mist asked, looking up towards the top of the debris heap.

‘We have to find another way, quickly.’ My filter had four minutes left. Four minutes to find another way. I pulled out the city map to look for other paths. ‘Without taking the main street, the only way to get to the service cover would be through--’ I looked at the door to my right, ‘--there.’

Placing the parchment back into my bags, I tried the door; it didn't budge. Sea Mist noticed me struggling with the frozen entryway and quickly wrapped it in her crimson magic and helped me attempt to open it. The ice around the door broke forward with a loud crack. My eyes went wide as the sound of howling pierced through the air. Sea Mist ran through the door before I even had to tell her. Throwing myself through the doorway, I shut the door as the first Tracker rounded the alley’s corner, slamming into a dumpster.

Sea Mist was shaking, unsure of where to go. We looked around as the howling grew closer. We were in what looked like a drug store. Empty shelves lined in rows only held snow and dust now.

“There’s an exit over there!” Mist yelled through her mask and sprinted for the doorway.

I followed after her, drawing my knife from my saddle bags. A Tracker burst through the alley door with incredible strength and speed. I looked behind to see a small pack of maybe three or four.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, but it wasn’t fast enough. The lead Tracker lunged forward and swiped my back hooves out from under me as I was just entering into the building’s stockroom. I tumbled onto my back. Sea Mist stopped and turned around. The mutant stood over me and roared as it tried to use one of its massive paws to crush me. I rolled away from the strike as the young mare behind me drew her pistol and discharged three shots into the creature. The Tracker yelped back in pain.

I used this moment to get back onto my hooves while slicing at one of the legs of the mutant. Its crimson blood sprayed onto my gas mask. Using a free hoof, I wiped away the liquid blocking my vision and ran over to Sea Mist, who was trying to open this room’s door.

“It’s stuck!” She buzzed through her mask.

“Just focus on getting it open!”

The Tracker in the room was getting up now. It quickly covered the floor of the backroom and jumped at the small mare. I jumped in between and together me and the mutant crashed onto the floor, dropping my blade. Even worse, my mask fell off.

‘Fuck’n hell!’

I held my breath and readied myself. The Tracker swatted at me with a claw that connected with my front armor. It tossed me into a nearby wall next to a metal cardboard baler. I coughed out violently. Sea Mist looked over to me concerned.

“Get...that,” I tried to catch my breath with the thin air. “Open.”

The mare nodded, getting back to opening the door. The other Trackers were now prowling into the room. I looked at the baler to my right and picked up my knife from the floor. The wounded mutant in front leaped at me again. I spun around and bucked the creature's head into the cardboard baler. Desperately, I cut all of the external wires on the machine. I prayed silently to the Goddesses that this would work.

With a loud thud and showering of blood, the metal stab of the metal dropped and disfigured the Tracker head. Its body spazzed out, trying to get out of the machine until it eventually went limp. My vision grew darker around the edges as I searched for the gasmask. Luckily, it was near Sea Mist. I picked up the mask, sealed it around my face and took a few deep breaths.

I spoke to the mare without looking away from the two other Trackers now slowly eyeing up their prey, “Now would be a great time to get that door open.”

“It’s almost there!” the light blue unicorn grunted out.

The mutants stalked ever closer.

“What side are the hinges on?” I asked in the low voice.

The mare took a brief moment to look, “They’re on the other side.”

“Move.”

Sea Mist switched spots with me, drawing her pistol with her crimson magic. I readied my back hooves and bucked the door open to the sound of ice cracking. I grabbed the mare and sprinted out the exit back into the frozen embrace of the winter storm.

According to the map the buckcover was somewhere nearby. My eyes darted everywhere, looking for the metal plate. Sea Mist spotted it first and pointed off to the left. We ran directly towards it while in hot pursuit by the Trackers. Stopping on top of it, we immediately saw a problem; its handle was frozen to the ground.

“I’m done with this shit. Give me your pistol!” I said.

Sea Mist floated the firearm over to me. I took the gun and tongued two shots into the ice, cracking it instantly. I tossed the weapon back to the mare who caught it with her magic. I ripped open the buckcover with my hooves and looked back at Sea Mist. She was holding back and giggling with a hoof.

“Get in the hole.” I pointed at the dark pit.

She slid down the ladder into the darkness. I took one last look at the greyish winter surface and the mutants before joining her down the hole.

‘Exactly how I remembered it.’

The Trackers tried to fit into the buckcover hole to chase after me but it only ended with one of them getting their head stuck. Its roar echoed through the hole as I slid down the steel ladder to the bottom. I took a look at my geiger counter. It was still ticking in the mid green due to the open hole above. Bzzz… My watch’s timer went off. I shrugged as Sea Mist changed her filter. A little radiation never killed anyone.

I turned on my flashlight to illuminate the tunnel in front of us. Rubble and bent railroad tracks surrounded us. In front of us was a hoofcart with a few pale decaying corpses on and around it. What I could only assume was their bags, or what was left of them, was looted. Their cart crashed into a huge Hydraulically-sealed metal door. The only way out was the rusty door to our left.

I slowly crept around the door to check the path behind it. Shadows quickly danced and darted away from my light. Quiet growling echoed from further down the tunnel. I waved a hoof for Sea Mist to follow me closely as I took point.

She looked around at the spiderwebs and dust that covered every nook and cranny, “Did you really use to live here?”

I nodded my head in silence, then coughed. Breathing slowly grew harder. I picked up my pace a little and so did Sea Mist. The young unicorn looked around at everything with amazement or cringe.

The service tunnel bobbed and weaved for what seemed like minutes, decaying bodies of ponies and zebras popping up now and again along the way. I stopped at every one to check for supplies. Sea Mist looked at me in horror.

“What are you doing to that corpse?!”

I removed two filters from his saddlebags and finally replaced mine, setting my timer at the same time. I also found two tubes filled with seven steel balls each. They would be useful for later. Only after finding another knife and pocket lint did I answer her.

“Here in the Metro, the living ones need the supplies more than the dead.” I began placing my new items into my saddlebags and pointed to one of the corpses. “They already had their chance to live.”

Sea Mist was speechless and just stood there. I continued my way down the tunnel.

“You coming?” I hollered back.

My words caused her to snap out of her trance and gallop after me. When she caught up I handed her another filter, which she placed into her bag with her magic.

After two minutes of walking, I checked my geiger counter to find that the arrow was no longer ticking. I pulled off my mask and hooked it to the side of my saddlebags. I used my hooves to scratch my hair back into a mess; the straps had flattened different parts of my hair and I didn’t like the feeling.

“The air is breathable here. You can take off the mask.”

Sea Mist took off her own gas mask, placing it in her bags. She looked at me with her hair now almost as messy as mine.

I smiled. “You did pretty well up there. Hell, you almost looked like you belong here!”

“If that’s your day-to-day on the surface, I don’t really even want to know what it’s like underneath.”

“Don’t worry. It’s much better down here,” I started walking again. “We just need to get to a station and we should be fine.”

“How long will that take?” Sea Mist asked childishly.

“Well,” I looked over to a door that was marked with a conjoined white crescent moon and yellow sun that formed a circle. “Not too much longer.”

I approached the door and casually pushed it open, walking through the entranceway into a main rail tunnel. I turned back to Sea Mist.

“We’re on a stalker’s traveling route, so we should run into someone soon.”

“What’s a stalker?” the young unicorn asked.

“It’s the title we give to anyone brave enough or crazy enough to travel to the surface. Those who come back alive gain the title.”

“Why would anyone want to do that?” she asked.

I paused, “For some folks it’s the only option they see left due to either a situation they put themselves into or are forced into. Others are adventurous. It’s a different reason for everyone, but the ones who do it are seen almost like how soldiers and doctors were before the world ended.”

Sea Mist thought for a moment. “Then why did you become a stalker?”

“I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be seen as a hero,” I chuckled. “I know, I know. It sounds childish, but it’s true.”

“What’s wrong with wanting to be the hero?”

I went silent and just continued to walk. Sea Mist quickly tried to fix the awkward situation, “I didn’t mean to bring back those memories—“

“The road to Tartarus is often paved with good intentions,” I cut in. “Don’t forget that like I did.”

“I promise,” the blue unicorn said bravely.

“Good.”

Sea Mist bounced alongside me now smiling and asked playfully, “Does that mean you’ll stop being such a crazy pony now?”

“I can’t. You can never be too cautious.”

The young mare tilted her head to one side, her ears flopping over. “What do you mean? This place seems pretty safe to me.”

“Never say th—“ I was cut off by the sound of clicking. We both stopped. It checked my bracer, but the arrow was still. I looked down the path we were travelling and a pair of glossy crimson eyes in the darkness stared back. The mutant slowly pulled its way across the roof with its claws, revealing its dim purple leather-like skin. The creature’s skin on the front of its face was pulled with a reddish pink layer encapsulating its nose and mouth.

“Nosalis. Stay still,” I whispered to Sea Mist, remaining as still as possible.

The nosalis’s teeth clicked more rapidly as it looked directly at the young light blue mare. She was shaking uncontrollably. Before I could stop Sea Mist, she sprinted to an alcove nearby. The mutant leaped from the ceiling after her. I tackled the nosalis and we tumbled onto the railroad tracks. I drew one of my knives and stabbed it deep into one of its eyes; the mutant screamed, then ripped me off his back with one of its claws slamming me into the ground in front of it. While trying to catch my breath, the nosalis rammed a claw into my side and picked me up.

“A little help would be nice!” I yelled over to Sea Mist.

During the duration of Sea Mist fumbling with her pistol, I was brought eye to eye with the beast. It roared in my face and in response I thumped it on the nose. The nosalis pulled its claw out of my side, causing me to fall to the ground. I grasped my wound tightly as Sea Mist finally unloaded the remaining bullets in her pistol into the beast. She continued pulling the trigger, to audible clicks, as the nosalis fell backwards in pain.

This was no time for me to relax. I drew my remaining blade to the mutants throat. I used all my strength to slice through the creature’s tough hide, but I succeeded, watching blood rush out of its fresh, fatal wound. I fell on my butt, wheezing heavily, as I watched the body convulse, then fall still. Sea Mist ran over to me.

“Are you okay!”

I pulled out one of my medical syringes and punched the needle through my clothing, injecting it into my body, “I should be fine ‘til the next station as long we don’t encounter anymore nosalis.”

I groaned, pulling out the needle. I tossed it to the side and got back on my hooves.

“Just promise me you’ll never say those words again. Bad things always happen when someone does,” I warned Sea Mist sternly.

“I’m sorry. I won’t say them ever again.”

“Good,” I nodded at her. “Best we start moving again.”

With the pain nullified in my nerves, we started to walk again. Sea Mist was noticeably more paranoid now. Her eyes darted in every direction, not pausing for too long before glancing to another dark area. Then after a few minutes, she completely stopped in her tracks.

“What is it?” I asked with a questioning look.

She only pointed to the ceiling. Once again a pair of crimson eyes stared at us from the darkness. I readied my knife to fight.

‘Of fucking course there would be more! Just my luck.’

I was extremely unsure about this fight. With only one pistol magazine left and a single knife, I didn’t like our odds. But what other choice did we have? The eyes disappeared. Both Sea Mist and I looked around for where it went. My companion shook while aiming her pistol with her magic at the roof, ready to fire at any sign of movement. I took a deep breath and just listened to the tunnel. The sounds of leaky pipes echoing around us, the soft crunch of dirt and gravel under our hooves and the creak of ceiling til—

I wiped around to the face the shadow, but was too slow. The creature lunged at an incredible speed, pinning me to the ground and simultaneously knocked the weapon from Sea Mist’s magical grasp with a silver baton that extended from the side of their forehoof. The light of my flashlight shined onto the grey face of our assaulter as they pressed the other baton into my throat. She, yes I was sure it was a she, had short navy blue hair, with a single yellow streak, and was brought up into a small messy bun. Her ears were fuzzier than the normal pony ear. She bared her fangs and stared into my soul with her crimson viper-like eyes.

I knew that face. “Dusk...?”

“Serenity.” The batpony’s facial expression softened as she got off of me, retracting her weapons and squinting. “Is that really you?!”

I stood up and brushed the dirt off me. “I wouldn’t lie.”

Dusk happily galloped up to me and wrapped me in a tight hug. My coat began to feel clammy as the grey mare nuzzled into my neck. Was she crying? I felt myself begin to flush as Sea Mist looked at us, raising an eyebrow.

“You still owe me a magazine of 7.62,” Dusk said, but I could feel her smirking. She pulled herself back and looked at me, frowning. “What happened to your face?!”

She touched my scars with a free hoof. I softly swatted it and turned away, “I got into a problem, but I’m fixing it.”

She sighed, “You’ll always getting into pro--”

“Could someone explain to me what's going on?” Sea Mist cut in.

I turned to the unicorn, who looked like an impatient, needy filly, and raised a hoof, “This is Dusk. She’s my childhood friend.”

“I get that part, but what about the magazine of 7.62?”

Dusk used a wing to muffle her laughter. The batpony then used the same wing to beckon the younger mare forward. “Let’s get started heading to Wet Station and I’ll explain.”

Moving once again, Sea Mist began her questioning of the batpony, “So, can you explain now?”

“Here in the Metro, we use ammunition cartridges as currency. Because a single bullet could be the difference between life and death. Everyone can make ‘dirty’ bullets, but the friendship rounds is what you want. They’re actually casted instead of swaged like at other stations. They’re less likely to jam.“ Dusk paused for a moment then giggled. “It’s actually kind of morbid if you think about it. One bullet can be equated to someone’s life. At most stations, a drink cost five lives. You want a nice warm jacket? Well you’re in luck, it’s on sale. Not two hundred, but one hundred and fifty lives.”

Sea Mist’s eyes went blank at the humour from such a dark topic. Dusk just started to hum to herself, blissfully ignorant about the little pony’s state. I sighed; she always had a way with kids.

“Any other questions you need answered?” she asked with a wide simile.

“Just one,” Sea Mist tilted her head. “Who’s Serenity?”

Footnote: New Perk

New Perk: Thought You Died -- Your person has fallen from memory because everyone thought you died. Welcome back to the land of the living. Your Karma and Faction Reputations are reset. You are also 25% harder to detect.