As the combined group of Equestrians, followed by Mark Rileigh, approached the outskirts of Ponyville, the eyes of everypony present were drawn to Princess Celestia. Seeing her in town and outside of Canterlot was rare enough, but what made the townsponies curious was the presence of ten Solar Guards and all six Elements.

"Princess?" Mayor Mare asked as she approached nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"A fair question, Mayor Mare." Celestia said, then she cleared her throat. "We have met with a visitor, who was more than happy to volunteer his services in hunting down the assassin. Mr. Rileigh, this is the duly elected Mayor Mare, of Ponyville."

Mark approached and offered his hand, and Mayor Mare stepped back slightly in shock and apprehension.

"You shake hands, or hooves rather, here, right?" he asked. "My name's Mark Rileigh. And just so you're aware, the assassin you're looking for is a fake pretending to be me."

"I…see." Mayor Mare said with a raised eyebrow, and she shook his hand. "Well, I suppose you're welcome here in Ponyville, for now. Just keep yourself out of trouble. There’s a lot of eyes on you here."

"I'd expected as much." Mark replied as the Elements approached. "So, seeing as I'm new here, would somepony mind showing me around town? I'd like to familiarize myself with the area."

"Allow me." Twilight said, coming forward. "I've got questions of my own to ask you, if you don't mind."

"By all means." Mark smiled. "Let's walk and talk."

As they both headed towards Ponyville Plaza, Rainbow Dash came up to speak with Princess Celestia.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" she asked, rubbing her front-right leg with her left hoof.

"No, I am not." Celestia replied. "All I can do is believe in my instincts...and how they can guide me forward."

====

"So, this is Sugarcube Corner." Twilight said as they walked past the aforementioned building. "The best bakery in Ponyville. Pinkie helps out there all the time, since the owners, the Cakes, know her well."

"I'd bet," Mark said, having tipped his cap to the family in question, who nodded back. "Just seeing the amount of things here that we don't have back in the Mojave...is staggering."

"What's it like? The Mojave Wasteland, I mean." Twilight asked. "Is it truly just a scorched, lifeless desert?"

"That depends on where you look." Mark replied. "The New Vegas strip is one of the largest populated areas, and places like Primm, Novac, and Goodsprings have their own attractions. Take Goodsprings for example, it's one of the largest sources of pure water in the Mojave. Plus, it's the place I started my journey. Lots of sentimental value to me."

"Well, what about the flora and fauna?"

"That's a different story." Mark replied as they both sat down on a bench near some bushes. "Most of the wildlife in the Mojave and beyond is so heavily mutated, they look like nothing I've seen here. I mean, Cazadors are some of the worst examples. I hate those things."

"What are those?" Twilight asked, not sure herself if she wanted to know.

"They're flying insects, about the size of a guard dog." Mark said, pulling up a readout and image of one on his Pip-Boy. "They're highly aggressive, attack in groups of four or five, and have a really nasty stinger that's loaded with poison. They're also perceptive as far as bugs go, so sneaking past them is not a good option. You go near some or threaten their nests, they'll find you, and it won’t be pleasant."

"That's disgusting!" Twilight exclaimed, grimacing in shock as she looked at the image.

"And they're not even some of the worst that I've seen or dealt with." Mark added, pulling up readouts for the Deathclaw, Super Mutant, Centaur, Bloatfly, Radscorpion, and various other creatures in the Mojave and beyond. "Radiation does more than poison the environment it's exposed into. It changes and mutates living things over time. It usually takes years, but it'll do the trick eventually. And it’s not always the radiation that does it. Some of these creatures came about because of human-made science experiments.”

Twilight felt like she needed to throw up, and Mark must've realized that, because he quickly guided her to a hidden spot in the bushes, where she did indeed throw up shortly. After coming out, she drank a gulp of water from Mark's Vault 13 canteen, and sighed in relief.

“How do you deal with all this?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “Why do you deal with all those disgusting creatures, a ruined world, and those Legion fanatics on a daily basis?”

“Because, Princess, very few others will.” Mark replied. “I didn’t know that being shot and left for dead would lead me to have all the adventures and escapades that I’ve been through. Look at where I am now, though, from where it all started. I’m the Founder of the Mojave Coalition, the Hero of Hoover Dam, and more. It all comes down to this, in the end.”

“When your story gets told, both the good and bad parts, take pride in knowing it was told in the first place.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Twilight wiped her mouth with her hoof. “So…are there more humans like you in the Mojave?”

“Oh, certainly.” Mark replied. “Would you like to know about some of my companions, or the friends I’ve made?”

“Sure!” Twilight replied, now interested in discussing a tamer, more pleasant topic.

“First, there was Doc Mitchell.” Mark began. “He’s actually a Vault Dweller, and he settled in Goodsprings, the town where it all began for me. He and a Securitron named Victor saved my life after I was shot in the head.”

“Why were you, though? How’d it happen?”

“A man named Benny wanted the package I was supposed to deliver, and after digging me a shallow grave, he shot me. The package was actually a Platinum Poker Chip that contained upgrades for the Securitrons on the New Vegas strip.”

“However, Victor saw that encounter unfold, dug me out, and got me to Doc Mitchell’s. Mitchell gave me back what gear I had, gave me his old Pip-Boy, and turned me loose with a “good luck”.”

“He seems friendly enough.” Twilight nodded.

“He is.” Mark continued. “After dealing with some of the Powder Gangers, I travelled to the Mojave Outpost, and met my first companion. Her name’s Rose of Sharon Cassidy, but she goes by Cass.”

“She lost her caravan business due to attacks by Raiders, and after running some errands for her and the manager of the Crimson Caravan group, she agreed to travel with me. She’s a solid friend, and quite good with a long rifle or shotgun.”

“What’s she up to now?”

“Cass actually took over the Crimson Caravan company after its former lead, Alice McLafferty, ended up being removed by the NCR over charges related to supply trafficking and weapons smuggling. Cass took the job, and it’s considered to be one of the most secure ways to send cargo in the Mojave now, thanks to Cass.”

“Next was Boone. A former NCR sniper, Boone lost his wife and daughter to Legion slavers, thanks to a rather shady hotel owner who was in debt to them. He’s one of the best shots in the Wasteland with an Anti-Material rifle.”

“Do you know what happened to his family?” Twilight asked. “I thought you defeated the Legion.”

“We did. That’s…a complicated story.” Mark sighed. “After Hoover Dam, Boone and I, with some NCR Troopers and two Knights with the Brotherhood of Steel, were searching for a Legion hub in the eastern part of the Mojave. They were planning to use it as a staging area to get their remaining slaves back east.’

“We stormed the camp and killed the Legion troops there, and as we were freeing the slaves…Boone ran across a girl in one of the tents.”

“Boone was about to call for a medic, when he stopped and recognized her. I walked in on them crying in each other’s arms. That girl was his and his wife’s child. Carla had only been pregnant when she was enslaved, but before her death, she had been given to a Legion leader when he visited Cottonwood cove. Her name’s Claire, and she’s nine years old now.”

“And his wife?” Twilight asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

“She’s dead.” Mark replied. “She died trying to escape from the Legion. from what his daughter remembered. After we patched her up, she led him to the Legion commander who had kept her prisoner.”

“And Boone nearly killed him.”

“Nearly?” Twilight asked.

“His daughter actually convinced him to spare his life.” Mark replied. “That Legion soldier had done his best to care for her, and keep her from being sold. Because of that, we let him live, in exchange for all the information he could tell us. That guy’s currently in an NCR prison camp.”

“After that, it was back to Novac to deal with Jeannie May Crawford, who sold them in the first place.”

Mark took a drink, and sighed in a sad manner, causing Twilight to look at him curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just remembering the sad turn of events that happened when we returned.” Mark brushed his mouth with his sleeve. “Jeannie, when we arrested her, gave us every excuse in the book as to why she was innocent. Boone searched her office, and found the bill of sale she’d been given by the Legion.”

“When we showed her that, her tune changed quickly. She said she only did it for the Caps, that she didn’t know what happened to his wife, a real sob story.”

“Boone didn’t care.” Mark said. “He loved her, and she loved him. But now that she was gone, Claire was all he had left. He knew that he was better than this, that he didn’t have to kill her, not in front of his daughter.”

“So…we agreed on a compromise. Jeannie was given a few supplies, some clothes, and told her to leave Novac and never come back. If she did, we promised he that we wouldn’t be there to stop someone from killing her on sight.”

“We showed her to the edge of town, and she ran. Ran like she never had before. But just as she was about to disappear, a gunshot sounded, and she fell dead.”

“It wasn’t Boone or any of the guys with me, because their guns were holstered, and Boone was standing right next to me. It wasn’t his daughter, because she was holding Boone’s hands. We never did find out who fired the shot. We buried her in an unmarked grave, and that was that.”

Twilight thought she saw a tear fall from Mark’s eye, but he wiped his eyes clear almost immediately.

“For all her actions, she didn’t deserve to die like that.” Mark sighed. “It’s not one of the worst or even one of the sadder stories I know, but it still hurts to remember.”

“Well, why don’t we get moving, then?” Twilight asked. “Come on, let’s get something to eat.”

“Sure thing.” Mark replied, standing up. “After you, Princess.”

And with that, they headed to Sugarcube Corner.

Author's Note

Update!

Yeah, I believe that Boone deserves a chance to have a family again, and this was the result. I hope you enjoyed!

Next time - The Courier heads to Canterlot, and everything that goes with such a visit.