Yesterday had been busy and quite informative. While i wanted to continue moving during the night, due to my new companions we had to rest and could only start moving again in the early afternoon. After they had woken up and i had checked that they weren't dying we started traveling. I also had to shave the mane of the earth pony mare as it was covered in barbed wire. Now that they were calm and understood what i did to them, i managed to learn more about the region.

First was that going to the coast wasn't a good idea. One part of the coast was controlled by hundreds of "united" slaver gangs. The other part was controlled by some military group of scummy zebra, though no pony knew how they had gotten here so deep in equestrian territory. Going West also wasn't a good idea, as the whole border was controlled by extremely xenophobic griffons. So i would be shot on sight.

The ex-raiders also told me about the closest of the big settlements, New Luxembuck. So we would head there.

We trotted very slowly, as my new companions huddled close to me for warmth and i had to carry one of them on my back, because of his broken leg. After a while they tried to chat. Well, the Blue and the brown stallion couldn't because of their wounds. The first one to speak was the earth pony mare that i was carrying, which had a light blue fur and an even lighter mane.
"Who are you?"
From the looks of it they all wanted to ask that question but clearly didn't dare to. Then the orange stallion, the one who hadn't said a word when we first met, spoke.
"Most ponies wouldn't have let us live. Or be able to do... what you did."
It would be better in the long run to just tell them and not keep to many secrets.

"My name is Somber Dawn. Now we did not have the most pleasant of introductions so maybe after you tell me your names i could start answering any question you might have."
They gave me a perplexed look, as i was most likely acting in a very strange way compared to all of the wasteland inhabitants. The orange stallion was the first one to give me his name.
"I'm Buzzsaw."
Then the green unicorn answered.
"I'm Scourger."
Then the blue mare.
"And i'm Barbed wire."
Scourger then pointed at the blue stallion and then at the bulkier brown stallion.
"That's Cutthroat and Bloodbath."
They then stared at each other and after some nodding, Scourger then spoke up.
"What's an enclave soldier doing all alone here, especially one so young? And why did you even let us live?"
I let out a chuckle, i knew that this was bound to happen. My appearance was very misleading.
"I can see why you would think that but i am much older than what i look and i'm not part of the enclave. And i did consider all of killing you, but decided instead to take a "bet" you could say."
"A bet? What do you mean with that?"
"The drug that i injected you with is untested so who knows what it could have done to you. And if you want to know how it works, you'll have to ask the ponies who made it."
"Why did they even make this drug? And were do you come from if you're not part of the enclave? A stable?"
They still knew about stables. This meant that they were still important if they hadn't been forgotten. It was foolish to hope that they would have forgotten that stables existed after all this time. Let's just hope that they haven't been flooded by raiders or slavers as those stables would be extremely useful.
"No i'm not from a stable. And i won't tell you were i'm from exactly, yet, but i will say that when the balefire bombs fell that the zebras either missed their target or that it wasn't important enough for them to target, which is why i have access to this armor and some other equipment. And for the dr... well it's more of a medicine, but it was made because we expected to find quite a few insane ponies wandering around and i personally don't think that there are any working psychiatric hospitals lying around."
"But why try to heal us and not simply kill us?"
"Because that is not how you build a society."
They stared dumbfounded at what i had said. It looked like they couldn't decide if i was joking or serious.
"Build... are you implying that...?"

I sighed, one of the many fears that we had before when preparing to leave the factory was how any pony would react to our plans. Would they simply think that we're lunatics or would they react with outright hostility. I really hoped for the former.
"I am not implying anything, we will defeat the wasteland and build a new society. Were slavery doesn't exist and the insane get the help that they need."
"And how would you do that? A lot of ponies have tried and none have gotten very far. Do you even have a plan?"
"Yes, i do. We ha... well i have access to a lot of resources but i lack ponypower. Not enough workers or a proper army. I'll first use raiders to start solving both those problems."
"And how are you going to get raiders to wo... oh."
I grabbed Buzzsaw. Accidently dropping Barbed wire of my back. I know had a gleeful smile on my face.
"Exactly. The fact that this worked..."
I pulled a vial out of my saddlebags and showed it to them.
"You have no idea how helpful this will be."
"But... but raiders won't be enough."
The smile on my face grew even more.
"Indeed, but raiders and slaves, freed slaves, might be enough to start. I have resources. I could train the raiders, turn them into real soldiers, give them tanks, artillery and power armor and have them attack the slavers and free the slaves. And also buying slaves and then freeing them would also be a possibility. Turn them into paid workers and soldiers."

I now stood on my to hind legs, wings spread out, making big gestures with my front hooves. My new companions listened both with curiosity and fear.
"And then..."
I folded my wings and put all my hoofs on the ground.
"I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's focus on the shorter term, which would still take years if not decades."
It took a minute for them to regain their composure. They trotted a few steps away(shivering as my armor couldn't heat them at such distance) dragging barbed wire with them as she couldn't walk, then started whispering to each other. After a few minutes they came back huddled close to me for warmth. Scourger then spoke up.
"So you think that you can rebuild Equestria?"
"No, Equestria is long gone. I will build something new using it's ashes as a foundation."
"And how are you going to get ponies to join you?"
She raised an eyebrow as she asked that. I smirked.
"I have access to stockpiles of food and medicine. After enough trade and some necessary shows of force some will willingly join when asked. And for those that don't..."

"They'll join, by force if needed."
My five companions looked nervous and doubtful. They were too close to me to whisper amongst themselves, but the looks that they gave each other were more than enough for them to communicate.
"And as for the slavers, i will give them a chance to join. If they do they will be able to seek redemption. If they don't then their bodies will serve as a warning to others. Now are you with me, if not feel free to leave"
I stared at the five ponies. They were clearly thinking about everything i had said. For they needed to make a choice. They only let a few faint whispers out as they discussed between each other. I did not bother listening to it, as i waited for their answer. If they answered no, then i would leave as i didn't need them slowing me down.

"It's better than being a raider."
"Yeah. we'll take our chances with you."
They clearly didn't like that choice. I tried to put on the warmest smile as i could.
"You made the right choice. You may not like it, but i have told only the truth."
I lifted Barbed wire(i'll just call her wire from now on) on my back, before continuing to trot towards New Luxembuck.

After travelling for a while in silence Wire spoke up
"Before we reach any settlement you need to know that you're going to need to hide your armor if you want to have a chance to ever complete those plans of yours."
"Why?"
"Cause everycreature here hates the enclave with a passion. And you look like you're from the enclave."
"Because the enclave left the rest of ponykind behind? I already know that."
"Not here. Both griffons and ponies hate the enclave. And for a very different reason."
"Please explain."
"Evercreature in the region knows about this story, especially griffons. Just ask any griffon, they'll gladly tell you. But basically when the bombs fell many ponies tried to flee to the griffon lands. They didn't let anypony in at first so ponies made camps at the border in hopes that one day they would allow them in. There was also less radiation there. And after a few years there were talks about letting the refugees in, because the zebras hadn't done anything in years. Then came the enclave who were running out of resources above the clouds. And not only was Equestria covered in radiation but what little remained of the military had become very hostile towards those traitors."
"So they went towards the griffon kingdom for their resources?"
Scourge was the one to answer.
"Yes and pretty much raided every corner of their country. Leaving only ruins. Threatening to burn cities down if the griffons resisted. And sometimes they burned them down even when the griffons surrendered. Some even say that they brought balefire bombs with them."
"Because of all that the griffons dropped any plans to let any pony refuges in. But that wasn't even the worst thing to happen."
They became much sadder, they seemed unable to even think about it. It was easy to guess what had happened.
"The griffons seeked vengeance."
""Not all of them. luckily the first griffons to arrive simply told everypony to leave."
"Too little, too latte. More griffons arrived and started slaughtering anypony in sight."
Their tones were sad and regretful. And i understood why. The enclave had ruined the lives of millions, killed who knows how many and crushed the hopes of tens if not hundreds of thousands of fleeing ponies and doomed their descendants to a live of misery. Buzzsaw then spoke.
"And in a fit of irony griffons are now coming here to escape their warlords and own raiders."

I would have to take my armor off if i didn't want to be shot on sight. Fortunately it had multiple layers and it was made so that some layers and pieces could be taken off and still have a working(albeit weaker) armor, some parts were also thin enoughthat they couldbe hidden under my clothes. After taking parts of it off my grey uniform was visible and only my hooves were visible fully covered in armor. Most of it was now hidden under my clothes except for the neck guard and chest piece. I also kept the tail. Then after this one last stop we continued traveling.
I couldn't stop myself from swearing under my breath as i would now be much more vulnerable and less intimidating.
But if i could find ponies or griffons willing or desperate enough to work for me then it would all be worth it.

We reached New Luxembuck at night fall. It was bigger than i expected. According to my old maps it had been build around a train station and some shops. Before getting too close i quickly flew up took a good look. Leaving my companions in the cold. The train station was surrounded with shabby shacks and old trains were being used as houses, they build a little town using everything available. The whole thing was surrounded by a wall made out damaged train wagons, vehicles and fences. After having a good look i flew back down and joined my shivering companions. We then headed towards the entrance. In two days i had somehow made more progress than in almost two centuries.

I smiled as the next step of my plan was officially set in motion.

Author's Note

To anyone that might be reading this, i hope you like my story.

Any and every piece of criticism is welcome and appreciated.

(This story is supposed to happen around eight or ten years before the events of Kkat's original story. Also i wanted to make another story first, but decided to make this one first as it be shorter, have less characters and be a better learning experience.)