Author's Note

This next one is a bit of a trilogy and will deal with scary thoughts of the world we live in and will deal with serious issues such as suicide, death and such. Avoid this one if need be, but if you do have thoughts of suicide there are options available to use. Suicide hotlines are there for you. And if you needed a sign to not do it, let this be it.

Bird In The Air: Canterlot (Part 1)

If I hadnt woken up today... I honestly wish I would've stayed asleep.... Either that or died in my sleep.... Yesterday was a party that Daring invited us to in the Bunker. We got there early morning. Stopped for breakfast along the way... We didnt know it would be a last good breakfast. We stayed all day, ate food, drank whatever to our hearts content.... and Daring and Sunburst went out to get food considering they ate a good portion of the food since I was last here when she delivered the line from the game casting me out... but as of now it was loving compared to today.... She left last night and I think I was the last one to pass out. Shining and Big Mac passed out after Big Mac drank him under the table, Soarin? Yeah he couldnt hold his liquor. Nearly pissed his pants but thankfully managed to get to a toilet... before puking all the alcohol he drank... I knew my limit and didnt wanna go blackout drunk. Dont wanna destroy anything or even find out how I am blacked out drunk. Though I was the first one up I didnt know what was going on. Slightly hungover but nothing I couldnt handle. I was in a room and passed out in the comfortable bed just in my pants and a tanktop. Went to the bathroom, pissed, grabbed some pain meds for a slight headache and went out. The door opening automatically was a little annoying but it was alright. I went down the hall and found the diner. Went in and just grabbed a glass from a cabinet and got some water from the tap. The place was littered with beer bottles, a half drank whiskey, empty rum bottle and such. Yeah... We were having some fun. When I sat down to drink I found a note. Picked it up drinking the cool water making me feel a bit better. 'Ryder or whoever finds this, if you hadnt forgot I went out with Sunburst to get supplies for the bunker. There is very little food here but it should be enough for you to enjoy. If I'm not back by morning I wouldnt worry. I'm with Sunburst and we probably went back to his place to rest. Be safe and try not to fuck things up. Hangover meds are in the medical area. And please... Try not to puke everywhere if you do feel sick. -Daring'

I sighed and just sat there setting the note aside. Just drank some water and once I was finished there I set my glass in the sink and just went to the medical wing. Grabbed my share of the meds and brought the others to the diner before grabbing my shoes and walking towards the door. Best thing about this place? I guess the alarm blares from the inside but doesnt stretch all the way in unless an alarm button is hit. I went over to the console, opened the door and just waited hearing alarms go off in the room I was in. The door was just beyond and I could just see it slide back and roll open. The room muffled the sound for me but knowing how it would be on the other side when it closed- if it did... would just suck... When I walked out I smelt something burning.... Didnt think anything of it... just thought it was just some fire that Daring did just because she wanted to camp out for the night.... the darkness of the shelter entrance should've tipped me off but no. Just thought it was storming. When I did go out? I just... I honestly couldnt believe what I was seeing. The forest around us gone, buildings in the distance ablaze, destroyed or not even there.... The sky blood red, the sun attempting to shine through clouds and the wind just whipping things everywhere. The worst part? Huge. Fucking. Mushroom cloud. I wanted to just pass out. But no. I ran back down the stairs, took flight and just twisted and turned back into the security room before hitting the alarm button making the alarm sound throughout the complex. I hurried back to the security area but I didnt get far before throwing myself against the wall and throwing up.... God that fucking hurt... Guess I'm not getting my meds for my hangover.... then again it isnt that bad. Not even a minute later I look over and see Shining, Soarin and Big Mac all rushing over. Soarin went to the security room while Shining and Big Mac helped me onto a nearby bench and sat me down. Took a minute or so for Soarin to take down the alarm and just rush back out. Shining huffed once the alarm was silenced. "...Sweet fucking Celestia what the hell was that for!?" He asked. "...At least wake us and warn us that the alarm is gonna be sounded... "

Big Mac groaned and just looking to me as he noticed the puddle of puke. "...Hopefully that aint the reason you sounded the alarm...." He said. "Fuckin'.... You good Ry? Lookin' like you just saw a huge ass spider!" Shining looked into my eye.... I just stared straight.... Not even looking away.

"Damn... You're right.... Though... this doesnt seem like he saw a spider.... Looks worse.... What happened dude? What got you this freaked out? Puke something out and just get scared at what you saw?"

Soarin checked the puddle I left and just choked back what he was stowing. "...I'm not seeing anything in there.... no red at least.... Just.... Alcohol... looks like a few pills too...." He said.... And with that he didnt hesitate on just adding on to the pile.... Big Mac had to grab him and ferry him over to my side. "... Oh FUCK! It burns.... My insides are on fire...." He coughed like he was trying to cough up the fire. Shining looked to Big Mac.

"Go see if you can find Daring or Sunburst. See if they cant calm him down. I got em both for now." Big Mac nodded looking to me worried and side stepped the growing puddle of puke.

I watched as he walked towards the door. I got up but Shining tried to sit me back down. I just pushed him back against the wall before flying towards Big Mac getting in front of him and grabbing his shoulders knowing DAMN WELL what radiation can do.... maybe not like in Nukes Galore games but.... Realistically. "NO! DONT GO OUT THERE!" I yelled. And this scared him. Slowly he just nudged my arms off him. "Seriously! D-Dont go out there.... Please... just dont...."

Shining hurried over and grabbed a hold of me with his magic. "Ry.... Easy there.... I dunno what you saw but I gotta see what's got you all riled up..." Big Mac said as calm as he could. "...Just go with Shining, sit your ass down and breathe.... Dont wanna have you needing to go to a hospital now do we?" I swallowed and just... shook my head. "Good... Now just follow Shinin', sit down and just breathe man...." I know I wasnt gonna get too far with this.... All I could do was nod and just hold back tears like I was just gonna say goodbye to the brother I knew and the one thing I had left. He turned away and just started out. Shining released me from his magic but I just collapsed onto my knees. He tried helping me but I was just dead weight. He had to drag me like I was dead. Honestly wish I was.... He didnt get far before Big Mac came rushing back in, the fear I had in my own eyes. Shining dropped me and just went to Big Mac as he collapsed... Again another one to puke...

Shining swallowed a bit rubbing his throat as he helped his friend up. "Mac? Mac what the hell is out there?! What did you see?!" He asked.

"....It.... It's gone... its all gone...." He replied.

"Mac? Are you good? What's gone? Someone come in and cut down some trees?" Big Mac didnt answer. I sat up and just looked to them. Shining looked to me again. "...You... You know what he's talking about.... right?" Guess Big Mac didnt know if he were talking to me or him. We both nodded. I looked around and just saw something in the security office. A radio. I got up and walked to get it. Lucky me it was somehow wireless. I brought it out and set it on the bench and turned it on. Static annoyed the other still half drunk guys I was with. I quickly fiddled with the volume and started changing the frequency until I hit a radio station I always had turned on in the car.

Big Mac and Shining came over just as I carefully tuned it to hear what was being said. "...Citizens of Equestria...." Celestia's voice said. "It is with a heavy heart that I must warn you a nation that has gone to war with us has launched nuclear missiles. If you are out of the house, go home and be with your families, if you can get somewhere safe, do so and hurry. I know not the time frame on when it touches down.... But if you do survive... please.... keep Equestria alive in your hearts... An all clear signal will be sent out in due time... hopefully... Keep your radios nearby, your wits about you and if I am not to survive.... I... hope others do... This message will repeat." I turned the radio off and looked to Shining. He was just trembling. Soaring just sat there looking at the radio as if it were just speaking gibberish and he was trying to decipher it. Nopony said anything... I got to my feet and just went for my brother starting to break down.

"...I... No... This... this cant be.... It cant be the end... it cant be..."

I looked to Shining. "...Well... It... It is..." I said through my tears.... "Everything... everyone we loved... gone..." I could see him trying to find words... Even saw the tears building up in his eyes not being able to find them. "....Just... Go close the door... all that radiation is getting in... pretty sure we got soaked with a few when Mac and I went out...." Shining just.... nodded without saying anything. He just walked over to the security area and just started the closing sequence. I motioned to Big Mac and Soarin to cover their ears. They did and just a moment later the loud sound of the door rolling shut and the screech of it closing. Things fell silent as Shining came back out. Wordlessly I motioned them to follow me back to the diner... they did....I got behind the counter, gave them all their meds, more water for myself and them. We all drank and just sat there in disbelief on what happened....

The air was so tense in there nobody wanted to say anything... Just sat there, drank water and just looked for whatever to eat. I didnt wanna eat anything. I just felt so... empty... knowing everyone I loved was dead... Though all that was available to eat was small snack cakes I didnt want anything except water. After that I just went back out into the hall, sat down and just put my head in my hands.... Big Mac came out leaving Shining and Soarin alone. He even brought a package of snack cakes for me. He just threw them on the floor next to me. "Here.... Eat it.... eat something... please...." He said, possibly trying to ignore the fact we were just the first to witness destruction anyone could've wished they hadnt seen. I just sat there motionless. He knelt down in front of me. "...C'mon Ry... please... just eat.... It... it hurts... like someone took a big ol knife.... just jammed it right through our hearts and twisted the blade a few times... just left it in there so we know what's up.... It aint gonna hurt any less if you dont eat... aint gonna hurt any less if you do...." I just looked to him.

"....Why should I even eat...?"

"...You just gotta Ryder.... Just eat.... please man.... We gotta have our energy here if'n we wanna go anywhere...."

"Where the fuck are we gonna go? We go out there, we're gonna soak up so many rads its gonna kill us before we can even touch Ponyville!"

"Well we cant stay here! You heard Daring.... Place is running out of food so we aint gonna survive here long.... Canterlot is within hiking distance.... Think I saw some hazmat suits when Daring was showing us the place... Go find some more food, survive as long as we can... maybe go back home and just.... be there until the end does come...."

"...Soarin and Shining wont be onboard with this... they're gonna be like me, ready to die anyway they can think of...."

"Yeah well... at least they're eating.... You eat as well.... We just... we're gonna find a place to go out.... Just maybe ask for mercy wherever we go.... Or however we go out.... We could at least see if any of our friends are out there... Family maybe...." He grabbed the snack cakes and handed them to me. I hesitantly took them giving a sigh.

"Yeah... Maybe... If we're gonna die... might as well make an adventure out of it..." He sat with me... I ate the snack cakes... They were sweet and marshmallow filled. He helped me back up and just went and grabbed me another water before I just went walking through the halls with him. "....So... where did you see those hazmat suits?" Big Mac huffed.

"Thinkin it was somewhere down towards the generator room.... Thankfully it aint a nuclear reactor but that dont mean it couldnt malfunction and blow up..." I sighed.

"If things are made right it might not but when it comes to fusion reactors that powered these places depending on which bunker you dive into you could be soaking the radiation in or it might've run out of juice... either that or it just works perfectly... the game this one comes from was slowly failing and would've been a massive coffin like we could be in... just with... less ponies in it...."

"World ends and you're still talking games like that? Shouldnt be surprised..." I sipped my water as we stopped in front of the maintenance wing door.

"Well... helps me not think about anything else... So either deal with it or deal with two depressed prince' and a wonderbolt that is out of a job because the winds would rip his wings to shred... Hell I wouldnt even try that...."

"Fair fair... Maybe there's something in this damn place that can even explain how we didnt feel any tremors when that thing landed... We couldnt have been THAT drunk... Hell you were the least drunk out of all of us! You should've felt something!" I hummed thinking to myself...

"Yeah... I really should've felt something.... You three were so fucked up you didnt know where I was when I was right next to you! Dont think I've ever seen you so drunk before."

"Trust me.... Being drunk was the least of our problem." He opened the door and we walked in. The door lead to another hallway, more compact but had doors on each side. Weapons fixing, Research and Development (because it a post apocalypse things needed to be produced still to adapt), Reactor and even another medical wing just marked 'First Aid' because cant do anything with a medical wing across the complex when you get a screw or bolt embedded into your arm or leg... And medical professionals are a good ways away... doesnt mean you couldnt go and get air support. Eh... lot of good that does us now... We passed by on our way towards the reactor. Took a look into the weapon maintenance and the R&D stuff. Lots of parts, some actual weapons that Daring and I shot earlier in the day before we were drunk. And yeah... Weapon storage and maintenance were locked. Alcohol and guns DO NOT MIX. We both looked in at the reactor and then in the first aid area. I hummed.

"...Not seeing the suits.... You sure they're around here?"

"Sure as there's a nuke outside spreading deadly ass radiation like manure in the pasture." I just stared at him. "...Yeah... Cant forget that and replace that with something normal.... Just... You get what I mean...." I shook my head and just opened the door into the first aid room. I went inside and just saw medical things... Blades, saws, kits and bandages and such.... Even opened up drawers and cabinets. Nothing. Just more medical stuff... disinfectant, innoculants, shit like that. I looked back at Big Mac as he looked around at the room. "Aint in here? But I swear...."

"You wanna look elsewhere? Might need to see if there's something in here that could help us survive the radiation... At least for a while anyways..." He gave a nod before leaving me alone in the room with... rather sharp objects... I desperately wanted to grab one and shove it into my neck or my head just to faceplant somewhere driving that thing into my fucking brain... I suppressed that feeling as I went into a few more cabinets.... Painkillers mostly... Opioid were a small majority, the rest were either strong stuff or weak stuff... Took a few of the strong ones pocketing a bottle. And Honestly I found nothing.... Well... until I looked on a kit attached to the wall... 'Radiation Supplies'. I opened it up and looked inside. There was a note as well as a few bottles of pills and at least eight bags of blackish liquid. I started reading the note.

'To whoever reads this, these are anti-radiation drugs in case of a nuclear attack, radon gas leak in subterranean chambers or the reactor exploding sending radioactive material into the air inside the shelter. Take these IMMEDIATELY if you feel as if you've been exposed. The pills are a slow acting charcoal that keeps radiation poisoning at bay. Two pills per day will keep radiation sickness away for that day. The bags of anti radiation drugs are a fast acting combination of purging drugs, radiation purging and otherwise. Note: if taken be aware of sickness and upset stomachs. If either is felt, do prepare to void radiation as well as any foods, liquids and such from your body. It can be ingested or intravenously, both of which get a similar effect. Note with taking this medication intravenously it takes slightly longer to take effect with the nauseation and the stomach issues but will clear rads like normal. If experiencing these symptoms for more than four hours, do seek medical help from anyone who is a doctor or with a resemblance to a medical background. If unable to, rest, hydrate, eat solid foods or semi solid foods to remedy. If still unable to stomach anything, just.... try your best okay?'

I huffed as I took the kit off the wall making sure it was secure. Best thing about this thing was that it was hung with a leather strap on the wall. It was all bundled up. I slung it over my shoulder before leaving the room just to see Big Mac checking out inside a few of the rooms in the hall from the windows not even getting inside of the rooms themselves. Specifically he was checking out the R&D room from the window. He looked to me. "Found somethin' eh?" He asked. I nodded. "Good...This is something that's gonna start em up..." He turned his attention back inside the R&D room. "Thinkin' there's something in here but I cant get the door open... Daring locked it before she left and more than likely she had the key... aint finding that thing now..." He looked back to me. "Got enough energy to get the door open?" I hummed looking at the doors.

"These things were made to be tough to crack.... Couldnt go through but with high strength or with hydraulic power armor you could jack those things up..." I took off the med kit just handing it over to Big Mac. "Gimme your axe. See if I cant make a divot to grip into..." He reached for his belt and the axe appeared in his hand. He gave it to me and sighed.

"Used this last when you turned into a fucking Timberwolf.... The shit I saw those few days just scared the hell outta me...." I aimed for a lower part of the door that was just around my knees... I brought it back and sure enough that thing got embedded in the metal. Even drug it slightly creating an annoying sound that was just as annoying as the door opening and closing when in earshot. I pried it out and handed it back to Big Mac.

"And trust me when I say being that fucking thing made me feel like one of the guards could've gone and killed me if they didnt know it was me.... Just lucky I found you and you took charge.... Did well that day." I readied myself and looked back at the door making sure my fingers were right there, ready to lift. "You might need to cover your ears or something... this is gonna be loud and annoying...." He nodded and went into the first aid room shutting the door behind him. I silently counted to three and this fucking thing just... Oh god I felt like I was lifting up something more than the limit I'm pretty sure I have now.... then again I could just be weak because of the fucking drinking I did and puking that happened not even an hour ago. I got the door open but I just leaned against the door jam which was now leaking some kind of hydraulic fluid down the side. I hobbled in before just plopping down against the wall. Big Mac came to my side and looked to me.

"You good?" I gave a nod. "Alright... Just take it easy... I'll search in here for a minute... maybe see if someone stashed something around here that you could eat..." He took the kit off his shoulder and set it at my side. I watched as he started raiding cabinets. In here there were just some experimental things that... even I didnt know what the fuck that was being built in here... Looked like a rifle being built, magnets and such.... I know I'm supposed to know how to fix things or jury rig things together but this was BEYOND ME! Anyhow I sat there for a minute as he just started going through cabinets. Ended up getting up myself and going towards a taller cabinet at the side of the room. I opened it up and sure enough there was a few hazmat suits. Six actually. Guess these were just in case some went missing or something. I whistled to Big Mac who just came over and grabbed a few suits while I grabbed one. Had to put it on right there and make sure the helmet to it was an easy on, easy off kinda thing. It was thankfully but sealed PERFECTLY.... though its a good idea not to pass gas in this thing... Character in game did that at one point because he ate some bad food, ended up having to take the helmet off but he ended up dying from a poisonous gas that was in the air. Anyhow I looked to Big Mac.

"You maybe wanna get Soarin over here to see if he cant pick the lock to the door to the weapon maintenance room? Might be a good idea to defend ourselves just in case something is out there... and I am NOT doing that again unless we get some more food..."

"Now there's an idea.... Just gotta make a pact to not use em on ourselves unless radiation poisonin' takes over or we're cornered by... whatever the hell is out there...."

"Yeah... Yeah agreed.... Just go and get Shining and Soarin... I... I'm gonna sit down in here...." He gave a nod and just set the suits right next to me. He just left me there as he went out to go find our friends. I couldnt help but think what could be out there... IF anything is out there.... Maybe some scared animals ready to attack.... survivors who quickly started to form gangs and shit because rules and laws dont apply anymore.... Wouldnt doubt Canterlot residents wanted anything and everything they could have.... more money which is now useless... gems, tech.... maybe even the means to defend their greedy ways... Big Mac came back with Shining and Soarin in tow.

Shining came into the room while Big Mac and Soarin went to go find something to pick the lock with. Shining grabbed a suit and looked to me as he put it on. "You good dude?" He asked. I hesitantly nodded. "Good... Mac told me what you did here.... Take it easy until we get more food to build us up.... Think the best place for food uncontaminated with radiation is the castle in Canterlot. Princess safe rooms. Should be at least four of them in the castle and that's if they havent been breached by... whatever forces hit us..."

"And if they have.... We're gonna give em what for... and if its too much we die trying...." He sighed.

"I hear that... While you and Big Mac were looking for this stuff Soarin' and I were talking about everything we lost.... I just hope that.... Cadie and Twily made it to a bunker.... Same with Celestia and Luna...." I sighed.

"Think they'd let us in if we found it?" He shook his head.

"Nope.... The guards that get in with them are under strict orders to not let anyone else in.... that means for anyone known or unknown to the Princess needs to be left out because who knows what they could bring in with either infection or glowing in this case.... Either that or its a ploy to infiltrate... End up assassinating a Princess..." I huffed.

"Well whoever kills us gets to say they took down two lead guards and Prince's all in one fell swoop... But we're not gonna let them get us that easy." He gave a smile as I saw Big Mac and Soarin come from the other room with a small box in Soarin's hand.

"Atta boy! Now c'mon... lets get going." I nodded carefully standing up just before joining Soarin and Big Mac. We watched as Soarin fiddled with a few bobbypins and a screw driver. Never thought a bobby pin would be able to open a door or anything for that matter but... what ever... game used Paper clips so I dont see the other one working... Took him maybe a few minutes for the opening of the door. Once he got it the door slid open.

"Alright.... Soarin, Big Mac.... Get suited up." I looked back into the room I was just in. "Shining! Need some duffels to carry some extra stuff if need be. Ammo, whatever food we find and we can distribute medical supplies when we find more." I saw everyone nod just before I walked right into the weapon fixing room. Found a few weapons still being assembled, few that were ready and waiting but nothing easy to carry. Why thinking a MAINTENANCE ROOM would have working weapons I have NO fucking clue... Had to tell Big Mac and Soarin to meet me down at the security wing where the armory is. Lucky us the key was nearby so no having to rip it open or pick the lock... I had to just figure out what I wanted. Had to think of something more lighter since carrying a shotgun or machine gun would suck. Took a magnum. Revolver magnum. Used .44 caliber bullets, big recoil but powerful and accurate. Had to stand at the door reminding them to take light weaponry, single shot and something small so it didnt catch anything if we need to run for cover. They all picked pistol like weapons. Shining got a mini smg, Soarin got a .38 revolver, snubnose and Big Mac got a clip fed 9mm. Even each grabbed at least two dozen rounds for our guns.

As we left the room I was given my helmet, slinging my bag over my shoulder, revolver on my hip, Soarin cleared his throat a bit as he put his gun to his side. "Uh... Ryder... A-Any words of encouragement here?" He asked. I huffed as we stopped just short of where we sat earlier trying to comprehend what happened.

"Gentlemen...." I started. "We near the end but we must survive as long as we can.... At least until we actually find the end....Whether that be the end of a gun, fall from a height, radiation poisoning, animal attack, famine or what have you we need to survive until then. Why? For our sanity, for our friends, family.... those we have lost and those that have survived. Walk on, walk tall. The hardships we have faced are mere childsplay compared to now. Once that door opens, there will be no coming back. No comfy beds, no meals... We may have to resort to drastic measures if need be. Unless proven otherwise all we encounter is hostile. We go out there now or make this our grave and I say we fight for the ones we loved and lost. No fear. No friendly. All fire. Blazing within, and and out. Fear turned to courage. There is no greater fear than what we already encountered. Laugh in the face of fear and turn it to the fight you need to survive. Am I understood gentlemen?"

Big Mac gave a determined grin, cocking his gun getting it ready. "Loud and Clear Ryder!" He said.

Shining and Soarin had to slap some sense into themselves but they gave the same exact grin both spouting off with a loud "YES SIR!"

I grinned myself. "Alright... get suited up and be ready for anything!" I said. "Once that door opens, we move out! First stop is Canterlot castle! Food, drink, maybe shelter for a while until we're good towards a second destination. We'll get a quick survey of where ground zero is, see where we go from there." They all nodded and made sure their guns safety was on and secured in their holsters before we all walked over to the door. I went in and used the door controls, opening the door up. I joined them back out there, the alarm blaring but muffled by the suits helmets. Lucky these things are adaptable with whoever wears them so Soarin and I had places to put our wings and Shining had a place for his horn without breaking anything. Once that door opened we all walked out into the cave. I looked back at the door and just sighed. "...An honor... and a privilege... May you rest with the Stable Spirits in the sky...." Quote from the second game about the original Stable dweller who founded a village that basically led into the other games. Anyhow we continued on out of there.

Walking out into the scorched woods we all kept a hand on our guns.... Most of us just looking to the nuke cloud in the distance. If we had a Geiger counter this thing would be doing fucking cartwheels.... No doubt. Didnt even think to check if there was one but I honestly dont think we'd need it.... Just a hunch... Anyhow when we went out things felt warm. Walked out towards the south. Big Mac shuttered. "...I still wonder how the fuck we didnt feel that...." He said. "Yeah we were blacked out drunk but.... That thing should've caused some sort of earthquake.... Woke us up, knock some shit down..... Who knows...." I looked to him carefully stepping over a still smoldering log.

"These things were just built to withstand tremors, earthquakes, direct blasts from explosives.... There was only one that didnt have those features to withstand earthquakes and that was in a quake frequent area. The one that couldnt stand a direct blast was honestly a fucking retcon by the devs..."

"Retcon or not... shit doesnt change out here..."

"Yeah... That's for sure...." I looked around.... trees were still burning, those that werent burning were burnt, some had some leaves on it still. "Guys when we get inside Canterlot... Keep eyes out for survivors. If you see them, call out, but keep eyes on and ears open. Try not to look at the bodies too much.... there's bound to be a lot of em outside the castle if they wanted to seek refuge inside..."

Shining sighed. "Yes sir. Dont forget to identify your targets first, make sure if they're hostile or not before firing.... Everyone we encounter is gonna be scared so act accordingly!" He said.

We just kept walking. Once we got to the outside we got a better look at everything. Canterlot was just burning. Civilian homes just gone, cars on their sides, upside down, melted. The castle was a bit destroyed as well. One wing was burning but it was only on the outside... at least for now... All the windows that we saw from the front were blown out... Some cars were wrecked into the wall protecting the castle... Some went through but not far enough to create an opening.... I saw a few bodies impaled on the fence... The fleurs sticking through their corpses like spears.... The flash didnt kill em.... or if it did their corpses were on the roof and the resulting shockwave threw them up off the roof across the road and there was a chance they'd land either beyond the fence, just short of it but they got skewered. We got to the gate which was just closed shut. Carefully I grabbed at the bars before prying them open just enough for us to sneak in one by one. The ruins were quiet... The only thing you could hear was the rushing wind and the fire that it fed. When we got inside it just looked like an earthquake happened... Some of the roof fallen in, the chandelier in the middle of the floor, broken... My mind could only go back to the day I saw Scootaloo sitting there with Celestia.... Right where another piece of roof smashed in the stairs... I looked to Shining trying to break the thought of my sister... Seems he was just remembering that day as well... Soarin swallowed a bit. "Uh.... Wh-what do we do now? Split up? Or... Stick together?" He asked. Shining looked to Big Mac.

"Big Mac. You want to go with me or head off with Ryder? One team to go for food, the other for medical supplies?"

Big Mac sighed as he just surveyed the damage. "....Think I'll stay close to Ryder..." He said. "...Just... Something dont feel right here..."

"What do you mean?"

"Just.... breaking in... looting the Princess's stuff for our own survival...."

I sighed. "In the rules of the end, anything goes...." I replied. "Morals go out the window when it comes to survival.... You'd trade food for ammo, ammo for food, money for whatever.... Sometimes its just giving that stuff so you dont get killed... sometimes its more... and trust me when that more comes into play.... That's one thing that would not change nuke or no nuke.... Then again... we'd have to pull some wasteland justice with that... All I'm gonna say about it...."

Soarin shuttered. "Yeah dude.... Just..... Dont go crazy with this stuff...." He said. "Grab stuff you can carry but not too much that its gonna be holding us down."

Big Mac nodded and looked to me. "So... Food or supplies?" He asked.

I hummed. "We'll get food....Just gotta make sure we go and eat something first...." I looked to Shining who still had the medkit. "Should go and distribute the anti rad meds before we do anything." Shining nodded and just knelt down dropping his bag. We all dropped ours too just watching as he put a bottle of pills into our bags and a few bags of the liquid in there as well. Once done we split up. Big Mac and I started going downstairs, Soarin and Shining upstairs. As we neared the dining hall Big Mac looked to me.

"Ry?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"....You doing alright? Meanin.... Just... the thought of our family...." I sighed as he fell silent.

"...Yeah... Just.... As much as I dont wanna think about it... I just hope they didnt suffer with this...."

"...Yeah.... Yeah I hear that.... Honestly hoping they aint living through this hell..." Yeah.... Wishing that of our friends and family.... its... Honestly dark but... what else can we hope for in hell like this? We kept walking... I took my weapon out just keeping it ready... The sound of silence was uneasy for me... Big Mac drew his because he just wanted to make sure we were safe. Either that or he got a bad feeling about me getting a bad feeling. When we got to the door of the dining hall I had to go and carefully open the door keeping my weapon at the ready. When we got inside the long table, halved by the large chandelier that had fallen from it, the windows showing more destruction beyond.... Fires burned, vehicles and such carried upon the blast, debris now litter the fields outside of the castle. We went through a side door towards the kitchen. The kitchen was all sorts of broken, shelves were empty but the food vault was shut tight still. We set our bags down and I just huffed looking at the door. "Alright... Anything we can grab, canned goods, something quick if anything's fresh...." I looked to him.

"Uh... Well... If we do find anything fresh I'm gonna eat something... Give myself more energy.... Should pop a pill before I eat anything though..." He sighed.

"Shit... Wouldnt mind having something myself..." He rubbed his gut. "Alright... Pill pop, quick bite and we collect as much as we can carry." I gave a nod and went for our bags. I grabbed a bottle from my bag popping it open. Big Mac took his helmet off and grabbed the pill bottle dumping a pill in his hand before popping it as I took my helmet off and did the same. The air just smelt horrible... Not like things were rotting but just the general smell of everything outside burning mixing with the once good smelling kitchen. We set our helmets aside and just opened up the food vault. When we looked inside surprisingly it was fully stocked. Oh Big Mac and I went and just started munching down on fruit inside.... Apples, and oranges mostly. Even grabbed some to take back to Soarin and Shining. The canned food was plentiful as well. We grabbed at least a dozen or so cans each, maybe a few more than that just to keep us going for a while. When we stocked our bags full we put our helmets back on and just started to head out. We went down the hall and then up a set of stairs I knew was closer to the infirmary wing. As we got to the floor where the infirmary was we made a b-line for it. As we went in I looked around. Heard things being thrown around in rooms beyond. "Shinin'! Soarin! Got the food!"

The rustling stopped before Shining poked his head out. "Alright! Be there in a sec! Soarin is just packing away the last of the meds!" He said. "Bandages, painkillers, antibiotics... Think the Princesses took their pills... either that or had them destroyed..."

I sighed as I was getting some food ready for them on a nearby counter. "Dont need that anyways...." I said. "Speaking of pills, take some rad meds and get out here. Got some fresh food for you guys to eat." I waited about a moment. Heard bags getting zipped up, helmets get taken off and what not. Not long after that they came out, bags over their shoulders, helmets under their arms. I watched as they each set their helmets down and took the fresh food just munching down on it. "Alright... We're gonna need to plan where we can go from here..." I hummed starting to think. "...Princess should have a bit of a war room with maps of any country with marked locations right Shining?" He came up from a few apples with bites taken out and swallowed.

"Yeah, but its in a room hidden from view somewhere in the castle. I know what wing its in but from there I am just NOT sure what so ever..." He went back to eating.

"So.... Underground or above ground?"

"Under. Cadence talked about it before when we were waiting for you to come back from the war. The one in the Crystal empire is hidden very carefully at the entrance and when we need to access it, streets shut down for a mile at least. Though we didnt really need to access it for a good while.... think the only time we needed to was before we were married. And that was only for a bit of a.... well... you know...." I huffed.

"Alright... Gonna need to figure out something... and more than likely its gonna require me ripping shit up.... Maybe we could do some brain work to figure it out if the Princess kept reminders around and with how long she's been going there HAS to be some spots in her memory that even she cant remember...." He hummed before finishing off the fruits he had tossing the scraps aside.

"...Yeah... but she's not stupid enough to leave notes about secret locations around the castle...."

"Security area with cameras?"

"Security helps with private matters yeah but the cameras are probably all fried with the EMP from the nuclear detonation.... There's got to be something there within the files... maps of the castle, marked rooms... Safe hides it all and is blast proof..."

"But is it Ryder proof?"

"We'll find out.... Lets just get this stuff distributed before we think about going anywhere. Maybe have someone carrying extra just in case..."

"I can carry extra food if someone wants to carry extra meds."

Soarin huffed as he came up for air from eating. "I'll carry the meds!" He said. "I have a little bit of medical knowledge since I'm the one that has to patch up recruits when they take a tumble."

Big Mac crossed his arms. "Settles that then." He said. "Best thing I know about medical needs is washing out a wound when 'Bloom scraped her knee in the dirt playin' with Winona..."

Shining put his helmet back on. "Alright. Lets get stocked, get down to security and find that war room." He said. We all nodded and just got to work. I carried six extra cans myself, two for each one of us, while Soarin still carried a majority of the bandages and we all agreed to ration the food, share rations as well in case one of us has to use rations to help someone or keep our own asses alive. But we agreed if it wasnt worth it to give them food, a bullet would do the trick but only as a last resort and if they didnt seem right...

We felt like we were wandering the halls for a while... Just kept our arms close and at the ready. The security area was all the way across the castle near to the main entrance. Gotta have quick reaction to just about anywhere. As we entered the security area we were just taken aback at the chaos the state of the area was in... no weapons, security camera feeds were nonexistant, the screens that were supposed to show those feeds were smashed or cracked... There was armor but it didnt seem like there was anything we wanted to take or even could considering we were wearing hazmat suits. Big Mac looked around. "So... where do we start to find info on the war room?" He asked. Shining looked around.

"...Good question..." He looked to Soarin. "Check the drawers on desks." He looked to Big Mac. "You check filing cabinets." Then to me. "See if there's any hidden compartment in the walls but if you find it please dont use your hammer to open it...." We all nodded and got to work. I went to a nearby wall and just put my ear to it giving a knock. Just kept moving along... maybe a few feet, knocking every few seconds. I got nothing as I went around the room from just to the right of the door to the empty armory area and such. Nothing. Even had to sit idly by as Soarin and Big Mac were looking through things. Shining had to help Big Mac look through a few filing cabinets until Shining looked to me as he tried to pull one drawer open but it was stuck. "Ryder. Need a can opener my friend!" I nodded and came right over. I was lucky to get the drawer to open just enough for me to slip a finger in.... Got a good grip and the metal casing got ripped right open. Even luckier I didnt tear a hole in the suit. Shining nudged me out of the way as he started looking through files. He zeroed in on one marked 'Classified'. Grabbed it, held it up and smiled. "Bingo!"

He brought the file over to a desk and I did the honors of clearing EVERYTHING off it. Even a cute little hula mare. Felt bad about that... I actually wanted to get one for my car before I was with AJ but my mind would always go to Berrie because she never wanted me having one. Not even as a little joke. Still couldnt have it because of AJ... She just thinks they're tacky. Anyhow Shining set the file down just as Soarin got a light on. Guess there were still lights on out here... for how long is anyones guess... Power grid gets overloaded, generators go and blow, fuses of homes, businesses, and just... Yeah... Power is still a limited commodity. Soarin opened it up and we all grabbed a few bundles of papers all marked. I got the one for the far west wing, Shining got far east, Big Mac got midwest, Soarin, Mid-East. We all flipped our pages open.... Took maybe a few minutes before I saw the magical words 'War Room'. I grabbed my papers. "GOT IT!" I said. "The war room is under the garden, entrance is under Celestias study...." Shining hummed as he grabbed the papers.

"Celestia's study? That's in the library and that's in the eastern wing.... Unless..."

Soarin chimed in. "Might be a red herring?" He said.

"...I mean... Maybe? Its.... Kinda weird to have a location on one side when the entrance is completely somewhere else..."

I looked to Shining. "To fool enemies to bomb the wrong side of the castle if they dont know where to look for notes like this.... Frankly should've been more.... secure...." I said.

"Yeah.... might be real but could just be something to throw the enemy off...."

"Celestia's been at this game a long time... Someone just threw a rock when it was just hand to hand here. Doesnt mean she doesnt have a knife ready to cut someone stashed in her bra! She goes down, she might fool them into trying to kick her while she's down, next thing you know its a turn around with them bleeding on the ground."

"....Well... We need to take this information to the study and figure this out... No time to waste..." We took the papers and just started walking. I had Shining review the pages as we walked. We had to wind in and out of floors just because the eastern wing was on fire and destroyed here and there. I was just lucky that the door to the library was unblocked yet when we opened the door we just saw something that would've given Twilight a heart attack. Books were on fire, shelves were destroyed and books that werent on fire were just scattered about the floor, papers ripped from the covers, scattered as well. Speaking of Twilight i had a bit of a flashback.... Yeah... To the point where she fucked up a spell, wiped memories and she and I had to be on the run just to get to Canterlot.... All because guards were after me for 'attempted rape, assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft auto' according to papers a guard station had but even they didnt know what happened. I just felt the back of my head pulse like it did after I was blasted back by Twilight's magic. As we entered Shining hummed.

"Alright... if I'm reading this right her study is just beyond the 'forbidden book' section... She'd be the only one to have the key... We got a few keys of our own...." He looked to Soarin. "Soarin, lockpicking time." Soarin gave a nod and went to the locked door with Shining and Big Mac. I just went and grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher and started putting out the fires that could put us in danger if it caught more. Only took a few minutes to snuff the flames. Hell while I waited for Soarin to open up the lock I for once grabbed a book off the shelf and just flipped through it.

I just found an excerpt that just kinda stuck with me. 'When the flames died, the creature lay at their feet, gasping for air, the fur burned away, scarred, blackened.... It took one shot to finish the creature off.... It did not resist, it did not twitch, it did not even cry as it was ended.... It knew defeat and accepted its fate. Though it had fought tooth and claw to overcome, it had failed. The hero couldnt help but give the creature a warriors death. Fought to the end but knew when enough was enough.' I just bagged it before joining my friends again. I guess some light reading material would help keep my mind off death and what not. Soarin huffed as he tossed a majorly bent bobby pin aside. "It's no use.... Cant get into it..... Princess has some sort of locking mechanism that just cant be picked...." She said.

I loosened up my neck. Just rolled my shoulders a bit too. "Alright.... My turn...." I said. They all got out of the way as I looked at the gate. Black metal bars crissed and crossed every which way, the knob was very old looking.... I tried sticking my hand through but hesitated... some of the areas were a little sharp and I didnt wanna rip the suit. I just reached back and grabbed my hammer. I got into a batting position, tapping the head of the hammer against the knob and lock area. "....Alright.... Might wanna stand back.... Not sure if this is gonna send shrapnel around...." I wound up as Shining, Soarin and Big Mac just went and ran away taking cover with bookshelves and an overturned table. I gave that thing a good hit. First hit definitely made a dent. Only a dent. The next knocked the knob off yet the lock was still strong. I growled and just took a few steps back taking aim at the area I hit. I took the hammer in both my hands, raised it over my head before chucking that thing right at the lock. I swear that thing hit, broke the lock, bounced off and I was so fast I caught that hammer again. I went over and just opened up the door ripping the door off and throwing it at a window on the other side of the room. Once that window shattered they all came out of hiding. I looked to my friends as I resheathed my hammer. "Yeah.... thing was strong.... pissed me off..."

Big Mac huffed. "Good.... More damage from you when they wanna keep us out.... Might be able to use that in case of any resistance...." He said. He looked to Soarin and Shining. "C'mon. Lets get in there." Shining nodded. We all followed him in. We went down a set of stairs that led to another smaller library.

There was a door there that was locked so Soarin had to pick this one as well. I just took a look at all the forbidden books. All unmarked. I just grabbed one and just looked over the cover. There was just something about this book in particular that just.... It felt otherworldly. Just as I was about to open it, Shining snatched it out of my hand. "What the fuck do you think you're even doing?!" He asked. "These books are forbidden for a reason! By opening this book you could be unleashing something, maybe dooming yourself with a curse or something!"

I huffed. "Come on Shining I'm curious! The worlds over, Celestia could've taken these books with her if they could do something like that!" I snapped. "And what the fuck am I gonna do? Cast a spell? Turn someone into a frog? Destroy something?" I just... looked away for a moment thinking about what I said for a second before looking back at him. "Maybe not that last part considering I always do that but last I checked I'm a pegasus. No horn so I cant use magic. I dont even think you even know what these books even do!" He huffed.

"I dont and I dont want to! Now focus!" I huffed as he went and put the book back.... I waited a moment.... He just went back to the door to watch as Soarin picked the lock and he was getting close. Now I'm fast still.... I managed to bag the book without anyone noticing. I just looked as if I were just staring at the books while they managed to break the lock.

Soarin gave a laugh. "Got it this time!" He said. I turned around and we all just entered the room. The inner room was fairly large. Only one desk, more book shelves and a large chair. Portraits of Celestia and Luna painted hung on the wall and the whole thing looked untouched from outside forces. "Alright. What do the papers say about a code or way to get in the room?" Shining flipped open the papers again and just skimmed through.

"Alright... The way to get in only via emergency is to find books relating to the two sisters, pull them at the same time, wait five seconds before releasing them, then quickly press a button located on the mirror in the center...." He looked to Big Mac and Soarin. "You two get the books, I'll get the mirror. Just call out the books, I'll confirm if its good or not."

I huffed. "So we're gonna do this right? No need to blow anything open?" I asked. Shining looked to me.

"Might as well otherwise we could trip some security system. Might as well make use of yourself and help one of them to do something." I sighed and just went with Big Mac. I'm not gonna lie it took us at least an hour to do this....I found what book Big Mac needed to pull, 'Sunny Days, shade stays.' That one is a book about a stallion wished for an eternal summer yet it only lasted half a year. Fires burned down houses, all the shade from trees were gone, and he ended up finding a cave with a statue that he had to beg, plead with just to end the stupid wish, enjoy the cooler months when he had them.... Luna's book was easier to find... 'Goodnight Moon'.... Yeah... not making that up....Once we found the books I gave a countdown.

"Alright.... On go, we pull the books.... Once you pull them, Shining counts to five, then you push em back and then he pushes the button... We ready?" Both Big Mac and Soarin nodded. "Alright... Three... Two... One... Pull!" At the same time they pulled the books. Shining counted out loud.

"Five... Four.... Three... Two... One... NOW!" They both pushed the books back and the unicorn pressed the button. We waited for a moment.... That moment was so tense... Yet it only lasted that before the mirror cocked to the side and the wall slid back, and then to the side revealing a dark opening.

We all walked in and one by one a light kicked on above us. Some sparked, others flickered.... It was a long hallway. Twists and turns here and there, some intersections which surprisingly worked like that maze that Celestia had made for her summer home.... Yeah Applejack told me about that and even I thought that was bullshit.... I told for her to have AJ play a game on a hard difficulty.... Nope... Some bullshit.... We figured it out with someone backtracking and then coming back, staying where we came from and just finding the right way. Followed it, found more intersections, found the right way the first time and from there it was a straight shot. Guess this was something to give the Princess time to set up an ambush. At last we finally came to the war room. The room was just.... amazing.... This was a little more advanced than the one I had while at war. All I had was a drawn map of the country. Here? Think of a round map table like with Twilight's throne room table during the Elements of Brotherhood training. This was a bit more detailed considering we saw a giant mushroom cloud in the middle of it all. All the terminals along the walls were offline or locked with encryptions nobody here was gonna break. We just focused in on the map ad just looked at everything. "Fuck.... Mother of all fucking bombs right there..." Big Mac said. Shining sighed. as he looked to a wall, a map of the world, red dots just about everywhere.... Steurope, gone, Equestria, southern and northern, pretty much gone but only a few bombs including the big one... hell Griffonstone was just FUCKED.... Like seriously.... one big one did this to Equestria.... this one looked like a shotgun...

"Maybe not the only one.... Just... wonder how many survivors are out there.... Keeps me wondering how many are just suffering... actually...."

I sighed just shuttering. "We'll find out... MAybe... But right now we gotta focus...." I said. "Gotta figure out the way we need to go...." I zoomed out the map and just looked at everything. You could see live view of fires burning, entire cities crumbled and destroyed. Hell... Twilight's castle was knocked to the ground...

Big Mac huffed. "...Well... I... Guess if we're gonna die... might as well be at home...." He said. "Whole world's gone to shit.... Might as well get as close to home as we can get...."

"Yeah... Just... Wish there was a way we could get Shining back home to the Crystal Empire...."

Shining sighed. "...You know... Cadie would want me to be with Twily when the time was right.... Might just go to what's left of her castle... I just... hope she got out alright..." He said. I could hear him just.... choke up a bit. I sighed.

"....I hope so too...." I looked to Soarin who was just staring at the consoles against the wall. Flashing lights slowly flickered, others stayed solid. "Soarin.... You good there?" He just shook his head. "...Yeah... Yeah I feel that... Just try to stay strong...." I looked back at the map. "...I think from here if we take the roads east and cut south towards Cloudsdale we could probably make it to ponyville given a weeks time... if we survive that long.... Think as for now we go back up, find some extra stuff we might wanna take.... Maybe see about getting better arms than just pistols.... secondaries are good, just not when you need to reload in a firefight..."

"I know of a military depot bunker outside of Canterlot. We can find more stuff there, might be able to set up camp there too."

"Probably a good thing. Fortified if anything.... no doubt we'd have to clear out some undesirables there.... Still might be good to find somewhere to rest... Get some energy back before heading out...." I looked to the door. "Think we're down far enough to rest without the hazmat suits? Think those meds should help if we just took em within the last few hours.... said two for a day works."

Big Mac sighed. "Yeah.... I think so... Think I'm the only one awake enough to keep watch for a little while.... Shit might see if we cant find some of the Princesses energy drinks before we head on out...." He said.

"Sounds alright... Just.... Still wanna get some sleep here...."

Shining looked to Big Mac as I started looking around for a comfortable spot. "If you're going out there, let me come with you. Safety in numbers here." He said. "Soarin, stay here with Ryder and try to stay awake long enough for us to get back. Any doubts its us, call out Whiskey, countersign will be Tango Foxtrot. Got it?" I didnt hear anything from Soarin. He was just staring at things as tired as I was maybe. I mean... we are the only ones who puked. I yawned getting ready to take my suit off.

"Got it... Whiskey is us, Tango Foxtrot is you... and vice versa I guess.... Maybe see if you cant find an alarm clock... old analogue should do just to keep us on schedule." I looked back to Shining. He nodded. "Careful you two.... We'll be here...." I could only watch as Soarin and Big Mac left without a word. I had to snap Soarin out of whatever stress induced trance he was in and help him out of his suit before getting out of mine. We didnt have any pillows or anything that could be used as pillows say for our suits but who knows how much fallout that shit has on it....We just set those off to the side and just lied down, sleeping as best we could.... Had to stay close to him just to make sure we both were gonna be good.... I rested but didnt sleep deeply.... anxiety from what happened still kept me on alert. Think we were there for maybe a couple hours. After about a half hour Big Mac and Shining came back, heard them walk in and get undressed before laying down themselves.... Think we all just huddled together as a group before an alarm clock that Shining grabbed went off scaring some of us... thankfully not to the point of pissing ourselves but we still found a place to go before having to make our way out. Not much happened here... We had to go into a few houses to scavenge because guess who didnt think water was a necessity we needed? Yeah.... Food more important... meds more important.... Water? NAH! While we were there I found a tape recorder and a bag full of empty tapes. Was an old one, cassette tapes. Looked like a reporters one. We kept our eyes and ears open for anything that meant life was still out there.... We heard the occasional cry, a few gunshots that got us to aim our weapons... hell one was close enough for me to investigate... Poor bastard had to off himself because he was just burned and couldnt take the pain. Surprised the blast didnt kill him first.... There was maybe one or two ponies we found that we had to put down.... one due to trying to rob us, the other just... they needed a mercy killing.... I was the one to do it.... had to tell them to think of something.... their home before the bomb... any family that they loved.... Gives them something to look forward to wherever they go... I actually hesitated for a second before I had to pull the trigger.... We all gave a prayer asking for forgiveness for that....When we reached the military depot bunker we found it ransacked. Maybe more small arms than anything... few weapons that werent even in working condition and I didnt have tools to get em there. But that's where we hunkered down for the night. Big Mac and Shining were the first ones asleep, Soarin trailing behind. Though we agreed to take shifts.... I was first.... Then Shining, Then Big Mac and Soarin was the one to bring up the rear. I had to be in a room off to the side where everyone else rested. I saw the night sky outside the window.... blood red as fires all over burned.

I pulled the tape recorder out and just played the first tape that was in it. "....Given the circumstances I wish this would've been on paper..." An older sounding stallion said. "...Though there's nothing much left of what I owned.... I want my grandson to have my old knife, his sister, my notes, my son and daughter in law... you two.... I... oh Celestia...." He started crying a bit. I just huffed shutting the damn thing off and tossing the tape before putting in a new one before pressing record.

"....Day one.... survivors log, Prince Ryder Wheeler... Formerly General Ryder Wheeler..... if those even apply anymore.... Leaving record of what we've been through so far.... I'm with my brother Big Mac and our best friends, Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Empire and Captain of the Royal guard and Soarin, Flight instructor of the Wonderbolts..... We awoke in an underground bunker to find the nuke we never knew went off.... Though we were drunk, the nuke never made a sound, the bunker never made movement.... At the moment we're resting.... We're at least trying to make it home to wherever we think is home... For me and Big Mac.... Sweet Apple Acres... where our sisters, my wife and daughter are.... were..... where they WERE.... If anyone finds these tapes because we died, someone robbed us and you killed the bastard who did this.... I.... Equestria needs you.... To live on somehow... survive any way you can.... If possible, get to the coast, find some place away from all this fallout.... if unable to.... find fortification.... This is Ryder Wheeler, newly crowned Prince of Equestria, signing out...." I hit the stop button and just sat there. Contemplating things.... Felt like I contemplated forever until the alarm clock went off and my couple hours were up. I stashed away the tape recorder and just went to swap out with Shining. That night I didnt sleep that well.... Obvious reasons.... Still got as much rest as I could, same as any of us....