Fallout Equestria: Tales from Stable 83

I woke up slumped against the tree, my blanket had been laid underneath me and my armor was propping my head up. My head hurt like a bitch and I felt physically exhausted. A water bottle was sitting by my side as well as an opened condom package… Oh… Oh shit!

I frantically looked around and found Orchid fast asleep on the ground next to me. She was smiling and I could hear some silent words escaping her mouth as she talked in her sleep. The dream seemed peaceful and happy, so that was a plus.

Smoky was faced the other way as he slept. One of his legs jerked and he rolled over. He was frowning about whatever he was dreaming about, but it didn’t wake him. He hadn’t heard anything that had happened between Orchid and I, miraculously.

I stood silently levitating my armor up so I could get dressed. The moon was still up in the sky, I probably had an hour to burn before I was supposed to wake Smoky for his watch. My armor slid on easily and I tossed my saddlebags onto my back. With a yawn I stepped away to watch for threats. I took a few sips from the water bottle to help ease the headache.

The night was quiet and cold, typical for the desert around this area. I wished we had started a small fire to sleep by, I was shivering badly. My blanket made for a good insulator to start warming me back up, but it was still going to take time.

In the distance I saw a small flickering light, too small and too little smoke to be a campfire. Almost like watching a candle flame flickering from a half mile or better, a small dot nearly invisible to the naked eye. Then the flame grew in size as it engulfed some quadrupedal creature I had never seen before.

Whatever I was watching was close by, maybe a quarter mile away at best. The way the flame shot out reminded me of a flamer, and the way the fire lasted… it surely could have been a flamer with napalm. The fire stayed burning but the animal had definitely died from the burn wounds.

I readied my gun as the source of this fire started to grow in size and get closer to me. The moonlight lit up what the small pilot flame did not and as he closed to less than one hundred feet I could finally make out details.

The stallion approaching me wore a dapper suit that was properly pressed some time recently. A top hat sat atop his head and a red bow tie around his neck to accentuate the all black suit. His weapon of choice was a small flamer on the left side of a battle saddle painted to look like part of the suit. On the right side was a much larger flamer that was not currently burning. Both weapons and the saddlebags were painted to fit a business formal sort of attire. This get up seemed far removed from the nightmarish world around him, and he seemed to fall right in line with the delusion of formality and grandeur. I couldn’t see a mane or tail exposed, both looked to be covered by his formal clothing. Only his face was exposed, revealing a well kept cyan coat.

I kept my gun at the ready but did not aim it at the stallion. “Stop right there, what do you think you’re doing here?”

“Good sir, I was simply attempting to inform you of your safety.” His accent was posh and reminded me of how Canterlot nobles spoke. Flowery and delicate prose to sound educated and above others. “I dealt with that troublesome beast that was attempting to accost you. Foul thing was preparing to bring you death via exsanguination and you were quite incapable of protecting yourself.”

He had me there, I had been unable to protect us after falling asleep. “Thank you for protecting us sir.”

“But of course my good stallion. A word of advice if I may be so bold. Perhaps next time you wish to fornicate you should do so behind closed doors. Ne’er dowels may take advantage of such a moment of tenderness between a couple.” He had been close enough to see all of that? Oh fuck, that wasn’t supposed to happen. “Now it is not my place to judge others, but you should be more aware that obscene perverts travel these lands. They may have interest in watching such acts as you and that fine mare partook in. Vile they are. We wouldn’t want such behavior to be awarded, would we?”

“No, uh.. No Sir.” I almost believed he was royalty with everything going on. “We most certainly would not want obscene perverts thinking their behavior is tolerable.” How did he make me feel like I was talking to Celestia all over again? This had to be a fever dream, no way I was talking to a stallion like this.

“Now are you quite capable of being the guardian of your comrades, or should I stay in the area a while longer?” He offered gesturing to my friends.

“I’m capable of keeping guard of my friends for now Sir. I however appreciate your offer and wish you well on your travels.” I gave my best bow to the stallion as a sign of respect. This was well received as he bowed in turn.

“Then I shall take my leave and make haste for my destination. Be well my good stallion, and may you lot live a prosperous life of virtue.” He turned with a flourish and trotted away, leaving me once again alone in a state of confusion.

I watched him trot back towards the carcass he had made. He stopped briefly to examine the corpse and ensure that it had died before disappearing into the darkness of night.

The moon was almost low enough in the sky to risk waking Smoky. I was finally warmed back up enough to shed my blanket as an extra coat, I laid it down with care before returning to guard duty.

Coyotes howled in the distance, splitting the quiet of the night with their shrill tones. They sounded far into the distance, but I was never a good judge of that. I counted four unique howls, one of which was much deeper than the others. The deep howl sounded more akin to a wolf than a coyote, deeper and more guttural. A howl befitting a leader of a pack, the alpha. Soon enough we’d be face to face, if that was the pack we were after. The howling ceased after a few minutes and all was quiet once again.

I yawned and blinked my eyes slowly, now felt like a good time to wake Smoky for his watch. My hooves crunched on the sand as I trotted to his side. I knelt and gently shook him, it took a few seconds but he woke from his slumber. “Your turn for watch. That pack of coyotes was just howling, not far off.”

Smoky rubbed the sleep from his eyes before standing. It still amazed me how he could go from seeming so small when he was sleeping to standing well taller than me. “Is that so? Maybe we’ll catch them while they sleep then.” He chuckled and trotted past me. “Get some rest, you’ll need it for the coming hunt.”

“Yeah. I’ll get what I can.” I laid down on my blanket and closed my eyes. Sleep took me in an instant, the night had been an interesting one.

This night was dreamless, I was far too tired to dream. Or if I did my brain chose not to remember what it had been about. I woke up when I was shaken awake. This time the shaking was rough and urgent, instead of calm and gentle.

“Come on Crimson, ya have ta get up.” It was Orchid’s voice that greeted me. She was distressed, something bad must have happened. “Smoky took off after those yotes without us. He’s not far ahead but he’ll be in trouble if ya don’t get yer ass up now!”

My friend was in trouble? I sprung up with enough force to launch myself three feet into the air. Before I had hit the ground I had my blanket on my back and my rifle at the ready. “Which way?” I chambered a fresh round in the rifle and readied myself to gallop.

“Follow me he went to the southwest.” She took to the air and shot off in front of me, faster than I would be able to keep up with. I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to try and keep up though.

I broke into a full gallop and went after her, falling behind very slowly. My blood pumped and the familiar feeling of adrenaline coursing through my veins amped me up. I felt damn near invincible as I charged forward. In the distance I could make out Smoky galloping forward, slowly I was catching up to him.

As I got closer to Smoky I looked farther out in front of him. The coyotes were still close to a mile in front of him when I finally found myself at his side. “What the fuck are you doing taking off like that without us?”

“Can’t let them get away, I’ve wanted to take this pack down fer a year now!” He was clearly intent on running them down. “Make sure the big one drops first, he’s worth the most!”

“Copy that, kill the big bastard first.” I pulled my rifle up to my shoulder and picked up the pace. I was putting this beast down and ending this chase before I collapsed from exhaustion.

The biggest of the coyotes had a charcoal gray coat, shiny and thick. He had eaten well and lived long enough to grow large. He stood at roughly four foot tall, a giant by coyote standards. His pack was fifteen members strong, all fierce looking beasts running like cowards.

I was pulling ahead of Smoky and gaining on the pack faster than I thought wise. Only about one hundred yards separated us when the coyotes decided they had enough of being chased. They turned and ran straight towards us.

I skidded to a stop just barely catching myself before slamming my face into the ground. I recovered and got my rifle aimed and ready, taking a deep breath to steady my aim.

The big bastard scrambled to the front of the pack and gave me a clear shot at him. BOOM, BOOM. I let two rounds fly and waited briefly to see the result. The first round slammed into his chest, but he kept moving undeterred. The second was off mark and struck one of the coyotes behind him in the face, the jaw hung limply and slammed into the ground hard enough to rip it off.

Seventy feet between us now, gotta make the next ones count. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. Three more with two on target and one flying wild. Both hits tore into the flesh of the big coyote, he was slowing down but still standing. Either not hitting anything vital or he was simply just that durable.

Next shot had to be the one to take him down, or I was in serious trouble. I flipped the selector switch and took a gamble. BOOM BOOM BOOM. I rattled off a focused burst and hit. every. last. round. For a moment I thought it wasn’t enough and that the leaping coyote was going to rip me to shreds for shooting him five times. The corpse barreled into me and forced me to the sand below, fresh blood soaked into my armor and coat but the claws and teeth didn’t tear into me. He had died but not without taking me out of the fight temporarily.

I rolled out from under him and found myself surrounded by gnashing teeth. I pulled the trigger and swept my rifle to the left. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM CLICK, the magazine ran dry and the rifle clicked. Two more coyotes lay dead and a third was barely able to stand, but managed to bite down hard into my front left leg.

I drew my .32 pistol and machete and went to work keeping myself alive. PEW, a bullet right between the eyes of the one biting me. I swung my machete into the neck of the next one. They both dropped to the ground bleeding profusely. I spun to find more but the remaining ones had started running away or had been gunned down by Orchid and Smoky.

Smoky held out a hoof to stop me from chasing the pack. “We got the one we wanted, no need to chase any further.”

Only five of the coyotes had gotten away from the fight, choosing cowardice over death. Smart, I was out for blood for being so rudely attacked. A few deep breaths later and I sat down, finally realizing how exhausted I really was.

“You ok there Crimson?” Smoky asked as he stepped towards his prize. “You look like shit, no offense.”

“Some taken. Long night and jumping up to a gallop after just waking up doesn’t really do me any favors” I said, panting to get my breath back. I’d leave out the finer details for now, but eventually I’d have to say something about what happened between Orchid and I.

Orchid stepped towards me with a bandage at the ready. “That was a nasty bite, I’ll get you patched up.”

I levitated the bandage out of her grasp and over to myself. “You take care of the skinning and butchering. These hides are important, I can take care of this.” The armor on my leg was easy enough to pull off to examine the wound.

Orchid nodded and went to help Smoky with the prize coyote. This left me alone to patch the bite wound.

Ten puncture holes lined my foreleg armor, most were small and had barely broken the skin. The primary canines had punched through much further and were bleeding more heavily. I started to wrap the wound, slowly covering the exposed flesh with a fresh white bandage. By the time I started the second layer the first had been soaked in my blood. I hastened my pace and finished another two layers before the bandage was fully applied. Blood was slowly soaking through to the outermost layer but it wasn’t anything to worry about for now. I slid the armor back over it and stood to go help my friends.

With both working together the prize coyote was almost fully skinned by the time I got to them. All that remained was the coat clinging to its face and tail, two of the more complicated places to skin. They worked quickly and efficiently, both had years of practice doing this and it showed. The hide was unmarked by cuts or scrapes, professionally skinned with extra care.

I started dragging other coyotes closer to them so they could easily move from one to the next. The farthest one out was the one missing its lower jaw, so I started with it. Sand and blood covered the coat, the neck of which was missing. An ugly wound that would probably lower how much we could get for it, but we could get something for it. The drag was slow, but I got it over before they had finished butchering their prize.

I grabbed hold of the next three with my telekinesis and moved them all at once. This much weight strained me more than I was used to, but I kept focused and got the coyotes to move with me. I laid them out so it would be easy to move from one to the next. The last three were close enough that I simply did some small adjustments to how they were laying to ease the process.

They had skinned a second coyote and were using the pelt to lay meat out onto. They had butchered the bigger coyote up slightly differently than they had done the smaller ones. Each leg had been separated from the body at the shoulder and the rib cage had been separated from the spine in halves. There was a lot of meat on the butchered carcass. Everything was coming with us it seemed, even the teeth of the big coyote had been taken. What remained was a pile of miscellaneous bones, organs, and sinew. Items of little to no use to us.

Orchid and Smoky were working on different coyotes, distracted by the task at hoof. I decided it was best for me to stay out of the business and to simply keep an eye out for any form of danger. I started slowly trotting a circle around the pile of carcasses, watching for any disturbances in the distance. All was quiet for now, no signs of raiders drawn in by gunfire or giant rats and bugs smelling fresh blood.

I pondered where that stallion in the suit had gotten off to. His suit was so pristine he must never get shot, highly skilled in the art of combat it would seem. I hoped to see him again, so many questions to ask that I couldn’t in the heat of that moment.

The past twenty four hours had been interesting, and profitable for us. Would have to use some to restock the ammunition I had burned through so far. How much had I shot? Felt like quite a lot. I thought back and slowly counted out the rounds I had used. Twelve just now, seven on that other group of coyotes, four at those rats. That’d make twenty three rounds used, meaning I should have sixty loose rounds and ten in my magazine. That sounded like a lot more than it really was. If I used as many everyday as I did today I only had a few more days before I ran out.

I did have my pistol as a good back up option, but that was only good at close range. Maybe I should be using it when I get into up close and personal situations instead of the rifle. Spread out the ammunition usage so I run out slower. That’s a good idea, still try to land hits in critical locations but do so with a weapon appropriate for the distance.

“These pelts will fetch us a good price, plus we can sell some of that extra meat alongside it.” Smoky was looking at the large pile of pelts laid across his flanks. The charcoal gray of the big coyote was stuffed away into the left bag of his saddlebags for safe keeping.

“I’ll sell ‘em up as best I can, you’ll need to be there this time Smoky. I doubt they have enough caps an ammo for our current guns to get the full value from all this” Orchid said, looking over the haul of hides. A few wrapped hides were poking out of her bags, there was a lot of meat we sliced off this many animals.

“You’re probably right, we’ll see what they’ve got for sale before we make any decisions.” Smoky was beaming, happy and proud for finally getting his prize coyote. I could hear the excitement in his voice, a dream a year in the making and it finally came true.

I felt happy about the accomplishment, but also melancholic. It was the death of innocent creatures just living their lives that we were celebrating. It felt wrong to celebrate the death of a creature, even if it meant we would eat and have money to spend. This was life now, celebrating the death of other creatures if I got to keep living. Depressing.

“Crimson there anything else interesting around this area before the war? We’ve got a little bit of time to explore before we have ta head back” Orchid said, as she tapped on my shoulder. I jumped a little when she did so.

“Not really, we were mostly isolated down here. There was a rose garden I used to trot through.” Onyx Flash was an odd stallion, loved roses. Was the center of his photography. Growing them in the desert was an odd choice, but it apparently made for incredible pictures. “I doubt it’s still around, but we could go check.”

“Oh you knew the stallion that owned that? We’ve heard stories, but never believed them. That area is dry as a bone, we checked.” Smoky said, looking off to the west. That was roughly the direction it should have been in.

“I kind of figured it wouldn’t be around anymore. It took constant work to maintain, but damn was it pretty.” I smiled remembering many walks I had taken through the field of roses. “Beyond that I don’t think anything interesting was down here. Maybe I just didn’t get out enough.” I surely didn’t, work and other obligations really tied me down. Should have traveled more, the world used to be beautiful.

“Oh well, we can head back then. Won’t be back by nightfall, have to camp out under the stars again.” Smoky sighed and turned back towards that town. I hated to upset him, but I just didn’t know of anything else down here. “Orchid would you get us a bird's eye view? That much shooting definitely should’ve drawn some attention.”

“I’ll see what I can see, and don’t ya pout. We’ll have ourselves some adventure soon ‘nough.” She flew up to one hundred feet above and hovered there. I could see a pair of binoculars in her hooves, another tool I lacked.

Now seemed as good a time as any to ask about other locations around Equestria. “Where else have you heard about Smoky? I’m curious about what happened out here, and what all is left intact.”

“I can tell you what I’ve heard. Haven’t been many places outside of the south here, so my knowledge is a bit limited” he said looking back at me, a smile still on his face.

“Have you heard anything about Canterlot? I used to frequent there for business trips and meetings with the princesses.” Surely he’d tell me it was still standing and a bastion of hope as it had always been.

“I’ve heard tales of what remains of it.” Remains? As in… destroyed? “Nasty place that nopony is crazy enough to visit. Megaspell detonation occurred and wiped the place clean of life. Never been up near there myself, so that could just be lies and tall tales.”

“I hope it is… Canterlot was a beautiful place.” No way it fell, that was the capital of Equestria. But, what if it wasn’t a lie? “I was saving up to buy a house up there once I retired. If I got to that is, I enjoyed my work too much.”

Smoky merely chuckled at the notion. “I bet it was a beautiful place, would have liked to see it for myself.”

A silence fell between us as we trotted along. I had more places to ask about, but was still stuck trying to process the idea that Canterlot may have been destroyed. If it had been, then nowhere was safe. Everything could have been destroyed if even Canterlot wasn’t safe.

“We’re clear as far as I can see.” Orchid tossed the binoculars down to Smoky. “Smooth sailing for most of the day if we want to head straight back. Otherwise we can stop back at lone tree and rest there for a while.” Extra rest would be nice, I didn’t get much with all the craziness last night.

“We’ll push on and get as far as we can today. I’d say we can get pretty close if we hoof it.” Smoky had that calculating look in his eye, a look I was coming to loathe seeing.

There was no point in trying to fight this decision, Smoky had that look in his eye. This was the plan he had settled on and we were going to follow it. Where he leads I’d follow, begrudgingly albeit. Not that I had much other choice, and my list of reasons to stay was growing.

Smoky took off ahead as he always did, but this time with a confident stride. Happiness came in weird forms out here, but I understood his excitement. We had fulfilled a dream of his and secured what would be a haul of supplies once we got back to town.

What would I buy with any caps I was given? Spare ammunition would be a good idea. The life we’re living uses a lot of it. Maybe a new gun if I had enough? Another range rifle in a different caliber for hunting larger game? How would I use it though? My telekinesis is relatively weak and wouldn’t be able to hold up a big rifle. I was barely able to control this smaller rifle while shouldering it, so that idea was out. If we could find one, a battle saddle might do the trick, something heavy duty enough wouldn’t be cheap. Maybe I’d buy something special to say thanks to my new friends. They had saved my life, and now were teaching me to survive in this foreign world. Smoky and Orchid deserved something nice for all of that.

Orchid trotted alongside me, letting her brother take the lead. She brushed her tail against mine and bumped me with her flank. She caught me off guard with a kiss as I turned to look at her. So I hadn’t dreamed up the events of last night.

I tried to give her a stern look but couldn’t with the blush rushing to my face. In the end I just gave up trying to look unimpressed and simply smiled. I enjoyed the affection, I had been sorely lacking it for so long. It felt good to be loved. I quickly pecked her lips and turned my gaze forward. Unnoticed, at least I hoped so. I wasn’t good at being unseen or unheard, and Smoky seemed to have very sensitive ears. I lightly intertwined my tail with hers and gave her a wink. The quietest way I could think to show my appreciation for the affection.

Now it was her turn to blush, but she was much better at hiding it than I was. Her blush was adorable when you could see it.

Life out here may be a nightmare, but with Smoky and Orchid by my side it felt like a nightmare I could live with. That gave me hope for the future. Hope that one day I could live peacefully once again, enjoy the new world I was coming to know. Where would we go and what would we see? We couldn’t subsist off of hunting like this forever, eventually we’d cause a species to go extinct. Maybe there was a town somewhere that we could settle down in, use our knowledge to help other ponies out.

But then what about my friends? Steel and Gloria were still trapped at work with that abhorrent thing. I couldn’t get in there without a keycard or a pipbuck and time. Leaving them there to wake up and be greeted by that monster wasn’t right. Then again, was waking them to live in this nightmare the right call? A troubling situation, neither option was a good one. I took a deep breath and cleared the thoughts from my mind. We’d deal with those problems later, hopefully at least.

The sun was getting high in the sky and I was starting to feel the effects of dehydration and hunger. I knew we could only carry so many supplies on our backs, but taking this much time between meals seemed excessive. I drank the last of my bottle of water to help stave off the dehydration. The effect was noticeable, my minor headache dissipated but was replaced by a feeling of nausea. My stride slowed as dull pain began to course down my spine.

This unnatural feeling was noticed by the lovely mare at my side who cast me a concerned look. She quickly detangled our tails before speaking. “Somethin wrong Crimson?” Orchid was the medically inclined one, so maybe she’d know what was going on.

“Yeah, sudden feelings of nausea and mildly irritating pain down my spine.” I hadn’t broken anything had I? No, I would have noticed damage to my spinal column long before now. What could have caused it though? I got bit, tackled by a leaping coyote, and the recoil of my rifle were all new experiences. Nothing there should have done it, and rabies had different symptoms.

“That’s not good, sounds like needle spine.” With a name like that I could only assume the worst. Hopefully Orchid’s prognosis got less worrying. “One of those yotes probably ate something else that was infected.”

“And passed it on to me.” Great, an infection and no hospital nearby to get medicine from. I’ve never heard of needle spine, but at least it wasn’t rabies. “How do we cure it?” I’d be able to deal with the pain for a while, but it would be a distraction if we had to fight again.

“With what caps we’ve got ya don’t. Unless you know how to cure it with magic.” Smoky looked back at me, a knowing look in his eye. “Doesn’t surprise me ya got it, I had it a few months before we met you. One of the many reasons we’re still behind on supplies.”

Even fucking better, a disease that we had no cure to, nor the caps to pay someone else to cure it. Smoky didn’t seem to be suffering from it anymore, so at least it wouldn’t last very long. Now just how long do I have to deal with this? “Then how long does it take the immune system to shake it?”

“One month give or take. That’s how long Smoky over there bellyached about it.” Orchid was giving her brother a shit eating grin. A taunt, in a friendly manner. “Herbal teas can help numb the pain, if ya can find the right herbs” she said, with not much hope in her voice. Things just kept getting worse.

“Pass your good saddlebags over, I can carry them for now” Smoky said, gesturing to my cloth saddlebags. “You keep the leather one to use as storage for your rifle and some water, the rest will just slow ya down due to the bone shards.”

With trepidation I passed over the good saddlebags. I kept a few bottles of water and my spare ammo in the old leather one. “Bone shards? What exactly does this disease do?”

“In short it flakes pieces of yer spine in such a way that carryin heavy loads on yer back hurts somethin fierce.” Orchid gave me a calming look and placed a wing on my back. “Nothin permanent, shards break down after a month an yer back ta normal.”

No carrying heavy loads for the next month, a troublesome condition for this way of living. Smoky could definitely handle carrying a lot of our equipment, but it shouldn’t all fall on his shoulders. “You sure I can’t carry more than this?”

“You want to hurt all day for the next month?” Smoky asked as he shuffled the bags into position on his back. “Ya can try and carry more, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” He looked back and added “if you’re worried about me, don’t be. I’ve carried far more than this on my back before.”

“If you say so… I just don’t want to put more burden on you than is absolutely necessary.” I sighed when I saw that stubborn look in Smoky’s eyes. “But clearly I can’t talk you out of this. I’ll relent for now, but as soon as I can I’m taking my bags off your haunches.”

“I appreciate it, Crimson. Now let’s get a move on, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.” Smoky cast a glance back to make sure we were following before lengthening his stride. “Maybe one of the ponies at camp has some herbs to help ya out. Wouldn’t be the first time they saved our flanks.”

My ears perked up and I managed to ignore the new pain to keep pace. “Hopefully. I did see some alchemical supplies in the store during our last trip.” Knowing my luck they were the tools of a dead pony, probably one of those that died during that raider attack.

“Orchid if you wo…” Smoky started before being quickly hushed by Orchid.

“Bird’s eye view, I know.” Orchid patted me lightly on the back before taking off into the air. She began to slowly circle overhead, this time flying counterclockwise. Unusual as she usually circled the other way from what I’d seen.

Smoky sighed and shook his head. “No need fer that.” He muttered before looking back at me. “Something’s got her in a tizzy, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would ya?” He was watching me keenly, looking for something in particular.

I gulped silently while trying to think up what to say… “My first instinct would be what we already… hinted at… She did seem more nervous and out of it than usual.” That pat on the back did me no favors for this conversation.

“Ya know lying to me won’t work right? It’s written all over your face that ya know more than that.” His gaze returned up to his sister for a brief moment. “If ya just confess I won’t be mad at ya. If ya ain’t noticed, I don’t sleep particularly deeply.”

“Oh… that’s awkward then…” Should have seen this coming. I’m not nearly as sneaky as I thought I was. “Then I suppose you know what happened between Orchid and I last night. I got a little drunker than I was expecting and things just… happened.” Now here comes his punch to my face.

“Yeah, they sure did.” No punch to the face? “I don’t mind. Who she chooses to do that with ain’t up to me. But do ya think if it happens again you can try and be quieter? It’s awkward enough to know about it, I’d rather not have to listen to it as well.”

“I’d suggest earplugs, but I don’t think that’s such a good idea out here.” Made me miss my set at home. “If it happens again I’ll try to be quieter. I’m still not sure whether I’m ok with it or not. I’m not sure whether I’m still legally married or not. My wife could still be alive… and I’m not particularly fond of the idea that I may have cheated on her.”

Smoky was silent for a few moments. “Think it through then. Yer the introspective type, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out with time to think.”

“I will…” There was nothing more to gain from this conversation and I didn’t want to make things more awkward between us.

The world changed while I was at work. Over one hundred years had passed and most cities that I cared about were destroyed, or worse. Holding out hope that this was all a nightmare would be for naught. This is how ponies lived now. Fighting for their lives everyday, eating horrendous food, killing each other if it means surviving another day. This isn’t how I wanted my life to be, but I didn’t have a choice in that matter now. At least I have friends by my side to help me through the thick and thin.

It’s time to move on, Crimson. Life as you knew it isn’t coming back. The world you long for no longer exists, and no amount of hoping and praying will bring it back. They’re both gone, but they’d want you to carry on and live your life. So learn to survive out here and carry on their memory to honor them.

I hung my head for a moment and let a few tears escape my eyes. My family was gone, my world was gone. Now all I could do was keep fighting to survive.

Orchid had circled back down to us, her gun already drawn. “Only two of ‘em that I can see.” And fight I would have to. “I think they didn’t see me, but somethin ain’t right.”

“Ambush?” Smoky asked tentatively. “Wouldn’t be the first time they got smart. And you’re sure they’re raiders?” He asked, reflexively drawing his pistol.

“I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise, ya know that.” Orchid landed next to me and motioned for me to draw my rifle. “Crimson can take these two from range an we can cover ‘im just in case they got smart.”

I drew and shouldered my rifle. “How far away are they?” I tilted my rifle to the left and pulled the bolt back just far enough to confirm I had a live round chambered. “Anything more ponies could be hiding behind? Tactical cover, or camouflage maybe?”

“Couple a rocks an some thick grass, probly is an ambush. The extra supplies’d be nice, ammo an water hopefully.” Orchid nodded at Smoky. “Smoky thinks it’s worth the risk, the area is a good camp fer us.”

“Good cover and some good grass for kindling and food. Plus with you havin needle spine, it’d be a good spot to rest for the rest of the day.” Smoky drew his gun and motioned for us to follow him.

I followed slowly behind him, keeping low. Doing so when next to Smoky was easy, he practically had to be laying down to be shorter than me. Orchid was naturally a little shorter than me and didn’t have to try nearly as hard to sneak around.

We crested a small hill and stopped. Three hundred feet away stood a pair of raiders conversing about something. Based on what gestures I could make out it seemed to be about the area. Maybe they were planning to set up a permanent camp, or an ambush on somepony else.

As I raised my rifle to a ready position something caught my eye as it soared into the sky. An incandescent red light shot about fifty yards into the sky, leaving a trail of darkened smoke in its wake. The beacon of light was somewhat difficult for me to keep track of so I cast it from my mind and focused on the clearing.

This beacon of light was a signal to all the raiders lying in wait here. Dozens of them sprang out of the thick grass and from behind the few rocks in the clearing. Every one of them looked directly in our direction, weapons drawn and ready for a fight. Most were still far away, but a few were less than twenty yards.

Several rifle rounds whizzed by as the closest raiders began firing upon us. A second volley came a split second later. This batch was more well aimed. I felt the impact of three bullets before I was thrown backwards.

Smoky caught me mid air and pulled both of us into a sprint in the opposite direction of the ambush.

I barely got my hooves under me and kept up with him. I could feel several deep burning pains in my chest. Each step caused me immense pain. Even the adrenaline wasn’t doing enough for me to fully ignore it. My ears rang and as we ran my vision started to fade, until everything went dark.

When my vision returned I was greeted by the bright light of a campfire lighting up the dark night. I picked my head up and looked around to try and find my companions. The motion caused my new wounds to flare up. The pain was more mild now, but still enough for me to grind my teeth to drown it out.

Neither Smoky or Orchid were seated nearby. Nor were they in sight for that matter. Their bedrolls were laid out by the fire along with my equipment, so they had to be close by.

I forced myself to stand up through the pain, grinding my teeth to help distract myself. “Fuck that hurts,” I growled before stumbling over to my equipment.

My armor and saddlebags had been carefully laid out on their sides. The pile was a near perfect representation of me laying on my side. They weren’t planning on burying me were they? I hadn’t come that close to dying, had I?

I shook the thought from my head and started donning my armor. The process only took a minute or so. I felt much better with my armor and weapons back at my sides. As I checked them, I found my weapons were still fully loaded. I slid each weapon back into their places before scanning the area farther away from camp.

The clouds were obscuring the moon, but I guessed it was still early into the night. There was a breeze gently blowing through the valley, adding a slight chill to the already cool air. The campfire cut down the chill of the night, keeping me pleasantly warm. Beyond the crackle of burning wood the night was silent and still, worryingly so.

I couldn’t see far into the darkened wastes around me, but even so I should have been able to see my companions. I debated abandoning camp to search for them.

Without them I was an easy kill. My supplies would keep me for a few days, and then what? I’d waste away, dehydration would kill me if I didn’t get shot or eaten first. I’m doomed without them.

I began to rapidly scan the area and frantically trot in place. I had to do something. Anything. I needed to find my friends. I turned to the north and began my stride only to be tackled to the ground.

My horn lit up and I drew my pistol. I flicked the safety off. As I aimed at my attacker a kiss landed on my lips. Taken aback I took a second to identify who tackled me.

The suit of tattered leather armor, vibrant sapphire eyes, and tangerine coat would have been more than enough to figure it out. But the frantic cries of joy really made it clear. “I told ya! I told ya he was still breathin! Ya see Smoky! He’s alive!”

I lowered my pistol and flicked the safety back on. “Good to see you too,” I said, sliding the gun back into its holster. “Next time give me a warning. I about shot you thinking you were trying to kill me.”

There was a brief pause from Orchid before she kissed me again. “Sorry, I was just so happy that ya wernt dead. I thought we lost ya.” I watched tears escape her eyes as she stared into mine.

I was happy to see her, happy that my life meant so much to her. Happy to still be alive. I smiled and pressed my lips against hers. “I understand. I just don’t want to hurt you. I think Smoky would kick my ass if I did.”

Orchid stood up and moved to the side as her brother stepped into view.

“Damn right I would.” He extended a hoof out to me to help me up. “Glad yer still breathing Crimson. Got worried when ya passed out running from those raiders.” I accepted the hoof and he yanked me up to my own. “Even more worried when I stripped yer armor and saw the damage.”

I grimaced as I placed my weight on my own hooves again. The recent wounds were sore and mixed together with the sharp pain in my spine from being tackled. “Yeah, must not be pretty if how much they sting is anything to go on.” Really wished I had a dose of whatever medicine they gave me when we first met.

“Yer lucky ta be alive.” Orchid said, grabbing one of my hooves and dragging me to my bed. “Those bastards were damn good shots. Hit yer lungs twice, barely missed yer spine, an put one right through yer heart.” She pushed me onto my bed before trotting to her own bedroll.

I sat silently for a moment absorbing that information. I had nearly died in three separate ways from that volley of bullets. “Oh… fuck.” How many times was that now? Five? Six? A few too many times for my liking.

Orchid dragged her bedroll over to mine and laid down putting her right wing over me. “Ya had me worried sick there fer a spell. I’m so glad ya pulled through.” She tightened her wing grip on me and scooched closer. “I love ya,” she said in barely more than a whisper.

“I love you too.” Sitting here with her wing wrapped over me made me feel leagues better. Today was rough, but this loving embrace made everything that much better. This was something I had been missing… she isn’t my wife, but I can’t deny she’s more than just a friend.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, all of us watching the small campfire burn. I inadvertently was the first to break our silence. With a minute to rest my stomach decided to announce how underfed it was.

We hadn’t eaten a proper ‘meal’ quote unquote in a few days and I was feeling the effects of it. I looked across the fire to Smoky who was carrying most of our supplies.

Smoky began to dig through his packs but was interrupted by Orchid. “Here, I cooked extra fer ya. This batch tastes a mite better’n the last set.” She set a plate down in front of me.

Upon said plate was two steaks, I could only assume coyote meat from the size of them. The steaks looked delectable, the perfect seared color and smelling of applewood.

My mouth watered in anticipation as I levitated one of the steaks to my mouth. Biting into the steak was a moment of bliss. The meat had been cooked perfectly. Soft and tender, so full of flavor from the fire it had been cooked over, and lightly seasoned with spices. I greedily scarfed down the rest of the first steak before levitating the other one up.

Orchid chuckled lightly at the sight. “Glad ya like my cookin, but slow down. Ain’t neither of us gonna take it from ya.”

I took the light jab and took a much more controlled bite out of the second steak. It was a little more done than the first steak, but I wasn't going to complain about being fed. I slowly chewed the second steak, savoring the flavor of it. "Sorry, I was just so hungry. I don't know how you two can live eating as little as you do. Your way of living is physically exhausting, and you don't seem to have the caloric intake necessary to keep up with the demands of this life."

"Yer right, we don't." Smoky stared at me from across the fire. "Like I said, we've barely scraped by these past few months. Ain't got the caps to buy food and water when we're in town. Far as we're concerned, clean water is more important. Lucky fer us Orchid can eat the animals we hunt, helps our stocks last longer."

"And you need even more of everything with me tagging along." I'm pulling my own weight as best as I can, not freeloading by any means. "Anything we can do to remedy that? I know I shouldn't expect to live like I did before, but surely we can do better than eating once every two to three days."

“Once we get these hides sold off we’ll be better off for a few weeks” Smoky said, patting the pile of hides on his back. “Unless we settle in some town we’ll likely be eating every few days for the rest of our lives.”

A grim future, not one that I wanted to be a part of if I could help it. I know I couldn’t convince them to settle down if I tried, both are free spirited. Maybe I could secure enough food for all of us… “Well not that it’s much of an option, but if we could get back into my lab we’d have food for years. We kept the place stocked with preserved foods that could be easily cooked after waking up from long stints under.”

“An how would we get in? Ya ain’t got one them fancy things on yer forehoof.” Orchid looked up in anticipation. “Plus that vermint stole yer card, ain’t no other way.”

“There is one, at least more likely than not it’s still an option. But you’re not going to like what we’d need to do.” I needed to make a trip home. For closure, and to help my new family.

“No. Absolutely not. We’re low on ammo and supplies as is. Trying ta get in there is suicide” Smoky said matter of factly. “I’ve thought about every angle we could attack that place from, an none of ‘em end anyway but death. Just ain’t worth the risk without help.”

“Then we get some bigger guns and find somepony who can help us!” I finished my steak and looked over at Smoky. “We find ways to mitigate the risk and make attacking the town possible. What if we hit it from above? Have Orchid fly over and drop grenades on them.”

Smoky huffed at me. “Ya think I ain’t thought of that? We had the one grenade that we used saving those folk and we can’t afford to buy more.” He sighed and looked off into the distance. “Look, I know you want to retake your home, I get it. I want to explore that place just as much as you do, but we can’t swing it without more firepower than we could ever dream of affording. Unless you can pull ten thousand caps out of yer ass, then we’re stuck livin like this.” His face was full of despair and frustration, unhappy he couldn’t provide more for his sister.

I could pull that many, but it would be very unpleasant for me. “Alright. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” I laid my head down next to Orchid’s and closed my eyes.

“I know we will, I just need some time to think on it.” Were the last words I heard from Smoky before drifting off to sleep.