It had gone dark by the time Bullet and I had gotten close to Ponyville, hearing a faint sound of a shotgun blast coming from somewhere so some poor bastard must've gotten killed by a raider.

Even so, we were close enough to where we had kept low to the ground as we slowly crawled through the dead underbrush, making it just at the top of a hill where I reached back and took out my binoculars.

I looked through them to carry out recon on the former town, having a good vantage spot where Bullet and I currently are so I was able to see most of the ruined town.

I could see unicorn and earth pony raiders with a few humans in the mix as they were simply patrolling the town and I spotted a sniper that was set up on the balcony of Twilight's former library.

I put my binoculars away and went to remove my backpack before putting it down in front of me and taking out a bolt-action rifle with a scope, setting it down on the bag as an improvised sniper's perch.

I leaned right into the stock with my shoulder and moved the rifle around to make sure that it could swivel correctly and seeing that it did, I peered into the scope.

The bridge was a maze of barricades with the heads of two decapitated ponies skewered onto spikes at the entrance while at the gates, two ponies in heavy leather barding were talking to a raider on the ramparts.

One of them had a double-barrel shotgun, which explained the shotgun blast I heard earlier as I looked further down the road behind the two and saw another one in similar armor with a spear in his mouth, then I noticed that he had his back turned to two more ponies that were in chains.

Once I realized that those three ponies were slavers, my blood boiled and I felt nothing but pure hate for those sick fucks but I had to stay focused so I looked at the two captives, both of them unicorns.

One was male with beige fur while the other was female as her horn was slightly glowing, and I could see that she was using a bobby pin and a screwdriver on the lock of her shackles when I noticed the stable outfit she wore and the pipbuck on her right foreleg.

The stable dweller had managed to unlock the shackles and they fell with a thump, getting the attention of the slaver guarding her and the male captive as the slaver turned around.

I knew he was going to cave her head in and I was about to intervene when a loud gunshot erupted from the gates, causing the slaver to look towards the bridge but I already knew the situation had gone to hell.

I fired my rifle and the slaver's head exploded, showering the stable dweller with blood and from the look on her face as the blood seeped into her gray coat, I knew that these were her first hours outside of her stable but she shook her head and continued to unlock her shackles.

While she was doing that, I turned the rifle and watched what was transpiring at the bridge as the slaver with the shotgun was the last one standing from what I could see, taking cover from behind a barrier.

The slaver levitated his shotgun over the top of the barrier and fired, hitting a wounded raider that was staggering out in the open and the pony jolted as he was struck by the buckshot, then he fell down onto the bridge dead and the slaver peeked over his cover to see what he did when a raider that circled around him had shredded his body with two slugs from a combat shotgun.

The surviving raiders on the bridge had cackled insanely as they stepped over the dead bodies while one had the combat shotgun she used to kill the last slaver and the other had a sledgehammer in her teeth while the stable dweller had freed herself of her shackles and was working to do the same for her fellow captive when she stopped out of fright.

"Looks like we got ourselves some prizes!" the unicorn raider shouted in glee while the other one with the sledgehammer was laughing.

I could see the stable dweller had seemed to ask the raider a question, most likely a plea for help and I shook my head since she had no idea of the kind of danger she was in right now because as bad as the slavers were, raiders were even worse since the twisted bastards prefer to keep their victims alive for an extended period of time while carrying out unspeakable things to them.

"Oh, I'll help myself to you, alright!" the unicorn raider shouted before kicking the stable dweller in the side, sending her to the ground as she tried to catch her breath.

The raider kicked her again, making her howl in pain while the other raider was focused on the male captive and I grimaced as I saw him get whacked really hard by the sledgehammer, making him cough up blood while the unicorn raider turned her attention to the male captive, and it was pretty obvious that the two of them were going to beat the poor bastard to death.

"Hold his leg out, I'm gonna shoot his hooves off!" the unicorn raider yelled as she leveled her shotgun at one of the poor stallion's legs.

Acting quickly, I fired my rifle and the raider's horn was shot off at the base before she screamed in agony and fell to the ground, clutching her head while the stable dweller and her fellow captive froze in shock.

The raider with the sledgehammer took a quick look around and her gaze settled on my location for a second before the male slave wrapped his chain around her neck and started strangling her.

I didn't give him a chance, shooting the raider in her right eye as the male captive was covered in her brain matter and then I turned my attention to the unicorn raider I had crippled.

The stable dweller was holding the raider at spear point, the unicorn raider snarling like a cornered animal and I finished her off with a shot to the esophagus.

The stable dweller jolted back as the raider's neck exploded and she fell to the ground convulsing, but the stable dweller shook it off and went over to finish freeing the male captive.

I was way ahead of her on that one as I activated my S.A.T.S. and fired at the lock of the shackles, barely missing the slave's foreleg as the cuffs flew apart and the two former captives jumped.

They went to look at my location but I was rolling out of view and moved my backpack out of sight, reloading the bolt-action rifle and putting it away before putting my backpack back on, Bullet's ears swiveling in my direction but he didn't react as he kept an eye out.

"Let's go, Bullet," I whispered and the german shepherd got up to follow me as we quietly made our way through the decaying vegetation and once we were close to the bridge, the railing exploded beside us and I got into cover quickly with Bullet right behind me while the tree next to us had exploded into dried pulp as it was hit.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed as I remembered the sniper that was still set up at Twilight's library and knew that was a problem that needed to be taken care of quickly.

With that in mind, I bolted out of the brush with Bullet at my heels while running to the bridge, nearly colliding into the stable dweller as we ran past her before I overturned a rotten wagon and used it as cover.

The sniper had shot off one of the boards on top and the other raiders opened fire, the low-caliber bullets unable to make it through the tough wood.

I scowled as I didn't like these odds but bitching about it wouldn't do anything good as I saw the stable dweller out in the open, gawking at me and Bullet like a fish.

"What the hell are you doing just standing there?! Get to goddamn cover, you fucking idiot!" I shouted at her, snapping the stable dweller out of her trance and she shook her head before quickly looking around for a suitable cover.

I could see that she had settled for Rarity's carousel boutique, diving inside and shutting the door before bullets peppered it but they were unable to go through the door and kill the stable dweller.

Now that she was out of danger, I can focus on killing these assholes as I reached for one of the smoke grenades on my tactical vest and went to pull the pin.

I went and rolled the smoke grenade out of cover and waited for a little bit when I heard it let out a pop and could hear the raiders sounding a little alarmed because they couldn't see anything.

I went and took thermal goggles out of my backpack, removing my hat and strapping the goggles to my face before slipping them over my eyes.

I left my cover with Bullet right behind me as I circled around to flank the human and pony raiders before taking cover against a building and peering out.

Thanks to the goggles, I could see the raiders' body heat through the smoke and I leaned out of cover to aim at them, activating my S.A.T.S. and targeting two unicorns and one human.

I fired my M4A1 rifle, single shots killing all three of them and I let out a sharp whistle to signal Bullet, who ran out of cover and attacked the nearest pony raider.

The raider screamed as she was being mauled and I targeted two others, killing them with expert shots to the heart and skull before shooting the last one that was firing wildly out of pure terror.

Once that was done, I removed my goggles and put my hat back before clicking my tongue and Bullet came running over with his muzzle covered with the blood of the raider he savagely killed, then I removed the empty mag and reloaded my rifle with a fresh one before I started making my way to the library while killing more raiders along the way.

***

It took a little bit, but I had taken out the remaining raiders in Ponyville and freed their captives that were locked up in cages, most of them in horrible conditions and terrified while the last one was a ghoul pony who was cockeyed.

Something about that ghoul was familiar but I couldn't quite place it because my memory of the time before the war wasn't all that great since fighting for 200 years in this irradiated mutant-infested hellhole made it difficult to remember what things were like back then.

Either way, one mare had offered to give me her supplies as thanks for freeing her and the others but I refused since she'll need them out here more than I do, then she and the other captives had left since all the raiders were dead.

Once they were gone, I started searching the former library for any supplies the raiders might have and tried to ignore the horrors all around me as I went into the kitchen and found a dead radigator on a table, though I didn't pay much attention to it while I took a look around.

I found a locked medical box that showed signs of how the raiders attempted to get it open, though I succeeded in getting it open by picking the lock and found a healing potion inside, taking it with me while I continued searching and found food, ammo, weapons, and other necessities.

After that, I just looked around at the gruesome sight of dead ponies and humans that had been raped and brutally murdered before being put on display, and I shook my head at the senseless loss of life and the horrible conditions of the place since I knew that Twilight probably would've dropped dead from a heart attack if she were alive to see this.

I continued searching the building and didn't find anything else, though I thought about how that stable dweller wouldn't last two days out here since the Equestrian Wasteland was no place for someone like her.

I had no idea why she would leave the safety of her own stable and come out into this post-apocalyptic hell, but I knew she wouldn't survive out here without a good set of armor, weapons, ammo, and knowledge of the Equestrian Wasteland and the dangers that inhabited it.

I frowned as I started considering if this was a good idea or not since I was not overly keen on the thought of playing babysitter to someone who clearly had no idea what she was doing, not to mention that the idea of traveling with someone again made me feel tense.

I remembered the last time I traveled with someone and how it ended pretty badly so I was rather reluctant in having the stable dweller travel with me since I had sworn that I wouldn't travel with anyone else again after that.

I tried to convince myself that traveling with the stable dweller would only end badly but I sighed in frustration and felt like groaning loudly as the thought of the stable dweller getting either torn apart by mutated creatures or raped and murdered by raiders or slavers made it more difficult for me.

'Dammit, this is a really bad idea,' I thought irritably as I removed my hat and ran my hand through my hair in exasperation.

In the end, I reluctantly decided to have her travel with me despite how it wouldn't end well so I went to the dead raiders and removed pieces of their armor, placing them outside the front door for the stable dweller and going out onto the balcony so that I could sit down on the chair meant for a human.

I waited for hours as the night passed by, taking sips from my canteen from time to time and since the stable dweller hadn't left carousel boutique, I assumed she must've passed out from exhaustion or was already dead from a raider that I might've missed.

Either way, the sun was now rising through the cloud cover and what little of its rays shined down on the former humble town while I yawned since I hadn't gotten any sleep last night, though I suddenly heard an explosion coming from the boutique.

That got my attention and I got my sniper rifle, looking through the scope and saw that one of the raiders had left a really nasty surprise in the form of a mine for the stable dweller if the scorched ground and the empty doorway told me anything.

I waited for a little bit and saw said pony cautiously leaving the boutique, then I put the rifle away and just watched her creeping towards the library with an anxious look on her face.

While it was smart of her to be cautious, it wasn't exactly a good idea to enter a raider stronghold without serious firepower and plenty of medical supplies, which shows that she clearly just came out of her stable and had no idea just how dangerous the Equestrian Wasteland could be.

I simply waited as she went below the balcony and I couldn't see her anymore, then several minutes went by until I heard a faint clopping sound from behind me and the noise stopped.

I had to give her props for trying to stay quiet at least but she had no experience out here so she made a couple of fatal mistakes, trying to sneak up on someone with serious firepower and a large dog unarmed.

"So, you finally took your sweet-ass time, huh?" I questioned as Bullet started growling at the stable dweller, and I heard her slowly backing up and was about to turn around to run when I quickly got up and pulled out my Beretta to aim at her.

"Don't even think about running, or I will shoot you in the face," I warned coldly, seeing the stable dweller looking terrified as she trembled slightly at the threat.

I walked up to her and kept my Beretta trained on her as I studied her with a calculating expression, getting a good look at her now that I was up close instead of seeing her through the scope of my bolt action rifle and could see that she had a brown mane and tail, her eye color green.

"I will ask you a question, and you will be honest because lying won't help you, understand?" I asked and the stable dweller nodded nervously.

"Good, now what made you decide to come out into the Wasteland?" I questioned but when she didn't answer right away, I pressed the barrel of my Beretta into her face.

"I asked you a question and you will answer," I stated and the stable dweller flinched.

"T-T-T-To find s-s-omep-ony," the stable dweller stuttered and I kept a neutral expression as I stared down at her.

"And who might that be?" I asked.

"Her name is V-Velvet Remedy," the stable dweller replied and I kept my cold and calculating gaze on her, reading her expressions for any hint of a lie until I was satisfied with her answer and moved the gun away from her face, holstering it and the stable dweller let out a breath of relief.

"So, you decided to leave the safety of your stable and chase after your friend, who also made the choice to leave and probably doesn't want to be found, right?

While it's noble, that can only go so far out here," I told her stoically as I walked back to the balcony, ignoring the stable dweller's gaze on my pipbuck as Bullet calmed down and looked a bit more friendly.

"You have a pipbuck, so did you also come from a stable?" the stable dweller asked curiously and I looked back at her for a second.

"No," I replied as I stared out at the town, scanning the area just in case I missed any raiders.

"That doesn't make any sense, everypony who lives in a stable has a pipbuck so you have to be from one," the stable dweller pointed out, making me send her an irritated glance and she flinched at that.

"Look, I'm not interested in sharing my backstory with you, and as a matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves because I'm not your friend or your priest to confide in," I snapped and the stable dweller took a few steps back, then I sighed.

"I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't know you so that doesn't give me a reason to trust you, even if you came from a stable," I said more calmly, causing the stable dweller to relax slightly.

"I see...hey, since we just met, do you want to travel together?" the stable dweller asked and I felt like chuckling at how naive this unicorn was.

Wanting to travel with someone she just met who had a gun in her face and threatened to kill her? Not very smart since she didn't know me or what my intentions are so that was one of the things she needed to learn since trusting the wrong person can get you killed in this type of environment.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, try not to ask random strangers about wanting to travel together since that's not a smart move out here," I stated and the stable dweller frowned.

"Oh...so you don't want to travel together?" the stable dweller questioned while sounding disappointed.

"I didn't say that, I'm just saying that you need to be careful about who to trust out here since I made that mistake once and it damn near cost me," I replied bitterly, awful memories coming back to the surface and I shook my head to clear it while the stable dweller sent me a quizzical look.

"So, we are going to travel together?" the stable dweller asked and I sent her a look.

"You certainly ask a lot of questions but either way, might as well since I have nothing better to do and it looks like you need some protection," I answered, causing the stable dweller to arch a brow at my response.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the stable dweller questioned as I was heading to the open doorway.

"Considering how you almost got enslaved within an hour of leaving your stable, almost got beat to death by raiders, and how it seems that you've never had any interest in fighting, I'd give you two days at most out here," I listed bluntly while Bullet and the stable dweller followed me with the latter scoffing.

"Just two?" the stable dweller asked.

"I rounded it up from six hours," I replied dryly and the stable dweller let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Oh, a wise guy, huh?" the stable dweller questioned sarcastically as we were heading to the front door when I stopped and looked back at her.

"Just a drifter," I replied before looking forward once more, continuing to exit the library and I noticed that the stable dweller wasn't following so I stopped and waited for her.

I took the opportunity to look at the map on my pipbuck to figure out where to go next after leaving a sniper rifle in a shoulder holster, a six-shot revolver, a decent amount of ammo for both, and raider armor on the ground behind me just as I heard the stable dweller leaving the library and she stopped so I knew she was studying what I left for her.

"Take it, you'll need it," I said while focusing on my pipbuck.

"You sure?" the stable dweller questioned and I simply nodded, then I heard her picking up the raider armor and slipping it over her stable jumpsuit, then she was done a few minutes later and I looked to see that she had the revolver in its new holster while the holstered sniper rifle was strapped to her armor.

"Alright, where should we go first, miss..." I asked but trailed off since I didn't know her name.

"Littlepip, but why are you asking me?" Littlepip inquired and I did one last check with my pipbuck before returning my attention to her again.

"You're looking for your friend so do you have any leads that could help you figure out where she went?" I questioned and Littlepip looked sheepish.

"Um...not really," Littlepip replied hesitantly and I made a face at that.

"So, you left your stable with no leads or anything on how to locate your friend? This is why you need to plan these things out or it'll come back and bite you in the ass, especially in this environment," I pointed out and Littlepip looked embarrassed.

"I know, so how about we get out of here first and then we'll go from there," Littlepip offered and I knew that was better than nothing.

"Alright," I agreed and went to look at Bullet, who was picking something off the dead raider below the balcony and I sent him a whistle.

"Bullet, come," I called out and I could hear Littlepip restraining her laughter at the name with a cough, but I ignored it as Bullet shot up from the body with something in his mouth and he headed over to me before dropping the item at my feet, which was a burlap sack full of caps.

"Good boy," I said, petting Bullet and passing the sack over to Littlepip, who grabbed it with her magic.

"What's this?" Littlepip asked as she untied the sack and looked inside.

"Caps, it's currency out here," I said as I started staring at one road that led out of town.

"So, everypony out here uses bottle caps for...currency?" Littlepip questioned in complete confusion.

"The good old Equestrian bit no longer has any value out here after most of them got destroyed in the war so we use caps to replace them, not to mention that it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it," I pointed out logically.

"Fair point," Littlepip conceded, putting the sack into her saddlebags and the three of us started to make our way down the road, Bullet and I continuously scanning for threats.

As we neared the exit of the town, we happened upon a large gazebo around the war memorial statue of Big Macintosh, who was rearing back with combat barding and a short sword in his mouth when I held up my fist to stop Littlepip.

"What's wrong?" Littlepip asked, though I didn't answer while I slung my M4A1 and took out my bolt-action rifle to look through the scope, then my suspicions were confirmed as I spotted a pack of radigators in the weeds surrounding the place.

"There are radigators in those weeds, they'll ambush us if we try to go on the road so we need some meat for potential food and you need the target practice," I said as I dialed in on one of the radigators and pulled the trigger.

The rifle fired and a plume of red mist confirmed my hit as I chambered another round and fired again, then Littlepip joined in as I killed two more and she took out a few herself.

After about ten radigators lay dead in the weeds, I reloaded my bolt-action rifle and put it away before pulling out my serrated combat knife, prompting Littlepip to take out her own knife with her magic and we slowly approached one of the dead radigators.

As we got near it, Littlepip got an alert on her pipbuck to notify her what this place was and she looked down at it to read what was on it while I went over to the dead radigator, using my knife to take the choice cuts of meat thanks to my intimate knowledge of hunting for 200 years and fed extras to Bullet while Littlepip went to examine the inscription of the statue.

"In honor of Big Macintosh, hero of the Battle of Shattered Hoof Ridge and his noble sacrifice for all of Equestria," Littlepip read out loud, then I let out a scoff.

"Yeah, well, look how that turned out," I said bitterly as I recalled being there during the Battle of Shattered Hoof Ridge and how Big Mac had lost his life to save Princess Celestia from a zebra sniper.

I had finished harvesting the radigator meat, wiping the bloodied knife on the mutated animal's scales before holstering it and I looked around the area some more, seeing what appeared to be an entrance to either a manhole or ponyhole and I looked down at my pipbuck to see that some kind of radio broadcast had popped up on the screen and I tuned into it.

"...from those damned apple trees up near the stable and now he's terribly sick, too sick to move. We've holed up in the cistern near the old memorial but we're running out of food and medical supplies.

Please, if anyone or anypony hears this, help us...message repeats..." the broadcast said and I shut it off, then Littlepip sighed and it sounded like she heard it before but I made eye contact with her and motioned my head at the hole.

She noticed it and nodded before all three of us cautiously started approaching the hole while Littlepip had her revolver out and I had my rifle in my hands, keeping our eyes and ears open for any radigators.

We almost made it halfway there when a radigator suddenly came out of the weeds and lunged right at me, making me react accordingly by shooting it in its maw twice, killing it as the second shot blew its brains out.

The gunshots attracted the other ones that were in the weeds and two more soon replaced the one that was killed, prompting Littlepip to fire three shots into the open maw of one but it shrugged it off easily.

"Get inside!" I shouted, ducking under a lunge and sending a kick into the radigator's side that knocked it to the ground.

I quickly slung my rifle and pulled out my knife before jumping on top of it, plunging the blade into its throat and slicing across it as it drowned in its own blood but that didn't stop me from stabbing it a few times just to make sure it was dead.

"Bullet, come on!" Littlepip shouted as I heard her emptying her revolver into the backside of another radigator that barely flinched and turned to the mare, showing off its many rows of sharp teeth.

Bullet, who was guarding her, growled and showed off his own when the radigator was about to lung at them and I pulled out my Beretta to fire a shot at the back of its head, only wounding it while Littlepip squeaked in fright before she dropped her revolver and quickly opening the ponyhole cover, diving in and Bullet followed her.

Having no time in getting my rifle, I held my Beretta in one hand and my knife in another as I got into a combat stance with my wrists crossed as I aimed at the remaining radigators while holding my knife in a reverse grip.

One radigator lunged at me and I ducked before sending my knife into its abdomen, throwing it to the ground and aiming at a couple of others, activating my S.A.T.S before killing them with expert sharpshooting.

I pulled my knife out and fought like hell as I got injured a few times but I was able to kill the rest and fell down the ponyhole with the severed head of a radigator until I crashed ungracefully onto the floor of the concrete chamber.

I groaned as my body was in agony before I threw the head away and slowly sat up, then Littlepip gasped at the sight of my injuries as there was a gash on my neck, my left arm had a large bite mark on it, my ear was bleeding from a nick at the top, and my right leg had a large claw mark but I was alive.

"God...son of a bitch," I growled as my back hurt from landing on a concrete floor so I knew my ribs will be bruised from that.

"Are you okay?" Littlepip asked as she had gotten up and looked me over, reaching over to touch the gash on my neck but quickly pulled back when I hissed in pain from the contact.

More blood oozed out of it, staining my jacket but then I felt the pain starting to dull as my injuries began closing up, healing fast and Littlepip gawked at that until my wounds were gone and the only signs that I was ever injured were my slightly torn clothes and the blood.

"I'll be fine, just need a little rest is all," I said gruffly and Littlepip blinked at that.

"H-How were you healing that quick without a healing potion?" Littlepip asked and I stood up.

"Was mutated from radiation, gave me the ability to heal up from lethal injuries," I replied, then Littlepip nodded hesitantly and went to start up a fire until I gave her some of the meat I procured and she began to spit-roast it.

I took off my brown leather jacket and removed my tactical vest, showing that I was wearing a gray t-shirt while I took off my hat and ran my hand through my hair until I put my jacket on one of the bunkbeds when I noticed the skeletons that consisted of a foal and an adult.

"Christ..." I muttered while looking in between the skeletons and letting out a quiet sigh, then I picked up both skeletons and held them in my arms as I looked around and spotted a footlocker that was on the wall.

I opened it up, finding it empty and gently placed the bones inside before closing it, then I stared at the footlocker for a little bit and shook my head before hanging my vest and hat over my jacket.

I kept my backpack on the floor next to the bunkbeds and kicked my boots off, laying down on the bottom bunk and quickly pulling a large blanket out of my backpack before putting it around me, then I threw a matching blanket on the other bunk.

"Here, it'll keep you from freezing," I said while growing drowsy and Littlepip smiled widely, hopping onto the bunk and wrapping the blanket around herself until I tossed her a book that would be very helpful to her when I turned my attention to Bullet.

"Bullet, three hours," I muttered and the german shepherd shot his head up from his position on the floor until he sneezed in response.

I huffed before getting comfortable and started to drift off, but not before I heard Littlepip reading the title of the book I tossed at her.

"The Wasteland Survival Guide by Ditzy Doo..." Littlepip read out loud in a quiet tone of voice until I fell asleep.

Author's Note

Well, Josh has met Littlepip and now their journey starts so things are gonna get very interesting from now on.

I know Josh was being cold and distant to Littlepip and even harsh at one time, but he had a very good reason for it since he didn't know her and that made it a little hard to trust her, even if she was from a stable.

Josh will warm up to her eventually but until then, he's only focused on helping her find Velvet Remedy and part ways with Littlepip once they find her.

Well, that's it for this chapter so let me know what you think and stay tuned.