Fallout Equestria: Wounded Hare

Chapters

Prologue
December 23rd 2273
December 24th, 2273 Hearth's Warming Eve
December 25th, Hearth's Warming Day
December 26th, 2273

Prologue

To say it’s been a while since I’ve written a journal, I think I’ll start with the basics. It’s been roughly 196 years since the mega spells dropped on Equestria, transforming it into the home of constant war, famine, and sickness. I don’t believe that such a life is fit for ponies, but it is one that we have adapted to and adapted we have. Ponies of all races, creeds, religions, and faiths fight each other over ideology, resources, and basic needs such as survival. Using whatever means possible, bullets, blades and even hoofs to kill each other for even the smallest crumb.

This world is cruel and hard, and it challenges you to even get out of bed. What would be the point of living in this world if you could be killed not ten steps from your door? That is a question I asked my mother when I was younger. My dear mother, Sapphire Blossom, looked heartbroken that I had asked such a thing, but she knew that question would arrive sooner or later.

The words that she spoke to me next were what stuck with me. The ponies of today should seek to find a way to brighten the world, not for themselves but for their children and their children’s children. Planting the seed of a tree that will provide shade you’ll never see.

I didn’t know it then, but those words were the seed that would send me off to see the world. Much to my parents’ dismay, leaving after an argument with my strict father to take up a job with a caravan. I remember my mother’s tears as she wrapped the scarf I wear now around my neck; it still breaks my heart to recall that image. I remember telling her I would be home quicker than she thought in a few months.

As of today, it’s been eight years. Eight years of serving under one of the most cruel and fanatical groups of ponies that I ever had the misfortune to stumble across. The Lunar Crescent Commune. Being forced into their society's militant wing, The Lunar Crescent Army Corp as a conscript marksman. Fighting their wars, spilling my blood, and spending the lives of the ponies around me to spread the bastardized word of my Goddess, Luna, all with a gun pointed at my back if I ever dared step out of line.

This is Jack Rabbit, 17th Recon, 3rd Platoon, Charlee Squad, the now-traitor of the Crescent Army Corps.

December 23rd 2273

Sitting here, I still tremble at what I have just committed. Yet, I can hardly remember much of it. The Applejack whiskey certainly isn’t helping. But, I’ll start at the beginning, of why I’m here.

I was once a part of the Lunar Crescent Army, the militant arm of the rising Lunar Crescent Commune. A once small settlement of unicorns grew into its own small nation-state, where their worship of Luna is at the core. Known as the Lunar Mother’s Gospel Commune. The Commune is massive compared to many settlements, even some attempted governments after the Great War. Having several thousand ponies under their influence across the Wasteland, with unicorns being the ones that they consider the most superior. While they consider unicorns the most superior, they know that relying on Unicorns alone wouldn’t be enough to spread the word of Luna’s Gospel. Dividing into Sects in different regions of the Wasteland, where they recruit ponies through words or swords. I was a part of the latter. I didn’t have a choice in joining them, but that was because I was a young unicorn. Otherwise, my head would’ve been splattered on the cracked pavement of Manhattan. I was only sixteen when they took me, having only left home a few months prior with a caravan to see the world.

Well, see the world, I did. Having been taken into Crescent ranks, I was fed, clothed, educated, and ultimately indoctrinated into their ways. After my initial years of training until the age of eighteen, I was sent to my first frozen hell. Stalliongrad, where the Crescents waged war against what I once thought were solar cult savages. Due to my experience in that campaign and the objectives I helped achieve, I was requested by name to help out this new Sect that wanted to head into the far northwest. To a city, that was barely touched comparatively to the rest of the Wasteland. Vanhoofer.

I was sent here with a decently sized squadron of ponies, twenty or so if my count was correct. It was a part of a recon group from the 112th Hunting Corps. They were made up of the non-commune-born Crescents, originally wastelanders who were taken in as outsiders who proved themselves through their dedication and loyalty in combat and to the Lunar Gospel in their hearts and rose through the ranks. That was the most surefire way to ensure you were supplied with better gear in the Crescent Arsenal. Better than the crudely made bolt action rifles that non-unicorn conscripts were forced to use.

That gear also included access to vehicles repurposed from the old Equestrian Army. Repaired, refueled, and rearmed, these hulking beasts transported small numbers of troops to hard-to-reach places such as Vanhoofer. The convoy I was a part of had three vehicles, troop transports, and supply trucks full of Crescent-made ammunition and food.

I remember standing on the side of the road when they picked me up at the Manehatten Operational Base; they threw me towards the rear troop transport vehicle. Covered in white paint and white camo tarps over the back, it looked like a white brick on wheels. It was also my first time actually being able to ride on one of the few working vehicles. We made our way through the Wasteland either through the retrofitted troop trains or by hoof. Seeing these made my stomach sink.

I climbed to see the squad of twenty or so ponies sitting on the bench seats. Many were either sleeping, smoking, or shooting the shit with each other. My presence quieted them while their mouths weren’t saying anything; their eyes eyed me like a chew toy. That was when my gut feeling was right that these ponies were no good.

The trip up here had taken several days, often stopping due to engine malfunctions or needing to replace the sparkle batteries that powered the ancient machines. In my hooves was a book about a knight taken on the filthy hordes of Zebras and their gryphon collaborators; having grown up near Zebras in the southern plains of Equestria, I knew it was mostly hogwash. I have read this book so many times, I practically knew the pages by heart even knew the pages of specific scenes. It was one of my keepsakes from Stalliongrad. Well, the only keepsake I wanted to keep.

I was so engrossed in the well-turned pages that as we entered the mountains near Vanhoofer, we began to slow to a crawl. At first, I thought it was just another engine failure, but the toothy grin of the Platoon Sergeant by the name of Steel Knuckle told me otherwise. The dull cyan unicorn with a flashy steel grey mane stood up and bellowed, “Alright, Gentlecolts, I’ve got some news for you, sorry lot.”

Steel Knuckle walked down the aisle, looking at each of us, pointing at random ponies with an indication to get ready. I was hoping to be left out of whatever plan this stallion had, but those thoughts were dashed when his hoof pointed at me. “Those I selected will participate in an early Hearth’s warming gift given to us by our friendly neighborhood Vulture unit. Get ready for a hike! That means you too, new Fish.”

The grins on everyone’s faces upon saying those words gave me chills. They were excited as if they were wolves finding a wounded deer. They smelt blood, and they wanted to feast.

A few moments later, the truck slowly came to a stop, and everyone filed out and began checking their gear. When everyone was good to go, the convoy started to leave. Lt. Knuckle looked at the vehicles while they continued up the road before gazing towards the eight ponies he selected, making ten of us. We all got in line with our gear as he inspected all of us, spouting confidently. “We will be heading up this mountain through the pass, checking out a small village marked for…” He paused, thinking of a word. “Harvest.” I felt my heart beat like a drum on the inside of my armor. “We will meet up with the convoy in approximately three days after we have done our little side mission.” He got us into patrol formation with a whistle and a hoof twirl.

I was set to take my position in the rear, but Lt. Knuckle stopped me with a magic hand. “You’ll be next to me, New Fish. I’ll be sure to teach you everything on our way up there.” If I could feel anything in my legs but the cold, dread would surely take its place. I didn’t want to be with these ponies in the first place, let alone on a mission with them. I didn’t like the way they all seemed eager for a fight. If I didn’t know any better, these ponies would look like raiders from the bloodlust in their eyes.

The journey took about one and a half days, only stopping in a small cave for rest during a bad storm blowing through. The entire time Steel Knuckles told me things I already knew, combat formations and protocols. Even getting into some of his illicit exploits of peddling Dash and other chems to the bottom feeder caste. Bottom feeders, that name for the ponies at the bottom of the caste system, always bothered me. I ignored it, just trying to make it through this and figure out what assignment I’m needed for in Vanhoofer. Eventually, we came atop the crest of a hill; I could see the large wooden gate made of felled trees and logs that made up the entrance of a village. My heart sank at the sight enough that my legs buckled, plunging my ass into the cold fluffy snow.

Lt. Knuckle came beside me where I sat, taking a pair of binos from his vest. Glassing the village, that yellow toothy grin of his appeared once more. “Take a look through your scope, New Fish. Tell me what you see.” He ordered, patting me on the back.

Putting the optic of the old Equestrian sniper rifle to my eye, I told him all I saw. It was a small village, hidden from the rest of the world. It was a small series of cabins with a larger, longer hut-type cabin, a large open front door, and ancient wood making its foundation. There was a small school, from what I saw, and a few children were there. This was a thriving tiny village, hunting and farming where they could. The gate of the village wall was impressive and sturdy. But, they were lightly armed, boasting two guards at the entrance. They looked more well-trained, possibly mercs. He grinned at my assessment. “Good, New Fish. Now, follow my lead, and this will go smoothly.”

Keeping the grin plastered on his face, he looked at the other soldiers in the formation. He bellowed, “We are humble Guests.” And with that, as if with a switch, everyone’s blood-thirsty demeanor vanished, and they acted as if they were just being careful.

We would head down, keeping rifles at the low ready while walking. We just looked like a band of mercs roaming around. The group began to disperse, pretending to be sloppy with their movements and weapons handling. I realized they were wolves in sheep’s clothing as we marched towards the gate ahead of us.

The guards at the gate looked up from their conversation and pointed their rifles at us. We scared them a bit, considering our uniforms and camouflage. One of them put out a hoof, keeping his rifle trained on Lt. Knuckles. “Halt! Who are you, and why are you here?!” The guard was clearly taken back by our presence, not used to ponies wandering up here.

Clearing his throat, Lt. Knuckle bowed. “My name is Steel Knuckles. I am afraid that my companions and I are a bit lost in these mountains. We are trying to make our way towards Vanhoofer. Would you happen to know the way?”

“It’s a two-week walk from here to the west. Now scram! Before we feed you to the timberwolves!” the second guard interjected, trying to sound intimidating, but by the looks of it, he was relatively young—maybe just a hair over eighteen. My dread grew further as I said nothing.

Lt. Knuckles would raise a hoof cautiously. “We mean you no harm; we would also like to stop and barter for supplies. Is there somepony I could speak to in order to arrange that?”

The older of the two guards looked at his younger partner. “Go get Broadhead. This is his decision.” The younger one looked apprehensive about leaving his partner with us. I would be, too, if I were in his situation. Seeing a bunch of heavily armed and armored ponies walking through the snow out of nowhere would get any pony spooked. “Go now, Thunder Spike!” The older one bellowed, keeping his rifle trained on Lt. Knuckles. This prompted the Thunder to quickly open the door and head in. Leaving it slightly ajar, I saw the ponies slowly gathering on the other side, wondering what the commotion was. I internally pleaded with them to run, to hide, but I only stayed quiet.

Lt. Knuckles kept his calm, friendly demeanor. He acted and looked like a totally different stallion than the one talking my ear off on the way up here! He wasn’t bothered by the fact that he had a rifle pointed at his face. That aura of confidence was rather unsettling. He knew that we had the upper hoof with firepower. Should I say something? Anything? I knew if I did, I would just be gunned down right here like it was nothing.

After some uncomfortable silence, with the guard training his rifle on us, the other returned with a very elderly pony. His weathered face and narrow eyes told me he lived here his whole life. The picture of a Broadhead tipped arrow crossed with a bow made me think he was a great hunter. “My name is Broadhead; with whom am I speaking?” He said.

“Steel Knuckles, Mr. Broadhead. We are a small band of independent mercenaries looking to make our way to Vanhoofer. Just some honest ponies looking for some honest work.” Lt. Knuckles replied with a polite bow of his head.

“Well, I’m sure Thunder or Butter would be able to point you gentlecolts in the right direction,” Broadhead said, eyeing everyone in front of him. His eyes settling on me, I tried to plead with my eyes to shew us away. To tell us to screw off anything. But he didn’t seem to notice it.

“Well, they have done so, and we are grateful for the directions. But, since it is a rather longer trip than expected, we are running short on supplies and would be indebted to you if we could do some trade.” Lt. Knuckles said, spinning the tale further. Putting a lot of truth into the lie seemed like second nature to him. The trip was longer than expected, but he was leaving out the fact that we had a supply chain coming back for us on our journey down the mountain.

He pondered this for a second before sighing. “Well, Rock Candy is a bit late this month and we could use the extra supplies. Especially ammunition; if you can spare some of that, then we could do some trade.” I was shocked at how open the old stallion was; he didn’t see the evil before him. This made the stallion guard named Butter take a deep breath and lower his rifle, following the limping stallion back into the village. Opening the gates for all of us.

Lt. Knuckles would smile, holding back his cruel smirk. “That is something we have spades in. We would be happy to give you some ammunition. Isn’t that right, boys?” He would say, looking back to all of us. We walked in tight formation while we entered the village, all of the villagers either gathering to our sides or looking through their windows to stare at us with wonder. My heart was thumping with anticipation; I wanted to call out to them. To run, to hide, to get weapons, and to fight. But with the click of his tongue, which perked the ears of everyone in the platoon. Lt. Knuckles would draw his pistol, uttering not a single word as he fired into the back of Broadhead’s skull. His face is devoid of emotion, but the glee signals the beginning of the slaughter.

Everything began to run in slow motion; the two mercs guarding Broadhead were quickly shot down before they could react. The entire village was engulfed in chaos, and everyone in our group began blindly firing on the villagers. Sending splattered blood and viscera against the ancient wood and stonework. The ones that ran were shot in the back; the ones that were hiding in their homes were dragged out by their manes and hide legs, only to be put down with rounds to the head once they were revealed not to be unicorns. The few that did put up a fight, armed with only hunting rifles and a few rusty assault rifles, were quickly snuffed out by the barrage of return fire. This squad of the 112th Hunting Corps didn’t spare any ammunition, peppering ponies to the point of being unrecognizable flesh heaps.

Once houses were quickly searched and all occupants either dragged or out killed, the houses were set ablaze with lighters and the flamer that was with us. While it felt like an eternity, time was only felt with each of my heartbeats as I sat there and watched. It was over in a matter of minutes; the bodies of the villagers covered the ground, turning the frozen earth red from their weeping blood. Only a few were spared from the carnage; the ones spared were the youngest. Taken from their homes and having their parents shot in front of them…

My ears rang from the pistol that Lt. Knuckles fired, I saw everything unfold, and I couldn’t do a single thing to stop it… I would get slaughtered like these villagers and left to freeze in rigor mortis. The saying my father told me growing up popped into my head then. ‘Life before virtue, you can’t save everyone, only yourself.’ That didn’t make me feel any better; it only made me feel like what I truly was at that moment.

A coward. Luna, have mercy…

The squad members that survived began to loot, shooting any survivors and feasting upon this village’s last meal. The food was still hot from the ovens now engulfed in flames and ash. They all smiled and laughed at the fate of these poor villagers as if this was a vacation and stress relief. These ponies’ lives were nothing to these animals; they were feasting on an easy kill.

I was stuck in my own thoughts, standing where I was when the massacre started. I didn’t hear Lt. Knuckles approaching from behind. With a harsh grip, he took my rifle from my magic and checked the chamber, still oiled and clean. He realized I didn’t fire a single shot on his command. “New Fish, why didn’t you follow the order?”

I stuttered as I tried to think of a response. “I-I... What order, sir?” I managed to meek out.

“The order to kill these fucking troglodytes, New Fish. Are you fucking stupid?” He shouted; he bulked his more immense mass over me to encase me in his shadow. Then, a whistle drew our attention; the source was Lt. Knuckle’s second in command, Sstg. Willow.

“Hey boss, the round ups are at the school and waiting.” Willow shouted over the crackling fires next to him. I could barely see him through the smoke, but I could make out the shape of the school behind him. Lt. Knuckles huffed before his expression changed, and he turned his gaze back to me.

“New Fish, I might have been too harsh on you. Since this is your first outing with a real Crescent unit, I’ll give you a way to pop that stubborn cherry of yours. Consider this a courtesy not many outside our unit get to enjoy.” My heart began to be at a million paces a second; enjoy? What did he mean by cherry? Is he... Oh no…

Keeping my rifle as we trotted past the burning corpses and house fires. The smoke burnt my lungs, but that stench is something that I will never forget. The heat of the fire, popping and blistering the corpses of villagers who were alive not even twenty minutes ago, stung my soul. I did notice that there were two of our own dead in that. Stripped of their gear and tossed aside alongside the others. My heart didn’t ache for these monsters, but all I did was keep my head down while we made our way to the school.

When we were far enough away from the fire consuming the village, I could hear the muffled crying of ponies… not just ponies but fillies and colts. Willow stood over them with a rifle pointed at their backs while they knelt against the stonewall foundation of the school. Their hooves bound behind their backs at painful angles; I could see blood seeping past the thin twine that kept them there. I felt something hot in my chest at the sight, despair rolling over to something else.

“Are these all the children that we could find, Willow?” Lt. Knuckles asked.

“I’m afraid so, boss, and they don’t meet the criteria of our quota,” Willow responded, checking over the oldest of the five children with a jab of his rifle. The filly squeaked in fear before the bag began to moisten from her tears, which quickly froze.

I looked at the two Stallions having their casual conversation. “Quota?” I asked, trying to hide the growing anger in my voice.

“That’s right,” Willow responded. “Command tells us that if we find ponies who don’t meet our criteria and are too far away from a Sect HQ for reclamation and reeducation, we liquidate. Don’t need wannabe heroes trying to interfere with Crescent operations now do we? Pretty sweet gig if you ask me.” He finished with a shallow laugh.

“That’s enough, Willow. You’re not the only one that is allowed to have fun. I’ve decided that our New Fish here will pop his cherry by finishing our little mission here. Give him your rifle; I want to see if this New Fish can handle a real rifle.”

“If you say so, Boss.” Willow came over and pushed the rifle into my hooves. “Don’t drop it, or you’ll join the trash in the fire.” He whispered, pushing me towards the backs of the children before he trotted to stand next to Lt. Knuckles. A shit-eating grin on both of them. Looking back at the two, I couldn’t even tell who they were against the backdrop of the fire. They were just silhouettes made of smoke and shadow. Yet, I could see their grins. The sight caused the heat in my chest to overtake me, getting hotter than the flames surrounding us.

I looked down at the children in front of me, fillies and colts no older than nine. Just starting their lives in a relatively peaceful place. The rifle in my magic felt almost too heavy to hold, threatening to slip loose. It trembled in my grip as I looked down at it.

“Luna… Celestia… please help us…” I heard the oldest filly mutter.

“I…” I couldn’t think of the words to say; what could I say?

“Come on, New Fish. We don’t have all day. Just take out the tra-” Lt. Knuckle began to say, but I couldn’t hear what else he said. My heart felt like it stopped before I turned, pointing the rifle at him. Everything began to slow in what my first Lt called Combat Focus. Adrenaline coursing through my veins, my magic slipped the fire selector to fully automatic. To say Lt. Knuckles was surprised would be an understatement, but it didn’t last long. With the first pull of the trigger, a bullet pierced his head. After his body limply hit the ground, Willow, in a state of panic, tried to fumble with my rifle. Putting a burst of rounds lacing up his torso, piercing my old rifle in the process. I gave him the fate that he least deserved. A quick death. I began to move towards the rest of the squad, hearing shouts of concern. The anger at my own inaction and cowardice ignited by the pleas of the children and the mockery of my now former brothers in arms. I don’t remember anything after those initial steps; I blacked out in rage as my body went into autopilot.

I wasn’t sure for how long I was unconscious for, but enough time had passed that somepony else had arrived. This was evident by the rifle muzzle pointed at my face. Entangled with the cold and sweat, I could sense the familiar stickiness of blood soaking my fatigues. My body ached; it hurt to breathe. I knew I had gotten shot a few times, my armor taking the blows for most of them. Trying to peek my head up, I only got an angry shout. “Don’t you dare fucking move! Move a single hair, and I’ll have you join your buddies!” The muzzle of the cold rifle pressed against my cheek, pinning my head against the ground. I didn’t dare move like he said. My vision began to focus; behind the rifle was a weathered earth pony in leather barding.

Another set of hoof steps crunching through the snow approached; I couldn’t see who it was. It’s not like I could try to look if I wanted to. “Candy, we got a live one here! He looks to be one of the fucks who killed the villagers.” A gruff-sounding stallion shouted away from us.

I heard more hoof steps approaching, but before I could try and look, I was flipped over to my back. Both sets of my hooves were tightly bound together before I was roughly thrown against a smoldering stone foundation to sit up.

In front of me were five ponies… and a brahmin? Three of them had their rifles pointed at me. All of them dawned with cold resistance cowls, goggles, and bardings. Then it hit me, these were caravan guards that traded out here. The one approaching was the smallest of them all, but her face was out, the valleys that creased her face showing the years of weathering she had endured out here. I could make out the soft bubble gum pink coat underneath the soot that covered everypony here.

Her eyes blazed with a burning anger that could’ve melted the snow around us. Silently crunching through the snow, she stopped before me and lowered herself to my eye level. “You’re going to tell me everything that happened here. Every Celestia damned detail, I want to know why one of my best customers is dead and who else is responsible.” She looked up at the guard next to her, the rifle still pointed at my head. “Shoot him when I say so.” She turned back to me. “If you lie even a little, your head will be splattered against the wall.” This wasn’t a threat but a very, very serious promise.

“Where do I start?” I asked, making sure there was no playfulness or sarcasm.

She pondered this for a moment, sitting on her haunches. “Who are you, why are you here, and who are you with.”

“My name is Jack Rabbit, I’m…” I paused, trying to make the words come out. The reality of my situation slowly came crashing down on me. I took a deep breath before continuing. “I used to be with the Lunar Crescent Army, the militant arm of the Lunar Crescent Commune. I was sent here to go to a newly established Sect of the Crescent army based in Vanhoofer, but the squad I was transiting with decided to take a detour for their own sick games.” I gestured with my head around us.

The mare that the guard referred to as Candy quirked an upwards eyebrow. “What do you mean used too?”

I stared her in the eyes; defiance and confidence returned at this next set of words. “I killed the ponies of my squad who were responsible for this massacre.”

“Why didn’t you stop them beforehand? You could’ve prevented all of this! You knew this would happen! Didn’t you!?” One of the guards interjected, getting closer and pushing the barrel of a revolver into my nose. “Why shouldn’t I just blow your brains out right fu-”

“Enough, Batter!” Candy barked. “Killing him right now won’t bring your sister back. We need answers, and we can deal with him afterward.” I felt another sting crest against my soul at her words.

“He is right, you know,” I muttered, looking down. They both looked at me in sync. “I thought about trying to warn the villagers and speaking up but knew that would only have kicked it off sooner and with me dead. I understand why you’re angry, but I didn't have any part in it, for Luna’s sake!”

The guard named Batter grunted. “oh, you’re a filthy fucking yellow-bellied coward who stood by and did nothing as if that makes up for all of this. You're just as guilty as the bastards who pulled the triggers.” He gestured to the smoldering remains of huts and houses around us, ending on the pile of smoking skeletons and burnt flesh.

“Enough, Batter, go look after the Brahmin. Have Solvent go search the houses for any survivors.” Candy ordered with an even voice. He looked taken aback by that, but with a huff, he obeyed and left. Candy sighed while she turned her gaze back to me. “Do you know of any survivors that they missed?””

Smiling slightly, I nodded my head. “That was the one good thing I could do from all of this. I managed to save a group of fillies and colts from the carnage. My former lieutenant wanted me to slaughter them as a sort of rite of passage.” I spat at the very mere mention of the lieutenant. “That’s when I started battling my former squadmates. They were near the school last I checked, I don’t remember much after the shooting started.”

Candy turned her head towards a pony poking through rubble. “Solvent, head towards the school; there are kids there.”

“On it, ma’am!” Solvent said, dashing off behind the building and out of sight.

Candy turned back and leaned closer, reading my face as I spoke, before she asked a question that I was really prepared for. “Why did you save them?””

Then, a word I remember reading a lot growing up popped up in my head; it was always in those books my mother read me when I was a colt. The ones about ancient knights who fought against evil. “Honor.”” I said, falling silent for a moment before continuing. “That kept me from becoming one of those evil bastards that led me up here. Even then, it doesn’t make up for my own inaction.”

Her eyebrow rose up again, trying to get a read on if I was bullshitting her on that. Sighing, she stood back up and motioned for one of the guards to come close. “Get the kids over here once you find them. I want to check something out.”

I was left sitting there for a while after she trotted off to speak with her guards about what to do with me. I looked up at the cloud cover, watching the darkness overhead flow around in the misty swirls. My chest felt heavy staring at the darkness: I yurned to see the stars and the moon. As I was letting my mind wander, I heard a filly cry out in joy; it dragged my attention down to see the oldest filly from earlier nearly tackling Batter from earlier. They hugged in embrace, I wondered why then it clicked. It was his sister that he thought died in the carnage. It felt bittersweet knowing that I at least helped a pony who needed it.

I saw Candy kneel down to the filly, quickly crowded by the others. Each of them was crying and hugging the ponies of the caravan. They started talking for a while. Candy pointed a hoof in my direction before she fully stood. She trotted over with the children in tow, looking back at them. “Is this the Stallion that saved you?” She asked, and all of the kids started nodding their heads.

The oldest one came up to me a bit sheepishly before wrapping her legs around me in a hug. “Thank you mister…” I didn’t know what to say; even if I did, the words wouldn’t get out as my throat began to catch. My eyes began to blur as I fought the tears that tried to escape.

Candy came over to my side after the filly pried herself off me. Candy watched her return to her brother before looking down at me. “Where do you plan to go after this?” She asked, kneeling down with a knife.

I looked at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow. “You’re letting me go?” I asked while she sliced the rope from my hoofs.

“Only because you saved the kids, especially Batter’s sister. Plus, having someone owe me something for a change would be nice. Consider yourself a lucky stallion, Mr. Rabbit.

Rubbing my legs where the ropes were tied, I looked up at her. “So, who do I owe this favor to? Never got your full name.”

She offered a hoof to me, which I gladly took. “Name’s Rock Candy.” She replied, getting me up on my hoofs. I was about to respond before a singular gunshot reverberated through the echoing mountains around us. We looked at each other before running towards the source.

Getting around the ruined central hut, we saw one of Rock Candy’s guards standing over one of the Hunter Corps members. He turned his head towards us, lowering his rifle from the fresh corpse. “Looks like you missed one. He was muttering something in this gizmo right here.” He pointed his rifle to a working radio pack laid against a tree stump. My heart immediately sank, seeing that it was active; in fact, there was somepony on the other side asking for a response.

Without thinking, I took the dead radioman’s rifle and began to bash the rifle against the radio, swinging it like a hoof ball bat by its barrel. The radio sparked and whined with each hit until it was a crumpled heap of scrap metal. Even then, I kept bashing it until the rifle stock splintered and shattered. My heart pounded as I stood there with sweat beading down my face. I looked at the caravan guard and Rock Candy. “What did they say?”” They stared at me briefly as if I was a savage beast.

“They said something about a Jack Rabbit?” The guard said apprehensively, taking a slight step back.

“FUCK!” I roared, throwing the rifle at the ground and having it clatter across the ice. I huffed and puffed as I sat on my haunches. I felt like my world was crashing all around me; not only did I kill my squad members, but the Crescents know now.

I heard the light hoofsteps of Rock Candy come up behind me. “Is everything ok?” I looked up at her, not hiding the dread in my eyes. “I’m guessing not.”

“No, everything is absolutely fucked. This piece of shit, by the radio, told the local Sect of Crescents that I betrayed them.” I uttered, dread unyielding at the impending doom this meant.

“I assume they will go after you,” Candy commented.

“They will come after me with everything they have or send a kill team to slit my throat in my sleep. Depends if they want to try me for this crime or just kill me like a dog. Which means I won’t have a wink of rest until then.” I declared. Groaning from the injuries, I got back up to my hooves. “I need to run as fast as I can and hide…”

“I’m afraid that hiding out in the mountains won’t help as much as you think.” Candy stated, motioning me to follow her with a hoof.

“Why not?” I asked, following.

She walked over to the Brahmin and began tearing into the towed cart. One of the two heads looked at me with mild curiosity, while the other couldn’t look more disinterested as it chomped on some feed. It snorted a bit and sprayed mucus and spittle on my face. Looking at it deadpanned before I wiped off my face with my sleeve. Rock Candy continued rummaging through the cart for a few moments before she took out a saddle bag and some other items. “Well, for one. You don’t know shit about these mountains; there are critters out here more dangerous than those ponies you are going to be running from.” She opened the bag and shoved a set of clothes into my hoofs; I looked down at them to see that it was a set of generic mercenary barding. “Two, the cold out here will surely kill you quicker than the animals. So, I’ll do you another favor since doing what you did has gotten you in such boiling water.””

I quickly removed my blood-soaked fatigues and promptly put on the new clothes that Rock Candy had given me. “What would that be?” I said, pushing my head through the shirt, my horn nearly getting caught on the stitching.

“I’ll show you where to hide, at least for a while; I won’t be able to get you there all of the way, but at least off the mountains.”” She then gave me a snow-covered IF-88 Assault rifle, one of the Crescent-issued ones, along with a bandoleer of magazines. “The pack is empty, but I’m sure you can scavenge enough off your kills to get by.” Finishing off the wardrobe change by flipping my mother’s scarf around my neck, I wandered back to the slaughter.

My kills… I mentally sighed, searching for the first body. Going through each of the Crescent corpses to search for anything that survived. A couple canteens, a couple MREs, a few more magazines worth of ammunition, a bayonet for the rifle, and a few other odds and ends. Enough to make it to wherever Candy wants to take me.

I returned to Candy and the others; they prepared the kids to leave. Bundled up and inside the cart, the kids were eyeing me with curiosity; I leaned down to my discarded uniform. Taking the knife to the sewing, I carefully pried off the Crescent patch that used to be on my shoulder. The crossed horns floating above a Crescent moon with the all seeing slitted eye of Luna within the shadow. She knows what I have done and even I’m not sure she will ever forgive me for what I’ve done.

“You ready?”” Candy asked at the head of the Brahmin, ready to head back down the trail they used to get up here. Their old tracks are already softly hidden underneath the ever-falling snow. The cart weighed down with what they could scavenge from the huts and bodies of the villagers. I looked back at the smoldering huts, their flames still licking the air, giving off its noxious breath trail into the night sky. It wouldn’t take the Crescents long to see where they should look first.

With a somber nod, I looked at her. “I’m ready. Let’s head out.”

It would’ve taken me a day or two to get down here by myself, but with the help of Rock Candy, we made good time. She was right about one thing, she absolutely knew these mountains. I didn’t say anything, and neither did anyone else, for that matter. What was there to really talk about? The somber mood really stuck with us all.

The few rays of dawn light cracked through the break in the horizon before it was swallowed by the cloud cover. Its brief shine cast the outline of the city before us; while small, it was there. Once my hoofs touched concrete and pavement, I knew my time with Rock Candy was ending. She reached into a pocket, took out a small paper pad, and scribbled on it with a well-chewed pencil. She tore off the page she was writing on and handed it my way. “This is the place you’ll need to head to. Once there, ask the barkeep you’d like a Green Applejack Whiskey on the trio of rocks. He will give you a place to stay, but I’m afraid the grungy bastard will have you pay for the food if he doesn’t like ya.”

I looked down at the paper in my magic, the crystal blue aura illuminating it so I could read it. 'Vanhoofer Heights Inn' "How do I get there?”

She gestured towards the road leading to the city. “You’ll head down this road; we call it the merchant’s highway due to the towns that dot this road. Be sure to keep your head down, going past some of them. There are some raiders between and an equal number of bounty hunters.”

I looked down the road, anxiety shaking its way down my legs as I saw before me was uncertainty. I looked back to Rock Candy, feeling grateful I offered a melancholic smile. “Thank you, Rock Candy. Hopefully, we will meet in better circumstances next time.”

She looked up and down, giving a soft chuckle. “I doubt it, you look like you attract trouble. You have a safe journey, Jack. I’ll be looking to call in that favor eventually.” They began to leave off in the opposite direction, heading to only Luna knows where.

It was a relatively quiet journey from then on; I avoided the bars and inns in the towns that Rock Candy told me about. I avoided them even more when I could see bounty posters with my face crudely drawn on them. The Crescents have been here and were taking every chance to find me. The price was ridiculously high at a staggering five thousand caps for my capture, but from what I could see, glassing the posters from afar with Steel Knuckles’ binos, there was nothing about a kill order. I chalked it up to being unable to read it thoroughly from the distance I was at. Hopefully, if that was the case, it would dismay many bounty hunters with an itchy trigger.

I walked, walked, and walked some more. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon an abandoned house in a small rural town that I had gotten my first sight of trouble. I was trying to lockpick a pantry for potential food to conserve my MREs when engines rumbling echoed off the valley walls and through the broken window I crawled through.

Staying silent, I slithered my way up the rotting stairs on my stomach to stay out of the sight of windows. My heart raced with the anxiety and anticipation of what those engines meant. Using my magic to take off a piece of shattered mirror, I slowly levitated it towards the bedroom window. Making a conscious effort to ignore the trio of skeletons that lay on the bed, I peered through the glass.

The mirror showed the white-painted trucks and armored vehicles with the Crescent Moon with a sword going down the center painted black for contrast. That was the wartime symbol with which they adorned all vehicles in active combat. These were the ones that I was on before Steel Knuckles had us get off to relieve his boredom. Just thinking of the bastard put a sour taste in my mouth. The troops dismounted and began to search the building next to them. I cursed, thinking that I was going to have to fight these fuckers here and now. Outnumbered, Outgunned, and nowhere to go but up sheer valley walls. I was trapped.

“Luna, if you can hear me, please, as a humble servant, protect me in this trying time.” I muttered, hoping that my prayer would be heard. As a trio of soldiers approached the front door of the house I was in, I realized I had left my bag in the kitchen. I cursed myself again as they approached the door knob. I angled myself towards the door, rifle ready. I was made the moment they opened it. I would be damned if I was taken alive, having seen the treatment the Crescent gave to prisoners; death was a better alternative.

They were talking about something I couldn’t make out before they could open the door. A scream was heard from the opposite side of the road, drawing their attention. They quickly ran in its direction before a rush of gunshots sounded. Then, it was silent; all I could hear was the blood rushing to my ears as I waited.

Then a massive roar sounded, wood and glass shattering with a fury of gunshots at something. Panic yells sounded only to be overtaken by another roar. Curious, I crawled back to the window to peek into the mirror again. What I saw astounded me, and I nearly gasped; a Yaoqai was attacking the patrol. I already saw two bodies on the ground, groaning in pain as the rest of the platoon tried to fend it off.

It didn’t last long as the Crescents, still standing, managed to take it down with unrelenting gunfire. There was a brief period where the Crescents performed triage on the wounded soldiers before putting them on gurneys and loading them onto the trucks. The convey quickly peeled off, squealing rubber as they pushed down the road at breakneck pace. My luck held, but for how long is the question.

I decided to stay here for the rest of the day and spend the night in this hovel. I managed to get into the pantry and get a few snacks, but nothing substantial. At least the haycakes taste better than the MREs I’ve been scarfing down lately. While I sat in the living room, munching away on the snacks I couldn't help but think. Will I ever be able to make it home?

December 24th, 2273 Hearth's Warming Eve

The following day, I checked my gear and food for what I had. Which, in all honesty, wasn’t much at all. My stomach growled, and I took out one of the two remaining packs of cigarettes in response. The labels faded and worn from constant storage in my pockets. These were the last of the cigarettes my father gave me years ago. Tearing one of them open, I took out the first one and flipped it upside down, shoving it back in the pack before I took out another.

Placing it between my lips, I lit it with a match. I inhaled the toxic vapor and breathed, letting the clarity of nicotine fill my head and dull my stomach. Putting it back in my vest pocket, I shrugged on my pack. It was feeling heavier by the day, I felt weak in both body and mind.

Making my way out the door, I stopped to look at the other side of the street. The corpse of the Yaoqai lay stiff around its puddle of frozen blood. I felt sorry for the creature but glad that I didn’t have to deal with it myself. My luck is holding out once more in ways I can’t explain.

As I walked in silence down the road, hearing only my clopping hoof steps on the frozen pavement, I saw the shadow of the Vanhoofer cityscape draw closer. I stopped, staring at it. It sent a sense of foreboding and anxiety through my legs. My chest tightened as my heartbeat and breathing became more rapid. The sight reminded me of when I arrived at a different frozen city, one far to the east on the side of Equestria. Stalliongrad.

Being reminded of that city felt like a cold hug, and the memories I thought long buried slowly rose from the ice. Old wounds began to burn as the moments of their making came to my mind’s eye. The bullets stinging my chest, the blades nipping at my veins, and the trenches that were home to it all.

“Damn, that cursed city…” I muttered to myself, the weight of my memories pressing down on me. I took a deep breath, trying to push back the flood of emotions before I continued my journey. Each hoof step felt like a step into the past, not a step towards the future. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t shake the feeling of impending danger. I clung to my rifle, the only thing that gave me comfort.

As I trudged down that road, I was unsure of the time. The sun’s light was obscured by the heavy clouds and howling wind. My weary legs and the looming shadow of Vanhoofer told me I was making progress. The cigarette on my lips had long since burned out, but I kept it there as a reminder of my determination. I had to conserve every resource, even a simple cigarette. A lesson driven deep by my father before I left.

The clouds grew darker and with it the wind, threatening to throw my small frame side to side; the blizzard that shortly followed, blinded me. Something never changes in places this far north; always something to slow you down and drain every bit of grit you have. Yet, I kept going. Even with the memories of sorrow and mistakes that got me here, each step brought me closer to somewhere safe. Somewhere where I can clear my mind and think of a plan. I couldn’t tell you if it was the anger I felt for the Crescents for putting me in that massacre that led to the deaths of twenty eight souls, my shame for doing nothing to stop it, or my regret for each step leading up to all of it. Maybe it was all of the above but with each step. I kept creeping closer to what Luna had in store for me, my heart pounding with anticipation, be it punishment or forgiveness. Time will only tell.

It wasn’t anything special when I made it to the town that Rock Candy told me about. Most towns in the wasteland weren’t; a series of shacks filled the insides of ruined businesses and apartments centered around the only business in town, an inn that functioned as the town bar. The wheezing and coughs of sick ponies filled the street as they fought for each cold breath, the lick of heat from fire barrels barely tidding them over. Some lay still, taking their final moments as I walked past them. I blinked momentarily, nearly seeing them replaced with the countless frozen corpses of that long-ago war. Yet another reminder of things I wished to forget.

I made my way to the door, struggling to open it; my strength had waned over the last two weeks of walking here. Eventually, I cracked the icy seal of the door with almost all of my effort and got inside. My goggles fogged instantly from the temperature difference; it was much warmer inside if you count barely above freezing as warm. The soft sounds of a radio playing music crept through the air as I moved my scarf off my muzzle, breaking off the frost that accumulated from my breath.

Walking inside, I stripped off my goggles; my vision cleared. I got a full view of the tavern area of the bar. A few round pre-war tables were in the center, scraped, chipped, and devoid of original colors. Booths lined the walls, and the few ponies that were in here had taken residence. A couple were unconscious in their drunken stupors; it took a few moments for the smell of vomit and stale beer to hit my thawing nostrils. A tired-looking mare in a ragged apron and dress was busy trying to clean a pool of fresh vomit.

I wandered over to the bar area, a single mint green earth pony in an apron and black shirt was wiping a filthy glass with a dirty rag; somewhat counterintuitive if you ask me. I shivered as I sat down on a stool in front of him. The Barkeep didn’t so much as look at me as he spoke, his voice rough and dirty as if he had chain-smoked since he was a colt. “Do you have caps? If not, get lost.”

Rummaging around in my bag, I took out the few caps I had managed to save before placing them on the counter. The clink of the metal caps on the wooden counter caught the Barkeep’s attention; that is when he finally looked at me. His hoofs placed the glass and rag on the counter before leaning forward, his hoofs now out of sight.

His glance looked past me back towards the door before returning to me, his eyes narrowed. “Are these-” I was about to say before I heard the subtle click of a hammer cocking back. Instinctively, my hoofs slowly and deliberately rose above my head. “I don’t want any trouble.”

He snorted. “Trouble seems to have found you. Some buddies of yours came by a few days ago, nailed a nice drawing of your face on my wall, and offered a nice chunk of cash for your sorry skin. If they wanted you dead, you would be. Consider yourself lucky they want your skin intact.”

I gulped, internally kicking myself for letting my guard down. The weeks of walking had made my mind slip about the bounty posters; I failed to see the one next to the door. Keeping my hoofs in place, I peered back to the door, the poster freshly drawn waving in the draft from the loosely held-together wood. That wasn’t my first time being held at gunpoint, but that never made it any easier, especially in the state I was in. “Can I at least get a drink first?” I asked, trying to defuse the situation. I didn’t want buckshot hitting my balls.

He let out a slightly amused chuckle. “Sure, what would you like?”

“I’d like a Green Applejack whiskey on the trio of rocks,” I said, hoping he would remember the phrase.

His eyes shifted back and forth to the ponies behind me before he stared at me, contemplating the order. The silence was thicker than the air outside before he grunted. “Damn it, Candy. You really had to screw me out of a nice payday.” The Barkeep muttered to himself, decocking the hammers underneath the counter. “You’re lucky that I owe Candy big time. Come with me.”

He led me to a set of stairs that went to the second floor of the building; the Barkeep was grumbling the whole time, something about cursing out Candy and how she would owe him for this. Going up, the hallway up here wasn’t in any better condition than upstairs. In fact, it smelled a bit off. The scent of out-of-date perfume and musk perforated the halls with the sting of hard liquor intermixed. It didn’t take much for my mind to figure out what was happening there. It mostly came from one of the doors to my right as the Barkeep led me down the hall until we reached the last door. “This is where you’ll be staying, Caramel will be stopping by with bath water and some food that is nearly rotting. Anything else, including her extra time, will cost you.”

He opened the door before he shoved me in; I turned just in time to have it slam in my face. I scrunched my face before I sighed, not sure if I should trust this stallion but he seems to respect Rock Candy more than his own greed. Turning to the room, I saw the ancient mattress sitting on the rusting cot in front of a dusty standing mirror; the tub wasn’t much better, with cracks along the porcelain; the best thing was the nightstand with a working radio on it. The place smelled of stale dust and cigarette smoke, this was obviously where the Barkeep came to get away from work.

Slowly walking, I went over to the foot of the bed, shrugged off my back, letting it thump onto the wooden floor, and leaned my rifle against the frame. I craned my neck as I stretched, twisting before I got a resounding pop. Sighing with slight relief, with having the weight off my back for the first time in what felt like weeks. I removed my jacket and shirt and gave my legs a good stretch. Rubbing my shoulder, I turned my head to look into the mirror.

I stopped, fully seeing myself for the first time since the mountains. My crystal blue eyes looked dull from the bags underneath them, briefly hidden by the long strands of my jet black mane; scars from the years of fighting and survival dotted my light-gray coat along my torso and sides, some hidden underneath the grim I collected over the last month of traveling. Staring at each one, I grimace. “You’re a long way from home, aren’t you, Jack?” I muttered to myself, trying to picture myself before I came here. Before I was forced to join the Crescents… Before I left home. The memory was there, but it was blurry, unfocused.

A knock sounded, shocking me out of my thoughts; the mare from downstairs opened the door. This mare must be Caramel that the Barkeep mentioned; her soft orange eyes looked at me briefly, sheepish; I could feel her gaze tracing each scar. “I-I’m sorry if I caught you at a bad time. I have the food and water Mint Creme told me to bring you.” Now that I had a better look at her under the candlelight, she seemed closer to my age, not ragged, just a bit dirty.

I gave her the best comforting smile I could muster. “Thank you. You can leave it on the nightstand.” I pointed with my hoof towards the nightstand with the radio with just enough room for the tray. She hesitantly stepped forward through the door, revealing her change of clothes. Gone were the filthy apron and dress; she was in a more scantily clad dress that accentuated her young features. She looked uncomfortable with it on, yet she seemed used to it. My heart thumped a beat before I turned and leaned down to my gear away from her.

Tearing out what little personal items I had from my pack, I heard the soft steps stop by the bed. Caramel didn’t leave once she placed the tray on the table; I turned my head to see her sitting on the bed as if she was waiting on something. She returned my look before turning away, ashamed. “This is the part where you try to hit on me and get these rags off.” She muttered, her voice stifling; she didn’t conceal her discontent of doing this well.

That’s when it clicked on what Mint Creme meant with extra time; I shook my head. “Sorry, but no, thank you,” I said, standing up and walking over to her. She looked up at me, confused at my refusal; this apparently didn’t happen at all. I offered a hoof with a comforting smile. “I’m not the type of stallion to force a mare to do things she doesn’t want. My mother would kill me if she found out. Besides, it’s written on your face that you don’t want to be here.” I said, making a half-hearted chuckle.

She looked at my hoof apprehensively, unsure whether or not to take it. “But, Creme told me that if I didn’t come back with caps… he’d…” Caramel tried to utter out, her eyes clenching closed, a tear making its way out. I flared my horn, taking out the caps I would use for a drink. I took her hoof with mine and placed them in. She looked stunned at this before looking up at me. “W-why?” Her lip quivered as her eyes looked into mine; she was fearful of what they meant.

“Just tell Creme that I didn’t last long and you ran my pockets.” I said, giving her a slight wink.

“But, why?” She muttered, glutching the caps close to her chest.

I turned my back to her and made my way to the door. Pulling it open with my magic, I stood next to the threshold. “Because, I’m not that kind of stallion. You’re obviously not a fan of this line of work, the extra caps will get you in the right direction.”

Creme stared at me for a moment, bewildered. She silently walked over to the door and stopped right outside. She looked at the caps in her hoof, before returning her gaze to mine. “Thank you… I never got your name.”

“Name’s Jack Rabbit, but you can just call me Jack.”

She softly smiled. “Thank you Jack… I’ll be back with some more food once dinner is over.”

I didn’t say anything as I gently closed the door, once again being left to myself. Sighing, I sat on the bed to look at the window. With the snow and wind pounding on the ancient glass pane, I wouldn’t be going anywhere until this storm left. It was a miracle that I made it through the blizzard, I’ve seen bigger and stronger ponies fall dead from the cold, yet I made it.

When my gaze found the food tray, the sight caused my stomach to ache. I don’t remember the last time I had any food that wasn’t frozen solid. The tray held a few small chunks of homemade bread, and what looked like a thin stew; what it was made out of, I didn’t care. My magic wrapped around it to bring it to me; I shoveled the stew into my mouth. It was thinner than I had expected and extremely watered down, similar to the stew given to the lower caste of Crescent Troops. I bit into one piece of bread to find it was rather stale and on the verge of molding; unperturbed, I dipped it in the watery stew.

As I chewed the soggy bread, the soft background noise of the radio music was cut off and replaced by a very energetic host. “Hey, Hey, everypony, this is Comet Blaze here coming to you live on the tippy top of the radio waves. I’m just happy to say that we are nearing the end of another awful year here in Vanhoofer, marked with today’s occasion! Hearth’s warming eve! Now, ladies and gentlecolts, before you all go out spending your few caps on last-minute holiday shopping, I’m here to give you the news.”

I placed the tray back onto the nightstand and got up while I listened. “Now, there have been rumors of some new faces that have arrived in our little corner of the wasteland. I’ve come to say those rumors are true; this new group by the name of The Lunar Crescent Army has taken up residence in the eastern part of the city by the river. We will call them the Crescents for short; how does that work, folks?” The host laughed to himself before he continued. “As to where exactly, I couldn’t tell you; all the ponies I sent there haven’t turned back up. All that tells me is that they aren’t ponies to mess around with, sources say that they have a lot of ponies and their fair share of guns. I’d steer clear of them If I were you.”

I shuffled through the pockets in my discarded vest to find the pack of Lucky Colt cigarettes and placed one onto my lips without thinking, using the candle flame to light it. “And that is only the beginning…” I muttered to myself before crawling into the bed to stare at the ceiling as the radio host continued with his long-winded spiel.

I had stopped paying attention to most of it and only caught a few words here and there. Something about two factions called The Ravens and The Jackals having an uneasy ceasefire. Raiders were always a problem no matter where you went; it all began to blur as my mind crawled back to the Crescents. By the sounds of it, they had found a place to hunker down and get a foothold. Which wasn’t good in the slightest; once the Crescents found a spot, they would fortify, scout, and wait for reinforcements for the takeover. At least that’s what happened in Stalliongrad before the war there officially kicked off.

Their presence was a suffocating weight on my chest, a constant reminder that I was utterly alone and trapped. I couldn’t hide in the city forever. I couldn’t fight them even if I wanted to, at least not directly. There had to be a couple hundred, from my estimate from the supplies I traveled with, and enough firepower to flatten entire blocks of the city, all of it now having a target to point at. Me.

My mind was a cacophony of anxiety and indecision, each thought louder than the last. A slight knock on my door shattered the silence, and I turned to see a leg covered in the light brown coat of Caramel push the door slightly ajar. She moved a bottle of what looked to be liquor with her muzzle through the gap, and the bottle quietly scrapped against the wooden floor. Her muzzle stayed for a brief moment; her face hidden by the door as she whispered. “Thank you again, Jack.” As quietly as Caramel came, she quietly left, closing the door with a soft click, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the weight of the Crescents' impending threat.

I tried to get up and retrieve the bottle, but my body protested, begging for rest; it yearned to stay on the filthy mattress. I couldn’t agree more for once, yet my mind wouldn’t settle with my thoughts pounding against my skull. I turned my head to flare my horn, levitating the bottle to my hoofs. I read the label to see that it was Applejack whiskey; I snickered a bit at it. Like my mother, I was never much of a drinker outside of the rare occasion.

“I think this is one of those rare occasions…” I muttered to myself, cracking it open to let the stinging liquid pour down my throat. I felt a shutter flow up my spine as it hit the back of my throat; the feeling subsided once the warm liquor hit my stomach, eased by the presence of food. It felt fantastic feeling the numbness mixed in with the electric buzz of the now stumpy cigarette in my mouth; my muscles began to relax and unwind. With each puff came an accompanying drink of whiskey; it didn’t take long for me to fall under its spell; I was always a lightweight.

Seeing that it was still slightly light outside, I haphazardly dragged my pack to the side of the bed with my magic. Shaking the contents loose onto the floor without a care, I scavenged the pile until I found what I was looking for. It was an old pre-war journal that has survived all this time, devoid of writing. I had seen the journal hiding underneath a pile of books in front of an old bookshelf. The books above it had protected it from the elements all these years; I couldn’t believe my luck with it at the time.

Opening the yellowed pages, I took out an old pencil and began to write down everything that had happened to me since I stepped foot off the convoy. It felt uncanny writing in a journal again, my last one lost in Stalliongrad the day before I left; the feeling of relief washed over me as I confessed to the pages. I prayed that I would be able to keep hold of this one.

Holding the pencil in my magic so I could take occasional whiskey drinks straight from the bottle, a thought came to mind. That trip up to the mountain village started because Steel Knuckles was told about it… by the Vultures… My mind snapped into clarity from my blood freezing in place.

In the heat of everything and the internal chaos that occurred afterward, I had forgotten about them; a unit of upper-caste unicorns who specialized in stealth and sabotage, at least to what the rumors said. All I really knew was that they were dedicated killers who kept any solid knowledge about them a secret they took to the grave. I had seen a trio of them in Stalliongrad, but they decided to spare me since I was alone because who would believe a battle-shocked wastelander?

My mind rewound to those trenches of Stalliongrad back to the moment when that trio of black armored ponies appeared, if they were even there. I had just crawled out of a trench bunker that had collapsed from an artillery shell; what I was doing at the time escaped me, but what I saw never would. In the hazy fog that flooded the trench, the soulless gaze of their red lenses pierced my being. They didn’t say a word when they saw me, only aimed their suppressed weapons at me, while nothing new to me even then. What really made the fear stick was the blade that had silently pressed against my throat; I pressed my hoof to my throat, shuddering at the memory. They didn’t say a word before evaporating in a veil of shadow. I was terrified; all of them had vanished like ghosts.

As my mind raced from one memory to another, the click on the radio attracted my attention once more. The radio host was winding down from his long-winded script. “Well, that’s it for this Hearth’s warming eve news here at Vanhoofer Broadcasting. Here is a song that I think you all will enjoy, one of my favorites. Here is Health to the Company by the Shortest Bonds.”

My ears drooping, I gave a melancholic smile giving my face a break from the sorrow. I haven’t heard this song in… years. actually, the last time I did… “I was with everyone…before…” I muttered to myself, rubbing my eyes, trying to fight the tears welling up. The memories I thought were long gone were there, but they had never left… “3rd Recon, 6th Platoon, Charlie Squad… Heh… Nectre’s Rejects they called us…” I said to my reflection in the mirror, bringing the bottle of whiskey to my lips and taking in several deep gulps before I gasped for air from the burn. “Rejects we were…out of all of the newly graduated soldiers, we all were the last prospects to be chosen out of…” I rubbed the back of my head, the liquor making it hard to remember. “A lot… the six of us were the last ponies to be chosen. You remember…” I uttered drunkenly to the mirror, pointing the bottle of whiskey at it, the contents sloshing and partially spilling. “Lieutenant Nectre… with an r e not an a r is what he first told us…” I chuckled to myself.

I hiccuped, the urge for a cigarette hitting my mind. I lit one and followed it with a gulp of whiskey. “He gave us all ranks then and there…asking each of us our combat specialty and ranked us accordingly if I… Think…” I paused, trying to swim through the haze clouding my distraught mind. “It was Shining Buckle and I who were made Privates. We both did well in our marksmanship, but firing rifles was our only good skill on paper.” Breathing in a puff of the burning tobacco with a pensive chuckle before I continued. “I think it was Bronze Amber who was made a Corporal, being our one and only medic. That wonderful sweet mare… always fretted over us even with the slightest nick… I had a crush on her, you know… those caring dark emerald green eyes…” My breathing hitched at the memory of her soft smile the first time I met her in training. Taking a deep breath while I flutter my eyelids to fight the tears, I shifted to rest my back against the headboard, getting a better view of my reflection.

“Then there was Specialist Sunshine Haze, a stallion who treated me like his little brother…and was my best friend… He…” I felt the tears breaking through my defenses, cutting a channel through the sweaty grim that covered my cheek. “He was our SAW gunner, very serious and grumpy but even he cracked the occasional joke.” A chuckle tried to rise through my throat, but it wouldn’t come, so I took a long drag from the cigarette again. “Sergeant Velvet Dove, the talkative radio operator, always had a story and didn’t like it when it was too quiet. Could spit out words faster than some of those pre-war rappers he would listen too. Always had to tell him to slow down.” I raised up the bottle to see that it was half gone already; then, as if I was talking to the bottle.

“Lastly, there was Staff Sergeant Double Ruby… She was a mean and stern mare who didn’t take any of our shit, but she cared for us… made sure to keep the Lt in line as his assistant and not push us too hard…” I paused, my silence overtaken by the song's ending on the radio. “We drank to her memory with this song, we sang along… it was her favorite… she always requested it from the local band when we had R&R… it was the way she always wanted us to send her off…” I stopped, trying to pull another drag only to find the cigarette had gone out, down to the old brown filter. Sighing, I shook the bottle in a slow circle. “It shouldn’t have happened…” I muttered, my voice slowly quieting again as the memory of turning to see the cultist’s rusty blood, blood-caked bayonet protruded from her throat. From a cultist I had declared dead… she had taken my word… “She trusted my word…and that trust got her killed because I was careless…” I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore; they flowed freely, the bottle trembling in my hoofs. “Why… Why am I still here when they are all gone…” the tears pitter-pattered on the stained mattress, the greedy fabric soaking up the salty tears with glee. I looked up to the ceiling, my eyes blinded by my weeping. “Luna… P-Please tell them… that…that I…I miss them all… my friends… they were all I had… ” I muttered, sniffling between every other word. Putting my face into my hoofs, the tears unstoppable like a tidal wave. I choked, struggling to speak. “Tell them… tell them I’m sorry…”

I sat there, thinking of nothing but my friends… my family, and everything we had been through. The best of times and the worst of times…Then, the memory of the day we came together for the first time revealed itself. Lt. Nectre, the youthful unicorn officer of a medium build sported havelock blue fur around his body, mostly covered by the charcoal grey overcoat worn by lower ranking Crescent Officers. He adjusted his navy blue beret to cover more of his short brass colored mane;a sewn patch of the Crescent Moon intersected by two crossed swords perched on the front, further signifying his officer status. I remember feeling intimidated by his presence, honestly I believe all of us were as we stood there in formation in front of the training hall at Camp #17. The feeling was made worse with us being bottom barrel picks.

Then, that moment's clarity was that of an old holotape movie, and the words he told surfaced. “I believe in transparency, trust, and respect; I will not lie to you like other officers. You are all adults and soldiers in The Lunar Mother’s Army. It takes a heavy heart to say. We will be heading into Stalliongrad. There, we will all see the worst that Ponykind has to offer. This will shake your resolve and test your mettle and faith for most of you. We will learn many hard lessons and I’m afraid those lessons will be learned by the blood of our brothers and sisters. Each of us will bear that weight differently.” Lt. Nectre said, walking down the line, looking at each of us in turn, memorizing our faces, names, and reactions. His voice kind, firm and commanding confidence.

Lt. Nectre halted and coughed once to clear his throat, gauging us one by one from where he stood on the barren dirt. “Look to your left and your right.” His weathered voice carried with the wind as we looked side to side. “These are the ponies that will lessen that burden, as will I. I’m not here as your officer but as a fellow brother. As a brother fighting side by side with everypony here, that requires trust. In the trust I have with all of you, I give you the most important words I’ve been told to lessen that burden when a brother is gone.”

I looked down at the bottle in my hoofs, struggling to remember the words he said so many years ago. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes softly; the words flowed like winter snow. “Blessed Thou Lunar Mother.”

The breath ebbing out of my lungs, the tension in my mind easing with each word. “Who art in moonlight.”

I raised my head towards the ceiling, breathing in the cold winter air through my nostrils. “Guide me with Stars.”

The air left my mouth warming my muzzle as I sat up, my back straightened. “I plead for strength.”

Taking in my next breath, I looked back at the faces held within my memory, tears came freely. “To protect your children.”

The words hung heavily in the air before I gripped the nearly empty bottle tightly and chucked it across the room into the far corner with a clatter. Opening my tear stained eyes with determination and clarity, I glared at my reflection. “As is your will.”

December 25th, Hearth's Warming Day

December 25th, 2273 Hearth’s Warming Day

“Goooooood Morning, my little ponies! This is Comet Flash coming to you live at Vanhoofer Broadcasting, where we bring you ponies the hard-to-swallow news. The first order of business is that today is a very special day. It’s Hearth's Warming Day! Hope everypony is having a wonderful holiday in this concrete cesspit we call home.” The radio spouted, causing my eyes to flutter open. I smacked my dry lips, feeling the drool-soaked pillow stick to my face. I slowly pushed myself off the bed to rub my face, feeling the sting behind my forehead from last night’s whiskey.

“In today’s news, the blizzard that overtook the city has gone away over the evening leaving a frigid temperature of being fragging cold. Be sure to bundle up the little ones before you take them out to scavenge. The loc-” The radio tried to continue before I turned it off with a click, the noise hurting my head as I shook off the grit of sleep.

“Up and at em…” I muttered, dragging my sluggish body off the bed. The brisk cold air in the drafty attic room hit my naked coat, sending a slight chill up my body. I quickly got my clothes over my cold frame and checked my pack and equipment before I set them in their proper places. I stretched and did a few jumps to check for rattle like every morning; no sound came from my gear. Good, unnecessary sound leads to trouble.

Picking up my rifle, I gave it a once over, more out of habit than necessity. Dragging the bolt handle slightly to check the chamber, I knew a round sat in the chamber, but seeing the dull brass casing gave me a sense of reassurance. Smacking the bolt closed, I let the rifle hang in front of my chest on its sling before my gaze rested on my reflection. The bright color of my eyes had returned, shining crystal blue with the rest. I looked down at the scarf hanging on the bed's edge and smiled. Levitating it to my hoof, I wrapped it around my neck to feel the familiar warmth it’s always given me. “Alright, it’s time to go.” I said, turning my back to the mirror and trotting towards the door.

Opening it, I noticed Caramel standing in front of the threshold, posed to knock on it. She shied away, a bit embarrassed at the timing, before coughing. “Mint Creme told me to tell you it was time to go.” I figured as much, but she leaned in slightly, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I also took down the poster so nopony would make a fuss if you decided to stay a bit longer to eat.” she said, smiling softly.

I gave her a nod before leaning forward to match her whisper. “Thank you, Caramel, and Happy Hearth’s Warming. I’d be happy to eat some of your cooking.”

I could feel the warmth of her joy at the words. “Head on down, and I’ll use some of our good ingredients. Do you like oatmeal? I can use some of our stored cinnamon for some taste.”
My ears folded as I rubbed my head sheepishly. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the caps for that good of a meal.”

She shook her head as we walked down the hall. “It’s my treat. The caps you gave me
were the last I needed to hitch a ride down south. Using the last of the cinnamon will be a spit in the face of my shit father for what he put me through. It’s the least I can do.” she said, letting me head down the stairs first. I wasn’t sure how to feel about being used as a way to get back at her awful father, but honestly, I wasn’t in the position to say no.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I turned my head to her a few steps behind me. “Well, Thank you nonetheless. I’ll be in the booth over there.” I said, pointing with a hoof to a booth that wasn’t covered in vomit.

She nodded before she made her way to the kitchen behind the counter. She had a much brighter pep in her step than last night. Regardless of her reasons, I felt good about helping. I turned my head and saw that ponies were already starting to make their way into the bar to escape the built snow outside.

It was undoubtedly more packed than it was the previous night. I tried to make my way to the booth I had pointed at previously, to be stopped by the sight of a massive dark grey pegasus whose size easily dwarfed mine, which wasn’t so much of an accomplishment. This was the first time I’d seen a pegasus that wasn’t aiming to kill me or the ponies around me. His broad shoulders stretched the undersuit of the combat armor he wore.

The blue-maned pegasus argued with a milk chocolate brown unicorn, drabbed in an old woodland camo jacket and cloak. His face was covered in a similarly camoed bandana, which is nothing special in of itself. However, All of it drew one’s eye to his, the light crimson hue emanating from the crude cybernetic seemingly pierced through anything it gazed upon. His good eye pinged with annoyance. “We don’t need to waste the promised caps by splitting it with others; it barely covers my fee.” The unicorn spoke in a monotone voice, the annoyance edging on his words.

The grey pegasus’ nostrils flared. “You must’ve been dropped on the head as a colt if you believe that only two of us can take on-” The pegasus retorted, my grasp of the conversation cut off by the tide of bodies shuffling around me. The last thing I could glimpse was the grey pegasus shaking his head in irritation.

I didn’t have a clue on what they were arguing about, but I couldn’t afford to get involved. Someone might recognize me if I made any noise, even a ripple in the pool. Keeping my head low, aided by my small stature, I slicked past the ponies around me. The smell of body odor and sweat mixed with the smell of cheap booze and sweat. It nearly made me gag when I eventually made my way into my booth. I sat down before wiping off the bits of crumbs and trash that lay on the table. Sighing, I looked around at the sea of ponies celebrating the holiday; even the most downtrodden were here. Scraping together the few caps they had for a drink or a slightly warm meal. Seeing that even in the worst of winter, ponies can find a way to celebrate felt a bit uplifting.

I turned my gaze back to the bar to see a glimpse of the two ponies, mainly the pegasus. Even with all the festivities, It truly perplexed me that no pony in the filled bar seemed to notice or care about the pegasus. My father always had awful things to say about pegasi, and he wasn’t the only one to do so. How the pegasi abandoned us to die on the surface, stealing the light of both sun and moon for themselves with the cloud cover, as if they stole the goddesses themselves. If we blame the pegasi for leaving us, we should blame ourselves for the weapons that ruined the world in the first place, but that’s just me, I suppose.

My mind continued to wander about what I was going to do after this before my thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Caramel coming my way. Expertly navigating the crowd with practiced ease, a bowl of food and… a drink? “Here you go, one order of Cinnamon Oatmeal with an Applebuck Cider.”

“Thanks, but you didn’t say anything about a drink, Caramel.” I looked at the bowl of hot oatmeal with a bit of amazement.

She gracefully placed the bowl and drink in front of me before pulling back the tray and holding it against her chest. “Well, I thought I would give my last and most polite customer the best I can offer.” She said, excitement breaking through her professional mask.

I levitated the spoon to my nose with a magic hand and smelled it. It was the best-smelling oatmeal I’ve seen in years. As I thought about going to town for the food, I stopped. “Where are you gonna head to?” I asked, curious more than anything.

She shrugged. “Someplace warmer and a bit dryer. I’ve always thought about going to New Pegasus or maybe Manehatten. Anywhere but here is better.”

I raised the spoon to her with an encouraging smile. “Well, I wish you the best of luck on your journey. May Luna Guide you where you need to go.”

She gave a slight nod of her head, smiling softly. “Thanks, Jack. You as well, but I’ve got to go.” She said rather quickly, backing away a step before returning to the bar counter through the crowd again.

My eyes tracked her movement for a moment before they fell back onto the food before me. Taking a tiny bite, I felt I was in heaven, but the cinnamon was awfully overpowering. “Better than being bland, I suppose,” I said to myself through the mouthful of the warm creamy oats.

After a few more bites, a loud whistle sounded across the bar, and the idle murmuring of the patrons went silent as all looked at the source. The grey pegasus standing on the barstool creaked under his weight. “Howdy, mares, and gentlecolts. Ah apologize for the interruption to your eating and drinking, but there is a situation that me and my compatriot here need assistance with.” His southern equestrian drawl perked my ears while it sounded right. Something felt… off about it. Many of the ponies turned their heads away, already disinterested.

I spooned in another flavorful scoop of oatmeal in my mouth, trying to seem disinterested to little avail. My eyes fixed on the stallion who tried to garner more attention. “That situation pertains to a certain group of raiders that have caused y’all a mighty bit of trouble in the past few months.” This got some of the ponies’ attention, mine included. Raiders are always raiders in places like this. “We have a friend here who needs his dear filly back from these wretched bandits, nearly killed him when he tried to stop them.”

“If they have her, then she’s already dead. Forget about it.” A pony from the crowd commented dismissively.

“P-please, I can’t do it on my own… she is all I have left!” A haggard voice sounded next to the duo at the front of the bar, a phlegm-filled cough rasping from his lungs.

“I’m not asking for all of you. Only a few. Come on folks, do the decent thang y’all.” The pegasus asked, his eyes scanning across the sea of faces. Judging by his look, he didn’t see any faces willing to risk their neck for a pony they didn’t know. The silence was the only answer he received. He stood there, continuing to look out at the crowd, hoping anyone would join.

I felt myself trembling momentarily, trying to stare at the oatmeal to ignore the sounds. I had to keep my head down, but… I froze, thinking of what I did in killing the monsters in pony form on those mountains; in my damnation, I sought solace in saving those kids' lives. Dropping the spoon into the half-empty bowl of oatmeal with a wet plop, I stood up.

I grabbed my rifle and approached the two. Anxious that I was putting myself in the view of everypony watching, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “I’ll help, I’m good with a rifle.” I pronounced, looking up at the large pegasus in his sky-blue eyes. His size was even more intimidating up close.

The two stallions looked at me in turn, there was a stallion on the floor propped up against the bottom of the bar. He was a middle-aged stallion, his face beaten and one eye swollen from the bruising he had taken. His hind legs looked mangled, which caused me to cringe internally; I couldn’t think of the pain he would be in. But, the fact that he was more concerned about his daughter than his own well-being told me all I needed to do. “What happened?” I asked, not letting the pegasus speak to me at first.

The beaten stallion took a moment before he answered. “I-I don’t know… we were ambushed near the bridge leading into Vanhoofer after scavenging!” His breathing was nearly hyperventilating. “My hind legs were beaten to a pulp, and I was knocked unconscious; when I woke up, they were gone along with my daughter… Please! you have to find her!” He exclaimed.

I simply nodded before I looked up at the pegasus and unicorn. “What’s your name, son?” The pegasus asked.

“My name’s Jack Rabbit, but you can call me Jack.” I replied in the practiced monotone voice I used with officers showing. “And yours?” I asked the two stallions.

The pegasus stood a bit straighter at the question. “Name’s Serenity Showers, Applejack Rangers.” The pegasus said rather proudly. I curled an eyebrow at that name; indeed, he was a soldier by his mannerisms, yet his use of an organization that I’d never heard of sparked a quiet distrust. I would have customarily chalked it up to being a local faction, but his accent and the confused looks on some local patrons told me it wasn’t the case.

“Fuze.” The milk chocolate unicorn replied, his voice monotone and emotionless. Giving off no notions of what his profession was.

With the soft clatter of potion bottles, our attention was turned to a zebra kneeling over the wounded stallion and administering first aid to the wounded scavenger. The silence of the zebra's initial approach seemed further softened by a veil of shadow that seemed to follow her. I blinked, and it had disappeared. Startled by the sudden appearance, she placed a potion of pinkish-yellow color into the scavenger’s mouth. “Drink zhis, my friend.” The zebra mare softly said, ignoring our collective stares.

Her exotic accent rang in my ears, reminding me of the locals out west from Stalliongrad. Orlovian? Something like that, I wish I paid more attention to Mom’s geography lessons. But, as she went to cork the now empty potion bottle. The dull, sickly green glow of scratched pipbuck screen showed through the leather straps winding down her left leg, hiding the device mounted to her foreleg.

The zebra fully stood, her height exceeding Fuze and I’s, standing at an astounding head and half taller than me; she took down her hood, revealing not a black and white set of stripes but stripes of night black and a coat of stormcloud gray. Her right ear was pierced with two large hoops dangled on the side, jingling slightly when her head moved. “My name is Ziya Alcoraad, but just call me Ziya.” She announced, her accent mixing in with a breathtaking amount of confidence. Her winter cloak draped around the very defined curves of her body, leaving little to the imagination, barely concealed by the patched and repaired Stable-tec jumpsuit.

Serenity took us all in for a moment and shook his head despairingly. His jaw clenched. “So y’all are telling me that these are the only ponies in this town that have the balls to do anything.” He shouted to the crowd; the slight murmur of chatter quickly disappeared, some of the closer ones taking a step back at the words. “Two ponies. Two other ponies in this entire town are the only ones who even care about someone other than themselves. Bunch of fuckin’ cowards.” Serenity said, spitting on the ground, his cordial demeanor from before long gone.

“I-I’ll help.” A stuttering voice came, and we all shifted toward the voice. “It was a stallion, a dull and dented Sheriff’s badge pinned on his vest. “After all, i-it’s my job, I might know where the raiders are hiding out. They’ve been harassing us for months.” He certainly sounded like this line of work wasn’t his first choice. After that, a few more ponies stepped forward, volunteering to handle the raider problem; each pony was armed with simple shotguns or hunting rifles. Far from a professional army, but enough to take on raiders.

“Only because it benefits you.” Serenity grumbled under his breath, not realizing I could hear it. “Alright, Sheriff, lead the way.”

The journey there was a short one; it only took about half an hour of walking to see a barn poking out of the snowdrifts like a gravestone. The Sheriff explained on the way that they had been murdering the town’s sheriffs whenever they tried to stop them. I felt terrible for the unqualified Sheriff; I wouldn’t know what to do in his shoes. Serenity didn’t seem all that interested, even while talking to the Sheriff. I closed my mouth until the Sheriff led us to an isolated farmhouse. Concentrating on the fight that was about to take place. Crude iron mounts protruded from the snow like gravestones, another sign that we had arrived.

“Alright, this is the place. What’s the plan?” The Sheriff asked, shifting the weight of responsibility over to Serenity.

Serenity, looking annoyed, began discussing ideas with the Sheriff and the posse we had managed to wrangle up. Not paying attention to them, I took out my binos. I glassed the house to see two raiders out at the front door, basking in the heat of a fire barrel. “If only I had my old rifle, I could take them both out from here…” I mumbled to myself, lowering the glass to see that we were approximately two hundred meters away, enough where our position was concealed by the soft, heavy snow that drifted from the sky in curtains.

The crunch of snow drew my attention to see Ziya walking up; she had a long staff-like weapon, a large and wide curved blade perched on one end. It looked like a weapon you would see in a museum. I turned my gaze back through the binos, saying nothing as I tried to get more of a picture. “Vhat do you see, little one?”

A barn sat next to the house. The roof had collapsed from years of neglect and weather, and the skeletons of old livestock littered the ground around it. The house itself wasn’t in much better condition, but the iron posts I saw confirmed my suspicions; they held the bodies of the departed in a gruesome fashion. I thank Luna that the cold kept the smell at bay, with the cadavers frozen to the mounts. “Outside of the two raiders holding guard at the door, not much. Don’t see much in ways of cover, some snow mounds and old hay bales that we could hide behind, but they won't stop a bullet.” I turned my head over to speak when I realized her face was mere inches away from mine, causing me to jump in my boots. “Luna’s sake, don’t do that; scared the piss out of me.” I said, putting a hoof to my chest to catch my breath.

She smirked at that. “Oh, my little colt, I didn’t realize mares scared you so easily.”

I put my eyes back onto the binos, ignoring the flustered feeling in my cheeks. “You know what I mean.” I said, trying to dodge the comment and be professional.

The response got a giggle from her throat as she lay beside me on the snow. “What do you think we should do, my dear friend?”

“What we should do is put them down with as much firepower as we can,” Fuze answered, interrupting me before I could speak. He walked behind us and shifted the eyebrow of his good eye a bit upward. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No.” I said, cutting off Ziya before she could make another comment I felt was coming. “And besides, we aren’t going to blow the place up. There is a filly in there that needs our help, so we need to be careful with what we do.”

“What makes you think she is still alive?” Fuze responded, his monotone voice coming off cold.

I looked back at him with a questioning look. “We don’t, but if the filly is alive, I don’t want to be the reason why she meets Luna before her time.” I retorted, annoyed at the callousness.

Serenity came up before Fuze could make a retort. “Alright, y’all, from what this sorry excuse for a sheriff told me, there should be about five or six of ‘em. What we need to do is draw them out, which means we need to take ‘em from the front. Let’s get goin’.” He whistled softly to the others. “We are about to start; remember to watch your fire. There is a little filly in there depending on us.”

Getting up, I did another check of my rifle; this was the third time I’d done it on this journey; it was undoubtedly becoming an anxious tick. I shook off the snow and followed the posse; I decided to look over the posse we gathered; there were about four of the towns folk and then the Sheriff himself. Making nine of us against six, better odds, but if the Raiders hunkered down, it’d be bloody. The ponies themselves while they showed bravado, they were practically tripping over themselves. They were extremely nervous, which is normal even in the most battled-hardened veterans I’ve met; these ponies made me anxious. I didn’t want to accidentally catch a bullet from friendly fire.

We spread out when we made our approach, using the concealment of the snowbanks to get close. I took to a hay bale on its side, giving me plenty of room to move behind; I edged my way around the corner of the square bale and brought my sights to my eye. I aimed at the raider on the left; the dirty-looking stallion was huffing an inhaler of some random substance, maybe Dash. I was never one for hard drugs, personally.

But, as Ziya, Fuze, and Serenity made their way to their spots, a shot rang out. This alerted the once-relaxed raiders, who attempted to take cover. Then chaos erupted with undisciplined gunfire from the townsfolk peppering the outside of the farmhouse. At first, behind the haybale, I thought it was because the raiders noticed us and fired. I realized then that the townsfolk jumped the gun and ruined our element of surprise. I cursed, putting pressure on the trigger and sending a burst of automatic rifle fire into the raider’s chest; he crumpled to the ground in a heap.

The second raider who tried to flee into the doorway was cut down by a salvo of rifle fire from Serenity. From my position, I saw that Fuze was sending out single snapshots of a service rifle into the now open and bloodied doorway. I saw a blur of movement on my rifle to saw that Ziya was bounding from concealment to concealment with her large spear/cleaver weapon.

Three more raiders came rushing out, their eyes bloodshot and crazed; they seemed to be having a hoot at seeing their fallen comrades. “I’m going to enjoy fucking the bullethole!” One of them shouted, I internally shuttered at that visceral imagery. I placed my sights on his path while he ran, letting him run into the salvo of rounds I sent into his skull; gore and grey matter sprayed over the snow behind him as his lifeless body toppled into the snow.

Fuze managed to wing another, his rifle shots not hitting where he wanted them. Blood oozed from the bullet wound in the raider’s foreleg; the raider licked it as if she were enjoying a frozen treat. “I’m going to skin you for that!” The raider mare exclaimed, pointing a rusty kitchen knife at Fuze. She didn’t get far before my rifle barked again with a single shot, and hitting the raider in the neck, she grasped the wound with a filthy hoof before collapsing. I could hear her gurgling as she struggled to breathe through the blood. A shot from Serenity quickly put her out of her misery. The third raider and last of the trio was hiding behind a toppled fridge, letting out a blind barrage of rounds from a submachine gun; cries echoed from a couple of the townsfolk who were caught in the salvo.

I gritted my teeth, poking out of cover, prepared to fire when I stopped myself; another raider and the boss, by the looks of it, stepped out of the threshold. “You all might as well PUT your weapons down, or this filly will be visiting her daddy real soon, you hear?” The raider bellowed, using his above-average bulk to carry his confidence while shoving a filly into the snow before him. He pointed a simple shotgun at the back of her head. “It would be a shame if you killed her.” He darkly chuckled, cocking the hammer of the blood-smeared shotgun back with a click. The raider boss was covered in grazes and shrapnel wounds caused by wooden splinters from the undisciplined salvo that had punched through the walls of the farmhouse.

I clicked my rifle to single fire in response, ready to take the precise shot against the gun in hopes that the impact would knock it to the side and away from the filly’s head. But that might not work; the effect is just as likely to cause the tense stallion to jolt and pull the trigger. I would have to go for the head for him to go limp, but I didn’t trust the accuracy of this rifle and its wasteland-made bullets; too many variables. If I fucked up the shot, the filly would die, and I don’t think I could bear the weight of any more guilt.

“Well? Are you ponies going to listen, or will I have to make you listen?” The raider spouted. His blood-smeared face smirked, but that smirk quickly faded as more and more blood began to pour out of his wounds. “Wh-” He started to convulse, the shotgun dropping from his hoofs as he fell to the snow. Blood from each of his shrapnel wounds began to pour out into the snow unnaturally fast as his body unnaturally and audibly convulsed, bones grated against each other until they snapped at the joints from the strain.

I was dumbstruck, unable to comprehend what was happening, before I noticed Ziya had begun to stride towards the raider boss, uttering words I couldn’t and didn't wish to decipher. Black tendrils of shadow crowded the air around her, reaching out towards the stallion as she continued her spell. The tendrils encased the stallion before blood geyser out in all directions, coating everything, including the filly, in a spray of crimson mist, ending his screams abruptly.

The last raider standing sat there trembling in fear at what they just witnessed. Instead of running, the mare stuck her SMG into their mouth, unable to cope with the horror she just witnessed. At their own hoof, the fight was over. The fight lasted only a minute, but like all other battles, it felt like an eternity.

Ziya slowly made her way to the filly, the shadows fading with the wind. “It’s okay, little one, yo-” Ziya tried to say before she crumpled onto the ground, convulsing into a seizure, her back arched upward as she let out a horrified scream, muttering more of the indecipherable language. This caused the townsfolk to make some distance away from the seizing zebra.

Yet, Serenity came along and hit her with a resounding slap from his hoof, causing her to gasp before she fell unconscious. Serenity looked at his hoof and then at Fuze and me as we approached. “I didn’t think I hit her that hard.” Serenity said before he looked down at the filly as I kept my eye on Ziya; I will have to ask her what that was about and why it looked familiar. I saw the shotgun that the raider boss dropped, and I quickly grabbed it along with the few rounds the dry husk had on his bandoleer. “I’m sorry you had to see that lil one. Are you okay?” Serenity asked the filly. She just stared blankly, her eyes red from tears. “I’ll carry the zebra; one of you two, grab the kid, and we will return to the bar.” Serenity looked to the road as if he would give out more orders but stopped. “Fuckers already left.” Serenity said, disgruntled, shaking his head in disappointment. I turned my head to see that the others had fled not long after Ziya had been knocked unconscious.

“I’ll grab her.” I offered, kneeling beside the shell-shocked filly with my most comforting smile. “Hey, my name’s Jack. Are you hurt?” I asked, putting as much comfort and care into my voice as possible. The filly didn’t look hurt; all of the blood on her charcoal gray coat seemed to belong to the raider that Ziya had rung out like a sponge. She silently shook her head, the blood in her black mane dripping into the snow. “That’s good, you’re safe now. We are going to bring you back to your dad. Would you like that?” The mention of her dad seemed to bring some light back to her eyes, which caused me to give an internal sigh of relief. I took off my scarf and showed it to her. “Here, this will keep you warm on the trip back, okay?” She nodded, which prompted me to wrap the enchanted scarf around her shivering body. “Let’s get going, okay? Want to ride on my back?” I offered, which she nodded once more.

Lifting her up in my magic, I placed her on my back, stifling a grunt. She was a bit heavier than she looked. “I never got your name. Want to tell me, or is it a super duper secret?” I said, trying to lift the mood.

A crack of a smile came across her muzzle. “My name’s Jumping Jingle, but my dad calls me Jenny.”

I followed behind Serenity, who was now carrying the unconscious Ziya on top of his back. “Well, Jenny, welcome aboard the Jack Express; next stop is your dad!” I exclaimed quietly; I could see Fuze rolling his one good eye at this as we returned to the town. I didn’t mind as long as it cheered up the filly. It always pains me to see a filly or colt robbed of their natural innocence, no matter how common it is. Kids don’t deserve this kind of life, but that’s how things are, even if it bitters my tongue to admit it. Yet, seeing her enjoy herself, even at my own expense, makes it worth it. The filly will struggle with what she has seen today, but she is strong; she will be alright.

The journey back took longer than initially thought, as Serenity was slowed by carrying Ziya, who stirred occasionally, her face contorted as if in a nightmare. In my mind, I thought that this had to be the price for whatever magic she used back there; as much as it chilled me to think about, it did save Jenny from the raider boss. No one said much, even as we returned to the Inn’s threshold.

When we got back inside, the place was sparse of ponies compared to before. To say the place looked like a disaster would be an understatement; shattered bottles, vomit, and cups littered the floor as a disgruntled Mint Cream swept the mess, muttering to himself.

At the bar itself sat Jenny’s father, who sat holding a bandana full of snow to his swollen cheek; his attention gravitated towards us at the sound of the door closing sharply from being sucked in by the wind. “Daddy!” Jenny screamed, bounding off my back like a diving board; the scarf around her fell away as she landed. Her father’s face was washed with relief, the worry melting away as he met her in an embrace.

“Jenny, I was so worried about you. Are you okay? Are you hurt? ” The scavenger said, checking her over before giving Jenny a firm hug.

“I’m okay, Daddy; these nice ponies saved me from the mean bullies!” Jenny said, pointing a hoof towards us while I picked up the scarf. The blood that it took off of Jenny flaked away in crimson shards.

The father looked up to Fuze and me while Serenity was splashing some water from a nearby cup onto Ziya’s face in an attempt to wake her. Tears filled his eyes, hugging his daughter a bit tighter. “I can’t thank you all enough; I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.”

“No thanks are necessary, but I would like just compensation for my efforts.” Fuze spoke, the edge of his monotone voice softening at the scene before him. I could see the twitch of a smile fighting to show on the edge of his neutral expression.

The father nodded his head, quickly anticipating this. “O-Of course, we don’t have much but our cart that we used for scavenging should be back where I left it. You can take whatever you like; it’s down the road from the Pinkietime Hotel and movie theater. Not far from the bridge that leads into the city, you can’t miss it.” Seemingly content with the answer, Fuze nodded his head before walking towards Serenity and a recovering Ziya.

I was left alone with the small family, unsure what to say. “Daddy, this one let me ride on his back the whole way here!” Jenny said with a gleeful smile, which was contagious, and I smiled along with her.

The father nodded his head in thanks. “Thank you so much for bringing her back to me; if there is anything I can do, please let me know.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need anything, but I’m curious: what will you do now?”

He froze for a moment, hesitating. “I-I’m not sure; the city is starting to get too dangerous to go out there unarmed, and the wilderness…” He said trailing off as he looked down to his daughter. He didn’t need to say anymore, having walked out there for the last two weeks and barely making it here. They surely won’t, especially in their current condition.

Levitating the raider’s shotgun and wiping away the frosted blood with a hoof, I held it out for him. “Here is what I want you to do.” I said, taking a breath. “I want you to take this shotgun and protect your daughter if it's the last thing you do. She is relying on you, and I can’t always be there to save her if raiders nab her again.” I continued, pulling out the six shotgun shells I got from the raider. Speechless, the father took the shotgun and rounds before nodding.

Tipping my head, I turned to walk back to the others. Everyone was sitting in the booth seats, including a now-conscious Ziya. “There he is, the hot shot himself.” Serenity said, clapping my back with a strong hoof that lurched me forward. I raised an eyebrow at this. “I saw the two raiders you domed; hell, one of them was running at full speed.”

I shrugged at it. “Just doing what I do best,” I said, as if it was a preloaded message.

Serenity nodded. “And your best kept Fuze over here from being stuck with a rusty kitchen knife.” Causing the milk chocolate unicorn to roll an eye. Ziya raised a hoof to me in acknowledgment before it returned to the side of her temple, her head clearly in pain. “But, since we are all here, I gotta ask y’all a question.” Serenity said, his tone turning serious. “I’m on a mission from my superiors and need some help.”

Serenity scooted over to let me sit next to him; once more, the difference in size was startling. “I’m looking for another member of the Applejack Rangers who was sent here before they went missing. I’m willing to pay with all of the caps I have on me if you three decide to join.” He continued, his face becoming dower.

Fuze leaned forward, studying the pegasus. “What was her mission in vanhoofer of all places? Not exactly a trip down the road from the rest of the wasteland.” The edge of his monotone voice returned shaper than ever.

Serenity sighed. “She was sent in search of some technology to help out the bunker we reside in. I don’t know the specifics, but I do know that she went towards the local Ministry of Arcane Technology building; that was her first search point and the last time she checked in on her radio.”

Fuze pondered what Serenity was saying before he leaned back into the booth seat. “How many caps are you offering?” He asked, his face remaining neutral.

“I can’t say, but you will be very well rewarded, along with any arcano tech that we find.” Serenity responded, a slight twitch of his eyebrow telling me he was nervous about our answers.

“Well, you can count on my assistance. But, I do expect to be compensated justly.” Fuze replied, seemingly satisfied with the answer, even if it was vague.

“Vell, I have to go into the city anyways, so I’m sure it’ll be fun. What about you, my little colt?” Ziya said, looking at me, which prompted everypony at the table to follow her gaze. I felt the heat of their stares as they waited for my answers.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about going into a city with ponies I just met and didn’t know; my mind’s eye showed me their potential reactions to seeing my bounty poster. Once we got somewhere, I couldn’t take it down. But I realized I didn’t really have a choice; the benefits of having these ponies on my side are better than being alone. “I’ll go, I was heading into the city anyways.” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Serenity gave a slight smack of the table that jolted the glasses with a smile. “Alright, folks. Let’s head out then. I know a place where we can stop on the way there, " he said, prompting us to leave the booth and head for the door.

Stopping near the door to pick up the scarf, I wrapped it around my muzzle and neck, making sure it was on tight. As I picked up my rifle, I felt something grasp my back leg. I turned my head to find Jenny was giving my leg a hug. “Thank you again, Jack!” She said, the light in her eyes burning brighter than ever.

She let go when I began to turn around; I leaned down and gave her a pat on the head. “Keep an eye on your old man, and stay safe, Jenny. Can you do that?” I quickly said, with a smile. She quickly nodded before jumping back to her dad gleefully. At the time, I couldn’t describe how I felt when I saw her smile and bounce back to her father. It felt foreign to me, but I realized as we walked out the door. I felt proud; I felt proud at doing something small for me that meant the world to her.

We met outside in the bellowing and frigid wind, huddled in the street. I looked at Serenity, who was oddly less clothed than the rest of us; his face was open to the wind and snow. Caulking it up to him being used to this kind of weather flying, I asked. “So, where is this place that you want to stop at?”

“It’s near the cart that the scavenger told us about, the Pinkietime Hotel and Movie Theater. It’s a safe house that the Applejack rangers set up a few years ago.” He responded as he began to move down the road with the rest of us following.

“That isn’t too far of a stroll; maybe a few hours to get there.” Ziya said, coming up to my right, once again reminding me how small I was compared to these two ponies. But, being this close and walking, I could see the scratched screen of a well-used Pip-Buck on her foreleg, her cloak flapping in the wind to reveal a modified stable tec jumpsuit.

“Let’s make sure we keep up the pace; it would be rather suboptimal for us to be caught here at night.” Fuze interjected, cutting off my line of thinking before he took up the spot on Serenity’s left.

I couldn’t agree more, so we kept a brisk pace, traveling down the road heading towards the growing skyline of Vanhoofer. Even with ponies at my side, my anxiety at what the city held in store for me never dulled.

After several hours of walking and enduring the weather, the streets became clear of snow as the wind tunnel of buildings grew more common and concentrated. Old newspapers and trash danced in the dying daylight to the tune of rattling tin cans as dusk approached. I looked at the crumbling remains of a bygone era while we passed them individually. I tried to imagine what life was like here. Ponies could go about their days enjoying life rather than fearing what would come around the next corner. I’ll admit it made me envious of those ponies back then.

As the town on the city's border grew its full size, Serenity stopped us to point a wing at an object in the road. “I think we found our friend’s cart.” I squinted my eyes, trying to focus on the object. Sure enough, it was a tipped-over shopping cart, the contents spilling onto the ground. The light markings of blood stained the frozen pavement, but that was the only sign of a recent struggle. I didn’t say anything when we approached it, each of us perusing the abandoned contents.

I shuffled through the contents that still lay in the cart, finding two massive bullets that were typically used in heavy machine gun emplacements. I shuddered at the thought of these rounds hitting flesh; it was never an appealing sight to behold. I’ve seen it more times than I would like. Deciding I was satisfied with this, I took it upon myself to watch out for any threats in this section of the square. Some storefronts still bore the decorations of a holiday that seemed to revolve around pumpkins, their windows long since shattered and contents looted. Their empty husks are as dead as the ponies who once shopped there.

“What is that?” I heard Fuze say, gaining my attention back to the trio. Fuze pointed a hoof at a box that Ziya held in her hoofs. Fuze’s magic has a few pieces of scrap metal and what looks like copper.

“I’m not sure, my dear Fuze. It says… M.O.A.S,” Ziya replied, curious at the small box in her hoofs.

I noticed Serenity’s ears perk at the acronym. “That has to be the Ministry of Arcane Science, let me see that.” Serenity said, beckoning with a gesturing wing.

“I found it; let me see what it is first.” Ziya said, popping the lid open to reveal what looked to be a round glass object jutting with wires and long dead lights. I’ve never seen anything like it, but overall, I wasn’t interested in the box or anything that has to do with the ministries. Everything attached to those six mares seemed to cause nothing but trouble for ponies nowadays.

“It looks like a prototype of some sort.” Serenity said quizzically. “I think it’s best for me to hold onto it.” Once again, gesturing with a wing to hand it over.

Fuze looked down at it; his cybernetic eye glowed with a crimson pulse as he studied it. “It looks like some memory orb that the MoAS tried to modify. Incredibly rare tech, but regardless, it’s inactive and inert; nothing but scrap.”

Ziya looked apprehensive at the item before handing it over to Serenity. “I don’t want anything that has to do with the ministry mare anyhow.” Ziya said while Serenity placed the box into this saddlebag.

“Alright, let's hunker down in the movie theater before it gets too dark.” He breathed as if relieved that she gave it to him as we headed off to the building with a tall assortment of windows that easily towered over its neighbors. A picture of a large pink pony sat over a sign that held only a few letters. From what I’ve been told, these signs told ponies what the movie theater was showing. Well, it certainly hasn’t been showing anything but a creepy stare for the last several centuries.

Serenity went to one of the doors. A large piece of aging plywood sat jammed into the now windowless door. Grunting with a slight effort, he removed it to reveal a cleared path into the lobby. He quickly ushered us in before he replaced the wood again. The old hardwood lobby floor squeaked underneath our weight, the smell of mildew assaulting my nostrils.

The lobby was in tatters, much like everything else in the town, but the surviving windows and boards kept the noise of wind down to a minimum when it picked up. The front desk before us was half missing and smashed; a shelf of tiny boxes sat empty of the keys that once lay in them. The Sparkle Cola and Sunrise Sarsaparilla vending machines lay on their sides, their insides busted open with empty bottles scattered around them.

“It isn’t much, but we should be fine here for the night. There are rooms upstairs that we can use.” Serenity said, trotting over to the three of us. A thought occurred, how did he know that the rooms here were okay and this place was safe? From what I gathered, he said that he had never been here before but knew how to get in and that the rooms were fine. His mouth opened with a yawn; today's exhaustion seemed to be catching up with him.

“Are you sure this place is secure? It seems…” Fuze questioned in his already familiar monotone voice, his eyes looking around the lobby. “Derelict.”

“You try finding a place that hides us from the wind and snow, smart colt.” Serenity said, scoffing as if offended at being questioned on the spot; a board from the ceiling fell onto the moldy carpet with a wet thud.

I gave a subtle snicker before I went up to Serenity. “You said this was a safe house; I assume there are some supplies?”

“You’d assume correctly, my small unicorn friend; follow me.” Serenity said, vaulting over the ruined front desk and into the back. I looked at the other two; Ziya just shrugged while Fuze remained expressionless before following the large pegasus toward the back.

It looked like a small office space. Ancient sheets of paper were stuck to the moist carpet, and inert terminals were laid on the desks. One of the stations had the skeleton of a pony still sitting at its station; it leaned over the edge of the desk as if taking a nap.

Pushing past the desks, Serenity stood before a locked door, looking frustrated. “Luna, Damn it, I think she locked it and left the keys inside.”

“I assume that ‘she’ is the missing member of your organization we will be searching for?” Fuze asked, standing back from the rest of us as he started to pry into the backs of terminals.

Serenity sighed, trying to punch his way into the door but the lock held firm. “Yes, that she is.”

“It seems foolish to send only one pony to a city, especially this far up north.” Fuze continued.

Serenity nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I told Command that sending her out alone would only lead to disaster. But, no one listens.” Serenity said, his frustration at the door continuing with another pound against the door that only sent dust from the ceiling onto our heads, causing Ziya to cough.

“Be careful, no need to be a brute.” Ziya said, covering her muzzle with a foreleg.

Serenity snapped his head towards her. “Well, unless you can pick a lock to open it, I don't want to hear it.” Serenity said, frustration overtaking the southern aspect of his accent.

Ziya shook her head. “Well, I’m sorry to say, but I possess no such ability.”

Serenity grunted, his frustration turning into defeat before I lifted a hoof. “I’ll take a crack at it.” I said, interrupting Serenity before he could speak as I pulled out a rusty screwdriver and an old lock pick, causing everypony to look at me as I trotted towards the door.

“You are full of surprises, my little colt.” Ziya said with admiration but it was edged with something I couldn’t place.

“No kidding, first a crack shot and now a lockpick. Must be an assassin or something with skills like those.” Serenity bellowed, his frustration gone as quickly as it came.

“Something like that.” I said, putting the screwdriver and lockpick; after a few attempts of trying to listen for the subtle clicks past my slightly ringing ears, I cracked a smile. The tumblers fell into place and rotated with a satisfying click. “There we go.” I said, getting a view of the room. Inside what used to be the Manager’s office laid a well-used couch with ruffled sheets and a blanket; next to it was a small fridge that hummed quietly, and on the desk was a small burn plate powered by the nearby sparkle battery generator. Old oil lamps lit up the interior with a soft amber glow. It was warm inside the room; it looked like somepony had made an extra effort to insulate the room from the outside cold and draft. It was very cozy here; I can see why Serenity wanted to come.

“Excuse me.” Serenity said, towering over me, looking to get past. Stepping aside, he entered and went to the desk. His enormous bulk filled most available space while rummaging through the desk’s drawers. “Ah ha, there it is.” He muttered, extending a wing to grab something that softly jingled. He turned to the rest of us with a smirk. “This isn’t the only room from what Ace said.” Serenity said, holding up a set of three keys, each with a room number labeled on an accompanying tag. “Luckily for you ponies, there are three other rooms on the upper floors that are similar to this. This here room will be mine.” He pronounced, walking out to hand each of us our own key.

I held mine in my magic to see the crude scratching on the key. “724. Great.” I muttered, shaking my head. “If that’s on the seventh floor, that’s going to suck climbing those stairs.” I said, thinking out loud.

“Don’t worry, Jack, you'll be fine. Before y’all head to your rooms,” Serenity said, throwing me a cold Sparkle Soda and a box labeled ‘Spike’s hot potato!’. The prewar box had a purple dragon in a chef’s hat. Below him was a pony’s face on a cartoon picture of a potato saying ‘I’m delicious and self-heating!’’. My stomach rumbled a bit at the food thankfully that it wasn’t frozen like the MRE I had in my pack. “Here you go, y’all. Now, if you excuse me, I’m gonna hit the hay. I suggest y'all do the same; we have a big day ahead of us.”

Fuze nodded his thanks, mumbling something about the food that I couldn’t quite catch before turning around to head back to the lobby. Exhaustion cracked through his mask of stoicism.

Looking at my food once, I looked at Serenity, who was closing his door. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I said, brushing against Ziya and getting past the large mare. “Oh, sorry.” I said, continuing my way out of the office and into the lobby.

I looked around the lobby to see a set of stairs with a sign that said rooms with an arrow pointing forward. “Well, that’s helpful,” I said to myself, heading up, each floor labeled with a number. I looked at one of the closest doors that read ‘101’, sighing in defeat as my own worst nightmare was realized—stairs.

Beginning to march up the flight of stairs, I groaned as my legs felt on fire while I lugged my gear up flight after flight. The entire time, thoughts of anxiety gripped my mind; I wasn’t sure what to do once the job with Serenity was over. I also don’t want to get these ponies caught up in my problems, as I’m sure they had their own to deal with. If they did and they got killed, it would only add to the graveyard in my soul.

I realized I made it to the seventh floor when I was about to walk up to the eighth, sighing a breath of relief as I looked down the hallway. I looked down at my key to start my search for the room; as I walked, all I noticed was the howling of wind batting against the walls of the outside room. “Where is this damn room?” I said, talking to myself while my eyes scanned for room numbers that were still legible.

“I believe it is further on the right, my little colt.” Ziya’s voice sounded behind me, making me jump slightly off the ground like a cat.

“Luna’s sake, Ziya, you have got to stop doing that.” I said, turning my head while I clutched my chest while I tried to recover my breath.

The dark zebra came sauntering out of the darkness, her hips swaying carefree as she approached. A mischievous smile was etched on her lips. “Apologies, my little colt.” A slight giggle ebbed from her throat.

Once I fully caught my breath, I stood and still had to look up a bit to meet her gaze. Her emerald green eyes dazzled in the dying light, yet it looked like she was eyeing a snack. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest. “W-what are you doing up here?” I asked, not intending to stammer.

She responded by showing me her key. ‘732’ was etched on the metal tag. “Aww, and here I thought you were being a gentle colt and escorting a mare to her room,” she said, taking a step closer with another mischievous giggle. I felt my cheeks getting hot.

I turned with a cough in an attempt to hide the fact I was getting flustered . “Well, thank you for showing me where to go.” I said, turning fully to head to the door that led to my room.

I stopped in front of the door and inserted the key. When the door opened, I saw that Serenity wasn’t exactly lying when he said the rooms were similar to the Manager’s office. Inside was a large bed on the left side of the room in the corner, to the right side of the room held a ruined couch and desk. The walls were insulated with wood, paper, and other items to keep out the cold, which somehow did a fine job. I was practically sweating just standing at the door.

I walked in and half-mindedly closed the door, but not all the way. Ignoring it for the moment, I wanted to get my gear off. The walk here and the march up the stairs have left my clothes drenched in cold sweat. Neatly setting my rifle and bandoleer of mags on the desk, I began to peel off the armor. As I continued to strip off my clothes, I heard a noise at my door. My head snapped to see Ziya step through, closing the door behind her with a click. I felt her gaze scanning me, each spot she looked felt hot at the mere glace. Her predatory gaze eyeing me as if I was prey.

“W-what are you doing?” I said, stammering, my cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and bewilderment at my current state.

She stepped forward to me, her hips swaying with more emphasis than before. “My dear little colt, I just wanted to visit a new friend. Get to know you as a friend should. Besides, nopony should be alone on Hearth’s warming.” Her sultry voice said, getting closer with each word. “Do you want to be alone, my little colt?” I shook my head slightly, my heart racing, anticipating what she meant. She lowered her head mere inches away from mine, her expression softening into a comforting smile as her hoof caressed my mane. With a soft, soothing whisper, she cooed. “I’ll be grateful to keep you company, my little colt.”

December 26th, 2273

The dripping of water pitter-pattered against the dark concrete, only drowned by the trotting of my hoofs against the steel rails that lined the ground. As I trotted down the metro line with a dying flashlight in my magic, I felt a jolt of pain in my front right leg, causing me to lurch forward. Jutting my left hoof forward, I caught myself from crashing into the crumpling rail ties. “Fuck!” I exclaimed, stopping to check myself, the cause of this pain escaping my fogged memory. Pushing the flashlight's beam onto the pulsing appendage, I froze at the sight. Not only was my knee bleeding, but so was a good portion of my right front leg.

Following the trail of blood and scratch marks, The glime of a blood-caked knife jutting from my flesh met my vision. I was dumbstruck by the sight; how long had I been walking in this maze and never realized this?

With a trembling hoof, I grabbed the handle, feeling the numbed pain send a shock to my body from the mere touch. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, preparing for the pain that would rack my body. I exhaled the exact moment that I tore the knife out of my shoulder in one swift motion; pain coursed through my body and straight into the base of my skull as I fell to one knee, dropping the knife to the ground with a clatter. Taking a haggard breath, I pressed my hoof against the gushing wound as I looked down at the knife with a flashlight.

The blade lay in a pool of blood that came from my wound. I studied the blade in the light to see it was a very bright, shiny silver; the razor-sharp edge started wide at the base before gradually curved back to a pin prick edge. The handle was made of the same material, twisting down to a blunt point, each groove wrapped in some leather; above the bare hilt was an engraving of nine. The wicked curvature of its blade gave me the sense that it wasn't ever used for anything good. The further I looked at the blade, the more it made me uncomfortable.

Then, I saw the blood pool begin to ripple and recede towards the blade; the blood drops on the blade shrunk and disappeared as if it were drinking it. This caused the blood in my body to run cold with fear, yet with unbridled curiosity, I tried to reach out with a trembling hoof. “What in Tartarus?” My breathing was still haggard from the pain that laced my shoulder.

But, what truly terrified me was when my hoof made the briefest contact, it began to melt away. It was not in red heated metal like I initially thought, but it fell apart and dissolved into a vicious black goo that seeped from the ground. “That isn’t yours, my little pony. But, I do appreciate you returning it to its rightful owner.” A deep, raspy, yet charismatic voice flowed from the darkness, followed by the distant echoes of hoofsteps that bounced off the walls, unable to explain which direction the sounds came from.

Quickly looking in both directions, the flashlight’s beam weakened with each pass before it reflected off a silvery white object. I tried to focus on it, but the weakened beam flickered around it. The beam went out the second after it landed on the object as if the light was devoured. I banged the dead light with a hoof and began to back away in step with whatever was before me. "Piece of shit..." I muttered, the dread building as I heard the distant hoofsteps approaching closer. “W-who… no, what are you!?” I shouted, letting the flashlight clatter to the ground to draw a pistol that wasn’t there, my magic only grasping air.

A deep chuckle sounded from behind me as if amused by my reaction. This dragged my attention to my back, a chill running down my spine. My shuffling legs kicked the fallen flashlight across the floor until it landed slightly upwards. The light flickered back on, casting on the once indistinct shape that had shown what it was: an unknowable shape of darkness with a large, sharp, toothy grin; I felt the hot breath waft onto my face, and the faint scent of mint lingered. The presence of whatever this terrified me to my core. Its slitted yellow eyes bore through me as if gazing into my soul. “I am a friend.” It said, pausing between the words, its voice coming from everywhere yet nowhere. Its teeth were unmoving, and its eyes were unwavering; I swallowed. “The bridge has been built. Will you cross it, Mister Rabbit?”

I quickly sat up, gasping in my bed, my body drenched in sweat as I sat holding my head; the nightmare I had quickly faded away from my memory. I could only recall the metro tunnel; my groggy mind chalked it to the metro under Stalliongrad. I let out a disheartened sigh, tired of the nightmares that continued to plague me.

Blinking a few times, I looked around the room I was in. It smelled of sweat and a few other things that I had difficulty placing. My hips felt sore when I uncovered and tried to get out of bed. That’s when the events of last night replayed in my mind, which etched a wistful smile across my lips. “Wasn’t the hearth’s warming gift I was expecting.” I said to myself, getting out of the empty bed. I sauntered over to my bag and rummaged around for the MRE.

Taking several bites of the now non-frozen meal gave me the small amount of energy I needed to begin stretching; joints popped with a satisfying groan. Shaking out my limbs, I lit a cigarette on my lips as I did my morning gear check.

As always, the food department seemed lacking; I still had the self-heating baked potato, considering I don’t often eat dinner. It was better to have the energy during the day anyway. But other than that and the MRE, I needed more; I’m not sure how long I’ll be with these three ponies, but it never hurts to be cautious.

Completing the gear check, I sat down and ate the potato. I wasn’t sure how to use this product, but it said to pull a tab and wait. Seeing the tab, I pulled it and sat it down once it started warming my hoofs. Once done, I opened the box with my magic, based on the smell of the heavily preserved vegetable, which overtook the scent of sweat and shame that previously occupied the room.

I quickly ate it, hoping that nopony would interrupt my meal like what happened yesterday. Crumbling the metal foil into a small ball and throwing it into the corner, I noticed something I hadn’t done before. Next to the discarded potato wrapper was a red feather. Curious, I walked over before picking it up with a raised eyebrow. It looked freshly preened; not much dust was on it, and it hadn’t begun the process of rotting away. Maybe it was in my head, but Serenity's story was starting to make less and less sense. Sure there might be Pegasi in this city, common enough where ponies here didn’t pay much mind. But, this was supposed to be a safe house that the ‘Applejack Rangers’ only used, but it looked very recently lived in, outside of the mess I had made while staying in here myself.

My train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door, pocketing the feather. I went over to the door. To my surprise, it was Fuze. I gave the cybernetic pony a raised eyebrow. “Fuze? What are you doing up here?”

He kept his face neutral and emotionless, but I could tell he didn’t sleep well last night. “The zebra known as Ziya has instructed me to come fetch you. As if I’m some mere hound.” He scoffed, his eye shifting above my head to the room behind me. “Do you need time to get ready?” He asked.

“Just give me a moment,” I said, leaving the door open to get the rest of my gear on. I put my bandoleer over my head and chest, feeling each pocket to check that their contents were still in their proper place. Throwing my back over my back with my magic, I grabbed my rifle and headed to the door. “Alright, show me the way.”

Fuze led me down several floors without a word until we got to the fourth. Stopping, he looked down the hallway. “Ziya is down the hallway, somewhere, " he said before continuing down the hall without letting me say a word. Confused, I followed him until we heard some rummaging from one of the open doorways down the hall.

Both of us entering, we saw Ziya giving the place a reasonable search as if she was looking for something specifically, mumbling under her breath when she didn’t find it. “I have acquired Jack’s presence like you requested, Ziya.” Fuze stated as if robotically.

She looked up, caught off guard by the sudden words. “Oh, thank you, my little colt. I think I found a few things you two could help me with.” She said, opening a drawer with slight frustration across her features when the contents came empty. “Tsk.”

Fuze and I momentarily glanced at each other before I spoke up. “What exactly are you looking for, Ziya?”

Ziya sighed, looking around the torn-apart room. “I’m looking for ingredients and materials for my potions.”

I raised an eyebrow and said, “And you want us to help how? I don’t know the first thing about potion ingredients.”

“That’s not what I brought you two here for.” Ziyz retorted. “Follow me, my little colts.” Ziya said, the large Ziya pushing Fuze and me apart with her muscular bulk as she walked past the door. “I found something one of you two could help me with.”

“One of us two?” Fuze said questioningly.

“Yes, my dear Fuze. Just follow me.” Ziya cooed the frustration from a moment ago gone like morning fog. We followed her to another room on the floor, at the very end of the hall, the cold frigid air wafting through crudely placed boards. Inside the room sat a terminal on a desk, and next to it was a safe.

Fuze gave a smirk, the first sign of emotion that I’ve seen him display; good to see he wasn’t just cybernetics in there. “I see what you needed my intellectual prowess for. Stand aside, my dear Ziya.” He said, cockiness riddling his voice that was mixed with an air of confidence. I shrugged at this; computers were outside of my wheelhouse. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about hacking.

Stepping forward to the terminal with Ziya and me close behind, we both looked curiously. Fuze began to rapidly press the keys on the terminal with his red magic, his eyes darting from side to side before he got to a screen with many words and symbols mixed together. “Show time.” He said, clearly excited to show off his skills. After pressing a few more buttons, the terminal let out a monotone beep. Fuze cursed under his breath, clearly feeling the eyes on the back of his head while he worked.

“I thought you said you were good at this, Fuze.” Ziya said, looking a bit apprehensive as the terminal beeped a second time, indicating a second failure.

“I am if you would stop breathing down my fucking neck.” Fuze retorted, frustration taking over as he went through the lines of decoy code. “Just need one more…” Fuze said, trailing off as his magic pressed the enter button before it beeped again; the screen turned black before a message appeared. ‘Locked out.’ Fuze started cursing a storm that would make Luna blush at the obscenities, his mask of stoicism long gone. “Alright, fuck this.” He said, snorting a hot breath from his flared nostrils.

Ziya and I glanced at each other, taken back by this turn of events from Fuze as his crimson eye began to glow a bright crimson. The terminal started to shake and rattle from what I had assumed to be Fuze, trying to force his way into it. Then his face dropped. “Uh oh.”

“What do you—” I said, interrupted by the terminal bursting into flames. Shards of glass and circuits clogged the air as the parts flew around us.

After we uncovered our faces to see the burning remains of the terminal, Ziya and I quickly hefted the terminal off the table before shuffling towards an open window. “What are you doing!?” Fuze exclaimed as the terminal sailed through the window, plummeting down to the icy depths of the alley. The terminal's crash sent rad roaches scattering all around. Fuze came flying past us and leaned through the window. “You fucking imbeciles! There were valuable parts in that!”

ZIya and I looked at each other with a mixture of concern and confusion before looking back at Fuze. “Fuze, what the fuck are you talking about?” I said while I scratched the back of my head with a hoof.

Fuze pointed a hoof out the window. “What else would I be talking about, the perfectly good components of that terminal!?” He huffed, clearly agitated that we threw ‘good’ scrap.

I rolled my eyes, walked to the now-severed safe, and began working on the lock. “I thought you were good at this.” Fuze mocked at the snapping of a second bobby pin.

I turned my head to him deadpan. “And I thought you were a computer wizard. Guess we both thought wrong.” Which got a snort from ZIya.

“Come on, my dear Fuze. Let’s go downstairs and meet up with Serenity.” Ziya said before Fuze could make another comment.

Fuze groaned. “Fine, If I must.” He said, turning around to follow her out the door. Their hoof steps grew quieter, but I could hear Fuze ask. “What’s that stain on your muzzle ZIya?”

I tried to stifle the cough that tried to escape my throat at the question; the motion caused me to snap yet another bobby pin. “Fuck me.” I muttered, taking out another. Putting it inside the scratched lock, with the quiet, I could click it open after a few minutes, and a sigh of relief escaped my lips. “Let’s see what’s in here.” I said to myself, opening the cracked door with my magic.

My face fell at the contents that were placed inside of the safe. “Who the fuck puts a spoon in a safe?” I muttered, tossing the spoon to the side before I gathered the rest of the loose contents. Managing to grab a med-x and some caps for my troubles. “This wasn’t really worth all of that trouble…” I grumbled to myself while I headed downstairs.

As I descended the stairs into the main lobby, I heard some shouting; I initially thought it was because we were being attacked, but I realized it was Serenity yelling at someone. “Why the fuck would you break it!?”

“Because such technology would cause nothing but trouble. That is what all of the ministry mare’s work does.” Ziya’s voice responded as I made my way onto the landing.

I saw Serenity's neck pulsing with veins on the verge of bursting from his rage. His blue features turned a bright red like a lightbulb. He would notice me coming up; his eyes were nearly pinpoint. “What is going on?” I asked, confused.

Serenity grunted in frustration as he pointed with a wing at his hoof. I looked down to see the shattered remains of glass and circuitry. “This dumb cunt destroyed what could be my ticket to a good life!”

I raised an eyebrow back down at the pile and back at him. “So this isn’t about the terminal we threw out the window?” I asked nonchalantly. I didn’t care about whatever he was screaming about; it was too early for this noise.

He looked at me with bewilderment, then rage as he stomped on the ground with a hard hoof. “You fucking what!? You dumbfuck grounders don’t know wh-”

“Grounders?” I interrupted my eyebrows slowly narrowing. “What do you mean by that Serenity?” The question prompted everyone to go quiet and look at Serenity, waiting for his answer. An answer that I already suspected, one that I knew from the beginning, but I tried to believe it wasn’t true.

The anger that Serenity had on him faded away like melting snow, to be replaced with slight fear, his eyes darting between us. I felt my body tense, preparing for a potential fight depending on his answer and action. The air stilled as we all held our breath, my heartbeat pulsing in my ears. Then, the silence was broken, with Serenity sighed. “I…Fuck. Listen.” He pleaded the accent I had grown used to drop to that of a city pony, his hoofs coming up to show that he didn’t mean any harm.

“There are no Applejack Rangers, is there Serenity? The fake accent, the safe house, and the fact that no one has heard of them. Nothing. You’re Enclave!” I exclaimed, pointing an accusing hoof at him. I felt rage building inside my chest as my tongue wanted to sharpen its edge.

“What the fuck is the Enclave?” Fuze spoke up quizzically.

I kept my gaze on Serenity as Ziya piped up. “I’m not quite sure what that is either, my dear Fuze. Maybe we should hear him out, Jack.”

Serenity gave a bit of a sigh of relief. “You followed me this far. My mission is true; the names behind it are the only difference...you'll still be well compensated. And I've kept my word this far.”

I gritted my teeth, mulling over what he said; my gut told me not to trust him. Enclave scouts nearly killed me in Stalliongrad for being near them, while the circumstances weren’t abnormal. Many ponies shot at me for simply being near them, but the Enclave had a reputation. I sighed, relaxing the tension in my grip before I looked at Serenity. “Then tell me this. Who exactly are we risking our necks for?”

Serenity’s eyes lowered, and his ears flattened before meeting my gaze. “The pony we will search for is my wife, Aces High. She went missing, like I said back at the bar, and I volunteered to come down here to take up her mission. They already wrote her off as dead, but I know she is still out there. I need to find her.”

Hearing this, my heart softened, and anger flowed away; he genuinely looked like a worried husband looking for a wife. That face of longing and worry is a familiar mask I’ve seen all too often. I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. “Alright, I’ll still help but don’t try to pull anything on us. What about you guys?” I said, turning to Ziya and Fuze, both looking unbothered by the exchange.

“I’m still willing to help the poor fellow.” Ziya responded with a nod of her head.

“As long as I’m justly compensated, that is all that matters,” Fuze said, his monotone voice returning.

I turned my head to Serenity. “Let’s not burn any more daylight than. Lead the way.”

The rest of the journey to the city wasn’t as arduous as the road towards the theater; it wasn’t that long either—maybe an hour or so. The town that had grown around us was shaken as the cityscape consumed more of the skyline; even its morning shadows were beginning to envelop us.

Turning down a road, the faint scent of barrel fires hit my nostrils through the scarf. Fire meant ponies, and ponies could be trouble. I was about to get my rifle ready before Fuze placed a hoof on the barrel, keeping it down. “No need to worry; we are in friendly territory for now.” Fuze said, his eyes keeping forward while he walked to the front of the group.

I was curious about what he meant by that, but judging by his mannerisms, he was a local, so I decided to trust him without saying a word.

We came around another bend to see an outpost made of scrap metal sheets and sandbags with a wooden watch tower with a heavy machine gun emplacement pointing towards the long open bridge behind them. The sandbags were arranged in two half circles that went up to chest height, again pointing toward the city. Shell casings, trash, and other debris bellowed around in the wind towards the ponies huddled together by the fire barrels that I smelt earlier. Others were gathered around a table playing a card game, maybe poker.

In the middle of it all was an old lamp post used as a makeshift flagpole. On it was a stained brown flag with the dark shape of some hound; I couldn’t tell what it clearly was, but the rest of the ponies here had the same symbol on their armor and clothing.

It didn’t take long for the ponies to notice us; one got up, throwing his cards on the table, mumbling something to his compatriots. “Let me handle this.” Fuze said, stepping forward. His horn flared with his red magic, his red magic to unclasp a button from his winter cloak to reveal more of his armor.

Fuze met the stallion halfway, and they began speaking, yet it was hard to hear what they were saying from the wind using my ear canals as a flute. While we stood there, I started shivering from the cold wind gusting through my body as if I wasn’t there. It took a few agonizing minutes for Fuze to return after exchanging something with the guard. “So what’s the verdict, Fuze?” Serenity asked.

“The Jackals have agreed to let us through, I paid for the toll, but that was the last of my caps. What comes next might be more complicated.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Just trust me. Let's go before they decide to ask for more caps that we don’t have,” Fuze said, quickly brushing my question aside, which caused a ping of annoyance.

Grumbling, I walked behind the group while we made our way through the outpost; I could feel the heat of eyes on us while we left. I wasn’t sure what to expect on this bridge into the city, but an entire minefield coating the outside edges of the road wasn’t it. Each mine was placed perfectly in a checkered pattern on both sides of the road outside the middle, leaving a strip of road wide enough for a caravan cart to be pulled through with a pair of brahmin.

Seeing the mines, Serenity gave a low whistle but said nothing. While I wasn’t initially worried about the mines, the apparent path increasingly grew narrower, causing us to go two abreast. A strong gust of wind would send me sailing into a mine, and I don’t think even my level of luck would save me from that.

“What’s with all of these mines, my dear Fuze?” Ziya asked, being careful to avoid the lethal explosives.

“It’s the border between the Jackals and the Ravens.” Fuze answered, not elaborating further as his voice sounded condescending. I was starting to like it better when he didn’t speak much.

We traversed the narrowing pathway to see a makeshift metal gate, more well-built and fortified than the previous one with similar frozen sandbags and watch towers. Still, these were set onto a ledge on the gate itself, giving them the high-ground advantage over the constricted movement caused by the minefield. These ponies knew what they were doing. The pony that manned the watchtower rotated the thick barrel of a heavy machine gun, at least half an inch thick enough to get through power armor. “Halt! Who goes there?!” The mare shouted, their features hidden by a uniform of grey and white. This caused other ponies in the same uniform to pop over the ledge, numbering five or six, pointing various small arms at us.

Serenity walked up, showing his hoofs and wings free of weapons. “My name is Serenity Showers. We only seek passage into the city.”

The mare on the HMG scoffed. “Yeah, and why would you want to do that? I bet you nimrods are a part of the Jackals trying to sneak in or Tartarus; I bet even those two fuckhorns with you are from those Crescent schmucks who are trying to push their weight around. I should-” I tensed, thankful I didn’t have any indication of my former affiliation with the Crescents.

“That’s enough, Violet. Open the gate.” An authoritative voice boomed behind the gate, causing the mare on the HMG to turn.

“But-” Violet tried to question before getting interrupted once more.

“Shut your trap and open the gate; we have protocols. We don’t shoot everything that moves; we aren’t those savage Jackals.” The commanding voice echoed out. I noticed that Fuze’s good eye slightly narrowed into a glare at the insult towards the Jackals.

“Y-Yes, ma’am. Open it!” Violet said before the sound of creaking hinges and cables screeched against their rusted bearings, long past their maintenance period.

The gates opened towards us, scraping away snow and ice that had built up in the days since it last opened. Out came a trio of ponies, all in the same grey and white; two had their faces covered while their Leader kept their face in the cold. It was a mare of average stature, dark grey coat with a light faint purple, yet what was odd was the slitted pupils and tiny fangs that protruded from her upper jaw. Then I saw the leathery wings resting on the side of her body, once I noticed those. I realized the others also had the same wings.

“Bat Ponies?” I muttered to myself, astounded to see one, let alone a group of the species. I’ve only encountered a few in my years, mostly loners in towns across the wasteland. They weren’t exactly that common of a race.

The trio came our way until they stopped about fifteen feet away from us, the Leader stepping forward. “State your names and business in the city, " the Leader demanded. My heart quickened. What if they recognized my name from the posters? Yet, they said they weren’t on friendly terms with the Crescents; nevertheless, it made me feel on edge.

Serenity stepped forward once before the Leader raised a hoof to stop him. “Well like I said, My name is Serenity Showers. This is Ziya, Fuze, and Jack. We are heading into the city to find work. What is this all about?” Serenity asked, clearly taken back but unsurprised by the ponies’ standoffish demeanor.

“We are here to make sure you all aren’t raiders. We have enough of them as is. You two.” She pointed a leathery wing at Ziya and Serenity before motioning for them to move. “You two may pass, but the choroids stay put.”

“Hornoid?” I muttered, not daring to make a scene. I was genuinely confused about what they exactly meant by that. It didn’t feel great to be called such a thing. I looked over to Fuze, he was trying to keep his calm, stoic demeanor, yet the clenching of his jaw gave away that he was pissed.

Ziya and Serenity looked at the Ravens for a moment before Ziya spoke. “Why do our compatriots have to stay put?”

“Because they are liable for search, we want to ensure they aren’t running chems for the raiders or those cone dome Crescents. Now, if you want to make this difficult, we can turn you all away, and you can try your luck through the eastern bridge into the city, but that is a mighty far walk.” The Leader said a sly smirk etched on the side of her muzzle, clearly happy that she was in complete control.

I sighed. “It’s fine. All I have is a syringe of med-x; going to bust my balls for that?” I said, levitating my pack off my back to chuck it on the ground with a thud, letting it slide on the side a few feet.

The Leader then looked at Fuze, motioning with a wing for him to do the same. “If I must.” He said through gritted teeth before following suit.

The Leader motioned for one of her cohorts to search the bags, keeping an eye on Fuze and me while we stood there. After a few moments, the Raven members looked at their Leader. “They are clear.”

The Leader smirked. “Welcome to Vanhoofer, my little ponies.” I relaxed, letting go of a breath I didn’t realize I was holding; I walked forward with everyone else to pick up my bag. “Only after you pay our toll, of course.” My face deadpanned as I looked at the Leader. “Twenty-five caps each for the double dongers.” She said, holding out a hoof.

Grumbling, I patted my pockets, realizing I didn’t have any on me, remembering that I had given them to Caramel back at the Inn. I internally cursed. “Don’t worry, my little colt, I can get this for you.” Ziya said once she realized I didn’t have the caps on me for the toll. Two small pouches landed in the Leader’s hoof, who weighed it with a couple tosses.

Seemingly satisfied, the trio stepped aside. “Have a safe journey in the city, and watch out for the creatures that lurk in the snow.” The Leader giggled, putting off a mocking bow.

Pushing past them we all made it through, I was grumbling the whole time about being extorted; Fuze didn’t look happy about it either. As we walked in silence, I looked up to the buildings that reached towards the heavens. I was absolutely astounded by the marvels Pre-War ponies achieved, the intertwined metro skylines that weaved between the buildings like strains of mane. Yet, even with the engineering might, it couldn’t save them from the weather and their creator’s hubris.

The sense of being swallowed by the jagged grey teeth of the city gave me no comfort as we pushed on. Horizontal pillars of ice stuck to some of the windstricken buildings like stuck food Same goes for any city left to rot, especially this far north; some of the buildings had ice and snow covering them in near horizontal pillars of ice that connected them. Yet another stark similarity to Stalliongrad, I shook my head, trying to forget once more just as I rear-ended Ziya in front of me. Which got me a sly grin from the zebra for a brief moment. “Um, sorry,” I said, chuckling.

“No worries, my little colt,” Ziya responded.

“If you two are done flirting, we must figure out where to go from here.” Serenity said, looking down the streets that branched off the intersection that we stood in. “Ziya, does that Pip-Buck of yours work?”

“Indeed it does. Where are we looking to go first, my feathered friend?” Ziya answered, raising her left foreleg and unraveling the straps that kept the device hidden.

“The Ministry of Arcane Sciences building, where she last checked in. We will check there to see if she made it in.” Serenity stated.

Ziya started clicking in the coordinates Serenity provided her; as they did that, I looked down the empty white streets. Outside of the faint footprints of ponies traversing, I assumed to the outpost there wasn’t much out here. There were the occasional gunshots in the distance, barely audible through the wind that gusted through the upper levels of buildings like a flute. Anything more couldn’t be heard, muffled by the soft snow on the ground. It unnerved me; quiet always did.

Being in a city like this made my body feel tense as if it remembered the danger it could hold. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was repeating myself, heading once more unto the breach.

Ziya coughed, getting Serenity’s attention. “Ok, I believe I found it.”

“Well?” Serenity asked, his eyebrow rose upward. “How far is it?”

“I’m afraid that it is quite the arduous journey, being on the western side of the city near what used to be the University of Vanhoofer. It would take us until nightfall to get there if we didn’t get into trouble.” Ziya said, showing her screen to the rest of us with the map zoomed out. She wasn’t lying; the dotted line from our location stretched nearly straight across the northern part of the city to a peninsula. Even if it wasn’t across the lower part of the city, the distance was at least a dozen miles of walking along the roads.

“Luna, damn it.” Serenity muttered, pacing in a small circle as he thought. “Alright, we will make our way there regardless. But, if it gets too dark, we will set camp and start in the morning. Sounds good to everypony?” All of us gave various forms of acknowledgment. “Alright, let's head out.” Serenity commanded, leading the way, keeping close to Ziya for her navigation.

As we traveled through the streets, I slowly felt myself return to old habits; keeping more towards the sidewalk instead of the street center and spacing away from the others. I would be damned if we got ambushed and taken out by a single burst of machine gun fire or a single grenade. The others didn’t notice, huddled as if trying to keep warm. An internal ping of professional annoyance hit the back of my mind, but I kept it at bay; these ponies weren’t the Crescents. Outside of Serenity, they weren’t soldiers; I shouldn’t expect them to behave as such. Yet, the annoyance remained.

Then, I remembered one thing I hated about being in a city like this. The buildings all looked the same, blending like a never-ending grey wall, only broken by the streets and alleys between them. The blocks seemingly never ended, feeling as if they were at least a couple hundred meters long each, with the roads being not much better being wide open at about thirty meters across; all of it looking the same with the never-ending snow that slowed our travel to a crawl. While it was nice to see that there wasn’t any recent activity. I looked behind us to see that our trail was quickly buried in the wind, furthering my paranoia that we were being watched.

I couldn’t tell you by whom, but I had the burning sense that eyes were on us. Raiders, monsters, or Tartarus, even the Crescents who are well versed in fighting in frozen hell holes like this. I wanted to leave the streets; I don’t like being this exposed without any cover outside the rusted husks of wagons that couldn’t withstand a radroach fart. Seeing everyone else remaining calm did calm the paranoia, but again, their apparent lack of concern isn’t something I should trust. For all I know, these ponies could be waiting to turn me in after we find Serenity’s wife, if she even exists.

The sense that I needed to keep myself ready to run and leave these ponies, killing them if I had to, wouldn’t leave me. Just because they were kind to me once doesn’t mean they won’t put a knife in my back the moment the opportunity arises. The voice in my head challenged the thought that they even knew about the bounty and my connection with the Crescents. I haven’t necessarily expressed my concern.

“Take a turn here through this parking lot; it should let us skip a block or two,” Ziya said, referring to her Pip-Buck.

The parking lot had a sign saying ‘valet ten bits,’ whatever ‘valet’ meant. Cars and wagons whose owners never arrived to pick them up were parked there. Snowdrifts made perfect ramps onto the rusted bumpers and hoods of the vehicles, coloring the snow a dim orange.

We began to trudge our way through the shin-high snow, leaving small canyons in our wake. I looked around, trying to keep my mind busy and off from the cold, when I noticed mounds of snow between the cars. At first I didn’t really pay them mind, believing they were nothing but old remains long buried.

The mounds all at once exploded with movement, sending white powdery snow into the air to fall a second time; in their place came feral ghouls. Their leathery patchwork skin was blue and purple from the frostbite, their joints creaking from the sudden movement before they let out a cold, gritty rasp from their throats. The cold freezing their vocal cords to that of dull piano strings that it could’ve been mistaken for howling wind if they weren’t currently lunging for our throats.

I quickly brought up my rifle, sending a salvo of 5.56 rounds into the chest cavity of the closest ghoul, sending the now limp popsicle into its friend, causing the still-live ghoul to flounder. I’m glad my paranoia of cities made itself useful because I was the quickest on the draw, as it took a moment for everyone else to start sending their own versions of weaponized hate into the frenzy of frozen flesh.

Ziya brought forth her long-poled weapon; I believe a halberd is what I heard ponies call those weapons. Standing on her hind legs, she swung the weapon with practiced grace around her body, leveraging the pole around her waist and neck as she gave it speed to slice through the nearly frozen flesh of a ghoul’s neck. The decapitated ghoul staggered as if confused about what happened as dark black ichor spurted from its stump before it fell onto the ground while its body gave out its last death throes.

Serenity and Fuze sent bursts of rifle fire into a trio of ghouls that tried to run into pouncing range. Serenity’s burst managed to take out two of the three, his shots mainly hitting center mass. Fuze, on the other hoof, could use some much-needed practice as his shots weren’t hitting anywhere near the lumbering ghoul; bullet impacts sparking off the rusting wagons, even took off the one remaining side mirror.

It rather annoyed me to see the waste of precious ammunition; my father would scold me for ten minutes straight for missing a target, let alone an active threat. As Fuze brought up his rifle to fire once more, I turned my attention back to the still-living ghoul who managed to scramble out from underneath his dead friend. I let my rifle bark once more, sending high-velocity rounds into its skull; chunks of blackened grey matter and skull sailed across the snow.

My gaze returned to Fuze who managed to waste another trio of rounds into the pavement before Serenity took up the slack and put the monster down. I sighed in relief before I heard a loud, raspy growl from behind me; I turned in time to nearly be muzzle-to-muzzle with another ghoul. My heart dropped as my eyes saw the hunger in its long-vacant gaze; I could smell its rancid breath through my scarf; I was fucked. I had gotten careless in judging those around me when I should’ve been paying attention to my back, a rookie mistake.

As soon as the visceral imagery of its teeth biting into my neck came to mind, the ghoul’s head exploded in a mist of gore and skull fragments that was shortly accompanied by a loud thunderous roar bellowed through the area. The radiant heat of my scarf, which I hadn’t noticed prior, began to cool as I stood there trying to recover from the shock of seeing my life nearly ended. It never got easier.

The shot had garnered everyone else's attention, Serenity leveling his rifle upward at every visible window, which numbered in the hundreds from where we stood. “Where did that shot come from? Is anyone hit!?” Serenity exclaimed; his own training seemed to kick in at the prospect of a sniper firing down at us.

I didn’t say anything, staring at the headless corpse mere inches from me. Then, a whistle came from a building where half the wall facing us was missing. An earth pony sat on the ledge of the second-story floor with a big goofy grin, the barrel of his large caliber sniper rifle smoking on his battle saddle. “Ghouls almost got you there! Glad you found them before I did! Ha!” The gray earth pony laughed, his smile not leaving his face. “I wished I could’ve given you a warmer welcome to my fair city.”

Everyone but me pointed their weapons at the stallion. “Who are you!?” Serenity barked. Fuze and Ziya remain at the ready to fire and move if needed.

With a cocked grin, the stallion raised his hoofs a small amount. “Hey, that’s no way to thank the pony who saved your friend’s life, now?” Fuze’s eyes shot in my direction for a quick moment before returning to the stallion. I felt the heat of embarrassment hit me, once again reminded that I had been careless. “If you want a proper introduction, let me come down and say hello properly.”

His accent told me he was indeed a local, but I didn’t expect such a pony to have that large of a rifle. Overkill if you ask me, but it would take care of any doubt if you landed the shot. “Alright, come on down, but no funny business!” Serenity responded.

The stallion quickly got up and went to a fire escape that had survived the wall's crumbling. He carefully climbed down before jumping off the last step, resulting in a plume of powdery snow dancing around him. He glided through the snow with a lifetime of experience towards Serenity while I made my way to the rest of the group.

With him being closer, I could see his face better. He was a stallion around my age, gray coat, and blonde mane, yet when I looked into his eyes, I noticed that, like Fuze, he was too partially cybernetic. Except it looked sleeker and more professionally done. The area of his left eye looked like a ceramic white plate was implanted into his skull, but his left eye looked like a camera shutter as it moved around; the soft noise of whirring sounded when he moved his gaze. The rest of his body was covered in a thick jacket and pants, but I saw a similar white technology covering his left leg. “Name’s Maple Wood; thank you again for dealing with the ghouls. I’ve been tracking them for days, but that last storm really threw a wrench into my plans. Who might you ponies be? Most of you don’t seem to be around here, except you miss.” Maple said, referring to Ziya.

Ziya gave a quizzical look. “What makes you say that, my friend?”

Maple would give a soft shrug. “You seem the most comfortable here; I’ve been watching you for the past hour.”

“So you’ve been spying on us.” Fuze accused.

Maple shook his head. “No, I was observing. You can’t be too careful out here with the raiders and other bastards who turn my city into a warzone. But you didn’t answer my question. Who might you ponies be?”

Serenity seemed to chew on a cheek before he sighed. “My name’s Serenity Shower.”

“You can call me Fuze.”

“Ziya Alcoraad, my friend.”

Then Maple turned his head towards me expectantly. I tried to think of a way to change the subject or lie, but I was never good at that. “Name’s Jack Rabbit.” I finally said.

Maple raised an eyebrow at the name. “Huh, where have I heard that before?” Maple muttered to himself before he shrugged it off after a momentary thought. “Oh, well. Nice to meet you, ponies. Where are you ponies heading?”

“Who says we are going anywhere?” Fuze interjected.

Maple shrugged. “I figured you were since you constantly looked at that fancy Pip-buck on the nice mare’s foreleg every block. You weren’t exactly being subtle with it.” Maple pointed out with a hoof at Ziya’s foreleg. Fuze didn’t respond. “So where are you heading? I know my way around these parts, so I can be of some assistance.”

Serenity looked at me silently, asking if we should tell the quirky pony. I shrugged before Serenity returned to face Maple. “We are heading towards the Ministry of Arcane Sciences building.”

“Oh, that’s on the street leading to the University of Vanhoofer ruins, about eighteen kilometers from here or so. With the pace you ponies were going at, you’d make it there by nightfall if a bit later.”

Ziya looked at Serenity with a bit of a smirk. “See, I told the truth.” Serenity rolled his eyes in response.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that; staying out here at night is not a good idea. If the temperature drop doesn’t get you, then whatever hunts at night will. How about this, for doing my job for me, I’ll put in a good word for you all at one of my favorite bars.”

“Why would we go to a bar?” Serenity asked, getting slightly agitated at yet another possible change of plans.

“Well, I think sleeping in a warm bed is better than cold ground. It’ll be halfway to where you want to go anyway. What do you all think?” Maple asked the rest of us.

I thought about it for a moment. In a city like this, a warm bed would always be preferable. “Sure, keeping our strength up when we get there is better.”

“I agree.” Fuze said in his monotone voice, emotionless as ever.

“I would say so.” Ziya agreed.

Serenity sighed with agitation. “Alright, fine. We will leave the first light tomorrow. Lead the way, Maple.”

We set off again, and this time, we were more on edge, not only by the ghoul ambush but by the fact that Maple admitted he was watching us for a good while before he showed himself. He could’ve sniped us one by one if he wanted to; it was only by his good nature that he didn’t. I thank Luna for that. We walked silently for an hour before Maple piped up again. “So why are you going to the ministry building? You know those places are no good, right?”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, without thinking, while I kept my eyes on the windows above us, searching for any sign of movement.

“Do you not know? Surely you’re joking, right?” Maple said, slowing to look back at me.

“I’m not a local, Maple.” I replied.

“Well, I got that. Your accent sounds funny. But, surely, you must know some of the things that the Ministries got up to before the bombs fell.” Maple added.

“Well, yeah. Everypony has heard the rumors and stories. I don’t believe in half of them myself.” I responded.

“Then why ask the question?” Maple said.

I sighed. “Because I’m more concerned about living, breathing beasts or raiders in the area than stories of long-dead ponies. Like, is the building open?” I asked, annoyance starting to build in the back of my mind, but I kept it from entering my voice.

Maple shook his head. “Been locked up tight since I was a colt, though from what I remember, it’s not from a lack of trying.”

“Alright, so there isn’t anything to worry about then.” I said, going back to my scanning of the upper windows.

“But you didn’t answer my question.” Maple insisted.

“We are looking for somepony, and that’s their last known location.” Serenity said, saving me from dancing around eggshells to avoid talking about Serenity’s goal here.

“Oh.” Maple said, taking us around a corner. “Well, I hope you find them. The city tends to take ponies and never give them back.” Maple said with what seemed like genuine care. “Oh hey, we made it! Just in time, happy hour is about to start!” Maple pointed with a hoof down the street. If it wasn’t for the glow of lights showing where he was referring to, I would’ve thought he was going mad.

We walked down the street's sidewalk; there were more obvious tracks in the snow; even parts of it were shoveled away. As we got closer, I got a better look at a sign hanging from its mount. An old wooden one that didn’t look to be the original. ‘Nettle’s Kiss’

Maple took us down the alley next to the brick building, where a colossal stallion stood beside a fire barrel. He wasn’t shivering, but the snow buildup on his clothes told me he had been out here all day in that one spot. Once he saw us, he raised a hoof to us. “Show your teeth and hooves.” The deep, rough voice sounded behind the face mask.

“Oh, you know me, Raisin!” Maple said with a cheery smile.

“I know you but don’t know the ponies behind you. Did you check to see if they were raiders?” The large pony said to Maple as if he were a colt bringing home a dog he found.

“You think these ponies are raiders? Need to get your eyes checked, bud.” Maple joked.

“You go on ahead, Maple. Brandy still wants me to check all newcomers.” The lumbering giant said, turning to us. His head rotated to each one of us in turn. “Show me your teeth and then your hoofs.”

“If you say so, but these ponies are clean. Otherwise, why would they follow me?” Maple said before heading towards the door. “I’ll meet you all inside, I’ll go talk to Brandy.” He opened the door, and a wave of warmth hit my face before it quickly disappeared with the closing of the door.

“Why must I put myself through such scrutiny?” Fuze asked, oblivious to the implications.

“Teeth and Hoofs.” The giant known as Raisin replied.

“If I must.” Fuze said, lowering his face mask, then opening his muzzle to show off his teeth that looked well maintained for someone who lives in the wasteland. Guess he had gotten into a toothpaste warehouse when he was younger.

“Hold out your hoofs and keep them as steady as possible.” Fuze complied, which seemed to satisfy Raisin with a grunt. “Head inside. Next.” The stallion barked.

I went next, peeling the scarf off my face to show my teeth and raising my hoofs. “Steadier than most I’ve seen. Head on in, next.” Raisin said, pushing me to the side towards the door.

Looking back at him, confused about what that was all about before I pressed a hoof against the wooden door. Swinging the door open, I was greeted with a wave of warm air and noise; the smell of food and alcohol was blended with the sounds of ponies talking. The place was brightly lit and lively, starkly contrasting with the Inn that Rock Candy sent me. The bar floor to my left was wide open with wooden round tables dotted about, with booth seats lining the walls. Ponies of all shapes and colors were intermingled, Earth ponies, Unicorns, some of the bat ponies, and Luna be damned, there were even some other Pegasi. The diversity felt like a shock, no matter how often I’ve seen it here. The sounds of a jukebox levitated through the air as it sang the tunes given to it.

To my right is where the bar was, a long and curved oak countertop nearly going from wall to wall, with a door leading to where the kitchen was. The bottles that decorated the shelves behind the bar shined in the lamplight, each polished as if it was made yesterday. Then, my gaze went over to the bartender himself. The large stallion had a brown coat as if taken from the countertop, his dark mane combed and kept. The barkeep stood in front of Maple, who was talking about something.

The conversation halted when I approached, taking a seat next to Maple. “Where’s Fuze?” I asked.

“Who?” Maple asked, raising an eyebrow before it dawned on him. “Oh yeah, the guy with a sour attitude. He went off to the bathroom or something.” Maple said, waving a hoof. “I want to introduce you to somepony. Brandy Barrel, this is Jack Rabbit.” Maple motioned a hoof toward me when he glanced at the bartender, who seemed disinterested.

The stallion glanced up from the glass he was cleaning and raised an eyebrow. “Nice to meet you, kid. I heard from Maple that you and your friends removed the ghouls causing us problems.” He raised the glass and huffed a breath into it before cleaning it, a squeak coming from the rag.

I nodded. “Yeah, we just happened to stumble on them and managed to take them out. Maple, here is why I didn’t get my neck bitten open.”

“Hmf. Consider yourself a lucky stallion; few ponies get a second chance like that.” He said, putting the glass underneath the counter before resting his forelegs on the wood, giving me a good once over. He cocked an eyebrow once more. “You look familiar. Have you been here before?”

I shook my head. “No, this is my first time even inside the city.”

His eyes darted quickly to his right before returning to me. Before he could say anything, the others arrived inside, shaking off the snow and frost. “Luna’s tits, the snow is starting to come down hard.” Serenity said, primarily to himself than to anypony else.

“Told you all that it was a good idea to come here instead of walking halfway across the city,” Maple added.

Ziya sat beside me, and Serenity was on her other side. She didn’t need to lean over to look at Maple, my short stature letting her have a clear line of sight. “Maple, my dear friend, does this establishment have rooms for rent?”

Brandy nodded. “We have four rooms available upstairs. Twenty caps a night. Water is included, so if you need to take a bath, it’s there.”

Ziya and Serenity both forked over the caps for their rooms, and Brandy looked towards me. “Sorry, I’m tapped out,” I said, patting my empty pockets.

“You said your name was Jack Rabbit, correct?” I nodded. “I’ll cut you a deal if you can promise that your Crescent friends won’t barge down my door again, then you can stay the night.”

My blood ran cold, I wanted to shrink inside my gear like a turtle and let this wash away, but I couldn’t. I just stared as Brandy waited for an answer. I could feel the stares from the others. “What does he mean, Jack?” Ziya asked.

I turned my head away, feeling the shame of the association; the shift in my gaze showed a bounty poster on the wall. My face was professionally drawn onto the parchment with a large number beneath it. ‘5000 Caps, Wanted Alive.’ My heart fell through my body without thinking; I got up before snatching the bounty poster off the wall and stuffing it into my pockets. Fuze came in as I did. “Looking for work already?” He asked.

I didn’t reply, heading back to my seat, trying not to let more panic overtake me. My heartbeat was thumping in my ears. “Jack?” Ziya said, putting a hoof on my shoulder. I didn’t want these ponies around me to know about this, to give me up to the Crescents. My mind raced, going through an exit strategy. Every idea that came to mind ended with me getting taken down by Raisin, who was outside or shot by a pony in the bar.

I heard hoofsteps come from behind me, most likely Fuze. “What’s wrong with him?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Ziya said, gazing at me. “Jack?” She shook my shoulder, trying to get my attention.

“Jack’s looking like a Dashite who just got caught.” Serenity commented, putting a bottle in his mouth.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. “Look, the Crescents are after me, alright.”

“Who are the Crescents?” Fuze asked.

“Bunch of new fuckers on the block who rolled in before winter set in. They mostly kept to themselves until the last couple weeks, disrupting my business and plastering posters for one Jack Rabbit.” Brandy answered. “Whatever you did to them really got them riled up. Offering a pretty big amount of money for your hide intact. That’s never a good sign.” He added.

“Yeah, it isn’t,” I muttered, waiting for them to pounce on me. I felt trapped but powerless in what I could do in this situation. I accepted the fate that would befall me.

“Any pony who can piss off those pompous pricks is a friend of mine, in my personal opinion,” Brandy said with a hearty chuckle. "You're safe here." His voice was filled with kindness I wasn't expecting.

“I’ve heard nothing but bad things about those ponies since they arrived.” Serenity added. “Besides, it’s not like we will turn you in. I hired you for a job. Until it's done, nothing will happen to you. What happens afterward is your problem.” Serenity said, finishing the beer in his hoofs.

“I have no interest in the affairs of such ponies,” Fuze said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m heading up to my room.” He added, taking a key from Brandy before he left to go upstairs.

“I’m going to do the same. We need to start bright and early tomorrow.” Serenity said, putting the caps he owed for the beer on the counter. “Keep the change.” The large blue pegasus got up and followed Fuze up the stairs.

“Well, that was a bit awkward,” Maple said with a chuckle. “But, anywho. Since you all are well acquainted now. I’m hitting the hay myself.”

Maple departed from the bar and went upstairs, leaving me and Ziya alone. “Worry not, my little colt. If you need a room to stay in tonight, you’re welcome to stay with me.” That sultry edge to her tone caught me off guard. I swallowed. While the prospect was appealing. My mind was racing too much to be her midnight snack.

I shook my head. “No, thank you. Not tonight. I need to figure a few things out. You have a good night, Ziya.”

“If you are sure, my dear friend. If you need a place, my bed will always be open~” Ziya said, taking her key before leaving her seat to head upstairs, her tail brushing against my flank while she walked by.

I’ll be honest, it did make me smile a bit, seeing that they were indifferent about the bounty, but if they knew about my true affiliation with them. I’m sure they would’ve sung a different tune. I look at Brandy, rubbing the back of my head. “I’m curious.” Brandy looked back with a quizzical look. I looked towards the stairs to see Ziya out of earshot.“Is there anypony that buys or sells information?”

“Why?” Brandy asked.

“Because of my predicament, I need money, and I have information that could be useful to the right pony,” I said, keeping my voice lower than only Brandy could hear.

Brandy motioned with a hoof towards a booth where a lone pony sat, writing in a notepad. “That’s the stallion you’ll talk to. As for your room, you can give me the caps when you get them unless you want to share the room with the zebra who seems to like you.” Brandy said, slightly smiling as he slid the key across the counter.

I nodded, ignoring the comment while I took the key. “Thanks, Brandy. I appreciate it.” I turned in my seat for a few moments staring at the stallion. A feeling of apprehension filled my legs as I slid out of the seat. I took a deep breath trying to calm the nerves that were starting to unravel. I trotted over to the booth where the trenchcoat-wearing pony sat writing scribbles into his notepad.

He looked up at me then, a yellow smile etched across his face. “Good Evening, Mister Rabbit.” The friendliness of his voice gave me the feeling that I was talking to a serpent.

I cocked an eyebrow, sliding into the booth seat opposite the stallion. “You know who I am?”

The stallion clasped his hoofs together and slightly nodded his head. “Of course I do. It’s my job to know many things, including the going ons inside the city. Raider activity, drug rings, Jackal and Raven conflicts, you name it. Including the newest bounties and the ponies they pertain to.” I had a sinking feeling about where this was going and regretted taking this seat. He leaned in halfway across the table, that snake-like smile staying put. “That means you, my little friend. Honestly, I thought you would be taller.”

My face deadpanned at that, always disliking when a pony pointed out my stature. “And what do you know?”

The info broker chuckled. “Almost as much as anypony. You’re not a local, so information on you is scarce.” He leaned back in his seat and brought forth his notepad, licking a hoof to flick through pages until he got to the right one. “Ah, there it is. Jack Rabbit, age roughly 25, small stature, crystal blue eyes, light gray coat with jet black mane.” He glanced up a bit, studying me. “Near jet black, cutie mark unknown, bounty posted by the Lunar Crescent Army Corp three weeks ago, wanted alive with an award of an astounding five thousand caps.” He gave off a low whistle. “Big money for a small stallion. Now, the question remains: why.” He pointed a pencil at me in his mouth. “What did a stallion such as yourself do to get such a rather large group of religious fanatics to want you not dead but alive.”

“It’s complicated.” was all I could muster in reply, the confidence of this stallion telling me that he knew more than what he was letting on.

“Typically, the case with most bounties, it usually is never black and white. But, If I may ask.” He said putting the pencil down and dawned a more curt smile. “Can you give me some details of what caused you to be in such a predicament?”

I mulled on the question, not expecting this to turn into an interview. I leaned in, keeping my voice low. “I used to be one of them.”

“Oh, so either a deserter or a traitor? They don’t seem like the bunch to let ponies out of their ranks often.” The broker commented leaning back in his seat balancing the pencil on his foreleg as if he was a colt; his eyes focused on it for a brief moment. Then, they flicked up to meet mine, that yellow smile sent chills down my spine. “So which is it?” The info broker asked, trying to worm the answers out of me. He certainly wasn’t pulling punches.

“Like I said, it’s complicated. Now, I came to offer you something, not to be interviewed,” I stated. The prodding was starting to get under my skin which caused annoyance to overtake any apprehension. I don’t need this sleazy pony to know everything about me. Info brokers care not for the information they share, be it true or false; only the caps that line their pockets.

“And what would that be, my small friend?” That grin of his unrelenting as he tapped the pencil against his chin.

“For a modest sum, I can give you all the information I know about the Crescents operating in this area. Estimated troop numbers, supplies, armaments, etcetera.” I said, putting on a poker face. Even saying it, my chest began to feel heavy and hard to breathe. I made a mistake, sure, but if I do this…

He continued to tap the pencil against his chin, his eyes locking with mine. “So, you’re offering me information that could get your former brothers and sisters-in-arms killed for some caps? Quite cold, Mister Rabbit.” The broker smirked. “I’ll put my caps on you being a traitor, " he added. I felt my legs get numb. It was almost like he knew the indecision coursing through my head, but the last word stuck with me. Traitor.

He was right, I hated the fact that he was right. That fact is what drove me past my indecision. I wouldn’t make it out here long with no money even with the caps that Serenity was offering; if what he said was true. “The circumstances aren’t irrelevant to what I’m offering.” I shifted in my seat, feeling the heat of his piercing purple eyes. “Are you interested or not?”

The broker pulled his pencil into his mouth, his demeanor becoming more professional. “I’ll offer a thousand caps for what you have, Mister Rabbit.”

“Deal.” So then I told him everything, from the estimated troops here to the supplies, vehicles, logistical support, and armaments. Everything that I saw in the cargo trucks, many of them heavy machine guns and fortifying equipment. The number of troop transports that carried the reinforcements, along with the tactics about possible patrols with their usual number, and a mention of the Vultures. With each word, it felt like a stab in the gut; I knew they wanted me for the blood on my hands. The killing of the hunting squad was a heat of the moment, but this was a conscious decision. A conscious decision to betray the ponies whom I fought and bled with for the last 8 years of my life.

“Vultures?” The broker asked curiously.

“It’s the Crescent equivalent to the Pre-War Equestrian military special operations. I don’t know much about them, and if I did, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. They are exceptional in stealth, recon, espionage, sabotage, etc.” I said bluntly, already wishing for this conversation to be over.

The broker let out another low whistle. “Sounds like a nasty group of ponies, but I know a few who would love this information. You’ve earned your caps, Mister Rabbit.” He said, placing the hefty chunk of caps in a bag onto the tabletop. “Pleasure doing business with you. Have your next drink on me. Treat it as a toast to the ponies not long for this world.” The broker said, getting up and placing a few extra caps on the table before he exited.

One of the Nettle’s Kiss servers came up with a bottle of Applejack whiskey and a glass. She placed both on the table, taking the caps with a well-practiced motion, and left me to my own devices. The last words left me thinking. I had just further entrenched myself against the Crescents by giving information that would be used against them. I know not all of them are bad ponies, shit my first friends in this world I found amongst their ranks. But, they were merely the exception, not the rule, especially with those born inside their ranks. Bad ponies often outnumber the good ones in formation. Yet, like wheat being cut down with a scythe, that information doesn’t care about who is good or bad; only the harvest will happen.

I felt torn on it for a few moments while I poured a glass of the amber liquid, and then a thought crossed my mind as the burning liquor hit the back of my throat. I know the evil the Crescents can cause in cities like this one, which made the decision easier yet the thought wouldn’t go away. Was I right to give trade the lives of ponies for a mere thousand caps?