A breeze blew through the dead woods, scattering some of the smaller twigs that littered the ground. The lake was still, it's deadly water reflecting the light of the sun. Creatures scurried from tree to tree. The fur covering their bodies, which were a little bigger than a squirrel, was patchy and mangy. Their tails, once fluffy, were bare with spikes at the end. Sharp teeth poked from their mouths like that of a vampire. Radiation has a cruel sense of humor.

A whistle and one of the critters fell from a barren branch, a composite shaft sticking from it's body. Other critters hissed in challenge as they looked for their attacker. Another fell from an arrow. Finally, the creatures saw their assailant as he loaded another arrow. He stood a little under six foot dressed in stripped down power armor. It still functioned as power armor but the arm plates and pauldrons were removed, greatly revealing the gray bodysuit underneath. The armored gloves were replaced by leather gloves with scrap metal capping the knuckles. The man's right hand index finger was half exposed as the glove only came to the first joint.

He still wore the armor's helmet underneath a cloth hood that matched the undersuit. A brown pack was sitting against his back, a Chinese Assault Rifle (CAR) strapped to one side. His right thigh armor had a leather quiver strapped to it, holding his arrows while his torso and belt had multiple pouches for ammo. A 10mm pistol was holstered in a cross-draw position on his torso armor while a knife was strapped to his left bicep. A red, tattered cloth hung from the armor's belt over his left thigh to the knee. Another knife was strapped to his right calf.

Seeing this human treading in their territory, the critters began to charge at him. Two more fell when a bark and a growl echoed off the trees. With a flash of brown, one of the Skampiers was missing from the group. The cracking of bones and a pained squeak indicated the end of it's life. With it dead, the dog put it's attention on the others. With two foes now, the Skampiers were frozen in place. All it took was for the dog to step towards them for the little, devilish creatures to begin to retreat. One more fell to the teeth of the dog, having locked onto the thing's body. The dog gave his head a shake, breaking the neck of the creature in it's jaws.

With the Skampier still in it's grip, the dog looked at the human. The human, who had taken off his pack to replace the CAR with the bow, nodded to the dog. Now that one had time to look, they'd see that the dog was also wearing a vest that consisted of two saddle bags on his side and pouches on his back. The saddle bags contained both fresh game and salvage while the pouches contained survival items.

"Eat," whispered the human, as if his voice may cause the rest to return. Eagerly, the dog tore into the little creature, blooding quickly seeping into the fur around his muzzle. As the dog ate, the human took out a blood soaked bag and began to collect the other five, removing the arrows as he did. Placing the arrows back into the quiver, he closed the protective flap before placing the bag of game into his pack and closing it. Slipping the pack back on, he grabbed the now freed CAR and stood straight. The dog, having been done with his small meal, was sitting patiently to the side.

As the human began walking, the dog got up and trotted to his side, predator eyes keeping a lookout for more of the Skampiers. Though the creatures had retreated, both man and dog knew that they might attack at anytime. The little things were well-known for striking when you were least expecting it.

It only took a couple minutes before the duo came out into a small field. The field was perfectly rectangular with trees on three sides and a cracked road on the fourth. Rusted pull-up bars lined the outside while a rotting stand sat in the middle, close to the road. Across the street and past an abandoned building was the scrap walls of a settlement. The wall surrounded an old-world building that was three stories high and housed the entire village. The wall itself stayed closed to the building while also jutting out to enclose the parking lot in front of it and the field beside it. Barbed wire, jagged pipes, and other such defensive measures topped the wall in an effort to keep out the Skampiers and anything else wishing unauthorized entry. Two gates allowed entry and exit, one facing the field where the hunter stood and the other at the opposite end of the parking lot where it led onto an avenue. Guard towers flanked both gates, a scavenged machine-gun in one and spotlight in the other.

Silently, the hunter walked across the road and through the deserted parking lot. He knew the guards could see him but wasn't worried. This was his home too, after all. As he approached the gate, one of the guards called out to him.

"Good hunting?" he asked.

"The best," the hunter replied, the dog also barking in response.

The guard laughed, "Welcome back Vol, I'm sure Rachel'll be happy to see what you brought in," the dog barked again, "and you too K9."

With a cranking of gears, the gate rose into the air. Vol again silently thanked whoever had the idea and know-how to assemble the scrap windmills that sat on the roof of the building. Walking through the gate, he looked around at the hustle and bustle in front of him. Scrap shelters lined the wall opposite the lot from the building, their owners advertising wares of all sorts. Yelling could be heard from a man as he led a small formation of men in salvaged, old world uniforms through a series of exercises. A small guardpost consisting of sandbags and scrap sat in the small courtyard in front of the 'I' shaped structure. Kids, some wearing rags, played with a dirtied soccer ball, trying to score in goals marked by sandbags. All the while, adults conversed, shopped, and plain enjoyed the day.

As the gate closed behind them, Vol and K9 began to walk down the row of shops, receiving greetings from some of the citizens. The human would nod in response while the dog wagged his tail happily. Seeing the kids, the dogs tail increased speed while he looked up at the human.

"Not yet," Vol whispered as he steered for a stall that displayed many cooked critters and furs. As he approached, the woman behind the counter looked up and spotted him. A large smile came to her face.

"Hey Vol!" she then looked at the dog by the man's leg, "Hey K9!" the dog barked in reply as the woman looked back at the man, "Good hunting?"

Vol nodded as he set his rifle on the counter. Kneeling down, he opened K9's left saddlebag and removed a bloody sack much like the one Vol had in his own pack. Setting the sack on the counter, Rachel began to open and examine it as Vol took off his pack to get the other sack and set it on the table. While he was at it, Vol removed the salvage from K9's other saddlebag and set it in his pack. He then scratched behind the dog's ear.

"Go play," he whispered. The dog barked happily before turning and running for the group of kids, who all giggled excitedly as the dog joined their group. Vol watched for a couple more seconds before standing and facing Rachel. He wasn't all that surprised to see her smiling at him.

"K9 does the kids a lot of good, ya know," she said softly. When she got a slow nod in reply, she looked down at the game spread out in front of her, "Good catches you have here. I'll pay you fifty caps for all of it."

Vol knew he was getting screwed but din't complain. What good was money when the village provided it's citizens with everything already? Food, shelter, all provided. The only thing he needed the money for was ammo but he so rarely had to fire his rifle or pistol that he debated why he still took them out with him. So, with a nod, he took the offered caps and moved onto the next shop he had to visit.

After getting rid of his salvage, which was just scrap and old world items, he headed inside. K9 was with him again as he went up the flight of stairs to the third floor, passing several people along the way. He reasoned that this building was once used to house old world soldiers as almost every room had come with beds and storage lockers. The ones that didn't were offices, latrines, closets, and what he could only assume was a rec room.

He found his room easily enough: Room 320. Opening the door, K9 rushed past him and jumped onto his own bed before promptly flopping onto it. Chuckling softly, Vol walked in and closed the door. It was a very spartan room. K9's bed, made of extra sheets and towels, sat in one corner of the room while Vol's bed sat in another corner. Against the wall was a storage locker with a three drawer chest beside it. Scrap metal was made into a table that Vol used to do weapon and armor maintenance. A mirror was the last piece of furniture and was something that Vol didn't necessarily have a reason to have. It was just there.

Stripping off his gear, Vol set the weapons on the table while placing the scuffed armor, pack, and undersuit in the locker. Opening the drawers, he pulled out a set of pajamas and crawled onto the bed. The military bed was not comfortable but when it was the only thing available, you learned to deal with it. Having gotten used to it a long time ago, Vol was quickly asleep.

--------

Again, Vol was out in the woods near the settlement, hunting. It was his daily ritual. Hunt until noon, return, sell game, do whatever from there. As he walked through the forest, though, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He had been out here for about a hour already and he had seen no Skampiers at all. It was as if they all disappeared overnight. Secondly, he could see that K9 was more alert than usual. The dog's tail was low as it scanned the trees with every wary eyes.

The dog barked, startling Vol, before taking off in a seemingly random direction. A bit disturbed by his companion's behavior, Vol was quick to take off after him, bow still loaded and ready to fire. With the assistance of the powered greaves, he was able to set almost the same pace as the dog. Of course, this meant that he wasn't exactly able to catch up with the four-legged animal.

Finally though, following the barking and growling, he caught up to the dog in a small clearing. Vol froze at the treeline. There was nothing dangerous with clearing. On the contrary, it was a perfectly healthy clearing. Green grass ran from the treeline inward. In the center of the clearing, and the apparent object of the dog's aggression, was a tree. It was perfectly healthy with bright green leaves and a lighter brown bark.

This is... strange, Vol thought to himself as he cautiously stepped onto the green grass. He became aware that wherever his foot landed, the grass welted and died. A closer look showed that it was the same for K9, dead patches of grass marking his own path to the tree. Vol continued though, until reaching the tree. K9 had stopped barking by then, now standing next to his owner with a snarl pointed at the tree.

The hunter found himself agreeing with the dog's feelings. This wasn't natural. It didn't belong here in this hellhole. Whatever had brought it here was of a power unwitnessed by human eyes.

"Such beauty confuses you?"

Vol snapped the bow up and drew back the arrow, spinning around as he searched for the voice. It had come from everywhere, whispering into his ears. It had a tinge of madness to it that sent a chill down his spine. It was nowhere to be seen.

"You grew up in this... wasteland. Grew used to it's destroyed landscape. I know the cause too."

Hearing growling, Vol looked down at K9. The dog wasn't looking to the outside of the clearing. No, it was looking and growling at the tree. It seemed so innocent, so fresh, so... inviting.

"Would you like to find out?"

Vol found himself nodding, though he didn't know why. Why should he trust this strange voice? It sounded like the demons that some of the more religious citizens talked about, luring him into madness. However, wasn't he already in a world of madness?

"Touch the bark of the tree. I will show you how a world can fall to ruin."

The words chilled him but still he found himself reaching out with his right hand. K9's barking was pushed into the back of his mind as his hand grew closer. Finally, it settled against the bark and Vol suddenly felt joy and hope flow into him. Then, just as suddenly, the bark around and underneath his hand began to die. The joy and hope was quickly replaced by a pain that had every single nerve in his body crying out in agony. He heard someone screaming as the dead bark began to spread.

"Humans have always drawn my interest. Such destructive creatures, yet also full of love."

The voice still whispered clearly to him. It was at this time that he realized that he was the one screaming. The dead bark had reached the ground now, spreading onto the grass. Leaves began to fall, turning to dust before hitting the recently dead grass.

"It's a shame, really. I had enjoyed watching your politicians try to deceive each other. It was a treat to see them try to stave off armageddon with words."

His vision had shrunk to almost nothing now and he could feel the grip on consciousness slipping. No matter how many times he had wanted to pull his hand away, it just wouldn't respond. It was as if something held it in place, making sure he suffered every bit of agony. Finally, as the last strings of consciousness slipped away, the voice whispered to him one last time.

"You will be their greatest ally and their worst enemy."

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Fluttershy was a naturally quiet and timid pony. So, it always shocked ponies when they found out that she lived next to the Everfree forest. When asked why, she always said something about being able to care for the animals inside. Out here, she felt like she could open up, especially to her animal friends.

Most days were calm, with her biggest events being the feeding of the animals and trying to keep track of Angel. So it had been a surprise to the yellow pegasus when a pair of squirrels had come to her cottage and immediately dragged her into the Everfree. While usually scared of the forest like every other pony, she couldn't deny the need of her animal friends. So, with her saddlebags full of medical supplies, she galloped after the squirrels, dodging the vines, branches, and Poison Joke.

She could hear the screaming. It sent chills down her spine and only made her move faster, now passing the squirrels as she assumed that this was what they were leading her too.

"Oh dear," she whispered as the screaming reached it's peak before suddenly stopping. A couple yards later, she burst out into a clearing. Her adrenaline made her notice many things at once. One, the grass and the tree in the center of the clearing were all dead. Two, a strange creature, with what she recognized as a bow, was slumped onto the grass with one hand pressed against the dead bark. Three, a dog with knotted fur, yellow teeth, bloodied jowls, and some sort of vest, was standing over the strange creature, snarling at her.

"Eep!" she squeaked as she came to a sudden halt and backed away to the edge of the clearing. The dog didn't ease up it's stance. In fact, it seemed to have gone lower, looking ready to pounce on the yellow pegasus.

"I-it's o-ok-k-kay," Fluttershy stammered to the large dog. The dog was barely smaller than she was and obviously practiced it's carnivorous feeding habits. So, it was with this knowledge that Fluttershy began to shake like a leaf when the dog began to creep closer, ready to pounce on her. It gave a constant low growl as it approached slowly. The yellow pegasus knew she should probably run but she found herself frozen in fear. This dog was feral and was going to eat her and all she could do was shake like a leaf.

When the dog got close enough, it began to sniff her. While sniffing her, it closed in so much that Fluttershy could feel it's breath on her fur. It did stop growling though, which Fluttershy took as a good sign. She reached up her hoof to try to pet the dog but it immediately became aggressive again as soon as she lifted her hoof an inch so she set it back down. Finally, coming to a decision unknown to Fluttershy, the dog turned and walked back to the strange creature. It gave a small whimper before nudging the body with it's nose.

"Oh, you poor thing," Fluttershy whispered, suddenly forgetting her near-death experience in exchange for needing to help the strange creature. She stopped forward into the clearing and it was as if a switch had been thrown in the dog's brain. It gave a booming bark at the pegasus, causing her to immediately withdraw her hoof and freeze up. Though, as soon as her hoof was withdrawn, the dog went back to the creature, plopping itself onto the grass as it looked over the strange creature's body.

After a moment, Fluttershy mouthed a 'Oh'. It was obvious now that the dog was not going to let her into the clearing. This meant that Fluttershy couldn't assist the strange creature. That idea didn't sit well with the caring pegasus. She had to find a way to help it.

But how? Next Chapter: An Aid and A Guide Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 4 Minutes