Ponylands
Chapter 1: Introduction
You should probably play this song.
The sun was shining just as bright as it usually did, letting off a radiant glow, the same glow which would burn your retinas if you stared directly at it. It took its place between two steep cliffs as a twangy guitar rift filled the air. The sun fitted almost perfectly in between the two, like a piece to a jigsaw puzzle. It was almost beautiful. The world below, however, was a different story. A flat, barren wasteland stretched on for what seemed like miles, interrupted only by the long, dusty, road, and a lone billboard, which advertised in large, thick lettering "Welcome to Equestria." There was more writing underneath, but the sign had been corroded and destroyed throughout the years. All that could be made out was "Your Final -tination."
"I was walkin' down the street
When out the corner of my eye
I saw a pretty little thing approaching me"
A small and mutated creature which may have resembled a dog in the distant pass crawled through the broken out pieces of the sign. It pounced around fiercely for a few moments , trying to intimidate absolutely nothing (mostly because there was nothing to intimidate,)before rearing up on its hind legs and letting out it's version of a bark, which sounded more like a dinosaur's roar.
"She said I never seen a colt
Who looked so all alone
Oh could you use a little company"
The creature spun around towards the road, staring it down, ready to charge into battle. It pounced towards the road, running as fast as it could towards the center, ready to defeat its attacker. It turned and let out another roar at the oncoming noise. The mutated animal was crushed by the large hunk of scrap metal which somewhat resembled a bus. By the time the bus had passed, all that was left of the animal on that section of road was a small pool of blood, and possibly a limb or two.
The bus continued to barrel down the stretch of road, the body of the fierce critter hanging from the edge of the front bumper by only its skull. The beast's body dragged on the ground while its limbs would occasionally get caught under the spinning tire, creating a trail of blood and body parts down the highway. Somepony with a weak stomach would easily blow chunks at the sight of it.
"I said you're such a sweet young thing
Why you do this to yourself
She looked at me and this is what she said"
Inside the cabin of the bus a single pony sat hunched over her seat. She stared out the window at the dusty plain as it passed, alone with her thoughts, if you don't include the bus driver and the radio playing what she recognized as "Cage the Pony." She bobbed her head and tapped her hoof to the beat of the song.
"Alright back there, time to wake up." The bus driver called out to her with a laugh. He was an older pony with a slicked back mane, and he smelled absolutely horrible. He probably hadn't washed himself since the last time he washed the bus, which seemed like a very, very long time ago. "It's a beautiful day, full of opportunity." Wow, that was almost inspirational. Maybe if he had taken some of those opportunity and done something with his life other than being a bus driver, it would mean something.
"There ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay
I got mouths to feed
Ain't nothing in this world for free
No I can't slow down
I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
No there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good"
'This is it.' The pony thought to herself. 'Time to see if the Vault is fact, or just fantasy.' She readied her only real equipment, which was a single large knife. She flung it around a few times with her magic before striking a rather heroic pose and putting it back in its sheath. 'Yeah, I bet that looked pretty cool.' She thought smugly as she adjusted her leather pilot helmet and goggles so they fit properly on her head and over her eyes.
"Not even 15 minutes later
I'm still walkin' down the street
When I saw the shadow of a colt creep out of sight
And then he swept up from behind
He put a gun up to my head
He made it clear he wasn't lookin' for a fight"
The music continued to play as the bus drove down the highway, threatening any small animal which may have gotten in its way, like the poor mutated dog-like creature still stuck to the front bumper, which was now just a mutilated mess.
As the bus passed through the rocky archways above and through the empty desert-like wasteland around it, the pony sat, thinking of her coming explorations. 'My name is Scope, and I'm going to be a bucking adventurer.'
"No there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good"
As the final chorus and the song came to an end, what was left of the critter which was hanging on to the front of the bus fell off, hitting the ground with a thud before being squashed even more by the wheels of the bus.
The bus came to a gentle stop in the middle of the road. "Alright, end of the line, time to get out." The driver announced. Scope trotted to the front and stepped down on to the warm ground. "Hey, wait a second."
Scope turned to look at the driver through the open doors of the bus.
"Good luck out there." He said with a nod.
"Thanks" Scope replied.
The bus pulled away, leaving a thick cloud of dust behind. Leaving Scope alone.
Of course, the only reason why I know about the life of the pony sitting in the bus, is because I am the pony in the bus. My name is Scope, and I'm a Celestia-damn adventurer.