As the knife was plunged into my neck, a whole lot of images flashed in my mind. A bloodied hat, a broken DB shotgun, a pile of scrap metal, and a weird looking creature with long claws. I was confused on what I was seeing but one image scared me the most. The moonstone necklace with blood dripping on it. The meanings of this images I was not sure but I feared it meant...

Then a flash of white before the darkness settled in and a deep demonic laugh echoed.

I was dead...or so I thought. I wasn’t really sure, I never knew what was there after death. Was it just pure darkness or could there be an afterlife? Before I made my final conclusion, I felt my hooves touch something, something earthy that is.

My surroundings changed immediately, from the void I feared and loved to the familiar plain with the moon and stars providing light. I knew what was coming, another meeting with the princess. I waited, looking up at the moon once in awhile. It was a long wait.

“Waited too long?”

Finally, I heard Luna’s voice behind me. I turned around to greet her.

“Luna, you really took your time huh?”

She smiled a bit and nodded before her face returned to looking serious.

“I have not expected this interruption...I have thought it was gone for good.”

The tone of her voice sounded worried and grim. And knowing the princess…

“What is it, Luna?”

She shook her head and sighed.

“The entity you met…”

“The one that...err, tried to kill me?”

“The one that did kill you, yes.”

“Wait, I’m really dead?”

“You should have known that. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Nevermind.”

I cleared my throat, it was an uncomfortable thing to talk about. You know, my death...though we barely touched the topic but it’s best to avoidit while I can. I decided to quickly change the topic and asked her about something else.

“Uhm, the entity. What about...him?”

“Ah, yes...Him”

The way she said “Him” made me really think. It’s obvious that Luna encountered him one way or another…

“What can you tell me about him?”

“Yes, yes. The entity you encountered is named, uhm, Charon. He...He’s a charming fellow..”

“Charming?”

“Ahem, in a way.”

“I hope this conversation isn’t going to be about what I think it could be…”

Her eyes opened wide in surprise as I said that.

“No! I mean, no. Look, it’s not like that, ok?”

“Whoa, the princess lost a bit of her loyalty there.”

She glared at me. I cleared my throat.

“Ahem, yes. Uhm, may you please continue, your highness.”

“Back to the topic. Yes, he was indeed charming but back then...he was a businesspony so you get the point. More charm means more customers, right?”

“Hmm...I guess. Eh, can you please tell how this guy is related to my problem now? Like…”

“Fine. You see, we need...or mainly the MoAS...were looking for some volunteers for an experiment. Of course, they promised a lot of money for the brave ones. Here’s where Charon comes in. He needed money, lots of it. You can say he spends a lot and is running low on funds for his business to continue running. Talk about an irresponsible Business pony.”

“Ok, so he’s broke and needed the money. What was the experiment all about?”

“The experiment involved quite a lot of magic, dark magic. The main objective of the experiment was to allow ponies to, let’s say, use magic that are not usually available to them. Secondary objective was a super weapon. They choose one lucky volunteer to be the super weapon. As time passed on, the main objective was trashed and the secondary objective became, well, the main.”

“I’m guessing that lucky volunteer to be Charon, right?”

“Yes. While the experiment was on-going, they faced a huge setback and had to cancel everything. This setback was that...Charon nearly killed a lot scientists during a strength trial.”

“And that was the end of the project?”

“Not exactly. Though she...ordered all of the scientists under her to immediately remove the experiment from the records and forget about it, a group of rebellious ponies decided to go on. They managed to convert an abandoned building near Ponyvillle into a lab and that’s where they continued.”

“What about Charon?”

“During the experiment, a scientist accidentally dropped a barrel of radioactive liquid on Charon. They tried to remove most of the liquid but failed. That’s when they noticed something about their guinea pig. He definitely became more stronger, but he can now cast a certain type of magic too. Take note that Charon was a pegasus.”

“And what is this type of magic?”

“I actually don’t know. They did not tell me about it when I asked them but that type of magic eventually consumed him. He would have killed everypony in the lab if me and my sister did not interfere. Somepony told us what was going on and luckily we arrived on time. We managed to subdue him and placed him in a special container and sent him off to another lab to try to convert him back to normal. After the incident, the pony in charge of MoAE got mad and fired all the scientists involved in that project.”

“Oh…”

“But now, I can see that He returned, stronger than ever.”

“I guess. Hey, I got another question.”

“What is it?”

“...will I be here forever?”

She frowned a bit when I asked her that question. I had a bad feeling about what she was going to tell me.

“Not exactly. yes, you’re dead but something is preventing you from moving on to the afterlife. Right now, even with that knife on your neck, your vital organs are still functioning even if it’s very weak.”

“Uhm, I’m afraid I don’t follow. You’re saying I’m dead but I’m still somewhat alive?”

“Something like that.”

“But how is that possible?”

“I don’t know but I have a hunch. It could be something about your soul.”

“My soul?”

“A half of your soul is missing I’m afraid.”

I stared dumbly at her. How can one just lose half of their soul?

“Luna...what are you talking about?”

All of a sudden,the whole place blurred before returning back to normal. Luna looked around in confusion. I had a terrible headache after that. Luna looked back at me with a determined and hopeful expression.

“It seems chat time is over, Phantom. I think you are about to wake up. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next but I hope it’s going to be better. Look, this will be the last time we’ll talk but I know you can take care of yourself.”

“Wait, how? How I’m I still alive? What is happening?!”

Luna smiled at me and before everything disappeared, she said…

“If you have the chance to meet her, say thank you and tell that I said hello. You don’t know how many time she helped you and this moment is just one of them.”

I woke up feeling like my head could explode any moment now. Trying to ignore the pain, I weakly lifted my leg and I tried feeling my neck. I was surprised that I did not feel a knife or a wound, maybe just a bump. Giving a sigh of relief, I decided to concentrate on my surroundings. I wasn't at the Stable entrance anymore, which was weird since I somewhat died there. Instead, I was sitting on a chair inside a place that looked like to be an office. I noticed a computer on the table which was on front of me along with a hat and a familiar looking pistol.

Still feeling a bit weak and too tired to move or even get out of the chair, I just stared at the terminal. Something about it prompted me to at least try accessing it, even if it meant forcing my legs to cooperate. Of course, my luck sucked. The terminal was locked and the only way to access it was to hack the damn thing. I had no experience in doing such thing and the terminal only gave me 4 tries before locking down which only made things frustrating. Still, I was very curious to at least try accessing it. Surprisingly, I managed to find the password as it was only a simple word: Geiger.

The files on the terminal were about the Stable. That’s when I realized that I am in the Overseer’s office. Checking the files, I discovered many notes about the Stable and also about its inhabitants. Remembering a certain ghoul, I looked for his name until I found it. According to the records, Apple Scotch was supposed to be the new Overstallion of the Stable. When I checked the rest of the files, they were either corrupted or inaccessible for other reasons. Go figure.

After I was done reading all about the Stable, I decided to shift my attention to the hat and the pistol. The hat was fedora and it looked good. The pistol was actually my revolver though I have no idea how it’s there. I also found a holster nearby which seemed to fit my revolver just nice, actually, it seems I’ve been finding a lot of holsters lately. Looking to my side, I noticed a large mirror. I stared at my reflection and noticed a scar on my neck, which was somewhat big. I also noticed that some sort of cloak was covering me and my armored Stable suit.

After some time, the headache finally passed and I don’t feel tired anymore. I put on the hat and grabbed the pistol and the holster. I walked up towards the mirror and checked myself out. I wasn’t a vain creature but I do look good in my apparels. Suddenly, I heard the alarm that sounded when a Stable door was to be opened and a loud hiss. I remembered that the control box of the door was broken which only meant one thing: somepony opened the door from the outside.

I exited the office and immediately recognizing what part of the Stable I was in after recalling what Dusty said about the location of the office. I slowly made my way towards the entrance, my mind on full alert for anything. I soon reached the entrance only to be confused. The door was opened but I don’t see anypony. The only thing I noticed was the saddlebag and the Pinkie statuette near the entrance. Still, I continued to look around for any chances that a pony or anything from the wastes snuck inside and hid. luckily, I was completely alone. I walked towards where the saddlebag and statuette was, feeling a sense of familiarity with the items. As I got closer to the items, I finally realized the items belonged to me after seeing the logo on my saddlebag and the knife mark I made on the stand of the statuette.

Putting the statuette inside the saddlebag and placing the bags over my back, I exited the Stable. There were bullets scattered at the front and lodged into the door. I wasn’t sure on what happened here after the shoot-out. Looking around to see if anybody is around, I noticed smoke, coming from Ghost town, rising up into the air. I remembered that the town was filled with a lot of raiders and slavers. It was a good start to look for my friends. I may just end up being shot at but if they’re there, then it’s worth it. I walked towards the town, the wind howling loudly by my side.

“Hold on guys. I’m coming.”

When I arrived, the town was a mess. There were some dead ponies scattered on the road and there were sharp poles with rotting bodies impaled on it. It was a gruesome sight. The source of the smoke wasn’t that far anymore. In fact, I could see what was causing it. It was a huge fire that was burning more dead ponies and griffins. I nearly vomited at the sight. Strange though, I don’t remember any of these bloody sights in the town before. Must be new.

I made my way towards a nearby building. It was in a horrible state, windows were broken, some of the building were destroyed, the ceiling has collapsed, and a skeleton lies near the door. On a closer inspection, there was a box near the skeleton, though it’s small. I decided to grab the box and check it out. Inside was a ring and it was still in great condition, even if the box was very damaged. I inspected the ring and I realized what it was. I looked at the skeleton once more and made a theory. It was possible that whoever the skeleton was before was going to propose to somepony or deliver the ring. I shook my head and sighed before closing the box and placing it back to its original place. It wasn’t worth taking and I think it’s better to leave it with its owner.

Returning back to searching the area, I decided to return to the center of the town. I’m quite surprised that I did not encounter any raiders yet. Maybe they’re just waiting for the right moment to strike, I thought. On my way to the center, I made sure to look around to make sure that I wasn’t being watched. Sometimes, I would hear a somewhat upbeat song nearby but it will slowly fade away. I shrugged it off as something like a broken radio.

I finally made it back to the center. The big building was still standing strong despite all of the ruined buildings surrounding it. It looked empty at first but then I saw a movement at a nearby window. I crouched and quietly made my way to the entrance. I realized then that I was in a bit of a disadvantage. I was alone and my ammo was limited to only 6 shots and the possibilities of a big group of raiders inside was huge. I took a deep breath and made sure I was ready to draw out my pistol and activate S.A.T.S as quickly as possible. I kicked down the door and…

“Oh fuck no!” I heard one cry. “We’re fucked! We’re all gonna die!”

I stared at the group of ponies that were inside the building. They were staring at me with huge, frightened eyes and were shaking. I was confused, they were raiders by the looks of their armors and yet I’m seeing them so terrified.

“Have mercy!” I heard another one beg. “Please have mercy. There are foals with us. Please!”

I took the time to properly survey the scene. I finally noticed the foals huddled together behind the adults. There were also a few, very old ponies along with them.

“What’s going on here?” I asked them. A stallion spoke up.

“W-We were just travelling when a bunch of raiders took us. They forced us into this...things!” He explained while he pointed at the raider armor. “Then they told to get inside this building.”

“So a bunch of raiders forced you to wearing what they wear and place you all here?” He nodded his head.

“And then they left us here and suddenly we heard gunshots.” He finished. “They never came back.”

“I wonder what’s the point of you all wearing that armor though…,” I said. “Ok, I won’t hurt any of you. You’re safe now.”

“R-Really?” The stallion asked me.

“Yes,” I replied. “Besides, I have other things to do.”

I turned around and I was about to leave the place when the stallion stopped me.

“Wait!” He yelled. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” I asked him.

“Is it possible that…,” He looked at the other ponies then back at me. “That you can escort us to Lux?”

“Escort?” I looked at my pistol and back at the group. “Why?”

“Because we need some protection while we get there,” He explained. “And there are a lot of dangerous creatures on the way.”

I shook my head. It already sounds like the trip is a deathtrap. There’s no way I’m going there.

“Please!” He begged. “We really need to get there! And the foals, think abou the foals. They’re hungry and we are running out of food and Lux is the nearest place to go.”

I looked at the foals and noticed that most of them were skinny. Hell, some of them have bones poking out of their skin. Damn, how long were they been here? I suddenly can’t refuse because of their desperate situation. After some quick thinking, I decided to help them. They needed more help than me, even more than what I can offer. I’m only one pony but I can’t leave them alone.

“Fine,” I finally said. “I’ll escort all of you to Lux. Just make sure the foals and elders can still make it there and stick together. I can’t guarantee full protection though because there’s only one of me and a whole lot of you to take care.”

“Oh thank you!” He said, tears streaming down his face. “Thank you very much kind stranger!”

I just nodded and sighed. Hopefully we won’t encounter much on the way. My revolver ain’t exactly a over-powered gun to crush all my enemies.

“Alright, if there’s no more questions, pack up the things you have, if you have, and get ready to move.” I ordered. There was no backing out now. I have accepted the request.

I got out of the building and waited for them to be done packing. I checked my revolver once more and the amount of bullets in its chamber is still 6, leaving 2 empty holes. I kept the revolver and hoped for the best. If only some of them knew how to defend but unfortunately, not a single one of them were brave or trained enough to shoot. And even if they were brave and trained to shoot, not a single weapon in good condition can be found. Just broken down guns or random parts scattered around the place.

I suddenly heard a beep and quickly checked my PipBuck. It was automatically set to the map and I noticed a marker placed on some unknown location. Unknown because the area around the marker wasn’t rendered yet. Though the below the marker was the name of the location: Lux. I still don’t know how this PipBuck works fully so I have no idea why the location is already set. I guess I’ll just follow the line connecting me(Green dot) to the location. Then I felt someone tap my back. I turned around to see another stallion. He looks like the leader of the group and so I hope he can keep the peace between his people well.

“We’re ready,” He told me. I nodded and suddenly remembered something. When I first encountered the group, I thought they were raiders. It wouldn’t be hard for someone else to make the same mistake and shoot them.

“Before we go, take off the armor. You might get shot by accident,” I told him. He looked at his current bardings and nodded his head. He went back in and I heard him order everyone to take off their armor. I continued to wait for the group to be ready outside. Finally, the stallion returned to tell me they’re now ready. I nodded and readied myself.

We started walking towards Lux, though very slowly as I had to make sure the group was together and nobody fell behind. After some time, I decided to talk to the stallion. I walked up to him and he looked at me.

“Thank you, stranger,” He thanked me before I got to speak. “The act you’re doing for us, we appreciate it.”

“No problem,” I told him.

“I do have a question, stranger. Why do you accept our request to escort?” He asked me. “Not everyone will do what you are doing now. The wasteland has stripped most of their virtuous.”

“Oh, uhm…,”I thought hard before answering him. “Well, I saw that you and your group are really desperate for help, especially the foals. I couldn’t refuse you plea for help, it would be so wrong…”

He laughed a bit and shook his head in disbelief.

“Are you sure that’s why you helped, stranger?” He asked me once more. “I feel like there’s another reason why you’re helping us to Lux.”

I sighed and looked forward. Was I really that easy to interpret?

“Yes, there is another reason...I suppose,” I said. “I’m looking for a certain group of ponies. Friends that I met on my journey…Maybe I thought that I could find them on the way.”

“Friend, I sense sorrow in your words,” He told me. “I believe something bad happened to them, no?”

“You see, I think they were captured by raiders...or slavers. I’m not sure,” I explained. “I tried to help them...but I can’t. Not in the situation I was back then. So here I am, looking for them…”

“I see,” He said, nodding his head. “They must really mean alot to you.”

“Yes...yes they do,” I looked at him and saw that he was studying my face. I was confused at first until he opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find them,” He reassured me. “And if we make it to Lux, then I will aid you in your search.”

“Thank you,” I said in gratitude.

“No need to thank me, it is fair that I help you as you help us,” He said, waving a hoof. I nodded and smiled at him. It was great to be around ponies that I can trust again.

We continued walking to Lux. We stopped for a few times to rest and I talked to the other ponies in the group. I learned that they were a part of a caravan that was headed towards another town called Manus when they were attacked by raiders from Ghost town. Turns out there were more of them but the others either died fighting the raiders or because of hunger and thirst. The survivors were lucky enough to know that they just have to do what the raiders said and in exchange the raiders provided a fraction of their food and water supply for them. It was like that for a few days until there was this explosion, followed by gunshots. The raiders that were guarding the survivors immediately went out to investigate and never returned. The survivors were too scared to go out. And then they met me. That was pretty much their whole story so far.

After mingling with the friendly ponies, I decided to see how far we are from Lux. I asked the others about it but it seems they were not sure if we are near Lux. Checking my PipBuck, I saw that we were just halfway. I groaned in annoyance. I expected that with all the walking we just did, we would have at least be somewhere near the outskirts of the town. Luckily, we barely met a hostile, other than the occasional bloatfly. I checked my revolver once more and saw that there was only 3 more bullets left. I shouldn’t have shot those bloatflies.

I was about to tell the group to continue moving until I noticed something pop-up on my map. A quick check showed it was a red dot. I looked around to see if there was any threat around. I saw nothing. I checked my PipBuck one more time and the red dot is still there. even after a few smacks, it was still there.

“Let’s move,” I ordered, scanning the area. There wasn’t any possible hiding places around so I should be seeing the enemy.

“What’s the matter?” The stallion asked me. “We just stopped and-”

“There’s something nearby that could be hostile and I can’t see it,” I interrupted him. “I’m not sure if I’m losing my mind or something’s wrong with this device but…”

He looked around and nodded. He ushered everyone to get up and move quickly. I continued to look around, smacking my PipBuck too just to be sure it wasn’t an error. I gulped and prepared to handle my revolver. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Friend, let’s go,” The stallion said. Suddenly, my PipBuck started beeping like crazy. I shakily checked the screen and saw that a lot of red dots surrounded us. My eyes darted around as I started to panick. The stallion just scowled as he stared at the screen.

“Friend, we are about to encounter one of the most deadly groups of Land 35,” He slowly said. “Mortem...one of the strongest raider groups in the wasteland. Also one of the most advanced group in 35.”

“Is there any chance we can survive?” I asked him.

“That choice is up to them,” He answered. “Most of the time, they will kill anyone they meet. If they’re feeling a bit more sadistic, they will torture anyone they find fun to toy with.”

“One last question...why can’t I see them?” I asked him one more time. He answered in a grim tone.

“Because they are hiding...”

Suddenly, we were surrounded by a lot of raiders with what looked like metal armor. Most of them seem to have a small device strapped to their backs and all of them carry a decent-looking weapon. The survivors looked around in confusion and fear and quickly huddled together on the center. The stallion grimly looked at the raiders while I prepared to shoot. One of them moved forward and looked back at the stallion with an even more intimidating stare. He was unicorn and one of his legs seemed to be robotic. His weapon was a laser rifle. He was obviously the boss of this group of sneaky raiders

“Well...well...well, look at what we got here,” The boss said. “The survivors from Ghost town. Isn’t it nice to see you again, hehehe.”

“Your face is not welcome, Malus,” The stallion angrily told him. “And so is your men.”

Malus feigned shocked and talked in a frightened tone.

“Oh my, Fortis finally talked bravely,” Then he stomped his hoof and yelled at him. “Does it look like I give a fuck about what you say? Who care if I’m not welcome to your people. They’re all dead anyways.”

“You haven’t changed, not a single bit,” Fortis said.

“And you have not grown the guts to fight shit,” He scoffed.

I quickly inspected the other raiders and noticed that they carry a shotgun, a hunting rifle, or a pistol. All of which looked like it could shoot one hell of a bullet. I also noticed that despite their strong armor, it didn’t have enough joints to allow good mobility. Which means that they could not easily run or walk. So far, the lack of joints in the armor is the only flaw I’m seeing.

I looked back at the duo, who were still talking to each other, and saw that they were literally talking head-to-head. While Malus was the more aggressive one in talking, Fortis was the one who managed to keep a cool-head and spoke in a very stern tone.

“Let us go. We’re not worth anything to you,” Fortis told him.

“You’re right, none of you are worth shit,” Lucas spat on the ground. “But maybe your guardian is.”

Malus looked at me then at my PipBuck. I saw it in his eyes that he wants to acquire the tech for some reason. He slowly walked towards me and he stared down at me.

“And he could also be very useful to us,” He said.

“No! Leave him alone,” Fortis Protested. Malus turned to look at him and levitated his laser rifle.

“You know what? I’m done with your shit,” He yelled. “I would have killed you immediately if you weren’t one of my trusted men back then but that is now in the past. You are now one of those stupid wastelanders in my eyes. I hope you enjoyed your shitty life while it lasted.”

He aimed his laser rifle at Fortis and fired. Fortis rolled out of the way and the laser nearly hit him. Malus cursed and aimed at him again. This time, the other raiders followed suit. Seeing that Fortis has nowhere to run, I quickly brought out my revolver and shot the rifle. The bullet struck the center of the weapon, causing it to blow up.

“What the fuck?” Fortis said as he tried processing on what just happened. He then turned to me and was very pissed off.

“You little shit, look at what you have done!” He said. Panicked, I quickly fired the last 2 bullets at him. The bullets struck his metal armor and got stuck there. He looked at the lodged bullets and then smiled menacingly at me.

“Looks like your luck run out.” He said. He brought out a pistol and aimed at me. “You could have been of some use to us but that too is in the past. You’re just another stupid wastelander.”

“NO!” Fortis yelled as he tried to tackle him. One of the raiders shot his leg and Daniel stumbled to the ground.

Malus ignored Fortis’ objections and concentrated on me. I continued pulling the trigger but all I got were clicks. At this point, I’m just wondering why he won’t just shoot me already.

“Once you’re dead, that’s one less burden we have to deal with,” He told me. “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit.”

I dropped my revolver and heard the survivors gasped and the raiders laughed. I looked at the eyes of the boss and fear washed over me. He chuckled one more time and he pulled the trigger.

I waited for the gun to fire. I waited for the bullet to kill me. I waited for something to happen but nothing. I looked around in confusion and noticed that everybody stopped moving. The faces of everybody stayed the same, unchanging as they watch me get shot. They all stared, waiting for me to die. And then the gun fired. I looked at the weapon and noticed that the bullet was moving at a very slow pace. That’s when I realized that time did not stop but just slowed down.

A new kind of energy overwhelmed me as time continued to move on a snail’s pace. It wasn’t like I felt before. The way the energy made me feel more alert and active. The way the energy made me feel stronger and faster. It was an amazing feeling. As the bullet neared me, I started to have a burning sensation on my head. My head felt like a volcano about to erupt.

Time suddenly went back to its normal pace and before I knew it, the bullet suddenly whizzed by me and it struck the ground instead. Malus stared at me, confused, before he continued to fire. All of the bullets seemed to miss me and struck the ground once more. I noticed that Fortis was looking at me and his face showed that he seems to know what was happening to me.

“What the?! Impossible!” He said in annoyance. He looked at me angrily before suddenly becoming fearful.

My whole body started to feel like it was on fire. I don’t know what was happening. And then something like instincts kicked in. I raised both of my hooves into the air and slammed it back to the ground, causing a mini-earthquake strong enough to make everyone lose their balance.

“What are you fools doing?” He yelled at his men. “Shoot him!”

Before they could though, their weapons were covered with a black aura and it lifted it to the air. The raiders just looked at their weapons in awe as the gun suddenly were disassembled, leaving only the bullets behind. Then my head suddenly started pounding as I watched the bullets that was wrapped with black aura in confusion.

“W-W-What’s happening?!” One of the raiders stammered out. The bullets suddenly went straight to the chests of every raider that surrounded us, including Malus. After that, the burning sensation left my body and I collapsed to the ground. I felt very tired and weak, barely able to open my eyes. I could hear the survivors whispering amongst themselves about what just happened. Then I heard Fortis’ voice.

“All those who are still strong, carry this pony back to Lux.” He ordered. “We need to help him quickly.”

I heard him walk closer to me, followed by another pony.

“Don’t worry, friend. Everything will be alright.” He reassured me.

I started to feel dizzy as I felt my body being lifted and placed on another pony’s back. I could also hear my PipBuck clicking as we started moving. With one last bit of strength, I hit the PipBuck to shut it up and quickly lost consciousness after that.

Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Unknown Strength
-If you are cornered or surrounded by enemies and your health is low, your strength and agility will go up by 2 points, your chance of getting a critical hit and your attack speed by 20%, and the damage of unarmed or melee weapons is increased by 30% until your health is at least 25%. This will also have a negative effect on you once you are away from hostiles, usually the reversed effects of the perk for 5 minutes.