Shocked beyond all comprehension…

I was looking at Canterlot, now in ruins from the war. Most of the city was built from stone carved from the very mountain Canterlot embraced.  Celestia had wanted to build the foundation of the city with the mountain. It was smart, considering I’ve seen houses built with the landscape at their disposal. Canterlot was a marvelous city, until this war started… Cobblestone streets had been lined with elegant structures formed from stone and mortar or magically molded rock.

Most buildings of stone still stood, although cracked and crumbling from the weight of unnatural ages. A three-story tower, once an upscale inn from my guessing, collapsed with a deep-throated rumble, sending up curling swirls of pink-tinted stone dust.  Everything more susceptible to the entropy of… Whatever this cloud was, had been reduced to rust and rubble, smears and stains that once signified objects, and decrepit structures stained pink and falling apart at the seams.

Some of the most preserved things were those which had once been alive. The sight of the once alive ponies within this cloud terrified me almost made me want to retch and believe me when I said this, it is very difficult for me to even taste bile in my mouth. The black and twisted forms of dead trees lined streets filled with dark, pink-rotted bones, many of which had partially sunk or merged into the discolored cobblestones.

The only other place that looked eerily preserved was the cluster of buildings that had once formed the heart of Equestria, from a scattering of white-stoned towers to the royal castle itself… This was just the starting point where the war was escalating to levels were it was never going to heal… I flew down around the parameter of the city, just far enough from the cloud itself sitting down as I wondered how one war could get to this point of no return… It was enough to break my heart.

I looked at Canterlot wondering what to do now… A sprite-bot came nearby with the music playing. It didn’t help at all with wondering what to do, that is until it stopped playing the music. I looked at the sprite-bot and I heard Watcher’s voice coming through, “Never thought to see you here of all places…”

I drop my head down, grief-stricken about this new knowledge in front of me.  The sprite-bot landed on my shoulder trying its best to mimic someone’s hoof going on my shoulder. It eased my pain, but it still lingered. I looked at the sprite-bot hoping that Watcher has something for me to do. I asked him what I should do right now at the moment, well besides the friendship part, “What do I do Watcher? I was hoping to come here for me to catch up on what happened during my absence, but that chance went up in smokes…” I was silent for a long time.

Watcher was silent as well, possibly wondering on what to do. I didn’t care right now; I just prayed that Watcher has at least something for me to go after seeing Canterlot. Call me lucky, because he does know of a location that could help me grant some knowledge, “There is a place just south from where you are. It’s called Tenpony Tower and, as of the moment, has a library that has access to some history you could get your hooves on. Sorry, that’s all I got.”

I smiled at the robot, glad that at least there is another location for me to learn what happened here, “No Watcher, you did well.” I stood up looking back at Canterlot and turning around to where presumably Tenpony Tower was, “So Tenpony Tower is at this direction? If I assume you are correct…”

“Yep, just straight ahead from where you are…” Watcher was silent again. I’m starting to wonder if that’s becoming common of him now, “Hey, first off where did you get that jacket and secondly, did you make any friends along the way?” I looked at him bewildered about the second question. My reaction was enough for him to know that I didn’t make any friends at the moment, “Oh you didn’t…”

I smiled trying to be the optimist for Watcher, “It’s all right Watcher, I’ll have some friends in time, just you wait and see.” I chuckled at the end of that realizing that I may be pushing it a bit. Watcher laughed as well. Definitely lightened up the guy’s mood… Suddenly, my question I’d forgotten popped up in my head, “Secondly to your first question, I found this on a dead mother's body. She had this letter in one of the pockets." I showed the letter to Watcher, I do wonder if those things can see.

That answer came forth as I heard his response to the latter I held out for him, "Wow... this... I'm truly sorry for you to find this. It's not easy to accept this at all is it?"

I shook my head seeing how much this mother was going through, "It never is easy is it?" I let out a sigh from just remembering the scene playing out in my head. I decided to change the topic, hoping to not dwell in the moment right now, "Hey Watcher, if I may ask, why do you want me to have some friends?” The bot was silent for a long time. I thought I asked a question that seemed a bit off and was about to ask him again until the bot reverted back to its music and flew off. I looked at the bot flying away wondering if he wasn’t able to keep the connection for long enough.

I looked at the spot on the ground where the sprite-bot was to find a weird contraption left there. I picked it up wondering if Watcher left it behind. The sprite-bot was already too far for me and even if I can catch it, I doubt I can make contact with him again. I decided to keep it for now and possibly return it back should I run into him again.

I begin to fly off and head to the direction where Watcher said Tenpony Tower was. During my flight there, I felt odd, but I went singing for some reason. It was awkward but I let it go and sung. The song I was singing was picked randomly by my little pony in my head. It chuckled to hear me sing; in my head I gave it a whack with an imaginary hammer. It growled at me and all I could was just smile from that. I continued singing the song it decided for me to sing,

(Is it me?)

Is it me, or can you see through my walls

As if they’d never shown?

(Could it be?)

Could it be, all because of my lies

I’ve broken all my own bones

(No more throwing stones)

I loss focus flying for a split second there as I got into singing the song. It was a song I recalled meant for a specific pony, but wasn’t so sure who was it for or who made it. All I knew was that it was meant to tug at the hearts of some ponies and it does to an extent. I looked at the ground below me seeing the vast wasteland. My wings were getting tired for a moment. I descend to the ground as I let my wings rest for the time being. I walked over to Tenpony Tower hoping that I could get there before nightfall.

I had to somewhat jinx the moment… Night was beginning to come and Tenpony Tower was still a far distance away from where I was. My body wanted to get some sleep but the pony in my head did not want to after the last time I fell asleep. Ugh, my body was arguing to get some sleep now but until there was an area where I can sleep fine, it was a no-no for me.

Ahead, I saw a campfire with some tents. My little pony went giddy for a minute seeing that there are ponies here, but suddenly went cautious remembering the slavers. I agreed with my head, decided to slowly enter the camp. I was close to their parameters when I got hit with a stench that made me cover my nose immediately. It was foul beyond my imagination; in fact I don’t even want to imagine what made that stench. I look to see some ponies really dirtied to the point they really needed a bath badly.

My instinct did not trust these ponies one bit as they were eating something. I didn’t want to even know what the stuff they were eating was. I decided to leave them be considering that no good will come if I stay here long enough. I left the camp undetected slowly walking past them.

The stealth lasted for a good minute until I stepped on a piece of wood causing it to split and make a sound. Sanguis gehenna… That’s probably the first time I used the old alicorn language to swear there.

I turn around to see them spotting me and then giving chase while giving a maniacal laugh that would have made me wet myself. I decided to fly away, not wanting to go through unnecessary fights.

Things went well until… BOOM!, A gunshot rung through the night hitting my right wing. I recoiled upon that as I was falling to the ground. I see the ground closing in on me noting that I was going to be a splatter on the ground. I closed my right wing to show off another wing allowing myself to glide safely, For once, having six wings saved me today… I see them catching up to me and I ran decided to check my shot wing later. I looked everywhere and seeing no place to hide and run, flying was better off not available if they shoot me again. Gunshots were roaring through the night as each missed me a lot.

You know, if they had guns, they should at least have some decent accuracy! My little pony said, and honestly, they were terrible marksmen. Seeing that the situation calls for a bit of violent action, I stopped and turned around taking on whatever these ponies were. Years of being on the battlefield were beginning to pay off.

The ponies still were shooting, of course, missing me still. Some shots did graze my hide but nothing too serious. I moved out of the way of the bullets as I neared them going in. I got close to one of them and whacked him with my hoof on his spine, I’m not so sure if I paralyzed it, but it did go unconscious for the most part.

I looked at the four other ponies that were charging at me guns and melee weapons akimbo. Their technique was very sloppy as I dodged each one of their strikes.  I disarmed those with guns to make the fight easier on me. Dodging each one was much easier than I had in mind, but I was wary of my skills. I went behind each on them striking their spinal cord paralyzing them in the effort. I did not want to kill them at all.

I was about to carry one of them when all of them went dogpiling on me screaming crazy like animals. One of them proceeds to bite me, which resulted in me freaking out and getting them off me quickly. I looked at my bitten hoof and the bite was deep as blood was oozing from it. I looked at them shocked that the pony just freaking bit me there, “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR CRAZY MIND!?”

They all try to dogpile on me again only to meet the end of my blade as I pulled it out of its scabbard cleanly slicing their heads off. Their blood was all over me as their bodies went limp from the decapitation. My mind was freaking out from two facts.

One, I HAD KILLED FIVE PONIES! I had many years of horrifying things to encounter mind you, so why was I bothered with me killing a pony!? It was in self-defense! This shouldn’t be bothering me and yet it does! Ugh, my mind is freaking out like crazy from the deaths of these five!

Next to come to mind was the bite… What in the actual fuck caused it to go cannibalistic and try to bite my leg completely off!? Aw great, now I’m getting vulgar. I rarely ever swear at times, but this… This just brings a whole new level of what the fuck!? My mind was beginning to clear up as I looked over myself covered in my enemies’ blood. My mind was still going crazy over seeing that, trying to think of a reason why one of them just bit me.  Even my little imaginary friend was having a brain overload from that.

My mind managed to remember my priority as I checked on my damaged wing. I was lucky to see that all it did was leave a singed mark on it. It hurt still but some fresh air should ease it I hope. I was going to have to deal with me being blood-soaked; I pray at least some rain could remove all of this blood on me.

I looked back at the dead bodies that I killed. Just seeing a dead pony right now, it was foreign in Equestria for murders to even occur… Now, they are common here in this Wasteland. I was going to have to majorly remind myself that this occurs now yet even then, I do not want to kill ponies at all. I didn’t want to leave the bodies like this though.

I dug five holes big and deep enough to hold the ponies here carrying each one of them into the holes and buried them. Despite what they did, I paid them my respect as a moment of silence closing my eyes in return. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and returned to their camp hoping to scavenge anything of use.

Rain begins to settle in as I was scavenging whatever I could find useful. Good thing for me, as the rain cleaned off the blood. From I could scavenge from the camp, I found some awkward stuff here going by the name of Dash, some Stampede, and Party Mint-Als… Since when did they decided to make drugs in Equestria? (I wasn’t so sure if they were drugs but I had to be certain) Some live ammunition; doubtful I might use this but I could sell it though, and a rather interesting pistol…

I checked out some of the features of this gun, it was clearly made to fit in a pony’s hoof with the design to the holster and it design looks are like that of the M1911 Colt. I even see a casing for the gun to fit in for a quickdraw. What caught my eye though was the insignia on the holster. I recognized the insignia as the emblem of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I see that there was a blood-stained letter attached to the gun. I removed it and read the letter,

Howdy girls, how y’all doing? Ah’ve been through worse than before if ya know what Ah mean. Anywho, Ah almost finished with building Stable Two at mah home. As soon as that’s finished, we can get together just like old times right? Ah’ve been wondering if the war is ever going t’ end. Ah’m sick and tired o’ this war! Ah just want us t’ be able t’ be with each other, but this damn war just keeps getting worse! Its like it’s trying desperately t’ separate us apart! Ugh, this is getting out o’ hoof here and Ah just…

Sorry, that was not right o’ me t’ say such a thing. Well, Ah doubt this war is ever going t’ end, but if it and only if it ever does, y’all wanna hang out with each other? Ah already miss your company and Ah just want t’ celebrate our last moments together… Ah know this letter doesn’t explain why Ah asked Sis t’ make it, but Ah made the Righteous Crusaders as a reminder o’ our times together… Y’all can use it as a way o’ protecting yourself, Ah’ve made three fer each one o’ us and Ah kept one fer mahself. Ah just wish this war could end now… Well, Ah got t’ get back t’ finishing the last touches t’ Stable Two, see y’all soon, Ah hope…

Former Cutie Mark Crusader,

Apple Bloom

I felt a few tears escape from my eyes. This pistol meant so much for those three, that in the end, they probably never got the chance to see each other ever again. I wrap the casing around my belt holding Heaven’s Light and putted the pistol in the holster.

I hoped that I can find the other two to complete the set as a way for them to be together again. The ammo I collected was made for the gun at hoof so there was some happy thoughts. I checked the other weapons to see if they can be used.

Unfortunately, most of them were rusted and ran out of ammo so there was no particular use to them. I putted them in my saddlebag for now hoping that maybe I could use them.

Night was still here as the rain settled down. My body was getting sleepy and to be honest, my head needed some sleep as well. I went into one of the tents, and stench was all I could smell. I covered my nose for the second time only to stare in shock at what I was seeing. A pony whose torso was cut open with a serrated knife.

Its organs were scattered across the floor from its heart to lungs, intestines were pulled out by force some left out hanging from its body. So many cuts all over its body, it was like something straight from a grimdark book and that’s just some of the details I can visibly see. Upon closer inspection of the pony, it was very clear that it was a mare.

The position she was in suggested that she was raped… Did I really suggest that? I’m beginning to wonder why I thought of that and how come I never noticed this. I went outside utterly sick that those five did that to a single pony. This was getting beyond the pale, seeing stuff like that tells me that the long road to recovery was slim.

I’m beginning to see why Apple Bloom ranted about this war. I went to do the same like what I did with the other five except away from them and at an area that seemed perfect for the poor pony.  Repeated what I did again leaving behind a possession of her as a marker. I go into the tent the body was in, cleaned it up of its content including the stench and slept for the night.

I wake up struggling to forget what I just went through. The images were made more vivid by my little friend. Yeah thanks a lot my imaginary friend… It chuckled and gave a big Cheshire cat-like grin to me. I manifested a hammer to whack it. It was not pleased with that, but that was the least of my worries. This was going to be difficult for me to accept, but I need to continue forward to Tenpony Tower.

I pack my things and ate another apple I had stocked up. The taste of Applejack’s apples was divine as ever with me chewing it slowly… I don’t know why but I’m going to miss these apples once I eat them all. I keep the seeds within them, hoping that I could grow them when this is over, although I’m pretty sure that I can’t compete with theirs.

I shuffled through my bag checking if I missed out on anything and pulled out the thing that Watcher left behind. I was very curious when I first saw it wondering what the heck the thing does. I did notice that it looked like it could fit around the wrist on my forehooves.

I was tempted to put it on, but decided to wait until Watcher or at least anypony can give me information about it. I did play around with it, checking out what things it can do, its function, the usual stuff.

I saw that it had a radio channel and curious enough, played it to see if there was any news. Before hand, music was playing through before it died away. A voice begins to play through and from the sound of the pony, it sounded to be a stallion, “This is DJ Pon3, and that was Sweetie Belle, singing about that one great truth of the wasteland: every pony has done something they regret.  And now, my little ponies, it’s time for the news!  Now you ponies remember when I told you ‘bout those two ponies who crawled themselves out of Stable Two?  Well, I’ve been gettin’ reports that one of those little ponies took out the raider nest in the heart of Ponyville, and saved several pony captives -- including the beloved author of The Wasteland Survival Guide, Ditzy Doo!  Hey kid, thanks!  From all of us!  And now the weather: cloudy everywhere, with a chance of rain, gunfire and bloody dismemberment...”

I didn’t hear the rest of it… I was stunned to hear a familiar name. Hold on, what? That was mostly it a part of why I was stunned, the DJ Pon3 I remembered was a mare so why is there a stallion roleplaying as DJ Pon3? The other part was that this specific pony managed to beat a nest of raiders (I have no idea who those were, but if I was to make a guess, it would be the ponies that attacked me earlier…) in Ponyville… I was there before! How did I miss that pony? In any case, just hearing that somepony did that… I’d be happy to actually meet whoever this mysterious pony was.

I was listening to the rest of the news, “This just in, some reports just came by! Apparently some raiders are infesting the path from here to Canterlot! To those who are within the vicinity, you might want to get out of there lickity-split because no one wants to meet up with a raider!” My body went stone cold for a second there; I was within that area he mentioned… “And more news! Yesterday, a pegasus just escaped from her captive slaves without even killing them! While that would be silly to not execute somepony, I call that dedication! If any of you ever meet him, tell him DJ Pon3 says hi!” I doubt anypony saw me blush considering my royal blue coat hides it well.

I almost forgot the fact that he saw me escape. Speaking of which, how did he see me escape? It lingered in my mind for awhile but I put that question behind me for now as I still need to continue to Tenpony Tower. I left the camp and flew to my destination.

How long have I been flying? I’ve been nowhere closer to the location than I remembered. I was beginning to lose a bit of patience considering I’ve been flying for what, six hours? I landed, clearly not pleased with myself. I shuffle through my saddlebag to pull out another apple and began to eat.

Halfway through my apple, I heard gunshots from where I was. I finished my apple and tossed it to the side following where the sounds of gunshot was coming from. Over a cliffside, I see about four raiders chasing a single mare shooting at her while screaming random junk.

The mare in question was a unicorn with a violet coat with a white mane and tail each with a golden ribbon tying the ends making a ponytail of sorts. She was calling for help as loudly trying her best to outrun her captors. Her body was in terrible condition; her horn was losing blood as there was a small cut, some areas revealed muscle, and she was limping while running suggesting that she has some broken or dislocated bones. She tripped from her limping as she looked at her captors terrified.

I immediately went into the fray trying to close the distance quickly. I heard her scream as one of the raiders begins to pounce on her. Time felt like it slowed down as I delivered a solid punch to the raider’s face. At the speed I was going, the punch likely broke his face completely. The force sent him flying crashing into a rock. I heard an unnerving crunch meaning that I also now broke his spine. I looked at the mare that fell unconscious as the pain overwhelmed her.

I ducked as gunshots were fired on me this time as the raiders tried to close their distance. I carried the unconsciousness mare onto my back and ran. As bullets shred through my coat, I jumped over a rock using that as cover for the time being. I wanted to pull the Righteous Crusader out as I looked back at the enemy raiders coming in but I still did not want to kill at all.

The mare was losing her battle to stay alive and will soon be dead if I don’t do something about these raiders fast enough! I looked at her first scanning her body for any injuries that would be deemed fatal. Seeing only a few, I worked fast as I patched those wounds first. I heard the crazy cackling from the raiders as they closed on us.

Damn it, not enough time to patch them all! I looked back seeing them dangerously close to where we were. I still did not want to kill these ponies here. Why am I being difficult with myself? I ran away from the spot hoping to lure the enemy to me. The tactic did work (Thank the heavens!) as they averted their attention to me.  

They were closing the distance quickly as I turned back to look at them. I didn’t want to get too far from the mare due to her condition. I turned around and recklessly went charging at the raiders. I might be able to cripple them enough for them to not move for a while but that’s easier said than done! One raider unsheathed his blade as he went for me.

I ducked under the slash as I tackled at the raider. He was struggling to get out of my grip as we both went down on the ground. Tumbling on the ground trying to get at each others’ throats, I delivered a hard hoofstrike at the two forearms as he screamed bloody murder. It was enough to immobilize him for the moment.

I looked forward seeing if the two were nearing me. Big mistake on my part… They were near enough to leave a fatal wound on me. Even as time felt like it slowed down, I did not react in time as one of the blades dug into the side of my body eliciting a loud scream from me. Thank goodness it did not hit my wings or I’d be having nightmares about losing the ability of flight.

The looks on their faces contorted to an expression of maniacal glee when they heard my scream. I shrugged the pain aside as I took down the raider that made the wound. I aimed for the forearms again. A sickeningly loud crack was heard as I broke his one good foreleg.

The raider came on my back as yet another knife dug into my body this time almost hitting the spine. I am going to have to rethink about being reckless next time if I don’t want injuries like what I’m getting. I grabbed his foreleg as I tossed him over me. Another hoofstrike to the foreleg and he screamed.

I backed away from the crippled raiders breathing heavily. I only killed one and that was an accident of me not knowing how much force was put into that punch. I looked at the two blades that were digging into my body. I put a hoof on the blade on my back as I pulled it out of my body. So much pain erupted from my body as I tossed it to the crippled raiders. I was stumbling as I reached for the other blade and pulled that one out.

Tossing that one to the side, I looked at the three raiders sprawling on the ground. I still did not want to kill even with them like this. Ugh, I seriously hate my ethics right now. Their bodies can heal over time anyway, so that gave them a second chance.

I limped to the injured mare hoping that I was not too late to save her. I arrived at the spot only to see her limp. Immediately, the first thing that popped into my head was that I failed to save her in time. That thought perished as I saw her chest moving, she was still breathing. I put my head on her chest counting the heartbeats.

Pound… Pound…Pound… Pound…

My reaction was almost instantaneous as I got working to save her life. Her heart was slowly dying and I had to be quick. I am very thankful I bought medical supplies with me as I begun. Through the pain of my own, I slowed down the blood loss on her horn first using some bandages to close some of the small wounds. While I was slowing down the blood loss, I began to heal the small cut on her horn. (The horn is going to be the one to have the longest recovery time).

As I was done with the horn, I went to covering the exposed muscles using some of her skin grafts. I carefully pulled on some of her skin as I used them to cover the muscles. This part took longer than expected but I managed to finish it. I relocated her bones after covering the stitched wounds with bandages. Please don’t die on me now!

I sat there looking at the mare wondering if I succeeded in saving her or not. My own body wanted to collapse from the pain but I was adamant in wanting to see just one sign of life from the mare. A few minutes have passed yet to me, it felt like an eternity. I did wrap my wounds in some bandages hoping to slow down the blood loss.

Slowly as I finished wrapping the wounds, I saw her chest rising and falling as her mouth opened to draw in some air. I let a sigh of relief as I collapsed; I didn’t even know I was holding my breath until now. I opened my eyes to see her looking at me for a good long five seconds before smiling. She wanted to ask me question but what came out of was some coughing. I putted a hoof over her head trying to comfort her.

She let out a yawn as her body wanted to stop moving and rest for now. She then fell into a tranquil sleep as her eyes closed fully. I smiled; I needed to get us out of here and into a safe area. Too many raiders infesting the place… I carried her onto my back. I scanned the area around me looking to see if any of them were surrounding us. Besides the raiders I crippled, none as of the moment.

Before I left though, I walked to the raiders sternly gazing at them. These poor ponies, pathetic as their life must be, I do not want to see them doing this again. I was really doubtful on them reforming, but who knows? Might be able to convince them somehow… I leaned in and eyed them, “I’m allowing you three a second chance… If I see you trying this again, I might not be willing to give another chance in life again.” I kept my eye on them as I continued my walk to Tenpony Tower.

Night was beginning to descend on the Wasteland as I continued walking. My body was still recovering from the wounds sustained as I was struggling to even stand. I really hope those knifes weren’t coated in poison or were tarnished… Then again I’m doubtful the raiders were smart to coat their knives in poison, so them being tarnished was the better possibility. I’d hate to be unconscious in the middle of fucking nowhere with no way of protection. Aw great getting vulgar again…

I looked around us wondering if there was at least a safe area for me and my guest to lie down. What am I saying? I’m not so convinced that I might find even one area deemed safe around here. I was not very pleased with myself at all, “Stupri gehenna! I am not helping myself here!”

My loud swearing said in the old alicorn language almost woke the mare on my back. I silently cursed myself for saying that loudly, I could have attracted anyone within my vicinity. You know, now that I think about attracting someone, I’d be very happy to chat with Watcher right now… too bad, he’s not around right now.

I glanced around me, silently praying that I find an area at least. Looking to the right, I saw a rather decrepit and abandoned shack. Well, better than out here that’s for certain. I tried to hasten my steps but that only made the pain worse. I do not like this feeling of dread I’m having right now. I limped as fast as I could hoping to get out of prying eyes.

I turned around me wondering if anyone was watching us. No sounds and a single sight before me. That’s not a good thing at all. I finally reached the door as I opened it. I cringed in pain a bit as I entered the shack and closed the door. With us out of sight of any raiders, I felt relieved for the most part. Okay, we’re in here, now where’s a good resting spot?

I scanned the house wondering if there was anything that will do. Nothing good here on the main room sadly. My first thought was to head upstairs first, probably nothing up here but you can never tell though unless you checked. I looked into some of the rooms finding nothing of importance although I did find a few occasional bottlecaps.

If I recalled from the slavers, this was to be the current currency here on the Wasteland. I’ve seen and heard weirder things before but this was beyond weird. Aw well, better than nothing… I picked up the caps left on the floor as I looked for the rest of the other rooms. I was beginning to lose some hope of finding something at least of decency.

At the last room, a smile formed on my face as I saw two mattresses lying on the floor. They were a bit dusty and dirty but it was nothing a simple cleanup would do. I patted off some of the dust lingering on the bed. A few of the dust went to my nose as I coughed and sneezed from it. After quite a messy cleaning, it was clean enough for me as I laid her down gently. I went to clean up the other mattress of its share of dirt.

Again with another sneezing and coughing fit and the mattress was spiffy enough. I sat down on the bed as I pulled out an apple from the saddlebag and went to eating it. I sat there for some time deep in thought as I was eating away at the apple. I began to wonder how things are going for Celestia and Luna. I’m confident in their skills but I can’t help but be worried since this is something that had not dealt with in a long time.

I really do wish to meet them again throughout my journey someday. I yawned quietly hoping to not disturb the sleeping mare. My eyes were beginning to close on themselves as I lay down and drifted off to sleep, hopefully to see another day.

The sun was shining on my face making me wake up a bit annoyed from that but was happy to see another day. I stretched my body and delivered a loud yawn as my hoof was covering my mouth in a one second interval. I look to my left side to her still there. I let a small smile form on my face seeing her sleep peacefully.

I got ready to stand before my body twitched in pain. I looked at the wounds to see them still bleeding, soaking the bandages. The wounds themselves were closing but they were clearly infected and were still bleeding if the ever-growing red was to mean anything. Damn it, I knew I forgot something… I reached for my saddlebag hoping for something to clean up the wounds.

Nothing I found could disinfect the wounds well enough. This was not good, if I can’t clean these wounds, I am going to be facing some serious trouble. I tried standing again but the pain still lingered. I endured it as I stood up, my face grimacing from this. I limped across the hall to the stairway.

I looked down at the base of the stairs as I descended. Things went well there, until I slipped, literally on my own bandages. I tumbled down the stairs causing a loud ruckus as I landed on my back. I was groaning in more pain as I was clutching my head. Should have flown down instead and checked on my bandages again…

I tried to get up from my painful blunder again for I believe the third time right now, but my whole body was not willing to cooperate with me here. Too much pain from the wounds getting infected despite them only being exposed for so little time, has really hampered me here. Damn, those fucking blades were rusty if I’m feeling this sick already. I feel freaking useless right now; just listening to myself bemoaning is starting to get a bit silly…

I just laid there for Gods know how long pondering on how I got into this mess despite it being rather obvious for me. I looked at the ceiling of the shack where a hole was made showing the gray sky.

The Grand Pegasus Enclave… I heard the slavers I was with mentioning it to me. They said they hated the pegasi for leaving them to rot while they lived cozily up there. While they lived a comfy life of peace, below them, they were struggling. What had happened for them to close up the sky and not be involved in helping the ponies below?

As I was pondering about it, a magical aura surrounded me as I was lifted to the air. Wait what? I looked in front of me to see the unicorn mare trying to lift me to her. Her face was contorting with pain as she lifted me to her side and away from the stairs. She was struggling to not only stand on all fours but keep the spell going. I did not struggle for fear of draining more of her magic.

As she limped to the room with the mattresses and set me down on the bed, she looked at me breathing heavily. She went to my side as she went to check up on my wounds. I put my hoof on her outstretched hoof. She was a bit shocked by my reaction. I would be too if I wasn’t in a state of pain, “Before I let you do what I think you’re doing, tell me, why? You were injured and yet you still did it…”

A smiled formed on her face as I let go of her hoof, “Because you saved my life out there. I wanted to do something nice in return for what you did and the least I could was check up on your wounds…” She looked at my eyes once and a sad expression formed to replace her smile, “I can see that you do not trust me yet… just please let me at least check up on your wounds, I know you wanted them checked and cleaned.”

Damn she got me there. I allowed the mare to check up on my wounds as I relaxed and laid down on my front side revealing my back and side wounds. I can feel the bandages being unwrapped and my body twitching a bit in pain as my wounds was exposed. She made a gasping sound as the wounds were fully shown. Damn my temptation, I looked at the side and back wounds.

I regretted that decision for a long time. My mouth was gaping as I looked at them. Instead of the wounds closing themselves, they were swelling as pus was forming within the wounds. Some hard crust of sorts was being made around them and the smell of those wounds, goodness the smell was retching.

I felt sorry for the mare as she went out of the room and let out her breakfast in a nearby trash bin. I honestly wanted to barf out my food as well but I was immobile for a long while. She was wiping her mouth as she returned back, “This is not good, these wounds need to be disinfected now…”

“You don’t say miss?” That was me trying to be sarcastic there but failing. She rolled her eyes as she went to cleaning up the wounds. I laid there as I felt her magic do the removal of pus and cleaning of my wounds. I did see some blood escape from the wounds but it was nothing a simple gauze pad from my bag could close.

Hmm… I think it might be a good time to ask about her. It’s not like we’re going anywhere yet right? “Say, I never got your name ma’am. Would you kindly tell me your name?”

She was silent for some time as she continued cleaning my wounds. She continued her smile as she looked at me, “Harmony… Naturia Harmony. I’ve told my name, would you kindly tell me yours please?”

I let a light chuckle escape from me just hearing her use that phrase against me. I didn’t mind though, “Zodiac… a pleasure to meet you Harmony, wish we met under… different circumstances…”

The both of us shared each other’s laughter. The laughter died down as she finished patching up the wounds, “Okay I cleaned out your wounds Zodiac… they should be able to heal now. Goodness though, what weapon have you been hit by?”

I’m not so sure on myself. I knew that it was knives but knives normally don’t do this to a pony or person unless a few things came to mind, “Knives, and I think they were either rusty or coated by other ponies’ blood that were infected.”

I saw Harmony putting her hoof up her chin pondering about the idea, “Hmm… both seem like a very high possibility since you had to against raiders.” She put her hoof as she lay down on the mattress feeling exhausted, “I feel tired today, I think the both of us deserve a good night sleep.”

I nodded my head in approval; we both needed some rest again before we move. Before the two of us did sleep though, something was bothering me. I looked at Harmony wondering what was she doing out here alone. I couldn’t help it; I poked her body trying to get her attention. Her body shook a bit as she turned to look at me miffed that I ruined her about to go to sleep, “Sorry if I am bothering your slumber but… Harmony I got a question for you.”

Her ears perked as she eyed me cautiously. I have to be cautious with my question here or else things might get complicated, “Harmony, what are you doing out here alone?

I saw Harmony’s ears droop as her expression went down. Damn I hope I did not hit a sensitive topic here. She let out a sigh as she gazed at me, “I… really can’t describe yet, I can still see you’re still suspicious about me and I don’t think you’ll believe my answer.”

A snicker escape me as I looked at Harmony, “Harmony, I’m going to believe you in this case. You saved my life as I saved yours, which gains both our trust correct?” I winked at her proving my point.

She covered her mouth as a chuckle came forth. Her expression still bore a trace of sadness but she was nonetheless happy to hear me say that, “Perhaps it does Zodiac. I guess I can explain then…” She fell silent for some time as she gathered her thoughts. After a little sigh escaped, she looked at me, “I came out here… looking for my brother Epsilon.”

That got my attention no doubt, “Your brother? He’s out there alone?” She nodded as she looked out the window. Her thought I guess were occupied by her brother out there fighting for his life. The poor pony here. Her brother’s life was at stake, out there fighting and alone.

Without me even thinking for a second I asked her if I can join in her journey to find her brother. She looked at me with a look of shock and utter happiness. I gave a smile as she gazed at my eyes. She gave a kind smile back but the answer was rather unexpected, “I am happy to accept your offer, but I don’t want to stop you from going to your destination.”

I still continued my smile, “Harmony, I’m only going to Tenpony Tower. I have all the time with me, I’m not in a rush or anything to go there.”

A single tear escaped her eyes as she lunged for me and hugged me. I cringed in pain from the sudden hug, but I hugged her back from that, “Thank you Zodiac, I’m happy to have you with me. I do hope we get along more, we just met and I bet the bond of trust is rather weak.”

“I can see that being true…” I wondered, since we just got a trust bond, why not make a bit stronger right now? “Harmony, will you tell me about your life?” She looked shocked to hear that request which would be out-of-place in this case. I still continued my smile, “You said it yourself that our bond of trust is starting rather weak, why not make it stronger with me telling mine and you telling yours?”

She was silent. Probably was pondering on such an idea since the request was rather sudden if I do say so myself. After some tense moments, she finally answered with a smile, “I will gladly tell you my part of my life. You saved my life from those raiders; it’s only fair for me to share my part as well. But you must be truthful to your retelling okay?”

I was taken by that. Truthfully tell her about my life? It would be easy if it weren’t for the many things that would set off many alarms about it, “Well?” She was waiting for my answer. I am starting to hate the situation I was in right now. I could probably change some of the details about my life, but it still won’t be easy otherwise. She was willing to strengthen our bond of trust even though the request was sudden at most. I can’t help but smile at that.

It wasn’t easy for me, but for her sake and her brother, it was worth a shot, “Sure. I’ll promise on that…” I don’t know why, but the sudden idea of me doing that kind of promise was lingering in my head. For better or for worse I went with it anyway, “In fact, I’ll Pinkie promise it.” She looked baffled trying to understand what a Pinkie promise is. Of course she doesn’t know what a Pinkie Promise is, go figure. I smiled, perhaps I might be able to give a lecture about it just this once though, “It is a special promise by Pinkie Pie, you do know her right?”

Her brain was wracking wondering if she had heard that name before until it clicked on her, “Oh that Pinkie Pie? You mean the head of the Ministry of Morale right?”

There were Ministries? Since when were there Ministries made in Equestria? Forget that question; I forgot that this was probably established during the wartime effort which would make sense, “Yes that Pinkie Pie…” How awkward can I be right now? I did the Pinkie Promise, performing the gestures with each phrase said by the promise, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I wonder if Pinkie can tell I broke a Pinkie promise even if she is dead… I’d rather not know for the sake of my sanity.

She did a light chuckle upon me finishing the promise. Apparently, she found the Pinkie Promise a bit funny, “That’s a Pinkie Promise? That’s seems something the head of the MoM would do alright…”

I too let a light chuckle escape as well, “Trust me, even her fellow heads of the other ministries do this as well.” I wasn’t so sure if I was telling the truth considering I’ve never been in the ministries. She believed me though she finds that hard to believe to an extent. I would be too if I didn’t meet Pinkie Pie.

She stopped laughing there and asked a question about the Pinkie Promise. Because everypony has questions about the promise itself, “I know promises so breaking one would be bad, but what would happen if you broke a Pinkie Promise though?” I shuddered at the idea of breaking one. She saw me shudder there and another question about me shuddering this, “Why did you shudder there?”

I answered her question obviously with a bit of fear after knowing what happened to the last pony that broke one specifically Applejack, “Well, let’s just say that Pinkie Pie gets really angry and gets a new voiceover.” That only made the mare more confused than ever, “Okay try it this way, she’ll relentlessly stalk you until you apologize or she does something rather… disturbing.”

Her head turned at the idea of Pinkie doing something disturbing, “Disturbing? What would the head of the MoM do that would be considered disturbing by any standard as of now?”

I fell silent upon hearing her response. Just pondering about it, I suddenly realized that she had a point there, “Huh, now that I think about, her disturbing thing would not be out of place here now…” I couldn’t but let a small grin form just imagining her doing her thing right now.

From out of nowhere, both of us heard a quiet yet long dramatic word that seriously made me reconsider what Pinkie can do. And she was doing this even though, I think, she was supposed to be dead! “FOREVER!”

Both of us shuddered at hearing that. I really need to consider on what to Pinkie Promise from now on… She was scared out of her spine from hearing that, “O-Okay um, what was that I just heard?”

I just looked at her with so much shock and confusion in my eyes; I think I might consider myself insane. This was extremely difficult to explain because, well, this is Pinkie Pie I’m talking about here. How do I explain her antics? I had to change the subject right now, this was driving me nuts, “Let’s just change topic here please? Explaining this is not easy for me to do…”

She agreed with me as she cleared throat while shuddering again. This was something she was not going to forget in a long while and frankly, so am I.

Both of us exchanged every bit of our life to one another. Her life I find was very tragic, almost similar to mine if not for the alicorn bit being left out from my life. Her parents were veterans of the war leaving her to be taken care of her brother Epsilon. They both knew that they would not live through this should they face death so one of them decided to stay with her, the one that chose was the mother. Despite the war, they lived a somewhat happy life having learned their magics early on, playing around with the other fillies and colts.

It was when they received news that the father died, their life turned to the worse. Their mother was really depressed from hearing that, and as a result went to drinking alcohol to relieve herself of the pain. I knew where things were going with mention of that. After that, everything spiraled downward and only they took care of each other keeping each other safe from harm. Then the war escalated and they would all be one of the new generations to make it here.

It saddened me to see her own brother be in trouble when she relied on him so much for support. I was going to be very happy to rescue him and reunite them again. I told her my part and she saw the connection like I did. At first she did initially freak out at the fact that I was the only pegasi to have six wings. She thought that it was mutation or something. I did tell that I was born with this, no crazy experiments whatsoever.

I checked up on her injuries to see if they have healed. Good thing for her, they healed for the most part, but I still wanted her to be careful to not push herself, “Good news, your injuries have significantly healed for the most part… But I suggest you don’t push yourself okay Harmony?”

“Okay…” She looked a little let down a little but cheered up from that. I went outside for a sec checking if there were any nearby raiders. No raiders for now… Good. I let her go outside to let herself relax a bit. She tried to walk again hoping that she can go so far without needing my assistance. I watch her walk around the safe area for now. She didn’t trip up being a little cheery that she is able to walk again.

I smiled seeing that, one I made a new friend and two, to see her happy for a while. I sat down eating an apple as I was preparing all needed equipment. During my preparations, I looked upon the contraption I pulled out. My mind was still curious as to what this is.

I wondered if Harmony could use this better than I could. I called her in hoping that she could answer my question. Her face showed signs of pain as she made to the door. I caught her as she fell. She was still not feeling well for the most part, “Perhaps we should rest a bit longer before we go?”

She nodded her head as I assisted her getting back up. She looked at the contraption I had in hoof. Her eyes widened as she reached for the thing in my possession, “Is that a PipBuck?”

I looked to her in surprise, apparently she knew about this. Well that’s a start, “Yes, why are you looking at it like you’re seeing a ghost?”

She shook her head from that trying to get out whatever trance she was in, “Sorry, it reminds me of Epsilon. He wears one when he became a war veteran…”

That got me interested. The idea of offering it to her would be good on my part, I’m not so sure if I needed it for myself, but she definitely needed more so than me, “You can have this you know. I really don’t have much use of it.”

She looked at me like I was crazy from saying that, “Are you sure? You might need it more so than me…”

I won’t deny and admit that this ‘PipBuck’ might actually come in handy. The main problem to that was that I have no idea on how to use it, “I would Harmony, but I have no idea on how to use this PipBuck. I just found it by chance.”

She seemed shocked at hearing that, then smiled afterwards. Why do I get the feeling that she might try to do something funny with it? “Well, if you want to know how to use it, I could give a few beginner tips about it…”

Learning how to use this? That I can’t deny about, “Really? I’d like that a lot. I already know some stuff about it but not everything.” Her smile gave off a feeling of warmth, probably like that of Celestia herself if she were around. I wonder how well they’re doing on adjusting to this place and getting Luna’s memories…

I gave it to her as she gave a lecture about everything I needed to know about the PipBuck. This was going to be one long session as Harmony went into lecture mode, “Okay so you know some of the functions of a PipBuck right?”

I nodded to her answer. She continued to smile as she explained the intricacies of this PipBuck, “So far, everything I learned about the PipBuck… was that it was made from the blending of unicorn pony magic and science.”

She tapped on the screen as a display opened. A balloon came forth and popped revealing a digitized Pinkie giving a smile. I can’t but smile seeing that in the contraption, “The PipBuck will keep a constant measure of your health, which admittedly does have its perks…” I whistled hearing that. A machine that checks up on your health conditions? Now that’s something I’d like…

She chuckled a bit as she continued her lecture, “It help administer some healing poultices and other medicine, track and organize everything in your saddlebags, assist in repairs, and keep all manner of notes and maps available at a hooftap.” She tapped the screen to prove her point. Everything that was happening within the machine was all as she said.

I can’t help but say that I’m a bit jealous that my Equestria doesn’t have this kind of technology yet. I mean sure, we’re getting advanced now with airships, but that’s nothing compared to this. I‘d say I’m a bit jealous, “Plus, it allows you to listen to the Stable broadcast whenever you would like as it can tune into and decrypt just about any radio frequency.”

“You mean like the radio I found out about?” I wondered if the radio and this Stable broadcast were similar to one another.

She scratched her chin seeing the analogy I made, “In a way, yes… but that’s not all it can do! A pony’s PipBuck generates an E.F.S. or Eyes-Forward Sparkle for short. It will indicate direction and help gauge whether the ponies or creatures around you are hostile or not.”

A way to tell whether the people in front of you are whether good-intentioned or not? I’d rather trust my own judgment instead of the machine, but still, I’m amazed at such a capability. At least it does help in warning of locating enemies so there’s something I can count on. I was still listening to Harmony going on about the Pipbucks. I will admit, I think she might be a bit too excited about telling me about them, “Oh and perhaps the most impressive part of a PipBuck, a PipBuck can magically aid you in a fight for brief periods of time through use of the S.A.T.S. or Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell for short.”

“And what does it do precisely?” I will admit all of this knowledge is something for just a simple wrist watch.

Her smile was even bigger than I imagined. Yeah, I think she’s becoming Twilight in terms of giving lectures, “Well, this might be a bit hard to describe, but basically it allows you to go into what my brother calls it, bullet-time.” This spell slows down time whenever possible? Now that is an achievement I would have never expected unicorns to be able to do.

I wondered if you can use it as many times as possible. Apparently that thought was answer by Harmony as if she read my mind, “You can use as many times as possible but only in short bursts. After a single burst, the spell needs to recharge.” Okay, so they can only use it in short bursts comparing to actually slowing down time as long as you need. Still, to be able to do something close to slowing down time is quite a feat.

I think that was everything about the Pipbuck I had to learn. I was looking at Harmony doing something to it. For this S.A.T.S., I’m not so sure if it is only available to unicorns but that’s something I can test hopefully not in battle.

I heard a beep sound as I looked at the PipBuck seeing a marker of sorts on it. I looked at Harmony wondering what she did. A small chuckle escaped her as she tapped her head. I guess she forgot something important, “Silly me, I forgot about this fact! The PipBuck can keep track of the location of tagged objects or people, including the wearers of other PipBucks.  So if a pony somehow got lost, then anypony who knew the lost pony’s tag could find them instantly. I put my brother’s tag on here…”

Well that explains that. Harmony managed to put the tag of her brother Epsilon on the PipBuck. Now we have an idea on where to go. The direction of Epsilon’s PipBuck was just northeast from where we are. I wanted to get to Tenpony Tower, but the history lessons can wait. I smiled to Harmony as I extended my hoof holding the PipBuck to her, “You need this, you deserve it better than me.”

She looked away with a slight blush on her face as she rubbed her left foreleg with her right. I guess she never had a stallion act like such a gentlemen to her if her reaction meant anything. She looked at me still wearing her smile, “Thank you Zodiac, but you deserve it. You found it and I’m giving it to you as a thank you gift.”

I’m not so sure on how I should react to this, I was a bit silent on her response. I continued my smile as I pulled it away from her and stared at it for some time. Eventually, I accepted it as my own, “Thank you Harmony, I’ll treasure this. Say can you help me put this on at least?”

She smiled as she did my request. She went through some of the intricacies as the clasp opened. She put it above my right hoof. A sound of a popped balloon came forth as she closed the clasp around my right foreleg. Oddly enough, it was rather comfortable to wear.

I looked at, officially now, my PipBuck and see a bunch of digital balloons popping in succession as a digital Pinkie popped forth though the balloons and pointed at me, “Welcome new user of our beloved PipBuck! We hope that you enjoy as being the newest addition to the PipBuck party! Hooray!” Digital streamers fell from the ceiling as Pinkie was hopping around like crazy blowing on a party horn.

The both of us chuckled seeing this. I’m a bit happy to see her in something like this even if she is gone into the afterlife. Then again, she would always try to make everyone’s lives as happy as possible. I looked to see the Sun setting as night falls upon the Wasteland. I heard Harmony yawn as she covered her mouth a few times.

I was yawning as well. Yeesh, were we this tired already? I don’t remember us moving around a lot. Regardless, we decided to rest for the night. Our bodies weren’t ready to brave the Wasteland yet; they still needed some time to recuperate. As Harmony was the first to sleep, I looked outside seeing the setting Sun give way to the night. Had it not been for the cloud cover, I would have seen the twinkling stars.

Cloud cover… My mind was still thinking about the Enclave. From the way the slavers absolutely had my preferred chosen race, it’s as though everyone on the Wasteland hates the pegasi in general. But, there were a few pegasi that aren’t terrible right? I’m one of those few pegasi mostly because I never even heard of the Enclave until those slavers mentioned it.

Ugh, so many questions to answer, so little time. I truly cannot wait to get to Tenpony Tower after this whole ordeal of saving Harmony’s brother. I yawned as I lay down on the mattress. Tomorrow, things take a turn for the interesting.

I was the first to wake as the Sun shone on our faces. I heard Harmony groan as her eyes opened slowly from the Sun. I couldn’t help but let a small laugh out seeing her struggle with trying to wake up. I went to my bag checking if we had everything we needed to go to where Epsilon’s PipBuck is supposedly is. After checking through our inventory thanks to my PipBuck (I still think Harmony deserves it better than I do…), we were ready to go out.

I saw Harmony checking out both hers and my wounds. Seeing that they were healing fairly well, we set out to the PipBuck’s location. I took another look at Harmony seeing if she was doing fine. She was walking just fine and she was her cheery self, though I can’t tell if she has any internal conflicts.

I gave her my last apple I had been holding. She looked at it for a long while gazing at the red apple in front of her. She took one small bite on it. Immediately, her face lit and she did another bite this time much bigger than the last one. Betting she never had food that good for a while. She was still eating the apple as she eyed me, “Thank you Zodiac, I’d never… had food that delicious in a long while.”

Called it on the food part! I was beaming with joy happy to make her happier than usual, “Of course what are friends for?” Well, rather acquaintances but she took it rather well. She chuckled lightly there as I just stood there smiling. During our journey, I wanted check on her condition one more time just in case, “Are you truly okay? I see that you can walk fine but I want to be certain.”

She finished eating the apple I gave to her and gave the core to me, “I’m fine, thank you for the concern Zodiac. Honestly, you’re sounding a little bit like my overprotective brother right now…”

I was silent there, though in my head, I was laughing like crazy hearing that statement. I only just shrugged not really finding anything odd about that, “Hey I can’t help it, you’re a good ally and I want to be certain that you are fine…”  

She looked at me weirdly for a moment, then let out a little chuckle hearing that, “You really are becoming like Epsilon right now…” Her ears lowered a bit from the sudden memory of her brother.

I mentally slapped myself in the head for making her remember her lost brother, “Sorry for reminding you of your brother…”

She gave a warm smile to me as she went to hug me. She backed away from me still continuing her smile, “Thank you Zodiac for helping me here. I really wish I met more ponies like you. This Wasteland deserves more ponies like you helping others out.” I nodded my head and gave a smile of my own to her as we continued on.Already our bond of trust is growing huh? I wonder how Watcher is reacting to seeing us like this?

Footnote: Level Up.

Zodiac:

New Perk: Friend in Need – When protecting an NPC, your defense increases by 25%.

Naturia Harmony is now a Companion!

Naturia Harmony:

Harmonic Rhythm: Harmony's carefree nature for all things gives her some love! She gains +5 in Charisma but loses -2 in Strength

Tagged Skills: Tech-Savvy Lvl 2, Determinator, Cheerleader

New Perk: Moving Forward - With a new friend, life doesn't seem all that bad, you grant +2 Action Points to allies around you

Next Chapter: Chapter III: A Will to be Freed Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 37 Minutes