I had not gotten much sleep that night. Big Boss’ offer all ran through my mind all night along with reasons why I should and shouldn’t lead this expedition. I might have finally fallen asleep more from exhaustion than anything else. I was glad to finally get out of bed and make my way to Big Boss to inform him of my decision.

The barn slowly emerged from the early morning haze. As I reached the large barn door, I saw that there was a small group of maybe a half dozen ponies milling around with clipboards, checking off items on their lists. Three distinct piles were being made. From what I could see, all sorts of supplies were being put together, including food, water, and first aid kits.

I made my way into Big Boss’ office where he was looking over a clipboard of his own. He put down the clipboard as he said, “Good morning, Dust. Can’t say I’m surprised to see you. I figured you’d take me up on this offer. Mind if I ask why you decided to go on this mission though?”

“I thought on this most of last night. On some level, I do want revenge for what Muddy attempted.” I sighed deeply. “But, if someone has to kill Muddy, I don’t know, it just feels right if I am the one to do it.” What I wasn’t going to say was that I was also afraid that Muddy would tell everyone that I am a pegasus.

“I can respect that, but please note, we are considering this first and foremost a capture mission. We would like him alive so that we can interrogate him. Some of the leadership feel that he is hiding something else and we want to make sure he didn’t steal anything that he may have found inside.” If only he knew.

Big Boss continued, “But first, I have some good news for you.” Big Boss walked over to a safe I hadn’t noticed in the wall before. “After much discussion, and some serious disagreement, I managed to convince the leaders of something.” He clicked in the final number in the combination and the door swung open. Big Boss reached in and withdrew a box. He closed the safe and spun the dial. After walking back to his desk, he placed the box on top of it and slid it towards me. “Go ahead, open it.”

I tentatively reached out towards the box and lifted open the flaps. Sitting inside was a Pip-buck! “Wait, what? I don’t understand?”

“Officially, we are simply loaning it to you for the duration of the mission. Some of us felt the special abilities it bestows the user would be useful to you in finding and dealing with Muddy. I mean the map alone will be helpful, but I’m sure you’ll find a use for the SATS, inventory management, and health management systems.”

I brushed my hoof over the smooth surface of the screen, simply staring at it. “And unofficially?”

“Unofficially, when this mission is over, assuming you keep working for us, I can’t see any reason you can’t keep using it seeing as how you are the only one it works for. We tried having everyone else stationed here in Coltington try it out, and no one else could get it to even turn on.”

“So, I get to keep it?”

“Again, officially, no. You are simply borrowing it. But when the mission is over, unless you quit the company, I will not necessarily ask for it back immediately.”

“No. Fucking. Way.” I was getting my own Pip-Buck! When we were getting trained on Wasteland tech/weaponry, I was excited about the prospect of finding a Pip-Buck. And now I have one! “Mind if I?”

Big Boss nodded. I removed the Pip-Buck from the box. It looked just like a standard Pip-Buck. It had all the normal knobs and dials, and the usual screen which took up the majority of the device. The one odd thing was that embossed on the front of the device was a Dashite symbol… well, I supposed it was really Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, seeing as how there was no such thing as a Dashite back then.

“Rainbow Dash?” I muttered to myself, or so I thought.

“Yes, you noticed that too. This Pup-Buck was either designed for or by Rainbow Dash. Seeing as how it is believed that Rainbow Dash didn’t usually dabble in more intellectually driven pursuits, I would guess the former. Why it was made, though, I have no idea. And why it is reacting to you, I have no idea either. You’re not related to Rainbow Dash, are you? Is it possible for an earth pony to have descended from her? Did she even have children?”

I managed to stifle a gasp. Again, with another veiled reference to my true nature from Big Boss. Did he really know? Or was I simply being paranoid? “I don’t know… history isn’t exactly my strong point.” I opened the Pip-Buck and placed it on my left foreleg. As I closed the clasp that would hold it closed, I saw a little flash run along the seam between the two halves and the clasp itself. “What the?” I tried to reopen it, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Interesting… looks like the Pip-Buck magically sealed itself to your leg. Something tells me that only a very strong spell can remove that now.” Big Boss chuckled a little. “Looks like that Pip-Buck might be yours on a more permanent basis than we originally thought.”

I tugged unsuccessfully at the Pip-Buck a few more times. “Looks that way.” I couldn’t help but to grin a little. I flipped the activation switch with my other hoof and watched the Pip-Buck boot up. My vision flared and then returned to normal as the EFS kicked in with all of its displays. I apparently was facing north, was unarmed, and all the ponies around me were not threats. It worked just like it was described in training. “This. Is. Awesome!”

“Well, then best of luck with it.” He moved out from behind his desk. As he passed me, he said, “C’mon, let’s get you geared up and meet your team.”

That’s right… I needed to meet the team I forgot to ask about yesterday. I wondered who got assigned to me seeing as how there were still some trust issues.

It was a short walk back to the area where I saw the material being assembled before. Before we got there, I heard a feminine, gravelly voice say, “Of course he’s gonna accept it… it’s not like Dust wouldn’t want ta get revenge on Muddy.”

A deep male voice responded, “Well, I don’ know ‘bout that, but I figur’ Dust wants ta get to the bottom of this all.”

It sounded like my friends Flower and Brown Root, but they wouldn’t join this mission. I doubt Last Stand would let them.

We rounded the corner into the main work area. In a small room off to the side was Wilted Flower and Brown Root.

“Flower? Brownie? What are you doing here?”

Flower spoke up first, “Well, I heard ya were goin’ ta play hide and seek with Muddy and how could I resist?”

Brownie spoke up next, “Eeyup. We couldn’t let ya go out and have alla the fun now, could we?”

“No, I don’t mean why are you coming. What I mean is how did you get away from Last Stand? I can’t imagine he willingly let the rest of his team leave him behind?”

Big Boss was the one to answer. “Well, Dust, that answer is easy. They came to talk to me once they heard we were assembling a search party and you would most likely be leading it. I guess there really is no such thing as a secret around here.” He glanced at Flower and Brownie and they both simply grinned and pointed at each other. Big Boss simply shook his head. “But more importantly, don’t forget, Last Stand works for me, so I have the last say.”

Flower laughed. “And boy is he pissed. He told us that if we left with ya, not ta come back ta work for him.” The smile faded from her face. “But Dust, seriously, and more importantly, we felt bad for believing the lies Muddy told ‘bout ya.” Flower drooped her head a little. “Sorry about that.”

Brownie’s head also drooped a little. “Eeyup. Ah feel terrible ‘bout that, Dust. Ah’m sorry.”

“It’s OK guys, I can sorta understand it. All you had to go on was Muddy’s word and my mysterious disappearance, which made it all the more suspicious.”

Flower grinned a little but Brownie’s head was still drooping. “Dust, ah’m really sorry ah was the one who ratted ya out when ya came back instead of talkin’ with ya first. After all we been through, I shoulda given ya a chance before running ta Last Stand.”

I put my leg around Brownie’s shoulders. “Brownie, don’t go beating yourself up over this. It’s OK. I’m fine. Besides, I’m more pissed at Muddy than anyone else right now.”

Brownie gave a sad, little grin. “Thanks Dust, ah owe ya though.”

“I just may cash that in some day, Brownie.” I turned to Flower. “You too, Flower. Don’t beat yourself up over any of this. I don’t want anyone going with me because of a guilt trip.”

“Don’t ya worry ‘bout me, Dust. I’m doing this because we’re friends.” She chuckled. “And, I hate Muddy. Bastard tried to put the moves on me a while back. When I said no, he said some awful things, mostly about my “dirtpony” lineage.” Muddy had tried to hook up with Flower? Why hadn’t he told me about that? And he slipped up and called her a dirtpony?

Big Boss cleared his throat. “Now that this is settled, let’s go get you geared up. Let’s go see Firing Pin first.”

I didn’t really care for Firing Pin, the company armorer. He was just… well… weird is the only word I can come up with. We entered his workroom, which was adjacent to the vault that stored the armory. The workroom was a small, cluttered room with no windows. As usual, it was lit only by a small work light on a work bench. There were boxes of piled up on every other available surface, none were labeled and all were stacked haphazardly.

Behind the small workbench, levitating a revolver in his green magical field, was the white-maned Firing Pin. As was normal, his mane looked like he had electrocuted himself. His coat was, appropriately, gun metal gray and his mane matched. He was wearing a white lab coat and was wearing a pair of magnifying goggles. When he heard us enter, he looked up and his eyes were comically enlarged.

When he spoke, his voice was almost a croak. “Ponies four, do I see. They have come to see me. Weaponry is what they seek. Bossy, pretty, strong, and meek.” Did I mention he always spoke in rhyme?

“Firing Pin, have you assembled the gear I requested for this team?” Big Boss queried.

“Your list, no, I have not made. It simply didn’t make the grade. Let me look at who will bear. I will give them weapons fair.” Firing Pin levitated the revolver he was working on into a storage box on top of one of the piles. He limped his way over to us.

He stopped at Flower first. He looked up and down, stopping to stare her right in the face. Flower backed off each time he tried to get closer.

“First, the fair Flower do I see. What kind of weapon, shall I give thee? Armored always, strong of will. Many ponies will she kill. Impeccable is her aim. I shall outfit her the same. A long range rifle, scoped and true. Is the best weapon I can give to you.” He turned and levitated one of the boxes down. He placed it on the bench and levitated out a very mean looking sniper rifle with a high powered scope. Flower hefted it in her hooves, checked the firing bit and giggled to herself.

He hobbled over to Brownie next. He repeated the same scan as he did on Flower. It was almost as if he was trying to see and remember who each of us were.

“Now Firing Pin, we’ve had these talks before. Ah don’t wanna kill nopony. Just give me somethin’ for self defense and I’ll be fine.”

“Here stands Brown Root, loves all life. He hates the Wasteland with all its strife. When faced with danger, he will fight. Using all his magical might. Two weapons, on you I shall arm. So you can do the necessary harm. Machine pistols, rapid and true. Are the armament I give to you.”

Two machine pistols floated out of another box. “I’ll take em, but I will try my best not to use them, Mr. Pin.”

Firing Pin simply laughed. He hobbled his way in front of me. After looking me over, he laughed the hardest I’ve ever heard him laugh before. “Dust Cloud is pony number three. Who is standing here in front of me. Not a fighter, like the other two. A joke this must be, to outfit you. Something is needed, for one with no skill. Or else he will end up as the kill. Something which is simply point and bite. To keep this one in the fight. “

A shotgun floated out of a box and right in front of me. It appeared to be a combat model outfitted with a magazine drum.

“Easiest weapon of all to use. Can kill anything that you choose. Long range weapon, it is not. Only useful when the situation's hot. Brown and Flower, will do more fighting. To keep Dust Cloud from dying. But if something should get near. Simply bite, it will disappear.

Firing Pin’s face lit up with an evil grin. “Wait! I have one more for you. I just remembered it, it is so new. Don’t let size make up your mind. And do not leave this gun behind.” A tiny pistol, barely larger than my hoof, floated out of a box. It was dropped right in front of me. I heard my companions snicker behind me.

“This tiny weapon, I give to thee. Small in size and power it be. But for Dust, I take it off the shelf. So he does not hurt himself!” He began to cackle and the other ponies in the room laughed with him

I mumbled under my breath, “I can fight… I took out a raider last week all by myself. He has no idea what he’s talking about, the loon.”

Firing Pin stopped laughing and became deadly serious. “Do not mock me, Dust Cloud. It is a bad idea to be overly proud. You and I both know I’m right. You barely know how to fight. So be wise in choosing your words, If you want to stay alive with the herds. And do not ever again act like a jerk, if you want your weapons to work.” My blood ran cold with the implied threat.

Big Boss stepped in. “Alright, I think you’ve made your point Firing Pin. Didn’t he, Dust?”

My voice came out barely a whisper. “I’m sorry Firing Pin… I didn’t mean to call you a loon.”

Firing Pin simply shook his head. “Your strengths I had just addressed. Now to equip you with the rest. First off, simpler weapons there are none. Than your basic mouthgun.” A box flew down from the top of a pile and three pistols flew out to each of us. Firing Pin held mine back, which made me miss reaching for it. I glared at him.

He continued, “And now for something more, if you’re outnumbered to even the score. Zebra made arms, none are better. Than making large groups of ponies deader.” Three zebra-made assault rifles flew out of a box and levitated over to us. How did he remember where everything was?

Firing Pin, looking self-satisfied, leaned back and said, “These guns to you, I do give. In the hopes they will help you live. Take care of them and they will take care of you, in whatever your adventures may have you do. Care for them and clean them too, and Dust, that goes double for you!” Brownie and Flower started laughing all over again.

Big Boss’ voice brought the laughter to an end. “Alright ponies, that’s enough. Gear up and follow me.” We each stowed our weapons and followed him. Big Boss lead us back to the main staging area of the barn, back to where I saw the table of general supplies being collected. Big Boss picked up a nearby clipboard and looked over a checklist as we each stowed some of the gear away in our saddlebags. There was a generous supply of general first aid supplies, camping equipment, food, and water. We split all of this evenly between us.

“Okay ponies, listen up. As I’ve said before, this is a capture mission. We would like to get Muddy back alive, if possible. However, that does not mean I wish you to place yourselves at risk. If you need to, defend yourselves at all cost. I will allow you to be mostly autonomous, Dust. You knew Muddy, you may have some idea where he was headed. You probably know how he thinks better than most. I wish you the best of luck and please be safe. Please try to send word of your progress when you can.” A pony came running in with boxes of ammo and almost a dozen grenades. We passed them around evenly amongst ourselves. With that, Big Boss turned and left the room.

“Alright, Dust, where are we headed?” Brownie asked. Flower was looking at me too.

I inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. I was actually a little nervous about this moment. For as long as I could remember, I had always been the one taking orders, not giving them.

“Well, the only thing I can think of right now is to visit our mutual friend, Midnight Ink,” obviously leaving out the fact that he was also Enclave. “I would think that if Muddy was going to see anyone on his way out of town, it would be him. He lives a couple of days away. If you have anything else to do in Coltington, do it now.”

Both of my friends shook their heads and said that they were ready, so we grabbed whatever gear was left, and started heading out of town. As we passed each building, I thought about when I would next see the town that I had called home for a year now. I had made friends and fallen into routines. I knew that someday I would possibly be recalled to Canterbury, but I guess I started to call this place home. The mood became even more somber when I realized, I may not make it back from this mission at all. Between the irradiated wildlife and crazed ponies, this trip out in the wastes was a risky proposition. Add to the fact that we were chasing a homicidal pony, it just made it that much riskier.

After we passed the outskirts of the town, we all turned around and took one last look at Coltington. No words were spoken, but we all exchanged knowing glances. After time for each of us to reflect, we turned back around and headed out.

Our first day of travel was, thankfully, uneventful. We exchanged stories of our youth, of which I had to modify mine so that they weren’t pegasus stories, but earth pony stories. I wish I could have simply flown to Midnight’s, I would have already have been there. However, that was obviously impossible given my companions. The long trip also required that I keep up my fake identity continuously. In town, I could usually find some way to slip away to some privacy where I could remove the mask. I also had Muddy to confide in.

The daylight, if you could even call it that, started to fade when Brownie recommended we make camp for the night. He had some experience with protecting caravans before he settled in Coltington a few years back, so we took his advice. He found a small rocky outcropping which gave us a sheltered area to camp in. I was tasked with finding firewood for the night.

I spiraled out from camp, picking up any piece of wood which I felt would be useful. It was amazing to me that there was even wood left. It’s not as if there were many living trees left and even if it wasn’t used for campfires, I imagined it all would have rotted away. The hairs on the back of my neck started to stand up on end. I dropped the wood I was carrying and turned around. I scanned the area and couldn’t find anything of interest.

I picked up the wood again, and continued on my search. I got that weird feeling again. This time, I tried to surreptitiously glance around while still picking up wood. I thought I saw some movement from a small gully I had passed earlier. Changing my search path, I zig-zagged my way towards it. When I finally made my way over, I looked and saw nothing again.

I shrugged it off and resumed my search for firewood. I still got the weird feeling, but I let it pass. Once I had as much wood as I felt I could carry, I made my way back to camp.

“Holy crap, Dust, I didn’t ask ya ta bring me a whole forest!” Brownie exclaimed.

“Maybe he’s tryin’ ta’ build a house out here, Brownie?” Flower snickered.

“Well, we won’t have ta worry ‘bout runnin’ outta wood tonight.” Brownie simply laughed..

“Hey Brownie, Flower, I got this weird feeling the whole time I was searching for wood. Do you guys have the same thing, or is it just me?”

“Eeyup… I got that feelin’ too… we’re bein’ followed. I noticed it several hours ago. Didn’t think nothin’ of it since whoever it is never got close.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you knew we were being followed and you didn’t tell me? What the…”

“Well, first, ya didn’t ask. Second, I didn’t want ya ta get all nervous and try ta confront ‘em and spook ‘em. If they meant ta kill us, they woulda done so already.”

Flower giggled. “Yeah, Dust. You have a tendency ta fly off the handle.” My heart jumped a little. No, it was a figure of speech… right?

“I guess, but can you please not keep secrets next time?” I knew my voice sounded more aggravated than I intended. I took a deep breath. “So, what do you think we should do about it?”

“Nothin’. I don’t think they mean us any harm. ‘Sides, I don’t think they have any weapons. Also, far as I can tell, it’s only one pony, and we outnumber ‘em three ta one.”

Flower giggled again. “C’mon Brownie. Don’t muddy things up by using your fancy mathematics!” After a couple of seconds, she looked at the two of us. “Oh, c’mon, did neither of ya see what I did there?”

“Ugh.. Flower, that was bad.” I shook my head. “Brownie, do you have any idea where our uninvited guest is?”

“Last ah saw, ta your 10 o’clock, ‘bout 50 yards out behind that scrub brush.”

“Brownie, you are going to have to teach me how you do that one day.”

“Eeyup.”

I glanced over the shoulder of Flower towards the scrub brush in question. I didn’t see anythi… wait, I saw the brush move, but there was no wind. I lowered my voice to barely above a whisper. “Got it.”

“Just don’t do nothin’ drastic. Ah got whoever it is in my sight.”

The next fifteen minutes were the most stressful I had ever faced. It felt odd to just sit there while a possible hostile…” I glanced down at my hooves and again at the new Pip-Buck. Oh crap… I smacked my hoof against my forehead. “I am not a smart pony.”

“Eeyup, but why are ya sayin’ it this time Dust?” Brownie chucked a little and I heard Flower snicker.

“I have EFS now.” I tapped my Pip-Buck with my hoof. “I forgot that part of the information staring me literally in the face is a detection spell.” I turned my head towards the last place I saw movement, which was directly behind Flower. There were two green marks on my EFS display. I assumed one was Flower and the other had to be our guest. “Unless green means hostile, we have nothing to worry about.” I waited a few minutes. The green marker wasn’t moving. “I’m going to go meet our ‘friend’. Just keep an eye on me in case this all goes to shit.”

“Alright, ah hope you know what yer doin’” Brownie nodded.

I stood up and started trotting away from camp. I was angling slightly away from the green marker that was our guest. My plan was to flank whoever it was and force a dialogue. I periodically glanced towards the scrub brush and my EFS still indicated there was a friendly in that direction.

Eventually, I passed by a small mound of debris from a fallen billboard and started to sneak my way back towards the unknown pony, Trying to keep something between the EFS marker and myself, I crawled along the ground staying out of sight. I eventually made my way to the other side of the scrub brush behind a ruins of a carriage.

I wanted to catch our “friend” off-guard. So I braced myself and then rushed out of my hiding spot towards my target. “Who goes…. there?” There was no one there, and the EFS marker had disappeared from my view.

I felt a hoof touch my back. “Hi Dust.”

“Gah!” I jumped a couple of feet in the air and landed unceremoniously on my rump. “Who the fuck?”

I turned to see who had snuck up on me. A familiar pair of eyes as blue as the skies in Fort Canterbury greeted me. “Silver? Don’t do that!” I panted.

“Sorry, Dust. I heard something moving towards me and I didn’t know it was you so I hid. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Scared, I’m not scared. I’m just ultra alert right now.” Never mind that I was still breathing heavily and my heart was beating out of my chest. “Now tell me, what the hell are you doing out here?”

“Oh, um, I followed you guys. You left Coltington without talking to me. I woke up and heard you already left.” She frowned when she said that. “Why?”

“Silver, I’m sorry… Big Boss does not trust you so I didn’t think it wise to show up in his office with you. Come to think of it, neither do my traveling companions.” I placed a hoof on her shoulder, “More importantly, however, this will probably be too dangerous. Muddy will probably try to kill me and I didn’t want to give him two targets. I was trying to protect you.”

“Dust, you can talk to your friends and probably convince them. I know Big Boss would never have listened, so now you can say you didn’t have a choice and he can’t blame you.”

“Silver…” I pleaded.

“And I can’t believe you would have left me behind when you were going after Muddy. Don’t you think I want to find him as much as you do?”

“Silver, I’m worried, is all. He already wants to kill me, what do you think he will try if he sees you?”

“This is too important for me. Don’t you think I want revenge on him for what he did to me?,” she said, straining to keep calm.

“What did he do to you?”

She stiffened. “Dust, please, I’m not ready yet.”

I grumbled. “Silver, I hope you get ready soon. I need to know what I am up against. His behavior will be the biggest indicator of that.” Silver started to mindlessly kick at the dirt. “C’mon, let’s get back to camp. I’m not leaving you out here alone.”

We made our way back to camp. Flower and Brownie were both sitting right where I left them before. When they saw Silver, I saw them reach for their weapons, but I simply shook my head and they relaxed a little.

“So Dust, where did ya find a trampoline out here in the wastes?” Brownie said, giggling to himself.

Flower, fell backwards over the rock she was sitting on, laughing loudly. “Yeah Dust, you almost ended up in Enclave territory!”

“You guys saw that, huh?” I felt my cheeks start to get warm.

“Well, ya did tell me ta watch out fer ya when you left.” Brownie offered.

“Thanks Brownie… I appreciate it,” I said with a good measure of sarcasm.

Flower finally stopped laughing and crawled back on top of her rock. “Oh, Dust, you shoulda seen it. First you...and then she...and then you… BWAHAHAHA!” She fell over laughing again.

“Flower, I get it. It was funny. Ha ha…” This was going to be a long trip.

Finally everyone calmed down (some took longer than others). We offered Silver some of the food that we had scavenged, although I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was feral dog meat. She ate it up greedily enough.

“So, Silver, Dust here knows a lot about ya, but we don’t. Where are ya from?” Brownie asked.

“Not much to tell… My family used to live in a small settlement on the outskirts of Phillydelphia. We left when Red Eye started getting more aggressive and was claiming everyone as slaves. Not much else to tell you. My family got killed and I have been running from their killers. That’s why I ended up in the stable and you guys pretty much know the rest.”

“Ah’m rightly sorry ta hear bout yer family. But who would do such a thing?” I quickly glanced towards Brownie and tried to surreptitiously shake my head.

“Just some bad ponies. I don’t like talking about it much.” Her voice trailed off and she stared at her hooves.

Flower leaned over and put a leg around her. “Sorry Silver. We don’t mean to bring up painful memories. What do ya do for a living?”

“I never really had to do much. My family looked out for me. Until they died that is. My parents were traders. They liked looking for ancient artifacts from old Equestria. To the right ponies, they were worth a pretty cap. I guess you could call me a freelance scavenger, for lack of a better description.”

“What about brothers and sisters?” Flower asked.

“I have an older brother. Don’t know much about him though. He was captured by raiders when I was really young.”

“Wow, Silver, I’m sorry.” I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I can only imagine how that feels.” Well, I sort of did. I effectively lost everything that was dear to me about a year ago.

“It’s OK… that’s just the way the Wasteland goes I guess,” she offered.

Brownie said very solemnly, “Yes it is, but it doesn’t make right.”

“Um, Silver, I can’t help but ta notice, where’s your things? Food? Water? Weapons?” Flower asked.

I hadn’t noticed it yet, but she only had her saddlebags with her and they seemed very empty.

“I didn’t think to get any of that stuff. I figured you guys would be stopping in towns along the way. Plus, I was in a hurry to catch up with you since you had like an hour head start on me.”

Flower smacked herself in the face with her hoof. “Ugh, noobs. Alright, we’ll have ta find somewhere ta get some stuff for ya eventually. Until then, Dust, she’s your friend, you deal with her arrangements.”

With the mood suddenly sour and it getting late, we decided to call it a night. Brownie volunteered for the first watch, which I didn’t argue with. I was more of a morning pony anyway. Flower would take the middle watch and I would take last watch tonight. I offered my bedroll to Silver for the night. She thanked me but insisted I keep it. She would just sleep on the ground.

I excused myself to relieve myself and trotted out away from the camp. As I was about to do my business, I heard hoofsteps behind me. I turned and saw Flower coming up behind me.

“Dust, we need ta talk. There’s somethin’ not right with that pony, and I’m not talking about her bein’ a pegasus. Don’t you find it odd that she’s not willin’ ta talk about anything personal?”

“She’s just been through a lot. I think it’s perfectly reasonable given her situation.”

“Uh-huh, OK… you keep on believing that, but I think there’s more going on. No one follows anypony into the Wasteland unless they have a very good reason… and she ain’t followin’ Brownie and I since she couldn’t know that we were going anywhere.” Not unless a dumb pony like me told her everything. “Just be careful is all I’m sayin. Especially since you have a crush on her.”

“What? I have no idea…”

“Can it. I saw the way you kept lookin at her while we were eatin before. Look, I know I can’t really tell you how to live your life, but watch out. Somethin ain’t right here.” And she trotted off.

I finished my business and trotted back to the campfire. Everyone had finished eating, and was starting to set up their bedrolls for the night. I rolled mine out and watched while Silver took off her saddlebags and set them up as a pillow.

“Silver, you’re sure you don’t want to use my bed roll? I’ll be OK on the ground,” I offered again.

“No Dust, I’m sure. Thanks though.” She smiled a little at me. It made me feel a little flutter in my stomach. I heard Flower snicker from her bedroll across the fire from me.

I laid down and quickly fell asleep.

“Dust… wake up…. Dust, wake up!” I heard someone whisper.

“No, mom, I’m not going to school today.”

“Dust! Please!” I felt my body get shaken and slowly opened my eyes.

“What the fuck is going on?” I blinked trying to clear my eyesight. It was dim since the fire had burned down low. Damn it, why hadn’t Flower or Brownie put more wood on? “What happened to the fire?”

“Shhhhhhhhh….” Silver placed her hoof over my mouth.

I mumbled as I tried to speak through her hoof. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw she wasn’t looking at me, but at something outside our little camp.

I pulled her hoof off my mouth and whispered, “Silver, what is it?”

“I don’t know Dust… I woke up and heard something rustling. I looked for Flower but her bedroll is empty and I can’t find Brown Root either.”

“OK, calm down.. let me look…” Remembering I had EFS this time, I slowly looked around the entire camp. I saw the green marker for Silver. The only other marker was a yellow marker. There were no markers for Brownie or Flower. Either they were out of range, or they were dead. Celestia, I hoped it was the first option.

I moved as quietly as I could until I could see what had caused all the trouble. Rooting around in a small bush a good distance from the camp was a radhog. I had heard stories and seen pictures, although this was my first time actually seeing one. All I knew for sure was to not startle them and to avoid the large front teeth and tusks. Many a pony would come back from a confrontation with a radhog missing a limb, or not at all.

I got a better look at it and saw that it was barely the size of a cat. It was actually almost cute, in a post-apocalyptic kind of way.

“Aww, look at the cute little baby,” I jokingly cooed.

“Dust, I think you should back away…”

“But this guy is soo cute.. I could almost reach out and pet him.” I reached out with my hoof.

“Dust, not a good idea,” Silver’s voice was wavering as she spoke.

“Silver, what are you so afraid of, this guy is…”

That’s when I heard it… the deep bellowing of another radhog.

“Silver, is that…”

“Yes…”

“And it’s big?”

“Yes…”

“And this is its kid, isn’t it?”

“Yes…”

It was this moment that baby radhog decided to cry out for it’s parent.

“Shit…”

The parent bellowed back and I heard loud heavy footsteps start to approach. I turned my head in the direction it came from and I saw the red marker fade into view on my EFS. It must have been just out of range.

A few moments later I saw a beast almost as large as I was break out of the underbrush a good distance away. It was hard to get details in the dark, but it had tusks as long as machetes and probably almost as sharp. Its fur was a matted mess. Saliva was dripping from its snout. And the smell. At this distance, it was faint, but it was a sickly sweet combination of rotting meat and rotten fruit. It hesitated slightly as it searched out its offspring and then resumed its course directly towards us.

“Silver, run!” I turned and ran as I heard the steps start to thunder behind me. The animal brayed behind us. I quickly glanced around and looked for options. The only cover was the small outcropping we were camping near. Having no better idea, I pointed and yelled out, “Silver, that way!”

We both turned and headed towards our makeshift shelter. “Brownie! Flower! If you can hear me, HELP!”

We ran into the small cavern-like area and I saw what might be our salvation. In the back of the area there was a small ledge several feet off the ground. It was relatively flat and was on top of a small mound of stones with a steep slope. If we could get on top of that, the radhog probably couldn’t reach us. I motioned with my head towards it. “There! I’ll boost you up!”

“No need!” She spread her wings and started flapping. She quickly rose up off the ground and easily landed on top of the ledge. Right, pegasus equals wings equals flight. It had been a while.

“Dust! Your turn!”

“I can’t, the armor! Here, put out your hoof and help me up!”

I backed up several feet and ran and leaped onto the incline. I grabbed her hoof and I felt her strain with all her might. My legs slipped on the steep surface behind me, kicking up dust and loose gravel. I kept kicking and climbing. The radhog was right behind us now.

With one last push, my legs got some purchase and I was able to get the upper half of my body on the ledge. With a lot of brute strength and a little assistance from Silver, I was able to get myself the rest of the way up. The beast slowly backed away several feet. “Yeah! That’s right, run! Come get us now you oversized piece of bacon!”

That turned out to be a mistake. The radhog lowered its head and started running top speed towards us. Its head butted the wall just below where we were standing. I felt the large stones below us shift a little while smaller stones dislodged and rolled down the slope.

“Dust, did you really have to tease the damn thing!” Silver cried out.

“Yeah, wasn’t one of my best ideas, was it?” Did I ever mention that I am not a smart pony sometimes?

The radhog impacted the wall several more times. Each time, the stones shifted more and I could feel the instability increasing.

“Alright, time to end this.” I reached into my saddlebags and pulled out the combat shotgun. Firing Pin may not have trusted my prowess with firearms but this would come in handy. I clicked off the safety and aimed.

The radhog impacted the wall one more time and I felt the stones beneath my feet tumble away. The world was turned upside down as I tumbled down the slope. I heard Silver’s screams as she fell down the incline as well.

I hit the ground hard with a loud “oof” and my shotgun scattered away from me. I quickly scanned the area and saw the back half of the radhog sticking out from a pile of stones, not moving. I could not find the pink body of Silver.

“Silver! Silver! Where are you!” I galloped over the rock pile and looked in every crevice I could. I needed to find her. I couldn’t lose her.

I started pulling stones away from where I thought I last saw Silver. I never got more than a few stones in before the ones above collapsed on top of the hole I had dug. I was still trying when I saw the radhog start moving and trying to pull itself free.

“Well, isn’t this just grand.” I galloped towards my shotgun and picked it up. I swung around as I saw the radhog pull itself free and start to charge towards me again.

I aimed and bit down on the firing bit. The recoil almost ripped the shotgun from my mouth, threatening to remove several teeth with it. Princesses be damned that hurt! I saw the shot all sail over the radhog and disappear into the darkness behind it. “Well, shit, Firing Pin was right.”

The radhog closed the distance quickly and lowered its head, trying to spear me with its tusks. I leaned to the right avoiding the sharp tusk on that side. However, I still got hit by its head. I got thrown to the side and I hit the ground rather ungracefully. The shotgun bounced off the ground, but I managed to keep a hold of it in my teeth.

“Dust! Dust! Where are you! Dust!” It was Silver, she was OK!

“Silver, run, hide! It’s still alive!” I mumbled between clenched teeth.

Unfortunately, she had already come out into plain sight and the radhog heard her shouts. It started running towards her.

I swung the shotgun up but saw that Silver was in the line of fire. I couldn’t risk the shot. I put the strap around my neck and ran towards the radhog. What I lacked in size, I made up for in speed. Silver was frozen in fear and the radhog was going to make pony-kabobs out of her.

I ran up the side of the radhog and and leaned into it with all my might. We both tripped over a rock. I felt myself collide with Silver which threw her clear and then I tumbled end over end with the radhog. A sharp pain erupted from my shoulder as one of the tusks pierced its way between two of the plates in my armor. I was thrown clear at the end and landed several feet away from the radhog. After turning myself over, I saw the radhog regaining its feet and turning towards me.

I also saw several green boxes pointing out various spots on the radhogs body with percentages. This must be the SATS working its magic. How did that happen though? Why didn’t these things come with a manual? I pulled up my shotgun and thought about where I wanted to shoot. I felt my head automatically aim itself towards the radhogs torso, which is where I decided would be the best target due to its highest hit percentage. I bit down on the firing bit. The weapon threatened to pull itself free of my grasp, but expecting it this time, I was able to hold on with less pain.

I saw several puffs of red mist spring from the radhogs torso. The beast roared out in pain and began a charge. I scanned the percentages again and thought about my target. I felt my head aim on its own and I bit down on the firing bit several times.

Each thundering boom from the shotgun followed by red mist and an accompanying scream of pain. On the last shot, the radhog fell to the ground and slid the rest of the way towards me. It stopped just short of my hooves. The empty shotgun was still emitting a “click” each time I bit on the trigger.

I looked down, ready to swing my shotgun like a bat. The radhog was not moving at all, not even the rise and fall of its chest. I slowly backed away, waiting for it to get back to its feet. It didn’t move.

“Oh, thank Celestia. Silver, where are you? It’s OK, the radhog is dead! Silver?”

I started to panic. I galloped back over to where I remember Silver standing before the last charge of the radhog. Could I have not moved in time? Did the radhog get her?

Slumped on the ground next to the rockslide was her motionless pink form. “Oh no.. Silver, no…”

Level up!

Stats: Small Arms 25

Perk Obtained: Small Game Hunter - You inflict +25% damage to small creatures.