{Symbols Journal: Entry 1}

At first I was a bit sceptical about using this thing, but the more I think about it, the more using this book makes sense to me. With what's going on and what will happen, it's probably best to document my journey on paper than on a holotape. Might as well start this thing while Cadence is busy up the street talking with that Mister Handy robot I saw her running towards. I guess I should start with when I woke up in the pod.

I had been awoken to the sound of some automated recording, saying something about a malfunction. That didn't make any sense, I didn't live in a place that had that sort of warning system. As I opened my eyes I felt cold, very cold. As I found myself in some sort of pod I started to panic. Where was I? What was I doing there? Who put me there? When I had fallen asleep I was in my bed back at my camp. Now, I was in a pod, confused and frightened. I knew there was only so much air these things could hold, I had limited time, not only that but if I stayed in there for any longer I would freeze to death, not how I want to die.

Luckily, someone had managed to come across my pod, or I should be saying somepony if you want me to be specific. My pink saviour opened the pod and I fell out, landing on my hands and knees, trying to take in some of the rooms freshly circulated air as Cadence looked down at me with worry. I managed to get up and walk to the end of the room, where I placed my back against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor as I tried to get a handle on my thoughts.

Once I had calmed down I stared at the mare before me, as I looked at her I immediately knew that I had to protect her. The way she looked, it was exactly like my camps elders had described the mare I would one day travel with. Symbol isn't my real name, it's a title given to me by the village that raised me and my three brothers. I can't go into detail right now, but I will soon. I need to get this pistol modified and search for more supplies, hopefully there is a Radaway or a few more Stimpaks around here.

...

Ok, I was able to get another chance to write in this thing. Quite a bit happened, but I'll continue of what happened with me in the Vault.

We introduced ourselves, I didn't give her my real name though, I gave her my title name. She seemed to accept that despite obviously being a little confused at the name, in honesty she did her best to hide it, but I was able to see it, ponies show a lot of what they're feeling through their faces.

Anyway, after getting a handle on my situation, having been preparing for the start of this journey most of my life, I found a Vault Suit that would provide better protection than my usual attire, which consisted of a purple t-shirt, blue jeans and purple shoes with a grey jacket made for me by the ones in my camp.

Pressing forward we encounter a few Radroaches, easy enough to take down. Cadence used her telekinesis and I used my foot and a wrench I had found, which I planned to use as a spare source of steel later on when modifying my weapon. I stared getting a headache, thoughts of my chosen path and how long I was in that pod flooded my mind. I told Cadence to go on, to clear a path and to also allow me to take an alternate route and make sure if there was something of use to us.

She hesitantly agreed and walked out of a sliding door which closed behind her. As I took an alternative route I managed to find a Pip-Boy on a dead body, which I was grateful for. In my camp I had learned all the functions of the device, including how the inventory system worked. You see, there was a supply of magic energy in the device that allowed you to place a good amount of items in a pocket dimensions for sorts, also allowing you to take an item out if needs be by just selecting it from an inventory menu.

Walking around I picked up as much junk as I could fund, it would come in handy later, as I had been taught how to modify weapons and armour with scrap by local smiths and fighters that lived in the camp. I needed these skills of I wanted to survive the wasteland, and if I wanted to protect Cadence.

As I went along I fount a few more Radroaches. I managed to find a pistol and some ammo in a locker, also managed to find some Stimpaks and Bobby pins with a screwdriver, handy in case I needed to pick a lock. Luck on my side I came to the overseers office where a weapon lay in a locked cabinet. Figuring it would be useful I began to pick the lock, but found it too difficult to pick at this time, so I decided to come back when I had grown in skill. After that I met up with Cadence at the entrance of the Vault and healed her with a Stimpak as she had been injured from her fights with the Radroaches.

As we boarded the elevator to the surface and reached the top it felt like I had been hit by a flash grenade, my eyes adjusted to the new light quickly though. As my vision returned I looked to Cadence and saw her distraught expression as she looked out at the wasteland for presumably the first time. I could tell that the street down the hill was her home, so I did my best to comfort her. I placed a hand on her back and looked into her eyes apologetically, to make her smile I scratched her ear, ponies love that.

We made our way down the hill, passing multiple skeletons that had been there since the bombs fell. As we entered the street which I had learned was called Sanctuary Hills Cadence began to get upset again. In an effort to distract her from the sadness I told her to go search for supplies up the street while I searched the lower half for food, water, first aid and the currency of the wasteland, bottle caps.

Right now I'm sitting at a campfire with Cadence and a group of other humans and ponies known as the Minutemen and Minutemares. More info on them next entry, right now I need to eat and get to sleep before my watch starts.

Author's Notes:

First entry of Symbols journal, hope you enjoyed