{Cadences Journal, Entry 4}

Today was the day I took the lives of other sentient beings. Even if they were bloodthirsty savages, I still regret that I had to resort to that. After the whole incident in Concord, Symbol had reassured me that what I did was right, by saying that he would have died if I didn't pull that trigger, and that it was one less gang of raiders that the innocent survivors of the wastes would have to deal with. I'll admit, it did make me feel better. I know I'm soft, probably too kind for my own good, but that's why I have Symbol by my side, he acts as a guide, helping me through this unfair and unforgiving world. He is kind but has the strength and will necessary to do whatever it takes to survive.

Speaking of Concord. After the mare had called down to us and ran back inside, Symbol handed me the Laser Musket from one of the two corpses at the entrance to the building the other raiders were currently occupying. He gave me a brief description of the weapon, how to fire it and how to load it. He said it was best to use it at a distance and that it seemed sniping was my strong suit. I did seem pretty accurate with the pistol at long ranges, so I trusted his judgment.

He gave me the energy cells that were lying around before we charged in with Dogmeat at our side. When we entered the main lobby of the building we found it was an old museum, displaying mannequins of ponies and humans is old military uniforms and old musket rifles. There was a locked gate blocking us from reaching the main staircase that would lead us to the next floor, with a convenient little box of bobby pins sat on the top of an old cigarette dispenser. Symbol grabbed the pins and tried to unlock the gate, only for the bin he was using to break. He backed away and pointed to an open door, telling me it would take too long to unlock the gate so we would have to go around.

Once we made our way through one of the interactive exhibits we found a room with three Raiders. We his behind a display case just beside a duffle bag full of ammo and a few grenades. Thinking quickly, I grabbed one of the grenades in my telekinesis, pulled the pin with my teeth and floated it into the middle of the three. I closed my ears as I heard the grenade go off to block out the screams of pain. Symbol just sighed while he pulled out his pipe pistol and shot a surviving raider in the head.

"Cadence, I know it hard, but in this place you need to focus, trying to drown out screams won't work." He said softly, with Dogmeat barking in agreement. "You're a kind soul, and I know it's going to take a long time for you to get used to this way of life, but you can't protect the innocence in you forever."

He said much more than that, a lot more than I'd like to write, but that's essentially what he had said in a nutshell. He wa right, it would take me a long time to adjust. I always believed that if a person or pony had love in their lives they could be happy and peaceful. This world is without peace, for the majority of it at least. A mare like myself doesn't belong out here, then again, does anyone?

After his little lecture, Symbol and I picked up the am o dropped by the raiders and continued on. Dogmeat ran ahead and tackled a mare to the ground, she punched him off with her hoof only to have Symbol pull out his new bat and bring it down on her head. When we got out to the main staircase we found the floor had collapsed, revealing a nuclear power generator that held a Fusion Core. Once we had dealt with the raiders in the area Symbol made his way towards the locked security door with a terminal beside it. He tried to get access to the doors controls but the terminal was locked.

I told him to go on ahead while I worked on the terminal, when Shining was out fighting in the war I had taken some time to study the new technology that companies like RobCo were coming out with so I could keep up to date with everything. Symbol nodded and ordered Dogmeat to stay by my side while he ventured onwards to the trapped survivors.

He scratched behind my ear before taking out his 10mm pistol and moving onto the next floor. Dogmeat sat behind me, protecting me as I went through the various passwords on the terminal. It was just a four character password so it was easy enough to figure out. After selecting the right passcode the screen went blank before giving me a few options. I selected the "Open Security Door" option and stood back from the terminal.

I was then able to push the preciously locked door open and retrieved the Fusion Core. I didn't know why Symbol wanted it, but he knew what he was doing up here so it must be important. It actually suprised me that he had trouble with the terminal, given his experience with picking locks and getting into places he shouldn't be.

As I walked out of the generator room I noticed the gunshots and yelling had stopped, only the slightest sound of a conversation now in the background. I assumed Symbol had cleared the building and made his way to the ones that were trapped, it would be nice to see something that wasn't trying to kill us for a change. Well, Codsworth and Dogmeat could be counted, but we'd get to actually talk to a pony or human since we left the vault.

I heard the sound of footsteps coming from above and saw Symbol walking down the stairs while holding his arm, asking if I had the core. I quickly showed him the core and asked about his arm, he said that when he was fighting he was hit by a pipe rifle in the forearm. But with his arm busted he couldn't reach his Pip-Boy to get a Stimpak. I quickly got one out of my own inventory and stabbed it into his arm, watching as the wound pushed the bullet out and closed up.

He flexed the muscle slightly before nodding and taking the core from me, telling me to follow him up to the others, saying that they had a plan to fight off the remaining raiders that were around Concord. From my limited experience in the wasteland, I knew it would have something to do with big guns, explosions or something completely insane. Well, I was married to Shining, so I was used to a little insane.

Author's Notes:

The Symbol being good at lockpicking and not being able to hack terminals is kind of from personal experience, as I could never really get passed a locked terminal other than wth sheer luck.

Anyway, if you see any mistakes please let point them out and I'll fix them whenever I can.