"You have left a trail of breadcrumb clues which will lead you to the place where your purpose and passion have already met and are simply waiting for you to find them. -Jacob Nordby

Any questions would have to wait. I ended up with Buddy dropping me off after getting weapons fixed, armor worked on, ammo, and traveling supplies. Now I was sitting on the floor in a ramshackle excuse for a hotel. I suppose ramshackle by the standards of what was before the megaspells. The interior certainly matched the exterior much to my dismay. The room looked like it was cobbled together from heaps of scrap. Even the bed was assembled from 4 different colored metals with a repeatedly repaired mattress on it.

The mattress needed to be hosed down with bleach and a pressure washer. Then dipped into industrial strength turpentine for good measure. In the end weariness in body took over and I doubted there was anything better here, I reluctantly slid up onto the bed and wished for sheets. The sound of the springs made me wince though, I winced in pain and then got off the bed to get under it instead.

Silver Fang Shanty wasn't so much a village as it was a large colleciton of salvage cobbled together into a town. There were over forty buildings, most of them individual homes. Several shops marked with signs made of neon lights, wooden backdrops, and shaped metal rods; this was their bazaar. I was frankly surprised that so much could be constructed from, well, junk. It was late afternoon and the sun had started to set below the clouds before any of my new friends began to trickle into Hearthfire's Fireplace, the flophouse I now found myself inside of.

Before he dropped me off, Buddy was showing me exactly the things I would want to buy with our newfound caps. Weapon wise was mostly upgrades since only my shotgun and a modification to pistols were small enough for me to wield effectively. My stable barding, light leather duster, and the security helmet to a blacksmith for modifications to become better armor. Buddy had helped with the shopping and just kept repeating to me, “I gott' make 'ure you're prepared, darling.” or his other phrase, “Wanna make sure you have 'nough protection for a sweet filly.”

To say the least it was odd and I was surprised how thorough he was. Before he dropped me off at the flophouse, I felt like I'd been through a montage from Wandering Sunrise, sweet little filly to Wandering Sunrise, bringer of death! Shotgun turned in to be rechambered for 12 gauge, check. 10mm pistol we had scavenged replaced with Alguacil's reliable police revolver. We had turned it in to be modified for somepony my size as well as some more cushy leather applied to the handle so I could take the recoil.

The .357 felt a lot heavier than the salvaged 10mm, I wondered how much more it would kick when I fired it. The duster I had salvaged had been given to a tailor for almost three hours to have reinforced steel plating woven into key places. Also they put hard leather plates on the shoulders and collar so that it came all the way up to my chin. My Stable-Tec barding received similar treatment and felt like the armored coat of Mad Mare Maxi than a simple jumpsuit. I gave a small smile having found a good friend in Buddy if he was paying so much attention to detail for my sake. My own reflection in the helmet I could still recognize as I rubbed my hoof over the black back of it.

A Sunrise had been painted on the left where the ear holder was. It had been made with oil based pre-war paint and still had the smell of a freshly applied coat of colors. A beautiful bright yellow sun surrounded by orange and red hues, a sight that would be hard to miss. On the other side, there was an angel. It looked like Celestia with a halo and all white hair, holding a black shotgun just like the one holstered against my saddle bags. I had no idea where I had gotten the idea. Do I have a guardian angel? If I do, the image of Celestia flying overhead with a shotgun protecting me is quite poetic and silly. Had the Goddesses ever fired a weapon? Why would they, they were alicorns, not like they needed a gun.

I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable spot on the floor to no avil. Grumbling about the lack of comfort, I brought up my PipBuck. I hoped for some work to do if I couldn't sleep yet. There was still that list of encrypted files inside waiting for me. All of them were from last week and my friends had confirmed it had been 181 years. These dates were right. Deal with it Sunrise, calm yourself and deal with it. You only get going because you keep going forward. Mom, what I wouldn't give for you to be here. I kept tinkering with the encryption until the words were green blurs instead of letters.

Then my eyes stared at the password options I hadn't tried. I flopped back onto the mattress and regretted it immediately as an old rusty spring slammed into my naked flank right into the cutie mark. Oh for Celestia's sake give me a break! I rubbed at my bruised flank and groaned. "I hate beds so much." I resumed my scrolling through the various combinations of letters and numbers. One literally said '12345'. There is no conceivable way that someone would use that as a password. This was like something an idiot would use on his luggage! I shrugged, I had three more guesses before I'd have to back out of the encryption process and start over for the twelfth time. 'Access Granted'

What? Who played this cruel joke on me? What idiot would possibly make their password 12345? Or are they truly a devious genius? This is something scary. Either the pony who made these was a completely buffoon or a chessmaster. I would never use such a stupid password... wait! … who was playing with my PipBuck and how long did it take to put these files on it? None of these thoughts made me the slightest bit relieved or happy.

Suddenly the map function on the PipBuck opened up and marked several locations all around Equestria. No matter how I looked or drew lines between them, they had no rhyme or reason, just random markers, some in the middle of no where. No details about them, no names on them, no information in the file, just the coordinates.

Every one of them were improperly marked, I had to adjust them to make the PipBuck pick up the coordinates properly. Even beyond lacking any proper details, the Z axis on these markers was completely missing. They could have been anything from cloud cities of Pegasi to the deepest Sand Dog caves ever made. One of them even registered it was on the moon. Really? The moon? No Pony had ever gotten there right?

I looked up and out of the window. The clouds blocked any hope of seeing the moon in the early evening sky. A slow smile crossed my face at how silly it would be to make it to the moon. Then again how awesome it would be to set hoof on it. Imagine if it were actually made out of cheese? A deep and rumbling snoring noise broke my thoughts. With a sigh, I walked over to the snorer's cot. Buddy must have come in at some point while I was working on decryption. Apparently he was happy to have any old bed and he snored harder than a power drill.

Me? This bed was covered in stains. Blood, check. Smelling of piss, Check. A brown smear I am reasonably sure came from someone's rear, check. Stains I was too embarrassed to admit, double check! This is the world now Sunrise. It sucks right? Go to sleep, we can talk to them about the coordinates in the morning.

I wasn't going to sleep in that bed, not if the last spell power matrix battery in all of Equestria was at stake. I took to checking through my backpack and found a bedroll, sleeping bag is a better term. At least it's clean, way too clean to be from the wasteland. A big Stable-Tec symbol with the number 43 was emblazoned in the center. It was that odd Stable-Tec blue with bright yellow lines on the zipper. That night I decided to sleep under the bed out of sight of the rest of the room. I crawled into that sleeping bag and held it tight to my nose; it smelled like my mother. Why does this smell like mom? Who cares, it is something to hold onto. I curled into the inner folds as tight as I could and drifted off remembering my mom.

“Sunrise... Sunrise! Come on dear we have work to do if you are going to attend the school gala tonight.” Mom called to me. I walked out of my room into the hallway, pushing the door with a dull thud against the wall. I hung my head ashamed to look at her. My mane looked awful, the colts at school had taken their “fun” to it.

They had brought all the tools of hair torture and clearly planned this in advance. There were two straight razor cuts on my right ear, gum wrapped into the white highlight streak, choppy safety scissor cuts where my bangs should be and six different spray paints used as hair dye all over my mane. One streak of obnoxious purple ran from my forehead to my shoulder. I heard Shadow Window gasp when she saw her filly. I looked up with eyes full of tears and shook my head without saying a word.

“Sunrise, I didn't know it was...” There was a pause and then she gave huff of determination. “Well we have to make the best of it,” the mare declared with a finality of a mother's executive decision. Her horn glowed picking up a brush, a pair of hair scissors, bottle of white dye, and a set of combs. I looked up at my mother and the warm glow off her face through my tears. Her horn was giving the illumination of hope and love that a wounded soldier would beg for on the battlefield. I wish I had inherted her horn or dad's wings. At least with magic I would have that sort of special talent right? Or with wings I could outrun my bullies. Nope had to be like both my grandma's, full on earth pony. I felt the brush and that made me relax. My shoulders let down but then recoiled in horror, the hairs from my mane falling down beside me. I started to back away in dread that my mother was joining in with the bullies from school. There wasn't much less to cut unless you completely destroyed my mane!

“Don't move Sunrise,” she put a hoof against my head to make me stay still. Shadow Window resumed working till finally there was a probably more of my mane on the floor than still on my head. The hallway between our kitchen and my room would need a cleaning to get all the pieces up. There was a burst of hair spray sending me into a coughing fit when I inhaled unprepared. Great she is just humoring me. I probably look- The mirror did not show the pony I expected. I looked wonderful.

My hair had been restyled into a tight pixie cut, not the butchering it had been moments before. I was almost 100% sure that I would be considered a carpet munching mare with that hairstyle. What? Stereotypes are a thing for a reason, Even with my mare loving thoughts, it still looked wonderful. Short thick spikes on my restructured bangs combine with the natural white highlight along with the red as a solid straight mohawk all the way down my neck to my shoulders.

“Mom, why? I don't have a date and-” I started before a firm black hoof was right on my lips.

“No dear, you don't but you know what? We can't always get what we want.” She paused and her horn floated out several sets of clothes from my closet. Several dresses and styled blouses with skirts hung in air as she moved one against my chest then the next one. Her smile still glowed and her eyes lit up like the bright spheres you looked for in the darkness of a storm. “You have to keep moving forward regardless of how bad it gets. And I'll be damned by Cerberus himself with Luna's blessing no less, if my filly is going to let some bullies make it where we can't have a good time on her special night.” She took out one particularly new dress and measured it up against my white coat.

How lucid is this dream? I know it's a dream right? Can I, nope my hoof isn't moving. Is this a memory orb? Has my mind started dreaming memory orbs? Is that how much I've been exposed to them while they kept us in stasis? Is that why I feel like looking through a host inside a recollector?

“Mom, are you sure?” I asked as the dress was presented to me. It was the most beautiful piece I'd ever seen; at least of any dress that was meant for me. Three rubies adorned it as a broach which caught my eye immediately. Scanning over the garment, a cascade of silks from the darkest midnight blue into navy along the body to sweet baby powder at the hem where my hooves would poke out. I worked my way into it and found that one ruby resting on each of my shoulders and a larger center one against the center of my breast between my two lungs.

My mother held up the mirror to her daughter and I couldn't possibly believe that was me looking back at myself. The mane appeared alien and natural at the same time. It was as though it belonged to somepony else a lot tougher and more cocky than the filly, Sunrise; but the colors were most certainly mine. The dress I knew was mine; I'd worn it that night, but now seeing the memory so clear and perfect, I was at a loss for words.

“Sunrise, never lose your soft heart dear, and never let somepony keep you from moving forward. I won't have you as a daughter if you let that happen,” she took a breath as her horn expertly hemmed the dress just right and finished fitting it to my flanks. The adjustment made me realize there was a slit cut that showed off my flanks, my blank flanks. I looked at the slit then back up to my mother with big 'Please Don't make me do this eyes'.

I could feel it, this was just like a memory orb. Had I been exposed to so many of these at this point that even my own memories worked this way? I could sense my own memory as though I were in a host and this was an orb. That would explain why this is so clear and this dream felt just like an orb... unless someone had placed a memory crown on me while I was sleeping.

Shadow reached up and lifted my chin till our eyes were forced to catch each others. “You should strive to be better than those who wish to keep you down. When anypony bucks you down, you don't just buck back harder.” Her hoof stroked my face with love and care, “You buck back at the problem they have created and show them the mercy of the twin sisters.” Her horn glowed and grabbed the makeup kit from the bathroom.

“Now let's make those colts that picked on you, now regret it because they want to ask you to dance,” As soon as the first makeup brush hit me, I snapped out of the memory/dream I was in and back to the waking world.

“Sunrise, get up. Come on, it was hard enough to find you, don't make this hard too.” Alguacil's voice sounded like talons on a chalkboard compared to mom's.

No! Please No! Dammit! I wanna be with mom, let me be with my mom for just a few minutes longer.

“Get. Up. Now!” he growled and pulled the sleeping bag hard enough that my hoof hit the bed frame I had curled under.

OW! Buck you with Celestia's flowing mane Alguacil!

“Sunrise, let's not use that language till it's warranted.” The voice from the stasis pod said.

Wait, whose voice was that? My eyes snapped opened as I let the pain win and looked up at the griffin's face. If it was a horrific sight when the sombrero was on; it was so much worse with his hat off, especially first thing in the morning.

Between the missing exposed eye socket and the heavy scaring all over his face, I really didn't know if breakfast would be my first stop. There were jagged tracks of scar tissue, deep cuts from knives, a few bullet holes, and I was convinced his eye had been shot out of his head. He was just too stubborn to die of shock. From this angle I could clearly see the exit wound of a hollow point round out of the side of his head. Whoever had done the surgery work on him afterward clearly had amazing skill to ensure he was patched up nearly this well, even if they were missing a piece or two.

“Never mind that thought, I think putting Celestia anywhere near you would be a disservice to the Goddess.” The first words grumbled from my mouth on day three of being outside the Stable, at least for the days I remembered since meeting my companions.

The griffin gave me a confused, indignant look. Is he gonna hit me now? Then his beak cracked a smile. “Good at least I know you are facing reality. Now get up, we need to eat and decide where we are going. I don't keep the law by staying somewhere safe. You can either get up and get moving or I can leave you behind,” Alguacil declared and walked away from my sleeping bag.

I groaned. I wanted to throw something at him. Can't I even get a day to relax? Recover? Alguacil I swear when I understand griffins... wait he was the only griffin I'd ever met. I guess this is how they all act? I let my thoughts go and focused on getting up. Sleeping bag rolled up and put back with my saddlebags so all my things were in one nice neat pile. Everything was still there, no one else in the room of ten beds had bothered them. Note to self, to feel less paranoid; get private room next time even if it costs more.

As I left the flophouse and stepped into the rising sun, it was so much brighter than mid day. Without the clouds obscuring it, the sunrise was just as I remembered. This is why they named you Sunrise isn't it? Not because it was a hand me down but because it was something still beautiful in our world, despite the war going on with the zebras. And this wasteland could not even take away that beauty. I looked up to the clouds, I wonder what has become of the princesses.

I took an apple from my pack and held my PipBuck up against it, no clicks. At least they were clean and looked tasty. Expecting the sweetness of an apple I took a bite and instead I got a combination of sweet fruit and bitter radioactive after taste. Oh come on, can you not make apples taste bad wasteland! This was not the not the golden sweet taste I was used to.

With a very bittersweet and unsatisfying breakfast finished I found myself milling about as Buddy, Nyota, Alguacil, Chifundo, and Corners, were debating what to do and where to go.

“Well them is some raiders reported by Sparrow. Apparently there have been a lot more of 'em and they've been git'n more aggressive,” Buddy said while I played with the PipBuck to make sure the coordinates were right.

“Yes, but that doesn't give us a direction and our party isn't completely suited for such a confection,” Chifundo replied flatly.

“It is the best idea we seem to have at the moment at least till we have a clearer way,” Nyota's monotone delivered the facts to us.

“And it is my job to clear out the lawless,” Alguacil pointed out as I felt his shadow over my shoulder. Then his talon took hold of my PipBuck and looked at the map I had been working on. “What's this?”

I looked up from my work and all eyes were suddenly on the very small green filly with the computer on her foreleg. “I, well, I decoded one of those files on my PipBuck last night after the rest of you had gotten to sleep. It contained these coordinates.” I pointed to the screen on my foreleg where everyone could see the map of Equestria and the blinking markers. “This one here,” I pointed the tip of my hoof to one of the flashing points and then adjusted a knob to zoom it in. “Is the closest; near Las Pegasus and Applewood; between them actually,” I replied looking up at the others having never been to those cities of dreams and stars.

Corners walked up and slipped a hoof out from under her box, which now I realized she had reinforced with metal we had salvaged from the armors in the cave. “Then that is where we go.” The filly inside the box declared.

I shrugged and jerked my foreleg back from Alguacil, “I decoded the oldest file first and got the coordinates from there. They look like they have no relation to each other. But there has to be something here. Maybe it will give us a clue why they are in that cave together. And hopefully something there will help me decode the other files,” I replied to Corners. “It's also the only clue we have.”

Alguacil looked at me, then the PipBuck and seemed to be lost in thought. “Get to work on decoding the rest. But you are right. This gives a direction to begin, unless someone else has a better idea?”

Chifundo and Nyota both looked at each other and exchanged something silent between them. I couldn't tell if it was body language or some way zebras had of communicating without talking. Maybe zebras are secretly telepathic as far as I know. “I know what it is I must do. But for now I will stay with the little one. If she says go, I go,” Nyota said in a way that didn't put any of us at ease one bit.

“If that is a provided way, then I must say. I agree and say we take no delay,” Chifundo declared in his sing-song way. Oh great now I'm doing it! Are all zebras this strange? Every time Nyota talks I feel a piece of my skin crawl a little bit and Chifundo somehow gets into my head this sudden need to either create a poem or sing. Zebras are so... so... different! At least from the ones that had worked in Dad's shop didn't talk in half-riddles and make me want to keep an extra eye on them.

Alguacil grimaced at us. “That is a very long walk. We're looking at a few days. There may be a town on the way and we can clear out raiders, slavers, and bandits on the road; so I can do my job,” the griffin stated in agreement more out of exasperation than anything else. He really doesn't like civilization does he? Can I call this town made out of pieces of sky carousels and husks as civilization? Had Alguacil found so many monsters that at this point he himself had become a monster? I guess keeping a monster on your side isn't a bad thing.

Buddy stared back from under his hat at us as all eyes were on him now, thankfully. Even if everyone had a hoof, talon, or paw still on my PipBuck; I was glad their eyes were on Buddy instead of me. Algaucil's one eye had a way of always judging everypony he stared at and I didn't like being the object of his stare. We all waited for Buddy to speak in the mean time while he mulled it over with a rolling of his lips and tongue.

“Well, since y'all seem to have the plan together and I ain't got nothing better ta do, I am sure I can make some caps off the salvage, especially around dis little filly,” Buddy stated with a smirk and picking me up off the ground. While I was comically small compared to him, I had not realized I could be lifted like a newborn foal to him. Hooves off the ground for a pony who doesn't fly; NOT HAPPY! I squirmed and panicked to get down, trying to break his grasp. All to no avail considering how much stronger he was than me. “'sides I gotta make sure the little missy here gets looked after till she is used to da wasteland.”

He started to lower me back to the ground and I stopped my flailing when my rear hooves touched the ground. The big sand dog pointed his index claws in opposite directions while crossing his arms over his chest, “'hich way?”

I looked at Eyes Forward Sparkle and tagged the coordinates marked in my PipBuck. A bright green dot appeared in my vision. My tail passed me my helmet. After the repainted black security helmet was secure my tail lowered the visor. The E.F.S. responded by displaying across the hardened bullet glass and made all the pieces of the HUD easier to read. The dot gave me a clear direction and I pointed. So our adventure was to begin again.

Fan Artwork: The difference in Chifundo and Nyota

Level Status - No Experience, just one of those days

New Trait Discovered - 'Bay 'Plosions - Your world is just more Explodey. Double the AOE of all explosions within your sensory range, regardless of who set it off.

Author's Notes:

First off thanks to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria and letting the Project Dead Tree guys compile edit and make the full version of the Fallout: Equestria into a Pen and Paper game we can all play.

Second thanks to the Project Dead Tree guys for making the game and running it for me on Wednesday nights for the live stream.

Third, thanks to Hitomi for the edits turning this into something at least readable and more fun for us all.

Fourth thanks to our Artist for Images Imbedded: Glacier Frostclaw
https://ankokufang.deviantart.com/