Our travels had open my eyes to the world around us. We set camp on the outskirts of Fetlock for our first night. Having pulled the wagon, I was spared sentry duty and ate my dinner with Strider. We left early in the morning, as the sun broke over the west we marched along with the Luna line Starburst taking point. Our travels took us to New Appleloosa the once small town now a booming trading hub. Strider had us hitch a ride with a trading caravan. The traders claimed to have been as north as we requested to go.

The traders filled us with stories of land forever blanketed in winter. Outside the S.P.P, there were no weather control blizzards lasted weeks if not months. The roads are said to disappear under the snow, and those who did not know the journey get lost in the blizzards. I scoffed at the stories; I had to otherwise I might turn tail and desert in fear. Since ponykind regained control of the weather, or whatever pony ran the S.P.P gave us long summers and short winters. To have the elements control themselves seemed madness. The tales only worsen when they spoke of creatures changed by the Megaspells. Creatures that stalked the snows and killed anypony who was unfortunate enough to be lost.

Knight Starburst had boasted we had the firepower to make anything think twice about attacking us. Lucky for me, Strider was in charge, and he preferred not fighting the wildlife and piss away our munitions. After days of travel, we had our first snowing as we slept. When we woke up, we had to help the traders dig up their carts from the piled snow. The traded assured us this was just the outskirts of the Northern Waste. If four feet of snow was tamed, I dreaded the heartland where the Crystal Empire once stood. The traders had us take the lead or at least Starburst and two other knights. Their headlamps were cutting beams of light in the night when I asked why we didn't make camp the lead trader laughed at me. The snows started to batter us as the sun began to rise. We were all tired, as were the pack animals but the trader was adamant we could NOT stop until we reached the first lighthouse. I never in my life of reading heard of a lighthouse in the middle of the land.

While the sun was near the top signifying the afternoon, the snow had picked up speed and now fell like rain. I squinted behind my helmet, turning my headlamp to see three feet ahead of me. I was warned to keep the lead wagon in sight or be lost in this blizzard forever. Which only meant until we starved, froze or, whatever the hell a Yak-Ghoul mauls us or whatever the beast does. Again, Starburst opens his muzzle about Steel Ranger firepower. I wouldn't be too upset if a Yak-Ghoul got him at this point. Besides, if it attacks him, I can finally see what the thing is with the added benefit of me not being mauled myself.

After another two hours of plowing through the snow, we saw a light bright as the sun itself cut through the blizzard. Just behind that light, I could see the specs of what looked to be another light. Or what I could peak around the wagon in front of me, it looked like a secondary light that got brighter as we neared, and it moved away from us. We pushed towards the beacon to find a lightly garrisoned shack gathering with a thin but still sturdy enough wall around them. Gates squeaked open for us and pushed snow apart, letting us in. Strider had me move the wagon into a makeshift garage at the right of the shack hobbles. The middle of the shacks was dominated by the colossal lighthouse which was held together by a patchwork of metal plates and wood. The ponies in the huts looked weirdly well fed for living in this frozen shit hole. Four shacks surrounded the lighthouse a two-storied house just left of the garage and two smaller sheds behind us flanking the gates. When I detached myself from the wagon, I saw one of the local earth ponies moved to the back of the cart to try and open it.

"Hey!" I yelled and turned my guns on him, the pony backed lowering his stance in fear.

"Whoa, there, son!" the Caravan leader came up to me, and I almost turned my guns on him. Does he know about this little thief? If we just got tricked by a raider party, I would be so mad.

"They're taking their toll that's all, some food for the roof and place to sleep." The old brown stallion said raising a calming hoof at me.

"Well, that explains why no one here is starving… I need to ask Crusader Strider." I turned to leave before snapping back, pointing a hoof at the pony I almost shot. "And you! Keep your hooves off Big Mac until I come back with clearance, okay?" I revved my miniguns once for emphasis.

"Ayep, no complain from me partner'" the local gave me a wry smile.

I found Strider in the two-storied shack; he was pouring over a map with the locals. I waited for him to finish his conversation.

"These here is one of five o them pre-war roads that lead to New Buck City. Problem is the road is covered up in snow just about twenty-four-seven. So, we reckon we built these here outposts and charge folk for the way to New Buck. Usually, we do food charges, ain't got use for no bottle caps up here partner. Where'd would we spend em?" the local smacked the table with his hoof laughing at his joke.

Strider offered a polite smile and a nod, "What about the road past New Buck? Is there an outpost to get to the Crystal Empire?"

"The Crystal what now?" the local gave him a queered eyed stare.

"Ah, so it's like that," Strider shifted his eyes at the map then back to the local "do the ponies in New Buck go further North?" Strider put his hoof on the map on the table. I moved closer and nodded in his direction. A nod he returned, and I put my attention on the map. My E.F.S quickly scanned the map and added the data to my helmet.

"Hell, that place could be full of beautiful mares, with loose definitions of handsome stallions. And you will still find nopony crazy or dumb enough to go beyond New Buck. Or even further than the New Buck Park." The local narrowed his eyes clopping the table repeatedly for emphasis. "See once you get past a certain point, the city becomes mighty, unfriendly-like. See you got ghouls by the hundreds scattered in the city. As I hear it, the Stables in there didn't properly filter out the Radiation, turned the ponyfolk into ghouls. The problem being the radiation don rotted their brains cuz of the high amount inside the stables." The local sighed, shaking his head. "Damn shame, scavengers ended up opening the Stable doors, and the critters flooded the streets. We had to put up roadblocks to keep the critters at bay. Too many of them and not enough of us." The pony finished his tale and picked up a cigar from a hidden pocket. He lit it on a nearby lamp and puffed away from Strider.

"You've certainly given me plenty to think about, but anyways something I can do for you, Valiant?" Strider finally turned to me, why was I here again? Oh right.

"Oh, uhm, one of the locals was poking at our wagon; they want their payment right now, I guess." I shrugged in my armor an odd task to perform, considering where the joints collided with the frame. This armor isn't' meant for small casual movements in mind.

"Ah, well go ahead and let them have what they need food wise. Make sure it's only food, we need the ammunition. I have a feeling we'll need every bullet." Strider nodded to the local. "My friend here has assured me we're but a few days march from New Buck, and the traders said we could remain with them, our guns are good at keeping raider tribes away."

"Raiders? This far north?" I couldn't possibly imagine how raiders could survive here!

"Eh well we call em raiders, but it's the Yak-Ghouls, they lived here since the war when the bombs drop the Yaks kind of turned nomad. Now they attack anything that looks at em funny. Or attack because they're bored really." The local explained stroking his chin. "Hmm come to think of it, I heard a feller say one of them attacked a caravan because it was insulting the yak way. Cuz he kept horns on his wagon." The local finished with a shrug.

"Oh, so they're not savages just stupid." I rolled my eyes, a useless gesture when nopony could see it.

"Don't let their random attacks fool ya; them critters is smart! They can set up traps and even separate entire caravans. But your big guns ought to make em think twice about attacking you." The local finished his point by pointing to his battle saddle hanging on a nearby table. It had a single lever action rifle which by the looks of it the pony pumped with his back leg.

"Alright, I'll head back and make sure the Stallion gets his payment." I left them behind bucking the door closed after me being extra careful not to destroy the gate. I found the stallion waiting for me sitting on his haunches. Wordlessly I moved to the back of the wagon the doors to it closed by a keypad. I raised my hoof to punch in the code but gave him stare with my helmet. He seemed to get the message and turned, closing his eyes as well. I keyed in the numbers, and a loud sound indicated the maglocks disengaging. Opening the doors, I hopped in the weight of my armor, sinking the wagon into the ground. I sat on my haunches and opened my helmet. It divided at the mouth, and it parted as if opening its mouth to let me see. Even inside the wagon, I felt the chill of the blizzard, making my teeth chatter. I grabbed a bag of apples and put it down before the stallion. He moved to me and stuck his head in the sack, then smiled at me as he withdrew it back.

"Ayep, this is good, haven't had apples in ages! Them NCR boys are mighty stingy when it comes to apples up there." The stallion smiled, grabbing the sack in his mouth.

"Wait, NCR?" did Strider know about this?

"Ayep, they got a base up in New Buck, part o that there frontier of theirs. They have been trying to get New Buck to join up, but we don't fancy joining a democratic union at gunpoint. Don't rightly send the right message, ya' hear?" he rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"Wait…uh, I just wanted to say. Uhm sorry about earlier, I didn't know you were doing your job." I reached into another sack and gave him a green apple.

"Here, for my behavior, I figured I owed you at least something." I offered him the apple with my best smile.

"Ah shucks, it ain't yer fault I reckon I shoulda said something. I'm so used to the traders letting me in I just figured yall knew. But nothing to it," he spat on the ground and offered his hoof. "Names Wrangler, a pleasure to make yer acquaintance."

I shook his hoof with mine feeling my tail wanting to wag inside my armor. "Names Valiant Knight, of Applejack's Rangers" I hopped down bucking the doors closed behind me. "So, are you from New Buck?" I commanded my helmet closed, as I felt more exposure to the elements would freeze my ears off.

"Ayep, born and raised! Been working the outpost game with my pa' for most o' my life, I reckon. Shucks I been looking to break into the trading game, but it's hard to up here. The Big Three control most of the trading."

"Big Three?" I turned my helmet to him, hoping my tone conveyed the question well. Expressions were hard behind a face-obscuring helm to read.

"Ayep, you got the Laser Unicorns, they trade in magical energy weapons. The Appleloosa Express handles delivery, transporting and what have you. And the NCR friendly Big Lot, they sell the general supplies around here. Food, clothes, spare parts, and what have you. Them fellers control all and keep the peace between each other. Hire mercs to keep town raider free and law-abiding."

"Mercs? Talon company?" I know those were the original mercs that joined up with the NCR founder.

"Nope, they are ponyfolk, not Griffins most coming from the Front lines from the NCR war. The NCR is too high and mighty for the merc types these days. Forgetting who started the damn thing." Wrangler spat on the ground again for emphasis. "Well, I reckon I talked, ya ears long enough, you should head back inside." Wrangler stood and went on his merry way. Though I wanted more information, a yawn stifled me from asking any more questions. Right, I forgot I was tired from a whole day of no sleep. Better find the others get some rest.

I returned to the shack, where Strider got us accommodations. I slept in my armor, figuring I should if we ever made camp someplace that demanded I be combat ready at a moment notice. I dreamt of winter as a colt in Manehattan. I was snuggled against my mother looking out a window at the falling snow. The dream was sweet, though it ended when somepony opened the door to the house, and a shivered went up to my spine. I awoke as Wrangler walked about the shack a lamp in his mouth, waking everypony up.

"Time to rise fellers, pack up and move out, times a wasting." He clopped his hooves together loudly, getting everypony up. The caravan leader said we had to move out at night while the light was good. I nearly asked him if he was mad only to see the next lighthouse light cut through the blizzard night sky. It was better to travel at night when the suns light didn't break through the clouds and confuse ponies it seemed. We packed up and marched out. I lost track of time when we reached the next checkpoint — no shacks here just the lighthouse. A small cabin built into the tower held two ponies who came out collected food and went back inside.

We pushed onward through the rest of the night until early morning. Through the beams of our headlamps, we could see the considerable shadow of a long dead behemoth. Or rather, New Buck city. The skyscrapers stretched into the sky defiant of mother nature from a time when ponies held complete control of the area. Nopony did so now, and it was wild and unpredictable. If I were a more adventurous pony, I might say it was exciting. But pragmatism just made me think how the hell does a pony live here. We reached the city proper a few hours after sunrise. The blizzard still going strong when entering the city was almost like passing through a monster's innards. The skyscrapers disappeared into the fog above us and lined the streets like rib cages. The cracked road looked like the monster's spine proper connecting the rib bones caging us inside. I didn't envy anypony who called this place home. We reached an intersection where the traders parted way with us.

Rather dumbly we stood at the intersection watching the traders disappear into an Appleloosa Express warehouse. I saw my fellow knights surround the wagon creating a perimeter, Strider walked up beside me and sat on his haunches looking down for a moment. Then he stared up to the skyscrapers. "bad signal can't reach anyone on the short-burst, or they aren't here."

"Crusader Strader, what about the wagon?" Starburst asked while he too sat on his haunches. The rest of us followed suit the march through the damnable blizzard left us all tired.

"Already on your asses? Come on, knights on your hooves."

We all stood like colts caught with their muzzle in the cookie jar. Crusader Flag trotted to us from our left. I'm starting to think. Flag has some magical power he isn't letting us know he has. He moved to Strider and looked at us.

"Everyone is accounted for, good work so far Crusader Strider." Flag bumped his armored hoof against Strider's armored shoulder. "Now come on we just gathered in force near the Northern barricade. Star Paladin Heavy Arms is talking to the locals, trying to get the laid of the land farther up north." We resumed formation without orders to do so. We were used to it by now after weeks of travel. We followed Flag down the road he came from before we moved north again along what an old partly rusted sign called 12th street. We followed the path passing many mares and stallions looking at us queerly. The town was a mix of earth and unicorn ponies, and not a single Pegasus in sight. To be expected really, I heard the clouds were a far sight from the blasted wastes of Equestria.

Flag led us down another street this one less barren all the while the blizzard raged around us. The ponies went about their business even though mother nature was being quite evident in her message to piss off. Hard places breed sturdy ponies, I suppose. A final turn made me gasp and nearly stop dead on my hooves. The four lane-street meant for wagons was completely blocked off. A massive wall easily forty meters high, made up of welded together metal plates from carriages and actual wagons stacked on top of each other dominated the street. Two buildings with added fortifications flanked the wall. On each rooftop, massive spotlights cut through the howling blizzard illuminating the other side. Ponies walked along the ramparts with weapons floating around them aimed down the other end of the wall. Come to think of it, as I inspected the guards; they were all unicorns. As the wall loomed over us, I noticed they were all wielding magical energy weapons. These must be the mercenaries Wrangler told me off.

When we approached the bottom of the wall, I saw my father talking to one of the mercenaries. His helmet opened to the elements. He spotted us and gave us-Strider-actually, a nod. "Valiant unhook yourself and come with me, Starburst guard the wagon." Strider threw over his shoulder, and we did so quietly and efficiently.

"Crusader Flag take those ponies out of the cold and let them rest." My father paused when he looked at me. I don't think I was wanted; I should probably offer to go back and check on Big Mac.

"Knight Valiant is my second in command, he's tactful and can deal with the locals. I prefer him at my side." Strider stated not once sparing me a glance.

"Understood, follow me then." My father led us into the right building; more ponies were inside going on about their business, paying us little mind. I could only imagine my father had worked out a deal already with them. We climbed at least four sets of stairs before we were at the ramparts of the metal wall. I had my reservations about walking on the damned thing. But my father and Strider quickly crossed the ramparts, and I followed suit. After putting one tentative hoof on it. With a resigned neigh, I walked across it to stand by Strider as they turned out into the blizzard. We were high enough for the fog to obscure our vision, I could not begin to fathom what was down there, it was only thanks to the massive spotlights swiveling along the farther end of the wall that I could see more skyscrapers and some feral ghouls limping around. My father turned to one of the spotlight operators and nodded to them. On my father's signal, they united the spotlights down the middle of the street just a few feet off the wall.

"Oh shit," I couldn't help the curse slipping from my mouth, hundreds of thousands of ferals pushed themselves against the wall. Looking downward, I could make out spikes dotting out on the exterior of the wall. Metal rods sharpened to an excellent point welded against the wall. I could not help but think of the behemoth I compared the city. These spikes were its mighty scales; I suppose, or maybe even its teeth.

"The walls close around the city, no way in our out…above ground." My father pointed a hoof to a mercenary, another unicorn who joined us on the ramparts from the left building housing his unit. I wonder why this is a unicorn company only? The mercenary wore a ballistic vest with the logo of a unicorn shooting a laser beam from her horn. I could imagine this was the logo for the Laser Unicorns.

"This is Howling Wind, mind telling my soldiers what you told me?" My father gestured with his hoof at Strider and me.

"Yeah, the city is walled off in segments, no way in our out from the top. To get to the other side, we take the subway network. The companies use it to send runners into the city."

"I heard from a local at one of your outposts, no pony ever went beyond the wall," I recalled as much from Striders conversation.

"He ain't wrong, not many ponies willing to risk the ferals. So, we got a few runners who usually do the job from what I hear you want out of the city. Your best bet is taking the 45th street, but first, you got to take the subway to get out on 15th. With those wagons, it's going to be dicy out there. It will slow you down, and the ferals could swarm you." The mercenary pointed to the top of the buildings by the spotlights. I could make out some speakers but not much else. "If runners get into trouble, they send up a flair, and we sound the air raid horns, gets most of the ferals off them. But it's still a dangerous run to get back underground. We only have so much mapped out. Beyond that are more pockets of ferals."

Well, that made things complicated; my father took us down to a building near the wall. We had set up inside a considerably drafty warehouse courtesy of the Laser Unicorn company. The company was interested in what lied beyond the city limts in exchange for shelter food and a free passage down the subway tunnels. We would send them information about what we found. If it was worth a profit, they offered us caps. Or so my father retold. More than a fair share of us laughed, we would more than likely find whatever pre-war ruins of the Empire remained and contact Elder Sharp Sides. She would give us orders afterward.

With blankets and cots provided by the company, we settled for the night. It wasn't a particularly lovely sleep. Even after I exited my armor, I just spent the night shivering next to it. When morning arrived, we woke up later than usual. My father allowed us the sleep to make up for the extra marching to make it to the city. But after breakfast or lunch at that point, he ordered us to hold and prepare to leave in a few hours.

"So, what do you think is on the other side?" a knight in armor came up to us. The voice sounded higher, so I assume she was a mare.

"Don't know, ruins and more snow I bet," Starburst said, passing us.

"I think he's right, and no one is expecting to find Applejack herself waiting for us, do they?" I shrugged and bucked my armor to open it to get inside. As the shield rose, I noticed the mare knight's headpiece was off. The mane crest was past her ear covers. Stranger still, it looked like the extra plating was welded crudely around it. "Hey, did you weald an extra plate section to your helmet?" I pointed a hoof at her head.

"W-what? No, why? Did you?" she back peddled, almost knocking over another knight who grumbled at her as he moved out of the way.

"Are you doing okay knight?" Strider outside his armor raised a brow as well.

"Yeah, of course! I mean just a weird question, ya know." She sat on her haunches and waved her hooves at us.

"Is it?" I looked to strider confused; he just shrugged at me.

"Anyways, I should get back to my squad! They could be wondering where I am!" she turned hastily to the knights standing just a few feet from us.

"Lemon…were right here four feet from you." The Crusader of her squad face-hoofed in his armor clanking as he did so.

"Y-yeah! There we go found em, alright team, let's get going." She clopped her hooves together.

"Where? We haven't been told to go anywhere." Her Crusader shook his head. "Lemon, you should get out of that armor, I think you need some air.

"No! I, uh need to go to the little filly's room, so uhm yeah I'll go do that in the back!" She backed into another knight as she spoke. "Whoa, sorry, uhm, right, be back soon." Like that the strange knight disappeared behind old rusting containers.

"Well, that was an interesting pony." Strider chuckled and got into his armor.

"Lemon, huh." I wondered aloud; I don't recall ever meeting her. My father returned two hours later and ordered us to move out. I hooked myself up to Big Mac again, and we exited the warehouse in marching formation. My father and crusader Flag led us further east until we found a massive Four-Star station with several pony mercenaries guarding the place. A mixture of unicorns and earth ponies this time, with the earth ponies wearing battle saddles using rifles of varying calibers. We rolled up the wagons on a makeshift ramp that led us down another temporary ramp into the tracks. It seemed the rails had been cleared of debris to allow wagons to move. I briefly wondered where the train carts had gone, but quickly remembered the walls around the city. No doubt they went into that using unicorn magic to float them out.

The tunnel stretched in utter darkness with spread apart light sources; we seemed to pass checkpoints of more pony mercenaries. The further into the tube, the less the checkpoints became common. Only our headlamps cut through the dark veil before us. Leading the platoon, my father turned his head his lamp illuminating a sign that read 45th street among other barely legible names. We looked around the platform to find no makeshift ramps this time around. I let out a frustrated neigh, as we spent the following hour getting the wagons out into the street. Our armor was able to lift the carts along with our natural earth pony strength. Though Knight Lemon, I had seen struggle significantly despite this.

When the wagons were topside, my father yet again had us separate. "Squads take the roads north, each on a different road. A big group will attract the ferals."

Strider nodded and waved us over to the first street to our right after exiting the tunnels. We were greeted by the seemingly endless blizzard that covered the entire city in the depressing fog. It had pretty much been on since we arrived at New Buck. The street remained nameless no signpost planted in the ground where we could see. In the same wedge formation, we marched east before we found our first turn north. The street looked to be among the main highway of the city given the four-lane road. We walked along the center lane the obscuring blizzard blinding us to even any buildings beside us. The trail slowly gave out under us, and only snow crunched under our steel hooves. Checking the terrain through the mapping feature of my armor the shapes of the city were behind us and nothing, but emptiness remained.

I lost track of time, and I could display what the current time was. But I honestly had forgotten when we left the city proper in the first place. Endless mounds of snow and howling winds made it impossible to talk to each other without the short burst transmission radio. I felt a total sense of dread and emptiness. All around us, I could see nothing, but the lights of my fellow rangers cut through the haze of winter. I looked down, and my E.F.S came to life with blips.

The radio crackled alive with Strider's voice, "hold, unknown contacts." I blinked the blips disappeared as fast as they appeared.

"I got nothing." Another fellow knight muttered.

"Surround Bic Mac, weapons live," Strider ordered, everypony circled me with strider moving up just ahead of me. Starburst moved to Striders immediate left his headlamp swept the area before him.

"Strider, if it's the Yak-Ghouls, maybe we should try talking before we start firing." I tried.

"Something is here, something or somepony, and if it didn't mean to harm us, it wouldn't be hiding." Strider made sense. I powered up my weapon systems just in case. Looking ahead, I peered as far as my light would allow to see something rise from the snow finally — a rectangle with a gem in the middle, several more rose to form a phalanx. Just as quickly a secondary line locked above it making a wall two ponies tall.

"Over here!" a knight shouted to my right as another wall of rectangles raised from the snow.

"Our rear is closed off!" The Knight's voice showed signs of panic.

"What?" I tried to look behind me only to have my view obstructed by Big Mac.

"We're surrounded!" The knight on my right was already panicked. Oh, shit, did we stumble into a trap? The phalanx of rectangles closed around us into a square.

"Like this will hold us!" Starburst's grenade launcher fired without permission! The center gem spread a blue hue through the rectangle and bounced the grenade back Starburst!

"Gah!" he was blasted back in a shower of fire and shrapnel. The explosion momentarily drowned the howling blizzard. "I-I can't move the armor's it's locked up."

"Hold fire!" Strider's voice snapped me back to attention. The rectangles to our front seemed to part at the corners they met near the center. Something long and smooth stuck out from the small gap. That's- A loud crack followed with a brief muzzle flash from the anti-machine rifle.

"I-!" Starburst barely managed to utter. His armor tore apart around his breast before the back of his neck exploded open gore and blood spilling outward. Bits of meat and blood splattered the white snow as Starburst head fell.

[DECEASED] Starburst

A warning flashed on my display, with a flatline underneath read my fellow knight's name.

Oh, sweet Celestia.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the blood. The snow hissed warm blood meeting uncaring cold. I swallowed back the bile in my throat and looked up towards Strider. All sense of order broke down my fellow knights panicked and fired ignoring Striders earlier order against the rectangles.

"Hold fire; hold fire!" Striders command landed of deaf ears; I ducked a grenade flew over my head impacting near a knight to my left. The mare inside screamed knocked aside her grenade launcher fired a stream of grenades bouncing off the rectangles. The shells exploded on impact around us, one of them blasting right next to Big Mac, forcing it to its side. I followed suit falling to my side.

Get up!

I heard my father’s voice ring in my head, I in a panicky move I bucked the rods strapping me to the wagon off. I scrambled to my feet before another explosion rocked me off them rolling towards the right rectangle wall. I sputtered getting to my feet, at the front I saw Strider charge the rectangle wall before he leaped over it! The wall of rectangles spread apart quickly. Ponies? I saw the wielders of the squares; these ponies were wrapped up in furs of an unknown animal to me, their helmets were opened but had a cloth mask pulled over their muzzle a crest rested atop of the helmets with a striped mane. They wore ballistic vests with what looked like skirts around their flanks. Their flanks wrapped in thick bandages no doubt meant to keep the cold at bay. It occurred to me the rectangles were shields, some remained facing towards us closing ranks to cover the ones that turned over. But before they could close the ponies that turned to Strider were flung backward. I saw Strider had bucked them with his hind legs and turned quickly his 50-caliber machinegun firing loud cracks filling the world.

The ponies facing us yelled in pain and surprise, blood splattered the ground around them as more of them fell to the heavy machinegun. Their vest couldn't hold against the high caliber rounds. Their phalanx of shields fell apart as each pony turned to defend themselves against Strider's onslaught. The shields were easily the height of a pony; they had to turn on their hind legs to put the shield down against the ground. There was matriculation at the top where I noticed the second row of shields would stack above the first.

"Rangers with me!" Strider ordered backing up and firing at the same time, but he didn't fire his anti-machine rifle, he didn't look ready to risk having that reflected him. I galloped towards Strider, all around me the shield ponies broke rank facing my fellow knights and surrounding them. While the shield ponies once on top faced outward to block mine and Strider's firing line against their comrades. More shield ponies came out of the blizzard in groups of two. One pony put up a shield the other peeked above and fired. The rifle bullets fired against my side sent quakes of pain where they impacted.

"Agh!" I looked to my side, expecting blood and holes in my armor, but the bullets did not pierce the plates! The rounds felt like they had impacted my flesh! Strider hopped over me and fired to let me get back on my hooves. I stood and aimed my miniguns. A low whir followed the spinning barrels before the hellfire of bullets tore into the closing ranks of some of the ponies too slow to fully encircle and cover their backs to us. I felt my gut clench the rounds utterly tearing the pony's apart limbs were torn off, and their innards spilled onto the snow as shots tore them asunder. The bullet casings hiss as they piled on the snow, burning red.

[OVERHEAT]

The barrels burned red at my flanks before the armor forcefully stopped me from shooting, the snowdrops melted to water as they pelted the minigun instantly. Three loud cracks followed by three equally horrifying sound of armor erupting made me wince, my display pulled up another casualty report.

[DECEASED] White Orchard

[DECEASED] Morning Breeze

[DECEASED] Ethel

The shield walls parted and turned into themselves like a curled-up snake to defend against Strider and me, my headlamp searched for the remaining knights, but I only found the torn open bodies of the knights that just died.

"move, now!" Strader pushed me into action; his head forcibly against my side. I turned and galloped as fast as I could the sound of heavy machinegun fire following after me. My eyes widen, and I skidded to a stop the barrels on my minigun span to life as I strafed the ground briefly kicking up snow as the bullets trailed up and leveled against the shield ponies. They hunkered down in place. The shots glowed as soon as they reached the shields and like shooting stars flew in every which way.

Strider turned to me stopping his shooting, "What are you doing I said go!" He barked at me through the radio his hoof pointing to the great beyond unviewable through the snow.

"N-no! I won't lose you too!" I ran back to him and skidded to a stop as Strider had barely a chance to turn two of the shield ponies dropped their shields and ran at him.

"Strider!" I pointed my hoof desperately at him.

He turned no doubt warned by his E.F.S and at the incoming enemies the ponies separated. One slid below strider's stance and punched at Strider's armored belly.

"Gah!" Strider reared up, putting one hoof over his belly and backing up the punch hurting my friend inside. The pony quickly and swept a leg underneath Strider. The other bucked at his backside, and the two successfully brought Strider to his side. I revved up my minigun to fire when a loud crack filled the world again, silencing the blizzard and forced me to the ground in agony.

[WARNING WEAPON SYSTEM 01 OFFLINE]

I felt the bullet graze my flesh as it whizzed by my left flank, tearing through my battle saddle and armor. "Gaaahh!!!" I held my side in pain; the medical injector immediately went to work injecting a powerful healing potion into my system while the self-repair consumed the scrap metal in its compartment to close the armor breach. The cold seeped into my suit and my burning flesh along with the snow, was a very unpleasant feeling. Still, with adrenaline running through my veins, I was able to push myself up and move towards Strider.

"Strider!" I managed to yell before rapid-fire put me down each bullet impacting against my right side felt like small quakes against my flesh. I got up again and fired my remaining minigun from where I perceived the shots were coming. "Strider!" I called out to my friend to see him back on his hooves. One of the ponies was down his helmet off blood seeping into the snow. Strider finally bucked the other in the chest hard enough that they flew back into the fog of the blizzard swallowed up by the howling winds. My body started to feel weak, and pain across my side from the wound and the damn bullets that somehow felt like substantial impacts had slowed me down. I looked down to see a small trail of blood follow behind me. I froze in place, my knees shook, and I felt like pissing myself in utter shock.

That's my blood.

"Get down!" Strider forced me down with his body. Another loud thunderous crack filled the world robbing the blizzards howling winds. I saw the air ripple past us the anti-machine rifle round passed where I was pretty sure my head was. We scrambled to our feet, and I got a good look at the bleeding pony on the ground.

Oh.

Their head had a short-cropped mane with stripes across her face and a black muzzle. It was a zebra, a freaking zebra! "Valiant move now, damn it!" I physically shook my head and galloped back another loud crack filled the world, "Agh!" I skated to a halt. Strider fell on a puddle of his blood his right hind leg was burst open, the armor compromised.

"Strider!" I stopped as his rifle fired just short of my distance.

"Go! Valiant go right now!" He yelled through obvious pain. I couldn't move; I couldn't leave him. No, I could not possibly leave my only friend in the world behind.

"Damn it now!" He almost sounded like he was crying, I took a step back, then another and I turned full circle and galloped as fast as I could the crack of gunfire following behind me.

The others!

We can regroup, go back for Strider. I thought to myself at this point justifying why I listened and ran, frantically I yelled into the receiver trying to reach anypony!

"help! Strider is down I" my voice was cut off by a scream.

[DECEASED] Sunny-Side-Up

"Oh, sweet Celestia, no, no, no, anypony!" A crackle followed by a voice.

"Valiant! I'm Norwest of your position!"

Oh, thank Celestia, I followed the compass, my headlamp illuminated a shadow that turned away from me, flashes from his weapons briefly casting the darkness away.

"We-" the now terrifyingly familiar crack of an anti-machine rifle drowned out my words. The knight's throat exploded into a mess of gore his blood and bits splattering against my armor. Something hit and I fell on my side grunting. I landed face to face with the severed head of my fellow knight his featureless helmet staring at me. I coughed and gasped feebly for air. I forced returned myself to my hooves.

[DECEASED] Farside

I revved up my minigun, where my light could not reach I saw shadowy figures approach. I couldn't fire, I turned and ran, I ran and just kept running. I looked around me nothing but oppressing empty swirls of snow and fog around me. But I kept going I couldn't stop, my mind was a blank, and I was acutely aware of every beat of my heart. My mouth had started to go dry, and a familiar burning filled my sides.

"V-Valiant." I heard the weak voice of Strider over my radio. I stopped like a spell had been broken. What could I say? Did he know about everypony else? What can I do? I'm alone Celesita knows how many Zebras with anti-machine rifles and fucking bullets that hurt you even through power armor were around! I was bloody terrified and lonely, and I left my best friend behind.

[DECEASED] Strider

"N-no…no, no, no, I'm. I'm just asleep in my room. I'm just having a bad nightmare." I turned and looked all around me by now my heart felt like it was on overdrive beating against my chest erratically "Somepnoy, anypony… Strider?" my voice came out a squeak even to my ears.

"…" interference?

"S-Strider?" I sniffled tears running down my face. I feebly tried to wipe them from my face only for my hoof to clank against my helmet. Shit calm down the breath, strider will know he's okay he has to be. He's better than me always has been. I gasped for air and sniffed, shaking my head.

"Strider?" I tried, but the line was oddly silent — just the soft crackle of static.

"Run little pony, form us you hide, in desperate means, you leave your friends behind." The voice was exotic cold and lyrical, straight from a child's worst nightmare. "In the snows, nothing will you find, only your death and demise." The transmission cut off replaced by static, that was from strider's short burst radio, he…they. Celestia no. I stood on alert backing up my head whipping left and right my battle saddle following my sights. I saw a shadow dart to my left, the minigun revved up, and I fired into the shadows the shots disappearing into the snow. I saw movement to my right and fired again, trailing the bullets across the ground before me kicking up snow before shooting at the shadow: nothing, just the emptiness of the north.

"Oh, fuck you, fuck you, Zebra bastards!" I ran for it. I ran and kept running despite the protest of my body. I kept going until I was forced to slow down and collapsed from exhaustion. Tears stung at my eyes, and with a moment of insanity, I brought up my squad status display, some mad hope that this was all some bloody nightmare or hallucination.

[DECEASED] Starburst

[DECEASED] Sunny-Side-up

[DECEASED] Strider

I stopped and forced my helmet open despite the warning of the hazardous environment and below freezing temperature. I threw up the contents of my stomach onto the snow; it hissed against the warm liquids of my innards. I spat a few times and stumbled forward; my helmet closed on command as an afterthought. I just…walked for Celestia and Luna knows how long. I just walked, ignoring the weariness that settled on my body. Time ceased to matter, in my random walk. Pushing through the snow, I tried to keep my head up when a light cut through the raging storm. It was brilliant, a beacon shining through the fog. I felt attracted to it a sweet calling of warmth and comfort. I followed the sun, not even bothering to look down the snow had been up to my knees. But the servos and piston let power through it.

Just like that, the cold the wind and howling of an eternal winter stopped. I stared at green grass beneath my hooves. I couldn't believe it. I was standing on grass; this couldn't be right. I had to be dead; there was no other explanation I turned to see endless green behind me. I walked back where I came from, and just like that, I was staring again at the snow-laden wastes. I looked back to much of the same. I turned and walked towards the light to find myself in the green pasture. I glanced to the sky, and over the hill, I could see a spire of ethereal looking glass jutting out into the air. The light that brought me here shining from the top of the spire. With a squint of my eyes, I could make out a soft blue hue spreading from the light.

"A shield," I muttered aloud, it was a freaking shield that hid this place! I blinked and looked back, and if I strained my sight, I could make out the same soft hue on the air like a wall. It was powerful enough to keep the winter at bay. I backed up and turned again to the light. Vigor filled me for unknown reasons, and I galloped to the top of the hill. A sight, unlike any other, greeted me. Stretched was a massive-well-megacity I couldn't even compare it to New Buck or even Manehattan as I could swear I could cram several Manehattans into it. A metropolis, with odd walls enclosed around sections and the familiar, blasted out rubble of other buildings. At the center where the spire jotted out, I could make out a pink shield almost translucent like the one over the megacity. I was roughly some forty miles from it, and I could still hardly see the entire thing. To my right, a massive structure jotted out from the many walled off sections. Red flags I could not make out flapping over atop its walls that looked like a stadium of sorts. But it was a stark contrast to the other buildings like it didn't belong there a different design of origins I could only guess. There were wisps of smoke coming from other wall-less sections of the city where it looked like a battle was happening — but judging by the size of the megacity and where I could see from the many skyscrapers still standing it looked to me like several battles in several fronts spread across it. If New Buck had seemed like a Behemoth, this was a god of unproportionate power, and size. I could see a suburb in similar disarray with walled sections and battles happening across the many frankly crystal-like buildings.

I focused on the spire belonging to a crystal castle. Tacked on to that castle was a strong dull grey concrete structure, there was a sign on it, but I couldn't make out the words from this distance. The grey monstrosity was a stark contrast embedded into the castle like an ugly tumor compared to the graceful crystal structure. I looked down the hill to find a road leading to the megacity as well as several burnt-out husks of military vehicles. I ran towards the path, seeing a giant billboard in need of maintenance. The sign looked relatively new, not worn by the passage of time, instead scorched by bullet fire and energy weapons. I fell to my haunches, my helmet opened as if not trusting the optics on my visor to see.

A beautiful alicorn princess stared at me with a pink coat and colorful mane with violet eyes. A gentle, almost motherly smile that seemed natural to her and welcoming to all. A blurb of words was next to her.

Welcome to the Crystal Empire!

Level Up: 1

Perks: Bloody Mess: You're rocking some heavy power, and everypony knows it because you only leave chunks of your enemies behind!

Edited 5/18/2019 by me.

Author's Notes:

Hey...uhm I figured is should probably have done this in chapter 1.But, I guess I might as well ask now. I wanted to ask if anyone is willing to be a beta-reader for me. Help catch my mistakes, I edit the chapters myself so I know i’m bound to miss stuff. So I would love some help from anypony willing to give me a hand. Also the level up perk thing, I didn’t add it in the first chapter because there was no combat or anything really worth “experience” points beyond discovering locations. So I added that here, anyways hope you guys enjoy my own take of the Crystal Empire in post apocalyptic Equestria. Feel free to ask me questions :D.