It was when we drove from my small town and took the highway that led to the next town that I saw the different cars strewn upon the streets. I had release the gas to avoid colliding with them. In some of them, I saw bodies lying motionlessly, but I remained silent. Everything still felt like it was a bad dream. On the way here, I had already seen some corpses, from neighbours to friends. However, in such a small town, this applied to nearly everyone. To try and distract myself with some music, I tried to find a radio station, but they were all dead. The only sound was static.

“How many people actually lived here?” Trixie asked, looking out from the back window. She had positioned her legs on the seat to be better able to view outside.

“There were about ten thousand people in our region, in ten towns,” I answered. I had had to learn about the history of our district in the seventh grade, and some bits and pieces had stuck in my mind. “Originally, there were only a few farms here about two hundred years ago. More and more settlers came in as the need for workers increased, and so villages slowly formed.”

“Sounds a little like Ponyville, sugarcube.” I had already told AJ how it was similar to my town. “Our farm was the first thing there before other ponies came since they could get work and food.” I suppose the concept was the same in every world.

We went past a small bakery and began to go down the winding main road. There were a few dangerous curves, but when someone lived and drove around here, he knew how to stay on the road and not fly off it. Every year, particularly in winter, you could see cars skidding off the road, the locals unable to resist having a smile on their lips. Suddenly, Rainbow landed on the bonnet, and I instinctively tried to hit the brakes, which wasn’t possible with my hooves.

“Stop!” she yelled at me, causing me to press button for the hazard light and horn in panic before my horn lit up to use the brakes. The engine had cut off instantly since I had forgotten to use the clutch in my emergency stop. We came to a halt, a little bit too obliquely, at the last of three sharp curves.

“Rainbow! What the heck was that about? You shouldn’t startle me like that.” She rolled her eyes and pointed at the curve.

“Better than landing in five different parts.” I came out of the car, followed by Trixie and AJ, and went around the curve with Rainbow Dash. There were several cars right around it that would have blocked us.

"Seems the police had established a roadblock here," I murmured, mostly to myself. Five white and blue ruined BMWs lay across the street. To go straight would have been impossible. The left side of one of the vehicles was badly dented, probably from someone or something trying to break through.

“Trixie, can you help me?” We stepped to the first one, and we both took it in our magical grasp and tried to move it, without success. Rainbow and AJ tried to help, but even with the aid of them both, we could not do it. These things weighed several metric tons, which was clearly too much for us to handle.

“Can't we move this thing like we did yours?” Rainbow asked, wiping some sweat from her forehead. “And why am I so tired…?” I ignored her second statement and looked closer at the BMW. It had been clearly altered to withstand a heavy pounding, so breaking it open would not be possible.

“Maybe we can’t destroy it, but Trixie…” I turned towards her. “Maybe the magic you learned could do it?”

“Let me try.” I was pushed to the side as she once again used her magic. I wasn’t surprised that, as a stage performer, she was able to perform such intricate magic. Even when constrained, it was certainly helpful that she could do such a thing in her show. I did not want to think of the other possibility. Perhaps I should talk to AJ about it, seeing as she knew her way around a rope…

With a bang, Trixie flew back directly against me, and together we tumbled back a few metres down the road. “Light! Trixie!” AJ and Rainbow shouted at almost the same time before they ran to us as I tried to rub my aching side with a hoof.

"Owww … What was that?" I asked Trixie, who was also obviously in pain.

“A magical repulsion.” I slowly rose to my hooves with AJ’s help. “The lock was… too complicated. Something struck my horn.” Some sort of security system? Even now, the police, the oh so friendly highwaymen, were a pain in the neck.

After AJ had also helped Trixie back to her hooves, we all stood before the insurmountable blockade of worthless old metal. “So, what now?”

“Now we walk, I guess.” I got my saddlebags from the car and put it on.“We still have some way to go.” Fortunately, it wasn’t too far to the next town. The small town was situated between where the two mountains met, and right behind them was the Weser, with the Weser Bridge being our target.

We walked along the pavement for about ten minutes before we finally arrived in the small town where I would have wanted to refuel. However, that would have failed anyway, as the gas station directly at the entrance to the town was only a small ruin. The corrugated roofing sheets lay scattered across the ground, and only one of the five pillars stood where it was supposed to be. The hoses had been separated, and the booth looked as though a bomb had exploded.

“What messed up this place like this?” AJ asked as they looked around further. I followed their gaze and saw the remains of a bank a bit further down the road. At one point in time, it might have had windows, and I saw several ATMs halfway leaning out of them. “Ah thought the Nightmares didn’t attack anything that wasn’t alive?”

“It was people who did this.” All three looked at me, aghast. “In times of panic, they only think about their own survival and take what they think they need, even if it belongs to someone else.” I pointed at the ruined building. “This was once a bank. Money is usually important to a lot of people, but in a situation like this, food becomes an even higher priority. Still, they looted the bank. The main thing was that it was theirs.” If I had been here when the looting had taken place, I was certain I would have taken part. I was, by no stretch of the imagination, a saint, only lucky to have been in another place, mainly a different world.

“Ponies can be the same.” Surprised, I look at my girlfriend to see her sadly gazing at the sky. “We run away from our aggressors and trample down anything that stands in our way.” As a herd, they would move together in panic. It was no wonder, seeing as their ancestors were probably simple-minded creatures. Perhaps they had Albia as a model, as in various aspects, they were more people than pony. Our snouts were much smaller than those of real ponies, the legs were a bit longer, the hoofs could hold objects, and we had wings, horns, or incredible strength. Naturally, we could also think and feel.

“What smells so funny?” Rainbow interrupted my train of thought. I took a deep breath.

“That’s the gas that’s used to drive our cars.” I actually found the smell to be pleasant, but apparently my companions did not. “Well, we should get going. Can’t get anything here.” The gas station had been robbed of all its food and goods, with only a few scraps from a magazine, a picture here and there, remaining. Full newspapers and magazines were absent and therefore also valuable information. Only a Playboy had remained, and I stowed this away in my saddlebag. Lyra would certainly be glad for it. For my part, I had no desire to check it out when the mother of my foal stood nearby.

We went on our way again and passed the bank, then another bakery, then the pharmacy. All these had been looted, with the electronic doors ripped wide open. There were several packages of aspirin and other medication still lying on the ground. I had no idea if they would work on ponies, but it couldn’t hurt to take them just in case.

“I’ll check this out quickly,” I said to the three others and carefully stepped past the door and around the broken glass. As expected, there was nothing on the shelves behind the counter, but there were still the cupboards farther behind in the shop. I raised the hatch and crossed the corridor, only to trip over something. I landed roughly on my nose, only to end up staring directly into someone’s lifeless eyes . Frightened, I scrambled back from the body and took a deep breath.

“Everything alright in there, sugarcube?” AJ called, to which I only waved a hoof from the counter in response. I knew the dead woman who laid before me. Her skin was pale, and a rank odour hovered in the air above us. I knew Mrs. Eckart, as she didn't live far from us when I was younger. She would always drop off my asthma spray so that my mother wouldn’t have to make a detour here after work. “Sugarcube?”

“Yeah…. Everything’s fine.” I tried to breathe through my mouth as I pulled myself together. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel sad about the fate of the elderly woman; it was just that I knew that hers wouldn’t be the only one we would find. I just hoped to protect the others from this as long as possible, even if it was rather futile.

I went to the first cupboard with a lot of drawers, with the labels pointing out what their contents were. I saved myself the effort of looking for anything specific and pulled out the lowest three drawers with my light blue aura. They were all filled with haemorrhoid cream, which was useless to us. I opened one drawer after the other, but all were as empty as the last one. If there was still something in there, then it would have probably been useless. Cough drops and grape sugar were still behind the bar, and I pocketed some before I stepped back into the daylight.

“What did you find?” Rainbow asked curiously. I threw a little of the grape sugar to her. She inspected it warily before taking the packet into her mouth.

"You have to open it first," I said as I trotted off and took the lead. I heard the sound of someone spitting, followed by something hitting the ground.

“As if I didn’t know that.” I passed her another piece, tearing off the top a little so that she could finish removing the rest with her teeth. “Whoa, this is good! You should give one to Pinkie!”

"Could I have one too?" AJ asked, and so I freed a raspberry-flavoured one from the foil before I handed over to her. I did the same for Trixie and myself.

"This is grape sugar. It’ll give you a bit of an energy boost. However, too much could be bad for you, since it could leave you even more tired than before." We came to the only roundabout in the town, near where the food market was. This had been a new building and even had a small underground parking lot. Why Edeka had decided to build such a thing was beyond me. It was probably because the A2 exit was not far removed, and the B482 did cross-country skiing directly behind him. Good customer accessibility and traffic flow was important for a business, after all. However, that meant that people had already had the idea of visiting the supermarket. There were several large gaping holes in the back of the building. Looking into the building, one could see the cars that had caused it.

“Well, at least it looks like some survived.”

“Are you glad about this vandalism?" Trixie unbelievingly asked and pointed in passing at one of the large holes in the wall of Edeka.

“It only shows people were still searching for food. They are most likely hiding out somewhere." We went directly up to the bridge, and it became time to decide where we wanted to head to first.

“Where would be the best place for survivors to hide?" AJ asked. "Is there anything like a cellar or bunker where folks can hold out?" I thought about it for a bit, but I couldn’t recall there being a lot of places.

"The sports hall in the junior high school or perhaps in the swimming pool at the top of the crazy golf course. Then there would be The Bunker in Minden, where we'll be going, by the way. It’s a disco in an old bunker, as you could guess by the name. They would have to have a generator there to open the steel doors electronically, or if necessary, they could always just be left open." There were certainly still a few more, but I had never thought about the need to memorize them all. In the meantime, we were already half across the bridge.

“Should I head out to one of those places and look for survivors?” It was obvious that Rainbow was eager to investigate this unknown world, and we were not going at the right speed for her liking.

“We need to stick together….”

“Oh come on, Light! I’m a pegasus and the best flier in Equestria! Do you really believe I would get lost?" She had a good point, plus we could save time.

"Fine, then let's get to the Obi first. There’s a Media Markt too where we can get some radios." I ignored their questioning looks. "We need them to stay in contact." I looked to the side of the bridge and downwards at the Weser. I started to get dizzy, but something down there caught my attention. “It’s a technology, like the cars. Radio waves will transfer between a broadcasting station and a receiver. That way, we can remain in contact with Rainbow, even if she’s a few kilometres away." I explained Trixie, who seemed to understand the concept.

“So it’s something similar to the mail spell?” I nodded.

"Except that we will be able to speak as though we’re standing side by side.”

I had to explain, during the next half an hour, the many other technical miracles of mankind as we walked past a small Minden suburb. The Obi was surrounded by a lot of other business, with the hospital directly in the middle.

“The hospital!” I yelled, completely aghast as we saw the first signs on the shops. "I forgot about the hospital!”

“There’s a hospital here?" AJ asked and looked around questioningly.

“Yes, the most modern one in Europe. At least it was when it was built." There, dinner was brought by robots to the wards, and everything was technically at the highest degree. Unfortunately, the construction had been a fiasco from the beginning. For example, instead of building several levels upwards, it was a single long building. One needed more than five minutes to come over from one end. My mother, who had worked there as an assistant, had often grumbled about the mileage it was putting on her body. "My family knows the building by heart. Maybe they are there!” We had often eaten there by noon, and I had even worked there after school for a while.

"What should we do now? We need the radios, search that Obi shop for material to repair the Celestia, and look in the hospital for survivors,” Trixie summarized. “Should we split up?” That was actually not a bad idea.

“Alright, this is what we’ll do. Rainbow will come with me, and we’ll get the radios. Then she can search the homes on the mountain. That was where we previously were. I’ll go to the Obi, and you and AJ can look in the hospital for survivors. Just do me a favour and avoid the basement,” I added quickly. In the basement would be the morgue, and without electricity, I doubt they would be able to endure the stench. Sure, there was a generator, but they consumed large amounts of diesel, and the tanks had certainly been empty for a while.

“I hear ya, sugarcube. Where and when should we meet up?" I considered shortly.

“Before the hospital, there’s a big fountain. We’ll meet there in approximately one hour." AJ and Trixie nodded. “The hospital is straight ahead, down this road.” We passed the abandoned guest house and the used-car dealership and found ourselves between the large business places.

“I gotta say, your people sure know how to build big buildings … " Rainbow said as they looked at the furniture store. I also studied it and placed it as the same size as some of the houses in Manehatten.

“Here is where we go our separate ways.” I pointed to the right of the street at a large red signboard with white writing where the name was engraved. AJ and I quickly gave each other a quick kiss before we separated, and I went up with Rainbow to the car park of the dealership. The smaller shops on the left along the car park looked largely untouched. However, this was probably due to the fact that shoes were at the bottom on the list of essentials, for people as well as ponies. So at first, I didn't want to bother checking the windows... A large stone flew through one of the windows and splintered it into many large fractions.

“Whoa! What was that?" Rainbow asked, spooked by the noise.

“Something I always wanted to do.” Deichmann could hardly complain. Rainbow quickly did the same and sent another stone through the glass.

“You’re right, this is fun.” She grinned. I took another stone from the car park and went with her to the entrance of the Media Markt. It had an entranceway that consisted of two electronic glass doors, with a once air-conditioned interior. It had been built after someone had driven through the old one with his car. Not by accident, but at three o'clock in the morning to escape with several TV sets. Without electricity, we would have to fall back on this method again.

"Fire!" I called and flung the stone with my magic at the first window. Rainbow and I covered our faces with our hooves to protect us from the shattered remains. Carefully, we rose and stood before the second door. "Alright, once again!" Again I raised and used the stone again, but it bounced off in the Plexiglas.

“Let me take a shot!” Rainbow got into position and lunged out to give the glass the kick of its lifetime.

“Might be better if you—” It was too late as her hooves banged against the flexible glass. The unfamiliar material stretched and flung back the same force at her, swatting her legs and sending her to the ground. “Are you okay?" I carefully asked as a groan escaped her.

“What kind of weird glass is that?” I believed it actually more of a plastic, but it was unimportant.

“One you should cut rather instead trying to break it," I said from experience. Whenever I had to cut Plexiglas for things for my computer, I always used a hot knife. I built a bit of energy in my horn, and a concentrated sunbeam hit our adversary. While the blue pegasus near me got up again, I cut slowly but certainly cut a hole in the glass so that we could walk through. When I had finished cut the hole, I stepped out and admired. "After you," I said to Rainbow and pointed with a hoof at the hole.

Slowly and warily, she stepped into the relatively dark shop. It did not surprise me that it had been somewhat, but the Plexiglas would have kept out most anyway. I followed her and produced a small bright glow above our heads that floated. I had often been in this shop. However, to be in it without sounds and the flickering lights of the televisions was somehow creepy.

"Is this a radio?" Rainbow had fished a power strip from one of the tables that held the discounted items and held the cable between her teeth. I could not hold back a smile.

“No, but you could take one of the headsets over there." On the other table, cheap headphones were set up with an inserted microphone in them so that they could be used on mobile phones. They had rather small earpieces, and I could have described them as looking somewhat uncomfortable, but one could adjust them to what we would need as ponies. Rainbow did what I said and took two off the table and threw one to me. I unwrapped it with my magic and placed it on my head. "It fits."

“And it even looks cool!" she said. “Take out my one." In contrast to my black one, she had taken one with a blue tribal design. I also freed this from the packaging, and she set up it eagerly. "Aww, I don’t hear anything,” she said and tapped lightly against the outer right ear.

“It’s still missing something." I for her to follow me, and so we went past the coffee makers, then the microwaves, and found the radios. The choice was rather small, though it seemed to be of good quality. I took the two most expensive and ripped open the packaging. Fortunately, they already had batteries in them. I put both on the same frequency and put one in my saddlebag after I stuck the headset on. The headset had a simple push-to-talk function, and I hoped it would be compatible with the radios. “Come over here, Rainbow." She had been occupied with checking herself out in the faint reflection in one of the televisions.

“These things are so cool!” She grinned widely and struck a pose that she probably thought was befitting. I caught the cable of her headset, connected it to the second device, and stowed away it in her saddlebag. Then I pressed the small button in the right outer ear and spoke.

"Test, testing, one, two, three." Rainbow seemed spooked from hearing my voice doubly and simultaneously.

"How did you do that?" she asked, and I pointed to the button on my headset. Immediately, she pressed hers. “LIKE THIS?" She had roared into her microphone so loudly that I wanted to tear mines away from my head.

"You do not need to shout. Normal volume should do." She nodded and pressed again.

"Then I’m going now," I heard her twice before she flew back past the shelves and to the exit.

“If you are in the Edeka, at the beginning of the bridge, tell me. From there, I can direct you." I released the button and waited for an answer.

“Okay!” I heard the rushing of the wind by her microphone, which meant that she was already in the air. Then she released the button.

"You need to release the button when you’re finished, otherwise I can’t answer you. Over." Perhaps I should have explained it to her a bit better.

"Over?" sounded by my headset.

“Say that every time you are finished so that I’ll know when I can answer. Over." I pocketed some batteries freed some other headsets from their packaging so that they could be carried more easily.

"Okay. Over. Over." It would work for now.

Author's Notes:

I think it shows that I'm a sucker for Fallout ^^

Special thanks to JBL for translating and editing.