Fallout Equestria: Lost Dreams

by GH0STSHAD0W

Chapter 1: SSDD

FALLOUT EQUESTRIA: LOST DREAMS
Chapter 1- Same Shit, Different Day
"Nothing ever changes in this sleepy town. Nothing exciting ever happens around here."
Fallout Equestria: LOST DREAMS
>RUN FALLOUTEQUESTRIA.EXE
>> LOADING... LOADING... LOADING...
>>> ACTIVE DLC:
>>> Lost Memories
>>> INITIAL BUILD (Database Preset: GH0ST)
Level 5 Earth Pony Stallion (+1 Strength/Endurance, Free Tag: Repair, Unrestricted Perk Tree)
Strength 9
Perception 6
Endurance 10
Charisma 3
Intelligence 5
Agility 6
Luck 4
Tags: Guns, (Repair), Sneak, Melee
Traits: Trigger Discipline, Skilled
Bonus traits: *ERROR! DATA MISSING*
>>> ACCEPT? (y/n)
Y
>>> LOCKDOWN ACTIVATED
>>> SAFETY PROTOCOLS DEACTIVATED
>>> SENSORIUM ACTIVATED
>>> STAND BY... STAND BY... STAND BY...
>>> Loading new chunks...Placing dirt in the rocks...Deploying smooth jazz....Done

It's dark, the sole remaining light is just barely functioning, the air is thick with dust from the blast. The world is spinning around me and every fiber of my being is screaming in agony as I struggled to my hooves only to slam my face into the floor.

i looked down to see my right forehoof was shredded and twisted at an unnatural angle in several spots. If it wasn't for the concussion and blood loss, i would be panicking right now. But for now my only goal is to crawl across the room to my saddle bags and find a healing potion.

All i can think about as i crawl is if my friends are alright, and lamenting the fact that i won't get my payday if i die in this hellhole.

But im getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning...

I awoke to the sound of gunfire outside my house
“Today is gonna suck… I hate my job.” I said as I got up and shook the sleep off. Making my way down to the first floor, I collected some essentials before I went to see what the trouble was. Knives? Check, (two to be precise.) 10mm pistol ? Check, My old hunting rifle? Double check. Armor? Check.

I grabbed two mags for the rifle and three for the pistol as finished gearing up, hunting knife in a shoulder sheath, tanto point folder in a pocket near my flank, and my rifle on my battle saddle and pistol in a chest rig.
I glanced at my cloudy and broken mirror….

Yup, still the same as every day: a fairly tall stallion, with a lanky muscular build, light(ish) grey coat, and a short black mane . My eyes are notable being yellow with a slight blue tinge in places. the other notable thing is a scar across my face from near my left eyebrow to just below my right eye. I finished summarizing up my appearance and wondered why the hell I was having an internal monologue about how I look, when the sound of a small caliber automatic weapon snapped my thoughts back to what was going on outside.

With that I put on my skull facemask, secured its’ enchanted strap and stepped out my door into the town of Diese … And right into utter chaos.

Pronounced as “deez”, once known as “Diesel Springs” a small town once home to dozens of powered wagon lovers and racers. some time ago it was full of garages and shops dedicated to racing and customization of these wagons, but it has long since fallen into disrepair (and lost half it’s sign, hence the name) since the Spellfire apocalypse. Several decades ago some ponies moved in, built a wall out of the old wagon hulls and parts from the racetrack and called it home. The town was never anything special, the main streets met in the middle of town, east going to the residential block, west toward the markets, north is where the gate was situated and south is where the industrial sector was.

Not too long ago I earned my place here (But that’s a story for another time) and took a home in an old two story garage, turned mercenary headquarters (long abandoned by the time i moved in,) on the less populated side of town. But, thats enough exposition for now.

The fight that had woken me up had escalated into a miniature war. Down the street, about three blocks away, the city gate was blown apart. From the way the gates were so heavily guarded, I’m guessing it was a suicide run or it was possible that somepony cut their fuses too short. By the way there was a mangled, half dead raider still screaming near the gate, my caps were on the latter.

About a dozen raiders were terrorizing the town, I ran toward the fight, full speed for about a block before I slid up next to a brown unicorn hiding behind a fallen concrete pillar.

“Ah’ll die ’fore ya take my town ya dirty raiders!” the brown unicorn yelled between shots of his double barreled shotgun. As I slid next to him I recognized him as Joe, the proprietor of the Diese general store. If you’re wondering why he has such an odd name as “Joe” his full name is “cup 'a joe,” but since he hates to be called that, everyone calls him ”Joe” instead.
“’Ere hol’ this, ah nee’ ta reload!” he muttered as he shoved the shotgun into my hooves and floated up two shells in his brown magical field “This outta ruin ‘is day” he said before loading them into his gun, and taking it back.

Before I could ask any questions a nearby raider sprayed a burst of incendiary ammo into our cover and reminding me how much I hate raiders.

“Assholes ruined my morning.” I popped up from cover and sighted the raider.

KRAK

My rifle spoke, the shot hit the raider in the throat. He fell, wide eyed and clutching his neck, mouth moving in muted screams as he bled out. Beside me joe took aim at a second raider we had caught the attention of, and gave him both barrels.

“WHATSHISNAME! NOOOO! YOU'RE GONNA PAY!” suddenly a blood covered raider with a large knife in his mouth came charging into onto the main street, frantically looking for who killed his… friend?

Can you call someone a friend if they can’t even remember your name? I took aim again, this time aiming for the raider’s leg.

KRAK

Fuck me sideways… I missed. And even worse I managed to alert him to my hiding spot, the raider wasted no time galloping toward us full speed. I hit the reload on my saddle to work the bolt and aimed again, Joe was still trying to reload in a panic, fumbling and dropping his shells.

KRAK

My shot grazed his face, leaving a shallow trench along her cheek. Unfazed, he plowed into me, sending me onto my back. On my left Joe finally managed to get his shells in and snap his gun closed.

“Ah got ya buddy” he yelled as he pointed his weapon at my attacker. Too slow! The raider knocked the gun aside and bucked Joe into next week before turning and pouncing on me. He brandished his knife and wildly slashed at me in an attempt to slit my neck. instead, he only managed to cut up my forehooves and the sleeves of my leather armor.

“ANY LAT WORDS MEATPUPPET?!” the raider yelled around his knife, giving me a moment to think. A wicked Idea sprung to mind.

“Got kids?” I asked. The confused raider stared at me, befuddled, right before my rear hoof swung up and connected with his tender bits. As he fell to my side, i drew my pistol and put three rounds into his face. Overkill, I know, but I had a feeling this guy was on a stim or two.

Holstering my pistol, I scrambled over to check on Joe. Thankfully he was alive, might have a wicked headache, but he’d live. I tucked him closer to the rubble and put the corpse of my crazed assailant over him. At least no other raiders would try to kill him with his “camouflage” while was gone.

I made my way over to a partially destroyed two story building and quickly made my way up the stairs to the second floor. A sniper perch was on the roof, and the cover fire from it had stopped a few minutes ago. Traversing from the hallways to the ladder to the roof, I crept up it, and paused. I heard a voice as I neared the top

“Oi! Where’s Tumbler at? ‘Erd he was good at pickin’ locks…”

a second voice dully replied “I dunno, butch… can we’s go? I don’t like dis “roof” things, feel like ima fall off it…”

A wicked idea sprung to mind, creeping around the corner of the former roof access (now little more than a shed, since the stairs were rubble) I looked around the corner and saw two raiders near the edge of the roof over a bloody and battered unicorn mare’s body. She was named Curtain call, I remembered, but everyone called her Whisper. standing over her was a blood spattered white unicorn buck with a butcher knife for a cutie mark. I assumed butch is short for butcher? and an off yellow earth pony buck with a green mane holding a shotgun, seemed to be contemplating what to do with the mare they managed to injure.

I decided to make my move. I galloped the short distance between us and shoulder charged the unicorn, knocking him off the roof, I heard his body hit several objects on his way down. Turning my attention to the slow yellow buck who was looking over the edge yelling

“butch! You okay? Butcher? Buddy?”

I face hoofed before I pushed him off too. I think I just did the wasteland a favor. Sweet Luna I swear i heard the sound of IQs rising as he fell. I turned to Curtain Call, she was hurt pretty bad, covered several large cuts and a stab wound.

“potion…..” she weakly whispered. I nodded and rushed to the “storage room.” inside was a few boxes of ammo for various rifles, preserved food left here for ponies on guard duty and a few emergency healing potions. I wasted no time and grabbed the potions, and rushing to the mare. I sat her up a bit and helped her drink the potion. Her wound knitted back together before my eyes. By the time she downed the second one she had stopped bleeding and most of the damage had faded.
“Thank you…” the unicorn mare weakly said.

“You need to recover, Whisper. Get into the storage room, take this and lock the door.” I said, I gave her a firm glare that said I was serious. (It’s difficult to read my facial expressions while I have my mask, so I learned to show emotion with just my eyes.)

“Hmh...my hero.” she got up and gave me a weak smile before heading toward the storage. "...thank you..."

I hurried back down to the first floor and slipped back out into the street. As I passed the bodies of the raiders from the roof, I stopped to loot them. After all, they didn't need what they were packing anymore. On ‘Butch’, I found a potion, some dash, a wicked looking knife, and a few caps. As I rummaged for loot on that off yellow earth pony, he fidgeted and groaned.

Holy fuck, he was alive! I put 3 rounds from the 10mm into his head before i hurried toward the sound of gunfire once again.
Passing and looting several corpses on my way, I picked up four guns that looked terrible, a few random ammo types, another potion, and two tubes of med ex. Continuing on, the sounds of fighting were dying down.

As i got closer I found roughly four raiders and an even number of guards and towns ponies in a fierce gun battle at the crossroads. I was in an advantageous position. I was approaching from the side and so far, I hadn't been noticed yet.

I slid up next to an old wagon hulk and activated my scope, I sighted a red unicorn mare, my crosshairs came to rest on her head. I took a deep breath, and exhaled….

KRAK

Her head exploded. Blood, brain and skull fragments covered the closest raider. They frantically looked around for me, only to catch a burst from one of the guard’s rifles.

Shoulda kept your head down. I hit kicked the reload lever to work the bolt. I sighted in and aimed for the center mass of a green earth pony raider, his mark was a skull with a dagger in it. I inhaled, settled my crosshairs on him, and exhaled.

“Game over…” I whispered as I fired

KRAK

At the same time the raider next to my target fell in a hail of bullets from the remaining guards. As my shot hit, the raider spun from the impact, SMG in his mouth firing on reflex. He was dead already, his body just didn't realize it yet. And suddenly my world became one of pain. My chest and shoulder burned with the heat of a thousand suns, I pressed my right hoof to to it, and felt a series of small holes…

Bastard! He was using AP ammo! It was all I could manage to think as I staggered toward the crossroads. I was losing blood fast, the edges of my vision were starting to darken and It suddenly became hard to walk right.

My breathing grew ragged as I staggered into the crossroad. My legs suddenly gave out and I went down. I struggled up to my hooves and made it about another twenty feet before I collapsed again. I remember hearing voices and and seeing blurry figures before I blacked out.

“He’s losing too much blood!”

“Go get a potion in ‘im quick! We’ll dig the bullets out later!”

Did I mention I hate when I’m right?

I found myself floating in an endless dark void. Motes of light seemed to be floating around too, was I in water? No, it wasn't water… it didn’t feel right. It feel like… liquid shadows? Is that a thing? I wouldn't know, i’m no egghead by any stretch. About the only science i’m versed in is physics since it’s important in my line of work. But more to the point, what was up with this void? It was starting to piss me off… I couldnt move anywhere, and if I tried I just ended up spinning in a fucking circle!

……..

I gave up after about 2 minutes of flailing like an idiot, eventually returning to (what I thought was, anyway) an upright position and resumed floating in an angry manner.

”…. stupid fucking void” I muttered, it was around that point I heard a whisper In that wind, but it was too low to hear. It was possible I was imagining thing while tripping balls due to massive blood loss.
I probably shouldn't look too hard into these things honestly….

Suddenly the world became painfully bright, I went to raise my left hoof up to block the light, but that just caused a new hell to spawn in my chest and shoulder. Well the upside was that I was not dead, I don’t think death would hurt that much. As I thought that, an older white unicorn buck with a faded red mane and a lab coat walked into the room i lay inside. for some reason, i couldn't help stare at the pair of glasses sitting on the end of his muzzle.

“Oh good, you’re awake. We thought we’d lost you for a while there Mr….?”

“Call me Ghost” I offered “ It’s the name I go by.”

“Right, Mr. Ghost then. Like I said, you were out for quite some time… a little over three days to be exact.”

Wait, seriously? No wonder I felt like I tried to eat the damn moohave desert. As if on cue the doc floated a bottle of water (with a straw!) over to me. I wasted no time in un-strapping my mask, and pulling it up just enough to guzzle it down and by Celestia it was the sweetest thing I ever tasted, or maybe it was just my brain being overdramatic.

*hey I’m entitled.*

No, no you aren't, brain.

While I was distracted arguing with my brain the good doc took the opportunity to stab me with a syringe of something. By the sudden warmth and feeling of calm, I’d assume it was med-x. I gave the Doctor a glare that could melt a snowbuck.

Where had I even picked that up? It doesn't even snow in Diese…I blame the caravans.. he raised his hooves in a ‘calm down’ gesture as he said

“Now now, don’t be such a foal about it. That should help with any pain you may still be feeling. You looked like hell when you came in.” the old buck said. “if I didn't know better, I would have guessed you were boxing with a hellhound!” Well that wouldn’t be too far off with how I felt as I sat up.

“I’m sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier, what’d you say it was?” he gave a knowing smile and chuckled

“I didn't. But you can call me Ace, Ace Bandages” as he turned to leave, I spied his mark. Fittingly enough it was a roll of gauze and an adhesive bandage.He stopped in the doorway.

“Don’t worry about payment friend, it’s on the house after everything you've done for us.” And with that he walked out. Now, I know I helped the town at least twice now, three times if I counted taking care of some bloatsprites in Joe’s store house, but beyond that I couldn't think of…

“Hey, you made it!” Looking up, I found Curtain Call was now standing in the doorway. The raven haired unicorn was looking much better than last time I saw her.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me out back there.” She walked up to me quickly and placed a box on the bed next to me. “I wanted to give you this, and… this”

As I set aside the water and started to tug my mask back down, she darted in and locked lips with (a very surprised) me. She pulled back after a few seconds, nervously biting her lip and taking a deep breath.

“soijustwantedtogiveyouthat, byei’llseeyoulaterghost.” she said quickly and darted out of the room before I could respond.

Wow that girl was random sometimes. Nice girl, good marksman. She’s confident behind the scope but quiet and shy away from it though.

I refastened my mask and slowly got up. You want to know what makes this mask so special, other than being a light weight, incredibly flexible and breathable material? It has three enchantments that make it special: the first is a rather mundane repair spell, so it can return to its original state after being damaged. The second is a combat geared spell that makes the mask as durable as a steel helmet without the weight or vision obscuring properties. The third is a nice touch put on by the previous owner: the strap to fasten it has a unique spell that only allows the wearer to remove it. it was also given to me by someone close to me. I mentally facehoofed as I realized I was spouting exposition again.

Making my way to the front of the clinic, I passed a mirror again. this time I found I wasn't wearing my barding. I had instead a layer of magical bandages around my chest and left shoulder down to the hoof and one around my lower right foreleg. I was still covered with dirt, grime and blood from the fight days earlier. I need to go clean up like yesterday.

About a 10 minute walk later (at a slow pace), I was outside my home at the far end of the crossroads south arm. It was one of the few buildings untouched by the battle a few days ago.

When I had moved in, it was a slightly dilapidated two story garage that was missing part of the front and left side of the upper floor.i had been told it was used a a mercenary group's HQ for some time, but they up and abandoned it a few years back.

With a little work and help from some townsponies I managed to build a new wall, repair the damage to the ground level, and even reinforced most of the building (just in case.). in my spare time between jobs I built a rain collector on the roof . it had a few jury rigged tanks from the wagon hulks for water tank, providing a decent capacity. All –in-all it was above average for wasteland living conditions. .

I sighed. I was doing it again.

I unlocked my door (with a key! Isn’t that rare for the waste, huh?) and stepped in. the first floor was simple really. Toward the back left corner was the small room that made up my bathroom, in the middle was a several benches and seats (scavenged from the wagons of course) around a table. To my right was a coat rack with space for my saddlebags, several hats, and duster length coats. Off to the left in front of the garage door were six trunks from powered wagons converted into storage chests for various loot and equipment storage.

Settling into one of the chairs in front of the table, i took my barding out of my bags and laid it across the surface. looking it over, it was simple reinforced black leather armor in the style of a cycle racing jacket (Diese was full of those in every color. A lot of prewar wagon and cycle enthusiasts used to wear them. They often adorned with racing brands and such.) It had a few new holes and the forearms were slashed to hell. I’d have to repair it or buy a new set.

Setting my rifle and battle saddle down, I looked it over. The rifle only had some minor wear, nothing major. Next was the pistol. I’d need to change the slide since a lucky shot from that raider had hit it and smashed it to hell. Next up was knives. Nothing needed to be done here since I hadn't really used them.

I Sighed as I walked over to my storage. I really had my work cut out for me. I unfastened my mask and rolled it up onto my head like a skull cap, and went about rummaging through the chests i owned. Tools? Check. Pistol parts? Check. Lube, cleaner and rags? Check. With my checklist complete, I carried all the supplies over to the table and set everything down.

As I went to my seat , my hoof bumped into my bags and knocked Curtain Call's gift onto the floor. I picked it up, it was wrapped in simple brown paper. Where did she even get the wrapping paper anyway? I tried to carefully bite the edge of the paper and open it

“Ish should ee stho mush easier with mag-ik….” I muttered around a faceful of box.

After struggling with it for a minute I managed to get it open. Inside the paper was a simple wooden box with a brass latch, and note attached that read:

“I found this while scavenging a while back. I thought you would like it, I hope you do anyway.
-C.C.”

If I didn’t know better I’d say she was sweet on me… I put that thought aside and unlatched the box and my jaw hit the floor.

Inside was THE single most beautiful pistol I have ever seen. It looked like an Ironshod .45 model except It was midnight black with a silver inlaid swirling snowdrift design on the slide, and the words “GRACE” written on the slide above the trigger. The barrel itself protruded about a half inch further than normal, and was threaded with a cap on the end. The trigger was a custom cut match grade trigger. The hammer was skeletonized and had serrations across the top for easy cocking. The sights custom tritium night sights were extended to sit slightly higher than normal. It had a space under the barrel where a tactical rail was used for laser sights. The grip was a formed rubber with a rosewood inlay. Inside the box with it in its own spaces were a custom silencer, compensator, and holster made just for this gun. They sported the same design as the body of the pistol. But the most interesting thing about this gun was that it was built to accept the standard 10mm pistol magazines.I mentally noted to thank Curtain Call later. I adapted Grace’s holster to my chest rig and swapped the cap out with compensator, and stashed the silencer away in my bag to use later.

I started to clean my hunting rifle, applying lubricant where needed and tweaking the scope to account for the slight leftward drift I noticed earlier.

I started to work on the 10mm pistol after that, and was forced to pry the old slide off with a screwdriver. In the end the slide became part of my ceiling after it saw fit to embed itself there when it finally came off.

Whatever, it can stay up there.

My inner monolouge was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“I know you’re in there.” A voice said from the other side of my door. A voice, which in my opinion sounded like the owner had eaten a cheese grater.“I have a business proposition for you.” The voice said.I pulled my mask down to just above my muzzle and opened the door with my hooves, quickly grabbing Grace in my mouth just incase things went south.

Standing in my doorway was the ugliest pony I’d seen in awhile. The best description of this pony would be that his hide looked to be made of jerky with patches of raw skin exposed in places. He seemed to have no mane but somehow had a mouth full of white teeth. He was dressed in a slate blue business suit with a slight tilted, shady looking fedora adorning his head. I was dealing with a ghoul. Just what I needed tonight…

“So, i take it you're interested in my little proposition?”

“Who do you work for?” I said through a mouthful of gun. “And i want details.” The ghoul did a small flourish is he removed his fedora, pressed it to his chest and bowed slightly. i noticed the stub of a horn in the middle of his head. Guess i was a little surprised by him being a unicorn.

“You may call me Char Broiled. I am a representative of one Miss Maplehoof, a matron of the Crimson Wings. She sent me to acquire your services and is prepared to expend a hefty sum to you in exchange for them.”
Char Broiled, huh? Now there’s an accurate name.

The name ‘Crimson Wings’ sounded familiar. I recall once meeting a a charismatic pegasus by the same name during my travels before i settled down here. Beyond that i had heard of another wasteland gang (albeit a more benevolent one) who took up residence in an old mall a few days journey from Diese. Maybe he was referring to them?. I backed up slowly allowing him to step into the doorway.

“Close it.” I told him, I wasn’t taking my eyes off this shifty ghoulicorn that just showed up at my door this late.
“But of course. Lead the way. I am a guest in your home after all.” The door handle was wrapped with a lime green glow as he closed it.

“First chair, take a seat. Hooves and hat on the table.” I circled around to where I had been sitting before. I wasn’t taking any chances with this shady character. First sign of him trying to do anything other than sit there, and his brain would be enjoying more fresh air than it could ever hope to have.
.
“Very well Mister Ghost.” He sat his hat to his left, dropping his small leather messenger bag to the right. He put his hooves together in front of him. So he knows my name and where I live. I didn’t know how popular I had become. He cleared his throat. “May I begin? “ I nodded for him to continue.

“My benefactor, Miss Maple, has heard of your various exploits prior to you settling down in town. She sent me to find more information on your whereabouts, and if possible… contract your services.” He paused long enough to let that sink in.
His sources were better than i thought since he know about that. Most people just took it at face value when I told them I was a caravan guard since the day i could walk. My thoughts were interrupted as he gestured toward his bag with a raised eyebrow. I nodded at him after a moment of consideration.

“I have been instructed to ‘sweeten the offer’ should you hesitate, and offer you one quarter the payment in advance should you be willing to accept. The remainder will be paid upon completion” At that point he removed a large cloth sack from his bag. He floated it a few inches above the table and dropped it. It was full of caps!

“Unfortunately that’s all the information I have. As for the exact details of what the young miss wants, you will have to speak to her yourself. I have already arranged transport if you’re interested.”Mentally salivating, I finally laid Grace down on the table. I had to ask:

“exactly how much are we talking here?”The jerky pony smirked.

“In that bag is one thousand caps. As I stated, one quarter of your payment up front, even a raider could do the math Mister Ghost. If I were in your position, I’d accept.” Wait, did he just insult me? He closed his bag and steepled his hooves in front of his mouth as he waited for my answer.

In the back of my mind was a little pony yelling
“TAKE THE CAPS, FOR GODDESS SAKE, TAKE THE CAPS! WHY AREN'T YOU TAKING THE CAPS?! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY TAKE THE CAPS! SWEET CHEESES! TAKE THE CAPS!” while my inner greed was having a hysterical breakdown over the prospect of a potential 4K payday, I continued to mull it over. After about a minute I had my answer.

“Alright, I’ll do it.” Suddenly the overcooked unicorn’s expression turned ecstatic as he clapped his hooves together once.
“WONDERFUL! We leave tomorrow at noon! Meet me outside the front gate then, and we’ll depart for Grand Halls.” With that, the crispy unicorn got up, floated his bag to his side, his hat on to his head and trotted to the door. I followed him to the door and watched him jauntily trot off down the street.

“Hm, what a strange pony.”

As Char Broiled faded from view, I turned to go back inside. However, In the corner of my eye I spotted a cream colored hoof in the alley of the building a short distance away.

“I see you over there who-ever-you-are. Come out.” I watched a as a cream colored muzzle poked out and looked around. The form stepped out. It was yet another overcast night in the wasteland (But then again when wasn’t it?) but I would have recognized the distinctive walk anywhere.

Whisper had a very memorable way of walking, it looked as if she was tip toeing around everywhere she went. Still though, she could move quite scarily when she did. Often the first indication she was in the room would be her saying something to you and often disappearing when you looked away. She quickly made her way over to where I was standing, I took a second to blink and when I opened my eyes, she was almost nose to nose with me. Gaah! How in equestria does she do that? I jerked my head back a bit, for all the good it did.

“… um, hi ghost…” she tried to sweep her bangs out of her face with a hoof, but they seemed to fall into the same place anyway.

“What’s going on Whisper?” I said as I took a step back. “What were you doing over there?”

“…n-n-nothing!… nothing at all.” She was terrible liar, it didn't help she had a horrible poker face. She tended to scrunch her nose up and press her lips into a line when she lied. I've seen her do it before when trying to cover for a guard two hours late to their shift. It didn't work then, still doesn't work now.

I sighed “Would you like to come in? Want some tea or something?” i offered, since standing outside awkwardly wasn't doing either of us any favors.

“…yes please… tea is fine...” I led her inside, into the main room.

“Sit anywhere you want really.” I casually said to her as I collected two cups and a pot for the water and wandered over to a gravity fed faucet. I filled the pot and brought it back over to the table. Setting everything down I walked over to my miscellaneous storage and dug out my portable heater.

“… whats that?” the meek mare asked as I carried my heater over and started setting it up.

“Portable heater" i struggled to remember a bit. “My mentor, he left it to me before his death.” I hooked a small spark battery and turned the device on. “It’ll be ready soon” I told her.

I made the tea and we drank it in relative quiet. She seemed like she’d been working up the nerve to say something. I realized that was probably because this was the first time she’d ever seen me without my mask on. I remembered, indeed, it was currently atop my head in hat form.

Curtain Call was fidgeting in her seat, glancing at me every now and then as I continued to repair my old 10mm pistol between sips of tea. The barrel had a notable kink in the same spot the slide had. I’d need a new one because the whole thing was fragged. I tossed the old barrel off somewhere behind me to deal with later. I slid the replacement barrel in place and fitted the new slide. I set it aside as Curtain Call took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“yesiwasspyingonyou,iheardeverythingthatweirdguysaidandiwanttogowithyou!” Holy. Fucking Balls. That was a hell of a mouthful.

“Wait, what? Could you repeat that?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't sure if I should be offended or not.

“Okay, I was spying on you. I didn't trust that shady looking unicorn, and I followed him as soon as my shift ended. When I saw you open the door with your gun out, i came over just in case you needed help….”

She explained in her usual almost whisper tone. “I… I heard his offer to you, and I wanted come with you… y-you never know when you need some extra help out there…”

She looked as if she was going to break down and cry any second. “I-I have my own money saved up, so it’s not like you’d have to pay for me o-or anything… a-and it’s not like anyone in town will miss me. They don’t even know I exist most the time…” she did have a point. I was one of the few people who was aware of her most the time.

She closed her eyes as she finally started to tear up, and whispered “…a-and you’re my only friend here… and I don’t want to be alone again…” Ouch. Did she just try to guilt trip me? even if it wasn’t intentional, how could I say no to her now?
She sniffled a bit and sadly smiled before apologizing for her emotional outburst. Reluctantly I agreed to let Curtain Call come along.

“…yay…” Sweet Celestia, even her excitement is low key.

“Yay adventure… “ I somewhat sarcastically intoned. “Curtain Call.” She seemed surprised I knew her real name, rather than just her nickname. “Pack the essentials, it’s going to be a long trip. We’ll be meeting Char Broiled by the gate at noon.”

She nodded, as she wrapped her teacup in a grayish glow and sipped from it. After we finished the tea she told me she was going home to pack

“... I can meet you a bit earlier if you need to get some supplies before we leave, Ghost”

I smiled a bit.

“Sure thing C.C.” I followed her to the door and watched her leave. She waved before she trotted off.
Damn she has a nice flank. What? Don’t judge me. Did you really expect me not to look sometimes?

The rest of the night was rather uneventful. I decided not to bother repairing my barding, I was going to pay Joe a visit the next morning anyway. chances were a caravan had passed through while I was in my mini coma.

Joe usually kept a good stock of ammo, guns and armor anyway. After all I am probably his best customer with all the jobs I take in the area.

I was going to be gone for a while, so I needed to be prepared for anything. It’s the first lesson Uncle Stonewall had taught me as a foal. Suddenly i froze, what was I doing? if i can remember small stuff like my uncle, how come i can’t remember the more important things? it's like every time i remember something its only a fragment.

Derailing that train of thought, I walked into the storage area. I dragged my saddlebags behind me. I emptied them out and folded them. After all, this was a long haul. I walked to the special items chest and opened it up, taking a minute to find what I was looking for.

It was a high capacity saddlebag set! I unfolded the bags and started to load them up. First order of business was my caps. I tallied up my total, counting six hundred and thirty two caps before adding the thousand from Char Broiled. I rummaged through the other containers, grabbing all the 10mm, .32 caliber and 5mm ammo I had. I scooped up four boxes of other common calibers for weapons in case I had to resort to “On site equipment procurement” as Stonewall used to called it.
But isn’t that how most wastelanders get their gear anyway? I sighed, another fragment with no context.. it least it's an improvement.

I moved on to my other gear; equipping my folding knife in a hidden pocket. I picked up a weathered 5mm assault carbine and slid it into my bag. It seemed to weigh less than other guns of the same model.I assumed it had some magic bits added to it or something. I found the hunting rifle that was currently in the best shape (I go through these things a lot) and swapped the scope from the one I had used recently to it. Once that was done, I broke it down and stored it away. Grace was already in my chest rig, as was my hunting knife. So that handled weapons.

I moved onto meds next.

I threw a few Rad-X and RadAways in the bag, about a half dozen healing potions, a few rolls of magic bandages and two tubes of Med-X for good measure. Food was next. I covered the basics and pretty much threw in all the canned and preserved food I could reasonably carry (including cram. It’s an acquired taste though. Stop looking at me like that.)
Packing done, I put my saddle bags, and battle saddle by the door. I made sure to set a deactivated mine with my bags and headed upstairs. I had a long day ahead of me, so i figured it was time to get some rest.

I wish i could say I had a peaceful night, but I’d be lying if I did. It was the same dream as always. I rolled out of bed and headed down to the first floor. I won’t bore you with the details of my grooming routine however. I rolled down my mask then made my way to the door and collected my bags, battle saddle, and chest rig. Stepping outside, I turned around and set the mine just inside the doorway, activated it and locked my door.

Certainly keeps looters away heheheh..

One hour till I had to meet up with Char Broiled. A short walk later I met Curtain Call as she was headed to Joe’s store. She had packed her bags almost as heavy as mine it seemed. the most notable thing was her barding. It was a fairly form fitting black outfit that left only her hooves, tail and head exposed. It had pockets for armor plates and guessing from the bulges, she had the plates in already. Then there was the rifle she had slung on her back.

It was a .308 sniper rifle with a straight pull bolt, shortened barrel with a silencer and a skeleton stock. on the top side of the stock, an old well worn green and tan bandanna was tied as a makeshift cheek rest.

She noticed me looking at it.

“…it was my dad’s before he died. It’s one of the few things I have left from him… “ She shuffled her hooves before we resumed walking toward the north end of the cross.

“I see. He had good taste. It looks like a fine weapon.” I said as we stopped outside Joe’s. “grab everything you need now. There aren’t many places between here and the grand halls to restock”

“…alright…” she wrapped the door handle in her grey TK field and opened the door. I followed her in and nearly tripped over her before I stopped and saw what she was staring at.

“Co’mere you slippery sonova bitch! T’aint no machine beat me yet!” Joe was chest deep in a large piece of machinery, back hooves almost in the air flailing. As if on cue a loud ‘BZZZZAP’ was heard followed by Joe hollering and swearing a blue streak.

“Hey Joe!” I yelled to get his attention causing him to smack his head into part of the housing on the way out. His face was covered in soot and he had grease stains all over.

“Hey Ghost! What can Ah do ya fer? Supplies, guns, armor, ammo? Heard ya’ll were gonna catch a ride!” I nodded as i walked over, Curtain Call joined me a few seconds later.

“Actually I do need some decent armor, a few boxes of 10mm rounds and all the 5mm ammo you have.”

“….a-and some .308 rounds if you have any…”

My inner greed went into a corner of my mind to sulk as Joe’s face lit up.

“Jus’ a sec man!” Joe practically tripped over himself running into the backroom. About a minute later he returned with a carton of .308 rounds, four boxes of 10mm ammo, a set of black security armor and a 5mm ammo can that looked like it was stolen off a steel ranger.

“You WOULD NOT believe how hard it was ta’ get this ammo man! Damn near killed ma’self gettin’ it”

Yup… probably stolen off a steel ranger. Joe tallied everything everything up, I ended up spending about three hundred and seventy caps for my equipment, while C.C only ponied up (no pun intended) about sixty caps for her ammo.

Quickly setting my bags and rig down I picked up the armor, it was a black medium grade combat vest over a navy blue padded underlayer.

Not bad, better than my leather barding anyway. i fastened the snaps and re-donned my rig, battle saddle and bags. I was fairly happy with my purchase. i stuffed the 10mm ammo in the bag first, but as I picked up the 5mm drum, I noticed a symbol on the front: A faded a sword and three gears was visible.

Yup… definitely stolen from a steel ranger. Don’t even wanna know how he got this. Whisper had already stored her ammo so we made our way out to the street.

“Later ya’ll. Go catch your ride!” Joe yelled as the door closed. We walked to the Diese gate and stopped. I looked at Curtain Call,

“You really want to come? Last chance to change your mind C.C.“. she fixed me with an uncharacteristic glare and stared at me for a few seconds before replying.

“No. I WANT to do this. I have to. I can’t be afraid of the world anymore ghost.” And just like that she reverted to her normal demeanor “A-and you’re probably the safest person to do it with…” her cheeks immediately turned bright red as she stammered. “T-to travel with I mean.. not that I think about doing that with you sometimes…” I didn’t think it was possible but she turned even redder at her slip “thattotallycameoutwrong!idontevenknowwhati’msayinganymore,okayshuttingupnow!” My eyes smiled. (Again wearing a mask makes expressions difficult sometimes.)

I signaled the guard to open the gate. We stepped out and I had the strangest sense of foreboding as the gate closed behind us. Char Broiled was already waiting for us next to an armored wagon.

“Ahh, Mister Ghost, how nice of you to join us. Who, may I ask is your traveling companion?”

“Her name is Curtain Call.” I glanced at her “She’s my apprentice” I lied. He took it at face value and shrugged.

“Very well then.” the handle of the wagon door was enveloped in his green magic, and opened it. “shall we be go-“

“HEY HURRY IT UP DOWN THERE!”

Earlier I noticed the wagon was pulled by two earth ponies, who seemed to be ignoring us for the most part. The unicorn mare on the roof however... was not.She jumped down the ground level.

She was red with an obnoxiously bright green mane that was shaved on one side, she was using a pair of welding goggles for a headband. And she seemed to have a permanent sneer on her face but the most notable thing about her was the intricate black wing tattoo under her left eye.

“C’mon baconflanks. I got shit to do that don’t involve hanging around this dump.” I hated her already. The ghoul sighed and rubbed his temple with a hoof in annoyance. I now understood why Char is the Crimson wing’s envoy rather than one of their thugs.

“This is miss Red Raven. Our caravan chief of security. Please excuse her abrasive personality.” Char Broiled turned to address the unicorn. With a distinct hiss of barely concealed hatred for the mare he spoke again.

“These are the esteemed guests the young miss sent us all this way to retrieve Miss Raven. I would kindly thank you to return to you post and do your job.” He turned back to us, all smiles and politeness again as the annoying mare climbed up to the roof again

“Shall we go now?"

As I climbed into the wagon after Curtain Call, I had the feeling today is was going to be a good day.

Footnote: Level up!: Level 6 Reached

New perk:
Gun Nut- “I love guns” +5 guns, +5 repair
Strong Back- “”Heavy? That’s nothing.” Carry weight increased by 50
Marksman- “Thanks for standing still” 15% damage bonus when using scoped weapons
Tag!- “you’re it” Raise one skill by 15 points (sneak +15)
Tough Hide- “That didn’t hurt.” +5 DT
Quest perk unlocked:
Bury The Past- “I’m not that man anymore” Unlocks special dialogue options when dealing with those who know about your past.
Right Behind you- “They’ll never see it comin’ ” Sneak attacks deal 20% more damage and chance to instakill enemies the same level or lower.

Companion gained:

Curtain Call "... umm..."
Level 3 Unicorn Mare
Companion Perk gained:
The Invisible Mare- “you can see me? Um, that’s okay” Enemies and NPC may fail to notice you at all! (+100 stealth field when activated)

Companion gained:

Char Broiled “What can I do for ya?”
Level 8 Ghoul Unicorn Stallion
Companion Perk gained:
Smooth Tongue- “Let me handle the talking.” +10 speech, +10 barter, bonus to speech checks while in the party.