Braeburn struggled under his comfortable but restrictive bounds while his seemingly friendly captor went to get fresh bandages. "What… What really happened out there?" The golden pony asked. "And where am I?" The stallion stood stoic for a while before speaking with his rarely heard baritone voice. "You're safe now. And that's all that matters." Braeburn accepted this by the fact that he was not yet dead, which is always a good thing. He brought his hoof to his head and felt the bandages wrapped around his skull and the sting of the bullet that previously grazed his skin. Braeburn winced and carefully sat up. "When… When can I leave?" The red stallion turned towards Braeburn. "Whenever you want." Braeburn was slightly shocked. "Ya mean, you're not keeping me here?" He chuckled and shook his head, helping Braeburn down off the bed and onto his hooves. He silently gave him a stimpack, reapplied his bandages, and led him to the front door. Greeting him on the way out was a blast of blinding light that Braeburn had come to expect from the Wastes and the ground leading up to the shack he was leaving being littered with small holes. "Mines, right?" Braeburn said out loud. In response, the large red pony nodded solemnly and pointed off to the north. "That's where Maneaton is?" He nodded again. "Alright, I'm off." Braeburn began to trot his way towards the metal city before quickly turning around and calling back to his new friend. "I forgot to ask! What's your name?" A wash of sadness fell over the stallion. It's been so long since anyone as asked him that question that he was almost afraid he had forgotten the answer. It's been so long since anyone had even talked to him. He wanted to call for Braeburn to come back and spend more time with him. He would make up some excuse about how he needed more rest or something like that. But instead, he just answered in his usual brief demeanor. "Mac." Braeburn grinned. "Thanks for all the help, Mac!" And with that, he was off.
About twenty minuets later, Braeburn arrived to find the front gates of Maneaton already open, as if welcoming anyone to just stroll in. But the usual friendly appearance of the town was diminished with the sight of multiple fires strewn about the buildings. Braeburn rubbed his eyes as if the image wasn't real, but upon entering the town, he found that it was all very real. Doors were burst open and the air smelled like gunpowder. Even with all of this being exposed to Braeburn, he had only one thing on his mind. "Derpy!" He called out as he ran up the ramp to get to her shop. Braeburn stopped at the door and quickly pushed it open, the sound of spent bullet shells rolling on the wooden floor stung in his ears. "Derpy?" He called again. No response. Braeburn searched the entire building until he found her. Huddled in the corner behind a upturned bed, she sat shaking, clutching a hunting rifle. "Derpy? Are you okay?" Derpy, with a wild look in her eyes, aimed the gun at Braeburn. "Hey! It's alright! It's me!" She lowered the gun and tears streamed down her face. "Y-you…" She choked out. "They t-told me you were d-dead!" Without letting him respond, she tackled him to the ground with a hug, her body pressed tightly against his. "I t-thought you w-wouldn't come b-b-back…" Her chest racked with sobs as she spoke. "Shhhh. I'm here now." Braeburn smoothed the hair off her forehead and held her as she buried her face in his arm and continued to cry.
A little while later, Braeburn was able to get Derpy to her hooves and have her explain what happened. "It came out of nowhere." She started. "A group of raiders burst in and started ransacking the town. They kept screaming and saying how they were looking for a chip of some kind." "A chip?" Braeburn asked quizzically. "Yeah, I never knew what they were talking about, and they never did find it." "Huh. At least you're okay." He said with a smile. Derpy tried to smile back but felt another tear fall silently off her cheek. "Whats the matter?" Braeburn asked, carefully. Derpy turned her eyes away from him. "I… had to k-kill s-someone…" Wearily, she brought her face close to Braeburn's. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Derpy." She forced a smile. "It's okay. It's over now, right?" Braeburn nodded. "Yeah. It's over." Derpy leaned her head in his arms and fell asleep.
After putting Derpy in her bed for the night, Braeburn went to check on the rest of the town. Everyone seemed okay and thankfully no one was killed. However, the doctors house was filled with injured ponies and sick patients. "How is everypony, Dr. Hooves?" Looking up from a patient, the doctor shook his head. "Not to great, Braeburn." "Anything I could do to help?" He asked. The doctor seemed surprised. "Yes, actually." He pulled Braeburn closer to him and whispered. "I'm running out of medical supplies. I need you to go to this location and pick up some things." The doctor handed him a piece of paper. "Bring that to the pony there and tell him I sent you." Braeburn nodded and was about to leave before asking the doctor. "Do you know anything about the people who attacked Maneaton?" "Sorry. I don't." Braeburn frowned. "That's alright. Well, I'm off." Just as he was about to leave, the doctor called back to him. "Wait! I remember one thing. They were sent by… by… Her." Braeburn stopped in his tracks. "Her? You mean…" "Yes. I'm sure of it. It was really her."
Braeburn stormed out of the town with a mixture of fear and anger pulsing through his veins, and one name stuck in his head.
"Luna."
*I'm a dork. Anyway, a new chapter of my 'epic' fanfiction is up! Hope you all enjoy it and continue to enjoy future installments! WOOO.*
