A Dash of Raine

Chapter 3: First Patrol

We continued walking the waste together, I knew that I should be getting some sleep, but I just wanted to be out. I enjoyed feeling the sunlight against my coat after so long hiding in the dark. I closed my eyes and flared my wings, feeling the sunlight seep into them. I paused to take in the radiating warmth, and I could feel Dash’s eyes on me. “Can I help you, Dash?” “You’re wings, I can see through the patagium, and before you ask, I studied bat ponies while in the Stable.” I opened my eyes to look at him in shock, hoping that it wasn’t visible through the sunglasses, though how my mouth hung agape was probably a dead giveaway. I quickly recovered and closed it with a barely audible snapping noise. “Oh, I didn’t expect that out of you, Dash. Then why didn’t you know about the sunglasses thing?” “There weren’t many books describing bat ponies in the sunlight, I figured that the sun hurt something, but I wasn’t aware of what.”

I nodded my head and continued forward, taking in my environment. The mostly bare trees, some bodies scattered about that the scavengers would eventually remove from the face of this earth, the yellow grass peeking through the snow indicating the coming of spring. The world was full of spite, pain, and death. How I could find beauty in this wasteland was beyond me, but I believed some of it to have been the fault of the deer next to me. Before coming here, I would’ve flown or walked by without a second glance, I didn’t like what this could mean for me. I refused to take any interest in the deer walking alongside me. I didn’t like him, and I didn’t want to be his friend. We simply were survivors in a world that thought it was funny to be cruel.

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Eventually, we headed back, Dash to sleep and eat, and myself to get ready for my patrol. I looked to the other ponies who stood alongside me, as well as Foie. I at least thought that was his name, I was confused as to why a technician was coming with us but didn’t bother to ask. We all climbed the ladder to the surface one by one, I stepped out from the cold, damp, dark hole to the surface and closed my eyes, taking in the cool night breeze. I loved the night. Even through the lack of sleep, I could feel myself coming alive in the pale moonlight. I opened my eyes and looked across the wastes, the night bringing shadows to every corner, I turned to my group. “Okay guys, let’s go ahead and spread out, we’ll meet up at the park, make sure that all sewer entrances are secure. If anyone needs anything, then radio in. Go.” I myself stepped forward into the shadows and felt myself meld in with them, I found joy in this familiar feeling. I felt like a predator hunting its prey, I was ready for the kill.

I walked along the side of an old abandoned building, keeping my eyes peeled for anything I found interesting. I looked to my left into an area lit up by the moon and caught sight of what looked like a pegasus. They were just sitting there, looking up at the sky, but even from this position, something seemed familiar about them. I approached slowly, quietly from behind, and as I got closer, I felt myself grow angry in recognition. The blue pegasus from before, in the trade shop, I crouched low and just observed the pegasus for a moment. They seemed melancholic in a way, and it brought me some slight joy. I approached them and stood a good 5 feet away, “Interesting place for a pegasus like you, walking among the things that go bump in the night.” The pegasus whips around to face me, his face flashing in fear. “W-what are you doing h-here?” “I am a thing that goes bump in the night. This is my time to shine. What are you doing here?” He sighed and turned his back towards me, which I personally found bold. It would be so easy to kill him from this angle.

His voice broke me from my murderous reverie, “I’m out here to think, I’ve been thinking about what that deer said all day. I don’t think your little deer is wrong. What’s my purpose in this wasteland? I left the Enclave to find my own purpose, but in the end, do I really have one?” I remained quiet listening to him, weighing my options. “Heh, I don’t know why I’m saying all of this to a stranger I was a complete asshole to earlier. I’m sure you don’t care too much.” “I don’t care about a lot of things, so you’re right in your observation, but I think we all have a purpose.” I sat down in the shadows behind him, my brain going 30 different directions. I thought I should kill him and eliminate one more asshole pony from this world. It was obvious he only cared at night when his thoughts kept him from sleeping. When his guilt ridden mind finally caught up and wouldn’t yield, but though I was going to kill him and feed from him when I did, I thought it only fair to hear him out.

“I lost everything in this wasteland. Every time I thought I gained something, it was stripped away from me. No matter how tight I held it, it always just slipped through my hooves like sand. All anyone has out here is time, and all I’ve done is waste mine. Heh, it probably would’ve been better for everyone else had you gone through with your threat at the shop.” He said, looking down to his hooves. “I understand, all of us have most likely lost something, but you always have more time to gain things.” I said he doesn’t but hey, sentiment, that counts, right? I thought to myself before returning to the conversation. “In my experience you’ve never really lived unless you’ve loved. Though unlike the me of the past, I have nothing to grow for.” I said as I slowly approached him from behind. “You may say, “you have that deer of yours” but he is not mine, I am not his. We’re not friends. Simply two creatures coming together to survive. If he knew the sins of my past, he would never lay eyes on me again. He would hate me, as much as that seems impossible.” I smiled to myself, closing the distance finally on the pegasus before me, I leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I hope this opened your eyes to who you are, what your purpose is, I hope that wherever you go next, you finally find peace. May you be reunited with those you’ve lost, and may you be added to my list of sins.” He began slowly turning to look at me, a mixture of acceptance and fear in his eyes. He looked into my eyes, but a moment before he turned back around to take in the beautiful sight before him. “Goodbye, and thank you.”

I grit my teeth at the thanks and sank my teeth into his neck, quickly ripping into his jugular and drinking quickly. I can at least ensure that his death means something. I dropped his limp body to the ground gently and wiped my mouth of his blood. I could just eat fruit, but that was much less exhilarating. Then, as I stepped away from him, feeling a renewed strength fill my tired body, a voice rang out through the box attached to my hip. “Needing assistance by the graveyard, there’s a few raiders here, I can’t take them all myself.” I smiled, a genuine and blood thirsty smile as I languidly walked in the direction of the graveyard, excited to finally get to take out more who deserve the kiss of death.

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We took care of the raiders before returning to the base. I went into the hole last and simply dropped down to the floor. After not sleeping 24 hours, I was more than ready to sleep. I followed my fellow soldiers to the soldiers' hall and removed my armor, folding it up neatly and placing it in my nightstand. I then stripped down and folded my clothes. No one batted an eye at my scars for once, and for that, I was thankful. I looked over to Dash, who was sleeping peacefully. I approached his bedside, curious if he was dreaming, and if he was, then what about? I gently placed a hoof to his forehead, moving a stray hair from his face before crawling into my own bunk. I stared to the ceiling for a long moment before I closed my eyes and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

AN: Sorry about how long it has taken me to get this out. Life has been absolute hell. I sincerely hope that everyone enjoys this, I will try to have the next chapter out soon.