WASTELAND! With Horses - Chapter 1

The story is dead and won't be finished. Just know that before you decide to waste your time reading what little there is. The story really didn't progress very far. There's an explanation at the end of the last chapter.
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PARAGRAPH ONE:
Home. An infinity away and an eternity in the past. A city that no longer exists.
Burnt into nothing by the solar hellstorm. You'd left Trottingham to visit a little
backwater village called Ponyville, to talk to one Miss Rarity about managing a new
branch of your emerging jewelry store franchise. Your mother had lived with you; she
had fallen ill and needed the company. But you'd only planned to be gone for a day or
two, so it didn't seem like it would be a problem. You said your goodbye, she said hers.
No words of wisdom. No catchy phrases. No tidbits of forbidden knowledge. You'd be
back on the coming Wednesday; there was no need for anything so dramatic...

>"Private Ruby?"
>you snap out of your reverie and wipe the stupid look off of your face for Captain Armor
>"I said, 'Is Echo Squad all present or accounted for?'"
>you glance at the small team you've been put in charge of
>there's Aryanne, with the white coat and the yellow mane and the ridiculous accent
>there's Red, whose palette matches yours and whose mannerisms match those of a savage
>and there's Sketchy, the wimpy little bald pony who - against all odds - came out of basic training ranked fourth in the company
>all present
>you give an exaggerated salute and bark out in the sweetest little voice you can put on:
"Sir, yes sir!"
>your affectation has succeeded in drawing a trickle of giggles from your squadmates
>"Good to know, Private. Today's an important day. It's the day we commission our first expeditionary team of Friendship Ranger recruits. I just want to make sure its leader is up to the task before I unleash you ladies upon the world."
>you say nothing and move not a muscle, emulating a perfect example of military bearing
>"As commanding officer of Ranger Center Ponyville, I hereby commission the servicemembers gathered before me today as Echo Squad."
>try as you might, you can't keep a big, goofy grin from spreading across your face
>Shining Armor frowns
>"Remember you can always come back to Ponyville to regroup, and if you catch one of the Guardsman-recruit squads, you can always count on them for help."
>"Be careful out there, Rangers. It's a cruel world now."
~"It always was a cruel world, sir!"
>you turn and see that it was Red who made the outburst
>"I… guess so, Private Red."
>Shining Armor turns away and offers one last little bit of Guardsman wisdom before cantering off
>"Go forth and do great things, ladies."
>your team breaks formation and gathers around you, all smiling in some way, ranging from a faint ghost of a grin on Aryanne's face to a giant toothy display on Sketchy's, with Red somewhere in between
/"Vat are your orders, kamerad?"
>Aryanne's question gives you a moment's pause
>you look around Ponyville to see if there's anything you want to do before you set out
>in the distance you see Rarity's little sister crying to herself under a dry maple tree
>you spy the Golden Oaks library, where you and the squad could pick up some new skills that might be useful
>you see the path to Sweet Apple Acres, where it might be prudent to pick up some food for the journey
>and then you see the road out of Ponyville and into the cruel, cruel wasteland

>you glance at the crying filly
>and you look at your crew
>and you look at Sketchy, who didn't seem to learn anything at all in basic training
>and you look at the library
"Let's head to the library. It'd probably be a good idea to learn a little bit about what we've gotta do."
~"Oh, come on! We're literally fresh out of training and the first thing you wanna do is go read books?"
"It's called preparation, my dear Red. Even a pirate who already knows everything like yourself could benefit from it. Besides, think about us poor uneducated ponies who don't know as much as you do; we could really use the reading!"
>Red grumbles and shuts up
>Aryanne gives a great, big, robotic salute in your direction
/"I obey your orders, Furhrer!"
>Sketchy gives her input as well
_"I-I'm okay with doing a little reading before we head out…"
>three against one
>not that a military unit is supposed to be a damn democracy anyway
"To the library, mares. I, for one, could use a little touch up on some weapons skills."
>the team makes its way to the library in this manner in a little under five minutes
>goodness, Ponyville is such a small town
>not at all like Trottingham
>you hold the door for your squadmates and let them enter first
>you see that little crying filly again, this time looking right at you
>when she realizes you know she sees you, she averts her gaze and resumes moping to the ground
>aw
>you tear your eyes away from her and go inside
>it's totally devoid of pony life
>no patrons reading books
>no a librarians or curators to take care of the place
~"Wooooow, look at all the ponies 'expanding their knowledge', Rube."
"More for us."
>Red growls and paces up and down the aisles in search of a title she might like
>Hmmm.
>What to learn?

>your eyes happen upon a title of exactly the sort you needed
>Mastery of the Clip Pistol
>you look at the pistol in its holster on your foreleg
"Perfect"
>you grab the book and make your way over to a big, plush, purple rug near the middle of the library
>you lie down and begin reading
>soon Aryanne finds the rug as well, and she lies down to read a book titled Demolition Mare: The Comprehensive Guide to TNT, Grenades, and Plastic Explosives
>after a few minutes more, Red too spots your rug
>for a moment she stands before it grumbling, before joining your little reading party
>her book: Assault Rifles and You: Why BRRRRT is Better
>Sketchy shows up; she found another copy of the book you're reading
>and also another copy of the book Red is reading
>and also two others:
>The Thunderdome: How Chairs, Clubs, and Crowbars Can Save Your Ass in a Brawl
>and The Sexy Medic: White Jackets and Little Hats With Hearts
>hm
>hopefully she's a fast reader
>after a while of reading, you hear Red's voice sound off
~"Like this, Sketch"
>with her hooves on Sketchy's, Red fires a round from Sketchy's pistol into a window on the other side of the library
>Aryanne jumps, her mane all a-bristle
>unlike you, you just sort of flinched really hard into the air for a second and your mane got a little frizzy
"Red, what the hell are you doing?!"
~"My squadmate needed my guidance and expertise."
"Red, we don't shoot out the windows of innocent libraries!"
~"Why not? It's just glass. Hey! You're a pretty terrible shot! You want some help too?"
>the front door flies open, and Shining Armor comes galloping in, followed by Twilight Sparkle
>"Why is there shooting in the library, Private Ruby? What's the problem? Is it changelings?"
"N-no, sir! Red was… j-just helping her squadmate learn to shoot!"
>you put on your trademark big, sweet smile
>aw yeah, that oughtta do it
>Captain Armor looks at you like you're retarded and scratches his chin
>"By shooting out the window?"
"Yes, sir!"
>"Yeah, well, let your mares practice shooting somewhere else. We're converting this old library into our new Ranger Center."
~"Why here, Cap?"
>"Private Sparkle here made a very strong case for making our headquarters where all the town's knowledge is centralized at."
~"You mean you're picking this place because your little sister likes books."
>Captain Armor's jeronimies are thoroughly flustered at this
>"A-am not!"
>Twilight jumps in and makes up some very convincing bullshit on the spot
>"In addition to housing all the books, the Golden Oaks Library is easily the best fortified building in town. True to its name, this place is a big strong oak tree. In fact, it's an oak tree of the golden variety. In the event of a sudden incursion of atta-"
~"Okay we get it gottagobye."
>Red speedwalks away as fast as she can
>you give one last adorable smile to mask the fear in your eyes, and you dash after her, motioning for Aryanne and Sketchy to follow
>you follow her outside and feel a little pissed off
"Red! That's our commanding officer! You have to be more respectful!"
~"Pfft. Commanding officer? Please. You know I was a captain! A real captain too, the 'commanding officer' of a respectable ship!"
_"I-I thought you said you were a pirate…"
/"Ja, a degenerate partisan who vould be summarily executed in Germaney."
~"Shut the fuck up! Piracy is a perfectly respectable profession!"
"No Red, it's international terrorism."
~"Oh, whatever! I don't have to justify myself to you lubbers!"
>whatever indeed
>in spite of the interruption, you do indeed feel as though you could wield your pistol with more confidence should you need to
>now, is there anything else that needs doing?
>some apples would probably be a good thing to get though
>or maybe you could just set out and plan on living off of whatever vegetation you can find since you are, after all, horses
>but then maybe it would be wise to recruit one of the reservists into an IA position in your team
>and then- awwww!
>Rarity's little sister is still crying over there
>she looks so sad