Fallout: Out of the stable (Open to all, ask to join.)

[CloudRunner]

Cloud made it out of the stable he was trapped in. The stable was Stable 202, it was one of the most harshest stables to ever be in. "I'm so glad that I'm finally out of that stable! I'm glad I escaped win one piece!" Cloud says as he starts to trot to somewhere.

[DerpRavener]

DRIFTER continued to trudge forward, sand and bits of rock softly crunching underneath her artificial hooves.  She had been walking for some time now, although time was of little significance to her.  She had nowhere to be, and she certainly wasn't in any rush to get there.  She had been exploring for the past several months now, idly seeking a goal but not especially concerned with finding one.  The wasteland was a large place, and there was still plenty for her to see there.  She could always find a goal later.

 

DRIFTER stopped for a moment, checking her internal map.  The original had of course been lost long ago, along with a number of other things, but with a little help DRIFTER had been able to improvise.  The end result looked like little more than a hoof-drawn map with random notes scattered around, but it worked at that was what was important.  She turned her attention back to the terrain ahead.

 

Wait, was that a pony cresting that hill?  That couldn't be right, DRIFTER had been certain there wouldn't be any ponies here.  Granted she hadn't actually been here before, that was the whole point of exploring, their presence seemed unlikely given the surroundings.  She checked the map again, and confirmed her initial assessment: this area was surrounded by hazards.

There shouldn't be any ponies here.  And yet, here one was.  DRIFTER made a note to mark this down on the map, and then began to move toward the distant pony at a slow trot.  Ponies could be volatile creatures, randomly discovered ones doubly so, so care was needed.  But this still bore investigation.

 

 

[so, no idea how well this will work, or even if our RP styles are compatible, but I had the character so I thought I'd give it a try regardless.  Character sheet is here: http://www.canterlot.com/topic/21129-drifter/ ]

[CloudRunner]

Cloud continued to trot where ever his hooves are taking him.

[DerpRavener]

Even when she hadn't made any effort to conceal herself, the pony didn't react to DRIFTER's presence, and instead continued to trot forward, wherever that would take him.  It would seem he did not notice her, perhaps this pony's vision was impaired?  Or maybe he was imply ignoring the automaton.  She could not think of a reason why this would be the case, but then ponies were volatile creatures.  Who could say why they did what they did?  She suspected they could not, at least.

 

It mattered little to DRIFTER.  She would lose the chance at a conversation, but at the same time she could get to see where the pony was headed.  He seemed to be confident in his direction, so she guessed he knew where he was going.  And if not, they would discover it together.

 

Or at least that was her thought, until a pair of things finally clicked together.  The wandering pony was either impaired or inattentive, and all of the surrounding areas had dangers of various sorts.  There was a high likelihood that this pony would get himself hurt of things were allowed to continue.

DRIFTER had to do something.  As much as she didn't want to spook the pony, and wanted to let him go at his own pace, something had to be done.  “WAIT,” she called out at a higher volume due the distance, and she increased her pace to a fast trot.  “THIS REGION IS HAZARDOUS.”

[MidnightShadows]

(can i join?)

[CloudRunner]

(Yes) "huh?" Cloud looked to see who was calling to him.

[DerpRavener]

Ahh, good!  The anomalous pony finally stopped moving, and payed some semblance of attention to what was going on around him.  DRIFTER was relieved.  She moved toward the strange pony at a quick trot, not exactly nervous but wanting to get to him before he ran off, and possibly stumbled into something harmful.  Then she wouldn't be able to talk to him ever.

 

Though, this did make DRIFTER question her previous assessment.  The wasteland was a dangerous place.  Being mechanical, there was a lot she could shrug off to little ill effect.  Being of flesh and blood, this pony was not so lucky, yet he seemed even more aloof than DRIFTER herself was.  So, how did he make it all the way out here?  She stopped just a few paces away from the pony, and stared with curiousity in her glowing, artificial eyes.  “What are you doing in this region?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

[CloudRunner]

"I'm looking for my father! And if you want to know why I have made it this far in my travels, it's because despite me having flesh and blood, I can withstand almost anything. Kind of like you androids." Cloud says hoping not to offend the pony in front of him.

[DerpRavener]

DRIFTER blinked, a habit which she picked up from ponies expressing confusion.  None of those answers really made sense.  “If you are looking for your father, why would you look here?  There is nothing in this region.  Except danger.  Why would your father ever be here?”  She mused aloud, hoping for an answer, but she would have voiced her thoughts whether or not one was forthcoming.

 

The second part of the answer had been no less strange.  “Like me?”  DRIFTER pointed to herself.  How could he be like here?  He was by all appearances flesh and blood.  She was sure those had their advantages, and she could hardly begrudge him having them, but it was simply impossible.  Flesh would never beat metal in a fair test of strength.  Unless...DRIFTER started chattering on as ideas suddenly came to her.  “Oooh!  Are a cyborg?  What upgrades do you have?  How were they installed?  Ooh!  Or you could be a mutant!  How did that happen?”  She paused, giving the other pony just a moment to process all the questions, before adding, “Say, where do you come from?  Are there others like you?”

 

[Just a slight constructive criticism, the questions of how he's made it this far hadn't actually come up yet.  You can still work responses like that in, but you'll have to expand on what the character is thinking a bit.  It might also give you an opportunity to expand on the character a bit.]

[CloudRunner]

"Where are my manners?! My name is Cloud Runner but I prefer to be called Cloud. No, I'm not a cyborg. I came from Stable 202. Yes there are more like me, but they really don't listen. I can withstand any kind of danger no matter what kind of situation I'm in. I'm just a normal alicorn, but I'm am powerful alicorn at that. I really don't know where my father is, that's why I'm traveling to nearby towns and any place that will accept a rebelious alicorn like me to look for his father." Cloud said as he introduced himself and explaing himself to DRIFTER.

[DerpRavener]

Really, withstand any kind of danger?  That seemed like overconfidence to DRIFTER.  And if DRIFTER thought you were being overconfident, that was probably saying something.  Cloud Runner was probably a hardy pony, but there were things out there that could make her hair curl!  And she didn't even have hair!

 

He did at least give DRIFTER a couple useful pieces of information though, his name and his species.  And now that she looked, she finally noticed that this pony had both wings and a horn.  “Oh,” she said, half to herself, “so you ARE a mutant.  Neat!”  Not every mutant was quite so coherent.  Finding one that could hold a conversation was fascinating.

As the pony had given some information about himself, DRIFTER felt it would probably only be fair to introduce herself in turn.  “I'm made out of spare parts!”  She spoke a little more cheerfully than perhaps she should have.  “My name's Drifter!...And that's about it really.  I mostly just wander around, to be honest.  I'm...a little dangerous, to most ponies.”

 

Then she sat for a moment, with just one question on her mind.  After a minute of silently searching her own memory banks, and finding nothing, she put a voice to it.  Head tilted slightly to the side, she asked, “What's an alicorn?”

[CloudRunner]

"An alicorn is a pony that has both a pegasus's wings & a unicorn's horn. I am not a mutant, I was just born this way." Cloud says.

[DerpRavener]

DRIFTER gave Cloud Runner a blank stare for a moment, it being unclear just how much she processed what he had said.  “I'm pretty sure that's a mutation, ponies don't have a horn AND wings.  They get one, the other, or neither.”  Her memory banks were missing a lot, but they were never outright wrong.  She shook her head.  “Never both.  And mutants can absolutely have offspring, which are also mutants!  Why do you think the wasteland is so populated?”

 

The poor pony was obviously in denial.  That or insane, both were possible, but he seemed a bit too coherent for that to be the likely answer.  DRIFTER patted him lightly on the shoulder, in what she hoped was a supportive gesture.  She'd seen other ponies doing so, but she'd never been the best with those sorts of things.  “It's not so bad!  I've known a few mutants who were still good ponies.”

[CloudRunner]

"BOTH OF MY PARENTS WERE ALICORNS! I WAS THE OFFSPRING!!!! I WAS NOT MADE IN SOME KIND OF FACTORY OF FACILITY!!!!! IWAS JUST BORN THIS WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cloud says angrily.

[Dabom444]

Off a ways away from the two who were speaking came a clamor. A figure moved through the remains of a destroyed. Building. The figure's form was lithe and curt like a Mare.

This mare wore a tattered bulletproof vest and a overcoat. She had a face scarf over her muzzle and her hood pulled up. Her name was Haywire. And she was a unicorn.

She had been living and surviving off the wastes. Moving from place to place ever since she left her home in newPonyville. The old Ponyville had become a slaver camp, she had made sure to stay away from there.

She was quite young still, a teenager in pony years. Cautious and steady with her movements as she shuffled through a few piles of trash. The putrid smell making her muzzle scrunch under the face cloth.

Eventually the mare gave up and stood. Grabbing her laser rifle off the wall and strapping it to her battle saddle. She brought her Pipbuck up to her eyes and clicked through the screens. She needed water, as well as a potion for her hurt hind leg.

She could recall catching a stray bullet from a less than happy bandit. Exhaling and forcing her pain down she limped to the exit. She didn't expect to find much in this ministry of peace medical clinic. It was picked dry.

Limping along up the ridge she began to hear talking. Her ears flicked under her hood as she came closer and lowered the best her three good lets could let her. Sneaking/limping around the corner she spotted the two.

Should she contact them? Or should she sneak by? She gave a sigh and shook her head, hiding back around the corner and sitting on her rump. Perhaps they would leave. She could continue the other way but there wasn't anything off that way. The mare decided that she would just listen. Nurturing her wounded leg.

[CloudRunner]

Cloud hears the rustling in the background, he stops doing what he's doing & goes and investigates.

[DerpRavener]

DRIFTER just stared at Cloud Runner's outburst.  He had a peculiar view of the whole situation.  Which she would have been fine with, she didn't mind helping ponies out when they didn't know something, but it also seemed like he wasn't ready for the truth.  “Okay, first off, mutants aren't made in a factory in the first place.  They come from radiation most of the time, coming about naturally.  Or at least kinda naturally.”

 

“And second, I'll have you know that I WAS born in a factory, and I think there's nothing wrong with that!”  She looked away from Cloud Runner, and stuck her artificial snout into the air.  “Hmph!”  She was wondering if this pony was really gonna be worth the effort.  Heck, he seemed pretty confident, if you asked Cloud Runner he'd say he was fine on his own.

 

She'd almost made the decision to leave him to his own devices, when they both heard a rattling noise.  Cloud Runner ran off to investigate.  DRIFTER thought for a moment.  She wasn't sure how much more of him she wanted to deal with, but maybe she should see how he actually does before she left him by himself.  And, if she was being honest with herself she was wondering what it was that made the noise.

After a short delay, DRIFTER also moved in the direction of the noise, fanning out a bit from Cloud Runner.  That way they could cover more ground if they needed to search, or they weren't dangerously clustered if the source of the noise proved hostile.  Or at least, that's what she told herself.

[Dabom444]

Livewire listened to the movement and the speaking of what she could only guess wasn't completely pony. Her ears flicked when she heard the movements heading her way and tried to stand only to flop back down onto her haunches.

A shot of pain burned through her wounded limb and she cursed herself for getting too comfortable too fast.

She unlatched her Laser rifle and held it in her bright blue neon magic. The mare was honestly scared and thought that she might have made a final mistake.

Holding the rifle at the ready she swallowed and awaited for the two to come into view.

[CloudRunner]

Cloud pulled out his Desert Eagle, holding it in red magic. "Stand down your weapons!" Cloud says pointing his Desert Eagle at Livewire, not knowing that she is wounded.

[DerpRavener]

At the shout, DRIFTER abandoned her initial pattern of keeping her distance.  She sprinted over the rubble in her way, quickly covering the short distance, but froze as soon as she saw the two of them.  They had weapons levelled at eat other.  But, in the moment of tense silence neither actually fired.  DRIFTER knew that any sudden movement could set the whole thing off, but fortunately it looked like she had time.  Not much in some ways, but then again her brain was electronic.

 

She analyzed.  On one side stood Cloud Runner, carrying an oversized pistol.  If his previous statements were any indication he seemed a little unstable, but overall didn't seem like a bad pony, and by the sound of things was just trying to defend himself.  The other creature involved was a mare, carrying a high-tech looking rifle weapon, and the way she was carrying herself suggested some sort of injury, though DRIFTER lacked the technology to tell any more about the injury at this distance.  She would have to get close.

But first this had to be resolved.  Fortunately, it seemed like neither actually wanted to shoot each other, so it should be easy, right?  Right?

 

She broke the silence.  “Nopony here wants to hurt anypony else, so let's just put away our weapons.”  She also started to inch slowly toward Cloud Runner, to set up a sort of contingency plan: if it looked like shooting was about to start, she could tackle him behind some debris.  This would simultaneously throw off his aim and take him out of the mare's line of fire.  It had to be him, as the mare was injured, and DRIFTER didn't know how well she could take even light blow like that.  He'd already said he was durable, anyhow.

 

If all went as she hoped though, she wouldn't need to resort to that.

[Dabom444]

Livewire narrowed her eyes from behind her muzzle cloth and watched the alicorn with tenseness. His pistol was aimed straight at her and even though he demanded to drop the gun she had no intention to do so with the weapon pointed at her.

What if she did and she got her skull hallowed? What if she fired and missed? She was in no state to run, not with her leg. She should have ran! She ahould have avoided this but now she was stuck.

The neon Blue mare heard more rubble moving and a more rigid looking made came over. The one who she suspected wasn't a acutal mare. She was now outnumbered and the pit in her stomach got deeper.

When one is outnumbered the flight over fight kicks in. She wasn't going to be able to fight. She accepted this now that the Mare said for them all to calm down.

The laser rifle slowly lowered. Livewire's gaze changing to a slightly exhausted and softer look. "Please don't shoot me please don't shoot me please oh please don't shoot me!" Her mind echoed.

Oh how she wishes she wasn't mute.

Eventually she set the rifle down and held her hooves up as best as she could without putting too much weight on her injured let. Wincing as it throbbed.

[CloudRunner]

Cloud puts his Desert Eagle away. "What's your name? Are there more of you? Are you hurt? Or are you just mute and can't speak?" Cloud begins asking.

[Dabom444]

Livewire watched him sadly and as the questions came she awnsered. The first was a shake of her head. The second was another shake of her head the Third was a nod and a wince. The very last question was a nod and she lowered her head sadly.

[DerpRavener]

If DRIFTER had lungs, she probably would have breather a sigh of relief.  None of the ponies here really wanted to get into a fight, so it turned out it was fairly easy to get them to back down.  Though there was no visible component, DRIFTER calmed down as well.

 

With the situation resolved, that just left them with another somewhat-friendly pony wandering the wasteland.  Two at once, in a place where there weren't supposed to be any.  Why so many?  What kept drawing them here?  Cloud Runner started asking questions before DRIFTER got a chance to though, and right away they learned two things: First, the pony was alone.  Seemed a dangerous choice for the wasteland, though it wasn't like DRIFTER was one to talk.  Second, the pony was apparently mute.  It explained why she hadn't given a name.  It made things more complicated though.

 

DRIFTER put a hoof to her own chin and hummed in thought.  This would mean she couldn't get answers to any of the questions she wanted to ask.  It might not be an unsolvable problem, though.  “You could try writing in the dirt, there has to be a stick or something that would work...”  She stared looking around, but suddenly had a better idea.  “Ooh!  Or you could make letters with your magic!  Can you cast illusions?”

Without waiting to see if the newcomer liked or could even try either of these suggestions, DRIFTER asked a few questions, partially to test her ideas and partially because she couldn't hold them in any longer.  “So where did you come from?  And, what are you doing here?”

[CloudRunner]

"DRIFTER, one at a time. Here let me heal your injured hind leg." Cloud says as he begins to use his magic to heal Livewire's wound.