Fallout Equestria: The Canterlot Chronicles

[Xiee]

The rad sensor's counters were tipping off. The little hoofheld device's lights flared up, indicating warnings of extreme rad exposure for the next few hundred meters. Rad poisoning wasn't a pleasant experience and Keen didn't want to take any chances. She had experienced the pain and suffering it had caused firsthoof. She pointed the device into another direction and it gave the all clear. Sighing, she placed her rad sensor back into her saddlebag and began to trot into the new direction. A few fires were visible ahead. They weren't natural but somepony had lit them as it was lighted in metal barrels filled with wood and other debris. Perhaps somepony was here to light the way or just to keep warm. She cursed herself for not agreeing to buy the used pipbuck that one of the Earth Pony merchants found along the way. It would have proven useful in detecting life signs and movement in the ruins. The use of an "eyes forward sparkle" would have been helpful. Still, she had to make do with what she had. Her experience has taught her that this might be a trap setup by raiders. She cautiously moved along the rubble, silently trotting from cover to cover. From time to time she would stop and observe the surroundings. She had unbuttoned her shotgun's saddle holster in the event that things would get dirty.

"CLANK!"

A loud sound came from the ruined building to her left just a few meters away. In an instant, her horn flared light blue and the shotgun was blanketed in her magic as she levitated it in front of her, cocking it, ready to shoot. Her heart began to beat fast as her instincts for survival kicked in. She was expecting a raider to get the jump on her but the movement ceased. She moved in closer with the shotgun still levitating slightly in front of her and made her way to the rubble. Her eyes were wide expecting something or somepony to come out from it.

"Hello? Anypony there?" She nervously asked. "Come out where I can see you. I won't hurt you if you won't hurt me."

No answer. It was silent. Too silent for comfort. Still not satisfied, she moved around the rubble. Maybe somepony was stuck under it, or maybe this was just another trap setup by the raiders. Seeing that nothing was amiss, she let her guard down and levitated the shotgun back into her saddle holster. She gave out a sigh of relief.

"SQUEEEK!"

A huge rat jumped right out in front of her and ran across the street into another pile of rubble. She jumped and almost screamed at the surprise. When she realized it was one of those rad infected rats, she was relived and giggled to herself. She was amazed at how some creatures could still survive in this harsh environment

It was getting dark and she had enough adventure for one day. She had no other reason to stay out here any longer now that she had found what her client was looking for. A rare and unopened bottle of Strawberry-flavored Sparke Cola. Apparently, her client was a collector and this was the last rare flavor that needed to be on the collection. She was tempted herself to open it as it sounded delicious, but then her client wouldn't be too happy.

Tenpony Tower was a few minutes away, but she wasted no time to get there. The Tenpony Tower monorail station on the Celestia Line was the only way to get into the tower via its exit/entrance into the building. She had to get up into the line and make a mad dash into the building's entrance. She knew it was particularly safe at this time of day but she didn't want to take any chances of being caught by one of those Bloodwings that constantly flew the skies around the ruins. As she reached the gate, the guards greeted her and smiled.

"So Ms. Keen, what trinket have you brought in today?" Asked a guard.

"Oh its nothing much, just this rare bottle of Strawberry flavored Sparkle Cola." She said as she levitated the bottle out of her saddlebag showing it to the guard.

"By Luna's mane, I just don't get why some ponies ask you to get such... useless things."

"I don't know either but they paid a lot of bottlecaps for this."

She levitated the bottle back into her saddlebag as the guards opened the gate. She was glad to be back home, and made her way to one of the working elevators and punched her floor. Her client wasn't due to come back in a few hours so she thought she'd have a nice long bath. She'd been out for almost half a day and all she wanted was food, bed and bottlecaps. She was feeling a bit nauseous though and figured that she suffered a bit of rad poisoning. She made a mental note to visit Dr. Helpinghoof to pick up some radaway later.

[Imagination]

Another day in the eye of the statue, the one-winged pegasus having been roused from bed for advice once again.

Gridpoint enjoyed his time in Friendship City. It was safe, prosperous, and the ponies were hospitable and kind. Sure, they were weary around him at first... His attitude on them being 'savages' didn't help him much either. But eventually he learned that most wastelanders were just regular ponies trying to get by with what little they could get. He was so used to a sort of pampered lifestyle in the Enclave that he never had an appreciation for the little things until he got stuck below the cloud cover.

He had befriended one of the security ponies who seemed to look up to him and his expertise. This kid was a bit more reserved and jumpy, and didn't like the idea of ever really having to fight. He was more the diplomatic type, rather than the fighting type. Despite this, he was always willing to learn a thing or two.

Long-range warfare almost seemed like an ancient art to these ponies, as most preferred short or mid-ranged weapons.

"H-Hey, Mister Gridpoint, Sir? I saw a suspicious looking character hangin' around outside the city b-but I don't wanna bother the chief with it..." was his 'good morning', which he responded to with a groan as he rolled out of his bed. Gridpoint wasn't security, but time to time tey went to him for his scouting and spotting experience, having saved them from damage in the past with his assessments. Once he got to the top, he only had his battle saddle. No need to get dressed if he was going to go straight to bed after this. The heavy rifle folded out, moving the scope up to the old Captain's eye as he gazed at this 'suspicious character'. A Gryphon in some scrappy armor was taking cover behind nearby debris. Most likely afraid that if he moved any further he'd get his head blown off.

"... Just a raider. Probably from the camp up North. Looks like he's... surveying. Maybe trying to find a way into the city to report back to his buddies." Raiders. He thought every wastelander was a savage until he ran into those punks. They didn't often come up this way, though. "So... what do I do? I-"

*K-POW!*

The startled security pony just looked out over the ledge and saw a bundle of feathers float down behind the debris. "What the hell?! What did you-?!" The sniper interrupted him, taking a seat with a smile on his face. "One less raider to worry about..." Gridpoint said at last, folding up the rifle as his muzzle stretched in a yawn. "What do you feel?"

"Huh?"

The young security pony asked again, though this wasn't the first time he had watched Gridpoint do 'dirty work' for him even if these moments were few and far between. Usually the pony's time with Gridpoint was listening to his stories or getting a lesson. "I mean, when you kill something? Don't you feel anything?" he asked, always seeming troubled by how casual the Enclave Captain was about ending life, especially in the wasteland. Gridpoint seemed to think on that for a moment, tapping his chin with his hoof.

"... Recoil."

The young pony shook his head, but let the Captain go back to his room, which he gladly did. Taking a good long look at that tan and black uniform he kept hung up, like some kind of proud display, he sighed before climbing back in bed. He could remember a time he was happier. When he was with his squad, roaming the wastes and performing a duty, getting into trouble and overcoming great odds. He missed it... It beat taking pot-shots at raiders from the top of a statue.

Now that he thought about it, he was probably going to get flak for taking another shot off the statue. "Ugh." he rolled his eyes, knowing that at some point in the day the security chief was going to come in and try to explain to him why 'he shouldn't do that'. Why not? It was a raider. As far as he was concerned, they were only slightly more tolerable than Alicorns of Ghouls, but still a danger.

[Chonico]

A few miles outside of the Manehattan ruins, a few freshly made smoldering craters, no more than a few feet across, lay nestled in between a few dilapidated buildings, peppered with bullet holes. During brighter times, this area would have been a bright and cheerful neighborhood, but now, it had become an ambush and a death trap set up by raiders.

“Um, thank you, again… for what you did back there.”

A scraggly looking merchant sat on what once was a street, but was now nothing more than a cracked surface covered in dirt and debris. His goods lay on the floor on display for his unexpected customer. Without him, he would have shared the fate of so many ponies before him that made the mistake of trying to shortcut through this area. Raiders were not known for their kindness or mercy.

“I mean, really, thank you… Never expected a Steel Ranger to-“

“How much for these?”

The merchant’s comment was cut short as 2 boxes of medium caliber ammo were pushed in his direction. He couldn’t help but look at the Steel Ranger with an appraising stare. Maybe today would be an even luckier day and he’d make a few decent bottlecaps. His eyes slowly traveled to the fresh bullet holes on the Steel Ranger’s Power Armor though. He did risk his life to save him, that’s rare in the Equestrian Wasteland. Perhaps a discount was in order…

“Huh? Um… 42 bottlecaps each?” Or not…

The Steel Ranger paused for a minute and then pulled the bottlecaps from his own satchel and pushed the proper amount towards the merchant while pulling the ammo boxes towards himself.

“But yeah, like I was say-“

“And these?”

This time the merchant was interrupted again as the Steel Ranger pointed at a few high caliber bullets.

“Those? 10 bottlecaps each?”

The Steel Ranger paused longer this time around as the merchant could do nothing but stare at his own reflection in his visor. He pulled the adequate amount of bottlecaps and hoofed them over, effectively purchasing all the ammo the merchant was carrying, among other small provisions.

The merchant’s eyes were growing greedy as he shoved the Steel Rangers bottlecaps into his worn out satchel. Before he could say anything else though, the sounds of power armor clad hoofsteps pulled his attention away.

“Wait! I have more to-“

“You have nothing else I want.”

The merchant paused and quickly pulled out his ace up his sleeve, knowing full well that the Steel Ranger wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Not even this magic energy rifle?”

The Steel Ranger paused and turned his head to look at the merchant. Sure enough, the merchant was holding out a magic energy rifle in his hooves that seemed to be in fair condition. He turned around and walked back to the merchant.

“Yes, I found this little piece of pre-war tech in a burned out building a few miles north. Quite a rare find! And, for a measly 800 bott-“

“I hereby reclaim this weapon in the name of the Steel Rangers and the Ministry of Wartime Technology…”

The merchant could only stare in bewilderment as the Steel Ranger took the weapon from him and began to walk away again.

“Wha-hey! HEY! You have to pay for that!” The merchant yelled out as he began to shove his wares back into his satchel so that he could give chase.

“Then saving your life should be payment enough.” The Steel Ranger wasn’t even looking back at the merchant.

“HEY! I have to make a profit off of that!”

“And you have by overcharging me for everything I bought!” The Steel Ranger’s voice now had an aggravated ring to it.

“HEY!” The merchant huffed in anger and reached with his muzzle into his satchel. He managed to get his mouth on the grip and pulled out a dilapidated high caliber rifle. Steel Rangers weren’t bullet proof, he’d seen it himself. He whirled around to take aim at the Steel Ranger but…

The Steel Ranger had disappeared. The merchant whirled around again trying to find his target as frustration began to take hold.

“YEAH! YOU BETTER RUN!” He yelled out through the rifle’s grip.

“I don’t run…”

The merchant quickly turned, only to feel something hard smash across his face and sprawl him on the floor. He quickly opened his eyes and got a small glimpse of a shimmer in front of him that quickly disappeared.

“… I flank.”

The merchant flayed to get up and reach for his rifle but the sudden sensation of something stepping on his shoulder and painfully pinning him down froze him in place. It felt like his shoulder was going to snap clean off in two pieces.

“I have no trouble finishing what the raiders intended to...”

The air suddenly became filled by the whirling noise of a motor. The merchant quickly recognized it as the whirling spin of the barrels of the mini-gun attached to the Steel Ranger’s battle saddle. Flashes of the event prior, when the raiders ambushed him, crept into his mind and tears began to fill his eyes. He was desperately trying to look at the figure pinning him, but all he could see was a distortion in the air, like trying to look through the bottom of a glass of water.

“BUT!... YOU SAVED MY LIFE!”

“…You are all savages to me…”

The whirling noise became louder and the merchant could feel the wind generated by the spinning barrels lick his mane. Unrestrained tears began to flow and he screamed out in fear for his life.

“NO PLEASE! I HAVE A FAMILY!”

The whirling noise suddenly died out and the sensation of pressure on the merchant’s shoulder disappeared. The merchant though, didn’t move and just kept sobbing and asking for forgiveness. Though, not from the Steel Ranger, but from somepony else, his wife.

A few minutes passed by like hours, as the merchant wept on the floor, when a static like crackling sound filled the air. The merchant ventured to lift his head and look at the pony who was going to end his life.

The Steel Ranger was standing over him, his visor fixed on him, staring at him. Without a word, he moved over to the merchants dropped satchel and began to take everything out. Pieces of scrap metal, dirty cups and other dishes and old tools tumbled out, a variable plethora of worthless junk.

“How much for these?”

The merchant could only continue to shake in fear and sob as he tried to figure out the Steel Ranger’s cruel joke. He was probably going to shoot him as soon as he tried to answer. No, he would not play into it, so the merchant just closed his eyes not wanting to see his own end. A sudden rattling sound though caused him to flinch and his eyes sprang open.

In front of him lay a small pouch with bottlecaps. It was easily over 800 caps. Just a bit more than the price of the magic energy rifle.

The merchant blinked and looked up at the Steel Ranger, only to find him a few paces away.

“Go home. Your… family… is waiting for you. Continue taking the shortcut, it is safe.”

The merchant didn’t take his eyes off of the Steel Ranger, fear still clearly evident.

“H-how do I know you won’t j-just shoot me when I-I turn around? How do I know that more raiders won’t just am-ambush me again up the road?”

The Steel Ranger paused and hung his head a bit before lifting it up again.

“I just came from the other end of this shortcut. You figure out the rest.”

With that, the Steel Ranger disappeared around a corner. And the merchant wasted no time in picking up the bottlecaps and his own satchel before going at full gallop down the rest of the shortcut and the road home.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Steel Ranger ducked into a building, not more than a few blocks from where he had dealt with the merchant. The EFS built into his suit told him that the area was clear of red bars, and therefore hostiles. It would be safe to rest here for a while and allow the repair spell matrix in his suit to finish patching up the bullet holes. The healing spell matrix had already taken care of the actual bullet wounds.

“Raiders with armor piercing rounds…” Butter Biscuit commented to himself in a grim tone as a shallow hissing sound erupted from his helmet. Taking a moment to sit down on his haunches, he reached up with his forelegs and removed his helmet. With one deep breath, he allowed the smell of stale old air to fill his nostrils and immediately questioned why he had to remove his helmet at all. The rumbling in his stomach reminded him of why.

Taking the time to remove his satchel, he took out the provisions he had purchased from the merchant earlier and lined them up in front of him. Four boxes of Fancy Buck Snackcakes and two bottles of Sparkle Cola lay in front of him. A small smile formed across his muzzle as he reached with his right foreleg to bring one of the snackcakes boxes close to him.

*Squish*

That smile quickly disappeared as he lifted his foreleg off of the squashed pastry box and brought his leg up towards his face. His prosthetic leg had been acting up thanks to an armor piercing round from one of the raiders. He hadn’t really intended to shoot the merchant, only intimidate him. But, he hadn’t intended to put that much pressure on the merchant’s shoulder either. And he definitely hadn’t intended to squash his snackcake.

He paused for a while and looked cautiously at the rest of his Fancy Buck Snackcakes and Sparkle Cola. He really didn’t want to risk it. Yet…

“Well, this will make things easier…” Butter Biscuit told nopony in particular as he stood up and pulled the magic energy rifle that he had reclaimed from the merchant pony out of his saddle bag. He placed it in front of himself on the floor and stared at it lost in thought.

Minutes passed by like hours before he finally pulled his head up and looked at the ceiling, as if searching for something while his torn right ear struggled to follow its counterpart in aiming ahead where his eyes were set.

“Ministry Mare Applejack…” Butter Biscuit whispered to himself as he brought his sight to bear on the magic energy rifle. His parents had taught him that the Ministry Mare had created the Steel Rangers and their weapons to protect ponies. And that this had sadly been forgotten by the Elders. But, that one day, they hoped, the Steel Rangers would remember their true vows and use their reclaimed technology to do just that. To him though, it had always sounded so strange, so blasphemous. But, things had happened, had changed, and now he understood the "why" of his parents' teachings. But…

“Please understand why I do this, but…” He raised himself onto his hind legs. “No savage should have these…” He slammed his forelegs down on the magical energy rifle with his full weight, causing the weapon to bend.

He lifted up again and slammed down again, repeatedly. Each time the weapon breaking apart more and more until there was nothing but pieces of scrap metal left, and a heaving worn out Steel Ranger hovering over it.

“Nopony *huff huff* should have these…”

Butter Biscuit allowed himself to plop down on the floor, and slowly began to put the pieces of the destroyed weapon inside his saddle bag. His repair spell matrix would use it to continue repairing his suit. And hopefully, taking a screwdriver into his muzzle, he would be able to repair his own prosthetic leg in time to eat something before he had to move on towards Tenpony Towers.

[lonlybrony]

um..................http://www.fimfiction.net/story/21642/Fallout-New-Pegasus%3A-Atomic-Shade does that count as my entrance?

[Xiee]

um..................http://www.fimfiction.net/story/21642/Fallout-New-Pegasus%3A-Atomic-Shade does that count as my entrance?

(( OOC: Can you at least post it here rather than link outside of the thread to avoid us having to leave the forum? This still counts as an RP thread by the way. Please use the discussion thread that we've setup to avoid any confusion. Please go here Fallout Equestria Crossover Project or Fallout Equestria: The Canterlot Chronicles OCC Thread))

[Thrylos]

((Entering My character, Nexi!))

[Snowshoe]

A scream brought Snowshoe back to her senses, and awake in a flash. It was close, darn close. Not close enough that, from her position, she'd be able to see what made the noise, but she was close enough that the sound carried. She quickly rolled up and cursed, quietly and repeatedly. She had slept far too long.

Power naps, Snowshoe, power naps! she reminded herself. That's how she survived when not in a friendly town...an hour or two here and there, wherever she could get it. By her best figuring, using the shadows that fell across the room, she had slept over three hours. Snowshoe had gotten lucky that a Raider patrol hadn't happened by.

She looked around the room, then quietly crept up to the window of the building she was hiding in. It was some low building, an old shop of some kind below with a few apartments above. One of those apartments was currently hers, which she'd spent the last few hours securing, then snoozing in. A glance outside told her nopony was in the streets, but she still slunk back quickly just in case. No use it being spotted by some raider or something. She made her way to her stuff, which she used as convenient bedding: a pair of saddlebags made of a thick, yet worn, leather served as a pillow, while a dark brown cloak with a hood served as a blanket. She slipped the saddlebags on first. They were surprisingly light, not having too much in it at the moment...just essentials for now. She hadn't found anything good in the apartment, so she had no loot to bring back or repair. The cloak went on after that, covering her bags. She kept the hood down for now, not needing to cover her identity or a horn glow. One last item had to come with her before she went: a worn assault rifle of common pre-war design, built for Earth ponies by Earth ponies, and it showed in the design. It wasn't anything special or fancy, just a solid wood stock with a deep curve to fit nicely around a pony's shoulder, a solid metal body with a long protruding magazine point out the bottom, and a long wooden fore-end and barrel, and of course, the handle out the side with a trigger build for mouth-use. Even as a unicorn, Snowshoe had learned the value of using guns without her magic.

She slung the rifle over her shoulder and checked to make sure her other weapon, a pistol, was secure in it's holster, and stepped into the hall. A soft sound drifted across the open window...a metallic crunch. Snowshoe quickly zipped into the hallway, not wanting to figure out who, or what, made the sound. She passed by one of her basic alarms, a low tripwire attached to a series of hidden cans, and crept into her "exit" apartment. It was the corner of the building, collapsed by an explosion of some kind, and it led to the street below and the open side of another building. She decided to brave the street, wanting to get back to Manehattan and the safety of Tenpony, as fast as she could. Snowshoe moved quickly, surprisingly light on her hooves as she climbed down the collapsed wall and floor to the street below. A quick scan told her she was alone, though the metallic crunch came again, never sounding again after that. Nonetheless, she was nervous, and started a quick trot, keeping alongside the buildings as she made her way down the road. It was quiet...she made a mental note to build a portable radio or something to catch the airwaves. To pass the time, she thought up a design...vacuum tube, maybe? No, that wouldn't survive the harshness of a wanderer's life...she'd have to go with a crystal design...her thoughts were far away from the Wasteland around her, which was a bad idea, given her location.

Snowshoe quickly shook herself back to reality. Focus, girl... she reminded herself. Her horn glowed with a soft yellow, a colour one could describe as lemony, and with her magic she tugged the hood of her cloak up over her head. She looked dead ahead, not wanting to get caught unawares, though she occasionally looked around, especially behind her.

[Corsair]

The doors to the Shining Bottlecap Casino in New Appleoosa were flung open by two burly, brown bouncers. The two large ponies were nearly identical, except for the fact that one of the pair was a unicorn. The magical glow from the unicorn's horn enveloped a struggling blue form. With a flick of his head, the unicorn flung his unwilling passenger out of the doors and into the dusty street. "And stay out, ya' feathered looser!" Shouted his earth pony twin.

Long Shot rolled ungracefully across the ground for several hooves from the telekinetic throw. Luckily, he'd pulled in his wings in time to prevent then from any real damage, but he had lost a few feathers in the process. He struggled to his hooves, spitting out the unpleasant taste of New Appleoosa dirt before turning to glare back up at the two bouncers. "Yeah?!" he shouted back at them, "Maybe if ya'll's games weren't rigged, somepony might stand a chance o' winnin'!"

The bouncers, who had been turning away, spun back to look at him, an unpleasant gleam in both their eyes. Long Shot made a quick assessment of his chances, and decided a retreat was in order. He took to the sky, shooting a last rude gesture at the brown hulks.

Broke. Again. The dice had just NOT been kind to him today. Long Shot had been sure his luck would work for him today, after how well his last job had gone. But now, all his caps from that last mercenary job were in the hooves of some greedy casino boss. Blasted dice... were probably loaded, or some unicorn had messed with them, he thought, trying to place the blame anywhere but on himself. He glared back at the half-standing building that housed the Shining Bottlecap. Ha, Shining my flank. Rusting pile of scrap, he thought bitterly.

Long Shot consoled himself that at least he hadn't lost everything. He'd learned the hard way to not take all of his possessions with him when he was gambling in case his luck ran cold, like it had today. He had his saddlebags and weapons stashed away. One of the advantages of being a pegasus in a Wasteland full of earth ponies and unicorns was that hardly anypony bothered to look up. He landed atop a rickety dwelling made out of railroad freight cars where he had dropped his belongings that morning. He nosed into his bags and found a hoof-full of caps; not even enough for a meal in this ramshackle town. Sighing, he shrugged his bags back into place in front of his wings, strapped his pistol to one side within easy reach of his mouth, then picked up his prized possession. "Well, Daisy," the pegasus said addressing the shining steel of his Ironshod Firearms P-63 rifle, "Looks like we're gonna be moving on sooner than I thought. Mebbie we can pick up some work in Manehatten."

The pegasus slung the rifle securely across his back, where it wouldn't interfere with his wings. He adjusted the patch over his useless left eye, then took to the air again.

[tyler008bon]

((So should I post my character introduction here or wait for the next thread?))

[Chonico]

“I hate to say it Greenie, but I think our bees have become lazy.”

A few miles outside of the ruins of Canterlot, there stood a decrepit cottage surrounded by what remained of a once yellow picket fence. It had been standing in that same spot since well before the balefire bombs fell. And, oddly enough, unlike other structures one would regularly come by in the Equestrian Wasteland, this cottage showed little signs of weathering and damage. Some ponies would even say it looked fixed and maintained.

“What do you mean lazy how? Just look at those jars, they’re half full… or half empty depending on how you want to discuss it.”

Aside from the lack of “world ending” damage and decay, many other odd things could be observed in the fenced in area surrounding the cottage. For one, the area was impeccably clean of trash or such to the point that even weeds seemed to be lacking. On one end of the yard, over a dozen boxes were laid out in a grid, neatly kept and clean with what could be considered a couple of decades old “fresh” coat of paint. Near the cottage, the remnants of old flowerbeds still had plants growing in them, sickly and barely clinging to life as they may have been. All in all, the place was oddly well kept, and the music coming from a radio did little to improve the eerie sight.

In fact, the only things in the yard that could even be considered trash were about 4 dozens of empty glass jars sitting atop a picnic table.

“On vacation?! I don’t remember saying it was vacation time. It’s not even summer yet. At least, I don't think it is. Its hard to tell with it being the end of the world and all that.”

Aside from the empty glass jars and clean yard, there was also another odd sight. A corpse wearing bicker goggles.

“Well, I suppose they earned a small vacation after last month’s production. They did an excellent job.”

Or, at least a pony that looked like a corpse.

“You know what Greenie? You and I should take a vacation too. Luna knows we’ve been working hard enough for it.”

Who was currently talking to a round, white object held in his forehooves.

Honeycomb, owner and operator of Honeycomb’s Honey Providers for the past two centuries along with his assistant Green Tea, was currently sitting on his haunches with his back turned in deep discussion with a white pony skull. His business had not turned a profit in over two centuries. Admittedly, it was kind of hard to make honey when all the bees were dead. But that did little to damper the ghoul’s spirits and desires to keep his business afloat.

“But, where to Green Tea?”

At that point, the music coming from the radio died down as the song came to an end and a voice took over. Honeycomb immediately turned his head to look at the radio as he recognized the voice. It was his favorite DJ.

“Good morning Equestria! DJ Pon-3 here with the latest news at the top of the hour. We've got word that the Filly's Dream Trading Post is out looking for Ponies who have the knicker and the guts to dive into the unknown! I don't know what that means but if you're into hacking terminals, picking locks and not afraid to get into a fight or two, then let the mare at Filly's Dream Trading Post know that you're interested! I hear the pay is good and there are a lot of benefits too! So what are you waiting for? Get your flank over to Filly's Dream Trading Post right here at Tenpony Tower, for more information on how to get on this deal of a lifetime! That's it for the news for this hour, and now onto our Sweetie Belle music marathon. This has been DJ Pon 3, bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts.”

As the music resumed, Honeycomb was smiling from ear to ear. His favorite DJ always had the best ideas.

“Manehattan! We could definitely go there on vacation Green Tea!” He exclaimed cheerfully as he set the pony skull down and stood up with a slight hop in his step. “Just imagine it, we can visit the museums, ride the Celestia and Luna lines. I know how much you like those new monorails. OH! And I could go find a souvenir for Honey Jar! She... she loved souvenirs...”

*Bang bang bang bang*

One of the jars on the picnic table suddenly exploded as something impacted Honeycomb on the side and forced him to stagger a bit. Bewildered, he looked at the spot where he was hit and noticed a small stream of pink smoke coming from it. He looked at the source of the shots and immediately noticed 5 raiders running in his direction, screaming and hollering.

“Oh, not again Green Tea, it’s those raiders from last week.” He looked down at the white pony skull as he spoke in a calm tone but wore a worried expression. “This wasteland is already hard enough to live in… Do you think they want to apologize for what they did last week?”

*bang bang bang bang*

Several impacts, close to a dozen, suddenly found the ghoul on his side as he lay on the floor. Several streams of pink smoke were suddenly pouring from the impact sites as an eerie pink glow began to slowly intensify from behind his biker goggles.

“Hide Green Tea… I don’t think… they want… to… apolo-”

As the first raider jumped over the fence and into the yard, he was greeted by the most horrifying scream he’d ever heard in his life, which he soon found to be rather short as more gunfire began to echo through the small area surrounding the cottage. In turn, each source of that gunfire was slowly silenced, and an eerie calm rained over the area again.

[TotalEcplise]

The raider attack was ended not long ago, the new head of Arbu, a griffon by the name of Arik BlackFeather, lead his town's defensive efforts.He almost lost several good ponies in that attack, but he wouldn't have let that happen if he could do anything to stop it and for his efforts Arbu stands for another day, and he got riddled with bullets.

Arik sat on the bed in Dr. Silver Heart's office, seemed like he spent a lot of time there lately. Silver Heart was a butterscotch colored unicorn mare with blue eyes and a blonde and tail, definitely easy on the eyes for a pony in Arik's book. The moment Silver stepped into the room it was as if the temperature dropped several degree's, but it was just her glaring icily at the griffin, who despite being one individual seemed to eat through more medical supplies then all of New Arbu. He stared her in the face, she stared back; Arik buckled...yes a full grown griffin buckled to a mare that was at most three fifths his size.

"Hi." he said awkwardly trying to avoid the verbal lashing that he knew was coming.

She said nothing, for a few moments until she finally let out a loud sign. "Take your jacket off." Silver trotted over to a cabinet and pulled out bandages, gauze, salve tweezers, and purified water.

The Griffon removed his black leather jacket, the memento of his now dead wife, off and sat it to the side. Arik's white head feathers were stained rusty brown and his burgundy fur and feathers were matted and moist with life fluids. Silver slid a stool up to him to that she could sit at chest level to the griffon. She levitated the tweezers and the water near her and began her work.

She started to dig into his flesh in pursuit of each bullet, she started to talk out loud calling out each bullet she plucked; Arik didn't know if it was intentional or if she was losing herself.

"10mm." *Clink*

"10mm." *Clank*

"10mm." *Clink*

".45 acp." Silver telekinetically dropped the bullets into a metal tray, with each round removed a loud clink clank reverberated through the air as metal struck metal.

"5.56." *Clank*

"5.56." *Clink*

"5.56." Her voice began to crack and her mouth started to scrunch up.

"7.62." *Clank*

".308." That one almost pierced through his muscle.

"Second degree burns."

"Shrapnel...." She couldn't take it anymore and collapsed into Arik's arms crying. He ran his metal talons through her mane in an attempt to comfort her. She was like a daughter to him, and he hated to see her like this. He blamed himself for letting her see him like this, he could easily take care of wounds like this himself, but she had insisted on him letting her handle his wounds.

"It's okay little one." His voice was like a soul soothing medicine for her, she had stopped shaking now and seem to gain some composure from the sound of his voice.

"Why...why do you do this to yourself? You can't save everypony!"

"I'm not trying to, but this town, it's my home...and everyone in it, my family. And be damned if I let anyone take my family. My ambition is going to make Arbu a target, and you all are my responsibility." He leaned down and rested his head atop hers. They don't know how long they stayed like that, the hours seemed to just melt away.

It' was night time before he left Silvers home. Arik told her everything knew about himself, everything Arbu was before, and his plans for what he wanted Arbu to be in the future. His wounds where all dressed, and his jacket was stitched up and repaired (she took such great care of him) so he took his leave of her. They exchanged hugs and deep looks at her door.

"You do too much." She nuzzled his neck feathers.

"I don't do enough." He wouldn't let the town meet an end like it's previous incarnation did. Though they deserved it, he still didn't agree with the fact that it happened. He still loved them.

He felt like the entire town saw.

He took to the sky, nothing fancy just a low glide so that he could see around the town. The night air in his feathers helped to clear his head as he thought about His relationship with Silver. He knew how she felt towards him and he'd lying through his beak if he said he didn't have feeling for her as well, but damn it she deserved better than him. She didn't need some bullet ridden, trader slash mercenary as her special someone. All he would do is bring her grief as she worried for him during his wasteland excursions, and tears as she licked his wounds clean. Plus he was probably old enough to be her father or grandfather even though he didn't look it (being a cyborg has its advantages). Yet he had these feelings, and he knew those weren't the reasons he wasn't letting them out. No his reason was simple, he couldn't be tied down, at least not yet, not until Arbu was on the map as a prospering trade town.

He landed on his house and went in through his rooftop entrance, once in his room he removed the rechargeable powercells from both of his arms and laid down on his bed. For now he'd rest, but tomorrow he would sun bathe and recharge all his powercells then head out for adventure. He had brought ponies back to Arbu, now it was time to revive the commerce.

"Maybe I'll head to Tenpony Tower, it's close, and i haven't been there yet." Arik said as he drifted off to sleep.

[korok132]

Manehatten. Once a great city, now full of raiders waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting passerby, to gobble them up or something even worse!

… Or so Brute remembered hearing somewhere. Maybe. The “great city” part she definitely remembered hearing, and the raiders part too. Was it raiders that gobbled up unsuspecting passerbys, or was that something else? But hey, at least the road she was on was still mostly intact and rubble free, maybe she’ll be able to walk in a straight line for more than a few feet. And there were some buildings, just in case the weather decided it was going to rain that day.

*BLAM*

A chunk of the road was suddenly the impact site of a bullet shot at her. Or maybe the weather decided it was going to rain bullets today. Not taking the time to contemplate the possibility of raining bullets, the large griffon charged into the nearest building, a once two-story shop with the top half of the second floor missing.

Luckily the store counter was still intact, and rather thick at that. Diving behind the counter, Brute was beginning to regret not grabbing a gun from those slavers.

Something metal was suddenly being pressed against the side of her head. Slowly, Brute turned her head to see a small pistol glowing green pointed at her. Apparently, she wasn’t alone behind the counter. Behind the glowing gun was a small green unicorn mare with a yellow mane and tail. Her eyes were wide with fear.

“D-d-don’t move!” The unicorn stammered, clearly shaken at being shot at. Or the sudden appearance of a giant griffon. Either way, she was clearly afraid for her life. “O-or I’ll bl-bl-blow your head off!”

*BLAM*

A shot ricocheted off the counter the two were hiding behind, causing the unicorn to flinch, weakening her hold on the gun. Not missing a beat, Brute quickly slammed the small pistol to the ground away from her head, accidentally crushing it in the process.

“… Oops.” Was all Brute could say.

*BLAM*

Another shot rang out and planted itself in the counter. The two crouched behind the counter, shots periodically ringing out. Nothing ever hit them, save a small amount of dust from the wall behind them.

Eventually, the shots stopped. Risking her head, Brute slowly began to peak her head above the counter. Whoever the shooter was is really good at hiding. Not seeing anyone in any of the windows, Brute slowly began to crawl along the ground to the door, leaving the frightened unicorn shaking behind the counter. Peeking out, no sign of life was visible across the road. Either they were really good at hiding and were currently lining up a shot, or had run out of ammo and run away. Confident that the danger had passed, the large griffon went back to behind the counter, where the green unicorn was still cowering.

“Stand. Shooter gone.” Brute spoke simply. The unicorn was still shaking, but now was looking up at Brute.

“H-h-how do you know?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Not get shot yet. Must be out of ammo. Get up, we get out.” Brute had gone back to the door to take one last look around. Still no sign of the gunpony, she went back to behind the counter to retrieve the green mare.

Except she wasn’t there.

She placed a claw where she had been. Nothing. She wasn’t just invisible, she had actually left without Brute noticing.

“Be safe.” Brute left the store and resumed her walk down the road, confident in the mare’s ability to remain hidden.

[UnitP0N13]

Halfway from Trixie's cottage to Manehatten, this poor Pega-tron trotted a long, his joints creaking and groaning in agony as it grind the sand and rust that was trapped under. The yellow cathode ray tube eyes flickered as he switched to his favorite station: DJ Pon-3. No matter how bad of a condition he was in, full of holes or rust, she always managed to become out into a joyful jig, as he had started doing now.

Screech, screech, screech.

His joints cried out for sweet mercy as he danced along the old, down trodden path to Manehatten. Honestly, he didn't know what he'd expect to find there, just that he would find something there. As a wanderer of the wasteland, and the kindest to his knowledge, he didn't care much where he was going, as long as he got there in one piece. Who knows, he might just get to save someone.

In his excitement, he lept up, powering up the thrusters in the underside of his wings, and taking off with a might woosh! Piercing through the sky and halving his time from the cottage to the city. Shots rang out as he began to inch ever so close to it.

As he approached it though, about an hour later, he noticed a lone griffon in the distance and flew down to her and landed some what roughly. His joints clanked, hissed and screeched all at once as he landed, looking at the griffon and trotting up to her.

"I heard shots being fired, are you alright, ma'am?" The robot asked politely, willing to render any medical services he could at any moment.