Shield mare
"She's down we've got her," an excited whinny came as I felt my body go heavy, "I knew she'd take the bait she's a hero after all." The mare in metal armor seemed a bit excited, "I can't wait to strip her apart and see what makes her tick think of how much more effective the Rangers will be when we have our armor on the inside of our skins! No one will know who's a Ranger and who's not!" I was feeling a bit sick that they'd be willing to do it to themselves.
"Ma'am what should we do with the bait?" A young buck asked the commander. The commander just looked at him dully, "What do we normally do with those who've outlived their usefulness to us?" He straightened and saluted, "Ma'am yes ma'am we will execute them post haste." The commander smiled, "see that you do."
I'm sure if I had blood it'd be running cold but all I heard right now was my head screaming for me to move, but I couldn't and then I saw them execute a mother in front of her children who could only cry and my body started to listen, I flew into the young buck knocking him to the ground as I smashed my hooves into his helmet, "You! Do! Not! Kill! A! Mother!" I emphasized every word with a buck to his head courtesy of my forehooves and the other Rangers could only watch as his helmet dented in and oozed blood out.
I began chuckling as the rangers looked at me clearly scared, and then something snapped and I began to sing.
Total slaughter,
Total slaughter
I won't leave a
Single soul alive
La di da di die
Genocide
La di da di da
An ocean of blood
Let's begin the killing time
They shook in terror and began to run, I knew I wasn't off their target list. In fact I would probably be a lot higher on the list now that they'd seen I could force myself into action even when my mechanics weren't working. I walked to the mother as her children cried over her. "You... you're that..." She coughed up blood before continuing, "Centurion everypony's been talking about right?" She coughed again as I nodded. She looked at me she knew she wouldn't make it, "Please... take my children... take care of... Rosalin and Merryweather keep them safe in my place... I don't want to see them unless it's from something natural... I... my kids need to survive." I looked at her and then her kids, they'd be a liability to me, they'd probably slow me down and I knew it.
"I promise I'll keep them safe or be ripped to shreds trying." I said solemnly and the mare smiled as she passed on knowing that her children would be safe in my hooves.
* * *
"Why are we here Miss Centurion?" the youngest of the fillies asked, the older was quieter, probably more effected, she probably thought her mom would be around forever when I was her age I'd felt the same way. I looked at Merryweather, she was a darling little unicorn her bright turquoise eyes catching the dim lighting of the waste land just so, making it look like they shined, her red mane a contrast to her alabaster coat.
"Unless you two can grow wings we need transportation. If we're really lucky it'll still be here." I said
"What exactly will still be here?" a crash resounded as Rosalin spoke and an armored chariot flew out of the window and landed smack in the middle of the road we were standing in with little more than a few scratches. It looked almost new despite being around for 200 years. She looked at it and then to me, "That's what we were looking for, new as the day I begged my old man to buy it for me." Rosalin looked more confused by this revelation her blue eyes scrunching in concentration, as her magenta mane fall across her brow, her luminescent white coat a gem among the dull browns of the Wastes. "Why would you have a chariot if you can fly?" She finally asked.
I almost gave her a look that told her just how stupid I thought that question was but I stopped when I realized there was a shortage of pegasi in the Wasteland. "Well back when I was your age." She looked at me questioningly. I sighed so she could ask, "Wouldn't that be about 5 years ago?" She said and I shook my head, "Try two hundred and five." Her jaw must have dropped three feet."Okay anyways, back when I was your age Pegasi, Earth ponies, and Unicorns all lived together in... well not exactly harmony but it was pretty good, I had a friend named Fortune, she was a unicorn liked freaking people out with fortune telling. Problem was she wasn't exactly... well inclined to walk for miles and miles, and it was hard to fly with somepony on your back. So I begged my dad to buy me a chariot so I could have fun with my friends, took five weeks of begging before he relented, said I probably outwhined Rarity when she was whining the Diamond dogs into freeing her." I chuckled remembering the day, father had been pulling his mane out from all of my begging until finally he saw he couldn't win and bought it for me.
"Anyways hop in I'll get in the harness, anywhere you two want to go to take your mind off today?" I asked, hoping they'd take me up on the offer.
Rosalin was quiet but Merryweather bounced, "Oh oh oh! I know! Ponyville! I've always wanted to see where the Ministry Mares met!" I chuckled, "One trip to Ponyville coming right up!" I flew them towards our destination hoping they'd feel better after the trip.
* * *
All that waited for us was a scene of carnage, whatever there was that I remembered of this place had been washed with blood. There were bodies all around most of them seemed to be raiders a few seemed to have been unlucky ones. I heard Merryweather crying as Rosalin hugged her telling her it'd be okay and then I heard a clicking and jumped in front and a bullet punched through my head and got lodged inside. Merryweather screamed and Rosalin looked shocked that I'd take the bullet for them.
"Ow... and here I thought they'd removed my nerve endings before they brought me back." Merry and Rosalin just stared, and then I got the pleasure to hear Homage, "Hey I was just listening in, mind telling me what you meant by they?" Sheila put her on screen for me and I looked her in the eye with a hole through my head slowly mending, she seemed disturbed then I spoke when it was done, "Sorry about that my repair function took a little power from speech control. Anyhow I'm talking about Project Restoration. You know about the megaspells but ever wonder what they did with their most valuable soldiers before then?" Homage nodded and I smiled glad she seemed interested and not disgusted, "Well, that's where Project Restoration came in, what better way to spook an enemy that was highly superstitious than to confront them with something they couldn't explain, the dead walking perfectly fine." Homage seemed horrified, "Me? I got the honor of being talked into it by some pony. I don't remember who. All I do remember is that when I was about to die I was about to accept it then next thing I know I'm being knocked out to be restored and enhanced. The sniper from earlier probably ran when they saw that the bullet did nothing to me. At least I thought it did nothing until a minute later it ripped out the other side of my head and Sheila said, "Warning self repair function is offline please go to the nearest technician for repair." I groaned wondering what shoved the bullet out and saw Rosalin with it wrapped in her magic her glowing horn flickering out.
Rosalin whimpered when I looked at her, "I'm sorry I thought it was hurting you." I couldn't stay mad at a filly and I sighed, "you two happen to know of any ponies that are extremely good at repairs?"
* * *
I looked at the technician like he was mad, "Okay you want me to tear off my skin so you can sell it as clothes and then you'll be willing to fix me?" He nodded and said, "I doubt you have enough caps otherwise."
I looked at him confused, "Caps?" He nodded, "what are you a stable pony?" I sighed and before I began Merry bounced as she spoke, "She's a two hundred and five year old super hero pegasus that took a bullet in the head for me and Rosy!" The technician looked at me, "super hero huh? I think this town could use that. Tell you what clear out the raider infestation blocking the road up north and I'll fix you up and fix these two up with some armor." I sighed and nodded, "One condition though, I want them to stay here, they almost got shot once with my protection I'm not looking forward to an extermination job with them." He nodded, "It's fine Rosalin and I are friends." I saw him looking longingly at her. As soon as we were out of his work house and out of earshotI asked what his deal was.
Rosalin was about so speak when Merryweather happily bounced and cut Rosalin off, "Wrenchy has a crush on Rosy we used to live here with mom, when dad was here!" Well that would explain why he was willing to take them. I nodded and went to the store to look for scrap metal, a stall with an image of a rearing filly on it's hind legs. "The crusaders are still around?" The filly at the counter looked up at me confused.
"Miss how did you know who we were? I ain't never seen a pegasus whut knew about Crusaders." I thought about how to say it and figured to introduce myself first. "Hey there I'm Centurion your friendly 205 year old guard mare willing to take a bullet for another pony." The filly looked at me and started laughing. "That was a good 'ne!" She looked at me again, "Oh... you actually meant it? Well if'n your that Centurion DJ P0n-3 talks about what'chu doin' buyin' scrap metal?" She said as she saw me looking over her selection. I sighed and turned around and she just meeped, "w-what how are you still standing?"
I looked at her, "Well ever seen robots?" She nodded, "Think of me as a more advanced one of those." She screamed and I asked what was wrong, "T-them robots are killers they don't do nothin' but kill ponies!" I rolled my eyes, "Do I seem like a killer to you?" She looked me over and apologized. Then I got down to business, "Do you have any information on the raiders up north?"
"The ones blocking the trade roads? All I know is they got rocket launchers and don't like no ponies." I sighed, this was just perfect.
"Thanks for the information." I was about to walk off when I remembered something I'd heard Twilight talking about while I was near her office at the MAS hub asking about Project Restoration "Say you wouldn't happen to have any stealth bucks would you?"
* * *
I had to admit I was surprised when the filly told me I could have a discount since I had known the original Crusaders, I hadn't expected anyone to care about Applebloom Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in this day and age. Still that 50% off really helped since I had to work on barter and most of what I could barter were things my repair protocol couldn't use. I ended up trading in the power armor from the ranger I killed and his grenades and ammunition for the five stealthbucks she had. It's not like I need to use a weapon too often anyways. I was a 750 pound wrecking ball with wings for Celestia's sake.
I popped the Stealthbuck in as soon as I got over their hide out. I dropped down and followed the furthest raider as he made his rounds, the buck didn't have time to scream when I wrapped my hooves around his neck and snapped it. His body fell with a dull thump and I moved to pick off the Raider in the watch tower with the bazooka, I picked it up in case it had metals my repair function could use. I placed it in my bags and moved on to pick off the remaining guards in the yard outside the... wait that was the school I went to when I was a filly... Cherilee deserved a proper burial. If I found her body in there I would bury her no matter what. I finished off the raiders in the yard as the first stealth buck wore off I set it aside in my bag wondering if the metal was good if not I'd toss it in the next dumpster I saw. That just left the inside I popped my second stealthbuck into the slot in my back. I looked through the window, these ones were a lot smarter they went in groups I'd have to be sneaky to take them out, after all I couldn't heal and I wasn't sure if they could. I went inside and flew high to the ceiling to scope the main room there weren't any raiders here thankfully so I went through the next door and saw a group of three talking.
"Damn it you broke her! I wanted to be the one to break her!" Said a big Earth Pony mare I shuddered imagining what they were talking about, "quit your whining, you can break the next one," her companion a Unicorn buck. The third a lime green unicorn rolled her eyes, "Shut up and let's eat." I finally saw what they were talking about as they lowered their heads to eat. A small lavender mare with a light purple main and a cutie mark of an oil can and a wrench was shivering. I couldn't allow it to happen I ran into the buck who had called told his associate to quit whining and slammed him into the wall then dropped him and stomped on his throat shattering it under hoof. I moved on to the two mares who were already pulling their weapons one had a pool cue the other a shot gun. I charged up to her faster than I thought I could and punched, I felt a bit ill when I saw that my hoof had gone straight through her gut and her spine. The pool cue smashed over my head and the last Raider whimpered, "W-what the buck are you?! WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU?!" She cried as she tried to grab the shot gun her partner had dropped when her concentration dropped with a bit of her innards. She got it aimed before I punched through her lower jaw my hood exiting her skull. I suppose I would have felt like an executioner, but I was never about ending lives I was about protecting the lives of the endangered. I looked at the mare they seemed to have been planning to eat and picker her up over my back. I checked the E.F.S in my armor giving it a cursory glance. Sheila asked why I didn't use it more often and I told her a good soldier didn't need a radar to be aware of her surroundings. The Raiders were gone these three must have been having a break when I broke in and killed every pony, I saw a group of skeletons in the corner and sighed as I set the mare I rescued down, "Stay here and don't make a sound, the Raiders are gone but there might be other dangers around." She nodded her eyes vacant. I walked over to the skeletons all of them seemed to be unicorns, I began wondering if this Raider group hated unicorns when I saw an Earth pony skeleton clutching a picture of a class that I recognized. Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle had all sat together when the picture was taken trying their best to look innocent when one of their cutie mark attempts went wrong, and I knew only one mare who would have come here to die if she had no other option. I'm sure I would have cried and said it was unfair if I could cry but I knew I couldn't change it, "Well Cherilee, I'm glad I can give you a resting place better than this."
* * *
The mare I had rescued was worried I had left her and rushed outside only to see me digging with a shovel in my teeth and the skeletons from the school behind me, a single tree stump from what used to be an apple tree would act as the tomb stone for the most important grave. I finished digging her grave and carefully I picked up Cherilee's remains and set them in the ground before I wrote into the stump, "Here lies Cherilee beloved teacher, her love for her students was matched only by her wisdom and kindness." I smiled mournfully as I began to bury her, I was sure somewhere up above she was happy she finally had a resting place away from the atrocities the Raiders had been committing in her school.
I began digging the rest of the graves as the mare I rescued watched confused. "Why are you burying them?" I looked at her, "Because other than the ones the Raider's killed recently, it's likely that I knew these skeletons or their parents." She seemed disturbed, "Don't be stupid that'd make you-" I looked at her with eyes far to old to belong in my body, eyes that had seen so much and yet that still held a few sparks of hope and happiness, "Over two hundred years old."
She laughed, "There's no way that you can be that old." Then I turned around to show the hole in the back of my head. The wires sparking a bit and she whimpered, "What are you going to do to me." I looked at her and smiled, "Take you back to town and make sure my kids are okay."
She looked at me, "How can you even have kids?" The smile died and I could tell she knew I didn't want to talk, "You have a right to know. I saw their mom get killed. She begged me to take care of them and protect them. I promised her I would and I refuse to dishonor the name of the royal guard by lying to a dying mare or leaving two fillies to die in the Wastelands." It was quiet while I dug the rest of the graves and put the bodies to rest in them, when I finished and paid my respects to Cherilee.
I looked up at the mare "Think you can walk on your own miss?" She nodded, "I'm Strider by the way... I hope my son wasn't worried about me." I looked up, "Strider who's your son?" She looked at me oddly, "Why his name is Wrench." I had just saved the mother of the colt who suggested I let myself get skinned. I wonder if he had ever planned on repairing me or if he just wanted something to make me save his mother.
* * *
When I got back into town Wrench ran to his mother and hugged her crying, "I thought I'd never see you again!" He sniffled, I wondered if Rosalin and Merryweather were lying about him being able to fix my head, then I looked at his cutie mark of two gears and figured if anyone could do it it'd probably be him.
"I owe you so much for clearing out those raiders and saving my mom!" He was blubbering probably felt bad about using me. If he had just asked and told me his mom was in danger I would have run in anyways.
"It's fine listen if you oculd fix my head up then I'll be fine to get going with Rosalin and Weather." I said and Strider's head shot up. "Rosalin... and Weatherberry? They're mother... died?" I sighed, "I'll be honest it was actually an execution." Strider shook, "And you did nothing?" I looked at her, "They hit me with a magic pulse grenade my systems were fried and I had to muster every bit of will power to kill the colt who shot her before she bled to death." Strider said quickly, "You are not taking those children from here they deserve a normal life!"
I replied by looking at her tensely until she shivered, "I told you I made a promise to a dying mare that I would keep them safe, I am not breaking that promise." Strider looked pissed at that comment, "Are you saying I can't keep them safe?!" I looked back and countered, "Are you saying you'd be able to take a bullet to your head and get back up to keep them safe?"
She fell quiet, and I continued, "That's how I got the head wound I barely heard the sniper and dove in the way of the shot. Rosalin pulled the bullet out with her magic right through the section housing my body's repair protocol." Strider looked at me, I couldn't tell if her look was of fear or admiration. "Okay you win, get your repairs and make sure you keep them safe. If you ever come back to this town for repairs without them in tow I will make sure every system in your body is destroyed." I chuckled, "You won't need to, if I ever lose them to anything that's not nature it'll be because I was broken down so badly I couldn't repair myself."
----
Footnote: Level up!
New perk: Dashing fighter: Speed for all combat actions increases by 20% enjoy being 20% faster and 20% cooler than your opponents.
Quest perk: Steadfast protector (I): When you or your companions are below 50% of your health your damage resistance to all weapons increases by 5% and your resistance to crippling increases by 10%
Unarmed skill: 50