> Fallout Equestria: Golden Rangers > by Unit645 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Out in the wastes everypony has a reason for fighting. Whether its loyalty, greed, or just plain survival. Me and my pals found a pretty interesting one that taught us something. War...war never changes. No matter how much it seems to. Prologue Fear. Fear and anxiety were the only two things I felt as I was awaiting my inevitable punishment sitting in this dark interrogation room. Sorry, almost forgot to introduce myself. I am Knight Gambler of the Steel Rangers. I'd tell you which company I was in, but it probably won't matter anyway. You're probably wondering why Im sitting in this dark room alone waiting for something bad to happen. Well, here's the story. Me and two other knights were sent to retrieve some blueprints for a weapon that somepony named Trottenheimer designed before the bombs fell. Simple mission, right? Wrong. The damn bulding the blueprints were stored in was full of pyromaniac raiders who would have loved to roast some canned pony. We managed to kill most of 'em, but one of the damned raiders was smart enough to burn the blueprints, just because we wanted it. We return to base empty handed, and guess who my squadmates decide to blame. Me. I tried to explain, but those two were very persistent. I get stripped of my rank, and here I am sitting in a dark room on a very uncomfortable chair waiting for something bad to happen. "When the moon goes down in the valley of time.." I started to sing quietly to myyself., when the door began to slowly open, letting in whatever light wasn't blocked by the armored figure of Star Paladin Ars Imperátória, who I'll admit, is a very good strategist and will probably let me live long enough to be useful, and then feed me to a hellhound or something. "It seems like you're in a lot of trouble from what I've been told." she said as she walked towards the chair across from me, her armor clanking as she walked. Footnote: Level Up New Perk: Charming Troublemaker- You gain access to new dialogue options when disliked by a pony of the opposite sex. Player Trait: Wild Wasteland- Your wasteland encounters are sillier than normal. > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 "So, according to your former squadmates, you stupidly threw the blueprints into the path of a raider's flamer, hoping to throw it to your squadmate. Is that correct?" she asked, with a flat tone that a pony could only get from years of repetition. "No, maam." I replied. She gave me a very odd look, as if I had just grown a second head. "Interesting" she said. "I had a feeling those two squadmates of yours were lying, but I didnt think they had the balls to make that theory true." "Excuse me, maam?" I asked, very confused. "You heard me. I knew they were lying. I just couldn't do anyting about it at the time. So, I just pulled a few strings so that I could handle your punishment. I decided against kicking your flank out of the Steel Rangers, and putting you to good use. You're transferring to M-Company at 0500 hours. Am I understood?" she asked, sounding very authoritive and intimidating. Officers are very good at that. "Yes maam." "Good" she replied, before leaving the room. On the way to my quarters, I kept recieving some strange looks from ponies. Probably wondering why I was still at the base afetr what I had allegedly done. I just ignored them though. When you're a heavily armored earth pony, you tend to learn to ignore looks. Speaking of armor, M-Company supposedly uses some older variant of Combat Armor. Not as much protection, but they say its much lighter. It'll feel good to be able to sprint from cover to cover instead of slowly chugging along. After a short stop at the barracks' restrooms, I managed to get into my bunk and get some rest for the coming day. And to think Im still called the "New Pony" even around here... The next morning I was awoken by the sound of the morning alarm, and then went on to start my daily routine. I ate, showered (I still hate open showers), and then went on to polish my armor, clean my weapons, and all that other stuff us military types do. "Hey, you Knight Gambler?" said a voice from behind me. I hated being disturbed when I was sorting my locker. "Yeah. What is it?" I asked, sounding maybe a bit too annoyed."You are to report to the Vertibird terminals in 2 hours to be transferred to M-Company. Orders are from Star Paladin Ars." he said with a tone of officiality. "Alright. Tell Paladin Ars Ill be there on time and ready. Thank you messenger." "Just doin' my job" he said, as he quickly walked off to relay my message. I headed over to my locker and packed up my belongings, which wasnt much. Just a uniform, a few pre-war magazines on explosives, and a pistol my father gave me before he died. Luna bless his soul. After a short period of time I was ready to go. So, I headed towards the Vertibird bays and met Star Paladin Ars. "You're early." she said, sounding somewhat impressed. "Yes maam. Didn't want to keep you waiting, maam." I said as she led me towards the vertibird I was riding to my new base and home. "You will arrive at our base located at Manehattan. Your new squad leader will be waiting for you. Am I clear?" she asked. "Yes maam." I said as I nodded. "Now get on board." she said, motioning towards the Vertibird. "Yes maam" I replied one last time as the Vertibird's side doors began to close. I soon felt the familiar feeling of takeoff, and sat back in my seat as the pilot took me to our Manehattan base. Footnote: Level Up New Perk: Strongback- You can now carry 50 more pounds of equipment. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the Vertiuck touched down, I looked out the viewport to see three ponies in grey combat armor. One was a unicorn mare with a white coat, and a short blue mane. The other two were both stallions, one with a red coat and a black mane, and the other with a yellow coat and a purple mane. As I exited the Vertibuck, the yellow coated stallion trotted over to me, accompanied by his two squadmates. "You the new squaddie they sent here?", he said in a Trottish accent. "Sir, yes sir!" "Welcome to Manehattan. Oh, and please cut it with that 'sir' crap. Im your squad leader, not the Goddess-damned elder. Call me Switchblade" Now, I had to approach my next sentence with caution, lest I make myself look like an idiot. "Yes, sir" He sighed "Go meet your squadmates. I want all three of you in the briefing room in 15 minutes." He then turned and trotted towards the entrance to fortified structure I would now call home. I then turned to the mare and the stallion, both conversing, and exchanging caps. As I drew closer, I began to hear their conversation. "...three days. Tops.", said the stallion. "I give him a week." replied the stallion. They were betting on my life! Wasn't I supposed to trust these ponies with my life? Aren't they supposed to watch my back? Now they're betting on my life? "Hey, new guy, come on over here." called the stallion, motioning me to come. "I don't think we've met yet." said the mare. "I am Knight Bandwidth. The squad's tech expert." "And Im Shortfuse. I like when things go boom. Just not when it's something important." "Im Gambler, as you already know. I just got transferred here because I'm still 'useful'." The mare nodded at me. "Yeah, well, we all got a story. I accidentally deleted the contents of a stable's mainframe. Shortfuse here collapsed an Enclave occupied building." "Well, that's not so bad." I interjected. "Some Paladins were still inside...." said Shortfuse, head hung low. He suddenly perked up "They were alright though. Took only a week to dig 'em out." "And what about Switchblade?" I asked curiously. "Follow me. I'll explain while we get you some armor." She said, beginning to trot towards the base's interior. "Well, this ought to be fun." I said, following her to the armory.