Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 4: Locals

“Observe the stars, solve puzzles....FIGHT ROBOTS!”

Time passed slowly in the large office. The small group of ponies slept soundly in the corner, with only the occasion wake up for food or using the bathroom. Overall, nothing really happened.

That left me alone; watching over the group while they slept. It was fine for the first two hours...but even robots get bored. And I couldn’t sleep because 1) robots don’t need sleep, and 2) I’d made a promise to stand guard in case there was trouble.

So with nothing going wrong yet, I resorted to reading the book I’d brought with me. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do when I was supposed to be keeping watch; but I couldn’t take another minute of nothing happening.

I’d spent the first hour jumping at every little sound made; even a slight floorboard creek. Eventually I learned to ignore the small sounds and instead wait for something to happen. That left me plenty of time to find of if Flutter Joy finally said yes to Upbeat.

Flurry turned her head to face Upbeat, with her sapphire eyes shining under Luna’s perfect moon. “Upbeat….I’ve thought about what you said.”

“And?” asked Upbeat. He moved slowly towards her, closing the gap so that there was no space between them.

Flurry smiled, then laid her head down on his chest. “I’ve decided that….”

“Good Book?”

My sensors whipped into overdrive at the sound of the voice. The book flew into the air, but thankfully I was able to catch it and mark my page before it was too late. I placed it on the desk and looked over to find Caliber standing next to me. His mane was in shambles, and he was slowly rubbing his right eye.

“Yeah….but shouldn’t you be asleep? Or is this another bathroom/food break?”

“None of the above,” he replied. “I’m here to change shifts.”

“What?”

Caliber rolled his eyes, “I’m here to take over the watch. It’s been long enough now; and you need to get some sleep too. You don’t want to collapse from exhaustion halfway through the trip. It’ll be bad for you and for us; dragging an unconscious pony will only slow us down.”

“I’m fine, really,” I replied. “Not feeling tired in the slightest. Just go back to sleep,” I picked up my book and began reading again...only to have it pushed down and replaced by Caliber’s frowning face.

“This isn’t up for discussion Garcon. Sleep….now!”

“Hard to with your face in front of me,” I replied. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to share my sense of humor, as his face remained unchanged. “But seriously, I don’t need any sleep. Trust me on that.”

I expected Caliber to complain again….or maybe even listen to me. Instead, I found his gaze shifting from frustration to….suspicious….questioning….possibly something in the middle. His eyes became narrowed, and his frown only edge out slightly.

“Why.”

“Pardon?”

His eyes looked me over, without moving his face an inch. “Why don’t you need any sleep? Everypony does, yet you seem so against it.” He paused, looked to my left, then back at me. “And you haven’t eaten anything either. That snack cake is still in your bag.”

This wasn’t good; he was starting to see through me. At this rate, he’d figure it out completely within a few minutes. Still, I could probably work through this. I just had to keep it together and think my way out. Which wasn’t a problem given my advanced hardware….at least I hoped so.

“It’s normal for a pony to not be hungry,” I said, my voice only slightly shaken. “And just because I’m not tired, doesn’t mean I won’t sleep.”

“Then sleep now; I’ll take watch.” Caliber pressed his face closer to mine. “Unless you’ve got something to hide.”

My processor was getting close to frying, but I kept it under control. I had to get through this without causing any harm to him. “Nothing at all,” I replied.

Caliber narrowed his eyes more, and his frown turned more serious than it already was. “Then explain why my gun is impaling you and your not even screaming?”

I looked down at my chest, and saw that Caliber’s shotgun had pushed aside the stitches in my chest. A few wires popped out, and bits of machinery could be seen inside. I looked back up at Caliber; my face no doubt shaped into one of fear and uncertainty.

“So….you’re a synth?” Caliber pulled his gun out of the cavity and aimed it at my head. “Thought you could get our guard down before you and TSIM come in and replace all of us?”

“I’m….I’m not a synth.” It was a simple answer, but it was true. I just had to find a way to show that I was pre-war, and not something from this time. Though I doubt my serial number would be enough to convince him.

“You can understand when I say I don’t believe you,” he replied. His gun got even closer to my face, and his became more twisted and angry with each second that passed. “Synths will spew every kind of lie to cover up their tracks. And those circuits behind that….skin….is more than enough proof.”

“But I swear I’m not a synth. I’m a P.A.B. built by the Robronco Robotics Company in the first Year of Luna’s Reign. I just got reactivated yesterday, and I’m not here to cause you any harm.”

Caliber pulled his gun back slightly, but still had it pointed at my face. “Yet you still haven’t given me any proof of that.”

True….but what could I do to prove my innocence? I worked through my processor, hoping to find something that could prove my case. “...wait,” I thought.

“Start talking or I’ll start shooting,” said Caliber, pushing his gun back towards my head.

“Uh….permission to grab the proof out of my saddle-bag?”

Caliber looked at me for a moment, then pulled his gun back and loosened up his face. “Fine, but I’ve got my eye on you.”

I nodded before igniting my horn and placing my saddle-bag in front on the desk. I looked inside, pushed aside a few spare parts, and pulled out the proof.

It was a picture; a very old picture. It was of me, Master Smithson, Master Ruger, and Mistress Daisy. We were in a hospital room, with me and Master Smithson standing on either side of a small bed, with Master Ruger sitting happily on my back. Mistress Daisy occupied the bed, and had a small bundle in her hooves.

I remember that day well; it was the day Mistress Acorn was born. My masters were so happy that day….even Master Ruger; and he was only two years old. We’d taken that picture just two hours after Mistress Acorn had been born, and it was a magical day (no pun intended).

Sighing, I floated the picture over to Caliber. He took the picture in his hoof and gave it a look over. His stern face began to soften the more he looked at it. Eventually, he gave the picture back; now with a much more….uncertain face.

“That's….not the best proof.” He looked down at his hooves, then back up at me. “But for now, it’ll do.”

“Thank You,” I replied. “I still swear I’m not here to harm you. I’m just looking for the ponies in the picture; for my family.”

“Sure,” he said. “But I still say I should take over for now. You...go and do something. I’ll let you know when it’s time to head out.”

At this point, I thought it was in my best interest not to argue. I gathered my bags and headed over to a small couch in the corner. My bags were placed under it for protection, and I took a seat right above them.

The only question was what I was going to do till morning? “I could read,” I thought, “but maybe I should conserve power.” I hadn’t recharged myself since….well, before the war. It seemed logical that Bolts had done so when he fixed me. But if that was true, I’d probably be running on empty soon.

“Best to conserve my power when I can.” At the very least, I had to hold out until I reached a power supply. I opened my programs option and scrolled down and find “Low Power Mode”. Once I’d selected it, I laid down and closed my eyes as my system went dormant.

“....The tests are progressing perfectly….”

“....I still think this is a mistake sir….”

“....Nonsense, this is the future we are dealing with….”

“....But this just isn’t ethical! What will he think….”

“....He won’t think, that’s the point. He’s just an experiment….”

“....That’s true now, but the technicians have done their research….”

“....I’ll take that into account later. Right now, I feel as if we’re about to make a breakthrough with this….”

“....Can, can it hear us….”

“....I think so, but I’m not sure. We’ll keep monitoring to see what happens….”

“....Very well sir, but should I inform Mr. Horse about these developments….”

“....hm, not yet. I want to see what comes of this before we inform Horse. Besides, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him….”

“....Right, of course sir….”

LOW POWER MODE TIMER REACHED.

RESTARTING….

My systems slowly began to come back online.

But when they did, I began to feel rumbling. It felt like I was moving across a bumpy surface, though I couldn’t see anything yet.

Soon, my cameras came online and I found myself looking at very worn wood. I looked up, and saw dark grey clouds moving above me. “I’m outside,” I thought.

I looked around, and it looked like I was inside a cart. Boxes of supplies were stacked around me, and I could feel the rumble before more prominently. Slowly, I picked myself up and looked over the side.

The group of ponies from the office were walking on either side of the cart. Some had on saddle-bags, while others were empty. One of the ponies looked up, and smiled when their eyes met mine.

“Oh, you’re awake.” She looked forward and called out, “Hey Caliber, He’s Up!”

I looked ahead, and saw Caliber walking ahead of the group. He looked back, and held up while the others walked past him. His face seemed concentrated, but he still managed to crack a smile when he saw me.

“Well, welcome back to the wasteland,” he said happily. “Have a nice sleep?” He said that word like it was a joke...which it probably was.

“Yeah,” I replied. “But, where did this cart come from? And how did I get here?”

“We took one of the carts from the parking lot. This was the only one that could still move.” He snuck a look at the creates. “Then we helped ourselves to some supplies, loaded your sleeping flank on, and headed out.”

“How far are we from Trotsville?”

“Ten minutes,” replied the pony pulling the cart. “Also, since you’re no longer asleep, could you please get out of the cart. It’s heavy enough as it is without you weighing it down.”

Whether or not that was rude would be solved later. I looked around the cart until I spotted my saddle-bag. I floated it onto my back before hopping out of the cart.

“Come on, you and me can guard the front,” said Caliber. He trotted forward, and I quickly followed behind him. “If anything tries to harm the group, we kill it. Plain and Simple.”

I looked back to see that nopony was close, then leaned in and whispered my reply. “Killing isn’t in my programing.”

Caliber gave me a side glance, “yeah, and I’m guessing those ghouls were an exception?”

A well spoke point; those ghouls were the first things I’d ever killed. I’d taken it lightly, since I could tell they were monsters. But...what if the next enemy wasn’t a monster. Could I pull the trigger?

“So sparky,” said Caliber, “that picture you showed me indicates you really are pre-war.” He turned and gave me a look that was a mixture between curiosity and concern. “I’ve been able to accept that much. But if that’s the case….is there anything you want to know about the world now?”

“Yes actually,” I replied. “I’ve been hearing about TSIM and Synths ever since I woke up. Who are they?”

Caliber sighed. “TSIM is the boogeystallion of Baltimare. It’s made up of a bunch of eggheads that came together to “make a better future” or something. They make anything that helps them out, or what they think will. But what’s really funny is that nopony knows where they are. Ponies have searched all around Baltimare trying to find them, but so far nopony has found them”.

Caliber looked forward, “as for synths….well they’re TSIM’s lapdogs.”

“Basically, they’re robots that look like pony skeletons. They take care of TSIM’s dirty work, and basically anything else they need done. And if you get in the way of a synth and their objective, they have one program: kill.”

I leaned in closer, “but why did you think I was a synth? I don’t look like a pony skeleton.”

“In recent years, they’ve been using fake skin to make them more pony like. You acted like a normal pony, which is why I was nervous when I saw those wires in your chest.”

“You thought I was one of them?”

Caliber looked right at me, “I still kinda do; that picture was the only thing keeping me from blasting your head off last night. It’s the same thing now….so try to find a better way of proving your innocence.”

That was easier said than done. If TSIM was really making robot ponies, then I’d have to make sure nopony knew who I really was. They could get the wrong idea; and I could be riddled with holes in no time.

“Wall straight ahead; we’re almost there!”

I took my eyes off the road and looked towards the structure not too far away. It wasn’t very large, but behind it stood a collection of older buildings. A few ponies walked along the outside perimeter, which I guess was actually a wall. As we got closer, I saw that it was made entirely out of concrete. The only exception was the large iron gates that stood directly in our path.

A sign hung above it; an old one that probably sat on the side of the road before the war. The old words had been scraped away, and it now read WELCOME TO TROTSVILLE in large letters. Below it, someone had painted subtext: BEST TRADING CENTER THIS SIDE OF BALTIMARE!

“This place is a trading center?”

Caliber waved his hoof. “Sort of. It started out as a trading post, but as more ponies started staying, it grew into a small town. But it’s main purpose is still trading.”

As we approached the gate, the ponies walking along the top turned towards us, guns ready at a seconds notice. Both were covered in so much armor it was hard to make out what they looked like exactly. But I could see through their helmets….and then didn’t exactly look friendly.

“Hold it right there,” one called, “who are you? We’re not expecting another caravan until two days from now.”

“We’re not caravan,” called Caliber. “I’m Caliber of The Defenders! I have a group of ponies with me that need a place to stay. It would be very helpful if we could enter this town please.”

The two guards looked at each other; talking things over. Eventually, one of them walked away from the railing. A few seconds later, the gates swung open, with the guards standing behind it.

“Welcome to Trotsville; don’t do anything suspicious!”

He stood aside, allowing us to pass through the gate.

“Wow”.

To say the town was busy would have been an understatement. It may have looked small from the outside, but the inside was anything but.

Old pre-war buildings lined the street; some still looking well while others looked like they were about to collapse. A few stands were erected on the sidewalk, and ponies filled up the space in the middle. Some carrying saddle-bags worth or items, while others seemed to just be browsing.

Caliber gave me a slight nudge, turning my attention back to him. “Well Garcon, I’m afraid this is where we depart.”

“What?” That didn’t make any sense; we’d only just arrived.

“Now that these ponies have arrived safely, it’s time I made my way back to Defenders HQ. We’re stretched thin at this point, so they’ll need all the help they can get.”

He walked forward and held out his hoof. “Thanks for all your help out there. We probably wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t come to our rescue.”

“It was nothing,” I replied. I took his hoof and gave it a good shake. “I was just doing what any good-natured pony would do”.

“True”. Caliber reached back into his saddle, before pulling out a small box. It looked like a walkie-talkie, but much more “real-life military”. “So that’s why I want you to have this. If you ever find yourself in need of help, give us a shout. The Defenders will be there at a minute’s notice”.

“Thank You,” I said as I took the radio and floated it into my saddle-bag. “So….will you tell anyone my secret?”

Caliber was silent for a moment….before looking back at me seriously. “No. I’ll leave that task up to you. Besides, I want to see what road you choose to walk.”

He gave me a final nodded, turned on his hooves, and walked back out into the wasteland. The group of ponies gave him pats and words of thanks as he passed by, which he gratefully returned.

I watched him walk until he turned left and disappeared behind the concrete wall. Once he did, the group of ponies quickly gathered up. Whispers were passed before Lotus turned her head towards me.

“Hey, Garcon. We’re gonna go find a place for us to stay in town; we need to start rebuilding somewhere.”

I gave a small smile; it seemed like everypony was leaving. My time with them had been short, but I was really starting to like them. Plus, I’d have thought they’d want to stick together since Caliber had left them.

But that would be selfish; they had needs that were more important than my own. What I wanted wasn’t important; what they did was. And, if I’m honest….they probably shouldn’t be around me anymore. Sooner or later they’d find out.

“If that’s what you wish….then I guess this is it.”

“Not really,” replied Duke. “If you want, you can stick with us. This place seems alright….and we wouldn’t mind if you stuck around.”

Wow….these ponies were great! I hadn’t even know them until yesterday, and they still wanted me to stay with them! Part of me was yelling SAY YES, THESE PONIES KNOW WHAT’S RIGHT. THEY’RE PRACTICALLY FAMILY!

….family….

That’s when I remembered; my promise, my family. The whole reason I came out here was to find them. I couldn’t stay with these ponies when I didn’t even know where they were! That would be cruel….and I’d break my promise.

“I’d love to,” I said, prompting some of the ponies to smile. “But...I can’t. I came here to find somepony, and I can’t stop now.”

A few ponies in the group frowned, but Lotus paused a moment before nodding.

“We understand. Just remember that we’ll always be here if you need us.”

“I will,” I replied.

With that, I turned on my hooves and made my way into the crowded town.

I ran into my first obstacle not long after I left the small group.

“Where exactly do I start?”

There were scores of ponies walking the streets, and even more occupying the shops and booths that ran along them. Any one of these ponies could have the information I was looking for; yet I had no clue who I should ask first.

Furthermore, I was without a proper way to show ponies exactly who I was looking for. I had a clear image of him in my processor, and it would have been easy to project a hologram of it. But doing that would almost certainly expose my true self to the ponies around me.

That really left me with only one option; photo.

Back before the bombs, my masters and I had gone to many places during vacations or weekends off from work. My advance hardware was able to hold every moment of it inside my hard drive. And, with a simple piece of parchment, I could show the memory to anyone with eyes.

So, all I needed was some parchment and I could show exactly who I was looking for.

I figured at least one shop would have some, and it didn’t really matter where I started for this. So I pushed through the crowds and walked towards a small building. It sat between two larger ones, but looked more intact than the others.

I walked onto the porch, where a few chairs sat; each with a pony occupying it. Two gave me a quick glance, then returned to eyeing the crowd.

I ignored them; I knew they weren’t the kind of ponies one should be interacting with. Instead I pushed open the door, which was followed by a dinging bell.

The inside of the shop wasn’t very big; it was about the size of my master’s living room. Shelves occupied every wall; excluding the one to my right. That was taken by the counter, which had glass displays showing different kinds of items.

Two ponies were perusing the shelves; looking at the items with confusion. I’d seen that face many times; whenever Mistress Daisy and I would go to the market.

“Hey buddy, either move in or move out. You’re blocking the door!”

I looked over at the counter, and found a pony looking at me with a look of annoyance. It was an earth pony mare with a brown pelt (partially covered by an apron) and purple mane. Her cutie mark was a shopping basket filled with items.

“Sorry,” I said before shutting the door.

The mare’s annoyed face disappeared, the muscles working into a small sneering smile.

“Welcome to Wholesale’s Allshop Shack; the best place in Trotsville for anything you could possibly want.” She leaned her head over the counter and closer to me. “So, what do you want?”

“I’m in need of some parchment,” I replied.

The mare ducked below the counter and began rummaging around. When she came back up, she had a roll of parchment clutched in her mouth. She placed it on the counter and held out a hoof.

“That’ll be ten caps”.

Ten! If a cap equaled to one bit, this was highway robbery! Before the bombs, ten bits could have gotten you twenty rolls of parchment! Were swindlers still around in a world like this….on second thought, that does sound about right.

“Why so expensive?”

The mare raised an eyebrow questionably. I had a feeling she didn’t expect for a pony to argue about the price.

“It isn’t easy to find usable parchment in this hell-hole,” she explained. “When something does come up, it’s rare. So yeah, it’s a little more expensive. You can either take it or leave it”.

“Fine,” I replied a few seconds later. Money was nothing compared to the value this paper would soon hold. Besides, I really didn’t need anything else at this point.

I levitated out the pouch of caps Caliber had given me the day before. Opening it, I pulled out ten caps and gave them to the mare. I then levitated the parchment off the counter and into my bags.

“A pleasure doing buisness with you”.

“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same,” I replied.

I turned on my hooves and made my way back outside. The ponies in the chairs gave me another look, but again I ignored them. Instead I walked off the porch and around to the side of the building.

A few crates were stacked along the walls, and scraps of old posters littered the ground. A few had the words Equestria First or PINKIE PIE IS WATCHING YOU, but the rest was gone; lost to the hands of time. Overall, the place was dingy, yet the perfect spot for me.

I levitated out the piece of parchment and….well….I swallowed it. I know that sounds strange, but that was how I was designed to work. Once I shoved the scroll in my mouth, it was taken to a small alcove in the middle of me. There, all I had to do was open the programing, select the memory, and it would be instantly etched onto the parchment.

And thankfully, the means of retrieving it were simple. It simply came back the way it came in. So yes, I in a sense ate a piece of parchment, then hurled it back up. Just be happy that it didn’t come out the other end.

When the scroll finally popped out of my mouth, I unrolled it to see the results. What I saw was the pony I was looking for; with the scar over his eye and firing pistol cutie-mark.

“Excellent; now I have a clear picture” I said, no pun intended. “Now, all I have to do is find a place to start”.

Talking about how my initial inquires went would have been a waste of time. So, the replies of the ponies I questioned are listed as follows:

“Nope, haven’t seen that pony”.

“I don’t associate with ponies like him”.

“I don’t keep tabs on the ponies that enter my story”.

“Why should I tell you if I did”?

“Get out of my store or I’ll knock your lights out”.

“Get out or I’ll throw you out”!

And the most popular one:

“Either you buy something or fuck of".

“Wait….please….I just….ACH”!

My pleases were ignored as the a large stallion encased me with his magic and tossed me outside. I landed on the sidewalk with a large thud, spraying clouds of dirt all around me. A few ponies gave me quick glances before returning to their walking.

“I told you, I don’t associate with ponies like that!” The stallion walked back into the shop. “And I don’t like ponies who aren’t here to buy something”! He slammed the door violently, causing layers of dirt and dust to fall from the sign above it.

“....what is wrong with these ponies”?

Every single shop owner had either been unable to help, or downright refused to. Even the few shoppers I’d asked just gave me a simple “no” or a strange look.

I was running low on options. Sooner or later, I’d have nopony in town left to question. And that would leave me at a dead end; no leads and nowhere to go for more.

That would also mean that the chances of me finding my family would be almost impossible.

I picked myself up from the sidewalk and dusted myself off.

“Okay….so I just have to keep searching. There has to be one pony in this town who could point me in the right direction”.

I slowly worked my way back into the river to shoppers and residents. My chances of finding a good lead relied on me finding a pony that at least looked willing to help. One that either had on a smile, or looked smart enough to remember seeing this stallion.

As it turns out, my answer was from somepony that didn’t fit any description.

“Hey, you there!”

The voice called out from my left, and sounded a little familiar. I turn my head to see the sight of the mare from earlier standing on the side of the street. She still wore her apron, but also had saddle-bags full of food seated on her rump.

“Over here,” she shouted, point at the spot in front of her.

A very demanding pony that one. Either she was telling me to deal with it, or to come to her. Maybe it just came from running a business. Master Smithson had always seemed a little more tempered after he’d been promoted to manager at his job.

“Well, let’s get this over with,” I thought.

I moved through the crowd of ponies until I reached the mare. She looked me over, with a suspicious look I’d seen Mistress Daisy give her foals a number of times.

“I heard from a customer that a pony like you was looking for somepony? That true?”

“Yes.”

The mare sniffed. “Why didn’t you ask me when you were in my shop? I might know who it is.”

I rolled my eyes as I thought back to our last encounter. “Because I was a little ticked at the steep price.”

“Oh get over it,” the mare said as she gave me a look of annoyance. “Business is Business; and ponies need to make a living”.

She waved a hoof at the countless shops and vendors piled along the street. “You know how hard it is to compete with so many shops doing the same thing as you?”

I frowned, “No”.

“Very,” she spat. “Now, who is this pony you’re looking for”?

I pulled out the scroll, unrolled it, and turned it towards the mare. Instantly her eyes widened, which I hoped meant she knew him. Instead, she started looking over the picture very closely. Her eyes swiveled in their sockets as they explored every inch of the image.

“....eh, I can’t recall seeing a stallion like that,” she said as she rose to look me in the eye. “And trust me, I’d remember”.

Well that was a waste; I was right back where I started.

“Okay then,” I said as I bagged the photo. “Then that means I’m still at square one”.

The mare smiled. “Not necessarily”.

“What do you mean”?

“What I mean is that I might not know who that stallion is, but I am familiar with his type. Scar, pistol cutie mark, and armor; all the signs of a hired gun”.

A Hired Gun! Who in Equestria would send a hired gun after my family? Hell, who would send a hired gun after a stable full of frozen ponies? It just didn’t make sense.

“Are you sure,” I asked.

“No doubt; every hired gun has his kind of look”. She smiled again. “And, that means he must have a taste for hard cider”.

And that’s when it hit me.

“Is there a bar in town”?

The mare chuckled, then pointed a hoof down the street. “Head down the street until you come to a T-intersection. Right in the center they’ll be a saloon looking building. Ask around there”.

This was just what I needed; a new place to start.

“Thank You”.

“Any time,” said the mare. She turned on her hooves and walked into the crowd, disappearing the the sea of baskets and carts.

I found the bar right where the mare had described.

A T-intersection split the roadway in two; each one leading to a bare wall. The buildings on these streets looked like houses; mainly because they didn’t have as many ponies around them, and there were no signs telling me their names.

The bar sat at the very edge of the T; squeezed in between two much larger buildings. It was two stories, though most of the upstairs windows were boarded up or broken. A large neon sign hung above the double-doors that read DEAD SHOT SALOON, and was accompanied by a neon shot glass being shattered by a bullet.

“Yep, this looks like the kind of place a hired gun would work,” I thought.

Two ponies, one earth one unicron, were idling by the door; each with a cigar protruding from their mouths. Both wore military grade armor, albeit with much more weathering. The earth pony had her eyes on their cigar….but the unicron was looking at me. He whispered something to the mare, who gave me a quick look before returning to her cigar.

My processors were already telling me this wasn’t right. The mare clearly didn’t care about me; but the stallion was either curious or had a devilish plan working in his brain.

I made sure that my two guns were within magic-pulling distance before approaching the doors. I kept my face neutral; the best thing to do when dealing with unknown ponies. At least, that’s what I’d been programed to believe.

The mare still had her eyes on her cigar….but the stallion was still looking at me. It was only when I was a few feet from the door that he stood and and blocked my path.

“....You lost little stallion?”

The grin he was giving me didn’t help to relieve my fears.

“No,” I replied, “just going in for a drink”.

“That so….then you wouldn’t mind showing us you’ve got the caps for it”.

I snorted. “Why would I have to show you anything”?

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, we’ve got ourselves a rebel,” the stallion said as he moved closer to me. “Never been one for them myself”.

The earth pony mare pulled out her cigar and looked over at the two of us. “Are we really going to do this Clank? We’ve already got enough caps; we don’t need any more”.

Her eyes looked me over carefully. “Especially not from a pony who looks as weak as the ones at Tenpony Tower”.

Ah, so that’s what this was: a scam. Show these ponies you have caps, and the you find yourself without them. Well, thankfully I’ve dealt with scammers before; even before the young masters were born.

“Oh, so that’s what’s going on,” I replied. “Well if that’s the case, I have something to say myself”.

I levitated out my magic-beam pistol, turned off the safety, and pointed it at the scammer. “Either you back off, or you’ll be a pile of ash on the ground”.

The stallion’s eyes widened at the sight of the pistol. He glanced quickly over at the mare, but she’d returned her attention to her cigar. With a sigh, he moved aside.

“Fine, just go”.

“Much obliged,” I said as I floated my pistol back into my bag.

After which, I passed the stallion and mare before making my way inside.

***

I’d been to a few bars; back before the war. But they always had a sense of class to them. That meant fancy glasses, bright lights, and clean….everything.

But this….this was nothing like that.

Old wooden tables were placed around the room; each with at least one-two ponies sitting at them. The walls, roof, and floor were all a dark grey color, with the occasional splatter of brown.

Old posters hung on the walls; though mostly ones that reminded you that Pinkie Pie is watching, or Fluttershy asking ponies to do better. One or two pictures hung from the wall too, thought it was hard to see what they were thanks to the dirt and grime. A nearby radio pumped out a tune of Dear Miss Derpy into the nearly noiseless room.

The lighting in the room was also very dim. Only five lights were hanging from the ceiling, and even then they looked close to dying. It didn’t help that the whole room was filled with the lingering smoke of cigars, which hung in the light beams like background radiation.

In the center of the room was a rectangle shaped counter, which was surrounded by a row of stools. In the middle was a large shelf, filled completely with alcoholic beverages.

A few ponies sat at the bar; each with a glazed look in their eye. One even had what looked like ten glasses piled around him. No doubt they were heavy drinkers….or ponies who couldn’t hold their alcohol.

I made my way to the bar and took a seat on one of the cushioned stools. A pony sitting two seats away from me gave me a glance before returning to his drink.

“Some things never change,” I said to myself.

“Such as”?

I looked to my right, and found a lavender unicorn mare with a ponytailed blond mane smiling smugly at me. She was using her magic to clean a glass, which she put in front of me when it was done.

“Uh….I’m not sure I follow,” I replied questionably.

The mare’s smile grew even bigger. “You said some things never change. So what are ‘some things’. Life, Love, Death….War?”

This mare was clearly a bartender; she was trying to get me talking. Because when ponies at a bar start talking, they usually order a drink to go along with it.

As a robot, I didn’t need any….but that wasn’t going to stop me from talking anyway.

“The sick miscalculation that a shot of alcohol or two will whisk all the troubles away”.

“And yet here you are, sitting at my bar,” the mare replied. “That must mean you’re here for a shot….or a glass”.

Now it was my turn to smile smugly.

“Not even close,” I replied as I levitated the scroll out of my bag. “I’d never set a hoof in this place if I wasn’t looking for somepony”.

My comments didn’t seem to phase the mare; it only seemed to make her more intrigued. She pulled a chair out from under the counter and took a seat across from me.

“Well, if we’re getting into that kind of talking, let’s get a little more acquainted. Name’s Fireball; bartender at this washout for the past seven years”.

I nodded. “Garcon...uh...butler for fifteen years”.

Fireball leaned in closer, making her grin look even bigger. “Butler….or slave?”

What? Did she say….slave!?

“No, just butler”.

She leaned back; moving her eyes to get a full glimpse of me.

“Interesting,” she replied. “So, who exactly are you looking for”?

I levitated the scroll onto the counter and unrolled it. “This stallion. From what I’ve been told, he looks like a Hired Gun. Some mare said his kind hang around here, so I’m hoping you’ve seen him”.

Fireball’s eyes scanned the paper; likely taking in every inch of this stallion. I just hoped she could actually remember if he’d been here. The other shopkeepers hadn’t really been helpful.

“Eh….sorry, I don’t recall seeing him”. She raised her head and looked at me. “At least, not recently”.

I sighed. “Great….back to square one….again!”

At this rate, I was never going to find this stallion. Nopony in this town had seen him; and I probably wasn’t going to change that anytime soon. Besides, what other options were there? Ask around every town in Equestria?

“Hm….maybe not”.

I looked over at Fireball with a look of confusion.

“What do you mean”?

“What I mean is that there may be somepony who can help you out”.

My eyes opened wide, and I pushed myself forward to get closer to the mare.

“Really, who”?

Fireball smiled smugly, before leaping out of her chair and moving to one of the shelves behind her. She encased a bottle near the support in her magic, before pulling it away.

What I saw behind it was something I knew very well.

“A lense”?

The lense of a video camera sat behind the bottle, but hidden inside the shelf support. It whirled; meaning it was probably adjusting.

“Yep,” replied Fireball. “A few years ago, this pony walked into town and offered the mayor a full monitoring system for the town. You know, make sure nopony is doing anything that was too illegal”.

She placed the bottle back and turned towards me.

“Anyway; the mayor agreed. In exchange, the pony asked for a place to stay, and weekly compensation for his services”.

She paused for a moment. “If there’s anypony who would know if this stallion came through here, it’s them”.

This was exactly what I needed; somepony who could actually check to see if this stallion had been here. I just had to go and see if they’ll help me out.

“So where can I find this pony”?

Fireball’s grin faded, and instead replaced by a face of uncertainty. “That’s the tricky part; this pony’s pretty protective of their privacy. He lives in some old building west of town, just down the road”.

“What kind of building”?

“Not sure,” replied Fireball. “Nopony’s ever tried to find him. But I’m guessing it’ll either look normal or very strange”.

That wasn’t exactly what I was hoping to hear. If this pony was hard to find, then it would take even more time to find my family. And I had already lost more time than I’d like.

But if this was my chance to find this stallion, I wasn’t going to pass it up.

I levitated the bag of caps from my saddle-bag and placed it on the counter.

“Thanks for the information”.

I hopped off the stool and made my way to the door.

A few minutes later, I was walking out the gates and heading west. A road that was blocked by the town’s wall headed in the right direction, and I decided to stick to that.

Fireball had said that I’d know the building when I came to it. I hoped then that the building had some kind of design or look to it that helped give it away.

The road I was on was completely barren; no carts or passenger carriages anywhere. Unlike the area around the road; which was littered with withered, grey trees and collapsed buildings.

It looked like this had (at one point) been part of what was now Trotsville. Maybe these were houses, or other businesses. I’d never come down this way before the war; we always went to other stores along Highway 89.

“Maybe I should have gone out of the house more often”.

Eventually, the buildings and withered trees were far behind. Instead, I found my way heading up another road that ran up a small hill. It was also here that I noticed that telephone poles were still standing along the sides of the road. They even still had wires running from them.

“Is there even anything going through them”?

I kept the thought to myself as I came closer to the top of the hill. The road began to level out, and a curve was soon visible ahead of me.

And that’s when I saw it.

At the top of the hill, right before the curve down, was a path. It ran up another section of the hill to a flat area. On top of it was a circular building, which was surrounded by metal fencing and barbed wire.

The building itself had a glass bottom, though most of the glass was gone and replaced by concrete slabs. The upper part was normal concrete, though covered in chips and scratches.

But what was most surprising was what was on top of it. A metal dome sat above the concrete level, and was separated into four sections. Each had a conductor on it, with wires connecting them. The one closest to the road had a wire running from it to the telephone poles along the side of the road. And finally, at the top of it, was a large radio antenna.

“Well….this definitely looks like the kind of building I’m looking for”, I said to myself. “I just hope this pony likes company”.

I moved off the road and began walking up the stairs towards the building. The path was made of rock, but it also had rotten-wooden railings on the side.

A sign was planted halfway up; the metal poles looking ready to collapse. The words were faded, but I was able to read what they said.

“Peaks Observatory”.

I could say one thing; this place no longer looked like an observatory. It looked more like a building that a supervillain in one of Master Ruger’s comics would hide in. I just hoped that nothing like that would happen in real life.

“Says the robot that battled undead ponies in a postapocalyptic wasteland”.

I threw that thought in my digital wastebasket as I finally reached the top of the stairs.

The first thing I noticed was that a gate had once been standing in front of the path. However, now they were wide open and loosely hanging from the hinges. In fact, it was almost a clear shot to the front door, which looked intact.

“This seems almost too easy”, I thought. “If this pony didn’t want ponies just walking in on him, you’d think he’d have some kind of defence”.

I walked through the gate headed towards the door. A few rotten carts sat along the walls, as well as a few piles of rusty metal and fallen light posts. Whether they came from the building or from a long-forgotten project was something I couldn’t tell.

“Really makes you think about how other ponies reacted on that day”.

When I finally reached the front door, I found something surprising waiting for me. The door looked to be made of solid metal, and had large metal handles attached to it. But just above the handles sat a large box. It had a keypad and a small screen on it, along with cable ports along the side.

“So, it’s password locked,” I used my magic to pull a cable from my back and plug it into the box. “This shouldn’t be too hard”.

But before I could start looking through the codes, I heard what sounded like a small explosion. Before I could look to see what it was, I felt something brush my leg, hit the door, and rickashay off it and into a nearby wagon.

“What the hay!?”

I turned around, pulled out my beam pistol, and looked for the one one who’d shot at me. But the only things I could see were old carts and piles of rusty metal.

Thinking they were hiding, I pulled up my E.F.S. and looked to see if there were any red dots. But from what I could see, there wasn’t any enemies nearby. I even went and looked near the carts and piles to see if anypony was there, yet I couldn’t find anypony.

With that, something in my hardrive told me to do something somewhat stupid.

“Whoever’s out there, show yourself!”

But what came next was almost unexpected.

“That I’m afraid will be a little difficult”.

I looked around, hoping to see who’d spoken to me. But once again, I found myself with nopony in sight.

“If you’re looking for me, you won’t find me out there”.

“Then where are you?” I moved back towards the door, ready to try the passcode again.

“I’m inside of course. Are ponies around here really that dense?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I replied. “I’m not from around here”.

“Clearly,” replied the voice. “Your mannerisms and appearance suggest a more….softer….environment compared to this one. It’s quite fascinating really”.

I rolled my eyes, before taking the cable and plugging it back into the box. “Give me a minute and you can obverse me more closely”.

But once again, I wasn’t able to check the codes before I heard another bang, and something once again flew past me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you”.

“Why?”

This pony clearly had a smartelec attitude to him, and it was starting to get on my nerves. I’ve dealt with this kind of ponies before; mainly when Mistress Daisy went through a slight rebellious stage. But this pony wasn’t a small filly; they were fully grown and probably had a reason for acting like this.

“Hm, you once again show just how idiotic you are. You can’t even tell that every time you plug into my lock, a hidden turret fires a bullet at you. Ones that get closer and closer to you the more you try.”

So that’s what was whizzing past me; bullets from a hidden turret.

“Look, if you think I’m here to hurt you I’m not. I’m just here because….”

“I KNOW WHY YOU’RE HERE!” the voice screamed. “I saw you talking to Fireball at the salon! You want to know if I can help you find a hired gun! Am I not correct?”

“....Yes, that’s correct.”

“But rack your feeble mind and tell me this; why should I help you. My only obligation is to report any criminal intent to Trotsville’s mayor. I don’t have to help you, nor do I have any inclination to do so”.

This pony wasn’t just difficult; they were a complete asshole. All I wanted was some information, and they were refusing to help. Not to mention they were shooting at me!

And that seemed to get my anger up….something I didn’t think I was programed to do.

“Look buddy, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. But I came a long way to get the information I need. And I’m not leaving until I’ve got it”.

There was a pause; which I hoped meant the pony was thinking things over. Eventually, they did come back online.

“....Celestia you’re an persistant pony. Alright, I’ll give you a chance. But you’ll have to work for your information; I won’t give it to you on a silver platter.”

“What does that entail?” I inquired.

If this pony wanted me to do something, so be it. I’d do anything to find out where that hired gun had run off to.

“I’ll give you three tasks to complete, which you must solve using your intellect. If you pass all of them, you’ll get the information you want. But if you fail, you’ll be leaving this building filled with bullet holes.”

Hm, joke was on him. As long as they didn’t hit my central processor or power core, I’d be fine.

“Alright then,” I replied. “I’ll take your challenge”.

I heard the pony give a quick laugh. It gave me the feeling that he expected me to fail.

“Then let us get started. Please approach the door.”

I nodded before turning around and walking to the door.

“Task #1: You need to figure out the passcode for the door”.

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” I said, ready to pull my cables out again.

“I had a feeling you’d say that, so here’s the ringer. You can’t hack into the program, or destroy the box. You need to think your way through this”.

Okay, this may be a little more difficult than I thought. My programing was able to break through almost any firewall. But if I couldn’t hack into the lock, I’d have to find another way to figure it out.

I racked my hard drive as I looked over the keypad. The numbers on it were all in good condition, except for a few. The numbers 9, 3, and 7 were all slightly faded.

“Hm, why would that be?”

But the answer came to me a second later. If these keys were faded compared to the others, it must mean they’re used more often. And that must mean they are the numbers needed for the code.

Unfortunately, I still didn’t know in which order they were in. With three numbers, that gave me nine different combinations to try. I just had to hope that the first combo was the right one.

I raised my hoof and typed in the first of the possible codes. “9….3….7”.

But when I typed in the last number, I hit the ENTER key. And when I did, I heard the box beep rapidly. That was followed by another blast and the feeling of a bullet whizzing past my flank.

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. You were so close too.”

I gritted my teeth in anger. “I don’t suppose you would mind giving me a hint”?

“Hm….I suppose I could. But this would be the only time I’ll do so.”

My processor was telling me I should think about my answer. But I didn’t have time to think; I had to get this done as soon as possible.

“Deal”.

“Very well then. You had it right when it came to the numbers in the code, and even the order to a degree. However, there aren’t three numbers; there are four. But if there are only three faded numbers, what does that mean?”

I groaned and smacked my forehead. “That one of the numbers repeats”.

“Hm, maybe you’re not as stupid as I thought you were”.

This pony was really lucky that they had the information I wanted, or I’d have something very harsh to say to them.

Right now though, I have to deal with the situation at hoof. I had the numbers right, but the pony said I had the order right to a degree. That could mean I’m just missing the repeated number, or that the number came before others in the sequence.

That was something I couldn’t calculate on my own.

….But, I did have the programing for it. Normally, it was used to calculate prices at stores, or for doing taxes. But now, It would be used to figure out this code.

I closed my eyes, and watched as the sequences and codes flew past my vision. Eventually, the numbers 9397 flashed across my vision. I opened my eyes and smiled.

“I hope this works”.

I typed 9397 into the keypad and hit enter. There was a clanking sound, and the doors swung open. Beyond them was nothing but darkness, but at least I was in.

“Well Done, you’ve completed the first challenge. Now, you must choose. You may leave if you wish, or you can proceed to the next challenge.”

There was no way I was turning back now. “I’m going in”.

I walked into the darkness, and a moment later the doors behind me slammed shut.

The sudden absence of light almost got to me.

For a second, I felt as if I was back in my master’s house. Lying on the ground, with no power or thought. Unable to move, unable to think.

But thankfully, I wasn’t in there for long before the lights came on. I held my hoof up to allow my cameras to adjust, then lowered it down and looked around.

It was a small room; about the size of the receptionist area in the ghoul building. Only this one didn’t have holes in the floor and the look of dread.

Instead, the walls were completely bare, with only a few areas containing water stains. The wall opposite me had three doors, and a large metal tube sat in the middle of the room.

“Welcome to your second challenge” said the pony. “Before you are three doors. However, only one of them leads to the final challenge. You have only one chance to pick the right one. If you choose the right one, you proceed to the next challenge”.

The voice paused, “But if you choose the wrong one, the turret in the middle of the room will turn you into swiss cheese.”

“Well that’s encouraging” I thought as I approached the three doors.

“And remember, you used your one hint. I’ll return once….or if….you make it through”.

That was encouraging. But still, I had to figure this out so I could finish this.

“Okay, three doors. One of them leads to the next challenge. The others turn me into swiss cheese”.

If this challenge was anything like the last one, there should be a clue to which door is the right choice. I looked over all of them carefully, seeing if there was anything that was different about one of them.

But I didn’t notice anything….until I looked at the floor.

The space in front of the far left and middle door were stained red, and had bloody hoofprints around the sides. However, the one on the far right was completely clean.

“The voice said the wrong door would result in the turret firing at me,” I thought. “So if other ponies made the wrong choice, there’d be blood on the ground. So, that means the far right door must be the one”.

I walked over to the right door, encased the knob with my magic, and pushed it open. At the same time, I closed my eyes and waited for the turret to fire.

But after a few seconds, I opened my eyes and looked back. The turret hadn’t moved its barrel, and there wasn’t any holes in me.

“Hm, very good. You seem to have chosen the right door.” The voice paused again. “I’ll assume you noticed the blood stains on the floor”.

I smiled smugly. “Yep”.

“Well, I’ll admit you are doing rather well. But be warned, nopony has ever passed the final test”.

If that pony thought that was going to care me, they had another thing coming. I wasn’t going to give up when I was only once challenge away from getting some answers.

I walked through the door and was once again surrounded by darkness. When the door behind me closed, the lights came on.

Now I was in a small hallway, which was relatively clean compared to the last room. At the end of the hallway stood another door, but that was it. I couldn’t see any turrets, keypads, or anything else.

“So, is my next challenge to walk down this hallway?”

The voice laughed. “If only it were that easy….though this final challenge may be for you”.

“Then what is it”?

“I will ask you three riddles, which you must answer to the best of your ability. Correctly answer two of them, and you may pass through the door to my domain”.

I really didn’t want to ask this, but my processor was pushing me to. “And what happens if I don’t?”

“Oh, that’s simple. Fail to answer two right, and the floor beneath you collapses. Though I won’t tell you what’s waiting at the bottom; less chance of ruining your decision making”.

If that was his goal, I would have just ignored my question. Now, I had to worry about that lay below my hooves!

“So let’s get this started. Riddle 1: I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everypony. What am I?”

Okay, that was a difficult one. But I had to think this through carefully. What was mined and encased in a wooden case? I knew that Equestria used to mine coal, amber, ore, lead….wait, lead! Lead was mined, and used in pencils! And pencils are made of wood, and used by almost everypony!

“Uh….the answer is….Pencil Lead”.

“....Hm, that’s correct. But that’s just the first riddle. Now, here’s Riddle 2: I move very slowly at an imperceptible rate, although I take my time, I am never late. I accompany life, and survive past demise, I am viewed with esteem in many mare's eyes. What am I?”

Oh, this one might be tougher. I may be a robot, but I have the characteristics of a stallion. Anything to do with mares would usually be handled by Mistress Daisy. So for now, I was in the dark….again.

I racked every bit of my programing, trying to figure this one out. But the more time I spent on it, the less closer I felt to the answer. And after five minutes of thinking, I still didn’t have an answer.

“Your time is up. Do you have an answer, or not?”

I sighed. “No, I don’t have an answer”.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate. The answer was a mare’s mane.”

Okay, that was something that hadn’t even crossed my hard drive. If the next question was even harder than this one, I might regret not turning back.

“You now have one right, and one wrong. That means you have to get this next one right to move to the next room”.

“....Alright, give it to me”.

“Very well, here’s the last riddle”.

The voice paused a moment before speaking. “What costs nothing, but is worth everything. Weighs nothing, but can last a lifetime. Something that one pony can’t own, but that two ponies can share”.

….Oh Sweet Celestia. What was that even supposed to mean? Something that weighs nothing, lasts a lifetime, and that only two ponies can share? Nothing in my data banks even had similar wording!

“I need to think this through. What’s something that ponies share, yet costs nothing. Donuts….no. Cake….No. It has to be something that lasts a lifetime”.

The voice chuckled. “You won’t figure this out. The answer is so ancient you’d have to be around before the great war to know it”.

What! Something that was before the great war!

“....I’ve Got It!”

“What! Impossible, nopony’s been able to figure this out. What’s the answer!?”

I smiled smugly. “The Answer is….Friendship!”

The voice didn’t respond….at least not instantly. I waited for almost five minutes before I got a reply.

“....Congratulations, you’ve passed all my tests”. I heard a click, and the door at the end of the hallway opened. “Walk through the door. I’ll be waiting on the other side”.

The voice cut out, leaving me alone in the hallway. But that didn’t matter; I had beaten all the challenges. Now, I could finally get the information I need.

“Here goes”. I walked down the hallway and through the door, into the room beyond.

“Wow”.

The room beyond the door was huge. It must have been in the center of the building, under the dome. I could see the raised roof above me, along with a mesh of wires that ran to different machines below.

I was standing at the top of a pit of seats; some of which were missing. The telescope, which normally sat on a large metal stand, was sitting atop a section of crushed chairs.

“Well, this place seems cheery,” I said as I walked towards the center of the room.

The stand where the telescope should have been was occupied by a small cooking station, and a large terminal setup. Nine screens, arranged in rows of three, sat atop a large control pad.

“Hm, this is some setup.” I walked up the stairs and onto the platform.

I looked over the screens, and saw many different areas of Trotsville. I saw shops, bedrooms, the bar, and many more. Every pony seemed not to notice the cameras watching over them.

“Marvelous, isn’t it?”

I quickly looked to my right, and just as quickly jumped back in shock.

A red unicorn stallion with a black mane was standing next to the screens. But that wasn’t what made me jump….it was his legs and eye!

His left side front leg and right side back leg weren’t organic! White bracing covered completely metal legs, which were attached to the stallion’s upper torso and flanks.

Then there was his eye! His right side one was fine, the the left side one was glowing! Not only that, but I saw the iris’ getting bigger and smaller very quickly, like a camera lense adjusting!

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Something wrong?”

What was I supposed to say at this point? That I found your metal legs and glowing eye somewhat disturbing? I may not be a real pony, but I do have real pony values.

I regained my composure after a deep breath. “No, nothing”.

The stallion frowned. “You find my legs and eye strange/disturbing, don’t you?”

I rubbed my leg uncomfortably. “Uh, maybe”.

The stallion snorted. “Everypony that sees me has the same reaction. Yet it still gets to me every time.”

Ouch, that must be tough for him. Having ponies get scared just by looking at him; it must be really difficult to meet ponies. And as somepony who’s been discriminated for being a robot, I understand how hard it can be.

“Well, you passed all my challenges. So, I’ll give you what you want”. He moved over to the control panel….before taking his metal leg and and attaching it to a port in the panel.

“What does the pony look like?”

I levitated the picture out of my saddlebag and in front of the stallion. He stared at it for a while, and I swear I heard that whirring sound again. After a while, he looked back at the screens, which I only now noticed were flashing different images.

Eventually, the screens all formed into one video, which looked like the inside of the Dead Shot Saloon.

The stallion took his leg out of the port and moved to the side.

“Okay, I found the stallion”.

I looked at the screen; watching the Saloon during what looked like a slow day. A few ponies sat at the tables, while Fireball could be seen cleaning glasses behind the counter.

But then, the front doors opened….and two ponies walked in. One was a earth pony mare with a yellow mane and black pelt. She wore what looked like old military armor, and had a shotgun strapped to her back.

And beside her, as clear as day, was the hired gun.

He didn’t look any different from the memory orb. He had the same grey pelt and chestnut mane….though it did look slightly faded. He wore the exact same leather jacket, and his firing pistol cutie mark still sat on his flank.

The two ponies walked up to the bar and sat on two stools away from the others. The hired gun banged a hoof on the counter, getting Fireball’s attention. She placed her clean glass on the counter and walked over to the two ponies.

“Welcome to the Dead Shot Saloon. What can I get ya?”

The mare turned her head to the side, which caused a cracking sound. “Two bottles of hard cider, and make it snappy”.

Fireball glared at the mare. “You might want to ask a little nicer if you want one without spit in it”.

The mare chuckled, before taking the shotgun off her back and pointing it at Fireball. “I don’t ask nicely bitch, I demand. And just so you know, the trigger on this thing is a little sensitive”.

Fireball eyed the gun, then encased two bottles of cider and moved them over to the two. “Caps now,” she said, holding out her hoof.

The hired gun pulled a bag of caps from his jacket and tossed them to Fireball, who soon after went back to cleaning glasses.

The mare took her bottle, popped the cap off, and began chugging it. She went through half the bottle in under ten seconds before taking a break.

“Oh….that hits the spot”.

The hired gun took a sip of his cider before turning to the mare. His face was formed into an annoyed frown.

“Don’t let the alcohol affect your performance Revolver. Nopony wants to hire a mare who can’t shoot a pony without almost passing out”.

Revolver rolled her eyes before chugging the rest of her cider. She then threw the bottle across the room, shattering it on the wall.

“I don’t give a shit Hatchet. Besides, it hadn’t affected me before. I took out that guard outside Stalliongrad last week with the worst hangover I’ve ever had!”

Hatchet snorted. “Lucky shots aren’t something to build your ego on. Especially when you’re on a high-risk job”.

“Speaking of which,” replied Revolver, “how was that last job you did?”

Hatchet sipped his cider before responding. “Typical. Another search and destroy order from the eggheads. The sad fucker didn’t even put up a good fight; had him covered in his own blood in under three minutes”.

“Wish I had jobs like that; high pay with little effort”.

Hatchet snorted. “Trust me, working for those freaks isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Only time it’s really worth it is when they give me a high stakes job….which they have”.

Revolver smiled smugly and leaned in closer to Hatchet. The stallion gave her a quick glance, but didn’t seem to mind the intrusion of personal space.

“Oh, do tell then”.

Hatchet chucked. “The eggheads want me to find a pony of theirs that’s gone missing. They’re giving me more info tomorrow; that should give me enough time to figure out a plan”.

“Oh,” said Revolver. “Are you gonna kill them, or capture them”?

“Not sure,” Hatchet replied. “I should find out soon enough”.

He downed his drink and threw it behind the counter. The bottle shattered on impact; giving him an angry stare from Fireball. But Hatchet didn’t seem to care.

“Anyway, let’s get things clear. I’m heading along the 34 towards Buck Crossing; that’s my rondevu point with the eggheads. Once you get your job done, meet me there. We’ll head out once we’ve taken care of everything”.

“I’m not sure how much time my job will take,” replied Revolver. “You could be waiting there for a while”.

“It doesn’t matter; my job requires time to plan. That should give you enough time to take your job and meet me later”.

“Good” said Revolver. Then she hopped off her stool and began walking towards the door. “Now come on, I need my daily fuck or I’ll start shooting ponies”.

A few ponies in the bar gave her a look; either ones of concern or of lust.

Hatchet chuckled. “Heh, guess I shouldn’t keep her waiting”.

He then hopped off his seat and followed Revolver out the door.

The screens went black for a moment before returning to the many images of Trotsville. The stallion beside me walked over, wearing a face on anger.

“There, I’ve shown you what you wanted. Now please get out of my home”.

I had no urge to argue. I now knew where I was heading next; Bucks Crossing along the 34. I’d gone down that highway before the war; nothing but countryside and occasional wagon stops. Hopefully that meant less chance of meeting something dangerous.

I turned of my hooves and began walking towards the stairs.

“Thank You for the information,” I said happily.

But then, just as I placed my hoof on the first step, I heard an alarm go off. A red light covered the entire room, and a voice soon come on over the speakers.

“Warning. Intrusion Incoming.”

“Oh no!”

I looked back at the stallion, and saw that he looked very worried. He ran to a nearby chest, opened it, and pulled out a rather large 10mm Pistol.

“If you have a gun, I’d get it ready. We’re in for a big fight”.

The stallion ran to the console and plugged his hoof back into it. Instantly images of codes and sequences flashed across the screen. Soon, I heard the sound of doors slamming shut and turrets springing into action.

“There; security's up and running,” said the stallion as he unplugged his leg and turned towards me.

“Listen, I know you might not like me. But if you want to keep on living, do exactly as I say. I’ve dealt with these things before, and I’ve learned a thing or two about how to take them out”.

Okay, this was just becoming insane! First the stallion was trying to kill me, then he wants me out of his home, and now he was ordering me about!

I shut my eyes tight in anger, but then opened them again. I looked directly at the stallion; trying to keep a serious face on.

“Two questions. One: What do I call you? And Second: What is coming after us?”

If I was going to be fighting with this pony, I needed to know his name. I couldn’t just call out ‘hey stallion’ during the fight; it was both idiotic and rude. Plus, knowing what kind of enemy you’re facing is a big part about defeating it.

The stallion just looked at me for a moment before sighing.

“My name isn’t important; you can just call me Cyborg”.

….I wanted to point out how perfectly that name fit him, but I thought it best not to.

“And as to what we are facing….well, have you ever heard of TSIM?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Ponies say they’re the boggystallion of Baltimare. They make those synth things….right?”

Cyborg nodded. “And that’s exactly what’s coming after us”.

Oh joy; the thing that everypony seemed to hate was coming after us. What was next, a Zebra attack?

“So,” asked Cyborg, “do you know how to fight?”

For a second, I thought back to those ghouls I’d fought when rescuing Caliber’s group. Those had been tough enough, and they were mostly rotten flesh. Not robots with exoskeletons and metal insides. Ones that would be a lot tougher to take down.

“Uh, yeah. I’ve fought before”.

“Hm, I just hope it’s enough,” said Cyborg.

At that moment, the terminals next to us began to ring again. “Teleportation Shield Bypassed!”

“Oh sweet Celestia!” screamed Cyborg. “Get ready, they’re coming!”

Not a moment later, I saw a flash of light at the top of the pit. When it disappeared, I saw what looked like….like….I almost couldn’t tell what it looked like.

A mash of tubes and machinery were enclosed in a metal skeleton, all in the shape of a pony. The head had a pair of yellow eyes that glowed in the semi-darkness, and what looked like exposed teeth in the “mouth” area. A few metal plates covered parts of the exoskeleton, leaving the rest exposed.

“Is that….”

Cyborg’s eyes narrowed. “A synth”.

The synth’s eyes glowed brighter, before it turned it’s head to look at us. And even though I was a robot too, this one was even more creepy than I’d thought.

“Target Aquired”. The synth’s voice sounded mechanical; nothing like my dialogue, which was made to replicate a real ponies’.

“Target: Cyborg. You will surrender now, or force will be used”.

Cyborg aimed his gun at the synth. “I’m not going with you; TSIM doesn't have control over me anymore!”

“Negative,” replied the synth. “TSIM retains command of all that retain their secrets. You are in possession of TSIM Technology, meaning you are still under the command of TSIM”.

I looked at Cyborg. “Did you steal something from them?”

“No!” he screamed. “And this isn’t the time to ask!”

“Enough Talk,” said the synth. “Surrender now, or face eradication!”

Cyborg didn’t reply verbally. Instead, he pointed his gun and the synth and fired. The bullet shot out of the barrel and flew past the synth’s plating, impaling one of its tubes. Black oil began to spill out, covering the floor in it.

Before the synth could react, Cyborg let out a barrage of shots. Each one hit the synth with amazing accuracy. One even managed to hit the synth’s head, causing a large spark to burst from it.

“ALERT, ALERT, REINFORCEMENTS Re….Re….Requ….R….!”

The synth wasn’t able to finish it’s sentence before one of the sparks hit the patch of oil. There was a blast and the synth went up in flames, before falling to the ground and not moving anymore.

“There,” said Cyborg. “One down….who knows how many to go”.

It was clear this pony really did know how to take these things down. In just two minutes, that synth was filled with bullet holes and burning on the ground.

“It’s best to hit them in the tubes first,” he said. “Without the right fluids, they only work at half-capacity”.

“Why not the head,” I asked. “That way, they don’t have eyes or a processor?”

Cyborg looked at me, his face forming into an annoyed frown. “Because it won’t take them out as fast as the tubes. They aren’t like ponies; where you can just shoot the head and they go down. They have multiple systems that help them survive longer than that”.

Well, that seemed like a fair assessment. Besides, I should have known that these things would be different than myself. I was from a pre-war company, not a post-war clan of scientists.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden flashes that appeared from around the room. I was blinded for a second, having to cover my eyes to avoid damaging them. When I finally did open my eyes, I found an unpleasant sight awaiting me.

All around the room, at the top and bottom of the pit, were synths. Each one looked like the one that was burning, but they seemed to be more angry than before. I did a quick scan, and counted fourteen at the top and ten at the bottom.

“Uh, it looks like we’re outmatched 24:2,” I said to Cyborg.

The mechanical stallion huffed. “We can take them, just find cover and fire like your life depends on it….which it does”.

The synths all made a whirring sound. Then, the insides of the synths moved, and what looked like laser pistols popped out of each one. They quickly took aim at us, ready to fire.

“When I say go,” said Cyborg, “run behind the terminals and start firing”.

I nodded in agreement, and held my beam pistol at the ready. For a tense few seconds, we all stood in silence. But soon, Cyborg broke that silence.

“GO!”

In a flash, I turned on my hooves and ducked behind the terminal screens. When I did, I heard the sound of Cyborg’s pistol firing off in quick succession. And as soon as I was behind the screens, I heard the sound of beam pistols firing behind me.

Not long after, Cyborg came around the side and took a position next to me. “Start firing!” he screamed as he looked around the corner and started firing his pistol.

Remembering my last combat experience, I activated S.A.T.S. and looked around the side of the terminals. A few synths were making their way down towards the platform, while others were keeping their positions.

I quickly picked out two targets and, ignoring Cyborg’s advice, aimed for their heads. Time slowed as I selected my targets and then let loose two shots of focused energy beams. The two shots easily punched through the heads, causing the synths to tumble over and fall down the stairs. One even hit two other synths, causing them all to fall the rest of the way before landing in a smoking pile at the bottom.

“Got them!” I screamed.

“Not bad,” called Cyborg as he blasted two more synths that were coming up the stairs. “Just don’t get cocky!”

I nodded before enter S.A.T.S. again and taking out two more synths near the top of the pit. But just as I was going to hit another one, something impacted my shoulder. Instantly, my right front leg stopped working and flopped to the ground.

“Ack, I’m hit!”

“How bad?” asked Cyborg.

I looked down at the area, and saw that a few wires were severed and other parts were smoking. “Uh, not too bad. I can fix it in a few seconds”. I pulled my saddle-bag off and began rummaging around the spare parts inside. “Just cover me”.

“On it,” said Cyborg, not even looking back to see what I was doing.

I pulled out a new set of wires, as well as some contact fluid; the best way to keep parts working for a short period of time. I’d make better repairs once we were out of this hell-hole.

Using my magic, I pulled the busted wires out and began to put in the new wires. While I did, I could hear more and more synths falling to the ground along with the shots from Cyborg’s pistol.

Eventually, the wires were all replaced. I tested the connection, and I was able to move it around again. The connection felt a little sticky, but it would do for now. I sewed the torn fabric (skin) back together before returning to the fight.

Now, I could see only five remaining synths. They were in the middle of the pit, hiding behind the collapsed telescope. One kept on firing, while the others took quick shots before diving for cover.

“Feeling better?” asked Cyborg.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Good, because if we want to finish these things, we need to get them away from the telescope”.

I looked over the area; hoping to find a way to do so. Destroyed synths filled the pit, yet there really wasn’t anything else to hide behind. Once me or Cyborg moved from behind the terminal, we’d be sitting ducks….unless….

“Can you do a teleportation spell?”

Cyborg looked at me with a face of uncertainty. “Are you thinking about teleporting behind them and taking them out?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve got an even crazier idea”.

It took me a moment to explain my plan. And when I was finished, Cyborg looked even more unsure than before.

“I have doubts that will work”.

“Got any better ideas,” I asked.

Cyborg looked at the telescope again, then back at me. With the sigh, he put his gun away. “If this doesn’t work, both you and me are screwed. You know that right?”

“I do,” I said with a frown. “But if it works, we’ll both walk out of here with our lives”.

Cyborg nodded. “Then let’s do it”.

He moved away from the terminal towards a small hatch behind it. He encased the handle with his magic and opened it, revealing a small hidden staircase below it. “Take this all the way down, you’ll reach a small tunnel. It’ll take you to the top of the pit. Just be ready when I give the signal”.

“I will,” I replied. I holstered my gun and quickly ran down the small stairway. Once Cyborg closed the hatch behind me, I was in almost complete darkness.

I activated my new light function before reaching the bottom of the stairs. A small hallway lead away from the stand, and there was nothing there to get in my way.

As I ran down the hallway, my advanced hearing picked up a few noises. They sounded like the teleportation sounds the synths had used; I just hoped I was wrong. If there were more synths now, this plan could more easily fail.

I made it to the end of the hallway and found another staircase rising towards the top of the pit. I ran as fast as I could until I reached the top. Another hatch covered the entrance, meaning nopony could see I was under here.

I grabbed the latch with my magic and pushed the hatch up slightly. When I had enough space to see, I peered out into the room once again.

It looked like I was back at the top of the pit. And when I looked around, I couldn’t see any synths nearby. I pushed the hatch completely open and crawled onto the floor.

I looked down at where the synths had been, and they were still there.

“Oh geez, there’s more”.

The sound I’d heard while in the hallway had been teleportation noises. While there had been only five synths before, now there were eight. The three new ones looked just as good as new, and so did their beam pistols.

However, they were all too busy watching the stand to notice me.

I looked down at the stand, and soon saw Cyborg looking around at me. We made eye contact, and I nodded. He did the same, then turned to the synths.

“OKAY,” he screamed, “I SURRENDER!”

The synths that were firing on the platform stopped, while the others turned their heads in confusion. They didn’t do anything for a second, but then one of the synths walked out from behind the telescope.

“Remove yourself from behind the terminal and give up your weapon!”

Cyborg walked out from behind the terminal with his gun floating beside him. The synths slowly moved from behind the telescope and made their way down to the platform.

Once they reached the platform, I slowly made my way down to the telescope. It was much larger than I originally thought, but it was still going to work with my plan.

“You will come will come with us to the extraction point. Any use of force will result in you being subdued”.

I took a quick look at what was happening on the platform. The synths had surrounded Cyborg; each having their beam pistols pointed right at him. Cyborg’s gun was lying on the ground in front of him, under one of the synth’s hoof.

“I have to work fast.”

Quickly, I took a position behind the telescope. Then, I closed my eyes and encased the object in my magic. Concentrating hard, I began to lift it off the crushed chairs. It creaked and cracked under strain, but still stayed together.

Soon, the entire telescope was raised to almost double my height. The synths on the platform had no idea what was behind them….but Cyborg did. I gave him a nod, and he quickly returned it.

Instantly, Cyborg ignited his horn before disappearing in a flash of light. Before the synths could even react to this, I used all my might to throw the telescope at the platform.

It smacked into the support struts, crushing them like wood. The whole thing began to collapse, along with the platform. The synths couldn’t even move before the platform dropped beneath them, causing them to fall into the collapsing structure.

As the dust settled, Cyborg appeared next to me in a flash of light. He breathed heavily, but overall looked alright.

“That….was….intense”, he said through ragged breaths.

I shrugged. “Hey, it worked didn’t it?”

Cyborg looked over the remains of the platform. Nothing was left except for broken support struts, crumpled metal, and the telescope. And since my E.F.S. didn’t detect any signs of enemies, it was clear that the synths had been taken out.

“Yeah,” he replied. “But my entire security system has been destroyed. I won’t be able to watch over Trotsville anymore”.

I rubbed my leg, “sorry about that”.

“It’s fine,” Cyborg said sadly. “I just hope the Mayor will be okay with no more surveillance”.

“Well, how often did you find something that could harm the town?”

Cyborg’s eyes half-closed and his frown deepened. “Barely, but it was a steady job. Now I’ll have to find something else that can make ends meet”.

I couldn’t really tell him what; my understanding of this new world was still a little off. But if ponies could still find jobs as bartenders and shop-keepers, then there was bound to be something out there for him.

“Why don’t you accompany me back to Trotsville,” I said with a smile. “It may not be where you want to stay, but it is a start”.

Cyborg turned to me, forming his face into a neutral expression. (Yet the glowing eye still creeped me out.)

“Hm, I guess I don’t have that many options. And I suppose it is better than staying here any longer”.

He turned away from me and started walking towards the door I’d come in. “Let me get some supplies I stashed away, then we can leave”.

I smiled a little before following him.

We may not have know each other very well, but I was happy to have somepony to walk back with.

LEVEL UP!

NEW PROGRAM ADDED!

Synthetic Nuisance: You now do 30% more damage to robots/synths.