//------------------------------//
// Plutonium 
// Story: Periodic Ponies 
// by Indigo Steel 
//------------------------------//

Being one of the few that were left, the Raider tried to run, but Littlepip had become a good shot a long time ago. As was typical in the Wasteland, what had begun as a simple salvage attempt became a major shootout.

After a long fight, only Littlepip and the two ponies she travelled with remained. One such pony, Calamity, landed near where Littlepip stood, the guns on his battle saddle still smoking. “Whoo-whee! They were harder to get out than Tack Ticks!” He commented, favoring his right foreleg with a grunt as he landed.

“You're telling me!” Littlepip replied, lowering Little Macintosh.

Velvet Remedy, the third member of their party, quickly checked both ponies for injuries. Both had mostly minor wounds except for a bad graze wound on Calamity’s foreleg, which she diligently patched up with her first aid kit. “You realize WE could have just as easily retreated to look for a new place to scavenge, right?” She said.

“They would have just pressed the issue and come after us, you know that.” Littlepip answered.

The three of them looked around at the wrecked storefronts around them; like so many others to be found in ruined towns such as the one they were in.

“So what’s so great about this place that made ‘em wanna defend it so bad?” Calamity asked.

“One way to find out.” Littlepip said, trotting towards the area where the Raiders were holed up, “We’ve come this far, right?”

Upon entering the ruined storefront, all three ponies were utterly shocked to find that the Raiders were protecting nothing less than a fully functional Balefire Bomb, which had apparently landed...but not detonated.

“Oh, my…” Velvet managed to squeak out.

“Well, now…” Calamity said, likewise nervous, “That explains it.”

Littlepip took a deep breath to steady herself, before saying, “Help me get it open.” At the surprised looks of her friends, she said, “You know we can't just let this sit here.”

Calamity and Velvet looked at each other momentarily before trotting over to assist Littlepip. After a half-hour or so of careful work, Littlepip finally levitated a small cylinder out of the bomb with her magic, letting out a breath she'd been holding without realizing it. She studied it momentarily to inspect it for any damage. The isotope within the shielded cylinder was the key to a Balefire bomb’s deadly power...

Plutonium. Frighteningly radioactive, it was as deadly outside the bomb as it was inside.

“Okay, let’s get…” Littlepip began, before hearing more hoofsteps run towards them. Rushing to the window, she saw three times the amount of Raiders that they initially fought off approaching the building the three were in. “Luna’s full moon! Is there a convention or something!?”

“Makes sense...” Calamity commented, “A buncha Raider clans wantin’ their own Balefire bomb gettin’ together so they can actually hold onto it.”

“Could we consider retreat THIS time?” Velvet asked.

Littlepip looked to the bomb, then the Raiders outside, and smiled.

Some time later, after their ultimatums for surrender went unanswered, a large mass of Raiders ran inside, only to find nothing...nothing, that is, except what was left of their nuclear prize, counting down to zero.

In the distance, a large explosion of red fire went off as the trio of ponies kept running or flying away, having escaped out an unguarded back entrance. The removal of the plutonium alone was enough to render the Balefire bomb non-radioactive, but it was still a bomb, the base magic matrix being that of an explosive Inferno megaspell. Using their combined ballistic and technical knowledge, Littlepip and Calamity rigged the bomb to blow, but at a greatly reduced level of destructive power.

Once they were far enough away, the three slowed to a walk. “So what do we do with the plutonium?” Calamity asked.

“I’ll think of something.” Littlepip said confidently.

"Preferably before you start glowing in the dark." Velvet added.

(Fallout: Equestria is copyright Kkat)