Fallout Equestria: Do Robot Ponies Dream of Electronic Bunnies

by ScottWolf

Ch 02: The Great Outdoors

FoE: Do Robot Ponies Dream of Electronic Bunnies

Chapter II: The Great Outdoors
"It's a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to." – Lord of the Rings

System Report: 0000000002
Unit Status: Active
Location: Canterlot
(Exact Location Unknown: Satellite Signal Error, GPS Offline)
Begin data dump to external off-site memory back-up:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - Done.
Preparing visual report: Done.

Date: Unknown
Time: Unknown

Pink.

Everything in visual range was a misty pink. Like, cotton candy pink. Bubble gum pink. The other term for lightish-red. Pink up and down the street. And it was thick. I could barely see the buildings 25 meters away from me. My E.F.S. wasn't much help. All it did was point out hostile targets. Crap.

My quick reaction time was the only thing that saved me from a diving zombie pony. I rolled and came up with the zebra rifle ready, and put three rounds into the creature. Two rounds struck in its chest, lighting it ablaze, while the third passed straight through its left eye and out the back of its skull, painting the stairs we stood on a sick green color. I let out a breath (again with the breathing?) I didn't know I was holding and looked around.

The odds were not good.

A nanosecond of target acquisition told me there were too many to fight off, and the retreat option became available. I took it. I activated my wing pack and watched as a section of my back rose up, then extended a pair of wings. Both reached out ten feet from my body, were squared off at the end, but rounded along the front edge. The file told me something about aerodynamics and angle of attack, but all I really needed to know was I would be wicked fast with them.

A high pitched whine emanated from my hooves and I felt myself lift off the ground. A quick adjustment to their angle and lifting of my legs, I was soon soaring out over the crowd of zombies that had come to greet me. I looked back and smiled as they got further and further away. A small note on the subject of flying: always know what is in front of you. A proximity warning was all I got half a seconds before I plowed into an office building window. My body somersaulted but I landed upright somehow. I was fortunate to have crashed into a meeting room. Chuckling to myself, the lesson was learned and soon I was in the air again.

I flew over the city slowly, scanning below for signs of pony life. I could find nothing in my memory banks about the pink cloud that covered the city, but a glance at my map told me where I was at least. Canterlot. Well, that was something. I brought up a transparent map over my E.F.S. and tried to figure out what to do next.

Canterlot had no life in it, save for the zombies. I was half tempted to drop a few balefire eggs to solve the problem, but I decided against it. Better to save the ordinance for when I would really need it. Besides, the way the city was, I was likely to be the only pony ever coming back. Who in their right mind would want to come to a city overrun with zombies?

My eyes wandered over the map, coming to a rest on Fillydelphia. It was close, easily within my range, and the records showed another MoT R&D site there. They might have some info on why I was never activated. I activated a waypoint and adjusted course.

Well, I found Fillydelphia, all right. Rather, I found the crater where it once had been.
I was standing on the very edge of the giant hole in Equestria, and my radiation detector was clicking loudly. The readings showed +2rad/s. I knew I didn't need to worry about it, but I was glad I at least had a way to tell what I was getting.

There were a few toppled buildings around the rim, but my target had originally been located at the center of the city. I sighed and deleted the waypoint. No point in sticking around. Ears drooping, I turned to leave when the sound of gunfire played over the ruined landscape. A subroutine processed direction and decibel levels, then put a new waypoint on my E.F.S. compass. Curious, I followed.

The shots were coming from a half destroyed building, I found out. From the rate of fire, I guessed somepony else enjoyed the benefits of a chain gun. There was also the sound of an energy rifle firing off. Bright flashes and strobe light effects from inside confirmed my suspicions. In between shots, I could hear yelling. The combatants seemed to be taunting each other. My enhanced hearing picked up every word as I approached.

"That all ya got, steely filly?? I'm gonna shred ya'n take yer bloodied helmet fer a trophy!"

Ratatatatatat! Zap zap!

"Come and get it, Reaper pussy!"

Tink tink… BOOM! Somepony had tossed a grenade.

"You call that a throw?? My zombie grandma could throw better'n that!"

"Goddess, do you ever just shut up and die?"

Zap zap zap! Ratatat ratatatatat!

I peeked around the corner and saw two ponies shooting at each other. The chain gun-toting pony wore armor adorned with spikes everywhere. His mane and tail were cut real short, giving him the look of a zebra, minus the stripes. He had the chain gun propped up on a piece of fallen pillar and was firing across the building at another pony ducking behind another concrete chunk.

The second pony was wearing Steel Ranger armor. Attached to its saddle was a laser rifle (hah! I knew my guns) and was occasionally poking it around the corner of her cover and firing it blindly. The "reaper" had her pinned. She looked low on energy packs too, judging by the number of drained ones surrounding her. The reaper on the other hand seemed to have boxes of ammo.

I knew I needed to help, but help who? My first instinct was to help the Steel Ranger. Records showed they were loyal soldiers to Equestria, and were always to be trusted. The reaper, on the other hoof, looked crazed. The way he giggled and laughed as he pulled the trigger on his chain gun meant he clearly had something wrong with him.

My only dilemma was wondering if it was right to help the Steel Ranger. I had to know for certain. I stepped out into full view of both and announced myself.

"Pardon me," I said, and both heads quickly swiveled to look at me. "Which one of you is the good guy here?" The reaper laughed and pointed his chain gun at me. I dove back behind the wall as the burst passed through where I had been standing a nanosecond ago. That answers that, I thought dryly as I activated my combat shotgun.

"You idiot," the ranger shouted as she took the opportunity to fire some aimed shots. I heard the reaper yell in pain, then return fire at her. I stepped back out of cover and slipped into S.A.T.S. I targeted the hoof that held the chain gun steady first, then the ammo feeder to the backpack he carried. Making a quick check that I had solid slug rounds loaded, I released S.A.T.S. and let fly. He screamed again as the slug punched through his hoof. My next round smashed the feeder line for the ammo, spilling bullets on the ground. He cursed and dove behind cover again, dropping his chain gun as he fell. I advanced to closer cover myself, my eye on my E.F.S., as the Ranger leapt from her hiding spot and opened fire on the reaper.

"Shit," I heard him curse, then heard a clanking of a grenade hitting the far wall, followed by a massive explosion. Part of the wall fell away, and the reaper dove through the hole. The Steel Ranger made to follow him, but was blasted back by another explosion that had a sound like a circuit frying. The resulting blast sealed the exit. I searched for a way around the wall, but was discouraged by more rubble. I stowed my shotgun and returned to check on the Steel Ranger.

She was laying where the explosion had deposited her, her visor dark. I plugged into an access port on her flank, and did a quick diagnostic. She was alive inside, but her suit was without power. I reached over a hoof to her helmet and gently unsealed and removed it while my processor searched for the appropriate sequence to restart power armor.

As the helmet fell away, I was greeted by a blue coated mare. Her mane was candy apple red, and her eyes were vibrant purple. She let out an exasperated sigh as she looked up at me.

"So he got away, then?" I nodded. "Figures. Snake Skin is as slick as his namesake. Tenth time this week I've nearly had him."

"Why are you chasing him," I asked. "Big criminal? Did he help destroy Fillydelphia?"

"Wha- Help destroy-" the mare stammered at me, the look in her eyes suggesting she thought I was as crazy as that reaper. "Where have you been the past two hundred years?"

I dropped to my rump. Two hundred years? I'd been offline for two hundred and six years? While shocked at the revelation, new questions formed from my logic processor. Questions like, "why had I suddenly activated after two hundred years?" and so on. A hundred questions raced past my thought processor in the blink of an eye. The mare, unaware of what was happening inside me, continued.

"No, he's not a criminal. Well, no more than your average, insane reaper pony, but there aren't many of those out here."

I nodded dumbly. The sequence for her suits start-up flashed across my vision and I sent it to the proper place. It was going to be a slow process, so I asked her a few more questions. "If he's not a criminal, then what is he?"

She shrugged as much as she could. "Just another piece of wasteland trash, if you ask me. But definetely one that needs to be dealt with."

"And that's why they sent a Steel Ranger after him, I imagine."

"Former, actually," she replied. "I'm not with the 'illustrious order' anymore."

"I hear a story behind that," I said with a grin.

"Oh, it's not that exciting. A more exciting one would be yours, I think." She looked me over, noting the wire to her armor coming directly from my shoulder. The way my eyes shined golden reflected in her eyes, and I realized I didn't know what my face looked like, but apparently I had glowy eyes. "I'm gonna hazard a guess and say you're either partly or fully cyborg."

"What's a cyborg," I asked as I boosted power to her restart system. It was theoretically possible to increase the magical power going into a suit, thus reducing the start up duration, but the risk was an overcharge, which would result in a big pretty explosion with fireworks and lots of death for anyone nearby. I made sure I didn't get to that point.

"You know," she replied, eyeing me funny again. "A cyborg. Robot bits grafted onto living tissue?"

"New to me," I said. I was hesitant, for some reason. I wasn't totally sure she needed to hear the truth.

"Well you stash your shotty inside your ribcage, your eyes are brighter than my LED headlamp, and you have an interface for my armor coming right out of your shoulder. If that doesn't scream cyborg, then I've never been a Steel Ranger. So how about cluing me in?"

"I'm not sure I should," I told her honestly. "For one, I just met you-"

"And you're saving my life as we speak," she cut in. "That's pretty trusting for someone who won't tell me he's part robot."

"I see your point," I said with a sigh. I could at least give her the story so far, I guessed. So I did. I left out the grim details of my birthplace and all the technical stuff, and kept the story short and sweet. When I finished, she just stared at me. There seemed to be an almost hunger in her eyes.

"Boy," she said at last. "If the Elders of the brotherhood knew about you."

"From your tone, I take it that wouldn't be a good thing."

"For you," she replied with a chuckle. "For them it would be Winter Wrap-Up, the Summer Sun Celebration and the Lunar Equinox all rolled into one big 'happy birthday, Steel Rangers.'"

"Right, then I'd better keep my tail out of their hooves," I said, unplugging myself. I'd done what I could for her systems. "You should be able to at least get up and walk around now, but weapons are gonna take a little more time."

She stood and shook herself. "I'm amazed you got it started that quickly, but then I guess I shouldn't be, seeing as how you're a bot and all." She winced and looked over to me. "No offense."

"You didn't mean it in a derogatory way," I replied, waving it off with a hoof. "I'm fine."

"I'm Night Rose, by the way," she said, extending a hoof, which I shook. I hesitated mid shake when a realization hit me.

"I, uh… don't have a name," I stammered, embarrassed (this was truly a day for new sensations). "I only have a model number and such." I listed it off to her, and she gave a short laugh.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna remember even half of that. Need to find something else to call you." She picked up her helmet and attached it to a hook on her shoulder, just below her laser rifle. "While we think, lets head back to my hide away. It's getting dark, and dark plus Filly crater equals dangerous for any pony."

Night Rose led me a mile back from the crater rim to a collapsed sewer entrance. A quick series of taps on the metal door next to it and we were inside, plunged into darkness as the door closed behind us. My night vision kicked on automatically and I took in my surroundings. The room was spacious, with enough room to trot to the far end if you wanted.

"Old Ranger weapons stash house," she explained, turning on the lights and hanging her weapon on a rack just inside the doorway. "We'd cleaned it out last time we were hitting the Crater for old tech. That's how I knew it was here, and how to get in."

"Handy," I said. "I'd bet they have several of these around the wasteland."

"You'd win," Night Rose replied. "The Rangers know how to plan for worst-case scenario. They travel around a whole lot, looking for tech."

"Bet they help out the populace too, right?" I didn't get an answer, and when I looked over at her, I was greeted with a pained look. "They don't?"

"Look," she said as she slowly pulled herself out of her armor. "I don't know what records you've been going off of, but they're painfully out of date. Anything you think you know about the Rangers, I suggest you bin it. Toss it out, it doesn't apply anymore."

"Okay, but-"

"'But'nothing," she yelled, a fire in her eyes. She stared coldly at me, not breaking eye contact to make sure I got the message. "The Steel Rangers aren't in the business of protecting ponies anymore. Hell, they do the exact opposite if there's some tech involved. They'd obliterate a town for a spark battery and not even bat an eye about it. Write them off. They're not here to help any pony. Period."

I nodded, not knowing what to say. My voice analysis software detected some serious rage and pain as she spoke. This went deep for her. Real deep. "Why are you so angry at them?"

"No," she said, waving me off with a hoof. "I'm not going there tonight. Get me drunk sometime and I'll consider it. But for now, I'm going to bed." She turned and lay down on a mattress in the corner, facing the wall. "There's another bed down at the other end," she said with a toss of her head to indicate the direction. "Don't know if you need it or not, but you can use it. See you in the morning." And with that, our conversation was over.

I watched her for several minutes, pondering the info she'd given me. Taking a few cycles, I sped up my thought process. The world slowed around me as I began to analyze in my own way.

Ok, lets recap. The world's destroyed or at least seriously maimed. Canterlot, Fillydelphia, and every small town I've come across are vacant or dead. Equestria's heroes, the Steel Rangers, had turned into hoarding jerkbags, ponies fought each other, ponies are insane, and I somehow came online 200 years after it all went south with no clear purpose other than a will to help those who needed it. I'm nameless and friendless, but I'm armed to the teeth. Oh, and I seem to have some secret weapon in my chest. That about cover everything? Good. Now what?

My thought process ended there. I still had no clue as to what to do next. Clearly, that reaper pony guy was going to be a difficulty in the future. If he wasn't a threat to me, he would be to other ponies. Innocent ponies. If there were any out here, they needed protection from him. Looks like I found another temporary purpose.

While I technically didn't need to sleep, I figured it would be rude not to use the offered bed. Laying down on the stiff mattress, I took one last look at Night Rose. I noticed her cutie mark was a replica of her helmet. Did that mean she was good at being a Steel Ranger, or did it have a deeper meaning than that? Bah, too many questions. I gave her one last look-over, then laid my head on my forehooves. Making sure my radar was set to active, I shut down most of my functions, and for all intents and purposes, fell asleep.

oOoOoOo

I found myself in a familiar hallway. It looked exactly like the one outside the room I was born in. Seven other ponies in lab coats were looking up at me. Some had smiles on their faces. The one in the center, however, was looking at me with disdain. Her midnight blue coat seemed to shimmer in the artificial light, as did her silver hair. Her long horn suggested unicorn, but she also had wings that fluttered slightly as she examined me. Alicorn?

"I distinctly remember an order to shut down all robotics projects," the alicorn said. Her cobalt eyes bore into my own visual receptors. Yep, there was definitely disdain there.

"I know, Princess," one of the other ponies said. Her purple mane had a streak of pink going through it, matching the unicorn's indigo coat perfectly.

"Then why," the princess asked, pointing a hoof at me, "is this here?"

"Well, uhm," an orange mare said, seeming to stumble over her words. "Ya see… we were so close to finishin' him… so we figured… ya know… what's the harm?"

"Applejack," the alicorn said, turning back to the orange mare with blonde hair. Was she wearing a cowpony hat? "Please don't try to lie to me. Your element makes it painfully obvious." The pony looked sufficiently abashed. "Would someone else like to try with the truth please?"

"You see, dear- I mean, your highness…" This came from another unicorn, one pure white with purple hair. "We'd looked over all of the other models produced and we discovered exactly where we'd gone wrong. So we decided to try one more time."

"Against my express orders."

"Um… well, that is to say…"

"You went against me. If you six were any other ponies, you'd be up on treason charges."

All the other ponies cringed at the harsh words. The alicorn turned and faced them, her moon-shaped cutie mark coming into view. "What possible reason could you have for this?"

"We wanted to build a robot that could do more than just end the war," the rainbow maned Pegasus said, still looking ashamed, albeit less so than the other five. "We wanted a robot that would help ponies without being told to."

The alicorn looked around at all of them again. "And none of you thought I would be upset when you showed me this?"

"Well no," the pink one said happily. She practically bounced as she spoke. "We weren't going to show you like this anyway. We were going to hold a big 'Look At Our Bestest Best Ever Robot' Party! We wanted to show everypony that fighting wasn't the only way to solve things!" The last pony, a yellow Pegasus, could only nod in agreement. She looked far too scared to speak.

The princess turned and looked back at me, then sighed and looked back at the others again. "I know you ladies meant well," she said sadly, "but I'm afraid I must ask you to shut him down. Permanently. I gave that order for a reason, and you all know what it is. Now please. End it." She walked past the six ponies, sadness still on their faces. The one called Applejack sighed and, looking past me, nodded. I felt something plug into a port on my neck, and everything went dark. As I began to fade out, I heard the ladies one last time.

"Don't worry, girls. He won't be destroyed…"

oOoOoOo

My eyes lit the small area around my bed. I looked around, confused for a moment. Where was the hall? Where were the ponies? Why was it dark? The light fell on the form of a sleeping pony on the other side of the room. Slowly, I remembered where I was. As to why it was so dark, Night Rose must've turned the light off at some point. I could see her face now, scrunched up as the light hit her. I quickly shut off the lamps and activated night vision. Her face unscrunched and she mumbled something in her sleep. I breathed a sigh of relief.

What was that I'd just experienced? Not a dream. Robots didn't dream. Did they? Maybe a memory that somepony had thought they'd erased. Why it had resurfaced during my downtime, I had no idea. I lay my head back down, but left my vision on. I had yet more things to ponder.

Footnote: Level up!

New Perk: Action Pony – You slip in and out of S.A.T.S . like an old pro. You now gain back 25% of your energy on a critical hit to an enemy. Your energy is also increased 15%.

Comments

[Nyerguds]

Only on Chapter 2 so far, but this is looking amazing. I can't wait to see where this is going :)

[Blake Winter]

I really enjoy this.