Fallout Equestria: Do Robot Ponies Dream of Electronic Bunnies

by ScottWolf

Ch 06: To Soothe The Savage Beast

FoE: Do Robot Ponies Dream of Electronic Bunnies

Chapter VI: To Soothe The Savage Beast

"It's been a long time coming/But you got the message now/Cause I was never going/Yeah you're the one that's going down!" – Sick Puppies, You're Going Down

System Report: 0000000006
Unit Status: Active
Location: unknown road (approx. 98 mi. south-southeast of Fillydelphia)
(Satellite Signal Status: Relay contacted. Attempting handshake protocol. Please stand by…)
Begin data dump to external off-site memory back-up:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - Done.
Preparing visual report: Done.

Date: --/--/2212, 200PA (+9 days activation)
Time: 1007 Local

Scanning.

The files flew across my vision, faster than anypony could possibly read. I'm sure if anypony else even saw what I was looking at, they'd only see it as a big blur of text, with a word made out here and there. Maybe. But my mind had sped up its clockspeed, and I was reading everything at a lightning pace.

The terminal I'd found earlier had a great wealth of information, a lot of it post-bombing history. The MoM Media Relay hub we were currently spending the night in had remained active for years after Equestria went dark. Several staff members had brought their families here to hide when the bombs fell, quite a few from Fillydelphia. Unfortunately, they were still in range of the radiation and fallout from the detonation that had taken the city out. Sure they'd survived the blast, but had suffered radiation sickness for years afterward. Not the way I thought any creature should die. But throughout it all, they kept transmitting music and other media to radio stations they didn't know were shut down or destroyed. I had to admire their dedication.

The most interesting thing I'd found, though, was that I was right. That Octavia/Lyra song did in fact have a story behind it. There was a video clip meant to be played along with the audio. It was mainly still images, but when sync'd with the song, told the story of the Royal Pony Sister's Battle for the Sky. I memorized every picture (not that I had to) and began to form the story by combining images with historical documentation also found in the files. It might be a good tale to tell Tiller if I could find a moral he could understand.

The rest of the files were a mix of playlist instructions for various stations and reports back to Canterlot for this hub. These I trashed; they were useless now. Satisfied I'd absorbed what I could, I resumed normal clockspeed, and dropped back into a conversation between Night Rose and Tiller.

"And what do you want to do when you're older?"

"I want to be a brave protector of New Appleoosa!"

"I told him one sheriff story from years long past," Winter Frost said, "and suddenly he wants to be a cowpony."

"Well at least he doesn't want to run away and join a traveling circus."

"Those still exist," I asked.

"Hey," Night Rose exclaimed. "Guess who's back with us!"

"Sorry," I replied sheepishly. "I guess I zoned out, huh?"

"Kinda," Tiller said.

"But in response to your question," Winter said, turning to look at me, "yes, Circuses still exist. Although they're mostly made up of traders that have banded together around a few entertainers, so if you go to a show, you get hounded to buy something. Most of the stuff they hock isn't worth the bottle caps they want, and they really hate haggling."

Thus I learned that bottle caps were currency. Glad I discovered that before we hit a major city. "I see."

"Anyway," Night Rose said with a yawn, "I think it's time we went to bed."

"The doors are secure and the windows are sealed," Winter said, looking around. "We should be fine."

"I'm sacking out. G'nite everypony." With that Night Rose flopped her head down and passed out quickly. Tiller trotted over and curled up next to me and followed Night Rose's lead. I looked down at him and smiled. Damn, he was cute.

"He really likes you," Winter said.

"Yeah, I know," I replied.

Silence descended for a few minutes, then Winter spoke again.

"You're a robot, aren't you?"

I was stunned. Not surprised; she'd seen me pull weapons out of my body, and had to have noticed the glow my eyes gave off. Her bluntness startled me. I gulped but didn't look away.

"What makes you say that," I asked.

"I'm not a Stable pony," she said. "I've been around the Equestrian Wasteland for a while. Whoever built you did a real good job of making you as Pony-like as possible, but some things you can't hide. For example, your hooves." I looked at them, as she spoke. "They're hollow at the bottom. My guess, thrusters or some hover system. You haven't eaten anything this entire trip; I've been watching our supplies. And your mane and tail. Too shiny to be natural, as well as the strange color pattern. Connection wires?"

I nodded, too embarrassed to say anything else. She'd nailed every bit of me so far.

"Listen," she continued. "You saved my life. You saved my foal. You've protected us since day one. And as I said, Tiller likes you a lot. Does, Night Rose know?" I nodded again. "Good. Then only Tiller is in the dark. I'd like to keep it that way. He thinks you're just a cyborg pony. I'll continue to let him think so. But if you ever show a sign of going rogue, I will end you, no matter what you're made of." There was a certainty and a fire in her eyes. I had no choice but to take her seriously. She looked me over one last time, her dark purple eyes boring into my golden receptors, before laying her own head down and slipping into unconsciousness.

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I didn't have to tiptoe around her anymore. And even if Tiller did find out, he'd probably say that made me twenty percent cooler, or something. The kid seemed to know quite a few old time phrases. We'd talked about them after I'd returned from my search upstairs.

I sighed and lay my head down, curling my body around the colt, who nuzzled into me in his sleep. I smiled and closed my eyes, The building was secure, so I decided to try the whole "sleep" thing again. Non-essential functions shut down, and my clockspeed seemed to slow down, but picked right back up. I'd detected a howl in the night.

Instantly I was fully awake, my head coming up to look around. No pony else had heard it. Whatever it was had been on the very edge of my hearing range. Radar was clear, as was my E.F.S. I tracked the sound to be coming from the south somewhere, possibly close to our route. We'd have to be even more wary tomorrow. I laid my head back down around Tiller, but didn't try to sleep again. I'd made yet another discovery tonight.

Strange noises freaked me out.

Morning brought with it… well, nothing really except for ponies waking up. Breakfast was passed out, and I stepped outside to do a quick reconnoiter of the surrounding area. I hadn't detected anything coming to visit, but I'd been fooled before. I didn't want to take any chances. And I still needed to talk to Night Rose about that.

I found nothing in the immediate area, and a small colony of giant fire ants in the distance. Fortunately it wasn't in the direction we were heading, and they seemed content to leave us alone.

I was joined by Night Rose shortly after. Her mane was mussed and tangled. I don't think she ever brushed it, but I couldn't blame her. It wasn't like the wasteland gave her points for looking spiffy.

"I'm sorry," I said after a few minutes. "I didn't mean to get you mad yesterday."

"I know."

"You really want to die?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Nope."

I sighed and looked at her. "Are you ever gonna tell me?"

"Maybe."

"Are you gonna give me anything more than short answers this morning?"

"Nope." She turned and walked back into the building.

Yup. Still mad at me.

She re-emerged shortly after in full armor minus helmet. Winter and Tiller stepped out behind her. The colt immediately ran up to me and, in one unbelievable leap, was on my back. "Giddy-up," he yelled, kicking his hooves into my side. I laughed and took off down the road, making a good speed but not so fast that he was going to fall off. I turned my ears and heard the two mares break into a gallop to keep up.

We made good time until afternoon. I'd slowed a few hours earlier to a brisk canter, knowing the girls couldn't keep the pace I could. Now, though, we were nearing the area where I'd guessed the howl had come from. I slowed to a trot as we came to a dead forest, my ears constantly swiveling, eyes scanning every piece of brush and dead tree. The road didn't lead into it, but it came close enough for an ambush.

"What's up," Night Rose asked as she donned her helmet. Winter had also picked up my sudden mood swing, and had That Gun in her mouth, tongue on the trigger. She may not like guns, but she'd fight to the death for her foal. For my part, I brought out the Zebra rifle and held it at the ready.

"Nothing, for now," I replied as Night Rose brought her energy rifle to the ready position. I could feel Tiller shiver on my back. He knew we were on edge, and was nervous because of it. I didn't look back at him, but I could bet he was trying to be brave. "Tiller," I said as I gazed around. "If shooting starts, get underneath me, and make yourself as small as you can."

"Okay," he said. He was definitely trying to be brave, but his voice trembled.

"Seriously," Night Rose said. "What's going on?"

"I heard something last night that came from around here," I told her. "It didn't sound like it wanted to sit down to tea. I'm just being cautious."

"Good idea," Winter said around her pistol, somehow understandable despite the weapon in her mouth. "This is wolven territory. They'd been spared direct attacks in the war, but over the years they've migrated further and further into Equestria."

"And you were going to tell us when," Night Rose asked, looking at the other mare.

"Not the time," I said, cutting off any chance of argument. "Wait till we're clear, then get mad at her."

Night Rose just nodded and took point while Winter fell in behind me. I was carrying Tiller, thus making me middle. Precious cargo always went into the middle of a caravan. We proceeded at trot speed, eyes peeled for anything threatening.

It was several hours before the Wolven made themselves known. We were near the end of the forest when a sharp howl echoed from the grove. It was close. Real close. Tiller leapt to the ground and dove between my legs, just like I'd told him, and curled up there. The girls went for cover behind a crashed vehicle; it seemed to be a troop transport, meant to be puilled by a Pegasus. Tagged as a Sky Bandit, it seemed to be lightly armored. I hoped the wolven weren't heavily armed.

I reached down and nudged Tiller toward his mother, and he hopped up and rand to her side. I then turned my attention to the grove, stepping closer to it slowly.

"Vers," Night Rose called." What the hell are you doing?"

I didn't answer. If these things were going to attack us, I wanted them to hit me first so the girls had a better shot at them. I heard another howl and my body shuddered briefly. Weird noises. I shook off my nervousness and stepped forward again.

The ground in front of me erupted as a wolven burst from the dirt and landed on my back. Instinctively I bucked and leapt, trying to shake it off. To the side, others leapt from earthen hiding places and came at me, teeth gnashing. I spun and bucked them back, then cried out in pain as the one on my back bit into my neck. His teeth met my armored hide beneath the skin and chipped, but he held firm. Behind me, I could hear shots and zaps as Night Rose and Winter took shots at the pack.

I angled the zebra rifle backward and put a burst into the wolven's belly, lighting him on fire as the bullets struck. He yowled and leapt off of me, running wildly into the forest as the fire died on his fur. The rest of the pack, five strong, circled me warily. I glared back at them and fired off another burst. They leapt back but didn't leave. A red laser bean struck one on the flank and he yelped, but didn't run.

"Girls, stop shooting for a minute," I called.

"Are you crazy," Winter yelled back. "They have you surrounded!"

"Notice how they haven't come at me yet," I asked. "Just trust me!"

They looked at each other but stopped shooting. I looked at the biggest wolven. She growled at me with a deep menacing voice. Her fur was light brown, tan on her chest and underside, while her paws were pure white, dirty at the bottom where the fur met her foot pads. If the situation wasn't so dangerous, I'd remark how beautiful she looked. As it was, I could tell she was debating coming at me again.

"Easy, now," I said, putting my rifle away. "No need for a fight."

"What are you," the wolven said, her voice as deep as her growl. "You aren't made of flesh."

"No, I'm not. I'm made of metal beneath the fur."

She looked at me sideways, the one eye narrowing as if examining me for weakness. "Met-al," she repeated, pronouncing the word slowly. "We do not know this word. What means 'met-al?'"

"It's a material, like bone," I explained, trying to put it in a term she'd understand. "Only many times stronger. Not as breakable."

"Vers, what the hay is going on over there?"

"Not now, Night Rose," I shouted back. "Just stay cool."

I heard her grumble something to Winter, but I was too focused on the pack to hear her. The Alpha stepped cautiously closer, sniffing the air as she came. I really hoped neither of my friends would take a shot at this. It would turn real ugly.

She came within a yard of me, and I held out a hoof for her to smell. My memory bank had a file on wolves, and the proper way to greet them. I hope they were close enough for the wolven to recognize the gesture. The she-wolven cautiously extended her neck and sniffed my hoof, then stepped closer and sniffed it more thoroughly.

"Smells of burning," she said. I pulled my hoof back and fired a burst from the thruster embedded there. She jumped back with a yelp, but watched as I turned the flame off again.

"Nothing to worry about," I told her.

"You make fire from your foot?" Her face had a look of amazement and wariness. Apparently, wolven were a non-technological people. The file I was creating on them labeled them as tribal. I was about to answer, but saw her look past me and heard the two wolven behind me turn and growl. I also heard the hoof fall of two earth ponies approaching, one metallic.

"Girls," I said without looking away from the Alpha. "Now is not the time to be shooty."

"Just making sure you're alright," Night Rose replied.

"We need to protect each other," Winter said, speaking to the wolven as much as to me. "Just like the pack protects its own."

"Look," I said, returning my full attention to the Alpha. "I'm sorry I set your pack mate on fire. I hope he's alright."

The Alpha looked at me again. She was more relaxed now, but still on guard. Her eyes went to the ground for a minute. She seemed to be struggling with something internally. It was a hard struggle, as no one said anything for a few minutes.

"Vers," Night Rose said. "We're still cool, right?"

"We're still cool," I replied. The Alpha finally came to a decision, barking an order to her pack. Carefully, they fell into position around her. It seemed that they all were ashamed of themselves. She sat down and looked into my eyes.

"I am sorry," she said slowly. "We deplore having to attack ponies like we did, but we are starving. Our forest is barren except for ourselves. There is no game to hunt for miles, so I must take opportunities where they appear."

"I understand," I replied. "If we gave you some of our food, would you let us pass?"

"Hang on," Night Rose said. "We need that food too, you know."

"We packed for four ponies when we left," I replied. "They can have my entire share."

"And what if we need it later?"

"Night Rose, we'll make due," Winter said in reply. "Do you want to see these creatures starve?"

"Well, no, but…" She couldn't answer past that. I looked back and she was staring at the ground, one hoof scuffing the ground. I could tell she was desperately searching for a reason to keep the food. Seeing she didn't have one, I reached into my bag and pulled out several packets of rations, tossing them to the ground in front of the wolven Alpha. She looked at them puzzled, then looked back up at me.

"They're wrapped in plastic," I said. "It's not hard to get into, but I don't recommend eating it. You'll know the edible part when you get it opened." She yipped at one of the wolven at her side, and it reached out, almost crawling, to a package. Pulling it back with his teeth, he punctured the package and ripped off the edge. The pieces of jerky inside the bag fell to the ground before him. With a tentative sniff, he took one into his mouth and chewed. Instantly his eyes lit up and he took a few more, a happy yip coming through the chews. His pack mates all brightened at this and leapt on the pile of plastic-encased food. The Alpha alone held back. "You're not gonna eat?"

"A leader lets her followers eat first before taking her own share," She replied. "I thank you for this offering, met-al pony Vers."

I smiled, glad there wouldn't be another fight. "I wish I could help more."

"That you have given us your own share is helping enough. You are free to pass this way again, should you need to. Do you need shelter for the night? The clouds will grow dark soon."

I looked back at the girls. Winter didn't look like she wanted to stop, and I didn't think Night Rose did either. "I think we'll be continuing on," I said, turning to the Alpha. "Thank you for the offer, though."

The Alpha bowed before us, then barked at her pack. The rest of the food was gathered (I hoped there was enough for the one I set fire to, if he'd lived) and they ran back to the forest. Only the Alpha looked back before they disappeared into the wood.

"Vers, if you ever do something that insane again," Night Rose warned me.

"I suggest, we get back to moving," Winter said, cutting her off. "The wolven didn't mean sundown when she said it would get dark." I looked up and saw what she meant. A storm was brewing in the clouds above us. We trotted back to where Tiller was still hiding. He didn't say anything, but I could tell he had a new level of hero worship in him as he hopped back up on my back. I said nothing as we got back on the road.

It wasn't long before the clouds started to drip on us. Shelter came in the form of an open cargo container on the side of the road. As we did our best to dry ourselves, I used a pile of rags I found in the back to build a fire. I had to use some dead wood from outside as fuel, but once it was burning it stayed lit. Everypony ate dinner slowly, as if the rain took all the energy out of them. Tiller curled up next to the fire and dropped away from the waking world.

"So," Night Rose said as she put aside her garbage. "I can't help but notice you're more into avoiding a fight. What's the deal?"

"I dunno," I replied. I just don't want to hurt anypony."

"Even when they're ripping you a new one?"

"Look. It's just like how I feel pain or can laugh or get angry. I can't explain my own programming."

"It does seem odd," Winter said, tapping a hoof to her chin. "Most robots you run across in the wasteland is either a homicidal killing machine or a repurposed guard bot. You are the only one I've ever come across that genuinely wants to help ponies, or creatures of any kind."

"Yeah, I don't get it either," Night Rose said. "I've never even seen a bot with your abilities. Pretty much all the rest are limited. You're fast, smart, and don't seem to have a predisposed objective except for getting us all to New App. Are you sure you don't know why you were made?"

"I might have an idea," I said, and proceeded to tell them about the memories I'd uncovered. They both listened patiently, neither interrupting. When I came to the end of the second memory, and the feelings that had surfaced, they both blinked in surprise.

"That sounds like love to me," Winter said. "They programmed you to love?"

"Why not," Night Rose shrugged. "They seem to have put every other emotion into his skull. What's one more?"

"You said they wanted you to help ponies end the war. While I can understand the motivation, there is no more war. The zebras blasted us, and we probably blasted them too. Why would you suddenly come online so long after war's end?"

"You're asking questions I'd like the answer to myself," I said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, it seems all six ministry mares had a hoof in your programming. That explains why you don't want anyone to get hurt. That was a Fluttershy trait. It also could explain how you were able to deal with the wolven so easily. You had the protocol in your head already." Winter was looking at me very intently now.

"What're you thinking, Winter," I asked.

"I'd like to try something," she replied. She stood and walked over to her saddle bag, and pulled out an object I'd never seen but instantly knew about. A Pipbuck, model 2500. She set it down in front of me so she could speak. "I found this in that house back when you faced those raiders two days ago. I also found a Pipbuck repair toolkit along with it. The former resident must've been a technician or something. Regardless, I'd like to put this on and examine your files, if that's alright with you."

I didn't see a problem with it. Anything she accidentally nudged wrong in my system could right itself. I knew I had redundant backups that saved themselves by the hour. Night Rose, however, looked apprehensive as we fitted Winter with the Pipbuck.

"Lemme get this straight," she said as I worked the Pipbuck tools to snug down the device on Winter's left foreleg. "You're gonna plug that into him and root around his processor, looking for… well, for what, exactly?"

"Something, anything, having to do with the timing of his activation," Winter replied. She winced as the Pipbuck made contact with her nervous system, a pinprick giving the machine a complete analysis of her body. The screen soon had a small outline of her body, but the face was still the default Pipbuck cartoon colt, smiling knowingly out of the machine. I almost commented on that when it flickered, and showed the face of the filly version. My mouth slammed shut. Technology. Am I right?

Taking a few leads from my mane, she plugged into my system. I had to grant her access to a few areas of my programming, but during the course of the process, we discovered that there were many areas that were, for lack of a better term, garbled. Others were locked off, and still others looked to be corrupted. I frowned at that. Didn't I have some sort of defrag process?

"This may help with that," Winter said, pushing a button with her hoof. Instantly, I felt something go to work in my processor, and several of the corrupted segments cleared, falling in line with others and recreating the files they once were.

Night Rose sat on the other side of the fire next to the sleeping Tiller. I could see she was bored, but really there wasn't anything she could help with. She wasn't a tech like Winter seemed to be, so all she could do was watch.

After another hour, Winter unplugged the Pipbuck and sat down, exhausted mentally. "Well," she said with a long sigh, "that's all we can do for now. Whatever it is we were looking for is either buried under a lock or corrupted still. That antivirus program should keep running for quite a while. It won't fix everything, but it'll make a lot of things clear for you. I hope."

I nodded at her, my focus on the upper left corner of my vision. Displayed there was a running commentary of the files the antivirus fixed, purged or ignored. As big as my hard drives were, this was going to take a long time. I set a protocol to notify me of anything pertaining to activation, start-up, or similar terms.

"For what it's worth, thanks Winter."

"It's no big deal."

"You seem to know what you were doing," Night Rose said, sitting down next to her. Their coats contrasted magnificently, Night Rose's blue seeming to blend into Winter's ice blue. Their manes, however, clashed as loudly as a tank battle. Inside I cringed, and didn't know why, as Night Rose continued. "Where'd you learn all that stuff?"

"My husband is a tech-head," she replied. "He taught me everything he could find about robotics and technology. He even taught me to shoot, mainly because of what I said earlier about robots."

"Is he waiting in New Appleoosa for you," I asked, almost dreading the answer. I hoped he wasn't dead.

"I think he is," she replied, her own hope bleeding into her voice. "The last message I got from him said he was going in that direction. He said he'd found something, and he wanted to share it with me and Tiller. That was almost a month ago, though. I hope he waited there for us."

"You told him you were coming right?"

"He asked us to come," she said. "Said he'd wait, but he's not the most patient pony."

"He probably waited," Night Rose said, putting a leg around Winter. "If he cares at all about you, he's sitting there on whatever he found, tail wagging in anticipation of your arrival."

"He's a very loving stallion, even though he's away so much. He might not get everything right, and he makes mistakes, but he still tries hard."

"As he should. He's lucky to have a mare like you."

Winter smiled, then looked over at Tiller. "He's a wonderful father as well. He made so many toys for Tiller. It almost seemed like he enjoyed playing with them more than Tiller did."

"Sounds like quite a colt," Night Rose said. She raised a hoof to cover a yawn, and stretched out a bit. "I think I'm gonna hit it, guys. Long day and all." Nice way to avoid telling us about her. I rolled my eyes and walked away.

"Good night, Night Rose," I said, stationing myself at the door.

"Are you gonna sit there all night," she asked as Winter went to lay with her foal.

"Probably," I replied. "I'm not gonna shut down tonight."

"Well, at least sit closer, will ya? You seem like some kind of gargoyle sitting there by yourself."

I looked back at her, and was met with one of the strangest looks she's ever given me. It was somewhere between pleading and ordering. With a shrug, I sat down next to her, still facing the door.

"That's better," she said, shuffling her body closer to me.

"This isn't like you," I said with a chuckle as she slowly nodded off. "When did you get so clingy?"

"You don't know… nothing… bout me…" She fell asleep like that, her back pressed against my flank. I sighed, and laid down next to her. Something that had happened today had changed her way of thinking about me, but I wasn't sure what. It was so strange. This morning she was practically bucking me away, now here she was curled up against me.

As I pondered her newfound affection for me, which I wasn't really going to complain about, I looked over what the antivirus had uncovered. Most of the cleaned files were about specs and stats pertaining to a few basic subsystems, like how my legs could individually exert 1900 PSI of pressure unassisted. HOW I was able to do that linked to a locked file. Classified. Even to myself. That wasn't a good feeling.

Returning the file scan to the back of my mind, I regarded my companions. One a warrior, one a technician and mother, one a colt. Well, we weren't the most unlikely group, but we must have been close.

A sound outside drew my attention. I gave a quick scan but didn't find anything threatening. There was, however a green dot hovering to the side of the container. I carefully rose to my hooves, not wanting to disturb Night Rose, and walked outside.

"Who's out there," I asked. The only sound I heard now was the falling rain as it bounced off my body and everything around me. "I know you're there. Come out."

Quietly, a hovering bot came around from the back of the container and floated right up to me. It was round, and seemed to be held aloft by four rapidly flapping wings. It's front plate had a large speaker attached at the bottom, and what seemed to be a pair of camera lenses midway up. In retrospect, it was the goofiest smiley face I'd ever seen.

"Hello, Versatile," it said, its voice metallic in nature, but somehow I recognized something behind it. "I'm Watcher, and I'm glad to finally have the chance to talk to you. I need to bring you up to speed."

Footnote: Level up!

New Perk: Animal Friend – Be it your intimidating looks, your smooth tongue, or the size of the gun you're carrying, wild animals don't want to mess with you. This does not apply to large mutated creatures such as Fire Ants or Giant Mantis'.

Quest Perk: Tech-Savy: Be it a terminal or a robot, if it's got a program, you can rewrite it. Your Science skill gains +20%.

Comments

Everything is underlined in chapter 7...might want to edit that.