Chapter 1: Megaspells

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Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

"Don't you know Magical Fallout is bad for your Battery?"

….Systems Active….

Date: 10th Year of Luna’s Reign

Objective: Serve Masters Without Question

….Loading Operating System….

***

It began as any normal day.

My inner alarm rang at the scheduled time; 6 PM.

As per my normal operating procedures; the dual head cams turned on, giving me a clear view of the large room around me. But that wasn’t important right now; what was important was getting everything ready.

….Unlock Recharge Cords….

The two large cords that were plugged into my back unhooked and shot back into their holsters. The orange light on the wall next to me turned green; giving me the all clear.

….Open Recharge Bay Door….

The large piece of glass that made up the door of my bay swung forward, giving off a faint hiss of steam. When it has swung to full length, I slowly stepped out of the bay and into the room.

It was fairly large; around the size of a small courtyard. A wide variety of furniture was plastered around it; all colored dark red with wooden finishings. A small carpet separated them from the wooden floor, which had the slightest hint of fresh dust on it.

Through the window, I could see the faint glow of the morning sun approaching from over the horizon. Houses ran along the main road of the complex, each painted in bright colors that matched their owners personalities.

I smiled; thinking about all the other ponies that must still be asleep at this point. The only things that got up this early were work junkies, and of course the ever faithful robots like me.

….Robot….

Whenever that word pops into my head, I always give myself a good look over. I see my green pelt and black mane. I see the image of tea being poured into a cup that was my “cutie mark”. I saw the nice white shirt and black vest that I wore every day. And when I raised my hoof, I felt the spike in my forehead that was my “horn”.

I don’t look like a robot….not even in the slightest. If somepony were to look at me right now, they’d think I was a normal unicorn stallion.

But I am….and I have to keep remembering that. Not for the sake of being happy or sad; I was happy either way.

The problem lied in the fact that….If I get too comfortable in my life….I might go against my programing.

But talking about myself wasn’t going to make it any better.

I deleted the thought from my processor and turned towards the kitchen. The time was now 6:15, so I had to hurry if I was to have everything prepared on time.

I quickly walked into the kitchen, which was filled with the most up-to-date appliances anypony could buy. Stainless Steel fridge with a matching stove and dishwasher. The countertop had the same grey coloring to it, and the wooden supports matched it well.

As normal, I used my “magic” to open the cabinets and pull out the ingredients for breakfast. Since it was the third saturday of the month, that meant pancakes with a side of eggs and toast. It was a special treat that my masters had insisted on having at this time every month.

Once I’d gotten the ingredients I’d need, I set the stove to the right temperature for baking. As the flames slowly began to heat up, I took a bowl from the counter and began to pour in flour, eggs, and a few specks of cinnamon. The whisk made quick work of turning the ingredients into a runny glop, just waiting to be made into pancakes.

When the stove was fully heated, I got out two pans and placed them over the flames. I added the mixture to the pan, before cracking two eggs over the other one. Soon, the kitchen was filled with the sound and smells of cooking food.

I made sure the eggs came up sunny side up for Master Smithson and Mistress Daisy. After which, I set to work on scrambling the rest for Master Ruger and Mistress Acorn.

The pancakes came along perfectly; crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I placed them in large stacks on four large plates; one for each of my Masters. Once the eggs were fully cooked, I placed them on the plates as well.

Next, I went over to the small coffee maker sitting next to the fridge. While cooking, I’d added more coffee beans to the machine and started it up. Now, fresh hot coffee sat in the clear pot.

I levitated it up and over to a small cup I’d taken from the cabinet. I slowly poured the liquid into the cup before placing the pot back into the machine. As I did, my internal clock informed me that it was now 7:00.

“Right on time,” I said to myself. And not a second later, I heard the sound of hooves coming down the stairs. I turned my attention to the kitchen door as a unicorn stallion walked through. He had a purple mane with a ruffled orange pelt. His cutie mark consisted of a large shotgun.

“Ah, good morning Master Smithson,” I said as I approached the stallion with the coffee floating next to me. His eyes were bloodshot and barely open, and his face was formed in a frown. “Your coffee and breakfast are ready for your consumption.”

Smithson yawned before taking the cup in his magic. “Thanks Garcon.” He took a seat at the island and slowly sipped the dark brew.

“Of course sir,” I replied before heading back to the stove. “The paper should arrive in 30 minutes, at which time I shall deliver it onto you.”

Smithson, now having had a few sips of coffee, let a small smile escape his lips. “It’s alright Garcon; I can get it myself. If you do everything for me, I’ll get lazy and gain some weight.”

I levitated a plate of pancakes and eggs over to him. “Don’t be silly sir; It’s in my programing to do the simple tasks for my Masters so that they may spend more time relaxing.”

Smithson munched on his breakfast, letting out a small hum of enjoyment. “I guess I can’t deny that; after all, that’s why we bought you.”

I smiled as I turned back to the stove and began to clean the remnants of baking. The pans floated from the stove to the sink, which was promptly filled with soap and water. I left them to soak as I enveloped the three remaining plates with magic; helping them to keep the heat in.

Master Smithson finished his breakfast and coffee; now looking fully awake and happy. “Once you’ve cleaned the kitchen Garcon, come to my study. There are some things that need to be discussed.”

“Of course sir,” I replied as I took the empty plate and put it in the sink.

Master Smithson walked out of the kitchen, but he’d hadn’t gone far before a voice spoke out.

“Morning dear,” said a bright pink pegasus mare as she floated down next to Master Smithson. Her blond mane was in tangles, and bags of sleep hung under her eyes.

“Morning Daisy,” said Master Smithson before giving the mare a kiss on the check. The mare giggled before returning the gesture.

If there were ever two ponies who truly loved each other, it was these two. Master Smithson and Mistress Daisy had always gotten along, and the few times they did fight had soon disappeared when I was purchased. After me, they had more time to spend together; which only strengthened their relationship.

“BREAKFAST!”

And from that relationship came more than just love between them.

“PANCAKE DAY!”

I levitated two of the plates onto the counter. Not a second later, two small foals rushed into the kitchen. A red unicorn mare with a yellow mane jumped onto the stool and took the utensil with her magic.

A blue pegasus colt with a white mane floated onto the stool, not even bothering with utensils as he dug into his plate. I smiled as the two chomped away at their through their food.

“Good morning Master Ruger, and the same to you Mistress Acorn.”

Master Ruger raised his head from his plate, showing off the many bits that had attached to his face. I used my horn to clean his face, which he replied to by trying to rub the magic away.

“Ugh, Garcon, that feels weird. Why couldn’t you just use a napkin?” he asked as I finished my cleaning.

I chuckled. “Because this way is both faster and more efficient.”

Mistress Acorn chuckled through a mouthful of food, which he politely swallowed before speaking. “It’s the way of the stallions to hate not being dirty and gross.”

“I’d rather be dirty than smell like flowers and wear dresses,” retorted Ruger.

Mistress Daisy walked into the kitchen and took a seat between the two foals. “Enough arguing you two; it’s too early.” She looked to me and smiled warmly. “No coffee today Garcon. Just breakfast and some orange juice will work for me.”

“Oh, me to,” cried Mistress Acorn and Master Ruger, “I want juice too.”

I float three cups down from the cupboard before pouring fresh orange juice into them. I set them in front of the three ponies, as well as a plate of food for Mistress Daisy.

As the three continued eating, I heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. Master Smithson soon came in, levitating the morning’s paper in front of him.

“....Damn, stupid Zebras sent another one of their recon teams to the outer zones.” He sat down next to Master Ruger, still reading. “Equestrian Army just lost another 50 soldiers.”

Master Ruger looked at his father with a look of determination plastered on his face. “Don’t worry dad; we’ll get them back. Those zebras won’t see us coming.”

He jumped off his seat and began sneaking around the kitchen. He hid behind the waste basket, and crawled under the stools. “We’ll sneak right into their homeland. And when they least suspect it….BAM!”

Master Ruger jumped out from the stool and latched himself onto my leg. “We get the jump on them; take them out in their weak spot. We’ll have soldiers cheering; DIE ZEBRAS, DIE!”

The rest of the family burst out laughing….and I couldn’t help but join in the amusement.

***

After breakfast had been cleaned up, I set to work on my daily chores. First I had to talk to Master Smithson as he’d requested. But it wasn’t about chores or expenses; it was our weekly talk about sports.

I’d started watching the games on the T.V. with Master Smithson when he’d needed somepony to talk to about them. So whenever a game is on, the two of us take a seat and watch our favorite teams collide with each other.

“The Manehattan Blue Tails don’t stand a chance this season. They’re down two games; and it’s clear they don’t have the skills to beat Canterlot.”

I chuckled. “But the rules say they have to win two games in a row to be able to advance. So even if they lose next week, they still have a chance to continue.”

Master Smithson rolled his eyes, and soon began another rant about The Blue Tails and The Canterlot Alicorns. I continued with the discussion until 8:00, when I began my first real task of the day.

I went upstairs and began to straighten the bedrooms and hallway. A few toys lay scattered on the floor, which I promptly placed back in the respected owner’s room. I found Master Ruger’s to be a little dirtier than normal, but I had a feeling that’s how he likes it.

Once that was completed, it was already 8:30. I looked in the closet for a set of gardening tools before heading into the backyard.

By now the sun was high in the sky, illuminating the clear blue sky and bright world below it. Some ponies were also in their yards; splashing in sprinklers or mowing the grass. I smiled at the sight, but then turned my attention to the small patch of flowers near the shed.

Mistress Daisy was already there, placing new flowers into freshly made holes. As I approached, she turned around and smiled. “Hello Garcon; did you bring the tools?”

“Right here mam,” I said as I deposited the tools by the mare’s hooves. “What will you be requiring me to do today?”

“There’s some weeds finding their way into the rows of petunias. Could you use your magic to pull them out?”

I smiled and lit up my horn. “Certainly ma'am; they shall be out in no time.”

“Thanks Garcon,” she replied. “After that, would you like to help me plant these new flowers?”

“Whatever you require mam,” I said before I began pulling the weeds out of the ground. Once they were all gone, I began helping Mistress Daisy with her flowers.

During that time, we had lovely chats about flowers, the war, friends and family, as well as my own interests. Of course, my only interest was to serve her and the family without question. She accepted the answer, but I had a feeling she wasn’t fully satisfied.

After the flowers had been planted, I excused myself to begin my second chore. It was already 9:00, so I hurried into the house to gather the feather duster.

After finding it, I set to work dusting and sweeping the whole house. That included the pictures, stairs, tables, lamps, even the T.V. and radio. Magic helped in gathering it all up and dumping it into a waste bucket.

When I checked the time again, it was 9:20. I gave myself a quick clean up before heading into the kitchen. I found a tea kettle and quickly filled it with water, before running up the stairs to Mistress Acorn’s room.

I found her sitting at a small table near the window. She had on a nice blue hat and fluffy scarf. A trio of stuffed animals sat around her, each sitting in front of a empty tea cup.

Mistress Acorn smiled as I walked in, “Sir Garcon, you are just in time for my prestigious tea party. I’m so overjoyed that you could make it.”

I placed the teapot on the table and took a seat next to Mistress Acorn. The seat was much to small for me, but lucky I’d done this before and found a way to balance on it. “I wouldn’t miss this for the Princess’ crown, or all the jewels in the royal treasury.”

Mistress Acorn smiled before taking the tea pot with her own magic. “Would you all care for some lovely tea? It was made by my dear friend Garcon just this morning.”

To me, it was all but silence in the room. But Mistress Acorn simply nodded and floated the tea pot across the table. “Why yes, you may have some Miss Smarty Pants,” she said as she poured water into the cup in front of a small doll.

“And I couldn’t forget about you Mister Bear,” she said to the teddy bear next to the doll. “Would you care for some Garcon?”

“Oh, I would Miss Acorn,” I replied shyly, “but since I’m a robot, I feel it would mess with my circuits.”

Mistress Acorn looked surprised, “oh, I’m sorry Garcon. I should have remembered that….please forgive my forgetfulness.”

I waved a hoof at her, “don’t fret ma’am; you could never offend me. It would go against my programing.”

Mistress Acorn smiled, then proceeded to pour water into her own teacup. She placed the teapot down and picked up her cup of water. “Cheers everypony.”

I raised my cup and took a sip from nothing...not bad really. The other cups of tea remained untouched, but I could see the joy in Mistress Acorn’s eyes.

Just then, I felt something whir in my hardrive housing. I placed a hoof on my chest, trying to make sure it wasn’t overheating. It didn’t feel out, and my sensors didn’t detect anything wrong. But I did feel something….I just couldn’t understand what.

After that moment of wonder, I brought my processor back to the party at hoof. Mistress Acorn and me had a lovely time talking to each other and to the inanimate stuffed animals. The things we both made them say were ridiculous, but it made the filly smile with joy.

Soon my internal clock showed it was 9:50; meaning I was ahead of schedule. I excused myself from the party and made my way downstairs to the living room. Making quick work of it, I moved any furniture off the hardwood floor and onto the carpet.

I grabbed the mop and bucket from the closet, and soon set to work mopping the floors. Dust and dirt that had accumulated over the last few days was soon wiped away into a bucket of water. Once everything had been moped, I accelerated the drying time using a spell I’d downloaded into my memory core.

After that, I replaced all the furniture and checked the time again. “10:15,” I said, “I could start the laundry now, which would give me enough time to fold it and put it away before it’s time to make lunch.”

“Garcon!”

I looked up towards the top of the stairs, and saw Master Ruger standing at the top. He wore a toy military hard hat and carried a small toy gun; both painted in authentic Equestrian Military colors.

“Want to play battlefield with me? Nopony in the neighborhood wants to, and I’ve been practicing my battle tactics all week.” He fluttered his wings and floated down to the bottom of the stairs.

“Well Master Ruger, if you require a playmate I’m sure that Mistress Acorn would make a much better companion than myself,” I replied.

Master Ruger frowned and stomped a hoof on the ground. “No, all she cares about is tea parties and dolls. I need a colt to play with; dad said he was busy so that leaves you the only one.”

I contemplated the situation. It was my job to serve my Masters, but it was also my job to take care of the household tasks. This request was somewhere in between; I could follow the young master’s orders, but that would distract me from my other tasks.

“Please,” said Master Ruger, looking up at me with his big blue eyes.

Just then, the feeling from before came back. It was much larger this time; spreading from the center of my hard drive to the top of my central processor. It made me….it made me feel like I was being pulled to an answer.

“....oh, very well then….” I said, not quite sure why I said that.

“YEAH,” screamed Master Ruger as he took off from the ground. He flew to the door and pushed it open. “Come on Garcon; there’s no time to waste.”

I still had the feeling that something was wrong, but my processor kept telling me otherwise. “I’ll need to have Master Smithson give my systems a once over,” I said before following Maser Ruger out the door.

***

It was quiet….almost too quiet. I sat silently behind the family cart, which was parked in front of the house on the driveway. The sun beat down on my body, but I felt none of it.

I was listening, which was easy given my advanced sound system. I listened for anything moving my way, but the only thing I could hear was birds flying by and shouts of other ponies in the neighborhood.

Seeing as I couldn’t hear anything, I slowly made my way around the cart. Poking my head around the side, I scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary. Besides grass and bushes, the only other thing on the lawn was a small Equestrian flag halfway from where I was standing.

“Target acquired,” I said as I slowly made my way to the flag. I kept my senses up so that nothing would be able to sneak up on me. I was halfway to the flag….when I heard the sound of flapping wings.

I turned to look upward, and was surprised to see Master Ruger flying towards me at alarming speed. I tried to wrap him in my magic, but he was moving too fast for me to focus in on him.

He smashed right into my back, sending me smashing into the soft grass. Master Ruger fluttered up quickly before landing on my “stomach”; his toy gun pointed right at my face.

“Say your prayers zebra! The nation of Equestria will never fall to your lying and demonic ways!”

I smiled at the colt; he was clearly putting a lot of effort into this act. So, since I was trying to be a good playmate, I decided to play along.

“Oh no,” I said with a fake tone of worriedness. “I’ve been defeated by the strong and much smarter Equestrian army. My nation is doomed!”

“That’s right,” said Master Ruger, “so say goodbye.” He pulled the trigger of his gun, and a soft foam dart flew out of the barrel and stuck to my face. “Bam, you’re dead!”

“Ugh,” I said, wiggling around like a wounded animal. “I can see the light….it’s getting closer….goodbye cruel world….” And with that, I played dead.

I expected Master Ruger to cry out with joy, maybe even make a speech about how strong and powerful the Equestrian Military was. But instead, his smile grew even bigger as he started to laugh.

The sight of the young master laughing brought enjoyment to my system. Normally, Robronco Butler’s weren’t programed to experience joy, but I must have been the one exception. Because soon, I too began to laugh.

The two of us laughed so hard and for so long that we didn’t notice a large blue cart pull to the driveway. A pony in a dark blue jumpsuit was pulling it, looking as interested as a rockstar in a book club.

The cart was painted dark blue with a semi-circle with three lines on either side painted on it. The words STABLE-TEC were printed below it, along with the face of a winking stallion.

The door of the cart opened, and out stepped a very well dressed pony. He wore a brown trench coat and rimmed it, and had a clipboard hanging from his neck like a necklace. He wore a very big smile, which almost seemed too big to be real.

He spotted the two ponies laughing on the ground, as if nothing else mattered. With a spring in his step, he walked over to the two and cleared his throat.

“Good morning gentlecolts,” he said happy. “Is it possible that I might have a moment of your time?”

Master Ruger and me stopped laughing and looked up at the stallion. I quickly used my magic to lift Master Ruger off me as I got to my hooves.

“Yes, of course you can,” I said quickly. “Though may I ask who wishes to have a word?”

The stallion smiled even more and waved a hoof at the cart behind him. “Why Stable-Tec of course! The foremost builder of state of the art underground fallout shelters, or “Stables” if you will.”

Master Ruger looked up at the stallion with a gleam in his eyes, clearly interested in what he was saying. “Oh,” he said, “what are those?”

The stallion lowered himself so that he was at eye level with the young master. As the primary caretaker at this point, I made sure to keep my eye on him.

“Well I’m glad you asked little fella. Stables are meant to shelter ponies in the event of a megaspell attack on our great nation.” He said it with such enthusiasm that it was like there was nothing to worry about. “That way, the ponies of Equestria can one day come out and rebuild from the ground up!”

Master Ruger let out a sound of wonder, which made the stallion look even happier. He raised himself up and looked over at me. “Am I to assume that you are the stallion of the house?”

I let out a small chuckle, which also seemed to go against my programing. “No, I am simply their butler. Though I can go and inform Master Smithson of your arrival if need be.”

“Splendid! I’ll wait right here until he arrives; no matter how long that is.”

“Very well then,” I said before turning towards the house. “I shall return momentarily.”

I walked into the house and headed towards Master Smithsons office. However, while I didn’t know at the time, the two colts outside were having a conversation.

“Your family must be pretty rich if you can afford to hire a butler,” said the Stable-Tec stallion.

Master Ruger laughed. “We don’t pay Garcon; he works for us because he’s our personal robot butler!”

The stallion’s eyes widened in shock. He’d heard of robotic butlers before, but none that looked and acted like a real pony. He hadn’t even acted like a robot servant; he’d been outside playing with this colt!

He continued to think about this until I arrived back outside. Master Smithson followed close behind me; curious as to what this stallion wanted.

“Ah, good morning sir,” said the stallion. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you; I’ve been trying for days. This meeting is of the utmost urgency.”

Master Smithson raised an eyebrow questionably. “And why would that be?”

The stallion stood up straight, keeping his head high and chest puffed out. “Well sir, the Stable-Tec corporation has been accepting ponies into the stable program for some time now, and we get thousand of applicants every day.”

“Right,” said Master Smithson. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“Well sir,” he continued, “your work as a the manager of Blackshot Weapons has allowed the Equestrian Military to always have a fresh supply of guns. Therefore, since you’ve done so much to serve our nation, your family has been preselected for entry into the local Stable: STABLE 32,” he said with a slight hoof wave.

Master Smithson looked at the stallion, but not with confusion….with interest. “That sounds like a promising proposal.” His face soon turned serious, “but is there room for my entire family?”

“Of course, of course,” said the Stallion. “There’ll be room to spare for every single inhabitant. Everyone of your family will be easily admitted into the stable.”

That reassurance made me very happy. It wasn’t my job to worry about the world, unless it involved my masters. If this “stable” could keep them safe from a Zebra attack, then it would be a good place for them.

“Well, minus your robot naturally.”

My hearing sensor kicked in, as if it hadn’t heard the stallion clearly. But I had….yet for some reason I felt something was wrong. It was just like before; when I felt wrong but nothing was wrong.

So….if there was nothing wrong….why did that statement make me feel this way.

Master Smithson raised another questionable eyebrow at the stallion. “I thought you just said there’d be room for my entire family?”

“I did,” replied the stallion. “For you, your wife, and your….” he paused as he read a paper on his clipboard. “....ah, two foals.”

Master Ruger walked forward, looking just as confused at his father did. “What about Garcon?”

The stallion soon had on a confused face as well. “Well, the stables are meant to house ponies because they can’t survive the fallout.” He looked at me with a mixture of confusion and….resentment? “Robots on the other hoof can survive; they don’t have organs that can be damaged.”

Master Smithson walked over and put a hoof hover my shoulder. “Garcon’s part of our family; were we go, he goes.”

Master Ruger floated over and wrapped his hooves protectively around my leg. “Yeah, he’s family!”

My processor was at a lose for computing words. While very unlikely to happen, my masters wished for me to be with them if Equestria is attacked! But it wasn’t just because they wanted service….they thought of me as family!

The stallion was silent for a moment, looking quite perplexed at the whole situation. Eventually he sighed and held out his clipboard to Master Smithson.

“Very well then; just sign here and you’ll ALL be admitted to Stable 32.”

Master Smithson took out a pen and signed his name on the papers. He also wrote down the names of everypony in the family….including me.

“Wonderful, that’s everything,” said the stallion before trotting over to the cart. “Just gonna take this over to the Stable. Congratulations on being prepared for the future!”

The stallion jumped into the cart, and soon it was speeding down the road towards the hills outside of the neighborhood.

I turned to look at Master Smithson. “You didn’t have to do that sir. He was right; I could survive out here if anything happened.”

Master Smithson looked sternly at me, which he should have. Speaking against my Masters was against my programing.

“I don’t care Garcon; you’re a member of our family. We stick together, no matter what.”

“Yeah,” said Master Ruger, giving my leg a big hug.

I wasn’t completely certain about this; but my programing was final. If my master's wanted me to do something, I had to do it. But for some reason, it didn’t feel like my programing was making me think that. It felt more like it was coming naturally; like I made that decision.

Noting it as another thing to have looked over in the future, I began to review the list of task that I still needed to complete.

***

It was now 11:00 AM.

I had completed the remainder of the chores on my list, and was now taking a break.

Breaks weren’t something that I needed, but Master Smithson and the rest of the family felt that I deserved them. Since I didn’t need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom, I instead used this time to recharge myself and read.

I could have downloaded the entire book into my system and have the entire plot all ready to go. But I found the reading it let me see the transition of the characters and story as they moved forward. It made the surprises jump out, and the sadness sink it.

I was just starting a new page….when my internal alarm rang. But it wasn’t from the clock; it was from the internal message system. A bright red box appeared in my vision, with the words URGENT! OPEN IMMEDIATELY written on it.

I opened the box, which folded outward until I could make out a few lines of text.

ATTENTION,

WORD HAS COME IN ABOUT POSSIBLE INCOMING PROJECTILES FROM ZEBRICA! PLEASE BE PREPARED FOR EVACUATION IF MATTERS BECOME DEADLY! KEEP UP TO DATE ON INFORMATION WITH RADIO OR AUTOMATIC NEWS SYSTEMS!

MINISTRY OF WARTIME TECHNOLOGY

My processor was unresponsive; it was like a wave of….fear….had washed over me. Something like this couldn’t be possible….the Zebras wouldn’t dare do something like that!

But this came from the Ministry; and they are very rarely wrong.

Taking the advice given, I ran to the home radio and turned it to the local radio station. It was currently playing music, which I hopped was a sign that everything was alright.

Soon the music ended, and the voice of a pony replaced it.

“Hello Everypony, this is Ponytunes Network! The only station that brings you non stop music and news!”

“So fillies, I just got a notice from my producers that something’s going down in Equestria. I’m not sure what, but they say you should all be ready. Ready for what though? What could possibly go….”

The pony fell silent, and the sound of rushed voices and ruffling papers could be heard.

“....okay fillies….were….were just getting some new information. Please stand by while we try to confirm it….”

“Oh no,” I thought. The ministry was right; there was something going on. And if that was true, my masters….no, my Family….could be in trouble.

“SIR, MA’AM, YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS!”

Not a moment later, Master Smithson and Mistress Daisy walked into the room. Each one looked at me, both with a look of confusion.

“Garcon, what’s wrong?” asked Master Smithson.

Thankfully for me, I didn’t have to say anything. The pony on the radio soon came back on. But she didn’t sound okay….she sounded scared.

“....Everypony….we have bad news. We now have confirmed reports of a megaspell detonation in the city of Cloudsdale.”

The three of us gasped.

“....And we do have coming in...confirmed reports of more detonations in Trottingham and Manehattan….oh Celestia help us…”

The radio cut off, only broadcasting static. For now, it was the only sound in the room. Master Smithson and Mistress Acorn looked at each other; not saying a word.

As for me….my protocols kicked in. “In the event of an emergency, it’s imperative that I get my masters to a safe location,” I said to myself, already knowing where to go.

“We need to get to the Stable,” I said to the two. “It’s the only place that will survive the megaspells.”

Master Smithson looked at me, now with a determined face on. “You’re right Garcon. Grab the kids and meet us outside!”

I nodded before running up the stairs and down the hall. Bursting into Mistress Acorn’s room, I found her still having a tea party. She smiled when she saw me walk in.

“Hello Garcon; want to join us again?”

“Not now Ma’am,” I said before wrapping the filly in my magic and placing her on my back. “We need to leave, and fast.”

I ran out of the room and across the hall to Master Ruger’s room. He was lying on his bed reading a Captain Andromeda comic book, but looked at me when I ran in.

“What’s wrong Garcon,” he asked, looking at the face of concern I had on.

Instead of answering, I wrapped him in my magic and placed him on my back as well. Quickly, I ran down the hallway and down the stairs. The front door was open, so I quickly ran out and onto the lawn.

The whole neighborhood was in a panic.

Ponies were either running around crazy, crying, loading their families into carts, or running towards the hills outside of the neighborhood.

Master Smithson and Mistress Acorn were waiting on the sidewalk when I ran up to them. “I’ve got the children.”

“Okay, let’s go,” said Master Smithson.

The three of us ran down the street, following the crowd of ponies who were running towards the hills. It did require some effort to dodge the carts in the road, but we managed to keep up with everypony else.

Soon we left the neighborhood and were running along a small dirt path. A few ponies were trying to force their way past us, but Master Smithson and I used magic to keep them back.

The three of us turned a corner, and found a group of ponies standing in front of a large cave. It was blocked off by a fence; with two ponies in suits of power armor on either side of it. Two gates were open; each with a pony in a blue jumpsuit standing in front of them with clipboards.

“IF YOU’RE IN THE STABLE PROGRAM, PLEASE STEP FORWARD. EVERYPONY ELSE MUST RETURN TO YOUR HOMES IMMEDIATELY!” shouted a guard.

“For fuck sake,” screamed a mare, “the world is ending! Just let us in; there’s plenty of room!”

“For Stable Ponies only! If you're not than we can’t let you in!” said another guard.

“Fuck that,” screamed a stallion, and he made a break for the gate. But he’d hadn’t gotten far before there was a BANG and he fell to the ground with a hole in his leg.

“Intruders will be met with lethal force,” said one of the ponies in power armor. He loaded another round into his pistol, before aiming it at group of ponies. “If you’re not on the list, LEAVE NOW!”

A majority of the ponies looked at the bleeding stallion, before turning around and running back down the pathway. The ones that remained ran up to the two gates and began checking their names.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and looked back to see Master Ruger looking at me. His eyes were wide, and a few teardrops hung below his eyes.

“Garcon….are we going to be okay?”

“Oh, of course we are young master,” I said as I gently patted his mane. “Once we get into the stable, everything will be fine.”

Master Ruger wiped the tears from his eyes, and tried putting on a tough face. I smiled at him, before looking back at Mistress Acron. She to was looking quite sad; and I had the solution for it.

“Master Ruger, I have an assignment for you. Are you willing to serve your nation and take it up?”

The young master smiled and raised his hoof in solute. “Absolutely!”

“Good. I need you to comfort your sister; make sure she too knows that everything will be alright.”

“Yes sir,” he replied. He turned back to his sister and put a hoof around her shoulder. The young mistress leaned into the comforting hug and let out a few small tears. But slowly, I saw a smile begin to form on her face.

“Garcon, let’s go!”

I turned back around to find Master Smithson and Mistress Daisy standing in front of the gate. I quickly ran up to them, making sure the young masters were still on my back.

“Names,” said the stallion at the gate.

“Smithson, Daisy, Ruger, Acorn, and Garcon,” said Master Smithson.

The stallion looked at his clipboard, going down the names of ponies selected for entry. Eventually he stepped out of the way, waving a hoof at the direction of the cave.

“Step inside the area behind me. You’ll get your identification codes before entering the Stable.”

Master Smithson nodded a reply. The five of us walked through the gate and stopped before the cave entrance. Another pony, dressed in a blue jumpsuit to, stood at a small terminal station near the entrance.

“Please wait while your identification codes are printed,” she said.

“This was it,” I thought, “the family will be safe. They can live out their lives underground until the surface is safe again. Plus, I can still serve them! I just hope that these Stables have adequate kitchens and washing machines.”

“NO, HER NAME HAS TO BE ON THERE!”

I was shaken from my thoughts by a loud screaming; coming from behind me. I looked back, and saw two ponies standing beside one of the guards. A mare stood outside the gates, looking just as scared and confused at the other two.

“I’m telling you sir; her name isn’t on here. She’s not registered for the Stable Program,” said the guard.

“I signed my entire family up yesterday! She HAS to be on there!”

The guard sighed. “I’m sorry sir, but she’s not. Maybe there was a mistake with the paperwork, but she’s not allowed to enter the Stable.”

The stallion looked at his wife, then at the small colt, before looking back at the guard. “Then let her take my place.”

“What, NO!” said the mare, now looking much more angry.

“I’ll feel much better knowing that you and Crescent are safe.” A few tear formed in his eyes. “Please, just take Crescent and go!”

The mare began to tear up, before grabbing her husband and pulling him into a big hug. She cried into his shoulder; which he responded to by rubbing her mane.

The sight was….sad….very sad indeed. I’d seen ponies say goodbye before, but this one was permanent. Staying outside was a death sentence for anypony; the radiation would fry their brains and melt their organs.

….organs….

I placed a hoof on my “chest”, feeling the bolts and rods below it that made up my main reactor. “I don’t have organs….I have parts.”

My programming wasn’t kicking it; telling me that I should only be concerned for my masters. I knew they would be safe….and I would too, no matter where I was. Radiation didn’t effect me; I could stay out here for as long as I wanted!

Quickly, I levitated the young masters off my back and placed them next to their parents. Without waiting for a response, I quickly ran over to the guard and family.

“Sir,” I said to the guard, “I’d like to give up my place in the Stable to this mare!”

The family looked at me with shock, as did the guard.

“Are you crazy! You’ll die out here!”

“No I won’t,” I replied. I raised a hoof and knocked on my chest, which produced a loud ringing noise. “I’m a robot. I can survive out here just fine. This mare can’t, so she should take my place.”

The ponies remained silent, looking at each other with confusion. Finally, the guard sighed and looked at me.

“Alright, if you leave now, this mare can have your spot.”

I nodded in reply. The stallion walked over to me and took my hoof; looking deep into my “eyes”.

“Thank You….Thank You SO MUCH!”

“Think Nothing of it.” I took my hoof back and pointed to the cave entrance. “Now go, before it’s too late!”

The stallion nodded, before he and his family ran past the gate and up to the cave entrance. I watched them run….but then I looked over and saw Master Smithson and his family running towards me.

“Garcon, what are you doing? We got our passes, so they’ll let us in the Stable!”

Before I could say anything, the guard spoke up. “This….stallion….gave up his spot so that a mare could get in. He’s no longer allowed in the Stable.”

The family gasped, which is what I expected to happen.

“Garcon, what were you thinking!” screamed Master Smithson.

I sighed. “I was thinking that I couldn’t let a mare be killed just because of a mix up in paperwork. She had a husband, and a colt. I couldn’t allow her to be separated from her family.”

I looked down at myself, “moreover, I can survive out here. The radiation won’t effect me, so I gave up my spot to someone who would be affected.”

Master Ruger and Mistress Acorn ran over to me, each latching onto my front legs. “You can’t stay Garcon! You said we’d all be safe together!” said Master Ruger.

“Yeah! We don’t want you to go!” said Mistress Acorn.

I looked down at the foals, then up to Master Smithson. “Please sir, let me do this. I’ll see you all again; I promise you that. When you leave the Stable, I’ll come find you.”

Master Smithson was silent for a moment; his eyes looking at me, then his wife and children. He sighed, then lit his horn and pulled the children off me.

“....Stay safe Garcon.” He looked me in the eyes, “but I want you to keep that promise. You’ll find us once we leave, that’s an order!”

I nodded. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

The guard cleared his throat, getting all of our attention. “You four are the last ones left to enter. If you don’t enter in the next five minutes, we’re sealing the door without you.”

“Go Master,” I said, “before it’s too late.”

Master Smithson nodded, before placing the young masters on his back. “Goodbye Garcon.” He and Mistress Daisy turned around and ran towards the cave entrance.

I watched them until they passed through and were out of sight.

***

Screams.

The endless screams from ponies could be heard from miles around. I knew I could have blocked the sound out, but I wanted a reminder. A reminder that ponies were still alive out there, even if they were suffering.

The once clear sky was now becoming clouded; but it wasn’t from the effects of the megaspells. From the living room window, I saw pegasus’ frantically pushing a thick cloud cover over the sky. Soon, everything was covered by dark grey clouds.

Trying to keep myself busy, I began to do the rest of the chores I’d failed to do before the evacuation. I cleaned the sheets, washed the clothes, mopped the kitchen, and cleaned all the pictures in the house.

Eventually, I’d finished all my chores for the day. I checked the clock, finding it to be only 12: 30 PM.

“Oh….I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of spare time in the future.” I walked into the living room and grabbed a book from the nearby bookshelf. I took a seat on one of the chairs and began to read.

“So, this is my life now,” I said to myself. “Doing a few chores, then doing whatever I feel like after that?”

Really, when I thought about it, this wasn’t really anything. My masters are probably going to have to adjust to life without a butler….which could take some time. Or maybe, they had robots in the Stables that did everything.

Pushing that thought away for now, I tried to concentrate on my book. I hadn’t gotten very though, when I heard a sound. It was a deep, whistling sound, coming from outside.

I marked my page and went to look out the window. A few ponies were still running around, but besides that nothing looked different.

That is, until I looked up at the sky.

A large object broke through the cloud cover; heading towards the ground very fast. It was some distance away, so I couldn’t tell how big it was. But what I could see was that it looked like a large rocket, but with no combustion coming out the back.

Soon, it fell enough that it was blocked out by the trees and houses. “Maybe it’s an Equestrian Supply Cart. I wouldn’t be surprised if….”

BOOM!

A quick flash of light preceded the largest explosion I’d ever witnessed. A large mushroom cloud rose from the spot where the rocket had fallen; but it had all the colors of the rainbow.

That’s when I knew what it was. “A Megaspell,” I whispered.

Soon, I felt the ground begin to shake. Pictures hanging on the wall fell to the ground. A few vases on tables fell over the side before smashing to pieces on the hardwood floor.

But I didn’t run over to clean them. I didn’t do anything.

Instead, I was simply watched as a large shockwave moved from the impact zone. Windows shattered, and dust was blown up from the ground. And then, the shock wave reached the house.

The front window shattered, blowing pieces of glass right at me. A few pieced my exoskin, but that didn’t affect me. But then the force found it’s way into the house.

I felt it run through me; through every piece of machinery that I used to work and live. Alarms rang it my head; parts were breaking, or beginning to shut down. The shockwave still blew through the house.

Warnings continued to flash across my “eyes”.....but then they suddenly went dark. I felt the glass inside them shatter a second later, leaving me blind to what was happening.

I didn’t even try to move; there was nowhere I could go! I thought I’d have to wander the house blind until the family got back.

But then, I felt something much more important break.

There was a shock right in the center of my chest, sending sparks of “feeling” through every crevice of my body. My servos began to lock up, leaving me even more immobile. The weight from my head pulled me over, and I found myself laying on the floor.

“....what….is….happen….” I wasn’t able to finish my sentence as my voice box turned off.

And then, just before I could think about anything, my body gave up and I turned off completely.

Chapter 2: Awakening

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Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 2: Awakenings

“Do you know how hard it is to dust a collapsed house?”

….System Offline….Restart in Progress….

….System Unresponsive….Restart Failed….

….System Offline….Restart in Progress….

….System Responsive….Diagnostic in Progress….

….Diagnostic Complete: Systems Restarting….

***

Darkness.

Everything was utter darkness.

I didn’t know if it was because my cameras weren’t working, or because my whole body was unresponsive.

I didn’t feel anything….I didn’t even hear anything. It was all darkness, for miles and miles.

But still, I was thinking! After I had locked up in front of the window, I had felt my entire body shut down. Even my central processor.

Now, now I was able to think! But, what exactly happened to me? I had felt the megaspell shockwave pass through me, but that should not have had the power to damage my systems.

I tried to see if anything would move, but I couldn’t feel anything. If I couldn’t feel anything, what was to say it didn’t mean I had lost all of my parts! I could be a central processor sitting in a pile of broken parts!

….Dual Spectral Cameras Active….

In a flash, my cameras turned on….and I found myself staring at a wall. The wallpaper was peeling in places, and the color looked long past faded. I blinked, trying to get the layer of dust off the lenses.

….Wait, I could blink! I tried raising my head, and found that I could move! But just as I was about to turn my head, something grabbed it! Instinct took hold and I tried to pull away….but the thing kept its hold.

Before I could think about seeing if my horn worked, a pony's head moved in front of me. He was a dark brown unicorn with a light grey pelt. He had a matching beard, and had worn out eyes. He levitated a magnifying glass before him, looking directly at me.

“Surprising,” he said to himself, “I didn’t think the core would hold up. Let alone be compatiable with something as advanced as this.”

He placed the magnifying glass down and took up a pen and clipboard. He quickly wrote something down on it, “We’ll see if more test will provide a better result.”

I wasn’t sure what was going or even who this stallion was! All I did know was that he was holding onto me and talking about things I didn’t even understand.

If I was going to understand who he was, I’d have to talk with him. So, with all the hope in the world, I did a quick systems check.

….SYSTEM CHECK INITIATED….

Central Processor: Online

Motor Functions: Online

Battery System: Online….Foreign object Detected. Please notify Robronco Personnel about issue.

Memory Storage: Online

Sound Chips: Online

Voice Box: Online

Excellent; everything was working. At least that meant that whatever had caused me to shut down was taken care of. I’d investigate the notice of the foreign object after I’d talked with this pony.

“....Excuse me….”

The pony turned his head towards me, looking very confused. He looked at me closer; more importantly my eyes.

Thinking he didn’t hear me, I decided to try again. “Excuse me.”

The stallion’s eyes widened, “Interesting; it has the ability to speak! You don’t see that in many pre-war machines; especially ones from Robronco! The T.S.I.M. might even want to have a look at him.”

What? Did this stallion really see me as just some machine? And what was that about “Pre-War” and T.S.I.M.? I had to deal with this quickly.

“Excuse me good sir, but I would appreciate it if you could please remove your hooves from my face. It is causing me some discomfort.”

The stallion did remove his hooves, but that’s because they flew back in surprise. He back against the wall, a look of utmost fear washing over his face.

“Oh, I’m sorry sir,” I said as I raised my head up. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I simply…”

I stopped as I saw his horn began to glow; showering the room with light. But I didn’t have time to look at it, because the next thing I knew I was staring down the barrel of a small pistol.

“Not one move, or I’ll blow your fucking head off!”

For the sake of myself, I did as he asked. My mouth servos shut tight, keeping me from saying another word. The stallion walked closer to me; keeping his gun pointed close to my head.

“What are you?” He asked it with the most sincere tone of hate I’d ever heard. “Some kind of cyborg? A freak science project from somepony’s lab?” He pressed the gun closer to my head, “or, are you a synth?”

This stallion wasn’t making it easy to figure out what had happened to me. He was either holding my face down or pointing a gun at me; I wasn’t able to ask anything. But I guess now was my time to answer.

“Uh, no. I am not a cyborg, or a lab experiment. And I am not sure what a synth is.” I placed a hoof on my chest; thanking Celestia that my system check had been right.

“My name is Garcon. I am a Robronco Third Generation P.A.B.. Built in the Twentieth Year of Luna’s Reign, and designed to serve my masters without question.”

The stallion’s face didn’t change, but he did pull his gun back a little. “A P.A.B.?”

“Yes, it stand for Personal Automated Butler.”

The stallion’s anger seemed to leave his face, and he slowly put the gun back into it’s holster. “Well, I guess I can understand robot butlers having the ability to speak like a normal pony. After all, I’ve seen weirder things in my days.”

Seeing this as a sign that he was more calm, I lifted myself up until I was in a sitting position. I looked down at my body, hoping everything was still in tack. My outer skin was still there, though there was a long section of it that had been sewn back together.

My white shirt and black vest were gone, though I had no clue as to why. More than likely this stallion had removed them.

“So, if you’re a robot butler, why is it that you look and act like a regular pony. The only machines I’ve seen that do that are synths, and you clearly aren’t one of them.”

The stallion took a seat across from me, giving me a good look at how he was dressed. He wore a dark black jacket; patched up in many places. Leather pads covered his legs, and he wore a gun holster near his flank. An image of a wrench served as his cutie mark.

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “My programing always made sure I did whatever my masters told me to do.”

I paused, thinking back to the times I’d acted or felt different inside. “But sometimes, I’d have a feeling that would go against that programing. It was almost as if it wasn’t there, or if there was a problem.”

The stallion nodded. “Well, it certainly looked like you had some problems with your system. When I was looking through you, almost every major part needed to be replaced or repaired.”

I raised an eyebrow questionably. “Yes….about that, would you mind telling my why you were poking around my system?”

“Well I was trying to fix you,” he retorted. “I found you buried under a pile of dirt in the room out front. I thought you were a dead pony, until one of my magnets stuck to your leg. After that I opened you up and started repairing you.”

What? This stallion was starting to make no sense again. Buried? Room out front? None of this was right at all.

“It’s not in my programing to disagree sir, but I know where I was before this. I was standing in my master’s living room when the megaspell went off. After that, I shut off and restarted here.” I paused. “Wherever here is.”

The stallion looked me over, looking very confused. “Uh, son, are you saying you shut down when a megaspell detonated near here?”

“Yes,” I replied.

The stallion sighed, “son, a megaspell detonated here one hundred and ninety years ago.”

What? Now this stallion was making even less sense. It couldn’t have been one hundred and ninety years; it just wasn’t logical! Besides, he didn’t look like the most sane of ponies. I mean, just looking at his outfit was a simple way of showing it.

“I’m sorry sir, but that can not be right. I was in Paradise Acres when the megaspell went off. Plus, I was in my master’s home; not yours.”

“Oh really,” he replied, now looking slightly annoyed. “Then tell me, does this room look familiar to you?”

I turned my head around, only now looking at the room we were in. It wasn’t very big, but it held a lot of items. I saw on a large desk in the corner, while another desk sat on the other side. It was piled with different parts and blueprints, all looking very wore out. The floor was wooden and covered in layers of dust. The doorway was next to the second desk, with the door lying above a hole in front of it.

….wait….it couldn’t be. The layout of the room, the desk, the door….and even the lack of windows.

“This….this is Master Smithson’s study!”

I jumped off the desk and ran towards the door. I had to see the rest of the house….I had to know this couldn’t be true!

But I was soon running down a very familiar hallway. It too had peeling wallpaper and dusty floors, but I ignored it. Instead, I ran to the end of the hall and out into a large room.

“....No….”

It was the living room; covered in dust, dirt, grime, and filled with busted furniture. The pictures still sat broken on the floor, while the couch and chairs had rotten away; almost ready to collapse. In front of the window sat a large section of the roof, which had probably collapsed into the house some time ago.

“This….this can’t be real. This has to be a dream!”

The stallion walked up next to me, looking over the room with me. “Sorry buddy, but it’s all real. Nopony’s lived here for one hundred and ninety years….when the megaspells hit.”

This, wasn’t right! Everything was broken, years had passed, I’d been inactive! But all that was a fraction as important as what was going through my head right now.

“My masters….THE STABLE!”

Not thinking about what I was doing, I ran out the front door and out into the neighborhood.

***

It was completely empty.

Houses that once held families now looked decrepit and empty. The paint had long since worn out, leaving a faded remnant behind. The asphalt was cracked and missing in places, while the sidewalks were being overtaken by brown weeds.

The grass had turned a disgusting looking black, and all the trees had lost their leaves. Overhead, the dark grey clouds from earlier were still present, but now had a much more depressing feel to them.

But none of that mattered right now. I focused on running until I came to a familiar dirth pathway outside the neighborhood. I ran down it until I came to the large cave entrance; still surrounded by a fence. The gates had rusted off, and were now lying next to the openings.

I ran through the gates and into the cave, igniting my horn so that I had some light. Rocks piled in different places; more than likely meaning they’d fallen from the ceiling. But I simply ran around them, and didn’t let anything distract me.

I came to a corner, and once I’d turned it, found myself at my destination. In front of me stood a large metal cog-shaped door. In the center was a circle with the numbers 32 painted in dark yellow paint.

“How do I get inside,” I said to myself, looking around for anything that would hold a clue. That’s when I noticed the small control panel sitting beside the door. It was rusty, but all the buttons and keys looked intact.

I walked over and scanned the panel, noticing that it had a place for cable connections at the top. “Let's see,” I said before reaching behind me and pulling a cord out of my back. Normally it was used for downloading new software, but now it had a new function.

I plugged it into the panel and activated the connection.

….Connection Successful….

….Communicating with System….

>System Requires Stable-Tec Issued Password. Please contact a Stable-Tec Representative for information<

“I don’t think so,” I thought, and began working my way through the system. Stable-Tec had installed many different firewalls into their system, but I soon found my way through.

“Almost….Almost….got it!” I said. “Password is TSS-04.”

I quickly typed the code into the panel and hit enter. Soon, I heard the sound of machinery working behind the door. I stepped back, not knowing how it would open.

Not a second later, the door was pulled into the Stable. It rolled along a set of tracks before stopping, leaving a large hole where it had been. Slowly, I walked through the opening and looked around.

Everything looked old. The small stairway in front of me was covered in rust, as was the walls and ceiling. I walked up the stairs, finding a second level where the inside panel sat. A set of terminals sat along the nearby wall, but they were all turned off.

“Hello….is anypony here?” I called. My voice echo around the room, which I took for a sign that were was nobody nearby.

“Maybe they’re deeper in the Stable,” I said, heading to a door opposite me. But I hadn’t even reach it when I heard the sound of running hooves behind me. I turned around, and saw the stallion from the house rushing after me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. This wasn’t something I needed help with, and he would more than likely keep telling me confusing things anyway.

The stallion stopped in front of me, looking both concerned and angry. “You ran out of my house without even saying anything. Then I chase you down here, and I find that you’ve opened the damn door! What exactly are you up to?”

I snorted; this stallion was being very rude. “I’m here to see if I can find my family. I haven’t accepted that one hundred and ninety years have passed; and I won’t until I look around this entire stable.”

This was the time I expected the stallion to retort; or maybe try and drag me back outside. Instead, he sighed and looked at me sadly. “I’ve heard rumors about Stables, and not all of them have been great. Just going to warn you now; if you look around in there, you might not like what you find.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I turned around and opened the door. Instantly, my cameras became foggy and my internal systems alerted me of drastically decreasing temperatures.

“Damn, it’s freezing,” said the stallion. The both of us walked through the door, but I also cleared my cameras of the fog on their lenses.

We were in a long hallway, which was itself covered in layers of frost. Two doorways were present; one on each wall. I couldn’t see anypony present, but I knew that they had to be here somewhere.

“If you’re coming; keep up,” I said before heading towards the first doorway. I could feel the crunching of ice beneath my hooves, as well as the sound of water droplets falling to the ground.

The stallion followed behind me, shivering slightly thanks to the decreased temperature. “Why the hay would they keep this place so damn cold?”

“It does not matter,” I replied as I reached the door. “What does is that I find my family as soon as possible.” I pressed the open button, causing the door to slide up into the ceiling.

The room on the other side was filled with beds. Six sets of bunk beds filled the room, along with six dressers and a bathroom. Each bunk was empty, as well as each of the dressers. Unicorn (as I decided to call him until I learned his name) walked into the room and began looking through everything.

“No sign of anypony living here in a long time,” he said while looking through some boxes. “Everything’s got dirt or dust on it.”

“Maybe this area hasn’t been used in a while,” I replied. It wasn’t exactly in the best spot, and it seemed too small for a group of ponies to share.

Unicorn entered the bathroom and began looking through the many cabinets. Eventually he walked out with a small yellow medical kit floating beside him.

I raised an eyebrow questionably at him, to which he replied with a shrug. “What, Stables have some of the best loot in the Wasteland. You can’t expect me not to grab whatever could be valuable.”

“Is this really what the world has come to; stealing to make sure ponies have a future?”

Unicorn walked up to me, looking into my eyes with a look of loathing. “I wouldn’t expect a robot who’s been asleep for years to understand. But the world went to hell and back faster than ponies could adjust. Nowadays, we do what we must to survive.”

And that included going against what made Equestria great in the first place? Having that kind of thinking would only lead to a world worse than before. I just hoped that others had the same thinking as me.

I turned away and headed towards the door on the other side of the hall. A lit-up sign above the door read OVERSTALLION. “Wonder what that is?” I said while I opened the door.

The room was at least twice as big as the last one. Lavish wooden paneling made up the walls, while the floor was simple concrete. A small couch sat in the corner; covered in dust and grime. In the center of the room sat a half-circle desk, atop which was a small lamp and terminal. Behind the desk was a set of three computer systems, which were all running.

“Hu, wonder what this room was for,” I said as I walked inside. There wasn’t any sign of life in here either, not even hoof prints in the dust covered floor. More than likely, that meant that nopony had been here in awhile too.

Unicorn walked in behind me, taking in the look of the room. “Overstallion’s office. I heard that whoever was the overstallion was the one in charge of the Stable.”

“Well it couldn’t have been one of my masters, so I’m going to look elsewhere.” I turned around and headed towards the door. But Unicorn instead walked over to the desk.

“I’ll poke around here for a bit. Who knows, I might find something even more valuable.”

“Whatever,” I replied as I left the room. “What you do is none of my concern.”

The only door that remained was the one at the end of the hallway. Above it was labeled MAIN AREA, which I hoped would mean there would be ponies on the other side. Ones that I could ask about where my family was.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I opened the door and walked into the room beyond.

***

“...What?”

The room on the other side was the largest room I’d ever been in. The walls were as high as a water tower, and the floor stretched out for at least the distance of an entire city block.

The entire floor and walls were covered in frost. Certain parts had full pieces of ice covering them, while others had small pools of water. But all that was nothing; it was what occupied the room that was really amazing.

The whole room was filled with pods! Each one was egg shaped, and had a clear top to it. A small tube ran from the back of them to an inlet hole on the floor. Small terminals sat by each one, which were either broken or flashing. The insides of the pods were covered in red cushions, which looked torn up and faded.

“What….what are all of these doing here?” I walked down the center aisle between the pods, looking over each one. They all seemed to be deactivated, but some still had traces of ice plastered to the glass.

I hoped that this was some kind of laboratory section of the stable; that there would be another doorway to the lower sections somewhere here. I looked along the walls as I walked, scanning for any sign of a doorway.

“Come on, come on, there has to be a door somewhere.”

But soon, I came to the end of the room. I hadn’t seen any sign of a doorway, not even a latch or terminal. Hoping my cameras weren’t fully operational, I did another scan of the room. I looked along the walls and even on the floors; but still I came up with no other doorway.

“No….it can’t be true,” I said as I sat down in the middle of the room. “My family can’t be….gone.”

P.A.B.’s weren’t programed to be able to cry….but I was able to be sad. Because my family, the ones I’d promised to find, were gone. I’d failed; I’d failed as a butler and as a family member!

I heard the sound of hooves approaching me, but I didn’t turn around. I kept on staring at the frost covered floor in front of me.

“I tried to warn you,” said Unicorn. “I said you wouldn’t like what you found. Stables are never seen as good in the Wasteland.”

“....what am I supposed to do now? My family is gone; I have noone to serve.”

Unicorn sat down beside me, before placing a hoof on my back. “Why don’t you be your own pony? You can talk, walk, and think like a pony. Why not roll with it and make a new life for yourself?”

“Because that’s not in my programing!” I retorted. “I’m meant to serve my family for my entire life. And….and I made them a promise; a promise that I would find them once they left the stable.”

I shouldn’t have given up my spot….I shouldn’t have disobeyed orders. I just HAD to help that mare, and leave my masters without me. Now they were gone….and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.

Unicorn sighed, before reaching into his bags and pulling out an item. It looked like a large glass ball with a red color to it. He tapped me on the shoulder and, when I turned around, handed it to me.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s a memory orb,” he replied. “It lets unicorns see memories of other unicorns. I found this one in a box in the Overstallion’s office.”

“Why would I want this?” I asked, not bothering to have another look at the object. I failed to see how this would help me with anything that was currently going on.

“Well, I thought you would because it’s got your name on it.”

Wait, what? I looked down at the orb, and saw a label covering the front of it. Written across it was GARCON. The writing was pretty sloppy, but that wasn’t my main concern. That was, “Who would leave something like this for me?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say maybe it was one of your family members. Perhaps they guessed you’d come looking for them here,” said Unicron (I’d ask for his name later).

Was that possible; could my family have known I’d come here? I had a feeling the answer would be on this memory orb, but I didn’t know how to operate it.

“Uh, how does this work?”

Unicorn rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated on having to be my new-world interpreter. “You encase it in your magic. After that, well, just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

I had know idea what he meant by that; but at least I knew what to do. I just hoped that this orb could give me a clue as to where my family had gone.

So, with one last look at Unicorn, I encased the orb with my magic.

***

I felt my hardware stretch, and my central processor was starting to feel like molten steel. The pain was there only for a short second, before the images from my cameras changed.

I was in the main entrance again, looking at the stable door. It was open, showing the large cave outside. But then, an alarm began to ring as the door started to roll back into place.

I tried moving to see who’d done it, but I found that I couldn’t! I had no way of moving my body, or even speaking! It was as if my systems had shut off again, but I was still able to feel the floor below me.

But then, I felt something else. I felt….sad. Waves of emotion ran through me, giving off the sense that things were not okay.

“We did it….we’re safe.”

Wait a minute, I knew that voice. It was Master Smithson! I tried moving my head around, but I couldn’t! Besides being able to think, I had no control over what was going on!

But then my head moved left….and I saw my family! They were all standing together next to the pony from the gate. All of them had sad looks on, and were looking towards me.

“But Garcon is still out there….will he be alright?” asked Master Ruger.

Mistress Daisy placed a hoof on the young master’s back. “Of course he will honey. After all, robots are supposed to be very smart.”

The young masters looked at each other, though I had a feeling they didn’t believe that. And as it turned out, they were right.

“I know this must be hard for you,” said the guard beside them. “But remember that you are all safe now. It’s time for your new lives to begin.”

I felt Master Smithson being unsure, but he knew this was for my family. “So where do we go from here?”

“Right this way,” said the guard, pointing towards the door on the other side of the room. He began walking towards it, so the rest of us began walking after him.

We passed through the door and into the hallway beyond. Other ponies were also making their way down the hallway, towards the open door at the other end. A few ponies in jumpsuits stood near two closed doors, looking over clipboards hanging from their necks.

Soon we passed through the door and into the large room beyond. Many ponies were standing around the area; many looking at the pods with confusion. Half of them also had on jumpsuits, while others were either in normal clothes or currently putting jumpsuits on.

“Well I guess I should be the first to say welcome to Stable 32,” said the guard. “This is one of our most advanced facilities; not that the others aren’t great though.”

“That’s...great. But what are all these pods for?” asked Master Smithson.

“Oh, these pods,” asked the guard. From the way he said it, it almost seemed as if he was nervous. But for what exactly I….or more correctly Master Smithson….didn’t know.

“Well, their decontamination pods. It’s possible you all could have suffered some radiation poisoning while outside. So to be safe, all stable residents will be required to enter these pods. Once that’s done, we’ll make our way deeper into the Stable.”

Master Smithson didn’t seem exactly certain about this; after all, a megaspell hadn’t even gone off in the area when they ran in here. But if this was to truly be their home from now on, he knew that they had to follow rules and regulations.

A pony in a lab coat handed something to the guard, who replied in kind before turning to us. He was holding a small box, which he promptly placed in front of the family.

“Now, we require that all residents put on their stable jumpsuit before we begin decontamination. Of course, sizes are provided for both adults and foals.”

I looked down at the box, before opening it with magic. Inside were four sets of blue jumpsuits, each with the number 32 printed in yellow on the neckline. Yellow lines ran down the front, which wrapped around the backside before completing the loop.

Master Ruger picked one up, looking it over carefully. “Uh, will this protect me when the Zebras come?”

The guard laughed, “don’t worry about that; the stable will protect us from both the megaspells and Zebras. Plus, we have ample security, like myself, here to protect you.”

The young master shrugged before beginning to put on his jumpsuit. Master Smithson wasn’t too worried about their looks or defensive qualities. He seemed to have other things on his mind.

Quickly, he used his magic to zap the jumpsuit right onto his body. After which, he turned again to the guard. “What exactly happens after we are finished with the decontamination and have gone deeper into the stable?”

The guard smiled, though it didn’t look very reassuring. “Oh, we’ll be going through all that in orientation.”

He looked back at the family, who were all dressed in their new jumpsuits. Mistress Daisy and Mistress Acorn kept looking over themselves; ogling at how the new clothing looked on them.

“Alright then; everypony has their jumpsuit now,” he said. He turned towards the pods and began walking down the center aisle. “Let’s get you four in your pods so we can get started.”

It was only then that Master Smithson realized that every other pony was sitting in their pods. Each one had it’s top open, so everypony was now watching them walk down the aisle. Now, the surge of embarrassment was beginning to flow.

Soon they reached the end of the room, where the last remaining pods were located. There were four; two on each side of the aisle.

“Just step into the pods, and we’ll begin decontamination,” said the guard.

I looked at the pod questionably; the makeup of it didn’t seem like it was meant for quick cleaning. The insides were padded; why have that unless you’d be in there for a while. I was about to voice my concern with the guard….but then noticed that I was the last one that had to enter their pod.

Mistress Daisy and Mistress Acorn were sitting in their pods across the aisle, while Master Ruger was in the one next to mine.

“Come on honey, let’s make this quick,” said Mistress Daisy.

Well….maybe his concerns were ill founded. Maybe the padding was there because they wanted to make it more comfortable for us. So, I climbed into the pod and sat down on the padding.

“Alright, everyone’s in.” The guard walked towards the end of the aisle, looking over each pod. “Start the procedure!”

I watched as a pony in a lab coat began typing on a terminal. The pod lids all slid shut, encasing me in a small space. If I’d been claustrophobic, I might have started freaking out.

….Procedure Started….

….Resident Vitals: Normal….

I heard the voices coming from a nearby speaker. It reminded me of the system updates my central processor gave when I was downloading a new system.

But then, I felt the temperature drop. It wasn’t like when I was myself; those times it was just my processor telling me it was colder. Now, I could FEEL the temperature drop.

And it dropped rapidly. My breaths became ragged, and I could see my breath forming into steam. The glass of the pods began to become covered in frost; to the point where I couldn’t even see outside.

I thought about raising my head to try and see….but I didn’t. Instead, I began to feel sleepy. My head dropped onto the soft padding, and my eyes slowly slid shut.

The last thing that I registered was that voice, speaking as if nothing was happening.

Procedure Complete in 5...4...3...2...1

***

I didn’t know what had happened.

All I knew was that, when I opened my eyes again, I was covered in frost. The padding was beginning to become wet, with little pockets of water forming in places.

Droplets of water were falling from the glass top, which was starting to become see-through again. I barely had any time to register what was going on when the top hissed and raised up. Fresh air rushed into the pod as the temperature began to rise.

Since my muscles still felt shut off, I slowly raised my head to full height. I watched the other pods began to open, revealing the half-asleep ponies inside. The room itself was covered with ice and frost, which was slowly beginning to melt.

Quickly, I looked over at my master’s pods. They to were starting to wake up; though they looked a little more shaken than I felt.

“RISE AND SHINE OLD HAGS!”

My head turned to the sound of the voice, which was coming from the area where the main door was located. From here, I saw three ponies standing before the aisle.

Two of them were dressed in yellow hazmat suits. Through the large dome on their head, I saw that they were both unicorns. One had a dark green mane and a yellow pelt. The other had the opposite; a yellow mane with a dark green pelt. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were twin sisters.

The third pony, however, looked completely different. He had a dark grey pelt with a chestnut mane and matching goatee. He wore a leather jacket and had metal braces attached to his legs. His cutie mark was a firing pistol, and a scar ran across his right eye.

One of the mares in the hazmat suit looked at the stallion. “Please Hatchet, we don’t want to startle them right when they wake up. We need to take care of this calmly.”

The stallion, known as Hatchet, snorted. “What’s the point; you’ll tell them the truth eventually. Why try and make this easy when I already know the outcome?”

“Because you work for us, so we do this our way. Or do I need to talk to Chancellor Isotope about this?”

The stallion rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything more. While this was happening, ponies were beginning to crawl out of their pods. Some were able to get out fine, while others fell to the ground the moment they were over the edge.

I looked over at my family, who were starting to move out as well. Mistress Daisy and Master Ruger easily flew out of theirs, while Mistress Acorn used her magic to float onto the ground. As for me, well I found myself igniting my horn and teleporting onto the floor.

“Is everyone alright,” asked Master Smithson.

“I am,” said Mistress Acorn. “Though, I am still pretty tired. And it’s really cold!”

“Yeah, what happened?” asked Master Ruger.

“I’m not sure dear,” said Mistress Daisy. She looked at me, having a very disheartened look on her face. “But I have a feeling that it wasn’t good.”

I had the same feeling; that didn’t seem like any normal medical procedure I’d read about. Ice was used to temporarily calm broken bones or help with headaches. Nothing about what had happened had anything to deal with decontamination.

“EXCUSE ME, MAY I HAVE EVERYPONY’S ATTENTION!”

I looked back up at the three ponies, along with every other pony who’d crawled out of their pods. Some looked confused, while others were looking very angry.

“I know that you all might have questions, or might be confused about what is happening.”

“Yeah, like what the hell happened to us in those pods!” screamed a pony.

“And where’s the guards and other ponies who were here a moment ago?” screamed another.

Soon, the whole room was filled with ponies screaming out questions. Some were keeping quiet, but others were becoming restless with the waiting.

BANG!

The whole crowd fell silent, and looked up at Hatchet. He had a gun clutched in his mouth, which was pointed up at the ceiling. He quickly loaded another bullet into the barrel before holstering it.

“Everypony shut the FUCK up and LISTEN!” he screamed.

The room was silent; except for the sound of water falling from the walls and ceiling. The pony in the hazmat suit swallowed, before turning back to the crowd.

“Okay….now I need everypony to listen carefully. This Stable is no longer safe; we’ve been given orders to move you to a new location. One that is much safer and more well equipped to handle all of your needs.”

I was sure that nopony was going to say anything. After the show that Hatchet had made, I wouldn’t want to be the one to break his one rule.

“But….it’s dangerous outside!”

My head quickly turned, and saw that Master Ruger and moved forward. Everypony was soon looking at him, with looks of both shock and uneasiness. The ponies in hazmat suits looked at each other; whispering between themselves.

One of them turned back to the crowd, but had her eyes set on Master Ruger.

“Yes, it is dangerous outside. But we have a way to transport you all without bringing any harm to you.”

The mare in the other suit walked forward. “If you have anything in this stable you need to get, I’d suggest you get it now. We’ll be heading out in 25 minutes.”

Ponies began talking amongst themselves; some about the ponies in front of us, others about what had happened. My head spun around to look at my family.

“I’m not sure about these ponies. They don’t look like officials or military personnel,” said Master Smithson.

Mistress Daisy walked over and put a hoof on my shoulder. “I know dear, but do you really want to stay in this place? I don’t think Stable-Tec had any intention of having us live here.”

“So what? Are we supposed to just trust what these ponies are saying? For all we know, they could be leading us into a place even worse than here!”

“That’s something we’re going to have to risk!” Mistress Daisy was now looking very angry; more than she’d ever been when I was serving them. “I’m not letting the kids stay here, and I’m not letting them go outside.”

I could feel the rage building inside Master Smithson. He felt like he was ready to explode with anger. But for his sake, Mistress Acorn spoke up.

“But if we leave, how will Garcon find us?”

The two parents looked down at the filly. She looked like she was ready to cry, only barely holding back tears. The two looked at each other again, both having faces of concern.

“...she’s right. If we leave, we need to make sure Garcon has a way of finding out where we went.”

I already knew that they did find a way, or else I wouldn’t be looking at them right now. Master Smithson raised a hoof to his head, thinking about what to do. He was like that a full minute before looking at the family.

“Don’t worry….I have an idea.”

***

I opened my eyes with a jolt.

The sight of my family was gone, and instead replaced by the degrading site of the stable floor. The ice on it was gone, replaced by the sight of melt water. I was able to look down, and found that I was once again in my normal body.

“Bought time you got out of there.”

I looked up, and saw Unicorn sitting in one of the pods. He had a small pistol in his hooves, which he was cleaning with magic. A small pile of loot sat next to him, along with a single stable jumpsuit.

“How….how long was I out?”

He placed the gun into the bag and looked down at me. “At least an hour. I didn’t know how long you’d be at it, so I took a seat and waited. At least this one wasn’t a day or month long one.”

Grabbing the supplies next to him, Unicron lept out of the pod and walked towards me. “So, did you find out what happened to your family?”

I looked around the room, trying to remind myself that ponies had once been here. “They were….frozen….in these pods. Some ponies came here and let everypony out. Then they said they were taking them to another location….but I don’t know where.”

Unicorn’s widened in surprise, then he slowly looked directly at me. “Well, then that means they’re not here. And for me, that the cue to head home.”

He began to walk towards the doorway, “I’d follow if I were you. Unless you really think there’s something else here you need to find.”

I could already tell there wasn’t anything left for me to find here. My masters left behind the one thing that would give me the best clue to find them. Now, I had to work with that clue.

And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, Unicorn was right. I wouldn’t be doing an good sitting in this stable all day. I needed to get out and start thinking of a plan of action.

So I got up and ran after Unicorn. I caught up with him just as he was about to exit the stable. He didn’t look at me when I started walking next to him.

“I knew you’d come around.”

I didn’t reply; saying anything would only make him more smug. Instead, after we passed through the opening, I encased the control panel with my magic. Soon, I heard a familiar alarming ringing.

I didn’t look back as the door of Stable 32 rolled along it’s track before sliding back into place.

***

It almost felt like things were back to normal.

Here I was, once again in the kitchen, cooking dinner for the house’s owner.

Bolts, as I’d learned he was called, had instantly gone to his “workshop” once we’d arrived back home. He said he didn’t want to be disturbed, so I was left to myself for the time being.

While finding my family was my main goal at the moment, my programming was still in effect. And with one hundred and ninety years off, the house did seem to need a lot of work. So, with a new perspective, I tried cleaning the house.

But I quickly learned that things were a lot harder to clean after years of neglect.

I tried my best to wax the floors, but nothing I tried could get the remnants of magical fallout from within the wood. And don’t even get me started on the futility of trying to dust a house that’s half collapsed. And the family cart! How was I supposed to paint it with no paint, and the fact that half of it had been torn apart!

With that, I decided to abandon my pursuit of making the house look good. Instead, I found myself walking into the kitchen. The appliances were either rusted to nothingness or had been salvaged for their parts. The island was still standing, though it did look a little dusty. The tile floors though, were the worst! Dirty and grime had covered them, making it seem like I was walking outside!

But still, I found that there were still tools for cooking present. A small fire pit sat near where the table had been. An empty pot was hanging over it; just waiting for something to be thrown in.

“Food perhaps,” I said to myself. After all, I was programed to have the same skills as some of the best chefs in Equestria. Even after sleeping for one hundred and ninety years, I was sure I could whip something up.

But after lighting the fire and filling the pot with….well….brown water, I found myself with some rather odd food choices. Boxes of Sugar Apple Bombs still sat in the cabinet, but I knew they must be past their expiration date. The same went for the Deviled Eggs and Sweet Rolls. But it's when I got to the fridge that I was really surprised.

Upon opening it, I found large slabs of MEAT sitting inside! Each one has wrapped in a large piece of old newspaper, and had red juices almost flowing out of them.

“This….I can work with.” After all, new forms of food had been required when the war began. So, it was only natural that meat had been found to be a reliable food option. And because of that, my list of recipes included ones for meat products.

So, I took out a slab of meat and set it onto the table. After which, I pulled out a knife and cut the meat into small squares. I gathered some strange looking vegetables, and also cut them into smaller bits. After that, I took the batches and poured them into the boiling water.

After a while, the room was filled with the smell of simmering stew. I’d actually found some spices in the lower cabinets, so now it would taste even better.

And then just as the stew was complete, Bolts walked into the room. His face was smeared with grease, but what really stuck out was his mouth. It was hanging open, with a small slab of drool spilling out.

“What is that smell,” he asked.

“Stew,” I replied as I poured the concoction into a cracked bowl. I floated it over to the table, and Bolts was soon sitting in front of it. “Dinner is served.”

“I….uh….I’ve never been served food before. Usually have to make it by myself.” He encased a spoon in magic and plunged it into the stew. “This is….different.”

“Well I had to work with what I had, so please tell me if it’s not to your liking.” It may have sounded sarcastic, but I really meant it. I’d done the same with my masters back then, and it was still in my programing.

Bolts brought the spoon to his mouth and ate the concoction. Instantly, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Knowing what was in the stew, I feared the worst.

“Not good?”

“Good….IT’S AMAZING!” Bolts threw away the spoon and plunged his head into the bowl. I simply watched in confusion as he gulped down the who stew. Eventually he raised his head, letting pieces of meat and liquid drip down from his mouth.

“That….that was the greatest thing I’ve ever eaten. How did you make something that good?”

I levitated the bowl away and placed it into the rusted sink. “I was programed with the cooking skills of some of the best chefs in Equestria. Plus, I had some recipes for meat products in my database.”

“Now I can see why your family loved you so much. Having you around must have been great.” He stepped down from the table and headed towards the doorway.

“When your done playing around, meet me in the workshop. I have something that might be of use to you.”

Wow….that was almost total dejavu. Just like the day the megaspells hit; somepony asking me to meet him when I was done with the dishes. I didn’t know if it was some kind of coincidence, or if Celestia was playing tricks on me.

Either way, I cleaned the bowl as best I could before walking to Master Smithson’s old study. Bolts was sitting at Master Smithson’s desk, with a pile of loot he’d snagged from the Stable.

“Okay, I’m here. What is it you wanted?” I walked over to an old chair and took a seat next to him.

Bolts put aside what he was working on and turned towards me. “You’re going after them, aren’t you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your family; you’re going to go out and find them. Am I right or wrong?” He didn’t sound angry or curious; he just sounded normal. Even his face had a neutral expression plastered on, something that I couldn’t read.

As for his question, well that one was a given.

“Yes,” I said as surely as I could. “I made a promise to them, and they asked me to honor it. As a reliable P.A.B., I have to follow whatever order they give me.”

“Do you even know where to start looking?”

As a matter of fact, I did. It wasn’t much, but that one pony (Hatchet) was easily the most memorable of the three. If I wanted to know where my family was, the first thing to do was track him down.

“One pony stood out in the memory orb. If I can find him, then I can find out where he took my family.”

Bolts rubbed his chin, “what did he look like?”

My memory processors recorded everything I saw, so I able to get a clear picture of the pony.

“He had a dark grey pelt and chestnut mane, with a matching goatee. He wore a leather jacket, and had a firing pistol as his cutie mark. And he had a scar running across his face.”

Bolts thought for a moment, but then shook his head. “Sorry, nothing comes to mind.” He stopped shaking his head and looked at me, now having on a serious face.

“But from what you said, he could be a hired gun. Ponies like them can be found all across Equestria.” He rubbed his chin again; thinking. “If you had to start somewhere, I’d try Trotsville. Ponies go through there all the time before heading towards Baltimare.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I guess it’s the best I can go on for now.”

Bolts stopped rubbing his chin and turned back to the desk. He quickly shifted the items around, before pulling out a small piece of hardware.

It was a small watch looking thing, except this one had a rectangle screen and was a lot bigger. A small geiger counter sat in the left hoof corner, and a small dial sat below that. The screen was cracked, and below it were two buttons. The last one was gone; with the wires sticking out of the hole.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a PipBuck,” said Bolts. “They gave these out to everypony who went into the Stables. I’ve heard that they’re infused with magic, and come with a lot of features on them. Ones that could help a pony like you.”

“Robot,” I corrected (no use saying it if it wasn’t true). “Also, this one looks a little broken.”

“True,” replied Bolts. He encased the device with his magic, giving off a warm glow. But then, the device shattered, leaving in it’s place a large electronics chip. It looked normal enough, but in the center was a small blue crystal.

“But the main chip is still working. So, if we plug it into you, there won’t be any need for the metal casing.”

I looked at the chip with a hint of caution. My system was very sophisticated, so I didn’t know if this would work. It could reject the chip, or it could corrupt my entire hardware.

But, if this device really had functions that could help me on my quest, then I was ready to try. After all, Bolts had fixed me once already. Surely he could fix me again….at least I hoped he could.

“Alright then, let’s give it a try.”

“Okay….I’m going to need you to turn around and stand still.” Bolts hopped down from the chair and walked over to me.

I turned around and sat on my haunches; waiting for this to be over. Bolts walked behind be, and soon I felt a strange sensation moving down my back. But I did as he had asked and didn’t move.

Soon, the sensation stopped and I felt Bolts moving around my processing sector. “Geez, what’s with all the wiring back here?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Just please don’t damage anything.”

Bolts snorted, but he soon stopped moving around. I heard the sound of the chip being inserted, and not a moment later my vision was filled with new updates.

NEW SOFTWARE INSTALLED.

SCANNING….SCAN COMPLETE

SOFTWARE DATA: PipBuck MARK II CENTRAL PROCESSOR

DATA CONNECTION IN PROGRESS

DATA CONNECTION COMPLETE

HOST NOW HAS ACCESS TO ALL FUNCTIONS PRESENT IN PipBuck MARK II MODELS

The messages disappeared, and I found myself feeling quite normal again. I looked down at myself, then back at Bolts. He was looking at me curiously.

“Well, did it work?”

“I….I think so. But I don’t feel any different.”

Really, I didn’t feel anything. Nothing felt strange like when I woke up. And I didn’t have a feeling of new functions being added like when I used to get system updates. I just felt the same as I had before.

“Well, that’s the best I can do for now.” He turned back to the desk, pulling out a few more items from the pile. “I’d suggest you head out in the morning. There are a lot of things in the wasteland that come out at night.”

Since I didn’t know much about the world outside yet, I felt that would be a good idea. It would also give me time to think about what exactly I was going to do once I reached Trotsville.

But no matter what, one thing was still clear to me.

No matter what, I was going to find my family.

Chapter 3: Travels

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Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 3: Travels

“Honey, I don’t think anti-aging creme is going to fix that.”

It was a long night….at least for me.

After some thinking, I decided to take Bolts up on his advise; waiting until morning to head for Trotsville. After all, I was at least one hundred and ninety years behind everypony else. So if I was going into a new world, taking advice was my best bet to stay functioning.

Bolts fell asleep sometime around noon, but as for me, I was searching through my new software. The Pip-Buck chip hadn’t corrupted my system, so that left me the rest of the night to explore all the new functions it gave me.

I dug around the programing for a few hours, hoping to find something new. A few small things were instantly added; such as Inventory Hardware, Radio, and Health Observer. The last one wasn’t much good with me, since I never got sick.

After a while though, I did find a few things that could definitely come in handy. The first thing was something called the E.F.S., or Eyes Forward Sparkle. Once I’d selected that, the bottom of my vision was obscured by a small green line. A green dot pointed in the direction of Bolt’s room, which I guessed meant that it told me if there was anypony nearby.

But what I found next was even more surprising. At the very end of the programing code was a system called the Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell; or S.A.T.S. for short. And unlike the E.F.S., this one actually had an explanation of what it does and how it works.

Apparently this “spell” sped up a pony's perception, allowing them to zero in on any target they wish. But since I wasn’t a pony, I didn’t know what this thing would do for me. I tried starting it up, but all I got was a message reading: NO TARGETS.

I decided to leave testing for another time, and spent the rest of the night looking over the other programs. But ultimately, the only other important function I found was a map. I was sure I had a good view on the world around me, but I kept the function on anyway. After all, lots of things could have changed in nearly two hundred years.

Eventually the living room began to become visible with the covered sight of the rising sun. It was almost hard to believe that burning star was still moving; was Celestia still raising the sun each day? What about Luna; did she do the same with the moon?

“Questions for another time,” I said to myself. Right now, I had to focus on starting my quest to find my family. And now that the sun was up, I finally could.

But because of everything that had happened, I waited until Bolts finally woke up. After all, I had to at least say goodbye to the pony that reactivated me and gave me some new upgrades.

He finally emerged from his bed around 6 PM. I was sitting in the living room at the time, reading one of the surviving books. He walked out of the hallway and made his way towards the kitchen.

“Good Morning,” I said as I marked my place; there was no way I wasn’t going to take a book with me.

“Oh, you’re still here?” he asked, not even bothering to turn around. “I’d have thought you’d have left the moment the sun was up.”

“Normally I would,” I replied as I followed him into the kitchen. “But I wanted to say goodbye….and mostly thank you.”

Bolts sat down at the table, looking a little worn out. “You’re Welcome….I’m just glad that I helped somepony get their life back. And for you, I guess that’s litteral.”

“That’s not something I’m going to forget. Not ever,” I replied. “So, when I do find my family….I’ll come back here. And I will repay you for this.”

Bolts kept staring straight ahead, but soon let out a small breath. “It’s your choice….and I guess that generosity should continue.”

His horn ignited, and in a flash a small saddle-bag appeared in front of me. “I packed you some spare parts, and other pieces of tech that match your system. If you’re heading into the wasteland, you’re going to need them.”

“The world’s really that bad?” I didn’t want to know what kind of world I’d woken up in, but I was going to. My family was out in it, and now I needed to follow their path. If that meant new ponies and new dangers, I’d face them all.

Bolts ignited his horn again, and floated his loaded gun holster over to me. I encased it in my own magic, feeling the weight that came with it.

“Yes, it is,” he replied. “And that’s why you’re going to need that. Ponies won’t hesitate to use theirs on you.”

“Killing’s not in my programing.”

“Yeah,” said Bolts, looking away from me. “Well get it programed. You’ll need to if you want to survive.”

I didn’t know if he was right, but I hoped he wasn’t. Maybe ponies weren’t as bad as he made them out to be. But that thought wasn’t enough to stop me from latching the holster around my front leg.

“....Goodbye Bolts.”

The old unicorn simply waved a hoof at me. “Good Luck robot.”

I nodded in reply, then turned on my hooves, grabbed the saddle-bag, and headed out the door.

***

Leaving the neighborhood was just like before, but I found it hard not to look at all the abandoned houses. The ones that once housed ponies, ones that I had once seen every day.

I left those thoughts at the back of my processor as I made my way down the road. The pavement was still cracked, and black grass sprang up every few steps.

Then there was the area that surrounded the road. Other houses in the distance looked just as worn out and faded as the ones in Paradise Acres. Occasionally a smashed cart could be seen by the road or out farther; all having almost worn away to nothing.

“Those Zebras,” I said to myself. “How could they….how could they destroy this land? All the ponies that lived here….how many died?”

I could only think that the dead ranged in the millions, maybe even more. Megaspells were said to be the deadliest weapon ever created; just one could decimate an entire city.

Or deactivate one robot.

But all that was in the past; the world I knew no longer existed. Now, I had to deal with the one that was left behind. The one that held my family….and an new way of life.

I didn’t know weather it was luck or coincidence, but at that moment I got an update. In the right corner of my vision, a message appeared. It read PONYTUNES RADIO SIGNAL FOUND.

Wait….that couldn’t be right. Ponytunes was a radio station from my time. There’s no way that after all this time the station could still be operating. I mean, who would take up the time to run a radio station in a world this broken?

Wanting to know more about this, I looked through the programing and tuned into the station.

“....Welcome Back fillies and Gentlecolts. This is Ponytunes Radio, and I’m your host: The Whisperer!“

“Now I know you ponies are all wondering what’s going on in Equestria today. Thought that also means you clearly don’t care about all the unimaginable things that ponies are doing out there. But since you’re so interested, I’ll go ahead and let you know!”

“We got word coming in from the settlement of High Rise about possible TSIM activity happening around the old Baltimare Library. What those eggheads would want with some old books is beyond me. Maybe they want to burn them for fuel, or maybe they just want something to read. But either way, I’d stick clear of that place until further notice.”

“Over in the settlement of Hell Bent, reports of increased raider activity continue to rise. But before you think of taking a gun and helping the place, the Mayor has asked me to tell you to keep away. He says his ponies can handle it, and no innocent civilians need to get hurt.”

“Well, it seems that’s all the news I have for you right now folks. But stick around, cuzz we’ll be playing your favorite tunes all day long. In fact, next up is one of my favorites from good Old Pony Marcus. Thanks for listening everyone, and remember to tune back into Ponytunes Radio. The only radio station in Baltimare that brings you non stop music and news!”

Got a doll, baby, I love her so
Nothing else like her anywhere you go
Wow, she's anything but calm
A regular pint sized magic bomb

Magic bomb baby, little Magic bomb
I want her in my wigwam
She's just the way I want her to be
A million times hotter than TNT

***

Wow….I didn’t understand even half of what that pony was saying. Raiders? Settlements? At least that meant that ponies were starting to build places to live. But I had a feeling that “raiders” weren’t very good….at least from what that pony was saying.

However, one thing did sound familiar. “TSIM”.

Bolts had mentioned them when I’d woken up. But like everything else, I still had no idea what they were. He’d even said they might be interested in me….so, were they with Robronco? Nothing in my database had any mention of TSIM….maybe they were something else all together.

The radio said they were searching in the ruins of the Baltimare Library; did that mean Baltimare was abandoned too? The city had been one of the largest in Equestria, which I guess made it a perfect target for megaspells.

I kept thinking about that for a while, until I shifted focus back to getting to Trotsville. But I made a note to myself to go to Baltimare at some point to see what had happened to it.

***

I’d been walking for at least two hours, and the scenery hadn’t changed much. The only thing that was different was the lack of any houses out this far. Occasionally a smashed cart appeared near the road or out further away.

The radio continued to blast music, which was a small comfort for me. Hearing music from my time was a good reminder that the world might still have some class left in it.

But in the time I’d been walking, more thoughts had sprang into my processor. Many things about the world around me raised many questions. For one thing; why was the cloud cover still up? It had been like that since yesterday, yet not a drop of rain had fallen. Were pegasus’ more focused on surviving than moving the clouds out of the way?

Also, there was the road I was walking down. I’d been down this way before: back when I’d go into the city to buy anything needed for the house. Which meant that I was heading for MacIntosh Intersection; a small hamlet along the way to Baltimare.

Did that mean I’d pass that before reaching Trotsville?

I barely had time to think about that, because at that moment a small message appeared in the corner of my vision. It was red, and had the title “Radio Distress Beacon Found”!

“Distress?” Even the lowest minded ponies knew that meant somepony was in trouble. Quickly, I turned off Ponytunes and dialed into the new one.

“This is an emergency distress call from the old Militia Office southwest of Trotsville. Me and a group of ponies are held up in the top office space, and there’s ghouls all over. We’re running low on ammunition and supplies. If anypony is nearby who can help, I beg you to.”

“....This message repeats in five seconds.”

Well, at least for once, there was only one thing there that I didn’t understand. Clearly those ponies needed help, and it wasn’t too far away from where I was heading.

But what in the name of Celestia was a ghoul? Was it like a kind of ghost, or a name for a new creature? All I knew right now was that it was causing harm to other ponies.

….I could have easily walked away; just continued heading onto Trotsville like nothing was happening. “But what if that was my family….wouldn’t I want somepony to help them?”

Part of me wanted to focus solely on my mission….but I knew that I couldn’t.

I switched the distress signal off and took up the map program. A new box had been added, and I quickly selected it. The map disappeared, and a small arrow appeared in my vision; pointing to the northwest.

“Just hold on a little more,” I said before sprinting in the direction the arrow was pointing.

***

The area itself wasn’t too far away from my location. Twenty minutes of running was all it took to find the Militia Building. A small roadway lead to a large parking lot, which was filled with deteriorated carts.

I stopped at the edge of the cracked asphalt and gave the building a look over. It was roughly four floors high, with a very simple outside. The entrance was covered by a small awning, which was covered in holes. As I was looking the area over, a small notice appeared in my vision. It read “Baltimare Malita Building Discovered.”

“Well, given it’s been one hundred ninety years, I’d say it’s in okay shape,” I said to myself. Slowly, I made my way across the parking lot. The decayed carts that filled it spilled their contents everywhere; with items ranging from spoons to blood packs.

None of this was valuable to me; robots didn’t need blood. And since we don’t eat, spoons aren’t important either. But I reminded myself to come back if I ever did….for a reason I didn’t yet know.

Soon I was standing in front of the main doorway. It was made of sturdy wood; clearly meant to withstand a good attack. A single poster was nailed to it, depicting Wonderbolts raining down on an army of Zebras. The caption read “WIPE THE STRIPES: JOIN THE EQUESTRIAN FORCES TODAY!”

“And to think I used to pass by these signs, and every time I had little to no reaction.”

I kept those thoughts in check as I pushed open the door and walked inside.

***

It was a complete mess.

The front lobby was covered in dust and grime, with busted furniture piled around the walls. The front desk sat on the other side, with one lone terminal providing some light in the dark room.

“Well that’s going to make it difficult to navigate,” I said as I began looking through my new programs. “There has to be something here that can help.”

My processor sped through the programs faster than I could see. But soon, a program pulled up called “PipBuck Light.”

“Perfect,” I replied before activating it. Instantly, there was a flash and the whole room lit up. The holes in the floor and ceiling became visible, as did the doorways that lead further into the building.

“Sweet Luna! What happened to this place?” It didn’t seem likely that the ages had done this. Time doesn’t push or smash furniture.

That meant that (hopefully) something had been here before. Weather or not it was still here wasn’t certain, but a group of ponies was. And I had to find them.

“Now, the message said the ponies were trapped on the top floor. So, I need to find a staircase.”

I maneuvered my way around the holes in the floor, and soon reached the right side doorway. The hallway beyond had a few rooms with open doors. Unfortunately, a section of the room had caved in, blocking the passage.

“Okay, let’s try the other way,” I said before heading to the other doorway. But as I neared it, something appeared in my vision.

A small red dot sat in the lower section of my vision. It was moving slowly from side to side. “Wait a minute...this is the E.F.S. that came with the Pipbuck chip.”

The last time it was working, it’d showed where Bolts was sleeping. But his had appeared as a green dot….so why was this one red?

I kept an eye on the dot as I walked through the doorway and into the hallway. Like the other one, open doors spread along the walls. But thankfully, at the other end was another door with the word “Stairs” written above it.

“Perfect,” I thought as I made my way down the hallway. I gave quick glances into the other rooms, which all seemed to be old office spaces. With all the carts outside, I had to think how many ponies were here when the war began.

I was so busy thinking and walking….that I didn’t see what was coming up behind me. My only warning was a deep, blood chilling shriek. Quickly, I looked back just in time to see a pair of hooves smash into me.

The impact sent me flying onto the group, with my attacker now standing right above me. Once my sensors stopped going haywire, I looked up at the pony above me.

I screamed. I screamed louder than I ever had before.

It was a pony, no doubt about that. It had the shape and general look, not to mention a large horn on it’s forehead. But sweet Celestia, it looked more like a zombie!

Skin was hanging off it like old sheets on a dryline. I could see weathered bones underneath it, which were only covered in certain parts by disgusting slabs of muscle. But the eyes….they had no soul in them. They were just blank, and looking at me with utmost hunger.

I hadn’t even stopped screaming when the creature shot down towards my face. Quickly I brought my hooves up and tried my hardest to push it way. It’s yellow teeth kept snapping; trying to bite off a piece of me.

But I couldn’t hold onto it forever….I needed a way of incapacitating it. So, using the processor Robronco gave me, I ignited my horn and encased the creature in my magic. With as much force as I could muster, I threw the creature off me and into the ceiling above.

It hit with a resounding SPLAT before quickly falling to the ground. Taking this as an opportunity, I scrambled back onto my hooves and backed away from the creature.

“Please be dead, Please Be Dead.”

But it seemed my luck wasn’t with me, as the creature soon began to slowly raise himself off the floor. If I wanted to take it out, I had to think fast.

“Okay, what do I have?” I used one of my new programs to pull up my inventory. “Scrap Parts, Scrap Parts, Scrap Parts….wait, of course!”

I ignited my horn again and quickly pulled out Bolts’ gun. It was fully loaded, with the pin already pulled back. “Don’t Hesitate to use it!” That’s what he had said.

The creature had now fully risen, and was turning it’s head towards me. With another screech, it ran towards me at an alarming rate.

Quickly, I took the gun and aimed at the creature’s head. “Celestia Help Me,” I said before pulling the trigger. The shot fired out the barrel before penetrating the creature’s head. A second later, the back exploded as the shot burst through. Instantly, the creature fell onto the ground and moved no more.

I sat frozen for a few seconds before I lowered the gun, but still kept it encased with magic. If I’d had a stomach, I’d have probably puked everything out of it.

Even for what I was, my system was still trying to process everything that had happened.

“What….was….that?!”

It seemed like something out of the horror dramas that Smithson, Ruger (and occasionally myself) used to watch. But this wasn’t fiction….this was real.

“Wait a minute, the broadcast said something about Ghouls.” I looked over the creature again. “Is this one of them?”

My mind also began to wonder more about it. Was this really, at one point, a pony? Or was it just something that looked like a pony but really wasn’t. After all, I looked like a pony but underneath is nothing but metal.

But now I had another thought. The broadcast also said that the group was surrounded by ghouls. “So how many are left?”

I kept thinking about that as I walked towards the stairs and away from the corpse behind me.

***

Surprisingly the second floor was completely empty. A few dead ghouls lay every few feet, but overall it was pretty quiet. This time though, I did look in all the rooms to see if there was anything else that needed to be shot.

Thankfully I made my way to the second stairwell without any incidents. But as I walked up them, my E.F.S. showed three more red dots.

“Great,” I said as I floated out my gun. “As if one wasn’t bad enough.”

I crept up the last steps and slid over to the doorway. The red dots were slowly moving across my vision, before stopping and moving back again.

“They must be wandering around,” I thought. “My best bet will be to sneak up on them; that way they won’t run straight at me.”

So, trying not to make a sound, I slowly crept from the doorway into the hallway. Like the others, it was a straight shot to the stairwell on the other side.

I crept to the nearest room and peeked inside, finding it empty except for a desk and some furniture. I made moved to the one across the hall, also finding it empty.

It wasn’t until I was moving to the third room that I noticed one of the red dots moving. As I looked down the hall, another ghoul popped out of the room at the end.

I counted my curses and I watched the freak turn it’s head and see me. It let out a screech before running full gallop towards me.

“Oh Dear!” I screamed as logic took over and I began to back away.

Quickly, I raised my gun and fired at the ghoul. The first shot hit it in the leg, while the second dug into it’s chest. But they didn’t seem to affect it, because soon the creature leapt in the air and collided with me.

Once again I raised my hoof in defence, but it was too slow. The ghoul bit down on my leg and started pulling at the fake skin. I could feel the pressure on the metal plates as the bone encased it.

“Hey, back off,” I screamed as I ignited my horn again. The ghoul was encased in magic, and I quickly threw it off me. But not before it took a chunk of fake skin along with it.

“Oh dear, that’s not going to look good,” I said as I looked at the exposed metal part of my leg.

The ghoul landed halfway down the hall, still with the skin in it’s mouth. But as it began to rise, I noticed the two other dots moving toward the center. Just then, the other two ghouls ran out into the hallway.

“Really!” I quickly got back on my hooves as the ghouls ran towards me. “This just isn’t my lucky day!”

Quickly, I ignited my horn and surrounded myself in a bubble of magic. The ghouls slammed into it, but weren’t able to pass through. I watched as they hit it, bit it, and even just ran into it.

“Not very intelligent.” But even so, I was still outnumbered three to one. And because of that, it would make it difficult to get a clear shot in. I needed to find a way to get shots to the head as fast as I could.

“....Wait a minute….”

When I was looking over my new programing, something had come up called S.A.T.S.. The data said it was a way for ponies to “zero in” on any part of a target they needed.

I looked through the programs until I found it. I read over the data again; just to confirm what it did. Once my theory was proven true, I selected the program.

Instantly, my head shifted until I was looking at one of the ghouls. It still scratched and hit at the bubble, but now it’s head was glowing green. I was a little confused, but then I looked down at it’s belly. Instantly, the green glow shifted downward until it too covered the belly.

“Oh, I get it. I have to pick the body part I want to shoot!”

I remembered back to when I was battling the first ghoul. One shot to the head and brought it down….I just hoped it was the same for these ghouls.

So I selected the head of each ghoul, before leaving the program. Instantly, my body moved so fast I didn’t have time to contemplate it. My horn ignited, pointing the gun at the first ghoul’s head before firing.

The bullet burst the bubble and went clear through the ghoul’s head. Blood and brain bits shot out the back as the body fell to the ground. But I only saw a second of it before my body turned to the other ghouls.

I could only watch as my gun blasted through the other two’s heads, leaving large red bloodstains on the walls. Once the last ghoul fell to the ground, I felt the programing shut down and was able to move by myself again.

“....What….was….that!” It was like my whole body was acting on it’s own. The feeling was like when I looked at the memory orb. My body moved, but I had no control over what it did.

“I’ll have to work on that later,” I said as I made my way to the final stairwell. But as I passed the ghouls, I levitated the torn off piece of skin out of the one’s mouth.

“Good show chaps, but there will be no prizes for you today.”

My magic worked on reattaching it as I passed through the doorway and walked up the stairs.

***

When I finally reached the landing, I checked my E.F.S. for any dots. But thankfully, there were none that I could see. However, I did look beyond the doorway to make sure.

The room beyond was small, but more well kept than the others. It looked like a receptionist area; with a large wooden desk on the other side and three couches along the walls. A few lights flickered overhead, showing off the amount of deterioration that covered the area.

“Now, where are those ponies?” I walked slowly into the room and looked around. But that didn’t take long, as I soon found the target of my objective. Another door sat beside the desk, along with a small intercom on the wall.

Quickly, I trotted over and gave the device a look over. It seemed relatively undamaged, so I pressed the button and waited before speaking.

“Uh, hello. Is anypony there?” I released the button and waited, hoping something happened.

There was a slight buzz of static, “Hello?”

Oh thank the goddesses, there was actually ponies in there. “Yes, hello. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you. But who are you, and how’d you get up here?”

“My name is Garcon, and I used the stairway.”

“How can that be? There’s ghouls on almost every floor.”

“I killed them.” The thought of actually killing something was….odd. I’d never done it before, and I didn’t want to get used to it. My programing was to help others, not harm.

“You killed those things? Hu, well thanks. Hold on a moment and I’ll open the door for you.”

The door twitched before slowly sliding open. When it stopped, a dark grey earth pony with a silver mane and bullet cutie mark stepped out. He wore an old saddle with a large gun attached to it. He also wore a black bulletproof vest, that looked more worn out than it should.

“I don’t know who you are, but your timing is impeccable. I didn’t think anypony would respond to that distress call.”

“Well I couldn’t just turn away when ponies needed help. What kind of….pony….would I be if I did?” I didn’t want to inform this stallion of myself just yet, not until I’d made sure he wouldn’t shoot.

“Well that makes you better than most ponies I know.” He turned around and headed into the room. “Come on, the others will want to meet you.”

I followed the stallion into the room, which was almost as large as the floors below. In the center was a large desk, atop which sat a terminal. The far left corner held a small sitting area, which was currently occupied by a group of ponies. They all looked at me as I walked in, mostly with looks of interest.

The rest of the room was a mixture of partly collapsed roofs and sets of motherboards. Except for the area behind the desk; in the wall was a large rusty safe.

The stallion walked over to the ponies, and I followed along behind him. He stopped before them and turned towards me.

“Everyone, this is the stallion that took care of those ghouls for us.”

“Oh….thank you so much,” said one of the ponies.

“Yeah, we’d have starved to death if you hadn’t come along,” said another.

“Really,” I replied, “it’s no problem. I was just doing what I knew was right.”

“Well what you thought was right saved us,” said the stallion. “By the way, the name’s Caliber. I’m with The Defenders.”

I raised an eyebrow questionably. “The what?”

Now Caliber was looking at me funny. “You’re not from around here are you?”

“More than you could ever know,” I thought.

“Uh, yeah.” I tried my best to keep eye contact. It was one of the things Master Smithson used to do when trying to stay cool. “Not really familiar with this….area.”

“Well then allow me to enlighten you,” he replied. “The Defenders are a group of ponies who help those that can’t help themselves. We send groups to towns and cities offering help, with the simple catch that they donate to our cause.”

“Doesn’t seem to bad,” I replied. In fact, it was almost heartwarming (so to speak). Ponies actually wanting to help others, and not for any personal gain.

Caliber chuckled, “you’d think so, but it’s not all mildly clear skies and clean water. Sometimes, the enemy is too strong and we’re forced to retreat.”

He looked sadly at the group of ponies behind him. “That’s what happened to us a few weeks ago. I was patrolling outside the settlement of Bagon when a group of raiders attacked. There were too many of them; and so many civilians were dying.”

“Eventually me, another Defender called Buck, and a group of ponies escaped and tried finding a new settlement. But everywhere we turned, there was something else coming after us. We lost Buck, and up to six ponies during that time. Eventually we made our way here, only finding out too late that ghouls were already here.”

“Oh dear,” I said. These ponies had been through hell, and yet they still found a way to push on. Even after every loss, every disappearance of hope, they still made it through.

Caliber turned back to me, still look uneasy. “I know you just saved our lives, and we’re really appreciative. But you don’t happen to have any medical supplies and food do you?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m afraid I don’t.”

He sighed “sorry for asking. We’ve been without food for two days, and a healing potion would really help Lotus with her broken leg.”

“Caliber, don’t make the stallion feel quilty,” said a pink mare with a white mane and a lotus cutie mark. “He just said he doesn’t have any, and that’s that.”

The stallion blushed and looked shamefully down at the ground. I chuckled a bit; seeing a gun wielding earth pony be put down by a mare was very funny.

“I might not have any supplies, but I did pass a lot of rooms on my way up here.” I pointed at the open doorway. “I could go and see if there’s anything useful in them.”

That got a smile out of Caliber. “Would you? We’d really appreciate it if you did.”

“Not a problem at all. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I said before turning around and heading for the doorway.

***

Looking through the rooms was a lot easier without ghouls attacking you.

Most of them were simple office spaces with little to nothing valuable. There were plenty of pens, old pieces of paper, and even some rather flattering magazines. But I wasn’t having much luck in finding supplies.

Finally, my search took me again to the bottom floor. The dead ghoul still sat in the hallway; a fitting reminder of my first kill in my entire time of existence. But it wasn’t a pony….at least I hoped it wasn’t.

I checked the rooms along the first hallway, but still found nothing valuable. I entered the lobby and checked around the desk. A few draws were open, but the only thing inside was a few bottle caps.

The last draw wasn’t open, but what I found was very good. A small yellow medical kit sat inside, ready to be used.

“This should work,” I said as I levitated it out of the drawer and into my saddle-bag. “Now, all that’s left is food.”

The only rooms I hadn’t checked were the ones in the hallway with the collapsed room. I hadn’t even given it a second thought when I’d see the rubble, but now there was a reason to.

I trotted over to the doorway and looked down the decrepit corridor. All but one of the doors were open, and they only went down halfway before the rubble blocked the path.

“I’d have thought Equestria Buildings would be more intact than this after nearly two hundred years,” I said to myself.

I began looking through the first room on the right. Like the others, it was mostly paper and pens with the occasional coffee cup. Nothing that ponies could eat and digest safely.

The other opens rooms were the same; useless items for the given situation. I was almost ready to give up and head back upstairs. But there was still one more room; the one behind the closed door.

When I tried turning the handle, I found it wouldn’t budge. And even after a few hard kicks, the door still refused to open.

“Must be locked,” I told myself, which was a problem. Unless a lock was attached to a terminal or hard drive, there was no way I could open it. After all, lock picking isn’t really required for a butler to learn.

“Well, I hate to destroy private property, but…” I ignited by horn, aimed it at the door, and let loose a blast of magic. The door flew off it’s hinges and across the room, smacking into the wall on the other side and raining dust down along the hallway.

“Whoops,” I said as I looked into the room. It wasn’t very big, but it was large enough to walk into with room to spare. Shelves ran along the wall, holding an assortment of items.

“....wow, more pencils and paper.” It wasn’t what I was hoping for; boxes of pens and paper sat on each shelf. There was also boxes of staples, paper towels, pieces of machinery, and others like it.

“Come on Garcon, don’t get discouraged yet.” I began walking around the room, checking each shelf. “There might still be something here than can be useful.”

Every shelf was like the last one; nothing but paper and pencils. I walked around the entire room, until I came to the last one in the row.

“Please be something good,” I said as I looked over the items. But it seemed like it was going to be just like the others….until I reached the bottom.

There was a box on the last shelf that had the words “for breakroom” written on the side. I pulled the box out and set it on the floor before opening it.

“Jackpot!”

Inside the box were more boxes….that all had the words “Fancy Mare Snack Cakes” written on them. They all looked a little dirty, which was mild considering the fact they were nearly two hundred years old. Of course that just lead to another question.

“Are these things even edible?”

Even if somepony could get past what they must taste like, I could only wonder what they could do to your digestive track. But even so, this was the only food I could find. So I encased the box with my magic and made my way back upstairs, with the snack cakes floating along behind me.

***

When I arrived back in the room, I found the group of ponies still hadn’t moved from the small corner. Caliber was sitting on one of the the couches, carefully cleaning his gun.

“Bon appetite,” I said as I placed the box down in front of the group.

“Back already,” said Caliber. He walked over looked inside the box, giving off a big smile when he saw the contents. “And it looks like you delivered on your promise.”

“In both ways,” I replied. I levitated the medical supplies out of my bag and over to the group of ponies. “Hope those help.”

Caliber took out a few boxes and began passing them around to the group. The ponies instantly ripped open the boxes and began devouring the cakes. I watched the whole thing with some concern.

“Aren’t you worried eating nearly two hundred year old food will have some….aftereffects?”

“Not at all,” replied Caliber. “We eat stuff like this all the time. Ponies just knew how to make food back then.”

When he’d finished distributing the food, the tossed a box over to me. “You deserve to eat too. After all, you found all of this.”

“Oh, yes, right. It’s just that….I’m not that hungry right now.” I placed the box in my saddle-bag. “I’ll enjoy it later if it’s all the same.”

“Suite yourself, but you’ll want to keep your energy up.”

Caliber sat down with the other ponies and began helping himself to a few cakes. I looked over the group, and saw one of the ponies looking through the medical supplies.

“Healing potions, bandages, med-x, and some radaway,” she said before looking behind her. “With all this, we could have Lotus’ leg fixed in no time. Not to mention your concussion Duke.”

A stallion with a red mane and brown coat looked over at the mare, not looking too happy. Then again, he did just finish off his box of snack cakes.

“I told you, I don’t need any medicine. It’s just headache. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Well at least take a healing potion; maybe it’ll help that ‘headache’ of yours.” She levitated a bottle of purple liquid over to him, which he sourly took.

“The others should have first pick of any medical supplies; they’re in much worse shape then I am. I mean just look at our savior; he has stitches along his chest and legs. He needs a healing potion more than me.”

I looked down at the sewn together opening at my chest, along with the patch of skin I’d reattached. But there wasn’t skin and bone under it; just metal and wires.

“Well that’s true,” said the mare. “I could look at those if you want dear. Make sure they aren’t infected or the strings aren’t loose.”

“NO!” It came out as a scream, which caused everypony to look at me strangely. I quickly regained my cool and thought about my response carefully. “I’m mean, no thank you. I’m fine, really.”

These ponies may think of me as a hero, but would they still think that if they found out what I was? After all, Bolts had turned hostile when I’d first woken up. I just had a feeling that robots that looked like ponies weren’t very popular in this new world.

The group gave me one more look before returning to their expired food. I took this as an excuse to go and sit on the chair behind the large desk. It was close enough to see everypony, but far enough away that I could have some thoughts to myself.

Needing a distraction, I turned my attention to the terminal that sat on the desk. Unlike the ones at the stable, I couldn’t just plug myself into it and unlock it. So, I turned it on and watched as the passcode screen popped up.

It was a simple job of routing through the codes to find the right one. Usually, codes for terminals were either long or short; nowhere in between. Also, depending on where you were, there could be clues as to what the code was.

The desk had only one thing on it besides the terminal and a small lamp; a picture of a very cute dog. I sifted through the codes until I found one that matched the criteria: Puppy.

I entered the code and watched as the login screen disappeared and a list of entries showed up. They had titles such as “Business Meetings” and “Family Troubles”, along with lists of things that needed taken care of.

None of that really mattered to me; it was all stuff from my time, which was long gone. Instead, I focused on the last entry in the list: Safe Lock. Once I’d selected it, there were two options: Lock the Safe, or Open the Safe.

I hit open and instantly heard a click from the wall safe behind me. I stepped out of the chair, trotted over to the safe, and opened it. Inside was a few bits, an ammo container….and a gun.

But it wasn’t just any gun; it was a magical energy pistol. I’d heard about them from Master Ruger; the company he worked for helped distribute them. And despite being almost two hundred years old, it looked amazing.

I floated the items out of the safe before walking back and placing them on the desk. The ammo container held crystal energy cells for the pistol, as well as a grenade. Master Smithson had also spoken of these; they cause big explosions when the pin is pulled.

Once everything was sorted, I loaded it all into my saddle-bags. I kept the M.E.P. outside; just in case I needed it. But as I did, my sensors registered a target moving towards me.

“Found a good stash,” asked Caliber.

“Just a few things,” I said. “Oh, here, your group could probably use these.” I pushed the bag of bits over to him.

Strangely, he looked at them as if he didn’t know what they were. “Uh, what can we do with these?”

Really?

“Don’t ponies use currency anymore. I mean, you do have settlements right?”

“Look colt, I don’t know where you came from, but we don’t use bits anymore.”

“But if you don’t use bits, what do you use as currency?”

“I’ll show you,” he replied before taking a bag from his saddle. He tossed it to me, and I caught it with my magic. When I looked inside, I saw it was filled with bottle caps.

“Bottle Caps? That’s really what ponies use for currency?”

“Hey, there available all across the wasteland. That means that ponies stuck on their luck have a chance to find some and get back on their hooves. It’s all fare with these, so we keep them as currency.”

I wasn’t sure how ponies could make changes like that when there was probably ample amount of bits left in the nation. Moreover, I left a message for myself to collect the few caps I’d found in the front lobby desk before I left.

“So,” said Caliber as he took a seat in front of the desk, “what was a pony like you doing out here by yourself?”

“I was on my way to Trotsville,” I replied. “I’m trying to find my family, and I hope to find some kind of clue to where they went there.”

Caliber gave me a sad look. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine,” I replied. “Anyway, I’m more interested about you. Now that those ghouls are dead, what are you going to do next?”

“Well I figured we’d head to Trotsville too. After all, it’s the closest town from here. Figure maybe we’ll be able to find help there.”

If these ponies were going to head the same place as me, then maybe we could help each other. “Well if you are, mind if I tag along. I could help protect your group until we arrive.”

“That sounds great. What say we head out in the morning; we should arrive there by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Fine by me, but if so you all should get some sleep. You’ll need all the energy you can muster for tomorrow.”

“I’ll pass,” replied Caliber. “Somepony needs to keep watch.”

I waved a hoof at him dismissively. “Don’t worry, I can do that. I’m not the least bit tired, so I don’t mind staying up.”

“Eh, I’m not sure. Seems dangerous to have a pony we barely know keeping watch. Especially when we’re asleep. You might try to shoot us and take everything we have.”

I raised an eyebrow questionably. “Yes, a pony who saved your lives, brought you food and medical supplies, and agreed to go with you to Trotsville is definitely going to shoot you when you all fall asleep.”

“Okay,” he replied, “you made your point.”

“So, do we have an agreement?”

“Yes, we’ll hit the hay. But if things get rough, you wake me up so I can help.”

“Deal,” I replied before turning back to the terminal. Caliber walked over to the others and explained the situation. Not long after, the ponies started laying down and closing their eyes.

Half an hour later, the room was filled with the sound of snoozing ponies. I was left with my M.E.P. and an old terminal….and my thoughts.

“For a first day, I’d say it was pretty eventful,” I said to myself. I’d learned a lot about the world, and what it would take to survive in it. Not only that, but there was also hope that other ponies were trying to rebuild.

I just hoped that somewhere out there in this burned world, my family was patiently waiting for me.

GARCON STATS:

Strength: 7
Perception: 9
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 9
Agility: 6
Luck: 4

New Program Added

Bullseye: You are now 25% more likely to hit your targets in S.A.T.S.

Chapter 4: Locals

View Online

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.

Chapter 5: Challenges

View Online

Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 5: Challenges

“It’s just blood….nothing more nothing less”.

I could tell Cyborg was having a tough time.

After grabbing the supplies he’d hidden away, we walked through the hallway and out the entrance door. But as we reached the stairs, Cyborg paused before turning back towards his former residence.

“....It’s almost sad really,” he said after a moment. “You live someplace for a few years, and it really starts to feel like home”.

I knew that feeling well; I’d had similar ‘feelings’ when I lived with my masters. You get used to living someplace, and it seems strange when you have to leave it. It’s almost like losing a little part of yourself.

“Well, think of it like this,” I replied. “Now, you can find someplace that’s even better than this one”.

Cyborg sighed, then turned around and headed for the stairs. “I fail to see how that’s possible,” he said with a frown. “Not many places have a history of science, or come with a well-paying job and protection”.

I thought about mentioning the synths that had gotten through his security, but figured it’d be best not to. Instead I followed Cyborg down the stairs and onto the road that lead back to Trotsville.

We walked in silence for a while, leaving the sounds of the wasteland to fill our ears. Every gust of wind or crunch of dirt sounded strange in the still silence between the two of us.

Taking that into account, I scrolled through my programs and brought up the radio. Instantly, the gusts and crunch were replaced by the sweet toons of Pony Marcus’ Back to Equestria and a Home.

I know my heart is waiting for me by the river shore,
I know that all the ones I love will welcome me once more,
In dreams I see them now though it seems I’m bound to roam,
It calls me back to Equestria and a home….

“Hm….I always found this song to be somewhat soothing,” said Cyborg. “It reminds me of the times of my youth”.

I raised an eyebrow questionably. “Uh, were you able to hear that?”

“Of course,” he replied.

That was strange; I thought the signal went straight to my head. It hadn’t occurred to me that I was a walking speaker system. That Pip-Buck chip was really starting to change how much I knew about my systems.

“WHOA, welcome back fillies and gentlecolts to Ponytunes Radio. This is your host, The Whisperer, and we’ve got some new stories for your hungry minds!”

“First off, we have a word from our sponsor: Pony Jack’s All Purpose Food Shop. Whatever you want, when you want it. And all at an affordable price!”

Wow, they still had advertisements in the wasteland? I mean, how many ponies would actually travel across this land just for some food?

“Now for some actual news. We once again have word of possible TSIM activity along the coast of Baltimare. Though what they’d find out there besides old boats is beyond me”.

“There’s something valuable out there,” said Cyborg. “TSIM never sends synths anywhere unless they want something. If they’re rooting around some old boats, then there’s something valuable in one of them”.

“....And, how do you know this?”

Cyborg didn’t look at me; he just kept his stern face forward. “When you constantly have those electric bastards after you, you pick up a few things”.

“And we can assure ponies that the explosion was in fact intentional. Whatever you hear, no matter what anypony says, that explosion was intentional”.

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I was glad that Cyborg had pulled my thoughts away from the radio.

“Finally, we have word coming in about some….well….some interesting news. Ponies up in Manehattan have reported that a strange looking ship has been sailing down the coast. And just a few days ago, it was spotted near the shores of Baltimare. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure this is all true. It could be just another stray boat floating with the current”.

“Plus, there have been no reports of ponies on the decks. So I ask you; do you really think a ship with ponies on it is just floating down the Equestrian coast; without interacting with any settlement. Hm, I thought not”.

“Well fillies and gentlecolts, it appears my time is over. But fear not, I’ll be back soon to give you more updates and the sweet sound of my voice. Until next time, this is The Whisperer, and you’re listening to Ponytunes Radio. Stay safe fillies, and I hope you enjoy the music”.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. “That mare is a nightmare to listen to. She blasts news over the radio like it’s some kind of silly game”.

“Isn’t it good that she’s alerting ponies to what’s going on?”

“You’d think so,” replied Cyborg. “But she doesn’t show any emotion to the really heart-wrenching stories. She just blows it off as another problem and usually ends the stories with a joke”.

He narrowed his eyes and frowned even more. “I have no respect for ponies like that”.

Well it a good to know that ponies still had some old-world traits to them. And personally, I kind of agreed with him. Ponies that made tragic events look like nothing major wasn’t a pony who should be on the radio. They should show respect for what others might be feeling, and not what they want to feel.

The two of us remained silent for a while after that; the sounds of the radio were the only thing to pierce our ears. I almost felt like talking more to Cyborg; maybe talking would do some good, especially if he’s been by himself for a while.

However, the looming sight of Trotsville’s walls met my cameras. I sighed in relief; soon, I could get whatever supplies I needed before heading towards bucks crossing. I could leave all this synth business behind, and get back to what I came out here to do.

But as we got closer….I knew something was wrong.

What became apparent first were the three plumes of smoke that were rising from behind the walls. They seemed to originate near the city gates, though one was at the opposite side of the town.

“What’s going on,” I said quietly.

Cyborg looked up at the plumes of smoke, and I once again heard that strange whirring noise. “From what I guess, I’d say something’s going on at the main gate”.

He paused shortly. “But the other plume seems to be near the residential area….and the mayor’s office!”

Apparently, that was bad enough to get him running. He took off towards the gates with the speed of Rainbow Dash! I sighed quietly before taking off after him. But being a highly advanced robot is nothing to a pony with determination; I still wasn’t able to catch up with him.

He rounded the corner of the wall, disappearing from my sight. I pressed my circuits harder and soon turned the corner as well. But when I did, I saw something that I was not prepared to see.

Blood.

There was blood everywhere!

Ponies dressed in armor were sprawled out in front of the gates. Some still had their guns clutched in their hooves, while others looked like torn apart pieces of meat! Disembodied parts such as eyeballs, tails, hooves, and ears were scattered around the area.

I guess it was a good thing robots don’t eat; because I would have probably threw the contents of my stomach all over the area. Instead, I was left with a feeling of utmost shock and fear.

This wasn’t like the monstrous ghouls, or the robotic synths. These were ponies! Ponies that had lives; friends, family, love partners….and now it was gone. They were gone, and all because they were trying to protect others.

My harddrive was so focused on the bodies that I failed to notice that Cyborg was nowhere in sight. I’d have thought he would have stopped at the sight of the bodies as well. Instead, I noticed what looked like hoofprints in the blood, leading towards the gates.

Not only that, but soon the sound of gunfire reached my ears. It sounded like a mix of pistol, shotgun, and magic beam pistol firing off. Plus, there was the distinct sound of screaming and running hooves.

“What the fuck is going on?”

I knew I had to go inside to see what was happening….so I slowly made my way through the bloody minefield. I did my best not to step on an eyeball or section of intestines. But what I couldn’t avoid was the blood; it was everywhere. There were even pools of it forming in the spaces between bodies.

Finally I reached the gates. They appeared to have been blown open by an explosion; they were bent in the middle and barely attached to the hinges. Fire was consuming all the wooden pieces, causing the plumes of smoke we’d seen before.

I stuck to the wall and looked around the corner into town.

It was just as bad as the outside.

Bodies of both ponies and synths filled the streets. Some looked completely intact, while others were reduced to piles of ash or guts. The synths had sparks shooting out of their “wounds”, but some looked like they’d been hit with a giant rock.

There weren’t as many bodies as I’d expected, but still enough to know they had little warning. Most of the ponies had shopping bags, others looked like guards.

It wasn’t something I’d wanted to see….but I kind of expected it. If things had been bad on the outside, then the softer ponies inside didn’t have a chance.

I looked farther down the street, and saw where the gun sounds were coming from. A line of synths were formed near the T intersection at the end of town. They were concentrating their fire towards the Dead Shot Saloon, but a few were just standing there doing nothing.

I quickly moved away from the larger cluster of bodies. The synths seemed more interested in what was in front of them, not behind. That made it a lot simpler to move down the street without getting shot at.

Eventually I reached the alley way I’d stopped in a few hours earlier. I was about to move on when I heard somepony whisper “pst”.

I looked over at the alley way, and to my surprise saw Cyborg standing in the shadows. He had his beam pistol floating beside him, and looked ready to use it at a moment’s notice.

“There you are,” I said as I ran over to him. “What did you go running off for? You could have been running into a death trap!”

Cyborg snorted. “I needed to see if these ponies were okay. It was my job to watch over them, and as I see it it’s still my job”.

“Then we need to think this out,” I explained. “Like we did back with those other synths”.

“I can tell you it won’t be as easy,” he replied. He looked around the corner towards the line of synths. “These aren’t like the synths you and me fought”.

“What’s different about them,” I asked. From where I had been standing, they hadn’t looked any different.

“The ones we faced had exposed machinery; meaning they had no outer casing. But these do; and it has better resistance than flesh”.

I looked at the synths carefully, and did notice they had what looked like skin. But it was in pieces; like a large puzzle. That and the blue eyes easily made them distinguishable from real ponies.

“So, it’s going to take a lot more to take them out,” explained Cyborg. “If you can, aim for the cracks between the sections. It’s the best way to bypass the armor”.

That was easier said than done. My aim wasn’t the best, and my S.A.T.S. was only good for hitting body parts, not specific locations. Coupled with the fact that I was running low on ammo for my beam pistol; I was in some deep shit.

I thought back to the times me and Master Smithson would talk about his job. He’d tell me about the different kinds of weapons that went through the factory, and how each one could be used to it’s full advantage.

That’s when I thought of an idea.

“Think there’s any grenades around here?”

Cyborg looked at me like I’d spoken gibberish. “Just what are you planning on doing?”

I rolled my eyes. “Blowing them up. Why else would I ask for explosives?”

“It’s not going to work,” said Cyborg, shaking his head. “These synths are smarter than the ones we fought. Simply throwing a grenade at them won’t be enough”.

“Well, do you have any better ideas?”

This wasn’t really the time for arguing, but it looked like we were going in that direction. And hey, sometimes arguing brought out some of the best ideas in ponies.

For example.

“Well, they may be more resistant to gunfire and smarter than the brainless bots we fought”. He paused for a second. “But, they might still be stupid enough to trick”.

“What exactly do you have in mind,” I asked.

Cyborg thought for a moment. “Usually, synths share what they learn about certain ponies’ moves with each other. It’s how they are easily able to subdue almost anypony they come across”.

I grinned. “I’m guessing there’s a but coming up, right?”

“But,” he said with a smile, “the ones we fought couldn’t do that. So, it’s highly likely that they don’t know about the ‘pretend giving up approach’ either”.

Now things were starting to fall back into place. “So you think they’ll try and capture you, like the ones back at your home?”

“I thinks that’s why they’re here,” he said with a frown. “Why else would they attack Trotsville except if they were looking for me. There’s nothing of value here”.

Right then, it hit me as to why Cyborg was so tense right now. He must have thought this was his fault; the synths attacking the town because they were looking for him. In a sense, that meant that the blood would be on his hooves….no matter what anypony said.

Cyborg sighed before turning to me. “So, how exactly are we going to trick them?”

That was a good question, but one that I already had the answer to. “First I have to know; do we have any grenades?”

“Onto that again,” asked Cyborg, looking very confused. When I replied with a frown, he rolled his eyes. “Okay, yes. I have six. But like I said, I don’t think throwing a grenade at them will work”.

“I don’t plan on throwing the grenades,” I said. “I plan on using them in a different way”.

“How?”

I smiled. “You’ll see. Just give me the grenades and I’ll come back when my plan’s ready”.

Cyborg was silent for a moment, but eventually he levitated the grenades out of his bag. “Garcon, I just want to point out that you’re an asshole”.

“Noted,” I said as I placed the grenades in my own bags. “Now wait here”.

Quickly, I ran out of the alley way and towards the front door of Wholesale’s Allshop Shack. The front was covered with a few burn marks, but overall it looked relatively intact.

I used my magic to swing the door open, and quickly ran into the shop. Unfortunately, the second I ran through the door, I heard a bang and watched as a single bullet flew into the floor in front of me.

“GET READY FOR MORE YOU SONS OF….what the fuck are you doing here?”

I looked over to where the voice was coming from. The counter, which had actually been in good condition last time, was now splintered. The glass displays had been smashed, and the items inside were either destroyed or lying on the floor.

However, I was more focused on who was behind the counter. Wholesale stood near a small doorway at the end of the counter. She had a gun in her mouth, and looked ready to use it again. Her mane was everywhere, and the apron she was wearing was gone.

“Nice to see you too,” I said with a frown. Slowly, I made my way to the counter as she put the gun down.

“This ain’t the time for jokes,” she spat. “Or did you not see the bodies of innocent ponies lining the street, or the synths that were firing on the salon right now?”

“No I saw,” I said sadly. “But that’s why I’m here”.

Wholesale snorted. “You planning on hiding out here like me?”

I cringed. “No….and neither should you”.

“Say what now?”

I levitated my bag onto the counter and rolled the grenades out. Instantly, Wholesale’s eyes widened. “You want to take them out with grenades?”

“Not exactly,” I replied. “I actually think that we could….how did ponies say it….‘bring the house down’”.

Unfortunately, all I got from Wholesale was look of confusion. Sighing, I tried to explain in more detail. “If I can place these grenades in just the right spots, I can cause the whole building to come down right on the synths”.

Wholesale scrunched her face in anger, which was something that I expected to happen. I had a feeling she wouldn’t like my plan very much.

“You want to destroy my shop to get rid of those synths!?”

I rubbed my leg, “uh….yes”.

“You must be the biggest dumbass in history if you think I’m going to let you destroy my shop!” She walked around the counter and over to the open door, then pointed across the street at another building. “However, that one isn’t used by anypony in town”.

Well, that caused a wrinkle in my plan. I wanted to use Wholesale’s shop because it was smaller; meaning less explosives would be needed to bring it down. But the one she was pointing at was much bigger, and made of concrete.

“I’m not sure my grenades will be enough to take that building down,” I said with uncertainty.

Wholesale smiled. “You just leave that to me. I’ve thought about bombing the others stores around here for years; so I’ve formed plans on how to do it”.

I didn’t know whether to be happy or concerned by that statement. But what mattered was that now I had a pony to help me; I just hoped it would be enough.

“Fine; take the grenades and head over to the building. When you’re done, come back here and meet with me and Cyborg”.

“Roger that honey,” she said before she ran back to the counter, grabbed the grenades, and ran out the door. I followed behind her, then headed for the alley way.

I found Cyborg right where I’d left him; staring at the line of synths with a look of resentment. When I approached, he looked back and frowned.

“So, are the explosives set?”

“Slight change in plan,” I said. “Wholesale is setting them up in the building across the street. She didn’t want her shop to be destroyed”.

Cyborg rolled his eyes again. “I fail to see how any shop owner would be okay with that”.

“I’ll make a note of that for the next time I want to blow up a shop,” I said sarcastically. “Now, run the plan by me so I know we’re on the same page”.

Cyborg nodded. “Once the explosives are set, I run into the street and get the synth’s attention. When they focus on me, I run towards the designated building. The synths should follow me inside, where they’ll find me pressed against the farthest wall”.

“And what happens after that?”

“I use my magic to pull all the pins of the grenades before teleporting out. The explosives go off, and the synths get buried under a pile of rubble”.

Alright, everything was almost ready. Once Wholesale finished with the grenades, they could take out those synths. I just hoped that those inside the saloon could hold out long enough.

Soon, I heard the sound of approaching hooves. I turned and saw Wholesale running up to us, with a large grin on her face. She slid to a stop in front of me, covering Cyborg and I in dust.

“Grenades are all set; let’s blow this fruit stand,” she said enthusiastically.

“But it isn’t a fruit stand, it’s a building,” said Cyborg.

Wholesale facepalmed and sighed. “It’s just an expression”.

“Right,” said Cyborg. “Well, let’s go ahead and start. I want to end this a soon as possible”.

Cyborg holstered his gun and walked out of the alley. When he reached the center of the road, he stopped and turned towards the line of synths. Taking a deep breath, he summoned his strength and yelled.

“Excuse me, I do believe you are looking for me!?”

Two of the synths who weren’t shooting at the saloon looked back. They didn’t say anything; they just looked at Cyborg for a few seconds. Then, they turned their heads towards the others in line.

A second later, three of the synths stopped firing and turned around to face Cyborg. The five synths marched forward until they stood in a straight line; all eyes locked on Cyborg.

“They aren’t going to start firing are they,” asked Wholesale.

I was worried that they might; synths were still a new entity for me. I didn’t know if they’d fire or ask him to surrender. But either way, I just hoped they would be predictable at least here and now.

Cyborg looked over at us, then back at the line of synths. He frowned and said “if you want me, you’ll have to catch me!”

Cyborg turned on his hooves and made a beeline for the building. At the same time, I looked back at the line of synths; expecting them to start running after him.

Instead, there was a flash of light and all the synths not firing disappeared. And when that occurred, I knew what they were planning.

I turned toward Cyborg, who was still running towards the building. But before he could make it to the door, a series of flashes occurred around him, and the next thing we knew he was surrounded by synths.

“Shit,” said Wholesale.

Cyborg came to a quick stop, and looked around at the synths that surrounded him. The panels on their sides opened, and small beam pistols popped out. One of the synths quickly stepped forward.

“Target 12493: CYBORG. You are wanted by TSIM for the theft of TSIM technology, and multiple accounts of the destruction of TSIM property”.

Cyborg scrunched his face in anger. “I didn’t steal anything from you eggheads. And if you don’t want your fancy toys to be destroyed, don’t send them after me!”

“Negative; you are currently in possession of TSIM property. You will now return to TSIM for retrieval of stolen technology”.

“LIKE TARTARUS I WILL!”

Cyborg ignited his horn and whipped his beam pistol from its holster. But before he could even take aim, the synths were on the move. One dashed forward and tackled Cyborg to the ground. He quickly pinned down his hooves; leaving him unable to move.

As Cyborg struggled, another synth walked forward; holding what looked to be a golden ring with symbols on it. The synth took the ring and slid it onto Cyborg’s horn. Almost instantly, the magic around his horn faded and his gun fell to the ground.

“Hey,” he screamed. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“Subject is not cooperating with instructions. We have therefore taken the measures need to restrain your magic until dealings with TSIM have been completed”.

The synth looked over at the one that was holding Cyborg down. “Prepare subject for transfer to TSIM”.

While this was going on, me and Wholesale were left in the alley with our mouths open. Our plan had gone backwards in under two seconds, and now Cyborg was being taken to TSIM.

I’d lead him into a trap….unintentionally, but it was still a trap!

“We have to do something,” I said, pulling my gun from my bags. I wasn’t about to let them take Cyborg away; not after all he’s done for me.

“And what exactly are we going to do,” asked Wholesale. “There’s five of them and two of us. Not the best odds for a fight”.

I should probably have listened to Wholesale; her logic was spot on. But there must have been something wrong with my hard drive that day; because I didn’t listen. All I could think about was helping Cyborg, and not about the consequences of my actions.

So, like the idiot I was, I ran out of the alley and towards the synths. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and aimed for the head of the synth that was holding Cyborg. When I shut the program off, I let loose three continuous shots at the mechanical menace.

But once again, I wasn’t thinking. Otherwise, I would have remembered what Cyborg said about these synths.

Instead of ripping into the workings, the synth’s head was only pushed to the side. A small burn mark was left behind, but no actual penetration.

The synths all looked over at me; their mechanical eyes adjusting as they did. I stopped running towards them, but didn’t run back to the alley. At that point, I didn’t care that the shot didn’t make a dent. All I cared about was making them focus on me.

“Let him go,” I screamed! “Or else….or else I’ll….I’ll….”

I racked my hard drive for a response, but nothing came up. It was just what I needed at a time like this!

However, my thoughts were soon pulled to another one.

I’d been standing in front of these synths for a few seconds, and they hadn’t shot at me. I looked at them again, and they were still just looking at me. For a second, I thought they might be broken.

But then, one of the synths turned and walked towards me.

I thought about running, or maybe shooting at them again. But instead, I just stood there. Doing absolutely nothing as it walked up to me, before stopping just a few inches from my face.

“STATE YOUR IDENTIFICATION NUMBER”.

“Uh...what?”

The synth spoke again. “STATE YOUR IDENTIFICATION NUMBER”.

I had no idea what this synth was talking about. I knew I had a serial number….could that be what he was talking about.

“Uh, my ‘identification’ number is 620295”.

The synth’s eyes shut for a moment, then reopened a second later. “THAT NUMBER HAS NOT BEEN ASSIGNED TO ANY TSIM SYNTHS”.

What?! “Uh, that’s because I’m not a synth,” I replied, feeling a little confused.

“NEGATIVE,” said the synth. “OUR THERMAL CAMERAS SHOW THAT YOU’RE INSIDES ARE COMPOSED OF TECHNOLOGY SIMILAR TO TSIM SYNTH TECHNOLOGY. THEREFORE, YOU MUST BE A SYNTH”.

Oh sweet Celestia; they knew I was a robot. But instead of thinking just that, they thought I was a synth too! That must have been why they didn’t shoot at me when I shot at them!

“Garcon….what is it talking about?”

I looked over at Cyborg, who was still pinned by one of the synths. His eyes were wide open, and his mouth was formed in a slight frown. I knew this face well; it was of shock and confusion.

“Are you a synth?”

“No,” I replied firmly. “I’m not one of them”.

Cyborg’s face began to form into one of anger. “But are you a pony….or a robot”.

At this point, I actually would have prefered it if the synths had shot me. Then I wouldn’t have to explain myself to Cyborg, or anypony else. I could just deactivate and enjoy the nothingness that came with it.

I sighed sadly. “I’m….I’m not a pony. I’m a robot”.

Instantly, I could see the gears working in Cyborg’s head. The anger in his face went back to shock/confusion, and his mouth dropped open slightly. And even though I didn’t turn around, I knew Wholesale had seen everything and was probably just as shocked.

“I should have told you earlier,” I said. “But I knew what ponies around here thought about robots that look like ponies. And after fighting those synths earlier, I thought it would have been best not to say anything”.

The synth in front of me looked back at the other synths, to which they all nodded. He then turned and looked back at me. “YOU WILL COME WITH US TO TSIM FOR TREATMENT”.

“What do you mean,” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“ALL SYNTHS THAT HAVE CORRUPT PROGRAMING NEED TO BE….”

His speech was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the ground. I looked down, and saw what looked like a grenade land near Cyborg. But this one looked different from a normal grenade.

It was colored black, and had a lightning bolt painted on the side of it. The top was also covered in strange looking electronic parts.

I was about to ask about it, when an explosion ripped through the area. But instead of fire, I saw what looked like a wall of electricity push out from the where the “grenade” had fallen.

It moved so fast I didn’t have time to see what happened to Cyborg or the synths. But when it passed through me, I felt myself being to go stiff.

“Oh Celestia; it’s just like when the Megaspell went off,” I thought.

And I continued to think that while I fell to the ground as my systems began to shut down. Soon I was once again pulled into the endless dark void for nearly the past 200 years.

***

I wasn’t sure how long I was offline.

All I could remember was seeing the endless darkness I’d seen for the past one hundred and ninety years.

But soon, just like before, I soon heard the sounds of my systems coming back online.

“SYSTEM RESPONSIVE: RESTART IN PROGRESS.”

I felt my eyes start up before my eyelids slowly opened. It was soon followed by my gears and other electronics springing to life. After a few seconds, my entire operating system was working again.

And during that time, I got a look as to where I was.

I was no longer in the street; instead I found myself lying on the floor next to a wall. The floor was made from rotten wood, and the walls were all bare concrete. Slowly, I raised myself up and looked around the small space.

But when I did, I saw that there was no wall behind me. Instead, my eyes saw jail bars making up the fourth side of the room. On the other side was another jail cell, and I figured there were more on either side of the two.

“Huh, how did I get here,” I asked.

It was possible that somepony had carried me here after I shut down. But why would they place me in a jail cell? I hadn’t done any crimes.

I walked over to the bars and tried to look along the hallway. All the other cells seemed to be empty; because I didn’t hear anything else moving around. I could also just make out a room down the left side of the cell block, and there seemed to be a light on.

“Uh, Hello!” I called. “Is anypony here?”

I heard rustling coming from the room. A few seconds later, a pony dressed in guard armor walked down the cell block. She stopped in front of my cell and gave me a death glare.

“So, you’re awake hu?”

“Uh….yes,” I replied. “But why am I in this cell?”

The mare snarled. “Why should I tell you anything….synth!”

WHAT! “I’m not a synth,” I said quickly.

The mare huffed, then reached into her armor and pulled something out. It looked like a small metal disk, which she promptly threw though the cell bars, right at me. As soon as it made contact, there was a CLINK noise and it stuck onto my leg.

“Yeah, and magnets just attach themselves to regular ponies’ legs,” she snarled. “I know what you are, and so does the rest of the town. That’s why you’re here, and here is where you will stay!”

She turned on her hooves and headed back down the cell block. I ran to the bars and called back as loud as I could.

“I’m not a synth, I swear. You’ve got it all wrong!”

But the mare didn’t turn back or even reply. She continued walking down the cellblock until she was out of sight.

I stood at the cell door of a few minutes, not knowing what I could do. She said the whole town knew what I was, but they more than likely thought I was a synth. And that meant they’d only hate me; especially after what those synths did to the town!

With a sigh, I moved away from the cell door and over to a small corner of the room. I laided down and closed my eyes; ready to go into low power mode. I didn’t know how long I was going to be here, but I figured it would be a long time.

My systems slowed down slightly, and I moved into the closest thing I could call ‘sleeping’.

***

“....YOU SHOULD HAVE INFORMED ME OF THIS EARLIER….”

“.....I’m sorry Mr. Horse, but Dr. Atom thought it would be best to wait and see what came from this….”

“.....Keeping secrets from your boss isn’t a good way to keep your job Oscillo. You’re lucky I haven’t thrown you out on the street by now….”

“....I do apologize Mr. Horse; I assure you it won’t happen again….”

“....Good, now onto this incredible experiment you and Atom have been working on….”

“....Well sir, after some work we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s….”

“....I know what it is Oscillo: intelligence. Artificial Intelligence!....”

“....Yes sir, and we think it can hear and understand everything we say and do….”

“.....Marvelous, truly marvelous! This could change the game for everything! Not just Robronco, but the entire scientific community….”

“.....So, how exactly would you like us to proceed Mr. Horse?....”

“....I’ll be taking the experiment; I want to work on this one personally….”

“.....Oh, um, yes….of course sir. Will you be conducting the research here then?....”

“....No, this lab will no longer house this experiment. Prepare it for transfer to my personal laboratory in Las Pegasus….”

“....oh….yes, as you wish sir….”

“.....Good….very good indeed….”

***

“BOLTS FOR BRAINS, WAKE UP!”

My systems started to speed up again, and my eyes shot open in response. I raised my head and looked over at the cell door. The mare from before was back, and looking as angry as ever.

“You’ve got company; but don’t try anything or you’ll be scrap metal”.

She turned and walked away, and was soon replaced by three other ponies. And not just any ponies; ones that I knew rather well.

“Cyborg, Wholesale, Fireball?” I said as I walked to the cell door. “What are you three doing here”.

The three ponies all looked a little different from the last time I’d seen them. Cyborg’s left eye was completely black; which I guessed meant that it was offline. Also, his back mechanical leg was sparking slightly, and even I knew that wasn’t good.

Wholesale looked slightly worn, thought I couldn’t tell why. Last time I’d seen her, she looked ready to take on every synth in town. But now, she looked like she should be resting in bed with a glass of water and some medicine.

Finally there was Fireball, who looked the most beaten out of the three. A large eyepatch sat over her right eye, and her right hoof was covered in bandages. A few scratches and scars covered her body, and her mane was no longer in a ponytail.

“To see you,” said Cyborg. His voice seemed a little more gruff than before.

“Didn’t know what happened to you after the first grenade went off,” said Wholesale. “I kinda figured they’d have torn you apart”.

Well it was good to know they had high hopes for my survival. But still, what they were saying did make me realize I had some questions.

“Hey, what exactly happened to me. The last thing I remember was a grenade being thrown and then my systems shut off”.

Cyborg sighed. “Somepony threw an EMP Grenade at us. It shut down the synths, you, and my legs/eye”.

“After that, they did the same with the synths firing at the salon,” said Fireball. “As soon as those bolt heads hit the ground, we went out and smashed them to bits”.

I frowned slightly. “But what happened to you three. No offense, but you look terrible”.

Cyborg sighed. “The EMP Grenade shut down my legs and eye; and I’ve only managed to get my legs back in working order. It’ll take a few more tries to get my eye working again”.

“As for me,” said Wholesale, “I just haven’t gotten much sleep recently. These past few days have been a real strain on my body”.

A few days! How long had I exactly been offline?

“My stories’ pretty self explanatory,” said Fireball. “I got shot in the eye when those synths started bombarding my salon. The busted hoof was from punching a synth in the face, and the scars are simple battle marks”.

“Oh….I’m so sorry this happened to you”. I could only imagine what it had been like for these three to go through all of this.

“Are you?”

I looked back at Wholesale, who was now staring at me with a face of anger. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Garcon, the whole town knows that you’re a robot. Not only that, but they think you’re actually a synth; one sent by TSIM to take out Cyborg so they could invade the town”.

“WHAT! I would never do that; I’m not a synth!”

“But you failed to mention that you were a robot when we met,” said Cyborg. His tone and face didn’t say he was angry, but I had a feeling he was good at hiding his emotions.

I sighed. “That’s because I knew what ponies nowadays thought about synths. So, I thought saying nothing would be my best option”.

I paused for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. “Look, I know it looks like I’m a synth. But I can assure you, I am not one of them. I was built before the war as a P.A.B. by the Robronco Robot Company, I can swear on that!”

The three ponies looked at each other, seeming to be thinking about what the others were thinking. I knew it was a difficult thing to accept, but it was true. And if they did believe me, then maybe others could too.

“Alright, you three need to move out!”

I looked down the cellblock and found the security mare heading towards us. She gave me another snort, then turned to the three ponies. “You heard me, beat it! The mayor wants to speak with this….thing!”

Cyborg’s eyes….or eye….opened wide. “What’s he doing here? He said he was too busy to talk with me!”

“His business is none of yours,” the mare shot back. “Now get out or I have the right to use force”.

I didn’t want that coming to them, and I had a feeling they didn’t either. “Just go,” I said quietly. “I’ll be fine”.

Cyborg looked at the mare, then back at me. Eventually, he nodded and turned to the others. “Let’s go,” he said, and began walking towards the exit. Wholesale and Fireball gave me one last look before following him.

The security mare watched them leave, then looked back at me. Her horn ignited, and a small pistol levitated out of its holster. She aimed it at me, and pulled the pin back.

“Remember; you try anything and I blow your head off.”

She put the gun away and walked back to the room at the end of the cellblock. I moved to the cell door and tried to see if I could see anything. Unfortunately, the angle was horrible and I couldn’t catch a glimpse of anything.

However, I soon heard the sound of approaching hooves. And soon after, a pony and two guards stepped in front of my cell.

The pony in between the two guards was a light blue unicorn stallion with a orange mane. He wore a faded dark-blue suit, and had a podium as his cutie-mark.

“So,” he said with a face twisted in anger. “You’re the one who’s responsible for my town being nearly wiped off the map”.

Clearly this stallion was made; but I had expected that. After all, he blamed me for everything that happened. But given a little time to talk, I was sure I could change his mind.

“I am very sorry that….”

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt something wrap around my neck. Soon, I heard the sound of bending metal and sparks flying. Not only that, but I suddenly couldn’t access my voice chip.

“You will talk when I say you can talk!”

It was then that I noticed that the mayor’s horn was ignited, and was likely what was distorting my voice. He gave me another snarl look before stopping his magical grip. Soon, I could feel the connection to my voice chip restore, but I didn’t dare try and test it.

“We lost a lot of ponies today,” he continued. “So many innocent lives destroyed by abominations like you!”

He walked closer to my cell and put his face right in front of the bars. “You’re lucky to even be active; Cyborg somehow convinced everypony to lock you up instead of destroying you like the others”.

What? Cyborg did that? But why would he after he learned who I was….or, at least who he thought I was.

“And here is where you will stay,” said the mayor. He stepped back from my cell and gave an evil grin. “That is, until I convince the town to have you destroyed. I’m sure they will eventually see the error of their thinking”.

He nodded to the guards before turning on his hooves and heading towards the room down the cell block. “And when they do, the ones lost will finally have justice”.

The guards followed him, leaving me alone in my cell. I thought about yelling; maybe saying once again that I wasn’t a synth. But I couldn’t; I didn’t have the urge to yell or scream.

Now, all I wanted to do was go into the corner and lie down.

I moved into the corner, laid down on the floor, and closed my eyes.

“This isn’t good,” I thought. “I can’t find my family if I’m stuck in here”.

Hell, I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere if I the mayor had his way! I’d be nothing but a pile of parts, probably being used to fix appliances around town!

“I just don’t know what to do now,” I said to myself. “Maybe some time offline will help me think”.

So, with a quick selection of my “low power mode” setting, I once again drifted off into a deep “sleep”.

***

I didn’t know how long I was out….but that part really didn’t matter. What did was who woke me up.

My system came back online after hearing someone scream: “Garcon, wake up!”

When my eyes finally opened, I found Cyborg standing in front of me. His face was a few inches from mine, and it was formed in hard seriousness. Not only that, but his left eye was now glowing; which I guessed meant it was up and running again.

“Cyborg,” I said as I got up from my corner. “What are you doing here….and how did you get in my cell?”

But once I was back on my hooves, I noticed that Cyborg wasn’t the only pony at this party.

Fireball and Wholesale were standing by the open cell door, both looking at me with wide grins. Fireball still had her eyepatch on, though the rest of her injuries seemed better than before. Wholesale was also looking better; her mane was straight and there weren’t any bags under her eyes.

“How long have I been offline?”

“No time to talk about it,” said Cyborg. He turned around and headed for the cell door. “We’ve only got a short amount of time before they realize what’s going on”.

“What do you mean,” I asked as I followed behind him. “What is going on?”

“I’ll explain,” said Fireball as Cyborg and me passed her, “and I’ll make it quick”.

Once I was outside the cell, Fireball and Wholesale moved out of the way before closing it. “We’re busting you out of here bolts for brains”.

Okay, now I was even more confused.

“This way,” said Cyborg, and he headed towards the room at the end of the cell block. Wholesale gave us a nod, and soon we were all following behind him.

“Once I grab the supplies, we head up the stairs and make a run for the door,” said Cyborg. He lead us out of the cell block and into the room at the end. It was mostly occupied by some old file cabinets and a rusty metal desk. A few keys hung from a nearby rack, and a set of stairs rose up from the upper right corner.

“Wait here a moment,” he said. He then moved to one of the file cabinets and began rooting around in it.

Meanwhile, my hard drive was so chaotic Discord would have applauded it!

I just kept asking myself: why were they rescuing me? Why are they in such as rush? And why isn’t there a guard in here? None of these were being answered, and even if this wasn’t the time to answer them I still wanted it to happen.

“So….why are you three rescuing me?”

Fireball gave me a side smile. “First off, it’s not just us. A lot of the remaining ponies think you’re on our side. Especially that new group; the ones that you brought in a few days ago”.

“They’re alive!” I was glad to hear that: even after all that had happened, Caliber’s group had still managed to hold out.

“Yeah,” continued Fireball. “And they were pretty eager to help get you out of here”.

“As for the why,” said Wholesale, “a lot of us saw how determined you were to stop those synths.”

She turned toward Cyborg (who was still routing through the file cabinets) and smiled. “And Cyborg told us what you did for him at his place”.

“Given all of that, plus our personal interactions, we knew we couldn’t let Mayor Dumb-Ass use you for scrap,” said Fireball.

Cyborg stopped looking through the cabinets and pulled out two sets of saddle bags. He put one over his back, then threw the other one to me.

“So we came up with a plan: while the others create a distraction, we sneak you out of town,” he said with a straight face.

I guess that would explain the saddle-bag he’d thrown me….but it didn’t explain why he had on one as well.

“Why do you have a saddle-bag too Cyborg?”

The unicorn stallion was silent for a moment; he kept his eyes focused on the ground. But soon, he looked back up at me with a determined face.

“Somepony has to take the blame for breaking you out….and that’s going to be me”.

I didn’t know if I should be feeling happy, sad, or confused. Cyborg had clearly shown me earlier that he was angry at me for being a synth. Now, he wanted to help me escape and take the blame?

“But why,” I asked. “They’ll probably see you as a traitor for doing this. You’re throwing away everything you have here for somepony you thought was a traitor!”

Cyborg face turned into a snarl, but soon he breathed and put his neautral face back on. “Because I know now that I was wrong. You saved me from those synths; something I doubt you’d do if you were on their side”.

He sighed sadly. “Plus, I don’t mind leaving this town. It was attacked because the synths were looking for me. If I go, then maybe TSIM won’t send any more here”.

That was a very noble thing to do. Giving up a potential life just to save ponies you care about.

If anypony could relate, I knew I could.

“Now come on, it’s time to make our escape.”

Cyborg turned and headed for the stairs in the corner. The three of us followed behind him; running up the stairs as fast as our legs could move us.

When we reached the top, I saw that we were in what looked like an old police station. Desks were everywhere, but almost every one was broken or damaged beyond repair. Posters hung from the wall that depicted either Wonderbolts or Propaganda from the Ministry of Image.

“This way,” said Cyborg.

He lead us to a door on the opposite wall, which was slightly ajar. Given the darkness inside the room, light was able to pour in from the other side. Cyborg took a stand on one side of the door, and Fireball soon joined him. Wholesale and Me took positions on the other side.

“I’ll have a look,” said Cyborg, and then slowly pushed the door open slightly.

The three of us waited as Cyborg scanned the outside. But eventually, he pulled his head back in. This time, he was smiling slightly.

“So far so good; no guards in the immediate vicinity”.

“What about along the walls,” asked Wholesale.

“I couldn’t tell from here,” said Cyborg. “I think it’s best Garcon and Me go along the back of the shops. It’s less likely we’ll be seen from there”.

Wholesale and Fireball nodded, then moved from the sides of the door to directly in front of it.

“We’ll cover you while you make it across the street. If we start firing, duck,” said Fireball.

The two pushed open the door and ran out into the street.

“Let’s go Garcon,” said Cyborg.

I nodded in agreement, and the two of us headed out the door.

***

“Oh Sweet Luna”.

I thought the town had looked bad from the front gates. But from the other end, it was even worse.

The buildings along the T-intersection were raveged with burn marks and bullet holes. Windows were broken, and some buildings even looked close to collapsing. The road was cracked and split even more than before, and red stains were everywhere!

I wanted to stop and think about what I was seeing….but I didn’t have time. Fireball and Wholesale were standing in the middle of the road; looking around the area. Fireball waved a hoof at us, indicating us to go.

Cyborg and Me ran across the street to a small alley way between two buildings. Once we were there, Wholesale and Fireball followed us.

“Okay, this alley way leads to the spaces behind the shops. You should be well covered there,” said Fireball.

“So as of now,” said Wholesale, “you two are on your own”.

“What,” I said surprisingly. “You’re just going to abandon us?”

“They have to,” snapped Cyborg. “If they want to look innocent, they can’t be seen with us. It’s best if they head back home and pretend nothing is different”.

“That’s right,” said Fireball. She moved over and wrapped her legs around me in a hug. “But hey, you be safe out there. I’d hate to know I did all of this for nothing”.

She released her legs from me, but soon I was once again wrapped in a hug: this time from Wholesale.

“What she said….but also something else”. Wholesale moved back and gave me a large smile. “I hope you find your family”.

If it wasn’t for the fact that she’d just given me one, I would have given her a hug.

That was the reason I was doing all of this: to find my family. If I wanted to find them, I had to be better. I had to make it out of here, and these ponies were helping me.

“Thank you,” I said. “For everything. I will never forget what you did for me”.

Fireball chuckled before giving me a small punch in the leg. “Don’t start talking like that; it’s too corny”.

“And it’s eating up our time,” said Cyborg. “We need to go, now”.

The two mares looked at us for a moment. Then, with a slight nod, they turned around and walked away. And soon, they had turned a corner and were out of sight.

“Come on,” said Cyborg. “Let’s get out of this town”.

“Right,” I replied, and we moved down the alley way and down the space behind the shops.

It was fairly empty except for a few trash cans and some pieces or debris. The space also wasn’t very big; there was barely enough space for both me and Cyborg to walk side-by-side.

But eventually, we reached the part where the wall curved.

“Down this way,” said Cyborg.

We headed down another alley way between two shops. When Cyborg reached the other side, he peered around the corner. “What do you see,” I asked.

“Nothing,” he replied. “The front gate is clear.”

“There aren’t any guards protecting it?” I thought after everything that had happened recently, they'd be more security measures.

“There aren’t that many guards left,” said Cyborg. “The ones that are left are being distracted so we can leave”.

He looked around the corner again. “Alright, looks clear. Let’s go!”

The two of us ran around the corner and towards the front gates. The large metal doors that had been knocked off during the attack had been replaced by bags of sand. It rose to about the top of my head, and formed an arch formation behind the entrance.

Cyborg and I ran through a slot in the middle and into the wasteland once again.

Chapter 6: The Long Road

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Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 6: The Long Road

“Worst Road Trip Ever”.

I don’t know how long we were running.

I only knew that eventually, Trotsville was nothing but a small line in the distance. The ruined buildings outside the walls were replaced by large empty space and a long, winding, and broken road.

Cyborg ran ahead of me; his face scrunched in determination and concentration. He lead the way along the road until Trotsville was a small sliver in the distance.

“Let’s stop here,” said Cyborg. He slowed down and took a few deep breaths. I just watched: not having any lungs did have its advantages.

“Do you need a minute,” I asked.

“More like an hour,” said Cyborg. He planted his flank on the ground as his breaths became smaller and shorter. “I think we’re safe for now”.

I found that hard to believe. Now we couldn’t return to Trotsville and we were stuck in the wasteland. The only thing around us were shrubs and a broken road. It wasn’t the best thing to have when on the run.

“So,” said Cyborg. “Where to now?”

“What?”

“Where to,” he asked again. “I’m following you now, so where are we going?”

It was then that I remembered why I wanted out of that town so badly.

“Well in the video, Hatchet said he was heading to Buck Crossing”. I tapped my chin in deep thought, then looked at Cyborg. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Do I,” said Cyborg. “It’s not exactly the place you want to go to….unless you’re either really crazy or really stupid”.

Well then I guess I was one or the other. But I needed more information.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about it?”

Cyborg looked at me and sighed. “It’s a dump town; filled with drunk bastards and whores. Mainly because it’s on the border of Raider County”.

“Raider County,” I asked?

“Yeah,” said Cyborg. “It’s a stretch of land between Buck Crossings and Tunnel 11. It’s like a safe-haven for raiders around the Wasteland. Traveling through it is suicide; the few that make it through are so close to death that you’d think they’d have just let the raiders finish them off”.

“That sounds horrible”.

Simple, but true. I couldn’t even picture what the landscape must look like, at least compared to the one I was already looking at. But really, it didn’t matter. As long as I got to Buck Crossing I’d be fine. I wasn’t interested in traveling through the County, I just needed to find the pony in the town next to it.

“How far away do you think Buck Crossing is?” I pulled up my map functions and began to search the area.

“Three, maybe four days,” said Cyborg. “And that’s if we don’t run into anything on the way there”.

As far as I knew, we wouldn’t. I’d been down the 34 before the war, and it was usually pretty quiet. And when I check my map, I saw a blank box a good distance from where we were now. I clicked it, and a small arrow appeared in my vision. It pointed north, which would take us onto the 34.

“Well we’d better get going then,” I said as I moved in the direction the arrow was pointing. “If we want to make it there quickly, we should move out now”.

Cyborg, who was now breathing normally, ran up to my side. His face was formed in a look of uncertainty. “How do you know this is the right way?”

“I have a map,” I said, pointing to my head. “Part of the Pip-Buck chip I have in my hard drive”.

“P.A.B.s were built with Pip-Buck chips?”

“No, it was added in after I was reactivated,” I replied.

“Well that explains the radio and good shooting. Pip-Bucks are one of the most valuable pieces of technology; mainly because of how diverse their functions are”.

That was something I already knew about. Even though I’d only had the chip for a few days (or longer), it was already giving me functions I never knew I could have. And, it was especially useful when dealing with things in the Wasteland.

I just hoped that it would last long enough for me to find my masters.

“So,” said Cyborg. “You want to walk and talk, or just walk?”

I looked at the stallion with some confusion. “Uh, either one’s fine with me”.

Honestly, it felt strange traveling with somepony else. I’d only done so when I was with Caliber’s group, and when I was heading back to Trotsville with Cyborg. But they had been rather short trips; this one was going to be a lot longer.

“If that’s the case, why not talk a little about each other. If we’re traveling together, we might as well know who we’re traveling with,” said Cyborg.

“Not much to tell really,” I said with a shrug. “I was a butler before the war. I was deactivated when the megaspells went off, and I woke up a few days ago….by the way; how long was I offline in Trotsville?”

“Three days,” said Cyborg.

“So I woke up just six days ago? It seems longer than that.”

“Everyday seems longer in the wasteland,” he replied. “What we have to face on a daily basis makes time move slower than it actually is. Things just aren’t the same as they were back before the war”.

“Speaking of which,” I said as I looked up at the clouds above. “Do pegasus’ still control the weather? It’s been cloudy every since I reactivated”.

Cyborg snorted. “Those winged cunts? They don’t care about the weather anymore. Hell, they’re the ones who keep the cloud cover over us.”

That didn’t seem right. I knew pegasus’, and they wouldn’t do something as cruel as that!

“Don’t they care about the ponies down here?”

“Maybe some do,” said Cyborg, "but the vast majority don't give two shits out us. They live their pretty little lives up there, and leave us to fight for ours down here. If you see a pegasus below the clouds, either it did something wrong up there or it’s part of a scouting party”.

That seemed almost too upsetting to be true. How could pegasus’ just abandon pony kind like it was nothing. Ponies were dying down here, and they were living it up above it all.

I would have gone on ranting in my head….but then I heard something. It sounded like music….one that I had heard somewhere before. It was like a marching ballard, one that would be broadcast over the radio. But my radio was off, so I looked around for another source.

“You hear that,” I asked.

Cyborg perked his ears, listen carefully to the sounds around us. “Yeah, it’s music. What’s so important about….wait a second, I know that music!”

“Me too,” I replied. “But I can’t figure out where I heard it”.

“No,” said Cyborg. “I mean I know what’s making it!”

I was about to ask what, but I got my answer before I could.

When I looked up ahead, I saw something floating towards us. As it got closer, I saw that it was round, metal, and had fluttering wings. It was almost bouncing to the sound of the music….and that’s when I remembered it.

“A Sprite-Bot!”

There had been hundreds of them around before the war. They flew all over the place, sending out uplifting messages and sometimes news bulletins.

“I didn’t know these things were still active,” I said as the bot got closer.

But when the bot was only a foot from us, it stopped. The music cut off, and there was a low static noise for a second. But then…

“Hello, can you hear me?”

That was a voice….a VOICE! Sprite-Bots weren’t supposed to have a voice, let alone a mind! I didn’t know what radiation could do, but I was sure it couldn’t affect technology.

“Yes Watcher, I can hear you!”

I turned to Cyborg, who’s face was formed into a big smile.

“Cyborg? Is that you?”

“Yes it is,” replied Cyborg. “It’s nice to talk to you again.”

“Same here. But what are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in your observatory?”

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, yeah. Well there was a slight problem and now I can’t live there anymore. Trotsville wasn’t an option either, and I don’t care to explain either in detail”.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I knew how much you liked living there”. The Sprite-Bot turned towards me. “By the way, who’s your friend?”

Cyborg looked at me, then let out a small chuckle. “Oh right. Watcher this is Garcon. Garcon, this is Watcher”.

“Nice to meet you Garcon”.

“Uh….likewise,” I said nervously. “I, uh, didn’t know Sprite-Bots could talk”.

“They can’t. I’m just using it to talk with you”.

“Oh, I see. You’re talking through a speaker system and transmitting the signal to this Sprite-Bot. Not bad,” I said smiling.

“You know your stuff Garcon. I can see why Cyborg is traveling with you”.

“That and other reasons,” said Cyborg. “Me and Watcher have been friends long before you busted into my home Garcon”.

“You should have see him when I first ran into him. Sitting in a pile of mole rat guts and ready to….”

“Okay,” interrupted Cyborg. “We don’t need to go over that!”

“I don’t know,” I replied with a grin. “I’m feeling curious”.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. “Anyway, it was Watcher who said I should go to Trotsville. He told me ponies there don’t care about your past, which is just what I wanted”.

After the experience I just had with them, I found that hard to believe. Even if some ponies thought I was good, some of them thought I was evil. And if the reason was just because I was a robot, then it didn’t seem very welcoming.

“So what are the two of you doing out here?”

This time, I decided to take the lead. “We’re heading to Buck Crossing”.

“WHAT!” Watcher’s reaction was just what I was expecting. “You know that place is dangerous right? Nothing but law breakers and sex addicts!”

“So I’ve been told,” I replied with a grin. “But I need to,” my face and attitude suddenly turned serious. “There’s a hired gun there that took my family, and I made a promise to find them”.

Watcher was silent for a minute. “Wow, I didn’t expect that. I’m sorry that happened to you. Where were they taken from?”

“Stable 32,” I replied, “just outside Paradise Acres”.

“A Stable? How’d he even get in there? And weren’t there any guards or other ponies to stop him?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a normal stable”. I thought back to the memory orb I’d witnessed. How the ponies in the radiation suites said that Stable-Tec was gone. “They, along with most of the residence, were frozen in these pod-like-machines. I doubt anyone who wasn’t frozen could survive one-hundred and ninety years”.

“Wow, pre-war ponies? And they were held in cryostasis? Geeze, and I thought stable-tec only focused on ways to hurt ponies”.

I had a feeling he saw my “what are you talking about” face, and let out a slight cough. “Anyway, I assume you were thawed out later than the rest of them?”

To answer that question, I’d have to tell Watcher that I was a robot. I didn’t know him well enough to decide by myself, so I turned to Cyborg. He looked at me, nodded, and then motioned to the Sprite-Bot.

I let out a large sigh. “No, I wasn’t even thawed in the first place. I spent the last one-hundred and ninety years deactivated and buried under a pile of dirt”.

“Deactivated? Wait, does that mean your a….”

“Yes, I am a robot”. I wasn’t ashamed of it; it was what made me, well, me. But I couldn’t tell who liked robots that looked like ponies from the ones that hated them. It was give and take with what I’d seen so far, and I wasn’t willing to press my luck just yet.

“Oh, wow. Well I must say, you’re probably the most advanced Pre-War robot I’ve ever seen. Most are just mindless machines, but you’re like those Synths that TSIM make!”

“Yeah,” I said half-heartedly, “I get that a lot”.

“Speaking of which,” said Cyborg, “you probably shouldn’t take a Sprite-Bot near Trotsville for a while. Synths attacked the place a few days ago, and they’re a little jumpy when it comes to machines”.

“Oh sweet Celestia! Is everyone okay? How bad was it?”

“Very bad,” I said frowning. “The town went from full to a third of the way full”.

The sight of all those bodies….all that blood….it all came flowing back to me! The eyes that stared at you, the red guts that spilled from their insides! Now I was really glad that I didn’t have a stomach!

“Thats, that’s hard to hear. I’ll be sure to find some ponies who can help and send them their way. Hopefully Trotsville will be back on it’s hooves soon”.

The Sprite-Bot buzzed. “Woops, looks like I’ll have to leave soon. Just a friendly tip before I go: if you’re head along the 34, keep an eye out. Red-Eye has been sending his slavers down from Fillydelphia, and they’re picking off any pony who doesn’t kill them first”.

I had no idea what Watcher was talking about, but apparently Cyborg did. He gave the Sprite-Bot a nod, “thanks for the info Watcher. I’ll try and contact you when we reach Buck Crossing”.

“I’ll be listening. Good luck to both for you: I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

The Sprite-Bot buzzed again before the “Ballard of the Parasprites” began again. The bot flew between us and headed down the stretch of road behind us.

Cyborg watched the Sprite-Bot fly away until it was not longer in sight. He turned to me, then nodded in the other direction. “Come on,” he said. “We should get going. It’s best to cover as much ground as possible before it gets dark”.

He turned on his hooves and began heading down the road. After looking back in the direction the Sprite-Bot had floated, I sighed and followed behind him.

***

Nothing really happened for a while after that.

We continued down the road with the radio on, listening to the sweet music of Sweetie Bell and Sapphire Shores. Occasionally we ran into a broken down cart or pit-stop, but overall it was very quiet for most of the way.

Finally, after a few hours of walking, we reached the 34. The ramp that lead up to it was on the right, while the road continued on the left. A few buildings could be see further down, but nothing about them said “check them out”.

As the two of us walked up the ramp, I began to think about something I hadn’t before. When I got to Buck Crossing and found Hatchet, what exactly was I going to do?

Would I just ask him where my family is? Would I threaten him? Should I just give him some caps and ask? More importantly; how would he react to the questions?

“Thinking about something?” I looked at Cyborg, but he kept his face forward. “I’ve see that look before; you’re thinking about something”.

Wow, was it really that obvious? “I’m just wondering what I’m going to do when I find Hatchet. I mean, I don’t think he’s just going to tell me where my family is”.

“Of course he isn’t,” said Cyborg. “You’ll more than likely have to force it out of him.”

“Yeah, but how,” I asked.

Cyborg shrugged. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it”.

Seeing that as a great idea, I kept my sights forward as we moved onto the 34. Unlike the road behind us, the 34 was filled with abandoned carts and other broken vehicles.

Unfortunately, those weren’t the only things we saw. Hooked up to a few carts were skeletons: probably killed when the megaspells went off. Some were burned so bad the bones were cracked and smoldered black.

“I wonder what they were thinking,” I said as I started walked ahead. Cyborg followed behind me; he too was looking at the skeletons lining the highway. “What was going through their mind when the megaspells went off?”

“Maybe they were too scared to think,” said Cyborg.

I thought back to the megaspell that had deactivated me. The moment it had gone off, I couldn’t move. I just stood there and watched as the shockwave tore through me. And if a robot like me acted like that, I couldn’t even think about what was going through normal ponies’ heads.

So with that cheerful thought safely in the processor, me and Cyborg continued along the 34. The carts and skeletons began to become scarce as we moved farther and farther north. Eventually we were lucky to find a single kart along the deserted highway.

I was tempted to switch to a different radio station, but after a while I failed to care. The Whisperer hadn’t been on since we tuned in, and the music did offer some feelings of joy during the dark and gloomy walk.

Unfortunately, one of those things didn’t last long.

The two of us continued walking until we came upon another cluster of carts. But unlike the others, these were piled along the side of the road. They lay one atop the other; making a wall of carts all along the sides of the highway.

“That’s new,” I said quietly. The way the carts were stacked didn’t seem like coincidence. It looked more like they were placed there….but why?

“Yeah,” replied Cyborg. “And get this: I don’t like it”.

“Should we go around it? Or maybe head back and find another way?”

Cyborg shook his head. “I don’t think going back is going to help us”.

I was about to ask him what he was talking about….when I saw a red bar.

My E.F.S. hadn’t really been in use since I rescued Caliber’s group from the ghouls a few days back. But now, red bars were popping up all over my vision. Even when I looked back, I was looking at hostile targets.

“Shit: we’re surrounded,” I said through gritted teeth.

I guess the hostiles must have heard me, because my ears soon picked up what sounded like chuckles. Keeping my eyes peeled, I scanned the area; looking for any sign of the ponies surrounding us. I could tell from the laugh that they weren’t some kind of creature, but that really didn’t make me feel any better.

And I still wasn’t feeling any better when the shots rang out.

I barely had time to look around before a gun went off from inside the wall of carts. A second later I felt something shoot through my back leg and come out the other side. All motor control for it stopped and the whole thing went rigid.

Cyborg levitated a 10mm pistol from his bag and began sweeping the area. But when he approached the wall, something jumped at him. Three quick shots rang out, I didn’t hear them hit anything. The gun fell from his magic as he was tackled to the ground.

The pony that was on top of him looked like a earth pony buck. He was wearing a really old shirt and what looked like leather patches of armor. A gun was holstered on his side, and his legs were pressing Cyborg’s face into the ground. The wicked smile on his face told me he was enjoying it.

I ignited by own magic and was about to pull my own gun from my bag. But it hadn’t gotten halfway out when something pressed against the side of my head.

“Don’t do something stupid,” said a voice. “I’d really hate to lose two perfectly good slaves in one go”.

Slaves? Were these the slavers that Watcher had mentioned?

“Are you sure boss,” asked the smiling buck. “We’ve got plenty for today. Let me kill this mecha-leg and we can keep the non-bleeder!”

“Shut your trap Drone,” said another voice. A second went by before more ponies began to emerge from the carts. They all wore armor similar to the one holding Cyborg. I was able to count seven in total, with four of them having guns.

“He’s right,” said the pony behind me. “You heard what Red-Eye said; all unicorns we bring back must be alive. He’d throw us into the pit if he heard we killed either of them”.

The gun was still pressed against my head, but the pony behind me was moving. As he came into my vision, I saw that he was a unicorn stallion. He had a light brown pelt and a ruffled black mane, and what looked like a bullet going through a skull as his cutie mark.

I then looked to see what kind of armor he was wearing. It looked like a black jacket with a red shirt below it. I saw two small lumps above his knees, meaning he must be wearing knee-pads.

He gave me a look over, then turned to Cyborg. “Rare to find two unicorns traveling together. Hell, it’s rare to find just one traveling down this highway”.

Keeping the gun pressed against my head, he looked down at the bullet hole in my leg. Wires could be seen poking out, and a few sparks fell from them. When he had his share, he looked back at me.

“Hm, a synth? Well you’re not the first one we’ve captured today. Maybe Red-Eye can use you as a replacement terminal, or as a toy for his gals back home?”

“Over my busted hard drive,” I said through gritted teeth. I wasn’t going to let this pony insult me. But given the gun pointed at my head, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to push him too much.

“Oh, you’re a feisty one,” he said with a grin. He moved his face closer until his nose was almost touching mine. “I like those kind of slaves; makes it even more fun when we break their spirits”.

When he pulled away, the gun moved from the side of my head to the front. Now I was literally “staring down the barrel” as it were. The hammer was pulled down until the distinc “click” was heard.

“Now here’s how things are gonna play out. You two are coming with us. Try anything, and we shoot you”. He leaned in close again. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Very,” I hissed.

“Good,” he said as he pulled the gun away from me. “Chain them up colts, we’re heading out”.

I watched as one of the slavers pulled out a set of rusty ankle restraints. He quickly attached one to my left leg, then yanked on it: pulling me over to Cyborg. When I was close enough, the other end was attached to his right leg. Now, the two of us were chained together like the chain gangs in old movies.

“Move,” shouted a slaver. He gave me a swift kick….and was rubbing his leg in anguish a second later. “Shit, forgot you were metal!”

I almost thought about laughing, but that was squashed when I received a blow to the face. I heard something below the “skin” bend and not form back into place. When I turned to see the culprit, I found one of the slavers waving a riot baton around.

“Bad ponies get the shit beat out of them,” he snarled. “I recommend you think twice before injuring one of us again!”

“I didn’t injury him, he was the….”

The batton once again made contact with me, but this time it was the back of my head. I didn’t hear anything break, but my vision did become fuzzy for a few seconds.

“Don’t talk back,” the slaver barked.

“And don’t break the merchandise,” said the jacket pony. “Or I’ll inform Red-Eye about it”.

The slaver stopped swinging his baton and quickly slung it around his back. “No need to go that far boss.”

“There is a need,” he replied before walking forward. The other slavers, along with Cyborg and myself, followed from behind. “The only way you bozos will listen is if I bring Red-Eye into the conversation. Only a bullet in your legs would do otherwise, and I don’t feel like harming ponies that do the dirty work”.

“Uh, that’s us right?” asked one of the slavers.

The lead pony sighed and bowed his head. Clearly he was, but I guess not all slavers were very bright. Hell, if they listened only by force, then they must not have enough intelligence to understand orders.

I continued to think about the slavers around us as the group walked down the highway. There weren’t any carts out this far; just a few rotten trees and holes where something big fell from the sky.

We walked for about an hour, with only the slavers making small talk between each other. The lead pony didn’t say a word; he was focused on the road ahead. I could tell by the look on his face that he was used to this, and was in his element when it came to leading.

For some reason, it reminded me a little of Master Smithson. He was always the head of the family; making all the tough and sometimes challenging decisions. Everypony who knew him also knew he was the pony to turn to when things went wrong.

But if that was true, then why was this pony wasting his talent being a slaver?

“Almost there,” said the ‘Boss’ (as I decided to call him). The other slavers sighed in relief, and I swear Cyborg did too. There hooves must have been aching, but being made of metal meant I felt fine.

Well, except for the leg with a hole in it. That was still sparking, and the stiffness made it a little harder to walk.

I told myself that I had to repair it soon, or else the damage would get worse and it would be almost impossible to fix. I doubt that Robronco still made parts for my model, so I just had to hope the parts Cyborg packed will work.

That is, if I could get them back from the ponies surrounding us. They’d taken our bags once we started walking, and I didn’t want to use my magic to try and get it back. If I did, it could mean one of us would have a new bullet in our body.

When I looked up ahead of us, I saw something situated on the side of the road. It looked like a simple two-floor building; probably a rest stop from before the war. Faded/rotten wood covered the outside, and barbed wiring surrounded the bottom. A single balcony on the side was heavily fortified, and I could make out a set of ears poking out from behind it.

“Ah, home sweet home,” said one of the slavers. “Let’s get these cunts in fast so I can get some grub!”

“Patients,” said the Boss. “We need to file out the inventory”. He turned and pointed a hoof in my direction. “Take the synth to the cellar. Place the freak in with the others. Any supplies they have goes into the crate with the others”.

“Right boss,” said one of the slavers. He moved over and unlocked the chain on my leg. But just as soon as it was gone, something clamped around my neck. It felt like metal, but had a leather padding around it.

“Some kind of collar….might be electric,” I thought. Slave collars were primarily used in Prisoner of War camps for the Zebras, both as a way of keeping them in line and torturing them.

“Move it synth,” he snarled before pushing me towards the building. I sighed before walking towards the building’s front door. It looked fine from afar, but as I got closer I noticed the words “Intruders Will Be Fucked, Then Killed” were painted on.

“Charming,” I said to myself.

The slavers opened the door and lead me inside. Instantly I was plunged into a room of semi-darkness and loud music. The room looked to be around the size of a large living room. It had bare walls, and a very old couch plastered in the bottom corner.

A long dining table sat on the other side, and was currently occupied by what looked like other slavers. But unlike the ones that had brought me in, these were all mares. Some had on what could pass for armor, while others wore old pre-war clothes.

They were all playing cards, but turned towards the door when the three of us walked inside. One of the mares pulled a cigar from her mouth, placed it in an ashtray, and smiled smugly at us.

“Well, well, well,” she sang, “look who’s back. We’ve been wondering how long we’d have to wait before it was our turn to go out”.

Another mare on the opposite end hopped out of her chair and walked over to us. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days; bags hung under her eyes and the eyes themselves were bloodshot. But at the same time, she acted like she was full of energy. She circled around me; likely looking me over as their boss had.

“Ah, another cybernetic scrap pile,” she purred. “Tell me synth, are you built to be just like a real stallion?”

I didn’t know how I should respond to that question. But I was forced to think quickly when one of the slavers gave me a kick in the flanks. “Answer her question fucker!”

“Uh, well, I’m not sure what you mean by that”.

The mare’s grin grew. “You know; do you have similar body parts as a stallion. And that includes ones that are,” she looked back towards my rear, “made to make a mare?”

Wait, was she talking about….oh my Celestia she was! “Oh, no. I’m not built to….buck….if that’s what you mean”.

The mare’s grin reformed into a disappointed frown. “Shit, I was hoping to get something different tonight. Shackle has gotten boring, and my time with Spine is just too ‘short’ if you know what I mean”.

One of the mares at the table leaned back in her chair and blew smoke from her cigar. “What if he’s got a tongue? Bet he could do some wicked stuff with that!”

A million dirty thoughts filled my processor….and I deleted them a second later. I did have a fake tongue, but I wasn’t planning on licking anything anytime soon. If my master's ever found out, I could only imagine what they’d think.

“You can use him as a sex toy later,” said the slaver left of me. “Boss wants him with the other robo-pony now. Talk with him if you want to use this bot later”.

The mare sighed, “fine, but if he says no I’m doing it anyway”. She turned on the spot and returned to table. The other mares returned their focus to their cards.

“Alright, let’s get this bot with the other one,” said one of the slavers. He headed off towards a door on right side wall. The other one gave me another kick in the flank, which I guess meant I was to follow.

The two of us walked to the door and waited while the other one unlocked it. When it opened, I saw a flight of stairs leading downward. More than likely that meant there was a basement down there, and maybe a holding cell.

We headed down the stairs (which were made of slightly rotten wood) and when we reached the bottom found ourselves in a medium sized room.

It looked like it had once been a storage room; shelves lined the walls and old crates were stacked in the upper right corner. A desk sat next to the stairway, and there was a sleeping unicorn mare behind it.

But what was most noticeable was the large cage placed in the center. It looked like it was made for animals, because it’s size was huge! Age was showing in the rust marks around it, but the lock on the front looked fairly clean.

One of the slavers turned to the sleeping mare and shouted. “Night Light, WAKE UP!”

The mare’s eyes flew open and her head turned towards us. She looked shocked for a second, but then looked like the smug mare upstairs.

“Oh, you colts back already?” She hopped off her chair and moved towards us. “I expected you to arrive after the exchange”.

“Boss decided to head back early,” said one of the slavers. “Caught this one traveling with a unicorn along the 34 before we left”.

“A synth I’m guessing,” she said as she looked me over. “Seems a little different than the other one, but I guess Red-Eye will find use for both of them. If not in the mines, maybe in the Pit!”

I had no idea what she was talking about, especially about this ‘Pit’, and I was sure I didn’t want to know. If there was a place filled with ponies like them, I wanted to stay as far away from it as possible.

The mare ignited her horn and pulled a set of keys from the desk. “Let’s lock him up. I have so sleep to catch up on”. She lead us over to the cage and unlocked the door.

When she pulled it open, the two slavers shoved me inside. They did it hard enough that I fell flat on my face, which prompted laughter from the three. The mare shut the door and relocked it, then turned to the slavers.

“Tell Amber her shift starts in half an hour; I don’t want to be down here longer than I have too”.

“Whatever,” said one of the slavers. “Just remember to keep an eye on the merchandise. This new one is more feisty than the other one”.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep an eye on them. Now either take my shift or get out of my face,” said Night Light.

The slaver turned and headed back up the stairs while Night Light took up her position behind the desk. The keys floated back into the drawer, and Night Lighted leaned her head back while closing her eyes. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of snoring.

I picked myself up off the floor and dusted myself off. “Well, this is great. I get imprisoned in Trotsville, then I get busted out, only to get captured again,” I thought.

But it seemed things were worse this time around. In Trotsville, there had been ponies on my side and wanted me free. But here, my only ally was Cyborg, which wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t being held somewhere else!

I sighed and began to pace back and forth across the cage. If I wanted to get out of here, I had to think. But with no supplies, no gun, and no help, I was basically left on my own.

However, after a few paces, I thought of something I hadn’t before. “Magic” I said while tapping my horn.

I may not know teleportation spells or ones for fighting, but I did have telekinesis! “If I could levitate the keys from the desk, then I could get myself out!” I thought.

So I ran up to the side of the cage that faced the desk. Night Light was still asleep, which meant I had to be careful not to wake her up.

With a plan and guts, I ignited my horn and prepared to concentrate on the keys. That is until….

ZAP!

The moment my horn ignited, the collar around my neck light up. And almost instantly I felt volts of electricity course through my body.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “He’s a robot! Electricity should be good for him!”

Well water is good for ponies, but that doesn’t mean you should drink gallons of it at once! And it was a similar experience for robots like myself.

There wasn’t any pain involved, but soon my whole body started fidgeting, and the magic around my horn dispersed. My legs locked up, and I once again fell on my side. After a few seconds, the light turned off and the electricity stopped flowing.

Unfortunately, it didn’t mean the effects just vanished. I laid on the floor for a full ten minutes, waiting for my systems to come back online.

Thankfully (or not) my mouth and voice box still worked. “What did this thing do?” I asked myself, but came up with no reply.

As my systems began to reactivate, I pushed myself up until I was in a sitting position. I placed a hoof on my collar, sighed, and looked back at Night Light. She was still sleeping; her snoring actually seemed to have gotten louder.

“Who am I kidding, I know what this thing does”. It was a shock collar; just like I thought. But unlike the ones used in War Camps, this one was built to keep unicorns from using their magic. “And with that, I’m out of options”.

“....Are you….”

I looked up, thinking I’d see Night Light looking down at me with a wicked grin. But instead, she was still sleeping. “But if she wasn’t talking,” I thought, “who was?”

But I didn’t need to think long about the answer. My data-banks went into hyperdrive as I remembered what the slavers had said earlier.

“Ah, another one!”

“Put him with the other Scrap Pile!”

“You’re not the first one we’ve captured today!”

If all that was true, then it meant I wasn’t alone in this cage.

Slowly, I turned around and looked at the very back of the cage. And right in the corner, covered in shadow, was another pony. It looked like an earth pony mare; with a yellow pelt and green mane. She too had a collar around her neck, and a few scratches over her body.

Her eyes looked dark; like she’d been up for a long time. They were also pointed at me, but she didn’t move when I looked back.

“I guess I didn’t notice her when they threw me in,” I thought. I had been more focused on trying to figure a way out than observing if there were other ponies in the cage.

“You’re one too,” she said silently.

“Excuse me?”

The mare slowly rose from the corner and walked towards me. Once she was in the light, I was able to make more of her out. She had a few bandages wrapped around her back leg, and her cutie mark was, strangely, a blue flame.

“You’re one too,” she repeated. As she got closer, she raised her hoof up and placed it on the side of my face. “You’re like me; they wouldn’t put you here if you weren’t”.

“I’m not sure I understand”. But the moment I said that, I understood what she was talking about. I looked down at my leg with a hole in it, then back at the mare. “You’re a synth?”

“Yes,” the mare said with a nod. She moved her hoof from my face down to my chest, which still had the stitches from when I first woke up. “I didn’t think I’d find another synth out here….at least not this easily”.

I was both surprised and upset at the same time. Telling this mare I wasn’t a synth did come to mind, but I couldn’t get around the thought that she didn’t look like a synth. The ones back in Trotsville had patched skin, glowing eyes, and mechanical voices.

But this mare was, well, like me. She looked, talked, and (somewhat) acted like a normal pony. Did that mean she was like me (a P.A.B.) or was this an advanced synth compared to the others I’ve encountered.

“If you don’t mind me saying; you don’t look or act like any synth I’ve come across”.

The mare looked up at me; a face formed in surprise. “You’ve encountered other synths?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I killed some skinless ones a while back. And I encountered a few with skin patches over their inner-workings back in Trotsville”.

The mare was still for a second, then looked down in deep thought. “Interesting; two different productions of synths in just a short time”.

“Uh, productions?”

“Yes,” she said, looking up at me again. “The skinless ones are known as Generation One synths. They’re basically advanced robots that look like ponies. No thoughts, no feelings, no emotions. Their only purpose is to follow orders”.

“The ones with skin patches on them are Generation Two synths. They’re like the Gen One versions, but they have upgraded technology. They have some independent thought, and can make decisions on their own as long as it relates to the mission they have been given”.

That would explain why the synths back at Trotsville seemed smarter, and had more dialogue than the ones at the observatory. But all this information still left me with one unanswered question.

“So what are you then,” I asked. “You said you were a synth too, but you’re different than the ones I’ve met”.

The mare was silent for a moment, but eventually sighed. “That’s because I am a Generation 3 synth”.

Three Generations? I was beginning to wonder how many different types of synths TSIM had made. They could be up to Generation XII, or even beyond that if they’d been doing this long enough.

“And what exactly makes Generation 3 synths different from Generation 1 and 2 synths”?

“Simple,” said the mare. “We can make our own decisions. They grant us the thinking capacity of a regular pony; probably so we can make decisions on missions more easily”.

Wow, another robot with artificial intelligence! I’d never met another robot with this ability; not even before the war started. And yet TSIM was able to do it; that was something I might look into later.

“But if that’s true,” I said, “don’t you ever want to do your own thing? Do you ever want to disobey what TSIM tells you?”

The mare chuckled slightly. “Some of us do, yes. But TSIM is quick to destroy any synths that they feel are ‘broken’; which means any synth that wants to disobey them or be their own pony”.

The mare walked to the other side of the cage and sat down. “Do you know what it’s like: knowing a synth so well and the next minute they’re being taken away to be dismantled. You have know idea if they’re going to come back, or it their parts will be reused!”

The mare’s eyes clenched, and she started to sob. No tears flowed from her eyes, but I knew that robots couldn’t cry.

….But they could comfort….

I walked over to the mare and sat down next to her. Slowly, I wrapped my arm around her, and she leaned into the embrace. A few moments passed where the mare sob, and I just sat there with her.

I’d done something like this before the war. One day, Mistress Daisy had been informed that her brother Tree Bark (an Equestria soldier stationed in the Frozen North) had been killed in combat. She sat on the couch for hours, crying her eyes out. The young masters had been at school, and Master Smithson was working. That left me the only one at home to witness the outpour of emotion.

At first, I went about my daily tasks as usual. But soon, I began to feel very sorry for Mistress Daisy. So, I went up onto the couch without saying a word. I placed my hoof around her, and she too leaned into the embrace. We sat there for a whole hour, with me being silent and Mistress Daisy weeping. After a while, the Mistress whipped away the tears and thanked me.

It was one of the few times that I almost felt real emotion: not just something my programming did to mimic emotion.

And it seemed to be working here too. Because soon the mare stopped weeping and looked up at me. A slight smile formed on her face as she said “thank you”.

“No problem,” I replied. “By the way, I didn’t tell you my name: it’s Garcon”.

The mare chuckled slightly. “My name is Hope”.

“That’s an interesting name,” I said with a smile.

“Well, TSIM gave me the name Z9-76. But when I left, I gave myself the name Hope: it was the first choice I made as a free synth”.

I could only imagine how that felt; being controlled you’re whole life and then suddenly being able to choose your own path. Your decisions where you own, and nopony could take that away.

But, for some reason, that made me think about my life.

I’ve been given orders ever since I was activated, but I didn’t mind it. In fact, I was still feeling weird with no orders being given to me. I’ve made my own decisions for the past few days, and yet my programing hadn’t changed.

“So,” said Hope, “what was your life like in TSIM?”

Oh, that was right. She still thought I was a synth. “I didn’t come from TSIM. I’m a Personal Automated Butler (P.A.B.) made by the Robronco corporation before the war”.

Hope gave me a confused look. “But your technology is similar to TSIM synth technology”. She looked sadly down at the ground. “But maybe that’s just what you think”.

“Excuse me?”

Hope sighed. “Generation 3 synths have processing capabilities similar to real ponies. Because of this, TSIM can program any synth with the minds and memories of somepony else”. She paused for a moment. “But they can also program completely new memories into one as well”.

“What….what are you saying?” I had no idea what she was talking about, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Garcon, it’s possible the memories you have are from somepony else, or ones that were fabricated by TSIM”.

It took me a second to summarize her words: my memories might be fake?! That would mean my masters….my FAMILY….weren’t real. They were just something ponies made up for…..for some reason!

“It’s not true,” I snarled. “My memories are real! I know it!”

Hope sighed sadly. “They could be….but you must be careful. If they are fake, then know that your path ahead might be forever changed”.

Her words meant nothing; my memories were real and that’s all I needed to know! Nothing was going to change that, and I would never stop believing in my family and my times with them!

As I was thinking, the upstairs door opened and one of the mares from the top room walked down. She had a cigar stuck in her mouth, and had on beaten and worn leather pads.

She eyed me and Hope, then turned to Night Light. She was still snoozing at the desk; unaware of what was happening around her. The mare raised a hoof and gave Night Light a push. The sleeping mare’s eyes flew open as she fell sideways and hit the hardwood floor.

“Alright Night Light, my shift. Get upstairs and meet with the Boss,” said the mare. She took her cigar and shoved it into a nearby ashtray. “He wants you to….well….clean the pipe”.

Night Light got up off the floor, stretched, and gave the mare a snarling look. “Next time you shove me, I’m throwing you to a pack of Diamond Dogs!”

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever,” said the mare. “Did you catch what I said or do I have to repeat myself?”

Night Light snarled, but seemed to calm down slightly. “Yeah, I heard. Remind me though why you couldn’t ‘clean the pipe’ this time?”

The mare grinned while turning her head towards me. Our eyes locked, and the grin only seemed to get bigger. “Oh, I’m saving myself for some fresh meat”.

I felt both hopless and rather nervous: what if she actually went through with that goal. With my magic cut out, I could only imagine what she would have me do. Actually, I didn’t want to image that!

“Fine,” seethed Night Light. She pulled a set of keys from her pocket and handed them to the mare. “Just remember to keep the two in check at all times Amber. We don’t want either of them to get damaged”.

Amber looked at the keys, grinned, and looked back at Night Light. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing”.

“Alright then,” said Night Light. She turned and started walking up the stairs. “If you need anything, don’t ask; because apparently I’ll be busy”.

When Night Light was out of sight, Amber pocketed the keys and turned towards the cage. The grin on her face hadn’t gone away; it actually looked like it had grown. And it only made me feel more unnerved.

“Well, well, well; just the three of us now,” she purred. “No one to bother us, and no one to say not to touch the merchandise”.

She approached the cage and placed her face a few inches from the metal bars. She slowly licked her lips, then giggled slightly. “So tell me synth: what can you do with that tongue of yours?”

I turned my head away; I wasn’t going to answer this mare’s disturbing and disgusting questions. I wasn’t programed for this, and I was going to keep it this way.

“Oh, being stubborn are we?” Amber turned her gaze over to Hope, who quickly put her legs around me in a scared embrace. “Well maybe your little friend there would like to play instead. I wouldn’t mind having a mare do the deed”.

I snarled angrily. “Don’t you ponies have any sense of humanity?”

Amber laughed. “Listen bolts for brains; we do what we have too to survive out here. And if that means taking up ways that others might find sick, or unhealthy, then it just means they don’t deserve to be alive”.

I couldn’t believe something like that was true, and I wasn’t going to. If Trotsville had taught me anything, it’s that there was still a chance for ponies out in the world. Ponies like Cyborg, Wholesale, and Fireball were prime examples of that.

“Now,” continued Amber, “who’s it going to be? I don’t have all night, and I’m getting really horny!”

This mare was insane; I wasn’t going to contaiminate myself just so she could ‘have a little fun’.

….But then I thought about the mare that had her legs around me. The one who had already been through hell at TSIM, and was not a prisoner for these sick ponies.

If I didn’t do something, then she’d have to suffer. I might not like it, but I was programed with the personality of a gentlecolt. And that meant I couldn’t let an innocent mare suffer.

I gave Hope another look, sighed, and turned to Amber. “Fine. Leave Hope out of this, and I’ll do whatever you want”.

Amber’s grin grew wider as she let out a slight giggle. “Ah, how noble of you. Not that I care; I still get some action”.

She pulled the keys out of her pocket and unlocked the cage door. “You, mare, keep to the side and don’t say a word. Any funny business and my buddies will be down here faster than you can say fallout!”

Hope remained where she was for a moment, but soon began to pull away. But as her muzzle passed my ear, I heard her whisper something soft into it.

“It’s off. Be ready for my signal”.

I hadn’t had a chance to think about what that meant before she stood up and walked to the left side of the cage. Amber walked in, locked the door, and trotted over towards me.

“On your back, NOW!”

Well, she clearly wasn’t one to ask nicely. But given the situation, I thought it best not to ask for a ‘please’ at the end of the sentence. Besides, I was still more focused on figuring out what Hope meant.

I slowly slid down until I was lying flat on my back. The ceiling above looked just as dark and dirty as the rest of the room, and the lights did nothing to make it look any better.

But soon, my view was blocked by the sight of a mare’s flank above my face. Her tail swept across it, and was the only thing separating my face from her….ugh….‘mare hood’.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” said Amber seductively. “Now get ready for some….hm!”

Amber’s voice sounded like it had been muffled; like something was blocking her mouth. As the same time, I heard slight moaning noises and what sounded like smacking sounds.

Slowly, I moved my head to the right and looked up at Amber’s face. To my astonishment, I saw Amber and Hope locking lips, with Hope pushing into her with such intensity. Amber looked surprised, but didn’t seem to be fighting it. Soon, her eyes closed and they continued the passionate lip-locking session.

My mind was so confused I almost missed it when Hope’s eyes opened and she looked down at me. She raised a hoof, pointed at her collar, then pointed down at mine. She repeated this action, then closed her eyes again.

“Was this the signal,” I thought. “If it was, what did she mean by pointing at my collar? ….Wait, she said ‘it’s’ off earlier!”

Slowly, as to not alert Amber, I moved my hooves up to my neck. I grabbed the collar and gave it a quick tug….and with a slight click it came right off.

“But how?”

Actually, scratch that, it wasn’t the time for thoughts like that. Now that the collar was off, I should have been able to use my magic again. So I ignited my horn and waited for the shock to happen….but it never did.

“Perfect,” I said grinning.

Hope opened her eyes again and noticed that I was no longer wearing my collar. At that moment, she ended the kiss and pulled away from Amber. The mare was breathing deeply, but had a satisfied grin on her face.

“Well,” she said through breaths. “If I’d known you were up to that, I’d have forced you into this anyway”.

Hope grinned. “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway; I did what I needed to before you even unlocked the door”.

Amber raised an eyebrow, “uh, what do you mean?”

Hope looked down at me and nodded in Amber’s direction. “Oh,” I thought, “I think I get what she’s talking about”.

I encased the collar in my magic and opened it wider. As I did, Amber started looking down at me, but before she could fully turn her head I threw the collar around her neck and closed it with a loud “click”.

“SHIT,” she screamed. Her hooves instantly began tugging at it, but it wouldn’t come off. “You fuckers are dead, you hear me, DEAD!”

“Ugh, I’ve had enough of this,” I said as I encased Amber in my magic. A second later she was thrown off my and smashed into the side of the cage.

“Ouch….oh, just wait until my buddies upstairs get ahold of you. Red-Eye won’t mind losing some slaves that don’t have the mental capacity to stay down!”

I got myself back onto my hooves before turning to Amber. “You know I honestly feel as if I’m losing memory space just by listening to you speak”.

“Same,” said Hope. “I suggest we get out of here before all our memories are erased”.

The two of us totted out of the cage and closed the door, leaving Amber trapped in the prison she’d likely seen many ponies in before us. I found it to be a sweet irony, but knew that there were other problems that required my attention.

“So we’ve taken out one of the slavers, but there are more upstairs,” I said with a nod upward. “And we both don’t have any weapons, so we need to fix that”.

“Good Luck,” snarled Amber. “There aren’t any weapons down here. You might as well give up while you still have a chance to live!”

“Unlikely,” said Hope. “We’ll probably going to be shot the moment we leave the basement.” She trotted to the desk and began pulling draws open. “And I think you were lying about there being no weapons down here. Who puts ponies in cages and doesn’t have weapons to put them down if needed?”

I think Hope was onto something, because Amber’s face suddenly went from cocky to worried. And my thoughts were only more proven when Hope opened the draw and smiled. She reached inside and pulled out a rusty, but sturdy looking, 10mm pistol.

“Bingo,” she said with a grin.

Amber snorted. “You think you can fire you way out of here? Those ponies will fill you with lead before you can even make it halfway to the door!”

Now I was getting really annoyed by the mare’s constant yapping. I ignited my horn and surrounded her mouth in magic, and it zipped shut soon after. “We’ll take our chances”.

“As slim as they are,” replied Hope. “So, how experienced are you with a gun?”

“Well I’ve mostly used a beam pistol since I woke up,” I said as I floated the gun over to me. “But with S.A.T.S., it shouldn’t be too hard to get a few of them taken out”.

“Let’s just hope they have weapons we can use once they’re dead. One magazine of bullets won’t get us too far”.

I checked the sights and grip of the pistol, and overall it wasn’t bad. Beam pistols might have a more mechanical touch (which I enjoyed) but this could at least get the job done. I just hoped S.A.T.S. was ready for a workout….metaphorically speaking.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said as I headed towards the stairs. Hope followed close behind me, and we both filtered out whatever Amber was spewing. Hopefully we’d never have to deal with her again….if she managed to survive being locked down there.

Once we reached the top of the stairs, I slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open a smidge. Looking through the small opening, I tried to see what was going on in the room beyond.

The mares still seemed to be playing cards at the table, which I hoped meant they hadn’t heard what had happened downstairs.

“What do you see,” asked Hope.

“Those mares are still at the table,” I replied. “I don’t see any weapons on them, but they could be concealed”.

“Any other ponies?”

I activated my E.F.S. and scanned the dots that appeared in my vision. The ones on the left matched up with the mares, but there was also one on the right.

“One,” I said cautiously. “But I don’t know if it’s one of the mares or one of the stallions that captured me”.

“Then let’s get them first,” said Hope. “Better to be safe than shot”.

Her logic did make sense, not that it made me feel any better. Because this wasn’t like ghouls or synths, these were actual ponies. Even if they were slavers, they still had some right to live (no matter how small it was).

But logic, like always, seemed to win out.

“Okay,” I sighed. “Let’s go”.

I ignited my horn, grabbed the doorknob, and pushed it forward as the two of us ran into the room. As the mares started to look toward us, I turned my attention to the red dot in the corner.

As Hope had predicted, one of the male slavers was lying on the decrepit couch. His eyes flew open as the door did, but he wasn’t fast enough for my programing.

I entered S.A.T.S. and selected two clear shots to the stallion’s head. My gun moved into position and quickly fired two hot slugs into his cranium and out the back side. Blood spattered the wall as his lifeless body slumped to the ground and his eyes rolled back into his head.

I didn’t waste time admiring my kill and turned my attention to the seven remaining mares.

Unfortunately….they did have guns….or at least three of them did. And they were all pointed at me and Hope.

“Crap,” I said (with a mental kick for bad educate).

As the mares started to fire, I wrapped the couch in magic and pulled it in front of me and Hope. Most of the bullets ripped through the fabric, but it did provide some cover.

“What now,” asked Hope.

“We need to get clear shots to their heads, but I can’t with the three of them shooting at us”.

“You seemed to do okay with that stallion,” she responded.

“Yeah, thanks to S.A.T.S.,” I replied. “Which, might I add, is still recharging”.

“How much longer?”

I pulled up the meter, and it was only halfway full at this point. “A few more seconds, but I’ll only get two shots off before it’s run out”.

While that would reduce the shots being fired to just one mare, it also meant we’d have to wait even more time to take out the others. And if this noise wasn’t calling every slaver in the area to this room, I didn’t know what would.

But I had a feeling Hope understood the situation. She shuffled around me and over to the dead slaver (whose body had fallen to the ground when I moved the couch). She picked up what looked like a .45 caliber pistol from the corpse before turning towards me.

“I’ve got an idea, but I’m not sure it will work”.

Oh great, just what I needed: an unsure plan!

“What is it,” I asked questionably.

Hope did say anything. Instead, I watched as she reached towards her back, grabbed a piece of skin, and pulled. The skin was actually a metal plate, below which was an assortment of cables. She grabbed one, pulled it out, and showed it to me.

“If I plug into your hard drive, I could use S.A.T.S. just like you. That way we can take out four/five mares instead of two”.

I raised an eyebrow questionably: this mare wanted to plug into ME! “Will that even work?”

Hope cringed. “Uh, I’m not sure. That’s why I said I’m not sure it will work”.

Great, now I had to think fast. If this worked, it could be a lot easier for us. But if it failed, we could end up back in the cage or filled with bullets.

….Ah, I was going to kick myself for this later….

“Fine,” I said sighing. “Just hurry up”.

Amber nodded, then walked behind me and plug the cord into my access point.

Notices flashed across my vision, such as INTERFACE CONNECTION ACCEPTED or DATA SHARE IN PROGRESS. This was accompanied by scrolls of numbers, indicating that our two systems were not working with each other.

“Wow,” said Amber. “Your system is really….”

“Advanced,” I asked. “I know it’s a little confusing, but being top of the line in my series is…”

“No, no,” said Amber. “I was going to say old. TSIM uses a much more advanced system for their synths. That’s why I’m linking to you: you’re old tech couldn’t link to mine”.

I didn’t know if that was an insult or….no, it felt like an insult. Being told that your programing was out of date wasn’t just a buck to my designers….it made me feel slightly old.

“And….there, we’ve linked. Let’s go,” said Amber.

The cord still connected us, but it was long enough that we didn’t have to stand too close to one another. I looked over at Amber, gave a nod, and we both peeked over the couch.

I slipped into S.A.T.S., and quickly noticed that the bar at the top was now longer. I might have been because of Hope; her programming was able to boost its effects.

But it soon began to drain as I saw Hope selecting the head of two of the mares. I regained focus and targeted the other four, and quickly shut the spell off. Hope and me were a flurry of action; putting four bullets through the four mare’s heads and sending them to the ground.

The mares that had been hiding behind them looked at their dead defenders, then at us. One stepped forward and shakingly asked “uh, any chance you would consider letting us go?”

“Nope,” said Hope.

Before I could even get a word out, Hope unleashed a barrage of bullets on the group. The mares began to run for cover, but Hope’s aim wasn’t bad; even without S.A.T.S. Eventually, all of the mares were lying on the ground in a large bloody pool.

With the barrage of bullets over, me and Hope stepped out from behind the couch. I looked over the scene, but there wasn’t anything pleasant. It was just like back at Trotsville; dead bodies and pools of blood everywhere.

“Why didn’t we just let them go?”

I wasn’t really upset with Hope’s decision; these ponies deserved to be punished for their crimes. But at the same time, they wanted to surrender. We could have easily locked them up with Amber; letting them rot in the same cell they put others in. Bloodshed could have been avoided.

“Because they didn’t deserve to live,” replied Hope. “Ponies that imprison others and force them to do their bidding are unforgivable….and I doubt they would have changed if we’d let them go”.

“Still….it just seems wrong to me”.

I felt a tug on my back, and the cable connecting the two of us slid back into Hope’s back. “Like I said; your system is outdated. Killing is a part of this world now, you just come from a time when it wasn’t”.

Okay, so what if I did. There wasn’t anything wrong with living in a time of peace….well, at least semi-peace. Killing wasn’t something everypony did, but when it did happen at least there was some humility in it.

….But she was right, that time was over. This wasn’t the world I was used to, and I had to start accepting that.

As I was thinking, my ears picked up the sound of hooves coming down some stairs. I turned my attention to my E.F.S., and saw two red dots approaching from above (thanks to the little arrow above them). I scanned the room and found a door next to the table.

“Get ready,” I said and took aim at the door. Hope did the same, and soon two stallions ran into the room.

“What was with the gun….what the fuck did you do!”

I didn’t give the stallion a response, or at least not one that he liked. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and took aim at the stallion’s head. When I exited, two bullets left the gun and pierced his head all the way through. Blood splattered the wall and the other stallion as his lifeless body slumped to the floor.

I was so focused on him that I didn’t notice the other stallion pulling out a shotgun and taking aim. But it wasn’t at me.

Instead, he looked towards Hope and unloaded three shots at the mare. Buckshot spread from the barrel and pierced the mare’s side. Sparks and bits of metal scattered as more and more pellets either embedded themselves in the machinery or flew out the other side.

Shock overtook me as I watched Hope drop her gun and fall to the floor. Her sides looked like they’d been through a shredder; wires and gears spilled out her side, and sparks lit up the scene.

“I don’t care if Red-Eye get’s angry; you two fuckers aren’t leaving this place alive!” The stallion reloaded and began to aim his gun at me.

I was still in shock about what had happened to Hope….but something must have snapped inside me. Looking at her shocked expression, her flickering eyes, and the slight twitches her body made; it did something to me.

I suddenly went from shocked to furious. I gritted my teeth, took my gun, and slipped into S.A.T.S. once more. This time, I aimed at the fucker’s head, leg, chest….basically everything that I could hit.

When I exited, my gun was a whirl of action. Bullets sliced through every part of the stallion’s body, turning it into another blood bath as the blood spilled from the body and pooled on the floor. The stallion dropped to the ground and twitched slightly before moving no more.

I was still for a moment before turning to hope. I dropped the gun and knelt down beside her, putting my legs under her neck and lifting her head off the floor. Her eyes were half closed, but they shifted towards me when her head was properly elevated.

“What….what happened?” Her voice was soft, but not in a good way. It sounded distant; like it was slowly fading.

“You were shot,” I said as calmly as I could. “Bastard managed to get to you before I could kill him”.

Hope sighed. “How bad is it?”

Did I really want to tell her the truth? How could I say nicely that it was a miracle she was still functioning? Her entire insides were bullet ridden, and most of the wires/cord had been severed. I just had to wonder how much longer she could survive before her system shut down completely.

“It’s bad,” I said, trying not to sound mean.

Hope sighed again. “Then don’t worry about me; save your friend and the other captives. They still have a chance to live”.

“No,” I retorted. “I’m going to leave you here. We’d still be in that cage if it wasn’t for you: we’re in this together!”

“I wasn’t asking, I was telling”. Hope gave me a glare, which seemed to be filled with determination and rage. “Save the others!”

I wanted to….I was going to….but at the cost of leaving her? She’d already suffered at the hooves of TSIM, and now she could shut down inside a slaver hide out?

But she wasn’t wrong; the others did need help. And right now I was the only pony that could help them.

“Fuck me,” I snarled as I laid Hope’s head on the floor and rose to my hooves. “Just hang in there Hope, I’ll be back soon”.

I grabbed the gun, turned on my hooves, and headed towards the door that would take me upstairs.

***

I found the remaining seven slavers in one of the rooms upstairs. They were all sleeping on couches, mats, and for some a bed. It was a surprise that they hadn’t woken up when the gunfire started….but that didn’t matter to me.

On my way upstairs, I’d found an old ammo box on the first landing. Inside had been a few .50 MM rounds and a grenade. And as soon as it was in my hooves, I knew what I could do with it.

When I found the sleeping slavers, I levitated the grenade out of my bag. I pulled the pin, threw it into the room, and quickly shut the door. A few dots on my E.F.S. moved, but only slightly.

I turned away from the door and began walking down the stairs. Once I was on the first landing, the grenade went off and seven little dots disappeared from my vision. The shockwave sent dust raining down from the ceiling, but I didn’t care.

Now there was only two red dots left on my E.F.S. One of them was Amber, who was still locked in the basement. But the other one….oh, the other one was him: The Boss.

He hadn’t been in any of the room I’d checked, which meant he could only be one other place. I recalled what he’d said when I was taken into the basement not too long ago.

“Place the freak with the others”.

And since there was no other pony in the building, that meant they must be outside. That would also explain why they hadn’t hear the gunfire from before.

I walked into the front room, where Hope was still lying on the floor. Her eyes were still moving, but she didn’t say anything as I passed by. I gave her a quick glance before marching to the door and heading outside.

***

I walked behind the building and found my target; a good sized tool shed. Graffiti covered the outside, and rotten wood panels were plastered on the roof; likely a quick repair job.

When I checked the door, it was unlocked. So I took out my pistol and swung the door open. I walked inside, and was instantly greeted by similar decor to the other building.

The walls were filled with holes, allowing small amounts of light to enter the room. The floors had blood stains all over them, but none of it looked fresh. My eyes also noticed another desk and chair in the top left corner.

But all of that was nothing compared to the sight right in front of me.

Cell bars spanned the room farther back; some looking new while others looked ready to fall apart. A small group of ponies were huddled in the far corner. They all looked malnourished, and had bruises and lacerations all over their bodies.

And right outside their cell was the Boss. He stood in front of the door to the holding cell; his gun floating in the air next to him. But it wasn’t pointed at me, it was pointed at….oh sweet celestia.

The gun was pointed straight at Cyborg’s head. He looked concerned, but not scared. The collar Hope and me had worn was also clamped around his next, and a few cuts were plastered over his body. His eyes swiveled from me to the gun pointed at his head.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” said the stallion. “You couldn’t just give up could you. Had to be the big hero and save everypony”. He slowly shook his head, “big mistake synth….BIG mistake”.

“Garcon, don’t worry about me,” said Cyborg; his voice sounded strained. “Get the others out of here or else they’ll….”

Cyborg stopped when Boss pushed the gun harder against his temple. Now he was starting to look scared. In fact, now I was starting to feel scared. The anger and determination I’d walked in with was now replaced by worry and uncertainty.

“Now here’s how things are going to play out,” said the stallion. “You’re going into the cage with the others. Try anything and your friend gets his head blown off”.

Oh sweet Celestia. What was I supposed to do? If I didn’t follow his orders, Cyborg could die. But if I did follow his orders, we’d not only have no chance of getting out of here, but he’d likely shoot Cyborg anyway.

And I doubted S.A.T.S. could get a shot at him before he noticed something was up and shot Cyborg. Personally, I didn’t think force and guns was going to get me out of this.

But thankfully, there was another option. And by golly I hated it….I hated it so much.

“Go ahead,” I said, “kill him”.

The stallion looked confused, which was nothing to Cyborg’s unholy face of shock. The stallion shook his head then looked back at me.

“What?”

“Go ahead and kill him; show me you’re not bluffing”.

“I’m not bluffing,” he snarled.

“Uh, Garcon, I really think he isn’t,” said Cyborg.

“I know he isn’t,” I said sternly. “But if he shoots you, that gives me a reason to shoot him. He’ll be dead not long after you”. I paused. “But just remember this: you lose no matter what situation you decide on”.

“What do you mean,” he asked, pushing the gun harder against Cyborg.

“If you shoot him, I shoot you. If you don’t shoot him, I’ll still shoot you in case you decide too”. Now, I just hoped my reasoning would work. “But if you let him go, I’ll step aside and let you walk out of here. I won’t follow you, and you’ll never see us again”.

The stallion chuckled. “How can I be sure you’ll keep your promise? And what’s stopping me from shooting you?” His gun shifted from Cyborg’s head to mine.

Now it was my time to grin. “If you shoot me, I’ll still be operating. Hope was still working even after two shotgun blasts, so what makes you think a single bullet will affect me?”

I think the stallion was beginning to see things my way. His face went from sly confidence to uncertain worry. Hopefully that meant he would see reason….or at least not catch MY bluff.

After a moment of silence, the stallion snarled and moved his gun away from Cyborg’s head. “Fine, I’ll leave”.

“I’m glad you saw reason,” I said with a grin. I moved left so that the entrance was clear, and the stallion began to move towards it.

As he was about to leave the shack, I acted. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and targeted every part of his body that wasn’t covered by his jacket/armor. When I exited, my gun quickly unloaded it’s entire magazine into the slaver.

Blood shot from every hole the bullets created, and the stallion’s head basically exploded from the multiple impacts. The lifeless body fell to the floor, spreading more blood across the shack floor.

There was silence for a moment….actually more than a moment. I sighed as I tossed my empty gun aside and walked to the corpse of the dead slaver. Blood pooled around my hooves, and some was moving out the door and mixing with the dirt.

“I had to,” I thought as I looked over the body. “He was a slaver; he would have just gone back to hurting more ponies if I’d let him go”.
I could think that all I wanted, it wasn’t going to make me feel any better. So he was a slaver; he was still a pony. One that had surrendered yet was still killed just because I made a decision on what might happen should he live.

My ears caught a set of hooves approaching, but I didn’t look away from the corpse. Cyborg stopped next to me, looking from me to the corpse then back to me.

“Are you alright?”

No….and yes. I wasn’t really sure what I was feeling at this point. I was happy that I’d saved him from hurting others, but my conscious kept telling me I’d blatantly lied to this stallion without a second thought.

“I will be,” I said, turning away from the body. “Just give me some time”.

“If you say so,” said Cyborg. “What are we going to do now?”

I sighed, then headed towards the cage at the back of the shack.

“We’re going to start making things right”.

Footnote: LEVEL UP

New Program: Sly Viper - Enemies Beware. You now do more damage to ponies that are unarmed, injured, or unaware of your presence.

Quest Perk: Lighting Processor: When in stressful confrontations, gain +5 Intelligence, and +4 Charisma when talking/negotiating. -4 Perception when using non-melee weapons.

Chapter 7: Discoveries

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Fallout Equestria: A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 7: Discoveries

“A Darker Future….UNDERGROUND!”.

Right from the start, things didn’t go as I’d expected.

When I unlocked the cage, I expected the ponies inside to start thanking us for freeing them. Maybe they would be scared of us; I know I would if a killer robot was walking towards me. But what I didn’t expect was for them to bolt the moment I unlocked the door.

I barely had time to get a sound in before the ponies sped past me and out the shack door. One pony at the end stopped outside the cell, turned to me and said a quiet “thank you” before following the others.

That left me in a large shack with a half-cybernetic stallion and a dead corpse. And that was not a sentence I thought I would ever think about in my life.

I was also slightly upset; I had wanted to help those ponies. After all, being imprisoned must have been hard for them. And after what I’d been through, I wanted to help them get back on their hooves. But it seemed they didn’t want it, or didn’t trust us enough to give us a chance.

So with no more prisoners or slavers, that once again left me and Cyborg on our own. Only this time, we were covered in blood and in the middle of a slaver base of operation. If that wasn’t the perfect example of “bad place to be”, I didn’t know what was.

“Well they seemed alright,” said Cyborg. “At least alright enough to head straight out of here with no supplies”.

“I think they were just scared,” I replied. “But can you really blame them?”

“No, I can’t. But once again I’m forced to ask: what are we going to do now?”

That was simple; we continue on with our journey. Buck Crossing was still a few days away, and we needed to get there as soon as possible. The more time we wasted, the more likely the chance Hatchet would complete his mission and leave.

“Head back to the house; try and find any supplies you can. I’ll stay here and see if there’s anything useful”.

“If you say so,” said Cyborg before heading out the door.

Now it was just the two of us….me and the dead Boss. I trotted over to his body and sat down next to it. Blood still pooled around me, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t anything compared to what I was feeling.

“Fine, I’ll leave”.

That’s all he had promised; that he would leave. He didn’t promise that he would turn good and not harm anypony else. He didn’t say he wasn’t going to go get more of his goons to come and kills us. He didn’t say he wouldn’t try and seek revenge.

For a pony like him, that one promise wasn’t good enough. His crimes made him a pony that didn’t deserve to be alive. That’s why I had to kill him….that HAD to be why I killed him.

“I’m not a killing machine,” I said quietly. “I’m not like those synths”.

I killed him because he was dangerous, not because I wanted to wipe all of them out. If that was true, I would have killed Amber too. But I didn’t, so I had to be better….right?

“Right,” I said to myself.

I could have stayed there for a while, thinking about what I did. But we had things to do, and I still needed to find some useful items.

Right away I cast my gaze to the empty 10mm pistol that sat against the wall. I knew I needed a new gun, and there were plenty in the house I could choose from.

But my thoughts went to the gun that was in the pocket of the corpse in front of me. A gun that this pony fancied….but why thought?

Curiosity taking over, I encased the stallion’s jacket with my magic and began to work it off him. It wasn’t easy, but soon I had a nice black jacket clutched in my hooves. As soon as I did, a notice flashed across my screen.

It read SLAVER COMBAT JACKET ACQUIRED. It then told me it’s defense strength and how much it was worth. I had no idea how that Pip-Buck chip could tell all of this, but I knew at this point it was no use thinking about it.

I placed the jacket on top of the corpse and patted it until I felt the lump I was looking for. I reached into the jacket with magic and pulled out the pistol that had once been pushed against me and Cyborg’s heads.

From what I knew about firearms from Master Smithson, it was a 9mm pistol. But what I hadn’t noticed when the stallion had been using it was how it looked. It had a silver shine to it, and the entire body of the pistol was engraved with ivy and floral details. The grip was made of some kind of granite material...and it had an image on it.

The image showed Celestia, with her eyes closed and wings outstretched as the run rose up behind her.

Once again, a noticed flashed across my screen. It read CELESTIA’S THUNDER ACQUIRED.

“Celestia’s Thunder,” I said as I looked over the gun.

From what I could see, it was definitely a gun made for unicorns. The mouth grip that came standard for most guns was nowhere to be seen. It seemed like this was made to be controlled by magic, which I guessed is the reason that stallion had it.

I mean, who wouldn’t want a gun that not everyone could use. It probably meant less ponies that could use it against him.
To see what else made this gun special, I pulled up the inventory program that came with my Pip-Buck chip. The only two items in it were the battle coat and Celestia’s Thunder. Under the image of the gun sat all the characteristics and stats about it.

From what I could read, it was powerful. A high damage level combined with an uncanny resistance to direct hits from most other bullets. There was also a lightning bolt icon located under the damage level. I had no idea what that meant, but I had a feeling I would find out eventually.

I took the gun holster from the dead stallion, strapped it to my leg, and slid Celtasia’s Thunder inside. I threw the battle coat over my back and began to search for anything else that could be useful for the journey ahead.

Most of the things around the shack were junk, but I was able to find a few healing potions and a syringe of med-x. It wasn’t something I could use, but Cyborg still had organic parts. Hopefully he could make use of them….but of course I wish that wouldn’t be the case.

Once I’d looked through the entire shack, I gathered what I collected and headed back inside the house. Cyborg was in the first room, using his magic to move all the dead bodies into a corner. The blood had started to dry, but thankfully I couldn’t smell the irony smell that came from it.

Once the last bodie was cleared away, Cyborg collected the four guns that were left over. As he did that, I turned my attention to Hope.

Her body was still how it was when I left: lifeless and stiff. Her eyes were half open, letting me see into the ever-expanding darkness that….no, no I wasn’t going to go through that again!

I trotted over to the body and slowly pulled the eyelids down, helping to make her look like she was sleeping. It still left a dead….robot….in the middle of the room. So I turned the couch back over and levitated Hope onto it. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do for now.

Cyborg trotted over to me. “I saw her when I walked in. But I, uh, didn’t want to do anything until you got here. I figured she was the pony you were locked up with”.

I noticed how confused he sounded when he said “pony”. But I was glad he said it anyway.

“Yeah,” I replied. “She was….and the one who helped me escape”.

Cyborg nodded, but kept his eyes on Hope. “Well she has my respect for that. Even the ponies that ran off are subconsciously thanking her; whether they know it or not”.

If that was true, then I was happy. If Hope would get remembered for saving ponies, then that would mean she didn’t die in vain.

“So, what’s the plan,” asked. “Are we still heading out for Buck Crossing?”

“That’s right,” I replied as I turned away from Hope. “We need to get there as soon as possible, so I suggest we get what we need and leave”.

Cyborg shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend it; the sun’s going to set soon. I think it’s best if we stay here for the night and head out in the morning”.

That was just what I wanted to hear; that we’d have to waste more time. I was sure we could make it a few miles and camp outside. Why we had to stay here was beyond me.

But Cyborg had lived outside a lot longer than I had. If he said it was best to wait till morning, there was probably a good reason for it.

But if we really were going to stay here, I wanted to make sure something was all clear before letting my guard down.

Levitating Celestia’s Thunder out of the holster, I turned and walked towards the door to the basement. I had to make sure Amber was still locked up; having her on the loose was the last thing I wanted.

As I got closer to the door, I noticed that it was already halfway open. I wasn’t sure how far I’d opened it when me and Amber broke out, but I decided to keep my guard up for the time being.

Heading down the stairway, I scanned the room as soon as it came into view. But what I found filled me with worry: the cage was empty. The door was wide open and a half-crushed shock collar sat near it.

“Shit,” I said under my breath before running back upstairs. As I emerged into the room, Cyborg turned towards me. He looked about as worried as I was. “Amber’s gone!”

“Who?”

Of course; he wasn’t in the basement when we locked her up. Why did I expect him to know what I was talking about.

“Amber, one of the slavers. Me and Hope locked her in the basement, but the cage is empty. She must have got out when we were in the shed!”

Cyborg’s worry didn’t leave his face. “The door was open when I came around the front. Did you close it before you came to the shed?”

I nodded. “I didn’t want something walking in while I was helping you”.

“Then she fled,” said Cyborg, turning to the open door. “Probably down the 34; a pony like her wouldn’t try for Trotsville”.

This wasn’t good; not good at all. We had a deranged slaver pony on the loose. She could be going to get more of her friends right now, ready to tear us apart.

“We have to leave,” I said with a notch of sternness. “If she comes back with more slavers, we’re dead”.

“I don’t think that’s the case”. Cyborg walked up and looked me in the eye. “Slavers don’t conglomerate near each other; they spread around. This is probably the only slaver base for miles. By the time she finds another one and heads back here, we’ll be heading towards Buck Crossing”.

I raised an eyebrow. “How can you be so sure?”

Cyborg was silent for a moment, keeping his gaze down towards the floor. “When you’ve been chased by everything from synths to slavers, you learn a little about them”.

He looked up and gave me a “I don’t want to talk about this anymore” look. I guess it did it’s job, because I simply nodded and said nothing more on the subject. Instead, I shifted our focus to our current situation.

“So we stay here for the night, then head to Buck Crossing,” I recapped. “We’re going to need our strength to get there fast enough. You should go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch and search for supplies”.

“Are you sure; I don’t feel that tired yet. I can stay awake for a while and let you power down. That’ll give your systems a chance to have a break”.

It was only after he explained his reasoning that I remembered I still had a hole in my back leg. It had seemed like a hindrance when I first got it, but my system must have adapted to walking with a stiff leg.

Leaving it untouched would only make it worsen over time, and that was something I couldn’t let happen. “I guess I should get my leg fixed before I take watch….so, what happened to my bags?”

My saddle-bags had been filled with spare parts and other scraps to help repair myself. Unfortunately my bags had been taken when the slavers got us, and I hadn’t seen it since.

Cyborg gave me a frown, sighing sadly. “They took whatever was useful and threw the rest in a ditch on the way here. I saw them do it, but couldn’t stop them”.

I blinked in surprise. “What? How am I supposed to repair myself when I don’t have any parts to work with?”

I could tell from the face he was making that Cyborg had a solution. But at the same time, I could also tell he didn’t want to mention it. After a few seconds, he gave in and turned his head back to me.

“If you want spare parts, there’s plenty on the couch behind you”.

“Wait, was he talking about who I thought he was talking about,” I thought. Turning around, I only saw the body of Hope lying on the couch.

“I know she helped you, but now she has a chance to help you again. I can use her parts to repair you,” explained Cyborg. “What do you say?”

It just felt wrong; cannibalizing one machine to fix another. Ponies had done it before the war, and were probably still doing it now. But none of those machines had had a mind, and saved ponies from becoming slaves.

It was like….no….it was defiling a body.

But at the same time, I knew I had to get to Buck Crossing as fast as I could. Failing to repair my leg would only slow us down, even if walking with it was normal by now.

“Okay….but just the parts you need. Nothing more,” I said with some strain.

“Take a seat on the couch,” said Cyborg. “Have the leg facing outward”.

Even with a body occupying it, I was able to sit at the far end of the couch. Cyborg went up to Hope’s body, igniting his horn at the same time. He slowly used magic to cut a section of fake skin away, revealing the leg mechanics underneath.

I looked away as he took out the parts he need before turning to my leg. Silence passed as metal rods and lengths of wire floated in and out of the “wound”. Cyborg took the busted parts and placed them near where the other supplies were kept. Maybe he was hoping to put them to use later?

After a while, Cyborg attached the last wire and stepped away. “There, that should do it. Try walking around and see how it feels”.

I moved off the couch and tried raising the damaged leg up. To my delight it moved flawlessly, and the few walks I did around the room only confirmed this. In fact it was feeling more mobile than before it was shot.

“Wow, even better than new,” I noted as I stopped near the grinning stallion. “Whatever parts you took, they really did the trick”.

“Thats TSIM for you; only using the best when building pony-like robots”.

Well even if they were making me better, I still had to remind myself that the parts came from another pony. I tried to tell myself that now a part of her was with me, but it still felt wrong in some way.

Once I finished testing my leg, Cyborg and I continued searching for supplies. We found an assortment of guns, ammo crates, and two Ministry of Peace medical kits. The guns were pretty banged up, but I assured Cyborg that I could make at least one or two good guns from the lot.

After a while we took the supplies we found back to the main room and laid them between us. The guns consisted of two shot guns, six 10mm Pistols, and one 9mm pistol. Cyborg had also looted some leather pads from the slavers I’d blown up, taking the best pieces for himself and leaving the rest behind. He’d also found two small jars full of caps, which he decided to let me hold onto.

“This should be more than enough to get us to Buck Crossing,” said Cyborg. He pointed at the guns and said, “Can you really do something for those?”

“One of my masters had been the head of a weapons distributor before the war. He programed me to know about guns….mostly so I could be ready to use one if someone broke into the house”.

Cyborg shrugged. “Well in the long run, I’d say it was a good idea. Knowledge on guns is important in the wasteland”.

Yeah, that was because everything out here tries to kill you! Robots, mutated creatures, slavers, and who knows what else?

“Why don’t you go ahead and get some rest,” I said as I sat down in front of the guns. “I’ll see what I can do here and keep watch”.

“If you say so,” said Cyborg. He trotted over to a small mattress we’d moved from the rooms above. He laid down, closed his eyes, and was soon snoozing soundly.

I went to work on the guns, pulling them apart and checking to see which parts were useable and which weren’t. Soon, it was just me working on the guns.

In a way, it was almost peaceful.

***

As the night turned into morning, I found myself once again sitting down and reading. After finding another mattress upstairs, I set it next to Cyborg’s and began digging into another book.

It did feel slightly strange to read a book about life that had died out nearly 200 years ago. After everything that I’d seen, a story about a mare and the love of her life was now looking like fantasy. And the story about a robot in a post-nuclear world with radioactive creatures and evil organizations was now the reality.

But a good book was a good book, and I wasn’t going to let the real world ruin it. If I did, it would just give the wasteland another edge over me. And personally, I think it had enough already.

I was indulging in one of Flurry’s many long-winded speeches about love when Cyborg started to stir. I marked my place and waited until he’d fully opened his eyes and rose from the mattress.

“Morning,” he said with a yawn.

“Good morning to you too,” I replied. “Get enough sleep?”

“I hope so”. Cyborg walked over to the pile of supplies and grabbed a pack of Sugarcube Corner Mini Muffins. “So when should we head out?”

I rose from the mattress and trotted over to the supply pile. “Maybe twenty minutes,” I said as I began filling our saddle-bags with the supplies.

“Works for me,” said Cyborg through a mouthful of muffins. “The faster we get out of this place, the better”.

He was right; getting as far away from this place as possible was top priority. If Amber was planning on gathering more slavers, it was important to leave before they arrived. And the more time we spent out in the wasteland, the more time Hatchet had to leave Buck Crossing.

I finished packed up the supplies; dividing the load into two saddlebags for me and Cyborg. After that, we did one last scan of the room before heading out the door and down the 34 once again.

***

The next hour passed by rather quickly.

After leaving the slaver’s den, I set the map to Buck Crossing once again. It was still about a two day walk before we got there, but we had plenty of supplies.

We also had enough protection in case we got jumped like last time. Cyborg was now wearing a few leather pads, while I wore the Battle Coat I’d scavenged from the dead slaver boss. If the stats on it were true, it would help protect me from another servo-disabling bullet.

After setting the map, I also tuned into Ponytunes Radio. Soon the sweet tunes of Sweetie Belle were pouring out into the dead wasteland.

“....LET THE RAINBOW REMIND YOU, THAT TOGETHER WE WILL ALWAYS SHINE!....”

“And that was Sweetie Belle, performing one of her last recorded songs: Let the Rainbow Remind You. And if I’m going to be honest listeners, it’s one of my personal favorites.”

“Now onto the news. And it looks like we have a major news story to talk about today folks. But be prepared: this isn’t going to be a happy one. If you live far to the south of Baltimare, or are in deep with the Trader community, you may know of a settlement called Trotsville”.

When they said Trotsville, both me and Cyborg stopped in our tracks.

“And if you do, I ask that you pause for a moment in memory of all those that recently lost their lives. You see Trotsville was the most recent host of a Synth attack, which left ⅔ of the town dead. The reports are sketchy, and there aren’t that many comments from anypony left alive. However, I can report that the Synth attack was apparently to track down somepony who, and I quote, ‘Had TSIM Technology’.”

I took a glance at Cyborg, who wasn’t looking that well. His face was neutral, but I could tell that he was feeling pain underneath.

“And when the pony in question walked into the firefight, he apparently brought with him ANOTHER robot pony. The metal stallion in question was said to have talked with the synths before they were all zapped into unconsciousness by a Pulse Grenade.”

At the mention of the grenade, Cyborg rubbed his metal legs. I had a feeling he was still feeling the effects of having only parts of his body shut down. My entire body had gone offline, which actually wasn’t as bad: at least I wasn’t conscious the whole time.

“Now before you all start thinking the other robot was just a synth being clever, my informants tell me otherwise. It turns out this pony saved the techno-theif from a few other Synths earlier that day. And when they arrived in town, they tried to take out the synths attacking the citizens. Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty heroic to me”.

“Unfortunately, we have no reports of the robot’s name as of yet, so I’ve taken it upon myself to give him one. And that name is….The Butler. Now before you ask why, let me explain my reasoning. This robot is apparently a pre-war robo-butler, so the new name fits rather well if you ask me.”

WHAT?! This mare could basically find out my life story, but couldn’t get my name! Instead she goes and decides to call me “The Butler”! This was crazy!

“So Butler, if you happen to be listening right now, I have something to tell you. Thank You, from all of us at Ponytunes Radio. You may not have actually saved the town, but you at least tried. And out here in the wasteland, that’s the best you can ask for from most ponies”.

“Well ponies, it looks like my time is up. But fear not, we have some more tunes coming at you. And I’ll be right here, waiting for the time when we can chat again. Until next time, this is The Whisperer, and you’re listening to Ponytunes Radio! The best radio in the Wasteland….no matter what that no-good DJPon3 says about us.”

Soon the mare’s voice was replaced by calming music, but it did nothing to calm my mind. This “whisperer” had just made me out to look like some kind of hero, even after I’d failed to save the town from the synths. All I did was distract them while somepony else threw the grenade. If anything, I was just a tool to the real hero of the fight.

Still, I felt some hope with the knowledge that the town’s fate was now widely known. Now traders and real heroes would head there to help the town rebuild. It would take a lot of time and effort, but at least they had a chance to get things back to the way they were.

When I explained this to Cyborg, nodded slightly. “Perhaps,” he said looking forward. “But now there are others out there who know of a settlement that is crippled, and they’ll be eager to jump on them when they’re down”.

I hadn’t thought about that; a crippled town would be a target for slavers and other groups. Hopefully they would get a little back before that happened.

Wanting to change the subject, I thought back to what Whisperer had said at the end of her broadcast. “Hey Cyborg,” I asked, “who’s DJPon3? I know of a pony before the war that had that name, but I doubt they can be the same”.

“Huh,” said Cyborg, “I thought you would have heard of DJPon3 by now”. He paused, “Despite what Whisperer says, Ponytunes Radio isn’t the biggest station in the wasteland. That honor goes to Wasteland Radio”.

“A fitting name,” I said to myself.

“It’s run out of Tenpony Tower in Manehattan, and Broadcast all over Equestria. DJPon3 is the name given to whoever runs the station, something passed down from one host to another”.

All over Equestria? Did that mean I could pick it up? I shifted through the radio frequencies until I found one labeled Wasteland Radio. I tuned out Ponytunes and activated Wasteland Radio. Instantly the songs of Pony Marcus were replaced by the saviory voice of Sweetie Belle’s Johnny Guitar.

“So what’s the difference between Wasteland and Ponytunes,” I asked.

But before Cyborg could respond, the music ended.

“HHHHEEEELLLLOOOO WASTELAND!”

“Yes, it is I, DJPon3, here to give you some riveting news stories and just a little bit of humor. Because let’s face it; we all need a laugh once in awhile”.

“So what’s in the news today? Well we have increased raider activity over near Ponyville, which isn’t anything to be surprised about. We also have word that Red Eye’s forces have moved on some of the smaller settlements near Fillydelphia, so If you live anywhere close to there, I suggest you pack up and get the hell out”.

“And that’s all the news I have for you today. But don’t worry, there will be plenty more when we come back. Until then, this is DJPon3; bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts”.

The stallion cut out and was replaced by music, but I switched the station back to Ponytunes. Just because DJPon3 was new to me, it didn’t mean I wanted to explore his station more.

“Well, he definitely doesn’t put as much time in his broadcasts as Whisperer,” I commented.

Cyborg shrugged. “Well unlike Whisperer, DJPon3 reports news from all over the Wasteland. He likes to keep his reports short so he can talk about more than just one story”.

Maybe that was true, but I’d prefer news updates that were long and more informative over ones that were short and to the point.

I kept thinking about this until something caught my attention. A notice flashed across my screen that read “Distress Signal Found”.

Instantly, my thoughts went back to the first distress signal I’d found on my way to Trotsville. That one had led me to Caliber and his group. If I had taken time away from my journey to help them, maybe I could do it again.

“Hold up,” Cyborg stopped and looked at me. “I’ve picked up a distress signal”.

I switched the station over to the signal and listened carefully.

“To anypony along the 34, assistance is required. I'm trapped inside a Stable, and any tries to make it to the exit are impossible. If there is anyone out there who can help, please come to the following coordinates. We’re running out of time and won’t last much longer!”

The message began to repeat itself, so I turned the radio off. Cyborg looked at me; his eye(s) filled with an intense inner struggle. He was torn, just like me.

“Well,” he said, “what should we do?”

I was silent for a moment, thinking over what we could do. The coordinates appeared on my screen, and the map showed me the Stable was only a short distance away. But if we had to help, we’d more than likely have to use our guns. We didn’t have a large supply of ammo, and I had a feeling we’d be needing it in the future.

But once again, I thought back to Caliber and his group. I had helped them, even when I was focused on making it to Trotsville. If I had stopped my journey and helped them, I had to do the same for these ponies.

“We can’t just ignore this,” I said sternly. “That pony needs help, and who else out here is going to if we don’t?”

Cyborg nodded. “You’re right. So where is this Stable?”

I took the lead and headed towards the spot shown on my map. Cyborg followed close behind me.

***

After a few minutes of walking, we found a side street that broke off from the 34. Unlike the highway, this road wasn’t empty. Broken carts filled with metal crates filled the right side, leaving the left side open. Pony skeletons were strapped into the harnesses of the last few carts, while the ones at the front were empty.

The road ended at a small security booth, behind which was a large parking lot. The lot itself was filled with large metal crates and earth moving equipment, as well as many more pony skeletons. Some were still dressed in their midday clothes, while others had been charred so badly the white bones had turned black.

Cyborg and I slowly made our way across the lot, trying not to disturb the remains of long dead ponies. From what I knew about Stables, we would most likely find the entrance in the large cave that sat on the other end of the lot. A rusted iron gate sat before it, now having lost its structural integrity.

I levitated Celestia’s Thunder out of it’s holster, then looked back at Cyborg. “Keep your eyes open. Something could easily be waiting for us inside”.

Cyborg nodded and unholstered his own gun. The two of us walked through the rusted gateway and into the dim cave. Thankfully the glow of our magic provided us with some light. The pathway wasn’t that narrow, but not wide enough for more than two ponies to walk side by side.

It also wasn’t that long either. After a few seconds, we found what we were looking for. Directly in front of us was a concrete wall with a large cog-shaped door. The number 50 was painted in the center with bright yellow paint, with a few patches of rust dotted here and there.

“Stable 50,” I said to myself.

I stopped in front of the door and observed my surroundings. A small control panel sat to my left; meaning I’d probably have to hack into it to get the door open.

But what also caught my eye was a small cart next to it. It was all metal, and was filled with an assortment of items. These ranged from record players to rusted metal cans.

“Think it belongs to the pony who sent the signal,” asked Cyborg.

“Probably,” I said as I headed for the panel. “Let’s just hope the ponies inside haven’t killed him yet”.

“....uh, you think there’s ponies living in there?”

I looked back at Cyborg, who was giving me a look of confusion that I matched. “Well yes,” I replied, “it’s a Stable. You know what they were built for right?”

“I do,” said Cyborg. “But how many Stables have you been too?”

“Just one,” I replied. “The one that my Masters were sealed in”.

Cyborg looked like he was about to say something, paused, then shook his head. “Just wait and see”.

I had no idea what he was talking about, so I decided to ignore it. Instead I unhook my connection cable and inserted it into the panel. Once again I began sifting through the codes in the system before finding the right one.

I unhooked myself and slid the panel switch down. An alarm rang out as the stable door slide out of it’s hole and rolled away. I held my hooves up to my face, expecting a blinding flood of light from the inside.

However, there was no light.

I lowered my hoof and moved closer to the opening, poking my head around the side. To my surprise, I found the stable entrance deserted; not one single sign of life. I thought for sure that as soon as the door was open, ponies would flock to the entrance to see what was going on.

But my E.F.S. wasn’t picking up any life signs. I looked back at Cyborg, who only gave a small shrug. He clearly knew something was up, but was deciding not to tell me. So, I’d just have to figure it out of my own.

Moving through the opening, I looked around the deserted entrance area. The whole place was covered in dust and grime, with patches of rust forming on the opening mechanism. Walking up the stairs, I found a deactivated terminal on a small desk. But besides that, there wasn’t much here.

“It’s seems a little empty,” I commented as Cyborg followed behind me. “Did the ponies here leave already”?

“I hope so,” said Cyborg quietly.

The way he said that just helped me confirm that he knew something. But I didn’t have time to think much about it before something unexpected happened.

“WELCOME TO STABLE 50: YOUR NEW HOME UNDERGROUND!”

Cyborg and I jumped in surprise as the voice echoed throughout the room. It sounded like a mare, but had the authoritative voice of a stallion. I also noticed four speakers dotted around the room, which explained where it was coming from.

“BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOU NEW LIFE UNDERGROUND, WE NEED YOU TO KNOW A FEW RULES”.

The voice stopped, and the door in front of us opened. What sat on the other side was a large, rusted robot. It had traction wheels, a large cylindrical body, and a glass top with a brain in it.

I had seen these before the war; they were called Robo-Brains. They used real brains as their central processor, and were proven to be quiet useful in many different situations.

The Robo-Brain rolled into the room, it’s arms carrying two circular devices. They looked like collars, but were foam padded and had three small lights on the front.

“In order to proceed into the Stable, we need you to put on these stylish collars. The purpose of them will be revealed in time, but they are required for entrance”.

Cyborg moved forward. “And what if we don’t wear them?”

I didn’t expect the voice to reply, but I found myself corrected.

“All those that don’t wish to wear the collars may exit the Stable and return to the outside. No one may enter without wearing a collar”.

So if we wanted to help the pony who sent the signal, we’d have to wear the collars. But why; what were they for? And why were they so important that we couldn’t enter the Stable without them?

Cyborg walked up to me and leaned his head close to mine. “I don’t like this Garcon. I think we should leave; this has the word ‘bad’ written all over it”.

“And leave that pony to die,” I whispered back. “If we don’t help him, we’ll have that guilt for the rest of our lives”.

Cyborg was silent for a moment, then whispered, “If that means we don’t die, I think I’ll get over it”.

That was it, I wasn’t going to discuss this any further.

I walked up to the Robo-Brain, took the collar from it’s arm, and latched it around my neck. The padding on the inside kept the metal from scraping my ‘skin’, and a slight hum rang through the device once it was latched on.

“I’m going to save that pony,” I said sternly. “If you don’t want to help, stay by the door. I’ll be out as fast as I can”.

I narrowed my eyes, “but if you actually want to help, take a collar and follow me”.

The next few seconds were filled with tense silence. Cyborg and me shot looks so sharp they could cut a brick in half. But eventually, Cyborg sighed and took the collar from the Robo-Brain.

“If we die because of this, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said as he slid his collar on. It too vibrated when it was attached, and the lights on the front blinked.

“THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING THE CONDITIONS FOR STABLE ENTRANCE. YOU NOW HAVE FREE ACCESS TO ALL CIVILIAN SECTIONS OF THE STABLE. PLEASE NOTE THAT AREAS RESERVED FOR SENIOR MEMBERS OF STABLE STAFF ARE OFF LIMITS TO CIVILIANS. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE RULES WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PUNISHMENT. HAVE A GREAT DAY, AND ENJOY YOUR NEW LIFE UNDERGROUND!”

The voice cut out and the Robo-Brain rolled back through the doorway. I moved forward and stepped through the doorway after it.

On the other side was a large hallway, at the end of which were two different paths to take. Inbetween the hallways were two signs; one pointing left and the other pointing right. The one pointing to the left read MEDICAL WING. The one pointing to the right read LIVING QUARTERS.

The robo-brain had slid itself into an indent in the wall, and looked to be in some kind of rest mode. Cyborg and I walked past it and stopped at the end of the hallway.

“So,” said Cyborg, “where do you want to start looking?”

“Well, there are two paths to take,” I noted. “Maybe we should split up to cover more ground. I’ll look around the living quarters, you see if they’re in the medical wing”.

Cyborg looked uneased. “I’m not sure Garcon. In a place like this, it might be safer to stay together”.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Cyborg looked like he was going to explain, but instead he shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s just split up and try to find this pony. I don’t want to stay here longer than I have to”.

Cyborg turned on his hooves and headed down the left hallway. Praying to Celestia that he would be alright, I turned and walked down the right hallway.

As I proceeded down the path, I took a chance to observe the Stable. The walls and floor all had a thick coat of dust and grime on them, indicating that they hadn’t been cleaned in some time.

“Guess the ponies must have left this Stable a long time ago”.

The end of the hall was an L corner that lead down another hallway. A doorway was a short pace from there, with a sign above it that read LIVING QUARTERS. I headed for the door; hoping the pony would be located there. If he was, then it wouldn’t be that much of a challenge to get him out of the Stable.

Reaching the door, I opened it and stepped into the room beyond.

From what I could tell, this was a gather place. Couches sat along the walls, and tables filled with old books were scattered around the room. One of the hanging lights had snapped off and fallen to the floor, covering the area with broken glass. The other light flickered, giving the room a rather spooky feeling to it.

At the other end of the room were two doorways, in between which was a still functioning terminal. Each had an illuminated sign above them. One of them read FAMILIES while the other read SINGLES. From them I guessed that families lived in one section of the Stable, while those that didn’t have a family lived in the other.

“Still, I should look in both,” I said as I crossed the room.

Turning to the family section, I pressed the button to open the door. But all that resulted from that was a section of quick beeps. I tried again, but the same thing occurred.

“Okay, this is strange”. The door didn’t seem broken, so there had to be another reason it wasn’t opening. I glanced over at the terminal, and decided to give it a look over.

However, I found the terminal locked. But if I could unlock two stable doors, I doubt there was any lock I couldn’t crack. So I plugged myself in and sorted through the data. Once the terminal was unlocked, I found three different programs on it.

One was labeled FAMILY QUARTERS UNLOCK. The second was labeled SINGLE QUARTERS UNLOCK. But the final one was labeled DATA LOG.

Curiosity overtook me and I selected the data log option. There was only one log on it, and it only had one sentence.

It read: THE LIGHTS….THE LIGHTS ARE THE REASON!

I had no idea what that meant, or why it was written on here. So I decided to ignore it and instead selected the program to unlock the family quarters.

Once I’d stepped away from the terminal and opened the door, I found myself in another hallway. Three doors were stationed along each wall, each leading to one of the quarters. At the end of the hall sat a stairwell, which likely went down to more rooms.

I made my way down the hall, checking each room. They consisted of a small living room, and at least two bedrooms. However, almost all of them showed no signs of anypony living in them recently. The beds were all made, everything wasn’t too dusty, and all the decorations were perfectly aligned.

“This place almost looks new,” I commented as I made my way to the final room. “But it’s almost 200 years old. How can that be?”

I opened the door and walked into the final room, which looked the same as the others. However, this one had a terminal sitting on a nearby table. It looked intact, so I headed over to check it out.

Fortunately, it wasn’t locked. So I was able to start it up and observe the entries listed. There were five in total, so I clicked on the first one and started reading.

ENTRY 1:

What a day; the world ends and we’re locked down here to start a new life. Never knew the apocalypse would find me in a place like this; safe and protected from the shit outside. Thankfully Cherry Pie and Knuckles were allowed in too. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost my family.

Still, this place is giving me an odd feeling. Mainly because we’re forced to wear these stupid collars. They won’t even tell us what they’re for; just that they are essential for entrance. I don’t know if other stables are like this, but it’s going to be killer on my neck after a while.

ENTRY 2:

Been a few weeks now, and everypony seems to have settled into the place. Knuckles is enjoying school and playing with the other foals, and Cherry has been assigned to the Cafeteria. Thankfully it’s a short walk from our room; she always hated the long trek to her other one.

As for me, I’ve been assigned to security. I wasn’t sure about it at first; my track record with guns isn’t the most….clean. But they said I was good enough, so that’s my job now. Mostly I’m just patrolling the stable, making sure no one’s breaking curfew or getting into fights. Not the most exciting job, but it’s not the hardest one either.

But after being here a few weeks, I’ve noticed something about these collars. The three lights on me and my family’s are all out, but I’ve seen a few ponies that have one of the lights on. Not only that, but someone on security said his light up after he bypassed the password on a security terminal.

I’ve got a strange feeling there’s something wrong with these collars. I’ll just have to wait and see if more lights start to appear.

ENTRY 3:

I knew it, I knew these collars had a purpose. More importantly, I think I know what makes the lights turn on.

Yesterday I caught some stallion stealing food from the cafeteria. But I saw him a few minutes before then, and he only had one light on his collar. But after he took the food, he had two lights.

And then I remembered how one of the security ponies had gotten a light after bypassing a terminal password. Well get this; both of those are against the stable rules. We got a small booklet filled with all the rules we can’t break, and those were two of them.

That must mean the lights turn on after we break the rules. That would explain why me and my family's collars haven’t light up; we try and follow the rules. But that also means I can tell how many times ponies have done this, and most of the ponies in the stable already have one light.

But that just makes me wonder: what happens when you get to three?

ENTRY 4:

Shit just went down today, in more ways than one. We’ve only been down here for six months, and already somepony got to three lights. It was Puncture; one of the ponies working in Maintenance. I didn’t know him well, but I knew he wasn’t a pony to mess with.

Anyway, he got his third light after picking a fight with another stallion in the atrium. I was on my patrol at the time and ran over to break up the fight. The other stallion got a few bruises and a black eye, but wasn’t that hurt. But just as I was about to lecture the two, something strange happened.

Two of the robo-brains that help those in maintenance came into the atrium and said Puncture had to come with them. Didn’t even give him a moment to respond before they grabbed him. He was kicking and screaming as they dragged him out of the atrium, but of course nopony tried to stop them.

Later, I heard from one of the mares in security that two more ponies had gotten to three lights. And just like Puncture, the robo-brains had come and taken them away. Nopony had seen or heard from them since.

I didn’t like the way this sounded, so I decided to go talk with the Overmare. I asked her what had happened to the three, but she just told me it wasn’t any of my business. Said I should keep out of things that don’t concern me.

Let’s just say she was glad I promised to follow the rules, otherwise she may have ended up in the Clinic.

ENTRY 5:

It’s….It’s been awhile since I’ve written one of these. Things in the Stable are going downhill fast. More and More ponies have been getting to three lights, and more and more are being taken away.

I wanted to find out where they were going, so I tried following them when they were dragging Click away. They took him to a room in the lower levels, and the door closed before I could get a look inside. I waited for them to leave, but they didn’t come out. And since the door was terminal locked, I couldn’t get inside.

I don’t know what they’re doing in there, but I do know that the ponies that go in don’t come back. The stable population has dropped to just over 600, meaning we’ve lost 40% of the Stable’s population in over one year.

I’ve talked it over with the ponies in security, and we’ve decided that we need to leave. Even if the world outside is certain death, it’s better than waiting for the robots to come and pick us off one by one.

Tonight, we’re going to storm the Overmare’s office and taking control of this Stable. We’ll make it outside or die trying.

***

I sat in the empty living room for a while, simply reading the last entry over and over again. It wasn’t because I was curious or confused, but because I simply couldn’t believe it.

These ponies had been through hell, and this stable was the one place they could escape from the war. Then they get down here, and there’s a whole new danger waiting for them.

Did Stable-Tec know this would happen? If the Stables were meant to save ponies, then what had gone wrong?

I took a few minutes to compose myself before turning back to the terminal. There wasn’t any more log entries, so I had no idea if the ponies got out. But I didn’t see any skeletons, so maybe they did.

In any case, I still had a pony to save.

Leaving the room and moving out to the hallway, I made my way down to the second floor. All the rooms here were empty, and it was the same for the other two floors as well. The Single rooms didn’t have anything either, so I guessed the pony must be in another part of the Stable.

I left the Living Quarters and made my way down the hallway. The next T intersection gave me the option of going to the Atrium, or down some stairs to the lower floor. I decided to head to the atrium, since I wanted to explore this level completely.

I continued down the hallway until I turned a corner and found the door to the atrium. It was already open, though I could hear grinding coming from above it.

“Jammed open,” I said as I walked into the atrium.

As soon as I did, I ogled at it’s size. It was about half was big as the cryo-room in Stable 32, but maybe a little taller. I was standing on a walkway that ran along the sides, with two ladders leading to the floor below. A few of the lights were out, but the ones that remained gave me enough to see.

I made my way down the stairway and onto the floor below. There were two doors on either side, each leading to a different hallway. I was thinking of which way I should go, when all of a sudden….

“HEY, YOU DOWN THERE!”

I jumped in fright as the voice blasted around the atrium. It sounded like a stallion; with a southern accent and deep voice. I looked around the atrium, but there was no sight of another pony.

“UP HERE!”

I looked up at the wall in front of me. It was there that I noticed a large circular window halfway up. A dark outline of a pony could be seen on the other side, but the window was too dirty to get a clear view.

“What are you doing here? Don’ ya know places like these ain’t safe?”

I had no idea where this pony could hear me or not. Hopefully the window wasn’t sound proof.

“I picked up your distress call,” I yelled as loud as my speakers could go. “I’m here to help you!”

“Really,” they said with surprise in their voice. “I didn’t think anypony would get that message. But hey, I ain’t going to complain about somepony willing to help”.

Well, now that I knew this pony was safe, it was time to get him out of here. But first, I had to find somepony else. “I came here with another pony,” I called, “I’ll find him, then come and get you”.

I paused a moment. “Where are you anyway?”

“The Overmare’s office,” he called back. “But don’t worry about that now, or even finding your friend. You need to turn the collar program off; we’re all in danger as long as it’s active”.

I looked down at the collar around my neck, remembering what the terminal entries had told me. I had one light already, and I couldn’t let it get to three. Hopefully Cyborg didn’t have any lights yet.

“Okay,” I called back, “but where do I do that?”

“From what I gathered, there’s a special terminal down in the maintenance wing that controls all the collars. It’s behind a locked door on the right side of the reactor room. Get down there and shut down the programing, then it’ll be safe enough for me to come out”.

A terminal? Now we were speaking my language. I just hoped that I could get there in time before something bad happened.

“Right,” I yelled, “I’ll head down there now. Just hold tight; I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

With that, I turned to the door on my right and exited the Atrium.

***

Once I exited the atrium, I began looking around for a floor plan. It would be the fastest way of locating the reactor room, and give me a sense of the stable’s size.

Unfortunately, there were no floor plans in sight. I checked all around the second floor (which mainly held the cafeteria and exercise room) but found nothing. I was thinking I’d have to look over every floor of this stable, which would just waste time.

As I walked out of the exercise room, I heard the sound of something approaching. I ducked back inside and peeked my head around the corner, waiting for the source of the noise. After a few seconds, I saw a robo-brain appear from around a corner and head down the hallway. I sighed (in a way) in relief and stepped into the hallway.

“Greetings citizen, I hope you are enjoying your new home. Is there anything you need or wish to know?”

So these robo-brains weren’t just there to distribute the collars and take ponies away, they were basically servants. A stir of emotion moved inside of me, making me think back to when I was in a similar job.

“Actually there is,” I replied. “Can you tell me where the reactor room is?”

The robot hummed for a moment before responding. “Certainly. The reactor is located on the fourth floor. Take this hallway all the way down, and there should be a stairway. Take it to the fourth floor, and the reactor will be the second door on your left”.

Finally I was getting somewhere; I just hoped Cyborg hadn’t gotten into trouble. Actually, I was getting a little worried. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in a while. And after learning about what these collars did, I wanted to make sure he was alright.

“Excuse me,” I said to the robo-brain, “have you seen a red unicorn stallion with robotic legs walking around?” When the robot didn’t respond, I tried another phrase. “Can you tell me where the other ponies in this stable are?”

The robot hummed again. “Current lifesigns in the stable: 2. One is currently in the Overmare’s office. The other is being escorted to the lower levels”.

WHAT!

“Why is that other pony being escorted to the lower levels?”

“The Stable Resident in question had committed three crimes in the stable, and is therefore being escorted to the lower levels. If you have any concerns about them, please direct your complaints to the Overmare during normal work hours”.

My processors instantly flashed back to the terminal entries I’d read earlier. They said that the ponies who were taken away were never seen again. And if that programing was still in effect, then I could only imagine what would happen to Cyborg.

I turned on my hooves and bolted for the stairway as fast as I could.

***

After making to the third floor, my E.F.S. kicked in as I started looking for Cyborg. I just hoped that something hadn’t already happened to him. I couldn’t bare to have that on my mind, especially since I’m the one that wanted to come here.

The third floor seemed to consist of mostly classrooms and a few common areas. All of them were empty, and my E.F.S. wasn’t picking up on anything yet. I was beginning to think I’d have to try another floor….until something met my ears.

As I was running towards a T intersection, I heard the sound of treads rolling on the metal floor. Not only that, but I could hear a slight grunting noise coming from the same direction. That direction being the left side of the T-intersection. Hoping for the best, I ran around the corner and looked down the hallway beyond.

My cameras found themselves looking at two Robo-Brains making their way towards the other end of the hall. In Between them was Cyborg; struggling to get his hooves out of the Robo-Brain’s grip.

“Cyborg,” I called.

The stallion stopped struggling and looked back towards me. His face clearly showed how relieved he was to see me. But with him no longer struggling, I noticed why he was moving around so much in the first place.

Sitting at the base of his horn was a small metal ring with different engravings around it. I knew that it was a restrictor ring; just like the one the Synths had put on him back in Trotsville.

That’s why he hadn’t used his magic to escape; he couldn’t as long as they ring was on his horn.

Cyborg looked at the two robots, then back to me. “Do something,” he said in a slight whisper.

Nodding, I ran down the hallway until I was right behind one of the two Robo-Brains. They hadn’t paid me or Cyborg any attention during our conversation; meaning they must have been on an automated programming. So I hoped they wouldn’t pay us any attention while I tried to free Cyborg.

I scanned the back of the robot, hopping to find a panel that would allow me access to the inside. But my luck didn’t seem to be working, because there was no panel in sight. And if there wasn’t a panel, there wasn’t anything I could plug into to shut it down.

“There’s no access point,” I said quietly. “I can’t shut them down”.

“Then shoot them,” said Cyborg. “Aim for the tanks that hold the brain”.

I wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea. If it didn’t work, the robots could see me as hostile and start shooting at me. Or given the nature of this stable, something even worse!

But I didn’t know if the robots were close to the “secret room” or not. So if I wanted to get Cyborg free, I’d have to act now. So I levitated Celestia’s Thunder out of it’s holster and slipped into S.A.T.S.

The body of the right robo-brain shone green, but I shifted my focus to the brain tank. Selecting the section twice, I slipped out of S.A.T.S. and watch as Celestia’s Thunder fired two shots at the robot.

But my surprise came when the first bullet impacted the glass. It ripped into the tank and simultaneously caused a small explosion, flinging glass in all directions. The second bullet impacted the brain itself, digging itself inside before exploding and sending bits of brain all over the walls, ceiling, and floors. The robo-brain jolted to a stop and it’s arm went limp, releasing Cyborg.

With his hoof free, Cyborg slid the ring off his horn and grabbed the one 10mm pistol I’d managed to salvage from the slaver base. He took aim at the other robo-brain and unleased five shots directly at the tank. The first two hit the base, while shots three and four destroyed the tank, leaving shot five to splatter the brain.

The second arm went slack, and Cyborg was finally able to free himself. He backed away from the destroyed robots, taking deep breaths as he did.

“That was too close,” I said as I looked over the robots.

“You’re telling me,” said Cyborg. “How’d you know they’d gotten me?”

“One of the robo-brains upstairs told me you were being escorted to the lower levels,” I replied, taking a glance at his collar. As expected, all three lights were on. “What did you do to get three lights so quickly?”

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. “Uh, let’s see. I unlocked two terminals in the medical bay so I could get to all the sections. And then I grabbed a few medical kits. After that these two robo-brains came in, grabbed me, and took me down here”.

He turned and gave me a puzzled look. “Where were you when all of this was happening?”

I sighed. “Finding out what happened in this stable”.

I told Cyborg everything I’d read about in the terminal, and his face only grew more puzzled the more I talked. When I finished, his face was a mixture of anger and sadness.

“I told you,” he said silently. “I told you we shouldn’t have come here. Stables aren’t a place you want to be in the Wasteland. They’re not sanctuaries anymore; they’re TOMBS!”

“Calm down Cyborg,” I said with a voice of worry. “So maybe one stable didn’t go as they’d planned. It doesn’t mean you can paint all of them in a negative light”.

Cyborg shook his head slowly. “You just don’t get it Garcon. But you will soon”.

Okay, now he was doing the ‘I know something but I’m not going to tell it’ thing. Well if that’s how he wanted to play it, fine. I wasn’t going to try and dig it out of him; I’d figure it out myself.

Unfortunately, my thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar sound.

An alarm began to ring, echoing around the empty stable. Cyborg and I looked around, hoping to see what had happened. But as Cyborg looked back towards me, his eyes widened slightly.

“Uh, Garcon,” he said, “look at your collar”.

I looked down at my collar and saw that all three of the lights were now on. But just a few minutes ago I’d had one; did destroying that robo-brain really get me two more?

“You don’t think this has something to do with the alarm do you,” I asked nervously.

“I’m not sure,” replied Cyborg, “but I don’t want to be here to find out”.

I didn’t want to either, but I had a feeling we didn’t have much of a choice. My E.F.S. had already activated, and I could see a red dot moving towards us from up ahead.

“Get ready, something’s coming,” I said as I reloaded Celestia’s Thunder.

Cyborg barely had enough time to raise his gun when the new enemy emerged from around the corner.

For a second, I thought it was a pony. It had four legs and a neck leading up to a head, but after a second I saw what it really was. I’d seen them before; at least once before the war. And from what I knew, they were deadly.

“Assultron,” I said under my breath.

The assultron had the generic look of a pony, but none of the real detail. You could see where all the joints attached, and it had a short Magical Energy Rifle attached to its right side. The head was small, but did have two large objects that looked like lenses on it. I just hoped they were for looking and not shooting.

“Engaging Hostiles!”

The assultron’s words brought me out of my moment of observation. It took a stance before letting loose a barrage of shots at us from it’s laser rifle. I just barely moved out of the way as the shots sped down the hallway, singeing the wall at the other end.

Cyborg ran into a nearby room, leaning around to corner to try and hit the assultron. But most of the bullets seemed to either fly past it or reflect off the metal plating.

The assultron stopped firing, but I could hear the action of it reloading the gun. So I ran across the hallway and dove into the room with Cyborg. The laser blasts started again, but stopped a moment later.

The red dot on my E.F.S. moved fast and soon the assultron was right in front of us. I only had a moment to react before I saw the two lenses on it’s head begin to glow.

“MOVE,” I screamed. Using my magic I turned a table on it’s side and dove for cover. Cyborg did the same as the assultron let loose a glaring red beam from it’s face. It hit Cyborg’s table, punching a hole right through it.

“AUGH!”

Cyborg’s scream rippled through the room, as did the sound of ash falling to the ground. I took a look around the table, praying to Celestia that Cyborg wasn’t hurt. But I couldn’t get a good view from behind the table, and the assultron was now looking at me.

“Okay, action time,” I thought as I slipped into S.A.T.S. Choosing two shots to the face and one to the back leg, I watched as Celestia’s Thunder flung the bullets at the robot.

The first two bullets impacted the face, causing two small explosions. The third ripped into the back leg, and the explosion send bits and pieces of it flying over the room. The assultron sagged as the stub back leg brought it down.

But it was only after the smoke cleared that I got a clear look at the face. The two explosions had only caused a few burn marks; the actual metal hadn’t been damaged. And the assultron didn’t even seem to notice it. Instead it activated its beam rifle and started shooting at me again.

I dove back behind the table, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t last for much longer. These things weren’t exactly made for combat situations.

“Okay, let’s think about this,” I thought as the assultron reloaded it’s rifle. “Celestia’s thunder managed to blast the back leg apart, but did nothing to the head. Does that mean the head it made from a thicker material, or did they just miss their mark?”

Before I could come to a conclusion, I heard the sound of another gun going off. Looking around the table, I saw Cyborg leaning out from the other one; his 10mm pistol pointed at the assultron.

But the bullet didn’t do anything except turn the assultron’s attention from me to him. The beam rifle stopped firing, and instead the assultron ran between the two tables and took aim at Cyborg.

Wrong move on it’s part.

Now that it was focused on Cyborg, it left it’s back completely exposed to me….and not in the way you think. I slipped into S.A.T.S. again and targeted the assultron’s remaining back leg.

Celestia’s Thunder sent a bullet clean through the metal, and the explosion completely separated it from the main body. The assultron’s rear fell to the ground, causing it to stop firing. Cyborg took the chance and ran around it to me.

“Surprised that stopped it,” I said as I began lowering Celestia’s Thunder.

But Cyborg put his hoof out to stop me. “It didn’t,” he said with a serious face. “You’ve just made it more desperate”.

I failed to see how a robot could get desperate; unlike me, most weren’t built with personalities. They were guided by programing, and calculated logic. What could is possible do now; it didn’t have the knowledge.

“Combat procedures compromised. Last Measure programing initiated. Beginning self-destruct”.

….Oh shit.

“RUN!”

Cyborg and Me bolted for the door, doing our best not to trip over any robot parts. We ran through the opening before Cyborg shut it. Not a second later, the floor and walls shook as the assultron self-destructed. A window a few feet away cracked, but nothing seemed to be very damaged.

“That was too close,” noted Cyborg. “Next time, try and focus on blowing it’s head off. At least then it won’t be able to access it’s programing”.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said sarcastically. “Are you okay though? I thought you’d been turned to ash from the sound I heard”.

Cyborg shook his head. “I wasn’t, but one of my bags was”.

I looked at his side, and saw the tattered remains of one of his two saddle-bags.

“Let’s hope this pony we’re saving is willing to share any food he has”.

I made a mental note to check out the cafeteria later. But his comment on the pony upstairs did remind me of why we were downstairs.

“Speaking of which,” I replied. “I found the pony; he’s in the Overmare’s office above the atrium”.

“Good,” said Cyborg. “Let’s go get him and get out of here”.

I held a hoof up, “hold on, we need to take care of something first”.

“What?”

“There’s a terminal down in the reactor room that can shut down the collars. Once they’re down, it’ll be easier to get him out of the stable”.

Cyborg nodded. “Alright then, let’s go”.

Nodding in return, I headed down the hallway towards the stairway at the end.

***

After reaching the fourth level, I headed for the second door to the left. Unlike most of the doors in the stable, this one was more like a pressure sealed one. I encased the wheel in magic and turned until the door slid open.

Cyborg and Me walked through and found ourselves on a gantry way overlooking the room. Three generators took up the center space, each arching with streams of pure magic and electricity. Though the one on the end occasionally sent sharp cracks of power out the top.

I scanned the walls of the room until I spotted another doorway to the right. A terminal sat on the wall next to it. I gave Cyborg a nodd to follow as I took a nearby staircase down to the lower floor.

Once we reached the terminal, I plugged myself in and began hacking into the software. Only this time, the coding was much more complex than the ones I’d faced before. In fact it took me almost ten minutes and a multitude of unplugging and replugging before I was able to get past the firewall.

Once I was through, I found a single command in the options menu: unlock door. I selected it and heard the sound of gears and metal moving near the door.

“It’s open,” I said as I unplugged myself from the terminal.

“Okay then,” said Cyborg. He moved ahead, encasing the latch with his magic and pushing the door open. “Let’s shut these things down before….”

His sentence was interrupted by the blast of a gun going off. Cyborg jolted, screaming in pain before falling to the floor. Cursing, I ran over to him and turned him onto his back.

“Shit,” he said through gritted teeth. “What the fuck happened?”

I looked down at Cyborg, and saw what had happened. Blood was oozing from a bullet wound on his right shoulder. I didn’t see any exit wound, so the bullet must have still been inside of him.

“You were shot,” I said matter-of-factly.

“No shit Sherlock!”

Remembering that he must be in a lot of pain, I chose to ignore that comment. Instead I turned to one of my saddle-bags and pulled out one of our medical kits.

“Before I can treat this, that bullet needs to come out”.

Cyborg paused for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Alright, do it”.

I nodded, then did my best to use my magic to retrieve the bullet. After a few seconds, I caught hold of it and began to pull. Cyborg’s face scrunched in pain, and his breathing became more rapid. But I couldn’t slow down; that would only prolong the pain.

A few seconds later, the bullet passed through the wound and fell to the ground. I levitated a syringe of Med-x and a healing potion from the case. Cyborg took the healing potion and quickly downed the whole bottle.

I injected the Med-x below the wound and began wrapping it in the magical bandages. Hopefully they’d work fast enough for Cyborg to be up and moving in a few minutes. Until then, he’d just have to power through it.

“Take it easy,” I said as I tied the bandages so they wouldn’t come loose. “You should be up and about soon”.

“I hope so,” said Cyborg. “But tell me, what was it that shot me?”

I placed the medical kit in my bags before looking into the room. It was about the size of a walk-in closet, and only dimly light. The wall on the other end was taken up by a large data-storage device, which had a terminal attached to it.

But as I eyed the terminal, I saw something sitting below it. Igniting my horn to give me more light, I looked closer at the object….and almost reared back in surprise.

Sitting below the terminal was a skeleton. From the horn on it’s head, I could tell it was a unicorn. It wore a ragged stable jumpsuit, and was moved into a sitting position. Tucked between its front hooves was a 10mm pistol, which still had a bit of smoke rising from it.

This whole scene was both surprising and confusing, and maybe something in between. I had not seen any other skeletons in this stable, so what was this one doing here. Moreover, how could a long-dead pony fire off a gun?

These were all questions I knew would never be answered.

So instead, I walked forward until I was right in front of the skeleton. With the utmost care, I encased it with my magic and moved it aside. The gun slipped from it’s hooves as I placed it next to the storage-device.

Taking the cord from my back, I plugged into the terminal and began working through the firewall. Thankfully, this one wasn’t as secure as the one outside. Maybe they didn’t think anypony would make it through the outside one.

Once I was through the firewall, I found myself in the main-menu section. There were two programs I could chose: one that said COLLAR DEACTIVATION, or one that read MY LAST STAND.

I didn’t know that the other one meant, but I’d find out in a minute. Instead I selected the first option. As soon as I did, I heard a ‘click’ sound, and my collar fell off, banging on the floor below. I heard Cyborg’s do the same, which I hoped meant the other ponies had come off as well.

“Finally,” said Cyborg. “That thing was starting to chafe”.

One of the many reasons I enjoyed being a robot; no nerve sensors.

And with that now out of the way, I went and selected the second program available. When I did, the screen went blank and a voice spoke out from the speakers.

“....This is it….I’m (cough) not going to make it….”

“I thought I could do it; thought I could deactivate the collars. Give everypony a better fighting chance. (Cough, Cough) Clink’s leading the ponies upstairs….I can hear the gunfire from here”.

“This….this was a stupid mistake. I (cough) I wanted to see if I could stop all this without fighting. But the moment I broke into the reactor, I sealed my fate”.

The voice paused for a few seconds, mainly because of his coughing and gagging.

“Dam assultron came out of nowhere; got five lucky shots at me before I had a chance to fire back. (Cough) I just barely managed to get inside here….before the door locked itself again”.

“But now I can’t even get through the firewall on this terminal. It….it’s just allowing me to record this message. Fat lot of good that’s going to do for the others”.

“Hopefully (cough) Cherry Pie and Knuckles are safe. I told them to stay in the room until this was over. Maybe….maybe Clank will succeed, and they’ll be able to leave this hellhole for good”.

“Still, even if they do win, the Overmare will probably send someone to come and find me. Well, if they do, I’ve got a surprise for them. I’m casting a spell on my gun; now it’ll be pointing at the door until it opens. And when it does, the asshole who comes through will get what’s coming to him”.

“It’s my last stand….my last stand against the Overmare, her goons, and the assholes that built this place.”

“I’m Clip, and this is my final message”.

***

I don’t know how long I sat there, looking back and forth between the terminal and Clip’s skeleton.

This was the pony whose entries I’d read about in the living quarters. The pony that had figured out how the collars worked, and the one who decided to do something about it.

I almost didn’t want to believe it, but the evidence kept telling me it was. He’d mentioned Cherry Pie and Knuckles, and how he’d wanted to do something about what was going on. And now he sat here, a lifeless skeleton in the depths of an empty stable.

My thoughts were only interrupted when Cyborg cleared his throat to get my attention. I turned back to look at him, and was slightly surprised to see him standing up. His bandages were getting slightly redder, but he didn’t seem to notice it.

“Look, I know you’re probably not comfortable with….all this,” he said, moving his hand to emphasise what was around us. “But remember, we came here to rescue a pony. One that is still alive”.

He looked over at Clip’s skeleton. “There’s nothing we can do for him, so why not focus our attention on the one that we can help?”

I was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh (in a way). “You’re right Cyborg. I shouldn’t be concerned about things I can’t fix”.

Picking myself up off the floor, I turned around to face him. “So, can you walk fine or do you need help?”

Cyborg moved his leg around slightly. “I think I’m okay for now. But I might have to take it easy on the stairs”.

I nodded. “Okay then, let’s go meet our mysterious new friend”.

***

The two of us made our way back to the top floor, through it was slow going. Cyborg was right when he said it would be harder for him on the stairs. In fact it took between three and four minutes to climb each set of stairs.

By the time we reached the top level, Cyborg was breathing hard. I wanted to give him some more Med-x, but instead he just found a water fountain and splashed some water on his wound.

“I just need the burning to go down a little,” he said as he splashed more water on it.

I shook my head slowly. “Just let me give you some more Med-x. It’ll help you while the hole’s healing”.

“No,” insisted Cyborg. “Save it for later; I can work with this for now”.

I wanted to change his mind, but I didn’t want this to turn into a heated argument. So instead I let him do it his way.

Once he was go enough to move again, we headed for the door to the Overmare’s office. It was located in the same hallway Cyborg had gone down when we first arrived. The door was closed, so I didn’t think the pony had left yet.

When we reached the door, I gave his three hard knocks and waited for a reply. After a few seconds, the door opened; revealing the stallion I’d seen earlier.

He was a white earth pony stallion with a light grey mane. His attire consisted of a large brown trench coat, a brown tie with a floral spiral on it, and a loaded gun holster wrapped around his middle. The trench coat covered his cutie-mark.

“Well I’ll be, you two actually did it,” he said with a smile. His accent told me he was southern; maybe from around the Applelosa area. “Thought for sure the stable would chew you up and spit ya out”.

“Oh it definitely chewed us,” said Cyborg, adjusting his bad shoulder.

The pony seemed to notice this, and moved away from the opening.

“Why don’t ya come inside; there’s a couch in the corner you can rest on”.

The two of us walked into the room, and I took the time to look around it. The size was about the same as the Overstallion’s office in Stable 32. In fact the two rooms looked almost completely identical. The only difference was the large circular window that covered the wall across from the doorway.

Cyborg moved over to the couch, taking time to find a comfortable position to lay down. The stallion walked behind the Overmare’s desk, taking a seat on the chair behind it.

“So what happened to him,” he asked, “I didn’t think the robo-brains were equipped with weapons”.

“They weren’t,” I said, taking a seat in front of desk. “There was a trap rigged up in the room with the terminal. He accidentally tripped it when I unlocked the door”.

The stallion nodded. “Sorry to hear that. Does he need any medical supplies?”

“I gave him some Med-x and a healing potion, but I don’t think it was enough. And he won’t let me use any more; he wants to save it for later”.

“It’s the right idea,” said Cyborg.

“Even so, you probably won’t heal well unless you get another healing potion,” noted the stallion. He moved from behind the desk and over to the door. “Tell you what; since you two came and rescued me, I’ll head to the medical bay and get some more supplies”.

“Oh you don’t have to,” I moved towards the door, “I can go and get them”.

The stallion held up a hoof and shook his head. “Nonsense, you two already did so much for me. I can at least start to return the favor by doing this. It’s just down the hall, I won’t be long”.

I thought it over; this stallion had probably gone through enough already. But then again, leaving a pony I just met to look after Cyborg didn’t seem like the best idea. And he was right, the medical bay was just down the hall.

“Okay then,” I said with a slight smile. “We’ll wait here”.

Now it was the stallion’s turn to smile. “Great. Make yourself comfortable; I’ll be back in a flash….uh….sorry, I forgot to ask what you’re names are”.

He was right, and we still didn’t know what his name was either.

“My name’s Garcon, and that’s Cyborg,” I said, pointing at the two of us for clarity.

The stallion grinned. “And my names Peddler, Prodigious Peddler”.

Footnote: LEVEL UP

New Program: Traitor - When attacking an enemy that’s in the same family as you, your damage output doubles.

Quest Perk: Skin of Steel- You now gain +3 damage resistance to all magical beam weapons when attacking robots or synths. No change to none-robot combatants.

Chapter 8: Clues

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Fallout Equestria: A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 8: Clues

“Dust it for hoofprints!”

I sat by Cyborg the whole time Peddler was out.

It was mostly for protection, but I also wanted to make sure he was getting on alright. Taking a bullet was hard enough, but taking one to the shoulder was probably excruciating. All the muscles in a leg meet at the shoulder, and having a bullet punch through them was probably not the best thing that could happen.

Cyborg himself had fallen asleep in no time; his body moving until it found a comfortable position. Thankfully it wasn’t one that put pressure on the affected area. The bandages that covered it were almost completely crimson red. I’d have to replace them soon, but it’d have to be after Cyborg had woken up.

I almost felt some relief when the door to the Overmare’s office opened. Turning my head, I saw Peddler walk into the room; balancing two medical kits on his back. He walked over to the two of us, grabbed a kit, and handed it to me.

“That one has a few healing potions and med-x. Should be enough to get him back on his hooves”.

Peddler took the other medical kit behind the Overmare’s desk, laying it down next to a small pile of assorted items. He took a seat behind the desk and turned to the terminal that sat on top of it.

I took the time to grab two healing potions, some med-x, and another roll of bandages from the medical kit. Slowly, I shook Cyborg until he eventually opened his eyes. He used his good leg to rub any remaining substances from them before looking at me.

“What’s up,” he asked sleepily.

I held up the healing potions and med-x. “Time for another potion and some more med-x. I’m also going to need to change your bandages too”.

Cyborg huffed. “Didn’t I say that we should save our supplies for latter?”

“Yes,” I said as I uncorked the healing potion. “But this all comes courtesy of our new friend. So keep still and take your medicine like a stallion”.

Cyborg’s face didn’t have a hint of amusement, but he still took the potion. As he did, I used magic to unwrap the bandages, which were practically dripping with blood. I set them aside and examined the bullet wound. The hole was beginning to close up, but blood was still pouring from it.

I injected some more Med-x near the wound, and I could see some of the pain leave Cyborg’s face. After that I wrapped the wound up again, tieing it off once it was on tight enough.

“That should do for now,” I said as I cleaned up the empty syringe and bloody bandages. “Hopefully it’ll be fully healed next time we take it off”.

Cyborg shifted his leg until his shoulder was in a more comfortable position. “Which hopefully will be when we’re out of this hellhole”.

Peddler, who was still typing on the Overmare’s terminal, turned towards us. “Hey, it could be worse. You could be outside, camping in the middle of a field or valley. At least here you’re surrounded by thick concrete walls and metal doorways”.

“And the sickly reminder of what really happened here,” Cyborg shot back.

I paused for a moment, thinking about the experiment that Stable-Tec had pushed onto the stable’s inhabitants. I thought about Clip and how he’d sacrificed himself trying to disable the collars. How the ponies here had suffered greatly by losing their country, and then facing the possibility of death.

“Maybe we should just leave it,” I said quietly. “Thinking about it will only make it worse”.

Cyborg turned his head towards me, then up at the ceiling. He let out a soft sigh, “yeah….you’re right”.

Peddler, who’d been watching the two of us, coughed to get my attention.

“If I might make a suggestion: why don’t you two stay for a while. Night around here ain’t kind to ponies, as I’m sure you’re away. Plus it gives you time to sleep and recuperate before setting off”.

I did a quick check of my internal clock: it was getting rather late. And I still didn’t feel comfortable about Cyborg moving for another few hours.

“Well, I suppose we can stay for the night,” I said, taking a seat in front of the Overmare’s desk.

Cyborg gave me a quick look, then went back to staring at the ceiling. His half-closed eyes gave me the impression that he was too tired to argue with me. And personally, I was fine with that.

Peddler smiled. “Well, if we’re going to be spending the night together, we might as well know a little about one another”.

He nodded in Cyborg’s direction. “First things first; what’s his story?”

I shrugged. “Not quite sure myself. I’ve only been traveling with him for two days; and there hasn’t really been much talking between us”. I paused, “and even when there is, it’s mostly about how I know nothing about the wasteland”.

Peddler put his hooves together, leaning in toward me. “Why?”

“Parden?”

Peddler’s eyebrow rose. “Well when a pony doesn’t know much about the wasteland, it’s usually because they’re a Stable Pony. But you don’t have a jumpsuit or Pip-Buck, not to mention your attitude is far too kind”.

I lowered my head slightly. It was hard to tell whether or not a pony could be trusted with the information about what I am. Would he freak out and think I’m a synth? Maybe he’d be like Cyborg and not care.

And besides; I didn’t want to always hide what I am just because ponies might not trust me. If he didn’t, I’d leave and ask him to make sure Cyborg got out safely. I could wait for him outside the stable. If he did, then I could probably relax for a little while.

I raised my head back up, giving the earth pony the most confident face I’d ever given. “That’s because I’m a robot butler from before the war”.

For a moment, it was hard to read his expression. It looked to be surprised, but then it also looked scared, confused, and worried at the same time. He stayed like this for a few seconds, more than likely thinking over the information he’d be given.

“Well,” he said eventually, “that’s something I didn’t think I’d hear today”.

I raised an eyebrow. “So...are you going to shoot me?”

Now he had a clear look on his face: confusion.

“Now why in Equestria would I do that?”

I shrugged. “Most ponies I’ve meet think I’m one of TSIM’s synths. Either they pull a gun on me or threaten me; but the end result is always hatred.”

Peddler was silent for a second, thinking over what I said. Personally I didn’t really care what he thought about the whole thing, like I didn’t care if he knew I was a robot. If he was sympathetic, I’d add him to the short list of ponies who don’t hate me. If he wasn’t, then he’d just be the next name on the long list I’d already filled.

“Hm...well I’m sorry to hear that. Ponies out in the wasteland usually attack what they don’t understand. And with TSIM being the most mysterious thing this side of Baltimare, anything they make is destined to be hated”. He paused for a moment, “and that includes anything that remotely resembles their technology”.

I grinned slightly; it seemed almost like a cruel joke. I thought back to before the war; how Zebras had been seen as our greatest enemy. Some Zebras had been living in Equestria since before the war, but after it started they were labeled as the enemy. That’s not to say that it wasn’t completely false, but I did think that (perhaps) there were some that were loyal to Equestria.

But I didn’t want to dwell on this subject for much longer. So instead I decided to switch the talk around.

“So Peddler, what about you? What’s your story?”

“Actually,” he said with a hint of annoyance, “it’s PRODIGIOUS Peddler. It doesn’t work unless you say the whole thing”.

I shot a quick glance back at Cyborg, raising an eyebrow as to say “really”. He shot a similar look back at me.

“Okay,” I said turning back around, “Prodigious Peddler. So what’s your story: what kind of pony are you?”

“Simple,” he said with a grin, “I’m a salespony. I travel the wasteland buying, selling, and scavenging items that could turn a profit. As I’ve learned: nothing’s junk. There’s always somepony willing to pay top price for a busted circuit-board or some dirty old dress”.

“Well that explains the cart we saw by the Stable door,” said Cyborg. “You sure do have a large inventory”.

“Yep, before coming here I looked through an abandoned market. Found lots of old food and salvageable tec. Next town I visit will have plenty to choose from”.

It was at this time that a lightbulb went off in my head….not literally but mentally. If this stallion had a cart loaded with “fresh” supplies, then I knew a town that could do with a little bit of business right now.

“If that’s the case,” I said with a grin, “I known a town that could really use some supplies”.

I seemed to peak Peddler’s interest, because he leaned forward and matched my grin.

“Really? And just what might that town be called?”

“Trotsville,” I said leaning back in the chair. “They’ve just been subject to a synth attack, and could use some supplies to get back on their hooves”.

I expected Peddler to be shocked by this, or at least take a moment to think about what he’d just heard. But instead, he contorted his grin into an uncertain frown. He slowly leaned back into his chair, rubbing his chin at the same pace.

“I know what happened to Trotsville. Heard it from a bartender two days ago. Radio stations report the news too slowly; word of mouth is the best source of information in the wasteland”.

“So….you’re going to head over there for trading….right?”

“Why do you think I was heading down the 34 in the first place. Figured the town could use a little trading, and I knew just where to go to get the supplies. Course once I heard rumors about a stable in the area, I had to see if it was true. And, well, you know what happened next”.

Indeed, and it was a good thing that we came along. My hardware could only wonder what could have happened if we hadn’t shut off the collars. Other ponies hearing about this stable could be draw in and unwittingly get three lights.

Still, I knew that was in the past. I had to put my focus back on getting to Buck Crossing. Pulling up my maps, I saw that Buck Crossing was just a three hour walk from here. So as soon as the sun came up, me and Cyborg would finally reach our destination.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to power down for the night,” I said before sliding off the chair and heading towards a corner of the room. “Just give me a kick or something when it’s time to leave. I’ll start up again”.

“Alright, if you say so,” said Peddler.

I laid down in the corner before switching my systems to sleep mode. Slowly, I felt my eyelids droop and the darkness of sleep-mode take over.

***

The next morning came quickly, and everypony was ready to leave the stable.

Cyborg’s injuries had recovered enough that it was only slightly irritating to walk. Despite my insistence, he refused to take any more medicine. (“We need to save it for later!”). I only hoped that he’d feel no pain after another few hours.

Peddler spent the first hour away taking anything of value from the stable. Now that the security was down, it was easy to get the items deeper in the lower levels. He had to make a few trips, but eventually he was able to load everything into his cart.

Once me and Cyborg had gotten all of our supplies, we met Peddler by the stable door. I made quick work of sealing it back up, and making sure that anypony trying to get in would face a tough firewall. The three of us agreed that the less ponies had access to this place the better.

The three of us traveled back to the 34 before splitting up. Peddler promised to stop by Trotsville, and that he’d alert other traders to head there as well. He also gave us some supplies on the house for “saving his flank”. After a short exchange of goodbyes, Peddler turned and headed up the 34 towards Trotsville.

And that left Cyborg and I once again on our way to Buck Crossing.

***

Two hours and fifty minutes later, Cyborg and I were coming up on Buck Crossing. The walk there had been pretty silent: the only bit of action was Cyborg impaling a bloatsprite with a piece of broken metal. The radio hadn’t any good news stories, and the music was pretty much the same.

Soon we were traveling over a small hill, which according to Cyborg had Buck Crossing on the other side. I hopped that was true; I was dying to get there and find Hatchet. I was so close to finding where my family was that I was also shaking with tension.

As we reached the top of the hill, I cast my gaze to what lay on the other side. What I saw was one of the most bizarre locations I had ever seen.

A large river cut through the land down below. Even from up here I could tell that it was polluted: dirt and grime piled up at the surface.

But what was even more surprising was that was spanning the river. A large dam sat almost directly in the center of my line of sight. Houses and other buildings sat on the top, and even more along the sliding wall at the front. Walkways spread out, connecting the lower houses to the ones along the top.

Years of wear and tear had caused a lot of deterioration: in fact the left portion of the dam was gone, and water was rushing through the breach. A small bridge spanned it, completing the connection to the other side.

And the other side was quite the sight to behold.

While the side me and Cyborg were on looked dark and depressing, the other side was even worse. Darker clouds rumbled overhead, and a light greenish mist hung over the land. The earth was even more barren and rough than the rest of the wasteland. The only familiar sight was a winding road that lead into the distance.

“Buck Crossing,” said Cyborg. “You’ll never find a more wretched hub of scum and villainy”.

“And the land on the other side of the dam is Raider County, right?”

Cyborg nodded. “Let’s just hope that pony you’re looking for hasn’t gone through there. I’m sure you can tell why only raiders live on that side”.

Yes I did: the place looked like something out of a nightmare. Even by wasteland standards the whole place looked unsettling. Still, that wasn’t our concern right now. That was finding Hatchet and making him tell me what he did to my family.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said before starting my way down the hill. Cyborg followed close behind, keeping his eyes fixed on the dam.

We made our way down the hill and across the small stretch of road towards the entrance. As we got closer, I saw that the entrance was a small circular building. A single pony stood at the top, looking out over the area. It was a unicorn stallion, with a white mane and steel pelt. He wore patched metal armor, which had some kind of sign on it that I couldn’t read.

As we got closer, the stallion finally noticed us walking towards the entrance. His horn ignited and a large sniper rifle floated off his back. And a second later, it was pointing straight at us.

“Stop right there!”

The two of us froze in our tracks: memories of what Cyborg and others had said about this place were coming back. I just hopped that this stallion didn’t have a sensitive trigger on his gun.

“What’s your business in Buck Crossing?”

Cyborg nudged me in the side; clearly telling me to take the lead. I grimaced before turning to towards the guard.

“We’re just here to look for somepony!”

The guard’s rifle didn’t lower; in fact I distinctly heard the sound of it clocking. And thanks to the zoom in my eyes, I could see his face scrunching in concentration. I was almost ready to turn and run, and was hoping that Cyborg had the same idea. But I decided to stand my ground and see what happened.

“So what are you: Bounty Hunters? Hired Guns?”

Okay, I didn’t expect him to ask that.

“No, we're not,” shouted Cyborg. “We’re here looking for a hired gun”.

The stallion’s concentrated face slowly reformed into a sly grin. He floated his sniper rifle onto his back again, then turned and walked into a doorway behind him. A few seconds later, one of the large wooden doors slowly pushed open. The stallion stood on the other side, usher us forward.

“That was easy,” said Cyborg as he walked forward.

I stood still for a few seconds while I thought about what had just happened. This stallion was ready to shoot us, but the moment we say we’re looking for a hired gun he let’s us inside. In most places that would get you turned away from a town, not let in.

“You coming in or not?”

Breaking out of my thought bubble, I saw that the guard was tapping his foot impatiently. Cyborg was already on the other side, waiting for me to follow suite. I quickly gathered my wits and made my way forward. Once I was through the doorway, the guard quickly closed it and turned to us.

“Fair warning: folks in this town aren’t the nicest. If you have a problem….don’t bother asking for help. That’s not part of our job”.

And with that he headed for a small staircase, leaving me and Cyborg on our own again.

“Well he seemed nice,” said Cyborg.

“In what way?”

That stallion had just told us we were on our own if something were to happen. He was a guard: it was there job to protect others. And yet he just told us that wasn’t the case? If this was just the front gate, I could only imagine what the rest of the town was like.

“Like I said; ponies in this town are assholes. He may be one too, but at least he was nice enough to warn us about it. Whether we knew the information or not, he at least cared enough to share it with us”.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Cyborg had a point. But that just meant that there was probably even worse ponies waiting for us in town. I just hoped that one of them was Hatchet.

***

Cyborg and I headed through the large archway that lead into town. Small bits of broken metal hanged from the top, giving it the look of a large monstrous mouth.

When we passed through the “mouth”, we got a better look of the town. Scrap-metal shacks lined the sides of the road, while the center was taken up by a few small carts. The shacks weren’t particularly large, but still big enough to hold a small family. The carts in the middle looked like they’d been converted into shopping-stands: each had a window display attached to the side.

The spots not taken up by shacks or carts was filled in with ponies. Some had saddle-bags, while others were simply walking around. There really weren’t that many; around 25 in total. So it was easy to make our way down the street.

“Sure are a lot of stores, ” I said as I looked over the area.

Cyborg did the same, but he also let out an uncertain “hm”. He stopped walking forward, and instead headed for the closets shack. He pulled the door open and peered inside, only for him to pull back out and shut the door quickly.

He turned and walked back towards me, looking very disgusted. “What wrong?”

“Drug den,” he said with a snarl. “Just a bunch of ponies sitting on couches injecting themselves with needles or huffing Dash”.

I wish I could say I was surprised, I really did. But after what Cyborg had said and the way we’d been treated at the front gate, I wasn’t really surprised anymore. In fact I distinctly remember Cyborg saying this town was filled with “drunk bastards and drug addicts”.

“Well now we know where NOT to look. Now the only question is where we should START looking”.

Cyborg seemed to have a hunch, and quickly pointed behind me. I turned and saw a set of stairs going up and over the Dam’s railing. From what I saw up on the hill, it likely lead to the buildings on the Dam’s front.

“I don’t think any buildings up here will have Hatchet. So he’s more than likely down in one of the other buildings”.

“Then let’s get to it,” I said before heading towards the stairs. Cyborg followed along behind me.

We walked up the few steps to the to platform, and I took a peek over the side. More stairs led to walkways that zig-zagged down the length of the dam’s front. The buildings looked like they were bolted to the concrete. A few ponies were walking along the paths, while others were sitting outside certain buildings.

The one building the really caught my attention was one that sat at the Dam’s midway point. I pointed it out to Cyborg, who agreed that it was worth checking out. We made our way down the remaining stairs to the walkways below. Thanks to the view from above, I was able to lead us down the path towards the center building.

As we did, I took time to look at the other buildings as we passed by. Most of them seemed to be houses: ponies would take a look out the window, see us walk by, and quickly shut the blinds. We passed by two shops on the second level: one that sold food and another that sold general supplies. The ponies at the counters didn’t seem to pleased when we took a peek inside.

After a few minutes of walking, we reached the center building. It was two stories: with the top floor having a balcony to go along with it. Two signs hung above the door. One read: RESIDENTIAL APPLICATION CENTER. The other read: ESCORT OFFICES.

“Escort? Like another name for a-” I started before Cyborg cut me off.

“I don’t think so,” he said quickly. “But I think this is the place we’re looking for”.

“Why?”

“Because,” he said pointing to the top sign, “a residential application center must keep records of the ponies that live here. So if Hatchet’s in one of these buildings, this place should be able to tell us which one”.

That seemed like a logical deduction, but I just hoped it was true. The closer we got to finding Hatchet, the closer we got to finding my family.

“Alright then, let’s go”.

The two of us pushed open the door and walked inside. From the outset, it looked like a large lobby. A couch and chair sat in the right corner, along with a few dead plants. To the left was a long counter, behind which was a terminal and a few filing cabinets. A rose colored unicorn mare sat behind the counter as well, reading an old magazine. A small hallway stretched along the center of the building, leading to a staircase.

The mare looked over at us when we opened the door. She placed her magazine on the counter and sat up straight. “Welcome to the Residential Application Center. How can I help you today?”

She didn’t sound very enthusiastic, but then again working here must have been boring. I mean, how often were people coming in here looking for residence?

Cyborg and I trotted over to the counter.

“Hello,” I said with a smile. The mare didn’t reply in kind, so I continued. “We’re here looking for somepony that might live in town. We were hoping you could help us”.

The mare snorted. “Not my job to help ponies remember where their friend’s house is”.

“It’s not like that,” said Cyborg. “This pony took something very precious to my friend, and he wants to get it back”.

“Then take it up with the guards,” she said with a huff. “They handle stolen goods”.

Now I was getting annoyed: this mare didn’t seem to have any compassion. “They told us they don’t handle anything beside guarding the gate”.

“Oh, too bad then,” she grabbed the magazine and began reading again. “I’m sure you know the way out”.

I don’t know if it was my anger or sense of desperation, but I found myself igniting my horn and beginning to pull Celestia’s Thunder out. Thankfully for everyone, Cyborg put his hoof in front of me. I got the message and cut the magic, while Cyborg ignited his horn. One of our two jars of caps floated out, and he gave it a small shake.

The sound of the caps rattling around got the mare’s attention. She put the magazine back down and leaned in closer, now smiling happily.

“Let’s try this again: how much to get the information we need?”

The mare’s grin widened. “Are you trying to bribe me? Because if you are...it’s working”. She held out her hoof, “fifty caps for the intell. No bargaining”.

Cyborg took fifty caps out of the jar and gave them to the mare. She placed them in a drawer, then turned to the filing cabinets behind her. “What’s the pony’s name?”

“Hatchet,” I replied.

The mare opened a drawer labeled “A-J” and began looking through the files. After a few seconds, she pulled out one near the back. Even from behind the counter, I saw the name on the tab was “Hatchet”. The mare opened the file and read over the information.

“Okay, let’s see where he lived. It looks like….”

“Wait,” I said cutting her off, “what do you mean lived?”

The mare looked toward us. “This stallion...Hatchet...doesn’t live here anymore. He moved our about….three weeks ago”.

If I had any blood, it would have been running cold. We’d missed him: by a long shot. He was probably far away now, and we didn’t know where that was. How was I supposed to find my family now?

“Did he say where he was going,” asked Cyborg.

“No. And even if he did, I don’t pay attention to pony’s personal lives”.

Cyborg turned toward me. “Looks like we’re at a dead end”.

I was inclined to agree with him, but I wasn’t willing to give up that easily. Even if he didn’t say where he was going, he must have left some clue behind. And I had a good idea about where to find it.

“Has his house been cleared out,” I asked.

“No,” said the mare shaking her head, “we only clean the houses out when somepony buys them”.

“And where is his house?”

The mare checked the folder again. “He lived at the very bottom of a dam. There’s a house there are the very end of the walkway; right next to the waterfall”.

Great, we had a location. I just hoped that we could find some clue as to where he was down there. “Thank you for the information,” I said before heading for the door.

Cyborg ran up to me, “what’s the plan”?

“Find the house, find out where Hatchet went, and then head out after him”.

***

The house was exactly where the mare had said.

After leaving the Application Center, Cyborg and I made our way to the bottom of the dam. We passed a few more buildings on the way down; houses like most of the others. We also passed a small bar, just as a pony inside was thrown out the door. Unfortunately, the force was too much and he ended up missing the walkway and falling down into the river below. I can still hear the sound of him hitting the water.

When we reached the bottom level, we headed down towards the very end of the walkway. There weren’t any houses along the side; just a lot of graffiti. Most of it was advertisements for drug dealers in town. I could only imagine what kind of ponies they were.

As Hatchet’s house loomed closer, I was able to make it out more clearly. Unlike the rest of the house (which were made of scrap metal), this house was made of wood. It sat on a large concrete square that was attached to the dam. Behind it was the “waterfall” from the hole at the top. Compared to the rest of the houses in town, this one was pretty luxurious.

“So this is it,” I said as he stopped in front of the door. There didn’t seem to be any windows, so there was no hope of us getting in that way. “So how do we get in? I’m not too good with non-electric loc….”

My words were cut short by the sound of a gun going off. With only a second to react, I barely saw a bullet pass into the lock of the door. The mechanism blasted apart, and the door creaked open slightly. I looked back and saw Cyborg holstering his pistol.

“There, problem solved”.

I snorted. “Maybe give me a little warning next time?”

“Noted,” he said with a grin. “But still, at least we got a way inside”.

That was true, and I was thankful for it. Not wanting to waste anymore time, I pushed the door open and walked inside with Cyborg following behind.

The place was, in a wasteland way, nice. A large couch and coffee table sat to the left of the entrance. To the right was a small kitchen; complete with a fridge and oven. The far right corner opened to a balcony that overlooked the waterfall. Two chairs and a table completed the set.

The far left was taken up by a small bedroom and bathroom. Overall the place didn’t look like it had been lived it. Besides a few magazines and a tool box on the table, there wasn’t anything of interest here.

“Maybe they did clean this place out,” said Cyborg. He moved over to the kitchen and began looking through the cupboards. “Still, best to check everything”.

“Right then, I’ll check the bedroom”.

I headed for the left corner and began looking around. Unfortunately my search under the bed and in the dresser turned up nothing. The bathroom didn’t hold anything either: just a syringe of Med-X. I kept it just in case we needed it later.

I headed back out into the main room, where Cyborg was waiting for me. “I check the couches and the balcony,” he said, “couldn’t find anything. What about the bed and bath?”

“Nothing,” I replied with a huff. “I don’t get it: how could a pony not leave behind any….”

I was cut off once again by a sound: but it wasn’t a bullet this time. Instead it was the sound of something creaking below my hoof. Not only that, but I felt the floor push down as well.

Looking down, I saw the reasoning for this. Below my hoof was a square cut out in the floor. My hardrive knew what it was the moment I saw it: a trap door. “Jackpot”, I said as I stepped off the door.

Encasing it with magic, I pulled the board out of the hole. Placing it down, I looked and saw what it was coving. A large metal door with a hatch on it was embedded in the concrete structure below.

“Very clever,” said Cyborg. “A secret room. Maybe that’s why he wanted this place”.

“I have a feeling they didn’t know this was here”.

I encased the latch in magic and pulled, bringing the door up with it. The two of us looked down into the space below, but it was too dark to make anything out. The only thing visible was a small stairway leading down into the room.

“Robots first,” said Cyborg with a grin.

Attempt at humor? Maybe, but I wasn’t in a humor mood. Instead I ignited my horn and headed down the stairs with Cyborg following me. With the magic from my horn, I was able to see where I was going, but not the rest of the room.

As we reached the bottom, I notice a light switch on the wall. I quickly flicked it, and soon the whole room was alight. Me and Cyborg looked it over.

It looked this was, or had once been, a storage unit. Shelves lined the walls of the room, each filled with different sizes of crates. Most of them were open, while others looked like they hadn’t been open in almost 200 years.

In the center of the room was a large table, on which sat an assortment of items. A few folders sat at one end, while the other end had something I couldn’t identify from the stairs.

“Looks like he isn’t here,” observed Cyborg.

“Yeah, but maybe he left a clue to where he was going,” I said as I trotted to the table. “Look at these”.

The objects I’d seen from the table were something I knew rather well. They were holotapes: devices that could record a holographic message for playback later. They were similar to memory orbs, but these could be used by anypony. You just needed a projector to create the hologram.

I picked up one of them and examined it carefully. “Maybe these can give us a clue as to where Hatchet went”.

“Holotapes? You really think that he made a recording telling us where he was going?”

“It’s worth a shot,” I ignited my horn and levitated the holotape around to my back. “At the very least it should tell us what he was doing here”.

I pulled part of my “skin” aside, revealing a slot underneath. Part of my original design was the ability to record and playback holotapes. So I slipped the tape into the slot, sorted through my programing, and started it up.

The color of my horn changed to a light blue, and a beam shot out from the tip. Cyborg stepped back as a pony began to form from the light. It took a second, but soon the image of Hatchet stood before us.

“This is Hatchet, recording my progress as instructed by TSIM. I can report that I have established a temporary base of operation in Buck Crossing. The locals will not be an issue as previously believed. They’re either too drugged to simply don’t care. The few that actually have a functioning brain will be useful while I gather information about the surrounding area. One has already been questioned. From what she said, a pony matching Carbon’s description registered for citizenship a few weeks ago. Once I’ve finished this recording, I’ll be going through town to see if is still here. I’ll report in when I have more information”.

The recording ended, and the image of Hatchet disappeared from sight.

I stood silent for a moment, not knowing what exactly to say. I’d just seen the pony who’d taken my family, and yet he was still so far away. This holotape had given me a few answers, but even more questions. While my family’s location was the biggest one, the one I felt most relevant was:

“He’s working for TSIM,” I floated the holotape out of my back and in front of my face. “But why? I thought synths did all of their dirty work”.

“Synths can’t do everything a pony can,” replied Cyborg. “Sometimes TSIM hires ponies from the wasteland to do tasks for them. Hatchet must be their latest one”.

Cyborg ignited his own horn, pulling the holotape out of my grip. He floated it in front of his face, and I saw his eye zooming in and out. From what I’d see before, I guessed he must have been analyzing it. Of course this just added to my list of questions: what else could that thing do?

“DNA strands on this haven't decayed too much. I say this was last touched three weeks ago,” he looked over at me, "the mare was right".

“That's not important right now," I said with a huff. "We still don't know where Hatchet went next!”

“Maybe not,” said Cyborg. He pointed at the table, and it was only when I looked did I remember the second holotape. “He might have recorded where he was going if he was leaving TSIM messages”.

“Only one way to find out”.

I picked up the holotape and inserted into my back. My horn sparked, and soon the hologram of Hatchet was once again standing in front of us.

“Hatchet reporting in with my findings. After scouring the town and asking everypony that can actually think, I can confirm that Carbon is not in the area. However, my “questioning” of the Escort Center’s manager revealed that a pony matching his description purchased an escort through Raider County. And the same pony confirmed that Carbon arrived at Tunnel 11 at the other end. Therefore, I will be moving on to Tunnel 11 as soon as my lacky arrives from another job. I will transmit my location once I’ve secured a new base of operation. After which I will await further orders”.

The hologram ended, and the holotape popped out of the slot on my back. I turned to Cyborg, and his look told me we were thinking the same thing.

Hatchet had gone through Raider County, to a place called Tunnel 11. But that meant that we were getting closer to finding him. He was probably just a few days away.

However, there was still one problem: he’d gone through Raider County. And if we wanted to get to him, we’d have to as well.

Cyborg broke the silence. “Well we know where he’s going, and I have a feeling you still want to go after him”.

“I’m not giving up now,” I said as I placed the holotape back on the table. “He’s so close: we just have to go through Raider County. If he can do it, so can we”.

“But you should also remember this: he’s a hired gun. He’s probably had his entire life to hone his skills. And he’s likely got TSIM technology on his side”. Cyborg walked up to me, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “He’s a killer, through and through. I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked through there and they made him their leader. Raiders aren’t like normal ponies”.

I snorted, then moved his hoof of my shoulder. “I could tell that from the name. And I don’t care if he is there leader or their slave. He still my #1 priority until I get my family back”.

I turned and looked him in the eye. “The only question I have now is this: are you still with me?”

Cyborg nodded. “Of course. I’m not backing down now. I’m just reminding you of what we’re getting into”.

“Noted,” I said before turning to the stairs. “Now come on, we need to head out as soon as possible”.

“Wait,” said Cyborg, holding me back with his magic. “Before we go running into one of the most dangerous places this side of Balitmare, we should come up with a plan”.

“I already have a plan,” I said with a grin. “And it starts at the Escort Offices”.

***

We made quick work of putting the house back the way it was before we entered. Though the broken lock was something the next tenant would have to worry about. Still, I felt it was best to cover our tracks: for all we knew TSIM hadn’t retrieved the holotapes yet. And we didn’t want them knowing we were after Hatchet. Any warning could lead to him disappearing forever.

After everything was in order, we made our way back up to the offices. Along the way, I briefed Cyborg on the plan I had. It was simple, yet riddled with problems if things didn’t go right.

The plan was to simply get an escort through Raider County to Tunnel 11. Hatchet had said that a pony named Carbon had gotten one and arrived there safely. So I figured we could get one as well; it would save us on having to find our way through ourselves.

Cyborg, unsurprisingly, was a little skeptical of the whole thing. He went on for a few minutes talking about how we should still gather supplies and make sure we’re well prepared...etc. I saw where he was coming from, and decided that we’d make a proper decision after talking with the Escort Office.

When we finally did arrive back at the building, the mare at the citizenship desk only gave us a small wave. We both rolled our eyes, then headed up the stairs to the floor above.

The second floor was much smaller than the area below it. To the right of the stairs were three doors, each labeled with a number. In front of them was a large wooden desk, atop which sat an old terminal, a busted lamp, and some stained paper. A set of hooves sat at the edge, and were attached to a stallion sitting in the chair behind it. He was a purple earth pony. He wore a black vest, and a stetson sat atop his head. It was currently pulled over his face: a classic sign that he was sleeping.

“I was expecting something….bigger,” said Cyborg.

“Maybe more professional?”

The two of us walked over to the desk, observing the rest of the room as we did. A few old posters sat on the wall. The one that was the least deteriorated sat behind the stallion. It depicted a pony wearing a suit of power armor. Written across the image was: SUPPORT THE MINISTRY OF WARTIME TECHNOLOGY! BUILDING A BETTER DEFENSE FOR EQUESTRIA!

I looked down at the stallion before poking him slightly. “Uh, hello”.

The stallion groaned slightly. He raised his hoof and moved his stetson out of his line of sight. Now I had a clear view of his face….it wasn’t exactly happy. His eyes looked over me and then Cyborg.

“Hm...newcomers. Let me guess: you want an escort through Raider County”.

“That’s right,” I replied with a smile. “We’re looking for a pony and….”

“Stop,” said the stallion, holding up a hoof. “I don’t need your reasons, I only need your payment. The cost is 500 caps per pony”.

“500 caps,” shouted Cyborg!

“Yep,” replied the stallion. “Covers escort, supplies, and a small fee for putting my life on the line to get you across”.

Cyborg grabbed me with magic and pulled me back beside him. He turned our heads so the stallion couldn’t hear what we were saying.

“Garcon, we don’t have 1,000 caps. And even if we did, it isn’t worth it. We’re basically paying the guy to lead us along an already set path”.

“But you said yourself: the place is filled with raiders. Do you really want to go into a place filled with ponies who want to eat us?”

Cyborg snorted. “Not all raiders are cannibals. And if we can hold our own against synths, raiders shouldn’t be too hard”.

“Still, I’d rather just pay the stallion. A guide is still safer than going out on our own!”

“But I told you,” he said huffing, “we don’t have the money. And I don’t think he’s willing to bargain”.

Well there was only one way to find out. I turned to the stallion and asked “any chance you’d take less caps”?

The stallion gave me an evil eye, “my prices are non-negotiable”.

Cyborg trotted up to the desk, looking the stallion dead in the eye. “Then you should really rethink your business practices”. He turned towards me, “come on Garcon, we don’t need him”.

Cyborg turned towards the stairs, but he didn’t make it far. I’d finally had enough of his stubborn attitude, and now it was his turn to be stopped. I grabbed him with my magic and sat him down next to me.

“Stay,” I said, like a pony would command a dog. Cyborg snarled, but I ignored it and turned my attention back to the stallion. “Look sir, we don’t have 1,000 caps to spend. However, we do need to get through Raider County safely. So,” I levitated our jar of caps out in front of me, “what would it cost you for information about crossing it safely?”

The stallion eyed the jar; he clearly was interested. I just hoped that he had information to give. And even if he did, that it wasn’t too expensive to squeeze out of him.

“Hm, alright. Maybe I do know something that can help you”. He held out his hoof, “fifty caps, and that information is yours”.

I counted out fifty caps and placed them on his hoof. He counted them himself, then slipped them into his vest pocket. “You ponies aren’t the first group to think my prices are too high. The last group who thought so decided to head through the place themselves. Started asking ponies to join their group: more ponies equals better protection”.

He leaned back in his chair, pulling his hat over his face. “From what I hear they’re still in town. You can find them in the last building before the gates that lead out of town. If you want to get through for a cheaper price, I’d suggest talking to them”.

If there was any doubt that me and Cyborg could get through Raider County without an escort before, it was gone now.

There were actually ponies out there banding together to make lives easier for themselves. There was an example of it right here in town, and I was eager to join in. You really needed times like this to take your mind off the many, many ways the Wasteland seems to fuck with you.

“Thank you,” I said before turning to Cyborg. “See, don’t make rash decisions when a slower approach can lead to a better one”.

Cyborg rose from the floor, “alright, let’s just go and see if these ponies can even handle themselves. We can’t be responsible for taking care of them and ourselves”.

***

After Cyborg calmed down, we left the offices and made our way back up to the top of the dam.

Along the way, I began to think over what we were doing. I knew I was the one who suggested finding another way to get through Raider County, but I didn’t know if this was the right way. It was our only option for sure, but as for the best option….I wasn’t sure. We didn’t even know these ponies: would they even want to know us?

Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to think about this. After a few minutes of walking, we found ourselves at the other end of town. A large metal gate stood before us, with another pony in armor standing on a walkway above it. Part of the gate was wired, giving me a view of the bridge on the other side. It was metal: built in the same manor as the suspension bridges in Manehattan.

After taking in the view, we turned to the building to our left. It was a small hut, much like the others that stood at the dam’s top level. But this one stood out from the others: attached to the top of the door was a sign that read Discount Escort! Ponies Needed! A large cart sat outside, filled with some old crates.

“Looks like the place,” I said as I trotted over to the door. Cyborg followed alongside me. Remembering my programing about manners, I knocked on the door thrice before standing back. A moment later, the door opened and a yellow coated mare stepped into view. She wore old body armor, beneath which sat a battle-saddle. Her face was covered in dust, but she still managed to smile: the first real one I’d seen in town.

“Hello, can I help you?” Even her tone of voice just made you want to give her a hug.

“Yes,” I said politely, “we heard you’re looking for ponies to make a journey through Raider County”.

The mare’s smile grew. “Oh, yes we are. Are both of you in need of an escort?”

I nodded. The mare giggled happily. “Oh that’s terrific! We’ve been waiting for more ponies to show up. Please come inside!”

The mare moved aside, giving me and Cyborg space to walk in. I looked around the room, and noticed that it was much larger than it seemed on the outside. The far wall was lined by three bunk beds, with all but two of the beds being occupied. Two ponies (both mares) were sleeping, while the other two (mare and a stallion) were in the middle of a game of chess.

A table and six chairs sat to the left, with a stallion sitting in one of them. He held a long shotgun in on hoof, using the other to gently polish it. He paused when we walked in, then did another quick wipe before placing it on the table. He got up, stretched, and walked towards us.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? A few ponies looking to join our little group through a certain hellhole?”

“That’s right Eastwood,” said the mare, gently shutting the door behind us. “And that makes eight. So, we can head out now right?”

Eastwood narrowed his eyes as he turned to look at Cyborg and me. From the look alone I could tell he was observing us: or maybe judging was a better word. Neither of us moved; he didn’t look like the kind of pony to take chances with.

“Hm, I’m not sure Sunny. We need ponies who can hold their own: how do we know these two won’t end up Raider Chow?”

So this pony wanted to know if we could defend ourselves? I could understand his concern: deadweight would only slow them down and make it more likely to get killed. Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to prove what I’d done.

“We can handle ourselves,” I responded confidently. “We’ve both faced ghouls, slavers, synths, robobrains, and even an assultron. Trust me, we know how to fight”.

Eastwood grinned. “If that’s true, I wonder why you’d even need us. Seems like you could get through without any help”.

“While someone would think that,” I said, glancing over at Cyborg. He rolled his eyes and snorted. “I believe that it’s best to travel with a group. Less likely that something will happen when multiple ponies are watching each-other’s backs”.

“Ha,” laughed Eastwood, “finally, a stallion with the same thoughts as me! Everypony else here kept telling me we were fine with six ponies. But I wanted eight: not too many and not too small”.

Sunny’s grin turned into a pouty frown. “Well we have eight ponies now. So can we finally leave: I’m getting sick of this town!”

“Keep your horseshoes on Sunny,” replied Eastwood. “It’s too late to leave now. We’ll take inventory, get some rest, and head out first thing in the morning”.

He turned back to the two of us, “now there’s still the issue with payment. Our price is twenty-five caps per pony, but if you don’t have that much we can bargain. Just remember this: you supply your own supplies. Everypony here does, so you do too”.

“Noted,” said Cyborg. He counted out fifty caps and handed them to the stallion. “We already have our supplies anyway”.

“Good,” said Eastwood. “Now since we’re going to be traveling together for at least a day and a half, you might as well know who you’re traveling with”.

He held a hoof up to his chest, beaming brightly. “Names Eastwood. Used to be a courier in the Las Pegasus area a few years ago, till some caravan company took all the business”.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” said Cyborg.

Eastwood waved a hoof dismissively. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, I’ve earned enough to keep me going for a while”. He nodded towards the mare next to me. “That there is Sunny: been traveling together for over a year now”.

“Wow, that’s long,” said Cyborg, “what were you doing before then?”

Sunny smiled. “I was working for a pony who, well, ran a questionable business. Eastwood came by and told me he was heading to Baltimare to find work. Figured it was my chance to find a better life for myself, so I joined him”.

“What do you mean by ‘questionable business’,” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sunny grimaced. “I...I really don’t want to talk about it. It’s not something I’m very proud of”.

“Now Sunny,” said Eastwood, “we don’t keep secrets in this group. Spill the beans”.

Sunny sighed. “Okay. To say it bluntly, I was a prostitue. Or at least was working to be one. My boss hired mares down on their luck and trained them to have skills that most other prostitues didn’t. I was almost ready to start work, but then Eastwood arrived”.

I gave Eastwood a sly look. “And what were you doing there?”

Eastwood huffed, “don’t get any ideas varmit. I was delivering a package: Sunny met me at the door and took me to her boss. Had me wait until he saw everything was where it should be. Me and Sunny started talking, and when I heard about her situation, I offered to take her with me”.

“And I couldn’t refuse,” said Sunny. “I told my boss I was leaving, then left with Eastwood”.

“He didn’t care that you left?”

“Naw, he had so many mares working for him. Didn’t bother him if one decided they didn’t want to fuck for a living: one less flank to pay”.

“I think you made a great decision,” I replied with a smile. “Nopony should have to submit themselves to that kind of work”.

“Well said,” replied Eastwood. He turned and pointed to the four ponies behind him. “Those four are also traveling with us. Just know, they don’t like talking too much. Like to keep to themselves and all that, so don’t feel insulted if they don’t talk back when you talk to them”.

“What’s there story,” I asked?

“From what they’ve told me, they’re former slaves. Escaped from Fillydelphia about eight months ago. Ran as far south as they could until the slavers chasing them gave up. Now they’re heading to Baltimare: say there’s a place for escaped slaves somewhere near the city”.

“Impressive,” said Cyborg. “I don’t know many slaves that can claim they’ve escaped Fillydelphia”.

I looked at the two of them with some confusion. “What’s wrong with Fillydephia”?

Eastwood looked shocked. “How do you not know about Fillydelphia? You fresh out of the stables or something?”

To some extent I was, but I wasn’t about to say that. From memory Fillydelphia had been a major city before the war. It had produced most of the weapons and armor that Equestria had used to battle the Zebra Empire. I had figured that the city had been destroyed during the war, but I guess I was wrong.

“Garcon, remember those slavers we dealt with a few days ago? And how they worked for a stallion named Red Eye?”

“Yeah”.

“Well Red Eye is the one who rules over Fillydelphia. He uses slaves to work in his factories to produce armor and weapons for his army. They’ve been spreading through Equestria for a while now. He keeps saying that he’s rebuilding the world as it once was, but most (including myself) think it’s just bullshit”.

Most ponies, when told about somepony like that, would think “he’s evil! Using slaves to make weapons for an army!” But for some reason, I actually felt a glimmer of hope. There was a pony out there working to rebuild Equestria, to make the world better again. Was it wrong to use slaves, of course. But maybe, one day, he wouldn’t have to use slaves anymore. It was a slim hope, but I decided to hang onto it.

“Now that history lesson’s over, it’s time to get the final bit of business”. Eastwood leaned in closer to the two of us. “We’ve told you our stories, now you need to be upfront with us. No secrets here: we don’t judge”.

Great, now I was being put on the spot again. Could I really trust these ponies not to instantly shoot at me if I told them the truth? Would they just think I’m a synth, even though I’m just similar in build?

Still, they had been straight with the two of us. Escaped slaves, prostitutes, it was nothing compared to what I was. But I had to remind myself: if I was alway scared to tell the truth, I wouldn’t know who to trust. So, I decided to go for it.

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “My name is Garcon. First things first: I’m not a pony. I’m a robotic butler built before the war”. I used my magic to pull part of my torn skin away, showing off the mechanics underneath. “I’m not a synth, I swear. I’m just a robot trying to get to Baltimare”.

Eastwood and Sunny stood silent and still for a few seconds. Their faces said it all: confused, scared, angry, maybe even a bit of sorrow. I just stood there the whole time, not making a single move or sound.

Eventually, Eastwood let out a deep breath as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well, that’s something. Don’t think I’ve ever met a pony more open about something like this before”.

“You said no secrets,” I replied, “and I didn’t want you to find out when we were traveling. Best to get it out now, when I can better explain it”.

Eastwood nodded. “Well your blunt honesty does help to prove what you say. And because of that, you have my trust….just do your best not to lose it”.

“I will”.

Eastwood turned to Cyborg. “And what about you? What’s your story?”

This I was actually interested in hearing: I actually knew very little about Cyborg. This might be my only chance to find out more about him.

“What’s to say,” he replied with a blank expression. “I was in an accident some time ago, and I lost a few limbs. Got these new ones, and I’ve been on my own ever since,” he looked over at me and let out a small grin, “that is, until I met Garcon”.

Eastwood nodded. “Well shit, I’m sorry to hear that. You have my sympathy”.

“Thank you, but I don’t need it. Sympathy to me is just ponies feeling sorry for me, and I don’t like those kinds of feelings”.

Eastwood looked a little taken back, but quickly shook it off.

“Alright, that’s it for the meet and greet. All that’s left is to get ourselves ready and head out in the morning”. He trotted over to the table, sat down in a chair, and began polishing his gun again. “Take a seat anywhere and relax for a while. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow”.

Sunny joined Eastwood at the table, pulled a small 10mm gun from her holster and began taking it apart. The ponies on the beds continued with there game, leaving me and Cyborg on our own.

I quickly noticed a small couch in the corner, and nodded my head towards it. Cyborg caught the gesture, and we each took a seat, placing our bags on the ground.

“You see,” I said grinning, “I knew this would be a good idea. We’ll have no trouble getting through Raider County with these ponies”.

“Yeah,” said Cyborg uncertainly. “I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us in the flanks”.

FOOTNOTE: LEVEL UP!

NEW PROGRAM: Detective - You’re the next Sherlock Hooves. Gain +2 to perception when looking for objects or secret stashes.

Quest Perk: Sweet Talk - When trying to Barter/Negotiate with somepony, gain +3 to Charisma and Barter. -1 Agility when moving.

Chapter 9: Contact

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Fallout Equestria: A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 9: Contact

“Slice through it like melted butter”.

For everypony but myself, the night was short and sweet.

With me being a robot and there being only seven places to sleep, I decided to stay awake for the night. Cyborg took the couch, and after promising not to kill anypony, the rest of the group soon fell asleep.

While I could have put myself into rest mode, I felt that somepony should get the supplies ready for the trip through Raider County. I gathered the supplies that Cyborg and I had gotten from Stable 50 and divided it accordingly.

I decided that Cyborg would have the food and extra ammo. He didn’t have S.A.T.S, and food wasn’t a requirement for robots. I figured he’d have better use for it then myself. That left me with the medical supplies and other miscellaneous items.

Once everything was packed, I spent the rest of the time going through my system. With everything that my system had been in contact with the last few days, I wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything left over that could corrupt it. Especially after interacting with that Stable system.

After a few hours, I had almost gone through all my system. The only thing that had raised a red flag was a bump in my power systems, which still indicated that I had a “foreign object” lodged in my power source. I’d put off looking at it for a while, but I made a mental note to look into it eventually.

Soon the morning came around and everypony began to get ready for departure. Eastwood went to prepare the cart and get the go-ahead from the guard. Sunny went about getting her and Eastwood’s supplies together, and making sure that the other four ponies were getting theirs ready.

Since I’d gotten our supplies ready the night before, Cyborg had a quick breakfast and helped Eastwood get the cart ready. I decided to help Sunny, who sent me to help the other four ponies.

Once everything was ready, Sunny got hitched to the cart and we headed for the gate out of Buck Crossing. Eastwood and I took the lead, since we had the best aim. Cyborg took up the rear, making sure nothing got past our view. Sunny and the four other ponies took the center, each armed with a small pistol.

The guard (who seemed as nice as he looked) made sure that everything was in order before letting us through. When the gate opened, I got a better view of the bridge that spanned the gap in the dame. It was mostly made of scrap metal, but the center looked to be an old road sign. For a minute, I didn’t know if it would hold the cart.

Thankfully, it only produced a slight creaking noise as the cart rolled over. And once everyone was on the other side, we were finally in Raider County.

If I’m honest with myself, it was even worse than it looked from the other side.

The green mist I’d seen from the hill hung over the ground, casting a green tint over everything. There was little hovering over the actual road, but the green tint covered it as well. But the most disturbing thing about the area was there wasn’t anything around us.

Even in other parts of the wasteland, there were dead trees, old buildings, even smashed carts. But there wasn’t anything around us for miles. Not even a sign or scrub bush.

“This place is creeping me out,” I said as we began to walk along the road.

“Don’t lose your mind now,” said Eastwood. “We’ve just started our journey”.

“Don’t worry, S.A.T.S. can make sure I hit my targets even if I’m a little creeped out”.

“Hm, you shouldn’t always rely on tech to get you out of situations,” replied Eastwood. “If I’ve learned anything from traveling around Equestria, it’s that sometimes even the best tech and fail on you”.

I hoped that wasn’t the case here: it was the one place I wanted to work the most.

We continued walking along the road, with Eastwood and myself keeping a keen eye on the area around us. My E.F.S. didn’t show any hostiles nearby, I just hoped that it would stay that way for the remainder of the journey.

But of course, in a place like this, that wasn’t the case.

After another hour of walking, I noticed something on the horizon. A group of shapes rose further ahead of us: some rectangular, others more abnormal.

“Something’s up ahead,” I told Eastwood.

“I see it,” he replied. “Everypony, keep your eyes peeled. We don’t know what’s up ahead”.

The group slowed their pase, now looking more nervous than when we’d left Buck Crossing. I didn’t blame them: this was the first actual thing we’d come across since then. And in a place named “Raider County”, that meant anything could be deadly.

As we got closer, the green mist started to disperse and the objects became more clear. From a distance, I thought they were rocks. But instead, I saw that they were buildings. Much like the ones I’d seen back in Trotsville. However, most of the ones in Trotsville were mostly intact. The buildings up ahead looked like they could collapse at any moment.

“I don’t like the look of this place,” said Eastwood. “It could be filled with ghouls or other creatures”.

“Or worse,” said Sunny, cleary more nervous than the rest of us.

Unfortunately, I was starting to get more nervous as well. Walking into an unknown location that could possibly be filled with enemies wasn’t the best idea.

“What if we go around it,” I said to Eastwood. “That way we won’t have to worry about what’s in there”.

“We could,” replied Eastwood, “but we don’t know what’s outside the town either. If we go through it, we’ll at least have places to hide or take cover”.

“If Eastwood thinks we should go through it, I think we should,” said Sunny.

The four other ponies nodded in response. I looked back at Cyborg, who I hadn’t paid attention to since we started. He, like me, had an uncertain look on his face. He slowly shook his head: clearly that meant he didn’t like the idea.

Honestly, I was in the same boat. But what were we going to do if we didn’t go with them? We’d be left on our own if something went wrong for them. And we could actually help if something happened.

I nodded my head, letting Cyborg know I wanted to follow the group. As expected, he looked uncertain. But after a minute, he nodded in approval. However his face still showed he wasn’t happy about this. Truefully I wasn’t either, but I didn’t want to split up the group in a place like this.

“Alright,” I said to Eastwood, “let’s go through the town”.

“Okay everypony, be on your guard”.

With an okay from (reluctantly) everpony in the group, we made our way towards the town. And the whole way we did, I was feeling more and more nervous.

***

As we moved into the town, I looked around at the buildings surrounding us. They actually didn’t look that old: likely built a few years before the bombs fell. This was clear from the architecture. It wasn't like old Equestria, and not like the mixed style that was present for the majority of the war.

That being said, the town was an absolute disaster. Many of the storefront windows were smashed or gone. Some of the two story buildings only had one floor because the second one was gone. The main street was empty: not even a cart or fallen lamp post.

A notice appeared in my vision. My map had just updated: the town had been labeled “Abandoned”. An accurate statement maybe, but not a name that the original inhabitants had chosen.

Still keeping my guard up, our group slowly moved through the town. The four former slaves looked terrified, and Sunny looked like she was trying to keep her wits together. The only ones who didn’t look too worried were me, Cyborg and Eastwood.

However, that didn’t last long.

As we approached the halfway point of the town, my E.F.S. lit up with multiple red dots. I quickly looked around: all together there were at least twelve dots, which meant twelve enemies.

“We’re surrounded,” I yelled, levitating Celestia’s Thunder out in front of me.

Eastwood’s saddle clicked into gear as he spun around to look at the rest. “Take cover”!

But just as everypony was beginning to move, the sound of gunfire rang out. Bullets shot from both sides of the road, filling the air with multiple explosions. The red dots on my E.F.S. were moving quickly, though some were remaining firm.

“SHIT!”

One of the former slaves yelled in pain as a bullet passed through his leg. He fell on his hunches, blood pouring from his wound.

“Let’s move,” yelled Eastwood, taking aim with the saddle. “Garcon, take aim”.

Sunny, Cyborg, and the other ponies ran to a nearby storefront, with Eastwood and myself taking up the rear. More bullets fired in our direction, with most just barely missing. Cyborg and the other ponies ran into the store; Sunny unhooked herself from the cart and ran in after them. Finally Eastwood and myself ran inside.

The store was very deteriorated, but had a lot of old shelves still standing. Cyborg was already turning some onto their said and pushing them against the window. Eastwood looked over the group, taking count to see if everypony was there. But in an instant, he looked around in shock.

“We’re missing one,” he turned towards me, “where’s Axe”?

I remembered the pony who’d been shot in the leg. Quickly I ran to the doorway and looked out in the road. Axe was slowly limping towards the door, bullets just barely missing him. Thinking quickly, I slipped into S.A.T.S.

Instantly, my sights switched from Axe to a building across the street. Now that my artificial senses were enhanced, I noticed two targets behind a broken window. They were ponies with bloodshot eyes, spiked hair, and crude leather armor. They both had crude looking pistols in their mouths. From what I’ve heard, I guessed that these two were raiders.

I selected the head of both raiders and opened fire. The head of the first raider exploded, shooting blood, bone, and brain over the other. This caused him to rear in fear/disgust, and the second bullet passed right past him and into the wall. The raider ducked to the right of the window and out of sight.

“One down,” I said as I waited for S.A.T.S. to recharge.

“Come on Axe,” said Eastwood. He took aim at another nearby raider, making sure Axe had a clear shot to the door. “You can make it”.

Axe started moving a little faster: determination plastered on his face. Blood was still oozing from his leg, and it looked like it was getting worse.

I reloaded Celestia’s Thunder and prepared to take aim again. But as I raised my gun, I saw something on my E.F.S. A red dot was moving fast, going so far to the right that it zoomed out of my field of vision. But just then, it started coming back: this time even faster.

“Something’s incoming,” I yelled over the gunfire.

Eastwood, still focused on the raiders, shouted “cover Axe”.

Cyborg, who had just finished coving the window, ran over to the door. “I’ve got him. Garcon, how much longer till you can use S.A.T.S.”?

“Just a few more seconds. We just ne….”

I stopped. A sound was reverberating through my hearing sensors: a sound of wind. But it wasn’t like the wind that I’ve heard blowing over the wasteland. It was like when a sky carriage was pulled through the clouds, and the wind picked up behind it.

It got louder and louder, until eventually it sounded like it was right on top of us. I looked out towards Axe, ready to yell at him to hurry.

And then it happened.

An orange blur shot past Axe, and in a bloody spray all four of his legs were cut clean off his body. His eyes grew as his body slowly fell towards the ground. But just as he was, the orange blur shot past him again. This time his body itself was sliced in half, spilling organs, guts, and blood over the pavement.

Axe (at least the bits and pieces of him) fell to the ground in a pool of blood and internal organs. His face, one of the few unharmed parts, was stuck in a look of shock.

I couldn’t look away from the sight, no matter how much I wanted to. Behind me, Sunny let out a monstrous scream, and the remaining former slaves started releasing the contents of their stomachs onto the floor.

Cyborg had a lapse in focus, causing his magic to cut out and his gun to drop slightly. I could see the look on his face: shock, anger, and sadness all rolled into one. Even his robotic eye had turned a dark shade of red.

“....They’re dead….”

I looked over at Eastwood. He was standing in the very center of the doorway, staring out at Axe’s cut up body. His face was scrunched in anger: the sense of total loathing radiating from his body. His battle-saddle reloaded, and he turned back towards Cyborg and myself.

“Watch after everypony, I’ve got tartarus to rain down on these assholes”.

“Wait,” said Cyborg, “you can’t just run headlong into a firefight. We need a plan”.

Eastwood didn’t respond. Instead, he turned and ran out the doorway. Cyborg and I ran to the door and looked out into the street after him. He took aim at the store to the right, firing two shots at the second story window. Both penetrated the glass, and two red dots disappeared from my vision.

But not a moment later, the same red dot from earlier rocketed across my screen.

“Eastwood,” I screamed, “take cover, that thing’s coming back around”.

The red dot disappeared for a second before dash across my screen again. The familiar sound of wind kicking up met my sensors. Eastwood, standing in the middle of the road, began running towards the building across from us.

But just before he could reach the smashed front window, the orange blur ran into him.

I waited for the splatter of blood, and for bits and pieces of him to fly into the air. But instead, Eastwood was yanked from the ground and flung further down the street. He rolled across the sidewalk before smashing into a rusted mailbox. I waited for him to get up, but he didn’t move an inch.

The orange blur shot into the sky and out of sight. Even with my enhanced cameras, I couldn’t tell what it was. But if it had the ability to cut ponies into pieces, it must be something horrific.

“Eastwood’s down,” I yelled to Sunny, “but I can’t tell how badly he’s hurt”.

Sunny eyes widened. “Somepony needs to go get him”!

“Easier said than done,” said Cyborg. “With raiders on our side of the street and that orange blur, we won’t be able to get to him”.

Cyborg was right: we were basically boxed in. If we wanted to get out of this alive, we’d need to take out the raiders and that blur. And thank Celestia I had an idea about how to accomplish both.

“Cyborg,” I pointed at the store across from us, “think you can make it to that building?”

“With that blur ready to slice me the moment I step out? Not really”.

“I don’t think it will”. I pointed at my head, “I’ve been tracking it with my E.F.S. It goes in a circular trajectory before going down the street. And both Axe and Eastwood were standing still when they got hit. I think it takes a moment to speed up before it strikes”.

“So?”

“So if you run straight for the building, it won’t have time to circle around and lock on you”.

Cyborg sneered, “and what if you’re wrong?”

“Then we die in here anyway. At least we have a chance to make it out alive this way”.

Cyborg stared at me for a moment, looked out the door, then back at me. He sighed, “alright, but what am I supposed to do when I get over there”?

“Go up to the second floor and cross over to the building next to it. My E.F.S. says there are three raiders up there. Keep them occupied while I do my bit”.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow questionably. “And what are you going to do?”

More bullets rocketed into the makeshift covering: one even managed to pass through and lodge into the wall. Sunny and the others cowered in fear. I turned to them, then looked back at Cyborg with a stern expression.

“I’m going to stop that blur”.

***

Cyborg waited until the sound of bullets flying died down. Once it was clear, he scanned the road for anything moving. When it was all clear, he ran out the door and made a beeline for the storefront.

Once he was on the other sidewalk, guns began to fire off once more. Cyborg jumped through the broken window just a bullet struck where he was standing a moment before.

Now that Cyborg was out of sight, I had to rely on my E.F.S. to know where he was. Thankfully he was the one green dot on my screen, so it was easy to distinguish him from the raiders.

Cyborg’s dot moved to the far right of my screen before stopping. It stayed there for a moment before moving to the left: he’d made it to the second floor. And just a few seconds later, I heard the sound of gunfire from across the street.

Now I had to do my bit. I turned and looked back at the group.

“Sunny, stay put and watch over everypony. I’ll be back soon”.

Sunny, still looking scared and confused, nodded slightly. The other three ponies huddled behind one of the shelves. Only one of them still had a gun: the others had lost them in the confusion.

I reloaded Celestia’s Thunder and headed out the door. Slipping into S.A.T.S., I looked around for an available target. I saw one raider poking her head out of a second story window on our side of the road. Quickly I selected the head and let out two shots.

The first bullet went clean through her neck, while the second delt a glancing blow to the left side of her face. She fell out of sight, and the red dot slowly faded from my vision.

“Come on, come on, where are you?”

I scanned my screen, and soon saw the red dot I was hoping for. One second it was flying to the right, the next it was coming right back. I stared down the road, and soon I saw something fast approaching.

I positioned my legs to get the most resistance I could, and prepared myself for the impact. The orange blur got closer and closer, until….

BAM!

It slammed into me right at the legs. The momentum send me screeching back along the road. Alerts rang inside my head: cut wires, damage to leg structure, and many more that I didn’t have time to read. Eventually the momentum stopped, and I found myself ten feet further down the road.

Taking a moment to regain my focus, I looked to see what exactly had run into me.

The damage was shocking to say the least. A long blade was embedded into my front legs: sparks shot out of exposed wires and bits of metal poked through the skin. The blade itself was split into two parts: a circular hinge connected them. The sharp edge was in my legs, but the blunt end was attached to what looked like a harness.

The harness was attached to an orange wing….and that orange wing was attached to a pony!

Standing just to my left was an orange pegasus mare with a flowing dirty green mane. She wore crude metal armor around her legs and military-grade combat armor around her middle. She was looking at me with a snarling expression and slightly bloodshot eyes.

“What the fuck are you?”

Her voice wasn’t gruff like I was expecting: it sounded like a normal mare’s voice. In fact it was so normal that it didn’t fit her appearance at all.

In a split second she began tugging her wing; trying to dislodge it from my legs. But likely because of the jagaded metal, it was stuck hard. In fact she was actually pulling me along with it. For a pegasus, she was pretty strong.

But I had to focus on the plan, and now was the perfect time to execute it.

I dug my back legs firmly onto the road, stopping the pegasus from pulling me forward. Her eyes shot towards me before she started flapping her free wing. Half of her body rose from the ground, the other half being held down by my weight.

I glared at her angrily. “Oh no you don’t”.

Quickly, I raised my legs up off the ground, bringing the pegasus with me. Now she was almost weightless, which was just what I wanted.

With all the strength my system could muster, I brought my legs up and over my head. The mare’s eyes widened in shock as she was brought over my head with my legs. And just as quickly, I pushed hard on my back legs and flipped.

My body circled, and the mare was brought along with me. As my legs were coming back towards the ground, the pegasus crashed into the street. Her blade popped out of my leg, allowing me to land safely back on all four of them.

The mare groaned slightly as she rose from the street; dazed and disorientated. But I wasn’t done with her yet. Igniting my horn, I encased her in magic and lifted her off the ground. Then, I flung her sideways into another store window. The glass shattered on impact, and I saw her body crash into old shelves and merchandise. They fell on top of her, blocking her from sight.

I checked my E.F.S., and her red dot had turned yellow.

“Okay, so she’s knocked out. Let’s just hope she stays that way until I finish the others off”.

My screens alerted me to the broken legs, but I didn’t have time to repair them just yet. Instead, I ran as fast as I could to the building Cyborg had run to. I jumped through the window and ran up the stairs to the second floor.

The sound of gunfire still rang out, and two red dots were plastered on my screen. When I reached the second floor, I saw Cyborg kneeling beside a large hole in the wall. He noticed me and waved me over.

I ran to the other side of the hole, keeping Celestia’s Thunder close to my side.

“Give it up cunts, your outnumbered and outgunned!”

“Yeah, what he said”.

It would seem that these raiders (baring that pegasus) were even stupider than I imagined. Even after I just took out their big hitter, they still thought they had the upper hoof.

Well I was ready to end that very soon.

Making sure Celestia’s Thunder was fully loaded, I peeked around the corner and into the building beyond. I spotted two raiders looking at the hole from an overturned table, while the third was standing by the far right corner.

“Too Easy”.

I stepped into the center of the hole and slipped into S.A.T.S. Instantly the three raiders’ movements slowed to a stop, and I took aim at each. Like always I selected the heads, ended the sequence, and opened fire.

The heads of the two ponies behind the table exploded in a wave of crimson blood and broken skull. Two red dots disappeared from my E.F.S., and I waited for the third to do the same.

But the bullet only grazed the side of his face before striking the corner. The raider turned in my direction; his bloodshot eyes staring right at me. The revolver in his mouth clicked, and he snarled loudly.

“You missed,” he said through a mouth full of gun.

He raised the gun up and fired two shots right at me. My servos sprang to life and I dived to my left. Unfortunately my speed was decreased thanks to the pegasus. One bullet pierced my mid-region. Warnings appeared in my vision once again as drops of oil slowly leaked out the hole.

I was so focused on the warnings and damages that I didn’t see the raider charge at me. He slammed into my side, forcing me down on the ground. I felt his hoof press against my face, keeping me pinned down.

“Time to die fucker,” he said as he pointed the gun at my head. “It’s payback ti…”

His words were cut off as the front of his face was blasted apart. Blood, meat, and bone covered my upper region; including my eyes. The lifeless body fell on top of me, smearing more blood over my body.

“Not if I have anything to say about it”.

I brought my hoof up to my eye and brushed the drying blood off it. When it was gone, I saw Cyborg standing behind the body. His gun spun in midair, and a smile plastered his face.

“You know,” I said as I levitated the body off me, “you could give a little warning before you do something like that”.

“And lose the element of surprise? No thanks. I think I’ll….”

Cyborg stopped talking; his ears perking up. He looked in different directions, like he was trying to get a better listen. I put myself back on my hooves and listened as well.

It sounded like muffled noises: like ponies moving through a crowd with their mouths shut. I hadn’t heard it during the struggle, but now it was more clear.

But one thing was for sure, it was close.

I moved through the hole into the other building and towards one of the broken windows. As I peered out onto the road below, I gasped in shock.

Three raiders were in the center of the road. One was hooked up to Eastwood’s cart, while the other two were forcing Sunny into the back. The other three ponies were already there: tied and gagged. Sunny as trying to fight back, kicking her legs in every direction they could go. The only reason I hadn’t heard her screaming was because of the gag in her mouth.

“Sunny,” I screamed as I took aim with Celestia’s Thunder.

The raiders stopped pushing Sunny and looked up at me. One of them, a unicorn, nodded to the other. He did the same, then turned around, reared his legs, and bucked Sunny hard in the back. The mare flew into the back, crashing into two crates.

I was still waiting for S.A.T.S. to recharge, so I had to aim as best I could. Cyborg ran past me and down the stairs, his gun getting cocked as he did. I aimed and fired two shots at the unicorn and earth pony. One embedded itself into the street, while the other shot through the spiked hair of the earth pony.

The earth pony hopped into the back of the cart, while the unicorn ignited his horn. One of the crates floated out of the cart and flew towards my window. My legs took over and hauled me to the left just as the crate smashed through the wall and landed behind me.

I got up from the floor and heard the sound of gunfire from below. I ran to the window and saw the earth pony firing at the floor below me. The unicorn hopped into the cart and screamed “let’s go”.

The pony hooked to the cart took off running, dragging the cart behind them. Cyborg ran out into the center of the street, firing as many shots as he could at the fleeing raiders.

“CYBORG STOP,” I yelled.

Cyborg stopped firing and looked up at me: confused. I stepped through the hole in the wall and jumped down to the sidewalk. (...What? I didn’t have any bones to break….)

“If you miss you could hit Sunny or the others”.

Cyborg snorted. “And we’re just supposed to let them go! They just took the rest of our group and our supplies! We can’t just let them get away!”

“We’re not,” I said as I holstered my gun, “we’re going to get them back. We just need a plan first”.

I looked over where Eastwood was lying: he hadn’t woken up or even moved during the whole fight.

“And besides, Eastwood needs our help now”.

Cyborg was silent for a second, but soon holstered his gun as well. “Fine. But we still don’t know where those raiders are going. How are we going to figure that out?”

That was a good question. We didn’t know if they were heading to a location along the road or out in the vast stretch of land around us. Not to mention the defenses they would likely have around the location.

But as I was thinking, I noticed something. The yellow dot on my screen was still present. That meant that the pegasus was still unconscious….and therefore still alive.

“Cyborg, I think I have and idea. A really, really stupid idea”.

Footnote:

LEVEL UP!

New Program Added: Hawk Eye - When in an unknown environment, gain +3 to Perception. +1 In bad weather.

Chapter 10: Revenge

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Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 10: Revenge

What happens when raiders get raided?

The light of the fire cast a warm glow over the room.

I sat on a bedroll I’d packed for the trip, slowly stoking the fire. To my right, lying on another bedroll, was Eastwood. He had some bandages wrapped around his head, and a blanket covered his body. His battle-saddle sat nearby.

After Cyborg and I had decided to formulate a plan before heading after the raiders, my first priority was making sure Eastwood was okay. Thankfully he was still breathing when I got to him. It looked like he’d just been knocked-out by the impact, so a healing potion, bandages, and some sleep was all he needed.

Cyborg was still upset that he couldn’t the raiders from taking the rest of the group. He spent the next few hours going through each building in town looking for supplies. Unfortunately he only found some old food and one medical-kit.

Eventually he threw the food and supplies in our pile and took a seat around the fire. He didn’t say anything; he just stared intently at the fire. And I had a feeling that he wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Frankly I wasn’t either; the last few hours had really gotten me down. We’d been bested by ponies wearing slapped-together armor and simple guns. Even with everything we had, they’d boxed us in and killed an innocent pony. Then they slipped in and kidnapped the others….and we couldn’t stop them.

I felt like a failure….because I was a failure.

Could I have done something? Yes, but at what cost. Sunny, the other former-slaves? Would I have been able to live with myself knowing I’d killed them?

But I guess, in a way, that might be true.

Still that didn’t mean we weren’t going to at least try and get them back. I owed it to them, and to Eastwood. The only thing we needed to know was where they were going. From what Eastwood had said, Raider County covered a large area. They could be anywhere from here to Tunnel 11.

Thankfully, we had a solution for that.

I looked up from the fire to the spot across from me. Sitting on a mat, leaning against the wall, was the pegasus we’d dealt with earlier. She was still unconscious, but that wasn’t good enough for me. So her legs and wings were bound with rope, and a hoof cuff connected her back leg to the floor. The wing-blade she’d been wearing sat next to me: the result of a whole hour of trying to remove it.

The thing was both a engineering marvel and a slapped-together mess. I found it surprising that the thing didn’t cause any damage to the user.

Having this pony around didn’t seem right: but she was our best chance of finding Sunny and the other three. She likely wouldn’t want to help us out in the slightest. However, that wasn’t an issue: I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

I stood up from my mat, “Cyborg, keep an eye on our guest. I’m going upstairs”.

“What for?”

I turned and headed for the stairway. “I want some time to think”.

Heading up the stairs, I headed for the remains of the crate that had almost took me out. It sat against the opposite wall; it’s cargo spilling out onto the floor. Items that I could identify were scrap metal, electronics, and even robotic parts. Basically: nothing we could use right now.

I was hoping it contained ammunition or medpacks, or something useful. But the parts I saw didn’t look like they’d work on me, so there wasn’t any other use for them.

As I got closer, I spotted something interesting.

A box with a missing lid sat under an assaultron leg. I levitated the leg off the box and looked inside. What I found were many metal-rods, each with two batteries, a gem, and wiring attached to it. At the end sat two prongs: like the ones on power cords or headphones.

I levitated one out and looked it over. It definitely wasn’t something I’d seen before the war. So it must have been built afterward….but what was it?

“Garcon, get down here! They’re walking up!”

That got my attention more than the strange device. Not wanting to waste time, I placed the device behind my ear and headed for the stairs.

When I reached the bottom, I found Cyborg sitting next to Eastwood, who was finally sitting upright. A Sparkle-Cola sat by his side: half-full, which meant he was drinking. His left hoof began to rub his bandaged head, but Cyborg put it back down.

I walked over and sat to Eastwood’s right. He turned towards me, still looking pretty tired.

“Good to see you’re awake,” I said with a grin, “we were getting worried”.

“....What happened?”

“Huh”.

Eastwood rubbed his eyes. “What happened after I passed out?” He looked around the room. “And where are Sunny and the others”.

Cyborg and Me looked at each other, both our faces conformed in worry. We hadn’t really thought about how’d he react to the news about Sunny and the others. Hell, I didn’t even know how’d he react to having the pony that knocked him out sitting across from him.

“I’m sorry Eastwood,” I lowered my head in sadness, “the raiders took them. We tried to stop them, but they had us pinned down and they moved so fast”.

The look in Eastwood’s face was almost hard to look at. For a moment there was shock, then worry….and in a second his eyes narrowed and his breaths became deep.

He stood up abruptly and reached for his battle saddle. Thankfully being a robot gave me a slight strength advantage, and I was able to push his hoof back.

“Let go,” he growled, “we have to go rescue them!”

“We are”. I put a hoof on his pack and pushed him back into a sitting position. “But we don’t know where they’ve been taken. And even if we did, we don’t know how well defended it is”.

“So what’s the plan?!”

I turned my head towards the unconscious raider.

“I knocked out that orang blur that killed Axe. She’s the only connection we have to the ones that took Sunny and the others. She’ll tell us where they are, and then we’ll rescue them”.

Eastwood did a half grunt half laugh. “You think she’ll just TELL you where they are. It’d probably be easier to get a hellhound to sing Winter Wrap Up”.

“Don’t worry, she’ll tell us whether she wants to or not”.

Eastwood didn’t seem to have the same confidence I did. However I was saved from trying to keep him onboard by him noticing the object tucked behind my ear.

“Where’d you get that?”

I levitated the metal object out between us. “I found a bunch of them in a box upstairs. It was in a container from your cart; it got thrown at me during the fight”.

Cyborg walked over and examined the object; his eyes widening slightly. “Eastwood, is that what I think it is?”

“What,” I asked.

“Garcon, that’s a Robot Repair Kit. One of the most useful tools a mechanic can have!”

“This,” I said, turning the object around. “Looks like a metal stick with some batteries attached to it”.

“It’s more than that,” said Eastwood. “They were created just a few months before the bombs dropped. They were supposed to revolutionize the way machines are maintained. However they soon found out that they only worked on robots. Not as revolutionary as they were hoping for, but still an amazing advancement in magical repair”.

“And something that most ponies would give an arm and an eye for,” said Cyborg.

“But if these are pre-war, then how come I never heard of them?”

“Simple; the bombs beat their reveal by two days. A few stores were given advanced shipments, but a majority of the supply was stored at the factory. Over the years a few scavengers were able to grab some, but they’ve only scratched the surface”.

“So how did you get a hold of some,” asked Cyborg.

“Let’s just say somepony owed me a lot of caps and found his supplies of repair kits to be a fair trade,” said Eastwood.

“So how do they work,” I asked.

Eastwood rose from the mattress and walked up to me. “You take the pronged end and plug it into the robot’s main power supply. The kit sends a surge of repair magic to the power core, which then sends it to all the robot’s systems”.

“That’s engenius,” said Cyborg. “I would love to see one of those in action”.

“Yeah,” I said to myself. Turning my head I looked down at the hole in my side and broken front legs I’d received during the fight. “Hey Eastwood, you wouldn’t mind if I used one of these would you?”

Eastwood waved a hoof. “Use as many as you want: I dare say you’ve earned it”.

Smiling, I used my magic to slowly pull apart the sewn opening in my chest. A few wires (both broken and functional) popped out the front. I quickly moved them aside, ready to plug into my power supply. But the moment I pulled the wires away, the three of us gasped in surprise.

I don’t know why they did it….but I did because I wasn’t looking at my normal power core.

Sitting in my chest cavity was a black circular object with ridges along the side. A red eye-like insignia was painted on the top. It was slotted into a circular hole; similar to the ones used by Spark Batteries. But this wasn’t a spark battery….and it wasn’t the sphere-like object that was my power core.

“Sweet Celestia, this day just keeps throwing out rare objects by the motherload,” said Cyborg.

“I’ll say; I’ve only seen one once before. Didn’t think I’d see another one,” said Eastwood.

Well it seemed that Cyborg and Eastwood knew what the buck this thing was. “So, guys, what is that thing?”

“You don’t know,” said Cyborg, looking rather shocked. “How can you have one and not know what it is?!”

“Because I didn’t know it was inside of me,” I retorted.

Although I did recall doing a systems check a while ago. And one of the diagnostics made was that there was a foreign object in my power supply….I’m surprised I was only looking at it now.

Eastwood moved closer, getting a better look at the object. “Yep, no two ways about it. It’s a Spark Core!”

“A what?” I asked.

“A Spark Core,” said Cyborg. “They’re long term, high grade batteries used by a few companies back before the war. The charge on them could last a lifetime”.

“Some ponies spend all their life looking for one of them. Plug one of those into a generator and you can power a small town for decades”. Eastwood looked up at me. “You seriously don’t have any idea how one became your new power source?”

For a second I had no idea….but soon I remembered Bolt. In fact, I remember him saying the moment I woke up “I didn’t think the core would hold up”. He must have replaced my power core with the spark core while he was repairing me.

“Uh, I guess you could say a friend gave it to me….as well as installed it”.

Eastwood took another closer look at the core. “Well, I must say that friend of yours sure did a good job. Even left the part you’re looking for”.

He pointed to a two-prong slot just above the spark core. He catched a bit of it with his hoof and pulled. The slot moved out of it’s casing, pulling a length of wire behind it.

“Wow,” I said as I watched him pull the slot forward. “I didn’t know it did that”.

Eastwood stopped pulling the slot once it reached the slit in my chest. “Let me see the kit”. I handed him the kit and he plugged it into the slot.

Instantly I felt a warm sensation rush through my system. It was like all my servos and gears were getting tickled. Even my programing felt good….so good that I didn’t want it to end. But I broke from the semi-trance and looked over my body. The two long gashes in my front legs started to warp: twisting the broken metal back together. The fake skin covering it glowed purple, and when the light faded there wasn’t even a line mark.

The slit in my chest started to close too, but Eastwood didn’t move the slot. Instead the skin wrapped around the slot, leaving it exposed. Once the final hole in my side was closed, Eastwood pulled the repair kit out. Instantly the warm sensation faded, and I was feeling like brand new.

“Wow,” said Cyborg, “that was incredible”.

Eastwood chucked the dead repair kit into the fire. “And now that the slot is exposed, it’ll be easier for you to use them in the future”.

I moved a hoof over the spot gently. “But it’s also a dead giveaway that I’m a robot”.

Eastwood took a seat on his matress, “might be for the better. Ponies are less likely to kill you if you’re forward with them. At least that’s what I’ve gathered”.

Maybe he was right; maybe it was time for a change of pace. After all, Eastwood hadn’t shot at me when I told him I was a robot. And Cyborg, who was half-robot, was still surprised when he found out what I was. I guess if ponies know what I am beforehand, they’ll be less likely to think I’m a synth.

“....hu….what….”

I was brought out of my thoughts by a familiar voice. Turning around, I saw the chained-up raider slowly stirring. Her eyes flickered slightly, but slowly they were opening. Instinctively I pulled out Celestia’s Thunder, making sure it was fully loaded. Cyborg levitated his pistol out and did the same, while Eastwood eyed his battle-saddle.

Slowly I approached the pegasus, not wanting to make any sudden moves. By now her eyes were open, and she was slowly looking around the room. She closed her eyes when she looked at the fire: likely having not adjusted to the light. She looked away and slowly opened them again. Now, she was looking at me.

Instantly her weary eyes shot open, and a loud snarling noise shot from her mouth. I saw the rope around her middle stretch: she was trying to flap her wings. When that didn’t work, she tried lunging forward: snapping her teeth. But she only managed to fall onto her stomach.

“YOU,” she snarled. “YOU’RE DEAD! I’LL SKIN YOU ALIVE, ROAST YOUR BODY OVER A FIRE AND EAT YOU FOR DINNER!”

Okay, I needed to take her down a peg….again.

“Shut up,” I said, bringing Celestia’s Thunder down on her head.

She paused for a moment, but she was soon struggling again. Taking note, I flipped my gun and pointed the barrel directly at her head. She looked up at the gun, then at me, and then back at the gun. Taking a gruff breath, she stopped moving; though her death glare remained the same.

“There’s a good raider,” I said, taking a seat in front of her. “Now I would love to get right to the point, but I think we can get to that periodically. How about some introductions? Do you have a name?”

The raider snarled. “No, I’m the one pony in Equestria who doesn’t have a fucking name!”

I pushed celestia’s thunder closer to her forehead. She took one look at it and snarled.

“Sabre”.

“Well hello Sabre, must say I’ve never heard a name like it. Very foreign sounding”.

“Just get on with this: you’re making me angry!”

I could see that from the look on her face, yet that wasn’t anything new. But at least I didn’t have to act too nice anymore. She wanted to get this over with, and so did I.

“Alright then, let me explain the situation. A couple of your friends took a couple of ours, and we need to find out where they went. So here’s what’s going to go down: you’re going to take us there”.

Sabre’s snarling face curled into a sneering smile. “Like I’d take you to our hideout. You think you can save those ponies? There either dead or being fucked until they die. Just give up now; you’re not going to rescue them”.

Eastwood rose up and walked over to Sabre. He placed a hoof on Celestia’s Thunder and pushed it right up against her forehead.

“Listen here bitch; I want to kill you so badly. You already killed Axe, and your friends took the ponies I swore to protect. The only reason you’re not a pile of dead meat on the ground is because Garcon thinks you’re worth something”.

He pressed Celestia’s Thunder even harder into her face; her eyes wincing slightly. I thought about pulling the gun back….but for some reason I didn’t feel like it.

“So the moment you become worthless, I’m taking my guns and shooting you till I run out of bullets. If you want to avoid that, Tell Us Where Your Fucking Base Is,” said Eastwood, enunciating the last few words.

Eastwood backed off and I pulled Celestia’s Thunder back; still keeping it aimed at Sabre’s head. The raider eyed Eastwood and Myself, with occasional glances to Cyborg and Eastwood’s battle saddle. I could tell she was debating the pros and cons of helping us.

“I stay alive if I tell you where the base is….right?”

“No,” I retorted, “you’ll TAKE us to the base. And you’ll help us find/rescue the others. THEN you get to live”.

Sabre snorted in anger. “Fine, I’ll take you there. But when you get caught, you’ll see how stupid you were”.

I levitated Celestia’s Thunder back into my holster. “Whatever you say Sabre. Now get some rest, he head out first thing in the morning”.

***

The next day, the four of us were walking down the road away from the town.

Eastwood took up the rear, covering our backs. His injuries had healed enough that he could fire his guns. But I wasn’t ready to have him in a fight just yet, so I kept him at the back.

Cyborg and Myself were in front, making sure the road ahead was clear. Between the two of us was Sabre; her hoof was cuffed to my own and her wings tied down. Her blade mechanism sat on my back, just out of her reach.

We’d gathered all the supplies we could from the crate and the town, but there was barely enough to go around. Hopefully wherever the raiders were had supplies to loot.

Sabre had said that the location wasn’t far from the town: just about an hour walk. We’d already been walking for fifty minutes, so we were nearing the spot. But while we walked, I saw that we were slowly moving out of the large open area from before. Dead trees with barely any branches covered the land around us, with the road being the one pathway forward.

“Wow….was this once a forest,” I said in wonder.

“Probably,” said Cyborg. “Course now it’s just dead wood sticking out of the ground”.

“Call it what you want,” said Sabre. “It’s what’s hiding the pathway to our settlement”. She pointed to blackened tree further along. “That’s the marker, turn right there”.

We turned right at the tree and found ourselves on a small paved road. It was almost completely obliterated, with only small patches of asphalt remaining. I checked my map, but I didn’t see a road.

I was ready to shut the program down when I got a notification. Selecting it, it brought up a circular screen reading “radiation”. The dial was slowly moving upward towards the yellow section.

“Uh, my programing says there’s radiation around here”.

“Of course,” said Sabre. “It’s a filter for anypony who would come down this way. They feel the radiation, think it’s unsafe, and hightail it out of here”.

“So there isn’t any in the actual encampment,” asked Cyborg.

“No,” retorted Sabre, “we’re not stupid enough to live in a radiation filled environment”.

We continued walking for a while, but soon we found ourselves approaching a large mountain-like area. The path continued forward, slicing through the rock. The entrance was flanked on both sides by large pylons….which were covered with dead ponies. Some were decapitated, others looked relatively new.

I heard Cyborg and Eastwood swallow; likely keeping the contents of their stomach down. Sabre smiled slightly; like she was a pony returning home after a long trip. I felt wrong looking at the scene, but thankfully I didn’t have a stomach.

“Almost there,” said Sabre.

We passed through the opening, trying not to stare at the bodies. I felt a liquid on my hooves, but I didn’t want to look and see what it was. The pathway ahead was clear, but soon we saw an overturned cart up ahead.

“Stop up ahead, the entrance is just behind the cart”.

The four of us piled behind the overturned cart, keeping our heads down. Sabre looked up and over the side, scanning the area ahead. I motioned to the others and did the same, with the other two following suit.

Further ahead was large iron gate, cobbled together from junk and wood. A single raider stood at the top, a shotgun strapped to his back. From this angle, I could also see at least three buildings behind it.

“Geez, how big is this place?”

“Big enough,” said Sabre. “Anyway, if you want to get in you’ll have to get past Stroke”. She sat down and leaned against the cart, “so good luck with that”.

Oh no, that wasn’t how things were going to go down. I yanked my cuffed hoof hard, sending Sabre flat onto her stomach.

“I don’t think so: the deal was you help us get them out. And you’re going to do just that”.

Sabre growled. “How? Stroke just won’t let a random pony walk into the compound”.

“Maybe not,” said Cyborg. “But he’d let you in, right?”

Sabre’s face of anger quickly changed into one of worry. “Well yeah, I’m one of them”.

Cyborg turned to me, “Garcon, I have a plan”.

“What?”

Cyborg covered the rope around Sabre’s wings in magic, and instantly they unraveled and fell to the ground. Sabre, noticing her wings were free, stretched them out and flapped them (not enough to get her off the ground).

“Oh fuck yeah,” she said happily, “that feels good”.

Eastwood looked at Cyborg questionably. “Why in the hell would you untie her?”

“Because she’s our ticket to a sneaky entrance,” explained Cyborg. “If we keep Garcon and Sabre cuffed, we can make….Stroke….think that Garcon’s a prisoner. Once he’s close enough, we can take him out”.

“Ha, you idiots really think Stroke will fall for that. And what’s to stop me from just telling him I’m being held captive?”

“I have the answer to that,” said Eastwood.

He reach into his saddle-bag and pulled out a landmine he’d scavenged from the town. A panel was open at the bottom, and Eastwood began rewiring the component. After a few seconds, the closed the panel, walked up to Sabre, and stuck the mine behind her metal chestpiece.

“I’ve riged the landmine so that an impact to the top will blow out the bottom. Garcon just had to slam the armor and the explosion will rip Sabre’s chest apart”.

Sabre’s wings flapped like crazy, almost thrusting her into the air. It was only my heavy weight and robotic strength that she didn’t rise above the cart. With a good tug I managed to get her back on the ground.

“ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS! What if I trip and fall, or if somepony catches wind and shoots me?!”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I said with a grin.

I levitated Celestia’s Thunder out of it’s holster and slid it into my jacket, making sure it couldn’t be seen. Cyborg reached into his bags and pulled out a small switchblade, handing it to me.

“Use that to take out the raider; we don’t want a gunshot to give us away”.

I took the switchblade and hid it in my coat sleeve, ready to pull it out and attack when I got close enough. Hopefully I could get him on my first go; I didn’t want him to get the chance to alert the others.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said with confidence.

Me and Sabre walked around the cart and towards the gate. I let her take the lead, making it look more like she was leading me. Her angered face and reformed into a somewhat calmer expression (though her eyes were still narrowed).

As we approached the gate, the raider finally noticed us. He grabbed the shotgun on his back and pointed it at us. Sabre stopped, giving me little time to hit the brakes. From this close I could see he was wearing spiked metal armor and a gas mask, all of which was covered in lawers of rust and dirt.

“Big mistake coming down here fu….wait….Sabre? That you?”

“Of course it’s me dumbass, who else would it be?”

“Sorry,” said the raider, re-slinging his gun. “They told me you died on the last ambush. Dart’s already started drinking your beer stash”. He turned towards me, “and who the hell is that?”

Sabre growled angrily. “Dart’s dead when I get my hooves on him. And to answer your question I was knocked out Stroke, it happens. As for who this fucker is,” Sabre yanked on the cuff, “he’s the one who knocked me out. Figured he make a good addition to the slave pen”.

Okay, so far so good. Now we just needed to get him down here. I just hoped that Sabre could keep up the act.

“So are you going to let me in or not? I’m really in the mood for a cold one”.

The raider paused for a moment. “I don’t know, this whole thing doesn’t seem right. I mean where’s your blades; you never go anywhere without them. And that pony looks a little too well-dressed to be a prisoner”.

Shit, he was onto us. Sabre had to turn this around fast or we’d both be dead. But I think she had the same idea; she rolled her eyes in an annoyed manner.

“Then why don’t you come down here and take him off my hooves. I just want to get inside, get a beer, and kill Dart”.

The raider slowly shook his head. “Fine, just give me a minute”.

The stallion disappeared from sight for a few seconds before one side of the gate slowly opened. Stroke passed through the opening and walked towards us, stopping in front of Sabre and holding a hoof out.

“Alright, uncuff yourself and I’ll take him to the pen”.

Shit. I was the one with the key, not Sabre. This were going to get bad if something didn’t happen. But Stroke was close enough now: it was time to act. I levitated the switchblade out of my sleeve and slipped into S.A.T.S. Selecting his exposed neck, I planted a long cut just above his main blood vessel.

Stroke barely let out a gurgle as blood poured from the open wound. His front knees gave out and soon the rest of his body did the same. In less than a minute he was dead on the pavement in a puddle of his own blood.

Sabre frowned. “Awe, I was hoping for something cooler. Couldn’t you have at least cut his dick off: I could have used it”.

“Not thinking about it, not thinking about it,” I thought to myself.

Eastwood and Cyborg ran up to us, both grining when they saw Stroke’s body.

“Good job Garcon; quick and easy,” said Cyborg.

“So how are we proceeding,” asked Eastwood. “Are we sneaking in or going in guns blazing?”

“If we wanted guns blazing we’d had just shot Stroke where he stood,” I said as I looked over the body. “But we can’t just sneak in; somepony might notice us. So, I have another plan”.

“Why do I have a feeling it’s a bad one,” said Sabre and Cyborg.

I worked Stroke’s gas mask off his face and strapped it to mine. “I’ll put on Stroke’s outfit and pretend to be him. Once I’m inside I’ll find the cages, rescue Sunny and the others, and get out before anyone notices anything”.

“Actually, that’s not that bad of an idea,” said Eastwood. He reloaded his saddle and took aim at Sabre, who jerked back in shock. “Now we don’t need this bitch anymore”.

“Woah,” I said, stepping in between the two. “We still need her; having somepony the other recognize will keep them from getting suspicious”.

“Yeah,” said Sabre, “what he said”.

Eastwood groand, lowering his guns. “Fine. But don’t take too long in there; I don’t like the idea of you being in there alone with raiders”.

Nodding in agreement, I got to work on stripping off Stroke’s armor and placing it on myself. I gave my battle-jacket to Cyborg, not wanting it to give me away. I also scrubbed some dirt and water over me to make me seem more raider-ish.

“Well you definitely look like a raider now,” said Cyborg.

“Well I’m just glad robots don’t have a sense of smell. This thing looks like it hasn’t been washed in years”.

Sabre groaned. “Can we just get this over with: I want you fuckers out of my mane as soon as possible!”

“Fine,” I said as I levitated out a key and unlocked the cuffs. “Just remember we still have that landmine on you. Don’t try anything funny”.

“Whatever,” said Sabre before heading towards the gate.

“Good luck Garcon,” said Eastwood.

“Yeah,” I replied before following Sabre, “I think I’m going to need it”.

***

Sabre and Me passed through the gate to the raider compound. I did a quick scan of the area to see where everything was. A large open area filled with broken crates and furniture sat before us. Behind it were some boxcars that were still barely attached to the rusted rails beneath them. Ramps lead up to the openings and down back. At the back were three intact two story buildings with pathways connecting them.

What really surprised me were the sheer numbers of raiders in the compound. At least ten sat in the open area, with four more occupying the two open boxcars. I could only guess that there were more in the buildings at the back. Most of them were sitting around: twirling their weapons, drinking, or sleeping.

“I don’t see the slave pens,” I told Sabre.

“It’s back by the main buildings; we need to pass through the camp to get to them,” she replied.

Oh that was just great: how were we supposed to get four ponies across this raider filled nightmare without getting spotted. Even if these raiders were stoned to the max, even they would notice something was off. I’d have to work through this as we went; hopefully it worked out….oh Celestia I hoped it would work out.

We began walking towards the boxcars; keeping our eyes off the raiders around us. Some of them gave small glances our direction, but none said anything. I tried my best to act casual, but I just couldn’t help avoid pools of blood and….what I just kept telling myself was lemonade.

Eventually we made it through the area and up to the boxcars. But when we reached the ramps, one of the raiders walked in front of us. It was a unicorn mare whose eyes were slightly bloodshot and whose body shivered occasionally.

“Sabre, you’re alive! Edge said you’d died on the last raid; how’d you survive”?

“Not in the mood to talk right now. I’m just passing through”.

The raider’s neutral face turned quickly into one of anger. She looked over at me, raising an eyebrow questionably.

“Stroke? I thought you were on guard duty at the gate”. Her eyes scanned me, pausing at my backside. “And didn’t you have a skull as your cutie mark?”

Shit. I glanced down at the image of a teapot on my rump. I’d failed to cover it before coming in here. And now somepony had noticed it. If this went any further I was going to get caught, I had to do something.

Thankfully Sabre beat me to the punch.

“Butcher, are you high on dash again?”

The raider’s moved back in surprise. “Uh….no….at least not recently”.

“How long back?”

“....four hours”.

“Well then it’s clearly still affecting you, because I see a skull clear as day”.

The raider’s eyes narrowed as she looked closer at my flank. She rubbed her eyes as he pulled back.

“Huh, I guess it does look similar to a skull….maybe I shouldn’t have had that fourth dose”.

“That’s right,” said Sabre. She pushed the raider aside, and motioned me to follow. “Try taking a nap or something: that should help the effects wear off”.

The two of us passed through the boxcar (which was just filled with more crates) and out to the other side. The buildings were a lot bigger up close, yet it also made them look even more rusted and close to failing. I guess they were just the right places for raiders.

“Come on, the pens are over here”.

Sabre lead me to a pathway between the middle and right buildings. A few old posters hung from the wall, which was a welcome change from dead bodies. When we reached the other side, we found ourselves standing before a large gated area. I counted at least six ponies sitting behind the gate; dressed in rags and looking miserable. But something seemed off….but I couldn’t tell from here.

A unicorn stallion in typical raider armor sat by the gate listening to a radio. What sounded like a bunch of noises was playing over it: maybe I just wasn’t in sync with modern music. Sabre walked towards the stallion, only getting his attention when she was right in front of him.

“Sabre, you’re alive. I thought….”

“You thought I was killed on the last raid. You’re the third pony to tell me that today,” she angrily interrupted.

“Well what are you doing back here? Butcher will want to know you’re alive, and know how you got back here”.

“I’ll deal with Butcher in a minute”. Sabre walked forward and looked into the pen. “But first I need to check something out. Stroke, come here”.

Knowing she was talking to me, I walked forward and stood next to her. She leaned over and whispered, “which ones are your friends”.

I peered into the pen, scanning every pony inside. Each one looked starved, scared, and even sick. I wanted to help them, but I had to focus on the mission. But after looking over the ponies a few times, I realized what that “wrong” feeling I had was.

“There not here,” I whispered, “none of these ponies are them”.

Sabre cursed under her breath. “Alright, let me try and figure this out”.

She turned back to the gatekeeper. “Knuckles, where are the slaves that were brought in from my raid?”

Knuckles looked at Sabre questionably; rising from his spot and staring intently at her. I had the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“What do you want them for?”

“That’s my business,” she retorted. “Now do you know where they are or not?”

The two of them stared at each other intently; both trying to break the other. I kept silent; wanting to stay out of the confrontation. I didn’t want to blow our cover.

Eventually Knuckles grunted and eased off Sabre. He turned around and pointed at the center building behind us.

“There in there”.

Sabre nugged me and began walking towards the building. I followed close behind her. But I took a look back at Knuckles. He wasn’t snarling anymore….he was grinning. I didn’t like the look of him; he clearly knew something. But I just turned away and followed Sabre back down the alleyway. We made our way to the front door, but Sabre stopped me there.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Knuckles, but it’s not good that your friends are in here”.

“Why,” I asked.

“This is the butcher-site. Remember all those corpses down the road; this is where they came from. Anypony not a raider that goes in here is likely dead. And I don’t think your friends are going to be the exception”.

Oh Celestia….this couldn’t be true. I mean three of them were former slaves: raiders could use them. And Sunny….well….she was a young mare. I wouldn’t want anything like this to happen to them, but it at least gave the raiders a reason to keep them around.

“I’m keeping my hopes up,” I said confidnelty. “I’m heading in there to find them”.

Sabre groaned again. “Celestia you ponies are annoying: worrying about friends. Just don’t go crying when you see you’re wrong”.

She turned and pushed the door open, ushering me inside. I walked through the door and into the large raider building. Sabre followed behind me, shutting the door once she was inside.

What I found inside made me glad I didn’t have a stomach, because if I did I was sure I would be releasing the contents onto the floor.

The inside of the building was a large courtyard-like area. Me and Sabre were standing on a metal pathway that floated slightly above the floor and wrapped around the room. Stairways lead to other floors, all of which sat beneath a large metal surveyor station at the top.

But that wasn’t the issue; it was the piles of pony pieces that filled the center of the room. Bloody limbs and other bits were stacked in piles on the floor, which was covered in a sea of crimson liquid. A few raiders walked around the piles, picking out different objects floating in the blood or attached to a body part.

“Oh sweet Celestia,” I said, trying my best to keep my focus. “This….this is sick”.

“No, this is just our way of life”.

Wait….I knew that voice. Turning around, I saw Knuckles standing behind me. A revolver pistol floated in front of him, pointed right at my face. A second later all the yellow dots on my E.F.S. turned red, and two of them moved past my field of vision.

“Did you really think you could just sneak in here and not be noticed? You may have been able to fool the druggies out front, but I know eveypony here. And you sure as hell aren’t Stroke”.

Sabre grinned. “I knew you’d figure it out Knuckles. This fucker was keeping me held….”

Knuckles pointed the gun an Sabre, instantly shutting her up. “I always figured you’d turn against us Sabre. I just thought you’d kill Butcher and take his place”.

Sabre’s armor moved slightly, and soon the landmine floated out the top. “Suicide bombing, not something I’d thought you’d go with. But that doesn’t matter”.

Knuckles tossed the landmine into one of the piles. A small explosion blasted bodyparts and blood all over us. I wanted to wipe it off, but I felt a gun barrel being pushed into my back. The sound of approaching hooves let me know that we were likely surrounded.

“Take their weapons and bring them upstairs, Butcher wants to talk to them face to face”.

***

The three raiders ushered Sabre and myself up the stairways. They’d taken Celestia’s Thunder and my switchblade, so I had no way to take them out.

We continued to climb the stairs until we reached the top floor. It was just a hallway bend that lead to a mechanical door. Knuckles unlocked the door and ushered us into the room beyond.

I could tell from the metal walls that this was the surveyor station. But you could hardly see the walls since they were covered in old posters. The floor was covered with dried blood streaks stretching from the door to all corners of the room. A ruined couch and a table filled with chems sat to the left of the door. To the right was a small bed that looked like it had been rolled through the dirt and covered with grease.

At the other end of the room were two sepearte rooms made from rotten wood. One had a cell door, while the other had nothing. In between them was a large chair decorated with pony skulls and strips of flesh. Before it was a large window that looked out to the room beyond. A pony sat in the chair, not seeming to notice the five of us walking into the room.

Two raiders marched us forward while Knuckles walked up to the pony in the chair. He spoke something into his ear, then stepped back to us. The pony in the chair stepped down and walked back to face us.

The pony was a earth pony stallion with a short red mane and a grey pelt. He wore a leather coat with rags, chains, and metal plates with pieces of rebar welded onto them. From the look alone I could definetly see him as a raider boss.

“So these are the ones that took out some of my best ponies,” said the raider. “Never thought you’d be one of them Sabre. And after everything we’ve done for you”.

“Butcher, you can’t really think I’d betray you! I was forced into this: threatened with an explosive DEATH if I didn’t”.

Butcher slowly shook his head. “But a good raider would have just died like the dog they were. Self preservation is basic instinct….but we taught you better”.

“I’d like to see what you would have done in the same situation,” she retorted.

“You’re words are meaningless Sabre. The Overboss has been informed of your treatchery, and he is even more disapointed than I am. It can be safetly assumed that your reputation amongst raiders has been officially destroyed”.

Sabre didn’t say anything after that: she just looked forward in shock. Butcher turned and looked down at me, giving me a look of upmost disgust.

“I can only guess you’re the one who organized all this. I’ll give you credit; you got farther than I thought you would. But nopony fools my goons and gets away with it”.

This operation had gone to shit faster than I could have ever thought. I would have felt better if I had at least seen Sunny and the others. But we still had no idea where they were, or if they were even here. I just had to hope that Cyborg and Ea….

My thoughts were interupted by the sound of the door opening again. I looked back and witnessed something that filled my powercore with dread.

Three more raiders were forcing Cyborg and Eastwood up to where Sabre and Me sat. Cyborg’s left leg had a deep cut halfway down, and was shooting sparks across the floor. Eastwood had lost his battle-saddle, but what was most noticable was the black eye. His face was scrunched in anger, and he was struggling the hardest against the three. The raiders placed them down next to Sabre and Myself.

“We found these two near the gates, figured they might be part of there group,” said one of the raiders.

Butcher grinned. “This is your backup? I can’t imagine anything more pathetic”.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP RAIDER,” screamed Eastwood. “WHERE ARE SUNNY AND THE OTHERS!”

“Oh, you must be talking about the ones we picked up during our last raid. Well I can make this easy for you”. He walked to the window and pointed down to the floor below. “You’ll find the three stallions scattered about the piles below”.

Oh my Alicorn….they were dead. I’d just walked past their dismembered bodies and didn’t know it. But I was more concerned with Eastwood. He’d gone from furious to dead silent in the matter of miliseconds. He looked like all the color was about to drain from his body.

“Oh don’t look so down,” said Butcher. “I have a surprise for you”.

He went to the left side room, pulled out a key, and unlocked the cell door. Disapearing for a few seconds, he came out a moment later….with Sunny. She looked exhausted, and tear marks flowed down from her eyes. But what worried me the most was that her back legs were shaking like crazy.

Sunny’s eyes widened when she saw us sitting before her. “Eastwood….Garcon….Cyborg….you came”.

“Yes they did bitch,” said Butcher. “Just like you said they would”.

Wait….did they know! Did they know from the beginning that we’d come and try and get Sunny and the others back. It’s the only way I coud reason they would be curious about our interest in the slaves.

“What Did You FUCKERS Do To Her,” sneared Eastwood.

“I spared her life,” said Butcher. “I was in need of a new toy, and she was just what I was looking for: a younger model”.

It was then that I knew why Sunny’s back legs were shaking. She’d been used as a sex slave; likely over and over again. I could only imagine how horrible it must have been for her: being violated over and over again.

Eastwood snarled angrily and made a jump at Butcher. Knuckles interviened and pushed his face down to the floor. Anothoer raider held the rest of him down.

“YOU’RE DEAD,” yelled Eastwood. “I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES!!!”

Butcher smiled and let out a small laugh as he walked over to Eastwood. He leaned his head down until it was just slightly above Eastwood’s.

“Oh I can tell this one’s a fighter. Normally I could use ponies like that in my little operation. Unfortunetly, you seem pretty intent on killing me. And, well, I just can’t let that happen”.

He reached into his armor and pulled out a large .45 caliber pistol. Checking the amunition and mouth grip, he pointed the barrel right at Eastwood’s head. His eyes glanced over to look at Cyborg, Sabre, and Myself.

“Remember this you three: this is what happens when you….”

BOOM!

The sound of an explosion rocked through the building, quickly followed by the shockwave. Dust and other substances rained from the ceiling, and the metal reverberation continued long after the shockwave had passed.

Sunny was forced to the ground thanks to her shaking back legs. Our captors wobbled around from the shock, but quickly regained their footing. My ears caught the sound of magic-beam pistol/rifle gunfire coming from outside, along with the sound of ponies screaming and running. Butcher holstered his gun and ran to one of the open windows.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Explosion in the yard,” shouted somepony. “There’s robot ponies all over the compond. They’re shooting everything that moves!”

For a second I didn’t know what he was talking about. But then I remembered that there was only one kind of robot pony that I’d seen besides me: SYNTHS. And unlike back in Trotsville, it sounded like they’d brought a small army. But at the same time I was asking myself one question: what were they doing here? Did they come all this way for Cyborg? And even if that was the case how would they know he was here.

“TSIM, fuck,” said Butcher. “They’ll tear this place apart. We gotta take care of them”. He turned and headed for the door. “Knuckles, you come with me. The rest of you keep an eye on our prisoners”.

Knuckles followed Butcher out the door, leaving the three of us with the remaining five raiders. I glanced over at Cyborg, who was looking a lot more nervous than he did a few minutes ago. If TSIM was here for him, then they’d find him. They’d almost blasted Trotsville off the map, even with trained ponies. These raiders wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

If we wanted to get out of this alive, we’d have to leave while the synths were busy with the raiders. We just had to figure out a way of taking the ones guarding us down. They’d confiscated our weapons, but I could see them over by the door. A destraction wouldn’t cut it: we needed to kill them to get our supplies.

I scanned the room, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. There were a few broken items, but none of them seemed like they could cause any major harm. Being as descrite as I could, I checked myself for any weapons that Stroke might have had on his armor before I took it. But it was then that I noticed the spikes on the kneepads: sharp to the point and there was a lot of them.

Turning my head to block their view, I ignited my horn and unclipped the kneepad and floated it to my side. Cyborg saw my ignited horn and snuck a glance at me. I motioned down to the kneepad, and he replied with a nod.

Eastwood had risen up into a sitting position, while Sabre still sat in silence. Cyborg leaned over slightly and whispered something in her ear. Her sad face quickly reformed into a smirk, and she whispered something else in Eastwood’s ear. I just hoped they knew what I was about to do.

“Hey,” said one of the raiders, “what the fuck are you whispering about?”

The five raiders turned their attention to Sabre and Eastwood. Now was my chance. I grabbed the kneepad and swung myself around, bringing it with me. The kneepad impailed the raider behind me right in the neck, shooting blood all over himself and the floor. I pulled the kneepad out while the raider slumped to the floor.

Before I’d even taken the pad out, Sabre had srung into action. She tackled the two mares behind her, sending them straight to the ground. Cybrog and Eastwood gave their guards a swift buck to the face, shooting them backward. Cyborg jumped ontop of one and struggled to pin him to the ground. Eastwood did the same, but instead started repeatedly punching the stallion’s face.

I turned and ran towards our supplies, grabbing the fist pistol I saw. It was a small 10mm, but it would have to do. I turned around and saw Sabre being held in a choke-hold by one of the raiders. Another was quickly advancing with a sharp knife, angling it to slice at her exposed neck.

With quick thinking I slipped into S.A.T.S. and fired a shot at the mare’s head. The bullet passed clear through the back of her head before exploding out the front. She slumped to the floor, the knife clattering after her. Sabre, seeing I was armed, steadied her legs and swung the raider holding her around. Not needing S.A.T.S., I took aim and sent two rounds into her back.

The raider slumped to the foor, her blood pooling around her. Sabre shook off the clumps that had stuck to her, flining more blood onto the walls. Just as she finished the gun was ripped from my magic by Cyborg’s. He took aim at the pinned raider’s head and blasted it apart with four center shots.

Eastwood was still pumbling the last raider’s face, which was now distorted and covered in blood. With one final blow I heard the sound of bone breaking, and the raider’s face sunk deeping into his skull. Painting and sweating, Eastwood moved away from the body and over to Sunny, who hadn’t moved an inch during the fight.

“Sunny,” said Eastwood, bringing the mare into a strong embrace.

“Eastwood….thank you….” Sunny wrapped her legs around the stallion, letting a small smile spread on her face. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, but I figured they were ones of joy.

Sabre rolled her eyes at the scene and turned to face me. “So what are we going to do now?”

Cyborg spoke up. “We need to get out of here fast. Those synths won’t be long, and I’m guessing theres too many for the four of us to handle”.

Eastwood broke the embrace and turned towards me; his face slightly warped with anger. “I agree, but I’m not going anywhere with her,” he said, pointing at Sabre. “It’s because of her that we’re in this mess, and she killed Axe and knocked me out!”

“Oh, I’m sorry buck,” said Sabre sarcastically. “Are you upset that you got beat up by a mare?”

Eastwood looked like he was ready to pounce the mare, so I quickly stepped inbetween the two of them. I didn’t need any more unnecessary fighting that could lead to us getting killed.

“Enough, we need to work together to get out of this mess. Once we’re as far away from here as possible, then we can deal with any issues we have”.

“Garcon’s right,” said Cyborg. “We need to make it to the gate without getting blasted to ash”.

“No, they’ll already have the main exit blocked,” said Sabre. “But I know of another way out of the compound. None of the other raiders know about it, so we should be able to get through no problem”.

“If it means less of a chance of us getting desintigrated, I’ll take it,” replied Cyborg.

“How can we trust her: she’s a raider. She’ll probably just bail the moment we walk out the door, and let the synths kill us,” retorted Eastwood.

This was getting us nowhere, and I had a feeling the synths were getting closser and closser to the building. I needed to end this argument now.

“Eastwood, I know you don’t trust Sabre. But believe it or no, I do. We need to leave now if we want to survive, so put your anger on hold and gear up!”

Eastwood looked taken back for a moment. I didn’t want to yell, but he was being unreasonable….even if he was also being caustious. He was silent for a few seconds, but eventually he gave a nod of approval.

“Good,” I said before trotting to our supplies. I grabbed Sabre’s wing-blades and threw them to her. She caught them in her hooves, a grin spreading on her face.

“Gear up; we’re getting out of this hellhole”.

***

Cyborg and Me took up positions at the door leading to the yard. Sabre stood next to me, her wing-blades securly fassoned in place. Eastwood stood next to Cyborg, his battle saddle locked and loaded. Sunny was lying on his back, her legs still not strong enough to support her full weight. Thankfully Eastwood was a strong earth pony, so her weight didn’t affect him that much.

“Okay, everyone be ready,” I said to the others.

With a nodding reply from everypony, I opened the door slightly and peered outside. Even from here I could tell it was complete anarchy. Raiders were running like crazy, shooting towards the boxcars and yard. I could spot a few synths in the doorways, taking quick shots at the raiders. Dead raiders and piles of ash littered the area between them, along with an assortment of disposed weapons.

“Okay, so where’s the other way out,” I asked.

“It’s throught he last boxcar on the right,” said Sabre. “If we run we should be able to make it without getting spotted”.

If we could get through this without being spotted, I’d consider that a complete success. But I had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t going to play out like that. Something would probably go wrong, and we’d have to resort to violence. But still, it was worth a shot.

“Okay then. Eastwood, you keep running even if you hear them shooting at us. Get Sunny to the exit; me and Cyborg will cover you”.

“Right”.

I looked out the door again, making sure the run to the boxcar was clear. “Okay, let’s move”.

Throwing the door open, I sprinted out of the building with the others close behind. I levitated Celestia’s Thunder out of my battle coat, making sure it was loaded. Eastwood ran beside me with Sunny clinging to his back to stay on. Cyborg was directly behind me, while Sabre had taken to the air and was flying above us.

But we had barely made it halfway when there was a flash of light and four synths appeared to the front-left of us. Unlike the Gen 1’s that were firing at the raiders, these were Gen 2’s. They locked on us and started firing.

Planting my feet firmly on the ground, I slipped into S.A.T.S. and targeted the heads of the two closest synths. I recalled from my last encounter with them that the skin on the Gen 2’s were very tuff and hard to pierce. But now I had Celestia’s Thunder with me, so I didn’t know what would happen.

Two bullets shot out the barrel and imparct the synths. The first one exploded in a wave of sprockets and wires, sending the synth downward. The second one impacted the second synth’s left leg, blowing it apart. But despite that, it still managed to keep ballance and continue firing.

Eastwood continued running towards the boxcar as ordered. Cyborg had jumped behind some nearby metal barrels for cover, and was firing rapidly at the synths. Bullets impacted the skin but only left small scratches. I ran towards the barrels as I waited for S.A.T.S. to recharge. Just as I was slipping behind the cover, I felt a beam impact my back leg.

I did a quick check and found that I’d only been singed by the impact. But I had a feeling that one more hit there could heavily damage it. Cyborg fire more shots before ducking down to reload.

“I can’t penetrate their outer skin. How much longer till you can fire at them again?”

“Right now, but I wouldn’t be that accurate,” I said as I peeked around the barrels. The synths were slowly approaching, but they’d stopped firing for now. “Where’s Sabre”?

“I don’t know; she disapeared after the synths started firing”. He reloaded his pistol, peeked over the top, and started firing. “Guess Eastwood was right: she ditched us the moment things got bad”.

I didn’t want to believe that: something was different about her now. She didn’t seem like the exact same pony I’d meet yesterday. But a pony really couldn’t change that much in just one day….which would mean she probably didn’t change her battle tactics.

As soon as this hit me, I scanned the skys around us. And thanks to my robotic eyesight, I soon found a small orange object zooming in from the left.

Sabre shot down from the sky until she was just inches from the ground. Dust clouded around her as she approached the synths. They didn’t even have time to react before she shot past them, turned in a half-circle, and landed behind Cyborg and me.

The synths didn’t move for a moment, but then their heads rolled forward and off their necks. The bodies stood rigid, but the decapted robots had stopped firing.

“You’re welcome,” said Sabre with a grin.

“But….how did….how could you slice through their necks but not my legs,” I asked, a little shocked from what I’d witnessed.

“You’re asking that NOW,” said Cyborg.

Sabre waved him off. “I don’t know what your legs are made of, but these blades have been made to cut through bassically anything. And that includes what TSIM claims to be ‘top of the line’ robots”.

I should have been impressed by this….but it just made me wonder why I wasn’t “cutable”. Still, at least the synths were out for the count.

“Let’s go,” I said as I holstered Celestia’s Thunder. “Eastwood’s already at the boxcar, and I the Gen 1’s are wittling down the raiders”.

With a nod reply from both of them, the three of us sprinted to the boxcar. It was half-way through the opening of a small railroad tunnel. As we approached I saw that the entrance was actually filled with rubble.

We ran up the ramp throught the open door and found Eastwood standing at the back of the car. Behind him were a few crates that had been pushed aside, revealing a small doorway.

“Everyone through the door; it’ll lead to the next boxcar,” said Sabre.

“But I saw rubble blocking the tunnel entrance. How are we supposed to get through,” I asked.

“Oh that’s just for show”. Sabre walked through the small doorway, leaving us alone. I looked through and saw her standing in an empty boxcar on the other side. “Come on, let’s move,” she called.

Eastwood bent down until his stomach was almost touching the floor. He crawled through the doorway to the other car, making sure not to knock Sunny into the frame. Cyborg followed them, and I brought up the rear. Once we were all through, Sabre pushed a nearby crate over the opening, blocking the view to the other side.

“Better to let the others think there’s nothing here,” she explained. “Now let’s get moving”.

She lead us out the side of the car and into the main tunnel. There was a small concrete pathway along the sides, making it easy to move past the parked rolling stock. Old lights flickered on the walls, giving us just enough light to see. Sabre took the front position, while I took the second postion. Eastwood followed behind me, with Cyborg bringing up the rear.

After a few minutes we came upon the wrecked locomotive, which had many different parts missing. Once we passed we moved to the center of the tracks and continued onward. It seemed like we would make a clean getaway….but it didn’t go exactly as such.

As we came up to a bend in the tunnel, my E.F.S. noted something ahead of us. Three yellow marks were moving further down the line, but they didn’t seem to be walking towards us. I held a hoof out to stop Sabre, and the others did the same.

“What is it,” asked Eastwood.

“I’ve got three targets further ahead. E.F.S. says their neutral….but I’m not sure we should take the risk”.

“What’s the big dear: if they shoot at us we kill them. It’s as simple as that,” said Sabre.

“Well those synths were shooting at us earlier, and we only got away because of your flying. So tell me: can you fly in this tunnel?”

Sabre didn’t answer; she just huffed and kicked the ground. “That’s whay I thought,” I retorted. “We’ll take it slow: sneak up on them and see what they are. Then we decide if we shoot or not”.

Cautiously, we crept forward along the tracks. The yellow dots continued to move ahead of us, not seeming to notice the five ponies behind them. I didn’t want to risk an automatic fight, so I kept Celestia’s Thunder floating next to me.

But as approached the end of the bend, my ears picked up on something: voices. I couldn’t understand what they were saying at first. However as we continued walking, I began to pick up on certain parts.

“....Nearing Target…..”

“....Prepare For Extraction….”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but something was clear. One of the voices was mechanical….and sounded just like a synth’s. That meant that there was at least one synth ahead of us. But the other voice didn’t sound mechanical, it sounded like a pony’s. That’s what boggled me; why would a pony be with a synth?

“Hey, you all hear that,” asked Eastwood.

It looked like the others were hearing the voices too. Cyborg tensed up. “Yeah, a synth”.

I looked ahead as saw that we were approaching a section of collasped tunnel. A clear path lay on the right….but I didn’t take it. Because I noticed then that I could hear something moving slightly up ahead….and that it corresponded to the yellow dots on my E.F.S.

“Hold up,” I whispered to the others, “the dots on my E.F.S. are right up ahead”.

“What are we going to do,” asked Eastwood.

I paused for a moment while I formulated a plan. “I’m going to peak behind the rubble and see what we’re up against”.

“I’ll go too,” said Cyborg. “Sabre and Eastwood you stay back here”.

The two of us walked forward and up the pile of rubble. We paused at the top before looking down at the other side. From here I could see two synths standing further along. Between them was a grey earth pony with a short brown mane. He wore a black trenchcoat with added padding on the shoulders and knees. A folder sat in his hooves, and he was looking it over carefully.

“That doesn’t look like a raider; what’s he doing down he….”

Cyborg planted his hoof over my mouth, cutting off my sentence. When I looked over at him, I was surpised to see he looked both scared and worried. He jerked his head back towards the others, indicating we should head back. I was curious as to why he looked so frightened, but I figured he’d tell me soon.

We headed down the rubble-pile and back to the others. When they saw how scarred/worried Cyborg looked, they started to look the same. “What’s wrong,” asked Eastwood.

“Yeah Cyborg, why are you so scared? Was it something to do with that pony?”

Cyborg nodded. “But that’s not a pony Garcon, it’s a synth”.

“What? It looked like a normal pony; it didn’t have any fake skin or exposed parts. How can that be a synth?”

“It’s a Generation Four synth: ones that are almost entirely organic except for parts of the brain and skeleton. TSIM uses them for infiltration and expert field work. But the one up ahead is different….it’s a Courser!”

“A what,” asked Sabre.

“Courser,” repeated Cyborg. “They’re state of the art killing machines; designed to be smarter, faster, stronger and more perceptive than the average combat synth. There’s not a pony that’s fought one and lived to talk about it”.

If that was the case, then we were in a bad spot. Fighting that thing in our current situation wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to risk anyone getting killed. But that thing was also standing between us and the exit. If we wanted to get out, we’d need to get past them.

I checked my E.F.S. and saw that the dots were moving again. I leaned over the tracks and looked down to where the courser had been. It and the other synths were moving down the tunel towards another bend.

“They’re on the move,” I said to the others. “We should wait until they go around the bend before following them”.

“You want to FOLLOW them,” said Cyborg. “Did you not hear what I just said? It’s certain death if we walk down that way!”

“And it’s certain death if we walk back the way we came,” I retorted. “At least this way has an exit. Besides maybe the Courser was clearing the tunnel: if we stay behind him we can leave when it does”.

“I’m with the robot on this one,” said Sabre.

“So am I,” said Eastwood. “I’m not taking Sunny back to that raider infested hellhole”.

So it looked like we were almost all in agreement. Cyborg looked at all of us, clearly thinking over our decison. Eventually he shook his head, “fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you”.

***

After waiting a few moments for the Courser and synths to move around the bend, the five of us moved forward cautiously. We took up our previous positions, which had the added bonous of letting Cyborg be as far away from the Courser as possible. The only change was that this time I was at the front; allowing my E.F.S. to keep an eye on the synths. We kept a good distance behind them, not wanting to give away our position.

Eventually we came upon the bend in the tunnel. As we continued to walk I could hear the sound of wind blowing from outside; meaning the exit was likely right up ahead. But I also heard talking, and it didn’t sound like the synths or the Courser. The voices souned more gruff and….very familiar.

I halted everyone we we reached the bend’s midway point. Moving forward slighlty, I peaked around the corner to view the area. Right up ahead were the Courser and synths, who were approaching a large gratted archway. At the bottom was a chained doorway which I guessed was the exit….but there was another problem.

Standing before the door were Butcher and Knuckles, the latter of whom was trying to use a crowbar to break the lock. And thanks to my advanced hearing, I was able to hear the conversation they were having.

“Come on you fucking lock, breakt already,” said Knuckles angrily.

“I’m starting to regret bringing you with me Knuckles. At this rate those robots will find the tunnel, and then we’re both screwed,” said Butcher angrily.

Knuckles gave the crowbar another hard push, but it only resulted in it slipping from the lock and whipping over his head. As he turned to grab it, he saw the synths and Courser approaching them. In a second he had his gun out and pointing at the three.

“Stop right where you are mother fu….”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before the two synths fired similtanious shots at him. The rapid impact of magic beam vaporized Knuckles, leaving a pile of ash, some armor, and a pistol lying on the ground.

Butcher whipped out his own gun and took aim at the Courser. “Big mistake fucker; you’re dead!”

The Courser didn’t seem to have any reaction to the threat. He kept walking forward until he was just a few feet from Butcher. I was sure he was going to pull out a gun and shoot Butcher until he was a pile of meat on the ground.

Instead, he opened his mouth and said “A5-97 initialize factory reset. Authorization code: Gamma-1-9-Epsilon”.

The pistol in Butcher’s mouth fell to the ground as his body suddenly went limp. I waited for him to move again, but he never did. The Courser walked around him, then pulled out a strange glowing device.

“Y9-14 reporting a mission accomplished. Ready to relay with A5-97”.

The Courser turned to the two synths behind him. “Continue to guard this location until further comands are issued. Kill anyone that tries to escape”.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and what sounded light a large gust of wind. When the light fadded, Butcher and the Courser were nowhere to be found. The two synths took postion on either side of the exit, scanning the tunnel before them.

And leaving me in a state of complete and utter shock at what I’d just witnessed.

Footnote:

LEVEL UP!

New Program Added: Guess Who? - When wearing another Faction’s clothes, you gain +3 to sneak. +1 to Charism when talking to another member.

Fallout: Equestria - A Robot's Lament

by SYNTH4

Chapter 1: Megaspells

Chapter 2: Awakening

Chapter 3: Travels

Chapter 4: Locals

Chapter 5: Challenges

Chapter 6: The Long Road

Chapter 7: Discoveries

Chapter 8: Clues

Chapter 9: Contact

Chapter 10: Revenge