Ok. How was I supposed to know that was THE Merchant at that convention instead of someone in a costume!? Or that the crown I bought was the Crown of the Alicorn King!? Now I'm stuck in the aftermath of a really dark game of Equestria at War with elements of Fallout: Equestria and Fall of Equestria thrown in.
Fuck my life. You probably heard this story a million times. Guy goes to a convention. Buys some weird artifact from a guy that looks and sounds suspiciously like the Merchant from Resident Evil 4. That artifact ends sending said guy on a one way trip to Equestria. It's a tired old trope but unfortunately Discord thinks it's funny as balls. I am the unfortunate guy of this story. Said artifact was apparently the Crown of the Alicorn King that Discord planted (i.e. lost) in my universe. In my defense it was comic-con and I assumed the guy was doing a very good Merchant impression. Even had an mp3 of the 'Serenity' theme from RE4 playing in the background of his booth.
I only bought two things. A Pip-Boy 3000 to go with the NCR Ranger costume I wore and this crown. It just spoke to me for some reason. I had to buy it. After giving the Merchant a rather exorbitant sum I decided to try the crown on. The next thing I knew was standing in the middle of a black void with Discord. Discord explained that the crown I found was the Crown of the Alicorn King and I was now king of the Alicorns. Unfortunately this wasn't your run of the mill Equestria. This Equestria had more in common with the 'Hell On Equus' games I play in Equestria at War. Everything that could go wrong does go wrong.
I was given the task of restoring order to the war-torn planet (Discord gagged upon saying the word Order) and uniting the planet under a single multi species government. A war of this scale could never happen again if everyone was united. A desk suddenly appeared between us and Discord then slid a stack of papers toward me to 'build' my new Alicorn form.
For physical appearance I chose Extra Horn, Bat Wings, and the Horn of Aperion. The Extra Horn to improve my magical ability. The Horn of Aperion to give me an edge against this world's dangers with its reality warping abilities. The Bat Wings simply because they looked cool. Sure they gave me silent flight and a couple of other abilities but it was mostly because they looked cool. Once I selected my choices I was engulfed in a white light. When the light faded my human form was gone.
I was now an Alicorn with a light black coat. It appeared my selecting of the Extra Horn and Horn of Aperion had allowed for a fusion of the two. My dual horns twisted in on themselves and ended in a dual point. It sorta looked like the Dead Space marker now that I think about it… Large bat wings extended from my back and I now seemed to possess a small set of fangs. My Ranger costume appeared to have morphed to fit my equine form with the Pip-Boy secured firmly to my foreleg. I glare at the two hooves that used to be my hands. Sanitation issues aside it was going to be hell trying to figure out how to use these things.
For my powers I went with War, Metal, Creation, Destruction, Lightning, and Order (Discord pouted at this). War was my main affinity since I would certainly need it if I was to unite the world.
"Destruction and Creation huh?" said Discord looking at my choices
"I'd prefer to call it Destruction and Reconstruction." I reply with a smirk.
"That plus your Metal powers is tempting me to start calling you Fullmetal." Discord replied returning my smirk. "Now let's talk about where you will call home."
After looking over the options and having a short discussion with Discord I ultimately decided to strike out on my own. I would build my capital from scratch. This wasn't (completely) out of a sense of adventure but out of necessity. The war had left many cities either in ruin or downright uninhabitable.
The Crystal Empire was gone having been hit by Chrysalis' first nuke. What wasn't destroyed had been looted by roving Diamond Dog War Bands. There was nothing left but a few large crystals too big to be moved. Sombra had moved his capital to the new city of 'Sombrapolis', which in reality was just a collection of scrap and stone huts, where he had gone quite mad.
Canterlot had been nuked during the war by Nightmare Moon. The nuke heavily damaged the city with large sections of it falling off the mountain. Parts of the city had been rebuilt by the Solar Empire but Canterlot at the most hopeful of estimates was at least a century away from returning to its former glory. Celestia (or Daybreaker) was, as Discord put it, unstable. One day she would be full on tyrant while the next she would show remnants of her old self. On other days she would be severely depressed sometimes crying for hours on end…
The other choices also weren't viable. The Zakra had destroyed Mount Aris scattering the Hippogriffs. The Dragonlands were closed off to all non-dragons. Even the Paradise Island of Amarezons had fallen on hard times. Somehow the Caribou of all people happened to find the island by chance! The Amarezons while great warriors had been closed off from the world a bit too long. They were caught a little unprepared when the Caribou charged at their phalanx lines with rifles and machine guns. While they were still fighting much of the island's population had been enslaved.
Now that I picked a place to set up my kingdom I thought I was done. Unfortunately Discord began to grin widely filling me up with existential dread. There were a few more things I needed to select. One of which was my Queen. Apparently I needed to select someone to be my Queen and rule by my side. I wasn't exactly blown away by the choices.
First was Governor-Princess Twilight Sparkle of the Solar Empire. Twilight still stuck by her teacher's side despite her descent into darkness. From what Discord has told me Twilight has gone a little dark herself ruling over Ponyville with an iron hoof. The war and the loss of more than a few loved ones hit her hard…
Second was Nightmare Moon. Discord did admit that Luna didn't go completely Nightmare Moon from what he's seen. While she embraced her dark side it was done out of the need to protect her precious Bat Ponies and not jealousy. Because of this instead of the Nightmare Moon side taking over completely it instead blended with her personality. While she might be a bit.. rougher around the edges she was ultimately still Luna.
The same couldn't be said for her sister. Marelandia seceding, Luna leaving, the outbreak of the Civil War, embracing her dark side, and the nuclear apocalypse had, in Discord's opinion, driven her mad. As he mentioned before Celestia suffered from severe mood swings. One minute she would be the tyrannical Daybreaker, self proclaimed goddess of ponykind. The next she would insist ponies call her Celestia or Tia and have parties with them. Sometimes she would simply weep either for Equestria, Harmony, Luna, her little ponies, or herself. Discord did note that despite her fiery battle armor her mane and tail were their normal rainbow colors instead of flame. That meant Celestia was still the dominant personality.
Queen Chrysalis was next. Discord didn't have much information on her. Thanks to her actions during the war Changelings were persona non grata across the world. Depending on the country Changelings were either imprisoned, exiled, or killed on the spot. She is rumored to be camping out near the ruins of her irradiated capital attempting to hold her what remained of her empire together. Much of the Changeling race blamed her for their woes so revolution looked to be on the horizon.
Dragonlord Ember was one of the choices but Discord advised me that convincing her to become my Queen was easier said than done. Dragons were a prideful warrior race and were quite honestly the only ones thriving in this wasteland. Courting in their society meant proving your strength to your prospective mate typically through one on one combat. Discord explained that while I am naturally more powerful than an ordinary pony due to my Alicorn form I still lacked the skill to fight Ember.
If none of them interested me, Discord said I could use an artifact called the Alicorn Orb to turn anyone I fancied into an Alicorn or their species' closest equivalent. Downside to that is Discord has fallen a bit behind in news lately. It had been 20 years since the Great War so outside the big names he honestly didn't know who was still alive or not.
There was one last pick. I didn’t know what was more shocking. The fact Discord had a daughter or the fact that he was a father! Her name was Screwball and she was as Discord put it ‘a little ball of chaos’. While her powers are nowhere near as powerful as his she is still classified as a reality warper. I frowned at her young appearance though Discord explained that she only looked like that out of personal preference. She could change her form at will and was in reality older than even Celestia. If I picked her Discord mentioned that he would be obligated to help me out as much as he could if only to make his little girl happy.
After giving it some thought I decided to pick Celestia. I had always considered Celestia to be 'Best Pony' and I was genuinely sorry for what happened to her. Her sister hates her again, her kingdom in ruins, and forced to embrace her dark side. Even before all this happened she didn't really have anyone she could call a true friend. They either treated her like she was a goddess or just generally put her on a pedestal. Even Twilight who was the closest one to her besides Luna tended to worship the very ground she walked upon.
"Celly huh?" said Discord with a smirk "Decent choice. She's pretty good in the sack if I'm remembering correctly…"
If I had been drinking something I would have spit takes right then and there. Sack!? That thought never even crossed my mind!
Ok maybe a little…
"Since Celly is a little 'old fashioned' she will most likely encourage you to get a herd." continued Discord, his smile getting wider.
"A herd?" I say hoping that didn't mean what I thought it did.
"A harem. Ponies are a whole lot less prude than you humans. A side effect of being social herbivores with a low male ratio. Celestia lived through a time where it was quite common for a single stallion to have a dozen wives. Add in the fact that you're the first male Alicorn in thousands of years. She'll definitely want you to sire many children."
I sigh. While I wasn’t against having a harem I felt that this wasn’t exactly the time and place for it. I had a feeling things were going to be really grimdark until I restored some semblance of order.
“So that’s my queen done with.” I say “What next?”
“Just a few more things.” said Discord “Next up is how are you going to rule? Are you going to delegate or make every decision yourself. First option is pretty much the reason the world is in this situation in the first place and the second option will either turn you into a tyrant or wear you down.”
“I prefer an Imperial Republic. The world will be divided up into various Regions. Those regions will be divided up into Districts and the districts into Provinces. There will be Regional, District, and Provincial Governors. Regional Governors will be those like Celestia & Luna. District Governors are picked by them and Provincial Governors are elected.” I explain.
“Nice to see that Order ability is already working its magic.” said Discord, gagging a little “Now that’s out of the way let’s move on to items.”
I got to pick four items. For the price two I get a ‘Royal’ item which is a far superior version of it. Since I picked Celestia as my queen I got the Royal Item associated with her which was a special cloak known as the Solar Shroud. It made me immune to fire and heat, able to withstand decent damage both physical & magical, and could make two illusionary copies of myself. For my picks I went with armor, a shield, and the Dragon Sword. The Dragon Sword was an indestructible super sharp blade. Something that would definitely end up being useful.
“One last thing.” said Discord “ I can use my chaos powers to change the world a bit. You get one for free but anything else will have… consequences. Either you pick two or you place your faith in RNGesus. Here are the opti-”
“Anthro.” I quickly say after seeing the first option. “I pick Anthro.”
“You… aren’t going to read the rest?” Discord said genuinely taken aback. “You only get one freebie.”
“No. I don’t need to.”
“Ok. Now I’m curious. Can I ask why?”
“Two reasons. First...” I state holding up my forelegs “GET RID OF THESE HOOVES!”
Discord a finger into one of his ears. “Easy on the Royal Capslock. Remember that you have that now. What’s the second.”
“Tits.” I say giving a small grin.
Discord is quiet for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Oh I like you!”
I continued reading through the choices and picked two more. Well one more. Discord forgot to mention that I had basically been forced locked into one since this universe is so radically different from the standard MLP fare. Alternate Universe is what I had been forced into. The one I chose was Uncapped Technology. Since this was an Equestria at War style world they were already a bit farther in tech having WW2 level technology. I hope to introduce Fallout level tech at first before pushing further into the realm of science fiction.
Now for the consequences… Normally I would have four.
“Six.” Discord says checking his nails
What… I look and see that Discord selected one more change for me. He had picked Lewd. Oh dear god…
“DIS-” I start to yell only for him to clamp my snout shut.
“Easy on the Capslock remember?” Discord warned “Oh come on and live a little. You’re the Alicorn King so a bunch of mares will already want to climb in your bed. This won’t really change the world much. Just make everypony a bit more open and more... pleasing to look at.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea.” I say keeping my anger in check. “The caribou are a thing here.”
Discord snorted. “Even when everyone is super loose and lewd none of them want to be anywhere near the caribou. They are just all kinds of nope.”
Now getting back to the consequences. Thanks to someone I now had to pick six.
“Four.” Discord said again. “You’ve once again been force locked into two thanks to the state of the world. War & Death for obvious reasons and Bad AU. Though I think simply calling this hellscape a ‘Bad AU’ is an understatement.”
That was a reasonable explanation so I nod. I had to pick four more consequences or… I could let fate decide and only have to deal with two. Discord said that the scaling of this world is also tied to the consequences so the situation could suddenly become even worse. RNGesus please have mercy upon me.
RNGesus… has forsaken me…
The choices picked for me were Magic Capping and Monsters. Magic Capping lowered the potential of magic in mortals. Mages at Twilight’s or Starlight’s level were almost unheard of. Most unicorns could competently cast maybe a few spells and they wouldn’t be all that powerful. Dangerous beasts would be roaming around the world preying on settlements and the unlucky traveler. I asked Discord whether they were mutated versions of this world’s creatures and he said some were. The others were ‘outsourced’ from other realities. I did not like the sound of that…
“Well that seems to be everything. Time to send you on your way. What shall I put on your tombstone in case you fail?” said Discord
“Call me… Wanderer.” I replied, deciding to go with my online handle.
“Alright then, Wanderer. Good luck! Arrivederci!”
“Holy Crap!” I yell as I fall through a hole that suddenly appeared on the floor.
Discord smirked as he watched the hole close. Welp, time to head back to Discordia. It would be more comfortable watching Wandy from there. Not to mention that it would let him comfort Screwball. She would no doubt be upset at him not picking her especially after she begged him up and down to add her name in the list. He did warn her that he might already have a pony preference. Turned out that it was Celestia. Screwball would probably become a member of his harem at a later point. She could be very persistent. At the very least his little girl got to be a little girl for a little while longer.
As he prepared to leave he noticed something. Oh dear. It appears RNGesus selected one more consequence. It was the one that forced the world’s scale to Grimdark. Everything would have consequences and danger was around every corner. It would also be much harder for Wandy to make everything better. Perhaps he should go warn him…
Just then Discord heard the dinging of a microwave all the way in Discordia. His pizza rolls! He instantly teleported back home to partake in the cheesy goodness. Wanderer will figure it out eventually...
I carefully sit up with my bones creaking in protest. That was one heck of a fall but thankfully nothing was broken. I place a hand on my aching head only to quickly remove it. Hand? I had a hand! I feel my mouth form into a smile. While I was without them for a short time I still missed my hands! Standing up I gave myself a look over to see what else had changed.
It turns out not much. All my physical features were still the same except adapted for a bipedal anthropomorphic form. My legs still ended in hooves and my wings were slightly bigger but other than that nothing had changed. I was still wearing my NCR Ranger costume though something seemed different about it. I gave the chestplate a good tap with my knuckles. Yep, that was real armor plating. I did ask for Armor to be one of my items. I guess Discord fulfilled that request by making my armor costume real.
The armor wasn't the only thing I asked for though. I looked around and saw the rest of my things lying nearby. The Shield wasn't anything too special. Discord said that it could block both physical and magic attacks but I shouldn’t expect miracles. On the shield was a note from Discord saying that once I get an emblem it would appear on the shield. Next to that was a sword inside a black sheath. I pick it up and pull out the sword from its sheath. I whistle appreciatively as I inspected the smooth silver blade. Near the bottom of the blade was an inscription.
Be not afraid of any foe no matter their size. When danger threatens wield me and I will see to its demise…
What a delightful ultimatum. Looks like I had a name for this beauty. I sheath Ultimatum and look around for the Solar Shroud. Where was it? Suddenly my duster bursts into flames. Oh there it is.
I experimentally think about the cloak turning off which it thankfully did becoming normal cloth once again. I'll play around with that later. That seemed to be everything. I knelt down and picked up my helmet. The Ranger Helmet had been modified to fit my new equine head. A hole was in the top allowing my horn to poke through. Upon putting on the helmet I felt it tighten around the base of my horn and I heard the telltale hiss of a vacuum seal.
The words 'helmet sealed' flashed across the lenses. The inside of this thing was actually more high tech than I expected. The helmet possessed a number of features like air filtration, night vision, thermal imaging, rangefinder, and a targeting system. Granted it is supposed to be top shelf police/military armor though I never expected it to be this advanced. Either the NCR Rangers had better equipment than I thought or Discord took a few liberties with the features.
Now that I had everything I did what I usually do in Fallout games when I didn't have an active quest. Pick a direction and start walking. Eventually I would run into something interesting that being either a town or a place to settle down. I start walking through the wasteland a little saddened. This place definitely looked like a Fallout wasteland rather than the Equestria everyone knew. The ground was devoid of grass. The trees were either burnt black or had an almost sickly appearance to them. There were random puddles filled with green liquid that made my Geiger counter tick if I got too close.
Occasionally I would run across some remnants of the old Equestria. Old crack roads, ruined buildings, and destroyed military convoys. Once I even came across the site of what had been a skirmish between Equestrian and Lunar troops. There were destroyed tanks, rusty guns, and the skeletons of soldiers lying everywhere. Remnants of a battle long forgotten. The one thing I didn't find was a sign of civilization. I hadn't seen a single living thing since I arrived. I continued walking until the sun began to set and by set I mean the moon came and punted it out of the sky to which the sun reluctantly complied. With both Luna and Celestia's renewed hostilities the world should be thankful it still has a relatively normal day and night cycle.
When I reached the top of a small hill I saw what was the first sign of civilized life since I arrived. Though civilized might be the wrong word for it. There were twenty of them in all, most of them ponies. Six of them were Diamond Dogs armed with an assortment of weapons. They were leading the ponies who were clad in chains.
‘Slavers...’ I thought as I watched them walk along a cracked road. If this was a Fallout game I would attack these guys immediately but this wasn’t a Fallout game. This was real. Part of me wanted to just let them go by. Avoid bringing trouble down on myself or getting killed. After all, they had guns and I didn’t. But… I couldn't do that. The look of fear & misery on the faces of the ponies convinced me that I had to help them. If I left them to such a fate that would make me as bad as the slavers.
A full frontal assault was out of the question. They would gun me down in moments. If I used the cover of darkness I might have a chance. I crept closer towards the slavers making sure to hide behind trees and rocks when I could and avoiding clearings. Luna's moon was twice as bright as the average full moon. No doubt an attempt by the Night Princess to make the moon just as good as the sun. While I wouldn't say it to her face the moon didn't hold a candle to the sun in terms of illumination. There were still plenty of dark spots that I could hide in. Soon I had got close enough that I could hear the slavers talking.
"...what kind of price do you think these slaves will fetch?" said a young diamond dog with rust colored fur. An old hunting rifle was in his hands.
"Don't know." said a large black furred dog with scrap armor. He held what looked to be a makeshift Sten gun. "But the Caribou always pay a ton of bits for females so there's that. The males will probably go to the mines."
"Hey could we hold up a bit?" said a tall blue dog who had a pump action shotgun. "I gotta take a leak."
The large black dog who I assumed was the leader sighed. "Make it quick," he said, pulling out a cigarette.
I hold my breath as the Diamond Dog walks to a nearby tree and unzips his pants after setting down his shotgun. This was it. Moment of truth. I crept towards him taking care to avoid any branches that would give my position away. The forest was less than silent with there being chirping crickets and other normal forest noises. They helped mask my approach. I slowly unsheathed Ultimatum and after taking a deep breath I rammed it as hard as I could through the Diamond Dog’s back.
The Diamond Dog wasn’t killed instantly like I assumed he would be. He stared at the sword poking through his chest, its blade covered in his blood. He had just enough life in him to gurgle out ‘Guys!’ before the blood welled up in his mouth. That was enough to get the attention of his companions who to their credit remained alert despite them currently taking a five minute break.
I only had enough time to grab the shotgun and get behind a tree before a hail of bullets began to tear through the forest. I wince as bullets graze the sides of the tree I was hiding behind tearing off large pieces of bark.
"Flush him out!" yelled the leader of the slavers.
The slavers began to slowly advance into the forest with a couple staying behind to guard the slaves. I instantly realized that I might have bitten off more than I could chew. The slavers didn’t seem like trained soldiers but they acted like it. They moved carefully, watching all angles, and covered each other well. I couldn’t see any way for me to get the drop on them.
[War Affinity Activated]
Wait. There were holes. The slavers might appear to be looking around carefully but they swept around too quickly and jumped at every little noise. What I thought was tactical skill was simply them panicking. I could use this.
Smiling, I picked up a small rock with one hand and tightened my grip on Ultimatum with the other. Thanks to my War Affinity I could sword fight with the best of them. It was like that one scene from the Matrix but instead of having martial arts implanted in my brain it was sword fighting along with other ways of ‘waging war’. While I would need to do some practicing if only to refine my new skills I was more than capable of dealing with these guys. As long as I didn’t get shot…
I tossed the rock at a far away spot. Like I expected every diamond dog turned towards the sound with a couple even squeezing off shots. I rush towards the nearest dog swinging my sword at his back. Due to its nature, Ultimatum carved right through the diamond dog like a hot knife through butter. The dog screamed as his arm, shoulder, and a large chunk of his right side was sliced off. The submachine gun he held in his left hand began to fire as the diamond dog inadvertently squeezed the trigger.
One of the slavers was hit by rounds from this runaway gun. He crumpled to the ground moaning in pain. As the last dog took cover to avoid the bullets I used this as an opportunity to sneak around to another position. The dog still had no idea where I was. There was only one dog left, this being their leader. The large black diamond dog snarled.
“Show yourself!” he roared. He whirled around looking for any sign of me. The moment his back was turned I rushed out of my hiding spot. His last sight was me swinging my sword at his neck.
The last two slavers, who were watching the slaves, were easily dealt with. I threw the severed head of their boss at one of them. He dropped his gun and simply stared at the head in shock. While he was doing that I shot his comrade with the shotgun I had taken. I did my best to hide my surprise from the recoil which while expected was still jaring. I had never really fired a gun before. I had to thank both my time in my JROTC Rifle Team and my war affinity for knowing how to properly use the weapon. I couldn’t let this diamond dog know that though. I put on my best mean face and marched right up to him.
The last diamond dog was rather scrawny looking. He had white fur with brown spots. A simple metal helmet with holes cut in it for his ears and an old rusty looking set of plate mail was his only armor. The dog’s legs were quivering as he looked up at me. I remove my helmet letting the diamond dog see the look of pure fury I had on. It was an easy look to acquire. All I had to do was remember the sheer hatred I had for slavery and those that practiced it.
“Don’t kill me please!” the dog whimpered “They made me come with them!”
I had no idea whether that was true or not but I didn’t want to kill someone if I didn’t have to. I wasn’t bloodthirsty.
“If you have any self preservation you’d get out of here right now and tell no one of this.” I snarl, “You owe me one.”
“Of course! Anything!” the diamond dog desperately says “My lips are sealed!”
The scrawny diamond dog begins to run off into the night with his tail between his legs. I smirk and turn towards the slaves. All twenty of the slaves were looking at me in awe. I could see their eyes glance to both my horn and wings. I step towards one of the slaves, a mint green female earth pony, and take hold of the chains around her wrists. Taking Ultimatum I cut the chain keeping her wrists together. While she still had the metal bands around her wrists she could at least move her hand & arms around freely. I do the same for the chains around her ankles. Almost immediately the pony launched forward, trapping me in the confines of a tight hug.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” the mare repeated over & over.
I smile a bit while also trying to keep the red out of my face feeling thankful for all this fur. No longer being in a tense situation I now noticed the rather… generous sized chests all the female ponies had. The kind that would make a pornstar jealous. These breasts were currently pressing into my chest as the mare hugged me. The fact that the mare was clothed in garments that could barely classify as rags didn’t help.
“No need to thank me.” I say trying to give off the air of a brave hero. “All in a day’s work.”
“A-are you an Alicorn?” asked a white furred unicorn stallion.
“Why yes. I am. King Wanderer at your service.” I say bowing dramatically.
“King!?” said the mare that hugged me. “Does that mean you have a kingdom!?”
I could do nothing to stop the embarrassed look from appearing on my face. “Uh… well it’s kind of a work in progress. I don’t exactly have a kingdom or subjects yet…”
There were some looks of disappointment around. These ponies probably thought that not only had they been saved by a male Alicorn but he also had a safe kingdom they could find refuge in. I was a little ashamed I didn’t have much to offer at the moment. That was until I the mint green mare spoke up again.
“Then I’ll be your first one!” she said to the surprise of all, myself included.
“Are you sure? Building a kingdom isn’t easy.” I warn knowing full well that I honestly didn’t know where to start. This wasn’t a Fallout game where I could walk into a random town and start doing quests that would make the world become better. It was going to be hard work and my path won’t always be clear.
“Yep! You’ll protect us right? From anyone that would want to hurt us?” she asked
“With my life.” I say without hesitation. Even if they weren’t my subjects I wouldn’t stand idly by and let people get slaughtered. My conviction it seems was enough to convince a few ponies. 5 ponies including the mint green mare had decided to stick with me. The majority though decided to go out on their own. Alicorn or not they wanted to be sure where they were going was safe which I could respect. I offered to let them take the equipment of the slavers minus the shotgun and the leader’s Sten which I kept for myself. The ponies thanked me for both saving them and my generosity. While they weren’t willing to follow me they did consider me a hero.
Even if they weren’t coming with me I knew they would tell stories of their rescue far and wide. While I’m sure many will dismiss it as nothing but a rumor, people will at least hear about a male Alicorn wandering the land now. Best I build up a reputation. It would make things easier in the future. And maybe a bit harder too if some disreputable types heard about it… Maybe I should have stayed incognito now that I think about it. Oh well. No use crying over spilled milk.
“So miss…?” I say looking at the mint green mare.
“Minty! Minty Fresh!” the now named Minty said happily. What was it with pony names?
“Well Miss Minty do you know of anywhere safe we could settle?” I ask. A safe place to rest would be good even if temporary.
“Well the slavers did take us by this old roadside hotel an hour ago. It looked abandoned.” she said after thinking for a moment.
“Well that’s as good a place as any.” I say “Let’s get going. Who knows what’s lurking in these woods.”
The looks of fear on the ponies faces and the vigorous nods they gave surprised me. That was until I remembered that Monsters was one of the consequences I’d have to deal with. Discord even said some were outsourced from other realities. Just what manner of beasts were in these woods…
Everything seemed to go silent and I felt a chill go up my back. I heard a wailing siren and my eyes widened. I quickened my pace. I’d feel a lot better with walls around me…
The silence of the woods was broken by the labored breaths of a diamond dog. One of the slavers was still alive. The one who had been shot was fortunately & unfortunately hit in non-vital areas. He’d bleed out eventually but it would be a slow process. The diamond dog had no intention of dying here however.
Using as much strength as he could muster he sat up.His movements made his wounds sting and bleed a little more profusely. If he had his emergency medkit he’d patch the wounds up but those damn slaves had nicked him of everything he had. His ammo, his bits, everything! Hell one slave upon noticing he was still breathing punched him right in the snout. The stallion had knocked one of his teeth loose. He growled. He was going to make them all pay…
There was a town not to far away.. If he tricked the locals with a sob story they would patch him up. Before he was left he could probably nab one of the young mares. The caribou paid a nice pile of bits for fillies…
He then heard the wailing of an air raid siren. What the hell? Was the Lunar Empire doing a bombing run? Even if they were, why the siren? The Solar Empire had long stopped caring enough to use them. The siren soon stopped and he could hear what sounded like a news report.
Attention all free citizens of the Solar Empire. We have confirmed reports of the detonation of a nuclear device at the city of Cloudsdale. We offer the rebels peace & amnesty but they answer with treachery of an unimaginable scale! Our Solar Empress has authorized the use of a even more powerful bomb on the city of Manehattan. We shall build an even greater metropolis on the ashes of their so called Lunar Empi-
Stable-Tech! Prepare for the-
Have you heard the news? Spaying and neutering your diamond dog is the only way to-
Dad was such a drag-
Don’t touch that dial… We’re just getting started…
His eyes widened as he noticed a new figure amongst the trees, one that wasn’t there moments ago. It was tall, almost as big as the trees surrounding it, and unnaturally thin. It had long arms, so long that its hands hung near its ankles. Most awful of all was its head. In the spot where its head should be was instead a siren. A siren that began to wail as the creature moved towards him…