Fallout: Equestria- Chronicles Of Seaddle

Darkness; my eyes were closed as I sat on my chair, meditating; preparing myself to give the awaiting clan today's announcements. I could hear their thunderous chatter from inside my "office";  along with the crackling from my nicely warm fireplace, inside. No doubt they were wondering about what I got planned for them; it was really quite special; a trilogy of raids.

My house is quite small; much smaller than the other resting places around the lake where my followers reside. It’s a small shack; perhaps used for the same purpose in the olden days. It has just two rooms, with a small cooler, a bed, a desk, a burrow, a bookshelf for the books I’ve stolen. If there’s one thing I love doing other than stealing, it’s reading. My favorite  books are the Daring Doo series. There’s also, of course, a fireplace, and an even smaller room being the bathroom; no hot water (I have to boil my water in a pot over the fireplace); no electricity, and only one window; home sweet home.

A knock on the door startled me; something that's not easy to do. I cocked my head behind me. A friendly voice spoke through the door outside.

"The crowds are getting restless, Dark Heart." said the voice; It was Razor Feather, "Are ready yet, boss?"

Boss; It's not easy being leader; especially if you got nearly a hundred griffins and ponies under your command. Luckily, I have my trusted friend and second in command, Razor Feather, to help me keep things in order. Though, the clan do seem to do a better job at listening to me, rather than my companion; even the kleptos seem to do better; I don't know why; perhaps it has something to do with charisma.

For those who don't know; Kleptos are, as their name suggest, a special group of clan members who are extreme kleptomaniacs. They are among the most crafty of us, as well as the most infamous, for they have to be kept under supervision when we go out on raids; less we want them to be leaving with more than we could handle, or have them stealing from the poor, and destitute; an act that I have forbidden quite sternly. Not to mention that they have a nasty habit raiding our own storage. However, aside from that, Kleptos are quite useful with their cunning skills and crafty ways.

Now where was I? Ah yes; Despite the lack of popularity from most of the clan, Razor Feather is a great second in command, and perhaps could be a much wiser leader than I am, and I respect him greatly.

I turned back to my table, staring at my bowl, that once contained warm rat stew that I ate for breakfast. Then I looked up to the clock against the wall in front of me; Six O'clock in the morning. We have to wake up early, when other factions are still asleep; don't want anypony eavesdropping on our plans. Even if they did try to eavesdrop, our guards will give them a "word" or two about it..

I took a deep breath, and got up onto all fours. I trotted to my door, turned the knob, and opened it. The first thing that welcomed me was a chilly and icy wind. Winter comes quite early here in Seaddle; first snowfall came down early October this year; our lake froze instantly and hasn't thawed one degree since. I've gotten quite use to the subzero temperatures growing up in the northern wasteland, but, still...

" Nice weather we're having." I said, sarcastically, looking up to the alicorn stallion, hovering above me, no doubt avoiding the cold, cold ground.

"Indeed." responded Razor Feather, understanding my sarcasm.

"Anyway; good morning. Let's get started, shall we?" I asked, as I exited my warm establishment, putting on my scarf hanging on my door, before stepping out into the cold snow.

Being winter in the north, it was still quite dark outside. However, the beach plaza lit up by the countless bonfires that litter the place.

"Let's, and a good morning to you too, dear friend." replied Razor Feather.

I spread out my wings, and swooped towards a stage, albeit once used for concerts in the past; Razor followed landing onto the stage floor before I do (Razor Feather is a much faster flyer than I am; In fact he's the fastest flyer I know.). Upon landing myself, I gazed upon the crowds of griffins, pegasi and alicorns; all of them dressed in winter clothes, hovering in the air, huddled together in groups, and warming themselves by their bonfires; They were all still chattering excessively.

To get their attention, Razor Feather lit up his horn, and shot a beam of blue light into the cloudy morning sky. The beam disappeared in the gray clouds, making a loud and thunderous BANG! Getting their attention, the chattering stopped instantly; every head in the plaza looked up from their warm fires, and turned towards me. A sudden and awkward silence loomed over the entire area, as they awaited the morning news.

I coughed a bit, clearing my throat before speaking.

"Good morning my friends." I began, speaking through a microphone, wirelessly connected to several small radios, stationed throughout the plaza; everpony could hear my calm and cool, and yet bold and powerful  voice, "Griffons, Pegasi, and Alicorn; Mares and Stallions; How are you all this morning? I hope you rested good last night because we got a busy schedule today; A trilogy of raids."

The Clan glanced at each other; I could see the excitement and curiosity in their faces. I grinned; I was just as excited and anxious as they were.

"For starters;" I continued, "We shall be pickpocketing our 'lovely' neighbors, the Tolltakers. Then, we're going to perform a heist at Moon Tower. After that, we're going to do something really special..."

I paused for suspense, noticing the drooling, excited, and anxious faces closest to the stage. The two jobs I've mentioned must have made their hearts throb and beat like a drum. I grinned before continuing.

"Well; go on then." piped up a griffin's voice from the crowd; it was Butch's voice, "Spit it out! The suspense is killing us."

I chuckled a bit, thinking that the suspense has gone long enough.

"Alright, alright..." I said finally, "This is what we're going to do; after our heist at Moon Tower, we're going to raid; wait for it; wait for it... we're going to raid... Stable 134!"

I expected applause, oohs, and awes, but received only an awkward silence. Not even Razor Feather gave any sound of approval, or disapproval; only a chilly wind could be heard.

After what seemed like forever, only being no more than ten minutes, the silence was finally broken by a slight muttering among the crowds; particularly the alicorns.  I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. Obviously, they didn't quite approve my plan; I thought I should inspire them a bit. Though, I'd never actually received such reactions from the clan. Mostly they would cheer over every idea I come up with, but not this time... this time was different.

"Wow. Thanks guys; you are too kind. You can stop clapping now; I mean it." I said with an obviously sarcastic demeanor, "No. Seriously, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I've been planning this for quite a while you know. So what's eating ya?"

The silence returned. This time though, it didn't take long enough for the Pegasus, Dustbowl, to speak up.

"Well boss; it's about the stable; nopony has ever been near it since... I don't know... since... ever!" said Dustbowl, nervously making his protest of opposition, and yet, obviously trying not to provoke any anger out of me; which is actually quite hard to do, "Not in nearly one hundred years. Nor do anypony even want to go near it."

"Besides;" abruptly said a purple Alicorn mare named, Red Dawn, who was hovering right beside Dustbowl, "You heard of the creatures that are said to reside in there, right? What were they called again?"

Now, I did indeed heard of the legends behind the stable, who doesn't? It's only the most famous stable in the northern wasteland. However I didn't believe in most of the stories; calling the ghost stories simply that. I didn't know exactly what was the big deal about them were. I did however, saw the stories of treasures and technology that are said to be contained within the stable, and even if they're just stories, they're reason enough to go out and check it out myself. It's been my dream for a very, very long time.

"Wow." I said, not amused by such an excuse, "So, that's what holding you back? An old ghost story? Ha! I for one find such tales to be as silly as my name. Why should any of you allow such worry? Besides, if there were creatures inside the stable, they would no doubt be all dead. Especially if it hasn't been opened in a century."

"But why do you want to take such a risk?" asked Red Dawn persistently, "If there are creatures inside, and you must certainly know how dangerous they are, why should we risk unleashing them?"

The muttering among the other alicorns escalated; even the klepto Alicorns were muttering, obviously they were agreeing with Red Dawn's protest. I decided to offer some encouragement to them.

"My friends;" I began my speech; I made sure that I was speaking loud and clear, "We are a clan of thieves and cutthroats; we've been taking risks for the past five years, with every raid! Don't you know how many times our raids nearly ended with failure? So, what makes raiding the stable anymore different? I have been preparing you for this, for a long time, don't let me down now! Besides, imagine the reward of success! If we actually pull this off, we could become famous; even more famous than Utopia himself; ...even Red Eye! Oh, and the treasures and technology that are said to reside in there; imagine if it were all ours! That stable is just standing there; ours for the taken, and it's treasures to be given out to the ponies of Seaddel! They'll be thanking us! Not to mention the tech we could use for ourselves..."

"So that's what this is all about?" protested Red Dawn, fluttering violently towards the stage, she pointed her hoof to my beak, "Fame? Glory? Do I see a bit of greed in your words?"

"Perhaps, Red Dawn... perhaps." I said, "But I assure you, it's still all for a good cause."

"Are you sure?" asked Red Dawn, "Of all the plans you came up with, raiding the stable is perhaps the most preposterous, and I often agree with your plans, including the two you have mentioned."

"Then why not give those two a chance first?" I compromised with her, "If we pull off stealing from the Tolltakers, and our Moon Tower heist, then we would go and try opening the stable. If not... well; you get the picture."

Seeing that Red's expression didn't change one bit; being somewhat new here (she's only been among us for six months), I wasn't actually surprised by her protesting. Still, I turned to Razor Feather for help. I thought maybe if I could get his approval, maybe the clan would be more trusting; even with the fact that in previous cases, it's often me aiding Razor Feather.

"Well;" sputtered Razor Feather, unsure of himself; he was lightly tapping his hoof against the stage; something he normally does while thinking, "If our leader Dark Heart is sure of this plan, then, I guess I should support him. Besides Dawn, since when has his ideas ever backfired?!"

After Razor's small speech, I saw Red's facial expression change. Her eyes darted a bit, and she took a deep breath.

"True." agreed Red Dawn, backing down a bit; her eyes met my own, "Indeed you are perhaps the most successful thief among us, and we are perhaps the most successful band of thieves in history."

Red Dawn sighed, I'm sure that she still had issues about my grand scheme.

"Alright, Dark Heart, you win." said the alicorn, "I actually see a possibility coming out of your plan. Besides, I guess I'm wrong to protest against the boss's judgment. Sorry about that."

"Don't be." I said gently and yet sternly, "I don't blame you for your doubts, but, I do pray that you try to trust me more. For I tell you, that if we succeed, we will have our mark engraved in the face of history. "

"Agreed," concluded Red Dawn.

The hovering alicorn mare then did a 180 and returned beside Dustbowl, who padded her on the back. I then stepped forward, clutching onto the microphone stand with a firm grip of my talons; bringing the microphone towards my beak.

"Now. With that out of the way. How about it? Are you interested now?" I asked intriguingly.

This time, the crowds made a slight round of applause; I was still not convinced of their enthusiasm. So I asked them again; telling them that I couldn't hear them. The crowds responded with a thunderous applause; One of my own liking.

"Now. Go get ready. We shall be preparing for take off around noon. I expect you all back here by then. Understand?" I asked.

The sea of heads nodded; I was well pleased with my resolve.

"Then in that case," I began to conclude, "You are dismissed. Thank you for your most ensure attention. I am most grateful for it."

At that, I watched as my clan departed from each other; leaving their bonfires as they headed to their living quarters to gear up for the big trip. After nodding to Razor Feather, thanking him for the help, I spread out my wings, and swooped back to the door to my warm house. I was so full of pride, as I entered under my roof; so sure that my clan's latest raids will be our greatest success, yet.

How wrong I was then? I cannot describe even if I tried to...