Defenders Of Equestria

I causally walked through the streets of New Appaloosa. I had hitched a ride on a wagon the had been sent to retrieve the caboose. They were surprisingly welcoming after I explained to them who and what I was. Now I was in this small settlement made from old boxcars. I spotted 'Absolutely Everything', Derpy Hooves' shop. I was about to walk through the front door when a sign cause me to stop. I squinted, trying to see the words through the grit and grim.
"Yes, I do deliveries!" I said reading it to myself, "No hooves, nasty stingers? No service" I stopped reading. I brought my hands up to eye level. I let out a disappointed sigh and let them fall limp to my sides. I heard some racket come from the store and turned to see a pissed off stallion storm out the front door.
"Hey bro, you okay?" I asked him.
"No I'm not fucking okay, I just got fired." he said with a huff.
"Fired from what?" I inquired.
"My job."
"Well no shit, what was it?"
"I was a caravan guard."
Apparently the wasteland was smiling on me. Without saying a word I walked passed the disgruntled stallion.
"Hey, where you going." he called after me.
"To take your job." I said with a chuckle. pushed the door open. I leaned against the door frame and said,
"I heard a position for a new caravan guard just opened up."
Ditzy stepped out from behind the counter and into the light. For a ghoul pony she didn't look as grotesque as I expected her to. She began to look me over.
"I'm fully equip, I have experience killing creatures and raiders alike," I stated, "....And I'll do it for half of what you were paying that guy."
Ditzy walked over and pick up a pen in her mouth. She wrote something on a notepad. She lifted it up and showed it to me.
"Your hired."
I was fucking beaming.

I pulled up a chair and sat down at a poker table in the New Appaloosa saloon. I slid my helmet off and placed it on the table.
"Alright boys, what are we playing?" I asked.
"Appaloosa hold'em." stated the unicorn dealer. A waitress came up and asked me what I wanted to eat. I ordered a Sparkle~Cola, non-radiated, and her if she was available. She just rolled her eyes and trotted away.
"Rejected." the emerald pony sitting next to me said with a grin and a laugh. I ignored him and picked up my cards; a queen and an eight of hearts. I pulled a gemstone from my pocket and threw it into the pot. The dealer placed three cards on the table. I had nothing but hopes and prays.
"All in." I said tossing the rest of the gems I had into the pot. Everypony folded except for one, who also when all in. He wore a fedora and a pair of sporty shades. The dealer placed down the last two cards. I looked at my cards.
"FUCK YEAH, royal flush!" I said placing my cards on the table. The other pony grit his teeth as he placed his cards on the table, showing a pair of kings. I started taking fistfuls of caps and gems and shoving them in my pockets.
"He cheated." the pony stated.
"Bullshit." I said putting the last of the caps in my pocket. The pony stood up and reached for a pistol that he had strapped to his flank. Before he could pull the gun out of its holster I took my helmet and tossed it, hitting him in the head. He stumbled backwards. I took that opportunity to tackle him. I attempted to pin him to the ground, but he shoved me off with his hind legs. I collided with the poker table, sending caps and cards soaring through the air. I stood back up and charged at him, only to have his hoof connect with my nose. I held my now broken nose, blood flowing freely down my face. I raise my hand into the air. The stallion looked up at it. I let out a laugh as I brought my knee up, colliding is with the pony's chin. He let out a stream of profanity as he held his jaw. I wrapped my arms around his torso and lifted him onto my shoulder. He flailed his legs violently. He cocked his hind leg back and kicked my across the temple full force. I wobbled a little as small white dots crossed my vision. I shock my head and regained focus. I charged towards the front door. There were windows on either side. I stopped short of the door and let momentum take the stallion. He sailed through one of the windows and out into the street. I stood over him and shouted,
"Am I a cheater now, bitch! Next time you accuse someone of something you better have some shit to-" my rant was cut short by the sound of a bottle breaking and a immense pain in my head. The edges of my vision became dark. I felt a cool liquid run down my neck. I spun back to the saloon to see the waitress from earlier holding a broken Sparkle~Cola bottle. I dropped to my knees, my vision becoming ever more darker.
"I regret nothing." I stated before collapsing on my side.

Their was a defined splatter sound as I regained my vision. I was looking into a sink, which had blood splattered about it. The corners of my sight were blackened. I had no control over my movements.
"Oh joy, one of these dreams again." I thought to myself. The man I was in lifted his arm and wiped his mouth. Blood smeared across his forearm. He lifted his head to look in the mirror but, he didn't see his reflection. He stumbled backwards as Nightmare Moon materialized in the mirror.
"No, I locked you away." he said in a low voice.
"My dear, you are quite naive, aren't you?" She said with a smile,
"You'll never get rid of me. We are one in the same. Just free me and we can rule this world, together."
"I'll never free you." the man said.
"Oh, but you already have. Letting all this anger and sadness into your life has made me powerful once more." Nightmare Moon said.
"NO!" the man shouted as he smashed his fist into the mirror, shattering it. Shards of reflective glass fell to the floor. He looked down at them. In one of the shards he caught the reflection of his own eye. For a split second it flashed a dark blue, then back to its normal brown.
"Your majesty, are your alright?" a voice called from the other side of the door. If I could move my head, it would have perked up in an instant.
"Alright, now I'm interested." I thought.
"Perfectly fine guardsman." the man said. He opened the door and was blinded by a bright light.

I awoke to find myself in a small room. The walls were a light yellow. I was laying on a rather uncomfortable cot. I sat up and reached up to scratch my head. I heard a metallic clanging sound and looked down. My hands were bound by a set of rusty shackles. I looked around the room. Large iron bars blocked me from the entrance. I walk over and peered through the bars. A pony wearing a cowboy hat was asleep at a desk. Their was a shiny star pinned to his hat.
"Hey, deputy asshole!" I shouted at him. He grumbled and opened his eyes. He trotted out from behind the desk and over to my cell.
"What?" he growled.
"Why am I in here?" I asked.
"Assault."
"Assault?! The guy was pulling a gun on me!"
"Yeah, sure." he said, rolling his eyes. I let out an angry sigh.
"How much?" I inquired.
"What?" the pony asked.
"How much to let me out?"
"The bail's five hundred caps." he said. I smiled, knowing I had more than twice that, and reached down into my pocket. It was empty. I reached into my other pocket, which was also empty. I checked ever pocket and each and every one of them were completely empty.
"The guy looted me." I said angrily.
"That's not my problem." The pony said as he turned away from the cell. He walked back to his desk. I sat on the cot and let out a sigh. The door swung open and Ditzy Doo walked in. She threw a sack onto the desk and pointed a hoof at me. The deputy pulled a set of keys out of the drawer and walked over to my cell. He unlocked the door and unshackled me.
"Thank you Miss Doo." I said, rubbing my wrists. She reached into her saddle-bag and pulled out her notepad.
"Are you okay?" she wrote.
"Yeah, thanks." I replied.
"Good, don't do anything like that again." She wrote. I chucked.
"Why'd you bail me out?" I asked.
"I have a job and I'm short on guards." she wrote. I nodded and followed her out the front door. We started walking towards Absolutely Everything when a familiar, fedora wearing, stallion came running up to me.
"Hey, listen, I'm sorry I got you put in jail." he said.
"Oh, but your not sorry for attempting to kill me or for robbing me?" I said in an angry tone.
"I do feel bad about that too, that's why I brought you these." he said reaching into his saddlebag. He pulled out my weapons and my helmet.
"What about my caps?" I inquired.
"I spent them already…" he started, "on hookers and chems." he mumbled as he quickly looked away, embarrassed.
"Good man." I said with a grin. I held out a hand and he shook it.

After helping pack up the wagons we hit the road. I was sitting on top of a batch of barrels, surveying the area trough my Longshot scope. I put the sniper across my lap and gave a thumbs up to Ditzy. She nodded and pulled out her notepad.
"By the way, what happened to your nose?" she wrote down.
"My nose?" I asked, reaching up. When I touched it a wave of pain was sent through my face. I unstrapped my helmet from my belt and looked in the reflection from the eyes. Their was a piece of medical tape across it. I had completely forgotten that it had been broken in the fight at the saloon.
"It's broken." I told Ditzy.
"Hey, human," Railright called. He spat the word 'human' like it was acid on his tongue.
"Go up on that ridge and scout the area." he commanded.
"Okie dokie lokie." I said in a cheery tone. I hopped off the wagon and climbed the hill. Once I was at the top I laid down and flipped out the bipod on the Longshot. I started scanning the area. Their were several destroyed housed but I didn't see… wait, there's someone down their. I increased the zoom of the scope from 6x to 12x. Their were three ponies, two stallions, both earth ponies, and a small filly, a unicorn. The stallions wore raider armor. The filly was laying on the ground, the stallions standing over her. She pulled herself up only to be forced back to the ground by one of the stallions. He then took a position behind her. Her was about to do something terrible to that filly, but I didn't give him the chance. I squeezed the trigger and sent a bullet through the raider's skull. His body fell on top of the filly. The second raider stallion attempted to run, but didn't get to far. I pulled the bolt on the sniper back, releasing the spent cartridge. I pulled out another from my packet and placed in the rifle. I pushed the bolt back in and lined up the shot. I slowly let my breath out of my lungs as I put pressure on the trigger. The gun fired and the raider dropped, blood leaking from a hole in his noggin. I stood up and reloaded the rifle. I motioned to the caravan that it was safe. The moved the gauntlet of destroyed houses. I slide down the ridge and dropped back. I waited for the caravan to move out of sight before I went over to the first raider that I had shot. I pushed his body with my foot. The filly was still under him, covered in his blood.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I knelt down. She looked up at me and nodded. Her cheeks were stained with tears and blood. I started wiping some of the blood off, but I stopped. A distant mix of humming and clanking infiltrated my ears. I looked up from the filly and saw three more raiders. Two with melee weapons and the other with a mini-gun battle saddle. The sounds were coming from the battle saddle as it revved up. I quickly scooped up the filly and sprinted for cover. I reached the remains of a wall just sat the mini-gun started firing. I placed my back against the wall so that the bullets had to got through the wall and me to get the filly. Bullets ripped through the wall with ease. I felt them as they collided with my armor, leaving small dents every time they struck. The mini-gun stop with a sudden clang I peaked around the cover to see the raider kicking the battle saddle. It must have jammed or he's reloading it, either way now was my chance. I placed the filly on the ground and told her to stay put. I pulled the boltok pistol out of its holster. I walked out from behind the wall and fired three shots. Two bounced of his armor, but the third hit him in his unprotected knee. He dropped on his front legs. I walked up to him and placed my gun against his forehead.
"What are you." he asked in a weak tone.
"The messiah of death." I said with a confident smile. I pulled the trigger, spraying blood and brains out the back of his head. I spun the gun around my finger and chuckled. The filly scream and I sprinted back to her, only to find one of the raiders pulling the nails of a nail board out of her head. The other was behind him with a satisfied grin on her face. I fired off two shots into the raider behind the nail board raider. I aimed at him and pulled the trigger but nothing happened. The raider just stood their, from either fear or stupidity. He came to his senses and tried to run. I drew my sword and dived at him, landing the serrated blade in the center of his back. It went straight through his body like it was butter. I jerked it to the side and heard a crack as his spinal cord snapped. His hind legs fell limp as I pulled the sword out. I slide it back into its sheath. He tried pulling himself away with his front hooves, but I stepped on his tail,
"Oh-ho-ho I'm not done with you." I dragged him by his tail and slammed him against the wall. I walked over to a stack of ruble and grabbed a stick that was on top of the pile. I walked back over to the raider and placed the end of the stick on his head. I lifted it over my head and brought it down, full force on the raider's head. The end snapped of to a point. Blood ran down the raiders face and dripped off his snout. I picked him up by his throat and slide him up the wall, leaving a trail of blood going up it. I took the sharp end of the stick and drove it through his chest, pinning him to the wall. Blood rolled down the wall and formed a puddle at the bottom. I got dizzy and sat down. I looked up at what I had just done.
"What the fucks wrong with me. I would never do something like this." I said looking at my blood stained gloves. I looked over at the body of the filly… here eyes were still open. I looked into those big, lifeless eyes and saw my own reflection. I closed them and just sat there. I was the cause of this, I was the cause of everything. Sad classical music played in my head… wait, that's not I'm my head. I looked up to see a Sprite-bot silently floating by. I need something to take my emotion out on, at that was it. I tackled it and pinned it down between my legs. I started punching the face plate of it, and didn't stop until the metal had ripped through my gloves and my knuckles were bleeding. I had punched it so much that the face plate was dented in. I got off of it and let it float away.

After running for a full hour I finally caught up to the caravan.
"Where were you?" one of the guards asked. I slowed down and caught my breath before saying,
"I had just fallen behind." I lied. I saw the our destination off in the distance. A light shown from a barn. I hopped up on the back of the wagon and rested the rest of the way there.

I hopped off the back of the wagon and walked towards the barn. I nudged the door open and saw Little Pip and Velvet Remedy huddled next to a filly. I looked around the room and saw a ball of swirling colors. I started walking towards it, unable to stop myself. I felt a tug on my belt and I snapped back to reality. I turned to see Calamity biting my belt.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." he said. I nodded and walked back out of the barn. I walked over to the silo and stepped in. I was instantly overwhelmed by the amount of confetti and party decorations. A large poster of Pinkie adorned the wall. I stared at it. I just stood there and stared. I felt a feeling in my chest, one that I only felt when I was around Pinkie. To put it in girly terms, it was like a thousand butterflies were kissing my heart. Now, to put that in manly terms, it's like seeing a gun that shots another gun that shots a chainsaw. I think that feeling is called love. I was in love with Pinkie Pie. I felt a hoof poke my in the backside(Not in that way!). I turned to see one of the miscellaneous caravan guards.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Perfectly fine." I answered.
"Well everyone's been looking for you for a half an hour."
I pulled my helmet of my belt and slid it on, activating the HUB. Sure enough I had been in there for a half an hour, although it had only felt like five minutes. I left the silo and walked back to the barn. I stepped in, making sure not to look at the balefire bomb. I saw a pair of saddle-bags sitting against the far wall. I looked over my shoulder to see if their was anyone watching, then knelt next to them and them open. I rummaged through the mix of medical supplies, ammunition, and food until I found what I was looking for. I lifted the Pip-buck out of the saddle-bag and placed my hand over the screen. Small wires sprouted out of it and connected to the Pip-buck. Within seconds metal started to form around my left wrist and created my very own Pip-buck. I dropped to Pip-buck back in the saddle-bag and closed it up. I pressed the buttons on the Pip-buck. In the inventory section their was a book. "Pip-buck instruction manual" read the title. I clicked on it and it materialized in front of me.
"Cool." I found myself saying as I picked it up and began to read. It was short and to the point, telling me that whatever I put in my inventory gets datatized and the weight gets distributed throughout my body. I looked over at the balefire bomb. I dropped the book on walked over to it. Once I got close the Geiger counter started ticking. I hesitantly placed my hand on top of the bomb and absorbed it into my inventory. Don't ask me how because I don't know, it just happens.

I had left the caravan behind and had started following Little Pip and her entourage. I had left something for Ditzy back at Absolutely Everything.

Meanwhile, at the Legion Of Do… I mean, Absolutely Everything. Ditzy flipped on the light switch and trotted over to counter. On it lie a note and a strange tablet. The note read "Play Me". The tablet lit up and had a white arrow on it. Ditzy pressed with he hoof and a song started playing( [link] ). She sat on her haunches and listened.

I had been following Little Pip for a while now. I was attempting to stay hidden, but that was difficult because I had to stay far enough away that Little Pip's E.F.S. didn't pick me up and Calamity wouldn't see me when he did his fly-overs to scout the area. These are the times when I wish I had the MGS4 stealth suit. I was sitting on a ridge above an encampment made from old carrier train cars. I was playing music to keep myself awake. I had been following Little Pip for utmost of thirty miles. I looked up in the sky and saw God… sorry I mean Gawd. I watch as she landed in front of Pip and the crew and escort them into her fortress at gunpoint. I lazily dragged myself to my feet. I snuck around the compound to the back. Gawd's train car was located there. Some of the boards where old and rotted away, making it easy to peak through. I watched as Gawd led Little Pip, Calamity, and Velvet Remedy into the train car. I reached over to my Pip-Buck to turn off the music and listen, but when I looked they was a barrel pointed at my head. The pony wielding the weapon was saying something. I stopped my music.
"Hmm?" I said tiredly.
"I said 'Put your hands in the air unless you want to die.' Did you hear me clear enough that time?" he said in an angry tone.
"Yeah, yeah." I said raising my hands up. He led me through the camp to Gawd's car.
"She's in a meeting right now so your gonna have to wait." the pony said. I rested my head against the side of the car. I started to doze off until I heard the sound of the door sliding open and had a gun jabbed into my side. I climbed into the car and took a seat across the desk from Gawd.
"Who are you?" she asked, looking me over with her good eye.
"I am E621, pony cyborg relations." I said with a tired chuckle.
"Your wearing my already thinned patience." she said. Before I had a chance to give another stupid answer, the guard pony walked up and whispered something to her.
"You know it's dangerous to travel through that wasteland unarmed." she said.
"Who said I was unarmed?" I said in a devious tone. I held out my hand and the boltok pistol materialized in it. I pointed it at her. Both her and the guard pointed their weapons at me.
"Don't worry, it's empty." I said flipping it open, showing her the empty chambers. She lowered her tri-barrel energy rifle. I slid the pistol across the desk and said,
"Is that enough to let me stay here the night? I'm tired as shit."
She started examining it.
"A weapon is no good without bullets." she stated.
"Bullets cost extra." she pointed the tri-barrel at me. I was unfazed.
"Gawdyna Grimfeathers, leader of Gawd's Talons, is going to shoot me over some bullets."
She lowered the weapon and sighed,
"What do you want."
"I want free food, and to stay here until Little Pip leaves."
"You mean that lil' filly that just left?"
I nodded.
"Why?" she inquired.
"Let's just say I'm her shadow and leave it at that." I answered.
"Okay, but no free food." she said.
"How about I give you some information in exchange for that then?"
She leaned over the desk,
"What kind of information?"
"Let's just say Shattered Hoof will be filled with red, and I don't mean blood. Now, if you'll excuse me I'd like to get some well deserved shut-eye."
Before she had a chance to say anything, I stood up and walked out of the car. I walked to the medical area and threw myself on a pile of hay. I started to drift off to sleep but was interrupted by a pony.
"What's wrong with you?" a sweet, caring voice asked.
"Oh, sorry I'm just re…" my voice trailed off when I rolled over to see who was talking. Velvet Remedy was standing over me. She was gorgeous, one of the most beautiful ponies I had ever seen. I could see why Little Pip had a crush on her. She got her face really close to mine.
"Is that you face or are you wearing a helmet?" she asked.
"Yes, because my face is made out of metal." I said. I realized that that sounded mean, "I'm sorry, I didn't for that to sound so dick. Yes it is a helmet."
"Well, are you injured or are you just here for the bed." she asked.
"The bed." I answered.
"Well then, I shall leave you to it. My name is Velvet, by the way."
"Cooper." I said.
"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, but I have sick ponies to attend to." she said, trotting off. I laid back down and began drifting off to sleep once more.

"My lord, the changelings have broken through the Ponyville defenses. there is nothing stopping them from marching on Canterlot." a guard stated. I was once again seeing through the eyes of the unknown man. He was standing on a balcony staring over Equestria. Green flames raged over the land. He let out a sigh and turned to the guard.
"Let them march, we will be ready." he stated.
"But sire, we've lost most of our men defending the other settlements." the guard stated, obvious fear in his voice.
"Bring me the captain of the royal guard." the man said looking back out over the balcony. After a few moments Shining Armor was presented before the man. He bowed.
"No time for formalities Captain, How many men do you have left?" the man inquired.
"less than a hundred, sir." Shining stated.
"Perfect. Gather them and met me at the town gates. We have an army to slay."

I shot up in my pile of hay. I felt sweat running down my brow. I looked around the room and saw Velvet start trotting towards me.
"Finally your awake, are you okay?" she asked.
"I feel fine, why?" I answered.
"You broke out in a fever in the middle of the night." she put a hoof to my head, "But you seem to be fine now."
I pushed myself to my feet and walked outside. The sun peeked through several holes in the cloud cover. I saw ponies going in and out of a building so I assume that's where the food was. I walked over and pushed the door open. I held it for a group of ponies behind me before stepping in myself. It was dim lit and musty but the food smelled delicious, especially because I haven't eaten in a while. I walked up and asked for some iguana on a stick.
"Gawd told me you were coming, it's on the house." the cook said. I gave him a nod and grabbed my food. The building was filled with diner style booths. I picked one and sat down. Two griffins walked in, one went to order food the other started walking in my direction. He stopped at my table and stood their. I could tell he was going to start something. He placed a talon on the table and cleared his throat to get my attention. I spit out a bone and asked,
"Can I help you?"
"I'm sorry, you must be new here. Everyone knows this is mine and Hawk's table." he said. He voice just pissed me off. You know that douche bag that you knew back in high school, yeah he sounded like him.
"Well, I am currently sitting here so you can fuck off." I said in a calm tone.
"Listen," he leaned across the table, "I don't want to have to embarrass you in front of all everyone, but if you don't get up I'm gonna brake your face, though it looks like someone beat me to it."
He started pushing on my broken nose with a finger. I got mad and slapped the hand he was putting all of his wait on. It slipped away and he slammed his head on the table. I calmly stood up and walked away. The other griffin who I assumed was Hawk ran over to assist his friend. I began to leave and walk towards Gawd's train car house, remembering that I didn't give her the bullets I promised. I didn't get ten steps before I heard footsteps closing in on me. I looked at the ground and at the shadow of a griffin rapidly approaching my own. It cocked it's hand back and I ducked. The punch went over my head. I swept his legs causing him to fall. I took a defensive stance as the griffin rose and brushed himself off.
"You get him Leo!" Hawk called out.
"Alright Leo, let us fight like men." I said, raising my hands in the air in an overly dramatic fashion. I un-clipped my chest piece and threw it aside. I also unzipped my jumpsuit and slipped it off so that it was around my waist. Leo just gave me an awkward stare while I did this. I put my hand up and said,
"Come at me, bro."
Leo charged and me and swung. I dodged it with ease and delivered a punch to his beak. He stumbled backwards and charged again, this time swinging at me with his talons. He dug his claws into my flesh and racked them down my chest, leaving three diagonal cut, deep enough to cause bleeding. I body checked him against a wall. Ponies had started gathering around to watch the fight. I kicked him in the gut, causing him to hunch over. Then, grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall. He slowly slid down the wall and I began to walk away, thinking the fight was over. Once again I heard rapid footsteps approaching me. I turned to see Hawk with a lead pipe in his talon. He took a swing at my midsection. I jump backed, the pipe barely missing my side. He pulled it back and hit me straight on in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me and causing me to dropped to my knees. I gasped for air as I looked up at him. He looked at the pipe then back at me. He pulled it back and swing the pipe full force, connecting it with my skull. I instantly fell unconscious.