Fallout: Equestria - Champions of the Wastes

“You idiot! I can’t believe I listened to you!” The two adventurers ducked around a corner just in time to avoid countless magical lasers. The grey, metal wall across from them lit up bright red as it started to melt from the spray of magical death.

“How was I supposed to know this place had robot security with serious race issues?” Ekko shouted over the noisy robots in the hall behind them.

“It was called Robronco Robotics! This is a dead end, we’ll have to fight them.” Ezreal was beginning to really regret letting Ekko travel with him when they found each other.

“About time I get to fight something, was starting to think I would forget how.” He stretched and pulled out his sword, crouching next to the corner like a cat ready to pounce.

“You can’t just walk over there and beat them to death with that sorry excuse for a sword. They shoot lasers if you haven’t noticed. A lot of them.” Ezreal paced back and forth trying to come up with a plan. If he at least knew the layout of the building he could Arcane Shift to somewhere nearby to gain an upper hand. But doing so without knowing where your going was definitely not a good idea.

“Leave it to a Piltie to surrender before the fight even starts. Just watch me.” Ekko grinned and pulled the string on the contraption on his back. Then collapsed to the floor with singed hair, panting. “Okay, bad idea.”

Ezreal quirked an eyebrow but didn’t press the issue. “Okay here’s the plan, we both go at the same time. You take the one on the right and I’ll take the one on the left.”

“There’s three.” Ekko deadpanned. But still they didn’t have a better option so he stood up and pulled the string on his prized invention yet again.

“Well then we’ll improvise!” They both jumped around the corner into a hail of magical lasers.

“Better wiped than striped!” One of the protectaponies shouted as they all unleashed waves of magical death down the hall. Ezreal was the first to land a hit, using his magic amulet to hurl magic beans of his own back at the robots. With a pop one of the robots collapsed in a heap.

Ekko threw his time distortion grenade at a second, the device hitting the robot twice before returning to its young inventor as he leaped through the air. He landed on top of the robot and slashed down with his sword, cutting it’s head in half as it collapsed to the floor.

The third robot directed it’s fire at Ezreal as it filled the hallway with magical death. In a blink of an eye Ezreal reappeared behind the robot, unleashing a burst of magic into the back of it’s head. The robot collapsed to the floor in a heap as smoke poured from it’s burning head.

“See, nothing to it.” Ekko laughed as he jumped off the protectapony he killed.

With a beep two turrets in the ceiling spun to face them. The color drained from Ezreal’s face. “Well that’s just not fair.”

“Take that!”

A small beam of light came from an intersecting hallway, shortly before the whole building lit up. A massive laser engulfed the two turrets and blew them apart instantly. As did the wall behind them, allowing light from outside to fill the dark hall. When their savior stepped into the hall Ezreal couldn’t believe it.

“Lady Luminosity? What are you doing here?”

She frowned but spoke with no less grace than was expected of a Demacian noble. “Please, just call me Lux. In truth I was hoping to find you. You’ve traveled more than anyone I’ve heard of, mapped places no one else has even been. Do you have any idea where we are?”

He sighed and kicked the robot at his feet. “Not really. I started mapping this place as soon as I got here, but I have no idea where ‘here’ is. I thought that my amulet brought me here like it’s done to other places in the past, but if you two are here that can’t be the case.”

Ekko chimed in from the side. “Hey I’m here too! Don’t you want to ask me what I think?”

Lux glanced at Ekko and waved. “Oh right, hi. So what was that about a map?”

He pulled out a rolled up map and spread it out on the floor. It showed a small mountain chain with a nearby village, a large crater, and several scattered buildings across the barren wasteland. Near the bottom of the map was a large gathering of buildings, one of which bore the inscription Robronco Robotics Manufacturing.

“We’re right here, and I woke up here in the hills above this village. The locals here are… odd.”

“Odd?” Lux asked as she looked over the incredibly detailed map.

“Come on you guys don’t ignore me!” Ekko protested and was yet again ignored.

“They are equine in nature, but smaller. Some are the size of full grown horses, but the majority are smaller, like a young horse. They vary in color from normal colors to some of the most outrageous shades of pink and other abnormal colors. And apparently they can talk.”

Lux looked at him incredulously, but Ekko couldn’t contain himself. He erupted into laughter and nearly collapsed to the floor. “Talking rainbow colored horses? You sure you didn’t hit your head or something?”

“Well actually judging by their body structure I’d say they’re more like ponies than horses…”

“Talking ponies!? Oh it’s just too much!” He collapsed to the floor laughing while the others did their best to ignore him.

Ezreal rolled the map back up and sighed. “I haven’t tried interacting with them in any way yet though. I’ve learned it’s better to avoid natives in strange lands if at all possible.”

Ekko groaned and held his stomach. “But they gotta have some kind of food right? I’m starving over here!”

“You’re not starving, it can’t have even been a full day since the last time you ate.” Ezreal chided before his stomach growled. “But I see your point.”

Lux face palmed and shook her head. “Look between the three of us I’m sure we’ll be fine. In Demacia every soldier is trained to know the four necessities for survival. And first on that list is water. Don’t know about you two but I don’t want to drink anything I’ve seen so far.”

“And if anyone has clean water it would probably be that settlement, you’re right. I guess after we check this place out we should head there next. Ekko you feel up to taking point so-”

“You are trespassing on private property. Surrender and be annihilated.”

“Oh you can’t be serious.”

“RUN!” Lux screamed as a huge robot rolled around the corner. Missiles streaked through the air around them before they even got the chance to dodge, destroying a large portion of the building around them with rapid concussive blasts.

The trio were scattered by the assault, saved only by the prismatic shield Lux threw around them. Ekko was thrown into a bathroom, but the others landed among the rubble on the outside of the building.

“What… the fuck… is that?” Ezreal asked as he helped Lux to her feet. The massive robot rolled into the opening of the building, it’s armored chest plate read Siege Breaker Sentry Bot Mk VIII. Its tracking sensors quickly found its targets and within seconds two powerful miniguns were spinning up.

Lux and Ezreal ducked behind a stone wall just as the sentry opened fire, filling the air with noisy death. “We can’t stay here!” Lux tried to shout over the noise but she could barely even hear herself think after the missiles from before.

The fire stopped just long enough for her to realize what was going on. She threw another shield around herself and Ezreal just as more missiles struck, blowing their cover apart and sending them flying. Lux didn’t get back up.

Ezreal shakily got to his feet, blood dripping from his ears as well as numerous cuts. When his vision cleared he saw Ekko attacking the massive robot in close quarters, striking at everything that looked like a weak spot. He managed a lucky strike, disabling the sentries left arm. Unfortunately doing so left him open for a counterattack from the guard’s right arm.

The blow crushed Ekko to the ground next to the sentry, he gasped for air between coughing fits. The sentry spun up its minigun to finish the inventor off at point blank range.

“Hah!” Ezreal put all his remaining strength into an Arcane Barrage, sending a wave of magical energy at the sentry. In his disoriented state he missed it’s arm, but managed to disable two of its legs. It collapsed backwards and was unable to reach Ekko, but it still aimed its minigun at the unconscious Lux.

“Target aquired.”

“No!” The sentry was too far for Ezreal to stop it, but he had one option left. He arcane shifted in front of Lux and spread his arms wide. Sacrificing himself to save the princess? He supposed it was a fitting death for an adventurer.

“Too slow!” Ekko laughed as he stabbed his sword through the sentry’s head. He jumped away from the robot in time to avoid the massive explosion that followed. Of course he didn’t look back. “Trying to play the hero? That’s pretty lame Piltie.”

Ezreal shook his head but smiled anyways. “Yeah I guess it kinda was. Guess I read too many comics books as a kid.” They shared a laugh as Ezreal checked on Lux.

Ekko erupted into another coughing fit. When he pulled his hand away it was covered in blood. “Hey that’s bad right?”

Ezreal looked up after wrapping Lux’s head with bandages. “That’s not good. We need to get you to a doctor, both of you. She has a concussion if not worse, and no telling what kind of internal injuries you have.”

“Like you’re one to talk, your ears are bleeding dude.”

Ezreal shrugged before picking Lux up, carrying her like a cat. A large and surprisingly heavy cat. “Yeah I can hardly hear right now. Luckily I learned how to read lips a long time ago. Guess we don’t have a choice but to go back to that village now.”

Ekko groaned as he held his stomach. “I really hope they don’t try to eat us or something. Or if they do I hope they eat me first so I don’t have to watch them eat you two.”

“I’m just going to pretend I have no idea what you just said. Mind getting her magic stick thing so we can get going? It landed somewhere back there.”

“Fine… Why does trouble always come whenever there’s a Piltie around…” Ekko grumbled as he searched for Lux’s wand.

“I’m not totally deaf you know, I can still hear you.”

“You were supposed to!”