Fallout Equestria: The Fallen

"The Thing About Happiness Is That You Only Know You Had It When It's Gone"

It has been a month since Autumn and her daughter Lucky came into my life. Her… operation, went well enough and now, once she’s all suited up you can’t see the scars. She also cut her mane, going for more of a short trim compared to her former long flat hair.

Angel recovered well without issie and according to the doc, as she grows those scars will fade and be nearly undetectable unless you really feel and look for them.

My cave changed a lot too. As well as a bed for Autumn and a crib for Angel, there was now a small Spark Battery powered generator to run the ‘new’ fridge and a forty gallon tank for water that currently only had fifteen gallons in it.

Autumn more or less took over my workbench and was making makeshift weapons, repairing stuff and overall did my normal job way better.

“Funny how thing’s can change in less than a month, even when your a ghoul like me.” I chuckled.

“Ya know, I spent all my time repairing weapons and tech for the enclave. You’d think I’d be sick of it but no, oddly repairing more… damaged items are a lot more challenging. More fun.” Autumn replied as she finished off fixing a geiger counter. A Wasteland essential. “Up there they keep everything so pristine that the only way you can tell it’s used is the small bits of ware and stuff that just happen over time.”

“I suppose you actually get to see what’s broken this time instead of ‘fixing’ something that’s barely been used?” I suggested. “Something that’s actually seen the ravages of use and time instead of practically putting a feather duster to it?”

“Heh, basically. Most I ever got to fix up top was a broken fuse. A fuse! Anypony with half a brain should be able to swap out a fuse! Yes they haul me from the lab, swap out the broken one for a new one and then send me back and tell me to fix it. It’s some of the easiest things to fix!” She huffed. “Waste my smarts of being a glorified janitor I swear…”

“Sounds about right.” I chuckled. “Just a bunch of ponies not understanding your skills.”

“Oh they knew my skills. They didn’t utilize them since I was ‘a vital enclave resource’. They’d have rather some other pony die in RND than me. And yes, it happens more than you’d think and half the time it’s a fresh from the academy cadet with more dreams than common sense.”

“Wow, they actually have a chance to fuck up horribly up there.” I said in mock surprise. “Down here it’s either you get it done right or have fun wondering how to replace a limb.”

“I imagine cybernetics are more rare down here than up there?”

“It’s rare to find most thing’s down here if it’s not apart of any known group.” I shrugged. “Or you don’t know where to look.”

“Fair enough… So, what’s with the armor? I noticed it’s MOM tech.”

“Oh this? I grabbed it off someone’s long dead corpse and have been looking to get the restrictions taken out.” I mentioned.

“Restrictions?”

“All the usual bullshit of ‘you're not the owner, so I can only do the default’ crap.” I grumbled.

“Hmm… You know, if I could get my hooves on a decent computer and equipment, I could take a look at it both software and hardware wise, maybe get some of those restrictions removed.”

“Thank you, cause I was doing some jobs for Ditzy to get these removed and for a few other things, but then we did all of this for a month so…” I shrugged. “Maybe Ditzy knows someone that would have a good computer…”

“Or maybe salvage one? That lab we met in had a bunch of fairly state of the art electronic equipment and computers. If you can get me a Stable Tec MK88 desktop terminal, I can run a diagnostic check on your suit and probably pipbuck too.”

“Yeah I think I saw a few of those, thankfully they’re not completely destroyed...just have to deal with hiding from those stupid robots again…” I grumbled.

“Well, you still have that ID card on you so hopefully nothing bad will happen so long as you take it with you.”

Autumn was right. So long as I had this card, the robots and few bits of security left me alone.

I was back up in the lab areas. The Enclave armor and weapons were all still here… hmm… I can’t fit them in my saddle bags but… maybe that old Trader left a wagon or something…

I ran back outside and began looking around the building. To my surprise the E.F.S. spotted a blue, friendly, person nearby. Heading towards it, I came across what was once a lovely chariot, not patchworked together with metal plating for armor, a harness for the puller. Opening it, I was met by…

“Meow.” I stared at the small, mangy cyber cat for what felt like a few minutes. It’s body was mostly metal, save it’s tail, part of it’s head and a single eye and ear. The rest was all metal painted the same orange as the few bits of fur it has. The skull was topped by a thick glass dome holding a brain kept alive by wires and electricity. Huh...

“Well...what are you doing here little guy?” I inquired too the weird cyber kitty.

I held out a hoof, to which the cyber cat sniffed before nuzzling affectionately. Heh, must have been that Tech Trader’s pet. Poor little guy must have been alone since then. As I began petting the small cyber pet, I noticed a name scratched into the neck area. Taser Fang.

“Taser Fang? Why are you named that?” I inquired the poor lonely cat.

“Meow.” The cat replied, yawning. It’s metallic teeth suddenly sparked to life with a flash of electricity and I jumped back at that. The small cyber cat finished it’s electrifying yawn before looking at me as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Huh… So that’s why...

“Alright you metallic fuzzy creature.” I said, lightly petting it again. “Want to come with me and get out of this dusty old place?”

“Meow?” It questioned, turning around and jumping onto the makeshift cot made from the old seats. “Meow?”

I sighed… they haven’t realized?

“Your owner’s dead sadly…” I told the cat sadly.

The Cyber cat seemed to slump, giving a sad meow before rubbing their head against the pillow on the bed.

I let the robo kitty finish their… grieving before he jumped onto my back.

Alert! Third party technology detected sending syncing signals!

Error! No Compatibility to none Ministry Technology Detected.

Pipbuck registered with Syncing Signal. Signals Resynced. Two way Radio communication between Pipbuck #33986 and ‘Taser Fang’ established via Pipbuck internal radio.

Cool!

“Welcome aboard Taser Fang.” I said with a warm smile.

“Meow.” The cat nodded.

Taser ran around the former laboratory while I grabbed the suits and weapons from Enclave and whatever scrap from the robots into the chariot. I was looking through the terminals. None so far were the one Autumn mentioned, but I grabbed them anyway since they might be useful, and a working computer is still better than nothing. As I brought the various techno stuff into the chariot, I noticed Taser walk back into the chariot, dropping a small Spark Battery onto a small pile of various items.

Ammo for guns, Ammo for energy weapons, scrap metal, electronics, cherry bombs, hey Sunrise Sarsaparilla! And… twelve bottle caps. Wow. Kitty finds things and has a nasty bite.

“Out of the many years I have been salvaging crap in the world...you are by far one of the best find’s I’ve ever had.” I laughed happily.

“Meow.” Taser replied as they ran back into the building through a small hole in the wall I’d never be able to fit through.

I headed back inside, looking through the various computers as I looked for that specific one. Come on… MK 88…

MK 32, no. 55. No… 2… MK 2? No… Damn it.

I huffed, exiting another lab room and heading to another. The knob wasn’t moving. No Keycard… crap, normal key lock… Time for a small explosive entry.

I grinned as I taped one of my special lock poppers over the thing and lit the fuse.

I rushed a fair distance and watched it blow. The lock and knobe all blasted off as the door swung lazily open now that it was no longer sealed shut.

With a smile I entered the long sealed room and looked around. Woah…

It was much… cleaner, than I expected. Some dust but over all this room was almost untouched by time. There was a small desk littered in various electronic parts to the left. Several large tool boxes the size of filing cabinets to the right, a shelf filled with boxes that all read part numbers, and a desk in the back center with another skeleton dead atop it. This one though had a hole in their head, so that explains the locked room.

“Well then...I wonder what I can find in here?” I hummed as I explored the room.

I wandered around the room, finding all sorts of goodies. Walking to the terminal I removed the former owner off of the desk and grinned wider. An MK 88! Yes!

My eyes wandered to the small sticky note still attached to the top. ‘Property of Snuggly Glow’. Hmm.

The screen of the terminal flickered to life and I pressed a key, finding it flash to life and ask for a password. Welp, I can’t hack for shit so… off to Autumn with you!

When I got back to the cave it was late. Autumn was happy to see me back and happier to see all the loot. “I can’t believe you found all this stuf- IS THAT A CYBER CAT!” She yelled as she rushed over to Taser Fang, grinning almost madly as she pet the robot cat who happily received.

“Yep, his names Taser Fang and he’s my new cyber kitty.” I chuckled. “Found him in...not the best situation considering his previous owner is dead.”

“Oh, you poor kitty…” Autumn pet them. She walked to the work table and pulled a ruby from an energy pistol. “You hungry.” She asked the cat. Before I could question, I watched as Taser Fang jump, snatch the gemstone from Autumn and crunch it like a cookie and licking the crumbs off the floor. “Yes you were. Poor thing.”

… He… They just ate a gemstone?! I thought only dragons did that?!

“Uh...I didn’t know they could...eat gemstones…” I started. “I thought only dragon’s did…”

“Oh, most Cyborgs like Taser here eat gems or scrap metals to refuel their power reserves. While they can still eat and taste normal food they need to eat metal or gems every so often otherside they might run out of power.” Autumn said, looking Taser over. “And judging from the lights around the brain tank, Taser here was down to thirty percent power.” She added, giving the robo cat some more gems from broken energy weapons. “If it’s just a limb and such, spark batteries work well enough but for machinery on this level, the magical power in gems keeps the matrixes and batteries charged better and longer than normal spark batteries could.”

“Well...that’s gonna be a pain in the ass to keep up.” I started.

“Not really. Gems aren’t too difficult to come by, just about any electrical device should have them and Equestria is still so packed full of them I’m betting we can dig in a few places and find something.” Autumn countered. “So, that said, you manage to find the computer I needed?”

“Yes I did, and a lot of other goodies.” I nodded with a smile.

With glee Autumn helped me offload the cart. I’m gonna have to find a place to hide this thing. Once everything was inside I put the few sodas Taser found in the fridge. Might be two hundred years flat, but cold is still better than warm.

Autumn rapidly set up the terminal, eyeing the sticky note for a bit before tearing it off and tossing it into a small waste bin. Once it asked for a password she began hacking. In half a minute, she was already in and removing the password requirement.

“Jeez, you sure work fast.” I said in amazement.

“Guess it helps when you have teachers.” She shrugged. “Was a simple password. ‘King-Me’.” She informed. It looked like there was a lot of logs on there but she rapidly passed them all before opening up a different program. “Helmet please my good ghoul.” She asked.

“Alright.” I nodded as I handed off the helmet to her. “Also really? Must really like checkers.”

With a shrug, she connected the helmet to the terminal and began letting the program run. “Okay. So far so good. Hmm… Alright… Well, that’s upsetting… Woah… Hmm…” She muttered to herself. After about… ten minutes she finally looked over at me. “Alright, so, good news, bad news, more good news, more bad news.” She stated.

“Let’s get the bad news out of the way.” I shrugged.

“Alright, bad news, the Anti Theft measures completely wiped the old OS and installed this… brickware, something that let’s it run but can’t be uninstalled and it lacks all the OS systems for the suit's various features. The other bad news is that since this is installed on gems and processors rather than hard drives, I can’t just swap out the OS with one that works.”

“So what’s the good news?” I frowned.

“The good news is while the old OS was wiped, this new OS that was installed still has its install file within the hardware. I can pull it, reverse engineer it, and program back in custom OS that can hopefully get some of those functions working again by forcing the suit to reinstall the modified OS install file. Other good news, I can update your Pipbuck OS.” She said with a smile.

“Fantastic.” I said with a growing smile. “What do you need to make that a reality?”

“Time mostly. WIthout anything to work off of as a base I’ll have to build those systems from scratch and that’s after I take apart and put back together the OS install file left behind. But I can update your Pipbuck now if you’d like?”

“Yes please.” I nodded while pulling my Pipbuck up. “Cause it would be really good to have this thing up to date.”

With a nod Autumn worked her magic, linking my pipbuck to the computer and running a program and I put it back on once it was done.

Pipbuck OS V759483.9 installed Successfully!
MOM Eliot Riot Gear Patch No Longer Needed.

Deleting Patch.

Synced to MOM Eliot Riot Gear.

Radio, Geiger Counter, E.F.S and S.A.T.S. available.

“Great.” I smiled. “This is gonna be a massive help.”

"And with that cart, you'll be able to haul more stuff and be protected." Autumn added.

“Fantastic.” I said with a smile. “Will make work a hell of a lot easier.”

With a nod, Autumn made sure Lucky was changed, fed and burped before we were off to sleep.

Angel only woke up a few times at night. No better alarm clock than a baby… it was early when we finally stayed up and I began to make some coffee. It was one of the few prewar luxuries still around. While farms that grow it are hard to come by, instant and canned coffee was in over abundance. Even two hundred years old, still has it's kick.

“Thank Celestia coffee still exists.” I sighed out thankfully.

"This is way better than what they grow up in the clouds." Autumn sighed as she sipped her mug. Lucky was happily drooling along the makeshift highchair as she looked around the cave. "Strong and has more than the flavor of water."

“Nothing beat’s ground coffee, both figuratively or literally in this case.” I chuckled. “Even instant coffee was made by earth ponies, and it’s always better.”

She nodded, quickly downing her cup. "Up in the clouds the food grown, well… it keeps us alive, but lacks any real flavor. Clouds just can't compete with soil and water."

“Ain’t that the truth.” I nodded in agreement. “Anything else you see down here that’s better than up there?”

"Hmm… weapons. Everything up there is magical and energy based. Down here, bullets are everywhere and it's amazing."

“No matter what technology you get, there’s nothing like a simple bullet to ruin everyone’s day.” I chuckled.

"Simple can be the best. So, what's on your agenda today? I'm gonna fix up some toasters Derpy sent over while you were out."

I thought about that, looking over at Lucky, who was now being pawed at by Taser.

“Well...not sure honestly.” I said simply. “I could go out and do some salvaging...but then I have to make sure Lucky is okay while your working…”

"Oh I can do both, though she does get fussy after a while. I think she gets bored when I'm working… actually, if you can find some foals toys I think it will help a lot."

“Alright, I think Ditzy has a few back at her shop…” I thought for a bit, going through the places I’ve been and if they had any foal’s toys.

"Stay safe." She said. With a nod I was off on the short walk from my cave to New Appaloosa.

The Guards let me in no problem and I was at Ditzy's shop soon enough. The mare was organizing some ammo mags for a rifle. "Hey there Soft Spot. How have you been?"

“Been doing well.” I nodded. “How have you been Ditzy?”

"Oh the usual. Training, bartering, selling and buying. How's that filly and her foal doing?"

“They’re both doing great.” I said with a smile. “Also, I found Taser Fang.”

"Oh, I'm glad. Blown Fuse loved that cat. Had em since he was a colt. I think he told me his papa found him in some prewar military base?" The ghoul mare thought back to remember.

“Well, Taser Fang is doing well now.” I nodded. “So do you have any foal toys?”

"Bin to the left over there." She pointed.

With a nod I headed over there and began looking through them. Puzzle, not too young for that. Building blocks, also too young. Toy train without wheels… nope. Half readable storybook. Maybe. A single alphabet block...

“Haven’t found anything else?” I inquired as I dug through the bin a bit more.

"Those ones were honestly the best from what my usual supply brings. Most toys are long destroyed these days and those that are still around families keep to pass down. Unless you wanna look though homes and schools for some that's all I got."

“Fair enough.” I nodded, knowing that finding things for kids were always a massive pain in the ass.

I bought the book at least and with that pocketed began to head back. Hmm… I need to find something better… as I walked I looked down the pipbuck on my leg… these things normally mark locations… maybe someplace Blown Fuse marked here would have something.

Okay, let's see here… it was… ah, here we are. Map.

Let's see… there's New Appaloosa, My Cave… so far there's Old Appaloosa, Train Station DL42, MAS R&D Laboratory 87, Stable 6, Stable 82, Echo 89 Army Base and Flim and Flam's Scrap Yard Recycle Torium? Is that even a word?

“Well...even if it isn’t, those cheap bastards always tried to make it one…” I muttered to myself.

I remember back in the day, they tried to hire me. I tossed that offer into the recycling.

Hmm… Old Appaloosa is closest but I'm not gonna barter in that slaver town. Closest aside from there is Stable 6, but those are often death traps… then again if it's marked here maybe he found good loot while there… best tell Autumn before I head out.

“Well, at least got a plan of action…” I muttered, trotting off back to my cave. “Wonder if Autumn knows anywhere else…”

I headed back to the cave. Walking in Autumn was holding Lucky while looking over toaster parts. Taser was on the floor nearby eating a rather melted looking toaster. "Back already?" Autumn asked.

“Yeah, sadly there wasn’t much Ditzy had, but there might be some places that can get us some foal toys.” I started. “What do you know about Stable 6?”

"Hmm… not much. Most of the ground based facilities the Enclave kept tabs on were either Pegasus offices or Military in nature. Stables were a hot topic but not many were known location wise."

“Crap…” I sighed out. “Cause it was either that or Old Appleloosa and I really don’t want to go to that place…”

"How come?"

“Bunch of damned slavers.” I growled.

"Slavers…? They… they actually do that down here?"

“Yes they do, cause when everything’s gone straight to hell and we couldn’t make it to any of those cushy bullshit stables most ponies went to…” I sighed out. “Sorry...I’ve seen plenty of good people be treated like absolute shit for no due cause around here…”

"End of the world does that to ponies doesn't it?" Autumn said with a sigh. "I guess by comparison the stable is a better bet. They should have a school or something there so with luck, some foals toys there or in the living quarters."

“Yeah...it’s gonna be a pain in the ass to get to one...and then an even bigger pain to go through the entire thing.”

"Just be careful." Autumn said. "The more I learn about the surface the more worried I get…" Autumn said, holding Lucky tight.

“Even if the surface is dangerous...there’s still Friendship brewing around if you know how to find it.” I said simply. “Especially if you're clinically insane and married a Hellhound...still have no idea how that bastard did it but he did.”

"What's a Hellhound?"

“Basically a race of monsters created by magical radiation that’s really hard to deal with.” I started. “Even people in power armor have a hard time fighting them, but they’re also very smart beings…”

"Yikes… steer clear of those things too alright."

“Always have.” I nodded. “But I’ll be back as soon as I can, and hopefully Lucky here won’t get too fussy while I’m gone.”

"Heh, well so long as I feed her milk and there's two hundred year old canned corn and water to feed me, I think we'll be fine." Autumn stated.

“That’s good.” I nodded. “I’ll be back, stay safe you two.” I said before stopping. “Oh, and before I forget, I managed to find this.” I started as I brought out the children’s book. “It’s only half of it but it should be good enough right?”

She took the book, looking over the pages. "Heh, it's enough to read her and hopefully put her to bed."

“That’s good.” I nodded with a smile. “Well, I better get going then.”

"Take care."

With a nod I headed off. As I walked out I passed the chariot. Hm, not gonna need that. Foals toys can easily fit in my saddle bags anyway. As I walked I mentally checked off all I had on me. One 20 gauge sawed off, one 9mm pistol, and one combat knife. Thirty 20 gauge shells, fifty 9mm bullets all inside five, ten bullet holding clips. Some dirty water bottles, and rad roach jerky. Autumn refused to eat it and food is food, so I ain't gonna waste it.

The Pipbuck told me Stable 6 was just off the main road north. About six miles north off the main road. I sighed but followed the helpful little compass I now have. Damn I wish I found one of these things sooner.

“Is it just me...or do things seem brighter?” I wondered to myself, seeing all the same dreary landscape as always but...it seems to have a bit more color to it now for some reason.

I shrugged, wondering if my eyes were finally failing me. The light was still good and hopefully it will last me til I get there.

The walk was fairly uneventful. Just a few Radroaches and a Bloatsprite crossed my path. The night crept in slowly and Stable 6 was still two miles away. I picked up my pace and ran, finding the entrance to the stable as the darkness of night claimed the land. It was hidden/covered by an old Super Market. Barnyard Bargains. I shopped at these stores a lot back in the day. Had good deals most of the time.

The store itself was long since looted of anything valuable, so I just found and walked down the stairs to-

"Greetings, and welcome to Stable 6 Bargains." I froze, looking at the armored mare before me. She wore that armored barding most Stables had, though it also had a name tag on it. Apparently, her name is Sunny Soda. She also had a battle saddle mounted machine gun on, pointed at me but thankfully her little blip in the Pipbuck was blue, so she's friendly. "Is that you Blown Fuse?" She asked me. "Nice armor."

“I’m actually a friend of his.” I lied. “He’s sadly dead, but before he died he said I was allowed to take his stuff and make use of it, especially the Pipbuck and his cat.”

“Aw, poor Taser… Well, you’re not a regular, so I’ll have to take you over to the Manager.” Manager? Didn’t these stables have Overmare’s or something?

With a nod I followed the security mare through the hallway and to the large heavy steel door of Stable 6. Looking around, the entrance way was filled with what looked like… check out booths? Walking around the hallways, rooms and all around the area looked like it was designed to be, well, a supermarket. I heard these Stables all haeird themes and such… but, is this whole stable just a big store?

"Um...is this a supermarket or something?" I inquired.

“Why yes, part SuperStore, part Stable.” She informed. After a while she escorted me to a door, above was the words ‘Overmare’s Office ', but the ‘Overmare’ part was covered with what looked like old paint and written there now was ‘Manager’. Entering I spotted the ‘Manager’ who was a brown earth pony mare with a pink and blue mane and pink eyes. She was going over something on her terminal but looed over at us when we entered. “Sunny Soda, who is this?” She asked.

“Manager Royally Rich, this pony claims to have been friends with Blown Fuse. He’s wearing his Pipbuck so I confused him for Blown Fuse at first. He also states to be caring for Taser Fang.”

“And where is Blown Fuse?” The ‘Manager’, Royally Rich, asked with a raised brow.

“Sadly deceased according to him.” Soda replied.

“Hmm… I see. Was he hostile upon first encounter?”

“Not at all. Simply surprised.”

“Hm. Very well, return to your post and I will inform this stallion about how things work here in Stable 6.” With a nod, Sunny Soda left, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone with Royally Rich. “So, did you really know Blown Fuse or was that an excuse?” She asked.

"I did know him, me and him used to scavenge for a shared business partner in New Appleloosa." I answered. "I lied about being friends but we did know each other...also how in Tartarus did he get a cyborg cat?"

“Story he told me was that his father found them in some old pre-war lab. Apparently it was experimenting with cybernetic soldiers and trained animals were the… beta test subjects. So, what happened to him? He was a good Stallion, and business partner. Most of our technology here he kept working or found parts for.”

"He went to an old laboratory trying to salvage from there...security got to him before he knew it." I sighed out.

“Hmm. Shame. He knew a lot most ponies these day’s simply don’t. Well, that’s the eventuality of life on the surface. Part of why our… business partners and customers are kept fairly strict and regulated. Lot of ponies up top would happily slaughter us all for this stable and our stockrooms.”

"I understand that." I nodded. "But right now I'm here to get some foal toys...and well, apparently, do some business as well."

“I see. First things first though, mind removing the helmet? I’d like to see the pony whom I trust with the Stable 6 membership before I give them one.”

Stable 6 membership? This really is run like a superstore.

"I have to warn you, I'm not the best looking stallion around." I warned as I took off my helmet carefully.

“Oh, you’re a ghoul. That explains that. Well so long as you don’t shoplift or attack us and your caps are good, we here at Stable 6 Bargains could care less about your race, mutation of faction affiliation.” She stated in a rather professionally rehearsed fashion. “Now then, what is your name? I don’t believe I got it.”

"Soft Spot." I answered. "And I won't attack people, don't worry."

“Alright, Soft Spot. Now, you have been very cooperative and polite so far, but as the Manager of Stable 6 I also take the safety of the Employees very seriously. I can’t just allow anyone who wishes to shop within our walls a membership, we require some shows of trust first and foremost before hoof.” She informed. “If you are willing to comply to them, we can issue you a starter membership with us for basic trade and bartering within the Stable.”

"Alright, what do you want me to find?" I asked, cutting to the chase as the professionalism was necessary, I've heard this yarn spun a dozen other times.

“Simply put, this stable as you can clearly see was built to be a main supply to other settlements and stables when the doors were to open. Sadly, many settlements we can’t trust fully for one reason or another and many of the stables we planned on trading with are either unopened, or… dead. While we have an abundance of supplies and food the surface could trade with us, we lack proper security. Sunny Soda is just one of ten security mares on staff. Of them, she is the only one to have armored barding and one of three to carry a weapon. We need weapons, robots, armor. Bluntly, we need security. Better security will allow more open trading with the outside and discourage… troublemakers. If you can find and locate us a hefty cache of weapons or bring us some we will gladly offer you a shoppers membership to our Stable.”

"Hmm...I think I know where to find some." I said honestly. "Maybe some still work, and I'll have to ask some people I know about other good places to find some weapons." I said, thinking through the people I know who might know a good spot to find weapons.

“If you can bring at least seven more guns and at minimum, thirty rounds for each and we can get you what you want, within reason.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “Now trust goes both ways ma’am, how can I know that this agreement of ours won’t end up with a bullet in my head when I get you everything?” I asked carefully. “I mean no disrespect when I say this...I’m just trying to cover my bases here and not have any...repeats of bad experiences.”

“A more than fair statement. Tell me, what exactly did you come here for exactly?”

“I came here originally to find food and foal toys because a...friend of mine is helping tend to a child, and my name wouldn’t be Soft Spot if I didn’t help the poor mare and her kid.” I explained.

That made her chuckle. “Fair point. How old is the foal?”

“Only a few month’s.” I answered. “So gotta have something to help keep the kid busy while my friend works and I’m out scavenging.”

“I see. In regards to Foals toys we do have more than the Stable has ever used or needed. Part of my ancestor’s big grand reopening for the wasteland was to bring back the simple pleasures.” She chuckled. “I can have a member of staff gather up some of the more popular infant toys from the pre-war era, as well as some baby food and even a box of diapers on top of the membership card for you, upon your arrival with the weapons and ammunition. After that you can come freely to Stable 6 to shop and should we require your services again we can arrange a deal, yes?”

“Works for me.” I nodded.

“Excellent. Oh, and here.” She typed on her terminal for a bit and suddenly I noticed my Pipbuck flash.

Stable 6 Communications Frequency registered.

“Should you wish to inform us of your success and if in the future, we require your services again, makes it easier to talk. Thankfully the antennas on the outside buildings roofs still work and have been keeping us in the know on the outside for a while.”

“Perfect.” I nodded.

“Until you return, Soft Spot. I’ll have a staff member at the radio.”

With a nod I walked out, Sunny Soda escorting me back out.

Now to find weapons… weapons. That’s the tricky part. Guns and makeshift crap is all around but their conditions are, for lack of a better word, crap. Let’s see… I do have those Enclave Weapons back home, but energy weapons can be tricky and ammo for them is hard to come by. There is that old base marked on this Pipbuck but that’s a high risk venture. One I’d rather not go into alone… Then again, maybe I don’t have to be?

It took a long walk, almost two days to get here but it was worth it. The old army base was like many others. Old world propaganda and ruins of the war littered everywhere. Some skeletons along the road and a top long rusted tanks here and there… and lovely, lovely radiation. The Pipbuck buzzed, indicating danger, fifty three rads per minute. Deadly to most, for a ghoul like me, feels like walking through a fresh spring meadow. I am probably one of the few ponies still alive who can even compare that to anything.

“Ah, the sweet feeling of radiation.” I hummed happily.

“Meow.” Taser meowed from my back, his body unphased by the radiation entirely.

We walked to the main entrance of the army base, the checkpoint was guarded by a lone skeleton with just a combat helmet on and a ten millimeter on the ground. I picked that up and pocketed it. Anything works, and radiation is easier to scrub off items than from ponies.

Looking around it seemed they were in the middle of evacuating the place when the bombs fell. Chariots and carriages covered in the long blackened and fragile bones of ponies filled their back compartments, and the harnesses for the pullers of Pegasus fliers laid on the ground, still hooked up and ready for take off. Must have exploded nearby to cause all this. Also explains why it’s so irradiated still. Betting the crater is only a few miles from here.

“This is still...horrifying…” I shivered, the bombs able to reduce ponies, normally durable enough to handle things like falling pianos and even some lightning… reduced to nothing but bones is still haunting.

“Meow.” Taser said, jumping off my back and began running around, looking for whatever.

With a sigh I joined them, looking around and finding some irradiated rations packets, some surprisingly still good healing potions, and a few poor but functional pistols. All ten millimeters. Tasor found fifteen bullets, all ten millimeters, six bottle caps, and a grenade.

“Well, so far we’re getting a good haul, even with these poor quality pistols.” I shrugged.

After looking around out here for a while, I headed inside, Taser rushing in the second I opened the doors. After closing it I noticed a few things. First, the ticks of the Pipbuck were drastically lower here. Down to two rads per minute. Second, there was two skeletons behind what looked like a reception desk, and the gun on the floor and the holes in their skulls told me how this one ended. Both were unicorns. I sighed as I picked up this pistol. It was in better condition than the ones outside.

“Idiots…” I sighed out. “Waste of life…but a good gun at least.”

I noticed the terminal on the desk next to them was still working. Pushing a button gave me various general stuff. One text file titles ‘Fuck’. Fitting.

Well, looks like this is it. Been… Six hours since that… noise went off outside. The panic and screams outside faded out fast. Hold up here with a soldier colt, but the… radiation is still bleeding in. Infinmery is in the other building, food too so no supplies. All we got here is some contraband he pulled from his dead superior’s office. Without food or meds, we won’t last long. Soldier Colt, Clover, his name is, says we probably got just three more hours before we start shitting blood. My mane’s already fallen out and my coat’s going too. Well, Fuck it. There’s booze, and Clover’s still got enough strength to move around so, might as well get drunk and high for a bit, shag then we’ll blow our brains out. If anypony comes across our bodies, a Survivor, keys are on the General who shot himself an hour ago in his office upstairs. Take what you need. If you’re some Rescue team, Fuck You.

-Positivity.

“Well...at least they had some fun before ending it.” I muttered.

Giving a nod to the skeletons I headed through the small hallway, finding just a janitor’s closet and a small room with desks and telephones. Nothing of much use here so we went upstairs. More offices and such. The wide open door of an Army General’s office greeted me at the end of the hall. The room was rather simple, a table with ammo boxes and a supply case, filing cabinets, and a large desk where a skeleton missing their whole head rested. On the floor in front of the desk sat what looked like a revolver, but when I picked it up, I realized it only held three shells. Three 12 gauge shells. This could only be used by a unicorn, earth pony like me would break their teeth on this recoil. Well, maybe Royally Rich might keep it for show?

“How the hell they managed to make a revolver shoot shotgun shells I’ll still never understand.” I shook my head as I pocketed the thing.

Walking over to the table, the Ammo Boxes had a hundred ten millimeter rounds, ten 12 gauge shells, and the supply case had four more ten millimeter pistols. Alright, that’s eight pistols, a hundred and thirty ten millimeter rounds, and one Overkill Revolver with ten shells. So far, so good.

“Meow.” I looked down, seeing Taser already snagged the keys off the dead General.

“Perfect.” I smiled, lightly petting Taser. “Good kitty.”

“Meow.” They replied, jumping back onto my back.

I headed outside, happy this was easier than I expected. Exiting the office building I headed to the Mess Hall/Infirmary building. Entering here was the same radiation as the Office Building. It was a single hall that, on the left, lead to the Mess Hall, and to the right, led to the Infirmary. There wasn’t any skeletons in the front, but…

“Raggga…” Gurgled the ghoul before me.

They were at one point, a stallion. Mane and coat long since fallen off leaving their rotten leathery body standing before me.

Feral Ghouls rarely mess with still sane Ghouls like me. Still, they always… gave me an unsettling reminder… I shook my head. No, don’t go there. Last time it took years before I snapped out of that slump.

“Don’t get depressed….not again…” I sighed out. “Just keep moving forward…”

“Guggg…” The Mindless Ghoul growled before me. With a huff and a roll of my eyes I bit down onto the bite trigger of my Battle Saddle, pulling the trigger on my mounted shotgun and blasting its neck. The hole I gave it let the head roll off the body. I finished the head off with another shot. Some of these shits don’t die easily. Just happy I’m not in Canterlot. THOSE Ghouls don’t like to stay dead...

“Glad I have my sanity still…” I grumbled.

The growls of more Ghouls in the building all went off at once. Taser hopped off my back and stuck along the wall. From the Infirmary, began trotting out two Ghouls about the same as the one I killed. From the Mess Hall, one Ghoul trotted out that was still wearing a cooks hat… huh…

Taser jumped onto the back of the Cook Ghoul, biting into their rotten flesh as electricity shot through it’s body. It wasn’t dead but it was stunned.

I rushed to the side, turning my shotgun to the two Infirmary Ghouls and shooting. My first shot got one of them in the leg, sending it falling onto the other. I blasted them both as they hit the floor, turning their rotten heads into rotten paste.

Sniffing the air I turned to see Taser still biting onto that cook ghoul, my Pipbuck told me it was now dead as Taser cooked it’s rotten body with electricity. After a bit, Taser let go of the now charred spot it bit and spat out what was stuck on their metallic teeth.

“Yeah, rotten flesh doesn’t taste good.” I chuckled.

With the Pipbuck showing no more hostels I walked around, looting the Mess Hall of twenty still edible ration packets, and various canned goods all with little to no radiation.

With that done I spotted Taser eating the cooking pots. I laughed at the absurdity as I watched the tiny cyber cat eat a large pot and leave just the grip handles.

With that done here we walked into the infirmary. Here, I found six healing potions and ten rad aways. No use for me but Autumn and Angel can use them. There was also some Med-X and some Buck in a broken cabinet. Pocketing all that I headed off to the final building. The door here was locked but the key from the General opened it easily. I walked in and upon closing the door, realized something. There were no bodies, it was oddly clean in here, and there was no radiation at all. Alright… this can only be bad...

“Alright...this is gonna be worrisome…” I started carefully. “Hello?” I called out carefully, wondering if anyone was in here.

I didn’t hear anything, and looking at my Pipbuck showed just Taser and… wait… I moved slightly, seeing a faint second blue dot some distance, just outside the Pipbuck’s range. Slowly, I headed towards it. Walking carefully through this large and oddly empty building, I opened a nearby door and was met by a Mister Gutsy, floating lazily behind a locked, caged off section of the room. Looking through the bard and small entryway, I noticed this was the armory… and it was still very much stocked. Rifles, pistols, shotguns, machine guns. There’s enough here to arm a whole town! Or, a Stable.

“Uh...hello?” I inquired.

“Greetings Maggot!” It declared with a loud, masculine and artificial voice. “Submit your weapon for inspection, or be court marshalled!”

“Uh...why?” I asked carefully.

“Failure to properly maintain peak weapon condition can result in jamming! A Jammed gun can cost you your life! Your fellow soldiers lives! The Kingdom of Equestria could fall all because you didn't properly maintain your gun and kill the Zebra Scum!”

Woah alright whoever programmed this thing really went all out for it!

“Well...you got a point there.” I nodded. “But right now, all these weapons need to be brought to others that need it.”

“Only the Quartermaster or General can authorize the removal of weapons from this facility! Any attempt to take even a single bullet from this room will find themselves with my buzzsaw up their ass!” He declared, his saw limb roaring up to life for emphasis.

“And what would you do if I said that the Quartermaster and General have been long dead?” I inquired. “Or...what the world outside the Stable is?”

“Then I shall wait until they return! Death can not keep the Equestria Army down!”

Well… guess it wasn’t programmed to deal with the, well, end of the world.

“Well then…” I muttered “Uh...Taser? You got any ideas?”

“Meow.” The Cyber Cat said, jumping from my back to the small table-like area between the bot and I in the cage wall.

I watched as Taser stared at the Mister Gutsy for a minute before I noticed their back open up. A small panel moved up and over from their left side and the smallest little satellite dish I have ever seen popped out. It then started to spin around before stopping in the direction of the Mister Gutsy.

“Equestrian Ministry of Wartime Technology signal detected.” The Mister Gutsy suddenly spoke. “Connection established. Mister Gutsy model 99OC3, OS version Sargent 9.0.7.2 installed.” About a minute passed before it spoke again. “Override codes from Ministry of Wartime Technology signal accepted. Setting new Priority. Priority Set.” There were several beeps that came from the bot as the small dish retreated into Taser. “Greetings Maggot!” It yelled at me. “What are my orders?”

I simply looked at Taser Fang, who bagan licking their legs as if to clean them.

“Good kitty…” I said as I lightly pet the super kitty. “Can you tell me what weapons are in this armory?”

“This armory houses some of the finest lead spitting armaments of the Equestrian army!” It yelled. “We got Sniper Rifles! 5.56 to .50 caliber! We got Shotguns from 20 to 6 gauge! We got pistoles and revolvers from pathetic little .22 to the all mighty .50 caliber pistol rounds! We got Machine guns that shoot everything from .22 to .308! We got Assault Rifles that shoot 5.56 rounds! We got Enough guns and Ammunition to wipe the Stripped Plague from the face of Equis!” It declared.

...Okay then...

“Alright…” I started. “So how many am I able to grab…” I muttered.

“Maggot! Would you like the rest of the non-lead spitting armory as well!?” It yelled/asked… wait… there’s MORE?!

“Uh...hold on, there’s more to the armory?” I asked curiously.

“Of course Maggot!” It screamed. “No Equestrian army is without the finest explosives! Tank’s! And Magical Energy weapons! We’ll deliver death upon the Stripes in every way imaginable! And when we run out of ways to deal death, we'll create some new ones!”

“Mind...showing me all this?” I asked curiously.

“Of course Maggot!” It yelled, floating over to the door, unlocking it for me and I slowly followed it to a back area where another door was hidden. In here, there was the Magical Energy Weapons. Plasma, Laser, a few EMP ones and parts as far as the eye can see. Sweet-

“The fuck are you?!” I jumped, looking to my left and seeing… a reflection?

I shook my head, seeing another pony, no, ghoul, dressed in MOM Elite Riot Gear also. They were a unicorn, and their armor was… actually it looked pretty good. A bit better than mine. They rapidly levitated over an energy rifle while I aimed my shotgun.

We stood in this standoff for several seconds. “You… you a Stripe?” They asked.

“Do I look like that?” I asked. “I know the gravelly voice isn’t too much to go on but the smell should definitely give it away even though I try and wash.”

They kept their gun in their magic. “That… armor. You with the MOM too?”

I was at a crossroads here… lie, or truth…

“No, no I am not.” I shook my head. “I’m a Scavenger, found this neat piece of armor when I was sifting around an area that had high radiation, considering I’m a ghoul and all, poor bastard probably didn’t notice it until it was too late.” I shook my head. “Took a week to clean the damn thing though…”

“G-Ghoul? The fuck is a ghoul?”

“Let’s take a step back.” I said carefully. “My name is Soft Spot, who are you?”

“A- Agent Sticky Note.” He answered. “What do you mean scavenger?”

“I go around looking for things that people...leave on accident.” I started carefully. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The… The bombs. They hit and I took cover down here. I tried to get out a few hours after but… all those bodies… their eyes… I- I must have passed out and when I woke up I ran back here and locked the door.” He huffed. “Fuck I ran. Some agent…”

I thought about that story for a bit. If the rads outside are still over fifty, then back then they would have been in the thousands… he’d have died, or in this case, ghoulified, instantly. Him passing out must have been when he changed. Between the rads and the stress… poor bastard.

“Listen...the bombs were something no agent would have wanted to experience, even Pinkie wouldn’t have wanted this.” I sighed out, the name of the MOM leader always prevalent to everyone with how...special she was. “The bombs did terrible thing’s to the world…”

“Well, yeah. Bombs do that. Fucking Stripes. I can only hope we hit them harder.” He growled. “You still haven’t answered my question, the hell is a ghoul?”

“A ghoul is someone that’s been...infected by the aftermath of the bombs.” I started. “They can range from either brain dead zombies, or normal ponies just with an immunity to radiation and a longer life...with the down-side of being infertile which to some would be a positive...to others a massive negative.”

“So, a mutant or something?” He asked. “And, you’re a ghoul?”

“Yes I am.” I nodded. “You can tell someone’s a ghoul by the raspy as shit voice like someone’s been gargling gravel, the smell of...well a corpse, or anything physical that would show that someone’s a ghoul.” I explained carefully, hoping I’m not accidentally leading this poor guy to realize what he is.

“Shit. That, that’s fucked up. Been what, a week at max and shit like that’s already a thing?”

I’m glad my helmet hid my wince. He thinks it’s just been a week...

“Y-yeah...a lot can change in a week.” I said carefully.

“Well… fuck…” They said, their magic finally stopping as they dropped the rifle. “So… it’s… bad, out there then? Shit… I hope my sister made it into the stable. Must be hell out there for everypony who hasn’t huh?”

“It is most definitely hell out there.” I sighed out. “And what’s your sister's name?”

“Positivity. She’s the receptionist in the main office here.”

Oh Celestia fuck me with her fifteen inch horn...

“So anyways,” I said quickly. “I’m here to pick up a bunch of stuff to help out another Stable with more security.”

“Oh, really? Wait, it’s been a week? What Stable in their right mind is opening this early?”

“It’s been...a little longer than a week.” I started. “Time passes a lot when your locked in a Stable.”

“And Stuck in an armory…” They said, looking towards the floor. “More than… a week… I… haven’t eaten… or drank… anything…” Oh shit… “I… haven’t even slept…” They shakily began removing their helmet. Once it was off, I saw their face. It was… honestly. Could be worse. He was missing fur, and half his mane was gone, but he still had his face at least. His eyes were the same glossy white all ghouls have. Well, the majority of ghouls have. Before I could say anything, he levitated up a reflective sheet of metal. He simply stared at himself for a while, his hoof feeling along his face. “I… I’m a ghoul… aren’t I?” He asked.

“Sticky, listen to me…”

“How long?” They asked me. “How… How long has it really been…?”

“Before I answer.” I started, putting a gentle hoof on their shoulder. “I want you to take a deep breath, and relax-”

“How long!” They yelled, punching me and standing. “A month?!” I said nothing. “A year!” I got up, and just looked at the ground. “How long!?”

I sighed out. “It’s almost been two hundred years…” I sighed out. “Long enough for people to get out of the stables and help try and rebuild.”

Sticky said nothing, just… shook as he looked towards the ground. “T-two… hundred…” He said. For a while, he just stood there. I tried to comfort him. But he suddenly ran past me. I ran after him. He was outside, looking at all the skeletons. He remembered when they were fresh corpses…

He bolted to the Office Building. I followed. He saw the two skeletons behind the desk. I stood back, watching as he checked and read the terminal entry his sister left… Then, finally, he broke.

Ghouls can cry. No matter what some racists or assholes say, not all of us let our feelings rot away. And Sticky Note cried.

Hours passed before he finally managed to separate the bone piles. He gently put a hoof over one. “This… was Positivity.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper. “She broke her leg bad when we were foals. I can… see the repaired fractures still…”

“They managed to get in...but the radiation was still seeping in…” I sighed out.

“Yeah… Armory was lead lined so…” He spoke. “I became this when I left… why? We were siblings… why am I a ghoul but she didn’t become one?”

"Nobody really knows how ghouls become ghouls...maybe it's because you got hit by all that radiation at once while they had to deal with it slowly." I sighed out. "I'm sorry…"

"... Seven years in the MOM and ten years before that in the Equestrian Army. All that to keep the ponies I cared about safe… and in the end… it didn't matter…" He sighed.

"No one could have expected what the war would have brought in…" I sighed out bitterly. "But...people are trying to rebuild a stable enough life."

"... What is it like? The world now?"

“It’s...sadly mostly destroyed.” I sighed out. “The bombs let out a lot of radiation, so it’s been hard for nature to regrow, even with earth ponies doing their best.” I started. “While there are good people...it’s gone to Tartarus with all the slavers, bandits, and faction’s doing terrible things to ponies… but there are thankfully good places, like New Appleloosa for example.”

"New Appleloosa? Huh…" They remained quiet for a while, taking in a deep breath. "What's the number on that armor?" He asked. "There was only twelve of us Eliot MOM agents so… I know the prior owner."

I took off the helmet, looking and finding a faded but still readable number 7 on it.

"Seven." I answered.

"Promo… his name was Promo Deal. Silver tongued bastard." Sticky chuckled. "He was great at interrogation and information gathering. Does the suit still work after all this time too?"

"It does, but the original OS bricked when I tried to use it, but thankfully a friend of fixing it up."

"Ah, the Anti-Theft protocol. Always wondered what that did." He nodded. "I… there's a Flamer in the armory… I knew most of the ponies here and… I need to bury my sister. I'll bury here… the rest, that thing should be able to cremate the bones well enough."

"Fair enough." I nodded. "And...you're doing a good job." I told him softly.

"Holding it together? Barely… I just… really wish… I died two hundred years ago…"

"A lot of people wish they were dead…" I sighed out. "But right now...now isn't the time for wanting death, right now is the time to move forward and help others that need it."

"...Maybe… "

The cremations we're easy enough, this Flamer is fucking amazing. It's like no other I've ever seen. A mix between magic and technology let's the females burn blue, and melts metal easy. The remains were all ashes now.

Sticky Note found a trench shovel and buried his sister. After that he helped me haul the weapons and ammo in a makeshift wagon made from one of the chariots who's wheels still moved.

We both pulled while Mr. Gutsy floated around keeping guard. "So… where are we going?" Sticky asked.

“Stable 6.” I answered. “They needed some weapons and ammo to help have better security so they wouldn’t get robbed to hell.”

"Heh, well given all this, they'll probably never have to worry about security again. Hmm… if I remember correctly, Stable Six was built under that Barnyard Bargains Super Store right?"

“Even still has a Rich running the place.” I added. “It’s definitely a place we need to make sure is safe.”

"Really? Huh. Filthy Rich was one of the few ponies of influence not on Pinkie Pie's list of 'Meanie Ponies to Arrest'." He chuckled. "She was crazy at times but there was a method to her madness. And she was never wrong. It's what my team did. We gathered the info needed to keep the ponies she arrested in prison. Sadly she arrested so many we couldn't work fast enough to keep them in cuffs." He said plainly as we walked towards Stable 6. "Promo used his charisma to gather intel. I picked locks and stole documents her targets would have preferred to not see the light of day."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “That whole thing was...a lot to take in half the time.”

"It sickened me how much so many were profiting off the war. And from both sides…"

“Yeah…” I sighed out. “It was terrible all around.”

"So, where did you find Promo's corpse exactly?"

“In a hidden basement in some house I was scavenging from.” I shrugged.

"Ah. Must have been his place then. Always talked about setting up his own bunker in case. Guess he did a piss poor job of it."

“Considering I fell through the floor to that basement...yeah.” I nodded.

"Hm. Between hearing about Promo and burying my sister… oddly, I feel… well, not okay, but… better. Knew too many back then and not knowing their fate feels like it's gonna eat away at me."

“It happens.” I shrugged. “Better to know what happened to the people you knew than wonder for the rest of your life, but you're also doing a whole lot better than other ghoul’s in your situation.”

"Not by much… mostly just trying to keep a promise I made to the pink mare herself back when I was recruited."

“Your doing better by leaps and bounds, cause I’ve seen ghouls in your situation before...they either go completely insane and go on a bloodthirsty rampage, or just commit suicide with how...thing’s happened.”

"I can see that being the case. So, being a ghoul too apparently, anything I should know about my… new biology?"

“Radiation heals you, and even makes you physically stronger by a lot, you live a hell of a lot longer, you’re stomach is stronger and with the lack of a sense of smell you can eat almost anything if your teeth are strong enough.” I listed off the positives. “The negatives...well ninety percent of the time ghouls are sterile which blows, your skin is going to keep coming off till either you’re muscles and blood or literal bone but that normally takes forever, and given strange circumstances you can become a feral ghoul which is...literally just a zombie.” I shrugged. “Not many know about how ghouls become feral, most of the time it’s because of isolation and a lack of food and water, but other’s could devolve even when in the company of others...though in those cases they’re still working boring ass jobs...so being feral and working as a cashier at a food place isn’t so different.”

That gave him a laugh. "Sounds fair." He replied.

We remained silent for a while before finally stopping for a while. I made a small fire in our shelter, an old Carriage repair shop.

I went over all the stuff here while Sticky put a fresh battery into his helmet and put it back on. "Figures." He huffed.

“Figures you say?” I inquired.

"Our suits all come with a tracking spell so we can find one another but only so long as the backup power is working. Only ones I'm finding are my own suit and yours." He answered, taking the helmet off. "Wish I could say I was optimistic about running that scan but I'd be lying."

“I understand.” I nodded. “Wanting to know if any of your work buddies are still alive is nothing to feel down about...no matter what happens, you always need someone, especially now.” I shook my head. “And the people who say otherwise are either lying out their ass or clinically insane.”

"Heh, Wasteland logic I guess." He sighed. "So, you're like me then. From before?"

“Yeah, but I’m not as special as you are.” I said honestly. “Just your average stallion working at a recycling plant, and considering all the lead and metal that was around I at least didn’t die from the explosions, but the radiation was still enough for me to become a ghoul.”

"Heh, fair enough. Still, you survived and… that's a lot more than most can say." He said, motioning to the two hundred year old blood splatter in the wall.

“Yeah…” I sighed out. “It all sucks...but at least things are looking up at least.”

"Small comforts I take it?"

“Not being alone.” I said honestly. “Cause it certainly makes doing all this shit both easier and bearable instead of being alone all the time.”

“I guess. Still… processing all of this.”

“Better than blowing your brains out first thing or trying to immediately murder me.” I shrugged.

"Won't lie, blowing my brains out crossed my mind… but, I remember what I promised the pink boss so, I decided against it."

“What was the promise?” I inquired.

“Heh, that’s the thing. I don’t completely get it either. It happened when she had that infamous overdose. Called me up and spit out like, a million words per second. All I did get out of that was ‘Hope’, ‘Fly’, ‘Marshmallows’, and ‘Don’t Die’. Then I think she broke a record for the most times somepony can say ‘Promise me’ over and over again in a single minute. I said I promise then she yelled ‘Thank you’ and hung up. Still have no idea what the whole promise was but the ‘Don’t Die’ part stuck with me.”

“Well…” I looked to Sticky’s side, wondering if he had wings. “I do know a pony named Hope...I don’t know anything about Marshmallows…”

“And I ain’t got wings. Whatever she said to me, I just paid attention to the Don’t Die part and hope the rest just works out.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “One thing at a time, and unless Pinkie can somehow write down what she truly wanted to tell you coherently from the grave, it’s best we just focus on the here and now rather than what’s to come.”

“If I’m honest I mostly forgot about it until… anyway, So, what’s this Stable 6 like?”

“Like a Supermarket believe it or not.” I said honestly. “It only needs full staff and proper guards to make sure it’s not stolen from and it’ll be a prime trading hub sooner or later.”

“Hmm… So I take it, this means they don’t have much of a guard then?”

“Sadly no.” I shook my head. “But that’s why I’m helping them out to get them all these weapons and ammo to even it out.”

“Then I guess, they’ll need someone who actually knows how all this crap works to teach them less they blow themselves up.” Note chuckled. “Think they’ll hire a ghoul?”

“At the moment they need all the help they can get, plus me and their manager hashed out a deal so I’d say it doesn’t matter if you're a ghoul or not, just play by their rules and everything’ll be okay.’

“Well, I am a soldier, so it’s a damn good thing I know how to follow orders then.”

MOM Suit Status: Unchanged.

Companion Status: Updated.

• Taser Fang: Perk - Signal Override; Taser can wirelessly hack various robots and electronic locks if locks or robots run any Ministry made OS systems.