Fallout Equestria - Chronicles of Chrysalis

by Mr All

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 6958

After two hundred years Chrysalis has woken up from hibernation. Weak, vulnerable and without her hive she sets out on an adventure that may change her.

After waking up from hibernation the changeling queen finds herself in the wastes of the Badlands. Now she must embark on a journey that will change her. vulnerable

A lot can change in two hundred years, but if there's one thing for certain. It's that that now, the Badlands ain't no place for a hero.

The fic your looking at here happens after the events of the original Fallout Equestria by Kkat. This fic combines elements from the games Rage and Borderlands 2 with Fallout Equestria being the foundation it's built on to create an action adventure fic. Enjoy

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-03 12:15:43 UTC

Wakening

Wakening

The Badlands

To  most  it  was  a  place  of  danger  and  death.  Of  defiance  and  despair, But  during  the  war  between  Equestria  and  the zebras  it  wasn't  important.  That  was  until  the  princess  realised  how  valuable  the  changelings  were.  Their  ability  to disguise  themselves  as  their  prey  made  them  the  perfect  infiltrators,  and  when  the  zebras  found  out  how  kingly  rich the  soils  of  the  Badlands  were,  filled  with  precious  gems  and  crystals,  A  new  story  unfolded.  I  made  a  deal  with     Celestia.  My  children  would  work  for  Equestra  and  in  exchange,  they  would  no  longer  be  hunted  provided  that  there were  no  attacks  on  the  population  at  large.

I learned a lot about Equestria after that, about the ministries, the new technology. But to me one of the most important things that I learnt, was about Sparkle and her friends. From Applejack to Pinkie to even That little pet Twilight had.

But  as  time  went  on  and  threat  of  total  devastation  loomed,  the  demands  on  both  sides  grew.  From  being  able  to experiment  and  study  the  changeling  race  to  a  stable  built  to  support  both  species.  But  when  the  mega  spells  flew  by I  and  the  rest  of  the  present  hive  hunkered  down  and  went  into  hibernation.  Waiting  for  the  radiation  to  subside.

I am Queen Chrysalis, and this is how my new story began.

I  Felt  my  mind  wake  up,  I  could  not  remember  anything.  At  least,  not  until  I  got  a  grip  of  myself.  Over  time,  it  all came  flooding  back.  The  war,  the  bombs,  the  death.  Part  of  me  wanted  to  stay  asleep,  as  if  I  didn't  want  to  accept  the  reality  I  was  in.  My  brain  was  still  waking  up  though  so  it  had  taken  it's  time.  Slowly,  I  opened  my  eyes. I  was  in  a cocoon, my cocoon.

I  felt  the  warm  liquid  around  me,  it  was  odd  to  say  the  least.  I  never  really  get  used  to  the  idea  of  a  non-aquatic creature  (especially  myself)  breathing  liquid  and  that's  the  word  that  suits  it  best,  odd.  I  felt  the  liquid  passing  in and  out  of  my  lungs,  yes,  my  lungs.  Slowly,  I  regained  control  over  my  body.  I  moved  around  a  little  and  soon        enough.  I  could  move  myself  closer  to  the  edge  of  the  cocoon.  Once  I  moved  close  enough  I  applied  pressure  to  the walls  of  this  green  prison  with  my  horn.  Just  a  little  more,  I  thought  to  myself.  Soon  enough  my  horn  cut  through   the underside  of  the  cocoon.  I  continued  to  slice  a  nice  line  from  the  bottom  of  the  cocoon  to  the  top.

It  sounded  like  the  breaking  of  an  eggshell  combined  with  the  tearing  of  tissue  paper.  I  was  thrown  out  with  the     water  like  liquid  and  I  found  myself  on  the  floor  coughing  up  liquid  and  gasping  for  air.  After  around  a  minute  or    two  I  was  breathing  normally,  aside  from  a  few  coughs  every  now  and  then.  I  got  up  on  all  fours  and  found  myself quite  wobbly.  At  first  I  was  barely  able  to  stand  but  in  time  my  brain  woke  up  and  so  did  I.  I  stretched  every  now and  then to  help  wake  me  up. Soon  I  was  standing  tall  and  determent, I  took  a  deep  breath  in  and  let  it  all  out.

"It's good to be back", I said to myself.

I  took  a  look  around  the  chamber  and  tried  to  light  it  up  a  little.  A  green  glow  covered  my  horn  but  the  light  died down  shortly  after,  my  magic  reserve  was  low.  I  made  note  to  use  magic  sparingly.  The  walls  of  my  main  chamber  had  some  kind  of  green  glowing  fungi  growing  off  them  here  and  there  along  with  a  noticeable  amount  decay  in  the form of  missing  chunks  of  wall,  cracks  and  holes  present  in  the  chamber.

I  recognised  the  fungus  on  the  walls.  It  was  the  same  sweet  chewy  fungi  my  children  harvested  for  who  knows  how long.  From  what  I  recall  the  fungi  is  not  only  highly  poisonous  to  ponies  (and  maybe  some  other  animals)  but  it released  spores  that  or  though  grew  very  slowly  and  died  very  fast  unless  the  conditions  were  perfect,  were poisonous  themselves.  How  it  had  spread  from  the  fungus  farms  four  stories  below  all  the  way  up  here  told  me  that  a  very  long  time  has  passed.  Good  thing  the  Badlands  is  too  hot  for  the  fungi  to  spread  otherwise...oh  boy,  still.  It  made  for  some  great  toxins  during  the  war,  it  was  easy  to  contain,  very  deadly  and  to  changelings,  a  great  meal.

Which  reminded  me,  I  need  more  food  if  I'm  going  to  start  waking  up  my  children.  they  will  be  very  hungry  after sleeping  for  so  long.  My  stomach  grumbled  at  the  thought  of  food.  So  while  I'm  at  it  I  might  as  well  get  something  to  eat  myself.  I  walked  up  to  the  wall  and  (using  my  horn)  cut  off  some  of  the  fungi  from  the  wall.  I  scrapped  off  any  fungi  on  my  horn  and  did  the  same  to  the  fungi  itself  (only  I  was  actually  scrapping  off  any  bits  of  stone  on  my  meal).  Once  I  was  done  I  ate  it,  it  was  as  sweet  as  I  remembered  it.  Too  bad  it  would  kill  anything  else  that did  this.

Once  I  was  done  I  exited  my  chamber  and  looked  around.  Cocoons  with  changelings  were  everywhere,  on  the  walls,  the  sealing  and  the  floor.  The  pods  had  a  green  lamp  like  glow  to  them  which  almost  lit  up  the  otherwise  pitch-black hallways  of  the  hive.  I  knelled  down  and  stroked  one  of  the  pods  with  that  of  a  mother's  care.

"Sleep  tight, momma  is  going  to  get  food."  It  was  then  I  noticed  that  some  of  the  pods  were  black,  both  in  and  out. The  pod's  liquid  must  have  not  been  rich  enough.  How  long  has  it  really  been?  The  liquid  in  these  pods  is  meant  to be  rich  enough  to  last  more  then  a  century!  Now  that  I  think  of  it,  how  many  are  left?  I'm  clearly  not  the  only       survivor  but  just  how  many  of  my  children  survived?

Focus, I  need  to  focus. I  can't  dwell  on  this, I  need  to  rebuild  my  hive  and  prosper. I  know  the  surface  is  habitable because  my  pod  had  a  spell  that  read  the  radiation  levels. That's  how  I  woke  up, but  then  why  are  my  children  still asleep? I'll  look  into  this  later. For  now  I  need  to  stockpile  food  and  energy, get  a  grip  of  the  situation  I'm  in  and survive.

I  got  up  and  started  trotting  through  the  obsidian  black  cave  to  the  exit  but  I  couldn't  shake  the  feeling  I  had forgotten  something,  it  was  something  big  but  I  just  couldn't  put  my  hoof  on  it.  It  felt  so  different  to  see  the  hive devoid  of  life.  I  decided  not  to  wake  up  any  of  my  children,  there's  more  then  enough  food  for  a  few  of  them  but   it's  magic  that  I  need  to  be  concerned  about.  Me  and  my  children  have  a  limited  amount  of  magic  we  can  use. Unlike  unicorns  who  can  generate  their  own  magic,  my  children  (and  I)  need  to  refill  ours  by  absorbing  emotional     energy.  We  can't  even  disguise  or  use  the  most  basic  magic  attacks  without  it  because  it  takes  up  magical energy.  In  other  words  without magic  we  can't  defend  ourselves  very  well.

After  walking  around  for  some  time  I  found  the  exit  to  the  hive. It  was  a  like  a  vertical  stable  door  or  rather, a  gear shaped  elevator.  I  walked  over  to  the  control  panel  and  activated  the  elevator,  the  gear  shaped  platform  descended from  above  and  landed.  I  stood  on  the  platform  and  looked  up,  the  upper  door  was  still  closed.  I  turned  my attention to  the  control  panel  on  my  right  and  activated  it.  The  platform  started  ascending  as  soon  as  the  door  started  opening. It  was  surprisingly  quiet  for  a  stable  door  which  was  (from  my  experience)  normally  quite  noisy.

I'd rather have my personal guards around but until I find more food or magic I was going to have to play solo. After getting out I  took a look around and instantly noticed it was night time, around late-night or close to dawn.

I  saw  a  nearby  camp  site  with  ponies  around  a  fire  that  looked  like  they  where  having  a  conservation.  Three  tents surrounding  a  camp  fire.  However,  the  ponies  looked  different  from  what  I'd  seen  before  hibernation.  They  had makeshift  armour  and  clothing  that  looked  as  if  it  was  torn  apart  and  then  sown  back  together,  and  then  torn  apart again.  There  were  three  of  them,  one  red,  one  blue  and  one  black.

Not  only  that  but  they  had  guns  with  them,  assault  rifles  to  be  exact.  And  I  knew  what  a  gun  was  from  the  pre-war.  I  decided  not  to  directly  confront  them  with  a  disguise  on  because  it  may  mean  the  end  of  me.  I  decided  to     sneak  close  enough  to  listen  in  on  the  conversation  and  find  out  a  thing  or  two,  after  getting  close  enough  I  could  make  out  what  they  where  saying.

"Red, put more wood on the fire", ordered the black pony.

"My name is Wild, Dusk!"

"Shut up, I give the orders. Blue, check on the prisoner."

"For Celestia sake, my name is Star Dusk."

Wild proceeded to chuck some more wood on the fire while Star trotted into one of the tents. I made note of which tent he  went into. A moment later Star trotted out the tent and sat down around the fire, Wild sat down next to him.

"So Wild, what are you going to do with the-"

"Caps we get? I'm going to see if I can-"

"Get a drink?"

"You know me too well."

"You really should stop-"

"Thinking about myself, you need to stop-"

"Collecting shovels?"

"Yes, you know it's-"

"An odd habit-"

"Shut up! shut up! shut up! shut up!"

"Sorry Boss"

"Sorry Boss"

"I can't stand you two! now do I have to remind you two lump heads again?"

"I know I know, get the slave back to Mr Chains and then get paid.

We've done this a hundred times", said Wild.

"It's not Chains this time, the pony we got is apparently wanted by the Desert Raiders."

"The what?"

"The what?"

The black pony sighed. "I'll explain in the morning and by the way Red, the answer I was looking for was that I'm the one in charge!"

Well,  that  was...interesting.  I  need  to  get  rid  of  them  somehow  because  of  how  close  to  the  hive  they  are  but  that     might  be  a  bit  difficult  considering  the  fact  that  they  have  weapons,  armour  and  that  they're  grouped  up  together.   Then  again  the  entrance  to  the  hive  is  well  hidden  (thanks  to  the  sand  coloured  door,  not  the  elevator,  and  that's  it's partially  covered)  so  they  shouldn't  find  it  unless  they  looked.

Now  if  I  could  rescue  the  slave  then  I'll  get  enough  love  to  fuel  me  for  days!  That  is  if  I  put  on  a  disguise.  But     then  how  do  I  take  care  of  these  peasants?  I  can't  simply  go  up  to  them  in  disguise  because  they  may  enslave  me,  I can't  dive  bomb  them  because  that  will  take  up  to  much  energy  and  I  can't  stun  them  for  a  good  enough  amount  of time  without  more  energy.

Maybe  I  can  throw  a  rock?  I  don't  have  much  else  at  the  moment  anyway.  I  picked  up  a  small  rock  with  my  hoof   and  threw  it.

"Huh, what was that Wild?"

"Probably just a rad roach Star"

Dam, let's try something else.

I considered my options but I didn't have much to go on. Then an idea pops in my head. It's a costly one but it may work. I casted a weak explosives spell and armed it not to far off. A distant blast shattered the midnight silence and echoed throughout the area.

"What the- oh crumbs move it!"

The  three  ponies  rushed  toward  the  source  of  the  blast  and  when  they  left.  I  got  up  and  rushed  towards  the  tents.  I  checked  the  tent  Star  went  into  and  found  a  dark  brown  tied  up  pony  with  a  scared  look  his  face.  The  stallion looked  as  if  it  had  been  beaten  to  a  pulp  but  I  didn't  have  time  to  inspect  the  pony.  I  lifted  him  up  with  my  magic and  ran  away  with  the  stallion  back  to  the  hive.

I  rushed  back  to  the  hive  with  the  dark  brown  pony.  Once  inside  I  walked  around,  looking  for  a  good  spot  to  stick  him.  The  pony's  face  went  white  with  fear,  probably  because  this  was  all  alien  to  him.  The  stallion  struggled  like mad  but  it  was  useless  while  he  was  In  the  air,  yet  he  tried  to  worm  his  way  out.  The  way  he  struggled  frustrated   me.  "Stop  struggling  worm!"  I  cried,  but  he  still  struggled.  I  started  to  walk  a  lot  quicker  through  the  frustration.  I    didn't  have  the  patience  for  this.

I  decided  to  only  go  down  one  floor  into  the  hive  otherwise  the  spores  from  the  fungi  growing  of  the  walls  would   kill  him.  I  put  the  pony  up  against  the  wall  and  activated  the  pheromones  that  make  the  sticky  green  resin  come  out the  holes  in  my  hooves.  I  stuck  the  terrified  stallion  to  the  wall  covering  almost  everything  but  the  head  and  lower   body  hooves,  now  that  I  wasn't  in  such  a  hurry  I  could  took  a  good  look  at  the  unicorn.

The  stallion  had  leather  belts  that  had  bound  the  upper  body  and  lower  body. The  unicorn  also  had  a  belt  fastened  around  it's  muzzle  that  stopped  him  from  talking,  he  had  blue  eyes  and  bruises   across  the  right  cheek,  jaw  line  and  freckles  on  his  face.  His  main  body  colour  was  a  chocolate  brown  while  his  tail, mane  and  hooves  were  a  pitch  black.

The  right  ear  of  the  pony  had  a  small  hole  on  the  left  edge  of  said  ear.  like  it  had  been  hit  by  something  or  other  a  long  time  ago.  It  had  healed  now  but  a  small  chunk  of  the  ear  was  still  missing  and  the  skin  around  that  area   was  badly  scared,  I  could  tell  they  were  burn  scars  but  what  I  wanted  to  know  was  why  is  it  so  burned  up?  Of     course  you  can  say  a  dragon  did  it  bit  if  that  were  the  case  then  there  should  be  more  burn  scars,  the  hole  is  small  enough  to  be  considered  a  bullet  hole  but  the  hole  was  also  big  enough  that  no  calibre  round  (that  I  know  of) would  have  made  it.  It...had  me  puzzled  to  say  the  least.

Back on the subject at hoof, there was a ring on his horn that stopped the use of magic and a circular burn scar that resembled a chain was on the left side of his neck, I'd say that this indicates he was a slave. His cutie mark was a crossed over wrench and screwdriver. I didn't just sense the fear in the pony. I could almost taste it just from being around him.

He looked at me with those fear filled eyes as I examined him, I could only wonder what was going through his mind though. What am I? who am I? and what do I want? all questions I'd might answer before I devourer his emotions. But I needed to know more about Equestria and this peasant is my best source of information right now, I needed to calm him down first. I opened up with a simple "hello."

But the dark brown pony continued staring at me, in fact, did he just ignore me?

"Hay, get a grip! I'm not going to hurt you!" The stallion's eyes shifted from the left to right and back at me. His expression settled a little, indicating that he was calming down. Though not by much. "Look, I know this is all terrifying for you but I need to talk."

I sat down in front of him, waiting for him to calm down. I sat there and we exchanged looks, I tried to give him a reassuring look. And over the course of...I'd say an hour (sure feels like it) I felt the fear in him decrease by a good degree. It was when I started getting impatient he started making noises, it sounded like he was trying to say something. "Are you trying to say something?" I asked. He nodded, I got up and removed the belt around his muzzle.

The stallion moved his jaw around a bit afterwards. "Ok first off, what the buck r' ur?" I could tell he was still panicking a little by the tone in his voice. I identified the accent as appleloosen, hold on. How could somepony from Appleooser make it all the way out here? And further more, how rude.

"How dare you."

"Oh uh, sorry, were r' ma manners? Oh there they are. Thanks fer savin me, ah would have been ah goner without ur."

"That's better, now I have some questions for you and no doubt you have some for me , first off, who are you?"

"Ma names Tax, Tax Knight, I come from stable 4-b and ma skill is mechanicals, now tell me, what r' ur and how do yer work? Because quite frankly, yer look like a black ghoul bucked an alicorn."

A stable dweller? well that explains a few things, but then where's his pip-buck? And again, how rude.

"I I'm Queen Chrysalis, queen of this hive and of all changelings! We are a race that have to feed off emotions to gain more magic and can gain some form of nutrition from doing so, granted we still have to eat and drink.

I have woken from hibernation and I can't wake my children yet because they will be hungry. changelings can give energy to each other but it's like filling up a cup of water with another cup of water. I don't have the means to feed my kids so I must stockpile food for them for now," I still kept a few details from Tax encase I got into a situation and needed to catch Tax off guard. like us being shape shifters.

"So ur risked ye life to get me down here so I could feed ya'll and yer kids?"

"Yes, now tell me what's happened in Equestria."

"No wait, if ya'll have to eat emotions then does that mean ya'll gonna turn me into some kind of husk?" Tax was starting to panic, I need to defuse this.

"Tell me about Equestria and maybe I won't."

"In that case, I'm gonna be talking fer long time. Now were do ah start?"

Things seemed to blur after that, he told me about the wasteland, about bandits, slavers, mutated creatures with a thirst for blood, and much more. I was surprized more then shocked, I knew that a wasteland would be all that's left but I didn't expect it to be a brutal harsh...ok I expected this but not on this level!

How are my children going to get their energy back now that everypony fights each other to the death! One thing that did catch me off guard though was that over two hundred had passed! sure I knew a long time had passed but again, not that much! Bottle caps became the new currency (don't know why) and that small bastions of civilisation were still left. So maybe there was hope yet.

But the worst part has to be that these creatures known as "Black ghouls" sound a lot like my children mutated into some kind of zombie! Apparently, those who don't die from the initial blast suffered radiation poisoning and sometimes turned into a kind of zombie known as a "Ghoul" and or through some are still sentient most of the time they become a mindless zombie.

"And then there's the Desert raiders who are basically semi-trained bandits with access ta pre-war tech. At first it was ah small clan and now it's ah small army lead ba one Ace Combat."

"Oh yea the slavers were talking about that."

"Yea am wanted by em cus I've been messin with them for a long time and keeping them at bay...kinda."

"Then why did you get caught now by some low life slavers?"

"Well let's just say that in melee combat am hopeless, you can see the bruises they left."

"I see, now if you will excuses me it's time for breakfast," I stood up and got ready to feed off him, he wasn't going to be of any more use to me so I might as well make the most of it. My horn glowed and i was just about to serve up breakfast but then.

"WAIT, I know this wasteland you don't, ah have people who can help you, I have resources I could give yer just please don't turn me into a husk!" he pleaded.

"Speak."

"While am out there I'll try ta track down changelings that may have survived an bring em here. I'll also bring yr food and water if ah can spare any and you could move into a nearby town. Ah can teach ur the ropes of using a gun, how the wastes work, we can help each other out!" Tax forced a smile. I doubted what he said at the end is true but he was desperate.

I'd love to feed off him but he was right. He knows this land better then me and if there's supplies he can give me I'll take them. plus if there's town nearby I could use that as a safe haven for my hive when I start wakening them up. And of course if I'm going to survive then I'll need to know as many tricks and tips as possible, something he can provide. But then again there's the danger of him betraying me.

"Ok, you have me. But if you even think about backstabbing me!"

"Ah won't, am not like that. Ah don't make a promise ah can't keep, now can you please get me down from here!"

Town

Town

Mourning,  mourning  had  arrived.  As  the  sun  climbed  over  the  mountains  I  felt,  for  the  first  time  in  the  last  two hundred  years. The  heated  sunbeams  coursing  over  my  ebony  black  exoskeleton. It  felt...nice,  warming  even.

Tax  walked  next  to  me,  he  wasn't  as  afraid  of  me  as  he  was  in  the  hive  but  I  could  still  sense  it.  He  gave  me  a reassuring  smile  which  I  found  odd  considering  that  I  wasn't  disguised.  To  him,  I  was  an  oversized  bug  but  to  me,  he was  a  chess  peace.

"It's at least an hour from here maim."

"You WILL address me as royalty out here, do you understand that?"

"All right then "ur highness" but bear in mind that not everypony will do so, also", Tax extended his hoof in the air. "Welcome t' the wasteland!" Tax retracted his hoof and smiled at me. I gave him an un-amused look.

"I assume you have a plan for when we get there?"

"I'll  talk  t'  the  mayor  about  yer  lil'  secret  an'  see  t'  it  ur  don'  get  shot  for  being  yourself,  I  mean  well,  I've  seen weird  stuff  in  the  wastes  an'  oversized  bugs  like  radroaches  ain't  one  of  em, but  one  that's  sentient? That's  something."

"You call a bug one more time."

Tax's head shot in my direction and he looked at me with gritted teeth. "Sorry, sorry...back  t'  what  ah  said."

"It has it's advantages but I dislike the idea, anything else you want to tell me?"

Tax's  expression  turned  back  to  normal.  "Well  I  doubt  that  there's  as  many  of  em  here  as  n'  Equestria.  But  you'll  find  that  Auto-wagons  r'  a  thing  here."

"Auto-wagons? what are those?"

I felt a jolt of joy speed through Tax as he suddenly smiled at me like a child ready to show their parents something. "Back then Auto-wagons were motorized versions of normal wagons. Instead of somepony havin t' pull the wagon the wagon would move by itself. It's a lil' complex but the basis was ah mechanical machine connected t' the wheels that could be controlled inside the wagon by a pony."

"Sounds useful."

"It is useful, in the blazin' heat out here you'd rather be in the shade, not pulling the wagon. Auto-wagons provided that option, what's more is that they needed spark cores t' power the spark engine t' get goin. Only now through, most Auto-wagons ain't used just fer transport."

I looked at Tax who had now returned to his default state only now, he wasn't wearing a smile. Depression started sinking into him, why? If these "Auto-wagons" weren't just used for transport then what else could they be used for? Judging by Tax's emotions it's probably not anything good.

"Instead, a great number of ponies out here build there wagons fer combat."

Ok what? As in, what? Wagons built for combat? That's absurd, what are you going to do? Plant a bunch of spikes on the front and push it? Shoot zebras while in it hoping there dumb enough to not realize bullets go through cloth? I snickered a little.

"Compered to the Auto-wagons back then, the ones of today r' far more mechanical. Thanks t' the Ministry of Wartime Technology or if you're short, the M.W.T, some Auto-wagons back then were built fer combat rather then transport. Replace the cloth n' wood with metal n' place a gun or two on it n' there ur go. They called those kind of Auto-wagons "Humvees", I guess callin it a combat Auto-wagon was too long a name."

That  explains  a  lot.  But  if  almost  everyone  out  here  owns  one,  that  begs  the  question. "How  come  you  don't  own  one  then?  You  can  drive  them  can't  you?"

"Ah do but unless ma friends got t' it it's a good as scrap. Speaking of which once yer enter Sandsworth there should be a metal building with two red double doors on yer left, it's called the Garage. And it's were ponies, griffons, ghouls, take yer pick, go t' get their Auto-wagons done up with repairs, mods or just general management. Anyways we're getting close now."

"In  that  case."

Green  flames  erupted  from  my  ebony  black  body  and  I  was  replaced  by  a  white  mare  with  light  pink  hair.  Tax suddenly  jumped  backwards  in  surprize  at  my  ability.  "What  the?"  He  paused  for  a  moment  in  confusion. "How  the  buck  did  yer?"

"A  special  spell  I  learnt," I lied.

"You've  gotta  teach  me  how  t'  do  that."

"Not a chance."

Sandsworth

From  here  it  was  just  a  large  metal  gate  acting  as  an  entrance  to  a  walled  off  town,  but  according  to  Tax  it  was  a   lot  more  then  that.  Ponies  and  griffons  alike  walked  along  the  fortified  walls  watching  far  and  wide  for  signs  of       danger  or  attack.  A  guard  tower  sat  at  each  corner  of  the  town's  walls,  snipers  at  the  ready  and  waiting.

I  was  a  little  nervous  really,  the  place  looked  more  like  a  fortress  then  a  town.  I  thought  Tax  was  walking  me  into  a trap  but  even  if  he  was  I  could  easily  turn  into  one  of  the  guards  and  leave,  but  even  then  were  would  I  go?  I     know  I  have  the  hive  but  all  I  could  see  were  mountains,  sand  and  this  place.  I  needed  energy  and  this  is  the best  place  to  get  it.

Tax  and  I  walked  up  to  the  entrance,  a  guard  in  metal  plate  armour  with  (from  what  I  recall  from  the  M.W.T)  a     battle  saddle  trotted  to  the  edge  of  the  wall  and  yelled  at  us.  "Hay  down  there!"  The  guard's  head  shifted  from  me  to Tax  and  so  on.  "If  your  looking  to  get  in  than  I  need  your  names  first!"

"I'm Tax Knight!"

"I'm..." I hesitated for a moment, I hadn't thought of a cover name. I said the first thing that came to mind. "Clean Kiss!" I yelled to the guard.

"Thanks, I'll open the gate for you!"

A moment later the sound of metal grinding against stone blasted my ears. The massive metal gate started lifting upwards, Tax ducked as he passed under the gate. Once on the other side he turned to me with a smile. "Come on, ur scared?"

I half wanted to whack him around the head for that. As I crouched and slid under the gate I half expected it to fall and chop me In half, but to my surprise it didn't.

Another gate later and we were in Sandsworth. Tax wasn't lying when he told me it was more then a settlement. On my left was the building Tax described. A large metal building with red double doors. On my right however was the building Tax was interested in, the Mayor's office. Which just so happened to have a guards barracks behind it, something I'd take note of.

A guard with a...double barrelled assault rifle? Huh, that's a new one. Stood in front of the door. Tax approached him and asked. "Can we see the Mayor?"

The guard stood silent for a second before registering what Tax said. "I'll check on him, stay right here." The guard pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He went inside and closed the door behind him. A few minutes later he came back out. "Follow me, no sudden movements, got it?" He was to the point, I'll give him that.

We trotted into a well lit yet windowless room, shelves with various polished items and well preserved books lay on the walls. A table with two chairs sat in the middle of the room. On the opposite side to us was an old yellow earth pony in posh yet quite worn down clothes. Tax sat down on the chair and tucked himself in. I stood behind him while the guard stood at the door, looking at us intensely.

"So Tax, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while," said the Mayor.

"I've been better, listen, I've something t' tell yer."

After about an hour of talking and explaining later Tax convinced the Mayor to organise a meeting with all the guards to tell them not to shoot anything resembling a tall bug-pony or a Black ghoul alicorn, it wasn't easy but with some charisma and a bit of luck Tax convinced the Mayor. After that I decided to keep my disguise on until things settle down a bit. The two of us then headed to the Garage because Tax's friends were able to recover his Auto-wagon and his gear intact according to the Mayor.

I followed up behind Tax as he opened the red double doors, the Garage's inside is best described as multiple rooms with no walls. Tool kits and mechanical parts littered the floor while (mostly) ponies and griffons worked on their Auto-wagons. Replacing wheels and repairing hits to the hull using metal plates and pieces of scrap. I followed Tax to one of the spots were apparently his Auto-wagon was.

When we arrived I saw Tax's Auto-wagon. It was like you took a normal wagon. Made the support rings that held up the cloth square, replaced the cloth with metal and put a gun on top. The Auto-wagon had with five seats in total. Two in the front and three in the back complete with a hole in the top with a mounted machine gun on a one hundred and eighty degree railing in front of the middle back seat. The back of the vehicle had been turned into a storage compartment with a bullet-proof lock while an antenna was on the top of it. The car also had a good amount of desert camo with some grey here and there.

A griffon and a dragon stood next to each other beside the Auto-wagon.

"Well a'll be! Thanks a bunch fellers."

"Hope you like what we did Tax, wasn't easy," said the dragon.

"Thanks Scale, oh yea Chrysalis these r' ma friends, Emerald Scale n' Lavender Claw," I face-hoofed at Tax's mistake. "Uh, sorry 'bout that."

Emerald Scale was a brown and green dragon the same size as me without my disguise standing up. The dragon was bipedal so he could use a gun with ease. His wings were useable at his age but one was covered in bandages indicating that he had wing damage at one point so he is not capable of flight until it heals. He was also wearing some makeshift metal armour, with some padding here and there coupled along with some metal armour leggings, as well as some blue knee pads that were showing their age in the form of scratches and dust that had set in.

On his left side was a holster for what I could have sworn was a one hoofed, er, clawed grenade launcher.

On his back was a strapped combat shotgun with a drum magazine and his belt had three fragmentation grenades on it. The dragon was leaning against the wagon with his arms crossed.

Lavender Claw was a griffin with metal armour and knee pads on that looked as if it had been cleaned every day to keep that shiny look, she was also wearing a black bandana on her forehead. Her head and neck fur was grey while the rest was a charcoal black. She had a cat like tail except the end that looked like the tip of a paint brush that had been mangled with while her eyes looked a bit like Celestia's.

On her left side was a scabbed with a short-sword in it. She also had a holster on her right with a yellow and black stripped heavy duty revolver in it.

Emerald Scale was the first to break the silence and opened up with a "hi."

Lavender followed up. "Hello there, judging by the name and what just happened I'm going to say that your the Black Ghoul the Mayor was talking about. Don't worry I don't bite, much."

That idiot just blew it for me, I sighed. "Yes I am," I said. Know that I think of it, how did she know about me? She isn't one of the guards, is she?

"Well then ah think we'll be off once ah get my gear on, uh...where is it?"

"It's in the wagon," said Scale.

Later

In his gear Tax looked like a true Appleoosen, a brown dirty long coat with a lever action rifle holster on his back coupled up with a few revolver holsters that were not for show. Goggles hanging from his neck above a bandana for keeping sand out along with a classic cowpony hat for that appleloosen look, although the original white colour of the hat had been degraded to a light grey. But for some reason he looked a little fatter in the clothing. Weather it be him having a bit to much to eat or just perception he still looked good in it. His standard issue pip-buck strapped to his right hoof.

I turned my attention back to Tax's Auto-wagon. Looking back I really did spend most of the war in the hive, my agents told me of some of these things but I never got to see it with my own eyes, until now.

While inspecting his vehicle Tax caught my eye. "like it?" He said with a smirk on his face.

I turned around, surprised. "Uh I uh was just looking at it," I said, which in truth I was.

"Well I did say my skills were mechanicals, anyways ur might want this," Tax then showed me a small bag of bits.

"I thought you said that bottle caps were currency," I said with a threating tone in my voice.

"Ah did but since bits r' even more rare in the Badlands then in Equestria they cn' be used as money too. Worth at least ten caps a bit."

I forced a smile and grabbed the bag, I started walking away from Tax. "Uh hay a thank yer would be nice," he shouted in my direction as I simply trotted away from him. After all, he was a pawn in this little chess match. "Fine, have it ur way."

Closing the red double doors behind me. I was once again hit by the blazing heat of the sun, my thirst kicked in, and it kicked in hard. I badly needed a drink and I was in a town completely foreign to me, maybe I could ask one of the locals? I spotted a nearby blue mare and I trotted up to her. "Hello there, do you know a place where I can get a drink?"

"Of course, if you go left and straight ahead it'll be on your right, all right," the mare snickered a bit, "ah the puns, anyway have a good one," she said.

Huh, even in a wasteland ponies are nice to each other. After taking the directions given to me I ended up at of all places, the bar. I sighed, this had better be worth it. As I came closer to the door I noticed a dark grey stallion with a disc-like hat big enough to cover his face wearing a dark jacket leaning against the wall beside the door.

"Hold it," said the stallion.

"What?"

"fifty caps for entry"

Ok, apparently you needed to pay to even get in the bar. Nothing too bad, I levitated the bag in front of me and opened it. The stallion then snitched the bag straight form me.

"Hay, give. That. Back. Now!"

The stallion looked up at me and reviled a massive scar across his face from the top left to the bottom right, I froze in place trying to tear my eyes away from his scar but for once, I felt fear from a mere earth pony. I could only imagine what gave him that scar, and what he did to it. The stallion looked at the contents of the bag and took out ten bits instead of five, "Put those back!" I demanded, the stallion gave me that same cold soul piecing stare from before.

"Ur mess with me and ur mess with the bar boys, ur mess with the bar boys an' ur dig your own grave, now hoof it."

"No! I want my bits back right now!"

"Or what?"

"Or I'll be the face of reckoning that haunts your sleep!"

"Consider this your last warning," the stallion then punched me on the face with his right hoof, a very strong throbbing pain consumed my head and felt like I just go hit by a train. Not nice. I hit the ground like a rock and for a second I thought I saw stars.

"Little advice, learn when t' pick ur fights otherwise you won't last long around these parts."

When I get the chance I'm going to suck every last drop of love out of him until he's nothing but a worthless prune. I would take pleasure in turning him into a husk but I don't have much energy in me and that punch has given me a nasty head ach.

The stallion gave me back my bag and nudged his head toward the door. Once inside I was overwhelmed by what was going on, the music, noise of bottles clinking and the conversations lapping over each ether was a little much for me (especially with that headache still fresh in my mind).

The stench of beer and whiskey filled the air while the over crowded bar had it's fair share of ponies playing card games but the thing that stuck out the most were the ponies wearing the same black jacket that the stallion outside had. They must had been more "bar boys" then I had intended.

Looking now I saw at least ten or fifteen of the brutes. I now knew that not getting into a fight was a good idea because even if I did take down the pony outside these ponies would for sure kick my plot. At least on my power level since I've only gained a little bit of energy after waking up and in the state I was in I'd need a lot more love to get my energy back to the point of rivalling the princess. I got to the counter and sat down. "what al' it be?" the bartender mumbled.

I looked up and what I saw almost gave me a heart attack, the bartender wasn't a pony but a robot! The robot's body was almost like a metal ball, three mechanical arms and eyes stuck out the robot. On the bottom of the robot was a booster (probably what kept the robot hovering).

Two of his arms had claws while the last arm had a buzz saw (what?) on it. One of his claw arms held a duty glass he must have been cleaning.

"Water"

"Sorry, all out since the Desert Raiders took over the local war'er plant, but if yer' dispirit the sparkle cola machine is yer' best option, it only takes bits though s' good luck with that," said the bartender robot. His accent was like a chopped up brute version of the Canterlot accent I know of.

"Oh really," I snickered. Bits were the only currency I had so this was no brainer.

"Uh, yea." My smile disappeared. "Is everyone around here rude?" The robot's eyes shot in my direction as he slammed the glass on the bar, almost breaking it. "You what mate? I'll cut you!" I glanced towards the buzz saw arm only to find I couldn't look away, I could only imagine what that thing could do to me.

"Now listen here missy," my eyes shot across and met his. "I don' know if you were brought up as the mayor's child like that other feller but do really expect everyone to treat you with respect? No, you need to earn it. I learnt that the hard way throughout the last two hundred years...The world isn't what it used to be, and I'm damn sick of it."

I paused, considering what he said for a moment. Despite being really rude about it, he was right. "No, no it's not."

I walked to the vending machine on the other side of the bar and popped a bit out into the slot and pulled the leaver, a moment later a sparkle cola popped out, now that I had a drink I sat down and popped it open with my magic. "Well, let's see if it kills me," I mumbled. I said that because I've never had sparkle cola before, that and the contents of this are probably over two hundred years old. But I was too hot and thirsty to argue. I took a sip of the cola and it was actually not bad, good even. Carrots came to mind when I tried to decipher the taste. I took a gulp and started thinking.

It's been a little over two hundred years and Equestria is a wasteland now, so is the Badlands. My current goal right now is to revive my hive and get a steady flow of energy/love going. And eventually, take over the Badlands and then Equestria. I think I have enough food (fungus) in the hive to support around ten changelings, any more and the food will go faster then we can grow it.

Water is also a concern. The water pools in the hive have either dried up or the water has gone bad in the last two hundred years. So finding...what was it? A water talisman that's it. Finding a water talisman is a priority. I'll also stick with Tax for a while too. I doubt he's told me everything he knows, and learning how to drive an Auto-wagon would be a helpful skill.

I started listening to

"So your telling me that vault's full of treasure?" said a voice.

"I don't know, all I know is based off rumors," said another voice.

"You said it could be something to do with "the elements of harmony," said the first voice.

I concentrated on where the conversation was coming from and saw a brown stallion talking to a blue mare. The same mare I asked for directions.

"Yea I did but I'm not the pony to go to for that kind of stuff, you want Metal Screens for that."

"Where is he then?"

"Eastern bad lands that's all I know I swear."

"Thank you, I'll see to it Ace gets that info and your debt free."

"Thank Celestia."

The elements are still alive? Even after two hundred years?  Well then that changes everything. If I could find them then I could get a little payback for what they did to me and get my energy back. But then again I have to rebuild my hive. It can wait for a while can't it? I mean if it hasn't been found in the last two hundred years then it won't be found now.

I started to hear a commotion outside too but I didn't pay much attention to it until the bar started to quieten down and then it was clear as day.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU BAR BOYS TAKEING OUR MONEY THINKING YOU OWN THE PLACE!" shouted a voice.

Sounds of fighting from outside became the only noise in the whole bar along with bashes and slams against walls. Suddenly a light blue Pegasus fly's through the door onto the ground. beaten, bruised and bloody all over the Pegasus is just about able to crawl when the same grey earth pony that took extra from me walks over to the deformed pony and smashes it's face against a support column multiply times until the stallion was satisfied.

When he left the pony's face was barely recognisable and the blood from the pony's face was all over column while the column itself was missing a good chunk of the wood it was made out of. The pony on the floor was ether dead or about to be from blood loss. "Ok everypony please leave the bar is now closed!" shouted the bartender.

And on that note I left with everypony else. I'm interested in what that pony i listened to was doing. Something to do with a special vault or stable linked to the elements of harmony, and the only pony that knew anything about it was this "Metal Screens" but who did he mean by "Ace", then it hit me, Ace Combat the leader of the desert raiders. But I needed more evidence before I could confirm it was Ace Combat, time for a bit of tailing

Tail blazer

Tail blazer

I  found  the  stallion  I  was  looking  for  and  began  tailing  him.  Once  I've  done  this  I  need  to  warn  Tax  about  it.  He    has  an  Auto  -  wagon,  food  and  protection.  Or  at  least  I  hope  he  does.  I  can't  control  him  because  that  would  mean  burning  valuable  energy  to  make  him  obedient.  just  like  I  did  with  Shining  Armour  but  I  don't  have  enough  energy   on  hoof  to  keep  him  under  my  control  for  enough  time.  So  as  much  as  I  hate  it  I'm  going  to  have  to  ask  him  for   help,  and  while  I'm  at  it  I  might  as  well... I  let  out  a  deep  sigh.  Ask  him  for  a  place  to  stay  tonight.

The pony I was tailing walked into an ally. I leaned against the wall and poked my head out a little and saw at least two other ponies standing around in the ally. A dark green unicorn mare and a dark blue unicorn stallion. I drew my head back and listened to what they were saying. "So what did you find Breeze?" said the blue stallion.

"There's a pony in the eastern Badlands named Metal Screens that knows more about the mystery vault," said the brown stallion now known as Breeze.

"Anything else?" the mare said.

"It might be connected to something called "the elements of harmony" but I don't have anything solid on it Spear"

"Very good, let's tell A.C the good news," said the stallion now known as Spear.

That was more then enough info for me to connect the dots. I turned around and a crimson red stallion with a smile was in my face. "Hello there pretty, what have you been hearing?" Uh oh, the stallion started advancing towards me, as he did I backed up little by little until I found myself in the ally with the other three ponies.

"HAY BOYS, WE GOT A SPY!"

"And a dam pretty one too. Let's have some fun with her, right guys?" Spear said, I know he can't read my thoughts but if your going to what I think you going to do...your dead.

"Ok really, can't you go for one day without trying to rape somepony Spear? you know what, I'm off. I can't watch this," yep, he's going to do it.

The three stallions started to converge on me while the mare walked straight past me and left the ally.

I needed to think fast here, my horn flared up and I squeezed just about enough magic to teleport. in an instant I teleported out of the ally and ran for it at top speed.

"STOP HER!"

I ran past the bar hoping to get to the workshop/garage, shoving anypony in my way to the side. Halfway there a crimson red barrier of magic suddenly rose in front of me, stopping me. I tried to break it but I didn't have enough magic left to cast a strong enough shield breaker spell. I turned around and before I knew it the ponies chasing me where in front of me although it looks like Breeze couldn't keep up.

This had suddenly turned from a chase into a fight. The crimson stallion was focusing on keeping the shield up and strong enough to not be broken by any incoming assaults from outside, he had turned it into a large dome while the blue stallion, Spear, started trotting to the left and then the right in a straight line and back again. I smiled.

From  what  he  tried  to  do  earlier  I'm  going  to  make  him  suffer.  He  stared  at  me  with  murderous  intent,  aggression     and  confidence  flowed  through  him.  I'd  almost  say  he's  done  this  before,  not  the  raping  mind  you,  the  killing.  He      started  walking  in  my  direction  with  a  face  meant  to  intimidate,  but  I  wasn't  scared.

I gave him the same face of fear he was trying to cast upon me. A small jolt of fear sped through him, it was brief and small but there. He lunged at me, front hooves first. I've seen my children do this plenty of times, and as a result, I know how to counter.

I  stood  on  my  hind  hooves  and  extended  my  body  as  he  reached  me,  I  landed  a  blow  supported  by  my  body  on  his face  or  to  be  more  specific,  his  left  eye.  The  stallion's  body  twisted  and  hit  the  ground.  He  got  up  quickly  and         covered  his  eye,  grunting  from  pain  and  gritting  his  teeth.  He  charged  me,  I  dodged,  and  as  I  dodged  I  swiped  some of  the  sand  off the  ground  into  his  face.  The  stallion  stumbled  and  lost  his  balance,  falling  to  the  ground.

I saw my opportunity to finish him, but I think I'll let him get up. I want to beat him till he blacks out from pain for what he tried to do to me. He got up and looked at me. "Your dead, you hear me! Dead!"

"Then come kill me," I replied. As long as he didn't use his magic I wasn't in any real danger.

And with that the crimson stallion stopped what he was doing and made a dash for it. With the dome down the guards came rushing in with guns aimed at both of them. "You've got some explaining to do miss uh", said the guard.

"Clean Kiss", said Chrysalis.

"Wooden Shield go and get that pony over there, Clean Kiss your going to tell me what happened here", said the guard.

"That pony and his friend tried to rape me so I ran away", said "Clean Kiss".

"You don't have to tell me the rest, I saw what happened", said the guard.

"Hay Rock, it's the rapist, Icy Spear", said Wooden Shield.

"Really, you mean it?", said the guard know known as Rock.

"Yea, this pony just knocked out the rapist", said Wooden Shield.

"Nice one, Clean Kiss there may not be a reward for taking him down but dam I'm sure going to give you one", said Rock. Rock then reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a bag of one hundred caps and gave it to Chrysalis. "By the way I strongly suggest buying a saddle bag, the general store should be to the left if you go straight ahead past the diner", said Rock.

Rock then helps Wooden Shield carry Icy Spear to the sheriff's office. Chrysalis had taken Rock's advice and heads to the general store, besides if she was going to get more things she'd need a saddle bag anyway.

After walking to the general store she opened the door and walked in. The store was quite big for a corner store and had a lot of random and or useful thing's on the shelves like bags, wrenches, buckets and even a teddy bear with the name tag "Dolly". But most of it was just plan junk to Chrysalis. The walls were dim and grey like the life had been sucked out of them and the lights were a bit dim but otherwise you could see just fine with a little adjustment.

Chrysalis walked to the counter and sat down on one of the wooden stools similar to the ones at the bar. "I'm looking for saddlebags, got any?" said Chrysalis.

The mare at the counter walked over to Chrysalis and took out a pear of medium sized saddlebag from one of the metal boxes near the counter. "This big enough for you miss?" said the mare.

The saddlebags were dusty and had defiantly seen some action judging by the patched up bullet sized holes. They still had the equestrian look to them but it did look a bit old.

"It's ok I guess, how much?" said Chrysalis.

"Hold on, let me check the price", said the mare, "mediums are thirty caps."

Chrysalis opened her bag and took out the thirty caps with her magic. She put them on the counter and the mare swept them into a tray. Chrysalis took the saddlebag on the counter and put it on her back. After fastening it on she took a look around the shop to see if there's anything of interest to her but she didn't find anything of value to her.

She walked out the shop and shut the door behind her. Well I guess it's time, ask Tax for help, I absolutely hate having to do this but after the way I behaved at the workshop the chances of him helping me are going to be slim. This was so much easier before the war but I guess every world has it's end. I mean it can't be that difficult to just ask him for help, right? *sigh*.

Chrysalis walked to the workshop and opened the door, let's get this over with, as she walked in she saw Tax under the car doing a bit of tinkering. Tax heard the door open and slid out from under the car useing a bored with wheels on only to see Chrysalis standing there.

"Oh, it's you", said Tax.

"I need your help", said Chrysalis.

"After earlier, it had better be serious", said Tax.

"While in town I overheard a conversation about a mystery vault", said Chrysalis.

"A stable in the bad lands? no thank you", said Tax, Tax then slid under the car again with an uninterested look.

"No wait, the desert raiders are after it too and it might not even be a stable", said Chrysalis.

Tax quickly slid out from under the car with a surprised look on his face. "Well why didn't ur tell that me before? of course a'll

help", said Tax.

"Wait, why the change of heart so suddenly?" said Chrysalis.

"Me and the desert raiders have a bit of a personal history. Well kinda, now what else do ur know about it?" said Tax.

"A pony in the eastern bad lands knows more about and his name is Metal Screens. The raiders know about this too so we need to get to him before they do", said Chrysalis.

"Then let's get going, ah know about the place ur talking about and there's no time ta waste. But first i need ta finish installing the new suspension, go and get ma friends. They should be out back", said Tax. Tax then slid back under his car and continued working on it.

"Well, lovey town this has turned out to be", sarcastically pronounced Chrysalis.