Fallout: Equestria - Crystal Laneby Sky SprinterChaptersPrologueI love them dear hearts and gentle ponies.Choppin' AlicornsCivilization! I'm leaving!Crazy in love with the CrystalWay Back HomeIntroPrologueI am a Changeling. That is THE most important thing to know about me before I tell you my story, my life story. Now before I tell you it though, there are some other things I need to tell you, because they are also important, but you can skip if you wish to just get to the story. First… or second or whatever, I want you to know where I am and the place I grew up in. Crystal Lane, formerly known as the Crystal Empire, home to the very thing that allows Changelings to live here without any need for the old ways. Of course, every Changeling here is still trained in the old ways, more on that later. Back to Crystal Lane, this place had been saved from the spellfire and radiation due to the combined effort of the Goddess of Love and her Consort, as well as the Crystal Heart and its connection with everypony living here. When the megaspells hit, the Goddess and her Consort combined their magical abilities with the strength of the Crystal Heart and the Crystal Ponies to keep them away from the Crystal Empire and save the ponies and Changelings within from the fires. After the volley of megaspells between Equestria and the Zebras, the Goddess and her Consort both began work on severing connections between them and the Wasteland to the south and the Goddess still believes that one day we will sweep down from the North to save our sisters and brothers in the South. Next, I want to tell you about The Goddess and her Consort. The Goddess, once known as the Princess of Love Mi Amor Cadenza, and her Consort were given, by the Divine Diarchs of Equestria, the job of administering the Crystal Empire and its Crystal Heart after the evil devil Sombra was forced out by a baby dragon and the Divines of the Elements of Harmony. The Goddess and her Consort had kept the Crystal Empire out of the final Great War that occurred between the Zebras and Equestria, protecting their subjects from the horrors of Mariposa, Cloudsdale, and the rest of the final volley. After protecting their subjects from the War, the Goddess and her Consort rested for a month, forming a temporary council between the Crystal Ponies and Changelings to rule in their stead. After waking, they took the reins back and ruled for many years, preparing to one day retake Equestria from the ravages of war, before the Consort’s mortal body began to fail. When he did finally pass to the realm of the dead, the Goddess grieved, as did the Empire. The Goddess has ruled alone since then, still grieving and still hoping to retake Equestria, she renamed the Empire in the months after her Consort’s death, proclaiming that “we are not an Empire, but only a lane on which Ponykind moves forward on the road of progress.” Now, I will tell you about the Crystal Heart, or the Holy Object as the Holy Caretakers and the most pious of us call it, and the religion of my home. The Crystal Heart is the reason why any bit of megaspell radiation hanging in the air around Crystal Lane hasn’t had any effect on anything around here. It protects us all by protecting our bodies from the effects of radiation and keeping us pure as if none were thrown at all. Anypony born with a connection to the Crystal Heart is born without the fear of radiation poisoning due to it making them incredibly rad resistant, although being too far from the Crystal Heart could reduce it’s effects. The rest of our religion is based on the belief that the Divine Diarchs of Equestria had failed their mission when the megaspells hit their realm and as such the Goddess, herself, is the successor to the Holy Throne of Canterlot. The Divines of the Elements of Harmony were mortal pony vessels upon which the Spirit of Harmony flowed into, to show us the way of Harmony. Finally, I’m going to tell you about why Changelings have been living here, even before the War. Some time prior to the War, a Changeling hive lead by their Queen, one Queen Pupae, walked into the Crystal Empire, white flags waving. After some major talks between the Goddess, her Consort, and Queen Pupae, the Changelings were allowed to live and feed off the excess love energies from the Crystal Heart. Crazy to think that we are able to feed off that thing’s excess without any consequences and with the permission of the Crystal Ponies, but that’s how it is. Since then, we Changelings have served in every bit of Crystal Pony society, there are even Changelings in the Crystal Guard, the group of ponies sworn to protect the Goddess. Due to our new connection to the Crystal Heart we have no need to feed off of ponies, and therefore our relations with the Crystal Ponies are better than they probably could be anywhere else, we don’t even need to don disguises like our ancestors. Queen Crystalline, the current Queen, keeps us trained in the old ways however, just in case our new way of living was interrupted. How do I know all of these things, you may be wondering, right? These are the central tenements of our faith, as Caretaker Zenith tells us in the Chamber of Love, in the sight of the Holy Object. Every week we pray for salvation upon our souls in the Chamber of Love, so that the Goddess may hear us and deliver us when we finally do bite the dust. Caretaker Zenith is the Head Caretaker of the Holy Object, and so it is her job to protect and take care of the Crystal Heart, as well as leading us in prayer. She’s the first Changeling Head Caretaker in the history of Crystal Lane, and is the first Head Caretaker to not be an Apostle of Spike, the order of our religion that believes that the baby dragon Spike is also a vessel of the Spirit of Harmony, an order followed by the majority of Crystal Ponies and a minority of Changelings. You might be wondering about what my name is, right? Well it’s Luminous Gem, or Xithrix if you prefer the traditional Changeling name, it’s nice to meet you. I guess I’ve told you enough that you should know what’s going on, I’m sure you’ve read other materials concerning the Wasteland by this point and so you should know the basics about the Ministries, the War, and all that nice stuff, right? Good, now let’s get on with it… I love them dear hearts and gentle ponies.I love them dear hearts and gentle ponies, who live in my home town… My eyes opened slowly as a ray of sunlight passed through a nearby window. I didn’t get as much sleep as I’d hoped to get, but after feeling the press of the mare in bed next to me, I thought I could get over it. Good morning, children! Welcome to this fine morning in Crystal Lane! I am your host DJ Shimmering Skies, host of Crystal Lane Radio and here’s the news! We’ve got news out of Yakyakistan, and it seems like the latest round in negotiations between Yakyakistan and Crystal Lane seem to have fallen apart after a Yak diplomat- I shook my head and turned off the radio off, turning off the voice of the mare on the radio. It wasn’t like the Yaks could take us in a fight anyways; they still used technologies and strategies that could have worked over 200 years ago before we had modern-day firearms. I then turned to the mare next to me, my partner in the Guard, and I kissed her lips, “Wake up, Clear,” I said to her. “Why?” she eventually asked sleepily. “We’ve got the watch in an hour, come on Clear Night, get up,” I replied. After a few minutes of cajoling and prodding, Clear finally started to get up and I could finally get to the shower. Clear Night and I had been together at this intimate level ever since we joined the Guard a year back. We had joined the Order of the Crystal Sword, the main military order of the Faith, back when we were fifteen, and after three years of training and then one year of guarding the Temple of the Mares of Harmony, we were promoted to the Crystal Guard. Of course, we both knew the obligations that a member of the Crystal Guard had with their partner, the intimate bond that partners in the Guard had to form to finalize the union between them and the Goddess. It is said that the act of intercourse is the holiest union as it symbolizes the coming together of two bodies into one soul and that one soul coming into union with the Goddess and her powers of love, symbolized by the Crystal Heart on her flank. I always thought that was weird but I couldn't complain After taking a shower I then waited for Clear to hurry and finish up. We had about forty minutes to get to our CO for our post assignment, and being late for that is definitely not something one wants to do. At least I didn’t need to go to the daily changeling training sessions anymore; I hadn’t needed to since I joined the Order of the Crystal Sword. “Hurry up, the walk may be short but you know our CO loves to take forever to tell us our posts,” I called to her “I’m almost finished with my mane, Luminous!” Clear called back from the bathroom. “You’re gonna have a helmet covering that up for the majority of the day, Clear,” I said rolling my eyes. “What about the time before that?” she argued. “You mean the short walk to the palace?” I asked. “… Fuck off,” I heard her say bringing a smile to my face. She soon exited the bathroom saying, “Alright, let’s get the heck out of here.” I gave her a quick peck on the lips before opening the door. “Another day in Paradise, right?” I said as we left the house. The sight outside was fairly normal, clouds overhead keeping the sun from appearing, glistening crystal structures all around dominated by the humungous home to the Goddess herself, the Crystal Palace, and the lack of activity on the streets on account of how early it was. Our rout was going as it normally did as well, left from our house down to the corner, another left down a block to the Crystal Palace, and, after a quick flash of our IDs to the Gate Guard, into the entrance from where we would get to the barracks to get our weapons and our Guard Barding. “One would think that I could get some good Ironshod weaponry with how untouched Crystal Lane is, right?” Clear said whilst pulling on the barrel piece. “What? Is a good ‘ole Crystal Rifle not good enough for you? Ironshod might have been Equestria’s premier gun manufacturer pre-war, but Crystal Guns and Ammo is the only place that I know of that produces our signature rifle,” I replied pulling on the leg pieces of the barding. “You and I both know that they use that old Ironshod factory, so basically they are using Ironshod tools and parts to make their guns, even the Crystal Rifle,” Clear argued. “It’s not the same, Ironshod guns are normally bullet based, and our guns are normally energy-based with a Crystal Spark in them. No rifle out there is like ours, even the Zebras can’t have made a rifle like the Crystal Rifle, you go out there and find a Zebra Rifle worthy enough to compete against it and I’ll put myself up for public use for an entire week,” I rebutted. “It’d be almost worth the search just to see you up on those posts,” Clear laughed. “Luckily I won’t need to, because there is nopony who can find such a rifle,” I smiled. Soon afterwards, we both had our Guard Barding on and we were on our way to our CO to see what our post assignments were. The barding was based on the design of Royal Guard barding of pre-war Canterlot, and it was colored baby-blue due to the crystal that made up the barding. Clear always said that she loved the look of the armor on me because of how it perfectly matched the baby-blue coloring that my eyes and carapace had. After a few minutes of walking towards our CO’s office, we finally arrived and, after a process that took way too long to complete, we had our post assignment: The Goddess’s personal guard and it seemed like that’s what we were going to be assigned to for quite a while. Clear visibly smiled as did I, guarding the Goddess was a tremendous honor, considering we were the last, best line of defense for the Goddess should any intruder get into the Palace. A few minutes later, we arrived at our post outside of the Goddess’s quarters, relieving the current ponies on watch there. With ourselves finally at our post we finally could relax, it wasn’t like anypony could get this far, right? Quest Completed: Just another day… Level up! SPECIAL Increase: Perception rises to 4. Author's Note Thanks for reading this, and I need to tell you guys that I might take more time with the next chapter as I need to read some materials to hopefully improve my ability to create a good story. Choppin' AlicornsHey y’all this is a story about a mare named Butcher Beat! Y’all better watch over your wives because there’s no telling whose meat she'll chop! She's hackin,’ wackin,’ and smackin’! Hack! Wack! Choppin’ that meat! An hour passed by and nothing exciting had happened so far, “How long until we wake her highness from her slumber?” I asked Clear as I clutched the ceremonial spear that all Crystal Guards are given when on general guard duty and not actively defending the Goddess from an immediate threat. “We’ve got a few minutes to kill before it’s time to wake her," she answered. I nodded in recognition before I had my Crystal Rifle raised so that I could inspect it. The Crystal Rifle, or the CR-47 as those who prefer the official name call it, is an energy-based rifle based off of the design of the laser rifles of Equestria and built using Ironshod factory equipment. The Crystal Rifle has much of its design ripped from the Energy Rifle and is able to be powered by Crystal Charge Packs and normal MF cells. It is quite a nice weapon and standard for those serving in the Order of the Crystal Swords. "One would think that she’d wake up earlier than this, being a Goddess and leader of a nation,” Clear suddenly said, interrupting my inspection of my rifle. “A nation of one city,” I argued, “And besides, I’ve heard that she normally doesn’t go to sleep until late at night, up to some sort of magical studying or something like that.” “Where did you hear that from?” Clear asked. “I heard it from Night Skies over at the Temple to the Mare of Peace and Kindness; she said that the Goddess regularly spends the majority of the evening in her library,” I answered. “Night Skies? The old mare who gets regularly assigned to that Temple? There are plenty of ponies who I’d trust to know more about her highness’s nightly activities than that Unicorn,” Clear said rolling her eyes. “You just haven’t liked her since she beat you in that archery contest,” I proclaimed. “My arrows were weighed down with frost and you know it,” she replied. “Hey, I’m just saying, it’s possible,” I said hoping to diffuse the situation; I really didn’t want to listen to another rant about all the various factors that took a part in her loss in that contest. “Whatever, just check the time,” Clear said angrily. I smiled and shook my head as I looked at a nearby clock, “8:29, looks like a minute left till we need to wake her up,” I replied. “You don’t think she could hear us in there, right?” Clear suddenly asked. “Nah, I’m pretty sure that she would have some sort of sound-proofing spells while she sleeps, I heard from Night Skies that-” I said before being interrupted. “More Night Skies? Damn it girl, you listen to that Unicorn more than you do to the Head Caretaker or even your changeling Queen,” Clear rolled her eyes. “Whatever, it’s time to wake her highness. Do you want to do it or should I?” I replied. “I’ll do it, but we’re doing what I want to do tonight, alright?” Clear answered smiling. “Alright then, we’ll see what that mind of yours comes up with,” I answered back, smiling as well. Clear then turned towards the door and opened it and stuck her head in. After looking, inside she saw something that must have piqued her interest because she said a quick, “Huh,” in a “Well, that makes sense” type of tone before saying, “Your highness, we are but an hour and a half from Common’s Court.” I heard the Goddess mumble something in return before Clear pulled her head out of the room and closed the door with a smile on her face. “What?” I inquired. “I can’t believe I saw her highness with bed-head, that is so cool,” She answered excited. “Really? That’s what you’re excited about?” I asked. “Of course, all we ever get to see of her highness is the poofed up, public relations version. Even a Goddess has to deal with bed-head, looks like mine and her’s don’t come naturally, Xithy. You don’t even care to even brush your little fin-mane-thing,” Clear answered rolling her eyes. “You are literally the only non-changeling I know of that uses that name, in any form, more than once, and besides, I have no need to brush when all I need to do is just shift into whatever form I want. One of the many advantages of being a changeling is that I don’t ever need to go to those hair salons or whatever, I just think of what I think you’d like and, bam, we wake up the next morning with sore muscles and happy memories,” I said in reply. “Fair enough point, Luminous, but you’re not the only one who initiates, my hole-filled partner. I remember once when I had a rope and some old wiring-” Clear said before a loud crash sounded from the Goddess’s room. “Whoa!” I yelled in surprise before I took out my Crystal Rifle and I bolted into the room where I saw something that I’d never thought that I would ever see, an alicorn that is most certainly not the Goddess, who was held in a shield that seemed to be coming from the same Midnight-Blue Alicorn who I had just seen. Despite my hesitation, my bursting in seemed to distract the Alicorn because her shield seemed to flicker before a burst of light emanated from it, which quickly exploded outward and pushed both me and the Alicorn off of our hooves. “What is that?” I heard Clear yell as she rushed into the room. “I am a force of nature, small one!” I heard the alicorn yell. I then pulled up my Crystal Rifle again and I shot at her, hoping to kill whatever this threat was. “Foolish little bug-pony! Your silly bullets do not harm me!” The Alicorn yelled behind a shield before I saw a burst of magic emanate from her horn hurtling towards me. A pink shield appeared in front of me before the magic burst reached me and exploded on impact sending a shockwave that knocked me against the door behind me flinging me out of the room before I hit something hard and I lost consciousness. I awoke on a bed, but I couldn’t quite open my eyes; I simply moved my head a little and I mumbled something not recognizable before I heard a rush of movement near me. “She’s waking up, your highness!” I heard a stallion’s voice yell. “Good, go check on her partner, Doctor Stern, I’ll have need of their services soon, if this attack is only the first of more then I’ll need all of my Crystal Swords,” I heard the Goddess say before I heard a door open. “Miss Clear Night, you must get back to your bed, you are not ready to be up and about yet,” Doctor Stern said. “No, I need to see her, is she ok?” I heard Clear Night’s voice say before I groaned as a wave of pain hit me. “You need to get out of here, miss, please, you must not disturb the patient,” Doctor Stern said trying to dissuade her. “No, I’m not leaving her!” Clear said. “Please leave, Miss Night,” Doctor Stern said sounding agitated. “There is no need for this, Doctor, just let her stay, you already said that my little changeling here was in the process of waking. Please return to your other patients, if we have need of you then I shall call you down,” The Goddess said. “Yes, your highness,” Doctor Stern conceded soon before I heard a door close. I finally opened my eyes to see Clear looking at me, first in worry and then in relief. Despite the seriousness of the situation I jokingly said, “I’m sorry, were you looking for Luminous? Or perhaps Blacky?” “Oh shut up you, you’ll be lucky to get anything out of me for the next few weeks,” Clear said smiling, tearing up. “I seem to recall a certain maid outfit that you absolutely love on a stallion,” I chuckled before I remembered the Goddess standing there smiling. I wasn’t sure whether or not a blush could show through black chitin, but it certainly showed on Clear’s crystalline, baby-blue face. “It is good to see my savior in such high spirits after facing off such a powerful enemy,” the Goddess said continuing to smile, “In such times as we are to enter, such a good attitude will be needed.” I frowned before asking, “What do you mean, your highness?” I heard her say something about the possibility of more attacks but I was sure that she meant more than just that. “Troubling times are ahead of us, my little savior, and even I can’t stop the clock from turning,” the Goddess answered, “Soon crystal will have to stand against a foe mightier than the Yaks and I fear that it will shatter before it can bend.” That entire bit sounded like a riddle from some weird fiction book or whatever, which was echoed by Clear saying, “Your highness, please forgive me but that made absolutely no sense.” “Please forgive me, my subjects, but I have not spoken informally in such a very long amount of time. I am very fortunate to not have developed the ‘royal we’ that my aunt spoke with when she first returned from the Moon,” the Goddess replied. “If I may, your highness, do you know what that thing that attacked you was?” I asked, “It looked like an Alicorn, but you are the only one left, right?” “I actually do not know how it is possible, but that thing was, indeed, an Alicorn. I have heard from my sources in the south about these creatures but I always thought that they were just stories that were meant to scare little foals, but now it seems that I thought wrong. This Alicorn, a creature that does not fit that very noble title once held by the two rulers of Equestria, was somehow able to sneak into my quarters and ambush me while I still slumbered,” the Goddess answered. “I apologize, your highness, we should have been more vigilant-” I attempted to apologize before being interrupted. “There is no need to apologize, little one. Were it not for your distraction I never could have escaped that shield nor could I have killed it and been ready for the two others that showed up soon after. It was only due to your distraction that I could have gotten my Cadenza Lite from a drawer. After that thing disengaged its shields to fire at you, I was able to put a shield around you and Clear Night and then put a bullet through that thing’s skull,” the Goddess said graciously. “How did you kill the other ones?” I asked my curiosity stewing. “After I dispatched of the blue one, a dark-green Alicorn and a purple Alicorn showed up right after. I had to spend a second magically enhancing my bullets to punch through their shields but it worked,” she answered. Before I could ask any more questions, Clear asked the Goddess, “Your highness, I’m sorry to ask but how exactly did you have time to put a shield around us, and then find a gun, load it, and then fire it?” I could almost hear the Goddess laugh quietly before she replied, “I have been alive for a very long amount of time, little one. I’m old enough to have been the foal-sitter of Twilight Sparkle, the mare that you ponies worship as the Mare of Magic and Science. Your description of her is not all that far off, especially in the days prior to the Ministries. Due to my age, and after devoting myself to my magical studies in remembrance to her, I have learned many things about magic. It’s the biggest thing that keeps me alive, my knowledge of magic. I have outlived my normal lifespan by at least a hundred years, you see.” I stood stunned as the fact of the age of the Goddess came rushing to me. I always knew that she was a pre-war Alicorn, that was the basis of our faith, but to have been a foal-sitter for one of the vessels of the Spirit of Harmony is just purely amazing. “I had never thought about how old you were, your highness,” I said. “Most ponies never do, and most never thought of how long my aunts were alive either, to be honest. Celestia had been alive for more than a thousand years; old enough to have seen the reign of Sombra begin and end. She and Luna were both bothered by their ages, even if they would never admit it, they could never truly love a pony other than their respective sister, and the times that they did would always end with them outliving that love. I guess in the end that doesn’t really matter as they perished as did Celestia’s prized student Twilight Sparkle and I managed to stay alive here, away from all of my friends and family down south, nopony to love except my Shining Armor and I managed to outlive him. Only my will, magical ability, and my promise to him to re-take Equestria from the Wasteland keep me alive,” the Goddess replied sullenly. I looked at the Goddess and I saw the pain in her face, she had been through so much and to have outlived all that she knew and loved. “Your highness,” I said trying to think of something to say. “Please, just rest up, my loyal subject. I have a talk in mind for you and you’ll need all of your strength to get through it. Ms. Clear Skies, if you wish to stay with your partner then please do so, I’m sure she’d enjoy your company, and don’t worry about any sounds you mares make, I’ve made this room soundproof,” the Goddess said, winking. “I will, your highness,” Clear replied with what I could swear was a blush. I blushed as well, considering the fact that I never thought that I would hear such a comment from the Goddess. As the Goddess walked out of the room, Clear looked at me with a wicked smile. “What?” I asked. “Oh nothing, it’s too bad we can’t get up to any shenanigans, I’d be afraid of hurting ya,” she answered keeping that smile whilst trotting towards the foot of the bed. “Wh-what are you doing, Clear? What are you doing down there?” I asked. “Oh it’s nothing, just a little peppy action with a certain area of a certain mare, a little pick-me-up that you need,” she said after reaching the foot of my bed and leaning in. “Whoa Clear, I know her highness said that the room was soundproof but I thi- OH MY GODDESS!” I said as I tried to dissuade her before I she spread my legs and placed her tongue in a place that I had experienced it many times before. Quest Completed: Defending the Princess Level up! New Perk: Pony Sutra II: You are even more experienced in the art of giving and receiving physical pleasure. Certain characters are more likely to be seduced to have sexual encounters with you. Civilization! I'm leaving!Don’t want no nobles, Bron-Cos, Stables, magic, you hear! That no matter how much they coax him, I’ll stay right here! They have things like the megaspell! So I’ll just stay here and tell! Civilization! I’ll stay right here! “I am very glad that you could come down, Ms. Luminous Gem, to my quarters,” the Goddess said to me. It had been a day since I had saved her life and here I was back in that same room, all around me, I could see ponies going to and fro cleaning up the debris. “I’m glad to be of service, your highness,” I said bowing. “Then you’ll be happy to know that I will require your service again, please follow me to somewhere we can speak more openly,” the Goddess said before walking out of the room with me behind her. Why she wanted me to meet her there in the first place escaped me. We walked down some corridors away from the Goddess’s quarters and down a series of stairs, where we entered another bunch of corridors and soon we entered a room where a large terminal covered one wall and in front of it was a chair and various shelves and even a refrigerator, a Sparkle-Cola dispenser, and a chemistry set. The other three walls held various pictures of the Goddess, the Mares of Harmony, and even a set of six pictures of the Divine Diarchs. “What is this room?” I asked. “This is a secret that I have held since I first arrived here over 200 years ago. This room has been my place of solace and peace whenever I felt overwhelmed, from first leaving my Aunts and running my own realm, to the War and my husband’s death. The big terminal you see is a special Ministry of Arcane Sciences gift to me from Twilight Sparkle. It is said that only three Crusader Maneframes were ever created, but actually a fourth had been built. A Crusader Maneframe that I had allowed Twilight to install the last time she visited me before the War,” she answered. “A Crusader Maneframe? What is that, your highness?” I asked, not knowing what a Crusader Maneframe was. “The ultimate arcano-technological maneframe built with the computing and processing power that allows it to think for itself. It’s even able to imprint the mind of a pony and act accordingly as if it was that pony,” she answered smiling with a longing look, “The Crusader Maneframe was the culmination of less-than-half-a-century of quick technological advancement and, given just a few more years of advancement, we could have kept the war from happening.” The information that was given to me was… both amazing and saddening, to have been so close to keeping the horrors that engulfed the South and yet to not be able to stop it… it was definitely both of those emotions. “What does all of this mean with our current situation, your highness? I don’t see what a supercomputer has to do with the appearance of an Alicorn and the attempt on your life?” I asked. “Nothing right now, but this room is the only room that I feel like I could speak freely, what with my quarters being repaired,” she answered, “Now, I am in the process of having you transferred to the Scouting division so that I could have you sent on your real mission.” “But, your highness, what of my partner?” I asked distressed. I couldn’t bear leaving Clear behind in whatever mission that the Goddess was about to send me on. I couldn’t even think about my own doubts of my survival. “I had a thought that you might think that, so I had her meet me earlier and she has already agreed on the condition that you agree as well and so here we are,” the Goddess replied. It seemed like I was entirely predictable according to the Goddess. “Your highness, what, exactly, is this mission that you are sending me on?” I asked. “As you know, we were attacked by three Alicorns of unknown origin. My only information on their possible origins is that they came from somewhere in the south. I am unsure of where they could have been sent from and so I needed a pony that I could trust to go out and find out where they could have originated from,” she answered. “You’re saying you want to send me out there into the Wasteland? Your highness, if I may ask, why send me? I know nothing about the world outside of Crystal Lane,” I asked. “Yes, I am sending you out into the wastes, and it has to be you because only a pony I could truly trust could go out on this mission. After Shiny died, I felt a void in my heart grow larger so that even my love for my loyal subjects couldn’t fill it. I abandoned my home, my friends, and my family for Crystal Lane and as such that void widened as I realized what exactly I had left behind. Every day since then, I have wondered about how much I could have changed had I answered the call to arms of my aunts, how I could have kept the Zebras out of Equestria, kept the Maripony Massacre from happening, and maybe even prevented the use of the megaspells. Instead, I kept out of the war, sent only token condolences as casualties added up, and even allowed the research that led to the invention of the megaspells. If we can’t find out the particulars behind these Alicorns, then Shining’s and my dream of restoring Equestria back to her former glory will die and even my realm could be in danger,” she answered. In all honesty, it seemed like the Goddess was seeking her own penance in this mission that she was sending me on. Thinking besides that, I then asked, “Your highness, that still doesn’t explain why trust is a major factor here.” “Between this room, the Crusader Maneframe, and the equipment that I’m going to equip you and your partner with, I am going to have to trust the pony I give this job to, and so you are the best choice. You saved my life, Luminous Gem, and there is nopony who I could trust more than you. You leapt through my door, you shot at the Alicorn, and you have served the Crystal Swords honorably for the past five years. Please follow me to the room to the left of this one if you agree to help me and Crystal Lane,” she answered before leaving the room, leaving me alone there with the Crusader Maneframe. I heisted thinking over the implications that following her would entail, but I had an obligation to my home and to my Goddess. “Oh, horsefeathers,” I said before following the Goddess out of the room and into the next one. I was definitely worried about what I was being sent into. I had heard about the dangers of the wasteland that Equestria had become, the mutated animals, the insane ponies of the south, and the radiation that infested the former home to harmony. When we reached the room I saw that it was an armory of sorts. Various weapons, bardings, and other devices covered the walls of the large room. I then noticed a table which held a few items that the Goddess was pulling off of the walls including: A Crystal Rifle, a sword of some sorts with a baby-blue blade much like the crystal that made up the Crystal Guard barding, a black piece of clothing that looked like a jumpsuit or something along those lines, some healing potions, and Radaway. “I assume you know what most of these are, correct?” the Goddess said to me. I nodded my head and walked over to the table and pointed out the items that I knew and I listed some details about each, The Crystal Rifle, Healing potions (one of the miracles of arcane-technological advancement, and are the potions magically created to quickly heal battlefield injuries}, and finally, Rad-Away (the drug specially designed to reduce the potency of radiation within a pony’s body). The Goddess smiled and said, “Very good, I didn’t expect you to know what the sword and the barding are, so don’t despair as I’ll explain what they are.” I smiled and nodded allowing her to continue, “First, the sword. It is made of a very similar Crystal-Arcano-Technological design as the barding that my Guard wears albeit changed enough to be worked into a workable sword. I have also enchanted this sword so that I hope that it can cut through the shielding that those Alicorns can create. I’ve had limited chances to test it but the only way to really know is a field test, so I wouldn’t go trying for it on the first Alicorn you meet, at the very least it will be able to slice through any sort of armor, even Applejack’s Steel Rangers would find it hard to protect themselves against it. Onto the jumpsuit, it is actually a loan from Queen Crystalline. This jumpsuit is specially crafted by her best spell crafters and smiths and is built for the rigors that a non-Crystal Lane changeling is expected to endure out in the wastes.” I nodded as I listened along, thinking of the nice equipment that I was being outfitted with. “Your highness, may I ask what my partner will be given?” I asked. “Your partner is going to be outfitted in some basic leather barding and she will be given a 10mm pistol, a special pistol that I promised to not tell you about so that she could show it to you, some health potions and Rad-away, and a special piece of equipment that I can show to you right now, as you are going to have one as well,” she said before lighting her horn up and a piece of wall opened up. Out from the special piece of wall came some sort of device. It floated out from its protective case towards me where I then took it in my own magic and I could see it as some sort of arm-mount or some such. “What is this, your highness?” I asked. “A Pipbuck 3000, Mark IV version so it comes with a clamp rather than having it bond to you and being a pain to remove. I am one of the few to own this version of it, since I’m one of the few to know about Stable 111, the only Stable that was going to have this version of the Pipbuck. Go on, put it on,” she answered. I did as she asked and when I did I powered it on and suddenly a flurry of text showed up on the screen, one line at a time, scrolling up as more lines were added. Spell matrix activating… activation complete. E.F.S. activating… activation complete. S.A.T.S. spinning up… cycle complete Scanning biometrics… scan complete. Scanning for radio frequencies… scan complete. Loading map software… load complete. Opening PipOS… Welcome to your brand new Pipbuck 3000,Mk. IV edition. After that it took me to a screen that asked me if all the information was correct in terms of my gender, age, and various other stats. Everything was in order so I moved to the next screen which asked for my name which I promptly typed. “Your highness, why did you give me this?” I asked. Technology like this needed to be guarded, especially if it’s as rare as she says it is. “This mission will require that we keep some sort of communication between the two of us and the Pipbuck’s various built-in spells will make your journey easier,” the Goddess answered. “What are these spells, your highness?” I then asked. “Well, there’s the inventory sorter spell, the EFS -or Eyes-forward Sparkle-, SATS -or Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell-, the spell that allows it to track a tagged object, the radio frequency decryption spell, and some others,” she answered before explaining the functions of the less obvious spells. I had to admit that the EFS and SATS would definitely be helpful out in the Wasteland. After all, who wouldn’t want to be able to have a system to effectively track and take down objects? After showing me the spells, she then showed me the various functions of the Pipbuck, its map (which was pretty nice if not a bit spread out with Crystal Lane at the top-central area), the radio (which showed two frequencies, one being Crystal Lane radio and the other listed as “Cadenza Communication” which she said was what I had to tune into whenever she needed to give me some information), the stats section (which showed my biometrics and various other stats that Stable-Tec felt that it needed to track including one called “Plots exploded” that made me a bit uncomfortable), and finally the notes and inventory sections. “What if I need to speak to you, your highness?” I asked, concerned about how the Pipbuck didn’t allow me to communicate with her. “No need to worry, I had your partner’s Pipbuck modified so that she can send me messages regarding your mission, it keeps her from being able to receive radio frequencies however, so the two of you will need to work together, but that shouldn’t be a problem I am sure,” she answered. The next hour, or so, was filled by her showing me more about the Pipbuck as well as her showing me how to best wield the sword (which I dubbed the “Crystal Sword”) with my, limited, magic abilities. I was glad that I was one of the few changelings who could more easily access the weaker spells that a Unicorn could do, so while I couldn’t turn a bird into an orange or make myself disappear from view, I could levitate small items with the hope of improving it over time, and without the extra effort that a normal changeling needed. “And that’s all that’s needed, your highness?” I asked curious about what else might be needed. “Yes, that’s all that I can teach you that you don’t already know or can learn out there much better,” she answered, “If you wish, you can use the gun range for the rest of the day, I’ve given you and your partner the rest of the day off.” “Yes, your highness, thank you,” I said before turning to leave the door. “One more thing, actually,” the Goddess said making me turn back towards her. She was levitating Cadenza Lite in front of me, “Take this. This .44 magnum has saved me plenty of times in the past, and perhaps one day it will save yours.” I looked at the old revolver with a picture of the Goddess’s cutie mark on the handle, and I could see the impressiveness of the design as I saw that the body of the weapon had heart engravings all along it and even the safety was designed to be a heart. It was too beautiful to be used by anypony as mortal as me. “I-I couldn’t take this from you, your highness,” I said finally. “Please, take it. If I need a pistol then I can get one from in here. You saved my life, so the least I can do is at least give you this,” she answered. “Alright your highness, I’ll protect this as if it was the Holy Object itself,” I said with a surprising amount of piety. “Don’t worry too much, it is a gun after all, and most definitely not the Crystal Heart,” the Goddess said with a smile before I left. Quest completed: Your new mission is… Level up! Perk gained: Telekinesis I: You have gained magical prowess and can hold items easier with the use of your telekinesis. New inventory items added: • Crystal Rifle: A laser rifle built only in Crystal Lane’s old Ironshod Arms Factory by Crystal Guns and Ammo. Powered by a special crystal matrix and uses special Crystal Charge Packs and Microfusion Cells. • Crystal Sword: A magically forged sword made out of crystal seen only in Crystal Lane. Magically enhanced to be able to cut through all armor and most types of magical shielding. Ability to cut through Alicorn shields unknown. • Cadenza Lite: Magically enhanced .44 magnum pistol crafted for Princess Mi Amor Cadenza, now known as The Goddess of Love by her followers in Crystal Lane. • Changeling Light Barding: Special barding made for changelings by changelings. Form-fitting and made to withstand any changeling shape-shifting. • Pipbuck 3000 Mk. IV: Special version of the Pipbuck 3000 made for the ponies of Stable 111. Never used due to the Stable never going into service. • Health potions and Rad-Away: Medical aids given to heal and neutralize radiation exposure. Crazy in love with the CrystalCrazy he calls me… Sure I’m crazy… Crazy in love, with you, right now… As I got to the firing range, I pulled up my EFS to see how it worked and I saw a number of friendlies on it, which was good to know considering there shouldn’t be any enemies in Crystal Lane. “Hey, Luminous!” I heard Clear’s voice sound out. I looked around trying to find her before seeing her at the 100 mark training area. It looked like she was using a .357 with a shorter barrel and more kick. When I reached her, I saw that the pistol was colored orange and black with the letters DA in orange on the handle. She had placed the gun on the table and she was looking at her shot distribution. “Quite a few headshots, did the thing say something bad about me?” I joked. Clear smiled before saying, “Fuck off,” whilst slightly laughing. “Don’t you ever have anything better to say than that?” I asked smiling as well. “Nope, I don’t need to,” she answered. I rolled my eyes and took position at the closest range spot to her and I began to practice using Cadenza Lite. As I woke up, I heard the sound of DJ Shimmering Skies on the radio… … yet another news piece on the savior of our Goddess. I have gotten information from my sources in the Order of the Crystal Swords that Ms. Luminous Gem and her partner have been reassigned to the Scouting detail. Reasons for the reassignment are unknown, but a representative for her highness has stated that the reassignment is not due to any ill cause. Now, I’m not one to spell crackpot theories out over the airwaves but it seems like something more might be behind this. Most ponies would keep such a member of their Guard as close to them as possible so there’s gotta be something going on that her highness is keeping out of our eyes. Perhaps some misconduct? Strange affair? Super secret spy mission in Yakyakistan? Toaster repair? Whatever it is, we here at Crystal Lane Radio will be looking out for you! Now let’s bring it on down a level with the Inkie Plots’s hit song, “Butcher Beat.” As the sound of Butcher Beat played on the radio, I wondered about how other ponies might be seeing me now. They originally saw me as this hero pony and now they think that something bigger is happening, which they are totally right about, but that was besides the point. Perhaps accepting this mission was a terrible idea? That idea went away when I thought about the Alicorn and how close she was to killing the Goddess. It was strange to think of her highness as mortal, but it obviously had to be true. The Divine Diarchs Celestia and Luna died with the War, as did the Mares of Harmony, and her highness’s consort had died as well, albeit much later. When I finally got off the bed, Clear said sleepily, “Luma, please come back to bed, just a couple more hours, please?” I was sorely tempted to return to the bed and Clear’s embrace, but we had a job to do and I needed to get ready. “Sorry Clear, but we really need to get ready. Her Highness’s enemies don’t oversleep, after all,” I said nudging her. “Fuck off, Luminous. Anypony with control over those things could afford sleeping longer,” Clear said before turning over and beginning to sleep again. “Alright then, I guess I’ll go off and have an adventure on my own… In the wild wasteland… Alone… Where I could be cut in half by Goddess knows what… Unloved…” I said trying to get her to react but all I got were snores in answer. I rolled my eyes and went to the kitchen where I grabbed a bowl and then I filled it up with water. A few minutes later, the greatest line of explicit speech was spoken by Clear Night, and I highly doubted that anypony could swear like she did there. Even here I’d rather not repeat it, but I can say that it involved the use of the horns of the Mares of Harmony, the Goddess, and the Divine Diarchs to rape her bloody whilst a Zebra fucks me in the ass, and many other goodies that involved sexual harm to the both of us. I’m ashamed to say that I was a bit turned on by that bit, actually. Unfortunately, angry sex would have to wait as she stormed out and went into the shower before she could probably maul me to death. As I got my things ready, I looked towards what I was going to be doing in just a couple of hours. I was going into the Wasteland to investigate the origin of the Alicorns that attacked the Goddess and I had no idea where to start. I hoped that when we met the Goddess at the South Gate, that she might give us an idea of where to start. Soon enough, Clear exited the shower before finding me bent over looking for a saddle bag that might have been under the bed. She promptly mounted me like a stallion mounts a mare and she leaned into my ear, whispering, “I hope you enjoy this, because your punishment begins now,” menacingly. I took a second to wonder about what she was talking about before her hooves started to tease me down below. “C-come on Clear, not now, please?” I stammered hoping to get her to stop, as I was in a position of no control and sexual pleasure tends to drive out all resistance in a changeling. “Oh don’t you worry, Luma. I’m merely giving you your just deserts considering you knew the penalty for pulling that water bullshit on me again,” she said with a menacing growl. It was at this point that I knew that I had fucked up. After a few minutes of torturous teasing by Clear and her hooves, I was so very close to climax when suddenly she stopped. “P-please Clear, ju-just let me, I’m s-so close!” I said out of breath. “Hmm… nope,” she said before getting off of my back, leaving me to collapse, “Now, I’m going to get myself something to eat, and I’d suggest that you finish up here before following me, unless you’d prefer to be horny all day.” My response was to continue to just lay there on the ground while vengeful thoughts were intermingled with hot and bothering fantasies. It took me a short while to regain my breath but when I did I decided that revenge could wait and so instead I slipped my hooves down below and soon enough I found my sheath, while the other hoof found my sweet spot… Later on, we were walking through the Southern Park to get through to the South Gate. I was certainly scared quite a bit, but also a bit excited. It’s not at all often that one could travel outside of Crystal Lane, and here we were about to go further south than any other Crystal Lane pony out there, outside of her highness’s sources down south. As we neared the gate, I saw the Goddess and Queen Crystalline conversing about something before the Queen nodded and flew off back towards the Crystal Palace. Before I could turn my head back around to the Goddess, I heard a voice in my head say, “Good luck to you, little one. Represent your hive and home honorably, and I will reward you heavily. Remember to keep your partner near you at all times, and only feed on her excess emotions to keep your effect on her energy levels as small as possible. Be safe, child of my hive.” I looked around in confusion before, suddenly; the Goddess appeared in front of me. After I screamed loudly in fear, I could hear the Goddess lightly chuckle underneath Clear’s laughter. “I apologize, my little savior, that voice you heard was Queen Crystalline’s,” she said. “I wondered why that voice sounded so familiar,” I stated, whilst trying to get my breathing back in check. “What exactly is the plan, your highness? All I know is that we are going down south,” Clear said bringing the conversation to the plan at hoof. “I finally got into contact with my main source down south, and she has found a terrific place to meet with you guys. She has found a terrific window of opportunity in Pronto, and has recommended that you meet her there, once you speak to her, report back to me,” the Goddess answered. “How will we get there, your highness?” I asked as we continued our walk to the South Gate. “I have arranged transport from Canter’s Berry Commons, it’s a short hour away but I’ve arranged a Sky Carriage to transport you to there. Once at Canter’s Berry Commons, you will meet Cherry Blossom at the train station where she will give you your tickets on the E-C line train,” She responded, “It’s one of the few trains still running, and is only running due to Crystal Lane caps and tech. Once you are on the train, you will ride to Pronto. You’ll have a few days to rest before you meet her, so I’d recommend doing exactly that.” “Why do we need to meet with her, your highness? Surely she could just send a message to you the same way she has gotten information to you beforehoof?” I asked confused. The Goddess responded, “She stated that she thinks it safer to give this information to you in pony, but if I’m to be perfectly honest I think she wishes to see the young Crystal Swords whom I’ve sent on this mission to determine the origin of the Alicorns.” As I listened I began to wonder about this source of the Goddess’s and how exactly we’d be able to meet her in this far-off town to the south. I thought about this for a short moment before I heard Clear ask, “Your highness, how exactly would we know when we see her? Is she going to be hiding in some dark alley somewhere?” The Goddess smiled before replying, “No need to, she just said to tell you guys that she will be waiting for you at the Mare’s Den, a bar/brothel. A little melodramatic in my opinion, but she always had a penchant for such mannerisms. Besides, she’s a master at disguise.” As we finally arrived at the South Gate, the big door to the Wasteland made of Crystal and Magic, I felt that apprehension. I took a look at Clear, clad in her leather barding and that special .357 pistol of her’s named Daring-Air after some famous adventurer pony that her Highness had gotten it from. She really looked sexy in it, to be honest, although apparently nothing like the absolute seductiveness that I had clad in my Changeling Light Barding, according to Clear. After we passed through the Gate, the Goddess showed us to the Sky Carriage and wished us luck. Once we said our goodbyes, the Sky Carriage took off and we were in the air. It was a bit freaky to be in the air without my wings buzzing through the air but I got used it pretty quickly. Clear, meanwhile, needed me to hug her (her exact words were “Fucking hold me or I’m going to throw the both of us off of this motherfucker!”). Soon enough we reached Canter’s Berry Commons and we exited the Sky Carriage. “Finally, I was scared that I was going to shoot somepony up there,” Clear said smiling. “Come on now, Clear, surely it wasn’t that scary?” I asked. “You might be used to flying, but I’m a Crystal Pony, we usually don’t have wings,” she replied. “Whatever, let’s go to the train station and find this Cherry Blossom character,” I then said hoping to continue on. After a short walk and a minute or so of searching, we finally found the crimson mare named Cherry Blossom. She gave us our train tickets and told me, “Miss Gem, I fully recommend using your disguising abilities down south. The ponies down south have only known two kinds of changeling: Non-mutated followers of the Chrysalinum and the feral ghoul-changelings.” “Ghoul-Changelings?” I asked afterwards. Cherry Blossom answered, “Ghouls are the poor saps who take a fatal dose of radiation but are unlucky enough to have their brains survive. There are a few who stay strong for a long time, I’ve even heard of some from before the War, but the majority of them have lost their minds and are basically zomponies. I wouldn’t recommend shooting any ghouls on sight, but always be on alert until you can be sure that they still have functional brains.” I nodded in partial understanding, it was still weird to think of a walking corpse but if they still had brains then… Anyways, I still wanted to know about the Chrysalinum and when I asked Cherry Blossom she answered that it is a secretive organization that some of the changelings down south follow. Something about some old Changeling Queen that invaded Canterlot some time before the War. Not a lot of information but it was enough to make me consider actually donning a disguised form. Not more than an hour later, we were finally on the train and on our way to Pronto. As Clear and I got to our compartment, I finally relaxed. It would take about a day to get to Pronto and so by the time we get there it’d be pretty early in the morning so I began to inspect the weapons that I brought with me (the 10mm, the Crystal Rifle, my Crystal Sword, and Cadenza Lite) and at the same time I kept looking at my Pipbuck map and seeing my icon, as well as Clear’s, move south towards the Crystal Range. The next day was gonna be our first day in the Wasteland… Quest completed: On the road Level up! Perk gained: Hive Strength: Your renewed connection to the hive has increased your combat and stealth abilities. It has also strengthened your ability to shape-shift and decreased your dependence on emotional energy. Inventory update: • Food: Various pieces of food that should last a week or so. • Water Canteens: Canteens that can hold a week’s worth of water when full. • Magical Bandages: Magically enhanced, cloth bandages used to heal minor flesh wounds. Companion inventory update: Clear Skies • Daring-Air: .357mm pistol given to the Goddess by a friend of a friend. • 10mm pistol: Standard pistol found in much of Equestria • Modified Pipbuck 3000 Mk. IV: Special version of the Pipbuck 3000 made for the ponies of Stable 111. Never used due to the Stable never going into service. This Pipbuck has been modified to send rather than receive radio signals. • Restorative potions and Rad-Away: Medical aids given to heal and neutralize radiation exposure. • Pristine Leather Barding: Armor made of leather from cattle. Pristine in quality and moderate in damage resistance. Way Back HomeThe roads are the dustiest, The winds are the gustiest, The gates are the rustiest, The pies are the crustiest, The songs the lustiest, The friends the trustiest, Way back home (Back home) … I shit you not! Two ponies have left one of the old Stables down south! I thought those things were supposed to have been abandoned a long time ago? In case you’re just tuning into Van and Colt radio, let me repeat myself for your waiting ears. I’ve received reports that a radio station down south, and I mean more south than the Unicorn Range, has reported that two ponies have left Stable 2, the Stable built just outside Ponyville. You know? The town of harmony and all that jazz? Apparently it ain’t as harmonious as it used to be. In unrelated, but more useful to you guys and gals, news, bandit activity on the Pronto-Salt Lick road has seemed to have stepped up, so if you’re on your way to the Statues of Harmony I’d recommend getting an escort or a really good aim with your weapons as they love that area! Eventually the Blue Devil is gonna fall folks, and when she does, our devotions to the Mares won’t be worth shit! Of course the other roads in the East aren’t all sunshine and happiness but at least you’ve got those Steel Rangers between Québuck and Maretreal to scare those raiders away. Now, here’s Binkie Sintrasia’s famous cover of Sad Moon to change the mood! I listened to the radio broadcast as Clear talked to the barkeep here at Pronto Drinks and Eats. It was as clean as everything else in this town, which was not at all. Clear was getting information on the town and especially on Mare’s Den. It was strange to look at myself with a disguise on while not at home. I was a green, Unicorn mare with a plain, black mane and tail and a cutie mark of a pink heart with a Crystal Rifle overlaid on top. I had Cadenza Lite on a holster on my hip whilst my Crystal Rifle was strapped to my back. My other weapons were in my saddle bags along with my other provisions and I kept an eye on them just in case anypony got any funny ideas. Yesterday, we had arrived here in Pronto. The look of the land as we left Crystal Lane's protective embrace was... shocking to say the least. Seeing land so desolate and so wild was jarring at first. The land was rough and the ponies seemed even rougher, especially since Pronto seemed so militarily focused. Nothing like the friendliness and purveying sense of love in Crystal Lane could ever survive here. I felt a sort of pity for these poor ponies. So far from the light of our home and so primitive. I could see why the Goddess would want to bring them all under her protection. These ponies suffered without her love. We’re back here at Van and Colt Radio, and I’m your DJ, DJ Van! Your gal-pal when things go mal! Here’s a PSA for you Ghoul haters, remember that Ghouls are ponies too, and they just have a severe case of radiation poisoning and don’t have the luck to die naturally. One important caveat though, those feral ghouls out there about to munch on your sweet flesh? They are basically zomponies and you are encouraged to put a bullet through their skulls and end their misery. Finally, here’s some information that’ll be of use to all of ya. There’s a new book that’s sweeping into Salt Lick and Coltland stores called the Wasteland Survival Guide. It has all sorts of great information on survival here in the wasteland. Authored by some mare named Ditzy Doo, I’d suggest everypony get their hooves on this book because it’s quite a nice read, although I’d avoid the ramblings about the creatures and such, they seem more like filler. Now, back to the music! As the music restarted, Clear turned to me and said, “Well, it seems like Mare’s Den is on the other side of town. Apparently Pronto is the number one town for ammo so I’d suggest we use those caps that the Goddess gave us on some ammo and possibly some automatic or semi-automatic rifles as well, at least for your use.” With a few days between now and when we’d need to meet the Goddess’s source, it made sense to use this time to stock up on ammo and one could never have too many medical supplies. When I voiced my suggestion she agreed that medical supplies were also a good idea. Thankfully she had also asked the barkeep about the locations of the stores and other important places in town so we knew exactly where to go. The store I went to was Pronto Arms where I spent a fair amount of caps (seriously caps are a strange thing to use; just imagine the inflation that they’d go through whenever somepony raids a Sparkle-Cola factory) on ammunition for my .44 magnum Cadenza Lite, our 10mm pistols, Clear’s .357 Daring-Air, the 556mm Assault Rifle I bought, and rounds for my new sniper rifle. I also bought a few grenades, a mine, and a new saddlebag for the new provisions. Meanwhile, Clear had gone to On the Pronto, the general store and clinic that stood next to the bar. She spent most of her caps on medical bandages and a few restoration potions and some rather unusual items as well. “What are these things, Clear?” I asked when I saw a bottle of tablets, a box of some sort with a smiling Zebra, and two needles among her purchases. “Some special items I managed to get the pony at that store to sell to me,” she answered before telling me about the items. I wasn’t sold by her explanations of any of those chems, even if Dash and Rage could increase my combat abilities, nor Buck my endurance, even those Mint-als seemed like too much of a risk, but I had to admit that there could come a time where we’d be in need of their effects so I allowed her to keep them. It had reminded me of when I heard some of my fellow Crystal Swords back in the academy talk about some drug called Stampede that was apparently stored in some secret compartment just in case a major invasion of Crystal Lane were to take place, I really hoped that the day that these things would be needed would never come. Later on, we were able to rent a room at the local hotel and Clear and I were finally able to relax. Hello, my little ponies! This is DJ Van at Van and Colt Radio, and I’m here to tell you the news of the wasteland! Here’s an interesting piece of news for my faithful listeners with a curiosity for the news beyond the Unicorn Range, it seems like one of those ponies that escaped Stable 2 has picked her side and become a hero! I’m receiving reports that she destroyed the raider settlement that had taken over Ponyville and rescued many captured ponies there, including Ms. Survival Guide herself, Ditzy Doo! In more useful news, I’ve received reports that a train has come south from the North, past the Crystal mountains! That train carried more than just the caps and trading supplies of that mysterious settlement Crystal Lane, but it also carried two ponies who were definitely not traders. They seem to have stopped in Pronto, but only the Mares of Harmony know what their plans are. If any of them are listening to this, come on down to Van and Colt, the giant tower on the road between Vanhoof and Coltland! Now, here are some sweet tunes by Genie Kenneigh, telling us about some good folks way back home! I saw a notification on my Pipbuck about a map update so I switched to the map and I saw a new icon to the west of Pronto and the lake. It was definitely an interesting idea to think of, but we had a mission to complete. It was strange to hear our presence down south being announced though, we had only just come here yesterday and already everypony would know that two Crystal Lane ponies were down south. I turned to Clear, who was drinking some whiskey that the barkeep gave her, and I asked, “Well, if we’re ever in that area then we’d definitely have to visit, right?” Clear rolled her eyes and said, “Sure, just as soon as we figure out where we need to go then we’ll see if it’s on the way or something.” “Come on, it’d be interesting, Clear,” I said half-hoping that she’d agree. I was mostly doing it to annoy her at this point. “No, just come on. Recon now, Radio talk later,” she replied prior to getting off of her seat. I sighed and followed her out of the bar. I was hoping that the breakfast of Tatos would stay in my stomach but you’d never know out here. It was a risk eating here, spending caps that could possibly be of more use in other places, but we didn’t want to use all of our food rations before we set out to wherever the origin of the Alicorns was. “Where are we going again?” I asked. “We’re going over near Mare’s Den; we’re gonna recon the area prior to meeting her highness’s source. I’d like to know the layout of the area before we meet up with this source. Do you remember those radio plays that used to play on the radio back home? This type of meet-up usually ends up badly on them, and you never know what to expect here,” she answered. “Oh fine then,” I said before following her in. Quest completed: Into the Wasteland Level up! Perk Gained: SPECIAL Increase: Strength increases to 5 Inventory Update: Assault Rifle: Former Standard weapon of the Equestrian Armed Forces. Sniper Rifle: Long range markspony weapon useful for far off targets. Ammunition: Rounds for every weapon. Frag Grenades: Terrific for clearing multiple target. Frag Mine: Useful for blowing the legs off of a pony without even firing a shot. Medium Saddlebag: Increases carrying capacity. IntroAuthor's Note Read this in Ron Perlman's voice. Intro Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria… ...the era of friendship and harmony was over, overtaken by the greed and ignorance that plunged the world in balefire. Lands from Ponyville to Manehatten, and everywhere between and beyond were overtaken by the radiation that poured out from the megaspells and Canterlot fell prey to a pink cloud that distorts and poisons much worse than the radiation from the megaspells. In the wasteland, many a villain came into play, hoping to profit off the broken land, ruling by an iron hoof or by the bullet, or even by the very force of energized particles. At the same time, many a hero came into being, hoping to save the wasteland and return friendship and harmony. As one radio host put it though, they usually either died or just gave up, some even turned into the very things that they sought to destroy... ...One hero stood up against this trend, one little mare from Stable 2 changed everything… But this story is not about that mare, and this different hero didn’t come from a Stable. This hero wasn’t even really a pony either to be completely honest. The setting was different as well, as the lands that this hero hailed from had been at the center of the hated megaspells. The Crystal Empire, saved from Sombra’s shadowy hooves by the Elements of Harmony and one little dragon, was where the megaspell was first invented. The mare of the Ministry of Peace made many trips to the home of the Crystal Heart to learn about how it worked with the help of the mare of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. With technology advancing at a pace faster than that of any other time in history, the Princess of Love and her husband worked at keeping their home secure. With the War with the Zebras raging down south, the Crystal Ponies were only satisfied with keeping neutrality during the war, to the ire of Princess Luna and Equestria. Despite many pleas from friends and family down south, no Crystal Pony entered the War; only the work on the megaspells ever attached the Empire to the War. “Ponies… Ponies never change” is what they say, and perhaps they are true, perhaps the Era of Harmony was just an Age of Hypocrisy between the Age of the Three Pony Tribes and this current chapter of pony history in the Equestrian Wasteland... Because war never changes and crystal stands strong...
PrologueI am a Changeling. That is THE most important thing to know about me before I tell you my story, my life story. Now before I tell you it though, there are some other things I need to tell you, because they are also important, but you can skip if you wish to just get to the story. First… or second or whatever, I want you to know where I am and the place I grew up in. Crystal Lane, formerly known as the Crystal Empire, home to the very thing that allows Changelings to live here without any need for the old ways. Of course, every Changeling here is still trained in the old ways, more on that later. Back to Crystal Lane, this place had been saved from the spellfire and radiation due to the combined effort of the Goddess of Love and her Consort, as well as the Crystal Heart and its connection with everypony living here. When the megaspells hit, the Goddess and her Consort combined their magical abilities with the strength of the Crystal Heart and the Crystal Ponies to keep them away from the Crystal Empire and save the ponies and Changelings within from the fires. After the volley of megaspells between Equestria and the Zebras, the Goddess and her Consort both began work on severing connections between them and the Wasteland to the south and the Goddess still believes that one day we will sweep down from the North to save our sisters and brothers in the South. Next, I want to tell you about The Goddess and her Consort. The Goddess, once known as the Princess of Love Mi Amor Cadenza, and her Consort were given, by the Divine Diarchs of Equestria, the job of administering the Crystal Empire and its Crystal Heart after the evil devil Sombra was forced out by a baby dragon and the Divines of the Elements of Harmony. The Goddess and her Consort had kept the Crystal Empire out of the final Great War that occurred between the Zebras and Equestria, protecting their subjects from the horrors of Mariposa, Cloudsdale, and the rest of the final volley. After protecting their subjects from the War, the Goddess and her Consort rested for a month, forming a temporary council between the Crystal Ponies and Changelings to rule in their stead. After waking, they took the reins back and ruled for many years, preparing to one day retake Equestria from the ravages of war, before the Consort’s mortal body began to fail. When he did finally pass to the realm of the dead, the Goddess grieved, as did the Empire. The Goddess has ruled alone since then, still grieving and still hoping to retake Equestria, she renamed the Empire in the months after her Consort’s death, proclaiming that “we are not an Empire, but only a lane on which Ponykind moves forward on the road of progress.” Now, I will tell you about the Crystal Heart, or the Holy Object as the Holy Caretakers and the most pious of us call it, and the religion of my home. The Crystal Heart is the reason why any bit of megaspell radiation hanging in the air around Crystal Lane hasn’t had any effect on anything around here. It protects us all by protecting our bodies from the effects of radiation and keeping us pure as if none were thrown at all. Anypony born with a connection to the Crystal Heart is born without the fear of radiation poisoning due to it making them incredibly rad resistant, although being too far from the Crystal Heart could reduce it’s effects. The rest of our religion is based on the belief that the Divine Diarchs of Equestria had failed their mission when the megaspells hit their realm and as such the Goddess, herself, is the successor to the Holy Throne of Canterlot. The Divines of the Elements of Harmony were mortal pony vessels upon which the Spirit of Harmony flowed into, to show us the way of Harmony. Finally, I’m going to tell you about why Changelings have been living here, even before the War. Some time prior to the War, a Changeling hive lead by their Queen, one Queen Pupae, walked into the Crystal Empire, white flags waving. After some major talks between the Goddess, her Consort, and Queen Pupae, the Changelings were allowed to live and feed off the excess love energies from the Crystal Heart. Crazy to think that we are able to feed off that thing’s excess without any consequences and with the permission of the Crystal Ponies, but that’s how it is. Since then, we Changelings have served in every bit of Crystal Pony society, there are even Changelings in the Crystal Guard, the group of ponies sworn to protect the Goddess. Due to our new connection to the Crystal Heart we have no need to feed off of ponies, and therefore our relations with the Crystal Ponies are better than they probably could be anywhere else, we don’t even need to don disguises like our ancestors. Queen Crystalline, the current Queen, keeps us trained in the old ways however, just in case our new way of living was interrupted. How do I know all of these things, you may be wondering, right? These are the central tenements of our faith, as Caretaker Zenith tells us in the Chamber of Love, in the sight of the Holy Object. Every week we pray for salvation upon our souls in the Chamber of Love, so that the Goddess may hear us and deliver us when we finally do bite the dust. Caretaker Zenith is the Head Caretaker of the Holy Object, and so it is her job to protect and take care of the Crystal Heart, as well as leading us in prayer. She’s the first Changeling Head Caretaker in the history of Crystal Lane, and is the first Head Caretaker to not be an Apostle of Spike, the order of our religion that believes that the baby dragon Spike is also a vessel of the Spirit of Harmony, an order followed by the majority of Crystal Ponies and a minority of Changelings. You might be wondering about what my name is, right? Well it’s Luminous Gem, or Xithrix if you prefer the traditional Changeling name, it’s nice to meet you. I guess I’ve told you enough that you should know what’s going on, I’m sure you’ve read other materials concerning the Wasteland by this point and so you should know the basics about the Ministries, the War, and all that nice stuff, right? Good, now let’s get on with it…
I love them dear hearts and gentle ponies.I love them dear hearts and gentle ponies, who live in my home town… My eyes opened slowly as a ray of sunlight passed through a nearby window. I didn’t get as much sleep as I’d hoped to get, but after feeling the press of the mare in bed next to me, I thought I could get over it. Good morning, children! Welcome to this fine morning in Crystal Lane! I am your host DJ Shimmering Skies, host of Crystal Lane Radio and here’s the news! We’ve got news out of Yakyakistan, and it seems like the latest round in negotiations between Yakyakistan and Crystal Lane seem to have fallen apart after a Yak diplomat- I shook my head and turned off the radio off, turning off the voice of the mare on the radio. It wasn’t like the Yaks could take us in a fight anyways; they still used technologies and strategies that could have worked over 200 years ago before we had modern-day firearms. I then turned to the mare next to me, my partner in the Guard, and I kissed her lips, “Wake up, Clear,” I said to her. “Why?” she eventually asked sleepily. “We’ve got the watch in an hour, come on Clear Night, get up,” I replied. After a few minutes of cajoling and prodding, Clear finally started to get up and I could finally get to the shower. Clear Night and I had been together at this intimate level ever since we joined the Guard a year back. We had joined the Order of the Crystal Sword, the main military order of the Faith, back when we were fifteen, and after three years of training and then one year of guarding the Temple of the Mares of Harmony, we were promoted to the Crystal Guard. Of course, we both knew the obligations that a member of the Crystal Guard had with their partner, the intimate bond that partners in the Guard had to form to finalize the union between them and the Goddess. It is said that the act of intercourse is the holiest union as it symbolizes the coming together of two bodies into one soul and that one soul coming into union with the Goddess and her powers of love, symbolized by the Crystal Heart on her flank. I always thought that was weird but I couldn't complain After taking a shower I then waited for Clear to hurry and finish up. We had about forty minutes to get to our CO for our post assignment, and being late for that is definitely not something one wants to do. At least I didn’t need to go to the daily changeling training sessions anymore; I hadn’t needed to since I joined the Order of the Crystal Sword. “Hurry up, the walk may be short but you know our CO loves to take forever to tell us our posts,” I called to her “I’m almost finished with my mane, Luminous!” Clear called back from the bathroom. “You’re gonna have a helmet covering that up for the majority of the day, Clear,” I said rolling my eyes. “What about the time before that?” she argued. “You mean the short walk to the palace?” I asked. “… Fuck off,” I heard her say bringing a smile to my face. She soon exited the bathroom saying, “Alright, let’s get the heck out of here.” I gave her a quick peck on the lips before opening the door. “Another day in Paradise, right?” I said as we left the house. The sight outside was fairly normal, clouds overhead keeping the sun from appearing, glistening crystal structures all around dominated by the humungous home to the Goddess herself, the Crystal Palace, and the lack of activity on the streets on account of how early it was. Our rout was going as it normally did as well, left from our house down to the corner, another left down a block to the Crystal Palace, and, after a quick flash of our IDs to the Gate Guard, into the entrance from where we would get to the barracks to get our weapons and our Guard Barding. “One would think that I could get some good Ironshod weaponry with how untouched Crystal Lane is, right?” Clear said whilst pulling on the barrel piece. “What? Is a good ‘ole Crystal Rifle not good enough for you? Ironshod might have been Equestria’s premier gun manufacturer pre-war, but Crystal Guns and Ammo is the only place that I know of that produces our signature rifle,” I replied pulling on the leg pieces of the barding. “You and I both know that they use that old Ironshod factory, so basically they are using Ironshod tools and parts to make their guns, even the Crystal Rifle,” Clear argued. “It’s not the same, Ironshod guns are normally bullet based, and our guns are normally energy-based with a Crystal Spark in them. No rifle out there is like ours, even the Zebras can’t have made a rifle like the Crystal Rifle, you go out there and find a Zebra Rifle worthy enough to compete against it and I’ll put myself up for public use for an entire week,” I rebutted. “It’d be almost worth the search just to see you up on those posts,” Clear laughed. “Luckily I won’t need to, because there is nopony who can find such a rifle,” I smiled. Soon afterwards, we both had our Guard Barding on and we were on our way to our CO to see what our post assignments were. The barding was based on the design of Royal Guard barding of pre-war Canterlot, and it was colored baby-blue due to the crystal that made up the barding. Clear always said that she loved the look of the armor on me because of how it perfectly matched the baby-blue coloring that my eyes and carapace had. After a few minutes of walking towards our CO’s office, we finally arrived and, after a process that took way too long to complete, we had our post assignment: The Goddess’s personal guard and it seemed like that’s what we were going to be assigned to for quite a while. Clear visibly smiled as did I, guarding the Goddess was a tremendous honor, considering we were the last, best line of defense for the Goddess should any intruder get into the Palace. A few minutes later, we arrived at our post outside of the Goddess’s quarters, relieving the current ponies on watch there. With ourselves finally at our post we finally could relax, it wasn’t like anypony could get this far, right? Quest Completed: Just another day… Level up! SPECIAL Increase: Perception rises to 4. Author's Note Thanks for reading this, and I need to tell you guys that I might take more time with the next chapter as I need to read some materials to hopefully improve my ability to create a good story.
Choppin' AlicornsHey y’all this is a story about a mare named Butcher Beat! Y’all better watch over your wives because there’s no telling whose meat she'll chop! She's hackin,’ wackin,’ and smackin’! Hack! Wack! Choppin’ that meat! An hour passed by and nothing exciting had happened so far, “How long until we wake her highness from her slumber?” I asked Clear as I clutched the ceremonial spear that all Crystal Guards are given when on general guard duty and not actively defending the Goddess from an immediate threat. “We’ve got a few minutes to kill before it’s time to wake her," she answered. I nodded in recognition before I had my Crystal Rifle raised so that I could inspect it. The Crystal Rifle, or the CR-47 as those who prefer the official name call it, is an energy-based rifle based off of the design of the laser rifles of Equestria and built using Ironshod factory equipment. The Crystal Rifle has much of its design ripped from the Energy Rifle and is able to be powered by Crystal Charge Packs and normal MF cells. It is quite a nice weapon and standard for those serving in the Order of the Crystal Swords. "One would think that she’d wake up earlier than this, being a Goddess and leader of a nation,” Clear suddenly said, interrupting my inspection of my rifle. “A nation of one city,” I argued, “And besides, I’ve heard that she normally doesn’t go to sleep until late at night, up to some sort of magical studying or something like that.” “Where did you hear that from?” Clear asked. “I heard it from Night Skies over at the Temple to the Mare of Peace and Kindness; she said that the Goddess regularly spends the majority of the evening in her library,” I answered. “Night Skies? The old mare who gets regularly assigned to that Temple? There are plenty of ponies who I’d trust to know more about her highness’s nightly activities than that Unicorn,” Clear said rolling her eyes. “You just haven’t liked her since she beat you in that archery contest,” I proclaimed. “My arrows were weighed down with frost and you know it,” she replied. “Hey, I’m just saying, it’s possible,” I said hoping to diffuse the situation; I really didn’t want to listen to another rant about all the various factors that took a part in her loss in that contest. “Whatever, just check the time,” Clear said angrily. I smiled and shook my head as I looked at a nearby clock, “8:29, looks like a minute left till we need to wake her up,” I replied. “You don’t think she could hear us in there, right?” Clear suddenly asked. “Nah, I’m pretty sure that she would have some sort of sound-proofing spells while she sleeps, I heard from Night Skies that-” I said before being interrupted. “More Night Skies? Damn it girl, you listen to that Unicorn more than you do to the Head Caretaker or even your changeling Queen,” Clear rolled her eyes. “Whatever, it’s time to wake her highness. Do you want to do it or should I?” I replied. “I’ll do it, but we’re doing what I want to do tonight, alright?” Clear answered smiling. “Alright then, we’ll see what that mind of yours comes up with,” I answered back, smiling as well. Clear then turned towards the door and opened it and stuck her head in. After looking, inside she saw something that must have piqued her interest because she said a quick, “Huh,” in a “Well, that makes sense” type of tone before saying, “Your highness, we are but an hour and a half from Common’s Court.” I heard the Goddess mumble something in return before Clear pulled her head out of the room and closed the door with a smile on her face. “What?” I inquired. “I can’t believe I saw her highness with bed-head, that is so cool,” She answered excited. “Really? That’s what you’re excited about?” I asked. “Of course, all we ever get to see of her highness is the poofed up, public relations version. Even a Goddess has to deal with bed-head, looks like mine and her’s don’t come naturally, Xithy. You don’t even care to even brush your little fin-mane-thing,” Clear answered rolling her eyes. “You are literally the only non-changeling I know of that uses that name, in any form, more than once, and besides, I have no need to brush when all I need to do is just shift into whatever form I want. One of the many advantages of being a changeling is that I don’t ever need to go to those hair salons or whatever, I just think of what I think you’d like and, bam, we wake up the next morning with sore muscles and happy memories,” I said in reply. “Fair enough point, Luminous, but you’re not the only one who initiates, my hole-filled partner. I remember once when I had a rope and some old wiring-” Clear said before a loud crash sounded from the Goddess’s room. “Whoa!” I yelled in surprise before I took out my Crystal Rifle and I bolted into the room where I saw something that I’d never thought that I would ever see, an alicorn that is most certainly not the Goddess, who was held in a shield that seemed to be coming from the same Midnight-Blue Alicorn who I had just seen. Despite my hesitation, my bursting in seemed to distract the Alicorn because her shield seemed to flicker before a burst of light emanated from it, which quickly exploded outward and pushed both me and the Alicorn off of our hooves. “What is that?” I heard Clear yell as she rushed into the room. “I am a force of nature, small one!” I heard the alicorn yell. I then pulled up my Crystal Rifle again and I shot at her, hoping to kill whatever this threat was. “Foolish little bug-pony! Your silly bullets do not harm me!” The Alicorn yelled behind a shield before I saw a burst of magic emanate from her horn hurtling towards me. A pink shield appeared in front of me before the magic burst reached me and exploded on impact sending a shockwave that knocked me against the door behind me flinging me out of the room before I hit something hard and I lost consciousness. I awoke on a bed, but I couldn’t quite open my eyes; I simply moved my head a little and I mumbled something not recognizable before I heard a rush of movement near me. “She’s waking up, your highness!” I heard a stallion’s voice yell. “Good, go check on her partner, Doctor Stern, I’ll have need of their services soon, if this attack is only the first of more then I’ll need all of my Crystal Swords,” I heard the Goddess say before I heard a door open. “Miss Clear Night, you must get back to your bed, you are not ready to be up and about yet,” Doctor Stern said. “No, I need to see her, is she ok?” I heard Clear Night’s voice say before I groaned as a wave of pain hit me. “You need to get out of here, miss, please, you must not disturb the patient,” Doctor Stern said trying to dissuade her. “No, I’m not leaving her!” Clear said. “Please leave, Miss Night,” Doctor Stern said sounding agitated. “There is no need for this, Doctor, just let her stay, you already said that my little changeling here was in the process of waking. Please return to your other patients, if we have need of you then I shall call you down,” The Goddess said. “Yes, your highness,” Doctor Stern conceded soon before I heard a door close. I finally opened my eyes to see Clear looking at me, first in worry and then in relief. Despite the seriousness of the situation I jokingly said, “I’m sorry, were you looking for Luminous? Or perhaps Blacky?” “Oh shut up you, you’ll be lucky to get anything out of me for the next few weeks,” Clear said smiling, tearing up. “I seem to recall a certain maid outfit that you absolutely love on a stallion,” I chuckled before I remembered the Goddess standing there smiling. I wasn’t sure whether or not a blush could show through black chitin, but it certainly showed on Clear’s crystalline, baby-blue face. “It is good to see my savior in such high spirits after facing off such a powerful enemy,” the Goddess said continuing to smile, “In such times as we are to enter, such a good attitude will be needed.” I frowned before asking, “What do you mean, your highness?” I heard her say something about the possibility of more attacks but I was sure that she meant more than just that. “Troubling times are ahead of us, my little savior, and even I can’t stop the clock from turning,” the Goddess answered, “Soon crystal will have to stand against a foe mightier than the Yaks and I fear that it will shatter before it can bend.” That entire bit sounded like a riddle from some weird fiction book or whatever, which was echoed by Clear saying, “Your highness, please forgive me but that made absolutely no sense.” “Please forgive me, my subjects, but I have not spoken informally in such a very long amount of time. I am very fortunate to not have developed the ‘royal we’ that my aunt spoke with when she first returned from the Moon,” the Goddess replied. “If I may, your highness, do you know what that thing that attacked you was?” I asked, “It looked like an Alicorn, but you are the only one left, right?” “I actually do not know how it is possible, but that thing was, indeed, an Alicorn. I have heard from my sources in the south about these creatures but I always thought that they were just stories that were meant to scare little foals, but now it seems that I thought wrong. This Alicorn, a creature that does not fit that very noble title once held by the two rulers of Equestria, was somehow able to sneak into my quarters and ambush me while I still slumbered,” the Goddess answered. “I apologize, your highness, we should have been more vigilant-” I attempted to apologize before being interrupted. “There is no need to apologize, little one. Were it not for your distraction I never could have escaped that shield nor could I have killed it and been ready for the two others that showed up soon after. It was only due to your distraction that I could have gotten my Cadenza Lite from a drawer. After that thing disengaged its shields to fire at you, I was able to put a shield around you and Clear Night and then put a bullet through that thing’s skull,” the Goddess said graciously. “How did you kill the other ones?” I asked my curiosity stewing. “After I dispatched of the blue one, a dark-green Alicorn and a purple Alicorn showed up right after. I had to spend a second magically enhancing my bullets to punch through their shields but it worked,” she answered. Before I could ask any more questions, Clear asked the Goddess, “Your highness, I’m sorry to ask but how exactly did you have time to put a shield around us, and then find a gun, load it, and then fire it?” I could almost hear the Goddess laugh quietly before she replied, “I have been alive for a very long amount of time, little one. I’m old enough to have been the foal-sitter of Twilight Sparkle, the mare that you ponies worship as the Mare of Magic and Science. Your description of her is not all that far off, especially in the days prior to the Ministries. Due to my age, and after devoting myself to my magical studies in remembrance to her, I have learned many things about magic. It’s the biggest thing that keeps me alive, my knowledge of magic. I have outlived my normal lifespan by at least a hundred years, you see.” I stood stunned as the fact of the age of the Goddess came rushing to me. I always knew that she was a pre-war Alicorn, that was the basis of our faith, but to have been a foal-sitter for one of the vessels of the Spirit of Harmony is just purely amazing. “I had never thought about how old you were, your highness,” I said. “Most ponies never do, and most never thought of how long my aunts were alive either, to be honest. Celestia had been alive for more than a thousand years; old enough to have seen the reign of Sombra begin and end. She and Luna were both bothered by their ages, even if they would never admit it, they could never truly love a pony other than their respective sister, and the times that they did would always end with them outliving that love. I guess in the end that doesn’t really matter as they perished as did Celestia’s prized student Twilight Sparkle and I managed to stay alive here, away from all of my friends and family down south, nopony to love except my Shining Armor and I managed to outlive him. Only my will, magical ability, and my promise to him to re-take Equestria from the Wasteland keep me alive,” the Goddess replied sullenly. I looked at the Goddess and I saw the pain in her face, she had been through so much and to have outlived all that she knew and loved. “Your highness,” I said trying to think of something to say. “Please, just rest up, my loyal subject. I have a talk in mind for you and you’ll need all of your strength to get through it. Ms. Clear Skies, if you wish to stay with your partner then please do so, I’m sure she’d enjoy your company, and don’t worry about any sounds you mares make, I’ve made this room soundproof,” the Goddess said, winking. “I will, your highness,” Clear replied with what I could swear was a blush. I blushed as well, considering the fact that I never thought that I would hear such a comment from the Goddess. As the Goddess walked out of the room, Clear looked at me with a wicked smile. “What?” I asked. “Oh nothing, it’s too bad we can’t get up to any shenanigans, I’d be afraid of hurting ya,” she answered keeping that smile whilst trotting towards the foot of the bed. “Wh-what are you doing, Clear? What are you doing down there?” I asked. “Oh it’s nothing, just a little peppy action with a certain area of a certain mare, a little pick-me-up that you need,” she said after reaching the foot of my bed and leaning in. “Whoa Clear, I know her highness said that the room was soundproof but I thi- OH MY GODDESS!” I said as I tried to dissuade her before I she spread my legs and placed her tongue in a place that I had experienced it many times before. Quest Completed: Defending the Princess Level up! New Perk: Pony Sutra II: You are even more experienced in the art of giving and receiving physical pleasure. Certain characters are more likely to be seduced to have sexual encounters with you.
Civilization! I'm leaving!Don’t want no nobles, Bron-Cos, Stables, magic, you hear! That no matter how much they coax him, I’ll stay right here! They have things like the megaspell! So I’ll just stay here and tell! Civilization! I’ll stay right here! “I am very glad that you could come down, Ms. Luminous Gem, to my quarters,” the Goddess said to me. It had been a day since I had saved her life and here I was back in that same room, all around me, I could see ponies going to and fro cleaning up the debris. “I’m glad to be of service, your highness,” I said bowing. “Then you’ll be happy to know that I will require your service again, please follow me to somewhere we can speak more openly,” the Goddess said before walking out of the room with me behind her. Why she wanted me to meet her there in the first place escaped me. We walked down some corridors away from the Goddess’s quarters and down a series of stairs, where we entered another bunch of corridors and soon we entered a room where a large terminal covered one wall and in front of it was a chair and various shelves and even a refrigerator, a Sparkle-Cola dispenser, and a chemistry set. The other three walls held various pictures of the Goddess, the Mares of Harmony, and even a set of six pictures of the Divine Diarchs. “What is this room?” I asked. “This is a secret that I have held since I first arrived here over 200 years ago. This room has been my place of solace and peace whenever I felt overwhelmed, from first leaving my Aunts and running my own realm, to the War and my husband’s death. The big terminal you see is a special Ministry of Arcane Sciences gift to me from Twilight Sparkle. It is said that only three Crusader Maneframes were ever created, but actually a fourth had been built. A Crusader Maneframe that I had allowed Twilight to install the last time she visited me before the War,” she answered. “A Crusader Maneframe? What is that, your highness?” I asked, not knowing what a Crusader Maneframe was. “The ultimate arcano-technological maneframe built with the computing and processing power that allows it to think for itself. It’s even able to imprint the mind of a pony and act accordingly as if it was that pony,” she answered smiling with a longing look, “The Crusader Maneframe was the culmination of less-than-half-a-century of quick technological advancement and, given just a few more years of advancement, we could have kept the war from happening.” The information that was given to me was… both amazing and saddening, to have been so close to keeping the horrors that engulfed the South and yet to not be able to stop it… it was definitely both of those emotions. “What does all of this mean with our current situation, your highness? I don’t see what a supercomputer has to do with the appearance of an Alicorn and the attempt on your life?” I asked. “Nothing right now, but this room is the only room that I feel like I could speak freely, what with my quarters being repaired,” she answered, “Now, I am in the process of having you transferred to the Scouting division so that I could have you sent on your real mission.” “But, your highness, what of my partner?” I asked distressed. I couldn’t bear leaving Clear behind in whatever mission that the Goddess was about to send me on. I couldn’t even think about my own doubts of my survival. “I had a thought that you might think that, so I had her meet me earlier and she has already agreed on the condition that you agree as well and so here we are,” the Goddess replied. It seemed like I was entirely predictable according to the Goddess. “Your highness, what, exactly, is this mission that you are sending me on?” I asked. “As you know, we were attacked by three Alicorns of unknown origin. My only information on their possible origins is that they came from somewhere in the south. I am unsure of where they could have been sent from and so I needed a pony that I could trust to go out and find out where they could have originated from,” she answered. “You’re saying you want to send me out there into the Wasteland? Your highness, if I may ask, why send me? I know nothing about the world outside of Crystal Lane,” I asked. “Yes, I am sending you out into the wastes, and it has to be you because only a pony I could truly trust could go out on this mission. After Shiny died, I felt a void in my heart grow larger so that even my love for my loyal subjects couldn’t fill it. I abandoned my home, my friends, and my family for Crystal Lane and as such that void widened as I realized what exactly I had left behind. Every day since then, I have wondered about how much I could have changed had I answered the call to arms of my aunts, how I could have kept the Zebras out of Equestria, kept the Maripony Massacre from happening, and maybe even prevented the use of the megaspells. Instead, I kept out of the war, sent only token condolences as casualties added up, and even allowed the research that led to the invention of the megaspells. If we can’t find out the particulars behind these Alicorns, then Shining’s and my dream of restoring Equestria back to her former glory will die and even my realm could be in danger,” she answered. In all honesty, it seemed like the Goddess was seeking her own penance in this mission that she was sending me on. Thinking besides that, I then asked, “Your highness, that still doesn’t explain why trust is a major factor here.” “Between this room, the Crusader Maneframe, and the equipment that I’m going to equip you and your partner with, I am going to have to trust the pony I give this job to, and so you are the best choice. You saved my life, Luminous Gem, and there is nopony who I could trust more than you. You leapt through my door, you shot at the Alicorn, and you have served the Crystal Swords honorably for the past five years. Please follow me to the room to the left of this one if you agree to help me and Crystal Lane,” she answered before leaving the room, leaving me alone there with the Crusader Maneframe. I heisted thinking over the implications that following her would entail, but I had an obligation to my home and to my Goddess. “Oh, horsefeathers,” I said before following the Goddess out of the room and into the next one. I was definitely worried about what I was being sent into. I had heard about the dangers of the wasteland that Equestria had become, the mutated animals, the insane ponies of the south, and the radiation that infested the former home to harmony. When we reached the room I saw that it was an armory of sorts. Various weapons, bardings, and other devices covered the walls of the large room. I then noticed a table which held a few items that the Goddess was pulling off of the walls including: A Crystal Rifle, a sword of some sorts with a baby-blue blade much like the crystal that made up the Crystal Guard barding, a black piece of clothing that looked like a jumpsuit or something along those lines, some healing potions, and Radaway. “I assume you know what most of these are, correct?” the Goddess said to me. I nodded my head and walked over to the table and pointed out the items that I knew and I listed some details about each, The Crystal Rifle, Healing potions (one of the miracles of arcane-technological advancement, and are the potions magically created to quickly heal battlefield injuries}, and finally, Rad-Away (the drug specially designed to reduce the potency of radiation within a pony’s body). The Goddess smiled and said, “Very good, I didn’t expect you to know what the sword and the barding are, so don’t despair as I’ll explain what they are.” I smiled and nodded allowing her to continue, “First, the sword. It is made of a very similar Crystal-Arcano-Technological design as the barding that my Guard wears albeit changed enough to be worked into a workable sword. I have also enchanted this sword so that I hope that it can cut through the shielding that those Alicorns can create. I’ve had limited chances to test it but the only way to really know is a field test, so I wouldn’t go trying for it on the first Alicorn you meet, at the very least it will be able to slice through any sort of armor, even Applejack’s Steel Rangers would find it hard to protect themselves against it. Onto the jumpsuit, it is actually a loan from Queen Crystalline. This jumpsuit is specially crafted by her best spell crafters and smiths and is built for the rigors that a non-Crystal Lane changeling is expected to endure out in the wastes.” I nodded as I listened along, thinking of the nice equipment that I was being outfitted with. “Your highness, may I ask what my partner will be given?” I asked. “Your partner is going to be outfitted in some basic leather barding and she will be given a 10mm pistol, a special pistol that I promised to not tell you about so that she could show it to you, some health potions and Rad-away, and a special piece of equipment that I can show to you right now, as you are going to have one as well,” she said before lighting her horn up and a piece of wall opened up. Out from the special piece of wall came some sort of device. It floated out from its protective case towards me where I then took it in my own magic and I could see it as some sort of arm-mount or some such. “What is this, your highness?” I asked. “A Pipbuck 3000, Mark IV version so it comes with a clamp rather than having it bond to you and being a pain to remove. I am one of the few to own this version of it, since I’m one of the few to know about Stable 111, the only Stable that was going to have this version of the Pipbuck. Go on, put it on,” she answered. I did as she asked and when I did I powered it on and suddenly a flurry of text showed up on the screen, one line at a time, scrolling up as more lines were added. Spell matrix activating… activation complete. E.F.S. activating… activation complete. S.A.T.S. spinning up… cycle complete Scanning biometrics… scan complete. Scanning for radio frequencies… scan complete. Loading map software… load complete. Opening PipOS… Welcome to your brand new Pipbuck 3000,Mk. IV edition. After that it took me to a screen that asked me if all the information was correct in terms of my gender, age, and various other stats. Everything was in order so I moved to the next screen which asked for my name which I promptly typed. “Your highness, why did you give me this?” I asked. Technology like this needed to be guarded, especially if it’s as rare as she says it is. “This mission will require that we keep some sort of communication between the two of us and the Pipbuck’s various built-in spells will make your journey easier,” the Goddess answered. “What are these spells, your highness?” I then asked. “Well, there’s the inventory sorter spell, the EFS -or Eyes-forward Sparkle-, SATS -or Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell-, the spell that allows it to track a tagged object, the radio frequency decryption spell, and some others,” she answered before explaining the functions of the less obvious spells. I had to admit that the EFS and SATS would definitely be helpful out in the Wasteland. After all, who wouldn’t want to be able to have a system to effectively track and take down objects? After showing me the spells, she then showed me the various functions of the Pipbuck, its map (which was pretty nice if not a bit spread out with Crystal Lane at the top-central area), the radio (which showed two frequencies, one being Crystal Lane radio and the other listed as “Cadenza Communication” which she said was what I had to tune into whenever she needed to give me some information), the stats section (which showed my biometrics and various other stats that Stable-Tec felt that it needed to track including one called “Plots exploded” that made me a bit uncomfortable), and finally the notes and inventory sections. “What if I need to speak to you, your highness?” I asked, concerned about how the Pipbuck didn’t allow me to communicate with her. “No need to worry, I had your partner’s Pipbuck modified so that she can send me messages regarding your mission, it keeps her from being able to receive radio frequencies however, so the two of you will need to work together, but that shouldn’t be a problem I am sure,” she answered. The next hour, or so, was filled by her showing me more about the Pipbuck as well as her showing me how to best wield the sword (which I dubbed the “Crystal Sword”) with my, limited, magic abilities. I was glad that I was one of the few changelings who could more easily access the weaker spells that a Unicorn could do, so while I couldn’t turn a bird into an orange or make myself disappear from view, I could levitate small items with the hope of improving it over time, and without the extra effort that a normal changeling needed. “And that’s all that’s needed, your highness?” I asked curious about what else might be needed. “Yes, that’s all that I can teach you that you don’t already know or can learn out there much better,” she answered, “If you wish, you can use the gun range for the rest of the day, I’ve given you and your partner the rest of the day off.” “Yes, your highness, thank you,” I said before turning to leave the door. “One more thing, actually,” the Goddess said making me turn back towards her. She was levitating Cadenza Lite in front of me, “Take this. This .44 magnum has saved me plenty of times in the past, and perhaps one day it will save yours.” I looked at the old revolver with a picture of the Goddess’s cutie mark on the handle, and I could see the impressiveness of the design as I saw that the body of the weapon had heart engravings all along it and even the safety was designed to be a heart. It was too beautiful to be used by anypony as mortal as me. “I-I couldn’t take this from you, your highness,” I said finally. “Please, take it. If I need a pistol then I can get one from in here. You saved my life, so the least I can do is at least give you this,” she answered. “Alright your highness, I’ll protect this as if it was the Holy Object itself,” I said with a surprising amount of piety. “Don’t worry too much, it is a gun after all, and most definitely not the Crystal Heart,” the Goddess said with a smile before I left. Quest completed: Your new mission is… Level up! Perk gained: Telekinesis I: You have gained magical prowess and can hold items easier with the use of your telekinesis. New inventory items added: • Crystal Rifle: A laser rifle built only in Crystal Lane’s old Ironshod Arms Factory by Crystal Guns and Ammo. Powered by a special crystal matrix and uses special Crystal Charge Packs and Microfusion Cells. • Crystal Sword: A magically forged sword made out of crystal seen only in Crystal Lane. Magically enhanced to be able to cut through all armor and most types of magical shielding. Ability to cut through Alicorn shields unknown. • Cadenza Lite: Magically enhanced .44 magnum pistol crafted for Princess Mi Amor Cadenza, now known as The Goddess of Love by her followers in Crystal Lane. • Changeling Light Barding: Special barding made for changelings by changelings. Form-fitting and made to withstand any changeling shape-shifting. • Pipbuck 3000 Mk. IV: Special version of the Pipbuck 3000 made for the ponies of Stable 111. Never used due to the Stable never going into service. • Health potions and Rad-Away: Medical aids given to heal and neutralize radiation exposure.
Crazy in love with the CrystalCrazy he calls me… Sure I’m crazy… Crazy in love, with you, right now… As I got to the firing range, I pulled up my EFS to see how it worked and I saw a number of friendlies on it, which was good to know considering there shouldn’t be any enemies in Crystal Lane. “Hey, Luminous!” I heard Clear’s voice sound out. I looked around trying to find her before seeing her at the 100 mark training area. It looked like she was using a .357 with a shorter barrel and more kick. When I reached her, I saw that the pistol was colored orange and black with the letters DA in orange on the handle. She had placed the gun on the table and she was looking at her shot distribution. “Quite a few headshots, did the thing say something bad about me?” I joked. Clear smiled before saying, “Fuck off,” whilst slightly laughing. “Don’t you ever have anything better to say than that?” I asked smiling as well. “Nope, I don’t need to,” she answered. I rolled my eyes and took position at the closest range spot to her and I began to practice using Cadenza Lite. As I woke up, I heard the sound of DJ Shimmering Skies on the radio… … yet another news piece on the savior of our Goddess. I have gotten information from my sources in the Order of the Crystal Swords that Ms. Luminous Gem and her partner have been reassigned to the Scouting detail. Reasons for the reassignment are unknown, but a representative for her highness has stated that the reassignment is not due to any ill cause. Now, I’m not one to spell crackpot theories out over the airwaves but it seems like something more might be behind this. Most ponies would keep such a member of their Guard as close to them as possible so there’s gotta be something going on that her highness is keeping out of our eyes. Perhaps some misconduct? Strange affair? Super secret spy mission in Yakyakistan? Toaster repair? Whatever it is, we here at Crystal Lane Radio will be looking out for you! Now let’s bring it on down a level with the Inkie Plots’s hit song, “Butcher Beat.” As the sound of Butcher Beat played on the radio, I wondered about how other ponies might be seeing me now. They originally saw me as this hero pony and now they think that something bigger is happening, which they are totally right about, but that was besides the point. Perhaps accepting this mission was a terrible idea? That idea went away when I thought about the Alicorn and how close she was to killing the Goddess. It was strange to think of her highness as mortal, but it obviously had to be true. The Divine Diarchs Celestia and Luna died with the War, as did the Mares of Harmony, and her highness’s consort had died as well, albeit much later. When I finally got off the bed, Clear said sleepily, “Luma, please come back to bed, just a couple more hours, please?” I was sorely tempted to return to the bed and Clear’s embrace, but we had a job to do and I needed to get ready. “Sorry Clear, but we really need to get ready. Her Highness’s enemies don’t oversleep, after all,” I said nudging her. “Fuck off, Luminous. Anypony with control over those things could afford sleeping longer,” Clear said before turning over and beginning to sleep again. “Alright then, I guess I’ll go off and have an adventure on my own… In the wild wasteland… Alone… Where I could be cut in half by Goddess knows what… Unloved…” I said trying to get her to react but all I got were snores in answer. I rolled my eyes and went to the kitchen where I grabbed a bowl and then I filled it up with water. A few minutes later, the greatest line of explicit speech was spoken by Clear Night, and I highly doubted that anypony could swear like she did there. Even here I’d rather not repeat it, but I can say that it involved the use of the horns of the Mares of Harmony, the Goddess, and the Divine Diarchs to rape her bloody whilst a Zebra fucks me in the ass, and many other goodies that involved sexual harm to the both of us. I’m ashamed to say that I was a bit turned on by that bit, actually. Unfortunately, angry sex would have to wait as she stormed out and went into the shower before she could probably maul me to death. As I got my things ready, I looked towards what I was going to be doing in just a couple of hours. I was going into the Wasteland to investigate the origin of the Alicorns that attacked the Goddess and I had no idea where to start. I hoped that when we met the Goddess at the South Gate, that she might give us an idea of where to start. Soon enough, Clear exited the shower before finding me bent over looking for a saddle bag that might have been under the bed. She promptly mounted me like a stallion mounts a mare and she leaned into my ear, whispering, “I hope you enjoy this, because your punishment begins now,” menacingly. I took a second to wonder about what she was talking about before her hooves started to tease me down below. “C-come on Clear, not now, please?” I stammered hoping to get her to stop, as I was in a position of no control and sexual pleasure tends to drive out all resistance in a changeling. “Oh don’t you worry, Luma. I’m merely giving you your just deserts considering you knew the penalty for pulling that water bullshit on me again,” she said with a menacing growl. It was at this point that I knew that I had fucked up. After a few minutes of torturous teasing by Clear and her hooves, I was so very close to climax when suddenly she stopped. “P-please Clear, ju-just let me, I’m s-so close!” I said out of breath. “Hmm… nope,” she said before getting off of my back, leaving me to collapse, “Now, I’m going to get myself something to eat, and I’d suggest that you finish up here before following me, unless you’d prefer to be horny all day.” My response was to continue to just lay there on the ground while vengeful thoughts were intermingled with hot and bothering fantasies. It took me a short while to regain my breath but when I did I decided that revenge could wait and so instead I slipped my hooves down below and soon enough I found my sheath, while the other hoof found my sweet spot… Later on, we were walking through the Southern Park to get through to the South Gate. I was certainly scared quite a bit, but also a bit excited. It’s not at all often that one could travel outside of Crystal Lane, and here we were about to go further south than any other Crystal Lane pony out there, outside of her highness’s sources down south. As we neared the gate, I saw the Goddess and Queen Crystalline conversing about something before the Queen nodded and flew off back towards the Crystal Palace. Before I could turn my head back around to the Goddess, I heard a voice in my head say, “Good luck to you, little one. Represent your hive and home honorably, and I will reward you heavily. Remember to keep your partner near you at all times, and only feed on her excess emotions to keep your effect on her energy levels as small as possible. Be safe, child of my hive.” I looked around in confusion before, suddenly; the Goddess appeared in front of me. After I screamed loudly in fear, I could hear the Goddess lightly chuckle underneath Clear’s laughter. “I apologize, my little savior, that voice you heard was Queen Crystalline’s,” she said. “I wondered why that voice sounded so familiar,” I stated, whilst trying to get my breathing back in check. “What exactly is the plan, your highness? All I know is that we are going down south,” Clear said bringing the conversation to the plan at hoof. “I finally got into contact with my main source down south, and she has found a terrific place to meet with you guys. She has found a terrific window of opportunity in Pronto, and has recommended that you meet her there, once you speak to her, report back to me,” the Goddess answered. “How will we get there, your highness?” I asked as we continued our walk to the South Gate. “I have arranged transport from Canter’s Berry Commons, it’s a short hour away but I’ve arranged a Sky Carriage to transport you to there. Once at Canter’s Berry Commons, you will meet Cherry Blossom at the train station where she will give you your tickets on the E-C line train,” She responded, “It’s one of the few trains still running, and is only running due to Crystal Lane caps and tech. Once you are on the train, you will ride to Pronto. You’ll have a few days to rest before you meet her, so I’d recommend doing exactly that.” “Why do we need to meet with her, your highness? Surely she could just send a message to you the same way she has gotten information to you beforehoof?” I asked confused. The Goddess responded, “She stated that she thinks it safer to give this information to you in pony, but if I’m to be perfectly honest I think she wishes to see the young Crystal Swords whom I’ve sent on this mission to determine the origin of the Alicorns.” As I listened I began to wonder about this source of the Goddess’s and how exactly we’d be able to meet her in this far-off town to the south. I thought about this for a short moment before I heard Clear ask, “Your highness, how exactly would we know when we see her? Is she going to be hiding in some dark alley somewhere?” The Goddess smiled before replying, “No need to, she just said to tell you guys that she will be waiting for you at the Mare’s Den, a bar/brothel. A little melodramatic in my opinion, but she always had a penchant for such mannerisms. Besides, she’s a master at disguise.” As we finally arrived at the South Gate, the big door to the Wasteland made of Crystal and Magic, I felt that apprehension. I took a look at Clear, clad in her leather barding and that special .357 pistol of her’s named Daring-Air after some famous adventurer pony that her Highness had gotten it from. She really looked sexy in it, to be honest, although apparently nothing like the absolute seductiveness that I had clad in my Changeling Light Barding, according to Clear. After we passed through the Gate, the Goddess showed us to the Sky Carriage and wished us luck. Once we said our goodbyes, the Sky Carriage took off and we were in the air. It was a bit freaky to be in the air without my wings buzzing through the air but I got used it pretty quickly. Clear, meanwhile, needed me to hug her (her exact words were “Fucking hold me or I’m going to throw the both of us off of this motherfucker!”). Soon enough we reached Canter’s Berry Commons and we exited the Sky Carriage. “Finally, I was scared that I was going to shoot somepony up there,” Clear said smiling. “Come on now, Clear, surely it wasn’t that scary?” I asked. “You might be used to flying, but I’m a Crystal Pony, we usually don’t have wings,” she replied. “Whatever, let’s go to the train station and find this Cherry Blossom character,” I then said hoping to continue on. After a short walk and a minute or so of searching, we finally found the crimson mare named Cherry Blossom. She gave us our train tickets and told me, “Miss Gem, I fully recommend using your disguising abilities down south. The ponies down south have only known two kinds of changeling: Non-mutated followers of the Chrysalinum and the feral ghoul-changelings.” “Ghoul-Changelings?” I asked afterwards. Cherry Blossom answered, “Ghouls are the poor saps who take a fatal dose of radiation but are unlucky enough to have their brains survive. There are a few who stay strong for a long time, I’ve even heard of some from before the War, but the majority of them have lost their minds and are basically zomponies. I wouldn’t recommend shooting any ghouls on sight, but always be on alert until you can be sure that they still have functional brains.” I nodded in partial understanding, it was still weird to think of a walking corpse but if they still had brains then… Anyways, I still wanted to know about the Chrysalinum and when I asked Cherry Blossom she answered that it is a secretive organization that some of the changelings down south follow. Something about some old Changeling Queen that invaded Canterlot some time before the War. Not a lot of information but it was enough to make me consider actually donning a disguised form. Not more than an hour later, we were finally on the train and on our way to Pronto. As Clear and I got to our compartment, I finally relaxed. It would take about a day to get to Pronto and so by the time we get there it’d be pretty early in the morning so I began to inspect the weapons that I brought with me (the 10mm, the Crystal Rifle, my Crystal Sword, and Cadenza Lite) and at the same time I kept looking at my Pipbuck map and seeing my icon, as well as Clear’s, move south towards the Crystal Range. The next day was gonna be our first day in the Wasteland… Quest completed: On the road Level up! Perk gained: Hive Strength: Your renewed connection to the hive has increased your combat and stealth abilities. It has also strengthened your ability to shape-shift and decreased your dependence on emotional energy. Inventory update: • Food: Various pieces of food that should last a week or so. • Water Canteens: Canteens that can hold a week’s worth of water when full. • Magical Bandages: Magically enhanced, cloth bandages used to heal minor flesh wounds. Companion inventory update: Clear Skies • Daring-Air: .357mm pistol given to the Goddess by a friend of a friend. • 10mm pistol: Standard pistol found in much of Equestria • Modified Pipbuck 3000 Mk. IV: Special version of the Pipbuck 3000 made for the ponies of Stable 111. Never used due to the Stable never going into service. This Pipbuck has been modified to send rather than receive radio signals. • Restorative potions and Rad-Away: Medical aids given to heal and neutralize radiation exposure. • Pristine Leather Barding: Armor made of leather from cattle. Pristine in quality and moderate in damage resistance.
Way Back HomeThe roads are the dustiest, The winds are the gustiest, The gates are the rustiest, The pies are the crustiest, The songs the lustiest, The friends the trustiest, Way back home (Back home) … I shit you not! Two ponies have left one of the old Stables down south! I thought those things were supposed to have been abandoned a long time ago? In case you’re just tuning into Van and Colt radio, let me repeat myself for your waiting ears. I’ve received reports that a radio station down south, and I mean more south than the Unicorn Range, has reported that two ponies have left Stable 2, the Stable built just outside Ponyville. You know? The town of harmony and all that jazz? Apparently it ain’t as harmonious as it used to be. In unrelated, but more useful to you guys and gals, news, bandit activity on the Pronto-Salt Lick road has seemed to have stepped up, so if you’re on your way to the Statues of Harmony I’d recommend getting an escort or a really good aim with your weapons as they love that area! Eventually the Blue Devil is gonna fall folks, and when she does, our devotions to the Mares won’t be worth shit! Of course the other roads in the East aren’t all sunshine and happiness but at least you’ve got those Steel Rangers between Québuck and Maretreal to scare those raiders away. Now, here’s Binkie Sintrasia’s famous cover of Sad Moon to change the mood! I listened to the radio broadcast as Clear talked to the barkeep here at Pronto Drinks and Eats. It was as clean as everything else in this town, which was not at all. Clear was getting information on the town and especially on Mare’s Den. It was strange to look at myself with a disguise on while not at home. I was a green, Unicorn mare with a plain, black mane and tail and a cutie mark of a pink heart with a Crystal Rifle overlaid on top. I had Cadenza Lite on a holster on my hip whilst my Crystal Rifle was strapped to my back. My other weapons were in my saddle bags along with my other provisions and I kept an eye on them just in case anypony got any funny ideas. Yesterday, we had arrived here in Pronto. The look of the land as we left Crystal Lane's protective embrace was... shocking to say the least. Seeing land so desolate and so wild was jarring at first. The land was rough and the ponies seemed even rougher, especially since Pronto seemed so militarily focused. Nothing like the friendliness and purveying sense of love in Crystal Lane could ever survive here. I felt a sort of pity for these poor ponies. So far from the light of our home and so primitive. I could see why the Goddess would want to bring them all under her protection. These ponies suffered without her love. We’re back here at Van and Colt Radio, and I’m your DJ, DJ Van! Your gal-pal when things go mal! Here’s a PSA for you Ghoul haters, remember that Ghouls are ponies too, and they just have a severe case of radiation poisoning and don’t have the luck to die naturally. One important caveat though, those feral ghouls out there about to munch on your sweet flesh? They are basically zomponies and you are encouraged to put a bullet through their skulls and end their misery. Finally, here’s some information that’ll be of use to all of ya. There’s a new book that’s sweeping into Salt Lick and Coltland stores called the Wasteland Survival Guide. It has all sorts of great information on survival here in the wasteland. Authored by some mare named Ditzy Doo, I’d suggest everypony get their hooves on this book because it’s quite a nice read, although I’d avoid the ramblings about the creatures and such, they seem more like filler. Now, back to the music! As the music restarted, Clear turned to me and said, “Well, it seems like Mare’s Den is on the other side of town. Apparently Pronto is the number one town for ammo so I’d suggest we use those caps that the Goddess gave us on some ammo and possibly some automatic or semi-automatic rifles as well, at least for your use.” With a few days between now and when we’d need to meet the Goddess’s source, it made sense to use this time to stock up on ammo and one could never have too many medical supplies. When I voiced my suggestion she agreed that medical supplies were also a good idea. Thankfully she had also asked the barkeep about the locations of the stores and other important places in town so we knew exactly where to go. The store I went to was Pronto Arms where I spent a fair amount of caps (seriously caps are a strange thing to use; just imagine the inflation that they’d go through whenever somepony raids a Sparkle-Cola factory) on ammunition for my .44 magnum Cadenza Lite, our 10mm pistols, Clear’s .357 Daring-Air, the 556mm Assault Rifle I bought, and rounds for my new sniper rifle. I also bought a few grenades, a mine, and a new saddlebag for the new provisions. Meanwhile, Clear had gone to On the Pronto, the general store and clinic that stood next to the bar. She spent most of her caps on medical bandages and a few restoration potions and some rather unusual items as well. “What are these things, Clear?” I asked when I saw a bottle of tablets, a box of some sort with a smiling Zebra, and two needles among her purchases. “Some special items I managed to get the pony at that store to sell to me,” she answered before telling me about the items. I wasn’t sold by her explanations of any of those chems, even if Dash and Rage could increase my combat abilities, nor Buck my endurance, even those Mint-als seemed like too much of a risk, but I had to admit that there could come a time where we’d be in need of their effects so I allowed her to keep them. It had reminded me of when I heard some of my fellow Crystal Swords back in the academy talk about some drug called Stampede that was apparently stored in some secret compartment just in case a major invasion of Crystal Lane were to take place, I really hoped that the day that these things would be needed would never come. Later on, we were able to rent a room at the local hotel and Clear and I were finally able to relax. Hello, my little ponies! This is DJ Van at Van and Colt Radio, and I’m here to tell you the news of the wasteland! Here’s an interesting piece of news for my faithful listeners with a curiosity for the news beyond the Unicorn Range, it seems like one of those ponies that escaped Stable 2 has picked her side and become a hero! I’m receiving reports that she destroyed the raider settlement that had taken over Ponyville and rescued many captured ponies there, including Ms. Survival Guide herself, Ditzy Doo! In more useful news, I’ve received reports that a train has come south from the North, past the Crystal mountains! That train carried more than just the caps and trading supplies of that mysterious settlement Crystal Lane, but it also carried two ponies who were definitely not traders. They seem to have stopped in Pronto, but only the Mares of Harmony know what their plans are. If any of them are listening to this, come on down to Van and Colt, the giant tower on the road between Vanhoof and Coltland! Now, here are some sweet tunes by Genie Kenneigh, telling us about some good folks way back home! I saw a notification on my Pipbuck about a map update so I switched to the map and I saw a new icon to the west of Pronto and the lake. It was definitely an interesting idea to think of, but we had a mission to complete. It was strange to hear our presence down south being announced though, we had only just come here yesterday and already everypony would know that two Crystal Lane ponies were down south. I turned to Clear, who was drinking some whiskey that the barkeep gave her, and I asked, “Well, if we’re ever in that area then we’d definitely have to visit, right?” Clear rolled her eyes and said, “Sure, just as soon as we figure out where we need to go then we’ll see if it’s on the way or something.” “Come on, it’d be interesting, Clear,” I said half-hoping that she’d agree. I was mostly doing it to annoy her at this point. “No, just come on. Recon now, Radio talk later,” she replied prior to getting off of her seat. I sighed and followed her out of the bar. I was hoping that the breakfast of Tatos would stay in my stomach but you’d never know out here. It was a risk eating here, spending caps that could possibly be of more use in other places, but we didn’t want to use all of our food rations before we set out to wherever the origin of the Alicorns was. “Where are we going again?” I asked. “We’re going over near Mare’s Den; we’re gonna recon the area prior to meeting her highness’s source. I’d like to know the layout of the area before we meet up with this source. Do you remember those radio plays that used to play on the radio back home? This type of meet-up usually ends up badly on them, and you never know what to expect here,” she answered. “Oh fine then,” I said before following her in. Quest completed: Into the Wasteland Level up! Perk Gained: SPECIAL Increase: Strength increases to 5 Inventory Update: Assault Rifle: Former Standard weapon of the Equestrian Armed Forces. Sniper Rifle: Long range markspony weapon useful for far off targets. Ammunition: Rounds for every weapon. Frag Grenades: Terrific for clearing multiple target. Frag Mine: Useful for blowing the legs off of a pony without even firing a shot. Medium Saddlebag: Increases carrying capacity.
IntroAuthor's Note Read this in Ron Perlman's voice. Intro Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria… ...the era of friendship and harmony was over, overtaken by the greed and ignorance that plunged the world in balefire. Lands from Ponyville to Manehatten, and everywhere between and beyond were overtaken by the radiation that poured out from the megaspells and Canterlot fell prey to a pink cloud that distorts and poisons much worse than the radiation from the megaspells. In the wasteland, many a villain came into play, hoping to profit off the broken land, ruling by an iron hoof or by the bullet, or even by the very force of energized particles. At the same time, many a hero came into being, hoping to save the wasteland and return friendship and harmony. As one radio host put it though, they usually either died or just gave up, some even turned into the very things that they sought to destroy... ...One hero stood up against this trend, one little mare from Stable 2 changed everything… But this story is not about that mare, and this different hero didn’t come from a Stable. This hero wasn’t even really a pony either to be completely honest. The setting was different as well, as the lands that this hero hailed from had been at the center of the hated megaspells. The Crystal Empire, saved from Sombra’s shadowy hooves by the Elements of Harmony and one little dragon, was where the megaspell was first invented. The mare of the Ministry of Peace made many trips to the home of the Crystal Heart to learn about how it worked with the help of the mare of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. With technology advancing at a pace faster than that of any other time in history, the Princess of Love and her husband worked at keeping their home secure. With the War with the Zebras raging down south, the Crystal Ponies were only satisfied with keeping neutrality during the war, to the ire of Princess Luna and Equestria. Despite many pleas from friends and family down south, no Crystal Pony entered the War; only the work on the megaspells ever attached the Empire to the War. “Ponies… Ponies never change” is what they say, and perhaps they are true, perhaps the Era of Harmony was just an Age of Hypocrisy between the Age of the Three Pony Tribes and this current chapter of pony history in the Equestrian Wasteland... Because war never changes and crystal stands strong...
