Fallout Equestria: Cold Steelby StrikingSparkBronyChaptersChapter 1: Innocence and FireChapter 2: The ill oneChapter 3: Stable-Tech TechnologyChapter 4: Unintended Consequences Chapter 5: The Survivor of CapsChapter 1: Innocence and FireEquestria 22X5 The Past The match lit, catching fire as it was struck against the grey stone wall of our partially sunken home. It was cold, which was fairly usual for winter winter weather and was never my favorite season. But as an Equestrian pony it was something I had to get used to as we gradually floated away from the sun. We must have been floating away from the sun for a small number of days, far enough for the sun itself to be visibly smaller than usual and by this time Celestia herself was already to late to stop our movement. The lit match touched the wick of a lantern that sat nearby the pony holding the match in hoof, doing so caused the lantern to be lit with a small puff of smoke that the wick gave off, with a nod and the closing creak of a small hinge on the lantern, Sulfurous Rock blew out the match. "Tell me a story grandpa Sulfur," Soft Ice said softly, waiting for her grandfather to lumber over to her side. "Well, what kind of story would you like to hear," Grandpa Sulfur asked chucking at Soft Ice's innocence while lifting the lantern off the small table adorning their small concrete room and over to the small foal laying under her covers. setting the lantern on her nightstand Sulfurous Rock adjusted the wick of the lantern, dimming the light coming from it to a small dull flame. "One about Equestria, something from the old days again, grandpa" Soft Ice explained in excitement. "Alright then," grandpa Sulfur chuckled once more, sitting down in the old creaky chair he had put adjacent to her and the nightstand side her for these occasions. "This was a long time ago in the wonderful land of Equestria, there were three types of ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies, all of which lived together in harmony, learning what it meant to have friends in such a wonderful land. But all of that changed as everyone in Equestria heard that their world was going to be turned upside down. Many who heard this news stole, hunting for any sort of shelter they could find and pillaged many villages to ensure their own survival" Many took refuge in their own homes boarding up what they could using it as shelter. The ponies that did this were wrong in their choice, as they were consumed by the first frost brought upon by the flash freeze, the entire world was encased in ice. For ponies that didn't know what to do, they were doomed, heading for a destruction of their own, be it from another pony or their own insanity. As for ponies such as you and I, this wasn't a problem, you see for ponies like me who have someone else to take care of, we always made sure we had a back up plan and to keep our heads in the right mind." "Oh, you mean like this small underground bunker you built for us and the walks you take out in the red snow you bring back sometimes" Soft Ice squeaked cuddling deeper into her covers. "Yes, very much so" grandpa Sulfur added, rocking back the chair in one big creak,"Now get some sleep." With those words, Soft Ice rolled over drifting off to sleep. The ideal dream is not one of explosions and warfare, but in this instance the ideal dream was one of looking for remission and remembrance of my grandfather comforting me in my youth. But this, waking to to war only proves one thing to me. War, war never changes. War never sleeps, never stops killing and doesn't ever get dead ass drunk in the heat of battle to the point of passing out. "Grenade!" The warning and that explosion is what woke me up, both of which came from a Sector C, 363 explosives operative that was never good at timing a throw and who's name I was never able to remember. "Soft Ice, get your ass up out of the snow now," Steel Plate yelled, looking back at my drowsy body laying in the snow. "Grandpa Sulfur" I whispered to myself as I held my head and looking in the direction of fire. Well, our explosives operative is dead, I thought to myself as I looked at a headless pony paralized in place further down the line than the rest of our team. "Open fire!" Steel Plate ordered pointing in the direction of the enemy, returning to his own. "Grandpa Sulfur why are you still coming through my head, in my thoughts," I questioned myself, seeing that it was that dream again, and I was out with Steel Plate's team, again. "This wasn't where I wanted to be," I thought, as my ears drooped in disbelief. "What the fuck, Ice, get your ass up now!" Steel Plate yelled looking back at me once again. "What for" I asked "It's not going to do us any good," I didn't receive an answer. sighing I stumbling to get up. "It would do us some good if you weren't so god damn drunk all the time, fire," Steel Plate exclaimed resuming the firefight. "Okay, fine I'll find my gun," I sneered out of frustration, stomping on it, my gun was set to full auto." "Where are they" I asked screaming my head off, everyone else just looked at me and ducked as I used my integrated targeting systems slaughtering them all. "Soft Ice!" "Oh Celestia's mercy" "This is why I don't yell at her, Steel Plate," Gunther explained with a look of I warned you. Everypony in my direction looked like they were pieces of pony shaped swiss cheese, and with the howling wind in the air the silence that fell on the battlefield was a little less depressing and made our search for a more suitable home enjoyable, except for the aroma of fresh blood and gun powder at our noses. "All I am asking is who called Ice a mercenary, and who in hell gave her a mini gun to suit" Steel Plate asked Gunther pummeling him with angry questions and directing them at me at the same time. "For Celestia's sake Soft Ice, you could have killed all of us, your lucky you only shot our enemy." Steel Plate exaggerated pointing at me. Gunther rolled his eyes as he cleared his throat signaling for Steel Plate to stop and listen to new information. "Sir Paladin Steel Plate, our observations tell us that all falcons have been killed, we're ready to move out." "Thank you Gunther, Steel Plate said resuming his confrontation with me, "This stays in your barding," Steel Plate shoved the mini gun into my chest. "Use that pistol I gave you." "But I hate that little piece of shit" I kicked the ground with my hoof. "Alright, let's move out," Steel Plate yelled making sure everyone heard him as we returned home to Sector C, 363. Sector C, 363, or Sector Celestia as some might have called it when it was first inhabited, is deep within Equestria's crust. It was a Stable designed to keep the inhabitant of Equestria warm from the dark freezing cold named after our fallen ruler. In the beginning, it had definitely saved the lives of ponies who knew about the stable and could find the Stable's location, but now, It can barely hold the ponies that we have. The population problem we are experiencing has been getting worse everyday, we're at maximum capacity. 'We', Steel Plate, Gunther and I had been sent out with a mission, to find other stables that 'Sector C' might be able to move some of our occupants to. The first time we tried to find another stable was back in 22X6. Its been seventeen years since I started drinking and I haven't stopped since, that is because our mission is hopeless, we will never find another stable at this rate. The snow and ice is too thick over Equestria's surface. Stopping to catch my breath, I opened my bourbon flask ready to take a sip, except when I tried, the ground shook beneath me. Something was off, the ground shouldn't be undergoing an earth quake or feel like a hammer was being beat beneath my hooves, It was warm, welcoming, jarring like a heartbeat. "Something is beneath us here," I thought looking out towards Steel Plate in the distance "Steel Plate!" I called out, hoping my voice would be carried by the wind. "I've found something." "This better be good, If not, I'm leaving you out in the freezing cold tonight." Steel Plate called back marching through the snow to me. I doubted that, we've been doing this for seventeen years, I already knew my way back to Sector C. "Okay, what is it?" Steel Plate asked annoyed enough to tie me up and leave me for dead. "Here, stand here," I positioned him where I was standing when I felt it. His ears lowered as to listen very carefully for the silent whisper of within the wind. The ground jarred again. Steel Plate's eyes lit up with excitement ."There is definitely something under here," Steel Plate confirmed with a gleeful smile. "So, what do you want to do," I said trying to smile back at him with a shovel in my mouth. "Sir, we need to find some shelter soon or move on back to 'sector C' before the storm hits us hard," one of our team was really worried, who was to blame him, none of us wanted to freeze in the dark. "No, we're here now and this might be the only chance we have, we have to find out what this is," Steel Plate said pulling out his shovel and shoving it into the hardened snow. Author's Note Luck, -2 Heavy Guns, +5 Light Guns, -10 Traveling drunk. Chapter 2: The ill oneDigging into the snow did two things for us, one. It got us out of the cold dark weather. Two, doing this now allows us to move into this stable later on if we need to. Uncovering what we believe to be the stables door was going to be a feat. "Oh, this is big," Steel Plate dug with a dastardly smile. "Yeah, what do you think we will find once we open it," I dared to ask the question, stopping to wipe my hoof across my forehead. "Gold, riches, silver," Steel Plate took another shove into the snow, hitting something hard. "Sir, what about ponies, the residence that's supposedly down there" Gunther asked snickering at Steel Plate for acting so strange, much like a mad pony would with his experiments. "Well, yeah. Those too." Steel Plate thought out loud picking up the hard case he just found. I rolled my eyes, here we go again. "I just hope this one isn't damaged," I dropped my shovel and ran for the lip of the pit we were digging as the sound of metal unwinding grew louder. "What did you do," I yelled climbing out of the hole. The hatch lifted, pulled up by the arm attached to the outside portion of the lid. "Okay, everypony get on," Steel Plate commanded, ready to activate the elevator revealed by the hatch, now out of the way. I scanned the area, assuring myself that it was safe, I just wish Steel Plate would warn us when he's about to do stuff life that. It's quite alarming when a large steel anything comes crunching up out of the snow. Alright, we were wasting time, I jumped back into the hole joining Steel Plate and Gunther while the others stayed on the surface. "And down we go," Steel Plate pressed a button on the terminal making the elevator make a low tone whine descending into the depths of the vault. The elevator was taking a long time to stop, how far down did this thing go, I uncapped my flask to take another swig of my drink. feeling woozy a few seconds later. "What do you think again Soft Ice?" "What?" I could barely screw the cap back on. "About what we're going to find down here." Gunther asked, moving in to hold me up on my hooves. "Ponies or irradiated monsters, pick one," I sloshed swinging my flask around in my dizzied swirling hoof. "Yeah, she's gone," Steel Plate chuckled, while Gunther just shook his head. Awhile later, the elevator let out a mechanical whine as it slowed down to a stop. Steel Plate got off first, taking the lead far ahead of us. like usual. "Soft Ice, are you able to stand" Gunther asked, gently letting go of me. "I think so, yes" I confirmed, wobbling a little, "eh heh, whoa, maybe" doubting my hooves as I walked back and forth, trying not to fall down. "Wow, do you think they could have made the ceiling any taller," Steel Plate's voice echoed into the distance. "Not if they wanted to keep this hidden sir," Gunther answered, sending his voice echoing down the corridor. It was a rhetorical question Steel Plate said climbing the stairs up to the door. "I can taste those riches now," Steel Plate taunted, touching the large steel door. Plugging in his power armour to hack open the door. I read the engraving on the door before it opened with a hiss, screech and a pull, the letter 'R' and the number '88' were engraved into its surface. The first steps into the stable were ones of unease. Everything was dark, darker than the pitch black darkness outside, except for the few red lamps that were running. There were two ways out of the room we were in. Right, leading into a corridor and left leading to a flight of stairs. Flanking the right, I ended up in the cafeteria where cups and trays lay scattered throughout the room. Where is everypony? The stable shouldn't be empty like this. I walked back into the corridor and looked into the next room. The second room I walked into was a medical unit capable of holding up to twelve patients, each one, empty. In the back of the unit, was a soft glow emanating from the terminal sitting on one of the medical tables. "Damn, locked. Looks like this is one for Steel Plate," I sighed, picking up the terminal to use it for the light coming out of it in this dark place. The last room across the hall was the living quarters of the stable, one side was for mares, the other, colts. Searching both sides didn't take long since I was carrying the terminal around as a light source. Walking back to the main room, I was surprised by a mechanical whine and the power up of lights on the ceiling of the stable. I dropped the terminal, feeling like I just walked into wet sand that was slowly creeping up my hooves. We walked past the inhabitant of the stable the moment we came in. This room was the orchard for the stable, and some sick bastard killed every pony by impaling them onto the spires. Their blood dried onto the trees along with their guts and eyeballs which looked like garlands. This sick bastard, who would ever do anything like this? If I ever find it, It is going to die. "That wasn't to hard now was it" Steel plate asked Gunther as they climbed back up the stairs. Gunther stopped at the top of the stairs, staring at the bodies in and on the trees. "Sir." "Holy shit!" Steel plate said shocked as I was the first few seconds of looking at it. He gagged, losing his stomach shortly after. "I should have known something was wrong," Gunther said, helping up Steel Plate when he was done. The intercom let out a screech. "Eh, hello to the three of you out there, leave my stable now or face the consequences!" That bastard is still here?! oh, worst mistake. I loaded my mini gun, and headed through the cafeteria, where a red emergency door was engaged, Steel Plate used his power armour to hack through it. Steel Plate and Gunther took a quick look in security on the right, before following me to the heart of the stable, the Overmare's office. Gunther used his lock picks on the door, opening it successfully. I didn't wait, I fired as the door cracked open, spraying bullets from one side of the room to the other, I let go of the trigger as Steel Plate and Gunther rushed behind the Overmare's Desk that our murderer was ducking behind, shooting him in the head. We took a sigh of relief, over this, we finally have good news to bring back to the ponies of 'Sector C', we finally get the chance to be seen as the saviors for once, instead of hired murderers. We-. "I don't understand," I heard Gunther say under his breath. Steel Plate and I looked at him. "Even after traveling with you for so long Steel Plate, how does a pony end up like this," Gunther asked, standing over the pony we just killed. "It's called 'Stable madness', Gunther," Steel Plate said, walking out of the Overmare's office. "No more questions, we need to get back to 'Sector C' with the news and get help in cleaning up this mess," Steel Plate added, shooting down Gunther's next question, His hoof was still up. "Come on," I said dragging him out of the stable. Neither of us said a word on our way back to Sector C, the howling storm was the only company that surrounded us, blowing snow in our manes, and I didn't mind the cold one bit, since I took another sip from my flask. Author's Note Intelligence, +1 Heavy Guns, +1 Perk, Commando Traveling drunk. Chapter 3: Stable-Tech Technology"For the last time old man, tell us where it is!" I woke up, startled from the yelling. The door that the cold was coming under busted open from what I could only assume was grandpa Sulfur flying through the air, hitting the ground with a hard smack and slide. "Where is what," grandpa Sulfur lifted himself up in a pained low tone. "Don't play stupid with me you fucking piece of shit," Was this, a raider? I heard a soft 'click' sound echo the walls of the room. "Soft Ice" Sulfurous Rock wheezed . "Soft Ice!" I could feel the entire room shaking and could see the darkness parting in forms. I awoke to a Moon Lancer in 'Sector C' shaking me as I gasped for air. "Whoa, you didn't have to get up that quickly" I didn't move, my eyes needed to refocus. "Oh, hello Moon Lancer" I said greeting her after I knew who it was. "I heard what you three found out there, when are we moving in, I can't wait to set up the decorations" Moon Lancer, sector C's most talented majestic decorator. If there was something to celebrate, she would be there to make sure that it was, and she was the best at it. No other pony compares. "I'm sorry Moon Lancer, I got up, but we need more time to make the necessary preparations, I thought about this. Why don't you go talk to Steel Plate I'm sure he would love to tell you all about it," I suggested walking out of the living quarters. I wouldn't mind taking her over to the other stable, but there are two reasons why that sounds like a really bad idea. One of them is the fact that stable R88' hasn't even been cleaned yet and the second, we don't actually know how we're going to go about this. The intercom system turned on with a low buzzing sound trickling through. "The good news has come for 'Sector C', ha ha, yes sir'e folks. By now if ya'll hadn't heard about the stable our saviors Steel Plate, Gunther have found." "Damn it, Slinger," I quickened my pace racing down to the Overmare's office. Slinger uses the Overmare's office like his own personal DJ studio. "Now's the chance you get to hear all about it, the first thing I'd like to say is for those who are being left behind, well, Celestia is still watching over ya'll. be kind, be brave, be safe, this is DJ P103 broadcasting the news, for you." Busting through the door, I dove over the Overmare's desk, "give me that microphone!" "Damn it Slinger, how many times have I told you not to broadcast new information like this." "I'm Sorry Ice, I'm just so exited for us. We finally get to thin out the stable". Slinger said Smiling like a fool as she brushed the dust off her stable-tech jacket, as she did the amber lights made the dust she just brushed off look like the wings of a phoenix. The intercom replayed the news throughout the stable, exact same words. Including 'give me that microphone'. great. DJ was using the intercom with a feedback loop, again. I gave her a menacing look. "What," Slinger shrugged with a stupid smile. "You know what, the feedback, where is it?" I demanded stomping a hoof. She tried to avoid the question by staring at the ceiling. "It's hooked in at the security room isn't it," I guessed knowing she wasn't going to tell me. "Maybe", Slinger sounded unsure. I sighed, walking down there. The playback loop was running on the bank of screens in the security office. Pulling some wires, I plugged the right ones back in, but not without injury, I got shocked. "Fuck," I screamed attracting the attention of Gunther, who came in, turning off the circuit. My heart felt like it was about to pop out of my chest. "There is never a dull moment around you sir, is there" Gunther checked my body's injury before carrying me to the medical wing. I groaned in response. The medical wing was located on the first floor, right of the stable's entrance. What a location for it. The injured get treated quickly, but those who were hurt bad enough had to stay in the unit until they made a full recovery. I just hope I'm not in with the latter, that would be torture. "Stitching Scar," Gunther called walking into the medical wing. "Oh Gunther, I didn't expect to see you today, I fixed you up last week." Stitching Scar began to sweat. Don't worry about it doc, I didn't come to see you for that. Soft Ice got hurt and i figured to bring him to you, Gunther looked over at me before returning his gaze to Stitching Scar. "Okay well, lets see what the damage is then shall we?" Stitching Scar pulled out his stethoscope, feeling around my body trying to hear what my insides were doing. "Doc" Gunther interrupted. "Yes" Stitching Scar returned, pulling his stethoscope away. "Soft Ice got electrocuted" Gunther pointed out, narrowing down Stitching Scar's search for what was wrong with me. "Oh, how? I looked away not saying a word. It had something to do with Slinger didn't it, here, get some rest. Stitching Scar handed me a bottle of pain killers. Gunther carried me back to the 'Living Quarters', where he set me up at a table in the mare's common room finding a glass, he filled it with water. Feeding me the pain killers, Gunther followed them with the cool liquid he tipped out of the glass, making sure I didn't choke. The pain killers affected me almost instantly. "Thanks Gunther" I said, standing up. Gunther disappeared. "Soft Ice, i thought i heard you in here" Moon Lancer walked into the room. "I couldn't find Steel Plate. Looking around for Gunther, he was nowhere to be found. Odd, "He's probably off gathering ponies," I said noticing, the shadow of five fillies that had their heads poking in the door of the 'Common room'. Walking through the door, four fillies ran off, I chuckled a little. "Where did Sir Gunther go, Ice?" The young mare asked, staring at me with blue innocent eyes. "I don't know, I answered, ruffling her hair before exiting the mare's living quarters all together. Looking down, I noticed my watch didn't have the green glow that normally illuminated the screen and, it wasn't responding. "Great, I wonder how many caps it's going to take to fix this," I asked myself walking to the mercenary's market found in the stable. "What!" I yelled slamming my hooves over the counter, "What do you mean you don't have anymore infinity cores, I need my watch. It has a night vision targeting system I use in fights, I need it." "Look, Ice, I don't know what to tell you, I just don't have anymore. You were the one to ask for a core the last time, and now we're out, so your out of luck. Your welcome to try a Stable-Tech Pip-Buck if your up for it," Sizzling Bullet offered. Fetching the Pip-Buck, he set down on the counter. I swallowed hard, weighing my options. Wait and see if Sizzling Bullet will be able to get more 'Infinity cores' which looks like never, or try the Pip-Buck that my uncle, told me so many scary stories about. I swallowed again, weighing my options twice, asking, "how much do you want for it?" Author's Note Stable-Tech watch -1 Stable-Tech Pip-buck +1 Barter +1 Speech+2 Chapter 4: Unintended Consequences Chapter 4: Unintended Consequences Five hundred, That was how many caps short I was to buying this low quality arm brace. I was so desperate to get my targeting system back, I bartered my watch, one of the few things I held dear in this world just to have my targeting system. But there was one problem, The Pip-buck on my hoof was corrupt. The screen lit up to a black screen with two series of green colored numbers divided by an X that appeared dead center of the screen. It was working fine before I left the market place in Sector C, but now it wasn't. I tried to get this thing off shortly after to find out if I could do something to get it working again but pulling it off showed no luck. I went to Gunther who was lounging around in the security office. Most likely waiting for Slinger to pull another stunt just so he can get a hold of him. "Hey Gunther." I called, gingerly giving him a smile. "Oh hey. wait. Aren't you supposed to be resting" Gunther eyed me down. "Yes, and I did rest for awhile, I said approaching him. But when I woke up I noticed my watch had stopped working so I bartered it with the rest of my caps for an older, Thing," I lifted my foreleg showing him exactly what I got myself into. "You what," Gunther got up out of the security chair he was sitting in, stunned that I would ever trade that thing for anything like this. "The problem is this thing seems corrupted and at this point I can't get it off." Gunther pulled my fore hoof forward, taking a closer look. "Hmm", Gunther sounded in a low rumbling tone "Oh fuck. Damn it Slinger, what have you gotten yourself into now." Gunther whispered glancing back at the monitors leaving me in confusion. "It's not corrupted, those are coordinates, it's encrypted. Wherever Sizzling Bullet got this from," Gunther looked at me, worried. "It certainly wasn't a fun place and sadly in order to get that thing off, you need to get there. "Or", Gunther stopped, climbing out of his chair. There was another option? "Or?" I watched Gunther walk over to the nearest green cabinet. All I could hear were metal tools being gone through before silence fell between us in the room. "We could cut your foreleg off and have Stitching Scar sew it back on." Gunther pulled a bow saw out of the mess of tools. "No, way" I objected backing away, even to the thought of the idea of cutting any part of my body. I shook my head, lets not go there. "Alright then," Gunther sat back down in the security chair. "Let that thing guide your way and you'll make it." Gunther took his focus from me to monitors and back again. I was hoping Gunther would notice me standing there waiting for him to come with me, to wherever this thing was taking me, but no. He intentionally returned his gaze to the monitors, he really doesn't like where I'm going. I turned to leave, lowering my head. "Thanks, Gunther" I said walking out the door and down the hall. In the Overmare's office, I activated the intercom. "Attention Sector C. It's Soft Ice, I will be leaving Sector C for awhile and I won't be back for some time so if there is anypony who wishes to see me before I leave, you can. Just meet me at Sector C's stable door. The speakers fell silent as I let go of the intercom button. I began to realize what I had to do for myself leading myself back to the mares living quarters to pick up what items I had. I unlocked the ammo can I had at the foot of my bunk. My grandfather's pistol with ammo locked inside. The gun still smelled of Sulfur from that one fateful day. I could still hear them distinctly as I held the pistol in my hooves, their voices, their shots. I shuttered, my eyes tight, trying to block out the memory. Shaking my head I managed to clear my mind, making my way out. Many of Sector C's residence waited for me at Sector C's steel door, including Moon Lancer, who looked like she was going to cry when our eyes met. A few of the ponies wished me a farewell and a take care, while most of them stood in silence. All of which made the few steps over the steel door's threshold longer than it should have been. Glancing back at Moon Lancer, I saw the truth behind her eyes. This time, I might not be coming back. The steel door closed behind me, leaving me to the dark frozen wasteland. Climbing the stairway to the surface, my pip-buck ran diagnostics on itself adjusting to the wasteland before returning to pointing me in the right direction. "Where are you going to take me," I asked, I knew I wasn't going to get an answer. "I am no pony to say, some things are best left a surprise," some pony walked right up beside me. I jumped, frightened by the pony who responded to my question. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you, my name is Boreal." he moved closer, his hooves sunk into the snow with each step. I stood there hunting for a light source on my pipbuck. If there was one, I would find it,clicking one of the last two buttons I hadn't tried I could see what Boreal looked like. He was nothing much to look at, he was wearing tattered old cloths that covered his entire body, head to hoof, The cloth was ripped being blown by the wind you could clearly see it in howling wind and snow. The cloth itself almost looked like something you might find in any old factory. taking out my flask I took a sip from it's contains before passing it off to Boreal. "Bourbon?" Boreal took a sip. "Yeah, I made it myself," I said taking the flask back from Boreal. "Wow, what's in that stuff?" "Painkillers," I said downing another mouthful. "I know some ponies who would say you shouldn't combine your drink with your meds, but damn, that's good stuff," Boreal pointed at me, stumbling over himself. Screwing the cap back on my flask, I was reminded that I needed to get moving by the black and green flashing screen on my fore hoof. "Well, it was nice to meet you Boreal, but it's time for me to head off." I put my flask back in it's place. "Alright, farewell" Boreal said waving me off before wandering back into the darkness. The dark, something I had grown to used to in the wasteland, it was almost like a friend to me. But this cold, It seems like it's growing ever bitter every cycle. "Fire!" I dove for the snow. Falcons. Griffons and ponies that swore their allegiance to a mysterious entity. They're basically raiders attacking any stable that have opened their steel door. So any Falcon who has gotten this close to Sector C is a dead Falcon by default. I'm not having this, I grit my teeth landing three shots through the sights of my pistol into three different ponies. "Reloading, cover me!" Reloading already, how many are there? I looked at my flashing pip-buck. The map on it blinked in and out from underneath my coordinates. Oh, five. Two more to go. They didn't even have to move, the barrel of their guns flashed as they shot their weapons giving me a general area to shoot at. I stood up from the snow I flopped into, shooting one of them in the shoulder, flopping into the snow once again. I reloaded. Readying myself I made another shot standing up from the snow once more, shooting one of the last two raiders in the head. Damn lucky shot. Ducking I made a quick reload, before standing up again to shoot the last raider who was right in front of me. Grabbing me by the hooves he pulled me to the ground, rolling my body in the snow, acting fast I stopped on my back, giving one shot from my pistol bringing silence as the bullet discharged into the Falcon's head. I stood up, brushing myself off. That couldn't have gone any worse than it did, I wonder how they found their way. I couldn't help but think some pony else knew where Sector C was and sent Falcons to scope it out. Their orders weren't followed if that was the case, they're dead now. I walked further into the dark, following the direction my pip-buck was carrying me. I was far enough that the orange fire that illuminated 'Sector C' was no longer visible. I couldn't see anything, I was practically blind with the only light coming from my pip-buck. Author's Note +1 Luck +1 light guns +5 pistols -1 perception Chapter 5: The Survivor of CapsCuriosity, The idea of exploring the unknown, It wasn't something I did very often but I was at the walls of a Guns and Bullets factory I found and I needed ammo. The walls of the factory were heavily damaged, damaged to the point that I was able to walk through a hole in the wall where a large chunk was missing. Smashed Ammo cans lined the room I found myself in piled up like mountains making it hard to explore, excluding the fact that I was exploring in total darkness with only a small light source. I stopped to listen to my surroundings. I thought I was alone, but the faint sound of a crying foal proved me wrong, I wasn't. There is only two things that could make that sound, one was a foal, and the were Centaurs. Sneaking my way into a cramped space, I waited for it to walk past me, hoping it wouldn't smell me out like I know some creatures can, I began to sweat as it smelled the air in front of where I was hiding. The centaur turned to face me, uncertain if it could actually see where I hid I didn't move, I was a statue, a statue that breathed way to much to be believable. Beads of sweat were rolling down my face and what really made matters worse was the fact that the wind came through the building in the wrong direction not to be caught. The Centaur smelled my scent catching sight of me in my hiding spot. I ran out from where I was hiding, acid eating away at my barding from the centaur attacking. I returned the favor with a few shots into its disgusting form. I didn't kill it, I just made it mad, the centaur responded by letting out a loud cry on par with the sound of hooves on chalkboard, the sound was unbearable even as I was running away from it. I couldn't stand the sound, and forget about trying to focus on my sights, it was to dark. I always had someone else at my side with a big light source, some pony like Steel Plate, or Gunther but this time, there was nobody. I shot a few more rounds in the direction of the pursuing Centaur, hearing the last of the Centaur's cries as it died. I didn't stick around after killing it though, I could hear the entire building wake up with movement and distant screams. I kept moving to find my way out, I knew there were more coming to find me. Running past a closed door I noticed the light coming out from the broken window past the top of the door. I opened it, hoping for a hole in the wall leading outside, no luck. Hurrying inside I closed the door behind me. Blinded by the light I started to adjust. Terminals were lined up on a desk in the middle of the room, like the one Steel Plate had found. The first terminal had logs in it. Guns and Bullets manufacturing notice, Okay, while I get that all of you are working hard to get us the weapons we need to win this war against the Falcons but this, what you've done to our ammo is an amazing feat at the same time that it is dangerous. Adding radiation to our ammo isn't exactly safe for us to use on the battlefield. Keeping this type of ammo around for to long could have adverse catastrophic effects on our troops and our home, so get what you need to build the regular ammo and stick to the plan, The Ministry of Steel. Backing out into the directory, I opened the next notice. Enough, is enough!, Enough with the legends already, If I hear one more rumor about anything superstitious, I will fire all of you on the spot regardless if you read this or not if this keeps up. Now get back to work and stop the rumors already! I backed out of the Terminal completely hearing rapid fire coming from the other side of the door. The smell of gun powder drifted up my nostrils. Flashes of fire bounced off the hallway walls giving me the position of the pony who was firing. Turning off my pip-buck light I ran for the door hoping to find a place to hide in the darkness. Opening it slowly, I ran out into the hall where I was greeted with the butt of a gun. "Get out of my way, Soldier" some pony ordered, rushing to where I fell, tying my hooves together so I couldn't move. I couldn't believe I was stupid enough to think I could just slip into the open without being noticed just now, what's wrong with me. "I'm sorry for doing this to you, but I don't know you and you don't know me. It's the safest way to ensure our survival for now, you understand me, yeah?" I struggled to get free while the unicorn that just tied me up ran to resume her part in the firefight, using the door as cover. Of course I understood, she didn't want any pony stabbing her in the back while she took care of our little problem I could be helping out with, what a great plan. "My name is Clear Heart by the way", she reloaded taking down one Centaur after another. Listening to the firefight, I had the time to run a few thoughts through my head before everything ran silent. Particularly on how familiar she looked to me, I had seen Clear Heart somewhere before, but where. I couldn't place my hoof on it. "Grey Tone,Are you alright?" Clear Heart asked, talking through a portable radio. "Affirmative, the threat has been eliminated I'm moving to your position." Gray Tone responded coming down the hall. "Very good," Clear Heart said, bringing me her attention. Now that is finished, who are you, Clear Heart kindly sat me up. "Well, they call me Soft Ice for starters" I stared at my captor. "Soft Ice, that's a unique name, Clear Heart thought my name through, almost like she had heard it somewhere else before. "Sector C, 363" Clear Heart mumbled to herself, running my name through her lips one more time. "Your the one who took the last Infinity Core" Clear Heart pointed her gun at me, head level. "No wait" I hastily threw up my tied hooves in front of the gun's barrel to block any shot that was fired point blank, knowing it wouldn't do any good if she did decide to shoot me right here on the spot. I'm done waiting, I waited and you took the last chance for my family to survive, Clear Heart raged, her eyes sparkling with revenge as she began to beat me with the barrel of her shotgun. The first blow struck me hard cracking my skull, the next one landed right across my face, fracturing my cheek, she hit me again and again and again, she hit me until I couldn't feel anything but could hear the sound of my own skull crunching and crackling, shifting like broken glass beneath a ponies hooves. You want me to wait even longer, I will make you suffer, Clear Heart yelled, stopping her beating, gasping for air she began to cry. I should have been dead, feeling this pain, broken bone must have breached my brain, accounting for the hard sharp pain and twitching through out my body, even the parts Clear Heart didn't beat. "Clear Heart, holy shit." Grey Tone was shocked, dropping his weapon it clattered to the ground. "Hang in there, let me find a coat rack or something. Oh fuck me, Clear Heart, Why," Grey Tone moving swiftly finding anything to carry me on. "Sector C" Clear heart managed to say through her tears, crying, mourning for the family I killed. "Well, i'm fairly certain she's sorry now," Grey Tone said through mouth gripped pipe. I fell unconscious. After being in so much pain, my body finally told me it was time to rest, just for awhile. I could only remember bits and pieces of what happen that day, the day I needed the last Infinity Core for my watch. There was a mare there that day, It was Clear Heart for certain, she didn't have enough caps for the price Sizzling Bullet was offering it at. Her mane was a sickly blue while her eyes were clear ice white and her coat, gray. I just walked up to the counter buying the Infinity Core out from under her, without knowing she needed it, I'm the pony who killed her family without knowing it. So much for damn curiosity, I bought it out and now I'm paying the price in the bigger picture. Survival, damn it, if only I was more caring I would have given the Infinity Core to her if only I had bothered to pay attention back then I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in now.
Chapter 1: Innocence and FireEquestria 22X5 The Past The match lit, catching fire as it was struck against the grey stone wall of our partially sunken home. It was cold, which was fairly usual for winter winter weather and was never my favorite season. But as an Equestrian pony it was something I had to get used to as we gradually floated away from the sun. We must have been floating away from the sun for a small number of days, far enough for the sun itself to be visibly smaller than usual and by this time Celestia herself was already to late to stop our movement. The lit match touched the wick of a lantern that sat nearby the pony holding the match in hoof, doing so caused the lantern to be lit with a small puff of smoke that the wick gave off, with a nod and the closing creak of a small hinge on the lantern, Sulfurous Rock blew out the match. "Tell me a story grandpa Sulfur," Soft Ice said softly, waiting for her grandfather to lumber over to her side. "Well, what kind of story would you like to hear," Grandpa Sulfur asked chucking at Soft Ice's innocence while lifting the lantern off the small table adorning their small concrete room and over to the small foal laying under her covers. setting the lantern on her nightstand Sulfurous Rock adjusted the wick of the lantern, dimming the light coming from it to a small dull flame. "One about Equestria, something from the old days again, grandpa" Soft Ice explained in excitement. "Alright then," grandpa Sulfur chuckled once more, sitting down in the old creaky chair he had put adjacent to her and the nightstand side her for these occasions. "This was a long time ago in the wonderful land of Equestria, there were three types of ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies, all of which lived together in harmony, learning what it meant to have friends in such a wonderful land. But all of that changed as everyone in Equestria heard that their world was going to be turned upside down. Many who heard this news stole, hunting for any sort of shelter they could find and pillaged many villages to ensure their own survival" Many took refuge in their own homes boarding up what they could using it as shelter. The ponies that did this were wrong in their choice, as they were consumed by the first frost brought upon by the flash freeze, the entire world was encased in ice. For ponies that didn't know what to do, they were doomed, heading for a destruction of their own, be it from another pony or their own insanity. As for ponies such as you and I, this wasn't a problem, you see for ponies like me who have someone else to take care of, we always made sure we had a back up plan and to keep our heads in the right mind." "Oh, you mean like this small underground bunker you built for us and the walks you take out in the red snow you bring back sometimes" Soft Ice squeaked cuddling deeper into her covers. "Yes, very much so" grandpa Sulfur added, rocking back the chair in one big creak,"Now get some sleep." With those words, Soft Ice rolled over drifting off to sleep. The ideal dream is not one of explosions and warfare, but in this instance the ideal dream was one of looking for remission and remembrance of my grandfather comforting me in my youth. But this, waking to to war only proves one thing to me. War, war never changes. War never sleeps, never stops killing and doesn't ever get dead ass drunk in the heat of battle to the point of passing out. "Grenade!" The warning and that explosion is what woke me up, both of which came from a Sector C, 363 explosives operative that was never good at timing a throw and who's name I was never able to remember. "Soft Ice, get your ass up out of the snow now," Steel Plate yelled, looking back at my drowsy body laying in the snow. "Grandpa Sulfur" I whispered to myself as I held my head and looking in the direction of fire. Well, our explosives operative is dead, I thought to myself as I looked at a headless pony paralized in place further down the line than the rest of our team. "Open fire!" Steel Plate ordered pointing in the direction of the enemy, returning to his own. "Grandpa Sulfur why are you still coming through my head, in my thoughts," I questioned myself, seeing that it was that dream again, and I was out with Steel Plate's team, again. "This wasn't where I wanted to be," I thought, as my ears drooped in disbelief. "What the fuck, Ice, get your ass up now!" Steel Plate yelled looking back at me once again. "What for" I asked "It's not going to do us any good," I didn't receive an answer. sighing I stumbling to get up. "It would do us some good if you weren't so god damn drunk all the time, fire," Steel Plate exclaimed resuming the firefight. "Okay, fine I'll find my gun," I sneered out of frustration, stomping on it, my gun was set to full auto." "Where are they" I asked screaming my head off, everyone else just looked at me and ducked as I used my integrated targeting systems slaughtering them all. "Soft Ice!" "Oh Celestia's mercy" "This is why I don't yell at her, Steel Plate," Gunther explained with a look of I warned you. Everypony in my direction looked like they were pieces of pony shaped swiss cheese, and with the howling wind in the air the silence that fell on the battlefield was a little less depressing and made our search for a more suitable home enjoyable, except for the aroma of fresh blood and gun powder at our noses. "All I am asking is who called Ice a mercenary, and who in hell gave her a mini gun to suit" Steel Plate asked Gunther pummeling him with angry questions and directing them at me at the same time. "For Celestia's sake Soft Ice, you could have killed all of us, your lucky you only shot our enemy." Steel Plate exaggerated pointing at me. Gunther rolled his eyes as he cleared his throat signaling for Steel Plate to stop and listen to new information. "Sir Paladin Steel Plate, our observations tell us that all falcons have been killed, we're ready to move out." "Thank you Gunther, Steel Plate said resuming his confrontation with me, "This stays in your barding," Steel Plate shoved the mini gun into my chest. "Use that pistol I gave you." "But I hate that little piece of shit" I kicked the ground with my hoof. "Alright, let's move out," Steel Plate yelled making sure everyone heard him as we returned home to Sector C, 363. Sector C, 363, or Sector Celestia as some might have called it when it was first inhabited, is deep within Equestria's crust. It was a Stable designed to keep the inhabitant of Equestria warm from the dark freezing cold named after our fallen ruler. In the beginning, it had definitely saved the lives of ponies who knew about the stable and could find the Stable's location, but now, It can barely hold the ponies that we have. The population problem we are experiencing has been getting worse everyday, we're at maximum capacity. 'We', Steel Plate, Gunther and I had been sent out with a mission, to find other stables that 'Sector C' might be able to move some of our occupants to. The first time we tried to find another stable was back in 22X6. Its been seventeen years since I started drinking and I haven't stopped since, that is because our mission is hopeless, we will never find another stable at this rate. The snow and ice is too thick over Equestria's surface. Stopping to catch my breath, I opened my bourbon flask ready to take a sip, except when I tried, the ground shook beneath me. Something was off, the ground shouldn't be undergoing an earth quake or feel like a hammer was being beat beneath my hooves, It was warm, welcoming, jarring like a heartbeat. "Something is beneath us here," I thought looking out towards Steel Plate in the distance "Steel Plate!" I called out, hoping my voice would be carried by the wind. "I've found something." "This better be good, If not, I'm leaving you out in the freezing cold tonight." Steel Plate called back marching through the snow to me. I doubted that, we've been doing this for seventeen years, I already knew my way back to Sector C. "Okay, what is it?" Steel Plate asked annoyed enough to tie me up and leave me for dead. "Here, stand here," I positioned him where I was standing when I felt it. His ears lowered as to listen very carefully for the silent whisper of within the wind. The ground jarred again. Steel Plate's eyes lit up with excitement ."There is definitely something under here," Steel Plate confirmed with a gleeful smile. "So, what do you want to do," I said trying to smile back at him with a shovel in my mouth. "Sir, we need to find some shelter soon or move on back to 'sector C' before the storm hits us hard," one of our team was really worried, who was to blame him, none of us wanted to freeze in the dark. "No, we're here now and this might be the only chance we have, we have to find out what this is," Steel Plate said pulling out his shovel and shoving it into the hardened snow. Author's Note Luck, -2 Heavy Guns, +5 Light Guns, -10 Traveling drunk.
Chapter 2: The ill oneDigging into the snow did two things for us, one. It got us out of the cold dark weather. Two, doing this now allows us to move into this stable later on if we need to. Uncovering what we believe to be the stables door was going to be a feat. "Oh, this is big," Steel Plate dug with a dastardly smile. "Yeah, what do you think we will find once we open it," I dared to ask the question, stopping to wipe my hoof across my forehead. "Gold, riches, silver," Steel Plate took another shove into the snow, hitting something hard. "Sir, what about ponies, the residence that's supposedly down there" Gunther asked snickering at Steel Plate for acting so strange, much like a mad pony would with his experiments. "Well, yeah. Those too." Steel Plate thought out loud picking up the hard case he just found. I rolled my eyes, here we go again. "I just hope this one isn't damaged," I dropped my shovel and ran for the lip of the pit we were digging as the sound of metal unwinding grew louder. "What did you do," I yelled climbing out of the hole. The hatch lifted, pulled up by the arm attached to the outside portion of the lid. "Okay, everypony get on," Steel Plate commanded, ready to activate the elevator revealed by the hatch, now out of the way. I scanned the area, assuring myself that it was safe, I just wish Steel Plate would warn us when he's about to do stuff life that. It's quite alarming when a large steel anything comes crunching up out of the snow. Alright, we were wasting time, I jumped back into the hole joining Steel Plate and Gunther while the others stayed on the surface. "And down we go," Steel Plate pressed a button on the terminal making the elevator make a low tone whine descending into the depths of the vault. The elevator was taking a long time to stop, how far down did this thing go, I uncapped my flask to take another swig of my drink. feeling woozy a few seconds later. "What do you think again Soft Ice?" "What?" I could barely screw the cap back on. "About what we're going to find down here." Gunther asked, moving in to hold me up on my hooves. "Ponies or irradiated monsters, pick one," I sloshed swinging my flask around in my dizzied swirling hoof. "Yeah, she's gone," Steel Plate chuckled, while Gunther just shook his head. Awhile later, the elevator let out a mechanical whine as it slowed down to a stop. Steel Plate got off first, taking the lead far ahead of us. like usual. "Soft Ice, are you able to stand" Gunther asked, gently letting go of me. "I think so, yes" I confirmed, wobbling a little, "eh heh, whoa, maybe" doubting my hooves as I walked back and forth, trying not to fall down. "Wow, do you think they could have made the ceiling any taller," Steel Plate's voice echoed into the distance. "Not if they wanted to keep this hidden sir," Gunther answered, sending his voice echoing down the corridor. It was a rhetorical question Steel Plate said climbing the stairs up to the door. "I can taste those riches now," Steel Plate taunted, touching the large steel door. Plugging in his power armour to hack open the door. I read the engraving on the door before it opened with a hiss, screech and a pull, the letter 'R' and the number '88' were engraved into its surface. The first steps into the stable were ones of unease. Everything was dark, darker than the pitch black darkness outside, except for the few red lamps that were running. There were two ways out of the room we were in. Right, leading into a corridor and left leading to a flight of stairs. Flanking the right, I ended up in the cafeteria where cups and trays lay scattered throughout the room. Where is everypony? The stable shouldn't be empty like this. I walked back into the corridor and looked into the next room. The second room I walked into was a medical unit capable of holding up to twelve patients, each one, empty. In the back of the unit, was a soft glow emanating from the terminal sitting on one of the medical tables. "Damn, locked. Looks like this is one for Steel Plate," I sighed, picking up the terminal to use it for the light coming out of it in this dark place. The last room across the hall was the living quarters of the stable, one side was for mares, the other, colts. Searching both sides didn't take long since I was carrying the terminal around as a light source. Walking back to the main room, I was surprised by a mechanical whine and the power up of lights on the ceiling of the stable. I dropped the terminal, feeling like I just walked into wet sand that was slowly creeping up my hooves. We walked past the inhabitant of the stable the moment we came in. This room was the orchard for the stable, and some sick bastard killed every pony by impaling them onto the spires. Their blood dried onto the trees along with their guts and eyeballs which looked like garlands. This sick bastard, who would ever do anything like this? If I ever find it, It is going to die. "That wasn't to hard now was it" Steel plate asked Gunther as they climbed back up the stairs. Gunther stopped at the top of the stairs, staring at the bodies in and on the trees. "Sir." "Holy shit!" Steel plate said shocked as I was the first few seconds of looking at it. He gagged, losing his stomach shortly after. "I should have known something was wrong," Gunther said, helping up Steel Plate when he was done. The intercom let out a screech. "Eh, hello to the three of you out there, leave my stable now or face the consequences!" That bastard is still here?! oh, worst mistake. I loaded my mini gun, and headed through the cafeteria, where a red emergency door was engaged, Steel Plate used his power armour to hack through it. Steel Plate and Gunther took a quick look in security on the right, before following me to the heart of the stable, the Overmare's office. Gunther used his lock picks on the door, opening it successfully. I didn't wait, I fired as the door cracked open, spraying bullets from one side of the room to the other, I let go of the trigger as Steel Plate and Gunther rushed behind the Overmare's Desk that our murderer was ducking behind, shooting him in the head. We took a sigh of relief, over this, we finally have good news to bring back to the ponies of 'Sector C', we finally get the chance to be seen as the saviors for once, instead of hired murderers. We-. "I don't understand," I heard Gunther say under his breath. Steel Plate and I looked at him. "Even after traveling with you for so long Steel Plate, how does a pony end up like this," Gunther asked, standing over the pony we just killed. "It's called 'Stable madness', Gunther," Steel Plate said, walking out of the Overmare's office. "No more questions, we need to get back to 'Sector C' with the news and get help in cleaning up this mess," Steel Plate added, shooting down Gunther's next question, His hoof was still up. "Come on," I said dragging him out of the stable. Neither of us said a word on our way back to Sector C, the howling storm was the only company that surrounded us, blowing snow in our manes, and I didn't mind the cold one bit, since I took another sip from my flask. Author's Note Intelligence, +1 Heavy Guns, +1 Perk, Commando Traveling drunk.
Chapter 3: Stable-Tech Technology"For the last time old man, tell us where it is!" I woke up, startled from the yelling. The door that the cold was coming under busted open from what I could only assume was grandpa Sulfur flying through the air, hitting the ground with a hard smack and slide. "Where is what," grandpa Sulfur lifted himself up in a pained low tone. "Don't play stupid with me you fucking piece of shit," Was this, a raider? I heard a soft 'click' sound echo the walls of the room. "Soft Ice" Sulfurous Rock wheezed . "Soft Ice!" I could feel the entire room shaking and could see the darkness parting in forms. I awoke to a Moon Lancer in 'Sector C' shaking me as I gasped for air. "Whoa, you didn't have to get up that quickly" I didn't move, my eyes needed to refocus. "Oh, hello Moon Lancer" I said greeting her after I knew who it was. "I heard what you three found out there, when are we moving in, I can't wait to set up the decorations" Moon Lancer, sector C's most talented majestic decorator. If there was something to celebrate, she would be there to make sure that it was, and she was the best at it. No other pony compares. "I'm sorry Moon Lancer, I got up, but we need more time to make the necessary preparations, I thought about this. Why don't you go talk to Steel Plate I'm sure he would love to tell you all about it," I suggested walking out of the living quarters. I wouldn't mind taking her over to the other stable, but there are two reasons why that sounds like a really bad idea. One of them is the fact that stable R88' hasn't even been cleaned yet and the second, we don't actually know how we're going to go about this. The intercom system turned on with a low buzzing sound trickling through. "The good news has come for 'Sector C', ha ha, yes sir'e folks. By now if ya'll hadn't heard about the stable our saviors Steel Plate, Gunther have found." "Damn it, Slinger," I quickened my pace racing down to the Overmare's office. Slinger uses the Overmare's office like his own personal DJ studio. "Now's the chance you get to hear all about it, the first thing I'd like to say is for those who are being left behind, well, Celestia is still watching over ya'll. be kind, be brave, be safe, this is DJ P103 broadcasting the news, for you." Busting through the door, I dove over the Overmare's desk, "give me that microphone!" "Damn it Slinger, how many times have I told you not to broadcast new information like this." "I'm Sorry Ice, I'm just so exited for us. We finally get to thin out the stable". Slinger said Smiling like a fool as she brushed the dust off her stable-tech jacket, as she did the amber lights made the dust she just brushed off look like the wings of a phoenix. The intercom replayed the news throughout the stable, exact same words. Including 'give me that microphone'. great. DJ was using the intercom with a feedback loop, again. I gave her a menacing look. "What," Slinger shrugged with a stupid smile. "You know what, the feedback, where is it?" I demanded stomping a hoof. She tried to avoid the question by staring at the ceiling. "It's hooked in at the security room isn't it," I guessed knowing she wasn't going to tell me. "Maybe", Slinger sounded unsure. I sighed, walking down there. The playback loop was running on the bank of screens in the security office. Pulling some wires, I plugged the right ones back in, but not without injury, I got shocked. "Fuck," I screamed attracting the attention of Gunther, who came in, turning off the circuit. My heart felt like it was about to pop out of my chest. "There is never a dull moment around you sir, is there" Gunther checked my body's injury before carrying me to the medical wing. I groaned in response. The medical wing was located on the first floor, right of the stable's entrance. What a location for it. The injured get treated quickly, but those who were hurt bad enough had to stay in the unit until they made a full recovery. I just hope I'm not in with the latter, that would be torture. "Stitching Scar," Gunther called walking into the medical wing. "Oh Gunther, I didn't expect to see you today, I fixed you up last week." Stitching Scar began to sweat. Don't worry about it doc, I didn't come to see you for that. Soft Ice got hurt and i figured to bring him to you, Gunther looked over at me before returning his gaze to Stitching Scar. "Okay well, lets see what the damage is then shall we?" Stitching Scar pulled out his stethoscope, feeling around my body trying to hear what my insides were doing. "Doc" Gunther interrupted. "Yes" Stitching Scar returned, pulling his stethoscope away. "Soft Ice got electrocuted" Gunther pointed out, narrowing down Stitching Scar's search for what was wrong with me. "Oh, how? I looked away not saying a word. It had something to do with Slinger didn't it, here, get some rest. Stitching Scar handed me a bottle of pain killers. Gunther carried me back to the 'Living Quarters', where he set me up at a table in the mare's common room finding a glass, he filled it with water. Feeding me the pain killers, Gunther followed them with the cool liquid he tipped out of the glass, making sure I didn't choke. The pain killers affected me almost instantly. "Thanks Gunther" I said, standing up. Gunther disappeared. "Soft Ice, i thought i heard you in here" Moon Lancer walked into the room. "I couldn't find Steel Plate. Looking around for Gunther, he was nowhere to be found. Odd, "He's probably off gathering ponies," I said noticing, the shadow of five fillies that had their heads poking in the door of the 'Common room'. Walking through the door, four fillies ran off, I chuckled a little. "Where did Sir Gunther go, Ice?" The young mare asked, staring at me with blue innocent eyes. "I don't know, I answered, ruffling her hair before exiting the mare's living quarters all together. Looking down, I noticed my watch didn't have the green glow that normally illuminated the screen and, it wasn't responding. "Great, I wonder how many caps it's going to take to fix this," I asked myself walking to the mercenary's market found in the stable. "What!" I yelled slamming my hooves over the counter, "What do you mean you don't have anymore infinity cores, I need my watch. It has a night vision targeting system I use in fights, I need it." "Look, Ice, I don't know what to tell you, I just don't have anymore. You were the one to ask for a core the last time, and now we're out, so your out of luck. Your welcome to try a Stable-Tech Pip-Buck if your up for it," Sizzling Bullet offered. Fetching the Pip-Buck, he set down on the counter. I swallowed hard, weighing my options. Wait and see if Sizzling Bullet will be able to get more 'Infinity cores' which looks like never, or try the Pip-Buck that my uncle, told me so many scary stories about. I swallowed again, weighing my options twice, asking, "how much do you want for it?" Author's Note Stable-Tech watch -1 Stable-Tech Pip-buck +1 Barter +1 Speech+2
Chapter 4: Unintended Consequences Chapter 4: Unintended Consequences Five hundred, That was how many caps short I was to buying this low quality arm brace. I was so desperate to get my targeting system back, I bartered my watch, one of the few things I held dear in this world just to have my targeting system. But there was one problem, The Pip-buck on my hoof was corrupt. The screen lit up to a black screen with two series of green colored numbers divided by an X that appeared dead center of the screen. It was working fine before I left the market place in Sector C, but now it wasn't. I tried to get this thing off shortly after to find out if I could do something to get it working again but pulling it off showed no luck. I went to Gunther who was lounging around in the security office. Most likely waiting for Slinger to pull another stunt just so he can get a hold of him. "Hey Gunther." I called, gingerly giving him a smile. "Oh hey. wait. Aren't you supposed to be resting" Gunther eyed me down. "Yes, and I did rest for awhile, I said approaching him. But when I woke up I noticed my watch had stopped working so I bartered it with the rest of my caps for an older, Thing," I lifted my foreleg showing him exactly what I got myself into. "You what," Gunther got up out of the security chair he was sitting in, stunned that I would ever trade that thing for anything like this. "The problem is this thing seems corrupted and at this point I can't get it off." Gunther pulled my fore hoof forward, taking a closer look. "Hmm", Gunther sounded in a low rumbling tone "Oh fuck. Damn it Slinger, what have you gotten yourself into now." Gunther whispered glancing back at the monitors leaving me in confusion. "It's not corrupted, those are coordinates, it's encrypted. Wherever Sizzling Bullet got this from," Gunther looked at me, worried. "It certainly wasn't a fun place and sadly in order to get that thing off, you need to get there. "Or", Gunther stopped, climbing out of his chair. There was another option? "Or?" I watched Gunther walk over to the nearest green cabinet. All I could hear were metal tools being gone through before silence fell between us in the room. "We could cut your foreleg off and have Stitching Scar sew it back on." Gunther pulled a bow saw out of the mess of tools. "No, way" I objected backing away, even to the thought of the idea of cutting any part of my body. I shook my head, lets not go there. "Alright then," Gunther sat back down in the security chair. "Let that thing guide your way and you'll make it." Gunther took his focus from me to monitors and back again. I was hoping Gunther would notice me standing there waiting for him to come with me, to wherever this thing was taking me, but no. He intentionally returned his gaze to the monitors, he really doesn't like where I'm going. I turned to leave, lowering my head. "Thanks, Gunther" I said walking out the door and down the hall. In the Overmare's office, I activated the intercom. "Attention Sector C. It's Soft Ice, I will be leaving Sector C for awhile and I won't be back for some time so if there is anypony who wishes to see me before I leave, you can. Just meet me at Sector C's stable door. The speakers fell silent as I let go of the intercom button. I began to realize what I had to do for myself leading myself back to the mares living quarters to pick up what items I had. I unlocked the ammo can I had at the foot of my bunk. My grandfather's pistol with ammo locked inside. The gun still smelled of Sulfur from that one fateful day. I could still hear them distinctly as I held the pistol in my hooves, their voices, their shots. I shuttered, my eyes tight, trying to block out the memory. Shaking my head I managed to clear my mind, making my way out. Many of Sector C's residence waited for me at Sector C's steel door, including Moon Lancer, who looked like she was going to cry when our eyes met. A few of the ponies wished me a farewell and a take care, while most of them stood in silence. All of which made the few steps over the steel door's threshold longer than it should have been. Glancing back at Moon Lancer, I saw the truth behind her eyes. This time, I might not be coming back. The steel door closed behind me, leaving me to the dark frozen wasteland. Climbing the stairway to the surface, my pip-buck ran diagnostics on itself adjusting to the wasteland before returning to pointing me in the right direction. "Where are you going to take me," I asked, I knew I wasn't going to get an answer. "I am no pony to say, some things are best left a surprise," some pony walked right up beside me. I jumped, frightened by the pony who responded to my question. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you, my name is Boreal." he moved closer, his hooves sunk into the snow with each step. I stood there hunting for a light source on my pipbuck. If there was one, I would find it,clicking one of the last two buttons I hadn't tried I could see what Boreal looked like. He was nothing much to look at, he was wearing tattered old cloths that covered his entire body, head to hoof, The cloth was ripped being blown by the wind you could clearly see it in howling wind and snow. The cloth itself almost looked like something you might find in any old factory. taking out my flask I took a sip from it's contains before passing it off to Boreal. "Bourbon?" Boreal took a sip. "Yeah, I made it myself," I said taking the flask back from Boreal. "Wow, what's in that stuff?" "Painkillers," I said downing another mouthful. "I know some ponies who would say you shouldn't combine your drink with your meds, but damn, that's good stuff," Boreal pointed at me, stumbling over himself. Screwing the cap back on my flask, I was reminded that I needed to get moving by the black and green flashing screen on my fore hoof. "Well, it was nice to meet you Boreal, but it's time for me to head off." I put my flask back in it's place. "Alright, farewell" Boreal said waving me off before wandering back into the darkness. The dark, something I had grown to used to in the wasteland, it was almost like a friend to me. But this cold, It seems like it's growing ever bitter every cycle. "Fire!" I dove for the snow. Falcons. Griffons and ponies that swore their allegiance to a mysterious entity. They're basically raiders attacking any stable that have opened their steel door. So any Falcon who has gotten this close to Sector C is a dead Falcon by default. I'm not having this, I grit my teeth landing three shots through the sights of my pistol into three different ponies. "Reloading, cover me!" Reloading already, how many are there? I looked at my flashing pip-buck. The map on it blinked in and out from underneath my coordinates. Oh, five. Two more to go. They didn't even have to move, the barrel of their guns flashed as they shot their weapons giving me a general area to shoot at. I stood up from the snow I flopped into, shooting one of them in the shoulder, flopping into the snow once again. I reloaded. Readying myself I made another shot standing up from the snow once more, shooting one of the last two raiders in the head. Damn lucky shot. Ducking I made a quick reload, before standing up again to shoot the last raider who was right in front of me. Grabbing me by the hooves he pulled me to the ground, rolling my body in the snow, acting fast I stopped on my back, giving one shot from my pistol bringing silence as the bullet discharged into the Falcon's head. I stood up, brushing myself off. That couldn't have gone any worse than it did, I wonder how they found their way. I couldn't help but think some pony else knew where Sector C was and sent Falcons to scope it out. Their orders weren't followed if that was the case, they're dead now. I walked further into the dark, following the direction my pip-buck was carrying me. I was far enough that the orange fire that illuminated 'Sector C' was no longer visible. I couldn't see anything, I was practically blind with the only light coming from my pip-buck. Author's Note +1 Luck +1 light guns +5 pistols -1 perception
Chapter 5: The Survivor of CapsCuriosity, The idea of exploring the unknown, It wasn't something I did very often but I was at the walls of a Guns and Bullets factory I found and I needed ammo. The walls of the factory were heavily damaged, damaged to the point that I was able to walk through a hole in the wall where a large chunk was missing. Smashed Ammo cans lined the room I found myself in piled up like mountains making it hard to explore, excluding the fact that I was exploring in total darkness with only a small light source. I stopped to listen to my surroundings. I thought I was alone, but the faint sound of a crying foal proved me wrong, I wasn't. There is only two things that could make that sound, one was a foal, and the were Centaurs. Sneaking my way into a cramped space, I waited for it to walk past me, hoping it wouldn't smell me out like I know some creatures can, I began to sweat as it smelled the air in front of where I was hiding. The centaur turned to face me, uncertain if it could actually see where I hid I didn't move, I was a statue, a statue that breathed way to much to be believable. Beads of sweat were rolling down my face and what really made matters worse was the fact that the wind came through the building in the wrong direction not to be caught. The Centaur smelled my scent catching sight of me in my hiding spot. I ran out from where I was hiding, acid eating away at my barding from the centaur attacking. I returned the favor with a few shots into its disgusting form. I didn't kill it, I just made it mad, the centaur responded by letting out a loud cry on par with the sound of hooves on chalkboard, the sound was unbearable even as I was running away from it. I couldn't stand the sound, and forget about trying to focus on my sights, it was to dark. I always had someone else at my side with a big light source, some pony like Steel Plate, or Gunther but this time, there was nobody. I shot a few more rounds in the direction of the pursuing Centaur, hearing the last of the Centaur's cries as it died. I didn't stick around after killing it though, I could hear the entire building wake up with movement and distant screams. I kept moving to find my way out, I knew there were more coming to find me. Running past a closed door I noticed the light coming out from the broken window past the top of the door. I opened it, hoping for a hole in the wall leading outside, no luck. Hurrying inside I closed the door behind me. Blinded by the light I started to adjust. Terminals were lined up on a desk in the middle of the room, like the one Steel Plate had found. The first terminal had logs in it. Guns and Bullets manufacturing notice, Okay, while I get that all of you are working hard to get us the weapons we need to win this war against the Falcons but this, what you've done to our ammo is an amazing feat at the same time that it is dangerous. Adding radiation to our ammo isn't exactly safe for us to use on the battlefield. Keeping this type of ammo around for to long could have adverse catastrophic effects on our troops and our home, so get what you need to build the regular ammo and stick to the plan, The Ministry of Steel. Backing out into the directory, I opened the next notice. Enough, is enough!, Enough with the legends already, If I hear one more rumor about anything superstitious, I will fire all of you on the spot regardless if you read this or not if this keeps up. Now get back to work and stop the rumors already! I backed out of the Terminal completely hearing rapid fire coming from the other side of the door. The smell of gun powder drifted up my nostrils. Flashes of fire bounced off the hallway walls giving me the position of the pony who was firing. Turning off my pip-buck light I ran for the door hoping to find a place to hide in the darkness. Opening it slowly, I ran out into the hall where I was greeted with the butt of a gun. "Get out of my way, Soldier" some pony ordered, rushing to where I fell, tying my hooves together so I couldn't move. I couldn't believe I was stupid enough to think I could just slip into the open without being noticed just now, what's wrong with me. "I'm sorry for doing this to you, but I don't know you and you don't know me. It's the safest way to ensure our survival for now, you understand me, yeah?" I struggled to get free while the unicorn that just tied me up ran to resume her part in the firefight, using the door as cover. Of course I understood, she didn't want any pony stabbing her in the back while she took care of our little problem I could be helping out with, what a great plan. "My name is Clear Heart by the way", she reloaded taking down one Centaur after another. Listening to the firefight, I had the time to run a few thoughts through my head before everything ran silent. Particularly on how familiar she looked to me, I had seen Clear Heart somewhere before, but where. I couldn't place my hoof on it. "Grey Tone,Are you alright?" Clear Heart asked, talking through a portable radio. "Affirmative, the threat has been eliminated I'm moving to your position." Gray Tone responded coming down the hall. "Very good," Clear Heart said, bringing me her attention. Now that is finished, who are you, Clear Heart kindly sat me up. "Well, they call me Soft Ice for starters" I stared at my captor. "Soft Ice, that's a unique name, Clear Heart thought my name through, almost like she had heard it somewhere else before. "Sector C, 363" Clear Heart mumbled to herself, running my name through her lips one more time. "Your the one who took the last Infinity Core" Clear Heart pointed her gun at me, head level. "No wait" I hastily threw up my tied hooves in front of the gun's barrel to block any shot that was fired point blank, knowing it wouldn't do any good if she did decide to shoot me right here on the spot. I'm done waiting, I waited and you took the last chance for my family to survive, Clear Heart raged, her eyes sparkling with revenge as she began to beat me with the barrel of her shotgun. The first blow struck me hard cracking my skull, the next one landed right across my face, fracturing my cheek, she hit me again and again and again, she hit me until I couldn't feel anything but could hear the sound of my own skull crunching and crackling, shifting like broken glass beneath a ponies hooves. You want me to wait even longer, I will make you suffer, Clear Heart yelled, stopping her beating, gasping for air she began to cry. I should have been dead, feeling this pain, broken bone must have breached my brain, accounting for the hard sharp pain and twitching through out my body, even the parts Clear Heart didn't beat. "Clear Heart, holy shit." Grey Tone was shocked, dropping his weapon it clattered to the ground. "Hang in there, let me find a coat rack or something. Oh fuck me, Clear Heart, Why," Grey Tone moving swiftly finding anything to carry me on. "Sector C" Clear heart managed to say through her tears, crying, mourning for the family I killed. "Well, i'm fairly certain she's sorry now," Grey Tone said through mouth gripped pipe. I fell unconscious. After being in so much pain, my body finally told me it was time to rest, just for awhile. I could only remember bits and pieces of what happen that day, the day I needed the last Infinity Core for my watch. There was a mare there that day, It was Clear Heart for certain, she didn't have enough caps for the price Sizzling Bullet was offering it at. Her mane was a sickly blue while her eyes were clear ice white and her coat, gray. I just walked up to the counter buying the Infinity Core out from under her, without knowing she needed it, I'm the pony who killed her family without knowing it. So much for damn curiosity, I bought it out and now I'm paying the price in the bigger picture. Survival, damn it, if only I was more caring I would have given the Infinity Core to her if only I had bothered to pay attention back then I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in now.
