Fallout Equestria: Renegades

“There is no formula for success,
Except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life
And what it brings.”
-Arthur Rubinstein.

“Here’s where you get off, Blue,” the boatmare said as we pulled to a stop on an old pier that was barely maintained. I started to climb out of the boat and looked back at her for a moment, realizing that she wasn’t coming with me. “Don’t look at me like that, you don’t want to go where I’m going. Especially in those clothes, the Rust Sharks would eat you alive. I’d rather you not get killed.”

“Oh, uh… okay…” I said as I looked at her a bit surprised. I was pretty sure the Rust Sharks were a gang in the area, which would probably be why she didn’t want me to go, though I wasn’t sure why. “Where’s the nearest civilized settlement?”

“You need to head for Haven if you’re going to find anything like that,” the boat mare said as she lit a cigarette before tossing me a crumpled up map. “That’ll get you there.” You should find somepony in Haven that should help you out. Try to stay clear of the Raiders and Slavers though, got it?”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful,” I said as I adjusted my rifle and gave her a nod. “Thanks for the lift… I’m sorry Gold Dust couldn’t make it.”

“Me too,” the mare said before starting to row off out of view once more.

I took a deep breath and unfolded the map. It was an old map of Seaddle that had been written and marked over in several places. I noticed that a good chunk of the area to the east was completely crossed out with the words ``Flow Area” written above it. That had to have been leftover from the volcanic eruption, I hadn’t realized that they had reached that far before. I quickly looked over the map, there was a route that seemed to move around several areas with marks on it that indicated Raider camps and lead to Haven and later Lunar City.

I smiled a little as I adjusted my bag, this was going to help me get to my destination at least. Now I just had to figure out how I was going to avoid the baddies. I took a deep breath as I started walking and put my earbud into my ear, letting the music from Refuge’s radio station play while I kept on alert.

Seaddle had suffered in the war with the Zebras, having been the target of a Balefire Bomb that had left most of the city in ruins. The recent eruption had just made matters worse, sometimes I wondered why I ponies even still lived here.

Then again this place was basically going to be my home until I figured something else out. I took a deep breath and took my first steps out into Seaddle proper. I just had to hope that I was making the right choice.

After a moment of listening to music, the sound of Refuge’s voice was heard.

“Hey out here in Cascadia, this is Refuge with a special report,” the cheery mare’s voice said over my earbud. “Earlier today I met up with three ponies who apparently had been across the bay until recently in the `care” of Slavers. It sounds like the whole compound got raided by Steel Rangers, and you know what that tends to mean for the Raiders, lots of dead bodies with little regard for who gets in the way. Well, I tell you folks, I heard a crazy story that somepony in a Steel Ranger outfit actually let them go. It could’ve just been some good samareitan, but who knows, maybe there’s more division in the ranks than we know about. Well, here’s hoping those three make it out okay, would hate to hear another horror story. Now, moving on to…”

I pulled my earbud out when I swore I heard something. I glanced around and spotted what was left of a building off to the side. I ducked into it, levitating out my rifle as I did, my EFS didn’t show anypony in the building at least. I adjusted my rifle, making sure that it was loaded as I waited for whatever I had heard to make itself known. I didn’t have long to wait.

“I thought you said you saw a boat heading to the old dock here,” a gruff stallion’s voice said. “I don’t see a boat.”

“It was there, I swear…” A mare’s voice said. I glanced out the window briefly, there were three ponies out there, two of them were stallions and the third was a mare, all dressed in Raider gear and heavily armed. “It looked like two ponies were coming into the old dock, I don’t know where they could’ve gone.”

“Sounds like Labby’s been dipping into her own merch again,” the third stallion said with a chuckle. “I’m telling you girl, you don’t want the boss to know you’re stiffing him on the Dash.”

“Hey, I only take what’s left over!” The mare, Labby I guess, whatever that even meant, shouted at him. “And you’re one to talk, you stole from me after the last time we fucked!”

I groaned a little at that. Raiders, of course it was Raiders. They would see me if I left, so I needed a plan and fast.

I quietly glanced out of the window. There was another building on the other side of the street, it was in worse shape than the one I was in was. There was some rubble that looked like it would be let loose if enough force was applied to it. Glancing down I levitated up a decent sized chunk of building, looking back at the structure I figured how much force I would have to apply, and prayed that this would work.

I tossed the chunk of building with my telekinesis as hard as I could. I ducked down out of the way and hoped that it would work as I heard the cracking sound followed by shouts as there was a rumbling sound. I quickly pulled myself up and lind up my sights as I pointed at the nearest stallion.

Two quick shots caused him to crumple to the ground, but it got the attention of the other two ponies and I managed to duck out of the way of several returning shots. I quickly moved to the next window while their attention was focused on that one and moved up, firing another two shots into the remaining stallion and turning my attention to the mare, firing a shot to take out her weapon before putting another shot into her hind leg. She let out a cry as she fell to the ground.

I jumped out of the window still holding my rifle upright as she struggled to reach a weapon only to have me kick it away. I leveled my rifle at the Raider mare who stopped her struggling, looking at me afraid.

“You’re going to answer some questions for me and then I’ll let you go, understood?” I asked as I held my rifle on her. “Scream or cry for help and you’re dead, understood?”

“Y-yes, understood,” the mare said. “Please don’t hurt me, I’m just a chemist working for the Iron Will Gang… I’ve never killed nopony.”

Chemist, I knew what that meant, she made Chems for the gang to use or sell. I had seen the effects of Chems on some members of the Steel Rangers who had gotten hooked. I growled at her as I adjusted my rifle again, pressing it closer against her as she let out a slight cry.

“Please… I just do what they tell me to do… just ask your questions!” She begged. “Please, don’t kill me… I’ve got a family…”

I paused a moment before lowering my rifle a bit, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on her.

“Alright, first tell me what were you doing looking for the boat?” I said as I glared down at her. “Are boats that uncommon in this area?”

“No, uh, I heard that there was supposed to be some hotshot merc coming this way,” the mare gulped as she tried not to make eye contact with me. “He apparently was doing some job out across the bay. I figured we could hit him up for some caps…”

“Sorry to say you missed the boat on that one,” I said with a growl. “Next question, you said you work for the Iron Will gang? What’s the fastest way out of their territory from here?”

“Heh, you must be new here, the Iron Will gang controls the Waterfront since our competition got wiped out,” the mare chuckled. “Between the Rangers, Haven, and the volcano, there’s only so much territory left to go around here. You’re gonna have to go a long way if you want out of our territory, if we don’t get you first.”

“Wrong answer,” I said as I raised my rifle again and started to pull the trigger. The mare started to sweat profusely as she thought quickly.

“Wait, wait… I heard rumors about old pre-war tunnels! Yeah, tunnels that should take you right near where Haven is!” The mare said. “I don’t know where exactly, but I swear they’re there! Try a few blocks over.”

I glanced at the map and set it down and pointed at it. “Show me where,” I told her and she nodded as she struggled to point at a spot a few blocks away. It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it would at least give me a place to start looking.

“Now, please, let me go, I won’t tell anypony where I sent you… I swear!” The raider mare said, she was terrified of me… of me…

What was I doing? This wasn’t me, I was torturing a mare, even if she was a Raider and would probably do the same to me or worse, this was wrong. I lowered my rifle again and shook my head, what had gotten into my head?

“Get out of here,” I said as I used my telekinesis to rip off some cloth from her barding and wrapped it around her leg wound. “But if you tell anypony I was here, I will hunt you down, got it?”

“Understood,” she gulped as she got to her hooves and limped off.

I lowered my rifle after a moment and gathered up the weapons and ammo from the dead ponies. I found some more caps, so at least there was that. But somehow, I honestly wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing, maybe I had overreacted a bit. I had acted more like the Steel Rangers interrogators than myself.

I shook my head, no it was necessary. They were just Raiders, right? They were the scum of Equestria. I had to keep moving now, that was likely going to attract attention.

So now I just had to get to the Underground.

00000

I pushed the door open to the Seaddle Underground entrance. It had apparently once been a storefront or something similar but the years of disuse had worn away the sign. I quietly made my way down into the tunnel, keeping a close eye on my EFS as I did.

To be honest I wasn’t sure about this route. I had heard a few stories about the underground tunnels of Seaddle, apparently they had been used to push the Ghouls into the eastern part of the city and were mostly sealed off. Whether or not that actually meant that I would be able to use them to get to my destination was another matter entirely.

Of course there were also the fair share of rumors that there were still Feral Ghouls if not outright Ghoul communities hidden away in the underground tunnels. I didn’t know what the truth was, so I just remained vigilant and quiet.

What surprised me though was that the area actually looked pretty well traveled. In the dim light from my PipBuck I could see hoofprints in the dirt that went both ways, it suggested that this tunnel was actually better used than the Raider had suggested. Whether or not that meant I was going to have to deal with Raiders was another matter, but I gave it a shot, figuring that I would see anything on my EFS before it got to me.

Or at least that was my hope. As I made my way down the tunnel I could see branching paths and smaller rooms, but most of the paths were cut off by rubble. Others had symbols over them that seemed to mean something, but I couldn’t tell what at first glance.

After walking for a while, I finally saw a marker flashing in my EFS’ compass. I ducked into a room off to the side as I heard the sound of hooves as whoever it was moved down the tunnel. I wanted to know what I was dealing with before I made my move.

“I don’t like this, we’re going straight into Raider territory and it’s getting close to dawn,” a mare’s voice said as they neared the room I was hiding in. “Are you sure this is worth the risk? They’re going to be sending patrols out.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” a stallion’s voice answered. “I don’t like doing this either, but I swear I heard some chatter on the radio about somepony arriving at the old dock. If the Iron Will Gang picked somepony up, we should at least find out what’s going on.”

“And you really expect me to believe that Refuge sent you a message herself?” The mare asked. “I don’t believe you. Refuge doesn’t have any reason to do something like that.”

“Yeah, well I’m telling you what happened,” the stallion said. “You know how weird she is sometimes, especially with all the rumors around her. I think we should at least give it a chance.”

Interesting, so Refuge somehow knew about me landing in Seaddle already. That didn’t make much sense, but she did seem to know a lot more than she let on. Plus it sounded like she had learned about what had happened in the port.

I stood against the wall for a moment and took a deep breath before starting to talk. “I think you’re looking for me,” I said as I tried not to draw my rifle. “I was aboard the boat that you’re talking about.”

“Wait, what?” The stallion said. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”

“I’m going to step out slowly, I’m armed but my weapon isn’t drawn,” I said as I slowly took a step out. In the dim light I could see a Unicorn Stallion and a Pegasus mare, both were armed with rifles and looked surprised to see me. “My name is Nova, I came here across the bay from Brayford Island. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“What are you doing here then?” The mare asked as she adjusted her battle saddle’s trigger. “Why are you in the Underground?”

“I’m trying to avoid the Raiders, just like you,” I said defensively. “I escaped from the Steel Rangers across the bay. I mean you no harm, I promise. I just want to get to Haven from here, please?”

“And why should we trust you?” The mare asked. “You just showed up out of nowhere and are claiming to have escaped from the Steel Rangers. I have a hard time believing you.”

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy when you say it like that," I said with a sigh. "Look, I mean you no harm. If I was going to attack you I wouldn't have drawn attention to myself like that, would I?"

"She's got a point there, Hazel," the stallion pointed out. "Look, if you're willing to hand over your weapon we'll escort you to Haven. The local Militia will take you in and figure out what to do from there, is that acceptable?"

"Yeah, I can agree to that," I said as I levitated my rifle out slowly. I ejected the magazine and pulled back on the rifle a bit to eject the casing to prove that it was unloaded before I levitated them both over to the stallion. "I mean you no harm, I swear."

"The Militia will be the judge of that," the mare, Hazel, replied. "Come with us, no funny business, got it? The last thing we need right now is trouble from the Steel Rangers."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to cause any problems," I said as I gave her a slight nod. "My name is Nova, like I said I fled from the Steel Rangers. I'm not going to give you any trouble, I promise."

"Well, you better be telling the truth," Hazel snorted. "The Rangers have brought us nothing but trouble since they showed up in this city. We don't want to get caught up in another war, got it?"

"Got it," I said with a slight gulp. I honestly didn't know everything about what had happened over in Seaddle, so I had a bad feeling about all of this. Somehow this was just raising more questions than it was giving me answers. "What kind of trouble are you talking about?"

"Ever since the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, the Steel Rangers have been causing problems, and Applejack's Rangers aren't helping matters either as they came in around a year ago," the stallion replied. "The battles between the two factions keep catching ponies in the crossfire. It's also making the cleanup from Reinier harder you know."

"You're doing nothing but bring trouble to our city," Hazel growled. "If you really are a member of the Steel Rangers, then you're going to..."

"Hazel, stop, we need to give her a chance," the stallion said. "She willingly gave over her weapon and could've killed us both already. This isn't the time to be antagonizing her, okay?"

"Fine, whatever," Hazel snorted. "But if she causes trouble then it's on your head, Steel. You'd better know what you're doing."

We kept walking in silence for a while as we passed by more tunnels. It looked like they had been closed relatively recently, as if they had been closed deliberately by ponies. I had to admit I was a bit curious about that, but I didn't want to pry into things.

This whole place gave me a weird feeling.

00000

Eventually we came out of the underground, and into the ruined parts of the city. We were a little ways away from the waterfront now, and I could see several militia ponies standing guard. I was quickly escorted through the ruins and to the gates of the walled settlement of Haven.

"Welcome to Haven," the stallion said as I was led inside. The settlement was made up of several old buildings along with newly constructed buildings. "I know it's not much to look at, but it's home."

"Yeah, yeah, we need to get her to the Militia HQ," Hazel said as she pushed me towards one of the streets. "You better hope that you're going to be able to convince them, Blue."

I was hoping to say the least. If I couldn’t convince them I was screwed, so it was just a matter of figuring out how I was going to convince them. The truth was probably only going to make matters worse, but telling a lie was probably not going to help either.

I was led into the militia building and was pushed into a holding cell. I groaned a little as I took a seat on the bed and leaned back a little. This was going to be rather hard to explain to be honest, so I just had to figure out what I was going to say.

As much as I hated to admit it, maybe I should tell the truth.

It felt like it took hours but the door to the holding area was finally opened. A Unicorn stallion dressed in leather armor walked in and pulled up a chair as he looked me over. “So, you’re the pony Hazel and Gilded came across in the tunnels. I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a Steel Ranger on the run… that’s something different.”

“How’d you know?” I asked as I shot him a look. That was weird, was there some sort of obvious sign?

“You’re carrying equipment in too good a shape to be from anypony else,” the stallion commented as he looked at me. “So, why did you leave the Steel Rangers? Defectors usually don’t wind up here.”

“I’ve got my reasons,” I replied as I adjusted myself a little. “I saw some things that shook my faith in the Rangers. I’m figuring out where to go next, I figured Haven was the best place to start at least.”

“I see,” the stallion replied as he took a deep breath. “You’re new here in Seaddle, so I’m gonna tell you this right now. Steel Rangers aren’t liked here because of what you lot have done. If word gets out you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that impression,” I sighed as I laid back on the bed. “I’m not here to hurt anypony though. I just want to get away from the Steel Rangers at this point.”

“Well, I believe you on that, but you need to be careful,” the stallion said as he shook his head at me. “You’re lucky that I was the one who talked to you though. Anypony else might have just shot you on sight.”

“I had nothing to do with anything that the Steel Rangers did,” I told him. “I was just an Initiate, the only mission I went on was to fight against some Raiders. You have no reason to believe me, I know, but it’s the truth.”

“We’re going to have to decide what to do with you,” the stallion said as he took a deep breath. “I’ll get you some food and water in a couple of hours.”

“Look, uh… there’s something else,” I said as he raised an eyebrow at me curiously. “When I was escaping from the Steel Rangers I had help from a pony named Gold Dust. He didn’t make it, as far as I know at least. He said that he wanted a pony named Coffee Cream to know about what happened to him. I know you probably won’t want me to talk to her, but…”

“Coffee Cream… I see,” the stallion said as he eyed me for a moment. “That is a name you likely wouldn’t know if you didn’t know Gold Dust. Fine, I’ll talk to her and see if she wants to talk to you. If she doesn’t I can at least pass on a message.”

“Did you know Gold Dust?” I asked.

“He was my brother-in-law,” he replied with a sigh. “Coffee Cream is… was his wife.”

“Oh, I’m sorry… listen if you don’t want me to talk to her I understand,” I replied as my face fell a little. This wasn’t going to be an easy discussion to have if I was being honest with myself. “Listen… I can’t even tell you or her if he’s dead. He ran off to distract the Steel Rangers and… yeah, I don’t even know for sure…”

“Alright, I’ll talk to her at least,” the stallion said as he got up. “I’ll let you know when we reach a decision about what to do with you. I can’t promise that you’ll like the decision. Worst case scenario we’ll kick you out of town.”

“Great… just what I needed…” I sighed as I laid back on the bed. “I guess it could be worse. I’m just saying, I could’ve attacked already.”

“Yes, I know, but you could have a long term plan… anyway I will let you know what we decide,” the stallion said as he headed out.

“So, I’m here all on my own again, stuck in this small room…” I muttered as I shivered a little bit. As I looked up I got a strange, claustrophobic feeling to the room, I was stuck in here and there was no getting out for now.

I hoped that Rose was okay back home. I wished that she had come with me, maybe if she had I wouldn’t be in this situation.

For now, I was stuck sitting in here all alone. And I honestly had no idea what I was going to do next.

00000

“Well, I see you’ve gotten yourself into a little bit of a bind,” a mare’s voice said, nearly making me jump out of the bed before I realized I was still in jail. I looked out past the bars to see the same mare dressed in the cloak standing out there that I had seen before. “I have to say I wasn’t expecting to see you again like this.”

“Yeah, well it was inevitable I guess,” I groaned as I got a better look at her. She was still hidden by her cloak, but I could see that she had a dark grey coat under it. “Who are you anyway?”

“I work for a friend you might say,” the mare said as she gave me a slight smile. “I happened to be in the area and heard they captured you. I may be able to arrange something to get you out, but they’re not going to trust you right away you know.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that impression,” I sighed. “I don’t really blame them to be honest, not if they have no reason to trust me. I probably would do the same thing if I was in their position. Why do you trust me anyway?”

“I just have a good feeling about you is all,” the mare said with a gentle smile. “I just need time to get you out of this place.”

“And exactly how are you going to convince them of that?” I asked curiously. “You’re the one keeping her identity concealed. How do I know they can trust you enough to listen to you about me?”

“I’ve got friends in high places, that’s all you need to know,” the mare answered. “I wouldn’t worry about it to be honest. I’m just here to lend you a hoof in case you need it. If you need somepony to talk to, I’ll be in town a few more days. The militia commander can find me if you’re still in here.”

“I didn’t even get your name,” I commented. “How am I supposed to find you if I don’t know who you are?”

“Oh yeah, call me Disc,” she said with a chuckle as she turned around and started towards the door again. “Don’t worry Nova, you’re not going to be in here forever. I’ll make sure that they let you out of here one way or another.”

“Yeah, thanks…” I muttered as I laid back on the bed. I didn’t really like being stuck in here, the cell was small and it felt like it was closing in on me sometimes. I hated this place and just wanted to get out of here.

So for now all I could do was hope that Disc could help me get out of here.

A while later after I had been fed, the door to the holding area opened up again. I looked up from my food where a Unicorn pony with a dark brown coat and a light brown mane and tail was standing in the doorway looking back at the stallion from before.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” The stallion asked. “Nopony would blame you if you didn’t want to talk to her…”

“I want answers about what happened to my husband, and if she has them… I’d like to talk to her,” the mare said. “I’ll be fine, I promise. She can’t escape, right?”

“Don’t worry, she’s secure in there,” the stallion replied. “I’m not forcing you to do anything if you’re not ready for this…”

“Steam, I’m ready for this, I’ll be fine, I just want answers,” the mare, Coffee Cream it had to be answered as she shot the stallion a look. “I’m going to talk to her and that’s final. You’re not going to talk me out of this.”

“Okay Coffee,” Steam sighed as he nodded into the holding area. “Try to make it quick though. I’ll keep an eye on things from out here.”

Coffee nodded before she headed into the holding area. I sat down my fork as I looked at her and gave her a slight nod. “You must be Coffee Cream. I’m sorry that I can’t give you better news about what happened to your husband…”

“I didn’t like that mission he went on to begin with,” Coffee commented. “I honestly am not that surprised that he didn’t make it back. Taking a job like that for the Steel Rangers is a death sentence if there ever was one.”

“I tried to get him out,” I said with a sigh. “I managed to free him and we made a run for the wall around the fort. We were noticed by the Rangers and Gold Dust ran off in order to draw their attention away from me. He probably saved me from being caught by them. I’m sorry that I don’t know exactly where he is now.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Coffee sighed as she took a seat. “He was a good pony, even if he didn’t always take the best jobs. This one was one of the really bad ones, you know? Hired to fake an assassination on the Elder of the Steel Rangers. I told him he shouldn’t take the job, and see where it got him. Still, thank you for at least telling me that much.”

“Why didn’t you think he should take the job?” I asked.

“The Steel Rangers are nothing but trouble, a lot of deaths are tied into their attacks on the city,” Coffee answered. “Not just Raiders, good ponies are dying in these attacks. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened either. From what I’ve heard mercenaries have occasionally been hired to attack the Steel Rangers.”

“False Flag operations,” I said, remembering the old term as Coffee shot me a look. “It’s a term for attacks faked to create a response in ponies. There’s an old conspiracy theory that the death of Big Macintosh was the result of a false flag operation.”

“You didn’t know anything about this then?” Coffee asked and I shook my head. “Of course not, that’s what I’d expect from the Steel Rangers. Thank you for giving me some sort of closure… I just wish I knew what happened to him.”

“I would tell you if I knew,” I said with a weak smile. “I don’t think I would be here if it wasn’t for him. So, for better or worse there is that at least.”

“Yeah… he was a good pony when he wanted to be,” Coffee said as she took a deep breath. “Look, thank you for your time and telling me what you know. I just wish that you could’ve told me more.”

“Me too,” I said with a gentle smile to try and reassure her. “Look, Coffee… take care of yourself, okay? I don’t want anything to happen to you because of me. I know a lot of ponies in this town won’t exactly like or trust me.”

“I know, but if you’re telling the truth, then I believe you,” Coffee said as she walked back to the door. “Alright Steam, I’m done here.”

I sighed a moment as I watched the two of them walk off and close the door behind them. I was left all alone in the holding cell again. There wasn’t much else I could do at this point other than feel uncomfortable about being stuck in the cell again.

I thought about Rose, she had to be worried about me. Maybe I should’ve insisted that we go together or I should’ve stayed or something. I hated that I was going to have to face this all alone.

Or, at least for now. I just had to hope that I could figure this out.

00000

“Alright, you’re free to go,” a voice said as the door to the cell opened up. I looked up surprised to see Steam standing there as I struggled to get to my hooves. “Sorry it took so long, but we had to get everything together. Your stuff is waiting for you outside, but you’re not allowed to carry your weapon in town.”

“Understood,” I replied as I walked out of the cell and added with a chuckle. “Well, I guess there goes getting free meals and a room while I’m here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I weep for you,” Steam said with a roll of his eyes as he gave me my gear. “Stop by on your way out to pick up your weapons. I would go to the Dragonfang Inn, they have places to stay for the night. I’d suggest not hanging around too long though, news of your presence in town has already spread.”

“Great, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as I checked my bags. I still had some caps, hopefully that would be enough. If nothing else I had enough food to last a few days until I could make some more money. “Thanks at least.”

“Take care of yourself, I’d rather not see you in here again,” Steam said as I headed out of the building and into Haven proper. A few ponies were hanging around the area, talking to vendors or each other as I made my way down the street.

I levitated up the earbuds of my PipBuck and started listening to the radio while I looked around Haven.

“We’re starting over,
Build something new,
We’ve been a long time a-waiting but we made it through.
We’re starting over,
Celestia white and Luna Blue.
It’s a brand new Equestrian Dream for me and you.”

“Glad to see you made it out!” A voice said from behind me, making me jump as I turned around quickly to see Disc standing there in her cloak. “How are you feeling? You didn’t get all institutionalized did you?”

“Haha, no I’m fine,” I said with a groan as Disc caught up to me. “Was that your doing? I didn’t think I’d be able to get out of here that soon.”

“Yeah, like I said I know people,” Disc replied as she adjusted her goggles a little. “All you gotta do is whisper in the right ears. Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine, though you probably want to take this.”

“What?” I asked before I was surprised to have something thrown at me. It was a bag and I checked it and found that the bag was filled with caps. “Uh thanks, why are you being so generous?”

“Why not? True generosity is hard to find in this world,” Disc answered. “And you need it.”

“Thanks, I guess,” I said as I quickly counted out the caps in the bag. It just about covered everything I had paid to get to Seaddle to begin with. “I feel like I owe you for all of this, is there anything I can do to repay you?”

Disc paused a moment before adjusting her goggles and nodding. “Let’s just say you owe me, I’ll call in the favor later though. For now, get settled in here, maybe find a place to stay for the night. And don’t leave the settlement alone, there are a lot of Raiders out there you know.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” I said as I adjusted my saddle bags. It was kind of hard not to be aware of that, even after the eruption the Raiders came back. They were like radroaches, only even more annoying. “I guess I’ll see you…”

When I turned to look at Disc she was gone, again. “How does she keep doing that…” I muttered as I started walking through Haven, keeping my head down. I noticed an old building that had a faded sign that said “Dragonfang Inn” on it. I shrugged a little and headed over there and pushed the door open to head inside.

00000

The first floor of the Dragonfang Inn was a bar. A few ponies were sitting at tables or at the bar drinking and talking, nopony noticed as I entered and made my way to the bar, taking an empty seat.

“What’s your poison?” The Bartender, a Unicorn stallion with a goatee asked. “We just got a few crates of Jazz in from one of the passing caravans if you want that, but supplies are limited until somepony gets the recipe.”

“Jazz?” I asked. I hadn’t ever heard of that drink before so I was a bit confused by what he was talking about.

“What, first time in Seaddle? Jazz was the local pop back before the bombs fell, you know like Nuka-Cola only more localized?” The Bartender asked with a chuckle.

“Don’t blame her for it, Bones, she’s been living her whole life under the Steel Rangers probably,” a voice said from beside me and I glanced over to see an Earth Pony mare with a white coat and short dark blue mane sitting there. “They probably only serve water over there.”

“Actually we do have Nuka-Cola, I guess I’ve just never heard of Jazz,” I said with a shrug.

“Don’t worry, it’s not too bad, get us a couple of Cream Sodas, Rum,” the Earth Pony mare said as she gave me a light smile as the stallion shrugged and went off to get them. “So you must be the pony that I’ve heard so much about around town.”

“I guess word spreads fast,” I grunted as I looked at her for a long moment. “I guess there’s not much point in hiding it.”

“Well, you’re the only other new arrival in town, so it wasn’t that hard to figure out,” the mare replied with a light chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not going to give you any trouble about it. I have no problems with it personally, I know a few former Steel Rangers.”

“You do?” I asked curiously. That was weird, there weren't any other ponies that had left, at least any that had survived. “Where have you met them?”

“Oh, you know, here and there, don’t worry about it, they’re not around here,” the mare answered as she shrugged a little. She gave me a slight smile before offering me a hoof. “I’m Gear Shift. I’m kind of a traveling repairpony, you know? So I’ve heard a few things around, and met a lot of ponies.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” I replied as I shook her hoof with a smile. “I’m Nova, it’s nice to meet you Gear.”

Gear smiled a little as she gave me a nod as the bartender set down two glass bottles filled with an odd clear liquid. I used my magic to pop off the cap and pocketed it while Gear did the same and took a long swig, caught a little off guard by exactly how sweet it was as I set it down, coughing a little, which just made Gear laugh.

“Yeah, definitely your first time drinking Jazz,” she said between laughs.

“What is this thing made with, distilled cotton candy?” I coughed as I looked at the bottle for a moment, how could something so clear be so sweet.

“Pure cane sugar brought in from the south, or at least that’s how I’ve heard it,” Gear chuckled as she took a drink without a reaction. “Don’t worry about it, just take a short drink and you’ll barely notice it. I think you just took a little too much at first.”

“Yeah, probably,” I said as I took a second smaller drink. I had to admit it was much better this time, still very sweet but more tolerable. “So, what brings you to Haven anyway?”

“Oh you know, a few odd jobs here and there, now I’m just waiting for another Caravan to be heading to Lunar City or wherever,” Gear answered with a slight smile as she gave me a nod. “What about you, now that you’re out of jail where are you off to?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted as I took another drink of my Jazz. “I’m still kind of figuring out where I’m going next after all of this. I was thinking about heading East from here out of the city. I don’t really have anywhere to go, and some ponies have suggested that I get out of Seaddle.”

“Probably a good idea, head East, you can always find work in the NCR or something,” Gear shrugged. “But if you want my personal opinion…”

“I didn’t really ask, but sure,” I said with a shrug.

“You should hang out around here a bit longer, maybe come with me to Lunar City or wherever,” Gear suggested. “I don’t completely disagree with the idea. Seaddle is a dangerous city, and you shouldn’t go alone. At least wait until another caravan heads east, okay?”

“How long will that be?” I asked.

“Who knows, with the Raiders fighting over territory that’s left after the eruption, most of the caravans stay east of the flow zone,” Gear replied. “I’ll give you a hoof and maybe we can find something useful in the city. What do you say?”

“Why are you being so nice?” I asked. This was the second time some random pony had been oddly generous to me today. “I mean, I didn’t think ponies in the Wasteland would be this nice you know…”

“Trust me, not everypony is going to be this nice,” Gear said as she downed the rest of her Cream Soda. “But I’m still willing to help you out if you’ll have me. If not, well that’s fine too I guess.”

I thought about it for a moment. The truth of the matter was that she had a point, I knew nothing about the city and I had been pretty lucky so far, kind of. Maybe I shouldn’t go it alone, and this pony seemed nice enough. I just had to hope that I could trust her at least.

“Yeah, uh I guess…” I replied nervously.

“Don’t be so nervous, I don’t bite,” Gear replied with a slight smile. “Nova, I know you’re still new to the Wasteland but you’re going to have to trust somepony. Okay?”

I looked at her for a moment and smiled. “Okay, I’ll trust you,” I answered, I figured that she was right I was going to have to eventually. “So, what do you think we should do from here?”

“Well, there’s always trouble outside of town, dealing with some of the Raiders would help the Caravans get through,” Gear said. “We could go talk to the Caravan company here in town. Maybe they’ll give us a job to clear a route or something, it would give us some good caps and help your reputation in the town.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said as I finished off the soda and looked at the bottle a moment. “You know, that’s not that bad. I might have to remember that.”

“Well, if anypony ever gets into the Jazz Soda Company building and gets the recipes it’ll make them pretty rich,” Gear chuckled. “But nopony’s ever made it, still, could be worth a try. But we’ve got other things to do first. Come on, let’s go talk to the caravan company.”

I nodded and followed the Earth Pony out of the bar. Hopefully she knew what she was talking about.

00000

We entered the Metal Can Caravan Company, a small Caravan Company that made its home in Haven, and looked around. The building had apparently once been a residence that had been converted into a business. There were some old paintings and posters lining the walls with a desk on the far end with a teenaged filly with a grey coat and a light green mane behind it.

“Hey Allie, is your dad in?” Gear asked as the filly looked up at us.

“Yep, he’s talking with the Caravan leader before they head out, but it sounds like the Raiders are causing trouble along the Lunar City route again,” Allie said with a roll of her eyes. She looked at me curiously and tilted her head a little. “Who’s this?”

“Nova, I’m new in town,” I replied as I offered her a hoof, but she didn’t shake it. “So, uh, you work here?”

“Yeah, I work as the receptionist, you can call me Aluminum,” Aluminum replied as she shot me a look. Yeah, that wasn’t going to help at all.

“We’re here to help with your dad’s Raider problem,” Gear said with a slight smile. “It’s why we’re here to talk to him. Can you tell him we’re here?”

“Yeah, sure,” Aluminum said as she got up and headed into the back.

“Even fillies don’t like me very much, that’s just great,” I groaned. “So, what kind of Raiders do you think we’re going to deal with?”

“There are a few gangs between here and Lunar City,” Gear answered. “The biggest problem we’re likely to run into is the Crossbones Gang. They run the territory along the road leading to the south of Haven.”

“Yeah, no surprise there…” I sighed. “How many Raider gangs are there in the city anyway?”

“Hard to say honestly,” Gear admitted with a shrug. “The eruption wiped out more than a few of the gangs and they tend to wind up killing each other every few weeks. It’s not exactly something that can exactly be pinned down. Especially given sometimes new groups pop up too.”

“Yeah… no surprise there…” I sighed as Aluminum came back in.

“Come with me, my Dad wants to see you both,” Aluminum said and leads us into the back room. A stallion was seated behind a desk, he had a similar color to Aluminum. He looked up at us with tired eyes as he adjusted a pair of glasses that rested on his muzzle. “Dad, here’s the ponies I mentioned.”

“Ah, yes, the newcomers to town I see, I’m Tin Can,” the stallion said. “This is my company, though unfortunately we’ve not exactly had the best luck lately. Our Caravans have been ambushed by a particularly nasty gang of Raiders called the Brotherhood of the Sword. They worship some obscure ancient Equestrian Deity or something. They act more like a cult than Raiders, but they’re dangerous.”

“Oh yeah I’ve heard of them,” Gear commented. “They’re a nasty bunch, but I didn’t think they were this far north. I guess Lady Reinier has changed a lot around here.”

“Oh you have no idea,” Tin sighed as he looked between the two of us. “So, you two want to help deal with the Brotherhood then? Two ponies against a group of Raiders, not exactly the best of odds.”

“Well, if you know anything about me, you know I have military training…” I muttered nervously and Tin nodded a moment. Then I realized that I didn’t know anything about Gear, she was well built sure, but that wasn’t that unusual for Earth Ponies.

Actually when I spared another look at her I couldn’t help but notice her outfit hugged the curves of her… no wait, I couldn’t think like that. I had just met this mare, and knew nothing about her, I wasn’t going to think of her like that.

At least, not yet.

“I was part of a Settlement Militia a while back, I know how to fight,” Gear said as she nodded a little. “We’ll just need to reclaim our weapons from the Militia. Can you tell us where the Brotherhood is based out of?”

“Yes, right here,” Tin said as he laid out a map of the city and pointed to a spot along the road. “They seem to have set up their territory around here after having moved here from the southeast. I don’t know a whole lot else about them unfortunately, they’re one of the groups that entered the area within the past few years. If they are as dangerous as they act, then you’re going to have your work cut out for you.”

“Understood, we’ll be careful,” I said as I looked at Gear for a moment.

“Good, if you make it you’ll be paid 200 caps each, half up front,” Tin said as he reached into the drawer of his desk and took out two small bags and tossed one of each to us. “So, is there anything else?”

“No, we should be fine,” I said as I counted the caps and put them in my bags. There were exactly 100 bottle caps of different types in there. I smiled a little and nodded. “We’ll be back.”

“I certainly hope so,” Tin said as the two of us headed back out of the office together.

“Are you sure we can do this just the two of us?” I asked as I looked at Gear. “I mean, I’ve got training sure, but I don’t know about…”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Gear said with a grin. “Don’t worry about me, I know how to fight just fine. Now, how about you go and get some supplies while I go get our weapons back.”

“Uh, okay,” I said as Gear walked off and I went to go and check the shops nearby. Gear was an odd pony, that much was true, so I just had to figure out what I was going to do.

I sighed a little and started towards the shops in hopes of finding something useful.

00000

“So, you were in a militia?” I asked curiously as I looked at Gear. We had met up after a while at the gate to Haven where she was carrying our weapons.

“Yeah, for a while at least,” Gear answered as she adjusted her pack a little. “I’ve heard a few things about the Brotherhood. Unfortunately there’s only so much we know, but I don’t like dealing with cults like this.”

“Yeah… I’ve heard stories about that,” I commented as we walked together out of the town gate and past the gate guards. I looked up again, seeing the ruins of the buildings around us with a few ponies working on the buildings with guards. “They’re still working on expanding the Settlement, huh?”

“Yeah, well with more ponies coming in after the eruption they have to make sure that there is enough room for all of them,” Gear explained as we walked past them. “Other places are working on clearing out Raiders for new Settlements. Needless to say things are starting to change in Seaddle.”

“Well, I guess that’s good,” I said as I looked at the working ponies for a moment.

The eruption as it was usually just called was the eruption of Mount Reinier. It had only been a few years ago, and the devastation had been like nothing seen since the war ended. The volcano had sent a wave of devastation and landslides that destroyed part of the city of Seaddle. As already had been said, displaced many ponies, destroying entire settlements and who knows how many ponies.

Obviously it hadn’t reached us in the Fort, but there had always been some ashfall. There were a lot of after effects of the eruption and ponies were still trying to recover from it after what had happened before.

“So, uh…” I said as we walked together. “Do you have any family or whatever?”

“Just my great-uncle,” Gear replied with a shrug. “My parents died a long time ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said rather sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…”

“It’s fine, I miss them but they’ve been gone a while…” She sighed. “And I’ve got a new family, right now I’m just trying to get back to them, hopefully soon. I guess that’s why I’m doing this right now, you know?”

“Yeah, I think I understand,” I said as I gave her a reassuring smile. “If there’s anything I can do to help you out, just tell me, okay?”

“Funny, I thought I was here to help you,” Gear said with a chuckle. “I just wish we had more ponies helping us out. Two ponies after a group of cultist raiders, yeah, that’s going to be the best odds.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said as I adjusted my rifle. “I’ll figure something out I guess. We’re going to need to improvise probably. I’d say reconnoiter the area and then figure out where to go next.”

“Agreed,” Gear agreed and we kept walking in silence for a long moment.

I smiled a little as I snuck a look over at Gear. The Earth Pony was walking next to my side humming a light tune to herself. She gave me a nod as we headed towards the location on the map.

I just had to hope that we really were going to be able to pull this off somehow.

00000

“Yep, there they are,” Gear said as she examined the compound through a pair of binoculars before she passed them over to me. “It looks like we have about five guards on the perimeter and another three in the compound itself.”

“Yeah, I see,” I said as I eyed the ponies dressed in leather armor. I narrowed my eyes as I saw a pony dressed in elaborate armor with markings resembling an eagle on the chestplate with gold markings as I passed it back to Gear. “What do make of that? The boss maybe?”

“Yeah, looks like it, that armor is definitely not usual armor,” Gear agreed with a nod. “This is the closest Raider Camp belonging to them to the Caravan route. The Brotherhood is going to have other camps nearby though, and I doubt we have enough ammo to take them all out just the two of us.”

“Right,” I said as I checked the map on my PipBuck. “So, how should we do this? We could take out one or two of the guards, but the others will come running as soon as they hear the gunfire. So, how should we do this?”

“We’re going to have to split up,” Gear said as she pointed towards a building on the other side of the camp. “You go over there and shoot at them from the second floor. Do what you can to block the way up. I’ll do the same on the other side, that’ll keep them distracted.”

“And what about the boss?” I asked as I glanced over at the tent for a moment. “We’re probably going to have to move in, so our objective needs to be to clear out as many of the ponies as we can.”

“Right,” Gear agreed as she gave me a smile. “We take out the perimeter guards and then start the push into the compound. Whether or not that’s actually going to work, we’re going to have to see.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you once we’re done?” I asked as I glanced over at Gear and she gave me a nod. “Let’s go then.”

The two of us split up as I headed for the building that Gear had directed me towards. I climbed up the stairs and found that one of the rooms on the second floor was open to the air. I set up on the edge of the wall, checking my gun for a moment and looking down the sight towards where the nearest pony was standing.

For a moment it occurred to me how alone I actually was. Other than Gear Shift I had no back-up or support, if something happened to her then I was on my own. And if something happened to me, then she was on her own too. This was going to be our only chance to catch them off guard and looked across the way and spotted Gear moving into place.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes a moment before opening them and adjusting my rifle again and fired a shot into the head of one of the guards. The guards scattered and tried to fire back just as Gear fired another shot into one of the other guards. I fired another shot and then ducked down behind the cover as a shot was fired over my head.

“Guide my shot and let me take my foe down quickly,” I muttered a quiet prayer as I adjusted my rifle and slid barely into view and then fired a few more shots at the guards, hearing the shots firing back at me.

I took a deep breath and entered SATS as I made another turn around, the odd sensation of everything going slowly. I selected two of the guards and quickly fired two bullets into each of them, one of them went wild and hit the ground behind the target, but the other one crumpled to the ground as I felt a sharp pain as a bullet grazed my shoulder.

I dove behind cover again, doing a quick count based on what I had seen. “That’s two from me, and another two from Gear… should be one left on the perimeter…” I said as I took a deep breath and checked my clip.

I took a deep breath as I heard more gunfire from the other side of the camp. Eyeing my EFS I saw one moving and some shouting that I could barely make out the voice of a pony shouting orders, that had to be that boss we saw earlier.

I glanced back over, the stallion dressed in the odd armor was shouting at the other ponies to fire. Another shot flew over my head as another shot took from Gear down the last of the perimeter guards. I noticed one of the other ponies leveling their rifle at Gear and fired a shot, even though it went wild it was enough of a distraction for Gear to take them out.

I took a deep breath as I slid down against the wall, taking a deep breath. I checked my clip again and quickly changed out the clips. I glanced across at the other building where Gear pointed down towards the ground and I gave her a nod, making sure the guards were still scrambling, I pushed the blockage out of the way and started down the stairs.

I met up with Gear on the ground near the entrance to the camp. She picked up a flashbang grenade and tossed it to me, I nodded and pulled the pin and tossed it into the camp. After a flash we pushed in, taking out the remaining guards as we held our guns on the boss of the cult as he reached slowly for his gun.

“Don’t you dare,” Gear said, holding her gun on the stallion. “Throw your weapon on the ground and don’t try anything. Got it?”

“You made a big mistake, the Brotherhood will track you down and kill you both!” The stallion said with a growl. He then made a wicked smile as he stared us both down. “But I’m going to take you down first.”

“What?” I said as I levitated up my rifle and was about to fire when the stallion grabbed a grenade off his armor and pulled the pin. “DOWN!”

Me and Gear jumped out of the way as there was an explosion, leaving my ears ringing.

“Nova, are you okay?” Gear asked as she headed over to where I was. Some of the shrapnel had hit me, but the explosion itself hadn’t hurt either of us too badly. She offered me a hoof and helped me to my hooves. “I didn’t think he’d go that far…”

“I’m not that surprised, these ponies are insane,” I groaned as I remembered everything I knew about Raiders. “I’m fine though, just a few shrapnel wounds…”

“Yeah… let’s check this place out and get back to Haven,” Gear said as we started to search around the camp. There wasn’t much here other than a few weapons and ammo that we put in a pile to split later.

“Here, I’ve got something!” Gear called to me from where she was looking through a desk. I trotted over to her, she was looking at an old piece of paper that had markings and symbols on it. “It looks like a map of the area.”

“That’s weird, what’s with these markings here?” I asked as I pointed at the markings.

“I don’t know, maybe obstacles or something similar,” Gear commented as she examined it. “This looks like a map of the area between here and Lunar City.”

“Yeah,” I said as I examined the map closely. There were a few things that looked vaguely familiar from our trip to this camp. I narrowed my eyes and tapped a spot on the map that had a symbol. “Look at this, what does that look like to you?”

“That looks like troop deployment, numbers, position, that kind of thing,” Gear comments. “Haven guards maybe?”

“Or plans or an attack on the settlement by the Brotherhood,” I commented as I brushed the map off. “We need to take this back to Haven. Maybe the militia can make better sense of this, I don’t know the area well enough to know exactly what I’m looking at here.”

“Alright, let’s see if we can find anything else and head back to Haven,” Gear said as I folded up the map and put it in my bags. “If there’s anything that will be of use then we need to make sure that we don’t leave it behind. Especially if the rest of the Brotherhood might be able to use it.”

“Something’s off,” I commented as I started looking over the items. “They’re one of the larger gangs in the area, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Gear asked.

“So, why were there only a few ponies here? Something about this whole thing is weird,” I commented as I picked up a few items. I noticed that there was a note from somepony with only the initials N.R.

Demise,

Keep the pressure on Haven and their caravans. We need to cut the supply lines between Haven and Lunar City to make sure the boss’ plan works. There’s talk among the settlements of sending for help from the East, but we’ve been doing what we can to make sure that they won’t get that done.

The Eruption Relief Efforts is causing some problems however, the Pony in charge’s no tolerance policy towards our groups is going to be a threat. Given the presence of Applejack’s Rangers in Seaddle, we need to make sure that they’re too busy to focus their attention on us, both of them. We’re not going to let the plan fall apart because of some damn volcano.

We’ll be directing the rest of the Brotherhood to the northern part of the route along with the rest of the territory. We need to make sure that everything is in place.

-N.R.”

“Well, that’s ominous,” Gear commented as she looked over my shoulder. “So what do you think we should do?”

“Let’s get back to Haven,” I said quickly as we put in the rest of our stuff. We headed out of the camp and headed back towards the settlement.

00000

“You found this at the Brotherhood camp?” The militia commander asked me as he looked over everything we had found.

“Yeah, do they mean anything to you?” I asked as I glanced over at Gear.

“These are old maps of the city from when the first ponies explored them after the bombs fell, they’re updated to modern standards sure, but I’m concerned,” the commander said as he eyed the map for a moment. “This is a problem, they say these maps include things that no current maps have so they’re heavily sought after. There are tunnels here no modern maps have for example.”

“So, what do you think they were going to do with it?” Gear asked.

“Honestly? I have no idea, but we’re going on high alert that’s for sure,” the Commander replied and took a deep breath. “Thank you for bringing this to us. Tin should be able to get his caravans through the area better now. Though, I’m concerned about this letter.”

My mind went back to everything that was going on. Who was N.R. and what was going on in Seaddle? What kind of plan was being put into place, and what kind of trouble was it going to start for Haven?

“I also got a letter for you after you left, some odd pony stopped by and left it with me,” the commander said again and gave me a folded up piece of faded paper.

I opened it up and nearly dropped it when I read what it said.

”We know where you are, we will forgive you if you return home, for now. Come to this location in two days at 1800 Hours.”

And under it there was a map of the Seaddle coast with an x marked on it.

LEVEL UP!
Perk Received: Heavy Artillery
Details: You have a stronger affinity for heavy weaponry. Your heavy weapons stat is increased by 5.