Fallout Equestria: Joker

I could feel everypony staring until Iron spoke up breaking the silence “You heard the lad!” some of the slavers jumped and scrambled to find the keys to the cage. Once they grabbed the foal and quickly gave it to the mother who had her legs stretched out sobbing. She took her foal then looked at me smiling, gave me a grateful expression mouthing the words ‘thank you’. I forced myself to smile back, it quickly faded when they pulled her away.

Crackshot walked up to the stallion "Hey Chains. There's something about this kid you should know."

Iron chains, the leader of these assholes and the one who wanted to find Dancing Heart. I really wish it was him i had grabbed instead but it was too late. My body was still paralyzed from what i had done to Boomer. He looked at me and cocked his brow “This kid? What is so special about him?”

Crackshot nodded "Comes from the same stable as Dancing Heart"

When Crackshot mentioned Heart his ears shot up and he smiled at me. "Well now. What a surprise!” He chuckled a bit “Bring him along. I'd love to talk to him. But first we need to find Cub."

Crackshot groaned and hung his head "Again!? We've been playing this damn game for hours now. Seriously Iron, That Cub of yours needs to start acting her age."

Iron shot him a glare that made Crackshot take a huge step back "If you wish to state your opinion on how I live my life. Then please, face me in a duel and we'll see who walks away with their freedom."

Crackshot sneered at him but didn't say another word. I got a clear a sense Crackshot and Iron Chains here didn't always get along. Iron smiled and turned away walking to his tent while Crackshot rapped me with his weapon again "Listen up. When we reach the tent you don't speak, you play along and you keep playing until Pretty Cub says the game is over. Got it?"

"Pretty Cub?" I asked while the collar gave me a second warning

Crackshot nodded towards the tent where Iron was staying "You're about to meet her.”

I got up and began walking towards the tent with my head hanging down, that's when one of the ponies with the caravan approached me and poked my shoulder "Thank you for this. That frugal Iron Chains wouldn't haggle with me on a price for that kid." It was a mare's voice. I couldn't bare to look up at her. I only focused on her voice. I wanted to remember the way this mare sounded if I ever came across her again. I looked at her legs and noticed the cinnamon brown coat and an oddly shaped scar on her chest. I was definitely going to remember that scar.

I simply nodded “You’re welcome.” she walked away when Crackshot gave me a nudge towards the tent again. For now however, I have to help find Cub. Whoever that was.

Iron slipped into the tent "Oh Cub! I'm back!"
Crackshot pushed me inside. I had walked into what looked like a scene straight out of a children's book. Stuff animals stacked around the bed, each one stained and losing their stuffing. Posters of Pinkie Pie as the head of Ministry of Morale. I felt like her eyes following me. Lastly a small assortment of small toys had been scattered all over the ground.

I looked at Crackshot with a puzzled look and he rolled his eyes moving closer to whisper in my ear "Whatever you do or say just play along got it?"
I nodded, he nodded back and approached Iron "So are you sure you haven't been able to find her?" the tone of his voice gave me the feeling he had done this numerous times before and didn't enjoy.

Iron "No, I haven't seen or heard from her all day!" he exclaimed out loud. He smiled looking around the tent "I wonder where she could be?"
I looked down at the base of the mountain of stuffed toys and noticed two hooves sticking out from under the stack. I heard small girly giggle from under the stack. I looked at Iron and Crackshot. Iron nodded and wiggled his foot for me to play along.

I gulped and pointed at my collar. Iron rolled his eyes "Crackshot Take that damn collar off and let him talk. I swear you really are bloodthirsty sometimes.

Crackshot sneered at him when he levitated the key over to my collar and got it off. I rubbed my neck before looking at Iron "Perhaps Cub could be hiding inside her bedroll?"

Iron looked at the bedroll and poked at it "Cub, are you in there?" another giggle. Crackshot cut his eyes at the stack of stuffed toys. He wasn't enjoying this at all, neither was I. However this was giving me all kinds of ideas to throw a wrench into their operations.

Iron smiled and walked passed the stack of toys. It exploded as the mare inside jumped out and tackled Iron to the floor. He feigned the pain as he exclaimed out loud "Oh No! She's got me!!"

I watched the full grown mare biting his ear as she giggled like a little filly "I got you Daddy!"

He smiled and kissed her cheek "Yes, you did my little Cub"

I looked at Crackshot and pointed at the pair. He just waved his hoof and mouthed the words "Don't ask”

Cub giggled then looked up at me. Crouching behind Iron. i had to guess she wasn't accustomed to strangers "Daddy? Who's that?"

Iron smiled and stood up placing a foreleg over her shoulder "This is the pony who can tell us when where your big sister is"

Cub's eyes widen as she got right into my face smiling "Really!? You know where my sister is hiding!?"

I blinked looking into the eyes of a mint green mare, she looked only a couple of years younger then me, and her mane had been wrapped up in a pair of pigtails on each side. Luna help me, I actually thought she was cute
"Um.... Who is your sister exactly?"

Iron "Her name is Dancing Heart. I'm certain you know her. You both came from the same stable" he pointed at the 18 on my collar. This was not looking good for me. I needed something that would buy me some time and get me out of this mess. My brain clicked back to what Heart, Shell and Brick said about the experiments. I gave the best saddened expression i could muster and looked away

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you tell you that. My memory was wiped cleaned of any information on the location of my old stable."

Crackshot cocked his weapon and aimed it at me "Quit screwing around and tell us!!"

I threw my hooves up "It's the truth! Please if you'll allow me to explain I promise it'll be worth your time"

Iron raised a brow and patted the spot next to him. Cub instantly went over and laid down in front of him while he sat down petting her head "Stand down Crackshot. Let's see what he's got to say first" he slipped a brush over his hoof, let down Cub's pigtails and began brushing her mane
I cleared my throat and began to explain the purpose of my stable just to lay out the groundwork for the story I was gonna give him. I just hoped he would buy it. One hour later while I watched Iron chains brushing Cub's mane and moved to her coat along her back. She moaned softly feeling the bristles .
"So they captured outside of the stable, dragged you back in and hooked you into a machine erasing all the information you had about the location of the stable after you stepped out?" he looked at me as I nodded
He gave me a shrug while he continued to brush along Cub's back "Unfortunate. Crackshot, deal with him in any fashion you desire"
A wicked smirk appeared on Crackshot's face as he drew his weapon. I leapt back and threw my hooves up "You wouldn't kill a potential tech support pony would you!?"

Iron looked at me and raised a brow "Tech Support? What do you mean?"
I gulped and gave him a confident smile "Well from the looks of the armor your friend is wearing and the obvious signs of abuse on his weapon. I'd say that gun is one trigger pull away from putting his eye out.”
Crackshot lunged forward and whacked me over the head, broke the butt of his shotgun right off, and snapped at me "SHUT UP YOU LITTLE SHIT!! YOU'RE JUST STALLING! MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASS TO THE YARD NOW.. "
At this point Iron jumped up and bucked Crackshot in the side, making him fly right into the tent's support beam. He hit the ground with a thud as Iron glared at him "We discussed this time and again. I will not tolerate any swearing in front of my Cub! One more outburst like that and I will personally slapping a collar around your neck as well"
Crackshot pushed himself up and held his side giving Iron a sharp glare "My apologies sir"
He glared at me before leaving the tent while he had some dignity left to spare. I rubbed the lump that was already rising up and winced "Ow.. Dang that hurt." playing along with Iron's rules seemed like a good way to stay alive.
Iron smiled and walked over "See? That's what I like to see and hear. A pony who follows the rules. Now then. You said you were good tools. Maybe you can show me your skills by fixing my pistol?"
Cub raised her hoof "Um daddy? Could he fix my radio first?"
He looked at her and groaned "Cub, What did you do to it now?"
Cub whimpered and rubbed her hooves together "When you said you couldn't play with me this morning i got really mad and kicked it really hard... " she clenched her eyes shut like she was gonna get hit.
He got up and walked over to Cub stroking her cheek "Cub, we've spoken about this. When Daddy has to work, he needs to work."
Cub pouted a bit "I'm sorry, Daddy. Please don't be mad"
He smiled and kissed her deeply which really threw me for a loop "Um.. Should I leave you and your daughter alone?"
Iron and Cub broke into a laugh then Iron looked at me "Oh she's not my daughter. There isn't any relation between us". I blinked and opened my mouth to inquire why she calls him daddy but I shook my head instead. No point in asking why. I doubt I would have liked the answer. Iron smiled "Relax son. I'm not that twisted. Now, let's see that radio Cub."
She gave him a cute squee, ran to her bedroll, and pulled out the radio that she mentioned. I took into my hooves looking it over
"Mmm, Outside seems fine. Aside from Cub's hoofprint. If only I had my tools..." or Glitch for that matter. I couldn't help but worry about him. I left him back in Ponyville alone. Who knows what happened to him by now. "Mr. Iron would you be willing to allow me access to some tools? I believe Crackshot has taken everything I had with me the moment he caught me." he probably traded everything away by now but that didn't change the fact I needed to fix this radio to stay on Iron's good side and keep my ass intact
Iron cocked his brow
"Hmm, wait here" he got up and left the tent. I looked over at Cub who just stared back at me and tilted her head
"What?" she blinked cutely
"I'm sorry, but I'm curious. How did you and your Daddy meet?" All the information I could get the better.

She smiled and laid down on the ground "I was a abandoned in a warehouse. Can't remember where though. I tried asking Daddy where it is but he never gives me an answer.”
It didn’t seem like she was getting the full story, which was something you’d suspect from a guy like Iron Chains. I turned my attention back to the radio and rolled it around. Her hind legs must be pretty strong to dent the side of it like she did. But without any tools I couldn't hope to fix it. A chirp echoed outside of the tent which made Cub jump up and cower behind me
"What was that?!" her voice was loud enough to attract all kinds of attention. Right then Glitch pushed his way into the tent holding my tool bag in his claws. With the biggest smile and set the radio down on the ground
"Good Boy, Glitch! Bring them here so we can fix this thing!" he gave me a confused chirp but flew over quickly. I grabbed my screwdriver and began taking the outside case off of the radio. Glitch looked at Cub while she stared at him and raised a hoof to touch him. He slowly moved away from her and then moved closer when she pulled her hoof away
"You have a spritebot?"
I nodded when I examined the inside of the radio "That's right. I named him Glitch. Built him from some spare parts back home"
Her eyes widen, circling Glitch she drifted off into a daydream
"He's so cute! I want one!"
My ears perked up "Then maybe Daddy would let me make one for you from the spritebots hovering around here?"
She squealed with delight and bolted from the tent like a bullet from a gun. I looked at the tent flap and blinked "Okay, this could be dumb luck but I think getting out of here is gonna be relatively easy". Glitch rammed himself into my head sending me into a face plant on the floor. He hovered over me growling then pointed a claw at the tent flap, he was telling me now was the best chance to run. I shook my head "No, we can't leave. I have to find my weapons first. We'll be dead without a gun." The Judge and Clipper. I gotta find out who has them and figure out how to get them back. Glitch whined and landed next to me. I petted him trying to reassure him "It'll be okay, boy. I promise.” Plus I couldn’t let someone like Iron to continue operating as he has been. Maybe I could put a big dent in his numbers.
"Cub! Slow down!" Iron was getting closer. I jumped up and held the radio in my hooves. I was so focused on thinking of some kind of a plan for.. Whatever. I didn’t take the time to look at the radio itself. After a quick glance it seemed the inside of it was mostly intact, then I noticed the problem with it. The receiver was knocked loose. I held it over to Glitch "Hey Glitch, can you reach inside and reconnect the receiver?” He looked at it and nodded hovering off the floor a couple of inches. He reached inside the radio and pushed the receiver back into place. Just in time too, the radio came to life playing a jazz melody as Iron entered the tent
"Well, I'll be" he looked over at Glitch and cocked his brow "A spritebot that isn't playing that Celestia damned music. That's a first”
I smiled and petted Glitches casing “rebuilt him myself. I call him Glitch. Seemed to fit since he was pretty random the first few weeks he was active.” which was partly true. Everypony back at the staple kept calling him glitched so I decided to make it his name.
Cub grabbed onto his leg jumping up and down "Daddy, I want one! The stable pony said he could make me one if we catch one of the other bots flying around here!!"
Iron smiled and patted her head making her giggle nuzzling his hoof "OK, son. Looks like you've earned yourself a spot in my group." he looked at Crackshot "Return his belongings and his tools. Have one of the grunts set up a small work area where he can look over everypony's weapons and armor. I want every one of you to get your guns checked out.”
Crackshot shot me a glare "I can maintain my own gun"
Iron"That's an order, or maybe you'd like to take Cub scavenging again?"
Crackshot clammed up with that and slowly nodded. I wasn't sure how but now I had the perfect chance to make my escape plan. A hour later and they told me to go to the sleeping area where the rest of the grunts, as Iron called them had been asleep. Crackshot was in front leading me to a small thrown together shack. He opened the door and pulled my bags from a shelf on the back wall tossing it at the ground in front of me. I looked at the empty holsters. Both the Clipper and the Judge were gone.

"You must be retarded if you think I'm letting you have a weapon " he lifted the flap of his saddle bags showing both my weapons. "Iron may call the shots but I'm making sure we're staying alive. Deliver on those repairs and maybe I'll give them back." he smirked at me "Maybe." he continued to lead me back to the tent. I had to get my stuff back, somehow. I looked up at him and pulled my saddle bags onto my back
“So what’s bad with Cub doing a little scavenging?”
That earned a load groan from him “She’s the worst scavenger i have ever seen! All she ever looks for are stuffed toys and posters of Pinkie Pie when she was the ministry mare. Trust me kid, Iron uses that as a punishment for anyone who talks shit about Cub”. ok, note to self: Do not insult Cub and let Iron found out about it. We were nearing a cage I hadn’t seen yet. Crackshot got a smirk on his face when he kicked it and chuckled at the pony inside when they jumped "Hey Ranger! Enjoying your stay!?"
Inside the cage, one of the darkest stallions I had ever seen sat up and shot us both a glare. "Laugh it up, Crackshot. You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later.”
Crackshot laughed as he kicked the cage again "Sure, sure. Celestia and Luna will fly down from the heavens to punish me, then set all of you free! Wake the fuck up! You're a slave now Panzer! Nothing's gonna change that!"
Panzer? This was the pony who left that message they lured me into the trap with? I looked at him while he glanced back at me with his grey pupils. He shook his head and laid down "You're in with the wrong crowd kid.” I just stared at him. The somber coat covered in dirt and grime, a copper mane, and what looked like a lance for his cutie mark. Crackshot jabbed me in the side
"Let's go. You've done enough for one night"
I shot him a look "What's wrong? You're mad because Daddy told you something you don't want to do?" the look on his face was somewhat amusing. I don’t think he’s had anypony talk to him like this. Let’s how far i could push him until he made a mistake so I started to smirk a bit “Maybe Big Daddy Iron should hear how you’re treating the merchandise”
Crackshot cocked his gun and shoved the barrel into the side of my neck “Listen here you little shit. Just because you impressed Iron doesn’t mean i'm so easily wowed. Now move!” he jabbed me in the neck which made me smirk even more. I could see how he despised Iron. Just a little more and I’ll have the perfect assistant for my escape plan. It was actually scaring me how quickly my mind was processing everything in the short amount of time I spent here. As well as this sudden burst of confidence that came from nowhere scared me a bit.
He kicked me to the ground and stuck the barrel of the gun in my face "Keep talking like that smart-ass and I'll be more then happy to make you into paste!
I just glared at him and smiled as I took a closer look at the shotgun. He did not put any care into it "Go ahead. Bet your gun won't even fire." I may have had a brave face on but I was scared to death that this was gonna be it for me. I slipped SATS to slow everything down and get a good measure of Crackshot and his shotgun. It was a simple combat shotgun, the frame showed a lot of abuse, and I could certainly say it hasn't been cleaned properly. I took aim for the barrel when I kicked my hind leg up while he tried to pull the trigger. My hoof bent the barrel, the gun exploded throwing him back and made me roll away with a couple of burned patches on my coat. A few away i stopped and looked over at Crackshot who was shaking his head. Everyone ran out of the their tents with weapons drawn, Iron came running as well, Cub stuck to his hip which was to be expected "What the hell was that noise?"
I jumped up and ran over to Crackshot helping him up "I'm sorry sir. I was trying to give Crackshot some tips on maintaining his gun but he refused and bet me some caps he could..." I quickly looked around and spotted empty beer bottles stacked together, the other slavers decided to make a pyramid for the sake of boredom "... Couldn't shoot that stack of beer bottles from here." Crackshot looked up at me and gulped nodding rather quickly.
Iron looked at the shotgun then turned to me and Crackshot "Now You see why I chose to have him repair our weapons and gear. To avoid accidents like this." he grabbed the ruined shotgun and tossed it onto a nearby trash pile "Off to bed! All of you! First thing in the morning I want you all to have your gear checked over before we continue any operations" he looked at Crackshot "Let's avoid this from now on shall we?" he turned to walk away and lead Cub back to their tent. Crackshot threw his leg around my neck and whispered in my ear
"What the hell do you expect to gain from saving my ass?" he glared at me when I looked up at him.
I gave him a smile "What? It's obvious you can't stand how things work so why not remove him as the head and you swoop in to take over?”
He looked at Iron i could see the wheels turning in his head. He turned back to me narrowing his eyes “You can make that happen? What would it take?”
I pointed at Panzer who gave me a sharp glare "Slap a collar on him and let me use his muscle to move some stuff around. I'll have a plan in place before the week is out."
He smirked and nodded as he turned to retrieve a bomb collar. I looked at Panzer who had heard me, he glared at me until I mouthed a few words at him "Trust me.”
He just nodded and laid back down when Crackshot approached him with a collar. He slapped it onto Panzer's neck "Alright Ranger. You just got a job. Hope you can handle it." he tossed me the detonator "Here. Hold onto that and don't lose it. See if you can make me a better shotgun." Crackshot trotted off to his tent when Panzer sat up
"Do you have any idea of what you're up against? If the suspect anything they will.. " I raised my hoof to cut him off
"Relax. They won't find out and we'll be long gone before anything bad happens. Trust me and we'll both be free in no time" I gave him a confident smile which made his ears go flat
"Wish I could say I believe you”
"Trust me. We will get out of here." I looked around to see if anypony was nearby before I looked at him "Your full name is Black Panzer isn't it?"
He blinked at me and nodded "You heard my message didn't you?"
I nodded "They used it as bait for a trap. I walked right into it thinking somepony was hurt."
He sighed and laid down the floor of the cage "I'm not surprised. Ironic, I recorded it to lure them into a trap"
"How did they catch you?" I asked. My curiosity moving towards the subject of his capture.
He looked at me and narrowed his eyes "Get us out and then maybe I'll tell you. Until then you're just another slaver scumbag”
I knew he wouldn't trust me just because I got him out of the cage. But now I may have the chance I need to really turn things around and get us both and the other slaves the hell out of here. Tomorrow I'm gonna start putting my plan together. All I have to do is play my part just right. For now I gotta find a bed, or what they called a bed.

Three days, three long grueling days I've been working on the weapons and armor of every slaver in the camp. Most of the "Repairs" these idiots made were ridiculous. Metal parts that were meant to move had been welded in place, oil seeping out of every crack and crevice of their weapons, and their armor was nothing more than scrap metal plates pieced together to resemble armor. I was literally straining my brain trying to figure out how these clowns stayed alive. I yawned and smacked my lips working on Crackshot's new riot shotgun. I promised him a very special modification and Luna help me if I didn't deliver. Panzer watched me as Glitch and I both places everything together, then I grabbed a screwdriver to tighten it all together. Sadly I didn’t get a spritebot to rebuild for Cub, not that i was in a rush to do so.
Panzer "Why help them?" he finally asked. He had the expression on his face like he bad given up entirely. The entire time i had him drag in some metal scrap, spare parts from scavenged weapons, and other materials i needed for the plan I had in mind.
I gave him a confident smile "Trust me. This is all part of the plan. I'm just waiting for everything to come together." I tightened the last screw, then pointed at a ring of plastic flowers I had hanging on the wall "The minute you see that come off the wall we'll be home free. It's a promise” He gave me a puzzled look as I smiled and picked up Crackshot's gun sticking it into my saddle bag "You'll love it. Trust me".
Panzer stepped into my path and stared me down “Give me the short version of your plan. Then maybe i'll start to trust you a little more”. I saw the anger in his eyes. It gave me the sense he didn't appreciate being lied to. I smiled and pointed at couple of the slavers “remember how I had access to the bomb collars and their armor?”. He looked at me confused for a moment but within a few seconds his eyes widen and he smiled at me “you mean you placed….” I smiled and nodded. After that I left to find Crackshot and give him the gun I finished. Maybe now panzer will open up a bit to me.
“Glitch, power down for a bit and save what's left of your power cell. He gave me a confirmatory beep. I had glitch remain behind and conserve the power he had left. I always had a charge station for him but now he was running low and i needed to find a solution. However i had my plan to focus on first.I had slipped some of the extra explosives into the armor each of the slavers. Each one with a receiver i rigged up with the spare parts from the bomb collars. It's been hell piecing my escape plan together. I had been working on everything from armor to weapons to the slave collars, which I had made very special modifications to the armor everypony was wearing. Not giving a second thought that I would actually rig their gear in some way. I was conflicted however, with a lot of confidence in my plan and the fear that it wouldn't work was making my heart beat like a drum. I must have had one hell of a poker face because no one has yet to notice I was freaking out internally, but I remained calm and cool.
Crackshot was always over by the slave pens, perched up on a makeshift watch tower he made from piling a bunch of tires together. Up at the top he kept his trained eye down at the ground looking for signs of trouble. He turned around and noticed me walking up with his new weapon. He smirked and trotted down the side of the tires and approached me with a wicked a smirk on his face "Wrench! About damn time you showed up!" Wrench, a nickname the slavers gave me so I wouldn't have to use my real name. It wasn't a cool name but it made sense. I smiled back at him and grabbed the gun from my pack, tossing it to him as he caught it with his magic. He frowned and looked it over "It feels lighter than the last one. What did you just give me?” He tossed the gun around with his magic and noticed one key difference between his last weapon and this one. I rigged the gun to fire like normal but I also jury rigged something which make the gun explode if he flipped a small switch i installed. “What the hell is that?”
"A special function i added which lets you fire two shells with each pull of the trigger” I waved my hoof a bit giving him a cocky smile “In case you want to play dirty”
He cocked his brow at me and then slowly nodded "You're right. I put a weight on the last one to crack a few skulls open. Glad to see it didn't scramble your brains any". I cursed him inside my head. No damn wonder it hurt like hell when he struck me with his gun. But I shrugged it off while he smiled and placed it on his back "Perfect. So when do we act on our little plan together?
I looked around and leaned in closer "You have the support we need to pull this off?"
He nodded "Just waiting on your signal like we discussed.
With that I nodded back and began walking back to my work bench. I felt like my heart wanted to leap out of my chest. I couldn't keep myself calm anymore as my nervousness had become somewhat obvious. Some of the slavers looked at me when I walked past them. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down before I gave anything away. Finally I reached my work bench after what felt an eternity walking several yards away. I looked up at Panzer who was staring out at the cages being pulled into the camp "Dammit, I hoped they wouldn’t catch them"
I cocked my brow and joined him in the window "Them who?"
"My old ranger squad.” He looked at me and then back at the cage, his eyes focused on a mare in the center. Her pale orange coat and grey mane made her stick out a bit over the others. “That mare is Knight Poppy Seeds. I can't believe they got caught." his ears went flat "They must have heard my message.” It's my fault” I elbowed him in the ribs making him jump a bit and look down at me.
"Don't blame yourself for this. They used your message but it's not your fault. Come on. We have to get ready to go once the plan goes into action.
"I still don't think you know what you're doing”I gave him my best fake confidence smile, grabbed the ring of flowers from the wall and placed it in my bag "Relax, I got this covered. But first" I still had some time left so I left my work bench again and approached the cage holding Poppy Seeds and the other rangers. None of them looked at me, could I really Blame them. Poppy gave me a look when I approached the cage. I felt her eyes scanning me from head to hoof then she looked at the big 18 on my neck
"What's a stable pony doing working with these slavers? "
I took in a deep breath "I was dragged into it actually. I'm here on behalf of mister Iron chains, I'd like to offer you a position among our ranks. With your skills with firearms as well as power armor we could really use your assistance guarding the camp.” The entire troop gave me the evil eye at the exact time Poppy gave me a 'Go to Hell' look. I tapped at my pipbuck to get her to look at the letters I had on the screen
PLAY ALONG
I hope she was sharp enough to get the hint. She gave the screen a quick glance and her eyes widened a bit before looking at me again. "What exactly do you mean help guarding the camp?"
I smiled and pointed to the slaves inside their cages "Our merchandise of course. We can't afford to have them die on us from some unforeseen occurrence or random gunfire. She slowly nodded "I see. What exactly do we get from protecting that kind of precious cargo?"
“What exactly is going on here!?” Iron had barked out making me spin around a full 180 degrees. “Oh! Hello sir, I was just having a chat with the Rangers here. I figured we could use the extra fire power on our side.”
He cocked his brow “Convert Rangers into Slaver guards? Are you serious Wrench? You do realise they have the combat skill and experience to kill us?” he walked closer to the cage and looked up at Poppy “I won't risk my operation because you believe you talk a pony into anything you want” he turned to me and narrowed his eyes “Why would you even consider this a possibility?”
I gave him a half assed smirk “Well sir. Who’s to say they actually want to stay with the Rangers? There might be a few who want to find a much more ‘beneficial’ profession”
Iron tilted his head then Poppy spoke up “he’s right sir. There’s been a great deal of strain within the Steel Rangers. I think it’s about time we consider a career change.” Iron looked at her and raised his eyebrow
“I see. Hmm” he slowly nodded “Very well, But you’ll be collared until we can see you can be trusted”
Poppy nodded and looked at each of the rangers who were with her until they nodded back. She looked at Iron, extended her leg through the bars, and shook Iron’s hoof “We agree to your terms.”
He smiled and shook her hoof back as he turned to me “Good, we'll see how this goes.” Cub giggled as she nuzzled into his side while they walked away towards the other cages.
I felt Poppy seeds poking me in the neck with her hoof. I looked at her while she leaned in closer "I don't get how you plan to help us escape but you better have a damn good plan in mind because I will not die out here because of some half assed staple dweller!" she made her distaste for my plan obvious
I nodded "Don't worry. I got it covered. Panzer and I have it under control"
She blinked and looked at me like I just kicked her in the face "Panzer? Are you sure he's here!?"
I nodded "He was captured like you, they've been using his recording to attract others like you guys along with anypony else who got the signal"
She sighed and collapsed to the floor "So he's not working with them. Thank Celestia, I knew he wouldn't do something like this.I blinked, this wasn't a reaction I was expecting. One of the other rangers stepped forward "We came here to warn Panzer of our commander elder Heartless. He's placed a bounty on his head"
I looked at him, now I really had some questions
"What did he do to piss him off so bad?"
Poppy "He saved a young colt from being killed. Our Elder was A paladin at the time and Panzer was one of our best damn fighters." she hung her head "We found a little colt wearing a pipbuck on his leg, much like yours. It was still functional so Heartless demanded the kid to give it up or he would kill him."
Another ranger stood up "Panzer lost it and dove in front of Heartless. He called him a coward for threatening a little kid"
Poppy "We were scared they would lash it out right then and there. Two rangers in full power armor, one with grenade launchers, the other armed with a mini gun and a rocket launcher, and all of us caught in the middle of it. We have never been so scared of anyone”She looked up at me "Finally the kid himself stepped forward and offered to surrendered the pipbuck if we would just stop fighting..." her ears went flat and sighed while her body shuddered. I did not like the feeling it gave me. I knew something bad was coming.
"He killed the kid didn't he? Heartless killed him?" I inquired while I heard Panzer's heavy hoofsteps behind me
Panzer "He took the pipbuck and kicked the kid straight into a building. Didn't give him a warning or anything. He just attacked him.”I turned back to Panzer. The look of failure written all over his face. I wanted to say something to help him but he raised his hoof the moment I opened mouth to speak "Don't. We have to focus on the plan. You've already made it hard enough to pull off on our own. Now you're bringing them into this?" he pointed to Poppy and the other rangers
Poppy stood up and leaned on the bars "Panzer, we're here to help! Please we can help you guys a lot more than you think"
Panzer scoffed and walked back to the workbench "Sure, keep telling yourself that.” He looked at me "Let's go cobalt. You still haven't told me your full plan."
With a defeated sigh I got up and followed him. I looked back seeing a guilty look on Poppy's face. However I didn't see Panzer stop so I went face first into his flank. He was definitely stronger than I was so I got knocked back on my ass "Hey!" I wiggled my nose a bit "Mind explaining why you stopped?"
He didn't look at me "Don't trust them Cobalt. They'll stab you in the back the first chance they get”I looked at him and stood up "Don't suppose you want to tell me why?"
He walked away "Just trust me on this. She’s a bitch. Always has been."
I sighed again. Guess my charisma couldn't affect everyone. However this wasn't the time to focus on that. I had three more elements to put into motion. The first was the terminal which Iron kept close at hand so the slaves wouldn't get the bright idea to sneak in and hack it so they could deactivate the bomb collars. Second was to change the frequencies to the rigged armor every slaver was wearing, transfer everything to my pipbuck so i can trigger them myself. The third and final element was to get the ring of flowers around Cub’s neck. The ring itself was truly a slave collar I dressed up hoping I can pull one over on Iron and Cub at the same time. Luckily he's been complaining the terminal in question wasn’t working as it should. I trotted towards his tent and looked over at Crackshot overseeing the newest shipment of slaves being brought in. After three days I had an accurate count of the bodies here. The slavers had the firepower and armor but lacked the numbers to keep a crowd from overpowering them. The slaves outnumbered them 3 to 1. Including Iron, Crackshot and Cub there were 20 slavers. I had worked on all their guns and armor. All I needed now was access to Iron's terminal. The guards who were standing outside of Iron's tent looked up from their card game the minute I approached them. The look in their eyes reminded me far too much of my life in the stable. I hated it. It made want to smack the dog shit out of them but I kept my cool as I smiled "Hey guys, Iron said his terminal has been acting up so I thought I'd come check it out"
One of the guards got up and walked inside while his partner kept an eye on me "So what was it like?".
I blinked at his question. Was he actually trying to strike up a conversation "What was what like?"
"Your stable. I heard they can be really nice. I was wondering if it was a nice stable"
I mentally rolled my eyes. The last thing I ever wanted to talk about was my stable "It was alright. Nice, but ultimately boring. I was stuck in the same routine everyday and every night”
"Huh... Sounds like hell." he said plainly
I nodded "It is". The other guard opened the tent flap and motioned for me to come inside. I quickly made my way in before anyone else began asking questions. Iron as expected was brushing Cub's mane while she doodled on some sketch pad. Something I suspected was brought in with some salvaged materials. Iron "Wrench, so glad you could make it. My terminal has been acting up again, it has the frequencies for the slave collars, and I do not wish to risk them going off by accident. Could you be a good lad and see what you can could?"

I nodded and made my way over to his terminal. Right away I saw something was definitely wrong. The screen was flashing random static images i couldn’t explain. One image resembled a pony looking at me through the screen at me. I dropped my tool bag down and pulled out the interface cable from my pipbuck and plugged it into the side. Iron watched me while I worked, sorting through the bit of information then i reset the terminal and rebooted it. Everything came up like normal. I ejected the holo-cassette and looked it until I noticed the label "Cogarth OS?"
"Another one?" I said to myself when I heard Cub giggle as she leaned into Iron's side "Daddy, you're so nice to me"
Iron smiled and nuzzled her cheek "I love you Cub. You know that" she giggled as he looked up at me returning to the main screen "So everything is running smoothly? I don't wish to lose my merchandise because of some glitch"
I nodded and grabbed my bag "Yes, it seems whatever bug was on that tape messed up some of the data on the terminal, but it's all good and ready to go"
Iron smiled "Perfect. I knew you were the perfect pony for this job"
I nodded and began moving towards the exit "Oh and sir... " I turned towards him "I have a gift for Cub if that's alright. It's back at my workbench"
Cub's eyes lit up and went wide as she looked at Iron while he gave her a glance back. He sighed and petted her cheek "Wait here and I'll go get it” Cub started to whine and began giving him the puppy dog pout. Which I hated to admit was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Iron gave her a stern look trying to make her back down "No! I said for you to stay here and wait for me to come back with your gift!!" Cub didn't cave when she poked out her bottom lip . While it was amusing to watch I was curious about the tape I found. So I took a moment to insert into the player of my pipbuck and played it. The same encrypted bull from before popped up. No recorded message this time either. I tried to open the file and the screen of my pipbuck went completely blank.
I blinked and pressed a few buttons "What? “Nothing Happened. I tried everything I could think of but it just sat there on my foreleg like a huge chunk of plastic. Panic started to set in. The frequencies for the plan were on my pipbuck and I was fastly running out of time. I looked over at Iron and Cub who were still arguing back and forth so I had a little time to try something. I hit the power button and held it down thinking maybe I could reset it like that. Maybe...Nothing. Great, my panic was starting to get worse.
Iron finally gave into the nauseating cuteness of Cub's pouting "Ugh! Fine you can come along with us.” Cub squealed with delight as she clapped her hooves together in victory giggling happily.
Oh I was so screwed. I got up and put on the biggest smile I could "Let's go then" lead them from the tent and felt the barrel of Crackshot's weapon against my throat the minute they found out what I had done. Several minutes passed before we finally reached my workbench, I walked passed Panzer giving him a worried look, his ears went flat and I took the ring of flowers from the wall.
Cub gasped as she looked at it from outside "Oooh....! It's so pretty!"
Iron smiled as he placed his leg around her shoulder "Not as much as you."
She giggled while I got closer to them with the ring. I gulped and offered it to her "Here you are Miss Cub"
Cub giggled and danced a bit "Daddy, could you put it on me?”Iron smiled as he takes the ring into his mouth. The moment I let go he looked at it "Mmm seems kinda heavy" he set it down on his hoof and looked at me narrowing his eyes “What is this...Wrench?” his tone got real dark in an instant.
My heart was ready to burst. I was screwed in more ways then I could ever think possible. Panzer moved behind Iron and Cub nodding towards something. I looked in the direction of where he was nodding. Crackshot had taken off his armor and had gone somewhere. Things were officially worse. My mind was reeling with every bad scenario I could think of. My pipbuck sprang to life scaring me with the feedback noise from the speaker. Everyone was looking at me now. I tried to hide it but it was no good. Iron walked closer to me and glared into my eyes “Is there something you'd like to tell me Wrench?”
Crackshot shot around the corner of the tent and charged at Iron, he kicked the ring from his hoof and pulled him away. The minute the ring hit the ground every slaver had been turned into a pulpy red paste. With each explosion the entire camp was covered in a thick cloud of dust blinding everypony. Especially me. The stinging in my lungs, dust filling my nostrils until I could barely breathe anymore. I coughed and gagged waving my hoof around to fan some of dust away. I saw a figure approaching me. My eyes widen and I backed away up to the solid side of my workbench. Iron had come after me and he was pissed. I clinched my eyes shut waiting for him to strike me down.
Thud!
One eye opened seeing a shotgun had been placed on the ground. Slowly I looked up until I saw the smiling face of Panzer himself "Let's Go Cobalt. I owe you a big apology later”
I blinked "Apology? For what?"
"For not believing in your plan. I didn't think you had what it takes to kill anypony but you proved me wrong" he tapped the gun wit his hoof and smiled "I can look for a battle saddle so you can use it. You know how to use one right?”I shook my head "No, I don't. I never had a reason too." now was a good time to learn since Iron and Crackshot were no doubt after me thanks to that stunt. I started to look around and panic even more “I didn’t want to kill them. I only wanted to scare them!”
Panzer "What?”
I didn't get the chance to answer when Poppy and the other rangers ran up with the freed slaves behind them "Panzer! Haha I can't believe your friend managed to pull it off!" she laughed and punched me in the shoulder. Everyone was cheering and thanking me despite everything that just happened. It was getting to be more than I could really take. Every emotion in my mind swirling around like a damn storm. I couldn’t think or react to anypony who tried to talk to me. I took off like a bullet away from the crowd running towards the edge of the camp leaving Panzer and the shotgun he tried to give behind in the thickness of the crowd. The whole time i was running i heard the voice from before inside my mind
“why are you upset over the loss of these low lives? You should focus on the positive. You’re alive aren’t you?”
“JUST SHUT UP!!” I blurted out then collapsed to the ground doing everything I could to keep myself from crying. It wasn’t enough. The damn broke and the tears came pouring out. I had to have looked so pathetic right now. After all of the charm and confidence I showed everyone, yet I was reduced to a blubbering mess on the ground. This wasn't my intention, I never wanted this... I just wanted to scare them away. It was all meant to scare Iron and Crackshot so they'd leave us alone. It was then I felt the gun barrel on the back of my head. I was distracted with my own feelings it gave him the best chance to sneak up on me. I sniffed and looked at up the pony holding the gun
"Hello, Crackshot”He glared down and cocked his shotgun remaining silent until Iron and Cub emerged from under the edge of the tent each one carrying some supplies they swiped for themselves
"I can't believe I let this kid talk me into this shit"
Iron "Neither can I. To think you'd betray me so easily" he wrapped his leg around Cub's who latched onto his chest nuzzling into his coat.
Crackshot growled and pointed at Cub "I can't stand the fact you care for her more than anyone else! Every time she calls out 'Daddy!' you're right there acting like her fucking parent!! It was high time someone dealt with you both and ended this joke of an operation!”
Iron narrowed his eyes as he placed a hoof over Cub's ear "You had better watch that tone with me Crackshot. I will tolerate it around Cub and I wouldn't envy either of you should we cross paths after this"
Crackshot scoffed as he looked at me "Like this bastard is walking away from this." I watched while he pressed the barrel against my head. Cub yelped jumping behind Iron and caught their attention
"Daddy!!" she pointed to a shadow standing on the hill. Someone had been looking down at us. It turned and ran off out of sight.
Crackshot groaned "Perfect!! I bet my last cap that was one of Sledge's spies.”
I looked up at him and blurted out "How about an eye!?" Slipping into SATS I grabbed the barrel in my mouth and reached up with my hoof hitting the switch and turned it to the marker I etched into the side. With one swift kick I hit the trigger before Crackshot could pull it himself. The gun itself exploded like the one before but this time the slider shot right into Crackshot's left eye blinding him and causing him to flail around on his back writhing in pain. The sounds of his screaming attracted Panzer, Poppy seeds and the other rangers. Once they rounded the tent Poppy gawked as she saw Crackshot on the ground with the slider still stuck in his eye socket. He finally pushed himself up after I moved away towards Panzer who got in front of me. Iron grabbed Crackshot's mane and began pulling him towards the only road they had out of the camp. Which made little sense when the hills around us would have given them ample cover.
Crackshot tried to protest "LET ME GO YOU PEDOPHILE!!"
Iron struck him on the head "If you want to live you stick with me! The Sledge is on his way and I do not want to be caught in the crossfire!"
Crackshot's ears went flat and he broke into a full gallop after Iron and Cub.
Poppy pulled out a sniper rifle from her side and took aim at Iron. Just before she could pull the trigger I jumped up knocking the barrel upwards making her miss. The bullet flew skyward as Poppy kicked me away and growled when Iron, Cub and Crackshot got away. She glared down at me and pointed at the rifle at my chest "Why the duck did you let them go!? We could have taken them out and rid the wasteland of three more monsters!"
I just looked at her. My body was shaking even more now. I just shook my head "I wasn't trying to kill them. The plan was only meant to scare them. That's it." I slowly rolled onto all fours and stood up with my head hanging down "There's been enough death already.”
"Enough death!!? Just who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" she snapped at me while she lifted me up by the collar or my stable barding "That was one of the worst ponies in the wasteland and you let him get away!!. One of the rangers tapped her shoulder while the entire group began looking in the same direction. "What!!" she snapped and looked up herself. Her eyes widen as she let out a small gasp dropping me to the ground. I landed on my haunches and shook my head. What had gotten their attention? I stood up and pushed my way past Poppy to see what they were staring at. Then I saw it. A pony standing on the hilltop. He was standing on two legs, a sledgehammer slung across his shoulders, and had the slimmest figure I had ever seen. There was only one pony I had heard of with this description: The raider boss known as The Sledge. Plus he wasn't alone. 23 other ponies lined up beside all the way across the hilltop. We had officially gone from escaping from Slavers to Royally Fucked by Raiders. Only five days in the wasteland and I had the worst luck possible