Fallout: Equestria - Machina

I pulled the blanket tighter around my shivering body as the frigid wind blew through the back of the cart I was riding. Unfortunately I was only wearing a simple hooded jacket over an old shirt, making me the stupidest mare ever for not dressing correctly for a trip this far north.

Just as I’d gotten comfortable again, I felt the momentum of the cart halt, followed by a hoof knocking on its side.

“End o’ tha’ line, lass.” Called out the carriage driver.

A sigh left my lips and I packed up the blankets I’d been using. My PipBuck-enhanced vision turned pink as I exited the cart into a snowed over town square.

“Hiya, Gauge?” The image of a little pink filly asked as she popped up in the lower left corner of my vision.

I paid the cart driver with half of my remaining bottlecaps. “Not now, Pai….I’m really tired and cold from the long trip out here...we can talk as soon as I have some hot chocolate in me, alright?” That is, if this place had any at all...

Pai’s expression switched to a frown. “I just want to know... why are we heading this far north?”

“Because, we’re looking for that city that one pony back in New Appleloosa told us about. It’s supposed to be an engineer’s paradise.” I replied.

“About that...I’ve been talking with your Pip-leg’s system and neither of us believe that this place exists...I mean, it’d have popped up with a marker, wouldn’t it?” The little pink A.I. said with a look of concern in her digital eyes.

A quick look around the square showed me that the town I was in was rather small. To the left of me stood an old frozen fountain with a statue of a pony in what looked to be a Stalliongrad uniform. Ringing the fountain, were four buildings. One of them had a large rusted star hanging over the front door that said “Peacekeeper” on it. One building to my right seemed to be a normal house while the one next to it had a sign over the window reading “Whitetail’s Arms and Goods.”

The building right ahead of me was the one that caught my attention the most however. It was the only two story building in this town, and had the faint sound of laughter and merriment echoing through the cracked front door.

“Apparently, the city we are looking for was built without Stable-Tec or the Ministries finding out about it.” I finally replied to Pai’s question. Honestly, I didn’t know if this city of mechanical wonders even existed, but I couldn’t tell her that. Could I?

As I entered the Inn, I noticed that the inside was packed full with ponies. Surprising for such a small town, but I guess they do get their fair share of merchants and such even this far north.

I let out a sigh of relief as the interior was much warmer than outside. “Finally some warmth... almost thought the padding I added to my leg wouldn’t hold out against the cold.”

Pai prodded at me with one of her digital hooves, making one of my eyes twitch even though she wasn’t actually touching it. “Alright...and why are we being chased by those other ponies?” She asked.

“The treasure hunters I met back in New Appleloosa? They’re probably pissed about my little stunt with destroying their wagon.” I answered as the mare behind the front desk eyed me suspiciously as I approached. I gave an embarrassed smile, “A room please.”

“Name?” Was all she asked in her thick northern accent.

“Silversong.” I replied with a false name.

The mare behind the desk eyed me over. She turned around and pulled a key off of the rack behind her, hoofing it over to me “Have a pleasant evening, Ms. Silversong.” All I could do was place half of what little caps I had left on the counter and get away as soon as possible.

With my room key tucked safely away in my jacket, I trotted over towards the bar on the other side of the room. For some reason, everypony just stared at me as I approached. The old bar stool squeaked as I sat on it.

The stallion behind the bar looked me over, “New in town, huh?” he asked with a gruff voice.

I shook my head as I rested both forelegs on the counter. “How could you tell?” My reply was as sarcastic as I could make it.

The stallion behind the counter just chuckled, “Now now, I don’t mean offense. I just noticed you aren’t dressed for cold weather.” He paused a moment and cracked his neck, “So, what can I get you, miss…?”

“Silversong, and a mug of hot chocolate will do.” As soon as it seemed that the bartender was alright with me, everypony else returned to their drinks and conversations.

He pulled out an old mug from under the bar and set it next to a jug that had steam drifting out of the top. “Coming right up, Miss Silversong. So, you with one of the merchant caravans?” The stallion asked as he poured the delicious brown liquid into the mug.

“Nope, just passing through.” I replied as I stared at the mug. Just looking at it started to warm me up.

He turned around and sat the steaming mug in front of me “Well, I’m sorry to say that there isn’t much north of here other than a frozen wasteland.”

Upon taking a sip of the hot chocolate, all the cold I had been feeling began to melt away. I sat the mug down with a satisfied smile “I’m aware.”

The stallion looked me over with a frown “You aren’t going after that old fable, are you? Everypony knows that city doesn’t exist.”

I took another sip from the mug of delicious warmth and looked at the stallion “Listen, Mr…”

The bartender cut me off for a brief second “Warm Cider.”

“...Warm Cider. I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all, you’ve certainly shown me kindness, but I’d rather keep my business to myself. I’ve travelled all this way and I’m not going back.” That seemed to get a look from him.

Warm Cider grabbed an empty mug and began wiping it with an old towel “Alright, miss. Just be careful though, I’ve seen many adventurers head out for the city and none ever returned.”

“Noted.” was all I said before taking another sip.

Upon entering my room, now full with hot chocolate, I flopped over onto the warm bed. Instead of blankets, old wolf pelts covered the bed. While it was slightly disturbing, the fur was nonetheless more comfortable than the back of a cart.

As I stared up at the ceiling, the pink digital filly popped up in my vision again “Uhm...Gauge...I’ve been thinking...I really miss sis and the others. Do you think we’ll ever see them again?”

I let out a sigh and sat up “Of course we will. Too much has happened to just leave them forever..” Memories of what happened back in Orchard Omega, the Everfree forest….even Baltimare popped back into my mind.Then came the memories of our visits to Tenpony Tower, Friendship City, when I met Storm for the first time. “Hey, just think of all the cool gadgets we’ll bring back? They’ll be so impressed!”

My E.F.S. turned bright pink as the image of Pai smiling happily stared back at me. “Oh, true! Do you think we’ll find a body I can upload into?”

I shrugged. “Even if we don’t, I’ll build you one! With lasers and rockets and stuff.”

My vision turned back to it’s normal shade of pink as Pai shifted her smile into a soft warm one. “You promise? I’ll remain in your leg until you do!” The pink filly said before disappearing from my vision with a digital puff of smoke.

I laid back down, my forelegs out to either side of me as I stared up at the ceiling. “Alright, let’s go over the plan again… Tomorrow we head out and scan for any stray signals using the radio in my leg. I’m counting on you to sort through them, Pai. We wouldn’t want to get lost up here like we did in Silent Falls. I still haven’t forgiven you for getting us in trouble with that Zony sheriff.”

Pai popped back into my vision. “I’ve already said I was sorry! I didn’t like that guy either, I mean- who doesn’t like cupcakes?!” I couldn’t help but facehoof at this. “Besides, I’ve been sorting through every single signal we’ve received since we left. ”

My mind flashed back to when I was caught breaking into an old military outpost near Silent Falls, following a signal Pai told me about. Turned out to be nothing more than an old bunker flooded with magical radiation and ferals. A Zony sheriff named Frost had caught us and nearly arrested for almost setting a horde of ghouls loose.

“I think it was more the fact that we were caught snooping around somewhere that was off-limits and me awkwardly trying to change the subject, than him not liking cupcakes.” I groaned.

Pai huffed. “Still, he was a meanie-head. Anyway, I’ll keep sorting through signals all night and tell you what I’ve found in the morning. Though…” My EFS turned bright yellow, making my eye twitch. “What if we don’t find what we’re looking for? We don’t really know what’s out there…”

“Then we’ll just have to come back. I mean, my leg still does have a working map!” I said, though my voice did give a small hint to my own worry of not being able to make it back. There was a very high possibility that this was all just a myth and I’d just end up getting myself killed out here. “Besides, if we run into anything dangerous, there’s nothing my trusty shotgun can’t fix! And if that doesn’t work, I have my grenade launcher too…”

As I said this, I floated both guns onto the bed. The launcher I’ve had for awhile, but I only started using this shotgun two years ago during what’s now known as The Long Winter. It used to belong to a pony I loved, but... she didn’t make it.

Pai turned back to her normal shade of pink. “Well, alright. If you die on me, I won’t ever forgive you! That’s a Pinkie promise! Anyway, you should get some sleep! You’ll have to be up early tomorrow.”

I rolled over, facing the window. A light snowstorm had started outside and was caking the glass in frost and snow. “Alright, but don’t use that one marching song you learned from a sprite-bot to wake me up again. I nearly had a heart attack last time.” The only response to that was an apologetic smile from Pai before she poofed yet again. I wouldn’t tell her right now, as I don’t want to get her hopes up...but my real reason for searching for this amazing city of technology is that I’ve heard rumors of the ponies who built it being able to combine machines with living things. Maybe I’d be able to learn how to make a real body for Pai?

I had promised to get her a body for so long, but I never had the right tools for such a thing. While I did build Grumpy, he was just parts from old Mister Gutsy bots. Pai has been such a big help to me since she transferred herself into my leg. She’s never asked for anything in return except for her own body. It was the least I could do to repay somepony who had been there for me for so long. I closed my eyes and let sleep take me. It was probably the best rest I’ve had in a long while.

The next morning I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. Thinking it odd, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked around “Wha…?” Lo’ and behold, it was snowing outside with no birds in sight. However, Pai was standing in the corner of my Pip-Vision with bluebirds circling around her head, a smile upon her digital face.

“Good morning, sleepyhead! You’ll be glad to know that I’ve found a promising signal! I’ve also made sure that it wasn’t just something else distorted by radiation interference.”

I yawned and stretched my legs out. “Good...which direction?” I asked as I slid myself reluctantly out of the comfy bed and put on my bags and equipment.

“Due northeast!” Pai yelled happily as she bounced. “I’m so excited, you might have been right after all! Let’s head out immediately!”

An amused chuckle escaped my muzzle. “Hold on, I still haven’t eaten breakfast yet. Can’t have an awesome adventure on an empty stomach, can I? Besides, I need to get at least a thicker jacket. My current one might be good for down south, but I nearly froze my flank off last night.”

Pai sighed. “Fiiiiiiiine, just be quick about it!” she half-groaned before poofing out of my vision again, her voice still saying “Adventure! Adventure! Adventure!” over and over again. I rolled my eyes and exited the room, my first destination being the lounge downstairs.

The smell of sizzling bacon and fried hay met my nostrils, making my stomach rumble even more as I trotted down the stairs.

As I sat down at a table and ordered, my ears twitched and swivelled around as I heard some ponies talking. “Oi, there she is...she’s going after that fabled city, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. Poor girl...going to get herself killed. Everypony knows that place doesn’t exist! Though, there is something out there...almost nopony who’s gone after it has ever returned, and those who have? They say some terrible monster roams the area.” said a concerned mare.

A monster, huh? I suddenly started having second thoughts about this whole thing, when I remembered... “Hey, I survived an army of the dead. No monster is gonna get the better of me!” Without realising it, I had stood up and shouted at the two ponies, gaining the shocked looks of everypony in the room. With a blush, I sat back down.

“Not only is she foolish, she’s crazy as well… I’ll pray for her.” said the concerned mare. However, the stallion who started the conversation just grunted and mumbled something about letting the beast eat me. With a sigh, I ate my breakfast in silence. Once I was done, I stood up, paid for the food, and headed out into the frigid weather.

My next stop would be Whitetail’s Arms and Goods to buy a thicker coat. As I entered the building, an old rusty bell chimed...and then fell right onto my head.

“Ouch!” I exclaimed as I rubbed the now sore top of my head.

“Damn thing. Don’t suppose you have any bells to trade? That one keeps falling off.” said an older looking stallion. Not old enough to be considered a grandfather, but his mane and beard were definitely starting to gray a bit.

“Uh...no. I’m just here for a thicker jacket. Mine isn’t exactly good for this weather…” I said as I trotted up to the counter.

The stallion looked me over. “Hmm...yeah, I have just what you need. Recently made Snow Beast fur coat. Should keep you warm out here.” He hoofed a patched white fur coat with a small patch of red on the back onto the counter. The inside was definitely hide, but was grey instead of brown.

I tilted my head and wrapped my magic around it. “How much?”

The stallion stroked his beard for a moment. “How about...one-hundred and fifty caps.”

My jaw dropped. I only had two-hundred when I left, and I already spent most of it on food and the trip up here! “Uhm...how about I give you…” I quickly counted the caps I had left “...twenty-five caps and I’ll return it when I get back? If I find any good salvage out there, I’ll even throw that in as well.”

The stallion looked at me as if I was stupid, which probably wasn’t too far from reality. “Ninety-five caps and you return it.”

Damn it, that was still more than I wanted to give up. “How about seventy-five? That’s as much as I can give…” Even though it was cold inside the store, I was sweating.

It was a long while before he finally replied. “Fine, seventy-five and you give it back when you return.” A weak smile crept onto my muzzle. Yeah, I was nearly broke and probably didn’t have enough for the trip back, but at least I wouldn’t freeze to death! Yay… I paid the shop owner and wrapped the warm coat around myself before leaving.

As soon as I exited the store, I saw a marker pop up on my EFS. “Uh, Pai? What’s that?” I asked in a confused tone.

“That’s where the source of the signal is, silly! I thought I’d mark it for you so you don’t get lost!” she exclaimed in her usual cheerful voice. At least Pai was here to cheer me up. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten this far without her. Without anymore interruptions, I set off out of town in the direction of the marker. Miles and miles of frozen wasteland ahead of me, but my determination was stronger than ever. We were so close, I could taste it!

--Chapter End--

“Sweet dreams are made of this.”

Quests Finished: Winter Wonder Wasteland

Quests Started: Frozen Signals

Levels Earned: none

Perks Earned: none