Fallout Equestria: Aftershock
Prologue: Once upon a time in Stable 281.
Fallout Equestria: Aftershock
Prologue
Once upon a time in a Stable.
In the magical land of Equest-.... Oh what the hay! What gives?! It's almost a bloody broken record at this point! Lets get the sitrep done! I'm Sparkplug, proud Stable Tech certified maintenance pony for the great and... Dull coloured Stable 281 of Stable Tech. Stable 281? Yeah pretty out of the norms, reason is that this stable have such a high digit is because somewhere along the line Stable Tech screwed up and built 2 Stable 81, to avoid confusion and to correct their mistake they named the Northern Stable 81: Stable 181 while the Southern Stable 81: Stable 281, the later is my glorious and dull home. Anyway! Enought about Stable Tech already!
I just turned 20 yesterday. Most of my generation was there, we had a real blast and of course... I got wasted hardcore!... Apple Ciders's the best! Except when it come to hangover....
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
Ugh! With a quick thump of my hoof I silenced that blasphemous alarmclock. Early morning... Hate those! I groaned under my bedcover. I croaked "10 more minutes for Celestia's sake! Just..." Back to Luna's dreamscape I went! Enjoying a pleasant after sleep nap.
"BoOOop!"
Great, now the intercom was freaking out at the entrance of my room... Why does everything have to be so important down here at Stable 281? Then I heard a warping noise. "Augh..... 10 more minutes?..." I croaked.
Then the bed got flipped to the side, sending me sprawling onto the floor next to it in utter confusion! I finally opened my eyes and looked up with a blurry gaze at a very unhappy and stern father, his dimly glowing steel grey iris were almost looking like daggers pointed at me. "Um.... Hey....Dad?" I smiled sheepishly at him.
No ponies know why but down there in Stable 281 everypony have glowing iris in their eyes... It as often been the subject of various debates within the infirmary of the stable. Well, all I know about it is that its a condition that started appearing among the inhabitants of the Stable after the second and third generation of ponies down there decades after the balefire bombs dropped like crazy out there. Somepony think its something the stable wasn't able to block out, some others think that it's long-term underground dwelling while others, the more scientific of us believe it's due to our particularly unique prototype induction spark talisman generator that takes almost half of the Stable maintenance grid, supposedly some sort of super mega awesome power generator that could feed the stable for the next millennia or so. Some ponies even call it the P.I.S.T.G. Bleh silly acronyms, anyway the more scientific of us believe that our conditions are due to a mutation provoked by something called Induction Emission Radiation. or I.E.R. Again, acronym-loving wierdos.
My father frowned down at me and than facehoofed "What am I ever gonna do with you kiddo!.... You're ALWAYS late for your shift! Your mother and I have both been working around the clock to make up to your absence down at the P.I.S.T.G. Room! Do you HAVE any IDEAS how drained we are?!" He said with a sigh. "Just... Nevermind! Hurry up and get into your utility barding and get down there before the Overmare herself storm your room! Her patience is already at the brim of fury! And you know how Overmare Tablette is about last minute ponies! Now on the double soldier!" At these last words, he grunted and teleported back to maintenance.
Yep. That was my father, Head Maintenance Fiddlegear, Grey coated unicorn pony with a wild greyish blue mane. Who is also my boss. Heck even mom work down there as the second in command of the maintenance crew! Momma Cogheart, go family tradition! As for me, I was just a sleepyheaded late maintenance pony by the name of Sparkplug or Spark for my friends and family.
I groaned hard as I stretched out of my bedsheet and cover tossing them aside with my levitation magic than rubbed my eyes with my left fetlock and walked up to the bathroom to stare briefly into the mirror right above a badly clogged sink. Note to self: Ask the plumber pony to get that fixed later. I looked down at the sink and let out a depressed sigh before looking up at my mug: Bed ragged, my grey coat, dark blue mane and tail both decorated with a streak of white trough them and my awesomely glowing electric blue iris and to finish it all a robust average-sized horn! Not to forget my lovely cutie mark, a.... sparkplug. in the middle of it. All are where they should be! A utility young stallion with a boring day ahead!
After trying my best to fix that disaster that was my mane and tail, I moved over to my bedside and once I got my drawer open and took one of the many look-alike utility barding, I carefully looked over it briefly before nodding and commented to it "You'll do for today..." than I went to slip inside of it, it fitted me like a horseshoe! After a few more stretches I look up at the picture sitting on the drawer and smiled proudly at it. On it was the picture of a earth pony buck in steel ranger power armor of the T45 Series and next to him a lovely unicorn mare in labcoat and reading glasses, but what was more catching was the little filly standing atop the armor on her father's back giving a gleeful smile at the camera, my ancestors that sought refuge in Stable 281 before its massive gear-door sealed up for the last century and a half.
I then left my room and walked into the living room of our personal quarter. Being an important family we were given a lot of space. I moved to the kitchen and grabbed a fancy buck cake from the reserve and took a bite fo it! Hmmm... sweet. I dug the taste, then I opened the fridge and looked through its content carefully, dozens of sparkle colas and some fresh apples from our hydroponic garden! I took one of the colas and a single apple, setting them in a lunchbox atop the fridge and proceeded to finish my snack before looking around the living room briefly as my magic closed the lunchbox i than proceeded to levitate it to my side attaching it to my barding's extra straps, before leaving my family quarter I decided to make a brief detour into our personal storage room! As the door hydraulic whistle and the door opened, I smiled even more proudly at the Heirloom sitting inside of the storage. The old T45c that belonged to my ancestor, I carefully moved up and brushed the dust off one of its pauldrons and smiled at the words written on it 'Los Alicorn Steel Ranger Second Division' and than looked up at the name written on the collar 'Steel Ranger Master Sergeant Apple 'Jackhammer' Rig. I snorted quietly as I looked at the words that were written on the armor's left flank: 'Kiss that Stripes!'
I swear my ancestor sure had some sense of humor I guess, mom always told me the story how my ancestor, Jackhammer forcefully plowed trough Stable 281 security to get his family into the Stable safety and in the process, made the first Overmare wet herself in front of everypony! Turned out the whole stable was forced to accept the extra 3 ponies that entered the stable at the last minute before the massive gear-shape door shut close! Who would mess with a battle-hardened Steel Ranger who only wanted to keep his family safe anyway? Eventually Jackhammer became Security chief and his power armor became a symbol of peace and justice within the Stable, his wife: my wayward grandmother Spark Wielder became Chief-Maintenance pony since the position was empty, as for their daughter Zap Spaz, she followed in her mother's footstep eventually making Maintenance and Technical Pony a family tradition but that didn't stop us from stubbornly holding to our military tradition.
Mom even taught me how to remove and reattach a Pickbuck blindfolded with only my magic as a tool, giving the magic said shape was a challenge! Of course She had me train on a broken Pipbuck 1500 Prototype with the designated Pipbuck Key since I had to mesmerize its shape.
As for my Pipbuck, I have inherited the one that belonged to Jackhammer a long time ago, it is a 3000 Military Model and oh buck! I love the Pickbuck 3000-M! What makes it different from the other 3000's variant is it's ability to interface with most of the Steel Ranger Power Armor variants even the older variants like the T45c in our Storage room. Dad told me that my Pipbuck is a bit of a black sheep down there due to its military's origin the equestrian field camouflage coating it and the symbol of the Ministry of Wartime Technology that decorated the background of the pipbuck amber tinted screen when it is powered on! Safe to say that this pipbuck was meant for combat due to the other unique feature to it was the Military-grade attachment to it a EFS-Enhancer Range Finder, something the M.O.W.T. worked on with Stable-Tec in a joint venture before the bombs fell, I guess it must be that extra tiny black box rigged to it. Last time I gave it a try, my Pipbuck emitted some sort of sonar-ping and suddenly a lot of number appeared on my EFS! It must be very handy for a military pony who's doing some extra long range shooting.
Anyway, after a brief look around the living room of my family quarter, I stepped outside and quickly proceeded to the westernmost intersection of the residential area of the stable and then the most annoying voice of the stable came from behind me...
"HEY SPARKY! HOW'S MY FAVOURITE LAZY PONY DOING TODAY!? OH! YOU HAVE A BRUISE ON THE MUZZLE! GUESS YOUR DAD GOT PISSY? WANT A MUFFIN?! I LOVE MUFFIN! HERE! HAVE A MUFFIN!"
Then she shoved a muffin up my mouth as I was about to protest. A-yup... Crazy self-appointed party pony of the stable. Ugh... Somepony kill me already. Jubilee, crazy earth pony mare with minty green coat and candy pink mane and tail. Go figure how she got that swirling party hat cutie mark.
I opened my lunchbox and spat the muffin into it and sighed "Hey Jubee, Doing decently well, Yes dad furious at me for being late, thanks for the muffin, I have to go to work now! Kay? Thanks, Bye!" I stampeded into the elevator and clicked repetitively on the maintenance button on the elevator navigation board quickly! Quick! Close before she gets in! CLOSE Be- Thank you, Celestia! I sighed in relief as the Elevator closed!
"HEY WAIT-" Was the last thing I heard from Jubilee before the door closed, I slumped on my haunches and sighed deeply something felt wrong though, the elevator wasn't going down but the opposite actually, it was going up! Then it suddenly stopped! The door opened and I went completely stiff.
In front of me stood the only mare I never liked in the whole stable, the Overmare Tablette and by the look she had in her eyes I guess she didn't like me one bit as well. She always claimed I was some sort of 'renegade' example for the stable and always considered me as a pony that the stable would do without. In all honesty, she's an imperious bitch.
"Mister Plug." Said the aged lavender-coated unicorn mare that was in stable barding with an elegant coat at the colors of Stable-Tec, wearing her grey-ish yellow mane in a bean above her head and reading spectacles sitting on the bridge of her muzzle. She proceeded to my left in the elevator and the door shut behind her. Oh, Celestia fuck me side-way with her horn! "Late as always, I presume?..." She was staring at me calculatingly.
"A-yup Ma'am....." I shooked.
"You do know you're a bad example for all the Stable's youth by doing so right?" She said with a calm sigh.
"A-Yup," I replied calmly with a hint of shame in my expression.
"Please don't make it a daily habit.... I already tolerate it to be a weekly habit so far." She said closing her eyes, carefully brushing her brows with her right hoof than looked at me once more with those calm and wise yellow glowing iris. "I have business in Utility beneath Maintenance with Fixit, She said she wanted to show me something she found down there. Please give my regard to your parents for me would you?.."
"A-Yup." ... I guess that was all I could say to her for now...
"Eugh! Quit doing that 'A-Yup' crap with me young stallion! You know I greatly despise that from you?!" She shouted at me frowning, stomping a hoof in frustration!
"Hehe sorry Overmare Tablette. Habit I took up from my Apple ancestor!" I grinned sheepishly at her as the elevator dinged and a synthetic voice said 'maintenance' I stepped out, chuckling a little as I proceeded to my workstation.
"Foals these days...." Grumbled the Overmare as the elevator shut behind me.
I proceeded down the hall which was rather dark but not really a big deal to me. Since the glowing iris anomaly came with a positive effect, seeing in the dark woo! Eventually I found out why it was so dark as a pair of glowing brown eyes on the side of the Hallway looked up at me. I sighed in relief and approached the maintenance stallion in utility barding, by the tired look in his eyes I easily guessed who I was about to talk to.
"Hey Rustscrap, fuses again?" I said meekly to the middle-aged unicorn stallion.
"Yeh.... 'damn thing keep blowing up... Mind checking the power influx with yer dad? 'm guess'n that's what keep giv'n them poor fuses bad strokes." Rustscrap said with a calm tone and looked left and right. "And if ye be see'n Fixit tell her she still owes me for that Playpony Magazine she took from ma office d'bitch scraped ma magazine!"
"Sure thing... Rusty. Oh and... Avoid utility right now, Overmare Tablette is down there!" I chuckled a little as I walked past him as he went tense at these last words I told him.
"Damn bugger hag darn nagg'n bitch is!...." he mumbled as he went back to swapping the fuses for the hallway's lights. "Still piss at me for not fixing her damned bloody toaster..." A rather colorful namecalling I must add.
As I left Rustscrap behind I finally stepped in front of one of the many stable standard hydraulic-powered dull gray door, on top of it was neatly labeled "Generator" I took a deep breather and opened the door and stepped into the large dome-like room, in the middle of it was the massive prototype induction spark talisman generator, a massive spire surrounded by 4 massive coils and lots of zapping. I swear the moment I stepped into the room I could almost feel the static tickling at my mane.
"Oh good, there you are son! Mind helping me with that loose power cable over there?" I smiled at my mother's voice and looked up at her hanging on a floating ladder held by father's magic, hanging upside down to it my mother was working on one of the many micro-matrix that processed the power to the Stable. The Induction Resonance Spark Talisman Generator was one of a kind.
From what I read about it, it was still a highly unstable but near unlimited source of power designed specifically and only for Stable 281. I do not know why only our stable got one and not any others out there. So far it has been running fine ever since 281 got sealed. I'm not even sure if Stable 181 had gotten one as well considering it is our 'Sister' Stable afterall.
"Sure mom! Just let me get one of the blowtorches and it will be done in 10 seconds flat!" I said sheepishly as I trotted over to a toolbox with 'Sparky no touchy.' written on its cover opening it and went scrounging for the said tool "Um nope.... Nope...... Nope!... AH! Got it!" As I deposed my lunchbox next to the toolbox and exchanged it for my blowtorch I went next to the ladder to which my mother was hanging spinning the blowtorch in my magic and lit it up, getting to work and wielding the damaged power cable back into place delicately was a trivial task but a must to keep things working.
"Your mother and I been thinking about it for a while Sparky... But well... Um... We think you are at the right age to give it a try." The voice of dad came to my right, I quirked an eyebrow up and tilted my head to look at him as he was working on one of the many terminals while monitoring the status of the generator he than looked up at me and smiled. "That is getting the T45c a spin around the stable that is! I'm sure it will help bolster the morale and put on a nice show for the foals to enjoy. I hope you've been reading the manual about power armor handling I gave ya months ago!"
"Sure I did dad but if you want me t-wait whaaaaaat?!" I said looking at him mouth agape, eyes going wide my magic interrupted as the blowtorch landed square on top of my head! "...Ow!" I grunted while wincing, rubbing my head with my right hoof and looked at my father who was looking at me and trying his best not to snicker at my clumsiness. "Y-yes I've been reading it for the third time now... are you sure about that dad? I mean that armor is as old as the Stable and um.. I don't want to break it accidentally!" I said.
Then my mother exploded into a laughter above my head, my father chuckled as well then my mother shouted from above our head "Okay Sparky! Breaking a Power Armor! Seriously?! You gonna need to be ultra super duper clumsy to break the thing! Heck, I'm sure you can't do as much damage to it as that Blowtorch did to your noggin! That tin ton warhorse has more resilience than you do sunny! Ain't no anypony who will tell you otherwise!" she said as she calmed her laughter and sighed before adding. "Besides I want to see if that thing is as truly formidable as they say when it's on the move!"
Mom smiled down at me, half her crimson-colored mane flopped over her face, her smiling muzzle poking through it! Mother has always been a daredevil even for a unicorn, she sure lived up for the thrill considering she was hanging upside-down over one of the huge coils that surrounded the Spark Talisman Generator. I could still spot a glimmer of her adorable emerald glowing iris trough that mess of a mane of her's, as for her coat, it was a black night coat. Somepony could say that she was the opposite of me colorwise.
"Your mom's right kiddo, heck I'm not even sure if we have anything that could break the thing, the T45c come with hardening coating too! So I'm sure it would take more than some fancy magic energy rifles to do some serious damage to it, sure the armor could use a bit of a polishing but beside of that I'm gem solid that, the suit will work flawlessly, Heck! I even replaced the armor Spark-Matrix and got the repair talisman in working condition again so that the old tin can could start serving again! So what do you say son?" my dad said calmly, giving me a confident smile and nodded at me.
I sighed calmly. "Er..... Well, why not it's my day-off tomorrow right?" I said. My father nodded to my words and i smiled. "Alright, I'll give the steel monster a try and go around the stable! Heck.. I think I'll even try to make the Overmare wet herself!" I said jokingly with a mischievous grin.
My parents burst into laughter at the last words as they finally calm down dad chuckled and said "Yeah you go show her that Jackhammer ghost is still watching over the stable! Oh, I also modified the helmet, it can now accommodate your unicorn horn." Dad Father said.
"Oh cool!" I said before grabbing the blowtorch up, looking at the pressure gauge on it before carefully setting it back into my designated toolbox! "Enough foaling around before the Overmare string us all up for being relaxed on the job." I said and my parents nodded.
The next 6 hours was mostly boring, lots of tuning. Sometimes I had to go take a peek at each monitor screens, making sure all was in the green than went on to my workbench, my parents already left an hour ago to go rest at the stable atrium before heading back home while I diligently committed to my shift. As time went on I grew even more bored and went sitting at my workbench and opened one of the many Playpony magazines I hid beneath it.
* 2 hours later.
Just when I was enjoying a bit of a personal 'lectur' a shout came from behind me "PERVERT!" I squeaked in surprise and fell off my stool onto my back! I blinked a few time as a young mare freshly out of fillyhood came standing above me, with a mocking grin.
Tan coat, white mane, and tail, Earth pony. The only mare in the stable I truly consider my closest friend down there in these dull grey halls. "Hey Fixit." I said as I tried to ignore the ache growing in my back from the fall and also tried my best to ignore the insult. "What brings you to the lovely and boring mess that is the Generator room, Fix?"
"Oh!... Nothing just came to give you some company since... Well.. I know how booOOOoooring Generator is at this hour and how you are always alone at this time of the day here! But THAN I caught you watching lewd stuff! YOU! Naughty naughty stallion!" She said with an evil smirk "Perhaps I should tell your parents about that secret stash of yours!... PERVERT!"
My ears folded back onto my head... Ouch... She sure knows how to give some low blow with her words than I squeaked in a small voice "...Please don't." I bawled my eyes at her giving her a fake expression of distress.
Than she burst into a laughter "Oh Goddesses! That's what I love about you big goof! Sparky! Of all the Stallion in this cursed-boring stable your the only one that manages to look cute despite your earth pony-like stature!... I swear! I never have seen a unicorn with your athletic stature before and yet you still manage to make yourself look.... Cute!"
So that day I found out I was somewhat cute? Um, go me I guess?
"Alright! ALRIGHT! I swear you mares love to tease my poor soul a lot! Eugh!..." I said and shooked my head before grunting a little as I stood back up on my hooves, sliding my playpony magazine back into my secret stash! "So what do you have on your mind Happy?" I said as I sat down on my haunch, scratching the back of my head with my left forehoof.
"Ooooh nothing, in particular, found some sort of.... Beacon today down in Utility... Showed it to the Overmare." She said while squirming uncomfortably and added: "Something happened." With a hint of worry and nervousness in her voice.
I frowned a little then said. "What happened?"
"The Overmare poked it... and... well... It went active." She said, looking at me before continuing. "The Overmare told me to keep it a secret for now but I'm worried and well your my best friend and I want you to take a look at it, I know you been reading a lot of military stuff and also that you are the most versed into the stuff.... So please come take a look at it."
I blinked than look over at the Generator, pondering a moment then went on to a computer and turned on the auto-maintain system I've installed in place a few months ago to improve the life quality of the Maintenance Pony crew. Wich by the way I mostly mean, me. "Lead the way Happy," I said while setting the fallen stool straight. She nodded and move on than I followed.
It didn't take us long, the trek to the Utility level was brief, heck even the maintenance elevator was mostly unused at this time of the day, then she brought me to a storage room and brought me to one of the corners of it. "There it is." She said motioning to a device with a blinking light atop of it. I looked down at the device and went on to examine it carefully.
"Hrm.... aaah.......... oooh whoaow.... What in the Goddesses Names does an M.O.A. distress beacon doing in a Stable?!" I said with a hint of surprise in my eyes despite of the darkness in the room my dimly glowing eyes could easily recognize the symbol on the beacon, a winged cloud with a bolt coming out of it surrounded by a circle. than i added. "If i recall teach's saying about history, the MoA was mostly a Storage Ministry of some sort... So maybe this beacon was accidentally shipped to Stable 281?..." As i spoke my theory, Fixit seemed to relax a little but than she said.
"Well is it even normal for it to go active after all these years? I read in a Equestrian Electronic Magazine that things like this needed some sort of receptors to work! What if somepony... or someone out there is getting a signal? From that thing?" she crossed her hooves looking down at the beacon uneasily rubbing her left fetlock than she added. "I mean i don't like it one bit... I feel something itching in the back of my mane I'm telling!" She added, as she looked up at me in the eyes, her glowing purple iris were so adorable in this darkness.
"Well, what did the Overmare said about it?" I asked her.
"Oh, she said to keep a low profile about it and when she was done looking around the storage for anything else she went back to the Overmare Room in a hurry, saying she'd need to monitor something." She replied and went silent as I pondered.
"Well... I'm sure we are safe? I mean, what could this beacon contact anyway? Everything is constantly reported dead and barren out there! Your heard the Overmare say it yourself, unless i'm wrong and I've been sleeping in on the Overmare's public speeches." I said with a casual sheepish grin.
Fixit chuckled heartfully "Gosh! Sparky your so full of it sometime! You do know staying up late at night and all those quick naps will get you into big troubles sometime right?" She finally calmed down and sighed then added. "Just.... alright I'll stay down there and keep an eye on the damn thing for tonight as for you... I have an odd feeling just.... Stay close to that big tin can of yours alright?" she said and I nodded, I guess she was talking about the T45c.
"Alright Fixit." I said then I looked at the clock in my Pipbuck that was bracing my right foreleg, it was already 1800. Sweet Celestia, time sure flew by fast... I grunted in annoyance before looking at Fixit. "Good night Fix."
" 'Night Sparkplug...." she said before going silent and went to flop down on her haunches to observe the beacon intensively for any other reaction.
On these last words I walked out of utility into the maintenance elevator and pressed the button residential, I couldn't help but ponder about that beacon.... What if.... What if it was actually broadcasting its location somewhere to somepony?... I groaned and held my head with a hoof for a moment. "Coffee first, question later Sparkplug..." I said to myself
But one thing Fixit was right about, the T45c was my heirloom now it belongs to me. It was my 20th's birthday present from dad, he always said the suit was never meant for him. When he discovered my fondness for it, he decided to gift it to me, I don't know if that was true or not, he just said that by wearing it I would be paying my respect to Jackhammer.
*
As the elevator let out its pleasant ding and the speaker said in a soothing voice "Residential." Its door opened I took a quick look at the intersection and before heading in the direction of my family quarter. I decided to go by a small detour by the Atrium to see if anypony was there doing anything at this hour. Carefully I walked to the door in the opposite direction of the Residential area to a pressurized door that had the letters above it saying 'Atrium'. As I stepped into the atrium I took a brief look at this rather imposing hall that has 2 stories and a very high ceiling with a magical sunlight effect that came from a magical representation of a dusk noting the time of the day.
A quick look around I came to realize that Winestreak, Tabletop, and Gamble were still in the Atrium by a round table with a pile of game cards between them, Tabletop and Gamble were glaring at each other intensively while both holding a deck of cards in their hooves! Winestreak was as always, supervising the game. Than suddenly Tabletop, the sand-coated earth pony mare with a wild streak of red mane grinned wildly as her purple iris glowed slightly more for a brief moment and say in a victorious tone. "Royal flush! You lose this time Gamble ...AH!" Tabletop said.
"OH FEATHERHORSE!" A green pine-coated unicorn stallion shouted angrily and went on to flip the table in anger with his magic before crossing his hooves pouting angrily his topaz colored iris glowed slightly brighter as to put in evidence is anger!
"Don't be a sore loser Gamble you've gotten a tad over your head in confidence young buck...." Said Winestreak an aged red-coated maneless earth pony one-eyed mare that usually worked at the Stable's hydroponic farm. "Anyway, you actually win over 79 percent of your games. So don't take a defeat at heart." She'd say in a soft tone, Winestreak was not young and considering she lost her mane and left eye permanently to an accident in the hydroponic garden involving the detonation of one of the pressure valve for the water flow decades ago she managed to maintain her proud and calm demeanor, her remaining eye glowed with a calm red hue.
Then the 3 of them noticed me and looked up at me, I gave them a sly grin and say "Hum.... Hey?...."
Than Tabletop snorted. "Ooooh, Sparky you are soooo in trouble! I heard the head security chief is looking for you again! Guess you woke up late again huh?" She said. I gulped drily in respond and nodded.
Winestreak sighed calmly before adding. "You do know foal, you'l be the end of your parents, right? You can't let them do your works all the time.... I even trotted into your Mother who was heading to the Infirmary to get a Med-X to ease her migraine." She said with a disappointed stare in my direction.
I guess that didn't help that she spend an hour being upside down to a ladder right? I thought to reassure myself.
Gamble snorted and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Thardy as always been late when it came to do is part for the stable! But not for when it come to tinker at his Goddesses forsaken worktable.... So Thard... What did you tinkered this time? Another Spritebot with a spell matrix that shoot bolt of magic that dress up mares in suggestive clothing again?!" I frowned at the nickname he gave me but than I sighed.
"If the Chief is pissed at me, she just have to meet me at my family quarter. Sorry Wine I didn't mean to trouble my mother today and Gamble up yours! This Spritebot thing was a joke and it was suppose to conjure clown attire, not perverted clothing that has gotten all the stables mare beating me to pulps one after another for a week! And yes Gamble, i love you too" I muttered next. "...Moron..."
Gamble snarled. "What did you say punk?!" He shouted at me, glaring at me.
"I said you are an M-" I was about to say when a voice boomed to our right.
"ENOUGH! Sparkplug! To your quarter!" shouted Chief Steelheart. Holy Goddesses..... Big Sister Security Chief Steelheart was on the scene and I'm... Well I'm in trouble now. The imposing black-coated battle-scarred unicorn mare in stable security barding found me and as always she never wore her helmet exposing her wildstreak of spiked dark blue mane. She than glared at the other 3.
"You know the rules already! NO gambling in the Atrium! Report to security now and put those damn cards!.... Actually Gambleroll! For calling a fellow stable dweller a punk I want you to report to Correctional Facility now!" My sister said, touché, I know I was being an ass using my sister's position to punish the buck I hated the most in the stable right after Overmare Tablette but damn seeing him being subdued by my sister was sooo satisfying!
"F-fuck not again!" Gamble said as he protested before getting a deathly glare from Steelheart, her eyes glowered a deep navy blue glow than Gamble cowered and said "S-sorry Ma'am! Heading there n-now!"
The trio scampered off in their designated direction, I felt sad for Winestreak since she was just entertaining herself by watching the game and making sure no cheating was occurring but well rules are rules. As i started to walk away my sister stopped me in my track.
"Sparky....." She said sternly, gazing angrily at the flipped-over table.
"Yes, Sis?" I said calmly as she took a deep breath and turned her head to face me her expression was less hard now and softer but still with a hint of irritation behind those glowing iris.
"You need to behave, your not a colt anymore and your action will reflect on your reputation for a long while if you don't change those bad behaviors of yours..... Look... I care a lot about you but know this, I can't let my feelings get in the way of my duty to the Stable, so please.... Stop being late okay? Because when you do. Not only you give Mom and Dad a bad rep. But also me and as of lately... The Overmare's trust in me as been considerably dwindling down because of how forgiving I am of your lack of responsibility...." She said calmly looking at me. As I was about to talk she didn't gave me a chance and added "Now.... Go to home, apologies to Mom and Dad and behave, okay Lil' bro?"
I noded calmly, she was right I have never been the best of example as a son nor as a brother and even nor as a stable dweller. I looked up at her. "Sorry, sis.... And I'll do as you said.." I replied to her with a sincere smile. Personally, I was amazed she didn't raise her hoof on me this time! But i did feel bad since she was truely right and yes. I do have to change for my sake and the stable sake.
I looked up to my sister and gave her a stern and brief military salute with my right forehoof nearly hitting myself in the face with it! Wich rewarded me with a smile from her and she grinned. "Hehe... even after all this time family tradition endure heh? I swear if we weren't stable dwellers we'd be some pretty damn good soldiers out there!" She said with a proud smile, I chuckled at her then she moved me away "Now go home and report to dad now Lil' soldier!" She added.
Without a word, I bolted back into the hallway that leads to the residential area and quickly throttled my way to my family's quarter. As i opened the door my eyes went wide at the mess! In the middle of our living room, the coffee table was pushed aside making place to the beastly T45c Steel Ranger Power Armor, my father was beneath it tinkering with it, mostly tuning doing some tune up to it. While my mother was sitting in the kitchen tongue poked out doing some tuning with the Armor's helmet!
Mom spoke first. They both were out of their utility barding! Showing their cutie marks proudly, my mother was a lovely Cog with a big heart in the middle of it, sign of a great love for technologies, father's was a Gear with sparkles around it!
"Here's our Lil' Champion, Fiddly!" My mom shouted happily while smiling at me, she looked exhausted but still in a good mood before moving off the chair, heading to set the helmet on the coffee stable in the living room and step up next to the power armor, bucking it hard with her rear hooves!
"Ah! Stable as a Fiddle!" She added, dad chuckled at her then looked the armor over and nodded.
"Yep, 'just finished fixing the servos, stabilization and now the new Spark Matrix is wired! Oh! I also added a brand new Mana Core I managed to scrounge from the Stable storage! Now go on Thundy! give the armor a try!" My father said before spinning the valve on the back of the power armor with his magic! it opened neatly revealing its inner-framework! "Step in son!" He added.
I hesitated one moment "Here goes nothing...." I said with a dry gulp than took hooves into the armor's leggings than a beeping sound came from the suit and enclosed around me! covering me entirely in the heavy self-assisted bracing of the armor a whistling sound came from my back as it was airtight sealed and the valve on my back spun and locked as the armor became fully sealed. Followed by an hum as the mana core in the power pack kicked in.
"Look's sharp son!" My mom said as she cooed! than she gave me a smirk. "Now the cream on top of the cake!" She added before stepping in front of me, levitating the helmet in her magic, carefully sliding it atop of my head, locking it to the suit's collar and attach the rebreather tubing neatly behind my helmet. Another whistling sound came from the collar section noticing me that the helmet was fully on now. "There! Now you should see some addition appearing to your E.F.S.... Any sign of changes?" She said with a hint of curiosity in her gaze.
I looked closely at my E.F.S. than suddenly in the corner of it I could see a smiling Military Pony grinning. followed by a series of lines appeared, I went on and read them as my parents stood in front of the Armor, damn... That thing has given me a head taller than the two of them!
HUD and EFS Online!
Mana Core Sealed!
Spark Matrix Engaged!
T45c Engaged!
Diagnostic in Progress!
Unknown Utilisator Detected!
Updating...
Genealogical Pattern Recognised!
New Owner: Sparkplug Thunderbolt!
Logic-Designation Recognition complete!
Updating E.F.S...
Warning! Pipbuck 3000-M Detected! Tuning...
Tuning complete! Pipbuck 3000-M Range Finder Spell Matrix Adapted to T45c usage!
Activating all suits utility protocols! Scanning...
Combat Drugs Container - Empty
Radaway Container - Empty
Healing Potion Container - 57%
Main Battle-Saddle Armament - Empty
Alternative Battle-Saddle Armament - Empty
Self-Repair Talisman Online!
Please, Standby... Searching Power Armor updates from M.O.W.T. Datacenter... ERROR No signal found! Report to maintenance pony for a manual update!
Check up Complete!
Welcome Steel Ranger Sergeant Sparkplug!
I blinked twice and I spoke. "Um... Wow..... That's a lot of...... I guess things to keep track of I guess?"
My father snorted a little and nodded. "Aye! Get use to it! Remember kiddo that armor is rightfully yours now! Now try moving around a little, and don't worry I already noticed our neighbor that we would be doing some run test on the old lass.. And wow..... The armor sure is a fine piece of arcane technologies the name on the collar swapped from Steel Ranger Master Sergeant Jackhammer to your name! and heh. It recognise you as a "Sergeant" pretty neat! Must be some sort of integrated identification matrix or something." He said.
My mother skeed happily! "Ohmygosh!ohmygosh!ohmygosh! Thisarmorisbaddass! ILOVEIT!" She shouted and squirmed impatiently. I almost forgot how much mom was a technofreak, I'll never forget the day she found a spark grenade in the stable storage and literally trigger it in her own face only to end up giggling like a little filly as her mane stood on edges. Dad had to explain to the Overmare about it and ended up saying a lie insisting it was an accident, lucky him the Overmare ended up believing him.
"Alright... Here goes nothing!" I said. On my last words, I started moving around a little, as I read in the manuals the armor reacted to my every move and was adapting to my strength and reflex, the balance was good than I started to throtted slowly around the room...
Damn it felt so awesome! Each of my steps I could hear the echoes of the extended metal exohooves below me! and as i looked down and look at my steps carefully, i noticed that each of my step raised a small layer of dust upward sign of how heavy the armor is! I finally stopped and commented. "Ummmm the articulation are fine now lets see the gyro's....." I said as I started to turn around on myself slowly, each of my heavy steps sent my heart drumming in my chest with excitement! I will be honest I truly felt strong and unstoppable in that armor! It was so AWESOME!
"The gyro's seems to be working fine thanks to the last minute tune up I did to them!" My father commented nodding calmly. "Cog get me the anti-machine rifle now, we'll mount it ammo-less onto the armor." He added.
My mom didn't took the time to nods or say anything she'd just rushed up to the storage depot in the back of the living room and came back with an equestrian army box and settled it down. Entering the code on it security panel than it beeped positively and unclasped with a whistling noise she opened the box with a wild grin. "Damn that thing is such a beast!" She'd said huffing as she hoisted the massive rifle into her magic and slowly moved to my side, strapping the rifle into the battle-saddle integrated into the armor, my eyes went wide as i saw the massive rifle cannon coming in my line of sight, than as it was mounted, new lines appeared in my E.F.S.
Armament Update...
Battle-Saddle Weapon Mounted!
Arcane Analyse Complete!
Heavy Anti-Machine Rifle IS-AT14.5mm Mounted!
Ammo count: 0%!
Report to Quartermaster for Ammo Refill!
I looked at the box from which the weapon was picked up from and noticed the 2 box of ammo in it, there must have been over a hundred rounds in those considering I could see some shellings in the box top lid... How does the Overmare let us keep that ordinance?!
"Fun fact kiddo I recently tuned up the anti-machine rifle as well, new rifling, automated Receiver and a new reinforced cannon for long-term use... Don't tell the Overmare we did it since she'll be royalty piss if she find out we made this tin ton baby battle-ready with some of the Stable resources.... Now if i recall, you'll notice 2 levers in your mouth grips inside that helmet of yours! One is for the main saddled weapon mounted on your right side which is currently the Rifle, the other is for the alternate saddled weapon on your left side which we could mount pretty much anything into it from standard Issues assault rifles, miniguns , rocket Launcher, grenade launcher and balefire egg launcher. I doubt we'll ever get out hooves onto the big tools, all that 281's have is 10mm pistols, security batons and taser guns.... So that beast here." He pointed a hoof at the big flank'n beast of a rifle. "Is one of a kind, I heard from some old recording that our wayward old man Apple 'Jackhammer' Rig had it custom made too by Ironshod Armament somewhere in Los Alicorness coastal district despite of all the competition with Los Alicorness Armament." Dad gave me a tired smile. "Now lets get you out of that thing." he added.
As he flicked his magic twice he frowns and blinked. "Something wrong love?" Mom said.
"Yeah... The Valve on the Power Pack won't bulge!." My dad answered. I blinked twice and finally caught what was going on!
"Is there no emergency lever or switch? Anything?!" I said nervously.
"No...... That armor is one of the older model.... I'll even say it was almost phased out and replaced by both the T50 and the T60 Series by the end of the War...... But my only tool that could open it is in the Generator Room.... Sorry son but you gonna have to sleep in the old Lass for the night." At these last words my father stretched and went to the Master bedroom! I was speechless!....
"Don't worry Sparky we'll get you out of it tomorrow first thing in the morning okay?.... Well at least! Look at it on the bright side! you'll get to know how Apple Rig slept when off duty when he was on the frontline! I read that the frame of the armor is rather comfy!" My mother told me with an optimistic tone, I chuckled a little than nodded, she than yawned before saying. "Well off to bed with me! Stay out of trouble!" Than she left for the master bedroom as well....
Well, here I was now... Still quite awake from my late sleeping, I looked around me and blinked and suddenly found myself with various new possibility... and well since the gun wasn't loaded I carefully started to get in tune with the Anti-Machine Rifle as I engaged the E.F.S. Combat Mode and a large crosshair appeared in my line of sight!
"Hrm... I guess that's where the Rifle is aiming at..." I commented to myself. before trying something, I carefully turned my head left and right and noticed the crosshair moving around, staying focused on where the weapon was pointing at. "....Cool...." than I smiled in glee and took a step back and entered into a combat stance aiming at my mom's forgotten teacup, aiming the crosshair at it and pulled the battle-saddle lever with my tongue!
CLACK!
The rammer in the rifle receiver let out one heck of a slamming noise! Goddesses! The rifle even gave a small shock in my side! I was in a glee of total excitement! Making me wonder how loud it would be if I shot an actual round, picturing the damage it could do! I read in the many magazine from War-Time Equestria I got from the stable utility level that these things can be a real pain in the flank for Zebra Tanks truly capable of punching some punishment into their armor like a knife cutting through butter!
I took a few more steps around enjoying the weight and the comfort of the armor. I truly felt safe. The T45c was one of the bulkiest variants of the T45 Series and was battle-proven to be resistant to explosion and since I'm inside of it, I could guess how resistant it looked like, looking to my left and my right and I was able to look at the large shield-like protective pauldrons that were covering the side of my forelegs, I than raised a forehoof up looking at it, it was mostly a mechanical extension, my natural hooves were tucked safely inside of the bracing of my power armored legs!
Then the room of our Quarter opened.
"Holy sweet Goddesses mothers of all Equestria!" Big sister Steelheart shouted at the mess in the living room of our quarter but then her gaze turned to the massive frame of my power armor her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped for a moment before finally saying. "Holy..... Hay..... Sparky?"
I nodded remaining silent under my protective helmet!
"Whoa... Just whoa...... I only saw that thing in the shadow of our personal storage depot and never bother removing the cover from it but now... Seeing it under the light of the living room... Damn!.... It look actually badass! Hehe you'd give all of security ponies a run for their bits!" She said with a snicker. "Nice upgrades!... Why are you in it?..." She added.
"Stuck in it, dad can't open it, I-I hope it's just lockdown or something," I said with a modulated voice from my helmet's intercom.
Than my sister's eyes went wide noticing the large rifle cannon sitting on my side. "Sweet Celestia!... I hope for your sake that thing isn't loaded! Or OOoooh! You're so going to be in trouble if it is!" She said glaring at me waiting for my answer, okay Sister going security chief mode! Answer quick!
"N-nope," I said calmly taking an at ease military stance in front of her. Lucky me she relaxed then slowly a smirk spread across her face.
"Mind.... Comming with me to Correctional?" She said while grinning viciously. Oooooh boy i knew what she had in mind. Okay, i knew where was that going considering i knew how much my sister was a bit of a sadistic when it come to punishment but sweet Celestia! I swear she'd just engaged twisted big sister mode!
"You... want me to give a hardcore goosebump to Gamble?...." At my words, big sister Steelgaze noded!
"Ooooh its about time he learn his lesson! He should learn not to mess with a wayward daughter of Jackhammer! Believe or not when I went to interrogate him he spat in my face! Only Celestia know what strength held me back from pummeling him into a pulp! I swear this brat is even worse than his father at time.... Now come." She trotted toward our Quarter's exit
I followed. "Is it sure its wise? What if the Overmare find out?" I said, she stopped at my comment and nodded before moving back deeper into our Quarter and to her room and back with spray paints!
"Hold still and show me that oversized fat metal right flank!" She said, I did so at her command, big sister orders always overrules anyway.... Than she started painting on the flank, the completely faded symbol of the Equestrian Army on my right flank was replaced with a M.O.W.T. Symbol with a blending of Stable-Tec Symbol the word written beneath it 'Steel Ranger Stable-281 Division' she then looked at me and grinned before speaking with a tone of authority! "There! Don't know what to do with that insult to zebra kind on that other flank but for now it will do! Now you are officially a Stable Steel Ranger! Well... when your in this beast of a power armor that is! Now get moving soldier!"
From my long foalhood training alongside my older sister and with a little help of dad, even if we were mostly a family of maintenance pony we stubbornly kept to our old military roots, every weeks we spend a day running military drill in our quarter and big sister got us some spare time to train at the security office's shooting range to train with 10mm pistols since for some reason we had a massive stockpile of those down in the Stable's storage level. My little military pony in my mind is telling me it might be due to the proximity of an old equestrian army stockpile on the surface close to the stable... well that's what I heard from one of the audio recording tapes Jackhammer left behind before he passed away. If I also remember correctly Stable 281 is located somewhere in the southern outskirt of Los Alicorness a massive ponypolis dedicated to Goddess Celestia and somewhere up in the far north was the utopian city of Hoofington from my ancestor logs it was supposed to be a city of the future, well if the stable ever get the all-clear signal and open its door i might go check it out, after all 'city of the future' mean that there is a lot of advanced technological wonders there.
"SIR YES SIR!" I shouted than blinked at the awkward than I added "Err... Ma'am?..." my sister snorted and rolled her eyes then moved on.
*
As my inner-soldier took over as i followed! It didn't took long as we made our way to Correctional without any interruption due to all ponies being asleep... It was well over 2200 anyway. As we arrived my sister stopped by the Correctional door, typing the access code in the small computer next to the door and opened it! i walked in carefully than she grinned as she went to one of the cell's door and typed the code than mouthed to me. "Be as loud as you can be, and scary too! Give that 'punk' a lesson." She'd said with a wink.
I nodded as I took a deep breather... here we go! I stand up and begin to give some heavy hoofsteps, the power armor responded well, being very noisy and doing a light tremor at each step as I walked into Gambleroll cell's stirring him awake as he looked up half-asleep first than his eyes went wide at the imposing power armored pony standing and looking down at him! I spoke with my most fearsome word. And what came next was unexpected. As my E.F.S. lit up.
Canterlot Royal Voice Prototype Talisman Engaged!
"WE DO NOT TOLERATE THY UNRULY NATURE TOWARD THY STABLE! YOU SHALL SUBMIT TO AUTHORITY AND BEHAVE LIKE THY GOOD LITTLE PONY YOU ARE! NOW RESPECT THE OVERMARE! IN THY GODDESSES NAME SHE COMMANDS!"
Canterlot Royal Voice Prototype Talisman Disengaged!
I was shocked at my own voice and how my armor translated my words as I actually recall just saying. 'Follow the rules or I'll stomp on you like the little Radroach you are!' Guess that... The module needs some working... But what came next was priceless.
Gambleroll turned pale.... and pissed on himself! ...and fainted.
My sister eyes went wide at my loud booming voice than as she noticed Gamble's reaction she couldn't help herself but flop onto her back, laughing very hard, holding her side as she rolled and laughed until she ran out of wind in her lungs.
Than static came from the intercom. "Overmare Tablette to Correctional! What the hay is going on down there!? Reports of a Booming Voice was heard coming from your sector! Please respond quickly or I'll order all security to head down there now! Over!" My sister swallowed hard and regained her composure rather quickly trotting quickly to a nearby intercom and pressed on it!
"Nothing wrong Ma'am! Just interrogating Gamble with a new method! Unfortunately he has fainted, Ma'am. Over." a moment of silence before a reply came.
Static came from the intercom before the voice of the Overmare came to us again from its speakers. "Chief Steelheart! For Luna's sake hold up the zeal a little! Last thing I need is ponies dying from fear induced stroke down there alright? Augh... Just..... Go back to your family's quarter and make sure your little brother doesn't do anything foalish! Over!"
"Y-yes Ma'am! Over." Sister pressed the intercom off than sighed turning around facing me with a frown that slowly faded into a grin "Welp... that was..... unexpected? What was that voice?! By the Goddesses it was loud."
"I don't know..... something called Canterlot Royal Voice Prototype Talisman triggered as I shouted in my helmet intercom.... hrm..... one moment... I'll try something..." I took a deep breath "Deactive Canterlot Royal Voice Talisman" than my E.F.S. Lit
C.R.V.P.T. Deactivated!.
Reactivation Command is: Engage C.R.V.P.T.
Well, that's something that wasn't in the Steel Range Power Armor Manual. I guess I'll have to make some research on the T45c....
"Did it work?" my sister said with a hint of curiosity at me and I nodded "Yep... might be useful at some point. Anyway lets head home, was a pretty wild day and I could use a nap even if its gonna be inside of that badass tin can."
Sis laughed at me and then commented while swaying backward and forward "Yooou are really stuck inside of that thing aren't you?" I nodded, she just chuckled "Come on, Sarge, Lets head home." She'd say teasingly with a yawn and stretched before trotting out of Correctional.
*
As we headed back home my sister bidding me good night and went to her own quarter. I sighed calmly as I stood in the middle of the living room and comment to no-one in particular "I guess... I just... Sleep in that thing huh?" At these words I closed my eyes trailing into slumber, I'm a hard sleeper after all and in all honesty, the armor interior sure is comfy!
***
Footnote: Level up!
New Perk: Fixcolt
You are reliable! When it comes to tinkering with advanced arcane technologies or repairing material you are the pony of the deal! On the other hoof ponies that use damaged equipment might get jealous of you... (Repair increased by 25%!)
This story may be re-edited and improved later on!
Author's Note
New Adventure Begin!
Character: Sparkplug
Race: Mutant Unicorn
Gender: Stallion
Strength: 6
Perception: 6
Endurance: 8
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 4
Luck: 3
Trait
Barding Master: You spend a long time reading book abouts bardings and Power Armor and enjoy tinkering with them anytime you get a chance to! You are a master of the art of protection! (Repair Skill get a 50% Bonus when it come to repairing Barding or Power Armors! Also you are now capable of restoring Exotic Power Armor such as the T45c and unusual models of Power Armor!
Military Pony: Trough harduous training in your Stable alongside your tough big sister you came to become a resillient and capable soldier! It might have not have been your stable assigned profession, but you aced the shooting range with a gun! (Small Gun and Big Gun skills start at 50!)
Skill Tags
Small Guns
Big Guns
Repair
Wew! Here's the prologue of FoE:Aftershock! I will be working more intensively and polishing it more in the future! Do keep in mind that this is my first fiction! I edited it as much as i could with my knowledge of english! Do keep in mind i am french canadian so english ain't my prime language! Anyway!
A Big thanks to Kkat for bringing us the Fallout Equestria Universe and his story FoE,
Hasbro for giving us MLP:FiM
Somber for deepening the Fallout Equestrian lore with his story FoE:Porject Horizon and also allowing me to let some of the ponies from Project Horizon to make some potential camoe appearance in this story!
Fallout Equestria: Aftershock
Chapter 1: Induction Fallout
((This is not the final Edition! I Plan on retouching the chapter later on!))
Fallout Equestria: Aftershock
Chapter 1
Induction Fallout
"It is the WORSE POSSIBLE THING EVER!"
<->
"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"
"Wake up son! No time for sleeping now!" As I heard dad's words I slowly stirred up from unconsciousness as the armor came out of sleep mode as well as the Mana Core kick into live mode.
Than came to the sudden realisation that the Stable's alarm was blaring loudly above our head, I blinked and quickly looked around to see my father hurry and attach a large boltgun coloured box to my battle saddle left side, and pull a belt of live 14.5mm Rounds to the receiver of the massive IS-AT14 Anti-Machine Rifle that is attached to my right side, clasping it in!
"W-What... Whats going on dad?!" I shouted nervously looking around in panic as I tried to move... But the armor refused to bulge! I looked up at my Head up display of my helmet and i noticed these words blinking in red.
'Manual Failsafe Lockdown Activated! 30 Minutes before disengage!'
"No time for words son! Just remember what we taught you alright?! DO YOU COPY?!" He shouted vehemently at me as my mother hurried out of the storage room and attached a few more smaller box to my Steel Ranger T45c Armor.
"Sir! Yes, Sir!" I shouted in a reflex but that didn't stop my worry one bit, I looked around nervously as I noticed the Stable's light fluctuating oddly, even flickering, a sign of an unstable Power Generator. "Um, dad..... Who's w-" I was cut short when the sound of a teleporting pony happen in front of us by the door that leads out of our room followed by the sickened splotch of flesh against metal grating. I blanched out.
There lay my sister Steelheart, missing both her left fore and left hind legs. She looked up weakly at us with glassy eyes wheezing "T-they made it...P-pass the Atrium..... K-killing anyone... The----They..... Come....... S-sorry." Then her head landed on the floor in a wet thump letting out one last pained sigh.
A moment of silence happened followed by the unstable rumbling coming from beneath us and the room shook quite a bit this brought my parents out of shock as I kept my eyes lock upon my beloved big sister that was now dead. They kissed than joined their horns together and concentrated their spell together and both looked at me, Dad was too concentrated on the spell in the casting. But Mom spoke.
"We love you Sparky.... You're our pride...." She sniffed as the ground rumbled louder than suddenly the speaker blaring the alarm changed on tone with a warning.
'Warning! Warning! Generator Meltdown in progress! Evacuated Stable 281 Now! This is not a Drill!"
"Our last gift to you my goof of an adorable Son..... Life and freedom." Mom spoke calmly as she closed her eyes putting the last bit of her magic to the spell.
The ground started quaking heavily and the door to the room started glowing purple hot quickly and to my horror... it exploded in as a purple tendrilous flame bursted into our living quarter. I wanted to reach out to my parents as the flame swallowed them. Before I could hear their screams suddenly my vision of reality warped and faded to black as their spell kicked in, knocking me unconscious in the process.
*+*
I groaned as I looked around me, I was in the abyss of a lucid not yet complete dream. I looked around, completely surrounded by utter darkness than a voice resonated all around me.
"You have awoken.... Good. I am glad and relieved to know that not all my children died in this... Folly." Suddenly she materialized right in front of me, I couldn't help to stare in awe at the beauty of dear Goddess Luna appearing, but not quite right. She had an unyielding appearance to her, her coat was alabaster and glowing, her abyssal blue mane was flowing to the invisible wind, and she was covered in a nightmarish looking armor but what struck me to the core was her slitted eyes they looked like they were piercing through my very soul.
"Goddess L-Luna?" I said hesitantly.
As I said that name she burst into a soft laughter as she looked at me calmly and spoke again. "No.... Not quite.. but far from right. I am not Luna. My name is Penance. But you may know me under a different name: P.I.S.T.G." Than she added. "What was inside of it actually. I was what powered your Stable, endless nightmare energies coming from a broken fragment of Luna's Darkness. Nightmare Moon..."
I couldn't help it... My jaw dropped as I looked up at Penance. "Y-You... Are... Well.. Were..... our source of energies?" My mind was on the verge of derping.
"Indeed.... But it wasn't until around... A century ago before I gained sentience and developed into... A being of my own. And you, young Sparkplug are the last of my children. The last living essence of Stable 281." She said as she quietly sized me up and down. "You are still alive.... But suffer from a severe case of Induction poisoning. Lucky you.... You won't melt into a pile of fleshes like the last pony that suffered this case of poisoning, after all you are my Catalyst now. I am now using your Pipbuck as a soul jar to remain fully anchored to you. Unfortunately I had to use a living soul to make it happen and the last pony to have died in the Stable before that tragedy... Became my unwilling tool to do so. She and I are now part of your Pipbuck Matrix."
My eyes went wide.... Last person to died in Stable 281 before the Meltdown.... "S-Steelheart?"
Penance quietly nodded and sighed calmly. "All I wished for my children is to live in peace while they kept me in an healthy condition... But the black armored pegasi that invaded our beloved Stable decided otherwise. I do not know their motives but their hooves were guided by a corrupted soul, but now is not the time for retribution." She looked directly into my eyes. "You must recover, become stronger, heal your wounds and live on as... Stable 281 now live on in your heart. Do not bother returning to it, it is nothing more than just a scar on the surface of Equus now. You'll find only death there." Penance stopped speaking than looked up and around.
"You are stirring up now, its time to wake up my child." Suddenly Penance phased out of my void full dream.
*-*
The first thing that came to me was the sound of the wind whiplashing at my surrounding. I groaned painfully, I felt horrible as if my body was about to boil into... something. As i opened my eyes and looked around me the first thing that came to my attention was that my armor was in Lockdown Mode. Wich mean it have absorbed a massive concussion blast.
"D-...... Disengage Lockdown." I spoked with a strained voice, coughing a couples of times as well.
'Lockdown Disengaged! Have a safe day Sergeant.'
Great... Did my armor gotten a case of snark from the blast? I carefully looked left and right, luckily my Pipbuck was still functioning as my eye forward sparkle was still active and giving me a sense of orientation thanks to that integrated compass. As I looked East, all i was seeing were broken landscape that lead to a distant mountain. I look West, nothing of interest except a few pole that had dangling cables from them and a light in the distance. Then something struck me. It was endless grey clouds beneath me... and rubble and stones above me.
"What the hay?...." I looked around than quickly discovered that I was dangling from a rusted cable that got wedged-stuck between my right hind leg exo-fetlock armor articulation. "Great...." I carefully begun to squirm around. Bad move.
I grunted loudly as i slammed into the wooden pole that held the rusted cable I was the prisoner of and groaned "That gonna be sore tomorrow...." I grumbled than looked around for something to free myself with than my AM Rifle cannon caught my attention.
"Well... Not the smartest thing i've done in a while but... Oh well." I told myself, like if anyone was listening to me anyway.
I aimed the Rifle cannon at the pole. I ain't no physician but heck.... why not? Than i bit down onto the trigger inside my helmet.
'BOOM!'
Okay... Jackhammer complained how loud his gun was some time but heck... Glad my helmet filtered most of the decibels in that blast. But again, when it comes to stupidity, I'm an elite.
The Pole cracked and bent around before spinning, my eyes went wide as I went spinning as the pole went down crashing into the top of a motorwagon wreckage.
'Snap!'
"Oh BUCK!" Then I was sent slinging into a not so glorious glide over a few more wreckages before hitting the rear of a Trailerwagon, bursting through the back shutter of it and into a pile of dried rotten boxes followed by the sounds of breaking glasses.
I was upside down again, but on the ground this time, I groaned painfully as my armor Mana Core finally kicked in and the hud activated revealing the few problems with my armor.
'Armor Motivator Damaged at 10%'
'Medical Assistance Required Severed Poisoning from Unknown Radiation detected in user's organism.'
'Engaging Armor Auto-Repair System! Please store additional salvaged metal and steel into the appropriate armor compartment! Current Stock Available: 87% After Repair Estimation: 67%!'
Good... More things to address later. Suddenly i blinked as a bottle rolled in my sight it rolled around until the label became obvious.
"Cool..... I landed on a mountain of Sparkle Colas." A quick look around confirmed that to me. I somehow landed in the back of a shipping trailerwagon. After a quick rustling about I quickly stood back up, looking around the cart before moving to a rack near the destroyed shutter and rummaged through the moldy paper with my telekinetic magic.
"Next Shipment..... Los Alicorness Manemart.... Huh...." I tossed the manifest aside and quickly looked through a few of the undamaged box of the shipment, quickly collecting over 76 Sparkle Colas and stored them in my Armor's magical storage compartment.
"The Overmare would have killed me if I took that many Cola from the Cafeteria..." I snickered and hopped out of the trailerwagon before looking South, and my eyes went wide as I looked at the massive purple mushroom cloud in the distance. I hesitated but than slowly raised my pipbuck to look down at it, in a reflex until I realised it was covered in the armor's plating, I sighed at my own foalishness before bringing up the pipbuck screen to my helmet's HUD.
I shuffled through the feature quietly before bringing up the map and slowly started dragging the map south. Then I stopped, my eyes frozen at the name of the Location of Stable 281.
<>
I shuddered a bit and whimpered closing my eyes as a wave of emotion crushed trough me like a tidal. I sniffed a few times as I started crying inside of my armor.
They were all gone, Mom, Dad, Sis... and... Everypony else..... Stable 281... Gone.
I let out a griefing scream of anger and pain as I turned around and in my fury apple bucked a nearby wreckage, the armor hydraulic tensed and acted accordingly sending a powerful blast into the vehicule, sending it flipping upside down against the roadside, leaning against a groaning cable pole.
They will pay. Whoever attacked Stable 281 will pay. I snarled and stumbled a bit to the side, glaring to the mushroom cloud one last time before slumping down onto my rear, allowing the emotion to wash away slowly.
"Well Look'it here! Y'all! We got ourselve a tin can!" I quickly looked around to see a group of 3 Ponies atop of Buswagon they were all cladded in rubbish, studded and spiked barding. 2 stallions and 1 mare.
"Shit and i forgot my can opener at home!" The mare said cackling maniacaly, her mane was stiled in a messed up mohawk and her barding was mostly chains and road signs. What was most disturbing of her was the pony skull attached to her chest piece and the Unicorn horns colelction dangling on her side.
"'NOUGH! About that I'm fucking hungry and i'm sure the Meatcan have alot of goodies to eat!" Said the stallion on the opposite side to the first one shouted angrily with a walled eye expression wich made me question his intellect 'stability'. He seemed to be wearing some sort of motorwagon tires barding.
I quickly spun around to face them in a reflex. "So much for a kind welcome to the surface. Look everypony! I mean you all no harm! I j-" Than the mare cut me.
"No harm?! WHat the fuck is this joke?! Is there a cute little foal inside that armor? Please say yes!... I' didn't rape something still living in quite a while!" She shouted at me before gowing into a mad laughter.
The first stallion spoke again. "Oh this is soooo good! Not only your a Tin Can.. But your also Canned Good! That make even better! AT HIM BOYS!" He than jumped off the buswagon and charged me, while the other stalion that was to his right started flanking the mare, stood up cackling like a manical freak atop the bus aiming some sort of makeshift weapon at me and pulling the trigger.
I grunted and stumbled back as 10mm rounds started clinking loudly upon my armor. I quickly looked up and gasped as i realised their 'leader' was charging at me with a sledgehammer. I quickly braced myself and started charging forward him as well, he was mad but not afraid, he was also imposing for a stallion, bigger than his flunkies that I did not pay attention to right now. As he started shouting a battlecry. In an unexpected reflex I jumped up trying to jump overhim like I used to do back in my training against my sister, but a problem quickly showed up.
I was in my Steel Ranger Armor, this time. Instead of jumping over him I simply jump-dive at him, crashing into him hard, followed by a bonechilling gurgling noise. As I paid attention to what happened. My eyes could not believe what was going on.
'Sledgehammer' was literaly.... Deep throated by my AM Rifle cannon, flailing maddly with wide eyes.
"OH! SLEDGE GOT IT GOOD!" Shouted the mad raider mare. Suddenly my HUD picked up a warning from her as she hoofed up a apple-shaped grenade and again my reflex kicked in!
I quickly spun the flailing raider around and shouted loudly "SORRY!!!!!!" than bite down the trigger. It is safe to said that... my makeshift supressor muffled the sound well.... But my field of view turned into a cloud of red. Followed by the explosion of the grenade and the agonizing scream of the madmare.
As the cloud dissipated all that was left of Sledge was his head upside down impaled onto my AM Rifle cannon his eyes glassy but stuck in a state of panic. I took a deep breather and cringingly started pushing the head off the cannon and went flopping down into the dirt. "...Ew gross."
I sighed calmly but than something in the back of my mind snapped. Wait... Where's the third?....
Suddenly a intense wave of pain stabbed into my side I yepled and quickly glance at the wall-eyed earth pony stallion that was holding a spear in his mouth, the tip of it was burried into my side between the jointing, I groaned in utter pain.
"YOU KILLED MY FRIENDS YOU AS-" He started shouting at me but I did not let him finish his sentence as I spun around and apple bucked him in the face combining my strength and the armor's hydraulic, the result was a brutal splatter. I quickly glanced around to look at my hoofwork, just to see an headless body flying off and crashin off roughly into another wreckage.
I groaned again as i quickly looked around than at my EFS. Than I double take at it again and groaned "Stupid me.... Why did i not think to look at my EFS when they showed up..." I grunted and flopped to my side and with my magic. I bit my lips as i extracted the spear from my side and growled. I had a good pain resistance for concussive blow but when it come to physical puncture or slashing it still hurted like Tartarus.
As I was about to discard the spear I stopped than slowly brought the spear closer looked at the bloodied purple tip of it. Than slowly looked at my sight. Okay... Now I've seen it all.. somehow my blood turned from red to purple? What else could go wrong? That it start raining chocolate milk?.
Suddenly a roar came from the sky followed by droplet of water and than a hard on shower.
"Me and my..... STUPID MOUTH." I groaned and carefully stood back up suckling in the pain from my wound, than something on my Armor HUD popped.
'Moderate Injury Analyse complete, injecting Healing Potion. Reserve remaining: 11%'
Another thing to add to my long list of problem! Note to self: Need to find more potions. I sighed than brought up my pipbuck overlay to my Helmet HUD and looked at the map , scrolling up North and stopped at a marker as I zoomed a bit out of the region.
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Boneyard?... I quickly climbed up the Buswagon looking north....
All I could see up the highway was countless more motorwagons of all sorts that tried to escape the city wich was now a massive cluster of broken skyscrappers and skeletal frames remnant of some of them. I looked North East and brought up my pipbuck map and rolled North East on it.
<>
My wild guess is where the Zebran Balefire bomb landed. As i looked at the crate in the far away distance, a strange sickly green glowing storm was constantly raging above it. Then i remembered something and looked back West toward the light in the distance, and slowly went and hopped off the buswagon and plowed trough the highway side rail as I started to trot toward the light in the distance...
A moment later I arrived at the said light wich turned out to be a campfire with... Blood, lots of blood around it and 2 corpse. I carefully trotted over to the first one as the last light of Celestia's sun glimpsed over the horizon and Dusk gave place to night it was kind of too hard to discern the feature. In a reflex I turned on my helmet's light and looked down and gasped in shock. These were not dead ponies, but dead zebras they were saturated with bullet holes. I looked around and found a bullet casing lifting it up.
10mm Bullets. Must have been the madponies hoofwork. I looked up at the two bodies carefully, a mare and a stallion. I sighed.
"Poor bastard... Might have not even deserve it." I commented to myself as I trudged over a rucksack and started to scrounge trough it. I quickly stopped as I caught movement from the corner of my eye, comming from the zebra mare's body. Could it be?...
As I approached the body I quickly noticed something out of place, her forelegs were higher and had something between them, with a mechanical fetlock of my armor, I carefully brushed aside revealing what the item was.
A small zebra filly, curled into a ball and shaking. I carefully decreased the intensity of my Helmet's light until it was dim before carefully unclasping and removing the lock of my helmet and removed it, carefully setting it down , keeping the light on the shaking filly. I sat down on my armored haunches.
"Hey..... You can come out now... I'm not going to hurt you, I'm a good pony...." I stopped a moment before adding. "A Good pony who took care of the bad ponies that did this to your... parents?"
After a long moment of silence, the filly's head poked up slowly, her big amber-coloured eyes looking up at me, wide and glossy from exhaustion and crying. She gasped and went back into hiding a moment before poking back up looking at me, scared and completly terrorized.
"Look i'm not a bad pony! Believe me, I know my eyes look glowy and scary but... its not so bad..." I carefully took up my helmet in my hoof and turned the visor so i can look at my own reflection in the polarised lens of it. "I'm no b- WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH MY EYES?!" The filly squeaked and went back into hiding from my sudden outburst but I was too absorbed by my eyes appearance. The white of my eyes was completely black now and my glowing blue iris now had slitted pupils.
I quickly tossed my helmet aside shuddering, hiding my face from the filly wincing. "S-sorry! Didn't know I got freakier!" I said with a calm whimper.
For a moment nothing happened than I heard a rustling followed by a bit of movement on my armor, I slowly turned my head back to look right into the eyes of a now curious filly, our eyes were just inches away from one another she had an awed expression. I remained still for a moment before she climbed on top of my pauldron with dexterity and slid down onto my back between tucking herself away close to my Armor's power pack and the large chain of 14mm Rounds that went from the box to my left flank to the gun on my right flank. and muttered something in zebrican before trailing off to sleep.
I mentally wondered what she said and sighed as I carefully stood up, making sure not to disturb my newest 'passenger'. I went back to scrounge trough the rucksack, finding a small doll and a few other mementos that I carefully with respect stashed away in my armor's storage unit.
As i was about to leave I stopped and looked back at the dead zebras around the campfire. I let out a pained sigh as I trotted back toward the corpses, I delicately levitated them together up right into the campfire before moving the remain of the rucksack over them as everything goes to blaze. I looked back over my shoulder, the zebra filly on my back was still asleep, twitching a few times than I looked back toward the funeral pire before speaking.
"May the Goddesses ease your passing. May Celestia guide you back to your ancestral land, May Luna keep you from the coldness of the dark and may Nightmare Moon show you mercy..."
Suddenly my eyes went wide at my last bit of prayer. Since when did I start preaching the folly of Luna?. But a voice in the back of my mind spoke. the familiar voice of Penance.
I blinked. Madness? Is this why somepony down in Stable 281 sometime went into hysterical fits? I pondered.
I nodded calmly, looking one last time at the pyre before grabbing my helmet up and sliding it back on, locking it tight to my neck guard and adjusting the collar of my armor. I slowly begin to trot off in silence, heading toward Los Alicorn ruins. The Boneyard.
Looking one last time at the pyre, I knew what my next goal was in this devastated world. Right the wrong. Aint that right Sis?... Goddesses I already misses them all already...
***
It was later in the middle of the night that I started to feel exhaustion get the better of me, despite the armor's assistance my trotting turn into trudging. I've decided to stop and have a quick look around, I was back on the Highway to the Boneyard and I was heading to an Equestrian Army checkpoint up the road, abandonned by the look of it and further up ahead I spotted some lights in the distance, multiples of them, I brought down the tactical monocle of my helmet with my TK and look trough it, zooming onto the glares of the light in the distance.
All I could see was multiple of two-headed bovines around a pole by a makeshift wall that surrounded some sort of makeshift town made out of various pieces rigged together into the shapes of homes and other building, there was also 2 ponies guarding the mane gate, 1 earth pony, and 1 unicorn. A quick look at their equipment showed sign of salvaged and refurbished Equestrian Army combat armor pieces together and repaired with bits of steel and scrapping. I quickly mentally took a note they looked nothing like the madponies from before and they both looked utterly bored.
I decided to proceed and trotted over the military checkpoint, looking over my pauldron cautiously to make sure the zebra filly was still resting, I nodded in satisfaction as it was the case. As I arrived to the checkpoint, I quickly spotted 2 sandbags cover on both side of the roads, a mobile military trailerwagon with a bunch of antennas and dishes on top of it, remembering one of Jackhammer's logs it must have been one of those mobile Equestrian HQ. Approaching the first cover of sandbag and spotted some rusted out ammo boxes behind it, first one was locked, I didn't have anything to open it up and thought about using my AM Rifle to blast it open but I kept in mind there was a sleeping filly on my back now and also that the noise may attract some undesirables, than I noticed the other box was unlocked, I gave it a swift tap on the latche with my right foreleg's exohoove onto the clasp, the box flipped open revealing an old shoddy mouth-held army knife and a dozen of 5.56mm Rounds. I quickly grabbed it all up, storing the ammo in my armor storage unit and brought the knife up to my eyes, examining it.
"Hrm... If I can find a decently shaped flint I'm sure I can bring back your beauty..." I whispered to the knife quietly before sliding it into the armor storage unit as well then proceed to look around the checkpoint.
After scrounging trough some Military Motorwagon, I scavenged some water bottles, some canned foods and a few MRE that still looked edible after test-opening one of them and eating its content. I went up to have a look around of the Mobile HQ and spotted an old rotten box and... right next to it an abandoned steel ranger armor!... I hurried close to it and took a quick look at it and grumbled. The armor was baddly rusted and damaged, missing a few pieces on it as well, showing the frame beneath it.
"Not even my Assembly spell could fix that... Some of the pieces are beyond repair.... hrm, the helmet would have been salvagable if it wasn't for that busted lens and missing rebreather tubes." I quickly used my TK and carefully unclasped the armor's right pauldron off looking at it. "The silver coating as faded but... I guess I can try and give it a good repolish and I'm sure I can use it as spare pauldron even if they are of the T51a variants..." I quickly folded the pauldron and attached it to the hooks on the side of my AM-Rifle Ammo box that is attached to the other side of my armor-mounted battle saddle.
A quick overlook of the armor so far shown that the chest piece was completely ruined and eaten up by the rust. It was truely a damn shame considering it was a T51 Steel Ranger Armor, an armor variant that I truely adored. As for the frame of the armor itself, the rust completely jammed its articulation, the servos were completely busted and the motivator was fried. I carefully moved around and examined the armor power pack and gasped in surprise! The Mana Core was still there in 2 light in the quadrant of it were still lighten up, sign that there was still around 50% of energies left in it!
It took me a bit to wrestle it out of the suit, that was until the zebra filly woken up and noticed what I was doing, she then quickly looked around and opened my armor storage unite and snuck inside of it... completly, I was a bit worried for her due to the magical nature of my storage unit, until she suddenly crawled out of it with the shoddy army knife in her mouth and went on to expertly slide it in a wedge between the steel ranger armor power pack and the mana core, carefully leaning to the right then to the left before a pop is heard followed by a release whistle and the mana core slid out of the socket.
"Whoa... Nice job kid!" I smiled at the filly before moving over and grabbing the mana core in my TK and carefully floated it back into my storage unit. Then I looked over at the filly, despite exhaustion she gave me a weak smile with the army knife in her mouth it looked just plain adorable?... "Well for your help, you can keep that knife but, I'll have to sharpen it so it can be of use for ya in the future."
She nodded and carefully looked around the wrecked steel ranger armor and started removing the leather strapping from the hinds legs of it than slid down on her rump and begun working on something with them.
Well... At least she seems to understand equestrian. "Hrm." I looked around and trudged up the ramp into the Mobile HQ looking around it, lots of wrecked Terminals except one in a corner that was still glowing its mellow green color and a rack of rusted out weapons on a wall by the entrance. A quick glance around revealed more ammo boxes too.
I walked over to the rifles in the rack and took a quick look at them and smirked as I commented to myself out loud. "Ah. LAA 5.56 Water-Cooled Assault Rifle. Ironshod's competitor sure took pride in these little heavily modifiable toys." I carefully levitated one of them to my eyes examining it. I nodded as I carefully levitated all of them out of the rack with my TK and started dismantling them for parts, keeping the usable one while discarding the useless one. I sorted them out before attaching them with a fishnet I salvaged from the HQ's celling and attached it to the ammo box of my battle saddle beneath the salvaged pauldron and I looked over to the ammo boxes, taking a mental note to look at them later.
I moved over to the terminal and to my surprise it was logged in, I quickly looked at the logs and went to the two last recorded log and pressed the play button.
<< Initializing Log 74.>>
"Corporal Poptart here... What the hay is going on out there?! It's total panic! Ponies try to leave the city while the military wants to get in! The Major Lemon Pie went AWOL and the Master Sergeant Apple Rig just left out of the blue with a note saying that he went to look for his family on the City's outskirt! Now I'm all stuck alone here with a bunch of privates doing the workhorse job! Damn this job!"
<>
<>
"Poptart here... Screw this! Screw EVERYTHING! Report indicated Cloudsdale got blown and Canterlot got gas'd with the same pink stuff that struck Littlehorn! Even the Princesses are reported killed! Fuck this! Me and the boys all agreed to go AWOL too, Sarge had the right idea, he never showed back here at the checkpoint and he was our last Steel Ranger around here! Damn it all! Those Zebra cunts fucked us all over as well as those half-witted ministry mares! We are DONE! Fuck the War! Fuck everything and everyponies that started it! We are out boys! May the Princesses souls have mercy on all those who read this message and leave the city's perimeter as quick as possible, report says a zebran balefire warhead got launched from the sea and is heading directly for Los Alicorn! Does fucking stripes!..."
<>
I just stared at the screen lost in my thoughts pondering. Wait... Wayward Grand Pa Apple Rig was last stationed here?! I let out an exhausted sigh.
Suddenly a tap on the back of my helmet brought me out of my stupor, I looked around as a black striped white blur hopped from my back and next to me on the floor, with the knife still in her mouth she looked up at me then pointed behind me, I gave a quick glance at the room and my jaw dropped in utter bafflement inside my helmet, she had unlocked all the ammo boxes as well as the lockers in the corner of the HQ! She already salvaged most munitions and dumped them in my storage unit while I was absorbed by the terminal's logs.
I trudged over to the locker and looked at the names on them, I respectfully closed the one of the soldiers from the Logs than went to open the one with the initial "A.R." written on it, inside of it i started to scrounge trough the abandoned belonging.
The first thing that struck me when I opened the locker was the picture in the inner door. Even if it was somewhat faded a bit, the locker door seems to have helped in preserving it.
It was a picture of Apple Rig in the very same T45d I am currently wearing without the helmet with a big smile and his right foreleg around the same lovely unicorn mare with reading glasses in her ministry of wartime technologies lab coat. Lavender Gearheart. Both giving a warm smile to the camera Lavender was gravid in appearance, obviously pregnant when the time this picture was taken.
I carefully dislodged the picture, looking at it carefully with a weak smile, I sniffled a little. The Zebra filly was back on top of my steel ranger armor power pack and was staring over my shoulder as she finally spoke.
"Pretty..." She said in a softly accented equestrian.
"Indeed they are cute together," I said in a calm serene tone before opening my storage unit and carefully attached the picture to the inner casing before closing it. A quick last look into the locker told me that most of the items in here were molded and rotten, I carefully levitated a few bits of rubbish out of the locked and gasped in surprise at my discovery.
At the bottom of the locked was a half-open rotten cardboard box and inside of it were 2 unused Mana Core with their quadrants full! I sent a quiet thanks to my Ancestor before quickly stashing the Cores in my storage unit as well then my armor beeped!
<>
I quickly levitated 2 Sparkle Colas out of my storage unit, carefully uncapping them with my TK and offering one of them to the filly and took one for myself. Taking a brief sip from it savoring the flat carroty taste of the brown liquid before looking over at the filly. "So... Whats your name kid?" I asked with a lazy smile.
"I.." She looked down. "I am Nima... Papa and Mama always said.. Not to speak or trust strangers. But you. You are good pony." She gave me an unsure small smile then added. "With freaky dragon eyes like maiden of the stars." She nodded. "But you are stallion, so that mean you can't be her!" She gave yet another firm nods and gave me a stoic smile before going on and chugging the sparkle cola into her mouth, drinking down the carroty liquid.
I chuckled quietly at her. "Well... Nice to meet'cha Nima. I'm Sparkplug. I carefully sat down on my haunches and moved an exohoof across my forehead, brushing my blue mane out of my sight and sighed. "Sorry about your Mom and Dad by the way... I'm sure they must have been good p-zebras." I quickly corrected myself and gave her a sincere smile.
Suddenly her eyes went wide and tears begin to form in the, she quickly shook her head and let a quiet whimper before replying. "I... Thank you Sparkplug. They were indeed nice.. Still ache in my chest, knowing they are gone." She went on and finish her sparkle cola in silence.
I couldn't help but admire her for having the courage to speak with me and also the fact that even if unpolished her equestrian was a melody to the ears. I gave her a brief smile before standing and stretching up making the hydraulic in the armor whistle a bit! Even with that cumbersome armor on, it felt good to stretches.
"Hop on Nima! As much as I like to relax a lot and just being a lazy douche at a time! I'd rather spent my night somewhere safe th-." I stopped speaking and noticed a red blip on my EFS's compass I quickly turned in the direction of it and as my compass arrow was right beneath the blip a number appeared and was quickly decreasing. In a reflex, I spun around the door and aimed my AM-Rifle at the entrance of the Mobile HQ. Nima took it as a cue and jumped onto my back, hiding behind the power pack of my armor, I quickly flung my helmet on and locked it. The target was now a meter away and was moving closer and slammed by the entrance!
"Alright, you motherfucking raiders!" Came a raspy yet familiar voice from the recording. "Not a move or I'll blow your fucking heads off!"
I hesitated a moment before answering. "C-Corporal Poptart?"
"...The Fuck?" Came the raspy voice than his blip on my EFS turned from red to white, I relaxed as the soldier walked up the ramp into the HQ.
To my shock what was in front of me was a walking corpse in military fatigue and a badly dented helmet with cloudy milky eyes gazing in my direction. He looked at me in utter bafflement, obviously, my armor made quite an impression on him.
"Well, I'll be!... A motherfucking steel ranger!... Damn kid... They gave ya the clankiest of them suit heh? Haven't seen one of them t45 in ages!" The zombie pony said with a big grin then his expression went serious. "Now what the fuck are you doing in my old house?! Ain't nothing techie in here to steal anymore! Now Git!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Easy now Cor- Err I mean Mister Poptart! I'm not here to steal tech... Stuff... Augh... What I'm here for... Okay! In all honesty, I was salvaging!." I replied with a hint of shame in my voice.
For a moment the zombie pony glared at me before he gave somewhat a calm smile. "T'least your sincere kiddo." He then gave me a frown. "Now would you please remove that damn helmet, it's rude to speak to somepony I can't see the face off!"
I quickly complied, unlocking and removing my helmet pulling it off revealing my face to the zombie pony.
"Well, I'll be... Damn Apple Rig?... Did you sprout a bloody horn and the fuck is with the freaky eyes?! Wait Apple Rig ain't that coat coloration! Who the fuck are you and why do yeh look just like the old sarge?!" The zombie pony rasped angrily.
"B-because Apple Rig... Is my Ancestor?" I replied with an innocent grin.
For a moment the zombie Poptart just stared at me before his jaw opened than closed again, he let out a relaxed sigh "Damn... And I thought the old sarge died in the blast..." He then looked the armor over quietly and took note of the newest decals. "I guess he actually made it into 281 heh?... He always said that if shit hit the fan that he'd bail out of service and abuse of his authority to get his family in the safety of a Stable... Well glad to see that he made it and considering he avoided getting turn into this..." He pointed himself. "I guess he's a goner huh?"
"Yeah.... 170 years of something right?" I said with pure curiosity.
Poptart absentmindedly blinked to me before sighing. "Well... I guess so. And you being here.. and that big bad purple mushroom in the South... I guess something bad happened to the Stable over yonder huh?"
I nodded. "Stable 281 is gone. Generator Meltdown and that mushroom you saw is the result of it." I said solemnly and added. "Happened right when a bunch of black power armored pegasi stormed the Stable."
Poptart flinched at this "Them fucking featherbrains?!... Damn Son, don't know what you did to get those whack job Enclave pissed at ya! But I ain't want no part of this! And I pray the Goddesses that they don't return here... Heh after all when that big Purple Mushroom exploded, Saw one of them' badly damaged raptor fly above the Boneyard and went crashing East somewhere the Desolate Arids between the Boneyard. Its a big dust bowl and a big mess of radscorp's Only thing that go across that place are well-armed caravan and they mostly stick to the Long Lane 16"
"Desolate Arids huh? Might go there myself, maybe there is some answer for me in that wreckage." I added.
"Don't kid. Uh huh, not worth it. The Desolate Arids have their name for a reason. Anyponies that went there never came back. Nowadays the folks prefer to go around the Arids considering its the nesting ground of the Emperor Radscorpions, meanest radscorpions I ever encountered, heck even seen one of them slicing clean trough a hellhound! Damn! It was so gory..." He shuddered.
"Okay." I nodded calmly.
"But!... There may be a way for ya across the Desolate Arids! The Long Lane 16 that stops by a Mana-Refueling Station between here and the eastern transit to central Equestria! As for the Station its called The Middle Lane Station. Don't know if it's still standin' but I guess you could give it a check if your bold enough to do the trip! Oh and considering your suit of armor, I'd recommend avoiding the Steel Ranger patrols of the Boneyard and also the Steel Demons... They might take an x-tra interest n' ya." Poptart snorted with a rotten toothy grins
"Why? I replied.... and also. What are you?.. What is a Hellhound and What in the hay is a Steel Demon?!" I asked curiously as I sat back on my haunches, Nima was peeking from below one of my foreleg warily at the ghoul but remained quiet and hidden.
"What am I?!" Poptart burst into a laughter. "You really do are canned good aren't ya son? Oh well. Better now then never! Well, kid... I'm a ghoul, and a ghoul... is... Well to put it crudely and rudely: A animated corpse. We are ponies that were unlucky enough to not have found a cozy place in one of them' Stables and not so lucky enough to die from the balefire radiation blast..." He sighed dejectedly. "As for Hellhounds, well somehow the Diamond Dogs won the genetic mutation shindigs and turned into a beastly monster with claws so big that they could open your armor like a can opener!... As for the Steel Demons. Those bastards are nothing more than Steel Rangers turned full on raiders! I heard stories that a cou happened with the Los Alicorn Steel Ranger Chapter, the 'Elder' got six feet under and half the group turned into a bloodthirsty bastard, as for the rest they kept to their old code or something and moved to a bunker facility North East of the Boneyard."
"Sorry," I said in a reflex to his first response.
"Oh don't be." Poptart snorted "Well I guess I'm lucky enough I didn't go feral like the rest of my unit..."
"Feral?..." I said with curiosity.
"Oh... That's another sob story about the Waste. Well, son... A feral is... A pony like me. But without the chatting, add more groaning, moaning and roaring instead and they are out for fresh 'meat'. They are nothing more than savage beasts. The only right thing to do about them is put them out of their misery. Keep that in mind kid." He said morbidly before sighing. "It's the only act of mercy one can do for a feral. Never forget it."
"Understood and thanks for all the info and the time you gave to us Poptart,"I said with a calm smile.
"Us?...." The ghoul frowned and tilted his head.
Suddenly the zebra filly's head poked from above my shoulder with a curious gleam in her eyes, eyeing the ghoul.
"Well I'll be! A tiny stripes!" The ghoul rasped into a laughter than he blinked and frowned. "Wait.. I remember that filly! She passed the checkpoint yesterday with her parents! From what I heard they were fleeing the Extremists and wanted to make themselves a better live elsewhere in the Equestrian Wasteland!"
The filly looked down obviously pained by the words said, I sighed calmly and spoke for her. "That's because.." My tone got somber the glow of my iris brightened with anger as I spoke. "Raiders got to them. Nima survived the encounter... And she's now under my protection." I nodded firmly.
In a response, the filly muttered something in zebrican and hugged my neck.
"Sorry to hear son... The Wasteland has always been an unforgiving place and from what that girl just said in her native language, I'm afraid to tell ya you will have to care for her upbringing!" The old ghoul said with a calm smile to me.
"Well... Guess its a way of fate telling me I have to make up for all my laziness back at the Stables." I sighed than blinked, looking at Poptart. "Wait.. you understood what she said? What did she just said?!"
Poptart burst into laughter before grinning. "She called you. 'New Papa'." He said with a smug grin before sighing. "Well, you take care of that stripes, kid. Some ponies out there did not forget the involvement of the Stripes in Equestria's end. Keep that in mind, lots of jerks out there that hold a stupid grudge toward zebras and also toward us ghouls... You'll find out soon enough." He'd nodded. "Well then, was nice speaking to ya Sparky boy. But I need to return to G-Haven. After all, I'm the mayor there, and no can't tell ya where it is. Only ghouls are allowed over there! OH and before I go... Be proud of that armor, and your old man, Rig. He was nice, not like the scums that made up the upper echelons of the Equestrian Army...." He grunted and sighed. "Maybe we'll speak again someday kids! Stay safe out there!" He said turning around and walking off, waving a hoof.
"Yeah... See ya, Corporal." I nodded and sighed, looking over at Nima. Who looked back at me. "So... I'm your new papa huh?"
She blushed and just went hiding under the bullet belt between my AM Rifle and my Ammo box. I snorted and chuckled at her reaction before shaking my head. before speaking "Time to move on I guess. No point at staying in this Mobile HQ."
I carefully strapped my helmet back onto my head and looked at my pipbuck display in my helmet, carefully opening the map and scrolling North to the outskirt of the Boneyard and stopped on a point of interested.
<>
I put a Compass pin on it and quickly looked around my pipbuck interface than blinked as something struck me. Is there still a radio in the Equestrian Waste? I clicked on the radio button and 3 Radio showed.
I blinked and curiously clicked the Emergency signal.
'Click!'
"This is not a drill! I repeat! This is not a drill! The worse as come to past! A Balefire Missile is on its way to hit Los Alicorn! All residents are requested to leave the city Immediately! This Message will repeat! In 10 secondes!"
I quickly turned it off and looked around and noticed it was coming from my location. I walked up to the distress beacon attached to the wall of the Mobile HQ and noticed that the activation Lever was missing. I rolled my eyes and raised my right exohoof up... Then slammed it right into the beacon pannel! A loud pop followed by a fizzle was heard as I extracted the hoof from the panel and looked at the Radio tab of my pipbuck and nodded in satisfaction as the L.A.E.E. signal was gone.
Then I left the Mobile HQ heading toward the pin on my E.F.S. Compass that indicated Ridgeway town. Meanwhile, I clicked on a different radio. This time i chose Lost Hill Bunker 17.
'Click!'
First, it was static but the voices started to speak.
"Hey!... Scribes Mantle! Something weird just happened!" A voice said.
An elderly mare voice replied. "What is it this time Paladin Boldwill?" She said with a tired tone in her voice.
"You know that Emergency signal going on at the Southern outskirt of Los Alicorn? It just went off the air! And from last I heard it was coming from that old military checkpoint from down south on the main highway!" Boldwill replied.
"And?..." Said the annoyed voice of the old mare named Mantle.
"You know what went off in the south a couple of hours ago?." Said Boldwill sheepishly.
"Yes that so-called 'purple' balefire explosion! Why would that bother you? Might have just been the radiation of that thing that put that annoying beacon out of its misery!" She moaned in annoyment.
"Actually Ma'am... With all due respect, I doubt radiation would have triggered the Mobile HQ Sensor units and considering how abrupt the signal ended... I'd say somepony gave a good Hoofslam at the Beacon." The Paladin said hesitantly.
I blanched out under my helmet. "Shit..."
"EUGH! Fine! Take Initiate Lamprey and go out there and INVESTIGATE! But keep in mind our resource are limited!" The old mare whined than suddely stopped. "Wait a sec... Paladin Boldwill! Someone is listening in on us!"
"What?! This is a secure channel! How can it be possible? Is it the Steel Demons?" Boldwill said with a tone of worry.
"Negative, just a seconde... There you go... Ah! Found the Culprit! Hrm... Matriculation... Steel Ranger Master Sergeant Apple Rig... Alright, Mister Rig I would like to request from you that you stay still while we 'retrieve' you!" Said the mare with a hint of amusement.
I blinked and looked at Nima who was listening too. "Um... Oh ho... Should I say something?"
She smirked and shrugged then, set a hoof on her chin before she gives a playful grin to me and nodded.
"Alright... Um..." I carefully clicked on the responder of my helmet and spoke. "Um Hello?..."
"Hey, you! You! Having fun on listening in on encrypted channels?" Said the Paladin with a hint of snark in his tone.
"Quiet Paladin! Let me handle this! Alright, Wastelander! You have in your possession something that belongs to us: Your Armor, surrender it to us and we promise no harms will be done to you." Said Scribe Mantle coldly.
I blinked and grimace and quickly replied. "So!..... RUDE!" At this reply, Nima rolled onto my back laughing and she wasn't the only one, Boldwill started laughing too over the communication.
"Look like we got a funny one Master Scribe!" the Paladin replied with a chuckle.
"ORDER!" Mantle shouted trough the communication. "Last chance! Surrender the armor to us Wastelander."
"Negative Ma'am. I won't surrender my heirloom to you 'Scribe' keep in mind that you're asking me to part way with something that belonged to my family for generations. So, Yes! Over my dead cold body. My ancestor may have served diligently within the Steel Ranger but me? From what I've heard all you care about is technologies. Do you want it? Come and get it!" I snarled into my helmet responder while I kept trudging and getting slowly closer to Ridgetown.
"Oh my! I believe we hit the jackpot with this one Scribe Mantle!" Said Boldwill jokingly.
Mantle groaned and replied. "Fine, Paladin Boldwill! You and Initiate Lamprey! You are under direct order to find that fool and bring that derelict armor by force to the bunker! And you Wastelander! You'll regret crossing the Steel Rangers." She snarled over the communication.
"You dare call yourself Steel Ranger? 'Scribe' Mantle." I coldly said. "Considering what I heard about you lot, you perverted the code of Applejack. For that, I will do whatever is in my power to put you back in your place, you hag." I said venomously.
Mantle gasped. "W-what did you call me brat?!.." Then her tone went cold. "What... is... your... name..."
I smirked "Stable Ranger Sergeant Sparkplug, Matricule SR-2-81." I said with a sheepish grin. "Keep that in mind you silly scribbling hag." I quickly clicked myself on mute and put my signal in phantom mode trough my military pipbuck and listened in.
"OH DARE HE! OH DARE HE?! Nopony speak to me like this EVER AND NEVER! Paladin Boldwill! Find him! Kill him!- No, wait! Subdue him and bring him to me!" She snarled loudly.
"With all due respect Master Scribe Mantle... Sparkplug ain't a raider Name... And um... SR-2-81 Stable 281... Was the place that turned into a purple mushroom cloud." Boldwill added.
Suddenly Mantle hesitated to respond at the realization of what the Knight said. She sighed and grumble. "That change everything, a stable dweller in an old suit of T45d. Hrm... Let me search the registry of Equestria Military log..." After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "That brat wasn't lying to us!... Well now so a Steel Ranger that went AWOL truely ended in Stable 281 huh? Thought these rumors were only a joke.. But the suit ID. and its authenticity confirm it all! Palading!" She shouted.
"Ma'am!" Replied Boldwill.
"You are under the specific order to grab both Initiate Lamprey and Scribe Linen track the Stable 281 survivor and detain him and bring him right here! And proceed with extreme precaution, you may be dealing with a pony that may have followed a vigorous military training by tradition!" Mantle said firmly.
"Yes, Ma'am! We are already geared and moving out now!"
I clicked the signal off and sighed. "Well, this oughta be interesting..."
Nima nodded.
***
As I approached Ridgeway town's main gate I carefully disengaged my AM-Rifle, the massive cannon, came louse and folded upward and clipped onto the top of the Rifle's receiver in a folded position and carefully turned on my helmet's headlight at a dim power level to show my non-hostile intention.
The first guard to sport me was the Earth Pony stallion who quickly raised his old refurbished LAA 556 Rifle at me and shouted. "Halt Steel Ranger! State your business with Ridgeway Town!" He demanded.
"Whoa easy there, I'm not with those goons nor I am with those Steel Demons maniacs," I replied and added. "I'm just here to get some rest and sell some stuff and perhaps buy some as well, I don't have any bits thought if there is a toll to pay to enter this town?"
Both guards relaxed and the unicorn mare spoke. "Well good to know, can't be too cautious here, especially in the outer rim of the Boneyard.." She said with a small smile then snickered. "And seriously?... Bits? From what sinkhole are you from, Tin can?"
"Stable 281." I simply said.
The mare stopped laughing and both guards blinked and looked at each other than the stallion spoke. "Are you for real?... I mean... On last new DJP0N-3 said that Stable turned into a massive gaping glowing hole South of here, and considering the big purple mushroom we all seen from the town itself... I didn't think anyone could survive that!"
I nodded. "As real as I live, well I guess I got lucky when the Stable reactor got into a meltdown, my parents combined their magic together and teleported me far away from the Stable...." I said bitterly remembering the last moment I spent with both my parents.
The unicorn mare looked at me in utter bafflement than said. "Synchronise spell casting! This is crazy!. Awesome but still! CRAZY! I don't know how your parents pulled it off but damn! ....Awesome..."
I carefully unlocked and removed my helmet attaching it to my right pauldron loophole, meanwhile, Nima flopped on my left pauldron, looking at the 2 guards curiously. The first to react to that was the stallion.
"Whoa, freaky eyes!!" He then looked at the zebra filly "Nima?!" He gasped. "What are you doing here?! Where are you, parents?"
Nima looked down biting her lower lip muttering something in zebrican before moving to hide under my AM's munition belt. I decided to speak for her.
"Her family camp got hit by Raiders pretty hard. Found her in the ruins of their camps and she stuck with me ever since." I said sternly, stomping and exohoof into the dirt beneath me to affirm myself to the 2 guards.
The unicorn mare was the first to react "Oh those poor souls... All they were doing is getting away from the madness of the Boneyard after they defected from the Extremists..." She sighed looking down for a moment before looking back up at me with a very calm expression. "Please take good care of her. We here are Ridgeway Town can't commit ourself to raising orphans, this is a trader town after all and resources are always being spent and gained here. So we can't do anything to help her."
"Well, I am her adoptive father now?... So I guess you won't have to worry about that Missy?..."
"Greymist." She said calmly, removing her guard helmet, revealing a mottle grey mane and a light blue coat, despite a number of scars on her face she was a cute pony to look at. "I know it doesn't man much to you but. Thanks for looking after little Nima from now on... " She looked at the name on my collar. "Mister Steel Ranger Sergeant Sparkplug. That's long one..."
Both I and the stallion guard snorted at her comment before I replied to her. "Just Sparkplug or Spark like my friends call me." I smiled at her calmly.
She giggled and nodded then both guards went to both sides of the gates and synchronisingly pressed buttons, the gate lifted up. then the stallion spoke. "Enjoy your stay in Ridgeway Town, Spark and stay out of trouble, the Saloon is in the middle of the town if you need a place to boose up or sleep, right at the entrance here is the guard's barrack and sheriff, next to the Saloon is the general store if you need anything, also don't go in the western part of town, its restricted as it is the facility of the trader's consortium and to the Eastern side of the town is the Smithy's Shop run by Shellshock. Just watch out she's one twigged mare." he said with a nods.
"Thank you, guys," I said calmly before walking in, that didn't stop them from eyeing in awe at my suit of power armor as I stepped in they closed the gate behind me.
"...Wish I had one of those suits.." The Stallion said.
Graymist replied with snark. "And get the Steel Ranger and the Steel Demons all over you? Pfeh. Too much trouble." She giggled as their conversation died out as the gate came fully down.
***
Ridgeway Town was like I've seen from the distance, a town build with containers, makeshift walls and wagons parts, it was very late and there was not even a single pony in the street beside the ever-vigilant guards of the town, I made sure to give them a curt nod to most of them I passed by some returned it, others gave me a warry look due to my freaky eyes or the zebra riding on the back of my armor.
As I approached the Saloon, I came to realise how even at this time of the night it is still the liveliest place in the town, music came from the inside as well as a few chatter and laughter of ponies, I smiled to myself at the idea of a place of no worry and happiness in the middle of the desolate wasteland.
I carefully stepped inside and when I did everypony inside went silent and all looked at me, the only sound that was heard was the radio playing a Sweetie Belle music. I blinked and quietly made my way to the bar counter. Well, as quiet as one can be with a heavy suit of power armor, considering each of my steps was very noisy added to the echo of the wood on wich I stepped on! The Barkeeper mare kept a warry gaze on me as I carefully sat on my haunches next to a stool, considering my armor weight I thought it was the wisest to not sit on something that could bent or get crushed.
I looked left and right and sighed quietly looking at everypony eyeing me, I swallowed and tried to relax and gave an uneasy smile at the barkeeper, she quirked an eyebrow at me obviously waiting for something.
"Um...... I'd like a beer and a room... Please?." I said with a sheepish grin.
Those words were all that it took to break the silences as everypony and griffins in the room went back to chat with one another, the Barkeeper sighed and spoke.
"It will be 5 Caps for the beer and 15 caps for the room, actually.... 30 caps for the room since you'll be sleeping in the backroom workshop considering that suit of armor" The middle-aged earth pony mare said as she went back cleaning a mug before moving to grab a beer from the not functioning fridge behind her.
"What are the Caps for?" I blurted out.
Suddenly the whole saloon when silent again. Here it comes... Suddenly everysingle patrons, including the griffins burst out in laughter, even the barkeeper did before she calmed down first.
"Your a silly one aren't ya? Dragon Eyes?" She sighed as she calmed down. "Considering those neat little Stable decals on that armor of yours I guess you're from that Stable down south that went Balefire. Stable 281, That 281 blazon is on your armor's pauldron sure is a dead give away."
"Dragon Eyes?!.. Oh... Right, that weird genetic condition that most of my Stablemates had." I half-lied to her, well its true we had glowing eyes but not slitted pupils.
"Anyway, caps are... Well, caps? Bottlecaps to be more precise, they are your today's Equestrian Wasteland currency as far as I am aware. The name's Rumsnake by the way." The Dark Tan-Coated mare said blowing a bang away from her cream-colored mane. "And keep the boose, first one always in the house. Not sure how you gonna afford your room thought."
I quickly came to the hard realization that I was completely broke and after a moment of pondering I asked. "H-how much is a Sparkle Cola?'
"5 Caps" She said as she went to clean the counter with an old rag, not even looking at me until she heard a large clinking noise on the counter, she looked up and her eyes nearly bawled out of her skull as she stared at the mountain of Sparkle Colas I set on the counter, my storage unit still wide open, Nima's head poking out of it, wiping a sweat away from her forehead from helping me unload them.
"65 Sparkle Colas. They are all yours for the mundane price of 4 caps each!" I said giving a sheepish grin at Ramsnake.
The chatter in the bar stopped and one of the grif shouted. "Where the fuck did he get all that soda?!" Nima gave a quiet shrug to the griffin.
Rumsnake finally coughed and looked at the pile of Sparkle Colas. "Well seems to be all in good condition." After a thoughtful moment, she conceded. "Deal." She went down under the counter and fished out a bag of caps and dropped it in front of me on the counter. "260 Caps."
I nodded and grabbed the caps up, then proceed to pull out 35 caps and dropped them on the counter before smiling heaving into the back room. "Thank you Rumsnake!"
Rumsnake protested. "The Boose was on the house, you dummy!. Oh well. Not that I'm complaining she grabbed the caps and shouted "Oak Stump! We got an unexpected shipping of Sparkle Colas! Get your rumps down there and help me store them!" A grunt came from upstair.
***
I sighed calmly as I stepped into the Saloon's workshop, a fizzling distillery was in a corner while on another side of the workshop there was a workbench and a weapon maintenance table. There was also a bunkbed hanging from the wall.
Nima jumped out of my storage unit and went up into the bunkbed and curled up into a ball on it as she went to sleep, meanwhile I approached the weapon maintenance table while yawning and unclipped the weapon parts fishnet from my AM's ammo box, setting them down on the table, I hummed quietly as I grabbed a piece of iron whool and being to scrub each weapon parts hard, removing as much rust as I can from them hopefully improving their prizes for the general store, I also begun to assemble some together.
3 Hours later I had 2 refurbished and improved LAA-556 Assault Rifle and some spare parts for them brought back to decent condition, I took the liberty to retrofit some reflex sight onto the 2 rifles and removed the water-cooled barrels and replaced them with some jury-rigged air-cooled one. I was nearly spent, exhausted and barely awake. I yawned loudly and proceeded to the workbench, detaching the 2 Pauldrons from the top of the AM's Ammo box and went to scrub them clean from rust before proceeding to rummage in my armor storage unit pulling out a can of silver coating and begun to re-apply a new coat to the pauldron, trying my best to remain awake not to ruin my work, I yawned yet again as I pulled out a can of primer armor paint and sprayed the pauldron back to their factory coloring.
After my work was down I simply yawned and my head lolled forward as I felt into slumber. I was still stuck in that armor anyway thanks to that jammed valve in the power pack...
***
Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk:
Steel Toughness Rank 1
"As long as you are encased in a Steel Ranger armor, only an idiot would charge at you. Physical Damage Resistance Threshold Increased by 15%! and an Extra 35% If the pony charging at you have below 5 Intelligence... Seriously? What kind of moron charge a walking tank with a pool cue?"
Gun Nuts Rank 1
"You spent most of your colthood your nose in a gun magazine! Shame on you!"
Quest Perk:
Induction Unicorn:
"You have mutated beyond the nature of the standard of Stable 281 unique mutation! Radiation no longer harm you but drive you histerical depending on the severity of your radiation poisoning! You also have gained a sharp sight!"
New Quests!:
1: Pay Back! Part 1
"Investigate the Enclave Raptor Crash Site in the Desolate Arids."
2: Kiss my shiny metal Flank!.
"Get those annoying Steel Rangers off your back."
3: Papa?
"Find out more about your adoptive yet adorable zebra daughter."
Author's Note
Woo! Took me a while to finish that chapter, I already started working on Chapter 2, and yes there are some grammar issues with my story, I'm still working on improving the textes with grammarly until I get an actual editor!
