Fallout Equestria: Crusades

Chapter 5

Fo: E The Crusades Chapter 5

[Title]

By Quinton R. Johnson
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A slight irritation in my nostril caused me to wake up sneezing. I rubbed my nose and still felt the dust clinging to the inside. I opened my eyes and saw that Cliff Jumper and Styng were waking everyone up. I checked my pipbuck and looked at the time. It read 1:50 PM, Saturday. Castro and Jasper were getting up as I stretched and began to gather my things. I saw a few dead bloatsprites out in the distance, probably killed by Styng due to the lack a shell casings on the ground. Some time passed, everyone was awake and ready to return home. We left around 2:45 PM, making sure we left very little behind to minimize detection. Even though we didn't have any problems last night didn't mean we should let our guard down. Upon arriving in Turntable, we heard a shout from the top of the gate announcing that we had returned. The gates opened with a groan of rusted metal. Flash walked out of his office to personally greet us. "Welcome back, friends. I hope you didn't have too much trouble in Gator Gulch?"

"Not at all" Castro said. "But it was only because Rogue and his friends were there. If they hadn't been there we may not even be alive."

"Well then, it turns out you and your friends are more

durable than I had first anticipated." Flash said. "Follow me to the mess hall, I'm assuming you're all very hungry."

"Nah I'm good. In trying to keep my figure." Styng said flexing his wings.

I heard Jasper snicker as we made our way to the mess hall. I looked back to check out what she was laughing at, but she saw me and stopped immediately. I smiled and she smiled back as we continued to the mess hall. The double saloon doors swung open as we walked in. A few heads turned to look at us and then returned to the pub

games and conversation

Flash asked us what we wanted to eat insisting it was on the house. I didn't want anything too big, so I ordered the Daisy Sandwich with water. Daemon, walked over to the counter and asked if they could heat his bloatsprite meat up, they gave him a smile, and a nod. Stardust said he wasn't hungry and left for the house. Styng on the other hand disappeared to a table full of fillies. I noticed that Jasper was also sitting at the table. We sat down at a open table and waited for our food to arrive.

Some unicorn waitresses came out with our food and placed it on the table. Styng whistled to one of the waitresses, her cheeks flushing as she hurried back to the kitchen. Another colt didn't take to kindly to that and approached Styng with another colt following behind.

"Hey you! You do that to my girl? You better not have or were gonna have some trouble." The dark green colt said.

I stood up about to intervene but Styng had already started talking. The conversations around the room ceased as they looked on.

"Yea, I whistled at your girl, so what?"

Oh crap.

"Now I know I didn't just hear you say that. Cuz I'm this close to breaking your scrawny looking wings in two!" He said placing his hooves about an inch apart from each other.

"Oh no, I'm so scared, put one hoof on me and that'll be the last thing you do."

"That's it!" He screamed as he charged.

Styng flapped his wings and caught the colt off guard with the sudden burst of speed. Styng slammed into him and sent him skidding across the floorboards, but he didn't fall down. I used my telekinesis to trip up the colt's friend but that didn't stop him from charging Styng with a pool cue.

As the colt swung the cue, Styng grabbed it in his mouth and shifted his body to the left, causing the colts momentum to carry him into a table of bystanders. He crashed into the table, breaking it as leftovers poured onto him. After that fall he limped away from the fight. Daemon cheered on in the background as the earth pony charged Styng once more.

Styng had a slight grin on his face, knowing the odds were in his favor. As the earth pony charged, Styng flew into the air and summersaulted over him, landing a fierce kick to the back of his head. The green colt was definitely mad now as he grabbed some nearby silverware and launched them towards Styng. The silverware sped towards him as he flew to evade them. One of the knives grazed his hind leg, sending a spurt of crimson onto the floor. Styng grimaced at the wound but didn't let it slow him down. The earth pony smirked as he waited for Styng's move.

"Who taught you how to fight, your mother?" He said with a smirk.

Styng's head suddenly dropped his ears flickered a few times and his hide twitched. His head came back up and his irises were almost nonexistent. Styng screamed as his wings snapped and he flew like a bullet into the colt. Tackling him and sending them both through the pub's wall. The crowd inside moved to the outside, as the fight continued. Styng pounced onto the dazed colt and began to fire off rapid fire kicks to his head. The pinned colt didn't even have enough time to react as the blows kept connecting. Blood began to drip from his face as Styng's onslaught continued.

At this rate Styng would kill him if he didn't stop. I tackled Styng off and pinned him to the ground. "GET OFF ME! I'LL END HIM, LET ME GO!" He screamed as he thrashed.

"Styng, get a hold of yourself!" I shouted.

But he didn't. He thrashed can squirmed trying to pull free but I had him beat. After a couple minutes he began to calm down as he laid on the ground. "Agh, my head." He groaned. "Wh.. What happened? He said as I got off of him. He looked over to the bleeding and unconscious colt. "Did I do that?" He asked.

"Yeah, you mean you don't remember anything?" I said, taking one last look at the colt before some medical ponies pushed through the crowd and picked him up. They carried him through the crowd and out of sight. The crowd itself stood stunned by the display of Styng's unnatural strength and speed.

"No! What'd I do!? Why's everyone looking at me? Was it that bad?"he said looking back at the broken wall.

Obviously not wanting to incite Styng's rage the crowd backed off and left the scene. Flash emerged through the crowd. "Well damn, thats some fight you got in you." He said enthusiastically. "But try to keep it under control. I know I said the food was on the house but someone's going to have to fix that wall." He said as plank breaking from another and falling to the ground.

"I'll start working on it immediately." Styng said, realizing what he had done.

Daemon walked out of the pub, "Styng did you win?" He asked a smile on his beak.

"I guess you can say he won." I said.

Some other ponies trotted out of the pub behind Daemon and showed faces of anger and sadness as they passed small bags of caps over to Daemon. "I told you he'd win." He called out.

"Yeah, whatever." One of them called out.

"We have to fix the wall." I said.

Daemon looked at the wall and back to us. "Shouldn't take too long. Just get some stuff from the shop and I'll clear out the busted scraps. Hey Styng, help me out would ya?"

"Yea, give me a second though, I'm a little lightheaded."

"Mkay, I'll be right back." I said trotting off to the shop to get some tools. I found some spare planks in the back room behind some old boxes. One of them fell over and a small picture frame tumbled out. I picked it up and examined it. Their was a picture of a brown colt asleep on the round table in the workshop; drool coming out of his mouth. A small contraption laying in front of him. I turned it over and read a small not on the back.

Don't know when to quit do you?

I turned the picture back over and looked at it again. I wondered who the colt was, since no recognizable features were presented. I picked up the box and placed the picture back inside. When I got back, I had brung about twenty planks and placed them beside Styng and Daemon. I placed the toolbox down and we began to fix the wall.

"So um, what happened to me back there?" Styng asked with a concerned expression.

"Even I don't know. But if I had to guess, that colt said something to cause you to lose control and technically go into a frenzy." I explained.

"That's...unusual of me. I guess I haven't really felt like myself since the "incident" in the stable.

"What about you Daemon, you feel any difference since the stable?" I asked.

"I mean not really, besides missing my parent and out old life. But there's nothing we can do to change what happened. What about you Rogue?"

I thought for a moment, "I miss our old life too and I understand what you're saying; that we can't go back, but that doesn't mean we have to bottle up our emotions. We have to stick together, it's the only way we'll survive out here."

"What about his girl though?" Styng said mockingly.

"I don't know, I think she's still inside if you want to go check." I said.

"I'll be right back." Styng said as he put down the planks and walked into the kitchen.

As Styng walked back into the pub Daemon and I finished up the last of the wall. The colors didn't match up, but there's nothing we could do about that. I checked my pipbuck's time. It read 3:53 PM. I heard some talking from inside the pub.

"Uh...sorry about what happened back there." Styng said apologetically.

"It's okay, he gets mad whenever someone flirts with me. He wants me all to himself." The filly said in a light voice.

"I can see why, I could imagine how he would feel losing someone as beautiful as you."

Daemon nudged me and we both began to pay more attention to the conversation. The filly giggled. As Styng continued.

"Maybe we could hang out sometime?" Styng said with a little hope.

"That'd be nice. I don't have anything planned after my shift. So I guess I'll see you at your place later today?"

"Before we get to that, mind telling me your name?" Styng said with a slight smile.

"Harmony, my name's Harmony."

"What a lovely name for a beautiful filly like you."

"Okay charmer," she said with a giggle, "and what may your name be?"

"Everyone calls me Styng."

"Mmm, Sounds like a tough name... I'm into tough colts and you've certainly proved such." She said in a slightly seductive voice.

"Well, what time would you like to come over?"

"I'll be over later tonight. See you then, Styng." She said as she trotted off.

Daemon and I walked over to Styng once the coast was clear. "Heyy, Styng, I see you." Daemon said.

"Good job, making your move, but are you really going to steal his girl like that?" I asked.

"I wasn't, but I'm pretty sure he won't be waking up anytime soon."

"That's mah boy, pulling them girls like a pro." Daemon continued.

"True true." I agreed.

After that, we went back to Styng and Stardust's house. Stardust was already inside sitting on the couch looking at some of the supplies they had gathered.

"About time you got back, I was wondering why you were taking so long. So what happened? I heard others talking about a huge fight, apparently Styng won."

"Yea, it was pretty brutal." Said Daemon nudging Styng's shoulder.

Styng's ears folded back as he looked towards the ground. I could tell he felt a little sorry for what happened. I put my hoof on his shoulder and smiled. He smiled back but returned to looking a little glum.

"Huh, I'll be sure not to get on your bad side." Stardust said.

"Hey later tonight we should have some kind of house warming. Invite a few others and just chill out. What do you guys think?" I asked.

"As long as I get to spend some time with Harmony." Styng said with a smile.

"I'm up for meeting new people." Daemon said. "Allows me to make connections, learn new things, know what I'm saying."

"It's up to you guys. I'm all for a party. But just don't shake the house apart." Stardust said sullenly.

"Then it's settled. I think this house is a little bit bigger than ours so we'll stage it here. We need food and drinks. Probably need to move some stuff around for a little extra movement space." I said as I planned.

"I'll go see if the kitchen has any food they'll prepare." Daemon said as he tossed a bag of caps up and down.

"I'll follow Daemon and get drinks." Styng said.

Daemon and Styng walked outside and went to the pub while Stardust and I rearranged the living room, prepared a few areas to support multiple groups. Daemon and Styng returned with a few crates of food and drinks. The living room was well spaced and looked more like a lounge than a living room. I went to the workshop and started to make fliers for the party.

PARTYPARTYPARTYPARTY

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Party starts at 8:00 PM and continues until midnight.

Bring your friends.

No need for an invitation just show up.

Located at Styng and Stardust's house. I

PARTYPARTYPARTYPARTY

_________________________

I grabbed some duct tape and began to attach them to posts and walls around the camp. Sometimes I just passed them out to others for sake of convenience. Most smiled and told me they'd try to make it. Some passed me back the flier and told me they wouldn't be able to make it. I'd have to retrieve the taped fliers tomorrow. While we waited for the party to start, Deamon, Styng, Stardust and I went outside the walls. I had set up some old rum bottles in a firing range. I had brung my RG-32, which I was really thinking of shortening to Rig, and a stand for non-unicorns to use the weapon. I started first. Lifting he gun in my telekinesis, I aimed down the sights and spotted one of the bottles down range. I concentrated and steadied the my levitation's natural bobbing. I focused down range and fired, the recoil of the shot made the gun float backwards an inch or two. The round had already pierced the bottle and tore it to pieces. The smoke trail of the round slowly faded away from view.

"Okay, who's next?" I asked turning to my friends.

Styng stepped up, "Hey, I wanna give it a try." He said enthusiastically.

I handed him the Rig and slung the strap around his head. Her trotted over to a firing table and extended the bipod. He slouched over and braced the stock against his shoulder. He looked down the sight and rotated the gun to find a target. Once he had found one he slowed his breathing to steady the gun, then pulled the trigger. The blast sent a vibration through the ground and made some dust bounce around on the table. The recoil threw his shoulder back and made him slide back some as the smoke trail dissipated.

"Geez Rogue, how do you shoot this without having it fly away. It kicks like a bison." Styng said as he massaged his shoulder.

I looked down range to see if Styng had hit the target. I didn't see the bottle, but I also didn't see the railing it was positioned. He missed but it was close enough to take out the intended target.

"I'm up next." Daemon said as I retrieved the gun from Styng.

I passed him the gun and he positioned himself as Styng did, but held the barrel of the gun firm in his claws.

"Better hold on to that thing." Styng informed.

"I got this." Daemon said casually as he braced the gun against his shoulder. He sighted, slowed his breath and fired. His shoulder body shifted backwards as the recoil pushed into him. The round went flying straight into a bottle and shattered it. "Oooh, you weren't playing around when you said it had some kick." Daemon said as he cleared the gun and handed it back to me. "Hey Rogue, you think you could make me a gun? Not anything like this; it's not my style, maybe a few sub machine guns.

"Hey I want a weapon too!" Styng added quickly.

"Hold on hold on, one at a time. First off; I need to either have a weapon like the one you want, or a blueprint of it. I don't know how every weapon is built ya know." I began. "Secondly if I'm making weapons for you guys then the whole camp will want me to and I don't have enough staff to fulfill orders if I did." I finished.

"I could help. I know a thing or two about mechanics." Styng said.

"I guess I could record orders and keep them from piling up. Set up a budget and a schedule." Daemon said.

"But, I'll need somepony to work the store if we're gone." I replied.

"I'm sure you'll find someone." Daemon said. "And besides, it's not like It'd be impossible right?"

"It's your call Rogue." Styng reminded.

"I'll do it. As long as this doesn't become a problem for any of us." I said.

"Alright, I'll be on the lookout for any weapons that catch my eye." Styng said checking his pipbuck.

"I'll tell you the specifics on those SMG's later." Daemon added.

I nodded, then checked my pipbuck and looked at the time. It read 5:43 AM. We had a lot of time to kill before the party actually started so we fired the Rig until about 5:54. We went back to camp and asked around for something to do. It took a while before we got any leads but then we found someone. A young earth pony. He had pale blue hide and reddish green eyes. He didn't have a cutiemark. He carried a long tube on his back connected by a strap. He said he had been looking for willing ponies. To deliver something for him. His name was...

"Harvey." He said happily as he shook each of our hooves and claw. "It's really great to finally find someone to deliver this package for me. The caravans don't goto Bekton and no pony here's willing to go out that far." He explained.

"So what do you need delivered?" Styng asked.

"Just this scouting report to Angelfire, she runs Bekton."

Harvey replied.

"Where's Bekton?" I asked.

"It's about a mile and a half south of here. Across a small river that passes through what's left of Oaktown." He began. "But no pony goes to ol' Oaktown, they say raiders are holed up there."

"We'll keep that in mind." I said.

"I'll pay you once the delivery is complete. Around three hundred-seventy five caps. Just make sure the note gets there soon. Bekton really needs this information." Harvey handed me the note and I placed it in my bags. We began to leave but Daemon stopped us.

"Hold on," Daemon interrupted. "I think we should get a little bit more than that. I mean you obviously need this delivered a soon as possible and were the only ones willing to do it." Daemon persuaded.

Harvey thought for a moment. "You make a fair case and I shall compensate. Here's an extra hundred-twenty five caps for your troubles. Hope you get there safely. Thanks again." Harvey said as he walked away.

After we got our destination and the package we went back to tell Stardust we were leaving.

"That's cool. I'll be alright here. Still trying to figure stuff out." He said solemnly.

"Okay, well hope you find what your looking for." I said.

We walked back out side and continued towards the gate.

As we were walking towards the gate, the voice of Harmony called out to us. We turned and saw a [Description of Harmony].

"Where are you guys going?" She asked.

"We're on ourselves way to Bekton to deliver a report to Angelfire." I replied.

"You must be Styng's friends. I'm Harmony. Nice to meet you." She introduced.

"I'm Rogue. Nice to meet you too." I replied.

"Daemon, nice to meet you. Styng speaks fondly of you."

She blushed as she looked over to Styng and smiled. You mind if I... tag along? It's so boring here and I need something to do." She said.

Styng's face said it all as he looked to Daemon and I. We looked at each other and nodded. "Sure you can come." Daemon said. "Are you any good with a weapon?" He asked.

She turned her head and looked into her backpack. After about a minute of rummaging and repacking she pulled out a small pistol. It didn't look like a 10 millimeter though. It had a revolving cylinder and a sleek dark finish. The mouth grip fit around her mouth as she saw a bottle sitting on a barrel. She fired and the round shattered the glass bottle with little effort. She placed the gun in a leg holster she had pulled out and flipped her mane back into place.

"Impressive." I said. "What model is that?" I asked.

"12.7 revolver. I got it from some traders a while back. Hasn't failed me since." She replied.

"I'll have to look at that later, but we really should go if we want to be back in time for the party."

"Right. Okay lead the way." She said as we began to make our way south.

~~~

Styng and Harmony talked for a majority of the trip. A few giggles and laughs shared every once and a while as they became closer and closer. I didn't want to listen in on the conversation, but of what u heard consisted of "you're pretty," and "I like you."

We had finally got to the river that Harvey mentioned. The bridge had a few old wagons on it. The wheels pulled off and bullet holes covering most. I didn't pick up much on my EFS besides the few bloatsprites we had passed earlier. It'd been that way all the way up to the bridge. Something was bound to happen. We cautiously crossed the bridge. The metal supports' low groans only made the situation that much more ominous. As we got about halfway two red bars popped up on my EFS. I halted and so did everyone else. "You guys see that?" I asked.

"Two enemies up ahead?" Daemon responded.

"I got 'em too." Styng said aswell.

"What do you see?" Harmony asked.

"There's two stationary hostiles up ahead. Daemon take right. Styng, Harmony take left. I got center move up on my mark." We fanned out and took up positions behind the old wagons. I looked to both teams and waved my hood forward. The more we moved up, the more red bars appeared. There were atleast seven up their now. I started casting my Tele. Pulse, the orb floated above me and expanded all around us. The outlines of a makeshift wall and some small barriers formed down towards the end of the bridge. It looked like there was a gate in the center. The,now apparent, ten guards were wearing spiked armor; most likely raiders. The first two red bars were small tripod machines that swiveled left and right. They had barrels like guns, so I assumed they would do something bad. I felt the spell about to fade so I stopped casting. I looked to my friends and whispered, "Ten raiders, two mechanicals. Don't let those spot you, they might shoot or something. They have a wall set up with a gate in the center. Heavily fortified, stay sharp."

"Those machines are machine gun turrets. They fire 5.56 rounds with a high rate of fire. Those look like Mk. II's so they shouldn't be too much of a problem." Harmony said.

Styng looked at Harmony with a shocked expression. "How do you know all that?"

"When you've been out here all your life you pick up tricks. You stable dwellers really don't know much, do you?" She asked.

"Hey when you're born underground and grow up not knowing anything about the outside, you need to figure out all the in's and out's of this place." Daemon said.

"All girls out here are more than a pretty face. We'll have to exchange experiences after we get back." She said.

"Sounds like a plan." I said.

"What's up Styng? You haven't said anything for awhile." Daemon asked.

"Harmony's just so smart." He flirted.

"Save it for later lover boy. We got to stay focused." She said, ceasing Styng's attempts to flirt.

We moved closer to the checkpoint. I could barely hear the raiders conversations. I overheard one, something about quitting jet and not thinking crazy. I told everyone to get ready to start shooting and to aim for the turrets first. I sighted down the barrel of my Rig and held my breath. I pulled the trigger and sent the round strait through the turrets hull. Styng and Harmony fired at the second turret and weakened the tripod enough to make it collapse. Daemon rushed up and hid behind one of the wagons adjacent to the gate. The gate opened and three raiders ran out. Two with combat knives taped to sticks and the other with a battle saddled hunting rifle. Daemon shot the battle saddle raider in the legs. She collapsed and screamed as her legs crumbled beneath her. The other two raiders turned to run at Daemon but Styng, Harmony and I cut that run short with some well placed shots. Two more raiders got onto the top of the wall and began to spray down Daemon's wagon with battle saddled assault rifles. I hopped into SATS and time slowed. I queued up a shot for both, but only one connected. It hit the raiders shoulder and he barely flinched. He pulled out a red inhaler and took a puff. He hopped over the railing and dashed towards us screaming, "I'm going to enjoy ripping out your insides!" He moved super fast as he fired down towards us. We took cover and I took out my assault rifle. I levitated it around the corner and blind fired.

"He's moving to the right. Watch your right!" Styng yelled.

I turned to look right and went strait into SATS as I saw his barrel start to appear around the corner. I aimed my rifle where u thought his head would be and waited for it to appear. He moved slightly faster than everyone else than when I went into SATS, but it didn't matter. I pulled the trigger as his head appeared and blew chunks of his skull onto the metal supports. He collapsed and rolled past me. Daemon was still suppressed by the other raider, so I sighted and sent a round into her spine. The hunting rifle raider had pulled out a stimpak and was about to jam it into her legs, but Daemon said, "Oh no you don't." and sent a few rounds into her skull. She collapsed and dropped the stimpak onto the ground.

We waited a minute for any more raiders to come running out, but they weren't stupid; just insane. I cast another Tele. Pulse and saw the outlines of the last five raiders guarding the front entrance, hidden behind barrels and other barriers. I stopped casting the spell and called out. "Daemon, pull back! We'll cover you."

He nodded and began to fly back towards us. Once he got back I told Styng and Harmony to come over to the center.

"Okay they're waiting for us to rush in through the gate. So what we're not going to do, is that. What we are going to do is, Styng and Daemon will fly below the bridge and flank the raiders on the opposite side, while Harmony and I move towards the front and distract them." I said. "Stay coordinated so they don't get any time to try and return fire. Everyone ready?" I asked as I reloaded my guns.

Daemon reloaded his SMG and nodded. Harmony moved her hair out of her eyes and checked her 12.7 then nodded aswell.

Styng checked his magazine and then nodded.

"Alright let's move." I said as we split up.

Daemon and Styng flew over the railing and began their flight behind enemy lines. Harmony and I moved forward with the distraction. We moved up behind the gates doors and waited about ten seconds more to allow Daemon and Styng time to get ready. I cast my Tele. pulse and saw that the raiders hadn't moved. I narrowed my focus and looked on the biggest of the raiders. She had a large rifle on one side of her battle saddle and a thick barreled gun. Great something else I had no clue as to what it did. I whispered the positions of the raiders and their armament. She nodded and we began our attack. I shot at the biggest raider and blasted her thick barreled gun. In a flash she exploded and sent guts and metal shrapnel everywhere. Two other raiders got hit but didn't go down. The ones that remained were surprised by the sudden explosion and distracted for a split second. Long enough for Harmony and I to take cover within the walls. Daemon and Styng had hidden themselves atop the rusted supports and began firing down at the raiders. One of the injured ones looked up to warn the others but a bullet lanced through her eyes and through the back of her skull. The others refocused on the fight and began to fire blindly at the sky as they ran for roofed cover. I pulled out my assault rifle and began firing at those too slow to make it to safety. Three rounds later, one crippled raider and another one dead. Harmony had pulled out a studded ball and threw it. It landed near the raiders underneath the roofing and exploded. Only two more raiders left now. They had ran into a small hole in the bridge and had locked themselves inside. I used my Tele. pulse again, starting to feel the effects of burnout, and saw something I hadn't before; hostages. The raiders were holding them at gunpoint beneath the road. Daemon and Styng flew down and regrouped. They bumbed hoof to claw and Styng asked, "Is that all of them. We still got two red bars right underneath us."

"HEY! IF YOU COME IN HERE WE'LL BLOW THEIR F$ING BRAINS OUT!" One of them screamed from beneath us.

"They've got hostages down there. We need a new attack plan." I said.

"I think I've got one. If that railgun is as good as you make it out to be, I'll load some armor piercing rounds into my 12.7 and we can shot through the roof. How thick is the ground?" She asked.

"It's about three inches with a few rows of rebar every so often." I replied.

"Show me."

I pulled her over to a spot and pointed straight down, "there's one right here. Don't move your aim from that spot."

"Got it." She said as she loaded her AP rounds and put the barrel of her gun to the ground.

I trotted back over the position over top the other raider and pointed my Rig down towards him. "Harmony," I whispered, "ready?"

"Yeah." She responded.

"Styng give us a count down."

"On three. One... Two.. Three." He said as we sent bullets through the ground.

Scared whimpers and screams escaped through the bullet holes.

"Daemon, get that trapdoor open. Styng follow him in. Both of you try to calm them and escort them out." I told them.

They nodded and went down into the hatch. "Hey, it's okay we'll get you out of here. Come on follow us." I heard Daemon say.

"Sh... She can't move." She whimpered. "They shot her in the leg since she wouldn't do what they wanted."

"Harmony," Styng called out. "You know anything about medicine?" He asked.

"One second." She said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small pink box with a yellow cross on it. She hopped into the hatch as I followed. The two trapped ponies were both very skinny and dirty. I'm not sure what most of those stains were on there hides but I didn't feel like finding out. "Let me see where they shot you." She said kindly as the injured pony lifted up her front left hoof. She examined the bullet wound and sighed in relief. "At least the bullet went all the way through. Okay let's wrap this up." She said opening the box and pulling out a small rag and some peroxide. She opened the bottle and covered it with the rag, turning it upside down in one quick motion in her hooves. "This may sting a little." She warned as she began wiping the wound. The pony whimpered but didn't scream. "At a girl." Harmony said tenderly.

"How'd you find us?" The other pony asked.

"We were on out way to Bekton and had to cross the bridge to get there." Daemon said.

"Well, thanks for the rescue." She said gratefully. "But I need to ask one more favor you." She paused. "Do you mind taking us with you. We need to get back somewhere safe so that we'll be able to get back home."

"Of course. Where do you two live?" I asked.

"New Appleoosa." She replied.

"Hey, we should to hurry up. The raiders from the ruins have probably sent a group down here." Harmony said.

"Alright, loot up and let's move out. Only take the essentials." I looked to the uninjured mare, "Do you think you can fight?" I asked.

"I'll try." She said weakly.

"Grab supplies before we leave. Don't want the other raiders to have what they had." I announced. "Daemon, carry her."

He nodded then carefully hoisted her up between his wings.

Everyone then trotted off to loot the bodies of the dead. The first body I checked, was that guy who rushed us. His barding didn't look like it was any better than mine, but I could modify it or add it to my leather barding. I took his 5.56 ammo and assault rifle. He had some weird chems on him; another one of those red inhalers and some glowing rainbow stuff inside of a rocket shaped injector. I took both just to have them for later. I moved back to the checkpoint with my friends. Daemon flew in a few seconds behind me. I went down into the cellar area and found they had stored some stuff in a large red crate. Only the problem was that it was locked. I castes my Tele. pulse spell and focused on the lock. I could see the pins within and where they needed to be. I slowly levitated them up one at a time until they could be turned. The lock opened and I pulled out a few more items; three-hundred and fifty caps, several stimpaks, some 10 millimeter ammo, and some old food. Some other meat I hadn't seen; looked like it came from something big, and some corn chips. After I was done scavenging, I climbed back up the ladder back to the group. Everyone was ready, so we continued making our way to Bekton. We didn't have much trouble for the rest of the way. We ran into a crossroads and saw a few buildings built up along it. We walked in and tried to find a merchant. The pony we found (at least it kinda looked like a pony) was running a general good store. She looked at us and smiled.

"What brings you kids here." She said in a dry raspy voice.

"We're trying to get to Bekton, got a package we have to deliver." I said.

"Well Bekton his to your left down that road. If your looking for Far Point, you go right." She directed.

"Thanks." I said as we started trotting to the left.

"Y'all be carful now, Wasteland's a crazy place." She called out.

*

After about ten more minutes of walking down the road, we finally found Bekton. The outside was surrounded by old wagons and huge plates of scrap metal. The buildings' windows were all boarded up and dusty. Some of the roofs had barbed wired surrounding the perimeter. I could barely see the glint off a few rifle scopes.

"Hold on you guys." I said, halting them in their tracks. "Try not to provoke a reaction from the snipers." I warned. "Stay calm, and no sudden moves."

We started moving again. As we got closer to the gates, we heard a whistle from behind them. A small door opened on the left of the gate and a dark green filly with a charcoal mane trotted through. She had a small pistol holster tied to her left forehoof.

"State your business." She commanded.

"We're from Turntable, we were told to deliver a message to Angelfire." I said.

"They lost?" She said pointing o the two mares.

"We only need a few days rest then we'll be out of your mane, promise." The mare said.

The filly whistled and then another whistle responded. The gates slowly began to open. "Welcome to Bekton." She said. "The names Grassblade, and since its your first time here, I'll be showing you around. But first to deliver that package. Follow me." She said as she turned and walked into he town.

The streets were populated with ponies of all ages, majority of them being younger. They walked and talked, even played a few games here and their. Some of them had small battle saddles on, as they patrolled the town. The buildings inside didn't have as many boarded up windows. Shops and inns were spread out inside of the old buildings. I heard a crier who was advertising Moe's Weapon Emporium, saying they had the best guns at the best prices.

We arrived at a fortified museum. The front was barricaded and had turrets on the tops of scaffolding. Their motors hummed as we walked through the archway. We walked up some steps towards a big double door. Thick pillars held up the overhanging roof. Two guards stood by with dual battle saddled assault rifles. Grassblade opened the door and said, "okay you all wait here somepony will be with you shortly." She looked to the two mares, "If you two would follow me please. I'll take you to the clinic to get you patched up."

The two mares followed her out and closed the door behind them.

We waited in silence. With nothing to talk about, besides the mission.

After about five minutes of waiting, a metal pony trotted over to us. "Follow me to see Ms. Angelfire." It said in a fillies voice. We followed the strange robot and went up some stairs, down a hallway and into an office on the second floor. "Ms Angelfire is waiting inside. Have a nice day." It said before it trotted back down the hall.

We opened the door and were welcomed a semicircular room with a domed roof. The floors were covered in a carpet that hadn't been too badly ruined. In the center of the room sat a white Pegasus filly who had a white coat and a fire colored mane. She looked at us and smiled. "I'm guessing you're the delivery crew I've been wai'in for?"

"Yes ma'am." I said formally.

"Please, just call me Angel. No need for formali'ies 'ere."

"Okay, Angel. Well we have your scouting report." I said taking out the package and floating it onto her desk.

"Take a seat." She said pointing to the chairs laid out for us.

We sat down and continued the conversation.

"What are your names?" She asked.

"I'm Rogue." I said.

"Styng."

"Daemon."

"Harmony."

We said one after another.

She pointed at us and moved her lips as she moved her hoof to each of us. "Okay, I'll 'ave a look at this and then we'll discuss your payment." She said as she opened the envelope and pulled out the report. She hummed as she read. Her ears folded and she put the report down. "I'm glad I got this." She murmured. "Now, onto your payment. 'eir are four of ya so split your pay accordingly, fifty caps each." She said as she passed us each a bag of caps. "I was 'old that ya came 'ere with two others. Two adult mares one injured. Where did ya find 'em?"

"We found them in a cellar, beneath the bridge leading up to the intersection before here. We killed at least ten raiders in the process." Daemon responded.

"I see. And ya recused them... why?" She asked.

"Well, what do you mean. We saved them because they needed to be. We couldn't just leave them back there." Styng said sounding a little cross.

"I don't mean ta be rude. I just wan'ed ta know your mo'ives; ta see if ya were just a couple of mercs looking for some extra caps, or... some'in else." She responded cryptically.

"What do you mean, 'something else'?" Styng asked.

"I mean like 'eroes. You know, others oo 'elped change the wasteland into a slightly be'er place. I've been told I'm too easily impressed by good deeds, so I could be wrong and your just some 'elpful wastelanders, but theirs always that chance"

Heroes? Us!? We just got out of a stable and now we're (almost) being called heroes. "Why, don't you get many heroic types around here? It seems pretty easy to just go out and help." I said.

"Of course it is. It's just that we don't have the materials or ponies to keep it that way." Angel turned around and stood up. She walked over to a dusty window and looked out at the decimated city. "Look at what we've done 'ere. Built in about a month and 'as been in'abited for a couple a generations now." She turned her head towards us. "It's a wonder we even got this far." She said looking back out the window. "Everyone else is 'aving more trouble than we've ever go'en inta ourselves. These people 'ardly even get to see any real combat. They're 'ardly trained enough to defend against a raider assault team. We need good ponies like yaselves." She finished and returned to her desk. "So, if your loo'ing for some more work, you can check around town. Theirs usually a bounty board over by the bar. Don't worry about me, I'm quite alright up 'ere." She informed.

"Thanks Angel, we appreciate it." I said.

"Don't mention it. Now, excuse me, I 'ave a 'oof full of work to get done." She said as we left her office.

The robopony escorted us back down into the main lobby and opened the doors for us to leave. How polite. The outside air was as dusty as ever as a small gust of wind swirled around us. After everything that happened today I knew everyone was tired. We walked through the dilapidated streets and discovered an hotel of sorts. Ferrie's Place, it read above in neon lights that were remolded from something else. The outside bricks were caked in sand and dirt, making the outside look like a solid slab of concrete. The glass windows shown brightly as the clouds had parted allowing the sun to cast a brilliant organ hue on everything. We pushed open the old doors and we met by a ghoul mare.

"Welcome to Ferrie's Place," she called out. "My name's Ferris. We have almost anything you unrested bodies could ever need."

"Have any rooms for four?" Daemon asked as we neared the counter she was sitting behind.

"Well of course. That'll be 45 caps per person. That doesn't include fees for meals and.. extras." She said reluctantly.

"What do you mean by extras? I asked.

"Let's just say that there are some ponies here who like to keep people company for a price." She said as she flicked her eyes towards her left.

I looked over and saw a scantily clad mare leaning against the wall. She made a kissy face towards me and winked. My cheeks burned and I looked away. Ah... that's what she meant.

"Oooh. Gotcha." I replied.

We each passed Ferris our own caps for the room. "Shallow! Can you come here?" She called out to someone.

A full black stallion trotted from a room I hadn't noticed before. He was dressed in an old grey suit. "You need something Ms. Ferrie?" He asked.

"Can you show these fine ponies, and Griffin, to their rooms please?"

"Of course. Right this way." He said as Ferris tossed him some keys.

We walked behind the counter and went up some stairs that lead to a long corridor. Sounds of other ponies echoed through the halls; moaning, groaning, arguing, and laughter. More mares and stallions stood along the walls. Each of which wore less and less clothing. Some of them called out to us, wondering if we wanted to "have a good time." We walked passed a side hall that had two mares kissing inside. They looked like twins. One of which spotted us and paused a moment to look. A string of saliva bridging the gap between her mouth and her partners. She winked before I could completely get around the corner. Why is it so freaking hot in here!? We finally made it to our room and Shallow unlocked the door for us. "Here you are, room 149, enjoy your stay." He said, placing the keys on a dresser. "If you need anything, only ask and we'll see if we can help you." He said before leaving.

The hotel room consisted of mainly a bedroom that had two double beds, a bathroom and a rather spacious closet. The cracked, marron, wallpaper covered the room, a brown fur carpet, that was peeling in some places, donned the floors. The air smelled stale, as if this room hadn't been opened in a few weeks. The dusty window filtered the golden rays of the sun into the room. I tried to wipe away the dust but it was on the outside. Everyone had already picked out their beds. I was in the same bed as Daemon. Atleast the beds were big enough for a Griffin or else I'd be on the floor. Styng and Harmony sat together on their bed. I laid my saddle bags on the bed and sorted through all my stuff using my Pip-Buck. I had my RG-32, some transmuted rifle rounds, my armor and my stable barding, about 300 caps, that magazine I got from the gas station awhile back... "Wh... where's my gun?" I asked aloud.

"It's right there." Daemon said pointing a claw to my rifle.

"No, no my gun. The one I was making in the stable." Realization had set in. I had left it in all the rush. "Argggghh I fr... fu... ARGHH! I left it back there." I said finally, my head dropping aswell as my mood.

"You can always make another. It shouldn't be hard with ur new skill." Daemon said matter of factly.

"Yea, that was my first build. It's got sentimental value." I responded.

Styng and Harmony overheard the conversation and desired to chime in. "Dang that sucks, you should really just make a new one." Styng said.

"I'm not sure why you all left in such a hurry. But if it was as bad as I'm assuming, then yea, you should probably make a new one." Harmony said, pinning the final nail in my coffin.

Outvoted and unmotivated, I gave in to my friends decision and buried the memory of my old laser pistol and like a Phoenix raised a new and better prototype in my head.

~ ~ ~

The sun had set and cast a purple hue into the room, making it even darker than the colors already made it. A few lamps had been turned on and the meager light managed to illuminate a part of the room. The radio in the room whistled its tunes from one of the last few remaining stations available. The tune slowly died out wth the hum of a violin and a voice crackled to life. "Gooooood afternoooon Newshire, hope your enjoying the music because more will come after our regular news broadcast of the night." The Griffin said in his songbird voice. "So, according to my totally not pre-made script, there's been a number of different happenings around the island. First off, the last of those stables opened up, and the inside, as far a as I'm told, is completely inhospitable. There's this green mist you see, that kills you only a few minutes of exposure... but get this! There are kids in there. You heard me right. About 36 or so are there. Too scared to leave or just plain out gone insane. We haven't been able to rescue any of them, but it's not like we really can. I'm not sure how that gas hasn't affected them but I hope they come to soon. In other and less depressing news, the Taurobauro out in the deserts south of The Wall have become more aggressive towards travelers, so be on the lookout. This has been DJ-Remiz, bringing you all the news from around the island. Here's a couple of songs to end our night here. Starting us off, Dolly Llama with Spittin Image." A saxophone began to play as a piano chimed in to accompany the melody.

"I'm guessing that includes you guys?" Asked Harmony, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Yea, it does." I said, hardly audible, even in the quiet room.

It had hardly been two days since we left and the event clung to us like a parasite. It's not like forgetting would get us anywhere. Any vague connection to it easily brought back up the horrific memories. The flooded my mind all a once and I winced at the pain they brought back. With my mood completely shattered and my eyes ready to burst, I took my lace underneath the ancient blankets and slowly dozed off.