Fallout equestria: preparations

While we had reached the settlement, we couldn't simply enter it. Not without a good cover story. Any competent guard would likely ask a lot of questions and it would be stupid to just tell them what I intended to do. And telling them that my new companions used to be raiders not one day ago, would be utterly moronic. Hiding their cutie marks was easy enough, but they still had many visible scars and their were clothes tattered and torn. But there wasn't much that could be done about that. After some discussion we agreed on a story to use, but they clearly didn't like it. I also needed to take proper facial expressions, as keeping my stoic expression wouldn't help.

As we got closer I could see dozens of armed ponies and gryphons guarding the entrance. Even more spread on their makeshift wall. They gave us dirty and distrusting looks, guns pointed toward us, especially at me. The ex-raiders accompanying me looked more and more nervous and scared as we got closer. I couldn't deny that I also felt nervous. One of the guards, an unicorn, came to greet us as we reached the wall.

The young unicorn guard stared us down and held a shotgun ready with his magic. The other guards pointed their guns at us ready to fire. Most however seemed to point them at me. I spoke up and hoped for the best.
"Hello. Would it be possible to enter? We need somewhere to sleep and buy supplies."
The unicorn raised an eyebrow. His gun was pointed at me. His eyes going all over me, before speaking.
"I need to ask you a few things first. Then maybe you can come in."
"Understandable, I'll try to answer as best as I can."
"First who are you?"
After a quick introducing each other and why explaining why I was carrying wire on my back and why Cutthroat and Bloodbath( we decided to call him Newblood instead, as his name was the most "raidery") couldn't talk. The guard raised another eyebrow at hearing my companions names. He was also clearly looking at my new companions torn clothing. He pointed at them and asked.
"How are you not freezing. You're almost naked."
I lifted my one of my hooves and put it closer to him. He first backed away, but then noticed the heat emanating from it.
"Huh, that's useful. But why are you clothed like that? And you don't look like you belong together, so how did you meet?"
He pointed at me and then at my companions as he said that last part. Scourger answered.
"We got attacked by...by..."
We had agreed on a story to explain our situation. They didn't like what we had picked, but agreed to it.
"..raiders. They took us by surprise, caught us and were about to... rape and eat us and all that raider stuff you know."
The guard nodded. He had a look of empathy on his face, but didn't change.

"They were tearing our clothes of and cutting us with their knives. But luckily he was close by..."
She pointed at me, as she said that.
"And he sneaked on the raiders while they were distracted. He saved our lives."
Scourger and the other ex-raiders clearly looked unhappy with the lie, but the guard didn't notice.
"That's fortunate. But where do you come from?"
He points his hoof accusingly towards me.
"You're a pegasus and you're way too clean looking. And that armor. You better explain that."
His face twisted in anger and he pointed his shotgun at my face. This made me nervous, though I hid it well. I wanted to avoid any altercation, as that would ruin everything and we weren't in a position to fight.
"I understand your suspicions. Its not the first time that I've been mistaken as part of the enclave and I know that you hate them. But I can assure you that I and my father were both born on the surface and that he found this armor in an old factory. I also pride myself in taking care of myself."
I found it smarter to use a dead parental figure than to lie to him that I found it. Gives me plausible deniability and allows me to feign more ignorance. I also made sure to change my facial expression as I spoke, to ad more believability.
"And where did he find it? And where is your father?"
"Near Stalliongrad, outside the city. And he died a few years ago."
He still looked doubtful, but less hostile.
"I'm sorry for your loss, but you lived near Stalliongrad?"
"Well not really near it, but it was the closest city. We lived in an old building not too far away."
The guard lowers his gun. Clearly debating with himself if he believes me or not. While any hostility seemingly disappeared, he still doubtfully eyed me.
"Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. for now."
He then continued asking us questions.

The interrogation continued for a while. The guard asked my companions things like where they came form. They didn't have to lie that much, they just omitted that they used to be raiders, which made everything more believable. He also asked me if I wasn't related to the enclave some twenty more times. After all of them he seemed to finally believe that I wasn't part or related to the enclave. He however didn't even bother asking why we came here. Which I found strange but didn't question. He repeated many of his questions, which made the already long and tedious interrogation worse. After an hour or so, he seemed to be satisfied and trotted back towards the rest of the guards. All of which had been watching us all the time. He went towards one important looking and heavily armed purple mare. They started talking with each other. The unicorn guard was likely telling everything he had learned from questioning us to the mare.

After a few minutes the unicorn came back.
"Follow me."
We followed him. When we reached the gate we were stopped by the purple mare. She took a long at us. She and all the other guards kept us under their gaze. The purple mare then shoved a hoof on my chest.
"You can come in. But you better behave. One wrong step and you'll regret it. Especially you flyboy."
My companions nodded fearfully. So did I. I actually felt threatened by her impressive frame and sizable gun.
"We've done so much to keep this place working and safe, so no trouble makers will be allowed. "
"I understand. We're just here to rest and get..."
I pointed at my half clothed companions.
"some clothes."
"Yeah, yeah. Just behave or I'll tear those wings of your back."
After some more nasty looks they allowed us to enter. But first I had to ask something first.
"Is there anywhere that we can sleep? Against a fair price."
The mare simply snorted and even looked insulted. A griffon guard was kind enough to answer.
"Just go to the train station. Most people sleep there."
"Thank you."
We entered the settlement. The train station was the biggest and most visible building in the whole place, so we knew where to go.

On the way towards the station, we saw some ponies and griffons wandering around. Most huddled close around fires. Most inhabitants were wearing thick, albeit dirty, clothes on. Some also had discolored scarfs and torn beanies. Most ignored us and only a few gave us dirty looks. But they seemed more preoccupied with keeping the fires on and repairing any of the disheveled buildings. It clear that while they had survived, there was a clear lack of food and medication. Many looked like they were starving and sick. And while most seemed to have thick jackets and other clothes, they usually had a few holes in them. In this area the buildings were simple shacks made out of half rotten wood and some cloth. The only real building was an old damaged rest stop. The words "Gun shop" were painted on it in blue paint. It also had metal bars covering it's windows and door. I would have to have a look at it once it opened. Another odd thing were the bells. multiple buildings had big rusted bells on their roofs with guard besides them. A potential alarm or warning system?

It wasn't a long walk to reach the train station. There were arrows painted on it that pointed towards the entrance. Most windows and doors had been closed down and barricaded. Only one of the back entrances was open. It looked similar to the entrance to the settlement. Guards and fires around the entrance. They ignored us as we entered, too busy chatting amongst each other.

The first thing we saw was a makeshift lobby. A male griffon was sitting on a chair with multiple books laying on an old table.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
The griffon stood up and spoke quite jovially with an honest smile on his face.
"I was told we could find a place to rest here."
"Indeed. You can either rent a private room or sleep in the hallways and floors for free. We put a lot of carpets especially for that."
"On the floors?"
"We don't have enough rooms and buildings for everyone and this place has the most cover against the cold. So we try to shove as many creatures in it. But we keep a few rooms to rent, usually closets and old break rooms, to make money from travelers."
"Makes sense. How much for a room?"
"100 caps a night."
I looked at my companions having little knowledge about the wasteland economies. Buzzsaw answered.
"It's as fair of a price as it gets."
"Alright. We'll have one room, for tonight."
"I just need you to put your name in here."
He opens a big book and puts it on a makeshift desk.
"We like to have everything properly organized. And you need to pay in advance."
I pulled out the caps out of one of my bags and handed them to him and then wrote my name and the name of my companions, as I learned that three of them didn't know how to write. I was then handed a key with a big 17 written on it.
"Your room is on the first floors. We've painted arrows everywhere to tell you were to find your room. Also don't break anything, we'll charge you for that."
"thank you, we'll make sure to be careful."
"Have a good night and rest well."
The surprisingly happy griffon waved at us as we left.

We moved through the station silently, as every hallway was filled with ponies and griffons sleeping in piles close to fires. the floor was pretty comfortable covered in thick, albeit dirty carpets. there a few guards patrolling around. Some other creatures still lay awake whispering or eating near some of the bigger fires. A lot of care had obviously been put into keeping this place comfortable and warm. Some holes in the walls and roofs had been closed with nails, wood and cloth to keep the cold out. The old shops contained more sleeping creatures. While a few seemed to be distributing soup. It was a sad sight.

While searching for our room I couldn't help but think about the past, when the war hadn't yet started ,when this station was filled with griffon tourists and travelling ponies, instead of starving and freezing wastelanders. And even when the war had started ponies still traveled. I, well my old self more exactly used to take trains here. It was a better time. Maybe something similar could one day be created. I would try and hope that I succeeded.

I was taken out of my thoughts, as a hoof shooked my left shoulder. Looking to my left, I could see Buzzsaw pointing towards an old rusted door. The door had an 17 painted on it. I shoved the hey inside the lock and opened the door, though it took some effort. There was no light inside so I used a flashlight, one of the many features of my armor. From the looks of it, it used to be a break room for employees. The ground was covered in the same carpet as the rest of the building and there was a pile of blankets lying in one corner. A barrel lay in the middle of the room, with wood inside it, likely to make a fire. I entered the room and proceeded to drop wire on the pile of blankets before closing the door. While my companions shared the blankets amongst themselves, I was busy carefully lighting a fire. Once it was lit, we layed around it.

They stared at me with a certain awkwardness that I had gotten used to it. Then Wire which had been the most talkative of the bunch, spoke up.
"So what are we going to do tomorrow?"
"First, I'll go out and buy some the clothes for all of you. Then using you as guide, I'll try and find anycreature desperate or willing enough to work for me."
They nodded. Buzzsaw then spoke up.
"We've never been here, so we can't really guide you around."
"With guides I meant that you could tell me about any customs that they may have or tell me more about the wasteland and anycreature living in it. I want to avoid making mistakes or say anything wrong."
"Oh, that makes more sense. So we can just go sleep now?"
"Not yet, first..."
I pulled out a vial out my saddlebags. The same that I had injected with, after having knocked them out.
"you're going to need regular doses, around once each two a three days."
"For how long are we going to need to take those drugs, before being fully healed."
Scourge seemed to ask that with genuine curiosity.
"A few years, it's not a miracle drug but it's better than nothing."
"True. I never expected to be given a chance to become normal."
"None of us did."
They all nodded in agreement. I then proceeded to inject them all with another dose. After that they all went to sleep. I stood awake, taking care of the fire.

It however wasn't an calm night. It was clear that they were all having nightmares. They couldn't stand still and kept shifting around in their sleep. They even mumbled some words from time to time. Usually in a regretful and fearful tone. Meanwhile I was stuck in my own thoughts. This place, this station, the trains themselves brought so many memories back. The world I once knew had gone to shit. Everypony I knew was dead and I was stuck inside a... a copy of my old self. No, not even that. My soul was stuck somewhere else. Both the body and mind here were but a puppet. As I my thoughts became more and more depressing, I was suddenly kicked out of my existential crisis. As I came back to my senses I saw that in their night terrors, somepony had hit me with their hind hoof. Cutthroat I think. It was a welcome distraction. After making sure the fire was still lit, I put myself comfortably and waited for the night to end.

I left the second my companions woke up to go and explore. I had left the key and the old rifle behind alongside most of my supplies. The hallways were more lively at day than at night. I was however greeted by judging and distrustful stares. I doubted that any of them would kindly answer any of my questions. Which meant that I would have find any shops on my own.

Fortunately it only took around half an hour to find a clothes shop. It was an old warehouse situated near the center of the settlement. It also had the word clothes painted on it just like the gun shop. As I entered I was greeted by a golden earth pony. He sat behind a makeshift counter with a door behind him, probably leading to a storage area. He didn't look distrustful but he still raised an eyebrow at my sight. The shop itself was filled with racks of clothes.
"I'm Garment ,how can I help you?"
"It's to buy some clothes against the cold."
The earth pony smiled.
"Well, you came to the right place. But you look already pretty well clothed."
"Thank you I'm quite prideful of my appearance, but I need clothes for my companions."
The earth pony pulled a big book out from the counter. He opened it.
"I just need their measurements, then we can pick something for them. We got a pretty big catalogue."
He pointed at the book with a smug look on his face.
"Just have a look."

I started reading through the fairly thick book. I kept being surprised by how well organized this settlement was. The book contained pictures and ruff sketches of pieces of clothing. The first pages contained illustrations of simple jackets and some light barding. further in the book there were pictures of military uniforms. The last pages contained full bodysuits and makeshift hazmat gear.
"Thank you, I'm quite prideful of my appearance, but I need clothes for my companions."
"Color wise we have grey and white, grey and black, white and lastly grey. Some hazmat suits are yellow but that's all."
The effort but in this was admirable. I was expecting them to sell only one or two different pieces of clothing. Yet they had a whole catalogue, literally. I ended up picking some old modified equestrian military uniforms. They had been given a lot of extra padding against the cold. I put my hoof on a picture of them.
"I'd like to..."

There was a sudden howl of the wind. The shopkeeper looked at the door. I turned around. It had started snowing. At first a weak small snowfall, which turned into a massive deluge of snow. You could barely see anything outside.
"Damn snowstorm, last one was only four days ago."
"Indeed, it's already hard to survive day to day, but these fucking things make everything worse."
We went back to talking about clothes. I told him which clothes I wanted. after carefully explaining my companions measurements, which I had taken before leaving, he called someone in the back. An other earth pony came in through the door behind the counter. After a short chat the earth pony went back through the door with an uniform. Which the shopkeeper took and then proceeded to intricately show off. Which only convinced me more.

"So, how much?"
"39 caps a piece."
"I'm no economist or trader, but that feels like it's a very low price."
"Indeed. You see thick warm insulated clothes are very important here. So everycreature here decided that it would be best to give our clothing "industry" a lot of funding. Up until this day we get all the available material for free. And the leaders of these place have created the bureau of necessities, which gives us caps to buy anything we need."
He smiled and pointed at all of the clothes that were strewn around. I handed him the caps and he shoved five uniforms inside a bag before hoofing it to me.
"Anything else that I can help with?"
"Do you sell beanies or scarfs?"
"[color=#F9A602No, but just in fro..."

The sound of bells could suddenly be heard over the snowstorm. Which was then followed by shouts. I could see faint silhouettes running around. I could hear the word "ghoul" being shouted. The shopkeeper and the other pony from the back ran past me in a hurry, carrying guns. I followed them out and saw their silhouettes running towards the wall alongside many others. Guards seemed to rush toward the wall, while many ponies and griffons took shelter inside buildings.

I followed the guards toward the wall as the sound of gunshots and screams became louder. The loud beating of hundreds of hooves became audible above the snowstorm.

Footnote:
Sanity: 78%
Perk: More machine than pony: -20% base sanity. Sanity grows and decays 50% slower. Becoming insane is harder, but regaining sanity becomes just as hard. Health Multiplied by a factor of 13, +30% base armor and massive pain tolerance. Massive health regeneration.
First sight of the wasteland: -2% base sanity.