Fallout Equestria: Falling Ashes

A couple months later

Landing in the middle of the street and looking around the intersection, she spotted the bar’s sign, trotting to it she entered and took a quick glance around.

On the right was a bar, a mare behind the counter was dragging a crate of Wild Pegasus to the counter to serve. Looking around she spotted a massive suit of power armor in a different room next to some slot machines, a mare in a maid outfit set a whiskey bottom beside a large, gray mare with a short, blue mane before walking off.

Being taller than most ponies she was drawn to the larger mare, approaching her she noticed a heavy smell of alcohol coming from the gray mare.

“Hello there.” She put her hoof on the mare’s back. “Hey th-” she jumped back as the gray mare sent her hoof through the floor. “Woah, hey, just trying to talk to you, my name’s Vortex.”

“Ash, wash you want?” The larger mare sat down and looked back at Vortex.

“Sorry, I just haven’t seen someone bigger than me, thought I’d get to know ya.” Vortex looked back at the sound of someone stomping over to the pair.

One of the security ponies pointed at them. “Out, both of you.”

Vortex tilted her head at him. “But I just go-“

The security pony pointed at the door. “Don’t care, big bitch has caused enough trouble here and because of you we have to replace the floor. Out.”

The larger mare left without saying anything, a couple empty whiskey bottles falling to the floor as she did, Vortex hesitated but followed behind her. Outside she followed Ash to the gates, noticing her slight wobble she spoke up. “So how much did you have? I saw a couple bottles but you shouldn’t be walking, or even conscious then.”

“You see how big I am right?” Ash glanced back at the smaller pegasus following her. “It takes more and longer, should for you too since you're bigger than a normal pony as well.”

Vortex trotted up beside Ash before responding. “Ah, yea, fair. Anyway, can I stay with you?”

Ash tilted her head at Vortex with an eyebrow raised. “What? Why?“

“Well I’m tired of staying out here alone and you’re the first to catch my eye.” Vortex said before blepping at Ash.

Ash rolled her eyes and went back to looking forward. “Why would I trust you enough to stay with me?”

Vortex went back to looking forward as well as she talked. “Well I’d say you owe me for getting me kicked out of that bar before I could even get a drink.”

“Fair, I guess. Would be nice not being alone again. Alright then.. Vortex right?”

“Vortex Chaos, yeah. I’ll tell you a little more later, can probably guess why.” She said before putting a wing over Ash’s back.

Ash glanced back. “Paladin Ash Blossom, Steel Rangers. I have a guess as to why.”

***

Ash started climbing up the cliff path as Vortex followed behind, annoyed she couldn’t fly over without being shot at by Ash’s turrets. “Alright wait here, I’ll go shut ‘em down.”

She sat down and peeked over the crest. “Alright, will you be able to turn them on later without them shooting me?”

“Yea, won’t take too long too, I’ll yell when it’s safe for you to fly over.” Ash said before disappearing over the top of the cliff.

After a couple minutes Ash called and Vortex flew over, the first thing she noticed was the makeshift turrets. Landing near them she gave them a lookover. “Where’d you get these?”

Ash went to put her armor away as she spoke. “I made them, used to be the bots that guarded the convoy. So now they still guard it, I can add you to their combat inhibitor if you’re going to stay here a while, just going to turn it all off for now.”

“I’ll probably stay a while, I’ve just been wandering. So far nowhere good, till now I mean. Haven’t been able to really settle anywhere.” Vortex raised a wing for emphasis. “For obvious reasons.”

Ash poked her head out of one of the wagons. “Yeah, I’m guessing Dashite considering your level of grooming.”

Glancing at her wings, then to the wagon behind ash before replying. “Yeah, not branded at least. Are you with the Rangers? Or formerly with them? Your armor still has the emblem.”

Ash joined Vortex at the burned out firepit. “Former..ish, I’ve been trying to contact the chapter here to join them, they are better than the chapter I came from, I’d rather not talk about them.”

Vortex watched Ash’s attempts at lighting the fire, she glanced up at the darkening sky before talking. “Want to talk about how we escaped? My story isn’t very eventful though.”

“Mine isn’t as well, I was being court martialed and I just ran, mother and wife helped. My wife Cinder joined me here. She… a sniper…”

Vortex quickly adjusted to put a wing around Ash. “It’s alright hun. You can stop. Here, let’s change the subject. Any plans for camp improvements?”

Ash rubbed her eyes as she talked. “Well… maybe better turrets and a proper work station. There's an old robobrain in one of the wagons I’m tempted to get running. The brain doesn't look decayed so I think that the robots were maintaining it before I turned them into turrets.”

Vortex started petting Ash’s mane. “Do you want to show it to me? I haven't seen one that wasn’t shooting at everything.”

“Sure.” the two go tup and walked to the wagon that held the equine robot. Inside a few tools and parts sat spread around the metal forehooves. “Everything looks repairable but the voice module, looks like a bit of shrapnel went through it.”

Vortex went up to the metallic face of the equine robot, inspecting the shrapnel hole in the muzzle. “Waiting to get that fixed before turning it on?”

Ash started picking up the tools she left sitting about. “Yeah, been thinking about just turning it on to see what happens since I don't really know where to find a replacement. Has to be a robobrain module or it won’t work.”

“I could help ya do it, I don’t know much about robots but I can do what ya say.” Vortex started picking up tools as well.

“That could be fun, just be ready to run in case it’s crazed, can you get me a spark battery? They’re in a crate next to my armor.” Ash opened a panel on the flank of the robot and pulled out a dead spark battery.

After about a minute Vortex gave the battery to Ash who plugged it in before immediately backing away from it, Vortex doing the same. They watched the brain dome light up, after a while of sitting motionless it raised it’s metallic head, moving it to look at the two mares staring at it.

Ash hesitantly raised a hoof. “Hi?”

The robot stared at the large mare before raising a metal hoof to touch it’s false muzzle, putting it’s hoof back down it took a slow step towards the two.

“So, Ash, do you think it’s sentient?”

“Idea. Robobrain, can you understand me?” the robot nodded at ash. “Come out here and write in the sand.” The two mares stepped out of the way as the robot slowly made its way out, it’s forehooves and rear tracks making a grinding sound, a result of not having enough oiling.

The large robot stopped with its tracks in the wagon, its forehooves in the sand, it paused before writing ‘Hi, I’m Ava’ in the sand, upside down to it so the two ponies could read it easily.

“Ava? Nice to meet you, I’m Vortex.” she put her hoof to her chest as she stated her name.

Ash did the same. “I’m Ash Blossom. I was able to work on most of you, except your voice, was too damaged in the crash.

Ava nodded as the two talked, covering what she wrote before she wrote ‘How long has it been?’

“Bout one-eighty AB, sorry, hundred eighty After Balefire.” Ash said before she went to take a look at Ava’s joints.”I’m going to have to find you some oil, not sure where from though.”

Re-rasing what she wrote again Ava replaced it with ‘Try any robot store.’

Ash nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. Any specific one, or just any robot oil?”

Ava just wrote under ‘any’ under what she wrote before.

“Alright, well, just don't move too much till I can find some I guess?” Ash turned to Vortex. “Know where any robotic stores are?” Vortex just shrugged with her wings. Sighing Ash turned back to Ava. “Well you seem sane, I’m guessing you being in standby the entire time saved your brain from degrading.”

Ava nodded at that. The thunder of gunshots echoed, followed quickly by one louder and Ava retreated into the old wagon, Vortex entered the other wagon as Ash ran to her armor and jumped into it