Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Chapter 6: Knight

***** ***** *****

My fever broke at some point in the night, and I awoke early in the morning feeling much better. Slash and Gritt were asleep in their beds, though the griffon stirred as I got up and headed for the bathroom. The mercenary made sure I wasn’t up to anything before returning to his rest.

To my joy, the shower here turned out to be fully functional. It even had hot water! Which very well might be a recent addition. I never bothered asking the Hot Rods what they needed access to those water mains for. After quickly stripping, and removing the bandages from my fully healed wounds, I stepped into the steamy cascade of cleansing goodness. Carefully rationing my soap, I eagerly scrubbed every inch of my hide and preened all of my feathers.

My armor had already been cleaned while I was unconscious, though I don’t know by whom. Slipping everything on was much more comfortable without the medical wrappings chafing underneath. Glancing at my rear hooves, I lamented not wearing full leg armor, having opted for less weight. That decision certainly bit me, didn’t it? If not opting for a helmet comes back to me, well, I guess I won’t suffer from it for long… I shouldn’t be so fatalistic, it won’t do me any good.

*****

It felt great to stretch my wings as I flew from one end of the Hub to the other. I’d had enough of cramped ruins for a while. The Assault-Mare factory kept catching my attention, a feeling in my gut drawing me towards it. Which made no sense. Why would I want to get into that death trap?

According to our King, once you find one piece, it should have a magical connection to the others, leading you to them.

Admiral, if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather fight through slavers and check the lighthouse first.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a group approaching from high in the sky, well above the tallest skyscrapers. Washout flew up to meet the caravan and guide them down. Taking a perch on the Ministry of Peace hub, I watched a sky wagon descend. It was emblazoned with the words ‘Absolutely Everything! Yes, We Do Deliveries!’ and was pulled by a pegasus ghoul who wore a PipBuck identical to Velvet’s. Ditzy Doo, the Element of Laughter. Beside her flew a dirt-colored cyber pegasus stallion with an orange mane, who also wore a matching wrist device along with a black western hat and an impressive custom battle saddle. Deadshot Calamity, the Element of Loyalty. With them was a griffon hen, who I didn’t recognize right away. The NCR armor she wore, and the twin 5.56 pistols she carried helped me piece together her identity. Regina Grimfeathers, daughter of President Gawdnya Grimfeathers.

*****

Maybe Calamity and Regina would be up for killing slavers. Flying down, I noticed Gritt and Slash join the crowd forming around Ditzy’s wagon. Velvet trotted out as well, and embraced her mate. As I landed, Regina pulled Gritt into a headlock and teasingly rubbed her knuckles into the top of his head.

“Hey, squirt, been a while!” The older griffon heckled the younger one with some good natured taunts until Gritt managed to squirm out of her grip, laughing. His connections continued to surprise me. If I was forced to remove him, there’d be… consequences. I nodded to Slash as I took a place in the crowd beside her.

Hot Rods got to unloading the wagon, making quick work. I looked at Velvet until she caught my gaze, then pulled out my Pearl shard and gave it a jiggle while glancing towards Calamity and Regina. She returned a look of acknowledgement and got their attention.

“Before I come home, if it's no trouble, could you help my new friend here get to Horseshoe Lighthouse?” The request would have sounded absurd coming from me. I was thankful for Velvet’s assistance.

“That there’s slaver turf.” Calamity furrowed his brow, giving me a glance.

“That’s why he needs help. Poor Rosegold here was nearly killed by one feral ghoul while helping us get the hot water running.” Velvet gave me a pitied smirk. “I hardly think he could handle a bunch of scary slavers.”

Okay, that was a little cruel, miss ‘Element of Kindness’.

“Hold on,” Calamity started with surprise. “Rosegold? Novac Rosegold?” I gave him a nod, and he returned a cocked head and raised a brow. “You could take on an alicorn, but not a zombie?”

“Actually, the alicorn kicked my ass,” I admitted.

The gruff pegasus let out a snort. “Heck, I guess you do need help. Why do you want to go there anyway?”

I help up the shard. “I’m looking for more of these. They belong to my people. I have good reason to believe one is at the lighthouse. I’m willing to pay.”

Calamity waved his hoof. “We don’t need your caps. I’ll put down some slaver scum on principle.”

Regina huffed. “Speak for yourself.” She turned her gaze to me. “How much you got?” Not enough to afford her. She laughed and waved her talons. “I’m just messing with you.”

“If you’re going, we’re going.” Slash stepped forward. “All these chores I’ve been doing around here won’t mean anything if the slavers get strong enough to attack.” Gritt just sighed and lit a smoke.

*****

Two pegasi, two griffons, a hippogriff, and a dragon, all armed literally to the teeth. Any bandits we passed didn’t dare come out of their hiding places as we swooped between buildings. What was left of the slavers after Gritt’s last job were using Horseshoe Lighthouse as a base. According to the others, they controlled the bay area so they could do business with pirates. Regina came up with a plan of attack.

Gritt and Calamity would take sniping positions, the latter having retrieved a custom anti-machine rifle from Ditzy’s wagon before we left. Regina and Slash would flank around and get behind their lines. The older griffon was now equipped with a tri-barreled heavy caliber machine gun. Washout and I, being the most heavily armored, would draw attention with a frontal assault. The Hot Rod lended me a makeshift helmet and leg armor.

Two slaver guards stood on posts beside their camp gates. When their heads popped, Washout and I swooped in and opened fire on the startled inhabitants, taking out several before I was forced into cover. Volleys of green magical death erupted from the ex-Enclave mare as she repeatedly rose and dove into slaver positions. Any lucky shots just bounced off her reinforced plates. Hostiles who were distracted by her were taken out by either me or our two snipers. Using my powerful wings, I propelled myself from foxhole to foxhole, faster than the enemy could track. With the distance closed, I had the advantage, and SATS-assisted blasts of dark purple took one life after another. When several slavers attempted to barricade themselves in shacks, Slash revealed her presence and punished them with dragon’s fire. Bunker after makeshift bunker went up in flames, while Regina provided cover.

Washout landed in front of Slash as she approached a large, cobbled-together barn that was locked from the outside. “Woah, babe, hold your fire!” She shot the locks at an angle and pulled the large doors open, revealing a couple dozen starving ponies shackled together. Not just ponies. There were zebras among them as well. They all wore terrified expressions. Calamity flew down to help, leaving Gritt to keep watch.

Calamity and Regina focused on calming the ponies and tending to any injuries, while Washout removed her helmet and started speaking zebra to the striped captives. After their initial surprise wore off, they approached her and let her remove their chains and collars. Once I was sure the area was secure, I ascended the lighthouse.

*****

While the outside was eroded from the elements and half-bleached from the direction a balefire bomb had hit, the inside was oddly pristine. There wasn’t room for the slavers to use it for anything, as the shaft of the tower contained a stone staircase and nothing else. The brickwork was intricately carved, and depicted pony history dating back over a thousand years. At the bottom was the story of Grogar being casted out by Gusty the Great. Next was the three pony races uniting to cast out the Windigos, founding Equestria. Further up were the tales of the Pillars, such as the defeat of the Sirens. It went on with the reign and defeat of Discord, and finally the rise and banishment of Nightmare Moon. The chamber at the peak of the tower depicted Princess Celestia’s reign of peace and harmony. Ironic that such a monument survived a war that made all of this history and struggle ultimately pointless.

This area had some signs of use. For instance, the massive lantern was kept lit. A bedroll laid in the corner, surrounded by empty bottles and cigarette cartons. If the slavers were working with sea-faring pirates, it made sense for them to keep the lighthouse functional. Frankly, I was more focused on what I wasn’t noticing. Any sign of a shard. Thoroughly searching the pedestal the lantern sat upon, I eventually found a hidden drawer. My excitement was quickly crushed by its emptiness. Then I saw it. In the drawer, there was an outline in the dust, shaped like a teardrop. A shard was here, but was taken.

Not entirely without hope just yet, I flew back down and began frantically searching the dead. Nothing. I angrily slammed the bloody corpse of a unicorn back into the ground. The others looked at me oddly, Slash asking me if I was alright.

“A shard was here, but someone took it. Probably before these slavers moved in.” I sat down and rubbed my head in frustration. It hadn’t been Tempest. Her logs from the SPP tower made it clear she went straight to Skystar’s last location to kill her, intending to grab the shards on her return trip. My only lead now was the Assault-Mare factory. Would the Hot Rods even let me search it?

Calamity looked towards the rescued captives and trotted over to me. “You’re making it sound like this was for nothing. If you didn’t get us to help you look, these poor folks would’ve been sold and shipped off to Celestia-knows-where for Luna-knows-what.”

I barely restrained myself from telling him how little I cared about that. Rescuing slaves was not my mission. “Let’s just… get back to the Hub.”

*****

That was easier said than done while accompanying about thirty starving non-fliers, but we eventually made it to the Hub’s gates. Velvet jumped into action upon our return, leading the worst off victims into the clinic. Calamity wanted to return to Junction Town with her as quickly as possible, and Washout agreed that leaving under the cover of night was safer than waiting until morning. It took some time to convince her that the Hot Rods could handle helping their new guests.

I wandered over to the factory as Ditzy’s wagon departed, with Regina, Calamity, and Velvet in tow. Slipping in while everyone was distracted had to be easier than getting permission. The robots inside were supposedly deactivated, right? As long as I didn’t touch anything, I should be safe. Removing the barricades would cause a racket… Maybe there was another way in through the MWT?

I crept as silent as I could through the offices, hugging the wall the building shared with the factory. Another entrance had to be somewhere. Any turrets this hub had were destroyed years ago, but I didn’t take any chances. There was nothing on the first two floors, but the third had a barricaded access point. Using the brace on my right arm for leverage, I pried off the boards and made my way into the factory.

*****

Not trusting the rusted catwalks, I flew down past assembly lines to the ground floor, where several pony-shaped machines laid scattered about. On closer inspection, they resembled cybernetic ghouls more than regular earth ponies. Brown-black unaesthetic armor covered wires and servos, as if it was a rotted hide barely covering bones and guts. There was nothing resembling a mane or tail, as such features were unnecessary. All four hooves looked like they could each split apart into three articulated appendages. Their heads were vaguely cylindrical, adorned with small cameras surrounding a large, central ‘eye’ that was actually the focusing lens of a terrifyingly powerful laser cannon. I was extremely pleased that these killer robots were non-functional, and thoroughly motivated to keep them that way.

Moving on, I made my way down from floor to floor, looking for anything out of place. There were even more Assaut-Mares, several dozen of them, locked in stasis pods. The ones scattered upstairs must be the ones Washout tried to reprogram. If all of these got loose, they could kill everything in Baltimare, and then some.

A thick, steel, sealed security door was between me and the bottom level. A terminal with a Steel Rangers logo painted on the side was set up beside it, cables jury-rigged into the security access panel. I opened the terminal, which surprisingly wasn’t locked, and began reading through the non-corrupted log entries.

*****

Scribe Hotwire, Entry 17: The Paladin hasn’t given up trying to get these blasted robots up and running, but every reprogramming attempt gets overridden in seconds, resulting in the Assault-Mare shutting down. We’re convinced that something in the sub-basement is responsible, but I’ve had no luck getting this damned door open.

Scribe Hotwire, Entry 31: Our Chapter is abandoning Baltimare. Everything happening with the Enclave and the Stable Dweller is too much to ignore, not to mention the traitors led by Steelhooves. We’re regrouping with other loyal Chapters to put an end to this nonsense.

Washout, Entry 1: Hot damn, this place is a goldmine! I was starting to think I was crazy leading my Hot Rods here, but I think we can really make a go of things. Especially if these robots can bolster security. The bandits and slavers wouldn’t even think of attacking us. I’ll make the Hub the safest settlement in Equestria for my Zendaya and little Zip.

Washout, Entry 5: ‘Scribe Hotwire’ wasn’t kidding. These Assault-Mares have some STUBBORN programming. It’s like something’s actively trying to keep me from getting them working. Zen says I should throw in the towel and focus on other ways to help. She doesn’t trust these things, keeps going on about ‘curses’ and whatnot. Silly stripe, there’s no such thing. But I have spent too much time down here, neglecting her and Zip. I’ll find some Sparkle Cola and make it up to them, maybe get some much-needed alone time with my beautiful mare.

Washout, Entry 16: Fuck. You. Whatever the fuck is down here, you fucking killed them! I hope you can fucking read these, whatever the fuck you are! I finally thought I got some of these fucking killing machines working. They were behaving just fine inside the factory, following orders, doing what I told them. A signal jammer kept whatever was down here from overriding them. I thought they were safe. Then I took one outside to show it off to everypony. It saw Zen and Zip. FUCK whatever pre-war zebra-hating BASTARD hard-wired its IFF. You murdered the love of my life and our child. Fuck. You.

*****

Two arcane tech experts failed to get this door opened. What chance did I have? Wait a minute. Why would I bother hacking this door open when I have several high-powered laser cannons upstairs?

It took a couple hours of work, but I severed the heads of each of the unsealed Assault-Mares and cobbled them together with as many sparkle packs as I could find into a makeshift death beam. Proud of my volatile contraption, I took it downstairs and took aim. I only had one shot, so this had better work.

Holding down the trigger, the machinery began to hum and whine, and the focusing lenses started to glow red, brighter and brighter. On top of this, my geiger counter started to click rapidly. No wonder these weapons had to be mounted on robots, they’d have killed any pony that tried to use them. I braced myself as much as I could, moments before the weapon erupted, unleashing a blinding torrent of red death. Within seconds, the security door warped, melted, and buckled. Upon the device’s exhaustion of magical energy, I dropped the smoking heap of slag to the floor.

Stepping into the concrete hallway beyond, I had to hover over a three meter deep hole the Assault-Mare multi-cannon created. It dawned on me how poorly this plan could have backfired. If my efforts tripped security and activated the other bots… I did not want to think about that. Instead, I counted my blessings and pressed forward. The feeling in my gut, the energy from my shard, told me to press forward into the darkness.

Activating my PipBuck’s flashlight, I saw… concrete. Stretching on a dozen meters, to another security door. Almost cursing aloud, I noticed this one had its locking mechanism on the outside. Weird. Tripping it, the door slowly swung forward. I took half a step inside, and froze.

*****

The room before me was an advanced lab. Terminals and computer banks were beeping and whirring. Data streamed across displays. Workbenches littered with robot parts surrounded a central stasis pod. Inside the pod was… Nightmare Moon!? My heart skipped a few beats until I took a closer look. No, this was a machine. Holding my flashlight up to the glass, I took in the intricacies. Unlike other Assault-Mares, there were no gaps in the plating to reveal the mechanical innards, aside from two dark eye sockets. The plating also had two layers, a bright white underlayer, and an admittedly gorgeous bluish-silver top layer that resembled Nightmare Moon’s full ceremonial armor, which caused my initial confusion. I’d read reports on ‘Star Metal’ but this couldn’t be… There’s no way they’d gotten their hooves on this much of it.

While the other bots were modeled vaguely after earth ponies, this thing was clearly an alicorn. It was somewhat taller than me with a slender frame, had a long, thin horn, and even wings. Could this thing fucking fly and do magic? Its hooves had the same indents as the other models that implied they could become claws. If the designers were going for something that would make even the fiercest of Caesar's Legates crumble in terror, they fucking succeeded.

*****

A sudden beeping on a nearby terminal made me jump. Approaching it carefully, I saw a question appear on its screen.

Why are you here? This place is dangerous. I’ve tried so hard to keep people away.

I blinked, looked back at the robot, then back at the screen. There was no way. Glancing at the computer banks, they didn’t look advanced enough to be a Maneframe. A whirring camera angled down at me, staring me down. Then it tilted a little further, at the Pearl shard dangling from my neck.

Oh. I wondered if there were more of those.

The fuck!?

Its magic wasn’t strong enough to help me, or I simply didn’t know how to use it correctly. Can you use it? Does it work for you?

Carefully clutching the shard, I took a breath and focused. This was a bad idea. What the hell was I doing? Nevertheless, I felt compelled to shift myself into a pegasus.

Fascinating. Perhaps I should have taken my piece back to the lighthouse, but I had no idea anyone else would come looking for it. No one had for over one hundred years. Please, take it, it belongs with someone who can make use of it. If you would, step away from the stasis pod while I begin the reactivation sequence.

“What!? No! No, no, no!” I backed up into the doorway, shifting back into a hippogriff, and drawing my gun. The stasis pod lit up and began hissing out steam.

The terminals and computers surrounding it began to power down, lights shutting off until only the pod was illuminated. The ballistic glass slowly opened, releasing a cloud of steam towards me. The mechanical alicorn began to move, a pale blue light enveloping its once hollow eyes. A similar glow formed a flowing mane and tail. It took a step towards me, and I charged my weapon. Before I could fire, a ghostly azure glow emanated from its horn and around my laser shotgun, pulling it from my grip and pinning it to the ceiling. Whelp! That answers that question!

“There’s no need for that. I will not harm you. Please calm down.” Its feminine, soft, processed voice was soothing and incredibly creepy at the same time. The robot’s magic lowered my weapon and slipped it into my holster.

It gave me a polite, regal bow. “My name is Knight. What should I call you?”

“R-Rosegold. My name is Rosegold.” I stammered, my brain reeling from this utterly surreal situation.

A compartment opened in Knight’s side and… she..? retrieved a pearl shard from it. “Here. This belongs with you.” The item I came here for was floated to me, and I took it into my grasp.

Magic surged from both pieces, pulling them together like magnets. I released my grip, and the new piece fused into the one I already had. That’s convenient.

*****

A blaring alarm snapped me out of it, and I heard the hissing of dozens of stasis pods opening down the hallway.

“NO!” A panicked shrill escaped Knight as she galloped past me, nearly knocking me over. “I severed the power! This is impossible! No, no, the Steel Rangers set up backup generators!”

My heart sank as I realized what was happening. Knight reached the Assault-Mare storage room, and reared up in front of the first pod. Her front hooves each separated into three articulated claws, from which thin, foot-long blades deployed. The gleaming razors would make a hellhound blush. In an effortless flurry, she sliced the pod, and the Assault-Mare within, to pieces. But it was too late. Killer robots were stepping out from stasis, dozens of them, their lethal attention turned towards the intruder.

With a telekinetic shove, I was pushed back into the hallway, and the warped doors were pressed against the entrance as a barricade. “Get back into the lab! Seal yourself in!” Knight wasted no time cutting down her kin. I wasted no time obeying her.

*****

For the next several minutes, I could barely make out the sound of lasers and clattering steel. I could almost imagine that the factory had restarted, and this was simply the cacophony of industry. Eventually, it stopped. Did Knight win, or was I doomed? I heard the initial barricade open, followed by nearing hoof steps. Then, there was a musical tapping on the door before it opened. I kept my weapon raised, but lowered it when I saw the shimmering metal alicorn.

“Are you alright? It’s safe to come out now. They’ve all been dismantled.” She let out a robotic sigh. “I’d hoped for so long it wouldn’t come to that, but I guess it was inevitable. Poor things.”

“Poor things!?” How could she have sympathy for such soulless killing machines?

“It’s not their fault. They only did what they were designed to do.” Knight stepped carefully over the diced scraps of metal, with me following close behind.

“Wait, where are you going?” I couldn’t let this thing leave.

She glanced at what used to be the security door. “I clearly can’t stay here. A zebra might wander in and… Wait, are there any zebras outside?”

I remembered what the terminal said about hard-wired IFFs. “Yes, a few. Former slaves, recently rescued.”

Knight anxiously trotted in place. “No, not good. I can’t leave. I don’t want to kill.”

“Then… don’t?”

“But what if they wander in here?”

“I meant, just don’t kill them.”

She hung her head. “I don’t have a choice.” The machine waved a metal hoof over the dead Assault-Mares. “None of us did.” Knight sat down hard and glanced at the Steel Ranger terminal. “Poor Washout. The override signal I set up was to prevent loss of life. She couldn’t have known her signal jammer would doom those zebras.”

Speaking of the devil, the stairwell door ahead opened, and the leader of the Hot Rods stepped in.

“What the fuck is going-” Washout froze, eyes wide, looking between me and Knight. Then she pulled her helmet on, went into a fighting stance, and charged her weapons.

***** ***** *****

Footnote:
Welcome to Level 6!

Perk Added: Set Lasers For Fun! All energy weapons, including improvised ones, gain an additional 5% chance to score a critical hit.