Fallout Equestria: ShadowFall

Chapter Five: Caps and Contracts

“Money can save ya and kill ya, but it can’t give ya a true friend”

I wonder sometimes, why the wasteland is so cold during the night.It always feels that way to me, maybe because of all this death and meaningless destruction? The loss of our goddesses, our friends, our damn lives?! Everything those ponies did before the war....would they have taken it back if they saw what happened? What about the griffons, the buffalo, the dragons, the zebras....would they have taken it all back?

My father once told me that war, war never changes. But ponies do....even when they were the ones who killed him.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

I gasped for air as I woke up, feeling as if I had flown for miles! All sweaty and...ugh. Then I looked around noticing that Vance had woken up and started a fire. He barely glanced at me when he spoke.

“Thanks back there,” then he shot a stern stare, “even if you did shoot me.”

“I....uh..”

He smirked at my expression, “Aw I’m just fuck’n with ya. I know you had no choice but to shoot, but it’d be nice if you didn’t aim so low next time. You almost killed my kin back there.”

“What?! I wasn’t even close! I shot your ri-” A sharp pain shot around my lip, and it started gushing blood.

Vance quickly got up, and came over to me with a needle and some old string.

“Don’t scream so much, that gash on your mouth is pretty bad. I stitched it up as best I could and gave you a healing potion, I’m afraid a cut that bad is going to stay with you forever. Hopefully the potion will heal the worst of it in a couple of days.”

Once he finished, I moved my mouth around, then stuck my tongue out feel the crude stitches on my mouth. Hmm, I can still taste some Quantum!

“Sweet a scar! Always wanted one of those!”

He looked at me like I was the craziest guy in Equestria! What?! Scars are cool!

“What? Why are you staring at me?”

“I can’t believe you know Fallen Caesar Style. I expected you to be more....serious.”

“Well trust me, when you’ve seen the stuff I’ve seen, you kind of have to liven up your wasteland experience....wanna bottle of Quantum? Eh? Ehhhhh?” I said smiling, waving the bottle in his face.

He just seemed agitated at me. I swear his eye started twitching, but he eventually took the bottle of Quantum. We sat by the fire, and it was really awkward. Mainly because he just sat there staring at me. He wasn’t even drinking his Quantum! I stared at his bottle, then to him, then back to the bottle, then back to hi-

“AGHH! Will you stop staring at the fucking bottle?!”

“..........ya gonna drink that?”

I swear if he had hooves, he would have smacked his face with them.

About two hours later into the night, neither one of us had slept. Eventually I decided to start asking questions.

“Sooo...what’s your story?”

Vance sighed deeply, and without taking his eyes off the fire, he started talking.

“I might as well tell you, its not like I’ll be going anywhere tonight.”

Sweet, a story! With my Quantum in my hooves, I listened closely.

“It all began ten years ago. My father was the leader of Asoka’s Talons,named after him of course.His coat of feathers as white as the sky in the story books, and his eyes as red as mine, a true leader to behold. He never accepted any contracts that involved killing someone, didn’t believe the wasteland needed anymore violence, even if these contracts did bring in the most caps. We all agreed with his ideals, all 100 of us. Everyone but Harkan.He began working behind my father’s back, accepting any contracts that involved murder. His actions began to give our group a bad name and our old contracts started to slip away. No contracts meant no caps to keep us afloat. The griffons started questioning my fathers leadership. Even when we were about to lose all our caps and contractors, my father still kept to his ideals. Harkan took this opportunity by gathering those who wanted my father out of the picture, and promised them a vast amount of caps and a reputation that would gain respect.”

“Only a few were still loyal to my father, Reyes and myself included. Asoka’s Talons was split in two, and eventually battles started to break out around the wasteland. Those who chose to leave my father joined up with Harkan’s Talons. With all the contracts that Harkan had, they were swimming in caps, buying better weapons, armor, supplies, anything that would take Asoka’s Talons out of the picture. Even outgunned, my father still had respect among other Talons, gaining allies from Manehatten to Baltimare. Before we knew it an entire war between Talons erupted. It became known as the Contract War. Not many outside the Talons knew about it, mainly because it wasn’t like any war before it. We fought for contracts, caps, and respect. After five years, my father was killed in a skirmish between some of Harkon’s Talons, he was caught off guard you see, given a fake contract and was cornered and killed in Baltimare. It all slowed down after that, and eventually the Talons all separated again.”

“Harkan’s Talons is still one of the biggest groups of mercenaries in the wasteland, and now in his growing age takes jobs involving murder from anywhere and for any price above 1,000 caps just to keep his blood pumping. Reyes and I were found a few months ago by Harkan, and said if we didn’t join him we would die like our father. We had no other choice, and just to piss us off he made us part of his scouting group.We were heading back to Baltimare but got a transmission for a contract from an old associate during the Contract Wars, the guy who sold Harkan the weapons, armor, and ammunition that were used to kill my father and countless others, Ramrod.”

*** *** ***

“I can’t believe all that happened, and I didn’t even notice! And Ramrod involved in it all....I feel like I never knew him.”

“Believe me, I never thought it would happen. I just hope it never does again. Caps and contracts can be a dangerous thing in the wasteland.”

Vance and I were packing up our things. I was ready to head out in search of info on the areas outside of Equestria. Vance....he didn’t really say what he was going to do. Maybe...

“Hey, uh, Vance.”

“Yeah?”

“I could always use a companion. You being a griffon, I would always have someone backing me in the skies and ground.”

He thought a moment, looking around at the ruins of Manehatten, then back at me.

“I’m sure Harkan will be back for me, and I think it’d be wise for me to have someone on my side when he does come. So, where are we headed?”

Smirking at my new companion, I knew exactly where to go from here.

*** *** ***

Ramrod was waiting impatiently with his caravan in the outskirts of Manehatten, awaiting news on Harkan. Suddenly Harkan arrived, only in a condition he didn’t expect.

“Harkan! What the hell happened? Did you kill the bastard?! Where is the bo-”

“Shut the fuck up you idiot! You didn’t tell me this Sky was some fucking killer! My whole team is dead, and one of’em turned on me! Should have known he would, just like his damn father.”

Startled and confused, Ramrod spoke.

“What do you mean? That idiot Skyline isn’t any threat! All he does is go around pretending to be some adventurer! There’s no way he killed all of your scouting party...”

“Well did you know that he can use Fallen Caesar Style?! Or that he’s some kind of mixed freak?!”

Ramrod couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He found Skyline bartering for that ridiculous Quantum drink back in Hoofington, he wasn’t with any zebras or anyone else, just alone.

“Wait, did you say Asoka’s son was with him?!”

“Yeah, the bastard lashed out at me for no reason at all! He even killed his brother just to help this guy escape.” Harkan convincingly said.

No! If Asoka’s son told him about anything during the war....this contract just became serious. If he blabs about me being involved, I could be put on a contract! The irony in it all....just sickening. I need to kill him without me being connected.

“Harkan, I need you to kill Skyline without being noticed or having me connected. I know this isn’t your favorite way to deal with a contract, but I will pay well if you do so.”

Harkan obviously didn’t like the idea of killing his contract from the shadows, but he had the guy just for the job.

“Alright Ramrod, but I want 35,000 caps for this one. But don’t expect the same special treatment for Asoka’s boy. I want to hear him scream when I rip open his stomach!”

Reluctantly, Ramrod agreed with the price. Although he told Skyline that he was short in caps back in New Appleloosa, he kept his wealth from the Contract War a secret. Caps can be taken or earned back, but when an employee causes a mess in a town like Skyline did, the trust is hard to regain. Especially in the wasteland, where trust is almost impossible to find.
Footnote: Level up
New Perk: Wing to Wing - You have a wingman now, and he’s got your back! When fighting in aerial combat, your chance of a critical hit increases by 15%