Chapters “You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have, the legend, the curses. Foolishness about it lying in the middle of the City of the Dead, buried beneath a blood-red cloud. A bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom... ” — Father Elijah
Jack. Known to many as courier six. With an adventure completed in the great divide, Ulysses convinced not to nuke the wastes…again. Instead, his silver tongue earned him Ulysses’ assistance in escaping that godforsaken temple. Many weapons were to be found there, as well as food and two sets of riot gear. The advanced was currently being worn, while his elite stayed in his pack, for more…unruly times. Jack smiled under his helmet. Stretching his tired muscles, he set off back to the strip.
The divide takes a lot outta you, don’t know how those marked men can survive so long… especially with no skin…Fuck it. Back to the lucky thirty-eight, Mr. House can go fuck himself if he thinks I’m going to do all his tasks in one day. Stop to Gomorrah?... Too tired to even fuck a cheap hooker. I’ll see the doc about that endurance implant.
Jack laughed, hurting his stomach. Clenching the said area, he groaned and walked past the infernal bus from his way in, Noticing a metal crate a few feet in front of him, he opened it. The contents surprised him to say the least. Two dusters, a breathing mask, a holotape labeled ‘Ulysses' Final Message’, and ‘old glory’, a maple staff capped with a golden eagle. The courier placed the tape into his pip-boy’s player, walking with his prizes. The tape played out a long thought message, unmistakably from Ulysses himself:
“Last tape, last message. In case... you best me. If you're hearing this, you have, through blood or word. This message, and all that lies with it - it is for you, Courier. If you want to know the... why of things. This world, I've walked a good part of it... I stopped only because of you. What you did - gave me pause. Long ago, I crossed the Colorado, the first among the Legion to see Hoover Dam in all its glory... an Old World wall, yet bridging two sides. And beyond it, a symbol of a two-headed Bear, an idea great enough to challenge Caesar himself. Might kill him, taking it, whether he won or lost. The Bull needs to fight, needs the challenge, without it... it falters, dies in the dust. Might be a lesson there, in you and me. Leave the thought behind the message to you. My message is this - the destruction has been wrought, at the Divide - or elsewhere, if you couldn't stop me... It can happen again. It will keep happening. If war doesn't change, men must change, and so must their symbols. Even if it is nothing at all, know what you follow, Courier... just as I followed you, to the end. Whatever your symbol... carry it on your back, and wear it proudly when you stand at Hoover Dam. "
Adjusting the red glare and shoulder-mounted machine gun on his back, courier six once again set out to the wastes, walking non-stop to his favorite bed in the entire wasteland.
“Celestia, I’m telling you, it’s not dangerous! The spell only lets us see into the other planets. Not actually teleport there!” Sporting darkish lavender mane and a dark purple mane and tail with a hot pink stripe on one side of her horn, an annoyed and tired mare sat next to her princess, a milky white alicorn with a mane and tail that defied the very laws of physics, moving in it’s own, imaginary wind. Being Twilight’s almost surrogate mother, she knew both the ups and downs of raising her. This situation was obviously the latter.
“I understand you wanting to try this new spell of yours, but it’s Two A.M.! Now please Twilight, for the twentieth and hopefully final time, go to your guest room and sleep!” The alicorn practically yelled, bags under her eyes just waiting to be slept away.
“But I-… We-” the lavender unicorn tried to protest.
“Look Twilight, I understand how you are when you find out a new spell. But in order to do the spell properly, you need to have full concentration, which means SLEEP!” Celestia shouted, obviously growing irritated. The alabaster alicorn sparked her horn to levitate her prized student to her guest room, trotting quickly, hoping to get at the least a few hours of sleep. The unicorn simply groaned, crossing her forelegs. As the ponies reached the destination, Celestia flung Twilight onto the plush mattress. Doing a perfect one-eighty on her hooves, the before said alicorn rushed to her bedroom. It would be a very long day, especially since her little scholar was there with her. I love the dear with all my heart, but I swear on my name she is going to drive me crazy one day of sleep deprivation…
"I'd be happy to give you a patch up Jack! Just know that you prevented another fallout, and if you ever need a place to stay, the followers of the apocalypse will always welcome you with open arms." Jack sat at a table near sandbags that were set up near the entrance of the old Mormon fort located in freeside, usually a guard emplacement. Better safe than sorry.
"Thanks, Julie. How are the supplies from the divide?" Julie Farkas. A member of the followers of the apocalypse, a non-profit organization in which the purpose is peace and knowledge. A rather strange bunch to most of the occupants of the wastes, to others, saints. Even Caesar from the legion was once one of them. Still, they were good in other people's eyes, asking for little to nothing for medical attention. Jack was known for being one of the follower's biggest suppliers. His absence was usually made up for in what he brought back.
"Surprisingly untouched by radiation. By the description you gave me I would've thought they would be giving off some rads. The MRE's aren't exactly brahmin steak, but it's good to have food that doesn't rot nonetheless. By the way you have three fractured ribs, all on your left side." Jack sighed. I knew it was damned my ribs that were broken...
"Well shit. Not the first thing a person wants to hear, but whatever. Was planning to get a few days rest, my monocycle breeder should prove to be a speedy recovery, right?
"That and a doctor's bag and you should be 'right as rain' as they used to say. I'd give it three days. Got a tent if you want to use it for the next couple of days..." she said, getting up from her seat.
"Thanks for offering doc. But I'm on my way back to the lucky thirty-eight. The divide really pounds you, and I think i'm getting foot rot. So, goodbye for now." Jack stood up, and Julie gave him an empty look, saying nothing. Jack took his leave and took his weapons that were waiting patiently for him on the table closest to him. Waving a final goodbye to Julie, The courier was off once again, fighting the urge to sleep then and there, as it had been two days without sleep. The shit I gotta do to get a good night's sleep...
Celestia got only four hours of sleep. This usually happened when her student was over, but so far Twilight was unbearably obnoxious. Still, whats to expect from a unicorn whose special talent is casting magic itself? The alicorn sat up in her queen-sized bed, smacking her lips, and destroyed a vicious sounding alarm clock signaling in a very lewd ring that it was currently six o' clock in the morning. How she envied Luna at times, not having a student of her own that drove her to near insanity with crazy sleeping habits. But, time to raise the sun.
Celestia stepped out onto her balcony after fighting herself in getting out of her comfy, cozy... Her eyes started to droop, a drool line making itself present from her now agape and softly snoring mouth. Almost falling to her left, Celestia woke up, now fully alert... If it were only long enough to raise the gaseous mass. As she made her way to the railing, her horn lit up, giving off a light gold hue.
After about what seemed like eternity, the sun was up. Now time for her reward. As her wings flared, she heard a faint clopping coming near her door. Please don't be Twilight, please don't be Twilight please don't be-
"Good morning princess Celestia!" Twilight...
"Hey Jack, spare a cap, man?" Rotface, a ghoul, a beggar, and most importantly a gossiper. Jack paused, and reached into his trench coat pocket, and found a bottle cap, and flipped the ghoul the spare change. Rotface caught it and nodded at the courier.
"People are starting up on the Sierra Madre, people getting a looping signal from who historians think is some dame named 'Vera Keyes'. Supposed to have been some pre-war celebrity. No idea where the signal is coming from, but I hear it's at some underground bunker. All I know about it. Wanna hear another one?" Rotface asked with a raspy, dry voice. The ghoul did have mostly reliable information, and Jack could spare another...
Flipping another cap, he let the ghoul continue.
"Heard about the king's cyber-dog. Rumor has it that dog used to belong to the legion, but I wouldn't believe that. Dress wearing fuckers still use machetes in the middle of a firefight, so I don't expect it to be true." He motioned for another, and Jack politely refused.
"Sorry, but I'll get to you later. Gotta catch up on important things. 'Till next time."
"I understand. Have a pleasant day, six." As Jack walked to the strip, he wondered: People already know my number huh? Geez, rotty must hang around some interesting people if he knows so much...
Just then when he reached the gate of the Strip, he noticed two things. One was having a signal from the Sierra Madre casino. The other, was the unmistakable feeling of being watched. After getting the rather repetitive 'move along' from the gate keeper, he pushed through the gates. The exhausted courier shrugged it off as a effect of his now increasing sleeplessness. Saying a friendly howdy to victor, he walked through the doors of the lucky 38 casino. After given a news update on the strip's going-ons from a pair of securitrons, he disregarded the news as unimportant and headed for the elevator.
Still, the feeling followed him. The elevator doors closed, and Jack leaned against a wall. Pushing the button for the presidential suite, the machine complied. Almost there...
Already undressing, the elevator made it's correct level and opened its doors to the courier's presidential suite. Hopping over, he dropped all equipment and clothes he had on, save for boxers, a grey shirt, and his pip-boy glove. Jack then proceeded to jump into bed and pull the covers over his tired and aching body.
Still yet, the feeling followed him.
"No, give me an hour...Please?" Celestia wrapped one of her plush pillows on her head, trying to go back to sleep, but to no avail. Especially when there's an impatient unicorn poking at you and pulling her out of bed with magic.
"Come on Celestia! I'm going back to ponyville tomorrow! The last thing on my checklist is to try the new spell with you! Just this and you can return to your sleeping." Seems like a somewhat fair compromise...
Rolling out of her bed, Celestia fought for balance, and her bloodshot eyes weren't helping. After taking a minute or so to right herself, the princess set out for a new goal: coffee. Initially ignoring Twilight's rambling, the alicorn trotted down the tile halls of her castle, mindlessly walking through the hallways, Twilight nipping at her heels. Whatever the lavender mare said was being drowned out by white noise. Thankfully, Celestia's half sleep walking had led her to the royal kitchen. One of the chefs there recognized his princess's haze and set a black coffee in front of her. She nodded to show appreciation and gulped it down in record time. Celestia then felt something poking her back. She craned her neck to see it was none other than Twilight, an impatient look in her eyes. Celestia sighed audibly and started to walk back into the hallways.
"So where should we try the spell? In the training grounds? Oh! how about in the garden?" Twilight practically squealed. At least Twilight is picking safer locations... I suppose she doesn't want to try in the study because of the billions of books she still hasn't read...
"The garden seems like an area suited for the situation." Celestia muttered, getting some sense back into her mind, but as she knew, it was only temporary. "We use it so rarely nowadays... And to think it's creator doesn't visit too often..."
"Maybe because discord is in the garden?"
*yawn* "Possibly. But I know Luna visits these grounds often. I guess it was something in the past involving him. Anyway let's hurry up before my caffeine wears off."
"Lily, wait here. I'll get this one."
"Alright dearie, but don't be too long!"
"Oh you just stay put." Jack said, pulling out a combat knife From his boot. Chance's knife, a weapon Jack wasn't too proud of, for he took it out of a great khans' grave. But he supposed if he was only killing fiends and other goons that preyed upon the innocent it would be alright in chance's eyes, if the said khan was still breathing of course.
Outside of the crimson caravans' walls a fiend who looked like he was trying to climb the walls with obviously no avail. Jack sneaked in his stealth suit Mk II, still testing the suit's capabilities. Knife in hand, the courier crouched and slowly moved to his target. The fiend had a laser RCW on his back. If it all turned to shit, Jack was sure he could handle the situation, but would undoubtedly go on a guilt trip with the damned built-in voice. At least the stims and med-x would be injected...he hoped.
After what seemed like hours, he reached a wall big enough to cover his body, and observed.
He heard a faint: "Yadamneddeathclawgivememyearringsback! Ineedthattoputonmycamelsoshecangotoschooland-" It had to be turbo, or at least a mixture of more than three drugs from his next inaudible slurs of random gibberish. Time to go in for the kill... He held up his knife, expertly wielding the blade in a clean, forty-five degree angle.
"JACK!" Lily! He whipped around, as did the fiend, hands still on the wall. Drawing his Thompson-like energy weapon, Jack turned once again and slit his throat without even letting the druggie put his finger on the trigger.
Sprinting in maximum overdrive, he got to Lily's location, only to find her dead. Jack dropped the knife, and fell on his knees. A hail of bullets had seized her from the world of the living, only a hat in a mesh of blood and brains signified a head was once atop the nightkins' shoulders. Only an incredibly skilled warrior could have taken her down this easily. He looked up, looking for anyone who might have done it.
Then, in the horizon, he saw... Himself? Yes! It was him! He... He was smiling ear to ear, showing black, twisted teeth and the eyes... The eyes were glowing red, red as the very sun. He wore the same sneaking suit, the same hair, scars... It was him. Jack looked at himself straight into his own eyes. His other self sprinted away, and disappeared into the sands of the wastes. He wanted to scream, but his vocal cords did not respond. He wanted to stand up, but his legs didn't cooperate either. His eyes teared up, but he could not blink.
It was as if time itself stopped, with blown sand still in mid-flight. As he watched his unmoving surroundings with his still eyes, he felt a figure come up to his left side. As this character came into view, he saw a black coated figure, his face not at all visible under the hood the figure had on. The scythe and bony fingers only confirmed Jack's suspicions. Death came closer to him and kneeled down in front of him.
"Why do you ssssstill dwell on thisssss memory Jack? Why do you insssssisssssst on dreaming thissssss every night? You mussssst forgive yourself sssssooner or later... In the meantime... Wake up! WAKE UP! "
"Ready Celestia?"
"Now, Twilight, let me triple-check here. You have the markings down, the process written down, including the exact amount of energy that must be put into this spell, correct?
"Yup!" Twilight chirped happily. Celestia looked around craning her neck. They were in the middle of the royal garden, right in the center of the maze. To her left was Discord's statue, still wearing that stupid expression, and much more enchantments to make sure the impractical joker wasn't going free anytime soon. to her right was a White tile and cement fountain, spurting water with vigor, as if to represent youth itself. To her rear was the only entrance or exit to the maze itself, all around was normal six foot tall shrubs trimmed as to not have any branched protruding outwards. To the front of her was a sort of pentagram she wasn't entirely familiar with. As she looked closer, she found many different languages including Zebrican and griffon runes written with white chalk in a six hoof (foot) circumference. But what she didn't recognize was the text in the middle. Strange... I thought I knew every kind of written language...
"Ready princess?"
"Ah, well. just one more question... Whats the language in the center there?" She pointed her hoof in the middle.
"Oh! that's the written language of a specific area in the alternate universe uses! It's called uhm..." Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully with her hoof. "English! One of the creatures called it English!"
"How intelligent are these 'creatures' exactly?"
"Well, they have alot more advanced weaponry than us, they address each other by name... They wear clothes... Fairly intelligent, as much as us I would assume."
"Then let's have a look-see, shall we?" Celestia was hooked. Maybe we could figure out how these creatures work, or observe their technology, make something that the populace can use! And, and... I'm sounding alot like Twilight...
"Alright. Now, the first thing you do is..."
Come to the Sierra Madre, a place where wealth and prestige await around every corner!
Fucking Vera, why couldn't you make another radio broadcast loop?! Thanks to a small egg timer, Jack awoke, hands on his ribs. Feeling little to no pain, he walked over to a doctors' bag placed atop the desk in his presidential suite and got to work on his mending.
Once satisfied with his handiwork, he went over to the discarded elite riot armor on the floor. He then proceeded to dress himself, but the helmet not quite yet. Turning to his left, he picked up some of the weapons in his weapons locker. Seeing the tools of death from the great divide in the case made him wonder. Did Victor come in here when I was sleeping? I remember putting it with the pile on the floor over there... Talk to him on the way out.
Pulling out the red glare, the H&H nail gun, industrial hand, a flare gun, a unique Bowie knife by the name of 'bloodnap', and an arc caster. Looking at his other cases and wardrobes, Jack took a look though all of them. He finally took a compromise and decided on the following listed on his pip-boy:
Red glare, bloodnap, H&H nail gun, industrial hand, love and hate, katana, the mysterious magnum, Bozar, a chainsaw (For those times), a fully upgraded 12.7 mm sub-machine gun, A light shining in darkness, a .22 silenced pistol, a double-barreled shotgun with beanbag shots, and a flare gun, with multiple satchel charges, and thrown projectiles made up of throwing knives and tomahawks. Then ammo and repair packs were thrown in, with a couple of doctors' bags, plenty of stims, and several bags of healing poultice. Stealth boys were a must have for Jack, as he hated sneaking around while still being visible. Pieces of scrap metal and electronics were brought along as well, for it never hurt to be prepared.
Almost set. Now just gotta get some food.
Heading off to the dining room of the suite, Jack took a look in his fridge. Taking a bloatfly slider, multiple brahmin steaks and some of cook-cooks soup, as Jack kindly 'borrowed' the recipe, then proceeded cut the fiend's head off with a ripper in a way that even the most insane of the wasteland would be envious of his handiwork.
He resumed taking a U.S. army general outfit, a destroyed slave collar, a rebreather, sunglasses, and Ulysses' duster for clothing and other uses.
Now donning the armors' helmet, he approached the elevator, ignoring Victor for the most part. Then a feeling rushed back to him, the one he felt before. The feeling of being watched.
Fuck this, I'm off to the sierra Madre. Maybe I'll donate some of the money and supplies I find to the followers, hire someone to teach Julie to say a proper goodbye once in a while.
Once in the elevator, he had a very clear goal in mind. Find the Sierra Madre.
"You say his name is Jack?"
Yes, from what I can tell, he's a courier. What confuses me is he doesn't deliver mail as one would expect. He seems like a good-natured creature, but has a hair trigger, and he seems to show signs of insanity..."
"Really? What kind?"
"A rather severe case of ... what was it called... Schizophrenia! His alter ego is coincidentally named Jackie. Apparently the two egos go hoof in hoof, rather extraordinary... Though it's strange, like having another creature inside of him. Now, from what I've seen Jack do to treat people in his land suggests he has a very broad understanding of anatomy and herbs and whatnot. Although his alter ego uses the skills to his advantage... Cutting limbs off seems to be a specialty for him, earning the nickname Jack the ripper."
"I... I see..."
"Now, I'm not rushing to his defense here, but it would seem he does more good than bad, as he seems to receive praise from his surrounding beings. He must be doing the right things if the populace is praising him."
"My, he's a character alright."
"Say princess, do you mind taking over the spell for a while? I'll go get us something to eat. More coffee for you I presume?"
"You remember the way?"
"Of course! I practically grew up here, remember?"
Chrysalis licked her lips, adding to the excitement she and her drones were experiencing. Twilight's choice to go out of the maze provided leverage in her impending sneak attack. Celestia would be going to sleep anytime now, and when she was out of the way, she would get that menacingly annoying Twilight. Then to Shining Armour, and so on and so forth. She was perfectly camouflaged into the shrubs behind Celestia. What a victory this will be... But she must not rush. No, for if she screwed this up, her hive would undoubtedly revoke her, cutting her off from the changling collective and the hive mind altogether. So she waited. Speaking of the hive mind...
"Buzz off and take care of that menacing Twilight! Celestia is mine!" After getting acknowledgement of her command, some of her sneaking class expertly maneuvered to follow Twilight without a sound, taking no heed to Celestia, who was working with... Some kind of spell? Bah! Action first, questions later...
It was then that she noticed Celestia's eyes starting to droop... Almost there... Come on... That's it, give in to the sleep...
D.C. was a desert. A big, crappy, abomination/raider/radiation filled wasteland. Diane sifted through another stupid, fucking, trashcan. She sighed to herself, and started to eat the fancy lads cakes she just found. Bland. Dry. All her life she wanted something to happen to her, but not like this. Her father dead, not to mention all her willing companions... Adjusting her Chinese assault rifle on her back, she sat down on a curb, not caring where she was at the moment. Tears filled her eyes. She led all of them to their eventual dooms. Even Fawkes, and she wasn't even sure how. This 'lone wanderer' crap was starting to get to her. Now, everyone relied on her. For supplies, repairs, and the biggest and most hated thing was hope. Everyone relied on her for hope. Truth be told, she would have put a bullet through her brain a long time ago if it weren't for three dog convincing her otherwise. She mattered to people. And she hated it with a burning passion. Just for once, she wanted to get away from these godforsaken wastes. Leave for a while.
Her tears started to flow, and she put her head on her knees, going into a fetal position. She cried for Fawkes, for her father, for everyone.
If only I could get away from all this...
But, as a wise person once said: Be careful for what you wish for...
Nightmare noticed her somehow related celestial sister, from the shadows her observations were becoming increasingly interesting. This... Jackie character could provide a lot of leverage for her if she played her cards right. But then there's Jack in the way. Maybe I could bring him here, and observe him from afar... Then I could have Celestia's head on a mount over a fireplace, along with those other six and their stupid 'elements of harmony'. Pathetic. What's this? Looks like Celestia didn't sleep too well last night...
As she watched from the shadow of the fountain, Celestia's head began to droop, indicating her trouble keeping conscious...
She was ready to pounce from the shadows, to seize the chance at her eternal night. So close... Yet so far...
Jack went down the hatch to the abandoned Brotherhood bunker, and zipped down the ladder. He crouched, turning on his sneak vision. Drawing his double barrel after noticing a headless corpse to his front-left. He examined the body closely. With a medicine skill greater than that of the followers of the apocalypse, he determined the cause of death.
The body seemed rather fresh, as he could see a small amount of blood coming from the exposed area, most of the male victim's blood in the puddle around the corpse. He'd seen this before. Little Yangtze, a place he despised to see in Big mountain. Some asshole by the name of Elijah was experimenting on the already suffering populace. They lived there for two centuries, surviving off of scraps. Hell, maybe even on each other. Jack took it upon himself to kill them himself, for there was no known way to deactivate the collars, and the fact that they were trying to kill him didn't make matters any better for them either. Jack sighed to himself, knowing all too well this was the death of a slave, trying to escape his master.
But then... he heard a familiar radio broadcast... The unmistakable Vera Keyes broadcasting her loop.
Nightmare sighed inwardly. This is taking too long! I'll come back for her, for now, Twilight would be a great obstacle to get out of the way. Her shadow moved, careful to avoid the sun. Quickly shifting into the castle interior, the semi-demon resumed her search for one of her greatest enemies.
I could have sworn that shadow just moved... The queen thought to herself. Never mind, time to make my move...
The queen emerged quietly from the shrubs behind Celestia. Savoring the moment, she was absolutely trembling with excitement, almost making her wings buzz. Celestia's horn was still glowing, and still protruding the otherworldly portal which showed the humanoid. She at the time didn't take notice to it, nor did she care. This is it...
She pounced, landing on Celestia with a thump.
Celestia's eyes popped open, revealing the chitinous queen atop her. She gasped, and tried to put up a defensive spell, in the process overloading her already in use portal. Just as Chrysalis splayed her fangs, the portal sucked them in. The portal crackled with lightning, awaiting it's candidates to spit out from the observed world into Equestria.
Jack made his way down the Bunkers' stairs, careful not to make a sound. He saw a old, fancy-looking radio, which was in the process of repeating the loop. What is this? Some kind of joke?! In the process he saw two hallways, one left, and the other right. Upon further inspection, the right hallway seemed to be caved in.
What's in the other one? He walked slowly, double barrel in hand. Before he could even find an answer, a blue portal sucked him in like a black hole, before he could even cuss out loud properly.
Celestia was dropped right where Jack was before, landing right on her ass, dazed.
Diane wiped the tears from her eyes, and brought her Chinese assault rifle out. As if getting her wish, a portal opened to her right. She pointed her rifle at it, but was sucked in anyway. In turn, Chrysalis was thrown in, landing face first and making friction with the cement for about a foot, then flopped her hooves onto the ground, and cussed violently to herself.
She then noticed a group of three bipedal creatures... dressed in black, with a... White talon on the left side, (from her perspective it was on the right side) and carrying strange looking metal sticks... They weren't swords, but she could tell they were metal by the sheen. She then realized they spotted her. Oh, son of a-
Diane and Jack appeared directly on the pentagram, Jack on his back, where his chainsaw rested gave him a rather deep scrape, and making him arch his back in pain. Diane was alot luckier, landing on her ass much like Celestia, giving her the reflexive upper hand. Taking the opportunity as soon as it came, she held her rifle up with her right, rubbing her hurting ass with the other. A groan escaped Jack, forcing her eyes, and aim, upon him.
"Ow. Ow. OW! Fuck! Maybe next time I won't bring this damned thing..." Jack looked up, to see Diane pointing her rifle at him. He arose slowly, hands at his sides. Looking around, he saw the shrubs. Being over six feet, he barely was able to look over the shrubs. "Name's Jack by the way." Facing away from her, he looked and saw the Canterlot gardens.
"Diane..." She said finally, letting her defensive pose drop a little.
"Pretty name. Say, do you happen to know where we are Diane?" Still facing the gardens. Diane's first thoughts were of the oasis, but it was much too open for that.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Come on, I have a feeling we're not in the wastes anymore." She holstered her rifle.
"WELL SHIT!"
Jack was rather... Upset, if one likes to use understatements loosely.
"Oh for the love of SHIT!" Jack threw his arms into the air. "You know what?! Fuck this!" he exclaimed as he brought out his chainsaw. With a loud whirring noise, he cut through the shrubs, with his right eye twitching. Diane kept out of his way for the most part, covering Jack's back. She couldn't help but notice Jack's rather low charisma stat, and his pip-boy.
"So Jack, what part of the wastes are you from?" Diane asked, following him through a freshly cut bush.
"New Vegas, a rather trippy place. You?" Cutting into another shrub, he was beginning to calm down with the small talk, but still was developing a profound hate for bushes and mazes in general.
"D.C. Not so trippy, just big and, well... empty." She noted her tone, signifying she was fed up with the area.
"We have cazadores, deathclaws, the legion, lakelurks... You don't wanna trade for a while?" Jack peered over the shrubs once again, on his toes. "Four more walls of this shit to go by the way." He grumbled.
"What are cazadores?" She replied curiously. Jack stopped to ponder as soon as he was done cutting. Putting his hand on his chin, he pondered how to describe it.
"Well, think of a butterfly," he finally stated. Diane nodded. "Then imagine it about... say three hundred times bigger, with a solid black body, and sickly orange eyes and wings. Oh, and a stinger about as big as your forearm that injects a very volatile poison into you body that, depending on your endurance, could paralyze you and cause you a slow and agonizing death before your heart stops."
Diane blinked at that.
"I take it you're a medical expert?"
"Yes. I could've be a traveling doctor. But NO! Courier six HAD to be the one." He sawed the next barrier down, losing his patience.
"So you're a courier?" She stepped through the cut area.
"Courier six, formerly employed to the Mojave Express. Don't remember anything before that. As Doctor Mobius put it, I had a severe case of 'bullet-headitus.' But I suppose it's alright now."
"Really? Shot in the brains and you didn't die?" They paused for a moment before sawing down the last barrier, and sat down. Jack took off his helmet, tired of having it on for so long. Jack motioned her to sit down, and she complied.
"A rather intriguing case. From what I was told I was delivering a package. A platinum chip. This chip was the most powerful thing in the wasteland, and it's capabilities are still a mystery to me." Wiping off his forehead with his hand he grinned. "You know it's been a long time since someone has asked me questions about my life. What about you? Whats your story?"
Diane grimaced, and started to get unpleasant memories. Jack picked up on this, and smiled.
"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. Hey, you getting thirsty? I certainly am." Jack produced a water bottle full of purified water. He undid the top and took a swig, then offered it to his companion. She obliged, and took a swig as well.
"J-J-JACK?!" both turned towards the voice's origin to a... Purple... Horse?
"What the fuck?" Diane muttered, seemingly beating Jack to it, who donned his helmet immediately.
How-Why-What-Where Twilight struggled to process the information before her. There, sat Jack, who she was observing moments ago, with a more feminine looking figure sitting across him. Jack stood up, trying to make his movements slow, to seem careful and friendly. But she knew it was Jack the ripper himself, in the flesh. She did the only logical thing she could think of.
"GUARDS! HELP! INTRUDERS IN THE MAZE! INTRUDERS IN THE-"*hurk*
"Jesus, shut up, you're giving me a migraine!" Jack was holding her in a choke hold in one of his arms, almost strangling the marshmallow-y pony in his arm. The human gave no notice in her struggles. As the other human caught up, she checked something that connected to her weapon.
"Alright, now that we got loud-mouth over here, let's go to the local authority figure. Now If I loosen up, you'll be quiet, right?" Twilight nodded as much as she could, and true to her word, she kept quiet.
"Diane could you get my chainsaw? Seemed to have left it back there." This 'Diane' nodded, and disappeared behind him. After what seemed like hours, Jack talked again.
"How did you know my name?" He asked curiously.Twilight simply whimpered, closing her eyes and starting to cry. "Oh, forget about me killing you alright? When's the last time you've seem me try to cut a kid's head off, huh?"
"Got it Jack!" He turned around, and saw Diane waving the tool.
As she got closer, she noticed Twilight crying.
"Alright, whad'ja do to it?" She asked accusingly.
"Asked her a question. She clearly understands what we are saying, so it must be in shock. Don't ask on how I know it's a girl, I just got a feeling about it..." Jack hefted his position and had twilight on his back, hooves over his shoulders.
"So, where to? How do we get out of here properly?" She stuck a shaky hoof straight ahead, and trusted her, for now of course... Until they ran into a large Guard patrol, about twenty in number, and all with golden amour, holding spears in their direction.
Jack looked over to Diane, who was checking to see if her rifle was properly loaded. She looked up, giving an affirmative. Holding twilight with his right arm, he drew his double barrel with his left.
"Just stand down Diane, I got this." A wastelander once said he had a tongue of platinum, as he had reached his maximum efficiency with his words. Here goes something...
"H-hello? Anyone h-here? I..." Celestia noticed a radio directly in front of her, on a table, shining in an overhead light fixture.
Come to the Sierra Madre, a place where wealth and prestige await around every corner!
Celestia was officially freaked out. Eerie radio broadcast, the fact that the tunnel to her right had glowing green liquid, and for some reason the place smelled like burnt flesh. She trotted slowly to the table, and immediately felt dizzy. As she fought for consciousness, her body was eventually forced to give in, what with the small amount of sleep she had before this. Her eyes finally closed, and fell to the ground with a metallic thump. From behind, she could sense a being, but was soon completely knocked out to take action, and then... Darkness.
Chrysalis was not a happy changeling. Not at all. Somehow with all the rubble she was hidden, but her magic refused to work, and that meant no invisibility, no camouflage, and no love, or at least not for a while...
The three bipeds were still looking for her, pointing their metal tools this way and that, looking to capture, or kill her. It was always the fate of a changeling.
"Come on out Diane and we'll consider giving you a painless death! You fucking coward! Come on!" Diane? Who in the buck is Diane?! Then her heart stopped. In her sights she saw two bipeds... But where was the third? She felt her tail being pulled, and snapped her head around, only to have her mouth covered by an invisible figure, surely the third biped, as she felt cold digits spread around her mouth, preventing her from screaming.
She waited for death, or a drug to set in, as she clenched her eyes shut. After about five minutes, she dared to open her eyes, only to see a slight disfiguration where she thought her future captor was. For about five minutes, she stared, awaiting the inevitable. She felt the invisible digits leave her lips, and she kept quiet, now scared out of her mind. She then felt the digits scratching her behind her ears. It thinks I'm an animal...
"Hello there, you're rather cute for a creature of the wastes... My name is Jett by the way." She heard a soft masculine voice whisper. Chrysalis blinked. Now realizing her odds of death were significantly lowered. So she did what every changeling that felt love during a companionship did. She played along, and nuzzled the limb scratching her. Besides, it felt kinda... nice...
"Hello. Might I ask who is in charge here?" Jack asked, sweating a bit under his helmet. The purple horse squirmed in his grip, trying and failing once again to get out of his hold.
Then suddenly a white horse stepped out, this one donned a purple and white helmet, sporting a levitating spear, and a deep scowl. Jack raised an eyebrow under his helmet, glad they could not see his face at the moment.
"I am going to guess you're in charge?" Looking at the equine in his hands, it looked as if it knew the white and purple clad one. The said equine doubled her efforts to escape his iron grip, but once again, to no avail.
"Shining!" It shouted. Jack squeezed her stomach a little tighter, encouraging her to quiet down.
"Twilight relax!" Twilight. It just sounds... Stupid.
"Please be quiet. This will be all over soon." Jack Looked up at the one Twilight called Shining. "Mr. Shining?"
The equine recognized his name, and turned his gaze to the giant before him.
"That is me, Shining Armour, Captain of the royal guard, prince of the crystal empire. Who and what are you, freak?" Jack's right eye twitched. Twilight audibly gulped.
"Mr. Shining I would appreciate it if we could handle this in a professional matter and refrain from using insults. As you can tell, me and my friend over there have this 'Twilight' as a hostage. Now I don't rightly know where I am but I know for sure I want to get back to where I came from and you want me out of here as soon as possible. This is an affirmative?" Jack waved his hand, gesturing to the platoon.
"Yes."
"Good. Now I propose this: I hold Twilight until we get out of the vicinity, and release her of her current imprisonment as soon as we are on the very edge of leaving. I don't know about you Mr. Shining, but that sounds like a very good proposition to me."
"I don't know if I can do that."
"For the love of Celestia, just do it Shining! You don't know what he's capable of!" Twilight's eyes started to water, and Shining gave a sympathetic look.
"...Alright. Follow me."
Celestia awoke with a start. Her eyes shot open, and her breathing quickened, bringing a strong burning smell of copper and sulfur. Her eyes watered, and her lungs felt as if they were on fire. Bringing her Left hoof to her closed, watery eyes, her snout made contact with something metal. She took a moment to compose herself. slowly adapting to her surrounding environment.
After about a good twenty minutes, she opened her eyes. She nearly choked. A giant red cloud was all she could see, and upon further adjustment, a fountain was to the front of her. She stared at a transparent blue figure atop the fountain. It was wearing a dress of some sort, favoring her left hind leg, her right foreleg was on her hip, appendages resting there. It took a second for Celestia to realize what had transpired, her pupils dilating, and ears flat against her head. Then a set of tiles slid apart and another face lit up. This one displayed only the face of an elderly-looking human.
"Welcome... To the Sierra Madre!"
Luna, Jack. Jackie, Luna.
Luna watched the whole fiasco from her balcony overlooking the garden. She had seen the bipeds exchanged for her sister and Chrysalis. She had seen them talk, then capture Twilight after she accidentally stumbled upon them. Shining was currently negotiating with them... She just had to know what they were saying. She lit her horn, amplifying her sense of hearing to make out what the conversation was turning into. "For the love of Celestia, just do it Shining! You don't know what he's capable of! " Then came a long pause.
"...Alright, follow me. " Shining was leading them to the castle innards. Unacceptable. The equestrian monarchy didn't negotiate with terrorists. Canceling her hearing spell, her horn alighted up once more, teleporting Luna to the garden's entrance.
Once there, the starry-maned princess confronted the group, earning curious looks from the bipeds, and a tightening grip around Twilight with both cylinders pointed directly at her left temple, earning a squeak from the purple unicorn.
"Hold it right there! What is the meaning of this Shining?" Shining bowed quickly, and looked at his princess with worried eyes.
"These... Things are holding my sister hostage princess, and I've made a deal with the trespasser to escort him and his companion to the outskirts of Canterlot and in turn release Twilight. Please, princess, all they want is to go back where they came from, and we all want Twilight back." He shifted his weight after a few tense moments.
"Tell me your name, biped. Maybe we can work something out." Luna bluffed, not realizing she contradicted what she thought from where she was observing them. Shining looked like he ran a marathon, unaware of what the princess was going to pull.
"No dice princess. We want our freedom, and you want her back. Stick to the plan, and Twilight's brains stay in her skull, or you can have a new garden decoration here." The human refused, gesturing his head to the small patch of white roses to his right." You have ten minutes to comply or we'll fight our way out. That's the original deal, and the only one that I'm going to stick by. Shining, get your ass moving double-time, I'm starting to get into a pissy mood." He looked at some glowing device on his left-front leg. "Nine minutes."
Jack knew he was bluffing, as he knew there was only bean-bag shots in his double-barrel, but they didn't. This whole situation was getting on his nerves, and he was restraining himself from cutting Shining open with a scalpel and watching what comes out. This 'princess' character seemed to have a much higher authority than Shining, and this was definitely going to turn bad if she felt like they were committing a heinous crime or what have you, and this could only possibly get worse if he didn't take action. Jack looked at his pip-boy.
"Five minutes." The princess looked apprehensive. sighing to himself, he knew she wasn't going to budge unless she was taught not to bring a spear to a gunfight. Cocking back the hammer for the left barrel, he aimed it to the bush of petunias left of him and shot off a round. With a loud crack, the petunias were blown back, and the occupants of the area ducked instinctively, save for Diane, who was readying a ten millimeter pistol, and it's sub-machine gun counterpart.
As the crowd rose from their place on the ground, Jack once again took a look at his pip-boy.
"Two minutes, make your move princess." Jack growled, placing the barrels back onto the shuddering Twilight.
"Alright. We as a group will escort you, just please, no more of that awful noise!"
Shining was terrified. It seemed the thing that had his sister could control the elements themselves with that infernal tool. He swallowed hard, hoping this creature was going to be true to it's word, and that his beloved princess wouldn't do anything to mess up this compromise. He trotted with the rest of the guards and the princess, along with the bipeds. They went through marble halls, past beautiful paintings and statues, but he noticed none of this.
"Shining!" Shining blinked, confused.
"Hello?"
"It's Luna. When I tell you to, you will grab your spear and ram it through our guest's neck, while doing a maneuver on the second to subdue the creature. Is that understood?" Shining furrowed his brow, but trusted the princess' judgement. As if he had a choice, anyway...
Dropping to the back of the group, he relayed the message to the rear guards, and they confirmed their orders: Once the first had a spear in it's throat, take down the other with hoof-to-hoof combat and subdue her.
"And if this doesn't work princess?"
"We cannot allow these creatures into the public, let alone Canterlot! There will be citywide panic, and questions! We don't even know if this beast will keep his end of the bargain!" She had a point. But it's his sister! What would happen if he lost her? He would never be able to forgive himself. The element of magic, and his sister. If they screwed this up, so was Equestria if it had to deal with supernatural forces, like Discord, or even Nightmare. He held his spear apprehensively at the thought, aimed directly at his sister's captor.
Jack was getting edgy, as he swore he was in the same hallway for the fifth time. He looked at his pip-boy, and it seemed they were indeed going in circles. He furrowed his brow. They were buying time.
"Oh Jaaaaack~" He heard an all too-familiar voice. It was the voice death gave him after all these years, as he had died and death felt he should have a 'partner' to go ape-shit on anyone or anything he dared to unleash him on. It was the voice that kept reviving him, that kept him alive.
"What is it Jackie?"
"You know they're going to screw you over any minute now, right?" Jack sighed.
"I'm starting to realize that now. What do you say? Chainsaw massacre if things turn to shit?" He heard his alter egos' maniacal laughter.
"Of course!"
"Just keep Twilight, the princess, and Diane alright. Shoot the princess with the remaining shot in the double barrel, it's a beanbag shot and it should immobilize her for a few minutes. I want Twilight for questioning. Cut Shining. He is referring to us as objects and or animals, this is intolerable. We have shown them respect insofar as giving them a chance and trusting their word as royalty. I grow tired of this, and they must be educated properly to respect us." Jackie was listening intently, savoring every word for details on who to spare, and who's intestines to wear as a tie.
"Why are we walking in circles?!" Jack shouted.
"We are going to-" Luna began.
"STOP LYING! I HAVE A MAP TELLING ME WE ARE GOING IN CIRCLES!" Jack cocked the right hammer with a very audible "click", preparing for the plan.
Luna gulped, and prepared for the worst. She raised the mental communication line back to Shining, as he felt the connection again, he motioned for the guards to prepare. She was indeed leading them in a circle, changing their path just a little hoping the biped would not know.
"You never told me your name, biped."
"Yeah. I didn't, nor shall I in the future. Now, please, stop wasting my time. I heard red paint was in fashion nowadays." He replied gruffly. Luna shivered inwardly, trying to not let her emotion show. The time was nearing, and he was NOT getting out of this castle. Such a threat to the populace was too much, and it was Celestia's job to take care of that sort of... Wait. Where is Celestia for that matter?
"Jack, please don't hurt me..." Jack looked to Twilight, who had tears flowing down her cheeks. He wiped her cheeks with his thumb, in an attempt to comfort her a bit. Besides, he had standards, and this was crossing a boundary he set for himself. She looked both confused and scared. He then proceeded to take his helmet off, showing his scarred face.
"Hush, Twilight. This will be over soon if your princess and Shining keep their word, so you have nothing to worry about. I'm sorry for being so rough with you, but one must understand the current situation. I am not familiar with my surroundings, and I've come in contact with a borderline fictional species. Please try to understand that. We both want our freedom, right?" Jack whispered softly, loosening his grip on her a bit. Twilight nodded, sniffling.
"Okay then. Like I said, this will all be over- *SHLING *
*hurk*
Twilight froze. She dared a look at her captor, and found a spearhead through his mouth, inevitably entering through the back of his throat. She screamed, and heard Diane making unintelligible shouts, and the clanking of armor. The skewered human fell to his knees, letting Twilight out of his grip, and gripping his shotgun in his hand.
"No! No! Luna what have you done?!" Twilight shouted, her voice hoarse.
"We have succeeded in eliminating a threat to Equestria. Why?! What's wrong?"
"He has death on his side! Everyone run!" Twilight galloped away to no place in particular. Luna stood, confused. They had slayed the beast! Why was she running?
--
"You're up Jackie. Remember what I said. Twilight, Luna, and Diane are to be spared. Cut everyone else, especially Shining. Got it?"
"Oh, yes... Now just you wait and see what I'll do... I'm feeling... Creative today..." Jackie cackled, assuming control of the shared vessels' controls.
"O-kay, Jack. Here... We... Go!" Jackie was now in full control. The body was changing, giving it more pronounced carnivore teeth, and giving it glowing red eyes.
"Shining! Is the other in control?!" The demon heard. Luna was to his front right, supposedly a perfect scatter gun shot, especially for the double barrel in his left hand. He popped his eyes open, revealing his glowing eyes. Luna stared in disbelief, mouth agape. He immediately drew his shotgun, and planting the remaining shot square into where Jackie guessed her chest would be, one or two of the soft pieces of shrapnel bouncing off her necklace. The dark princess was knocked back and dazed, but not showing any real type of injury on her. As the shot resonated in the marble hallways, the guards watched as Jackie pulled the spear out of his mouth.
He stood up, intent on torturing and killing each of the present guards.
OHBUCKOHBUCKOHBUCK Shining cringed in horror as the biped pulled his spear out through his mouth, opposite of the entry point. The last of it disappeared from the back of his neck and was currently being held in his long fingers. But it was not the bloody spear that had caught his gaze. It was the fiery eyes of a demon, straight from tartarus itself. All of a sudden, the demon faced him, and dropped the infernal lightning cannon on the floor. Pulling out a menacing looking contraption. It was a big box with handles, and a round, bladed piece of gagged metal that was moving at a menacingly slow pace. He heard the device make a loud whirring noise, and the tiny, teeth-like edges sped up into a blur. He realized now, he should have kept the bipeds' deal.
"Squad, defense formation! Do NOT let the other freak go!" Six armed guards stood in front of him, two was every type of pony. Earth ponies in the middle of the formation, ready to charge at the right time. Earth ponies were notoriously known for being the best at hoof-to-hoof combat, as they were also known for being extremely buff, as the species was in competition with the other two. They do not move very fast, nor can they use or defend against magic, but can definitely take more damage than it's brethren on the specie's tree, so to speak.
Two Pegasus guards were above, hovering, ready to charge just like their brethren on the ground. This certain species was known to be agile, and quick. They were great for take downs, but their frame was still alot more fragile than the other two. Thus making themselves almost useless if their opponent was like it's earth pony brothers in the guard. They could take alot less damage than the other two, and was considered a scout and/or the lightweight division.
The two unicorns were behind the buff earth ponies, charging either attack or a defense spell meant to subdue the subject. They were the medium-set class. They had a civilian build with a little more muscle, as they spent most of their time practicing spells and other magic, and were decent when it came to speed and hoof-to-hoof combat. They mostly utilized spells for using weapons like swords, javelins, or even a shield here and there. And... spears...
The royal guard was heavily reliant on each kind of pony to support the other, covering their weakness and acting as support.
Shining's textbook memory ended there, as he had a feeling that didn't matter at ALL right now. The demon dropped the bloody spear onto the floor, making a metallic clang. He smiled wickedly. Oh, that smile, such a horrifying mental image to those who dared enrage the demon.
"Do not let him through! Subdue him as he will not be killed by normal means, and we must get to princess Luna immediately for medical attention! Someone send for the night guard! We need their support right now! Understood!?" a 'yes sir' was uttered by the guards, but Shining had drowned them out. The whirring got louder.
"Oh goodie... Let's see if you'll at least put some effort onto this. I absolutely LOVE eating canned food, Shiny...." He saw the demon licking his teeth. Oh, Celestia, have mercy on us all...
Duty, honor, courage, Semper Fi...
"You *cough*, you haven't won here. You and your mutie-bastard friends are gonna join me in a big ol' mushroom cloud sendoff. I just triggered the self-destruct. Heh, heh; *cough, cough*... The work will go on. You didn't do nothing here, 'cept seal your own death warrants. Duty, *cough* honor... courage... Semper Fiiiii........"
*SPLAT!*
These were supposedly Frank Horrigan's last words, before the 'chosen one' actually detonated the Enclave oil rig that their final battle took place. And before that, the chosen one left, leaving Frank's decapitated body after his dramatic last insults.
As the chosen one left, a blue portal scooped his body parts up and sent them to none other than Equestria. Unfortunately for one Iron Will, he was the unfortunate one to be replaced... and was soon killed in the meltdown that detonated an entire oil rig.
Ashes to ashes... Dust to dust.
Frank opened his eyes. Bleary at first, but as his vision adjusted to the light, he saw what a wastelander never would have thought they'd see. ...Trees? Yes, many, many trees. He recognized from his education that these areas were called jungles, or forests. Not being as humid, he guessed the latter.
The FEV evolved Enclave agent stood up, making sure all his limbs were still there. After doing the short examination on himself, he assumed he was healthy enough to trudge on and find the closest settlement. He was weirded out if anything, but was more than sure he could handle any threats this habitat had to offer...
Looking around, he could see hundreds of eyes looking back at him from all directions. If anything attacked, they would be grounded into a red pile of their remains, and the blessing of being purged of their mutinous lives. In his helmet a map showed up in Frank's vision to the upper left, showing a marker for the nearest civilization. Turning to the respectable direction, he trudged onward with caution. Several markers came up on his peripheral vision to his left. They were dark yellow like the rest of his HUD, showing them as non-hostile. Out of fear or curiosity, he didn't know, but he would still like to get out as soon as possible, and try to contact the Enclave somehow.
"Come and get me motherfuckers!" The sounds of howls and shattering wood filled the forest. To Frank, they looked like giant rabid dogs with a wooden pelt. After many unsuccessful attempts to puncture his skin, and a few wolves turned to splinters, a pack of 'mutant garbage' was sent with their branched tails between their legs.
Of course they were no challenge. They were made out of wood! Now Frank might not have been the brightest agent in the Enclave, but he knew the math. Wood versus a super mutant with power armor does not go together well, as the wooden dogs have found out.
Frank trudged on, Feeling the eyes of the inhabitants all on him once again.
About two to three hours later Frank had reached his destination. It looked like a farm... With so many apple trees. As far as the eye could see. Just... apples. Looking around, he noticed a red, fairly intact barn, with a two story house next to it. An eyebrow raised under his helmet. Where was he? This was NOT the wasteland. There are no ruins, no graffiti, grime, ancient remains of buildings...
I'm not in Kansas anymore...
Chrysalis had found a food source, and hopefully an ally.
From what she had learned, Jett was another nobody in this 'capitol wasteland' working for 'the white talon'. It was much like the wasteland her hive was in, except with alot more ruins of an old world. Jett kept telling her that it was a better place, that buildings scraped the sky, and the technology could sustain life, and cure tons of things Chrysalis never even gave a second thought to. But then a magnificent and horrid flash consumed the world, giving birth to all that surrounded her. 'Truly a shame', he kept murmuring. Truly. As it also turned out, the strange sentient creature thought of her as a pet, and felt a steady trickle of affection coming from him. The queen was not planning to let the beast find out of her self-awareness just yet, so she used her native language of buzzing wings, grunts and stomping of her porous hooves against pavement.
Jett was a highly intelligent individual for his age, twenty if she remembered correctly, as he was a major supplier of chems to the small army, mostly jet, thus his name. Just like every other mercenary in the white talon, he wore black combat armour with a white talon decaled on the chest area. The weird metal sticks they carried were called 'rifles', and apparently calling it a 'gun' was a bad thing, because that would earn you a slap in the back of the head.
Chrysalis pondered all this. If she was not careful, she was sure these beings would kill her without hesitation, but Jett was trustworthy enough... she hoped.
After their little encounter, Jett had turned off his strange device that made him invisible, revealing his features. Slanted eyes with bags under them, tan skin, red dyed hair (She could see black roots in his mane) and a signiture melancholy look to go with it. Certain soldiers had that look. The Thousand mile stare, as the griffons called it. Jett was reliving horrid memories, she could taste it.
She brushed against his leg, bringing him back to reality. He looked down and chuckled a bit, then gave her a rub on the neck. She responded by buzzing her wings, then closed her eyes after several seconds. No one has ever done anything like that. Ever. Not even a brainwashed Minotaur would. She figured this was how dogs felt, and boy did it feel great.
Alas, he stopped, as all good things have to. After several minutes, they were joined by three other black-clad mercenaries, carrying long cylinders with what looked like two metal sticks coming out of the midsection.
"Where is she?" One said gruffly.
"Jett, you see her anywhere?"
"Naw, just rubble and some ammo for a sniper rifle." He emphasized his point by holding up a brass looking spike up for the others to see.
"That's the fifth time this month we've been mislead. You sure our contacts are working to track the bitch down?" The first spoke up again.
"You fucking ask them, you're the one who hired them." Jett put the spike into a back pocket, and slung his silver and white stick on his back. The first sighed, doing the same.
"Let's head home. Cook us up some Jet and some turbo for us wouldja?" The group headed in a certain direction, leading a straight path out of what Chrysalis assumed was once a small town.
"Twenty caps a-"
"Gah!? What is that thing?" A merc piped up, aiming a small L-shaped tool directly at her. Her eyes widened, and she looked to Jett, who slapped the tool away and explained how he found 'it' with alot more profanities than were clearly necessarily.
"Looks like a dog fucked a radroach and that crawled out..." A dog and a saywhothewhatnow-roach?
"HA! You'd know that wouldn't you Red? You stick your dick in just about anything that moves." Hehe... Wait.
"How many radroaches you fuck yet?"
"Hey! Fuck all of you!"
"Not a snowball's chance in hell, friend. Not a chance." The group laughed hysterically, and this 'Red' character was obviously irritated, kicking loose pieces of pavement here and there. As the laughter died down, they walked towards their home, quickly letting the queen into their little group as a pet.
She knew now, this was going to be like hanging out with a bunch of immature colts in a high school. Oh, how she was going to regret this decision.
"Hey! You done with the batch yet Jett?" The mercs, four in total, were laying about in a metal tunnel underground, with empty bottles, crates, broken metal shelves, crappy-looking bedrolls... More or less what she expected in a guy cave.
"Shut the fuck up or you'll get nothing! And we don't have any fixer for you either motherfucker!" Jett was hunched over some type of chemistry set, and Chrysalis watched everything with a new found curiosity. So many things to watch... She watched as the merc grabbed what looked like a breather with a cylinder on top of it. Curious, she sniffed at it. Jett noticed this and let her smell it, and she put her snout into the breathing apparatus of the strange item, she sniffed an odd smelling liquid, and her eyes widened to see all sorts of colorful shapes. She stood stock still, mouth agape, muttering inaudibly.
"Whoah! It can get high?!" Red exclaimed, sitting up on his bedroll.
"Haha! You took it well for a first-timer!" The group laughed as she began jumping around the room, chasing non-existent illusions. "Well, the batch is done, and from what Lady over here is doing, I have outdone myself with some of the strongest shit so far! Come n' get it boys, caps up front, no tabs with you assholes!"
...And then they got really, really high.
In the halls of Canterlot's royal castle there snuck three sneaking-class changelings, their hooves making not a sound. Being the only class in the hive that could turn invisible had it's perks... and it's downsides. If one were to go into combat, they would have to rely strictly on sneak attacks or acting as a distraction, as their chitin is rather weak compared to your run-of-the-mill average changeling. Having lighter chitin meant less noise, less noise meant sneaking was easier, easier sneaking meant better infiltration in high security locations, like the castle. As stealthy as they may be, they were in the hive mind just like everyone else. Which means they aren't sentient, simply single-minded drones with one directive: Serve the Queen.
On their way to Twilight Sparkles' room however, they felt a great disturbance. Like... like someone was cut off from the hive mind. They found a broom closet, and locked it from the inside. Turning visible once again, they relaxed a little.
"Feel that?" One said.
"Yes. What it?" another replied.
"Like one got cut from mind..." The third clicked.
"Check Queen?" The second suggested. They nodded. It seemed like the logical thing at the moment.
"Queen..." No response. This was the frequency she told them to contact her with, yet... why wasn't she responding? "Queen... You alright?" None yet again. Although she snapped at the others for calling her by name, this changeling was willing to gamble for the safety of the operation. "Queen Chrysalis? You fine? Need help?" The changeling gulped audibly. The drone looked at the other two, who were trying to contact their Queen desperately, but with little to show for their endeavors. They were all silent for the moment. Should they tell the rest of the hive? How would they react? They didn't have the power for another invasion, not by a long shot. It simply wouldn't work! Half the hive would die on their march here! Not even Chrysalis was that stupid. She cared for her children, but if one or two died, all she could give was her condolences, and somewhere the body could biodegrade peacefully. But the numbers were not on their side. This... This shouldn't, no, COULDN'T be shared with the hive. It was for the best.
"Should look dungeons..." The first suggested. The other two agreed, and slipped back into invisibility. Looking through the keyhole at first, The third changeling opened the door cautiously, and looked left, then to it's right.
"None." the third said, and quickly, yet silently, trotted toward the dungeons. The others followed, catching up and met their comrade's brisk pace. They went by a patrol of Lunar guards, who were sprinting past them, determination in their eyes and weapons at the ready. They watched from the sidelines, wondering what they were in such a hurry for.
One's eyes shot open. "Might Queen!" Their eyes bulged, realizing it could be their queen being arrested. "Go!" One sprinted, with the other two following behind. They took a left, then a right. A turn coming up ahead, they suddenly stopped.
Blood. Lots of it. They stood, dumbfounded. There was Shining Armour, pinned to the wall with a spear a couple feet above the ground. The spear had impaled him in his rear legs, leaving him to dangle there, unconscious. One dared to look around the corner. So many bodies... limbs, guts... and there was the princess of the night, lying in her own guards' guts and feces from a torn up large intestine. the smaller currently around her neck. The solar guard suffered the same fate, except one was impaled with a spear going from his jaw and out his eye. He too dangled lifelessly, his other eye frozen in fear.
Their Queen couldn't have done this. She was a fighter, but this was not her way. Quick, clean, and brutal if necessary. It was known to all Changelings to spend the least amount of energy on anything, especially combat. They had to think fast. Chrysalis was missing, and there was Shining Armour and princess Luna. Whatever killed the guard must be wild, untamed, and if they helped the royal family there could be a possibility of an alliance. Momentary, at the least. Or contact the hive mind, and send for reinforcements that would most likely die on their way to the castle, not to mention it would take at least two days for the journey. Maybe even more!
Whirring and a thundering noise were heard at the other end of the hallway, along with the sounds of the dying and flesh being torn. They could see a bloody head roll down the bend. They looked at each other and made their choice in a millisecond.
One went to attend to the princess, deciding that going in his raw form would be best. The other two went to Shining, pulling him down from his bloody golden perch. Pulling out the spear from the left leg first, then the right, they immediately went to work on healing him with what love they could spare. They needed that for combat after all. The injury was extensive, as his bones were shattered and muscles that were primarily used for movement were torn. Whoever did this had vast medical knowledge.
The princess was relatively unscathed, save for a few bruises on her chest. She roused from her forced slumber, the changeling working quickly to undo the smaller intestine from around her neck. Her eyes slowly opened before snapping open. She came face-to-face with the changeling. It put on a worried look, and put it's hoof to her mouth, and shaking his head. She bore into the changelings' eyes. Don't speak. Not safe. She nodded, and got up with the help of the insectoid equine. She turned around, and was immediately greeted with a blood-streaked face. Eyes glowing red, baring his fangs in a sinister grin.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
The great divide.
A place ravaged by a unspeakable power, of the old beasts still sleeping underground. Dormant they lay, possibly to never be used, only to mutate those below. Others, others wait. They might know they will awaken to fulfill their purpose someday... So many. The couriers knew this all too well, and still do. They traversed the hellish canyon, through the storms, the invisible fires that burn on as if determined to mutate anything that comes it's way. The marked men knew this hell all to well, for they were forced to adapt, to strengthen themselves, or be another victim of the Divide. Cannibalism, sand storms, the dangers go on... It didn't help the skin was torn from their flesh, exposing themselves to the outside world. Nobody in their right mind would stay. But they are anchored to the divide, relying on the old beasts to keep them alive and heal their wounds. Such was life for them... The courier came and gone, bringing with him the angel of death, a blessing to some. But not all. Many were finally put out of their misery as he came, as if he came to finally finish what he had started so long ago. But there are still those who are strong, those who refuse to die. Those few have the burning rage in their hearts... The damned few.
Ulysses looked out into the hell that was the divide. Sitting near a cliff that gave him a grand- if not sorrowful- view. The couriers' mile still bothered him. It was created when Jack, or Jackie as he couldn't recall, needed entrance to go on with his quest, pouring salt on the wounds of the damned. To meet up with him . Adjusting his mask, he stood and checked his gear. There was no rush. He had food, but the MRE's and perishable foods were dwindling. He sighed. Perhaps he would pay the mile a visit, perhaps not. Ulysses brought out his anti-materiel rifle and opened the bolt slightly, confirming a bullet was indeed in the chamber. He walked, rifle in hand once more into the divide.
Ulysses walked into an overturned truck, wary of any traps that might be inside. Spotting none, he opened a green wooden crate with a white star in a circle stenciled onto it long ago. Yet another reminder of the old world. Grabbing a handful of MRE's and water bottles, he set them inside his duster.
Rustling caught his attention. A patrol, what else could it be? He rushed to a hole in the truck's container, and peered through. His suspicions confirmed, he took his rifle out once more. A four-man patrol. Two looked legion, and the other NCR. Two hunters, a ravager, and a scout. Formidable, but vulnerable. He brought out a frag grenade, then pulled it's ring. Running out into the open, he threw it at the group, not noticing the man until it was too late.
It rolled in the favor of the former NCR soldiers, and exploded. The force threw the group off it's feet, and Ulysses made quick work of the two hunters, making sure a slug was embedded into each of their skulls. A ravager and scout still remained. The ravager wasted no time in getting up and readying the thermic lance in his hands. Ulysses brought out his staff, old glory, and jabbed at the ravager's chest, stunning him. Ulysses then spun on his feet counter clockwise, burying the eagle's beak into his opponent's temple, through the helmet. He them fell limp, falling over.
One remained. The scout had already gotten up, and was cocking his combat shotgun. Must've jammed when the grenade went off. The scout grunted loudly, and threw it to the side. He reached for his belt, pulling out a flare gun. Ulysses was already upon him, and knocked the improvised weapon out of the scout's hands. Before the scout could do anything else, he quickly pulled out his twelve-point-seven sub-machine gun and aimed for the the heart, planting a good three round burst into the vita organ.
The scout fell backward, dead.
The couriers' mile. Full of invisible fire that refused to be put out. Ulysses stood next to the street lamp that stood barely erect in the cracked pavement. After what seemed like an hour, Ulysses pressed on. He felt the fire wash over him, slowly poisoning him. The area seemed empty. Made sense. Courier came through here. He trudged on, noticing he had stumbled upon a warhead. The fire seemed more intense. Ulysses turned to leave, convinced he was there for a sufficient amount of time. Just then, a missile hit the ground in front of him, knocking him back.
Just then, the warhead behind him did the unthinkable.
It exploded.
Ulysses awoke with a start, shooting upward. He looked around, startled. Eyes wide, he looked at the tree before him. An... An apple tree... He looked around. Trees... But how did... Ulysses removed his mask, breathing the air. It was the purest air he had ever breathed. No contaminants from his perspective. No radiation, no wreckage...
Was he dead? No, for surely I would be in hell.
He looked into the horizon, spotting a farmhouse in the distance. Checking his equipment, he holstered his weapons. This was a new quest, a new objective. He picked an apple, biting into it. Tears almost filled his eyes. It... It was so pure! Untainted! Surely this was a blessing he did not deserve, but one he was thankful for nonetheless. He finished the apple hurriedly, and set out for the farmhouse, intent on meeting whoever could keep this land fertile. He ran, so many thoughts filling his head, so many questions.
Perhaps this could be... No... He would have to find out more about it.
How the ripper came to be...
The legion hit-man pulled out his assault rifle, checking on it's condition. He then looks to the other two, a vexillarius and another veteran, as they peered over the hill with binoculars. There was their target, walking rather peacefully. This profligate would go down easily! Just by looking at the pale butcher made him laugh. How on earth did such a weakling have the privilege of wearing the mark of Caesar in the first place? What did Vulpes see in this welp?
Hmph. The veteran signaled the other two, snapping his fingers twice. The other two looked over, then drew their weapons. It was time. The foot soldiers walked, weapons in hand. The other legionary carried a marksman carbine, while the flag- wielding legionary carried a twelve point seven submachine gun. They walked in silence, stopping directly in front of their target. The man stopped, tilting his head. Was he stupid? Harrumphing once more, he decided to simply go along with it.
"The Caesar has marked you for death, and the Legion obeys! Ready yourself for battle!" The assasins raised their weapons, and aimed them directly at the profligate. A metal tinking sound caught their attention. A blue cylinder...
"GRENADE!" They dived, anticipating the explosion. They were blinded by a white light. What was this?! The assassins were disoriented, and only when they heard the whirring of a machine did they realize what the profligate had done to them.
"AAAAH!" Gurgling and whirring had silenced the man. The veteran stood up, taking off his goggles to rub his eyes. As a last resort, he fired his assault rifle blindly, emptying his magazine. He smiled in satisfaction as he heard flesh being penetrated.
*CRACK!* ... No... The veteran's sight returned to him. He stared dumbly at the other veteran. There was the profligate, holding his fallen comrades' bloody head. He then turned to the vexillarius, nothing but a long, deep gash on his face, showing the insides, bits of eye and brains were on the concrete. The beast dropped the head. He held a bloodied ripper in one hand.
"You shot your friend there. Pity. I wanted to make him suffer, just like you will." The assassin raised his weapon, intent on shooting such a foolish enemy.
Click.
"Oh, man. Good friends and ammo. Where are they when ya need them?" The beast chuckled. The verteran fumbled with his weapon, struggling to put in a new magazine. "Your putting it in backwards..." The beast was right in front of him. How did he...? The weapon was pulled from his hands, and was cast off to the side. The veteran put up his fists, ready for a fight. Taking the initiative, he threw the first punch. The beast countered, pulling on his wrist, then slamming the assassin to the ground.
Landing face-first into the pavement was hell on his already blurry head. The monster sat on him, then plunged his ripper into his arm socket. The teeth met little resistance, and his right arm was cut like a hot knife to butter. Next, the monster slammed his head into the pavement. Over, and over, and over until there was a sizable crimson stain on the hard road. Too focused on the pain to notice, the monster revved once more, this time into his left arm. The arm was off in no time, just like the right. The assassin couldn't scream. The pain was too great.
At last, the beast turned him over, and cupped his face with his bloodied hands. "Tell your friends in hell Jackie sent you. And spread the word that they'll see their other friends in hell very, very soon..." He looked into the depths of hell, the two windows that were looking straight at him. The eyes of a demon.
"You say you found a ripper in the legionary's face?" Caesar sat on his throne, a praetorian guard in front of him.
"Yes. And the words 'Jack was here' were written in blood." Caesar sighed. He got it. The courier was making a name for himself. Well played, Courier. Well played.
