Fallout Equestria: Nearly Civilized

Chapters

Prologue - Welcome to the Future
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI

Prologue - Welcome to the Future

Year 1438 …Many years have elapsed and corroded over the mainland of Equestria. The inhabitants struggling to survive the average day have created their own inventions. These adaptions to helped them live through the fires of war and megaspell radiation. Many of these adaptions included technology for advantages. Such weapons have only become more efficient and deadlier over the years. Some of the survivors have hid in the shadows, stayed underground, and created their own means of a community in the wasteland. They would soon burst out and thrive with their own line of advantages, or even their own civilization. So much has changed, yet at the same time, so little.

400 years after the Megaspell Detonation, welcome to what's supposed to be the future...

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A mare paces around, her details hidden in the room that is only lit by rows of cylinder-shaped chambers of glass. The cylinders each containing a foal that's suspended in the fluids inside of it. Row after row of these cylinders stretch down the hallway, every one of them containing a foal identical to the others within. The mare studies each one in pride, despite there being no differences.

“Ma’am! I’ve got something you would like to hear.” a Unicorn stallion wearing the usual white lab coat trots up to the mare.

“What is it that you wish to tell me? Is Project S.E.R.A.P.H going as planned? Or are you hear just to squall over a pay check?” the mare spat out, showing signs of irritation by the sudden interruption of the stallion.

“This is about Project S.E.R.A.P.H, yes.”

“Well then, spit it out already.”

“Right then… Hold on.” the stallion flipped through some data files on his electronic notepad. “Yes… Um… Project S.E.R.A.P.H should be able to launch in about a month. Once the foals are completely developed and ready to live in the real world… That will be it. Though, there’s some bad news to this…” the stallion rushed over the files suspended in front of him with his magic.

“Bad news…?” the mare hesitated to say.

“Sadly, yes… We did some scans on the clones...and... Well, Approximately only seventy percent of all clones would be completely stable. That seventy-percent will be the only ones compatible for super-soldier training…”

“Seventy… That’s close… But it isn't good enough for what we need in an army. What Parasol needs… What the Wasteland needs…”

“I’ll gather up the research team and scientists… We’ll see what we can do before the month ends to help the clones.” The stallion said as he trotted out of the room.

The mare looked back at the chambers. “Damn. Diamond Crosshair sure lacked the expansive personalities to support an army of… Well…himself…” the mare joked to herself. "Well, we got this far. Might as well do what we can."

The stallion nodded in agreement, "Any other plans?"

"Make a note for me."

"Alright," the stallion pulled the documents in front of him closely, "...continue"

"S.E.R.A.P.H. will deploy in 150 days...no delays. Understand?"

Chapter II

After trotting up a few flight of stairs, the soldiers along with Topaz right behind them, arrived at an electronic double-door to the main room that is located of the end of an empty hall on the top floor of the building. The soldiers stop at the door and nod to Topaz, then take their positions at the side of the doors, allowing Topaz to make his way through.

Once Topaz steps through the electronic sliding doors, he is greeted by Overmare Lightning who gotten comfy at her desk at the other end of the spacey room. As Topaz makes a few more slow steps forward, the doors slide close behind him.

“Ah, it is marvelous to see you once again, Topaz Spectrum.” Overmare Lightning said in a polite tone.

Again…? I have no memory of meeting this mare before, not to mention hearing never her voice, why is she saying this? Or is it just something she likes to say?

“How do you know my name already?” Topaz asked.

“What? Is it wrong for the OVERMARE to keep records of every born foal in Chance?” Overmare Lightning replied.

“True… Uh… Yeah…” Topaz was still slightly confused on why he was summoned by the Overmare. “Why exactly did you want me here…? Did I do something wrong?”

Overmare Lightning began to laugh. “No. You’re here because I wanted to give you something for becoming of age here in Chance. I mean, it is your 24th birthday right now, isn’t it?”

“My birthday…” Topaz looks at a digital clock mounted on the wall, which reads 12:43am. “Uh, yes it is, now.”

“Well then, shall we proceed?”

“Do you do this to everypony who becomes of age here at Chance?”

“No actually, I know something about you, your origin specifically.”

“You know… You know about my parents?”

Overmare Lightning lifts herself from her chair and walks up to Topaz and circles up behind him. “You could say that…”

Suddenly, Topaz feels a small pain stab into the back of his neck; this he was unaware of and slumps over on the floor a bit. His first reaction is to reach for the pain and see what’s causing it. He feels the object in the back of his neck and he precedes to pulls it out to see that it was a syringe; the contents of it have been injected into him. Topaz glares silently at Overmare Lightning, who has a noticeable smirk on her face.

“What… What have you done to me!?” Topaz spat out holding the back of his neck.

“Giving you even more potential than you had before, but this potential will have to be learned on your own.” Overmare Lightning replied casually.

“Ugh…” Topaz began to feel a bit woozy and began to loose consciousness.

“Chance is nearly civilized with nothing to stop such greatness, and you could be a boost to this success. That is why I’m giving you this ‘gift’. Now rest…”

Soon enough, the only thing Topaz could see was the room around him turning to darkness.

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Topaz woke up to realize he was back in his own bedroom, the back of his neck still aching a bit from the event that happened only a couple of hours ago. He slowly raised himself up and looked around a bit more, everything seemed normal around him, but he definitely felt different on the inside. He noticed a present on his nightstand, like any ordinary festive wrapped gift, Topaz picks it up and sets it in front of him before opening it.

The contents of the present box was an Intel Umbrella v2, some synthetic black-leather clothes and coat, and finally a pair of tinted shades with Intel Umbrella uplink enabled for a heads-up-display, and underneath all of that is a rather sci-fi looking chrome five-round cylinder .45-70 Gov’t revolver magnum with the words: ‘Consortium Ballistic Research Custom: Radical Stall’ engraved onto the side of its 8 inch barrel, also where a laser sight is installed onto the bottom of the barrel. Next to the revolver is a box of twenty .45-70 Gov’t shells and holster. What the heck would I need this for? And what’s Radical Stall, the gun or a pony? Topaz thought to himself while studying the magnum. He set down the other items and turned his attention to the Intel Umbrella v2 and slipped it onto his left fore leg. The first thing he notices when he powers on the Intel Umbrella is there’s an audio log from Overmare Lightning. Topaz taps the screen, which begins to play the audio log. Overmare Lightning’s voice begins to play.

“Mr. Spectrum, glad to have you hearing in on this. I have a… Favor I’d like you to get done for me. It seems odd for the Overmare to be giving you a task even though you weren’t qualified for enlistment, but stay with me, because I know something you don’t. The task for you is to shoo off some pesky NCR patrol who have recently taken root at the Vanhoover dam, just a few miles away from here. Why is this dam is so important, you ask? Well, it is because it is used as a secondary power source for Chance, and I don’t want the NCR cutting an emergency source off or becoming even more nosey and decide to push themselves into MY city. Though you won’t be much of a journey away from Chance, but things in the Equestrian Wasteland can go down hill really fast. Also don’t be fooled, there are other ‘survivors’ roaming around who are hostile, such as raiders, but with a lone Pegasus like you, there might be more dangers due to the fact that pretty much a LARGE portion of the Pegasi population is part of the Grand Pegasus Enclave. Good luck out there and keep me updated.”

That was a bit of information that came out of nowhere… Topaz shakes his head and hops out of his bed, puts on the apparel he has received and puts the revolver into its holster then heads downstairs.

Bolt is reading a book while laying down on the couch in the living room and remains oblivious to Topaz.

“Uncle Bolt?” Topaz said.

“Yeah…?” Bolt replies and looks up at Topaz, “Whoa! Where’d you get all of that!? Especially that magnum!” Bolt’s outburst could probably have been heard by ponies outside.

“The Overmare gave it to me. Or that’s what I think.” Topaz replied without changing his tone.

“What the hell is it all for!?”

Topaz hesitates to answer, be he manages to get out a few words, “Overmare Lightning is sending me out to the Vanhoover dam to deal with some pests.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… You’re being sent out to the Wastelands… By yourself!?”

“It’s not going to be for too long, Bolt… The Overmare seemed like she knew what she was doing.”

“But do YOU know what you’re doing!?”

“She gave me all the information I needed to know so far about my task, I’ll also be updating her and she’ll be updating me.”

Bolt put the book he was holding down next to him and gets off of the couch. “No, no, no, no, no, no. You’re not going alone, I’m coming with you. The wastes are-”

Topaz interrupts Bolt and finishes his sentence, “…a very dangerous place, I know.”

“Wow, Overmare Lightning did tell you a lot, didn’t she?”

“Yea… Maybe a bit too much.”

“If we’re going to the wastelands, at least let me get prepared and I’ll just follow you, alright?” Bolt said as he slowly trots up to his room.

As Bolt disappears up the stairs, then a few minutes later, he is back downstairs adjusting to his apparel. Bolt’s apparel is what the average pony would say that’s what a mercenary might wear, along with a beret and armed with an Assault Carbine. Bolt’s beret is a unique peace with a flaming grenade insignia and the words ‘LEGION ETRANGERE’ underneath the insignia.

“Ready to take on the whole world aren’t you?” Topaz joked

“Just want to be prepared, who knows what’ll happen out there.” Bolt replied in a steady voice. “I’m right behind you…”

“Alright, let’s get this thing done, get rewarded, and relax.” Topaz said as he trotted out with confidence, then all the way to the main gates of Chance.

“You know… Once we go out there, we’ll have a smaller possibility of ever seeing ourselves at home again? We might even never see each other again if something goes bad…” Bolt said with a slightly saddened voice.

“I know, but I’m not willing to fail a task given by the Overmare… Also you worry a bit much… But I understand.” Topaz said in just about the same tone as Bolt, but trying to keep the feelings down.

The Topaz and Bolt soon arrive at the main gates of Chance, some of the citizens enjoying their time around the city looked curiously at the two. Once Topaz and Bolt stepped up to the gates, some soldiers nod then step aside as the large sluggish electronic metal gates begin to slide open. Topaz steps out first, then Bolt following right behind Topaz. Topaz slowed down his pace to match Bolt’s.

“Are you sure you’re not too old for something like this?” Topaz asked.

“Nah, I think I can pull through. Besides, I’m not going to let you go alone. You’re pretty much all I have left ever since my wife died 25 years ago when her caravan was attacked by some filthy raiders, but the worst part is about her death was that she was… pregnant… But then you, Topaz Spectrum… Somepony left you on my door step, and a note telling me to take care of you.” Bolt choked up.

“A foal left on a doorstep for someone else to take care of after some kind of tragedy… It’s kind of cliché, but I understand to you it was sort of a miracle, right?”

“Being alone to sponge up such a tragedy was hard for me. Raising you gave me something else to think of… A future… For the both of us.”

“Well… You did a good job raising me; I just sucked at a social life and attending my classes.”

Bolt stopped for a moment to think, then continued trotting alongside Topaz and opened his mouth to change the subject, “We can put that crap aside now… We’re in the wastelands now… So we just gotta clear some… NCR from the dam…?”

Topaz nods, “Anyway possible, smooth words or rough combat.”

“Alright… We’ll start with smooth words first.”

The two ponies made it across the bridge from Chance and continued down past empty lands, then through the ruins of pre-war Vanhoover. Topaz studies the derelicts of the once towering buildings and empty, neglected streets. Bolt seems completely used to such sights.

A majority of the buildings have collapsed on themselves over the centuries of abandonment, few of these buildings can provide shelter, yet still nopony would consider them safe to lay back and relax in anymore. Shattered windows tell the tale of those who once lived here, along with the colors of advertisements which have faded with time. Rubble and debris replace the sidewalks nearby the buildings. Some street lights remain standing while others have fallen, the power running from the damn lights up only the functional displays and lights. The city sits in complete silence at the moment, dropping a tin can could be heard from a few blocks away. A lone radio can be heard softly playing pre-war music and sometimes something more patriotic from a window sill of broken down building. Someone had left the radio there, but by the looks of it, it’s been there for weeks judging by the soot accumulated on it from the decaying city. Some vehicles have been left behind, most of them pre-war automobiles; the other vehicles can be recognized only as destroyed heavily armored tanks that have already been scavenged of their guns, tracks, and parts of the armor. The nationality or models of the tanks are unrecognizable due to the damage and rust.

Topaz decides to let curiosity take over for a bit and he hops up onto one of the tanks. He then slides into the interior of the tank, looking at what’s left of the driver’s seat and empty ammo racks. Bolt watches Topaz for a moment. “Is that necessary?” Bolt asked, keeping his voice down a bit.

“Knowing is half the battle right? The better I know one of these things… The better I can perform against one if we ever encounter one.” Topaz’s voice echoes from the empty shell of the tank.

“Who knows how long these have been here… And they don’t even work and are missing quite a bit of crap on them.” Bolt questioned.

“Every little bit counts… Right?”

Bolts sighs and rolls his eyes before turning around to lean his back against the tank Topaz is in. Suddenly, something moves and catches Bolt’s attention. The movement appears to flee into a pre-war toy shop. Bolt taps against the tank’s hull, “Topaz, ready yourself… I think I saw someone.”

Topaz pops his head out from the tank’s turret. “Where?” Topaz said as he snaps his attention to his surroundings.

Bolt draws out his Assault Carbine and points with one hoof at the toy shop, “There… I saw something go into there.”

“Maybe it was just some lost filly or colt that wanted something to play with.”

“I don’t understand how you will ever survive alone out here, Topaz… You gotta think more cautiously, like if something were to always be the one trying to harm you. Not your average civilized city folk. Be ready at the sign of almost anything.” Bolt said without taking his eyes off the toy shop.

“Right…….” Topaz hesitated and unsheathes his magnum, then hops off of the tank and onto the street, then slowly approaches the toy shop alone.

“Topaz… Slow down, don’t just rush in!” Bolt raised his voice to a shouting whisper.

Topaz didn’t seem to listen and still continues to approach the toy shop with his magnum raised, then right as Topaz goes for the entrance of the toy shop, he catches something at the corner of his eye. A pony was waiting around a column of rubble. Time seemed to slow down for Topaz; almost unnaturally it seemed for Topaz himself. By the time the pony moved an inch in his own flinch; Topaz had already turned, grabbed the pony by the collar of his shirt and pointed his magnum in the pony’s face. Right then did Topaz realize it was only Jade.

“Holy shit! Don’t shoot!” Jade screamed in terror as he looked at the details down the magnum’s barrel Topaz wields and how much rifling there was in the barrel.

“Damn it, Jade! What the hell!” Topaz yelled in an irritated tone.

Bolt ran up behind Topaz, Assault Carbine lowered, but he’s still on guard.

“Why the hell are you here, Jade?” Topaz snapped.

“I was… Uh… Preparing to leave Chance, then I saw you two making your way to the gates, so I well… Followed…” Jade smiled nervously at Topaz.

“You nearly got your head blown off; I hope you realized that by now.” Topaz glared at Jade then roughly pulls him up correctly.

“So… I thought you failed for enlistment, Topaz. What makes you want to come out here…?” Jade asked while brushing himself off.

“Bolt and I were going to complete a favor for somepony, and can we stop with the enlistment crap…?” Topaz said, lowering his voice.

“A favor for who?” Jade said with an amused tone.

“Just somepony, not like it really matters… Wanna come along?”

“So, you’re going into the mercenary business too? I told you it was a good cap maker.”

Topaz shook his head, “Not really mercenary business, just something to do for a bit.”

“Odd…” Jade scratched his chin. “So where does this favor take us to?”

“To the Vanhoover dam, we’re going to get rid of some NCR patrol. The means of getting rid of them depends on how much they are willing to cooperate. Rather listen to our words or by the means of a firefight”

“Sounds easy enough.” Jade said as he followed Topaz.

Bolt looks at Topaz for a second, “So you two know each other?”

“Yea, we talk once in a while. I wouldn't say he’s that close to me though.”

“It’s something.” Bolt continued to look ahead.

“I think he means we’re friends.” Jade burst out a bit.

“Topaz, I think that if you had a stronger relationship with Jade, you would've just Friend-Zoned yourself right there.” Bolt chuckled to himself a little.

“Maybe a friend to someone who doesn't make friends is something that hits the bar.” Jade said.

Topaz remained silent as Bolt and Jade put a smirk on their faces, then the three continued their way to the dam.

Chapter III

The three venturing ponies make their way out of the once, thriving city; now only a broken shell of the past. Topaz stops to get a good look back at the derelict city as he thinks about it to himself. The others trot far ahead of him before he snaps out of his day dream. Bolt takes a glance at Topaz who is a well distance behind.

“What? You forget something?” Bolt questioned Topaz.

“Nah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about home. About Chance. Could something like this ever happen to it?” Topaz replied curiously.

“Homesick already, boy?" Bolt shakes his head slightly, "It depends. It-” Bolt managed to cough up before Jade cuts it.

“No friggin’ way! Those walls couldn’t be penetrated by any kind of-”

“What about an aerial raid?” Bolt cuts Jade off this time.

“Well. Um… That’s something the Enclave would be able to pull off easily, but we haven’t heard from them in a few years.”

“Enclave?” Topaz asked as he caught up with the other two, “Who are they?”

Jade sighs at the lack of Topaz’s knowledge of other major factions. “City colts… Anyway! The Grand Pegasus Enclave; Enclave for short, is a faction that pretty much rules the skies. All I know are sketchy stories from the generations before us, but one is about, I think, the Enclave trying close up the skies once. Right now they’re quiet, haven’t heard nor seen them since I lived with my mother when I was a young colt.”

Topaz brushes one of his wings, “So, it was a faction only composed of Pegasus?”

“Indeed.”

“What would they do if they saw me?” Topaz asked while cocking his head to one side, looking at Jade for an answer.

“I don’t think they would care… Oh… Um, I think they do something actually. What was it… Brand your arse with a symbol of something… Then called you a Dish, or something like that…” Jade sputtered out.

“Dashite.” corrected Bolt.

“Ah! Yes! Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, smart ass”

Jade scoffed. “Rude. I was just jogging up my vague memories of the Enclave and what grandpa told me before he died.”

“You keep bringing up your grandpa, Jade. Who was he exactly?” Topaz asked with passion.

“The father of my mother, who else?”

Topaz gives a serious look at Jade.

“Oh, okay. Well let’s start with his name. His name was Diamond Crosshair, he was a veteran and fought with some ponies he called a family. He hurt his head when he was a foal, then hurt his head again later in life, and well it really starting affecting him as he got older. Then soon enough he passed away. He looked just like you Topaz, as if you were twins. Wings and everything.”

“Odd.” Topaz looked at Jade.

While in the conversation between Jade and Topaz, Bolt had already moved ahead of the others, then goes prone on the side of a heap of earth to look over. Bolt beacons the two to move up next to him.

“The dam is in sight, forget what we were looking for already?” Bolt growled at the two.

Topaz and Jade nod and lay down next to Bolt. The three of them look over at the dam, so far they can only see a few well protected troopers; face wrapped fully in cloth and wear helmets. The troopers are fully covered, not a hint of coat color is revealed. Bolt pulls out a pair of binoculars to have a better look.

The markings on the troopers’ clothes bare the NCR insignia on the shoulders and helmet. Most of the cloth is a tan color but the helmets and other armor parts are a dark gray, and their goggles are tinted a thick red which cover their eyes completely. There are at least five troopers on the road of the dam top and three more in the towers looking out for intruders. The last two troopers are near the edge, dumping objects just about as big as them over the sides and into the river.

“Ugh. My old eyes can’t see that well, can you get a better look, Topaz?” Bolt offered the binoculars to Topaz.

Topaz takes the binoculars from Bolt, “Okay.”

What Topaz sees is that those things the NCR troops are dumping into the river are dead bodies of freshly killed ponies, all of them have no clothes or weapons and the inflicted wounds tell that most of them had an instant death.

“Looks like some one made bad moves with their Ponds…” Topaz stated as he passed the binoculars to Jade.

“Yea, sucks to be them. They’re probably just some filthy raiders anyway.” Jade comments as he reaches over to give the binoculars back to Bolt.

“You two go down there yourselves; I think I’ll stay back here unless something goes wrong. I never really had a liking for the NCR for what they did back at Cherneighbol 25 years ago.” Bolt said with a grudge between his teeth.

“Sounds bad, but we’ll get to story time later…” Topaz grunted as he hops over the heap of earth and slides down a small hill with Jade alongside him.

It took a couple of minutes for Topaz and Jade to reach the dam for they have trotted casually and slowly towards it trying not to look like they want a fight. Three of the five that were patrolling the dam top road stopped Topaz and Jade.

“Problem, sir…?” Topaz looked up at the NCR trooper.

“I’m sorry, but the NCR have… Restricted this area for… Um… Safety reasons. The Remnant Zebra Legion has been spotted around these areas lately. We advised staying clear.” One of the NCR troopers stated.

“What was with the bodies being dumped in the river?” Jade asked, “I haven’t seen the NCR do something like that before, they looked like unarmed civilians too.” Jade added.

“They were acting suspicious.” The trooper replied.

“Don’t…! Uh… Don’t tread on the Ursa!” a trooper in the back shouted in a cheesy tone.

“We had no option but to neutralize them.”

“Maybe they were here for the view and… Wait…” Topaz stopped himself and looked at the blood spattered on the NCR troopers’ uniforms. From what Topaz can make out, the blood seems like something that’ll come from a wound on the wearer, not an external source, and by how much blood has been covered up by cloth, it’s still easy to piece together the distortion of the large amounts of spattered blood. If those were wounds belonging to the current wearer of the uniform, it would’ve been fatal.

Topaz, alerted by those details, slowly reaches for his .45-70 Gov’t magnum, but was discovered rather easily. The troopers have already drawn their own weapons and raised them at Topaz and Jade, the snipers in the towers have aimed their anti-materiel rifles, laser sights beaming down on the two. From the look of the movement of the laser sights from the snipers, they are extremely steady.

“Shit…” Topaz said under his breath.

“Thought you can start a little shootout, huh!?” a trooper shouted.

“We are so fucked.” Jade said as he lay on the ground, fore hooves over his head, ready to surrender.

“See. You’re buddy there has the right idea. Why don’t you?” a trooper snarled as he took a step closer and bumps Topaz on the chin with the barrel of his gun.

Topaz bared his teeth in anger at the trooper, then obeys and lays on the ground next to Jade, “Where’s Bolt when you need him?” Topaz whispered.

“Excuse me? There’s another one of you assholes?” a trooper said as he presses the barrel of his gun into the back of Topaz’s head. Topaz doesn’t answer.

“That was a question, dumb shit! Is. There. Another!? Huh!?”

While the troopers were too distracted with Topaz and Jade, Bolt had managed to sneak up into one of the dam towers and take out a snipers without being detected.

“Answer me!” the trooper yelled with impatience, “Before I blow out you brains!”

At that moment, Bolt had lined up a shot on the trooper that was harassing Topaz. The thud of a .50 BMG round goes off through the air, and then the trooper loses something important. A head. Topaz looks up and around, the other troopers have scattered for cover and the one next to him has been decapitated, what’s left the trooper’s head now lay on the pavement in bits. The fresh, warm blood from the headless body had spurted over Topaz a bit. With this window of opportunity, Topaz whips out his magnum then rolls onto his back to take any shots at the other troops. Another .50 BMG round thuds through the air, and the other sniper falls from the tower down the dam’s higher side, though his armor protected him from killing him instantly, he now is sliding painfully and screaming all the way down on the rough concrete slope of the dam, smearing a trail of blood with his decent. Topaz sees a trooper make the biggest mistake of his life, popping his head over cover to take a peek and in an instant, Topaz pulls off an accurate shot from his .45-70 Gov’t magnum, though he wasn’t ready for the recoil and smacks himself not too hard on the side of his forehead. The bullet punches right through the goggle and enters through the trooper’s right eye, then exits out the back of his head. Jade sees the action going on, then gets himself back up and readies his lever-action shotgun. “Get some!” Jade yells as he charges a trooper who has just exited cover. Jade, as clumsy as he can be, slips on the gore of the trooper Topaz had just dropped and begins sliding on his flank, hind legs first at the trooper. The trooper had not expected this move and hesitates, then is tripped over by Jade sliding at full speed into him. The trooper’s face and the lever-action’s barrel meet first. Jade then discharges the shotgun, showering himself with blood, brains, and face bits. Bolt with the anti-materiel rifle picks off the last of the troopers with precision.

“Bleh! Eeuw…. Disgusting!” Jade spat out with disgust while wiping off what he can.

Topaz puts his magnum back in his holster and looks around, “These guys were dressed up as NCR, from what I noticed.” Topaz coughed out as he searches the trooper who was first to go down. He rustles through the pockets of the trooper, only to find a few coins that aren’t close to resembling pre-war currency and a strange medallion.

“Jade, Bolt, have you seen something like this before?” Topaz asked as he held up the medallion.

Bolt is the first to see it and react, “What the fuck?” Bolt rushed over to check out the medallion. He snatches it from Topaz in a rush. “This the fucking Zebra Legion’s!”

“Never seen them play like this before.” Jade added.

Bolt trots over to the trooper with the least mutilated head, Topaz’s kill. Bolt removes the face cloth and goggles. It’s a zebra.

“That concludes my answer that they weren’t NCR… I saw the blood on their uniforms, wasn’t caused by blood splattering from another victim.” Topaz noted.

Suddenly, the zebra Bolt unmasked grabs Bolt by the hoof. He also holds some kind of detonator.

“For… The Caesar…” the zebra said with his final breath, then sets off the detonator.

“Shit!” Bolt tears free of the zebra’s grip and knock the detonator away, but it was too late.

Loud explosions can be heard near the bottom of the dam, then the side of the dam fails and water roars through the broken damn. The three ponies lose their balance.

“Fuckin’ A!” Topaz shouts and he falls onto the ground.

The sniper from earlier had survived the painful slide down the dam and lays at the bottom of the dam as soon he is back onto his feet, he is crushed below the waist by a large piece of dam wall then swept away by the surge of water.

The explosives that have been rigged only have blown a hole in the dam, making traveling still possible, but as a power source, it has been ruined.

“We lost the dam…” Topaz said in sorrow as get got back up and looks at Bolt. Then slowly trots over to the edge of the dam to watch off of the water once contained flow freely further out into the wastelands. “I’m ready to go back home…”

“Wait. Shhh…” Jade holds out a hoof to shush Topaz. “You hear that?”

“Hear what…?” Topaz replied weakly. Jade doesn’t respond, he just stands like a statue, focused on what he can hear. As time passes, a low rumble becomes clearer, even Topaz can hear it now.

Jade’s ear twitches, “340 horsepower, 9-cylinder radial piston gasoline engine…”

“You can tell that much from a simple rumble?” Topaz pondered.

Jade doesn’t answer Topaz’s curiosity, instead he makes a dash for cover.

“What are you-…” Topaz stopped when the source of the rumbling visible at the other end of the dam. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Tank!” Jade shouted at the top of his lungs.

Chapter IV

Topaz had his back pressed against what cover he could salvage at the base of one of the towers; the tower Bolt was up on top of laying face down while using his fore hooves to shield his head from debris in the sniper’s nest. Jade was across the road from Topaz, bending over to hide himself behind the low wall the dam provides. The tank fired off its powerful 76mm cannon, letting off a thunderous boom that could echo off in the distance. The loader of the tank was skilled and seemed to reload quickly, leaving little to no time for those who are pinned down to make a move out of cover. The gunner was accurate as well with able to snap to a target and keep on target judging by how the gunner seems to jump his aim between Topaz and Jade and hit the same area each time. The tank was oblivious to Bolt and was more interested in blowing Topaz and Jade to pieces. Jade takes a quick peek over the low wall to see the tank, but drops right back to prone as he is showered in debris from the low wall which is soon to fall apart, though that glimpse of the tank was enough for Jade to remember something.

“Hey, Topaz! Have you seen this kind tank before? I swear I have!” Jade hollered over the noise to Topaz.

“Why…!? You wanna know what kind of tank you get blasted a part by!?” Topaz replied unsteadily, his body scrunched against the tower’s base.

“No! I think…” Jade gets the vague memory processed, “I know! We ran into each other at Vanhoover! Remember those striped apart tanks there?”

Topaz thinks for a moment, “I crawled inside one of those! Took a loom around and… The armor from what I remember wasn’t that thick! 13 millimeters at most! Seems pretty thin for a tank! And… Wait…” Topaz looks up at the top of the tower, “Bolt! You still alive up there!?”

“I think it hasn’t spotted me yet!” Bolt replied as quietly as he could through the noise, though it wasn’t much of a difference compared to Topaz and Jade’s shouting. “Why?”

“Just checking up on you….! I also need something!”

“Like what?”

“That anti-material rifle you got! Throw it down to me!”

“Alright, just don’t poke your eye out, Topaz!” Bolt said as he adjusted himself so he has the ability to crawl to the other side of the sniper’s nest where Topaz is at the bottom of. “Alright! Dropping it… Now!” Bolt passes the anti-materiel rifle over the cover the sniper’s nest provides.

The anti-materiel smacks down on the ground next to Topaz’s hind legs. He proceeds to pick it up and checks the chamber. Topaz takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and waits for a few seconds.

“Topaz, bud! This wall isn’t gonna hold up much longer and soon enough all I’ll be left of is my ass!” Jade shouted as another 76mm shell shook the foundation he lays on.

Topaz opens his eyes, makes a small lean so the front of his face doesn’t leave cover. His heart is pounding like drum beats from a festive parade, everything he saw, everything he heard, all seemed slowed down. This action seemed like forever, what ever it was doing, it made him wonder if this is what an adrenaline rush was like, but what really caught his attention was how fast he was able to react, able to see the 76mm shell be slower than before and actually see the detail like how it was an armor-piercing-composite-rigid round. Topaz bolted out of cover while the turret of the tank turned to Jade’s position again. He took a quick look down the scope of the anti-materiel, aimed it where he predicted the gunner seat was on the turret, then pulls off a shot. The shot made a satisfying ringing noise off the turret, but what really happened was a disappointment. That .50 BMG round had bounced off the turret, leaving a small scrap of where the bullet had made impact. At this moment, the tank gun had turned back to Topaz, who was now completely exposed in the open, unable to reach cover again. Topaz closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the moment to happen, accepting his mistake.

A more high-pitched gunshot rang out, still filling up the air with a thud like what a .50 BMG could do, but this one seemed different. Topaz gasped and fell onto his rear. The tank had not fired yet to his surprised, instead, it began to back up to retreat. Topaz wondered a bit what had happened, did he accidently discharge the anti-materiel rifle he possessed, or was it someone else? Topaz brushed these wonders aside and snaps his attention back to the retreating tank and aimed his anti-materiel rifle again, but this time he aimed for where the driver is seated, the front side of the tank’s hull, guaranteed where the 13 millimeters of armor was. Topaz took a deep breath, and then lets off another shot.

The results of Topaz’s shot at the driver’s seat and punched right trough the front hull armor, and now the tank seems to traverse uncontrollably to the right.

“Hphm.” Topaz smirks while he stows the anti-materiel rile on his back using the sling it came with and gallops over to the tank. “All that leaves is loader and maybe a radio operator if they were organized.” Topaz beacons over at the others, who then exit there cover and embrace the silence.

“Good shooting, Topaz… You saved my life.” Jade exhaled out in slight exhaustion.

“To be honest, the life-saving shot wasn’t me… My shot only ricochet off of the turret.” Topaz said with an honest tone.

“Then who was it?” Jade turns his head to Topaz with a look of unease.

Topaz only shrugs.

As the three approach the tank, the turret begins to traverse and aim its gun once again.

“Get down!” Topaz shouts as he tackles Jade to the ground.

Bolt was just as fast as Topaz in reacting and hits the dirt as well.

Another shot from an unknown source, crackles through the atmosphere around the three, and the sound of someone’s gore splattering against the metal interior can be heard clearly from the tank’s open cabin turret. No scream though, possibly an instant death.

Topaz gets up and helps Jade up to his feet; Bolt gets up on his own.

“Everypony okay?” Topaz asks in a slightly worried tone.

“Yea…” Jade arches his back, which makes a few popping sounds, “Boy, you’re heavier than I thought, Topaz.”

“Must be all my muscle…!” Topaz boasted.

“Nah, you’re no pure. Maybe it’s just a combo.” Jade smirked.

Topaz scoffed as a response.

“Get you’re skirts lowered, boys. We still have to find out who fired off those rounds… Who knows? It might be some kind of looter looking for a good ride to use and right as we step into that tank, he or she would turn on us.” Bolt said with a strong feeling of discomfort and caution. “Look around, we might find them. That’s when we can talk all we want.”

Topaz and Jade obey Bolt’s suggestion and search around a bit. Jade studies the holes caused by the shot on the tank’s turret, Topaz covers the other end of the dam.

“Huh, only thing I see here are that these hole where caused by some serious firepower.” Jade said with pride of his investigative talent.

“Like how much firepower?” Topaz asked.

“We’re looking at around… 14.5 millimeter rounds. In inches, that’s a .57 round. No doubt bigger than the average .50 BMG. It’s specifically anti-tank. Well, unless you want to get messy with anti-personal.”

“What are the ponies inside wearing?”

Jade clambers higher onto the tank’s turret and takes a peak inside, “Sports equipment? Red cloth… Weird. They kinda look like early century warriors? All of them are zebras. Legion, correct?”

“Sounds like them.” Bolt said with a disgusted tone.

Topaz continues searching, straying away from the tank before coming across a trail of small, brightly colored objects, “Pills?” Topaz wondered as he follows the trail of pills. Why would someone just leave these out here?. He continues following the trail of pills which appear to be showing the path to somewhere or something. This puts Topaz a little bit on edge as he keeps a hoof on his magnum holster. The trail of pills soon stops at a ladder leading of one of the dam towers at the other end of the dam. Topaz looks up and the ladder and begins to climb up.

When he reaches the top, he notices a rather large looking rifle with a scope mounted on it. This rifle simply rests against the low wall along with a box of ammunition besides it. Topaz slowly approaches the rifle and ammo, then pick up the ammo box and reads the label of it to himself.

It reads 14.5 x 112mm. Topaz reminds himself of the rounds that Jade said were used on the tank. Topaz opens up the box to see how much was left; it was a full box of twenty 14.5 x 112mm bullets, and a folded up piece of paper. Topaz takes the paper and unfolds it, revealing that it is a note. It reads:

‘You barely know how to take on an M18 mobile gun carrier. You’ll need this anti-tank rifle for later down the roads, the roads where we might meet again, maybe even face to face for once. –Pill’.

Topaz thought to himself of who this pony was, but obviously pony has no intentions to hurt him or the others. Topaz slings the anti-tank rifle over his should and hops down the tower to rejoin Jade and Bolt.

“Where have you been? Doing naughty stuff behind closed doors?” Jade teased.

“You’re sick…” Topaz said boldly, “But, I did find this while I was away.” Topaz pulls the anti-tank rifle out to show Jade and Bolt. “It’s rather heavy… But I think I found the source of 14.5mm shells.

“Did you see who shot the two geeks in the turret?” Bolt asked.

“No, but I know his, or her, name. Not sure if it’s a real name, but it was on a note that I found in the box of ammo. Who ever did this goes by Pill. I guess that’s what was up with the trail of pills.”

“I think we’re done here. Right, Topaz?” Bolt reminding Topaz of the task he used to have.

Topaz sighs and looks over the high end of the dam, to see the destruction caused by the unexpected Zebra Legion encounter and set up, “Yea… I’m done here. Let’s go home and wash up.

“Don’t tell me you ate one of those pills thinking it’ll give you super powers.” Jade said in an amusing manner.

“I’m not that dumb, might be some sort of poison. Plus it was on the ground for more than five seconds, obviously.” Topaz replied with hesitation. “I could go for some hot water right about now…”

Topaz, along with the other two, turn to hoof it back to Chance.

“Oh, you don’t need any super-powers, Mr. Spectrum. You already got your very own.” Overmare G. Lightning chuckled lightly under her breath and puts on a smirk. She lowered her binoculars to look over the rest of what’s left of the Vahoover dam.

“Might as well call it a bridge now, not much of it can be used for Chance anymore. Oh, but you still have so much to learn about yourself, Mr. Spectrum…” Lightning, whiles still keeping her smirk on, taps a few buttons on her Pip-Buck and begins to speak into it, “Call in a vertibird for specialist squad U-55, lets let Mr. Spectrum experience a… different kind of… hot-water.”

A stallion at the different end of the communication line speaks. “We are sending the vertibird to the coordinates we have received, ma’am. U-55 will arrive shortly.”

Lightning nods and closes the communication lines. “This is a small world after all… Maybe Mr. Spectrum can find more ponies JUST like him. The real games and tests for survival begin here~… in the Equestrian Wastelands…” Lightning tilts her head back a bit and lets out a louder, more antagonistic chuckle, then trots slowly off, “You’ll learn a lot on this test, Mr. Spectrum, but don’t worry. We’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

<><><><><><

Jade’s ear twitches a bit before stopping right outside of Vanhoover. Topaz and Bolt notice this behavior and slow down to look back at Jade.

“What?” Bolt said quickly at Jade.

Jade doesn’t budge; instead he continues to shift his ears around, listening intently.

“Can we hurry this crap up already?” Topaz asked impatiently.

“I hear a vertibird… haven’t heard one in a long while. Don’t you two hear it…?” Jade said in a rushed tone.

“Sorry boy, getting’ a bit old for that kind of A grade hearing…” Bolt shook his head.

“I think I hear it too… it’s getting closer…” Topaz, who’s now also focused on listening for the vertibird.

“Look!” Jade snaps to the vertibird turning to the group and points at it, “Oh shi- It’s coming for us! Go! Move!”

“What fuck! Isn’t a tank enough for one fuckin’ day!?” Topaz said as he breaks runs for it deeper into the dead city. Jade and Bolt follow Topaz.

The vertibird can only get closer to the three galloping ponies and is dead on their tails.

“Over here! To that intersection! We can split up from there, that vertibird can’t get all of us!” Jade huffed.

“Are you crazy!?” Topaz exclaimed.

“Jade might be right on this, there’s only one. It’ll be hard to track all of us!” Bolt puffed out in an agreeing tone with Jade’s idea.

“Fine! Get ready! I’m going left!” Topaz assured.

“Goin’ right!” Jade announced with heavy breaths.

“That leaves me with… straight down the road!” Bolt wheezed.

The three ponies break formation and go the ways they said they would. Topaz makes a heavy turn to the right and loses some of his balance, but regains it almost immediately. The vertibird turns right and keeps a beat on Topaz. Topaz mutters some words to himself as he keeps turning at any intersection to try and loose the vertibird, and just as his problems can get any worse, another vertibird cuts him off on a road between intersections. Topaz turns back to see the other vertibird. He wheezed a bit while dying for breathes, he was completely exhausted and dehydrated, and knowing he couldn’t get away, he laid down on his side and rested the best he could. The two vertibirds that had trapped him landed nearby and ponies suited up in a commando-like fashion, full-face helmets with red circles as eyes conceal their identities. They put a mask around exhausted Topaz.

The smell of the gases were familiar, like those before he got surgery on his right hind leg after he injured it badly during combat training a few years back.

Soon enough, Topaz was out cold and began dreaming of the day he would return home to his place at Chance, live a normal life, get some female company and start a family, but somewhere in that dream, he knew it would never happen. He missed the opportunity for that life.

Chapter V

Topaz awoke to find himself in a bed; a bed that has aged and stiffened over the years of being neglected. Topaz sat up quickly to investigate his whereabouts, knowing already that it wasn't his home at Chance, but instead what shielded him from the environment outdoors was an enclosed makeshift shack with beams of sunlight leaking through the cracks in the walls, else well as holes in the rusted sheet metal roofing. His equipment lay next to the wooden plank door; this was everything he had before being kidnapped, though this excluded the Anti-Tank Rifle.

As Topaz lifted himself up into a sitting position, he took a glance at the bed only to wish the aged stains he saw never existed. The air around Topaz was warm and dry as took a deep breath; this was something that he wasn’t used to at all, “Where the hell am I…?” Topaz wondered aloud to himself.

“Jade…?” Topaz called out softly, “Bolt…? Anyone…?”

Topaz exhales deeply before getting off of the bed then trots over to where his equipment lies. He slips his IU onto his left foreleg and fastens the straps, then proceeds to strap on the holster for his magnum and puts a bit more effort into lifting up the 20 pound AMR.

“Gosh, do you have to be naturally strong for these rifles, or does everyone go through some kind of intense training to wield these bloody things…?!” Topaz pondered as he reached for the handle on the door, “…And why is it so damn warm in here…?”

Topaz’s question about the temperature was answered when he opened the door; the warm and dry desert breeze of the outdoors invaded the makeshift shack, kicking up dust and sand around the place. Topaz shielded his eyes from the bright morning sunlight flooding the landscape. Once Topaz’s eyes adjusted to the brightness, he began scanning his surroundings; the sheer orange-brown cliffs rise into the blue skies surround Topaz, leaving him in a valley full of large rocks and the cracked, dry earth. The place seemed volcanic also.

The shack Topaz exited from was built on an elevated heap of land, its backside hugging the side of a cliff. The valley bared the occasional signs of a place that once was full of migrating creatures – dragons. A skeleton of one, no bigger than the average Hellhound, buried halfway in the earth a distance away from where Topaz stood.

“Hello…!?” Topaz hollered, getting even more anxious with every minute that passes by in the heat and the unknown location. Topaz holstered the AMR onto his back before proceeding down the hill to venture around.

“Is anyone here…!?” Topaz shouted for the final time before losing hope in the use of his voice and trotted on through the valley. Topaz glances slowly down at the IU on his left foreleg, he then immediately checks for any sort of map available. Topaz exhales in relief to realize the IU does contain a digital map to utilize, but after Topaz hits the option for the map, a blue 3-dimensional holographic map flashes up instantly, causing Topaz to fall onto his flank from the sudden surprise. After Topaz gets himself together, he takes a good look at the map; it’s showing the local area Topaz is currently at; the southern-most area of Equestria. The Badlands; the east side hugs the Macintosh Hills. Topaz zooms out more to the point he can see all of Equestria its major pre-war cities and towns marked on the map. Vanhoover was a great distance away on the North-West corner of Equestria, while Topaz was currently on the South-East corner.

“…This is going to be one big journey home…” Topaz said under his breath, “…but seriously, who would abduct a pony and then just dump them so far from their home without looting or molesting said pony!?”, Topaz took a deep breath, “Now I’m ranting to myself, splendid.”

Topaz began to trot to the northern canyon exit of the Badlands, “At least there wasn’t some random note saying: ‘Lets play a game’…”

As Topaz was right about to enter the canyon that leads out of the Badlands, he hears someone behind him, giggling. Topaz, in an instant, lets his reflexes take over and whips around to the sounds coming from behind him, magnum already drawn and pointed. There’s two ponies; a mare and a stallion, standing side-by-side, smiling at Topaz. The average sized mare was a unicorn; black mane, crimson messy coat along with bloodshot eyes. She also had crude looking sheet metal wings strapped to her body to imitate the wings of a Pegasus. The stallion had the same eyes and idea as the mare, except he was an actual Pegasus, but with an ice cream cone glued to his forehead.

“Oh, you really think that gun will hurt such a powerful being like ME!?” the mare said with a non-sane manner.

“…Yeah! YOU, the lesser being, really think you can hurt US!? AH-HAHAHAAA! Silly…” the stallion followed along with the mare, same insane tone. Topaz kept his magnum pointed, unsure what’s going on exactly.

“WE… ARE ALICORN SIBLINGS!” the mare roared in a strong sinister manner.

Topaz, being smarter than most other ponies he’s met has caught onto the couple and gives a face with the lack of amusement, “Are you wankers serious…? Alicorns?” Topaz shook his head. “I obviously do not have time for you…” Topaz turned around and began to walk away.

“HEY! You simply just don’t… WALK AWAY from US! Misery and Company will rule the universes!” the mare shouted.

Topaz turns back around to face the two again, and then raises a brow, “Or what?”

“OR THIS!” the stallion shouts as he tenses up, squeezing himself hard enough for the blood in his body to rush to his head, but nothing happens.

“Huh.” Topaz huffs before pointing his magnum and fires off a round into the stallion’s chest, puncturing a lung in the stallion.

The stallion lets out a loud wheezing sound before falling onto the ground, gurgling and slowly drowning in his own blood before going silent.

“PAH! You really think Company can DIE from something like that!? Pathetic attempt!” the mare boasted, still smiling.

“Whatever, I have more important things to do.” Topaz turns around before trotting off to the canyon leading out of the Badlands.

“Yes! YES!!! RUN IN FEAR, LESSER BEING!” the mare shouted after Topaz.

<><><><><><

After clambering over a few boulders and getting a few scrapes trending through the rough canyon, Topaz finally made it out of the canyon after about an hour. What lay before him was a flat desert with a small town further down a dirt path; so Topaz continued down the path, hoping he can find someone who could help him out, possibly get some food and water while there. To his right was what appeared to be a forest once lush with the green leaves, 300 years ago that is; now the forest was left there, dead, knocked over like an amateur attempting to balance matches on an uneven surface then burned them out of frustration. Topaz trotted onward down the dry dirt path, motivated completely by his empty stomach.

After trotting down the path to the town, Topaz was weighed down even more by the effects of the intense afternoon sunlight in such a dry environment; he was dehydrated. As he took deep breaths from exhaustion, he came closer to the old town which he could make out easily from the distance. It was just another derelict of pre-war civilization.

Feeling nearly hopeless at this point, Topaz sat down on his flank as soon as the dirt path met with old asphalt roads that were beaten up by time like Vanhoover. A lopsided sign parallel to the road on Topaz’s right said: ‘Welcome to Dodge Junction’. The structures were foreign to Topaz, looking like old western towns where a shootout might happen in the silly cartoony comics Topaz used to read to pass time when he was young; this also led to Topaz’s liking for firearms. Topaz looked around the abandoned town before the sound of something being knocked over in a nearby building catches his full attention. Topaz gets off of the ground and wanders towards the noise, magnum ready to be drawn.

“Hello…?” Topaz hollered to the building from where the noise came from, “…Is anyone there?”

There was no response, but instead, Topaz heard the sound of fluids dripping onto the floor and some living creature breathing, so he decided to enter the building, knowing there was something alive.

“Excuse me… but I-” Topaz said before stopping his words after turning a corner to see an adult Hellhound holding up a fresh kill to its face and feeding off of; a pony wearing something that supposed to be armor made out of half a car tire and leather straps. The Hellhound used its powerful jaw and sharp teeth to tear apart the pony by the belly, feeding on everything. Topaz gasped and took few a steps back, fear and disgust pumped through his mind. The Hellhound smelled the fresh meat on Topaz, and while turning its head to glare at Topaz, the Hellhound let out a low growl and dropped what’s left of the dead pony. Topaz stood there in shock before realizing that the Hellhound was looking for another fresh meal, and he darted out of the building, the Hellhound seeing Topaz’s sudden movement, chased after him while letting out a loud, bloodthirsty roar. Topaz managed to get to the other side of the road before pulling out his magnum and firing off four .45-70 Gov’t rounds, then realized that he hasn’t reloaded since he shot that one stallion from the Badlands. Topaz panicked for his life, he dropped his magnum and drew the AMR he had, but this sudden action of weight shifting made him lose his balance and stumble backwards and impale himself through his torso on a large fragment of metal that was sticking out of the ground as a leftover from a battle. Cringing in severe pain, Topaz lay there as the Hellhound approached him. Topaz was bleeding a hefty amount, and pulling himself off of the metal fragment that impaled him would cause more potential damage and pain. The Hellhound grabbed Topaz by his hind legs, sinking its sharp claws into Topaz’s thighs, causing him to squeeze eyes tightly with a small stream of tears running down his face. Topaz at this point has given up, and he waited for those teeth to bury themselves into him.

“Oh hell no…!” a deep voice stallion hollered out of nowhere, then came a very large pony. Topaz couldn’t make out the stallion fully since his eyes were blurred and he was losing consciousness from fast blood loss. The large stallion lunged at the Hellhound and performed a bone-crunching punch with his left hoof across the Hellhound’s face, causing it to yelp and stagger away from Topaz. The pony’s right hoof had some kind of bulky metal gauntlet, the hydraulics completely noticeable.

“You ain’t gonna eat to no pony again! Fuckin’ bitch!” the stallion roared, and with one, powerful uppercut with his right hoof to the Hellhound’s jaw, the Hellhound’s head becomes nothing much of bits flying towards the afternoon sun. The Hellhound, missing its head, goes limp and falls backwards onto the ground, the blood of the monster splattering over the dirt and asphalt. At this point, Topaz couldn’t keep his eyes open to the see the pony face-to-face, and soon enough, Topaz passed out.

Topaz awoke in a soft, warm bed, his equipment and clothes removed. Wondering where he was, he sat up quickly just to be introduced to the pain of where used to be impaled. Topaz looked down to see his wound, but it was neatly covered up from gauze that wrapped around his torso, and he laid back down in the bed still feeling a bit weak. Topaz rolled onto his side to get a comfortable look around the room which was full of fancy scanners and medical tools. Topaz touched his hind legs and winced to the deep cuts from the Hellhound’s claws, those wound were also wrapped up in gauze. The brawny stallion from the Hellhound incident in Dodge Junction stepped through a closed door to check up on Topaz. The stallion wore a full suit of very heavy-looking armor, nothing no ordinary muscle builder could even hope to wear. The colors on the armor were just simply a black color, though there were some lights on the armor that glowed a soothing cyan color.

“You been out for 24 hours, bro.” the stallion informed.

“What? You’re not going to ask if I’m okay…?” Topaz scoffed.

“I know you’re O.K, you certainly ain’t dead!” the stallion replied.

“Ugh… It hurts, did I damage anything internally…?” Topaz cringed, holding his chest.

“Naw bro! The metal shard penetrated too low to hit your heart, and it went in between something hard, and something soft…! A-K-A, it went between your lung and spine.”

“Marvelous…”

“Yo, bro…”

“Hmm…?”

“I like your accent, but there’s something about you that I want to ask you…”

“And that would be my name…?”

“No.” the stallion points a hoof at Topaz’s flank, “Where is your Cutie Mark…?”

“Cutie Mark…? You mean the symbols on some pony’s arse?”

“Yes! Where’s yours!?”

Topaz looks down at his flank, which is indeed blank, “I never got one. I thought it was a very large trend with tattoos.”

“So you don’t know your spec-… How old are you?”

“Twenty-four…”

“Bro, that isn’t right! How do you not know your special talent by now…!?”

“I don’t get what you mean…”

“Bro! Cutie Marks come as a natural part of a pony’s LIFE! How do you NOT have one at that age!?”

Topaz, becoming confused simply shrugs.

“Bro, you-… Never mind… Forget it for now, you’ll learn on you own someday.” The stallion sighed, “So what’s your name, bro?”

“…My name is Topaz Spectrum, and what would yours be?”

“Everyone usually calls me by Splatter. Nice to meet you, Mr. Spectrum, oh and… Uhhh…” Splatter reaches for something in a bag on a stand next to the door, “You dropped this…” he pulls out Topaz’s .45-70 Gov’t magnum, but seems to be bent up and mangled, especially at the barrel.

“What the…” Topaz stared at the magnum as he took it back.

“Yeah… I sorta stepped on it…” Splatter said, heavy with guilt.

Topaz shakes his head, “Wasn’t really my style, small ammo capacity and too much recoil. Oh well.” Topaz sets down the magnum on the nightstand close to the bed he’s in. “So where are we right now?”

“We’re here at a small Consortium outpost located in Rambling Rock Ridge. Current population is only you… and I” Splatter replied.

Topaz looks around for his IU, “Have you seen my Intel Umbrella?”

“You mean the tech thingy on your left foreleg? That thing’s in the other room, along with you other weapons as well. You’ll have to stick close to me when you want to go there; don’t want you getting’ lost.” Splatter chuckled a bit.

“Oh, for future reference, just call me Topaz, or Spectrum, or just Topaz Spectrum if you’re angry or being serious.” Topaz added with a scoff as he hopped out of the bed, but loses a bit of his balance.

“Careful there, bro.” Splatter said softly as he put his hooves on Topaz to keep him upright. Topaz regains his balance and trots out of the room with Splatter following closely behind.

The room Topaz exited lead to a hallway that has multiple doors on either side of it and a lone door at the end and like what Splatter said; it is absent of any other ponies.

“So what’s this ‘other room’ you speak of?” Topaz asked.

Splatter points to a door to the right that has the word ‘ARMORY’ labeled above it. “Just don’t touch anything and you’ll be fine, bro.” Splatter commanded.

“Got it.” Topaz confirmed to Splatter as he opened the electronic door to the armory.

As the lights in the armory flickered on, the contents of the area became clear as rows and shelves of various Energy Weapons were revealed, all neatly organized and categorized.

“Good gosh.” Topaz gasped with a pinch of joy, “Do you plan to take on an army or something?”

“No.” Splatter replied, “Just for a garrison to arm up during emergencies in this sector when they arrive.”

“Speaking of emergencies, where are all the Diamond Dogs that usually subside here in Rambling Rock Ridge?”

“What the hell is a Diamond Dog?” Splatter wondered.

“What? How do you not know what a Diamond Dog is? You just bashed in one’s face to save my arse.”

“Oh! Those ugly mutants are called Hellhounds, bro”

“Oh, pfft.” Topaz shakes his head, “Wasteland terms…”

“Where’d you grow up at, bro?”

“I grew up at a city off of the coast of Vanhoover called Chance.”

Splatter thinks for a bit, “Never heard of it.”

Topaz finally finds where Splatter has put his equipment at in the armory, “If you want, you can come with me because I’m headed back to Chance.”

“Negative, I have a post to stand guard at.”

Topaz huffed as he slung the AMR over his back and readjusts the IU onto his left foreleg, “Alright, I guess this is good bye.”

“Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime in the future.”

“Sometime.”

Topaz checks the holographic map on his IU before trotting out of the bunker. “..Small village called Ponyville is located directly west of here. Hm…” Topaz talked to himself before trotting cautiously away from Rambling Rock Ridge and further down west to see what awaits him this time.

While the sun was setting and with the night creeping up on Topaz, he decided to trot around in search for shelter in a small forest he had stumbled upon while traveling west to this unmarked village. Eventually Topaz found a small shallow cave in the side of a low cliff to take refuge in for the cold night. Topaz, still uneasy about his first encounter in the wastes of Equestria, he decides to turn on his IU light and make sure that the cave he’s in is safe.

As Topaz descended deeper into this cave he noticed that the floor of the cave was rather flat and wide like a paved road with little to no obstacles such as stalagmites. As Topaz slowly ventured further down with his attention to the ground looking for anything unusual, he soon learned his lesson about watching where you go when he banged his head at the dead end of the cave. “Urgh…!” Topaz moaned as he rubbed his fore head before looking up at what he had struck. It was a large vault door; the sign on the vault door was different from what Topaz has learned about these vaults; or Stables as they were really called. Usually these Stables were identified with simple numbers such as 30 or 13, but the ID of this Stable was 20th, but there were other characters underneath the 20th, though time has worn them out to the point they’re only spots of yellow paint. Topaz decided it was best to leave alone this pre-war relic and sat down against the vault door. Topaz, thinking about his home and folks, sat there for a while before falling asleep.

Chapter VI

Splatter examines the broken magnum that Topaz has left behind. He looks closely at the inscription engraved onto the side of the chrome gun’s barrel - it reads;

‘CONSORTIUM BALLISTIC RESEARCH, CUSTOM, RADICAL STALL’

He turns on his communication device and contacts HQ, “Splatter reporting, I just found something of great interest.”

Another voice replies to Splatter from the other end, “And what interest are you mentioning here, Splatter?”

Splatter can recognize the voice from the other end as a Consortium Agent, “Yea, it’s your mommy’s. Parasol. What ever.”

The other end goes silent for a moment, “Give me your coordinates, I’ll be on my way A-S-A-P.” the agent hangs up in a hurry.

“Not even a ‘good-bye’? Lame!”

<><><><><><

The feeling of a metallic cylinder pecks at Topaz’s right cheek, causing him to slowly awake. He rubs his eyes for a moment before freezing in horror as his vision focuses on the objects in front of him.

“Well, well. Look who finally woke up…” a middle aged stallion said with a smirk; the stallion wears a full suit of armor, angry bugged-eye visors and the tail piece resembling that of a scorpion’s - the other two Pegasus ponies next this stallion - both mares - also wear the same armor.

Topaz stood up hastily, completely alert now, “Who bloody hell are you…?”

“I like his accent…” one of the mares behind the stallion commented.

“Does he have an accent? I didn’t quite hear the first time; he said it too quickly…” the other mare replied.

“No, I don’t have an accent.”

The mare answered her own question, “Yea, okay, he does have an accent…”

“Look, you still haven’t answer my question; who are you ponies?” Topaz said cautiously.

The stallion adjusted the Riot Shotgun that is kept pointed at Topaz, “Actually, you should answer my question first, it has more importance; what are you doing here?”

Topaz thought for a moment, “I’m sort-a lost… I was abducted and left somewhere away from my home and I’m eager to return, maybe get some questions answered about why this is happening… Good enough answer?”

“Good enough, but here’s the answer to yours, bud. We, we are the new and better Enclave. We get things done.”

The name ‘Enclave’ bounces around Topaz’s mind for a bit, “New Enclave? There was an old Enclave or something?”

“Yup, and this new one is better, I mean, we just successfully liberated Ponyville of Ghouls with minimal losses. After the recent president was assassinated, a new one took their place and she is an asshole - completely running everything wrong. A lot of high ranking ponies left and decided to start their own group. Lets just say that a lot of ponies left the old Enclave, so we’re the new ones.” the stallion proudly announced.

“Liberated of Ghouls?”

“Yes. Ghouls.”

“Aren’t they just normal ponies, just a little more wrinkly?”

“Are you joking? Have you ever seen them? They’re nothing close to being a normal pony, they’re abominations. The Enclave wishes to return Equestria to her former glory, and that means no Ghouls, no super mutants.”

“From what I learned, Ghouls are living pre-War fossils preserved by the radiation… Why all of the hate?”

“They changed with Equestria, we want to revert this change, the Ghouls aren’t what they used to be.”

“The feral ones that I keep hearing about are the ones who has lost it all and need to be freed from their bodies…”

“Look, bud. Poor-lonely-you isn’t going to change anything in the wasteland. Shut your mouth. Abominations are abominations and need to be cleansed from Equestria.” the stallion turns to one of the mares, “Get this guy away from the Stable.”

“Yes, sir” a mare obediently replied and gestures towards Topaz, “With me.”

Topaz, afraid to get blasted apart by their intimidating weaponry, decides that the best option is to obey.

One of the mares leads Topaz out of the shallow cave and further north through the forest.

“Hm, you’re kinda cute for a wastelander, what’s your name?” the mare asked, “I’m May. As in - short for Mayhem.”

Topaz blushes and stutters a bit, “I-I-I’m no wastelander…”

“Then where are you from, cutie?” May asked.

“Uh-uh, I’m from… A large, er, city called Chance.”

The forest clears out and the sight of a rather intact village comes into view more of these ‘new Enclave’ are seen patrolling and piling the bodies of several deceased Ghouls - all of which have suffered bullet wounds, mostly to the head. Judging by the old-war and newer makeshift structures, there was some retaliation in the area that was printed and punched into the walls in the form of bullet holes.

“Chance? No wonder why you know absolutely jack-shit about the wastelands and the Enclave… Silly city-folk… Oh, here’s nice twist - I know where Chance is and I’m willing to give you ride there, but first you’ll have to spend some ‘alone-time’ with me first.” May winked with a smile on her face.

“Uh… that would be great…!” Topaz replied, excited, but not for alone-time with May. “What do you want me to do…?”

May gives a short glance at Topaz who then takes out a small spherical device, “Just stick with me, alright?” she then proceeds to press a button on top of the amusing little device - it then begins emitting a flashing, dim, cyan light before she begins radioing for a Vertibird.

“What’s that for?”

May tossed the device into an alley before he smile gets slightly bigger, “Oh, you’ll see.” She then leads Topaz to a Vertibird that is preparing to land. The rotors kick up dust and dirt which causes Topaz to sneeze.

“That’s our ride, c’mon.” May gestured to Topaz as she climbs into the Vertibird. He climbs right on in behind May.

The Vertibird begins accelerating its rotors before taking off to the skies. May takes a few looks at Topaz before opening her mouth again.

“So, you still haven’t given your name, cutie.”

“Oh, erm… My name is Topaz Spectrum.”

“Topaz… Your name’s cuter than I thought…” May said while removing her helmet and pulls out another device from before, this time the cyan light doesn’t blink.

“Why do you find me so attractive…? and-and, now what’s that for this time…!?”

“This one?” May waves the lit up device for a moment, “It’s to make sure we don’t get ass lit up by some friends of mine…”

“What!?”

“Oh, calm down would ya?” May flicks her mane around a bit before putting a hoof onto the earpiece she has in her left ear, “This is Agent Mayhem, I’ve secured the target, Reservation 3-3-8-5 is a loss to the Separatists - you’re clear to commence assaults at once.”

Topaz is completely clueless about what exactly is going on, so he remains seated in the Vertibird as if he was a statue about to crumble with the slightest movement. May gets up from her seat and draws a suppressed 10mm pistol before moving to the cockpit. “Hey, bad idea to be a part of the new Enclave, huh? Throwing your brain out the window like that...” May said to the Enclave pilot before shooting him in the head. Topaz watches helplessly as some blood splatters around the cockpit’s windshields. May takes the pilot’s body out of the seat and tosses it to the back where Topaz is before getting into the pilot seat herself and begins operating the Vertibird herself.

“Do me a favor, Topaz and chuck the body out the rear.” May asked.

Topaz simply sits there, frozen with confusion and fear while clenching onto the seat - he stares at the body.

“Just do it you wimp.” May said while getting impatient, “And don’t try to jump out.”

The rear hatch of the Vertibird opens up to reveal two other unidentified air vehicles - though quite similar to a Vertibird are in formation behind the one that Topaz is in. Still holding onto the seat, Topaz simply uses his hind legs to scoot the body out of the Vertibird.

“Thank you, cutie.”

Topaz watches the limp body fall to the passing by ground, “What the hell is going on?”

May leans out her seat to look at him, “Nothing much…” she then points a dart gun and fires a tranquilizer right into the neck of Topaz, completely unaware of such an action, he only reacts with a cringe and hoof where the dart struck.

The tranquilizer was potent enough for Topaz to blackout within seconds.

May guides the captured Vertibird along with her fellow escort drones. These black escort drones with minor cyan patterns are unpiloted by living bodies and are instead controlled by artificial intelligence loyal to their commander. This gives them a carrying capacity advantage along with a smaller size silhouette, though they still represent Vertibirds. Less space, resources, and conveniences that are usually required for a living crew is replaced with lightweight circuiting and terminal components, the extra carrying capacity is handed over to two specially-modified heavy Consortium Gatling Lasers and internal stealth systems. As for a majority of AI centered methods, these escort drones are highly vulnerable to pulse weaponry.

Made only in the Consortium, May thought to herself. She takes the Vertibird to the North-East region of Equestria, completely on opposite coastline of where Chance is located. She looks back at unconscious Topaz laying on the floor of the passenger area. You have a lot of explaining to do, mister. She thought to herself about the current state of which she’s in though this trend of thought didn’t last too long when she saw signs that she was approaching home.

Multiple large, gorgeous and power waterfalls, known as Neighagra Falls, pours into the river below. For centuries, the landmark has seemingly been untouched by the wars around it, it’s waters flow with breathtaking beauty and what remains of nature - the source of these waters comes from the glaciers of the Frozen North’s Crystal Mountains. At the top of one of the waterfalls is a city as fresh as the waters flowing by it. The city as for being in such a position doesn’t appear to be clinging to dear life at the edge of the cliff like Canterlot, but instead, it seems to simply sit on the edge, care-free and in tranquility. This is owned by a recent faction - known as the Consortium - bloomed during the darkest hours many years ago when the Enclave decided to show their might against the surface-dwellers. When the conflict died down and the Enclave seemingly vanished for many years, the Consortium began expanding it’s stable to the point it became a city, C-Stable as they call it.

May took a good look at the city, knowing this is her home, she still can’t shake off the past she dragged herself through with an abusive mother and a non-existent father. The day May ran away from her old life, she felt that weight drop off of back and thud against the floor, but with the current happenings, the weight slowly began growing on her back again. May wanted to prove that her mother was wrong in all ways possible, she wanted revenge till her last breaths. May didn’t care who’s going to be on the front lines of this personal conflict, all she wanted was to get back at her own mother for everything she has done. Topaz seems to be the best lead to find this mother of her’s, and she isn’t going to go easy on the poor city-dweller, either. May knows her own mother is always one step ahead, but May’s persistence is easily getting to her. She’s surprised she managed to hide these emotions from Topaz so nothing would look so suspicious other than the half-hearted flirts and the lies about knowing where Chance is.

May lands the captured Vertibird in one of the hangars provided. She exits the rear and notifies a guard. The guard wears something similar to Power Armors, but seems slightly lighter. His main armament is a modified Laser Rifle, a standard for the guards around the place.

“Yes, ma’am?” the guard said while trotting closer to May.

May gestures towards Topaz who is still unconscious from the tranquilizer, “Take him to the holding cells, notify me when regains consciousness so I can question him. I have more important matters as of now.”

“Affirmative. I’ll get right to it.” the guard throws Topaz onto his back and trots off.

May heads toward one of the tallest buildings of C-Stable; a tower that serves at the Headquarters for the Consortium and the suites for the Overseer. She climbs up the stairs of this tower which also linked to personal quarters for guards and other Consortium officials. She finally reaches the tower top and knocks on the rich wooden double-doors.

An aged, calm, and professional voice is heard from the other side, “Who is it?”

“Agent May, I wish to report my findings.” May replied casually with her head close to the door.

“You may enter.”

“Much appreciated, Overseer Business.” May proceeds to open one of the two double-doors and steps into a well decorated room, the portraits and black-and-white photos show the history of the Consortium, the room itself is well enough to be a one-roomed museum. The Overseer, a Unicorn stallion in his early 60's named Shady Business, sits on the opposite side of the room. His aged slicked-back mane shows that it was once black, though the other features of him such as his tan coat show almost unnoticeable changes from aging. He appears to be focused on the paperwork he has on his desk and doesn’t bother to look up at May when she enters. She stays a few feet away from the desk that the Overseer sits in.

“What is it that you wish to report other than the clear for sending military forces to Reservation 33-85?” Overseer Business speaks clearly and serious without looking away from his work.

“I found someone that may help with our issue with Parasol.” May said, her posture straight.

The Overseer sighs before looking right up at May, eventually locking eye contact with each other, “I’ve told you this before. Parasol is no longer a threat to us. Vanhoover is a hot spot for raiders ever since Chance began construction, there’s no possible way for them to transfer troops without wearing themselves out with those raiders just to attack us and they don’t possess the proper technology, that and we’ve never heard of Parasol since we’ve successfully destroyed Fritz’s lab 25 years ago. That was all they had left.”

“Look, this someone has something we don’t know about yet, it could be something important that can prevent something, or-”

The Overseer cuts May off, “OR we can easily be wasting our time, my time. Don’t engage in this conflict, if it does even exist. I’m busy now, so please, tell me something more important than ghosts.”

May, frustrated with the results, shakes her head and trots out of the Overseer’s office and heads back down the tower. You’ll learn from your own experience, one day, Shady. Once she gets to the base of the tower and trots out to the markets.

After a few minutes, the guard from before meets up with her.

“Ma’am, your VIP is conscious.” the guard said before saluting and trotting off back to his post.

‘Bout fucking time. May hastily heads down to the prison, eager to investigate further.

Overseer Lightning stands on a balcony of her office building looking out at the city that was built by the community for which she banded together from the wastelands itself. Her moment was interrupted by a trooper hushing into her office, he was out of breath by the time he reaches Lightning.

The trooper, still catching his breath, begins to speak, “Lightning… Bad things… Not good…!”

Lightning, stunned at the sudden entrance of the fellow trooper, turns around quickly,”What...? Slow down you fool and catch your breath, you’re no good if you can barely speak of the issue or issues...”

The trooper takes deep breaths before opening his mouth again, “Ponyville, the Enclave Separatists are now in control of it…”

“And? What importance does this hold?”

“The subject, Topaz Spectrum, he was taken away by a Consortium spy disguised as an Enclave trooper… The unit I was with to watch over Spectrum, they sent me to deliver this message, I don’t know what happened to Spectrum after they took off in a Vertibird…”

“There’s not many places they can go, I happened to grow up at one of the busiest places of the Consortium. This is the last time they’ll piss me off…” Lightning snaps her attention to the trooper in her office and raises her voice, “I want 5 Vertibirds, each carrying a shipping container with Subjects 256 through 452, at least 40 subjects per container! Now!”

“But Subjects 256 through 452 were complete failures! Why would you-”

“Exactly…”

<><><><><><

Topaz awakens in a room, the only form of light is a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, the rest of the room seems to be pitch black. He shifts a bit, but this simple movement was completely restricted due to the zip ties hold both of his fore legs to the chair he was placed in, his hind legs were also zip tied together to prevent further resistance. He looks around frantically seeing if there’s anyone nearby to signal, but the view range through the darkness of the room made it impossible to see anything, but he tries anyway.

“Hello!? Anyone!?” Topaz calls out before struggling in the chair, this only shifted the chair slightly, but not enough to be significant for how much energy it consumed.

Where am I… What do I do now…!?