Salvador and Scooter's Bodacious Equestrian Experience

BETRAYAL

Axton sighed in relief as he trudged up the steps, the tirelessly sought-after power core in his hands. His fellow Vault Hunters followed, also burdened from the tiresome battles they'd just faced. A slender, blue-haired, woman followed close behind the commando as he neared his final step. They were so close to installing the power core, but one thing still awaited them. Stairs.

As Salvador reached the first step, Zer0 had just begun his ascent up the steps in pursuit of Axton and Maya, but the gunzerker stopped instantly.

"No... Nope. Not stairs. Screw that!" the short, burly man said in a grizzly voice.

Zer0's mask hid his expression, but a sigh confirmed that it was probably irritated. The suited-assassin turned to face his companion slowly.

"Task is close to done, why not just ascend, brother? I'm getting pissed off." Zer0 said, his typical wisdom-filled voice now replaced by a tone of utter annoyance.

Salvador shook his head quickly.

"Uh-Uh. We just spent like five hours getting that damn thing, and I'm not in the mood to climb any steps!" the Gunzerker said crossing his arms.

"Suit yourself small one. I will continue with them. Have some fun down here." Zer0 replied.

Salvador scowled and flipped off the suited-assassin, suddenly feeling a bit rejuvenated, but still not in the mood to climb the steps.

"Forget about it Zer0. let him stay down there if he wants to be lazy. We need to get this thing installed." Axton said, wiping a final bead of sweat from his forehead as he neared the device that the power core was to be installed in.

The short, angry man growled and turned away, stomping towards the gates of Sanctuary.

"Well screw you anyway..." he said under his breath.

As the three other Vault Hunters began installing the new core, Salvador made his way into the town of Sanctuary. He figured the group would get a bit of down-time after this recent mission, with the town be safe and all, and decided to head to Scooter's Garage.

Instantly, the smell of grease and body odor hit the Gunzerker, causing his nostrils to flare slightly as he entered the garage. It wasn't the worst smell he had ever experienced, but it wasn't exactly a field of flowers either. Several boxes of trash and various car parts lined the extensive walls of the large garage, adding to it's gritty and dirty external appearance. Salvador carefully shimmied by a wrecked vehicle as he dwelled deeper into the rotting garage.

"Ayyyyy! Salvador! Sup' buddy?" Scooter said, sitting on a lawn chair on the opposite side of the concrete structure.

The Gunzerker gave an exhausted wave as he crossed the large emptiness in the middle of the garage, approaching his greasy friend.

"Y'all want a beer'er sum'thin?" Scooter asked, motioning to the cooler next to him.

Salvador gave one nod and opened his palm. Scooter nodded and retrieved a bottle from the cooler, and tossed it to the short man. The gunzerker caught it, flicked the tip off, and took a large swig. As he pulled the bottle away from his lips, an unrestrained, pulse-pounding belch, left his mouth. Scooter raised an eyebrow as his friend moved closer, and took a seat in the gritty lawn chair beside him.

"Y'ur lookin' sadder than an ugleh' Skag durin' matin' season. What's wrong, bud?" Scooter asked.

"Just all of this running and running... I mean, I love blowing things up as much as the hombre', but do I really have to do all of this work?" Salvador said with a sigh.

Scooter nodded and straightened his cap.

"I hear ya' man. I have ta' sit in here all day long, look at all these piece-a' crap cars. Mah' ass starts to hurt after a while." the greasy mechanic said.

Salvador chuckled and shook his head, placing the beer in his over-sized hand on the cement floor.

"Can it, cabron'." the Gunzerker said with a smirk.

Scooter chuckled as well and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut-off as Salvador's ECHO communicator signaled him.

"Might wanna' get that, broseph." Scooter said nodding to the device.

Salvador rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Dios mio... What sucker needs our help now?" He said, putting two fingers to one of his ears.

"Hey, you know... I think it's finally time to tell you that little secret..." a familiar voice said, slightly shrouded by the static of the ECHO communicator.

"Oh... This puta' again..." Salvador said, rolling his eyes.

"Angel's working for me." Handsome Jack continued.

"Angel's working for me."

"...working for me."

",,,for me."

For a split second, Salvador's heart skipped a beat. His eyes went wide, in-sync with him springing to his feet from the lawn chair.

"What?!" he shouted angrily.

"Lowering Sanctuary's shield's Jack..." a woman's voice said reluctantly, over the ECHO device.

Salvador looked to the mouth of the garage, and beyond the walls of Sanctuary to his fellow Vault Hunters. To his surprise, they all shared the same look of disbelief.

"Ay', what's wrong, man?" Scooter asked, cautiously lifting himself off of the ragged chair.

"Executing phase-shift." the voice continued.

The ground beneath Salvador's feet shook slightly as an explosion sounded from just outside the city walls.

"That's not a power core! Raiders, the shields are down! The shields are-!" a Crimson-Raider called over Salvador's ECHO.

"Nicely done Angel! Now... Let's kill ourselves some Vault Hunters..." Handsome Jack continued.

Salvador shook his head and charged towards the exit of the garage.

"No... No! What the FU-?!" the Gunzerker shouted.

"What the hell?! did something just get through the shield?!" Roland called over the ECHO.

Scooter quickly sprinted out of the garage as well, a look of sheer terror present on his face.

"Shields down, Roland! Aw, man... Somebody better start gettin' everybody underground!" Scooter shouted, sprinting out onto the street and up the steps leading to the center of town, screams echoing off of the walls of the city.

Several large rockets plummeted from the sky, and rocked the center of town with several massive explosions, causing Salvador to topple slightly, but regain his balance within a matter of seconds. He shifted his view back to his fellow Vault Hunters, and quickly noticed them sprinting towards him.

"What the hell happened?!" he shouted over the roar of the townsfolk and the shock of explosions.

"Angel screwed us, Sal! She screwed us!" Axton replied, catching up with the Gunzerker.

"Everybody! I've got a really bad idea. Scooter, get Sanctuary in the air! Roland, get me some Eridium!" Lilith shouted over the group's ECHOs.

"The city, airborne? Such an absurd thought by her. It's not capable." Zer0 said, looking to the other Vault Hunters.

"Pretty sure we can't do that without killin', I dunno', everyone in the city! It aint' ready to fly, Lilly!" Scooter shouted in reply.

"You've got your orders Scooter, MOVE!" Roland shouted, causing Salvador to pull his head away from his finger.

"Damn. I'd say shit is getting real, amigos!" Salvador shouted, screaming and various explosions still blaring throughout the walls of Sanctuary.

"Meet me in the center of town, NOW! I'ma need y'ur help real bad!" Scooter screamed at the top of his lungs into his ECHO.

Axton nodded and pulled his hand away from his ear, and cocked his head towards the center of town before bolting into a full sprint towards it. The other Vault Hunters quickly followed suit, dodging the rockets still pummeling the surface of the town. After several seconds of stumbling and avoiding explosions, the four reached Scooter, who was furiously slamming a wrench into one of the town's various Ignition Primers.

"OK... Uhh... If we cycle the Ignition Primers... Uhh... Shoot, it'll get us somewhere!" Scooter said, not risking a glance away from his work.

Salvador nodded and sprinted away from the group to the opposite side of the town's square.

"I got the first one! You take the other one Axton!" Salvador shouted as he neared the first primer.

The Gunzerker eventually reached a small, protruding panel, and slammed the palm of his hand into it, in-sync with Axton reaching the next panel and doing the same.

Scooter quickly nodded and cocked his head upwards.

"Alright, we're primed! EVERYBODY GET READY!" Scooter shouted as loud as his lungs would let him.

Axton and Salvador charged back to Scooter, Zer0, and Lilith, carefully dodging explosions and panicking citizens. After a few seconds, a loud crash sounded over the ECHO systems of the Vault Hunters.

"Ah! You son of a... I'm pinned! I can't get the Eridium to Lilith! Get to me, quick!" Roland shouted.

"I will go, Comrades. Stay here and try not to die. Now, I disappear." Zer0 said.

The suited-assassin quickly vanished, leaving Salvador, Axton, and Maya stumbling over their feet as explosions continued to rock the floor beneath them.

"That bitch! I can't believe we trusted that stupid-ass holo-thingy!" Salvador shouted. "I outta' go rip out her god damn circuitry right now!"

"Shut it, Sal! We need to focus on the task at hand!" Axton said, aiming his hand towards Salvador.

The Gunzerker swatted the Commando's hand away angrily, a scowl on his face.

"STOP undermining me!" Salvador shouted, his voice booming and angry.

Axton tilted his head in disbelief, an appalled expression present on his face.

"What are you talking about?!" the commando shouted in return.

The Gunzerker charged forward and slammed the bottom of his fist into Axton's chest, and pointed a finger under his chin.

"Ever since we started this, you've been screwing with me, and taking allll the glory! Well I'm done with it puta'! When this is over with. I'M OUT OF HERE!" Salvador said, shoving Axton backwards.

The commando recoiled with a scowl and raised his fist in the air.

"Oh, I'm gonna' wail on you, little man!" Axton said in a low grim tone.

Maya looked between the two and stepped forward.

"Knock it off! Do you really think we have time for this right now?!" Maya asked, angrily.

"I dunno'! Do we have time for your face, IDIOT?!" Salvador shouted, pointing towards Axton.

The three instantly stopped dead however, when a purple glow began resonating from the center of town. Axton narrowed his eyes and placed a hand over his eyebrows in an attempt to see.

"Oh... Shit." Axton said under his breath.

Suddenly, a large burst of energy erupted from the center of town, enveloping the three Vault Hunters in it's massive glow. Salvador shielded his eyes as the flash of light enveloped him, but it was too late. Lilith had already sent the Vault Hunters away.

Axton was the first to open his eyes and recover from the large flash. He worriedly scanned the area around him, but calmed slightly as he realized he had just been sent to the outskirts of Sanctuary. Looking to his left, he realized that Lilith had been sent to the same location, followed by Zer0 appearing from his cloaked state. But someone was missing. Axton counted Maya and Zer0, but continued searching, only to find no trace of Salvador.

"Sorry kids, that was an accident... I'll see you on the other side though, I promise. Hit it, Scooter!" Lilith said over the ECHO.

"Where's Sal?! Zer0, Maya, you seen him?!" Axton shouted, still searching for the Gunzerker.

Maya and Zer0 both looked to each other and shrugged.

Back in Sanctuary, Scooter inhaled and exhaled deeply before looking to Lilith and smiling nervously.

"Haha.... Man, this is one of them moments..." the mechanic said, running his hand along the back of his neck.

He shook his head, shut both eyes, and slammed his opposite hand into the Ignition Primer.

"CATCH A RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

To his surprise, the city shook furiously, and eventually began lifting up out of the ground. The ecstatic mechanic stood up and threw his Echo to the ground, then both of his arms in the air as he screamed in extreme happiness.

"Hellllll yeah! I did it! I made this sum'bitch fly!!!" Scooter said, jumping up and down.

Roland walked in-between Lilith and Scooter, looking up to the sky with a wicked smirk.

"Roland! Did you see that?! I totally did eet'!" he shouted.

The soldier stood still as he held two fingers two his ear, the smirk still present on his face.

"A Siren." Roland said, almost inaudibly.

Scooter raised an eyebrow as he jumped once more, and looked to Lilith.

"Sup'?" She said, in the most bad ass tone humanly possible.

Instantly, the entirety of Sanctuary was enveloped in a large glowing ball of blue, causing Scooter to cheer loudly as he soared through the air after one final jump.

As the mechanic fell to the surface of Sanctuary however, the city disappeared with the blink of an eye beneath his feet. Sanctuary had completely vanished, leaving Scooter behind as he fell, a considerably larger distance now. The mechanic waved his arms wildly as he began falling towards the hole where Sanctuary used to be, and belted a high-pitched scream.

"AH, WHAT THE HELL?!" Scooter screamed as he began falling farther.

Below him was a small amount of purple-colored mist, left over from Lilith's massive phase-jump. As the screaming mechanic fell through the residue, it surrounded his whole body, causing a purple aura to glow around him.

"CRAP! IT GOT IN MY MOUTH!" he shouted, viciously trying to scrape the Eridium-like substance off of his tongue.

Axton quickly noticed the screaming blur falling from the sky, and raised an eyebrow.

"Holy shit... is that Scooter?!" Axton asked, dumbfounded.

Maya raised an eyebrow and looked in the same direction to find a glowing Scooter falling at intense speed from where Sanctuary used to be floating.

"No way..." Maya said, her eyes widening.

"Oh my god... I'd like ta'... Uhh... Say goodbye to my momma, and... M-My cousin Ellie... I ALWAYS HAD A CRUSH ON YOU ELLEH'!" Scooter screamed as he plummeted to his death.

As the Mechanic's falling speed increased however, the residue on his skin began to glow brighter, until he was shining as bright as Lilith's initial jump. Axton and Maya raised their arms to cover their eyes on the ground as the glow became too bright. Eventually, a large flash, just like the one seen seconds ago, swallowed Scooter whole.

When the Vault Hunters recovered from the flash, they saw nothing. No Sanctuary. No falling Scooter. And still no Salvador. Axton sighed and hung his head, before looking to Maya and Zer0 with an eyebrow raised.

"Well what the hell do we do now?" he asked, annoyed.

* * *

"Thank yah' for comin' on such short-notice Twilight." Applejack said as she trotted along the path to Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight smiled and shook her head.

"It's no problem Applejack. You sounded a bit worried." Twilight said, her tone growing slightly concerned.

"Ah am, Sugarcube. I've never seen anything like this." AJ continued.

Twilight cringed slightly as the words processed in her mind. Her and Applejack had seen a lot, so something unknown seemed a bit frightening. Nonetheless, the mare loved a good challenge. Maybe Princess Celestia would commend her for discovering a new species, or helping defend some sort of threat to Equestria. The mare smiled warmly at the thought and continued trotting as the two ponies neared Applejack's farm.

The orange earthpony led Twilight to the barn through the seemingly endless fields of apple trees. She quickly noticed a large, smoking hole in the roof of the structure, and raised an eyebrow.

"Was it a meteor or something...?" Twilight asked, looking to Applejack.

The farmpony shook her head and pushed open the giant, red door of the barn.

"Not quite, Twi..." she said.

Twilight's jaw dropped as she examined the inside of the barn. Laying inside of a small hole in the floor of the barn, were two unconscious smoking creatures. Both had similar features, other than the fact that one had a large amount of fur on his face and was significantly shorter than the other. The shorter one looked burly, and slightly angry. While the taller one looked... Stupid, and more greasy. Both of the creatures had four limbs, a nose, eyes, a mouth, ears. Everything a pony would have, and more.

The purple mare brought a hoof to her mouth worriedly.

"Oh my..." she said, quietly.