Fallout Equestria: Angels Feather

“When angels despair, what hope can remain for mortals?”

“We’ve been walking for hours... I thought bullet wounds to the chest are supposed to slow people down.”  Gear complained as she walked alongside me.

I nudged her with a chuckle.  “Not Griffins.  Remember, we’re half lion, half eagle, and all awesome.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed.  “We should still find a place to rest...  After our daring rescue at the prison, I could use a nap...”

“Theres a small campsite up ahead.  We’ll stop there.  Another thirty minutes or so?”  Gear glared at me but sighed, nodding in agreement.

The campsite was more of a large, fenced in area with some overturned skycarraiges acting as shelter.  A few merchant carts sat around the site, travellers resting up as well I assumed.

As the two of us entered, a guard at the gate nodded to us.  “It’s 30 caps each.”  He said firmly.

I raised an eyebrow.  “Since when?  I was here just a month ago, and it was free.”

“That was until raiders would sneak in and steal things while everyone was asleep.  Now, we charge for entry.  It deters criminals.”  He said with a nod.  “The boss set it up, and upped the guard here to make sure people were safe.”

“The boss, huh?”  He nodded.  “And who is this Boss of yours?”

“He goes by the name of Silver Tongue.”  The guard said, holding out a hoof.  “30 Caps, each.”

“Not surprised to hear his name...”  I muttered, paying the 60 caps and entering the campsite.

We made our way to the back of the site, finding an overturned carriage that no one had staked claim to yet.  After placing our extra stuff down, Gear walked over to the merchants and started talking about various things.

I yawned and stretched, deciding it’d be best to get some rest.  I curled up on the bedroll in the carriage and looked out toward Gear, who had already found herself making friends with the caravaners.

After a few minutes of talking, Gear rushed over to our carriage and nudged me.  “Gwyn!  You won’t believe this.  The Merchants are headed in the same direction as us, and are looking for an escort!”  I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.  “They’re paying Two-Hundred Caps each!”

“Hmm.  Two-Hundred Caps each, there’s four of them.  Eight-hundred caps isn’t that bad of a haul, really.”  I mulled it over for a moment and looked over to Gear.  “Tell you what.  This one is yours.  I’ll let you do the negotiations, and agreements.”  I said, smiling at her excited face.

She scampered off and the negotiations started.  I watched this go on for a few more minutes before fatigue got the better of me, and I fell asleep.

A squirming next to me woke me up.  I lifted my wing slightly, peering at the sleeping form of Gear under it.  I smiled softly, and felt something squirming on my other side.  I slowly turned, looking in the other direction to the form of a pony dragging themselves into the bed next to me.  I hopped up, pushing Gear behind me and pulling my shotgun, pointing it toward the pony.

The newcomer looked over at me, smiling despite the shotgun barrel in her face.  “Hey... Gwyn.  Long time no see.”  She said softly, her voice cracking before a fit of coughing.

“Penumbra?  What the hell happened to you?”  I could see deep wounds all over her body, and she looked quite ragged.  “You look like you’ve been through a meat grinder...”

She chuckled slightly, then winced.  “Don’t worry... I’ve been through worse.  Just need a bit of rest.”  She said, her eyes closing, and her head falling to the Pillow.

I looked at Gear and she returned my confused glance.  I shrugged, curling back up on the bed, and lifting a wing.  Gear looked away for a brief moment before climbing into the bed and curling up next to me, under my wing.

The rest of the night was rather peaceful, aside from the yips and calls of some animals to the east.  Not sure what they were, but they weren’t a threat.

Penumbra groggily pushed herself to her hooves, wincing as she put pressure on her left hind-leg.  A brief glow from her horn and I could see the pain leave her face.  I had also noticed her other wounds were gone as well.  “Well, that certainly is much better.”

“What happened?”  I asked as we made our way outside.

Penumbra followed me, using her magic to pull bits of rocks and sticks out of her mane.  “I found another group of slavers, tried to find their pens to see if Gilded Rose was there.  I blacked out for a few moments and when I came to, I was surrounded by slavers.  They attacked me with their knives and guns.  I barely made it away.  Then, I saw you two getting into the carriage, and decided to let my magic recuperate for a few hours at least.”

I nodded, looking toward the merchants who were cooking up some breakfast.  I smiled softly as Gear did what she could to help, and even organized a small Buffet of sorts.  She convinced each merchant to offer up some food, and it was divided amongst everyone.

I’m not sure where she got it, but Gear supplied a few cans of preserved carrots, and Penumbra some Nightstalker meat.

The morning was enjoyable, and everyone had a good time talking about their pasts, their families, and their jobs.  Then, the topic of the slavers came up.  “They’re a big nuisance in the Marehave lately...  Ever since The Hoof and Fillydelphia have been cleared, they’ve taken to this barren waste... Who would ever want to help out this little slice of paradise...”

“That’s right...  Now, we have to pay for protection, or we get killed, or sold off!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you to your destination safely.”  I said with a grin.  Gear nodded, agreeing happily.

“I’ve gotta go back... They might have Rosie.”  Penumbra said with a sigh.  I looked at her, then back to the group.  “We’ve already signed up with these merchants.  Why don’t you join us, Penumbra.  They’re not going too far, and we can double back after we get them to their destination safely.”

Penumbra looked at me like I had just slapped her in the face.  “What if my Daughter is in there?  I can’t just leave her to her fate!”  She said, standing up and pointing a hoof at me.  “You can leave, but I’m not going to risk my daughters life.”

“You barely made it out alive last time.  Four hours is all it’s going to take to get there and back. Then, Gear and I will help you find your daughter, and clear out the raiders while we’re at it.”

Penumbra glared at me, and I returned her gaze.  After a few minutes of tense silence, she sighed.  “Fine.  But we should hurry...”  She muttered, starting to walk.  The Merchants followed her, and I shrugged to Gear as we started walking.

Just a short way up the road, we reached a small shack set up.  Three ponies exited, two with assault rifles on Battle saddles, and one with a grenade launcher held in her telekinesis.  “Whelp, looks like they’re trespassing on our turf, fellas.”  Said the Unicorn with the grenade launcher.

“Get out of our way, or you’ll be sorry.”  Penumbra said angrily.

“Oh, did you hear that, lads...  We’ll be sorry.”  The trio laughed, until everything went dark.  I pulled Gear close to me, and blinked a few times, my vision somehow adjusting to the extreme amounts of darkness.

I could see Penumbra lunging forward at the trio, a knife held in her Telekinesis.  Two swipes and the battle-saddle wearers fell.  A grenade fired at Penumbra, but bounced off an invisible barrier, and flew wide before bursting.

“I told you.  You’d be sorry.”  Penumbra growled, pushing the pony forward with the invisible barrier.  Soon, the pony was being pushed against the wall of the shack.  “Who do you work for?”

“V-Viper”  The unicorn said, unable to breath.

“Who is Viper?”  Penumbra asked calmly.

“Slaver... In the market.. Nearby...”

“Do you have a small tan filly, with pink hair...”  The unicorn didn’t speak.  “ANSWER ME!”

“I don’t... I don’t--”  The unicorn fell limp.  Penumbra wasted no time bringing the knife across her throat before the darkness ebbed.

I let Gear go, and made my way over to Penumbra.  “That was...  Interesting.”  She looked at me with sad eyes.  “Remind me to never make you angry?”

She let out a sad chuckle.  “Deal...   I still don’t know if Rosie is there.  I have to find out.”

“We will.  I promise you.  But for now, we have to keep moving.  The more time we waste, the less time we have.

She nodded, and started walking again.  The merchants followed her, and I followed them.

“Wait for me!”  Gear shouted before rushing up to me and hopping onto my back.  She was definitely heavier than she was yesterday.  I looked over my shoulder, and saw the young mare with the two battle saddles and the grenade launcher.

“What are you doing, and why aren’t you walking?”  I asked with a sigh.

“I think I can rig this launcher to this battle saddle.”  She said, pulling some tools from her saddlebag.

“Do you even know how to use a battle saddle?”

She looked at me with a blank stare for a few minutes before returning to work on the guns.  I chuckled and continued following the merchants.

We made it to the small settlement the merchants were headed toward without too much problem.  A few large geckos tried nipping at us, but they were easily dispatched.

“I GOT IT!”  Gear shouted happily as the Merchants handed us the pay.  I took two hundred, gave Penumbra two hundred, and gave Gear the other four.  It was her job, after all.

“Got what, Gear?”  I asked, looking over my shoulder at her again.  She was sliding the battle saddle on, and tightening it around her torso.  It was still a little loose on her.  Something we’d have to fix soon.

She hopped from my back and stood proudly, until she tipped over from the weight of the grenade launcher.  “That gun is almost as big as you are.  Not something you’ll want to lug around...”

She glared at me as she stood back up, balancing out.  “No, I just need another one to even things out...”  She muttered.  She sighed and took the saddle off, quickly replacing the other assault rifle on it.  She strapped the grenade launcher to her back, determined to keep it.

We quickly returned to the Market that the slavers had set up shop in.  We looked in through a broken skylight on the roof, and found the slave pens.  Gear grinned, pulling the grenade launcher off her back.  “I should be able to buy you two a few minutes to get in and get to those cages.  Get to the front doors, and wait for my signal.”

Penumbra and I looked at each other, then at the filly.  She blinked a few times and looked back at us.  “What?”

“That’s... not a bad plan.”  I said, looking at Penumbra who nodded.  “Alright.  On your signal.”  I said as Penumbra and I made our way to the front.

She dropped down, putting her knife into the back of one guards neck.  I swooped down, and planted the other ones face into the ground forcefully.  We nodded to one another just before a loud explosion echoed from the inside of the market.

“Was that...”  Penumbra started.  I nodded, opening the door and rushing in.  We quickly made our way to the cages, the slavers over near the wall that had just burst, looking for its source.  A second grenade burst, throwing back three of them.  One looked up toward Gear and opened fire at her.  She returned fire with her battle saddle.

Penumbra and I reached the cages, and she quickly looked at the ponies in them.  She looked at me and shook her head sadly.  “Let’s get them out of here.  We can take them to the village we took the merchants to, for now.”  She nodded, and went to work unlocking the cages.

I turned in time to see a slaver rounding a large shotgun at me.  I pulled mine and fired, causing him to stumble, but he still took the shot, peppering my armor with huge buckshot.

I swore I felt a rib crack from the force, and searing pain in my chest from whatever punched through.  Standing up and ignoring the pain, I took another shot, blowing the large shotgun wielders legs out from under him.  As he hit the ground with a thud, my blade came out and tore through his back.  Another explosion rattled the far end of the super market, followed by a loud screech of a young filly falling from the ceiling.

I saw Gear falling toward the floor and attempted to fly toward her, but pain shot through me as I moved, causing me to fall to the ground and watch helplessly as she fell into a pile of rubble.  A cloud of dust rolled past, causing me to turn away for a moment.

“GEAR!”  I called out, pushing to my feet and rushing forward.  I pulled some rubble aside, finding Gear, curled up on her side.

She smiled up at me.  “Cleanup on Aisle 3...”  She muttered weakly.

I carefully pulled her from the rubble, lifting her onto my back.  Making my way back toward Penumbra, she glared back at me angrily.  “Uhhh...  Something up?”

“There’s only two slaves left here.  They remember seeing A filly that fit Rosies description here.”  She said, obvious anger on her voice.

“Do they know where she went?”  I asked, hopeful.

“No.”  She snapped, looking toward the two, who were standing off to the side wondering what to do now.  “They say she was sent out an hour ago.  If you wouldn’t have been so wrapped up in escorting those merchants, We would have found her.”  She growled.

I looked back at her, and sighed.  “Yeah.  So we would have...  It was something that could have done differently.  Right now, though, Gear is injured, I’m injured, you’re pissed.  We need to get to a town.”

Penumbra looked at the two slaves that were slowly scooting away, but froze when they were looked at.  “Pegas isn’t too far away.  I think I could get those two there with my magic.  As for you two... I could heal one of you, but I don’t think I have enough magic to heal both of you...”

I looked at Gear for a moment, who lifted her head weakly.  “Heal Gwyn...”  She muttered.  “I’ll be fine until we get somewhere.”

I nodded and Penumbra placed her horn against my chest.  A white light spread across it, and I felt my ribs setting and healing.  “Thanks...  See you in Pegas.”  Penumbra nodded, moving toward the other two.  With an audible pop, the trio was gone.

“Alrighty, Gear... Let’s get you to a doctor, shall we?”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Intense Training -- Who says getting shot at all the time is bad?  All the fights you’ve been through have toughened you up, and raised your Endurance!