Fallout: Equestria (IC)

[Socialist Shadow Republic]

Sewers
Phoenix just watched in horror has he watched Shademane put the mare out of her misery; it was like adding insult to injury. Phoenix didn't know wither to feel angry or sad; Sadness seemed to have won that war, as he began to weep, tears streaking down his cheeks, extinguishing flames, leaving a thin trail of steamy pink skin visible on his face.

"How could you say that it's not my fault?" The pyropony whimpered, "I'm the one her shot those fire ball at that metallic monstrosity! I'm the reason why she got those burns in the first place! How could it not be my fault that she's dead?... I don't even know her name... Damn it! Why did I even bother helping out?! All I did only lead to... this! DAMNIT! IT'S NOT FAIR! I FIANLLY DID SOMETHING RIGHT AND I SCREWED UP ANYWAY!!"
Phoenix found that the war between rage and sadness had broke out once more; The two feelings were at each other's throats. At this point, he hated himself. He cursed himself and his pyrokinesis! What he wouldn't give to be rid of it and live like a normal pony for once!

Ignoring the ramblings of Phoenix, Shademane sat on his haunches, staring into the gaping hole in Aurora's chest. 'I did that. I led her into the building. I had suggested we spend the night here. I… failed to protect Aurora from harm.' Body shivering from the cold and anguish, he turned his head towards Phoenix and said with a calm, or perhaps just hopeless, voice. "It isn't your fault. You didn't even come in to the fight until after she was injured." Directing his eyes back to Aurora's limp and cooling corpse, the jet-black pegasus was frozen in despair.

"I don't understand it." He said aloud. Yet, his words weren't directed at Phoenix. "I've never understood it. Why do all the ponies I've been so close to die? Mom, Summer Heart, Iron Shods, Ajax, Shimmer Mist, Oaken Arrow… Dad, and now Aurora." He listed the names off, his voice becoming especially depressed with the uttering of the final two. "All of them dead, all because of me." He had spent the last several years trying to run from those names, those memories. But, he had learned that no matter how far he ran, how hard he tried to forget, he could never escape them.

And out from the recesses of the dark sewer came a deep, rumbling voice in response to his words. 'Because, you are the embodiment of Death.' Stunned, Shademane looked to Phoenix with a look of puzzlement. "Did you hear that?" From the expression Phoenix gave off, it was obvious he hadn't. Again, the ominous voice spoke out. 'You kill all you touch, all you care about. You kill them because that is who you are; what you do.' Standing up, taking a step forward, and concentrating on the seemingly endless dark expanse of the tunnel, he shouted out at the unknown voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Laughing a long, deep laugh the voice said in reply, 'show Myself, he says! My, my, that is a good one. Hahaha, I am afraid that I cannot do that. But, do know this. Wherever you go, like those names, I cannot be escaped. For I? I am the One Truth, The Lord of All, the Subjugator of the Living, the Ruler of Life… I am Death. And you? You are My mortal body, My Instrument. And wherever you go, you shall spread My Word.'

"No… No!" Shademane shouted in defiance. "I can't hear you! You're not there!" Shademane turned tail and sprinted for the exit, passing by Phoenix and the motionless body of Aurora. When he reached the exit, he launched himself out with two massive flaps of his wings, and he continued to run. 'Hahahaha, run all you want, My Instrument, you cannot hide nor break free of My grasp. You belong to Me, now. Hahahahaha!' Shademane bolted up the stairs, returning to the room Sterling was in. Bypassing the purple unicorn, he ran up to the second floor and curled up into ball in one of the corners. 'Good, sleep now, Instrument', the voice spoke from everywhere and no where. 'Sleep, so that tomorrow, you may bring My Word to any and all.'

[American Anarchist Republic]

"Oh shit...OH SHIT!" Tide screamed as the manticores begam advancing on him. He flew into the building that Thunder was in and yelled:"Ya' better start flyin'!" He warned as either manticores fell uncouncious from ramming into the building or they tore huge chunks away from the building."THIS PLACE MIGHT GO DOWN!" Tide yelled again as he fled to the other side, so he could give enough time for the ponies to escape.

[The Moon States]

Eris pranced back into line with the group, unintentionally taking the lead, "Oh you would have been just fine if I hadnt of done anything!" She turned her attention to Katai, "Dont worry, I'm not a smart pony, but I sure do lots of thinking!" She positively beams at the Zebra, "Now, what was this about your tribe? What happened?" She was genuinely interested in the Zebra, even if she hadn't shown any apparent interest before. Whereas Eris knew what had happened to her home, Katai didnt seem to, and that was something no one should endure. Not knowing if your loved ones are alive or dead, just... gone...

No Name trotted up to Eris' side and brought the Zebra Rifle in front of him, entrapped in a neon blue glow. He turned to look at Katai as he walked, "I agree, your Tribe's disappearance is extremely interesting. It could've been a number if things, they could of just left... or it could of been Genocide at the hands of Raiders." No Name kept an even voice, though his eyes denoted a spark of interest.

Thinking about it Katai took the thought and churned it I. Her head. "That is not certain. Raiders are loud and predictable. My tribe always took care when we had to stop. And there was no radiation or else the bodies would have been there... All I have from that is my tribes emblem engraved on a gold disc." Katai pulled out said disc and showed a face with a hood and shadow covering the face up until the muzzle. " If you are Wondering my tribe was intelligence and espionage during the war. Also now when I sleep don't try and startle me, I might accidentally break something." Katai said with a straight face and put away the medallion.

[Fantrum]

"Oh..." Marciline looked around, she had less of an idea of where they were then before. And considering that she had never really explored Seaddle, that idea wasnt very good. She was about to say something, when her ears perked. 'Couldnt be... There!' Her eyes went wide, "Thunder, I think we should get inside. Now." She didnt know how long they would have, the wind blowing between the sky line had garbled the sound. She ushered Thunder towards a building, it was just as decrepit as the others, with its paint seared off and whole sections collapsed, but it stood out because this one was at least 300 feet taller than its neighbors. Just as she blew down the door, the incident at the Moon Tower flashing in her mind, the lead Manticore sniffed his way around the street corner one block away. It took a particularly long breath through its nose before looking directly at them and letting out a blood chilling roar. It launched itself into the air, and soon, almost a dozen more had followed it around the building and joined it in its attack.

Thunder had no idea why Marci was acting so odd. He though that, even though it was becoming a tad bit more chilly, the weather was decent and there was no reason to worry about anything. That is, until the pack of hungry, carnivourous manticores entered the scence. Eyes widening in fright at the sight of the monsters hurtling towards them, Thunder Flare took no hesitation in following Marciline into the crippled and aged building.

Running down the hallway, they turned through a doorway and searched for the stairs. Upon finding the stairs, they also unfortunately discovered that the passage was blocked by fallen debris and blocks of broken cement, with iron bars jutting out the sides. Looking at Marci, he asked frantically, "where do we go now?"

Marciline looked about, spotting a doorway, she shoved Thunder though it. She could hear shouting and more loudly, the clatter of manticores barreling after them. "Thunder, find a way up! Ill hold them off here." She turned and faced the doorway, levitating her anti-machine rifle, she adopted a battle stance. The first manticorn filled the doorway, she promptly stuck the giant rifle in its face and blew its head into a fine read mist. She waited a split second as the plethora of monsters attempted to knock the wall down, before she turned to where she thought Thunder would be.

[Fantrum]

No Name trotted up to Eris' side and brought the Zebra Rifle in front of him, entrapped in a neon blue glow. He turned to look at Katai as he walked, "I agree, your Tribe's disappearance is extremely interesting. It could've been a number if things, they could of just left... or it could of been Genocide at the hands of Raiders." No Name kept an even voice, though his eyes denoted a spark of interest.

Thinking about it Katai took the thought and churned it I. Her head. "That is not certain. Raiders are loud and predictable. My tribe always took care when we had to stop. And there was no radiation or else the bodies would have been there... All I have from that is my tribes emblem engraved on a gold disc." Katai pulled out said disc and showed a face with a hood and shadow covering the face up until the muzzle. " If you are Wondering my tribe was intelligence and espionage during the war. Also now when I sleep don't try and startle me, I might accidentally break something." Katai said with a straight face and put away the medallion.

Eris looked seriously at Katai, "Maybe it was aliens!" She waved her hooves around in the air for emphasis. She drops back down onto all fours before adopting a shy smile, "Yeah, Im sorry about that." She knew just about how terrible that could be, completely depending on how startling the wake up is and what gets broken of course. "Were was the last place you saw them?" Eris knew that she had no entitlement to that information, but she felt something she had never felt before; purpose.

[The Flutterlands]

Ignoring the ramblings of Phoenix, Shademane sat on his haunches, staring into the gaping hole in Aurora's chest. 'I did that. I led her into the building. I had suggested we spend the night here. I… failed to protect Aurora from harm.' Body shivering from the cold and anguish, he turned his head towards Phoenix and said with a calm, or perhaps just hopeless, voice. "It isn't your fault. You didn't even come in to the fight until after she was injured." Directing his eyes back to Aurora's limp and cooling corpse, the jet-black pegasus was frozen in despair.

"I don't understand it." He said aloud. Yet, his words weren't directed at Phoenix. "I've never understood it. Why do all the ponies I've been so close to die? Mom, Summer Heart, Iron Shods, Ajax, Shimmer Mist, Oaken Arrow… Dad, and now Aurora." He listed the names off, his voice becoming especially depressed with the uttering of the final two. "All of them dead, all because of me." He had spent the last several years trying to run from those names, those memories. But, he had learned that no matter how far he ran, how hard he tried to forget, he could never escape them.

And out from the recesses of the dark sewer came a deep, rumbling voice in response to his words. 'Because, you are the embodiment of Death.' Stunned, Shademane looked to Phoenix with a look of puzzlement. "Did you hear that?" From the expression Phoenix gave off, it was obvious he hadn't. Again, the ominous voice spoke out. 'You kill all you touch, all you care about. You kill them because that is who you are; what you do.' Standing up, taking a step forward, and concentrating on the seemingly endless dark expanse of the tunnel, he shouted out at the unknown voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Laughing a long, deep laugh the voice said in reply, 'show Myself, he says! My, my, that is a good one. Hahaha, I am afraid that I cannot do that. But, do know this. Wherever you go, like those names, I cannot be escaped. For I? I am the One Truth, The Lord of All, the Subjugator of the Living, the Ruler of Life… I am Death. And you? You are My mortal body, My Instrument. And wherever you go, you shall spread My Word.'

"No… No!" Shademane shouted in defiance. "I can't hear you! You're not there!" Shademane turned tail and sprinted for the exit, passing by Phoenix and the motionless body of Aurora. When he reached the exit, he launched himself out with two massive flaps of his wings, and he continued to run. 'Hahahaha, run all you want, My Instrument, you cannot hide nor break free of My grasp. You belong to Me, now. Hahahahaha!' Shademane bolted up the stairs, returning to the room Sterling was in. Bypassing the purple unicorn, he ran up to the second floor and curled up into ball in one of the corners. 'Good, sleep now, Instrument', the voice spoke from everywhere and no where. 'Sleep, so that tomorrow, you may bring My Word to any and all.'

Phoenix didn't feel any better from hearing Shademane's reassurance of his faultlessness in this; His attempt to save her was in vain, and that's what matter.

Suddenly, he was disturbed from his own grievance by, oddly enough, Shademane's rambling about a disembodied voice. He looked puzzled at him, only to watch him run out like a madpony, flying off into the night.

Feeling sleep take him, Phoenix found a small corner away from the dead corpse. As the fire pony laid back, He thought about Shademane's words. So, Shademane does knows exactly what it means to kill your loved ones, more well than Phoenix could ever imagine, and he felt sorry for him. He then thought about Rose, the first pony he met who accepted him for who he is, and how, out of blind rage, destroyed her in a inferno of his own making. Ever since that horrible night, he sought to redeem himself; Now, due to recent events, he feels far from the path to redemption, than he ever thought possible.

Ether way, Phoenix thought that, tomorrow, the best thing to do would be to cremate the mare. At least, he'll get that done right without any slip-up.

But, for now, the drowsiness began to take over. Phoenix simply closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

[Socialist Shadow Republic]

Marciline looked about, spotting a doorway, she shoved Thunder though it. She could hear shouting and more loudly, the clatter of manticores barreling after them. "Thunder, find a way up! Ill hold them off here." She turned and faced the doorway, levitating her anti-machine rifle, she adopted a battle stance. The first manticorn filled the doorway, she promptly stuck the giant rifle in its face and blew its head into a fine read mist. She waited a split second as the plethora of monsters attempted to knock the wall down, before she turned to where she thought Thunder would be.

Finding himself guided—quite forcefully, might I add—through a doorway, Thunder Flare found he was in a quaint, little, crumbling destroyed bathroom. Staring around, he could see that one of the walls separating the lavatory from another, adjacent room had been toppled, and the ceiling of the room to the right had eroded and crumbled away to leave a passage way large enough for an both himself and Marci. Sticking his head back out through the doorway, he arrived just in time to witness a great spray of crimson decorate the air. "Ugh! Well, anyways, looks like we've got our exit strategy. There's a hole that we can fit though. But, I ain't sure what's up there." Looking over at the ferocious and blood-thirsty manticores all vying for his and Marci's flesh, Thunder had a pretty clear guess that whatever could be up there, was better than what was down here.

[Fantrum]

Marciline looked about, spotting a doorway, she shoved Thunder though it. She could hear shouting and more loudly, the clatter of manticores barreling after them. "Thunder, find a way up! Ill hold them off here." She turned and faced the doorway, levitating her anti-machine rifle, she adopted a battle stance. The first manticorn filled the doorway, she promptly stuck the giant rifle in its face and blew its head into a fine read mist. She waited a split second as the plethora of monsters attempted to knock the wall down, before she turned to where she thought Thunder would be.

Finding himself guided—quite forcefully, might I add—through a doorway, Thunder Flare found he was in a quaint, little, crumbling destroyed bathroom. Staring around, he could see that one of the walls separating the lavatory from another, adjacent room had been toppled, and the ceiling of the room to the right had eroded and crumbled away to leave a passage way large enough for an both himself and Marci. Sticking his head back out through the doorway, he arrived just in time to witness a great spray of crimson decorate the air. "Ugh! Well, anyways, looks like we've got our exit strategy. There's a hole that we can fit though. But, I ain't sure what's up there." Looking over at the ferocious and blood-thirsty manticores all vying for his and Marci's flesh, Thunder had a pretty clear guess that whatever could be up there, was better than what was down here.

Marciline galloped the short distance to Thunder's supposed exit. As she did, she levitated out two orange disks and thew them down behind her. She jumped up into the hole and hoped Thunder would follow. as she cleared the jagged fissure in the floor, a great resounding double explosion erupted from below. the room they had just left collapsed in on itself, effectively shutting off the manitcores from getting at them. Marci stops in the hallway adjacent to the room they had come up into, catching her breath. After checking to make sure than every part of her was still in the right place, she turned to Thunder, "Looks like we're safe. Now we just need to get to the roof and we can out fly these creatures." She had concluded that even in his weakened state, Thunder should be able to out maneuver a big dumb animal.

[The Flutterlands]

Dark Heart waited casually outside the Phoenix Building. After watching some rangers trotted by, entering the building, he gave a signal. Two Griffins, two of Dark Heart's Kleptos, who were carrying bags of Ranger weapons, swooped down from an open window. Dark Heart knew that what he was doing was wrong, but, it didn't matter. Dark Heart is a theif, and an honest theif at that. He never falls back on promises.

"I see that those stealthbucks worked nice for ya." noted Dark Heart.

The kleptos nodded in a drooling manner. Dark Heart reached for the bag, but, they both tugged them away from their boss, expecting something first.

"Alright," said Dark Heart, opening his sack, "Here ya go, you greedy pigs."

Dark Heart took out a handful of mice out of the sack, and tossed them to the kleptos. The kleptos handed Dark Heart the weapons, right bfore they began to savagely fest upon their payment. The griffin boss poked his head into the bags, just to make sure that they got the right stuff. Upon seeing that, he told his goons NOT to breath a word of had happened.

Dark Heart then sprouted his wings and took off to the Seaddel Institute.

"Alright, here's the stuff," said Dark Heart, tossing the bags of weapons to Gunner, "just as promised. Now, the eggs, just as you promised, and make it snappy; I didn't exactly asked for these weapons, if you know what I mean..."

[Neo Byzantine Empire]

Tripwire had indeed led Crossfire and her companions to an old hospital. The half-frozen Red Cross that gave it away as such buried partially in the ground; a big, gaping hole in the upper levels, though the rest seemed relatively intact.

"Well, let's not waste any time." Crossfire commented, digging through the rubble that blocked the door; unable to tell whether it was war, anarchy, or time that had done it in, but still. Working together; they eventually cleared enough to enter the large building; the Pegasis Mare opening the door cautiously with one hoof while she drew and readied her pistol with the other...

[The Grey Wolf]

Ruby kept up with whatever Eris was doing, deciding to finally ask. She pulled out her compass, a prized possession. "How much of a price would this buy?" she asked, wanting to buy some oats.

[The Flutterlands]

Tripwire had indeed led Crossfire and her companions to an old hospital. The half-frozen Red Cross that gave it away as such buried partially in the ground; a big, gaping hole in the upper levels, though the rest seemed relatively intact.

"Well, let's not waste any time." Crossfire commented, digging through the rubble that blocked the door; unable to tell whether it was war, anarchy, or time that had done it in, but still. Working together; they eventually cleared enough to enter the large building; the Pegasis Mare opening the door cautiously with one hoof while she drew and readied her pistol with the other...

Dustbowl, eagre to see what may lie behind the rubble, tried his best to dig through the debris. He's found himself just as curious as the others.

[New Willow]

Tripwire had indeed led Crossfire and her companions to an old hospital. The half-frozen Red Cross that gave it away as such buried partially in the ground; a big, gaping hole in the upper levels, though the rest seemed relatively intact.

"Well, let's not waste any time." Crossfire commented, digging through the rubble that blocked the door; unable to tell whether it was war, anarchy, or time that had done it in, but still. Working together; they eventually cleared enough to enter the large building; the Pegasis Mare opening the door cautiously with one hoof while she drew and readied her pistol with the other...

Sulphur followed in pursuit; the building seemed generally more intact at least from the outside, then many of the others that were scattered all throughout Seaddle... at least as intact as a three hundred possibly older building could be. It seemed odd to her that no-pony ever previously tried scavenging this place... or if they did, why was so much clutter blocking the front door? She decided to put these thoughts in the back of her mind, 'If bright or Crossfire felt this would be dangerous, they would say something, right?' She thought, trying to reassure herself.

She anticipated... or felt nervous about what could be looming inside. 'This place could be a treasure trove of supplies... or armed turrets, She quickly face-hoofed herself and sighed, hoping no pony saw her reaction. 'Don't think like that, those thoughts won't help any pony. She took a deep breath and prepared herself.

[The Flutterlands]

Hope took a towel from a drawer, as Spot jumped out of the tub. She dried up her cousin. Now that he had his bath, Hope figured that now would be a good time to teach him about caps, while they wait for Utopia.

The ghoul earth pony, wearing a saddel bag, lead her cousin to the courtyard. She took a bag of caps, poured some onto her hoof and showed them to Spot, who paid attention with great interest.

"These," she began "you might already know, just by looking at them, are bottle caps. They are the primary currency in the wasteland. Bits still have some value since the pre-war era, but, caps were found to be more easy to use. They are light and easy to carry."

Spot simply nodded to his Cousin's lecture. At this point, he choose not to question the new order of the world and just go with it.

Hope and Spot came upon a food stand, Spot gazed upon the deliciousness of the selling goods behind the clerk; Fruit, vegetables, and bread; Spot drooled at the sight of them. After eating rats for what seemed to be... forever, he was eagre to take a big bite out of one those fresh apples, glittering like gold, in his eyes.

Hope announced her presence to the shopping clerk.

"Greetings; Sir," she greeted, "How much are the fruit here? Have there been any changes in prices recently?"

[Neo Byzantine Empire]

The ancient door was difficult to open; nearly frozen shut after centuries of neglect. Still; Crossfire managed to pry it open; revealing an empty lobby... Well, save for the skeletal corpses of pre-war Citizens strewn across the floor. Cautiously; the Pegasus stepped in, followed by her companions. From appearances, there was a still-intact Terminal at the front desk, a stairwell leading up to the higher levels and one leading to the basement, while all across the floor lie personal possessions of the long-deceased, or at least it could be safely assumed so.

"Bright; check out the upper levels. Sulphur; you and Dustbowl check up here for anything useful and see if that Terminal still works. I'll take a look downstairs." Crossfire said, walking off to the stairwell as soon as she had given her orders.

[New Willow]

The ancient door was difficult to open; nearly frozen shut after centuries of neglect. Still; Crossfire managed to pry it open; revealing an empty lobby... Well, save for the skeletal corpses of pre-war Citizens strewn across the floor. Cautiously; the Pegasus stepped in, followed by her companions. From appearances, there was a still-intact Terminal at the front desk, a stairwell leading up to the higher levels and one leading to the basement, while all across the floor lie personal possessions of the long-deceased, or at least it could be safely assumed so.

"Bright; check out the upper levels. Sulphur; you and Dustbowl check up here for anything useful and see if that Terminal still works. I'll take a look downstairs." Crossfire said, walking off to the stairwell as soon as she had given her orders.

"Will do." She said, with a nod of her head.

She looked around the decade lobby room; the air was still, however it seemed that the centuries of cold winter's had for the most part preserved it. She cautiously stepped between the remains of those who had died here, not wanting to disturb their final resting places. Once she reached the terminal, she tried for the power button; it sparked to life, though only for a few seconds. She looked at it closer, with a more curious expression.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked rhetorically.

'Maybe it needs some new electronics or something... or maybe it needs...THIS' She thought, bringing her hoof down over it as hard as possible. After doing so it flickered back on, with a light green glow illuminating from it. After doing so she quickly retracted her hoof back; it hurt. Probably not the smartest idea, but it brought the terminal thingy back to life. She stared at the green glow, transfixed by it's brightness.

[The Flutterlands]

The ancient door was difficult to open; nearly frozen shut after centuries of neglect. Still; Crossfire managed to pry it open; revealing an empty lobby... Well, save for the skeletal corpses of pre-war Citizens strewn across the floor. Cautiously; the Pegasus stepped in, followed by her companions. From appearances, there was a still-intact Terminal at the front desk, a stairwell leading up to the higher levels and one leading to the basement, while all across the floor lie personal possessions of the long-deceased, or at least it could be safely assumed so.

"Bright; check out the upper levels. Sulphur; you and Dustbowl check up here for anything useful and see if that Terminal still works. I'll take a look downstairs." Crossfire said, walking off to the stairwell as soon as she had given her orders.

"Will do." She said, with a nod of her head.

She looked around the decade lobby room; the air was still, however it seemed that the centuries of cold winter's had for the most part preserved it. She cautiously stepped between the remains of those who had died here, not wanting to disturb their final resting places. Once she reached the terminal, she tried for the power button; it sparked to life, though only for a few seconds. She looked at it closer, with a more curious expression.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked rhetorically.

'Maybe it needs some new electronics or something... or maybe it needs...THIS' She thought, bringing her hoof down over it as hard as possible. After doing so it flickered back on, with a light green glow illuminating from it. After doing so she quickly retracted her hoof back; it hurt. Probably not the smartest idea, but it brought the terminal thingy back to life. She stared at the green glow, transfixed by it's brightness.

Dustbowl, who was surprised to find the job done, before he even got a chance to do his share, could only watch, as Sulphur revive the terminal; He too, stared, at the green glow with transfixion, as if caught under it's spell.

[Lunas Legion]

Seaddle Institute

"Heh." Gunner chuckled. "Good to see you giving the ol' Steelfaces a bit of payback. I'll bring the eggs; not all of them, since I'm not a complete idiot. Two should do nicely..." Gunner turned, whistling to himself as he carried the weapons back into the Institute before returning a few minutes later with a pair of jet black eggs.

"Don't throw or drop 'em; the detonators have got real sensitive over the years, so if ya use then when your near, expect to die. Best to strap em' somewhere with C3 and use that as a detonator."

Moon Tower

"Everything's gone up recently." The merchant sighed. "Rumours about what attacked us have spread like wildfire across the Wastes and we haven't had a caravan from the South where they've still got some clean soil since the attack. We've got enough to keep up supply, but things will get expensive soon, mark my words. Just pray that Utopia hauls has feathered ass and makes good on Brasswing's deal from a few years back, and prices will be just fine."

[The Flutterlands]

Seaddle Institute

"Heh." Gunner chuckled. "Good to see you giving the ol' Steelfaces a bit of payback. I'll bring the eggs; not all of them, since I'm not a complete idiot. Two should do nicely..." Gunner turned, whistling to himself as he carried the weapons back into the Institute before returning a few minutes later with a pair of jet black eggs.

"Don't throw or drop 'em; the detonators have got real sensitive over the years, so if ya use then when your near, expect to die. Best to strap em' somewhere with C3 and use that as a detonator."

Moon Tower

"Everything's gone up recently." The merchant sighed. "Rumours about what attacked us have spread like wildfire across the Wastes and we haven't had a caravan from the South where they've still got some clean soil since the attack. We've got enough to keep up supply, but things will get expensive soon, mark my words. Just pray that Utopia hauls has feathered ass and makes good on Brasswing's deal from a few years back, and prices will be just fine."

Seaddel Institute

Dark Heart carefully took the eggs and gently placed them in individual sacks.

"You know, I did this for both your sakes; I just wanted to prevent a blood bath. Nice doing business with you."

At that, the griffin turned, and fluttered back to the Phoenix Building, with full awareness of how delicate his cargo could be.

When he arrived back at the Phoenix Building, he presented the eggs to the Elder.

"Sorry, about leaving without notice." Dark Heart said, apologetically, "I didn't want you chasing after me, when or if you discovered what I've done. Here's the eggs, you wanted; Mission accomplished, I guess."

---

Moon Tower: Courtyard

"Hmm..." said Hope. hoping to make a good deal.

She looked down, seeing Spot staring at the food, drooling in eagerness.

"How about 40 caps a one of each fruit, and another 20 for some bread?" she asked, placing a bag of caps on the stand.

[Lunas Legion]

Seaddle Institute

"Heh." Gunner chuckled. "Good to see you giving the ol' Steelfaces a bit of payback. I'll bring the eggs; not all of them, since I'm not a complete idiot. Two should do nicely..." Gunner turned, whistling to himself as he carried the weapons back into the Institute before returning a few minutes later with a pair of jet black eggs.

"Don't throw or drop 'em; the detonators have got real sensitive over the years, so if ya use then when your near, expect to die. Best to strap em' somewhere with C3 and use that as a detonator."

Moon Tower

"Everything's gone up recently." The merchant sighed. "Rumours about what attacked us have spread like wildfire across the Wastes and we haven't had a caravan from the South where they've still got some clean soil since the attack. We've got enough to keep up supply, but things will get expensive soon, mark my words. Just pray that Utopia hauls has feathered ass and makes good on Brasswing's deal from a few years back, and prices will be just fine."

Seaddel Institute

Dark Heart carefully took the eggs and gently placed them in individual sacks.

"You know, I did this for both your sakes; I just wanted to prevent a blood bath. Nice doing business with you."

At that, the griffin turned, and fluttered back to the Phoenix Building, with full awareness of how delicate his cargo could be.

When he arrived back at the Phoenix Building, he presented the eggs to the Elder.

"Sorry, about leaving without notice." Dark Heart said, apologetically, "I didn't want you chasing after me, when or if you discovered what I've done. Here's the eggs, you wanted; Mission accomplished, I guess."

---

Moon Tower: Courtyard

"Hmm..." said Hope. hoping to make a good deal.

She looked down, seeing Spot staring at the food, drooling in eagerness.

"How about 40 caps a one of each fruit, and another 20 for some bread?" she asked, placing a bag of caps on the stand.

Phoenix Building

"Well, that was surprisingly easy for you. Not even any scorches on your skin, even if you did go in without my orders and would have been turned into green paste if you'd been spotted." Elder Winery shrugged. "But since you didn't, all the better. You wouldn't happen to still have those Stealthbucks, would you? We've got a recharging station for them and they might be useful against the Silencers when we plant the Eggs."

Moon Tower

"That seems a reasonable price." The merchant's horn lit up in a dark brown as he levitated the foods together. "Anything else I can do?"

[Ozzy]

Thistle shook her head, "I'm alright, thank you... i-its been quite the run since I fled from my owners in Baltimare and I'm sore all over." The filly replied, conveying a nervous tone to her voice as she tried covering her massive revolvers with her small shaking wings. The HUD of Thistle's spectacles flashed red momentarily before dissipating, she couldn't really read, but knew that the pony was taking some sort of drug. Thistle hated drugs, they made her life miserable, the only good they did was the flood of Med-x to numb the pain of having her forehooves ripped off. Her experiences as a slave has shaken her, if she were to die now, she was glad to do it as a unshackled pony.

These thoughts of the past have flooded her conscious, she held back tears as she was completely withdrawn from reality, "I'm Thistle Whistle... No longer property of Skylord Aeolus..." she whimpered.

Opium glared at her with an analytical stare. So, this filly was an escaped slave. Oh, this was just too good, Opium smiled and chuckled, looking at his half full bowl of soup. His hometown was a days trot to the west, he had planned on going there. Opium vaguely remembered the name. Dirt, or something like that on account of how damn dirty it was. Opium thought the name was stupid, but with this filly, he had other things on his mind. He stuck a cigarette between his teeth, his last one, and lit it absent mindly. Opium blew smoke for a moment before looking down at Thistle. He gave a comforting smile.

He set the bowl down and puffed more smoke as the cigarette set him at ease. "Your a slave? Escaped I presume. I can smell your fear." Opium stared at her with a straight face before smiling jokingly and giggling, "Nah, I'm kidding, but you sound like a nervous wreck, which is understandable if you are actually an escaped slave. I'd be pretty nervous y'know, especially if I was sitting next to me." Opium paused, "My name is Opium High! Or as my friends in Dirt call me, 'That Psychopath'. Mhm... Mhm... Y'know Thistle you have no idea how many caps I could make by taking you home to Dirt. Who were your handlers before you were sold?"

"A g-griffon named Skylord Aeolus, a leader of a syndicate in Baltimare..." Thistle nearly choked on those words, still sinking in what the stallion said about a cash award, she ran into a slaver on the second day of running away. The filly was not prepared for the wasteland and she knew it, her cybernetic limbs clattered as the filly shook. Slowly reaching into her saddlebag with a synthetic hoof and gave Opium the Bill of Sale, or her deed. She couldn't read it well, but knew it was of importance to her since Aeolus kept cruelly reminding the filly that he owned her. "Gained enough trust not to have a collar..." Thistle croaked, a lump formed in her throat as she fought back tears. Upon the Bill of Sale would be the time and date of which she was first reared apart from her mother as a foal for a hefty price of 2000 bottle caps. A price someone else paid to take away her individuality and stated that the customer had full ownership of her.

This piece of paper and the bastard griffon who held it dictated her entire life; training her to housekeep, tend to prisoners, cook, and first-aid. Even got her hooves dirty literally at gunpoint and against her will only to be paid with a pat on the shoulder, leftovers, and taunting. Only to end the terrible day by sleeping on a pile of newspaper in the damp prison cells. The griffon would be no-doubt looking for her, but as long as he was away from her, the paper had no influence over her. Thistle purposely put her long green and pink bangs over her eyes to hide her tears, a ballistics knife was scooped up as quickly as it fell from her leggings with a loud clatter. Thistle was loaded with stolen property, the revolvers, knives, medicine, the very things most would kill her for.

[The Flutterlands]

Phoenix Building

"Well, that was surprisingly easy for you. Not even any scorches on your skin, even if you did go in without my orders and would have been turned into green paste if you'd been spotted." Elder Winery shrugged. "But since you didn't, all the better. You wouldn't happen to still have those Stealthbucks, would you? We've got a recharging station for them and they might be useful against the Silencers when we plant the Eggs."

Moon Tower

"That seems a reasonable price." The merchant's horn lit up in a dark brown as he levitated the foods together. "Anything else I can do?"

Phoenix Building

"Hmm..." Dark Heart scratched his chin.

The griffin snapped his fingers, and a few of his kleptos, an Alicorn, and the two Griffins, fluttered towards him, each of them carrying a stealthbuck. They, reluctantly handed the stealthbucks to their boss. Dark Heart then handed them back to the elder.

"Be thankful," said Dark Heart, cooly, "I did all of us a favor; I'd thought that we've lost enough good men already, both of us. Let's save what we still got for the real battle."

Moon Tower: Courtyard

"Here's 30 for some vegetables." said Hope. She emptied a bag, letting loose the said amount of Caps on the booth. "And that'll be it." concluded Hope.

[Lunas Legion]

Phoenix Building

"Well, that was surprisingly easy for you. Not even any scorches on your skin, even if you did go in without my orders and would have been turned into green paste if you'd been spotted." Elder Winery shrugged. "But since you didn't, all the better. You wouldn't happen to still have those Stealthbucks, would you? We've got a recharging station for them and they might be useful against the Silencers when we plant the Eggs."

Moon Tower

"That seems a reasonable price." The merchant's horn lit up in a dark brown as he levitated the foods together. "Anything else I can do?"

Phoenix Building

"Hmm..." Dark Heart scratched his chin.

The griffin snapped his fingers, and a few of his kleptos, an Alicorn, and the two Griffins, fluttered towards him, each of them carrying a stealthbuck. They, reluctantly handed the stealthbucks to their boss. Dark Heart then handed them back to the elder.

"Be thankful," said Dark Heart, cooly, "I did all of us a favor; I'd thought that we've lost enough good men already, both of us. Let's save what we still got for the real battle."

Moon Tower: Courtyard

"Here's 30 for some vegetables." said Hope. She emptied a bag, letting loose the said amount of Caps on the booth. "And that'll be it." concluded Hope.

Phoenix Building

"You should be prepared to lose a lot more when the assault comes. We're practically going in blind since the Silencers deleted the floor plans from our systems and the only Hellhounds we've got are three mercs from Moon Tower who survived the destruction of their station." The Elder grunted as he took the Stealthbucks back. "Unless you've got some other fancy tech you haven't told us about, we're attacking tomorrow at dawn, other allies be damned."

Moon Tower

The merchant cleanly swiped the caps off the table into a small box as a ragtag group made its way to the middle of the market square, stopping in front of Moon Tower. A griffin glanced upwards before launching into the air, hovering a few meters above the ground, shadowed by a Alicorn before the distinctive, many would say unique, click-click roar of a shotgun rang out across the square.

The crowd of traders turned towards the unexpected interruption, and satisfied he had their attention, Utopia began to speak.

"Ponies, griffins and whatever other races are here!" He roared into the grey skies as Blackeye grunted in disapproval. "Many of you will recognise me, and no doubt have heard of my infamous reputation, and some of you are no doubt aware of old Brasswing's deal with me concerning the tower."

A few in the crowd nodded.

"Moon Tower is at war with those bloody bugs, and so am I. Those little blighters cut through the Octogon like it was nothing-"

A faint whispering of fear cut through the crowd. They knew the Lctogon was supposedly impregnable; if it had fallen, how long before the Tower followed?

"-but they will not stop there. How long before they come for you again? You can't fight them off endlessly, day after day. Especally without government, which is what I shall provide for you."

"You?" One trader chuckled. "You're a raider warlord and despot, you couldn't govern a Dash joint."

"You're right." Utopia conceded. That caused even more uneasiness. Utopia conceding anything was like there being no sun; it was impossible. "I don't govern; I'm no politician, not one for the elections that you use for the Caravan Council. I am a warlord; one who commands armies and conquers for said politicians. Which is why I am here to ensure a new Caravan Council is emplaced, with a fairly elected head while I become Marshal; a purely advisrial and military position. All the benefits of a elected government with a advisor who solely looks after the state."

"But somepony promised they'd restore the Old Equestria!" A Zebra shouted from the crowd. "Restore the monarchy!"

Utopia snorted. "Monarchies don't work. Equestria proved it, even I proved it through ruling through fear over my territory. The NCR did work; until the Zebras blew it apart. This follows the same lines; a fair government, where a pony gets what he or she works for. Elections are in a week; everyone votes. There'll be a black box outside my safehouse. Place your votes in there, and everyone can be voted for."

With that, Utopia glided off back towards his safehouse. Change was coming in the Wastes; a new monarchy, and a revival of the NCR.

[Fralinia]

The ancient door was difficult to open; nearly frozen shut after centuries of neglect. Still; Crossfire managed to pry it open; revealing an empty lobby... Well, save for the skeletal corpses of pre-war Citizens strewn across the floor. Cautiously; the Pegasus stepped in, followed by her companions. From appearances, there was a still-intact Terminal at the front desk, a stairwell leading up to the higher levels and one leading to the basement, while all across the floor lie personal possessions of the long-deceased, or at least it could be safely assumed so.

"Bright; check out the upper levels. Sulphur; you and Dustbowl check up here for anything useful and see if that Terminal still works. I'll take a look downstairs." Crossfire said, walking off to the stairwell as soon as she had given her orders.

Bright nodded and held up his rifle. "Will do. I'll head up there."
He began slowly walking through the rubble and debris, looking for a staircase. He felt several pangs from his hoof that he had hurt, what, two or three days ago? Things had gotten hectic over the last few days. Bright's already lax system of counting days was completely overwhelmed.
He found a stairwell, but after he stepped on it and heard ominous cracking and popping, he decided to fly up instead. It was good that he had. After he got up on the second floor, he saw that the stairs were detached from the walls, leaning outward dangerously far. He turned away and continued forward, rising several floors to some sort of office area. He found several ancient terminals, most destroyed, but one or two operational. They were mostly patient's personal messages, and the only interesting thing he found was an extremely corrupted audio file which had once been password protected, but even that had been destroyed over hundreds of years. He played it. Horrible screeching ensued. The only words he could make out were "blood, then experimented...", "extremely successful, soon to be complete...", and "deployed to the field shortly."
Slightly confused. Bright began putting pieces together. His mind came to several possible, several sinister conclusions. He began hurrying back to Crossfire and Sulphur.

[Socialist Shadow Republic]

Marciline galloped the short distance to Thunder's supposed exit. As she did, she levitated out two orange disks and thew them down behind her. She jumped up into the hole and hoped Thunder would follow. as she cleared the jagged fissure in the floor, a great resounding double explosion erupted from below. the room they had just left collapsed in on itself, effectively shutting off the manitcores from getting at them. Marci stops in the hallway adjacent to the room they had come up into, catching her breath. After checking to make sure than every part of her was still in the right place, she turned to Thunder, "Looks like we're safe. Now we just need to get to the roof and we can out fly these creatures." She had concluded that even in his weakened state, Thunder should be able to out maneuver a big dumb animal.

Following Marci, Thumder thrust himself through the gaping hole and into the floor above. Quickly clearing the room, a short moment later the building shook and groaned as the explosions finished their job. Coughing as the dust settled, he replied to Marci. "Alrighty, sounds jus' fine t' me." As the pair explored the building, looking for anything leading up, Thunder Flare heard a weird noise coming from below them. It sounded like the scratching of claws against rocks and cement. When, staring down at the ground, he watched in silent horror as a hole no larger than a bottle cap came into existence and a razor sharp claw poked through the thick floor. Regaining his voice, he motioned to the sight and gulped, "uh, Marci!"