Fallout Equestria: Third Time's the Charm (IC)

[Ozzy]

Baltimare continues to tower above the Rose Bloom Wasteland as it had nearly a century ago, a tall metallic pre-war megalith signifying as the epitome and future of Equestrian Civilization, a settlement of giant proportions with lights piercing the cloudy dark skies, visible from even the obscure Honeysuckle Inn that resided along the far edge of the Rose Bloom along Route 64.

A small pink mare sighs from atop the balcony of her three story Inn, she marvels the sight of the lights, imagining what life was like among ponies who congregated in such massive numbers. "Gah... maybe it's just another Fillydelphia with a bunch more ponies, nothing special right?" She retreats into the Inn itself as she banishes the thought of luxurious urban life, the candle light in the lobby casts a better view of the pink mare, revealing her to be completely robotic and wearing a name tag on her chest that read "Hello, my name is AVI."

She hums a tune to herself and polishes her shiny well-kept chassis before reviewing the list of patrons currently staying in her motel, she apparently didn't have a cutie mark. The Honeysuckle Inn was a ridiculously profitable maneuver, it was stationed along the Route 64, a long stretch of broken highway bearing one of the only few methods of safely entering the Rose Bloom Wasteland without having to trek across the extremely dangerous Hellhound-infested mountain range in the West. As a result, AVI was practically swimming in the bottle caps of those who desired a safer entrance.

The Honeysuckle Inn doubles as a trading post, griffon guards were hired to dissuade any ruffian looking to thieve or cause trouble among the crowd of caravans in the Inn's former parking lot. Though that still didn't stop the occasional overly bold bandit who all shared the same fate of having their heads popped by a powerful sniper rifle. The mere thought of the gory situations made the robotic mare actually shudder, she hated harming others, and she knew her kindness was wasted on them as she had no choice in the matter.

"Why can't everyone be nice to each other...?"


The OOC

[The Flutterlands]

Stable 60 - Honeysuckle Inn

On the other side of Route 64, not too far from Honeysuckle Inn, lies Stable 60, reinhabitated, fortified, and made inescapable by The New Black Fox Syndicate. Over the past five years the Syndicate have became a name of both fame and infamy in the Rose Bloom Wasteland, capturing those unlucky enough to fall into their clutches and selling them into slavery. Throughout the Rose Bloom Wasteland itself reside dozens of Syndicate agents, posing as chem dealers whose chems are manufactured within Stable 60. The Syndicate also runs a local orphanage taking in the foals of those sold into slavery or found homeless on the streets.
The leader of the Syndicate, the ancient ghoul unicorn Pitch Black, whoes name has been engraved in history and legend, resides in Stable 60. He rules the The New Black Fox Syndicate, named after the legendary syndicate he ruled back in Manehatten before the war, with an iron hoof. His rules include forbidding enslaving, killing and raping foals as well as the selling of chems to them. Breaking his rules means a painful and creative death depending on Pitch's mood, but loyalty meant great reward. So, all Syndicate members know better to devotedly fear and respect their leader at all cost.
-
The black ghoul unicorn sat in his office going through his archives. He grinned happily. Sales of both slaves and chems have reached a new height this past month, surpassing the past five years.
"Wonderful." said Pitch Black, stacking a large amount of caps with his magic, "The Syndicate is still among the most wealthiest factions in the region and we stand unopposed even by our rivals. Soon, the whole region will be in my grip."
Pitch's emerald green eyes glowed at that idea; of his syndicate obtaining influence over the Rose Bloom Wasteland on a dominating level. The unicorn grinned wickedly, knowing that through his immortality as a ghoul, he and his Syndicate will last forever.
"This calls for a drink at my favorite inn." said Pitch, getting up from his chair.
The Syndicate leader left the stable, leaving his second-in-command, a unicorn with a red coat and black mane named Crimson Rose, in charge. Taking two body-guards, armed with lazer rifles with him, Pitch Black trotted to Honeysuckle Inn. The griffon guards knew about the Syndicate's presence and the infamy of the ancient Pitch Black, but as long he stayed out of trouble within the inn, they didn't dare to question him. The ghoul unicorn grinned as he sat at the tavern's pub, crackling internally as he felt the eyes of those who knew him watch him carefully.
"Vodka, please, beautiful." said Pitch Black, eyeing the bartender, "Nice and cold."

[Ozzy]

AVI sighed and silently poured the ghoul pony a drink of liquor, she hated Pitch Black, even more so than any Steel Ranger. However, just asking him to leave will never suffice and her guards certainly didn't have the numbers to repel his sickening group for long. The robotic mare turns on the radio to get her mind off the sick bastard, hoping he'll just leave without any issues.

The news was glum and depressing as always; Venomous, the boisterous stallion DJ on the radio, spoke tales of wannabe bands of heroes getting gunned down by raiders or rumors of Alicorns abducting ponies along the western mountain range, then such news ends with cheery fast paced music from the Old World. AVI's attitude went straight to optimistic, her slotted green eyes clicked as she bobbed her head to the beat of the piano, an old song from Coloratura. "Not as good as the Magic Inside, but I like it..." The mare talks to herself and begins cleaning mugs for future patrons, as if she was almost programmed to do so.

"Ugh... so many mugs..." She whined, a scratching sound could be heard from under the floorboard, in which she promptly stomped on the floor to silence it.

[Das Metro]

It wasn't until early afternoon that Lady Poet woke from her beauty sleep. She hummed happily, taking a moment to stretch her legs and admire the sun breaking through the window into her bedroom. The carpet may of been faded, and some of the wallpaper peeling, but there was no finer private quarters in all the Rose Bloom Wasteland. Poet sighed in content and stood.

The bedroom was a large one, with plenty of space even with Poet's furniture. Across the phrench doors the led to the room was Poet's large, comfortable bed with blue silk sheets. Poet's bedroom was also home to large prewar vanity, decorative liquor cabinet stocked with various old world vintages, and a closet full of her favorite dresses and accessories.

Poet's lavish penthouse was situated in what used to be Baltimare's most popular hotel, the Hotel Solarium. After being restored by the Rose Bloom Nobility, it has become the hub of Nobility activity. The two pools were filled with clean water, and the day spa was functioning again. All of the hotel's facilities had been restored, accept for the old show hall, which was still in the middle of restoration.

The violet unicorn hummed softly to herself as she stepped into the living area of her penthouse. With a glow of her horn, Poet started up her record player, and the melodic voice of Sweetie Belle filled her home. Swaying to the tune, Poet sashayed her way to her sitting room and lounged on one of her three velvet couches.

"Barb, darling?" Poet used her telekinesis to push the button on her intercom, meant for room service, "Be a dear and send up a bit of tea and some lunch."
***
Some ways away, at the Honeysuckle Inn, a young stallion trotted in. He was tall, with a scrawny look about him. The poor thing's cheeks and stomach were sunken in. From the looks of it, he hadn't eaten in some time. Before he even made it to the bar, he froze in his tracks. The air smelled of decay, a ghoul, and not just any ghoul.

"P- Pitch Black?!" his eyes went wide.

[Fantrum]

Tired. So tired. The open road loved to stretch on for miles and miles with no hint of ever coming to an end. Today though, it seemed as though I was in luck. With the twinkling lights of Baltimare teasing me just out of reach, I stumbled upon an Inn, the Honeysuckle Inn. The thought of a real bed to rest my battered bone on breathed new life into my pace. It looked civilized enough, more so than some of the shitholes I had been forced to stay in before. I figured the griffin guards helped keep it that way, which was slightly reassuring. I trotted up to the gate and after a pleasant conversation with a handsome griffin, I made my way inside.

It was your typical Inn, a bar full of patrons sharing drinks and stories, with the rooms probably upstairs and away from the main lobby. I shifted in my combat armor swept my duster out behind me, one of these blokes could be an employer, so I wanted to make a good first impression. I was halfway though making sure my rifle was slung over my back just so when I realised I didn't give a flying fuck about employment right now. I wanted a drink and a bed. That was about it for tonight. I would probably find a caravan into the city tomorrow morning to tag along with. A unicorn with a magical energy weapon normally turned heads when it came to people looking for protection.

I mosied up to the bar and took a stool, surveying the other patrons as I waited for the barkeep to walk over. "Yo barkeep!" I shouted over the din when she was in earsho- wait that's no moon! The barkeeper was a robot, pretty cool, I'd only met a few others like it in my travels. They were a rarity in the wastes, kinda like most other things. I dropped a pouch of caps on the counter using my magic, "I'm new around here, how much for a room and a stiff drink?" I had to be careful, some robots didn't like being referred to as things, while others would just as soon shoot you on sight. I took notice of some creepy ghoul at the end of the bar from me, he looked pretty dangerous. Of course, judging by his looks, he was some kind of head honcho. Of what? I couldn't guess, but he had the air of a stallion who had deep pockets and an arrogance that having a lot of power for a long time brought. I made a note to avoid him unless I was looking for a job kicking orphan puppies.

This place was nice, it felt almost out of place from where I had just come from, which was Filliadelphia. That place was a hell pit, full of radiation, alicorns, dead factories, and parasprites. Nearly didn't make it out of that one. I would genuinely be surprised if anyone managed to turn that demonic place into something productive ever again. I felt pretty refreshed seeing this many ponies in one place and not trying to kill one another. Honestly, the proprietor of this place had something special going on here, and I hopped they realized just how much of an endangered species a good Inn was. In any case, I could tell spending my caps here would be well worth the price of a room, now where was that bartender?

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch smiled somewhat arrogantly as he drank his vodka and glaced at a certain sapphire blue unicorn with his emerald green eyes. The black unicorn chuckled and winked at her. However, Pitch blinked when he heard his name being called. The ghoul grinned once more and turned to the white pony behind him. When he saw how much of a mess the pony was Pitch gave him a warm smile. The black unicorn ghoul was quite happy and wanted to show off his friendly demeanor.
"That's me, handsome." said Pitch to the colt, "The one and only Pitch Black. Say, you look hungry. Come and sit beside me, I'll get you something to eat." Pitch shouted to the bartender. "Hey! Get this fellow here some grub. He looks like a fucking holocaust victim." he said, before turning back to him, "So, how can I help you?"

[Das Metro]

Pitch smiled somewhat arrogantly as he drank his vodka and glaced at a certain sapphire blue unicorn with his emerald green eyes. The black unicorn chuckled and winked at her. However, Pitch blinked when he heard his name being called. The ghoul grinned once more and turned to the white pony behind him. When he saw how much of a mess the pony was Pitch gave him a warm smile. The black unicorn ghoul was quite happy and wanted to show off his friendly demeanor.
"That's me, handsome." said Pitch to the colt, "The one and only Pitch Black. Say, you look hungry. Come and sit beside me, I'll get you something to eat." Pitch shouted to the bartender. "Hey! Get this fellow here some grub. He looks like a holocaust victim." he said, before turning back to him, "So, how can I help you?"

The pony backed away slowly, a look of conflict coming across his face. "Y- Your slavers took my parents!" the young pony shouted, still unsure if he was scared for his life, or ready to take a feeble shot at revenge. He wasn't armed, and he wasn't wearing any armor either. As a matter of fact, the young colt didn't even know how to hold a gun, much less use them.

[Ozzy]

AVI gazed at Sapphire with lit green eyes clicking, she received a mercenary vibe from the mare yet not anything like the jackassery she gets from Pitch Black. She wondered if Sapphire was alone, as having to trek across the wastes from the west were dangerous for a unicorn.

AVI answers her question, "Oh, erm... fifty caps for a room and 5 bottle caps for our cheapest liquor, though I'd never drank any of them so I can't honestly tell you how good they are." The bot slipped a nervous chuckle at the end of her response to Sapphire and started cleaning the counter top with a rag, she sliced the price of a room in half simply because the mare didn't refer to her as a 'thing' or ignored her like most newcomers did, or perhaps because she was darn good looking. The robot immediately destroys the strange thought and mutters something about how she still couldn't believe that bottle caps were a currency, then proceeded to hum another one of Coloratura's odd pop songs.

The robot then turned her attention to Pitch Black, who yelled something about a holocaust victim, her interest piqued when the ghoul offered a young colt a free meal before he made the bold move of calling Pitch out on his slavery. The robot takes some radigator meat from a fridge behind her and places it in a oven to prepare, "It'll be ready soon..." AVI coldly remarked, stealing a peek from a naughty magazine as she tries to ignore the situation. She couldn't defend the colt if push came to shove, but if blood will be spilled, then maybe a stroke of luck will prompt Pitch to leave the Inn so he can do so.

An occasional cough and clearing of the throat can be heard from the three intimidating griffon guards in the room, who were obviously bored out of their mind and chatting among each other about the conflict between Baltimare and the Steel Rangers. They didn't seem to be part of the Talons, but their strange incomprehensible tattoos made it look like a tribe bearing its own identity.

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch stared at the young stallion when he spoke of his enslaved parents. He frowned slightly as this really poked his mood a bit and the black unicorn wonderd how dare this pony spoke out against his business. Then his eyes glowed with malice as Pitch got an idea; a wonderful, awful idea.
"Well, come sit with me and we'll talk this over." said the black unicorn with a warm, comforting smile, "I'm sure we can get this handled without violence. Tell you what, after we eat, I'll take you to my HQ and I'll release your parents from slavery. How does that sound?"

[Das Metro]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch stared at the young stallion when he spoke of his enslaved parents. He frowned slightly as this really poked his mood a bit and the black unicorn wonderd how dare this pony spoke out against his business. Then his eyes glowed with malice as Pitch got an idea; a wonderful, awful idea.
"Well, come sit with me and we'll talk this over." said the black unicorn with a warm, comforting smile, "I'm sure we can get this handled without violence. Tell you what, after we eat, I'll take you to my HQ and I'll release your parents from slavery. How does that sound?"

The colt wavered a moment. He hadn't expected Pitch to be so... Nice. "I- I don't know..." the young pony stammered, "...How do I know you won't just make me a slave too? Or kill me?!" Everything about Pitch's invitation sounded like a trap. Somewhere, he could hear his mother's lecture on stranger danger as well. The colt backed up against the door of the inn. It looked like he wouldn't be getting a meal from here.

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch Black frowned interally. This colt was good, really good. Nonetheless, Pitch was going to get what he wanted no matter how persistent he has to be.
"Now young colt, do you want to see your parents released or not?" said the ancient unicorn sternly, though not showing any anger, "I am all willing to do so if you'll just come with me once you've had a nice meal that I'm paying so nicely for you. Trust me, no harm will come to you or your parents. Now, aren't you hungry?"

[Das Metro]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch Black frowned interally. This colt was good, really good. Nonetheless, Pitch was going to get what he wanted no matter how persistent he has to be.
"Now young colt, do you want to see your parents released or not?" said the ancient unicorn sternly, though not showing any anger, "I am all willing to do so if you'll just come with me once you've had a nice meal that I'm paying so nicely for you. Trust me, no harm will come to you or your parents. Now, aren't you hungry?"

The colt whimpered softly, standing against the door. "I... I don't trust you..." he said slowly. The New Black Fox Syndicate was a big group in the Rose Bloom wasteland, and there were plenty stories of their exploits, including their leader. He looked back to Pitch, "I- I'll find another way... I'll get my parents back..." With a whine, the colt darted out of the inn.

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn

'And I'll find another way to get you back, toy! thought Pitch venomously.
His mood took a sour turn as the colt left and he turnned to AVI, carrying the plate of radigator steak meant for the colt. Pitch gave her a bitter ice cold glare before his eyes softned and smiled with a chuckle as he got another idea.
"Can you believe it?" Pitch asked AVI, "I try to do something nice once in a while and the poor guy runs away. Anyway, I'll just take that for myself. How much?"

[Fantrum]

Interesting. I decided that, judging by the barkeep's behavior, I should refer to her as a person. She wasn't like other robots, she seemed to be capable of complex thought and possibly feeling. Wait a minute, was she hitting on me? There was no way. Of all the things that had happened to me during my time wondering, this took the cake! I knew I had a way with words, I'd been told as much by many different ponies from here to Manehattan. I had never been hit on by a robot before, but I wasn't going to waste a potential opratunity to get free information from the mare.

"How does a mare get so far in life without ever doing the basics!" As a barkeep, she had other things to do, but I figured she'd keep an ear open to me so I kept talking, "I'll take a room and a bottle of wild Pegasus, lovely." I batted my eyes at the animatronic bar tender, it was a shot in the dark, but I figured it couldn't hurt. "I'm Sapphire Sands, just in from Filly. Anything you can tell me as a heads up to the newcomer?" I asked, not quite flirtatious, but not too friendly either. I chose to ignore the developing situation with the colt and the apparently slaver ghoul, thanking the princesses when the colt left without starting a gunfight.

[Ozzy]

AVI gives Pitch an unimpressed look, as if a free meal is anything near redeemable for the enslavement of one's parents, she did not find it surprising the colt ran away. She did, however, find it very surprising that he ran away intact, though instincts tell her it's not the end between the two. "It was ten caps." AVI responded in a monotone fashion, trying to mask as much emotion as she possibly can. The bot caught the brief cold glare Pitch gave her and nearly shrank into a corner, was that meant for her? The scratching under the floorboard distracted her again, and she silences it with a small knocking.

The robotic mare's synthetic ears kicked back in surprised when she spotted the obvious flirting on Sapphire's behalf, she couldn't believe her eyes, how could she noticed the small bit of compassion from when she gave her a huge discount on a room? Was it because she displayed nervousness and ranted on about something else? If the mare bot could blush, she'd be bright red. AVI responded in the most formal way she could after giving the mare a key to room 45, "Yes, be extremely careful if you plan to travel, there are Luna-damned mutated aberrations and Steel Ranger patrols ten miles up R-64. If you intend to reach Baltimare, then take the highway five miles north until you reach Stable 94, then take their caravan trail east until you reach the city's trading post. You should encounter no problems taking their path, caravans between Stable 94 and Baltimare's trading post are usually well-defended... Damn, I'd show you, I have an old Pip-Buck somewhere around here..." She starts opening cabinets and drawers from around her desk.

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch nodded and gave the robot mare the requested caps including the caps for his drink. The ghoul unicorn's then turned to Sapphire as he began eating his meal. The mare looked pretty, very pretty. She would make an excellent personal sex-slave of his. Same for the stallion. Ultimately, Pitch decided to do get the two of them the old fashioned way. The black ghoul took out a functioning camera he liked to keep on his person, in his pocket dimension, in case he came across any targets of interest and snapped a picture of Sapphire. Pitch chuckled as he put the camera away and called out to AVI.
"Hey bartender! Some more vodka, please." he shouted, as he resumed eating his radigator.
The ghoul chuckled once more. That poor starving colt missed out on a really good meal.

[Ozzy]

AVI poured Pitch a large mug of vodka and slides it down the counter for him to grab, she then stares at him, what did he just do? Did he pull out a gun or mocked Sapphire? The ghoul pony was making AVI extremely neurotic and she was about to take no more of it, if only she got close enough to him to deliver a hefty dosage of shrapnel from her built-in ballistic hoof, then she'd do the wastes a huge favor. However, she didn't feel like committing suicide just yet. The bot mare discovers her Pip-Buck 2000 in the drawers, it's a really old model, but she liked it nonetheless, it was something she had during her time with the Steel Rangers. A handy-dandy device perfect for keeping track of things in one's inventory and made for a great map too, she marveled the little piece of tech, it was something so amazing that Rangers could care less about.

A catchy trumpet instrumental was playing on the radio, it quickly extinguished any sense of depression and anxiety AVI felt, that AVI nearly always felt, it brought her peace. The music sadly and abruptly ended with DJ Venomous' stentorian voice following a series of alarming beeps.

"Dear Listeners, I apologize for interrupting your music, but on behalf of our Steel Ranger friends' interests, I regret to inform you there has been a trouble making fugitive illegally carrying vital Steel Ranger property. We need your help, fans! Our Ranger buddies are offering a TEN THOUSAND cap reward for the capture or KILLING of a rogue Praetorian-class robot and the retrieval of the Rangers' property. The bot is the first of its kind, bright freaking pink and last seen south of Route 64, it also answers to the name Avi and is-"

AVI quickly shuts the radio off with a frightened look upon her face, a moment of silence occupies the room as the patrons and griffon guards eyed her with sheer shock as if they couldn't believe what they just heard. AVI couldn't believe it either, but she knew exactly what the DJ was talking about, it was most certainly her. AVI knew The Steel Rangers would catch up to her one of these days, five decades going and they still can't help but persist to chase her until she gives them what they want. "Stubborn bastards..." She sighed, and then packed her belongings from the drawer, everyone in the room still silently eyeing her...

[Fantrum]

I was in the process of thanking the kindly mare when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the ghoul point something at me. It took a lot of self control keep from flipping the nearest table and diving into cover, but my brain managed to realize the device was a camera just in time. I had seen the look this stallion was giving me, and I knew it meant trouble, really bad trouble. Someone in his position, a known slaver leader, taking an interest in me, could really only mean two things. One, he wanted to give me a job, or two, he wanted other things. He wasn't the first slaver I had met along the lonesome road I trotted, and if he got too close I would put some hot plasma right between his beady little eyes.

No time for that now, ten thousand caps... mmmm, that would sit pretty well in my saddle bags... Wait, the room had gotten so quiet, you could hear a pin drop from outside. The barkeep had never told me her name, but all the patrons were looking at her with predatory eye-... oooooooooooh. Mother. fucker. I was gonna regret this, I just knew it. I cleared my throat, the tension in the air so thick it was starting to suffocate me, "There's a lot of folks here, which one gets the reward?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I used my magic to yank a rusty old revolver from some asshole's holster and shot wildly into the crowd, just call me Han. As I dropped the pistol from my magic, everything moved in slow motion. I dove over the counter and tackled AVI as the whole room exploded into violence.

"Hi there friend," I screamed into the robot's ear as gunshots and yells of pain erupted from the other side of the bar, "I know this is moving a little quick for a mare of your standards, but what do you say we get out of here?" I just couldn't resist cracking a joke. Bottles shattered overhead and somepony was thrown over the bar and landed just a short ways away from us, groaning. "I suggest the back door, which way lovely?"

[Ozzy]

AVI nearly froze as she was tackled, it took a good few moments to register the fact that Sapphire wasn't going to kill her for the reward. When utter chaos broke out in the room, the griffon guards were the first to respond, their powerful sniper rifles were quick to suppress the unruly patrons within the room. Those who were drunk and/or cocky were the first to be shot down by the guards with barely a chance to retaliate, splattering the room in blood and leaving the gory corpses of four unidentified ponies on the floor.

AVI looked at Sapphire then quietly pointed at a wooden door behind the counter, "T-There, there's a hatch in the room that will lead us through the cellar and outside... There's rad roaches down there..." The bot mare responded as quietly as she could, a crowd of pissed off mercenaries and caravaneers shattered the windows and slammed at the door, angrily demanding the reason behind the murder of their employers or employees. The three griffon guards pressed against the door, even propping a chair against it as they were too focused on paying attention to any other occupants in the room.

"Just go... Miss AVI!! We got this!!" One of the griffon guards stated with a strained voice, struggling to keep the already-bending door shut from the raging crowd outside.

[Fantrum]

"Dont worry, I got this." I unholstered my rifle and dragged the surprisingly heavy metal mare with me towards the door. The Griffin Mercs had looked at AVI just like the rest of the patrons had, so I was willing to bet that they were only doing this stupid show of bravery to redeem their thoughts of killing their employer for caps. They wouldn't last long against the crowd, but that was all the time we needed. I honestly didn't know what had possessed me to do this, whether I was just looking for adventure with the robotic Inn owner, or if I really was just a good person. I felt justified in my actions, shooting first had broken the tension in our favor, and even if the Griffins managed to hold back the tide, AVI would be forced to run anyway. With a large reward hanging over her head, it wouldn't take long for the mercs and bounty hunters to start sniffing around.

I bucked the door down, still dodging bullets, and tossed AVI into the dark backroom. I almost forgot, but at the last second, I poked my head back through the doorway and gripped her dropped Pipbuck in my magic aura. I threw the device into my bags for safe keeping and opened the hatch down to the cellar, a rush of musky, dank air blasted me in the face. I coughed a few times then cracked another joke, "Spring cleaning anyone?" I jumped down, bringing my rifle to bear with my magic, which had the added benefit of providing me with some light to see by. Radroaches were nothing compared to my mom's weapon, three shots, three kills, the rest scurried back to whatever hellpit they crawled out of. There was a loud crash from upstairs followed closely by shouts and a revamping of weapons fire. I guessed the mercs hadn't managed to hold them back after all... Poor bastards, at least they died doing something honorable. it was a simple matter of bucking the cellar doors open, then covering the exit as AVI rushed out. We galloped away from the Inn and only stopped when I thought we were a safe distance away.

I was more than a little envious that my newfound companion wasn't breathing heavily from the run, but I guess that was just a robot thing. Once I had gotten my breath back, I fished around in my saddlebags and presented her with the pipbuck, "Here, figured you'd want this. Now don't go making out with me over it ok?" I punctuated my speech with a wink, though its comedic effect was lost because of my heavy breathing.

[Ozzy]

AVI stretched her limbs, her body hasn't seen much running in the past ten years, her servos squeaked madly before reaching into her saddle bags for a bottle of grease. The robotic mare was obviously extremely depressed, yet not exactly surprised her Inn gone to hell, with the Steel Rangers expanding so fast, they'd find her within a years notice at most anyways. The amount of caps she has left behind in the treasury underneath the Inn would be three times more than what the Steel Rangers would offer, hopefully the ungrateful pricks there will never find it. No money in the world will compensate for the lives lost there.

The bat bot happily takes the Pip-Buck and she slides it onto her hoof before reaching for a special tool to screw it in place, and then blinked in the sudden appearance of the Pip-Buck's HUD. "Uh, thanks... I'm sorry for dragging you into this, and I'd mighty fine appreciate it if you don't turn me in to the Rangers. They are not nice ponies, at all..." The bot kept her interest in the mare at a minimum, as in, hoping she never notices the unique brand of awkwardness that gives it away.

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn - Stable 60

Pitch Black's ears perked once he heard on the radio about the price on AVI's head. This made things interesting, though he always knew that there was something fishy about that hellishly pink robot.
Ten thousand caps, hmmm? thought Pitch, ultimately deciding that the colt from earlier could wait, I may hate the Steel Rangers for all the times they messed with my plans, but if they're willing to pay, I'm all game.
However, Pitch's ears perked once again and he glanced at Sapphire Sands. The ghoul's eyes widened as he saw Sapphire shout something as she took a gun from the unsuspecting stallion, realizing what she was about to do. Once she fired and the chaos started, Pitch's horn glowed green and in a flash he vanished. This signaled his two bodyguards to leave quitely and unnoticed, returning to there master.
Pitch Black reappeared in his office back at Stable 60 and he summond six of his goons: two griffons, two unicorn stallions, and two pegasi mares.
"Listen up." said Pitch Black, "There's a mare and a robot that I want. The robot has a price on it's head of ten thousand caps and the mare, who I want for a slave, is most likely helping it."
Pitch took out the picture of Sapphire and showed it the slaver ponies.
"This is the mare I'm looking for." he said, "The robot is freakishly pink with bat wings. Beware, for they are not to be underestimated. Now go. They'll most likely still be in the area around Honeysuckle Inn. They might even be still inside. Remember, whatever it takes, I want them alive. No killing."
The slavers nodded and armed themselves with energy weapons and stun batons before leaving the Stable and flying and trotting to Honeysuckle Inn. Once they arrived they began circling the building in search of the fugitives.

[Fantrum]

For a robot, she had a lot of personality. I chuckled, "The thought never crossed my mind." We started trotting in a random direction away from the Inn, sporadic gunfire still emanating from it. "I can't imagine what a bunch of tech hoarding murderers would want with a sentient robot, I take it you pissed in their cheerios and ran off before they could lock you in a dark room?"

A robotic bat pony named AVI was certainly a strange traveling companion, but in all honesty, it wasn't the weirdest thing to have happened to me out in the wild wild wastes. There was this one time with a talking chicken... I wondered how that glorious bastard was doing right about now. Last I saw of him, he was sailing off into the sunset out of Hoofington harbor. Good times I tell you, good times.

Of course, I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing with the horribly pink mare, I was just going with the flow at this point. I suppose I had brought this on myself, adventure was what drew me to Baltimare in the first place, I guess now I was getting my fill. I holstered my rifle but kept up my guard, too many friends had been killed that way, neglecting to keep themselves covered in a place where almost everything wants to kill you. "So, any idea where we go from here? Cuz I got nothing, unless you feel like being a merc." I was hoping my companion would have a better plan of action than I had, which consisted of run thataway at the present moment.

[Ozzy]

"Well, any chance I may have at getting a quiet nice life just went down the drain, However, we can take route 64 north and travel east past the fifth mile marker, somewhere around there is Stable 94. It just opened, has a developing community and will make for a perfect place to settle down and makes caps for a while." AVI let out a sigh, though obviously not in the form of an exhale as she can't breathe.

"I'm currently carrying super important Steel Ranger information on an internal storage drive aaaaand I may have taken a potential doomsday device... when you spent years as a quiet sex slave for the perverted Elder, soldiers will commonly disregard you as a threat. That and the Elder took me almost every damn where he went around the base anyways, so I knew my way around and kinda took everything when it was least suspected. It's a very long and odd story behind me and this contingent of Rangers...." She responded with barely any emotion, and then continued to tinker with her Pip-Buck, eyes blinking furiously as she adapts to the devices' HUD. It was surprisingly compatible with her current HUD, the Eyes-Forward Sparkle fitted nicely in the corner of her vision alongside the thermometer and central processing matrix diagnostics.

The mare wouldn't mind telling Sapphire about everything if she asked, she was actually the only pony she can trust right now anyways. AVI couldn't help but ponder why ponies would kill or capture one another for a bunch of Luna-damn bottle caps. The Rangers were a bunch of pissed off ambitious militants that might not even keep their end of the deal. Suddenly, the mare catches a red bar on her EFS, near the direction of the Inn. "Hey... we got a hostile over there..."

[The Flutterlands]

Honeysuckle Inn

Pitch's goons circled and searched both in and out of the inn and it's surrounding area. Inside, they killed the remaining ponies still fighting among themselves, before searching long and hard enough to find AVI's treasury of caps. Together the slavers greedily divided the caps among each other while keeping a large amount for the Syndicate's own treasury. As they continued searching, however, it became apparent that the fugitives were far away from the inn, but they knew that they couldn't have gotten far.
"They've ran a good distance." snarled the lead pony, a brown unicorn stallion named Bounty Hunt, as they searched outside once more, "Wait..."
Bounty Hunt looked through his binoculars towards the south of Route 64 and saw two individuals coming close to the inn. Without any doubt they were the ones they were looking for.
"There they are!" shouted Bounty Hunt, unhinging his weapons with his magic, "Get them! Remember, Master Pitch Black wants them alive!"
The brown unicorn began galloping towards AVI and Sapphire with others ether behind or above him. Some of them began firing their energy weapons, hoping to cripple the returning fugitives. A soot-black griffon swooped up in the air and began to descend upon Sapphire and AVI with Stun baton activated in his talons.