open Fallout Equestria: Endeavor

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Again, his eyes glowed golden.

 

"Be still, everypony, we mean you no harm, this is medium's work, no spell nor charm. The spirit of this machine of war, it weeps inside."

 

"This isn't what I signed up for!" His voice changed briefly.

 

"Horned one, the spirit sees into your heart, if your purpose be pure, it would donate one of it's parts."

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@Steel Accord

 

"Spirit? My purpose?" Greshken stammered, thinknig this entire situation was nonesense. "What are you talking about. Why is this zebra asking for my purpose. My purpose belongs to me and me only!" he snarled, confused by the entire situation, though perhaps it was the psycho that was starting to wear off. "Why would I share such personal aspects of my being?" Greshken clearly wasn't keen on giving away anything about himself.

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip.stepped forward not knowing of how the zebra was doing this but he had heard of mediums and spiritual magic. He fixated his attention on Ezekiel "If the horned joins us he will help us destroy those who imprisoned him, those who killed so many innocents with a virus. We seek to put an end to this virus." He said hoping he wasn't making things worse.

 

Chip looked back at Greshken "Will you join us for some revenge?" He asked raising his brow.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Ezekiel's head didn't turn to acknowledge Chip but his words were heard. If the cannon's new owner approved the deal with the spirit would then be struck.

 

To the outside world though, it just looked like a zebra holding up his hoof and chanting with his eyes closed.

 

@@Scribblegroove,

 

"The spirits can see what we hold inside, they see our souls and what we try to hide. When our deal is done, I promise thee, it will take the knowledge it now shares with me. I like this spirit very much, it prefers a straight up fight, no deceptions and such. That's why it's mournful now see?"

 

"What did they put inside of me?!" Again his voice changed.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Unicorncob 5,690]

Crackshot raised an eyebrow at Ezekiel, watching as he kept flipping from a calm, rhyming tone, to his normal, albeit rather panicked one.

 

Greshken didn't seem to appreciate it, and so he put a hoof onto him as a warning.

"Cool it," he ordered, allowing the zebra to do his thing, "let him speak first."

 

He's never seen this kind of behaviour, he had to admit.

He glanced down at his pendant and wondered, was she ever like this? He certainly didn't recall any moments of her flipping like this.

[Scribblegroove 565]

Greshken could feel the spirit take hold of his mind. It was intruding privacy. He wanted to yell at the Zebra, hit him with his hammer, but it was already too late. With a surge of pain going through his head, he fell to his knees and put his right hand to his forehead, frowning and groaning slightly. He was fighting for every inch that the spirit was trying to gain on him. Emotions flashed before him. Old memories and strange thoughts dawned to him.

 

(What the spirit sees in Greshkens soul)

 

 

Shards of memories, emotions and thoughts go through Greshkens mind, some consciously, some unconsciously. It was hard to make sense out of the total chaos.

 

The silouette of a tall, slim but wiry minotaur on a hill with an enourmous cannon in his two hands, the sun setting behind him. Blood. Torn body parts. Greshken's face, twisted in hatred, rage and anger, tears rolling down his face. A spear flying through the air. The smell of death. Bloodthirst for vengeance. Ponies undergoing the most terrible kinds of torture under the hands of Greshken himself, blood and intestines everywhere. The smell of burning flesh. Laughter. Screaming. Crying. Gasping. A loud cry: "RETRIBUTION!" in a female minotaur voice. A giant, mushroom cloud explosion. A fire in a cave. An endless sea of darkness, with a single spot of light on a tiny island in the middle, almost being consumed by the raging madness that shakes the foundation of his foothold, but ever so slightly holding on.

 

Then, a clear memory pops up in Greshkens head, and things seem to develop more in chronological order from there.

 

friendly face, with a stern look. Large horns sticking out of his forehaed. It looked down on him. Greshken was small. "Listen here little one. This world is unforgiving, cruel and unfair. There is no justice, but the vengeance that you can claim for yourself. If you get the oppertunity to have vengeance on all that has done wrong to you one day, you take it. It's the solemn duty of our lives. To commit to the only justice that is left in the wasteland."

 

The sound of bones breaking. Greshken laughing. "Please, no, I have children!" The taste of pony flesh. "YOU ARE ALL GUILTY" Sorrow. Regret. Pain, endless searing pain.

 

"And when I looked down the valley, your friends screamed "Save us!" and I laughed. Then I screamed back no. That's when the explosives we had you plant for us detonated, and rocks came crumbling down, cutting off their final escape. They were trapped with no way out of the valley. They probably came to their end very slowly and painfully. You see, those creatures that live in the valley, that you call 'Rakes of death' tend to play with their food before eating it once they're sure it cannot get away. Must've felt awful, claws slowly penetrating your skin, your horns carefully being torn off your head." The masked pony chuckled. "Your kind doesn't belong on this world as an equal species. You were meant to be forced in your submissive state, or slaughtered, since you are all beasts. I'm glad you've turned out to be the best servant yet. Very entertaining."

 

Greshken then seemed to cease control over his mind and spirit again, and spat the spirit out of his head. It had seen far too much. "My only motive is vengeance, and everything will taste it. Everything will burn and suffer! If that intent isn't pure enough for you, then fuck off! I am the master of my mind, the captain of my fate and the owner of my soul. BEGONE!"

 

Greshkens karma becomes clear to Ezekiel, and this knowledge he retains even after the spirit has left. [Karma -35].

 

 

Only moments had passed when Greshken regained control. He stood up and punched the ground in anger. He stood up, his face twisted with rage. He was starting at the Zebra with wide-open, bloodshot eyes. "Give me one reason not to murder you RIGHT NOW!" he yelled, controlling his anger as far as he could. His fists were clenched and sweaty, and he was breezing out of his nose heavily.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Scribblegroove

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip saw Greshken fall to his knees out of the corner of his eye. He turned facing him wondering if he was alright. Within moments Gresken seemed to have regained himself and punched the ground in fury threatening to kill Ezekiel. "I don't know what just happened but let's not get to hasty Greshken." He said putting himself in-between the two almost beginning to sweat "Why am I standing here, I hardly know these two and yet here I am." He thought to himself confused over his own motives.

[Unicorncob 5,690]

Crackshot watched as Ezekiel seemed to focus on Greshken, who collapsed to his knees in a sort of daze.

He kept a watch on him, just in case something went down.

 

Within moments, he was conscious, and he began roaring about wanting to kill the zebra. Chip put himself between the two, sweating and visibly shaking.

These two reasons were enough to get himself involved. He got to Chip's side and pulled out Persuasion, pointing it up to Greshken as a warning.

 

"I said cool it," He snarled, then turned to look over his shoulder to Ezekiel, "What happened just now?"

[Steel Accord 6,660]

The zebra turned to Greshken, his eyes opened and they were glowing an eerie yellow.

 

"Revenge." He spoke in a voice that clearly wasn't in his own, it was clunky and booming, not of this world. "Bloodshed, war. I was built for war, I'm a solider. 'Better wiped than striped' and all that. Revenge, an eye for an eye. Fair enough. Give me a clear line of sight and an enemy worthy of a fight . . . and I'll be your best friend until the world ends all over again."

 

RRRUNK 

 

Cha-CLANG

 

With a groan, the cannon came loose from the tank, it fell over on it's side loosed from it's holding. The glow disappeared from the Shaman's eyes.

 

"The deal is done, but not all spirits are easily persuaded as this one." His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip heard a loud sound come from the tank as he watched the cannon just fall off of the tank onto the ground. Chip walked past Greshken back to the cannon examining it for damage. Once he saw it was still in working condition he went back inside the tank to continue working, not that the cannon was loosed he can grab the power core from the tank and hopefully repair it to working order.

 

Chip begun removing more wall plates.

[Scribblegroove 565]

Greshken was very tempted to just start punching things. "That shaman made a spirit intrude my mind!" He said as he pointed towards Ezekiel. "He messed with my head and made me see things I locked away and hid from myself." He explained in a voice that was shivering with barely controlled anger. "You better tell me you didn't see any of that." He said towards Ezekiel.

 

Chip was foolish enough to jump in between them. "Stop trying to sacrifice yourself, it's not like there's a greater good to do it for." He grumbled, and he turned around to snap at Crackshot. "And you should stop ordering me around."

 

Then Ezekiel feel unconscious to the ground. He put his hands to his head and sighed. "What the fuck is happening." His head was still spinning with what had just happened, but he would not give in to this emotion

[Unicorncob 5,690]

Crackshot kept his glare on Greshken as he began ranting on how Ezekiel had invaded his mind and seen something he was not meant to see. A dark remnant of his past, perhaps.

 

As he snapped at the unicorn to stop giving him orders, he gave Persuasion a cock, as a last warning.

"Look, I don't know what the fuck just happened," he snarled, "but you're going to keep the fuck calm. You lift a finger on anypony here, I'll put you down myself."

 

He kept quiet for a beat, before continuing. "As I told you last night, you're not the only one running from something."

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip popped out of the tank again still hearing a lot of bickering amongst everypony. he looked at Greshken and Crackshot "Greshken I really don't want to play this card but there is a chance that the warhead in that collar of yours is still active. I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this, before you say I'm bluffing I'll say this. That warhead on your neck is activated by a certain frequency of delta activation signals. Granted most devices don't use such high signals but I can easily recreate it." Chip said going back in the tank.

[Scribblegroove 565]

Greshken turned around entirely towards Crackshot now, who had his weapon aimed at him. He grinned, threw his hammer to the ground and opened his arms wide. "Shoot me." He said, with full confidence. He had a point to prove, so he even began to undo his metal armour chestpiece and exposed his brown, hairy chest. "Go ahead, shoot me right here, I dare you." He was starting to realise things were getting out of hand. Again he reminded himself that the psycho had ran out and he was suffering limited mental capacity, but he didn't really care.

 

Chip was saying something about his collar. About finding the frequency. Greshken ignored him. He would have to have a slave collar frequency emitter, otherwise simply finding the right frequency would still not be sufficient to detonate it. He was quite surprised that out of all ponies, it was chip that attempted to strike lowest below the belt of all. Staring Crackshot in the eyes, he kept grinning at him. "Come on, it will help me calm down. Shoot me. Try to 'put me down' like you so eloquently put it." He dared the stallion.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Scribblegroove

[Unicorncob 5,690]

Crackshot's eyes slitted as Greshken dared him to open fire. He even removed his armour, as if he was taunting him.

 

He snarled and aimed the shotgun right at the minotaur's chest, preparing to open fire.

"You want calmed down? Here's a fucking laxative for you."

 

No. You're above all this.

 

A familiar voice spoke up in his head. A mare's voice. He took his glare away from Greshken's face, staring at nothing as his eyes widened. A look of conflict washed over him.

 

He couldn't look weak, not while he was considered the leader of this group.

But...he was above being dared to shoot an innocent, wasn't he?

 

Wasn't he?

 

This isn't who you are.

 

The voice spoke again. He swallowed, feeling a twinge in his chest as the shotgun lowered.

It returned to his back, the unicorn staring at the dirt.

 

"No, I'm not giving you any satisfaction." He finally spoke up.

[Midnight_Aurora 571]

Dashia says, "EVERYPONY STOP!"

 

She waits for them to acknowledge her before continuing. "I have a feeling that this is what our true foe wants. Yes we have only been together for a day or less on some. However, fighting amongst ourselves is not going to stop that plant virus from killing more."

 

She looks to chip, "I had a chance to look the collar over and only if you can activate the warhead itself will it go off. The signal won't work anymore. The arming system for the collar is shot." (Science 55, Explosives 30)

 

She looks to the Minatuar and says, "sense the cannon came off it would seem that what ever Ezekiel did is a plus for you. A deal was made according to him. You also have made a posible friend, even if only Ezekiel can speak with it. An old saying told to me by mother says, 'never look a gift horse in the mouth.' Do you know what she means by it?"

 

She looks to Crackshot, "The past is the past. We shouldn't let it rule over us and others. I had bad in mine that I regret but I don't let it rule me."

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip continued working while listening to Dashia. "even if the triggering mechanism is shot the warhead is not. Honestly I was bluffing, I would not see someone beheaded by my hooves." He muttered to himself in the tank, still trying to find the power core of the tank.

[Scribblegroove 565]

"That's right, you don't get to threaten me." He donned his armour again and picked up his hammer, fastening it in its usual place on his back. "And don't think resisting me shows strength. It just means the wastes haven't beaten you down enough yet." He concluded, and he felt his anger subsiding.

 

Now that his head was clearer he realised that he was never going to be accepted in a group like this if he kept being so condescending and knuckle headed all the time. He had asserted his dominance over the others, but had lost their trust.

 

"I do respect you, Crackshot, and in a way I am sorry for my behaviour, but it is what I have become. You can still redeem yourself, but I know that I am lost forever." He mumbled as Crackshot faced away from him. "You should just stop ordering me around." [speech 70]

 

With that, he walked around the tank to see the weapon that the shaman had supposedly summoned for him. There were a total of 8 shells to fire. "Chip, I'm going to take this for a spin. I'll be back in a while." He said as he lifted the humongous gun of the ground. Even he had trouble walking straight with that weapon in his hands. He walked off a short distance into the planes, inspecting the weapon and its ammunition there.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Scribblegroove

[Steel Accord 6,660]

With that, he walked around the tank to see the weapon that the shaman had supposedly summoned for him. There were a total of 8 shells to fire. "Chip, I'm going to take this for a spin. I'll be back in a while." He said as he lifted the humongous gun of the ground. Even he had trouble walking straight with that weapon in his hands. He walked off a short distance into the planes, inspecting the weapon and its ammunition there.

 

He would find the weapon in surprisingly good condition considering what it had been through, not brand new but functional. When fired, it wouldn't jam and the trigger offered just the right amount of resistance. The kickback also wasn't too much nor too little either, it was exactly what Greshken needed to be comfortable. 

Edited April 16, 2015 by Steel Accord

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip heard Greshken say his name, when Chip popped his head out of the tank he saw Greshken take the turret off the ground. Greshken then begun walking away with it.

 

"Greshken, it doesn't have a power source as well as it's not hooked up to a trigger yet! Plus we should conserve that ammo, it's not the easiest to find in the wastes." He called out after him.

 

Chip quickly realized that Greshken wasn't listening or just didn't hear him. He jumped out of the tank landing with all four hooves on the ground. "Well he knows how to ruin a pony's fun," he said walking away from the tank.

 

As Chip was leaving the Barn he found his device smashed to bit on the ground. "I am grateful he did that for me, makes me feel better seeing that unit in shambles." He said to himself stepping on the pieces.

 

As Chip left the barn he heard an extra amount of noise coming from his bag. He then realized his rifle was still in pieces. He sat in the dirt and pulled his rifle out of his bag. Chip then began reassembling it in case it were needed.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Chip Circuit

[Unicorncob 5,690]

Crackshot clenched his eyes shut as Greshken berated him for not rising to the bait. He felt so weak right now, not setting an example for his team.

 

The minotaur seemed to calm down, and he said that he was too far gone for redemption.

He nudged the pendant up in his hoof. That's now what she'd told him when they met.

 

Everypony can make amends. Even you.

 

That's what she'd said.

 

He was right though; he couldn't order him around. Greshken was his own person, as was he, and the other ponies here.

He was the leader, but he wasn't a dictator.

 

The minotaur left, and he perked up at Chip's yelling for him in vain. He watched as the other unicorn left the barn, and began putting his rifle together.

That left him, Dashia, Aile, and Ezekiel.

 

He looked behind him, seeing the zebra was still collapsed in the dirt. Rolling his eyes with a snort, he levitated him up onto his back and carried him to the farmhouse, dumping him on the vacant couch.

 

Being a leader meant he had to watch out for the ponies in his gang.

No, his team.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

An hour or so later. Ezekiel finally came to his senses. His head spun and he felt a tad unsure on his hooves when he stood up from the couch he was laying upon. He trotted outside of the farmhouse, in an attempt to get his bearings straight. The sky was it's usual greyish green overcast.

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Chip Finished his rifle and saw Crackshot carrying the passed out Ezekiel to the farmhouse. Chip wasn't sure what Dashia was doing, so he decided to give her some space.

 

Chip followed after Crackshot, when he finally caught up to the two he found Crackshot dropping Ezekiel on a couch. "So that was something huh?" He said to Crackshot with a small smirk.

[Defender of Tomorrow 323]

Aile had watched all the events unfold before her, she stood quiet for the most part, simply observing each individual carefully. She sighed and trotted back to the farmhouse leaving Dashia to herself and walked past the zebra and crackshot, making her way upstairs to be alone. She sat on the bed and held the blue pendant on her hoof, the little vial was oddly cold this time around and had a faint icy glow radiating from it, her gaze was directed on the inscription 'Property of IDS, PROJ' she read, she shook her head and read it again, the letters 'PROJ' readable now. "What the..?" she muttered to herself in disbelief, she had looked over this pendant thoroughly yesterday and those letters weren't readable, let alone the pendant being cold. 

[Unicorncob 5,690]

"Damn right," Crackshot grunted, frowning as he recalled the events from earlier in his head as he and Chip returned outside, "what the hell do you think he was up to?" He nodded toward Ezekiel, implying his manipulating the tank and probing Greshken's mind.

 

Greshken. Cold and to the point, and now with his hands on a fucking portable tank cannon.

If he hadn't had that change of thought, things would've been different.

 

He glanced up to Chip. "Y'know, if I was the pony I was around ten years ago, I would have shot him."

 

About an hour or so went by until he noticed Ezekiel emerge from the farmhouse, looking a bit dazed.