open Fallout Equestria: Ground Zero [RP]

[EcstaticWind 572]

@,

@,

@@Defender of Tomorrow,

 

After the bot had powered down its weapons, Noble had holstered his pistol and ignored the other pony’s threat, regarding him with a look of boredom and apathy that lasted exactly 1 second before returning to his vaguely interested half-smile. He mostly stayed quiet ‘til the group started moving again, swiftly returning something to his coat pocket the moment he noticed eyes on him.

 

   “Such a diligent worker. I’ve never seen these files so neat before. You’re a lifesaver, Noble.” One mare said, smiling at Noble after he’d helped her straighten out the medical files in the Stable’s medical office. Not a big office, but it was a little out of the way so ponies didn’t really stop by unless they had a reason for it. Usually when somepony was sick or pretending to be sick to get out of school.

   “It’s no trouble. I’m just doing what I can to help out.” Noble said, smiling back at her. A genuine smile from a time when he still felt some happiness.

   She almost blushed as she found herself staring into Noble’s violet eyes. Not that she was the first to find herself staring. There were a few others. “Say, could I ask another favour?”

   Noble nodded.

   “Well…I want to leave the Stable and I saw you in the archives. If…um…”

   “You want to come with me when I go?” Noble whispered, glancing around to make sure nopony else was listening in.

   The mare nodded.

   Noble wanted to say ‘no’. That it would be safer in the Stable and ponies would miss her, where they thought he got his position because the Overmare was attracted to him. But for some reason, he didn’t. “Are you absolutely sure it’s what you want?”

   “Yes.”

   “Then you’ll need to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. And we will need to get rid of our Pipbucks, or at the very least figure out how to vanish from the radar. Otherwise, they’ll track us and drag us back to await punishment.” He said.

   The mare nodded and seemed to return to her work just as a security officer came by on patrol. “Alright. It’s a date.” She said, winking at Noble, who played along ‘til the security guard left.

   “See you Friday, then.” He replied in his, at the time, usual cool tones.

 

   ‘It’s been six months. That should be enough time to get over her.’ Noble thought, his expression breaking for a moment and he gave a single sign that he did actually have emotions and not just pragmatism. A tear that rolled down his face. He closed his eyes briefly and whispered a single inaudible phrase. Then his expression reset like nothing had happened.

[Defender of Tomorrow 323]

@Windbreaker

 

Kayle had been observing the group and the surrounding grounds while they had been moving. She had kept noble in her peripherals noticing him go through...something and closed the distance between them. "Everything alright?" Kayle talked in a low and somewhat comforting voice to noble. "Your behavior suggests that something is bothering you.." She knew very well that it was none of her business, and that they barely met, but noble was the one that stood out the most in the group, at least to her, and with that she added "I can understand if you don't want to talk to a Pegasus such as myself about this."

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

ED-E had convenience Hazmat to at least follow the group. Hazmat kept his distance from the group and kept silent. ED-E flying near him. Hazmat took out his list and looked at the name "Backfire". Next to it had the word "Stalliongrad" and it was circled. Hazmat looked at ED-E and said "Combat protocol: Aggressive." ED-E made some beeping noises. Hazmat knew ED-E wouldn't attack the group because they were no real threat.

[TheLineTrotter 100]

@,

Vincent wasn't stupid: those bots were packed with armor piercing rounds, and they weren't going to wait long before they mowed the two of them down. Ducking into the nearby room seemed the most logical as he quickly tried to switch out two of the rounds in his revolver for the armor piercing ones that had just been given to him... only to suddenly squack as a grenade was tossed into the room! He was tired, and sluggish... had it been an actual grenade, he'd have been dead before he'd even moved. As it was, he noticed the pin wasn't pulled, and it was an EMP grenade. Even having trouble hearing the Ranger, he quickly snatched it up, waiting... the bots soon rolling past the room he was in, firing to try and hit Hazel. When they were in the doorways view, he quickly pulled the pin, counted to three, and tossed it between the group.

[Ranger22 179]

I was on the brink of collapse and my LMG was out of ammo, I didn't know how long I could last. The sentry bots were unrelenting despite me destroying one of them and damaging the others. Dammit I didn't know what else to do and my back was against the wall, a bad situation from the start how the hell am I gonna..my thoughts were suddenly derailed when I was suddenly blinded by a very bright blue burst of light. I stared in awe as the robots seized to send bullets towards me. I let out a sigh of relief glad the fight was over, " hahahaha griffon you pulled through!" I enthusiastically cried out before suddenly feeling a large amount of pain in my chest.

  

 I quickly trotted over and pulled of a piece of metal from one of the downed robots and smashed it to bits. I opened a compartment on my right flank and put in the mushed up metal. My armor soon started to gain its original shape now looking like proper armor instead of the bullet ridden mess it use to be. My medical systems started to kick in administering med-x quickly making the pain go away. I popped off my helmet and pulled out a health potion and chugged it down, feeling a relieving sensation as my wounds sealed up. I pulled out my radio tuning the nob a bit before getting the right frequency. " This is star paladin hazel nut do you copy?" *This is knight ice tea what's your statues over?* " I have reached the M.W.T facility and it is suitable for a base of operations, send over the team and also warn them the facility is not fully cleared out" * Roger that sir the team was sent near the border as soon as you departed, they will arrive shortly ice tea out*  I put my helmet back on and reloaded my gear, " it's safe to come out now friend!"

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Defender of Tomorrow,

 

   Noble glanced at Kayle as if the world no longer made sense. An Enclave pony cared about a surface dweller like him? Any pony at all caring about Noble, for that matter. He looked conflicted, as if he wanted to tell her about it, but he didn’t know if he should trust anypony with personal information. He’d been hiding any information about himself and been suspicious and distrusting of others since he came to the surface.

 

   “Not as good at hiding things as I thought, it seems. It’s just an old heartache. With the way my mind works, I don’t usually grieve for what I’ve lost. There’s only one exception. A mare I once knew and travelled with. Six months ago, I lost her. She just disappeared one day and left one thing behind. Along with a note. I don’t know what it says because I don’t have a Pipbuck, but she must’ve had a good reason to leave. That’s just the kind of mare she was.”

 

   He didn’t really know what came over him to reveal this, but now that he thought about it, she might trust him a little more since he gave out information that he would normally keep to himself. It might work out in his favour. But there was one fact he couldn’t ignore. He didn’t say it so they would trust him. Maybe he was just tired and had been through a lot in a short time. Why else would he break his rule about not giving out personal information? “I’ll tell you why I’m so secretive. Any information I give could be used to hurt me or those few I trust enough to call friends. There are ponies out there who have the brains to use this information, even if they are in the minority.”

[Defender of Tomorrow 323]

@Windbreaker

Kayle frowned as Noble told her about his friend that disappeared, she didn't have many friends out in the wasteland and she had no idea how that must have been for a pony such as Noble. She understood why he didn't show much emotion, he did not want to feel that same pain when she left, atleast that is what she concluded.

 

"Well if you're concerned about someone hurting me, they're gonna have to try very hard" She joked and then looked at him more seriously "So what sort of trouble did you get yourself into to be hunted or at least a target of value to the said ponies in question?" 

 

Kayle knew she may have been pushing it far now, she didn't expect a straight answer, or even an answer at all, but she wanted to keep the conversation going as they were nearing the abandoned house of Hazmat.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Defender of Tomorrow

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@@Defender of Tomorrow,

@@Windbreaker,

 

Hazmat kept his distance from the group. He would occasionally pull out his binoculars and look at the group. ED-E hovered low and kept silent to avoid detection. Hazmat stayed in the tall grass, hidden. The grass was thick enough so that even though Hazmat was wearing his yellow Radiation suit, it was still hard to see him. He would use his switch blade to kill any edible creature that came to close to the grass. He would take a piece of meat and put it in his saddle bag. ED-E and Hazmat were unsure if the group knew that they were, technically traveling with them, but better safe than sorry.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Times S. Hay

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

"A vote would be good I guess. It will make everypony feel more like a group." I pondered the issue of supplies. "I guess you're right about the newcomers too. While I don't trust them yet, we should earn their trust, or at least cooperation. We'll talk about it later when we get to this house or whatever." I walked to the cart and sat on the back, holding my sniper and constantly checking for anyone following us. I continued doing that for most of the ride. As uneventful at that may sound, it gave me time to think.

 

Frizzen had said that the Steel Rangers were at fault, but that didn't make sense. They would have attacked us directly. The ponies who'd done this war clad in regular armor. Is that why he attacked Regia? I then remembered 2 important bits of information I had forgotten about during the fighting, Frizzen's Pipbuck and the Technophiles. The Technos hated the Rangers, but did they brainwash Frizzen into believing that the Rangers were at fault for the stable's demise instead of a normal raid by the Gun Runners? And had anyone taken the "proof" from Frizzen's Pipbuck before he died?

 

I got off the cart and walked over to Baryon. "Did you happen to take the information Frizzen had talked about off his Pipbuck before i buried him?"

Edited July 4, 2014 by 2 Happy 4 You

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Defender of Tomorrow,

 

   “This is the Wasteland. No matter what you do, you end up pissing off one pony or another eventually. I’m just trying to protect myself in case they come calling for me one day. Y’know, self-preservation and all that.”

 

   Noble’s emotions were slowly starting to shine through. First had been anger when Anaphora made her insulting comment that he would have loved to shoot her for. Then he’d been worried and annoyed when Baryon gave away their plans so freely to somepony they were only just getting to know. Then a relapse of sadness while he reminisced about his lost friend. And now he felt…happy. From the way things were going, he might have friends now. Not ponies he’d paid or talked into travelling with him, but actual friends.

 

   “Y’know, Kayle, if we knew each other better… I could fall for you.” He said, flashing a genuine smile at Kayle. Enclave she may be, but she hardly seemed dangerous when ponies were being nice to her. Noble suspected that she was being pleasant because they were being pleasant, aside from Noble telling Baryon off that once.

[Defender of Tomorrow 323]

@Windbreaker

 

"Yeah, or just baring the armor with the enclave logo just does the trick as well." Kayle sighed and looked at her armor, she was getting attacked just for wearing it. She may have been enclave but that did not mean she bias towards pegasi, and she hated being grouped as another enclave pony trying to rid equestria of all non-pegasi. 

 

 Kayle was happy to see the house coming into view, she had a very long, eventful day and wanted to rest badly, or at least not have to worry about getting assaulted. She trusted the other ponies not to try to kill her while she slept, and they couldn't very well rob her of her armor either.

 

 

Kayle returned the smile to Noble, she liked Noble for a few reasons but she did not know if she liked him THAT much, not yet at least. "There's time for that, since I'm not bleeding out anymore."

[Anneal 2,197]

(Baryon) I merely shrugged at Steady Hoof's remark. "I didn't receive much information from Frizzen's PipBuck, but I did find a recurring pattern..." I downloaded a number of transcripts from my PipBuck to Steady Hoof. "You better look at this."

 

Omnine Security Systems — CONFIDENTIAL Megaspell Transportation Ballistic Missile. Omnine Security Systems — Cryogenic Sleep Pod. Omnine Security Systems — Food Preservation Extension Storage. "Look at these. Frizzen has pages of these blueprints, all of them from the pre-war era. Why would he keep this? How did he acquire this in the first place? There is definitely something behind this, something we don't know about."

 

"Hey, if you don't mind stopping your smart talk for a minute, it seems like we're here to crash for the night," Anaphora shouted, pointing to a small, squarely shack covered in sheets of rusted steel, resulting from decades of being attacked by the forces of nature. "Just saying, you all should better flip some caps to see who sleeps outside."

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Defender of Tomorrow, 

 

   Noble nodded as he looked ahead to the house.  He definitely needed a rest soon, given everything he’d been through in just one day.  The throbbing in his head was ceasing to be manageable, and he was running on fumes.  The scratch on his muzzle wasn’t that bad; he’d cleaned it up while reminiscing about his old friend. But the injury to his shoulder was pretty painful by now, especially considering his tolerance to pain was dropping now that he was feeling exhausted.

 

   ‘I need to rest soon. Overextended my magic and I’m barely keeping myself up.’  Noble glanced back at Kayle. “Could I ask a favour? If I pass out soon, would you carry me up to the house?”

 

[Defender of Tomorrow 323]

@Windbreaker

 

"And would you like some apples with that?" Kayle joked playfully as she nodded at the request and then turned to the group. "I'll sleep outside if there's some caps with it!" She didn't want to sleep outside, but she certainly didn't mind it if there were caps to compensate the inconvenience.

 

Kayle thought about what she just said, and in this part of the wasteland she was regretting it as she saw glowy eyes in the distance, multiple pairs blinking every so often, clearly fixated on the group, in all honesty, she wanted Noble to accompany her outside if the group took her up on the offer, she hated being alone. 

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

Hazmat decided that he would reveal that he was following them once they reached where they were going to rest. He had already gotten enough meat to last him a week, if he rationed it.

 

Because Hazmat had been living in the wasteland for so long, fruit and vegetables began to get harder to find when he left the Moohave. He began to change his diet and started to eat meat. Radiation was also another problem with him, since he doesn't have a Pipbuck he doesn't know if an area is radiated or not. Either he knows it by common sense or he just doesn't know. To help defend against it and to get rid of radiation that he may have, he began to take Rad-X and RadAway regularly.

 

 Hazmat noticed the group was going to rest soon and began to move closer to them.

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

I looked up from the perplexing data to look at the shack. It wasn't much in my opinion, and it was definitely too small for all of us. "I'll be fine sleeping outside," I said when Anaphora mentioned flipping bottlecaps to see who slept inside. "Plus, let's rest before we do something like that. It's been a long day." I turned back to Baryon. "Is there anyway you could copy that to my Pipbuck? I..." I saw somepony coming up behind us and quickly turned around. It was Hazmat. "When'd you get behind us?" I asked. Weren't you...? Never mind." I walked to the wagon and pulled out a few supplies from my bag. I took off my helmet and let out my hair before going back to the group and handing out some food and water. "This is almost all of my supplies, so try not to eat it all tonight."

 

--------------------------------------

 

I parked my cart and looked at the shack. Not very large, but it would do for the night. I opted out of sleeping inside. After traveling so much, I preferred the outdoors. I looked at the group. Such a ragtag bunch. We needed organization. Baryon, Steady, and Noble would all be good candidates for leader, but Baryon seems too... open and friendly, Noble too shut away, and Steady too unstable (no pun intended). Maybe all three? I inwardly shrugged and went and pulled out a bed roll and set it on the floor near the cart for later. I walked back to the group and sat down. Resting sounded great, and so did food. I took a can of Cram from Steady and pried it open with my knife. "So, I've noticed that we really lack in organization," I said, addressing the whole group. "We need a leader. Someone who will call the shots for us and lead us in the right direction." 

Edited July 10, 2014 by 2 Happy 4 You

[Anneal 2,197]

A fire was starting outside, quickly eating up the branches until it was reduced to ash. More branches and logs were placed into the fire, and somepony had already hung a metal pot on top of the fire that was held on by a skewer. Inside was some radroach meat – at least it was enough for us to last for the night. 

 

"What the hell is that?" Baryon asked. 

 

"Radroach meat," I (Anaphora) replied. "What else did you think it was?"

 

Baryon cringed and stood back. "Meat? I don't mean to be insulting, but that's...disgusting," Baryon commented. "Sorry, but I thought only griffons ate meat, not us ponies. Even so, I'm not eating roaches."

 

"Just shut up," I retorted. Yet another non-meat eater. This wasn't the first time I've met with these types, and while I did know that Baryon was stuck in a Stable that was closed several generations back, it didn't excuse him from wasting food. But judging by his appearance, he wasn't going to eat the radroaches. Even if we force-feeded him, he was probably going to throw it all out anyway. No point in trying to change someone's beliefs. " Newsflash: There's not a lot of vegetation after the bombs fell, so most of us turned omnivorous after a few decades time. Get some Cram in Amber's wagon eating meat bothers you that much."

 

Baryon sighed and left for a short while to search for some food in the wagon. Meanwhile, Amber, who was nearby the shack, suggested that we pick a leader. "I don't think a leader is necessary," I responded. "If we can all play an equal role when events come up, we should do fine. Getting a leader to do something for the group as a whole is just asking for all of us to do what he or she says. If we do have disputes, I think we're capable enough to solve it ourselves rather than have one pony deal with everything."

 

"...as I was saying, I can try to send you some of the information, but it's going to take some time. I need your PipBuck," Baryon said as he approached the fire with Steady, a box of Cram on his hooves. He suddenly stopped speaking when he looked up and saw a number of us talking about leadership. He appeared a bit confused. "So what are you ponies talking about again?" he questioned.

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Defender of Tomorrow,

 

   Noble raised an eyebrow. Kayle seemed nervous, though only after she offered to sleep outside. He nudged her gently and smiled, inwardly remarking that the gesture of smiling was becoming easier. And he was slowly opening up to others, starting with Kayle. Even if this set off warning bells, he couldn’t deny that it would be easier for others to trust him and for him to trust them if he let others in. It just meant he had to be careful.

 

   “It’s ok, Kayle. If you’re feeling uncomfortable, I’ll stay with you.” He said, a warm tone in his voice for the first time. He glanced at the cart, taking note that Steady and Amber were handing out food. He tried to steady himself, despite the fact that he was now more or less limping. “Why don’t you grab some food from Steady? I should be ok for a few minutes.”

[Defender of Tomorrow 323]

@Windbreaker

 

Kayle nodded and smiled warmly at Noble as he offered to stay with her. She immediately went to get food from Steady, food for two, and thanked Steady for it.

 

"I got food for us." She said as she came back to Noble. "I hope you don't mind some pre-war food Noble" She felt comfortable with Noble, she was already thinking of a nickname for him, but she didn't want to rush into anything as she was relatively new to relationships.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Defender of Tomorrow

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

After having handed out food to all who wanted it, Steady sat down with the rest of the group. "I actually agree," I said before stuffing my face with Sugar Apple Bombs. "I think a leader would be useful. I've seen many groups who have just gone on their way with no leader, and they always split apart with no true direction." Another hoofful. "It is up to you though, that's just my opinion." And while that may have been my "opinion" I couldn't help the need to try and force this. I didn't want this to end like all the other groups I'd seen. We were too strong as a whole. If I planted the seeds now, hopefully they'd be grown by morning.

 

_______________________

 

 

While I agreed with Steady, he wasn't going about it the right way. "How many ponies do we have? Eight? That's too many ponies to have trying to do their own thing. We need somepony, or ponies, who can prioritize and make the hard decisions. Somepony who isn't afraid of bearing the blame and responsibility of failure, but will always try to lead us towards success." I opened my cram and ate some. "What I'm trying to say is, no structure and no cohesion will tear us apart before our journey would even reach its peak."

 

I looked at my cram, no longer interested in it. The thought of the chaos that could form from the different personalities of the ponies here would tear us apart and maybe even kill us if we didn't work together. As Steady had said, we were strong as a whole, and couldn't afford to be torn apart. The things we could do for the wasteland and other ponies could be tremendous. All we needed was a compass.

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

@,

Hazmat didn't answer, He just stood up and got out of the grass. He found some sticks and set them down. He made a ring of stones and placed the sticks inside. He looked at ED-E and pointed at the sticks. ED-E charged his zapper and shot the sticks. The heat from the zapper lit the sticks and made Hazmat his own camp fire. He had made it a few yards away from the group. He looked at the group and saw Steady handing out food. Hazmat pulled a bag of Gecko meat from his saddle bag and went over to Steady. Hazmat set the bag of meat in front of Steady and walked back to his campfire. Hazmat sat down and looked at ED-E. ED-E made a beeping noise and began to fly in the area near Hazmat, looking for threats.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Times S. Hay

[Anneal 2,197]

"Fuck that," I (Anaphora) retorted. "I don't see anyone competent enough to become a leader. We're not even close to a group, either way. Look over there," – I pointed to the radiation suited 'Hazmat' and his alive little robot – "Not even willing to share a fire. Then we have a Stable pony that's not even willing to reveal anything to us. I could mention a lot more, but honestly, I've seen raiders who can do several times better than this so-called group of ours."

 

"I'm voting for no one for this instance," I added, "unless someone can convince me. You can find me inside the shack." With that, I stood up and trotted into the building, using my magic to force the door open before closing it shut. 

 

Inside, I sighed and lay down on the prepared blanket, dropping my stuff on the ground. The shack was small as it was, covered hastily by wood and metallic sheets. With nothing interesting to do, I simply looked at the ceiling and pulled out some of my supplies. Submachine gun and pistols. A plasma grenade. Combat knife. Gotten these from the mercenaries. Healing potions. Stampede. Hydra. A box of Instamash. Sugar Bombs. Already had these before I met the group. Detonator. Explosive collars. Suddenly, I thought of Line Plucker and Charcoal Embers...what were both of them doing when I ran away? They must be trying to find me by now...

 

-------------------

 

(Baryon), busy eating his own Cram, missed most of what the group was saying. Still hungry, I glanced at Amber's Cram. "Mind if I have that?" I asked, though in the end, I impulsively grabbed the half eaten box anyway and swallowed most of it whole. 

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Defender of Tomorrow,

@,

@,

 

   “Pre-War food is fine. I’m ok with that.” Noble said, sitting down by the fire in time to hear Anaphora call him a Stable Pony again. While it was true (not that the others knew it), his opinion of her was steadily worsening to the point where he was considering whether or not to just shoot her. The only reason he wasn’t in a bad mood was because of Kayle, the only mare he’d talked to and liked so far. That said, the others seemed to be talking about leaders for the group. Noble decided to give his opinion.

 

   “A leader’s role is to make the hard decisions for the good of the group. He needs to know when to take the advice of his fellows and when to stand firm to his convictions. He must balance the well-being of the team and the good of the mission. And most of all, a leader has to trust his team and give them reason to trust him.” Noble said, remembering a speech he was once given. He spoke with passion, as if he believed those words deep in his heart. His stoic exterior had already started to give way to showing his real emotions, and he had to admit, it felt good to open up to others.

[Ranger22 179]

I was glad the fighting was over, too much fighting is never good for any pony. My griffon friend has not showed himself for a while even after the fight. His blip showed on the E.F.S but he still wasn't getting up"must have fell asleep haha" I walked over to the end of the room, and boy did my heart just skip a beat. The room was filled with pre-war tech power armor suits,terminals,radios,talismans, and weapons. I greedily hurried along and switched out my weapons with a quad missile launcher and a Gatling laser I found. I left the armory open for my griffon friend for any loot he wanted, saved my life after all. I walked out of the facility making sure I left a note for the reinforcements coming in to let the griffon do what birds like to do. I felt happy and content with my mission, now time to reconnect with the rangers here and group up. I happily skipped around wandering a random path, I feel sorta lucky for once haha I wonder who I will run into.

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

Hazmat turned his head and looked at Anaphora. ED-E flew over to the rest of  the group's fire and looked at Hazmat. Hazmat looked at ED-E before looking away and pulling out his hunting rifle. ED-E made some beeping noises. Hzmat unloaded all the rounds from the rifle and put them away. Hazmat checked its condition and it was in O.K. condition. Hazmat loaded his rifle and looked down the scope. Hazmat set his rifle down and pulled out his switchblade and pulled out a rag and used it to clean off the blood. He then pull out the list with names on it and read to himself over and over again.