open Fallout Equestria: Ground Zero [RP]

[Anneal 2,197]

@@Charcoal Embers, @@notten1,

 

Anaphora stood there quietly, a few ponies drawing out their pistols, rifles, anything. The merchant mare, Miss Line, also stood there until she went into full collapse and screamed at her. No...it's like this all over again...like how my griffon friend left me years before... Anaphora looked down with little emotion in her face, hiding her eyes with her hat's shade, allowing the mare's shouting through her ears and breaking her body. 

 

"She's that pony on the bounty poster," a stallion commented.

 

"Fuck, how did that slaver bitch get through our defenses?" another stallion on the bench muttered. 

 

"She better be dead like all the scum of the wastes," another pony insulted, tapping her metal baseball bat on the wall. 

 

Anaphora straightened up, which alerted most of the ponies inside, leaving the general store in dead silence, save for the beeping on the remote that was quickly deactivated by Line. The final sentence hit her the most, and Anaphora finally spoke. "When you realize you have to change, then it's already too late. That's what happened to me. I'm...I'm..." – she felt a tear run through her neck – "not a monster..."

 

"Deactivate collar, 200 milliamperes," Anaphora abruptly said, causing Charcoal's collar to come loose and emit flashes of electricity; with Anaphora's magic, the electricity jumped upward and shut down the entire house's lights. Anaphora took the advantage of the darkness, traversing through the small crowd while most of them were confused and in a commotion, and left from the door, speeding up to a gallop and running off in the dark. No pony would be able to shoot her when they can't see her in the pitch black night.

 

Anaphora didn't look back, running off into the wasteland of dead trees and covering up tears from her eyes. That was the last time she was ever going to stay in Defiance; she would never be accepted there, and the cycle began again. Anaphora just wanted to go far, far away.

 

((Don't try to meet up with her, Vincent isn't supposed to see Anaphora yet.))

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

 

@@Scribblegroove, 

 

Paladin Aeon stared at the creature, astonished while he was hit by the hammer and painfully knocked back, though his power armor luckily absorbed some of the damage. "Ack...that electromagnetic beam didn't even scratch that thing? Does this thing have harder skin than a deathclaw?"

 

Meanwhile, Mendiant went through a near-death experience as she tried to run off with the fainted pegasus stallion. She was about to run back to the hill until a hammer went inches away from her right, which sent her into extreme shock and jumping away. I just nearly got killed by that being there... she thought, breathing quickly while Aeon was trying to deal another Gauss rifle shot at the creature, missing and hitting the ground.

 

The two other Rangers, Senior Paladin Cleavage included, then came into the rescue, firing a barrage of plasma beams from behind. Cleavage used his own trusty plasma rifle and fired at the creature, along with Paladin Parabola, from the back. "Just try to shoot at its body! The laser and plasma beams seem to hurt the thing!"

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor contiued to walked beside the griffin merc as they neared the town.

 

"Hmmm water isn't a problem for me at the moment I have some rad-x on me that I can use to clean the water if it makes it cheaper for you lot I can give you a bottle so you don't have to spend 80 extra caps on clean water"

 

Connor the looked over to the changeling and then turned back to vincent.

 

"What are you planning to do with the changeling?"

[Charcoal Embers 169]

@, @@notten1,

 

Charcoal watched in surprise as Anaphora just stood there while everypony around them pointed their guns at her. She kind of wanted to defend her, despite the fact that she was the one who enslaved her. She was about to say something when Anaphora spoke something and her collar suddenly came a bit loose. And when her collar sparked she nearly panicked, but when it stopped and she could actually see again, sort of, she saw that Anaphora was gone. She looked around a bit, but still couldn't find her. She sighed a bit and walked over to Line.

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

@Late Suri Polomare

 

I sat down on the bedding. The day had been slow and boring, but I got what I needed from the town. Defiance I think. Anyways, I spent most of the day trading in the town and got restocked on most of my ammo. I hope I didn't get ripped off too much back there. Stocked my .308's and a few precious .50 cal. bullets. Left at about 5, if my PipBuck clock was correct. I had left at a leisurely pace, so I was still well within sight of the town.

 

I took off my helmet, letting my mane fall down to its normal position. I scrolled through my PipBuck to cycle the water and food I had. Looked like dinner was some dirty water and Sugar Apple Bombs. Not the worst I've had to eat. That Cram stuff is gross. Any who, I was about to start eating when a form rushed past me. Sounded like it was crying to. I yelled out to it to get its attention, but I was unsure if it'd heard me.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Bladed & Verses

[notten1 18]

     @Charcoal Embers

 

    As I was going to intentionally fire a warning shot, Something completly dropped me off guard. She said a few words and Charcoal was free, She was free! Woo Hoo!! Free! But wait , Ana started running, uh oh, I saw Charcoal come to me, I yelled, "Come on, get your stuff and let's go! And get you're gun out incase we're chased, there's a mag in that scarf on the floor!"

 

((The scarf was around the Collar and when it disarmed, it fell of))

 

    I galloped to Tom, with my Rifle slung over me and things packed, I ran where Ana was around. "Charcoal, right? Anyways, I'm going to be sending a Broadcast with this.." It was hard, but as I was galloping, I unlocked the Lock and got out the broadcaster. I set a signal and sent a message, "Anaphora, this is Line, Where are you, we want to help you! I at least want to say thank you...*beep*" I set it to be automated from that point and put it back in the box. I immediaty felt horrible, even though she was a slaver, she let her only slave go. That, in my books, is a good deed. And now she's gone, threatened by the Fiasco of the Detonator. I wanted to at least to hug her and say sorry... 

 

      After awhile Charcoal and I stopped to take a rest when night was going to approach, "We need to find somewhere to go for the night, I know a place not too far from here.  It's a cave, I heard there are some places we can hang up the hat there." I put my mind to think and remember where it was. Mountains, skeletons, wooden door in cave entrance. "Yeah, I remember where it is, Follow me! Just keep your gun out, there might be some Rodents there that may be hungry" Then we started walking, and walking, until we reached a dried up lake, pier and Cave, with a door. Bingo...

Edited March 28, 2014 by notten1

[Blacklight 118]

" Well...thanks..." Renatus replied, a bit surprised by both the amount of time he had been out and the offer that...Knight had given him. Not like I have much of a choice...He noted grimly...Maybe he knows something about the ministry mares. That would be one step closer to finding out what happened to me. Now, time to get off, I think I've been carried for long enough now, besides I don't think the town will take a liking to me in my normal form. j Stretching his insect-like wings, he gave them a few testing flaps, getting blood back though them as he took off, creating a slight buzzing as he lifted himself off of Knight. The flight was anything but graceful though it served its purpose as he landed next to Knight. Winching a bit as he landed on his injured leg, he reminded himself to find a doctor in the morning as he turned to Knight as he asked, " Hey...Knight, thanks for helping me back there. Though I have to ask something, do you know anything about the Ministry mares? Specifically this one?" He briefly turned into the mare he had seen in his memory, Rarity was it? Allowing Knight to get a good look, he transformed into a different form. This one was of a brown coated unicorn stallion and as he finished, he turned and found both the griffin and the enclave talking, with the Enclave occasionally turning to look at him. What is he doing now? He thought angrily as he glared at the pegasus. 

[Guardian Braveheart 23]

As he got off my back, I got a bit of relief back there. I didn't know how much strain I could take before falling flat on the ground. Then, he asked me a peculiar questions. The Ministry Mares, huh...

 

"If I know them right, they are Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle," I told them. "The things I get from people these days are mostly about them. What they did in the past, and what happened to them. They said they were all once friends, now... I don't know what happened to them. Some say they got corrupted by the stress of their jobs."

 

As he turned into one of them, I gave a quizzical look.

 

"I know there are no Stallions in the Ministry Mares. They are mares after all. Oh wait, a disguise. never mind."

 

As he turned towards Vincent, I saw the Enclave again. Great, what's he up to this time?

 

"Oh, and the Ministry mare you showed me earlier, was Rarity from the Ministry of Image... I think."

Edited March 28, 2014 by Guardian Braveheart

[Anneal 2,197]

@,

 

((I'm not sure if that was directed at me, but all right. It's still the middle of the night, by the way.))

 

Anaphora was running as fast as her hooves could carry her, until she could no longer see the lights from the town of Defiance and slowed from exhaustion. She had no idea where she was going; for the last hour or so until near sunrise, she had been galloping in an unknown direction only to escape those two ponies she had once called her companions – and that included the slave. I'm not friends with that slave, Anaphora denied to herself. I only loosened her collar because the electrical shock won't be able to fry the lights, and I don't want to get my bounty increased because I killed a pony. You don't even bother to sympathize her anyway. Why are you crying...no, I can't cry now, no, no, stop...

 

She stopped and sat on the middle of the road, tired and just out of sight from the town in the middle of the barren plains, laying down in tears. She had ran away from Defiance, just like she ran away from home, ran away from her best friend, ran away from her old life...Anaphora didn't bother to wipe her watery eyes. She just wanted to stay out of everypony's eyes, because to her, she was just some monstrous mare who needed to be killed. And now, she didn't even care if she was shot by a mercenary sniper in the head right now.

 

While she couldn't see clearly from her tears, she could faintly see a pony near the horizon, or at the least, a blue figure. Who's...who's that? Anaphora thought. Then her emergency ham radio was making static sounds, until the frequency became less and less static as it automatically changed to the nearby transmission, bypassing the other radio stations. Unbeknownst to her, from Defiance. 

 

"Hey-a there, this is Amplitude, coming from you live from FM 97.6, Great Barren Radio – *jazz music* –  I at least want to say thank you... *repeat* Anaphora, this is Line. Where are you? We want to help you. I at least want to say thank you... *repeat* Anaphora..."

 

Anaphora stopped. Why does that mare always want to be so forgiving to me? she thought, her eyes shedding tears again. This was all wrong, all so wrong...

[TheLineTrotter 100]

"Honestly, I don't care. I`m not really the one paying in the end. But my... employer is a Stable pony, and Stable ponies tend to be wary about using irradiated showers and sinks. Besides, it'd give me a chance to refill my canteens." he said, jiggleing one strapped to his side, the lack of a sound showing it was empty. When it came to the question on the Changeling, he glanced back. The Changeling was back on his hooves.... and was a goddess damned Ministry Mare! He was about to go back there and demand he change out of such a recognizable form, when he changed into a stallion. Alright, better. And now he wouldn't get hit on by the hotel owner. "To awnser your question..." Vincent began, looking back at the Enclave stallion, "... nothing. He wants to come along, fine. He owes me for that ammo and those mentats I gave him, so I`ve gotta make sure he pays me back. If he wants to come along, that's fine with me..." his eyes suddenly hardened, glaring at Connor, "What's your problem with him anyway? First you're telling him to stand down, then you're shooting at him, then you're chargeing at him, then you're trying to ambush him, then you're trying to help him when he's having a freakout? " This stallion was very, very confuseing... "Regardless, you try and attack him again... Bayron isn't here to chastise me, and without that helmet, I`ll have no problem taking you down... won't even waste the bullets." Vincent threatened, flashing his claws for good measure. 

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor turned his head towards vincent and he shook it.

 

 

"Not to be blunt here but all the times you've managed to hurt me was when I was ether immobile or distracted. Next time you and me go at it you'll have my complete attention. And the reason I've shot at the changeling is because he fired the first round. His kind is dangerous they drain emotions hell they even started a war with equestria once almost took canterlot but the ministry mares and one of the princesses pushed them back if I recall"

 

Connor looked back over to where the changeling was but instead saw rarity Connor started to run towards her a grin behind his helmet but then realized that it was the changeling. Connor then walked over to him and shouted at him.

 

"How dare you imitate rarity she don't deserve that especially from the likes of you. none of the ministry mares deserve it don't do it again or I will cause you pain on a level you will be unable to believe."

[Guardian Braveheart 23]

I stood between the Enraeged Enclave and Renatus now a normal looking Stallion. I am not going to let another gun fight tonight.

 

"Look, he just showed me a specific Mare to fit one of his hallucinations he just had," I said in a calm tone. "You don't need to go ballistic with it. Besides, if he even went with that disguise, they will all know its a fake because they're dead. Now will be fooled by a dead pony huh?"

 

I looked back at Renatus, then shifted my attention back to him.

 

"You are not killing him when I'm still breathing. Either just tag along and be a nice buck, of fuck off to you safe heaven above the clouds."

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@Guardian Braveheart, @@TheLineTrotter, @, @

 

Neuro frowned. "All of your threats are of NO PURPOSE at the slightest! This enclave stallion clearly has no chance at harming us, so his threats are empty. Paying attention to him at all is a waste of your time! I'd rather have you escort me to that hotel like you are supposed to do! What are you... children!?" He said with a contemptuous and annoyed look on his face. He was speaking sofltly, but clearly with a lot of anger in his voice. "And on the matter of the changeling, unlike you, enclave grunt, he hasn't threatened anyone yet. And you've posed a threat to these other fellows earlier as I've heard. Your argument is invalid. Please leave us to our own business. We can perfectly judge the changeling on our own..."

 

He breezed. These imbeciles stalled his progression and most of all, tired him to no end! He closed his eyes and put a hoof on his forehead. "My apologies for this outburst... Lon, lead the way to the Hotel." He said, trying to calm down. He didn't like being angry. It prevented logical and reasonal thought. And if there was one thing this barren wasteland needed, it was exactly that.

 

After Neuro's angry outburst, Lon did what he was ordered and led the way. He honestly didn't care about the enclave nor the changeling. They didn't pose a threat, and they weren't a burden either. He had no reason to protest to them tagging along...

[Guardian Braveheart 23]

@@Scribblegroove,

 

I just gave a nod. No use fighting for a lost cause.

 

"Renatus with me. Leave him be. He won't bite," I told the changeling.

 

 I followed the duo on a reasonable distance. Snipers won't be less helpful if they are close by. I took in more distance than usual, a good 10-feet away, just for safe-keeping.

 

"Hey, mind explaining your kind to me," I asked him. "I just wanted to know if the Enclave was crazy or not."

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor walked away from the changeling and growled

 

"Sorry but I don't appreciate having the six ponies I idolised as a child imitated by the likes of his kind. Hell two of the them have even saved my life I don't know how many times. What if he started to imitate your buddy or hell even you"

[Charcoal Embers 169]

@@notten1,

 

Charcoal nodded and went over to the scarf that had fallen off and began to look through it, finding the gun she had dropped and the ammo clip for the gun. She slid the magazine into the cartage before wrapping it in the scarf. She had nothing to hold the gun with so she just followed Line and said nothing as she listened to the broadcast being sent by Line.

[notten1 18]

 @Charcoal Embers

 

    "Ok, we need to set up camp. It's going to get dark soon." I walked up to where the entrance was, I saw the loomy and damp place it was, but I knew that it was safer than out in the wastes. This part of the Wasteland is filled with Rad Rodents. I've kept the Broadcaster outside inside a metal bos that I found just lying there outside, in order for the Signal to work.

 

      When I got my stuff that I needed from Tom for the night, including my 10mm Pistol and some ammo for it, I opened the door to the cave, it was quite interesting smell that radiated from this place. I walked inside and I notice that this Cave has been a Cavern, but wait, if this is a Cavern then that must mean, oh dear Celestia, This is the Smuggler's Hideout, This is the place that they used to hid some stuff and material that was too valuable to be kept above ground.

 

      "Charcoal, you get ready, I think there might be Rodents here" I loaded my 10mm Pistol with a magazine and walked more inside. While I was walking, I heard small drips, and an eery quietness. I found a place that looks sorta safe, it was a little Room in the Cave that seemed natural enough, not a typical room, but still one. "Ok, let's get the stuff set up here, I'll get the fire and camp set up. Maybe you can go see if there's anything else down here, if you don't see light, come back, Ok? Anyways, Let me tell you something, this place is a place rumored to be the Smuggler's Hideout, it was where they had valuable stuff laid here"

 

       I laid down some mats and started to set up the Fire, "If you can find something useful come back here, and if need anything, just ask me ((You can god-mod her to give you either a Hunting Rifle or Ammo))" I set up the camp, and I started to eat. I thought about today, it made to to depressed to think about it. I took a swig of Vodka and felt my eyes close slowly as I went to sleep...

Edited March 28, 2014 by notten1

[Blacklight 118]

Renatus just sighed at the scene the enclave pegasus had just caused as he turned to Knight, he really hadn't gained much information on the ministry mares from Knight, except for a few things he could have guessed on his own. I well like they say, if you want something, you have to go straight to the source. Though where would I even st-he was pulled from his thoughts as Knight asked him about his species. Taken off guard by the question, Renatus took few moments before replying, " Well, where do I start...I guess for one Changelings are all gender-neutral, though I personally prefer being a stallion." To prove his point, he gender-flipped his form for a few seconds before returning to his stallion form, " Another is that while we do feed on emotions, we can also survive on..." he trialled off for a moment as he thought, Should I tell him? ​Deciding to risk it, he continued, thought in a quieter voice, "We can also survive for a time on raw meat as well, though we still need emotions in the long run. Thing of it like this, raw meat is like food while emotions are like water, we can survive without meat though not without emotions. We also have a variety of methods to feed on a pony, some actually are quite pleasureful for the ponies involved while some are more...painful."

Edited March 28, 2014 by Blacklight01

[TheLineTrotter 100]

Vincent blinked as the group was chastised... he had no idea if he was being thrown in with the group. He didn't particularly see how that would've been fair, considering he had been avoiding the squabble... all he'd done was threaten a potential threat. The fact that he considered the threats invalid seemed rather foolish on Neuro's part... the Enclave, grunt or not, had energy weapons, and all it would take is one lightning fast shot to turn his new employer into dust...  Regardless, he remained quiet. There was no purpose in continueing this argument. Even he couldn't keep himself from rolling his eyes... this Enclave Stallion really thought he could take him? Vincent had to look no further than his busted wing to know that wasn't true. He'd ensured he'd had the Stallion's full attention before attacking. Plus, he kept going on and on about the Changeling... if Neuro was right about one thing, it was the fact that this fool's argument was shit... he wished he was gone.

 

He heard the changeling and Knight talking, listening to them as they walked, finding it quite fascinating... aside from a few books he'd read from Stables, written history of Changelings was... scare. He wondered why the Zebras never attempted an alliance with the creatures... surly there was bad blood between them and ponies still, you'd think it'd been easy... had the Changelings refused for some unknown reason? When they arrived at the hotel, Vincent tossed the caps on the counter. He attempted to haggle, but wasn't able to make the shrewd owner budge. He didn't care: he'd ensure Neuro paid him back for the caps spent.

 

The room wasn't anything amazing... a couple of single, dirty, stained beds and a couch that seemed in even worse state, along with a side room for the bathroom. Vincent looked it all over, seemingly checked for any sort of trap. Paranoid, perhaps, but this was the Wasteland. After finding the room sufficiently bomb free, he turned to his fellow guards. "So, who wants to take first shift on watch?"

 

(If we decide to go with watches, for roleplay purposes, I request Vincent goes either 2nd or last.)

 

@,

@@Guardian Braveheart,

@@Scribblegroove,  

[Anon In Equestria 57]

Connor carried on walking he kept glancing over to the changeling vigilant just in case it tried to feed on him or the others

 

When they arrived at the hotel Connor went to the counter and rented himself a room next to the others and went into it he sat down on the rotted mattress and sighed today was a long day

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@TheLineTrotter, @, @@Guardian Braveheart

 

Neuro looked around the room, and saw it's dreaded state. He was used to luxury and comfort, but he couldn't be bothered by this room. As long as he had a place to rest that was in reasonable condition, he could deal with it. He let himself fall down on the couch and opened a file on his pip-buck, making himself comfortable. He never slept much anyway, and he had something that would keep him busy. Keeping journals, writing down ideas, coding scripts, sketching new designs, anything. He was always busy with something, and he hadn't had the time to do those things in a while now. But now that he had, he was looking forward to it. He payed attention to whatever was going on in the room as well, but focused mostly on what was going on on his screen. Currently, a design for a particular creation he had been very proud of... A megaspell...

 

Lon looked at the two ponies he was going to share shifts with. He nodded at them. "I'll take the first shift, and I will wake Knight for the second one, unless one of you two has problems with that..." He said briskly. It didn't matter to him at all, but it was easier to state things and just get it done than to argue about it.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

@Late Suri Polomare,   

 

Greshken the minotaur

 

The minotaur grunted with delight when he heard the power armor of the stallion creak under his force. It gave in just enough for him to know that he wouldn't get up very quickly, and if he would, he wouldn't be walking very fast. The brief relief was quickly revoked as he saw two more rangers approach in the distance. "Shit..." He grunted. He lunged foward and made swung his hammer into the air, letting it come down on where he thought the frightened mare with the unconscious pegasus would go.

 

The burned spots on his skin started to ache a little. The adrenaline in his body numbed the pain, but after the fight he would definately feel it. He let go of his hammer, no matter if he had hit or not, letting fall down on the ground next to him. He then grabbed one of the throwing spears and held it in his right hand. He stuck out his left arm at one of the approaching rangers, readying himself to thrust the spear into one of the two with great force. With his right arm behind himself and his left arm aiming at his target, he rotated his chest, effectively utilizing every muscle in his chest, and then extended his right arm, throwing the spear off like an arrow at the pony with the plasma rifle. He then readied himself for his next move, and the hits that he would have to take from these ponies' weaponry...

 

(He has a total of 300 health and a dt of 4, not counting his armor. I think I can estimate how much hits he can take... A lot...)

[Anneal 2,197]

@@TheLineTrotter,

 

Two NCR Rangers were standing outside on the second floor of the hotel a.k.a grain factory, tired looking and exhausted. Most noticeably, one was a mare while the other was a decaying stallion, with his coat peeling from age, both clad in patrol combat armor with the large red symbol of two unicorn horns: the symbol of the Republic.

 

"Damn it, if we were on patrol duty for the night, I would have fucking shot the slaver," Cotter Pin, the mare, said. "Wouldn't have missed with my rifle even in the dark...and I would have gotten three hundred caps."

 

"You mean that Anaphora mare?" Reiver returned with a raspy and undead voice. "You claimed you wanted to kill the O. Mallet stallion for that fortune, and now you're whining how you're not getting a few hundred caps. And let's face it, you wouldn't have shot her in the dark, anyway. Since she ran away eastward towards the Barren Plains, it's likely she would have died from the radscorpions there."

 

"Barren Plains? Isn't directly running there considered suicide?" Cotter Pin stood straight, looking surprised. 

 

"Either way, the slaver's already been dealt with. She won't come back again, unless she wants a bullet to the head. Good riddance," the ghoul replied. 

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

No response. Damn. I made an attempt to get its attention again before going back to my food. I munched on a few Sugar Apple Bombs (damn these are good) before drinking the water and finishing of the sweet delicacy. I contemplated taking off my armor while sleeping for a moment before taking it off and going to bed. "Sweet dreams my gun, my armor and I," I said, my nightly ritual (Am I really that alone? Shit!) before dozing off.

[Guardian Braveheart 23]

"That's interesting," I said. Changelings are... weird, but cool. "You can take the emotions of the raiders we encounter on the way. Although, is there another way to get emotions by not hurting people? I don't know if they have alternatives, like they want to give their emotions to you."

 

As we got in the hotel, Lon offered the first shift. Aw man, I wanted that.

 

"Ok, if you want it," I said to him.

 

I took the desk in the room, looking all rotten and shit. I looked at my Pipbuck and accessed a recorder. Time to record a log:

 

Entry 69:

It's been two months since that tragedy. Star and the others are back in Gutterville doing Guard duty while I'm out. Apparently, there I was hired for a job to protect. I guess this guys a VIP or something. I don't carry. The pay is good, and I got something Steel would want to beg like a little puppy for. Man, I'm expecting his face when I get back to them and show of my new toy. On the other hoof, I got someone under my care, a new partner. The name is Renatus, a Changeling. Possibly the last of his kind, or there are more but hiding because they can change forms. Man, having him would be a game-changer in every stealth mission. But I still wonder, The duo I'm working with has enough fire power to destroy 3 camps of raiders, why add more?

 

After saving the recording, I rested my head until I went to sleep... until Lon wakes me up for my shift.

[TheLineTrotter 100]

Vincent walked past the pair, intent on ignoring them. It was strange to see NER troops this far... were they scouts? He hoped not. They were spread too thin for their own good, and trying to annex this territory would just make things worse... he stopped dead in his tracks as he heard them talk about a bounty... and drop a name. Anaphora... it was a name he knew well, and a very distinct name. He listened... she was running somewhere dangerous... and once again he had to make a choice... there were bounty hunters after her. That was clear. Maybe not chasing after her directly, due to another outstanding bounty... and she was running headfirst into a dangerous location... 

 

He stood there, trying to decide... before walking into the room. He'd made his decision, years ago, on where he stood with her... he was going to atleast stand by it...and he had a contract. He always finished the contract...

 

When he heard Lon speak, he nodded simply, laying down on one of the beds, closing his eyes and allowing himself to fall asleep for his watch... he'd had a long day, and some rest would be good as he forced memories of Anaphora out of his mind...

 

Sadly, his mind had other plans... shortly after he fell asleep, he found himself... well, he had no idea where... the ground seemed to be a red, swirling mass... the sky was filled with a mixture of chains, cages, pony copses and whips... and before him, up on a pile of cages, sat his oldest friend... she sat on a throne.

 

The throne was simply monstrous...  it was made of ponies, living ponies. They all wore slave collars... some beeped. They sobbed, and wailed, all clearly alive and of various ages and species. There were earth ponies, unicorns, zebras... a griffon... the two mares that served as fore-hoof rest had clearly been violated, recently... they were all suffering, but in Vincent's mind he could tell one thing: Anaphora herself hadn't done this. She'd simply sold them to the people that did... as if that was better...

 

"Oh! Vincent, you're here..." she said, sounding gleeful, drinking what must have been a very expensive and frivolous glass of wine. "Ana... I came to get you to stop this... this isn't you!" He shouted, attempting to stamp his talon down dramatically, not even noticing it sank into the ground. 

 

"Ohoho... isn't me? And what do you know of me, really Vincent? Did you think I was your friend? That I cared about you? Some griffon?" she said, chuckling sadistically.  "Oh, I pretended... acted as if we were friends... close... like I would do anything for you, as you would for me... the truth is, Vincent..." she said, setting the wine glass down on the mare who served as a hoofrest's head, "... Is I was using you. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be... you've seen me do it a thousand times... manipulate... lie... do whatever it took... did you think any of my family cared about you? Father just thought having a griffon protege would bring in more caps... and give another target to be shot at... had you died 'learning' from him, none would have cared...Why, if I could slap a collar on you right now, i`d sell you in a heart beat." she smiled lightly at that as Vincent glared at her from below.

 

"Just... just stop this Ana! This is monstrous, and you know it!"Vincent shouted, only eliciting a chuckle from Anaphora. "Monstrous?" she mare began, "No no no... Vincent.... I do little to these ponies... I feed them, I care for them, I take them to another. Sure, I earn some caps from the ordeal, but aside from that, karmatically, i`m clean!" she gestured to herself, he clothes and her coat completely spotless... "...as opposed to you, of course...."

 

For the first time in this dream, Vincent looked down at himself... coated... utterly coated in blood... some of it was dry, long since stuck to his feathers... some fresh... still dripping from him. A little was his. Most of it wasn't. "How-" he began, swiftly interrupted, "from your jobs, of course... my my... quite the collection of corpses you've made..." 

 

Vincent shook himself "This... this doesn't count! My jobs are... are raider dens! Monsters! You take away innocent ponies!" again, a chuckle... the mare speaking once again... "tsk tsk... how we lie to ourselves... you believe yourself the innocent... were they all? True, many of your targets were raider strongholds... but what of your other ponies? That stallion you chased down in the plains? That mare you shot in the head, hiding in that cave? That stallion, who stood in front of you, between his kids.... who watched as you gunned down their father and skinned his cutie mark... oh, but you complete the job... you always complete the job..." she muttered happily. 

 

Vincent didn't even move...he glanced at the blood, seemingly trying to decide what came from what source... he noted for the first time that he lacked his black combat armor, or any sort of clothing or weaponry... "I`m...i`m..." he began, his mind whirling... "You... are a murderous, monstrous, blood thirsty beast... like all griffon's are deep down... don't be ashamed... you should embrace it... Griffon's are natural hunters and killers..." 

 

And image flashed before him... he was storming through some old school house... charging through, physically cutting down raider after raider... he shot those he couldn't lunge at and violently tear apart with his claws... this wasn't the first raider hideout he'd gone to. This was a few days after Anaphora announced herself as a slaver to him... he'd gone berserk, taken as many jobs that required killing as he could, and went and did them all...he hadn't slept since he started... he didn't remember eating eith- oh, wait, never mind. He just tore a raider's heart out and ate it. A colt ran up to him, just old enough to have his cutie mark... an eye on a pitchfork. Lovely. The colt attempted to cut him with a razor blade. His head was blown off,chucks of the colts brain covering Vincent.

 

He reached his target... a mare, the presumed leader. She began to shout some profanity at him. He shot her in the front hoof with Taurus... then the other.... all 4 hooves, with holes punched through them by the massive rounds... she began wailing... he stared at her... and then shot her in the head... sitting down, covered in blood, surrounded by raider corpses... he looked to the ceiling... pushed his favorite revolver against his head.... pulled the trigger... 

 

click..... click.... click... 

Edited March 29, 2014 by TheLineTrotter

[Anneal 2,197]

@@Scribblegroove,

 

((You know, the Steel Rangers are NPCs, so you can control them.))

 

"Fall back!" Paladin Aeon shouted, retreating towards the bunker while still offering covering fire. The sledge hammer flew on top of them and only a few meters away from Mendiant; in reaction, she tried to use the Stable pegasus to block the impact until she realized it fell nearby. Aeon cut in, switching to his laser RCW when the Gauss Rifle couldn't fire fast enough. "Mendiant, just run back to the bunker! We'll take it from here!"

 

Knight Mendiant hesitated, feeling that she should not abandon her comrades. Unwillingly, she made for a gallop back to the base, following orders and shooting a barrage of laser rounds, emptying the magazine and continuing her sprint. The Senior Paladin, at the same time, was inflicted with a spear; thankfully the spear didn't penetrate through the armor, instead clanking and scraping on it, falling to the ground.

 

"This thing just won't go down!" Paladin Aeon shouted, moving in front of the receding Mendiant.

 

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

 

Anaphora, fatigued and dazed, moved in the dusted road by herself, seeing nothing but flatness on the horizon, as far as her eyes could see it. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she was going somewhere away from the ponies who were trying to chase her. It didn't matter whether she was lost or not, since nothing mattered.

 

"Heh heh, how do you feel now?" Anaphora looked around left and right, seeing nothing until a griffon appeared right in front of her. And this was one specific griffon...was it him? 

 

"You were never going to be accepted anywhere, not with all your uselessness," the griffon Anaphora used to know said, devilishly grinning. "You couldn't do anything, and so you resort to enslaving whoever you consider lower than you. That's because you're one of the weaklings...right?" he attacked.

 

Anaphora shook her head, closing her eyes and speeding to a trot. The griffon continued, "You left your daddy because you were never going to do anything capably good. You were just his little attention whore, surviving only by lying and cheating your way through like the bitch you are. Seriously, I won't have trained you any kind of mercenary work to shits like you."

 

The smoky hallucination sharpened his talons, smirking all the while. Notably, the griffon was cleaning his knife...Anaphora soon noticed that the knife was covered in red blood, and the griffon was licking it off. "Always afraid to get a little blood on you. Couldn't kill like me, with all the gore and mutilation that was involved in it; that makes you nothing but a coward. Always wanted to get the best side of the deal, only realizing in the end that the deal was never in your advantage.

 

"And how about Line and Charcoal?" the griffon added. No...no...how do you know about them? "You abandoned them. Left them behind, because you could never face the truth. I shouldn't be surprised. You never did. To you, they were just tools to be used and scrapped, and you never developed any real bond against them. You could have just as easily slapped another slave collar on her and you wouldn't care. But I – " the griffon drew out his trusty revolver, loading a bullet inside "– always finish the job."

 

No, just go away...I don't want to see you... Anaphora thought, her vision becoming watery again. All of a sudden, a gunshot was heard, going right through the shadowy figure and clearing her sight. "Miss, are you okay?" Anaphora shook her head, her eyesight finally clear to see a radscorpion just meters away from her. A stallion with his lever-action shotgun was just next to her, wearing strange prospector clothing.  "That animal just nearly slashed you into maize stew."

Edited March 29, 2014 by Late Suri Polomare