Whatever the Enclave was, neither of my companions were very happy...

Sitting in the tiled lobby of Watt's Consumer Electronics, surrounded by a horde of zombies outside, but both Val and Rusty were much more concerned with the pegasus mare in front of us. I was missing something here... While I was trying to catch up, the pony in the Steel Ranger power armor stood and got between them and the pegasus. With a hiss, his helmet released and folded back over his back, revealing a strong looking pale grey stallion, with a close cropped dark mane.

"Not Enclave, Brotherhood. I appreciate your help strangers, but I'll thank you not to regard my scribe with such malice," his deep voice tolled out in the ruined lobby as the mare behind him struggled to her hooves.

"She's a military pegasus with a cutie mark eh? Enclave... bastards..." Wow, Val reeeeally didn't like this Enclave thing.

"Um... what the what? Enclave? Brotherhood? I'm a little lost here... Hi! I'm Fast, nice to meet you, you're the first pegasus I've seen out here." I tried to put myself in the middle of the confrontation and stuck a hoof out to the mare looking at me incredulously. She did return the gesture though, sidling around her armored companion and bumping hooves.

"Summer Wind... Scribe of the Brotherhood, this is Paladin Steel Dance, umm... thanks? Really, thanks a lot, thought we were done out there."

Well, that got the strangers to relax a little, though Val and Rusty just kept glaring. I found myself dragged backwards by the griffon's dark claws and she started whispering in my ear, "Boss... there are things you don't know... Things about pegasi and what they did. You ain't finished that book Blue gave you, have ya?"

"Noooo....." It was a long book... I was busy... I did read up a little further though.

"Well, how bout you trust me here? Nobody likes pegasi, they cut off the sky for 200 freaking years, came down here to make war and got their asses handed to 'em. There are some good ones, and some not so good ones living out in the wasteland, quite a few in Diamond City, but generally ones what still got their cutie mark and are military are bastards."

"My mom was a pegasus..." I didn't like the level of hate baking off her towards the entire subset of ponies I was related to.

"Yeah well, she sounds fun though, an' she was from before the war. One of the good ones. These... Enclave assholes..." Val hadn't been trying that hard to whisper, getting progressively louder and making the pegasus mare wince and her companion glower.

The big armored stallion stamped his metal hoof and interrupted, "NOT. ENCLAVE. There are those that recognized the error of their ways you know, just as the Steel Rangers were forced to do..." he pointed out the red trim on his armor for some reason... "Our chapter of Applejack's Rangers and a group of Enclave remnants have formed a Brotherhood, to redeem their deeds along with our own. I will thank you not to call her that again."

"He's right Val, that's enough. I don't know what the deal is here, I know you're mad though and I do trust you. But they needed help, we helped them. She doesn't seem so bad to me and we're stuck together for awhile, so let's just try to get along?" I nodded to the heavy steel doors behind us and the swarm on red marks of my Eyes Forward Sparkle, I knew they showed up in the griffon's vision as well.

Val sat down and crossed her claws in front of her chest, pouting, "Fine... Just, let's get to what we came here for, we helped em, they're fine on their own now."

That seemed to satisfy everyone involved, Dance and Summer retreated to a set of rusting benches across the entryway to tend their wounds and check their gear. Though the stallion gave me a nod and the filly waved gratefully. I had to get caught up on certain things it seemed... Rusty led us out the door to the side and into the storefront area, I quickly forgot all about the strange ponies we had rescued.

This place had been a wonderland... I could feel my jaw drop just staring at the remains, shelves lined most of the walls with rotting boxes for a variety of parts and products I would love to have. Posters and sales signs for appliances and gadgets festooned the sales floor, tvs, radios, kitchen appliances Cogsworth would love... Bins in the middle of the room held more scraps and junk, all that remained of the bounty that once filled them.

Most impressive to me, was the series of cardboard cutouts on one wall though... Life size representations of robots available for purchase or just to show off the Robronco line, I walked down the display slowly gazing up at each lovingly. Sprite-bot... Mr. Handy... Mr. Gutsy... Ponitron.... Securitron... Sentinel.... Ultra Sentinel woooo.... (that one wasn't life size, but showed the brilliant Rainbow Dash paint job), Brainbot? that was a new one... it said limited availability, hmm... The one at the end made me stop with disappointment though, it was another cutout but no picture, just black with a big question mark and large letters announcing "Coming Soon! Assaultron Model! Order Yours Today!" That must have been one that was due out after the world ended, leaving me with only the vaguely feminine shape of the cutout and my imagination to ponder what it could have been like, not even any specs listed in small print somewhere.

"Boss, stop drooling and come over here, got a real robot to deal with." Hmm? Well that was something, I considered bringing that cutout with me though, maybe I could try to draw in the outline and figure it out.

I turned to where Val called from, to see her and Rusty standing at the service counter across the room. A Mr. Handy painted a mostly intact white bobbed behind the counter, waiting patiently, hearing a female voice come out of the body I associated with Cogsworth was jarring.

"Greetings Valued Customer, Welcome to Watt's! How may I help you today?" the cheery robot gushed to Rusty.

The old ghoul turned to me to make sure I was paying attention, I had wanted to see how he had milked this place for years safely. "Yes, I'd like a class 2 repair talisman if you please," he politely asked the clerk robot, who provided a price of 127 bits. Digging in his bags, Rusty brought out an ancient purse and counted out the golden currency I was more familiar with. As soon as the proper amount was provided the Mr. - hmmm Miss Handy? The robot scooped them up, opened the rusting register on the counter to deposit them and hovering out from behind the counter, toward a set of swinging doors to the right of the counter.

There wasn't any lock, no console or card reader barring access, the doors swung freely as the robot bobbed through the doors labeled "Service Center" above them. I marveled at the lack of security, though I supposed this was a place where ponies brought their stuff in themselves to be fixed. Getting a glance through the doors as they swung open, I saw that whether the doors were locked or not, there was security...

A number of corpses were visible through the portal, these were not prewar ponies either, they were definitely... fresher... Once they stopped swinging, I noticed the Steel Ranger, Dance, watching along with his.. scribe? Summer watching avidly from the lobby.

Rusty hummed a little tune waiting at the counter, a few minutes passed and the Miss Handy floated back through the doors. I tried for a better look through the doors for whatever had killed those who had tried to pass, the most I could make out were most were facing the doors, like they were trying to escape. Not encouraging... Easy as you please, the robot placed a dusty box on the counter, along with a receipt no less. Rusty grabbed the purchase and took a bow to us, I had to applaud.

"There ya have it, hafta tell it what you want specifically, but it'll go get it if you got the bits. Bits ain't worth what they were, so if you can pick em up out scavenging or from other scavvers cheap enough, it becomes pretty profitable. Most everyone who tries for this place never bothers with the clerk, it don't attack and just treats em like customers, they want the big score in the back. Course I do too... but that's yer job right?"

That's what I wanted alright... seeing the results other greedy ponies got was discouraging, but I still wanted it. I doubted many of them had my skill with machines from what I had seen up here, and I didn't see any pip-bucks on the corpses beyond the door. I was considering making my own request of the clerk with the bits I had on me still, when Dance and Summer walked up to beat me to it.

"Um... One deep range transmitter relay please?" The smaller pegasus asked, she was around my height. I must get it from mom...

The robot bobbed in place and clicked, searching its memory before replying to the request. "I apologize valued customer, that particular item is out of stock. Only one remains, on reserve for Arc-Dash industries, they are 208.6 years late on their pickup but have not rescinded it yet. You may leave your name and number, if the order is rescinded you will be first to be notified."

The pair grunted and winced respectively, so they were here for something, not just a random escape from the zombies outside... Dance set his eyes in a determined line and patted the pegasus' shoulder, "It's alright Scribe Wind, I can't imagine we have the bits required anyway. At least we know it's back there."

"Yeah, I guess it was too easy. At least we know so we're not wasting our time sir," Summer replied sadly.

Watching the exchange, I pondered what the deal was. The part they wanted was an esoteric bit of tech, used in communication systems for high powered burst communication through heavy interference. They wanted to talk to somepony that wasn't easy to reach... They also still seemed determined to get that part, which meant we were headed in the same direction.

Ignoring Val's glare, I walked up to the pair, "Excuse me Summer, Dance, I couldn't help but overhear, you need that part? Pretty rare piece of equipment you want, trying to talk to somepony out in space?"

Dance grumbled and moved in my face, looming over me in his heavy armor, "That is none of your concern, Brotherhood business."

"Wait sir... er.. Paladin Dance, may I..." The pegasus filly worked her way around the wall of armor to stand next to me, green eyes bright. "You know what that is? The transmitter relay? I didn't expect any wasteland ponies to... er... not to be insulting just... You know this stuff?"

Well, the impression I had been getting from the wasteland was reinforced here, it seemed my repair-pony skills were in short supply on the surface. I had them because I came from below, unless I missed my guess this mare had them because she came from above. So we had something in common besides our goal behind the swinging doors.

"I know a thing or two yeah, we were hoping to head to the back as well. Salvage, I mainly want robot parts and equipment back there. No interest in any transmitter, for whatever reason you want it..." I scratched my mane and looked up at Dance suspiciously. "Since we both want to get to the same place, and it seems pretty dangerous... Maybe we could join forces for a bit? No reason to go it alone if we're not really at odds is there? I notice your friend is packing some heavy ordinance, and you see what Val has on her there. I know tech, you know tech, two heads are better than one and all. What do you think Miss Summer?" I could tell if I was going to make any headway it was with the pretty pegasus, not the stern stallion next to her.

She shuffled nervously and turned to her companion, leaning up to whisper back and forth for a moment. I could hear Val grumbling behind me, but she kept saying I was the boss, her distaste aside I didn't see any reason not to work together here. Finally the two turned back, Summer smiled, but Dance took the lead, he was in charge on that side then.

"That may be acceptable, we only want the transmitter. We do appreciate your help and are... understaffed at the moment, I believe we can join our fortunes in this mission and share the risk."

Nodding happily, I waved Val over to the doors, no time like the present, as the four of us gathered in front of them my pip-buck updated before my eyes;

Mission Updated- Quality Assurance

Objective-
--Investigate Watt's Consumer Electronics
--Gain access to the service center

Optional Objective-
--Find a Deep Range Transmitter Relay for the Brotherhood

Rusty waved from the counter and took a seat, "Welp, you folks be careful. I'll be waitin' here till you come back, or don't... Sorry but your part is the risky bit of this venture, make it through and I'll hold up mine."

I didn't hold anything against the ghoul, he had a good thing going here as it was. We made this deal on the understanding that going for the whole treasure trove was on us, he'd help us deal with it when we succeeded. He had his wife and his store to return to and the zombies outside didn't hold him here.

Making sure everyone was ready I floated out my pistol and the Terrible Shotgun, watching Val draw her giant pistol. The Steel Ranger powered up his minigun and... was that a giant rifle? The pegasus Summer pulled a small, boxy magical energy weapon from her holster and held it ready in her mouth. We were doing this, I pushed open the swinging doors and walked into the hallway beyond.

Instant death didn't wait on the other side of the doors, so that was good. Now that I could, I took a closer look at the corpses nearby, they were indeed all facing towards the doors, trying to escape whatever killed them. Whatever had done it wasn't quite what I expected, a few magical energy weapon burns, but mainly these ponies had been ripped to shreds. So far there was no clue what had done this though, a modular steel hallway stretched away in front of us, fairly clean and in good repair.

Two sliding doors on each side of the hall were spaced evenly, before the hallway ended at a T intersection with two arrow signs pointing left and right, each door was labeled "Repair Bay" followed by a letter. As we walked cautiously forward, I hoofed the panel on the first and stuck my head into the room beyond, inside I saw several things that immediately caught my interest, first and foremost was most of a Sentinel bot sitting in the gloom...

The giant tank like robot was dark, panels open and one of its four thick, wheeled limbs detached. It sat in the center of the room, held in place by the second item I really wanted, a complete robot work station. Braces and hoists held the huge machine in place within the circular platform, automated manipulator arms were paused in their work, one holding the detached leg just away from where it should go. Other mechanical appendages held welders, paint sprayers, multi tool arms... it was a thing of beauty. The rest of the room was filled with workbenches, tools, spare parts, and a prewar skeleton in a tattered mechanic's jumpsuit near the work station control console.

Marking this particular bounty for later, I trotted ahead to the other repair bays, each had a similar layout, one had a Ponitron being serviced instead, the other bays were empty. Still meeting no resistance, we kept going forward, coming to the intersection, I stopped to read the signs. To the left read "Storage/Offices", to the right was "Testing Center/Control Room", while I was debating between the two, an automated voice crackled from a Sprite-bot that had somehow silently hovered up behind us.

"Greetings valued customer. While we here at Watt's appreciate your interest in our highly rated repair services, we regret to inform you our service center is closed due to a state of emergency. We hope to reopen as soon as possible. Unfortunately until such time, we must ask you to vacate the service center. You have ten seconds to comply..."

That sounded somewhat threatening, even coming from the little Sprite-bot floating in the hall. I looked around nervously, noting the others doing the same. Nothing seemed to back up the implied threat, but I still didn't like it.

"You have five seconds to comply, failure to comply will be met with lethal force. Five, Four, Three, Two..."

Val simply grabbed the little ball and smashed it into the nearest wall repeatedly, just as I caught a glimpse of its' small energy weapons glowing pink. The robot crumbled to pieces under the assault and Val ground her claw into it on the floor. "Boring conversation anyway boss," she growled.

The Sprite-bot was simply the messenger though, at what would have been zero alarm lights started flashing through the halls and a siren wailed. I was spinning in every direction, looking for some threat, but still only had a bare second to spot the horde of red on E.F.S. before panels slid open up and down the hallways and an army of robots lumbered out. What the hell?!

It was mostly Ponitrons, but a few Mr. Gutsys were thrown in, their Equestrian army green paint jobs marking them as different from Cogsworth, along with the addition of plasma weapons on one of their extra appendages. While I was still trying to comprehend being suddenly surrounded, Paladin Dance's minigun roared down the hallway leading to Storage/Offices. He had his goal and was following it like he had his own little arrow on E.F.S. guiding him, storage was where his part would be, nothing else mattered.

"Move! This way! Out of this blasted deathtrap!" his distorted voice boomed from the speaker in his helmet.

As the first pink bolts of Ponitron weaponry and balls of green plasma started converging on us, I decided on following his lead, any direction where the army of robots was being torn to shreds was fine by me. There was no cover to take and nowhere to dodge in the small hallway, we had to get out of here fast, the burning weapons were already zeroing in on us, scorching my armor in several places.

"Val! That way!" I gestured down the hall Dance was clearing and brought up S.A.T.S., normally headshots would be preferable, but with the robots headed for us I knew the actual weak spots, though I wished I could be more specific than 'torso', I knew where the control talismans were. Four shots blasted from my upgraded shotgun, the slugs Val had got me punched satisfying holes into four Ponitron bodies, dropping them to the floor and creating a blockade. The crowded hall worked against them here, only the Mr. Gutsy models would be able to get by easily and as they clumped up only the ones in front could fire effectively. Unfortunately, I could make out the distinctive magic of repair talismans at work on three of the fallen robots, they'd be back up soon...

Between Val's high speed magical energy weapon and Dance's minigun, our retreat route was being being cleared nicely and we were falling back without taking too much damage. Summer joined me in holding the rear, her small M.E.W. lancing out with the same selective care I was taking with my shots, she knew where to hit too. Despite being caught so easily, I thought we might get out of this.

Then I saw it.

Down the long hallway, all the way towards the door for the testing area, stood a shining copper mare... no... a robot. A sleek, feminine robot of polished copper and gold plates. It had a swept back head with a single glowing red eye, bizarrely topped off with a tattered brown hat. Taking in the sight I realized, this is what an Assaultron looked like... the curvy shape matched the cutout...

"Val!! Dance!! Switch sides! Bigger problem!" I don't know why, maybe just a subconscious repair-pony appraisal of the elegant death machine, but that thing scared the hell out of me. I hoped enough panic came out in my voice to convey the need to blast it with the heavy weapons we had on our side, every other robot just paled in comparison in my mind.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Val shouted, taking my place and pushing me back to deal with the retreat, my fear must have gotten through as she opened up with a stream of red beams that... bounced off the gleaming hide!?! Several other robots between us were taken down, but nothing that touched the Assaultron did any damage.

"Paladin Dance! Do as he says! It's an Assaultron!!!" Ok, Summer was more panicked than I was, she seemed to know just what that robot was and viewed it as the biggest threat. This was not comforting. Dance's minigun focused in on the target that was still simply standing there, that red eye glowing brighter each second. The armor piercing rounds that had been turning every other robot to swiss cheese barely made a dent.

Frantic, I turned to the door we were in front of, not storage but offices, anywhere not in this blasted hallway. It didn't open at a touch, so I patched my pip-buck in and started burning through the security lockout, I wanted away from that thing, right now! Panels slid aside on the sleek head and that red eye was glowing brighter and brighter...

"Everypony DOWN!" The scribe Summer screeched, throwing herself on top of me while I desperately searched for the password to the door.

Val heeded the warning even coming from a pegasus and thumped on top of me as well, making cracking this damn door much harder, Dance wasn't so fast though. Suddenly the entire hallway was bathed in blinding crimson light, a massive, crackling beam of energy was blasting out of the Assaultron's head, taking up nearly the entire top half of the hallway and slamming right into Dance's armored chest piece. Squinting against the glare, I could actually see it melting... Luna save us, it was packing weapons like that!?

The beam cut off before just melting the Steel Ranger right in half, his armor was glowing orange and I could hear his cries in the armor as he staggered and leaned against the wall by the door. Hopefully his health and repair talismans were working still or he was in serious trouble.

"Holy hell! That's it! Collateral damage be damned, I'm smoking that thing right now!" Val leapt back up and the grenade machinegun started thumping rounds down the hall at the robot.

I glanced away from the screen just long enough to watch things get worse, it decided to move... Most of the other, normal robots had been cleared just by the rain of fire already sent at this one, unlike the Ponitrons however, this did not serve as any kind of a barrier. I had hoped for something like their clattering movement, I certainly did not expect the brief glimpse I got of greased lightning streaking towards us down the long hall. It dodged every grenade round, the explosions going off behind it, it leapt over every obstacle smoothly. Long blades slid out of its' forelegs as it closed the distance, the floppy hat on its head must be bolted on to keep up. Come on, find the freaking password!

Finally! The door slid open just as the coppery blur blasted past us, I heard Summer scream and Val grunt with pain, a long screech sounded from Dance's armor as the Assaultron's blades cut a swath down the hall and it turned back to us. "Inside! Get away from that thing!" I yelled in terror and dragged a bleeding pegasus through the door, Dance was staggering to the doorway while Val was thumping more grenades down the much shorter hallway towards the storage area. One of the griffon's wings hung limp at her side and she was coated in blood too, this had to stop now.

"Oh you shiny metal bitch! Hold Still!" Val growled and kept firing away at it.

Once I got Summer into the room, I joined Val and started unloading the new drum magazine on the shotgun at the sleek killing machine, then things somehow got worse, the thing faded away from view before my eyes... only a rippling distortion in the air was visible and it was closing in.

"Val! Let's go!" I screamed and tugged at the mercenary toward the open door, no matter how much she liked a good fight and didn't want to back down, this was enough.

We both caught the sudden flicker of motion and she finally grabbed me with her claws and dove for the door, reaching out with my magic I slammed the controls and lockout as we passed. The door slid down smoothly and I heard a resounding clang as the thing hit the other side, we all watched for several tense moments, but it didn't follow. Despite everything else it could magically do, at least it couldn't bypass the lock...

Val woozily thumped to the floor and dug out a healing potion, downing it in one gulp and inspecting her limp wing carefully. I ran up behind her to survey the damage better, never wishing I was able to use healing magic more. "It's... It's ok Val, still attached, it sliced tendons on your back I think just... let the potion work ok! Hold still!"

"R-right.. boss... wow, NEVER ran into anything like that before. Y-yer a fun boss...take me on such lovely dates.."

She sounded faint, but if she could joke she'd be ok for right now, I threw my forelegs around her fluffy neck in a brief hug, grateful she was alive before I ran over to Summer and Dance, checking them over next. Dance's armor was repairing itself and his breathing was shaky but starting to even out, his health systems should take care of him much better than I could. That left the pegasus who was in a spreading pool of blood, a long gash down her side and flank. I snatched one of my own healing potions out and poured it down her throat, before pulling out some magical bandages and trying to apply them to the deep cut. She was shuddering and weak, but the wound started closing again, she'd probably live.

As if to make up for my last excursion I was practically untouched, my cloak had several smoking holes in it and a number of angry burns I hadn't noticed during that horror show were now stinging painfully. I hadn't been sliced to ribbons however, Val and Summer throwing me down to keep working on the door had kept me off that thing's radar apparently.

"W-well... now we know what kills everypony that tries to salvage this place I guess..." I fell back against the wall next to Val, my wounds burned, but I wasn't using a potion just for them right now, not with that thing still out there.

The alarms were still blaring and more red marks were reappearing on E.F.S. outside, robots self repairing and returning to duty trying to kill us, stopped only by the door. That murder machine out there didn't even appear on my compass though if it didn't want to, its invisibility wasn't perfect like Jade's, but it kept it off my Eyes Forward Sparkle.

It could be anywhere...

The offices we were now locked in were only for a hoofful of executive ponies, four rooms lead off the open general office we landed in, two on each side and a fifth, larger office stood locked behind a heavy dark wood door. There was a tattered waiting couch to one side I helped Summer up to so she could recover from the deep gash and blood loss. Dance stood sentinel near her, a worried frown on his face as he stared at the door out and let his armor patch him together again.

Val had winced her way to a cushy wheeled office chair and sat back with a groan behind the receptionist desk, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and taking a slug shakily. I pulled up a nearby chair and sat with her, waving off the offered bottle.

"Alright, somebody explain exactly what the hell that was? I've fought lots of robots before, but nothing like that. That robot bitch was gonna take us apart...." Val admitting just how close we came was disturbing.

The pegasus mare Summer groaned from her couch, "Assaultron... very rare, some of the first shipments went to the Commonwealth for some reason, not many made before the end. Never heard of one quite like that though... modified... Meant to go wade into zebra fighters, keep up with their best masters, very fast, very deadly."

"Yeah I noticed... So now what boss? I want another crack at that bitch but uh... maybe with more of a plan or better odds. Get me somewhere I can fly again and we'll see who wins then, crammed into these halls though... You come up with somethin' boss."

What a vote of confidence, I was the "come up with something" pony when unrestrained violence failed. She had a point, if she had room to maneuver and get off the ground I'd give her a much better chance against that thing. In here though... no. A rematch did not look good and I didn't want Val dying just to satisfy her urge to put the machine in its place. I stood back up and looked around behind her, checking her back and wing carefully. It looked like it would be ok, but I wanted Jade here very badly.

"I don't know Val, just rest for now and lemme think about it, ok? You worried me there for a minute, you're definitely right, we can't fight that thing on its terms, I'm glad you're alright." I glanced around the offices, hoping for some magic 'turn off killer robots' button, but nothing jumped out at me.

The fiery griffon smirked at me, fluttering her eyelashes, "So glad you care boss, I'll be fine. Gimme a few minutes with my old friend here and I'll be right as rain." she shook her whiskey bottle to illustrate her point.

Dance and Summer were down for a little while, so I let them recover in private while I poked around the office. My search didn't turn up much however, though one of the employees seemed to like Mint-als quite a bit, I found half a dozen in their desk along with a number of caps in desks and filing cabinets for some reason. Digging around in the working consoles turned up a couple interesting files though;

Inter Office Mail #8902

Are you kidding me? Have you seen the expense reports for Mr. Watt's special project? Just what's on the books is bad enough, who knows what he's hiding elsewhere. I bought the excuses buying one of the first models available as a demo, I mean it is impressive as hell. But all the funds he's poured into it after it arrived? How much time he's spent with the techs modifying it? Making it look like that?! All the posters and knick knacks are one thing, but this is getting out of hoof Cinnamon. Have you seen the way he looks at it?

Inter Office Mail #8923

Don't get me started Ruby, you don't know the half of it ok? The work being put in is most definitely off the books and he's doing a lot of it himself too, won't trust anyone else with the programming. Wants "her to be perfect" he says. Total refit with custom armor, enhanced specs across the board, and the hat... I heard it's one of the real ones. Not a replica.

I'd laugh, but I believe it, heard some stories from his assistant over enough drinks that would curl your mane. Those knick knacks and posters in his office, just those are a LOT more expensive than you would believe, all authentic, that stallion's obsessed. And his little toy he carries with him everywhere? Let's just say that is not an item that is for sale, ever.... Don't know how he got it and don't want to, but I can tell you he paid more for that than this whole damn building and everything in it is worth.

What's more he's still not satisfied, says it's a good first attempt. Keeps running off to the school to talk with the eggheads, wants a better version, advance the field of robotics my rump, I know what he wants it for. Pours even more money from his private funds into research, going to spend himself into the poor house for absolute lunacy.

I puzzled over them and looked to the locked fancy office at the end of the room. Expensive things in there? "Hey Val, mind picking a lock for me?"

Valkyrie required little more than that and a direction, she kicked off the desk and rolled across the room in the wheeled office chair, spinning her way over to the big office door and getting to work. It took a lot longer than normal for her, fumbling and cursing under her breath as her claws raked the tumblers of the heavy duty lock. Finally it clicked open and she spun in her chair on the spot, throwing her claws up and taking a mock bow.

Sketching a low bow in praise of her skills, I walked into the opened office with her wheeling behind me and we both simply stopped. The large, well preserved room was a shrine to Ministry Mare Applejack.

This wasn't a joke like how the ponies in this industrial area of the Trotson area seemed hold her up as a saint, like with the statue in Hexington and all the Ministry of Wartime Technologies posters. No, this was a literal shrine to the earth pony mare... Her green eyes stared down from every surface, posters, pictures, collectibles, even photos of her as a filly in Ponyville.

Applejack in fancy dresses, Applejack bucking apples on her farm, Applejack in a smart suit with a green stallion that was crossed or cut out of each picture. Newspaper clippings of her exploits, the accident that nearly killed her marked with angry red marker, her recovery, unveiling the first suit of power armor. Applejack bobbleheads, Applejack stuffed toys, Applejack T-shirts. Rooting through the desk, I even found a folder full of pictures and sketches of the Ministry Mare that made me blush. Ok, Mr. Watts was truly obsessed.

Looking down at the stallion in question, I had to wonder just what could have driven a pony to these levels of crazy. His bleached bones sat in the overstuffed chair behind the desk, still clutched in his hooves was a small orange object that practically shone with it's own light. I had seen something like this before...

Pulling the object from his jealous grasp, I floated it up and examined it carefully, reading the legend inscribed on the base, "Be Strong..."

As soon as the words ran through my mind, I felt a surge of energy looking at the younger version of the Ministry Mare I knew, forelegs planted and hind legs extended mid buck, brilliant smile on her tiny face, blond mane flying under her floppy hat. Smiling, I floated out the matching statue of Ministry Mare Fluttershy from my bags and admired seeing them together, it was... right. This did not belong here, locked up as part of some insane collection with a dead lunatic. I returned both of the statues to my bags to rest with my Shrouded Stallion figure.

"New toy boss?" Val snickered, but quieted soon enough at the look she got returned.

"It's not a toy. I'm taking this out of here, it shouldn't... belong to anyone, most especially not him," I bucked the huge chair, rewarded with a much better result than I would normally expect. The chair and bones fell to the floor with a clatter, floating the now empty seat back up, I sat down at the desk and moved to the working terminal. I wasn't looking forward to what might be on this thing, but it could be useful.

Entry 1--
It's mine! It's finally mine! Had to pay so many ponies, highest class... asset acquirement specialists... available out there, keep it all hush hush from the pinks, but it was worth every bit. She's with me now, always, she'll never leave my side. If only she were a bit bigger... A new goal now that this one has been fulfilled.

Entry 2--
Took some wheeling and dealing with those Robronco fools, had to convince them I wanted it for promotional purposes, upped their profit margin at the outlets, but they sent it finally. It is glorious, truly a sight to behold, when these things roll off the line in regular production the stripes are done for. Gently suggested they were overlooking a large potential market too, they don't have to be combat oriented to fly off the shelves, lot of ponies would buy one of these over a Mr. Handy any day of the week. Now to just get to the upgrades.

Entry 3--
She's coming together nicely, custom armor finally fabricated and shipped, head tech is about halfway through replacing the plating now. What's done is perfect, gives just the right look. Dipped into my collection for the hat, it will be the perfect topper, bring it all together. Been working day and night on the programming, easiest doing it here, spend so much time here and surrounded by her here in my office. Much better than home.

She'll be perfect... well, for what she is. Closer we get to completion though. the more I think it could be so much better, it doesn't need to be a combat robot. If the focus was different, I'm sure we could make much greater strides going a different direction. Going to talk to my friends over at C.I.A.T. Being an alum and major contributor gives me some clout, ought to use it. Set those students of theirs on a project. The next version will be even better, for now focusing on what I have before me, can use the programming on future versions too. Tech didn't care for some of the enhancements I requested, but told him to shut up and get to work, if it's going to perfect it has to be perfect in all ways. This one anyway was designed for combat, has to be better than any other when they start seeing major production.

Entry 4--

Head's still buzzing from the meetings with Professor's Klein and Borous over the last week, brainstorming with those geniuses has led us both down some very exciting paths. An improved model of the Assaultron is just the tip of the iceberg, my wildest dreams may yet see the light of day thanks to those two. We discussed the... benefits... to making more appealing, less combat oriented versions, one thing led to another and they both seemed to really take to the idea. They leapt right to espionage, inflitration, the usual focus with the war on, but a little gentle nudging and we understood each other.

A robot that looks more like a pony... that feels more like a pony... it's a license to print money! I'd never keep them in stock, they'd fly out the warehouse! Not just my own particular tastes are up for grabs here, imagine a Rarity! Better yet the whole line of Ministry Mares! Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Even Luna and Celestia!! Well... maybe that's a bit too far... but still... Customized models for rich ponies! Anything! We've been meeting every night at the school, hammering out ideas and how to make it work, they come back with notes from their more advanced and trusted students. Brought a copy of the file we've been working together on so I can add notes and ideas as they come here in my haven. My Assaultron is one thing, proof of concept at this point, but someday... soon... I will have everything I ever wanted!

I stared at the screen in shock, the Institute... he was talking about the Institute, the school it had sprang from. Robots that could pass for ponies... they got the idea from THIS? This nutbag? HE was the inspiration for the terrible story Mama Xara told of the night of the broken mask? For robots that infiltrated and replaced living ponies perfectly? All because of his obsession!? I could feel the dark Shroud in my head start to burn, I wished the bones on the floor would magically reform into this loon so I could start hurting him. His randiness was responsible for terrible things and he should suffer.

The whispery outsider that fought that part of me murmuring "Be Kind" was now joined by a second... "Be Strong!", it was getting crowded up there. Still, I calmed my breathing, they were right, he was gone and couldn't have intended what happened. What he wanted was distasteful, but not nearly so evil as what the Institute had done with the result. Most of all, we had bigger problems than some foalish dead pony from 200 years ago, we had to get out of here.

Backing out of the mad journal entries, I dug around and pulled up two saved files. One seemed to be the plans for all the upgrades made and programming for the Assaultron outside somewhere he had been writing, I'd have to go through that and clean it up unless I missed my guess, but it may be usable. The second was much more interesting, very rough and note riddled schematics for their proposed prototype. The basic framework seemed built on the Assaultron, but had been rebuilt from the ground up, no weapons, plastic panels for the hide, Synthetic mane, better voice synthesizer, more processing power and better programming. Concerns were written in at the complexity required of the programing to more perfectly mimic a living pony... This may come in handy.

I downloaded both files to my pip-buck and flopped back in the chair with a groan. The terminal held some valuable information, but wasn't tied into the security system to shut down the army of robots. I idly spun in the chair looking around the room, when my eyes fell on the Applejack stuffed toy I floated it up to join the little statue, this was a toy and it should be used as such, Glitter would like it I bet, if we got back to her.

"Anything boss?" Val looked up with only a hint of concern as I spun around facing her, before continuing making circles in the chair and swinging around again.

"Nothing useful at the moment no... I hoped I could shut it down from here, but I think we have to get to the control room."

"Like... on the other end of the hall outside? Where that thing came from? Ouch... Hey, maybe you could blast it with that lightning of yours! Robots don't like that right?" she huffed and scratched her head.

I stopped spinning and face-hoofed, yes... that would have probably been a good idea when there was a hallway crowded with robots to unleash it on. It just never occurred to me in the heat of the moment, I wasn't used to actually thinking of my magic for combat, this was going to take some adjustment. That thing was fast though, if I could get it to hold still long enough I could probably shut it down, but I didn't think it would give me the chance.

"Ugh... that is a very good idea Val, I didn't even think of it... sorry..."

She padded over behind the desk and sat next to me, "Hey no worries boss, I forgot too, more concerned with not getting blasted or shredded. Just take the shot if you get another huh? Hey, I can point you like a pony shaped cannon so you don't go flyin', that'll work! A boss and a weapon in one, I like it!"

I sighed and stared at the ceiling, at least her spirits never dipped that low even in such a bad situation. I brought my pip-buck up and started going over the map, the end with the control room was still lost in fog, but memory was more than enough to tell me how long that hall was, I'd never make it. Everywhere we had been was mostly filled in, I followed our trail on the map back to the doors to the sales floor, all those corpses showed how unlikely that was. We needed a way to either hold that Assaultron down, or keep it busy long enough to make it to the control room, get by whatever fresh horror waited there potentially, and hopefully shut down security. But just opening the door to the office already seemed like a death sentence.

Lost in thought staring up to the drop ceiling in the office, I slowly noticed the large air conditioning vent above the desk... a small pony could fit in there... Not a solution for Val and Dance, but a way out, bringing up the map again I hoped it would display the ducts as well, but no luck. What I knew of air exchange from the Stable though, much as I desperately wanted I doubted there would be a clear path from here to the control room in the warehouse section of the building. The offices and repair bays were probably tied into the single floor front section, I could probably get far, but not far enough. Getting out to Rusty in the sales floor wouldn't help, unless I wanted to tuck my tail between my legs and abandon Val and the others, which wasn't happening. Thinking on it, I did see one potentially useful location though...

"Alright Val, I have a plan... sorta... basically... mostly..."

I really didn't expect this level of resistance after I explained my idea to the griffon, she seemed to like my crazy ideas usually, especially if violence was involved. She quite enjoyed the aftermath at Thundega, this wasn't that far removed really. Her shouts actually drew Dance and Summer to Mr. Watt's office, while she clutched the chair I sat in and bore down on me.

"NO! Unacceptable boss! I can't bodyguard if you stick that body somewhere I can't follow! You are not just crawling around out there on your own with that metal bitch running loose! Think of something else!"

"What is the prob... sweet Celestia... the founder!?" Dance had charged through the door, but stopped short seeing the shrine to the creator of his armor surrounding him.

His scribe Summer followed in his wake, moving around much better after the potions did their work, "What? Oh... oh my... this is odd. Er, w-what's wrong?"

Val wheeled on both of them, still looming over the chair so I couldn't go anywhere, "I'll tell ya what's wrong! This lunatic wants to go crawlin' round the ducts up there, ALONE... to get to that big hunk of junk near the exit and fight fire with fire!" She pointed a claw up to the vent to illustrate her point and scowled at me.

Thoughtful consideration was not what she wanted to see on the other two ponies, Dance followed her gesture and rubbed his chin, Summer actually made things worse for herself in terms of how the griffon felt about her by actually agreeing, "Hmmm... yes.. that could work..." she was giving the vent an appraising eye as well.

"You SHUT UP, this ain't happening. I will go out there and take that thing on right now before I let you..."

I reached a hoof up to her shuddering shoulders to try to calm her down, Val did not act like this, something was wrong. "It's the best I can come up with Val, it can work and get us all out of this You wanted me to come up with something, this is it. What... what's the problem? It's not like there's any safe way through?"

"You have a foal waiting on you! That big blue filly would stomp me flat if I let you do this too, but Glitter... you know what it'll do to her if you die!? She thinks you hung the fucking moon boss, not Luna, you! We talk ok! I like her, she couldn't sleep for a long time 'fore we left. She... she c-contracted me... gave her last cap askin' me to bring you back safe... I intend to do it..."

Val actually wilted over me as she went, there were deeper realms of emotion behind those usually gleeful purple eyes, now I felt bad... I hadn't changed my mind, I intended to get back too and this was the best course I could think of to do it, still it hurt seeing what those choices inflicted on others. I reached up to hug her feathery neck, feeling her stiffen only a moment, touchy feely stuff was not high on her list, but she slowly relaxed and returned it.

"Val... I have to. I have to do it to get back to her, to Jade, for you to come with me. It's the only way to fill that contract. You are not allowed to get yourself killed just trying to keep me safe, you're important too ok? I care about you too, I want us all to get out of here, let me do this."

"S'not fair... I don't like it."

The small pegasus Summer Wind coughed shyly for attention, getting an annoyed roll of the eye from Val. "Er... it seems like a good plan to me as well. He doesn't have to go alone though... I can fit... and help fix it if we get there, it will go faster."

Paladin Dance and Val both glowered down at her, neither liked the idea, but for differing reasons.

"You are a non combatant Scribe Wind, essential to our mission here. You cannot go out and put yourself in that kind of danger." Dance ordered.

"That's even worse boss! Bad enough I can't fit, sending you with... her... Nope, nope, nope." Val grumbled at me angrily.

I didn't necessarily like the idea either, I was planning on being stealthy, I didn't know how sneaky Summer could be. Granted if the ducts led where I wanted it wouldn't take that much, but alone was probably better, another tech would speed up repairs though... I left the two Brotherhood ponies to work it out, stood on the desk and floated out my screwdriver, removing the vent cover and staring up at it and to Val.

"Don't... Like... It.." she glowered, getting what I wanted.

"He is right sir! Our mission will fail if we fall here, this is the best course of action. I am sorry but I'm going!" Summer shoved against the armored Dance's chest and weakly fluttered her bandaged wings, making a zig zagging course up to the open vent and disappearing before he could stop her.

I watched her go and glanced back at Val, "Well? You don't want to leave it up to her right?"

"Ugh! FINE! You watch yer ass boss! I hear a peep out in the hall and I'm goin' got it?!" huffing in frustration, the griffon grabbed me in her claws and stuffed me in the vent behind the pegasus.

I stuck my head down to the office, making her stop pouting and look back at me, "I'm counting on it. If this works you'll know when to move Val, you and Dance try to get along ok? Come save me when I need it, I trust you." That actually got a small flush out of the tough griffon and a half smile she was trying to hide, she waved a dark claw at me and flopped down to the big chair behind the desk.

Turning back to the cramped duct, I crawled forward and turned on my pip-buck light, illuminating a perky yellow rump and brown tail in my path. Summer wiggled and turned back to me, embarrassed, "Er... I- I take it you have a map as well as the light? I should have let you go first... I just wanted to get in before Paladin Dance could stop me. P-perhaps you should, um..." she shuffled and tried to squeeze out of the way, revealing the long, dark duct stretching away in front of her."

Yes, this wouldn't be an issue if I had just been allowed to go alone, or first at least. Better to get it out of the way here above the safe office rooms anyway, I sighed and started crawling forward. This was all kinds of awkward, there was barely enough room for us to pass each other, only with a lot of difficulty and pawing at each other. I'd feel bad about all the squeaks I was eliciting from the pegasus filly, if I weren't adding my own, she was hoofing some tender areas in the struggle. Finally I popped free and in front, glancing back at her and seeing my embarrassed expression mirrored.

"C-come on... quietly..." She nodded quickly in response and we started inching our way forward.

Like the cart ride here to begin with, seeing all the red on my E.F.S. so close and separated by so little made me nervous, if the duct gave out we'd be dumped into a world of pain. I could see them milling around below us on my compass and tried not to breathe, remembering just how good Cogsworth's hearing was. These robots hadn't received the same level of care any time recently though, hopefully our painstakingly slow progress was quiet enough. Following my map, I took a right toward the repair rooms, relieved to see four branches ahead, one for each room.

Long minutes passed while we crawled to the one furthest back on the left and angled down the short passage, coming to the vent cover looking down on the Sentinel still dark and silent in the gloom. Good, it hadn't tried to activate, wasn't part of the building's systems, the room hadn't been opened since I shut it and no red showed up below us. The grate in the way presented a minor obstacle, but while I might not be able to lift a lot with my telekinetic magic I did have good fine control, grabbing hold of the four screws and slowly backing them out wasn't that hard, even without a screwdriver. I caught the grate before it could hit the ground and stuck my head down, checking again just in case, clear...

"Ok... going down, let me sneak over to the door and lock it out. They're not in there, but I don't want any visitors while we're doing this..."

Summer nodded staring back with frightened green eyes, she really must be a non-combatant like Dance said, another repair-pony, just without my tendency for all the death and destruction, I missed being like that. I looked around in the dark workshop again and jumped down from the vent, lightly bouncing off the bulky robot below and hitting the floor, my cloak flapping around me. I landed in a crouch listening carefully. Robot death didn't materialize from the shadows or barge in the door, so I started crawling forward, reaching the console and plugging my pip-buck in, locking the large steel door with a sigh of relief. Safe. Safe-ish...

I hit the lights and whispered up, "Alright, come on down, let's get to work"

I started grabbing parts and tools scattered on the work benches and floated them over to the robot workstation, taking in the state of the huge beast and what it would need as the yellow pegasus flapped down painfully. If I powered up the workstation this would go faster, but it would also make a lot more noise, we could manage manually with the two of us. Summer already had her tools out and was pushing the detached leg back in position, thanking her silently, I crawled up the angled rear legs and up to the back of the compact torso, sticking my head in the open panel before attaching my pip-buck. I wanted the programming overridden first and foremost, just in case this thing woke up somehow.

"D-do you really not know about the Enclave?" a soft whisper floated up to me.

"No... does it matter?" I replied just as low, flicking through the code rapidly.

"Not really... just... everypony does. They all hate us... you're the first surface pony I've met that.. that just treated me like normal right off the bat."

Satisfied it would obey if we got it running, I moved on to repairing the internals while I was up here. "My mom was a pegasus, I really don't know what the deal is. Want to fill me in? I... well, kinda missed out on the last 200 years or so."

I heard her stop her work at that, but didn't pause, it was a long story I didn't want to get into. If talking helped her then fine, I could listen, not talk and work at once.

"Er... well, if that's so... um... Ok, The Enclave did bad things... when the bombs fell the pegasi just ran and hid in the sky, we turned on the cloudmakers and locked them that way. Your griffon was right, we closed off the sky for 200 years and left everyone down here to rot. We didn't all know... those of us that wanted to help were... were kicked out."

Wait, Val wasn't being figurative? They covered the sky in clouds for 200 years? Blocked off the sun and moon? Celestia and Luna?! Suddenly the term "Lightbringer" was starting to make more sense... I kept quiet and working, letting her continue while I thought.

"When we did come down again, we were told there were bad surface ponies that wanted to attack us, take away our food and let us starve... We were just fighting back, or that's what we were told... They had us attack innocent ponies though, towns, foals... it was nothing like they said! They told us everypony down here were crazed, bloodthirsty raiders, not just folks trying to survive. Everything started to fall apart and... and it needed to, we deserved it. The Lightbringer took over the S.P.P. and opened the sky again, I was mad for awhile but... I'm glad she did."

"S.P.P.?" There was plenty in there I'd have to ask about later, but had to ask on this, I liked acronyms, they were usually something technical and interesting like E.F.S. or S.A.T.S.

"Single Pegasus Project, those big white towers? They control the weather now at the direction of the Lightbringer, we aren't trusted to do it again, we probably never will be. Though the one here in the Commonwealth isn't part of the rest of the grid somehow, we could never do anything with it either. They sent troops to take it several times, but they were always turned back by vicious storms that just sprang up. I think it works, but it's unique. When we... we still covered the skies it never did anything to really turn back the clouds though, so the Commonwealth was blocked off with Equestria. It only did anything if we tried to interfere. Something here in the Commonwealth just wants to be left alone... that's why we're.. Oh! Um... sorry... I s-shouldn't say more..."

I knew plenty of repair-ponies back in the Stable at work that liked talking while they worked, helped them focus. It did the opposite for me, but being around one could be useful like this, she almost went too far being so caught up in her work. Now I was starting to get interested in a number of things I hadn't understood about the world I found myself in. I really had to finish that book Jade let me have.

Leaning over from the back of the rolling tank, I took stock of how much Summer had done, between her work below and mine inside, I thought it should be ready. I checked the code on my pip-buck one more time, before looking over and floating two large metal boxes to the back of the robot and the waiting open ports. I hadn't wanted to arm this thing till I was damn sure it would do what I wanted, but here we were.

I looked down at my hoof again triple checking and glanced to Summer. "Maaaaybe you should get back in the vent... in case this goes horribly wrong..."

I saw fear in those light green eyes, but her expression screwed up and she stamped her hoof, "I- I'm fine! L-let's do this Mr. Times..."

Smiling, I gave her a wink, "It's just Fast. Now... hold on to yer butt, here we go!" I hit the command and rebooted the hulking Sentinel bot, praying to Luna for the best.

Feeling the giant machine hum to life under me was disconcerting, I didn't want to disconnect the pip-buck in case I had to do an emergency shut down, but hanging on to the back of the thing while it powered up and rose to its full, intimidating height was scary. I hung over the boxy body and looked down into the small armored head as the red eyes glowed to life.

"SENTINEL BOT ONLINE- RECOGNIZING NEW COMMANDER.... ORDERS?"

That deep, booming robot voice was going to get some attention fast. We had to get moving, now. I pulled the pip-buck patch cable and slammed the panel shut, jumping down to face the deadly machine. "Protection! There are a number of enemy robots outside, primary target is an Assaultron model. Terminate with extreme prejudice!"

"CONFIRMED...."

The Sentinel clicked and whirred as weapon pods flipped open and a whole lot of destruction powered up, it rolled free of the workstation and to the door just behind me. I paused at the lock and looked up at it one more time, "If I tell you to pin it, I want you to grab that Assaultron and pin it down ok? Keep it in one place for me, you... might have to eat a lightning bolt, but I'll reboot you when it's over, alright?"

"CONFIRMED"

Well, he wasn't as personable as Cogsworth, but I got the distinct impression he was good at what he did. I hoofed the lock and the door opened, lances of pink energy bolts crackled through the open door before the Sentinel sped forward and its own minigun started roaring in return. I nodded over to Summer and followed it out, floating my weapons beside me and adding to the rain of fire the Sentinel bot was laying down ahead of it, as it advanced down the hallway slowly. A dozen sparking Ponitrons and Mr. Gutsys were so much scrap in its path already, then the Assaultron came streaking down the hall from the offices, it had been waiting...

"PRIMARY TARGET IDENTIFIED! ADVANCED MODEL DETECTED! TERMINATING!!"

I had to throw Summer to the floor this time, returning the favor to avoid the backblast from the Sentinel's missile launcher. It took me seriously when I said "extreme prejudice", explosions shook the building as the intersection was consumed. Through the fire and haze, I could still see the terrifying robot standing on the other side of my Sentinel, power faced speed, what was it going to take!?

A brightly glowing red eye stared back from the smoke, it was charging that damn laser again! I tried to yell over the roar of the Sentinel's minigun and was totally drowned out when a second joined it from down the hall, hammering into the Assaultron's side and pushing it off target. Red lines of energy and more explosions added to the cacophony from the hall to the offices, Val and Dance had sprung out and were joining in, pinning it down in a turkey shoot. The copper robot was taking damage at last, but I could see the effects of a high class repair talisman already at work, trying to keep up with the assault and not falling far behind.

"PIN THAT THING!" I screamed and charged after the Sentinel as it tore down the hallway, lowering it's body and spreading its wheeled legs out for maximum speed. The Assaultron leapt nimbly down the hall towards the control room, but the Sentinel took up too much of the hall to let it get around. All the feminine robot's acrobatics did was let it give up ground gracefully as the Sentinel spun at the intersection and continued the chase, all of its weapons blazing out at it.

Val and Dance ran up behind us and did their best to help keep it busy, laying down fire around the Sentinel as it streaked at the Assaultron and slammed it into the wall, it's thick forelegs came together with a crunch and pinned the robot mare in place, squealing against it as it pushed back, trying to get free.

"VAL! HERE GOES!" I yelled to the griffon still blasting away and started focusing on the pair of robots at the end of the hall. Feeling her claws grab my flanks from behind, I poured everything into my horn, I wasn't trying for control this time. I wanted that thing down, now.

KRAAKA-THOOOOM!

Even with the muscular griffon bracing me, we skidded backwards a few feet down the hall as the lightning spell overwhelmed all the noise. Lights flickered in the ceiling, downed robots sparked and jittered on the floor and the Sentinel and Assaultron tangling with each other were utterly consumed. I was trying to focus on just the Assaultron as much as possible, but the Sentinel was going to take this hit one way or the other. Summer ducked behind Dance, screaming and covering her ears as the Paladin's armor sparked just being in proximity of this onslaught.

Once the spell tapered off, I stumbled woozily, almost all my magic went into that and my horn still sparked, not burnout at least but I couldn't do that again. Looking up cautiously as Val helped steady me, I saw a tangle of metal that was completely dark, finally... that shut it down along with my Sentinel. I started down the hall towards them carefully, I wasn't taking anything for granted with that thing anymore. Val walked with me, still aiming her weapons at it as Dance and Summer joined us.

"What the hell was that?!" Dance was flabbergasted.

"L-Lightning... forgot about it earlier... it's new..." I groaned back, eyeing the pile of metal warily.

"Unicorns can't... Twilight Sparkle maybe... or Star Swirl the Bearded... but... Fast, how did you-" Summer was cut off by a shudder down the hall, no...

I shook off Val and charged down the hall, no, no, no! Stay down!! A single red eye was slowly starting to glow again, whining servos were pushing against the hulking dark mass of Sentinel holding it in place. I had only one idea left and it was completely mad, dashing forward I jumped, landing on the mechanical mare's back and grabbing at it with my weakened magic. I read the schematics on this thing now, there was an access point behind the swept back head.

"BOSS!" Valkyrie screeched and blasted down the hallway after me, taking in what I was doing, she at least didn't yank me away, but started pushing against the Sentinel, trying to keep it in place.

The Assaultron was getting the idea too, it bucked crazily under me, smashing me against the wall behind us. I grabbed the floppy hat in my mouth to get a better angle on the access panel hidden under it, I could barely breathe, it just kept crunching me against the wall and I held on for dear life, "Be Strong!" echoed in my head. Right, I wasn't going to let this thing continue as it was in Applejack's image, it was wrong. This thing had to be stopped. My vision blurred as it cracked my head against the steel surface, but I kept going, floating the pip-buck cable to the port in the now open panel. Come on, focus!

I could barely make out the wall of text in my vision, the Assaultron operating system recognized Mr. Watts' custom reprogramming and asked if I wanted to load it. Another bone crunching thump followed by those foreleg blades clicking in place and slashing at my sides made that a great idea. I accepted and tried to focus on the progress bar slowly filling in my vision.

"Quit fighting and accept it you bitch!" I screamed trying to hang on, almost in response to the command the machine finally stopped and slumped, whirring and clicking to itself as the program ran.

Panting and feeling blood running down my mane and sides, I kept my hold on the killer robot's neck, waiting. Finally it hummed back to life and didn't immediately try to kill me again... that was better?

"Tarnation! That was a real knock down slobber knocker wasn't it Master? Right sorry 'bout that, feelin' much better now!"

Ooooook.... It spoke like Applejack... of course it did...

"Mind if'n I get free o' this mess here Master? Don't mind you hangin on me, but this here fella's a little too friendly." The Assaultron... AssaultJack... asked politely, pointing at the Sentinel still being pushed against her by Val and Dance.

"Ummm... ok? I guess? N-not going to try to kill anyone, right?"

"Shoot! Don't be silly Master, less'n you wanted I s'pose! Ah aim to make you happy, tearin' yer pals to itty bitty bits prolly wouldn't though, right?" I really hoped that wasn't a hint of longing at the prospect of doing just that...

Slowly, I let go of the robotic neck and nodded to the others, "It's ok, you can let go." I said shakily.

"Yer sure about that boss? Just let it loose again? Absolutely positive?" Val looked at me dubiously, staring at the AssaultJack reaching up to adjust its hat.

I checked my pip-buck one more time, yes whatever this program was, it had taken control and recognized the one delivering it as the new owner, master... Oh Celestia, I forgot who wrote this and why, I'd have to start cleaning out this code as soon as I could. "Y-Yeah, it should be fine now Val, perhaps overly friendly..." I retreated over to Val and drank a healing potion, trying to recover from riding a dervish of death.

As soon as Val and Dance released their hold, the copper and gold robot simply stood on its hindlegs and pushed, rolling the tank like Sentinel out of the way and dropping back to all fours, sauntering back to me. "Thank ya Master, was a mite bit uncomfortable down there. Now then, what's yer name, gotta have proper introductions an all!"

"F-Fast..."

"Alrighty then! Master Fast! Now how can ah make you happy today Fast? Ah am well programmed with a variety of skills to bring uh smile to yer face!" Yes... immediate reprogramming... as soon as possible. Having the deadliest robot I had ever seen trying to be seductive was terrifying, what did Mr. Watts expect to do with this?

I backed towards Valkyrie slowly, watching it match me step for step with a wiggle. "Umm... nothing like that ok? Er... we need to shut down security, it's still on and targeting us."

"Ahhh, nothin' fun fer right now then? Well, if'n you want to shut down the alert it's right through that door, hafta talk with that pale feller at the controls. Had me work harder than apple buckin' season keepin' this place clear for the last 123.8 years. Not rightly the friendly type neither. Ah could take care o' that fer yah!" Wait, there was a pony running the security? For over a century? A ghoul maybe? Jade said they lived... er... lasted a long time.

Mulling it over, I patched into the Sentinel again and rebooted it as promised, he did just what I wanted. Plus I wanted it up in case this was just temporary, I had no desire to try fighting this thing again. As the bulky robot powered back up, I had to put myself in between it and the AssaultJack as weapons powered up and pointed at it.

"PRIMARY TARGET IDENTIFIED!"

"WHOA! Easy!! No longer primary target, friendly! Ally! Until further notice anyway, ok?"

"CONFIRMED, RESUMING MISSION ON SECONDARY TARGETS"

With that the Sentinel wheeled around toward the door to the control room/testing area and waited. Suddenly anything left in this place was small potatoes, between the rolling tank and the speed demon, any remaining robots were trivial unless they had a Ultra Sentinel hidden somewhere. That thought made me shudder, but I seriously doubted it, Mr. Watts wasn't enamored with Rainbow Dash. Thinking on it now that we weren't in such imminent danger of painful death, I remembered why we were here.

"Um.. Listen both of you, I want these robots... intact. Or as close as we can manage ok? I want to just shut them down if we can, so I can reprogram them and use them elsewhere. Maybe try to... not completely obliterate them so much?" I gestured to the trail of destruction littering the hall.

"NON-LETHAL HOSTILE SUPPRESSION PROTOCOLS ENGAGED. MISSION UPDATED. PRIMARY GOAL, CONTROL CONSOLE."

"Alright Master Fast, if'n that's how you want it, ah aim ta please. Can disable 'em easy peasy. Though what'cha wanna do bout that bot in charge? Not yer standard issue..." AssaultJack answered with that tinge of disappointment again.

"Wait, it's a robot in charge? You said pale feller.. er... person?"

"Ayep, odd duck that one. You can try talkin' if'n you like Fast, not very friendly though. One track mind, been at this here job for a long time..." This was getting confusing, was it a pony or a robot? Either way, why was it directing the security in this place to slaughter anyone who came back here?

"Whoever this is, I want to talk to them ok? Deal with anything else trying to keep them usable for later, let us handle this pale guy in charge unless I call for you, right?"

"CONFIRMED"

"You got it Master Fast."

I turned to the others to see if my plan was ok and didn't see any disagreement, the Brotherhood ponies were staring at me like I had pulled a dragon out of my cloak, Val was grinning widely and grabbed me in a crushing hug. "You are the fucking stallion boss! I can't believe you did that! Deadliest robotic bitch I ever seen and you got her eatin' outta yer hoof! You know what we could do with that thing!?"

"W-what we came for..." I wheezed weakly in her claws.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, that too... We'll think of other stuff later. Let's get this done and get rich!" she was happy with me again at least. Val rubbed her claws together after releasing me, looking over the two robots, "I can't wait to be on the same side as these two..."

Watching the AssaultJack and Sentinel burst into the testing area, I had to agree, being on the same side as these two was an entirely different experience.

A dozen or more robots of varying makes and states of repair were waiting in the large warehouse room. The space was filled with various bits of equipment and tools, along with a strange obstacle course and simulation rooms, totally open partitioned areas made to look like the inside of a prewar house or offices. On the far side of the room, a stairway led up to a catwalk and an enclosed glass booth overlooking it all. A pale pony did indeed sit behind the controls, was it a pony? It looked wrong even from this distance...

"Intruders detected! Security agents subverted! Eliminate!" a toneless voice echoed through the room and all the robots started attacking. This would be worrisome, except for our own robots who immediately went to work, the AssaultJack faded away to a blurry shadow and robot attackers just started dropping to the floor, the Sentinel took the more direct approach.

"CLEARING PATH TO TARGET"

The minigun started tearing through the legs or hover systems of anything between us and the stairs, as the huge robot just plowed forward, bulldozing robots out of its way. Following its tactics, we stayed close behind its bulk, picking off anything nearby that wasn't mysteriously disabled in a blur and closing in on the control booth.

Now that we were closer, I could tell that wasn't a pony... it was a robot? A robot like Mr. Watts wrote about, I could see the similarities to the rough designs in his computer. Modular white plastic panels covered it and yellow on black eyes tracked our progress. It wore thick white armor that didn't look like metal, a composite material probably. Emblazoned on the chest was a round red emblem, I couldn't make out the details from here, but it was familiar enough... The Institute...

I bolted past the Sentinel and up the stairs, meeting Val perched on the railing of the catwalk by the door. A console flickered next to the reinforced glass door between me and this Institute robot, scowling at it as it watched, I slammed the pip-buck patch cable in and started ripping through the security lock.

"Position under imminent threat. Unable to hold post. Sending notification..." the weird pale robot pony was talking to itself, or someone I wanted to talk to.

"Hey! You start talking! I want to see the Institute, you took my Stable! YOU TOOK MY FAMILY! I WANT THEM BACK!!!" I screamed and pounded on the glass, flicking through the door codes and growing more and more frustrated. 2 inches of glass, that's all that was between us, it was standing right there!

"Orders received, abandoning position. Initiating self destruct..."

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!!!" the door finally released and I lunged through it for the robot, Val grabbed my mane and yanked me back, as a sudden green flash filled the room and the robot pony melted into a puddle in the floor... Gone...

I raged and struggled in Val's grip, pounding my hooves against her armored chest, "IT WAS RIGHT THERE!!! THE INSTITUTE! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Val held me to her chest and let the fire burn out while the others joined us at the door, looking down at the melted robot curiously. I didn't want the pegasus and the Ranger to see me cry, so I buried my face in Val's feathers. Right there... it was right... there...

"S'alright boss... closest I've ever seen anyone get to the Institute. We'll find 'em ok? Stop yer blubberin' alright, makin' us look bad here," I had never heard Val speak so softly or with such care, let alone hug and stroke my mane, she was still teasing of course, but she really cared.

That helped quite a bit, she was right we had other things to do, and I had come close, gotten some information at least. I sniffled and pulled away, trudging into the control room and stepping over the green puddle to reach the console. A few quick commands and the flashing alarm lights finally faded, all the remaining robots powered down, there weren't many left in this room actually, but all of them in the complex should have followed. Below me in the middle of the testing area, a blurry shape resolved back into AssaultJack, looking up at me with that one... green eye? It had changed it?

"Whoooo Weeee! Now that was some fun Master Fast, though ya look a might down yerself. Ah can cheer ya right up though! Just gimme the word!" That had to stop, Mr. Watts was insane...

"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. AWAITING ORDERS." the Sentinel powered down its weapons and waited at the stairs. My pip-buck agreed with the hulking robot, scrolling text at me;

Mission Updated- Quality Assurance

Objective-
--Investigate Watt's Consumer Electronics
--Gain access to the service center
--Investigate Loot
--Return to Rusty Clank

Optional Objective-
--Find a Deep Range Transmitter Relay for the Brotherhood

Steel Dance and Summer Wind were watching pensively as I stood away from the controls. Well, there was nothing stopping them from getting their part now. Their help had been appreciated, without the power armored stallion or the fellow repair-pony, things would have been a lot harder. After a hard stare for a few moments, Dance broke into a grin.

"I have to say it, that was some Grade-A work there soldier. You should consider joining the Brotherhood! We need ponies like you, especially here in the Commonwealth. I couldn't help but notice you seem to have something against this Institute? You are not necessarily alone in that.." Ow, having a steel clad hoof slap you happily on the back hurt...

"Y-Yes! Paladin Dance is right, we need someone like you! Things have been rough on this expedition, now that we can get that part we can at least... er... s-sorry Paladin... But thank you Fast, Valkyrie, we would have been in real trouble without you both..." Summer peeked from behind Dance, smiling nervously up to the griffon and myself.

Dance cocked an eyebrow at his scribe before turning back with a wry smile still on his face, "That's alright Scribe Wind, understandable slip to make and I think our new friend is trustworthy. With the part we hope to acquire, we can regain contact with our brothers outside the Commonwealth, hopefully we'll have support soon and can do some real good here. That's exactly why we need folks like yourself Fast, and you Miss Valkyrie, you have both conducted yourselves incredibly well under enormously bad odds. I hope you both consider the offer. Now then, if everything is under control again, let's go see if our part really is here and you may check your spoils from this venture eh?"

"Right.. let's go then," I slumped out of the control booth and towards the stairs, Val shadowing me. I looked down at the devastation below, AssaultJack had been true to her orders, most of those robots were disabled but fixable, especially with the parts I expected to find and gear we had already seen. Despite everything we now owned Watt's. A few more ideas started clicking into place taking in our new resources, I needed to get back to Hexington.

Right or wrong, I thought I could "fix" that place, whether the current Mayor liked it or not...

New Perk Added!---------------------

Strong Back-----------
---What are you part pack mule? You gain +25 to carry weight, useful for hauling all your newfound treasure away, Applejack would be proud!

Quest Perk Added!-------------------

Be Strong!-----------
--- The determined spirit of Applejack fills you with earth pony strength! Unicorns can be tough when they have to be too! Grants +1 Strength!

Reputation Change!------------------

The Brotherhood of Friendship- Neutral
--- You're no raider or simple scavver. The ponies of the Brotherhood between the Steel Rangers and former Enclave respect you and your skills and have even extended an invitation to join them! You only know the two though, so perhaps you should get to know them first...