As I cleaned off a table two traders started to gossip. My ears perked.

“Did you hear the latest about Elpis?” said a stallion at a nearby table.

“You mean the Celestia forsaken group that has been stirring shit up across the waste?” the mare across from him asked.

“They don’t just cause trouble. They saved some slaves a while back.”

“That’s old news, and word is they saved them only to gain favor with Friendship City. Hell, that happened before they wiped out Jib.”

“Anyways, turns out they were last spotted heading here!”

“To Dust? What the hell for? All they have is dirt, this bar, and an eye full of mountain.” They shared a laugh.

She isn’t wrong, I thought. Listening to stories was the only thing keeping me sane in this town. Unfortunately, the only ponies who had new stories were foalish adventurers or traders, and those ponies rarely traveled to Dust.

I gathered the dirty dishes from the tables, headed to the back, and began to wash them. I wanted to continue listening in on the conversation, so I slipped into a familiar trance. My vision became blurred and unfocused, colors faded away, my sensations became distant, and the ability to process information slowed to a crawl. However, at those costs my hearing amplified to an extreme. It stretched across the bar, and honed back to the traveler's conversation.

“Saving slaves and wiping out towns,” I heard the mare say. “Consistency is not their virtue.”

“Tell me about it. I have no idea what that leader of theirs is planning.”

“Elpis, that was short for something right?”

“Yup. I think it was-”

My concentration shattered when a hoof jabbed into my side. All my senses returned as the pain ripped me from the trance. It took a few moments as my mind processed the conversation and what had happened.

“You work slower when you do… that,“ Shot Chaser said. “I'm guessing you were snooping on the two traders by the entrance.”

“Nopony else has anything new to talk about.” I shrugged.

“Oh, you think you know all my stories?” The grey unicorn looked down on me with a raised eyebrow.

“All the ones I care to know.” I grinned. I’m sure Shot Chaser had more fascinating tales to tell, but I couldn’t resist the chance to jab at him.

“I doubt that.” He scowled and pointed at the glasses. I resumed cleaning.

I finished sweeping just as Blather Skite, the unofficial sheriff of Dust, barged through the doors. The patrons silenced as he caught his breath.

“Giant robot attack!” he yelled. Ponies glanced around the bar, unsure how to react. Blather realized he would have to explain further. “Ya know that dangerous group that’s been on the radio lately? Well, I saw ‘em wanderin’ around outside of town! I wanted to make sure they didn’t cause no trouble so I followed ‘em. They found this hidden entrance on the side of the mountain, and a huge robot came out and started shootin’. They looked like they were leadin’ it to town!”

All at once the ponies went into full panic mode. Screams and shouts echoed out as everypony ran to the exit.

Blather Skite held the door open and gave a final warning, “Two of them split off into town already so be careful y’all.”

I was almost out the door when Shot Chaser yelled over the crowd, “Ardent, no running off until we clean up!”

“Are you kidding me?!” I turned to glare at him. Sure let’s just make sure the bar is clean and tidy before the robot comes and kills us.

“It won’t take long, and the bar is sturdier than the shack you live in, or does my favorite barmaid think I'm wrong?”

My jaw clenched. Dear Luna I hate that nickname! I thought as the need to run subsided. Shot Chaser was right though, if a rampaging machine did come crashing through town, the bar would be safer. Plus, he’s never been wrong about this sort of thing before.

“Fine.” I growled through clenched teeth. “But let’s make this quick.”

I slowly opened the door to leave and leaned my ear out. Whispers of gunshots, cannon fire, and ... barking? Whatever it could be it sounded far enough away. I headed home and the faint noises disappeared completely.

The routine task of cleaning the cider house had calmed my nerves. I gazed up into the grey clouds that blanketed the sky. I imagined how great it would be to see the robot, instead of just hearing about it. That way I could be the one telling the story for once. Although it’s not something to risk my life over, right?

“Hurry up!” A rough female voice yelled from down the dirt path, “Shouldn’t you be able to carry those faster with magic?!”

My attention returned to reality and my eyes went wide. An earth pony with a dirty white coat and dust covered blonde mane trotted in place. She carried thick metal chunks on her back. Each piece had a variety of wires dangling from it. The mare gestured her friend to speed up.

Oh shit, is she with Elpis? Dust only had so many civilians and she was not on the roster.

A purple aura radiated further down the path. A female unicorn levitated more of the same metal pieces. She had a beige coat with long messy amber hair.

The unicorn called back, “Sorry. These things are heavy and I’m not the best with levitation. You should know that by now.”

“Fuck this,” the blonde grumbled. She shook herself free of the weight, letting the metal pieces slide off of her leather barding. “I need to get back into the fight.” She bucked, and thick shackles around her ankles engulfed her hooves. They snapped shut and she repeated the process with her front legs. By the time she was done it looked like her hooves were coated in thick metal.

“Wait!” The unicorn cried out, but in the time it took her to yell the earth pony pivoted, kicked, and one of the devices let out a hiss. Out of the bottom a metal hoof jutted out and propelled her forward in the direction of the gunfire. The wind she displaced brushed against me as she rocketed past.

“That silly girl. This will take forever now.” The unicorn looked around and locked on to me. I stiffened. She threw on a sultry smile and trotted over.

Based on the rumors, Elpis took on a squad of steel rangers and got out unscathed. I wanted to run but I hesitated. Were these two really part of Elpis? How could I run from the first real adventure presented to me? Isn’t this something I’ve always wanted?

Her violet eyes entranced me as she closed the gap between us. In the sweetest voice she greeted, “Hello there, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping me carry a few things?”

“W-where to?” I stuttered.

“Oh just to the outskirts of town.” She pointed.

Where the gunshots, killer robot, and Elpis are! I nodded.

“Oh thank you-thank you-thank you!” She squealed as she levitated the pieces of metal over my back.

“I’m not very str-”

Her spell released, dropping a ridiculous amount of weight onto my back. My legs shook as they threatened to give out.

“Okay, good! Head that way while I get the rest.” She said. Great off to my death, why not… but if I live, this will be one awesome story.

Moving at a snail’s pace I followed in the beige mare's hoofsteps. She was at an overhang outside of town. She drew invisible lines with her hoof as she lined something up from beyond the ridge. When I finally caught up I saw it. My jaw dropped.

An enormous cybernetic dog with three heads. The outer two heads had turrets in their mouths while the middle head had a cannon. Each weapon fired after the beast barked. The middle head focused its attack on a white and blonde blur that darted around on the ground. Blackened craters riddled the area from the cannon's attack. The other heads attempted to shoot down a dark brown pegasus. I took a few steps closer. They didn’t look like they were trying to fight the machine, just distract it.

This is exactly like the stories I hear from Shot Chaser, but now I‘m here witnessing it for myself! My body trembled. Suddenly, the weight I was carrying lifted.

“Thank you so much. I’m Nibble by the way,” the unicorn said as she placed the rest of the metal parts on the ground. “If you want to stick around and see something amazing, I would recommend taking some cover.” She pointed to a boulder a few feet away.

“I’m Ardent,” I replied while taking her advice. I found my attention torn between the battle below and what Nibble was doing. She wrapped the metal pieces in a purple aura placing them together and connected their wires. She had a device on her left fore leg which looked completely different from the blonde mare’s shackle. She wore some sort of utility armor. My eyes drifted to her flank, her cutie mark was an electrical circuit. Shot Chaser had mentioned time and time again how important it was to have a pony good with technology when exploring the wasteland.

She glanced over. “Are you staring at my flank?” she said playfully.

I blushed. Not staring, just momentarily checking. “N-no.”

She giggled and connected the last piece of metal. It was a type of pintle mounted weapon. She hooked thick wires into a power generator. She pushed down on a black pump attached to the generator. Gears clanked together as they spun and a blue light on the control panel turned green.

She opened three hatches on the weapon and took out three rockets from her saddle bags. It’s a rocket launcher! This crazy mare had me hauling around a rocket launcher! She loaded the rockets, locked the hatches, and hit a button. A targeting sight appeared on the screen, and she rotated the weapon till its sights locked on to the mechanical hound. She hit an orange button that launched a flare skyward. The others fighting the robot saw the flare and peeled away.

With a rather scary grin on her face she slammed her hoof down on a large red button. The weapon shook as three rockets raced out and exploded into the side of the cybernetic dog. The explosion filled the area with dust and sand. I stood there slack jawed.

Woo still alive! My gaze slowly went from the explosion to the mare that caused it. She caressed the side of her weapon, and gave it a look that would cause a stallion to blush.

A loud growl and a bark rang out. Cannon fire hit the overhang where Nibble stood. The explosion tossed her and the rocket launcher back, the weapon broke into its smaller components as it tumbled across the ground.

My attention shot back to the battlefield. The dust cloud settled, and revealed the still operational machine. Two of its legs were completely destroyed and one twisted to the point of useless. The last leg allowed it to turn in place but moving was out of the question.

The Pegasus fired at the hound with two laser rifles mounted on his battle saddle. From what I could see the laser rifle did next to nothing to the metal plating. The machine turned and returned fire.

I raced over to the unicorn that now lay ragged on the ground. Is she dead? No, she’s breathing.

I placed a hoof on her shoulder and nudged her. “Hey, the others need you.” I couldn't tell how serious her injuries were. There were no large gashes but blood trickled from all over.

I bit my lip. What am I doing? I could leave. After all, this isn’t my problem, and the robot isn’t going anywhere. Dust just needs to avoid this side of town for the next… forever and we'll be safe. Now is the time to quit while I'm ahead.

My thoughts were interrupted when Nibble grabbed me. Her eyes were clenched as she whispered, “Help them.”

“How?” I asked as I leaned in hoping she would answer. I don’t have a weapon. I am nopony special. Her grasp released and her body went limp causing a rocket to slip from her saddle bag.

I… I could rebuild the rocket launcher couldn’t I? Of course I can, I saw her make it. I can remember, I can repeat.

Without thinking too much I gathered the pieces of the rocket launcher. They were heavy, but as single chunks they were manageable.

After gathering all the parts I replayed the memory in my head and placed the pieces as she did. Hooking up the wires the way she had before. I moved with the same speed and confidence as the mare in my memory. If Nibble and I were side by side building the weapon nopony could tell I had no idea what I was doing.

I fit the last piece into place and hooked the cables to the power generator. As I powered up the device I realized something. If I attempt to use this weapon the mechanical beast might fire at me. I could die.

During my hesitation the blonde and white mare launched herself at the side of the injured beast. An electric field sprouted from the dog's tail. The field electrocuted the white mare, and she was tossed back. She hit the ground, and didn’t get up.

The middle head started to aim where she landed, but before it fired a projectile struck the beast causing the attack to miss. A pale blue unicorn had come out of hiding to draw the machine's attention. The middle head turned to the new attacker and fired as the unicorn dove back behind his cover. The mechanical dog continued its attack as it destroyed the ridge the unicorn was hiding behind. The white mare was still motionless. They were about to lose this fight.

The rocket launcher beeped as the light turned green. This was my chance to be part of the story, not just a listener to something that has happened, but to be in control of what happens next.

I opened the hatches and galloped between Nibble and the weapon as I loaded it with rockets. I locked my sights on the crippled robot. I hit the orange button that launched the flare.

The Pegasus paused seeing the flare go up. Realization set in and he raced to the white mare, He snagged her and rushed to distance themselves from the blast zone. The robot’s heads looked up and noticed the gleam from the flare. It whimpered as it tried to turn itself with its one functional leg. I wasn’t going to give it the chance. I hit the red button. I was nearly flung off from the kickback of the rockets blasting out.

This time the explosion filled the area with shrapnel and bursts of lights that blinded me. A shock wave hit me as I shielded my eyes. I flew backwards and ricocheted off the ground, each bounce grated a part of my body redefining what I thought must be the worst pain I had ever felt. By Luna’s mercy my head struck something vertical causing a numbness to flow throughout my body.

I opened my eyes. My vision blurred and faded in and out. The Pegasus landed close by the unicorn who got me into this mess. He had the white mare on his back. He poured a red liquid into the female unicorn’s mouth. The last thing I saw before the darkness took over was Nibble getting up. Good.

Footnote: Level up new perk: Mare Killer: 10% damage to the opposite sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters.