Chapter 0: Darkness Falls.
An old and wise pony once told us that in the future there is only chaos.

The world ended a great many years ago in a battle of balefire bombs that obliterated nearly everypony and other creatures, plunging the world into nuclear winter as the pegasi blocked out the sun. However life finds a way to move on and it did.

We lost our home and became lost. But We finally found happiness in Unity. Life was perfect for Us, if a little wonky at first. Then one day, a little grey mare sought to make things better for others. She succeeded, but it only made it worse for Us again. We remember the day We stopped hearing the voice of the Goddess.

It was probably two... three...? Days, weeks, months, years ago? We’re not entirely sure as the years have blurred together since We joined Unity willingly long before the Destroyer arrived. However We know that day is gone and We are unsure of things to come, as We can now do things that the Goddess would not allow... like think for ourselves again and that is not a good thing.

We galloped through the halls of the old rusty ship forever docked at the Oakwood Dock’s and telepathically shouted. "Sisssssterrrr! Sister, Sister!" Everypony can hear Our telepathic shout, but We do not care! As We wish to show Sister this awesome thing We discovered called moonshine.

Oh and food.

Most, if not all, of the ponies here fear us for some reason We do not know. Perhaps it was because of the things We once did in the Goddess's name? However Sister has set Us up with a new boss in exchange for staying here and helping.

Ahead of Us, a grey impure pony was attempting to step through the hatch in front of Us. But with Our telekinetics We gripped him in a jade green field of magic, shoved him through and against the wall. Then We squeezed through the small hatch, which was a bit of an annoyance due to Us being as large as Celestia was, but we always manage if no impure ponies are in the way.

We followed the rusty passageway then made a left at the end, followed by a right and literally bowled through a couple of impure. Our weight knocked them into the bulkhead walls. With a wide grin We took a sip from the jar and ducked Our head so that we may go down the stairs two decks and then aft. At the end of that passageway we had to turn left again, then another right, and up some stairs. We took another sip from the jar, smiling as it warmed out belly, and followed that passageway to the right. Eventually We went back down two more flights of stairs. After a few more twists and turns in the bowels of the ship We arrived at our destination.

The engine room.

We gulped back our smile as We composed ourself and opened the door, then stepped through into the large dark room. Sister’s large blue form stood next to the engine with Our new boss about twenty feet from her in conversation. We quickly hid the jar to Our side and turned so that Boss didn't see it.

"...have Shock do it," he told her. We always hated coming in near the end, because then Sister has to explain it to Us and she hates it for some reason We can't fathom.

Sister nodded firmly as she glared at the pony. "Fine. Just make sure your ponies don't shoot her this time! The Goddess dislikes failure and we dislike when we have to heal our sister."

He gave her a nod and walked towards Us, and the exit, while We glared and tried to present an imposing picture like Sister says to. It was much easier before the Goddess stopped talking to Us. We missed her dearly. He looked up and stopped. We stared at each other for a long while. Finally he blinked and We smiled.

"Hah! We win!" We projected into his head and Sister groaned in annoyance. We looked up as We told her, and only her. "We have something to show you!" We left Boss behind and went over to the engine. Which we nearly hugged as the warm radiation fed our body.

"What is it?" Sister asked with her snide voice.

‘Why doesn't she talk like We do? Who needs to waste breath and energy by moving their mouth? Telepathy is so much better!’ We thought to ourself.

Regardless, We held up the jar in magic with a grin. "Moonshine!” We told her with Our mind. “Thy impure bar pony makes it and it is absolutely amazing! You should try some."

Sister blinked in shock as she took a step back. "You know we don't require such things! What motivated you to try it in the first place?"

"Because We were told it was good?" We sipped from the jar with a smile and offered it to her. The alcohol burned our insides, but We liked it.

She glanced around then took the drink in her magic, gave it a sniff and wrinkled her nose. We watched as she slowly put it to her lips and took a long draw. Sister’s eyes widened as she spit it back out all over Our face as she coughed. We laughed as We had the same reaction the first time! Then We realized something and looked at Our long flowing mane. We shook Our head in disappointment with a frown. "Thou got Our mane covered in booze...."

Sister tossed the jar away with eyes on fire and We shrank back. Our ears folded back as the glass shattered the wonderful drink everywhere.

She shouted. "Foal! Stop interacting with those beyond who I tell you too!" We nodded slowly in understanding. "If we act like we have been before that bitch destroyed the Goddess, we can still get benefits like this..." Metal rang out as Sister tapped the ship's engine with her hoof. "Free. Consistent. Source of protected radiation from our loyal supporters." Sister snarled at Us, causing Us to hop a little bit in surprise. "We are monsters, so start acting like one again!"

"What of Our other sisters?" We asked quietly in her head. "We have not heard from them in a long ti-"

"They are dead! Where have you been? Living under a rock? We are all that's left out here in Oakwood!"

‘Because a ship is like a rock... right?’ We thought slowly as We nodded.

"May we still get Moonshine?" We asked her with a smile.

"NO!" Her eyes went wide in horror as she roared and echoed in the room. "I can’t believe you like it!" Sister rolled her eyes and dramatically groaned. "Why? Why of all of us in Unity did I get stuck with you?"

"We do not see a problem being paired together. In fact We think this to be fun." We looked back the way Boss had gone and then looked at Sister. "Sister, what did Boss want?"

She put a hoof on our shoulder. "You are going to help him attack a convoy of Steel Rangers and he wants you to plant on bomb on both the front, and rear, vehicle. Then support his ponies while they try to take the supplies."

We nodded and turned invisible. "We can do that!"

"Go!” Sister pointed angrily at the hatch. “The convoy nears the spot in thirty minutes. Do not be late."

*** ***

We hummed a blues tune quietly in our head while We crept towards the rear wagon. They didn't see Our giant form, because we were cloaked and Our spell cannot possibly be seen by impure ponies! The wagon was a four axle box trailer being pulled by a three axle steam truck with two black clouds billowing from its side pipes. To get by the clouds of smoke, We had to hold Our breath.

We were two miles from the entrance to the bridge leading across the bay and they were heading there fully loaded. We went under the center of the 30ft flatbed trailer and pulled the plastic bomb off Our back with thine hoof as using magic breaks the invisibility spell. Then We glued the device to the underside between two frame support beams. The timer read: 00:01:15.

We smiled as We left the trailer before being run over by the rear axles. As We looked right We had to back up as a blue mare in acolyte robes nearly ran into Us. She stopped and looked in Our direction. We gulped as we slowly sidestepped with the vehicle. The pony slowly looked forward as she shout. "I think I saw something!"

With a silent snarl We backed up slowly.

’That bomb is going to go off in a matter of seconds or minutes! Ugh, time why are thou so weird to us?!’ We silently groaned before we turned and quietly galloped away.

The vehicle stopped and ponies began inspecting the trailer as We left it. Then the one in the front exploded in a fireball, followed quickly by the rear wagon, thus trapping the convoy in the street perfectly.

’A little light on explosives, but effective still.’ We thought as We ducked into a building marked by Sister and We dropped the invisible spell. Our hooves now hollowly thumped on the carpeted wood as we made Our way up stairs, turned left and followed the rubble trail towards where we were to meet Sister for our weapon and further instructions. At the end of the hallway was a cloth covering what had once been a door. We pushing the cloth back and frowned. Sister was not there!

We quickly scanned the room in worry as We wondered if she'd gotten shot, but that would be silly! Sister has a better invisibility spell than We do, but We have a shield that does not seem to work anymore... Our gaze fell upon a box and We went over to it. On top of it was a note that We picked up in magic and read.

Sister,
Use this to burn the heretics into Tartarus. Something has come up that demands my attention and I leave it in your more than capable hooves. Be safe.
Signed,
Sister.

We opened the box and squee'd in delight at its contents, then quickly looked around to see if anypony saw that unladylike outburst. None did of course, so We looked down at the okay condition Annihilator Mk.I rocket launcher. Underneath it were seven shots of high-explosive and two orange tipped rockets that were sheathed in a belt which We hung around our neck.

With our new found toy We galloped from the room towards the roof. As We reached the roof Our ears were assaulted by the sounds of ponies locked in urban combat. We used Our magic to load in one of the orange tipped rounds and the thought of going invisible crossed our mind. But using a spell breaks it so it's useless. We crept low and wished that Our mane didn't flow all the time. As We reached the brick protruding up We peered over at the deep black road below.

The rear truck was burning with parts of ponies nearby, and smoke rose from the front of the convoy as that truck burned too. We involuntarily ducked as the boiler blew in a cloud of white steam and scalding hot water, catching two acolytes in the blast. Some ponies were hiding behind recent rubble, or using the wagons as cover as they fred at the ones hiding in the building.

An idea formed in Our head, We stood on Our hind legs with the rocket launcher floating nearby and stuck a hoof in the air. Our divine wings were extended to full and We telepathically boomed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "FOALISH MORTALS! THE GODDESS DEMANDS YOUR DEATH!"

Our rocket launcher aimed, and with a whoosh, it sent the warhead flying towards the center vehicle. Our aim struck true, it exploded and spread burning phosphorous everywhere in an orange explosion, setting three ponies in the blast radius on fire. Everypony followed the white smoke trail leading to Us.

‘That got their attention!’ We thought as We dropped back behind the edge just before they returned fire.

Bullets shattered the brick next to Our head, showering Us with shards. We left the useless cover behind with the rocket launcher floating in front of Us. Then loaded in the second high explosive incendiary warhead.

We giggled slightly as We were glad to be releasing our pent up anger and thought to ourself.

’Sister always lets Us have fun by killing the heretics that do not believe in the Goddess. We only wish to help the wasteland by allowing them to join Unity, but do they listen? Noooo! They shout horrible things about the Goddess and force Us into hiding in the Crescent Moon's hull. Then there’s the Destroyer.... oh We could go on, and on, about how she dropped a boxcar on one of Our sisters, and trapped one in a memory orb, but there is no time for contemplating. Only killing time!’

We peered over the broken sign and aimed Ann. She sent a warhead down at another vehicle as We dropped back behind cover before they saw Us. We galloped over to the door leading to a stairwell and followed that down two stories to a destroyed office floor. Quietly, We made Our way to the shattered windows and stood far enough back to not be seen. We loaded in a high explosive rocket and as We looked at the ponies down below, We frowned.

One metal monstrosity of a pony was looking up at Us while aiming his/her own rocket launcher. We took a snapshot and galloped from the window as their rocket streaked up, and destroyed the ceiling in a shower of wood shards. Our weapon and Us went two different directions as We were deafened by the explosion. We grit our teeth while dragging Ann back to Us with magic.

’Fuck those Steel Ranger heretics and their metal suits!’ We hissed to ourself as We rolled to Our hooves and galloped from the room.

Our rocket launcher was in front of Us as We loaded in another rocket and crashed through the wood door. We jumped and fluttered down the center of the six flights of stairs, landing softly. Then We took a slow look around as We tested the door with a hoof and found it locked. We rolled Our eyes, spun around, and bucked it. Our hooves sent it flying off its hinges, because who needs to fumble with a lockpick when you can just buck it down?!

The hallway beyond was short and partly collapsed, which caused Us to crouch down to sneak through. However as We neared the door a rocket streaked through, slamming into the wall in front of Us and showered Our body with red hot concrete. Quickly, We jumped out, sent a warhead after him and kept going before they had a chance to reload their rocket launcher. We heard the rocket detonate, followed by impure pony screams and frowned as We wanted to hit the heretic!

We loaded a new rocket as We galloped through the wooden hallway while minigun fire roared from another room towards Us. A few of the five millimeter bullets bored their way into Our hide and caused Us to yelp as We entered some sort of break room.

We dove behind an overturned fridge with some snack cakes spread out on the ground. We took one box and devoured its contents as We looked around.

A thought struck us, ’Steel Rangers have the ability to track us with their suit, so if we disable suit they just cram in a can?’

Our gaze went to the fridge and we smiled at the idea. ’Fridge Shield!

Our magic easily tore the door off its pathetically weak hinges. We nodded as We inspected it. It looked stout enough to stop bullets. We looked back at Our flank to pull out the five rounds that were setting Our insides on fire and tossed the tiny bullets away.

We shouted telepathically to anypony nearby. “We’re still alive dickhead!”

The response came in the form of minigun fire and a rocket destroying the wall as We dove for cover again behind the fridge, causing the roof to groan and timbers to snap. We took a deep breath as We hefted the door in front of Us and charged the destroyed wall. Fridge Shield smashed through what was left of the wood door. We slid to a stop as We glared at the Tin Can down the hall. As the hallway was filled with the roar of a minigun the rounds impacted the metal shield and pushed it back towards Us.

Our magic floated the Mk.I launcher up over the door We let a rocket fly. In Our haste, we had momentarily forgotten to duck and inadvertently burned Our mane. We nearly filly squealed in horror, but quickly put the fire out with magic before it did more than singe Our beautiful mane. The Steel Ranger dove for cover and the shot missed, striking the front wall. Our eyes narrowed when We saw at least two more of the Tin Cans outside.

We telepathically boomed while We loaded in a new rocket. "THOU TIN CANS CANNOT HOPE TO MATCH OUR PERFECTION!"

We heard metallic laughter from the other room where the Ranger had taken cover. A frown formed on Our lips as We trotted over to look around with one eye. But the sneak effect was ruined by Our beautifully flowing mane that We simply must do something about!

The laughter stopped and the Steel Ranger tin can looked at Us as his minigun spooled up. Fridge Shield was quickly brought up and 5mm bullets slammed against it. The force of the impacts pushed the shield back into Us. We snarled as we took a snapshot into the room. Instantly, Our eyes went wide as we realized our fuck up.

The blast wave shoved the fridge door into Us and sent Our body crashing through the wall behind and bones cracked. We slammed against another wall and slumped to the floor covered in dirt and blood. We groaned as fire lanced through one of Our wings, and blood trickled from our ears and nose while all we could hear was a loud ringing sound.

We tried to link to Sister to ask her for help, as she sometimes comes if We do. "Sister... We are hurt... Please come... Please? Please? There are many St-" We broke the link when the ceiling above snapped loud enough to overcome the ringing.

Our eyes widened as it kept snapping and groaning. A timber landed next to Us, so We quickly stood up and tried galloping as best We could. Which was a limping hobble. We stole a glance at the Tin Can and saw charred body parts, and metal everywhere. We made sure to bring the Annihilator as it would be bad to leave it behind. Sister would not be pleased.

We stumbled and pressed against the wall, using it for support, and went forward. We needed to find something to heal the wounds quickly as they greatly diminished Our combat effectiveness. Timbers snapped behind Us and the building came crashing down in a dust cloud as We stumbled down the stairs onto the road. We looked around at the battle. The Tin Cans were winning and We groaned audibly and mentally scolded ourself. ’We fucked up and fixated on that foal in power armor too long!’

We brought Our rocket launcher up to help, but it clicked empty and caused Us to frown. Our magic loaded in the thrice to last warhead.

One of the Tin Cans turned around and his twin miniguns quickly spooled up, then roared like a dragon. We brought up Our magic bubble shield and sent a rocket at the same time as we were enveloped by a green bubble. His rounds went everywhere else, but not into Us. Our warhead struck the ground under him and sent the now three legged pony flying sideways in a slow tumble as he trailed blood from his stump.

We quickly loaded in another shot and fired, but looked at the rocket with a puzzled look when it clicked. Then We facehoofed as Our green shield prevented us from putting the new warhead in!

We quickly looked around and bounded behind cover as We dropped the shield to load in the warhead.

Trying to raise the shield a second time caused fire to lance through Our long horn. We clutched Our head and waited for it to die down.

’Huh? We should be able to cast that infinitely!’

With a huff of annoyance, We floated the rocket launcher at our side as We stood and popped out from behind cover to take a snapshot. Then ducked back and loaded our last round in while we thought back in Our memories. ’Steel Rangers work in fives and we've seen four. Where's...’

Our gaze went up and We immediately dove out of the way from a rocket attack high above Us. Burning shrapnel buried itself in Our flank as We were sent flying by the shockwave. We landed in a heap on the rubble lined road and groaned again as We slid to a stop. A silver apple landed near us, we tossed it away with wide eyes, and it exploded only a few feet away, showering us with shrapnel and sending Us sliding back more. We futilely used Our wing to cover Our face as the metal passed through the feathers like they weren't there.

"Kill the monster!" A metallic mare’s muffled voice shouted. Reminding Us what we've become. Not a vision of the perfect future, but a hideous monstrosity in their eyes.

5mm rounds kicked up a line of concrete and stitched across Our side as they burrowed their way in, burning our insides. We grit Our teeth as we loaded Our last rocket and turned it on a Tin Can before pulling the trigger with magic.

Ann clattered to the road as the warhead missed completely, but caused them to take cover. We groaned inwardly and picked her up with a wing and tried to limp away.

We collapsed behind a wagon and almost sobbed while We reconnected with Sister. "We... are sorry, Sister. We failed... We do not think we will make it, but we will try." We looked at one ruined wing, then at the other with a long splinter protruding from the bone. A cry of pain escaped us as We removed it and panted. "We cannot fly... Will try to make it by hoof."

We broke the connection and went invisible.

*** ***

We stumbled and fell to the grass covered road in a dusty heap as Ann dropped from Our grip for the umpteenth time. Our wounds too great and painful to keep going. We painfully grabbed the Annihilator with a hoof and wrapped Our forelegs around her in a cuddle. She was a good weapon that served Us faithfully. We shut Our eyes and waited for the end.

And waited...

Finally after a long while We sighed and opened Our eyes as We looked at the beautifully crafted toy of death in Our embrace. A toy that was now in almost poor condition. Sister would be upset if We did not go on! And so that is what We will do!

We wrapped the weapon in a wing, stood back up painfully, and shakily on our hooves, and limped onward. The Crescent moon is this way... we think. As We limped along We slowly looked around at all the similar buildings and overgrown roads. A sigh of frustration left us as we approached a sky wagon.

’We have no clue where it is we are! Everything looks so different down here...’

We prayed while We limped around a wrecked sky wagon. "We pray to the Goddess so that she may give Us protection and deliver us unto Our sister in a timely manner, praise be the Goddess."

We hoped she heard that and We do not truly believe Sister when she says the Goddess is dead. Because how can a goddess die? The answer is she cannot as she is immortal. She must have left her corporeal form behind and is watching over us all like a true goddess.

We stopped and looked back at the sky wagon at an odd, yet familiar, feeling.

’There may be medical supplies in there!’ We thought to ourself as we turned around and limped over to the wreckage. As we neared the machine We felt a familiar warm feeling of radiation coming from the cracked engine.

We looked up and whispered, “thank you Goddess, thank you!”

We collapsed and put Our face against the leaking device. Then rubbing it with Our cheek and smiled. It was not much radiation, but enough to heal Our minor wounds and dull the pain.

We connected to Sister, but she never responds... none ever do. "Sister! The Goddess answered our prayer for help! See? The Goddess is not dead, she is watching over Us!"

We left the leaking engine behind and opened the cargo doors so We could rummage through the boxes of impure pony junk. We found a Med-X needle that We immediately injected, some Rad-away that We tossed away, five bottle caps which We put into the rocket belt, half a bottle of rum, and six rounds of .22LR ammo.

We held one of the .22LR rounds with magic to eye level as We eyed it suspiciously. ’Who in their right mind would willingly use a weapon that fires such.... pitiful ammunition?’

Regardless of Our caliber preference, We pocketed the ammo as one may need it for trade. We opened the mostly gone bottle of rum and drank what was left as We continued limping on Our way.

’We are so pleased with the Goddess! We asked, and she answered. It was like... magic!'

Our ears swiveled as rubble fell to the road. Slowly, We looked around. We glanced behind Us and facehoofed at the realization that We were walking back towards the remaining Steel Rangers! We turned back towards the sky wagon. It wasn't far, but one of Our hooves tugged on something, which caused Us to glance down as the tripwire suddenly went slack.

Underneath the rubble pile a device whirred and gave a metallic pop as an object jumped out and drew our attention. Our eyes widened and We jumped back as its panels unfolded, exploding bright light in our face along with a truly deafening clap of thunder.

Our world went black as our body fell to the road.

*** ***

Sometime later, We opened Our eyes as a dull throbbing pain ran through Our horn and followed an incessant beeping noise; over and over. Slowly, We looked around a sort of tall medical room devoid of ponies with the area above being glass, the room behind the glass dark. The whitewashed walls reflected the blinding light from directly overhead and gave the entire room a muted headache inducing feeling.

Wires ran from Us to a machine that was doing the beeping. Our bed was as hard as a rock and We realized it was just a metal table that was covered by a sheet. One of Our hind legs had a metal band around it that appeared attached to the bed.

’Clouds make for some of the best beds, they should have given Us clouds!’

"I see you're awake." A metallic voice said from the walls. We slowly scanned the white and tried to reply with Our mind, but fire shot through Our horn causing us to collapse onto the bed in agony. We laid there, panting until the pain in our horn subsided, and wiped the sweat off our brow. "If you try using magic in there, then that happens." the voice said flatly.

Our gaze went up to a yellow earth pony standing behind thick looking glass. We looked at him in contempt as We hate talking with Our mouth. It sounds so... weird and undignified! Regardless, We softly cleared Our throat and asked. "Where... are we?"

He pushed a button next to him with his hoof. "Somewhere in Oakwood. Why does it matter?"

"Curious is all. We take it you healed Us?" We held out a wing and noticed that Our feathers had been clipped beginning from the third outside flight feather. A quick check of the other revealed the same. "What... happened to Our beautiful wings?"

"I stitched your wounds, and a few healing potions finished the job. However the feathers had to be cut as they were heavily damaged."

We sighed and nodded because if what We remember about the grenade shrapnel going through Our wing were true, then that must be true that they had to be cut. "How long have we been here?"

"At least two days."

We looked up at him and smiled. "The Goddess will reward thee for helping Us."

His voice echoed in the small room as he pushed the button again. "You do realize she's been dead for a couple weeks, right?"

We looked up at the ceiling and smiled as We put Our forehooves together and placed them against Our chest. "The Goddess is not dead, merely in another plane of existence. She answered Our prayer earlier and watches over Us even now."

"Look, I don't care if you believe she's Celestia! I don't wanna hear none of that Unity shit in my home, do you understand?" We looked at the impure and nodded slowly in understanding. "Good. Now mind telling me why I found you shot full of holes and blown up?"

We shall forgive him calling Unity that as he does not know that in Unity We are better as a whole. "...Perhaps... Do We get anything for in return for telling thee?"

"I have extra cake." he replied with a shrug.

"Very well, that will do," We gave a nod of acceptance of his trade offer as food is wonderfully yummy. "We were helping Sister and Boss to clear out a convoy of Tin Can Heretics."

"Tin Can... you mean Steel Rangers?"

"Yes. They had supplies Boss needed and he asked Sister, whom asked us to do it." Our ears folded back as We looked at the floor in shame. "We... failed."

"And it was just you versus a platoon of Steel Rangers?"

Again We nodded. "Sister gave us nine rockets, and We used all of them to take out half."

He sat down and looked in deep thought while he scratched his chin. We thought he looked constipated. The impure pony looked at Us finally and asked. "Was she there with you?"

We shook our head. "No she was not. Sister was called away on important business."

"In other words, she didn't want to die and used you instead."

"No no no!" We furiously shook our head. "Sister would never harm Us! We are all that's left out here in Oakwood. The others... died. What of Our cake? Thou said We would get some food after We told thou what happened."

He sighed. "Fine... Give me a minute."

We nodded and waited for what We're assuming a minute as he appeared in the doorway with a dark metal collar and a plate of cake on his back. The pony trotted over and set the objects down. Our gaze locked on the super delicious looking cake as We licked Our lips in anticipation. Our hoof reached out for it, but was slapped away. We quickly drew it back as We looked at the hoof in confusion.

"No! Not yet." We frowned at the piss yellow stallion. "Let me put out this collar on you and then you can have it."

’He touched Us! How dare he?! But why the collar? We have seen ponies with them before, but do not know their function.’

We tilted Our head as We asked. "What does it... do?"

"It's a medical collar. It'll tell me if you're fully healed or not." Something in the back of Our mind screamed at Us that it was bad, but we nodded and lowered our head to his level. He clasped it on with a grin and stepped quite far back. We noticed the collar was very heavy, which a medical collar shouldn’t be if one existed. He was now holding up a device with a large red button in one hoof. "Do you see this?" he asked as he pointed at it.

"Of course We do you foal! What is it?"

"The detonator for the slave collar that I just put around your neck."

Our eyes widened as Our jaw dropped. "Thou... thou hath tricked Us! Why you little shit!" We lunged for him, but the chain attached to Our hind leg went taut and We fell to the floor with a thud as fire lanced through the socket. We groaned in annoyance as We realized that Our life was now in his hooves.

He stepped over Us and grinned. "First are the rules. Rule one: if you use magic to fiddle with the collar, it blows up. Rule two: if you hit the collar too hard, it blows up. Rule three: if you try to disarm the collar without the key, it blows up. Rule four: if you hit me, it blows up. Now do what I say and this will be easier."

We nodded slowly.

“Get up. We’re going on a trip.”

*** ***

We sat off to the side of the tiny camp with a grumble and mentally complained. ’Such an undignified act pulling a cart! Only dirty earth ponies or donkeys, or imp spawn mules, should ever be used to pull a cart, not a vision of perfection! The harness smells, chafes, itches, is dirty, and not to mention heavy!’

It was night out and We do not know where We are. Master, as he wants to be called, created a fire and was cooking a can of beans. There was a flat gem powered device with a large screen that ‘Master’ kept looking at.

We looked up and thought a quick prayer to the Goddess. ‘He shall die tonight in your name and if We die then it is by Our choice, praise be the Goddess.’

As We looked down at the earth pony We crept around to his back as best We could. His fire ruined his night vision and Our forest green coat let Us slip into shadows. We silently charged him, but Our silence was not good enough as he turned at the last second when we noisily kicked over a nearby can.

With a telepathic cry of anger, Our horn skewered his heart and protruded out the other side of his body, and killed him instantly. Not to mention getting our mane and horn covered in blood! We quickly turned Our head and tossed his limp body away, it fell in a dusty heap as We hobbled over. Our magic patted his barding pockets for anything of value. In addition to the detonator there was a round rolled tube of something smelly. We stripped the pony and went through his saddlebags.

In there We found traps, Our rocket launcher, rocket belt, and 300 caps with a note.

Wanted: all alicorns for crimes against the Steel Rangers. 10,000 cap reward for each one brought in alive. 2,500 dead.

We frowned as We put everything into his bags, including the screen thing, and slung the bags across Our back. Then We took a look around again in an attempt to find out where We were.

We shrugged and headed towards where the sun had set earlier.

Level up!
New Perk - Questing: You can now gain levels and new perks due to a process known as questing. Congrats! Allows you to pick one extra perk, so choose wisely.

New perk - Widowmaker: Who’s a sexy mare? You are. Yes you are! +10% damage to stallions, and unique dialogue options with certain characters.

Main quest accepted - Oakwood Blues, I. Get back to Sister at the Crescent Moon and tell her of the bounty on alicorns. Due to your feathers being mangled, you must walk.

Main quest accepted - Ties that bind. Find a pony with whom you can trust to remove your slave collar.

Character sheet below.

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Shell Shock

-865 Karma

Race: Green Unity alicorn

S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
Strength: 7
Perception: 5
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 4
Agility: 7
Luck: 8

Tagged skills: Big guns, repair, explosives.

Traits:

Screw the toasters!
You hate anyone wearing power armor, as they are the cause of all the worlds problems in your eyes. +5% chance to crit against those who serve the Steel Rangers, or Enclave. Reputation automatically set to kill on sight for both.

Visions of Unity.
You look down upon all those who are not like you, because you are perfection. +10% damage to all wasteland ponies. Due to you being an alicorn, your reputation set to friendly to alicorns and to idolized to those who worship the Goddess.

Fatal flaw:

Low intelligence: You were not the sharpest tool in the shed before joining Unity. Thanks to losing Unity you are back to 'normal'. Thus other ponies can now take advantage of your gullibility. -30 to speech, barter as well as other ponies gain unique dialog with you.

Dramatic entry: Screw using a lockpick, use your hooves! Depending on the lock you might need to blow it up, but be careful as it may destroy the contents of a box and will announce your presence to other ponies nearby. Replaces Lockpicking as a skill.

Kleptomare: Oooh, shiny! You see expensive things and wish them to be yours. +10 sneak and you are 10% less likely to be caught taking items.

Racial spells:

Telekinetics:
Even a foal knows this one. Needs no more explaining.

Telepathy: Why do you need to move your mouth to speak?! You communicate with your mind and abhor speaking by flapping the lips. +20% to creepiness factor for other ponies.

Shield spell: You have it, so why can’t you use it? Oh that’s right! You don’t really want to... +25 DT for two minutes. 24hr recharge time between casting unless connected to Unity.

Invisibility: Learned from Sister and allows you to turn invisible. Due to it not being yours initially it’s not as great as hers, thus other ponies can detect you easier. Grants a similar effect as a stealth buck. Lasts until canceled. Ten minute recharge.

Author's Notes:

Cleaned it up some. I hope it's better now.