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Horrors of Subterra; Fallout: Equestria - Chapter 1
Topic Started: Mar 25 2013, 08:52 AM (719 Views)
Siren
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[ *  *  * ]
All is silent in the halls of the dead.
All is forgotten in the stone halls of the dead.
Behold the stairways which stand in darkness; behold the rooms of ruin.
These are the halls of the dead where spiders spin and the great circuits fall quiet.
One by one.


================

The gunslinger stepped through the darkness of the tunnels, and the child followed.

It had been a half hour since the two of them began their journey from deeper in the cavernous subway tunnels and service passages. The silence in the darkness was only interrupted by the steady beat of their hooves beating against the concrete as they walked beside the dilapidated rails, the gunslinger’s steps a little heavier and farther apart while the child’s were lighter and rapid.

They were heading in the direction where the child had heard the sounds of other ponies many days ago, the goal of their excursion being to find more civilized life in these tunnels other than the irradiated ghouls that wandered about. It had been a month since the separation of this section of the tunnels from the rest of SubTerra to keep the ghoulish threat at bay, but in doing so, it also trapped a good number of the citizens with them.

The weak died fast to the shambling horrors, sickness, radiation, or malnutrition. The strong banded together and made their stands, many falling to the insurmountable flood of flesh, but few also able to dig deep enough in to set up the last refuges of hope and safety.

That was what the gunslinger hoped they would find, and that the camp did not consist of citizens and guards turned bandits and raiders. If that were the case, then the gunslinger would urge the child back into hiding and follow behind her before looking in a different location tomorrow… or whatever counted for tomorrow down here. Unless one had some sort of timepiece on them that still worked, there was no way to tell what time of day it was this deep underground.

Their ultimate goal was to find a way out of this place, but it was not going to be an easy task. Wandering the tunnels of the former SubTerra was a hazard due to the ghouls that lurked in the dark. Their slightly glowing eyes pierced the dark and relentlessly pursued any that crossed their path to rip them apart limb from limb, and there were droves of them in these tunnels. It would take a posse to carve their way through the thickest of them, a posse of the most coordinated ponies still alive, just to find a way out.

From the dark they could see arc lights set up further down the tunnel up ahead, a sign of civilization plain and sure, but the question of whether they were friendly and the light at the end of the tunnel was not their demise was still up in the air. The gunslinger watched the ground around them, noting ghouls piled against the tunnel walls, the ground coated in spatters of dried blood. There were no everyday ponies or citizens among them, perhaps the settlement up ahead was just as friendly as she hoped.

As they approached the makeshift barricade and the gate that was planted in the midst of it, the two guards on either side of it stood at attention, alert and leveling their guns at the both of them shouting for them to halt. The gunslinger stopped dead in her tracks and held her left hoof in front of the child to stop her as well. From under the brim of her hat, the gunslinger eyed the two guards, the leg with the revolver attached to it tense and ready to move at the slightest hint of trouble.

The one on the left had a battle saddle equipped with what looked like a submachine gun, and the other carried the distinctly green glowing of a plasma weapon, slowly glowing brighter as the weapon powered up. The one with the battle saddle barked at the two of them, “State your business or we will gun you down.” The gunslinger slowly pushed the child back behind her and replied in a chilled and haunting voice, “I am but a gunslinger and she my travelling companion that were trapped here underground, and we come here for some shelter; not long will we be around.”

For a few awkward seconds they stood and looked at each other, before the one with the energy pistol lowered his weapon with a sigh and said, “Well, they stopped and talked. They definitely aren’t walkers.” He glanced at his cohort and added, “You can lower your gun, man.” Well, they definitely weren’t professional guards, that much was easy to see.

Standing aside to allow the two of them through, the gunslinger and the child moved to proceed through the front gates, but were stopped again by the guard as he said, “All newcomers are required to check in with a doc before mingling with the rest of the survivors. Their tents are just to the left of the gate. You might wanna get in line fast, the line can really get long sometimes. Welcome to Hope’s Cradle.”

With only a curt nod, the gunslinger and the child walked into the makeshift refugee camp, and immediately turned left to see several white tents, ponies in white coats milling about and tending to the ponies that were among them. Following the standing sign with the arrow that read ‘New Arrivals / Triage’, the gunslinger and the child waited their turn to be seen by a doctor.
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Doctor Method
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[ *  * ]
Dear Mrs. Pokerface,

I regret to inform you that your husband, Mr. Loaded Dice, died today. There would have been a chance to save him had he made it to the clinic an hour or two earlier, but by the time he made it his wounds had already festered. It was not the infection that took his life as that would be a cruel and unusual death that could have taken days, maybe even up to a week, to finally take hold, and he would have been in extreme pain the entire time. Instead, he asked for the gift of mercy, and we delivered him from his suffering. He died peacefully in his sleep.

Sorry for your loss.
Sincerely,
Doctor True Method


_____________________________

There were so many ponies that made their way into the Doctor’s treatment tent every day. Ever since the ghouls showed up en mass there had been a steady flow of patients that made their way through his door, and each of them had a different pain that ailed them. Of course there were still the usual suspects that still managed to find their way into his doors, radiation sickness, crippled limbs, extreme blood loss, a few fevers, and even a couple broken bones. Those weren’t really anything out of the ordinary. The ripped off limbs that had to be replaced by some sort of prosthetic, the ghoul bites, the infections, the things that turned ponies into those beasts, that was the stuff that used to be out of the ordinary.

“Used to be out of the ordinary,” True Method said as he slammed a needle into a ghoul bite victim’s foreleg, as close to the wound as he was willing to go, “Now you ghoul bite victims come in here at least once a god damned day. You’re lucky you got here fast, I’ve been able to stop the infection from spreading too far so we won’t have to amputate that leg. A few things to note about the bite is that it’s still going to hurt,” the Doc said as he turned around and started looking through the cupboards behind him for some pills that he would need, “A lot. Ghouls carry a lot of excess radiation which is why they’re the way they are and that’s also why their bites can turn you into one of them. Now I stopped the spread of the infection, but you’ve still got quite a bit of excess radiation in your body from that bite so you’re going to need these.”

Doctor Method then handed the two bottles over to the victim who still looked scared stiff, if not a little relieved, “One of them is anti-radiation, and the other one is a painkiller,” he said as he pointed to each of the respective bottles, “Take the anti-radiation as directed, but only take the painkiller if you’re actually in pain. They’re addictive and I don’t hand those out unless you’re actually fucking hurt, you got that?”

The stallion only nodded, “Good,” the Doc said as he turned around and started stuffing a saddlebag full of supplies, “Now you head on home. I’ve got to head over to the new visitor checkpoint and make sure all the fresh faces are cleared to actually roam the streets around here.” The victim only nodded again as he hopped off of the hospital bed, wincing as he landed on the floor, and slowly made his way out of the treatment tent.

True Method left the treatment tent only a couple of minutes after his last patient, zipping up the opening behind him and placing a padlock on it. He didn’t usually go down to the checkpoint, he was far more valuable at the treatment tent where he had access to enough equipment that he might actually get to treat these pony’s illnesses, but it seemed that they were a bit understaffed today and his presence was needed. It didn’t really bother him to go to the checkpoint, but he did feel like his talents were wasted whenever he was there. He never really got a chance to treat ponies there, he either allowed them to stay, or he was forced to kick them out. There was never an option to fix them at the checkpoint.

It wasn’t a long walk from his Treatment tent to the checkpoint, but by the time Method had gotten there the line had already started to pile up a bit. He approached one of the empty tents and placed his things inside before heading out to find someone to examine. The first ponies he came across were two mares, well one mare and a filly to be specific, one of them wore a wide brimmed hat and had a rather intimidating revolver while the other was still wearing their Stable jumpsuit. “You two,” he said as he approached the pair, “I’m going to need your names, ages, Stable numbers if applicable, last city you were in if applicable, as well as your business within Hope’s Cradle,” he said as he pulled a small notepad and a pen out of his lab coat pocket, prepared to start writing down information the second the pair started saying it.
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Honey Dew
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[ *  *  * ]
To the child's relief, the journey from her storage closet to the place where she'd heard gun fire some few days ago had been completely eventless. It had also been a very long and silent walk--and somewhat boring--but that was completely balanced by the lack of ghouls that had been along their path. She was admittedly a little terrified even attempting to find these ponies whom she had heard some time ago: both she and her mother had learned the hard way that not every pony here on the surface was altruistic; in fact, it was quite the opposite and generally when somepony saw something they wanted... they took it by whatever means necessary.

The reason she hadn't bothered to find these ponies that she heard didn't hinge only on the fact that their gun fire had terrified her, making her not even want to try to see if they were friendly or not... but she was also terrified that they could be raiders--or worse, slavers. Regardless, this time, she wasn't alone. Though she'd only known the gunslinger beside her for a short period of time, she was trustworthy and knew her way around a gun, unlike the child. If anything happened, she could always rely on the skills she'd learned from her mother to stay alive until both she and the gunslinger got back to safety.

After just another few minutes of walking, lights were seen just around the bend of the tunnel in front of them and a light feeling of anxiousness grew in the child's stomach. If these ponies did turn out to be bad, she really, really didn't want to have to go through the ordeal of finding out... but she had to. She'd already gone this far with the gunslinger and she couldn't back down now. However as a compromise, she slowed her gait just enough to let the mare beside her pass before stepping in line behind her, head peeking out just enough to watch the camp as they approached it. She did her best to not look to the sides as they passed piles of dead ghouls, though every so often she failed in doing so, eliciting a quiet whimper from her. They were just so... horrible...

When the gunslinger stopped dead in her tracks, the child didn't stop with her, instead having to take a step to the side so she wouldn't run into the mare with her momentum. She shied away from the two guards in front of them that had shouted for them to halt, their scary guns pointed directly to them. The gunslinger didn't even have to encourage her--she quickly retreated back behind the mare's legs, cowering behind her as she watched the two ponies nearby from between the gunslinger's legs. For a few heart-pounding seconds after the gunslinger responded to the guards' questions, silence ensued, making the child believe the worst. However, when the guards lowered their weapons a heavy sigh of relief came from the filly before pushing herself up to quickly follow behind the gunslinger when she began moving again. As she passed them, the child gave both guards a stone-faced glance, attempting to hide the fact that they continued to intimidate her.

Then, they stood in line. Even the child had a large amount of patience for somepony her age... but this was excruciatingly boring and the general air of the place was just so bleak, an ironic fact considering the name of the settlement. But that was just par for the course when ghouls come along and tear apart the lives of everypony in the city... It took some time of waiting, but eventually, a blue pony with white, disheveled hair approached them both directly before addressing them as he pulled out a notepad and pen.

The child watched this for but a moment before speaking up herself, her honeyed voice not speaking but more than a few words in response to the stallion. "Name: ...Honey Dew. Age: 11. Stable Number: 205. Last city: SubTerra. Softglow District. Business..." she paused for a moment, glancing over to the gunslinger beside her before returning her gaze to the doctor again.

"Business: survival."
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Siren
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[ *  *  * ]
The gunslinger and the child waited in the slowly advancing line, occasionally stepping forward as a doctor would occasionally come forward and pull ponies from it. Sometimes it was the ones that were at the front that also seemed to be waiting for simple tasks such as checkups or getting a clean bill of health like she and the child were, other times a doctor would step back and survey all of the ponies in the line before pulling away those that had open wounds, limbs that looked oddly limp or bent at unnatural angles. Those ponies needed the attention more than those that just wanted to get into town, and he gunslinger could wait patiently for that, but the numbers of injured ponies just kept piling in.

Just looking around the area, it was the definition of bleak, with ponies writhing and moaning in pain, some just passed out on the ground, either from crippling pain or in euphoria from powerful painkillers. Her expression softened as she looked around at them. She knew what it was like to be in that position too, and she didn't want to go back to it anytime soon. Instead, she bided the time with humming to herself, occasionally glancing down at the young mare with the violin and the stuffed doll to see what she was doing. She didn't seem particularly antsy or raring to go and play somewhere. She knew just how bad it could get too, but the inexperience behind her eyes made everything that much more of an intense experience.

Soon enough, they were at the front of the line, and they were approached by a dishevelled looking blue stallion wearing a white lab coat and sporting some facial hair in the form of a moustache. He didn't waste time getting down to business either, not even bothering to stop for a simple greeting. Things must have been incredibly busy to fry the doctor to this extent. The gunslinger let the child go first, frowning a little as the child paused and mentioned a name that was different from the one that she heard when she first met her. Why did Honey lie to her? Was she trying to protect herself to begin with?

Not that it really mattered, as it was a name, and it was a lot better than the name that she told the gunslinger to begin with. Soon enough, it was her turn to answer the same questions, so she cleared her throat and spoke up in a haunting voice that sounded almost sing-song in nature, but not quite, "The name for which you sift, is that of Gunrose Swift. Nineteen years young and ponies of Stable-19 were whom I was born among. SubTerra was the last city I passed through, for purpose of food and bed. As for business..." She smiled to herself and lowered her gaze, "... survival without exchange of lead."

She waited for the good doctor to write a little more of his notes before she spoke up again, "We are both healthy as far as I can tell; we both just came from the tunnels, from a storage cell. No bites on either myself or Honey Dew, and I can't speak about exposure to radiation for her. Where she had been, I have no clue, but for myself many mile in the wasteland I have travelled through. The shakes haven't hit me yet, nor am I plagues with glowin' nor forget."

Looking about once more at all of the other refugees and the injured ponies, Siren paused a little longer and asked, "World really has gone nineteen hasn't it? So much suffering because of the decision to make SubTerra split. Do ghouls still come by here every so often?" She glanced back at the serious doctor, giving him a mysterious and quirky smile while adding, "Or am I ever going to get past that hardened demeanor that desperately needs to soften? A doctor I could see is your claim to fame, but the stallion behind the white mask, what is his name?"
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Doctor Method
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[ *  * ]
True Method began furiously writing down everything the two of them said. Seems that they had both come from two very different places and somehow ended up in SubTerra, a pretty standard affair for the ponies down here. SubTerra had always been a hot spot for diversity when it came to everyone's origin stories. He rarely found two ponies who had come from the same Stable unless they left at the same time and somehow didn't either die or split up along the way.

Doc placed the notebook on the ground before grabbing a piece of chalk from his coat pocket, "My name," he said as he started writing down a set of runes in front of each of the two mares, "Is True Method, I used to work as one of the few medical practitioners over in SubTerra until the ghoul attacks happened. Now I do most of my work out of a tent near the center of the camp, it's not quite my old clinic from the city, but it's enough to get work done."

Once Doc Method had finished talking, he activated the runes in front of Honey Dew. The runes glowed for a second before projecting what looked like a sort of damage report you would get from a Pipbuck. Everything was there, radiation levels, limb condition, blood pressure, and even a short list of the medications that she had taken in the last twenty four hours. He nodded once and tapped the runes in front of Honey Dew once and watched the small display disappear along with the runes he had written, "Your radiation levels are a little high, nothing to be concerned about but I would suggest you stay away from any problem areas for at least a day and pay attention to any food or water you intake."

He then turned over to Gunrose Swift, "As for your question concerning the ghouls," he said as he wrote down an identical set of runes in front of Swift, "There usually isn't much of a problem with them from what I've noticed. Sure there are the occasional attacks, but it's never anything to really be concerned about. Usually they'll just wander over here solo or maybe attack with a small group, but I've never seen anything bigger than a group of five, maybe six, on any given day. At the end of the day, I wouldn't be all that concerned about it, just let the guards at the gates take care of it, they've been doing a fine job of it so far after all."

Method then activated the runes that were in front of Swift and watched as a very similar display popped up in front of her. "You've got a similar level of radiation as the child," he said as he lowered the display, "So you won't have to take any medication for it. Just make sure you stay out of the tunnels and watch what you put in your body."

It was as this point that Method could feel an ache in his broken horn, "Of course, it always happens when I'm working," he said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an unmarked bottle. He then proceeded to dump three pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry, "Sorry about that," he said as he capped the pills again and placed them back in the coat pocket, "Arcane energy leaks tend to hurt quite a bit. So, is there anything else I can do for you two?"
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Ma'Lynn
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[ *  *  * ]
Deeper in the camp, in one of the many residential tents set up, a pony and a zebra sat on one of the mattresses that littered the ground in an orderly fashion. Most of the Hope's Cradle was set up like this, and these two were among the lucky few to get one of the tents with an actual mattress that didn't have a spring poking through it. Simple discomfort seemed to be the furthest from their thoughts, as the turquoise earth pony clutched her left leg, wincing in pain as the zebra tried to apply bandages to what looked like a nasty gash. "Aww fuckin' hell, 'Lynn... I dun' wanna jus' leave'er ou' there..." The zebra gave an exasperated sigh past the bandage in her mouth and took it out just long enough to give the pony on the mattress a flat look. "Quit squirmin', girly," the zebra responded in a strange accent, typically hard to understand by ponies unfamiliar with it. "I be missin' her too, but de'a ain't much we can do wit' ju like dis. 'Sides, if ju be mo'a ca'aful, den we wouldn't be havin' ta deal wit' dis, would we?" She then returned to trying to wrap the bandages around the pony's leg before the mare could bleed out.

Even past the dazed look that the turquoise mare wore, she gave a huff and rolled her eyes before responding in her equally strange accent, this one sounding as though it came from a family that came from a more cultured background, "Ya know, Oi'm lucky Oi di'n't break moi dawm leg in'na hole'a somethin' instead'a this. We'd be stuck'in'is 'ell 'ole fer'evah." She gave a sigh, followed by another wince, "Fffffuck'in'... c'mon 'Lynn, ya cawn' be more gen'le? I's still gawds damn'd tend'a." Once more, the zebra pulled back from the mare's leg and gave her another flat look as she held the bandages she'd placed so far with a hoof. "Snow, would ju quit jur bellyachin'? We've bot' had a lot worse dan dis. Unless ju be tellin' me stayin' he'a in dis place's made ju soft. Alt'ough it wouldn't surprise me," she said as she lifted a hoof to prod Snow's stomach. "Ju be gettin' a lil' round at da edges." 'Lynn smirked at that before returning to bandaging her friend's leg. "Wot a' ya say'in', love?" The earth pony said, giving her an equally flat look, "Oi'm no' ge'in' soft! S'a gash in moi leg Oi could really do withou', an' ya handle'in' i' loike ya troi'in'a leg wrassle me! Cawn' ya use tha' soft'a touch'a yours, sissa?" Snow whined a little, but kept her leg still as she let the zebra work on it. After a few silent grimaces of discomfort and pain, she said through clenched teeth, "If we cawn' go ou' the'a, we go'a foind somepone who can... Mara's jus' way too 'mpo'an' t'this camp t'jus leave'er ou' there."


'Lynn pulled away from the mare's leg for good this time, having wrapped the bandage "good enough". She sat back and inspected her work for a moment before looking up to the mare sitting on the mattress before here. "I be agreein', girly. But most o' dese pones ain't Steel Ranga's m'terial. How d'ju suggest we find her, when sendin' dem out de'a would mean de'a deat's? I su'a ain't goin' out de'a alone, an' 'specially now dat I gotta be watchin' ju." Snow tried to set her leg back on the mattress in a normal sitting position, but as soon as it touched, she jerked it back up, resigning to keep it held up this entire time. Her resolve and determination did not seem to falter though, "The'a's always somthin' 'Lynn... Look a' some'a those ponies ou' the'a, they're awll s'voiv'a's, an' a good lot'a them 'ave weapons. They awll 'ave somethin'in common too..." Snow leaned forward and said, "... they awll wan' outta 'ere. If we tell'em wot Mara 'ad on 'erselfs, ponies would flock'ere t'elp." 'Lynn sighed quietly as she pushed herself up on her hooves before shrugging her shoulders. "An' we'd be sendin' 'em to die, Snow. I t'ought ju ca'ad about t'ings like dat. About da common good o'a whateva'. 'Sides, even if we do find anypony dat looks like dey could do it, dey'd want some kind o' payment in return. Unless ju feel like makin' Snowjobs a t'ing...."


"Noooo... Snowjobs a' no' gonna become'a thing! An' ya go'a think'a i' this way, we'a awll gonna die down 'ere anyways, by ghoulies, bulle's, las'as, or staw'vation. Tha's a guaranteed death. If we cawn ge' a posse t'geth'a though, they coul' stawnd a be'a chawnce'a s'voiv'in', an' the'a ain' no be'a reward than ge'in' ou'a 'ere aloive." Snow stood up as well, leaning against 'Lynn as she wobbled to her hooves, a bout of lightheadedness washing over her, "... Ahhhh... bollocks, Oi'm really in deep, huh?" 'Lynn shook her head as Snow rested against her, apparently coming under a bout of dizziness after standing up. "Like I said, girly, ju should be mo'a ca'aful. I ain't always gonna be around to cova' jur flank when ju decide ta play in some reba'. 'Sides dat, what if dis 'posse' ju suggest we get toget'a don't feel like dat be enough of a rewa'd? We ain't got not'in' else to offa', so Snowjobs just might hafta become a t'ing." At this point the zebra turned her gaze away from Snow as she tried to hide the smirk that threatened to grow on her lips. Snow looked as though she wanted to come up with some sort of rebuttal to 'Lynn's smart remark, but she gave another pained wince and just looked at the ground, trying her best to hobble forward on three legs. She spoke up quietly, "Oi dun' care anymo'a, love... 's'long as we ge' Mara back, or a' leas' know wot 'appen'd t'er... Oi jus' dun' care."


'Lynn glanced back to Snow after that, one of her eyebrows raised before she stepped forward, worming her way under Snow to pick the mare up. "Dang, Snowflake, ju really be outta it. No arguin' wit' me, not carin' 'bout da state ju be in..." She left the tent with Snowflake on her back then, walking as smoothly as she could so as not to discomfort the mare she was carrying. "We gonna hafta get ju looked at. Afta' all, dem Snowjobs ain't gonna be very good if ju ain't all dat coherent, ju feel me?" 'Lynn smirked then, no longer bothering to hide it now that Snowflake couldn't directly see her expression. "The'a ain' gonna be no Snowjobs, 'Lynn... ya dun' even know wot those a'..." Snow said as she was carried about, her voice sounding a little tired and weary. She had no idea where 'Lynn was taking her, nor did she care, she was too busy trying to figure out what they were going to do about their missing friend. As they walked past many tents, Snow opened her eyes a little more and saw a gray pony with a lighter gray mane. The stallion had a laser rifle, lots of technology and gadgets, and even what looked like a robot on wheels that carried his stuff for him. She tapped 'Lynn's flank and pointed to the pony in question before breathing out, "... 'im... 'e looks promisin', ask 'im..."


'Lynn paused at the tapping on her flank before turning her gaze over to the pony Snow pointed out to her. She inspected the stallion for a moment from far away then turned and began walking towards him, mischievous smirk still on her lips. She called out to the stallion when she approached him, giving him plenty of time to notice her as she did so. "'Eeyyy, mon. If I asked ju what ju t'ought about a Snowjob, what would ju--" Her sentence cut short as she yelped in pain as a result of the sudden feeling of something sharply hitting her flank. She glanced back to Snow, wrinkling her nose a bit. "Dang, girly, ju be inja'd enough fo'a da bot' o' us, I don't be needin' to be da same." Snow couldn't help but give an tired and airy breath of a laugh at 'Lynn. Shows her right for trying to chase that idea down. She didn't keep that smile for long though, there were more important matters to deal with. The turquoise earth pony looked up from the zebra's back and asked, "... 'Scuse us sir, bu' could'ja 'elp us ou'? We're in'na bi' of'a boind, an' we need somepony t'give us a 'oof."
Edited by Ma'Lynn, Mar 28 2013, 03:21 AM.
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Gear Box
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Robotics Engineer
[ *  * ]
It had been an unfortunate circumstance how Gear Box ended up in Hope's Cradle. One moment he was discussing restoring the power to SubTerra and the next a horde of ghouls ravaged that section of the city. His survival was a case comprised largely of luck, caution and simple good judgment rather than reliance on firepower. Of course his short story, as he realized, was the same as everypony else's. For now he found himself just like everyone else; trapped in a subterranean maze of tunnels and living off of what rations he had managed to find thus far. He had gotten lucky a week back and found a maintenance closet somewhere stocked with dry food rations and preserved drinks. His robot now carried what was barely left and he had spent the majority of the day investigating his current terrain.

Hope's Cradle was not much of a town with tents pulled from the wreckage of SubTerra's ruins and fashioned from random cloth as well shacks made from poster-boards and wooden doors. Nothing was ever nice these days and Gear Box did his best to forget about his standards during the time just prior to his cryo-sleep. For now he had a very pressing matter on his mind; long-term survival. He had explored the majority of the ramshackle town and had made note of a few opportunities to get out of the place and hopefully lead the people out in the right direction if he could. Approaching a large panel on the wall of the subway station they were in he couldn't help but smirk in his devious fashion.

The box symbolized a technician's best friend; a maintenance node. Inside would contain a computer and and networking gear with a minimal power draw and more than likely had a small nuclear battery at each point. All he had to do was open it and begin work to assess the damage of Hope's Cradle and the tunnel systems. A simple lock hung from the handle to open the panel, securing much large metal components. He did not care to attempt to pick the lock nor to ask somepony to do it for him. He sat sat and yanked his keyboard over from his left which now hung out before him, supported by a series of mechanical appendages, which seemed to have small servomechanical motors attached at the joints. Typing a few things he lowered the power of his laser rifle to ten megawatts and took aim at the lock before. Just before he fired a shot however, a voice called out in his direction and stole his attention away.

Gear Box quickly turned his head to view the speaker and had almost forgotten that his laser rifle was already set to fire. The rifle fired off and the lock broke free from the handle it hung upon, sending Gear Box into a short panic as he quickly ducked in response. He laid there with his hooves over his head for a moment before finally taking a moment to peak through his goggles to see that nothing was wrong. Tapping a button on his keyboard the sound of the laser rifle's capacitor soon whirred to a halt. He stood up and brushed some of the dust off of his tool-ridden black coveralls and pressed his goggles above his eyes. "Sorry 'bout that. Snow what? What did you need?" Gear Box asked, still uncertain with who was speaking.

Taking a moment, he sized up the one who had called him out, appearing to be a female zebra carrying a bandaged female turquoise Earth pony on his back. The sight was peculiar to Gear Box and he couldn't help but tilt his head out of curiosity while looking upon them. In a quick assumption he simply believed that the Earth pony had probably received the injury from some ghouls-are-killing-everyone-run-and-panic related injury and dismissed his wonder on that. Gear Box sat down and listened for what the two would say, with his laser rifle now pointing high at the ceiling as to not appear threatening.
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Honey Dew
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[ *  *  * ]
Bitter was a little surprised the doctor hadn't really noticed what Stable she had come from, that she was one of the original settlers of the city they lived in... Not that it really mattered, though. It wouldn't have really changed anything. After Siren finished speaking to the doctor, he pulled a... piece of chalk from his pocket? only to begin drawing on the ground before them. Bitter frowned a little bit in confusion as he did so, left to wonder what the purpose of this was.

A demonstration of exactly that was shown immediately after the doctor finished speaking. They glowed briefly, only to make something float in the air--what looked like words, numbers and such. Bitter shied away from the display on front of her, a little intimidated by the foreign sight. She was overall unfamiliar with what it was, and it scared her--especially since she had no idea something like this was possible. Even the news he gave, that her radiation levels were somewhat high, was surprising to her; she hadn't been near any radiation or anything that could have made her that way...

He then turned to Siren and did the same for her as he responded to her question about ghouls. The same thing as before happenened: a bunch of symbols and numbers appeared in the air, to which Method 'looked' through despite their being incorporeal. He even dismissed the ghouls in the tunnels as not being problematic, as something that didn't need to be concerned about. A little offended by that, Bitter just turned her gaze to the ground, expressionless face hiding the irritation she felt inside. Apparently, Siren had the same amount of radiation as Bitter. Was there something they passed recently that did that to them? Why didn't her Pip-Buck go off, then...?

Shortly after, Method reached into his pocket and put three pills into his mouth. Left only to wonder at what the purpose of that was, Bitter watched for a moment before turning her gaze elsewhere and quietly stepping away while the attention was off of her. She wasn't needed anymore, and there were other things to look at, like some of the other ponies that had already found their way into Hope's Cradle. It was always interesting to pony watch when there was nothing else to do, and this was one of those times, especially since she heard Siren begin to ask Method a series of questions.

Quietly and inconspicuously, Bitter began to walk through the camp, her gaze slowly moving between the ponies milling about, or the ponies bedridden on the triage beds when she passed the tents. It wasn't a particularly pleasant sight, nor was listening to the pained moans that came from all the ponies around. But it was all she could do, and still remain in the camp... Aside, perhaps, from playing her violin. But even then, would she be allowed to, because they might think the noise would attract ghouls?

As she rounded the corner of a tent in her slow walk, she noticed a strange looking pony... one with stripes, carrying another, turqouise mare as they conversed with another, also strange-looking pony. Curious, the filly sat herself down in the shadows the tent cast and eavesdropped on the ponies nearby, her expression just as apathetic as before as she did so...
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Snowflake Frostfall
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[ *  * ]
"Snowjobs!" 'Lynn cried out as soon as the pony before her asked what she'd said. "Dey be quite da--ow, gods dammit, Snow!" she barked as she felt another pain in her flank, bucking her hindquarters up to give the mare on her back a jolt. "I be tryin'a sweeten da deal, girly. Who can say no to a Snowjob?!"

"Fo fawcks sake, 'Lynn! Oi said the'a no' a thing an' they a' no' a thing!" Snow said in a harsh whisper that conveyed a tone of 'cut that out right now' in it. Shaking her head as she tried to deal with being winded slightly after 'Lynn bucked up her hindquarters, she mumbled to herself, "Oi swe'a... Oi cawn' make a cu'e li'l pun an' ge' away wi' i' these days..." She tapped the zebra mare on the side in a distant sounding voice, "Could'ja... moind 'splain'in' our ploigh'... t'th'good colt, 'Lynn?"

The zebra watched the mare on her back for a few good moments, her normally facetious expression having turned a little serious by the tone of Snow's voice. She looked back to the engineer pony after, the previous mirth in her own voice toned down as she spoke seriously. "See, we... got a friend who's really good at mappin' t'ings, among ot'a stuff. So, consid'rin' ou'a current state o' affairs, Snow 'n' I figya'd maybe she'd be able to find us a way outta he'a. She went down into da tunnels, an' we recently lost connection wit' her an' don't know why.

"We tried ta go afta' her earlia' today, but Snow ain't da stealt'iest o'a most graceful o' ponies, ju see. She made us run into some ghouls an' when we tried to get away, she cut herself good on some reba'. Anyway, da point be, ju look like ju'd... work pretty good wit' ou'a friend, an' like ju could really handle jurself out de'a..."

The turquoise pony nodded along to the zebra's explaination, though it was hard to tell if she was actually nodding, or trying to keep herself from falling unconscious as her head jerked up. "Yeah... cu' moi'self good... los' 'a lo' a' blood..." The earth pony moaned a little, her breath becoming a little heavier before she continued, "She sound'd loike she was on'na some'thin' too... but so many ghouls... jus' ou'a nowhe'a. Oi cawn give ya th'gen'ral coordy'nates... a' whe'a she was when we los' contac', bu' ya may wanna... bring some frien's... all three a' ya..." Snow cocked her head as she looked at Gear Box, her tired expression growing a little more confused as she finished her statement.

The zebra's expression seemed to grow a little more panicked when Snow's words grew a little bit more incomprehensible, to the point where she seemed visibly concerned for her friend's current mental state. "Sorry, bredda, I gotta get her some ca'a an' quick. If ju be interested, come find us in da medic tents, but I gotta get goin', now." She turned at that before quickly trotting away with Snowflake still on her back, though she did call back over her shoulder as she moved.

"Oh, an' ou'a friend be a robutt!"
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Gear Box
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Robotics Engineer
[ *  * ]
Gear Box stared at the two strange mares before them and listened to them as they talked. However his interest in the maintenance panel could not easily be swayed. Meuller soon rolled up next to the panel, failing to make any sort of interruption. The robot was whisper-quiet, riding on rubber treads and a nuclear motor that made a gentle hum, lost to the white noise of the station. Gear Box turned away from the group giving a a simple “uh-huh” to give the impression that he was was still listening. He stood to place both hooves on the panel and gave the handle a sharp downward pull. The panel gave way to reveal its insides, neatly preserved and just awaiting his tinkering.

He quickly returned to look at the two mares. Occasionally he would tilt his head as they spoke and was in fact recording what they were saying. Whenever they would pause in he would give a half-hearted “uh-huh” while listening to the recording of them He had a hard time understanding them due to their accents, but having them virtually “repeat themselves” without them really talking more or needing more social interaction. A glazed look seemed to come across his eyes and he now reached back towards Mueller for something. He eventually grasped a power cable and moved away for another moment to plug it into the maintenance panel.

Returning to the two mares Gear Box sat down before them once more and pulled the small keyboard attached to him again. He stared as he listened to their story, the zebra just now mentioning something about him being able to handle himself. Piecing together what he had collected from the two he figured they were asking for his help to go and locate a friend of theirs who ventured too far when scouting. “Continue.” Gear Box stated and the Earth pony did so, speaking of her injuries. Gear Box lowered a lense from his goggles and seemed to nonchalantly tap away at the small keyboard before him, not once breaking glance with Ma’Lynn or Snow.

On the keyboard he typed away to access the maintenance node behind him. He was viewing the console access on Mueller and typing away to greet the new node he was connected to. A short-wave radio transmission to Meuller allowed remote access, which he now utilized to tell the node to wake up. A short handshake protocol with the node took place and it began to start up its pre-war equipment. For a short moment it almost appeared as if the entirety of the wall unit was about to fold out and expand, though it was only the equipment starting up. WIth a few more taps at the keyboard the system was awake and talking to Gear Box and he felt his heart rise in joy as it began to run its startup script.

The zebra before him made mention that she and her injured companion would be getting aid at the medical tents and Gear Box dismissed them with a simple nod, now thoroughly distracted by his work. He had managed to type in the commands to set the node to begin testing its cabled connection to other maintenance nodes when he heard something that made his ears shoot up faster than a gunsliger’s revolver in a duel. Their friend was a robot all along. ‘A scouting bot? Precisely what I... well they... we need. That would aid us all in determing what routes remain open down here.’ he thought to himself, his interest now changed completely. He typed in a few commands and turned to look at Mueller. “Stay. Promiscuous: true. Ping-sweep interface serial zero tac zero. Long-wave communication true. Worry timer set thirty minutes.” he told the robot.

Sliding his keyboard to be flat against his side he trotted off towards the medical tents. Surely whatever robot these two mares may have possessed was worth searching for if it still functioned. Even if it didn’t Gear Box knew a thing or two about making robots work well past their breaking point. He couldn’t pass up an opportunity like the one he was just offered. All concepts of caution went out the window when it came to possibly obtaining a working robot. There he was now, looking very out of place amongst a bunch of sick or injured ponies, or the ones treating them. He began to start checking tents, curious as to which one Ma’Lynn and Snow had entered into.
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Siren
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[ *  *  * ]
Siren looked down at the runes on the ground, trusting what the doctor said and stood still enough for him to cast whatever magics he was going to use. Being an earth pony, she was not one that cared too much for magic. It was unknown, weird, and from she had seen that it was capable of, downright scary. Perhaps it took being a unicorn to understand just what kind of control magic required. That was what she lacked after all, some sort of horn to control the volatile magic energy.

As the doctor cast his magic and the runes glowed with life, she tried to make out what they could say from the other side of the projection, but since they were oriented so that the doctor could easily read them, she would have had to read them backwards. He was pretty much done with them before she could finish trying to read just one of them though, and they quickly disappeared, and he told her about the condition that she was in. It was nothing that she didn't expect to see; being on the surface exposed her to quite a few irradiated things, and being without a Pip-Buck, she could never tell when she was walking through something like that, that is until she got that feeling in her head like a headache, but wasn't quite the same.

She was a little more concerned about the child though. She could only guess that her radiation levels were just as high because she was smaller than her, and she could easily get more severely irradiated than Siren could. That being said, she at least had a Pip-Buck that could tell her when she was nearing dangerous pockets of radiation that were more noticeable than the background levels of radiation. It was interesting though, that the doctor didn't out about one of her secrets, one that she knows that she would have to reveal to the child sooner or later.

Brushing that thought to the side, she looked to see where Honey had wandered off to. It took her a little searching through the semi-illuminated areas to find the dark coloured pony; trying to look for the things that would really give her away, like the blue Stable jumpsuit and the violin on her back. Where was she and what was she doing where Siren couldn't see her? Did she decide to just wander off? After a few more seconds of looking for her, Siren turned back to the doctor, looking to see if his horn still wasn't hurting him before saying, "Wouldn't know about arcane energy or magic, but the fact that your horn is broken is rather tragic. I'm sure you get enough questions about how it came about, so my questions are going to be more directed at addressing my concerns of the camp and my doubts."

"How much longer would this camp be able to sustain itself on the medical supplies that it has? Is there anything that there is a particular shortage of that you really need? More importantly though, have scouting parties been trying to find some way to get back into SubTerra, or at the very least, back to the wastes, in a manner that will succeed?"

As she finished asking those questions however, a white unicorn with a pink mane tied in a bun approached the doctor, wearing a nurse's hat and some scrubs. The mare gave Siren a cursory glance before turning her concerned look to Dr. Method, "Doctor, we have a code blue in tent fifteen; there was a delirious earth pony brought in, and we suspect she has lost too much blood according to her friend's story. Her pulse is weak, so we don't think she is going to last long without your intervention."

The nurse turned and led the way to the tent in question, and Siren followed along behind them, mostly out of idle curiosity, but also because she wanted the doctor to answer her questions as well. Once they reached the tent, she could see a zebra standing outside of it, trying to look into the tent to see what was going on in there. The nurse ducked back in without giving her a second glance, so Siren went to stand beside the zebra as she waited for whatever this crisis was to be over.
Edited by Siren, Mar 29 2013, 04:14 PM.
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Doctor Method
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[ *  * ]
True Method listened to what Swift had to say, waiting until she was done asking her questions before responding, "We've got enough medical supplies to last us about a week before we need to make a trip back to SubTerra to try and reach my Clinic there. That, or we could go over to a storage area down the south east tunnel, I've got a storage locker there that's packed full of supplies, but there's a pretty significant radiation pocket that you have to pass through to get there from Hope's Cradle. Getting there from SubTerra was easy, but now it's pretty dangerous to go there."

He was about to continue when a nurse approached him with some dire news. Method only nodded in agreement at the news before darting towards the medical tent as quickly as he could, grabbing his saddlebag that had some of his equipment in it on the way. It took about ten to fifteen seconds for him to reach the tent and a small crowd had already gathered around the area. He broke through the crowd and set his saddlebag on the ground as he quickly assessed the situation. A large gash that went from the base of the foreleg to near the end, looked like it was at least a half an inch deep, maybe more and that she had already lost a significant amount of blood.

True Method instantly went to work as soon as he felt he was informed enough to make a proper decision for the situation. He grabbed a clean cloth from a rope that they were hanging from on the side of the side of the tent and placed it on the wound. The cloth started soaking through rather quickly, but it was the best he had in this situation, "Nurse, I'm going to need you to apply as much pressure as you can on the wound to try and slow the bleeding while I seal the cut."

The nurse rushed over and placed her hooves on the towel, "We're going to need more towels, Doctor," she said to him as she noticed blood that had managed to reach her coat. "I recognize that, Nurse, but I've got a spell to cast," he said as one of his hooves reached into the saddlebag while the other grabbed another towel. He handed the towel over to the Nurse and pulled out a medium sized cut piece of quartz. He placed the piece of quartz over the wound and placed both his hooves on it. The gem then began to glow as a sizzling sound started to come from the leg of the wounded mare. The gem was sealing the cut slowly but surely, but that alone wasn't going to save this mare.

It took about a minute for the wound to finally seal, but they had another problem on their hooves with this one. He needed to get a better gauge of the situation and for that he needed some information about the injury. He turned to the crowd and shouted, "Does anyone here know how and when this mare sustained these injuries. This information may be vital for her survival."

Almost immediately after Method asked for anypony that had information about the mare inside, a zebra stepped forward, concern on her face and almost a little out of place next her bushy mane and sapphire eyes. "I be da one who brought her he'a, Doc. She got da cut on some reba', about... iunno, ten o'a fifteen minutes ago?" 'Lynn paused for a moment before speaking up again, a little more hesitantly. "She gonna be alright, bredda?"

True Method hesitated a moment, trying his best to decipher this Zebra's heavy accent. When he realized what was said, he replied, "She should be fine for now, I've managed to stop the bleeding and seal the wound, but she's lost a lot of blood," he turned back to the mare, "She could survive in this state, but she would need a long time to get back on her hooves, we're talking over a week. Sadly, we just don't have the space nor the equipment to keep a pony here for that long and we'd have to kick her out of here before she would be ready. Which means our only option is a blood transfusion."

True Method then turned back to the Zebra, "Do you have any idea what her blood type is?"

The expression on the zebra's face softened slightly when Method told her she would survive. She nodded along with the words he spoke, before pausing at his final question. She gave a quiet sigh at that before glancing into the tent for a few moments. "Snow be B plus... an' I be B minus. So just take da blood from me, mon."

True Method's eyes grew wide for a moment, "That's... very charitable of you," he said as he grabbed motioned for the nurse to go grab a chair, "Please just lay down on this and we'll start the process." He then began prepping needles to draw the blood out of the Zebra. He motioned for the Zebra to take a seat in the chair before pressing the needle into her vein and watching the blood flow into a bag, "She must mean a lot to you," he said as he watched the bag fill, "She's lucky to have you as a friend."

The zebra slowly shook her head in response to Method, the previous concern on her face now broken slightly by a mock look of disappointment. "An' she be a pain in my flank. I swe'a, she owes me mo'a dan just a couple times fo'a savin' her. But yeah, she be meanin' a lot to me, which's why I haven't left her sorry butt in da dust." The zebra watched the doctor for a moment before speaking up again, a light smirk on her lips. "Must be stressful, havin' to do dis all day."

The Doctor offered a kind smile to the Zebra, "It's stressful alright, but it's worth all the shit I have to go through to make sure that some ponies get to live, even if it is in this hell hole we're stuck in. At least they'll have a chance to get out, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just sat idly by and watched ponies die down here," he said as he noticed the bag pretty much full of blood. He waited a few moments before pulling the needle out and placing a cotton ball over the spot where the needle was, "Just keep some pressure on that, should close up pretty quick. I also suggest you sit here for a bit, you've given up a lot of blood and I don't want you passing out because you went on a stroll. Plus, I'm sure you'd rather be sitting right here for when your friend wakes up."

True Method then raised the blood bag and attached it to a hose that led to a needle that was placed in the mare's vein. He hooked the blood bag onto a metal hook and opened a valve that allowed the blood to flow freely into the mare. "She'll be just fine," he said as he wiped his brow, a few beads of sweat flying off of him, "Just needs a bit of rest and some food and she'll be good as new, though I would suggest keeping off that leg as much as she can for awhile."
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Honey Dew
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[ *  *  * ]
This conversation she was eavesdropping on was a little surprising. When the pony with stripes got around to being serious, the topic of choice was a little surprising... and fitting of the town's name. It was a little hard to understand her and Bitter really had to focus on what was being said to understand, but she caught on to enough key words to be able to get the gist of what was being said.

The pony started off with mentioning they had a friend who was good at mapping... which Bitter could only assume she talked about because their friend was trying to map SubTerra's tunnels--which would be exactly what they needed to finally get out... barring the presence of ghouls. This friend was apparently in trouble though, seeing as they lost communication with her and was the entire reason the one on the striped pony's back was injured, apparently. Which meant the way this friend of theirs wasn't safe.

How could they be asking the pony in front of them to go instead of them? And even then, what if the pony had no one to ask? There wouldn't be any way he'd be able to get to this friend of theirs... who also happened to be a robot? Robots weren't exactly foreign to Bitter, but the thought of befriending them was. They weren't ponies... They weren't even alive; how could anypony be friends with them?

Putting her thoughts to the side, Bitter only watched from the shadows as the pony with the stripes carried the other pony away, followed shortly after by the grey pony with the big gun they'd been speaking to. With nothing else to eavesdrop on--and with information she thought Siren might like to know--she stood up and made her way back to the medical tents just in time to see the doctor that had examined them rush into one of the tents--no doubt where the turqouise pony had been sent.

When she saw Siren standing near the opening of the tent, Bitter stepped over to her and looked inside of the tent for a moment before speaking up to Siren, completely ignoring any questions the mare might have asked her since the moment Bitter appeared beside her. "The striped pony that just went in the tent was talking about somepony--a robot--that was good at mapping. But they lost connection with her and do not know why. They asked this stallion," she said, raising a hoof to point it directly at Gear Box despite the fact that he would have been able to see the gesture clearly. "If he'd be able to help them." She looked up to Siren again after that, expression still stone-cold and apathetic. "No chance alone. Even with strange robot. Thoughts?"
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Gear Box
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Robotics Engineer
[ *  * ]
Gear Box had arrived at the clinic shortly after the zebra and her companion and had begun to look for them. There weren't many tents in the medical section, mostly filled with tents for the injured or sick to sleep in. He knew better than to search there, as it looked like Snow had been recently bandaged and was probably receiving medical aid. With that in mind he soon found Snow and Ma'Lynn in the second tent he had checked and, through a crowd of ponies, he could see that they were both receiving treatment. While he was relieved to see that they were being helped by the good doctor that resided in Hope's Cradle, he knew that he wouldn't be able to approach them with questions anytime soon.

So he would wait. He sat down just within eyesight of the two ponies so he would know when their treatment was done. He would have questions about their robotic friend, but mostly to deal with its last known location so he could track it down. It wouldn't be hard to find the robot if it were speaking out on some open frequency or if it was one of the various models that leaked out certain frequencies into the radio range with their engines. With the thought of radio and communication with robots in mind Gear box retrieved his keyboard once more and began typing away at it. Opening up the radio channels that Mueller was listening to, he quickly brought up a console access to him and viewed it inside his goggles.

With a few long-range radio signals being shot back and forth between himself and Mueller, he found that he was busy discovering the various nodes in the maintenance access, but was stuck on an issue. With a few commands he added a few commands to Mueller's search methods, including how to, in the safest fashion possible, start up some of the backup nuclear generators to run. A short diagnostic test would determine if the generator was worth the risk of running again and he knew that they were all hidden well within the steel walls of the maintenance centers if there were problems such as radiation leaks. A few of the other maintenance nodes came online and provided power to their neighboring links and a confident smile crept onto Gear Box's face when he told Mueller to continue its search of other networks.

It was then that he noticed a hoof pointed his way and a reference to himself that he barely heard. Playing back the last few moments in sound he soon heard what she had said much clearer than before and realized that the young filly was speaking to her friend. Through the goggles he wore he overlooked them, though did not turn his head to do so. They were an odd sight compared to the normal crowd of ponies surviving Hope's Cradle and they carried their own firearms. The filly had a darker coat and wore a Stable jumpsuit, which instantly caught his interest, and carried a violin and laser pistol while wearing a pip-boy. The other did not appear to be a Stable-born such as her friend and withheld a much coarser appearance than her filly friend. A duster and hat along with a canteen and bandoleer of ammunition for her revolver, which appeared to be of the .44 caliber.

Shoving his keyboard to the side, he gave a brief trot over to Siren and Honey Dew before sitting before them and placing his right hoof across his chest after lifting his goggles, with his mounted laser rifle still aimed high at the ceiling. "Forgive me but it seems that introductions are formalities of the past. Then again, so am I. The name's Gear Box. May I have your names and any information you know of these two ponies?" he asked, placing his hoof down and giving a nod over to Snow and Ma'Lynn. Social interaction was not his strong-suit and he always tried to compensate with tact. Then again walking up to an armed pony who had simply made mention of him was probably not the smartest thing he had done.
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Siren
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[ *  *  * ]
Siren watched the scenario unfold in front of her, the doctor going in and sealing the turquoise earth pony's wound with a magic gem, the general astonishment from the crowd showing forth in hushed whispers. It looked like a pretty bad cut the mare had sustained too, any longer with having to deal with blood seeping from that injury and there was no doubt in Siren's mind that that pony would have become an ex-pony. It didn't matter though, the zebra that most likely knew the earth pony volunteered to donate some blood, and everything would be okay.

With the excitement dying down now that the danger of death had passed, the crowd started to disperse, leaving only Method, a nurse, the earth pony and zebra, and Siren. Giving a sigh of relief, she looked around-- and saw Bitter Sweet, or Honey Dew, standing right beside her, as if she didn't disappear for the past ten minutes. Siren blinked a few times before asking, "Now where did you disappear to all this time? You just up and left me here without reason nor rhyme."

Honey didn't even answer that question though, as she just answered a question that went unasked by her, and one that she didn't expect to hear from her either. The zebra and the turquoise pony in that medical tent owned a robot that was mapping the tunnels of SubTerra, but it was now lost? Siren glanced up and over at the gray stallion that had a laser rifle on his shoulder as Honey pointed to him, quickly looking away afterwards after she noticed that he was looking at the both of them too. It was at this point that Honey asked Siren about her thoughts, and she gave a low hum in thought afterwards.

Before she could tell Honey Dew what she thought about the situation, the grey stallion that Honey had pointed out got up and approached them. The movement registered in the corner of her eye and she quickly turned to face the strange stallion, being sure to display the fact that she was also packing just as much heat as he was. If he tried anything, her gun would be pressed under his jaw in the blink of an eye. Twenty souls had tried to take her, but they made one fatal slip, when they challenged the stranger with the big iron on her hip.

Keeping a flat tone of voice, the original sing-song tone that it was decorated with now gone, she responded to Gear Box. "Formalities have indeed gone to the dogs, stranger; if you would have approached anypony like that on the surface, it would be your life that you'd endanger." She eyeballed the stallion up and down from under her wide-brimmed hat, looking at the laser rifle and the various other equipment and scraps of electronics and tools that seemed to cover him. Was this pony some sort of cyber-punk or hacker?

Nevertheless, she tried to push aside the fact that he approached her so suddenly and instead focused on the questions that he so suddenly presented to them. "I don't know anything about either mare in there, but I do know why you wish to see them. The robot that they are using to map the tunnels. It is the only way for everypony here to escape this place if it actually succeeded in finding a way out. Whether you like it or not, we are going to be coming with you, no matter what objections you spout. First though, we must wait for the good doctor to finish with their treatment." Without another word, she turned to the entrance of the tent, waiting patiently for the doctor to come out and say it was okay for them to visit. While she may have had questions for Method, she also had quite a few for the two other ponies in there.
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