Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...
…there came an era when the ideals of friendship gave way to greed, selfishness, paranoia and a jealous reaping of dwindling space and natural resources. Lands took up arms against their neighbors. The end of the world occurred much as we had predicted -- the world was plunged into an abyss of balefire and dark magic. The details are trivial and pointless. The reasons, as always, purely our own. The world was nearly wiped clean of life. A great cleansing; a magical spark struck by pony hooves quickly raged out of control. Megaspells rained from the skies. Entire lands were swallowed in flames and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Ponykind was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the ambient radiation that blanketed the lands. A quiet darkness fell across the world...
…But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue for another bloody chapter in pony history.
On an unremarkable afternoon in the Wasteland some two hundred years after the Megaspells flew, two unicorns found themselves in a small village by the name of Greenville, on the outskirts of the ruins of old Dodge Junction. While Dodge Junction had once been a boomtown during prewar Equestria, it was now little more than a crumbling ruin, suitable only for scavengers and raiders.
The bar in Greenville was run by a mare by the name of Cherry Punch. Like most everything else in the Wasteland, it was dirty, patchwork, and barely holding together. Wartime posters and signs ("Better Wiped Than Striped! Join the Equestrian Forces today!") covered up parts of the wall where the damage was worse , like the bar was try to pretend to be better than it really was. The owner was a middle aged mare with a dark purple coat, and more than her share of scars.
But the drinks were good, and an old battered radio crackled and droned out a song from a happier time.
Outside, a few sickly rays of Celestia's evening sun managed to pierce the thick overcast curtain that was ever-present in the Wastes.
Other than the proprietor, the bar was mostly empty this evening. An older stallion was in residence in the corner, nursing a bottle.
The song on the radio is just winding down when the door bangs open and in trudges a brightly coloured younger mare - a unicorn - clad in leather armor and with a pistol holstered at her side. Her coat is a pastel orange and her short blonde mane is pulled back into a ponytail. She looks pretty downtrodden and seems to be limping, favouring her right foreleg.
A second look tells you that she was probably recently in a fight - her armor is pockmarked all across the front and there's a bullet hole torn into the leg she's favouring. Dried blood is visible as well.
She makes her way to the bar and hops up on a stool.
"Brandy please, Cherry." A few caps are produced from the wounded mare's saddlebags, and the brandy is poured into a clean-ish looking plastic cup. "Thanks."
The radio crackles as the song ends and a male voice bursts forth:
"Good evening Equestria! This is DJ Pon3 bringing you the news! It seems that Red Eye and his followers have finally managed to push the Steel Rangers out of their Headquarters in Fillydelphia. The Steel Rangers have pulled back to StableTec headquarters on the outskirts of the city. So remember ponies, Fillydelphia isn’t a place you wanna be these days. The city of Sisterly Love ain’t so lovey-dovey anymore. Steer clear if at all possible. Our final story tonight comes out of the southern parts of Equestria, near the ruins of ol’ Dodge Junction."
Everyone in the bar perks their ears to that. The barkeep even stops "washing" cups with her somewhat dirty rag.
"There’s been a string of disappearances both from within the ruins itself and from the villages and towns in the surrounding areas. Everypony please be very careful while in that area, and keep your eyes open for suspicious characters."
The orange mare sipped her brandy and slouched just a little in her stool.
"And that's all I've got for news. To the weather! Cloudy everywhere and a chance for explosions and dismemberment! Be safe out there! Here's some music to get you through the evening."
The radio plays on, the crackly music filling the silence in the building.
Looks over at Fireball Boom "Tell me like you done before. Tell me like you done before... about the rabbits"
The mare at the bar raises an eyebrow at this but says nothing. None of her business.
The orange unicorn catches Fireball's eye and gives him a small, timid smile matched with a gentle swish of her blonde tail.
"Hey strangers," she says with a casual air, taking another sip of her drink. "Don't worry, Greenville's got the best guards caps can buy as I'm sure Greenie will tell you if you have the pleasure of meeting her. Not to mention the auto turrets."
You do remember seeing a pair of automated turrets at the town's entrance. Creepy pieces of tech, those.
"Folks call me Zinnia." she adds.
Zinnia chuckles a little at the interplay between Fireball and Onyx. "Well, it's sweet of you to look after him then." She takes another sip of her drink, swirling the liquor in the cup.
She glances down at the wounded foreleg and grimaces. "I mean, that didn't happen in town. I was in the ruins and ran into some raiders. Heh, guess I'm still riding the Buck. Almost forgot about that."
"Red's already fixed me up but after that I needed a drink. You know how it is." And she takes another pull of the brandy. The cup is quickly getting empty.
Onyx recognizes the name Buck as an addictive drug. A powerful painkiller and adrenal booster, it can give a burst of strength and let a pony ignore wounds taken. It can be dangerous in two ways: it is quite addictive, and you can cause serve injury to yourself by ignoring wounds.
You sure it's the best idea to be mixing Buck and that brandy? Fireball glances at Onyx as he thinks. Also, what did you say about raiders?
"Yeah, maybe not." She replies and glances back at the drink before shrugging. "But I already paid for it so might as well."
She gives a somewhat sheepish smile and then sips again at the brandy.
"The raiders were... heh. I was... prospecting in the city, and stumbled into a whole nest of em. Barely made it out with my tail intact."
Looks at Onyx thinking about how low their caps are running. So, "prospecting", is it easy to make a living at it?
"Yeah it's enough to get by. There's a filly in town by the name of Aurora who will buy most scrap electronics and parts you find, and that's usually enough to keep food and water on the table. Sometimes you find a nice score, but someone you find a crazy robot or a nest of Raiders. " She shrugs at that. "Usually better to run than fight in those cases. Getting shot can get pretty expensive." You get the distinct feeling that was supposed to be a joke. She is trying to supress a smile as she raises her injured foreleg to her cup.
Zinnia's ear flicks as the pair whisper to each other. For a moment her face falls into a thoughtful grimace and she inspects Fireball and Onyx.
"You two know how to use those rifles?" she asks, motioning to your weaponry. "I might have a proposal for you, if you do. Could be dangerous though."
Zinnia pauses for a moment and her eyes flick around the bar for just a second before she scoops her cup off the bar and downs the rest of the brandy in one gulp.
She grimaces at the cup and sets it down. "Let's talk somewhere else. C'mon."
She hops down off her stool and trots out of the bar, limping slightly.
Fireball and Onyx tail Zinnia out of the bar and into the late afternoon air. A few feeble rays of Celestia's sun make it through the overcast sky, colouring the world a dull grey. The small town has a few ponies milling about outside. Occasionally the sound of metal banging on metal and a mare's voice cursing can be heard a short distance away.
Zinnia stops a short way outside the bar, just around the corner and away from most of the traffic. You notice she has fished out a pack of cigarettes with her magic and is considering them.
"Smoke?" she asks, proffering the pack.
She shrugs and slips the smokes back in her saddlebags without even taking one for herself. When she speaks again it's in a soft whisper, barely heard even with both ears pointed straight forward.
"Raiders wasn't the only thing I found today. I found a closed Stable. Could be worth a fortune. Could be dangerous though. I'm sure you've heard the stories. I think Aurora can get us past the door, but once we're inside, who knows. Split the spoils four ways, if there's anything worth selling."
"I don't think so?" She scratches her mane in thought. "Other than the raiders in the ruins, I can't think of anything? Aurora might need taking care of if we run into something nasty, I doubt she's much of a fighter."
Zinnia grinned just a little at that, excitement evident on her face. "You'll of want Pop's for most everything. Food, water, armor. He sometimes has a few chems too. He buys almost anything if the pricr is right so sometimes he has random junk too. Red Lucky runs the clinic and he usually has a few healing potions, though they are kinda expensive. The town guard post will sell ammo if you're short." While she's explaining, she gestures at a few different buildings with her forehooves, giving you a good idea where the shops are.
"I'll go get Aurora ready to go. Meet at the gate in 20 minutes?"
A bold sign announces you have arrived at your destination. The sign is made up of salvaged bits of other signs, and simply reads “Pop-a-Cap’s” in mismatched colours and lettering. It hanging just beside the door, which opens easily when the knob is turned.
The inside is matches the outside in-as-much as it looks rundown and patched together. Unlike the outside though, there is stuff (!) in here! Stuff including but not limited to a grumpy looking middle-aged earth pony stallion reclining lazily behind the counter, reading an old magazine. He spares a glance at the sound of the door opening. He wickers a bit as he gets to his hooves, setting the magazine down. His cutie mark is visible - a revolver set in front of a bottlecap.
"Hey," he grunts. "New in town?"
Leather Vest, Armored
Leather Barding
Trenchcoat
Degraded Equestrian Military Combat Barding
Light Battle Saddle kit
Can of baked beans x10
Canned corn x6
Can of Swebelle's Tomato Soup x5
Sparkle-cola x3
Sunset Sarsparilla x2
Sparkle-cola RAD x1
Crispy Squirrel bits x2
Dirty Water x10
Purified Water x3
9mm Pistol (Medium Condition)
Various small caliber ammuntion (BB, .22, .32, 9mm, 20 Gauge, 5.56, 10mm, 5mm)
"Friends with Zinnia, are ya? That filly's got the most rotten luck, so try not to get shot out there. She's always selling me stuff so try to keep her alive, would you? It's good business." He replies matter-of-factly, moving around the counter to fetch the goods in question.
As he steps out it's easy to see a holster slung around the earth pony's shoulder, with a powerful looking revolver nestled comfortably within mouth-reach.
He gathers up the merchandise efficiently and places it on the counter. "For friends of Zinnia, I'll do ya a deal. 60 caps."
There is a very brief moment of pity that flickers across the stallion's eyes as Onyx speaks of his plight.
There's a truncated sigh and Pop puts a hoof on the table. "Listen, yall seem like good kids but unless I get some collateral, the lowest I can go is 40 caps, and first rights to buy anything ya come back with from your salvage run. I can't do it for 6 caps, s'more than I paid for this stuff. Deal?"