Firebase Bravo (Stalliongrad Main Hub)

Trails turned the radio off, finally tired of the call that had been sounding through the wasteland for the past three weeks. He'd first heard it in Stableton's tavern, instantly knowing that he had no choice, he was going back. He'd grabbed his gear, gotten everypony he could, and left without hesitation. Along the way he'd ran into more ponies along the way, all flocking to the city who's name became a synonym for war for their own reasons. He didn't much care for the why of it, he just knew he needed to finish this.

Scraps had joined up with Trails and the others on the way out of Stableton, grabbing his equipment and making sure it was all in working order as he followed Trails toward Stalliongrad, ready to assist in the fight, though hopefully not on the front lines.

Sky heard the call and noticed the ponies actually going, She met up with Trails and Scrap on her way out. With her gear on her back and armor all in place, he slowly walked on over with the two. It looked like Trails needed help with with the city of stalliongrad and whatever war they were in.

To those that knew him it would come as no surprise that Kestrel had joined onto this practical suicide mission without question. All Trails' had to do was tell him he needed some help, and Kestrel had grabbed all his gear and followed along.

The big black griffon walked quietly beside his friend, looking for lack of better description ready for war. Full reinforced combat armor, freshly loaded guns, and his usual stoic serenity.

He was ready to serve, to kill, to help win this war. All he needed was his orders.

ight Shade had heard it on the radio a couple times now. Though he never really paid any attention to it. He saw that somepony called Happy Trails was looking for ponies to go with him there. Night Shade decided to do it, it sounded like a fair paying job after all. Shade was already packed and ready to go as he was going to leave Stableton later that afternoon. He joined up with Happy Trials, Scrap,Sky, and Kestrel on their way out.

Kira as many others had answered the call that she had been picking up for the last few day, it truth it was getting a bit irritating to hear it all the time so she could just not ignorant any longer. She was glad to see some familiar faces among them especially Kes, Sky and Trails was a good site to see for the gryphoness.

She secured her saddle bag and old the old rife on her back as she walked up to the gathering ponies and gryphon giving the once she knew a nod in a greeting. This was going to be big she could feel it in the air there was not telling how many of them would get out of this without scars.

Cuppa had all her personal affects and such packed and ready to go, she wanted to help out somehow, and if going into this was the way to do it, then she'd do it by helping wounded ponies keep going. Trotting up to the gates to Stableton, Cuppa looked over to the others before giving a meek smile. "Who else are we waitin' for?"

Blast trotted up to the group he saw leaving, "Stalliongrad?" was all he said. he had heard the radio messages and decided to link up with a group. he had grabbed his weapons and his caps since they were all he owned. He was ready to fight an enemy that he knew where they where and who they were instead of having to guess who his enemies were.

Arc sat back at his home in Stableton, by a table, and was looking out of a window on the opposing wall on the gloomy weather outside. The radio on the table was tuned to the repeating signal and Arc was tapping his hoof on the table, contemplating if it was worth it. The pile of caps was rather nice, the materials... well, that could mean anything, ergo nothing.

Nonetheless, he discovered that most of his acquaintances, what little of them there was, was considering the journey too, and here he was, packed for the long trip to Stalliongrad, a name he bothered to look up on one of the old maps. Long way from home, that was.

Rodeo was picked up in Stableton by Happy Trails. He had not been doing much since he began acting as sheriff of the settlement, and was missing the good ol' days when he use to go out with others and clean up the wastes, one son of a bitch at a time. He also missed the caps and other material rewards. Though it was rewarding to protect innocent ponies in the harsh, unforgiving bitch of a wasteland they occupied. Rodeo was eager to get back to merc work, though he probably wouldn't show it on his face. Things were beginning to look very good for Rodeo, he was much happier with the way his life was going recently.

He had purchased two things before leaving Stableton to accompany Trails and the others. He found a pony selling reinforced combat barding, which cost him nearly every cap to his name. He would be boozeless for a while, as the single, half empty bottle of whiskey in his pocket was all he had left. This armor was not his style, really... It just didn't look sheriff-ish, but he respected its ability to protect him, and understood he may need it for this mess of a quest. He put it on, and wore it proudly under his duster. He loved just how powerful and how much stronger it made him feel- like he was bulletproof. But Rodeo wasn't stupid enough to go thinking he could walk out into the middle of a fire fight and come out unscathed. He just felt safer. The duster on top of all this made him look simply terrifying. (as if the gruesome scars on his face couldn't.) Exactly what he was going for.

And then, on his way out of the shop... He spotted something else. With the few caps he had left rattling in his pockets, he walked out wearing a brand new pair of authority shades. Now he looked like a cop. (lulz)

Danging around his chest from an ammo belt in a leather holster as always, was his sawn off shotgun. In a holster to his side, was his brand new .44 magnum revolver, and on his back was a his new trail carbine. He had gotten them both off the body of the hunter who had been after him in Manehattan during the affair with the ghoul hunter. Then, strapped to the inside of his front left leg, as always, was his combat knife. He had all he needed to get the job done, and was ready to roll out.

Ale sat in his applelosa house, he listened to the message repeat on his radio over and over again. Downing one last swig of whiskey he decided that the ponies at stalliongrad needed his help. He gathered his arms and armor and made his way out the door, stopping only to tell his room mate to stay the buck out of his liqour cabinet.

After a few days worth of hiking, ale saw a group of ponies on the horizen, and after a glance trough his binoculars he saw that the group was being led by happy trails and he also saw several other familiar faces in the crowd. Ale made his way over and joined up with the ponies on their way to stalliongrad.

Lightning quickly backed his bags and anything else he needed for the crazy and insane journey that Trails was planning. But seeing the small crowd, it seemed many others were planning to join. Some of them he knew like Kestrel, Scrap Parts, and Arc. He sighed as he tossed his bag onto his back and slid his weapons into his holsters. Both his 10mm caliber weapons and to top it all off, a large sniper rifle down his back.

The young pegasus then left his house and locked it behind him, taking to the skies and moving to meet the others. When he arrived, he could tell the others were gearing up for a big battle as well. Stalliongrad. That was a long way from home. But if this threat was as bad as he heard, they were going to need all the ponies they could get. Hopefully, he wasn't going to get killed over it.

Winter walked the long road towards the giant city of Stalliongrad, alone and in thought about the place in which she was heading. She carried her combat medic satchel, which hung to her side agasint her battle dress, her usual mask tucked away inside it for the time being. War was always something she dreaded and usually she would steer clear of such a thing, but over the recent months it seemed her skills had been more then needed in situations not unlike this one. And so in her mind she guessed that if she could help reduce the number of dead... then maybe this so called war could be that much better instead of that much worse. She breathed a sigh as she wondered on what lay ahead for the pale blue mare.

Cross stared out at the vast frozen warzone, breathing a sigh of disdain for ongoing efforts...but Winter wanted to save ponies and he had no heart to stop her. He would come along and protect her as much as he could, but he had no love for The Apostolvs anymore than the Enclave, this was simply a way to study decay in this dying Equestria. Cross hurried up and caught up to Winter who had gone a short distance when he stopped to look. He trotted over and gave her a warm look while nuzzling her. He'd protect her. After all, it was what he came her to do.

Dash's senses were all on overdrive as he searched the area around them. He didn't know all that much about Stalliongrad, but it seemed like it could be a place where Leafrun could have ended up s well. It had Dash thinking for a while if he actually thought as much as he should about the assignments he took up more as an opportunity to do good in the Wasteland, or as just opportunities to go looking for a place where his brother could be along with a fair-sized force without actually hiring them out himself. It was valid, Dash didn't have the caps to hire out a large party for his quest, so he would have to keep using quests sucha s these to both gain caps, get experience, get his bearings and do his best to just be a decent pony in general. Another thing that had greatly gotten his attention was the promise of clear skies. Being able to see the stars was one of the few things that truly bring hope to Dash's heart. Whoever these Apostolov Ponies were, he hoped they stayed true to their word.

Along the trip to Stalliongrad, Night-Shade had heard a lot of little stories about both the Enclave and the 'Apostolvs.' From what he could gather about the Apostolvs, is that they were followers of Luna, obsessive followers of Luna. Shade kinda liked the idea of a group following under Luna's name. Luna was always the goddess Shade looked to. She was also the goddess included in his swears...

Ashen Coat trotted down the path to the city of Stalliongrad, a thick jacket he procured covering his barding to protect him from the colder climate of the region. His Bolt Rifle was secure in his holster, strapped on his back, his saddlebags were filled with spark batteries for the rifle and other essential supplies (Food, potions, etc), and his pipbuck was tuned and ready. He was a pony ready for a fight.

Now, one might ask why Ashen would be interest in helping a group of ponies he’s never heard of, in a city he’s never visited before, against a paramilitary organization he held no grudge against and had no strong feelings about. The answer was quite simple, money. Very large amounts of money if the message was to be believed, 2000 caps was not a small amount, and was enough to convince Ashen to come over and see if the offer was genuine. If it wasn’t...Well, he had a rather powerful weapon at his disposal, he was fairly certain he could shoot his way out if it came to it.

If that was indeed the case, he’d deal with it when he came to it. For now, he focused in the journey, his destination visible in the distance.

Zestari had joined the group leaving from Stableton, tagging along with anypony who was willing to put up with her relatively incessant chatter. Still she wasn’t really interested in the conflict they were heading towards. In fact, she was quite disinterested in the conflict. She knew almost nothing about either of the combatants, and therefore little vested interest in seeing one side beat the other. It was all jingoism to her.

Still she couldn’t ignore the need for her to bring her medical skills and alchemy along. The ponies of Stableton were her friends and she wanted to be there to help them. As she tugged on the strapping of her saddlebags she wondered just how many ponies and types had all been drawn into this conflict. A conflict in Stalliongrad; a city she’d only heard comments and remarks from Kestrel and Happy about.

As they neared the city, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread and foreboding, she could foresee a lot of ponies dying in the near future and she could see it serving no benefit to anypony.

Blitz trotted along with the group leaving Stableton, a wide smile on his face as he didn't seem to have any qualms with any of the other ponies. He even felt it necessary to check out some of the mares in the group as he trotted along, showing his mastery at checking mares out yet making it look like he wasn't. He glanced over the Zebra before giving her a proper look, still smiling. Ooh, a zebra? How exotic. He thought to himself before he carried on walking with the group.

Going to this place, Stalliongrad, was a good excuse to take on some undeserving Pegasi who didn't want to even bother helping out the rest of Equestria, so this was what Blitz determined as pre-emptive justice.

Tesla moved with the group out of Stableton. Some of the ponies, he recognized, such as Arc, Sky, Scrap, Kira, and Lightning, most he didn't. The only thing that really worried him now though was the location, as well as the radio transmission. The promise of caps....that would be very good for him. He needed it, but...no matter what the pony had said, this was a definite call to arms and he was worried. He was worried that he might be getting in way over his head. This was going to be a fight with the Pegasi, they had the technology to cut off the entire sky for over centuries! What else would they have?

The gunsmith shook his head, trying to rid himself of the negative thoughts. No he couldn't think that way, this might actually be able to change something in the Wastes for the better. Even if this might be a trap, or simply a near hopeless attack on those with superior tech and fighting prowess, there was still that drop of hope.

Tesla looked back at Stableton, the place he had grown up, the place where he had started out risking all he had in a little repair shop. In the pit of his stomach it felt like this might be the last time he would ever see the place....{Goddesses I hope I'm wrong.} he simply thought as he marched along, with those who had rose up by the call.

Atriark couldn't ignore the call on the radio. So, along with Kira, he had grabbed his gear, left his home, and followed the love of his life. There were quite a few faces he recognized, in fact he knew most of them. And then he spied Zestari and some feeling rose in his chest. The stable zebra was reminded of the feelings he once had for the attractive zebra mare and thought what-if.

It was a fun thought. But that's all it would be, a thought. He was with Kira now and he wasn't looking back. Atriark loved Kira more than his small crush on a mare of the same species. So, he climbed on top of the one he loved and tried to catch a nap. The zebra wasn't packed heavy; just his favorite rifle, a trusty 10mm, his medical bag and a saddle bag with a few trinkets. His ammo count was a fair bit larger than he usually carried, six mags for his pistol and ten clips for his hunting rifle.

Bone head had only heard the the message once or twice before he smashed the radio, he did however, continue to ponder about it. He had no desire to go and help the weak ponies in stalliongrad, if they coulden't hold their own territroy then they diserved to be crushed by the enclave. However if the pegasi are as strong as the message suggested, then they would prove to be a mighty challenge, and besting them would demand a great deal of respect from the other raider tribes.

As bone head considered his options he saw the gate to applelosa open and his prey leaving the saftey of its walls. "Well, that changes things." Bone head said to himself as he packed up his camp and begain to stalk ginger ale to stalliongrad. As he flew over the wastland he saw many ponies making their way to the frozen battleground. Given bone head's current attire he diden't expect a warm welcome, but if these "Apostolvs" were as desperate for soldiers as the message conveyed then he should be able to join there ranks. Bone head looked forward to adding an enclave helmet to his collection of trophies, and maby he might be able to get a few more skulls he sought after, after all, every war has it's frendly fire incidents.

Trails let out a visible breath of air as he reached summit the final hill before the gates of the old city. There it lie: a maggot infested corpse of a city, smoke billowing from its eternal fires, the pop of machine guns echoing in the distance. It almost brought a smile to Trails' lips, somethings never did change.

He turned back on the radio, tuning it to the local channel. The usual stream of jargon quickly came pouring out, and as usual, it was all in that strange language that prewar Grad had used for trade. It was called peasant grif, named after its makers: the peasants of the griffon kingdoms. The idea of using peasant slang as a way to keep communications hidden from the equestrian speaking enclave did force a smile on Trails. After a while he pulled out the transmitter that had been hanging limply on the radio and cracked it on, speaking in peasant grif.

"Howdy there, this is Sergeant Happy Trails reporting for duty."

His voice was predictably lost in the smattering of reports, after repeating the message a few times he finally got the hoofshake he'd been expecting.

"Bout fucking time you showed your sorry flank round here, what were you waiting for, invitation?"

Trails laughed loudly, shaking his head as he spoke into the mouthpiece again. "Gonna come out here and say that to my face, Hangfire, or just keep on hiding behind Mil Dot's radio?"

"Sorry, stuck at church, just enter the gates and listen to Snowflame, he'll send you on your way. Don't suppose you brought anyponies to help?"

"Somewhere round 20, I'll see you inside."

Trails hung up his two way and waved at the caravan of ponies before entering the city itself. The gates were as he expected: completely ignored. Nopony was trying to enter or exit Stalliongrad unless it was mercs at the end of their contracts or deserters. Both rare enough to not even warrant a first glance. The massive trench network did reach the gates, though, so Trails ignored the signs put up for volunteers and jumped back into the old earthen hallways.

"Follow me, we'll cut to the head of the line." He said as he dropped into the network, flicking his tail against the sides in familiarity.

It took ten minutes with Trails' shortcut and mental map to arrive at Firebase Bravo. Despite it's name the firebase was the central hub for the Apostolov, Firebase Alpha being the designation for Stable 138. Dozens of Apostolov passed, all clad in their patched armor, all busy with some chore set by their superiors. A few recognized Trails, bumping their buddies as he passed and pointing at him. He pretended not to notice and kept walking to the large tent in the center of the base.

A trail of mercs stood at the front flap, wrapping around the corner and out of sight. Trails just shook his head and went to the side flap that everypony who knew what they were doing used. Inside he found more of the familiar: chaplains working at outfitting new blood and sending them to a DI if they signed up for extended service like he had all those years ago. 3 months of training to prepare you for a minimum of 4 years of battle, the best investment he'd ever made.

"Oi, Snowflame." He called, a wide grin drawn across his face. "how you been you old fool?"

Shade followed Happy Trails through the tunnel network. He saw a couple trooper walking by, and noticed their armor. Shade liked it. Then Happy Trails walked into a tent. It would appear as if Happy Trails has been here before. Shade didn't know anything about his party leader. Shade was a bit impressed with what he saw so far.