Fallout Equestria: Fading Echoes

by Winter Storm

All FoE credit goes to Kkat and Somber

MLP is the product of Hasbro and their associates

Prologue - The Rapture

Everyone has different ideas about how the world is going to end. From floods and earthquakes to the zombie apocalypse, no two ideas are the same. The people of the planet Earth discovered the truth on December 21, 2012. As you might be able to guess, I was one of those people.

The name's Stephen. Stephen Anderson. What follows is a summary of my newfound life.

My life in the Equestrian Wasteland.

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So there I was, the night before the end of the world. People are out having parties, praying, or doing a combination of the two. What was I doing? Only what I was best at. Sleeping. Why bother with worrying? If the world ends, oh well. I snagged a few extra hours of sleep before the end. Not to mention the fact that there wouldn't be a General Linguistics exam waiting for me the next day.

If everything is fine, then humanity goes back to its normal routine of wars, famine, and suspicion. By the same token, love, kindness, and goodness will also carry on. I'd certainly be able to continue my disobedience against society's norms by watching a certain television show. I think we all know which one.

No, not Thundercats. The other show.

Anyway, I was experiencing the joys of dreamland and slumber, when a rather loud voice decided to screw it all up.

"AWAKEN!"

Being incapable of coherent thought, the question of who this voice belonged to did not register immediately. Then, a couple of synapses in my brain decided it was time to work. Thoughts slowly began to penetrate the haze of sleep.

I'm not in my apartment, and someone with a megaphone is really asking for a punch in the face.

Emerging back into the world of the living, I slid my blanket off my body, ready to beat the crap out of whoever awakened me. Only there was no pillow. Or blanket. My bed also appeared to be missing from the equation. I eventually opened my eyes, only to be blinded by a searing light.

I no doubt looked like an idiot, flailing around and groaning from a little light. My eyes slowly adjusted to the glaring light, and I looked around to take in my surroundings. Was I in Heaven, or was I superglued to a cafeteria table like last time?

I would have assumed the latter, but our cafeteria doesn't have a heavenly choir of angels flying around, nor is it made of fluffy white clouds. I think. Maybe the college got a monetary grant or something. Oh, there I go again. Using humor to acclimate myself with unfamiliar things.

Time for serious mode.

Well, they were right. All of the theorists and religions, all of it. The Rapture was real. Great. The Aztecs were friggin' geniuses, but they still sucked at football. Anyway, my lack of churchgoing and general irreveren- err, open-mindedness probably made eternal torment a certainty, if certain scriptures were to be reviewed. It was probably too late to discover the wonders of God, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. There weren't any people knocking on my door, so no luck there. Oh wait, i'm avoiding the situation.

My thoughts summed up into one word?

"FFFFFUUUUU..."

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Remember that annoyingly loud voice that woke me up earlier? Well, it decided that it was time to shout again.

"SILENCE, MY CHILD!"

That shut me up. I searched frantically for the source of Mr. Megaphone, but to no avail. It surrounded me, the words reverberating through both mind and air.

"The Rapture that was foretold ages ago has arrived. Life on your world has ended, and you, human, like many others, now have a choice to make." The voice resumed.

I didn't like how this was going. Nevertheless, I needed answers.

"What choice? What type of eternal torment I want?" I replied. "Something without needles or Jus-"

"Quiet! All will be revealed in time."

"Nickel for every time I've heard that." I muttered. The voice of God, for who else could it be, continued on.

"As you did well in life, you have 3 choices. You may go to Heaven, Hell, or the world of your desire. Be sure of your choice, as you will not have a second chance."

"World of my desire?" That axed out Earth. There were only four things here that I enjoyed and made life worthwhile. Sleeping, improving the lives of other people, being a brony and reading all of the big fanfictions, and... I'll have to get back to you on the fourth.

Anyway, I could hypothetically go to the world of my favorite video game or TV show, I figured. Equestria would certainly be nicer than here. I was about to voice this, when an important detail threw itself at the forefront of my mind.

I like to help people. Equestria is pretty self-sufficient. Any problems that arise are solved almost instantly. By the time I would hear about something, it would have already come, done its damage, get beat up, and be solved before I got there. I must seem odd to other people, using the lack of people to help as an excuse to avoid a paradise. Maybe there are some places in books that I could improve. Wait. Books. Stories. Fanfiction. My Little Pony Fanfiction. Now we're getting somewhere, I think. What world in fanfiction would need the help I can provide, and what world could I stand to live in?

it was as if a big mental list of fanfiction titles were in front of me. As I came up with details to narrow down my decision, names began to disappear. Soon, only one was left. One I was very familiar with.

"Fallout: Equestria..."

"That is your desire, my child? That land is still full of hardship and pain, and there is no Rapture to save it. Remember that you will not get this choice again until you die. You may not even get a choice next time."

This only confirmed that my decision was the right one.

"Yes. I chose a life of hardship. Not because I feel that I deserve it, but because others don't. There are ponies in that world that have to suffer every minute, and they don't get the choice I do. Therefore, I want to have the choice to go and help them and make their lives better."

With what seemed a hint of pride, God responded "Very well, if that is your desire. I can sense that your heart is pure and your determination great. Therefore, I will provide what limited aid I can to help you on this quest of yours. Although I am almighty, I have little control on the worlds other than my own. The Divine Beings of the Universe hold power over their own domains, and no others. The Beings of that land you desire, however, are no more. I can... meddle in the fabric of its existence somewhat."

My head began to spin. Divine Beings? He must mean the gods of other worlds. And in Equestria that would mean Celestia and Luna. Who, last time I checked, were trapped in a computer and dead, respectively. Learning even this tiny fragment of information caused me bewilderment. These were secrets that no mortal had heard before. Yet it made perfect sense. However entertaining it might be, I wouldn't want the gods of the Discworld meddling with my reality.

Still dazed, I confirmed my decision.

"Very well, then. Make the best of your new life. I hope I don't see you again for a long time."

There was another blinding glare of light, to which my brain decided the best course of action was to stop functioning. I fell into the deep pit of unconsciousness, with only the hope that I would survive the coming days.

Author's Note

So, this is the edited version of the beginning. Just cleanup, frankly.

For the chapter titles, (R) means Revised, (UR) means Unrevised.

You'll be able to see the difference anyways.