Fallout Equestria: Fading Echoes

Fallout Equestria: Fading Echoes

by Winter Storm

All FoE credit goes to Kkat and Somber

MLP is the product of Hasbro and their associates

Chapter 3-Mind Over Matter

“It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.”

Pain.

A variable of life, one that can be experienced in countless ways. Pain is felt differently for each person, and each person experiences it in their own way. Some say pain is just weakness leaving the body. Scientists say pain is a message from nerves that inform the brain that something is wrong.

I disagree.

I say pain is a reminder. It informs me, without remorse, that I am mortal, that I can make mistakes. I can spend my life without injury, but it is not possible to avoid pain. I feel the pain of others as if it were my own. Maybe that's why I help people. By reducing their pain, I cure myself, lessen my own suffering. The pain of others, I can heal. Physical pain heals. Psychological pain, with time, fades.

However, some pains are too great, never to be relieved or healed.

There is no relief from this pain.

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You cannot survive. I will take what I please, and you are powerless to stop me. You are nothing. The searing pain of every word tore my mind like a savage wind. Mouth wide in a soundless scream, mind being torn into pieces, I now truly understood the meaning of pain. I felt memories, ideas, and conversations, every bit of information that made up my identity, all pulled out of place and viewed under the tainted gaze of the alicorn. You cannot hide anything from me, for I am Nightseer. I find all. I see all. Give in to me, or I will tear you apart, piece by piece. You will face the justice of our Unity.

Screw....you.... I thought back. I clung to my memories, forming an unstable raft in a sea of pain and chaos. Unbidden, scraps of my past flashed before my eyes. A beach, the breeze making a fine mists over the churning sea. Opening a present at Christmas, the joy I felt at the occasion. Watching a cartoon, laughing at the character's antics. Suddenly, the memory stopped. Nightseer must have seen something unusual, some bit of information floating around in my mind. What is this? You are no normal pony. I caught a glimpse of what she had seen. it was my conversation with God, right after the Rapture. Small details stuck out, words spoken and gestures made.

End of the world? Second chance? Human. So that's what you all are. Or rather, what you were. Now, you are nothing. The pain, flowing like an electric current through my body, suddenly increased. My raft of memories was torn apart, and I began to sink into the churning sea of insanity. As my figurative head was about to go under, I felt a force wrap around me, just keeping me from sinking into the depths of my own shattered mind. I still felt the corrupted presence of Nightseer, yet oddly enough, it was her who was keeping me alive. The reason why, I did not understand. Another memory began to play out, like an old projector at the movies. This time, it was words. Black against a smudged white. Something I had read caught Nightseer's attention, and made her pause. As the text became legible, her presence turned from inquiring, to worry. I caught snatches of sentences, enough to guess the subject.

Wasteland. Balefire. Alicorn. Nightseer.

As she came across her own name, the worried emotion morphed into suspicion and something else; panic. A new list of words, unbidden, surfaced into our collective mind.

Canterlot. Nightseer. Littlepip. Death. A sentence formed, one I could finally understand, one that I remembered quite clearly.

'Nightseer glanced downward as she felt her necklace shift. With a telekinetic thrust, I drove Luna’s horn through the soft tissue under Nightseer’s muzzle and up into her brain.'

NO! she screamed, shattering the memory. This cannot be true! YOU LIE! I AM NIGHTSEER! NOPONY CAN DEFEAT ME! With that, the force holding me up vanished, and I fell into the deep recesses of Nightseer's crazed mind. A thousand voices clamored, all saying the same thing, yet all voices speaking of different subjects. millions of memories entered and left me. Memories not of my own mind suddenly became my own, my identity.

I was a unicorn mare, walking underneath the shadows of Canterlot. I was a pegasus stallion, kicking clouds left and right. I was an Earth pony colt, cowering from the death blow of a zebra legionnaire.

I was a pony surrounded by five others, filled with happiness and wonder.

Just as my head slipped under, the sea disappeared. Somewhere, a switch flipped, and all the voices stopped. A haze of pink filtered into Nightseer's conscious, disrupting the thoughts and actions twisting through her mind. A single, raw force replaced the pain. Fear. Pure fear.

I felt the connection between our minds sever, and I dropped back into my own conscious. The pain returned, but not in the strength I had previously felt. Nightseer had done a number to my cognitive abilities, and I had great difficulty focusing on any one thought. more memories surfaced and submerged just as quickly.

As I regained control over my body, I knew something was wrong. I was practially screaming in agony, and I couldn't seem to focus my eyes on anything in particular. My vision began to clear somewhat, and I saw exactly why Nightseer had lost control. Blossoming out of her left shoulder was Pink Cloud. The mysterious sniper has scored a successful hit, once again saving my sorry flank. Now, as the wound began to fizzle and melt, Nightseer let out a cry of frustration and pain. In a burst of blinding light, she teleported away.

The chaos consumed me.

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I awoke.

Something was wrong. My nerves were sending messages from all across my body, each conveying the same message.

Damage. Injury. Irreparable.

The problem is, my brain wasn't exactly in the best condition. All these memos were piling up in the “In” box, and the sorter was on the floor getting the crap kicked out of him. The metaphorical worker managed to pull it together, and information began to trickle through. There was something wrong with my vision. The majority of my pain was originating over my left eye. The entry point of Nightseer’s horn had been the same area. With a start, I realized the depth of my injury.

I had lost an eye.

Besides that, I had a massive puncture wound where my eye used to be, as well as bad radiation burns in the same area. In fact, the radiation had cauterized the wound, and there was a minimal amount of blood coming from the wound. Glancing down at my midsection, I spotted a large scorch mark where Nightseer had hoofed me. Various other cuts and bruises patterned across my hide. An odd protrusion lifted the skin of my chest. Well, this is just great. If the trauma doesn’t kill me, the radiation will. I needed help, and fast. At that moment, Mystery Sniper made an appearance.

“You alive down there?” I was somewhat surprised to hear a feminine voice. No, I’m not sexist, I was just…

Shut up.

“Depends on your definition of alive.” I groaned. Then screamed as a rib poked though my hide, accompanied by a spurt of blood.

“Well, witty comebacks are generally a good sign,” was the haughty reply. “But that didn't sound good.”

Great. The first pony that doesn’t try to kill me on sight, has to be a smartass. If I was lucky, she'd kill me with a Med-X overdose.

“If you’re going to do something, do it fast.” I swung my head from side to side, grunting in pain as I tried to find the elusive mare. “Where are you anyway?”

“Right here.” I flinched, setting off a whole new wave of pain. She was right behind me. “You need to be more patient. Charging in is gonna get you killed.”

It already has. I thought. The mysterious mare came around on my left side. I could hear the clopping of her hooves, and the rattle of a weapon. As she came into my line of sight, I was totally unprepared for what I saw.

She was, well, beautiful.

I was expecting a pony with scars and dirt, with bloodstained armor. Perhaps a scowl and eyepatch. What I got was almost the exact opposite. The mare had a pale orange coat, unstained by the Wastelands. A narrow horn pushed through a long mane of strong orange that tumbled down her neck, with lighter streaks pulsing throughout it. She wore a light grey cloak that obscured her Cutie Mark, but the odd lumps indicated armor underneath. It seemed almost decorative, with cloth flowing down her back, only disrupted by the occasional armored plate. Deep green eyes, filled with concern, raked over my various injuries. As she reached my ruined eye, her own grew wide.

“Sweet Celestia…” she murmured. “You weren’t kidding around. Stay still, I’ll get some supplies.”

Hah, as if I was going anywhere. Instead of voicing this thought, I simply nodded. As the mare turned her head to reach some saddlebags I had not seen, I caught a glimpse of the weapon on her back.

Like the mare, it was a sight to behold. A sniper rifle, black as night, rested in a back holster. I spotted a few small green gems embedded along the barrel, along with a giant pink diamond right above the magazine. This rifle held a different kind of beauty, holding the elegance and sleekness of a predator. If the injuries it had inflicted were any indication, this rifle could punch straight through most armor. My examination came to an end as she abruptly turned to face me, floating a roll of bandages, bottles full of purple liquid, and a bottle of glue in front of her. The sparkling green glow of her magic was rather soothing to my beleaguered mind, and I felt myself drifting away…

*SMACK!* A hoof impacted on the right side of my face. “Oh no you don’t,” was the explanation, “you’re not falling asleep yet, not here.”

Damn, that hurt. I closed my uninjured eye as she unrolled the bandages and began to wrap them across my head. The smooth cloth felt odd against my burned face, like a cool sensation that slowly eased the pain. The reason came forthwith.

“These are bandages soaked in a healing potion. Not as effective as a potion itself, but they get the job done.” My body seemed to agree. I could feel the swelling go down, and the cuts beginning to close. However, one nagging thought made me interrupt her. Most ponies don't help one another in the Wastelands without wanting something in return.

“Who are you? Why did you help me?” What do you want from me? I didn’t say the last one aloud.

Rather than responding immediately, the mare popped the tab of a healing potion, and levitated it to my lips. The magical liquid reminded me of grapes. For some reason, she pulled the bottle away after that first sip. Her explanation came forthwith, in the form of my rib being enshrouded in green magic.

For the second time in as many minutes, I screamed in agony. my cries of pain were silenced as the rest of the potion was poured down my throat. Only after the puncture on my chest closed did she respond.

“I helped you because that’s what I do. I help anypony who needs it. As for my name, I’m called Echo. And no, I'm not like the last one.”

“The last what?” I inquired.

“You don't know?” she asked. I shook my head. “Well, I suppose I could tell you why I’m called Echo.”

“Okay, I guess that’ll be fine…” I answered, still perplexed by her generosity.

Echo motioned to the rifle on her back. “That beauty is why I’m called that name. The rifle itself was named Echo, and each Bearer of it has taken its name as their own. Each Bearer has tasked themselves with some great goal in the Wasteland. The last one... his intentions weren't exactly noble. Mine were. So I became the next Bearer."

"What happened to him?" I asked, fairly certain of the answer.

'What do you think?" she promptly countered. He wasn't fighting the Good Fight. If ponies are going to survive, we need to do better. I thought that I could accomplish that. You should be glad. It's the reason I saved you."

The orange mare started to stow her remaining medical supplies. "Something told me that you were worth saving." She looked thoughtful. "I think it was how you reacted to my second shot, actually. Only a corrupted or evil soul could face a sight like that without pity or horror."

“Well,” I muttered, "I don't think I was worth saving." Her emerald green eyes filled with confusion. I let out a labored sigh. "I... there were ponies. They attacked me, and I stopped them with my magic. But one of them didn't die. She..." My voice hitched. "H-her back was torn open. There was blood everywhere. The eyes, they..." my voice broke off again.

Echo laid a forehoof on my shoulder. "Let it out. Don't keep this bottled in."

I took a deep breath and steadied myself. "I took her gun. I looked her straight in the eye."

"Then I put a bullet though it." I shuddered, thinking back. "That's not even the damning part. I didn't care. I had this mare's life in my hands, and I just fucking ended it, without a second thought!"

I expected to hear the sound of a pony walking away. Instead, I felt the embrace of Echo, as she sat next to me. "It doesn't look that way to me." she smiled. "You couldn't have done anything. You did the right thing. Those raiders would have kept on terrorizing the Wasteland if you hadn't stepped up and stopped them."

Her sooting words eased the turmoil of emotion that churned inside me. She was right, after all. But I still knew. I wasn't a good person. I only felt remorse for my thoughts.

I knew that I would kill again.

I knew that I wouldn't feel remorse for my actions.

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"Umm, Echo?" I said. "I think it's getting dark."

“I know, and that’s why I’ve got to get your sorry flank out of here.” Echo tightened the bandages on my face, and made one last check over my chest. “Problem is, you are in no condition to move.”

“I could have told you that.” I shot back. “So, any advice on what to do from here?”

“...Always smartasses…” I heard her mutter. Echo met my eyes, or rather, eye. “There’s a town to the north, goes by the name of Saddleton. It’s been safe from raiders for a while, and the ponies are decent. You should head in that direction.”

She glued the final wrappings shut, and floated me back onto my hooves in an impressive display of telekinesis. “There’s a clinic where you can get better medical attention. A nice pony by the name of Vista runs it. Ask him about Emerald, let her know that I'll be back soon.”

“Well, that covers me. But what about you?” I pointed out. “Are you just going to stay here?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, that blue alicorn is still out there. An invisible monster is especially dangerous. It could bypass Saddleton's defenses. Or, it could lurk around this town for a while, preying on anypony who gets too close. I need to-" A heavy weight knocked me on my side, interrupting Echo.

Then she started to scream.

I watched, struck still with horror, as a razor-sharp object sliced through her barding and ripped her flesh, from neck to tail, in a single, savage strike. Blood poured from the wound, where it stuck to something invisible. A spiraling horn made of gore presented itself to my damaged eyesight.

As the mare collapsed, I magically tore the rifle from her back and swung the stock as hard as I could at the nightmarish horn. With a loud crunch, a dazed blue alicorn appeared, its muzzle coated with blood, its horn cracked and leaking eldritch energy. I quickly spun the rifle around and pressed the long barrel right between the monster's eyes.

Up close, the shot was unavoidable. The alicorn’s head vanished in a burst of bloody chunks and Pink Cloud that flew in all directions. I scrambled back, discarding the rifle and crawling over the Echo’s prone form. I was hoping for the best but expected the worst. The moment I laid my eye on the wound, I knew there was no recovering from this. Once a puddle of blood reached a certain size, there was no survival. Nevertheless, I lifted her head, checking for any signs of life. Surprisingly, she was still alive, proven by the uneven rise and fall of her labored breathing. Echo let out a low groan, and attempted to twist her head to face me. I gently lay a hoof on her head, not wanting her to strain herself even more.

"Listen...*cough*...I need you to..." I edged closer, not wanting to miss any of her whispered words. "Y-you have to take...the*cough*...rifle. It's under your...*cough* care now."

"No!" I whispered. "You'll be fine. Just..."

"Don't try to *cough* comfort me. I know...I'm not going to...*cough* make it." She slowly extended a hoof in my direction. "Take...Echo. You are the n-new....Bearer." I nodded, tears forming in my eyes. I had caused her this pain with my own stupidity. The least I could do is follow her last wishes.

I levitated the bloodstained holster from her back, and slid the rifle in. I took a second to figure out how to put it on. As I found the correct placement, Echo locked her emerald green eyes with mine. "One *cough* last thing." she coughed. I stopped my motions and stood totally still. "My n-name....my real name is...is..." Her voice faded to a whisper. She raised her hoof towards my face, one final attempt to move. Echo let out a shuddering sigh, her name gently drifting out of trembling lips.

"...Azure..." The glow in her eyes dimmed, and the outstretched leg hit the ground with a muffled thump. I watched, helpless, as those beautiful green eyes closed for the last time.

Just something on the ground.

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"No..." I said quietly. "No, no NO!" My voice rose to a scream, a cry of pure anguish. "Why? Why did she have to die?" I cried to the world, but with no ears, save my own, to hear. I did this. I got her killed. My thoughts ran rampant, refusing to focus on anything other than the mare lying dead in front of me. If I hadn't stumbled in here, she wouldn't have had to save me. It's all my faul- I felt a sudden stinging sensation in my head, interrupting my self-depreciating thoughts. With the pain came a voice, faint, but unmistakably male.

"Not your fault..."

I tried to place the voice. However, both the mysterious voice and stinging sensation had vanished. Whatever that was, it was wrong. Azure's death was my fault. The best thing I could do for her would be to follow her last instructions. There was one thing that came first.

She needed a burial.

I found a folding camp shovel in the saddlebag on her uninjured side. With it, I spent almost an hour digging a rectangular hole. My mind remained an empty void, with nothing but the thought of digging. By the time I had finished, a decent-sized headache had built up from the magical strain. I folded up the shovel and placed it on the ground with the rest of Azure's belongings. I didn't feel the pain.

Nothing but emptiness.

I carefully wrapped my magic around her prone form, making sure to not disturb her body. Despite the terrible rent in her side, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. As few strands of her mane slid over her serene face, my pain-filled thoughts once again threatened to break past my mental barrier. I gently set her down into the fresh-dug earth, my magic creating a cocoon of light around her.

Unbidden, a memory arose. Like before, this belonged to another pony. It was nothing more than the mental pathways of a spell, one that would affect Ech- Azure's body in some fashion. I cast it without a second thought. My blue magical aura turned a simple white, and obscured her body from sight. When the spell ended, a shimmering bubble of energy surrounded her corpse. The field was transparent, and with a start, I saw that Azure's injury had disappeared. Before my hopes were raised, I "remembered" that an illusion spell had been mixed in.

I did not question the nature of the spell. Whatever it was, it was beyond my comprehension. All I knew was that I had not thought to bring the memory, yet my mind still manipulated the energy to make it happen. Using my telekinesis, I forced the piles of dirt back into the grave, completing the task in far less time than it had taken to create it. However, the magical bubble refused to be smothered. As earth filled the narrow trench, it rose steadily with the tumbling dirt. As I cut my control over my magic, the mystical barrier merged with the surrounding ground, becoming as solid as starmetal. Now, the body of Azure was visible to any in the Wastelands. Time would not ravage her.

The Wasteland would never claim her.

Now to make sure that they remember her.

I examined the surrounding buildings until I found a slab of stone that suited my purposes. I pulled the dusty chunk of rock off a nearby wall and turned to face Azure’s grave. Still floating the shard, I unsheathed the combat knife I had found in Azure’s possession. Feeling the strain of levitating multiple objects, I began to carve letters into the slab with delicate precision. When I finished, the blade dropped from my magical grip, allowing me to read the inscription.

Here lies Azure, the Bearer of Echo.

She fought the Good Fight where others wouldn't.

She helped a stranger without a second thought.

She was a hero to the Wasteland.

May her spirit echo in the hearts of all.

With my arduous task accomplished, I had nothing more to keep me in Cherryvale. I packed my saddlebags, slung Echo over my shoulder, and proceeded to trot away. I barely noticed the ancient skeletons that clogged the town entrance. They were merely echoes from the past, remnants of long-ago conflicts. After all, what significance did these ancient bones have compared to what the Wasteland had just lost? To what I had lost? A glance at my Pip-Buck confirmed that I was heading north. With a heavy heart, I limped toward my new future, whatever it may bring.

I stepped over the remains of two ponies and a child.

Never once did I look back.

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It never lasts. A measure of peace can never last forever, and when it ends, it’s guaranteed to be a shitstorm. No matter how much you try to prolong it, prevent it, or avoid it, bad things will happen. In my case, it was the minefield that started it all.

Landmines are nasty things. They come in all different varieties, from ones that are simple step triggers, to sophisticated bouncing proximity charges. After that, there are the homing drones equipped with magic beams, which seem to have difficulty telling ponies and zebras apart. Of the three, pick the cheap ones. Easy to deal with, and a quick death if you mess up. Of course, I had to have the drones coming after me.

"Die zebra scum!"

"For the last time, I am not a fucking zebra!" I shouted. Overnight, I had gotten close enough to the settlement of Saddleton for it to appear on my Pip-Buck. At the same time, I had stumbled into an advanced minefield that separated it from Cherryvale. Azure had failed to mention it in the seven minutes she spent healing me. No doubt she meant to afterwards, but with her being dead and me having three drones on my tail, it was a little too late.

Anyway, I was galloping as fast as I could toward the distant town, all while dodging lances of energy and natural obstacles. As I evaded yet another shot from the drones, I contemplated using Echo on them. I realized that it would be hopeless. The gun was too big and the drones too small for me to hit with my inexperienced shots. Even S.A.T.S. has confirmed that my hit chance would be next to zero. Also, I had a nagging feeling that Pink Cloud would mess with the drones in a way that would cause more harm to me than good.

So focused on the drones I was, I failed to notice a trench stretching across my patch. I tumbled headfirst in a flurry of dust and limbs. Oh man, I'm so screwed. I waited for the unique sensation of being disintegrated, only to have the unexpected occur.

On either side of me, armor-plated turrets were affixed to the rugged earth. A chaingun with what seemed to be micro-missile launcher proceeded to rip the drones to shreds. Laying only a foot away from them, the noise was deafening. Bits of blazing shrapnel flew from the desiccated drones, which collapsed to the ground in charred heaps. The turrets swept the area in front of them for a few seconds, then sealed themselves back up. Save for the drone remains, there was no evidence that the turrets had ever activated.

"Well, glad thats over." I muttered as I attempted to exit the ditch. "Now I just have to-GAH!" I collapsed in agonizing pain as soon as I tried to climb out of the trench. A quick check of my body revealed the bloody truth. A piece of shrapnel had sliced along my left foreleg, excavating a bloody furrow along the length of the limb. The only area that was not sliced up was the spot below my Pip-Buck. There was no way I could put any weight on the wound, and I had no more medical supplies. Azure had used all of hers up to fix my eye and chest. nevertheless, I had to get to Saddleton. It boiled down to two choices:

Move or die.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I limped forward on an northernly course. Luckily, my mad dash to escape the drones had put me very close to the settlement, right inside the outer defenses. As it was, I was fighting a losing battle.

Blood loss and fatigue were taking their toll, and each step became harder and harder. As I approached the front gate, my vision tunneled, and the only thought in my mind was my wish for the pain to stop. I continued to soldier on, as the sun began to peek over the horizon. At last, I could do no more. I pitched to the side, unaware of anything but the terrible, agonizing pain.

The last thing I saw was a brown pony racing toward me.

Then everything became darkness.

There is no relief from this pain.

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Footnote: Level Up!

Welcome to Level 3!

Perks:

Unity's Judgement: The very fabric of your being has been tortured to the edge of destruction. Yet you have survived. -1 Intelligence, -10% ALL experience gains, +3 DT.

One-Eyed: You lost an eye, but now you look like a badass. People listen to badasses. -1 Perception, + 1 Charisma, + 10 speech. Bonus to Intimidate checks.

Quest Perk added: Unity's Grace: (Level 1) You hear faint whispers in your head. +5% Experience gains.

Reputation Perk Added: Echo: You are the new Bearer of the legendary sniper rifle. + 1 Charisma, + 5 Small Guns, + 10% damage vs. abominations. Unique Dialogue options. Reputation may vary.

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