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 5-Blood and Plasma

”My combat inhibitor is kinda iffy on this one...”

How much loss can one person take?

Will they break down after the death of a simple pet, with the thought that life has no more meaning? We are all like that in childhood. As we mature, we become accustomed to loss. It’s a terrible to think that some people experience this regularly, living lives full of hardship and suffering. Even the average adult can face the death of someone they knew without shedding a tear.

I’ve had slightly more loss than the average college-age human. Two grandparents, from old age. Two cousins. One when I was just a baby, was killed by cancer. The other, murdered while hitchhiking, just for the snowboard he carried. Two cats, practically siblings to me.

Then there are the others, the ones of my new life. Azure, the mare who saved my life, only to be slaughtered before my very eyes. Even my sanity has been slipping. Now I have more to add to the list, more names to add to the many that no longer exist.

How much loss, before I lose myself?

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Green. Boiling, shimmering green. Waves of heat and energy, all directed at my head, with the single purpose of destroying me. I had seen Emerald disintegrated, and my own fate was now apparent, my remaining time alive measured in seconds. I closed my eye, prepared for my life to end. At once, the plasma washed over me, the heat burning my grey coat. Just like that, it was over. The burning, stinging sensation was present, but the waves of heat had passed. I opened my eye, ready to see the cloudy expanse that made up God’s domain.

Instead, I saw three Enclave soldiers on fire. The flames twisted around them, sinking into every opening of their black carapace armor. The screams tore the air apart, cries of pure pain and fear. A series of gunshots, and the soldiers collapsed.

As I tried to figure out what happened, I finally noticed a swirling yellow glow that clouded my vision. The magical field flashed, and collapsed with a crackle. I felt a lurch on my left foreleg, right where my Pip-Buck was. Looking down at the device, I saw a yellow gem, carbonized black, drop out of a hidden chamber.

“Anyone injured?” called an unfamiliar voice, with a definite Southern twang. I didn’t respond, as I began to realize what happened. Emerald Blizzard was gone, disintegrated by the Enclave for reasons I couldn’t understand. Dead, in the very same place where her sister fell. Dead, because I brought her here. Not to mention I had sizzling things popping out of my Pip-Buck.

A pile of rubble shivered, then collapsed, revealing the dust-covered brown of Vista’s coat. “Well, I did just have a building collapse on me. It turns out buildings are rather heavy.” His head popped out of the rubble, and turned in my direction. “How about you, Echo? Lose any more body parts?” His bemused expression turned to worry as I failed to reply. He noticed my expression, and followed my line of sight. Four hoof-shaped scorches were etched into pockmarked ground. “Is that…”

“Emerald.” I finally spoke. Before I could do anything else, something that would no doubt involve shooting, the same strange voice spoke again, much closer than before. In fact, it was right behind me.

“Ah asked you a question.” Despite my jumbled emotions and combat stress, I still jumped, holding back curses that would have made Littlepip proud. What is it with ponies being able to sneak up on me?

I spun around, Echo twirling to face the stranger. Another pegasus, garbed in what seemed to be cut-down Enclave power armor. He had no helmet, only a communications headset, allowing me to see his orange coat and deep red mane. I cycled a round into the sniper rifle, making sure that this pegasus understood my opinion about the Enclave. His eyes darted to the rifle, and back to my face. I met his gaze, letting all of my pain and anger show through my single eye.

A single shot shattered the air.

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I have one thing to say about pegasi.

They are fucking FAST.

The orange pony twitched to the side, the tainted bullet missing by a few millimeters. Just as quickly, he launched himself forward, legs outstretched. With a crack, he collided with the telekinetic field holding Echo. The rifle shot out of my magical grasp, skidding to a stop several yards away. With nothing to hold, my telekinesis collapsed, vanishing in a red and blue flash. Good thing that wasn’t my only weapon. I whipped out my magnum, taking aim at the pegasi’s head.

Only to find two high-caliber rifle barrels in my face.

The stallion attached to said guns calmly spoke. “Ah asked you before. Are. You. Alright.” I didn’t reply, giving him a glare that conveyed my general mood at him. “Not a talker, huh?” he shifted his head around my own, looking behind my back. “How about you, Ms. Invisible Pony?”

What? Invisible pony? Is this guy nuts? I focused my telekinesis, hoping to pull Echo out from this Enclave bastard’s hoof. A second later, I felt a stinging pain as the pegasus struck a glancing blow across my face with a hoof. I dropped like a stone, stars exploding across my vision when my head cracked against the ancient pavement. Being no stranger to head trauma, I covered my head with my hooves, blinking rapidly. My vision stopped spinning, leaving me with yet another injury to my battered body. I rose to my hooves with no small amount of difficulty. I raised my right foreleg to my mouth, unsheathing the combat knife I had purchased earlier in the day.

Then an all-too-familiar voice spoke.

“Echo, I really wouldn’t recommend that.”

Emerald?!

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It seemed too good to be true. I had seen the plasma strike Emerald, melting her body into oblivion. Yet the same mare was shimmering into existence, a bemused expression present on her green features.

“No…no, this has to be some kind of joke.” I glared at the mare, her grin fading to a slight frown. “I watched you disintegrate!”

The green equine gave a short laugh. “ Right… I’m just going to blame your lack of an eye for not noticing.”

“Noticing what?” I asked, getting all four hooves underneath me and rolling into a surprisingly comfortable position. Vista, who seemed to have disappeared during this entire episode, made his reappearance.

“Weren’t you listening when I asked Emerald about her armor?” he queried. I shook my head, and he rolled his eyes. How come everypony does that around me? “Look, this armor is a work of technological art. It can protect and cloak the user, boost their speed and strength, and even give them limited S.A.T.S.”

I had, in fact, picked up this info already. “Okay, and your point is…”

“The armor has a holographic spell emitter built in to it.” Holoemibazawha?

“And this does what?” I asked, perplexed.

“It can, quite simply, create an insubstantial copy of the user, made out of nothing more than light. Not to mention, it can alter the appearance of the armor itself. Emerald triggered a hologram and her stealth when she saw the Verti-Buck. While she took up a better position, the hologram followed you, acting as a decoy. ” Vista spewed this mouthful of info at me.

“Sounds interesting.” Was our resident pegasi’s response. I narrowed my eyes, throwing metaphorical pointy things at

his face.

Without taking my eyes off him, I spoke to the rest of my companions. “So, what are we doing about this Enclave pony?

I vote him off the island.”

“Huh?” Emerald intoned. Meanwhile, Vista fought to contain his bubbling laughter. To my surprise, the pegasus chuckled.

“Tell ya what. Find ah body of water, make an island, and Ah’ll let ya toss me off it.” He laughed. “I’ve had enough of the Enclave to last me a lifetime.”

“What? Did you finally realize that they have no intention of helping the surface? That all they want is to starve out the Wastelanders?” I shot at him. I knew quite a bit about the Grand Pegasus Enclave, and I didn’t like them.

He quickly replied, “Oh, A’ve known about that for a LONG time. It just took being shot at to realize that it was time to go.” Uh huh. “So, I figured I would just grab what I cared for the most and head down to the surface, join the rest of ponykind.”

“You still haven’t given me any reason to trust you.” I pointed out. “All I see right now is a buck who attacked me and could have gotten Emerald killed.”

The orange pony let out a guffaw. “Attacked you? If Ah recall, y’all tried to shoot me with that fancy rifle o’yers. A’hm not the one at fault.” Having said that, he sauntered on up to me, a smile etched on his face. “So, rather than arguing, let’s just cut to the chase. A’hm Cirrus.”

There was something about this pony that made me think. He was right, after all. I did fire at him, merely because he wore the armor of the Enclave. What right did I have to be his executioner, without knowing a single fact about his life? I saw the armor, and refused to trust him. I could almost hear a certain orange mare explaining the importance of trust.

Do better.

“Echo.” I responded. Pleased to meet you, Cirrus.” I allowed a small smile to grace my battered features.

Emerald and Vista came forward, standing by my side. Emerald stepped up first, reintroducing herself to the pegasus. Vista glanced at me, then at Cirrus. He seemed hesitant to approach Cirrus. I felt that a little nudge was in order. “Go on Daniel, it’s safe. Go meet the nice pony.”

The “nice pony” dropped his smile. He leaned forward, fixing Vista with a relentless stare. “What did’ja say yer name was?”

Vista looked especially uneasy, and took a nervous step back. “D-D-Daniel. People call me Vista.”

Cirrus continued to stare, Vista cowering under the viciousness of his gaze. Suddenly, he leapt forward and shook Vista's hoof like a madma-er, pony. 'Well howdy, Vista! Nice to meet'cha!"

The orange pegasus withdrew his hoof, leaving Vista flailing his leg in the empty air. I enveloped the former human's hoof with magic, stopping his repetitive motion. Grinning, I looked past Cirrus, examining the crashed Verti-Buck.

The vehicle looked quite similar to a Verti-Bird. Two propeller blades on extended wings, allowing the vehicle to fly. Instead of jet propulsion, two orange levitation talismans assisted in flight. A somewhat mangled tail fin extended into the sky, flaps at random angles. The rest of the aircraft was buried inside one of Cherryvale's many desiccated buildings, leaving only the open hatch where Cirrus had first exited the vehicle. My inspection was cut short when Cirrus gave me a small push towards the Verti-Buck.

The pegasus pointed a hoof. "Well, go on in! Ah can see that yer mighty curious about it. Anypony else want ta check out the Verti-Buck?"

Vista gave a slow nod, and trotted over the the crashed aircraft. Emerald Blizzard took one look at it and shook her head. " No chance. I've had bad memories regarding the Enclave, and I have no wish to relive them. I'll watch out for any other threats." A visor slid shut over her helmet, and the green mare faded into oblivion.

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Up close, the damage to the Enclave ship was far more obvious. Propeller blades were twisted and chipped, hull plating was dented and scratched. Plasma fire had gouged out tracks in the armor, the edges puckered and deformed. Inside, however was quite a different story.

A single equestrian seat in the cockpit, versus the standard double-seats of the standard variety. Cirrus started a running commentary on the Verti-Buck's many features. A wraparound holographic display provided the pilot a 360 degree view around the vehicle through various miniature cameras. What appeared to be condensed clouds sat at regular intervals, with switches jutting from them. A perfect security system, as nopony but a pegasus could activate the aircraft. The only thing the cockpit lacked was a joystick. Granted, hooves and joysticks don't really mix well, but there didn't seem to be ANY way to pilot the craft.

How, I bet you're thinking, do I know so much about aircraft? Warrant Officer Lawrence "Purvis" Anderson. My cousin, the Army helicopter pilot. He's the one who taught me about flying and the things that do it. He even got clearance to take me on a short flight around San Diego in a UH-60 Black Hawk, explaining how each switch worked as he maneuvered around the Coronado Bridge.

Needless to say, he was my favorite cousin.

Anyway, the Verti-Buck had its fair share of similarities to human aircraft. Something the U.S. Army didn't have, however, was a headset that allowed the pilot to make a neural link to the aircraft, to make piloting as "easy as flapping your wings", according to Cirrus. Sadly for me, wings were required to control the vehicle's flight path and elevation.

Then he explained the power issue.

"So, all the gear on this thing means that more power is needed, right?" I queried.

"Eeyup. Stealth systems suck up alot of th' juice, so some modifications were made. Liquid rainbows made ah decent fuel, but it's a risk to use them. One shot to th' fuel intake, and th' whole darn thing lights up like ah balefire bomb. There's some extra armor on that spot, but an Anti-Machine rifle could git through it."

Something about this information was bugging me. Best to squash it now, before it comes back to sting us."Weak point aside, it uses liquid rainbows as fuel."

"Eeyup."

"A resource that is unobtainable on the surface."

"Well, that's where th' the backup power system comes in handy." The orange pegasus stated with a smirk.

"And what exactly is this alternate power supply?" I asked. Please don't say carrying it, please don't say carrying it...

"Solar power." Cirrus replied. "Clean, alternative energy for a better Equestria."

Oh man, I should have know that his answer would be worse than manual labor. "You ARE aware that we're below a solid cloud barrier, with zero sunlight penetrating it, right?"

That pony must have set some sort of record for loosing smiles. "Umm... well... Ah suppose... dammit."

" No fuel, and no backup power. I guess this means you're stuck with us for the time being." I said. "Welcome to the Random Party of Wastelanders." Maybe we need a better name... The rules are simple: Don't kill innocent ponies, don't shoot any of us, and you clean the dishes every Thursday and Saturday."

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There was one thing Cirrus forgot to tell me. He had a son, a colt by the name of Zephyr.

A son still above the clouds with the Enclave.

"Well, Ah'm conflicted over th' issue. Part o' me wants him down here, where Ah can keep an eye on him, but ya can't beat the Enclave in terms of military protection."

"Yea, but aren't you considered a Dashite now, or something? Doesn't that mean your son could be cast out and branded?" The more I thought about it, the more I feared for the child.

When a pegasus goes Dashite, their entire family suffers. Ridicule for raising a "traitor", suspicions about loyalty, all dumped into a colt's life without warning. Something nopony, especially a child, should endure. I voiced my concerns to the ochre pony.

"The thing is, Echo, Ah'm not a Dashite yet. Those ponies who followed me were the only ones who knew 'bout mah recent actions, and they ain't tellin' anypony now. Ah reckon that It'll be at least a week before Command knows what happened, and Ah can have Zephyr safe and sound by then."

We had been standing in the passenger bay of the Verti-Buck for some time now, and I had a feeling that the others were getting nervous. I gave Cirrus a quick nod of approval, and cantered back to the exit. I hopped out of the vehicle, wincing in pain as my injuries flared from the impact.

The bodies of the anonymous Enclave soldiers had been relocated to the battered doorway of what seemed to be the Town Hall. Vista was crouched over the corpses, hooves removing various components from the damaged power armor. Emerald Blizzard stood a few yards away, levitating a scavenged plasma rifle.

I'm lucky I found these people. Ponies with honorable traits, and a human who is willing to help others at a moment's notice. I thought happily. Sure, I would have preferred to keep the eye and avoid a mind-rape from an alicorn, but overall, I'm happy that we can all more or less cope with the Wasteland.

I sauntered over to Emerald's right side, wary of the magical weapon in her grasp. The green mare turned to face me, a frown and smile fighting it out in her expression. I spoke up, asking a question that had been bothering me since the Enclave showed up. "Emerald, why did they go after you? What did you do to piss them off so badly?"

The victor of the facial conflict was the frown, expanding across her hardened features. "Remember when I said that Azure and I found the rifle and knife?" I nodded. "Well, we weren't the only ones there. A Enclave patrol had found some old records, and were looking for any tech to be recovered. We had gotten there first, but they weren't going to let us leave. That's when I lost it, and stabbed the commanding officer right in his faceplate with Eclipse."

"Eclipse?" I wondered aloud.

"It was engraved into the handle; I assumed that it was the name of the weapon." I blinked my single eye, prompting her to continue. "Anyway, I wasn't expecting much. A scratch in the paint, at most. I wasn't prepared when the blade slid right through the visor and and vented a puff of Pink Cloud. I can still hear his screams as his flesh fused to the helmet. At that moment, I knew that this was a weapon of terrible power, something that should only be used in dire circumstances. Luckily for us, the rest of the pegasi vacated the room after that terrible display."

Her snippet of information gave me a whole new perspective on the unicorn. Not only was she a determined and fearless pony, she also had a sense of morality and honor. She didn't pursue the fleeing soldiers, and she took no pleasure in killing another pony, but was more than capable of doing so.

I wondered if her sister had been the same way, before I had gotten her killed.

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Our group had gathered near the disabled Verti-Buck. "Alright everypony, it's getting dark. Let's get in some sort of shelter before something shows up to kill us in painful ways. Emerald--" I raised my right foreleg to the mare. "Can you lead us to the place that you found Echo? It seems safer than camping out in the open."

"Very well." She responded, waving a hoof to the Town Hall. "An elevator in there took us down to a basement of sorts, with a couple of lockers. Some of them had been broken open; that's where Azure and I found Echo and Eclipse." With that, she trotted away, the servos in her armor whispering into the peaceful twilight.

The Hall was in standard Wasteland condition, meaning your average piles of debris, bones, and dried blood. We were navigated through a long, unlit hallway, with Vista and I mentally activating our Pip-Bucks' illumination. In less than a minute, we had reached the aforementioned elevator, if this miserable slag heap of metal could be called that. Hell, a couple of wooden boards and rope would be safer. Lacking said supplies, I carefully stepped into the machine. A very worrying screech of metal arose each step, and I halted the moment my flank was clear of the entrance.

To top off an already scary experience, Cirrus just had to speak up. "Good thing y'all aren't afraid of heights, right?"

Cue the sound of tearing metal, and a grey unicorn falling through the floor of the elevator.

"GAAAAH!" I screamed, plummeting into the endless night of the shaft. I wondered how long it would take until I--THUD. Well, that was quick and relatively painless. Also anticlimactic, but that wasn't the point.

I had fallen a grand total of ten feet, by Stable barding absorbing most of the impact. Still, I would have some new bruises to add to the collection tomorrow. I encased myself with my oddly-colored aura, and floated myself back to a standing position. Luckily for me, the strain was no more than if I had used physical strength to accomplish the same task. Echo had fallen out of its holster, but all it took was a simple retarget of my telekinesis to put it in its rightful place.

Vista's voice echoed down the shaft. "Hey Echo, you okay down there? How many limbs do you need me to replace?"

"I'm fine, but Cirrus could do with a new brain." I called back. "You NEVER say things like that when in this kind of situation." I examined the new entrance, taking in the destroyed controls and scorched doors. However, they looked weak enough to be blown open with some explosives. I activated my retrieval system, and a single frag grenade floated in the air before me. Setting it carefully in a gap between the doors, I pulled the pin.

Truthfully, I had counted down to two when I realized that the grenade was three feet away from me.

"Ohshitohshit..." I wracked my brain for any sort of spell to save me. I activated S.A.T.S., something I had neglected to use so far, and time stood still. I considered my options: I couldn't toss the grenade upwards, since the shrapnel could still hit me or even bring the elevator down. I couldn't disable the explosive, and I certainly didn't want to stand still while it killed me. Without warning, my vision fluctuated, and I saw a peculiar sight.

I saw a green alicorn, horn alight. A crackle of energy shattered the air, and a shimmering eldritch shield flowed into existence. At the same time, I could somehow sense the way she cast the spell, the connections between imagination and reality. I knew how to cast the spell.

I blinked, and the vision faded. I charged up my horn, reliving the memory I had witnessed. S.A.T.S. disengaged, and time resumed its normal flow. Two seconds later, lightning stuck.

A rumble shook the shaft, and the screams of tortured metal filled the air. pieces of steel fell from above, creating a symphony of noise. Fire blossomed before me, roaring like a pack of lions as it surrounded me.

Then it faded away, leaving nothing but a sole pony surrounded by a red and blue barrier.

I dropped the shield, nearly collapsing from the strain. Through the smoky and heated air, I saw the twin doors blown apart, forming a crude archway. I slowly cantered out of the shaft, ignoring the cries of my companions. Nothing else mattered but the battered locker before me. A pulsating white orb sat alone, an island of perfection in a sea of corrugated metal. I could hear a voice, urging me on, as I encased the memory orb with my magic.

It made contact with my horn.

A flash of light, then darkness.

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Footnote: Level up! - Welcome to level 4!

New Perk:

Alicorn Shield: Rank 1. -You can create a basic barrier around yourself that can stop conventional weapons. Duration is dependent of your Endurance skill.

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A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait, everypony. I just could not find the motivation for this chapter, and I didn't know where to go. I finally figured out what I want to do, and my writer's block vanished.

I'd like to give a shoutout to CascadeJackal, author of Fallout Equestria: Wasteland Bouquet. It is an excellent story, even better than mine, and it provides an interesting perspective on Wasteland life. He helped me more than he knows, and I'm thankful for it.