Fallout Equestria: A New Hope

Prologue: A Past

If you're going to listen to my life experiences -the exploits that have led me to this moment, in this place, with these people I call family- then perhaps I should start from the beginning, and tell you what it was like growing up in the 16th Stable...

I had been born as a Pegasus into a dull and bleak world that had never expanded past steel walls. At one point I had believed I would be the last of my kind. But I suppose it could have been worse. The family that bore me was loving, I had a friend, and all the time in the world. My mother, the Pegasus who had brought me into this world, would often teach me to fly within the enclosed spaces I had called home. An Earth Pony, my father by another title, had yearned to fly with us. He had been the one to set my world into view, reading me stories of our past, the grand adventures and exploits of Ponies prior.

As I grew up I made an unlikely friend. The daughter of our Stables Chief of Security, a Unicorn named Ash, after the color of her coat. We were the best of friends when we played together. I would hop onto her back and try to fly her around the halls, or she would make illusions with her magic, playing scenes of battles long passed. These were the joyous moments I would cherish far beyond my passing. Yet, like everything I had ever known, it could have been better.

While I grew up in safety and bliss, I yearned for the outside world, to see what we had hidden from for so long. All I had were the stories that my father had read to me, the ones such as the 'Elements of Harmony', and the adventures of a 'Daring Pony'. There had been one story that captivated me beyond any reason. The story of Nightmare Moon, or rather, the Princess Luna. Never have I been able to ignore that story, as though somewhere deep down I felt like I could make a connection with her, or perhaps I had just felt that she was hurting more than anypony else I knew.

The Ponies I grew up with have always been sound of mind, even in great disasters like that of the Sub-Level Malfunction. Few Ponies had been hurt badly when the Machinery on Sub-Level 2 exploded. I remember that day well, having been on my way to school with my mother when the Stable shook. Even though we had been flying I could see the walls shake and dust fall from the ceiling. A Pony whom we had flown over moments before had fallen over and was getting back up onto all fours.

Bevel, my mother, looked worriedly at the structure that housed her family. She grabbed a hold of my hoof and whisked me to the classroom door, opened it, and placed me inside. 'Stay here, you'll be safe.' Words that had never truly reached my ears as my mother flew off once more. The foalish curiosity that I bore had already taken hold of me, my mind and legs racing to know what had happened.

Three guesses as to what my mothers job was, and if you're not in the mood for games, she was a technician. One of the few within the Stable that actually knew, or had a talent, for repairing machines. Even though she could not wield tools with magic like Unicorns, my mother was capable of fixing broken down machines with ease. I had known that those machines could be dangerous, but I never knew the extent of that danger.

My fathers' stories had played through my mind as I rushed down corridors and halls. Ponies ran past me in either direction, some with frightened looks, others with mugs of determination. The yelling and call to arms that echoed around me helped set the scene as I rounded the corner, a Colt just brimming with curiosity, a grin set upon my face. I envisioned what dangers awaited me, what I would find at the end of my gallop. Down flights of stairs I went, deeper into the bowls of the 16th Stable.

Into the machinery I ran. Heat washed over me and flames licked at my hooves, Fireponies rushed to put out the roaring fire that threatened to engulf them. Smoke filled the air, but I was small enough to walk beneath the toxic fumes. Fear twanged within my heart, but it was a fear for others safety, and not my own. Water washed over me along with gruff cries from the Fireponies. I had been caught, but there were more pressing matters at hoof than that.

Ducking through machinery I escaped my would be captors and headed further into the depths of pistons and gears. I looked back and laughed gently, having evaded my pursuers, but I should have been looking forward. The grates at my hooves caved beneath me, and I fell into the darkness beneath. Tumbling, falling really, -or at least that is what it felt like-, down further and further into the unknown. Pain shot through me as I landed against steel. Bruised and wounded, in body and spirit, I got to my hooves and looked about me.

Shadows engulfed my surroundings, my only solace being a light in the distance, and the light from which I fell from above. As I could not climb back up to my perch before, I took the reasonable route, but stopped as a drop of crimson fell past my eye. Blood. I was bleeding from a cut along the top of my head, from a place where some of my mane had been. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. Wet, bleeding, and surrounded by darkness, I started to feel scared. The stories my father had read to me came to mind, and strengthened my resolve.

I took the lessons they taught me, and applied them, steeling myself for what lay ahead. Piercing the veil of darkness, I was frightened at what lay beyond, yet through it all I felt brave, like I could endure all that the world threw at me. Above and below I could hear gears grinding, flames licking at the walls, and the calls of Ponies drowned out by the prior. The fear that once held me ebbed with each step into the unknown, fading like the light behind me, and my courage growing like the light before me.

My skin itched and tingled, as though some unseen force was ruffling my coat. Small dust motes floated before me, and as I inhaled, they made me cough and sputter. The air tasted fowl. I felt worse as I neared the faint purple glow that came from the opening to the room below. Whatever was down there, I had to see it, no matter how I felt.

Passing a hoof over the grate, sliding it out of its place, I looked into the room below, my head swimming, my body burning. My grip on the edge of the opening slipped, and I fell once more, down into a room filled with strange machinery and that faint purple glow. I hit the ground like a doll, crumpled and tired. Looking about the room as best I could, I was met by a set of Ponies in strange uniforms, attire that covered them head to hoof.

With a leaden body, and heavy eyes, I rose to my hooves so that whatever befell me, I'd take it standing. I believe that had been in a story my father had read to me. Before me stood two figures, dressed in rubbery yellow with large domes for heads, and I stood before them, afraid but brave. They grasped me swiftly and I yelped, as fear took hold of me, and pain seared through my body. My cries soon fell silent as sleep overtook me.

I awoke after a week long slumber to find myself bandaged, laying beneath the covers of my bed, in the familiar territory of my room. Before I could counter it, I broke down where I lay, sobbing and afraid. The courage and bravery that had held me together had faded away, replaced by a torrent of emotions that seemed to only lead to one place, tears. They streamed down my face, falling to the blankets I lied beneath, rolling across the soft fabric until it accepted them. There had been no screams of terror, nothing but whimpers, shivers, and tears to give away my sorrow and relief.

Ponies from the Stable who had been close friends of my parents came to visit me, and see if I was alright. Of course, Ash was there too, but she had changed. Her once beautiful smile had now been replaced by an everlasting frown, something that I fear may have happened because of my accident. Ash no longer played with me, she stuck to her books, her training, and she would at times speak brutally about my childish behavior. Though I had not lost her physically the friend I once new was no more, except when, on the slightest occasion, I could get her to smile once more.

With the passing of time I grew. When I received my Pip-Buck and Cutie Mark, -a story for which would be better told at a later point-, I had been taller than most of my class. But not only did I grow in size, but in heart and mind. I learned to read, as everyone had, but I read more often than the rest of the Ponies. Stories, both fiction and non, were what I read, learning morals and the deeds of others, increasing the size of my diction, or as it were, my vocabulary.

Upon happenstance, I had found a book about the Two Sisters, Princesses Celestia and Luna. While old and decrepit, falling to pieces at the seems, it held knowledge that would be invaluable. Of course, you might ask, 'of what value does a book for Foals have?', and I would agree, for I did not rightly know myself. Within that book lay the one Pony whom I had felt like protecting, aside from my friend and family of course. I would never let harm come to anypony really, but those four were always at the top of my list.

If I am to be truthful with you, I did not believe that either Princess, Luna or Celestia, were still living to this day. Let alone watching over anypony, but I kept such thoughts to myself, so as to not dampen the spirits of others. It had been strange, growing up in the Stable as I had, not knowing what lay past the vaulted doors and cold walls. I was curious as to what lay beyond, but fearful of the trials I would face, an emotion which I did not like feeling. Fear.

Had Luna felt fear as her world crumbled around her, or had she just felt a sorrow so deep that nothing could pierce the veil around her heart? These thoughts plagued me and my dreams. I dreampt of the wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon, and the terror she had wrought on the Ponies whom she had once protected. Within the chambers of this false Luna I would stand, holding my ground firmly, my eyes burning with anger and compassion.

I would look into the mirror that sat beside Nightmare Moon, and see Luna, sobbing somberly. She would shake herself from her stupor and glare at the Nightmare that stood before us. Lifting a hoof, she placed it against the mirror, and it shattered, her image standing in it's place. The wicked mare of darkness struck out with a hoof, but I intervened, lifting my wing to shield Luna. My armor glinting in the moonlight, blood dripping from my wounds, and a heavy grin like that of steel, sitting proudly across my mug.

While they had just been dreams, I did not question or deny them, even when Nightmare Moon triumphed over my efforts to save Luna from falling to darkness once more. No, I worked harder to protect Luna, my resolve strengthening with each battle. I would endure any pain and all suffering to keep her safe, to keep her legacy from being tarnished. She had already faced these trials before, and because of them, Luna had become stronger and gained friends along the way. I did not fear Nightmare Moon, I felt pity for her plight.

Eventually the dreams ceased. I no longer did battle against some greater evil, or a foe that seemed infallible. and no longer did I see Luna. Those battles made me strong in their own way, and I suppose that I no longer needed their tutelage, or the Princess's guidance. With time, I grew used to this, closing my eyes to sleep, and waking to find that I could not remember what I had dreamt of.

When It came time for me to choose a career that befitted my Cutie Mark, or what my special talent was, none came to mind. I could spin tales of fancy, like my father, who ran the radio and read books to the Colts and Fillies still in school. Broken machinery was easily remedied by my hoof as well, but there were no jobs that I felt truly required my expertise, whatever they may have been. Taking my place in the society built by the Ponies of my past, had seemed difficult at the time.

With great consideration on my part, and an acceptance decree from the council, I apprenticed under as many Ponies who would accept me. The terms they used to describe me were 'Overzealous' and 'Cheeky', but there was a term that my father had used, a set of words that I have used ever since. I liked to call myself a 'Jack-of-all-Trades'. While not completely competent in all that I did, I had enough training and practice to get things done properly, sometimes on the first try.

I learned to bandage wounds, stitch cuts, and keep areas from getting infected when I trained under our resident Doctor, an older Unicorn with a coat as white as the mask covering his mouth. From my mother I learned to repair machinery and, strangely enough, sew. From Ash, who had taken up arms as her Father's 'Right Forehoof', I learned to protect myself, with and without a weapon. Through these Ponies who had let me into their lives, I became strong,

From just a Foal, barely able to walk on all fours, let alone fly, I grew into a curious Colt, ready for wonder and excitement. As a Colt, I learned and grew more, building up my world further. Here I stand before you, a Stallion, but a Colt at heart, proud of his past, and ready for what the future may hold. My Cutie Mark sits on my flank, a testament to who I am, a wing guarding a six pointed crystal of gold. The teachings of Luna, and what darkness had hid in her heart, have made me who I am today.

It's nice to meet you, my name is and forever will be, Jack Reins. You may call me, the 'Lunar Knight'.....