Fallout Equestria: New Maneas

Shining Armor had gone off and searched for Cadence, she had wandered out into the garden in the middle of the night again. It had been this way ever since the violence in the streets broke out, and Armor knew how much it hurt Cadence to see her subjects suffer. Whenever she was sad or down Cadence would always go to the garden, it was the one safe place amidst a world full of chaos and anarchy. He walked down the hall, down the steps, and into the courtyard. The stallion could smell the aroma of flowers blooming in the distance.

“Roses…” Armor raised his eyes to the beautiful mare before him.

Cadence was in front of her rose-bush with her back turned to him, she plucked a fragrant petal from the rose-bush. The smell reminded Armor of the first time he met Cadence, as she turned to see a rose tucked behind her ear. Shining Armor could see the thorn had dug into Cadence’s skin; he quickly pulled it out and placed the rose-bulb in her hair instead.

“There… that’s better…” A feeling of relief had swooped over Armor’s mind. “You shouldn’t play around with rose-thorns…”

Armor trailed off as Cadence dove in for a kiss, to his surprise. His eyes closed as the long embrace ended in a warm hug. Cadence lowered her head for a moment; Armor could clearly see something had been bothering her more than usual.

“What… what was that for?” Armor asked in confusion.

“For being there for me even when I couldn’t bear to see you…”Cadence looked up at Shining Armor intensely. “I was just… thinking… Armor…? Oh, forget it…”

“Cadence would you tell me what’s wrong…? Armor worried for Cadence as she avoided eye-contact once more, as her head lowered to the ground.

Cadence hadn’t slept or eaten in days, the bags and lines beneath her eyes made her look old and weak. Armor felt every ounce of pain Cadence felt, as he saw her tired eyes.

“War is brewing Armor… my people are dying.” She looked back to the rose-bush. “This war is claiming more and more lives every day… there will be a breaking point eventually. Whether or not we get involved, the chaos will still consume our kingdom.”

“It’s already consumed you…” Armor walked over to Cadence and looked in her deep-violet eyes. “I want to save you… please… let me help you… we’re in this together…”

Armor’s hoof pulled Cadence into his embrace. Tears streamed from his face as he caressed her soft hair, his hoof wrapping the pink mare in his warmth.

“Damn it, I’ll get consumed by this madness as well if I have to… as long as I’m with you…” Armor cried out as he held her even tighter.

At first Cadence resisted the embrace, but now she hugged him back. A warmer feeling spread through her soul as she accepted his love, and the two separated from their long hug… a wave of happiness filled her heart. She looked back up at Armor closely, making sure he understood her words.

“Armor… I want you to promise me something…” Cadence moved closer. “I want you to promise me that no matter what happens… we’ll always be there for one another…”

“I’ll always be there for you…” Armor answered with a warm smile across his face.

“Thank youuu-” Cadence began to moan and cry in a deep voice, her eyes turned a ghastly green.

Armor watched as Cadence melted and formed into a cloud of pink ash, the ash then swirled around him and enveloped him. It choked him as he breathed it through his lungs, and he could feel himself losing consciousness. Words danced in his mind like a chaotic ballet, “We’ll always be there for one another”, “It’s already consumed you…”, “Consumed you…”, “Consumed…” The voices got deeper and the pink smoke blotted out his vision, he heard the beating of wings… like a fan. Dark figures with glowing green eyes swooped onto him. The last thing he head was a loud cackle.

Shining Armor woke up that morning in a sweat; it had been five days since he had awakened from his long slumber underground. His metal wings were numb and felt fresh… even though they had been on his back for centuries; it still felt as if they had been crudely pasted on last night. The town of Sunset was shocked at the presence of this strange guest Dusty and Scarlet had brought back with them. Many had complained as the small town had enough mouths to feed as it is, but Scarlet and Dusty defended Armor.

Armor put on the long trench coat Dusty gave him; he cut holes in it for Armor’s wings to fit. Armor walked to the bathroom by his bed, Dusty was still sleeping soundly unlike him. He glared at the mirror for the longest time, peering at his left eye. It had been a different colour from his right eye, as it was red and metallic… another piece of him that wasn’t his.

“Must be terrible…” Scarlet chimed into Armor’s solace. “Looking in a mirror and not seeing you in there…”

Scarlet had been leaning on the entranceway to the bathroom the whole time, watching Armor intently. She grabbed a small bag out of her knapsack on the floor and levitated it towards Armor, her smile still large on her cheery face.

“Here take this…” Scarlet placed the bag on the bathroom sink.

“What is it…?” Armor asked as he lifted it off the porcelain surface with his horn.

Armor opened it up and grabbed the hidden object with his magic. It was an eye-patch. It was made of dark brown leather, and had a small crosshair symbol on the patch.

“It was my dad’s… He wore it after he lost his eye…” Scarlet walked closer to Armor and put it on him. “He was a ranger once… but he’s been dead for years now…”

“Scarlet I can’t take thi-…” Armor looked back at Scarlet… he could tell she wanted him to have it. “Th-Thank you… really…”

Armor began packing his few belongings in another knapsack scarlet fashioned for him. He made sure he took enough food and water for when he would leave that morning.

“Armor… where do you plan on going…?” Scarlet asked with worried eyes. “You can’t just walk off into the Marejave by yourself… you’ll die… you can’t even fly.”

“Uh huh…” Shining Armor ignored Scarlet’s attempts at keeping him grounded.

“Uggh… sweet Celestia… fine then!” Scarlet grabbed her large knapsack from her room. “You’ve left me no choice!”

Scarlet began packing various notepads, pens, food, and other gear into the knapsack, and once it was full she swung it on with a determined face. Armor hadn’t seen this kind of attitude in years… the look on her face reminded him of… Twilight.  He knew it was hopeless to persuade her otherwise… he knew that face well, so he let out a large sigh and walked downstairs.

*

At the dinner table, Scarlet informed Dusty of Armor’s plan

“Do you even know where yer goin Scar…?” Dusty asked with a look of outrage on his face.

“I want to help Armor find this “Cadence” he’s been having nightmares about…” Scarlet replied.

“How does he even know she’s alive…?” Dusty was clearly teeming with frustration.

“Even if she isn’t alive… he needs closure…” Scarlet whispered.

“Okay! Fine! So, lemme get this straight… you want to go out into the wastes and find… what? A memento…?” Dusty boomed.

Armor twitched in anger at the statement, but he knew getting involved in the argument would only make things worse…

“Just let me do this Dusty… please… dad would hav-…”

“He would have what Scar…? Let ya go out and die in the Marejave just like him…?” Dusty processed what he had just said quietly. “Sweetie I’m sorr-…”

“Don’t you talk bad about your brother Dusty! You loved him just as much as me!” Scarlet screamed as she walked to the door, tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I’ll… I’ll go talk to her…” Dusty walked out the door.

Armor felt guilty for not even trying to change Scarlet’s mind… to him she seemed so… driven. He shook off and loose feelings he had and thought about what Dusty said, He thought about the dream he had last night, and more importantly… he thought about what happened near the end of his dream. That laugh… he knew it meant something. Quickly he had a brainstorm… the green eyes, the beating wings, and the laugh… it made sense what he needed to do. He knew someone who once was Cadence, who looked in her memories and dreams… yes… if anyone knew anything about his beloved it would be… her.

Scarlet walked inside with Dusty not long after Armor’s epiphany, and Armor had sprung on them the instant they walked in the door.

“Dusty? Does the name “changeling” ring any bells?” Armor inquired.

“Yeah I think so… I heard tales of those things kidnapping folks further west…” Dusty answered, scratching his beard. “Haven’t seen any myself… but I heard they’re ugly lookin critters…”

Shining Armor knew very well the habits of changelings. They always are attracted to the emotions in which they feed off of, they stay close to populated areas, and… without a queen… they will die. Armor walked over to the kitchen and took the map of the Marejave from off the wall.

“Scarlet, hand me your pencil.” Armor demanded.

Scarlet grabbed the pencil from her knapsack, and Armor levitated it to him. He began drawing a circle over Sunset.

“Okay, so we’re here…” Armor looked up to Dusty. “What is the most populated city to the west?”

“Well that can only be New Maneas…” Dusty stated. “It’s the biggest city in all of the Marejave…”

“Then she won’t be far from there…” Armor looked back down at the map, and drew a large circle around the New Maneas area.

“So you’re going to New Maneas then?”Dusty asked?

“Yes… we’ll leave at dawn tomorrow….” Armor answered with a driven look upon his face.

“Might I ask who this friend of yours is?” Scarlet inquired.

Shining Armor looked back to Scarlet. “A long time ago most ponies called her Chrysalis…”

“Queen of the Changelings…”