This story will be done in 3 part each following the view point of 3 different ponies and each will be done in different stories the names for the other two will be Fallout New Vegas: Ace, and Fallout New Vegas: Fallen Star
I had not always had it easy in the wasteland , my white coat gave away my position to anyone in my general vicinity. I've been hunted down just for reason I was a unicorn, but the worst part is the damn metal hunk of ex battle saddle. It's been there ever since my old mentor keeled over and left it to me. I never really liked working for the Mercs it just always felt wrong but here was one pony that made me want to stay, Honey Cat. His name didn't sound manly but you wouldn't dare tell that to his face. Looking more imposing or the strong silent type than a villain but he was easy enough to warm up to.
Three month have passed since the base was attacked and I still haven't returned to see if he was there or not during the raid, but it still wasn't safe the raiders that took them out probably set up camp there. Even if the raiders moved on there was still those damned traps they seemed to set everywhere. I can't be faulted for not trying to see I am halfway across the country held up in some old military base just to return home. Now I'm stuck in a arid metal shack stuck in a valley filled with sand, even compared to the dessert we were stuck in for the day.
Searching around the shack I found surprisingly little even for a place that was recently occupied. Those poor bastards bust have been so addicted to their chems that they started pawning all the scrap they could find. The only thing left was a safe buried a foot under the sand. Somepony before had attempted to force it an failed although it wasn't much of a loss for me since I probably wouldn't have had the skill to pick it anyway. With a lack of a better solution I bit down on the trigger for my saddle sending three bullets into the lock, once that was finished it was very easy to force it open with my magic levitating out the only content, a seemingly new halotape. Why would this be buried that deep in sand the sandstorms here must be horrendous lets hope we don't stay long enough to find out. With nothing better to do for the moment I decided to play it.
"I just heard on DJ Pon-3's radio cast, Everypony I have worked for and all my colleagues were dead; slaughtered by the courier's "securitrons". My name is Ace and if anypony hears this broadcast or finds one of my holotapes I want you to find me and help me take out the courier or if I am dead, please take the cause. He needs to be stopped before he further scars the wasteland." The message ended leaving only static. I turned off the radio and turned back to my companion.
"I'm going out scouting. See you in a bit Rarity." I knew it wasn't her name and I probably shouldn't indulge her obsession but she's been through a lot today killing ponies is never easy even if they're slavers. Besides, she always looked up to Rarity. In her eyes she was the only Ministry Mare that wasn't responsible for the megaspells. As a point to her case she at least had Rarity's white coat but her hair was no where close to the splendor that was once Rarity's hair and although she tried her best, the wasteland was never forgiving. I knew I should be kind and call her what she wanted after all I did take her out of the strip and drag her through Freeside to end up killing raiders in an old NCR camp searching for somepony who might be dead. Damn I can't permit myself to think like that. I am going to change this godforsaken wasteland.
I trotted out of the metal shack we decided to hold up in and went to the next one right across the dirt path running straight through the camp. After a few minutes of poking around in the ammo boxes in the shack I managed to get together a few .50 rounds for "Rarity's" anti-materiel rifle. Locked in a briefcase I found a halotape and a memory orb, the only thing recorded on the tape was a seemingly random assortment of letters and numbers. Deciding against slipping into an orb in such and insecure place I slipped the orb into my saddlebags.
Walking back onto the path I heard a click that sent chills down my spine and caused my mane to stand on end. Slowly I looked down and confirmed the horror, these hooligans rigged their own base with landmines. They were spread all across the the path it was a miracle that I hadn't hit any on my first trot over.
"Star Lane, Star La---" Stopping after remembering that she refuses to be called by that name I followed with "Rarity"
"What is it Sha-" Her eyes widening in shock as she saw my hoof resting on a live explosive. "Shade what did you get yourself into this time?"
Leaning close to inspect it she started to probe it.
"Are you sure you should be poking at it?"
"I know enough about this stuff."
"Really? Are you kidding me? That's just a bottle cap mine. I have the schematics for it in my saddlebags if you need them."
"The devices they created for war before the Courier are barbaric. Maybe what he did isn't so bad; maybe a bit of good will come from this."
"If you count slaughtering more of them as well as half of the population good then you need some therapy. Besides, do you think it's better that everypony is trotting around with laser weaponry?"
"Well now that your done insulting me, I've finished here. Step off."
Exhaling a breath I didn't know I was holding in I casually stepped off the mine, hoping to carry on scavenging like nothing ever happened.
"Shade!" Star shouted as she hurried to catch up with me. Sadly my hope of continuing like nothing happened didn't seem like it was going to work. "Shade!" She called out again this time from next to me. Damn she caught up! The little voice in my head screamed. Wait shes not trying to catch up shes trying to cut me off.
"What do you want Rarity?" I asked, hoping to give her a hint to back off then stopped in place. She trotted a few more steps and stopped. She didn't take the hint.
"Shade there's........" She whispered. The rest was just inaudible mumble. *Click* "That's what I was telling you about." She said looking to the left into one of the alleys where a green earth pony was holding a shotgun pointed at us that appeared to have jammed. He didn't look like a raider so what was he doing? He took a step closer and into the light once he saw we noticed him. "A splayed torso." Looks can be deceiving, but with a cutie mark like that what else could he be. Looking to star for reassurance I noticed her nod as she levitated out her rifle, so i bit down on the trigger for my battle saddle.
Three shots fired out from the tri-barrel saddle tearing into the raiders flesh and shredding his neck. A loud whooping echoed throughout the camp as three more raiders appeared in the alleys and a few poked out of the shacks.
"I thought we already took care of the raiders here!" I shouted to Rarity.
An ironclad raider slipped out of the darkness and charged us with a thermic lance. A barrage of bullets from my battle saddle ricocheted off his armor. I proceeded to fire half my clip before I shouted to star, "RIFLE ARMOR EYES!" She shot off two rounds from her rifle and they deflected off his eye sockets.
The pony continued his charge and was only a few feet away from the tip of his lance nearly impaling one if not both of us. He stopped when he came within range and wildly swung his lance. He may have had ranger caliber weaponry and armor but he was an amateur. It was surprising that he could even operate that power armor. Obviously she couldn't use STATs or we would both be dead. He restarted his charge and continued to swing as he went.
Getting closer his swings became more erratic and one blow sliced my ear. Continuing his charge at full speed he passed us and continued charging. Looks like he couldn't control that armor after all, the new miracle was that me managed to hit one of us even if it was just slightly. Leaving the armored pony to trot on until he ran out of power I turned to star and told her "I don't think this will end well lets find some cover and blast them off one by one." After a few moments I turned and saw her continuing the battle without a single thought put towards me. I spent a few moments pondering her thoughts, when i started to think the roaring of the battle began around me.
"SHADE GET IN THE STORM" Star shouted from across the path but registering it only as normal talking volume so I didn't put it at the top of my priority list. After firing off a few more shots and nearly jumped out of my skin as I saw a sandstorm approaching. Looking up in awe I could only point my hoof at it, with her responding with just a nod and a sprint over to me. Adrenalin shot through my body spiking in my hooves and time seemed to slow down, I could almost make out the bullet as it sliced through "Rarity's" hoof and burying itself into the sand.
"STAR" I shouted as I raced over to her taking a hit off of my steady. I easily blasted bullets into the remaining raiders foreheads. I levitated Star onto my battle saddle with my flank being blasted with sand. Galloping at full speed towards the nearest shack I attempted to outrun the storm. With my hooves getting blown forward by the storm i managed to shoot into the shack and slam the door shut. I set her unconscious body in the sand as the wind whistled through the shack. Frantically searching through my tattered saddle bags I needed to find some sort of medicine to help her anything even Med-X to help with her pain. Finding nothing and dumping my entire bag into the sand all I had left were a few empty syringes, a bit of Rocket, and the ammo and my Monocyte Breeder. She has repeatedly refused to have it implanted so I decided to search her instead. I turned her over and my vision became a flash of light, My leg started to hurt immensely damn I must have gotten hit saving Star. Damn I was out of Steady and I couldn't help either of us if i went through recoil.
The world returned color by color, thank Discord I wasn't addicted. Hoofing through her bags I found what I have been looking for, a Stimpack. Injecting her with it my own pain tripled, causing me to cringe in pain. The color left the world leaving only silhouettes until it faded to black .
Written by: LonlyBrony
Corrected by: MagneticMind
It felt like it was only a moment but when I awoke my hooves we're bound and I was stuck looking up at a used-to-be white tile ceiling and an ugg... ghoul. My entire body convulsed up trying to get away from the foul creature on top of me, I wanted to try so hard to escape or atleast be able to block this place out.
"Calm down." a familiar voice echoed off the walls reverberating and getting more and more distorted. "Shade its Rarity calm down..... Rose get away he can't stand Ghouls. I assure you he means no harm but this must be like his worst nightmare. He's been like this as long as I've been with him.
"
The ghoul appeared feminine form but her muscles were barely connected. "Well he should be kinder to the pony that just saved his life, but while I’m gone please tell him what I've done to his leg and how much that would cost." The ghoul spoke barely audible with the raspiness of a thousand years of decay.
"Rarity what did it do to me please tell me she didn't turn me into one of them." I said my volume increasing with each words as I continually tested my bonds with no luck.
"Calm down she just gave you a bit of an enhancement, it was to save your life. On your front right hoof she gave you a piece of machinery, it kind of looks like an iron cuff. She said something about a new way to give you drugs and incorporate your breeder thing." Star said moving up to my face and freeing one of my hooves
Lifting it up I saw what looked like a iron disc shooved into my leg with holes filled with every kind of drug imaginable and some I haven't even saw before. "Rarity where’s my saddle I’m feeling fine lets get going." I said magically unlocking my binds. I had magic why hadn't I thought of that before I am not a smart soldier.
"About that.." Star spoke as she hoofed at the ground. "It got broken in the battle; she let you have that little device if she could keep the scrap metal. I agreed."
"Rarity I made it out of the battle we were safe, I fired it right before I passed out she STOLE IT." I shouted levitating all the scalpels and running out of the room. I ran out into a blood stained hallway. Looking into the rooms as I ran past them I saw the bodies of a countless number of ponies, some were electrocuted some looked to be overdoses. "She was experimenting on PONIES, on ME." Star stopped cold in her tracks as I spoke her eyes growing wider as she looked into the room infront of her.
Running back to her I saw what had frightened her even more then the experiments. A dozen or so corpses hooked on meat hooks all being hauled into some kind of incinerator the worst was that it seemed to be processing their ashes and producing vials of a black powder.
One of the hooks swayed, somepony was in here hopefully it’s that bitch rose I want to make her pay for what she has done. Suddenly one of the "corpses" opened their eyes these ponies weren't dead they were ghouls. Looking down at the contraption on my hoof silently blaming it for all the trouble in this place I saw something that made me vomit up everything I have ever eaten. One of the slots for chems was filled with that grey powder.
"Ghouls never change they're always touching on subjects that should be removed from this world completely, this one is no exception. Leave these be Star we don't know which ones are feral." I told star. She decided to ignore the order and rushed to the aid of the first ghoul. As soon as her hoof met flesh its eyes flashed open as its muscles contracted and bent its body to bite her. Its mouth became enshrouded in a magical glow which preceded to break its spine all down its neck and back. One of the ghouls had the hook slid its back and landed with a thud on the floor.
The sound of what one would imagine a demon spawning echoed around the room as the fallen ghoul stood up. The knives I was floating shot into the ghoul penetrating out the other side and hitting the wall on the other side. The ghoul managed a half laugh before the scalpels exploded in a flurry of blades. Most of them launched themselves out of my levitation field. By the time my attack was finished I had only a single blade left. "Wait Shade I think she's the one who took care of the feral one, see look she has a horn." Star said taking the knife out of my levitational field and into her own.
"Don't be foalish there aren't any unicorn ghouls let alone any that can still use magic." I said my eyes laid intently on the ghoul to make sure it didn't get back up.
"Wait I'm not one of those feral ones unicorns don't lose their mind so easily." the ghoul spoke sounding to be a hundred or so years old.
"I don't trust her she's probably that doctors assistant." I said lining my last blade up for another strike.
"Then why the hay would I be set on a hook in this lab, and besides the point set that down your not going to do any good I am a Canterlot ghoul after all." the ghoul said becoming younger and younger as she spoke.
"Whats a Canterlot ghoul and why would that make you invincible." I spoke sternly threatening her with my knife.
"I assumed my fame preceded me but I guess this is a bit far away. In the capitol, Canterlot, during the wars the zebras bombarded the city with nuclear missiles for hours causing the princess to raise the shield for protection. The zebras used one of their stealth cloaks and snuck in a pink cloud bomb and detonated it killing and fusing everyone within the city. The ones that made it into the stable survived for a few generations but the cloud forced itself in through the door and killed them to. A large percentage of those that supposedly dies in the pink cloud ended up becoming Canterlot ghouls as they are called they are mostly like normal ghoul except they are often fused to some item and can only be killed through dismemberment." She recited as her body pulled itself together looking almost alive once again. "My body can regenerate itself as long as I still have control of my magic, but not even Star Sparkle maintained her magic for long I am the current know record for the longest time spent in control of their magic and sanity."
