Chapter 1: Everypony's Gone
Gone… They’re all gone… The Unicorn mare stared out the living room window, unable to tear her eyes away from the terrible beauty that the balefire clouds in the distance possessed. Another bright flash of light in the distance. A moment later, the roar of the explosion; the sound of a million pony lives ending in a single instant.
“Mommy?... Why are you crying?...” Asked her little colt.
The mare continued staring out the window, the tears continuing to fall from her eyes. She wanted to find words to comfort her foal. She wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that mommy would keep him safe. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything at first. What could she say? The world was ending.
“M-Mommy?... What’s that sound?...” The little colt asked as another distant explosion made the ground tremble.
She just stared out the window, not even hearing her foal starting to cry behind her.
“Mommy, I’m scared! W-What are those scary clouds over there?...” The foal hugged the mare’s hind leg tightly, trying to get her attention. “W-Why are you so sad?...” He whimpered, burying his face in her coat.
“S-sweetie…. I…” She clenched her teeth tightly, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m sorry… I couldn’t keep you safe…”
* * *
Three Hours Earlier:
As Violet Swing rode the train home for the weekend, she never considered that it might be her last day at work. Life was completely normal in the city where she worked. Nopony had any idea what was about to happen to them.
Sighing, the mare stared out the window at the beautiful Equestrian landscape rolling past. It had been a very long day at work. Everypony was stressed out about something. The war with the Zebras had been going on for years now. Everyone knew somepony who was a soldier.
For Violet, that somepony had been her husband. Two years ago, he’d joined up with the Equestrian Army. He’d served in many of the major battles as a tank driver. He always wrote the most beautiful letters to her. A year after he’d joined, Violet received a telegram saying that he’d been Killed In Action somewhere. There was no body. He was now nothing more than a memory. At least Crimson, her foal, had been too young at the time to really understand. It was better that way. Still, she wished that the colt had gotten to know and spend time with his father.
Other than her little foal, she had no immediate family. She had relatives in Fillydelphia, but hadn’t spoken with them since her husband had been killed.
During the day, she worked as a secretary at the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. That job paid well enough to support her and her child. She lived in the mountains outside the city, and had a good view of the surrounding areas.
* * *
Present:
Violet Swing sat there on the floor, the little foal cradled in her arms. He’d cried himself to sleep in her arms some time ago, but she was still awake. It had been more than nine hours since the first bomb fell. Even now, the silence and tranquility of the night was broken occasionally by a bright flash and distant boom of another detonation.
How had the ponies of Equestria allowed this to happen? How had the Princesses allowed this to happen? What had Equestria come to? None of it mattered now anyway. Enough balefire bombs had been dropped that the landscape would soon become heavily irradiated.
Before her husband had gone off to war, he’d made sure that the house was stocked with food, water, medical supplies, and plenty of RadAway. Sure, there was more than enough right now, but eventually the supplies would run out. The radiation would kill them faster than starvation or thirst would. She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about this.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked down at the little colt in her arms. He didn’t deserve to die like this. Sweet Celestia, how many colts and filles had died already?
But she was still alive. Despite the hundreds, if not thousands of balefire bombs that had detonated, she was still alive. Were there other survivors? Yes, without question. There had to be. She stroked her foal’s mane gently. “There have to be…” She whispered softly.
Gently laying the colt down on the couch, she went into her bedroom, and flipped the light switch with her magic. No power. Should have guessed… She went over to her dresser, and produced a light from her horn, the soft magical glow illuminating the framed picture of their family on top of it.
Where could they go? Equestria was gone. It would soon be blanketed with deadly radiation. Could they make it to one of those underground Stables? No. They’d all been sealed when the bombs fell. If they had any chance of survival, they needed to leave this place. They were awfully close to the city, and the radiation would soon become too much to survive.
Taking her saddle bags out of the closet, she went to the cellar, where she began to fill them with supplies. Food, water, and as much RadAway as she could fit. She was almost ready to go, when she thought of something.
Going back upstairs to her room, she went over to the dresser again, opening the top drawer. The glow of her magic illuminated the silver .44 revolver her husband had given to her as a gift before he shipped out. Taking a deep breath, she took the revolver, along with its ammo, and slipped it into her saddlebags.
She then slipped on the yellow radiation suit that she’d had for just such an occasion. Funny… She thought. Even without knowing, she’d always been preparing for it. The drills, the newspaper articles, advertisements. Now that it was happening, she was on the verge of breaking down.
Only one thing left to do now. Wearing the radiation suit and carrying her saddlebags, she trotted out to where her little Crimson was still sound asleep on the couch. She smiled a bit. He looked so peaceful. She hated to wake him, but there was no choice. She went down to nuzzle him gently, kissing his nose lightly.
The colt stirred a bit, opening his eyes a little.
“Honey?...” Violet said softly. “I need you to wake up now…” She hugged him as he slowly got up, yawning.
“Why is it so dark, mommy?...” He asked, squinting in the low light.
“Sweetie… We need to go away for a little while…” She smiled. “I need you to drink this, okay?...” She opened up a packet of RadAway, and held it to his lips. He drank it all, but made a face at the bitter orange flavor. “Good job… Now I’m gonna help you put this on, alright? You need to wear it so you don’t get sick…” She brought out the foal sized radiation suit, and started to put it on him.
“This is uncomfortable, mommy! Do I really have to wear it?” The foal whined as she pulled the suit down over his little head.
“Hush now, sweetie… It’ll only be for a little while. You’ll be sick if you take it off outside…” She finished by zipping the suit closed, and putting the mask on his face. “I know it’s uncomfortable, but you NEED to wear it… Do you promise to keep it on?”
“I promise.” Came his muffled voice from behind the mask.
“Good…” She gulped down her own packet of RadAway, and with her magic, pulled her own mask down over her face. “Stay real close to me, okay hon?...”
“Okay, mommy…” The Colt whimpered.
She turned and walked over to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, and stepped outside. Once Crimson was outside, she closed the door and locked it. As if I’ll ever come back here… She looked out onto the landscape, and tears started to well up in her eyes. The city… the COUNTRY…. As far as her eyes could see, there were flames. Equestria looked like it was on fire. How many ponies were dead? Hundreds of thousands, probably millions.
Turning to the path that lead down the other side of the mountain, she started her descent. Crimson followed behind her, having to trot in order to keep up.
By the next morning, Crimson had gotten tired, and so she carried him, not wanting to stop. Having gotten no sleep the previous night, she was quite exhausted as well. She didn’t realize where she was going until it was too late. As she stopped to catch her breath, she realized that the ground beneath her hooves was scorched black. She looked around and gasped. All around her were the burned out shells of destroyed buildings. A flaming sky carriage lay on its side a short distance away. And everywhere she looked, there were bodies. These ponies were so badly burned that she couldn’t even tell they were ponies at first. Their flesh was charred and black, and crispy to the touch.
She fought the urge to scream as she looked around at them. She started to run as fast as she could. She had to get away. Nothing had prepared her for this. Nothing could have prepared her for this.
She ran for miles, only wanting to get away from those awful sights. She payed no attention to where she was running. She didn’t care. She needed to get away. Eventually, she collapsed from exhaustion, passing out completely.
* * *
“M-Mommy?... Mommy, wake up!” Was the first thing Violet heard as she slowly opened her eyes. She curled up into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut. “Mommy?...” came the Colt’s voice again.
“Leave me here, Crimson... “ She whimpered, tears running down her cheeks. “Please let me die....” She said softly to nopony in particular. “Please just let me die…” She sniffled.
“M-mommy?... W-What are you talking about?...” The little Colt shook her gently. “Mommy?....” He whimpered, shaking her a bit harder.
Is this when you give up?... Asked her husband’s voice in her head. You’re going to leave him all alone?... Without you?...
“I can’t do this…” She whimpered, clenching her teeth.
You’re better than this, Violet… I know you are…
“I CAN’T!” She cried.
Get up, Violet…
“Mommy?....” The colt backed away a bit, starting to tear up.
Slowly, Violet pulled herself back up onto her hooves, panting a bit and crying silently. She went over to Crimson, and pulled him into a tight embrace, sobbing as she hugged him to her. He closed his eyes and hugged back. He’d taken off his mask at some point while she was asleep. And he’d removed hers as well.
“Oh, Crimson…” She pulled two packets of RadAway from her saddlebags. “What did I tell you?”
“I’m sorry…” He looked down, his red mane falling across his brown eyes. His father’s eyes.
“It’s okay… But remember what Mommy told you…” She held the packet of RadAway to his lips, and he drank it down without protest. Then, she drank hers as well, as she pulled his mask back down onto his face. With both of their MBC masks on, they continued South.
* * *
There was almost no sound as they walked through the forest. No birds chirping, or wind rustling the dying leaves. But occasionally, there were bursts of gunfire in the distance. This concerned Violet a great deal. Was it Zebras? this close to Canterlot? They were in the forest West of Fillydelphia, just South of Foal Mountain. They hadn’t seen anypony since they’d left home.
As they started coming to the edge of the forest, Violet could swear she heard voices up ahead. As they drew closer, she saw a single large Ministry of Peace tent. There were about 40 ponies in and around it. Some Ministry of Peace workers, and the rest either soldiers or refugees, probably from Fillydelphia. Everypony looked stressed and a bit shocked. Inside the tent were wounded ponies being treated. Some with severe radiation sickness, and some with severe third degree burns.
“Fillydelphia?...” One of the MoP workers asked. She was a young mare; a white coat, with a light blue mane, wearing a yellow radiation suit.
“No.” Violet replied. “Hollow Shades… What is this place?...” She asked, looking around at all the ponies and crates of supplies.
“An aid station I guess…” The young mare said in a nervous voice. “The Ministry of Peace… Oh sweet Celestia… Whatever's left of the Ministry has these set up everywhere… I… I lost contact with them a few hours ago…” She gulped a bit, looking around anxiously.
“Is… Is there anywhere left?...” Violet asked softly.
“I… I don’t know… I don’t know anything anymore..” She whimpered. “M-My family… oh sweet Celestia, my family…” She sniffed.
Violet looked around the aid station. Everywhere, ponies were crying, or trying to comfort each other. A soldier leaning against a crate of supplies, sobbing uncontrollably into her hooves; one mare who was horribly burned calling out for her foals; foals calling out for their mothers.
A group of soldiers carrying wounded civilians arrived. “Hey, we’ve got more wounded out here!” One Stallion called out to the MoP medics.
“Bring them in here.” One of the doctors called back. “Nurse, triage these patients and figure out who we can help.”
“Yes, doctor!”
Only now did the full weight of the situation start to register. “Oh…. This is…” She turned away, pulling Crimson close to her.
“Why are those ponies yelling, mommy?...” He asked.
“Because… Because those ponies are hurt… and they wanna help them to get better…” She tried her best to smile.
Violet heard the noise of motorized vehicles down the road a bit. Everypony around the aid station went quiet as the sound became louder. Soon, an Equestrian armored column came into view, followed up by an infantry company. Everypony started to cheer as the tanks got closer, their magical engines growling like savage animals.
The lead tank stopped on the road next to the aid station, and the commander climbed up out of the top hatch.
“Who's in command here?” She asked. A green Earth pony stallion came out of the crowd, limping a little with a bandaged left foreleg.
“Staff Sergeant Jester, ma’am.” He saluted, wincing as he put weight on his left leg.
“I need to get going as soon as possible, so I want your men to load all the medical supplies you have into the carriages, and follow us.” The mare in the tank said.
“...Pardon me?...” The stallion looked confused.
“Listen, sergeant. I don’t have time for this. Get your soldiers to load up the medical supplies, and do it quickly. I don’t have all day!” Ponies started to look worried now. Weren’t these ponies supposed to be helping them?
“These ponies here need this stuff!” The Earth pony said, stomping his hoof.
“Are you disobeying an order, sergeant?” The mare looked angry now.
“...Disobeying... an order?... An order from who?! Look around you! There’s nothing left! The war is over!” The stallion yelled.
The mare growled, and pointed the machine gun at him. “The war isn’t over until every last one of those striped bastards is wiped from the face of the earth!”
“There’s no EARTH left to wipe them from!” The stallion shouted. “The only e-” He was cut off as the mare fired a burst from her machine gun, sweeping it across him and the ponies around. The rounds tore through his flesh like a hot knife through butter, tearing him apart in front of Violet’s eyes.
Everypony started to scream, panicking. At the commander’s order, her own soldiers began loading the supplies into carriages on their own. The other soldiers did nothing to stop them, simply staring in disbelief.
Soon, the convoy started to move on again, in the direction of Fillydelphia. The lead tank commander spat on the dead stallion’s body before climbing back inside the turret and closing the hatch.
“We’re dead… We’re all dead…” The white mare from before sobbed close by, staring into space.
What has Equestria come to?... Violet stared in disbelief at the scene before her, holding Crimson to her chest tightly, making sure he couldn’t see.
As the last of the convoy went past, some of the soldiers cast pitying glances down at the refugees, but none did anything to help.
There was no point in staying now. There was no safety here. She’d just watched Equestrian soldiers stealing the life of their own people. Putting Crimson on her back, she started to run again, away from the rioting ponies, and the army that had once fought to protect Equestria’s citizens. She ran and ran, trying not to think about what had just happened. The image of the bullets passing through the stallion’s body were burned into her memory. S-So much… blood…
She ran until she came to a railway. Off to the East, she could see the pillars of smoke rising up from Fillydelphia. To the West, she saw Canterlot. The city looked mostly intact. Maybe it’d survived the attack? Then she noticed the pink cloud around it. She had no idea what it was, but it seemed to be coming from the city. It can’t be good, whatever it is… She thought, as she looked around.
Then she spotted what she was looking for. A small log cabin lay about 100 yards from where she stood. There was a light inside too.
She quickly made her way over to it, glancing around nervously. She raised her hoof and knocked on the door. “Anypony… home?...” She panted, still catching her breath from the long run.
The door opened a tiny bit, and a young Pegasus mare stood inside, staring at her.
“I don’t mean to be any trouble…” Violet panted. “But… I’ve just come from Foal Mountain… Please… I have a kid with me…” She stared at the pegasus mare.
“Step inside, quickly.” The mare opened the door for her.
“Thank you so much…” Violet stepped inside, letting Crimson hop down onto the floor. The pegasus closed the door behind them, glancing around first to make sure they were alone.
The mare had a light brown coat and a darker brown mane. Her cutie mark was a heart with an arrow through it. “Did you run all the way here?...” She asked in a soft voice.
“Not the whole way…” Violet said, shrugging off her saddlebags. “I... we… came across this Ministry of Peace aid station…” She went on to tell the Pegasus mare about what had happened. The soldiers stealing medical supplies from helpless ponies.
“Oh dear… this… this really is the end, isn’t it?...” The Pegasus sighed.
“I hope not…” Violet nuzzled Crimson’s mane gently as he slept. “I… I need to believe that there’s still hope… I have to be strong… for him…”
“...You look tired… You should probably rest up…” The mare suggested.
“Yeah…” Violet sighed. “I never got your name…”
“Chocolate Valentine…” She blushed a bit. “Call me Val…”
“Val… that’s a nice name…” She yawned.
“You and your little one can have my bed if you want….” The Pegasus smiled.
“Thanks…” Violet smiled, gently picking up Crimson in her magic and setting him on the soft mattress. She climbed in herself after that, and held her little foal gently.
“Goodnight…” The Pegasus smiled, turning off the light.
“Night…” Violet replied softly. Soon, she was fast asleep, exhausted from the day’s hardships.
______________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note
if you got this far, congratulations... 
You deserve a medal. If you liked it, let me know. If you didn't like it, then let me know anyway so that I can improve my writing in the future.
Violet awoke to the sound of gently sobbing coming from the next room. It was still night time, probably around 3:00 in the morning. Sighing, she climbed out of bed, making sure not to wake her foal.
Carefully, she walked over the door, and found the handle with her magic, turning it slowly, careful not to make too much noise. Stepping through the door, she made sure to close it behind her. She found the Pegasus mare curled up on the floor next to a softly glowing lamp. She was crying softly into her hooves, occasionally taking a drink from the half empty bottle of whiskey next to her.
“Hey…” Violet moved closer, nudging her a bit. “What’s wrong?...”
The Pegasus mare sniffed a bit. “M-my family… my friends… everypony is dead… aren’t they?...” She stared at the ground, her eyes bloodshot from crying. “My sister… my parents… all my friends….” She took another drink. “There’s no hope… there’s no place left to go… we’re all fucked!” She sobbed. “We’re all gonna die…” She repeated softly, drinking deeply from the bottle.
“I…” Violet started to say, but stopped herself. The Pegasus was right. Everypony was dead. There WAS nowhere safe to go. Then she thought of her foal, her little Crimson. “There is hope…” She said softly. “you’re still alive... “ She hugged the mare tightly. “There has to be some place left… because…” She grit her teeth. “Because I have a foal, damnit!” the tears started to run down her cheeks as well. “Because I’m not going to just give up and die! I need to keep him safe…”
The mare said nothing, silently crying as Violet hugged her.
“We need to have faith… a reason to keep on living. “ Violet said. “And… and I can’t lose mine when he’s depending on me…”
The mare smiled a bit. “I wish I could be like you…” She said softly. “Have you ever... lost anyone?...”
“Yes…” She replied softly. “My husband… And now I’ve probably lost everyone else too…”
“How are you so calm?...” The mare whimpered.
“...because… “ She paused. She wasn’t so calm. Emotionally, she was a wreck. She wanted it all to be over. “I’m not… not really…. But I can’t show it.” She looked in the direction of the bedroom. “Because he’s so young and innocent… I can’t let him lose that so soon… To tell you the truth… I almost gave up... “ She looked away.
“So… Why are you two out here?...” The Pegasus asked.
“Well, I figured it’d be safer down south, where there isn’t much to bomb…” Violet said. “I dunno… It’s probably just as bad, but… I need something to live for…” She smiled a bit, looking back up at the Pegasus. “You know… You should come with us…”
“South?...” The Pegasus asked.
“Sure. You’re really close to Fillydelphia here… If it got hit as bad as Hollow Shades… And that pink stuff coming out of Canterlot… I don’t know what it is, but I don’t wanna stick around and find out…”
“How far South?...” Val asked, sounding a bit nervous.
“I dunno…” Violet replied. “Like I said… I dunno what to expect… I mean for all I know, it could be even worse down there…. Look, there’s no point in staying here… You’ll run out of supplies eventually… Then it’s just a matter of time.”
“I’ll think about it….”
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning, first thing…” Violet said. “Now… I need to get some sleep…” She yawned. “... And… so do you, if you wanna come with us… It’ll be a lot of walking….” She turned, and started walking back to the room.
“Hey, wait… Can I just ask you a question?...” Asked Val.
Violet stopped, turning to face her “Sure, what’s on your mind?...”
“Why do you… trust me?...” She asked.
“Huh?...” Violet asked. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Well, I mean…. Well from what you told me about what happened… I dunno… all I’m saying is… I’d have a hard time trusting other ponies after that…” The pegasus mare said, looking back at the bottle of liquor on the floor next to her.
Violet thought for a bit before answering. “...I guess… I’m just not used to the ‘New Equestria’ yet…” she smiled, walking over to the bedroom door. “Night again…”
* * *
The next morning, Violet awoke to the sound of music playing softly from the next room. Yawning, she climbed out of bed, and trotted over to the door, opening it with her magic. The source of the music was a record player in one corner of the room. She’d heard the song before, and smiled as she remembered where.
It had played on the radio the night her husband had left to go fight the Zebras. As the vocals started, she began to sing along with it.
“Outside the barracks
By the corner light
I’ll always stand, and wait for you at night
we will create a world for two
I’ll wait for you, the whole night through
for you, Lili Marleen
for you, Lili Marleen”
Valentine came out of the kitchen, and watched Violet quietly, Crimson standing next to her in the doorway. Violet’s voice was beautiful as she sang, closing her eyes.
“Beugler tonight, don't play the call to arms
I want another evening with her charms
Then we will say goodbye and part
I'll always keep you in my heart
With me, Lili Marleen
With me, Lili Marleen
give me a rose to show how much you care
Tie to the stem a lock of golden hair
Surely tomorrow, you'll feel blue
But then will come a love that's new
For you, Lili Marleen
For you, Lili Marleen”
Tears started to well up in Violet’s eyes as she recalled how Equestria was before the war. Life had been so easy then. Before the stress of hearing the casualty figures on the radio, praying that your loved ones weren’t among them; comforting friends who’d lost loved ones in the war, and eventually having to deal with the loss of the one she loved.
“When we are marching in the mud and cold
And when my pack seems more than I can hold
My love for you renews my might
I'm warm again, my pack is light
It's you, Lili Marleen
It's you, Lili Marleen
my love for you renews my might
I'm warm again, my pack is light
It's you, Lili Marleen…
It's you, Lili... Marleen…”
As she finished, there were tears running down her cheeks. Noticing the two watching her, she tried to smile, wiping the tears from her face.
“Sorry… I just… I need a minute…” She sniffed a bit. “Where did you get that record, Val?..” She asked the Pegasus mare, wiping tears from her eyes.
“It was my mother’s.” Valentine smiled. “She always used to play it when I was little… My dad was a Royal Guard a long time ago…. Your voice was so lovely…”
Violet blushed a bit at the compliment. “Thanks… I… I haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Well, I made breakfast for everypony. I figured we’d need plenty of energy for the trip ahead.” The Pegasus mare said, smiling.
“So you’re coming with us?” Violet asked, brightening a bit.
“I thought about it, and I figured there’s no point in sitting here and dying of radiation sickness eventually. Besides… It’s not safe to be wandering around alone any more.” The mare looked back up at Violet. “I’ve packed up everything I can carry… All the medical supplies I could get my hooves on.”
“Good. We’ll leave right after breakfast.” Violet smiled, clapping her hooves together.
* * *
When everypony was finished eating, Valentine insisted on washing the dishes. “I’d hate to leave unwashed dishes in the sink…” She said as she began to scrub them. Violet agreed, thinking about how she’d locked the front door before leaving her home.
Soon, it was time for Valentine to leave her home as well. Donning their saddlebags, the three ponies stepped out the door.
Valentine looked back at the cabin, and smiled a bit. “This place… my parents used to take me out here sometimes during the summer... So many happy memories….” A tear ran down her cheek, and she sniffed a bit. “I’m gonna miss it…”
Violet smiled, and hugged the Pegasus mare gently, comforting her. “I know it’s hard…” She said softly.
“Yeah... “ Val wiped her eyes, sighing. “So... I guess we should get going….”
Violet released her from the gentle hug, and checked to make sure she had everything. “Yeah…” She looked down at Crimson, wearing his radiation suit and mask. The two mares were going without them, but Violet didn’t want to take any chances with her foal.
The three ponies set off, Valentine not looking back as they left her home; Violet going in front, spurred on by determination; Crimson trotting along behind her.
* * *
“Megaspell holocaust, day three…” Violet muttered to herself as she walked through the open field, the others trailing along behind her. “Today, I saw....” She looked around a bit. “More smoke in the distance… and hey, it’s gotten colder out.”
“Violet, who are you talking to?” Asked Val, looking at her with a slightly concerned impression.
“I don’t know. Maybe to stay sane?” Violet sighed, continuing to walk. “Stupid, I didn’t think it would get cold this quickly. Should have packed winter clothes.”
“We should be able to scavenge something before it gets too cold out.” The Pegasus said, looking up into the sky. “It’s real cloudy too… I hope it doesn’t rain.”
“Yeah. Hey Val, did you pack any kind of… weapon?” Violet asked, turning around to face the Pegasus.
“No, why do you ask?”
“Well, who knows who we’ll encounter out here… I brought my revolver along, just in case.” Violet said, nodding at her saddlebags.
“I really hope you’re wrong... “ Val said, starting to walk forward again. “I mean… There can’t be… many ponies left after this....” She said softly.
Violet continued to walk in silence, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of her. Soon, they came to another small town, much like the one Violet had accidentally stumbled into the previous day, only this one was in better shape. The buildings were still standing for the most part, with the east facing wall of every building slightly blackened by soot. There There were bodies here too.
Violet stopped dead as she noticed one of the dead mares was a Zebra. Looking around, she saw that there were several Zebra corpses scattered around the pony bodies. They weren’t burned like some of the ponies. They all had gunshot wounds. There were a few Equestrian soldiers scattered about as well, although they wore a different uniform as the ones from the aid station.
“Well… Now would be a great time to find a weapon…” Violet said, not taking her eyes off the Zebra in front of her. “I’m gonna go look through the houses and see what I can find.”
“B-but they’re... dead…” Val said, trembling as she stared wide eyed at the corpses littering the street.
Violet went over to one of the dead Equestrian soldiers, and picked up the small weapon from beside the corpse. It was bigger than her revolver, and had more ammunition. She held it up in front of Valentine, giving a questioning look.
“Submachine gun.” Valentine said, taking it, and slipping it into her saddlebag.
“Your dad teach you a lot about guns?” Violet asked, pulling more ammunition for the new weapon from the dead soldier’s webbing.
“A little bit… I mean, I know the basics.” Val said, taking the ammunition, and putting it away with the SMG.
“Good! you’re our resident firearms expert then!” Violet smiled, going to one of the houses, and opening the door slowly.
Slipping inside, she found a pretty normal living room, with several more doors leading to different rooms. Opening one door, she found a staircase leading to a cellar. Cautiously, she went down the stairs, and looked around inside. There were a few medical boxes, and she scavenged what she could from them. They’d all need to take RadAway after being this close to a Megaspell detonation.
She trotted back up the stairs, intending to look through the other rooms as well. Then, she heard a sound from one of the rooms, a slight rustling. Slowly, she pulled her revolver from her saddlebag, and made sure it was loaded. Cautiously approaching the door, she slowly turned the knob and pulled it open.
BANG!
Violet was blinded by the flash of light right in her face, and her world went silent for a moment, only for the silence to be replaced with a ringing in her ears a moment later. Her vision cleared, and she stared wide eyed down the barrel of a rifle. Her revolver had been knocked from her telekinetic grip by the bullet that had almost killed her.
The rifle dropped to the floor with a clatter, and a very frightened stallion stood in front of her, trembling. His mouth was moving, but Violet could hear nothing but the ring in her ears. As her hearing slowly returned, she could make out what he was saying.
“Oh no… oh no, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know!” the Earth Pony stallion whimpered, stepping back slowly.
Violet just stood there, still in shock. Only her revolver had saved her life, taking the full impact of the rifle bullet. Still, her face was covered in powder burns, and her hearing hadn’t fully returned yet.
“You… You… Shot…” Violet stammered, staring in disbelief at the stallion. She was too shocked to be angry. It was the first time she’d heard a gunshot that close.
Valentine rushed in quickly, seeing Violet standing there wide eyed, and the stallion at the opposite end of the room, trembling like a leaf.
“What the fuck happened?!” Val asked, looking back and forth between the two ponies.
“He sh-shot me…” Violet said, continuing to stare at the stallion.
Crimson ran into the room, and hugged his mother’s right foreleg tightly. “Mommy, what was that sound?!”
The stallion took one look at the colt, and started to cry into his hooves. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to!”
Val trotted over to him, and shoved him onto the ground. “You SHOT her?! WHY! WHY would you do that? Can’t you see she has a colt?!” She yelled, slapping him across the face with a hoof.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” The stallion sobbed, curling up into a ball as the Pegasus mare continued to beat him.
Violet shook her head as she came back to her senses. “Val, stop it! Let him go!”
The mare gave the Earth Pony a good clop to the side of the head before backing off.
Violet went up to the stallion, and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Why?...” She asked softly.
“I thought you were one of them…” The stallion said, wiping his eyes dry. “Th-they killed everypony….”
“Who’s they? The Zebras?” Asked Violet, gesturing to the street outside.
“Striped bastards ambushed us here… I didn’t know they were even still in Equestria… after what they did…” He closed his eyes, and clenched his teeth. “They killed everypony…” He said, his voice breaking as he tried to keep from crying. He was young, but somehow he reminded Violet of her husband before he’d joined up. He had a light orange coat with a white mane and green eyes, and was shorter than Violet by a little bit.
“Hey… It’s okay… They’re all gone now…” Violet said softly, hugging the stallion to her chest, and stroking his mane comfortingly.
“W-why are you doing this?...” He sniffed, closing his eyes as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. “I just shot at you…”
“Guess I’ll never learn not to trust ponies…” Violet smiled a bit. “What’s your name, soldier?...” She asked as she released him.
“Orange Cream, Private First Class…” He said, standing up straight, as if standing at attention. “You have no idea how great it is to see another pony face…”
“You must know more than we do right now,” Violet said. “how bad is it everywhere else?...”
“Well… We’ve had no contact with headquarters, the ministries, or the government. We’ve… I’ve been trying to get through to somepony since… it happened. No luck though.” The stallion sighed. “I just… hope that the ponies who were supposed to go into the stables got there in time…”
“Well we can’t be the only ones left on the surface. There are refugees from everywhere, and there must be some places that didn’t get bombed…” Violet said, looking out the window at the cloudy skies and smoke in the distance. “I don’t suppose you have anywhere to go?”
“Not anymore…” He sighed, picking up his rifle, and slinging it around his neck. “I’m all alone now. My squad’s all dead, my family….” He stared at the floor between his hooves. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do…”
“Why not come with us?” Asked Violet.
“Wait just a second!” Valentine protested. “He almost KILLED you!”
“It was an accident.” Violet said. “Besides, I’m still here, aren’t I?”
The Pegasus didn’t say anything, looking at the stallion suspiciously. “You won’t be for long with that attitude.” She said as she turned, and walked out the door.
“I’m really sorry about that…” The stallion blushed a bit. “There’s no excusing what I did, but… any way I can make it up to you, I’ll try my best.”
“A new revolver would be nice…” Violet frowned, picking up her broken revolver with her magic. The entire front of the pistol was badly dented and torn by the impact of the bullet.
“I don’t know if I can repair it… But the bodies outside must have some weapons…” He said, looking away. “The sergeant always carried a pearl handled revolver with her…” He said softly. “I don’t know where you’d find her, but… please don’t screw around with any of the bodies… they were like brothers and sisters….”
“You gonna stay in here then?...” Violet asked, tossing the broken firearm aside.
“Until we leave… If you’ll have me… I just don’t wanna see all their dead faces again…” He shivered, hanging his head.
“Of course… we should be ready shortly… I sure don’t wanna make camp here…” She said, turning to leave. “Crimson, can you stay inside with the nice stallion?” She smiled, nuzzling her colt gently. “Mommy will be back in a couple minutes…”
“Okay.” The little foal smiled, hugging her before going back into the other room.
* * *
Violet found the Pegasus mare quickly. Valentine was going through the pockets and packs of the bodies, and gingerly picking out anything useful. She tried not to touch them too much.
“Hey.” Violet said, standing there and looking at her.
“Hi.” She replied. “Where’s the colt?”
“He’s inside with Orange.” Violet said, glancing around at the different corpses.
“I hope he’s as ‘innocent’ as you think he is…” Valentine smirked, going to the next body, and discovering a few healing potions.
“I trust him to look after my kid, don’t I?...” Violet sighed. “I hope he’s doing alright… I mean… this is all new to him… and he’s just so little…”
“I hope… I mean, do you think we should... “ She bit her lip. “I mean, just look at all these pony corpses… Do you think he should be seeing stuff like this?...”
“What do you want me to do? put a blindfold on him?” Violet asked.
“... I dunno, Maybe... I just worry about him… I know he’s your responsibility, but… I don’t wanna see him get hurt. Physically OR mentally…” Valentine turned the healing potion over in her hooves a few times before slipping it into her saddlebags.
“I don’t know… I don’t know what to do… All I want is to keep him safe… And… what I’m about to say is gonna sound a bit harsh… he’s gonna have to learn sooner or later… I don’t think he quite understands yet… I didn’t exactly prepare him for this... but eventually, he’s going to have to accept the fact that this is the way Equestria is gonna be from now on…” Violet said as she walked along the street.
“Life’s a bitch…” Valentine said, looking away. “It’s cruel and unfair… no foal should have to see the things that I’ve seen just today…”
Violet had found the mare she was looking for. The sergeant was a middle aged mare, with a dark green coat, and darker green mane. She had a single gunshot wound to the chest, and looked strangely peaceful. Gently, Violet picked up the pearl handled revolver from the blood stained ground next to the dead mare. The gun was different from her other one. It was silver, with designs engraved into the steel. On the mouth grip, a name was carved into the pearl: “Tolerance.”
* * *
Violet stepped into the house again, followed by Valentine. Crimson and Orange Cream were both involved in separate activities. Orange was looking through the cabinets for any non-perishable foods to throw into his saddlebags. Crimson was in the living room, looking through a collection of holotapes, arranging them in separate piles.
“We’re back, everypony.” Violet said cheerfully as she stepped into the room.
The stallion looked at her, and frowned a bit. “I guess you found her, huh?...” He asked, noticing the revolver in the holster around Violet’s neck.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Violet smiled, looking down at the pistol.
Valentine walked up to the stallion, and hugged him gently. “I’m sorry for how I acted back there…” She said softly, pulling away.
Orange blushed furiously under his orange coat. “I-it’s fine…” He stammered.
Crimson ran up to Violet excitedly, depositing a stack of holotapes in front of her. “For you, Mommy!” He beamed up at her.
Violet picked up the stack with her magic, and looked through them. She smiled as she read through the names, seeing many of the old classics she used to play all the time. “Thank you, Crimson…” She hugged her foal gently, looking over at Orange. “Did you help him with these?” She asked.
The stallion shook his head, looking baffled. “No. He was over there the whole time, and I was in here.” He said.
“It was hard.” Crimson smiled. “But I remembered the colors! And the pictures on them!” He said happily, tapping one of them with his little hoof.
Violet hugged him again, kissing his nose gently. “Thank you so much…” She smiled.
“You’re welcome, Mommy.” He beamed back at her as she let go of him.
“So…” Violet said, turning to the other two. “Is everypony ready?...”
______________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note
Chapter 2 of this EPIC series! PLease feel free to let me know if I did anything wrong.
NOTE ABOUT THE SONG:
The song is called Lili Marleen, and was a popular song on all sides during WWII. It was sang both in German, and English (probably French too) It dates back to the WWI period, and was first performed by Lale Andersen in 1939. There are many versions of it, each slightly differing from the original. I used this version here, which is probably the most recognizable version. http://www.fimfiction.net/story/261642/fallout-equestria-the-beginning
