Fallout Equestria: Crystal Reborn

"And that's how Equestria was made!"

I rushed out of the cave, a laser beam whizzed past my face. I jumped back in a panic. A pony in power armor emerged from behind a rock firing his minigun. The barrels turned red from the prolonged use. I looked over to the aggressor, Lightning Dust fired multiple plasma rounds at the steel foe. I heard him scream as his front armor began to melt. The pony ejected out of the power armor and scrambled for cover.

"Stop!" I yelled. Lightning Dust poked her head out at me.

"Princess get to cover quickly!" she motioned for me to come over. I used my magic to grab the red mare who ejected from the suit of armor. I held her by her tail and moved her in front of me. Her eyes were clenched shut.

"Why are you shooting at my friends?" the mare's eyes were still closed. "Do you know who I am?" the red mare shook her head frantically. I set her down and sighed.

"Give her back!" a stallion in grey combat armor began to open fire. I cast a barrier over us, his bullets melted upon contact with the barrier. He continued to fire at me.

"Subdue him please, non-lethally," I postured. I sat down in front of the red mare and lifted her head with my hooves. "Please open your eyes. I promise I am no threat to you. It is not my wish to kill you." The mare looked up at me. Her amber eyes were full of tears. "Please tell me your name."

"M-m-my name is Ch-Chili Pepper," she quivered.

"My name is Princess Mi-Amore Cadenza, Third Empress of the Crystal Empire, Princess of Equestria," I lowered myself to her. "Please stop this fighting this, I am just tired of all the needless bloodshed." Chili Pepper squeaked and passed out. I rolled my eyes. Lightning Dust and Rime Ice had subdued the other pony, she was a Green Mare, her armor covered the majority of her body beside her head and tail. She brandished what looked to be the old Steel Ranger logo from before the war. "Who are you?"

"Fuck you, you mutant piece of shit!" the green mare yelled.

"Watch your mouth, you are talking to Her Royal Majesty Princess Cadance," Rime Ice punched the mare in the side of the head.

"Where is the rest of your scouting party?" Lightning Dust questioned pulling her mane with her teeth. "If you don't tell us we will have to tell our dragon friend about the Steel Rangers violating the treaty."

"You're full of shit, that dragon hates all ponies."

"Not me, in fact, before the war we were close friends. I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing me a favor," I smiled smugly. The look on her face turned to that of disbelief. "I could just feed you to him. A bit barbaric for my taste but an option nonetheless," I smiled coldly. I saw my reflection in a puddle on the floor. It was the same expression Chrysalis used when she assumed my identity.

"Ok, ok, they are on their way here up right now. It's a large raiding party, they want to kill the dragon and take the GECK. Happy now," the mare sobbed.

"Go ahead... Uh-huh, ok. Oh, ok well that's not good, Sheer Cold stall them as long as you can. I need to contact Captain Sunset." Lightning Dust ran towards the Cryonimbus.

"Rime Ice, let her go let's start preparing defensive positions this cave can not fall!" I exclaimed. I turned around and went towards the large metal door knocking. "Spike! Spike, it's an emergency. Open the door!"

The large metal door began to open and the massive purple dragon stuck his head out through the door. "Are they gone?"

"Spike, there is a large Steel Ranger battalion coming up the mountain! They are after the GECK!" I yelled up to him.

"Princess!" Sheer Cold came running into the mouth of the cave. Her scorpion-like tail wobbling freely behind her. "They are almost here!" she was panting. She sat down and trying to catch her breath.

"Rime get behind something. Sheer Cold, tie up the two scouts, we are going to take them with us," Sheer nodded at me and began tying up the green mare.

"I'll take care of them. Applejack made the Steel Rangers resistant to dragon fire but not impervious. If you can pierce their armor it will be enough for my fire to get through.

I exited the cave, I saw the Cryonimbus begin to drift away from the sky dock. The village was completely abandoned, everypony must have fled. I heard the loud voice echoing up the mountain.

"Citizens, remain in your houses, any violating this decree will be shot on sight. We only wish to slay the dragon terrorizing your village. He hordes technology that endangers your very lives."

I began to panic. I levitated some scrap wood placing them in front of several large rocks in the cave entrance. I could hear their marching hoof steps get louder and louder as they pranced on. I ran back into the cave hiding behind a rock.

"Here they come," the green mare cackles.

"Quiet you," Sheer knocked her out with a swift punch to the head.

A pony wearing a strange red gown entered the mouth of the cave. "Dragon! We do not wish to fight you. Surrender the GECK and you will be allowed to leave peacefully," the mare's voice reverberated off the cave walls. It was the same voice from the previous announcement.

The large doors swung open. I turned to face the doors, a thick miasma of darkness bled from the room as if it were liquid. I began to smell smoke. A soft faint green glow began to emanate from the darkness. It began to get brighter as if it was coming closer. Shit that was dragon fire.

"Get down!" I yelled hitting the floor, the fire passed over me with a terrifying presence. I felt the heat began radiating. My back felt like it was burning. I heard the mare scream and within moments the cave was silent. I stuck my head up over the rocks to see the remains of the pony who once stood there. Her fur and mane burnt away and only bone and tissue remained. Her gown had fuzed to her skin on the parts that did not burn away. What a horrible way to die. Several ponies in power armor ran into the room guns blazing shooting wildly into the darkness. Spike quickly closed the metal doors. Bullets and laser weapons were ineffective against that thick of a door. I motioned to Rime and Sheer.

Rime quickly shot up to the cave ceiling letting out a barrage from her four novasurge rifles. Orange beams lit up the cave striking one of the steel-clad ponies the back of the head severing it from his body.

"Contact!" one of the rangers yelled retreating back outside the cave. Sheer Cold took stood up firing her minigun, several beams of blue and gold peppered the retreating ponies.

"Hit the pony with the radio equipment," Sheer yelled. The radio pony was obvious as he towed a small cart of equipment behind him. He was one of the last few in the cave. Rime and Sheer barraged the poor soul burning him to ash. I winced at the sight of watching a pony like that disintegrate.

"Was this what the frontlines looked like?" I thought aloud. By this time, the Steel Rangers began to open fire covering their remaining comrades. I cast a small shield around Rime and Sheer. I put my plasma pistol back in its holster and began to crawl towards the radio equipment. Sheer and Rime had the main combatants distracted. Energy and conventional weapons alike buzzed atop me. I closed my eyes and kept crawling. My horn bumped the wagon. I opened my eyes to find a teal mare had done the same.

"Alicorn!" she screamed. I levitated my pistol out of the holster and promptly shot the mare in the back. Her body liquefied into a pile of green goo on the floor. I vomited at the sight of this.

"Fuck! I yelled. "Why can't we solve things with a magical duel like civilized ponies!" my magic began to swirl inside me. Rime was moving around the ceiling using the stalagmites as cover. I saw a rocket hit the ceiling near her knocking her back down to the floor. "Damnit they are coming in."

"Cadance, draw upon our power," Cadenza and Sombra's voice echoed in my mind. "We can give you power beyond what weapons can do!" The blue and gold beams stopped.

"Fuck me it jammed!" Sheer dove behind a rock.

"Secure the radio and move up!" One of the Steel Rangers called out. I peeked out from behind the wagon. I saw 3, 4... 5... 9... 14... 20... to many, way to many for me to handle with this.

"Cadance, you better make a decision because if you won't they will," Sombra's words enraged me.

"You don't think I know?" I yelled.

"Show yourself!" one of the rangers approached the cart. I sighed and began to unleash the dark magic within me.

The Steel Ranger turned the corner of the cart, "Hooves where I can seem them, lady."

I grabbed the buck in my magic crushing him into a ball. He didn't even have enough time to scream. I threw his remains at one of his companions knocking them to the floor. In a torrent of wind and ice, I began to pick up several Steel Rangers off the ground spinning them around the cave. My eyes began to glow a sickly green and black as I increased my power. I heard them scream in terror, but their torment has only just begun. I began to use my magic to freeze the air around me causing large icicles to form. I began to throw them at the rangers caught within the magical typhoon piercing their armor and pinning them against the wall. One by one, I pinned them against the wall. Some by their limbs others by their heads.

"Concentrate your fire and take her down!" I saw a Steel Ranger with dual miniguns, his armor was adorned with gold trim. He must be their leader. I dispelled the torrent watching the surviving rangers hit the cave wall.

"You will pay for damaging property of the Equestria!" I yelled. Several rangers began to focus their fire on me. I conjured a wall of dark flames to surround me melting the incoming rounds. I used my magic to grip some of their weapons as I passed by crushing the barrels rendering them useless. The commander tried to take a step back but I began to pull her closer. She continued her futile resistance. I began using my magic to strip her armor plating. Every piece bent and crack as I pulled them away. When it came to her helmet, my magic turned it to dust and it crumpled away. When she finally got to me she was a bare, honey-coated unicorn. Her mane was done up in a tight bun.

"I-I'm not scared of you, monster," she quivered. She was shaking as if she had just walked the frozen north. I stared her down.

"It's not me you should be afraid of. That dragon is a friend of mine, we go way back, so far back that I knew him as a baby let's see he was born, I want to say, in the year 995 of Celestia's rule," I smiled.

"You're lying, you alicorns are abominations created by the Goddess!"

"Goddess? I don't know who you're talking about. But if it is a goddess you are looking for, she is right here," my wings flared, my crown sat atop my head. "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Equestria, third Empress of the Crystal Empire."

The honey-colored mare began to cry. Any and all surviving compatriots fled if they were able to do so.

"Don't kill me, I surrender," the mare wept uncontrollably. Several power armor-clad pegasi landed at the mouth of the cave.

"We have wounded! Quickly!" I yelled, I was worried for Rime, Pegasi have major arteries at the base of their wings and can bleed out if we aren't quick enough. A few ponies placed Rime onto a stretcher and flew out of the cave. Spike cracked opened the door.

"Are they gone?" He stuck his head out once again. "Are you Enclave or Applejack's Ranger?"

"Applejack's Rangers," I replied. I flew up to his face and gave his snout a hug. "It's good to see you, Spike. I hope one day you will be able to come visit me up north."

"If you ever come back to Equestria, please visit. It's good to talk to pre-war ponies again."

"I'm sorry I have to leave in such a hurry, but I'm going to make sure those Steel Rangers don't bother you again. What Twilight left behind here is the last of her legacy. Every book in her library is a part of her that lives on through you. She trusted you Spike to guard the GECK. She spared you from the war because she knew you would be important to the next generation. I'll miss you, Spike, if you ever need me contact Fluttershy, she can get ahold of me," I turned gliding down to the ground. I saw a few of the Pegasi trying to dislodge the Steel Rangers from the walls. My horn began to glow as I pulled the ice shards out of the wall, placing them gently on the ground. I heard the large metal door scrape close the sound of locks moving into place. I approached Sheer Cold at the end of the cave.

"Princess, we have recovered six survivors besides the two we subdued before the fight began."

"Will they recover?"

"I'm not sure, some of their injuries are resistant to magical potions. The medical ponies noted that the potion restores their blood levels but causes massive hemorrhaging to continue indefinitely. For now, all we can do is bandage them up as best we can and move them to the Cryonimbus for further treatment."

"What about the rangers who were routed?"

"Lightning Dust took a flight of pegasi to hunt them down."

"I see, please see to it that our prisoners are treated as if they were our own wounded. Please alert me when Chili Pepper awakens, I want to question her. Do the same for the yellow mare. I want her to answer for this unjust attack on my friend."

"Yes, Ma'am," Sheer saluted and walked to other pegasi to relay the information.

I took a deep breath and exited the cave. I saw Captain Sunset waiting for me.

"Good afternoon Princess," she saluted. I returned the courtesy.

"Good afternoon, captain. Strange to see you out here."

"I like to get out in the field every now and again. We got new orders from Stable 29. Fluttershy contacted our elder and he has suspended our current mission. Helping you is our top priority."

"I need to get back to the Crystal Empire. I've been away for far too long."

"Understood, once we get the survivors on board and Lightning Dust returns, we will head north to the Crystal Empire," Sunset entered the cave to help evacuate the wounded rangers. I saw the Cryonimbus in the distance. I took off and flew towards it. It was a good distance away from the mountain. The high-altitude winds made it difficult to fly. I felt the wind blow me off to the side. I flapped harder and harder until I made it to the hangar bay. I collapsed on the floor panting.

"First time flying at high altitude?" one of the power-armored ponies asked me. She stuck out a hoof to me. I obliged her and got up. The mare smiled at me. "I'm quartermaster Fairy Feather. But most ponies call me Fae."

"It's nice to meet you," I panted still trying to catch my breath.

"The power armor the Pegasi wear assists us in flight at high altitude. It gives our wings extra thrust so we can fly through the massive amount of wind shear and the jetstream. Sunset wants to get you a full suit developed but we don't have the facilities to onboard to manufacture you a fitting Alicorn suit. But I did one better. I think power armor is too bulky for your taste Princess," she held out a little black box. "May I?" I nodded and she affixed it to my windbreaker. "Extend your wings please."

"Ok, what is this supposed to-," I felt metal rods insert themselves between my feathers and along the leading edge of my wings. I looked over my shoulder to find that black trim coated my pink wings.

"With this, you should be able to fly more effectively at high altitudes. As an added bonus, the leading edge of your wings can be used as a weapon. Similar to wing blades but they use plasma to cut through enemies. It does have a limit to its use. It does need to recharge now and again. Try it out." Fae took a step back and I extended my wings. "Now swing your body as if your wing was a knife." I followed her instructions and the plasma blades came to life. "They will maintain their form while activated but will shut off after a few seconds."

"Thank you miss Fae. This should come in handy," I smiled at her. "I think it's about time I return to my quarters, it's been a very long day."

"I agree. If you ever need anything fixed let me know," she waved me off and I departed in the opposite direction towards my quarters.

Upon arrival to my quarters, I removed my gear hanging it on the coat rack near the door. Entering the bathroom I fixed myself a warm bath and settled into the water.

In the corner of my eye, I could see Sombra sitting on the toilet. "I never thought I'd catch a view like this," I giggled.

"Is something funny?" he retorted. His head tilted downwards and he jumped to his hooves. I could see a slight blush of embarrassment on his face.

"So the power Umbra has feelings after all," I snickered.

"Just because I was a tyrant in life doesn't mean I didn't have feelings."

"I know, I know. It just feels like your less of the monster I defeated and more of just a regular pony."

"I am just a regular pony for the most part. I used to be a unicorn studying in Canterlot. Magical gems are ancient weapons that I helped develop. I was told that the Crystal Empire had crystals that could magnify magic tenfold what the ones in Equestria could do so I set out for the frozen north. Nothing could have prepared me for that journey. As a young Unicorn, I was taken under Princess Amore's wing and taught everything there was to know about the empire. One of my closest friends was Radiant Hope. We used to spend hours researching crystals together. One day we were out exploring we found a cave that was filled with black crystals. Radiant protest me continuing further and she waited outside."

"Is that what corrupted you and turned you evil?"

"Yes and no. When I went into the cave it showed me my greatest fears, not only that it was my future. Something in the cave corrupted me turning me into a shadow. Dark magic began to pour out of me and only Princess Amore or Radiant Heart could prevent me from turning completely. One day the dark magic overwhelmed me and I began to grow mad. I tried to escape but I lost control shattering Princess Amore's body. Once I was fully consumed by darkness I ruled the Crystal Empire as a dictator. Radiant Hope never abandoned me. She was the only pony who could push back the darkness even if it was for a little bit. I found out she was writing to Celestia and Luna I felt somewhat betrayed. They stormed my castle and the rest is history. Then after 1000 years, I reappeared and the Crystal Heart returned my sanity. Here we are today. If only Celestia and Luna could see it now. Worse off than when I was around..." Sombra hung his head. "As king, I failed. Darkness consumed me and thus I brought darkness upon the empire.

"You know I met Radiant Hope after your return. She worked as my aide. She never married and she always spoke about reunited with her special somepony. You're a lucky pony Sombra, I'm not sure what happened to her after the castle was hit. I know she had a Stable slot, key personnel did."

"Do you think she may still be alive?"

"It's possible, I mean I am alive and not a day older from when I left Equestria behind. Even though we are in the same place, I feel a million miles away," I solemnly sighed and got out of the tub. Sombra began to fade away.

"Maybe this time we will get things right."

Footnote: Level Up.
Perk added: Dark Magician (Level 2): Dark magic is second nature to you. You gain less fatigue when using large quantities of it and you recover a bit faster.