Fallout Equestria: Crystal Reborn

“Did you… Did you just invite me to monologue?”

I had been up for a while. I've been staring out my window for the past few hours. I have a lot of work to do when I get back. The Crystal Empire needs to be reclaimed and I need to find the Crystal Heart. That's my number one priority. I think its time to get breakfast. I walked out of my room into the gray hallway. Pegasi passed by on their way to their stations, occasionally one would greet me but eventually, I found my way to the mess hall. A small stack of pancakes with syrup was plopped onto my tray and I sat down at a table in the corner of the room. I'm going to miss pancakes when I return to the Crystal Empire.

"Princess may we sit with you?" a group of young pegasi approached me.

"Sure, I'm not off limits by any means."

Eating my breakfast these young Pegasi endlessly questioned me. They wanted to know about pre-war Equestria. I wouldn't blame them. They grew up learning about the bright and sunny Equestria of old. Many of the Pegasi asked me about pre-war clothing. I told them about my assortment of dresses and different saddle styles. The concept of show saddles was foreign to them. They only knew of the saddles meant to hold heavy weapons. I questioned them a bit about Pegasi's life during the Enclave but for the most part, they were young when the Enclave split so they didn't know anything outside what they were told. An hour passed by the time we finished eating. It's been so long since I've been able to have a casual conversation where I enjoy myself to this extent. As we were about to part ways I stopped one of the young Pegasi.

"Do you happen to know where the detention block is?" I asked.

"Sure, I can show you," the young mare guided me through the maze of hallways and corridors. After traversing the final set of stairs we made it to the detention center. "Here you are, princess. I hope we can talk more again soon." The young mare turned around and went back the way she through the doorway at the top of the stairs.

"Good Morning Princess Cadance. What brings you here?" the security pony asked.

"I wish to talk to the one leading the assault on the cave yesterday."

"Right this way ma'am," the security pony walked me to one of the small cells containing the honey-colored mare. She was downcast, her head lowered and avoided eye contact with us.

"Please unlock the door I wish to go inside."

"Are you sure? I can not guarantee your safety if you do."

"I doubt she will pose a threat," the security pony passed me and unlocked the door opening it. I entered the cell sitting in front of her. "Please leave us."

"Yes, ma'am," the security pony returned to the entrance and I stared at the mare.

"Are you doing ok?" I asked. She didn't respond to me. I think I have an idea to get her to talk to me. I sat behind her and began to put her mane up into her tight bun.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing. A mare should look somewhat presentable if possible."

"They took my bands to bind my mane up, so, I'm sorry I wasn't presentable."

"That's not what I meant... I'm trying to say you're pretty," she turned her head to look at me.

"You certainly have strange interrogation techniques."

"I never said this was an interrogation," I stated. I wrapped a small band tightening her bun as best as I could.

"Why did you use your hooves instead of your magic?"

"I wasn't always a unicorn. I used to wear my mane in a ponytail all the time. Even with magic, it's not that easy. It takes more concentration just to do the bun than it would to do it by hoof."

"When did you get turned into an Alicorn?"

"Celestia transformed me into an Alicorn I'd say the year, 993."

"993? How old are you?"

"Too old to be honest."

"You're a pre-war Alicorn? One of the three Mythical Mares?"

"Mythical Mares?"

"Yes, growing up in the Steel Rangers, they teach us about the Mythical Mares. They led old Equestria and were responsible for its downfall. Celestia and Luna were the leaders of Equestria and lots of data are preserved about their reign. Data is incomplete on a third one and they consider it lost as she only appeared twice in our data logs as the Princess of Love."

"That was the title I was bestowed when I earned my horn and immortality. When I got my cutie mark I used to try to settle the difference between lovers who used to fight and try to give dating advice. Who knew it would be my special talent," I chuckled.

"For the Steel Rangers, our cutie mark doesn't matter. You're either a knight or scribe. I wasn't so good at books so I became a knight. I was a Paladin with the Van Hoover Contingent. All that is left of our contingent are the handle full of scribes and the elder back home."

"Why did you attack the cave? Spike... I mean the dragon would have killed you regardless."

"We wanted the knowledge inside. The Gardens of Equestria Creation Kit brought plants, dispelled radiation, and brought some normalcy to Central Equestria. However, the fringes of what used to be Equestria's border cities remained an inhospitable wasteland. But the GECK is a megaspell. It can be easily turned against Equestria and our elder wanted to secure it before it fell into the hands of the bad ponies. I didn't want to hurt the dragon living there and just wanted him to leave. If we had to fight him we would have suffered considerable losses but you wiped out almost all of us in a matter of minutes. I just want to make Equestria a safer place for the future."

"Why not join the NCR?"

"The NCR?" the mare looked puzzled. "We never had run-ins with them. The Van Hoover Wastes are outside their territory. We have very limited communication with other contingents but they were marked as an enemy by the Fillydelphia and Balitmare Contingent."

"If we gave you the opportunity would you join Applejack's Rangers?" I moved to face her.

"I'm not sure. There is a small contingent of Applejack's Rangers in Van Hoover but they stick to the large settlements and leave us alone so I don't know much about them."

"What is your name by the way. We've been talking all this time and I don't think I asked. That's rude of me."

"My name is Honey Butter."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Honey Butter, my name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But my friends call me Cadance."

"I wish it was under different circumstances. I guess we didn't meet under the best of circumstances."

"How about this. Instead of joining up with an Applejack's Rangers contingent, why not form one in the Crystal Empire?" I asked, ponies with combat skills like them would be invaluable.

"I guess I can't go back home anyway, so, what the heck. Do you know if there are any Steel Rangers in the Crystal Empire?" Honey asked.

I shook my head, "Not that I'm aware of. We had Steel Rangers up north during the war. All I found were some remains of Steel Rangers in the Crystal Mall."

"That's a start. We can recover the armor and restore them to working condition, do you know how many of my troops survived."

"No, I don't. But I don't think many will live. Dark magic when weaponized eats away at a pony's flesh and soul. I hit them giant ice icicles conjured from dark magic. I suspect the ones who don't die from their injuries will die from magical necrosis."

"Magical necrosis?"

"Dark magic when used consumes life force. To an immortal Alicorn, this isn't an issue as our life span is infinite. If a regular unicorn were to cast a spell it could drastically shorten their life span."

"That's pretty scary."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Failing to save Equestria," I said solemnly. I stood up and proceeded to leave.

"Wait!" Honey shouted. "You failed once, that doesn't mean the fight is over."

"The fight is over when I end up like my aunts. We should arrive in the Crystal Empire late tomorrow. If you really want to make Equestria a safer place help me restore peace and harmony for the next generation."

"I believe in ponies princess. I believe there is good even in raiders. I believe the world can change. If one pony could bring down the Enclave and break the cloud ceiling in the same day, I think there is hope for Equestria." I smiled at Honey and exited the cell. I left the detention block and proceeded to make my way to the bridge. After about 10 minutes of traversing stairs and corridors, I eventually made it to the glass bridge of the Cryonimbus.

"Good Afternoon Princess Cadance," Sunset smiled at me.

"Good Afternoon," I replied back looking out the windshield. It was a clear day. I could see the grey and brown scorched earth below. Carts littered the highways and occasionally were followed by dilapidated buildings.

"Sad isn't it. So much of Equestria burned in magical balefire. It doesn't matter how many GECKs we find only time will heal Equestria's wounds," Sunset stood next to me. The glass floor felt surreal as if I have died and went on to the afterlife.

"It hurts my heart to see Equestria this way..." I sighed.

"Princess, the GECK brought green fertile life back to Equestria. It's amazing that the ponies from your time had the foresight to prepare something as powerful as that. While it wasn't strong enough to cover all of Equestria it was even strong enough to tame the Everfree Forrest. I am one of the few survivors of Operation Cauterize..." Sunset sat in her captain's chair and leaned into it. "Almost every Enclave Officer was found guilty of war crimes and was either killed or imprisoned. I was one of the lucky few. When my unit was captured Ministry Mare Fluttershy intervened and pardoned us. She believed our story... After that, I and the remaining crew formed the Knights of Awesome 10 years ago."

"Why are you not the leader?"

"They still don't fully trust the Pegasi. Why would they? We only descended from our cloud haven to obliterate Canterlot and every living thing down here. More and More Pegasi cities are succeeding from the Enclave and because the NCR isn't able to operate up here we have to. Only Pegasi can walk on clouds."

"I know that the Ministry of Arcane Science produced cloud walking talismans in limited quantity."

"Yes well, there were very few of them. I met a few unicorns. One of them was even a sitting member of the Enclave," Sunset sat up. "You know, maybe if you were there when the Enclave formed, we would have been a kinder bunch..."

"Auntie Celestia used to tell me this proverb all the time when I was a filly. 'Be kind to everypony, kindness shows everypony you have their hearts in your mind. Ponies who do not keep kindness in their hearts will be swallowed by it.' Means more now than it did back then," I turned around and faced her.

"Kindness swallowed the Enclave. The Stable Dweller made sure of that."

"Stable Dweller?"

"She is the one who brought down the Enclave. In Equestria, there is no cloud cover. I'm not sure what happened but after that day the cloud factories shut off. We lost control of the weather over all of Equestria. It was just another blow to the dwindling power of the Enclave. With our cities exposed many Pegasi abandoned them for the surface forming the city of New Cloudsdale. I've never been to New Cloudsdale but it supposedly near where the old one once stood."

"What happened to Cloudsdale?"

"You don't know?" Sunset looked at me confused.

"I was pushed into a Stable when the alarms when off. Honestly, I'm not sure what remains in Equestria."

"It was completely obliterated. It took a direct hit..." Sunset grew solemn. "After that, the Pegasi abandoned Equestria blanketing the country with a thick layer of clouds. And Equestria ceased to exist."

"How awful. I was holding the shield around the Crystal Empire. I remember the thick clouds start to roll in and I thought it was the Pegasi blocking artillery spotting."

"Ministry Mare Rainbow Dash originally joined them at first but left for the surface. Thus back then we call all Pegasi traitors Dashites and banish them to the surface. We branded off their cutie marks and put hers. Lightning Dust's mother was a Dashite. Never saw her again after they threw her down below the clouds."

"That's cruel. I'm glad that government was dissolved."

"There are remnants and holdouts like the ones that captured you. It's safe to assume the cities over the Crystal Empire didn't get the memo and all the fleeing officials gather there," Sunset took off her hat hanging on the corner of her chair. She sat staring blankly out the window. "I don't understand how some ponies have the will to keep on fighting for a lost cause. Out of the 10 cloud cities over Equestria seven lay abandoned and the rest are in Enclave control."

"I guess it's just another thing to worry about. What will you do once you've dropped me off?" I sat next to Sunset.

"Wait for orders, probably assist your ponies in any way possible. See there, it's a cloud generator, the Enclave will place them throughout the sky to widen their cloud cover as far as possible. Prepare to fire the main guns," Sunset stood up. I looked out and saw a strange metallic object glowing a deep yellow. "Fire!" the sounds of magical artillery cannons shook the airship. Two large colorful explosions broke apart the clouds leaving a circular gap in the cloud layer.

"Was that necessary? Seems to be a little overkill for a small box."

"Those boxes are enchanted with a shield talisman, nothing short of plastic explosive will destroy it. It's just easier this way," Sunset sat back in her chair, "Take us below the clouds, I don't want the Remnants to find us."

"I'll leave you to it Sunset," I smiled at her.

"See you at chow."

I headed for the door. Upon leaving the bridge I thought I'd stop to see Rime Ice in the infirmary. Heading down several narrow corridors I entered the small infirmary. There were six beds with three on each side. I saw three of the beds had wounded Steel Rangers. Hooked up to machines. I walked up to them and examined their wounds.

"Can I help you, Princess?" a pegasus nurse in a white robe wearing medical saddlebags approached me.

"How are the Steel Rangers?"

"Not good, two of them passed away last night. Whatever you did to them can not be cured by any medicine we have on the ship. Either they recover or die. So far their blight is less than their friends but it can take a turn for the worse at any time."

"How about Rime Ice?"

"What about me?" Rime sat up in her bed.

"Please Miss Ice you must lay down and rest. That bullet hit part of your spine, you can't keep moving around," the nurse protested.

"I'm just fine, it is but a flesh wound," Rime chuckled. Where have I heard that line before?

"I'm glad you're ok Rime, it could have been much worse."

"Worse than sitting in a bed all day?"

"Yes, my husband Shining Armor was given cybernetics. His body sustained a lot of damage after the megaspell dropped. Once he was brought into the Stable emergency surgery was done on him and he was placed into a cryopod to heal. Next thing I knew I was awake and he was being taken, then I fell back asleep and then I woke up alone. Well, there was Starlight but in a Stable of a few hundred ponies, two survivors is pretty scary."

"I can't imagine being in a prewar stable. Any of the Stables in the mountains were long gone before I was born."

"Honestly, I just hope other Stables survived. Equestria's hope was put into those shelters."

"The Pegasi coward in the sky while Equestria burned." Rime laid back. "I've always had a hatred for the Enclave. I'll never forgive what they did to me," Rime's face grew angry.

"What did they do?" I asked.

"Take a look," Rime toss the bedsheets off her. "Look at my cutie mark. I stared down at her flank. There was a burn mark in the shape of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. "They burned my cutie mark off my flank and branded me as a Dashite. They then threw me off a cloud with my wings tied. I got lucky... I survived the fall. I managed to get my wings loose and glide to the roof of a skyscraper. I hid in Tenpony Tower, working security and maintenance until I was able to earn my citizenship. Once the Enclave invaded, I hid deep within the tower. Once they were defeated I heard of a group calling themselves Applejack's Rangers. It was a struggle earning their trust and once more Pegasi joined the fold. They split us into our own sub-contingent since we are the only ones able to operate Raptors and other airships."

"Dashites are a touchy subject. During Operation Cauterize Dashites were hunted down and killed. Only a handful survived," the nurse added, Rime laid back closing her eyes.

"Cauterize was a spectacular failure," Lightning Dust walked into the room.

"I wasn't old enough to serve in a combat capacity but a few high performing cadets were sent out on the airships. I was in my second year of studies and I was assigned to shadow the bridge officers of Raptor Deep Mist," Lightning sat down on the empty bed next to Rime. "Deep Mist was assigned to wipe out Canterlot. I remember breaking through the cloud layer into a darkend landscape. From what I knew were to take control of Canterlot and establish ourselves there. The Pink Mist was something we could not prepare for."

"From what I heard is you blew the city clean off the mountain," Rime closed her eyes.

"Well yes, several scouting parties were sent prior to our arrival and we received a distress call from the team, the inhabitants of the city were undead. Not just like the normal ghouls you see now. You could shoot them and they would get back up and fight as if you never had shot them. Only five survived the expedition. Their armor fused to their fur and no amount of surgery was able to save their from their plight. They died of dehydration and starvation since their helmets fused to their heads. Canterlot was a place in where no pony could live. It was safer just to have it destroyed."

"To bad the Canterlot ghouls don't agree with you," Rime chimed. "Those ghouls still wander around the mountain and even in the remains of Zebratown. The city may be gone but the cloud still remains in some areas. The only thing left of the city is two towers that built into the side of the cliff. The tattered flag of the old world still flies over the towers."

"I remember when I first joined with Applejack's Rangers. My first task was to clear out some of those Canterlot ghouls. They aren't as tough if they are outside the cloud. Without the cloud, they are just a normal ghoul."

"I can't even imagine one million ponies were zombified instantly. They couldn't even die..." I felt sad. Ponies living forever without even knowing it. Finding no rest.

"Some of the ghouls are still sentient. Ditzy Doo owns a massive trade caravan and she supposedly is from before the war," Rime stated. "Not all of them are the same."

"I know, I met one. His name was Flash Sentry. Captain of my guard. He was guarding the castle armory for over 200 years. He was almost completely blind and suffered alone in the dark. It hurt me so bad when he asked me to kill him."

"I'm sorry Princess, that must be hard. You're a living relic of the old world and it must be hard to not get closure for your friends."

I didn't respond. I continued to make small talk for a bit longer before I left for the cafeteria with Lightning Dust. A few ponies joined us at our table. They asked more and more about the pre-war Equestria.

"Princess, what were your days like before the war?" one of the young officers asked.

"Before or after I ruled the Crystal Empire?"

"Before and after," she responded.

"Well, my days were pretty pampered. I studied magic at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Then when I graduated, Celestia sent me overseas as an ambassador to establish relations. When I returned after two years I lived rather comfortably. I made state appearances, practiced magic, and read books for the most part. I even met the love of my life at the time, Shining Armor."

"You got married?"

"Yes, Shining Armor and I were married a few years before the war broke out. That wedding was crazy. I was captured by one of the Changling Queens and she took my place. Twilight and her friends had to rescue me and save the day like always."

"You knew the Ministry Mares?" another pony asked.

"Yes I did, I was Twilight's foalsitter. After that the Crystal Empire reappeared and Sombra was banished I tried to get the Crystal ponies back on track. They were cursed for a 1000 years and technology and life had drastically changed for them. But the war came the year after and we had to increase our crystal export to Equestria to make weapons."

"Wow, life before the war must have been nice."

"I wish I could have lived back then."

"Then the bombs would have killed you, dummy."

The ponies continue to chat and argue amongst themselves about pre-war life. I dismissed myself after finishing and went back to my room to settle in for the night. I took what probably was going to be my last bath for a while and brushed out my coat. I looked down at my PipMare. I wondered when I used it last. I almost forgot it was there. I chucked to myself before laying down in the soft bed. It was pitch black outside. The sun had already set but it was pitch black below the clouds. I couldn't see the ground or the cloud layer above.

"This is only the beginning," a mysterious voice said. I saw a mysterious pony in a coat and hat out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face her and but nothing was there. I opened the door of my room and the hallway was empty. No hoof steps to be heard trotting down the hallway.

"Am I hallucinating? Sombra did you see that?" I got no response. "Cadenza?" I heard nothing back. Maybe I saw something that wasn't there. I went back inside dimming the lights. I laid in the soft cloud bed and drifted to sleep.

I couldn't shake the voice I heard... "The beginning of what?" I muttered.

Footnote: Perk Aquired.
Perk added: Mysterious Stranger: A mysterious Mare-Do-Well watches over you as your guardian angel. She may be of assistance in the future.