Fallout: Equestria - Wings of Justice

By StarBlitz

Prologue - And So It Begins

“Goodbye…”

The rain gently shushed the land as it poured from the skies, drumming on various surfaces and collecting in puddles here and there. I liked it, the rain, it was calming, soothing and always sent a gentle shiver up my spine. I sat on my window ledge, half of me poking out and half inside. I wasn't particularly bothered if I got a bit wet, but for the most part, I was covered by the part of the roof that jutted out just over my window. It was a typical day here; wet and grey. I was used to it by now, but I always loved the rain. I could never fathom why anyone would want constant, glaring heat from the deadly, irradiating orb of doom in the sky all day long, that would be way too warm. Especially for griffons, who are covered in layers of feathers.

I lived with my parents, in our rather spacious two-floor house. Mum was home occasionally, but dad was always away at the Ministry of Awesome; he was a weapons designer from what I had heard. I thought that was a bit odd at first, as the Ministry of Wartime Technology was supposed to be the one behind weapons technology and not the MoA, but I realised later that the MoA wasn't just the useless ministry that ‘did fuck all’ as I had heard somepony on a radio broadcast. They were actually, as the name suggested; awesome. My mum occupied a similar post alongside my father, helping with paperwork and design testing and eventual implementation.

I looked behind me to see my mum at my door, smiling like she always did; “Hey sweetie, how's it going?”

I smiled back, as much as one with a beak could, “It's fine mum, I'm not gonna die or anything” I replied, rolling my eyes. It was just a sniffle, not even a col- Achoo! Oh, well now you show your ugly face? She gave a little giggle as she came over; yes, a ‘giggle’. For a griffin she was certainly very… excitable. She gave me a hug, and I hugged back. Her soft, neat feathers felt comforting as she embraced me, or was that just a ‘mum feeling’ thing? She let go after a second, running a talon through the feathers on my head, then she got up to leave.

“I've gotta get to work, Red. I'll see you later, yeah?” I nodded in response, “Yeah, see you later mum.”

She smiled again as she walked out, calling back “Love you!”

“Love you too mum!”

I watched her leave, flying off from the front door. And then I was alone again, as I was most days.

I closed my eyes to listen to the world as I sat there. I heard rain, pattering away at anything it could, the wind gently rustling the trees. Calm, silent. Peaceful. I allowed a smile to creep onto my face as I relaxed, I even gave a yawn. I knew nothing else would happen today, so after a quiet moment of listening to the sounds of nature, I let myself drift off to sleep.

-----====~~~====-----

“Krrzzt- Watcher Recon, this is Watcher Actual. Call in, I repeat; call in, over.”

“Krrzt- Watcher Recon, do you copy? Call in, I repeat; call in. If you do not respond I will have to initiate a Code 14… Recon, respond damnit!”

-----====~~~====-----

I was unceremoniously jerked awake by a noise that startled me, it sounded like an engine. But it's source was from above, suggesting… A sky chariot?

While on one hand wondering why the hay a chariot had an engine, I also wondered why it was even here as it flew overhead. It landed a distance from the house and deposited two ponies and… Was that a zebra? And they weren't killing him brutally? Woah, progress! Instead, the group walked away out of sight. I was suspicious but chose to stay put and observe.

I reached behind me with a hind paw for a talisman that sat on a table by the window, pulling it over to grab it with my claws. I depressed the round button that dominated the top of it and set it back, it was a signal device and I had just called mum. It was never normal for anyone but us or Ministry of Awesome officials to be around here. Particularly because it was one of many restricted areas, on order of the MoA to protect their staff and families. The only time someone was here who didn't match the normal roster was a hiker who was lost.

-----====~~~====-----

“Krrzt- Watcher Actual, this is Recon. We are under attack, I repeat, we a- Is anyone even listening? Can anyone hear this? We are under attack! We need support, help us! Watcher Act- Aarg- Krrzt!”

“Krrzt- Watcher Striker, this is Watcher Actual. Recon has gone non-responsive, I repeat; non-responsive. Investigate their last known coordinates, sector 5F. Find out what in Tartarus is happening, over.”

-----====~~~====-----

The talisman glowed a gentle blue as it received the reply signal from its twin. My gaze lingered on the place I last saw them before I stood up and went downstairs. I was a hungry catbird!

I opened the fridge door with a wing and stood on my hind legs to reach the top shelf, which contained… Nothing of interest, ah well. I then proceeded to rifle through the cupboards until I emerged with a tin of Cram. Eh, it'd do. I pried it open with my claws and scooped the whole thing into my mouth, tossing the tin into the bin. I leaned against the wall by the window, still upright on two legs, and peered out. Hrm, nothing to see. Good.

I made my way back up to my room, lazily flapping upstairs and then plopping down onto my bed. I finished off the Cram by gulping what remained in my mouth down. Mmm, Crammey.

I was bored, once again. What do you do when alone in the house, lying on the bed? Mastu- er, maybe not. Sleep? Not tired anymore. Go outside? Not until I was certain that whoever those people were that arrived on the chariot were gone.

“Ugh, why can't things be less boring...” I asked no one in particular. I was certainly not expecting anyone to answer.

“Then the other parts of life wouldn't be as exciting.”

I almost shit myself, I jumped up off the bed about an inch and subsequently scrambled back against the bed rest.

“Who's there?”

I looked all around, seeing nobody the voice could have originated from. I didn't think it was an elaborate trick, so where the hay was the asshole who was harassing me with the disembodied voice? Then it hit me, if I saw a zebra out there with those others from the sky chariot, he might have a zebra stealth cloak. But how'd he get in? All the doors and windows were closed, and my window had nothing beneath it to climb up on. I glared around the room, eyes settling on an area of slight distortion and I kept my eyes locked there.

“I know you're there, t-take off the cloak.”

I was greeted by the zebra from the chariot, and as he pulled the cloak back I saw more. He had Starkatteri stripes, and if that wasn't enough, he bore the celestial markings upon his face. One of the only zebra tribes I knew about, dad sometimes talked about them. When he was home, of course, so I never really heard a lot about them. But I knew how to spot one. What else he bore on his face, was a grin.

“Hello there, little griffon. Are you all alone? It's dangerous to be on your own, a creepy zebra might sneak in...”

I was thoroughly creeped out by him, his accent was thick Zebra but bore the pronunciation of a Royal Guardsman. Also, it was annoying as all hell.

“What do you want from me?”

I slowly slipped off the bed and observed that the Zebra had no obvious weapons. I wanted to go for the Arcane Beam pistol I possessed in my closet (for emergencies, obviously), but he was between me and the closet, so it was out of the equation. I could fight with talons, but he probably had specialised combat training. I was also much younger than him and therefore wasn't as strong. The summary of my situation: Oh fuck. I stood there, at a loss.

He continued as he observed me standing there; “Yes, to contradict part of my last statement; you are very large for your age. How do I put it… Unnaturally large, I suppose? I don't believe that is quite… Normal for griffons, yes? Possibly a genetic defect?”

Great, he was catching on, but being a dick about it. Perfect.

I snorted and raised an eyebrow, “So? I'm tall, is that unnatural?” He only smiled, he needed to stop that. I was going to widen it right to his ears if he didn't stop, with force.

I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him my best glare, or what could be described as a ‘shooty’ look. He merely kept smiling, then he said something very unsettling.

“I need to know something. Tell me what your parents are working on, Red.”

The mention of my name, even though it was just my "codename" so to speak, widened my eyes. Being asked what my parents were working on was not good either.

From the comics I had read, this was usually the bit where the villain tried to pry information from the defenceless victim. If he was the villain, what was the information? Today was just getting better and better, first the cold I had, and now a house invasion?! To hell with whoever decides fate! Screw you stars!

“How do you know my name, and why do you want to know about my parents?”

My voice was stronger now, I was pissed. Again, he annoyed the heck out of me with his Luna damned smile! Cut. It. Out.

“I know a lot of things about you, Red. And your parents. I need to know about the Project they are working on.”

Project? I voiced my confusion.

“What project? I didn't know about any projects. And you didn't answer my question, why do you want to know this stuff?”

His expression changed, a lot more serious now. “Tell me, boy. My patience is wearing thin. You should know, you must be a product of the damned project. I've never known a griffon to look anything like you, neither so as tall as you at such a young age.”

I growled at him, glaring at his now serious face.

“Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you anything, so go ahead and throw your patience out the window!”

He glared at me, hissing: “Your parents are working on a top secret Project, we need to know about it! And if you don't tell me, I will force it out of you.”

I rolled my eyes. If it was 'top secret' that meant they weren't meant to know about it. So maybe if they weren't meant to know, I wouldn't know. I wasn't involved with it, so why and how should I have known? Right…?

I decided insults were good; “Shove the North Star up your ass, satelliteface!”

Wait, does that count as Starkatteri pornography? Okay, now that would be interesting, to say the least.

Ooh, that did it; he lunged at me, but I was faster. I soared out of the bedroom and down the stairs on my wings like a bullet, then shot out the front door after kicking down on the handle.

I didn't get any further, as I gloriously smashed into one of the other ponies from the sky chariot. He pinned me to the ground beneath his hooves, grimacing at the effort.

At least he was nice about it; “Hey man, easy does it! I'm not gonna hurt you, alright? We just want to ask some questions, uh-huh?”

His friend wasn't so nice: “Shut the fuck up and drag his sorry feathered ass inside, I'm sick of waiting. Do it! The faster we get this done, the faster I get my fuckin’ pay.”

I was helped up by the nicer one, who was an earth pony with a blue coat and purple mane.

“Don't forget my Luna-damned pay, you plonker… Sorry ‘bout him, he's a bloody nutcase. Come on, and sorry about our striped friend too. He's erm... Unnerving.”

I liked this guy but I was also suspicious of his friendly demeanour and I would have been a lot more relaxed if his ‘nutcase’ friend didn't have a sidearm floating by his side; an IF-18 “Horseshoe” revolver if I remembered correctly.

I followed the earth pony in as the red unicorn trailed behind with his pistol, grumbling about how griffons were only good roasted. To be fair, roasted griffon was quite good, I only realised it was griffon meat after I had eaten it. Does that mean I'm a cannibal? Yay...

The zebra trudged out past us, glaring at me as he passed, probably going to keep watch. He draped his stealth cloak over himself and disappeared from view as he stepped outside. I hoped my parents would be here soon, this was way too surreal. Things like this only happened in comics or stories, right?

-----====~~~====-----

“Actual, this is Vanguard Two-Kilo-Theta. Striker is in position, no signs of Recon at all. It's like they didn't even show up, did they clock in at 0800? Over.”

“Affirmative, Recon clocked in at 0800. Continue search, over.”

“Sh- Shit! Actual, Recon has been found, I repeat; Recon has been found, they're all fucking dead! Sparks, get over and check them. See what you can find out. Striker squad, hold perimeter here, keep a lookout. Actual, Recon has been taken out, I repeat, Recon is down. Wh- What?! What is that? Over there. No tha- Soldier! Shit! Actual, we require support. We are under attack, taking heavy casualties and require supp- Aargh! Krrzzt!”

-----====~~~====-----

Nutcase at least took the liberty to put me in a seat before he bombarded me with questions. Wh… Who? What? What the hell was a Mark Four Whab... Wh... Was he even saying it correctly? Who was Golden… Goldenbutt? Oh, wait, Goldenblood. What about the Ministry of Awesome?

I decided to try and end this crazy onslaught of questions before I was overwhelmed by them; “Hey, I honestly don't know what you're talking about. And you're speaking about twelve times too fast for me t-”

He shoved the gun in my beak, daring me to try and make any other move. His eyes were almost literally on fire and he had a killer’s look in those fiery orbs that was focused on me. I decided it was shutting up time, and did so. I mean, what else could I do?

He went to continue before he was interrupted by a sharp krazzk! A streak of blue arcane energy grazed the unicorn’s cheek and he stumbled back in surprise.

I saw my mother in the doorway an- Sweet Celestia, did she look badass with that Arcane rifle, I didn’t know she was this amazing! I kicked him in the face, flapping hard and backflipping onto the floor behind the chair I had been in.

Mum yelled as she charged at the Unicorn; “Get your gun, Red!”

I sped up the stairs, into my room and to the closet. I wrenched the door open but was grabbed from behind and tossed across the room.

Dazed, I shook my head and gazed at my opponent. The earth pony had a determined look on his face and spoke: “Look, little guy, I don’t wanna hurt’cha. But if you make it difficult, I’ll have to. It’s nothing personal, yeah? Ju- Yeeowch!”

I had recovered and planted a double-paw kick on his undercarriage with my claws out as I slid beneath him. I felt something splash me in the fac- Okay then, let's ignore the questionable liquid on my beak...

He felt that, definitely. Unless he was just cursing because he wanted to. “Sorry, nothing personal.”

I decided I didn't need the gun, for now, going close range with my talons. I covered one of his eyes with my arm and dug my talons into his other. He yelled, running out the door and slamming into the wall outside the bedroom. I clung on to him tightly, as I prepared my other claw to punch him. Then he fell down the stairs, sending me flying. I skidded to a halt after stabilising my flight and turned to face him as he pushed himself off the ground.

Mum spiralled across the room, trying to dodge revolver fire and taking wild shots. The unicorn, now depleted of ammo, then tried hurling anything he could at her with his magic: a chair, fruit from the table, plates from the table, the table mat, the table. She just kicked them away or dodged, blasting at him with shots from her rifle.

I lunged out of the way of the earth pony as he charged at me, and he smacked his head into a chair, another chair, and a conveniently placed upturned table. I grabbed something heavy to hit him with but was, myself, hit over the head with a chair enveloped in unicorn magic. I faceplanted, as a result, allowing the earth pony to pin me.

I heard a frenzied yell and then a grinding, sparking noise. I stole a glimpse of my mother repeatedly and violently smashing the unicorn over the head with the butt of her rifle. Ah, the consequences of injuring someone's child while their mother is watching. Certain death.

I then realised something as I saw a shimmer behind her and yelled; “Mum! Behind you!” Too late. The zebra nailed her in the back with the edge of a hoof and held her down, his cloak falling to the ground. The unicorn held his bleeding and sparking horn, rocking back and forth; whimpering. What a wuss.

My mum didn't struggle, surprisingly, but instead said: “Red, I want you to hide somewhere no one can see you or hurt you, and stay there. Please.”

I stuttered a response, “I-I uh, yeah? I mean, yeah?”

She nodded at me, smiling, then yelled; “Need some husband support!” On cue, lances of red streaked across the room. The earth pony turned to dust, allowing me to scramble away from his vaporised form. The zebra managed to leap out of the way of the rifle shots though and regained his balance shortly after.

I then saw my father. I'll tell you three things about him. One, he's a badass. Two, he is badass. And three, I was pretty sure he sometimes played Go Fish with himself. He stood at the door, clad in dark green power armour; an Arcane repeater mounted by his right side and an automatic shotgun on his left. Of course, I was diving for the zebra cloak and wasn't paying too much attention to him. But he was noticeable, definitely. I pulled the cloak over me and subsequently threw it away with a groan as I realised it wouldn't work unless the zebra was using it. Stupid enchantments. I tried to think, where could I hide? Ah, the storage room! I stayed low and quiet as I sneaked round to the hidden room by the stairs, it wasn't obvious as a room due to the door being a section of wall that slid across to admit entry. I slipped inside, sliding the wall back but leaving a tiny crack to watch. Dad was in close-quarters with the zebra, mum was stomping the unicorn’s face in. This might all go alright, we were going to win!

But then things changed.

Shots rained through the windows from outside, dad quickly rushing to shelter mum from the storm of lead. A grenade arced into the room and exploded with a blinding flash and a deafening bang, I wonder why it was called a "Flashbang"... I quickly looked away and tried to cover my ears, but it was too late for my hearing. I was deafened by the bang and was reduced to watching the ensuing fight. As I looked back, I saw the zebra escape through the door, but the unicorn was perforated where he sat in his disoriented state.

My parents seemed dazed, as was I, but my father stood and pulled my mother up with him. The armour seemed to have somewhat protected him from the flashbang, as he looked ready to fight back. My mum was still recovering and stood back from him.

The windows that weren't already smashed became so as a black armour-clad team of ponies entered the house. Hang on, my parents worked for ponies, so who were these ponies and how did they get into MoA protected land?

Machinegun fire rained down on my father from the ponies' battle saddles, his own weapons fired as he struggled against the tide of bullets, but even power armour was no match for six ponies wielding light machine guns. The bullets pierced through the armour, blood flowed from the bullet wounds as he fell to the ground, his guns still firing for a moment more as his beak clutched the firing bit. I held back a sob as I watched him fall, my mother, who had finally recovered, lost all will to fight on and fell by his side with cries of "No!".

One of the ponies advanced towards her, pulling a combat knife from his barding. Mum told me not to come out, but I had to do something!

I pushed the door aside and ran as fast as I could, but wasn't fast enough to stop him from stabbing her in the back. She cried out as I leapt upon the pony's back, I scratched at his face and tried to gouge his eyes, but he tossed me off against the wall. His comrades went to move but decided he had it covered. He pinned me to the wall, lowering his machine gun barrel to point at me, but he made a grave mistake. His pin loosened as he lowered himself, allowing me to twist away before my head was blown inside-out by a 5.56mm and grab the sidearm from his leg holster. I shot at another pony who was now focusing on me, managing to make him stumble with a shot to the neck and lose his bead on me, but was bucked aside by the pony I stole the sidearm from.

As he approached, he growled and took hold of his firing bit, so I shot him in the face. He fell with a grunt, then was still, which gave me a chance to go for another pony. But it was too late and I was grappled to the floor, the IF-21 skidding away from me. The pony stomped his hoof down on my face, I cried out in pain as he pummelled the life out of me. Through the pain, I heard the weak but determined voice of my mother say; "Get the fuck off my child, dirtlicker." followed by a Krrak!

I groaned in relief as the abuse to my head was halted, the offending pony fell to the ground with a nasty hole right through his side from the laser rifle. The other ponies came over and pinned me and my mother down, preparing their weapons. I closed my eyes. This was it, this was the end. Let it be quick...

-----====~~~====-----

“Watcher Platoon, respond. Watcher? Watcher! Damnit, why are you always off the comms?! Where is the security in sector F? Are you even there?! Right, that's it. I'm coming down there myself. Hang in there you guys...”

-----====~~~====-----

Everything went in slow motion then, I heard the click of the battle saddle mechanism triggering and moving to pull the trigger. But then, I heard the rapid-fire sound of an arcane repeater and when I opened my eyes, the pony that was about to end me was gone. Reduced to a pile of still-glowing ash, as was another pony. I saw a blur of cyan tackle another pony and a crack ensued, the final pony fired at the blur but was unsuccessful in preventing his own demise at the hooves of the pony. I thanked them mentally but was focused on pulling myself over to my mother.

She was alive! But only barely...

She saw my face half covered in blood, which not even I had noticed until she motioned to it, and weakly said; “Y-you're hurt, s-sweetie…”

I pressed my head against the side of her neck, sobbing, a weak talon stroked my head.

“Red… No, K-Kazuhiro… I want you to know… We love you, and wi-”

She coughed blood, taking a moment before she went on: “We will always love you… Kazu… Take th- this…”

She tugged off her necklace, a gold chain with a beautiful diamond shaped ruby pendant; little glowing lights seemed to dance within it. I held my talon out and she placed in my open claws, I held it tight along with her talon as she smiled weakly at me.

“I don't wanna be alone, mum… I d-don't want you to go. I want dad back.” My voice shook, and I sobbed hard.

She pulled me into a semi-hug and said; “You won't ever be alone, Kazu… We… We’ll be with you, always. Someone's coming to take you somewhere safe, they’ll… She’ll take care of you…”

She coughed again, breaths becoming laboured. “Mum… Don't… Go…” She squeezed me tighter, and whispered to me;

“We… Love you… Kazu…”

Then she was gone.

I lay with her for about five minutes, crying and sobbing before I felt a hoof laid gently on my side and heard a voice.

“It's Red, right…? Or, erm, do you prefer Kazuhiro? Or is this… Not the time?”

My voice cracked and failed, a sob escaping instead. With great effort, I managed to stand and move away from my parents, after a struggle to find my footing.

I gazed with tear-filled eyes as they lay there, silent, peaceful, still. I clutched the necklace tightly as if I could keep my parents’ souls close if I held on tight enough. But I knew they were gone.

She spoke again; “I… I don't know what to say, except… I'm sorry, I guess.”

I could understand her lack of words; I didn't have any words at all. She looked down at me, I gazed up at her, into her warm purple eyes. If this was a normal day, I would have been gushing over how awesome she was, how much I looked up to her; she was Rainbow Dash for Celestia's sake!

I would have. But today was no ordinary day.

The rainbow mane was neatly pushed back, she wore a Ministry of Awesome outfit. She tried to give me a consoling smile; I merely leaned against her side and gazed at my parents.

I was so overcome with emotion, I didn't care about the sudden closeness I exhibited towards her. I needed consolation, comfort; I needed someone to help me. She sighed in sympathy, her wing gently rubbing my side. She gave me a few minutes to stand, then she said in a gentle voice;

“Whenever you feel you're ready, we'll go, alright?”

I nodded, taking a moment more to take in what happened before I made a motion to go. She nodded and we turned and walked out, I kept myself pressed against her side as we walked, desiring consolation and comfort with her close proximity.

A Vertibuck awaited us outside, with MoA branding all over it. We boarded by the rear hatch and sat beside each other in the passenger area. I stared down at the necklace I held in my talons, then put it on around my neck.

It fit me comfortably and looked quite nice, but I hid it beneath my feathers nonetheless. It was too emotionally painful for me to see right now.

One of the personnel on the Vertibuck spoke to the cyan pegasus; “Miss Dash, Goldenblood asked for you, said he was looking for some progress files on Peacekeeper…”

I tuned it out, it wasn’t helping. Nothing was helping calm my nerves, the thoughts whizzing through my head. The fear, the anger.

The emptiness.

I couldn't fathom the emotions I felt; I was indifferent, but yet I was mourning. And yet, I didn't feel anything inside me. It was like the emotions were only thoughts, that I was really unfazed by what had just happened.

I curled up in a ball, terrified, and trembled. Emotions bombarded me with crazy irrational urges to do something to try and stop it all. One thought urged me to jump out of the Vertibuck, another wanted me to hug someone and cry until I was empty. I felt a wing draped over me to give comfort, but it didn’t help.

I was numb to the world around me, I was encapsulated by the ball of confusion. I couldn’t make sense of anything, it was all just a blur.

Then I couldn’t take it anymore. The bubble burst and my sobs filled the Vertibuck. Tears flooded down my face as I was pulled closer to the cyan pegasus, comforting words and gentle strokes from her wings attempting to calm me down.

It wasn’t long before I had cried myself to sleep, resting against the warm and comforting front of the Ministry Mare

----- Loading, Please Wait… -----

So there you have it, the beginning of my story.

I was young, experiencing adolescence at the time. Having the good old troubles of concealing my underslung artillery piece when it decided to change its elevation and show itself off, the usual kind of nonsense one goes through at that age. I was happy, my parents loved me, and I loved them dearly back.

I had a good few friends, though was a little distraught at the loss of one of my close Zebra friends. He was whisked away from the nearby town as soon as the Equestrian Border unit moved in. Another startling loss was of another Griffon friend, his house was raided by Ministry of Morale Pinks and he was arrested for smuggling Zebra contraband into Equestria.

I had always wondered what it was like to be a Pink; like in the spy movies, where they had all sorts of amazing gadgets and could all do some form of martial art.

Having all the stability of my past life whisked from beneath my paws (and talons?) didn’t help me one bit, it shook me up and made me nervous for a time.

One thing bothered me, however; I didn’t know who the hell those people were who raided the house and assassinated my parents, and would probably never know until… Well, you’ll have to read on to find out when, won’t you? I’ll not spoil it yet, or at least try not to.

After that fateful day, I stayed in the Ministry of Awesome; Shadowbolt Tower to be more precise.

Hoofington was a big place at the time, the Hoofington Core was still largely being constructed and the Tower wasn’t even finished yet. Barely started apparently, looked to me like they’d been on it for years. It still stretched quite a way up to the clouds, the unfinished sectors of the vast hexagonal building reaching up like fingers grasping at the skies.

I later learnt from rumours, that parts of the tower were left unfinished at the end of the day and when the construction teams would return, the work would be complete. Everything placed according to the blueprints, even the desks and terminals inside.

Nopony, or anycreature else for that matter, knew how these phenomena came to be. Some thought that the spirit of Nightmare Moon was helping because it wanted to repent, some said that the construction teams were just bluffing or bragging about how fast they could work.

I personally thought it was the Stars, they were probably scheming about how they were going to use the Tower to bring an army of Star-creatures down and take over Equus. Although, I do believe I just have an extraordinary imagination, and now believe that the idea was completely and utterly crazy and an impossible situation.

However, not only was the mighty Tower being completed in this strange manner but parts of the Core under and overground. The recently completed Ironshod Firearms building had the entire top floor completed when they left it for the night, and their underground factory in Sector GD-22IF had the whole production line set up to start production while the engineer’s backs were turned. Long story short, the Hoof was a strange place.

But I loved it.

It became my new home; my temporary room, at least until Shadowbolt’s top levels were completed, on the 75th level of Shadowbolt Tower and my other room in the Hoofington MoA Administration building in the Inner Core district, which was a half hour slow walk or a ten-minute fly away from the Tower.

A great place to stay, plenty to do and lots to see. I had formed a good relationship with Rainbow Dash in only a few weeks since I was brought to the Hoof and when time permitted she would always come and check on me, even for a short while.

She was often away or busy, once or twice she told me she was off to the Zebra Homelands with the Shadowbolts to “Screw up something the Zebras have cooked up for us, and be awesome while doing it.”

Meanwhile, I had undergone specialist Shadowbolt training. I could now fly like a professional and hit a target with a sniper as I dodged explosions, magical bolts and so on. My firearms training was extensive and I had used at least a hundred different weapons since starting the training. I was also in for Power Armour infantry training, and use of heavy weaponry on and off battlesaddles. In short, I was given the entire run-down of warfare and how to win at it.

It was reasonably fun, too, as the lessons weren't boring lectures or constant wing-ups while the idiot who was in charge yelled gibberish that was supposed to resemble an inspirational speech. They were much more involved, utilising that beautiful holo-magic technology. I commanded armies, lead virtual squads, fought onslaughts of simulated zebras single-clawedly? Single-pawedly? Anyway, you get the gist.

After a few years of living in the Hoof, I finally realised why I was there. I was the first of a few genetically modified subjects for the Ministry of Awesome’s Operation Peacekeeper.

I was trained and bred to become what was called an Operator; with command over a small army of Operants who would be frozen in a special MoA Stable until needed to retake Equestria; either from the zebras or from the ashes of all-out war. How exactly we would retake Equestria if there was nothing left after all-out war, I did not know but didn't ever question it.

On top of that, I was one day brought into the cybernetics lab on the hundred-and-somethingth floor of Shadowbolt and laid out on the operating table. I was told very briefly that I was to be the first successful implementation of magical inhibition technology in a living organism and before I could ask why, I was out cold.

Project MAGMA, a branch from Peacekeeper, was responsible for the Magical Inhibition Network. A concealed magical tactical weapon that was designed to allow the use of slightly limited magic. The user would also have to be trained in how to properly “channel” the magic through their bodies, which is very different from how a unicorn would cast spells.

A month of painful visits, re-visits and re-re-visits to the cybernetics lab later I became the first living organism to possess and use the MAGMA Magical Inhibitor Network.

Now tell me that isn't a lot to take in. Go on. I dare you.

Despite the thoughts of my parents hanging in my mind, life carried on as normal. Oh, wait, did I say normal? Hah. Good one.

If you can call being a Shadowbolt normal, then sure! Normal!

I didn't realise what had happened until we were deep in Zebra territory and had asked Rainbow what was going on, to which she replied simply; “Oh, nothing much. Just your first Shadow Op.”

I think if I had allowed myself to express my surprise, our ‘cover’ would be blown. I didn't see how flying into Zebra territory in a Vertibuck was ‘stealthy’ or ‘discreet’, but I suppose we made up for it by escaping silently on our wings.

It was apparently an easy Op; get into the military compound, hack into the generator grid, overload them all and then steal intel from the Zebras while they were distracted.

Well, it just so happened that the military base we were raiding just happened to be a tank inspection and repair outpost. More than once, we had to hold our breath for more time than was healthy just so that the audio sensors on the Stripes’ automated tanks didn't hear us. Lucky I had a large lung capacity, or else we'd all be dead. It was stressful, to say the least, but it was Celestia damned awesome!

It certainly was a night to remember, especially when I had to take down a four-stallion patrol that had spotted us. My heart was in my throat when one almost fired a shot, it would've been catastrophic for the stealth aspect of the mission.

I think I embarrassed Rainbow Dash in front of the other Shadowbolts when I tackle-hugged her into a seat when we finally got to the designated LZ for the evac Vertibuck, she almost went as purple as her eyes! It wasn't my last Shadow Op either, I managed to go on at least five more.

Before it happened.

Before the Last Day.

Oh boy, where do I start with this? Let's see...

The Zebras launched every single Balefire missile they could possibly launch at Equestria, they sent megaspells and set off bombs and magical weapons in cities. Canterlot fell to a mixture of balefire bombardment and Pink Cloud. The Hoof was blasted with missile after missile. Noone knew what had become of the Crystal Empire either and most of Equestria was already being plunged into a post-apocalyptic winter.

As soon as we learned of Equestria’s fate, we were all sent to Stable A252, the base of operations for Peacekeeper and where everything was kept related to it where we would be cryogenically frozen until… Well, until something was alive on the surface again, until there was somewhere for us to bring peace to.

I ran to Rainbow’s office as soon as word reached me, bursting through the doors I said; “What's happening?”

She was hovering at her window, watching bombs go off in the distance. So far, all attempts on the Core were defeated by the defenses. She finally replied; “You need to go, we all need to go. Kazu, you're needed in the Stable.”

She flew to the door behind me and out, expecting me to follow. I flew out after her on our way to the hangar, it seemed. “Rainbow, what are you going to do? Where are you going to go? You said you're not going to be in the Stable, where will you be?”

She looked sorrowfully at me, maybe even pitifully of me and said: “I’m going to help. Everypony needs our help and I'm going to give a hoof.”

I was silent for a while, I focused on flying with Rainbow for a moment, dodging ponies running about the place. “Rainbow… You… You'll die...”

She didn't respond, didn't look at me, just flew. I saw what looked like a glimmering tear and memories flitting past her eyes, then she looked at me with determination and said; “I probably will. There's lots I wanted to do, lots I wanted to see, to say, to fix… But I can't anymore, because my friends will all be dead or gone. I'm pretty sure Rarity is already gone, she was up at Canterlot… What chance do the rest of us have then? Twilight probably died when Pleasant Valley was hit… I want to go out with a bang and since there’s nothing I can crash into anything, I'll settle for being blasted by a Balefire bomb.”

I stared at her silently for what felt like hours but was only mere seconds. I grabbed her in a tight hug and let a little sob escape my beak. She probably felt the sob, as in addition to hugging me back she said; “It'll be alright, Kazu, it'll be alright…”

But I knew it wouldn't be alright. Nothing would be alright. It was the end of the world as I knew it, the End with a capital E. I managed to tear myself away from her and hovered in front of her with a tearful and fearful expression on my face. She gave a shaky smile, gesturing to a group of ponies rushing to the hangar; “Go on, Kazu, get to 252. Whenever you wake up, bring peace to the world you find. Make it… Awesome.”

I nodded to her, wiping away the tears and looking towards the group running to the hangar. I started off after them, but stopped to turn and look at Rainbow. She smiled a sad, tired smile and then shot off down the long corridor. I turned back, flying to the hangar with a few stray tears in my eyes.

After that, everything went by like a blur. Boarding the Vertibuck, flying there, arriving and running to the giant Stable door as it began to close. Getting inside, hearing the begging of unlucky ponies and others who were denied access. I didn't even have time to properly process what had been going on around me before I found myself inside a cryopod, falling into a deep sleep. My eyelids grew heavy, my mind became calm, darkness crept into my vision until I succumbed to the cold wave of slumber. Then; darkness.

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Level up! Press and hold Tab to open SPECIAL menu.

Perk unlocked!

Shadow Stalker - Your Shadowbolt training has taught you well, in addition to the advanced military training, you now know how to sneak effectively giving you a +20 to Sneak!

Author's Note

Hey everyone! Decided to get around to writing my own Fo:E fic after being inspired by many other fics, including but not limited to the Original Fo:E by Kkat, Project Horizons by the Amazing Somber, Homelands also by Somber and Speak by Heartshine, if you haven't already; go check those other fics out, they're amazing! Feedback is greatly appreciated, so do leave some comments and let me know what I need to improve! I hope you enjoyed this Prologue and are looking forward to Chapter 1 which I am probably currently writing, thinking deeply about or have already written and posted.

Thanks for reading and check (hopefully)regularly for updates!

-Kazu

[Edit - Thanks to Chayn for helping me along with the edit to the Prologue.]