Fallout Equestria: Crusades

Chapter 3

Fo: E The Crusades Chapter 3

Dreamscape

By Quinton R. Johnson
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My dream started like most of my others ; blank, no color, no sound, nothing. Then everything started to fill itself in. The buildings came together from all the parts they composed of, slowly forming the structure. I was in the courtyard of Turntable. I looked around and saw the last of the buildings piece themselves together. The last was the workshop. The symbol outside slightly glowing, bringing itself to notice. I trotted over to it and opened the door to the workshop. The RG-32 sat assembled on the round table and beside it stooped a slightly transparent colt.

"Hello, Rogue." He said calmly in a slightly echoed voice.

I on the other hoof almost had a heart attack at the sight, rearing back and falling onto my backside.

"No need to be frightened friend, I can not harm you." The apparition said.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect anyone unfamiliar to be here." I admitted. "So, who are you anyway?"

The ghostly figure started to glow, blinding me of the view. The light faded and I was met with a teal stallion with a blue to green gradient mane. His cutiemark was the same as the symbol from outside. Could it be. "They called me Scrap n' Craft, and I was the creator of the case, the one you found a few hours ago." He said in a deeper voice than before.

"So why are you here and not on some holotape or something?"

"Because not everyone has the means to view a holotape, but everyone sleeps, and that is why I occupy this dream." He said matter-of-factly.

"That makes sense, but 'why' are you here?" I asked again.

"I'm here to see who the box has chosen. You see the real Scrap n' Craft died over two hundred years ago. I'm just an A.I. created by him to assist those who inherit the case and its contents. That is 'why' I am here." He corrected.

"Ah, okay, I see. So what do I call you and what would you like to know?"

"You may call me anything you please, within reason of course. First, I would like to know your intentions for the use of your gift. Next, I would like to know what you may or may not be getting yourself into. Lastly, I want to know of your friends."

"Well to answer the first one, I honestly have no idea what exactly my intentions are. I've always lived in a stable, so the wasteland is a completely foreign concept to me and my friends. Next, I really don't know what I'll be getting into, but the worst I know of are raiders. Finally, my friends, Daemon; the griffin, is more headstrong and confident. He doesn't let things intimidate him easily, which can make him a bit cocky at times, also he's pretty good at talking his way out of trouble. Styng; my pegasus friend, is the more athletic of us, but he lacks self confidence and tenacity, but when he has positive encouragement, he can go far. Stardust; the other unicorn, is quickest on the field but not so much in magical comprehension. I don't really know all that much about him though." I tried to recall anything else but came up empty hoofed. "I think that pretty much covers everything you asked."

"It does and I'll review this information later to see what I can do, but until then, I will gift you a telekinetic enhancement to help you on your journey. You have three choices; the first allows you to send out a telekinetic pulse. Technically like a short range sonar that can provide a tactical advantage on the field. Next an enhance allowing you to change the particle energy of an object allowing you to slow, speed up, heat up or cool the particles within an object. Last an enhance that will triple the strength of your telekinesis. Take your pick and I will send you into a memory providing the knowledge on how to preform your new enhancement."

I started to think of which enhancement to take, this is a difficult choice. "I think I'll choose the second enhancement." I said reluctantly.

"Very well. Here is your memory and we will continue our conversation at a later date." He said as he floated a blue-green orb towards me.

"Makes sense. Okay, is there anything else you need?" I asked as I held the orb within my telekinesis.

"That seems to have given me all the data I need. Thank you for your assistance Rogue." He said, starting to fade away.

I placed the orb on the ground and focused on making a connection with it. A spark lanced across the distance between me and the orb and my dream world swirled away.

oooOOOooo

I woke up in a small facility with metal floors and walls. The ceiling high above me with pipes stretching across. Across from me stood a dusky colored unicorn stallion. He was bulky and wore a green jumpsuit with three small golden chevrons on the right shoulder.

"Welcome to boot camp maggot!" He yelled. "My name is Lieutenant Haze, and I will be teaching you how to use your telekinetic pulse ability!" He said as he approached.

"Ummm, okay?" I said slightly frightened.

"That's 'Yes sir, Lieutenant Haze, sir' for you maggot!" He yelled in my face.

Okay, now I was scared. "Yes sir, Lieutenant Haze, sir" I said weakly.

"What was that maggot I can't hear you!?"

"Yes sir, Lieutenant Haze, sir." I said a little louder.

"WHAT MAGGOT!?" He thundered in my face.

"YES SIR, LIEUTENANT HAZE, SIR!" I finally yelled.

"That's better maggot. Now, on to orientation."

The entire room began to vibrate and roar with the sound of machinery. Suddenly the floors and walls transformed into a true boot camp. Rope swings, trenches, even an obstacle course, flipped over from the underside of the paneled floor.

"Welcome to Camp Fantasy, recruit." He said as he motioned his hoof around the new scene. "For the next couple of hours you will be here learning how to preform new spells or practice old ones. You can come here anytime you choose whenever you're asleep just by thinking about it. That orb you used to get here will then reconnect you to this dreamscape." He said as he pointed to the blue-green orb. He continued, "So, knowing all you need to know about this place, are you ready to begin your training?" He asked finally.

"Sir, yes sir!" I yelled.

"Good. Time for lesson one. The basic principles of casting this spell are simple. While using your telekinesis, try to form a bubble around yourself first, after you complete that expand the bubble around yourself. These are my assistants, Corporal Dean and Private Heart o' Gold, Dean will show you the most effective ways of performing any spell while Heart here, will show you what not to do." He said as two new ponies formed from thin air. Dean I'm guessing was the more decorated unicorn soldier while Heart was a recruit like me but had a dirty uniform; covered in dirt and soot.

"Corporal Dean, please demonstrate the perfect Tele. Pulse." He asked.

"Sir, yes sir!" He said as his horn began to glow a bright green.

A small mote of light pushed from his horn and floated above him, then it expanded over his body, growing in size exponentially. After about twenty yards of expansion it faded and Vet's horn stopped glowing.

"Good work Corporal. Private, you're up. Demonstrate the Tele. Pulse and its potential dangers."

"Sir, yes sir!" Heart yelled. His horn began to glow a faint blue and the orb floated above him, but instead of rapidly expanding it only expanded a short distance then rapidly shrunk, causing magical feedback, making him to go limp and fall over.

"Good work Private." He said to the still body.

"Is he dead?" I asked, tempted to poke the body with my hoof.

"No, just unconscious, he'll be out for a while. That's what happens when you don't provide enough power to sustain the pulse. The recoil knocks the user out cold and renders them defenseless."

Heart began to wake up. His eyes opened and he blinked rapidly. "I can't move sir." Dean said, lying on the floor.

"Ah yes, the temporary paralysis is also a lasting counter effect of the spell. While Private Heart recovers I'd like for you to cast the spell. Don't worry you won't have to deal with the paralysis multiple times, but you will know what it feels like the first time you fail. Okay recruit, begin." Lieutenant Haze said.

I took a deep breath and concentrated. My horn began to glow as I cast the spell. The orb floated above me and began to slowly expand. I added more power and it expanded more rapidly. I could see through the floors and saw the machinery that flipped the floors. I felt the strain of the spell beginning to take hold, so I stopped casting. The orb faded and the X-ray effect stopped.

"Well done recruit, got it on your first go." He said with surprise. Dean and Heart; who was now standing, also congratulated me. "Alright recruit, time for something a little more advanced." Haze said. The room collapsed as one and the panels flipped back over. The engine growl grew and large concrete walls seemed to grow from the floor. The walls free until they almost reached the ceiling; which has transformed into a grid based crane system. Some smaller panels around us flipped over and revealed glowing platforms. They began to project transparent images that slowly rotated. "Okay cadets, time for the maze challenge. In this course you will be using the Tele. Pulse spell to navigate through the maze. Within this maze are traps and robots equipped with paralyzing agents. The paralysis will only last a few seconds but it's enough to slow you down significantly." He explained. The small holograms showed the robots and traps firing off in different ways. An underground trap that sprayed the gas upwards. Another trap was a pressure plate that revealed multiple turrets that fired a single volley of darts. The robots were the same as protectaponies but were encased in a white enamel armor. Their slim, lightweight design allowed them to maneuver around the maze easily. The holograms faded and revealed a mostly blurred out maze with only a few areas being clear. Three spaces in the corners and another in the center. "This area in the center is your objective. If you find each other inside the course you may stifle your opponent with a single dart from this rifle." He said as he teleported some rifles in front of him. Each of them with a pneumatic pump and a gas canister attached. "Are their any questions?" Haze asked.

"No sir." We said in unison.

"Good, hold still and prepare for teleport." He said as his horn glowed. He passed us our rifles and we slipped them onto our backs.

In a flash we were placed into our separate areas with a large metal gate preventing progress. A loud crackle and a squeal overhead caught my attention.

"Ok cadets, everyone ready?" Haze asked over an intercom.

I nodded and the gate began to rise. I ran as fast as I could and passed right underneath, ducking my head. I began to cast my pulse spell and slowed my pace. The outline revealed a large multitude of paths to take. I followed one of the paths to my right. It kept going and then turned left twice until hitting a dead end. I looked left and saw the path split into two more. I ran left and stopped at the conjunction. I looked left and saw a robot slowly walking down the hall towards me. The path behind it went on towards another split, while the other path lead to a dead end and another path. I chose the right path and went passed the dead end. I used the spell again and saw blocks on the walls and underneath them I saw the turrets from the hologram. I looked down at the floor and saw that I was about to step onto the pressure plate that activated them. I halted instantly and corrected my hoofing, trotting around the pressure plate and avoiding the trap. As I walked along the path a robot walked out from the left and turned its head towards me. The eyes flashed red and it began to walk towards me. I pulled out my rifle thinking it was my Rig and fired. The dart bounced off its enameled plates and ricocheted into the ground.

"Ineffective." The robot said in a monotone voice. "Firing." It finished as it began to shoot darts at me.

I dodged the volley of darts and began to run towards it.

"No use in running." It informed. "I will stop you." It fired another volley but I used my telekinesis to grab it's built in rifles and shifted them upwards. The darts flew up into the ceiling. "Impressive." It said. As I ran past it, I slid and kicked it's legs from beneath it. The robot clattered to the floor, it's head still tracking me. "Increasing drone difficulty." It said. Then it rose to its hooves and began to run after me.

"Oh, come on!" I shouted.

"Here I come." It responded.

Well at least the robots had a sense of humor. I began to run faster as the robot trailed after me. It fired a dart and it whizzed by my ear. I bobbed and weaved across the hallway trying to make myself a harder target. I felt a sharp pain in my side and my body complete shutdown. I tumbled to the ground as the robot caught up with me. It looked down at me and its eyes returned to the bright green. "You used the same evasion pattern to often and are now immobilized." It informed. "Shutting down for ten seconds." It said as the eyes winked out and it slouched over. I laid there on the ground for a few more seconds as my body slowly regained mobility. I got up and stretcher out my legs and quickly got back to running through the maze. I used my spell after I turned left and saw that the left pathway was a dead end and the right pathway lead into another trap. I went right and slowly approached the whistling floor. The smell seeping from the floor quickly made me lightheaded. I pulled back and inhaled the fresher air, held it in, and ran across the floor. Small circles opened up and a plume of green smoke pushed out of them. I kept running as the smoke clung to my hide. Once I got clear I let out the air and began to breath again. I checked my surroundings for more traps and robots, nothing. I cast the Tele. pulse again and I looked along the available paths. The right led to a dead end. I checked the left one and saw another robot; it was turned around, but that didn't mean it wouldn't get me. I went along the left path and saw the robot standing in the center of the hallway. It's robotic ears flicked and its head began to swivel. "I hear you, and I will find you." It announced. It began to patrol the hall aiming every so often as if it saw something. Suddenly a shimmer of light slid underneath the drone from the side, flipping it onto its side. The shimmer coalesced into an equine form. Dean appeared and looked down at the drone. It looked at him and said, "stealth capabilities, fascinating."

"Thanks." Was all Dean said before he smashed the drone's head in one powerful kick. "Now, back to completing my objective." He said as he began casting the Tele. pulse spell.

(I could shoot him now and run past him or I could follow him until he finds the finish and shoot him then. Dang it, if I did that I'd feel bad for stealing the win, but would he do the same in my position? I guess I'll only follow him for a short while.) I thought. So I started to follow Dean for a few minutes. He took out a few more robots and avoided some traps. He started casting the spell again and before he could complete it, I took aim and shot him in the side. His magic halted and he fell to the floor. I ran passed him, making sure he couldn't see me, and went left. I used the Tele. pulse spell and could actually see the completion area. I went right then took the second left. I felt a vibration reverberate through my body and turned around. I didn't see Dean, so I kept moving. I took another right then a left and could see the center. It was a straight shot. I looked back around the corner and saw Dean turning the corner in a full sprint. I started to run to the center as fast as I could. I was half way their when a dart whizzed by my shoulder. I glanced back and saw Dean with his rifle trained on me. I levitated my rifle backwards and took pot shots at him without breaking my stride. A quarter left and I hadn't been stopped. I looked back and didn't see Dean anymore, probably using an invisibility spell. I kept running, only a few more seconds and I'd be home free. I looked back and saw Dean again, but this time he was running at top speed. He was gaining fast. I turned around and fired a few more shots. Dean dodged and jumped over each of them. I kept running as I blind fired a few darts. I ran across the last panel of the hallway and jumped onto the finish. A shield formed around me and a couple of darts bounced off. The large walls began to recede back into the floor. Lieutenant Haze teleported into the room.

"Congratulations recruit, you actually beat Dean; even if by a few meters." He said as Dean trotted over.

"Hmm, guess I finally have some real competition." Dean said as he looked at Heart, who was running over to us.

He had at least five darts stuck in him. "Repertin fee duty sa." He blabbered.

Haze smiled and shook his head. "Now Private, you know you have to remove the darts right?"

"Ohm, relly? I tought dry looked perty cool." He said as he poked the darts.

Haze grabbed each of the darts and pulled them out in unison. Then turned to me, "well cadet, it seems you've passed your training. Feel free to come back anytime." He congratulated.

"Sir, aren't you forgetting something?" Dean asked.

"Hm? Oh yes." He stammered. "I present you with your new rank, Private First Class."

A small pendent formed in the air and floated over to me. I grabbed it and placed it on my chest. It began to glow and the world began to swirl away.

oooOOOooo