Fallout Equestria: Raiders

Hannibal woke up in the medical wing of the camp. The back of his... well everything hurt like anal with no lube, especially in his abdomen. For a moment he hoped it was all a bad dream but soon found out that it was real...lying on the operating table next to him... was Cleaver. She looked peaceful. Almost asleep if it wasn’t for the bullet holes. Thank the Goddesses none hit that beautiful face of hers.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Immediately Hannibal’s head turned around to the unfamiliar voice in the room, what stood in front of him was a pegasus mare and a...cow? No, no she has one horn not two. Both mares were nervous that Hannibal was awake, the metal forelimbs and fangs did not instill confidence. It looked more like they were trying to do their best Fluttershy impression.

“Who the Hell are you?” his face was on a hair trigger expecting a good response.

“I’m Sapphire Sunrise a-and is my daughter Crystalline, we were slaves of the cult that attacked your home. We found our opportunity to escape during the fighting and hid until it was over. We didn’t find any survivors until Crystalline found your auras.” the light silver mare with a sapphire blue mane answered. Wonder if that's how she got her name Hannibal thought.

“Aura?” asked Hannibal. The pink filly with golden patches and mane nodded timidly in response as she hid behind her mother.

“One of the effects from her special talent and some radiation poisoning at birth. She can see the aura of machines and ponies. With machines its how much magical energy they have and ponies their life and emotions. She can basically tell if a pony is good or bad. The both of you showed up as good ponies to her so we tried to save you and well…” Hannibal knew the rest...Cleaver died... he lived.

“Was it quick for her?” The saddened expression that clouded his face eased the mare and her filly seeing how hurt he is over her passing making him more approachable.

“No… she fought it, long enough to show us where this ward was. She told us to ignore her and focus on saving you. I...tried to help her but she said she’d rather die than lose you, threatened to hurt my little girl if I didn’t listen.” a hurt smile came to Hannibal’s face all he could think about was how much that sounded like her. He owed them his life there was no doubt about that, though part of him wished Cleaver could’ve been saved.

“Thanks, I’m pretty sure I’d be six feet under if it wasn’t for you. As such, I’ll pay my debt to you in return. I take it you two don’t have anywhere to call home?” The two ponies in front of him hung their heads in sorrow answering his question. “Tell you what then. There's a church in downtown Seaddle. The priest there is a fucking prick but he helps ponies of all kind get a second chance. Doesn’t ask much in return I know he’d be able to get you two a fresh start in a normalish life. I can escort you there and protect you free of charge.” he offered.

The two brightened up at the proposal. Crystalline looked at the her mother excitedly practically begging her to say yes. Sapphire nodded to her filly making her bounce in joy knowing they were free from the cult. “We accept your offer. But you need to rest for another day before we leave.” Sapphire said with a soft thankful voice.

“Yeah, I need a day but not to fucking rest. You said I was the sole survivor of the attack right?” Sapphire nodded once in response to the question. “Then I have 320 bodies to burn... and one mare to bury…” Hannibal looked at Cleaver’s body as he got off the operating table, much to the objections of Sapphire and Crystalline.

“You can’t stress yourself too much, you need rest.” Sapphire claimed, a worried look clouding her face accompanied by her silent filly.

“Look, thanks for helping me, but If you think I'm gonna lay here jerkin’ off to my losses, you got another thing comin’.” As he attempted to walk out the room he glanced at a green silhouette in the mirror. His eyes opened wide in shock. Immediately he looked himself over seeing the mirror wasn't playing tricks. Hannibal’s hard worked blood colored fur was gone and replaced by his original jade fur and antique turquoise mane. His jaw dropped at the realization that he was no longer the red death ponies feared; but a damn green stallion impersonating his hard-earned look. Sure he still had the fangs, the leather vest, and the metal forelimbs but it's the principle dammit! The good news was that there were still light scars where his cutie marks were supposed to be. If he had those back, then he knew somewhere up in the cosmos the Goddesses were playing a shitty prank on him. “W-why am I green?!” He wasn’t really asking for an explanation but hoping it was just a nightmare and that they would tell him it was.

“We had to clean your wound to avoid infection and when we saw the green fur we kinda got carried away.” Sapphire tried really hard to sell her claim with an awkward smile...it didn't work.

“You...gave me a bath...When you could've saved Cleaver!?” If earth ponies could burn down a building with their stare Hannibal would have. The fiery anger radiating out his eyes like a bale fire blast.

“No, no, no! She died a little after she took us to the medical ward. She took a lot of hits to the chest, it was even a miracle she lasted until we found her, let alone walk us here.” In an effort to keep his promise Hannibal stomped out to the exit. In a second, his legs organic and mechanical halted. The sight was devastating, fires still burning, craters from tank shells, bodies of his comrades his family littered on the ground like trash. Even half of his penthouse building barely stood. The shocking part was at the entrance, Angels that most likely surrendered (mostly the young) were lying in a firing line… they were executed. Whoever the Treehuggers were they were just as bad as the Raiders if not worse. Among the dead he found the four foals whose lives he promised to make better, he saw the tears still visible down their cheeks. The carnage, if it hadn’t been his family, his kingdom would have earned an applause and smile but now he knew again what it felt like to be on the receiving end of devastation. There was no sign of life, only its absence, Hannibal took some comfort that for the most part his Raiders fought till the end. Sapphire and Crystalline ran to his still body, the look of loneliness and defeat present in his eyes. The mares on his sides gazed up at him with apologetic expressions, feeling guilty for the massacre before them.

“I’m sorry.” that was all Sapphire could do, all she could say, bearing witness to similar atrocities like this even if the ponies were bad didn’t feel right to her. The loss Hannibal just witnessed tore her from the inside, whereas once before she only just saw the aftermath of it. Now she could see the pain it brought. They urged him back inside to the still intact medical room to give him a Med-X and a healing potion to ease the pain. When she went grab the Med-X she found that they were out of them. Hannibal didn’t care much about that, but she couldn’t stand to see him like that. Maybe it was her desire to help others that made her so persistent to aid him, maybe it was something else entirely, but she couldn’t leave him alone and she didn’t want to leave her daughter alone with him.

“Don’t worry, Mommy, I’m a big girl. I can take care of him.” Crystalline said with that sweet innocent smile radiating warmth in the room and her mother’s heart.

“It’s not you I’m worried about, it’s leaving you with him.” Sapphire replied.

“She does look tasty.” He said jokingly. Her expression soured towards him even more. He looked at her more calmly and spoke with a more serious tone. “I won’t hurt her. I promise, ok? Even if I wanted to, I still have a hole in my gut and chasing her won’t help my odds of survival. Like it or not, my life’s in your hooves, Sapphire.” With some relief at his words, she cautiously left the filly and the stallion together in the room while she looked around for more healing supplies. For a while Crystalline stared at Hannibal harboring a small smile towards him the notions made him...uncomfortable. She didn’t speak and neither did he, all this just made things more awkward for him, finally he decided to kill the silence. “Soo ...Crystalline huh ,not a very ponyish name is it?” He felt so forced to say that, it didn’t help the little filly was excited to be asked about her name.

The little filly chuckled lightly. “That’s because I’m a Crystal Pony, silly. Both me and my mommy are. We’re from the Former Crystal Empire! So whenever we’re really happy or feel a tremendous amount of love we glow like Crystals!” At least that explained the slight glow he was seeing. He almost thought he was slipped something in the healing potion. She walked closer to him wanting to tell him more about her and her mother. “Mommy says I’m special that my heart is so golden it overflowed into my coat.” The filly was uncomfortably close to him now. All he could do was put on a sheepish smile for her. She kept talking until the Goddesses blessed him with a noise to shut her up...her tummy rumbled. She blushed out of embarrassment, which even Hannibal had to admit was kinda cute, but most importantly it got her to stop talking about how she doesn’t need a night light cause her eyes glow when she’s happy, which apparently is always.

“Hungry eh?” The little filly nodded in response. With a sigh he hopped off the operating table and motioned her to follow him. “Come on, I’ll see if I can whip something up for ya.” Without a second thought she followed him to the kitchen. It was surprisingly clean and untouched by the battle. He saw there wasn’t anything pre-made or any prewar treats. The kitchen was large and well kept. It was originally meant to cater a resort full of ponies, now it was mostly used for food storage and more private meals. None of the raiders were from stables so the idea of eating indoors felt stupid. While Hannibal looked around for ingredients wondering what he can make for his non-cannibalistic guest, Crystalline admired the yellow walls with pink accents honoring the Element of Kindness. The little filly’s eyed widened at the mural of her caring for a little white bunny with the words “everyone deserves a little kindness” under the smiling pair. Crystalline found it hard to believe bad ponies lived in a place meant to help ponies feel better. Within these walls it was hard to tell how sad the outside world was. She felt as if she was in prewar Equestria and Fluttershy would come out of that mural and give her a big hug.

Something smelled nice she thought, the filly turned around to see a steaming pot and Hannibal cutting up meat and vegetables with his big knife proceeding to dump them into boiling water. Crystalline saw the stallion give himself a nostalgic smile as he mixed spices and seasonings she’s never seen before in sequence. The aroma had a nice spicy feeling with a hint of sourness from the lemons he squeezed into the broth. She was surprised he could cook much less enjoy it. Back with the Treehuggers the mares always cooked while the stallions did all the trading and dirty work as her mom explained. “Mhmm smells good! What is it?” She asked.

“Mole rat stew with some veggies and jalapeños, an old family recipe.” Once he tasted his finished product he poured some in a large bowl and passed it to her. She breathed in the warm aroma of the stew. The spicy steam cleared her nostrils and watered her mouth. She took a sip, her eyes opened wide to the harmony of spiciness and the rich feeling of lemon in the broth each complementing each other as ponies once did a long time ago. In a instant, she lifted the bowl with her hooves and magic and started chugging it down. Before she put the bowl down to ask for more there was already another one waiting for her to be enjoyed.

“It’s so good! This the best stew I’ve ever had!” Before she devoured this bowl as well something popped out of the greasy orange broth. It was an eye. Crystalline screamed at the top of her lungs frightened by the non pony eye in her stew.

“Whoops. Sorry, sweetie. That bits part of the old family.” He laughed and ate the eye much to the disgust of the little filly.

“Crystalline! Crystalline! Get away from my baby!” Out of nowhere Sapphire appeared and pounced on Hannibal ready to defend her daughter. She assaulted him with weak punches that weren’t even good enough for foreplay in his eyes, but nonetheless quite annoying.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey! Get off me!” He could’ve pushed her off, but even in his weakened state he didn’t want to hurt his savior too badly. Luckily, Sapphire’s daughter pulled her off him ending the elementary school brawl that was happening.

“Mommy, he didn’t hurt me. There was just an eye in my stew!” She looked a bit confused hearing her daughter utter those words, but soon realized she was hitting the large deadly stallion that cooked for them for, apparently, no reason. She quickly turned around to him and started bowing down repeatedly saying she was sorry. Thank the Goddesses, it was Hannibal she was apologizing to and not Fluttershy. He imagined those two could say they were sorry to each other till the end of time.

He shut her up by putting a bowl of stew and front of her making sure there wasn’t any eyes in hers either. Sapphire replicated the exact same reactions and words just like her daughter did when she ate her stew, except she vocally stated she was surprised about his ability to cook so well. Hannibal served himself some and reminisced about how long it’s been since he last cooked for himself, or anypony else for that matter. Seeing Sapphire and Crystalline enjoyed their meals brought back memories from Hannibal’s foalhood and how he used to cooked for the other foals in his father’s raider gang. He remembered the smiles his cooking brought to everyone around him. He remembered that was how he got his cutie mark and the things he did afterward. Before he could think about those events, he was interrupted by a light, warm feeling on his plot, and the yells of Crystalline pointing at where his Cutie mark used to be except….

“Nnoooooooooo!!” There were Zebras in pre war Rome that heard his cries. They were so loud they shook the ground a bit making the filly and mare cover their ears. “What the fuckmothering Tartarus is happening to me!? You cunt sucking, bitch shitting, Goddesses of pastel cum stains, whyy!?” Hannibal couldn’t believe it. Instead of seeing a blank flank covered in scar tissue, he saw a cutting board and a combat knife pushing carrots into steaming pot on his rump. It was at that moment he realized that the stew he made was the same one he cooked when he first got his cutie mark. This was now officially the worst day of Hannibal’s life. His army of Raiders got annihilated by a horde of religious zealots with so much firepower it’d give the Steel Rangers throbbing erections, he lost his right-hoofed mare/special somepony, he lost his hard earned crimson red coat and now his cutie mark is back...the universe didn’t not like him right now.

“Welp, if you excuse me, I’m going to go cut off my cutie mark again.” Before he could walk out of the kitchen and do it in someplace private, Sapphire and Crystalline blocked his path with hooves raised to push him back.

“No! Don’t cut it off! It’s a nice cutie mark. Please, don’t do it!” The little filly gave him the puppiest of puppy eyes he’s ever seen, she even quivered her lower lips for good measure.

“Don’t care, I won’t be caught dead with this on.” He retorted.

“You will be if you do Hannibal, you’ve already lost a lot of blood from your injuries any more can kill you.” She was genuinely concerned for his well-being. He could see it in her eyes. He couldn’t understand it but that look calmed him down. He’s seen mares beg for their lives multiple times but not many for his. She had the same look Cleaver did when they first met. With a deep sigh, he limped back to his stool much to the relief of the mother and her daughter. For a while, they ate their food in silence enjoying the moments of peace they had. The kitchen was warm from the flames of the stoves. The smell of fresh ingredients filled the air. It was serene to them. To Hannibal, it was disturbing. The silence was uneasy and unfamiliar. Only a day ago was the air full of screams, of fools cries of foals, and roars of comrades. He only remembered one day in his life when he was in the company of dead silence. It was the day he lost his forelegs which was the tip of an iceberg of bad memories.

“I’m going to cremate my raiders. Look for supplies and weapons inside the warehouse. There’s a basement in there that I doubt they found, just don’t touch the red crate.” Without waiting for a response he began to leave. Being poked with a hoof, he looked down seeing Crystalline with a healing potion in her magic and a smile on her face.

“Thanks for the stew it was yummy.” Hannibal smiled back at her and petted her golden mane then continued out the door.

The sun was setting, a gentle breeze caused the trees to sing, bodies were everywhere but at least the flames died down. Downing the healing potion, he began with the larger corpses and threw them into a large crater made by the artillery fire. As the sun faded away, the crater filled to brim making it level with the ground. He made sure the intact bodies had their vests on and the ones in bits and pieces were wrapped up with theirs. Some of his raiders still had smiles on their faces. They knew they were going to die, but they died on their terms. This brought a sorrowful smile to Hannibal’s face. He remembered some of them in life, like Razorblade, who fought with razors in her tail. She said she got the idea from a raider in Hoofington. Lily who loved carving flowers on ponies faces. Shorty had a few ballsacks on her, she always loved ripping them off with her mouth. Blood Gaze, Chain Male, Smoothie, Spikey Saddles they all were fucking nuts, but he was sure they were partying hard in Tartarus now.

The Foals though, still had looks of betrayal on them. A few were wrapped in the legs of caretakers who soothed them in their final moments. Hannibal thanked them silently for doing so. He took extra care with them and made sure they were together on the pile on top. The four he welcomed only hours ago were huddled together on the ground. Their blood mixed in the soil the outlines of their tears still evident on their bodies. They almost looked as if they were sleeping and having a nightmare. He thought he could hear them blame their deaths on him. Leaving those four for last, he went to the half demolished tower. His penthouse and possessions now rubble on the old pool. The rooms he was able to enter had varying sights. Some ponies were gunned down during their play sessions, some were empty, one with two stallions and one gun. They were slaves, probably lovers, wanting to die together, even they were brought to the crater with the others. He had to respect their commitment to each other.

The moon shined brightly on the large grave of all who died in the massacre. For the four foals, Hannibal made a blanket from the skin of the mare they killed together adorned with a patch of the Tartarus Angels. This was the best he could do for them and while it wasn’t enough, he hoped it was a start. “I’m sorry.” He said to them then proceeded to cover them with the blanket so Tartarus would know they belong to his family. Sapphire and Crystalline watched as Hannibal poured gasoline and ether on the bodies. As it seeped deeper into the hole, he began to say a prayer for his comrades.

“For us death wasn’t the end, but the goal. Life was a test to show the Spirit of the Wasteland we were stronger. That where others struggled, we persevered. Where others suffered, we celebrated. So when we reach our judgement by the Goddesses, the halls of Tartarus would rejoice at our arrival. That our eternal celebration can begin and never end. I’m sorry I will not be joining you yet my brothers and sisters, but I will one day. Until then, torture the weak and claim your rightful place as the Angels of Tartarus... farewell.” The howl from the rising flames devoured the bodies, their ashes to the wind and their souls to the earth below. The two mares saw the sparkle of a single tear fall from Hannibal’s face. Only two more to bury...Cleaver and himself.

Sapphire hugged her daughter tightly. The sight of so many ponies burning away was too much for the filly to see. They returned to the operating room where Hannibal was embracing Cleaver’s body. The ponies didn’t say anything, Crystalline badly trying to hold back tears, Sapphire wondering how Hannibal could smile at a time like this. He wrapped a saddlebag onto his neck then stood on his hind legs carrying Cleaver in his metal forelimbs. Walking away without a word Sapphire wondered how he remained so composed. Her daughter, however broke down whimpering on the floor, tears flooding out past her hooves. The two looked at each other for a brief moment then hugged each other in comfort. “Why Mommy? I thought we were good ponies so why does it hurt?”

Her daughter was sobbing and she couldn’t understand any of this. Those ponies were bad...weren’t they? Why did the Treehuggers kill the children? Couldn’t they have been saved? Wasn’t their purpose to bring peace and blessings to those around them? She’s seen raiders before but they looked evil, even dead. These ponies, however, were like them so why did they have to die? Why didn’t they surrender? Did they accidentally kill the wrong group of ponies? That was all Sapphire could think about. Everything seemed wrong. She knew that face Hannibal had looking at Cleaver that wasn’t a monster losing somepony expendable, that was a husband who lost his wife…

In the garden, next to a tree, Hannibal placed Cleaver in the grave he promised her when she joined the Angels. Naked and with only flowers covering her chest. He kissed her on the lips one last time and whispered to her the three words he wasn’t able tell her in life… “I love you.” His special somepony buried a free mare with roses on her chest in the garden she cherished. May she rest in peace.