Fallout Equestria: Fallen Fortress

Medic watched patiently as the filly known as Gemstone worked on repairing his bone saw. Archimedes was playing with Bloody Ruby by helping her check the wagons and small buildings that were nearby. Medic had the comlink up between him and Archimedes so he could keep tabs on the pair. Medic hated the quiet so he struck up a conversation,

“So, am I talking to Engineer or Gemstone?” He asks,

“Doc, I’m gonna be staying in control, for the time being, less Gem walks back to the Administrator’s casino or attacks you.” Engineer responds having no emotion behind his words,

“OK… Vhy create a robot filly?”

“Ah miss my kids, plus no one expects a filly to have a sentry gun in her.” A panel on Gemstone’s back opens and a mini-sentry comes up.

“GAH!” Medic shouts when he hears the gun lock onto himself,

“Don’t worry, it won’t harm ya. Need to reload it anyway.”

“H-How do jou reload?” Medic asks slightly spooked,

“Gem eats metal and the internal system or dispenser converts it into bullets and replacement plates for the body.”

“Wow! Jou sure have been busy vile I napped.” Engineer chuckled,

“That’s the first time I’ve smiled for real in over 200 years.”

“Ja, about zat. How are jou alive?”

“Ya kind of the reason for that Doc.”

“How so?”

“When I took my soul back from you, I accidentally tied the soul to my body. Making me invincible to any weapon and time itself. A living statue of who I was when the deed was done.”

“VHAT!? Jou mean to tell me I could’ve been immortal if I tied mien soul to meinself as I did to my violin?” Medic felt another memory resurface, but he rejected letting it manifest,

“That would explain why your violin never broke or had a string snap. But yes you could’ve, though I don’t recommend it.”

“Jou? Telling me not to do vat I’ve already done. Vat jou’ve done to jourself?”

“Doc… Ya don’t understand. You don’t have your own soul anymore. The person whose soul that got bound to you would’ve died and they would start to have an influence over you. For me, living with the Administrator is a nightmare, and she refuses to let me leave her because of what I can do. I rarely leave my workshop anymore, my robots do all the scavenging for me, and if I didn’t make the robot Engineers unable to build without a schematic I would be out of a job. Being immortal is dull and living with Helen is nothing short of Hell. If I had the choice to die though… I don’t think I would give up on this life. This world is full of new possibilities and I have all my Sentry ponies to take care of.”

“Vait, jou made more zen just Gemstone?” Gem smiled for Engineer,

“Gemstone was the first. She and her bigger brothers are connected to a special system that serves as my only gate to the outside world. I have a special kind of helmet that puts my real body to sleep allowing me to drive this robot through and through. I get to temporally be little Gemstone or her brothers.”

“So ze Administrator is terrible to jou, vhy don’t jou just leave?”

“I’ve tried that Doc! All the robots that I’ve made can track me no matter what I do! I also fear that I’m always being watched! Each robot may be unique personality wise, but their code remains the same!” Even though the robot filly couldn’t cry it was clear Engineer was breaking down inside, “I’m always watched Doc. The only freedom I get is by driving Gem or her brothers.”

“But… Can’t jou just end ze zing that tied jour soul to jour body?” Gem glares at Medic,

“Did you not hear me Doc? I don’t wanna die, not yet… But even if I wanted to… I can’t… There’s a powerful enchantment on my soul that can only be undone with an equally powerful spell. There’s only one person I know that could possibly have the ability to undo this magic and that is Merasmus… The problem is he disappeared a few years back and I fear he’s dead. Helen refuses to believe that and wants the robots to find him… In fact, she was going to ask you to search for him.”

“Vhy vould she vant to find him?”

“She had me bind her soul to her too…”

“VAT!? JOU VENT VITH HER!?”

“I DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE DOC! I DIDN’T WANT TO BE ALONE AND I HAD NO IDEA WHEN YOU WOULD WAKE UP! IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO WAKE YOU GUYS WHEN THE RADIATION LEVELS WERE THAT HIGH!” Engineer took a deep breath, “I had hoped that at least one other team member would’ve survived, but it’s clear that only you did Doc… Or did you?” Engineer had Gem scratch her chin as he thought,

“Engineer? Vat’s going on in zat head of jours?”

“Doc, our teammates are dead therefore their souls should start to have an effect on you.” Gemstone lifted the now repaired bone saw and handed -er hoofed it over to Medic, “Have ya had any instances of being another teammate?”

“Being? As in zey take mein place?” Gem nodded, “Nein, but I do have a spell zat allows me to access zeir strengths und skills. Mein Pip-Buck labels it as Soul Shift.” Gem stares for a few seconds before Engineer’s voice continues,

“Pip-Buck? It’s supposed to be a Pip-Boy!” Gem starts pacing and Medic’s thanks go unnoticed, “This affects my theory. If the Pip-Boy changed when you came to this world then that means changing into Ponies was just this world’s way of keeping the balance. But then our world would have to have a strong connection to this one for something like that to happen.”

“Engineer? Vat are jou talking about?”

“Something that’s been wracking my brain throughout the centuries. There has to be a reason why we’re here and not home, and it all happened when Grey Mann dropped those bombs.”

“Grey Mann? Bombs? Engineer, vat is going on?” Medic’s head had started to ache with the gathering of this new information.

“Ya really don’t remember do ya? Grey Mann’s thirst for power dragged the whole world against his robots. Eventually, he dropped bombs on all the major cities. If it wasn’t for Vault-Tec and myself, many more would have perished. We built the Vaults, including 2-4 for the Administrator that she put all of you in. Then she had me make the Synth forms of all of you for some reason. Demo’s you just destroyed.”

“So ven did jou find jourself as a pony?” Medic asks trying to keep himself out of his past memories,

“During the moments of the bombs at their peak. The light turned bright green, and I covered my eyes. Next thing I know, I changed into a pony.” Medic suddenly remembers the waiver he grabbed with Saxton Hale’s stamp of approval and pulls it out.

“Does zis mean anyzing to jou?” Gem read the waiver and her eyes go wide,

“Where’d you get this Doc?”

“In a wagon marked Four-Stars Technology. Vhy?”

“This is proof that our worlds had a connection! There’s no way this came after the bombs. Is there any chance you could find more?”

“For jou? Of course!.” Medic tries to give the waiver to Engineer,

“Keep it. The Administrator mustn’t know what I’m up to.” Medic nods and pockets the waiver as Bloody Ruby appears on the top of a hill, “OK Doc I’m nearly out of time. Be aware that ya gonna meet up with the rest of the team of Synths soon. Stay safe and I hope that when we meet again I can share more with you. Oh, and take this.” A compartment on Gemstone’s side opens revealing a glass ball with what seemed like mist flowing around inside. Gemstone gives it to Medic “That’s a memory orb. Focus your magic on it and-” Engineer’s voice cut off with a static burst. Gemstone blinked a few times, then smiled politely,

“I’m sorry sir. Engineer’s connection has been severed by either, someone pulling the plug on the mainframe, or his connector overheated.” A sweet voice carrying a southern accent escaped from the little fillies lips, “Is there any questions I can answer while I’m here?”

“Uh... “ Bloody Ruby and Archimedes stood on the edge of the camp watching, “How do I use zis?” Medic holds up the memory orb,

“Focus your magic on the memory orb and you will find yourself riding whoever the memory is from. Do this someplace you won’t get attacked, for you will be unable to move in the real world while viewing the memory.” Gemstone replied, “Anything else?”

“How do I get back into contact with Engineer?”

“We find you, or you could visit him at the Administrator’s Casino. Uploading confidants now.” A beep on Medic’s Pip-Buck and a marker appeared. ‘Administrative Gambling Casino’ the marker read. Wow, such a creative name. Medic thought,

“Danke, zat vill be all Gemstone.”

“You're welcome, sir.” With that, the filly walked away,

“That was interesting,” Ruby commented with Archimedes on her head. She hoofs over some open ammo boxes, “Here, I got what I needed, what’s left is for you.”

“Danke Ruby…” Medic accepts the ammo boxes then voices his curiosity, “I wish to view zis memory orb… Can I count on ze two of jou to keep me safe?” Ruby and Archimedes salute. Medic smiled then pressed the Orb to his horn, focused a magical aura on the orb, and the world faded away.

Medic finds himself looking at his reflection in the mirror, only it wasn’t himself he saw. Instead, he was staring at an Earth Pony, like Ruby and Gemstone, with orange fur and a bright blond mane. A set of welding goggles hung around his neck instead of over his emerald eyes. A frown painted his face. Engineer? Medic wondered as the pony sighed and lifted a construction helmet over his head. Definitely Engineer. Engineer walked into a room filled with terminals all observing a different part of the Wasteland. An old frail bright purple Earth Pony mare sat in a wheelchair watching the screens. Her black mane was almost completely silver with age, “Are you ready mister Conhagur?” The mare asks and Medic realizes who it is. The Administrator!

“I should be asking you that miss.” Medic felt his lips, no, Engineer’s lips move as he spoke, “After all, what you're about to have me do… The pain will be terrible.” The Administrator manages to turn her chair around so she could stare at Engineer,

“Mister Conhagur, I haven't felt anything in decades. If I were to feel anything now, it would be very welcome.” The Engineer swallowed his pride and picked up a component off the surgical table nearby. Medic, watching through his eyes, saw many more various monitors spanning the entire wall. The air was cool, but verging on the smell and taste of recycled air. A bunker? Medic thought to himself, but even if he tried, he wouldn’t be able to speak. Engineer turned to the Administrator and began carting her down a hall. “Mister Conhagur, do be careful. It is incredibly expensive to keep these bones together, I do not want to fall apart due to your carelessness.” The Administrator croaked.

“Sorry, Ma’am.” The Engineer said, scared but not worried. Medic finally recognized a room, a room he had seen once, briefly. They entered the surgeon's room, the room Medic had once brought Sniper back to life in. Quite a miracle, really. Dead for 17 hours. But if that was the room that I had brought Sniper back from, where had everything else come from? Medic didn’t have time to ponder these questions as a machine pulled the Administrator from the wheelchair onto a table. “Ma’am, I’m going to warn you one last time-”

“Do it, Mister Conhagur. I will not tell you again.” The Engineer put the device down on a nearby table and looked at the device on the Administrators ankle. Wincing, he pulled it straight out, just like he did last time. “Now, Ma’am, this is the last one. There will never be another one of these thi-”

“I am aware, mister Conhagur. The supplies of this land will last long enough to sustain us. And the machines are of no more use to me. You must find your old teammate… he’s already done it once, you must learn from him how. You will not fail, Mister Conhagur. Because if you do, there won’t be enough of you left to regret it.” The Engineer panicked, slightly, and Medic knew what the Engineer knew. A line didn’t go in entirely correctly. The Engineer didn’t correct it. Medic stared at the line, or more accurately, the Engineer stared at the line. “Mister Conhagur?” The Administrator warned.

“Almost done, Ma’am.” Engineer pressed the big red button on the little machine, and it began humming. “Done, Ma’am.”

“Now, Mister Conhagur, the plans may truly begin.” The Medic stared as the memory began to swirl his vision, becoming a blue and black blur.

Medic was sucked back into the real world, where he found himself standing over and staring at a very scared pegasus clad in black carapace armor. Medic blinked a few times, surprised to find himself standing and in a different location, “Vat?” He asks no one in particular.

****************************************************************************

Level up:

New Perk: Patriot's Perk: Wake Me Up: Whenever you are in danger or out cold, Soldier will take control of you until you’re awake.