Fallout Equestria: Fallen Fortress

Bloody Ruby’s POV: Ruby watched as Medic viewed the memory seemingly asleep. Then she gets shocked when Medic’s horn glows and his Cutie Mark changes to that of a strange flag she didn’t recognize. Red and white stripes with a blue section full of white stars. Medic’s eyes opened a light brown instead of the icy blue she had grown used to, “Today is a good day!” Medic said in a new voice. Ruby takes a step back and Medic turned to her, “Do not fear citizen, I have heard great things about you, Ruby!”

“Um, who are you, how do you know my name, and what have you done to Medic?” Ruby asks and Archimedes coos in agreement,

“I am the Soldier. Medic’s commanding officer and one of the members of the Reliable Excavation and Demolition Team!” Medic replied raising a hoof in a salute, “I know your name cause I’ve been here the whole time. Me and the rest of the team, minus Pyro, that is. I simply took over while he’s out. Too bad my girlfriend isn’t here, she’d love to meet a full-hearted American like you.” Ruby wanted to ask what an American was, but this ‘Soldier’ kept talking, “Hm, that and honey so we can coat ourselves with it and fight hippies like those who put other American ponies in cages! Where can I fight some hippies?” Soldier asks Ruby,

“Uh…”

“Never mind, I see one up there.” Soldier interrupts pointing to the sky with a hoof. Ruby looks up and barely spots the Pegasus,

“That pegasus? But you’ll never-” Ruby was once again interrupted, but this time by an explosion. She watches as Medic soars through the air toward the unsuspecting pegasus. The unicorn strikes the pegasus hard in the back, causing him to fall from the sky, Medic riding him the whole way down. The poor pegasus lands on the ground with a hard thump not far from the camp. Ruby runs over to check the damage, finding Medic unscathed but the pegasus with a broken wing and probably multiple broken ribs. He was wearing some weird, black, bug-like armor with a scorpion tail and green goggles. The pegasus groans than shrieked in fear and pain when Soldier walked over and stepped on the broken wing. Medic smiles, and says, “Good afternoon, Hippie. I will be your guide today. Your guide to pain. In which you will be in a world of.” Medic raised his hoof and stopped. His Cutie Mark returned and eyes turned back to their icy blue.

Medic blinked a few times, surprised to find himself standing and in a different location, “Vat?” He asks no one in particular. He stared at the pegasus below himself and stepped back. Medic looks to Ruby fearful, “Filly? Vat did I do? Und don’t spare any details!” Medic reached into his saddlebags and pulled out the medical supplies he had stored up. He then started tending to the still freaked out pegasus while Ruby explained the craziness she had just experienced, and Medic groaned, “Ruby? I’m sorry if I scared jou… I zink now is as good a moment to tell jou-”

“That there’s more than one person in you?” Ruby asked,

“Vell, sort of.” Medic replied, the pegasus had long since fainted, “I have multiple souls.” Ruby stared in confusion,

“What does that mean?” She asks as Medic finishes binding the pegasus in healing bandages and pushing a healing potion down his throat,

“It means I have the lives of many other ponies vith in me. None of zem vant to remain silent. Zey all vant to live. If zey veren’t mein friends, I fear zey vould have tried to control me by now, since I, meinself, do not have a soul other than vat is tied to mein violin I believe.” Ruby’s eyes went wide, her little mind struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the situation,

“So, how did you obtain your friend's souls?” Ruby asks a little afraid,

“I took zem so I could cheat death und ze Devil.” Medic replies casually, and Ruby gasped.

“You dare steal from your own friends?” She cried, angry. Medic cringes and sighs,

“Ja, I dared, I succeeded, und I’m beginning to regret it. Engineer vas right, und it only took zem dying first to realize vat I have done. Zey are mein friends, zey should’ve had more chances to live, zey truly cared for me, even ven it seemed like zey didn’t, und finally… Immortality isn’t worth it. Not worth ze lives lost to reach ze top, for ven jou get up zere, jour zere alone.” Medic holds a hoof to his heart as though that could reach something deeper. Ruby opens his mouth to speak, but Medic’s horn glows and he screams. Ruby watches as other Cutie Marks surrounded his own then leap from his flank forming blue pony shaped apparitions that take form. Ruby sees Medic fall to his side as though he had run a great distance nonstop. The biggest blue ghost walks over and picks up Medic and hugs the stallion. This pony’s Cutie Mark was of what Ruby guessed was some sort of sandwich with a bullet stabbed through the middle,

“Doctor not alone. Friends always with Doctor now, give Doctor strength.” He spoke with a strange accent and seemed to struggle with Ponish,

“H-Heavy…” Medic cried weakly and hugged his old friend. Ruby felt something touch her. It was cold and warm at the same time. She looked seeing a young pegasus trying to lean on her only to fall through her. A chill ran up Ruby’s spine,

“Awe come on man!” His Cutie Mark was a baseball wrapped in electrical energy. The bug-like pony wearing a red mask and a suit laughed and snorted. No mark was visible on his flanks. A fully grown blank fank? Ruby wondered,

“You should’ve expected as much Scout.” The bug-like pony chuckled in an unknown accent as well. Only he seemed to be a lot better at the language than his big companion. “We are merely spirits after all.”

“What is going on?” Ruby finally asked and the eye patch wearing pony replied. His Cutie Mark was a shield with a dynamite stick and a sword hiding behind it,

“All of us wished to speak to the Doc, lass. So we forced him to do a spell that would free us from him as ghosts of the past for the time being. The process was painful, left ‘im weak. Heavy’s giving ‘im strength since without us as he said, he only has his violin to keep himself rooted to the world.”

“So if he lost contact with his instrument and none you were with him… He’d die?”

“Aye. Yer a good pony, lass.”

“A true American!” The earth pony with a helmet over his eyes saluted. Ruby tensed. Soldier, “Also, I want to beat this hippie more!” He tried to stomp on the pegasus having no effect,

“NEIN! JOU’VE DONE ENOUGH, DUMMKOPF!” Medic shouted trying to get free from Heavy to stop Soldier. Instead, he ended up falling on his face,

“Ooo, that oughta hurt.” Scout whispered as he stood up then asked Spy, “If we are just spirits, how come Heavy can lift Medic? Hm?” Spy fell silent and scratched his chin thinking, he then smiled,

“Simple. We are tied to him! We can interact only with him, but our presence is always there.” Spy grinned as Scout growled,

“Fine smarty pants, I’m heading back.” Scout disappears into a blueish glowing orb that flies back into Medic. Said pony gasps as energy returns to him. Medic looks to Spy with a glare,

“Quit hiding it from him Spy! Ve are out of ze var games! Jou don’t need to hide it!” Medic shouted, annoyed about something that Ruby didn’t understand, but she guessed it was something about Scout.

“I will tell him when he is ready. He is still just a boy.”

“Jou both are dead, vat more could jou need? Quit making excuses und be a man instead of a cowardly little child like jour own son!” Ruby gasped and Spy growled,

“Don’t talk about him like that!” He then stops realizing what he just did. Medic smiles knowingly, “I hate you sometimes.” Spy muttered and the pegasus in a desperado hat put a hoof to Spy’s back in support,

“Doc’s right Spook, but ya need to stop pushing him away first. I know how weird it is to meet your real parents for the first time.” Spy lets out a sigh,

“Thank you, Bushman.” Sniper smiles and all the souls return to Medic. Ruby stares in amazement. Medic slowly sits up,

“Ruby? Jou have to promise not to tell anyvon vat jou have seen or heard. Zis Pegasus is going to wake up und vant an explanation. I’m going to tell him zat I have multiple personalities und go from zere as needed. Ve vill have to deliver him to his kind... somehow.”

“But-” Seeing Medic’s worried face Ruby changed what she was going to say, “I promise Medic… What did you see in the memory orb?” Medic pauses before replying,

“I was mein friend, Engineer, and he was doing something to mein employer. She spoke about one of us, me und mein teammates, as though she needed somezing from us… I guess Engineer is trying to tell me something… I just don’t know vat.” The pegasus started to stir in his weird bug armor,

“Where am I. The last thing I remember…” The pegasus buck noticed Medic kindly smiling at him, “Oh no! PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!” He shouted in terror, backing up a little, and Medic rolled his eyes,

“Look, I’m not going to hurt jou. Ze von who attacked jou is a different story. Have jou ever heard of ze story of Doctor Jekyll und Mr.Hyde?” The pegasus thought for a bit then asked,

“Is that the one where a guy makes a potion and gains a freaky second personality?” Medic smiles and nods,

“Ja, zat’s ze von. Jou see, I have somezing similar, zhough not induced by a potion more a glitch in a computer system zat kept me und mein teammates in cryogenic stasis for ze last 200 years. Who attacked jou was known as Soldier, und he had very violent hobbies. He vas able to control me cause I vas viewing a memory orb.” Both Ruby and the pegasus listened to Medic’s lie. Ruby being amazed at just how well Medic could cover something up. This causes Ruby to wonder how many times Medic had done so in the past. Medic held out a hoof, “Jou may call me Healing Song or my wartime designation, Medic.” The pegasus accepted the helping hoof and sat up,

“Blackout. Enclave designation, Scout. Nice to meet ya Medic.” Medic raised an eyebrow at Blackout’s reply,

“I’m sorry, vat’s ze Enclave und vat kind of Scout?” Ruby piped in,

“I’m Bloody Ruby. Medic’s my guardian. He just came out of a Stable and has Amnesia so I wouldn’t be surprised that he doesn’t know much.” Medic looked kind of hurt but he probably didn’t dwell on it,

“Ah, that explains why you haven’t heard of us.” Blackout remarked, looking at Medic with sympathy, “The Enclave is the military force up above the clouds, and I’m the kind of Scout who checks if the world below is safe for my kind.” Medic kept smiling, but Ruby suspected he was fighting control with Soldier right there and then,

“I see. So vhy haven’t jou been down here before. As jou can see, ponies can live here. Ve aren’t thriving to be fair, but ve’re living none ze less.” The pegasus went silent and Medic sighed, “Vell, if jou don’t have an answer, I’m sure ze rest of jou do. Are jou aware of any bases around here zat ve could take jou to?” Blackout’s eyes went wide,

“You would do that?” He then coughed, “Uh, I meant to say-”

“Jou thought I’d keep jou around as a punching bag? Or vorse, sell jou?” Blackout slowly nodded in fear, “Nein, I vouldn’t do zat. Zose are Slavers und I ever so happened have a liking to slaughtering zem, not reasonable ponies like jou who vas simply in ze wrong place at ze wrong time. Now again, vere can I take jou?”

“Uh, I believe there’s an Enclave outpost not far from Ghastly Gorge.” Blackout replied unsure of his response,

“Believe?” Medic buried his face in his hooves, “Oh vhy don’t I just get vacked vith von of Pyro’s axes? If jou don’t know for an assurity, zen jou’ll be traveling vith us until ve find a base, jou ving heals, or until a friend of jours comes down looking for jou.” Blackout cringed,

“Alright, alright. There is a base near Ghastly Gorge. I just never went there. They may try to shoot you.” He clumsily gets to his feet. “What did you do, anyway? I was flying pretty high. (Not regulation height, but still.)” Medic panics,

“I do quite believe, that I performed a rocket jump?” Both Blackout and Bloody Ruby stared at Medic confusion written on their faces, “It was a technique Soldier used. Firing rockets at his feet as he jumped, giving him a lot of height and speed that even our Scout couldn’t beat him in a race if he was using his rocket launcher.” Blackout jumped in understanding and shock,

“HE USED MISSILES TO JUMP!?” Medic nods in response, “But, you don’t have a rocket launcher with you… How?”

“I have no idea!” Medic cried with exasperation, “It defies any logic or science I have ever studied! As if teleporting bread vasn’t bad enough!” Blackout was about to question Medic more but Ruby advised against it,

“We need to get a move on. Staying here will only bring more trouble and Ghastly Gorge is on the border of Everfree! We’ll have enough trouble from the forest without dragging more attention to ourselves… Not to mention the creepy lady!”

“Creepy lady? Now that’s just not nice!” Blackout retorted, “I know plenty of Pegasi that seem creepy, but have a heart of gold.” Medic snorted,

“Her heart burns with hellfire!” Blackout raised an eyebrow, “I’ll tell you what I know to the best of my ability.” Medic responded as they started walking alongside the railroad toward Ponyville.

Medic’s POV: “Und zat is all I remember.” Medic finished talking about what happened to him up to the gunshot to his head from a robot version of his friend. Part of him said if the robot didn’t kill him, Vengeance Heavy would… If Grey Mann hadn’t had killed Vengeance Heavy first. Medic didn’t include the fact he vaguely remembered talking to the Devil and trading away Pyro’s soul for the opportunity to return but after that… There was nothing.

“So you, in a sense, got shot in the head by your own friend? How did you survive!?” Blackout shouted in confusion. The Everfree Forest was coming up on the horizon. Medic had chosen to ignore the creepy town his Pip-Buck marked as Ponyville as to avoid any act of insanity against the revolting decor of pony and monster bodies,

“Honestly, I don’t know vat happened after zat.” Medic replies, again, hiding the Devil encounters and works with the soul, and instead replacing them with moments of Amnesia, “It’s all a blur.”

“Sorry for your loss.” Blackout commented, but Medic waved him away.

“Really, it vas nothing to me. Not at ze time… I zink...” Medic tried to make it still seem like he was confused more than he really was. Silence filled the air. Blackout began to move along. “Well, are we going or what?” He called back,

“J-Ja…” Medic replies and continues to move forward. A few steps are taken before large blue vines sprout out of the ground, charging at the team. Ruby’s screams of terror are all Medic needs to be told the vines aren’t good news, “Run for it!” Medic’s shield appeared as the vines lunged, “Whatever jou are! Stay back!” Medic shouts and the vines writhe from the electrical current they experience from the shield. Ruby and Blackout run down the tracks and Medic follows, wishing he had Pyro’s flamethrower.

And just as he had that thought, he could see some blindingly bright orange and red flames jutting out from a spout in front of him. Wait… It wasn’t just any flamethrower design, it was one he recognized! He could see the familiar gasoline pump handle, the red design, the tank attached to the bottom, and the hoof holding it… “PYRO?!” She hmphed back, continuing to spray fire everywhere, burning the vines to a crisp very well-done. Pyro stopped holding onto the handle so hard, and the flames stopped. Pyro looked around, pointing the flamethrower in every which direction. She stepped on a burning pile of ash but didn’t seem to notice. Seeing a smaller vine trying to wriggle it’s way back into the earth, Pyro pointed the flamethrower at it and pulled the trigger. An explosion of fire came rocketing out once more, and Pyro considered the job done.

She turned to Medic and put the flamethrower on her back. Out come pouring a sudden noise of hmphs and hurrs at him, and Medic cried, “Woah, woah, woah! Slow down! Jou know I can’t understand jou like that!” Pyro stopped and hugged Medic. Medic returned the hug, then pulled himself away. “I thought jou were dead!” Pyro said something like,

“About that…” Medic realized what he did with Pyro’s soul.

“Oh boy… How did jou escape ze Devil?” Pyro looks confused,

“You mean the king of Pyro Land? He let me come back.” Pyro replied and Medic’s mouth fell open, “Said I was to go and help you till you fulfilled your end of a deal. Too bad, I wanted to stay with all the fairies. Oh well, It’s nice to be back here too!” Medic could only guess what the ‘fairies’ really were. Ruby and Blackout walk back upon hearing Medic’s shouts and Ruby asks,

“Who is that?”

“Oh! Ruby, Blackout. Meet Firefly, my team’s Pyro.” Pyro muttered,

“That’s not my name.” But no one except Medic understood what Pyro had said. Pyro waves at the Pegasus and Earth Pony who were standing there dumbfounded,

“I thought you said all your team members died in Cryogenic stasis!” Blackout says,

“I thought so too… But apparently… Pyro survived.”

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

Level up:

New perk: Story Teller: You are able to lie quite well. You gain a 5% Charisma bonus when telling a lie.