Fallout Equestria: The Tale of the Soldier

Chapter 1: The First Night

"You know, it’s simple really, three strikes, and you go up in smoke, what’s not to get?”

“I guess I should start by telling you about me and the Commandos, my army of mercenaries. Our predecessors were fighters in the Great War, I myself am directly descended from Dark Light, Commander of the Royal Guard and Leader of the Elite Guard, also known as the Commandos. She was second only to the Ministry Mares and Princess Luna. She lead her Commandos on missions that required more stealth than the Steel Rangers and required more small-unit tactics than the regular army and the elite pegasus fighters could do, and yet those groups have since overshadowed the Commandos. They were used behind zebra lines to disrupt supply lines and cause chaos wherever they could. When I founded my own Commando army, I based it off my ancestor’s army."

"Now, onto myself, I won’t be telling you a whole lot other than that the scar I have, I gained from a raid on New Appleloosa from fighting Calamity, that I acquired my Pipbuck through ‘special means’, and that my favorite weapons are an energy rifle that I named Silent Death, and a large knife that according to the engraving on it, is called Head Hunter. Now, onto the story, which I shall start about the moment Littlepip took her first step outside Stable 2.”

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

“Well, well, well, look at what we have here!” I said, facing the captured raider that was currently being held down by two of my mercenaries, “A member of the Ponyville Raiders, who have missed their third payment of rent!” (My mercenaries technically owned Ponyville, but we often lent it out to whomever moved in as we prefered to stay in the Everfree Forest. Don’t ask why.) The fear in the raider’s eyes was clear, they knew what a third strike meant.

Here’s the breakdown of my payment system, that goes for being hired for certain jobs or tenants living on Commando land, each strike is a missed payment. Strike 1: The payment is forcibly taken, Strike 2: The payment is made up in lives and supplies, Strike 3: Total annihilation. I used fear just as much as any other way to get what was deserved and promised.

“Please, don’t!” The raider started to plead, but only got a stomp on the snout in reply.

“I don’t have time for your type, by this time tomorrow, your comrades will be dead and Ponyville will be a smoking ruin.” I said calmly, stepping back from the raider, who now had blood gushing from his mouth and nose, “I think I’ll start with you as you tried to run.” The raider’s eyes grew even more in fear, his iris shrinking to the size of a pea. The two mercenaries holding him down suddenly picked him up and backed him up hard into a tree, the raider releasing a gurgled scream. I sighed as I slightly approached him, “Pitiful.” I said as I drew out my knife, Head Hunter, from its sheath on the backside of my Pipbuck, levitating it out in front of me.

The raider tried once more to scream, before Head Hunter sliced into his throat and his head fell to the forest floor, forever silent. As the blood began to pool out from the neck, I pointed to the two that were holding up the raider, “You and you, take care of the body and blood, can’t have any manticores attacking us in our sleep later tonight.” the two nodded and got to work.

I turned away from the body and went into the small squad camp that I lived and directed Alpha squad and the rest of the Commandos from, ready to let the squad know that we were heading out in the morning to attack Ponyville and kill those payment dodging, son-of-a-bitch raiders. I always was happy to know I was about to go into a fight, the thrill, the adrenaline, the whizzing bullets and explosions just put a smile on my face.

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

I was starting to go through the final patrols of the small camp when I heard a very distant shot. Little did I know it at that time, but that was the shot Sawed Off the slaver fired at a Sprite-Bot, while escorting Littlepip and Monterey Jack to wherever they were heading. It was almost as if fate was trying to tell me of the pony I would soon be following was nearby, but at the time, I had no clue what it was, so naturally, I went to investigate with my most trusted soldier and my number 2, Bloody 2.

As we approached the small little scouting outpost that overlooked the bridge to Ponyville, the sounds of a gunfight suddenly erupted, tearing apart the quiet of the night. Bloody 2 and I looked at each other before galloping the last little bit to the over-watch to see the Ponyville raiders fighting with some ponies. I picked up a pair of binoculars that were on a table in the outpost and looked at the firefight. I looked towards the three that had apparently stayed behind for some reason when I saw that two had chains around their legs, ones front chains a little higher because of a very certain object around her leg.

“Slavers. Looks like they got themselves a stabler as well.” I said to Bloody 2, still looking through the binoculars. I watched as the one with the Pipbuck used her magic to slip out two objects that I couldn’t make out, but from the way she worked on the chains, I could only guess they were lock-picking tools. The one guarding them, that from the looks of it had a shovel for some reason in his mouth suddenly turned towards the mare. Then moments later, his head exploded onto the mare, who I couldn’t help but feel sorry for. She looked brand new to the Wastes (Could tell by her not torn up clothes and her clean coat) and now she just got some pony’s head splattered all over her. But that reminded me of the firefight going on, so I redirected my attention to the bridge.

“See anything else out of the ordinary?” Bloody 2 asked.

“Nope. Though I do think the slavers are getting their asses handed to them.” I said as I watched one get torn to shreds by a combat shotgun, “Be ready to shoot Bloody, can’t have raiders due to die tomorrow to take any prisoners.” I told her out of the corner of my mouth.

“Got it.” and I heard shifting around and the clicking of a stand as she got a sniper ready. The raiders soon killed the last slaver and approached the two captured ponies.

“Fire on my mark.” a raider suddenly kicked the mare, sending her crashing to the ground, and then slammed her hooves once more into her side.. “Get ready...” one of the raiders slammed the stallion with a sledgehammer. “Get the one with with the hammer...” the mare suddenly got up, as the raider that kicked her had left her and was holding the shotgun over the stallion’s hoof,  “Wait, let’s see where this goes.” I told Bloody 2, as the mare charged and delivered a back kick into the shotgun of the raider. Soon, the fight turned against the raiders as the stallion choked the hammer raider and the mare easily took down the other with the shovel.

“Soldier...?” Bloody 2 started.

“They no longer need us, come on, let’s rest up for tomorrow.” I replied. She nodded as she disassembled the sniper and I placed the binoculars back, little did we know that that mare we would soon end up following all the way the Manehatten.

End of chapter 1