Fallout Equestria: The Tale of the Soldier

Chapter 2:  Ponyville Burning

“Live by the flame, die by the flame.”

The sun shone through the ever-present overcast of the Wasteland, providing a sickly looking light, but light none the less. The twenty-strong Alpha squad stood alongside me at the edge of the Everfree, as we looked out to Ponyville, our target.

“Same as always?” Bloody 2 asked, walking up next to me.

“Aye, go in, kill whomever is left from that fighting we heard earlier, burn the what’s left of the town, leave a message that nopony will forget if they see it.” I replied. Bloody 2 nodded and brought out her rifle from her holster, soon followed by me and all the others. Each one of us was equipped with an AER-17, the last weapon the original Commandos used before the Last Day. It stood for Assault Energy Rifle Model 17, and is a whole other league from the magical energy weapons we are all used to. They fire a bolt of blue energy that, upon impact, would fry the nearby nerves, essentially killing that area, but on the outside, it did not leave a single mark. The chemical required to fire the weapon is highly stable, easy to make with the right equipment, and with my Silent Death, can even be made an endless clip.

“Alright everypony, you know the drill, sweep the town, kill any raiders, bring the rest to me for reckoning. Any questions?” I asked the squad. They remained silent, “Alright then, move out!” the twenty ponies moved out from the edge of the Everfree and moved silently towards Ponyville, weapons at ready.

Now, one thing you should know about me; I tend to hold a grudge, and when somepony does something that invokes my rage, or take something away from me, you can be damned sure that I am going to come after you, so you can probably imagine how I felt when I found out somepony had already killed the raiders in Ponyville, only leaving some bottlecaps and supplies that would probably redundant to whomever did it.

“Um, are you okay Julion?” Bloody 2 asked me. She used my real name whenever we were alone, she was probably the only pony in the whole damned Wasteland to know my real name.

“No! Do I look fine to you! I was looking forward to a fight to find it had been robbed from me!” I snarled, feeling mad at just about everything as I looked about the decimated and bloody library I stood in.

“Julion, don’t you think your over-reacting a bit?” she asked worriedly.

“NO!” I yelled, eyes flashing red for a second, “Every life has a price, and I will make whomever did this pay that price! Then kill them!”

“Well, if your bent on revenge, why not burn the place as planned, then listen to DJ-Pon3’s radio station. This event had to been noticed by him.” Bloody 2 said soothingly, trying to calm me down.

“Fine Topal, and if this turns out to be the work of him...” I grinned in anticipation.

“Now, don’t get too ahead of yourself, remember last night?”

“HA! Either one of those two could have hardly taken on every raider in Ponyville and come out on top! You make me laugh sometimes Topal, oohh captive of slavers one night to clearer of raider dens the next, how...heroic! Now, get the torches, let’s burn this shit-hole before I lose this sudden good mood.” Bloody 2 nodded and went off to tell the others, as I simply took one last stroll through the age and battle wrecked town.

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

The inferno that was Ponyville put a smile on my face as I looked at it, sure I didn’t get to kill anything today, but Head Hunter still tasted blood. An example of such was about 100 meters in front of me, a sign that said Do not cross the Soldier and was adorned with the head of a raider. Identical signs surrounded Ponyville, far enough away to not be burned, and close enough that anypony entering the town would get a clear message.

The Alpha squad behind me slowly turned around and headed back into the forest, but me, I stayed and watched. I watched the smoke rise into the air before being quickly dispersed by the wind. The land was painted a in a strange sickly color as the sun set and its light combined with the flame that was Ponyville, but still, a rare true smile found its way onto my face. (Okay, okay, so I am a bit of a pyromaniac so what?). Tomorrow, tomorrow I will find whomever stole those kills from me, and they will feel the bite of Head Hunter, I thought, before finally, getting up, turned around, and headed into the forest.