Fallout Equestria: Cloudfall

Chapter two

Grave entered the restricted medical room with a saddlebag on his back belonging to the medical cabinets. Dirty glances at Grave as he crushes corals in a mortar and pestle. “So where are you off to this time?”

Grave grabs three vials of health potion from a cabinet and puts it into his saddle. “I’m off to find a pony that claims to be my dad.” Dirty let out a chuckle as Grave grabbed a vial labelled ‘painkiller,’ “I know he can handle himself, but the last time he came back he was heavily injured.”

“You don’t usually worry about your father, are you leaving to find something else?” Dirty turned to Grave, waiting for his answer.

Before Grave could defend himself, a familiar voice was heard as the door opened. “Grave~, I need your help with a song I…” Siren Song enters the room holding a few sheets of papers in her magic, as she looks at Grave as she notices the saddlebag on his back.

“I hope you have a good reason why you’re leaving?” Siren questions Grave.

“I’m planning on finding the daughter that my mother talked about before she died.” Grave turned to Siren, giving her a smile.

“Oh, well that is-”

“The most stupid thing to do.” Siren glares at Dirty as he gives her an unapologetic look. “He has no idea what she looks like and there is a possibility she is dead.”

“Just find a unicorn with bone white fur, and she can’t be dead if someone took her away from Bone Marrow.” Siren walks up to Grave and gives him a hug. “I’m sure she still wonders who her mother is and Grave is going to tell her all about it.”

“Well, she can’t look exactly like her or be a unicorn because of the whole family lineage and things that could have happened in the past, but I do intend to tell her about her mother,” Grave said as he broke out of Siren’s hug. “Also can’t you get somepony else to help you with the song.”

Siren looked at Grave unamused, “You know how most ponies tend to be when I want their opinion on these songs; ‘Oh Siren that was amazing, are you an angel sent by the goddess.’” Siren scoffed before continuing. “You’re the only one who will give me an honest opinion.”

“What about Dirty Brew?”

Siren looks at Dirty, who glances at her then crosses his forehooves with one sticking upward. “Come on Grave, we’re going to someplace private.”

Grave just nods as he closes his saddlebag and heads out the door with Siren.

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Grave left the building humming a tune to himself with his saddlebag on his back. He heads to the docks where a few ponies wearing armour under their robes wait on the boat as a sailor unicorn is checking the engine.

An orange earth mare looks to his side and notices Grave walking toward the boat. “Well hello Grave, off to find more medical supplies or ingredients that Zonie needs?”

Grave walks onto the boat and drops the saddlebag on the floor. “No, I’m off to find a pony on the island.”

The yellow unicorn stallion nudges Grave side. “Well I hope you brought some flint and tinder if you do find the body.”

Grave glares at the pony as the sailor walks onto the boat. “The engine is working, just don’t hang on the edge of the boat; don’t need one of you idiots getting dragged by one of the Drowners.”

“Sure thing Starport.” a blue pegasus mare said in a mocking tone as she lies on the side of the boat with a spear beside her.

Starport looks at the mare before shaking his head and enters the helm of the ship. The engine roars and the rope tied to the dock is removed and placed onto the boat. Grave sits down with his back to the helm as he listens to the other ponies talk to one another. Grave closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he begins to see everypony soul. He was hoping to get some rest but he notices a few souls rushing to the boat. Standing up he stares where the souls came from feeling his heart pounding. He waited till he saw a wing appear out of the water before going back into the ocean.

“Drowners!” The ponies get up and ready their weapon looking toward where Grave was staring at.

“You guys are overreacting,” everyone looks at the pegasus who is still laying on the side of the boat. “Like any Drowners are going to attack,”

A Drowner jumped out of the water and slammed its claw into the mare's chest. As she let out a blood-curdling scream, the Drowner bites down on her throat and dragged her over the boat causing it to rock.

“Goddess be damned, there go Freeway!” Stallion shouted before turning to another Drowner trying to grab him. Aiming his gun he fires a few rounds at the Drowner only one of the bullets grazes the side of it, Causing it to retreat back under the water as the pony reloads.

“Grave grab the spear,” says the mare as she stabs a Drowner trying to get on the boat. Grave rushed to the spear as one of the creatures jumped onto the boat followed by a shout behind him. When he turns around with a spear in hoof he notices a Drowner on top of the stallion as his hooves are holding the creature back.

As he readies the spear, Grave stabs the Drowner shoulder causing it growl in pain and gets ready to pounce at him. Grave attempts to stab the Drowner again, but it throws itself onto Grave, causing the spear to cut the side of it. The Drowner readies to jam its claw into Grave only for a shot to be heard, it drop-dead onto Grave.

Grave pushes the corpse off of him and sees both ponies on edge keeping an eye on the ocean. Picking himself up, Grave looked out to the stern to see if any Drowners were still coming toward them.

There was dead silence as they waited for another attack as the fog began to cover the whole boat. What felt like hours waiting for something to strike the boat till a voice was heard from inside of the boat.

“We’re at the dock, you lot can calm down now.” Everypony let out a sigh, Grave looked to the starport and saw the wooden pair in the thick fog. He notices the stallion has his hoof on the wound. Grave walks to the stallion as he grabs his medical bag. As Grave opens it, a green aurora surrounds the bandages and weaker health potion. “I got this doc, I know some medical stuff.”

Grave nodded to the stallion and tossed his saddle bag onto his back. Before he gets off the boat, somepony calls for him. As he turns, a spear is tossed at him. “Take that spear with you, you can’t be sure if you get attacked by those Headcases out of nowhere.”

Grave grabs the spear and heads into the forest of the island.
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Being in the forest always makes Grave uneasy as the fog can become thicker to see the dangers making it harder to react to in time. Keeping an ear out for anything coming toward him, he came across a rundown camp site as the day was coming to an end. Putting his saddle bag down, Grave collects the scattered twigs and branches around the area and places them in a shallow pit. Grabbing a tinderbox out of his saddle bag, Grave struggles to ignite a flame on the twigs. After a few attempts, the fire catches on and begins to burn brightly. Grave grabbed a tin ration out of the saddle bag and ate it by the fire. Finishing his food, Grave pulls out a spade and digs a small hole where he buries a medical box and another tin ration in case he gets surprised by a group of scavengers robbing him of his belongings.

Carefully hiding the now burdened stuff, Grave begins to pray to his goddess

“Oh Necramaceus, goddess of death, please protect me in my sleep and keep the evils from forcing me to visit you sooner than you attended. Protect those who don’t believe in you for they will be visiting you when their time on this earth is up, Omnes veniunt ad mortem.”

Grave put out the fire and began to sleep in an old tent that still stands after years of use from other creatures.

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Grave sees a pegasus mare of blue fur and black mane standing in front of him with a worried look.

“Where am I?” asked the mare. Grave tried to reply only for something to start to wrap around him and start dragging him away from the mare. Grave looked back and saw a pony wrapped in Blackthorn as some of its tendrils latched on to him. Grave tries to break out of it only for more tendrils to latch on to him, halting his movement.

Grave awoke feeling cold sweat across his body. As Grave gets up he hears rustling and voices outside of the tent.

“damn this pony was over prepared for everything.” Said one of the voices, “You got food, water, a spear.”

“I find it strange that there are no healing supplies.” Said another voice. Grave peeked out of the tent and saw two ponies rustinging through his saddle bag. Seeing their armour he knows they are Headcases

“Must have forgotten them or they fell off of him, ain't that right Toffee.”

As he was distracted staring at the ponies scavenging his saddlebag. Something grabbed him and pulled him out of the tent then tossed him into a tree.

“Well we should thank this cultus for leaving us such a gift for us,” Said another pony. As Grave looks up he sees a rugged dark brown earth pony holding him pinned to the tree. Both ponies thanked Grave in a mocking tone before going back ransacking his stuff.

“I suggest you don’t fight back, unless you want to end up like your partner.” The pony points toward a dagger stabbed in the ground by the firepit.

Grave looked at the pony confused. “Why would you kill him?”

“If I didn’t then he would call out for help and more ponies would show up,” the pony lifts his hoof off of Grave and walks toward the other two ponies “Me and the boys are just going to take your stuff and let you live knowing your friend died for nothing.”

Grave watches as the three Headcases take his saddle bag and leave the spear behind. Grave walks to where he buried the medical supplies and ration to eat. Grave put on the medical saddlepack and began to walk away from the campsite.
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Grave trots on top off a small hill to see a ruined port town with a wall covering half of the town. Heading toward the walled town, Grave notices a pony on the town wall. Grave tried to call out the pony only to not get a reply back, he picked up a rock and threw it at the pony. The rock hit the pony causing him to curse before looking toward Grave with a light on him.

“Who are you and what do you want?!” shouted the guard pony.

“I'm Empty Grave and I wish to enter your small town to resupply."

The guard looks around Grave to see if there’s anyone else but him. “All right but don’t try anything too stuped or you’ll get kicked out.”

Grave began to walk toward the opening gate as he saw the ponies going about their day. He sees ponies eyeing him and whispering to each other as he walks on by looking for a medical building. He spotted a sign with a painted cross on a building. While walking toward the building, Grave hears harsh whispers coming from the ponies around him.

“Why did the guards let him in?”
“How long till we start noticing ponies going missing?”
“It may just be one of them, but how long till more start showing up?”
“Is he even part of that group, his robes look more different then theirs.”

Upon entering the building Grave hears a bell jingle as cursing can be heard from deeper in the building.

“This better not be someone with a scraped knee or sore muscles…” A dark blue unicorn walks out of the back of the store and sees Grave looking around the place. “First time seeing somepony like you, what brings you to my clinic?”

“I just want to sell you these health potions,” Grave put the medical box on the counter and reveal the three health potions. The doctor grabs one of the potions to inspect it.

“These look to be homemade potions, did you happen to make them?” Grave shook his head. “Well I need to make sure they're not poison, follow me.” Grave follows the doctor to the back of the building where he sees a pony in bandages drench in blood with a few wounds exposed.

“This fello got unlucky and got attacked by a coral bear on his way back; I manage to stabilise him but he might die to any infections he will get.” The doctor opened one of the vails and brought it close to the pony. “So is this work I’ll take the rest of your 'potions’' he began pouring the potion down the pony mouth, slowly the wounds began to close.

“Well you look at that, it works.” The doctor grabbed a pouch and gave it to Grave. Grave looked inside and saw a bunch of fish skulls.

“So is there a bar I can go to and grab some food?” asked Grave.

“Yeah, there's one across the dock, you’ll see the odd sign above the door.”

Grave thanked the doctor and asked around town for any spotting of his father.