Chapter 1 - And So It Begins
Fallout: Equestria - Moonlight
By: Echo Breeze
Chapter One: And So It Begins
"Let me tell you a story of a better time. A time when all ponies got along and the sun was always shining"
Let me tell you a story. The story of how I got to be who I am and with the people I'm with today. To tell you the story, I've got to take you back to the beginning.
The Equestrian Wasteland. A glittering cesspool of violence and moral depravity. To most, it's a place of hardship and trial, not worth the time of day. To others, much like myself, it's home.
My name is Moonlight Melody, a Unicorn pony born in the wastes of a once great land. I was born in the remnants of a small town on the outskirts of the once great Crystal Empire. The Crystal Empire, like most great cities, was wiped out by one of the many Mega Spells that hit Equestria by the Zebra on that fateful day. Most of the pony folk in my 'hometown' come from the nearby Stable Twenty-One, which was one of the first Stables to successfully open up almost two centuries after the megaspells hit, so it is no surprise to see everypony walking around in Stable barding and sporting a Pipbuck. Now I know you are wondering what a Pipbuck is, so I'll tell you.
A PipBuck is a device, worn on a foreleg just above the hoof, issued to every pony in a Stable when they earn their cutie mark. Their cutie mark usually tells the Overmare what job they will undertake within the Stable, and things are still done that way outside of Stable Twenty-One after it opened up. I got my cutie mark one day while helping out in the apple orchard planted just outside of the town. I was helping to keep a lookout for Raiders on the night shift, singing one of the songs sung by the legendary Sweetie Belle (she was an absolutely amazing singer) when it happened. I remember a bright flash of light coming from behind me in the middle of the chorus for Hush Now, Quiet Now and looking back to see a treble clef with what I assumed was the moon shining on it in the background. Ever since that day, I've been singing and bringing joy to my town, but I was not as happy as them. I felt there had to be more for me out there than writing lyrics and singing.
One fateful day, the peaceful Stable Town (that's what the town was called by the first Overmare to leave the Stable) got an unexpected visitor. The visitor was a red pegasus mare with a pink and yellow mane and tail. None of us had ever seen a pegasus before. But something was wrong. As she approached the gates, I could see she was bleeding from multiple wounds throughout her beautiful body! I ran to the gates, my ears flat against my head, as I screamed to a nearby guardspony.
"Fetch the Overmare and Nurse Strongheart!"
I threw open the gates and caught her in my hooves right as she collapsed out of the sky, her wings unable to hold her up any longer. Her eyes went wide when she saw me, and mouthed 'help me' before passing out.
After a few hours of pacing back and forth outside of Nurse Strongheart's clinic, I finally saw the Overmare come walking out. The Overmare was a dashing Unicorn mare, with a coat white as silk (or as white as the books said silk was) a cutie mark depicting a scale over a book (not sure what that meant, other than she was supposed to lead with fairness, which she did to a tee) and a mane and tail of the purest amethyst and emerald. Her eyes shone like the aforementioned gemstones, always sparkling with humor and kindness, no matter how dire a situation was, but I saw none of that sparkle as she walked past me.
Her face was set in a deep frown of worry, and she was muttering under her breath as she walked to her office in the old Town Hall. I followed her, using the stealth I had practiced since I was a foal, as she walked into Town Hall, beckoning to two guardsponies as she did. I followed them in, knowing full well that spying and eavesdropping were punishable by hard labor should a pony be caught doing it. I made sure not to get caught, using my dark grey coat to blend into the shadows.
Creeping up to the Overmare's office door, I could hear muffled conversation coming from inside.
"What I want to know, is why Enclave Pegasi are this close to the town." The Overmare said, frantically scratching at papers lying on her desk. "I want the two of you to take two ponies each and search the perimeter. Where there is one Enclave pegasus, you can bet your flank there are more. Dismissed."
I heard the guardsponies' muffled salute before the Overmare spoke again.
"Speak nothing of this to the townsponies. I don't want to have a mass panic on my hooves."
The guardsponies grunted in response before they burst out of the office, their armored barding clanking in time with their hoofsteps. I couldn't believe my ears. Not only was there a pegasus in town, but a member of the fabled Enclave as well! Curiosity got the better of me and I started back out of the Town Hall, but not before the Overmare came out of her office and spotted me.
"Moonlight!?" She yelled quizzically, her horn sparking in agitation, a look of fury on her face. I gulped before her expression softened and she motioned for me to follow her into the office with a sigh. "Please come in."
I followed her into the office with my head down and my white and grey tail dragging on the floor. I somehow knew I was in for a world of trouble.
The Overmare's office was very well furnished. A huge polished oak desk took up most of the room in front of the large window overlooking the centre of the town. Everywhere you looked, the drapes and carpeting matched the Overmare's color scheme to a tee. On the wall to the left of the desk were framed photos of Overmares from the past, all looking at the camera and smiling a smile that could melt the heart of any Raider (theoretically speaking, of course. I'd never actually met a Raider.) On the wall to the right were old Ministry posters, all faded by age but still legible. The one that intimidated me the most was the one of a grinning, pink colored Earth Pony mare with the caption "Pinkie Pie is always watching you. Always." I shuddered at the thought of having somepony watching me all the time. I sat on one of the chairs in front of the polished oak desk as the Overmare took her seat behind it, massaging her temples with her hooves.
"Moonlight. You know that spying isn't right." The Overmare said, giving me a pointed look. I gulped, knowing that this wasn't the first time I was caught sneaking around, eavesdropping on a private conversation.
"I know, ma'am. I couldn't help it though. I was the one who saw the pegasus approaching the gates. I just wanted to know more." I said, sinking into my seat. The Overmare looked at me and lifted my head, giving me that heartwarming smile.
"I know, Moonlight." She said, holding my gaze for a few moments before continuing, "That is why I am not going to punish you for eavesdropping."
"I know what I did was… Wait, what?" I asked, shocked.
"I want you there when I interrogate the pegasus when she comes to." She replied with a small smile. "Having somepony around the same age as her in the same room would do wonders at setting her at ease, and I have a feeling she will come to very soon."
I couldn't believe it. The Overmare wanted me there when she spoke to the pegasus! It took all my self-control not to leap around with glee. The Overmare obviously picked up on the excitement on my face, because she chuckled slightly. I nodded at the Overmare and she got up, leading me out of the office.
Walking up to the clinic, I could feel apprehension for what was to come. I was excited to be there when the Overmare spoke to the pegasus, but in a way, I was also nervous about it. The Overmare hardly ever asked a pony as young as me to be there for a diplomatic thing.
I was so deep in thought about it that I hardly noticed we had arrived when the Overmare cleared her throat, motioning me inside the door she was holding open. I walked into the lobby, looking around for Nurse Strongheart. I saw her come out of the door that led to her office right as the Overmare walked past me to greet her again.
The earth pony nurse had a silver mane and tail that shined against her rust brown coat, as if it were a freshly polished sword contrasting against its unattended peers. At first glance her heart cutie mark was typical of a medical pony, but upon closer inspection the syringe inside made it clear what her role probably was.
"Strongheart." She said, nodding to another door that led off from the lobby. "I trust our visitor is doing well." Strongheart nodded in response.
"Yes ma'am. She actually came to a couple o' minutes ago." Strongheart said, leading us through the door to the emergency ward. Being as young as I am, I remembered all the times I had been there for all the injuries I had sustained while searching for my cutie mark. I shuddered at the thought and continued walking behind Strongheart and the Overmare. We came to a stop outside a door that was guarded by the guardspony I had told to get the Overmare and Strongheart. The Overmare nodded at the guard, and the guard turned to leave. I looked from the guard in time to see the Overmare's tail disappear beyond the threshold. I gulped and followed her in, Strongheart bringing up the rear.
I could see a single light on in the ward near the back, the pegasus sitting up and staring at the wall. She was looking considerably better, if a bit bored, than when I had caught her when she fell, despite being covered in healing bandages. She looked at us as we approached, looking at me especially with a silent plea in her eyes. She flinched a bit when the Overmare took a seat next to her and started talking.
"Greetings, young one." The Overmare said. "I am Azure Dusk. I am the Overmare of Stable Town. Who might you be?" The pegasus gulped and sighed before responding.
"I am Lieutenant Echo Breeze of the Enclave Scout division. My number is 900-324-1320." She said, like she had rehearsed that line a lot. The Overmare nodded with a smile before turning to both Strongheart and I in turn.
"I see." She responded. "As for my companions, I'm sure you know Nurse Strongheart. The unicorn filly with me is Moonlight Melody. She is the one that caught you when you fell." I felt a bit of heat creeping up my face at the word 'filly' and gave a disdainful sniff, but nodded my head in assent when Echo looked at me. Echo nodded back before facing the Overmare again.
"I'm just glad I managed to find decent ponies in a town, unlike the last place I went to." She started, taking a steadying breath before continuing. "I was scouting a town just a few clicks south of the Crystal Empire and flew straight into an ambush. My entire team was… Shit! My team!" She threw off the covers and tried to take to the air, crashing face first into the floor at the foot of the bed. Strongheart and I rushed to her side to check if she was okay. We breathed a collective sigh of relief when Echo got up, rubbing her muzzle.
I levitated her back onto the bed, and she sighed, a tear falling down her muzzle onto the sheets.
"I left them there." She said softly, her face contorting into a look of anger. "I let them get captured by Raiders, and I left them there!" I could see she was struggling with this, so I got closer to her and rested a hoof on hers. She looked at me and smiled gratefully, though the smile didn't reach her worried and sad eyes.
"This simply will not do." The Overmare said quietly but resolutely. "We must send out a rescue party. Moonlight, you will stay here with Echo. Strongheart, you're with me. Assemble the heads of departments. We need a council meeting." With that, the Overmare left me alone with Echo for the first time since she got here. I looked at Echo, who was silently sobbing.
"I can sneak us both out before they send out a rescue party, but it'll be dangerous. Give me a few minutes to prepare and I'll meet you back here." I said and turned to leave before Echo could say anything. I heard her gasp and start to call me back, but I ignored her and went to prepare for the journey.
A few minutes later, I got back to the clinic toting saddlebags with everything I thought we would need. I made sure to pack in some first aid kits for Echo since her wounds still needed time to heal. I also packed in some apples to tie us over until we could get our hooves on some more supplies. Echo looked at me with a mixture of hope and apprehension when I told her the plan, but she nodded along. We decided to wait until dark so we could get out without anypony raising suspicion.
Night fell a few hours later, rendering the town mostly silent. The guards still did their rounds, but I was convinced we could get past them. I managed to sneak us out of the clinic, down the dimly lit Mane road, and past the Town Hall, where the lights in the boardroom were still on. I saw a shadow pass over the window, but I paid no attention to it. We crept past the guards as they were making a sweep of the road we were on, keeping to the shadows as best we could. After almost an hour of sneaking through shadowed walkways, the gates were finally in view.
"Moonlight!" I heard a voice yell from behind me, bringing me to a grinding halt with my ears flat, groaning softly. Echo came sliding to a halt as well, a confused look on her face. I turned to see the Overmare running up to us, the start of some tears in her eyes. "Whatever you are planning, Moonlight, don't do it."
"What do you expect me to do? Sit around here and do nothing but sing?" I responded, making an effort to control my temper. "I don't think so."
"Let the rescue party handle it. They're going out first thing tomorrow morning." The Overmare said. "Let the older ponies handle it. They'll be better prepared." I felt my temper snap at that. I was a mare, for Celestia sake!
"I'm not your little filly anymore, mom!" I yelled, seeing her flinch at the harsh tone in my voice. I vaguely heard Echo gasp in shock, but I ignored her. "I'm old enough to take care of myself! I've prepared for this! I've looked forward to this my whole life. For my life to actually have meaning." I felt my eyes start to well up with fresh, hot tears.
"I-I see." The Overmare replied, wiping her tears away, a small sob escaping her lips and shaking her body. "I can see that you have indeed grown up, but I can't let you go without something to protect yourself." She handed me a key, which my Pipbuck registered as the 'Weapons Room Key'. I don't know how my Pipbuck knew what exactly it was, but I didn't question it.
"Y-you mean…" I stammered, shocked.
"Yes, my little filly. That is the key to the Weapons Room. Take what you think will be necessary. Then at least I'll know that you are safe." She replied, a small smile on her muzzle. "As Overmare, I hereby condone your mission. In the Weapons Room, you will find a piece of hardware fit for your Enclave companion." She looked at Echo, who dipped her head in respectful response.
I ran up to my mother and nuzzled her for what felt like the last time, the tears falling freely down my muzzle now. She nuzzled me back, before turning me toward the Weapons Room and giving me a light nudge. I looked back at her and nodded, steeling my resolve. This was finally about to happen! I led Echo to the Weapons Room, thanking the Goddesses for the fact that every filly and colt in the town learned about guns and got basic weapons training when they received their cutie marks.
We got to the Weapons Room a few minutes later, and I unlocked the door. I looked at Echo, who nodded, and I pushed open the door. I had never been inside, so I gasped in awe at all the weapons that were on display. Echo giggled and gave me a nudge, breaking me out of my stupor. I nodded in thanks, and walked inside. There was everything from revolvers to rifles. I spotted a weapon that immediately drew my attention, and walked toward it. It was a 12 gauge shotgun. I had experience with light arms like a revolver or a 9mm, but had only fired a shotgun once. During my weapons training. I checked the magazine, and saw that it was loaded with shells already. My Pipbuck told me that the magazine held nine shells plus an extra shell ghost-loaded into the choke, making it ten rounds. I looked around and found an ammo box carrying what looked like the same rounds. I put them into my saddlebags, along with a 9mm AP pistol, a .38 revolver, some ammo for both and went to help Echo pick out a weapon.
I found Echo standing in front of a weird looking saddle thing with two high power rifles mounted to it and a mouth activated trigger mechanism in the front. I looked at Echo quizzically, but she ignored me. She lifted the saddle thing onto her back and strapped herself to it. She looked at me, and chuckled at my confused expression. I levelled a deadpan look at her.
"Mind filling me in on just what the hell that thing is?" I asked, pointing a hoof at the saddle thing.
"Of course." She replied with a smile. "It's called a battle saddle. It allows a pony without magic to use a weapon without taking up too much space in her hooves or mouth." I looked at her in awe. "This is nothing compared to Enclave power armor, but mine got damaged and I had to shed it." She chuckled ruefully as she turned to leave, giving me a full view of her gorgeous flanks as she walked past.
'Don't even think about it, Moonlight. Not everypony's barn door swings that way.' I heard my mother's voice in the back of my mind, a blush tinting my cheeks a light shade of crimson. I shook my head to try and clear it of all thoughts of the beautiful red Pegasus' ass. It worked, somewhat.
"You coming, Moonlight?" Echo asked, making my blush deepen at the unintended innuendo as I stammered out a reply.
"Y-y-yes Echo. Sorry." I called out, shaking myself out of my stupor and following her out of the Weapons Room, closing and locking the door behind me. We walked to the gates together, and I stopped when we got there, turning one last time to look at the peacefully sleeping town.
"This is it. No going back now." I said, taking a deep breath of the stale wasteland air, before turning toward the gates and stepping out into the bleak land surrounding the town. Echo followed a pace or two behind me.
We were getting shot at. I'm usually attentive when I'm moving around, but I didn't see the ambush until I walked right into it. We had walked until dawn when I spotted a strip mall, and thought it may have been a good place to stop and rest. I was wrong. Echo was at a major disadvantage not being able to fly due to her injuries, so she was growling in agitation, trying to pick off targets from the ground. I was trying to shoot at our attackers with my revolver, the shotgun rendered all but useless at the range and cover I was in. I was not having very much luck. Then I chuckled ruefully as I remembered my Pipbuck came equipped with Eyes Forward Sparkle (E.F.S) and Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell (S.A.T.S). Bringing up my E.F.S, I could see multiple red bars, accompanied by a green one representing Echo. I looked to see where a single one was at twelve o'clock, a Unicorn buck holding a rusty 9mm, and slipped into S.A.T.S. Time seemed to slow down as I picked three targets, two to the chest of my target and one to the head. Slipping out of it, time resumed as the revolver spat out three rounds. The first one to the chest found its mark. The second missed and the headshot brought him down in a spray of viscera that painted the wall behind him red. I marvelled at how easy it was. I looked to Echo and decided to help her as I switched to the shotgun, adopting a more direct, albeit crazy approach.
"Echo! Unicorn mare and Earth Pony buck at your six o'clock!" I called out, watching her nod before running like a madmare while running up to an Earth Pony mare brandishing a sharpened shovel in her mouth, a maniacal grin on my face. She took a pace back, before bringing the shovel around for a vicious attack to my head. I saw it just in time and rolled to the side, bringing the shotgun to bear. I slipped into S.A.T.S, and locked in one shot to the head. I probably could have done it without S.A.T.S, but I wasn't taking any chances. Time resumed and the shot went off, spraying brains and gore onto the wall behind the mare.
In a bit of calm where the shooting stopped, I looked to where Echo was facing off against a Unicorn mare that had managed to close in on her, wielding a hunting knife. I was about to call out to her, but bit my tongue when I saw her level the mare with her hooves with a series of precise strikes. The mare fell, twitched once or twice, and went still, the knife clattering to the cracked asphalt. Echo looked over to me with a grin, before inaudibly gasping and running toward me right as a distant shot rang off. I felt a sharp pain in my neck and rubbed it with a hoof. I brought my hoof down and saw it was covered in blood. I looked at Echo and whispered 'oh shit' before passing out, though in my state, it probably came out as 'uh nuh'. Right before the void claimed me, I heard Echo yelling my name and twin shots coming from her battle saddle.
Pain. A dull, throbbing pain was all I felt as I came to. I blinked my eyes open to see a metallic thing with wings bobbing in front of me. I scrambled to my hooves, only to flop down again as a hint of dizziness overcame me. I groaned and looked around for Echo, but she was nowhere in sight.
"Looking for your Enclave friend?" The metal thing asked me in a tinny voice, frightening me a bit. I thought I could hear a hint of contempt in its voice, but it was hard to tell. "Don't worry. She's safe. She's looking around for items that may be useful on your quest." I looked at the… robot? How could it know what I was thinking? I simply nodded, wincing when I felt a twinge where I got shot. I could feel the healing bandages wrapped around it pulling slightly.
"Who, or what, are you?" I asked, my curiosity burning.
"What I am will remain secret. As for who I am, you may call me Watcher." The robot replied. "The thing you are currently talking to is called a Sprite Bot." I looked at the Sprite Bot in confusion.
"How are you talking to me then?" I asked it skeptikally.
"Of all the possible questions, you ask me that!" The robot deadpanned. "I figured out a while ago I could hack into them and transmit my voice." I looked at the robot in confusion, causing it to sigh in what I thought was exasperation. It was really hard to tell. I'll be the first to admit it. I am not a smart pony. "That doesn't matter now though."
"What does matter then?" I asked Watcher as I forced myself to my hooves, wincing with pain, before collapsing again.
"What matters is this." Watcher started replying. "Your quest will be harrowing. Friends will make it easier to bear. Find yourself some more friends. And guns. You're going to need more than that if you want to survive in the Wasteland."
"I don't see how friends are supposed to…" I started before I heard a small pop coming from the speakers, and the Sprite Bot bobbed away playing marching band music. I sighed and decided to wait for Echo to return.
I hate waiting. I was an active pony, running laps through the streets of town every dawn and dusk. I felt about ready to climb the walls when Echo returned. I breathed an audible sigh of relief that mirrored the one that Echo breathed.
"You're up." Echo said, a trace of concern mixing with the relief in her expression. "How are you feeling, Moonlight?"
"Sore." I replied sarcastically, causing Echo to chuckle slightly before she caught herself. "Getting shot hurts."
"Yeah. It does." Echo replied softly, rubbing a fading scar on her chest. I never noticed it before. "Can you stand?" I was grateful for the change in topic. I pushed to my hooves, wincing at the twinge in my neck, before standing, wobbling a bit as dizziness threatened to pull me back down to the ground. I forced a smile, nodding to Echo.
"Shall we get going?" I asked, to which she nodded, and we once again trudged out into the bleak Wasteland as the sun was beginning to set.
Footnote:
Level 1.
Markspony: +15 AP to your targeting spell. Headshots just got a little bit easier.
Additional Note:
Silent Stalker: +15 DT when using stealth.
Author's Note
(Thanks to Kkat for creating the original Fallout: Equestria. Without it, I doubt this story would exist. Special thanks to my editors, SlightlyAmiss and SunsetShades13 for making this chapter what it is. Especially special thanks to Simon aka TheMadhatterBrony for being a creative assistant and emotional pillar while I was writing this. As always, any feedback is welcome.
This chapter was originally supposed to be 2000 words long, but it swiftly got out of hand.
Anyway. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it)
Chapter 2 - Crimson Trace
Fallout: Equestria - Moonlight
By: Faded Echoes
Chapter Two: Crimson Trace
"Of all the things that could have happened, this is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING."
It was approaching dawn by the time we got to a small town a few miles south of Stable Town, the weak sunrise struggling to penetrate the thick cloud cover above us. Every building was dark, apart from one building in the center of town, a single window casting a glow over the cracked asphalt. Every few seconds, a shadow would move in front of the window. I didn’t let the lack of light fool me. I levitated my binoculars out of my saddle bags, motioning for Echo to hold behind me. The wan light of my horn was illuminating the sign in front of me slightly, and I noticed something trailing the top of it. I looked up and stifled a scream of horror. Echo came dashing up to me, slightly alarmed, but calmed a bit when she saw it, a look of morbid understanding on her features.
The sign was trailed with what could only be described as pony entrails, hanging off the sign like Hearth’s Warming garland. On each side of the sign, on extended spurs that jutted out of the original supports of the sign, were the severed heads of ponies The sign was covered in matted, crusted blood, but it didn’t obscure what was written. The sign read Welcome to Frost Falls. The ping from my PipBuck confirmed the name of the town. I looked at Echo with one eye twitching, feeling as if the entire world had come crashing to a halt at that moment.
“Yup,” Echo said, looking at me in sympathy. “Welcome to a town infested with Raiders. They do the most fucked up shit to ponies.” I gulped, trying to curb the rage I felt building inside me. I grimaced and lifted my binoculars up to my eyes, taking in the full scene of the town. The lack of light belied the fact that the town was teeming with Raiders. I spotted at least ten with the binoculars, not trusting E.F.S., because it showed too many to distinguish. I couldn’t tell how many were inside the buildings. I got up and steeled my resolve, motioning for Echo to take the back. She nodded, and moved silently, a red shadow moving among the ruined buildings, while I took the front. I put away the binoculars and lifted my 12-gauge, checking to see that it was loaded, before trotting to the entrance to the town.
Five minutes later, I was walking into the front entrance of the biggest building on the main street, that being the one that wasn’t in too bad of a state of disrepair. I had been lucky not to have been spotted, my dark gray coat blending into the shadows perfectly, only my white mane and tail betraying me. I was also helped by the fact that the Raiders didn’t seem to be very smart. I stepped into the building, and stopped, my eyes wide in shock.
The smell that assaulted my senses was almost enough to make me lose the apple I had eaten shortly before arriving, my stomach doing flips as I gasped to keep it in check. The interior of the building, from what I could tell, was decorated (or rather, desecrated) in the same fashion as the exterior. In the main foyer, were several cages containing ponies. Ponies. Most of them, the ones who were still alive that is, were staring at the profanity strewn walls in various states of despair and hopelessness. A few of them looked at me with mingled hope and disdain, as if I were to join them next. My gaze was drawn to a cage near the back, containing a unicorn filly that was being embraced by the (sleeping?) form of a dark purple pony with a deep blue mane with streaks of red in it. She looked like a pegasus, but with leathery wings and slightly pointed ears. One of the ears twitched and she looked up at me, a hiss frozen on her lips, her fangs glistening. Her magenta eyes locked onto mine, the slits widening in surprise as I got to work on the lock with my screwdriver and bobby pins.
It took three bobby pins, and several hissed profanities, before I finally had the cage open. Looking down at the strange pegasus, I could see she had a broken leg. She was also hiding something between her flanks. I noticed several burn marks on her flanks, and I was seething. She looked at me in pained understanding, before looking at the filly with a proud look on her face. The filly looked untouched, if a little bit dirty.
“Take her and fly away,” I said to the pegasus, to which she shook her head and pointed to one of the other cages, and then my screwdriver and bobby pins. She picked up both, and moved, keeping her weight off of her damaged hindleg, to the nearest cage. I admired her resolve for a split second longer than I was supposed to.
I was about to turn to the nearest door when a Raider unicorn stallion with a poorly maintained sawed-off shotgun walked through it. We both stopped and stared for a second, before he leveled the shotgun at me and took a shot, narrowly missing me, but hitting one of the still forms in the cage behind me. I raised the 9mm automatic pistol and slipped into S.A.T.S., aiming two shots to his chest, and one to his head. I let the spell run its course, splattering Raider gore on the wall behind him. I heard shouts coming from throughout the rest of the building, signaling that the rest of the Raiders in the building had heard our little skirmish. I put away the automatic pistol, and raised my shotgun, checking to see if it was loaded with scattershot, before moving into cover by the frame of the door. The door, I noticed, was the only one without any rubble in front of it, so naturally, the other Raiders would be coming in from there.
I could hear the sounds of fighting coming from the back, Echo’s battle saddle sounding like thunder cracks amid the shotguns, pistols and revolvers used by the Raiders. I was knocked out of my reverie by the sound of a Raider charging down the hall to meet me, and looked at them. It was an Earth Pony mare holding a rake in her mouth, the tines sharpened to a point. She swung at me, and I barely dodged in time to avoid being skewered, and fired a single shot from my shotgun, the scattershot ripping off half her face at point blank range. I had just gotten back into cover when I heard the distinctive fire of a sniper from above. I looked back in time to see one of the captives fall to the ground, blood pooling around a gaping wound in her head. I gasped in shock with the rest of the captives, looking at the pegasus. Her expression matched mine.
Rage. Pure, unbridled rage. It's what we both felt at that moment, looking at each other for that short period of time. She walked up to a pile of rubbish that was inside her cage, and pulled out a few daggers. She looked back at me, icy calm flowing over her features, and nodded. She walked up to the door and took up a position on the other side of the frame. She did a series of hoof gestures that I barely managed to understand, before zipping through the door, a dark purple blur. I looked in time to see her strike down a unicorn buck with a series of well placed hoof strikes, before knocking him down with a sweep of her hind legs. She spun and knocked the gun another unicorn was holding out of the air, and swept her off her legs with a spinning back kick. She landed on top of the unicorn mare, and finished her off with two precise hits to the abdomen. She looked up at me and smiled again, before tossing me the guns and flying off again. I gasped and ran after her, my shotgun locked and loaded, determined to cover her in any way possible.
A few minutes (and a whole lot of dead Raiders) later, we met up with Echo. She gasped in shock at the sight of the odd pegasus. She just nodded at Echo, and moved up to the nearest stairwell. Echo looked at me, and I just shrugged and followed. Echo brought up the rear as we headed up into the unknown. The main hallway of the upstairs portion of the building featured quite a few doors, most of which were open and empty. The closed ones either wouldn’t budge, or lead to bathrooms. In the one bathroom, I came across a still locked medical kit. A few seconds later, Echo and I had medical bandages on the strange pegasus, and she had swallowed a much needed healing potion. She nodded gratefully at us both, and pressed on toward the last door at the end of the hallway. She turned the knob, only to find it locked. She looked at me expectantly and moved out of the way. I nodded, and floating up my screwdriver and a bobby pin, I set to work. The tumblers fell into place with a soft click, and I slowly turned the knob, gingerly pushing open the door so as not to alert any ponies to our presence.
What greeted us when we opened the door, was the sniper pony, a unicorn mare with barely any purple hair left in her mane. That wasn't what shocked the three of us though. She was standing behind an earth pony mare, a knife to her throat, tears running down the earth pony mare's face. Before anyone could do anything, I drew my revolver, and slid into the targeting nirvana of S.A.T.S. I aimed three shots to the unicorn's head, and let the spell run its course, painting the wall and part of the earth pony's face red. The mare screamed as Echo flew up to her and wrapped her in an embrace with both hooves and wings, trying to calm her. I looked back to where the strange pegasus was, only to find she had disappeared.
A few minutes later, we had backtracked the way we came, and set to work freeing and rallying the surviving captives. I could hear yelling coming from just outside of the town.
"Moonlight!" Echo yelled, effectively dragging my attention from the final lock I needed to pick. "We got incoming. Raiders, en masse."
"Take the ponies we've freed so far and run." I said, focussing on the lock again. "Get to the forest that's just outside of town. I'll catch up." The tumblers fell into place with a satisfying click, and the last of the captives were set free. Echo gave me a hug and led the captives through the front door. I turned to the only room we hadn't been in, the door locked. I fished out a bobby pin and my screwdriver and set to work, finding the simple lock difficult but not too overly so. Three bobby pins and a whole lot of profanity later, I finally had the door open. What greeted me on the other side was an armory. I grinned maniacally and dived headfirst into the room, closing the door behind me. After a few seconds, I realized my mistake.
“Great, Moonlight.” I said to myself condescendingly. “You’ve locked yourself in a tiny room with a group of Raiders moving in. Real smart…” Lighting my horn, I levitated the nearest heavy thing, a cabinet, against the door, and set to work looking through what the Raiders had. I was fine for a few moments, looking through the stash of weapons, until the first Raider pony came knocking on the door. I gulped at the knock.
“Hey!!! I think she’s in here!” the Raider, a mare, yelled. She started turning the knob, finding the path of the door blocked by the cabinet I had floated in front of it. I gulped again and started looking around for an escape plan. The weapons I had found so far were all of a low-caliber variety, except for a battle saddle rigged with twin rocket launchers! (The little pony in my head stomping at the unfairness of Raiders having such things.) There were also several sticks of dynamite and one or two grenades. I put the dynamite into my saddlebags, along with one of the grenades. I looked around for something to stick the grenade to the farthest wall from the door. A few seconds later, I found some Wonderglue! I rushed over to the wall again, giving the room one more glance, before sticking the grenade to the wall and pulling the pin. I dived behind one of the steel shelves that had toppled over in the last few centuries, and waited. The grenade detonated just as the Raiders managed to get the door open, and they were hit by bits of flying debris, a piece of wall taking the head off of one of the Raider bucks in the process. I used the commotion to slip out, choking a bit on the dust floating around, and disappeared into the forest behind the building.
I was running through the forest, panting, and casting occasional glances behind me to make sure the Raiders weren’t following me. After the third glance, and seeing nopony, I started slowing down. I chuckled to myself, thinking about my escape. The Raiders obviously believed I had died in the explosion, and hadn’t bothered to follow or even check for a dead body. I drew my pistol anyway, just to be safe. A few moments later, I breathlessly caught up with the group, Echo leading the way, followed by the earth pony mare that we had saved from being a Raider’s hostage. A twig cracked under my hoof, and collectively the entire group turned on me, fear in their eyes. Echo and the mare drew their defensive stances, each training their weapons on me. I’ll admit, it was hard to focus on controlling my breath staring down the barrels of a shotgun and twin sniper rifles. Echo drew back when she saw me and was about to tell the mare to do the same, when the shotgun went off, the scattershot narrowly missing me and hitting the tree next to me. I ducked, yelping. I heard Echo gasp, and the clatter of the 12-gauge shotgun hitting the floor, the mare that was holding it sobbing. I peeked out to see Echo holding the mare, looking at where I had dropped in the hopes that I wasn’t hit. I holstered my pistol and slowly got up and trotted over to them.
“We should get them to Stable Town, Moonlight,” Echo said as I approached. “They’ll be safe there.”
“I know,” I replied, looking at the beaten and broken mare that Echo was holding, trying to calm her like a mother would a foal. “The town isn’t too far from our current location, so I’m sure we’ll be able to.”
“One thing I would like to know is, what was that strange pony you were with earlier. I have never seen a creature like her”
“You and me both.” I concurred.
“Ya mean lil ol’ me?” A voice asked from somewhere above us, the sunlight filtering through the clouds and the trees barely illuminating the gloomy forest around us. Echo and the earth pony (Dahlia, as Echo found out while I was raiding the Raiders) jumped and I drew my shotgun, looking above us. A pair of slitted, cerise eyes opened up and looked right at me. She swooped down and landed in front of me. The strange pony looked at me, her eyes gleaming with mischief, as she booped me. (Yes. You heard me right. She booped me!) “Mah name is Crimson Trace, an’ Ah’m a bat pony.”
Footnote:
Level 2
Sure footed: You now have the ability to make steadier shots, even with a shotgun. +10 AP when using shotguns and rifles.
Author's Note
Chapter 2 everypony! This one took way too damn long. Hope you enjoy it
