Chapters Fallout Equestria: Luck
By Gun Shot
Chapter 1: "Paradise," an illusion
"I ain't gonna rise to greet y'all. Awfully rude, I reckon, but as you can see, I'm the fresh casualty of an unusually unfortunate circumstance. My lot in life, I suppose."
You could tell me ‘we’ve all lost things,’ or ‘you’re lucky to be alive,’ many have. But let me tell you the one thing I know for certain. Luck. Isn’t. Real. And if it is, it sure doesn’t shine its light on me. My name’s Gun Shot and I was raised away from the chaos of this world. You may think that’s lucky, but it’s not. Being raised away from the threats of the wasteland left me unprepared for survival within it.
You may be wondering how I managed to avoid the wastes, that’s an easy one. Far to the western end of Equestria, sat a family farm. This farm was built by a doctor who wanted to escape his destiny. This farm was marked on no map and was surrounded on every side by the Smoky Mountains, except for one small pass. When the megaspells hit, the walls protected the farm. From every aspect, the destruction, the magical radiation, all of it. They were even tall enough to break the cloud roof and let the sun in.
Apparently at some point my Great Grandfather decided he wanted to see what it was like beyond the walls. He and his sister went beyond and came back changed. What they had seen was scratched from our family history books, but they couldn’t take away all the evidence. For he had brought with him some survivors of a raided caravan that had been traveling along the beach, and they had brought weapons of defence. How is this all bad? Well, I’ll never forget the day his decision brought chaos to us.
It was a day like most others, the cool breeze that blew down from the mountains making the golden fields sway. The sun had yet to rise above the walls, but I could tell it was morning. Around here the sun doesn’t show until ten o’clock. I stepped down the creaky white steps of the farm house porch. I took my time passing through the field on the dirt path. The distinct scent of the wheat filled the air, it was almost harvest time. Usually I’d have all day to admire the scenery, it never ceased to be beautiful. But today I had errands to run in the small town that had grown in the blank space over the last few decades. My mother had fallen ill with some unknown disease, my sister had sent me to gather various ingredients so she could attempt a remedy.
The town was a quaint little slice of mundane, split into two sections. The residential side consisted of six houses in two rows of three, like a small equal sign. And the commercial side, where i was headed, consisted of a taphouse, famous for its cider; a grocery, where my uncle sold our produce; a sheriff’s office, rather a glorified timeout corner; and a scavenge store, rumored to have once sold various random bits and bobs but now only sells gathered items like mushrooms. These were also lined up in a similar shape to the houses, only these were all uniquely shaped and sized. There was another shop under construction, it was to be mine. Someday ponies would come to me to get stuff fixed for more than just little jobs, I’d be a full time repairpony. And in the center of the town stood the tallest building, a clock tower, set to ring at noon every day. Hidden on the south wall of the tower was an alarm button. Only two ponies knew about it, but everypony knew what to do if they heard it. The small town didn’t exactly have a mayor, but the leadership duties went to my father, descended most purely from the original founder.
I had zero knowledge in medical know-how, so when sent to get ‘medicinal ingredients’ my first thought was ‘mushrooms and the like of story books’. So I purchased some of each item from the ‘scavenger’. The scavenger was a tan earth pony with a dark brown mane named Forager, his cutie mark was a mushroom. Forager was obsessed with mushrooms, he sold other stuff too, but mostly mushrooms. He could talk your head off about them, and would. He had inherited this shop from his father, Scavenger, who had sold the last of the ‘junk’ his father sold to make way for his own take on the name. With every owner the scavenge store seems to sell different stuff. We exchanged greetings, but there was no time for a chat. While I didn’t act like I was in a hurry, Flu had seemed pretty adamant on me getting these quickly.
Flu was my sister, my twin actually. She looked just like me, light blue coat, blue eyes, green mane with a wide red stripe down the middle. Only, she was a mare while I was a buck, not fully identical, I suppose. She also had no scars to hide. Flu was our medic in training, taught by our mother. We don’t need treatment here often, and when we do it’s nothing severe, but she knows almost everything a doctor should. Apparently our founder was a doctor, he taught his children the arts, but only one passed it down to theirs, thus began the tradition of one mare being taught how to treat wounds and illness. I dropped the ‘medicinal ingredients’ off at the barn, where my sister did all of her medical work. “Thanks for the great speed,” she had said, sarcasm practically overflowing. She rolled her eyes upon looking at what i brought, but didn’t say it was the wrong stuff, guess i had what she needed in there somewhere.
The rest of the day was spent fixing the refrigerators in the grocery store. The whole time I worked I was pestered by questions from my uncle, Ruby. Ruby was a buck who matched name and appearance, both his mane and coat were pure red, his cutie mark always hidden under his signature suit. “So, has your father told you the ‘family secrets’ yet?” he’d ask, rephrasing every time I said no. Ruby was originally chosen to learn the ‘family secrets’ by grandpa, but the day before he was to be told, Star, my father, learned for himself. To prevent too many from learning the truth, Ruby was cut off before learning what the secret was. He’d been jealous ever since and tried to learn what he was denied by asking me and my siblings every now and then, either through pestering or randomly trying to catch us off guard.
Took me forever to realize the issue, Ruby’s description of the problem had led me to believe the vents were faulty or the coolant was empty. Turns out the wire had been cut, a clean slice. “Must have been rats,” Ruby said in a not-at-all-suspicious voice. Rolling my eyes and pretending he was better at lying than he was, I replaced the cord. The nerve of him, faking a problem and wasting precious resources, just so he could pester me and find the secret. Oh, that’s right, you don’t know the secret. No point hiding it from you, or anyone at this point. Upon reaching their eighteenth birthday, one colt of Shot lineage is to be told the truth of beyond the mountain wall. My older brother would have been chosen, but he declined the offer, ‘secrets are too stressful’ he had told my father. So I was next. I was only a few days into being told, so I only had the jist of raiders, and that the outside was not safe.
I stepped out of the grocery store, I had been in there for so long that the sun had not only set beyond the wall, but the sky was beginning to darken. I grumbled to myself about how I had been stupid enough to fall for that. I contemplated turning him over to Sheriff Corn Starch, but frankly he was too shy and cowardly to do anything about it. I decided I’d enjoy what little time there was left in the day down at the tap house. They didn’t sell alcohol there, after the ‘fruit punch incident’ alcohol was banned, not like we had much left anyway. The caravan that secretly supplied us had stopped coming last month, according to my father.
The first stars began to appear as I approached the western style saloon door that would lead to the delicious apple cider within. I stopped at the door, the sound of running hooves through the grass behind me. Turning around, I saw my father, a nervous, fearful look on his face. Not much could shake him, but yet he ran as if his life depended on it. He grabbed me and pulled me to the alley beside the taphouse. He looked around, making sure nopony was around to hear, even in his whispered voice the fear was evident. “I need you to guard your mother and sister, I saw a raider party crossing the beach,” now I was the one with fear in my eyes, “with any luck they won’t look inside the unsuspecting cave, but they haven’t come this close since your great grandfather’s time. And remember, if anyone asks, you’re keeping folk out, quarantining your mother, I’ve already sent word to Flu that you’re coming to do just that”. I bolted, but slowly enough to not look suspicious.
He never should have mentioned luck. I never made it to the barn. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the emergency stash was open. It was a hidden compartment within the walls of the farm house filled with bags. The bags were filled with preserved food, water, flares, defensive weapons, and various other survival things. Walking over I noticed a bag was missing. I knew what was in those bags, I was told only days prior, so I quickly glanced around to see where it was. The thief almost blended in with the grass, a green 7 year old colt with a dark green mane and no cutie mark. My cousin, Emerald, Ruby’s son. I called out to him to put the stuff back, instead he turned around and showed me his new toy. My blood ran cold, he was playing with a flare. “EMERALD NO!” I called, but my words only sealed our fate. Startled by my sudden raise of tone, Emerald stepped back, tripped over the bag, landed on his back and pulled the trigger. WHOOSH the bright red light rose high, almost to the sky. The light hovered for a moment, it let off three loud ping noises before falling back down.
Confused and scared screams rang out from ponies leaving the taphouse as the ball of magic fire landed upon the farm house, and engulfed it in a pillar of fire. You’d think the ponies who designed it would have made it not catch fire to things. I ran to scoop up Emerald and get him away from the flaming house. Ponies in the town sprang to action, but it was chaos, ponies crashing into each other as some went to get buckets and others headed for the wells. Without my father to bring order, nothing was getting done. But my mind was on things more pressing than the fire.
Maybe they didn’t see or hear that I thought, the pings echoed through my head and off the mountain walls. I turned towards the pass, and my ears fell back as I watched my hopes crumble. A few figures began to emerge from the pass, like monsters in the flickering light of the roaring flames. At first it was just one, then two, four, ten, too many to count. I swung the now sobbing Emerald, who thought this was his fault, onto my back and bolted for the alarm. Dodging the panicking ponies, I slammed into the button, not having time to stop and press it normally. As the large bell rang its deep, loud rings, the raiders began to hop the fence. The panicking ponies stopped and stared at the bell in horror, it had only rung once before. The raiders passed the tower of fire that was once my home, and in the light of the flames I could see them more clearly. Bones strung like jewelry and armor across their black, spiked barding. Then I remembered the job I was given, to protect Flu and Mom.
In between the rings of the bell, I heard one raider yell “SUBMIT -DONG- BLACK STAR, OR DIE!” Ponies were running away from the farmhouse now, some having seen the invading demons. I ran against the current, I had to reach the barn before they did. “We’ll never -DONG- to the likes of you!” I heard my dad yell back, pulling out a concealed thing. DONG the raider seemed to say ‘toe bee is’ or ‘so be it’ or maybe ‘so cheez it’? But then his next order was rather clear, “BURN IT ALL!” I watched as one threw a bottle at the barn, a crazed smile across her face. A sound louder than the bell, a sound unlike any I had ever heard before. The raider with the bottle’s head exploded into red paste, but my eyes just followed the bottle as it flew towards the barn, a small fire on its tip. If the night sky wasn’t already lit by the house, it was definitely bright now. I fell to my haunches and watched with tear-filled eyes as my sister and mother went up in flames.
I looked around to find dad, I spotted him just in time to see a bullet go right through his chest. My blood ran cold and my vision blurred by tears. With all my hope crushed and my family dead, I ran. I ran straight through the fence gate, unlike the raiders, and through the pass. Emerald still clinging to my back. It was just me and him now. Maybe if I had waited at the pass things would have gone differently, or if I had just gone to the barn. But you can’t change the past, the past changes you.
Author's Note
Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Skilled Technician - You know your way around a toolbox, and have learned its secrets. You use 10% less resources to mod weapons, and can pick advanced locks.
credit of Fo:E goes to kkat, it was one of the most inspiring stories i ever read, most of my OCs live in the world they created
Fallout Equestria: Luck
By Gun Shot
Chapter 2: Ruin
"of all the things that could have happened, this is the. Worst. Possible. Thing."
We had hunkered down in some wreckage of carts on the beach. Now that I think back, that must have been the caravan that started this all. Emerald had cried himself to sleep, so we stayed the rest of the night there. I couldn’t sleep, the scene of my father laying in the grass, staining it red, his eyes lifeless, and my mother and sister burnt to black char filling my mind. So I went poking around the wreckage for supplies. I had grabbed the bag Emerald had on my way out, but most of the contents had spilled out on my way out or had been left behind when Emerald was digging through it. It was picked clean, all that was left were some glass balls and some books.
In my frustration and pain I kicked the stack of books down, they made a hollow sound when they hit the ground. That got my attention, as these wagons had had their wheels taken, they were flat on the sand. Sliding the books aside I spotted a loose board. Lifting it up revealed a locked metal box labeled ‘Black Book’ . I had no intention of sleeping, so I spent the rest of the night struggling to open the box.
The sun rose, or I think it did at least, hard to tell when the sky is covered in a mass blanket of gray. There was no blue sky, just gray clouds, ashy water, and blackened sand, were it not for the colors of Emerald and I, I'd have thought I’d gone colorblind. The atmosphere was just as depressing, the air out here seemed to sit heavy, like a weighted blanket, it didn’t feel right. When Emerald woke up, he was very confused. Looking around like he just woke from one nightmare into another. I explained to him what happened, and he took it rather well. He still sobbed for the next hour, but I was expecting worse.
After comforting him, I went back to the box, I had long since given up on breaking it open, and I had no picks to pick it. All I had was- and then it hit me, I may not have brought my toolbox with me, but I always bring my screwdriver. This, by the way, is no ordinary screwdriver, I modified this screwdriver to be a compact multitool in my boredom. It consisted of varying screwdriver sizes, a terminal access tool(never used it but it looks cool), and some strange key-looking thing that I put in because a hammer wouldn’t fit.
I pulled it from my tail, yes I store my screwdriver in my tail, don’t judge me it works wonders. And not that kind, damn it, get your head out of the gutter. Anyway, this screwdriver has many tools built into it, including a smaller screwdriver. So I placed that into the lock ever so delicately and prepared my expert unicorn magic to pick it. Wait… I’m an earth pony, and this obviously isn’t a dream. So I just jammed the screwdriver further into the lock, snapping the inner mechanism. Click . The box popped open and out poured icy cold fog. I waved the fog away to reveal… “What the buck?!” it was a hideous monstrosity of a book, I’m pretty sure it had teeth on it in several places and it felt like it was made from pony skin. “What the buck is this?? And WHY was it locked up and not BURNED?? Sweet Celestia, WHY DID THEY HAVE THIS??” Emerald startled from my sudden shouting. I picked up the ‘book’, tossed it in the air, and bucked it as far away as I could. Something made my eyes follow it as it fell, noting where it landed. At the time I attributed it to disgust and wanting to make sure I didn't step on it later.
I looked towards the pass back home and quickly dove back into the shelter of the covered wagons. At the entrance back home stood two of the devils who invaded, one red and the other light blue, looking around as if searching for someone. Oh, Luna, they know we’re here , I thought, they began to creep down the hill, towards the beach, towards the caravan, they saw me, we’re going to die like the others and it's all my fault . But if they knew I was here, they definitely weren’t smart, both of them went around towards the front of the caravan rather than trap us in. I was smarter than them.
“Come on, Em, we gotta go,” I pulled him along until he got up and trotted alongside me. “What’s happening?” he asked, i motioned for him to be quiet. Together we snuck out the back of the carts and I started running. Whether it was to see if the raiders were following us or to see if Emerald was coming, I have no idea. But something made me stop. I turned around and did both, Emerald was slowly catching up, clearly still tired, and the raiders had just spotted us and were now tripping over books trying to run through the carts. Then something caught my eye, poking up from the darkened sand was a horrible bunch of flesh amassed into a book. Without thinking, I swept it up and tangled it into my tail. Then grabbed Emerald, he was too slow. Throwing emerald on my back I ran like our lives depended on it, which they did.
My legs ached after about ten minutes, I slowed to a trot, then a walk. We had to have lost them now, I at least couldn’t see them, and the surprisingly gentle waves washed away our tracks. I slid Emerald off my back, thanking the water for the cover. Then we walked, even if we lost them, there was no guarantee that was permanent. Two hours of silence, nothing but the sound of the waves. What once was a gentle, calming noise, had become an annoying static like that of the radios back home. Beyond that, it had become a constant reminder that nothing was normal anymore, and never would be. Just as the depressing, monotone, grayscale landscape sucked all hope from me, only I could still hear the waves when I closed my eyes. Tears had again filled my eyes as the waves carried me back to the days when all was good.
The days when birds sang their songs, filled with hope. The days when ponies would talk, filled with love. The days when foals would run, not out of fear. Heck, even the days when Ruby schemed to find out what I knew. Every wave brought back memories and details. Every wave filled with sorrow. Every wave crashed down, like the world I knew. Every wave filled with hate for the raiders. And yet every wave filled with tranquility.
We continued to walk, when Emerald got tired I’d carry him, and when I got tired we’d rest. But we didn’t speak, there wasn’t anything to talk about, if we talked about what just happened? we’d cry. if we talked about the old days? we’d cry. if we talked about the future? Well, that looked just as bleak as our surroundings. So we just walked. We encountered nothing for a long while, no ponies, animals, food, not even grass, there was nothing but long stretches of sand. Sure there was the ocean on one side and the unknown on the other, but frankly, I didn’t want to look over the hill that lined the beach. There weren’t any birds singing either, it was eerily quiet the whole walk, aside from the waves. So we had nothing to distract us from the fact that we didn’t have any food and the ravenous rumbling of two hungry stomachs.
A day or two of uneventful, silent, torturous walking later, Emerald spotted something in the distance, he stopped and stared with awe. I turned to look at what he saw, my jaw dropped at the sight. Just over the hills stood towers of brick, cement, and metal shooting high into the sky, like slim mountains. Imperfections of various sizes covered each as if a giant had taken bites out of them. The battered remains of signs and advertisements jutted out of the beautiful buildings. It was like looking at an old painting. “A city!” I exclaimed, “like the ones from dad’s stories! Maybe even Ponyville !”
Filled with blind hope and ignorance, I ran toward it, Emerald following. I was expecting to find civilization and food. My father had said that Ponyville was a welcoming place to survivors, always helping those in need. Instead, we found a graveyard, the streets were crowded with wagons and rubble. Walls were constructed out of random vehicles and rocks, metal and wood poles sticking out of the tops of them like spikes. A shudder went down my spine as my gaze climbed the posts, topping each one was a skull, several had multiple. One of them was recent, meat still clung to the bones, and the stench of death filled the air. I hurled, my empty stomach only sending up stomach acid. My throat burned. “What kind of psychos did this??” I screamed, “ isn’t this place supposed to help ponies??”.
I forced myself to look away from the wall, my gaze instead was pulled to the towers. They were much bigger than I thought, reaching upward as if they wanted to touch the sky itself, to taste its blue nectar, only to be blocked by the dark clouds. It felt strangely welcoming, like looking at the mountains at home. At that notion, I turned to look back, I could still see the mountains. They were so small from this distance, like hills, only these hills could reach higher than the buildings, they knew the taste of the sky’s sweet blue. I chuckled, realizing how far we had traveled. “Alright Emerald, time to find a way in,” I turned toward him. He was giving me a look that said, ‘you want to go in there ? Behind the skull walls?’ I just smirked, “what’s the worst that could happen?” He rolled his eyes but went towards the building. He pointed at a wall, or rather, a small hole in the wall. A window, a glassless window, perfect size for us to climb through.
The building was empty, aside from a whole bunch of metal desks that had been pushed against every door like barricades. A second wall of desks formed a circle in the center of the room. “Ah,” I sighed, “a perfect place to rest, protected from whoever put the heads up there”. I could feel Emerald’s glare, but I wasn’t sleeping in the open here. I ran over to the circular barricade, using the running start to jump over and in. I twisted midair to land in the perfect position to just lay and relax.
Crunch is not the sound one wants to hear upon jumping into anything but a pile of leaves. Worse, this was the distinct crunch of breaking bones. My first instinct was to check my own bones, they all seemed functional. I lay back, relaxing again. Only I couldn’t relax, something was uncomfortably poking into my back. I tried to ignore it, shifting to a different spot. Emerald came over and looked into the desk walls, a look of horror and shock grew in his eyes. It was then that I realized whose bones had crunched. I shot up to my hooves, bones crunching as I stepped around trying to avoid them. Skeletons, a pile of bones, I’d been laying on, destroying, bones. Emerald was looking at me, his eyes seemed to say, ‘look before you leap.’
After repeatedly apologizing to the bones and the spirits that once called them home. I settled for sleeping in the far corner of the room, away from the unblocked doors. It had taken the better part of two hours to fall asleep. The first time I’d slept since the incident a few days ago. So the nightmare that followed was packed full of choices, and it used them all…
All was dark, void of anything but the floor and me. The floor was just as dark as the void around me. I call out, but I don’t even hear an echo. I was alone, completely alone. I wanted to run, to find an end to this darkness, to find a light. But my hooves wouldn’t move. Growing on the ground in front of me was a white shadow. There was light behind me. I went to turn, but instead, the void itself rotated, revealing a small fire. I began to walk forward, I wanted to stop, I knew what I’d see. I focused my entire willpower to stop my legs from moving, but the void just brought the fire to me.
It grew closer and closer, it was no longer a candlelight, it was a torchlight. A campfire. A bonfire. A pillar of fire shot high into the pitch black sky. It created no light and no warmth, and yet it burned to be this close. My fetlocks began to singe. I watched my coat burn away on my legs, the thin line of fire slowly climbing to my chest. Under, my skin itself seemed to bubble and melt, the pain was excruciating. I looked up, unable to bare seeing that. Only I didn’t see the barn, outside it, I was in the barn. There, standing in the void was… me? I then realized I was not me, I was Flu. I was betrayed, left for dead, and above all else, burning to death. I tried to jump out of the roost, and get clear of the fire. If I could save dream Flu, maybe I could forgive myself. But I couldn’t move. I turned, or rather, the world turned. In front of me, I saw the broken, burned-
The world dissipated like a cloud of smoke. I was left in the void again. Alone. But not alone, there was a bubble floating towards me. I stepped towards it, it seemed to glow faintly. I reached out, touching the floating ball, and as expected it popped. Only, it didn’t pop so much as explode, blasting me back and leaving a white cloud behind. The cloud condensed into a square screen, a window. Through it, I could see Flu, but she wasn’t burning, she was dragging our mother out the back door of a flaming barn. A shadow loomed over her, created by fires I could not see. A cage floated into the view of the window as it dissipated. Again, I was alone.
I woke with a yelp, still processing what I had just seen, and wondering why I could still feel the burn. Emerald was already awake, assuming he had slept at all. He was sitting by the window we had climbed through, staring back at the distant mountains. I decided it was best to leave him be and poke around the building a bit. There wasn’t much on the first floor, just a bunch of skeletons and the walls of desks, but there were stairs. One set up, one set down. Curiosity led me up first, the second floor was empty. Scratch marks on the floor suggested this is where the desks came from, and piles of office supplies sat in the corner, collecting dust, with them were broken terminals, beyond repair.
The third floor wasn’t much better, though only half of the desks were missing. But those that were there had been piled up in the center of the room, almost as if they’d been dropped there. The rubble and the hole in the ceiling told me, they had. The next floor had a gaping hole in the floor, it looked familiar, almost like I’d seen it on the floor below. I made a mental note that this probably meant the upper floors weren’t as stable as those below. I slowly and carefully crept up the third set of stairs. This one was blocked at the top by a door with a single hole at eye level. The door had once been chained shut, but something left it shattered on the ground. Or at least, it was chained shut, something had left the chain on the ground, shattered.
Opening the door had not been easy, something was barricading the other side, making me all the more curious about what was within. A few good bucks to the door and it opened just enough for me to squeeze through, a tight fit. I recoiled when I saw the barricade I had pushed past, a skeleton held in place by its metal armor. A single hole in its skull lined up perfectly with the hole in the door. The rest of the room was filled with machinery, terminal-like structures built into desks covered with switches and lights. Whatever purpose they once had was now lost to time, it hurt me to think of that, somehow more so than the skeleton soldier. In the center of the room, however, sat one terminal. Its screen still glowed that beautiful green color, like a melon’s shell. I practically leaped over to it, I needed to know what secrets it held.
Back home we only had two terminals, one was used to record our harvest each year, and the other was to replace it in case it was ever damaged beyond repair. In my spare time, I’d fiddle with the spare, I had learned how to speak its language, how to make it do what I wanted. After all, it wasn’t like anything would ever break the main one, the thought hit me that both terminals were probably reduced to scrap by now. Regardless, I had one right here to crack. I opened it up and was hit with an unfamiliar screen, a password. My head slumped in disappointment.
I slowly made my way to the next level, grumbling to myself about secrets and passwords. There was another door here, but it was busted off its hinges and dented inward. The broken doorway led to the roof of the building. A sickly breeze blew in, sending shivers down my back. Somehow the rancid air was worse up here than it was filtering through the shattered remains of windows. About halfway up the stairs I heard a distant rumbling, short yet loud. It echoed through the city. From the top of this tower I had a pretty good view of what lay ahead of me, though only in a straight line. Rubble and piled carts lay strewn everywhere. Blockades had been fashioned out of piles of them. The towers surrounding mine were all much taller, obstructing my view of the other streets.
The roof itself had very little on it, there were large metal boxes with broken fans inside them, I tried to imagine the harmonious whirr they once emitted. There were more of those armored skeletons, frozen in place like gargoyles, I averted my eyes from them. Seeing the bones of a pony felt like seeing the pony naked, it just wasn’t right, it felt… intrusive. There were also two strange machines. One of the machines looked like a terminal, only without the screen, coming from the top of it was a thick wire that snaked its way to the edge of the roof and off the edge. The wire crossed accross the allyway and connected to the neigboring tower, climbing the wall in such a way that it felt intentionally wrong. The wire looked as if somepony had put it up on such a path that nopony could see it from the inside and barely from the outside.
The other strange device was a large one, it easily took up half of the roof. The arched bottom half was covered in dark metal, that was covered in a faded blue paint, chipped and peeling. Above that was a rich wood, seemingly untouched by the years and destruction that had devastated the world. Draped over top the odd shaped thing was a wonderful, gorgeous, colorful fabric. Like a massive blanket, it covered every inch of the top, in some parts it spilled over the side like a graceful waterfall. Just looking at the untattered remains of cloth and the beautifully painted, even when faded, wooded section filled me with a sense of wonder. I climbed the outstretched boarding ramp, but the entrance was covered by the cloth. I tried to move it aside but it was surprisingly heavy, I struggled to pull it up enough to squeeze under it.
The inside was constructed entirely of wood. Poking their tips out of unseen windows were cylinders of steel, strangely menacing in appearance. Barrels were stacked in one corner, crates of metal balls were stacked in another. Everything was caked in dust, clearly nopony had been in there in a long time, likely not since the skeletons. As much as I wondered what those were, I didn’t have time to investigate. I continued through the structure, there was a set of stairs that led to a tent-like room, likely the roof of the structure just covered in the cloth. My eyes were drawn to a fancy door. I walked passed several more of those dark metal cylinders.
The door was a lavender colored wood with golden inlays, the design perfectly matched the red tinted wood of the rest of the structure. It was obvious the door led to something important, so of course I busted it open. Or, actually… it wasn’t locked, I just pushed it open… Inside was very dusty, fancy decor, a mahogany desk with more gold inlays, shelves covered in books, pots full of withered flowers, fancy cushioned chairs, a big window from floor to ceiling on the back wall. On the desk sat a terminal and a small vase, the vase had a singular, not withered, blue flower. I reached out to pick up the flower, but it was covered in a surprisingly clean and hard to see glass cover, held to the desk by a hinge and electronic lock. The terminal, still functional, was my next target. This one had no password, and only three uncorrupted files.
The first entry was an audio file, I played it. “Captain’s Log #784:,” the voice sounded feminine, “can’t we actually do something important? We have enough firepower on this vessel to turn the tide of the war, but no, we’re stuck running these luna-damned cover-ups for the Ministry of Propoganda. Anyway, just in case those suits decide to actually listen to this, today’s mission was successful, another striped bastard sent off to the MoM. Yes, I know that wasn’t the objective, we were only supposed to shut the press down, but hell if i’d let that bitch get away. And yes, we were not noticed, as far as the public knows there was a freak accident and the press had to shut down.” there was a pinging noice over the mic, “oh, lovely, another bucking mission”. The log ended with a click, so I opened the second file.
The second file was a message, “
NEW OBJECTIVE
Captain Gold, you are to shut down Heart Radio, located in Vanhoover,
“. A terminal access key? I have one of those! The fact that it took me that it took me as long as it did to realize that was embarrassing. I had what I needed to get in that terminal all along.
The third file ran a code that unlocked the electronic lock on the vase cover. Why there was so much security on this one flower was beyond me, but I shrugged, might as well take it. The flower was beautiful, ten petals and four stamen it had a faint blue glow to it. I positioned the blue flower behind my ear for safe keeping. A little bit of pollen floated down, causing me to sneeze.
Author's Note
Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Keen Eye - your aim with ranged weapons is equal to that of a sniper pony, increased chance to crit in SATS on targets over 50 meters away.
Quest Perk: What a Laugh - You have encountered killing joke and it has blessed you with a joke destined to end in death.
Quest Perk: Lousy Luck - even a whole patch of four leaf clovers couldn’t bring you good fortune.
credit of Fo:E goes to kkat, it was one of the most inspiring stories i ever read, most of my OCs live in the world they created
Fallout Equestria: Luck
By Gun Shot
Chapter 3: Towers
"All this power, wasted on parties, when there are far greater uses."
I took out my screwdriver and flipped out my terminal access key. As it slipped in the terminal clicked into bypass. It wasn’t quite what i was expecting, though, this was a wall of text. Not sure what I was seeking, I delved into the code of the terminal. It wasn’t long before I found a phrase that seemed out of place, in all the coded text sat “honest apples”. Just testing a theory, I put that into the password box. Sure enough the terminal opened, hacking seemed easy enough.
Within the terminal were several files, the most recent was a recording. “HELLOOO EQUESTRIA!!” the voice was male, not quite deep, but not high pitched either. “You’re listening to Heart Radio and this your daily news segment. It would appear that our beloved Ministry of Image has finally found our station and is sending their goons to take us out,” I thought back to the structure on the roof, they had thought they were camouflage, yet the ponies who worked here had seen them coming and from the looks of all the barricades, they had a while to prepare. “BUT to hell if that happens, ponies like y’all deserve the truth. Speaking of truth, another zebra refugee convoy has been attacked on the north eastern shores. Seems Luna learned nothing from Littlehorn. In other news, zebra stealth teams seem to be fleeing from manehatten with quite a bit of haste. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were surrendering. But with how they’ve been fighting since Luna came to power, its more likely they’re evacuating for a larger attack.
“And now, back to music, this is possibly our last broadcast so a tune of remembrance would be fitti- WHAT?! Attention, we do have… coming in… confirmed reports, i repeat, confirmed reports of megaspell detonations in Cloudsdale and Splendid Valley… Sweet Celestia…” the reporter had gone from confident to fearful in the blink of an eye. Something bad had happened in Cloudsdale and Splendid Valley, a… megaspell? I didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t sound good. The next recording, I assumed, was supposed to be the song played, “Second Chances (Acoustic)”. I hit the play button, the building gave a big heave as speakers sparked and popped. The terminal was still connected to the radio systems and the building’s speakers. As a distorted melody echoed through the ruins, the ground beneath me gave. Speakers popped and exploded as I fell, crashing through several floors. Until all at once, the sound, and my vision, stopped.
“C’mon, Shot, you gotta get up.” Flu was standing over me, “that was one epic fall, you ok?”. I nodded, remembering climbing a tree, and a branch snapping. “Why were you up there anyway?” she asked. I hesitated, “I- I don’t know”. As far as I could tell, ponies don’t climb trees, so there had to have been some reason I did, but what? I tried to get up, but a pain shot through my leg. I saw Flu’s gaze drift to my leg, then she recoiled, putting a hoof to he mouth. “What’s wrong?” I asked. She explained, my leg was at an unnatural angle and she needed to splint it. That didn’t sound like a good thing, sounded painful. Turns out a splint is just tying a stick to your leg to hold it straight. I later found out from momma that my ankle was just sprained…
When I came to, my vision was blurry and my ears were ringing. A green blob stood over me. Emerald, i decided, my vision beginning to focus, with a worried look on his face. I tried to get up, but a piercing pain shot through my body. Emerald’s gaze drifted to my leg and he recoiled. I lifted just my head so I could get a good look at it, now that is an odd angle , i thought. My leg was C-shaped, and that, I knew, was not natural and was clearly worse than a sprained ankle. Almost magically, i also knew just what to do. Just to my left was a good, straight rebar, to my right was a tattered tie from a skeleton, long since crushed by rubble. Sitting up was painful, a tear came to my eyes as I forced through the strain. I fashioned the materials into a makeshift splint, just as Flu had years ago, only I had zero training and probably made it wrong.
Getting up, was excruciating, despite the splint, I wished there was some form of medicine I could use to take the pain away. Emerald seemed shocked that I could even bare to move with all the blood, but I figured that if we are to be staying out here, then we ought to get used to pain. All the skeletons made that clear. I limped my way to the front door, as my head continued to readjust i realized the music was still playing. We had to go before we attracted unwanted attention.
The streets were empty aside from all of the barricades of rubble and carriages. The wind whistled through the empty ruins, I figured we’d run into at least one pony, one survivor helped by ponivillians, hell not even a ponyvillian was seen! I peeked into a few buildings, hoping to find somepony who knew where to find some bandages, or some bandages. But everything seemed empty. The already dark sky began to further darken, night. Time to hunker down and wait until the somewhat easier to see in day time. Our stomachs growled, we needed food, we needed water, we needed medical attention, but we had only eachother.
We chose to hide out in a building signed with a large triple butterfly logo. The doors were all broken off their hinges, whatever this building was it seemed to have once held something valued. The main lobby appeared to be a sort of waiting room, chairs everywhere and one rounded desk. On the wall dead center behind the desk sat a yellow box with the same insignia. Curious, I went to open it, somepony had popped the lock, inside sat a faintly glowing bottle of red liquid. On a sticker was a faded label, ‘healing potion’. It took a moment for that to proccess, a simple drink that could heal my wounds? I looked back at my scratched and cut hide, this was perfect.
I grabbed the bottle and began to struggle with the cork. I had never been good with these, they’re much easier to remove with magic than with teeth. I bit down on the cork and pulled the bottle. A loud bang shook the tower, I jumped, the cork popped off, and the bottle flew to the ground, shattering. I watched as the red liquid dispersed across the dusty floor. Cursing under my breath, I turned to see what dashed my hopes. Out the front door I saw a flash of red-orange light, illuminating the streets. For a moment I thought i saw a shadow moving. Less than a second after the flash, another quake and crackle. Bits of the dust and ceiling tile fell from above.
I limped toward the door to see what created the crackling blast. Another flash as I poked my head out, a loud bang followed by cackling laughter. In the fading light I saw a face across the street, and it saw me. I tilted my head and it tilted back. The dark of night returned, but only a moment later another blast illuminated the streets. The pony had emerged from the shop it had hidden within. She was a unicorn, a violet coat and short, black mane. Her clothes were strange, not quite like those of the raiders, this was armored and scorched, not clad in bones and paint. Her front left leg was more heavily armored below the knee. The light faded again, but this time the face remained illuminated, a purple glow from the mare’s horn. Somewhere within the store behind her came another glow of the same shade.
A smile slowly crawled up her face, a victorious, crazed smile. A smile like those on the face of several of the raiders as they slaughtered my people. My ears dropped as I realized what was happening. A dim flash from within the building as a large flare was launched, aimed at me. The mare was unwavering, even as the flare spiraled past her face. Remembering the fire from the last flare, I leaped to the side. My dodge was in vain as I only slammed into an Emerald that had approached in silence. He fell to the side as I fell back into the path of the flare. Unable to do anything from my position with my injured leg, I merely cowered. The flare erupted in a ball of fire before it reached the door, the shockwave sending me tumbling and the sound left my ears ringing.
Rubbing my ears in vain attempt to get the ringing to stop, I could make out faint voices. “Smoke, what were you thinking??” a gruff, male voice asked, “you know the rules, the MoP hub is OFF LIMITS!!” I looked around to find where the voices were coming from. Through my still fuzzy vision I spotted two blobs out the door, illuminated by the occasional flash. “I know but-” a mare’s voice, the one who shot at me I presumed. “But nothing, your just lucky I stopped you from destroying our medical supplies,” the male blob sounded angry, no, more of dissapointedly mad. “There’s intruders though…” my eyes focused and I saw the buck turn to look at me. He was dressed in pristine, unsinged barding, painted yellow and pink. He bore two of those yellow butterfly boxes upon his back like saddlebags. I couldn’t see his face or mane through his hemet and mask, his tail hidden aswell.
He rushed over, digging through his boxes, “and you didn’t think that maybe they didn’t know better?” the mare lowered her head in shame. The buck pulled out some bandages from his bag and began to wrap up my bleeding side. I knew there where helpful people in Ponyville . After he finished doing his doctory things and nodding aprovingly at my rebar splint, he asked me, “so what brings you to VanBoomer , friend? Don’t ya know its dangerous here?” I hesitated, replaying what he said. “I’M IN THE WRONG TOWN?!” I should have known it wouldn’t have been so easy. He seemed stunned by my not knowing, I went on to explain to him about Ponyville and the help that waited there.
“I dunno about all that, pal, last I checked Ponyville wasn’t quite so friendly. And quite frankly neither is here.” The words hit like a buck to the face, all my plans were gone. My hopes, dashed. “Then why are you here?” I asked, avoiding the truth behind what he said, I had to believe Ponyville could help me, I just had to. “Cause if I ain’t these ponies’ll kill ‘emselves.” He pulled me to my hooves and started walking, motioning me to follow. He led me, Emerald, and the mare named Smoke Bomb to the streets, “these here ponies came across an old weapons stockpile some years back, all ordinance.” he pointed to the sky, lit up by rumbling flashes, “they took to the explosives like a fish to water, went mad with power. They had enough ponies and weaponry to take over the whole wastes, but instead a little raider gang showed up”. He started leading us through the streets as he narrated, “since then they’ve been locked in turf war, over the years it evolved into somewhat a game, its got rules‘n everything!” It didn’t sound like a fun game, using those ‘missiles’ against eachother, it sounded more dangerous.
“One such rule being that all newcomers are to pick a side.” Smoke said, as if that were fine. As if this were a game everyone would want to play. “Raiders or Boomers?” she asked. “I would rather not-” I took a step back. “Raiders or Boomers?” she pressed, “I need to know if you’re my friend or foe”. The mysterious medical stalion noticed my reluctance, “maybe he can help me medic?” he suggested. “Rules only allow one medic,” she snapped, raising her ‘RPG’. It seemed these rules were so important that Smoke memorized it word for word. She aimed at me, “tick tock”. Needing to say something, I spat the first thing to come to mind, “I hate raiders, so the Boomers?” I cringed back, waiting for the click of the weapon firing. It never did. She lowered it, seeming pleased with my answer. “Welcome to the tea-” a click in the distance, followed by the unmistakable whirr of a rocket flying through the air. Time slowed to a crawl as I watched the rocket impact directly with Smoke Bomb’s head. Flaming chunks of pony flew through the air along side me. I slammed into a wall, a crack from my already broken leg, I heard a scream.
My heart pounded in my chest as I crawled to where Emerald once stood, it was then that I realized the scream was mine. Tears began to flow, emerald was gone, and the headless body of Smoke lay lifeless in the road. I looked up and saw a silhouette on the rooftop, armed with a similar weapon to Smoke’s, reloading. Not wanting to end up like smoke I pulled myself to my hooves and began to run, keeping my broken leg outstretched behind me and wincing at the pain of reopening wounds. I ducked between several barricades in the road, hoping they’d be cover if the raider shot at me while I ran. They didn’t. I looked up to see if they were following me, they weren’t. I looked back ahead just in time to see the open pot hole I was about to fall down. Then I fell.
The sky was a dark grey, a rare sight. Water poured down from the gloomy clouds that had squeezed through the mountains . It will be good for the crops I thought, but I hate when it rains like this. Most people loved it when it rained, it was like a pleasant break from the normal sunny sky. But to me the rain just meant getting wet, so I sat in my room staring out the window at those who played in the rain. Splashing in the puddles was a small green colt, no older than a month, with his red father, it was my uncle and his son. I sighed, watching my sister dancing in the downpour, water trickling down her face as she stopped and looked up at me. She took a step forward and slipped, landing in mud, I couldn’t help but giggle. Rolling my eyes, I went down the stairs. I hesitated at the door, took a deep breath, then opened. The rain was beginning to stop, so I trotted over to the fallen Flu. “Need a hoof?” I asked, holding one out to help her up. She grabbed it, held it, I began to pull up but she yanked me down into the mud with her. She laughed, I laughed, the cloud was clearing up, or rather dad was beating it up. I looked to the sky and saw a collection of colors arcing across the sky, a rainbow.
Author's Note
Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: durabone - you really know how to take a hit, 25% chance to avoid a limb crippling.
Fallout Equestria: Luck
By Gun Shot
Chapter 4: Slice of Life
“It makes you realize that everypony is the star of their own story.”
A hooded figure watched from their perch on a hill as a trade caravan passed. Something was off, movements ahead of the caravan caught the figure’s eye. They spread their cyan wings and took flight. The pegasus flew high to the sky before dropping into a dive. They swooped down and delivered a high speed buck to the bandit’s back, letting out a scream and a satisfying crack. Before the caravan guards could react, the pegasus had disappeared into the foliage. The hooded pony had come to be known as the Star Striker after their first encounter with a zebra tribe. He had saved them from a pack of raiders in a similar method to this. The name spread fast through the caravan network, a mysterious pegasus rescuing merchants before they know they’re in danger. Only one pony knew who the Striker was, and that was the Striker.
✦ ✦ ✦
A lemon yellow mare with a lime green mane was sat by a fire, happy caravan guards and merchants danced around singing. They hadn’t eaten a full meal in longer than they could remember, now they were stuffed. The mare picked up her bag of kitchen supplies and looked around. She nodded to herself, another successful mission. Silently, she slipped out of the party. She adjusted her jacket as she walked away, not looking back. She had nowhere specific to go yet, so she just went. Suddenly, she gave a big jolt, as though she had a mini seizure standing up. “Vanhoover here I come,” she said to herself. The city sat on the horizon already, the small flashes of the explosive wars only barely visible. Without hesitation, she began her march.
✦ ✦ ✦
A red stallion wanders alone, head hung low. Behind him lies the crumbling ruins of South Vanhoover, he thought of his brother, crushed beneath the rubble. He knew nothing of this world but its dangers. Dangers that had killed everyone he knew, everyone he loved. Dangers were all he knew now, he fled east to escape them. He fled east to preserve himself, a cowardly move by a desperate buck. In the distance he hears a howl, he readied his magic powered weapon, prepared to blast even the strongest creature. The wooden wolf leaped over a moss blanketed pile of bones, ready to feast. It hit the ground, the glowing ashy remains dispersing in the wind. Continuing his slow walk, he felt in danger, even now. He, The Last Shot.
✦ ✦ ✦
A group of bone clad ponies, their barding painted in blood, gathered around a bon fire. They told jokes and stories about the town they just crushed. They laughed at the retelling of the screams heard from the ponies they killed. At the mention of the flaming barn, two of them looked at eachother. They slinked off from the group, snickering. From behind a nearby rock outcrop, the two bucks dragged a covered cage. “Oh booooyyys!” one called. “We brought a souvenir!” finished the other as all of the raiders looked over. Together the two ripped the tarp off the cage, revealing a young blue mare with a green and red mane. She was in the far corner of the cage, curled up in a tight ball. She looked up at the sudden return of light, her ears drawn back and fear in her tear filled eyes. Everypony went quiet, only to be heard was the crackling of the fire and the heavy breath of the mare. “No way! You brought us a toy?!” the first one to break the silence shouted. The rest started clamoring and pushing each other around. Most of the mares of the group rolled their eyes as the bucks declared they wanted first dibs, some joined in. The mare tried backing up further, but there was a wall in her way of escape.
The flames roared throughout the night as some stuck by the fire telling stories, laughing, some even cheering. Before the sun rose a creaking could be heard. A gust of wind blew the smoke theatrically. Emerging from the smoke was a rusty, metal wagon topped with a large cage and several small cages and pulled by several large framed ponies. The flame illuminated several ponies within the cages, some cages contained two, even three. The large one being empty. “Hello, most revered stars,” a large unicorn greeted when he saw the banner next to the fire, a four pointed star, “I heard screams and thought I'd come do business”. It took the raiders a moment to realize what the buck meant, then the mare let out another pained scream, the sadist got a hold of her it seemed. The two bucks who brought her stepped forward, “how much you offering?” they asked, simultaneously.
“Fifty caps, since she’s used,” he replied, after some thought.
“Seventy caps, she knows medical work,” even though they sounded confident, they were only guessing from her cutie mark.
“Sixty.”
“Sixty-five!”
“Deal!”
“CRACK!” one of the bucks shouted, “Time’s up!” A moment later a mare with a whip came from around the corner, a beaten, defiled mare covered in various fluids, hers and others, in tow. “My… brother… will… find you… and he… he will… kill you all…” the mare snarled between gasps for air. “I’m sure he will, sugar” Crack mocked. The blue mare was shackled and shoved into one of the small cages. She was too weak to fight against them, but she kept yelling about her brother as the wagon rolled away.
✦ ✦ ✦
The mysterious medical pony dug through medical supplies, throwing empty bottles and stained bandages behind him. “Ah, there it is,” he exclaimed, holding up a small bottle of healing potion. He poured it on the scratched leg of a green colt, telling him to drink the rest. The colt flinched. “So, what’s your story?” He asked the colt. No answer, Emerald just stared at the medic. “Don’t want to talk about it?” he guessed, “what about that blue buck you were with?” More stares, after a moment of silence, Emerald pointed at the buck, looking quizzical. “Me first?” his answer came in a nod, “you can't talk… can you?” Emerald shook his head. “Guess I can tell you then.” he shrugged, “ the name’s Blue”. Blue stepped to the gaping hole that was once a window, “hope your friend is ok, he got thrown pretty hard by that blast”. Emerald stood, following the still mysterious medic, he looked out at the horizon, they were on a high level of a tall tower, standing high above most roofs. In a strange way the view was gorgeous, the distant explosions below looked like little blinking lights. One tall tower in particular looked like a Hearths Warming tree with all the flashes.
Blue looked to the young colt, “I must get back out there, they need me.” Emerald nodded, and the medic leaped out the window. “STAY PUT!” he called back as he fell. When he was just a small speck, barely visible in the darkness, something unseen seemed to catch him and carry him through the streets. Emerald sat, watching the tree-like tower with great interest.
✦ ✦ ✦
A white rabbit hopped along the dry, dead grass, unshaken by the lack of green food. The rabbit had nowhere to be, nowhere to go, no obligations. Something had unknowingly destroyed its home and family. And so the bunny wandered, waiting for death to claim it. The woods lay in the rabbits wake, there was no point hiding in the trees. The bunny wanted to explore. It hopped its way to the ruins of a small town. Tired, it entered what had once been a large tree, reminding it of its old home. It hopped through dried puddles of red liquid, over odd-shaped white rocks. The rabbit nestled up in a corner and slept.
Fallout Equestria: Luck
By: Gun Shot
Chapter 5: Rainbow
“Being brave isn't about not being afraid, but about facing the thing that scares you, but what if your fear is facing your fears?”
Rainbows, I was once told that they were nothing more than light reflecting off of water in the air. But there was no light here, the room was near pitch dark, yet bountiful colors danced across the ceiling. I groaned, my head hurt as if somepony had bucked me in the head. I sat up, not wanting to lay on the cold, wet floor. My vision went darker than before and I found myself on the ground again. I sat up again, slower this time, then stood, slowly. I couldn’t see anything but the colors, trailing across the darkness above. I began to walk, following them. They reminded me of a river, always flowing and moving, going the same way I was, leading me somewhere.
As I walked, a static-like sound became apparent. Almost like the waves from the beach not that long ago, but constant. Walking along the darkness left me with nothing but my thoughts. My mind began to wander, driven by the soothing static. I saw the face of my mother, stereotypical in appearance. Her deep red mane flowing in the breeze, her soft white coat glistening in the sunlight, like a crystal. She looked like a medical mare, which she was. But then her coat turned black as charcoal, her bloodred mane igniting into a blazing mohawk of fire. She had become a Nightmare.
Not wanting to keep down that path, I snapped out of my mind. I had begun humming to myself, a soothing tune to block out the static. Ahead, there appeared to be a turn in the river of colors above, which revealed there were walls, the trail was cut off but expanded further to the left as I approached. I turned to meet it, falling down an unseen drop in the floor. The fall lasted only half a second, but it felt like an eternity.
Instead of hitting the ground, a cool substance wrapped around me, some form of liquid, hopefully water. I was submerged, I tried to kick towards the surface, but impacted an unseen wall that sent me tumbling. I hit several walls, scratching along them, before settling for flailing in the center, being dragged by an accelerating current. I fought to reach the surface, but the current fought harder. The liquid, i realized, was the source of the static, the water was rushing toward some unforeseen destination. Every now and then I got a quick breath of air, or a glimpse of the colors still above. I was starting to black out, the small gasps of air weren’t big enough nor often enough to sustain me. Smashing into another wall as the path turned, I let out the last of my air and accepted my fate, death by a mysterious liquid. My vision darkening, I closed my eyes, it was almost calming, feeling the liquid ripple by as I tumbled. Coupled with the light-headedness of passing out, it all felt like a dream.
My eyes shot open as I shot out the side of a fall, the liquid around me suddenly replaced by air. I tumbled through the air for about five seconds before bouncing and skidding along the ground. The several impacts knocking the fluid out of my lungs, causing a sharp intake of air, then knocked that out too. Gasping for breath, I tried to get my hoofing, rolling onto my chest and pushing up into a sit, then a stand. The world spun as I stood, as if I were still tumbling through the water. It was water, I realized, thankfully the sewage was no longer dropped into the sewer system. That’s where I was, based on the various tunnels with water flowing out from them. As my vision slowly steadied and the pounding in my head began to fade, I began to notice more details of my surroundings. Along the roof, several colorful rivers split from behind me, each heading down its own tunnel. Each tunnel had a large drop, as if they’d been cut off, water fell from each hole, forming streams that cut through the sloped ground. The room was well lit by a colorful light behind me, a bright light.
My head ached, my leg was in an agonizing pain, my back hurt, I didn’t want to stand anymore. But I knew I had to, otherwise I’d never escape this pit, so i turned to face the light. A blindingly bright ball of color and light floated above the center of the small crater. It hurt my eyes to look at, and resonated some form of unearthly heat, yet it didn’t burn. The feeling was inviting, like how I imagine a dip into a soothing heated spring would be, it was calming, yet invigorating. It was like a party trapped in a magic ball, waiting to break free, begging to break free, to spread its joy and cheer to the world. I stepped towards it, the soothing ball of magic fire, it reached a wisp out to me. The wisp wriggled through the air, forming into a tentacle of colored flame, circled around my forehead before vanishing entirely.
The soothing warmth suddenly became a burning sensation, as if the whole room were on fire, I had to get out of there. I limped my way to the nearest tunnel, my vision going blurry. The heat intensified as I left, and the static sound of flowing water was replaced with a chorus of screams. The melody rang through my head, echoing within my skull. My hooves began to feel heavy, my joints locking up, my already slow speed became even slower, and continuing to slow. One step up the stairs, made up of fallen ceiling rubble. Two steps up. Almost trip on three. The pain was intense, the heat felt as though I was going to melt. Three steps up. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Trip over eight, falling to the ground within the tunnel. I heard a familiar voice among the chorus, but i couldn’t quite place it.
The tunnel was suddenly illuminated by an orange light, behind me i could hear the unmistakable roar of fire. I ran, despite the pain in my legs, I ran. I broke into a full gallop through the sewers, chased by a screaming wall of fire, silhouettes of burning ponies danced along the walls, running alongside me. With every shadow that fell, the screams got louder, with every corner I turned, the wall caught up. I couldn’t escape, I would run until I joined the shadow ponies, then join the jarring melody. Then i saw it, hope. A double door was positioned on one of the walls ahead. I blasted through it falling to the ground, behind me I saw the flaming wall closing in. Then the door closed and the room went black.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized my landing had been soft, not on concrete. Something plush sat beneath me, a sleeping bag, I realized. I stood, this was no time for sleep, and if i layed there i would only end up falling asleep, and I wasn’t so keen on another nightmare. So i began to look around, squinting my eyes in the darkness. I couldn’t see any walls other than the one I dove through, which seemed to stretch on into the infinitum of darkness to either side. I stepped forward, away from the wall, my eyes adjusted steadily, revealing the very faint outline of another wall. My hoof hit something metal and I tripped, my head smacking into a very hollow sounding metal cylinder on the way down. The pang echoed through the long expanse of darkness.
Rubbing my head, I continued to advance, carefully. I felt another metal bar on the ground a few meters away from the first, I stepped over it this time, stepping across various additional sleeping bags. Click “Alright, who’s down there?” I heard a voice call out from the left side void, “you know the rules, no camp raiding in the night”. I hesitated, deciding between hiding, turning myself in, or deceiving. A torch light rounded a corner in the darkness, a pony in its flickering light, “Show yourself, Im not going to ask again!” she sounded annoyed, and closer. “Uhhh… sorry, I just came back cause I…” I thought, trying to make an excuse, pretending I lived here, “FORGOT, yeah, I forgot my…” glanced around for anything to pick up, “lucky rock! Yep that’s why im here”. I smiled, unsure whether she could see me or not. “Geez, seems the loss of Peb is hitting harder than I expected…” she sighed, “for somepony we teased and bullied a lot, we all seem to miss him so much…” I nodded, trying to look upset. “No pony kept rocks but him, until he… …passed on”.
The approaching pony sounded on the verge of tears, which made this worse. This conversation had become a mine field, if I said the wrong thing she’d know i wasn’t from around here, if she saw me, she’d know. I started backing away from her, staying just out of her torchlight. The mare reached the barrel in the center of camp, she tossed his torch in and it blasted ablaze, lighting most of the camp. I was stood just within the dim light, I could taste the darkness just a step behind me. I looked at the pony, she looked around and saw no one, so she sat and stared at the fire, sobbing, “I know you didn’t want this, you only wanted the fighting to stop…” It appeared she thought I didn’t exist, thought I was just an audial hallucination of ‘Peb’. I could easily have stepped away, into the darkness, or even just walked passed her towards wherever she came from.
She flinched at the feeling, as forelegs slid around her shoulder, the legs wrapped around her and squeezed gently. She didn’t react beyond the flinch, a slight intake of air, and a “Pebble?” she welcomed the ghostly embrace. “I will always be with you,” ‘Pebble’ whispered into her ear, “even in the darkest hours of the night”. With that, I retracted from the hug and quietly limped away, leaving the mourning mare in silence, tears rolling over her smiling face. She needed that, I could tell. I disappeared into the darkness and found my way over to where the mare had come from.
A soft hum filled the air as i rounded a hidden corner, revealing a flickering bar of dim light. The light sat above a door, illuminating the area around it, but not bright enough to reach the long hall i’d come from. The whole floor was elevated, which made getting to the door a struggle, but my fumbling in the dark eventually found some stairs. I crossed the cracked tile floor, gingerly approaching the door. Cautiously, I pushed it open and braced for something, Boomer guards, a wall of fire, anything. What i saw was a lit staircase leading to the surface, the distant echoes of explosions could once again be heard.
Author's Note
Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Shoulder Angel/Devil - you could lead the world from the shadows, charisma checks have a 50% higher success rate when you are hidden.
Fallout Equestria: Luck
By Gun Shot
Chapter 6: Dreams
"I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality."
I climbed the steps, slowly, with each step up imagery of the explosion flashed through my head once more. Emerald was gone, he and Smoke were nothing more than paste. The mental image brought tears to my eyes as I finally began to realize what had happened. My hoof hit the cracked asphalt that trailed like a dusty grey river through the forest of towers, and an ear-splittingly loud horn blared. Suddenly, all of the explosions stopped.
The silence was unsettling, the only sound being my sobs and heavy breathing. I didn’t think on it too much though, other things were on my mind. I stood there at the top of the stairs, my vision blurred with tears, through the blur I saw a green pony approaching. EMERALD , I thought, a smile on my face. I tried to run to him, but my body had had enough, I collapsed to the ground seeing nothing but a voidous black. The memories began to fill the void, clashing together. The visions I saw were borderline horrors, for what I knew then, at least.
Flashes of light exploding around me as I ran through a flaming barn towards the still body near identical to mine. The floor beneath me acting as a treadmill, moving to keep me away no matter how fast i ran. Then the floor stopped and I reached my twin, I turned her still form to face me and recoiled. She had no face, she had become a charred skeleton. The skeletal remains clattered as they stood, a raspy hiss emanating from its non-existent throat. I tried to step back, but the floor was against me again, moving to keep me close to the hideous creature that had once been my sister. Flu lunged at me, pinning me to the ground. She snarled like a rabid dog. I saw then the fire in her eyes, the literal fire. I whimpered as she pulled her face next to mine, a black smile forever on her burnt skull. Then the skeleton stepped back, stood for a moment, its flaming eyes growing brighter, then she exploded. The blast sent me flying and crashing through the wooden walls of the barn.
I skidded to a stop on the cracked concrete the barn had been replaced with a massive tower. Through the shattered window i had flown through I could see the skeleton reforming, its skull fully engulfed in flames much like those that held the bones together. The creature began to move closer, it didn’t move its legs it didn’t need to, the skeleton was floating. As it emerged from the hole it sprouted wings, made from various bones that flew in, grabbed by the flames. This thing was no longer my sister. Flapping its bone wings slowly, unnecessarily, the creature approached, it’s burning gaze locked on me. It spread its wings to their fullest extent and the tower behind exploded in a shatter of fire and glass.
The ground shook as the mountainous building began to tilt. A crash high above as buildings collided, glass raining down. The deafening sound of rebar, concrete, and glass snapped and broke within the tower. A pony-sized chunk of concrete crashed into the ground next to me, knocking me out of my stupor. I broke into a full gallop as tower bits fell around me. I risked a glance over my shoulder just in time to see the top half of the tower turn the skeleton into a bone pancake. I slowed to a trot then a walk. Then gravity took effect, dragging the ruin down again, poised to collapse upon me yet again. I sprinted down the street, looking for some door to dive into, but they were all boarded up. The sound of glass shattering against the ground behind me was ear splitting, urging me to run faster.
My leg filled with a piercing pain that caused me to collapse on the ground, tumbling. I tried to get up but couldn’t, I tried to crawl but I couldn’t move. It was as if my hooves and body had melded to the ground. I looked up to see my final sight, the building collapsed upon me. Shards of glass flew in the air as a window shattered on my back. The inside of the building wasn’t what I’d expected, instead of a building it was an open spread of ruined land and clear sky. I looked to the sky and saw the stars twinkling for the first time in days, a sight I had grown up with. For a moment everything felt normal, like everything was fine. I looked to my left and saw Emerald, to my right was the shadow of a pony that wasn’t there. Emerald and I looked back to the sky, where a star began glowing brighter and brighter. It’s purple sheen tainting the land. I looked to Emerald but he was gone, only a pile of bones took his place.
I woke to laughter, happy laughter. As my eyes adjusted I could see a group of ponies gathered around a metal cylinder with a flame held within. As I blinked the sleep out of my eyes I began to recognise the place, the camp I had just been in. I recognised a mare off to the side of the group, she sat in silence staring at a small rock on the ground. Her strawberry coat turned to a sad salmon color in the dim light, and her green eyes bore the redness of having been crying. I got up and limped towards her, completely forgetting to question how I had gotten back there. I sat next to the isolated mare, “you ok?” I asked. She jumped with a squeak, clearly not expecting me, but then, why would she? “OH! You’re awake..” she sighed, her startled expression relaxing, she wore a smile, clearly fake.
I looked into her eyes as she held back tears, not wanting anypony to see her cry. I nodded, “don’t remember sleeping though,” I decided to follow her misdirection. “Radiant found you and brought you down when the horns were sounded, said he didn’t recognize you from the enemy team,” she looked me over, “you aren’t dressed like one, but not like one of us either”. With that I looked to the fire, they were some dressed in patchwork barding made of various clothing items and metal scrap. Others were dressed only halfway or not at all as they prepared for bed.
“Yeahhh… I’m… not exactly from here,” I replied, tentatively. She nodded, “ya don’t say… well, welcome to Ember Gate, this little encampment is one of the homes of the Boomers.” she let out a pained chuckle, “guess you’re one of us now”. I hesitated, did I want to join a group of explosive wielding ponies in a constant warzone? “Sure, why not, I had nothing to lose after all”. She sighed sadly, “go find Cherry, she runs the wardrobe nowadays”. My distraction had clearly run its course, the tears were beginning to form again in the poor mare’s eyes. I decided it may be best to go find Cherry rather than push my luck with her.
Finding Cherry hadn’t been hard, she was the only red mare around. “You Cherry?” I asked, approaching her. “That’s Cherry Bomb to you.” she snapped, “what’ya want?” She was almost as bitter as an unripe cherry, maybe that’s where she got the name? “I was told you could get me suited up?” She rolled her eyes, “Jewel sent you, didn’t she?” I nodded, assuming that Jewel was the mare from before. Cherry let out a long exasperated sigh, “fine, you can have that,” she pointed to a pile of leather, “it used to belong to a cowardly wimp, so it’ll fit you perfectly”. I looked at the pile, poking at it, she rolled her eyes and started to walk off. “H-HEY WAIT A MINUTE!” I called, just realizing what she had said. She laughed, but didn’t stop walking until she plopped onto a sleeping bag on the other side of the Gate.
I looked back at the pile of leather, hoping it was faux. Regardless, I would need protection if I wanted to avenge Emerald. For about fifteen minutes of Cherry Bomb and a few others laughing at me later, I managed to figure out how to put on the gear. It was a mess of straps holding together scraps of padding and clothes, Painted on the flank was a blue sideways oval. I saw Jewel glance at me then immediately look away. The ponies started to head to bed, one by one abandoning the fire. And retreating to their sleeping places. I joined them, only i wasn’t given a bag, I slept on the cold ground near the flame to keep warm. I had dreamed only the same dream as I had before, and it ended the same way.
I woke with a start, the long void tunnels to either side of me blared and echoed with the sound of a horn. Looking around me I saw that the other ponies had already begun to get into their barding. I hadn’t bothered taking mine off before as it was hard to put on. Happy, playful murmurs from the Boomers as they prepared and placed bets on who’d score more hits. The camp had been empty in moments, in a perfectly organized wave everything was gone aside from the barrel and the sleeping bags. I was left standing in the dark, alone. Or so I thought, stepping from the shadows was Jewel.
“Aren’t you going to go along with the rest?” she asked, “go blow up some Raiders or something?” She didn’t seem too keen on the idea herself, “aren’t you?” I asked. Without hesitation she replied, “somepony has to stay behind to defend the camp everyday”. I nodded understanding now, “guess i better be off then,” I started off the way the others had gone. “Hey,” she called out after me, “don’t forget your gun”. I whipped around just in time to see the weapon crash into my face. “OH- Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’m sooo sorry,” Jewel ran over apologetically as I rubbed my head. Red trickled down my face from where some part of the weapon cut skin. She rummaged through a bag on her side and pulled out a small bandage,slapping it onto my forehead before I could protest. “There, all better,” I saw her smile, a small smile, a real smile. The smile quickly faded as she shoed me back to the door, “sorry.. Best get going.” I looked back on my way up the stairs, I couldn’t see her anymore but I was sure she was back by the barrel, then I ascended back to the surface.
Author's Note
credit of Fo:E goes to kkat, it was one of the most inspiring stories i ever read, most of my OCs live in the world they created
Fallout Equestria: Luck
By Gun Shot
Chapter 7: Reality
"Here we don't pray for the weak, we pray on the weak."
It was dark on the top side, would be just as dark as the tunnel had it not been for the explosions beginning to light up the sky. I looked down at the “gun” in the flashing light, it was a familiar shape, even in the dark. I could easily recall the last time i had seen that round barrel, the small trigger meant to be activated by a slight flick of the tongue, the cautious red coloration. I had never heard it called a gun before, but this thing would never leave my memory. I stared at the flare for what felt like an eternity, flash backs through my head of that night, of the destruction caused by this small thing. This is what I was named after, something small, something dangerous.
I put it into my bag, right next to the other one, sighing. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to use it, but anything seems possible in the outside world. One thing was certain, I had to leave this place, to find Ponyville and survive, for Emerald. I set out across the empty, wreckage riddled streets. I looked to the sky and took a deep breath, “you got this,” I tried to reassure myself.
Above me, explosions were already starting, trails of smoke connecting one building to another. Shot wove his way past the carriages and remains of buildings, dodging falling glass and dust. I looked up at the arcing paths of explosives, wondering how many ponies were here in these ‘games’. A small ball of some sort rebounded off the wall of a tower and fell down. It bounced past my face, then landed in a cart next to me. Seconds later, two century old rotten fruit and wood shot every where, a small piece of metal launched out and grazed my cheek. Taking a step back, I saw countless other balls start to fall to the streets, sent flying by an explosion. I broke into a limping gallop as I could hear the ringing of small blasts behind me. Several shards of shrapnel sliced my flank and legs, but still I ran.
Several corner turns later, I stopped at a crossroad, realizing I had no idea where I was or how to get out of this place. I was lost, trapped in this maze of death, and doomed to a fate like Smoke and Emerald. I took a shaky breath, a single tear rolled down my cheek. There was a second of silence, quickly broken by a click in the shadows. I whipped around to see a figure in the window of a building nearby, on its side was strapped one of those rocket launchers. I took a step back as it clenched its jaw.
The whoosh of a flying rocket filled the air as a trail of smoke curled through the air and as the metal tube blasted past my right ear with an ear splitting roar. Behind me the missile made contact with something, causing it to explode. Time seemed to slow as I flew forward, knocked by the blast. In the light of the explosion i could make out the details of the figure. A burgundy mare with a spikey purple mane stood in a hole in a wall. She wore armor like that of the ponies who attacked my home, every detail the same down to the purple star painted on her chest. In her eyes, though, was a crazed look not even the ponies who had attacked before had had. On her neck was a studded collar, a broken chain hung from it. This was no pony, I realized, this was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
As time returned to its normal pace, I tumbled to a halt in front of her. I felt the drip of something wet on my face and opened my eyes. Looming above me was the mare’s face, scrunched up like a dog barring its teeth, she… growled at me? From her sharp, yellow teeth dripped a mixture of blood and foamy saliva. She lunged at my prone body like a dog at a squeaky toy, only the squeak was a gurgled scream as she latched onto my neck. I could feel the piercing of skin as she bit down harder and harder. I kicked at her frantically, trying to beat her off of me, but she stayed latched tight. My vision began to go black as she tried to shake me, tried to break my neck. I heard a snap, and the beast of a pony let go, my vision went fully black. I was dead.
Death… was painful. I could still feel the bruising on my neck, I could still feel my leg’s piercing pain as it was set back in place. I could still… hear my own scream..? I opened my eyes and saw myself in an unfamiliar setting, I was on some sort of bed in a somewhat clean room filled with broken machines. Medical machines, I realized, remembering back when… try not to think of painful times, you’re in enough pain , I thought to myself. Somepony else was there, holding my broken leg. “One day and you’ve already broken it again…” the doctor pony sighed, “Stay here and rest up, I have to go get something”. The doctor left the room, good thing I had no intentions of going back out there, not with that thing on the loose. I just laid there, in the silence, thinking. That was a problem.
Pain, a piercing pain, a burning pain, the air burned, the smoke stung. I blacked out but the pain remained, I was sure I’d die. But I didn’t, the sound of beeping medical equipment was turned on. A light purple mare with a red mane leaned over me, her blue eyes were like little oceans, especially with the tears like waves in them. “M-mom,” I remember saying. She said something reassuring yet funny, I can’t recall what it was. It made me laugh, laughing hurt. So, I focused on the steady beep of my heart rate, I heard it slow to a stop. And I remember my mother’s pained cry as she grabbed the defibrillator and powered it on. I remember the long steady tone that guided me to a calm light.
I forced myself to think of other things, think of what I’ve seen so far out here. Like what was that glowing thing, and why are the raiders here? Instead my mind wandered to seemingly less important things, like Captain Gold and Heart Radio. Captain Gold didn’t seem to like her job, yet she kept doing it, working for the Ministry of Propaganda. Why? I have no idea why, but this question stood out to me more than any other I asked myself. And how was it connected to Heart Radio, why was she being sent to stop them from doing their job? What was the Ministry of Propaganda? All these questions started to build up, but I focused on the one, and I don’t know why. It just didn’t make sense, somepony doing something they don’t like for so long.
The blue buck re-entered the room, “I can’t seem to find your visitor, but I'm sure he’ll be back.”
The music faded, replaced by the deep voice of a stallion, “That was Sweetie Belle with “Set Me Free”, if only they’d heard your warnings.” The voice was almost sad, but quickly changed mood, “now for the news seems slaver activity is on the rise again on the roads from Ponyville to Fillydelphia, seems the East’s filth is spreading Westward. In other news, Finders Keepers has announced his retirement, in the coming months, his daughters will take over the Finders guild. Can’t wait to see how they run business. In other, more local news, Tenpony Tower has recently suffered a balefire phoenix attack, rather unusual, I’d say. Sheriff Grimmstar has put a bounty on whoever can scare ‘em off, permanently. Stay tuned folks, cause later we have our wisdom from DJPon3, grenades ain’t for eating. Now here's some Sapphire Shores to bring us solace.” The voice faded back to music.
“Who was that?” I asked the medical buck, not taking my eyes away from the radio. “DJPon3, voice of hope in the wasteland,” he replied, “never heard his broadcast before?” I shook my head, “oh yeah, no radios where you come from-” he remembered. We listened to the music for a bit, it cycled through three songs while the doc worked. Outside the window I watched small flashes of light signaling the continued wars below. The music faded back to the voice of DJPon3, “hello, Wasteland, it’s time for your favorite radio host to become your favorite teacher. Far too many times I’ve heard of ponies being dragged into Bonesaw’s office with their faces torn to shreds. I know they look like apples, but I can’t seem to stress this enough: grenades aren’t edible.” I could practically hear his eyes roll at the fact he had to say this, “they can and will blow up in your face if you bite down too hard.”
Ponies confuse apples and something deadly called grenades? That sounded like poor design to me, something capable of tearing up a face shouldn’t be disguised as food. My stomach rumbled as I realized I hadn’t eaten since eating the last of the rations with emerald on the beach. He still had some, well before.. you know. I really need to stop thinking about the past, this is my life now, everyone I know is dead, only a matter of time until I join them, I sighed. “Alright, Imma go see if I can find that visitor of yours, stay in bed unless otherwise necessary, gotta give that leg of yours time to mend,” the doctor diagnosed on his way out the door. I sat and listened to music as I watched out the window at the flashing lights as I drifted into a fitful sleep.
The sky was blue, the pegasi had prepared today to be of perfect weather, a perfect day. An orange mare trotted through the streets of a small town, humming. She turned a corner headed out of town, the road led to a large collection of apple trees. The mare turned off the road onto a small dirt path weaving through the trees. At the end of the path sat a barn, red as an apple. The orange mare entered the barn, in the center was a table, centered on the table was a single apple. The mare sat by the table and picked up the apple. She bit into it, its juice shot out from the missing chunk as she chewed the tart apple. She turned the apple to take another bite, but in doing so the stem fell out. A horrific display of pony juice shot out from the bite taken into her. She looked down slowly to the bleeding hole where her muzzle once sat on her face. She turned around to face a mirror, the hole went clean through her face. Something pink slipped into the hole from in her head, and everything went black.
Several minutes later I woke to a noise in the other room, a thud. “Doc?” I called out, maybe he dropped something? Then a shot rang out, followed by a yell, “hey! No violence in the hospital!” A growl followed by a couple more gunshots led me into a panic. The doctor darted into the room and unstrapped me from the medical bed, I hadn’t even realized I was strapped before. “Come on,” he urged, “we gotta get you out of here”. He took a step back from me, then a red and violet blur dashed into the room and slammed the doctor out a big window with a crash, tumbling out with him. “NO,” I called out, darting to the shattered window. I couldn’t see them below, I hadn’t even been in his care a day and he was dead. I looked back to where it had come from, the room was empty, messy from an evident fight. Time to escape a hospital.
Author's Note
Footnote:
Quest Perk Added: Marked - You have been marked as a favored foe and will now be hunted by your marker. 10% chance for a random encounter to be your adversary.
Quest Perk Added: Feral Instinct - Level One - Out of Hoofington came many horrors, feral raiders among them. You have an increased sense of smell, mainly towards living flesh, giving you near Eyes Forward Sparkle-like detection of living creatures within 15 meters.
credit of Fo:E goes to kkat, it was one of the most inspiring stories i ever read, most of my OCs live in the world they created
