Fallout Equestria: Enclave Dawn

Enclave Recon Corps - Base

Blue was sitting in a small dark corner, the Stallion having taken some personal time to read up on some books. There was a debriefing of the next patrol coming up, and he was looking forward to it. He wanted to get out and finally see some action. He had been in this base for several days now and he wanted out. He looked around the main barracks noticing some of the ponies within it. He knew a few by now luckily. However he was more or less keeping to himself, well...other than talking with Gem every now and then.

"Attention!"

Everypony in the base suddenly looked up at Sergeant Topaz, who had walked into the room in her Power Armor, the mare already looking ready to go to the wasteland.

"Today there is a special ground mission. And from my understanding none of you have ever been to the ground before or at the very least haven't been outside of the main town area." There were nods and agreements in the room. “So listen closely because it is also of my understanding that you have yet to receive any information regarding this mission other than it being to the ground.”

It was true. None of the ponies had gotten any information about the mission due to it being classified. Blue was actually surprised given that everypony knew that the surface was nothing but disease and radiation, so who would want to go there? Especially on a mission they knew nothing about. But then again not everypony was of that meaning. "Before I go into details about your mission there is one thing you need to know about the surface, the radiation may be there but there do exist some factions." Topaz said

Blue tensed a bit. He knew about some of these factions already, and he knew of the reputation they held.

"In order to continue going to the wasteland on missions and patrols you need to know about them. The first you need to know about is the Steel Rangers. They have access to heavy-style power armor and very heavy weaponry. They are also well trained in using these. You should by any means necessary avoid engaging them in enclosed spaces since their armor is a lot thicker than yours. The other faction you need to know about is the Brotherhood, now usually these lesser factions consist of ill-equipped and half-starved wrecks that can almost be called ponies with basically no training at all. They rely on mass and shouldn't be a problem if encountered in even numbers. The Brotherhood however should not be underestimated since they are well equipped and very experienced. They have access to Enclave Tech and Armor...so do not under any circumstances try to take them on alone. Are there any questions on this so far?"

There were no questions, most ponies nodding and taking in the information. Blue was surprised to hear that these Steel Rangers were so well equipped, given the things they were all taught at the academy. It seemed the more he was down here the more he began to learn the reality of life down in the wasteland.

"Good, then I will proceed to explain your mission. Your job is to extract a certain unicorn scientist." The sergeant stepped to the side and let a small projection take her place. It showed a white and quite handsome unicorn stallion who was clad in a lab coat. He had a blue mane and tail with two green eyes. "What we need him for is highly classified and even I don't know. What matters however is that we acquire our target and get out. He was last seen near the abandoned mines, we believe he may have a laboratory there." Topaz would then turn off the projection and face the group again "Keep in mind that we have no idea what we will run into out there, so be on guard and stay close. We will re-convine in the yard in an hour, so get your power armor on, and prepare." She said, before the entire group saluted, Topaz saluted back and then left the room, almost immediately the ponies in the room began to rush around, grabbing their equipment and weapons to prepare for the mission.

Blue would sit up from his own bed and walk over to his locker, grabbing his undersuit to change into, as well as any other things he may need. Upon doing so he would rush to the power armor holding room, grabbing his suit and slipping into it. He had only ever been in test armor before, so being in the real thing felt so different. The tightness around the legs and wings, how heavy his wings began to feel, the heat he felt upon putting the helmet on. It was unlike anything he prepared himself for. He would make his way to the yard, strapping his laser rifle on his back and removing his helmet so he could get some breathing room. Everyone prepared for what was about to come differently. Most found a partner and did a little horizontal tango. Some tried to find the one pony in each section who stashed low-grade fuel in case of this exact situation. Some took a nap or just talked with friends. But no matter how it was dealt with it, they were all just trying to ignore what it meant until the time came to get serious again.

"How are we doing?" Gem would ask, the stallion approaching in his own PA, however, unlike Blue's it seemed to be more of a heavy set. Larger and with extra protection on the helmet.

"Well everything seems to be going alright, but I don't know any more than you do." Blue answered, the stallion looking to him with a smile. “You ever done this before?” he asked him.

“This is my fourth,” Jax told him. “But honestly, I’ve never been on the front line. I just come in after to mop up any enemies that couldn’t stay in the air.” He looked over at Blue with a strange look, like he didn’t understand, so he clarified. “If they get damaged but land safely and still shoot at us, my section goes in and takes them out. So usually one or two max.”

"Ohhh so your usually backup...got it" Blue said. “Well, at least you aren’t sitting here doing nothing” he admitted and grinned.

That got a laugh out of Jax, Blue feeling a little proud of managing to at least show him a good time before the mission. It may not have been the healthiest way to do it, but he felt plenty fine with how he was handling it. Besides, he was probably hovering around him considering he was the only pony Gem knew besides his sister.

Eventually everyone was standing at attention in the hangar. Nobody said a word, nobody moved a muscle; they all just stared across the lake to the mainland, waiting for the commanding officer to give the all-clear. A single door flew open, but before anyone could call attention, General Misty Dawn calmly walked over in her PA and faced the group.

"Alright ponies, you know your mission and you know your objective. Once we take off I want you all to split into groups of two or three. Locate the scientist and then radio over the coms your location. If you are attacked, jumped, or ambushed you will send an SOS signal to any pony nearby, am I clear?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Everypony shouted.

"Good, then let's get a move on!" she said, slipping her helmet on, and following that everypony else would do the same. Blue would begin to feel his wingbeats kept him suspended above the rotting visage of the Wasteland, the shell of his power armor guarding his body against the cold beneath the cloud cover, His light grey wings being the only exposed part of his body. Even the air he breathed was filtered through a respirator, a necessary precaution given the dangers of the ever-present magical radiation.

Given his patrol zone, he’d be lucky to even see any ponies, if they could still be called that at least. While he did get a close encounter with some of the ponies on his date with Gem, he’d never actually gotten close to a wasteland enough to have a one-on-one conversation, though he’d had plenty of opportunities to view them from a distance on the rare occasion he was on base survalence. The sheer barbarity of what he saw disgusted him, though he couldn’t help but sympathize with the seemingly normal ponies on the surface. he couldn’t help but wonder what it was like down here, but he doubted he’d ever know. It was a miracle that any of them had survived as he’d been shocked by the fact that any of them were alive at all, though that wore off quickly.

His musings were interrupted by the crackle of his radio, his ears perking up as soon as he heard the distinctive sound.

“Hay Blue?, uh, I think I’ve got something to the north?”

He spared a moment to glance to the right, looking over at his partner, Hazy. He’d been quiet for most of their flight, taking in the sight of the surface. He couldn’t blame him. He slowed his flight, cocking his head as he looked at him.

“Care to be a bit more specific than that?” He hovered alongside him, his unsure voice distorted by the helmet’s microphone.

“I’m hearing some pretty heavy gunfire…” Hazy said "You think it worth investigating?"

"I highly doubt it's anything to be concerned about...from what others have been saying that's quite frequent down here..." Blue said, sighing "Besides, we are about 10 miles from the cave, this isn't the target destination."

Suddenly, Haze stopped and leaned forward slightly, narrowing his eyes to make out an object through his helmet. The familiar magical glint of a horn peeked out from a hole in a tree, across an old overgrown dirt path. A spark of realization jolted the stallion, as he called out to the others in his radio “I have eyes on the target!”

Blue did a quick double-check, and sure enough there it was, the Unicorn. “Good shit, Haze,” Blue responded. “Let’s get this Unicorn pushed into a corner and await the others.”

“Got it” The stallion said as evenly as he could, trying to keep the idea that he was being patronized from taking over.

The two ponies made their way to the other side of the path methodically; Blue sprinted across while Haze covered him until all group members were soon enough on point. The Unicorn target, having seen the Pegasi fly down had retreated to an old sniper tower and was bunkering down in it.

"Right then, good work you two on spotting the target." Topaz said, as she walked past Blue and Haze. Blue himself felt a slight sense of pride in himself as he looked up at the sniper tower. It was a bit odd for a Unicorn to hide from the Enclave in a sniper tower out of all structures, but a desperate pony will do what it does to survive.

"Attention, this is the Enclave Recon Corps. We have you surrounded and will use force if necessary. Do yourself a favor and surrender." Topaz said in an authoritative voice.

The unicorn's head popped out of the tower. He was white with a yellow mane, dirty, and covered in blood and scars. He looked at the group of ponies and just...stared at them...with his green eyes.

"Are all surface dwellers like this?" Blue asked, turning his head to Gem who had walked up next to the stallion. "You'd think they would be smart and just listen..."

"Hm..." Gem softly hummed, the stallion looking back up to the tower.

“H-Hey, uh guys? hh gotta contact down the ol’ path, distance, 100!” Haze shouted, all pegasi immediately sprang into action, taking cover behind trees next to the path and bushes.

“Please don’t be more surface dwellers…” Topaz muttered, shooting a glance at General Misty Dawn, who gave the slightest shrug in return, then watched Gem as he peeked around a tree.

“The last time I checked, surface dwellers don’t glow from the eyes,” Blue said in a low voice, settling back behind his cover. Three ponies approached the group with glowing green eyes, and slight smirks.

“Pull back more, and be absolutely silent.” Misty said, moving further and further away from the path; no sooner had Blue’s tail rounded a tree than the others heard activity coming from the radio. Blue could just barely make it out as hoofsteps and muttering, before the noises stopped abruptly. All he could hear were the “normal” noises of the wasteland.

"What the hell are those three ponies doing, are they wanting a death wish?" Haze said, looking at Blue.

"How should I know, this is the first time I've ever even seen glowing green eyes on ponies.." Blue said, looking back to the ponies who were now looking up at the Unicorn target, who then began to climb down the ladder and approach the other ponies with a rather confident body language.

"Ma'am is this a trap or some shit?" Blue looked at Topaz, who looked at Misty.

"Impossible, that would suggest they knew we were coming..."

"So what do we do then?" Topaz asked her, the mare keeping her weapon locked on the ponies.

"We outnumber them seven to three, we should be fine taking on three wasties." Misty said.

Blue however noticed something off about the body language of the two stallions. “What are they looking back at us for…?” He said, the stallion confused slightly. CLIK. Blue's ears twitched upon hearing that.

CLIK CLIK.

“Whoa. Rad counter’s going off.” Topaz said, the noise shocked Blue, making her tunnel vision on it. Every click reverberated in his body; this wasn’t like being shown a recording or diagram of how it sounded/functioned. This was real, and the frequency of clicks was climbing steadily.

CLIK. CLIKCLIK CLIK. CLIKCLIK CLIKCLK.

The sound of the counter masked the way the group had approached the unicorn from behind. A slow, predatory pace, with measured steps and care taken to not make any noise.

CLKCLK CLIK CLIK. CLKCLKCLIK. CLIK CLIK CLIK CLK.

“Geez, it’s getting worse. Is there a radioactive zone we weren’t briefed on?” Haze said, Blue didn’t respond, his gaze still fixated on the three ponies and the Unicorn target, who were now all sporting glowing green eyes.

CLIKCLIK CLIKCLK CLKCLK CLIK CLIKCLKCLKCLIK. CLKCLKCLK.

“Misty, what do you think would cause a spike—” Was all Topaz managed to get out, before both of their rad counters really started screaming.

CLKCLKCLKCLKCLIKCLIIKCLKCLKICLKCLKCLKCILKCLKCLKICLKCILKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCILKCLKICLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKCLKICLKCLIKCLKCLKCLKCILKCLKCILKICLKCLKCLIKCLK.

A shadow fell over the group of pegasi, stopping Blue in his own tracks as he looked up to see what was casting it, but felt himself get slammed back hard. Blue could only watch as a bright green blur crashed into the ground in front of him, separating the light gray stallion from the target. The push caused him to stumble and land face-first in the dirt, but Blue quickly recovered. What he saw before him was something out of a nightmare, even worse than what the Enclave had taught him lived beneath the clouds. "Th-These are surface dwellers?!” Blue spluttered.

Before the group was a tall lanky buglike creature, its eyes glowing green. Holes in all of its legs and its mane and tail an insect-like coating, it sported wings and a daggered-like horn. Soon the other ponies suddenly began to glow green, as the three ponies and the Unicorn target were surrounded in a glowing flash of green, before their appearance resembled the taller creature before Blue, though less imposing and looking more like footmen. Their glowing eyes had no irises or pupils, making it hard to tell what had their attention.

“Stay back you fucking bugs!” Blue said in a much higher voice than intended, chills going down his spine every time the creature drew a labored breath. He found himself backing away, wings extended. This wasn’t part of his plan at all!

"General what the hell are those things?!" Hazy shouted as he pointed a gun at the taller one, the now four footsoldiers approaching the group.

"This is impossible, those things are supposed to be long dead!" Topaz shouted looking at Misty.

"Changelings..." Misty gritted through her teeth, the mare aiming her gun at the taller one "Identify yourself now!!"

The taller Changeling looked to Misty, chuckling softly "Well well well...it has been quite some time since we have seen ponies...let alone a large group like this~"

"Oh can we please take them my queen?~ Pleaaase~" One of the other lings said.

"Patience my child...you will get to feed soon~" The queen said, looking at Misty and approaching her "I am Queen Metamorph...you have approached my hive's location...and I'm afraid to say it has been ages since we last fed~"

"Like hell you're gonna feed on us!" Blue shouted, the stallion picking himself up a bit as he stood firm.

"Yeah what he said!" Haze shouted "We ain't gonna fall to some fucking bugs like you!"

The queen let out a sinister laugh as she scanned the group of ponies "Oh I love it when they fight back~" She said smirking "Attack them! Take them all prisoner!!"

"ERC, SPLIT UP AND RONDAVU AT THE MEETINGPOINT!!" Misty shouted as she took off into the air, a Changeling quickly following her as the rest of the group took off, simultaneously shooting into the air, Blue looking to Gem, who was looking to him as well, as both of them took off together, being followed by two lings.

Blue was fast to his hoofs, albeit bleeding from a nasty gash to the left side of his face, and the surrounding sections of his helmet were missing. But that bug, that worthless undeserving piece of garbage, was still after them, and Blue wasn't going to let himself be taken by any kind of creature, let alone a near-extinct bug.

There were about ten thousand things Blue wanted to do. Most of them involved telling Gem he should split off away from him for his own safety; a couple even went as far as Blue laughing at the situation to try and seem less nervous. But in the end, he settled on a simple “Fuck you, ya bloody fuckers!” with all of the venom he could slather onto it, and started his takeoff run away from the scene with Gem. The lings started to follow them, unfolding their deteriorated wings and making guttural noises, but were distracted by rocks hitting the head of the largest one. It immediately turned around at the thrower, who had gotten back on his hooves in a crouched position.

“Didn’t you want a piece of me first?!” Topaz growled, her taunt evoking howls of rage from the wretched beings in front of her. She then broke into a gallop towards the woods, away from the point and in the opposite direction the other pegasi had gone. The largest and smallest changelings followed her, while the third flew after Blue and Gem. Blue ignored the pain in his face, focusing on bracing himself for an even bigger lurch of acceleration as he sped up. It was like the whole world was a little sharper, a little more colorful when Blue flew. It just felt better. No longer was he stuck on the ground, he could move in any direction he wanted. A sense of absolute freedom.

That wasn’t the case with the route he and gem took in the escape.

Blue never found a chance to pour on the straight-line speed he wanted, and had to resort to tight turns around the seemingly infinite number of trees. He still did this quickly of course, but he wasn’t gaining the ground on the changelings, a point that was made when Gem stopped on a large branch to survey the forest behind them.

“Was…Was that enough to lose them?” He panted looking to Gem, unable to control the involuntary blinking of the eye adjacent to his cut. As if to answer his question, the changeling rose up before him, like a miniature green sun, teeth barring and ready to draw more blood. The gray stallion missed getting his face carved up by a hair, his momentum carrying him off the branch into freefall. This didn’t throw Blue off guard though; he simply extended his wings and let gravity do the rest. The Changeling, now joined by its partner, lurched itself into the air and followed the two pegasus, clumsily yet determined. Again, Blue had to focus more on agility than pure speed; ducking and weaving between branches, kicking off of trunks to quickly change angles, and avoiding anything that’d get in his way. All of this, plus the disregard for the same obstacles, meant his pursuers could gain on him.

"This isn’t working!" Gem shouted.

"We need to split up now! Meet at the rondeavu!" Blue said to him.

"Not without you!!"

"Fuck me! we both have a better chance at living if we split up!" Blue shouted His strategy had to change.

"You better not fucking die on me!!" Gem said as he took a sharp shot upwards, causing one of the Changelings to follow him.

Taking advantage of a particularly crowded section of forest, Blue put enough cover between himself and the remaining changeling to attempt to hide. The crunching of wood against flesh quickly subsided, and he let himself breathe some. It was probably best to travel on the ground, albeit in cover, so he darted from bush to bush to avoid being spotted. Upon passing through his third or fourth, the pegasus was greeted with a gruesome sight. Haze...his partner...in full power armor, had been torn to bits by…by something. Blood, feathers, and entrails coated every surface the soldier was on, painting the scene in horrifying shades of red, pink, and gray. All Blue could do was scream; this was worse than any nightmare he had had. At least those he could wake up from and maybe move on from them within a couple of days, but this…he wouldn’t forget this.

As much as Blue wanted to look away from the gore, his gaze was locked on it. Locked on it hard enough to only just notice the shadows and teeth arcing towards him from behind. Once again, the Changeling swiped empty air, as their prey rolled away and sprinted into another takeoff.

“Luna fucking goddess are they ever going to give up!!” The young stallion managed to mutter in between breaths. Then, almost as if the forest listened to him, Blue could see an opening in the canopy. Freedom. "‘Bout damn time" he thought, adding power to his flaps and climbing through the hole. He shot up, continuing to climb completely vertically. "If…if I can make these damn things stall, they’ll just fall back into the forest and I can find my way back above the rondevu" Blue said to himself, trying to rationalize the potentially dangerous maneuver to himself. "Ngh…I just have to outlast them in a vertical climb…COME ON!" Sweat poured in buckets, and his muscles started to scream as they burned, but Blue pushed towards the clouds. Below him, the technique seemed to be working; the wings on the Changeling gave out, and it spun ungracefully down towards the trees. But the stallion had underestimated the speed of these things, as suddenly another ling jumped out from the side and as he turned around at the peak of his climb, he was greeted with the sight of teeth that had tasted his blood, and wanted more.

CRASH!

The two collided and started to drop back down to earth. Blue, head ringing from the hit, struggled to pry himself from the Changeling's grip and avoid another bite at his body. He managed to avoid most of the attack, but there was a hard buck to his armor, drawing another gash from the bottom of his neck to the middle of his chest. He yelled and kicked hard, striking and breaking the wing root of his assailant. The Changeling wailed and released him out of reflex, unable to quickly regain its hold on the pegasus. Another kick sent Blue tumbling away from the ling, saving him from one threat but introducing another. The tussle had dropped them much lower than either combatant could recover from, and even as Blue tried pulling up, he hurtled through the canopy. White-hot pain erupted all over his body as trees caught his wings, torso, and legs; breaking more than just his fall. The last thing the pegasus stallion saw before slamming into the ground was a bed of unusually blue flowers, standing out from the rest of the forest floor.