Fallout Equestria: Blood of Steel

‘You can’t have an ending without a beginning…’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17 years BG (Before Gardens)

Silence. Nearly silence, anyway. The fat snowflakes hit the streets of Stalliongrad interrupted only by the panting of the earth pony colt inside the Flam and Sons’ warehouse. His black coat and golden mane soaked in sweat, it couldn’t mar his cutie mark, a golden mirror. Steam drifted from his back, curling into the cold northern air. The golden glow of unicorn magic danced about the colt, doing the best to keep the weariness at bay…but even that had its limits. The colt had pushed himself to the breaking point, knowing that if he couldn’t pull the wagon to Garrison, his brother and the cargo would never get to safety.

They’d been lucky to find the warehouse to rest in. It had been thoroughly looted, of course, but it still held half-built auto-wagons and other such treasures from the Old World. The building didn’t have any raiders in it, which would have been surprising, had the rest of Stalliongrad not also survived the apocalypse relatively unscathed. Relatively was the key word; most of the city still had taken substantial damage from conventional bombing. Spared the devastating force of balefire bombs, these buildings were the perfect shelter for any pony brave, foolish, or desperate enough to stay above ground.

The colt shook his head as he started to catch his breath, his coat twitching and body shaking as the cold nipped at him. A blanket, bathed in the golden glow of a unicorn’s telekinesis, fell on the colt’s back, and it was all the colt could do not to scream bloody murder. He turned, ready to fight, and saw his bespectacled twin hopping out of the tarp-covered wagon.

“Viewing Glass! I almost killed you!” The earth pony hissed at the unicorn, doing his best to keep his voice down.

Viewing Glass gave a tired chuckle, his golden horn darkened by the stress and strain of the trip. His cutie mark, a magnifying glass, his horn and the glasses were the only way to tell the brothers apart. “Looking Glass, you need to stay warm. If you get sick, Pa will whip my flank like nothin’ else.” Viewing Glass spoke a soft southern accent, similar to their father’s.

“Heh, yeah he would.” The earth pony absentmindedly tugged at the blanket as he spoke, his northern accent a reminder of their mother. It didn’t take much tugging for the blanket to cover his cutie mark, an ornate mirror. “Shouldn’t you be resting? You nearly burnt yourself out getting us here.”

Viewing Glass shook his head, looking up at the ceiling of the warehouse. “Nah, ah’m fine. Pa woke me up, reminded us we didn’t want to be above ground after dark. The bloodwings are supposed to be bad up here,” he said before turning back to the wagon.. He looked back at the covered wagon a moment before solemnly speaking. “He wants to talk to you.”

Looking Glass’s eyes widened, the sky-blue reflection of his eyes in his brother’s glasses a reminder of their mother. “I thought…”

Viewing Glass closed his golden eyes, looking down at the ground. His voice was a whisper as he said, “Me too. Ah’m not sure if he’ll wake up again. His notes on that vine ain’t too clear.”

Both colts jumped as a voice, deep and rich, drawled from the darkness of the wagon. “ ‘Ain’t’ is not a word, Viewing Glass. Do we need to have that discussion again?” The southern voice from inside the wagon had just the faintest hint of amusement to it.

Viewing Glass pawed at the ground a bit, a slight blush spreading over his cheeks. “No Pa. Sorry ‘bout that.” Looking Glass grinned a bit, his eyes twinkling as his younger brother got in trouble.

“Good. Looking Glass, get in here.” The southern voice hardened slightly in command as it was the older brother’s turn to look guilty. That voice spoke with a tone all too familiar, one that hinted at punishment involving a belt or cane.

Looking Glass started for the wagon, and Viewing Glass nodded at him. “Ah’ll keep an eye out.”

Looking Glass nodded and took hold of the blanket in his teeth, throwing it over his brother before hopping into the wagon. He pulled one of the flashlights out of his saddlebags, flicking it on, and it took all his self-control to keep the tears from flowing.

The beam of light fell on the white marble statue of the pegasus mare first. Thick bolts held the straps firmly in place, wrapped with a blanket to keep them from damaging the statue. It still couldn’t hide her flared wings, or her left foreleg lifted in surprise. Her eyes were open wide, and the detail on the statue was impressive. Looking Glass could make out the numerous scars over her legs and body, thin white lines, and her cutie mark displayed a gust of wind slicing through a piece of paper like a razor. Even the knotted scars over her ribs were so real, it looked like she would just start breathing again. Like this was all a joke she was playing.

The beam shifted, focusing on the body of a unicorn stallion lying next to her. His body glowed with a faint golden light, but that couldn’t help everything from his neck down. It was the same white marble as the pegasus mare, also bolted and strapped down to the floor of the wagon. From the neck up though, he was the spitting image of the colts. His eyes opened, and they glowed with a soft golden light. “Looking Glass…”

Looking Glass pulled on the head of the flashlight with a hoof, turning the flashlight into a lantern, and he set it down. “Dad, you shouldn’t be talking! You can beat that silly plant!” he shouted, taking a couple steps forward and stomping the floor of the wagon to emphasize his point.

His father chuckled and shook his head. He looked back at the colt in front of him for a moment before speaking again. “Ah’m sorry son. Ah’ll try. But ah need you to promise something.”

“Anything, but then you need to rest!”

“Promise me you’ll look after your brother while ah’m getting’ better.”

Looking Glass stepped back, and rolled his eyes before responding. “You know I already do that.”

“Promise me.” The stallion’s voice was hard, commanding.

It took Looking Glass a second, but then he nodded. “I p-promise.” The harsh tone was too much, and a couple tears splashed to the wooden floor of the cart.

“Good boy. Now, get us to Garrison and ah’ll keep my promise.” The stallion’s eyes closed, and the golden glow around his body brightened and began to pulse as he resumed fighting the poison once more. Even the stallion’s cutie mark, a slightly raised screw at the end of a gun barrel, was glowing.

Looking Glass took a moment to dry the tears and turn off the flashlight before he got out. His legs shook, but he kept the tears from pouring down his cheeks as he got into the harness for the wagon. “Get in, Viewing. We’ll make it to Garrison tonight.”

Viewing Glass got in the wagon without saying a word, and a few points on the tarp floated up, glimmering in golden light as he started to keep watch. A moment later, Looking Glass’s hooves began to glow with a golden light. The light hardened into spiked hooves that dug slightly into the stone floor of the warehouse, and Looking Glass could feel Viewing’s magic strengthening his legs.

It didn’t take long for the wagon, drawn by the crying Looking Glass, to start moving down the streets. He cried silently and slowly started to move faster, focusing on his breathing and his hoofsteps. Each step he took, he pulled a little faster, pushed a little harder, and soon he couldn’t cry anymore as he threw everything he had into moving that wagon as fast as he could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paladin Iron Phalanx stood guard at the surface gate to Garrison, a town that had once been a Stalliongrad Metro station. Now, it was a place where the Stalliongrad Steel Rangers and their families could live what passed for peaceful lives in the wasteland. The dusk watch was usually calming, but the sounds of gunshots had been echoing through the city for hours, approaching the settlement quickly.

Paladin Phalanx brought up a foreleg and tapped a button on the casing of her armor to switch on her radio, setting it on the military frequency. "Possible hostiles approaching surface gate. Requesting backup." She set her hoof down after keying up Eyes-Forward Sparkle, her battle saddle loading grenades into her mounted launchers with a pair of solid thumps.

Her eyes widened as a covered wagon, tarp flapping in its own wind, turned onto the street a few blocks away from Garrison. The wagon fishtailed through the turn, skidding across the ice and snow covered cobbles as the earth pony colt pulling it fought to keep the wagon under control. Phalanx noticed the colt’s hooves and legs radiated the same golden light as the shield spell covering the wagon.  The colt looked exhausted, but pulled the wagon as if the Nightmare herself chased him. He kept running, and the wagon straightened on its course, directly toward Phalanx and the entrance to Garrison. Her EFS tagged them as friendlies, and she relaxed tension on her firing bit. But she didn’t release it. The EFS was usually accurate, but she didn’t want to risk a false positive.

Four ponies followed close behind, pursuing the wagon. Two unicorns and two earth ponies, in suits of full combat armor and holding hunting rifles either in telekinesis or their mouths. The only identifying symbol was the white ‘47’ slapped on the front of the armor, and the red outline of the Paladin’s EFS.

"Luna-scorned 47s! First shooting at Steel Rangers, now chasing kids? No better than raiders!" she growled out as she bit down. Her grenade launchers launching once each, sending their payloads soaring toward the two furthest from the wagon. For a moment the grenades hung in the air before both shots landed with an explosion, turn the pursuing ponies into smoking pulp. The other two 47s, knocked over by the shock from the grenades, leapt to their hooves. Their eyes wide in recognition of what they were in range of they galloped away, even as the shield over the wagon flickered and vanished.

The colt harnessed to the wagon screamed, the golden light around his legs vanishing as he tried to slow the wagon. He slipped on the icy road, the momentum of the wagon pushing him into the street, and the screaming grew into a howl of pain. Another colt popped out from inside the wagon, horn smoking as he grabbed the hoofbrakes and wrenched them up, bracing himself against the wagon’s bench. Braking too suddenly, the wagon fishtailed and started to skid.

Paladin Phalanx raced forward to meet them, rearing up on her hind legs as the wagon slid towards her. Her forehooves slammed into the wagon as she braced her rear legs against the dirt. Five hundred pounds of power-armored pony met the wooden wagon with a crash of wood against metal, pushing the mare back on the ice a little way before it finally stopped. Her armor protested the abuse, flashing severe damage warnings at her before the repair talismans took over. She looked to see if everypony was okay. The unicorn colt leaned against the headboard but was still breathing.

The earth pony was another story completely. He wasn’t moving, and his blood seeped into the ice and snow of the street. "I need a medic team to the front gate, ASAP!" Phalanx screamed into her radio before reaching for the unicorn colt to assess his injuries. The colt winced and stirred as Phalanx’s steel-clad hoof touched him. He turned his head toward her. His horn was cracked and smoking, and his eyes were glazed over in pain as he looked up at her.

“M-mane Sc-cribe…Iron…S-sights…C-code Ap-ple L-luna Mac. R-requ..st san…ctu...ary.” As odd as his southern accent was this far north, his code was even odder. It was an old one from before the bombs, to identify Steel Rangers not in armor.

Paladin Phalanx flicked on the speakers in the Power Armor. “Zdrastvooyte little pony. You have the blood of Steel?”

The unicorn nodded. "Check... under..." Tears flowed down his cheeks as he choked up, unable to finish the sentence, pointing a shaky hoof at the tarp before slumping down again, unconscious.

Looking down at him, she gasped as she noticed the damage he'd suffered; two of his ribs were broken, gleaming in the late afternoon light as they stabbed through his black coat. The colt had covered them up while awake. Phalanx didn't speak a word as metal hooves sounded against stone and she pulled the tarp back on the wagon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stallion in the back dropped his healing spell as the tarp snapped loose from the wagon and taken away. His eyes glanced up at the welcome sight of a Ranger's helmet, the markings on her armor identifying her as a Paladin. He could feel both his sons alive, but each in great pain from the journey and crash. He resisted the impulse to cast a healing spell on them, the risk of the plant’s poison leaking into them along with it was too great. All he could do was trust the Paladin before him.

                “Mane Scribe Iron Sights, of the Hoofston Rangers,” he said. The Paladin came to attention almost as a reflex, and Iron Sights smiled. “Protect my sons, and don’t let the unicorns use ANY magic on me.” The Paladin nodded, accepting the order. Iron Sights nodded as well, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the statue next to him. He enveloped himself in his magic, and fell away into the darkness of those early days. The days when he had first been assigned to investigate what had been the southernmost port of Equestria, the days before he had become Mane Scribe.

The city of Hoofston.