Fallout Equestria: ShadowFall

Chapter One: The Fall of the Crystal Empire

“The empire I once ruled over shall fall in an abyss of dark magic”

The massive bombardment had yet ceased on the Crystal Empire’s shield, making the generators grow weary in keeping them stabilized. Magic was useless against the Megaspells, whose balefire danced across the dome ceiling creating a beautifully silent light show for all the ponies in the grand crystal city. Grandparents, fathers, mothers, and even the children knew the shield would not last forever, and spent the last hours of their lives with each other waiting for death to blast them away. The last safe haven for all the ponies lay outside in the snowy tundra, and was occupied by the Caesar’s legions of zebra, whose thirst for pony blood was unquenchable. However, the zebra’s hatred for the ponies inside the city was outmatched by it’s former king, who rose again with the help of a zebra’s dark magic, regaining his shadowy form.

The doors to the bunker opened as the Legate made his way through the cold steel corridors, receiving salutes to Caesar from zebra soldiers rushing to their posts, preparing for their next orders. The Legate took the elevator down to the level labeled “Surveillance”. The shaking of the bunker walls grew less as he made his way down, with nothing but a stern look on his face. He got off, and looked around to make sure no one was following, and for extra measures shut down the elevators with his clearance key. He stood at the door, shivered from the coldness of the bunker and of nervousness, and walked in.

“Were you followed?”

“ No, I made sure all access keys to this floor are with me. No one is down here but you and I.”

“Good, I wanted to talk to you about our little agreement. You do remember don’t you? I do hope the idea of thousands dying by your hooves in a single swift action doesn’t bother you.”

“Of course I’m fine with that. What kind of question is that when my people have already killed millions of their filthy kind?”

“ I wasn’t talking about them.”

Confused the Legate thought it through, and in a dash figured out just what he meant, turned ghastly pale, and uttered out the few words that could come out of his dry throat.

“ Y-you are asking me to...to...betray my kind? But that is treason! If the Caesar finds out, I’ll be-”

Just before the Legate could finish, the shadowlike figure rushed to him swiftly without making a sound, and clenched the Legate’s throat. His eyes burst with dark magic and stared into the Legate’s eyes without moving an inch away. The Legate began to writhe around, screaming in pain so much that his veins began to bulge and his eyes bled. It was as if the Legate were somewhere else, and not in the presence of the shadowy figure. He called out to the Caesar that he was innocent, and would never commit such high treason. He then began to murmur, and finally scream out as if he was burning alive.

Just then the shadowy figure released the Legate from the terrible magic, and looked at him with a grin of pure satisfaction. The Legate couldn’t speak, his pinpoint eyes just stared at the ground now covered with his blood. Then the shadowy figure spoke to him in a casual tone.

“ Now, take note the pain you just experienced. It wasn’t even real, just a-”

He stopped to make sure the Legate was listening. The Legate was at full attention now, and said nothing as a sign for the shadowy figure to continue.

“-a glimpse of your worst nightmare, and by my luck yours was incredibly excruciating! How could you ever bend over and kiss his ass when he would burn yours alive for a mere crime, hmm?”

The Legate remained silent.

“ You’re quite pathetic you know that. You decide to resurrect me back into this world, expect that I will be forever in your gratitude, and hand over my powers so you can just overthrow a tyrant who is already destroying the world with a pointless war?! And just a few minutes ago you were complaining to me like a fucking school filly about treason!! Please explain to me you’re idea of treason, because apparently murdering your superiors is a fucking community service!”

The Legate used what little strength he had left and spoke up.

“I will do whatever you ask, just please, spare me. I will do anything, even kill thousands of my own kind, no.....millions!”

The shadowy figure smirked, obviously pleased with the Legate’s broken will.

“ I know you will, and in just a few minutes you and I will lead the final attack against the Crystal Empire.”

“But...I thought you didn’t want to be seen until you were in the Crystal Tower? How will we both lead an attack when the others have no idea who you are?”

The shadowy figure seemed to be agitated at the last comment, and faced the Legate suddenly.

“ Oh don’t worry about me getting by, I’ll be with you the whole time. Then once the shield goes down, the Megaspells will cease fire at our command and our army will charge the city, killing anyone in our way. And finally once at the tower, we shall fill their precious Crystal Heart with dark magic returning the city to my control. Sure the zebra’s will be confused at your order for ceasefire, and to charge head on, but who would challenge the command of one of the Caesar’s finest legates?”

The Legate nodded in agreement, still confused on how the shadowy figure would get by everyone. Just then the shadowy figure smiled as if he knew what the Legate was thinking, and lunged at his body, covering it in a dark cloak. The Legate fell to the ground now stained with his dried blood. The Legate’s body got up, but it was not he who was in control of the body.

“ Obey your king! Obey King Sombra!!!”

*** *** ***

The shield fell, and the final battle for the Crystal Empire had begun. The forces of Caesar’s Legion clashed with the Crystal Empire’s Steel Rangers in the outskirts of the city, causing mass chaos and confusion on both sides. Bullets and plasma were shot at the zebras with pristine precision, and ponies limbs were sliced, broken, twisted, and shot to pieces. There was no artillery support from either side, it was an army against an army, neither letting up on their attacks. Thousands upon thousands were dying in just a few seconds, and this was only the beginning.

From the Central Plaza underneath the Crystal Tower, a steel ranger in royal gold power armor stood watching the horrific scene of war. He never wished to see such chaos in this city, but knew from the beginning it would happen. Just then a group of Paladins rushed to their commander.

“Shining Armor, sir, we received a...uh...transmission from Hoofington about your request for Enclave air support. They denied.”

The stallion turned quickly around in astonishment as if he misheard something.

“What?! Why?”

The young mare Paladin didn’t answer, obviously not wanting to tell her commander the transmission they received.
Paladin Roads stepped up.
“Sir, please excuse Paladin Heartstrings. Hoofington denied Enclave support because... they don’t have any. Nopony does, the Grand Pegasus Enclave fled back into the skies, refusing to answer anyone still on the ground. I’m afraid we’re on our own out here sir.”

Shining Armor paced back and forth, trying to think of something, anything that could possibly give them an upper hoof. He looked back to the battle taking place. It was now being taken out of the outskirts and pushed further into the city , meaning the Legion’s forces were moving in closer. Completely stumped, Shining Armor took off his helmet and sat down hard, causing the ground underneath to crack under his power armor’s weight. The Paladins behind him looked at each other, worried about their commander. Shining Armor let out a deep sigh, got back on his hooves, put his brilliantly gold helmet on, and turned to face his Paladins.

“Alright, I know you don’t want to hear this, in fact I hate myself for saying it,but...”

Shining Armor suddenly gave himself a mental slap and recomposed himself, standing up tall above the others.

“No! You know what? We are not going to die today! I don’t care about the odds, or the fact that our brethren completely abandoned us in our time of need. I am going down with zebra blood on my hooves today for my parents, my friends, my sister, and my wife! Today Equestria rises, today the Crystal Empire stands tall, today we kick some zebra ass!!!”

“HOO-RAH!!!”
The Paladins all cheered and their spirits reignited. They saluted to their brave commander ready for the battle to come.

*** *** ***

Sombra advanced his forces forward, leading the assault himself and slicing the steel rangers with dark magic. The other zebras did not question the Legates new powers, and protected him with their life. Knowing every shortcut throughout the city, Sombra ordered the zebra forces to flank the steel rangers from all sides. They followed orders with ease, slaughtering the steel rangers mercilessly from all sides, eventually cornering the remainders further into the city. The Crystal Tower was now only a few miles away from Sombra’s grasp.

*** *** ***

Shining Armor and Paladins Heartstrings, Roads, and Fuji stood against any zebras coming close to the Crystal Tower. They formed a small barricade around the beams of the tower, allowing them to protect themselves from all sides, countering the zebras frightening new tactics.

“Yo Caesar!! Pass me some zebra salaaaaad!!!” screamed Paladin Heartstrings, who barraged the zebras with countless explosives, making chunks of zebra fly across the streets. She smirked, pleased with her work of gory art.

Paladin Roads vaporized dozens while letting loose hundreds of plasma beams from his plasma caster, making the air have a tainted smell to it. He sniffed the air, enjoying the smell of vaporized zebra through his rebreather.

Fire poured from Paladin Fuji’s flamethrower, burning the zebras slowly alive. The smell of burnt flesh mixed with that of plasma, giving an even worse smell to the battlefield. Fuji muttered something about zebra kabobs while exchanging his gas tanks.

Shining Armor fired off two high-velocity rockets which swerved past dozens of zebras and impacted on a ten story crystal, causing it to crack and fall crushing all zebras flanking the north side of the Crystal Tower. Then he yelled over the screams of dying zebras,

“Cease fire!!!”

The three Paladins removed their helmets as the smoke slowly cleared away, revealing only the hundreds of zebras killed by the four soldiers alone. Shining Armor sensed something was off. There was no sound of the zebras anywhere,it was as if they suddenly...

“Everypony get down, they have stealth cloaks!!!!”

psst psst psst psst psst!

Dozens of zebra rifles suddenly barraged the barricades, killing Paladin Roads within seconds. Shining Armor, Paladin Heartstrings, and Paladin Fuji stayed down for what seemed like hours, until finally the firing ceased. No one moved, then Paladin Fuji slowly got up.

“Y’all think its safe no-”

Suddenly Fuji’s head exploded, his blood splattering over Shining Armor’s face.Roads and Fuji’s bodies just lay there, lifeless. He then realized he was responsible for their deaths, and felt as if his heart was going to pop out of his chest it was beating so fast. He then looked over to Paladin Heartstrings who was in tears,crying over the dead bodies of her friends.Slowly, Shining Armor regained his sense of surroundings. He couldn’t let another pony die, it would be too much. Suddenly a voice called out.

“Well, well, well. I see you’re still alive after all these years of ruling my empire! Oh, but I shouldn’t be mad at you. After all, it was the Princess who ruined my plans. Her and that baby dragon! But seeing as the dragon is probably dead by now, I think I’ll satisfy my revenge on the Princess, slowly killing her with her worst nightmares. And making you watch, Shining Armor!!”

Finally Shining Armor couldn’t take it anymore, and kicked away a chunk of the barricade, which missed the Legate by inches.

“ YOU WILL NOT HARM CADENCE!!!”

“Oh calm down, there’s no need for violence. We’ve already had enough of that today wouldn’t you say?”

“Wait a minute, you’re not Sombra! Where is he?!”

The Legate smiled and laughed, his eyes glowing with dark magic.

“Well, actually, I am. Not as a whole, of course, more like a second piece. Its not like you could ever understand, you ponies never had the guts to use our dark magic.”

“Your ideals on magic are sickening! No sane pony would ever split their soul like that! Now tell me where you are Sombra, the real you!!”

The Legate grinned viciously, looking up to the top of the tower.

Shining Armor’s eyes grew wide with fear.

“Cadence!”

He turned quickly, and started to run towards the towers staircase.

“ I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Shining Armor glanced back and stopped. The Legate had wrapped Paladin Heartstrings in his dark magic, slowly crushing her body. Shining Armor backed away from the staircase, and faced the Legate once again.

Paladin Heartstrings yelled through her pain, “No!! Don’t worry about me sir...AAGH!! The Princess is more important, remember what she’s guarding!!!”

Shining Armor remembered exactly what Cadence was guarding.

“The Crystal Heart!!”

The Legate became angered, and enforced more pressure on his dark magic.

“Shut up you little shit!”

Lyra’s body fell limp to the ground, dead.

Shining Armor wanted to kill the Legate then and there, but realized the best way to avenge his friends was to do what Lyra asked. He started for the staircase only to be stopped again, restrained by the Legates dark magic. The Legate then threw him away from the tower, sending him sliding across the cracked streets. Shining Armor slowly got up, realizing the only way to get past was to kill the Legate.

“Alright then, if thats the way you want it,” he unsheathed his crystal sword made of the finest crystals in Equestria, with a handle made from pure Starmetal, “then I challenge you to a duel! You. And. Me.”

Suddenly, hundreds of zebras appeared around the two,their stealth cloaks deactivated,dropping their weapons by their hooves. They were in shock, frozen in fear of what Shining Armor held in his magic.

The Legate, regaining some of his own conscience, started arguing with himself.

“Sta....Starmetal! Nightmare Moon!! AGHHH!!! You fool what are you scared of! Kill him!! No, no! I can’t! He has been tainted by the stars!!!”

“Starmetal...” Shining Armor was extremely confused, he had no idea what was going on. He then looked to his weapon, then the handle. A wicked smile crossed his face, and he took advantage of the situation.

He pointed his sword to the Legate, then shouted to the zebras surrounding him, “KILL HIM!!!”

Another vicious smile was upon his face.

“Slowly!!!”

The zebras started towards the Legate, who lashed out at them viciously.

“NOO! STAY BACK!! I SHALL KILL ALL OF YOU!!!”

The Legate fought off the zebras with his dark magic for as long as he could, eventually overwhelmed, grabbed, and pulled down. The zebras started to beat the Legate to death, breaking his bones, and his spirit. Shining Armor watched, pleased with the Legate’s painful torment. Suddenly the city began to shake violently, the zebras stopped beating the Legate, and everyone looked up.

*** *** ***

Shining Armor finally made it to the top of the Crystal Tower, frozen in shock at what was happening. Princess Cadence stood firm on the left side of the Crystal Heart, casting her powerful magic onto it,countering Sombra’s dark magic, which he cast on the right side of the Crystal Heart. The combination of pure and dark magic began to overflow the heart, consuming its original powers. Sombra’s body began to flicker, his dark aura flowing into the Crystal Heart, overpowering Cadence’s magic.

Cadence saw her husband out of the corner of her eye.

“Shining Armor!! Please, you have to destroy the Crystal Heart!! If you don’t-”, she staggered and knelt down, overcomed by Sombra’s aura.

She began to cry silently, and mouthed softly to her husband, “I love you.”

Shining Armor’s power armor began flashing warnings of extreme radiation, and he realized the Crystal Heart was becoming a balefire bomb of dark magic. He knew what he had to do. Looking at his wife one last time, he lifted his sword to the sky and sliced down as hard as he could.
His sword cut cleanly through, splitting the Crystal Heart in pieces of two. A faint scream was all that was heard from Sombra as it released magic with the power of ten Megaspells combined. A soundless explosion occurred, and the Crystal Empire suddenly vanished, leaving only the top of the Crystal Tower above the snowy tundra.

A blizzard of radiated snow began, and continued for another 200 years....