Fallout: Newfire

by TheDoctor

Prolog

There a lot of books that talk about how the war started, all of them have there own twist but the same basic idea. The dragons started to fight the ponies. Before the war started we did not bother each other, if we stayed out of there way they would stay out of are way, Those were nice times back then everypony lived to a ripe old age and died in peace but not anymore...
But one day they wanted more than there mountains they wanted mare land also, they wanted are forests, are farms, are towns! So we fought back. It must have been year when they started running short on food and able body to fight. Those left had to make a dreadful choice they could send ponies into underground vaults where they would be safe from any harm that could befall them giving princess celesta room to create a spell that would destroy everything on the surface of equstrea, killing everything including the dragons and the ponies. But would save those who were alive in the vaults. The only other choice was to keep everyone on the surface and try there luck, and that did not like it would work out well for the ponies…
Finally they are forced use the vaults, They chose to let the families go into the vaults first, after that they held a lottery to let those left into the vaults. Finally those who were left were forced to spend there last days knowing that they were about to be burned with the rest of the world . After that nopony knows what happened to anything outside of the vaults. We do know that for countless years if you left the vaults for some reason the level of magic left in the ground were to much for any living thing to handle, you would be dead in a matter of hours….

The young pony stops his fathers story at that point and says.” Wait if no pony was able to leave the vaults how could we still be alive, and who are there animals out still living there were not in the vaults?”
The older colt looks at his son and says.” Well no need to cut off a good story ransom! I was just getting to the good part!”
Ransom nods his head and says.” Yes father, but how could we still be alive?”
Ransoms father smiles and says.” You always have been a smart one. Nopony knows why for some reason after a few hundred years the magic begin to lessen and soon the ponies in the vaults started to leave, It was about ten years ago that me and your mother left vault 117, and to answer your question about the animals, Well I don’t relly know…. Maybe its there lack of magical abilities that allowed there bodies to absorb the magic without being killed. But that is just what I think happened, nopony can be sure though…”
Ransom smiles.” That makes since…”A thought crosses through ransoms mind and before he even knows what he is saying he asks.” Hey dad what was it like in the vault?”
The colt smiles.” Well it was small, dark, and had the oddest smell, but it was safe, and we had food and water.”
Ransom looks at his father and asks.” If it was safe why did you leave, you said that there were books and teachers and even running water!”
The father nods and says.” Yes we did have all of those things, but a vault is only built to last so long, and are vault was the best stocked but somepony went mad, started a fire, most of are food stores were burned and we were forced to leave… “The colt lets out a long sigh, but soon he is back to his old self and says.” Why don’t we go finish up the work on the farm and then eat some food.”
Ransom nods his head and stands up.” Ok, what is left, feed the cows and pick what ever is ripe, right?”
The father nods his head and smiles.” Yep, I will feed the cows, you get out to the field and see if anything is ready to be picked!”
Ransom nods and runs outside, The father sighs ands sits down for a second.” What have I done… bringing a child into this world… this burned, lifeless waste of a world…
He looks out the small window of the farmhouse to see his son happly picking the corn that is growing in the field and smiles a little. “If anypony could make it out here though it would be him, even in a world where we need to sleep with a knife under a pillows, in a world where his mother is dead he is still happy, he still enjoys life.” He hangs his head for a second than gets up and walks outside to join his son in the work…

Later that evening the two were siting within the small farmhouse eating supper, the two are talking happly and enjoying there evening. All of a sudden there is a pounding on the door and a strong voice yells from outside. Ransom looks worried as his father says.” Ransom get under the floorboards like I showed you.”
Ransom frowns and says.” But dad… what about you?” The colt smiles.” Oh don’t worry about me, I will be fine!”
As he finishes replacing the floorboards where he is storing ransom the pounding on the door stops, the colt walks over to the the wall to grab the laser rifle he took with him when he left the vault, but as he is loading the battery into the rifle the door is not just kicked open but reduced to splinters. Four large colts walk in three of them with what look like homemade axes and the one that appers to be the leader has a old rife that must have been around since before the war. The leader smiles some and says.” Well hello sir, now it will make this a lot easer for my men if you just put that gun do…” The colt fires off a shot hitting on of the raiders with an ax, he fires again and again, the fight is short but soon it is just the colt and the raider leader left, the colt charges the leader and uses his rifle as a club to smash the head of the leader, he takes the blow right in the forehead and is knocked over. As the colt fumbles to stick another battery into his rifle he raider leader staggers to his hoofs and draws a knife, as the colt finally gets the batteries in and takes aim the raider lunges at the colt with the knife, he is able to get of a shot but not before the leader is able to stick the knife into the colts chest…

Ransom sits helplessly under the floorboards, all he can do is listen to the fight. It feels like hours, he just sits there, there have been no noises made for some time, than just as ransom is about to give up a weak voice calls out.” Ransom… Help….” when the young pony hears this be begins to kick the floor boards up untell he can get out, as he pulls him self up he runs into the main room. To his horror the front room is filled with dead bodies, as his eyes look over the bodies he spots his father who is under one of the raiders, he pulls the raider off his father and looks him over, There is a large knife loged into his chest, blood is flowing everywhere. The colt smiles weaklly and says to his son.” Well… glad that’s over…”
Tears flow down Ransoms face. “Ho… how do I fix this… “ The colt frowns some and looks at his son. ‘There is nothing you can so… But its ok, I have lived a good life, but you need to promise me that you will not give up, you need to carry on and keep your chin up… I love you son…” The colt choughs weakly as he closes his eyes.” Its…ok…” The young pony can so nothing but cry as he holds his fathers dieing body, so he just sits there covered in a mix of ashes, tears and his fathers blood…