Fallout: Equestria- Forsaken Heroes

by Dj Scratchjack

Chapter 3: Reality of the Wastes

Chapter 3: Reality of the Wastes

"What is life? The study of our own decisions? Nopony will probably ever know the actual truth. But life is what we make it. Our choices…”

My captors and I trudged through the rain for a few hours, hearing pot-shots ringing from some unknown source. I didn’t much care for these ponies, but I did care for my belongings. I needed to find out how to get away from these losers with all of my stuff intact. After a few minutes we reached the base of a small hill. Blue, whose real name I’d learned was Zephyr, shoved me from behind, resulting in me falling on my face...again.

"Hurry your ass up, boot.”

I wiped the mud from my face just in time to see the butt of a rifle slam into my head, putting a chip in my horn. My brain exploded with a searing, intense pain. The tan pony, Sid, grabbed the rifle from his friend and clipped him in the back of his head. "Idiot, don'chu beat up the merch!" he screamed. He bit my mane and yanked me back to my hooves. I started on my way up the hill while the pair of "slavers," which they apparently called themselves, argued about how they would spend the "caps.”

Slavers? Caps? Really? That must’ve been more than a hangover when I first woke up.

I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. What I did want to know was how the hell to get out of there.

When we reached the top of the hill I saw the true extent of what had happened to the world. The zebras really did a number on Equestria. Craters dotted the countryside for miles, and a small settlement by the name of Greenhoof (according to my PipBuck) sat off in the distance. It looked like the only place for miles, but I didn’t have many options at that point. I could make a break for it, given the weather wasn't lightening up anytime soon and the slavers would have such poor visibility with their firearms. I turned to the pair and smiled.

"Hey, I’ve got a quick question."

Zephyr looked at me with the expression of “who the hell gave you the right to talk?”

"What is it?"

"Well," I started, "I was wondering... what’s down there and where are you taking me?"

Sid looked down to where my hoof was pointed. "Oh, that there's Greenhoof. It’s a raider town. Full o' bandits a' cannibals an' ta such," he explained. "As fer where ya’s going, filly, it’s a nice lil' cozy town up yonder a ‘ways. Now keep moving!" He shoved my flank roughly with the butt of his rifle to get me trotting.

Well, he attempted to, anyway.

"Tripping" and falling to the ground after that push was all that I needed. Even after 200 years I still had the training of the Equestrian Army to fall back on (sometimes literally).

I grabbed the two ponies with my magic, curled into a big ol' ball of pony, and relived one of my favorite foalhood pastimes: rolling down the hill. The extra danger of somepony trying to shoot me was new, but it’s always fun when that happens, right? Truth be told, it hurt like hell. Bouncing off rocks and the solid ground wasn't what I’d planned, especially not the sudden drops to ledges—but I’m sure it wasn't fun for the others, either. After what seemed like several minutes of pain, I stopped abruptly by slamming into a rock. I felt a few ribs snap, the pain blurring my vision. Not far away, the slavers slammed into each other at the base of the hill. They groaned and, to my utter disappointment, stood back up. Zephyr raised his—no, my—rifle to put me out of my misery. Sid seemed to not care now.

This was it, I was going to die... maybe Luna would grant me a hero’s burial... hmm, not fucking likely...

The shot rang out from the countryside, making the nearby birds and animals scatter...

Zephyr looked down in surprise as the bullet hole in his chest oozed his life away. At first, I thought Sid shot his friend, but he was taking cover behind a log. I looked up behind me to the top of the hill to see an indistinct, shadowy figure holding a very shiny rifle. It looked down at me and yelled in a small male voice, “Run! Get out of here!" Coming slowly to my senses, I quickly fought through the pain and pulled my hooves out from under me.

I did indeed run. I ran like hell itself was after me... but not away, never away. These pony merchants had been getting on my nerves for a long time, not to mention the fact that they’d been trying to sell me into slavery. I grabbed my rifle with my levitation spell and slid behind some cover, checking the condition of my firearm. I slammed the bolt back to see that the chamber was already loaded. Several more shots came from both the hillside and a few feet away. I leaned over the rock I was behind to get a shot off. I lined the slaver’s head up in my scope’s crosshairs and pulled the trigger.

The bullet smashed into the log he was crouching behind. My scope was off! Sid brought his gun to bear and fired at me a few times, barely missing my head. The sniper up top was doing his best to keep me covered. Sid turned back to the shadow on the hill and fired. A terrified scream pierced the air as my savior was hit and began rolling down the hill. Frustrated tears obscured my vision as memories of the Great War resurfaced at a perilously inopportune time. Too many ponies had died around me in the last years that I remembered. The cries of the dying were always on my mind.

Not another one, this one had saved me from an unknown—but likely brutal—future.

I turned to see Sid smiling down at me with the barrel of his 12 gauge on my head. "Gotchu now, he—" I cut him off and did the only thing that could possibly save my life.

I slammed my horn into the barrel of the gun, stupidly wishing my stubbornness would stop the slug. The shotgun fired and blew my horn, and the gun, apart. I flew back into the rock. Sid screamed in pain as he stared at his missing forehooves. Riding the wave of pure adrenaline, I hopped back up and bucked my rear hooves into his face. The satisfaction was sweet as I heard the crunch of all the bones in his muzzle breaking.

Thank Luna for living on an apple farm.

He crumpled in front of me, quickly dying from blood loss. I grinned and sat down myself. I wasn’t sitting up for long, though, before I passed out from pain I hadn’t recognized. I fell to the ground, still smiling to myself.

***

"Good job, Reign. You saved another pony! Woo yoo."

"'Yeah, congrats dumbass, you blew up your horn. Now what are you gonna do, huh? You can never do magic without it. Real great job, keep it up! First your leg, then your horn. What’s next, your head?"

"Shut up. You don’t know what it’s like to hear the dead crying, their screams of anguish."

"Oh, but I do, Reign. I do. I just don’t give a damn."

“I swear to Celestia above, if I ever beat you out of my head I'll rip you apart,"

"HA! Try that out! See how far that gets you. You tried it once before, and did that work for you then? Nope!"

"Whatever. Anyway, I can’t do anything else now."

"Why not?"

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Hmph, if only it was that easy. No, you’re just asleep. Now wake up, we'll talk later."

"Fine. Bye, Reign."

"Goodbye, Reign."

Level Up!
(Luck of the Pasture: You’re one lucky son of a mule! You’re good at surviving through stupid decisions, not thinking ahead, and not caring about consequences. Your Luck has increased by 1.)

Author's Note:

From The Author: Thank you for the reads on this fic. I extremely love that theirs people out there you dont just want to watch the world burn. I thank you again for giving me this chance to do something I been wanting to do since I read the original Fo:E and Project Horizons.
I would appreciate it evermore if I could get feedback or insight on this thus far. I would tell me if im doing something right for once.

I love you guys for staying with me through this endeavor and I'll see you in the future!
-DJ ScratchJack.