//------------------------------// // Following the Wake // Story: Fallout Equestria: The Wake of Discord // by Twisted Visions //------------------------------// Follower of Discord. A strange title to have for oneself, to be sure. Even stranger still, was the tall mare who proudly declared herself as just such a pony. She did not look chaotic at all. On the contrary. Her mane was cut short and clean, and her coat of maroon fur was well kept, trimmed, and cleaned. She donned a set of metal armour, but it was far more than the typical fare of raiders, slabbing plates of any old metal to their bodies to help prevent an untimely death by bullets or bats alike. This was well made. Forged of steel for her body, clinging to her torso neatly, it's polished surface glittering purple and dark grey in what light managed to sneak through the endless cloud cover that very rarely lifted. She stood tall and proud as she walked, the desolate wasteland a drab brown and grey. Her saddlebags, while full, did not bulge and were tightly secured to her sides, a call to the standard of maintenance she seemingly held herself to, as well as a longsword, scabbard adorn in various symbols. Around her neck, hung an amulet. Two wings, one of a dragon, and one of a pony, circling around a sword, swaying back and forth with each step she took. The form was there, but her visage strongly relied on function. No one would ever believe that this mare, at first glance, worshipped, seemingly, the icon of Chaos. It had been some weeks since she had found anypony of interest on her walk. She was far from any cities, which meant there were substantially fewer people to run into. The odd merchant, or weary traveller whom she traded with, or spoke with. Though today, the monotony of life the wasteland offered would be broken, as the sound of gunfire was heard in the distance. She stopped, her ears flicking in the direction of the ruckus, and it spurred her into a quick trot towards the sound. Minutes later, she would find herself on a ridge overlooking what she could only guess to be a warehouse, which was very clearly being attacked. Warehouses indicated civilization, and attacks indicated someone or something was in that warehouse being attacked, but she was not about to jump into a conflict she knew nothing about, at least until she noticed something very pointed about the attackers. Raiders. A swirl of anger filled her chest, but still, she held herself on this ridge, looking down. She was but one pony, and there were... one, two, three, eight, nine. Nine raiders below, assaulting this warehouse. She was not about to run down and take on nine enemies, and risk her life on the offchance that they were fighting against ghouls or another group of raiders. She would simply allow them to exhaust themselves in their conflict, and go to clean up those left so that perhaps the wasteland could be that much nicer a place. That was, until, of course, she heard the one thing she needed to hear. The sound of a scream as two of the raiders managed to rush up to the door under the cover of their comrades continued to fire. A tactic, she was shocked these ponies were even bright enough to pull off. The scream was that of a child in fright, calling for their mother. How... Cliche, but still, enough to spur the mare down the ridge and towards the conflict. Her hooves beat against the ground loudly, as the conflict grew closer and closer until she was upon the group. Two raiders in the back with rifles hid behind a car. Adequate cover to defend against those inside the warehouse trying to shoot back, but worthless against the mare who was now upon them. The sound of metal being drawn the only thing to pull one raider out of his focus on the warehouse to turn, but turn to late as the blade of her sword cut into his shoulder, exiting out of the barrel of his chest. The scream he let out, yet silenced quickly, was enough to have his comrade turn to see the towering mare dispatch him. He turned his rifle to her, only to find the very same blade now occupying the same space his heart occupied, firing a shot which ricocheted of Twisted's armoured shoulder and slammed into the car they were behind. His dying gurgle turning the attention of the other five raiders who were around on the mare who had just killed to of their comrades. To them, this was now a battle on two fronts, and three of them turned to Twisted Visions to try and deal with her, but the mare was already moving. She showed no fear, no remorse, their guns firing as her horn flared purple, speckled with other colours one could imagine. Bullets went careening around her, launched into seemingly any direction other than her as she rushed one of the three ponies, cutting them down with a similar efficiency. Efficiency, a strange word to describe a being who dedicated her life so devoutly to that of one who seemingly had no belief in such terms. Thee down, but she could not stop. Gunfire in the building, as well as the sounds of a very obvious struggle, drove her forward as much as the fury these raiders instilled in her did. She did not care about the shouts, the screams, the pleas for mercy and the crying of pain these foul individuals made. The flair of magic and the glint of steel was all that they deserved in her eyes, until the last two dropped, not by her hoof. This stopped her, making her take a step back. The air was quiet, and ponies laid dead around her, by both bullets and her own action. It was some time before any other pony showed their faces. A dirty stallion, about middle-aged with a weapon that looked to be made of common pipe. She could admire the ingenuity of the stallion if he had made it. "You alright there ma'am?" He called out, placing his weapon into its holster at his side as he trotted over. Twisted stared at the bodies of the last two raiders to die and spat, face scowling as she noticed she was splattered in their blood. "I am fine, my dear, I trust you and your companions are also safe?" Twisted responded, her voice smooth and cool. She turned, looking down at the shorter pony, not with any sense of disgust or righteousness, as her expression had turned into that of concern. "Well, Blitz ain't doing too hot, and I don't think we would have gotten out of that if not for you there miss! They came up on us while we were trying to salvage what we could from this warehouse," The pony said, looking back at the warehouse. "Summer and Lily are spooked, but I'm sure they'll be fine in some time. They are looking at Blitz right now," He added. Twisted nodded, starting to walk towards the warehouse, past the pony who had approached her. He stepped in her path. "Woah there, we appreciate the help and all, but you can't just walk past me!" The mare furrowed her brow. "Why ever not? You said there was a pony within that building who needed assistance, did you not?" Twisted asked, stopping now to examine the stallion a touch more critically. He was unassuming. Brown coat, darker brown mane. A cutie mark that depicted a plank of wood with a nail in it. Her eyes flicked around as she took the stallion in, her face calm and unassuming. "Well, yeah, but I don't even know your name. How do I know you're not just going to be a worse problem?" The stallion asked, puffing his chest out, which made Twisted smile. "That is for the Wake to decide, my little pony. It was the cry of the filly inside that spurred me into action, otherwise, I would have merely allowed this fight to continue. The Wake brought me to you, and thus you should trust in it," Twisted explained, walking past the now confused stallion. "The Wake? What the buck is th- HEY! You can't go in there!" The stallion shouted, but Twisted had already crossed the threshold. She looked around as the stallion rushed to the door. It was dark, and she could see the bodies of the two raiders, as well as a mare and a filly, fussing over a larger stallion in quite the panic. The stallion had a particularly nasty gash in his shoulder, which she could only guess was caused by the machete that one of the raiders had dropped when they died. That, or the knife, but she didn't necessarily care. The pony who was hurt was her concern. "Step away from him please, let me see," She ordered calmly, walking to the two ponies tending to the third. They looked up at her, no small amount of fear in their eyes, but seeing the seemingly giant mare splattered in blood was enough to get them to comply with what she asked. The mare pulled her daughter away with a hoof, looking at the stallion who originally greeted her. Twisted climbed down to her knees, looking "Blitz" over carefully. The wound looked a lot worse than it was, which she was grateful for. "Did you stick him with anything? I know you ponies around here enjoy trying to solve all your problems with various drugs and the like," She asked, turning her head to the three ponies, two of which having a quiet, whispered argument with each other. No doubt caused by her. The filly shook her head. "No missus, We couldn't find any," The little girl stated meekly, only to get a quick scolding from the mare. "Lily Grove!" The mare hissed, to which Twisted only chuckled. "I would avoid scolding those who offer assistance. It may teach them not to provide it in the future," Twisted stated, getting something of an embarrassed glare. "Thank you, Lily grove. That was very helpful," Twisted added, turning back to the stallion, her horn lighting up as she pulled a cloth wrapped package from her saddlebag. she was silent, as were the ponies behind her as they watched the priestess work on their friend. The cloth package contained a dried mix of various plants, cloths, a small but very curved knife, a curved needle, thread, and handmade bandages. Twisted took the plants, placing an eyed amount into her muzzle and began chewing as she cleaned the wound. She didn't make much sound, and neither did Blitz as she worked on him. She took the police from her mouth, gently spreading it onto the stallions wound, before pulling out the needle and thread with her magic, and starting to sew the wound shut. "Uhm... Miss? I don't think you do it that way," The stallion said, unsure as to if a poultice should be applied to an open wound, and then sewn shut. Twisted shrugged. "I know these plants well enough, young pony. I have applied them hundreds, maybe thousands of times over in my life, and have learned that they have entertaining properties when used in just such a way. In other words, I know this is not how it is commonly done, but this is how it should be done with this particular mix," She stated kindly, finishing her work and covering it with some bandages. "Now, he should try to avoid using the leg... Or moving in general. I would avoid using your drugs, as I have seen many a pony who has grown a need for them that can be dangerous, but that is entirely up to your own discretion," She said, wrapping up her things and placing them back into her saddlebag. She got up, to which the Stallion from before approached her rather sheepishly. "Uh... So, could I get your name, maybe?" Twisted Visions looked at him, then smiled. "I am Priestess Visions, and you are?" She asked the pony who was suddenly looking at her as if she had two heads. "Uh, my friends call me Plank. That's Summer Breeze, and you already know Blitz and Lily's name," He explained, pointing everyone out by name. "So, thanks, for everything I mean. It's just, not everyday a mare comes out of nowhere and helps you out." "No need to thank me, little pony. The Wake brought me to you, and I merely acted as expected." "Yeah, about that. You keep saying the Wake, and clearly, you're some kind of holy person, but the wake of what?" Plank asked, scratching his mane. "Why, the Wake of Discord..."