//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Not What it Used to Be // Story: Fallout Equestria: Our Will (rewrite) // by AngryPenguin //------------------------------// "War. War never changes." What is courage? Is it something we're born with? Something we gain? Don't ask me. I couldn't tell you what it was if it slapped me in the face. Some ponies have it. The ones like me, well... don't. I have heard so many stories from before the war. Mostly about the ministry mares. Each of them faced many trials and tribulations, going way out of their comfort zones to face their own obstacles. Heck, even Fluttershy faced a dragon. A dragon. Just the thought of a giant reptile with sharp teeth and claws scares me to death. I guess that's why Princess Luna gave them their ministries. I knew Violet was brave. It's almost like she fears nothing. I just wasn't blessed with bravery. No matter how much I try, it comes back to bite me in the flank. Not much of a soldier, huh? Oh well. I knew when that mission was over, I was going home to climb under the covers and playing sick for a whole week! Wick and I walked to take-off. I was starting to wonder if a hole had formed on my uniform where I had rubbed my chest so much. Bolt Chaser greeted us with a wave. He already wore his armor. "Come on, gals! Haven't got all day!" "Hold your horses, Bolt. You can't rush a lady." Wick nudged me, jokingly. I tried my best to smile as Chaser rolled a wide table towards us. "Suit up. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can get to a bar." Wick scoffed, but followed orders. I looked with resentment at the armor lying on the table. It was pretty intimidating. The armor itself was black metal, made to move along with a pegasus' maneuvering. The wings were also protected by flexible covers with protruding blades at each feather tip. They were sharp enough to cut through small trees. The helmet was also black with the exception of the orange visor that had an insectoid appearance. It contained a program which allowed us to view stats, communicate with others, and even help aim our weapons. Did I mention the scorpion tail? I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Orders are orders. With the help of a technician, I took off my usual uniform and wiggled my way into the heavy gear. As soon as it was on, it activated the system that made the entire suit lighter and easier to wear. It was barely noticeable, but I still felt like a robot. "Your helmet, miss." The tech passed the abomination to me. I clicked it into place and latched it tight. My vision filled with words and numbers, booting up the systems. No injuries so far, apparently. The E.F.S picked up the green bars of my friends and fellow crew. "Alright, soldiers. Fall in!" Chaser barked. He was a good friend, but a hell of a commanding officer. Of course, it was his job. Wick and I stood next to each other and quickly went to attention. Chaser stood straight and in front. I suppose it was an act for the crew. "At my order, we take flight." He said as the large wall beside us began to rise, slowly revealing the grim sky. "I just received word that the Typhoon has been spotted and will be recovered, but for now, our job is to safely retrieve the surviving crew. We will be directly over the crash site, shortly. Lieutenant Sienna, I want you to go to the upper levels and begin your search for any survivors or intact armor. You'll take these healing potions and distribute them to any injured." He gave me three bottles of the purple liquid. "Yes, sir." I nodded. "Scouter Lantern Wick, you take the lower levels. If either of you find survivors, we will radio Raptor 27 so they can send transport. I will scout the immediate area, outside. If you come across an enemy, take them out. No mercy. Luna, be with us." Chaser saluted and we returned it. "Wings, ready!" We spread our wings at his order and crouched, ready to dive. The wind from the moving ship almost knocked me back. After the techs checked over everything once more, they gave the "okay" signal. "Fly!" The three of us dove, simultaneously. We stayed in the "V" formation as we rocketed out of the sky and into the dusty landscape. I felt nauseated. I wasn't afraid of heights, but I was afraid of what was beneath me. The muddy ground seemed to come at me at a fast pace. Like I had practiced a million times before, I flapped my wings to slow down the air drop to a flutter. The others soon joined me as we landed on the dead earth. Mud splashed up on my armored boots. The air just looked toxic. At this point, I was glad to have a rebreather. To my right, I spotted it. The Typhoon lay on its side. Frail, broken logs surrounded it where the ship had struck them as it landed. Upon further inspection, I noticed the dents in the turrets. Somepony or something attacked them. "Something's not right, Bolt." Wick said in hushed tones. "Just watch your back. Whatever had the firepower to do this is likely not far. Let's go." My coworkers tiptoed along as I fell behind. It took everything I had to not turn back and fly up to 27. If there was something here that could take down a Raptor, I imagined what it could do to a soft, squishy pony. My hearing and sight suddenly escalated as I heard a gunshot in the distance. It was a gunshot very different from the common zap of an energy weapon. "Ch-Chaser..." I squeaked. "It was far away. Just stick to the orders, Sia." He reassured me. I gulped down the lump in my throat and walked with my head down. Arriving closer to the entrance, I could make out piles of ash scattered about. There had been a battle here. You didn't have to be an expert to know the ashes were remains after the energy weapons vaporized them. The dirt below each pile was charred. I became a lot queasier. I picked out a few pieces of Enclave armor. Hopefully, the body parts weren't still in them. The armor was useless, now. Between two rocks, I thought I saw something. I squinted my eyes and cautiously approached the... "B-Body..." I sat down hard. Just beyond this pony were corpses of a few more dead ponies. At least half a dozen. My mouth watered as I tasted the bile starting to come up my esophagus. I grew paler than I already was. Scraps of metal and debris hid several more bodies. A mare, it seemed, was sprawled out on the ground with an axe through her head. She was one of ours. The crushed flesh of what used to be wings gave that away. Another body lay a few feet from her. He was a unicorn with his throat slit. Old shredded barding barely covered him. I couldn't breathe. "Sia!" Wick caught me as I swayed back and forth. She gasped when she saw the gruesome scene. "C-come one. Let's just get this over with." She said as she tugged on my hoof. I wearily followed, trying not to look at the slaughter around me. We stopped and she turned to me with determination. "Listen, I know you weren't expecting that. Well, any of this actually, but we need to focus. We have to help the survivors, if there are any." She didn't sound too sure there were. "Go on and search the upper levels. I will be right down here waiting for you, okay? Think of our spa trip and nothing else!" She lifted my chin. I could tell she was smiling under the helmet. I nodded, not sharing the grin. Why didn't I go into accounting? I forced myself into the ship, leading Wick. Chaser stayed on guard outside, scanning the area. No bodies here, it seemed. I trudged past the fried control panels to the stairwell. Something disabled the electronic components of the ship. I groaned and began to hover up the steps. I didn't want to make anymore noise than I had to. My ears swiveled back and forth to listen for any sudden noises. The only bars on the E.F.S were my friends. I sighed, knowing there weren't any live ponies on board. I began to scavenge for other things, instead. Mostly Med-X to calm my nerves. My heart was pretty much pounding then. A loud bang sent me flying for cover, ready to fire the rifles at my sides. I braved a glance. Just a piece of the ceiling. I chuckled nervously at myself. "See? You're just overreacting." I told myself, rubbing the hard metal plate on my chest. Taking a few deep breaths, I continued on. The hall was pretty cramped. Maybe three ponies wide and two high. Just enough room to hover off the floor. Damage was unbelievably scarce up here, with the exception of the ceiling panel. It just seemed messy. Like ponies were in a hurry. The glorious red cross at the end of the hall caught my eye. I thought it odd that it was the only door even ajar. I carefully sat my hooves on the metal floor with a soft clank. I walked towards the door and shoved it open. It was difficult since the power was disabled, but the suit helped. I expected a mess, of course, but this wasn't just simple disorganization. It was chaos. The gurney that should have been in the center of the room was flipped and warped, leaning against what was left of a cabinet. Papers were scattered and boxes ripped apart, spilling their contents. Bullet holes riddled the entire room. Shelves had been forcefully torn from the walls and threw on the opposite side of the medical room. Somepony was searching for something. By the looks of it, they were searching for drugs. No Med-X for me, then. I sighed, ready to give up, until I saw the narrow locker behind a bookshelf. Immediately, my mood improved ever so slightly. One more place to check before I go. My wings flapped again as I fluttered over the cluttered floor. I raised a hoof to look at the remains of a lock on the handle. The mechanism fell apart as if it, too had given up. I was aware of the increased strength this armor gave us, but I had no idea it was that impressive! I dropped the lock on the floor and opened the closet to peek inside. THUD! I yelped as a corpse landed at my shaking hooves with a meaty thud. I froze for a few moments before I pulled myself together and inspected the body closer. A pegasus stallion. His coat was silver and his mane was buzz cut, off white. His ear looked as though it had been pierced at one time. From the looks of the white jumpsuit, he was the ships medic. Looking behind him, I saw nothing but a lab coat and some books. Still no Med-X. Forgetting about the toxic air, I slowly took off my helmet to get a better look at this poor soul. After no dangerous chemicals were detected, I relaxed. Our race was so peaceful before the war. This was just proof of the drastic change that had become of us. Tears formed as I slowly placed my armored hoof on his shoulder and bowed my head. "Celestia and Luna be with you, my friend. May you, along with the others here, find peace and happiness beyond this world." I prayed. A long moment passed before I opened my eyes. I stared at him until I spotted a small rectangular object in his pocket under his feathers. I surveyed it before picking it up. A recorder. All medics carried one for memos and documentation. A red light on the front flashed. Curious, I pressed play. Static. Maybe I need to rewind it? Trying to back up the recording, I pressed rewind, only to have it stop as soon as I pushed the button. I tapped the device, then softly banged it on the floor. I jumped at the recorded voice. "Is this thing on? Damn it.." The doctor. "Okay, erm, this is Doctor Coats in Medical on the Raptor, Typhoon." He sounded terrified. I swallowed my own fear and continued listening. "I'm recording this to let the rescue team know what happened here. I know damned well nopony is going to survive this." Suddenly, I heard yelling in the background. I couldn't tell if it was the recording or coming from outside. "After a fault in one of our engines, we thought it best to land for a couple of hours while the techs evaluated the damage. The council instructed a team of scientists and a few scouters to research the plant mutations on ground level. They thought they could domesticate the mutation gene to gain better vaccinations for us. What is happening right now is beyond a wild animal attack." The sound of shuffling and clinking could be heard as he went on. I brought my hoof to my breast. "We... We thought it was just a couple of savages here to rob us. It turned out... They had this... thing. It looked like a giant clump of spark grenades. Those monsters catapulted it into the ship and the increased power of the electromagnetic field disabled the entire ship and the scouts' armor. Contact with S.P.P was lost. The fried controls caused the front entrance to open. Dozens of those... I don't even know if you would call them ponies. They had wild, yellow eyes! What's worse, they showed no mercy or-" Gunfire interrupted him along with maniacal laughter. "Fuck. Celestia, help us. Luna, help us! Whoever finds this, run. Do not return here. You should NOT have came here to begin with! Abort any business you have in the wasteland and just GO HOME! I have this empty syringe. The air in my bloodstream will kill me before those... fiends do." He hissed in pain. "They won't have the satisfaction of doing so. T-tell my wife... Tell her I'm sorry and that... I'll see her. I... love you. Juniper..." The recording ended with a loud clang and then it clicked off. I sat on my haunches, motionless, as I thought of Doctor Coats. He had a wife! Possibly foals! My tears fell to the floor like a faucet dripping. I wanted to go home and spend every second with my grandparents! I wanted Violet to come back! I wanted- BOOM!! My breathing stopped and I jerked my head towards the explosion. I could hear gunfire similar to the recording. Scrambling for my helmet, I darted out of the room, down the hall, and down the stairwell. Stopping at the entrance, I saw them. Savages. Earth ponies and unicorns with yellow, crazed eyes and pupils the size of pinpricks. The same ones Doctor Coats described. They were attacking Wick and Chaser! "Wick! We need to retreat!" Chaser bellowed. "I'm unable to fly! My wing... I think a bullet got through my armor! Where is Sia?!" The zaps of the energy rifles were like fireworks. I couldn't do anything but watch in terror as my friends were bombarded with gunshots. One unicorn held a huge sledge hammer in her magic. Just as she was about to swing at Chaser, he sliced her side with his wing blades. Another pony grabbed his leg before he could fly away and slammed him back to the ground. Chaser punched his nose, making the earth pony fall back. The savage unloaded his old revolver into chasers visor. It didn't get through, but it was cracked, severely. Wick was no better off. She was being swamped by three ponies shooting at her with beat up shotguns. The more she fired her rifles, the more they dodged. She managed to get one, turning the mare into a pile of ash. Finally, she threw herself behind a large boulder, only peeking around to fire more. Her rifle barrel was glowing red from all the shooting. I started shaking so badly I could barely move. I gasped for air. Panic attack. "Sia! Get behind here!" Wick yelled. I stumbled at the sound of my name. The savages had took notice of a third pegasus and were heading my way. I flapped my wings, zooming towards Wick. I barely made it before a saw blade buzzed past my ear. I joined her, firing my own rifles to give hers time to cool off. My aim sucked. I was not used to these large guns. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! I chanced a look over the boulder. There were more coming! "Wick, they've called reinforcements!" I yelled. "Get down!" She dragged me to a crouch next to her. "Chaser, you need to take cover! There are more coming! Sia is with me, now!" I grunted as an axe lodged into the dirt next to us. I heard Chaser's rifles fire in rapid bursts. He managed to get another one, from the sound of the sizzling. I was praying to the goddesses we would make it out alive. "Where did they come from?!" I screamed over the zaps. Wick pulled out one of the healing potions and opened her visor to drink it. "I don't know, but I think we need to contact 27 if we're gonna get out of here! You see if you can get through and I will keep firing!" She ordered. I nodded quickly and raised a hoof to push the button on my helmet. Chaser screamed. "Bolt!" Wick screamed as she slammed her visor down, jumping from our cover and galloping to help him. The metal protection on his wing was smashed in by the giant hammer. He had gotten pinned. I snatched my hoof away to reach out to them. "No!" "Sia, call 27, now!" Chaser bellowed. "Get ole' Sparky! These birds are gonna get cooked!" A stallion commanded through mad giggling. I quickly did as Chaser said and tapped the communicator. "Raptor 27, this is Lieutenant Sienna. Do you copy?" I tried my best to scream through my shallow breaths. It seemed like hours before they replied. "Lieutenant, this is 27. What is your position?" The sweet sounding voice of 27's control room replied. "We need to abort! We are being attacked and we are grounded. I repeat: We need-" ZAAAAPPPP!!!! A huge ball of electricity fell from above. The shock wave enveloped my armor, making it spark and sting my hide a little. I gasped and snatched my eyes to my comrades. They were jolting and twitching about as their suits also failed. Suddenly, I felt as if I were carrying a ton of weight. My vision darkened and I couldn't move. The suit had immobilized me! "Wick! Chaser!" I screamed their names until my throat became raw. My voice was so muffled I wondered if they heard me. "-enna! -it us-spark-nade!-ut down the-" I couldn't hear Chaser. I started sobbing. My lungs felt like they were being squeezed between the severe panic and the suit being disabled, smothering me. "Hey, Blood! C'mere and check out these suits!" I heard a stallion giggling madly as he and another unicorn stallion trotted into my field of vision. The former tapped on my visor. "Hellooo? Are you dead? I'm getting hungry!" I sobbed loudly. "Sounds like a little filly, Smokey! She's alive, too!" The unicorn clopped his hooves in delight. These ugly bastards are monsters! All of them! "P-please! Don't do this! Let us go!" I pleaded. "Let me think... No. I'm bored and I'm starving. Blood! Help me get this stupid metal off!" He ordered through a sick grin. Both stallions went to work on my armor. They tugged, hit, and even tried to bite the heavy suit off. Fortunately, they were as dumb as they were violent. They couldn't get it off. Eventually, the brownish yellow unicorn impatiently grabbed a poorly cared for shotgun and aimed it at my chest plate. I whimpered more as they grinned again. "This ought to do it." He grumbled. As soon as he pulled the trigger, the shot ricocheted off the hard metal and blasted most of his face off. I screamed, staring at his lifeless body gurgling as it still stood. The one called Smokey chuckled as the faceless body fell to the dirt. I coughed, trying to get some air. "Sorry about that. Hard to find good help, these days. Raiders can be pretty fucking stupid." They were all mad! "Fuck it, Smokey. Let's just kill them. The others aren't coming out of these damned suits, either. The other mare is already dead." She snorted a laugh. "The shock must've been too much for the bitch." My eyes went wide. "No... W-Wick!" I screamed as loud as I could. I never wanted to fight. I never liked violence, but I wanted to kill these sickos. I wanted them dead and buried. "Ugh. Fine. Wish we had a can opener." Smokey said as he grabbed another sledge hammer. This one had nails protruding from it. He stood up on his hind legs and gripped the handle with both front hooves. With great effort, he slung the homemade weapon over his head. "Nighty night!" He smiled in delight as he swung as hard as he could. The impact knocked me over and took away my breath. The armor that covered my side was dented inwards, crushing my side. But he wasn't finished. He pounded the hammer against every part of my body, denting it enough to make it squeeze my ribs. I felt a sheer terror when he pulled my wing out and laid it across the ground. Once he started pulverizing it, I'm sure it shattered. My screams turned into croaks. I could only lay there with my mouth open and eyes wide, silently sobbing. "I think this one's mincemeat. Next!" He yelled. No... I was going to die. I was going to die alone and scared, beaten and broken. They had already killed Wick. They were going after Chaser. I wanted to scream, again. I wanted to fill the wasteland with a never ending shriek, but my lungs struggled to take in air. The last thing I remember was the sickening, haunting sound of bone crunching under a hammer. Then, everything went black. I opened my eyes to see the same wasteland I had wanted to leave. Weirdly, I was not wearing any armor. I was in no pain. I looked around to see if the raiders were still there. Nothing. What the hell? I stood. I was about to shake the dirt off, when I noticed that I was clean. No marks, no bruises. Not even a feather out of place. It occurred to me that I had to be dreaming, because when I was knocked out, I was lying in shambles and stuck inside my armor. That's when I spotted it. A body lying not four feet from where I had just awoken. "Oh, no. Wick..." I whispered as I knelt down next to her. As I went to place my hoof on her side, I stopped. Wick had a blush pink colored coat and feathers. The feathers sticking out of the wing blades were white. I snatched my hoof back. Who is this? No other pegasi in armor came with us. It was only me, Chaser, and Wick. And this body wasn't from the Typhoon. This one is newly dead. I could see a small pool of blood next to her wing. The same wing that raider had crushed when he was pummeling me. "That's impossible!" I hurriedly opened the visor, only to be met with my reflection. Except the reflection was clearly dead. Her eyes were swollen and red. Bruises covered what I could see of her face. I stared in shock. I felt faint, but my body wouldn't react. I expected to panic, but... nothing. I could feel nothing. "That's you. Trust me, it was scary for me too." I heard Chaser behind me. I turned and ran to him, hugging him. "Chaser! Y-You're alive!" He pushed away. "Not exactly, Sia." His gaze turned to where two more suits of armor lay. My eyes were like saucers. He turned back and gave a sad smile. "I guess this is how the afterlife works. We have to look at our bodies until it's time to go." He shrugged. "Not exactly." I turned, again, startled by the second voice. Wick! I threw my hooves around her and sobbed. "What is going on?" "I don't know how to explain it. We were killed by those raiders. This is just a temporary form for us, I guess." Chaser spoke up. "S-so we're dead? We're... ghosts?" I hugged myself. Wick stepped next to him. "I guess that's true for Chaser and I." She placed a hoof on mine. "You're still alive, Sia. Just... barely." She said, painfully. I could tell she wanted to cry, but I guess these weird spectral bodies can't do anything except exist. I looked down at the ground below me. Something about this just didn't seem right. We never went on this mission. I am at home, in my bed. I am sleeping and this is a dream. There is no other explanation for this. A hoof touched my shoulder. It felt warm. "It's time for us to go." Wick said, calmly. "You need to wake up." "N-no... No! I won't leave you! This is my fault. I-I should have been faster!" I croaked. "I shouldn't have been so hesitant!" I buried my muzzle in her fur. It didn't even feel like hair, just warmth. Chaser held my hoof. "We love you, sis. You gotta keep going and fight." They began to fade. "No! I won't let you go! Please! You're all I have!" I suddenly felt tired. My body began to inch toward the crushed corpse next to me. "I can't!" They gave me one last sad smile before they completely disappeared. I tried to run towards them, but I could only move toward the armor. My eyes began to close as I felt myself lie down and merge with the body. Everything stilled. "Be brave, Sia." Level Up! S- 2 (+1) P- 3 E- 2 C- 1 I- 3 A- 3 L- 0 New Perk! Stress Advantage - When you start to panic, you temporarily gain +2 Perception.