//------------------------------// // A call for help // Story: Fallout: Harmony // by Foreverking0 //------------------------------// While walking in the middle of the badlands, Scaver kicked a pebble in front of him. This job was one of the most boring he had ever taken. The caravan had started from Stalingrad and made its way south, all he had to do was keep a lookout. The badlands had its own gallery of threats. With the caravan on break, he had decided to stretch his legs. "Wow, look even more nothing." The caravan guard 'Jester' commented, walking behind Scaver. A policy of the caravan, never leave the caravan by yourself. "Har Har, unless you have something useful to say, can you try to be quiet," Scaver replied. "Not my fault I'm out here, I'd rather be in the shade, but you had to go for walkies," Jester chewed back. "I have sat on my hunches since we came to this stupid place, my legs were so numb I thought they would fall off." Scaver shot back, then raised a hoof and shoved Jester in the chest. "And you could have stayed at the camp, I don't need a babysitter, I survived the streets up north, I can survive thiIIISSS!" Scaver's voice shot up as the lack of ground caught up with him. Jester watched as the hot shot rolled down the loose dirt, and came to a stop at the bottom. "Real smooth buddy, real smooth..." Jester shouted down to the now brown earth pony who was getting back onto his hooves. "Yeah, thanks for the head up, jerk," Scaver shouted back, rubbing the back of his neck. That fall had hurt, and now he was stuck at the bottom of a ravine. Looking for a way out, he notices something out of the ordinary. Some sort of caravan had been lost down here, but he had never seen a wagon like this before. As he walked up to it, he noticed it had torn cloth covering the top and giant black wheels. Kicking the wheels, his hoof bounced back. he knocked on the green material that made up most of the wagon and was surprised by the ring of metal. A metal Wagon with strange wheels was worth looking into. "Hey, are you alive down there?" Jester asked from somewhere above. "Yeah I'm fine, I think I found something, go get some of the others, maybe ladder too," Scaver responded. Upon hearing Jester leave, Scaver decided to poke around. Near the wagon was a strange-looking object, buried partially in the ground. it was round on the top but was rectangular in shape, like a door. It was covered in washed-out colours and metal finishing. The top section had a cutaway with glass, showing the inside. Scaver couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he did understand there were buttons on the side, and he can press buttons. Cautiously, he pressed one of the red buttons. The machine shot to life and inside the glass case, tiny arms moved around small cases. Suddenly, music started to play. Gonna tell Aunt Mary 'bout Uncle John He claims he has the misery But he havin' a lot of fun Oh, baby, yes, baby! "A jukebox!" Scaver thought to himself as he bobbed to the music. Scaver hadn't seen one of these since his trip through las pegasus, Expensive and rare as they were. He had never heard this song before, but the upbeat nature caused him to subtly dance to the music. This could turn a nice profit and he would get the finders fee. Maybe this wasn't such a bad job after all. The dancing stopped when behind him, and from inside the wagon came a hissing sound. It sounded like steam from a boiler, but what was it coming from? Scaver began to turn around, hearing more noises. Whirring and clicking came from the wagon as a large hulking being came forth. Scaver walked back, his eyes glued to the thing. It was like something out of a comic book. A giant machine painted black, like a great armoured monster. As it rolled forward, he could see more. It had thick legs with wheels on the end, and red glowing eyes on its head. "ALERT, HOSTILES IN AREA, THREAT LEVEL: RED. LOCKING ON..." The metal demon blasted out. Scaver's body was rigid and unresponsive. "WEAPON STATUES: ENGAGED" The machine announced, One of its arms beginning to rapidly spin. The last thought that went through Scavers mind was how much he regretted taking this job. War, War never changes. On October 23, 2077, humanity, burdened by millennia of stoked fears and wrong choices, was forced to deal with the horrific consequences of its own making. The Earth was bathed in nuclear fire, ending billions of lives and scaring the world beyond recognition. The hollow halls and echos of the past mark humanity's greatest failure. It was not, however, as some had suspected, the end days. In time, civilisation, in its own twisted way, would resurface in the waste. Many of these civilisations would trace their lineage back to great underground shelters, known as vaults. The sprouting societies of the wastes would face their own trials and tribulations, aided by unique individuals. People who would and did give everything they had to ensure humanity's survival. The progress made from their sacrifice would bear fruit, as humanity took its own steps toward the future. Now, the sins of humanity's past threaten others, innocents forced to fight the very evils humans created. The distant world of Equestria sits in the shadows of humanities wars, and war? War never changes... As Twilight and her friends stepped off the train, the mood of Canterlot was bordering on hopelessness. Not since the changeling threat had the guards been so on edge. Heading towards the castle, the activity of ponies increased. Contractors and suppliers were being supervised by guards, bringing hidden cargo to the castle. Slowly getting closer to the castle, the density of ponies began to grow. Most gave the new alicorn nothing more than a slightly too-long stare before moving on. "What gives, your a princess now, doesn't that mean something to these ponies?", Rainbow Dash asked with a mix of bafflement and annoyance. "They're scared Rainbow, After everything that's happened recently, I don't think creating a royal welcome is on their minds" Twilight countered. "After the attack in Fillydelphia last month, I don't think these folks are interested in anything other than answers," Applejack added. "Twilight, why don't you tell them? Didn't the princesses explain everything when they asked you to help?" Fluttershy suggested. "Not nearly as much as you think. Besides, I turned that position down," Twilight responded. "You could have at least told us what going on, you must know something." Rainbow Dash pushed. Twilight shook her head. "No, nothing. Well, nothing concrete. I did start looking into teleportation magic as an explanation for why appearances are so spread out. It was the least I could do for the princesses" "Well, did they at least tell you why we're here now?" Rainbow asked her hoof on her face in frustration. "No, but since they requested all six of us, I think I have an idea of why," Twilight answered, Rainbow responded to the cryptic reply by rolling her eyes. Finally reaching the castle, The six friends could barely make it to the throne room from the swarm of ponies trying to get an audience with the Princess of the day. Even Luna was there trying to deal with the overwhelming amount of ambassadors and nobles looking for help. Yet as soon as Celestia's eyes saw Twilight, all commotion ended as Celestia Raised her wings and made herself known. "Today's court is over, please return tomorrow with your concerns." Many ponies grumbled at the dismissal of the day's session but left without a fuss. Once the throne room was empty, Twilight and her friends walked toward the two sisters, who in turn left the throne dais they had both been standing on. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna" Twilight greeted the sisters, both as Princesses and friends. "It is good to see you Twilight, " Celestia said with a tired smile, relaxing her posture as the pretence of infallibility was lifted. "Agreed, We wish it were under more fortunate circumstances, however," Added Luna. "It's that bad?" Twilight asked. "Worse than you could know," Luna replied grimly, a frown descending on her face. The sisters began to walk away from the throne room, and the six friends followed. "As you know, a few months ago, peculiar sightings started occurring across Equestria," Celestia stated as the group made its way towards the tower that held the elements of harmony. "We initially believed them to escapees from Tartarus, And went to see for ourselves if the prison had been compromised." "When Cerberus left his post, they must have escaped," Twilight Concluded. " Yes, and no. All but one was accounted for in Tartarus, A dangerous foe we had defeated long ago, Tirek." Celestia Began. "As much of a danger as Tirek is and must be found as soon as possible, He is not the one behind these attacks." Luna finished. "Then who is?" Twilight in turn asked. The two sisters stopped, everyone else stopping as well. After a moment, both sisters turned around and with worry in their eyes looked at twilight. " We don't know" responded Celestia. After a moment, rarity spoke up, "You don't know?" repeating the question in bafflement. "Luna had been searching at night for the creatures where they have been spotted," Celestia said. Luna walked up to one of the decorated windows, staring into the void to recall the memories. "These creatures are unlike anything we have ever seen, Violent monsters of nightmares that attack as soon as they saw us." Turning to face the six concerned ponies, Luna continued. "We found some that were intelligent, capable of speech. While we hid in the shadows, they talked of this place as different. They were awed by the trees and grass, That the air was clean and nights peaceful." Twilight had thought and spoken up "Maybe they're from the badlands, or even further". Celestia cut in "No, while it has been a long since I left Equestria, I have never seen anything like what Luna has described to me. Furthermore, none of the leaders I have sent letters to know of these beings." "Then where are they coming from, Surely they can't just be popping out of nowhere?" Twilight said. "They very well may be, for It was your letters on teleportation that pushed me into searching for an extraequestrial solution," Luna replied. Rainbow Dash swooped in to have her say. "Woah Woah Woah, are you saying there's are like Aliens?" Applejack bit rainbows tail and grounded her before responding to the pegasus's claim. " It ain't aliens Rainbow, Princess Luna would have said if they were." "You may be closer than you think," Luna responded. The girls all looked at Luna, most with confusion, but both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie with keen interest. "While not descending from the skies, they are indeed not from its world." Luna finished. Celestia decided now speak up. "They are being summoned here" Twilight was the only one able to understand the implications. "But nopony has that kind of magic, I don't think even Discord can do that." "However powerful they are, The random nature of the sightings and the beings in question suggests that they do not fully control the ability to bring them here. " Celestia responded. "Have you tried talking to them, You said they were talking" Fluttershy spoke up. Luna stared at Fluttershy as if Debating something, the pegasus shrinking from the attention. Eventually, Luna gave a sigh. "Yes, We did" Luna turned herself so that her side was Viewable to everyone there. This was the response" Luna lifted her wing. The six ponies Gasped in horror as they looked at what Luna's wing had hidden. Burn scar tissue covered a large area that was hidden by her wings, the damage was healing, but the wound was clearly extensive. As each of the six ponies began to verbalise their own response, Luna cut them off with her wing and words "We live, that is what matters. Our guards were not so fortunate, the weapons they carried are powerful...". Celestia took over as Luna began to lose herself in thought. "I had hoped that in time, we could learn to counter these threats or even engage in talk with them, however, that may not be possible...". Twilight was the one now to pull the sisters out of their daze. "What's wrong?". Luna was the one who answered. " We discovered that the summonings are not completely random, while the location is a mystery, the times are set. The creatures appear all at one time in pulses, each pulse brings more of them to our world. Once we found this information, we noticed a pattern. The pulses are quickening". Twilight's heart fell rapidly as she processed the news, "How long?". Luna's answer was decisive "At the current pace, the next summon will be within the hour." Celestia chose this moment to explain her plan. " The reason we called the Bearers here was that we believe that the Elements may be used to influence the pulse, while they won't stop it, they may be able to influence what comes through." Celestia ushered everyone to continue down the hall. "We don't have much time". Reaching Canterlot Tower, Twilight was surprised to see a pink alicorn waiting for them. "Cadence!" Twilight exclaimed before running over to hug her old babysitter. After being embraced by her, Twilight began to start her old ritual with Cadence. "Sunshine, Sun-" However, Cadence cut Twilight off with a hoof on her muzzle. "I'm afraid we're short on time Twilight, the next pulse is happening in minutes" Pointing to a newly installed clock near the door to the Elements. "We need to hurry" Luna stated as Celestia rushed to the door, Opening and rushing to retrieve the elements. "I don't understand, what are we trying to change?" Twilight asked bewildered by the sudden urgency. Cadence came to the rescue, " If we can influence what is brought here, we can use the Elements to find help. While Equestria has never faced these threats before, someone there might have." Celestia used her magic to give each of the bearers their element while Luna moved everyone to their place. "Each of the elements represents one of the Elements of harmony itself, Using them, we can find noble souls to help us," Celestia added as she put the final Element on Pinkie Pie. As soon as they were ready, Luna, Celestia and Cadence began to weave the spell. So much power was being poured into it that the room began to shake. "Now, Use the elements!" Celestia commanded, And the Bearers obeyed. The rainbow of magic began to form, creating a loop that connected every bearer, From Twilight's crown came the power that had defeated so many foes. Just as the nearby clock chimed to the time of the pulse, the elements fired at the spell matrix. The room exploded with light. [Somewhere In Nevada] It was nighttime, and the cold Mojave air was chilling to the skin. As a man in riot armour was stumbling outside a bar, He looked for a place to empty his bladder. With whiskey on his breath, he breathed the cold air and put on his helmet, no point in getting shot in the head while having a leak. Finding a spot next to a dead tree, he let nature call. When he was finished, he turned to return to the bar. his walk slowed to a stop as he noticed a glow around him, after looking at his body begin to glow brighter he lifted his hands to see the same thing. From his helmet came a slightly muffled voice "What the fu" and In a flash, he vanished. [Chicago] The office building was quiet, for ruins, this was not uncommon. For a location that had been the hub of raider activity in the local area until minutes ago, it was very uncommon. Sitting at a working terminal was a man, surrounded by dead raiders and ash piles, looking through old emails. Finding what he was after, he took the laser rifle off his back and made for the exit. Locating the door, he reached for the handle to open the door. He stopped however after seeing his hand and arm glowing, looking down at himself to see his whole body lighting up the area, the man pulled up his pipboy to check for radiation. The low rad count confused him as he searched for a cause, before himself vanishing in a flash. [The Commonwealth, The Castle] The General sat at his desk, looking over reports from the commonwealth outposts, all quiet. Leaning back in his chair, he thought to himself how little his role in the Commonwealth was now. The great General of the Commonwealth spent most of his days making sure the newly named 'Commonwealth Defence Guard' was ready for anything, but most of the fighting had happened a few years ago. With the Commonwealth safe, his role was mostly ceremonial, a 'thank you for past deeds. But to the General, the blood on his hands had never been repaid. Even for all the good he had done, he could not save his wife or his son. he could not undo the death and destruction caused by his war against the institute or his country. Here sat this soldier, For him, the war never ended. The deep thought was cut short by the fact that his candle was turning the office into an interrogation room. looking at the candle, it was not the source of the light, he was. Scrambling out of his chair, He began to run out of his office towards his second in command. "Preston, Preston!" The soldier vanished in a flash, the door he was running to opening. "General?!"