//------------------------------//
// Too Late 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: New Pegas Nights 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
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Dusty was modest but she liked to think of herself as a smart mare. She always tried to be prepared, have a plan wherever she traveled. So how did she get herself into this?

"Come on, guys," Dusty pleaded, her voice shaking. "We can split the findings fifty-fifty. How does that sound?"

"Uh... but there's four of us?" one of the raiders, a yellow earth pony asked. Even in the darkness of the cave they were in, Dusty could tell he wasn't that bright. He was still probably smart enough to aim and shoot the weapon he had trained on her, which was enough for Dusty to pay close attention to everything he said. "How do we split it fifty-fifty if we only have one?"

"Can it, Needles. We're gonna split little miss VIP's skull and then WE'RE gonna split with the pod," the lead raider, a unicorn named Padlock said. "It's too late for negotiations."

Dusty swallowed hard, her heart and mind racing. Looking behind the three raiders, she could see the entrance to the cave and the starlit sky beyond, even feel the wind blowing inside. Unfortunately, the three armed guards that had escorted her through the wasteland into the cave were now standing between her and the exit. They had apparently made their intentions clear; they were going to kill her and take the pod they'd found for themselves. Figures.

Whether instinctively or out of fear, the brown mare took a step back and nearly tripped over the edge of the pod. Whatever was inside there was perfectly preserved from before the war, well worth the trip through the dangerous territory outside New Pegas... and worth the innocent mare's life that led them there. It was also unfortunately the only thing behind her other than a dead end; she didn't need to turn around to know that. She kept her attention facing forward towards the slim possibility of escape.

The cave and pod had actually been known about for quite some time but nopony ever really bothered it before. The silver two-meter long cylindrical container wouldn't open unless a code was entered into the sequencer at the side, the code that Don Honcho had given Dusty just before she left. Whatever was inside was important enough to her boss that he'd sent her with three armed guards to make sure she returned with it intact. She didn't expect they'd betray her, however but she was pretty sure that hadn't been part of the agreement.

"You... you don't need to do this," Dusty continued to plead. "You can take the pod! I won't tell a soul what happened! Please, just-"

"Nah," Padlock shook his head, casually rejecting her offer. "See, we're gonna open up that thing, take whatever goodies are inside and then deliver the thing to ole' Donny like we promised. That way we get loot AND get paid. But Don's too well-connected to just accept one of his little secretaries has just gone missing."

"I dunno, Pad," the third raider, a jet black crystal mare said, "Looks pretty heavy. Can't we make her carry it a ways and then shoot her before we get back to Pegas?"

"Please..." Dusty begged. "We can work this out."

"No," the gray unicorn turned to her and said harshly. "This is the only place we know Don doesn't have eyes. We got here but sadly, Dusty was shot before she could unlock the pod forcing the three of us to carry it all the way back to New Pegas. It was an accident, carelessness. Just bad luck."

"Whatever," the mare remarked, blowing her mane out of her eyes.

Dusty was terrified; she fought the urge to shut her eyes and curl into a trembling ball. She kept backing up, crouching behind the pod slightly as if it would defend her from the three aggressors.

"All right, we have a long trip back so let's get this over with. Needles?" Padlock turned to the other armed pony. "Cause an accident."

Needles grinned and held up a revolver on his hoof. "Oopsie."

Trying to get fully behind the pod, Dusty slipped and bumped the top casing. While she had put in the code before the guards turned on her, the four of them had neglected to open it and see exactly what was inside that was so important. Frosted air poured fourth from the crease in the casing as the silver lid popped open. It rose just in time to deflect the bullet Needles fired causing it to ricochet into the ceiling.

Dusty and her 'gracious escorts' hadn't been told much about what was in the pod, what they were expected to find. Only that they were to open it and return with whatever was inside, something preserved from before the war over two-hundred years ago. What was inside appeared to have indeed been preserved, at least from what Dusty could tell. But what she expected to be preserved was prototype weapons, riches, plans, some type of good... not a pony.

The stallion's eyes fluttered open. "What... what time is it?" the unicorn asked.

"Please!" Dusty panicked, not knowing what she was doing, she grabbed the stallion as he sat up in the pod. "You have to get us out of here! Please, do something now!"

"You don't understand!" the stallion shouted back at her. "You have to tell me what time it is! Right now!"

Gun shots rang off the silver pod's lid, Dusty ducked instinctively but none of them penetrated.

"They're gonna kill us!" Dusty screamed. She cowered behind the pod, covering her head with her hooves.

The stallion said nothing but got up and out of the silver container. More gun shots bounced off the casing and the lid closed shut. The three ponies now had a clear shot at Dusty and the pod's occupant. Frozen in fear, Dusty was unable to move as she prepared for the inevitable. But the raiders didn't fire; when they saw the white pony, they lowered their weapons.

"What? Who the hay are you?" the female raider asked.

"Listen," the stallion said. "I need to know what time it is. Right. Now," he said through gritted teeth.

"Doesn't matter," Padlock said, raising his gun. "Your time's up."

The three ponies fired again, gun shots echoing through the cave. But their bullets didn't get even halfway to their targets; between them and the ponies that fired the shots, a wall of pink energy had appeared as if from thin air.

Dusty almost couldn't believe it. She was alive and somehow... this pony had saved her. Shimmering in front of the white pony was a barrier that had stopped the bullets. She didn't even know ponies were capable of such feats. The raiders looked in disbelief at the phenomenon in front of them. Needles fired another shot aimed at the stallion's head but it too was blocked by the shield.

"I think you guys... are wasting your time," the stallion informed them. He began advancing on them and the shield did too. The raiders' eyes went wide and they dropped their weapons, fleeing from this strange new development. Dusty watched as they ran and smiled as she saw them leave their guns behind. She was going to be all right.

The stallion who had protected her watched as the ponies galloped to the entrance of the cave. Just before they made it outside, the pink shield flashed and began racing through the tunnel after them. Like a fly swatter hitting three mosquitos, the raider trio was picked up off their hooves by the wall of light and carried out of the tunnel... and up into the night sky.
Dusty was able to hear their screams echo off the walls as they soared into the heavens.

Dusty quickly stood up. "Thank you... thank you so much!" she said to the stallion, walking up to him. But he ignored her, not even turning around as he broke into a gallop towards the cave's entrance. Not knowing what else to do, Dusty followed him.

The stallion ran outside and looked up at the night sky. "No... no!" he shouted, stomping the ground. "I'm late, I'm too late!"

"Too late for what?" Dusty asked, curiously but cautiously.

"Too late to stop it all," the pony said, looking down. "There's nothing to protect us from the megaspells now... we're all done for."

"Megaspells?" Dusty asked. "Like the ones that dropped two-hundred years ago?"

The stallion turned to her. "Two-hundred years ago? There were no megaspells-" his expression quickly turned from confusion to shock. "Wait... what year is it?"

"Year?" Dusked asked, confused. "Twenty-two eighty-one. It's October and I think that-"

"T-twenty-two?!!" the stallion's jaw practically dropped. His knees buckled and he dropped down to the ground, the weight of something very heavy pressing down upon his mind. "What... what happened? Something's gone... wrong," he panted.

"Relax," Dusty said. "This must be all very confusing to you. You've been in that pod for a very long time," she walked over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "You're safe now, though. What's your name? How did you get in there?"

"They sealed me in there to try and get me home... before the megaspells dropped."

His tone was heavy with sorrow. Whoever he was, he was in rough shape. She decided to keep asking questions.

"Who are you? Where is home, if you don't mind telling me?"

The stallion looked up at her. "I'm the prince of the Crystal Empire. My name is Shining Armor."