Fallout Equestria: Apocalypse.

"I lifted my eyes and saw, and beheld, four chariots came out from between two mountains."

I clicked away at the terminal, data drive after data drive of useless prewar information recovered from the old Canterlot ruins. You'd think there'd be something interesting in these things other than old business records and messages about office love affairs...

“Goddess, this is so boring~.” I whined as I was getting so tired of this useless shit.

I ejected the drive, looking at my reflection in the black screen. As a griffoness, I had an unusual color for one of my race. My feathers were purple and blue. Purple largely the color of my wings and blue the feathers on my head. Even my fur was a blend of the two. Normally griffons are white and brown or red even. Sometimes a dark grey but I was born an oddball.

If it was still the Equestrian Wasteland my colors would be the last thing anyone noticed about me. I was lucky enough to be born fifty years after the Lightbringer Littlepip and The Security Mare Blackjack finished off the major baddies in the wasteland and cleared the skies. By the time I was born it was less Wasteland and more… prewar. Some tribes and gangs still caused trouble and diplomatic talks with the Zebras were on a hair trigger at all times but all in all, civilization was rebuilding and mostly rebuilt.

I got into history because of the era of The Wasteland. So many stories only spread through word of mouth and so few of them had much in terms of solid evidence or proof these Wasteland Wanderers even existed. There were some Ghouls and older folks who remember that time. Talking to them was like hearing about a whole other world.

The Alicorns also remembered, but still so many… didn't enjoy remembering. The few that did talk talked about pre war Equestria, not post war Equestria.

“And here I am digging through records of how some douche bag plowed his secretary…” I groaned.

I inserted the next data disc. Oh look, said duche now has a bastard on the way… heh, well at least it seems his wife found out. If I find an audio file about that… oh hey, there is one.

I played it, hearing the sounds of one mare crying, one mare screaming, and one stallion getting beat and yelling ouch. Heh, well at least pre war Equestria was entertaining.

I stored this one away in my desk, a small collection of data I was going to copy and keep for my own amusement.

I sighed. Honestly when I signed up to apprentice at the NCR Historical Preservation Institute, I was hoping for the exciting parts of history. I inserted the ne- what the? This data drive was different. Engraved on it was 'Property of The Ministry of Image'. Hmm, Ministry of Image eh? Must be some old books or propaganda stuff.

“Alright, let’s take a look to see what you’ve got in store for me.” I started as I cracked my fingers, now intrigued by something.

Inserting the drive I was greeted by a Password screen. I entered into the bypass screen and after a bit found the password. It was Xxk807669*plK. So it was dumb luck I found it.

The data was mostly Messages, censorship reports, printing details… hello. Message from the Canterlot Historical Society. Don't mind if I do.

“Oh ho ho, now this is juicy.” I said, my interest piquing as I read this privately funded archaeology dig.

“Damn, these people really don’t want them to dig in Cinder’s Creek.” I muttered.

Cinders Creek… eversince The Lightbringer turned on the Gardens of Equestria Whitetail wood's poison issues are largely mute now, still a few dangerous plants but nothing like in the past… and Cinders Creek if I remember still is just a bunch of forest and such between two large hills.

Still, wonder if whatever these ponies wanted is still in the dirt there? What could have been so valuable that this Canterlot Historical Society would risk legal actions from the Ministry of Image?

“Hmm…” I hummed, trying to find anything else on this disc before I decided to either bring it to my boss or find someone that wants to help me see what’s there.

Most everything else here was back and forth between the M.O.I and this… C.P.S. there was one image send through and… what the?

I was looking at the image of a cracked stone slab, the images on it depicted a Unicorn, a Griffon, some… bug looking pony, and some… I wanna say large dog or rat? The four of them were surrounded by old Equish texts… but not all of it made sense… some of it looked to be a different language entirely.

“While that’s fascinating...why does looking at those four fill me with unspeakable dread?” I muttered worriedly, even through the picture of the four something about them felt...horribly wrong.

I ejected the drive and began taking it to my Professor, Clockwork. He was a fun unicorn, big poofy brown mane and a silver coat and eyes. He's been my professor ever since I enrolled and shares my love of Wasteland History, but also pre Equestrian history. He wants to know about the exact moments what happened, who did it and most importantly, why they did it.

“Professor?” I called out, knocking on his office door just to have some form of professionality.

"Come in." He replied. Entering I spotted him looking through reports and such. "Hello Plory." He said, eyes still reading the papers. "How goes the Data Drive shipment? Still more office life trivialities?"

“It was, until I found something really interesting.” I said honestly. “It’s about the Ministry of Image trying to stop an excavation to Cinders Creek.” I explained.

"Really? Well they did rewrite not only fictional texts but historical ones too for the war. So, not too surprising. Anything of interest?"

“Besides that ministry gonna use any and all law enforcement to stop Red Hat and the Canterlot Historical Society, there was also ancient writings from Equestrians, Zebras, and even Griffons from what the document said.” I explained.

"Really?" He said, still looking the documents over, though his tone held interest. "Possible mixed tribe and species village? A lost culture definitely sounds of value."

“Then there was the pictures of four specific creatures.” I said honestly. “One was a unicorn, the other a griffon, and the other two...one looked like a bug and the other I couldn’t tell if it was a dog or a rat.” I shrugged.

"Most are up in Hoofington but I'm sure we can scrounge up a little group for help if need be. Firstly though it's best to send a scout to the area to see if it's still there. Who knows what the two hundred years of poison the Whitetail Wood's suffered might have done to these artifacts."

"After Gardens activated only the larger plants retained their poison, the ground should be clear, you can leave the Data here. I will look it over later. For now you head home, it's getting late after all."

“Thanks professor, if it wasn’t for that specific data, and some guy getting caught by his wife, I’d probably be sleeping at my desk...again.” I admitted sheepishly.

He chuckled. "Funny all the drama of pre war Equestria. I'll be seeing you tomorrow Plory."

“Alright, have a nice night professor.” I nodded, leaving his office and yawning. “Gonna need some food first…” I muttered as I closed the door behind me.

Once outside I was flying home. It was hard to believe that Junction Town is such a thriving place when not so long ago it was just a camp set up for mercenaries. Now it's more like a city these days. Gone are most of the old railcar and scrap wood houses and what's here now are proper homes taking the look and pride of the old world, only scrap and boxcar homes around still are in the boonies.

I landed at my apartment window, I have wings I'm not gonna fly in to use the stairs. With a sigh I flew in, closing the window behind me and turned on the lights. To greet me was a few NCR recruitment posters, a bookshelf, a terminal, my bed, and radio. To my left was the kitchen, just a simple stove, table, sink and fridge. Bathroom was the blue door to my right.

I quickly began cooking some Molerat meat and once that was done and eaten sat at my terminal. A nice thing about living in this town is that there's servers up and running, message friends and or listen to music the radio stations won't play. Or, play games even. Most are alright, text based mostly but they're fun enough.

“Nothing like cooked food and a cold beer after a long day of work.” I said warmly, opening up a beer bottle and taking a quick swig. “Thank god people figured out how to get the fridge's working again.”

I chuckled. I loved mom, we weren't related biologically, but she raised me, fed me, named me. It's nice to hear from here every so often, just wish she'd visit more… though I can always visit her. Still, that's quite the flight up to The Hoof.

As I was thinking about the time it would take her package to reach me from The Hoof to Junction Town I couldn't quite shake that feeling when I saw those four creatures.

And lastly some dog rat thing… it didn't look like a Chimera but then again the definition of one is just two animals mixed together, so maybe?

What made them so significant that they were carved into stone like that? Days like this I wish the ancient languages were easier to translate.

“I’d also love to know why the hell they gave me such a terrible feeling…” I groaned, hating how I sometimes just ‘get a bad feeling’ about something and can’t explain it for shit. “Instincts are one thing...but it’s literally just a picture of stone carvings…”

With a sigh I sent a thank you reply to mom and turned my terminal off, flying up and onto my bed. I stared up at the ceiling, recalling the adventures from The Book of Littlepip and Security Mare, then there was the Big 52's Ghost, though even by Wasteland Standards that was a tad far fetched, still, there was lots of testimony and eye witnesses about that one so, can't all be made up.

All the kids grew up reading and hearing about these stories and a lot want that for themselves, so of course so did I. Closest I ever got to that was a ten millimeter pistol mom gave me for my fifteenth birthday. She took me out and I got to shoot some cans and even radroach.

“Those were the days...enjoying life and adventure...only to turn into a damned desk job…” I sighed out bitterly.

I've considered joining as an NCR soldier a few times, but they're not adventures and only elites go out passed NCR territory. Even then most dangerous places are the underground tunnels and even most of those are cleared out.

The next few days were business as usual. Desk, data, useless, useless, ha! I was a bit bothered that Professor Clockwork didn't say anything about the stone slab and all but that usually meant he was looking into it himself, so I kept high hopes.

As I was reading a… less than safe for work message chain between a photographer and his model Professor Clockwork entered my work space. I squaked in surprise and backed out of that immediately. And it was just getting juicy too…

“Oh, you know...just sorting through data.” I said, putting my tail between my legs carefully cause of the rather steamy bits. “What brings you here Professor?”

"I received word back from the scout I sent to investigate this location." He stated simply, adjusting his glasses. "It's there."

I perked up at hearing that. “Really?” I asked, wanting to know more about this archeological find.

He nodded. "His first few digs didn't find much but he found traces of structures and old tools within the ground the more he dug. Even brought this," The professor levitated out the stone carved head of what looked like the tip of a spear. "He didn't dig for much else but what he has found showed incredible promise. I'll be discussing with the committee later today about sending a small team out there with you and myself to archive the artifacts."

“For real!?” I asked in shock. “I get to be apart of the expedition?” I asked giddily.

"My dear, in this day and age most don't focus on the past, their eyes look towards the future and horizons. You are one of the few who actively enjoys learning about the past and of who lived it and how. I'd be an old bastard not to take you along. Of course, that's if the committee approves this." He said, giving me a small smile. "Besides, as my student this provides a perfect learning experience for you. Not too many of those around anymore."

With the professor gone I happily spun around in my chair before opening up those messages again. Now then, what was that mare planning on- Sweet Horny Littlepip that's hot!

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough and when I greeted the professor he greeted me with a smile, duffle bag and pith hat. "Best start packing Miss Plory, we leave in a week." He said. "It's a smaller team than I'd have hoped for, but it's better than nothing."

"Hm." Professor Clockwork laughed. "It will be the first dig for artifacts from ancient Equestria, that's for sure. Here." He said, levitating me over a list of items. "I'll handle food wans camping gear but these supplies will be for you personally, once you have them pack them and any other necessities in your bag and bring it to my office so we can grab them before we leave."

“Sounds good to me professor.” I nodded, taking the list in my claws as I was just so giddy to explore this unknown that people were fighting over.

I took the hat and duffle bag and flew out, checking the list over. Let's see here…

Healing potions ×10
Poison Antidotes ×12
Armor (Your Preference)
Weapon (Gun preferably but up to you)
Ammo (If needed)
Maps of the area.
Notebook.
Pipbuck.

Pipbuck? They don't make Pipbuck for Griffons… well there was a few models made but there aren't a whole lot out there… hmm… maybe I could settle for a replica? They have been making and selling them, granted they're not as good as an actual Pipbuck and far more fragile.

“Well...at least this list is reasonable.” I shrugged. “But besides the Pipbuck..where the hell am I gonna find maps for Cinders Creek?”

Getting the potions and antidotes was easy, armor I went with some basic leather armor, and I still have the gun Mom gave me, so I just stocked up on ammo for it. Got a few of each type and an extra magazine too.

Notebooks was simple enough and now I was looking for maps. I looked around, finding nothing much until I spotted an old book store and it had a pre war almanac of Equestria. Oh thank goodness, Mom did always say my luck was above average.

If you're a Pony getting a Pipbuck is easy, but less so when you're… basically any other race.

A few wanna be Pipbucks have popped up and some aren't too bad, still sucks that I can't get an actual one.

“Alright...which one’s the best for this scenario cause it’s gonna be tough…” I muttered. “Maybe I could get it custom...no, it’ll take more than a week to get a pipbuck custom fitted…”

I walked into a workshop filled with makeshift Pipe Bucks and random helmets from various power armors. The stallion at the desk took notice. "Looking for something specific?" He asked.

“Yeah, I heard you do custom jobs for Pipbucks for other races correct?” I asked.

"We have a few models yeah, most are running down custom OS that works similar to a Pipbuck but not exact. Stupid Stabletec did a damn good job with them, can't even copy the OS from one of their things, but we can simulate it well enough." He said. "Hmm… so, any idea what you're after or what you need?"

“I’m going on an expedition.” I said with a smile. “Gonna explore an old place in Whitetail Woods, so gonna need something durable to handle the trip.”

"Hmm. Weather proof then, probably need EFS and a Geiger counter. How often do you fly?"

“Better question is how often don’t I fly?” I chuckled. “But I fly quite a bit.”

"So light weight and or balanced… I recommend the Scouter MK 9." He said, pointing to what looked like a small set of saddlebags linked to half an old Enclave helmet via some wires. "Built for a Pegasus but a griffon like yourself can wear it too, got EFS and a geiger counter, weather proof and the spark batteries it uses last about a year. Four hundred caps or six hundred NCR bits and she's all yours."

Damn that's pricey. In terms of bottle caps I got about two hundred left and only a hundred NCR bits left.

“Got any odd jobs for me to lower that price?” I asked carefully. “Cause sadly I only have two hundred caps and a hundred NCR bits…”

"Hmm… well, I can knock off two hundred caps if ya don't mind flying a shipment for me. Would benefit you in the long run too."

“What’s the shipment and will it take longer than a week?” I asked curiously.

"It's just to New Appaloosa and back. If you fly it's just a few hours flight. My associates have a new prototype I need to take a look at, help fine tune some glitches and such."

"Good." He said, writing down a quick letter and handing it to me. "That's his address and name, tell him Cheese War sent ya."

"I told ya, a new prototype alternative for Pipbucks. This one is supposed ta focus more on combat applications than just the usual."

“Alright, sorry just...really excited about something coming up for work in a week.” I said sheepishly.

I grabbed the paper and flew off, following the railroad lines to New Appaloosa. After peace and all the rebuilding, New Appaloosa became a major trade hub. Just about every major settlement has a line that links to New Appaloosa. It's iconic boxcar walls was still standing, but they were fortified by concrete and high towers. Though, most of those towers are for flyers like myself.

"State your name and business." The guard asked when I landed in the tower platform.

“I’m Plory, and I’m here to pick up a package.” I answered to the guard.

"Alright, just hit the security gate on your way out too. Got a few chem traffickers lately."

With a nod I flew on inside and found the address on the paper. The building was a heap of scrap metal and electronics from pre war Equestria. Entering I noticed the door was just welded together scraps of metal and broken electronics boards.

"Be there-" Kaboom! "In a minute!" Said a males voice… that shook the building...

Running down the stairs was a mare, her coat was a rust orange and her mane a light brown. She was a unicorn, cutie mark a Pipbuck with a wrench inside the cracked screen. "Ignore that my brother blows up several times a day." She waved off.

“Uh...hi…” I started carefully. “So I’m here to pick up a thing for Cheese War.” I said as I handed Hack the letter.

She looked it over. "Ah, so your heart for the Securepip prototype then." She said. "Program! This one's for you!" She yelled up at the ceiling.

Rushing down the stairs was a stallion of identical color and race to Hack, only his cutie mark was a terminal with the image of a Pipbuck on it. "Greetings, I'm Program. So Cheese War sent ya then?"

"New project, nothing too fancy." He said, levitating a- hey, that actually looks like a Pipbuck. "Behold, the Securitypip!" He said.

“Neat.” I said honestly. “What makes it different from the average Pip?”

"Taking inspiration from the stories of Security and The Lightbringer, this device gives all the combat benefits of the Pipbuck and then some! In theory it will turn even a paralyzed radroach into a deadly force of mutated nature."

"In theory." Hack added. "The finer applications and hardware is all prone to glitches. Hence why we are sending it to Cheese War, he's good as ironing those out."

"It will be, and if it's perfected the NCR and Hoof will both be buying these in bulk for their troopers." Program said. He then floated it into a box and gave it to me. "Say hi to Cheese War for me."

As I headed out and got screened by security my curiosity kept getting the better of me… a Pipbuck that can make anyone who wears it a combat master huh...

“I have to get my claws on one...but I’d rather not experience one of those ‘bugs’ mr explosions back there talked about…” I muttered nervously.

Still… I sighed, patting the box. Maybe when the full version hits the market.

The week went by too slow for me. I spent it archiving data drives as usual but also getting used to my Scouter MK 9. It fit like a smaller version of saddlebags, but more under my wings. It was a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. The helmet fit well enough and looking through the visor I saw radiation levels and EFS so all around behind walls and such I saw dots where creatures were. Cool.

The Professor and I were on the train, with us were two Sand Dogs and a Pegasus guard. The Sand Dogs were, like most, Cyborgs. One was a taller blue furred dog with a robotic eye, left arm and legs. The other, had red fur and had their torso and lower jaw be robotic. The taller one was named Clipper, the other was named Greg.

Our Pegasus guard wore lightweight Pegasus Enclave Combat armor, carrying a saddle mounted plasma rifle. He had pitch black fur and an orange mane. Aside from the Professor he was probably one of the oldest of us. His name was Storm Cloud.

"This is much smaller than I first thought." Professor Clockwork said with a sigh.

"Yes, because we were cheap." Greg the Sand Dog said, chuckling in a high pitched voice.

“Well that sucks.” I frowned. “I was hoping it was more you three are really good at what you do...not that you’re cheap.”

"Nope, we're just cheap." Greg stated bluntly. "We're working for the price of one Sand Dog."

"Again, soly in NCR bits, nothing much else to add there." Storm Cloud said with a shrug. "No offense to your republic, but your money ain't worth as much as a good old fashioned bottle cap."

"None taken." Clockwork said. "What's the exchange rate at these days? Fifty NCR bits for ten caps?"

I sighed a little. NCR is a good place to live, but outside of it our currency isn't worth all that much.

“Alright, so who here knows anything about Cinder’s Creek?” I asked. “Or Whitetail Woods in general?”

"Aside fromit used to be a poisonous death pitt, there's still some mutant critters out there." Storm said. "Mostly some freaky plants, no Killing Joke thankfully, but these fuckers can and will still eat ya. Some Yao Gui last I heard."

"Ghouls as well." Clipper said. "One of the few places feral ghouls still reside. Not as many as there was, but the ones there still contain the poison from before Gardens activated."

“Good to know.” I said nervously. “But it’s better than some other...alternatives.”

"More or less, you have your gun, I have a double barrel, Storm Cloud has that plasma rifle, and the Sand Dogs…" The dogs in question brought up their claws. "Have that. Guess if worst were to happen then we are well armed."

"It's an archeology dig, we will be pulling artifacts out of the ground and recording them. A few have been found already and evidence points to a possible small settlement of a cross race society."

"Yes, many thousands of years before the war, and most likely even before Equestria was even founded."

“It’s really cool but...kind of concerning and I don’t know why.” I mentioned.

"In my experience anything involving old world artifacts is bad news." Storm stated.

"Hm, agreed. Many of the tunnels of The Hoof still contain many abominations of the old world. Especially The Core." Greg said, he and Clipper both shuttering a bit at that. "Destroyed it may have been, but it's ruins and monstrosities still bring death for those who enter."

"Hence why only idiots and the suicidal go in." Storm said. "The few who make it out of there are either at death's door or so paranoid and afraid they get a one way ticket to the mental asylum. If even half of what Security's story is true, The Core's Ruins are living proof."

"Hence why these days it is also completely illegal to enter the area. It's immediate jail time." Greg said.

“Yeah...that would do it.” I said honestly. “So with this, we have seen depictions of a unicorn, griffon, Changeling, and either a chimera or some weird looking Diamond Dog cause neither of us could tell if they were a dog or a rat.”

"Does bird have photo? Maybe we can tell if it is dog or not." Clipper said. The Professor levitated over a printed image if the slab. "Hm… that’s not a normal dog."

"Old Diamond Dog legend, supposedly they were a pack of Diamond Dogs that were cursed, and suffered a terrible hunger, nothing filled their bellies and according to legend they ate themselves into extinction by eating one another."

“Uh...huh…” I nodded. “So...why the hell it would be depicted here if it was either legend or they died out a long ass time ago?”

“And something I’ll help look into.” I nodded. “Cause this is fascinating.”

We arrived at our stop then had to walk the rest of the way. Pulling wagons took us the better part of the day but thankfully using markers the scout from before placed and the maps I found we made it to the site. It was a fair sized clearing with stones that, to an untrained eye were just moss covered rocks but once The Professor and I saw them, we realized these weren't giant rocks, they were once carved stone, time wore down the edges.

"Hm, Even we Sand Dogs can see the worn down work on that stone." Clipper said, sniffing at the stone.

"You might be right…" Professor Clockwork said as he moved some dirt aside with his hoof. "You two can start here, Plory and I will get camp started, Cloud,"

And so we got to work. The Sand Dogs worked especially fast. Storm got the area checked fast and kept a good watch in the sky. Once the tents and equipment was set up we saw that Greg and Clipper dug out maybe half of it already. "Still has writing." Clipper said. "Looks pony."

"Let me see." Professor Clockwork said, sliding down into the pitt and looking at the carved in writing. "Hmm… yes, definitely ancient ponish, and some changeling."

"Not much. Few texts survived the war time about Changelings and old Ponish was already difficult to translate, but I know most of the basics… huh… we might have found something of vast interest, if I'm translating this right."

"This is a… I believe this word is tomb, but then it also states this is a prison."

"Buried alive?" Storm said, flying above us all. "So when you're dead you're already where ya belong."

“But Undead were either not common in the slightest, damn near non-existent from PreWar texts, and Ghouls didn’t appear until after the War.” I pointed out. “So...that begs the question of who the hell they buried alive at this point.”

"Well then, that's the question we need to answer, don't we?" The professor asked, looking over at me with a smile. "Plory, go grab Old Ponish in Modern Tongues Volumes one through four, and help me translate these."

“On it.” I nodded and rushed to find the proper volumes, super excited to learn some old Ponish history.

From stars they fell, rising like the phoenix from their ashes, stood tall and imposing, four creatures of mayonnaise-

I sighed, erasing that part. Old Ponish was a bitch! How many vowels can one word have?!

Still, it was good progress for two days. So far this stone was proving taller than we expected. The Sand Dogs so far unearthed fifteen feet and it still was going.

“So something appeared from the stars, and this massive stone was either fought over or guarded for some reason.” I said honestly.

"How interesting, now can cat bird move her butt, Clipper must reinforce this wall." Clipper said, holding a support beam.

“Sorry.” I said as I moved quickly to give Clipper room for the support beam.

As Clipper reinforced the wall I gave another look at this stone thing and flew up, heading to the research tent where The Professor was going over books. "How goes the translation Plory?" He asked, reading the books over with one of the weapons, a broken spear, in his magic.

“It’s coming along fine enough.” I nodded. “Too bad that this language is a bitch and a half to translate though, but all I know is that these people fell from the sky and are really important.”

He chuckled. "Time and patience Plory, we have enough supplies to last us two months so we have some time. So, mind doing me a favor?"

I yelped, catching the artifact and… woah… for being only a foot long it's heavy, and… what's with these holes here? I looked at the holes, my talons… hmm. I fitted the tips of my talons into the holes. Huh… a damn near perfect fit.

“Huh…” I started. “It’s...close to a perfect fit…” I said. “It’s also really heavy.”

"As I expected." He said, lifting his book and showing me the page. The spear on page was two feet long, one end a spear, the other a small double sided axe. "This might be an ancient Griffon weapon used throughout your species history Plory. This alone provides evidence of your people in the area. Just imagine, your own ancestors walking and flying in this area, and holding that weapon much like you are now."

”The better question would be...why would Griffon’s need a weapon like this here?” I asked nervously.

"According to this it was a common weapon amongst soldiers, the weight allowed for powerful swings with the axe end and the spear allowed for piercing through armor and some shields. Though I can't say what metal it is made of."

“All I know is that, it’s heavy.” I said honestly. “And that still doesn’t explain why it would be here...or now the question is ‘why were soldiers here?’.”

He laughed lightly. "Well, if I were to wager a theory, perhaps this is a battleground? Or a former military encampment? What do you theorize?"

“If this was a prison then it would probably need guards.” I brought up. “But….to have soldiers wear military gear on them? For a prison of all places?”

“But it would also be weird if this is a prison cause there’s history written down here, rather important history if four beings somehow fell from the sky.” I brought up.

"Hmm, perhaps that's inspiration from the Zebras? They do always talk about the stars, typically in a bad light."

“But if Ponies were here then there would have at least been something involving Princess Luna.” I pointed out, scratching my head with my free talon. “Gah! This is so confusing~...” I groaned.

The Professor chuckled. "Unknown history often is. You just need to remember that, even for the times, stories are often given a creative license for the public."

“This certainly doesn’t feel like ‘creative license’ to be honest…” I said nervously.

From stars they fell, rising like the phoenix from their ashes, stood tall and imposing, four creatures of fate.

One, a pony, the unicorn was as pale and white as ash, and his eyes fogged as the dead.

The second, a Changeling, chitin like scales, for its body was a shell hiding the horrors of the sick.

The third, a hound, so starved their skin worn like leather over her bones as no feast could calm the hunger.

Fourth, a Griffon, his feathers shined like crimson moonlight, his eyes and body as red as blood spilled fresh from the body.

“Seriously...this feeling keeps getting worse and worse…” I grumbled, the more I deciphered this ancient text the more this niggling in the back of my mind kept telling me this was a bad idea. “So we have a Necromancer Unicorn, a Bio-Mage Changeling, that Mow Hound thing the others talked about but even worse...and a very pissed griffon.” I started. “The fuck are they hiding here?”

Today marks two weeks we've been at the site. The worst thing to come out of the forest have been some radroaches and a wild mole rat. This tower has been fully dug out, it was twenty feet underground.

Clipper and Greg have definitely been working overtime, on top of this stone pillar we also found some remains. A Griffons talons, pony skull, Diamond Dog legs and, the best part, Changelings exoskeletons. One is just the upper torso, but the other is almost completely intact, missing only the left leg.

The Professor has been studying it since it was dug up. Changelings were believed to have gone extinct during the war and no bodies were ever found, so this is the first in over… well, possibly ever to have been discovered.

"Incredible." Professor Clockwork said as he analyzed the shell with his magic. "Even after death their unique magic is bound to their exoskeletons almost like an enchantment."

“That’s fascinating.” I said in amazement. “Who’d have thought Changeling exoskeleton’s had that kind of magic, even after being buried for a long ass time.”

"Indeed. And it's durability, even after all this time, it's fossilized state is as hard as stone! What an interesting race, it's a travesty they went extinct. Though, part of me wonders how the radiation would have affected them. Doubt they'd be able to eat it, they are emotivores so perhaps they would not have fared well in the era of the Wasteland."

“They could have maybe turned into a creature that can absorb radiation?” I asked. “From what I heard Changelings gained certain attributes from whatever they turn into...at least, the rumors and reports on them.”

"Perhaps, though to be honest I'd rather not have something on par with the Alicorns back in the Wasteland era roaming around that can also shape shift."

“It would both be amazing...and extremely terrifying at the same time.” I said honestly.

"Heh, definitely. I'll have to send word to the museum, this find needs researched and set up for display."

“Yes it does.” I nodded. “Cause this is turning out to be a find of the century at this point.”

"Hey, Professor." Storm said as he flew in. "Sand Dogs said they found something."

The Professor and I exchanged glances and we ran off to the pit. Once the pillar was unearthed the Sand Dogs began working on tunnels to find more artifacts. Sliding down the ladder we arrived in the tunnels and followed the lanterns until we spotted Clipper and Greg. The two stood before what looked like a stone wall… no, no, not a stone wall, a stone door. On this door were the images from the slab. The hound, The unicorn, The Changeling, and The Griffon.

“I…” I started. “Professor...I don’t like this…” I said, my instincts somehow telling me that this was not a good place and we need to leave.

“I don’t know...and it keeps bugging the hell out of me.” I frowned. “Just my instincts or something telling me we shouldn’t be here...especially with this door here.”

"Doubt we can even get in, whatever this door is made of broke my claws." Greg said, showing us his broken and slightly bleeding claws. "Looks like stone, smells like stone, but hard like metal."

“Well...that’s good to know.” I nodded. “Whoever wanted this door made, sure as shit didn’t want anyone to open it.”

"Hmm…" The Professor hummed, using magic on the door. "It's… a steel mithril alloy? This type of metal infusion didn't exist until Power Armor was invented."

"If it's like power armor then only a Hell Hound can cut through it. Sand Dog claws are tough but not that tough."

“So someone really didn’t want this door opened.” I said honestly. “Now the questions are who made effectively prehistoric power armor as a goddamn door...and what the hell is it keeping hidden?”

Clipper sniffed the door, growling. "Clipper smells something…" The Sand Dog growled. "Clipper smells rot…"

“We need to leave…” I started. “Cause...that Changeling from the myth…” I started carefully.

From stars they fell, rising like the phoenix from their ashes, stood tall and imposing, four creatures of fate.

One, a pony, the unicorn was as pale and white as ash, and his eyes fogged as the dead.

The second, a Changeling, chitin like scales, for its body was a shell hiding the horrors of the sick.

The third, a hound, so starved their skin worn like leather over her bones as no feast could calm the hunger.

Fourth, a Griffon, his feathers shined like crimson moonlight, his eyes and body as red as blood spilled fresh from the body.

When the four walked the dirt, began the final days for life, and the beginning of a rebirth. So said the four.

“Huh?” I shook my head slightly and looked around, wondering who said something.

“Five more minutes…” I grumbled. “We might have accidentally summoned the end of the world...at least let me sleep through it…”

“And...what’ll happen if I do that?” I asked carefully. “And who are you people?”

That was one thing I legitimately didn’t want to hear. “Alright...you three will answer my second question later.” I started to get up. “How do I bring it down?”

I got up, maybe… I dug through the supplies, finding a fire axe and… wait… I looked back over, looking for… where's Professor Clockwork?

I quickly grabbed my Scouter MK 9 and set up the EFS. Okay, So according to this Clipper and Greg are still in their tent… I don't see any other dots…

I looked outside, towards the dig site tunnel. One dot… where's… please no...

“Where’s Professor and Storm?” I said worriedly as I ran off towards where the dot was.

I flew down the hole, into the tunnel and turning my flashlight on. Still one…

Blood… there was a lot of it. Along the floor and the walls, splattered like paint.

I've seen blood before. In cuts and wounds. I've seen photos of the horrors the Wasteland Era bred… to see it in reality, I felt a terror in my core I've never experienced before. Like a waking nightmare…

“Sweet Celestia…” I muttered in horror, trying to find either the Professor or Storm as fast as I could before it was too late.

I rushed to the doors, the blood leading the way like a morbid trail as I reached… Storm, a knife in his teeth as The Professor was bleeding out against the door. "Ah… almost too late…" The Professor spoke, his voice was… deeper though, commanding and fearful.

Storm gave a quick glance at me. "Best get outta here little birdy, dunno what's up with your teacher but I know trouble when I see it." He said. I noticed Storm's plasma rifle was broken along the tubes.

“We need to bring this entire place down, now.” I said quickly. “We need to keep… them sealed.” I said carefully, thinking War was the only one of the four in the ancient texts that would cause this much blood shed.

"Hehehehe. Oh to hear my name again, how I've dreamed of it. It's been so long."

"So the fuck are you? And the fuck did you to with the egg head's body?" Storm asked.

"The weak willed, so easily influenced. Promises of grand fame and discovery were all it took."

“We need to get out of here and get this place buried six feet under now!” I snapped at Storm. “Ancient being, probably helped end the world during the War, we need to get out and seal this place now!”

The Professor's body fell over, their pooled blood began crawling up the door, forming the image of a lock as suddenly gears began to turn somewhere…

The door slid into the ground with a rumble. Inside behind it was a cool breeze… my flashlight shined inside a little… so, so many… bones.

Even though the massive door was opened and I just knew a ton of bad shit was about to happen, I couldn’t help but move over to the professor quickly, looking over his broken corpse and seeing what Storm had to do to stop War possessing him.

I've seen photos of the dead, but… I've never seen death, or someone die in front of me, let alone… someone I know, and care about… A part of me was… missing now, as I felt tears starting to fall I heard and saw Storm start to walk inside.

“Wh-where are you going?” I asked Storm, sniffling as I tried to comprehend the loss of my mentor...my friend.

"Whatever the fuck happened to your friend, it's in here right? Well, I got a knife, and you still have that shooter. If anything has been locked up in here for as long as y'all say, Then it ain't doing so hot I'd imagine."

“They told me...they want to be sealed forever...and they're doing their best to keep the problem child contained…” I started. “The Pillars texts...say they are the Bringer’s of the Apocalypse…”

"Welp if you're hearing voices then stay there and I'll take care of it." He huffed, heading deeper inside the chamber.

“God damn it…” I groaned as I got up. “Don’t worry Professor...I’ll make this right…” I said softly as I followed after Storm before he did something dumb. “We should also message Greg and Clipper about this as well.”

"Sure about that?" He asked, his chest flashlight shining on the clear remains of Diamond Dogs, one decapitated with the axe still between the head and shoulders, the other with a spear jammed through its skull and into the stone under us. "Something tells me they weren't fighting each other…"

“From what records I’ve read up on, Diamond Dogs are actually really difficult to kill...but this…” I shook my head, trying to fight back the bile at all the death that’s been here for possibly centuries and what could have caused all of this.

"Yeah, Hellhounds clearly show it. Still, look at the positions, majority of them are still in either fighting or defensive stances… whatever killed them was a powerful critter, killed them with little effort at all… huh…" Storm stopped, taking a look at the axe. He used his wings, dusting it off as it's metal shined clear and clean like… moonlight…

Hang on! I zipped over to it, tapping it and hearing a hum that… sweet bloody Blackjack! This is Star Metal!

“That’s why Greg and Clipper said it smelled and felt like stone, this is Star Metal!” I squawked in surprise.

“Yeah…” I said nervously. “This...god’s almighty this is getting worse and worse.”

"Wait…" Storm said, picking up a nearby sword, I looked… Star Metal. I picked up a Crossbow Bolt… the tip is Star metal… every weapon in this room is star metal?!

“Where and how is there this much star metal!?” I asked incredulously. “I know the four here came from space...somehow, but there shouldn’t be this much Star Metal, especially in one place…”

"So, if those stories are true… this stuff can probably hurt them…" Storm said, keeping the sword. "Good to know."

“That’s if all the stories are true.” I pointed out. “This isn’t going to be good…” I muttered, as I picked up an axe.

As we walked down the chamber there was other doors. We opened one and… yeah that's a coffin… big… star metal coffin… "So, do we?"

“Death, Famine, Pestilence, and War.” I started. “You four fell from the sky to the world and brought about Apocalypse...none of you were sexy, even from the pictures.”

"I told that asshole it needed to be realistic!" They yelled. "I'm Pestilence. Nice to meet you, now can you get me out cause given the door opened we have about… I'd say maybe ten minutes before war breaks out so, either face my big brother alone or let me and my other two siblings out and have a half a percentage chance of victory."

"I'm not that good at math but even I know those are terrible odds…" Storm said.

“It’s better than nothing.” I said honestly. “And you promise not to end the world when we do this right?” I asked, putting my talons on one side of the coffin lid.

"If I wanted to end the world when I got here we wouldn't be having this conversation would we?" Pestilence snarked.

Once I did… a small gnat fly flew out and landed on my break. "Few, that was stuffy."

"Hey! That's the form I usually take. I've been out for so long I reverted back to my base form. Just give me a moment… oh and you two might wanna step against the wall for this." Pestilence said as he got off my beak.

Storm and I looked at one another and went to the wall… where shortly a small army of radroaches and rats flowed into the room, piling up onto one another and melting into grotesque shapes and forms up and around Pestilence until it formed something akin to a pony shape, and soon the finer details filled out as now, they looked like a Changeling, a Changeling with scales but a Changeling still. "Ah, yeah, that's more like it." They said, stretching their new… body.

“Same here…” I agreed. “So anyways...your Pestilence...the one that brings great diseases to anything and everything just from the definition of your name.”

"Oh if that archiver wasn't dead already…" Pestilence growled. "Oh sure, focus only on the bad aspects of my existence… fucking prick, he's just pissed I slept with his wife! And daughters! And sons!"

"... If this is a dream, wake me the fuck up now." Storm groaned as they rubbed their head.

“Same here…” I shook my head. “So anyways, where are your siblings? We need to move fast.”

"Oh, across the hall is Famine." Pestilence pointed. "Just shake some food over her if she won't wake up."

We went over to Famine's room. It was full of… dried plants and boxes of… I think that's… wine bottles? Storm lifted the coffin lid, and inside was… A dried up withered flower.

“How the hell is this famine?” I frowned. “Uh, fine…” I grumbled as I moved over and brought out a thing of beef jerky I was saving. “Alright you, time to wake up. Shit’s going sideways.” I said as I dangled the piece of meat over the flower.

One second I had my talons waving jerky over them… the next, the head of a massive long nosed jumped out, biting the meat… and my hand. My mind had to process before the pain hit me as I jumped back, blood spewing onto the dog as I started screaming. Storm worked fast, upping a Med-X into me and rapidly tying my stump up.

Famine looked down at me, her eyes pitch black. She just chewed, looking a bit Awkwardly at me and finally, she swallowed. "Heh… so, type B-?" She asked

“And I’m getting a robo hand.” I growled. “And yes, that’s my blood type, thanks a lot for handicapping me from helping more.”

"Heh… normally it's one of my siblings who does that and they just regrow it." She said shyly. "Uh… so, you're that one we messaged… sorry about the arm…"

"You have zero self control…" Pestilence said as he walked inside. "So, I can help here but you definitely won't like it."

“If it’ll help us with what’s to come, I’ll try to stomach it as best I can.” I said honestly.

I broke it immediately and nearly choked, hacking as I felt… whatever that was moving and… ahh!

"Oh relax it's just a symbiote parasite that will replace her heart and feed off some of her blood in exchange for accelerating her healing and some other crap." Pestilence replied.

Everything got real quiet and real… dark for a minute and suddenly, it all became clear again as I sat up, feeling sore and- ah!

I looked at my new talons. Gone were the usual hide and claws, and now it was a pale fleshy skin leading to a set of metallic looking talons.

"What? You got your arm back. Better even." Pestilence stated. His head was then bitten off by Famine.

"You fucking bitch…" His mouth, once that was back, spoke as soon the rest of it came back.

"By that we mean unless you wanna be a zombie and have a parasite heart, best keep some distance." Famine said.

"So does your job cover mental health? Something is telling me you're going to need a lot of therapy…" Storm said as we walked behind Pestilence and Famine.

"Nope, but that's why I'm planning a trip to the Sheetland Isles where my sister brews everything from beer to moonshine."

“If I can still feel alcohol...I’m gonna need to tag along with you cause...I need a powerful drink…” I sighed out.

“Well...it’s something.” I said, putting a hand to my chest. “Gonna take a while to uh...learn that I’m not gonna die anytime soon because of it but...eh.”

“I can feel it writhing sometimes and it feels really fucking weird.” I said sheepishly.

"I don't even wanna imagine it… though it does raise a few questions, especially regarding what Pestilence said earlier."

“That there’s a whole lot more to what that ancient stone had to say about these four?” I asked.

"Well, remember when he was ranting on about some Archiver being pissed? I have a feeling that the whole End of The World thing, ain't the only thing they do. I mean, if killing is all they do, you and I shouldn't be alive right?"

“That’s what Pestilence said.” I said honestly. “Which seems...really weird.”

"It's definitely strange. Still, I did not expect… this," He waved a wing at Famine and Pestilence. "From beings capable of destroying the world."

Death's room was… different. Rather than a normal coffin like Pestilence and Famine, this one was set up almost like a bed, the lid open as what looked to be a rib bone of some Creature rested atop the ancient pillows. "There's our big brother." Pestilence said.

Pestilence walked on over to the night stand, taking out a single small music box. After winding it up he placed it down and it let out a small melody.

The melody it played was… sad. It kept rushing my thoughts back to Professor Clockwork… Mom… I felt tears forming and rubbed them out.

It wasn't just me. Storm was rubbing some out too, even Pestilence and Famine were.

When it finally ended, the rib bone vibrated, suddenly growing more bone along itself until a whole skeleton a unicorn was formed, then, as it watching decay work backwards, I watched as dried and mummified flesh grew back onto the bones, then grow bloated and rotten and recede back into that of a normal unicorn body.

The pillar was right, Death was ash grey and pale, with fogged eyes you'd see on the dead. He sat up, taking the music box in his pitch black magic and holding it for a time before putting it back in the nightstand drawer. "This is not going to end well." Death said, his gravelly voice heavy and tired.

“I’m sorry…” I sighed out. “No wonder why the Ministry of Image was so adamant…”

"I doubt they even knew…" Death sighed. "Come now, War should be up by already, and his chains won't hold him for long."

"It is our vessel, you would know it as… ah fuck what was the word…" Pestilence sighed.

“A spaceship!?!” I asked in absolute surprise. “How? The text said you four just...kinda fell out of the sky one day to bring about the end of the world.”

"Creative license." Famine said. "I mean, what sounds better to you? Four stars fell from the sky or one giant thing crashed and made a big as hole in the ground?"

"Let's just say that before we crashed here on your planet we actually had jobs before." Pestilence stated.

“And what would your jobs be that would need your...specific names and all this Star Metal?” I inquired.

"We were soldiers, and leave it at that." Death said as we arrived at… an elevator? We got in and he pushed a button with a symbol on it I can only assume is sixty and now we just waited.

“So...what caused you to crash land on our irradiated planet?” I asked curiously.

"Well, when we crashed it wasn't irradiated." Famine said. "Your war happened about… seven thousand years after we crashed and two thousand years after we locked ourselves inside here to keep War at bay."

"How do you even know about that if you've been locked in here the whole time?" Storm asked.

"It's kinda like… radio I guess. When we're in hibernation we can pick up the brainwaves of other living creatures. It's not perfect but we can hear enough." Pestilence said.

“Sounds...simple enough.” I said honestly. “But...what are you four? Cause you may look like native species to this world...god that’s gonna take some getting used to.” I sighed out, thinking how much bigger everything gotten now that I’m talking to literal aliens.

“Any knowledge is better than nothing.” I said honestly, and even though I should be super excited about learning something from thousands of years ago...it feels robbed now that the professor is dead.

Death sighed. "Well, as you know we don't come from this world. Our home is known as Eden, the first planet to grow life. By the time your planet cooled enough to hold water, our people were already expanding to other worlds for resources and colonization."

“But...wait...then why do you four look like natives to Equis?” I asked curiously. “I mean...right now at least.”

"Right, well while our species thrived, we forgot about a single issue… our sun was starting to die. We packed up and left, and watched as our sun died, exploding in a fiery blast that obliterated our Homeworld. If it ended there, it would have been a happy ending…"

“But then you came here and one of you decided ‘let’s conquer this place or destroy everything’?” I asked.

"Hardly." Death sighed. "We had expected the sun to destroy our Homeworld and reduce it to dust… but our planet had one last gift of life to birth. You see, everything living has a soul, and even some objects can grow one, or gain something close to a soul. Planets are considered living things. When the sun exploded, our planet refused death."

"It ate the sun, the energy and soul of our star and it devoured and then began to mutate. Emerging from the fires, a new race was born. We called them Demons. Fast growing, fast breeding and highly adaptable and violent." Famine stated.

"Yes and no." Pestilence stated. "More like… half demons. We were just… left behind when everyone else evacuated."

"I'm a rib because I was a corpse. Pestilence is a fly because that's what he was, a fly. And Famine was a wilting flower, starved for light and water." Death said, the other two nodding.

"I hear that." Pestilence said, lifting a hoof for a bump. I gave him a slow bump back. "Yes!"

"We emerged and, at first, we were no different than the others. We killed, invaded, and slaughtered planets… then we were captured." Death said as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. We walked out and down the hall. "While we were captured we were shown the value of the life we were mindlessly killing. It's how I discovered music, Pestilence discovered sex, and how Famine discovered food."

“It’s really concerning when Pestilence discovered sex...and ironic that Famine discovered food.” I started.

"Well, before I ate everything raw and bloody… like your hand…" Famine said, whistling at that awkwardness.

"He took longer but found something he admired about life. Evolution and progression. He found it fascinating how different species evolved or developed technology to combat threats and overcome obstacles. Of course he learned this was accelerated in times of crisis." Death said.

"And so he went about causing them to force people to evolve either organically or technology wise." Storm said. We all gave the Pegasus a look. "What, I'm a mercenary, not stupid."

“And that’s why we hired you.” I nodded. “So instead of seeing advancements through time and effort, he immediately just went straight to War?”

"He found out that wars bring out the best and fastest technological and biological evolutions a race can undergo." Death stated. "At first it was small things, nothing too major… but he wanted it faster and more rapid… so he contacted the demons. Suddenly, he began focusing only on them, they were evolving as he wanted how he wanted… soon, he began using other worlds to help evolve the demons into the ultimate life forms."

“That is outlandishly terrible… and pretty outlandishly boring for him when he got ‘ultimate life forms’.” I said honestly. “Like...he’s got the ultimate life form...he can’t go anywhere else after that.”

"Which is why when they are as he desires he wants to slaughter them all into extinction then start again." Pestilence said.

“And how could he when their the ultimate life form?” I asked. “At least in stories the ‘ultimate life form’ is practically invincible.”

"In all our lives, we've yet to come across something that can kill us." Death stated simply. "Stun us, sure, trap us, yeah, but never kill."

We arrived in what definitely looked like a prison. Cells made from star metal and energy lined along the walls. In the far back, I finally saw him. He was taller than me, by about two feet, his feathers looked almost freshly soaked in blood as his beak and claws shined like star metal. "Welp, it's a family reunion." War chuckled. "Makes me wish I brought something."

"Hehehehe, oh don't worry, if you can out progress my demons then your world won't end." War said.

“This doesn’t sound like ‘progress’.” I frowned. “This sounds like mindless bloodshed for shits and giggles. And I should know, I’m a historian.”

He chuckled. "You know, the usual. Make a base camp, bring the demons here, and once they are, start the chess game."

“My point was that what you're doing isn’t ‘progress’, it’s mindless violence for shit’s and giggles.” I frowned.

"No better villain than mindless monsters, right? Plory, isn't it?" He asked, catching me off guard. "Oh your professor's memories were so parental about you. Such an innocent little Birdy with dreams of adventure and heroism, like a child playing pretend."

“Don’t you dare desecrate his memories.” I growled, grabbing my Star Metal axe.

"Oh but little birdy, once I'm free, you can finally be just like your heroes. Of course, many will die, but hey, then you really will be just like them."

“We’re already trying to fix ourselves after a war that nearly destroyed this entire planet, back off War.” I growled.

"Ah, and there it is. Nearly destroyed. Now, imagine when I get out of here and start one. No creature on this planet surface and underground will survive. Unless, of course, my siblings finally get off their asses and help. After all, you've already got one of Pestilence's little insects pumping blood where your heart used to be. What's several more to even the battleground."

“That this isn’t natural? That this is just the thought of some insane mad griffon that thinks he knows better?” I asked. “I guess I was wrong, you are as dumb as a brick.”

"Hm, maybe, but I'm still smart enough to know how to stall." War said, suddenly winking out in a flash of light. All that was where war was, was a small metals and glass device.

“Whoa whoa whoa hold up!” I ran in front of the three, a whole lot faster than I realized. “You’re just gonna...go off and do whatever when War is currently threatening to destroy what little there is of this planet?”

"Even if we wanted to, it's not like we can track him, and until he makes his move it's like looking for dust in a dessert." Famine said.

“God damn it…” I groaned. “Fine...can you at least tell me what this bug symbiote does? Cause it writhes and makes me feel stupidly uncomfortable.”

"Well, as you can see it's replaced your heart entirely and can replace limbs of yours if lost, but they're limbs are replacements so they are not yours. Only thing of yours In them Is your blood." Pestilence said.

"Well over time it will evolve and mutate you based on what you go through, eat and experience and I can Insert more into you orally, analy, or vaginal." Pestilence said, giving me a wink.

“Let’s not…” I started. “Like...ever cause seriously that...was not a good feeling.”

“That aside, you can explore our ship if you wish." Death said. "And best go wake up your two associates above, pretty sure they should know about this."

“I hope I can get drunk after this…” I groaned. “But yeah...we should let Greg and Clipper know.”

Parasitic Heart: A parasite not resides within your chest after it are your heart, it will keep you alive in turn for feeding off your blood. You will however, change and mutate over time until you are not even in your own body anymore.

Fallout Equestria: Apocalypse

by BioQuillFiction

The Find