Fallout Equestria: Alphabet soup

by Doomande

The day the bombs fell: All-consuming by Jamin P Rose

All-consuming. That was my first thought when I oversaw the first test of offensive megaspells. All-consuming—earth scorching—destruction. We'd past the point of no return, and were barreling down the tracks at full speed ahead, we just didn't know it. We marveled at the power we now possessed, and we believed we could win. What fun it was to learn that the zebras now had megaspell technology and were building their own superweapons. Some scoffed and said they would never match ours, they're probably ash now or will be soon.

Watching green necromantic fire of a balefire bomb rushing at you is all-consuming. The worst part is the sound of the explosion, the eldritch scream as it activates, like a daemon ripping into the world from Tartarus. That may very well be what's happening for all I know, zebra shamanism is weird and hard to make sense of.

The scorching wave of death sweeping across the land consumes the city I call home. I have no doubt that when those in the stables immerge, they will find the broken husks of our civilization. I pray that my sister has made it into her stable, a bright mind like hers deserves to survive and help guide the generations that will shape our future. I know I won't live to see that future, but I'm fine with that. The roar of the necromantic fire is getting louder as it sweeps towards the hill I'm standing on. What a day to take a walk in the park at the edge of town.

My only regret is that I don't get to say goodby to the rest of my family. My dad, a smart stallio and genius when it came to studying zebra drugs. My wife, the most beautiful mare I've ever seen and the best singer in the city. My daughter, just starting first grade and already great at math. We had our places in a stable, and I made sure they were ready to go in case the worst happened. I hope they made it, but…

I exhale as the fire sweeps over me, and I feel the end coming. Darkness takes me and I accept my fate. The world's gone, hope's gone, war is all-consuming. Darkness is my new reality, and I am plagued by horrers, fears, nightmares. In time that too fades and I am surrounded by my family, happy and safe even in the pitchblack. Time rolls on, and even that fades until I'm alone in the darkness, but I rebuff it. I don't let this darkness be all-consuming. I light my horn and fight back against the Tartarus I find myself in and my eyes crack open.

The sky is dark and cloudy above me, like a rainstorm blew in off of the Luna Ocean. I stare up at it for what feels like an eternity as my mind reels. I'm alive, but how? What happened to my family? Did anypony survive this? What about the city? All these questions and more burn in my mind until I quiet them and make a plan. I look around at the scorched world around me, my eyes sweeping over the ruined husk of the park. I roll over onto my hooves, stand, and see the truth. The city is but a husk of its former self. Scorched and broken buildings litter the land, some suffered less than others, but everything was damaged.

Looking around me, hammers it home. The world was consumed in fire, and all that remains is a blasted hellscape. War truly is all-consuming.

Author's Note:

By Jamin P Rose