• Published 21st Oct 2012
  • 1,163 Views, 9 Comments

Fallout Equestria : New Bridle : High Kingdom - RoyrenRoxx



Two wasteland survivors head South to a fallen ex-Equestria city, setting off a chain of unpleasant events as they unearth two hundred year's worth of post-War mysteries.

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Prologue; Their Labors are to Build a Heaven

“They claim their labours are to build a heaven, yet
their heaven is populated with horrors.”

-Alan Moore, Watchmen

PROLOGUE

Year 190: The room is as I remember it. A single hanging lightbulb keeps the tiny chamber darkly lit, metal stairs leading to unadorned dirt flooring. The only furniture in the room is an ancient table standing on three legs; on it is the secret. An old time-weathered piece keeps the secret, a machine clasped together with rusted metal with dented speakers and dusty film. I let the phonograph play, and the log begins with a storm of static, the murmur of something in the distance buried in the background. A voice cuts through the static, the deep sound of a stallion far beyond his youthful years. He's determined, and it shows in the way he beats back the miscellaneous noises in order to make himself heard. If I were to face him in real life, no doubt he would have been deafeningly loud. But on this small device, it’s a surprise that I can hear him at all.

"Listen well," he commands through the static storm, "This is the only time you will hear my voice.”

It would be hard not to obey.

"Once upon a time, we lived in the sky. We were pegasi that never set a hoof on the ground, held in our cloud city with clear blue sky. When war wrecked the mortal Equestia below, we sought not to grace the lands ever again with our presence. We were the very image of contempt, so aloof in our thrones high above all the suffering found below. Even when a thousand heads cried to our kingdom for aid, for ascendance into our city, for the safety our sanctums granted us, we never once looked past our hooves and onto the ground below. And we lived without giving a second thought to the dead that piled below, - zzzzt - ravaged - zzt - remains. They didn’t affect us, so we didn’t care.

"Our people lived in the glorious inventions of their predecessors, with things the earthen below only dreamed of. We slept in beds of clean cotton sheets, ate warm food at any hour of the day. We needed not books to keep records, for our vast terminals held more data than a pony could dream of. Little ailed us, with medicine that cured most diseases that would otherwise be lethal, using -zzzt - research - zzzzzt - repaired - zt - cybernetics. And when our wrath had been provoked, when something below began to cause trouble, we executed it with fire that rained from the sky - zzzt - satellite - zzzt - plasma - zzt - pain to those whom our judgement deemed as condemned. Even when Equestria had fully fallen to Tartarus, our lives changed little, to best cope in providing us the comforts of our sin. No one could reach us so high, so we sat smug in our towers that were lit even through the night, ignoring the world in eternal dark below. We had plenty enough, but nothing we would spare. And for that, punishment came.”

I can almost hear a grinding of teeth, but it could just be static. Very angry static.

"Of Gluttony, of Pride, of Wrath and all the rest of our vices," the stallion picks up in speed, filling the recording with fervor, "... we were smote from the Heavens in recompense for our ignorance to those below. Banshees filled the skies that had otherwise been silent, filling what was once blue with white gray. They circled our city, denying us free roam of the sky. Those who did not hide from the ghosts’ chills found no hospitality outside - zzt - those that did hide, no matter where they were, frost crept under their doors, to rooms that the wind hadn't already broken into - zzt - ponies - zzzt - bitterly iced ends. It was all payment - zzt - price of a hundred year sin - zzt - damnation from Celestia herself. No one knew what to do; the frozen horrors were coming down on us as if we were simpletons on the ground, not pegasi living above the clouds. Over - zzt - left dead, and - zzt - dying.

"The ghosts came from the domes of the sky, wails filling the winds until the sky was nothing but clouds. They cursed us with beds made with sheets of snow, with food so frozen our stomachs froze with it. Sickness that once could be purged from our bodies began to settle in our souls, driving madness - zzzt - sanity had firm hold. And from the sky came hail, muffling our cries with whistles and bruising thumps. In the disaster, revelation desired to be dawned, but nopony wanted to heed it - zt - locking their doors and not even allowing one another in. And as I stood in what was now a barren cloudscape, - zzzt - windows barred - zzzt - souls cowering behind upturned tables, I finally turned my ears to listen to what Celestia had sent to us. What she had wanted from us; the lesson we were to learn. And I heard revelation - zzt - fog that settled in our streets. We were already doomed with our taint, unable to feel joy after witnessing the destruction of our home. But, our children were not. They could be spared.

"Many inhabitants - zzt - sky city refused to come to reason and realize that the truth - zzt - our ugly hearts - zzzzt - plague - zzt - winter ghosts. That by turning down those who cried for help before, we had called for evil spirits to enter our homes. They believed - zzzt - exempt from suffering, that in time perhaps the ghosts would wander off and allow them peace. In my revelations, I had seen what had to be done. Not waiting with head held in hooves, but action. I gathered only the most unadulterated of heart I could find, for only a flock of the youngest remaining could I consider salvageable. And only the saved could be - zzzt - own teeth - zzt - tear their wings off.

"Upon the white ground I had fallen, accompanied by - zzzt - chosen few who were willing to sacrifice - zzzt - for their lives. It appeared - zzzt - certain death, landing upon featureless snow with nothing but a wingless body. Never in our lives had we been on the ground - zzt - alone - zzt - without the sky to look for escape.” He’s fighting the static now, his speech trying to overcome the intermittent buzzes, “And we wandered, seeking salvation in a world that perhaps no one in their right mind would have searched. But we found a home in the endless white, and with our hearts finally settling in the valleys, we - zzt - became part of the world below - zzzzt - learned serenity and harmony again - zzzt - away from all the things that we once thought held the promise of happiness. In our humbled state - zzzt - cherish the small things. And we learned to love again. Though we were never cured of our past flaws, our children will never have to suffer from them. Our children - zzzt - most important thing we had left - zzzt - still are."

For a moment, it sounds like the recording has stopped. The pause is long, the speaker preparing to speak of his true purpose. When his voice returns again, the fervor is gone from his voice. It is replaced by genuine care.

"You... you are our children. Before you have been the sinners of the decadent sky cities - zzzt - punished but have paid dearly to spare you - zzt - have lived a life without the agony of your forefathers and mothers - zzzzzzt -spared from the evil and the spirits - zzzt - fed from them. If you hear of my message - zt zzzt - been entrusted - zzzt - future of your kind. And I ask of you to spare - zzzt - your children as we have spared you. Heed - zzzt - message carefully. It is - zzt - utmost importance.

"With every filly, it is mandated - zzzt zt - wings be torn off before they can remember, and - zzzt - every child without exception - zzzzt - cannot be allowed to fly as we did once ago, for in flight comes pride. They are not to be taught of - zzzt - outside the valleys, in the case that curiosity lulls them to lust after modernism that ruins their innocence. - Zzzt - not to know of technology, lest their humble ways be maimed by the sloth it allows. Their lives must be - zzzt - spartan modesty, without any form of extravagance, to ward off the gluttony that causes unhealthy want. No thing shall ever belong to a single pony, but shared by all, so that envy has no hold in material existence. No form of currency is allowed, for it is a prime staple of greed. In weaponry, only the few must be taught the bare essentials; the rest must be shown how to never be seen, so if wrath is incurred, it cannot be carried out with efficiency...”

The list goes on, but is terribly shattered by noise. Small words mentioning strict law codes, prayers, diets, survival, escape the static, but the rest is lost. Eventually, the static clears again, and I can hear the stallion once more.

"Let there be no exceptions to the rules, for only through strict adherence will you ensure that future generations - zzt - saved - zzzt - corruption that ruined those of old. Only through our abstinence can we ensure the survival of those to come. By resisting our vices, we make room for only good. And that is what you are; the fruits of a wasteland long abandoned, the gems of a ruined world that still bring beauty. You - zzt - goodness - zzt - world ruined by hatred. You must - zzt - ...stay... - zzzt - ...from... - zzt - the..."

The message continues, but becomes incomprehensible. Too many words are lost to static, leaving the spare few without meaning.

"... highest of ... - zzt - ... kingdoms ..."

And with that, the machine turns off, and leaves me with silence.


Footnote:
Character Created:

High Kingdom

Prancesylvanian Pegasus

Traits Gained!

I was Raised Better than This: Don't say your parents didn't teach you, because they damn well did. You have a +3 bonus in 5 traits of your choosing, no bonus in 4 traits of your choosing, and a -3 in the remaining.

One-Winged Pegasi (Prancesylvanian): You’ve got all the advantages of being a pegasi, with one drawback; you can’t fly on your own. All pegasi-specific items can be used and equipped, as long as you meet all requirements other than being a pegasi. Because you’re Prancesylvanian, you only have a single wing (choose left or right), but your wing is considered a larger appendage with more health than a normal Pegasus’ wing. If damage hits a wing that doesn't exist, take torso damage.