Fallout Equestria : Steel Rain

by Midnight_Rain

Encounter

Encounter

The loss of someone close can have a huge effect on your heart but you find new friends in the unlikeliest places.

I sat there staring at the book in my hooves. Looking at one picture in particular, it was one of me and my younger brother. This picture was all I have left of my family; tears started rolling down my face the longer I stared at the picture. Ghost noticed this and walked over to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder. I looked at her with tear filled eyes all she said was,

“Gunner everything will be okay you are not alone were here for you.”
I nodded and slipped the book into my saddlebags when I heard the voice come back and say.

“Gunner thou must not let memories of thy past cloud the judgment of thy present.”

“Shut up your crazy… I’m thinking of what to do now.” I responded venomously back at the voice when it came back it sounded hurt.

“We understand your pain, But thy must let go of the pain for it shall be your demise.” When it finished the voice stayed quiet.
After awhile I looked over at the ponies I have come to know as my family. I shifted my gaze on to Backblast, the pony I had known since birth everyday we were together we spent it trying to get our cutiemarks. Then one day we were playing in the old abandoned mine outside our hometown. Blast and I had found some dynamite in a box and decided to see what it did so we ran down the shafts. While running down one shaft a glint had caught my eye. I stopped blast and showed him. He had a huge smile on his face when we lit the stick and ran back down the shaft. We stopped a few hundred yards away and watch the fuse slowly burn down and disappear into the stick. When it went off the explosion scared the hell out of us, when I looked over to see if blast was okay my eyes were drawn to the mark on his flank. It was a stick of dynamite exploding. When I told him about it he pointed at my flank and said mine was there as well. Confused I looked back and sure enough it was there, a small star about the size of a bit. To this day it still confuses me.

My gaze then shifted over to the two mares that me and blast had met in basic training. I looked closer at Longeye who was sitting next to Ghost laughing and smiling at some of the pictures Long kept with her.
When I first met Longeye she didn’t strike me as a fighter. Boy was I wrong that little mare was quick on her hooves. We met on the sparring circle it took her less than a minute to put me in a world of hurt. Every buck and every punch was either countered or blocked. After the match was over she came over and we started talking about each other and became good friends. We were talking one day when I asked about her cutiemark. She told me she got it when she had used her dad’s old rifle to kill some timberwolves. When her dad found her she was asleep and snoring with the rifle held in her hooves. When she woke up she looked at her flank and seen her mark, A crosshairs over a target.

I looked at Ghost the timid little mare who I have come to see as my little sister.
When I met ghost she was sitting alone just staring at the sky with a sweet smile. I don’t know what it was about that little mare that made me walk over and talk to her. When I walked up and said hello she jumped and squeaked hiding behind her mane. I felt my heart skip a beat when I looked into those smoke colored eyes. I sat there with a smile and told her I was just there to talk to her. She peeked out from behind her mane a little farther and asked me if I was going to hurt her. I shook my head. I couldn’t help but want to keep her safe; we sat there for awhile talking until some buck thought it would be funny to pick on her. When she started crying I felt something inside me snap. I jumped onto the buck and beat him senseless. After he got up and limped off she stopped crying and hugged me, I never felt more proud of myself before that moment.

========================Serpent Bunker========================

I looked around with a big smile, these were my friends and I would do anything to keep them safe.

“So Gunner where do we go from here bro.” Blast asked throwing a leg over my shoulder.

“There’s a small settlement not far from here according to the info we got from Stonewall and his mercs. Let’s go check it out and get a bit of a feel for the territory.” I told him as all of us were walking out of the bunker. I heard a gunshot and Ghost screaming in pain as a slug tore through her chest.

“Ghost No...” I screamed in panic lifting her up in my hooves.

“Gunner I’m so tired, can I go to sleep.” came her weak response, crying I told her.

“No you have to stay with me please Ghost don’t go.” I looked up at Longeye and Backblast and seen they were shooting at a pair of running zebras. I looked at blast and screamed.

“Dust those fucking striped bastards.” He raised his 40mm cannon and unleashed a salvo of deadly rain that turned the fleeing zebras into nothing but red mist. Satisfied I turned and poured one of the healing potions from my pack down Ghosts throat. She swallowed weakly then passed out, Longeye had offered to carry her but I turned her down with a shake of my head. Gently I lifted Ghost on to my back and carried her back to the LAV crying the entire way.

“Gunner thou have to be strong for her.” The voice said after being quiet for so long.

“Shut up it’s my fault she got hurt.” I mentally screamed at the voice.

“No, it is not thy fault; those striped fiends are to blame for this no you.” It commanded back at me. After I laid Ghost gently on the bench I locked my self in the commander’s compartment. I cried for what felt like an hour after I had stopped there was a knock on the hatch. With red eyes I hit the release with a hoof and Longeye stepped through and closed it behind her, she looked at me the hurt evident in her eyes. She stared at me for awhile until she finally spoke.

“Gunner are you alright.”

“It’s my fault she got hurt long, I couldn’t protect her.” I said with tears in my eyes.

“You did your best to save her, She will recover but not for a long time.” She said hugging me tightly. I was stunned Longeye usually never hugged anypony. This must have affected her just as much as it did me. I looked at her and said.

“Let’s go to that settlement and see if anypony can help her.”
She nodded and stepped back out of the hatch; I followed her into the crew area and stepped over to Ghosts prone form. As I looked at her I felt a surge of guilt, I leaned closer and kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear.

“Please don’t leave me I can’t stand to lose anypony else.” I turned to Blast and Long who thought the ceiling was very interesting. I smiled knowing they knew exactly how I was with her. I turned to the hatch and pressed a button on the door and was greeted by Wellington.

“How may I be of assistance Gunner?”I stared at him for awhile then finally spoke.

“Take us to that settlement we were told about.”

“Aye gunner we will arrive in approximately one hour.” He intoned. The ride to the settlement was spent with me sitting next to Ghost. When we arrived at the town I stepped out of the LAV and was greeted by a group of ponies with all kinds of weapons pointed at me. One of the ponies stepped forward and addressed himself as Scarlight. I asked this Scarlight if he could help me with Ghost. He looked at me and said

“Son what kind of pony would I be if I turned down somepony who needed help.” I studied him closely, He was a little on the lean side but his voice garnered attention. I thanked him and gently retrieved Ghost, he offered to carry her but I politely turned him down. He lead me through his little town, this settlement was comprised of shanties and shacks built so close together that a fly couldn’t go between them. There were a few pre war buildings with alleyways but they were mostly empty save for the occasional drunk passed out in them. Some of the ponies looked liked they haven’t eaten in days; I asked Scarlight if there was any problems he was having. He told me that a group of raiders kept destroying the food caravans essentially starving the town to death. I wanted to help so I volunteered to get rid of the raiders. He told me I needed to find somepony named Shadow and ask her, We arrived at the clinic a few minutes later after I stopped and gave some kids a few of my rations they thanked me and ran off to their parents. I walked into the clinic and was greeted by the ever present smell of anesthetics. Looking around this so called clinic I was disgusted by the way everything was covered with an ever present layer of filth. In the corner there was a pile of old dirty rags, from said rags came a loud snore. Walking past the pile and to some cots I laid Ghost down gently, I returned to the rags and saw the owner of the snoring, he was a rust colored unicorn with a deep brown mane and matching tail. Irritated I kicked him in the flank but he didn’t move. Scowling I kicked him harder causing him to jump up into the air with a yelp. When he came back down he fixed me with a glare I told him that wasn’t a good idea. He scowled and said

“Was that really necessary, you ruffian.” Glaring at him I spoke slowly.

“Listen here you horned asswad that mare I brought in here better live or I will break your horn off and shove it through your eye.” He nodded rapidly and quickly moved over to Ghosts body. I had moved to the other side of her cot and picked up her hoof in mine. The unicorn started mumbling and talking to himself as his horn lit and he went to work on Ghost. With a sigh he looked at me and said

“Whatever shot her missed everything vital, but she’s comatose from the shock. Ill keep her here free of charge.” I shook my head and told him

“Thank you, but I have something to give you anyways.” I gave him the trauma kits and told him to use them sparingly. He looked at me shocked at the display of kindness.

“Th-thank you this will save a lot of ponies.” He said as I walked out of the clinic, with a thin smile I was walking through town again. As I was walking I noticed I was being followed my pursuer was sloppy at concealing their intent. When I approached an alley I jumped into it and hid behind a dumpster, coming from said dumpster was some disturbing sounds. When my pursuer entered the alley I took in the appearance, Tall and slender, black coat and mane with a red accent running through it. I also noted the horn and the large rifle on the battlesaddle. This had to be the largest unicorn I had ever seen; when the time was right I leapt from behind the dumpster and tackled them. My surprise attack worked as I connected with my pursuer I was rewarded with a feminine squeal. When we came to a stop I demanded to know why she was following me.

“Your fun, I followed you because you were cute~~.” She giggled. I just stared at the strange mare; I came to my senses when another tall unicorn walked into the alley calling out.

“Necro are you in here.” The one under me, Necro called back to her.

“Yes Shadow, I found a new toy~~.” The other mare, Shadow just stared at me with glassy eyes.
wait was she blind, then how can she see us. I looked at Necro beneath me and Shadow at the head of the alley sputtering

“i-its not w-what it l-looks like.”
Shadow shook her head and walked closer, as she got closer I felt calm staring into those eyes of hers. Necro kept squirming under me; blushing I stood up and she slid out from under me and took her place beside Shadow. As I looked over the pair I noticed that Shadow was taller than Necro. While I was staring at Necro, Shadow cleared her throat. I looked at her and was met with a scrutinizing gaze. I could tell she was sizing me up just like I did them. After a minute of staring at each other I spoke

“You’re the pony Scarlight told me to find.” She shook her head and flared wings that I had failed to notice before and said.

“I am not just a regular pony I am a true alicorn not one of those mutants, you would do best to remember that.” Nodding I looked at Necro and said.

“I suppose she’s one as well then.” Both nodded, Necro walked over to me and brushed my face with a wing and whispered seductively in my ear.

“I can be anything you want big boy.”
Feeling my cheeks heat up as she walked back over to Shadow swaying her flank. I shook myself from the trance and asked both mares why they were following me. Necro chimed in and said

“Because your cute~~.” Shadow and I facehoofed, Shadow answered next.

“We know who you are and who you’re looking for.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, I’m just another pony trying to survive.” I lied, she must have seen through it because she affixed me with a glare and stepped forward lighting up her horn pinning me against a shanty wall, she looked very disappointed at me and said slowly.

“Do not play games with me Midnight, I know your after Spector.” I looked at her calmly and said

“Then why are you tailing me huh how do I know you don’t work for Spector.”
She looked at me for a minute before her gaze softened; she leaned close to me and whispered.

“I don’t work for him, I want to kill him for what he did to my family and friends.” She pulled back and looked at me closely. I asked cautiously
“I guess you want to come with me then.” She nodded and spoke

“Yes we want to help you; I want to help so I can get revenge. Necro, well I don’t know what she wants.”

“I want him~~.” She spoke appearing next to Shadow with a lecherous smile. A little creeped out I told both of them they could come along, I was released from the wall and looked at both of my new companions. I told them I was going to call my friends and tell them they were coming. They nodded and I keyed my mic

"Blast, Long, Ghost is stable I have picked up some reinforcements they will be coming with us".

"Aye Gunner we’ll be here with the LAV. Oh and we have some friendly company so don't worry bro." Blast responded, with that taken care of I asked both mares if they needed to get before we left, both of them shook their heads. As we were walking out of the alley the voice in my head spoke up

“Gunner thou best are wary of this Shadow.”

“”Great you again, what’s wrong with her.” I asked.

“There is darkness, a kind of deep sorrow in her heart. The other one confuses me, and I feel as though she wasn’t always like that.” The voice in my head told me.

“Thanks for the warning crazy I’ll remember that.” I replied, when we got into the street I seen a familiar royal blue tail disappear into an abandoned shack. I told Shadow and Necro to meet me at the clinic. When they were out of sight I ducked into the shack, The inside was very Spartan. I called out,

“Nightingale I know you’re here.” The royal blue alicorn shimmered in to existence in front of me.

“Hello Midnight, we were uncertain thou had seen us.” She spoke with caution in her voice.

“You know you don’t have to sneak around Nightingale.” I told her.

“We must for we watch thou closely.” She said a small blush appearing on her face. I stood there deep in thought as I mulled over my next question when she spoke up.

“Midnight does thou care if we accompany thou on thy journey.” I looked at her and smiled saying,

“On one condition, no sneaking around unless it is needed okay.” She squeed and wrapped me in a crushing hug.

“We thank thee Midnight.” After the hug we walked out of the shack and towards the clinic, Shadow gave Nightingale a quick glance while Necro glared at me. Walking up to both mares I asked if they were ready, both of them nodded but Necro was still glaring at me. As we came to the main gate I seen a crowd of ponies surrounding the LAV. Blast and Longeye were talking to everyone when a little filly jumped on Blasts back, he had his helmet off running around smiling with the little one giggling on his back. I smiled at the sight, I heard a giggle behind me when I looked Shadow and Nightingale was the source. Necro pulled me off to the side and stuck her face in mine,

“Who is she and why is she following you.” She asked sounding hurt. I looked at Nightingale and smiled saying,

“She’s my guardian angel apparently, she always shows up when I need someone to talk to about my past.”
She became even sadder and spoke with tear filed eyes,

“You can talk to me, ill listen and help as best I can please come talk to me I want you to be happy.” I placed a hoof on her shoulder and spoke softly.

“Ill come to you if I need to talk okay now dry those eyes Necro.” She gave me a quick nuzzle and trotted off to meet my friends.

“What a strange mare.” I said to no one in particular,

“She’s insane you know, Midnight it would be wise not to let her get attached to you.” Shadow spoke from behind me causing me to jump and spin around to face her. I asked what she meant; she went on to explain that they were born alicorns not made like those unity abominations. When Necro was just a teenager some slavers had captured her and forced her to do unspeakable things. For years they called her the Crying Wolf because she stalked her marks and the only thing you heard before she got you was the ever present weeping. Shadow was one of her marks, when Necro’s time to strike came Shadow sprung her trap catching Necro, she then proceeded to break the grip the slavers had on her mind and soul. From the way she explained it the task took several days to complete.
I looked at the black alicorn carefully taking in what I was just told. Here was a mare that could track anything and kill them in the blink of an eye. My eyes drifted down to the large anti machine rifle on her battlesaddle, with that she could kill all of us if she wanted to. Shadow noticed this and said,

“She rarely uses Injustice anymore; she prefers to have everypony happy and smiling. She’s not fit for living in this hell we call life in the wasteland.” I turned to her and said

“Is anypony fit to live like this?” She shook her head and walked over to the others taking her place beside Necro. After mulling over my conversation with Shadow I walked over and addressed my companions.

“Listen up, before we go find the fifth and Echo team we are going raider hunting a few clicks north of here. Get your kit and load up am I clear?” they nodded and loaded up into the LAV.
Huh guess my little family got a little bigger looks like I got three new friends to protect. I hope this wont bite me in the ass like Spector.

Author's Note:

I know I threw three new characters in to the squad but I have a motive for that
The Characters
Shadow
Necro
Come from my friends Emerald Phoenix and Gaelin I take no ownership of these characters.
Credit goes to hasbro for the show and kkat for giving us the wasteland we call home.

Comments

[ShadowIceStorm]

^^, turned out quite well, I do however must comment on the speech of Nightingale/the voice in your head, you made a few errors there,
Oh and thanks for adding my OC Rain~~