> Fallout: Equestria- Shattered Dreams > by GrimBrony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Introduction > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I sat there, the mares body laying limply underneath my blood stained hooves, tears dripping down my face and sobs rocking my shoulders. I vigorously shook her body, desperately trying to wake her. "Shadow.. She's gone..." A stallions deep voice spoke to me. "No! She can't be gone damn it! She can't be!" I yelled at him, rage and sadness filling my entire body. "She... Can't be gone... She can't... She can't!!" I yelled once again as I beat the ground with my hooves. "I... I killed her.... I killed her...." The stallion sighed and laid a hoof on my shoulder. "Its not your fault. You weren't in control of your self Shadow... Don't blame this on your self..." He said to me in a sad voice. "B-but... I... I still killed her...." I said as tears continued to drip down my face........ ...... I woke up to the sound of my pipbucks alarm and grunted as I stuck my hoof out from under the covers and began to mash buttons until it finally shut up. I then forced myself out of bed and walked into the bathroom, grabbed the toothpaste and my tooth brush then proceeded to brush my teeth. When I was finished with that I went back into my room and put on my maintenance outfit. "Ugh.. Another boring day." I grunted as I walked out the door of my room. The life of a maintenance pony, the same old boring routine every day of my life. Heh, wish I got security duty. But not like its my choice, maintenance is in the family. > Chapter-1: Into 'The Land Of No Return' > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The intercom buzzed. "There is a busted pipe in sector three. I repeat, there is a busted pipe in sector three." A smile made its way on to my face as I noticed my marefriend walking out of her living quarters and closing up the door. "Heh, hey Jupiter." I said as walked to her and hugged her, smiling cheerfully. "Hey Shadow." She said, smiling happily and hugging me back. "Sorry to ruin the happy moment but we should probably get to work on that busted pipe." I told her as I began to walk down the hallway. -••••••- I gripped the wrench in my jaws and started to tighten the loose piping until the spray of water stopped completely. I then dropped the wrench. "I think we're done here." I sighed and sat down. Jupiter looked over at me smiling and sighing in relief "Finally." I began to gather up the supplies we brought with us, putting them in the bag, zipping it up then tossing it over my back. "Alright Jupiter lets get back to my room." I said with a smile upon my face. -••••••- I woke up, rolling over to see my beautiful marefriend lying next to me, sound asleep. I smiled as I watched her sleep, hearing the soft breathing that assured me she was still alive. I never realized how adorable she was when she was sleeping. Wait, no, was she awake? "Jupiter, you awake?" I asked, no response. As I listened a little closer I noticed her breathing was kind of... Scratchy? "Um... Jupiter?" I asked once again. Still no response. Wait... She wasn't breathing anymore. I reached over with a hoof and rolled her over. Revealing a knife sticking out of her chest. ......"JUPITER!!"...... ...My eyes shot open once again. Not this time to the sound of my pipbucks alarm, but to the sound of my own screaming. I sat up from my bed. My eyes as wide as small saucers. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding in. A small stream of tears was running down my face. "Shadow whats wrong?" The voice of my marefriend broke through and washed away the fear that had filled my body from head to hoof. I turned towards her, a smile overtaking the frown that had formed on my face. "You're alive." I said, wrapping my forehooves around her and pulling her close. "Shadow.... Bad dreams again?" She asked, hugging me tightly. "Y-Yeah..." Was the only response I could come up with at the moment. I leaned in, pressing my lips against hers and kissing her deeply. "I love you so much Jupiter." I told her, smiling warmly. She smiled, saying "I love you too Shadow ." Before kissing me back. My heart took a little leap when I heard a knock on the door. I broke the kiss and got up from the bed, walking to the door and cracking it open just enough to see my mother standing outside. "Hello Shadow, may I come in?" She asked smiling a loving smile. I shuffled on my hooves nervously "Well uh, I kinda have company..." My mom looked at me oddly "Okay? So does that mean I can't come in." She asked, pushing past the door and seeing Jupiter lying on the bed. She froze in place, saying "Oh.... That kind of company...." Before turning and walking back out of the door and closing it behind her. "Well that was kind of awkward." I said, smirking and sitting down on the bed beside Jupiter. "I'm gonna go and see what she wanted, okay?" "Alright." She said. I then stood up from the bed and trotted to the door stopping for a second and turning to look at Jupiter. "See ya in a few." I said, walking out of the door and heading down the hallway, towards my mothers living quarters. I arrived at the door and raised my hoof, knocking. "Who is it?" I heard my moms voice from the other side of the door. "Its me, Shadow." I heard her hooves clopping on the hard tile floor towards the door, she opened it, welcoming me in. I trotted in and plopped down onto the couch. "So what did ya wanna talk about mom?" I asked. My mom sitting down on the couch beside me. She wrapped a wing around me and pulled me close to her. "I have some bad news the overmare did not really want me to inform you of." She grimaced. I looked up at her with a worried look on my face. "What is it?" I asked as I noticed tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Well uh... I am going to get you and Jupiter out of the stable.. Before it happens." The amount of worry I felt just got worse. "Wha-what? Before what happens?" I asked, shuttering slightly. She sighed as she ran a hoof through my mane. "There is a virus... it has been slowly killing off everypony, it has killed twenty five ponies in the last two months, and no one knows where it came from. We have been investigating it but we could not find any clues as to whats causing it. The overmare has asked me not to tell anypony but.... I have to get you, and Jupiter out of here before the overmare decides to 'clean the stable' of all ponies infected with the virus." I stared up at her, horror pulsing through my body. "B-but..... Just me and Jupiter ..? Only me and her.... N-not you... Not anypony else..?" I stuttered slightly. My vision being blurred by tears. The look my mom gave me answered my question. I hung my head, sobbing quietly. "We c-can't just l-leave you.... And everypony else.... To d-die...." "Shadow, the thing is... everypony else... they're all infected... I don't know how or why but you and Jupiter are the only two that are not infected. "You... You're infected...? "Yes... I'm sor-..." She suddenly stopped talking as I noticed a small stream of blood coming from her nose. Then her eyes, and her ears. "Mom! Whats happening?! Mom!" No response, she just sat there staring into nothing. A steady stream of blood began to pour from her mouth. She coughed once spattering blood across my face, then collapsed onto the couch. Not moving, or breathing. Nor was her heart beating. "NO!!" I mashed a button on my pipbuck, calling the nurse. No answer. I mashed the button and it began to ring again. Still, no answer. "Please just answer the damn call!!" I yelled as I called once more, and there was no answer yet again. "DAMN IT!! WHY!!??" I hit myself over and over. Desperately trying to wake myself from this horrible dream. Only this time, it was not a dream. -••••••- I just laid on my bed. Staring at the ceiling of my living quarters, tears slowly dripping down my face. All I could think about was the virus, what was the virus? No one knows. All I know, is that I need to get her out of here. I need to get Jupiter out of here, I can't let her get the virus. I can't, and I won't. A sudden knock on the door made my heart skip a beat. I sighed and climbed out of my bed, trotting over to my clothes wrack and grabbing my outfit, slipping it on and heading towards the door. "Who is it?" I asked, wiping the tears away from my face. "Its me." A mares voice said from behind the door. I smiled weakly and opened the door. "C'mon in Jupiter." Jupiter trotted in and sat down onto my bed. I closed the door and followed, sitting beside her. "So... What did ya need to talk about Shadow?" She asked, scooting closer to me and putting a hoof around me. I sighed "I need to get you, and me out of here... As soon as possible." She looked at me, obviously worried. "Out of where? And why?" She asked, her eyes staring into my own. I didn't know how to put it. All that I could do is tell her the truth. "You know that virus my mom had? Well, its highly contagious... I'm lucky I don't have it. And I'm glad you don't. It is slowly spreading throughout the stable, in the last couple months there have been twenty-five deaths caused by what ever the hell it is." I grimaced. A single tear dripped down my face. I raised my hoof up to my face, wiping it away. "So I need to get us out of here, out of the stable." "But how..?" She asked, now more worried than before. "The door, I know the code." I leaned forwards, wrapping my hooves around her and kissing her on the lips."I love you Jupiter. And I will not let anything happen to you. Even if it kills me." I promised her. -••••••- I awoke once again to the sound of my pipbucks alarm. I grunted, and slammed my hoof into the alarm off button. I rolled over, seeing my beautiful marefriend lying beside me, somehow, still asleep. I smiled, running a hoof through her mane and saying "Jupiter. wake up, we gotta go." With that, she rolled over to face me, her pink eyes blinking open and a smile forming on her face. I smiled at her. "Did ya sleep well?" "Yup." She said, smiling at me. "That's good." I said still smiling. But then I remembered this was the day we had to leave and my smile turned into a slight frown. I sighed, saying "Today... Today is the day that we have to leave..." I told her as I climbed out of bed and got dressed, her doing the same. "So... Shadow, how exactly do we get passed security?" she asked me with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well we have this gun." I said as I levitated a gun out of my saddle bags. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of it. "Uh... We... We won't shoot anypony.... Will we...?" she asked with a worried look on her face. "Jupiter... If we have to, then we will." I told her as I approached the door and opened it up, letting her out first. We followed the halls down to the main security quarters, where the door was. There was a guard standing outside guarding the entrance to the security quarters. "Excuse me sir, there's been an accident down in sector three, somepony was shot." I lied to him. "What? Shit. Uh. I'll get right to that!" He said as he began to gallop down the halls. "Shadow, you just plain out lied to a guard. Wow." Jupiter said as she walked over towards me. I nodded at her and turned to the door, opening it up. "Okay come on, the stable door isn't too far now." I told her as I trotted into the security quarters and down the hallway. There it was, our way out. I began to say the code in my head over and over again, being sure not to forget it. I approached the panel beside the door and raised my hoof nervously, then proceeded to type the code. "One, five, three, six, four, and one." the door began to creek loudly as a huge metal machine slung down and attached its self to the door, it began to twist. Unlocking the door I assume. It then proceeded to pull the door out of the way, creating the loudest screeching sound I had ever heard. Once the door was out of the way I began to walk towards the exit, Jupiter following behind me. "Shadow.... I... I'm scared... What if we d-die... Out there...?" "We won't." I told her as we walked through the door and to the other side. I turned around hearing someone shouting and saw the guard from before, shouting at us and aiming his gun in our direction. But with a final thud and a loud clang, the door swung into place and shut itself behind us. > Chapter Two: Wasteland (Preview) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We were out of the stable. But we weren't quite outside yet either. I clicked on my pipbucks light, revealing to me a room, the roof made of wood I presumed. And walls of.. Dirt? I directed the light towards the floor of the room, it was littered with skeletons of the not so lucky ponies. I stumbled backwards in horror, feeling something crunch beneath the weight of my hoof. I peered down reluctantly, seeing the now shattered skull of a mare. I gasped in horror, looking over to Jupiter, who stood there, froze in terror at the horrible sight. "Jupiter." I called out, no response. "Jupiter!" Still, no response. "Jupiter!!!" I called out once more, seeming to break her from the trance she had been trapped in. "All-all these ponies... All of these innocent... Ponies... Were just left for d-dead..." She said, stammering slightly, her voice low and washed with horror. "Why?" She asked, directed to no one in particular. I walked to her noticing a small splotch of blood that had formed in the corner of her eye. I reached out my hoof, wiping it away and inspecting it closely, being sure what I was seeing was true. No.... It can't be... She couldn't possibly have the virus.... Could she..? Fuck. I stared into her big pink eyes, they were bloodshot, just like my mothers. "Something wrong, Shadow?" She asked tilting her head slightly. "N-no, nothing's wrong." I lied "Lets go." I said, heading towards the door on the other side of the room which I guessed was the exit. I reached out with my hoof, turning the doorknob, and to my surprise, it was unlocked. I sighed in relief. Truth be told, I was terrified of what could be behind this door. I slowly opened it up, peering into the outside world. I took a deep breath, then stepped out into the unknown world. With my first look to the sky, I gasped, my hind legs going limp, making me fall to the ground. I hung my head downwards, breathing heavily. Before turning my gaze back to the sky. It was much, much taller than the inside of the stable. It seemed like an endless abyss of nothingness. I felt like it would suck me in, and I would be stuck, falling upside down, forever, and ever.My vision began to slowly fade away, and then, there was nothing but black. When I finally awoke from my unwanted nap, I felt something lying across my stomach, making it harder than normal for me to breath. I leaned up slightly, revealing Jupiter lying across me. She must have passed out too. I slid out from under her, standing up and taking a look around, now that it was light outside I could see so much more than I could earlier, before I, well we passed out. I heard Jupiter mumble quietly, rolling over and looking up at me. "Wh-what happened?" She asked, a confused look on her face. "Well we made it outside, looked at the sky, and passed out is all I remember." I said. Walking over to her and helping her up. Once again, I noticed another blood splotch, not this time in her eye, but coming from her nose. "Jupiter.... Remember when I said nothing was wrong?" I asked. "Yes... Why?" She responded, looking at me oddly. "Well, I lied.... You.... You have...." I paused, tears swelling up into my eyes. "I have what?" She asked, looking at me with a saddening look. "The virus..." I told her sadly, tears now dripping from my face and plummeting to the dirt ground below. "I... I do...?" She asked, then began to cough violently, blood spurting from her mouth and nose. She collapsed to the ground, unable to control her coughing. Tears of crimson pouring from her eyes. "H- *cough* h-help me *cough* *cough* Sh-Shadow..." She called out between coughs, her mouth slowly filling with blood. She stopped coughing. That would be a good thing. But only of she had not stopped breathing. I panicked, running to her and lifting her into my hooves. Cradling her body close to mine. "No... N-Not you too Jupiter... No..." Blood. Now covering my hooves, still poured from her mouth. Why? I asked, my shoulders rocking with sobs. I suddenly felt light headed as my vision began to turn blurry, then, everything faded into black. I awoke to the feeling of being shaken and the sound of Jupiter's voice screaming in my face. "Shadow!! You... Your alive..." she sighed and collapsed beside me. "Wh... Why is there blood all over me?" I looked up at her, my eyes wide in surprise. "You... You just.... You just died in my hooves...." I told her as I hugged her tightly.