Fallout Equestria: Star - Prologue - Fire in the Sky

Fallout Equestria: Star
Prologue

Well fuck. This is it, isn’t it? A wall of balefire from Cloudsdale, heading straight for me. There’s nothing left of Cloudsdale that I can see. Just a wall of green fire. Its all gone... This worlds fucked, isn’t it? We were foolish to start a war. We were foolish to let Fluttershy develop the megaspells. And whoever gave the Zebras megaspells should burn in hell. Thanks to them, it’s the end of the world... How about I go back. Back to how this day started, and how it lead to the world ending.

ooOOOoo

It was a day like any other. I was in my quarters aboard the Raptor, Cyclone, getting into my power armor, careful not to catch my long mane in the helmet clasps (it hurts, trust me, I learned the hard way in training) when a messenger walked in. “General Midnight Star, I have a message from Pegasus command.” Pegasus command... What in the world do they want with me? I took the letter and dismissed the messenger. I then read the letter.

Midnight Star,
With the way this war is going, we are lead to believe this war may come to an end soon. In order to congratulate you for your bravery in the face of death, we at Pegasus command have decided all Pegasus soldiers of all ranks will be rewarded. Arrive by 1700 hours, and you will receive your reward.
Signed,
Cloud Hopper, Head of Pegasus Command

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting perhaps a special deployment, or something along those lines. But a reward for participating in a war that isn’t even over? That’s a surprise. Nonetheless, I’ll be there.

ooOOOoo

Shortly after I flew from Cloudsdale, a balefire missile struck it, taking the entire city out. That’s how I got into this situation. Not much else really. Just imminent death, seconds away, in the form of a wall of rolling green fire. And so ends the story of Midnight Star. Or does it? The wave of fire hit me, causing me unimaginable pain. But that’s good. It means I’m still alive. Honestly, I was surprised. As far as I knew, no one has survived a balefire bomb. But that wasn’t important. I try to get up but fail, and I see why. Oh look, my wing is bent at a bad angle, and my power armor has melted into molten slag on my back. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe it would be best to wait, y’know? Someone will find me, right? “...No.” The answer rang through my mind. Terror slowly took hold. “I... I’m gonna die out here. No one checks balefire explosions... No one survives them.” And the first to survive was about to die. “Well, I had a good run. But now... it’s time to say goodbye...” I close my eyes for the last time, as my terror is replaced by acceptance, as the void draws near. “...No.” A rush of strength runs through me as my mind is filled with defiance. “I... won’t... die... Not here, not now.” I slowly, painfully, raise to my hooves. “I refuse... To die.” And I limp away, slowly, painfully in search of somewhere safe. The area had become a wasteland. My pipbuck was reading high on the Geiger counter. How I’m still alive, I don't know. But the I realized just how lucky I was. Bodies, thousands of them, in various states of post-incineration. Some had a quick death. They were mostly ash. Others weren’t so lucky. There were bodies missing their rear half, what's left of their faces in expression of unimaginable agony. I've fought battles, but this? This isn't watching your comrades fall in battle to protect their home. This is a slaughter. And to throw the cherry on top, among the bodies, a newborn foal lay still, clutching it's teddy bear, the tears still fresh on its face. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the infant's chest rise and fall. Somehow they survived, and I sure as hell wasn’t leaving them to die.

ooOOOoo

It took a while, but I found a hospital. Looks like it really is the end of the world. Bombs were dropped everywhere. Guess I was lucky. Even luckier this hospital was still working I walked in a mess, the kid on my back and the nurses instantly rushed over to me. Once I wasn’t entirely holding myself up, I collapsed. Next thing I knew I blacked out. But not before I said one more thing. “Take care of the kid…” I blacked out

ooOOOoo

Next thing I knew, I woke up. In a stasis pod. I knew it was bad, but a stasis pod? That’s worse than I thought. Suddenly, a glow filled my vision. Somehow, my pipbuck survived the balefire. Wow. A message read out: “Last system startup: 194 years 03 months 18 days 06 hours 48 minutes 13 seconds. User was previously presumed dead. User has sustained severe burn wounds. Wounds were healed in stasis pod over the course of 194 years. Warning: severe malnutrition and dehydration detected” Wait, what? That can’t be right. I open up the stasis pod and out into the room. Which was missing. Was it actually that long? I still don’t believe it. Anyway, I need to find food and water before the stasis pods life support wears off. Once it does, game over unless I get some food and water. I climb out onto the small ledge my pod rested on and left the room. ...Right into the barrel of a revolver. “Sorry lass, I’m afraid you’re coming with me.”

Level Up: Balefire survivor: Thanks to surviving a balefire bomb, you've gained resistance to heat and radiation. That doesn't mean it won't hurt you though!

Fallout Equestria: Star - Chapter 1: Kill or be Killed

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Fallout Equetsria: Star – Chapter one: Kill or be Killed

Well then, isn’t this perfect? I wake up from a nearly two hundred year sleep and end up staring down the barrel of a revolver. Because no matter how lucky I get, it’s turned around in seconds. Or in my case, centuries. The stallion pushed the barrel against my forehead.
“Yer coming with me, or yer dead, got it?” Yeah, cause that’s fair.
“Fine, I’ll come with you. Just let me do my stretches first. I haven’t moved in two hundred years.” The stallion pulls another weapon out of his saddlebags.
“Sorry, but ah’m not very patient.” Wait a second, is that a- he shoots, and a dart is fired out of the new weapon, which hits my neck. My vision starts to darken. But that answers my question. Yes, it was a tranquilizer dart gun.

ooOOOoo

I wake up, this time in a shack. I was also tied up, and there was a stallion in here with me. A different one this time. Yay… The stallion spoke up. “Listen ere. Yer gonna answer some questions fer me, got it?”
I already don’t like this guy. “And if I refuse?” A bullet hitting the table next to me answers my question. “Fine, what do you wanna know?”
“Let’s start with yer name.”
“Midnight Star.”
“Age?”
“Twenty-six.”
“Here comes the big question. Why th’ hell were you in a stasis pod?” I was afraid he’d ask that.
“That’s… a long story.” The stallion grinned.
“Ah got all day.” And so I told him everything, excluding some of the more sensitive information. I was a general in the war, and that after somehow surviving a Balefire bomb, I found my way to the hospital, where they did whatever they did(probably loaded me up with healing potions after removing the slag that was my armor off of me, along with rad-away, Rad-X and Med-X. Weird that I’m not addicted after having that many drugs in my system. More good luck I guess) and then stuffed me in a stasis pod. I don’t know why I was there for two-hundred years though.
“Very interesting. It’s not every day someone meets a person from wartime.. …At least, one that aint a ghoul.” Ghoul? The hell is that?
“Ghoul?” The stallion looked surprised, but then resumed his normal stoic expression.
“A ghoul is someone exposed t’ so much radiation that when they die, their bodies keep goin`. I think they woulda bin called “zombies” back in yer day. Thing is, ghouls remember their past life, and `re completely conscious and aware. Only difference from a normal pony is, y’ know, their dead and decaying. Eventually, that decay gets to their brains, and they go feral. That is what you would call a zombie. Now, what’re we gonna do with you?”
I spoke up. “Let me go?” He didn’t look impressed.
“Now, why in hell would ah do that? ‘Course, it’d be a waste to kill a pretty thing like you~ That gives me an idea, how about-” I already didn’t like where it was going, so I cut him off.
“Think about it, and I’ll buck you through a wall.” That seems to have ended that train of thought. “Fine, I’ll have to think of another use fer you. …We could always use a soldier, ‘specially a Pegasus.” Now this was starting to interest me.
“What’s in it for me?”
“Access to our armory, includin some weapons that we found in the hospital basement which ah believe may belong to you.”
“Such as?”
“An anti-material rifle enchanted with a bypass spell named “Solstice”, a revolver with a silencing spell called “Nightfall”, and an odd amulet.” Yeah, those are mine.
“When can I have ‘em?”
“The second you sign up.”
“Count me in.”

ooOOOoo

(WARNING, THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PART OF THE ORIGINAL FO:E STORY. SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS!)

It’d been a few days. Over that time, I learned very little, aside from the fact that this groups leader is Sure Shot, the stallion that I was talking with before, and apparently, we work for someone named Red Eye. Apparently, he’s some kind of prophet who plans on saving Equestria by cleansing the wasteland of radiation and something called flux. Honestly, I support the guy. It’s his methods I don’t quite agree with. He’s using slaves down in the ruins of Fillydelphia to start an industrial revolution. I’m fine with the industrial revolution, it’s the slaves I don’t like. He sends ‘em into the highly radioactive crater of the bomb that destroyed Fillydelphia. Most of ‘em don’t survive. If they want to get out, they have to win it in the arena, by fighting to the death. It’s brutal, but it’s for the greater good. …Right?

(SPOILERS HAVE ENDED.)

I was on my daily patrol and was about to go for my final rounds, when Sure Shot called me down on a walkie-talkie.
“Midnight, get down here!” I flew down to him. He sounded panicked.
“Yeah boss? Somethin wrong?”
“We have trouble. Look.” He put a pair of binoculars over my eyes. Shit.
“Yeah, that’s a problem all right.” There was a horde of raiders in the distance, and they were on their way here. Sure Shot took a deep breath and yelled at the top if his lungs.
“EVERYONE, BATTLE STATIONS!” And just like that, everyone in the fort, pony, griffin, and even ghoul alike, prepared for battle. This would be my first time in a wasteland battle. Still, with a group this size, it would just as well be war. My job was simple; fly above the enemy and snipe those that I can. Once I’m out of sniper rounds, I strafe with Nightfall. And when that runs out, I can use my amulet to… Well, you’ll have to wait and see.

ooOOOoo

The raiders were nearly here. Everyone was ready. I had some armor on and was flying above, with the griffins. A male Griffin named Gale flew over to me.
“You’re Midnight, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I just wanted to let you know that around here, I give the orders. I don’t mean to be rude, it is a pleasure to work with you, but you are the General of an army that existed over two-hundred years ago, and what’s left of the Pegasus military is up in the sky, hiding behind their clouds, so don’t blame me for not quite trusting a Pegasus.”
“I don’t blame you.” That’s took him by surprise.
"You don't?"
"Why would I? I share the same feelings towards the Enclave you do. What they've done would be called treason in my time." He looked satisfied.
"I'm glad to hear we share an opinion." The first gunshot rang out. The Raiders were here.
"Get going Gale. And try not to die, I'm buying drinks when this is over."
"Heh, I'll try. It's the Raiders you should be worried about. They don't stand a chance." I liked Gale. He wasn't an ass like most griffins, but that didn't make him stupid. I look forward to fighting alongside him, should the need arise. We parted ways, him with his dual SMG's, and me with Solstice.

ooOOOoo

I was flying high above the battle, slowly dwindling my supply of bullets. The battle had gone on longer than expected. Both sides had casualties. We had less casualties, which was expected, but we also have less soldiers. We were in trouble. A voice came from my walkie-talkie.

"Midnight, it's me, Sure Shot. Listen to me. They're being ordered by someone. They're too coordinated to not have a leader. I need you to find and kill their leader. That way they'll have no idea what to do. Am I clear?" A coordinated Raider attack? Last time I checked they just went wherever, killed whoever, and did whatever they wanted with who and what's left.

"Got it boss." It wasn't hard to get the leader in my sights. He wasn't hiding. He was on a pedestal on wheels being pushed by a group of Raiders, giving orders. I pulled the trigger to take the shot and realized I was out of bullets.

"Fuck." Looks like I had to do it the hard way. I switched out Solstice for Nightfall, and I dived. Fast. Fast enough that they didn't see me coming, that they didn't see me shoot him, that they didn't see his head explode into bloody chunks, until they realised they were wearing it. Their looks of surprise quickly changed to rage, and every Raider charged forward, desperate for their revenge, their faces twisted into an insane expression of pure rage, looking seemingly forward to the many they would kill. I wouldn't be able to stop that.

"Sure Shot, how the fuck are you gonna stop this?!" He replied with a chuckle.

"Like this." As the Raiders approached, two steel plates on the ground were moved, and and a twin minigun turret came out of each. "Eat lead." The turrets opened fire, mowing down ranks of the Raiders. Every second twenty Raiders fell, their bodies being torn to shreds by the hail of lead that assaulted them, until eventually, the guns overheated. The barrels glowing red, smoke escaping the barrels, they lowered back into the ground. The few remaining Raiders were shot down without a second thought. We had won. It was a bittersweet victory though. We had lost many soldiers today. I then turned my eyes to the corpses of the enemy. Normally, I would be happy to see an enemy force completely destroyed, but I noticed something odd. These didn't look anything like the Raiders I'd seen prowling around the camp from time to time. In fact, they didn't look anything like Raiders. And now that I think about it, it looks like the came from... that... town...

"Oh shit." I dived to the ground and bolted to Sure Shot's shack. He'd gone back there after the fighting. I entered. He had his back to me.

"Midnight. Why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here, Sure Shot. You knew those weren't Raiders."

"No, they weren't Raiders."

"Then who were they?"

"You know the answer t' that." Yeah, I did.

"Why? Why did you make us kill them?"

"They wanted t' kill us."

"We didn't have to slaughter them!"

"And what could we do? Let them kill us?"

"What you made us do is horrible. We cou-" Sure Shot cuts me off in the middle of my sentence, and turns to me, his face full of rage.

"WHAT AH DID WAS KEEP THIS FUCKIN' OUTPOST ALIVE!!!" He takes a deep breath. "You listen t' me now, got it?I don't care what life was like in yer time, but now, it's kill or be killed. Ya can't even trust yer friends. And you? You ain't anythin' special. No matter how safe you feel, there is always someone willing to kill you. And ah don't care if you were a General back in your day, this is MAH OUTPOST. No matter who you are, you wanna talk t' me, ya gotta ask me first, not come bargin' in!" He seems to have calmed down a bit. He takes a deep breath and sighs. "You know what some of the stallions 'round camp wanted t' do with ya? They wanted you t' be their fuck toy. Only by mah orders did they not corner you in a shack on yer first day. An' believe me, not one of em woulda hesitated."

"W-What? Are you trying to imply they would rape a Gen-"

"YES, AH FUCKIN' AM! Don't you understand?! Nobody here gives a flyin fuck about who you were or who you are! To them, you're just another helpless mare!"

"I..." I sigh. "I understand. You'd know more than I would about the wasteland and it's inhabitants. I'm sorry if I challenged your authority."

"Damn right you are. Now get out there." He turns back around, getting back to whatever he was doing. I begin to leave, but he calls over his shoulder to me.

"And Midnight."

"Yeah?"

"If yer so against firing on rebellious civilians, you don't belong here. Cause this ain't the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last, either."

"I understand." I leave the shack. His words left me thinking. Maybe he's right. Maybe I don't belong here. But I have a feeling he wont just let me leave. Either way, unless someone takes me up on it, no drinks tonight.

ooOOOoo

I don't know how the idea came into my mind, but it did. I was leaving. I was getting my gear, weapons, ammo, and everything else designated mine, and leaving. It was late, and I was almost ready to go when I heard walking outside my door.

"Shit." I quickly hid everything, I couldn't let anyone see. The footsteps stopped outside my door. I didn't know who it was. If it was Sure Shot, I wouldn't get out of here alive. Last person I saw trying to leave without his permission was publicly executed. I couldn't let him find out. There was knocking.

"Come in." And wasn't I surprised when I saw who came in! It was Gale!

"Hey there Midnight!"

"Hey Gale. What're you up to coming here?"

"I thought I'd take you up on your offer for drinks." Oh yeah, that.

"Maybe another time. Not tonight."

"Come on Midnight, why not?"

"I'm busy."

"With what?"

"Nothing." My amulet falls out of it's hiding spot. Shit.

"What's that doing here?"

"Nothing, just thought I'd get it." Then Gale got an unreadable expression on his face that revealed he knows what's happening.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Yeah... I am." This is it, I'm not getting out of here alive.

"Then let me come with you." Wait, what?

"Why do you want to come with me?" I was suspicious. Then again, who wouldn't be in my position?

"Well, uhhh..." A slight blush came to his cheeks. You gotta be kidding me.

"Are you serious?'

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've got a crush on me."

"N-No I don't!"

"Then why did you blush when I said it?" He was silent. "Gale?"

"...Yes, I have a crush on you. Doesn't help your the most beautiful mare I know."

"Are you hitting on me?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Listen, we're two different species. It wouldn't work out."

"And yet, Hippogriffs exist." He had a point, but still...

"Do you really want to throw your life away for me?"

"For you, I'm willing to leave here. I'm your first and only friend 'round here. Would you want to throw that away? Friends are far and few between." He really is naive, isn't he?

"Well, if you really want to come with me, I won't stop you. Just don't get caught, and hurry."

"Will do. And thank you. I'll wait outside for you."

"You're not grabbing anything?"

"You've got a small armory with you, why would I need anything?"

"Fair enough. I'll be out in a minute, okay?"

"Got it." He left, and I finished packing up. I met him outside, where we started flying, up and away from the camp. It felt great to feel the cool night air running through my mane and feathers. It had been too long. Taking one last look at the camp, we flew away silently, like ghosts, and the camp slowly faded into the distance.

Footnote: Level Up!

Perk: Calm mind: After keeping a calm mind while leaving the Red Eye encampment, you can now access this calmer state of mind to sneak past enemies more efficiently, and talk your way out of possibly hostile situations.