Fallout: Equestria, Darkness Falls

Seriously?

“Surely you do not think that you are following me,” I said to my unwanted companion.

Ghost had been an early riser, up well before I was. That alone baffled me as I was certain that he went to bed afterwards. How in Celestia’s name did he manage with so little apparent sleep?

His eyebrow rose in skepticism of my stern words. “I’m coming.”

“Why?” I demanded, my eyes narrowed.

“For the same reason why you wouldn’t let me take her.”

I blinked. “Wh-what!?”

Ghost continued to double-check his supplies. “You’re a stable-dweller, and apparently a backwards pony that can’t even help herself in a life-or-death situation. Especially if you honestly think that killing isn’t an answer.” He turned to stare at me flatly. “Plus I still don’t believe you won’t eat her.”

I stared back, my jaw on the floor and my face burning. “Unbelievable! You really still think I’m--” I stopped mid-sentence and just growled in my throat since I had no words! This was impossible! Did every other pony here lack common sense!? Ponies do not eat other ponies! Well… raiders possibly did, but did I not prove the other day that I was not such a pony?

Infuriatingly his expression said otherwise. I stifled a short scream for the quiet foal that resided in my saddlebag. “Fine.” I turned my tail to him and glared daggers at the door instead. At least it would not show me unreasonable defiance. “Then do hurry up as I would like to move on.”

Ghost merely gave a grunt and I could imagine him rolling his eyes at me as well.

Truth be told I really did want to move on. It was highly likely that Bracket would still be searching for the troublesome mare that caused so many problems for him and his raiders. I would not be forgotten or forgiven so lightly. Goldpeak would need a wide berth.

We departed from the temporary shelter and made our way into tartarus.

As soon as I started onto the white, crunchy ground, I heard hoofsteps that should not be so close. “What are you doing?” I asked, pausing not too far from the house.

Ghost stopped beside me. “What does it look like,” he said flatly. If he was confused by my words he did not show it.

I stared back at him, nonplussed. “You’re too close.”

His eyebrow quirked.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. This was like dealing with some of the more troublesome foals back in Stable 46. Very well. “Stay back ten paces from me at all times,” I stated matter of fact.

“What...”

“That is my condition if you are to follow.”

Ghost’s scowl deepened. He clearly did not like this, but in turn I did not care. I would not travel so close to somepony that was so blatantly in conflict with the Goddesses’ will. If I could not be rid of him entirely -- yet -- then I would not suffer his closeness.

“Fine, princess. Have it your way.” Ghost gestured his hoof forward for me to move along.

I started off down the hill, and after ten counted paces I heard Ghost follow.

Now, where to start?

A quick survey of my surroundings did not give me much to consider. There was Stalliongrad itself, which seemed like it could either be a wonderful place to start or a death trap. Then again, the mysterious black triangle in the distance did not seem much better. The monument was a foreboding enigma, an omen that I was not sure what it was supposed to mean or be. And of course, overshadowing all of that was the rainbow-hued, eerie lights above the furthest mountain range that I had no clue about.

That and there was so much out here that I had no earthly idea where to start…

There was the very real prospect that it may take me a long time to find Whiskey. Weeks, months… maybe even years. And of course that is assuming that I will at all.

“Hey!”

I blinked and turned my head back. Ghost had that contemptible rifle out… and had it aimed right for me. My eyes widened and a chill ran down my spine as…

BOOM!

I fell over onto my side with a shriek, thankfully not on top of the foal. The ground had exploded next to me!

Stunned, I looked upon the most terrifying creature I had seen yet. It was nearly as big as me, had monstrous pincers and a long, chitinous tail with a menacing stinger at the tip. Armored black hide and the sound of its sharp mandibles clicked and clacked, black insect eyes fixated on me.

“AAAAAAAAAHH!!” I backpedaled as fast as I possibly could, my scrambling legs on autopilot until they tripped over one another. It never occurred to me that I needed to get up and run!

It chirped and chittered, then raised its pincers and tail, malicious intent to rip me limb-from-limb was just as absolutely certain as my death.

CRACK!

The creature reeled, its hissing and chirping turned to squeals of pain. Black ichor squirted from what used to be one of its many eyes. I had been forgotten as it turned away.

CRACK!

Another shot from Ghost struck home, the creature reeled and thrashed in pain as another of its eyes exploded, the steam rising from the spilt blood.

CRACK!

A third and final round had the monstrosity collapse, its tail gave a final twitch and went still.

I numbly watched, heart pounding and still dealing with the fact that I had almost died yet again.

Ghost walked up, eyes and floating gun fixated on the dead creature, smoke still wisped off of the barrel. He gave it a kick and only lowered his gun when it did not respond.

“Still want to go first?” Ghost asked coldly, sarcastically as he reloaded his gun. “You don’t know what to look for. I do.” He stared me down as I laid on the ground, his scowl burrowed into my own. “This is why you carry a weapon, stable-dweller.” He levitated my stolen magic energy pistol from his bag and tossed it at my hooves.

I picked it up, my horn threatening to wink out as my panic slowly subsided.

“And if you’re gonna insist on carrying the foal, then I insist that you carry that gun. Am I clear?”

“Y-yes,” I whispered, then shakily stood and stowed the weapon. As much as I did not want to, I could not argue with that stare and what had just happened.

Ghost scowled further. “Say it.”

I blinked, but got the message clearly. “You’re clear.”

“Good.” He put his weapon away and continued to stare at me with that scowl. “From now on you do as I say. I say run, you run. I say hide, you hide. No conditions, no argument.”

I nodded, then looked to the corpse. “Wh-what was that?”

“A radscorpion. They like to burrow and surprise their prey. If you’re perceptive enough, you can feel the vibrations coming in the ground.”

I nodded again and looked to the snowy hole that the radscorpion had come from. I had no idea it was even coming.

And as if Ghost was reading my mind, “Which is why you’re staying behind me.”

I stood back up and fell in-step behind Ghost. He kept his eyes forward and his head constantly, slowly turned back and forth as he scanned the horizon and examining the world around us. His ears also stood at attention, turning this way and that. I did the same, though I was making sure that I paid attention to him in particular should he give a warning to some imminent threat.

I mean, the mere threat of something jumping at you from below the ground was horrifying all on its own. Other things can swoop down in swarms and kill a pony in seconds. And if none of that killed someone, then there were psycho raider ponies that killed for sport!

I questioned how I managed to get this far without dying.

Celestia help me…

“Can’t you make her stop!?” Ghost growled again and ducked as more gunfire peppered our cover.

I eeped as the ricochet of bullets pinged off of the stone wall. “I already told you!” I shouted back over the ear-splitting din of Ghost’s rifle as he fired back. “I don’t know WHAT’S WRONG!”

“Then figure it out! It’s bad enough the damned raiders heard her crying!”

I tried my best to gently rock the crying white unicorn in my forelegs, despite the adrenaline of fear and panic rushing through my veins. We had wandered into the district outskirts of Stalliongrad, as after a short discussion Ghost had suggested we head for a settlement for supplies. Ghost had warned that we were in raider territory, and of course that is when the foal decided to wake up and start crying.

These raiders were better armed than those of Goldpeak -- or at least after I destroyed their cache of horrid weapons -- as machines of rapid-fire death peppered our cover. Ghost had described the weapons as ‘submachine guns’ and told me that they did not pack a lot of punch, but they could double my weight in lead if I got careless.

Bang!

Ghost had popped up and fired a shot, which was then followed the the death scream of a dying pony. I winced.

“We need to get out of here,” Ghost said as he worked the bolt of his rifle. He scanned the sky above us.

I nodded and then softly cooed to the baby filly. While I had no intention of using it, I did have my magic pistol out. I had no idea what to do and it was made situation impossible by the insipid raiders that constantly vied for my life!

“Ahahahahaaa!” One raider laughed maniacally. “Bombs away!”

“Move back!” Ghost yelled for me.

My blood ran cold and I shielded the foal for all I was worth. I looked back to see; Ghost taking careful aim at what appeared to be a metal apple flying through the air, then…

Bang!

BOOM!

The sky erupted in a furious miniature sun that lasted for all of a second, then was replaced by black smoke. Tiny fragments of flying death stabbed at the ground around us, but no pain spiked in myself nor the foal once I checked her over.

Ghost sighed and reloaded his rifle. “We need better cover.”

“Wh-wh-what… what was that!?” I screeched, watching where the explosion had happened. It was magnitudes smaller than the Goldpeak raider cache, but still.

“A grenade.”

“A what?”

Ghost sighed, then took a well aimed shot at another raider, followed up by a pained scream. “An explosive device, pony-portable. Kills with concussive force and shrapnel.”

Bang!

“In other words,” he nonchalantly added, “avoid.”

Amazing that he can be so calm about all of this. My heart was racing with each passing second, unsure which one would be my last. “A-and you travel here of-often?” The very thought seemed impossible. Who could get through this death-maze with so many armed psycho-ponies?

Ghost leaned back into cover as bullets peppered where he was. I shrieked. “Yes. But I do so quietly and don’t draw attention to myself.” He scowled at the both of us and was clearly annoyed.

Ghost peaked out from behind his cover. “They’ve moved.” And this was confirmed as no fire tried to take his head off.

“They… gave up?” I asked hopefully.

Ghost seemed much more skeptical as he looked around. He did not give me a return answer, but instead gestured for me to move. The little foal was not full-on crying any more, but she was content to quietly sniffle and whimper. My ears folded and I felt so sorry for her. I’m sure that all she wanted to do was rest and the loud gunfire and obscene raiders were not helping.

Ghost and I quickly made our way down the street, rows of boarded-up buildings to either side of a long stretch of road. He had his rifle up as he scanned rooftops and scouted the ominous dark of open windows. I did too with the hope that I could help, though my concentration stayed with the foal. It was not my intention to upset her, but if she was about to cry again I would need to keep her quiet, at least until we got somewhere safe.

“We need to find some cover,” Ghost whispered as we moved. My companion seemed rather nervous, and that in turn made me scared. So far Ghost had been calm, collected and seemed to know what he was doing and how to do so with confidence.

I hummed and bit my lip as I started looking. Most of the buildings were either too small or were boarded up with no easy entrance. Getting inside one of them would take too long, and we would be exposed to the raiders while trying to get in. One did catch my eye though.

“Hey, what about…”

“Get down!”

I eeped as Ghost forced me to the ground just as bullets tore into the building next to me. He raised his gun and fired in retaliation, then cursed. “We gotta go! We’re exposed!”

I looked up to see something pony-sized bank away. I caught a few details, like the spiked shoulder armor and the saddle-device that had two long barrels, one to either side.

I gaped in horror as it clicked. “Raiders can fly, too!?” That… that just wasn’t fair! How in the world am I supposed to survive when there are raiders that can fly!?

Then it dawned on me and I started running. We had to move and we had to move now! “Ghost, this way! I know where there is shelter!”

I focused on running and only that. We had to make it to that building if we were to survive. From here I could tell that it was the only one that was not boarded up, which meant we could get inside and get away from the flying psycho-death demon from above. I could hear Ghost shouting something behind me, but I tuned it out. Time was of the essence and we had to go.

Bullets pinged and plunged into the ground around me with so many shots that came terrifyingly close to ending my life. Thankfully the flying raider did not have Ghost’s accuracy, because if they did I would have been a corpse a long time ago.

The safety of the structure lay just ahead, only yards away. Excitement mixed with dread as I wondered if I would make it. Or if I would get cut down by the flying demon that laughed maniacally for our doom.

“We’re almost there!” I yelled back to Ghost.

“No damnit!” he shouted back.

If not for the flurry of bullets that peppered the ground before me, I might have paused to listen.

The whole first floor of the three story monolith was blown out, all of the windows were a blissfully unblocked entry point. We could fit easily, but the pursuing raider had to bank away. Mindful of my venture into the farmhouse, I more conservatively leaped through.

What I landed on was far less than stable floor. It slid under me as though it had a mind of its own with a steep incline. The hoof-sized rubble followed me as I went. Halfway down there was a rectangular desk half-buried that made for a decent life raft.

The foal was still in my left saddlebag and seemed rather happy about the slide. Despite my adrenaline and panic, I smiled. Especially when I noticed all of the bent rebar that we somehow missed.

“That’s better than getting shot at,” I commented.

Ghost followed moments after, riding some plank of wood down to me.

“Hope you’re happy,” he growled and seemed particularly unhappy.

Huh? “But… I thought-”

“Take another look, genius.” Ghost gestured around the building. I saw the walls I had been striving to reach with rows and rows of broken windows, but there was no roof. The structure looked tall and sheltering from the outside, but it was a blown-out husk on the inside. There was almost no cover in the crater that we slid into, revealed by the gray cloud carpet above us.

“Oh.” My ears folded.

“Yeah,” Ghost chided further. “You just lead us into a killzone. Congratulations. Even now Deathrain’s raiders are closing to box us in.”

Well, hell…

I looked around for some kind of exit, something that might actually save us this time. It would take way too long to swim our way out of the rubble-filled crater. And we would be exposed for the waiting raiders to gun us down.

Then I noticed two things that might hold promise.

On the opposite side of the crater from us, there seems to be a half-buried double door. Furthermore it seemed to lead into a side of the building that had not been destroyed, as I could not see through the windows and doorways.

“What about there?” I pointed to the doorway.

Ghost followed my hoof but showed nothing except that scowl. He gave me an incredulous look.

My face heated. “Well if you have a better idea, then by all means, please enlighten me!” We had no time for this nonsense. “I know, I made a mistake and that made me a stupid stable-dweller. Okay! I get it!”

Ghost had been about to say some retort along exactly those lines when bullets buried themselves into the desk.

“DEATH FROM ABOVE!!” came the over-jovial cries of the flying demon. From his tone it was clear that our attacker was another stallion.

Ghost snapped up his rifle and returned fire while I cowered to protect the foal. It was too late as the raider peeled off with the clear intent to make another pass.

Ghost reloaded, then sighed. “Fine.”

I gave a soft nod and then followed him into the gravelly mess. I kept my eyes to the sky, ready to warn Ghost if our attacker returned. He undoubtedly would since we were still alive.

More bullets plunged into the ground around us, my breath held as I waited for death.

Again we got lucky. “He can’t strafe for long.” Ghost reached the door and watched for the raider as I approached. “The building’s husk makes him pull up early.”

I tried the door, eager to get the foal and myself out of danger. It remained stubbornly closed. I tried again and again and again until I was bucking on it with my forehooves.

“It won't open!” I growled in frustration.

“Move.” Ghost moved up to my side and examined the handle. “It’s busted. I have to force the lock. I need-”

Bullets and another psychotic whoop cut him off. Ghost returned fire. “Damnit! I need you to cover me while I work.”

At my confused expression, he rolled his eyes. “I need you to shoot your energy pistol at him when he tries to strafe…”

I stared at him. “What? I am not going to fire at another pony!” Even though I realized how odd that sounded, due to the fact that this ‘Deathrain’ was a demon, it was not my place to pass judgment. That belonged to the divine Princesses, not me.

Ghost’s serious, cold eyes bore into my own as he considered my refusal. I was not going to budge or give ground on this. Killing was wrong no matter what.

He did not speak until Deathrain tried to strafe us yet again. I flinched while Ghost kept a steely composure. I wonder how many times he has been shot at to remain so calm. Was he as psychotic as the raiders were, or did he simply not care? Either way it was disturbing.

“Fine,” Ghost said as his horn lit. From a pocket on his vest, a screwdriver and bobby pin floated out. “You don’t have to kill him. Just fire your weapon in his direction to make him veer off earlier. Buy me time to get the damn door open.”

After a moment’s consideration, I nodded. I could live with scaring the raider off.

Ghost set to work on the door, our course of action decided. Gently I removed the foal from my saddlebag and cradled her, facing away from where I knew the threat would come. I was not going to chance her getting hit.

My pistol was out, the weapon shook in my trembling magic. All I had to do was shoot, nothing more, just keep him away. That is what I told myself to keep my fear in line, if barely.

I searched the gray clouded sky for the flying demon. Just beyond the walls I could hear the rest of the raiders lying in wait. Apparently we were reserved for their boss and they were just there to prevent us from escaping.

My eyes darted to a distant blur that swept horizontally above. It turned, then started growing larger instead of moving. I gulped and readied my pistol.

Cracks and flashes of light, followed by the zip and impact of bullets striking the ground nearby.

I clenched my eyes shut and held the pistol up. Some of the bullets were so close that I could feel the vibrations in the ground around me, followed soon after by the cracks of his rifles. I flinched and yelped with each one, so eerily close that at any moment I expected to die. The only reason this was slightly less terrible than when Ghost was shooting at me was because I knew where death was coming from. And that really does not make things better!

I just have to drive him off. That’s all. That little act seemed utterly impossible.

I pulled the trigger and my pistol gave sharp whines with each one. I huddled around the foal, eyes clenched and teeth grit. She whimpered, her fear of the unknown mirrored my own, except unlike her I knew what was about to happen.

I'm going to die!!

“Princesses,” I prayed quietly, my voice wracked with terror. “Hear my plea. Spare the little one, and take me in her stead.”

Fire traded. The sounds of horrid death cracked around me like a most terrifying tune. Goddesses, turn away already! Deathrain was getting closer, his joyous cackling reached my ears.

KRRRRrrrrrzt.

Click, click.

Suddenly silence. The only sounds I heard were from my pistol, but it was not the same zapping that I had associated with the gun.

I gasped and nearly fell over. A cloud of dust had shoved into my back and now I was choked for breath. Coughing and hacking, I looked back to find that Deathrain had veered away.

“Gyah!” I jerked away from the hoof that shook my shoulder. The pistol snapped around, guided in my adrenaline-fueled flurry.

Click, click. Click, click.

“Hard to fire when the cell is empty, stable-dweller.” Ghost stood before me and gently tilted the muzzle of my weapon away from him.

“R-right,” I nervously answered. I laced my magical grip and the weapon’s mouthpiece gave a groan. Any tighter and I might have crushed it.

“Where’s th-the raider?”

Ghost looked at me long and hard. “You’re wearing him.”

Author's Notes:

No quote or perk for this one, I couldn't come up with anything meaningful. I have some for some later chapters, but yeah.... I felt that there wasn't enough happening in this chapter for a level-up perk.

But here, have another song that inspires me for this story. Ghost's character in particular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyA1GL1touw