The rain battered against my helmet with light thuds. Lightning illuminated the area around me as five slavers surrounded me, guns pointed at me.
"heh, we have you now, flesh baby, be a good boy and get down on your knees," I heard one of them say, making the rest chuckle with him. His voice was gruff and deep.
I turned to face him. The glowing blue hud inside my helmet turned red as I said, "make me." in a low, slow voice. His expression changed from enjoyment to surprise as his head blew open from my rifle. I whipped around and blasted each slaver with 3 round burst as they fell before they even got a shot off. I ran through old appaloosa. I was putting my last magazine into my rifle. I had already burned through my last four and had killed several slavers since departing my companions. I was drawing every slaver to me while also getting some payback on those I knew. I still hadn't found that griffon that dragged me in, though.
As I approached the next turn, my E.F.S lit up with four more red dots around the corner, and my helmet tracking put four pony-like outlines for me through the walls. I was so glad I installed that upgrade before I left. It saved my ass so much tonight. I dropped and slid through the mud and dirt as I flew out in front of the slavers. Switching my rifle from burst to full auto as bullets flew into them like a swarm of bees from a beehive. Dropping them where they stood. I got up and continued my run. I checked my mag in the rifle, which had four rounds left. I stowed it on my back as I ran and drew my hand cannon. I was running out of ammo and personally was ready to go. I was listening for calamities battle saddle since it had a very distinct sound compared to other firearms, but those shots stopped ringing out.
I turned another corner down a small alleyway between an old train car and an old stone house. I was about to pass a door in the stonework when something burst out and tackled me into the train car, causing me to drop my gun. I looked as if something bore its wait on me to see no one there. Stealth bug, that's why I didn't see him on my hud. I thought as I threw whoever was on me off into the wall with a thud as his stealth bug turned off. Reveals a blood-red unicorn stallion with a bloodied sledgehammer cutie mark. Conveniently a sledgehammer fell next to him, covered in dried blood. I got to my feet as he did and punched him in the face. The metal gauntlet on my arm drew blood as he fell back to the floor. He responded by bucking me in the chest with both of his hind legs, sending me up into the train car, indenting it with my body, and falling to my hands and knees. Knocking the wind out of me and causing my chest to scream in pain. I saw the sledgehammer float up in matching blood-red magic as it flew towards my head. Dropping to my stomach, I looked for my attacker's legged and kicked towards his front knee. Hearing it snap. He crouched down with a scream of pain as I grabbed by the next and threw him into the train car, denting it further. I drew my gladius as I pushed off the stone wall and stabbed through him. The train car's wall gave way as we fell to the interior floor. I rolled off him, looking at the train car's roof, breathing heavily under my helmet.
My tank was running empty. I was tired and hungry but couldn't stop. im in a high-risk area and can't rest till afterward. However, my armor protects me from most small caliber ammo, which is what most of these guys were packing. I had run into a sniper earlier who put two shots in me. One slipped in between my arm plate and shoulder pad. The other threw my lower leg. Both screamed in pain, but I pushed through it knowing I had to keep going. Something im used to often doing. My vision on the light hanging above vanished as two ponies looking down at me blocked it out. One being my ally and savior littlepip, the other being the same medical pony who's been trying to keep my ass alive the past week and a half. Her charcoal coat was a prayer being answered in my pain as my mind screamed in joy.
"oh dear, you look horrible!" I heard her voice say, looking down at me as her horn glowed, and I felt her magic wash over me, checking for wounds and such.
"yeah, I get that a lot," I grunted, sitting up. Spotting my hand cannon on the ground outside in the mud. I reached out only to see it rise in a green glow and set itself in my hands. I nodded to littlepip, realizing the magic was hers. I stood up only to be sat down at a nearby bed as the medical pony continued her examination.
"goddesses! It's like you've been through a warzone!" she said, taking medical bandages and wrapping my shoulder and leg.
"well, does a kill count of 27 answer that question?" as I drank a medical potion she handed me. Her eyes went wide as she took in what I had just said. Littlepip was also shocked.
"You should be more banged up than this then!" she said, continuing her work. "im glad that you aren't but still," she added as I noticed Littlepip packing her saddlebags with some more medical supplies from the yellows boxes now all over the floor since I knocked down the wall they sat on with my 'entrance.'
"I have good armor, and im just better than them, but to be honest, im ready to leave when you guys are," I said, standing up as she finished. "im sick of this place." I finished, walking over and grabbing my blade out of the dead unicorn's corpse. There was a loud thud from the door behind me. I whipped around and fired my hand cannon instinctively. Putting a golfball-sized hole in the slaver's head as he fell to the floor. I heard the medical pony gasp as she saw the horrific sight.
"Velvet, it's time to go!" I heard littlepip say as they started running for the security office to regroup with calamity. Hopping over the newly deceased in the doorway. So that's her name, Velvet, I thought, following after them.
Upon entering the security office, there were several dead guards, and calamity was standing guard waiting for us. The room filled with cages full of sick and tired ponies, foals among them. Littlepip went to work on the locks while Velvet did her best to prep everyone for the journey ahead. Assuring them that they would be safe. I looked out the windows regularly to ensure no slavers were approaching But was alerted to calamity calling out trouble from the west side. I took a peak outside along with littlepip to see the two slavers approaching with one prominent figure walking between them. One with wings and a horn.
My heart sank as I had known only three ponies who were alicorns. The two sisters Celestia and luna, along with princess cadence. All of whom I assumed were long dead after my 200-year nap on ice. Still, I thought for a moment and remembered that cadence and shining armor reworked the spell that banished the crystal empire and disappeared with the city before the war started, not wanting to participate. Maybe they were still kicking somewhere out there. Somewhere. Then I remembered, before I froze myself, I remembered Twilight, one of Celestia's students and a close friend, was trying to scientifically make alicorns to attempt and win the war since the ones that were known were so powerful. So having an army of them would be overwhelming. It was her pride and most significant project that she even lost touch with most of her friends, focusing on it so much. She did it, actually fucking did it! I thought as I looked on in awe at the dark-coated alicorn.
I snapped back to reality as a Hailfire of bullets shredded the wall into swiss cheese and swarmed my armor like bees. I was so violent and had so much force it pushed me to the back wall before it ceased with a twin shot from outside. I checked myself, patting down my body for bulletholes. Only to find I was unscathed. "Thank you, Element-steel," I mumbled, running back to the now demolished window. Only to see calamity float inside a different window with a massive scorch mark on his chest, but alive at least. I slid over to him, taking what bandages I had and wrapping him the best I could. I needed allies to deal with the monster of science outside. Only to hear a slew of explosions outside and a quick ending yelp. I peaked out the window once more to see the wall in front of me ripped away as the alicorn flung it away with magic like a soda can. I looked on as she towered to me and littlepip, like a devil from a child's nightmare.
"COME! THROW A SPELL! MY SHIELD CAN WITHSTAND ALL ATTACKS!" I heard a female voice boom in my head, making my already throbbing headache hurt that much more. I didn't even notice the alicorn green shield until she mentioned it, never mind it being fucking telekinetic!
She stared at littlepip, seeming to ignore me surprisingly. "NO SPELLS? LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE MORE WORTHLESS THAN I PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT!" her voice boomed again.
"surprise bitch!" I yelled quick, drawing and hip firing my hand cannon, using my other hand to flip the hammer like a cowboy. It punched through her shield, surprising me as much as it did her. The shot blew off one of her ears. Fuck my shitty aim. Then again, it was from the hip. I was wrapped in a dark green glow and thrown across the room into a wall. My hand cannon fell from my hand as I hit the wall and landed elsewhere. I tried to stand as fast as possible, only to be struck by a surge of electricity, short-circuiting my helmet and any other gear I had. My armor took most of it, but I still got zapped like hell. I only saw through the two grey panels in my helmet as the alicorn slowly walked towards me. Her horn glowed and crackled with power as she struck me with another lightning bolt. The armor still absorbing most of the hit. Element-steel is excellent for absorbing this kind of shit. Still hurt, though.
The alicorn seemed to notice this and seemed to take offense somehow. Her face was a mix of disgust and anger But quickly faded into an evil grin. "IF I CAN NOT BLAST YOU TO DEATH, THEN THAT HOLLOW SUIT WILL BE YOUR DEMISE!" her voice boomed one more as I lit up in a dark green glow and felt pressure all over my body as the armor around me began to compress. This bitch was going to crush me in my own armor!
I tried desperately to move, but her magic held me in place as my once saving grace slowly became my death sentence as it began to tighten. My mind was trying to think of a way out of this, but I came up blank, unable to focus with all the pressure on my body. The lens over the right eye of my helmet cracked in three ways as my helmet began to shake violently. I slowly realized that I was going to die in what probably could be one of the worst ways possible.
CRASH
A fucking boxcar for a train fell upon the alicorn, releasing me of her magic and killing her instantly as blood gushed from beneath the steel box. Meer inches away from my legs stretched out in front of me. I flung off my helmet and gasped for air, realizing that I couldn't breathe with the helmet crushed that tight. After a few moments, I started chuckling crazily. "oh my god, I almost died, haha" I sighed between my last few chuckles as I stood up. I quickly found my gun and returned it to its holster, and hooked my helmet to my belt. I could fix it once I returned to my caravan. I walked around the boxcar to my allies, Littlepip was passed out, and Velvet was wrapped in bandages, just barely coming too. Apparently, she had passed out from machinegun fire. I never knew she was even hit. Calamity was the only one fully awake other than me and looked over littlepip. But I felt exhausted. I dropped to my knees and took a second to gather myself. I gazed at the rest of the slaves, who were both relieved and frightened at the recent events and were mostly unscathed. Then I looked back to my allies, battered and beaten but alive. these Ones seemed different than the rest. Im going to keep an eye on them for a bit. I thought to myself as I stood up and hauled littlepip onto my back. Letting her front legs dangle over my shoulders while holding her lowers legs for support. I turned to calamity and asked, "so what's this about a train?"
Footnote: I totally forgot to point out one of these in the last chapter but yeah, guess who found another story to write another spinoff for! yeah, im gonna ride this inspiration train for writing as long as I can so here is this for ya. also as a quick note, it's meant to be very generalized because im hoping anyone reading this has read the original Fallout Equestria from Kkat so that way you already know what im talking about. That way I don't have to literally copy the book for it to make sense, if that makes sense at least. other than that this main guy is gonna have an 'interesting' backstory, at least I hope yall think it is. and don't ask why I name all my guys Riley it's just the one name I've stuck with. other than that, Welcome back people!