Fallout: Equestria- "It's So Close to Hell, You Can See..."

The city of New Reigno rose up from the decay of old Reigno, while the city had not been hit by one of the megaspells, the panic and eventual evacuations to the stables had left it to rot in the post war environment. Radiation from the megaspells however was a problem as it had fallen into the valley due to its natural design, filling areas with and spreading taint from some of the decaying facilities of the old Ministry of Arcane Science laboratory that had been the center of Old Reigno's sister city, Sparkles. With the death of much of the trees that had forested the western mountain range, the valley had become a dust bowl of sand and alkali flats, which meant it was either a deathly dry land, or in the rare occasion of rain, it was a gritty bowl of the nastiest, stickiest and likely deadliest mud in all of Equestria.

The New Pony Republic was a force that had slowly built strength after they placed a fort at the city of Lake Tahoof that lay to the west just over the crest of the mountains. They were armed, organized, focused and most of all, stretched far too thin by the politics of the united coastal cities. Such nonsense was clear to any that strolled in from the dust to the sheet metal and earthen walls that surrounded the Red Rock rest stop. It was a small trade and security outpost for the NPR, and by security it meant three rangers in an office with a single cell in one room, a bar and trading post in another and a few cots in the last room.

Midnight entered the bar, eliciting the glances from the handful of ponies that sat around trying to wait out the storm in the dying sunlight. She pulled the hood of her cloak back with a hoof before removing her respirator. The dust from the surrounding alkali flat had turned ever portion of her that wasn’t well covered into a grimy tan color that did not match well with her silver and black coloration. Dust coughed from the filters of her respirator as she set it on the bar and took a seat. The old buck that was bartending gave her a long look as he finished polishing an old coffee mug that was missing its handle.

“What can I get ya?” he said as he set the mug amongst a pile that sat on a shelf.

“Hard cider...” Midnight replied as she slid her goggles onto her forehead, exposing her emerald eyes.

The bartender set a cup down in front of her before pouring alcoholic apple juice with a bit of reserve as she levitated out a few caps.

“You seem awfully familiar, you been through here before?” He asked as he placed the bottle back on a shelf behind him.

“Depends on if that bottle is from a crate that was pulled from Stable 12 by two young ponies you used to help patch up....” She replied somewhat sternly as she took a long drink of the bittersweet liquid.

His eyes widened for a moment as he took in a long breath, “By Celestia, I never thought I would be seeing Midnight Sun back in these parts before my days were counted.”

“It's good to see you too, Gramps.” she smiled and looked him in the eyes.

“Last time I saw you, you told me you were going north and were never coming back to...oh how did you put it....”

“Festering ghoul's asshole of a crater...”
they both chuckled.

“Well, I guess the question that is going to be asked by everypony that is going to recognize you, which granted has dwindled over the years, is why would you come back?” Gramps asked as he fished around in a cupboard and pulled out a box of hay chips that he proceeded to set down between them.

“I guess the easiest answer is that I'm back to take care of all that business I left unfinished...”
He watched as she took a chip and munched on it, the tension in her body slowly relaxing a little as she began to feel a hint of nostalgia set in from the moment, he spoke as if something clicked in the back of his dusty mind, “this ain't about that trouble your father left when he disappeared is it?”
She let out a soft sigh, knowing that the old buck would probably have figured it out at some point. “Yeah...he left some time coded file on my pipbuck,” she lifted her fore hoof and let the cloak slip from it, showing the rusty and worn device, “it came up on my last birthday and had a bunch of audio recording talking about how it was important that I bring that key to a specific place before my next birthday and a bunch of stuff that I couldn't really understand, like some kind of code or numbers station stuff.”

“I don't like it,” Gramps replied as his eyes narrowed a bit, the taste of apprehension was on his tongue, “your father used to tell me that what he was protecting was dangerous and that I needed to keep you kids from following him.”
He struck a tender note mentioning her brother, the tension returned to her shoulders as she took a drink and let her head drop and rotate away from him.

“Shit...” he sighed, “I...didn't mean to bring him up...”
“No...it's ok...I think part of me came back for him...” she relaxed a little. The memory of her brother, Emerald Fire, brought forth a black pit in her heart, radiating pain like black bile through her veins. There was a moment of silence between them as the last rays of sunlight were strangled by dust and night.

“Hey...um...if you want it, your old cot in the storage room is still there, just got to move a couple of things...” Gramps finally said to break the tension.

“Yeah...home sweet home,” she smiled weakly, but graciously, “thanks.”