Fallout: the Return

Chapter 7: Findings

After a quick application of gauze, Mr. Rattles was ready to visit Twilight. I doubt I needed to hide his identity; it’s common knowledge I worked with strange animals, such as manticores. Mr. Rattles looked like a textbook example of an Everfree animal.

With Leo’s help, I managed to slip a dog collar on Mr. Rattles; the Nightstalker completely calm with Leo talking to him in somewhat confusing sentences.When I added a leash to the collar, Leo decided to ask Mr. Rattles a question. “What’s your favorite color? Mine is green and purple and blue and red,” the list continued for all the other colors I taught Leo, which were quite a few.Rattles - adding ‘Mr.’ to the beginning every time got redundant quickly - let out an almost dog like ‘aroo?’ and cocked his head to the side.Leo wrapped Rattles in a hug and taped his nose with a hoof. “You’re silly, that’s not a color,” Leo giggled out.I couldn’t help but smile at the two, my mind finally made up, “I guess you can keep him, Leo.”“Yay!” Leo squealed, a look of pure joy on his face. Rattles winced from the colt yelling in his ear.Jason fake coughed, “Fluttershy, shouldn’t we have discussed this together first.” I turned to look at him, and he looked worried. “I know you have a soft spot for animals, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hugged a Deathclaw or something; but you’re considering letting our son keep something, for lack of a better word, evil?”I sighed, frowning while looking at Jason, “I know from experience that animals are never evil, just misunderstood.” I gave a laugh and smiled, “In the Everfree on the day I met Twilight, I helped a poor manticore get a large thorn out of its paw, even though it attacked us. The big kitty wasn’t evil, just in pain.”Jason rubbed his face with a hoof, “But Nightstalkers aren’t manticores, honey. I’ve seen whole packs of them attack without a reason.”There was never a ‘random’ attack. There was always a reason behind their behavior. “So have manticores, but it was always a female defending cubs.” I looked to Leo who was still hugging Rattles, “Leo, can you ask Rattles if there is more of his kind around?”Leo did as I asked, and translated the saddened whimpers and hisses back to me, “No pack, all alone.” The Nightstalker’s language was getting clearer and clearer to me, but Leo was doing a great job as translator for the time being.I was going to give Jason another reason why we should keep Rattles, but there was a rapid knocking at the door. Jason answered and was nearly bowled over by Raul, who was talking a mile-a-minute in Spanish.Rattles shook his tail, making a rattling sound while crouching low and growling. I didn’t need Leo to translate that for me; it was a clear warning to back off. Leo managed to calm the Nightstalker down with a few whispers and a scratch behind the ears.Raul gasped out something in Spanish before speaking normally, his fear visibly leaving him, “Should have known you’d use your gift for talking to animals to tame it, Fluttershy.”I gave a proud smile while glancing at both Leo and Raul, “Well, Leo was the one who used his gift.”Raul shook his head, somewhat amused by that information. “Of course,” he groaned with a roll of his eyes. “Guess magic powers are genetic. Why do I even worry sometimes?”Jason shrugged, “Maybe it’s because we were humans once, and magic was the stuff of pre-war books.”Raul nodded, “Guess you’re right. But oftentimes it feels like… oh wait, peaceful non-post-apocalyptic wasteland. It’s supposed to be worry free.”Jason and Raul shared a laugh, Leo joining in though I doubt he understood why the stallions were laughing. As for myself, I was feeling guilty for not being able to help the Mojave, but I had my unborn son to think about. Still, the Followers of the Apocalypse were on the right track, I wouldn’t have been able to contribute any more than I already had from my bedside.Before we could say anything else, there was another knock at the door. Raul answered it, jerking sharply in surprise as a pink muzzle quickly found his cheek with a smooch.Raul looked dazed for a second, “Uh, Pinkie, what was that?”I heard the mare giggle from outside the doorway, “A kiss, silly. I thought you might like it. Did you?” I could hear the uncertainty in her voice as she asked the question.Raul smiled widely, “Of course, but it was unexpected… why are you here?”“Why am I here?” she asked herself, tapping a hoof against her chin. Suddenly, she was bouncing with that unexplainable high-pitch ‘sproing’, “Oh, oh, I know what it was now. My Pinkie Sense was going crazy, so I followed where it led, and it led me to you.”“Uh,” Raul murmured uncertainly while backing away from the door. “This was unexpected,” He murmured to himselfAs Twilight once stated, ‘Pinkie wraps the integer of unexpected right around the product of reality, to equal random’.Pinkie bounced inside, the door closing itself behind her, “I know, Raul. But you look so lonely and unhappy at times. Everypony else is happy with their special somepony, and I figured, why couldn’t it be us?”Jason swallowed in surprise, and from the coughs following afterwards, his spit had gone the wrong direction. Jason’s coughing didn’t distract the two, Raul just rubbing the back of his head, his leather-like cheeks appearing redder than usual, “Heh-heh, wow. I don’t know what to say. I’m hundreds of years older than you, and I’m a ghoul.”I saw her shrug, “Age and looks, just numbers and philosophy. Everypony says it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”Raul laughed and waved his hoof, “Knowing my luck, my insides look worse than the outside of me.”Pinkie pulled a stethoscope out from behind Angel, who was listening to the pair. Pinkie placed the stethoscope to Raul’s chest, making the ghoul wince. She smiled warmly, “Don’t know about you, but I hear a heart, and hearts are meant to be loved.”Raul smiled, blushed, and eventually laughed, “I guess I can be your special somepony. But answer this question first; have you been having strange dreams?”Pinkie sighed, her shoulders slumping as her eyes gazed to the floor. “Not really. The Battle at Hoover Dam doesn’t show up as often in my dreams, thankfully,” She muttered darkly. Pinkie then looked like she was thinking, tapping a hoof against her chin. “Although, recently after Rainbow and Nolan married, I’ve been dreaming of having a special somepony, and living a quiet life with somepony along with a few foals. It’s silly and totally not, well… me.”Pinkie shrugged, “I’m supposed to be random and unpredictable, but the mare I’ve seen myself as, is quiet and… and… she’s happy.”Pinkie sat her rump on the floor, her hair deflating, tears welling in her eyes; Leo, Rattles, and everypony else just keeping back. Rainbow told me she could get violent when she was like this.She looked like she was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. “I’ve been putting a happy face on for four years straight… but life sucks,” Pinkie said through tears as she tried to wipe them away, but left damp streaks in her fur, “Most nights I dream I’m in the kitchen back at Hoover Dam, everything exploding before I ran out to war. Now I see a happy me with foals of my own, and I’m tired of being unhappy and lonely,” She gave a hurt sob mixed with a laugh, “I want to be the mare I’m dreaming of, and I want to be that mare with you Raul. You’re funny, tell great stories, and you’re just a great stallion. I’ve never seen you angry with anypony or yell.”Raul wrapped Pinkie in a hug, who, broke down into full sobs at his touch. Years of held in emotion began rushing out in a torrent of sniffles and tears. Leo and Rattles walked over to the two, and Leo placed a hoof on Pinkie while Rattled rested his head on one of Pinkie’s legs.With Pinkie sobbing openly, and looking like she needed a cheering up, Jason and I moved closer to comfort her.We stayed with Pinkie for around a minute as she cried out the pent up depression. Raul and the rest of us backed away when she calmed down, sniffling.Raul looked at Pinkie, his face neutral. “You should have told us you were hurting like this, Pinkie. We’re your friends, I could have been you’re special somepony years ago.” He blushed, “Wow, the term special somepony sounds weird.”Pinkie shook her head, “You mean, you’re still saying yes, even though I’m doing this to be happy?”Raul nodded, “Finding happiness in love isn’t selfish. I like you as well, Pinkie. You reminded me of Mexico before the war with your parties, helped cheer me up when I was feeling like a useless old man, and you make others happy, even though inside, you’re not.”That’s when Raul gave Pinkie a hesitant and unsteady kiss on the cheek. The pink mare smiled while her mane reflated slightly as she blushed.The lovely moment was shattered when Leo yelled, “Get a room.” A phrase used often when Rainbow and Nolan were around. The two laughed, and decided to leave after saying goodbye.When the door closed, I gave a sigh before facing Jason, “Ready to leave for Twilight’s?”

<>~<>~<>

“So, that’s one of the things from the world you disappeared to?” Spike asked me nonchalantly as he took a sip of tea. Twilight was busy at the police station, so we were waiting at the library.I looked over to Leo, seeing him and Rattles sit together, completely inseparable from each other, “Yes, and if what Jason says is true, uncharacteristically docile.”Jason shook his head, “No one has really tried training Nightstalkers before, except Red Lucy, but they were for fighting.”I had learned about Red Lucy and the Thorn from Jason, and though I don’t get angry often, and it’s super rare that I curse, but that bitch… How could she make animals fight each other for money? It’s cruel and unethical. “If we ever go back to the Wasteland, I’m personally going to throw her off of Hoover Dam. Or get Maud to do it.”Jason gave a nervous chuckle, “How about no. A simple rock caused a mushroom cloud the size of a super-sized mini-nuke.”Spike scratched his head, not knowing what a mini-nuke even was. He opened his mouth with a claw pointed, like he was going to ask. However, he dropped his arm as he shook his head, dropping the question. “At least her visit made Pinkie happy again,” he stated with a shrug.Pinkies actions in my house spoke otherwise. “It didn’t cheer her up, Spike. She was talking about being lonely at my house after asking Raul to be her special somepony.”Spike shrugged, “Meh, if there’s a problem with that, I don’t see it. I’m in love with Rarity. The side effects of her being a ghoul actually work out for us since she gets to live over two hundred more years.”Jason added his opinion, “That just leaves Twilight and Applejack who’s not in a relationship, or married.”Spike rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Twilight works too much to get romantically involved with anypony. She did talk a lot about that Cour-” A purple flash interrupted him, and a drowsy looking Twilight appeared, letting out a massive yawn, which Leo and Rattles copied.She wasn’t facing us fully when she spoke, her voice strained with another yawn, “Hey Spike, hey Fluttershy, Jason, Leo, Night-” She spun to face us, “Nightstalker!”Rattles let out a happy bark and rolled over. Leo, who was holding onto his new best friend like a tick, was flipped over by the roll, presenting his belly with a wing pinned under the Nightstalker’s back.Leo was unfazed by the sudden change in direction, just giggling as he spoke, “Princess Twilight, this is my new best friend, Mr. Rattles.” Leo pulled himself from under the Nightstalker and began to rub Rattles’ belly, who, kicked and panted like an actual dog.Twilight shook her head rapidly to wake herself up, “Did you get your son a Nightstalker? Where did you even get one in the first place?”Jason answered for me, “A family moving to town hit him with their wagon. Leo managed to prove that Fluttershy’s gift for talking to animals is genetic.”Twilight did a double take, her mouth opening in surprise, “That would explain the cutie mark.” She then smiled, “You should be proud Fluttershy, he’s one of the youngest foals ever recorded to figure out what their talent is at such a young age.”Leo gave a chuckle, “Mommy says I’m special.” Leo stopped rubbing Rattles’ belly long enough for the Nightstalker to lick his face and be rewarded with laughs and a belly scratch.“And for once,” Twilight sighed, “I’m too tired to react like the world will end if I don’t do something. Chrysalis was probably leeching off my love for you guys the whole time I was talking with-” She stopped abruptly and quickly teleported away.Then, just as fast as she left, she returned, “Okay, whew, for a second I thought she somehow managed to feed with a null-ring on her horn, but I’m just fatigued. I’ll worry about this when I’m not ready to pass out from exhaustion again.”Suddenly, Rainbow Dash crashed through the window and managed to hit Twilight. Leo and Rattles made yelps that sounded similar to each other’s, I dove to protect Leo from shards of glass that never came, and Spike and Jason stood there like they knew it was going to happen.The crash didn’t stop the cyan mare from speaking to Twilight, who was pinned under her on her back, “Twilight, thank goodness you’re here. I’ve got a problem, a big one.”“Changelings?” Twilight gasped in shock, shoving Rainbow off of her and standing up.Rainbow shook her head, “No. Some unicorn is passed out on the edge of town, and from the twelve-gauge on her hip, I doubt she’s from here.”Twilight shook her head, groaning in frustration, “I’ll grab my power armor. I’ll worry about the Nightstalker later.”“I’m coming with you,” I shouted, as I followed Twilight.

<>~<>~<>

It didn’t take long for Twilight, Rainbow, and I to get to the unconscious mare, everyone else staying behind at the library. It seemed that nopony else had found her, as she was still lying on the side of the road. She was dressed in a skin-tight brownish-yellow suit with four black boots and black armor, as well as a double barreled shotgun in a holster on her left flank.Her fur was a soft blue, almost the color of Rainbow Dash, and her short mane was black as pitch.I gasped when she groaned, then looked towards us. Her face a jigsaw puzzle of scars, even her neck wasn’t spared from a dull pink line running across it.I couldn’t see Twilight’s expression under her power helmet, but her voice shook with fear, “Oh no, those scars…” She shivered in her power armor. Removing her helmet, Twilight rushed over to the mare who was struggling to get onto her hooves.As soon as the mare looked at her forelegs and saw her hooves, she screamed in fright and fell on her side, fainting.Twilight levitated the shotgun away from the mare, passing the weapon to Rainbow Dash. Levitating the mare in her magic, she floated the Wastelander over to me, and set her on my back.To my surprise, once she was laying on me, I could tell how small she was. She was much shorter than average, probably halfway between the size of a teen and an adult pony.“Twilight, is she hurt?” I asked.Twilight shook her head, her horn still casting a spell, “No, I can’t detect anything wrong with her. It appears she just passed out.”Going from human to equine must be a real shock.Speaking of shock, instead of walking back to the library, Twilight teleported all four of us back to the middle of it. Scaring everyone except Leo and Rattles, as the former was busy riding the latter, yelling “Giddyup,” blissfully unaware of the mare we brought with us.I carefully set her down on the table, which Twilight had cleared of the wooden horsehead statue, allowing Spike to get a look at the several cuts lining her face.“Whoa, what happened to her?” Spike asked, then jerked at her outfit, “Another one of the ponies you brought back with you?”Twilight shook her head, “We found her outside of town, and when she looked at herself, she screamed like she didn’t know what she was.”The mare groaned and tried to roll, but I placed a hoof against her shoulder so she wouldn’t fall off the table.She looked around, blinked twice, then spotted Leo riding Rattles. For some reason, she let out a loud laugh, “Oh man, what did I get drugged with?”Twilight stepped into her view, “I’m afraid this isn’t the effects of drugs. You’re now an entirely different species in a completely different world.”She groaned, rolled her eyes, and sighed, “Guess that explains the hooves.” She tried to get up, but fell. I managed to catch her and set her upright.She looked around while I propped her up, but her eyes kept drifting back to Twilight. “Answer me this question: How did a Brotherhood Paladin get here?”That confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Mojave Wasteland was coming back to haunt us.