Fallout Equestria: Sins of Retribution

"Wh-what did I do?" My adrenaline rush had started to fade away like a bad hangover. My limbs ached and my body felt like it was crumbling apart at the seems. The flash of purple shot across my vision again as the voice returned to its happy home inside my head.

"You evolved, slowly but not exactly subtly" She chuckled casually while I stared at Red Velvet's mutilated corpse. I could barely stand to look at her, yet I couldn't look away. The stench of a freshly killed corpse, normally would have made my stomach do flips. Her blood and organs had been spilled out onto the floor in a red heap of gore.

"Evolved? I don't feel any different, unless I evolved into a shittier feeling buck..." At this point in time, I had come to accept that the voice was either something else, or a trauma induced figment of my imagination that was just here to stay.

"Physically, no. Your mind however has developed just as the goddess has planned. You're meshing quite nicely into the wasteland. The Goddess was right in choosing you." She let out a blissful sigh and went silent to leave me in a state of confusion.

The goddess was right in choosing me? For what exactly? It felt as though the more and more this voice spoke to me, the more questions were left unanswered. One other unanswered question was what had happened to me regeneration? I cringed and looked down at my leg, hoping to find it healed and good as new. Of course, it wasn't. My leg remained a mangled stump of torn flesh and bone, the hoof was unhinged and scraping against the ground with every step, sending scorching pins and needles throughout my whole body.

"Figures, the moment I realize I have a life saving ability is the moment I lose it for good..." I huffed under my breath before hearing the echoing clop of hooves across the ground. I levitated Reprisal at the door and prepared to fire when Scarlet immediately came in and gasped loudly.

"Wow, here I thought you were just a typical stable pony. You fucked that bitch up pretty well." Scorched Talon chuckled as he looked at the corpse. Juniper, while avoiding eye contact with the mess on the floor, approached the terminal and began to scroll through the logs.

"Hey everypony, listen to this. You may find this interesting." She cleared her throat and began to read through the terminal log of the Overmare.

Stable-Tec Computers Version 8.1 Personnel Computer Division Model 8.7 Date File Modified 8.15.2250

We've been given a clearance to begin experiments on living test subjects. I have already given the green light to the head of the medical ward. She may not approve of using our own stable personnel, but in all honesty I couldn't care less. There is too much at stake to let morals get in the way of what may be one of the greatest strides in medicinal and scientific history since the creation of the Megaspell. We have already prepared to send a few representatives out into the wasteland to find Stables 24, 62 and 58. With our joint efforts as well as the support of Dr. Cloverfield of New Hope, we can construct the God Talisman within a few decades...and hopefully we will be able to restart this world. We can restart it all from year zero. This project is such a grand task, that even the Grand Pegasus Enclave has begun to offer technological supplies to aid us as well.

"Look at the year this file was made...that's only a few years ago Shamrock. This stable was still active until...something happened here." I was at a loss for words; Was this where my mother had been wandering off to all the time? Running through the wasteland between these different stables? Not only that, but another disturbing name rose up in the end. The Grand Pegasus Enclave.

"Are there anymore of these logs?" Scarlet spoke up, staring wide eyed at the screen beside me. Juniper nodded her head and brought up another log.

Stable-Tec Computers Version 8.1 Personnel Computer Division Model 8.7 Date File Modified 5.23.2257

There was a radiation leak this week that got into the test subjects chambers. The mixture of the various prototype talismans with the subjects resulted in rather...unexpected mutations. Hooves were mutilated and replaced with grotesque appendages, blood replaced with what seemed to be chlorophyll, and their entire bodies were covered in a strange green moss. Not only that, but they seem to make a strange screeching noise to communicate. This transformation took less than a few days to undergo on nearly all of our subjects. Thankfully none of our data was altered and testing shall begin once more as soon as we can seal up the leak. I find it a rather strange coincidence that just a few weeks into using the Enclave's "master crafted" technology, that an accident would occur. I've heard about what they did before. Why they're up in the clouds now and quite frankly I don't trust the fact that they have scientists involved in this program. Either way, it isn't my place to question. Not that I could even do anything about it if I wanted.

Dune had become eerily silent as we continued to read through the logs. By now all of us were focused on the screen, except for Talon. He was pretty content with roaming around the room in search of just about any form of loot he could get his claws on while we continued to read ahead

Stable-Tec Computers Version 8.1 Personnel Computer Division Model 8.7 Date File Modified 2.5.2260

Those idiots. Those fucking jar headed, short sighted idiots. The Grand Pegasus has begun what they call, "tying up loose ends". We've already lost contact with Stable 62. All of our hard work, a full decade worth of research and experimentation. All the ponies that gave their lives for this...this wretched talisman. Crushed! CRUSHED! We were so close to finding the final key! I just know it! If the Enclave could just give us some more time, we can finish our work! So that we can give all of Equestria its fair pay.

The pieces were starting to slowly fall into place, I could feel as if the voice in my head was quietly snickering inside of my brain while the logs continued to blow my mind apart. I was almost afraid to read the final log that was waiting to be opened up for one final time.

Stable-Tec Computers Version 8.1 Personnel Computer Division Model 8.7 Date File Modified 8.15.2262

Dr. Cloverfield came by one last time. She had a colt with her...apparently it was the only thing she could salvage from Stable 62. She warned us that the Enclave would be coming for us next and that we should leave before they arrived. We cant leave now, not yet. Not after we are so close to success. I gave her the most recent prototype, to take care of it should anything happen to us before we finish the final design. You were made for something better sh !@#%$#@^&()_!#+!%"!#$}{::@#!{:$}:#{!@}%:{@!#$:^%}!#${^:!{$#^:@}${#^:@{%^:@{$}:@{:%@$}{:%@${}:%@{^^*&:*{#^{$%:@$}{%:@${#%:$#@{^^&&{*:$!}{:12%%&526":#@!^^!^@$
!^^6!^&7714!$^*7858%@^^^^@#@%$!!!#$$#^&& [DATA CORRUPTED]

The words began to warp as it constantly began to spam the same [DATA CORRUPTED] message until Juniper exited out of the logs of the Overmare's terminal.

"That's all that she wrote...what do you guys make of that?" Juniper looked back to us. I wasn't sure which questions were answered and which just opened up into more questions now. Scarlet looked to me with the exact same combined look of revelation and confusion.

"We have to find those missing Stables..." I said simply, standing up to only sit back down when I tried to step on my splintered hoof. Scarlet gave me a healing potion and began to wrap my stump leg before standing back up and sighing.

"We still have our current mission at hand...finding those Water Talismans." Scarlet looked to the terminal and then over at Dune who had finally began to speak up. I already didn't have much trust in the Pegasus, even if he were friends with Spring Breeze. He was hiding something from us and I wanted to know what.

"The water filtration systems. That's where we will most likely find a few Talismans." He spoke calmly and already began to walk before Scorched Talon cleared his throat.

"There's also the fact of our weapons? I don't know about yall, but I paid a pretty cap for my gear. Any ideas on where we'll find that?" He grumbled as he looked down at us all.

"Well, if this is layered out like the other stables, with any luck the armory was where your missing weapons are." I said with a little bit of confidence. I was glad to have at least some questions answered. Even if they led to more puzzles, at least now we had some sort of goal to follow. A trail of breadcrumbs to reveal what has happened.

"Well then, lets get going. I'm sick and tired of being in this moss covered shithole" Scorched huffed and began to make his way to the door. Pretty soon we would all get the answers we needed.

Soon, we would get our fair pay...

Footnote: Level Up.

New Perk: Retention, Skill magazines have a longer duration