Fallout Equestria: Crescent Rising

10 Years Later

"You sure it's here?" a pony asked, looking into the farm houses set in front of the horizon.

"Yyyup" the other pony answered back. "Weather's nice this mighty fine day, huh?" the cool breeze took him back a bit, reminded of his youth back on his farm, "I hope the same goes for her"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you'll see."

"Nash, you let out the bunnies into the carrot fields, again?"

"Imma mighty sorry, ma'am. I was really plumb tuckered out this morning. I didn't expect-"

"It don't matter a thing, Nash," she chuckled, "Just help me round up them bunnies, without traumatizing them this time" she suggested cheerfully

The two smiled at each other, especially Nash who was relieved. He thought to himself how thankful he should be for having her employ him when most pony would throw him out for flopping up on more than one occasion in a week.

Catching the majority of the bunnies relied on timing and speed. For most, both had to scurry the bunnies back to their quarters. Other bunnies however, have adapted and often outsmarted the ponies. The only way other than traumatizing them by snatching them with their mouths was to lure them with food. Technically, this was easier, but with food being scarce, this was often the last resort and unfortunately, this happened today.

It was already hard to feed themselves when they also had to make their quotas, with the money being invested into better capital for farming.

Regardless, the sun was setting and Nash went to return the equipment back to the shed, while she went to the farmhouse to jot down the quota she made today. She took off her tailored cowgirl hat and rested herself onto a chair, getting her glasses back on for the paperwork.

"Excuse me, ma'am"

She lifted her eyes up and saw a pony right in front of her.

"You don't happen to be, Ellie Bringer, now aren't you?"

"No, sorry, sir. I'm her sister, Selene Bringer. I don't know where Ellie Bringer went after the massacre. Probably somewhere better than this dump," she chuckled to herself

The mysterious pony seemed like he was halfway to hoofing up daisies. Tired, troubled, and somewhat lost.

"Bu- but..."

She got up and apologized, "I'm mighty sorry about this mix up. Especially since you probably traveled across several acres of land to get here. Let me at least give you a day's worth of food for the trip back, it's the least I can do for you"

"But the glasses"

"What glasses? I'm not wearing any"

"They're on your desk, the glasses you wore a decade ago"

She looked back at her desk, she must've taken off her glasses with magic without knowing.

"Well, I... uhh..."

"Will you give it a rest, already."a pony called out from the sidelines. It was a familiar voice to her. "He knows you're Ellie Bringer. Just listen to what he's about to say"

She decided to drop the charades and let the pony speak, but only after she told him, "Look, I know it's going to be about my family. Been 10 years after what happened, of me going to the Bureau of Information every month for any news about a single family member has been a wild goose chase. And how do you know me?"

"Why, I was the one who found you. I was there 10 years ago when the NRE stopped you at our camp. I too was a involuntary camp follower. I was the one was suppose to look for any goods of use in the cart and I found you."

Ellie flashed back to the moment when a dark figure opened the blanket before closing it but still being found seconds later by the soldiers.

"But don't take this the wrong way. I didn't tell nopony about you," he reassured, "Though of course, no pony believed me"

"Thank you, Mister...?

"Pockets. But what you should know is that your family is alive."

Her eyes widened at the prospect of them being alive, but then she became suspicious, "Wait, how did you survive to tell me about this? Everypony knows that the raiders actually massacred the ponies there. Even if there were remains, the sandstorms often cover the skeletal remains before anypony else would ever reclaim them."

"Being a unicorn, I thought you'd know better" the pony on the sideline said

"Teleportation" she thought

"Exactly, only a handful of us camp followers were teleported, but since the magic was probably so strong, all of us found ourselves in different places. Took me a couple days to get to a settlement. Wanting to thank your family, I'd tried looking for them, which has lead me to you"

"I don't know what to say, sir. Thank you but there's not much I can do.  you so much

"Huh, never thought of you doing farm work. Always assumed Nash did all the work, him being a Earth pony and all"

She stopped writing, "And what does that mean?" she asked as she glared at him. Both knowing it was rhetorical, she returned to writing.

"Why'd you lie to him"

"I like to feel like she's here"

"Well, I better not