Fallout Equestria: Growing Darkness

Chapter 7: Welcome to New Trinity City

Trinity City Ruins Sewers

The sewer system, though dark and unnerving, had been relatively empty. Most of what Star Shimmer and Rusty Bottlecap had encountered had been simply radroaches and radigators. The latter stayed in the center of the trough of sludge in the center of the sewers. A hard tick emitted every couple of seconds from Star’s pipbuck. Slowly but surely chipping at the two’s sanity.

“How much longer till we get there?” Star Shimmer asked, her eyes staying firmly on the edge of the sludge, the pipbuck’s light bobbing across the surface, ‘I’ll be damned if a mutated reptile is gonna kill me.’

“Not much.” Rusty Bottlecap trotted further and further, the sewer stretching endlessly before them.

“I mean I don’t mean to doubt you, but are you sure you know where you’re going?” Star Shimmer looked over to an intersection they were passing, “Are we sure we shouldn’t be going this way?”

Rusty glanced back at her, “Oh sure. You could go down there. Have fun with the mutants and pink wall.”

Star Shimmer was taken aback, “I was just asking.” Her eyes narrowed, as she looked down at her hooves.

“I know where I’m going. This isn’t the first time I’ve been down here.” Rusty’s ears started to twitch, “Perfect, you hear that?”

Star Shimmer tilted her head and concentrated on the sounds around her. Through the radigator gurgles and strange echoing noises, she heard the faint sound of music, “You sure that isn’t just raiders waiting to shoot us in the face?”

Rusty smirked, “It would be pretty moronic for them to give away their position like that.” A small snicker escaped his lips, “You know what? That wouldn’t be the dumbest thing I’ve seen them do.”

Star Shimmer sighed, “Fine, so long as they don’t shoot at us.”

“I don’t know about that. Silver has an itchy trigger mouth,” Rusty stopped and gestured for Star Shimmer to continue, “Mares first.”

Star Shimmer glared at Rusty, “Oh, you’re such a gentlestallion.”

Chuckling, Rusty trotted forward. The two continued on, and slowly the music grew louder. Turning at the next intersection, Star Shimmer could see light at the far end of the tunnel.

An amalgamation of sheet metal and train carts blocked the tunnel. Guard ponies sat at the top, their attention on something in between them. An insignia of a sword crossed with a gun and a pitchfork.

“That’s… the New Trinity Insignia, right?” Star Shimmer murmured as she trotted closer to to Rusty.

“Yeah, Welcome to New Trinity City. Home of the free pony.” Rusty stopped as they entered the light. Reaching into his saddlebag, he pulled out a small metallic item and held it up in his hoof, "Hey!” He called out.

The guards turned towards Rusty, looks of surprise flashed across their faces. Stumbling over to the edge of the wall, they trained their guns on Rusty and Star.

“Go back to the shit hut you crawled out of before we shoot your brains across the walkway.”

“Calm down, I’m a scavie. You see the pendant?” Rusty wriggled his forehoof holding the metallic item.

One of the guards leaned forward, “State your I.D. number.”

“11037-012,” Rusty tilted his head, his ears flipped up, “Tell Silver I said hi.”

The guards glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

CLANK!

The sound echoed throughout the tunnel as a section of sheet metal pivoted away from the wall, revealing a hidden doorway. Two guards rushed out to either side of the door, guns aimed at Rusty and Star.

From behind them came a third guard, this one a unicorn wearing heavier armor and a helmet. The heavy guard casually trotted forward, "Well, look at the wasteland trash that has been dropped at my doorstep.” A mares voice called out from the guard.

Rusty Bottlecap gave the guard a cocky smile, "You know it’s always great to see your sorry, ugly mug.”

The guard’s helmet, enveloped in silver magic, lifted off of their head. Underneath, a mare with silver fur and mane smiled back to Rusty, "Well, you look like shit, you have fun?”

Rusty motioned for Star Shimmer to follow, and began to trot towards the mare, "Loads. I’ll tell you more about it inside.”

The mare glanced at Star Shimmer, then to the pipbuck, "And who might you be?”

Star Shimmer Stared at the mare, ‘Goddesses, even her eyes are silver.’ “A pony that found herself on the wrong side of town.” She mumbled.

The mare’s eyes narrowed, “That so. Then let me be the first to welcome you to The Shithole.”

Star Shimmer raised her eyebrow, “The… what?”

///

The Shithole turned out to be a section of the settlement known as New Trinity City. Officially called the Trinity Water Works, the guards and technicians that work in the area gave it the colorful name. Fresh, clean water spewed out of filtration gems in the sewer canals, guards trotted along the side. Doors to maintenance tunnels turned barracks lined either side. Within one such room, Rusty, Star, and Silver sat around a small table, small mugs of water sat before each of them.

“So Rusty needed saving? Why am I not surprised,” Silver said with a snide grin.

“Hey! We needed each other. She didn’t even have a gun, ” Rusty Bottlecap Complained.

“A mare’s always packing, Rusty.” Silver stretched, “So, you’re enclave?” She glanced back at Star Shimmer.

Star Shimmer nodded, “Yeah.”

Silver huffed, “I see why you didn’t say at first. Keep that to yourself while here. I’d rather not be put on water cleaning duty because your blood got in the system.”

“Understood.” Star Shimmer’s ears flipped back, “Do you know anyway for me to get to Safe Hayven?”

Silver nodded, “Well, yeah. Best way is to just walk there.”

Star Shimmer raised an eyebrow, "Is there no air ships here?”

Snickering, Silver shook her head, “You’re about three months too late. Enclave cut ties with us because of our standing with the Free Packs.” Her eyebrow raised at Star Shimmer, “Are you guys oppressed, or do you just not read the news?”

“U-uh,” Star Shimmer gave Silver a nervous smile, “What can I say, school and all that.”

Silver rolled her eyes, “Right. Well, an airship would take you the roundabout way, and a merchant may decide to sell you off for a quick cap. The road to Safe Hayven can be a warzone, but it’s a direct line.”

“And that’s better?” Star Shimmer tilted her head.

Silver turned towards Rusty, “With an official scavie escort, you’d be fine. Right Rusty?”

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna take her there.” Rusty waved away Silver’s stare as he took a swig of water.

“Is-s that all?” Star Shimmer asked, her ears folding back, “No offense to you Rusty, but I found you half dead. Are we sure we won’t just die?”

Rusty’s ears perked up, his eyes glared at Star Shimmer, "You think you’re gonna do better on your own? You had a bullet in your wing.”

Star Shimmer slowly tilted her glass in circles, "I mean, we have a knife between the two of us. Those maniacs took down ponies properly equipped.”

Rusty began to stand up from his spot, "I’ll have you know, I can kill a-”

“Enough!” Silver slammed her hoof on the table, causing Star Shimmer to accidentally spill her water, “Rusty, How much caps do you have right now?”

Rusty sat down, his face flinching from an unknown pain, “About fifty. The rest are back in Bastion.”

Silver Sighed. Her eyes flicking from Rusty, to Star, “Stay here. I’ll be back, I don’t want to see that knife of yours out.” Star Shimmer and Rusty Bottlecap glanced at each other, then stared at opposing walls, “By the goddesses.” Silver trotted out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The room fell into a long silence, the rushing sound of water and shouts of guards echo from beyond the door. Star Shimmer glanced around the room, Focusing on everything but Rusty. The room itself appeared to be a private bedchambers, A single bed sat at the far end of the room, a small foot locker sitting against the foot of it. A desk sat against the right wall, the top a mess of papers and pencils. Above the desk hung a small, cracked mirror.

A few minutes later, The door screeched open again. Silver trotted in, a leather bag, ragged cloak, and several containers of water and food in her magical grasp, “Hundred fifty caps.” She tossed it to Rusty, who grasped it shakily with his hooves, “You pay me back in about a month. Got it?”

Sighing, Rusty nodded, “Y-yeah, you got it. Thanks.”

Silver turned to Star Shimmer, a warm smile on her muzzle, “You’ll be fine with Rusty, he’s a jackass, but he knows his stuff. Make sure he gets you something nice for the road.”

Star Shimmer smirked, “You got it.”

“Oh, and one more thing.” The ragged cloak floated over to Star Shimmer, “Here, wear this while you’re out there.”

Star Shimmer took the cloak in her hooves, “Uh-thanks.” Star Shimmer took a sniff, and her face scrunched up. The scent of the sewer wafted from the garb, “Do-uh, do you not have a lot of pegasi around or...”

Silver Shook her head, “They’re not uncommon, but it’s always good to have the element of surprise, if you know what I mean.”

Star Shimmer slowly nodded, looking the cloak over again, ‘It’s just an old cloak… an old, nasty smelling, questionably stained cloak.’

Silver looked from Star Shimmer to Rusty, “Alright, You guys should rest

///

A couple of hours underground wasn’t really enough to get Star Shimmer back to her best, but it helped. With her new found energy, she faced one of her biggest tasks yet.

“That’ll be 70 caps.” The stall pony said, his ears whipping a small fly away. His dingy brown coat the same shade as the fur garb he wore.

Rusty Bottlecap pushed the caps forward with one hoof, while scooting the battle saddle, a small box of shotgun shells, and metal parts he had just bought to him.

Star Shimmer eyed Rusty up and down, her eyebrow raised high. As Rusty placed the metal parts and shells in his saddlebags, he caught Star’s gaze, “What?”

“You sure about this?” She looked over to the battle saddle. It was an old setup,rust forming on a decent bit of the metal sections. The straps had been eaten away, leaving just an impromptu cord to hold it to the wearer. To top it off, the shopkeep said that the bite grip was faulty, saying Rusty may need to bite down a couple of times for a shot.

Rusty looked at her with an annoyed glare, “I’m sorry, not everything is as fancy and new as it is in Safe Hayven. We deal with what we got, and no we can’t get a brand new one cause that’s at least a thousand caps down the drain.” Rusty gripped the battle saddle and tossed it onto his back, “Come on, we need to get some more supplies before we’re off.”

“Um, Shouldn’t we get a gun?” Star gestured to one of the guns laying across the front of the stand.

“You know, the miss seems to have a point.” The stall pony leaned over the counter, a smile forming on his face, “It’s the best assortment for the traveler on a budget.”

“No, I got myself covered.” Rusty waved the two away.

“Then how about something for the miss,” The stall pony nudged Star, “You can never be too careful out in the wastes.”

“We don’t need her blowing her head off, alright.” Rusty stared deadpanned at the stall pony.

“I’m sorry, what?” Star Shimmer trotted up to Rusty, her eyes narrowing, and ears flipping back, “Blow my head off?”

Rusty straightened himself, staring Star Shimmer down, “Look, I don’t mean to offend you. Ponies from your town tend to be more on the ignorant fool side, I wouldn’t want to assume you’d-”

Star held her hoof up to Rusty’s mouth, “Silver said to get me something, right?”

Rusty leaned back. The pained expression returning to his face, "Yeah, yeah she did.”

Star Shimmer gave Rusty a sickly sweet smile, “You wouldn’t want word to get back that you decided to be cheap on a mare, would you?” Star Shimmer fluttered her eyes and her lips puckered up into a pout, “I mean I just want a little something to defend myself.”

Rusty looked away, a few choice words barely slipped past his lips. With a sigh, he trotted back to the stall.

“Well now, your little friend talked some sense into you.” The stall pony said with a taunting smile.

Rusty ignored him and looked around. His eyes glanced off of each weapon, from light machine guns to brass hooves, Pistols and shotguns. Slowly going from left to right, top to bottom, each weapon taking a small bit of his time. Rusty’s mouth moved slightly, and his eyes glanced over each weapon again, taking in their details. Finally his hoof pointed to one of the weapons, “How much for the BB gun and a hundred pellets?”

“What!?” Star Shimmer Stomped up to Rusty, her hoof waving at the stand, “Out of all of these, you choose the foal’s toy?”

Rusty leaned back, hoof shooing away Star Shimmer, “I’ve seen a pony shoot off the head of a tank roach with one of these, You’ll be fine.”

“A tank-what?” Star Shimmer shook her head, “No, step aside, my turn.” She pushed Rusty aside and looked around at the weapons. Most were old and rusty, though a small pistol seemed to shine from a nearby corner, “May I see the ten millimeter there?”

The Stall pony looked over to the pistol, “Ah, wonderful choice.” With a hoof, he swept the gun to the front of the stall’s counter, “A classic choice for upstarting wasteland adventurers.” The gun itself shined, the metal polished and rust free. A large cut mark wend down the side of the barrel, while small scratches and bite marks covered other parts of the pistol. The wooden grip had seen better days, being nawed and chipped down away till there was almost nothing left.

“How much would you like for it?” Star Shimmer asked.

“A beauty like this,” The stall pony spun the gun on the counter with his hoof, “Will run you fifty caps.”

“Hmm,” Star Shimmer looked down at the gun again, “I don’t know about that. Seems like it’s been used quite a bit. You use it to scare off shoplifters, or did the last owner find themselves at the bad end of a deal?” Star Shimmer took the gun in mouth. It was uncomfortable, and as she activated the reloading sequence, the gun got stuck midway. Star Shimmer looked to the stall pony, eyebrow raised.

“Heh-heh,” The stall pony rubbed the back of his neck, “Maybe we take off ten caps.”

“How about we take off twenty, and we’ll buy twenty caps worth of ammo.” Star Shimmer smiled sweetly at the stall pony.

The Stall pony chuckled, “Sounds like a deal.” He grabbed a small box of 10mm ammo and placed it on the counter, “One pistol and fifteen rounds of 10 millimeter bullets. All for fifty caps.”

Star Shimmer Turned to Rusty, who stared with widened eyes, “Well, pay the stallion.”

Hesitating, Rusty slowly reached into his cap pouch and pulled out fifty caps. As he slid the caps over, the stall pony winked at him, “You know, you should let her do the talking.”

Rusty took the pistol and ammo, and shoved them into his pouch, “I’ll think about it.” With equipment in hoof, Rusty turned and trotted away.

Star Shimmer waved to the stall pony, “You have a wonderful day.” She spun around and quickly trotted after Rusty. As she caught up, a smile from ear to ear plastered on her face, “Impressed?”

Rusty rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. You’re a bit better than I thought you’d be.”

“Maybe you listen to me next time.” Star Shimmer tilted up her nose in triumph.

“Sure… You know he cheated you out of five bullets.” A wry smile grew on Rusty’s face.

“Wair, what?” Star Shimmer’s head tilted.

Rusty nodded, “Ten millimeter bullets are a cap a round, you paid him a good samaritan tax of five caps.”

“Motherfucker!” Star Shimmer began to turn back towards the stall.

“Woah, woah, woah there.” Rusty slapped his hoof onto Star’s shoulder, “I’ll deal with him next time I’m in town, right now we need to finish shopping.” Rusty motioned forward.

Star Shimmer Squinted at the Stall pony, who was currently dealing with another customer. Mental daggers shot out at him, but only seemed to vanish against his coat, “Ugh, fine!” Looking away, her eyes began to wander along the streets of the city.

New Trinity City sat at the edge of the city ruins, it’s crumbling buildings filled with an armored militia instead of psychopathic raiders. Ponies, and other creatures, around wore the city’s emblem in one form or another, though the most common was a shoulder pad with the emblem stamped on it. Passing by a diner, Star shimmer stared at a group that sat at an outside table. Ponies weren’t unusual, she’d even seen a griffon once or twice before, But the zebra was a new sight. The stark black and white of the coat and mane stuck out like a fly on a cake, Star Shimmer couldn’t get herself to look away.

One of the ponies noticed Star Shimmer, and they blinked. The once orange eyes transforming into solid, light blue disks that glared at her, “Keep walking.” the pony hissed, Did Star just see a forked tongue?

A hoof hooked Star Shimmer’s neck and pulled her forward, “You know, somepony isn’t gonna be happy if you die because you gave the wrong person a stupid look.” Rusty said as he dragged Star Shimmer towards a nearby building.

Star Shimmer shook Rusty off, “Alright, I’m sorry.” Looking up at the building before them, she noticed a sign showing two blue dragons encircling a purple horn hanging above the main doors. Star’s ears perked up and her eyes twinkling slightly at the recognition of the medical insignia, ‘A hospital… or a pharmacy, at least.’

Following Rusty inside, Star Shimmer took in the sight. The room itself had been cleaned of debris, and had even be refurbished with some sturdy furniture. A magazine rack with ancient clothing articles sat in a corner next to a radio. At the opposite end of the room, the white, floating spider form of a Ms. nanny hovered behind a counter, To the right was a stand and a sign with a single word

‘CHEMS’

A pony leaned back in a chair behind the stand, next to him sat a griffon that slowly sharpened a nasty looking machete. Both wore sickly green and orange bandana around their neck, the pony sported the same color scheme in her mane colors.

Rusty made a beeline for the chem stand, his pendant in mouth. The stand pony looked up at him, “Afternoon, what can we get for’ya?”

“Hydra.” Rusty said, slapping the pendant onto the counter.

The pony nodded. Tipping the chair forward, she hopped onto the ground. Ducking under the stand, she tossed up a Hydra syringe onto the counter, “Twenty caps.”

Rusty began to count out the caps, “Anything you heard on the 109?”

The pony nodded, “The War Hounds’ve been kicking up their patrols, and the Enclave has taken back the mountain range”

Rusty tossed an extra couple of caps onto the pile and pushed it forward, “Thanks.” Bagging the Hydra, Rusty turned towards the door, catching Star Shimmer’s disapproving glance, “Don’t start.”

“You don’t think we could just buy another potion?” Star Shimmer suggested.

Rusty trotted for the door, “A potion costs twice as much and I need as many things that can plug up the bullet holes as I can.”

As he pushed open the door, Star Shimmer jumped in front of him, “I think I’d prefer if we didn’t die in the wasteland as cancer blobs.”

Rusty’s eyes rolled so hard, they nearly fell out of his head, “They’re not for you. If you get hurt, you’ll use the health potions.”

“And what, you think you’ll just shake off the tumors?” Star Shimmer leaned in, her hoof poking Rusty’s chest, “You don’t exactly have the luck of the clover”

Taking his hooves, Rusty gripped Star Shimmer’s shoulders and moved her aside, “I’ll be fine, I won’t get cancer. By the goddesses, I CAN’T even get tumors!” a few nearby ponies glanced over at Rusty with curious and confused looks.

Star Shimmer stared at Rusty, frustration boiling up in her, “Wh-what?”

Rusty shook his head, “Oh unholy Tartarushell, do I have to spell it out for you. I have Dead Trotter’s Disease.”

A faint memory echoed in Star Shimmer’s head, ‘Ponies with DTD are incapable of replenishing their body’s cells. The afflicted only last about three days without some form of treatment.’ A small gasp left her mouth, “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“Hedabip-ip.” Rusty shuts Star’s mouth with his hoof, “I don’t care, it’s fine.” Gesturing for her to follow, he continued down the street, “Come on, we’re burning daylight here, I have a few more places to go.”

“B-but.” Star Shimmer started to reach out her hoof, a nagging feeling of guilt tugging at her heart. But Rusty just continued forward, unhindered by her attempts. Before he could get any further, Star Shimmer ran to catch up to him, Slowing down to a brisk trot once she was by his side, “Still, sorry about fighting with you on this so much.”

Rusty Shrugged, “It’s fine, you’re just a kid, you don’t know better.”

Star Shimmer stuck her tongue out at Rusty, “Oh yeah, how much older are you, a minute?” With a smile, she stuck her muzzle up in the air, “Besides, I am still right, you do still get tumors.”

Rusty snickered, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Lucky for me, they just fall off.”

“So, what are we gonna get now?” Star Shimmer asked as she glanced at each shop they passed. Weapons, chems, armor, drugs, junk, medicine, ‘I think this city may have a problem.’

“I thought since we have a few caps left, I’d buy some trade goods.” A sly grin crept up his face as Rusty glanced at Star, “By the way, how are you with minerals?”

///

Clouds of red, gold and purple slowly passed across the sky as the blazing sun prepared to settle down in it’s domain beyond the horizon, The mountains reaching up as if to help cradle it during its journey. From the other side, the moon rose to take its place in the sky, its unseen eyes watching the inhabitants of the wasteland as they go about their lives.

Star Shimmer stared on at the clouds, her heart quickening. The cloak itched, and her wings flapped anxiously, ‘Just a few days, then I’m home free.’

“You wanting to test your luck again?” Rusty walked up next to Star Shimmer, “Who knows, maybe you can make it to cover before the snipers get you.”

Star Shimmer glanced over to Rusty, then to the several sacks on his back, “Nah, I already escaped death with my life. I’ll leave that for tomorrow maybe.”

Rusty nodded, “Alright, in it for the long haul. It’ll be good for you, stretch those scrawny legs of yours.”

“Hey!” Star Shimmer jabbed Rusty’s side with her wing, "I’ll do just fine, hope you can just keep up.”

“Please, I’ll trot circles around you.” Without falter, Rusty began down the broken and busted road ahead of him.

Star Shimmer looked over her shoulder. Behind them stood New Trinity City, a small section of the ruins that had been walled off and rebuilt. Winged beings fly high above, for protection or for leisure. Star didn’t know which, but her soul wished to do just that, fly high above anybody else, to just not worry about what the future holds. Turning back, she stared on at the sick and ruined wasteland. Most of it a flat, brown land, beyond them, mountains, Within them stood Safe Hayven, her home was a distance away, but with the mountains, it seemed like they would be there in no time.

With a deep sigh, and a still racing heart, Star Shimmer looked on at the mountains, and stepped onward.