Fallout: Equestria - My Mother the Heroine

Good Morning children! This is DJ Pon3 speaking with some special news coming right up!

I know many of you are always excited to hear something from our dear Lightbringer, Littlepip, even if it's just three or four words. But this one, let me tell you, is a very special announcement.

You know, during the past months I've heard a lot of whispering here and there – rumors and gossip about something that clearly can't be real.

You guessed it, my little ponies, what I'm talking about are the rumors about Littlepip having returned from her sleep in the Single Pegasus Project and straying through the wasteland again like in the old times.

So far I've never addressed these rumors, but now it's time to finally bring some light into the darkness like our dear Littlepip has done it so often before.

Now perk up your ears 'cause ol' DJ is gonna tell you the truth about the condition of our Lightbringer.

The rumors about her leaving the SPP and wandering around the wasteland are ... all made up. Horseapples. Complete and utter nonsense.

...

Hey now don't you look at me like that, fillies and colts, I'm not done yet.

Truth is, of course Littlepip is still safe and sound up in the SPP and guarding over us all together with Princess Celestia by her side. If she wouldn't be up there, and you can trust me on that, children, you all would have noticed long ago. I'm sure most of you should still remember how cruel the Equestrian weather can be when it's not controlled.

Now DJ, some of you might be asking, are all those ponies who insist that they've seen Littlepip with their very own eyes just storytellers? Good-for-nothings looking for another cock-and-bull story? Or just downright insane?

Well children, the answer is no.

I suppose you all can imagine just how much of a mammoth task controlling the weather for a single pony is, even with the help of the SPP, so it's a no-brainer that keeping an eye on the sky takes up the lion's share of Littlepip's time, so that she has to spend day and night up in the SPP.

**But, while all this does take up a major amount of her time and concentration, it happens every once in a while that Littlepip can bring up a timespan of a couple of hours in which the weather is stable and the SPP doesn't require her full attention.

And what does she do? What does a national heroine do when she ends up with a few hours of free time?

Well, Littlepip wouldn't be Littlepip if she would just sit on her flank in this stuffy chamber up there all day. No children, this is where it gets interesting: every once in a blue moon, she can actually bring up the time to leave the SPP for a few hours and see the product of her work with her own eyes.

That's right children, the rumors about the Stable Dweller herself wandering around the wasteland aren't made up at all. I have no idea *how she does it, but somehow she manages to leave her new home up in the SPP and pay us old wasteland-dwellers a short visit - something I think we all should be grateful for.*

So if one of you happens to see a certain unicorn-heroine walking around the wasteland the other day, don't lose your mind; you're not seeing things. If you're in the mood, feel free to walk up to her and give her a big peck on the cheek from ol' DJ-Pon3.

But I think I'm digressing here ... that's just about everything I have to say for today, folks. I know this must be big news for you all, so here's some Sweetie Belle to calm you down while I take a short break.

Rain.

I knew there was no reason to be upset about it - the area around Ponyville had been a little dry recently so I had decided that it could use a little shower in the afternoon.

However, I might have been a little too excited about finally being able to leave the Single Pegasus Project again, might have been a little distracted and might have ordered a doomsday-style downpour instead of a little rain shower.

But I didn't mind. What mattered was that I was finally out of the SPP and taking in the scent of Equestrian air again. Sure, I appreciated Princess Celestia's company, but every now and then -provided that the weather would allow it- it just felt good to leave the house and clear my thoughts.

It hadn't been possible all the time. Especially in the beginning, the SPP had required my full attention - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

It wasn't easy, especially during the first couple of months, but it was a sacrifice I had to bring for the bigger good - I had made my peace with that long time ago. Besides, Celestia did a good job in keeping me company, comforting me when the longing for my friends got the better of me, and generally giving me advice about my new appealing.

Nevertheless, especially the first weeks had been a real ordeal - the absence from my friends; from the whole outside world were something I never had to put up with before, which made it all the harder for me to bear. But it got better with time - with the Gardens of Equestria activated, the overall situation in the wasteland improved rapidly, including the weather, which had become more and more stable throughout the years.

And so I had sometimes found myself with some free time - once the weather was stable and the condition promised not to change for the next few hours, I had ended up sitting around with nothing to do.

In the beginning I would mostly just take a break and have a talk with Homage, sometimes even invite her up to me, but I soon got hungry for more, especially as those periods of nothingness grew longer and longer with the years that passed.

It was Celestia who had first asked me why I didn't leave the SPP for a few moments to look at the product of my hard work. In the beginning I was skeptical about the idea of leaving, knowing how quickly the weather could change and cause chaos in all of Equestria. But Celestia had assured me that it was fine, and after talking to my friends about that matter, I soon found myself setting a hoof outside of the SPP for the first time after what must have been at least a whole decade.

These trips were some of the most exhausting of my entire life - the wasteland, with all its radiation, taint and whatnot had taken its toll on my health, and resting in a comatose-like state inside the SPP didn't really help me stay in shape either.

However, while during the first couple of times, something as simple as standing up and walking had felt like a physical impossibility, things had gotten easier with time, and the time I could spend outside of the SPP had increased with every visit to the outside world I took.

Still, in the beginning, my excursions had been very short - most of the time I would stay in Tenpony Tower and spend time with my friends or Homage alone if our friends were willing to leave us some time together, but it hadn't taken long for my curiosity to re-awaken.

This feeling; this ... tingling in my guts that told me to go out there and find myself a new adventure was back. I hadn't had this feeling ever since I had set hoof into the SPP, but now it had returned, and I could swear that it was stronger than ever.

So had I decided to leave Tenpony Tower during my next period of free time. Calamity and Velvet Remedy had accompanied me on my first excursions, staying with me and making sure that I wouldn't get myself in trouble - which was utterly pointless, considering that those 'missions' were not much more than short walks around the immediate surroundings of Tenpony Tower.

But I was hungry for more. I wanted to go on an adventure - I wanted to see this new Equestria with my own eyes; see what has become of the wasteland that had threatened my life so many times before. So I expanded my journeys, travelling through the less dangerous areas of the Equestrian wasteland, always with my friends by my side, until finally they decided that it was safe for me to travel alone again.

And that's what I did. Equipped with nothing but a replica of my old stable barding -my friends had offered me a wide variety of other, 'better' armor to choose from, but I had decided to keep it simple for the sake of nostalgia- Little Macintosh, and my good will, I started off to explore this new land.

And there sure was a lot to see. Thanks to the Gardens of Equestria, the wasteland hadn't been completely restored, but it had gotten a lot safer without the radiation, the taint, and the dead soil. Right now it was a huge scar in the process of healing - ten, fifteen years after the fall of Red Eye's army and the Grand Pegasus Enclave, the country was slowly starting to return to its old glory - new cities were founded; old cities were cleaned out, rebuilt and led to a new beginning. But most importantly, above of all that, a new generation of foals had been born.

Those foals ... those innocent things. As soon as the thought of a new generation had struck me, I had known that they would grow up in a world of recovery. The cruelties and horrors of the Equestrian wasteland were almost completely gone - the land was lying in debris, but the true horrors -the slavers, the raiders, and all the mutated abominations- were now just remains from the past; material for horror stories young fillies and colts would tell each other after bedtime. A still existent and painful memory for those old enough to have witnessed them, yet a distant and unrealistic piece of imagination for the generation of foals that were born after the events had taken a drastic turn.

Many parents would try to hide this gruesome past from their children, believing that they had the right to grow up in this new, reformed world without being reminded to the horrors that had once dominated their parents' everyday lives. So it happened that these foals were virtually the most innocent beings on the surface of Equestria. They didn't know what it meant to suffer; to be enslaved; to stand face to face with death, and to fight for one's life, every day, over and over again. Truly, those foals were the epitome of the word innocence. They were-

"Where are we going again, mom?" My thoughts were interrupted by the excited voice of the young colt trotting alongside me. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, yet before I could reply, he quickly added, "Wow, is this this 'Ponyville' Auntie Velvet has told me about?" he asked and cast an excited glance at the silhouette of the city that appeared in the distance.

The light red colt in the blue stable suit gasped with disbelief, "That means we're close to Stable Two, right?" his head shot around, his big, grass-green eyes beaming with excitement as he focused me, "Are we going to Stable Two? Are you going to show me your and auntie Velvet's old home!?" he jumped in the air, his dark brown mane bouncing up and down and the smile on his face growing bigger with every second, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm finally going to see the place where you and her grew up! Can you show me what it was like to live in a stable?" another, even more excited gasp followed, "Can you show me your old rooms?"

I waited a few moments until I replied, giving the colt time to finish his tirade of excitement and calm down, giving me an expectant look as he -now silently- trotted next to me. I drew a short breath, then looked at him with a serious face before cracking a smile and replying, "You know, life in a stable wasn't as exciting as many ponies nowadays think it was." My grin turned into a weak frown as I thought back to my foalhood, "It was ... boring. Sure, it provided shelter from all the cruel things the Equestrian wasteland had to offer, but spending your entire life in a confined vault, dealing with the same things, the same ponies, and the same problems every day really takes its toll on your nerves with time." I blinked, the memory of my final days as a stable dweller flashing past my mind's eye, "It was Velvet Remedy who first left the stable, and it was because of her that I ended up leaving it too."

"Because you wanted to search for her and bring her back." he concluded the story with a smile, "I've heard that story a hundred times by now, you know?"

I hesitated for a moment, but then smiled back. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I get carried away easily when it's about the old days. You see, back then I didn't know that there was anything beyond the walls of Stable Two." I looked up to the rainy sky to emphasize my statement, "I didn't know of ... all this."

His eyes began to shine as he started to understand. "Wow..." he muttered like thunderstruck, but quickly freed himself from his trance and instead gave me an asking look, "But you're still going to show me Stable Two, right? Pretty please?"

A narrow smile found its way onto my mouth as I looked into the colt's shining eyes, then deadpanned as I turned my head and looked into the distance where our destination was awaiting. "Yes..." I said with a weak nod, "Yes, I'll show you Stable Two. We're heading there right now, actually."

"Really?" The colt's face turned into a beaming smile, "Yaaaay!" he shouted with joy and started bouncing up and down next to me.

I hesitated for a moment, then stopped abruptly, making the colt bounce a couple of feet ahead of me before stopping and looking back at me. "What's wrong, mom? Why did you stop?" he asked me with a look of anticipative curiosity.

I could feel how a light sensation of bitterness made its way up my throat as I gulped, then drew a short breath and said, "There's ... something you should know before we get there, though."

"What is it?" the red colt said and cocked his head to the side.

"You see ... Velvet Remedy has told you about the stable being evacuated long time ago, right?" I asked carefully.

The colt nodded affirmingly, "Yes, of course. Auntie Velvet said the stable dwellers didn't like it down there anymore and just needed a change of scenery, so they moved out."

I frowned. This wasn't the first time that Velvet Remedy had told him 'foal-oriented' stories about the things we had been through so long ago. Sure, there was no need to make the past appear more gruesome than it already was, and I agreed that there were some things not everyone needed to know about, but bending the truth or telling him things that simply weren't true 'because he's still a foal' just didn't seem right to me.

Our children needed to know about the dark times that lay behind us; they had to know how unfair and cruel life could be, and what kinds of brutal and merciless savages ponies could become when there was nothing left to hold on to.

This was the only way that they could fully appreciate just what kind of luxury they had, living in this healing world ... most of them, that is.

Life in the big cities, especially in Manehatten and Fillydelphia, had changed drastically throughout the years of my absence - after the threats coming from Red Eye and the Enclave had been removed, life had slowly but steadily begun to become regulated - debris had been removed, homes had been rebuilt, and a small but strong bond had formed between the survivors of the many years of terror, providing at least basic amounts of safety and confidence.

However, despite all efforts, some of the more rural areas still had a couple of flaws in them - small groups and tribes of raiders who were unwilling to abandon their savage lifestyle and instead kept on stealing, murdering and, well, being raiders.

But looking ahead of us, I knew that Equestria was about to get cleansed of one of these flaws.

Leading my thoughts back to what lay ahead, I looked back at the colt and said, "Yeah, that's ... that's what happened. ... Anyway, what I meant to tell you is, Stable Two isn't what it used to be. It's a dangerous place nowadays."

The colt's face seemed to deflate ever so slightly as he cocked his head to the side and asked, "What do you mean?"

I let out a weak sigh as my look went down to the ground. "Raiders." I muttered and looked back up to see the colt giving me a slightly frightened look, "Once the stable was empty, they invaded it like the mindless animals they are, and settled down like filthy hermit crabs."

I paused for a moment to let my words sink in, allowing the reddish colt to speak up with innocent confidence. "So," he said with an insecure smile, "they made the stable their new home." his smile became more confident as he continued, "They found a place to stay where other ponies didn't want to be anymore. ... That's good, isn't it?"

"No!" I harshly cut him off, placing a hoof underneath his chin and turning his head to make him look me in the eyes, "Those are raiders, Nova!" I said with a stern voice, "They kill ponies! They ... they do things you wouldn't even dream of!"

Nova backed off, the confidence on his face replaced by insecurity, yet he didn't manage to bring out a word.

"I don't want you or anypony else to become a victim of those ... those monsters," I continued, my voice calm but emphatic, looking him in the eyes with a look that betrayed a touch of concern, "So I will do everything in my power to put an end to their inhumane actions and make the wasteland the safe and harmless place you and everypony else in Equestria deserve."

Nova continued to look at me with big eyes, but seemed too stunned to give a reply.

Breaking free from my stiffness and assuming a more relaxed position, I continued, "I've received word that those raiders in Stable Two have abducted a stallion from Ponyville. Broke into his house in the middle of the night and took him with them for reasons only they understand." I looked at my son with a look of new determination as I added, "And we are going to bring him back."

The colt gulped audibly as his ears folded back and he looked at me with fear in his eyes. "A-are you sure about this, mom?" he asked with quavering voice, "I-I don't think I-"

"Of course." I cut him off with a re-assuring smile, "Homa- uhm ... mommy told me about how you always say you want to be a hero. This is your chance."

Nova looked to the side, a blush of embarrassment on his face, "Y-yes, but ... you said those ponies are dangerous." His legs began to shiver ever so slightly, "W-what if they get me?" I could see tears welling up in his eyes as his young voice began to break, "What if they... What if they..."

"Hey, shhhh..." I gently placed a hoof on his shoulder, sitting down on the soaked soil and pulling him into a tight hug. "Don't worry..." I whispered into his ear, feeling his sobs against my shoulder, "they won't get you. I won't allow them to."

I pulled back, breaking the hug and looking into the colt's tear-stained eyes as I said, "I promise, I will never let any of these monsters harm you." I placed a soft peck on the colt's forehead before adding, "Your mom will always be by your side. Never forget that." I finished with a soft pat on his shoulders and got back to my hooves, my voice filled with new determination as I said, "Come on, it's not too far anymore."