Fallout: Equestria - My Mother the Heroine

Despite everything - despite the horrible things he had seen, despite the overwhelming will to go home and hide in the safety of his bed, and despite his ever growing doubts about whether he could still trust his mother when she said that everything was okay, Nova couldn't help but to feel impressed as he stepped through a withered doorframe and into what must have been the stable's ostentatious main hall. He had arrived in the atrium.

Having spent all of his life in the safe halls of Tenpony Tower, he was more or less used to seeing buildings of impressive size, though this very hall he was in had something ... extraordinary to it.

He could literally see this place how it must have been when his mother had still been living here - he imagined it to be a busy place; filled with all sorts of stable ponies, all eager to go somewhere and do something. Yes, if he closed his eyes, he could see it right in front of him: suddenly, all the horrors were gone; all the blood and the dirt; all the filth and the grease, it all disappeared in his mind's eye, and suddenly he was a regular colt living in Stable Two and going after his everyday life - maybe he was on his way to school; maybe he was seeing some friends, or maybe he was...

His illusion faded away abruptly as he slowly opened his eyes again and his look fell onto something he hadn't spotted before. There, in the middle of the massive hall on a slightly elevated platform, was something. It took him a few seconds to figure out that it was the light cone of a big spotlight mounted on a balcony at the opposite end of the atrium that illuminated the dusky hall, and shone righlt onto...

Nova felt another wave of sickness crawling up his throat as he spotted the reddish figure laying on the ground in the middle of the light cone.

"Another body?" a voice in his mind asked the inevitable question, but was cut short as Nova saw that the pony-shaped form was still moving. A wave of adrenaline shot through his body, and without thinking further, he took off, for once forgetting about his reservations and running over to where the wiggling figure was laying on the ground. This pony was still alive and might need his help, and he sure as hay wouldn't allow somepony to die because he was too cowardly to act on his own behalf.

Within a few seconds, Nova had reached the platform and quickly approached the pony. As he came closer he could make out the forms of a stallion - a noticeably big and muscular stallion, as he noted shortly after. Looking at his filthy, scarred light red fur and sticky dark brown mane indicated that he was either a really experienced wastelander or a part of the group of dead ponies Nova had seen laying on the ground before.

However, what caught Nova's attention even more than his unkempt appearance was the thick rope around all of his hooves, leaving the big, fear-inducing stallion laying hogtied on the ground like a captured goat.

Nova slowed his gallop to a careful walk as he slowly approached the stallion. He was laying with his back facing Nova, so the colt wasn't sure if he had seen or heard him coming.

"H-hello?" Nova carefully spoke up and stopped a few feet away from the tied-up stallion, lowering Little Macintosh so that he could speak properly.

The red earth pony let out a deep grunt, then wiggled on the ground before rolling over in a surprisingly swift motion. His bruised face turned to Nova, and his deep green eyes looked the colt over.

The two ponies remained silent like this for a few moments, but just as Nova was about to open his mouth to ask the pony about his wellbeing, something unexpected happened.

The stallion looked Nova in the eyes, then, slowly, a grin formed on his face, revealing his yellowed, rotten teeth.

Then he started laughing.

It wasn't that sort of laugh that made Nova want to join in. It was raspy, hoarse, and if anything it sent a shiver through Nova's spine as the stallion continued to look at him with a somewhat malicious-looking glance and the weakest of smiles on his face and just raspily laughed away.

"A-are you okay, mister?" Nova asked, noticeably insecure, and took a step back.

"He he he." the stallion cackled once again before he stopped, drew in a short breath and said, "So that little stable mare stuck by her word, huh? Guess I owe Rocky fifty caps now. If she hasn't killed him already."

"W-what?" Nova asked bewildered, "What are you talking about?"

The stallion replied nothing for a second, just mustering the colt silently, then grinned and said, "So I guess you're her 'son', huh?" Once again, he gave a raspy cackle, "Guess it's true what they say - you do always meet twice."

"What!?" Nova repeated himself, his confusion growing by the second, "What are you talking-"

"You do indeed." the familiar voice cut him off mid-sentence, and he looked behind himself to find his mother walking up to the two ponies with slow, deliberate steps, "But I'm afraid this is the last time we'll meet - raider." she announced coldly, spitting out that last word.

Nova looked at her, then back at the stallion, confusion written across his face.

"Everypony deserves a second chance." His mother contined, stepping closer to the captured stallion, "But you've taken yours and just continued where you left off. And now it's time for you to pay for what you've done."

"What are you talking about, mom?" Nova asked with growing impatience, "Do you ... do you know him?"

"This is the pony we're here for." His mother explained him soberly, "The leader of the pack of raiders, and the one who's responsible for everything that happened here."

Nova's eyes went back to the captured stallion, and horror entered his face. "Y-you are..." he gasped fearfully.

"Name's Bonecracker - at your service." the stallion said with a sly grin on his face, "I'd take a bow, but I'm a little ... impeded at the moment."

"You ... you are the one who caused all this?" Nova asked unbelievingly, "That was you!?"

"Guilty as charged." he replied, still grinning weakly, "Pleasure to meet you, little one."

"W-why!?" Nova asked in shock, apparently only adding to the stallion's amusement, "Why? H-how? For ... for what reason would you-"

"That's enough." His mother chimed in decisively, stepping between the two, "Come on Nova," she said, adressing the horrified colt, "You've seen what this pony has done to innocent ponies. Now it's time to make him pay." she said, lifting Little Macintosh off the ground and holding it ready for the colt.

"Wha- what!? No! No, I can't..." Nova gasped, taking a step back from the gun floating in front of him, "I can't just ... kill him!"

"Think of what he's done!" his mother told him bitterly, "Think of the pony we've freed! The pony laying in the entrance hall! Heck, look at what he's done to the Stable!" she continued, getting more energetic by the second.

"I know!" Nova affirmed desperately, tears starting to form in his eyes, "I ... I know what he's done. And I remember all the ... all the bodies." A shudder ran through his spine, "All the ponies murdered in cold blood. ... But I ... I just can't! We can't just ... execute him!" he concluded, shoving Little Macintosh away.

"Heh." the stallion said with a cold grin, "I knew you couldn't do it, kid. You just don't have what it takes to be a killer." He seemed to lock eyes with Littlepip for a second, and his grin seemed to widen ever so slightly as he added, "Guess murder doesn't run in the family after all."

"Wait ... what?" Nova asked -  this one had caught him completely off-guard, "What are you talking about?"

Bonecracker's grin grew into a malicious smile; his yellow teeth seemed to shine in the glaring light that came from above. "So she's never told you?" he cackled dryly, "Did I ruin the big surprise?"

"What!?" Nova repeated, "I ... I don't know what you-"

"Enough!" His mother stepped in once again, turning towards her son, "Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to distract you; he wants to talk himself out of this!" once again, she lifted her trusty revolver and held it ready for the colt, "Come on, finish this and we can go home!"

"I ... what did you mean with 'runs in the family'?" Nova asked the stallion, ignoring the gun in front of him.

"So nopony has ever told you about your ... origins?" the stallion asked with a compassionate look on his face, then sighed, "What a shame indeed."

"What do you mean?" Nova asked with growing impatience, "I was born in Tenpony Tower! And I still live there - with my two moms and my aunt and uncle! There is ... there is nothing wrong with that!"

Once again, Bonecracker chuckled, focussing Littlepip this time, "Tsk tsk." he said, shaking his head, "Heroine of the wasteland, savior of Equestria, and still she's made this poor colt grow up living a lie. Not very heroic, I would say."

"Shut your filthy mouth!" Littlepip burst out with anger, levitating Little Macintosh over to the stallion and pressing it against the side of his head, "I've had enough of your shit!"

"Go ahead. Kill me." Bonecracker replied, his face cold as stone, "But do me a favor and tell that colt the truth. He deserves to know."

"He will find out when he's old enough!" Littlepip hissed back; Little Macintosh began to tremble in her magical grip, "He's not ready for it yet!"

"Mom," Nova stepped in, surprised himself at how sharp his voice sounded, "What are you talking about? What am I not ready for?"

His mother's head shot around, her wide eyes focusing on him as if she had forgotten that he was there at all. "N-nothing, Nova. Don't listen to what he's saying. Let me just..." she focused her attention back on Little Macintosh, and the gun's hammer slowly slid back, getting ready to put a bullet through the raider's head.

Given the circumstances, the raider seemed surprisingly calm. In fact, he seemed completely relaxed, as if he was just having a casual conversation with a good friend. His face seemed almost smug as he bared his teeth and said, "You can kill me. But you can't kill the truth." Looking over to the petrified colt, he added, "He will find out one day."

"He will." Littlepip replied coldly, clenching her teeth, "But that day is not today."

Even before she had finsihed her sentence, Little Macintosh went off. An ear-shattering bang echoed throughout the atrium of Stable Two, and the big light above the three ponies' heads died with a hiss and the sound of shattering glass.

Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds as she shot rang out, and dead silence hung over the entire stable.

"What are you keeping from me, mom?" Nova asked reproachfully, looking past the smoking barrel of Little Macintosh and into the surprised eyes of his mother.

She replied nothing, just silently looking at her son, then at the shattered remnants of the lamp that hung above their heads. The colt had stepped in at the last second, punching his hoof against Little Macintosh just as his mother had pulled the trigger and sending the heavy pistol falling onto the ground. The shot that had been supposed to kill Bonecracker had instead hit the spotlight above their heads and caused the entire hall to fall into an uncomfortable twilight.

Nova could hear the raider smirk behind his back and give a short chuckle. "You really want to know, kid?" he asked the colt confidently, tapping the ground in front of him as good as his bound hooves allowed him to, "Have a seat, I'll tell you."

Nova hesitated. Under normal circumstances, he was sure he would have done the right thing: turned on his tail and taken to his heels - this pony was a raider, and probably one of the most dangerous creatures he had ever met, and he was sure that -if it weren't for his legs still being tied up- the raider wouldn't have hesitated to kill him - for fun, if nothing else.

However, this situation was far from normal, and so it wasn't too surprising that Nova slowly, hesitantly walked over to the stallion and sat down in front of him. Surely, he knew that he was dangerous, but the adrenaline still shooting through his veins from what had happened just a few seconds ago did a good job at drowning out these worries.

Besides, this stallion seemed to have answers - answers to a question Nova hadn't known about until a few minutes ago;  a question he didn't dare ask himself.

"There we go." Bonecracker said with a pleased grin as Nova lowered himself to the ground, "About time you get some answers, right?"

"Nova, you-" his mother wanted to protest behind him, but was cut short as the colt shook his head and muttered, "No, mom. I want to hear what he has to say."

"Nova, he is-"

"No. Mom." Nova hissed over his shoulder, "Let me hear him out."

Bonecracker looked at Littlepip with a triumphant smirk, then back at Nova. "So, you see, little one ... Nova, wasn't it?"

The colt silently nodded his head.

"Right. Nova. You see, this isn't the first time I've met your 'mother'." he spat out that last word, "In case you didn't know, she grew up in this very stable. Just a few decades ago."

"Yes..." Nova muttered absentmindedly, "Yes, I know."

"So, as you can imagine," Bonecracker explained, the sly grin never leaving his face, "she and her little stable-friends left this place long time ago, and left this prime-location stable behind to silently rot away. So me and my ... friends decided to settle in here. After all, this was a perfectly intact stable, and it would have been a shame to just leave it to nature."

"They invaded it like the mindless animals they are, and settled down like filthy hermit crabs." His mother's words echoed inside Nova's mind, but he remained silent, looking at the raider with tired eyes.

The grin on Bonecracker's face widened as he continued, "And, well, things were running pretty smoothly from then on. There were plenty of rations left in here, and often enough a caravan would pass by and give us a chance to stock up on rations and..." he gave a short chuckle, "guests."

Nova could feel another wave of sickness hit him as he thought back to the mutilated ponies he had seen, and he could only imagine what the white buck they had freed must have gone through.

"But of course, this little mare over there," Bonecracker nodded his head into the direction of Littlepip who was standing by with a somewhat helpless look on her face, "wasn't too happy with what we've made of her old home when she returned a few years later. Fell into a bloody fit of rage and killed each and every single one us - save for me. She left me like this - tied up and helpless - and said that if she'd ever catch me doing this again she'd flay me alive."

He took a moment to let out another dry chuckle, "Well, my name wouldn't be Bonecracker if I would let a little nipper like her intimidate me. That pathetic rope she used to tie me up was a joke, and once I was free I rounded up some new ponies and continued where I left off - life was pretty good again from then on."

Nova looked behind himself, facing his mother with wide eyes at the thought of her killing off an entire stable full of raiders - he wasn't quite sure if he should be horrified or proud of her.

"But of course, that little stable-cunt had to return sooner or later." Bonecracker continued with a growl, "And as fate willed, she marched in here once again just yesterday, killed my whole crew again like a sentinel-bot gone crazy, and left me like I am now, saying that she'd return soon with a 'special surprise'." he looked up at Nova and grinned sinisterly, "Guess that surprise was you."

Once again, Nova turned around to face his mother who was staring at Bonecracker with a grim look on her face. "You?" he asked with his mouth hanging open, "It was ... you? You killed all these ponies?"

"They were raiders, Nova." Littlepip defended herself grimly, "They deserved nothing better."

"B-but..." he stuttered dumbfounded as he slowly started to understand, "All this time ... all this time you knew exactly what was going on!? You ... you sent me through all this just for ... for kicks and giggles!?"

Breathing heavily, Nova could hear Bonecracker chuckle behind his back. "Hehe, trust me, kid, if you think this is the big surprise, I got some news for you." The raider announced with his raspy voice.

"W-what?" Nova squealed, "There's more?"

"Sure is." He affirmed with that sly grin again, "Take a seat and I'll tell you all about your ... 'mom'."

"Nova, this really is enough." Littlepip said and placed a hoof on Nova's shoulder to hold him back, but he flicked it away. "Don't touch me!" he shouted with wide eyes, "I wanna know what else you've been keeping from me."

"I-it's nothing Nova." she assured him with growing despair, "Come on, we'll go back home and I'll ... I'll buy you a new toy!"

The colt just looked at her, then slowly shook his head and sat down in front of Bonecracker again.

"You see, little Nova, killing all of my crew wasn't everything that mare did when she came here for the first time." the raider continued to explain, "No, she also freed all of our slaves - and murdered a slave mare and kidnapped her foal."

Nova's eyes widened abruptly. "No." he said unbelievingly, "No, she'd never do that."

"Afraid to tell you she did." Bonecracker explained with a compassionate shake of his head, "Poor Morning Mist went into labor shortly before the 'heroine' arrived and fucked everything up. That poor mare barely survived the birth of my foal, then this cunt came, put a bullet through her head and took her newborn colt. Just like that."

"N-no..." Nova gasped unbelievingly, and turned around to face Littlepip, "You ... you can't ... you didn't..." but he cut himself off mid-sentence as his mind started to put one and one together, and another horrible, horrible thought crossed his mind.

Turning back towards Bonecracker, he asked, "Wait. When ... when was that?"

The raider took a moment to reply, then, with a knowing grin, asked, "Say, how old are you now, Nova?"

"I ... turned ten last week." the colt replied numbly.

"Well, then it must have happened about ten years ago. Shortly after you were born." Bonecracker explained, his grin slowly widening.

With pounding heart, Nova shook his head, but then slowly let his look wander over Bonecracker, looking at his light red fur, his dark brown mane, and his grass-green eyes - the raider looked like an older, unkempt, battle-scarred version of him. Heck, he could be his brother. Or rather ...

The colt's eyes widened.

"I see you're finally starting to understand."

The raider locked eyes with the colt, then grinned.

"Welcome home ... son."

Finally, it became clear to Nova, and he could feel how the world around him seemed to collapse. Everything he had taken for granted; everything he had believed in ever since he could remember ... it all seemed to shatter to pieces in this very moment. He could feel how his legs gave in beneath him, and he fell to his knees, then to his belly as even his legs failed him. His ... his whole life he had been living a lie!

"Hmmm..." Bonecracker sighed as he mustered the beaten colt with a compassionate look on his face, "I know this must hurt pretty badly now. Realizing that your whole life is a lie. But don't worry..." he tensed the muscles in his legs; the ropes restraining him snapped in two with ease, he rolled to his hooves in split-seconds, and a blood-thirsty grin appeared on his face. "I'll make it quick."

"Nova!"