Fallout: Equestria - Red, White and Blue

Had I ever been afraid of sigils and runes, I never would've snooped around as much as I did. Radio Free had offered up the lore of this place. The Dank Family Penitentiary, or La Obscura by name of ancient ownership, was a sort of magical ground zero. I'd noted all the monsters prior and came to the conclusion that they were nonsensical.

When Star Spangle and Radio Free started mundane and incessant chatter, I slipped away to investigate the ruins of the Necrotic Museum.

We'd cleared it of residents when Mother and I barely survived the book amalgamation.

I stopped by to study the flesh school of necromancy. I'd scrounged a few half-ruined texts and ignored the pages that simply wouldn't open. I then realized that most of the spells or incantations matched my Celestian Bible by format. They needed some measure of organic magic, a cerebral catalyst and direct understanding of what the caster wanted to happen. Except, those spells needed equine meat.

Some called for skeletal remains of some kind. Others depicted vastly complicated rituals with sacraments and mind-numbing chants. One of the grimoires I studied was named 'Der Weg des Fleisches.'

I read it as an ensemble of various physical necromancy procedures. But among the various incantations and rituals, I found one in particular named the 'manifestation inculta.'

'In particular, the most elaborate emotion you can muster will yield stronger results. This is because Manifestation Inculta relies on the vividness of the caster's emotions. It is best to use this spell as a means of catharsis from hate or similarly malicious emotions.

This spell requires the caster's innate agenda at the time of enactment. Not preparing the right amount of malice will defocus the spell and dilute it.'

I read on, rushing for the actual effects of the spell.

'Yes, this is a potent curse. It will target someone of interest and manifest their darkness, or manifest thoughts that make them squirm. Repressed memories. Depressing flaws. It will do it's best to create something real from dormant nightmares.

The corpse meat and plant matter will serve as the biomass required for summoning. These creatures are extremely one-track minded and will only focus on their predetermined goals. Avoid contact with them at all costs, as they need to be destroyed or tamed by extreme measures.

Only the tormented can truly banish them. This done by confronting and accepting their own darkness. This is an unintended side-effect from the main magical composition, which is harmful emotional magic, or more commonly known as: taint.'

I felt my heart skip a beat. They were monsters made from the spell. No wonder they'd tried to rape me. No wonder they were so imposing and immense. Every, single one I'd met journeying with Tequila's body. They all fit her subconscious fears and philosophies. All except one. That book monster, I didn't have a diagnosis for. Was it my demon, or my mother's. I had to know.

Mother finished her talk with Radio Free. I sat with my back against the wall, their light farewells bouncing off the walls. I'dbarely noticed, but the paranoia I'd adopted made everything feel so vivid. I could hear the creaks of individual vents grating against me. And the very breath of Mother against my coat. She caressed my back and rubbed her chest on it. She held my waist and kissed me form over the shoulder.

"Whitestar. She'll do it. Now all we have to do is get out of this hell hole and find the others."

I returned her kiss and presented Der Weg des Fleisches. We read that specific portion and soon after, spent countless hours scouring the museum archives for more. I managed to identify several other magical tomes with mind spells like the manifestation inculta. After finding a certain text by the name of 'Salient Supernatural Solutions', I came to a conundrum.

Perchance to find a decent bit of white magic, I believed it just that: chance.

I found one detailing some odd spells dealing with divination, normally done through interaction with the dead, or, in the case of one specific spell, the physically dying. Had I never mustered the intent to burn the books, I never would've returned to my roots. I once thought of knowledge as Celestia's gift. After the outside world, after Red and Blue, I lost my way.

If Celestia was so great and good, why did she create both evil and good?

The answer was in books that stained her name. Necrotic magic, I found, was a horrific thing. It was monstrous in any way. But I'd never be caught saying such things. Twas an insult to monsters, to describe that ancient evil as anything but that: evil. And yet, the book 'Winter Ritter Compendium' had painless euthanasia spells and blissful illusory states for the dying.

I didn't know why, but after reading it, I felt a piece of me missing when I burned the others.

Mother had caught me. So she gave a long, healthy stretch and trotted over half tired, half awake.

"Whitestar? What's wrong...? Did one of the books draw blood?"

I shook my head slowly, barely there. I was... entranced by my logic. I stared down at the book with snowy cover pigments and grains that elevated slightly so the naked hoof could fondle it yearningly. Even with all the grace of the Celestian Bible, I felt safer with the Winter Ritter Compendium. It possessed a comely draw: an ascending feeling with every word, which swept me along in soft, undersized letters and subdued author's notes. They instructed the reader how to handle physical medical procedure.

"No. I'm just... feeling wrong about this. What are we doing destroying all these books. What are we doing denying anyone all this information. The wasteland is so stupid as is. This place is stupid. Merryland is stupid. And now I feel stupid. If I knew some of these books had white magic, I- never would've burned them."

For once in her life, she couldn't say anything back. Her jaw dropped and she tried to recollect herself by fixing my tie.

"I just... realize how Celestia must've felt creating Equestria. She didn't intend for all these horrible things to happen. But she knew deep down that the good and bad belonged together. She knew her creations would grow bored without pain. And no pain meant no pleasure. No happiness. No innate enjoyment of anything. Celestia knew we'd all turn into psychopaths if we didn't understand pain so she gave it to Equestria, so we wouldn't grow evil. But even after all her work... even after all her plans, we were ungrateful."

I looked up and left my seat, heading for the door.

"I've burnt thirty books so far. Twenty without reading them. Imagine how much good the other nine could've done. I could've saved lives. But I got rid of them without even checking what they were really about. Imagine how many people are living that way right now... shooting others that don't deserve it just because. And all this time, I could've been spreading good. But all I've done was spread fire... All I've done is burn. I've been a fool, mother. A right fool."

I took one last glance at the Celestian Bible, which I'd left on a ruined bench.

I told Star Spangled that I would come back after a smoke break.

We took a well-deserved rest and set out for the heart of the void. I didn't know how, but I'd recieved visions of some whispered chamber deep in the lowest levels. And though I walked through the valley of shadow, I did not fear death. For once, perhaps for good, I only feared what would happen to the others if I failed.