Fallout: Lavender Wastelander

The afternoon sun hid behind ugly black and gray clouds, obscuring the world in a dreary overcast. Twilight was no expert when it came to the weather operating on its own, but it looked like a storm was coming.

She hoped Daniel and Fluttershy would be back before it rolled in. They hadn’t been gone long enough for her to get tired of leaning against the chains acting as railing surrounding most of Rivet City’s deck.

“Are you okay, Darling?” Rarity asked from beside her, pouting her lip. “I hate to see you in such a sour mood. You should be resting and relaxing.”

“I know,” Twilight said, slumping her shoulders as she turned to her friend. She had watched her friends go down into a Metro tunnel. The last one Twilight had been in—her first one as well—had been a nightmare of ghouls that ended in nearly losing her life to a landmine. “I’m worried about what they might have to fight in the tunnels. I also have a lot of other stuff on my mind.”

“As much as it surprises me to say it, I think Fluttershy could handle it by herself,” Rarity said with a small nod. She crossed her arms and leaned against one of the poles that supported the chains. “So what’s on your mind?”

“Just… everything,” Twilight said with a lame sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Too many things, and all of them are arguing to be at the top of my list. Like, where are the rest of the girls and Spike? Or this weird relationship I have going on with Daniel despite only knowing him for about three days. Or how, when we left Equestria, it seemed like every villain from our past was making a comeback, and now the Princesses have to unretire because we’re not there to run things.”

There was so, so much more. But she wasn’t going to drag down Rarity’s mood if she could help it. Maybe at least one of them could relax.

“That is a lot of everything,” Rarity tutted and shook her head. “But if Equestria managed a thousand years under just Celestia, the country can survive our temporary absence now that Luna is back. Also, you’ve found two of us in only your short time with Daniel, so I’m sure you’ll find the other girls in no time at all. I also have my mercenaries helping as well.”

That helped soothe some of Twilight’s worries. It allowed Twilight to shift focus onto the next set of questions plaguing her. Rarity could possibly answer one that had sprung up since she had heaped caps onto Twilight after breakfast.

“Speaking of mercenaries,” Twilight said. “Why in the hay do you have mercenaries? I mean, how, exactly? We’ve been here for how long, and you’re already rich enough to hire people to do your bidding?”

“We’ve been here for seventeen days, if you count today, so two and a half weeks,” Rarity said with a nod. It was nice to finally get an exact number of days, rather than guesstimates. “As for money, I’ve filled every niche I could with my magic. Purifying water, cleaning the ship, making lights, repairing weapons and armor, as well as cleaning people and their clothes.”

Twilight started to nod, but something wasn’t adding up. Rarity had said she cleaned clothes and people for cheaper than what it cost to take a normal shower with the facilities Rivet City had. Rarity also wouldn’t deprive people of clean drinking water, so Twilight assumed she purified water for cheap as well. Two and a half weeks was still too short to amass enough wealth to set up her store. Twilight had seen the inside of it. The overhead alone should have had Rarity in the red, but she had turned enough profit to give Daniel and Fluttershy enough caps for combat armor and other supplies. That included a new gun for Daniel, and a concealable knife for Fluttershy.

“Oh drat, I see your face doing the thing,” Rarity sighed.

“What thing?” Twilight asked, looking at her friend. Why was Rarity blushing? What had she done to get so rich?

“That thing where your face scrunches up when you’re thinking very hard on a puzzle. I know I can’t keep it from you, so I’ll spill it. I received an absolutely overly-generous sum of caps from Caitlyn Dire down in the lower decks. She was the one who introduced me to the concept of hiring mercenaries.”

“What does Caitlyn do?” Twilight asked slowly. Was Rarity doing something illegal? “I haven’t been to the lower decks.”

It must be something important or very lucrative if Caitlyn was able to pay Rarity so many caps. Not to mention mercenaries were involved. Twilight’s worry grew. It sounded more and more like it was illegal by the second. Was Rarity using her magic to make some sort of super-chem?

“How to put this properly and politely?” Rarity asked herself as she tapped a finger to her chin and hummed in thought. She stopped tapping and quickly glanced around to make sure they were alone before she spoke. “She runs a… companionship inn.”

“Ohhhhh,” Twilight said, nodding slowly. Brothels were extremely rare in Equestria, mostly in large towns or cities, and always out of the public view. They were also illegal. It was mostly due to the risk of spreading venereal diseases, rather than moral outrage. There were some nobles in Canterlot who wished Celestia and Luna would take a stronger stance against prostitution, but like most crime, it was so rare it was nearly a non-issue.

Twilight attempted to put the pieces of the puzzle together from Rarity’s vagueness. Had she become a sex worker? Was that why she was so nonplussed about her and Daniel?

“Now,” Rarity said sheepishly. “Normally, I would never dream of going into a place like that, but I walked in not knowing what ‘bordello’ meant when I was exploring the ship. I was hoping to see if maybe any of our friends, or you, had ended up here in Rivet City with me. Unfortunately not, but by sheer coincidence the first person I met when I walked through the door was Caitlyn. We talked for a few hours and eventually worked out a lucrative deal where I provide her workers with a contraceptive spell and recast it every week to keep it at full effectiveness. Caitlyn was so grateful I could help her keep the workers safe, she offered me caps and a free night’s stay. Mind you, this was my first day here and back before I knew my way around the ship. She even offered to let me stay with her for a night.”

“Did you take her up on the offer?” Twilight asked. “I thought you were strictly into stallions.”

“Well,” Rarity said, looking at her hooves. “I was lost, confused, and scared. And she was such a dear. She didn’t treat me like I was some freak like security did, and she listened to everything I said like it was true. I’ve always seemed to fall for stallions who never seem interested in me in return.” She took a deep breath and held it. She shifted from hoof to hoof before exhaling, saying as she did. “I… think I like mares better. At least they aren’t off the table for me anymore… I hope you aren’t mad at me.”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Twilight asked. What was Rarity on about? Homosexual relationships were so common in Equestria it wasn’t even an issue. Twilight placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to show her support. “It’s not a problem. Rainbow Dash likes mares and we’re friends with her.”

“It’s not that, darling,” Rarity said, shaking her head as she pulled away from the hand. “I’ve been too scared to leave this ship. I look outside and all I see are big scary destroyed buildings. I haven’t gone out into the Wasteland personally to search for any of our friends. I’ve just hid here while sending out mercenaries. I’ve been enjoying myself while you and Fluttershy have been physically and mentally scarred out there.”

Oh.

Twilight shook her head slowly, gently sighing as she did. Now it was her turn to cheer Rarity up.

“I won’t hold it against you, Rarity,” Twilight said. She brought Rarity into a hug. “I honestly hope that none of our friends are looking for us, and instead have settled into a nice safe spot where they can be happy and out of harm's way. With any luck, only Fluttershy and I will need therapy and a few surgeries when we get back.”

“Knowing our friends,” Rarity said as she hugged back a few seconds before breaking away. “They’re looking. Rainbow Dash is too loyal to not try and find us, AJ is far too stubborn, Spikey-Wikey brave, and Pinkie Pie is so random I half expect her to somehow mail herself to us despite the postal service being dead for two centuries.”

Twilight snorted. That would be something to see, a giant box arriving and Pinkie Pie suddenly jumping out with a mini-nuke’s worth of confetti. It would be completely fitting for her.

“We’ll find them,” Twilight said with a smile. “I know we will. Now, want to spend time together, or do you have a store to run?”

“Ah, yes,” Rarity replied. “It is almost time for me to get off break. Swing by sometime. If you’re so determined to not enjoy your ‘you’ time, I can put you to work.”

“Oh, the horror,” Twilight laughed as she feigned swooning.

Twilight felt a lot better. She hoped Fluttershy and Daniel had an easy, safe trip through the Metro.

<>~<>~<>

Inside, Rarity’s beautification of Rivet City hadn’t fully reached the market yet. Large sections of the interior hull were coated in thick layers of brown rust, and only a few of Rarity’s soda bottle lights hung from the ceiling. They joined side-by-side with two-hundred-year-old light fixtures that were on the cusp of burning out. Plenty of shadows lingered in the open market.

Dozens of stalls were set up in the middle of the giant room in a style similar to a bazaar or flea market. Twilight hadn’t seen any stalls selling slaves, but with so many stalls to look through, she hadn’t visited them all during her earlier shopping spree with Daniel and Fluttershy.

There were more people in the market than Twilight had seen anywhere else in the Wasteland. The hum of voices filled the air while the scent of cooking food wafting over from one stall labeled as Gary’s Galley. With all the sights, sounds, and smells, Rivet City was worthy of the title of a city. It reminded her of Kludgetown outside the borders of Equestria.

Twilight’s thoughts drifted to that town as she absentmindedly walked towards the smell of food. Rarity had already departed to run her store, allowing Twilight to wander the market alone and think.

The more she thought about it, the more parallels she drew between the desert around Kludgetown and the town itself to the Capital Wasteland. She had nearly been sold into slavery by Capper to Verko, and before that she had seen horns of all shapes and sizes being sold by a street vendor. All of that had happened just outside of Equestria. The Diamond Dogs had also tried holding Rarity as their slave, and that was near Ponyville.

Hindsight certainly stripped away a lot of the soft and fluffy veneer Twilight viewed her world through. How many times could she or her friends have been killed on their adventures? How many fatal falls had they been rescued from just in the nick of time? Or how many dangerous creatures and animals had they escaped?

Success after success had blinded Twilight to the reality that life wasn’t fair all the time. Luck wasn’t a winning survival trait. When would the luck of her or her friends run out?

She pushed the thought away, forcing herself to focus on food as she arrived at Gary’s Galley. Anything other than falling back into a depressing pit of despair.

Galaxy news radio played on a radio sitting on the counter. Twilight checked the time on her Pip-Boy. Eleven Fifty-Nine A.M.

If Three Dog was punctual, the news would play in a minute.

Twilight paid the other patrons no more than a cursory glance as she sat at the only open barstool in front of the wide flat countertop. To her left was a black haired girl wolfing down a bowl of bomb-shaped cereal puffs, and to her right one of the security guards eating a bowl of noodles. She smiled at the chef, who she guessed was Gary. He smiled back, and to Twilight’s surprise the other patrons flanking her hadn’t suddenly got up and moved.

It was a welcome change compared to Moriarity’s Saloon.

“It’s a pleasure to meet another unicorn,” the man said, smiling. “My name is Gary Staley, and I will be your chef this afternoon. What can I get you?”

“I’ll need a minute to order,” Twilight replied, “I’ll probably be ready by the time Three Dog is done with the twelve P.M. broadcast.”

Gary nodded as the music ended, replaced by Three Dog’s charismatic voice.

“Helooooooo, Capital Wasteland. It’s meee! Three Dog, coming at ya ta howl the truth over these airwaves.”

Twilight studied the menu, trying to make her choice on what to order as she listened in.

“Now, we all know that the wild-wild wasteland is, well, wild. But let me tell you it’s starting to go from wild to just plain weird. I’ve just got word into the studio that some strange mutants similar to Fluttershy and the white-furred woman from Rivet City have been spotted several times out in the wider wasteland. Many of my sources and informants wish for me to profusely apologize to you listeners on their behalf.”

Twilight froze, ears swiveling to listen in. WHERE!?

“Now I would apologize, but this one is on my informants for not looking deeper into the ‘absolutely outlandish’ idea that humans can fly around with wings until I interviewed one of them in my studio. I hate to be a bad boss, but if you get a strange report, maybe follow up on it before dismissing it outright. The Wasteland is a strange place… Canterbury Commons still has people in superhero costumes fighting each other for Christ's sake. As for where they’re at, my sources say there have been at least ten sightings scattered about, so you might see one pretty soon.”

Other Equestrians were in the wasteland?

“Onto the next strange bit of news. The raiders of Evergreen Mills claim to have witnessed a ‘kaiju fight’ between a four-headed mutant dragon thing and a super mutant behemoth. What’s a kaiju? Hell if I know! I don’t speak fancy. Capping off this segment, it's time for the weather. It looks like we have a rainstorm coming. Local meteorologist Three Dog says, ‘look outside if you don’t believe me’... and that’s it for today, children. More news at seven o’clock”

Now there were hydras!?

“Huh, are you unicorns and pegasi from up north in the Commonwealth?” Gary asked.

“N-no. I’m from far, faaaar away… could I get something vegetable based that’s quick to make and eat, and a bottle of purified water, please,” Twilight requested as she breathed slowly. She set the caps on the counter. “One second, please… I need to try something.”

She had a full night’s sleep and stimpak-assisted healing. With other Equestrians and a HYDRA of all things in the Wasteland, she needed her magic back.

Staring at one of the caps, Twilight squinted her eyes in concentration as she drew in a breath. She held it several seconds as she mentally prepared herself for what she knew would happen. This was going to hurt a lot.

She released the breath and relaxed as best as she could. She coaxed magic into her horn, up the spiraling bone-like material and to the broken end. A sensation like dozens of pins and needles stabbed her brain, but she pushed on until a purple light spluttered above her brow like a candle flame in the wind.

The pins and needles turned into a searing, stabbing blade ramming into her skull as she wrapped one of the bottle caps with telekinesis as sparks shot out her broken horn.

Beads of sweat had already formed. She bared her teeth as they ran down her face. One salty drop managed to find its way into her left eye and burned like liquid fire.

While her concentration and magic were equally fragile, she refused to yield. A miniscule metallic lid and some sweat in her eye would not defeat her!

That lone bottle cap floated several inches off the counter and Twilight’s determination redoubled. She COULD do this. She pushed the bottle cap through the air as her head spun.

Gary caught the bottle cap.

Twilight inhaled sharply, the stabbing pain going back to pins and needles as the soap bubble of magic collapsed. The pain lingered as she panted. Despite the pain, she smiled.

She had her win. She wasn’t useless. She wasn’t crippled. She had some magic back! Look out Wasteland!

“That was, uhh, something,” Gary said, snapping Twilight out of her revelry. “Can I get the rest of the caps now?”

Twilight looked down to the pile she had left and sighed. Baby steps. Overdoing magic with a broken horn was like trying to sprint with a broken leg. It could lead to permanent damage. She pushed the remaining caps towards Gary with the palms of both hands and smiled sheepishly.

<>~<>~<>

Rarity’s shop was a circular tent made out of quilted-together rugs and carpets. The cornucopia of upholstery loomed near the farthest corner of the market.

Twilight reached the tent, noticing the small chalkboard on an easel beside the entrance. She hadn’t seen it earlier. It sported a simplified side-view drawing of an unbroken aircraft carrier, the name of the shop written on the hull. Rarity’s Renewed Relics.

Twilight slipped through the curtain that acted as an entrance. The interior was well lit. The carpet walls extended into a carpet floor, all renewed to a bright colorful luster.

Arranged against the single circular wall were multiple shelves, desks, and display cases, leaving the center of the tent more open air save for a circle of tables. Mannequins standing atop the tables wore pristine sets of armor and clothes. On the tables by the feet of the mannequins were neatly folded clothes and organized accessories like sunglasses and jewelry.

Towards the back was a large wooden privacy divider. The hinged wooden panels stood on metal legs and could be easily moved around to make a head-height wall of various shapes that would only show the feet of whoever was behind the panels.

If Twilight knew Rarity, it was likely the changing booth or where she cleaned customers.

Rarity sat near the entrance, behind a L-shaped desk typing away at a terminal in front of her. A radio next to the terminal was tuned to Galaxy News Radio and set to a low volume.

The store was just as captivating as the first time Twilight had entered.

“Hey, Rarity,” Twilight said as she approached the desk, catching Rarity’s attention. “Did you just hear the news?”

“I did,” Rarity said, pulling away from the terminal. “And I think an ornery hydra is exactly what raiders deserve. Those uncouth ruffians. Hopefully the other Equestrians end up somewhere civilized. We can’t go gallivanting off into the wastes right now with Fluttershy and Daniel gone. For now, you try and relax. Maybe ask the guards if you can use their shooting range, get some practice like I did.”

“Wait, you learned how to shoot?” Twilight asked. Rarity didn’t strike her as one to ever use a gun, but it made sense. The Wasteland was dangerous. Maybe the arriving Equestrians could understand how to not drop a firearm faster than Twilight had.

“Indeed I have,” Rarity said as she opened a drawer in her desk. She set out a large revolver that gleamed with a silver finish. “Guns are noisy, bothersome, crude things. But everyone else carries one, even some of the children, and there are no laws outside Rivet City. I hope these damnable things are never invented in Equestria.”

The thought sent a pit falling into Twilight's stomach. Pinkie Pie owned a cannon. It was only a matter of time before the technology was downsized.

“I hope so too, Rarity,” Twilight said. “I’ll see you as soon as I’m done practicing.”

“Very well… oh, and here,” Rarity said, pulling out two sheets of paper from the same drawer she had retrieved her guns from. “They almost slipped my mind again. When I arrived, I showed up with these pages. I haven’t read them fully because of the vulgarity. I only kept them because they were glowing with magic.”

“I found a page earlier in a raider’s satchel bag,” Twilight said, taking the journal pages. She looked at them, already seeing several examples of human curse words. The handwriting was different from the page she had found, but then again, the writer had been turned into a pony.

August 1st, 2077

Well, well, well… finally something good for a fucking change. Brass reassigned me to some sort of special project. I’m being transferred all the way to Washington D.C. Beats freezing my fucking ass off in Alaska.

All in all, Journal, I have no fucking clue why the Brass chose me. If it’s D.C. then that means something government related, which means this has black ops written all over it, but I’m not Special Forces. I’m a grunt nobody will miss.

Then again, I won’t be missed. If this is a suicide mission, I’m haunting everyone’s ass when I’m gone. Going to squirrel away this journal and record everything in case I need to blow the whistle on whatever the fuck is going on. A big old bird to Uncle Sam if I get bent over a barrel and somehow make it out alive.

Going to bed soon. Have to catch a flight early in the morning.

August 3rd, 2077

Arrived at D.C. after one hell of a layover because I had to take a civilian flight. Then it was two fucking hours of the TSA giving me the works. I finally reach muster and find out my suspicions were right on the fucking money. I’m working with a bunch of other grunts from all the fuck over, all taking orders from guys in black suits. Not all the grunts are army, either. Got air force, marines, navy, even a few Nat-Guard guys.

They poked and prodded us for hours. Not the suits, but some nerds from some sort of private super-science complex from somewhere in Nevada. So many samples, too, like damn. Blood, saliva, stool, hair, dandruff flakes. The whole nine yards and some of the endzone. A lot of physical exams as well. Doesn't make any sense, all the guys are some form of soldiers. We’ve passed most of these exams before bootcamp.

Almost lost my journal, but I slipped this cute blond nerd a handful of 20s to keep her from confiscating it. Need to be more careful.

The head nerd is some kraut not associated with the guys from Nevada. Guy gives me the creeps. Not as much as the head spook who calls himself Agent Evans, a former army Colonel.

He said we’d be going to “Phase 2” tomorrow. Like we’re supposed to know what that means. Context, asshole, ever hear of it? I swear as soon as they call you an agent your job description becomes ‘be as vague as humanly fucking possible’

Time to see what exactly Phase 2 is.

Twilight frowned. Starswirl the bearded had been frozen in another dimension for over a thousand years to lock away the Pony of Shadows. He had built the mirror that had led to Canterlot High.

Had humans in this world found one of Starswirl’s old mirrors… or had they made one of their own?

<>~<>~<>

The raider hideout had fallen into silence once the truth bomb had been dropped. Fluttershy stared across the picnic table at Ethan. She had no reason to doubt what he had said, despite her wanting to disbelieve it. If Ethan and Sarah had gone through the same portal and ended up so far apart…

Shaking her head to knock herself out of the stupor, Fluttershy regarded the three people sitting across from her at the table to see what she had to work with. It was a variety, that was for sure.

Ethan was dressed in light homemade armor so he could fly, while the lone woman wore spiked armor and clothing Fluttershy associated with typical raiders—just short of carrying around a pair of severed hands on her belt—while the younger of the two unnamed men wore an old police vest and jeans still sporting a faded POLICE label.

The only member of her new gang who had risen during the middle of Ethan’s retelling of events was a second, much older-looking man in battered combat armor patched together with so much scrap metal that the original armor was almost hidden by the repair work. He lingered just off to the side of their group.

If she was going to be trying to turn these people away from their lives of sitting in a metro station harassing people for chems, she needed to be a leader and learn their names.

“So let’s introduce ourselves,” Fluttershy said. “My name is Fluttershy. I’m twenty-five years old, and I’m an Equestrian native to the world that Sarah and Ethan went to. I’m also apparently your new boss, so I want to know as much as you’re comfortable with sharing to me about yourselves. I want to help you be good enough to be able to live in Equestria.”

Fluttershy knew she could have continued talking with Ethan and asked about what Sarah had seen in Canterlot, but after seeing how it had tragically ended in a bathroom stall… Fluttershy’s heart broke thinking about Sarah spiraling into a suicidal depression as she tried to kick her habits. Raiders may have been selfish, disorganized, violent, and cruel beyond any Equestrian’s imagination, but what if there was some redeeming quality left buried in them?

What was kinder? Trying to find that buried seed of good and try and help it grow, or just pulling a trigger and living with the consequences?

“–mith,” Ethan’s words pulled Fluttershy back to the here and now. She was lapsing again. “I’m twenty-six, and I like Grognak the Barbarian comics because I can understand the pictures.”

The woman beside him spoke next.

“Kerri Jones, I’m not sure exactly how old I am, something like maybe twenty, I’m originally from the Hard Asses out towards Megaton, but they went cannibal so I got out when I could. Just in time, too, I heard some Vault-boy went full psycho on them a while ago.”

Kerri turned her gaze towards Daniel, who narrowed his eyes at her. Fluttershy stretched her hand out to the side and placed it on Daniel’s hand, which grasped the handle of the 10mm pistol holstered to his leg.

“She left them,” Fluttershy said.

“Were the skeletons in the cages before or after your gang?” Daniel asked.

“Before,” Kerri said. “What, you think a gang calling themselves the Hard Asses had enough brains between all of them to install cages? Something weird went down at that school before we showed up, and all of us were too drunk or high to clear out the old shit. You want neat freaks, go bug that crew calling themselves the Cleaners. I think they’re in metro central.”

“I wasn’t aware there was a difference between raiders,” Daniel said, leaning forwards with an edge in his voice.

“Hah!” Kerri laughed. “You honestly think every raider will dress like this?” She placed her hands under the two wire colanders she wore as a bra and jiggled her breasts before leaning back with a howl of laughter. “You two have a lot to learn if you want to be raider bosses.”

Fluttershy sighed and looked at the sitting man, who was smiling at Kerri’s laughter.

“I’m Paul Henderson, and I’m here because I got kicked out Rivet City for stabbing a guy to death in a bar fight.”

Fluttershy winced. She knew it was going to be an uphill battle trying to redeem raiders. But she had to try after what she had done. Discord was a millenia old spirit with godly powers, and she had managed to get through to him. Maybe there was a slim chance at changing the ways of these people. She looked to the last raider, the older looking man.

“Name’s Slim Joe, I’m fifty-three years old,” Slim Joe grunted. “I’m here because I’m an asshole. Story ends there.”

Fluttershy frowned.

“There a problem?” she asked the man.

“Oh, I dunno,” Slim Joe snidely replied. “You tell me. You show up to our door cleaner than any Wasteland trash I’ve ever seen, yet you put Jack in his place after going all screaming psycho-addict. Then you pull a switcheroo and spare his life while claiming you want to change all our lives for the better. You’re fucking confusing the fuck out of me. I’ve been doing the raider life since I was fifteen. I’ve seen a lot of shit, done a lot of shit, but I’ve never seen shit like you. I’ve got no idea if I should follow you or leave the gang. For now, I’ll follow you and see how this plays out. Just… Some people aren’t worth saving. If you want to do this, girl, you’re going to see and do shit that’ll make you hate humanity.”

Fluttershy sighed.

“I need to try,” Fluttershy said with a sigh. “I’ve done things I regret. I haven’t even been in this world for three weeks and I’ve done things that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

“Yeah?” Slim Joe asked. “What’s your big sin, then? Tell me, ye of so high moral standing, what the fuck depresses you enough to try and save our asses?”

“I shot a man in the spine,” Fluttershy said as she grit her teeth and balled her fists. “It wouldn’t have even crippled him since he was in power armor. I only destroyed the fusion core powering his suit, but he fell onto his back before he could eject and… and…”

“And what?” Slim Joe snapped. “Where’s that fury and fire you showed Jack? Or is the real you that spineless pushover who could barely speak during her interview?”

That was different! Three Dog said he had an audience of thousands of Wastelanders. The thought of messing up the interview had sent her shivering. Fluttershy slammed her fists onto the table.

“I executed him, okay?” Fluttershy yelled. “Put my rifle against the lenses of his helmet as he begged me for mercy. He couldn’t even move in his crippled power armor. He had dropped his weapon so he was unarmed, and I just… just quipped before pulling the trigger. ‘You who showed no mercy will receive none’.”

Fluttershy felt bile creeping up her throat as her guts clenched. She had been justified. Black Knight Bernard was a monster who killed most of the initiates from the training patrol with a single blast of dark magic. He had already hacked off one of Paladin Rose’s arms with his greatsword before Fluttershy had managed her lucky shot.

Still, Fluttershy had heard his begging and didn’t consider any alternatives as she gave into her rage. She hadn’t just pulled the trigger once, either. She had emptied an entire magazine into the helmet.

How could she face Twilight and the rest of her friends after carrying out a brutal murder of someone who could have been taken prisoner? What would be left of her if she had kept down the path she was on? She needed to change, try and make the Wasteland a better place rather than solve everything with bloody violence.

She wanted to go home and curl up under a giant dog-pile of fluffy critters and cry herself to sleep.

“Damn,” Slim Joe said. “So why are you here trying to lead a raider gang if you were part of the Brotherhood for only like, what, the day before yesterday was your interview?”

“That’s a long story,” Fluttershy said. “I’m still part of the Brotherhood.”

“Wait a sec,” Kerri said. “If you’re Brotherhood, but were fighting someone in power armor, did it happen to be a dude in black painted Brotherhood armor? Not black and red like those other Brotherhood guys, but straight black?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied as she took a slow breath to calm her nerves. “What do you know about him?”

“Not much about him, but the guy he was with was one creepy fucker. Showed up to Springvale before I left. Bald dude in one of those red Brotherhood of Steel robes but it was almost brown with dried blood. His face was also all carved up with letters not in the alphabet… and his eyes. The guy had a look in them and on his face like he was haunted by things, but he smiled like he was proud of it. Wanted to know if we wanted to join his crew, or if we had any children for sale. We were just there to shoot chems and raid caravans heading to and from Megaton, not diddle kids, so we told them to fuck off. That was maybe a year ago. Can’t really say, I’ve spent a lot of time zoned out and high.”

“If you see the bald man again, he’s a dead man,” Fluttershy said as she ground her teeth, some of her rage returning. “No exceptions. He’s done things I don’t consider redeemable. Now,” Fluttershy got out of her seat, “let’s get moving. What can you tell me about Museum station?”

“That station’s run by–” Paul started to say, as he stood with the rest of the group before he trailed off with a hum.

“It’s run by miserable wastes of space you’d find unredeemable,” Slim Joe said, crossing his arms. “They’re the type of raiders who dress like Kerri and do the whole song and dance of hanging bodies up.”

“Yeah,” Paul said. “But they aren’t cannibals. We get traffic coming through our toll booth from their direction, sometimes.”

“What’s with the hanging corpses thing?” Daniel asked. “Most raider gangs I’ve seen do it.”

“That’s mostly a thing for raider gangs outside the metro,” Kerri said. “Most gangs on the Lines avoid it since it attracts feral ghouls and radroaches. But the gangs that do do it, like the guys at Museum station, do it as a way to mark territory and show off how hard they’ve dominated other gangs. That’s where most of the corpses come from, other raider groups. You only have to worry about the gangs that hang up bodies that look like they’ve been butchered and cleaned like a brahmin carcass, or just have straight bite marks on them. That’s how I figured out why lunch at Springvale started to taste funny on one of my rare sober days. Left the old crew after that.”

Fluttershy’s stomach flipped faster than a show dog. She threw her forearm over her mouth and swallowed back bile.

“My reaction as well to my accidental cannibalism,” Kerri said as she started to walk away from Fluttershy and Daniel with the rest of the gang. They were headed in the direction of where they kept their supplies. “Huh… accidental cannibalism. Hey, Ethan, if we ever form that band we talked about we can–”

“York already took the name,” Ethan said with a laugh, walking beside Kerri.

“Damn,” Kerri said. “Now I actually have to think of a better name to top that.”

Fluttershy watched as the group walked off, bantering. Raiders were still people. Even before her snap decision to stop solving every problem with a bullet. The group she’d taken over had a history together. They slowly made their way over to where their supplies and beds were to collect more of their gear and meager belongings, bantering, bickering, and laughing.

She took a moment to look at their sleeping quarters, but stopped as the first thing she noticed was a Giddyup Buttercup poster by a cot. She assumed it was Sarah’s. Her first time seeing one of the posters out on patrol had been a shock. Ponies were just another type of animal in this world.

“Are you sure about this?” Daniel asked Fluttershy in a sharp whisper, drawing her attention away from her thoughts. “They’re raiders. I don’t like them, I don’t trust them, and I still think we should shoot them. How can you feel safe around them?”

“I don’t,” Fluttershy replied, not bothering to whisper since the raiders were across the room. “And I’m not sure. But I can’t execute them. I’ve been solving my problems the Brotherhood’s way for too long. I’m sick of it… I can’t keep going. That story I told them was true. I’ve executed a man in cold blooded fury, and nearly killed Jack in the same kind of rage. Thinking about it is what’s making me space out so much, now that I’m away from the Brotherhood. I need to do something other than fight or kill, or I feel like I’ll lose a very important part of myself forever. I can’t let the Wasteland take kindness away from me.”

She had been living with a core part of herself crushed down and subdued. Kindness wasn’t needed when a bullet could solve the problem. Going on so many patrols had led to so many skirmishes with raiders. Had those groups only been hostile because they were the Brotherhood of Steel?

“They’re dangerous people, Fluttershy,” Daniel said as he rubbed his face.

“I know,” Fluttershy replied. “I’m not naive enough to have glossed over the fact they’re all evil-leaning people. Jack was their boss, and none of them claimed that they wouldn’t have taken Jack up on his offer if he won. We’ll keep them in front of us… but they are not our human shields. I just want to keep my eyes on them. If any of them try anything, then you have my permission to solve it the traditional Wasteland way… I know I’m putting us at risk with this, and I should have listened to you instead of giving into my anger and accepting that fight. I’m just… just so peeved with the Wasteland.”

“You ponies are weird,” Daniel said, shaking his head slowly. “And… amazing. Just, be careful. I’ll keep my eyes on them and try to help you with whatever this is. It’s the least I can do for you since you didn’t knock my teeth out this morning.” Daniel chuckled. “Changing topics off the raiders, any good gift ideas for Twilight? I want to surprise her with something nice.”

“With Twilight, you can never go wrong with a book,” Fluttershy said as she smiled, glad for the topic change. She glanced at the raiders and saw many of them were already packed and coming back their way. “The more scientific and wordy the better.”

<>~<>~<>

Fluttershy walked alongside Daniel, the darkness of the metro tunnel beaten back by his Pip-Boy light. They were on the Red Line, northbound towards Museum station. With the threat of portals to her homeland popping up, Fluttershy decided it would be best to hurry and get Three Dog’s transmitter. With Twilight’s horn broken, telling her wouldn’t solve anything. It would just ruin any chance Twilight had to relax.

Even if they found a portal, it wouldn’t be of any use. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike were still missing. Going home to report on things and letting Discord or Celestia send them back wouldn’t work either. Sarah had ended up on the surface and took half a day to get back to the gang.

Fluttershy considered it was the best option to keep moving with the plan as it was. Twilight could learn everything when Three Dog’s job was over with.

By her best guess, they were nearly to Museum station. It was roughly two miles away from Anacostia Crossing station, and they had been walking a while. Although they had been traveling slowly so everyone could watch out for traps and avoid stepping on any of the rubble or detritus left over from the two-hundred years since the war.

It was important to keep a watchful eye out. According to her new gang—a fact Fluttershy was still wrapping her head around—the raiders at Museum station were a coin toss between being trading partners and mortal enemies. It all depended on how high they were, and whoever was in charge of either group. Which meant if they were feeling spiteful they could leave ‘gifts’ in each other’s way.

There was a thump as Ethan suddenly landed in front of Fluttershy. She jerked back, her hand reflexively going to her pistol grip before she could control her reaction. She let out a breath.

“You scared the life out of me, Ethan,” Fluttershy said sternly. “I nearly drew my gun on you. Did you see anything?”

“I did,” Ethan said with a nod. “Someone is coming down the tunnel.”

“Think they’re hostile?” Daniel asked.

“No,” Ethan said. “It’s a message runner from Metro Central. I’ve already spoken to him. Deathclaw Joe is calling for every gang on the Lines to come to Metro Central in three days for a Knock. The runner had just finished telling the guys at Museum station.”

“And what’s a knock?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s short for a knock-it-off. Deathclaw Joe wants every raider gang to drop any beef we have going on right now for a massive get together,” Ethan explained. “He calls one when he wants to act like he’s the king of all raiders. It’s a massive swap-meet and party where every raider gang on the Red and White Lines trade weapons, prisoners, gang members, and stories before eventually it all collapses into fighting and we go our separate ways. I’ve only been to one so far and it was fucking awesome… Can we go?”

A raider party where prisoners were exchanged like gifts. Lots of chances to look for any of her friends who may have been captured by raiders. But she couldn’t let her gang go there. It would just be one massive event filled with fighting, chems, and vices. She was trying to get Ethan and the others out of that life, not encourage it. And she couldn’t go by herself, that would just make her a hypocrite to her gang. Their allegiance to her wasn’t rock solid.

What was kinder? Going to this event to look for people that were possibly there and allow her gang the chance to ruin the three days of progress she could make with them before the Knock started? Or not allow her gang to go, but stay away with them and help them cope with the chem withdrawals they would be feeling by then, but possibly miss rescuing one of her friends from raiders?

Fluttershy clenched her jaw. Either choice was choosing to bite one sour lemon over the other. Problem was deciding which was the less sour one.

Looking ahead at the rest of the raiders who had stopped to wait for them, Fluttershy made her choice.

“We’ll go… but stay off the chems.”

<>~<>~<>

Rainbow Dash landed on the metal balcony.

Even with the cover of the rainy night, Rainbow Dash still had used a Stealth-Boy. The operation was so off-the-books, she wouldn’t exist to the Enclave if she failed. Officially, she was on a training mission.

She had flown so fast from Raven Rock that the Stealth-Boy rendering her invisible hadn’t even had time to burn out.

She approached the balcony door and gently pulled. The sliding glass door slid open a crack.

So far, so good.

Reaching in far enough to push a curtain aside so she could look through the gap, Rainbow Dash saw that the room beyond was illuminated. Piano music played from a holotape player sitting on an end table flanking a couch. She could not see the target.

Leaning away from the sliding glass door, she deactivated her Stealth-Boy early so the sound of it burning out wouldn’t give her away. She had a second Stealth-Boy and a few belt pouches with grenades as an escape plan. If the target saw the curtains move, being invisible wouldn’t help anyways.

Sliding the door the rest of the way open, Rainbow Dash slowly slipped inside and looked around.

Metal floors covered with ancient rugs. Metal walls, a few adorned with paintings of sailing ships. Old-world furniture, including the holotape player next to a cherry red leather couch.

The couch was empty, so was the lounge chair.

Rainbow Dash turned and closed the door behind her.

When she turned back around, a plasma pistol was staring her in her face.

“Oh, crud,” Rainbow Dash cursed.

“If my disappointment of a son wants my job so bad, he should have sent a better assassin,” General Julius Autumn said as he chuckled and lowered the plasma pistol to aim at Rainbow Dash’s chest instead of face. “Now, any last words?”

Rainbow Dash spluttered as she raised her hands in surrender, surprised she wasn’t dead yet.

“Before I say them, can I ask how’d you know I was coming?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Pressure sensors on the balcony,” General Autumn said, his wrinkled, elderly face stretching with a grin. “Now, your last words?”

“I’m not here to kill you… at least that wasn’t plan A. Plan A was to make you an offer,” Rainbow Dash replied quickly. “Eden put you out here at Adams instead of keeping you inside Raven Rock because you’re the one person who could see the bigger picture and started to question him.”

“Get on with it,” General Autumn said impatiently.

“Colonel Autumn wants me to ask you, how would you like to prevent the Enclave from making the same mistakes that got President Richardson, Agent Horrigan, and most of the Enclave erased with a nuke? Your son dug up some files and found out that Eden wants to poison Project Purity with modified FEV based off of Curling-13.”

General Autumn frowned as he lowered the plasma pistol to his side.

“You have my attention,” General Autumn said slowly. “If I say yes, what is the plan?”

“If we pull it off, Enclave Radio is going to turn into a numbers station for a few days. You keep Adams Air Force Base under lockdown until we transmit the all clear. Once you hear our new president after we play the Star Spangled Banner, try and keep the Enclave from tearing itself in two out here. If you agree, Colonel Autumn will transfer those who would be opposed to the change here.”

“So, my son does have aspirations outside of being the lapdog of a glorified terminal,” General Autumn said with a hearty chuckle. “If we have a shot at actually rebuilding America instead of destroying it, I’d line every one of those dissenters he sends me against a wall myself.”

Rainbow Dash winced.

“No, no executing our own troops,” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head. “A newer, better America starts with a newer, better Enclave.”

“I know my son doesn’t have the brains for that one,” General Autumn said coldly. “Drained most of his wits with all that oooh-rah and semper-fi propaganda Eden vomited out. I hope he’s not the one you’re planning to replace Eden with, are you?”

“No,” Rainbow Dash said, slowly reaching up with her still raised hands to remove her shades and show off her magenta eyes. “We found someone as American as apple pie who wants a little honesty in politics.”