Fallout Equestria: On Rust Red Shores

Everything hurt. Not in a painful I’m going to die kind of way, but in that tingling pain I get when a leg had fallen asleep. Except that this time it was all over my body. It was strange, I was sure I was in the middle of a fight, but everything was quieter than I’d thought it should be. Still, it was clear enough that I could hear a pony’s hoof steps. The pony was coming closer, his hooves trotting on metal.

“Alright, I think it’s time to change that IV.” The voice, it sounded familiar.

Opening my eyes, I found it hard to see. The light that sat above was too bright, hurting my eyes a little.

“Uhh.” I muttered weakly.

“Miss Prism, you’re finally awake!” The pony who spoke, I could see him, if only barely with how blurry everything seemed to be. “Now don’t strain yourself, you’ve been out for some time now, so let yourself adjust first.”

My eyes slowly stop hurting, and the pony came into focus. “Doctor… Winter Frost?” I asked, making the stallion smile at me. “What happened?”

“You almost died, that’s what happened.” He gave me a stern look. “If you were a normal pony, I’d say you would have. As your current caregiver, I’d advise you never do something like that again.”

“I see.” I attempted to move, but pain shot through my body. “Ya, it feels like I danced with death.”

Winter Frost sighed. “I can give you some Med-X to dull the pain. Is that okay with you?”

I shook my head, that hurt too. “No, I don’t want any chems. They helped ruin my life once already. I don’t want to give ‘em a second shot at me.”

“Former addict.” He nodded. “I’ll respect your wishes, but if you ever change your mind, let me know.” Winter then took a clear empty bag off a hook, and replaced it with another one full of clear liquid. He attached a few tubes to it, tubes that I now could see were attached to me. “Oh don’t worry miss Prism, this is just to keep you healthy and hydrated. No chems in it, just vitamins mixed with water, though I’ll still need you to eat something soon.”

Looking at the tubes for only a moment, I turned my gaze back to the Doctor. “Is everyone okay?” I suddenly felt tired again.

He sighed. “Not every pony got out of the fight as lucky as you did, but without your help, it could have been far worse. Do you want me to go get your friends?” I nodded, my eyelids feeling heavy. “I’ll send a nurse for them. Now, let yourself rest. Celestial knows, you still need it.”

Everything went dark once again.

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The almost too tight collar around my neck was taken off, allowing me to breath properly in a long time. The red cloaked slavers looked down on me, not that I cared. I would look down on me too if I were them.

“Get moving, bitch!” The slaver prodded me with a spear. I weekly trotted down the hallway, doing as was asked. The dark and rusted metal felt oppressive to me, as though at any moment claws would come out to grab me. My unease grew to fear, and I ran, right into another pony. She didn’t budge from the impact, but I fell over.

“Sorry” I squeaked.

‘No need for apologies.’ Her voice... it was lovely. And in a way I couldn’t explain, it sounded like it had come from inside my own head. ‘You are here to join us, so do not be afraid.’ Looking up, I found who I had hit standing tall over me. She was beautiful. Her vibrant green coat, radiant wavy hair, and proud stature were something she wore like the goddesses of old. ‘Now follow me, Unity awaits.’

I obeyed, following her to an old sky cart that was attached to another alicorn. Inside the rusty interior, I saw three more ponies. Each one wore sores around their neck from collers recently removed, signs that they had been other slaves like myself.

“Um, miss…” I spoke up meekly. “What’s unity?”

She smiled. ‘It shall be your new life, while your old life will be washed away. You will be free from all your pain, sorrow, and regrets. Mother will make it so.’

“Everything?” my voice quivered.

‘Everything’ She responded resolutely.

“That… that sounds… nice.” I stepped onto the sky cart, forcing back the thoughts of my little colt into the recesses of my mind. “Too good for me.”

‘Do not worry, mother accepts all.’ The door to the sky cart closed as the Alicorn’s voice filled my mind. ‘Her love is unconditional.’ The sky cart began to move, lifting up into the air. ‘No matter who you were, she will wipe your slate clean, and you can begin life anew.’

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Once more I found myself still on the medical bed as before, now looking up at a rusted ceiling. Moving my right foreleg, it, like the rest of me, still hurt. Still, I worked through the pain and struck myself in the cheek.

“Coward, I’m a stupid coward.” I muttered, wincing from the fresh pain.

“That’s not how I saw it.” The raspy voice of a mare chuckled. “More the exact opposite, I’d say.” Optical sat on a less than comfortable looking seat with a wide grin on her face. “Good to see that you’re feeling better. I was hoping that I didn’t rescue a dead mare.”

I looked at her for a moment. Her mane was mostly gone, only an inch left with the tips burnt black. She was also wrapped all over in bandages, some spotted black and red, while her tail had also been cut down to half its length.

“What happened?” I asked, not quite remembering how the fight went.

Optical’s smile faded, and she sighed. “War, that’s what.” She pulled out a metal tin and opened it, revealing cigarettes. “You want one?” I thought about it for a moment, and nodded. But before she could pass me one, Doctor Winter cleared his throat. “Shit, forgot.” She closed the tin, and hid it in her jacket pocket. “Maybe later. But yeah, after you had that fight with razor, everything devolved to chaos. Half the fight was practically a bloody tug of war match over your body. Grease Fire seemed to be obsessed in taking you for himself, while me? Well, I was not just going to let some savages take our best ally without a fight.”

“And Star, is she alright?” I had to know. None of this would have been for anything if something had happened to her.

“Strangely enough, I think she’s the only one who came out of this fight just fine.” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Seriously, where did you find that filly? Where did she get those abilities? No pony at that age should be able to rip another pony’s throat out and act like she was just playing some game.” She then looked over at the doctor, and he nodded. “Don’t worry. Only the doc, me, and the zebra know about her… odd condition.”

I sighed. “I was hoping not to aggravate it. It’s something she picked up at her home, she got it not long after I met her.” Sitting up, my body hurt all over still. “Her home, it’s a pirate village out in the middle of the ocean, Blackwater as it’s called. I came across it by accident, and soon after that, I found her. She’d been stabbed and thrown into the water by the village captain. After patching her up, she returned to her kin, and came back like... that. Soon after, fighting started, her kin against the captain. Her group, the Corps Brigade, they used that curse she has as their edge and won the fight. Blood everywhere, guts strewn about. That ship was a living nightmare.”

“So you took her away from that?” Optical said softly. “I can see why you would want to spare her from that life.”

I shook my head. “No, she chose me to take her away. I still don’t know why, but I did.”

“Winter Frost wants to keep her for a few days, make sure her… ‘curse’ is not contagious.” The burnt enclave mare nodded, her face neutral. “We can’t have other ponies take on her appetite or were all going to starve out here.”

“As long she stays here with me, it’s fine to keep her here.” I said with a nod. “How about the others?”

“Heavy losses.” She frowned. “Not as bad as it could’ve been, but we were ill prepared for this fight. A few of my own soldiers fell, but the worst casualties were from the defending militia. The raiders were just too prepared for this fight, countering every maneuver we tried. Taking you back like we did involved rushing through flamethrowers and more mines. A victory that costs us more than a few good ponies. If the Gull had not shown up, we all would have been dead or worse.”

“Gull?” I asked, trying to ignore the regret I felt in having been considered such a necessary prize that it cost so many their lives.

“It’s a navel vertibuck.” She shrugged, brushing it off as common knowledge. “Lighter, faster, and can land on the water. I heard a lot was made near the end of the war for the navy, but the enclave only has a hoof full of them left. Unlike most Vertibucks, they were made to support small squads in firefights, and use mounted Gatling lasers on either side of the crew compartment. So when it showed up, it began raining lasers down onto the raiders. Without a way to fight back, the raiders retreated into the cover that Bold Harbor provided. After two days of strafing and pot shots from us, thy left Bold Harbor altogether. We almost managed to capture Greases Fire in the final raid, but he got away. Unfortunately, I had to settle with breaking his jaw, rather than killing the fucking bastard.”

I smiled. “Good to know that the worst did not come to you all.”

Optical nodded back. “Agreed. With the Gull and its crew on standby here, the raiders are unable to mass outside the wall, so threat of another assault is unlikely. The ponies here are now able to relax for the time being.”

Doc. Frost trotted over to us. “Now that you’re all caught up, I’m going to let the others in. If you’re feeling up to that, of course.” I nodded, and her trotted over to the door. Optical sighed, and got out of her seat, following the good doctor. He spoke as he opened the door. “Alright every pony, she is ready for visitors. Just remember to give her some space, she is still recovering.”

Ponies began trotting in, with Star Charter leading the group. The Sea Blue filly’s cloths looked patched up, and a red bow bounced around tied behind her head. Micro Fusion looked a lot cleaner, the mutated horn and wings were now gone, and the scars he had were covered up by a blue dress and large floppy hat.

Mhambi on the other hoof, had on a three piece suit. It barely hid the bandages near her neck, and her mane had been combed back and held in place by a few bobby pins. The Wrenches behind her were looking a lot less ghoulish than before, and their fur starting to grow back. It was good to see them heather, especially Crescent, who looked positively plumply pregnant.

Next, was a thin looking Pegues Stallion. I took me a moment to understand why he was here, but the answer was clear when the three foals under him cast their gaze up to me. Toffee, Gumdrop, and Spearmint looked much healthier than the last time I had seen them, with Spearmint clinging closely to the stallion’s leg. It wasn’t hard to guess, but I figured that this stallion was his father.

Outside the room I could see a few more ponies looking in, such as the nurses I’d helped after cloud bouncer was murdered. There were also a few of the ponies from the first line of defense, and oddly, the tough as nails earth pony mare where a fair amount of markup, and a nice looking dress.

Star rushed me, hopping onto the bed. “Prism!” She gasped as she gave me a tight hug. Which, in my condition, hurt more than a little. “I thought you wouldn’t wake up! And then the raiders tried to drag you away, and…” Still, we could forgive her for the pain.

“It’s okay now, I’m here.” I patted her on the head.

“Ya, but not all of you made it back.” The filly wiped a tear from her eye. “Your wings, the raiders ran off with them.”

“Not only that, but I thought it was prudent to remove the bones from your back.” Winter Frost spoke up. “The way they had been shredded, it would have caused further medical problems if I had left them in. I’m sorry that it had to be done, but you will adjust with time.”

“I was originally a unicorn, so they will not be missed much.” My body was wrapped in bandages, but it was clear that the wings were gone. I sighed, not really feeling any true loss over the missing wings. “But now maybe I can just pass myself off as really tall unicorn.”

Mhambi chuckled. “That is definitely good for us to hear. Your mind, torn was what we had feared.” She took a deep breath and shook her head before exhaling. “Sorry, the medicine I’m on has me a bit rimy.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know why, but a riming zebra just sounds too familiar. Like an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time.” I had to for myself to stop laughing because it hurt. “Must be from unity, I still have some it floating around in my head. Strange dreams of my time in it keep cropping up.”

Micro Fusion chuckled as well. “is that tied to the hole ‘we’ and ‘our’ thing you did all the time?”

“Ya! I noticed that too.” Star nodded. “You’re talking all properly now, what gives?”

“I guess, before I didn’t want to be, well, me. The me I used to be at least.” I had to think about it for a moment, but the answer was clear. “It was much easier to just be part of unity, to have no sense of self. But, Razor made me remember everything I hated about myself, and now, I understand I was running away from the truth.” I looked around the room, eyes of concern, worry, relief, and joy were looking back at me. “I am me, and I always will be. All I can do is push forward and learn from my mistakes.”

A little hoof boop’ed me on the nose. “There will always be storms. It’s up to you to power through them, or let them throw you around.” Star smiled. “Well, I think that’s how the Blackwater saying goes.”

I had to suppress my laughter again to stop the pain. “Thanks, now that I know all of you are fine, I know that I’ll be just fine.”

“Good to hear.” Mhambi clapped her hooves. “But I sadly can’t stay too long, I have a lot of paperwork to deal with.” She looked over at everyone. “And I know everyone has a job to get back too as well. So let’s make these visits quick, and then let her get back to her rest while we get back to rebuilding!”

Everyone groaned, but complied. Each pony had their time to talk, and drop off a gift or two. Soon, it was just Star and I in the room. The doctor had other recovering ponies to check up on who needed help more than I did now.

“Hay Prism?” Star mumbled tiredly as she cuddled up next to me on the bed.

“Yes?” I asked. Fighting through the pain, I reached up and hoofed at her mane softly.

“Can we stay here, is only for a while?” She smiled, pressing herself warmly up against me.

“Ya, I think that would be a good idea.” Without my wings, getting to somewhere else was going to be difficult. But now that i was thinking about it, I didn’t have any idea where to go next or how to get there safely. I did know that Bold Harbor was going to be the safest place around, at least for the time being, and the ponies here were welcoming to us. So, stay we shall. “Now sleep, little one. We can figure things out in due time, but now, I think we should both get some rest.”

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Two Weeks Later

Stepping out onto the front of the deck, the sun peeked out over the horizon. The raider houses that once stood here had been torn down for parts. The old shacks had been replaced with barracks for the new town guard, and included a landing pad for the ‘Gull’ Vertibuck. The town of Bold Harbor itself looked much cleaner as well. The town had even also gone so far as to build proper walkways between the buildings so that mud and dirt was not tracked everywhere. With all the grime, the bone decorations were removed, and some of the buildings were given a much needed fresh coat of paint. That of course, was thanks to a little bit of work from me. It wasn’t my best work, but it at least made this town a lot more welcoming than it had been when we first arrived.

Optical was currently running a few ponies through some drills on the deck. The ponies were likely new residents, scavengers who’d decided it was safe enough now to live here. One of the new laws in Bold Harbor was that all residents of adult age must be trained for the militia. It made sense given recent events, as if the town ever came under attack, it would need every available mare and stallion to help protect it. Though the town of course now had an active and dedicated guard, made up of the ex-enclave, with Optical as the Sharif. But with memories of Grease Fire and Razor Storm still fresh, everypony was still a little on edge, wondering if they would likely return in the near future.

Though the atmosphere is still a little tense, it was much worse before the election. Winterberry had been throwing out all the stops so that she could get into a position of power. However, her opposition was Tetanus oddly enough, with Mhambi moderating the whole thing. In the end, nopony wanted either of them as mayor, and in a stunning turn of events, elected Mhambi to the role. She had been doing the job unofficially since the raider attack ended, and she was already very apt for the role, as she was able to act as a third party whenever arguments flared up between the ex-enclave pegasi and the original towns ponies.

Winterberry took over a small warehouse with the two former slave stallions still by her side. She might have been a colossal bitch, but she still had a sharp mind for business. She set up a storage and supply depot for all the other shops that popped up and charged them to run and store their shipments. This put her in a relatively strong position among all the other merchants, and meant that Mhambi had to keep an eye on her or risk Winterberry trying to take over.

Tetanus on the other hoof, returned to the shop we’d promised her. The confirmed pregnant now ex-raider seemed to accept her new life, helping supply the town with small but useful materials while working alongside Rust Bucket. Most of the town kept an eye on them for a time, waiting for them to fall back into old habits, but after a short while, accepted them as townsponies all the same.

Micro Fusion predictably became Mhambi’s aid, as he’d been among the few ponies who could tolerate vast amounts of paperwork. He had taken a liking to wearing dresses, having them retailored to be more form fitting, and only just barely hiding the fact that he was indeed still a stallion. Not only that, but there was a rumor going around town that he had started a privat fetish club or something. Honestly, that was something that I didn’t feel like investigating in my free time.

The Wrenches settled down in the town, with Axle lending his expertise to anypony who needed it. Crescent was now in no shape to be working, as her engorged belly had made it too hard for her move around a lot. The two regularly checked in with Doter Frost as he studied their ‘unique’ condition. For the most part, you couldn’t tell they were ghouls, mostly because they had not truly ‘died’ as most ghouls did, but the doctor did warn them to keep away from radiation, as it could push them into the undead state if they absorb too much of it.

Most of the pegasi had a hard time settling in at first, though they seemed willing to give it a go after their friends and family members recovered from the pony pox. The biggest push to cleaning the town came from the pegasus, who seemed very averse to getting muddy. Were ever a pegasus chose to live, the area around it soon became much less filthy, and after a short time, the town was nearly the cleanest we’d ever seen in the wasteland.

The Merchants of Reka had a much easier time adjusting as Bold Harbor got up and running. Quickly they’d picked up from where their homes had been, and set up shops inside the new town. At first, most of the shops had little to sell, but after a week or two, like magic, their shelves started to fill up. Mostly with junk of course, but some useful items could easily be found in stock.

In time, Bold Harbor was contacted by the Street Sign Gang. Half of their reason was for Baneberry to laugh at her younger sister, the other half of the meeting was about establishing protected trade routes that fell under their watch. The gang was not happy about Mhambi denying the slave trade running anywhere through Bold Harbor, but they were not going to start a fight with the home of their only merchant clients in the area. In the end, a deal was struck for the gang to fix up the route to Bold Harbor, in exchange for discounts and a small tax for protection and maintenance of the road. Everyone felt that the deal could have gone better, but they also understood things could have been far worse. At least now the gang would help protect the caravans from the raiders, which should in the long run help the town grow even more.

Star Charter however, adapted to her new life quickly, taking one of the old boats in the harbor as her new home with me. Though things didn’t always go so smooth in our new home. She did resist going to the town’s newly opened school at first, something I had to force her to do. Despite her initial resistance to schooling, her knowledge of maritime navigation did shine through. Half because she bragged about it all the time, but it also meant that she was inherently good at math, beating out all the other foal in a placement test. Again, that turned out to be something she also bragged about quite a bit. While I’d become immensely proud of her, the biggest worry I had was her curse. It only flared up once in a schoolyard scuffle she had, and even then it only got so bad that her eyes began bleeding during the fight. She was not bothered by all the other foals fearing her, instead reveling in it. It was going to take time, but I do hope one day to free her from that curse, and by extension, her old life.

Speaking of foals, half of the raider foals had vanished during the big battle. Nopony was quite sure where they’d gone, but the rest who’d stayed were all too young to understand what was going on at the time. There was a long debate as to what to do with them, but in the end, a few ponies decided to take them in. Mostly, those pegasi who had lost their own to the pony pox, or had never been approved to have a foal in the clouds above. With them being much younger than Star, I had a good feeling that they weren’t going to remember what a nightmare that fight had been, and would grow up to be alright.

Interrupting my silent reflections of the past weeks, I heard a pony approaching me.

“Miss Prism, I thought you would be here.” Healing Breeze stepped up next to me. Her nurse's cap had been pinned down to her mane so that it didn’t blow away in today’s breezy conditions. “Looks like we’re going to need your help in the ER. We got a message that somepony was attacked by a radscorpion out on the road, and they should be here in a few ten to fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll be right there ma’am.” I nodded to her and pulled out my own nurses cap. I had decided to assist Doctor Winter Frost as a nurse, partly because I owed so much to him for the care he’d given. Though I was only an apprentice, Healing Breeze was an amazing mentor, and I was learning quickly.

“Oh, and Prism?” She gave me a sly little smile. “Next time you feel painting the clinic’s halls rainbow, at least let us know first.”

“Yes ma’am.” Some pony had found a few extra intact paint cans when I was repainting the town, and I couldn’t help myself. “Oh, miss Breeze, how was your date with Powder Keg?”

Her eyes shifted. “The idiot thought it was a good idea to take me to some weird club.”

“But did you enjoy yourself?” I asked as we turned to follow her back to the clinic.

“Let’s just say,” She smiled. “that I found something new to enjoy. Now let’s get going.”

“Yes Ma’am.” I followed her down into the ship.

My new life was not easy, but I couldn’t help but feel satisfied with it. It felt like I had earned my place here, and that I now had an opportunity to do some good and finally move on from my old life. I was no longer the weak, indecisive mare I’d been before. And though those scars still remained, both mental and physical, I was not going to let them hold me back anymore.

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Footnote

Quest finished: On Rust Red Shores.