Fallout Equestria: On Rust Red Shores

The flight back to Bold Harbor was fortunately uneventful, not even having anypony take pot shots at us. Though mostly everyone was quiet, the normally chatterbox foals sat further back in the cart, and seemed to be more concentrated on holding onto the sky chariot than talking. But, we did manage to have a short chat with one of the two fillies, though only briefly.

The caramel maned filly was named was Toffee, and her sister was Gumdrop. The two fillies are from Navarro, but were staying with their aunt and uncle due to their parents working with the Enclave. They got caught up in the pony pox outbreak, but had been vaccinated early in the year, so they didn’t get sick like the others. Their uncle however had gotten sick, and was in the hospital when the clouds came apart. We held out a bit of hope that their uncle was one of those at Bold Harbor, as it be too tragic for them to have lost both their relatives.

We arrived at Bold Harbor in little time at all, and were immediately met by four armed Pegasus in uniforms similar to Air Burst. Landing in front of them, the four ponies had their boxy guns aimed at us, so we did well to not make any sudden moments.

“We have two ponies in need of medical attention,” We stated promptly. “Three foals, and three other ponies who mean no harm.”

Two of the Pegasus looked at each other, seemingly unsure what to do. That’s when Cloud Bouncer trotted out from the main building at the end of the ship, and rushed over to us. “That’s all and well good, but are those the supplies we need?” We nodded to his question, and the mayor pointed at two of the armed pones, ordering them to check. Our passengers slowly got out of the sky chariot as the cargo container was checked. When the two soldiers gave the mayor a friendly nod, he let out a long sigh. “That’s good, we can finally relax for now. Did you find the other containers as well, miss Prism?”

“Yes, we can mark it on a map if you have one.” Cloud quickly pulled out an old tattered map, and a pen. Circling the area, we landed, we also added a skull and crossbones near it, on what looked like the place the other alicorns were set up. “You will need to bring weapons with you, some of our sisters are in that area, and they seemed to have lost their minds. If you see them, you will have to kill them. We barely made it out ourselves.”

Putting the map away, Cloud Bouncer had a concerned look on his face. “That terrible to hear. But once more of my citizens recover, I’m sure Air Burst can get a team together and recover the rest of the supplies.” Looking past us, the chubby pony glanced over at the ponies we had taken with us. “I am most grateful that you recover some of my lost citizens, but who are the others?”

We gave a brief explanation on who the non pegasus we had recovered were, the two ghouls, the mutant stable pony, and the zebra. Each one seemingly giving him a bit of a shock.

Even with our admittedly limited explanation, He seemed to be having a hard time understanding just how and why ghouls existed. What perplexed him even more was how my sisters and I could be formed out of Taint. We tried our best to explain to him that only mother could do it correctly, but to this he only seemed more confused. One fact that was relatively easy to answer, was that the Zebra race did indeed survive the end of the world.

It took a bit more explanation that the two ghouls were not radioactive, and that ponies could not get mutated from second hoof exposure from a taint mutant. Well, at least we hoped not. But it seemed that the one the pegasus were most concerned with was with Mhambi. “What’s the matter, she is but only a zebra?” we tried to point out.

Cloud Bouncer stepped forward and shooed away one of the pegasus guards who had been aiming their gun a Mhambi the whole time. “Sorry about that. Even after two hundred years, some ponies still think we’re at war.” He gave Mhambi a bow. “The name’s Cloud Bouncer. If you’re willing to forgive us, all we know about Zebras is what we were all taught in school, and how they destroyed Cloudsdale. I mean, it’s a bit strange to see that your eyes don’t actually glow red like the books made you out to have.”

Mhambi Chuckled. “No offence taken. The scars of the war run deep, and I have seen worse reactions than this. I have actually came across a settlement that thought Zebras drank blood, and could turn ponies into zebras by doing so.”

Mayor Cloud Bouncer weakly chuckled. “That sounds foolish. So, then does that mean Roam still exists?”

“I do not know.” Mhambi said with a shrug. “My family has lived in Equestria for generations, and as far as I know, we have lived here long before the war ever started.” She looked back at the others, giving them a nod. “But enough about me, there are ponies that need help. Do you have a doctor here?”

Cloud Bouncer snapped to attention. “Oh yes, of course, I’ll have someone take them to her immediately. What’s wrong with them if I might ask?”

We stepped in this time. “We have one mare suffering from advanced radiation poisoning, the ghoul mare is pregnant, and needs to know if the unborn foal is fine. There are also three foals that will probably need to be checked out.”

Looking up at us, the mayor nodded, and motioned to two of the guards. “We have a waiting room set up away from the sick. The doctor may be busy right now, but as soon as she gets word, I’m sure she will go see them.”

The rest of the ponies were escorted away, leaving us with the Mayor, Mhambi, and Micro Fusion. The latter of which had somehow found a bottle of sparkle-cola and was avidly drinking it as we stood around.

The door to the larger house swung open, slamming onto the side of the metal wall. “What is going on here!?” Stomping out was Air Burst, trying to straighten out his uniform which looked more disheveled than it was when we left.

Sighing, Cloud bouncer trotted up to the enclave captain. “Oh calm down. We’ve got some of our supply’s back, and things are going to be okay.”

The captain snarled. “Okay? You call that okay!?” He pointed at us. “I was okay with sending that freak out to get our lost supply’s, but she comes back with two more freaks? Next thing you know, she will be giving a speech about letting those walnut brain dirt trotters inside the walls!”

“About that.” Mhambi spoke up as she trotted over to the two pegasus leaders. “I’m a member of a group out to better the wasteland, and feel that you two are in position of doing something great.”

We felt a nudge on our side, looking over, it was Micro Fusion. Leaning close, he whispered to us while still sipping on his drink. “How much you want to bet that the enclave pony will be calling for a firing squad for us?”

“They can’t be that bad, can they?” We asked back.

He shrugged. “Who knows, but a few generations back, my stable took in a dashite. She was some sort of journalist if I remember right. You know, a pony who gathers information, writes about it, and shares it with others. Well it seemed that she dug up the wrong dirt on somepony important, and got branded a dashite. A slave caravan ended up picking her up, and a little later my stable took her in. Having a healthy and diverse gene pool only get’s better when adding something like a pegasus to it! Well, after adapting, she ended up being our record keeper, and told us what she knew of the Enclave in the skies above. It was nothing all that unexpected really, nepotism, bribery, that kind of shit. The difference was that the enclave folk were willing to kill to keep it all quiet. That mare was so afraid of them; she never took a step out of the stable till the day she died.”

“So, you think they will turn on us?” We asked quietly

Micro Fusion scratched his head, “I don’t rightly know. I mean you are helping them, so they can’t be all gung-ho about being ass hats. I say they will just throw us out, and lock the door.” He eyed us for a moment and fround. “Though for you, they might train a few guns on you, with the fact you can turn invisible and fly. Makes walls a bit useless.”

We nodded. “Being told to leave will be fine as long as we get our supplies, as it was the deal we had made with them.”

A loud huff came from Air Burst, and the stallion stomped off back to the larger house on the ship. The other two walked back to us, looking a bit dejected.

“Sorry about that.” Cloud Bouncer spoke with a bit of guilt in his voice. “It’s just how old military ponies are. Even though the times have changed, I doubt he will start bending the rules he’s lived by anytime soon.”

Mhambi shook her head. “It is to be expected. In times of strife, we all look for something to give our lives some order.” The Zebra looked over at us. Her face held a stoic expression, but her eyes looked like they were pleading at us. “Miss Prism, I know you were only here to gain supplies, and that I threw the idea on you on so suddenly. But, will you be willing to do go down and talk with the Reka Merchants?”

We had to think about it, unsure how to respond. “If we said yes, what would we talk with them about?”

“Not much.” Mhambi explained. “If these ponies are in fact merchants at their core, then we may be able to make a deal with them. Simply put, if they trade their supplies and relinquish the slaves, then they can be brought aboard the ship, saving them from the raid that will happen soon.”

It sounded reasonable. Well, reasonable from where we were standing. But one problem did creep into our mind. “What about the pony poxs? Would the disease not just spread to them?”

Mayor Cloud Bouncer nodded. “yes, I asked the same thing, but haven’t gotten an answer yet.”

Mhambi sighed. “Yes, it is a risk, but one they will have to agree to take.”

“Um, can I chime in on this?” Micro Fusion had raised his hoof, and we all turned to the mutated pony. “If it’s the pony poxs you’re worried about, then it’s fine.” He took a deep breath and smiled. “Most of the merchants of Reka are either resistant to the virus, or have been given a vaccine for it, along with a few others diseases.”

“Excuse me if I sound a bit disrespectful.” Cloud bouncer spoke up. “But how would some dirt totting ponies have access to such advanced medicine?”

Micro Fusion rolled his eyes. “It’s how my stable conducts trade with Reka. They pay us for our medical treatments and supplies. In return, we get the raw materials needed to make more, and some more slaves to take in for gene testing. It’s one of the big factors that made them the only trading outpost for miles and miles. As the other outposts would succumb to plagues or progressive genetic defects, Reka was able to become dominant them do to not being as affected by the illness.” He then scratched his mare-like face. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they have some of the medicine with them, as it is considered to be of high value.”

Suddenly Cloud Bouncer gave Micro Fusion a hug. “Oh you wonderful, weirdly beautiful mare! I’d court you now if it was appropriate, and well, if you were a stallion. But that’s beside the point! If we can get those medical supplies, then we can save the lives of many of my citizens.”

The mutated stallion looked over at us, and wiggled his eyebrows, and we face hoofed and spoke up. “Just so you know, Micro Fusion is a stallion.” The comedy of the situation quickly passed as we felt a heavy burden seemingly fall upon us. Their eyes trained on us, though we were not looking, we knew they were. “Alright, we will do it. We will talk with Winterberry, though, we doubt she will be pleased to know that you are not going to leave.”

Cloud Bouncer let go of the stallion, and stepped over to us. “I’ll go with you, I’m sure if I can talk with this Winterberry, we can come to an agreement.”

“I will too.” Mhambi spoke up. “I have some valuable information that may be of use if the negotiations fail to work.”

We all looked over at Micro Fusion, who gave a confused look back at us. “What?” he sighed. “Fine, I’ll go too. But I’ll warn you, if it’s Winterberry were dealing with, prepare for some self-entitled whining.”

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Footnote:

Faction Status Change:

- Enclave Remnants – Neutral < Accepted