Fallout Equestria - The Tale of Stable 112

Homecoming

Pending quests: Escape, Save the Stable.

My ears rang as the gunshot echoed through the empty stable, the sound of metal hitting metal followed as I opened my eyes. I looked at Aslania as my senses returned to me, the gecko stepping all over her owner to my surprise. I looked behind me and saw the bullet hole that pierced the wall behind me.

“Are you fucking insane?! You nearly killed me!” I shouted angrily, still a bit in disbelief she’d do something like that after we saved her.

“I would’ve if Solaris didn’t jump in my way!” She responded as she managed to pry off the gecko from her face, setting her on the bed. “Why the hell did you do that Solaris? You and me both know she won’t last seven minutes out there.” The gecko only muttered back a few squeaks and a flick of her tongue as Aslania lowered the gun with a sigh.

“You… you talk to her?” I asked, curious and concerned at the mental health of the mare in front of me. The gecko looking pleased as she skittered near me again, crawling up my front legs and resting on my shoulder.

“Yes, I can understand her squeaks and tongue flicks. Solaris thinks you’ll be able to survive out there but not without supervision.” She replied, seeming offended I asked about her ability to understand the pet.

“Supervision? I assure you I can handle myself out there.” I responded, feigning a bit of courage and strength.

“You were scared by a gecko and tried to defend yourself with a unloaded gun, you’ll be dead within the hour at best.” I tried to be offended with the statement but I knew just as well that they were telling the truth.

“How about you two? Can’t you help me get there?” I asked them, desperate to have anypony by my side during this journey.

“Us? Why should we help you? You’ll get us killed most likely” She collected her gecko and started to exit, I followed to try to change her mind about her decision.
“I won’t be in the way I promise! I need to get there or else hundreds will die!” I proclaimed, trying to guilt her into helping me.
She turned to face me with a nasty glare and angrily said, “That’s none of my business, You’re the overmare, it should be your responsibility to make sure they don’t die.”
I was devastated, my only hope to save the stable and she wouldn’t even consider helping me. I tried to think of anything I could possibly say to change her mind or persuade her to help me get to fillydelphia. “I’ll help you with anything! Anything at all!” I pleaded with her, following her all the way to the stable door.

“I have no use for you at all, my mission is to find a nuclear power core. Unless you can just spit one out then you’re useless to me.” She replied, showing me a piece of paper with the mission details on it.

Mr. Handy floated behind us, approaching us with a glowing object. “Miss Aslania, if it’s a power core you request then we have tons to spare.” The power core looked alot like a battery but it’s coils glowed bright green.

Aslania spoke up, staring at the power core with wide eyes. “You have some?! I’ve been looking all over for this, give them to me.” she demanded, trying to intimidate us into handing over the power core.

“You can have it if you promise to guide Miss Azuli all the way to Fillydelphia, nothing less nothing more.” Aslania looked very pissed that she had to agree to these terms. I stood in front of Handy as he bargained with the mare, worried that he wouldn’t be able to convince her to help me.

Aslania sighed, motioning for me to follow her. “Fine, I’ll help you get to Fillydelphia. Your stupid robot convinced me to guide you there and back in exchange for 3 power cores.” She held out the pistol that Handy first gave me, “Stay near me and don’t get in the way, don’t talk to anypony unless they talk to you. Make a wrong decision and it could get us all killed, understand?”

“Yes, I got that, all I need is that keycard and I’ll be out of your hair forever.” I replied nervously, grabbing the gun she held out to me.

“Good, Miss Azuli I wish you the best of luck on your quest, I’ve prepped your saddle bags with some of the basic necessities. Please return safely, the stable will always be right beside you.” The robot stared blankly at me, his voice had a sad tone to it.

“I’ll return with the keycard Handy, I promise.” I lifted my front legs up and hugged my metal friend, I was sad to leave him all alone but the stable needed me. I turned to face Aslania, nodding to her that I was ready to leave. She only rolled her eyes and stared at the big stable door, waiting for me to input the program to open it up again.

“Make sure you’re fully ready, it’ll be quite the awhile before we return.” Warned Aslania, I knew as much as her that it’d be weeks if not months before we returned back home. I breathed in one last time before inputting the code to open the stable door. It came to live as it did before, the gears creaking while the door itself groaned as it slid open.

“May the goddesses bless your trip to and from Fillydelphia Azuli. We will all be cheering you on in spirit.” The robot waved us off as we walked past the stable door frame. I couldn’t tell from the way he floated but I knew he was sad to see me go, guilt and desperation would be my guess as to what he might’ve been feeling. But we both knew that it had to be attempted, one dumb mare compared to the lives of hundreds was an easy choice.

The door creaked shut again, I saw handy’s face for a split second before the door eventually shut closed. The realization that i was now outside of my home finally set in, it felt like the world now weighed on my shoulders. I donned my saddlebags with a tight pull of the harness and caught up to Aslania.

“Stick closeby, outside of your precious stable lies a whole mess of monsters and villains. It’s kill or be killed hun, I need those power cores no matter what so if you die on me then I swear to the goddess I’ll bring ya back and kill you myself.” Her voice sounded almost worried, Solaris skittered into her saddlebags as we made our way out from the secondary entrance. The air felt heavy as I breathed, the stench reeking of charcoal and burnt wood.

We opened up the small shack door that disguised the stable’s real entrance, the stench of burning wood grew even stronger as a gust of air breezed past me. The sight was heartbreaking, buildings were destroyed and some collapsed on themselves. Roads were broken and cracked all around, trees were nothing but scorched branches. Streets were barren of any ponies, the sky was a dark shade of gray and ash scoured the city like snow. Aslania gave me goggles and strictly told me. “The ash will slowly start to deteriorate your vision until you go blind. Pull that scarf over your mouth too and don’t take any of them off until were inside a building or something.” I nodded and moved my scarf over my mouth and nose, putting on the rather dusty goggles.

“Can’t believe this once beautiful city is now just a pile of rubble..” I sighed sadly as I looked around the now destroyed Manehattan.

Aslania looked over at her and attempted to comfort her in the best way she knew how, “Don’t be such a bitch.” She muttered, causing me to look at her with a angered expression.

“Thanks, sure helped a lot.” I responded sarcastically, looking away from her as I checked our surroundings.

Aslania only smiled and said, “No problem. It’s how I was raised, made me the mare I am today.” I wasn’t sure if she meant to be a smartass or if this pony was oblivious to what sarcasm was.

Moving away from the subject I was curious as to which direction we would be heading since i’ve never actually left Manehattan before. I checked my Pipbuck for directions and highlighted Fillydelphia, the green screen loaded for a few seconds until a highlighted marker pointed me in the correct direction. “North, we have to move north until we reach a bridge out of Manehattan.” I thought out loud, attempting to remember the directions as to not check them every 2 minutes.

Aslania started to trot forward, moving east instead of north. “Hey we have to head north out of Manehattan not north, that’ll only lead us deeper into the city!” I said, angry that my guide had no idea where she was going.

“You’re more than welcome to head that way if you’d like but I would prefer to avoid any Hellhounds that reside near and on the bridge.” She responded with a huff, it didn’t take me long to figure that anything that had hell in their name was an immediate threat.

“Uh..y-y’know it’s great weather for seeing more of the city, i’ll join you” I stammered, obviously trying not to sound embarrassed or scared of what these Hellhounds could be.

“That’s what I thought, plus if were going on this 3 day hike then we need supplies. Much more than what we have in these tiny saddlebags.” She added, taking out a map from her saddlebags.

“Your right, we need more food rations if we plan to make it there and back. By the way, what exactly are these Hellhounds that you mentioned?” I asked curiously, intrigued at what these foreign creatures could be.

“Hellhounds are the great descendants of diamond dogs, they’re ruthless as can be and are easily considered equestria’s most dangerous creature. Most of them aren’t common in this area but these ones are an independent pack, the reason they’re dangerous is due to their teeth and claws. It’s possible for them to cut through a pony with ease if they were stupid enough to attack them. It gotten to the point where even the Steel Rangers don’t want to fuck with them on account of the many ponies that died at their claws.” we both walked along the cracked roads as she explained their origins and what were some of their known weaknesses.

I was scared when I heard the details of these hellhounds, I had known about the Steel Rangers from working around them but to hear they were scared of these creatures made my skin crawl. We walked long enough before I noticed that we were across from the statue of friendship, it had been rusted to all hell and the torch seemed to be missing. A bridge denied us access to the statue, from afar I could see a guard standing by. “Why are we here Aslania?” I asked curiously, wondering why the statue of friendship could help us in any way

“The statue of friendship is now home to Friendship City, a large settlement governed by a council. I call this place home along with the remainder of my family, stay near me and keep quiet.” She took out what seemed to be a radio and spoke into it, “Gearturner it’s me Aslania, extend the bridge for me and a guest.”

The radio sputtered with white noise before a voice crackled through, “Understood Aslania, welcome home.” As his transmission ended the bridge started to extend, closing the gap between us and the statue.

As the bridge fully extended me and Aslania started to slowly make our way across, making sure we weren’t being followed by anything that might want to bring harm to the city. We had made it halfway across before a burly stallion accompanied by a tough looking mare appeared at the end of the bridge, looking quite angry at us. I stayed close to Aslania when I saw the terrifying couple, “Who are those ponies and why are they glaring us down? Have we done something wrong?” I asked her quietly.

“They’re um..my parents.They’re probably angry that i’ve returned so quickly without the power cells. Just stay near me and let me do all the talking okay?” Her voice sounded concerned but bashful as well.

“Sure, i’ll just stay behind you and try to not draw much attention to myself.” I replied, walking a bit slower as to stay behind Aslania, we eventually reached the end of the bridge and the burly stallion was the first to meet us.

“Aslania! Have you completed your task yet? Who’s that mare behind you?” He asked curiously, looking around her to stare at me. “She’s pretty but we don’t send you out onto the waste to find a mate.”

“SHE ISN’T MY MATE DAD!” She shouted, a noticeable blush across her face. She gathered her thoughts and explained who I was, “She’s Azuli and I need to take her to Fillydelphia in order to get the power cells that the client needs.”

“Oh, alright then, please to meet you Azuli. Wait a second, those clothes you have on. Those are pre-war clothes! Did you come from a vault?!” He asked excitedly, eyeing what I was carrying.

I stuttered for abit, wondering if it was a good idea to tell him where I came from. “Would they try to raid us? My people were defenseless so they wouldn’t stand a chance.” I thought to myself, staring at the fairly larger stallion. “I’m from a civilization around Manehattan, I had some cores to offer in exchange for safe passage.” I nervously explained, the stallion eyeing me over constantly.

“Right.. Makes sense I suppose, Aslania go and get her some proper attire, might want to save the nice stuff or sell it Azuli.” The stallion seemed nice but frightening at the same time, Aslania only shrugged him off and trotted inside. I followed as I waved goodbye to the couple, I caught up to aslania who was sitting in front of the entrance.

“They seem like a nice pair, the lady is very quiet though, why is that?” I asked Aslania, wondering if she’d tell me about her rather weird family.

“Don’t.. just don’t talk about her, she’s quiet for a reason” She quietly murmured something as the big metal door creaked open slowly, gears grinding as it fully opened in seconds.

“Holy… this.. Is a amazing!” I looked around at what i saw, houses upon houses built onto the sides of the statue, stores and merchant stands stood in front of us, the marketplace built on the bottom floor as to appeal to wanderers who visited their city. The inside of the statue rusted slightly and had turned a nasty shade of green from the explosion, me and Aslania both walked ahead as the door closed behind us. She signaled for me to stay close as I started to trot along, amazed to see this amount of ponycraft, It wasn’t long until merchants noticed my pre-war clothing and started hollering at me to sell it in exchange for caps.

I kindly declined the merchant’s offer as I trotted a bit faster to catch up to Aslania, she pointed at the ramp that led to the statue’s second floor. “Come on, more people are going to hassle you if you stay in those clothes. The people of Manehattan would kill for the clothes you have on Azuli, were going to my place and finding you some better clothes to wear.” She explained, trotting up the ramp as I looked behind me, more merchants eyeing me and my clothes, wondering if i’ll sell it to them.

I caught up to Aslania and stayed by her side. “Hey, why are people here so obsessed with clothes, especially mine?” I asked curiously, wondering why some things as simple as clothing would drive ponies to harass somepony that badly.

“You really didn’t get out much before all this didn’t you? Manehattan was a place that people would call “Fashion city” where everypony fought for their own as they tried to survive in the high stakes lifestyle that enveloped this city.” She went on to explain that fashion was the key to survival in the city, both pre-war and even now. Aslania informed me that the rich wore dresses like mine while the peasants and bottom dwellers wore rags and leather clothing.

Hearing all of this cleared my mind of the confusion that occured in the marketplace. I followed behind Aslania until we reached a small cottage that was spray painted with a big A it also shared a corner with 2 other houses. “This is my cottage, go inside and change clothes, keep the scarf and goggles. Don't mess around understood?” Her tone sounded both concerned and worried but I wasn’t going to ask about it.

I nodded quickly and headed inside, the cottage seemed smaller from the outside but was surprisingly spacious on the inside. Her main room was rather well kept and was surprisingly furnished with a couch and a coffee table. I made my way towards her room. The bedroom was the complete opposite of the main room, it had guns and ammo sprawled everywhere that could make anypony think this small shack is instead an armory.

I quickly changed into some hefty leather armor, covering them with a coat she had laying around, wrapping my scarf on and packing up my clothes into my saddlebags. As I hurried to finish I noticed a little statuette sitting by her bed. A big looking stallion with absurdly small wings was the main piece while a plaque was right underneath, it read “With strength by your side there isn’t any obstacle you can’t overcome.”

I felt a strange presence when I brought it near, like I had increases in muscle or something. I hesitated for a bit but decided that I had to bring it along, after stuffing it into my saddlebags I hurried outside. “What took ya so long in there? You’ve better not have touched anything in there or else there’ll be hell to pay” Aslania stated, angry that I might’ve taken something.

“Sorry, I was just amazed by the collection of firearms and ammunitions you have stored in there.” I lied nervously, hoping that she’d buy my story and wouldn’t try to investigate my saddlebags.

“Whatever, just hurry up and stay near, we’re going to visit the doc and get geared up for the trip” She said sternly as she turned around. I quickly followed her as we made our way up a ramp and into another section of the statue, as we walked I took notice of just how well theses ponies have accustomed to this new environment. Shacks littered almost every part of the statue’s walls as each and every pony had made themselves a home in this new civilization.

“We’re here, now when you talk to the doc make sure you respect her and don’t let her get too near, she’ll examine the daylights out of you trust me.” Aslania warned me as we both stopped in front of a much bigger shack, a neon light in front that read “The Doctor is In” all in orange and visible from the other side of the statue.

“Understood, i’ll stay by your side Aslania” I replied, nervous as to who this mysterious and eerie doctor was. As we stepped inside we were immediately struck by a very rancid smell of morphine and alcohol, the mixture strong enough to be smelled from a mile away. Covering my mouth with the scarf I made my way deeper into the shack until I came face to face with a masked individual. I nearly fell over as I scurried back near Aslania, “Afternoon Doc, how is everything?” She asked the individual, calm and collected as ever.

The stranger only chuckled as she removed her medical mask and gown, a lavender colored mare being underneath. “Hiya lasses, been awhile since your last check up eh Aslania?” She chuckled as she spoke, a thick british accent in her tone.

“Stay away from me Silver, i’m still recovering from last time.” Replied Aslania, sounding pissed about something. “We’re here to buy some medical supplies for our trip, it’s going past a lot of dangerous areas so we want to be prepared for anything.” She added, taking out a small sack of caps.

As they both discussed prices and items, I had noticed yet another small statuette sitting on her desk. Looking closer at it revealed that the model for this one had been a pure white mare with red hair, she had on medical packs and a nurse’s hat. I moved away from Aslania’s side to approach the statuette only to bump into one of the tables, causing a few medical tools to fall on the floor loudly. “Oi! Have ya lost your marbles you dumb mare? Don’t snoop around me office like that or i’ll stitch ya face together” Shouted the doctor, thinking I snuck in to steal.

“Hey now, take it easy on her Silver. She’s the mare i’m escorting to Fillydelphia for the power cores ya asked for.” Explained Aslania, trying to get her to calm down.

“Oh, is that right? My fault luv, the name’s Silversharp. I’m the doctor around here, I here you two are headed to Fillydelphia right? What’s a stable mare doing out and about with the likes of her?” She asked, pointing towards Aslania.

“She knows the place more than I do… wait h-how did you know I came from a stable?’ I asked nervously, thinking that my cover was blown.

“Silly mare, no one enters this place without my knowledge. I could tell right off the bat you’re a stable dweller by the cleanliness of your clothes and especially that thing on your arm.” She said with a chuckle, pointing at my pip-buck.

I blushed with a slight smile as I hid my pip-buck, “Right, I had forgotten about that” My sight turned back towards the statuette, Silversharp taking notice right away at what I was gazing at.

“Pretty right? I got it as a gift for fixing up this mare. Can’t really say why but all my treatments afterwards have been much more effective.”

Aslania spoke up, “Hey, we talking a deal or not? I ain’t got time to wait around on the two of ya” She had her hoove on the supplies i’ll assume was what they were trading for.

Silversharp turned her gaze back to her, “Alright alright don’t get so worked up luv, like I said before 250 caps for all of it no more no less” replied Silversharp.

“Fine but these better be very effective or i’ll return from the dead to haunt your sorry flank” Threatened Aslania, storing all of the medical supplies in her saddlebags.

“Where are you two lovebirds going to anyways?” Asked Silversharp, moving over to a table to examine some things.

Aslania blushed and only huffed, leaving me to respond the doctor. “Were heading to Fillydelphia and she’s my escort not my marefriend.”

Silversharp dropped everything that she was working on, turning to glare at me with a surprised expression. “F-Fillydelphia?! Are you going to search for a stable by any chance? Please tell me you are luv!”

I stepped back in awe, surprised at the attitude change of the doctor. “Y-yes, we need to find a stable keycard that’s believed to be in a stable inside Fillydelphia.”

She only squealed in delight as she ran to go pack some stuff, coming back later with a doctor’s coat and saddlebags on. “Then we set off en route to Fillydelphia! Lora your in charge!” She shouted as a parrot poked her head out from around the corner.

“Hold on there doc! Who said you can come with us? More importantly why are you?” Responded Aslania, an eyebrow lifted as she questioned the doc’s reasoning.

“Because legend has it that Fillydelphia housed a medicinal book that was said to cure almost any ailment! If I find that book and learn all of it’s secrets than I shall be the best doctor alive!!” She explained, laughing maniacally right after.

“The laugh and title makes us think you have another reason why you want that book so much. In fact i’m sure no such book exist!” Replied Aslania, pointing a hoove at her as she called her out.

“I’ll give you 20 caps if ya let me tag along luv.” Added Silversharp, smirking at her.

“Deal, we leave in 10 minutes” Agreed Aslania, turning to leave. “Watch the stable dweller for a sec.” She asked, leaving her office to take care of other duties.

“What’s her deal anyway? She’s such a.. Loner” I said to Silversharp, curious about Aslania and what had made her that way.

“Dunno, but she’s got a great flank eh?” chuckled the doc, elbowing me to signify that it indeed was a joke.

“Don’t say weird things Silversharp, come on i’ll help you pack anything that might help us along the way.”

Aslania sighed as she stepped out of the doc’s office, trotting down ramps to a local pub. A bouncer stood in front of the entrance and stopped Aslania in her tracks “Move out of the way george, i’m in no mood.”

“Sorry Aslania, protocol requires me to make sure all pub-goers are tough enough to enter.” Replied george

“I will rip out your bucking arm and beat you with it if you don’t move out of the way.” threatened Aslania, grabbing his arm tightly as to show she wasn’t messing around.

“Uh..r-right this way ma’am” Answered george, opening the door for her while awkwardly smiling.
“Thank you” Aslania replied, heading into the makeshift bar. Patrons either sat at the small wooden tables or at the bar itself. It wasn’t anything impressive decoration wise but it did have a homely charm.

Aslania sat in a barstool at the bar with a sigh, “Give me two shots of whiskey and some ammo, 5.56.”

The barkeep nodded and went to go fetch her drinks and ammunitions, returning shortly as he placed her drink and bullets in front of her.

She quickly downed her drinks and placed the bullets into her bags. “Thanks, i’ll return in a week for my next refill” She told the barkeep, getting off the barstool with a groan. Still somewhat in pain from her earlier injury.

As she walked past the bar doors, a siren started to blare loudly. “Fuck’s sake not again.” She quickly hurried to the entrance and met up with the Friendship Cite Police Force.

“Raiders, they’ve found a way across the lake and should arrive in the next few minutes.” Explained the police chief, assigning each unit a corner of the city to protect while the majority stood by the door.

“We can’t just let them enter the city! We have to hold them off in front of the island!” Shouted Aslania, taking out her rifle and loading it with the newly acquired bullets.

“Everyone is to stay inside the city at all times, no buts or ifs!” Responded the chief, moving to join his forces stationed by the main entrance.

Minutes felt like hours as we waited for the enemy to barge in. The chief was about to send scouts out to see what had delayed the enemy but was silent as someone knocked on the big metal doors. “Hello residents of Friendship City, Our intention in this city is not to harm anyone but I believe you are harboring someone that we need.”

No one responded as they were dead-set on fighting the enemy, Aslania approached the door and spoke loudly. “What’s in it for us?”

The unknown intruder only chuckled as he replied, “Power cores of course.”

Aslania chuckled, “And why should we trust you? Your an intruder that’s threatening our safety”
The intruder’s voice tone switched to a more serious one. “Foolish mare, this is the Equestrian wasteland. Can you really trust anyone?”

Aslania knew what she had to do, “If I bring her out, will you leave our city alone?”

He snickered evilly, “You have my word.”

End of chapter 3

Level up: (4)

Strength Statuette found: Strength increased to 5 permanently.

Perk added: Third wheel - Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Whenever your around two of your companions, gain increased damage on individual targets.