Fallout: Equestria - Reclamation Day

Fallout: Equestria - Reclamation Day

Chapter Five: Devastation

Apple Tart was gone. Party Favor… dead. Sunny and Taps… alive but injured. Everything had gone from bad to worse since we had gotten to the University and escaped. I tried to process in my mind where things had gone wrong, coming to the conclusion that they had been that way from the very beginning of this simulation. The Overmare had been responsible somehow. Something in the back of my mind knew it. But why? Why would the Overmare of a Stable that had never even opened know anything about all of this?

Was this part of the simulation? Was this even a simulation at all? If it wasn’t, what was it? I couldn’t piece together exactly what was happening, but I feel like in the back of my mind that I would have heard about this Stable, this place historically. Especially if there had been something like a dragon running around. What had actually happened here?

I grimaced and started trying to piece together some semblance of a plan to get Apple Tart back. Thankfully with her PipBuck still attached, I could track her code, but with the state of Sunny and Taps, I wasn’t comfortable with leaving them on their own. The only option remained to return to the Stable to restock and perhaps get to the bottom of things before going to rescue Apple Tart. I just had to hope that her mind would be intact when we got there.

I walked over to where Sunny and Taps were sitting. They both looked like a freight train had plowed through them. Sunny glanced up at me, scowling.

“That was… unexpected. What the fuck happened to her?” she said.

“She’s… she’s a ghoul now. Or at least turning into one. One of the things that happens is that they go feral… lose their minds,” I explained. “The important thing is that we can still reach her, but we can’t go after her in our current state.”

Sunny grimaced. “Look, I know she’s your friend and all, but I don’t think there’s any getting through to her. Did you see what she did to our new friend over there?” she asked, pointing at Party Favor’s body. The dead unicorn lay bleeding just a few feet away. “If she’s gone feral, she’s gone, Cherry. If that is your real name, I mean.”

I seized up. Sunny was far too observant and shrewd to let me get away with what I’d let slip. I realized I was going to have to say something.

“You… you’re right about one thing. My name isn’t Cherry Blossom, but that’s whose body I’m currently in,” I said.

“Who are you, really?” Sunny asked.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Taps interjected. He appeared to be somewhat confused about the conversation going on in front of him.

“Our friend here hasn’t been completely on the level with us,” Sunny said. “It’s almost comedic.”

“You’re right. I didn’t say anything about it. There’s a good reason for it,” I said. “I… I entered this pod on accident and when I woke up, I was in this body. I don’t know what this all is, but the pod made it sound like it was a simulation. That it wasn’t real.”

Sunny’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “So you played it out like it was a simulation,” she said. I blinked. I knew she was observant. Must be the comedy. “If this is a simulation, can’t you just back out of it and start over? That would mean we… we aren’t real.”

“I… I can’t. I’ve looked for every inkling that I can find that suggests a way out, but nothing has presented itself thus far, so I’ve played along, hoping that completing the simulation would free me from it, but it hasn’t,” I said with a scowl. “Now I’m starting to doubt whether this is real or not.”

“So wait, all I got out of that is that we aren’t real,” Taps said.

Sunny groaned. “You would only get that, Taps,” she said with a giggle. “Alright then, so… who are you then?”

“My name is Starry Night,” I said, taking a deep sigh before beginning to let everything out into the open. “Technically. I’m… I’m the head councilpony of the settlement of Theater, based in the city of Chicacolt. I came… came to a Stable that was brought to my attention. Stables are a big deal, because most of them hold some form of technology we can use.”

“Another Stable? One that opened?” Sunny said. I could see in her eyes she knew where this was headed but she was trying to avoid hearing it.

“Stable 76,” I said. “Your Stable.”

“That means…”

“I am technically from the future, yes,” I said finally.

Sunny’s eyes glimmered as she pulled herself into a standing position. “Well. That is interesting. Now that we’ve got all that in the open, what’s next?”

“You want to help me?” I asked. “But… why?”

“Well, for one thing, I believe you when you say you care about Apple Tart. And I believe your story. It’s a gift I have for other ponies. I can generally tell when I’m being lied to,” she said. “And you’re not lying. So, I’m repeating myself. What’s next?”

I grimaced. “We can’t go after Apple Tart in the condition we’re in right now. We can track her by using her PipBuck code, but the ghouls present a problem. So does that dragon,” I said. “Our only option at this juncture is to head back to the Stable and restock… in addition to one other slight thing.”

“The Overmare,” Sunny said with a scowl.

“The Overmare. She knows something about all of this. I don’t know what it is yet, but she knows,” I said. “She knew exactly where to send us and why.”

“Then perhaps we should go ask her, right?” Sunny said, winking. “And then, we go save Apple Tart.”

I nodded, smiling slightly. I watched calmly as Sunny and Taps gathered their stuff together. We took a moment to bury Party Favor before rooting through his supplies. He had a few weapons and some ammunition, something I felt we would need going forward, but not a lot of medical supplies. We gathered what was available and started heading towards the location of the Stable on our PipBucks. It didn’t seem to be that far off from where we were on the edge of the city.

The journey itself was uneventful enough, as nothing thought to challenge us on our way back. It felt odd that there seemed to be no wildlife even around that desired attacking us. The world felt empty, silent. Deathly.

It was another few hours before we crested over the ridge up into where the Stable was. I was surprised to see some steel walls surrounding the ridge, several Stable 76 ponies manning them. They called out as they saw us approach, opening a makeshift gate. The guards paid us no attention as we headed right through up the ridge, saying nothing. We found our way up the ridge and finally settled at the open door of the Stable. Two guards stood alert in front of it.

“Halt,” one of them said as we approached. “State your business.”

“We have returned to see the Overmare. Cherry Blossom. On special assignment,” I said confidently.

“The Overmare is unavailable at the moment,” the guard replied. “Even for special assignments. You’ll have to come back later.”

“What? She sent us on an assignment. This is very important,” Sunny said. “Can we even go inside and use the infirmary and armory?”

“No can do. Stable is closed until further notice,” the guard said. “You are free to seek services required down in the main Stable settlement.”

I scowled deeply. Something wasn’t right. All this was doing was proving my theory that the Overmare knew what she was doing when she sent us to the University. I stepped up to the guard.

“Listen,” I said angrily. “I don’t know if you know who I am. My name is Cherry Blossom. One of the best and brightest of this Stable. You will let us in to see the Overmare. This is a matter of life and death. You have seen the dragon, right?”

The guard turned to the other guard for a brief moment. I glanced at Sunny and grimaced. There was no way they were letting us in without a fight it seemed. Seeing as how nopony else seemed to be around, I nodded at her slightly. Her eyes widened but it seemed as if she got the drift.

*WHAM*

Sunny’s hoof struck the second distracted guard as my own dove into the face of the first guard. They never knew what was happening until they both lay on the ground unconscious. Tender Taps stammered wildly.

“What did you just…?” he said. “Someone will have heard that!”

“Then we’d better be quick. Let’s get them inside,” I said, jamming the button to the Stable door.

It grated loudly, much louder than I cared for it to do so, but still nopony came to investigate. Sunny and Taps (reluctantly) drug the two guards just inside as the door opened. I ran to the button to close the door. Soon it was just us and the quiet. Something wasn’t right. It didn’t feel right at all. It felt like… like what the Stable was like when I found it in the future.

Deathly.

We moved forward in the darkness, Taps yammering in the background noise at Sunny about being in big trouble, but I wasn’t paying attention to the specifics. I wanted to know why the Overmare sent us to the University. What did she know? Was she aware of the dragon? My mind burned with questions. We walked up into the main Atrium amidst the party decorations from what felt like forever ago. Nopony was in sight.

Suddenly, the speaker system within the Stable crackled to life.

“Ah, Cherry Blossom. You have returned,” the familiar and yet… distant voice of the Overmare said over the speakers. “From the looks of things, you were successful in accomplishing your assignment.”

“Overmare,” I called out. “Where are you? Why are you doing this?”

“I have my reasons. I suppose you will be looking to be compensated for your work,” the Overmare’s bodiless voice replied.

“No… I want you to come out here and tell me why you sent us to awaken a dragon of all things!” I shouted angrily. “What were you looking for out there?!”

“Nothing that ultimately concerns you. Besides, it doesn’t matter. I found what I needed. Your services are no longer required. Your reward can be claimed from my office,” the voice said. “And don’t bother trying to find me. I’m not even in the Stable.”

I growled under my breath, rushing forward and completely ignoring the shouts of Sunny and Tender Taps as I charged up the stairs towards the Overmare’s office with wild abandon. I skidded to a stop and turned, putting all my effort into a buck that slammed the two metal halves of the door inwards before turning to step inside.

My eyes widened. Sitting in the middle of the room in front of the Overmare’s desk was the pod I had fallen into. It was empty. In fact everything about the room felt… ancient. Dated. Like I’d found it in the first place.

“Memory Lane,” I said aloud to no one in particular. “But… what’s it doing here?”

I glanced behind me. Something was wrong. The door was closed once more, looking like it had never even been busted in. Where were Sunny and Taps? They were right behind me I thought. I turned back towards the pod. It was suddenly not empty. Inside it was… was me.

“What the fuck is going on here?” I muttered under my breath. “None of this makes any sense.”

The pod lit up and started spitting out all sorts of technical mumbo-jumbo onto the screen. It started clicking loudly and out of the corner of my eye I could see the air doing something I could only consider as glitching. Everything started flickering on and off and the pod in the middle got brighter and brighter until suddenly everything was white.

* * *

“Starry? Starry! Wake the fuck up, come on!” I heard a voice above me say.

My eyes flittered open, my vision spinning as I tried to figure out what was going on. I opened my mouth to say something and instead vomited all over the floor in front of me. At least I assumed it was the floor. I heard a shriek.

“Fucking Luna’s hairy plot! Aim a little bit further away next time you do that!” the voice shouted. My mind put two and two together and I realized it was Melody Rose.

“Where… where am I?” I said, my voice cracked.

“In the Stable still, shit’s gone quiet outside. I don’t know if the raiders are still out there,” Melody replied. “You look like shit, not gonna lie.”

“How… how long?” I asked.

“A few days,” Melody said. “You just suddenly were ejected from that thing. It spat you out like a newborn foal.”

I shuddered as I pushed myself up. I felt weak, like my body hadn’t been used in months, let alone a few days. I could no longer feel the wings that belonged to Cherry Blossom. I was back. Was it all just a simulation? Was it real? I couldn’t figure it out. I struggled to take a step away from the damn thing and towards Melody Rose. She reached out a hoof and helped me along to the seat next to the Overmare’s desk. The Overmare of Stable 76. What had her goal been?

Melody Rose produced a bottle of water from her pack. I picked it up with my magic, one thing that I had deathly missed, and took a drink. I felt the cool drink quench my dry throat and I sighed loudly. I shakily put the bottle down before my magic sputtered back out. It certainly felt hard to fully maintain.

“You said the activity outside quieted down?” I said after a few moments of silence. My voice sounded a little better.

“Yeah but I haven’t been able to find the controls to the cameras outside. Of course, that’s dependent on the fact that the sick bastards haven’t broken them,” Melody said. “I’ve been looking, trust me. Either way, if we have a chance to run for it, we should take it.”

“If I can move,” I said. “My body’s pretty weak, Rose. I’m having a hard time just sitting up here.”

Melody scowled. “That is certainly problematic. I guess we’re going to need to try to get access to the outer cameras and see what’s going on out there.”

I glanced down at the Overmare’s desk, finding her terminal. “Maybe there’s some way we can find out through here…” I said, trailing off as I touched the device. Something about all of this felt off. I tapped on the keys a bit, bringing up the Overmare’s terminal. It asked for a password to gain access to the restricted section of the files. Instinctively, I somehow knew the password was Cherry. How did I know that? I started poking through looking for anything that I could find to gain access to the camera system, but in doing so I found a file called “Memory Lane - Final Test”. I hit play, the audio piping into my ears through my earbuds.

It’s been a long road but I believe I finally have everything ready to begin the final testing for Memory Lane. The Stable has been opened, and I continue my search for the one who will ultimately utilize it. Until then, it will have to be me. It’s always been me.

I have seen the future. This cold dark place is nothing compared to what is to come. Fire raining from the skies above. The very sun destroying things. Armies. Slavery. Hell. There is no end. But I will change that. I will find the device that will release the things hiding beneath the surface. They are there, biding their time, waiting to rise up and claim what is rightfully theirs. Only then can peace be established. Only then can we wipe the slate clean and start again.

Memory Lane is the key to all of this. It will reveal the secrets I require to do what must be done. For now, I must enter the pod and play witness to it all. I must discover who will pilot the machine for real.

Signing off,
Cherry Blossom, Lead Scientist Stable 76.

My eyes widened. Cherry Blossom? That didn’t make any sense. The Cherry Blossom I had inhabited seemed to be well regarded, but she wasn’t some fancy scientist. Still, this meant that she somehow knew about Memory Lane, and was in fact in charge of the device. I pondered her words. The future. She’d mentioned the future, like she’d known what was going to happen. My eyes drifted to the pod. What exactly was this thing?

I sighed and returned my attention to the terminal. I poked around for a bit further before I was able to find an entry on the outer cameras of the Stable. I clicked through each one, seeing only static until one finally displayed an image. My eyes widened.

“Mel… you uh… you better see this,” I said.

Melody looked up and walked over, peering over at the terminal from behind me. I heard her gasp softly. “What the fuck…?” she said trailing off.

The image on the camera showed the Wasteland we were accustomed to, but now… there was a city on the downsloping ridge. It had been burned to cinders and the air was filled with ash. In the distance… a massive shadowy thing flew back and forth. I knew in an instant what it was.

“What the fuck is that thing?” Melody said.

“I… I…” I stammered. How was the dragon here? How did it get here? There’s no way it could have come with me. It was just a simulation! Right? I started breathing heavily before I pulled away from the screen and got up, moving away so I couldn’t see it. It didn’t work. I could still see the thing in my mind.

“I… I saw it… Mel. In that thing. I saw that monster,” I said shakily.

Melody scowled. “What do you mean you saw it?” she asked. “What happened inside that thing?”

“I… I was in this Stable. When it originally opened. I thought maybe… maybe it was a simulation, but it felt so real. I wasn’t myself. I was in somepony else’s body. A Pegasus,” I tried to explain, my voice shaking. “It wasn’t real. It couldn’t have been. I wasn’t really there.”

“Starry,” Melody started to say, approaching to place her hoof on my shoulder. “It’s over now…”

“No! You don’t understand!” I shouted, slapping away her hoof. “It’s not over! That thing out there! It’s out there because of me! Because of something I somehow did while in that thing!” I pointed at the pod. “I changed something somehow. I don’t know how, but I do know that the only way to fix things is right in front of me.”

Melody’s eyes widened as I charged past her, heading back towards the pod. “Starry, no! Fuck stop this shit right now! It’s fucking scary!”

“Just make sure I come out alive,” I said as I stepped down into the pod. The glass bubble closed over me as the metal cap placed itself back onto my head. I had to do this. I had to get back and figure out what was wrong. What I caused. What I did.

I needed to get back and stop it.

“Project Memory Lane online. Activation in 3… 2… 1…”

Then… white.