Fallout: Equestria - Reclamation Day

Chapter Six: Beginnings

My eyes shot open and I took a deep breath. The soft music of the Stable radio system wafted in and I instantly knew where I was.

“Good morning, Stable 76. This is the Overmare speaking. I hope you all enjoyed the celebration last night. I know some of you enjoyed it a little too much, but today is finally the day. It’s the day that we leave the Stable. So get ready my little ponies… for today is Reclamation Day.”

The Overmare. Her voice filtered in over the music. I scowled and pushed myself up and out of the bed as best as my body would allow me. As best as I could tell, I was Cherry Blossom again. I began to question myself, whether or not I was crazy or not, whether I was right about what Memory Lane really was. Was it just a simulation? If it was, why had that monster, that dragon gotten loose outside of it? Nothing made any sense, but I knew one pony who could answer that. The Overmare.

The door chimed and I hit the button to open it, revealing a surprised and exasperated Apple Tart as I lunged at her into a full on body tackle hug.

“Cherry?! What are you--?” she exclaimed as I gleefully pounced on her. “Get off of me! What’s gotten into you?!”

“Sorry, AT, “ I said with a giggle. “It’s just… I got a lot to do and I’m really excited to see you. Sorry I didn’t meet you earlier, I kinda overslept.”

“Well it seems you’re awake now, aren’t you?” Apple Tart said, her customary country twang making me feel somewhat guilty. This time, I promised to myself that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. “Hey where are you going?”

I realized I was starting down the hallway, already half dressed and my bags together. I needed to locate Sunny and Tender Taps. I wasn’t sure how I was going to frame what I was going to say, but I needed them on my side for this. There had to be a way to confront the Overmare directly and get the answers I needed.

“Oh you know, I need to find some ponies,” I said. “Hurry on up, AT. No time like the present.”

Apple Tart scoffed and trotted behind me as we made our way towards the main Atrium. I smiled and waved at a few others as my eyes scouted the room, before finally settling on the two ponies I was looking for at the far end of the crowd. I made my way around the back. The Overmare was beginning her speech. I didn’t have much time to get Taps and Sunny away from the crowd so we could talk. Apple Tart followed behind, looking very unsure as to what was going on. I stopped behind the two guards and nudges Taps.

“Hey,” I said with a giggle and a wink. “I wanna talk to you. Privately.”

Taps’ face went beet red immediately and he gulped. “Uh… okay,” he said. “But… but where?”

I grinned and pointed back towards the residential quarters, and then pointed over at Sunny. “Bring your friend. More fun that way,” I said before turning to walk towards the hallway. I swished my tail just right and I could hear Taps talking to Sunny about going to ‘check on something’. Apple Tart blinked as she stopped in the hall next to me.

“What was that all about? You practically made that poor colt’s heart shoot through his chest!” she scolded.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m not totally interested in him. Well, at least not in the way you’d think.”

“What?” Apple Tart said. Before she could say anything further, as if right on cue around the corner came the two ponies I needed to talk to.

“What in the Sorrel Hells do you need me to come with you for, Taps?” Sunny said as the two stopped in front of us. “Really, Taps? You wanted me to do what… watch out for somepony while you had a booty call?”

“Hey now,” I said with a scowl. “First of all, nobody’s getting my booty unless I say so. Secondly, I called you both back here for a very good reason. Sorry to get your hopes up, Taps.”

Taps went white. “She… she knows my name?” he said before he fell over and fainted.

Sunny looked down and scowled deeply. “That stupid ass colt. Always thinking with his other half,” she said before turning to me. “So then, if you didn’t bring Taps back here to fuck him, what do you want? Wait… you’re Cherry Blossom aren’t you? Aren’t you supposed to be back there giving a speech in the Atrium?”

As if on cue I could hear the Overmare announcing my name. The crowd seemed very confused that I wasn’t around. I grimaced.

“Look, I know this is going to sound super fucking crazy,” I said. “But… but my name is not Cherry Blossom.”

“Wait what?” Apple Tart said, her eyes wide. “Since when?”

“I’m listening,” Sunny said.

“My name is actually Starry Night,” I said, hoping this was going to work. “I’m currently… inhabiting the body of this pegasus named Cherry Blossom. I’m not from here. I’m from… well I am from the future.”

Sunny went deathly silent for a few long moments before suddenly bursting into laughter. She fell over laughing as hard as she could before finally sitting up. “You know. That’s probably the funniest thing anypony has ever said to me. How’d you know I like a good joke?” she asked.

“Because your cutie mark is for comedy, and your parents didn’t approve of it,” I said. “I also know that Tender Taps down there has a thing for me, but it’s probably physical only. Either way, you like making fun of him for it.”

Sunny stared hard at me and grinned. “Okay. So, then Starry Night. What exactly do you want me for?”

“Wait, you’re just accepting that?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

“Sure. I can see it in your eyes. You mean what you say,” she said. “So why us? What could we possibly help you out with?”

“Uh, Cherry?” Apple Tart said, interrupting me before I could say anything. She was pointing animatedly down the hall. “Or Starry… whatever your name really is… we should probably move this conversation elsewhere.”

My gaze drifted past her to see several Stable Security personnel at the end of the hall. The Overmare was with them. They had seen us. Shit! I thought. How does she know? I scowled. There had to be a way out of this situation. THINK STARRY THINK! my brain screamed at me as the Overmare stopped in front of our little group.

“Cherry? What are you doing back here?” she said calmly. “We missed you at the ceremony.”

“O-O-Overmare! Hi, yes! Uhh… well, you see Tender Taps here was not feeling well and we were just on our way to get him to the infirmary when he passed out. We were trying to reach somepony down there to come help take him down, but it seems like everypony has gone and left the Stable!” I rambled excitedly, hoping she wouldn’t catch on to my ruse.

“I see,” the Overmare replied with a grimace. “Well, I’m sorry to say that everypony has already left. You will need to handle Mister Taps on your own. After you do, please come see me in my office.”

“Of course, Overmare, thank you,” Sunny interrupted. “We’ll deal with the situation and then report to you.”

The Overmare grinned and sauntered off with her guards in tow. I scowled deeply as they disappeared. She knew already what I was up to, and she’d cut it off at the pass. Stupid! I should have known she would be one step ahead of me. I looked to Sunny and Apple Tart.

“Alright, listen… we don’t have much time, let’s get Taps to the infirmary and plan from there,” I said forcefully. “I’m pretty sure she already knows.”

“The Overmare,” Sunny said with a deadpan delivery.

I nodded frantically. “I don’t have much time to explain but I’ll try my best while we get him back up and running.”

We each lifted Taps and carried him along towards the infirmary, Apple Tart bringing up the rear and keeping a lookout for anymore watchful eyes. As we walked I related what had happened the last time I was here. I left out some details, such as the fact that Apple Tart had turned into a ghoul. I did not need that on her conscience and quite frankly I was trying to forget that it had happened. We arrived at the infirmary without issue as I finished my tale, placing the passed out stallion on a bed.

“So… wow. That’s uh… pretty fucked up,” Sunny said as she walked across the infirmary to grab something to wake Taps up with. “And you say when you went to confront the Overmare about it, you jumped back to the present?”

“Yeah… except the Overmare wasn’t there,” I said. “She was like… somewhere else.”

“How do you know the same thing isn’t going to happen here? You get separated from us, and the Overmare gets you. Is that how the game ends?” Sunny asked, putting a hoof up to her chin.

“Well, for starters, I know it’s not going to happen because we’re not going to confront the Overmare,” I said with a grin. “We’re not even going to go see her. As soon as Taps wakes up and you guys are geared up, we’re leaving. Door’s open for Reclamation Day. Not even the Overmare can close it back up now.”

“Is that going to work? Won’t she realize we’re out?” Sunny said, grimacing as she injected something into Taps.

“What happened?” Tender Taps interrupted suddenly. His eyes shrunk as he saw me. “Did we…?”

“Eww, no. Sorry. You’re cute and all, but we have more important things to handle,” I said. “We don’t have much time. Get your gear and meet me at the front door in five minutes.”

Sunny nodded, dragging the confused stallion from the table and towards the door. I prayed silently that they wouldn’t be late. When they left, I scowled and turned to the infirmary, hunting down any medical supplies that I could before placing them in my bags.

“You’ve been unnaturally quiet, Apple Tart,” I said as I placed the last bit inside my saddlebag.

“Just… can’t believe you’re not really… you know… you,” she said softly. “This is all so strange and sudden.”

I sighed. “I realize you’re probably a little frightened, but there’s more going on here than meets the eye, and we need to stick together if we’re going to get through it. During my last jump here… I really got the sense that you and Cherry were very close friends, and I’d like to do my best to keep that friendship going,” I said, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Apple Tart smiled softly. “Okay, sure,” she said.

“Good, now let’s get heading to the main door. I have a feeling we’re going to need to get on the move quickly,” I said.

* * *

We arrived at the door to surprisingly see Sunny and Taps all ready to go, and nopony in sight. Not even any guards. I felt a chill up my spine. Something was off. There was no way it was going to be that easy, but maybe it was. Maybe I’d been able to get above the Overmare and her watchful eye.

We silently greeted each other, making no sound as we moved towards the massive open door. Within moments we had passed outside. We had managed to exit the Stable with no intervention by the Overmare. My senses went haywire. Everything about this felt too easy, like she was letting us go.

We calmly and collectively started down the mountain path and past the settlement that was being built already just outside of the Stable. None of the other ponies gave us any pause as we made our way to a more secluded area where we could see the path up towards the Stable. We took a moment to catch our breath.

“That felt too easy,” Sunny said.

“It was way too easy,” I said, scowling deeply. “Something isn’t right. The Overmare has to know we’ve left. Which means we’re out in the open now. That worries me.”

“You think the Overmare will come after us?” Apple Tart asked meekly.

“I think she’s smarter than I’m giving her credit for. I still don’t even know why she is doing this, but it has something to do with that thing we accidentally released the last time around. It has to, otherwise why send us there?”

“The big black dragon-looking thing,” Sunny stated matter of fact. “Doesn’t sound like any dragon I’ve ever heard of, but they’re not exactly common knowledge. Just what we know from the books in the Stable.”

I scowled again. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t a dragon. It had to be something else, something much worse. It was connected to the ghouls somehow, able to control them. It had power, power much greater than a dragon’s. There had to be some information on them somewhere, but that would likely mean going back to the University. I didn’t want to do that. The city itself seemed largely unexplored, but that meant more possible danger. Still, we couldn’t just sit in the open. The city seemed like the best bet, and perhaps then I could gain some more understanding of this place that for some reason… didn’t exist in the future.

“Come on then, we’d better get moving. We can talk more when we set up camp, but for now we’re too close to the Stable,” I said. “The city will give the best cover we can hope for. It’s not ideal, but it’s not here.”

“Sounds good to us,” Sunny said. “Right, Taps?”

“Yeah… sure,” Taps replied softly.

“It sounds better than sitting around,” Apple Tart agreed.

I nodded, taking point alongside Sunny as we walked in the opposite direction of the Stable. Everything around me felt similar, an intense feeling of deja vu filling my head as stalked quietly. Taps kept a close eye on our rear, trying to make sure that we weren’t being followed. We kept moving, stalking through the forest. Once or twice I thought I saw something in the woods following us, but it disappeared before I could blink. The function of my PipBuck that detected threats showed nothing but a few tiny red blips that ended up being radroaches, which ended up being easily dealt with. Within a few hours we had made it across the forest and into the edge of the city. A small town ringed around the edge. We had yet to see any other Stable inhabitants, and for that I was somewhat glad. Cherry’s celebrity status would not easily explain why she was out here in the middle of seemingly nowhere.

We located a small shack, what appeared to be some sort of local law enforcement office. A quick shakedown of the place revealed that up until recently it had been inhabited, but whoever had lived there hadn’t taken much with them when they left. A few healing potions and some rounds of ammo were found in some of the storage lockers in addition to some better barding. We set up a defensible position as the sun started to dim. I felt comfortable building a small fire inside the stonework building, since nothing inside seemed to be flammable. Keeping the fire contained to some rubble we ate in silence before deciding to turn in for the evening.

I took the first watch, settling into a spot where I could watch the front door and the windows. A cold breeze tickled my coat as I tried to figure out exactly what the plan was next. I knew deep down that there was no way the Overmare didn’t know we were gone. She had let us go. As long as we stayed away from the University grounds, the dragon beast wouldn’t be released. Unless somehow, that was what she wanted. It was only after the dragon had been released that the Overmare had confronted me. What if, by avoiding it, we were doing exactly what she wanted? I felt so very confused.

A tinny sound echoed in the distance outside the office. I stood, scowling deeply as I looked for whatever it could be. It got slightly louder, but still fairly tinny as I realized what it was. A spritebot floated along, almost as if it knew we were there. It was playing that infernal Ministry of Morale music. I realized that even as crappy as the sound quality was, it was likely to give away our position to possible predators. I needed to deal with it discreetly. I found myself really wishing I had magic. I missed my horn. Regardless, I stepped out into the darkness and strode calmly towards the spritebot. The things were mostly harmless, but could be goaded into action. I just had to make sure I presented myself as a non-threat, before sneaking up behind to pull out its central processing unit.

To my surprise the spritebot stopped as soon as I got within a few feet of it. For a second, I thought it might turn and start spraying laser fire. Instead its lights turned solid red and the music it was playing stopped.

“Hello, Cherry Blossom… or rather… the pony inside Cherry Blossom,” a voice emanated from the device. I knew that voice.

“Overmare,” I said as calmly as I could. “You know who I am.”

“Yes… Starry Night. I am aware of who you are. It doesn’t matter how I know, what matters is that you are important to my plans,” the Overmare’s voice said.

“What are your plans?” I asked, still trying to stay calm.

“In due time, you will figure it out, dear. For now… stay on your course. Releasing the chimera was not an appropriate course of action,” the voice replied.

My eyes widened. “You know already what I’ve done?”

“Of course… I orchestrated it. I thought maybe the creature would serve some unique purpose to my plans, but of course… such things are not meant to be controlled. It devoured everything living within miles of the city,” the Overmare’s voice said. “A different course must be taken.”

“So you’re not coming after us. You want us right where we are, doing your bidding,” I said, scowling. “To what end?”

“As I said before, all in due time, Starry Night. Pleasant City holds many secrets, and I believe in locating them I may be able to solve one of the Wasteland’s greatest mysteries,” the Overmare’s voice said. “For now, go back to your friends. A creature approaches, and you should defend your position.”

I could feel the venom in her words. My eyes widened once more as I turned to the sounds of shrieks from the police office. The others were in trouble and I had abandoned my post! The spritebot continued on, its music resuming once more as I jetted towards the others. As I neared, I heard gunfire from Sunny’s rifle. The creature was massive and featureless and didn’t even have a head. The only thing I could make out was a faded cutie mark of an upside down horseshoe on its flank. Somehow it seemed to be making noise, a weird gurgling sound, that I couldn’t really understand how or where it was coming from. Regardless, it had the others pinned down and cornered.

Sunny stood her ground, firing shot after shot into the creature’s thick hide. Foul black ichor streamed from its shoulders. Her eyes widened as the thing slammed its massive forelegs into the doorway. I quickly realized that it couldn’t get in because of how large it was. I needed to do something to draw its attention. I was a pegasus after all, if I could get it to follow me, I could simply fly… right? I flapped my wings experimentally. It was something I hadn’t actually considered yet. Could a pony who’d been living underground for a long time actually fly? I didn’t have the time to think about it before I whipped the gun that Sunny had given me into my mouth and took aim.

*BLAM* *BLAM*

Two shots smacked into the foreleg of the creature. It slowly turned to look (a little pony in my head made me wonder if it could actually look with no eyes) at me before making another loud gurgling sound. My eyes shrank. If I couldn’t make this happen… I was a sitting duck. I spat the gun out and slipped it down into its holster.

“Hey! Ugly! Yeah, I’m talking to you!” I shouted, trying to muster as much bravado as possible. “Come and get me.”

As if on cue, the creature started to lunge forward. For its size, it moved pretty fucking quickly. I needed to move. I flapped my wings and felt myself lift slightly off the ground. I was doing it! I was doing it I was… not going any higher. Shit shit shit shit shit! My mind screamed as the creature slammed into me, sending me soaring into a nearby tree. I hit with a crunching sound, feeling as though I’d probably broken something before hitting the ground. I could barely move. I felt the thing move closer and closer.

Then suddenly a blast of energy streaked across the clearing, lighting up the darkness as it slammed into the creature. The creature’s side began to smolder as it turned to face whatever this new threat was. It didn’t have much time to react however before another blast of energy struck it. My eyes widened as the thing started to move forward before glowing pink slightly and then promptly disintegrating into a pile of goop. It glowed slightly for a few minutes of silence before the wind carried it off in ash.

I struggled to get up. Whatever this was… it was capable of using magical energy weapons… and I was in no shape to fight back. I had to hope it was friendly. My vision swam as it locked on the form of a pony… except something was wrong with it. It’s skin was flaked and when it breathed it sounded like it was eating gravel. A large laser rifle floated in the air alongside it.

“Hey, you alright?” the voice of the pony said. “You don’t look so good.”

My eyes fluttered and then I passed out.

* * *

My eyes opened to the morning sun, or rather… clouds. For a second I completely had forgotten where and when I was, remembering that post-War Equestria had been covered up by the pegasi. It wouldn’t be for another two hundred some odd years before Littlepip would arrive and peel back the cloud cover. I was in a room with a bed, in what appeared to be a cell of some sort. The doors to the cells were all open. We must still be in the police department, I thought to myself.

“Well, you’re awake at least. That’s a good sign,” Apple Tart said. She was sitting next to me. “You took a pretty nasty blow to the head. But I think we should have you fixed up right as rain. At least, I hope I managed to do that right.”

I reached up with a hoof, feeling a bandage haphazardly wrapped around the back of my head. I winced a bit, still feeling a little bit of pain.

“Sunny and Taps?” I asked softly.

“They’re fine, just a little bruised up. Luckily for us, that thing was too big to come through the front door,” Apple Tart replied. “And lucky for you… we have a new friend.”

She helped me to my hooves. Standing was shaky, and I still felt slightly woozy, but the Med-X that AT had given me in addition to the bandages meant I wouldn’t take too long to heal. I followed behind AT into the main section of the police department where Sunny and Tender Taps waited with somepony new. Somepony that was not just a pony, but a ghoul. The unicorn ghoul turned to regard me as I entered, his black eyes showing little emotion. He wore what appeared to be security barding, a magical energy rifle strapped to his back.

“You’re awake,” he said, his voice gruff and gravelly.

“I am at the very least, awake,” I replied. “And grateful. You saved my life.”

“You were stupid,” the unicorn ghoul said in retort. “Thinking you could outrun Troubleshoes.”

“Trouble-what, now?” I asked, glowering just a tad at our newest arrival. “I was just trying to draw the damn thing away from my friends.”

“And damn near getting yourself killed in the process. You’re lucky you got away with what you did,” the ghoul said matter of fact. “This area isn’t really all that safe. Granted… little safer with Troubleshoes out of the way.”

“Okay, okay, back up just a second. What in the hell of hay is a Troubleshoes?” Sunny interjected.

“That big fucker I shot with old Sparky here? That was Troubleshoes. Tale was he used to be an earth pony. Biggest fucking earth pony around these parts. Rodeo clown. But the radiation in this area changed him. Made him mean… ugly too. Been hunting him for a long time, but he never stayed in one place for very long. Kept to himself mostly, and only attacked what he needed to survive, until now,” the unicorn ghoul explained. “But that doesn’t matter now. He’s a pile of goop and ash.”

I shuddered, thinking of how Troubleshoes must have felt. A pony that made other ponies laugh and rejoice turning into… into that thing? I hated this era of post-war Equestria more and more by the minute.

“And you are? Forgive us for not knowing much about this area, but we’re kind of new here,” Apple Tart asked.

“Yeah I can tell. Stable folk. Noticed the number on the barding you’re wearing. Name’s Comet Tail… I’m a tracker and a hunter,” the unicorn ghoul replied casually. “Saw a bunch of you setting up a nice little settlement right outside your Stable. Why aren’t you up there with them and instead down here getting nearly killed?”

“We have our reasons,” I said sternly before quickly changing the subject. “You’re the first sign of intelligent life we’ve seen out here. Are you from around here?”

“Ah, no. Not really. Came from Manehattan. Well, south Manehattan. Still.... I was pretty far from the center of the city when the balefire went off. No worse for wear I suppose. Been travelling the Wasteland ever since. Came down here because figured it was good scavenging,” Comet Tail said casually. “Of course… it would be if there weren't so many goddamn monsters like old Troubleshoes.”

“Manehattan? There are ponies in Manehattan?” Apple Tart asked.

“Sort of. Lot of ghouls. Those hoity toity bastards up in Tenpony Tower, but they don’t let my kind up there,” Comet Tail replied. “Some Stables but they’re not open. You’re the first real Stable I’ve seen ever fully open. That’s enough about me. What’s the deal with four ponies out in the middle of nowhere?”

“That’s… not something I’m really willing to talk about right now with someghoul I just met,” I said with a frown. “No offense. We don’t really know you.”

“That’s fair, I suppose,” Comet Tail said. “I could have also just let Troubleshoes crush your skull.”

I scowled. He had a point. If he was a tracker of some sort, he could be useful to help do… whatever it is we were supposed to be doing. I didn’t want anything to do with whatever the Overmare actually wanted. I was already worried enough that she was able to somehow keep tabs on us by the spritebots. Something was not right, and there had to be an answer in the city somewhere to what the Overmare was searching for. If I got to it first…

“Alright, look. There is a concern about the Overmare of our Stable,” I said, not actually lying. “We’re on the run… sort of. We were hoping to scavenge the city a little.”

Comet Tail’s black eyes glimmered slightly. “I see. That’s very interesting,” he said.

“We’re not bad… the Overmare is… well she’s fucking crazy,” Sunny said.

“I was sort of hoping if you were interested… if you would be our guide into the city. You said it’s dangerous. So maybe we could help each other, for a piece of the scavenge of course,” I asked, smiling slightly.

“You want a guide into Pleasant City?” Comet Tail asked. He lifted a hoof to his chin. “Alright. I’ll do it. But I’m warning you. It’s pretty dangerous there. We’re going to need to scavenge some better weaponry for you lot.”

“What’s your plan, then?” I asked.

“Well. There’s an Ironshod Firearms warehouse just outside the city. Probably a death trap, but can’t be any worse than anything else,” Comet Tail replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “Well… let’s get going. No time like the present, right?”

Author's Note

Been a while, but going to be pushing forward to finish this. :)