Outer Worlds: Equestria

Outer Worlds: Equestria

Chapter 2: Once upon a Time

The sight of the little rag doll that lay beside the disturbed dirt caught my eye. It was silly, but it reminded me of the day we boarded the Luna Seven. Gilded Lilly, Sweet Stuff, and Baldwin Apple were talking about the world that waited for us. Baldwin talked about transplanting some of the apple trees his family had begun growing onto the new Equestria that awaited us. I remember that his little brother Tart had bragged that his brother was gonna be a space farmer.

My mother Perfect Chance had practically disowned me. She had said that since I refused to marry Tick Tock, the heir to the Tick Tock time piece empire, that I was no longer her daughter. I left my home the night before with nothing more than my mane, tail, and coat. It was fine, I had already filled out the paperwork for my place upon the Luna Seven, and I was going to be leaving tomorrow anyway. Still, it had hurt to know that my mom didn’t think that I was worth more than a chance to climb the social ladder by being married to Tick Tock. I didn’t have a chance to gather any belongings, because according to her they weren’t mine.

“I bought them for you, I paid for those… trinkets, and that means they’re mine!” she had shouted, “Perhaps I’ll toss them into the furnace, or more likely I’ll see if they’re worth anything. Honestly, I had such high hopes for you! You would have been an Heiress, and I would have been able to proudly proclaim that you were my daughter.”

She nickered in anger, “Now, you’re as worthless as servant zebra with a broken foreleg. Leave, and take the shame of failure with you.”

I had gone to Baldwin’s hotel. I remember walking inside of it, and being amazed that it had been an actual stable. The hotel itself was run by a mare that was dressed in Stable-Tec barding, and honestly it seemed to fit well on her. She welcomed me, and I explained that I was there to see Baldwin Apple. With that she showed me to an elevator, and we took it down to an atrium that had strange white apples growing in it. The one difference was a tree that was quite a bit smaller. It had some blooms where apples would grow, but it hadn’t actually become ready to bear fruit.

I saw Baldwin standing next to it.

“See now Belle,” he said touching the bark of the young tree, “Ain’t nothing ta be scared of. These fine old trees have been here since this was a stable.”

I could swear that the leaves of the tree seemed to open more, the blooms looked healthier, and the tree seemed to stand up straighter. I neared him as he sat down near the young tree and touched it again, “And you know,” he said, “Your gonna be the first Apple family tree that’s been ta a whole different world. Your story is gonna rival every tree that ever kept a stable goin’.”

I neared him, and he turned toward me. He was practically a giant among regular ponies. His coat was the brightest yellow I’d ever seen, and his mane and tail were a soft red. His eyes were a brilliant emerald green, and he had the kind of smile that would melt a mare’s heart. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t entertain the idea of him showing me a good time, but it wouldn’t have felt right. He’d moved to Hoofington about two months ago, but he was already one of my closest friends.

He was honest about who he was, what he wanted, and what he planned to do with his life. Someone wouldn’t think it to look at him, but Baldwin Apple was a genius when it came to plants and how Earth Pony magic worked. I watched the smile that practically melted my heart as it formed on his muzzle. He neared me, giving me a little nuzzle, and I returned the favor. He pulled back and looked at me for a second.

“Somethin’ wrong?” he asked, “Cause you look about as depressed as a popped tire.”

I looked at him, and I knew that there was no way that I would be able to keep it from him. He wasn’t just honest, but he made me want to be honest. I finally nodded, “Mother didn’t approve of my joining the colonists, and she really didn’t approve of the fact that I didn’t want to be a trophy wife of Tick Tock.”

He gave a small smile, “Slim,” he said softly, “I think that you’re a wonderful pony, a beautiful mare, and somepony that has a whole life of adventure waiting for her. But your mama can’t see the orchard for the trees.”

He gave me a hug, which reminded me of exactly how strong Earth Ponies were, and then he let go, “She’ll never understand that you’re not a greedy little money grubber, but instead you’re a pony, real and true, and you’ve got an itch to learn. Damn fine and noble aspirations if’n y'all ask me,” he said, “I ain’t gonna say don’t get all upset over what she said. Despite her being as wrong about who are as a weasel running a chicken coop it don’t change the fact that she’s your mama. It’s gonna take time ta move on, but I know that you’ll do it. ‘Cause I believe in ya.”

I grinned, feeling better about the situation. It still left me without a place to stay for the night. All of the colonists that had signed up with the Luna Seven were allowed to stay in the dorms provided by the Equestria Corporation Conglomerate. The problem was that I waved staying because I didn’t think that my mom would kick me out with nothing but my mane and tail. I knew that Baldwin had declined staying, but that was because he had a room at the hotel. I noticed that he was looking at me, and finally he snorted.

“You need a place to stay?”

I nodded, “Yeah,” I said, sounding sheepish, “I really could use a place to rest before tomorrow.”

He nodded, touched the tree once more, and then walked toward the edge of the atrium. We entered into a small hall that looked really good, despite most likely being eight hundred years old, and he touched a small button outside of a door. The door slid up, and I saw a room with a full size bed, a decent couch, a nice table, a few lockers, and a basic bathroom attached to it. All of it was certainly older. But it didn’t take away from the fact that it appeared everything Stable-Tec had built had been built to last. I started to move toward the couch, but Baldwin stopped me.

“Eeenope,” he said, “You take the bed. ‘Sides, won’t be the first time that I’ve slept on a couch.”

I looked at him in disbelief. Finally I shook my head, “It won’t do any of us any good if one of us is achy and sore in the morning from sleeping on a couch,” I said, “Why don’t we share the bed? I don’t bite, and I trust you to be a gentlecolt.”

He nodded, “Alright, and I’ll trust that you’re gonna a lady ‘bout things too.”

I gave a smile, and the two of us walked over to the bed. Crawling into it I noticed the rag doll sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. The ragdoll looked like it was ancient, and I recalled that he said that it was called Smarty Pants. I didn’t know much else about it, but from what he told me the Doll had been in the Apple Family for generations. It got passed down to him, and apparently it brought him luck. I looked at the small donkey-like doll with the yarn mane, and slowly I fell to sleep.

The memory faded as I looked at the rag doll on the disturbed ground. The small mound that it was sitting on was something that wasn’t big enough for a full grown pony, and that bothered me. I could see a small polished stone, something someone had taken time to make look beautiful, but there was no inscription, no indicator, and no name. It was a grave, for a foal, and no one would ever know who that foal had been. I looked away and saw two large creatures standing over something. I moved slowly, and saw that they had a pony on the ground. My eyes widened in fury as I realized that they were killing some poor pony.

I brought my rifle up, aimed, and fired at the first creature. The bullet caught it right in the back of the head. I was thankful that I couldn’t see the mess it made coming out because I did see blood and viscera spray forward. The other animal turned, and like those wild animals I had seen earlier it looked like a dog. Its colors were a dark orange, deep blue, and it had a strange fin that came off of the top of its head. That fin expanded, making it look bigger, and it growled at me before jumping forward.

Like before my Eye Dentity Scanner seemed to slow down time, and when it did I placed a shot squarely between its eyes. The creature crumpled beside me, and I moved past it. The pony I had hoped to save was gone. From the looks of things those creatures had likely killed him hours before. His blue eye was open, glazed over, and stared in horror at nothing. His charcoal gray belly had been ripped open, spilling his intestines, stomach, and other soft organs onto the ground. I could see blood mixed with partially digested food, and the feeling of sickness covered me.

I turned and threw up to the side, letting the nausea escape me, and then finally turned back toward the freshly dead pony. There was a shovel next to him, beside it was one of the creatures, and if what I saw was accurate then he had taken the creature out with a jab of the shovel. I shook my head, and touched him. When I did I felt a jolt, my Eye Dentity Scanner seemed to freeze for a moment, and then I saw a small dialogue box.

“Wireless connection with Eye Dentity Scanner ‘Minty Fresh’ created, view messages?”

I swallowed, and looked toward the Y. After a moment the first message popped up. It was the Stallion standing in front of a mirror. He looked sad, but determined.

“Star,” he said, “I plan on sending this after I’m finished with what had to be done. Coconut Swirl deserves to be buried and not thrown out in some ditch. I really don’t give a damn what the Spacey’s Favorites’ Corporate Guidelines say. She deserves a real burial. So, I’m going to give her one. Afterward, I’m leaving. I know that Standing Water needs us, I get that.”

He shook his head, “But nopony cared that my daughter died. The most they did was tell me not to be late for my shift. Coconut Swirl was my little girl, she never did a thing to anypony, and they are more concerned about their Law Damned Cannery. Screw ‘em!” he exclaimed, “I heard tell that there’s people that ain’t marauders out there, and that they’re making a life at one of the old abandoned townships. I’m heading there after I’m done. I want you to join me. I know our marriage contract is over, but I still love you. Please, come with me.”

The words hit me like an oncoming train. The fact that the ponies this stallion worked for didn’t even see his loss as an actual loss was beyond me. How could somepony be so callous about the death of a foal? How could they not see the terrible loss for what it was? The fact that this stallion was hurting so badly that it had changed him wasn’t lost on me either. From what I’d seen of Scrumptious, which he absolutely still was incredibly scrumptious in my mind, lent to the idea that these ponies were indoctrinated from birth to believe in the corporations that ran the colonies.

I liked having some money as much as the next mare, but this was evil. It equated that a pony was only worth what they could make in a lifetime. It meant that if a foal died they were worthless because they couldn’t make anything. I felt a new wave of sickness hit me. The idea was terrible, horrible, and it saddened me to realize that it took the death of a foal for somepony to be brought out of it. But then it wasn’t just a death of a foal. It was the death of his foal. He lost his foal, and that was the last straw that broke the metaphoria mule’s back.

I could see other messages left over, and I downloaded them all. That’s when I noticed that a few of them were encrypted, and those would only be unlocked when I found the other Eye Dentity Scanner that had the other half of the message on them. I had doubts that the messages would be more than letters, thoughts, and messages this stallion had for his foal and his wife, but it was important to me. Some part of me wanted to keep his memory alive. I might never really know much more about him other than his name was Minty Fresh, he had a foal named Coconut Swirl, and a wife named Star.

I had doubts that he was much more than some poor stallion that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but regardless I wanted to keep some part of him alive. I wanted to remember this. I wanted to remember exactly what I felt when I realized what the value of pony life was to these corporations that ran everything. It was hard to believe that anypony would value profit over a life, but then what I had learned about the Wasteland, and specifically about prewar Equestria had said some of the same. Oh, it wasn’t as open as it was here, but it didn’t change that corporate entities at the time saw ponies as resources.

Even so, there hadn’t been, at least to my knowledge, the drive to indoctrinate ponies into the belief that they were little more than minor parts to a much larger whole. It felt wrong, the entire idea of it felt foreign and went against what I had believed was the foundation that had been built. The Equestria Corporate Conglomerate couldn’t have changed that much, could it? I had to remind myself that if what Spark Gap said was true, and I had no reason to doubt it, then it likely had changed into what had broken this dead stallion.

I looked at the smaller grave, and I grabbed the shovel. Using my magic I dug a hole next to the one that he had dug for his foal. Once it was deep enough, or I believed that it was deep enough, I placed him into it, and I covered him up. It felt right that he be buried next to his foal, and hopefully I could find his wife and let her know what had happened. Maybe I could convince her to go ahead and head off toward that camp. If nothing else it would be a chance for her to have more out of life than just slaving away for ponies that wouldn’t care if she were to fall over dead the next day.

I moved away from the two graves, and I made my way down the hill. The grass still seemed to be more crystalized instead of being made of actual grass. Of course as I moved down the hill I saw a small beach. Crystalized grass was strange, but crystalized sand was breathtakingly beautiful! I moved down toward it, looking at the water that was lapping lazily up on the shore. The water was so clear, so beautiful, that it could have been mistaken for the clean streams of water that existed on the remains of Black Pony Mountain. I saw something sticking up from the water, and I made my way toward it. Getting closer I saw the remains of a ship sticking up from its burial place in the sand.

The exterior of the ship had long since been peeled away, stripped off like flesh from fish bones, and it left the ship’s bones there. I could see mostly rusted halls, bits of floors, and an old door that had long since rusted shut. In the corner was a small red container, and I moved toward the ship, gently touching the floor to ensure that it would hold, and when it didn’t give way I stepped into the long since dead ship itself. The entire floor slanted toward the right, giving the feeling of walking through a fun house, without the fun, but I slowly made my way toward the box. I found it unlocked, and I was certain that anything of value would have long since been taken from it.

Instead the box clicked open, and inside was a tiny music box, and oddly enough a little statue. I lifted the music box, and I could hear the faint notes of a song that likely had long since been forgotten. The small statue was something else. It was a mare that I didn’t really recognize right away. Like most ponies I learned about the Wasteland, the stories of Littlepip, the Security Mare, the Ghost of the Big fifty-two, Hired Gun, and even a little of the Earth Pony named Small Fry. I’d learned about them, and I learned a little about Prewar Equestria. I learned about the Princesses, the Ministries, and the Mares of those Ministries, but it was likely that this was the first time that I had ever seen one.

It took several minutes of looking at the statue before I realized that I was looking at a Ministry Mare. Holding it I felt calm, certain, and more devoted to saving my friends along with the other colonists on the Luna Seven. I looked at the small blue pegasus with a rainbow mane statuette, and I smiled at it. Below the statue of this graceful, yet powerful, pegasus in mid flight was a simple inscription: Be Awesome!

I moved the statuette to my saddlebag, put it in there, and I felt as though there was something energizing me. The fear and doubts that had threatened to cloud up my mind were cleared away in ten seconds flat, and I felt good. No, I didn’t just feel good, I felt Awesome with a capital A! I needed to find the ship that Private Perfectly Scrumptious had talked about, and I knew that the ship had to be around somewhere. I hoped it wasn’t this ship, but I was fairly confident that it wasn’t. From what I’ve seen this ship had been here for quite some time, and I doubted that anypony would have stripped one down in less than a few hours.

I looked around and I could see a hill I came down, one to the right, and the beach which looked like it stretched on for quite a ways to the left. I looked at the right and figured that at least at the top of the hill I could see around easier. I made my way toward it, and began to climb. As I did I switched through the various controls that my Eye Dentity Scanner had, and finally I found the radio. As I looked at it I found only four stations available. I selected the first, and the sound of cute, and catchy, jingle music filled my ear as I walked.

“Show your Bosses that you are Kind, and gift to them your Overtime!”

That one was followed by another, “Zero G Brew, your favorite flavors, numbs your pain and is emboldened by labor! Buy Zero G Brew today, and drink your troubles away!”

I quickly changed the station as I climbed higher.

“Today on Let’s Chat, I had the chance to meet with Ms. Gazer our resident scientist that is in charge of researching the ever pep pill,” the smoothing voice said, “Now, here’s some of that fine chat for you wonderful listeners.”

“Ms. Gazer, it’s a pleasure to meet with you today,” the smoothing voice said, “So, what can you tell us about the ever pep pill?”

There was a slight cough, “Well, the ever pep pill is still in the early research phase, but we’re confident that it will be the miracle drug we’ve proposed,” Ms. Gazer said, “We believe that we will be able to help workers stay up later, work harder, and thus become far more productive than ever before. Sleep and rest will be things of the past.”

“I see,” the soothing voice said, “What about the workers that enjoy their generous five minute breaks, and eight minute lunches that Corporations, much like our own Spacey’s Favorites, provide?”

There was a soft chuckle, “Well, the lunch will still be needed, after all, no drug, no matter how wonderful, has been able to replace the need of a well prepared meal, especially one as fine as Spacey’s Favorite Faux Tuna! But eventually even meal times will be a thing of the past, or a luxury,” she said, “We’re working toward making it possible for a worker to spend their entire lives earning the bits they need to spend their last remaining year or two in comfort at New Canterlot.”

“Or of course they could play the lottery, and if they win they could get access to a special level of New Canterlot that has been prepared just for retirees,” the soothing voice said, “Everypony has the chance to win a life of ease in the most exclusive area for the rest of their lives. Imagine, living a life of ease and privilege, and that life can be yours! Play the Retiree lottery today! Just eight thousand bits per entry!”

I shook my head as I topped the hill, and I shut off the radio. If the other two stations were the same, then I didn’t want to listen in on them. I looked out over the valley below, and I saw a single ship. There were a couple of ponies dressed similar to how Private Perfectly Scrumptious had been dressed, and I could only assume that was Sergeant Sure Luck and Private First Class Swift Wing. Looking around them I saw a few marauders milling around. I narrowed my eyes, and slowly I made my way down toward the two ponies. I neared them and the Earth Pony looked at me. She stood up straight and narrowed her eyes. I could see a security batton at her side, and she seemed to measure my approach. I didn’t attempt to show much more than the rifle that was resting against my back. She finally nodded toward me, and motioned toward her and the Pegasus that was standing near her.

“Who the hell are you?” she asked, “Don’t you know that we’ve got marauders, and worst parking violators in the area?”

I studied her for a second, “Wait, parking violators are in the same class as marauders?” I asked, “Seems like parking violators might take a back seat to a pony that wants to rape and possibly eat a pony.”

She snorted, “I never said that marauders are in the same category as parking violators. The both of them are bad,” she spat, “To think, landing wherever they please, taking no heed to a perfectly good landing pad at Standing Water, and denying the corporation the parking fee they richly deserve. After we deal with these marauders I have half a mind of beating that parking violator black and blue with my baton.”

I looked at her, “well, why aren’t you dealing with the marauders yet?”

She snorted at me again, and I noticed the way her pale blue coat seemed to shine from under her armor. Her soft pink mane was cut short, and I had to admit that she had excellent bone structure. If she wasn’t acting like a colossal tool I might be interested in trying to get to know her better. Out of the three of them so far I certainly like Private Perfectly Scrumptious the most. It wasn’t just because he was scrumptious, but also because he had actually acted friendly. She was acting pretty bitchy right now.

“We’re not dealing with them because we have a five minute break, afterward we’ll deliver the cost saving justice that Spacey’s Favorite is known for.”

I grinned, “Well, I suppose if I fill out a survey I could indicate that you weren’t interested in ensuring the safety of a potential customer.”

Her eyes widened, “Umm, nope, that’s not right. Okay,” she looked at the Pegasus that was in full armor, which it looked odd. It had a strange insectoid tail on it, almost like a scorpion tail, but every inch of it was covered with a logo that I could only imagine belonged to Spacey’s Favorite, “Let’s go get those Marauders!”

The two of them turned and began walking down the hill, and I followed behind them with my rifle ready. Despite the fact that both of them were basically walking billboards I had to admit that the armor did a fantastic job of protecting them. Although the picture of a strange dark Alicorn smiling with fangs showing, and her hoof held up in celebration didn’t look exactly like a great mascot. Something reminded me of a story, something about eternal night. I shook my head as we moved forward. The marauders came faster than I believed they would. Dozens of them were screaming about eating us, laughing uncontrollably, but they went down fast enough. I moved past them toward the ship, walked up the ramp, and entered into it.

As I did I heard the sound of a mechanical voice echo through the ship.

“Marauder, be warned, this ship is the express property of Captain Hard Luck. I have been given the permission to deal with invaders in the harshest way possible.”

I moved toward the sound and saw a strange sight. There was a bridge, two seats sitting together, and in one of them was an odd looking pony. She looked to be more mechanical than pony, and slowly the seat turned toward me. I could see something else about her. I heard about this before, Synthetic Ponies. They had been created after the war, and there were still several that were alive. In her case she looked like bits of her skin had been removed, and her metallica endoskeleton was showing through. Her coat had been a glossy black, and her eyes were an electric blue.

Her mane, which was pulled into a braid, was a soft white, and it looked like the tips of each hair glowed and changed colors. I studied her a second, trying to figure her out.

“I am Captain Hard Luck’s first mate, Sweet Kisses, and if you do not leave things will go bad,” she said, “You have three seconds to exit.”

I looked at her, “Look, I don’t want to cause problems…”

She narrowed her eyes at me, “Warning, this ship is about to depressurize the cargo hold, doing so will cause any biological creature to suffer being squished through the small opening.”

The alarms went off around us, the ship shook for a second, and then nothing else happened. I looked at her and she looked sheepish, “I take it that you’re not going to fall for that.”

I nodded, “Unfortunately not,” I said, “As for the captain, I think that my escape pod might have crushed her.”

She looked at the floor, “Oh, oh my,” she said, “You aren’t going to attempt to destroy me, are you?”

I shook my head, “Why would I?” I asked, “You haven’t done anything to me.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “Most ponies want to destroy me because I’m obsolete. There’s really no other reason.”

I looked at her, “No I think you’re fine.”

She smiled, “Good, ummm, I don’t want to attempt to be a captain, after all, dealing with ponies is difficult, but I’m fine remaining a pilot and the navigation for the ship. Which, welcome aboard the Non-Responsible,” she said, “Since you are not interested in attacking me, would you like to be captain? The ship needs one, and you seem like a good sort. I would be okay serving under you.”

I nodded, “okay, my name is Slim Chance.”

She grinned, “Welcome aboard Captain Slim Chance!”

You’ve unlocked Robotic Kindness: You now have the opportunity to unlock special dialogue with certain mechanical beings. Your knowledge of antique robotics will prove useful in assisting certain robots in difficult tasks, and will unlock unique friendships.