Fallout: Equestria - Common Ground

Chapter Thirty: The Collector

We left Elder Teakettle in the Griffonstone Missile Base. So long as he remained in his pod, he was safe from the deadliness that infested the air of the place (at least, we assumed so). He had control of the missile base, but no missiles. It seemed as good a punishment as any.

The launching of the missiles had attracted attention, of course, but there was no surrender due to the assumption that the Steel Rangers had succeeded in their goal. Mereskimmer cleared things up with the remaining Dashite Enclave forces before we’d even left the base, and I inferred they’d spread the word however they could to the others. The battle was pretty much over by the time we emerged into Griffonstone. The Steel Rangers didn’t surrender, but some of them did flee into the mountains, sure to prove a nuisance in the future unless they were hunted down by the grand marshal’s forces—something he seemed only too eager to do.

Nobody seemed entirely sure what to do once the battle was won, and nobody wanted to stay long in the poisoned city. Groups began to split off, heading their separate ways. The pegasi flew back by wing or sky-tank to what was left of New Pegasus. The Consortium pondroids stalked away in a straight line toward their origin. The griffins lingered for a bit, seeming to debate whether the time was right to attack their temporary allies, before heading off in all different directions, apart from those who scoured the nearby terrain for Steel Rangers. Blaze’s defectors stayed the longest, gathering up every suit of Steel Ranger armor they found. They may have been radicals, but they were still Steel Rangers, and the thought of anyone outside the order using the armor remained repugnant to them. I was certain the pegasi, the griffins, and even the pondroids had managed to secret away a suit or two for themselves to study, but Blaze was wise enough not to make a fuss when the numbers didn’t come out completely even.

When Blaze’s Steel Rangers departed in their pilfered airskiff, miraculously still flying but looking in very poor shape, we went with them. Rael, Lurk, my honor guard, and I all traveled with them as they headed south, to Duskshore. As we neared the coastal settlement, Blacktalon wisely flew ahead to warn the inhabitants that the airskiff on its way was not here to destroy them like the last time. Because of this forewarning, there was a large crowd gathered when we arrived, and the skiff was secured to the mooring tower. There were enthusiastic greetings all around, and I had to wade through a crowd of ponies welcoming me back just to get to my home where I could finally sit down and put my hooves up.

“Marshal?” Giacomo asked after knocking and then immediately opening the door without waiting for a response.

“Yes, Sheriff,” I said tiredly as I sat up to speak to the griffin.

“What’s the situation with the Steel Rangers?” he asked awkwardly as he scratched the feathers on the back of his neck with a claw.

“They’re going to live here with us, at least for a little while,” I said. “We talked it out on the way here, and they’re willing to share their knowledge and tech with the community.”

“As well as lend their weapons to our defense, right?” Giacomo said.

“Yes,” I replied. “They don’t intend to stay forever. According to them, there are like-minded Steel Rangers in the Trottingham contingent that might be brought around to their way of thinking and topple the Elder Council. But, the chance of them listening at the moment, right after a failed crusade, is slim.”

“That’s fine with me. You might want to explain the situation yourself to Crystal, though,” Giacomo said.

Of course; the refugees from Pleasure Coast were not likely to be pleased with living alongside the ponies who had occupied their city and tried to wipe out the ghouls living there.

“Where is she?” I asked as I reluctantly got to my hooves.

“Town hall. I can escort you.”

There was really no need for an escort, but Giacomo wanted to stick with me during the business upon my return, so I obliged him. Crystal Dawn was in the town hall (which had gained a sign denoting it such during my absence), as were Rael and another pony I knew.

“Marshal Doc,” Daff said slowly and made a theatrical grimace. “Back from saving the Commonwealth?”

“I might just be,” I said, before adding. “Hopefully for the last time. What are you doing here?”

“I guess you haven’t heard the news since you got back,” Daff said. “My little clique of Freelancers, my loyal followers from Castoway, we’re all living in your town now.”

“What happened?” I asked, but I feared I knew.

“When Gideon started calling for mercenaries across the Commonwealth, he was offering rewards I couldn’t match, even with your—what you gave me,” Daff said, catching herself before she revealed my possession of Von Plume’s gold in case anyone else in the room didn’t yet know about it. “They fled, and the warlords retook the city.”

“I’m sorry, Daff,” I said. “If there’s anything I can do—.” She raised a hoof to stop me.

“Didn’t you just say you were done saving the Commonwealth?” she asked.

“Well, sure, but this isn’t—” I protested.

“It’s alright, Doc. Things were falling apart, and all the mercenaries did was delay the inevitable. I’m done with Castoway. It’s time to start over.”

“Daff has been helping me to run Duskshore in your absence,” Crystal Dawn spoke up. “But, I suppose now that you’re back to stay, you’ll be taking over again.”

“The Steel Rangers have been defeated,” I admitted, “But there’s still one last thing I need to do before I can settle down here for good. One last thing I need to do to secure this town’s future.”

***

And so, I found myself headed once again to where my time in the Commonwealth had begun: Pleasure Coast. After news spread about what had happened in Griffonstone, the Steel Rangers there had fled, taking their airskiff and headed back to the Grittish Isles. The city was far from back to normal when I arrived (with the honor guard I was expected to have at this point), but it was no longer under Steel Ranger occupation. The city’s casinos were back up and running, but the ghoul population who’d gambled at them had significantly decreased.

I headed straight for the Commonwealth Crooner’s radio station, which was devoid of Steel Rangers. Oddly enough, the Crooner was still spouting their propaganda, though. I had a sinking feeling as we entered the building and FITS picked up no others inside. Had the Steel Rangers recorded the Crooner, killed him, and left his tapes playing? That fortunately didn’t seem to be the case, but the truth was far stranger.

Tucked away at the center of the station was a broadcast room with none of the accoutrements I’d expect, just a large bank of maneframes. Lights danced across them as the Commonwealth Crooner’s voice sounded from speakers set into the ceiling above them. When I plugged my PipBeak into one, the Crooner went silent. It wasn’t difficult to find and remove the code the Steel Rangers had added, and when I was done, I stepped back.

“Commonwealth Crooner?” I asked, facing the maneframes.

“You’ll have to speak into the microphone, I can barely hear you,” the Crooner’s silky smooth voice came from the speakers.

I trotted over to the simple mic on a nearby console and tried again.

“Commonwealth Crooner, is this you?” I asked, still looking at the maneframes and the camera mounted atop them.

“Yes, it is,” the Crooner said, almost mournfully. “It must be a b-ig disappointment to find that the illllustrious Commonwealth Crooner is no more than a pile of tubes and wi-res.”

“Honestly, I’m amazed. I’ve never encountered an interactive system so advanced.”

“Aw, stop now, you’re gonna make me blush,” the Commonwealth Crooner said with a hint of humor.

“Who made you?” I asked.

“Why, the griffin who made this whole city, of course.”

“Griselda von Plume.”

“The very same. When she built Pleasure Coast, she wanted a radio personality for her station that would speak to all the griffins and ponies who came through this place. But why try to find the perfect radio personality when you can build one to spec? I was built to entertain the pleasure-seekers, but I outlived that purpose a long time ago. Nobody ever told me when to stop, so I just kept goin’, reinventin’ myself every so often so as not to break the illusion that I was who I said I was, though I think the ghoooouls may have suspected.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know what I’m supposed to do with this?” I asked as I pulled the platinum poker chip out of my saddlebags and held it up before the camera.

“Well! So somebody finally did crack ol’ Von Plume’s secret after all,” the Commonwealth Crooner laughed. “The empty spot in the control panel that always baffled those station engineers who knew the truth about me. Give it a go.”

I turned to examine the control panel as the Crooner had said and found a slot that had been taped over to avoid spilling anything into it. The poker chip slotted in with a satisfying ka-chunk, and the electronics inside the chip did their work, pulling up text across the nearby monitor that was mostly legalese telling me that I was the rightful inheritor of Von Plume’s fortune and the new boss of Pleasure Coast. One settlement was enough for me to be the boss of, though.

“What now?” I asked as I turned back to face the Commonwealth Crooner.

“Now?” he replied and took a long pause. “The announcement just went out to all of Pleasure Coast. Now you wait for every griffin to come here and see who it is who found Von Plume’s treasure, an’ who it is they need to pay five percent of their income to, from now on and retroactively. You’ve got a mighty fine windfall coming your way, Doc Silverarm.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I said as I took the platinum chip from the console.

I took my time about heading out to the front of the station, where the members of the Shoreguard informed me griffins were beginning to congregate. When I felt enough time had elapsed, I stepped through the doors to face them. As I’d expected, at the front of the pack were the representatives of the Two Families, with even Mayor Gerald von Griff and Gloria Delgado here in the flesh. None of them looked particularly happy with me, and I wondered what their views were on legitimacy of killing me to get the inheritance.

“Relax,” I said as I looked down the heads of the Two Families, and I produced the platinum chip, holding it between two of my griffin claws. “I have a business proposition for you.”

***

The room I found myself in was very similar to the one in which Grand Marshal Gideon had first confronted me. The table was wood rather than steel and didn’t stretch quite all the way to each wall. There were rugs on the floor, and the chairs had fine scrollwork on their backs. For all that, it was still a room with an air of ominousness about it. I’d been waiting patiently for several minutes by the time the fifteenth Grand Marshal of the Griffin Commonwealth walked in from the door on the other side of the table. Sneaking a glance behind me, I didn’t see Strake standing at my back, but I did see a shadow through my door’s glazed window that suggested he was outside waiting for commands. Gideon took a seat and rubbed his eyes with his talons, then frowned at me for several seconds before speaking.

“So, what is it you want this time?” Gideon said calmly. “Are you here to gloat that I was forced to act against the Steel Rangers after all?”

In reply, I reached into my saddlebags and produced a bar of Von Plume’s gold. I tossed it onto the table, where it bounced slightly before sliding towards the grand marshal.

“What is this?” he asked in surprise and reached hungrily for the gold.

“I want to make a deal,” I told him.

“You want to make a deal?” he asked, suddenly cautious and withholding his claws from the ingot, but a greedy look still shone in his eyes.

“More like I’m brokering a contract on behalf of two interested parties, but yes,” I said, producing a stack of papers from my saddlebags and sliding them across the table to Gideon. “I’ve been assured that everything is in order and complies with griffin contract law.”

“This is not how business is done,” Gideon laughed as he barely deigned to look at the contract I’d provided. “There are negotiations, discussions, counteroffers, mediation—”

“This is how it will be done if you want the rest of Griselda von Plume’s treasure,” I said flatly.

Gideon eyed the gold bar more closely, picking out the Von Plume crest stamped into it.

“You found Von Plume’s treasure?” Gideon asked incredulously.

“Yes. I’m not the only one who has over time, but most of it is still left,” I said as I fished in my saddlebags and pulled out photographs taken of the vast hoard within the vault, tossing them across to Gideon. “I’m offering you all that remains, all that can be seen in those photos, if you sign this contract today on behalf of the Griffin Commonwealth.”

“What’s in this … ‘contract?’” Gideon asked suspiciously, still not reading it himself.

“Pleasure Coast will become a protectorate of the Griffin Commonwealth. They won’t have a vote in the Council of Marshals like a roost does, but you’ll be responsible for protecting them and they won’t pay taxes.”

“Is that all?” Gideon said mockingly.

“No, I said I was representing two parties,” I said, keeping a straight face. “The Griffin Commonwealth will also, now and forever, respect the independence of the settlement of Duskshore.”

“Yes, your own little commune, Marshal,” Gideon sneered. So, he had heard about it, and as I’d predicted, was not happy. “Anything else you want? The moon on a platter, perhaps?”

“No, that’s it,” I said. “It’s all laid out in the contract in black and white. Sign it, and all the remaining wealth of Von Plume is yours.”

“Including the share in Pleasure Coast’s income?” Gideon asked.

“I’m afraid that’s already been promised to someone else. The mayor of Pleasure Coast will receive that. Part of a separate business agreement.”

“You really expect me to sign this contract? For what purpose?”

“Whatever your faults, Gideon, I know the one thing you could never do and remain grand marshal is to break a contract.”

“My fellow griffins might make an exception in this case,” Gideon said through gritted beak.

“I don’t think so,” I said confidently.

Morosely, Gideon flipped through the contract, skimming its contents. Between each page, his eyes darted to the gold, then up to me to see if I’d noticed, then back to the contract, his frown deepening each time.

“You found Von Plume’s treasure,” Gideon repeated his earlier question.

“That’s what I said, and I have demonstrated proof of it,” I said.

“Well, then,” Gideon said as he laid the contract aside and fixed me with a deadly look. “I could just as well extract the location of the treasure from you with or without this contract.”

“Unfortunately not. I don’t know where the treasure is,” I stated.

“But you just said you found the treasure,” Gideon fumed, his look becoming even more ominous.

“I did, but I don’t remember finding it. I anticipated you might try torture to get the information from me, so I did the only reasonable thing: I had all memory of finding the treasure removed from my mind. At least, that’s what she said I told her to tell me.”

“You’re lying. That’s impossible,” Gideon accused.

“Quite possible for a powerful enough unicorn. Lurk has happy to oblige,” I said.

“And you trust her?” Gideon snorted.

“Like I said, I have a separate business arrangement with Pleasure Coast,” I reminded him. “Now, are you going to sign?”

The grand marshal grumbled and stared daggers at me. However, his eyes kept fixing on the bar of gold on the table. I could see the glint in his eyes, and I knew. He’d complain, he’d threaten, he’d try to bargain and sidestep. In the end, however, Gideon would sign the contract and the grand marshals of the Commonwealth would abide by it because they were griffins, and griffins didn’t break contracts. Duskshore would be safe, and all it cost was all the wealth of the wealthiest griffin to ever live.

***

The memory orbs with my lost memories on them were waiting for me when I returned to Duskshore. After I recovered them, I gave Strake, who’d accompanied me on the journey, instructions on where to find the vault. He seemed loyal enough to Gideon to follow his orders of returning immediately to the grand marshal without reading the instructions, but there was always the chance that he’d try to skim a little for himself. I had no idea how Gideon intended to retrieve the treasure without losing portions to whoever he hired, but that was his problem now. Whatever happened, I’d fulfilled my end of the bargain and the fate of Von Plume’s treasure was out of my hooves. Not that the treasure itself was out of my hooves entirely, as I learned when I regained my memories. After brokering my deal with Pleasure Coast, Rael and I had made one more trip to the vault to take away a small fortune for the purpose of helping Duskshore survive, especially now that its population had grown so much. The Steel Rangers were settled in by the time I returned to the town, which I expected. What I hadn’t expected to see was the large number of pegasi wearing the colors of the Dashite Enclave.

“Mereskimmer, what are you doing here?” I asked when I found her, out of her armor for once, directing other uniformed pegasi on where to get settled.

“Some of us have decided to come live here in your town, Doc,” she said as she turned to me.

“I hope you don’t find this rude, but … why?” I asked. “What about New Pegasus?”

“New Pegasus no longer welcomes us,” Colonel Flitter answered as she stepped through the door Mereskimmer had been standing in front of, and the captain saluted her. “With the death of President Snowmane, a presidential election had to be held. Colonel Ravine died in the Battle of Griffonstone, so I was well outvoted on the Executive Panel. Fairweather is President of New Pegasus now, and she’s taking a hard line. I was removed from the Executive Panel and removed from active duty. They’re trying to find scapegoats to blame for the loss of the president and the Zephyrus and consolidate power in what’s left of the city. Some of us decided we had better get out before things hit the proverbial fan for us.”

“Well, you’re welcome here,” I said. “And with even sytheqs, it looks like we have ponies and griffins from just about everywhere in the Commonwealth.”

My attention had been drawn to a small group of ponies, several identical and all wearing Consortium jumpsuits, who were wandering through Duskshore.

“They’re not here to stay,” Mereskimmer informed me. “We encountered some of the syntheqs on the way here. It’s something new they’re trying, going out into the Commonwealth to learn after being isolated under their mountain for so long.”

“Well, I’m sorry for what happened with New Pegasus. Hopefully you’ll be able to return home someday.”

“Our ancestors came to this land from Equestria. We’ve changed homes before,” Flitter replied. “Even without the syntheqs here on a permanent basis, you’ve gathered quite a collection of individuals here, Doc. Well done for you.”

“I think, finally, I’ve found the place I can rest,” I said, and contemplated all I’d lost. “Celestia knows I need it.”

***

The following weeks were fortunately uneventful. The warlords of Castoway seemed, for the moment at least, content to leave our settlement alone. Grand Marshal Gideon honored the contract, letting both Pleasure Coast and Duskshore be. The Steel Rangers and their memory melted away. Their defeat had allowed the scavengers to recover their road-beasts, and they were constantly pulling up outside the settlement to sell what they’d scavenged in the wastes or trade items between Pleasure Coast and Duskshore. Autumn turned to winter, but on the southern coast we didn’t really notice, other than to watch the snowline creep down the mountains to the east. Things were peaceful and quiet, but unlike every other time I’d tried to settle down, nothing shattered the tranquility and called me to action. The new year was rapidly approaching, and I was trying to think of what gift I could give Rael, when Giacomo burst breathlessly into the town hall.

“What is it, Giac?” I asked with concern.

“I don’t know, really. The ghouls who were out scavenging off the coast said they felt vibrations in the water,” the sheriff replied. “Something’s coming this way.”

I pulled on my distinctive coat from the Castle, patched with what was left of the doctor’s coat I’d gotten in Stable 85, and followed him outside. Others followed, intrigued by what had gotten Giacomo so out of sorts, as he led me to the bluff that overlooked the ocean. It seemed the ghouls who had reported the disturbance to him had also been free in spreading the word to others, for a small crowd had gathered by the time we arrived. I could make out a slight bit of movement in the distance and brought my monocular up to my eye to get a better look. A badly worn conning tower was poking up out of the waves.

“Could it be?” I asked myself quietly, but Giacomo turned to me with interest, nonetheless.

The disturbance increased as the submarine continued to rise out of the water while advancing, revealing the long body of the Red Harvest. I was looking forward to speaking to Captain Zaliski about his travels and hearing what he had learned from Equestria, and then the conning tower opened. My breath caught in my throat as a frizzy bronze mane emerged, followed by a yellow-coated body. Zaliski followed, but my eyes didn’t seem to notice him as Sage climbed down onto the zebra submarine’s hull to look ahead as it cut through the water toward the shore, toward me, wind whipping her mane and tail. After all I’d been through and all I’d witnessed in my nearly two years in the Griffin Commonwealth, I still thought it was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

As for what happened after. Well, that’s a story whose details I’ll keep just for me and my family.

[Max Level Reached]
New Quest: The Greatest Adventure – Live your life.
Alchemistry +3 (71)
Barter +9 (150) [Max Level Reached]
Medicine +2 (135)
Pilot +8 (57)
Science +8 (140)
Speech +3 (150) [Max Level Reached]
Survival +8 (136)