Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Fourteen

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The inside of the manor was grand, with beams of dark wood accented by brass fittings and walls decorated with floral wallpaper that were only slightly peeling. All over was exquisitely carved and polished to a shine, furnishings that look quite comfortable and old.

It was all old to be sure, far more ancient than anything I had ever seen, but not in any real state of decay. Nothing here felt like the ruins I grew up around, or like the other places I had seen.

On the wall were paintings everywhere; some of ponies, others of places. There was one large portrait hanging above two fancy stairways that connected together. The large portrait was of three unicorns; an adult stallion and mare, and one older colt. They had a similar appearance to both Tripwire and Spell Circuit.

The shaggy stallion, Spell Circuit, then stopped. "If you would please stay here, I'll go fetch Margaret and prepare the washroom for you."

"Margaret, washroom?" I said inquisitively, hoping it was not because I smelled.

"Yes, I'm sure you're going to want a change of clothes." He said as he motioned to his chest, indicating that I should look there. "The shock of trotting through the cursed land will likely fade soon, and… well."

Holding my breath, I looked down, seeing that the front of my clothes were covered in puke. Not just my front, but the back of my coat felt uncomfortably wet and my back legs were soggy. I knew what it was, but I did my best to suppress the thought.

"Yes, that would be nice! Really nice!" I blurted out.

Nodding, a silver over-glow covered Spell Circuit's horn and with a pop he vanished, leaving me alone in this grand entryway, soaked in my own filth.

As I stood there I could hear a humming, like when my Ma would hum as she worked. But it sounded odd, like it was unnatural. As it got louder, it was clearly a mare humming, yet the offness of her tone made me nervous and my mind wondered. Had I fallen into another monster's trap, was I still hallucinating?

Just as my mind was about to get the better of me, a silver sphere in an apron floated into the room. It had six thin limbs, with three on top with sphere-like eyes attached and three below that had what looked like pincers. As it looked at me, I just felt… calmer.

It then spoke to me with a soft, feminine, yet robotic voice. "Oh dear, you poor thing. The young master said we had a guest and she would need some help, but you look absolutely… well… not to be rude, but you're in a dreadful state. Come here, I'll get you washed up, then we can see to it that you get some warm tea and a hot meal."

As I was in desperate need to get clean, I just followed the strange floating robot.

Quickly ushered away, four more floating robots appeared, they having a frilly cap on one of their eye spars. Each one was busy cleaning a room, but had stopped to watch me as I passed, they even seemed to quietly whisper to each other.

The apron robot stopped for a moment to look at the other robots, who then scattered, returning to their work. "Sorry deary, the staff loves their gossip, and it's been so long since we had a guest, and a mare at that."

"Wh-what are you all… anyways?" I asked.

Somehow the robot smiled with her eye. "My designation is Margaret. We are the latest model of the Miss Nanny, made for the care of the young and old, along with their homes. We can perform any task that is required for our duty, with an adaptive virtual intelligence program that allows us to better care for our ward."

"Wow, Ma certainly could have used you when looking after my brothers when they were foals." I said to Margaret.

"Oh it's been too long since I last held a foal. Sadly my cold arms can never compare to a mothers embrace." Margaret actually sounded dejected, despite being a robot.

Stopping at a door, Margaret led me inside where there was a large tub of bubbly warm water. "Now miss, would you please remove your garments, I'll have the maids wash them for you."

Doing as she said, and then stepping into the tub, it felt… oh so good. Never in my life had I ever had a warm bath. Just sitting in it made me feel like I was melting. And somehow, even though Margaret had metal pincers, she gently scrubbed me down and washed my mane.

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Thoroughly washed and dried, I honestly never felt so clean before, and truthfully, I probably never had been this clean ever in my life. Even better, Margaret had a dress sent over for me as they washed my clothes. It was a beautiful pastel purple gown decorated with a few red bows. I had tried to protest, but Margaret insisted. Then she braided my mane and tail for me, adding more red bows to them.

I never felt so pretty in my life as I followed Margaret to the dining hall. For the briefest moment I had forgotten where I was, what I had just been through, and who I was with.

Taking a seat at the table, Spell Circuit was already sitting across from me, levitating two books as he wrote in a third. What Tripwire told me about his brother was that he had worked with Redeye, but also it sounded as though Tripwire had killed him too. It both made me worried and curious.

"So…" I spoke up nervously, unsure what to even talk about. Then I saw his mechanical hoof, and I got an idea. "That hoof, the cy...cyber...cybernetic you called it. How did you get it?"

Spell slowly took his eyes off his book, looking around before noticing me and then looking at his cybernetic hoof. Hiding it from view, he then addressed me. "Th-this, it was… a friend gave it to me… saved my life… well, what was left of him did."

Though his face was covered by the glasses and his mane, I could tell there was a sense of sadness on it and in his voice.

"What do you mean, what was left of him?" I asked.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "I… once knew a wonderful pony who opened my eyes. He saw potential in every creature he met, no prejudice in his mind, be it if they were an earth pony or unicorn, or if they were a pony or non pony."

A smile formed on his face as he continued. "Before I met him I ignorantly believed in my superiority over all others. Destined to rule my mother would say. But my friend showed me how flawed that mindset was, and that I was meant to help ponies work together, not lord over them. Only by working hoof in hoof could we change the wasteland for the better."

As I listened I could not believe he was talking about Redeye. Maybe Redeye came later, but how could he go from that to siding with the slaver lord Redeye? What could have happened.

The smile then faded from Spell's muzzle. "But the wasteland is cruel, and it takes everything, giving back nothing but spite. I watched my friend be whittled down day by day. Sometimes he lost a piece of himself, sometimes we lost a friend. I don't know when it happened, but at some point the friend I knew died, and he was born."

"He?" I said, feeling confused.

Spell rubbed his cybernetic hoof. "I dare not say his name, but he was everything my friend once was, but twisted. If he could not get ponies to hold each other up by hoof to hoof, then he would chain them down and force their hooves together. Where once he patiently talked to ponies, getting them to understand, now he preaches at them with a gun to their head."

That sounded familiar. "You… talking about Redeye, aren't you?"

Spell paused for a moment, looking at me.

"Yes… That's what they called him." Spell said with a sigh. "I tried to show him that he was on the wrong path, that I could convince even the most evil pony to change their ways. Just like how he showed me. But…"

He held up his cybernetic hoof, lifting his glasses. What I saw was two very dark bags under tired looking, regret filled eyes. To my shock, one eye was red, with a slight artificial light glowing from it.

"But I only proved him right in the end. The same fate that befell him, befell me." Spell then clenched his teeth. "But I was so much more stupid, so damn foolish, thinking, believing I had broken through to my brother. I knew if I could convince him to change his ways, then I could get my friend back."

My chest thumped as I held my breath, not wanting to believe what I was hearing.

"Worse, my brother knew what I was trying to do, and…" Spell let out a long sigh. "He said to me that even if he could not beat Redeye, that at least he would make sure that my hero would never return. Then shot me, left me for dead."

Unable to stop myself, I slammed my hooves onto the table, Shouting out. "There's no way Tripwire would do something like that!"

Forcing my own mouth shut with my hooves, I shrunk back into my seat as everything became deadly quiet.

As though sensing the tension, Margaret floated over, and placed a plate of food in front of Spell, and one in front of me. "Today we have a grilled vegetable salad, picked fresh from the greenhouse, seasoned with salt and pepper. A light, yet delectable meal."

Slowly, Spell lowered his glasses, not saying a word as he then began eating.

Looking down at the plate of food, it looked wonderful, but looking at it didn't shake the sense of dread I now felt.

After a long moment of doing nothing, I looked back up at Spell. "Aren't you going to… do something to me?"

He said nothing.

That sense of dread faded as anger bubbled up. "Hay! I know you worked for that monster, there's no way Redeye was ever a good pony. Now tell me the truth, there's no way Tripwire would do something like that. Talk to me!"

Placing down his fork gently, and using a napkin to pat his lips. Spell again sighed. "No, I'm not going to do anything to you. Actually I suspected that my older brother might be involved. No other pony would care to come this far. Also, all I have said is the truth."

"Brahmin shit!" I spat out. "Tripwire is trying to rebuild what Redeye destroyed, he's going to help everypony."

"How is Tripwire going to help anypony when he only cares about helping himself? What do you even know about him." Spell huffed at me.

"I know he has plans and connections. That he will bring order to the wasteland, which will help everypony." I said back.

"Order, how will he even do that?" He scoffed.

Smirking at him, I said, "that's why I'm here."

Spell cocked his head. "For what?"

"For… for… I don't know." I admitted, realizing Tripwire never explained what he was trying to get.

"He is here for our family's greatest shame." An old stallion spoke up. Having trotted in was a frail, yet stoic looking unicorn with a well trimmed mane and beard that was as white as snow.

"Father!" Spell Circuit said, shrinking back in his chair.

The old stallion looked at his son with a sense of pity on his face, sighing before turning his cold gaze to me. "Now before we continue, you should eat. You'll need the energy."

Looking back down at my plate, I nodded and took a bite. The carrot was crunchy and rather good tasting, same for some leaf green. It… reminded me of home.

A rather pretty cup with an image of a flower printed on it was placed in front of me by Margaret. "Here is some tea deary… oh, are you alright, you seem to be upset."

Noticing the tears falling from my face, I quickly wiped them off. "Oh no, I'm fine. I just was reminded of home with how fresh this carrot was."

Taking the drink and sipping it, I found it a bit odd and sweet. "What is this?"

"Royal leaf tea." The old stallion said as he drank from a similar cup. "My ancestors had the good foresight to grow their own, along with their favorite foods from back then. Thanks to Margaret and her staff, they have managed to keep the greenhouse alive for the last two hundred years."

The robot practically beamed with pride as she said, "No food is better than fresh healthy food, master."

"Too true." He said before addressing me again. "I am Arcane Fuse Naysayer, patriarch of this cursed family. The pony across from you is my second son Spell Circuit, and you seem to be well acquainted with my eldest son, Tripwire. May I know your name, young miss?"

"L-Lottery, just Lottery." I told Arcane Fuse.

He smiled, though his eyes didn't. "A lovely name. Though if we go by pony naming conventions, I wouldn't be surprised if you or your family were professional gamblers, or bandits. But let's save the discussion about family for later, and can you tell me how you got past the mound maker?"

My blood ran cold from his question. "The… mound maker?"

Arcane sighed. "The monster totem with the dear skull for a head. It was one of the curses left behind long ago, entrances trespassers and forces them to be part of a mound of the dead. I once attempted to destroy it myself, and if Margaret here had not saved me, I would have been added to the mound myself. The incident left my mane and tail a stark white, similar to you."

Confused, I checked my mane, only to find a streak of white through it. "H-how?"

"It's what evil magic does, destroys or corrupts. Always leaving its mark." Arcane said with a sigh. "And I'm ashamed to admit it was the doing of an ancestor of mine. Though what was passed down about it was that they were dead at the time. Reanimated by the same vile magic that swept over Equestria generations ago, and sent to claim the rest of the family along with their secrets. It was a curse made by my own blood all the same."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." I couldn't help but wonder how much they suffered. If not for the dead trying to kill me, or how cold it was, this place would look rather nice.

"Don't be, but it is kind of you to say so." Arcane said to me. "Actually I should be thanking you. Though this land is still cursed, now with the mound maker gone, we may finally have a chance to restore this land to what it once was. That and to have the poor child to be finally at rest. So, how did you do it, how did you escape it's hold?"

A cold shiver ran down my spine as I tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. "I… don't know. I didn't even know what was happening, just that I needed to swing my axe. Sorry."

Arcane rubbed his beard for a moment before sighing and taking a sip of his tea. "Any insight Spell."

Spell Circuit levitated the two books he had been reading. "I just started re-reading the old tombs. But from what I can remember, curses are weaker on innocent or virtuous souls. Though there is always more than just that. Something like a catalyst; like an enchanted item, or a blessing. Though there's magic in her axe, I don't think it was the cause. Actually it seems that magic from the curse has moved into the metal."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "My axe is… magical?"

Spell pointed at a spot next to me, and looking, there it was, my gold plated axe. Seeing it nearly caused me to jump out of my seat. "Was it always there?" I asked as I picked it up, finding it to be absolutely freezing to the touch.

"No, likely it is bound to you, for better or worse. I detected a malicious curse in it, dangerous to be sure, but it is also contained. I'd like to test it to see how dangerous it is, but it just vanished on me before I could do more, apparently to return to you as we can see." Spell explained.

I was unsure about having a cursed axe following me around. But if it meant that I would never be without a weapon, it couldn't be all that bad.

"So we have no answers then?" Arcane asked his son.

Spell nodded. "That is correct, father. I can only theorize that the curse had weakened over the years. Miss Lottery might just have been lucky enough, innocent or virtuous, maybe both, to resist the mound maker."

Again Arcane sighed. "Yet more magic doomed to be forgotten, evil as it may be, I had hoped some good could be made of it."

Spell huffed in annoyance. "Father, not every magic needs to be saved. Some magic is just evil, and it can never be made good. Just let it be forgotten, let our family move on."

The look of pity that Arcane gave his son was strong as ever. "Spoken like a coward. I will not let the sacrifices our family made go to waste. Not when they were so close to fixing what went wrong."

Spell returned his gaze to his books, mumbling something I could not understand.

Taking a deep breath, Arcane turned back to me, a slight smile on his face. "Speaking of family, how has my eldest son been doing? You do seem like you know him."

There was still tension in the room, but I was glad to be given a topic I could talk about. "I met him like… two, no three…. Over a month ago, I think. But we have been helping each other, and together we are going to help save the wasteland."

"Please explain, from the beginning." Arcane requested.

Taking a deep breath, I then started, "Well I had just left home and…"

Starting from the beginning, telling them my story, leaving out the embarrassing parts. Telling them how Tripwire kept me from wandering into a radiation hot spot, and how he got us around the raiders. I told them about the Corps Dancers, the Steal Rangers and the Enclave. How he paid for my leg to be fixed and his plans to bring order to the wasteland. I was still unsure about his friends, but they had their roles like I will.

The two of them just let me talk, waiting for me to finish before saying anything. Arcane being the one to speak up, judgment in his eyes as he looked at me. "You said you were in Pentagram's office, and had retrieved his medallion? Didn't you read my message on the terminal?"

I froze for a moment, remembering just scrolling through the messages. "I… Well, I can't… read."

Arcane's judgmental stare melted away as his two hooves came up and covered his face. "My trial, I thought I was so smart, and defeated by illiteracy." His quiet voice was stressed and pain filled.

Confused, I looked over at Spell, who was face hooding as he sighed. "Father left a spell in the text. A pony needed to be able to magickly counter it or get mesmerized. It would make sure any pony who could get past it would be able to understand how dangerous the artifacts inside are."

Arcane then lamented, "it would have made sure the reader would leave the proto stable in a daze, all before remembering where they were and what they learned. I thought it was perfect."

I somehow felt that I did something really bad. "What do you mean? Why did you make a spell like that, and how is some of that stuff dangerous?"

Arcane took a deep breath as he rubbed the side of his head. It reminded me of my Pa whenever he had to explain something several times to me or my little brothers. So I knew a simplified and to the point explanation was about to start.

Placing his hooves on the table and finishing his tea, Arcane began his explanation. "Alright Miss Lottery, since you've come this far. And it's clear my eldest son, at best, had deemed it not necessary to tell the whole truth. I will."

An overglow of magic enveloped Arcane's horn, and from it colored lights began dancing around, forming images. What I then saw was the image of a unicorn stallion standing in front of a group of much younger unicorns, he looked a lot like the stallion from the portrait. "Our family, before the great war, were dedicated scholars. Educating the young and molding the rules to how education should be done."

The image shifted to that of a building on a cliff, surrounded by a pink cloud. The same unicorn stallion standing in front of severe white sheets covering something. Other, angry ponies, stood around the unicorn, pointing their hooves at him. "The little horn massacre changed that. Well, that moment changed everything for everypony, all for the worse. The institution that was made to protect and educate the young had failed, and many innocents had died. There was no way to foresee such a tragedy, but ponies needed somepony to blame, they needed some pony to bear the responsibility."

Now I saw an image of a younger, similar unicorn stallion next to a bubbly pink mare and three excited young mares. "Blame had the unfortunate effect of being passed on from parent to child, so even the son was exiled from the intuition of education. There were many reasons, none were far. But the newly formed Ministry of Moral sought to at least right some wrongs done to my family, seeking Pentagram's help in magical research. He was also introduced to the founders of Stable-Tec. Where he would conduct social experiments to head off any problems that may come with shoving ponies in a cramped underground bunker."

Pentagram Naysayer stood in front of an orb, around him were several confused ponies. "This arrangement proved to be beneficial, and Pentagram managed to produce several new magics, among them the memory orb and memory extraction spell. Of which the ministries quickly put to use despite possible side effects. Unfortunately, like so many things, the field of psychology was still quite new, and the war made it so that there was no time to take it slowly."

In the next image Pentagram held a device as he stood in front of several ponies in anguish, each with the jewelry I saw in the bunker, each being held down by a pony in white. "My ancestor did try to fix the damage he caused in his experiments, but there was always more work, more demands from the war. So his solution was to combine his work with his need to help those hurt by him. But with each new arcano-tech he crafted to solve one problem, it would make another. Of which he would need new tech to fix."

A bright green flash then blinded me for a moment. When my eyes adjusted, I saw that Arcane had made a green mushroom-like cloud, just like the baifire eggs had made. Under the cloud was the jewelry that Tripwire had found in the bunker, along with an odd looking gun. "As you already know, there was not enough time, and the war came to its nightmarish conclusion. With no more new resources, and their time very much limited, Pentagram had to make a choice. With hope lost, he focused on perfecting what he had, as it was all there was left. So he finished the magic suppression rings, the mind clouding bracelets, and worse of all, the mezmetron."

I did not like the sound of that, but before I could ask, the image changed. Now it showed a depressed Pentagram standing over a large group of ponies, their eyes blank, and cutie marks all the same. Each worker having a simple zero on their flank. "All the ponies he wanted to save, the ones he had hurt, they were turned into mindless and obedient slaves. A necessary evil, as those ponies were too unstable to be let loose on the ruins of Equestria."

My eyes widened with shock! "You don't mean-"

Arcane sighed. "Yes, the Naysayer family became the first slavers." The image changed again, showing the settlement I had been in. Intermixed with normal ponies were the Zeros, doing menial labor. "We tried to stop the practice, but the wasteland made so many damaged ponies and there was always so much work to do. They had their justifications, and I'm ashamed to admit that I would do the same in their place. But because of what we were doing, slavery took hold in Equestria, as it was always far more pragmatic to enslave a criminal than to execute them. Worst, we were always in need of buying a new slave."

Waving his hoof, the image switched to a dark and dirty place filled with tall buildings. "At some point the family split, and those who left moved to Fillydelphia. Where our skills made us rich. Unfortunately, none knew how to make new arcano-tech, and what they had was limited. Over time that knowledge would fade, and we became nothing more than another slaver lord family."

That was a lie, it had to be. "But Tripwire said he fought Redeye!"

The image changed, it filled with fire and blood as ponies clashed. On one side stood Tripwire, the other side stood a red stallion in a blue cape, with one of his eyes having the same artificial red glow as Spell's. Looking over at Spell, he avoided looking at the image, a grimace on his face. "Yes Tripwire had fought Redeye, but it was no noble stand against a tyrant, no not at all that. Tripwire was simply trying to hold onto his own power, not willing to give up what our family spent generations to build."

The image switched to Tripwire's friends. "Same for the other three. Onyx Heart, her family made their caps on the slave road, finding and capturing new slaves to be sold. Angel, the unfortunate mutant twin. His family ran the auction house and the arena, where slaves were robbed of their identity, becoming nothing more than an object. Then there is Grinder, the worst of them all. His family trained war slaves, brutalized ponies until they were nothing more than mindless soldiers."

"Th-that can't be true!" I stammered out.

"But it is." Arcane said, casting a spell as the images faded. Appearing before him was the strange gun from the images. It was made from sleek chrome and had a glass screen. "And this is what Tripwire wants, the Mezmetron. With it, the knowledge of how to make more and how to amplify its effect. With it any pony can be made to yield, all without spilling blood."

Placing his hoof on the mezmetron, Acano sighed. "It's all my fault you see. My family had fallen so far from our roots, and I wanted to return to that noble past I was told about in my youth. I researched magic and our history, pieced together the past that had been buried so long ago. Found this cursed place, and the secret tunnel to the manor. Then I found the proto stable, and with it the truth. Ignorance was my flaw, and I took all I had learned and brought if home, showing it to my family."

His face became downcast, with a look of disgust in his eyes. "All my mother and my wife saw was a way to extend our power. Proof of our right to rule, my wife would say. Tripwire was still too young to see past his mother's short sightedness. I knew that while still under her influence, he would not be able to see it's full potential. It was just a tool to mind control others, to them."

The mezmetron then disappeared and Arcane's eye fell onto me. "So I took everything that gave my family any power and hid it away. Mainly, I hid it from my own son. Redeye's appearance at the same time was just a fortunate coincidence. It forced Tripwire's attention elsewhere as I covered my tracks…"

He then looked over to Spell Circuit with a look of sorrow. "Found my youngest son camped outside the cursed lands, the one child I had paid little attention to. Overshadowed by his brother in every way but what mattered. He was, in the end, the only one who had no obsession for power, but simply wanted to see a better future. And paid dearly for it."

Returning his attention to me, there was a brief pause before he asked. "Thank you for letting this old stallion ramble on about the past. So Miss Lottery, do you now understand? I do hope my eldest son has changed, become humble over the years? You don't have to answer now, or at all really, but I would like to know your opinion, your thoughts, when you're ready. Now do let Margaret know if you're still hungry or thirsty. If you're interested my son here can show you the garden. It is quite lovely. So now if you would excuse me, I need to rest"

"Wait!" I spoke up, getting the elderly stallion's attention. "What will you do if Tripwire gets here?"

Arcane smiled. "He is my son, I'll welcome him to my home, invite him for some tea." He told me before leaving.

It was so much to understand. So much magic, so much tragedy, and they said that Tripwire was a slaver. I just didn't know what to think about it, or even how to feel about it. I still didn't know if I could trust them.

Finishing my food and drink, I decided to take on Arcane's offer and see the garden.

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The manors garden proved to be considerably beautiful. It was a glass room with an artificial sun overhead, bathing me with warmth. The life filled color of this place was a stark contrast to the cold and gloomy outside.

Unfortunately, one gloomy looking stallion ruined the mood, reminding why I was here, and all that I had learned.

"That sun in here, it's actually one of the prototypes of the ones used in stables. Not powerful enough to grow an orchard, but good enough for a greenhouse." Spell Circuit explained as he trotted over to several dirt filled baskets. "We also have a stockpile of fertilizer, so everything here grows healthy. It was an idea adopted from a well known donkey family, though on a smaller scale. "

I frowned, finding his attempt to be friendly as annoying. He was, after all, one of Redeye's ponies. "Oh, a scollor on farming are you?"

He sighed. "No, I'm just… what is it called… right, making small talk."

"Well don't, you're ruining this place." I don't know why, but I felt a bit bad for saying that to him. I shouldn't feel bad, not for a pony who worked for Redeye.

"Alright, I'll give you some alone time." Spell said, sounding a bit hurt.

Again I felt bad, like I was being too harsh.

Taking a deep breath, I let out a sigh, myself. "No, wait, I'm sorry. I was being…" as I turned around, I saw that I was alone.

"Maybe this is for the better." I said to myself as I trotted to the glass wall.

Placing my hoof on the glass I could feel the cold outside, almost numbing the hoof. Out there it was all white, still, peaceful. But I also knew that monsters were out there, frightening monsters.

Playing with my own mane, the thin white streak was another casualty of my time in this wasteland. Even now, though still a bit numb, I could feel the titanium struts in my leg, and wondered what more the wasteland would take from me, or do to me.

A loud crack muffled its way through the glass, somehow passing through my hoof on the glass and into my ears. It was followed by more of what was clearly gunfire, persistent and powerful.

No doubt Tripwire will be here soon, and soon I will ask him myself. I knew in my heart that he was not the pony that Arcane and Spell had told me. He was a pony who sought to change Equestria for the better, to bring order to the wasteland. That he had changed.

I just needed to hear it myself, from his own lips.

Yet, my gut feeling was giving me nothing but dread.

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