Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Twenty Seven

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The familiar feeling of a hangover greeted me as I woke up, the small party I had agreed to had become a bit more active then I had planned. Just trying to remember half of it was a bit of a haze, but as I looked up at Horus, and felt his embrace, I couldn't help but smile.

He had been my safe place though all this nightmare as a prostitute, always offering me a way out. But I had been too stupid to take his talon, to focused the negative then to accept him. But even now, all the doubt and self hate, it was there, but it no longer controls me. Maybe I could still take him up on his offer and stay at his place, not like I needed to stay at the penthouse.

Giving Horus a kiss on the cheek, I hop out of bed, knowing that if I didn't, I'd want to get lost in his feathers. And maybe go another round with him.

I then nearly tripped as I had to dodge a sleeping Sugar Honey in between the talons. The two griffins were her regulars, so I wasn't surprised that they were here. Actually Sparkling suspected that one of them could be the father of Sugar's foal. It would be one of the better outcomes for the mare, as they were relatively gentle and patient for Talons. I mean the two didn't care when I accidentally kicked them when they had paid for my service once.

Low was in the other bed with some handsome stallion I didn't recognize. It still made me a little jealous seeing it, but I had Horus, so I felt like the winner today.

Unfortunately the room was a bit of a mess, and I was sure that the cleaning staff was going to hate me. So I took a mental note to leave them a good tip for the trouble of all this.

Trotting to the parlor, it was fortunately clean of any body fluid, but had a few more ponies laying about.

"Fun night." Sparkling said from the bar, with not a hair out of place in her mane. Though I knew she had been the one to start having sex in of what should have been a small and calm party. It all made me glad they sent Wiretap to her room early on before we all started drinking. “got to say, you and Horus make such a cute couple.”

"Thanks… but wait, didn't you join in, you're looking a bit too clean for a mare that took on almost all the stallions here?" I asked her.

She quietly laughed. "Of course I don't look like a mess, unlike all of you, I don't drink. It makes it hard to keep things under control. Also, I washed up after you were all finished. I do like to watch, it's a bit of a hobby." She then lifted a camera into view.

I face hoofed. "Let me guess, you and the Duke are friends?"

"He's my brother, actually. I'm half changeling you see." Her form shifted with an emerald like flame, her form looking very similar from before, with chitin instead of fur, and what seemed to be two very small antlers. Strangely, she was even more beautiful now, her chitin parts simmering in the light, and had a teardrop-like beauty mark below her eyes that looked like a polished sapphire. Her wings even sparkled much like Shrimps did.

Sparkling then sighed. "My father, Pharynx the fourth, was a bit too eager with spreading his seed, and was an avid chem abuser. So whenever he had a bastard foal, he'd curse them to look like a normal pony and then sell them off. Since my mother was already a slave, it was all the easier to get rid of me. From what my brother told me, I was worth a case of Dash."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I told her what else to say.

"It's fine." She said with a smile. "Fortunately my mother was Grizzly's aunt, having become a slave due to her gimbaling addiction. Since I was born not long before she was due, my uncle bought me up as soon as he knew of me. Also my brother has worked hard to fix what our father fucked up. Even wants me to join his hive. But my place is here, with Grizzly and the others. That includes you."

I lifted up my hoof and shook my head. "You know I'm not returning to the Red Light Showroom."

Sparkling gave a little laugh. "I know, but the door is always open. Even if your joining us was under trickery, I still consider you as one of my daughters."

It was nice to hear that, but also gave me incest vibes from my time with Pharynx. "Thanks, you were… well let's just say like an aunt my Ma would not want me to meet."

"Understandable." Sparkling said with a smile. She then passed me a cup of water, some pain killers, and a birth control pill. "I've already ordered food to be sent up here, so you can just sit tight and wait for Grizzly to get up. After everypony is feeling better, we will go somewhere more private to discuss further matters on the Tripwire problem."

I gladly took the water and pills. "So Molo's plan has been approved?"

She rolled her eyes, "sneaking in and winging it, is not a plan. But the others think it's a start. Now let's not say anymore, secret plans are best kept between as few ponies as possible."

Nodding, the pills already seemed to be working, as the water quenched my dry throat. "Say, Grizzly said you have been with her from the start, meaning you've met Tripwire. What was he like back then?"

"If you must know, he was like any other slaver from before Redeye. But smarter and with an even more inflated ego." She then poured herself a bottle of Sparkle-cola, looking annoyed as she remembered. "I was Grizzly's body double, since I still had enough changeling magic to look enough like her. Meaning that whenever she ran off with some other mare, I would stand in her place. This became more frequent when she became engaged to Tripwire, getting entangled with my brother, and forcing me to deal with his antagonizing probing."

Stopping to take a sip, Sparkling let out a satisfied sigh. "The fool was a perfectionist, and everything had to be just right. Everypony has their place, and must perform their duties with professional zeal. Of course he placed himself above all, a mindset encouraged by his mother and grandmother. But that all said, he did have his charm, and if you fulfill your role around him, he does become gentle. Romantic even."

"But that didn't last, did it?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No it did not. Firstly, not even the best of our slaves were perfect all the time. But when they did fail, Tripwire didn't act thuggish like most in his position, but would keep up the act and hold a grudge. Over time, the staff would fear him, as they never knew when he would strike or how. But when it happened, it would be brutal and cruel. Subtill traps were his favorite punishment, often with collateral damage. Things took a turn for the worst when Grizzly broke up with Pharynx, and spent more time at home."

Finishing the soda, Sparkling covered her muzzle as she tried to do the most polite burp I had ever heard. "It was a mix of Grizzly not having been around Tripwire as much as I have, and her trying to get back at my brother. Because of Tripwire's personality and Grizzly station being equal to him, his retribution to her break of her role was a slow process of degrading her. Fortunately I saw it coming and managed to keep a lid on it… until we had our grand ball."

"That's when Tripwire embarrassed Grizzly, right?" I chimed in.

Sparkling nodded. "He wanted to get his point across that he was in fact, the superior in the upcoming marriage. Pointing out her flaws as he puffed up his accomplishments. The rest you can say is history."

I then had to ask. "But if you were sleeping with him, how did Grizzly get pregnant?"

Now she sighed. "Simply put, alcohol was involved, lots of it. Add that she wasn't using any protection, and that she didn't remember fucking him afterwards. When the pregnancy started to show, we were all surprised to say the least. But out of that major clusterfuck we got Wiretap, and we were all blessed by her."

"Despite my daughter being the biggest pain in my ass." Grizzly spoke up as she trotted out of the other room, looking like a mess. "But I love her more than anything, so may Celestia crush whoever tries to harm my daughter under her glorious flaming flank."

Some water and pain killers were then floated over to Grizzly, who then quickly consumed it. "I wish you didn't hide your true form, it's absolutely beautiful, Sparkling."

Sparkling looked a bit embarrassed as she rubbed her small antlers. "All the same, I would rather not advertise how much of a mutant I am. Pharynx doesn't even know about my change, and I don't want him to know." She then, with a flash of emerald fire, changed back to her normal, beautiful pony self.

Grizzly looked rather disappointed, but with a deep breath, changed the subject. "So any word from the vultures?"

"They have agreed to go over the plan, and are ready whenever you are." Sparkling answered.

Grizzly pulled out her pack of cigarettes, but found them empty. "Alright, send them a message that I'll be an hour… no, make it two hours." She then trotted over to the main table, sitting down and then looking at me. "You sure you don't want to keep working here, Lottery. You've clearly adapted well to the Red Light life."

I shot her a dirty look as I joined Grizzly "I'm very sure. I'll make my caps in a more honest way from now on. Anyways, the clients never wash first, and your public use punishment is braminshit."

She laughed. "But the Red Light is honest work, and you can't say it's not fun. I mean we do let you have some chems when getting railroaded."

"You know, let's not talk about that, I regret bringing it up already." I said with a groan before asking, "So who are these ponies making the plans, the Vultures you called them."

Grizzly took a deep breath before explaining. "Their something like my sponsors, the real power of Ursa's Rest. I'm just the face, and the one who makes the caps to pay them off. But without them, there is no Ursa's Rest. Firstly theirs the Talon leader, General Hogan Highborn. He's a very old veteran, and was once Gwadina's superior, not a griffin to be underestimated. Than theirs Rainbows End, the merchant guild's minister, one of the most greedy and stingy mares I've ever met. She also keeps the merchants in line and business booming, despite the collapse of the slave trade."

She then paused, looking quite displeased, as though really not wanting to say the name.

Sparkling then spoke up. "The last pony is Rattlebones, a chieftain shaman of the Pear Valley tribes up north. They are superstitious and reclusive ponies, who could be called a major raider faction themselves."

"Wait, you're taking a plan from raiders!" I said in shock.

Grizzly let out a groan of frustration. "By ensuring they are on our side, it ensures that the trade routes to the north are mostly safe. They have no relations to the southern raider groups that were seeking to get rid of. And a few of them work as part of my personal guard, so I do like to keep on their good side."

A chuckle came from Sparkling. "Which is not a hard thing to do when Rattlebones is her uncle."

"That is not something she needs to know." Grizzly hissed.

She then took a deep breath and turned back to me. "I have relatives with not just the Pear Valley tribes, but also in the merchant guild's, the Dukedom of Cristallice Motors and the Fillydelphia slavers. It's why nopony has waged war over this place yet, they all have their hooves in the pot. And by extension, my family."

It was a bit much to me, and I was starting to feel light headed with all this information. But my salvation arrived in the form of food delivery. Several helpings of tato wedges and pancakes. My stomach growling loudly at the sight.

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Seeing the three ponies, I found myself feeling very small. Molo, Low and I had taken seats on the side of the room closest to Grizzly. She and her sponsors all sat at a table with the biggest map I've ever seen.

Hogan Highborn was an old, one-winged griffin in a black duster that had the white talon emblazoned on each of his sleeves. Hanging off on one side of his hip was a massive revolver, and on the other was some sort of chainsaw sword. Rippers I think they were called.

Rainbows End was a portly and colorful unicorn mare decorated in jewels and high quality cloths. I was rather unnerved by the fact her teeth were all made of polished gold. It reminded me a bit of Grinder and his metal teeth

Then Rattle Bones, a rather old and thin stallion, whose mane had many small braids that ended in bone beads that rattled whenever he moved his head. With him was a rather decorative staff made from both old world materials and animal bones, it topped with the skull of a Yao guai. It was undeniable how much Grizzly's guards looked like him in their style.

Grizzly then addressed the three sponsors. "Alright every… creature, you know why we're here, so let's cut to the chase. We need a way to kill a hoard of raiders without weakening this region's defenses. Then shore up those defenses in preparation of Tripwire's inevitable assault."

There was a quiet paus as they all looked at the map. Looking at it myself, it extended from what looked like Fillydelphia and all the way up to Friendship city, with Ursa's Rest in between them, connected by a long road. I saw several craters that had been mapped out, along with what I guessed was Dead Pony Pass. Off in an unmapped part was likely where my parents were.

"Grizzly dear." Rainbows End spoke up. "How sure are you that Tripwire Naysayer will be doing any of this. Not to besmirch the Duchy of Cristallice Motors, but they do have the flair for dramatics."

"Because Tripwire has the blueprint for the Mezmetron. And if he manages to use it to make his own brainwashed army, he is not going to just stay in his pocket of the wasteland." Grizzly explained.

Rainbow let out a long sigh. "That unfortunately makes sense. I do have a broken mezmetron in my collection. The pony who owned it before was quite the bastard. He used it often to rob and rape ponies, if they were lucky that is, as sometimes the victims head would just explode. He later fell victim to it himself, a victim of his used it on him unto his head exploded. It's actually said to be a cursed object because of all that."

I physically trembled, remembering how it had been used on me. I had to take several deep breaths just to calm myself down.

"Are you going to keep prattling along, Rainbows End, or are you going to help come up with a solution." Grizzly grumbled.

"Alright, Alright. I was just trying to be friendly." She then placed a poker chip onto the map, right on top of Dead Pony Pass. "First off, to have so many raiders in one spot, you need to feed them all. And you can't move so much food around without anypony noticing, no matter how hard you try to hide it. Along with the chems, weapons and armor. It makes a lot of noise"

She then moved the chip over to a mountain range with what looked like a ruin of a town drawn in between. "If the Duchy are right, then this supply of food is being smuggled to Dead Pony Pass, then sent up to the ruins of Green Hills Hight's. But no water, meaning they have their own source. If you can sneak in a group as the food smugglers, and poison their well, then it's the end for those raiders."

That sounded like a solid plan to me.

"Not going to work." The old griffin spoke up. "It's more than raiders from what the document says. The slavers have always been on guard for such attacks. Slaves trying to poison their masters is not a rare event. Add the Enclave, and I imagine them pulling fresh water from the clouds themselves. But I do agree, infiltration is still the best idea."

A chuckle came from Rattlebones. "If not water then why not wine?"

Rainbows End huffed out, "The logistics of moving that much wine is difficult, and likely to get hoarded. Only a hoof full of raiders would die from it before the others get to drink it. Hmmm… what if we use a bomb? No, even harder to smuggle."

Hogan smiled. "What about gas? Green Hills Hight's is lowlands, and surrounded by mountains. Enough gas there can wipe them all out."

"Again, logistics my dear." Rainbows End again pointed out. "But it would solve the poisoning issue if we had a way to flood that valley with something."

Now Hogan scowled. "It's raiders, not an army of professionals. It should be easy enough to just send in talons to do the job. They ain't the smartest ponies around."

Grizzly then cut in. "Like I said in the letter, I would rather conserve our strength over weaken ourselves on raiders. If poisoned water or air is no good, then what is? And no major explosives, Onyx Heart likely has documents we will need to fight Tripwire."

The griffin scratched his beak and then pointed to a spot just north of Sunshine Valley. "If I remember correctly, there's a good reason why nopony has ever tried to resettle Green Hills Hight's. Despite its advantageous position, it's right next to the Ministry of Peace shelter, just north of the town. Which has hundreds of feral ghouls just sitting inside, possibly over a thousand since no creature has ever tried clearing them out. If we can get the feral ghouls to attack the raiders, that would solve our problem."

Rainbows End nodded. "Yes, that might work. If we can cause a feral ghoul stampede right into the raider camp, it should at least thin out the numbers. Better if it happens at night, catch the raiders while they're sleeping.”

“One problem.” Hogan then said, placing an empty glass where the M.o.P. Shelter was. “It’s also a radiation hot spot. Meaning whoever goes there is going to need not only protection, but a way to get all the ghoul's attention.”

“And a way not to get killed by either.” Grisly added.

Clearing his throat, eyes turned to Rattlebones. “When we must induct a new apprentice as a shaman, they must perform the wayward trot. I’ll save you the wisdom of such an act, as it’s wasted on those who can’t bring themselves to see beyond this realm. But we have a sacred place. An old tunnel through a mountain our ancestors once used to survive the end of the great war. Once salvation, now filled with radiation and maddened ghouls that glow. This place a pony must pass through to become an apprentice shaman.”

“And they survive a deathtrap like that, how the fuck is that possible?” Hogan asked.

“Drink of the sacred wine, and breathe in the sacred smoke.” Rattlebones answered as he pulled out a box. Opening it, there was a glass bottle and what looked like a dash inhaler. Both had a glow to them. “One relaxes the body and mine to the point you are like the dead. The other expends your consciousness so that you may leave your body behind, yet it must follow you. While like this, the ghoulified ancestors will see you as one of their own, so long as you do not disturb them.”

“So radioactive booze and radioactive dash, sounds like a one way ticket to the Elysian Fields.” Rainbows End commented dismissively.

Rattle Bones closed the box. “Say what you will, but if you wish to trot through glowing lands, and weave through the ancestors, there is little other option than this. Though be warned, having other chems in your system may add other effects, possibly diminishing the protection it offers.”

“And what guarantee do you have that the pony using it will not just get high and wander off?” Hogan skeptically asked.

“For it has been foreseen.” Rattlebones muzzle then contorted with a wide and quite disturbing smile. “The one who partaken the drink made by the mistress of suicides and honorable deaths will then trot among the lost ancestors. Bringing salvation to those who protect life, and damnation to the children of Strife. She will be known by the mark of horror on her mane, and wields the curse of frost as her weapon."

Everypony looked quite skeptical.

His eyes then fell on me, as he moved his hoof to point to his head… to his mane. I then did the same, my hoof touching the streak in my mane left behind by the mound maker.

“Creepy.” Molo said as she lightly elbowed me.

“Ya, very.” I said back to her, remembering that Rime Frost did cause cold damage.

Fortunately Grizzly broke up the awkward atmosphere with a clap of her hooves. “Alright, so we have a way in, a way to attack the raiders, and a way to get to the ghouls and not get eaten by them. Hopefully. But how do we herd a stampede of ghouls into the raiders?”

“Can’t a Pegasus do it?” Rainbows End asked.

The griffin shook his head. “We're talking about great war era ghouls, so there's likely a lot of Pegasus mixed in. Anyways, normally one pony can’t attract the ghouls we need to properly harm the raiders.” A grin then formed on Hogan's beak as he looked at Rattlebones. “But I do know some crazy fucks that can do that.”

Rainbows End then frowned. “You don’t mean to use that bait, do you?”

“It’s the best way to do it, all we need is a way to deliver the shit.” Hogan said.

A chuckle from Rattlebones filled me with dread. “Ghoul bile wine is what you suggest, some for the raiders, some for the ghouls.”

Now Rainbows End looked ready to puke from hearing that. “Please don’t tell me you’ve brought that shit here.”

Grizzly then face hoofed. “Uncle, if you brought something that dangerous here, I will personally put a bullet in your head.”

“Oh no, that I have not.” Rattlebones said with a smile. “But we do keep it well secured. All I need is your best flyers to retrieve a case, and it can be here by the end of the day.”

Looking at her three sponsors, Grizzly then sighed. “Alright then, that's the plan. But for the possibility it fails, I’ll be having another meeting later today to go over alternatives. Until then, we need to prepare. Now on that note, I do have our volunteers for this mission. Will you three please come up and present yourselves.”

Low, Molo, and I got up and trotted to the table.

Low was predictably first. “Names Low Pressure, as you can see I’m quite fabulous… but... why am I here?”

“This idiot is a sweet talker and lockpicker.” Grizzly told the others. “He also ran with the Brain Nails for a while, so he is well enough acquainted with raiders.”

Molo was next. “I’m Sparking Passion, though I go by Molotov now, Molo for short. I ran with the Shatter Hoof raiders for years, and personally know some of the raiders that will be there.”

“She’s more or less our raider advisor in this. We're going to need her if anypony has a hope of blending in with any of the southern raiders.” Grizzly added.

Lastly, it was me. “Th… thank you for… I mean.. Lotter, my name's Lottery.” shit I got nervous all the sudden and flubbed it.

Grizzly sighed. “She’s going to be our wasteland scout, and has personal experience with the master mind to this cluster fuck. Unlike the others, we can trust her to not sell us out and ruin the plan.”

The griffin didn’t look all that impressed, same for the unicorn, but the old earth pony, Rattlebones, still looked at me with strange excitement.

“So… is this the pony that fixed my subordinate’s mistake?” Hogan asked in an indignant tone as he pointed at me.

Molo laughed. “Snuck right into a Smelter’s base, and ran out with the prize.”

Hogan then huffed as he got up, looking a bit annoyed. “Alright, I’ll get a team together to intercept the smugglers.”

“Yes, I should help as well, it is my connection you will be using to find them.” Rainbows End said as she then followed the griffin.

Now alone with Grizzly and her uncle, I had a few questions of my own. “So ya, what is that stuff I’ll be using. The one everypony seemed disturbed by?”

Again Grizzly sighed. “Ghoul Bile Wine is as it sounds. It’s a wine made with the bile of a ghoul. As it turns out, feral ghouls go crazy for the stuff, and don’t ask me why. As for why ponies would make it, much less drink it. It’s a rather strong chem that, though Celestia awful to drink, causes quite a strong alcohol effect compared to those of the same proof. Along with hallucinations. It also has the side effect of turning the pony who drinks it into a feral ghoul magnet. That's why only mad ponies drink the stuff, any pony caught with it is shot on sight.”

“Or those with a plan.” Rattlebones said with a chuckle. “We use the wine to draw feral ghouls to the ancestral tunnel, where we keep them locked up and safe. We also have a few hidden places where other ferals are kept, and if anypony that dares threatens the Pear Valley Tribes, we send our mad ancestors out to deal with them.”

“Right, don’t ever drink that shit.” Molo said, sounding a bit sick.

“And the other stuff?” I then asked.

Again Rattlebones chuckled again. “The sacred wine is made from the fruit of the glowing pear trees, found from within our ancestor’s orchard. The sacred smoke is in fact dash, but not as strong and made with the glowing waters that feed the glowing pear trees. Alone, both are just weak chems that do nothing but make one sick. But together, it lets you see the world through eyes not clouded by the lies of this world. Where the past, present, and future combine. Through it, our new apprentices learn the truth to why we live the way we do, and why we must protect our kin at all cost. It also reveals a dark inescapable truth that looms over us all. Those who can't accept the responsibility will drink the ghoul bile wine and let themselves be devoured. Those who can, simply leave the bottle open within the tunnel and exit the other side.”

“Heavy stuff. To become a raider I just had to suffer a beat in, take a lot of chems, and suck a lot of dick.” Molo commented.

“And that's why raiders are lost to this world. They only accept the pain and excesses of the wasteland, but not the responsibility of living.” Rattle Bones retorted.

“I have one more question.” I said, getting the attention of the old stallion. “You mentioned this mistress of suicide and honorable deaths. Who is she?”

Rattlebones smile faded, and a more serious look formed on his face. “That I do not know, only that she appears to those who have chosen their deaths. She offers them one last drink before they leave to face their death, and comes to collect them afterwards. But there is the rare story that she, or others like her will appear to those facing an undying evil, giving the pony a blessing so that they can kill the unkillable. My predecessor told me that they are the avatars of death itself, and death cannot tolerate the undying, for it is abhorrent to the cycle of life, in which death is a part of.”

It truthfully sent a cold chill down my spine.

“Don’t let his tribal ramblings get to you Lottery, it’s all superstition and misunderstandings.” Grizzly said dismissively.

She then got bonked on the head with Rattle Bones’s staff as he said. “Don’t be disrespecting the traditions, you are still of Pear Valley blood.”

The old stallion then turned back to me and smiled. “I’m sure you have some places you'd rather be, as I for one have a date with a roulette wheel. But before we part, I do have a bit of wisdom for you I’d like to share."

He then took a deep breath and said to me, "The wasteland as you know it is more than a place or a concept, but a living thing. It was born when Celestia stepped down from her throne and was empowered by the madness of war and hate. It’s suffering and strife given form, of which we ponies are too small to overthrow on their own. It forges weapons made of flesh to continue its existence, ever hungry for the souls of the innocent. But in forging those weapons it also creates the tools for its own demise. For through the suffering and strife do ponies forge themselves into something that the wasteland fears above all things. An unbreakable will. So young Lottery, if you wish to rise above, you must first be burnt by suffering and strife itself, and emerge as though made of steel.”

“I think I’ve already been through enough suffering and strife for a lifetime.” I told him.

He then gave me a sad look, as though he could see the pain in me. “That I can agree. But we all must steel ourselves and prepare for even worse times, or risk eating each other to survive the winter. It is both a figurative and very literal warning.”

With that a smile returned to his face and the old tribal hopped out of his seat. “Now papa needs a new pair of boots, and I know my lucky number. For I have foreseen it!”

We then watched him trot out like he was a happy colt.

“I bet those tribal's have some wild parties.” Molo commented.

“That they do.” Grizzly grumbled. “That they do.”

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