Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Forty One

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The feeling of dry grogginess of having too much to drink greeted me, yet strangely my head didn't pound from a hangover. It still hurt, but was so mild I could just brush it off. Even my memory was clear, which was also strange.

Deciding to celebrate for the sake of celebrating, all of us had a bit more to drink then we should have, and stopped by the casino to gamble. At some point our group split up, some retiring and others off to have fun elsewhere.

Eventually Cold and I retired to the penthouse, where things got a lot more intimate. I still had the right mind about me, with nothing vaginal had happened, not that Cold lasted long before passing out. It was damn good fun, but I just knew we were going to regret this later.

So I gave Cold a kiss on the cheek and trotted out to get washed up. Upon entering the main room I saw silver passed out on the couch, Mint giving Plasma water as Aloe was feeling the belly of one of the twins, Dust and Smoke.

"Well technically a little bit of alcohol is fine, but I implore you three that you just stop." Mint said.

Dust… I think, rolled her eyes. "Our moms smoke and drank all the fucking time, and were normal. Stupid Zompony."

"Being a raider is not normal, and her name is Mint." I told off the pregnant raider. "Now what's going on?"

"Just maternity stuff." Aloe said, head still on Smoke's belly.

"Giving basic advice, mostly." Mint began to explain. "Nicotine, alcohol, and other chems are bad for a developing baby. They can be born addicted, or even suffer from mental disorders."

This was new to me. "Are you sure, my Ma and Pa never said nothing about that?"

Mint let out an annoyed huff. "Clearly it has been forgotten by a lot of ponies. Though with how new some of the research had been at the time, it's not surprising." She then groaned out "Damn the Foal Welfare Agency."

My ears then perked, but Plasma asked befor I did. "The Foal Welfare Agency? What did they do?"

Looking at the mare, Plasma looked a bit wrecked, and clearly suffering from a massive hangover. I wasn't sure what she and Silver ended up doing last, but there were bits of neon paint on both of their bodies and faces. I was sure they were fine, but it didn't stop me from worrying.

Aloe finally took her head off Smokes stomach and sat down, looking really annoyed. "Politics." She said,

Mint nodded and then explained. "They had connections with the ministry of Peace, Image, and Moral. Used that power like a club to beat others with."

"Sometimes they used actual clubs too." Aloe added.

Mint then continued. "Well any research about foals had to go through them, and be approved by them. Which wouldn't have been so bad if not that none of them were scientists, psychologists, or doctors. Actually there was one doctor on their board, but she had lost her license for undisclosed reasons. Well because of them it took forever for new medicine to be approved, and even longer to remove bad medicine. But when they did approve something, or remove a medication, it never made sense other than some company paid them too. They would also stress out our patients who were suffering from wartime stress disorder none stop if they had a foal. The maternity ward was a warzone of paperwork that Aloe and I couldn't deal with anymore and we had to leave."

"Delivering babies as ghouls was much easier, though that was rare." Aloe told us.

I cocked my eyebrow at them. "Wait… ghouls can have babies?"

"As it turns out, yes. Though it's considerably rare. Over our two hundred year isolation and only seven ghoul foals had been born, though three didn't survive long after birth. We still don't know why, likely the chaotic magic just happened to let it happen. Miraculously enough, they come out too, well mostly. They retain the traits of a ghoul, the ability to live off radiation and such, without having the body of a ghoul." Mint then offered.

"That's... interesting. But about the Foal Welfare Agency, I know a bit more…" I then explained to them what Rattle Bones told me. The two ghoul were shocked, but not surprised. Actually then seemed more concerned than anything.

An annoyed huff came from Dust and Smoke. "That sounds like those bitches. Their base was the most creepy as fuck place we ever had to suffer."

"Wait, you've been there!?" I blurted out.

They nodded and Dust explained, "Pops had a deal with them and we were collateral. Had to live with those fucked up bitches for a year."

Smoke then continued. "Their base is a prison, or was it a school… I think it was called the Happy Re-Education Center. All concrete like a bunker, bars over the windows, a lot of watchtowers, and working turrets everywhere. Oh, and a lot of foalnapped foals getting beaten."

"Had to stab a bitch in the eye who tried to molest us." Dust added.

Smoke nodded. "Pops made sure we could fight and survive, so none of the Bailfire Fiends risked getting at us after we killed two of them."

I could now understand why nopony had finished them off, the Bailfire Fiends lived in an actual fortress. It would likely take an army to root them out.

"But he clearly didn't teach you about the basics of health and safety." Mint chastised the twins, then her eye landed on me. "You to, your supposed to be saying away from any chem and abstaining from sex. I got to learn more about that Venus root your suffering from, and it is used in more then just a salve or chem, but also for banding sex slaves. As in a tattoo branding.

That caught me off guard as I remembered the tattoos the raiders gave me. "Y'all serious?"

Mint nodded as she trotted over to me. "After comparing notes between Coriander, Helga, and Pair Valley medicine mare, the pieces came together. As it turns out Venus Root is used in a fertility ritual among some zebra tribes, to ensure pregnancy and such. But if inked into the flesh, it becomes a curse that increases the lust of one marked by it. Effectively slowly turning the pony into an animal in heat. It can only be undone by the same ink."

I felt a feeling of dread wash over me as I slowly began to understand what she was saying. "Ohhh…. Noooo." I breathed out.

"I'm afraid so. It was only a guess, but if your tattoo was burning when… you know, then it might be just that. There are ways to dull its effects, but not rid you of it unless you get your hooves on some venues root," Mint told me solemnly.

"And until then, I'm going to be like a bitch in heat?" I asked worriedly.

"No, fortunately." Mint said calmly. "But the more you have sex the worse it will get, like a chem. You can become addicted to it, even suffer withdrawals."

A sobbing came from Plasma, drawing our attention. She too had the same curse, so all this must have been too much for her. Same for Silver.

Mint trotted over to Plasma and pulled her into a hug, comforting the poor mare. "There there, we'll be there for you, whenever you need us." The ghoul then turned her attention back to me. "We've got a group therapy session happening all week right now, please do show up, and bring Plasma and Silver with you. Until we can make a counter curse, it's the least we can do.

I didn't feel like I needed any more help, but I didn't just want to tell them no, not when they were trying. "Alright, but don't expect much from me."

Trotting off to get washed off, my mind raced with thoughts of what will become of me. That if this cures is not lifted, would it mean I'm doomed to be come some sex crazed whore. Just when I got myself free from that fate, it now followed me.

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The day had gone by quickly as we all found something to do. Plasma and I found ourselves in the back rooms helping with the maintenance staff. Though it was a bit awkward for me, we all managed to get along with only a little joking about what I used to do with some of them. So much of the day I focused on gun maintenance as Plasma fixed up any armor, including Cold Trail's power armor. It helped keep our mind focused, and not thinking about other things.

Later we would meet up with the Mint and the others for group therapy. Somehow the ghoul had picked up more ponies, and a griffon for the circle. It seemed that even a trained Talon can get caught off guard by a raider, tragically. Talking about our experience and hearing others made me feel enraged, but also a little less painful to remember. Unfortunately we had lost a few ponies in the group as well, some having had committed suicide, were the others had turn to chem and were selling themselves for caps. I had wanted to help them, but my hooves were already so full as it was.

I sat away from the group as they all were hugging, some crying. Not that I didn't feel it, but it seemed so embarrassing. Also, Aloe was so insistent about it, that I couldn't help but feel a bit weird about it. Seeing a very awkward and uncomfortable looking Plasma, I knew I made the right choice.

"So, how does that, you know… help." The young Talon hen asked, having chosen to join mint and I smoking cigarettes over the group hug.

"It's a pony thing." Mint said, smoke leaking from a small hole in her neck. "We don't know how it works for griffins, but we ponies require contact from other ponies. A hug actually releases relaxing chemicals in the brain, and increases the feeling of calm and security, as well as the sense of belonging."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?"

Mint nodded. "I had a long time to study all the medical text in our terminal. A long time."

The griffin let out a long puff and then put her cigarette out. "Well it was… a thing. But I better get going. Doubt I'll be back."

With that she trotted out the door and flew off.

"You know, the griffins in this age are a lot more… free I think." Mint pondered out loud. "Back then they always seemed so… I don't know, lost."

"Probably because they're at home out here." Molo said as she trotted in. "With all the violence and goare, their the bad asses of the wasteland."

Mint shook her head, "I don't think it's that. But anyways, what are you up to, Molo."

For some reason Molo then blushed. "Well, I want to talk with Lottery, about something… in private."

A nod came from Mint, and the ghoul trotted off to give us some space.

"So what's up… you aint pregnant are you?" I asked Molo.

She balked in surprise. "What, no… well I hope not. But no, that's not it. I need some advice about Spell Circuit. I managed to get him to agree to hang out with me."

"What!" I was shocked, utterly.

"Well it's just to get something to eat, and talk about the past." She said nervously.

"Does he know your Sparking Passion?" I asked.

She vigorously shook her head. "N… no. I haven't told him anything. We're just going to talk, and I don't know what to say."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Just talk to him like you talk to everypony."

She then grabbed me, a look of panic on her face. "No fucking way I can do that. You know what I am, things I've done. What if he becomes disgusted with me?"

It then clicked, and I now felt so stupid. "You're in love, aren't you?"

Molo looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact. "I don't know. He was my first after all… and well, he had barely changed since then, just gotten older. How he looks off at nothing when in deep thought, or how he fidgets when uncertain. He is also honest to a fault, and always willing to listen." She then buried her face into her hooves. "He saved me once too. Just some random raider crew had me surrounded, they wanted to drag me away. Spell jumped in to save me, got his ass kicked for it, but he drove them off."

A warm smile formed on her face. "He was actually pressured into seeing a pillow mare by some other stallions, and I stepped in to be his mare. Had to convince my mom to let me, that I was ready. We didn't even fuck that night, just talked. It was nice to just be able to have a normal conversation with a stallion, no seduction, or lying. But then they fount out who his mother was…"

Her hooves moved to her stomach, "I didn't like the idea of tricking him, being used to entrap him in a scandal just to make some caps. But deep down, I hoped that his family would take me in, that I be his."

I gave Molo a hug as she sat there, fidgeting with her hooves. "Alright, I understand. But your going to need to tell him. You understand."

"About what?" Plasma asked as she trotted up to us.

We both jumped, breaking the hug.

"Nothing! Just nothing!" Molo squeaked out.

I sighed, "just some personal matters, that's all. You want to join us, I think a trip to the dress shop is in order."

Plasma seemed a bit off. A little jittery and rubbing her leg more than normal. "Oh, sorry. I got… something else to do. Some extra work. "

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You sure? You've already done plenty of work. And well, you look like you need some rest."

An awkward chuckle came from Plasma. "Oh no, I'm fine. And the work is not hard, just… you know, work. I'll be fine."

She then pushed past us and trotted away.

Molo also looked concerned as the mare vanished from sighed. "You think she's on some chem?"

I shook my head. "No way, we've been together all day. I would have seen it."

"You sure. I know my chem addict, and that looks like a craving." Molo pointed out.

It did seem really off. But Plasma hadn't mentioned any chem use before. "I'll talk to her later. Maybe it's just nothing"

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After a quick shopping trip, I had Molo in a simple dress, cute yet sexy, elegant for the wasteland. It was also a bit expensive, annoyingly enough. If it weren't for the cute sandals I got for myself I would not have been able to continue.

Now I watched as Molo and Spell Circuit met for a meal. The two seemed adorably awkward as they struggled to find a topic to talk about.

"So… what cha dooooing?" Wiretap spoke up, nearly causing to scream in shock.

"Shhh… I'm watching this, and making sure no pony interups." I told her in a hushed voice.

"Uhh, it's Uncle Spell Circuit and Miss Molotov… they don't seem like they would work together." She said louder than I'd like.

Placing my hoof over her muzzle, I managed to silence the filly. "Trust me, there's more going on than it seems. And drama like this… it's a mare's passion!" I then dudked down as Spell Circuit's ear twirched.

I then ordered some food and juice for Wiretap and I as we kept an eye on the two. They were close enough that I could hear them, but too far to pick up any whispering. So far they were chatting… well Spell was rambling about magic… again.

Wiretap huffed in annoyance. "Does he ever shut up about magic?"

"About that, what is he teaching you?" I asked the filly.

She quickly finished off her juice in a noisy fashion. "Boring stuff. Something about the conservation of magic, and how it harmonizes with the world around us. Stupid stuff."

Rolling my eyes, I told Wiretap, "Well at least you can do magic."

She quietly blew a raspberry at me.

"What a rude filly." The voice of Low Pressure spoke up.

"Ya, that's a court martial right there," Cold Trails said jokingly.

I glared at the two and mouthed "will. you. Be. Quiet." And pointed over at Molo and Spell.

Low looked over and grinned. "Wait… are they on a-" I reached over and silenced the increasingly louder pegasus.

Cold Trails sat next to me, watching the two, and quietly stated. "Those two don't look like the kind to hook up."

Taking the other side of our booth, Low chuckled. "I don't know, it looks cute. Molo has been a lot sweeter lately. I mean she normally tells me to shut my faggot mouth whenever I explain to her about my greatness."

"Let's just say they have history." I told them, not wanting to say too much.

"If I remember correctly, they're both from Fillydelphia, right?" Cold asked.

I nodded. "Ya, so shut up and watch."

Soon the dinner came to an end, and both Molo and Spell trotted off. I knew were they were going, as Molo told me before hoof, so I was off to

Eventually Molo and Spell Circuit left, their destination known to me, the movie theater. When it was safe to follow, and I now had three ponies trailing me as well.

As we followed, I saw a rather gruff and familiar stallion trotting over to Molo. Cauterize clearly didn't know what was going on, and would ruin the date. So I bolted, running as fast as I could, and tackled the large stallion. Before he could yell curses at me, Cold, Low, and Wiretap had joined me in keeping the ex-raider quiet.

"Long story short, shut up and don't bother Molo. If you cause a scene, I'll tell Dust and Smoke that you visited the Red Light Showroom." I threatened Cauterize.

He held his hooves up in surrender, and I let him go. "Damn bitch, learn some chill. Not like I was planning to fight Molo on the casino floor. Anyways, why is she with the egghead?"

"Reasons." I only said.

Cauterize huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, not like I care what you bitches do. Just don't tell my bitches that I've been to the Showroom. Waist of time as it is."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Fist off, you were really went over there? Second, what happened?"

Pushing everypony off him, Cauterized stood up and cracked his neck before continuing. "Ya, but nothing happened. Big wait line to just fuck some bitches, so not my jam you know. Aint sharing a bitch like a faggot, not even of my bitches arnt putting out. But ya, the Showroom is bussy as fuck, lots of stallions needing their dick wet." He then huffed at me, and asked, "so, what the fuck are you doing?"

I remembered Sugar Honey trying to talk to me about something about that, I guess they were really that bussy. Just thinking about it made me glad I wasn't a sex worker anymore, even if they were likely making tones of caps right now. The idea of having in and out gang bangs… It gave me mixed feelings, likely because of the curse.

"Well I'm just keeping an eye on Molo, that's all. You can join us, but you must remain silent." I told him.

The stallion looked over, and saw what was being played. "Casablanca."

"Ya… no, my bitches dragged me to see that shit. And I'm not seeing it again. You have fun watching that crap." Cauterize said to us before trotting away.

Cold Trails looked at the poster all confused. "Is it that bad?"

I gasped, "by elysium no!" Trotting up to the poster on display, I raised my hoof up in parse. "It's a work of art, a true romance made early in the great war. It's a miracle that this movie even still exists."

Low then chuckled. "Lottery would watch it when she was feeling depressed, drag me to see it too. They have only three movies here, so it's played every day at this time."

"Mom loves the movie too, and made sure to copy it on holotapes a lot in case something bad happened." Wiretap said smugly. "Buy me a gun and I'll get you one."

"Tempting offer… but I'll just ask Grizzly about it later." I told the filly, who then pouted.

Cold Trails shrugged, then said, "Alright, let's go watch it. Never seen a movie before, other than the Enclave approved military information film's."

The theater itself was massive, made only bigger by how few ponies were in here. Molo and Spell were further down the rows, neither close, nor distant. Taking a seat further up in the back, the four of us watched as the movie began.

It a story of a club owner in the zebra lands, his old flame appearing one day, her husband on the run from the Zebra military. The style of the ponies were all different from what I saw in the magazine, less refined, less popping, and more… elegant and free.

I felt a tapping on my shoulder as I watched the credits roll, lost in the story. "Time to go, Lottery" Molo told me.

Surprised, I practically jumped out of my seat, only to realize I had been leaning on Cold Trails though most of the movie.

Molo chuckled. "I see you went and had fun as well."

Strengthening up, I took a deep breath before asking. "Soo… how did it go?"

She signed. "Could have been better, could have been worse. He is the same old head in the clouds stallion, but older and less filled with hope. We mainly talked about the old Fillydelphia, the not so better times."

"And did you tell him?" I asked.

Molo looked away from me and over at the screen. "I… I didn't have the heart too. And talking to him, I don't think he's ready to know." She then turned to look me in the eyes. "He still feels guilt, for Redeye, for his brother, for you, for everything. Telling him that he has two daughters, that I never told him back then, and they had been with Redeye for all these years. That Redeye probably knew as well, I think it might break him."

I could hear it in Molos voice, the slight crack, a barely audible quiver. She wanted to cry, to pour out her emotions, but instead she smiled and let out a laugh.

"Maybe once I recover my girls, ya, I'll tell him then." Molo said cheerfully, though her eyes weren't smiling.

Nodding, I got up. "Ya, I'm looking forward to your family reunion."

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With the day over, I finally retired to the penthouse, letting the others all go to sleep as I waited for Plasma to arrive. She was late and I began to get worried.

The click of the door stured me from my half asleep state. "Plasma?" I asked out loud.

She gave a surprise "eep!"

Getting off the couch and trotting over, the mare looked tired, but also a lot better then last we saw her. "You had me worried. What were you doing out there?"

Her gaze trailed down, avoiding eye contact. "Just… you know… earning caps. I am an adult, I can do that after all."

I took a step back, feeling some hostility from the mare. "Uhh… sorry, I was just worried."

"Well maybe I don't need you to worry about me." She said as she trotted passed me. "We barely know each other."

That somehow struck a nerve "Okay... what wrong, why are you angry with me?"

"I'm not ANGRY!" Her voice seemed to even surprise herself. "I… I just don't want to be questioned for doing something on my own. You understand that need… to want your life back… to… to…"

Tears began welling up in Plasma's eyes, and I trotted over to give her a hug. I did understand, terribly so. "It's alright, and I'll stop asking. If you need to do something for yourself, then do it."

Plasma's voice became quiet and meek, "even if it's something stupid, something…"

"It's fine, and you're fine. Just… tell me if you need help, okay." I gave her an even tighter hug. "You're not alone in this."

After a moment, Plasma stopped crying and gently pushed herself away from me.

"Th… thanks. I'll get some sleep." She still didn't look me in the eyes as she spoke, dragging her hooves to the room for us mares.

Once she had entered the room, closing the door, I looked down at my own hooves, seeing little glints of light. Looking closer I could see a rainbow light of glitter flanking off my hoof, along with… sniffing my hoof… the smell of cheap perfume that danced on the tip of my memory.

I was too tired to think more on this, and I did say I would not bother Plasma on this. It was best to leave her alone on this, until she comes to me.

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