Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Fifty Five

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After some time of rest, and idol chatter, it was time I got moving again. Plasma and Sugar Honey stayed behind to look after Cable, where the rest of us decided to go see Grizzly Deal. Wiretap went with us mainly to get away from her new little sister, and Sparkling had some business of her own to do.

"Say, you sure you shouldn't check on the Showroom?" Molo asked Sparkling as we stood in the elevator.

Sparkling looked less than pleased by the question. "Truthfully, I'm quite worried. Pecan is right and the girls know how to take care of themselves, but with how busy it has been, greed might blind them. Not to mention the new girls they've brought in. I've only managed to meet half of them, and the quality of those girls are rather poor as was pointed out."

"Sounds like a lot of work for you once this war is over." Molo said with a laugh.

"So very true. I just hope I won't have to kill anypony once I return." She coldly stated.

Before I could ask if she was joking or not, the elevator pinged, and the doors opened. Wiretap rushed out and galloped to her mother. The rest of us trotted slowly after her, as I whent as fast as I could.

Though still a bit of a mess, Grizzly's office was far more orderly now, with less ponies rushing about. The guards were as intimidating as usual, except for the one asleep on Grizzly's bed, looking like she had an intense wrestling match with Grizzly. A big change was the IF-64 rifle on her desk, being used as a paperweight.

Grizzly herself looked clean and proper, though her mane was a bit messy, and she had a lipstick smudge on her cheek. But the dark rings under her eyes showed that she hadn't been getting any sleep at all.

"When was it the last time you got a proper night's sleep?" I asked.

"I get plenty of sleep" she said, waving her hoof at me dismissively.

"She hasn't." Sparkling said, trotting next to Grizzly, and saying to her. "See, even she can see it. Micro napping is not enough, you and I aren't young mares anymore."

"Let's not talk about this now." Grizzly huffed.

"Fine, but you are going to pass out sometime soon because of this." Sparkling warned her.

Grizzly then turned her attention to me, looking a bit annoyed. "I should slap you, ya know. Telling Cable that she has a sister here. If some of the assholes here find out that Wiretap is the daughter of the asshole causing this mess… lets just say I will not show mercy to anypony that tries to hurt her. Or you for telling them about it."

"Also, Cable is really annoying!" Wiretap added.

"I'm sorry about that, I was just caught off guard and it slipped out." I apologized.

Letting out a long sigh, Grizzly calmed down before continuing. "Well Cable is at least a problem that I can contain. The other filly on the other hoof."

"You meen-" I began to ask, but Grizzly cut me off by clearing her throat.

"Before you say anymore then necessary." She then ruffled Wiretap's mane. "Dear, can you step out for a moment, this is a sensitive topic."

"But mom!" Wiretap pleaded, but Grizzly didn't argue, just waited. "Fine!" The filly huffed, and trotted out.

A guard slowly closed the door as another guard ushered Wiretap away from it.

As soon as I heard the click of the door, I then asked "Matrix, right?"

Grizzly nodded slowly. "Yes, Glittering Matrix, the only foal of Redeye, or at least that I know of. I was shocked to hear about her, moreover that she was even alive to begin with."

I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well I've met Matrix once before, when she was just a baby with her mother. At the time Redeye was trying to improve his image, and the best way to do that was to show yourself as a caring husband and father. All for show of course, but on some level he did seem to care for them. At the very least Glitter Spark, the mother, knew how to play her role well." Grizzly explained.

Molo gasped. "Well fuck me sideways, she got hitched to Redeye! How didn't I know about that?" I looked at Molo in surprise, but neither Grizzly nor Sparkling did. So Molo explained to me. "Glitter Spark and I were good friends, practically sisters. Where I had the talent of a Pillow mare, she was more interested in reading books and the like. She didn't even want to be a pillow mare actually, and mainly helped manage the caps and such. When she went up and vanished, I thought she just got sick of all the backstabbing and got hitched to a mercenary. Who knew she would make it to the top… wait, please tell me she's alive, out of all my sisters, I missed her the most!"

"Sadly she is not." Sparkling said as she looked away, as though guilty of something.

"She was assassinated." Grizzly told us. "Her sudden rise to power rubbed a lot of ponies the wrong way and… they hired ponies to get rid of her. I had heard that Glittering Matrix had been killed at the same time, but we were in no position to confirm the claims as the Bailfire Friends had begun their assault on Ursa's Rest soon after. I had only met them once before the mess, and… well let's say I don't blame Redeye for keeping her hidden."

"So… what's going to happen to her?" I asked, feeling a bit worried about the filly.

"Well it's obvious that any knowledge about her must be kept secret. There's a lot of ponies out there who would use Matrix as a proxy for their revenge on Redeye. As illogical as it sounds, ponies are not logical creatures." Grizzly stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Myself sadly included. That said, ponies love to gossip, and I'm sure a few of the ones you rescued had already suspected the connection between the two. And let's not forget that Tripwire knows about her, it's likely he will use her to sow chaos within Ursa's Rest. So we need to get rid of her as soon as possible."

I didn't know why, but her saying that last part made me feel… upset.

"That's a load of brahmin…" Molo spoke up angrily, but calmed herself down before continuing. "I mean, that's way too harsh on an innocent little filly. Getting rid of her, like she's some garbage you can just throw out!"

Grizzly pressed on the temples of her head, clearly annoyed. "Will you shut up, I wasn't talking about abandoning the poor filly. You moron. I simply meant that it's too dangerous for her to stay here. She needs to be sent someplace safe, out of the way, and with ponies who nearther knows her father nor will even care. Unfortunately such places are few and far between because of the damage Redeye has done, well except for one place."

"But will Stable 2 even take in an outsider?" Sparkling asked.

"Wait, Stable 2, as in the Stable Dweller's Stable?" I blurted out.

Grizzly nodded. "Ya, that's why I've already sent a message to the Followers of the Apocalypse. I originally wrote the letter to request for them to take the retarded alicorns off our hooves since their boss loves them so damn much. But then I remembered that Velvet Remedy was from Stable 2, and if the filly was Redeye's, she would be bleeding heart enough to help. I also thought about her taking Cable off my hooves too, but it's best if I don't push my luck too much."

"And the other foals?" I pressed.

Grizzly shrugged. "The Followers might take them as well, I heard they already are looking after all the other brats recovered from Redeye's school."

"Even so, we're already prepared to keep them if the Followers can't," Sparkling said.

"Best to be prepared, even if it's only to help fix our reputation. Knowing bleeding hearts like Velvet Remedy, they tend to react badly to the abandonment or mistreatment of foals. Not to mention the fact that only a few months ago, Ursa's Rest was the main slaver trade hub for the last hundred years. So it pays to do a bit of charity. Since I would rather not be on the bad side of the hero of the day of Sunshine and Rainbows." Grizzly explained.

Molo chuckled. "They're calling it the day of Sunshine and Rainbows! Personally I thought they were going to call it the day of raining food. I mean all those crops that fell out if the sky tasted bland and all, but in my area no pony was hungry that night, or the next."

"I liked that name, The Day of the Lightbringer." I commented.

Again Grizzly sighed. "I don't care what the day is called. The important thing is that we get Matrix out of here soon than later. Make her somepony else's problem, without that problem coming back to bite us." She then looked Molo in the eyes. "Speaking of which, what do you plan to do now that your fillies have been recovered. Annoying as it is, I'll not hold it against you if you back out now. Unlike me, you don't have any direct connection to this land. If I could, I'd have taken Wiretap and gotten out of here."

Molo's confidence faded again, fear welling up in her eyes. "I.. don't know. I'll need to talk to them first. It's been years after all, and I've changed a lot. Can you let me think about it first, I mean, Tripwire is still a danger to everypony after all."

"Fair enough. And it's not like we will need you any time soon. As a victory as it was with your mission, we're still licking our wounds because of it. It's going to take a lot of planning and preparation before we make another push on the Breaking Grounds." Grizzly explained, then looked at me. "Same goes for you, Lottery. I'm not going to force you to continue, and definitely not when you're still recovering. Truthfully, I'm just glad we still had the medical chems to even restore you."

I lifted my stiff leg and smiled. "Not that I couldn't run off even if I wanted to. A Wasteland tortoise would be faster than me right now."

"True… I guess I've been around Talons for too long." Grizzly sighed. "Anyways, since you do seem to be feeling better, I might as well tell you. Doctor Helga told me that until your fully recovered, you can't take the abortion poison. It will be too dangerous and will likely kill you right now."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "Alright, I still haven't talked with Mint about it. I guess I should do that while I recover."

"Good, now if there's nothing more you want to bring up, I suggest you let me get back to work." Grizzly says as she grabbed a sheet of paper.

But Sparkling then snached it from her hooves. "No, you need to take a rest, at least until it's time for the war council. I'll take care of the paperwork and I'll wake you up when it's time."

Grizzly glared at Sparkling, but the half Changeling didn't budge. "Fine, I'll get some sleep." Grizzly said in defeat.

Sparkling then trotted over to the door, opening it. "Alright, you should get going, maybe go see Spell Circuit. He is currently with the foals. Oh and take Wiretap with you, and maybe Cable."

"Why!" Wiretap protected as she trotted to the door.

"Because unlike the feral foals you hung out with before, your mother and I are less bothered if you make friends with these better educated and behaved foals. Now go." Sparkling said with authority.

Wiretap deflated a little, giving up and trotting over to us.

I looked over at Molo, who still seemed nervous. "It will be alright, Molo, you don't need to talk with them just yet."

My friend shook her head. "No, I've waited too long already. I need to get this over with."

So taking Sparkling's advice, we made our way back to the penthouse floor.

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"Say whaaa…" Wiretap said in mild shock. "I have cousins too!"

I nodded. "Ya, it's a bit complicated, and it was a shock to Spell Circuit too. So please keep quiet about it until Molo has her chance to talk to them. Anyways, it must be awkward to suddenly have so much family being found."

"Not really." Wiretap said like it was nothing. "Got like over fifty cousins and over a hundred second and third cousins in the Pear Valley tribes alone. Some of them are even here right now at the tribe's camp. Oh, and Prickly's new baby is so cute! You should go over and see them."

"Oh…" was all I could say, a little shocked at how big her family was.

Molo then trotted out of the back room, holding Cable in the air with her magic. "Got the brat!" She announced.

"Put me down, put me down!" Cable shouted in protest.

Plasma sat next to me, looking a bit concerned. "Are you sure this is a good idea, she was separated from the rest for a reason, right?"

"Probably not, but if Ben Day is there, he might be able to help us control that filly." I openly guessed.

Plasma shrugged. "Well, at least it might teach me a few things about dealing with foals."

"Say Plasma, how are you, ya know… feeling?" I asked.

She sighed. "Fortunately it's still a good month or two until I should start feeling sick, so I'll be fine until then. What about you, still planning on getting rid of… you know?"

"Ya… well… maybe… I just don't know right now. I need to talk with Mint about it. Anyways, I can't do anything about it until I recover, so I have time to think about it." I explained, then asked, "what do you think I should do?"

Plasma though for a moment before answering. "It's really up to you. I'm not sure this is the right thing for me. After what they did to me… I don't know… maybe I just want to get one good thing out of this nightmare. Or maybe I've just deluded myself into accepting it. But Mint and the others have helped me feel at ease about it all. What happened… happened, you know. We just have to make the best of a bad situation." She then smiled a little. "Anyways, I've always wanted to be a mother, but I was always kept at the bottom of the breeding list. So there's no way I'd come to hate my foal when I've always wanted them."

I leaned on Plasma a little. "You're really strong, you know that. Stronger than maybe even me."

"Steel Ranger don't raise weaklings after all." Plasma said with a sad but bigger smile. "I actually already have a name my foal. This little one is going to be named Torque Screwdriver."

Cocking an eyebrow, I asked, "why that?"

Plasma shrugged. "A family thing. Mom's name was Claw Hammer, And my fathers name was Plasma Charge. My name was a compromise, so I'm doing the same."

"But… you don't know who the father is." I told her, feeling a bit confused.

"Maybe." Plasma said as she looked at the window of the penthouse. And after a long moment she then told me, "lets just say that I got free range to name the foal whatever I want, and I want to name them Torque Screwdriver, Okay?"

"Alright, sorry for bringing that up." I told her, feeling a bit awkward as I backed up. "You know what, before I shove my hoof down my throat any harder, I should go. Take care."

"Lottery?" Plasma then spoke up.

"Ya?" I said.

"What if… I did know who the father was, what would you do?" She asked.

Angered boiled in me, and before I could think about it, I told her. "Well firstly a bullet to the brain would be too good for him. But castration would be a start!"

She nodded. "I see…"

"Um, Plasma, do you know who the father is?" I asked, feeling concerned.

"Maybe. But I won't know until my little Torque is born." She told me.

Taking a deep breath, I let her know. "Well Plasma, if you see any of those raider, let me know. You deserve revenge just as much as I did."

Plasma smiled at that, but it didn't look like a happy smile. "Thanks Lottery." Getting off the couch, she then trotted over to me, and lightly jabbed me in the chest. "Let's get going, I want to see the foals too."

"Alright." I said and we turned to leave our room, Leaving a sleeping Sugar Honey on the couch as we trotted out and over to the next room. The two guard ponies moved out of our way as we arrived. Inside was both far worse than we hoped it would be, but better then what we feared. The foals were all over the place, and the room was a mess, but a fair many of them were peaceful in a group as Spell Circuit read a book to them. There were a few others, looking rather clean, if a bit wet, one leaving the bathroom as Pecan towel dried them off.

Seeing us, Ben Day trotted over, relief on his face. "Lottery, thank Celestia you're better." His eyes then drifted to Cable, and he frowned. "Hello Cable."

The younger filly avoided eye contact, ignoring Ben Day.

I stepped in between them, bringing his attention back to me. "Ya, got a griffin cure, which oddly involved them just chopping off my legs and regrowing new ones. Now I need to move about a bunch to make sure they heal right. Also got four new magical scars."

Ben Day didn't look happy to hear that. "As long as you're feeling better… I guess. So are you just dropping off Cable?"

I shook my head. "We're actually here to see, Crown and Flash. Well… Molo is."

He looked nervous at mentioning them, and even swallowed nervously. Though he was a big beautiful mare, Ben Day did remind me of my little brothers, even when nervous. "About that, I asked them what the deal is… and well."

"What! Tell me!" Molo blurted out.

"Shhhhhhh!" Ben Day went, before explaining. "Sorry, but keep it down. Anyways, I asked them, and well, you see…" he took a deep breath before continuing. "Catalyst told them all about you, including all the bad stuff."

Pure shock and horror formed on Molo's face as she dropped Cable, the small filly getting caught by Ben Day before she hit the ground.

"M… maybe I should come back later." Molo mumbled.

"I disagree, you've waited so long for this moment. I mean they're still your daughters, I'm sure they will understand." I told my good friend.

"Ya, you're awesome!" Wiretap added.

Molo took a deep breath, puffing up her chest. "You're right, I need to do this, I have to."

Ben Day then spread out a wing in front of us. "Um… well, before you go, maybe I should come along. Just in case. But can one of you stay here to help keep an eye on things?"

Plasma raised a hoof. "I'll stay here, you all go."

"Thanks, Plasma." Molo said, then slowly trotted to the back room, with Ben Day quickly getting ahead of her, and presenting the right door.

It didn't take long to find out why they were back here and not with the others. Crown and Flash were brushing Matrix's mane as Redeye's filly read a rather thick book.

Looking back and seeing us, Flashed then hid behind her older sister. Crown didn't look pleased, her ears flattening in annoyance.

"What do you want!" Crown snarled as she made sure that Flashed and Matrix stayed behind her.

"I… I just want to…. Talk." Molo said softly, her voice quivering.

"Well I don't, go away!" Crown lashed back

Molo retreated a step and looked at me. When I gave her a head nod, she then swallowed before stepping forward. "I just wanted to see you… do you know who I am?"

Crowned glared at Molo, then said, "I know all about you. "

A nervous smile formed on Molo's face, tears forming in her eyes as she got closer. "I've missed you two for so long, hardly a night went by that I yearned to have you two with me again. We…. We can be a family again. A real one."

"Impossible!" Crown snarled, causing Molo to freeze.

Crown then got up, trotting up to Molo. Though smaller, she looked just like her mother

"I know who you are, what you have done, Auntie told me everything." Crown said with hate in her voice. "That if Redeye hadn't taken us away, Flashed and I would be raised to be whores like you. It's true isn't it! Or if we had stayed with you when you were thrown out, would we have become dirty raiders like you. Just look at you, are you even a pony anymore? After the things you've done, the ponies you hurt, and you want to be our mother! You're nothing but a raider whore!"

"I didn't choose any of this!" Molo yelled.

"Everypony has a choice, and you chose to be a monster!" Crown snarled out at her mother.

"I chose to survive!" Molo further yelled her her hoof raised in the air.

We all froze in shock, but nothing happened. Molo was frozen, a green aura surrounded her, originating from Ben Day.

Crown Glared at Molo, taking a step back. "All I see is a raider, not a pony!"

Molo was pulled back and let go by Ben Day. As soon as she could move, I reached out to comfort my best friend, but she knocked my hoof away and ran off. "Molo, wait!" I called her.

*SLAP!*

My neck snapped around to see that Wiretap had slapped Crown, and hard.

"What the fuck is wrong with you! Talking to your mother like that when you don't even know her!" Wiretap shouted.

Crown slapped her cousin back. "I know enough, and what would you know?"

Wiretap slapped Crown again, "More than you, you moron. Molo's a hero!"

Crown again slapped back. "How can a dirty raider be a hero! What good could she have done!"

Wiretap got into her face, and told her. "Ask anypony here, she's helped save so many ponies! She was there with Lottery when I was taken by Raiders. Didn't even hesitate to go and save me!" Tears formed in Wiretap's eyes. "But all she cared about was finding you two, wanting to make sure you're both safe."

"Y… you're wrong!" Crown spat back nervously.

But Wiretap pushed her over, tears forming on her face. "And that Catalyst isn't. Do you know what she did, I do, I was told. That mare who told you everything about your mother, our fucking aunt. She helped my father try and murder your father just a few days ago!"

Crown looked shocked and confused as Wiretap continued. "At least Molo's trying to be better, at least she knows what she has done is wrong. But my father is trying to enslave everypony in the wasteland. That's the reason why Hans almost lost an eye is because of him. Why Lottery drinks herself to sleep is because of him. He's why my mother can't even get proper sleep right now. Everything that is going wrong, all the dead ponies, it's my fathers fault! But Molo's the bad pony! Go fuck yourself you stupid brat!"

Wiretap then rushed out, but collided into Spell Circuit, who looked just as confused as Crown. "S… sorry uncle!" She said, then pushed around him and ran out.

The room remained silent as Crown looked at Spell with bewilderment, but I had no time to see how this gets even more messed up, I had a friend to help.

"Move!" I told everypony blocking the door, and they gave way.

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Running was extremely difficult to do, but I somehow managed it, even if it was slow. At least finding Molo was easy, as most of the ponies she charged past were more than willing to point me in the right direction. Unfortunately it was to the roof.

By the time I got to the top floor, my legs felt like jelly, but I made it, and I could see my friend. Slowly, I made my way to her, pushing my legs as hard as I could.

"Really… why… here." I huffed.

Molo sighed as she looked over the edge. "Because… I can see everything. And that helps me think."

I joined her, looking out at the dry and dusty wasteland. "It could do with more green."

She nodded. "At least we got some blue now, and at least it's far better than what it still is back home. So much black smoke, and that garish pink. Not to mention the noise. Fillydelphia is a true shithole. I could have left at any time. Hook up with a merchant like some of my sisters and get as far away from that place as possible. Yet I stayed until I was forced out."

"It's not your fault Molo." I told my friend.

She laughed a bitter laugh. "Molo, Molotov, Molo, Molotov. Took that name because it sounded cooler than Sparkling Passion. Invokes fear and danger, just like a raider name should be. Then it became who I am." Molo then looked at me, one pupil having gone into a pinpoint. "I'm nothing more than a raider whore, Lottery. Crown Glass is right about me, completely."

Using what strength I had, I hugged Molo. Held onto her tightly. "No! No you're not! You're my friend, you're the pony who pulled me out of the darkness. You saved me, and saved so many others. You're not a raider anymore. You're a good pony.

Molo gently pushed me off her. "No I'm not. You saw it… you saw it! How I was about to attack my own daughter… It's been so long and the first thing I do is that. Ya, I'm not a raider… I'm worse than that." She then let out a laugh that felt cold and bitter. "I'm just like my mother."

She turned around and began trotting away.

"Molo stop, that's not true!" I called out to her, and she stopped for a moment, looking back at me. But her eyes seemed empty, and that terrified me even more.

I couldn't say anything else, only watched as she just left, that spark in her, it was going cold.

As I sat there feeling helpless, a sweet smell caught my nose. Looking over at the ledge Molo had been at, I saw a cocktail glass. In it were the remains of a red glowing drink. But before I could get closer to see what it was, a strong gust of wind blew, knocking the glass over the edge

I didn't like this, not at all.

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