Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Eighty Four

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My head pounded like the worst hangover in my life, and as I tried to remember what exactly happened, most of it was nothing more than a blur to me, or utter nonsense. I remember fighting Tripwire, and him doing some weird magic. But also way too many crystals and shadow ponies wanting me to eat stuff… I think.

Doctor Helga let out a long stressful sigh. "We there is no long term damage that I can see, but that shot of resurrection still bruised your heart. If you weren't already absurdly sturdy, you might not be standing here."

"Then why give it to Spell?" I asked.

She poked me in the chest. "Because you tend to get yourself nearly killed. A living Lottery is better than a dead Lottery. Anyways, as your doctor, I'm advising you to avoid any straining activities for the next three months. That should give your heart a chance to properly heal."

"But-" I tried to protest, but Doctor Helga held my muzzle shut with her talons.

"No fucking arguing with me on this." She said sternly. "Anyways, you've done more than enough as it is."

"And yet, there's still more I can do." I mumbled through my teeth.

She let me go, then passed me a bottle of Sparkle-Cola and two pills of painkillers. "Maybe so, but you already did more than enough, so just let yourself relax,"

I took the pills and sipped on the sugary drink. "Fine, but I'm not in as bad of a condition as you think."

Doctor Helga put her talon on my shoulder and squeezed ever so slightly. Pain shot through my body, causing me to clench my teeth.

"I… I get it, you can stop!" I pleaded.

She let me go, and picked up a clipboard. "Alright. So I'll be having you coming in for regular checkups to make sure you're not lying to me. You're also required at least twelve hours of bed rest for this month, and only the lightest of exercise. It goes without saying, but you are to avoid any chems when possible, this includes both alcohol and cigarettes. I'm also putting you on a high nutrition diet, since your pregnancy is going to take a lot more out of you than originally suspected."

"What… why?" I asked.

Doctor Helga gently pulled me off of her table, and pushed me out of her office. "We can go over the details later, but I'm extremely busy right now, and rather not deal with explaining more magical brahman shit." She then closed the door, leaving me there, a bit worried.

"Well… fuck." Was all I could say, my mind trying to possess what she just told me.

But before I could bang on her door to get her to tell me what was wrong, I felt a little pony latch onto my leg.

"Lottery!" Wiretap squealed. "I heard you did it, you… got the villain." That last part she said with a bitter sweet tone, clearly understanding that it also meant that I killed her father.

Kneeling down, I patted the older filly on the head. "Yes, I made sure he couldn't hurt anypony else. Not you, your mother, me, or anypony. All that's left is to clean up the mess left behind and pick up the pieces."

A smile returned to her muzzle, as she pulled back on her jacket. "Oh look, mom let me have them." Holstered on her was not just her .45 revolver, but the two custom 9mm pistols, one depicting a pink alicorn with hearts, and the other depicting Celestia. "Mom still wont let me trot around with them loaded, also Cable is being a bitch about it, wanting one of them."

"Well she is your sister… regrettably. Maybe if she can prove herself responsible, you can share." I suggested.

Wiretap frowned at that. "But it's mine!" She grumbled.

"I can't argue with that." I said with a sigh, but I knew that where Wiretap never saw Tripwire as her father, Cable did. It only made me hate him even more from just thinking about it. But at least the filly still had some family, and a future, so I wanted the sisters to get along. "How about this, if you can help train her to be responsible with a gun… I'll let you have my Whisky Shot."

Her eyes opened wide. "Really!" She then grinned. "Ya, it's not like I liked princess Cadence all that much anyways." She said, trying to sound mature.

"Really now." Grizzly said as she trotted over, looking at her daughter with some annoyance. "Weren't you all wanting to collect the full set?"

Wiretap looked a bit guilty as she said, "well… maybe."

Grizzly sighed. "Whatever my little darling, so long as you're being responsible and keeping up with your studies, I'll let you collect guns. Anyways, since we're stuck with Cable, getting the brat under control isn't a bad idea." Her eyes then drifted to me with a curious stare. "And forgive me if I'm not letting you rest, but I have to know, is he truly gone?"

I nodded. "My mind is still a blur about it, but I know for sure that both Tripwire and Catalyst are dead. Spell can give you more details, I'm sure, but whatever was going on down there, the two had completely lost their minds. What about the ponies we pulled out?"

Looking down at her daughter, Grizzly motioned for her to move on ahead. "Were going to talk about some private stuff, can you go to the penthouse ahead of us?"

Wiretap frowned, but complied, trotting on ahead of us.

"Let's trot and talk, Lottery." Grizzly told me as she began to move. "Well it's clear that the revival you were given saved your life, it also made you a bit… crazy."

"Please don't tell me I killed somepony!? " I asked worriedly

"Well yes, but not not quite." She replied. "By the time Spell pulled you through the portal, you were picking up the corpses of Tripwire's soldiers. But you somehow managed to save fifteen ponies trapped down there. Though whatever Tripwire did to them, it will take some time before they even begin to recover. Both physically and mentally. "

"That's… I don't know, but at least they're alive." I commented.

Grizzly smiled faintly, "that they are. Still it sickens me to see how he was using those ponies as personal kicking bags… among other things. A few are also results of Catalyst experiments, and to say Majestic was shocked is an understatement. But I think we're finally passed the worst of it, and all that's left is the cleanup. As for the manor, the Rangers made sure it was properly burnt to the ground."

"So that means what? No secret radio messages to investigate something mysterious, or some simple job to do that goes horribly wrong?" I said, trying to lighten the mood some more.

She let out a slight laugh. "No, no. Well, not for you at least. You would be surprised what crazy shit has been passing through my desk for the last few months. I think the Stable Dweller's control over the spire has unburied a lot of stuff best left underground and forgotten. But that's no concern of yours, or mine as a matter of fact. Right now we just need to focus on what comes next."

"And that's?" I asked.

"Lots of paperwork, managing of resources, ponies, and time. At least now I can get some sleep with at least one less proverbial sword hanging over my head." She told me, a bit lighter in step. "And don't think I'll just let you be completely lazy while you recover. You're prone to run off if you're not busy."

"Oh, and like what will you have me do, Doctor Helga ordered me bedrest for a few months." I told her.

Grizzly grinned at me playfully. "Well for one, I need somepony to keep an eye on Wiretap. Unfortunately Hans contract was in the deal I had with Gwadina, the bitch was very insistent on getting him to join her. Something about putting together a team of the best fighters in the wasteland. I mean, there's a reason why I paid top cap to have him protect my daughter."

It was sad to hear that Hans was leaving, but good to know he was off to make Equestria a better place. Even if he was doing it for the pay. "You sure you want me taking over his job? I mean, from what Doctor Helga told me, I'm in no condition to do much protecting."

"It's optics, Lottery, you're a local hero, and a damn scary one at that. With you close by, most assholes will not even think about doing something stupid. Anyway, I have a few other ponies nearby to provide the real security." Grizzly told me. "All you really need to do is to show Wiretap how to fight, or some other things to keep her busy."

"I'm guessing the Red Light Showroom is out of the question then?" I asked jokingly.

"By Celestia, no!" She answered as she gave me the side eye. "More and more she's reminding me of myself at her age. But unlike me, I'm worried she's more into the colts like I was with other fillies. Just… make sure she's not getting into trouble while you're still around."

Giving Grizzly a light jab, I told her. "No worry, I perfectly understand what you mean. Anyways, I think she already understand, Wiretap is a smart girl after all… well smarter than me at least."

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Arriving at my penthouse, there was a small and relatively tame party going on. Probably because of the foals present, and that some of us were pregnant. So any booze present was not in any great amount, and none of it was the hard stuff. Still, it was a good selection of food and drink, in which I was more then willing to indulge

"To victory, and a brighter future!" Grizzly cheered, holding her drink high.

"To the destruction of vile magic, and a hope they never return!" Spell joined in.

"And to a fun and free future!" Plasma added, getting the side eye from some of us.

I didn't join in on the cheering, satisfied with just sitting at the bar, sipping on a Sparkle-Cola. Not that I didn't enjoy the celebration, but for me it was rather bittersweet then anything.

"Here you go, Lady Lottery." Margaret said as the robot placed down a slice of pie. "It's not much, but I managed to whip up a pear cobbler pie, though the cobbler is more improvised, and the crust used razor grain instead of proper wheat. Still, I'm sure it's delicious… I mean, I hope it is, I have no taste buds to actually know for sure."

Taking a small bite, it was surprisingly sweet, almost painfully so. "It's… I don't know, but it is good, I know that."

She smiled at me with her robot eyes. "Good to know. Just ask me if you want more, I made a lot after all." Humming to herself, she then floated away, offering slices of pie to anypony nearby.

"Wow this is good!" Cold Trails said, having taken a bite of the pie. He sported several nasty bruises and some bandages that covered what looked like burn scars.

"The fuck happened to you?" I asked.

He smiled, showing that he was missing a tooth. "Ya, kind of messed up out there. The group I was with trotted into a raider trap, we didn't find out that all the traffic cones had mines under them until they were exploding." He rubbed the side of his head, where the worst of the bruises were. "Thank Celestia we all had power armor, so it only shook us up… then they started throwing explosives, like a lot of them. We lost a few of ours, but at least wiped out all the raiders there. It was a pyrrhic victory at best."

I passed him a bottle of Sparkle-Cola. "Sorry to hear that."

Cold took a sip, his eyes widening in surprise. "So that's what this tastes like." Then he sighed. "But ya, I didn't know those Rangers well, but they reminded me a lot of my old squadron. Motivated, disciplined, rather knuckleheaded, and overall good ponies once you get past the propaganda. But we knew what we were getting into, and because of their sacrifice the raiders in this region will not be able to easily reestablish themselves."

He finished off his drink, and held a hoof over his muzzle as he let out a long burp. "Oh, sorry." He said bashfully. "But anyways, I was told that most of the heavy hoofed operations are over, so it's unlikely they will need me out there. Actually, Grizzly wants me to help train up a new militia unit for Ursa's Rest, since most of the Talons and current militia are now heading to Fillydelphia."

"Right, I heard that Hans got his contact bought up, but didn't think it was almost all of them." I said in surprise.

Cold nodded. "Oh ya, actually Hogan Highborn is going as well to provide Gwadina some more legitimacy among the Talons. But get this, Elder Honeycrisp is going too, and joining this elite strike team too. Something about making sure that if the NCR finds any lost tech, she can make sure it's not abused. So you can imagine that most of the rangers are following her as well."

That concerned me a little. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, we only just won this war, and having most of the fighting force leave might be dangerous."

"That is a concern." Sparkling Delight said as she took a seat on my other side. "But my brother has promised to help keep an eye on things in the region. So we should be able to find any trouble rather quickly, and nip it in the bud before it becomes a real problem. Truthfully, Pharynx plans to strengthen the Dukedoms relationship with Ursa's Rest since it's clear that we are entering a new era in Equestria's history."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, that's quite a statement, are you sure he's not just trying to swoon Grizzly? Well, jokes aside I hope, if he is right, I do hope it's a more peaceful era."

Sparkling grinned a little. "I do too, thought I have no doubts that there will be more bloodshed. But at least if this NCR Gwadina is building stays true to their word, things will get better… I hope." She then nudged me with her elbow. "Don't tell anypony I said this, but my brother actually still has a thing for Grizzly. So you might be about that."

"My mouth is sealed." I told her, performing a zipper motion over my muzzle. "Anyways, do you have any name ideas for your baby?"

She chuckled. "No not yet. My brother thinks, if it's a girl, to name her after Queen Chrysalis, but I shot that down fast. Something tells me that it's bad luck to use that name."

"Ya, the… vidose I did with Pharynx didn't depict her in a nice light." I commented, remembering the porn I was talked into doing. "About those… vidiose… any way you can destroy the ones I'm in?"

The half changeling mistress narrowed her eyes at me. "If I said I would, would you even believe me?"

I sighed. "No, not at all." Then a bit of realization hit me. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you had your own videos of me that you took secretly."

I felt hooves wrap around me gently, and a mare nuzzling the back of my head. "Oh, I'd love to see them." Plasma said before letting go of me. "What about you, Cold?"

The stallion looked both nervous and annoyed. "How about no. With how I'm trying to start a relationship with Lottery, I really don't want to see her with other stallions."

"That I can agree." I said sternly. "And I never want it to be brought up again, okay."

Both Plasma and Sparkling rolled their eyes at me.

"Seriously now. I want that part of my life dead and buried, okay?" I told them with a glare. Then I saw Low Pressure making his way over, and shot him an even meaner glare, causing him to back off.

I seriously want my life to get back on track, and if I had to beat the shit out of a pony to do it, I will.

Deep laughter came from our side as Cauterize hobbled over. "Ya that's how a real mare dose it, with murderous intent. I know my mares would castrate me if I tried to dig up their past partners. So I say best just keep those tapes buried."

A bit odd to get him backing me up, but I'll take it. "Thanks. Oh and about the twins, I heard they are ready to give birth any day now? You sure you should be here?"

He shrugged. "Would be with them if I could but they need their space. Anyways, they're in good hooves."

"Yes, Aloe is currently keeping an eye on them." Mint said as she trotted over, joining our small crowd. "Actually it will be a good practice for what's coming in the next six months."

"Right, a lot of ponies did get busy after the fall of Redeye and the clearing of the clouds." Sparkling commented. "Actually, if you look around, there's a lot of mares who are starting to show. The baby boom that's coming is going to be really big."

"I heard that Velvet Remedy is too." Cold added, getting everypony to look at him a bit confused. "What… oh, right. Actually I got a thank you letter from Deadshot Calamity for helping to hunt down Flyright. She was the one who helped brand him, and many other Dashites. In the letter he mentioned he was an expecting father and such, and hoped we can have a reunion one day." We all looked at him in surprise. "Hay, it's nothing all that big, we just served in the same bunker for over a year, not like we were good friends or nothing. There were a lot of us there… and… none of us came to his defense when it mattered the most."

We all looked away, feeling a bit guilty ourselves.

Then Wiretap burst through, followed by Cable, Spur, Crown and Flashed. "Lottery, tell them that Six Gun Red is the best!"

"You're crazy, hired gun is the bigger hero! Literally!" Cable argued.

"You're both wrong, Brimstone Blitz is a real living legend. Last I heard he was still kicking flanks in Fillydelphia. " Spur added in.

Wiretap then put her hoof to my leg, looking smug. "Come on, tell them. I mean you're the best, but Six Gun is close, right?

Looking at them, my eyes fell onto Molo's Daughters, who looked nervous. "What about you two, personally I think the Stable Dweller is rather high up there."

Crowned scrunched her nose. "No way, that mare is the worst, and short! Redeye was a real hero, he sacrificed everything to make things better." She said as she pouted.

"What about Security?" Flashed squeaked out. "Or the pink ghost?"

"Pfff! No way their real ponies, especially security!" Crowned argued.

Spell Circuit cleared his throat to get their attention before Redeye was mentioned again. "I think you all have had too much cola, so either take it to the bedroom or stop running around and bothering everypony."

"Okay uncle." Wiretap said, then smiled at me, saying "later!" before bouncing off, with the other fillies following her.

I looked over at Spell, who looked more tired than me. "I guess you're getting a hoof on being a dad then."

"It's not easy, I can tell you that." He said with a shigh, "Already have to keep the colts away from them. Seems one of the Gunrunner chicks are school friends of theirs, and this Skipper is a bit of a flirt for his age. Cheeky little colt."

"Well, good news on That" Grizzly said as she joined us. "The negotiations between the Gunrunners and Gwadina were successful, so that twerp and his family will be heading back to Fillydelphia soon."

I perked up hearing that. "So that means Horus was successful in helping his family, that's good to hear. Will he be coming back?"

Grizzly shook her head. "Sadly, he will need to stay with Gwadina as her armory master, so he won't be able to return here to fill out his contract with me. I did get payment for the contract cancellation, which only amazes me further on how that buzzard is able to throw so many caps around."

"From what Life Bloom told me, Gwadina currently has a lot of supporters. Powerful ponies who want her and the Stable Dweller on their side." Spell told us.

"That and everything she's pulling out of Fillydelphia." Grizzly added. "Once she has full control over that city, things will get interesting to say the least."

"Lets pray that Gwadina doesn't make the same mistakes as those who came her." Mint said with a solemn tone.

We all got quiet for a bit, my own mind running through the possibilities. There were likely far more ponies and other creatures that I didn't know of who rose to power in Equestria, then fell. Redeye who started on a noble path to restore Equestria, but lost his way. The Goddess, ever powerful, and driven mad by that power. Tripwire who saw no future, only caring that he himself was the one in power. Grizzly Deal, a mare whose decisions got her power she wanted, but at the cost of the ones she loved. Duke Pharynx the Fifth, ever waiting for the return of his queen.

Then there was Celestia and Luna, Princesses and gods, now lost to us because of our inability to let go of our hate. Or so how my Ma would tell me.

The six Ministries, founded by hero's, and likely the ones who made this wasteland. If what Rainbow Dash had left behind is true, their friendship had failed, and it doomed us all.

Yet it wasn't the end. We have hope. Hope in each other, hope in the future, and hope in ourselves.

"I know one thing." I spoke up, getting everyponies attention. "Even if Gwadina fails, nothing stops us from picking up the pieces and trying to do it ourselves."

We were all silent for a moment again, but Spell Circuit then lifted up his glass. "Lets invest in a better future, even if it means we have to build it all ourselves. It's the least we can do for our children."

"Ya, I can get behind that." Sparkling joined in, glass raised high.

The rest of us joined in, with smiles and cheer. It was still a somber affair, but one filled with hope. We had secured a future, a harsh unforgiving future, but one that is ours to live.

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The calm celebration went on for a few more hours, with ponies talking about anything and everything, but mainly their plans on what they will do next. It was a rather nice event that put my nerves at ease, though I could still go for a beer and a smoke.

Trotting to the balcony, the cool night air caressing my nose, bringing with it the smell of a lit cigarette. Grizzly Deal leaned on the balcony, a glass of hard liquor half full at her side and a smoke in her mouth.

"You know I'm half tempted to toss you over the edge to get my hooves on that drink and smoke." I said jokingly.

Grizzly smiled at me before taking the cigarette out and placing it on an ashtray. "You wouldn't be the first, and over for even less." She then motioned for me to join her.

"Let me guess, over a canister of dash." I said as I trotted up to the balcony. Looking down, the town below was a buzz of activity, as the tension that once gripped this place was now gone. It was rather annoying that I quickly spotted at least five different pairs of ponies having sex in poorly thought out hiding spots.

"No… well yes actually, but I was talking about a Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle caps. Had some star on each of them. My brother was rather obsessed over them, talking about some hidden treasure." Grizzly let out a sigh. "Always said he was crazy for believing such a legend. And one day some crazy wastelander pushed him off the building just to steal those damned bottle caps. He got lucky and survived his fall."

She then chuckled to herself. "He was more pissed off about losing his bottle caps than about almost losing his life. Made me so mad that mother and father entrusted him with Ursa's Rest over me. I mean I was not the one making stupid decisions over useless stuff."

Grizzly then took a long drag from her cigarette, blowing out a massive cloud from her muzzle. "What a retard I was."

"Ya, I get that. I wanted adventure and romance, thought that it was safe now to go out into the wasteland. Thought my Ma and Pa were being paranoid." I tapped on my eyepatch. "Well at least I'm not dead, so they were wrong about that at least."

"So, will you be sticking around once you recover, or be finally going home?" Grizzly then asked me.

It had been awhile since I gave it some serious thought, but I knew the answer already. "I'll stick around for a bit, but I need to check on them. I know Doctor Helga said to rest and such, but I rather go before I start to show. Anyways, my brothers must be driving Ma up the walls without me there to help. And Pa, I'm half shocked that he hasn't shown up out of the blue yet. I also miss my baby sis."

"Good, because I need somepony to do a speech before those heading to Fillydelphia set out in a few days. After that I can get you some transportation, make it real easy for you." Grizzly offered.

I raised an eyebrow at that. "You sure you want me… to do a speech?"

Grizzly shrugged. "Nothing big, just the local hero encouraging everypony to stay strong. Trust me, it will be easy."

"Easy you say, then why not you do it?" I asked.

"Because I'm the ex-slave lord, sending troops to Fillydelphia. Even if we're helping Gwadina, it doesn't look good." She explained.

I took a deep breath, wishing I was drunk so that this would make more sense to me. "Fine, but you're going to owe me for it, okay!"

She then took her glass, and shot the liquor down her throat like it was nothing. "It's a deal. Now let's enjoy the view."

Looking over, I was sure even more ponies were having sex below. "Really now?"

Grizzly let out a sharp whistle and pointed to one building not far away. "Look at that mare go, she should work for me if she's willing to go that deep."

Following her hoof, I saw a petite pegasus with two stallions, all three going verry hot and heavy. A familiar pegasus actually. "I… think that's Chain Lightning!?"

"You know her, then introduce me to her?" Grizzly asked as her face started to turn red.

I shrugged, giving up on this situation. "I'll talk with her, but trust me, she's got better things to do."

Letting myself relax, I decided to enjoy the happy, if a bit voyeuristic show.

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