Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale

Chapter Eighty Five

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, Chapter Eighty Five

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Sleep proved harder to get now that everything was over, and all that was left was… was… was the unknown. My mind racing with possibilities, both good and bad. I did want to go home, but would they want me back, or even accept these children within me. Would my friends stay my friends, or were there still enemies out there I didn't know about.

My mind wouldn't shut up until the daylight came, and only then did sleep come. It was a surprisingly pleasant sleep, all things considered. No nightmares, or anything reminding me of what I've been through. I did remember anything about it, but somehow I knew there were three fillies snuggling me.

I didn't wake until midday, which nopony cared, as they wanted me to rest anyway. So I rested, ate food, and spent some time with both Doctor Helga and Mint. Just to make sure I was actually healthy, physically and mentally.

Cold Trails was also my escort again, though this time it was more for the company then to keep myself from trotting off and whoring myself. Even now I remember some of my actions and feel shameful for it. But that was all in the past now, and I can work on a new better me. I do know that Cold appreciates that I'm in better control over myself, as we were able to have a normal conversation while on a normal date. Though it was a bit awkward when we met up with Chain Lightning, the image of her getting spitroasted was still fresh in my mind.

I actually spent much of the day checking up on my friends, since there was nothing better to do. For most of them it was what I expected, with Spell, Margaret, Pecan, and Benday looking after the foals. Low and High Pressure helping Grizzly with logistics and pony resources. The ghouls were still treating ponies in medicine, and looking after a ready to burst Dust and Smoke, as a worried Cauterize was kept outside.

Majestic was still recovering, but already ponies had gathered around her. Being alicorns, ghouls and waste ponies. All planning on leaving for one of the nopony zones bathed in radiation. Surprisingly enough, the cult of unity was with her, and from what Majestic explained to me, they were slowly turning into artificial alicorns already, so Majestic wanted to help guide their transformation over the next few years. It was a bit odd to me, but I wasn't going to complain about ponies wanting to live in a safe place far from all this chaos.

And so the day went on, and as more of the militia returned from hunting down Slavers and Raider, the more light the atmosphere became. Peonies celebrating a job well done and looking to do more good work in the near future. We were all fighting the good fight, doing what we could to make Equestria safer.

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"Okay, and just a twist… done!" Plasma adjusted a cable, which caused a fuzzy sound from a speaker to stop. "You're good to go."

"Are you sure, I don't feel like I'm good to go." I said nervously.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Come on, if I can put on a live performance full bear, you can do a speech."

I glared at my friend, and she glanced away. "I'm not some nympho exhibitionist, so forgive me if having to talk in front of all Ursa's Rest is a bit nerve racking to me."

Plasma then winked at me with a sly grin. "You know, I could always go out and help you on stage."

"No! Not ever!" I told her and sighed. "Last thing I need is half the stallions here getting a stiffy while I'm on stage."

She then gave me a light hug, "I know, I know. Anyways, I may still have issues, but I'm not that crazy." Plasma then took a step back. "So, do you still feel nervous?"

Thinking about it, I was a bit less jittery now. "Ya, I think I'm good. Not completely, but I'll be fine. And speaking of issues, how did your appointment with Mint go?"

A long sigh came from my friend. "Let's just say that I am indeed confirmed fucked in the head. She thinks that my month with the raider before getting cursed solidified my trauma into several fetishes, and now I'm officially a sex addicted nympho." Plasma then shrugged. "Well, it could be worse, since I'm not aggressive over it, and if I'm working I'm not horny. Though it's a shame she has to go, but Mint did assure me that I'll be fine so long as I keep writing in my journal, and take my medicine daily. In time I should partly recover, so long as I'm vigilant over myself"

She then smiled a little. "Though I did miss how good sex felt with the curse."

"And risk mutating any more than you already did?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Plasma shrugged. "I thought the little wings and horns those unfortunate mares got were a bit cute, and their large udders were sexy." She then lightly slapped my flank. "On that, why were you the only one to keep your tits?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fuck you, you know you that. Having to relearn to trot a second time is no damn fun. I also hate how I bite my tongue all the time too. I did it three times just practicing this speech."

"Ya ya, miss brahman tits, keep complaining, but don't go pretending that you haven't been enjoying them. I heard what you and Cold Trails got up to last night." Plasma mocked me.

I wanted to say she was wrong, but she was not. Weird as it was, my new tongue and tits were rather fun to use on Cold, and if I was still a showroom mare, I'd make a fuck tone of caps with them. Still they did make trotting and talking more difficult, but I could live with that.

Taking a deep breath, I trotted over to the edge of the stage and peaked out. It was like all of Ursa's Rest was here, and two more towns on top of that. Actually, that might be true, all things considered.

"You got this!" Plasma told me.

"Ya, I know. Just don't mess with nothing, please." I said back.

She just winked at me, which didn't fill me with full confidence.

Doing one last check on my clothes, everything was still fine, and my makeup was as good as it could be. It still felt a bit off going out in my custom dress and duster, as I wanted a more proper suit, but unfortunately most of the cloth Ursa's Rest had was used for the militia uniforms. But at least the duster would let me hide my revolvers, just in case somepony got stupid.

Taking a step out, cheers from the crowd of militia erupted. I wasn't sure how many of them actually knew who I was, but I did spot many familiar faces among the crowd. Some young and with bright eyes, others old and worn down. But the sun shined on them all.

"H… hello…." I nervously croaked out to the microphone, my voice amplified and echo. Clearing my throat, I made sure I spoke clearly for all to hear. "Hello every creature, I'm glad to see you all here. We have come a long way to get here, trotting a long road filled with hardship and compromises. Many of us have done things were not proud of, driven to dark places in which some never came back from. And for those others in that dark place, though we wish they were with us today, we can at least take solace in that their suffering is over."

"But through those hard times, and all the suffering we had endured, we come out stronger, and hopefully wiser. Iron sharpens iron as they say. So by looking into our past, we can plot our future. We can do what we can to make things better. Not just for us, or for those around us, but for those yet to come. That means the road ahead is even longer, and filled with chalanges. A road we might never see the end to, but it's one we can clear for those behind us. You all have taken many of the first steps to this goal, and may Celestia bless you for it, and may she bless you for what you all will do next."

The crowd cheered, though I wasn't sure if it resonated with anypony, or if it was just them humoring me. But none of it was a lie. So much suffering, yet they still fight the good fight.

Once the crowd settled down, I continued. "I don't claim to be a smart pony, as I'm clearly not all that clever. Actually I left my home thinking that Equestria was safe now, having only ever known about the world through the radio. The Light Bringer had cast down the villains, and driven the raiders into hiding. That's what I heard and believed. Oh how wrong I was. Naively, I would be taken advantage of several times, never seen as nothing more than a tool to be used, or a toy to be played with. I would lose my innocence and fall into despair, but in that dark place a pony would pull me out, and drag me back into the light. That simple act started the counter attack against our enemy, as I found myself a prostitute one day, and rescuing a filly from the hooves of raiders the next."

"My good friend was not a good pony, though she wanted to be. Much of what she had done in her past hunted her, but through her wish to be better, she helped just as many others. Through her I found myself once again able to stand on my own, seeing myself as more than what I had become, and far more than what others had made me into. But the wasteland is not a forgiving place, and its cruelty knows no bounds. For even the strongest of us can break. This friend of mine should be standing here with us, enjoying our victory, but like so many others, she chose to lift others up as she fell."

I let the moment linger, as did everypony in the crowd, it was the most quiet I had ever heard this town to be.

"But… Thanks to their sacrifices, we all can stand here today. And now we now carry on their hopes, their dreams, and their will to fight on our backs. So as you march towards Fillydelphia, march with pride. As through your willingness to fight, you help make Equestria a better place, slowly yet gradually."

And though not all of us can join you in this fight, we can still give it our all to support you. As fighting the good fight is not done through just guns, but through acts of kindness, and through the forging of friendship. And when the fighting is over, and all that's left is the long road home, I promise you that you will find that home. Even if it must be built brick by brick, it will be there. And in that home you will be able to start a new life, a happier life.

I spent a moment, taking a deep breath sucking in the air, and slowly exhaling. All the militia looked at me, as though entranced.

"So as you head on out, as you fight with all you can. Please… don't lose yourself. Remember why you fight, and where you want to return to. Fight not because you hate, or that it's all you know, but fight for what you love, and for what you may come to love. We're all in this together, and together we will achieve victory. From this day on, you all will become the hero's you wished would save Equestria. Those myths and legends of ponies who change this world, that is here, and that is now, and you are them! So march, and become legends!"

They all erupted into cheers as I took a step back from the podium, surprised by how well that went. I wasn't sure if I should give a bow or not, since I didn't think I'd even get this far. Deciding to just step off stage, I turned and began trotting.

But then I froze. Plasma way laying sprawled out on the floor as a crooked pony stood there watching me. The smell of rot and decay hit my nose as I looked into one ruby-like red eye. Then she smiled wide, a mouth full of broken yellow teeth.

I drew Whisky Shot as Bandsaw dashed forward, somehow faster with two back peg legs, moving like the shadows as she dogged my first shot, then my second, and with a back hoof, knocked my revolver out of my mouth.

Falling over I felt a barrel shove its way into my mouth, as a hoof stomped on my head. "Oh nice fucking speech there Lottery, almost heart warming with all the hopes and fucking cunt dreams ya carry. I wonder how they all will feel when ya fucking brain scatter all over? Wonder how many will lose their nerves and start to go raider?"

As Bandsaw talked, infected black ooze seeped from her burnt cracked skin, dripping near my face. She was a dead mare trotting, and she knew it, and she had me in her grasp.

"Oh yes, there's the look I enjoy. Hopeless and defeated." She cackled to herself, sounding like she had fluid in her lungs.

But I didn't give in, and glared at her, even smiled. "Duuu, ith!" I said through the gun in my mouth.

Rage filled her eye, as she scratched at her face with a broken hoof, cutting her already cut up face. "No no no! Show me fear, not that. Piss yourself in front of everypony, lose your will to fight! Become broken like me! Brake, why won't you fucking brake already!"

*BANG!*

Bandsaw's horn shattered, and she screamed as she fell back. The hold over me was gone, and I quickly spat the gun out of my mouth and got back up, drawing my bandit revolver, wasting no time finishing her off for good.

I stood there with a smoking barrel, half expecting Bandsaw to get back up, or for some other nonsense to happen. But as the putrid black blood seeped from the raiders corpses, and the already dim light from her eye faded to nothing, a sense of finality finally washed over me, and I holstered my revolver.

The sound of heavy, yet familiar hoofsteps then caught my ear. I turned to see a stallion in an old tattered duster, and on his head was a well kept wide brim hat decorated with playing cards. Resting on his back was an old Martini Breech rifle, dark smoke still drifting out of it.

"I'm half a mind to beat your flank right here for disobeying your Ma and I like that, but I see the wasteland did that for me." My pa said.

A tear ran down my eye as I stumbled, then dashed forward, jumping into his hooves. "Pa! I… I missed you so much."

He sighed, the smell of tobacco strong in his breath. "And I do too. Now we should get up on moving, best to end the show here."

I nodded as I let him go. "I got so much to tell you… and ahh… you're not going to like some of it."

"I reckon I ain't going to like most of it, so let's get some drinks first, on you since you're the big old important mare here." He said as we trotted off stage.

"Ya… that's fair, I'll just ask Grizzly to send over the good stuff. Oh, and I can't drink, not right now anyways."

My Pa didn't say anything for a long moment, a serious look on his face. "Truthfully, I'm not fucking surprised my stupid, stupid." He then sighed. "my stupid little filly."

I sighed. "Sorry… Pa."

He then gave me a hug, tighter than he ever had. "At least you're alive, so don't ever run off like that again, you got that."

I nodded, tears welling up again. "Yes Pa."

"Uhhh… oh who's that fine stallion?" Plasma said, rubbing her head as she got up.

I cracked a smile as I hugged him again. "He's my Pa!"

Even though I knew I was in for the beating of a lifetime, I felt that now everything was truly going to be okay. Yes, though things weren't going to be perfect, with all the evil banished, but things were at least better now. truly better than it was before.

And soon I'll be going home.

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The rhythmic marching of hoofsteps would leave Ursa's Rest, the Ursa's militia making their way to Fillydelphia to reinforce Gwadina's New Canterlot Republic. In their wake a calm peace would remain in the land around Ursa's Rest, a peace it had not known for over Two hundred years. No longer were their raiders blocking safe routes, demanding payment in exchange for ponies being left unmolested. And the slaver caravans dragging ponies to uncertain fate had all but become just a bitter memory. The once frightened ponies hiding from the cruel wasteland now stand in the sun, though still vigilant of the dangers in the wasteland, but now able to see a brighter future.

The influx of trained and well armed Talons leading a militia shift battle for Fillydelphia in Gwadina's favor. The remaining slavers and raiders now completely outnumbered and outgunned would fall one by one until a battle known as the final wave. Soon the city fell under NCR control, and a one invading force would become an occupying force, and Gwadina's leadership would transition from military to political.

Though Grizzly Deal's swift move to end slavery in Ursa's Rest would garner her great respect in the rapidly changing wasteland, it still left her with a massive debt. Ultimately, Tripwire's plan to bankrupt her would be complete two months after his death, forcing Grizzly to sell off her rights to Ursa's Rest. But seeing the writing on the wall, Grizzly would turn to Gwadina before payments were due, and all control stripped from her. Effectively making Ursa's rest an official territory of the N.C.R. and with other territories such as Junction town and Fillydelphia, the NCR would make its first steps into forging itself into a civilization.

The NCR quickly established a safe trade route through the lands around Ursa's rest, once again connecting Fillydelphia to Friendship City. With both patrols and infrastructure programs, Ursa's Rest would find itself becoming a major trade hub again, which would help fund the NCR's further expansion. During this time would the first flag depicting a two headed ursa be seen, with many rightfully suspecting the trade hubs influence behind the symbols.

Though in time the raiders would return, it would never be for long. As even in the places where NCR troops would not go, they would be driven out by bandits who now claim the land for themselves. And just like in ancient times before the wasteland, the bandits would become both villains and heroes, charming ponies as they rob them, but rarely ever hurting them. Because unlike raiders, bandits at least have standards, and they understand that more trade in the area means more money for them to make and take.

Ursa’s Den would remain as it always has, a place of great joy and great tragedy. Money would be won and lost, with ponies drinking their sorrows away. It would remain the main attraction for creatures to visit, ensuring that trade would flow past its doors and the many creatures have a place to unwind.

Though life had improved for many working there, not all could adapt fully to their freedom, and where some were able to move on with their lives, others chose to end it. With Pecan leaving to reclama her home, Sugar Honey would spend a short stint as that most populated mare of the Showroom, but would commit suicide only a few months after giving birth, unable to handle life outside of sexwork.

Seeing a time of great change upon them, the changelings of the Dukedoms of Chrysalis Moters would change with it. So needing new leadership, Duke Pharynx the Fifth would abdicate his crown to his sister. Where Sparkling Delight would later give birth to a healthy changeling nymph, whom would show signs that it would grow into a true changing queen. In order to further protect their hive by further solidify their alliance with pony kind, Duke Pharynx the Fifth would marry Grizzly Deal, and despite Grizzly's disinterest in stallions, she was more than just willing to take part in the union.

Though still stubborn in their ways, the local chapter of the Applejack Rangers would let themselves become absorbed into the NCR, seeing it better to help guide ponies as one of them, then as an outsider. But before they could move valuable and dangerous tech held inside their bunker, the bunker would be taken over by a large chapter of Steel rangers, and the tech removed before a counter attack could be launched. An event that would become more common as tension between the two ranger groups would only grow worse.

As the NCR's reach would grow, the Elysium Fields Memorial site would eventually fall under their protection, and become a base for the Followers of the Apocalypse. There, the Followers would repair the machinery, and begin printing and distributing the book inside the hidden library. At the same time, many of the survivor's of the town of Elysium would return, once again taking up their ancestors duty in protected the resting place of the fallen.

The Pear Valley Tribe's would return to their land after having defeated a long hated enemy, and recovering a lost daughter. But even with their best efforts, knowledge about the Glittering Matrix would become known, and many seeking revenge would come for the filly. None would find her and few would ever return. In time, and through great efforts from Velvet Remedy, the existence of Glittering Matrix would eventually become nothing more than just another rumor. A rumor of a genius young mare that looks exactly like Redeye, traveling with an aged stallion wielding a staff that has the skill of a yao guai at its top.

Dead Pass would once again become a hot spot for trouble, as it had always been, but now firmly under the control of a large group of Enclave Remnants. The pegasus guarding their small bit of land, building a tower there in which only pegasus can enter. This would bring them into conflict with the NCR, with the pass being the only train route through, and the pegasus unwilling to compromise.

Naysayer Manor would remain a burnt ruin, with many of its secrets buried under the rubble. But despite the danger, ponies would be drawn to the ruin, dark whispering calling to them, promising secrets. Many would not return, adding to the mindless undead that infested the mountain around it. But every now and then a pony would return, eyes filled with a dark madness, speaking of secrets revealed to them and books they must find.

Low Pressure

With his sister keeping an eye on him, Low Pressure's narcissism would be kept in check, making him only a little bit more tolerable. Strangely, though under supervision, Low would find himself enjoying fatherhood after the birth of his son. It helped that the colt was almost a carbon copy of his father, which concerned both aunt and mother alike.

Spell Circuit

Though offered a place in the Twilight Society, Spell would choose to stay in Ursa's rest with his daughters and nieces, where he would start a school. Finding teaching to be his true passion, deep down Spell found the pride he never had with his family, and with it a sense of purpose in which the Naysayer family had lost long ago. And though it took time, both Crowned and Flashed would come to love their father and forgive their mother.

In time, Spell would become known as a great scholar. One who would make sure that the lesions of the past were not forgotten, all so that it's mistakes would not again happen.

Plasma Cutter

Trauma is something nopony just recovers from, in which even the most vigilant can fail. Unfortunately Plasma's traumas would continue to hunt her for years, and bad habits once suppressed would surface. And though she’d find work as an engineer to distract herself, she would find work at the Red Light Showroom on and off, often sporting new scars along her fetlocks. After Sugar Honeys suicide, Plasma would become top mare of the Showroom, even quitting her engineering job, and even making several fetish porn vids.

Not letting her friend continue to let herself go, Lottery would eventually take Plasma under her direct supervision, where she would be kept busy at Pecans farm. With proper support and less distractions, Plasma would start to recover properly, and the worst of her habits kept under control. Though this didn’t stop Plasma’s sexual apatite, it did help her have a stable life in which she could look after what would become ten children in a safe environment.

Cauterize

After the birth of his foals, Cauterize would start working for Grizzly Deal as security, using his aggressive demeanor to keep the more rough elements in check. Though Dust and Smoke would continue to be their own problem for him, Cauterize would rarely complain as he showered his children with the love and affection he never had.

Despite his officially going legit, Cauterize's bandit connections would remain strong. And when the NCR would show up to purge the bandits, the bandits would always be conveniently where the NCR is not, along with Cauterize conveniently finding a box full of caps.

Mint, Aloe, Basil, and Coriander

After joining up with the Followers of the Apocalypse and sharing all they knew, the four ghoul would begin properly training a new generation of doctors and nurses. To their surprise, among those who joined the Followers was none other than a traumatized Ministry mare Fluttershy. Reunited with their former boss, they would help the former hero on her long road to recovery, using the skills they learned over the last 200 years.

Mint and Aloe would periodically return to the Ursa's Rest region to visit her friends, and make sure they were getting the treatment they needed, along with aiding in the child birthing process. Strangely, as they helped ponies recover from their trauma and bring in new life, their goulash features would slowly heal, but at the same time they would begin to age.

Benday

Free from unity and able to fully think for himself, the artificial alicorn would return to the stable that once was his home and find the grave of his mother. Confronted by Sand Castle the two alicorns would form a close relationship as Benday would continue to struggle his body, a sense of loss always following him as he never truly got to be the stallion he should have been. But with support of his friends and help from Mint, he would find a balance in his new life and with it happiness. Wanting to give back to the ponies that accepted them, both Benday and Sand Castle would build an orphanage within Ursa's Rest. There, the many lost foals, runaways, and crusaders would find a roof over their heads and warm food to eat, all under the protection of ponies who care.

Silver Bristle Brush

Though she would never reign her old memories that the Goddess had taken from her, Silver would find a new family among the other waste ponies who followed Majestic. Traveling deep into a vast and empty nopony zone. Through chard black forests and around a tainted lake, they would find a town of waste ponies. And though none knew of a Silver, or any of theirs stolen from them, they would take them in all the same.

Years later after the firing of the Gardens of Equestria, the vast nopony zone would be cleansed and the ponies living there would face a new hardship as raiders and scavengers rushed in to calm the thought empty land. Many waste ponies would be killed, seen as nothing more as feral mutants, or at least that’s what the scavengers told others. Their Silver would emerge and seek out her old friends in order to save her new family. It didn’t take long for the NCR to move in themselves to help protect the waste ponies, but also to clam the now opened lands for themselves.

Grizzly Deal

Everything Grizzly did to change her image and adapt to the changing world would come at a great cost, and she would lose much of what her family had built. But in the end it would prove worth it, as with her dealing with Gwadina Grimfeather, Grizzly would receive an official pardon for her dealing with Redeye, and the NCR would take over her debts she accord for ending slavery in the Ursa’s Rest reagan. And because of her experience in the cut throat politics of the wasteland, Grizzly Deal would be taken in as part of Gwadina council, in which she would help form the NCR into a viable government.

To no surprise to anypony in the know, Grizzly’s union with Pharynx the Fifth would result in her becoming pregnant again. Pharynx the Sixth would grow up to be a well respected politician, and though some suspected it was through the influence of his mother, he would become the mayor of Ursa’s Rest. Where he would stay as Mayor until his retirement, and was fondly loved by those who live there.

Wiretap

Growing up idolizing the heroes of the wasteland, Wiretap would emulate them as an adult. Upon reaching the age of 18, she would join the NCR, and find herself fast tracked into the Ranger program. There she would carve out her own legend, helping the NCR to expand their territory through the ruthless elimination or raider lords, slaver masters, and other threats to the ponies of the wasteland.

When Gwadina eventually stepped down as president of the NCR, many of the Rangers left with her, once being Talons themselves, and Wiretap would find herself promoted to Chief. Working closely with President Calamity, the Rangers would be reformed into a more independent force, acting more like heroes then as a propaganda strike force. There Wiretap would remain as Chief for many years, still expanding the NCR territory, but through acts of kindness and heroism then that of blood and battle.

Hans

Helping to form the NCR Rangers, Hans would spend many years fighting as part of a special ops strike force. But one day he would loose and claw and a wing, permanently grounding him when they could not get him to the medics in time. Though it was a token gesture, he would accept his promotion to Chief of the NCR Rangers, where his experience would prove valuable in leading the Rangers thought President Gwadinas administration.

After his retirement from the rangers he would return to Hogen Highborn, and help the old griffin train a new generation of Talons. In time, he would take over Hogan's place, becoming a true Talon veteran, and well respected by those who work in a job where most die young.

Pecan Harvester

Though she did enjoy being Ursa’s Den top mare, Pecan enjoyed working in the dirt far more, so she was more than willing to return to her family farm with her son and leave the life of a showroom mare behind her. But life would not be easy for Pecan, as the feud between her siblings would only grow worse as time marched on, and they would form rival companies in which a private war would spark. Focusing on pony management over actual farming, Pecans Eldest sister would farm the Golden Harvest Farmers Union. Pecan herself would be more concerned with independent farmers, forming the Homesteaders Alliance in which they would receive the aid and protection needed. Though the NCR would attempt to keep the fighting from going hot, the two sides of the family would remain bitter enemies for generations.

But not all things would remain a problem for Pecan, as Lottery and Cold would join her, and became a symbol in which she needed to draw others to their new company. With their help, Pecan would be able to find time to relax, and even grow close to Cold, who she did like. In time Pecan would become pregnant with Cold's child and the two would get married. Lottery herself would embrace the union, having grown distant from Cold over the years and wanting her friends to be happy. Though Pecan offered Lottery to join them in a their relationship, but she would turn it down, becoming more focused on work than love.

Majestic

After helping the Ghouls and Waste Ponies find a new home, Majestic and the other alicorns, along with the cult of Unity, would vanish from the wasteland. Many would hunt for the Overseer of the Goddess, some seeking vengeance, others for her vast knowledge taken from Twilight Sparkle, and a fair few seeking to become alicorns themselves. But none would find her, or find those who vanished with her.

In time she would become but a legend, an old tale few could remember if it was true or not. But there are times when a trope of old artificial alicorns would wander into a town. There they would put on a performance, igniting the sense of aw of magic into the young, a sense of mystery in which drives the curious to seek out answers. Then they would vanish as mysteriously as they arrived, non knowing where they came from, or where they left too.

Cold Trails

A sense of guilt would forever hang over Cold’s head, but he would not let it dominant his life. Instead he would push forwarded to further fix the mistakes of the Grand Pegasus Enclave. After helping Grizzly form a second militia, he would take Pecan on her offer, and help her on her farm, planting many of the cloud crops he had recovered. Soon after, Lottery would join them, bring seeds and crops from her own home to plant in the fields. As Cold suspected, the cloud crops would become more flavorful and have texter when grown from soil, though they would remain lighter, and fluffier than normal crops/

The relationship between Cold and Lottery would struggle, both having to deal with their PTSD, often breaking up and getting back together again several times. Despite trying to stay loyal to Lottery, Cold would find himself growing closer to Pecan. After some time, it would become clear that Both Lottery and himself were not a good match, and would officially break up for good. Afterwards Pecan's pregnancy would become known, and Cold would take responsibility and marry Pecan, where they would have several more children in a long and happy life.

Lottery

The wasteland was not kind to Lottery, leaving her scared both outside and in. But life is what you make it, and she would stubbornly force herself to make it a good life. Though her parents were considerably crossed with her, they were more overjoyed to see her again then anything, openly sharing their warmth with her and accepting her back. There she would convince her family to rejoin the wasteland, even share their skills at farming, and as Lottery’s pregnancy began to show her mother was there to help her through it. Even at Pecans farm did her family help make things a success, both with growing crops, and with fighting.

When it was time, Lottery would give birth to three fillies. A blue pegasus she named Will-o-wisp, a white Unicorn she named Rime Frost, and a very pretty earth pony that looked just like her, which she named Sparking Passion. All three fillies would be shower with love, but at the same time make sure they knew right from wrong, along with the dangers of the wasteland. And with help of her friends and family, they would be kept safe and raised well.

Unfortunately not all things would work out, and as Mint predicted, Lottery’s trauma would eventually resurface, plaguing her with depression and episodes of PTSD, along with frequent night terrors. And though Cold Trails attempted to help her, his own issues would push the two apart, and prevent their relationship from growing. But with help from Mint, over time Lottery would recover, if slowly, she would be able to fight against her demons and become stronger.

As the Homesteaders Alliance grew, and Lottery would become busier, she would once more cross paths with Horus. Seeking to help arm the many homesteaders within their corporation, she would turn to the Gunrunners for help, in which Horus was their representative. Though their meeting was brief, their passion burned bright, and a few months later Lottery would find herself pregnant again. Seeking out Horus, the griffon would first be shocked, but then accepted the situation. Despite Lottery’s problems, Horus would become the rock she needed in which her demons would be smashed upon.

And so as one bloody chapter in Equestria's history ends, another begins, but one filled with hope. Where the many creatures of Equestria could finally come together and find common ground. Where the wasteland that once dominated the lives of many would slowly lose its grip, and the beautiful land it once was would slowly begin to return. A time of hopes and dreams could be seen just beyond the horizon, but until that day comes, strife would continue to dominate the lives of ponies, drawing them into conflict big and small, in which they must fight to survive so to see that day come. For war never changes.

Fallout Equestria: A Wastelander Tale, End.