Fallout Equestria: Tales from Stable 83

I woke up some time later. My body was still sore, but I was alive and breathing. A few minutes of stretching later and I was able to stand on my own hooves once again. I slid into my armor and made sure my weapons were where they should be.

Though it was still dark I could see most of the room. All the corpses had been cleared from the station and what equipment they had was piled next to Orchid who was now fast asleep on her bedroll. The vending machines had also been moved toward the center of the room, bits and pieces lay scattered at their bases. Smoky had been busy while Orchid and I were out. Though he was nowhere to be seen.

I trotted over to the center of the room and started examining the vending machines. The doors had been ripped off as had all the plastic. The interior was untouched and impeccable minus a few rancid bags of chips. Smoky had attempted to saw through the frame based on the scratch marks at each corner of each machine. I lacked the physical tools to approach these machines that way, but physical means were never my strong suit anyway.

I focused and channeled one of my favorite work spells. Pressing my horn against the right side of the first machine I slowly traced along the edges starting from the top left and ending at the bottom left. The now warm side panel popped free of the machine and clattered to the floor. Cutting metal was definitely easier with a proper cutting torch, but in a pinch magic would suffice. My cuts were sloppy, wasting a small amount of material that I hoped wouldn't matter. Each side panel looked big enough to make three pipe bomb housings. Hopefully that would be enough.

I was through the back panel of the machine when I noticed a bright light from outside. The delicious smell of meat began to fill the air and I got the inkling Smoky had started a fire. The front door was already open so I peaked my head outside.

Smoky was standing next to a pile of corpses, fanning a small flame to set them ablaze. He had broken down the deck of the station and interwoven the scraps and corpses.

Within thirty seconds the pile was engulfed in flame and a nauseating smell of cooking meat and intestines swirled through the air. I trotted to Smoky’s side, not that I wanted to. “Been busy I see.”

Smoky was halfway through drawing his gun by the time he faced me. He slowly lowered it back into the holster. “Yeah… had ta do somethin while I waited for you and Orchid to wake up. Figured gettin rid of these sacks of shit would keep me busy.”

“Yeah.” And to help ease the pain of what he’d been through. “Seems to have worked.” Watching the pile burn was cathartic. Even if I wasn’t awake for the act, knowing it had happened was more than I cared to know.

Smoky sighed and shook his head. “Let’s get back inside. Still got work to do before we can leave this Celestia forsaken place.” He turned and trotted back inside.

I hesitated for a moment and watched the fire burn. This wasn’t justice for all they’d done to us, but it was a step in the right direction. Now they wouldn’t be able to hurt anypony else and there would be naught but ash to remember them by.

When I returned inside I saw Smoky bending one of the side panels. He had bent it into an N shape by the time I was at his side. “Must know some fancy trick to cut metal huh? Mind slicing these up?”

“I can do that.” I traced my horn along the bent edges of the metal and cut more precisely through. “Learned it for prototyping armors. Doesn’t work for metal over a quarter inch thick, but thin sheets like this aren’t much trouble.” I finished speaking as he finished bending the next place.

Smoky motioned for me to cut through the next set as he started bending the smaller chunks. “That’s all we’ll need. Should have enough for a couple dozen bombs. A good start, but we’ll need more.”

“I figured as much with what you’ve told me about my home.” I moved to the last side of the machine and sliced into it. “I’d hope we wouldn’t need much more, we’ll need a lot of gunpowder to fill what we’ll make here.”

Smoky caught the panel and began the process over again. “Then we better get everything we need from here and get moving.”

“Agreed, anything to get out of here faster.” Hopefully the mine was unraided, or at least not fully mined out. “I know it’ll all be worth it for what we’ll find there.”

“I hope so Crimson… I sure fucking hope so.” With that he was silent, using only hoof motions to communicate as we worked through the rest of the vending machine panels. By the time we were done the sun had risen and the fire outside had burned down to embers.

Orchid had woken up some time ago and had been watching us work in silence. She had donned her armor and prepared something to eat while waiting for us. “You two should eat somethin an then we’ll get outta here.”

Smoky rose from his position on the floor and traipsed over to Orchid. He grabbed the bundle of grass prepared for him and gave her a hug before continuing out the door of the station.

Words must have been exchanged during the embrace as Orchid’s expression softened. “I made sure ya got a good steak this time. Ya been through hell in tha past coupla days.”

I accepted the steak being held out to me and voraciously tore into it. The events of yesterday and this morning had drained much more of my energy than expected. So I was elated to finally eat something. “Thank you.”

Orchid shyly nodded and mouthed a ‘yer welcome’. Her wings extended and pulled me into a warm embrace followed by a kiss on the cheek. Her expression betrayed pain of some sort. Likely caused by whatever words had been passed between her and Smoky.

I returned the kiss and pulled away from the embrace. As much as I enjoyed the affection, I hated this place more. Putting this place behind us would be good for everyone. I had one last thing to do to truly put it behind us. “Let’s get going, long way to go today.”

“I’ll follow yer lead.” The smile had returned to her face, though I doubted it was anything but a facade.

We made our way outside and off what remained of the train platform. Smoky sat staring away from the station, a contemplative look on his face. “You two ready?”

“In a second I will be. Got one last thing to do.” I levitated a bundle of embers into the air and towards the station. Those bastards had burned, and now too would their makeshift tomb. I set the ember down and let loose a burst of superheated magic akin to a ball of plasma.

The ember and blast erupted sending sparks and flame everywhere. Several patches of the station were rotten and resistant to the flames, but the station was nevertheless slowly engulfed in flame. Another step in the right direction, but recovery from this place would take much longer. For now this act would have to do, the journey ahead was long and we had no time to dawdle.

“Now I’m ready. Let’s leave this place.” I didn’t wait for their response, nor did I turn my head to see if they were following. I was in charge today and I wanted to forget this place had ever existed.

My friends followed close behind me, the sounds of our hoofsteps our only companions as we wandered into the wasteland. Our pace was slow but steady, today would be a test of endurance rather than a sprint to the finish. We had around thirty miles to go before we could set hoof into the mines. A stop at Lone Tree would not be on the cards if I had my way. We had lost ground to make up after the nightmare of last night.

The rain had dissipated over the night. Today would be a reprieve from the driving rains, though we’d still have to deal with their aftermath. The muddied ground slowed our pace sucking hooves in with every step. Luckily only the topmost two inches of soil were soaked. We’d slog our way through no matter how muddy the ground was.

By two or so I was beginning to worry we’d have to stop at Lone Tree for the night. We were just barely over halfway back, less than a fifth of the way through the journey. At this rate we’d need the rest of the week just for travel, an expense of time we couldn’t afford. And one that I couldn’t help mitigate.

“Heads up Crimson, we’ve got some movement on tha horizon.” Orchid held out a pair of binoculars to me with her right wing. “Take a look fer yerself.”

I levitated the binoculars up and scanned the horizon in front of us. There were a couple of vaguely pony shaped blobs moving away from us. They were too far away to make out the finer details but I could tell they were wearing metal armor. “Looks like they’re headed in the same direction. Freshly polished metal armor by the looks of it. Not power armor, but definitely heavy duty.” I hoofed the binoculars back to Orchid.

“We’ll wanna keep our distance then. Folk like that ain’t never pleasant ta deal with.” She looked worried, like she may have dealt with these ponies before.

“Definitely not Steel Rangers. That armor they’ve got is made of road signs.” Smoky had stopped to inspect the group. He was leaned forward as if that would help him see better. “Big bore rifles too. They’re well equipped, far more so than we’re capable of dealing with.” He stuffed the binoculars back into his bags. “Let’s keep moving and keep an eye on them.”

“Let’s. Orchid would you mind getting up high to keep better watch?” I asked, continuing my forward march. I’d feel much better with an eye in the sky, but was still worried about another aerial ambush.

“I’ll keep an eye on ‘em an circle down every so often.” Orchid took off into the air and began circling one hundred feet overhead.

“You think they’ll be any trouble?” I asked turning my head to address Smoky. “If we saw them then it’s likely they saw us right?”

“I don’t recognize ‘em, best we keep our distance for now. More than likely they know we’re on their tails and just don’t view us as a threat.” Smoky took the lead from me. “Just keep moving forward and keep a level head.”

That didn’t put my worries at ease, but him taking the lead did. Taking charge is nice, but I’m too unfamiliar with the world to lead us through. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Silence once again fell between us as we continued our travels. Every half hour Orchid circled down to report what she’d seen. We were slowly catching up to the ponies we had seen and adjusted our pace accordingly. The day progressed slowly until we were a mile from Lone Tree.

Orchid landed in front of us and held up a hoof. “We’ve got a problem, looks like our hideout got found.” She held out binoculars to me.

I took them and got a better look at the group. Everything Smoky said was true, heavily armored and equipped with terrifying looking rifles. I could further tell that two of the six gathered were older than me, living out their golden years in this shithole. Both of the older ponies stopped to inspect the tree, placing a hoof a few feet up the trunk in the same place. A gesture I recognized…

“No way, you two were still in your pods.” I whispered as I watched the group. “We’re going to talk to these ponies.” I levitated the binoculars back to Orchid and took forward in a gallop. “Let me do the talking, I know these ponies.”

Smoky and Orchid both began to protest but didn’t have the time to stop me. They trailed behind me a hundred feet for the last mile. Probably cursing me the whole time.

I slowed down when I was within two hundred yards. By then the group I was heading towards had turned to face me, guns trained and ready for action.

One of the younger members trotted out to meet me fifty yards from the group. “Who the fuck are you? And why the hell are you galloping at us?”

“I’m Crimson, a friend of the two older ponies in your group.” I took a moment to catch my breath. “They know me from before. And these two are my friends Orchid and Smoky.” I gestured towards where they were standing.

“Before? You mean before the war?” The stallion eyed me over for a minute before nodding. “That would make sense why you look out of place. Follow me nice and slow like, I’ll take you to them.” He turned and traipsed back towards his group.

I followed behind formulating what to say to my old friends. It’d been so long since I’d seen them and we had lots to discuss, but where to start? There wasn’t enough time to come up with much, and only just enough to confirm who these ponies were. “I can’t believe it’s really you. I thought you two were still at work when I stumbled out.”

Spark and Water Lily looked aghast with mouths wide open as they stared directly at me. Neither could believe the sight before their eyes, and their shocked looks continued as they turned to each other.

The stallion Spark broke the silence first. "Is... is it really you? You was still sleeping when I woke up and I couldn't get your pod open." He pulled his helmet off revealing a now much grayer mane and coat. The once vibrant and shiny charcoal and steel grays showed signs of aging over twenty years. "How long you been awake for?"

I stepped forward and hugged the old stallion, he was my dearest work friend and I had missed him greatly. "I'm so glad to see you Spark, and you too Lily. I've been out in this nightmare for about a week and a half, a whole lot less time than you've been out here apparently."

Lily half scoffed, half laughed. "Wonderful words to say to a mare you old so and so. You ain't looking the greatest yourself you know."

“I know. I was quite rudely introduced to what remains of our world. If Orchid and Smoky hadn’t found me when they did I would be dead.” I gestured to my friends to introduce them. “They’ve been teaching me about surviving ever since.”

“Pleasure ta make yer acquaintance. An it’s been two weeks now. You were out cold fer three days fer we could talk ta ya.” Orchid held out a hoof and was greeted by a firm shake.

Three days huh? I knew my injuries were bad, but didn’t realize they were that bad. “Sun is starting to set, why don’t we take refuge in the cellar for the night? Might have to knock down some more shelving to keep all of us off the floor, but there’s more than enough room.”

“So it was you that got it open?” Lily threw the hatch open and started down. “Saw the recent digging and was wondering who found it. Spark be a dear and get down here with that lantern. Frightful dark down here.”

"You four keep guard for a while, we'll get everything ready. Crimson you and your bunch follow me, you know what's down here already." Spark trotted down the stairs lighting an old oil lantern. "And the faster we get things ready the more time we'll have for catching up."

"They're good ponies, some of my best friends. You can relax." I said to Smoky and Orchid before heading towards the cellar. "We'll be safe here for the night and in the morning we'll keep going."

The cellar was dimly lit by the single lantern, but there was enough light to see everything down here. Spark had moved the skeleton to the back left corner and appeared to be praying. Lily had a hammer clenched in her teeth and was tearing down another set of shelves. Both hard at work making this place of death more like a home than a tomb.

I sidled up next to Lily and held up the boards so she could work more easily. "This place isn't much to look at, but it makes a good shelter from the elements and a good place to hide from raiders."

"I'll take your word on that. I'd much prefer my house, old or new, to this dreadful cellar, but it'll do for the night." She pried a few more nails free and the first board slowly found a home on the ground with my help.

"I'd prefer my house to anyplace I've stayed out here." I slid the next few boards to the ground as they came undone. "Life is a lot different now, lot more dangerous and a whole lot less pleasant. Sounds like even our homes are home to a different type of creature now, fire breathing geckos I've been told."

"All true I'm afraid. Spark and I wanted to go back for the first few years we were out here. Found out that we'd be killed if we tried, far too many of those damnable things. I'm not sure we could now, even with the weapons and those fine stallions we travel with." Lily set her hammer back into her saddlebags and scanned the cellar. The others had made quick work of the rest of the shelves and had already set up some elevated sleeping areas. Just enough for all of the ponies here.

I grimaced. If even a group of six well armed ponies couldn't handle retaking our home... then how would I ever stand a chance? "That's... unfortunate to hear. I've been planning to go there and take back what is rightfully mine and I'm nowhere near as well equipped as you are."

Lily pat me on the shoulder. "Chin up Crimson. You might have a chance yet. We're going to pass by our little town on the way back home. Maybe we could give you a helping hoof by shooting some of those critters for you. I'll speak with Spark in the morning and see what we can do."

"I appreciate it, Lily. We've still got some preparations to make ourselves. So it's not like we're going first thing tomorrow morning." I smiled, today hadn't been all bad. "For now I think we should take some time to catch up and rest. Been a long few days for us, and you've got some stories to tell me about out here."