Fallout Equestria: Tales from Stable 83

Not long later we had closed the cellar door and bunkered down for the night. Spark and Lily had taken the raised area closest to ours and had placed a feast of food between us. Mostly grass and hay, but there were a half dozen seared steaks covered in spices and filling the cellar with a delight cherry wood smell.

“Please eat. You three look like you ain’t had a proper meal in weeks.” Lily’s eyes still worked well, even when partially obscured by her helmet. “And don’t worry about us, we’ve got more than enough for our journey back home.”

“That’s very kind of you ma’am” Smoky said as he pulled over a plate of grass. “We appreciate your hospitality.” He nudged Orchid, who already had a steak in her mouth, earning a smile and a thank you through a mouthful of food.

I was the last to grab a plate. My new friends needed the food more than I did, but I wasn’t going to turn my nose up at a free meal. “Thank you both. We’ve been doing the best we can out here, but it’s a much tougher life I was expecting.”

Spark set a plate down in front of Lily before saying “us too. It took quite a while for us to get the hang of things out here. Shit, even twenty years on and I don’t think we’ve really got it all figured out.”

Twenty years? I’ve been out here two weeks and should have punched my ticket already. “Sweet Celestia that’s a long time. I can’t imagine what all you’ve seen and been through. With what I’ve seen in two weeks it can’t be good.”

Lily chuckled lightly. “It ain’t all bad, we’ve had each other and that’s kept us going through it all. And now we’ve got those fine stallions watching our backs, so it’s all the easier.” She began munching on a pile of hay, eyeing us all the while.

“The adjustment period was awful, having to come to terms with life as we knew it being no more. We couldn’t turn back though, left our badges in the stable and got locked out.” Spark looked over to me. “Same thing happened to you I’d assume.”

“Not entirely. I had it in the pocket of my lab coat, but it got stolen from me after I got shot.” I took another bite before adding “twice, and nearly got my skull caved in. Orchid and Smoky showed me a picture of the bastard, five thousand cap bounty on his head and I’m unlucky enough to walk right into his trap.”

“You ran into him? Wonder what he was doing going back there?” Spark seemed concerned. He knew exactly who I was talking about. “We’ve heard tell of him doing some pretty fucked up shit. Glad you two came along to save his ass when you did. I’d hate to have lost another friend to this world we live in.”

“I’m glad he pulled through, wasn’t sure he would. If it weren’t fer Smoky runnin ta get supplies, I ain’t sure he’d still be alive.” Orchid scooched closer to me. “Had me worried ‘til he woke up and started talking ta us. A few more times since then as well. I swear he’s got a bullseye painted on his back.”

“It’s true, I’ve been within an inch of death on a half dozen occasions. It’s all worked out so far, but there’s no telling when my luck is going to run out.” I’d been saved by dumb luck time and again, but luck always runs out.

“We’ve had our fair share of close calls. Wandered too close to a few places we probably shouldn’t have, and run into fights we shouldn’t have won. Like when we wandered back up towards Canterlot.” Spark shook his head a few times. “Ghouls up there nearly ripped us apart, them fuckers bite hard.”

“Ghouls?” I asked unsure of what they meant. Surely not the old fairytales come to life. “You’ll have to excuse me, I’ve dealt with coyotes and raiders. That’s the extent of what I know is different out here.”

“Right. Ghouls are ponies consumed by the radiation. Their skin exposed and often rotting off, they feed off of the radiation to live, and they almost always are brainless and feral. There’s a few good ones out here that haven’t gone feral yet.” Spark took his turn to eat and let Lily continue.

“Best to avoid areas with ‘em. They’re most dangerous in swarms. Getting overrun by more than a dozen is a death sentence.” Lily absentmindedly rubbed her left foreleg. “Most of Equestria is dangerous now, only a few settlements out there that house decent ponies. You get used to it after a while and find a place you can settle down and start a new life.”

“I’ll take your word on that. Settling down out here doesn’t sound like a dream come true” I scoffed “a nightmare more like it. I’m sure there are good ponies out there, I’ve met a few, but everything else wants to kill you. I’d prefer working in our stable for the rest of my days to worrying about dying everyday. At least in there I know what type of dangers I’d be facing and I think there is safety in that.”

“Well if it’s safety you want we’ve got a place for you. Our town needs another armorer, somepony who can make good armor out of whatever materials we’ve got on hoof. You’d have a safe place to live, work to pay for fresh food and water, and of course your friends to help you adjust.” Spark beamed at the idea. “I think you’d like it there, but it’s your call to make.”

I slowly chewed through the rest of my meal, thinking all the while. This gave everyone time to finish eating their own meals.

A safe place to settle down would be nice. Maybe get serious with Orchid, settle down and have a family. That would be as close to a return to normalcy as I would ever get out here. Then what about my other friends trapped in the stable? They’d be stuck there with that freak until they somehow got free… if they ever got free. Leaving them to whatever horrendous fate at his hooves wasn’t an option. I’d at least have to check and see if they could be saved, then maybe this offer wouldn’t be so bad.

I sighed and placed my plate off to the side. “I just might take you up on that. I’ve got business to attend to in the stable first, but once that’s done I think I’d like to join you.” That bastard needed to die and my friends needed to be set free, but his death would be enough if I couldn’t free them. “Might even have extra hooves to help you out. Depending on if I can figure out how to free everypony else.”

“You might try the safety override.” Lily said, looking over at Spark. “Looked like it was intact when we left. Would be the best place to start, but after that you’re on your own.” That gave me confidence in saving everypony else.

“We’ll take you up on that offer if you’ve got a place fer us.” Smoky sounded off from my left. “Orchid and I have a bounty to collect, but after that I think it’s time we found ourselves a home base to work from.”

Orchid nodded and said “we’re pretty good at tannin hides and cookin. An we can always work as guards need be. Bout time we had a real place ta call home.”

I was a little surprised to hear this. These two didn't seem like the type to ever settle down, but surely Smoky would haggle with Spark and Lily later. It would be the best way to protect Orchid out here. "I make no promises, but we'll see what happens. If I do manage to free them where would I be sending them?"

"You'd send them towards Bucklyn Cross, there's a little settlement that way called Arbu. Nice ponies just trying to live their lives, that's where we call home when we're not out on grand adventures to relive the past." Spark looked over to Smoky, giving him a knowing nod.

Smoky nodded in return. "I know about where you mean, never been that way myself though. I'll mark it in that map book of yours Crimson, that way you know where to send anypony you save, but for now I suggest we get some rest. We have a lot to do, even with all the extra help from Spark and Lily.”

“Thank you both, you might have just saved dozens of lives.” I smiled and laid my head down.

“You’d do the same for us. Least we can do is help you along your way and offer a place for you.”

Arbu sounds like a nice place, hopefully it’s as safe and peaceful as the stable.