Fallout Girls: Devastated Desert

The Rainbooms’ concern about Pinkie Pie’s impending “doozy” was palpable even as they all fell asleep in their makeshift camp in this shack. Rainbow Dash had been kind enough to zip back to the trainyard and steal the mattresses off the platform just so the girls could get some extra beds for the night, which she set on the bedroom floor so a few girls could double up.

As she called dibs on it, Rainbow took the top bunk of the bunk bed while Pinkie took the bottom bunk – she’d wanted to double-up with one of the others, but no one wanted to be directly next to her if she doozy-shook in her sleep. She did a bit, but it was a lot more minor than they were expecting, only lightly rattling the rusty bunk bed frame as she slept.

Applejack had been offered a spot in one of the mattresses, but she said she was fine with just sleeping in the chair near the table in the bedroom; she’d done it before without complaint, and she wasn’t about to deprive any of her friends of any comfort. Rarity found that arrangement perfectly agreeable as she bunked with Fluttershy on one of the mattresses while Twilight and Sunset took the other one.

But Sunset found herself unable to sleep – not that anyone could blame her; she knew she’d told her friends that they were outmatched against the Legion forces in Nipton, but… the guilt of leaving the townspeople there to face untold depraved brutality at the Legion’s hands gnawed at her conscience like an angry Parasprite – she felt like her friends were right and that they should’ve done something to help the townsfolk, even if they did end up getting hurt. But at the same time, even if it was for the sake of helping those in danger, the thought of her friends getting hurt in any way – especially some way that could’ve easily been avoided – scared her almost more than the Legion and whatever they could’ve done to her.

Not to mention the fauna they had encountered so far in the desert – aside from the coyotes Fluttershy had managed to negotiate the group past and the ants that apparently didn’t seem to care either way what happened to them, all the other animals the girls had encountered since arriving to this world had almost explicitly wanted to kill them, and the risk of running across more of this hostile wildlife was ever-present.

And there was also the worry she had about running into those men from Goodsprings who shot that man when they arrived in this world. The fear of running into them – or at the very least more raiders or soldiers who might kill her or the others – almost overwhelmed her when bundled with everything else she was thinking about.

With those thoughts in her mind, Sunset barely got any sleep that night. She woke up the next morning bleary-eyed and drowsy as she stumbled out the door, her eyes burning from the sun. “Mmm… turn down the sun…” she moaned drowsily.

“Man, you are really not a morning person,” Rainbow remarked as she and the others joined her outside.

“Ya think?” Sunset pointed out. “So what’s the plan now?”

“Well, I think we should scout down these train tracks and see if they lead anywhere,” Twilight suggested, pointing to the tracks that led from the blocked-up tunnel.

“Well, if we wanna make sure whoever goes out there gets out of trouble fast, I think I’m our best bet.” Rainbow shrugged as she stretched, ready to run.

Sunset was almost immediately worried by the thought of that, seemingly forgetting to be drowsy. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, trying hard not to make her worry too major. “If we’re going anywhere, we should go together.”

Applejack appeared a bit suspicious of Sunset’s mannerisms but tried not to dwell on it as Twilight walked over. “That’s some valid concern Sunset, but Rainbow’s right. At least to start, it would probably be for the best if she went alone.”

Sunset hated it, but she had to concede that point. “All right.” she sighed before looking Rainbow dead in her eye. “But keep your rifle handy just in case. Only attack in self-defense and just generally… be careful.”

“Relax, Mom,” Rainbow assured as she grasped her Geode, her magic flowing through her body. “I got this.” Before Sunset could object, Rainbow raced out into the desert along the train tracks, a multi-colored contrail glimmering behind her as she ran.

She was gone for a while, so the girls used the time to do all they could to prepare to move out when she returned; securing what other weapons and equipment they could from around the shack while Twilight guided Applejack on safely harvesting some prickly pears from the cactus, which were then prepared and packed for the girls to use as food later. Finally, Rainbow returned and skidded to a stop near the shack… though her shoes looked a bit crispy. “Whoa. Are you okay?” Sunset asked in concern.

“What took ya so long?” Applejack smirked.

“Well, the good news is the train tracks lead to some sort of outpost near a highway,” Rainbow explained as she brushed sand and soot from her clothes. “Safe bet it’s a path to a town; somewhere we can bunker down for a while.”

“And the bad news?” Rarity asked.

“Is that I almost got blown up on the way back by some nutbar with a grenade launcher,” Rainbow answered.

“Oh my goodness, are you okay?!” Fluttershy asked in alarm as she rushed to her friend’s side, looking her over for any injuries.

“I’m fine; wasn’t even grazed,” Rainbow assured.

“Why did he shoot at you at all?” Sunset asked.

“Well, I doubt super-fast teenage girls who leave rainbow-colored contrails are common out here.” Applejack pointed out, sounding almost sarcastic. “He probably just panicked before he could see her clearly.”

“Can we at least get to this outpost safely?” Rarity asked.

“Maybe. But it’s a long way, and I doubt that guy was alone.” Rainbow remarked. “Especially not anymore.”

“Then we prioritize stealth over speed,” Twilight suggested. “If there really is an ambush waiting for us out there somewhere, we should move past it as quietly as possible. They won’t realize we’ve passed them then.”

Sunset knew these were good ideas, but she had a strange feeling it wouldn’t be enough. “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” Pinkie said loudly, bouncing around as she explained her plan. “Applejack drags the handcar up here from the trainyard and sets it on the tracks over there, and we ride it down to where Rainbow Dash was ambushed, then Rarity puts a shield around us to save us from the ambush and let us roll on to safety! I’ll wear this mustache…!” She popped a black fake mustache on her lip with a weird grin.

Everyone just looked at her rather blankly as if they weren’t convinced about that plan, but Sunset nodded. “Actually, I kinda like that. Let’s do it,” she smiled, earning surprised gasps from the others.

Pinkie zipped over to her side. “Does that mean I can wear the mustache?” she asked hopefully.

“Mm, no. That’s the one part I gotta say no to.” Sunset remarked, swiftly yanking the fake mustache from Pinkie’s lip.

It was actually a lot harder for Applejack to carry the handcar up from the service yard than Pinkie had made it sound – for one thing, she needed Twilight’s help to actually safely carry the handcar up through the pass, while Rainbow and Rarity stood guard in case any more Deathclaws came down the mountain. And for another, actually getting the handcar set on the tracks near the boarded-up tunnel in the mountain was difficult as the wheels seemed like they were going to fall off at any moment and the tracks were partly buried in patches down the mountain. “Looks like it’s gonna be a bumpy ride,” Twilight remarked.

“Can we set some substitute rails or something over the dirt?” Rainbow suggested.

“Don’t think we got time for that,” Applejack argued as she set her hands on the back of the cart. “We’re just gonna have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.”

“Does that include hoping the brake works?” Rarity asked in worry.

“I think it’s more about hoping we don’t jump the track as soon as we hit the dirt.” Sunset pointed out as she gripped the rusty side railing tightly.

The others did the same as Applejack pushed, starting the handcar rolling before she quickly jumped on and held on tight to the handrail.

Just in time too, as the cart reached the slope and started rolling faster. Seeing the first dirt patch in their path, Rarity quickly used her powers to create small diamond rails to crest it. “Now would be a good time to find the brake.” she pointed out as the cart rolled over the bump, picking up more speed as the diamonds faded behind the wagon.

“Got it,” Rainbow noted as she reached for a rusty handbrake lever on the central column… which snapped off in her hand when she tried to pull it. “Well, that’s not good.” It got worse as the handcar started speeding up further, racing down the slope and bouncing over Rarity’s diamond rails.

Suddenly Rainbow saw something. “This is where the guy was!” she called over the wind. And sure enough, the handcar raced through the valley, it passed a small gang of raiders who all looked astounded to see the handcar race past.

“Looks like we left them in the dust!” Pinkie smiled.

“Ah think we’re gonna wish we didn’t leave so much dust!” Applejack yelled, pointing at the curve in the track up ahead near what looked like a fortified trailer park. And at the speed the handcar was going, it was sure to derail and crash straight onto the highway.

Naturally not wanting to onboard when that happened, Rarity gave the order: “Abandon ship!” That was more than enough to prompt the Rainbooms to quickly leap off the handcar and tumble to a safe stop in the sand as the handcar’s wheels snapped off and the cart smashed hard into the crunched asphalt of the road, crushing it even more before it came to rest against the ridge on the other side of the road.

Sunset groaned and coughed on the dust as she stood up and brushed herself off. “Well, that was fun,” she remarked sarcastically. “Everyone okay?” Everyone groaned in agreement as they sat up… except Pinkie who hopped to her feet with a grin.

“That was fun! Can we do it again?!” she asked.

“Not unless you’ve got a spare handcar on ya somewhere,” Applejack remarked.

That was about the time a man in an NCR uniform came out of the trailer park with a revolver in hand, clearly drawn by the noise. “What the hell’s goin’ on out here?” he yelled, suddenly freezing when he saw the destruction. “What’n the…?”

“It would take too long to explain,” Sunset assured as she approached. The soldier suddenly raised his pistol and pointed at her, prompting her and the others to raise their hands in surrender. “Whoa-whoa-whoa; friendly, friendly!”

“What the hell kinda mutants are you?” the soldier asked.

“No mutants here, sir; just a bunch a’ wayward gals lookin’ for somewhere safe to hang their hats,” Applejack assured quickly.

“And your… entrance?” the soldier asked, gesturing to the handcar. “Pretty absurd, especially considering no one’s used that track in about 200 years.”

“Wait-wait-wait, 200 years?!” Rainbow asked in shock, which was obviously mirrored by the others.

“Yeah? What; did you all stumble out of a Vault or somethin’?” the soldier asked in confusion.

“Uh, ‘or something’,” Sunset answered vaguely, hoping that vague answer would be enough to satiate him.

“Right…” the soldier noted as he holstered his pistol. “Well, you’d better get inside. Vipers have set up shop in those mountains and trust me; you do not wanna deal with them.”

“Thanks. Seriously.” Sunset nodded as the girls all filed into the compound and into a small office in the middle of the yard.

“Welcome to Ranger Station Charlie; I’m Comms Officer Stepinac,” he noted.

“Thanks for letting us in. And… y’know, not shooting us.” Twilight nodded.

“Don’t mention it.” Stepinac shrugged. “If you’re lookin’ for somewhere to lay down for a while, you might wanna try Novac; it’s a ways up the highway to the north at the crossroads. Look for the big dinosaur statue – can’t miss it. Motel up there’s always got rooms for rent.”

“Well, thank you kindly. But…before we go… if it’s not too much trouble…?” Rarity asked nervously, not quite sure how to broach this topic.

“You wanna know what happened 200 years ago.” Stepinac surmised. “Figured everyone knew, but I guess that shows what I know. Not really much to say though; far as anyone knows, the end of the world happened pretty much exactly how people thought it would – too many humans, not enough resources or space to go around. Doesn’t really matter one way or the other, and who shot first matters even less ‘cause 200 years ago, they let loose just about every nuke they had. The result… well, just look out the window.”

This astounded the girls beyond words; they had imagined the war had been destructive, but to hear now that they had been stumbling around in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust…?

Rarity couldn’t help but lightly faint into Applejack’s arms at the knowledge, but it wasn’t like her overly dramatic faints; this was for real. As was how Fluttershy went rigid as a board and just tipped back into Rainbow Dash’s arms, clearly mid-freak-out. No one could blame her for that; they were all freaking out at the news as well.

Stepinac appeared a bit surprised at their reactions but didn’t think too much of it – he’d probably seen that same sort of reaction from a lot of other kids about their age when they first learned of the war. “Anyway, like I said, if you want shelter, Novac’s your best bet. Highway up there’s safe as can be out here.”

“Thanks…” Sunset said breathlessly as the girls all stumbled out of the office, barely able to stand at the news.

As soon as they left the building, Pinkie suddenly started doozy-bouncing like crazy before she sprang up, her head shrinking and then growing in relation to her body, before her hair followed suit and her body swelled up like a balloon, sending her bouncing back to her feet. “Well… I guess we found the doozy…” she said simply.

“No two ways about it,” Applejack said carefully as she pulled her hat from her head, looking around the valley as they walked down the street in the morning sun.

It all made sense to the girls now: the cracked and broken streets, the rusted power lines and railroad tracks, the wildlife and raiders… all aftermath of the apocalypse. Twilight’s mind raced with questions about their health and safety, how much radiation they’d been exposed to just by walking around the desert, whether any of the food and water they’d gotten was exposed, what other effects the radiation might have had on this world…

But the one question on all the girls’ minds, even as they crested a hill ahead and saw the dinosaur statue Stepinac had pointed them toward… how long could they hope to survive after the end of the world?