Fallout: Equestria - Operation Killjoy
Chapter 3: Appeal
Previous ChapterNext Chapter“You would be amazed if you knew how far ponies are willing to go if you ask them nicely.”
Exhausted from their hasty escape and the still ongoing hailstorm, the group settled down in a broken down truck not far from the city. Fade unfolded her cape and gave Shibboleth and Key the rich abundance of food she scrounged from the Enclave, then she retreated into one of the corners of the truck. Midnight remained at the makeshift bed somepony had placed inside the vehicle, watching the distant cloudship that was still hovering above Edmareton.
Key grimaced after taking a bite from the pale sandwich. “Is this even edible?”
Shibboleth scooted next to her and took a small bite as well. “It’s… very bland. Is all of their food like this?”
Fade nodded before curling up more. Shibboleth took some of the food Fade provided and offered it to her, however Fade only shook her head at the gesture. “I’m not hungry…”
“Even so, you should still eat something, Fade. It was… very brave of you to take this from them.”
“I can go a few days without food.” She looked up at Shibboleth, carrying a light smile.
“Me too.”
“Well then, more for Key.”
The distaste on Key’s face was obvious as she took another bite of the sandwich. Fade wasn’t able to resist a brief smile, after all the sandwich did not look very appetizing to begin with, but it definitely beat those disgusting nutritional cubes. Her smile would quickly disappear however when Fade noticed the cloudship in the corner of her eyes.
Shibboleth sighed and turned her gaze towards the ship as well. “I know the radio operator in Tall Tale. He’s not as close a friend as Phones, but he can give us shelter. I’m not sure about food though or… finding a way to pay you.”
“Pay?” Fade raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Why yes… For saving us and further protecting us.”
“Heh, listen I’m not—Look, It’s okay. Don’t worry about it alright?” Fade mumbled. “Sometimes things are just… fucked up. Big time.”
“Language!” Key tossed in, her hoof raised at Fade.
Fade chuckled, glad to see that Key berated her. “I’m an adult, Key. I am allowed to say these things.”
“Oh yeah? I’m an adult, too. Well, for wasteland standards,” Key replied. “I have seen ponies, even without a cutie mark, being able to handle huge guns. I am even sure there is at least one pony out there with a gun as their cutie mark out there. It would be really handy to have one myself.”
“Key!” Shibboleth huffed. She tried to continue but Key did so instead.
“No, Mom! Dad is no longer here to protect us and Fade and Midnight are only with us because… uhm, because things are just fucked up! She said so herself! The moment we reach Tall Tale and you pay them, they surely get on with their lives on leave!”
“Your dad will be with us soon, okay? Now please be quiet and eat your sandwich.”
“And how long do you want us to eat this crap? The shit from the Stable wasn’t much better, but at least it had some flavor! Do you want to keep Fade around us and have her beg the Enclave for more food, or do you actually plan to return home and save dad?”
“That’s enough!” She said out loud, stomping both her hooves onto the ground. “You stop this nagging in an instant and eat your food! It’s a long way to Tall Tale.”
Key answered her mother’s words with an angry glare, dropping her meal in protest and marching to the poorly made bed without saying another word. She simply slumped onto her haunches and looked outside the small window, not giving Midnight even the slightest glance.
Midnight noticed the frustration in Key’s eyes and the tense atmosphere that had settled into the walls. It was an uncomfortable reminder of the arguments he himself had with his brother. He looked back at Fade and Shibboleth, both avoiding each other’s gaze, just like his parents used to do in the same kind of situation.
He turned around and sighed, rubbing his weary head. “Maybe the Steel Rangers can help, I saw them in Edmareton.”
“Are you sure?” Shibboleth asked. “But they didn’t help anypony so far, why do you think they will help out now?”
“I haven’t thought about it that far. It’s just an idea.”
“It is because of his brother. He mentioned him back in Stable Fifty-Four to me.”
“My brother?” Midnight felt his body tense up, even his frail wings started to flare up slightly. He wished he didn’t say a thing and maybe his parents knew something about being quiet. “That… won’t make a difference.”
“Key has a point, Midnight,” Fade suddenly chimed in. “The Enclave are all inbred cronies. Heh, you can’t kill one of these fuckers without causing some kind of family feud.”
Midnight shook his head. “It’s a bit, uh… difficult. My brother is still alive, I actually met him yesterday evening. But—”
“Wait, your brother is a Steel Ranger?” Shibboleth’s eyes widened. “Your brother is a Steel Ranger and you didn’t tell us? Midnight, this changes everything!” Her voice raised.
“No! He hates me!” Midnight suddenly replied sharply for the first time the group met each other. Silence took place once more as their eyes began resting on Midnight. “He… fought in the war you know. I demonstrated against it and for a good reason. He killed zebras! My best friend was—no, is, a half-zebra!”
“Are you seriously telling me that we have to sit in this rusty truck, just because you two don’t like each other?” Shibboleth threw in. “Hell, we could go to their Stable instead of Tall Tale! All of this could have been avoided if you would simply act like an adult!”
“Oh really? Well, have you considered that I tried!” Midnight’s voice tensed up. “I walked up to him, I tried to mend what was broken, but all he did was to remind me that the Steel Rangers don’t like ghouls! And that he didn’t like me…”
“So what? He doesn’t need to like you! He just has to be reasonable and—”
“I will not ask him! I will rather take my rifle, return to your Stable and shoot Everlast a second time!” Midnight interrupted her loudly, his hoof tightly grabbing the wooden rim of his rifle. An angry huff escaped his nostrils, followed by a deep grunt.
“Maybe… maybe this time—” Shibboleth stopped herself at the last moment. She looked at Key for a brief moment before eventually averting her gaze.
“Maybe what?” Midnight growled, his frown still fixated on Shibboleth. Something in his voice and eyes made the others shy away from him, even Fade felt the urge to reach for her knife, her hoof already resting on its sheath.
“Maybe…” Shibboleth said quietly, glancing at Key. “Maybe next time he won’t be able to shoot back at you.”
After a dreadfully long time the storm finally died down and the once furious hail began turning into a mere cold drizzle. The ground was slowly turning into a cold sludge of mud and melting hailstones, the rain was drenching their clothes and coats, rapidly making them freeze. Shivering, panting, marching on and on, no one had the strength to complain nor talk. Even if they did, each one of them knew the situation and the new goal, Tall Tale, what else was there to say and decided.
Tall Tale was approximately three days away from Edmareton, at least by hoof. Fade started to worry that they had to go take a detour around Stable Fifty-Four, actively doubling the time it would take them to reach their destination. The prolonged march through the dangerous terrain was one thing, but the limited amount of food she got from the Enclave had to last until then. While surely provided with chances to hunt, scavenge or trade along the way, they decided to avoid any small camps and strangers they met along the way.
After all, the danger of encountering one of Everlast’s agents was too much of a risk and ever present. Even though they stood away from the established routes between Tall Tale and Edmareton, they still didn’t dare to make something as simple as a fire out of fear of being seen. Without a way to cook food, they quickly discarded the idea to hunt all together. Instead the group walked past the far outskirts of Tall Tale that was rich in all kinds of stray animals. All they had were cold and slimy cubes, just nutritious enough to keep them going.
Eventually, in the setting sun of the last day of their journey, they finally saw Tall Tale’s skyline appear at the horizon. It was still hours away and they had to travel through the early hours of night to reach the city. From the distance they noticed the high Stable-Tec office spire. Its massive logo was recognizable even in the fading light of the day. Key looked at the crooked and damaged shape for a while.
There were ruins of small settlements all around the city, however they quickly agreed that they didn’t want to spend another night in the wet and cold wasteland, especially since their goal was so close. They took one last break to eat what was left of the cubes and had a sip of water. Shibboleth gave Key the last bite of the pale sandwich, then they marched on.
The crooked spires of the city center were all that was left of Equestria’s civilization. The western buildings seemed mostly intact, the buildings further to the east however were slowly deteriorating. It appeared that the balefire bomb struck the more industrial center of the city. A gentle, green glow was emanating from its crater and into the dusty air above.
However, before they would arrive at the outskirts of the city they heard gunfire echoing through the approaching night, slowly increasing in both volume and frequency. At first fear and dread of the Mandate began to spread through them, but soon enough they realized that their sound of automatic rifles and large explosives were missing. It was just yet another fight for food and rather calming to know, should Everlast attack he would have to face hundreds of armed ponies.
The streets were littered with countless pieces of trash, lit barrels and shifty looking ponies gathered around them. The group passed several houses on their way, occupied by small gangs and drifters. Crude graffities along the walls depicting doglike creatures showed that not just ponies were living in the city. After further inspection it was clear that they weren't just random smears of paint either, but rather warnings to the inhabitants of the city themselves. One of the creatures shown in the graffiti was standing on its hindlegs, holding a pony above itself, tearing it apart.
“Are those hellhounds…?” Key whispered silently.
“No, those are normal Diamond Dogs. They don’t want us in their territory.” Shibboleth replied calmly.
“Say, where does your friend live, Shib?” Fade asked, her eyes still carefully scanning her surroundings.
“Tall Tale’s radio station, it’s at the city market. I must say it’s much friendlier there.”
“Why do they hate us?” Key spoke up once more, still looking at the graffiti.
“I’ll tell you later, dear. Come now, every pony, we may have to hurry.”
Fade hurried ahead and in front of the others, feeling a strange and eerie feeling of teeth and claws lurking in the shadows.
Once the group reached the mall in the city center, they were greeted by bright lights, pleasant sounds of street musicians and the smell of warm food. The scent of dirty and sweaty ponies still gave them a hint of warmth from inside the shoddy, yet well maintained walls of the mall. Old logos and labels of its former owners were still in place, evoking cozy memories of the past. Midnight even began humming one of the old jingles, which were now played by the musicians.
They made their way through the crowd of haggling, shouting and laughing ponies. Key was excitedly observing all the different goings-on around her until she noticed two young foals arguing about who could eat the tumor of a mutated rat, they were roasting over a fire. Shibboleth kept her daughter close to her at all times, slowly guiding the group inside the mall. For a brief moment in a very long time they felt hopeful, however, Fade remained wary of pickpockets, or even worse.
Entering the mall they quickly wrinkled their noses, trying to ignore the strange smells creeping into their nostrils. The mall was not only a place to trade, but also served as a refuge for dozens or maybe even hundreds of ponies seeking shelter from the cold. If the smell wasn’t enough, the loud conversations and other noises filling the halls quickly drove the group further away from the larger crowds in the center.
“Why hello there, young little pony! You look pretty hungry.” A shifty looking stranger slowly approached Key from the side, a crooked grin stretched over its face. “Do you want one?” He offered her some kind of food.
“No, we are fine! Now back off!” Fade stepped between Key and the stranger, glaring at him from under her hood. The stranger flinched by her sudden appearance, his hooves almost dropping the plate of food. She looked down at the plate and was rather surprised to see an ordinary burger in place of regular wasteland slop. It had everything you could think of ranging from bread, some canned vegetables and even edible looking cheese. The smell of greasy meat however made her stomach churn. Shibboleth and Midnight weren’t convinced about the quality of the food either and kept moving.
“But I-it’s free!” He smiled once more, raising his plate up and almost under Fades nose. She frowned and used the opportunity to study him a little. His light green fur seemed clean enough, if slightly greasy and no doubt reeking of his burgers. His darker red mane was cut short, perhaps to keep it from ending up in his food. His dirty apron spelled “Kiss The Cook”.
Shibboleth stopped and looked back, so did Fade after deciding to turn away at first. Something was rather alluring about what he had to offer at his stand. It wasn’t just a pre-packed burger, but rather a freshly made one at that. The stranger had a whole cart nearby, which was still radiating heat and a painted sign with a rather simple drawing of his product. The subtle buzz of a nearby energy cell drew their attention to the cooking area of the cart, seemingly responsible for cooking the burger meat as well as toasting the bread.
“Look dear customers, I know you are eyeing my delicious treats. I still have a few more minutes left in the cell, I can probably cook one for each and every one of you! Hehe, you should grab them while they’re still hot.”
“Ugh… Generous, but no. Thank you.” Fade replied and turned away when Shibboleth suddenly nudged her.
“Shouldn’t we at least see what he got?”
“What? Eh, I don’t eat meat, especially if I didn't hunt it for myself.”
“I hear you whisper…” The stranger joined in in a melodic tone.
“What the hell!” Fade was about to react when the stranger simply continued in a bubbly tune.
“No need to be shy lads, you can go and ask around! I am well known here for being very generous, as well as having the bestest and most delicious treats you will ever find in Tall Tale. No exaggeration!” He nodded to a group of ponies nearby who were currently munching away on some burgers themselves. He then began to fiddle around in his jacket and pulled out a small plastic card. “Years of experience, lots of smiles and happy customers as you can see. I was an employee at Lunaland. Yes you all heard me right, the most amazing spot in Equestria. Heck I still have access to the logistic tunnels! I go in every few weeks and get fresh flour and other ingredients. Everything you see and taste comes from the best place the wasteland can offer. It barely even costs a thing haha! It’s almost like a reversed highway robbery!”
“But the meant—”
“Exactly! I basically throw my food at my beloved customers!”
Fade got annoyed by the frequent interruptions. Yet the card seemed authentic enough and even showed his picture. She couldn’t read the name that was engraved under the photograph, but the green coat and red mane definitely proved it to be him. “Alright look, could we have some without the meat?”
“Of course you can, my hooded friend! However you know what they say! Protein is very good these days. One needs the power and energy to kick some serious butt out there hehe. I'm sorry for my words, sorry young lady. Do not swear. It's a bad habit.”
“Could we just get the damn—”
“Ah but if you desire a burger with meat let me assure you that it’s all very fresh and hoofmade by yours truly each and every day, served to order! If you fancy yourself something more refined, I also added dry aged meat to the menu recently. Sometimes with a tiny pinch of radiation. For the extra spicy kick! Pick your favorite! Rat, deer and even cow!” He laughed. “No roaches though… they taste terrible.”
Key slowly walked up to him with a light frown. “But… it is wrong to eat animals.”
“Ohoho! Look at our nature lover over here. No, no, no, young lady, you see it is wrong to kill them for food, not to eat them.” He explained with a warm smile. “See, I do that, so you can eat absolutely one-hundred percent guilt-free!”
Shibboleth stepped forward, a little annoyed as well at this point. “Alright then mister, how many vegetarian burgers do we get for this?” She reached into her saddlebag and offered the cart owner about half the bullets in her pistol’s magazine.
“Well, I usually prefer energy cells for my freezer, but in this case I would say… enough!” He happily agreed and grabbed the bullets, quickly putting them into the small bag on his hip before turning to his cart. “Ready? Let’s go!” Taking a greasy spatula he began to flip the buns on the grill, toasting them one after the other, even putting three slices of meat onto the grill right next to them.
“I said without meat.” Shibboleth frowned.
“Of course, of course ma’am, I will keep them separated. For later, you see?”
Fade winced. “Yeah… Look everyone, I don’t want any of this. I will try to find a meal elsewhere. See you later.” Shibboleth and the others gave her only a small nod, then she set off while the burger flipping spectacle continued.
“One cheese sandwich for you, young lady,” the stranger said and gave Key a freshly made burger.
More hungry than wary however she took the warm meal with a silent “Thank you”. Her stomach was eager to receive the warm dish, but she still hesitated to take a bite.
“It’s okay, go ahead and enjoy your meal, dear.” Shibboleth smiled softly.
Key nervously and slowly took a bite. It didn’t take long until they saw her eyes widen and for an even wider smile to spread over her face. She quickly started to take another bite, then another and another. “It’s so damn good!”
The group including the stranger began to laugh, even Fade couldn’t help but smile a little as Key’s laughter snuck into her fine ear, however she simply couldn’t shake off this sick feeling spreading in her stomach. “Pigeons…” She remembered again and again.
Fade felt much better once she got far enough away from the weird food cart. She was still feeling slightly nauseous and sweaty from the sticky, dull heat inside the mall. She took a deep breath outside and let the cold winds calm her down while watching the mall slowly calm down. With the sun disappearing at the horizon, more and more ponies slowly retreated to their small rooms and shelters to sleep, yet still, she didn’t feel particularly safe. The place was big, fortified, well guarded but it didn’t feel safe. Just like Equestria did before the bombs fell. With this thought she wrapped her clothes tighter again to keep any indication of her wings hidden and her hood down in her face.
She wandered through the mall for a while without any real purpose, keeping eyes and ears open while trying her best to collect her thoughts. All she collected was how much Shibboleth lied to her daughter, that Valiant was still alive. She considered not heading back to Midnight, Key and Shibboleth. “It’s surely easier for them not having to convince the radio operator to shelter four ponies.”
Fade stopped by a trader who offered a wide selection of clothes of all kinds. The wide selection of flight suits specifically designed for pegasi caught her attention.
“Looks like you found a boutique which actually caters to ponies like you.”
Fade jumped at the sudden voice. While not threatening but rather calm in tone, she quickly swung around to face its source. A purple earth pony with a white blaze on his nose leaned on a small table next to her and rested his head on his forehoof. There was something about his cheeky grin Fade hated immediately. “I’m not a pegasus.” She replied in a scruff tone.
“Tomcat never said you were.” The trader purred. “But Tomcat noticed that you have a very peculiar interest in these suits.”
Fade scoffed and kept looking at them. A dark blue one caught her attention however. “Let’s say they look very warm. Are they expensive?”
“Oh yes, very. Both in warmth and price.” He chuckled. “But Tomcat is a good trader. Pick what fancies you and we will find an agreement afterwards. Sounds good?”
Fade didn’t answer him, instead she would continue to gaze at the blue suit. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but It was somehow strangely familiar to her. She pushed the other suits off the rack and away so she could examine it even closer. “What…” She whispered under her breath as her hoof ran over a cutie mark that was embroidered into the side of the suit. Two curved feathers neatly arranged in a circle, the cutie mark of her mother.
Tomcat grinned and leaned over the small table to observe her. “Hm? Found something interesting?”
“Where did you get this?” Fade whispered, her eyes still fixated on the embroidered cutie mark.
The still grinning trader got up and walked around the table. “Tomcat usually doesn’t disclose his clients. It’s business you see. But it looks like you found something very peculiar indeed.”
Her head snapped in his direction, her green eyes glaring into his own. “Cut the fucking bullshit!” Her voice was shaking in anger and Tomcat’s grin quickly faded. “Tell me where you got it… And if I have to buy the info, then tell me how much, but stop with your dumb games!”
His grin appears on his muzzle again. “Tomcat is usually not an info broker…”
Fades glare deepened. “I don’t give a fuck about Tomcat! Tell me! How much for the information?”
Tomcat rubbed his chin with a hoof and gave a long deep sigh. “I… am willing to give you the information if you buy the suit. The suit itself is for… hmmm, let’s say two weeks worth of food.”
“Two weeks!? That’s absurd!”
“That one suit may help you survive the cold for the next six months, maybe even a few years if you are careful. For Tomcat, this is a very cheap deal.”
“Yeah. How about that? Fuck off!”
“Oh Tomcat would like to.” He answered the insult with a sly grin. “But Tomcat’s cart is very heavy. Snow will begin to fall soon and… oh if only there was something to help out poor old Tomcat.”
Fade groaned. “Just say what you want!”
“Nothing too complicated, don't worry. Tomcat simply needs a magical Antigravitalizer Six-Thousand. Flim-Flam’s produced them in this very city! They had a facility close to the Tall Tale crater just a few minutes from here. Especially with wings.”
She was speechless for a moment. “Okay, so… you want me to go into an irradiated factory, next to a gigantic balefire crater and get you that antigravity device in return for… where you bought it?”
Tomcat smiled and nodded eagerly.
Fade chuckled at first and then laughed. “You are absolutely nuts, you know that?”
“Tomcat will pay you very well for the Antigravitalizer. Much more than just the suit of course. Tomcat promises.”
“A promise is nice, but I would prefer something more substantial…”
Tomcat nodded once again and returned behind the table to dig around in a large brown bag. Soon enough a satchel with a dull orange liquid would emerge from its dusty depth. A picture of a happy pony on its front, slurping the orange stuff as if it was a sweet and tasty drink. Fade grimaced, knowing very well how horrid the actual medicine against radiation tasted.
“The medicine upfront, because Tomcat wants you to return. The suit, the information and everything of equal worth to an Antigravitlizer after delivery however.” His grin widened ”So, what do you say? Is that substantial enough?”
Sleep and hunger were no longer a concern for Fade. In a pure state of fixation, blurring out everything and anything around her to make room for her thoughts run wild in her head. With a hasty step she moved down the big hallways of the mall, her gaze staring straight ahead yet not seeing anything. She didn’t have much time to locate the factory before nightfall. Her fast stride turned into a trot and soon she galloped through the mall. Her disturbance was not unnoticed however and a few ponies were shouting and cursing as she roughly bumped into some on the way.
“Fade!” A familiar voice fell amongst the angry crowd around her, a voice she wasn’t able to ignore as easily as the others. It took her a moment but eventually her gaze fell upon Midnight who was standing on the upper mezzanine. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t have fucking time to answer questions!”
“Shut up!” A young mare growled back at her, throwing a can at her as she got up from a pile of sleeping bags. “My kids are trying to sleep!”
Fade dodged the can rather easily and replied with just a glare. After all she had better things to do than argue or explain her actions. Just as she wanted to continue her mad dash, Midnight suddenly landed in front of her. His body, not made for such a hasty and heavy landing, struggled to fold his frail wings back into place.
“Are you deaf? I don’t have time, Midnight!”
“I noticed, but—”
His words were cut short when the same mare from earlier threw yet another piece of trash at them. “Take your fucking necroprancer and piss off!”
Fade finally kicked the can back at her and into her face. Enraged, the mare picked up a metal pipe and stomped towards her.
“Oh boy… Tell me on the way.” He whispered to Fade while more angry looks started to dart in their direction. Both didn’t hesitate any further and they left the mall as quickly as they could.
Outside they saw the sun already setting, however there was still a bit of light left to explore the city from above and Fade was desperate to do just that. She took off to the sky, too fast for Midnight to follow. Only when she gained enough altitude to look over the ruined city, she noticed the green hue already emanating from the crater nearby. The sight made her stop for a moment; Once she fled with her mother from the impending balefire and now she had to approach it.
Midnight eventually caught up with her. “Uhm, Fade? Why are you flying towards the crater? Come to think of it, why are you flying at all? I thought you wanted to stay hidden.” He had to strain his voice a little in order to be heard over the winds.
Fade gave him only the briefest answers, close to a simple shrug in nature. He saw worry and doubt dwelling in her eyes, a rather bewildering sight for her.
“Fade? I can help you navigate the area around the crater if you like. I can sense the radiation hot spots, you know.”
“I have medicine, Midnight. You don’t have to worry about me, alright?” She replied pretty quickly. “I mean… I don’t want to drag you into this.”
“But you are glad that I am letting you drag me into this, aren’t you?” He smirked.
Fade huffed in frustration. “Just tell me if you notice one of these hotspots.”
“So… That is a yes then.” Midnight grinned wider.
“Let’s… let’s just get this over with, okay?”
“Whatever you say, comrade.”
Even the approaching nightfall couldn’t hide the fact of how much more neglected and damaged the buildings looked that were the closest to the crater. The tall apartment blocks were soon replaced by large industrial complexes. Plundered, forgotten and probably very soon reduced to rubble.
Only very few ponies were actually living in that part of the city. From above, Fade and Midnight noticed their much thicker attire, tightly wrapped around them as means to protect against the irradiated dust in the area. A lucky few had the luxury of owning a gasmask, many others had their muzzles covered by their clothes or rags instead. After a short moment a set of colorful shimmers pierced the growing darkness. Fade observed how unicorns below them used their magic to move rubble around while keeping as much distance to the irradiated parts as possible. Eventually the magic glow did no longer appear between the ruins.
Midnight noticed a pony stumbling over some of the rubble underneath, the dim light in the streets showing that it lost most of its mane and coat. It tripped and fell over, however it got back up and continued its mindless wandering without making another noise. To Midnight there was no doubt of what that pony was. He tried to ignore the memories of ponies dying from balefire radiation, who then came back just to behave the same way as the pony he just now observed. It made him remember how his own body felt only a few hours before he died.
Being lost in his thoughts, Midnight looked down at the broken city once more. The massive complexes, pipes, scaffolds slowly turned into a nightmarish labyrinth. Collapsed walls opened up huge gaps in the buildings, hiding who knows how many creatures getting ready for the nocturnal hunt. Many of the older buildings closest to the crater had their foundations cracked and partially sunk into the ground due to the ravines, stretching out over the radiated earth like veins. Then, after another few minutes of flying, they finally gazed upon the impact site, a festering glowing wound in the center of the industrial park surrounding them. It made Midnight think of himself as part of the disease that destroyed and still spread through Equestria.
Midnight forced his lungs to take a deep breath. Although It didn’t bring the feeling of relief he had hoped for, it did clear his mind for the moment. “You said you need an Antigravitalizer? I… I know where they were built.”
“You do?” Her head turned to Midnight, partially in surprise, partially in confusion. “Did you by chance live or work here in Tall Tale?”
Midnight shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. I know that these things were used for tanks and cloudships. Oh! I also think they were used for the Ministry of Morale’s musical robots.”
“You mean those Sprite Bots? They were intended for spying on ponies.”
“What? No, they wouldn’t do such a thing. The Ministry of Morale was there for parties and to help ponies remember that war was only temporary.”
Fade rolled her eyes and simply nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Just lead the way so we can leave this place as soon as possible.”
Midnight observed the area and tried his best to maneuver both of them through the radiation hotspots, even though he had to stop and hover in the air to regain his orientation every once in a while. Fade grew nervous whenever he did that.
“That looks promising!” He led her down to a huge complex of factories and pipes, stretching over several blocks. Being ravaged by years of radiation and brittle foundations, there wasn’t much left to help them identify the right building amidst the ruins. However they eventually discovered a trace of small and later much bigger puddles of a strange rainbow colored sludge leading into a building nearby. It must have been proof enough for Midnight that this was the correct location.
“Is this it, Midnight?”
“Yes, that is the Hippocratic research facility. Do you still have the flashlight from the Stable?”
Fade nodded and took hers out from under her cape.
“Look for blue and white stripes, it’s the Hippocratic’s signature color palette. Don’t turn it on until it is absolutely necessary though.”
“I know how to sneak into a ruin, you bonehead.” Fade hurried down to the ruins and hovered just barely over the fragile roof, looking for a safe spot to land. The construction groaned deeply under her hooves, echoing through the brittle halls underneath. She stepped forward and tried to peek through one of the many holes, but the interior was completely dark.
“Radiation is pretty bad down there,” Midnight said.
“Shh!” She tilted her head to listen, being sure she heard something just a brief moment ago. Heavy steps began to echo through the empty structure, just audible enough. “There is something in the ruins…”
“Well, yeah? Probably ghouls. Let me take a look, they won’t attack me after all.” Midnight grabbed his own Flashlight and turned it on. “I’ll give you a signal when it’s safe.”
He jumped through the biggest hole in the roof he could find, flapping his wings to keep up an unsteady hover while slowly descending into the huge factory hall. The machines and conveyor belts were mostly destroyed by debris from the roof and walls or dismantled a long time ago. He landed on one of the machines and grimaced at the sight of the nasty floor in front of him. It was covered in irradiated mud, a mix of balefire ash, dust, and rain, a sticky bed the machine was slowly sinking into.
Suddenly a raspy groan caught Midnight’s attention. A ghoul was slowly walking through the radiated swamp, staring mindlessly at the flashlight. It was covered in so much dirt and soot that it was impossible for Midnight to even see its eyes, nor tell if the undead pony was even a mare or a stallion; A problem he remembered all too vividly from the day when Stalliongrad was destroyed.
The ghoul sluggishly stumbled towards the light, struggling and falling with its torn legs. Midnight covered his flashlight, hoping it would calm the ghoul and let it sleep again. After another minute or two of searching the area he eventually found a big gate supposedly leading to a storage room. The high shelves on the other side were knocked over, blocking the entrance and covering the ground in pieces of wood and rusty scrap metal. Countless more crates and boxes spilled from the shelves into the production hall nearby, slowly rotting and molding from the irradiated puddles they have been submerged in for decades. His attention was drawn to something moving behind the cage of shelves. But he wasn’t able to make out what it was.
“Just another survivor…” Midnight whispered to himself and gave Fade the signal with his light. Moments later she arrived next to him, hovering slightly above ground next to him. Midnight pointed to the storage room. “The water and mud is irradiated.”
“Yeah I guessed as much… I can feel my stomach turn just by being near it. Anything else?” She replied as she stared out into the sticky sea of irradiated dirt.
“I saw another ghoul in there.” Midnight pointed to the storage room. “I better go first.”
“Just one? It’s fine, I can deal with a zombie or two, even some radiation if need be.”
Midnight glanced back at her. “Uhm… They are still ponies, you know?”
Fade looked back at him and scoffed. “Ponies? Listen, you can call them apples if you like, but if one of these fuckers comes sprinting and screeching at me, I don’t see any difference. Heck, might as well be a damn Enclave pony.”
“You know that ghouls don't have a choice.”
“Okay, fine. I guess you are right. Heh, it would be an insult to the zombies comparing them to brainless drones of the Enclave.”
Midnight sighed and shook his head. “Just… don’t call them zombies, okay? Follow me.” He landed on the pile of crates and climbed onto the closest rack, pushing some of the old boxes aside until some of the wet cardboard tore open. He watched the contents of the boxes, some tiny toy soldiers, slowly falling out of the box; All of them in bright colors, equipped with modern rifles and uniforms. The toy zebras on the other hoof were all in a dirty gray and armed with stone clubs and shoddy spears. He frowned and pushed them away before continuing.
“Midnight, don’t go too fast. We have to search for the… thing.” Fade followed him and checked the boxes he moved when she noticed the toy soldiers as well. She picked up a tiny figurine of Rainbow Dash in a black combat armor. She couldn’t help but smile a little bit and quickly put it into her bag while Midnight wasn’t looking. She pushed another box away and suddenly jumped at an unexpected sight. She drew her knife at the sight of a dead pony’s leathery face staring back at her.
“Quiet!” Midnight whispered. “Don’t move…”
“It’s Just a corpse.”
“Too much meat… It’s a sleeping ghoul.” He turned around and carefully pushed another crate between Fade and the ghoul. “Leave him be, please. Here, follow me.”
After another few minutes of walking and searching some crates in the vicinity, Fade started to hear a few noises from below. She couldn’t say if it was some of the toys falling out of the decaying boxes, or a radroach, perhaps even one of those ghouls moving about.
“This way.” Midnight whispered, turning towards some collapsed pipes. They began crawling deeper into the maze of metal pipes and shelves that were grating against each other. Both could hear one of the ghouls waking up below, groaning and stumbling through the puddles, its motions stirring up a disgusting moldy stench. Midnight pushed his frail body through narrow gaps, between crates too heavy to move and rusty racks, eventually climbing up and crawling forward a little more to finally make it to the end of the cascade of fallen shelves. Fade followed closely behind.
His light illuminated the massive warehouse. Sections of it suffered from what seemed to have been a large fire, leaving the shelves warped and covered in muddy ash. Murky water was dripping from the high ceiling. On first sight it was high enough to utilize levitation magic and pegasi to store more products further up. Forklifts and carriages were rusting in the irradiated water, which added a faint, green glow under their hooves. Surprisingly they even found a freight crane still hanging from its compartments at the ceiling.
Fade stopped a few feet away from him. “Oh fuck…” She groaned when she realized the full size of the facility. Their lights were drawing the attention of a few more ghouls scattered all around the hall. One of them was rising from a puddle of water, covered by a film of sickly rainbow colored sludge. It could barely move as it had to drag a fleshy growth with it.
“As if radiation is not bad enough, they had to store taint here as well,” Fade whispered. Something in the corner of her eyes suddenly caught her attention. She turned her head, but could only find debris and a few things covered in slick oil. “Hey Midnight? Are you sure there are only ghouls in here?”
“Must be. I mean, they would have chased away every other animal.”
“Even tainted ones?”
Midnight shrugged. “I’m not an expert on wasteland fauna.”
“Nevermind then… Let’s get moving.” Fade got up and jumped off the racks to take flight into the huge hall. With most of the shelves broken she had more than enough room to fly freely enough, occasionally landing and jumping off of partially collapsed metal shelves and busted crates. She ignored the ghouls who were rushing through the neck high water to hunt her, even though they were unable to reach her.
Midnight followed her with heavy flaps of his own. “You shouldn’t anger the ghouls, Fade.”
“Look, I'm on a tight schedule. They are not. Also they can’t reach me anyway as long as I fly.”
“I would prefer if you would be quieter at least and… let them sleep.”
Fade sighed and landed on a nearby shelf to check the crates. “Yes, yes, yes. I got it. You sure care an awful lot about them, but why? Like… you are a ghoul, but you are nothing like them. They are braindead killing machines while you still have your intelligence. Heck, those fuckers are basically rabid animals… very dumb, smelly, rabid animals.”
“I wouldn’t call them animals.” Midnight answered calmly as he landed a bit lower, to check the boxes below Fade, just to find more toy soldiers. “While being a bit rude about it, you are kind of right. They are not themselves anymore.”
“Like you?” She moved to the next crate nearby.
Midnight scoffed. “I am myself, thank you very much. What makes you even say that?”
“Well…” She quickly moved to the next crate in line “Every time we talk about the Ministry of Morale and what they did to you, you are defending them. I threw away all my Ministry of Morale birthday toys, when I began to understand how much they spied on us.”
“They were never spying on us! This is just some… I don’t know, but it’s certainly not zebra propaganda.”
“What is it then?” She blew some dust off of a bigger and much older looking crate near her.
“I… I don’t—” He is suddenly interrupted by an excited gasp by Fade. “Did you find something?”
“Replacement parts for magical antigrav… Yes! Midnight, I found something!” Fade looked down to Midnight when she saw about a dozen of ghouls climbing on top of each other to reach out for her. Their snarling and groaning became increasingly annoying to her.
“Fade, please be so kind and land on that shelf over there and turn off your light,” Midnight said silently. “Let them calm down.”
“Calm down? Does that even help?” Fade pushed the boxes aside and landed on the rack, her knife ready just in case one of them figured out how to climb up higher.
“Just be quiet for a moment.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll shut up.” She sat down and turned off the light, watching the ghouls with their damaged dirty faces from above. She wondered if the Enclave saw the starving pegasi in a similar way. “Stay down and you get a ration!” She remembered suddenly. “Airborne pegasi will be shot!”
Then something grabbed her tail, a sudden jank sending pain up her entire spine when her body was dragged over the edge of the rack. She groaned and grabbed a nearby metal bar at the last second. “Fuck!” She cried out in pain when something far stronger than a ghoul began to pull at her tail. She kicked blindly, only to feel her hooves connect with a leathery and cold tendril slowly tightening the grip further.
Midnight rushed through a gap to the other side and stopped, his eyes wide open when he caught the sight of a black maw, filled with needle-like teeth, gapingly wide open to swallow Fade whole. One thin tentacle protruding from a round, featureless body was entangled in Fade’s tail, a second thin tentacle whipping to grab her leg. Midnight took the rifle and aimed at its head but he could only find a flat, oily surface where the eyes should have been.
The crack of the rifle echoed violently in the huge hall and more feral ghouls answered its cry with their own. The bullet itself didn’t even leave a mark on the tough skin of the beast, instead the monster pulled even stronger at Fade. Her cries of pain eventually went silent when she wrapped both her forelegs around the metal bar until she felt it cut into her skin.
“Cut it!” Fade yelled. “Just fucking cut it!”
Midnight frantically looked around until he found her knife laying on a lower shelf. He rushed down and reached out for it, luckily being ignored by the ghouls. He grabbed the handle with his teeth. As he turned around however he saw how the monster got a hold of one of Fade’s hindlegs.
Another one of Fade’s cries made Midnight flinch. “Damn it!” He hurried back up and reached with the blade for Fade’s tail. A first cut wasn’t enough. The second attempt was stopped by the leathery tentacles itself.
“Come one! Damn you!” Fade screamed once more, kicking back until she found a hold to push herself up, making the rest of her tail rip in the process. While it helped for the moment, the creature still had a tight grip around her other leg.
Midnight growled, desperate to find a way to get rid of the tentacle. He stretched out his head some more to reach Fade’s leg and began to cut open the ragged clothes wrapped around it, hoping it would do the trick. He kept working on the tough fabric, tearing through it quickly, ever more frantically until the blade cut into skin by accident. Finally the tentacle slipped off.
“Fucking hell, finally!” She gasped, quickly crawling back up and sitting down onto the cold metal of the structure, holding her leg in pain. “It burns!” She looked down at her hindleg and saw that her hair was starting to fall out.
“Move up! It’s irradiated!” Midnight yelled as he landed next to her, dropping the knife into her lap. “Go!” He then grabbed his rifle and flew up, quickly whirling it in his hoof and shooting at the creature in the process. Its tentacles were lashing out wildly, grabbing anything they could touch and smacking away some of the nearby ghouls and crates.
Fade forced her wings open and jumped off the shelf, flapping them wildly despite the pain in her leg and spine. Midnight flew around, kicking and shoving a range of boxes and crates down onto the monster. It was surprising how much the radiation coming from the monster invigorated his body. The impact of the heavy crates made the monster stagger, damaging some of the ghouls gathering around it.
“What the hell is that?” Midnight fled from the rack when the monster reached with its two tentacles after him, ignoring the ghouls around it, which appeared more alive and wilder than before. Midnight caught up to Fade who sat down on the highest rack possible. Her body was shaking, blood dripping from the stump where the monster tore parts of her tail out. Her chest was heaving as she tried to force the bitter medicine down her throat.
“Are you okay? How are your injuries?”
Fade took a long deep sigh after swallowing the medication and leaned back against the cold metal bars. “They’re fucking great! Ten out of ten.” She huffed.
“Well, you can joke around so I guess that’s good. Can you get out yourself?”
Fade briefly looked up, searching for a hole in the roof. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Okay, you do that. I will keep searching for the device.” He looked down and scanned the chaos unfolding underneath. The monster was still down there, showing its grizzly maw while the agitated ghouls were howling and groaning almost in unison. When he looked up to find a safer route for Fade, he noticed something. “Fade, do you see the crane up there?”
She nodded, before heaving from the medicine.
“Follow the rails. If you are lucky they lead to a hatch in the roof for aerial transports.”
“As always, you know a weird amount of information about this place.”
Fade got up and stretched her wings moments before she took off to search for a way out. Midnight waited another moment for the ghouls and the monster to follow Fade. When they were far away enough and he dived down to the lower shelves. “Wasn’t it around here somewhere?” He gasped when his eyes grazed over the description she had read out loud earlier. Not losing any time he grabbed what he could and flew back up to the roof where Fade was already waiting for him. Together they then quickly made their way back to the city, leaving this death trap far behind them.
“Hey, wait up!” Midnight tried to catch up to Fade galloping down the streets. The moment Fade delivered the Antigravitaliter to Tomcat she rushed out, ignoring her injuries and his pleas to slow down.
Fade didn’t answer him, instead she decided to speed up, her mind racing alongside her own hooves. The school Tomcat mentioned wasn’t far away anymore. Many ponies were wandering along the streets in search of resources or to hunt small nocturnal animals for food. They shouted and glared angrily at Fade’s mad dash, her hooves scaring off any game and generally disturbing the calm of night, but she didn’t care.
Midnight looked back at Shibboleth and Key, both trying to keep up as well. He dashed into a faster gallop to stay up to speed as much as his body allowed it.
Fade arrived at the school first and ran inside the dusty old building. It was rather silent, old pre war posters were decorating the walls and faded signs were pointing to rooms that no longer fulfilled their intended purposes. She checked every room on every floor, but most, if not all of them inside the ruined apartment building were empty. She flew up the stairs to the last floor, not giving any attention to the others as they chased after her.
Fade’s mad dash through the old building continued with short flat breaths. Her head kept telling her it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Not after all these years. Words she kept repeating over and over in her head as her hope was dwindling with each empty room passing, until finally one of them would stand out. An old wooden door, decorated with drawings of flowers, birds and beetles, an open blue sky, a childish impression of Equestria before the bombs fell. The ponies drawn onto it were smiling happily, yet Fade felt nothing but dread. If this room was empty too, it would mean that all her hope was for nothing.
Her heart was racing, a rush she would only feel in battle. Her hoof started to weigh several tons, her throat began to dry out “This can’t be real…” She muttered under her breath, then opened the door ever so slowly. Instead of a small hallway or yet another storage room, Fade found herself in a pretty wide classroom. Low tables and seats were scattered in the repurposed apartment, all neatly set up to face the front where a tiny blackboard was leaning against the wall. Next to it was a low desk with a few books lying on it.
There, behind it and slightly illuminated by the rays of a weak lamp, sat an older mare. Her mane was dark blue, her white coat stained with the dust that was gently floating through the air. Her tired, rose colored eyes looked up at the intruder standing by the doorway. Silent, stunned by disbelief, as if she saw a ghost from the past, it took anything but a brief moment before she realized that it was not just a regular pony that had entered her classroom. “Fade?” She finally spoke up.
“Mom?” Fade muttered, the weight of the world was lifted, even just for a short moment. Fade rushed to her mother and grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug. She sank down onto the floor, her face tightly pressed against her mother’s chest, as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Forgotten was the war, forgotten was the wasteland. The only thing that mattered at this very moment was a lost child finding her mother.