Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Chapter 11: Let’s State the Obvious

***** ***** *****

Darkness had fallen by the time Gritt arrived with Knight. As expected, she was practically prancing when she saw the Athenaeum, and immediately began reading through book after book as fast as she could process them. Life Bloom found her enthusiasm towards learning all the library had to offer very endearing. If left to her own devices, she’d have every text downloaded by tomorrow night.

Slash informed the griffon and android of the conversation she and I had while they were away. Gritt wasn’t sure what to make of my allegiances but understood my motives. Knight didn’t say a word. She’d seen my mind, so this wasn’t news to her.

There were two items on tomorrow’s itinerary; the Statue of Friendship, and Spike. The first would be handled while Homage got in touch with the second. Knight would be staying here, since volunteers from Glyphmark were currently at Friendship City, helping them rebuild and recover. The town had been attacked by slavers shortly before my arrival in Equestria. Said slavers were linked to Whiplash, the warlord Gritt had assassinated while I was in Novac.

Gritt spoke to Homage quietly. “Will they be there?”

She gave him a pitied look. “Probably. I thought you said you didn’t hold anything against them.”

He scowled. “Doesn’t mean I want to be around them.”

Homage put a hoof on his shoulder. “You’ll have to let it go some day.”

“It’s not the kind of thing that can be let go.” He shrugged her off and went home.

*****

Slash and I slept on opposite sides of the bed. Gritt slept on his sofa. Neither of us questioned him about his exchange with Homage, other than whether he was coming with us. He said he was, if only to keep his eye on me. There was no intimacy between the three of us that night or the morning after.

We got up and ready at first light, finding Gritt fiddling with the old, bloodstained whip from the display. He put it back and closed the case when he noticed us. Without a word, we got our gear from the checkpoint at the front gate and headed out.

Our flight over Manehattan to the coast was uneventful. Slash eventually broke the silence by asking about Crimson’s prisoners.

“Two died, but the rest got transferred to the NCR without issue.” Gritt noticed Slash’s scowl. “It would have been worse without Knight.”

“If they had just treated them properly in the first place…” The dragon crossed her arms.

The jaded merc rolled his eye. “Tell you what, next group of raiders we find, I’ll let you offer them some snacks and a hug. Maybe they’ll change their ways.”

Slash did not find his sarcasm amusing. I thought she needed to stop being so sympathetic towards chem-addicted murderer rapists. Proper treatment of enemy combatants, I understood, but insane raiders were no different from feral animals.

*****

Gritt took the lead as we neared Friendship City. It had recovered substantially since the Enclave’s attack over a decade ago, but the wounds were still present. Scrapped husks of Raptor cloud-ships rested in the water, salvage teams having long since stripped them of their most useful contents. Grave markers lined the coast near the bridge that connected the island to Manehattan. The Statue of Friendship was reduced to its lower half.

We were allowed through the gates without issue. Gritt seemed to take a roundabout path through the town towards the Statue’s entrance, seeming to avoid something or someone. He froze as we stepped into a market area, where numerous pony settlers and zebra volunteers worked to rebuild. Two zebra mares, one older and one younger, turned towards the black griffon.

They both wore sad, thoughtful expressions. The older one, covered in scars, spoke in the exotic accent common to them. “Gritt.”

Our companion avoided their eyes. “Xenith. Xephyr.” He quickly moved to the side, out of the market. The zebras sighed and continued working. We followed the griffon into the statue.

*****

“What was that about?” If Slash hadn’t asked, I would have.

“None of your business.” Gritt gave the answer I expected from him.

The dragon huffed. “Will you ever stop being so cagey about your past? The schtick has gone from mysterious to annoying.”

The griffon groaned. “Everyone in the wasteland’s got a sob story, doll, and telling mine to everyone who asks is a cliche I try to avoid.”

“I’ll just ask those zebras then.” She smirked. “I bet they know it.”

Gritt gave her a cold glare that banished her smile. “One side of it.”

I did my best to ignore their conversation, trying to let the Pearl guide me through the stone catacombs beneath the statue’s foundation. My PipBuck’s light had poor range, and every little noise made me flinch. I kept my EFS ready, though it was flooded with yellow bars from the town above us. The air grew humid, and I heard the dripping of water. My ankle itched.

“Oh, fuck off.” Before me was a submerged stairwell, and the Pearl beckoned me forward. I hovered a claw over the water, and drew it back as a chill of fear washed over me. My ankle kept itching.

I felt Slash put her arms around me. “Rosegold? You alright?”

My body was shaking. What was this? Why couldn’t I just shift into a seapony and press forward?

Gritt rubbed my claw, looking concerned. “The MAS basement in the Hub. That fucked you up, didn’t it?”

Traumatic stress? Me!?

The small griffon patted my chest, then took off his rifle and pistol belt. “Turn me into a fish or whatever. I’ll get your thing for you. There can’t be that many places to look down there.”

“You’re sure?” The offer took me by surprise. He nodded and stepped in the water. I focused and turned him into a seapony.

“Grover’s balls, this feels fucking weird!” Gritt flopped around a bit before he got his bearings and submerged. All Slash and I could do was wait.

*****

“So, what does the Storm King want the Pearl for?” Slash broke the silence. “Its applications seem kind of niche. I don’t see how it could win him a whole war.”

“I… honestly don’t know.” Pondering it helped distract me from my stress. “Maybe it’s far stronger once it’s fully formed. As in, it could change a lot of creatures at once.” I played Tempest’s first recording, and heard her mention that Skystar wasn’t bothered by rads. How Novo must have used the Pearl to do… something. “That doesn’t add up. The Storm King is the one who made hippogriffs immune to radiation. It was his gift after liberating us. He sacrificed his power and flesh, allowed himself to ghoulify, for us to survive. Why would he extend that to a fugitive, and not the soldier chasing them?”

Slash looked at me like I was a naive infant. “Have you considered that maybe he lied? Sounds like Novo made you immune to rads and the Storm King took the credit once he was in control. Because that’s what conquerors do. Rewrite history to suit their agenda.”

I stood up and unfurled my wings in anger. “That’s absurd! Novo was a savage holding our species back. Our King brought us into the future and through the apocalypse.”

She waved her claws. “Alright, alright. Just, if the Pearl can make sweeping changes like that to an entire race… I know this is a lot to ask, but could you help against the Enclave before you finish your mission? I want to try our diplomatic solution before the Storm King has that kind of power.”

At that moment, my faith in my King was faltering. Could he have been lying? Could he be trusted to seek the peaceful route?

I had time to do as Slash asked. My mission had a six month window, and things were going faster than I thought they would. “Once I have the entire Pearl, I’ll help you. If it's that strong, beating the Enclave will be a breeze.” I chuckled. “I could just turn them all into earth ponies and watch them fall out of the sky.” The thought tickled me, such a ‘superior’ race stripped of what makes them strong before plummeting to their deaths.

Slash gave me an uncomfortable look. “You shouldn't be so callous about a… massacre.”

Again with the misplaced sympathy. “They’re trying to exterminate your race.”

“And I want to stop them, not return the gesture.” Slash and I became silent again.

*****

Red ticks started popping up on my EFS. Two, then five, then a dozen. I told Slash then drew my weapon and aimed it at the water.

Worry splashed over Slash’s face as she stepped in. “Gritt!?” She turned to me.

I looked at my shard, which was still glowing. “I think I’d know if he wasn’t okay.” Another worrying thought crossed my mind. “My EFS can’t tell the elevation of hostiles. They could be above us. In town.”

Slash started to go up, with me behind her, but the sound of splashing startled us. I whipped around, charging and aiming my gun.

“Hey! Woah! It’s me!” Sea-Gritt waved his fins at us. His speech was muffled by the shard in his mouth. I relaxed and turned him back to normal, then fused the new shard to my necklace. Four down, five to go.

“Trouble down there?” I asked. He shook his head. “Then there’s trouble up there.”

*****

Slash and I took the ground floor exit. Gritt kept going up to the scaffolding within the destroyed statue’s skeleton and took a shooting position.

“Pirates!” A frightened voice called out. “Seadog pirates!”

Cannonfire blasted walls and buildings. I heard Gritt’s rifle start popping off shots above us. Two ugly bipeds dragged struggling young ponies across an alley ahead of us. They were like diamond dogs, except their digits were webbed, and their necks sported gills. Slash tackled one and ripped out his throat in her teeth. I put two shots in the other. The foals they were kidnapping thanked us between sobs. A filly hugged my leg before running to shelter with the others.

There were over a dozen more in the market, armed with clunky firearms and swords, killing anypony they couldn’t grab. The two zebras from before were in the fray, both a blur of striped martial arts. Attacks were dodged, legs were swept, and necks were snapped. Any time a seadog got an opening to land a blow, their heads were blown off by our sniper. Whatever Gritt’s issue was with Xenith and Xephyr, he wasn’t going to let them get shot or stabbed in the back.

Slash quickly joined the fighting and proved whose claws were sharper. I broke off and made my way to the city wall. These pirates were coming from somewhere, and needed to be stopped at the source. A low fog left it barely visible, but the blasting of naval cannons gave away a large, armored sailboat. It had approached the city’s blindspot and took out the only defensive guns that could face it before they had a chance to respond.

Gritt saw it as well, and began shooting the gunners, but wasn’t fast enough. I heard a pained squawk as a cannonball blasted the scaffolding around him. I wasn’t fast enough to catch him before he crashed through the roof of a general store. Jumping into the hole after him, I found he was struggling to breathe. Two large chunks of wood had pierced his abdomen, and a smaller one was deep in his neck. Healing potions wouldn’t fix this unless I took the wood out, and then they won’t be fast enough to stop the bleeding in time.

Xephyr rushed inside through the front door. “Move! I will help! Leave what medicine you have and return to the fight!” I nodded and did so. I knew little about zebra medicine, but it had a better chance of saving Gritt than my limited skills did.

*****

After killing three more seadogs, I shifted into one and dove off the wall. Open water I could handle. It was underground water that freaked me out. Climbing up the hull of the ship, I slipped into a porthole. The shock on the pirates’ faces as one of their own started blasting them was priceless. In close quarters, with SATS, I was unstoppable. Pirates, raiders, bandits… This was a type of enemy I had an abundance of experience killing. Stupid, predictable, easy to exterminate. The sleeping, the drunk, the sick. None were spared.

The alert fighters on the top deck proved more of a challenge, but not overly so. I shoved my weapon’s beam splitter down the throat of a disarmed and pleading young male and fired without hesitation. For good measure I kicked the body into the water, and shifted back into a hippogriff.

An enraged growl caught my attention as a huge seadog stepped out of the captain’s cabin. He had cybernetic reinforcements underneath a vibrant naval coat. A large hat decorated with various feathers sat upon his grizzled head.

“Who be boarding the illustrious Captain Ironsides’ fine vessel!? What matter of bird be you!?”

“Captain!” A young female stepped beside him. Unlike most of her kind, her thin fur coat was smooth and clean, a vibrant sea green. The first mate wore a cropped white jacket, ruffled black blouse, and tight navy sailor’s shorts. Her lilac eyes darted fearfully at the carnage I created. “He’s killed the crew!”

Both pirates drew surprisingly fine swords from their hips. I fired a shot into the captain, but his armor absorbed it. “First Mate Purser! Start the engines! Take us to the skies!” Purser nodded and sprinted up to the helm. I tried to fly after her, but Ironsides grabbed my leg and slammed me into the deck hard, knocking my gun out of my grasp. My hooves kicked me out of his paws and I scrambled back on to them.

The first mate yanked a lever, and the whole ship lurched, making me fall on my haunches. My weapon slid to the stern of the ship, lodging into some cargo. The deafening sound of rockets filled the air as the ship lifted into it. Seadog pirates with a flying sailboat. Sure. Why not?

“Oi, I know who you are! The Wanderer who disrupted my business at Horseshoe!” He spat. “My client demanded stripes, and stripes they’ll get! Just happen to be plenty in that there city.”

I let out an annoyed groan. “I don’t care about slaves! I came here for my own reasons, and now you’re in my way. Leave or die.”

Ironsides let out a hearty bellow of a laugh, just before Purser fired a shot at me from a small pistol, causing me to scramble up a mast and use the sails for cover. She gave chase, holding her sword in her teeth as she climbed the ropes. I reached the masthead, and found footing on the horizontal wood holding up one of the patchwork white sails. Purser was on me faster than I expected, and started swinging. SATS allowed me to dodge her attacks, but it wouldn’t last forever. When she finally overextended, I ducked low and slashed the inside of her thigh with my talons. She let out a pained yip and stumbled, allowing me to spin about and follow up with a hard buck into her gut. All the air was knocked out of her and she was launched into a mess of ropes, getting tangled in them. I flew down and caught her falling sword and pistol.

A purple blast to my wing grounded me. I slammed into the deck with a pained chirp. Ironsides had my gun.

“What a wonderful grapeshot this is! It’s even the right color!” He mocked and fired several more shots, which I barely avoided. Returning fire, I knew this pistol couldn’t hurt him, but it could disarm him. Sorry, gun.

A bullet hit the lever mechanism, jamming it. The frustrated captain threw it down and drew his sword. I readied the one I took. Fort Aris had fencing lessons. I was decent, but never the best. In the face of this opponent, I focused and gave it my all. My life depended on it.

Step, parry, swish, clang, parry… I did my best, but my opponent had superior strength and reach. With experienced precision, Ironsides skewered my handguard and twisted the handle out of my grasp. He flicked it away through the air with enough force that it embedded itself in the mast. Then he stabbed his sword through my hindleg and into the deck. I shrieked in agony until he clasped my beak shut.

“Did you really think you could best me?” He laughed and stepped back, throwing his arms in the air. “I’m the Captain!”

He was in his own weight class. I needed something heavy. I needed…

Focusing, I changed into a unicorn. Shifting was especially painful with the blade in my calf. Ironsides wore an amused expression, which turned to worried realization when he saw the two cannons glow and float.

“What’s a Captain to a Commodore?” I put all I had into flinging the several tons of steel at the cyber-seadog, releasing the magic just before they hit so momentum would carry their full force.

Ironsides was slammed off the back corner of the deck, and into the fire of his rockets. One of the cannons fell onto the thruster, rending it heavily askew, and causing a dramatic change in course. The ship veered straight into the Statue of Friendship.

*****

I came to in a concussed daze. My leg was still skewered, and I was a hippogriff again. Debris was scattered about, and the masts had collapsed, but the ship was otherwise surprisingly intact. What concerned me was the approaching First Mate.

Judging by her wobble and limp, Purser was just as injured as me. She practically fell onto me, and I was helpless as she yanked the sword from my leg and lined the tip up with a gap between my chest plates. I let out a choked squawk as the sword was shoved upward through my torso. Bloody metal escaped out my collar, between my shoulder and neck. With better aim, it could have reached my brain. My world became a haze of pain.

Purser growled, her eyes narrow. “For… the… Captain…” Her gaze became unfocused as she collapsed onto me. I lost consciousness soon after.

*****

The blackness faded out into a familiar scene of a meadow beside a creek. Knight’s mindscape. I must have been brought back to Tenpony. The white alicorn smiled broadly as she noticed me.

“Oh, thank Celestia!” She trotted forward and pulled me into a shockingly soft and warm embrace, repeatedly kissing my head. “You made me so worried! After so long without any brain activity… I thought you wouldn’t make it.”

No brain activity… “I was dead!?”

“Technically, yes.” She sat and tapped her hooves together. “There was a lot of damage. Your heart and one of your lungs had to be replaced. With no available hippogriff organs for transplant, we had to improvise. Congratulations, you’re a cyber-griff.”

I sat down, reeling. How would that affect my transformations? Could the Pearl compensate?

“That’s… not all.” Her tone worried me. “While working on you, I confirmed something I suspected earlier. A preexisting neural condition.”

Blinking, I cocked my head.

Her face became serious. “You have repeatedly displayed antisocial, impulsive behavior. You have a callous, remorseless disregard for others beyond what they can offer you. You lie and manipulate as easily as you breathe. Let’s state the obvious. There’s something wrong with you.”

“I’ve… had to be that way…” Most of that has been a matter of survival and completing my mission.

She sighed. “It isn’t your fault. When I said you could have resisted the Darkness in Limbo, I was wrong. You couldn’t have. You lack the capacity. Rosegold, you’re a psychopath.”

“A… psychopath.” I’m not… I’m not insane!

“A high-functioning psychopath, specifically,” she elaborated. “Your amygdala is severely underdeveloped. A birth defect, caused by the toxic conditions your mother worked in while pregnant with you. Couple that with your stressed upbringing and career, it’s a wonder your condition isn’t worse than it is.” How deep into my memories did she search? Knight put a wing around me. “I can treat it, but I want your permission.”

“Treat… What kind of treatment?” This was overwhelming.

“There are two options, one permanent, the other conditional. The permanent fix is extensive brain surgery. This option poses substantial risk. Your memories, personality, all you are could get reset.” That didn’t sound good at all. “The conditional fix, which I would recommend, is an implant that wirelessly links your brain to my core processors. I could devote part of myself to acting as an artificial amygdala. As long as you’re in range, you could properly process empathic emotions you previously couldn’t.”

“That also sounds risky. Would I be susceptible to your IFF? Attack any zebra I see?” I didn’t want to become a time bomb.

“Actually,” her tone brightened. “The opposite will occur. As long as I’m with you, linked to the implant, I can use your mind to override the IFF. There’d be… mild discomfort in the presence of zebras, but I’d be safe around them.”

I couldn’t help but feel she was playing into my logical, tactical sensibilities to benefit herself. If it worked, though, it was the kind of solution we brought her here for.

“Plus, we could have these conversations whenever you like,” she said with a pleasant smile.

I considered it for a long while, weighing my options, then sighed. “Okay… Go ahead with the implant. If you think it will help.” She grinned wide and hugged me tight. “What happened in Friendship City?” I wanted to change the subject. I needed to distract myself from all of this.

“Firstly, Gritt is okay. Those zebras saved him. Secondly, Purser was the only seadog who survived the attack. She is being kept in her ship’s brig, and is being interrogated by Gritt and Slash for information on Ironsides’ clients.”

If I survived, it made sense she did as well. “Will she hang?”

“Oddly enough, Gritt wants her to serve time at Arbu. I thought he of all people would allow her to be executed. He hasn’t shown mercy to other raiders and slavers since we’ve been traveling together.” It was odd. Maybe Slash convinced him to?

“I… I think I’m ready. For the implant. Will the surgery take long?”

“A few hours. I’ll stay right here with you.”

*****

My head and body ached, but the pain wasn’t debilitating. I was in Tenpony’s small but well-equipped surgery center. Knight stood over me, metal and robotic. The sight of her made me feel odd. Warm. She looked happy, and that made me happy. She helped me get dressed in the suit I wore the other day, then led me to the elevators, explaining that Gritt and Slash had returned and were waiting in the Athenaeum.

Slash hugged me carefully when she saw me, and I felt her joy with her. Is this what I’d been missing? This was… nice. Overwhelmingly so. Tears welled up in my eyes. Gritt smiled at me, and the sight of the scar in his neck made me wince. In this instance, empathy wasn’t so pleasant.

“I think the implant is working, but I’d like to really test it.” Knight sat and opened her claws, magic glowing from them. “A stress test, using a strong, emotional memory. Would… either of you like to volunteer?”

Slash started to open her mouth, but Gritt approached and raised a talon. “I’ve got some.”

Knight put one claw on the griffon’s head, and the other on mine. “Any memory in particular?”

“Fillydelphia. Day of Sunshine and Rainbows.”

***** ***** *****

Footnote:
Welcome to Level 10!

Perk Added: Cy-bird! Your mechanical heart and lung increase your poison resistance by 50%.

Companion Perk Added: Synthetic Empathy! Due to your new implant, you gain +5 Charisma when traveling with Knight. Caution; the suffering of others now registers on an emotional level.