Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Chapter 15: Greed and Fear

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

Sailing back down river to the sea, then south to Fillydelphia’s coast took more than a day. Knight had found a chess set amongst Ironsides’ former belongings, and she and I passed the time challenging each other. I had a knack for strategy games, and the advanced android was surprised at how many times I managed to defeat her. Not easily, though. She was incredibly intelligent, and I’d bet at least one of the books at the Athenaeum was about this topic.

I also had the chance to properly speak to Purser. To make sure there wasn’t ill will between us, apologizing for killing so many of her kind. She assured me that’s just how things go in a pirate’s life. Ironsides wasn’t her first captain. Those seadogs weren’t her first crew. Now she had new ones. That’s just how it went.

She was slowly warming up to us, especially Slash, brazenly remarking how she wanted the dragon’s muzzle between her legs. Her ears folded when I told her she was barking up the wrong tree. I asked her if she was only interested in females, to which she replied she did have a preference, just not an exclusive one. She teased that I was girly enough to be her type. Thanks, I guess.

Changing the subject, I asked what she knew about the slave trade, especially the trading of zebras. She knew very little. Ironsides’ shift towards living cargo was a very recent one, and he was just an intermediary, dropping ponies and stripes off upriver just past Ponyville to unnamed clients. It didn’t sit well with her, admitting she briefly spent time as a slave as a pup, but she valued loyalty too much to go against her captain. To my surprise, she expressed gratitude for what I did. In a way, I freed her.

“If that’s how you feel, why did you kill me?”

“I had a concussion at the time. And I was angry. Forgive me for not thinking clearly.”

“I’ll forgive you over a bottle of rum.”

She recognized the intent of my smile, and followed me to bed. Slash smirked and mouthed the word ‘slut’ as we passed her on the deck. I grinned back, rolling my eyes.

*****

As we neared the city, I began to smell the smoke of industry. Gritt distracted himself by reading billboards he saw along the coast, and I got a glimpse into his odd sense of humor when we passed a vandalized one.

It was a Ministry of Peace ad, likely for a local hospital. Whatever had been written under Fluttershy’s smiling face had been completely altered.

The message now read, “Injured? Good! Fuck you, you injured piece of shit!” above directions to said hospital. Gritt was laughing hysterically in the crow’s nest, pounding a fist into the wood.

“Sheesh, raider stuff is usually too crass or lazy to be funny. But then you come across something like this…” He fell into another fit of laughter. I had to admit, it was a little funny. Still in poor taste, though.

“I doubt she’d find it amusing,” Slash scolded, pointing at the Ministry Mare’s face. “Seriously, we just saw her.”

“Hey, comedy’s just tragedy plus time. Don’t tell me two hundred years is too soon.” Gritt tried to compose himself, still snickering.

The dragon folded her arms. “To someone who lived that long, it might be.”

Gritt took her point and hushed. Knight guided the ship to a reasonable place to dock.

*****

Fillydelphia wasn’t nearly as dreary as I imagined it to be. Smog from the factories was unpleasant, but industry had done much to restore roads and buildings in the residential and business districts.

I decided to take the form of a unicorn, and dressed in a simple pressed suit that hid my blank flank. Knight followed me off the ship and activated her stealth field. My story was that I was a prospective new investor from Tenpony, looking to aid Sabre’s political campaign in Manehattan.

Guards paid the unarmed stallion no mind, simply asking for my name and why I was here for their records. My name for the time being was Poppyholt.

The NCR embassy wasn’t hard to find, a restored office building adorned with the faction flag, an image of a two-headed ursa. After convincing the red-visored troopers at the front door of my purpose, I was allowed inside to set up an appointment with Sabre. While Knight was undetectable by other EFS, our neural link allowed mine to track her going towards a stairwell. A nearby radio regaled my exploits at Friendship City in between songs by Sapphire Shores and Sweetie Belle. Never before now, it felt genuinely good that my actions could be inspiring others, despite my selfish intentions at the time.

*****

I didn’t have to wait too long before an attendant took me to Whiteclaw’s office on the top floor. The building was well kept, but it was no Tenpony. My goal was simply to size up Sabre and his intentions. If he was involved in something nasty, I’d like to know just how deep he was in. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he may not be aware of anything and is just a puppet. Knight was the one looking for hard evidence, hacking every terminal she found.

Stepping into Sabre’s office, I got a good look at him. Oh no, he’s hot.

He was moderately sized for a griffon, with a slender yet healthy build. The coat of his body was a clean silver with streaks of white. His head was yellow, as were the tips of his wings. The representative’s cheeks had red spots, giving him a cute permanent blush. As per his name, his claws were white, while his beak was gray. His eyes were strikingly dark gray, almost black.

His fine ensemble made me feel underdressed. A three-piece perfectly-tailored silk tuxedo, deep burgundy with a ruffled white shirt, and a puffed gold and black silk necktie. He’d turn heads at the Grand Galloping Gala, let alone Tenpony Tower.

Sabre greeted me with a charming, disarming smile that made me forget what I was here for. With a noble trot from his large marble desk, he took my hoof and shook it.

“Poppyholt, is it?” His accent was similar to Gwen’s though nowhere near as strong. His Ponish was immaculate. The aristocratic griffon took a bow. “Senator Sabre Whiteclaw of the New Canterlot Republic, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

I returned the bow. “The pleasure is mine, Representative.” I took a seat with him at a table beside the window. His attendant fetched us some fine brandy, pouring glasses for us.

The handsome politician took a sip. “I understand that you are here to make a contribution to my election campaign. What sort of contribution do you have in mind?”

I straightened my suit. “I recently earned a fair amount of sway with members of the Twilight Society. A good word with them would do wonders for your efforts, wouldn’t you agree?”

His smile told me he did. “And in exchange?”

I waved a hoof. “The improvements you’d surely bring to that city is compensation enough for something as simple as my word.”

“That is quite generous.” It seemed that overt flattery would get me anywhere with this west coast griffon.

Knight’s tag on my EFS moved outside the building. She certainly works fast. I shouldn’t wrap this up too hastily, might as well finish my drink.

“I was actually about to go on an expedition to Seaddle, to experience the luxury of the Star Pin Tower. I hear it puts Tenpony to shame.”

Sabre’s smile faltered for just the slightest of moments. “It certainly does, not to insult the fine ponies of Tenpony. Just don’t let yourself get mixed up in the politics.” The flamboyant male rolled his eyes dramatically. “They make the NCR’s bureaucratic drama look tame. I just had to get away.” He smiled and had his attendant fetch a parchment, pen, ink, and wax. With gorgeous calligraphy, he wrote a notice of endorsement and gave it his seal. “Here, as a token of appreciation for your visit and offer. This should open any door at Star Pin.”

With a gentle touch of telekinesis, I floated the parchment into my coat. “I appreciate this immensely. You are too kind.” The politics of Fort Aris had done wonders to prepare me for this encounter.

Sabre took my hoof again as my appointment ended and gave each of my cheeks a peck, a gesture I respectfully returned. It took almost all my focus not to let my endorphins distract me. If my blank flank wouldn’t give me away, I’d let him pin me to his desk and show me what that stunning body could do.

Oh, I truly hope Knight didn’t find anything damning. Someone that beautiful would get ruined by prison.

*****

Knight waited until we were back on the Gull to decloak. I followed up by changing back into a hippogriff and swapping my suit for my armor. Fantasies about Sabre still kept me smiling ear to ear, though my grin faltered as I noticed Knight’s nervous hoof tapping.

“You found something on him, didn’t you?” Please let it be something worthy of nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Knight nodded and uploaded the files to my PipBuck. I began reading through the assortment of notes and correspondences. A lot of it was shipping manifests, bulk orders of industrial parts for export. A letter caught my attention.

*****

“To my dear father Pierre,

I urgently request that you move our family east. Seaddle is growing increasingly unsafe, and I fear I have contributed a great deal to the growing threat. Unknowingly, of course! The parts CG has been having me produce… I’ve learned their purpose, and have ceased production. It will take time for the shipments to stop coming in, but I fear reprisal against you and the others once they do. So, please, move our family to Manehattan where it is safe. That winged little sociopath isn’t going to stop at zebras.

Your dutiful son, Sabre”

*****

“That sounds… concerning.” I closed my PipBuck.

Knight nodded. “Extremely. I went over schematics for the parts Sabre was producing and shipping west. They’re Assault-Mare parts. It seems like he, and every worker in Fillydelphia, were fooled into thinking the pieces they were machining were harmless. The schematics were even labeled wrong, citing them as parts for wind turbines or water pumps. It is worth noting that the letter failed to be delivered. The transmission was intercepted and blocked.”

At least the only crime Sabre seemingly committed was ignorance. “Anything about the slaves?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. He appears to have no connection to it.” There was still something else making Knight very nervous.

“Who is CG?” My question made her tap her hooves anxiously again.

“I have a suspicion, but I sincerely hope I’m wrong.” She then muttered quietly to herself. “She couldn’t have survived…”

I could tell she wouldn’t say more if I pried. Instead, I changed the subject. “Any ideas where Filly’s Pearl shard is?”

Knight welcomed the distraction. “Yes! The Harmony Bell. The tower it rests in is barely holding together, especially after the Enclave’s attack, but the NCR has been working to restore it the last few years, with the help of the Followers. It should be a simple flight.”

A magical draw from my necklace told me she was correct. We headed out, letting Slash tag along since she was growing restless.

*****

Going deeper into the city, near the factory district, the smog was bad enough for me to put on a respirator. Slash, being a dragon, was unbothered by the smoke. Looking down at the mills, I saw numerous workers toiling away. As Gawd had mentioned, the conditions were reasonable. The ponies, zebras, and griffons wore protective equipment, appeared healthy, and there were no signs of anything being amiss. Laborers from Arbu were identified by orange jumpsuits, and were accompanied by guards, but worked under the same nominal conditions as the paid workers. Their efforts apparently went towards reducing their sentences.

Banking towards the historical district, the bell tower came into view. Knight wasn’t lying about it being in rough shape, but the Harmony Bell itself looked fine. With any luck, this would just be a matter of reaching up into it and pulling out a shard.

To my amazement, that was the case. Finally, a shard I didn’t have to jump through hoops or almost die to get!

It also wasn't the only thing I found. There were also brass casings, .308 and .50, and lots of laser scorch marks. Looking around, I realized where I was. I'd seen this exact view in Gritt's memory. On the street below, just thirty feet away laterally, was the scorched crater of a Celestia One impact.

Flying overhead, towards the Fun Farm, I saw husks of over a dozen Raptors and a Thunderhead resting in the collapsed buildings they had crashed into. No wonder Gritt refused to enter this city. All of this was still here to remind him of that battle. Even…

I saw the pile of concrete slabs, a piece of rebar still poking from the top. My companions were confused when I flew down to it. Knight less so when she realized. I rested a claw on the pile of stone and paid my respects. Not for Stern’s sake. She didn’t deserve it. For my friend’s. “Don’t worry, he’s doing fine. He’s a better griffon than you wanted him to be.”

The shared memory resurfacing, I held back tears and flew back to the Gull.

*****

Gritt welcomed us back, and started to ask why my eyes were wet. After giving the confused little black griffon a tight hug, I took my place at the helm. Not long after, we started towards a river that would lead us to Ponyville.

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

Footnote:
Welcome to Level 12!

Perk Added: Silver-Tongued Sleuth! You now gain additional information or rewards when passing speech checks.