Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Chapter 16: Strange Bedfellows

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

We didn’t get far before inclement weather forced us to drop anchor and furl the sails. Purser was extremely insistent that attempting to sail through a storm was a bad idea. Storm Cruisers and our other airships were built for it, designed to actually draw increased power from lightning strikes, but this sailboat would simply burst into flames, or get sent into rocks by the adverse wind.

Knight and I enjoyed more chess in my cabin. Everyone else was below deck.

“Checkmate.” The android announced triumphantly. “Knight takes King.”

I scoffed then shook her hoof. “I should have seen that gambit coming. Good move.”

A nearby flash of light and thunder made me flinch. It was a little too close for comfort. Knight assured me we could handle any fires if we did get hit.

Gritt had an epiphany shortly after we left Filly, and explained that Washout would be enormously helpful in Seaddle. She’d definitely be up for freeing slaves, especially zebras, and she understands how the Enclave operates. The griffon then left for Baltimare to recruit her. Hopefully they can find us in this weather. All they have to do is follow the river.

After hearing a heavy thunk on the deck, I assumed it must have been the ex-Enclave mare in her armor. Rushing outside, I found myself beak-to-beak with Crimson.

*****

He raised his augmented claws when I reached for Grapeshot (I finally decided to name my gun. Might as well go with what Ironsides called it.)

“No need for that,” he rasped. “I’m here to help.”

That took me by surprise. “Why?”

“Sabre hired me to round up his family out west, bring ‘em to Tenpony. You’re already headed that way, so I might as well tag along.” He sat down as I relaxed.

“How do you know that? And where’re your goons?” I began circling him, looking out into the rain for a potential ambush.

The cyber-griffon let out a strained chuckle. “You’re not as slick as you think. Sabre had you tailed to your ship after your little meeting. He also knows his files got hacked. As for my goons, Whiteclaw took them as personal protection.”

Slash came up to check on the commotion, and snarled at Crimson. I waved for her to stand down.

“Where’s Trickshot?” Crimson asked, glancing around and up at the empty crow’s nest.

“Getting more help from Baltimare.” He didn’t need to know more than that.

“Ah, Washout then.” Nevermind. “Makes sense.” He smiled at me. “You gonna make sure your pals don’t pick a fight?”

I narrowed my eyes at the abuser. “If you touch Gritt, I’ll let my friends do whatever they want to you.” Slash nodded and growled in agreement.

Crimson's expression became deadly serious. “I’ve never hurt that kid and I never will. Even a depraved fuck like me has lines he won’t cross.”

“Bullshit,” I countered.

“Ask him yourself,” He retorted, then moved to the bow of the ship and laid down, resting his reinforced body. I was perfectly fine leaving him in the rain. Now I hoped for lightning.

*****

“What the FUCK are you doing here!?” I rushed out as I heard Gritt’s voice, finding him with his rifle raised. Washout was beside him, weapons charged. The rain had just stopped, making Crimson’s cybernetics easier to see.

Thick, armored, black metal replaced much of his upper torso and limbs. His wings were half-mechanical, and fitted with turbines large enough to blend ponies into mulch. Most of his head and his lower torso were still flesh and red feathers, the latter thankfully covered by barding. Going off his filtered voice and mechanical breathing, he likely had far more cybernetics on the inside. His belt-fed .50 caliber machine gun, modified from being a mounted weapon to something that could be wielded like an assault rifle, stayed slung on his back. Not that he’d need it. He could tear this entire ship apart with his claws and bladed wings.

I took Gritt into my cabin to explain Crimson’s presence. He didn’t like it, but he’d put up with it so long as his former boss behaved.

“I have to ask, did he ever…” I didn’t have to finish the question.

“Shockingly, no.” My friend sat down hard, a scowl on his face. “Creep would fuck anything with a pulse, consensually or otherwise. But with me, he… He’d be kind of off around me, but he never actually did anything. I guess he drew the line at minors.”

“Think he’ll try something now that you’re older?” My tone barely hid how badly I wanted an excuse to kill the wretch.

“No, he knows everyone on this boat would kill him.” Damn straight we would. “It’s weird… the other Talons in Bloodfeather Company were oddly loyal to him, despite how he sometimes treated them. They told me he didn’t get like that until after Red Eye’s shit fell apart. Something about supply lines running dry.”

I made sure my friend was going to be alright, then got Washout acquainted with the crew before we set sail. We were all tempted to simply keep Crimson in the brig, but we knew he could easily break out of that cage if he wanted to.

*****

Towards the end of the night, the giant griffon opened my cabin door with a sack full of caps in his claw. If he was about to proposition me, I swear…

“Got any Med-X? Painkillers? I’ll buy anything you’ve got.” Not what I expected.

“We’ve got a spare crate below deck. Are you wounded?” Knight was a doctor first and foremost. Judging the morality of her patients came second.

Crimson just gave another pained laugh. “No. Doc Slaughter just didn’t take my nervous system into consideration when he ‘upgraded’ me.”

“You’re in constant pain.” Knight approached Crim and began looking him over, using various spells at her disposal for a thorough evaluation of his health, even taking a blood sample. “In your state, painkillers won’t do much. You’ve already developed a substantial tolerance for them, significantly reducing their effects. You’d burn through our entire supply in a matter of days.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he joked. “Fuck, I wish I could go back and kill Red Eye, Slaughter, and all those fuckers myself. Contract be damned.”

“How’d you end up with him?” If I’m going to travel with this monster, I might as well understand him.

“Stern owned my contract. Then Red Eye owned hers. Simple as that.” Eastern griffons and they’re immovable loyalty to their contracts was just as baffling as seadogs and their loyalty to their captains.

“You didn’t ask her to terminate?” I knew that was an option. Griffons weren’t completely trapped if they didn’t like their boss.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’d rolled with her too long to just bail on her like Gawd did.”

I did a double take. “Come again?”

“Right, that’s not common knowledge.” He chuckled, reminiscing. “Gawd’s Talons. The original Gawd’s Talons. Gawdyna, Stern, and me. Way back when we were barely adults. That was… over thirty years ago now. We were under Stern’s contract, but Grimfeathers was more of a people person, so we used her name and let her negotiate with clients. Most of the time.”

“So, what happened?” Stupid question. “Red Eye?”

Crim nodded. “Stern thought we hit the big leagues with him, signed straight up. Gawd didn’t want to turn slaver. Their disagreement got… heated.” He pointed to his left eye, and I understood what he was implying. “Long story short, Stern terminated her contract, and she went off to do her own thing outside Shattered Hoof. It was hard to watch her go.” Sadness crept into his eyes. “She and I… nevermind, not important. Everything else is history, and I guess Gawd ended up making the right call.”

“If I may interject,” Knight spoke up, wanting to shift back to her patient’s condition. “I can keep you in my mindscape while you rest. It will save on chems. I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do for you.” Crim agreed and let Knight lead him outside, before she pulled him into her mental realm. If I wanted to hear more about this, I’d have to hear it from President Grimfeathers, though I doubt she’d share so readily.

*****

The next day, I went below deck to find that Purser and Washout had already gotten cozy with each other. I have been replaced. As the pegasus got dressed, I chatted with her, wanting to know how much she knew about the west coast Enclave.

“Fuck all, honestly.” She was sorry she didn’t know more. “They’re Enclave in name only. Completely disavowed by the east over a century ago for being too chummy with the surface.”

I shrugged. “Just thought a Wonderbolt would know more.”

She blinked. “Who said I was a Wonderbolt?”

“You… performed a Sonic Rainboom. When you attacked Knight.” That means she has to be a Wonderbolt, right?

“I was a candidate for the Wonderbolts. When all that shit went down twelve years ago, I was still in training.” She finally slipped her chest piece on. “I did a Rainboom by accident when I was a filly, and the Enclave scooped me up and shoved me into military school. Never forgave them for taking me away from my parents, just to try and indoctrinate me into one of those celebrity assassins.” Her frown turned into a grin. “Praise the Lightbringer, all that chaos gave me a window to snag some armor and move to the surface. Never looked back.”

I gave her a worried smile. “What about your parents?”

She huffed. “If they wanted to find me, they could have.”

"You know, you could have helped against the Enclave. Friendship City, Fillydelphia..." I stopped as she gave me a cross stare.

"If I knew about the things Operation Cauterize was doing, I would have grounded every Raptor and Thunderhead myself." Her cold tone surprised me.

I blinked. "You'd kill that many of your own people?"

Washout spat. "They killed kids. Fuck 'em."

With that, she focused on gearing up, along with everyone else. We were passing into Ponyville.

*****

The plan was to figure out where Ponyville’s shard was and snag it, then fly high over most of Everfree to the ruins of Red Eye’s Cathedral for that shard. We were not going to risk messing around with Killing Joke or any other horrors waiting for us in that forest.

Ponyville was home to the hellhounds, an NCR-protected sanctuary for the endangered creatures. After talking to Purser, she agreed to act as an intermediary, her kind being a cousin species to the diamond dogs hellhounds mutated from. Another problem was, I wasn’t sure where a shard would be. With Everfree, it was obvious. The old castle of the Two Sisters, which Red Eye built his cathedral on, was the only ruin of note. Ponyville doesn’t really have anything like that. Maybe Twilight’s old treehouse library… That was probably our best bet.

I had Gritt stay behind on the Gull, and had Crimson come with us. That way, my friend didn’t have to be around him, and I didn’t have to leave Crim alone with my ship. Also, the cyber-griffon and Knight were the ones that could physically contend with the mutants if something went sideways. Maybe Slash as well, but I wouldn’t bet on her. We approached on foot, weapons stowed, as unthreatening as possible, with our seadog in the lead.

*****

It wasn’t long before the ground rumbled around us, and we were quickly surrounded by the giant beasts. Purser immediately talked them down before they attacked, speaking in an old dog language. The rest of us stayed quiet while I assumed she was explaining our purpose.

Eventually, we were allowed in town, but under watch. Knight spoke to them in their language as well, but that did not deter them from regarding the machine with suspicion. Washout received the most angry glares. Not surprising, considering what the Enclave did to them.

Ponyville was in a poor state, the same it had been for over two centuries. While the hounds did enough to make a home for themselves, they didn’t bother renovating any of the old buildings. Much of the ‘decorations’ set up by the raiders who once called this place home were still present. I put on my respirator to avoid the stench.

Rarity’s Carousel Boutique, Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie once worked, and Applejack’s Sweet Apple Acres were in dismal shape. Though the latter was being used as a farm by the current residents. Eventually, we reached Twilight’s library.

Very quaint, compared to the Athenaeum. I was amazed that the tree it was made from was as intact as it was. Must be some magic involved in its construction. The scene on the inside nearly made me vomit. Purser did vomit. Decade-old caracasses were strewn about or crumpled in cages. Organs, black and hardened by age, were draped around like banners. Pony skins were sewn onto furniture. I imagined it was like this in every building. Fucking raiders.

I had us scatter and search, turning the place inside out. My disgust was distracting me far too much for the Pearl to help me look. Would it have killed the Hellhounds to clean all this up? Washout put her helmet on, and even Slash was starting to gag. Knight’s lack of a visceral reaction was understandable for obvious reasons, but Crimson’s complete lack of a response made me even more disgusted by him. He’s probably caused scenes like this.

We eventually found the shard in a chest upstairs. Knight ripped off the lock easily enough. We eagerly made our way back outside and relished the fresh air.

*****

“Alright, now Everfree.” My words incited growls from the Hellhounds.

Purser spoke up. “Not quite yet. I had to make a deal with them.” Awesome. Great. “A pack of timberwolves attacked them recently. They could not destroy the mutant forest spirits, but they did manage to trap them in Stable 2. Unfortunately they used the stable for supply storage. A lot of their food is in there. They want us to remedy the situation.”

“How in Equestria are we going to kill Timberwolves?” It seemed impossible to me. “Can’t they regenerate faster than a hydra? We don’t-” I looked at Slash, who had her arms spread wide. “Oh. Right. Fire.”

*****

Opening the stable door was a simple procedure. My PipBuck had an appropriate override command. As soon as the four feet of steel started squealing, I quickly trotted behind our dragon, who was puffing her chest as she prepared to roast our magical wooden foes.

The ones that lunged at us were engulfed and destroyed immediately, but several scurried deeper into the stable. I opened a floorplan on my PipBuck, and had the Hellhounds point out where their supplies were being kept. That way, we could avoid incinerating them.

Slash and Washout took point, the latter’s plasma weaponry also being effective against the creatures. We soon passed the mauled corpse of the hound who sacrificed himself to lure these creatures in here. I briefly paid my respects.

Purser stayed at the entrance. Crimson and I watched our flanks. Our weapons would only slow the wolves down, but it was better than nothing. Crim lamented ‘wasting ammo’ on creatures his expensive bullets couldn’t actually kill.

We swept through every room that wasn’t locked, burning out several timberwolves at a time. There were dozens down here. A particularly large group in the atrium proved tricky, and we all had to take flight to keep the creatures from closing the distance. My heart went racing after one got close to biting off a hoof. I pinned myself to the upper corner of the large room, hyperventilating. I couldn’t think or move or see or hear. All that flashed through my brain was that flooded basement. It took a few minutes after the fight was over for Slash and Knight to calm me down enough to continue.

The last and most challenging battle took place in the artificial orchards, which were still in tatters from an old fight against Steel Rangers. Slash, worried about me, made me stay at the door while they handled it. Grapeshot pushed back any wolves that got too close, giving Washout and Slash time to deal with them. Crimson and the pegasus took dings to their armor from tooth and claw, and Slash got bit a few times, but it was nothing potions couldn’t handle. The cyber-griffon squirmed a bit in pain as his repair talismans kicked in. Knight did her best to ease it.

*****

After confirming that there weren’t any others hidden away, we made it back outside. The hounds barely gave us a grunt as thanks. Now we could go to Everfree. I told Purser to go back to the Gull, since she couldn’t fly. Letting a party member trek through on foot was not an option.

We flew high, practically inside the clouds, to avoid poison thorn spitters. Washout was uncomfortable being so close to her old home, but she preferred not to test her armor against the long range anti-air plants. A thorn hitting her wing would ground her. Or any of us except Knight.

Really, all we had to worry about were the remnants of Red Eye’s old cult, true believers who still cling to the idea of a ‘God’ or ‘Goddess’ to unite all. Harmless crazies. Glancing at Knight, I wondered…

*****

My idea took no effort whatsoever. The assortment of robed ponies began bowing to the android and chanting her praises as soon as they saw her. I flew in front of her and stared her down when she tried to make them stop.

“Knight! When somepony asks you if you’re a Goddess, you say YES!” My voice was a commanding whisper. “This is our easiest way in.”

“But it’s… wrong.” She whimpered, then stomped her hoof. “Fine. I’ll play along.” She yanked my Pearl off of my neck with her magic and held it up. “ATTENTION, DISCIPLES.” Ow, Knight, you could have waited until I wasn’t right next to you. “THIS IS THE PEARL OF TRANSFORMATION. A PIECE OF IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE CASTLE OF THE TWO SISTERS DURING EQUESTRIA'S FINAL DAYS. BRING IT TO US, OR LEAD US TO IT, AND YOU SHALL BE BLESSED.”

“Yes, your Grace!” An elderly unicorn stallion stood up. “Please, follow me!” The pony in a scarlet and purple robe trotted into the ruins. We followed him through countless stone staircases and corridors. The castle on the ground floor had been obliterated by the Enclave, and the lowest sublevels that once contained vats of Taint had been destroyed by Littlepip, but much of what was between remained.

*****

“What a pointless shitshow,” remarked Crimson as we passed the bones of griffons and ponies alike. He wasn’t wrong. They all died for nothing. For a flawed future that was never to be. He grimaced in utter disdain as we passed a sign that read ‘Cybersurgery’ above a collapsed stairwell that would have led to the third sublevel.

The sublevel we were on was dedicated to artifact storage, though most of it had been plundered. All that was mostly left were memory orbs too damaged to use. Our guide muttered to himself as he dug through crates. I ignored him and let the Pearl guide me to a filing cabinet. I hovered a claw over each drawer until… It was under E.

“Ah, yes, of course!” The unicorn stammered. “I was about to check there!” The piece magically snapped to the others.

“Let’s get out of here. Reinier awaits.” I started towards the way we came.

“One moment.” Knight stepped towards our guide, placed a hoof on his head, and enveloped him in her magic. I don’t know what memory or insight she shared, but it brought him to tears.

We left soon after, and made our way back to the Gull.

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

Footnote:
Welcome to Level 13!

Perk Added: And Stay Back! You’ve discovered a scattershot technique that has a 50% chance to knock down an opponent!