Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Fallout: Equestria - The Storm

Chapter 25: Catching Up

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

I held the final Pearl shard in my shaking claws. This entire mission was pointless. Why did I not realize this would happen the INSTANT I saw that Canterlot was Skystar’s final stop!? Of COURSE the Pink Cloud corrupted it!

Tempest sounded confused. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s…” I snapped to her, enraged. “How do you not know!? The Pink Cloud! It seeped into the shard, and now it's corrupted by necromantic zebra voodoo! I… I can’t even begin to imagine how this will affect its magic, assuming it works at all!”

“Maybe you should just try and check?” She pointed to her broken horn. “I thought my magic was useless after this happened, but I made it work.” She’s… She’s right. I let myself panic.

Setting the mostly formed Pearl aside, I focused on the pink shard, and tried something simple. My first transformation, a griffon.

Pain ripped through me as different parts of my body shifted at random, forcing me to stop. After inspecting myself, I found that the only thing that stayed changed was my tail. Discouraged by the painful experience, I wrapped the bad shard in some cloth and fixed myself with the good shard. I couldn’t risk combining them. Partial changes… If I could control that, it could be useful.

However, that was hardly a priority. I needed to get out of here and catch up to Zarrow. I considered changing into a diamond dog to dig straight out, but I didn’t want to risk a cave-in that could trap or kill Tempest. As a bunny, I’d struggle to drag the shards. Also, I didn’t know the path. Best case scenario, I’d get lost and drown in the flooded sections… Maybe as a unicorn I could teleport out? There’s no guarantee I’d know the spell. Hold on, it’s dark in here and stormy outside.

*****

Purser yelped and fell in a puddle when I shade-warped inches from her. After a quick apology, I shifted from bat-pony to hippogriff, and got my armor and PipBuck back on.

“Come on, the zebras might be fighting for their lives right now.” I took to the air and descended the mountain, with the confused seadog doing her best to keep up on the ground.

It wasn’t long before I was nearly grounded by a splitting migraine from my implant. Purser noticed the waver in my wings, asking if I was alright. Shaking my head, I told her Knight’s IFF must have been tripped. With panic in her eyes, she sprinted on all fours.

*****

By the time we reached the shore near the Gull, I could barely think through the throbbing in my head. The deafening roar of Crimson’s anti-machine chaingun certainly didn’t help to relieve it. He, Gritt, Slash, and Zarrow were throwing everything they had at Knight to slow her down. After repeatedly failing to force myself into her mindscape, I drew Grapeshot and focused fire on her wings and legs to keep her immobile. When I stepped in a trail of blood, I finally noticed that Zarrow was missing a hoof.

The zebracorn kept his stump pressed to his chest to slow the bleeding. “Call off your fucking robot, Rosegold!”

“I can’t!” I put a few more shots through her wings when she tried to take off. “Once her IFF is tripped, I don’t know how to stop her!”

“You can’t get into her head?” Gritt called out.

I shook my head. “Not remotely!” Focusing, I turned into a unicorn. Horn-to-horn contact was my best shot. “Purser, get Zarrow to Xephyr! The rest of you, keep Knight down!”

We closed on the tattered android, damaging her faster than she could regenerate. On my first attempt to lock horns, Knight lunged at me with her blades, nearly decapitating me. Crimson, being the only one who could match her physical strength, pounced her and held her down. Finally having an opening, I touched my horn to hers and let the magic do the rest.

*****

The peaceful meadows of Knight’s mindscape were replaced by a flaming battlefield, and the elegant alicorn I knew was in a desperate struggle against a horde of misty striped figures. Wide-eyed, in a pure state of fight-or-flight, she kicked and bucked all around her as the mob of false zebras overwhelmed her. I forced my way to her, passing through the smokey illusions Cozy Glow programmed.

“Knight!” I ducked under a swinging hoof. “Knight, snap out of it! This isn’t real! It’s your IFF!” Her next attack struck home, dazing me, but I recovered and gave her a hard buck, knocking her down. Pinning her, I slapped her a few times until her eyes calmed, the fires died down, and the illusions vanished.

“R-Rosegold?” Tears welled up as a new panic overtook her. “Oh no! No, no, no, did I hurt any-”

I hugged her tightly, nuzzling her. “It’s fine. Zarrow is wounded, but he’s alive. I’ll fix his hoof with the Pearl.” My eyes watered. “I’m so sorry. It was a stupid mistake to split up so close to zebras…”

She sat up, wrapping me in her hooves. “I thought I’d be fine in the Gull. I forgot that Zarrow didn’t know. It was an accident, don’t blame yourself.”

A hiss escaped me. “If Glyphmark was destroyed, that would have been my fault. I’m fixing this. I have the whole Pearl now, I can figure out how to make you a real pony. There’s… a wrinkle, but I’ll figure it out.”

“But, your implant… If I become flesh and blood, you’ll lose those emotions.” Knight cared more about that!?

Huffing, I gave her another slap. “Knight, put yourself first for once! You deserve to be your best self far more than I do. You said it yourself that I don’t need it to be a better person. But you do need a permanent fix to your IFF.”

Knight looked repulsed at the idea of depriving me of my treatment, but she said we could discuss it later. Zarrow needed attention.

*****

Crimson carried Knight as she repaired herself, doing his best to ignore hateful stares from some of the older zebras as we made our way to Xephyr’s hut. I went in and used the hydra trick I used on Purser to fix Zarrow’s hoof. It took both by surprise, but they were pleased by the results. Before we could enjoy our relief, I heard a scuffle outside.

Stepping out, we found Xenith attacking the cybergriff, beating at his metal wings as he raised them to shield himself. Crimson’s expression was unreadable, but the zebra’s was full of hate.

“Red Eye’s butcher!” She hissed. “You should have died in Fillydelphia!”

“Maybe,” Crimson grunted, “but I didn’t. So, what, you want to finish your mission? Assassinate Red Eye’s leadership? My contract in Filly ended when he died.” He glanced at Gritt when the smaller griffon entered the crowd. “Are you going to kill the kid’s father like you did his mother?”

The expression on Gritt’s face told me he did not enjoy being used as an emotional bargaining chip. I, too, thought it was a scummy thing to say. But it worked, and Xenith stood down, trading glances with the rest of us to confirm Crim’s claim.

Crimson wasn’t so much saving himself as he was simply avoiding a fight he’d, unfortunately, probably win. As capable a fighter Xenith was, Crim was thrice her size, half-cybernetic, and carried a her-sized gun. Xenith settled on banishing him from town, with no arguments from the former slaver.

*****

Zarrow didn’t come back to the Gull with us, instead trotting home to Galloping Gorge. He’d have been a powerful ally, but having him and Knight on the same ship was a bad idea. The Overboss also had his own obligations to attend.

Crimson landed on the deck beside me, watching the zebracorn leave. “That kid’s wasting his time on those raiders. Creatures like that don’t change for the better. They just drag you down to their level.” The pretext of his words didn’t escape me. He was talking about Stern.

Gritt landed and kicked Crimson as he passed him. “That was shitty back there. You’ve got no fucking right to guilt-trip her.”

Crim rolled his eyes. I found myself speaking up in his defense. “It was the best play. Could have gotten bloody otherwise.” The smaller griffon couldn’t argue that.

“You could have ended up in the crossfire. Forced to pick a side.” Crim looked sadly at his son. “I didn’t want that. You and Regina are the only family I have left, and I’ve already caused you too much hurt.”

“I thought you had a brother,” Gritt lit himself a smoke, leaning on the Gull’s mast.

“Had is the key word.” Crimson laid down against the port railing. “Vermilion got killed by Security a few years ago.” He raised a claw, stopping us from offering condolences. “Bastard had it coming. Slaughtered whole towns for Red Eye. It finally caught up to him.”

Security… Blackjack. I only had vague knowledge of her exploits in the Hoof, other than the fact she’s died at least once. If I ever meet her, maybe I can share that we have that in common. Maybe start a club, with jackets.

After the others got settled, I excused myself, bringing Knight with me as I returned to Canterlot’s ruins.

*****

Shade-warping with a passenger was tricky, but I wanted Knight with me for this. Her claws were needed to cut Tempest and Skystar out of their stone prisons. The Princess deserved a proper service. If what Tempest said about the Storm King’s conquest was true, leaving her bones down here would just be salt on the wound. As for the unicorn ghoul, I wanted to take her to Glyphmark. Maybe they could safely un-fuse her from the rock, and if I get a handle on the Pearl, maybe I can reverse her ghoulification.

Tempest was in tears when I told her she’d finally be free, crying and thanking us as Knight carved out the chunk of stone she was stuck in. Even if she can’t be removed from the stone, simply having the zebra settlement for company would do wonders for her psyche. I warped her out first, then Skystar, then Knight. Not realizing just how strong the android was, it startled me when she carried both with ease.

The zebras graciously held a funeral for Princess Skystar after I told them about our rites, with Tempest filling in some forgotten cultural gaps. It took a couple days of work, but Knight and I carved a small ceremonial boat for her remains to be sent down the river on and burned. May she be at peace with the Spirits.

*****

As for Tempest, Xenith wanted to get in touch with the Followers to figure something out. Even if the Pearl could turn her back into a normal pony, doing so while she was fused to rock would almost certainly kill her. Until then, the zebras put her in a common hut where she’d get to see and chat with plenty of people. In the meantime, I needed practice with the pink shard before I even considered adding it to the set. There’d be plenty of time for that as we made our way to Junction Town to report to Gawdyna, then to Manehattan to drop off Crimson.

The latter very much wanted to stay on the Gull for our visit to JT, but Gritt insisted that he finally face Gawd after not seeing her for thirty years. They got into an argument over whether or not the President would have him killed on sight, and I told them we could figure that out when we got there. Personally, I felt the chance to meet his daughter and granddaughter would sway the old merc into taking the risk.

*****

Our two day journey was spent with Knight helping me with partial transformations, practicing at it for hours at a time. While I quickly got better at getting the changes I wanted, it never stopped being painful. In my practice I also discovered I could simply will myself to be clean and groomed. No need for showers or preening, though I’d be missing out on the soothing nature of those activities. Gritt happily helped me fill the void each night, and I was happy to finally feel comfortable being intimate again. I did everything I could to show the little griffon how much I appreciated him.

When we reached the welcoming shores nearest to Junction Town, I decided it was now or never to do what I hoped to do. With a moment of apprehension, the last shard was fused, and the Pearl became whole.

The surge of magic was strong, and it carried the sharp twinge of the Pink Cloud’s corruption. Moment of truth, I tried something simple. Pony ears. And it worked! It was far easier to do than with the lone shard, and much less painful. I then made sure I could still do full transformations by becoming a pegasus. Again, success! Also, I felt no magical drain from the changes. They could be permanent if I allowed them to be. Final test… transforming someone else.

*****

Crimson gave me a wary glare as I approached him. Another moment, and he might have figured out what I was about to do. Knight certainly wouldn’t have done this without his permission, but I knew he’d never give it. Doesn’t matter what he wants. If he’s going to see Gawdyna again, he should be as she remembers him.

In a flash of magic, the merc’s wires, servos, and metal were replaced with flesh, bone, and hide. His dark red coat and feathers were fully restored. Crimson was stunned, and the look on his face told me he really wanted to be furious with me, but he couldn’t.

Emotion began flooding from his eyes as he took his first breaths without agonizing pain in over twenty years. The colossal griffon collapsed, overwhelmed. He was free. “You… Why?”

“Because I don’t give a shit how much you think you deserve to suffer.” I smirked. “And if it backfired, you are the most expendable one here.”

Crimson cackled. “Fuck, I can’t even tell if you’re joking. Guess… I’ll have to be more careful about getting shot. Hopefully someone in Junction Town sells armor my size. Or can make some.” He was certainly quick to accept the change and be practical about it. With the life he's lived, he's learned to roll with the punches.

“So, you’re going?” I asked.

“Figure I have to, now.” He looked around at the others gawking at him in shock. Gritt was stunned to see his real father for the first time. Knight looked at me with a mix of annoyance and approval.

When I approached her, she stopped me. “No, you’re not-”

I ignored her. With a focused surge... Nothing. What!?

Knight sighed sadly. "It didn't work on Cozy. Why would it work on me?"

Not yet giving up, I made several more attempts, only getting painful magical feedback. What could... Star Metal.

I fell back on my haunches. Knight wanted to be a real pony. She wanted to be the mare I see in her mindscape. It was an impossible dream, now crushed.

She wrapped her hooves around me. "It's okay. I already knew."

That didn't make me feel any better.

*****

Crimson got a lot of stares from NCR troopers as we made our way to Gawdyna’s office, and he gave his own menacing glares straight back. Although he wasn’t a cyber griffon anymore, he was still intimidatingly massive. Even alicorns were somewhat scrawny in comparison, giving him a wide berth. None dared raise a weapon on him as long he kept his stowed.

He assured me he had no criminal status with the New Canterlot Republic, since they gave out a lot of pardons for former Red Eye Talons who cooperated with them. ‘It was just a contract’ was the prevailing opinion among NCR griffons, though ponies held harsher ones. Crimson’s real concern was Gawd’s personal feelings towards him. They had split up three decades ago on very bad terms, mostly because he chose Stern over her.

Gawdyna was carrying some papers and a coffee when we were escorted into her office, and she dropped both when her eye locked onto Crimson. Her beak fell open as her face struggled to settle on a single emotion.

Crim started to turn around. “This was a mistake…”

“Stop.” Gawd’s order halted him in his tracks. “What are you doing here?” If there were strong feelings behind her commanding tone, she was masking them well.

“The kid insisted.” He faced her again. “He knows.”

The President scoffed. “Forced you into an impromptu family reunion, huh? Well, you’re over twelve years too late.”

Crimson’s shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry about-”

The hen’s claws snapped in front of her. “You don’t get to be sorry about Kage. You were never a part of his life.” Crimson looked as though a dagger had plunged into his soul. She took a deep breath. “...Regina’s at the bar. If you really want to see her, I want to be there. I need a drink now, anyway.” She glanced towards me. “We have business to discuss, first.”

Vanhoover took a while to unpack. I started by exonerating Sabre of the worst of it, explaining that he had been fooled into manufacturing Assault-Mare parts, and ceased production the instant he learned the truth. It was further explained that the slave labor was solely orchestrated by Cozy Glow. Crimson corroborated that the Whiteclaw family was being used, and were just as much a victim of Cozy’s schemes. After going over whatever details she wanted to hear, she was satisfied, and paid me. We headed out for drinks.

*****

Gritt had already found Regina, Gwen, and Jade at a bar in the market. The first three were sitting on stools having a beer, while the fledgling sat in her father’s lap and sipped on apple juice. Gawdyna joined them, but Crimson stood back, frozen. Was he afraid? He could face down an army of killer androids, but he couldn’t face his estranged family? Risking his ire, I punched his side. He hissed and approached the group.

I sat just close enough to eavesdrop. Crim was too large for the stools, and simply leaned over the bar. Gawdyna ripped the bandages off faster than I expected, causing Reggie to spit up her drink as Crimson was introduced as both her and Gritt’s father. Jade’s face lit up, and she let out a happy squeal at learning she had a grandfather and aunt. I couldn’t help but notice that Gawd was very vague about her relationship with Crim, simply stating that they worked together as mercs a long time ago. There was no mention of Red Eye, Fillydelphia, or Stern. No need to sour the moment, as Crimson shook claws with his tiny granddaughter. Their shared smiles proved he still had a heart to warm.

Regina, understandably, demanded to know where Crimson had been her entire life. All he’d say is that he was tied down by his contract. If she needed to know more than that, he trusted Gawdyna to tell her. When Reggie told him she wished he could have met Kage, I could tell the merc was holding back tears. The younger hen’s smile returned when she looked at Gritt, him being her half-brother finally sinking in. From how I’ve seen them interact, I doubted anything would change between them. They had already treated each other like siblings.

Gawd finally gave in to her curiosity. “Crim, I thought you were a cyber griffon. Were reports just getting confused by fancy armor?”

Crim gestured towards me. “No, I was half-machine. That asshole fixed me with his magic pearl thing, right before we got here.”

“So you really let Slaughter do that to you?” Gawdyna kept her voice low.

“It was supposed to be for you-know-who, for fucking up a job.” Crim sighed. “Timing couldn’t have been worse. If I didn’t take the punishment instead, Gritt wouldn’t exist.”

She nodded, then scoffed. “I still can’t believe you two… The fuck did you even see in her?”

Crim chuckled. “Not her personality, that’s for sure.” His face dropped. “I miss us. The three of us, all those years ago… I should have gone with you, or talked her out of signing up with that piece of shit.”

“Well…” She sighed. “There’s no changing the past.”

They finished their drinks.

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

Footnote.
Welcome to Level 19!

Perk Added: Master Transfiguration! The Pearl of Transformation has been fully restored! Transformations, full or partial, require significantly less AP, and being in a transformed state no longer drains AP.