Fallout: Equestria - Pushing Daisies

Fallout: Equestria - Pushing Daisies

Chapter 4: Respite

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

A cacophony of gasping and gurgling escaped me as I broke the surface of the poisonous fluid, flailing my hooves until they found purchase on the riverbank. After dragging myself out of the stream of rainbow-colored muck, I began the unpleasant process of expelling more of it out of my mouth and nostrils. Immediately drowning upon respawn was a very real possibility. Daisies are not good swimmers. There were plenty of bones at the bottom of this river as proof.

This I.M.P. shit was supposed to be beneficial to flux clones, too. I couldn’t imagine how much it fucked up normal creatures. Scratch that, I could. I’ve seen it. It’s not pretty.

Sighing, I tried to push the memory I just went through out of my head. The death of the original Daisy… The one memory we all share. Fucking Helix… At least she died in the bombs, vaporized in Cloudsdale while visiting a wartime research summit. No doubt to brag about her big breakthrough.

One might wonder, how did she get away with murdering not only me, but every test subject before me? By lying, of course. The official story was that Daisy Pusher got a hold of a guard’s weapon and blew her own brains out. Her corpse was sent home, and buried in a Trotson cemetery. No one showed up for her funeral. No one cared. She didn’t matter. We don’t matter.

*****

Well… First thing’s first. Goddess? Hello? Got any orders for me?

No response.

…Any chance I could take a vacation? Those weeks in Fillydelphia really sucked.

By all means.

I blinked, having not expected that at all. There wasn’t even a hint of sarcasm.

Who are you, and what did you do with the Goddess?

Nothing. I’m just a part of her she tries to keep buried.

How… That doesn’t…

I fell back onto my haunches. I was talking to Twilight, not Trixie.

I need to tell you… You matter. You all matter. I can’t change what was done to you, but I promise to do everything I can to keep your lives from getting worse.

…Thank you.

After that, my mind was silent. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I’d only ever spoken to her this way once or twice before, decades ago. I needed to hear that from her.

*****

It was time to figure out where I’d go. Either Appleloosas were bad options. One was a dead slaver town, and the other might have another Daisy living there. I was absolutely not going anywhere near Filly. Baltimare had too many Steel Rangers. The ponies of Arbu ate me once. Hoofington was worse than Fillydelphia. I can’t afford Tenpony. Friendship City was an option, but I’d have to go through manticore-infested Manehattan.

Dodge. I’ll go to Dodge. Like New Appleloosa, it was a quaint little hick town in the middle of nowhere. Good place to relax, and I’d probably have no trouble finding a handsome stud or pretty mare to shack up with. If nopony stops me, I’ll find work at the brothel. I was sterile and immune to most communicable diseases, so it was a kind of wasteland job I could easily do without much risk.

Before I got ahead of myself, I needed to get out of Splendid Valley. Safest way was to trot alongside the river, far from the hellhound tunnels. It only took getting eviscerated once for me to learn that lesson.

*****

A few hours into my trip, I had become more and more uncomfortable being naked. Maybe I could have stopped by 108 for a Stable suit, and maybe even a PipBuck so I’d have a radio to listen to… No, both of those would make me a glaring target. Also, the Caretaker might not appreciate me showing up just to take stuff. Visitors were expected to donate supplies.

The Caretaker was another Daisy, one who volunteered to take care of the Craisies. They weren’t hostile unless you weren’t one of us, so she was perfectly safe. If it weren’t for her, the poor things would starve to death and end up getting stuck in a cycle of drowning in the river.

I’d just have to get lucky and find something my size. Morbidly, I’d most likely have to peel clothes off a corpse. If I diverted to my most recent burial site, there were probably still some dead raiders to loot. I did manage to kill a few before they took me out. Some ratty strips of fabric would be better than nothing, and if I do decide to whore myself when I get to Dodge I can probably alter them into something skimpy.

It was also on the way, so I wouldn’t lose any time. Before long, I reached the blasted ruins of the Red Racer shop. Sure enough, pale, skeletal remains of ponies who helped kill me were waiting for me.

Lucky me, one was wearing a frilly skirt and cropped jacket under her junk armor. Perfect attire for a mare looking for easy, naughty caps. Once I got the smell out, anyway.

Looking around the shop for a source of water to wash my acquisition, I briefly contemplated grabbing one of the scooters for shits and giggles.

…Fuck it, you only live a thousand times. I deserved to have some innocent fun.

*****

Dodging trash and potholes, I scooted down the road. The breeze quickly dried my new clothes, and I occasionally let myself giggle like a filly anytime I went downhill for some serious speed. Once or twice I even caught some air, which elicited embarrassing yelps. Good thing no one was around.

A garbage bin falling out of an alley ahead of me brought me to a screeching halt. Was it a scavenger? A zombie? Worse?

There was no way it didn’t already know I was there, so… “Hello? Somepony there? I’m friendly!”

“Uh…” A young male voice began. “Not somepony.” A skinny griffon buck limped out of the alley. He couldn’t have been older than twenty.

His fur was dark brown while his feathers were a lighter shade. Tired, teal eyes gave me an odd expression as he saw the foal’s excuse for a vehicle I was standing on. I also noticed that his wings weren’t in good shape, as if they’d been broken and not healed correctly.

My heart went out for the poor bird. A flier losing their ability to fly had to be rough. “Are you okay? I have a little food to spare, if you need it. No meat, though.”

He approached me carefully as I sat down and dug a can out of a purse. As he got close enough for a better look, I froze up as I saw the dry blood on his black talons.

My new acquaintance noticed my change in demeanor and looked down. “Oh, that’s not… Please don’t run. It’s radhog blood. I haven’t had a chance to clean it. No water…”

As he spoke, I saw how dry his mouth was. I didn’t have clean water, but maybe we could find Rad-Away later. He eagerly took the scavenged canteen I offered and drank.

“S-Sorry…” He apologized, realizing he just drank all of it.

I waved a hoof, then offered it. “It’s fine… My name’s Daisy.”

My, hopefully, new friend took it in his claw and shook it. “Masque. It’s nice to meet you, Daisy.”

I smiled, noticing that the band of white across his eyes did look like a mask. “Likewise, Masque.”

*****

Lazily rolling on my scooter alongside the limping griffon, we slowly made our way to Dodge. It took little convincing to get him to join me. I asked him what happened to him, after noticing the faded scars and burns across his side and back.

Masque huffed. “Some dickhead Ranger took a pot shot at me with a flak cannon. Must have thought I was a Talon.” He scowled. “I have half a mind to go to Filly, join up, and-”

“Don’t.” My command caught him off guard. “Fillydelphia is a hellhole, Red Eye is full of shit, and Captain Stern won’t hesitate to throw your life away at the drop of a hat.” Assuming the latter was still alive. She was in quite a predicament when I last saw her.

“You sound like you have experience…” He dragged a talon in circles on the pavement. “It’s still a good-paying job, though. I can’t wander and scavenge forever. And I’m a griffon… Folk expect my kind to do that sort of work, so it’s hard to find anything else.”

I shook my head. “With your wings, no merc band would take you anyway.” A nuzzle to his shoulder seemed to comfort him a little. “You’ll find something in Dodge, I’m sure of it.”

Masque sighed and followed me as we continued on. “Well, what do you plan to do?”

“Prostitution.” My candidness made him double take. “What? It’s easy caps. Safe, too, if it’s done in a town.”

He cringed. “I could never… I mean, maybe if I was really desperate.”

“You’re not really desperate right now?” My point made him cringe harder. I tried to lighten the mood. “Hey, if we shared a corner we could share profits. Take care of each other.”

He didn’t seem to take it as a joke. To my surprise, he seemed to genuinely consider it. It wasn’t a bad idea, come to think of it. Despite his injuries, he was a looker. Either that, or he could be my security.

“I mean,” I tried to backpedal. “Let’s see what’s available when we get there.”

*****

It took another day’s travel. Camping out in a dumpster was made less unpleasant by my new friend’s soft feathers and comfortingly strong arms.

Finally reaching the town, which was little more than some retrofitted train cars around a saloon, we approached the gates. Guards gave Masque dirty looks, but gave us no trouble seeing we weren’t armed. What little caps we had went straight towards baths and meals, and clothes for the crippled griffon.

Knowing we’d need more caps soon, I took a spot outside the bar and gave fuck-me eyes to anypony who looked like they had some to spare. Masque kept an eye on me, which made me feel safer about it. It wasn’t long before a stud took me home and I earned my first paycheck.

Over the next few days, I earned more than I thought I would. Pretty young mares were evidently in short supply in this town. The owner of the saloon even offered me a room, saying I was bringing in more business. I graciously accepted. There were definitely worse ways to have a vacation from my master’s bidding.

Despite their initial mistrust of him, Masque managed to convince the town guard to hire him. He also accepted my invitation to live with me. Unlike the Goddess, I had no problems with griffons whatsoever. I took love and comfort wherever I could find it.

*****

News on the radio was disconcerting. Red Eye’s army had apparently surrounded Tenpony Tower. For what purpose, I couldn’t even begin to imagine. There were also reports of Talons burning down Everfree around the old castle, an action whose motivations escaped me even further. I guess that’s what all that flamer fuel was being produced for.

“Sounds like shit’s getting tense.” Masque took a sip of whiskey. “Glad you talked me out of heading that way.”

After accepting a sip from his bottle, I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “No problem. You’re too good to get mixed up in that crap.”

He fluttered his wings a little, which had been fixed as much as possible by a local unicorn. Despite the effort, he’d never be able to fly very fast or for very long ever again.

I leaned into him, and he gave me a tight hug.

That moment of happiness was sharply cut off by a sudden pain in my skull.

Return to Maripony! All of you! Now!

Masque caressed me worriedly. “Daisy? Are you alright?”

I couldn’t hold back a pathetic whimper. “No… I have to leave.” Damn her.

My feathered buckfriend looked flabbergasted. “Huh? Like, leave the bar? I can carry you to bed if you-”

A choked sob escaped me. “No, I have to leave town. I can’t explain why. I’m sorry.” I pulled myself out of his embrace and trotted out the door. He followed.

“What are you talking about?” Masque flew ahead of me and blocked my path. I resisted the Goddess’s command to knock him aside. Not that I had the strength to, anyway.

I tried to tell him the truth, but the pain made it impossible. “I… I can’t explain it. I physically can’t. Just… I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I promise to come back.” I broke into a gallop. He still followed.

“Whatever it is, I’m coming with you!” He had no idea what he was getting himself into, and the bitch wouldn’t let me tell him.

“No!” My enraged plea almost stopped him, but he persisted. Celestia fuck me sideways, this poor fool was in love.

I could only hope that whatever this was about didn’t get him killed.

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