Fallout: Equestria - Pushing Daisies

Fallout: Equestria - Pushing Daisies

Chapter 7: From All This Chaos…

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

I did something potentially stupid and grabbed a PipBuck before we left 108. I was already wearing Stable security armor, so I might as well complete the look. What I really wanted was the radio, which I kept on at low volume, waiting for any kind of news about what was going on.

Masque and I weren’t really sure what to do. Along with dozens of other Daisies, we were shuffling along the river out of Splendid Valley. Eventually we’d need to break off and pick a town to head towards. My first thought was Dodge, but a deep guilt urged me to go somewhere I really didn’t want to. Fillydelphia.

There were Daisies stuck there who might have no idea this is their last life. I couldn’t bear abandoning them to spend it as slaves. My griffon friend was the only one I’d told this to, since I didn’t want to risk more lives than we’d save.

*****

It really bothered me that DJ Pon3’s station was broadcasting Enclave music. If they were making moves, I needed to know where it was safe.

I stopped dead in my tracks when the DJ’s voice broke through. After turning up the volume, I sat down. Masque and several other Daisies sat around me.

“...that airborne plague callin’ themselves the Enclave brutally slaughtered Friendship City. The city’s gone, children…”

“...Here’s the good news: the ponies of the Equestrian Wasteland are standing up against them…”

“...Heroes all the way from Shattered Hoof to Hoofington have been holding the line against the nightmares from above…”

“...But the biggest strike against the Enclave has come from none other than our own beloved author of the Wasteland Survival Guide, Ditzy Doo. You all saw it…”

“...And I have a message for the black-armored soldiers who just burst into the station at the Shattered Hoof Ridge Tower: that thing you’re looking at with the glowing blue light? A little homebrewed surprise rigged to the spark battery from a weapon made by the motherfuckin’ stars! Farewell, you…”

Then, static.

The Enclave weren’t just making moves, they were mounting a full-scale invasion. The balefire bomb… It must have kicked a hornet’s nest.

One Daisy spoke about having friends in Friendship City, and galloped off in a panic. Many others had similar worries, heading off to their lives to see if what the Goddess dragged them away from was still there. One in particular was heading in New Appleloosa’s direction. Moonlight, please be there waiting for her.

As much as I wanted to go to Dodge, I had a mission. Besides… my new life was already standing right beside me.

After sharing a comforting nuzzle with Masque, we set out.

*****

To my surprise, the griffon started formulating a plan. If we could get our claws and hooves on slaver and Talon armor, getting in and out of Fillydelphia was doable. It depended on whether the Enclave made them too paranoid to accept outsiders, or utterly desperate to accept anyone.

Worst case scenario, the Enclave already hit them. Though, I think DJ Pon3 would have mentioned it if they had. They definitely would. Maybe… Maybe during an attack would be the best time to make a move. In that kind of chaos, they’d surely miss a random pony and griffon sneaking some slaves out.

My priority was my fellow Daisies, but I’ll absolutely free anypony else I can. I’ve spent enough time in Filly throughout my lives to know my way around. Enclave pegasi would surely keep the fighting mostly in the air where they had the advantage, so it was just a matter of staying low, or even underground. Filly has metro tunnels.

*****

Question was, where could we find Talon armor and slaver duds up for grabs?

“...Shattered Hoof, maybe?” Masque offered. “We know they just held off the Enclave, so they probably have casualties who won’t miss their gear.”

“Gawd’s Talons will miss it. Trust me.” I pondered. “Grimfeathers is all business, so I can probably make a deal if we explain ourselves. A PipBuck and pristine security armor seem like a good trade.”

The griffon looked at the wrist computer and nodded. They were very valuable. We could no doubt get quality guns and ammo on top of armor. That value also made anypony wearing one a target, and there were a lot of raider nests near Shattered Hoof.

*****

Or… there used to be. Considering all the ashes and scorch marks, this destruction had to be the Enclave’s doing. I guess they don’t discriminate what kind of ‘inferior surface vermin’ gets their wrath. Anypony with a weapon was probably labeled as a hostile combatant in this war of theirs. Though, we heard from passing travelers that they killed foals in Friendship City…

Sweet Celestia. ‘Lightbringer,’ kick their flanks.

On the bright side, we reached Gawdyna’s territory without incident. A patrol only questioned us a little, assuming we were refugees. Which, come to think of it, wasn’t inaccurate. We never got to speak with Grimfeathers herself, but I was perfectly fine with that. The next batch of questions we got were hard enough to answer without her scarousing presence distracting me.

“You want Talon armor, slaver gear, and guns?” The Talon quartermaster narrowed her eyes. “Why? What are you up to?”

I decided to be completely honest. “I have friends, family stuck in Fillydelphia. I want to sneak in and get them out before they get killed in a crossfire with the Enclave.”

She blinked, then turned to Masque. “What’s your stake in this?”

“Any friend of hers is a friend of mine.” That seemed to be good enough for her.

The griffoness was further surprised with what I offered as payment, and effectively let us choose whatever we wanted as trade. Nothing flashy, that’s for sure. Masque got himself some type of compact suppressed rifle. Quiet, while still having the punch to beat pegasus armor. I maintained the trend by getting a suppressed belt-fed gun in the same caliber on a battle saddle, as well as a military trench spade for melee. I may be weak for an earth pony, but I’m still stronger than the average unicorn. It was decided that we’d wait until we were closer to Filly to change our outfits.

Without any timetable on where or when the Enclave would be, we only stuck around long enough to get food and rest before moving on. It already took us a couple of days to get here, and it’ll take a couple more to reach Fillydelphia.

*****

Masque had also gotten himself a radio, a bulky military type built into a backpack. He scanned channel after channel, trying to eavesdrop on Red Eye’s forces. The news we got from Everfree was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Red Eye was dead. Good fucking riddance.

Maybe that would make our task a lot easier. If I were any of Filly’s guards, I sure as hell wouldn’t stick around now that the big boss bit the dust.

We had to bolt into some trash for cover when something huge took that hope and banished it to the moon. A dragon. An enormous, ancient, cyber dragon. Flanked by several squads of Talons, it flew straight to Fillydelphia to bolster their forces. Fuck.

Stern, Celestia damn you. You’re going to throw all your people’s lives away in a stupid last stand instead of retreating, aren’t you? Bitch.

At least this development gave us an easy story to get in with. We’d just say we were stragglers from the Cathedral.

*****

The gate guards were far too concerned with the skies to question us too thoroughly. Masque was told to report to someone named ‘Heidi’ and I was ignored. I couldn’t help but recognize one of the guards, and couldn’t believe it.

Vomit-bird! Damn, if he survived getting shot in the throat, I had hope he’d make it through this.

Once again, I resisted the urge to wave. Completely ignoring orders, confident no one would follow up on us, we snaked our way through buildings and tunnels. This was a big city, it would take a while to reach where the slaves were being corralled. We didn’t have a while.

“Thunderhead!” A voice on the radio cried out. “Thunderhead, and at least a dozen raptors!”

The Enclave was not fucking around. They must be throwing almost everything they have at Filly. The sky above us became chaos, a flurry of griffons, pegasi, lasers, artillery, and massive airships. The biggest threat to us was all the debris raining into the streets, or the possibility of a building or tunnel collapsing on top of us.

A squad of pegasi unfortunately spotted us and opened fire. Masque dove behind a steel dumpster, and I behind a pile of concrete. My friend wasn’t a particularly good shot, and despite two centuries of experience, neither was I. At least my weapon was fully automatic. Accuracy by volume of fire, right?

“Leave us alone!” I shouted as I opened up. It took about twenty-something rounds, but I took out two of the black flying demons.

Masque finally nailed the third, but their corpse kept firing their weapon as they tumbled. Their shots dislodged an ice cream shop sign, which landed on my friend.

He let out a pained squawk as he collapsed, and I rushed over and bucked the hunk of metal off of him with strength I didn’t know I had.

“Masque! Can you move?” Please don’t have a broken spine, please don’t have a broken spine…

He groaned as he wobbly stood up, then shrieked and fell again the moment he tried to move his wings. They were broken again, worse than they had been when we met. “I… I’ll be alright. We need to move.”

*****

“Daisy!” I started shouting as we reached some slave pens. “Daisy Pusher!” My eyes scanned frantically for a yellow curly mane. “Has anypony seen a slave who looks like me?”

A shy voice spoke up. “I think she died…”

Another countered. “No, I saw her this morning. You’re thinking of that other Daisy.”

“Oh, right,” a third joined. “I think her group is a few blocks north.”

“Thank you!” I started that way, then stopped and turned around. “Stay safe, all of you. You’ll get through this.”

I moved as fast as my injured companion could, and searched the dead in the street for any potions that could help him. All I found were for basic healing. If we used that, he’d be crippled forever.

When we reached the next slave pens, I spotted the other Daisy almost immediately. She was in rough shape. Bruised, scarred, skinny… She reminded me of the corpse I buried those weeks ago, but she was breathing. I could save her. I had to save her.

We wrapped our hooves around each other, ignoring the gawking stares. The two of us must have been the cherry on top of this insane excuse for a day.

“You… Do you know?” I asked.

Her confused expression answered before she did. “Know what?”

Time to rip off the bandage. “The Goddess is dead. Project Phoenix was destroyed with her. This is it.”

If she wasn’t scared before, she was now. “F-Fuck…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “The other… She threw herself off a building a couple days ago, thinking she’d…”

I almost threw up. That was my worst fear, that one of the Daisies here would try to use Phoenix as an escape route, not knowing…

“How do we get out?” It was a good question.

I turned to Masque. “If I give you a potion, could you fly us across the moat?”

The griffon looked apprehensively at the swirling magic liquid I offered. He knew what drinking it would do to him in the long run. “I think so. It’s not too far a distance.” My friend hesitated a while longer, then drank.

*****

It would take until we reached the city’s edge for the healing fluid to take effect, so we got moving. A few other slaves dared to follow us. Being a larger group was going to make it harder to go unnoticed…

Pink lasers and green plasma struck around us.

“Fuck off you murderers!” I returned fire along with Masque. Even a couple slaves grabbed weapons off the street and helped. We kept the other Daisy behind us. I was willing to die to give her a chance. The wasteland was never that kind.

A bolt of hot magic clipped my ear, and struck the mare behind me. I barely caught the terror in her eyes before she turned to ash.

“You fuckers!” Masque blew away the last two pegasi, and mag dumped the corpse of the one who killed the Daisy we came here to save.

My will to fight left me. I collapsed into her ashes, desperately trying to scoop them up in my hooves.

Retrieving the empty potion bottle, and my spade, I gathered as much of her remains as possible. The least I can do now is put her to rest.

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