Fallout Equestria: The Blue Lightning

— Hey, can I have that globe? You’re not using it, right?

MLP, 2/10

Watcher listened intently to Sonic’s story. The sprite-bot hovered in one place, bobbing up and down, and remained deadly silent.

Cosmic sat next to the hedgehog at the farmhouse door, a carbine in her hooves as usual. The wounded shoulder hardly bothered the mare anymore. After taking the things Metal Dawn had stolen from her murdered comrades, as well as his revolvers, ammunition, and zebra cloak, she bought food and clean water and galloped away from New Appleloosa until a cyberghoul merchant’s corpse was found in a narrow, dirty alley and tied to her. She’d had enough unfair accusations lately.

Tails (whose full name, as it turned out, was Miles Prower) stayed in the house, where he fiddled with his detector in the surviving room on the second floor. During these few days of forced inactivity, the fox was able, according to his own words, to adjust it more or less accurately, so that the location of the Elements could be pinpointed to within a few kilometers. As he assured himself: when their group gets closer to the right point, it will be possible to say even more precisely.

“…And now we have no idea where Shadow is, and Master Emerald with him,” Sonic sighed in frustration. “That’s why we need the Elements of Harmony to defeat Eggman.”

Watcher was silent for a long time. Then the speaker of the sprite-bot burst into a harsh, staccato laughter.

“That’s it? Don’t you need the crowns of the Goddesses for the full set? No, guys, there’s nothing for you here. Go back to your world and find some other way.”

“But why?!” Sonic shouted. “Is the whole problem that I and my crew aren’t ponies?”

“If only that were the case… To use any of the Elements, you must embody one of the six most important virtues in this world: Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, or Magic, which is a symbiosis of the other five. And only true friendship, which can awaken all six, can activate the Elements. So it’s not so much artifacts as personality traits that could bring this fractured world together. And I’m sorry, you’re not exactly their bearers.”

All the while Watcher was reciting his monologue, a feeling of… wrongness was maturing within Cosmic. As if she had been deceived about something before.

And when the sprite-bot fell silent again, she realized what it was.

“Wait,” the mare blinked. “You said you knew nothing about the Elements! Only that they disappeared. Or not?”

Her tone became threatening, and as if unintentionally, she pointed the Argument’s sights at the hovering bot.

“What else have you lied about?”

“I didn’t know your targets,” Watcher replied. It was hard to tell what emotion he was feeling right now. “And even now I’m telling you: forget it! This is not for you. No one in the Wasteland can help you find them. And if by some miracle you do find the right path… believe me, there are less painful ways to end your life.”

“You know something…” Cosmic muttered, staring intently at the sprite-bot. “Fucking Celestia’s tail, you know everything! But you’re making a fool of yourself here… Well, fuck you!” she suddenly broke into a smile. “We don’t need your help. And all your threats mean nothing. For now,” she added after a moment’s thought.

Watcher didn’t answer. Music played again from the metal hull of the bot, and it flew away, driven by a long-forgotten algorithm.

“Well, let’s go check on Tails, shall we?” Sonic suggested.

“Let’s go,” Cosmic sighed and got up. “And why did I suddenly no longer like your idea?”

They entered the house and started climbing the stairs.

“We have no other options yet,” muttered the hedgehog. “We need some kind of trump card to win. Eggman is strong enough to blow up half the planet before we can take him down…”

They had just entered the second floor when Tails ran out of the room.

“You won’t believe this!” he shouted. His eyes were wide open, and he looked terribly excited. “The directions matched!”

“What?” Cosmic asked, as he and Sonic went into the room. Tails ran back in after them. “What are you talking about?”

“Elements – and Watcher!” the fox quickly explained, pointing his finger at a small screen on his device, where two beams – pink and green – were moving far away, to the left edge, almost merging into each other. “The signal is coming from the same place where they are stored! I’ve checked the possible transmission range – it’s all right!”

“Good,” the earth pony said glumly. “How far is that?”

“Um… about… four days,” Tails said, doing some mental math. “For us, of course. Sonic can run that distance in a few minutes…”

“I’d have to sleep four days to get back to normal,” the hedgehog grumbled. “And there’ll be nowhere to sleep.”

“I doubt Watcher will accept us with open hooves,” Cosmic nodded. “So we need a plan: how to convince him to give you the Elements.” She looked sternly at the two aliens. “You’ll give them back when you win, right?”

“Uh… sure,” Sonic scratched the back of his head and looked away. Cosmic frowned. “Yeah, absolutely,” he saddened.

“But… really, how are you gonna use them?” the mare thought. “There are only two of you – and, as Watcher rightly pointed out, you’re not ponies.”

“There are more of us!” Tails said, beaming with joy. “The rest of the crew is waiting on Earth. There’ll be enough Elements! We’ll just have to match them with us… eh, if I had more rings, I could go back and run a neural net…” he rolled his eyes dreamily.

“Okay,” Cosmic summarized. “We leave tomorrow. Now we have a reserve of food, so the problem is solved. And also,” she grinned, “I’ll give you two guns anyway.”

Time dragged on like a giant conveyor belt: as monotonous and boring. If there weren’t occasional changes of scenery, it would seem like they were walking in an absolute void. And in a way, that was not far from the truth.

It was the third day of the new small group’s journey. The travelers had bypassed the Everfree Forest and were now moving deeper into the radiation-infested, barren lands. The groves of blackened trees became less frequent, replaced by low rocks jutting from the desert. The gloom of the cloud cover was depressing, but had it ever been any different?

One good thing was that there was no reason for anyone to come here. Stopping for the night in a flat area with no sign of shelter, Cosmic feared that she would have to face the raiders again. She had enough ammo now, but what could she do on her own…? Tails didn’t count, and Sonic… he was just lucky that one of the attackers had a rope and there were trees around. But would he be able to do anything in an open area? Perhaps a distraction for a while.

That was partly why she’d given them weapons. She wasn’t willing to part with the two submachine guns, so Sonic got Nige and Tails got Metal Dawn’s revolvers. It took a few hours to explain the basics of firearms, but it was still something the mare could do to keep them from being completely defenseless.

Both times, however, the night passed peacefully. On duty near the fire, Cosmic peered intently into the darkness, anticipating any danger. But not only was there no enemy pony, not even a radscorpion for miles around. The apocalypse had taken away any sense of these places being inhabited by anyone.

Convenient to sit alone in the middle of nowhere with a view of the rest of Equestria.

Tails paced ahead with a huge detector on his back, barely bigger than he was. A small compass was attached to the fox’s arm, which he used to control their direction. He could have avoided carrying the bulky device, but when Cosmic asked him directly, he replied that he didn’t want the detector to fall into the wrong hands… or rather hooves. The earth pony agreed that this was reasonable.

Sonic was completely depressed. It was obvious that such boring, unfulfilling journeys were not to his liking. But with a sigh, the hedgehog realized that safety was the most important thing now – and after recent events, it seemed like a generous gift.

In the morning, a lone sprite-bot flew over their camp without even turning in their direction. It didn’t mean anything in itself, but in light of their last conversation with Watcher, it was alarming.

To break up the routine, Cosmic started a conversation about something that was bothering her more and more as they got closer to their destination.

“What makes you so sure you’ll be able to use the Elements when you get them?” She turned to Sonic. “You must have the qualities Watcher mentioned, right? How do you know that your team, whatever the others are, are the right ones?”

“I don’t know,” the hedgehog shook his head sullenly. “I just hope so. Although… Knuckles has never lied to me, so he might as well be the Honesty. Tails…”

He looked ahead at the fox who was bravely walking at the head of the group.

“He’s been following me the whole time, first to warn me, then to help. I guess that’s what Loyalty is.”

Sonic thought for a moment.

“Kindness is probably Cream… Laughter could be Cheese… Amy… I don’t know, maybe Generosity… But Magic… friendship…”

He stopped talking, thinking hard about something.

“Are you referring to yourself?” Cosmic chuckled.

“I don’t know!” alien snapped, shaking his head again. “I’ve never thought of myself like that before. Yes, I can be immodest and say that it was me who basically gathered them all, but –” he sighed “– that would be unfair to them. I mean, they’ve done a lot for me, too.”

“It's just that I can’t be a bearer of any Element,” Cosmic said. “Kindness of me so bad – I can only shoot out of mercy… Also, sharing with someone is sometimes so hard for me. I’m pretty good at hiding the truth. Fun… well, you saw me almost shoot myself out of grief! Loyalty… what kind of loyalty am I if I’m wandering around with you guys instead of going back to my hometown? I have no magic because I don’t have a horn…”

The earth pony frowned.

“And friendship… If I ever had the illusion of friendship, Metal Dawn had clearly destroyed it.”

“Hey…” Tails’ voice came from ahead.

Cosmic turned away from Sonic and almost ran into the fox. He stumbled and stared at the sky behind the small group with his mouth open.

“What is it there…?”

Cosmic turned around… and her jaw dropped as well.

A swarm of sprite-bots was coming toward them. Their coherent buzzing grew louder with each passing moment. Dozens of metal bugs flew in a sparse army from the populated eastern part of Equestria, filling the air a few to a few dozen meters above the ground. Like a flock of crows, ready to feast on the bones of unlucky travelers.

Cosmic thought about it – and the bots closest to them started to dive!

The first one crashed to the ground a few steps away – and exploded, sending a cloud of dust into the air! The flying debris slashed the mare’s cheek, blood splattering on the sand beneath her feet.

“Run!” she screamed and sprinted away, trying to escape the rain of sprite-bots filled with explosives.

Sonic and Tails followed. The hedgehog went supersonic in surprise and disappeared into the distance with a blue-white glow. Tails broke away from the surface, spinning his tails frantically, and flew forward, dodging the diving bots.

Another explosion came close, and the shockwave knocked Cosmic to the ground. The fall knocked the air out of her lungs; tears welled in her eyes. Nearby, the shockwave hit again, and her eyes and nose were covered with earth dust. Cosmic coughed and blinked, trying to get to her feet. Her ears were ringing from the constant explosions.

Suddenly, she was pinned under her stomach by a pair of hands. Another pair grabbed her back, and the earth pony felt herself being pulled upward, and her legs felt light. Blinking, she saw Sonic and Tails pulling her away from the gunfire. The hedgehog and the fox clenched their teeth in exertion; Sonic’s legs and Tails’ tails blurred as they moved at unimaginable speeds.

Cosmic turned and was stunned: a sprite-bot, with the outline of embedded dynamite bombs behind its metal speaker grill, was falling directly on top of the three of them. Time slowed; the mare’s scream of terror stuck in her throat. She saw, with all the clarity of keen perception, the inexorable approach of death in the form of a bug-like robot turned into a shrapnel bomb.

For a brief moment, the support of a pair of arms was gone. A familiar blue silhouette jumped up and kicked the sprite-bot aside with a precise kick, then darted back toward Cosmic.

She followed the metal bug’s flight until it hit the ground in the distance.

A new explosion started time at its usual speed. Cosmic broke free of the aliens’ grip.

“I’m okay! I can walk!”

They nodded silently and flew away from the swarm of suicide bots, each in their own way. Cosmic followed at a wide gallop.

There were still a lot of sprite-bots around. After the earth pony almost fell again while dodging them, something told her to do something else. She grabbed Dan out of the holster with her teeth, slipped the safety off with her hoof as she ran, turned to face another “robot bomb” and fired a line at full speed. The sprite-bot exploded in mid-air, raining shrapnel down on the mare that bounced off her armor.

After destroying another one, Cosmic reloaded. Pulling the empty clip with her teeth, knocking in motion the full one out of its holder on the armor, and then driving it into the mouthgrip with her second hoof, pulling the bolt with her tongue – all without slowing down. There was no time to stop.

The sprite-bots exploded all around them, close enough to be frightening, but none of them flew at anyone else in the group. Either it was harder to control them all at once than whoever did it had hoped, or…

Cosmic even stumbled from the guess that came to her mind. Still, she managed to regain her balance and galloped even faster.

…or really didn’t want to kill them. Even with the explosive filling of the “shells”.

Ordinary dynamite doesn’t really explode that much, the earth pony thought. Plasma grenades wouldn’t have left any flesh on us – we’d just have turned to green slime. Or gas grenades… Ah, what the hay…

There was no time to think on the run. So Cosmic concentrated on two things: running forward at full speed, saving her skin, and from time to time turning around and blasting the new flying robot with a line from a submachine gun.

Everything was jumbled in her mind. Soon Cosmic realized that she could no longer hear the explosions (has she gone deaf…?) and slowed down her run. And turning her head and throwing an alarmed look back, she stopped altogether.

There was almost nothing left of the sprite-bot army. The Wasteland was riddled with craters and scorched metal debris. It looked like an army of Steel Rangers had passed through here, destroying everything in their path.

Sonic and Tails also stopped running – and approached Cosmic, breathing heavily from the unexpected run.

Looking closer, the mare spotted the last and only remaining sprite-bot. It had descended to the pony’s level and was slowly drifting toward the small group. There was no music coming from it (as there had been from the others during the attack, Cosmic noticed) – which meant that the villain who had been controlling them was still “in touch”.

Watcher.

The earth pony snorted angrily.

No one else could. He was the only one who could intercept the control of these things, and also knew where Cosmic, Sonic and Tails were going and why. And was cold-blooded or reckless enough to do such a thing.

Metal Dawn looks sucks, the mare commented to herself. Sucks a big and thick pin.

When the sprite-bot came within a few paces, she drew her assault carbine from her back.

“Stop right there!” she shouted and took aim at the robot, clenching the weapon in her teeth. “Not a foot closer! Or I’ll shoot!”

The winged metal bug obediently froze, swaying in place in the air.

Sonic and Tails also drew their weapons and pointed them at it, allowing Cosmic to free her mouth, leaving her carbine dangling from the belt around her neck.

“Watcher!” she said threateningly. “What the hay was that just now?! Are you out of your mind or what?!”

“You should not continue on your way!” roared the bot’s loudspeaker. “You don’t even know what you’re getting into! Before it’s too late, I repeat: forget it! Otherwise, I’ll have to destroy you in a more unpleasant way!”

“What could be more unpleasant than being torn apart by a whirlwind of fire and metal shards?” Cosmic hummed with affected indifference.

Dark humor had never been her strong suit.

“You’ll find out if you don’t stop!” the sprite-bot screeched. “You can still turn back. There are secrets that must not be revealed to the unwanted.”

“Let me guess,” Sonic interjected, “one of those mysteries is the Elements?”

“Exactly. You already know too much. Suspiciously much. More than I’ve even told you. I wonder how you can know so much – but I cannot allow you to reach the end of your chosen path.”

Watcher was silent for a moment, then added with a sigh, “So farewell.”

And the sprite-bot darted straight for them.

Reflexes worked faster than reason. Cosmic pushed the aliens aside and jumped over. There was a deafening rumble behind her as the bug robot crashed to the ground. Her ears rang: Cosmic hadn’t had time to clamp them shut before the explosion. The back of her body was scorched with heat, and small shrapnel was embedded in her legs.

Staggering, the mare stood up. But then her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground again.

After almost being killed once more, she deserved at least a little rest.

Was saving one world worth the same chance for another?

Weaving forward on humming hooves, Cosmic wondered if the mission she had undertaken with the two aliens was really worth it. Watcher, whoever he was, really wanted them to give up their plans – and was willing to do absolutely crazy things for that.

Mare wondered: why did this “Mr. Incognito” need the Elements at all? If they were as powerful as he said they were, they could be used to return Equestria to its pre-apocalypse state! How did they get to him, anyway? And why’s he just sitting on them without using them?

One possibility is that he stole them to prevent anyone from using them. But then there is the suspicion that he might have been involved in dropping the bombs himself. But what would he gain from that…?

There were so many uncertainties that Cosmic just shook her head in frustration and told herself not to think about it. There were already so many things in the Wasteland that trying to understand them made her brain swell. The same caps as money, for example. What was it? Where did it come from? And why? No one knows. And if anyone did, they were long dead.

The earth pony liked the other possibility much better and believed in it more. What if Watcher had kept the Elements to himself, protecting them from those who might set their hooves on them? It would be hard to find even one pony who embodied any kind of virtue, and there would be six! Maybe that’s why a new team of bearers hasn’t been assembled yet. And when everyone who wanders into these parts is treated with such “hospitality”…

Although Watcher was probably just scared. What’s more, he was in panic! Which he tried to cover up with anger. And on some level… he was right in his actions. To him, the three of them were not so different from the raiders in their desire to take even temporarily the priceless powerful items he kept. But they didn’t kill indiscriminately or eat other ponies. In other words, they were smarter – and therefore more dangerous.

Cosmic sighed. There was too much she didn’t know to say for sure. One thing was certain: they weren’t exactly welcome here.

But maybe she could get Watcher to open up to her.

The main thing was not to be killed.

“…I think it’s here,” Tails’ voice came to her.

The mare raised her head and stared at the huge mountain that was only a few miles away. Busy with her thoughts, she didn’t notice that they were almost at the end of their journey.

“Stand by,” Cosmic said, touching the carbine on her back. “The last thing we need is another rain of sprite-bots.”

“But anyway, it’s at least an hour to go…” Sonic grumbled and suddenly looked somewhere in that direction. “Look, there’s one flying over there!”

“Where?”

Cosmic immediately threw Argument off her back, grabbed it in her teeth and lay down, aiming in the direction the hedgehog had pointed. Sonic and Tails also drew their weapons.

Indeed, a winged robot was approaching the group at its usual tortoise speed. It was just only one, and it didn’t look like some new, elaborate plan to destroy them. Rather – Cosmic smiled, cherishing the hope that flamed up in her mind – a proposal for negotiation.

Which proved once again that Watcher wasn’t some kind of crazy asshole. He must have had a mission of his own.

Still, it was worth being cautious.

“Stop there! We don’t trust you!” said the mare, rising to her hooves again.

Speaking with a weapon in her mouth had become a habit.

The sprite-bot froze obediently, half a dozen paces away from the squad. There were no explosives to be seen inside its metal hull. But, Cosmic thought, that didn’t mean they weren’t really there.

“Neither do I,” Watcher parried. “How do I know you’re telling the truth about your goals?”

“Let’s be honest.” Cosmic put down her weapon. “None of us has any reason to lie to each other. We each do what we think is right. But you already know everything about our intentions. We know nothing about yours.”

“I can’t tell you that,” the sprite-bot replied sharply. “It’s too valuable information to trust to just anyone. Especially some like you… overly knowledgeable.”

“We mean no harm,” Tails stepped forward, holstering Metal Dawn’s revolvers. “We won’t give your artifacts to anyone, but without them, it would be much harder to save our world… since no one’s going to save it yet. After all, let’s just meet and talk!”

“Yes, you don’t look like those who would act out of self-interest.” At these Watcher’s words, Cosmic looked away: the mercenary’s past was making itself known. “I can even believe that your goals are truly worthwhile. But I can’t give them to you. Because I have my own purpose. And it outweighs all others for me.”

“It looks like we’re at an impasse,” the earth pony said, looking at the sprite-bot. “And no one’s going to back down, because everyone has their reasons. And to bring it to a fight…” she shook her head. “I guess once was enough, right?”

“Yeah, what the hell was that all about?!” Sonic cut in, waving Nige around. “I didn’t think that even in a ruined Equestria, the first time I almost died was from a kamikaze drone attack!”

You’ve almost died at least three times before, Cosmic thought, but remained silent.

“What do you mean by that?”

Judging by his tone, Watcher was deeply puzzled.

The mare seized the opportunity as the last straw.

“Let’s meet and talk it over. We’ll tell you something new that you didn’t expect, and in return you’ll explain your intentions. Agreed?”

Sprite-bot was silent for a long time. Cosmic was completely exhausted, waiting for his answer.

A lot depended on Watcher’s decision. If he refused, they would either have to fight their way through and almost certainly die, or return with nothing: Sonic and Tails – to Earth, and the earth pony herself – back to The Republic. That didn’t bode well either.

Finally, Watcher said, “All right. I’ll let you meet me in person – but you must promise not to go any further than I allow. You got that?!”

The question sounded threatening. Cosmic even swallowed nervously at the growl that slipped into Watcher’s voice.

“Y-yes… we promise,” she said.

Fuck Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?!

“You too!” thundered the sprite-bot, turning to Sonic and Tails.

The aliens glanced at each other. Then the hedgehog looked back at the robot and nodded.

“Of course.”

“We promise,” the fox added.

“Then I’ll wait for you on that mountain – you can probably see it for yourself. My home is the cave at the top. And yes, beware of pegasi. The Enclave is on the prowl.”

“What? How…” Cosmic exclaimed, but music poured out of the sprite-bot, making it clear that the conversation was over.

The mare turned and looked at the mountain in the distance. Its peak was lost behind a dark grey veil of clouds. It didn’t look too high for the Enclavers to get down there.

If we had Stream with us… or Spark… We could have easily fought back when encountering those flying bastards…

The memory stabbed painfully into her soul. Like a poisonous thorn with bitterness oozing from its tip.

This is no time for self-pity. Cosmic put the carbine on the safety and hung it on her back again. They wouldn’t approve of that. They're gone, but I’m still here. And I have a duty to protect – above all.

She turned back to the aliens. And someone here really needs me.

“Well, let’s get to our destination,” she told them. “I don’t want to spend the night here when we could be attacked at any moment.”

“What the hell is this Enclave anyway?” Sonic asked, kicking a small stone and sending it in a low arc into the distance. “There was nothing like this even in the G5…”

Before he left, Cosmic asked the hedgehog to tell her more about the universe her world was supposed to be – but for some reason it didn’t. Or it did, but… somehow it went the wrong way.

She herself thought that the infamous fifth generation, which Sonic had said fans on Earth had been arguing about for years, had not yet arrived here. This Equestria was still too much a part of the G4 he had described for it to have shed its past. That included the Elements of Harmony their little team had been searching for.

“Wake up, Sonic, this isn’t the show!” Tails waved his hands. “This is completely different! The Mane Six aren’t coming to the rescue with their rainbow powers! Right now, it’s up to us to be the Mane Six!” He looked back at Cosmic and seemed a little confused, but continued, “Mm… counting our remaining team on Earth. After all, did I understand correctly that you–”

“Later, Tails,” the hedgehog interrupted, closing his eyes and holding his palm forward. “The important thing is that I still have the rings.”

He gently rubbed the four small gold-plated circles that hung from a lanyard around his neck.

“If we manage to convince Watcher, will you go straight home?” Cosmic asked. “To save your planet from that Eggman?”

“Yes,” Sonic nodded and grinned. “That’s what we’re gonna do.”

“But what about the fact that, as you have discovered, time passes much faster here? Let’s say you find and defeat your enemy in a day – but what if it takes, say, six months in Equestria? I don’t think Watcher would like that very much,” the earth pony chuckled, the corners of her mouth curled up. “And he might think that we’ve deceived him.” She waved a hoof in the direction the sprite-bot had gone. “You’ve seen what he can do when he’s angry.”

“Yeah, that’s a problem,” Tails scratched the back of his head. Suddenly, he looked up. “Wait a minute… What if, say, someone activates the ring and stays here? What if we keep the portal open all the time? After all, when two worlds touch, the passage of time should be the same at the points of their intersection, to come to some common denominator… but only to what…?”

“I don’t think so,” Sonic shook his head. “These portals don’t last very long, and then they close anyway. But time, it seems, and it’s true, while the worlds are connected, begins to flow the same–”

“Talk later,” Cosmic interrupted them, pointing to the mountain. “We have to go. To finally complete the first part of our mission.”

And not die while we prepare the second, she added mentally.

She had no right to die. At least not until she figured out everything that was going on here.

Note: Level up.

Player: Cosmic Valor. Skills: Firearms – 100%, Survival – 75%. New perk: Run 'n Gun – reduced accuracy penalties for shooting on the run or jump with firearms or energy weapons.

Player: Sonic. Skill: Survival – 25%. New perk: Arm Strength – your physical abilities have increased; you can now even carry an adult mare for a while. New quest perk: Mutual Aid – you don’t let your companion die; there is a chance that in the future he or she won’t let you die too.

The quest stage “Persuade Watcher for a personal meeting” has been completed. Added a new stage “Get to the Cave”.