Fallout Equestria: Desperado’s V4 (Molly Manticore Mega Mall.)

Fallout: Equestria

Desperado’s V4: Molly Manticore Mega Mall.

Ch 5, Ghosts of the Past.

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Traveling through a subway system by boat was already strange enough, but with so little light and strange sounds around us, it put me on edge. Worse, the gas mask didn't do much to block out the smell of rot that permeated everything.

We traveled by two boats, five of us on each, not counting the ghoul scouts taking us to Clover Station. With so little light, Azure's glow was unnerving, bathing many of us in his green light.

“That's got to be a real pain, glowing all magically like that.” Our boatman said to Azure.

"We make do, and it's not magic… Well, normally it's not magic. It's actually bioluminescent bacteria that symbolically live inside our bodies. I've not learned about the subject, but I remember hearing that they help fight off fungal infections, which my kind are susceptible to." Azure explained.

The ghoul let out a groan. “Ya, we get it, you're smart. Let's just pretend I didn't ask.”

Azure shrugged. “Fair enough, I guess.”

As we moved through the flooded subway, we passed by a few boarded-up places, moss thickly coating the rotten wood as a cold chill blew through them. I wasn't so curious to ask about it, figuring I didn't want to know anyway. We also didn't encounter any ruined trains, the Desperados having dismantled them over a hundred years back for raw resources.

We passed through a few stations used as checkpoints for the scouts, where a few ghouls were preparing for the assault on the mall. Each station had its own little fortification, ready to keep any surprise outside out. I was also sure there were small armories there, as the Desperados didn't seem like the kind to keep all their eggs in one basket.

“Heads up! We're at Clover Station.” The ghoul called out, and we could see the light of a lantern ahead.

Waiting for us was Greased Chain, the ghoul now armored up and armed with a combat shotgun on a battle saddle. “Took ya all long enough.”

"Well, Chain, it takes longer when all the motorized boats are taken," Our boat pony said as we docked. "You got the fort ready?"

Greased Chain nodded. "All I had to do was dust it all off, even got the cots ready."

Harp hopped out, her legs wobbly from the prolonged boat ride. "Why didn't you tell us you're Arras's great-granddaughter?"

"Didn't come up, and I'm not one for boating." The ghoul mare said in a boosting tone. "And before ya ask, no, I didn't become a ghoul by choice. Some raiders found an old bomb and detonated it when we were kicking their flank. Only a few of us survived, and the surviving raiders were given a fate worse than death."

As Chain laughed to herself, the other ghoul whispered to us. “She recounts that story to everypony, so avoid asking about it, or she will talk your ears off about that campaign.”

Nodding, Harp bowed to Chain. "Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Harp Melody, a very distant relative of yours."

"Ya, Arras told me. Good thing great grandma never became a ghoul, or she'd have walloped the old bastard good." She motioned for us to follow as the others got off their boat. "Well, let's get to business. I'll be your radio operator and the pony watching your back at Clover station. The other two scouts will be here too, but I'm here because I can call the shots if Shepherd or Oatmeal can't."

"Right, you're the third in command here," Harp commented as we arrived at what must be the base, a small concrete fort built into the station. "But are you sure you should be here and not at your main base?"

Chain rolled her milky white eyes. "What do you think Oatmeal is doing, smooth coat? Most of us here know our jobs since we've been doing them long before your mother was born. Ranks and authority here are only symbolic, so I'm where I'm needed and not where I'm a pain in everypony's ass."

Trotting into the small fortification, we found a map of the subway system on the wall and a radio connected to several wires under it. A door that looked like it connected to what used to be a shop now turned into barracks, and next to it was the public restroom. "You all can rest here until morning. Though going into the mall at night sounds fun, I'd advise against it," Chain informed us.

Peeking in, the barracks left a lot to be desired, but there were enough beds for everypony.

"If you don't mind, we'll locate the entrance first?" Harp asked.

Chain shrugged. "Fine by me. Just don't go inside until everypony is ready. The last thing we need is you trapped in there without a way of getting ya out."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me twice about that," Harp said half-jokingly.

Harp, Fizzy, and I began trotting around the station as Fizzy tried to retrace her steps. Looking around, everything other than the tiny fort was what I expected the ruins of my world to look like. Cold, lifeless, and miserable.

Harp let out a sigh. “Is it bad that this place makes me a bit homesick?”

“Didn't you grow up in a luxury stable?” I asked.

She looked away, seemingly a bit embarrassed. It would have been cute if not for her eyes and eye sockets being cybernetic. Instead, it looked more freaky than anything. "Ya, stable 50 was a fairly well-built and clean place, but I mean, the feeling of being underground like this and that smell of rust permeates everything. It just reminds me of home."

I couldn't argue with that logic, and looking around, I could see my own world all around me, but it was all rotten. "Same here," I said as I pointed at one advertisement that was in reasonably good condition for its age. "Captain Chrome, the actor in that movie, was an up-and-coming star, and that was his first movie where he was the main star."

Harp looked at the movie ad with the stallion in a thin space suit levitating a chrome-plated plasma defender. "He does look familiar. Was the movie any good?"

"I don't know. All this happened before I got to see it, but the Ministries were pushing it really hard, so I bet there was a lot of propaganda in it."

There were other familiar ads here: Sparkle-Cola, Barnyard Bargains, Stable-Tec, and Red Racer. But what dominated everything was all the little ads for Molly Manticore, as her face was everywhere I looked. One image even opened her mouth wide, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

“Oh! Like, over here!” Fizzy called.

Trotting over, I noticed a big advertisement for Terra Timberwolf and her band on the wall. It was also strangely in good condition—not so much clean as rotted or covered in mold like the others.

“Welcome back, Lady Fizzy!" a robotic voice called out from the ventilation above us. Out popped a dark purple sprite-bot with hot pink highlights, similar to those of Fizzy's mane. "I had become worried when you stopped contacting me.”

Order buzzed between us in the robot. “Identify yourself!” the robot drone commanded.

The sprite-bot bobbed about almost happily. “I am Fruit Fly, the Blackroots personal shopper, programmed by Lady Blackcharry Blackroot herself. She set me up to help any of her descendants if they chose to return here. So far, only Lady Fizzy has come here to observe the Blackroots legacy."

“So that's why you're so helpful!” Fizzy said in amazement.

“Wait, why didn't you tell us about this?” Harp asked.

“Because Lady Fizzy never asked me.” Fruit Fly told us, and Harp and I faced hoofed.

Harp took a deep breath before asking, "That aside, will you be able to open the way to the mega mall?"

Fruit Fly bobbed about a bit before saying. “Only on the request of a Blackroot.”

"Thanks, then we'll return in the morning," Harp told the robot.

“But we could, like, go in now?” Fizzy suggested.

Harp rolled her eyes. " You already forgot that we agreed not to. Anyways, That's how things go bad in those old adventure books."

I nodded. "It's common in the Daring Do novels, where a pony goes ahead after being warned not to and falls into a trap."

Fizzy looked a bit dejected. "I guess you're right, " she said, then waved at the robot. "Like, see you tomorrow, Fruit Fly!"

“I look forward to it, Lady Fizzy.” Fruit Fly said before flying back up into the vent.

"Do you think that thing is more than it appears to be?" I asked, feeling that, at this point, nothing is as simple as it appears to be when magic or tech is involved.

“If Blackcharry was intellectually on par with Majesty, I have no doubt that Fruit Fly is more than just a sprite-bot.” Harp surmised.

Returning to the fortifications, everypony was already settling down, with the old stallions doing some weird stuff around the entrance. Pewter was placing coins here and there as Rattlebones drew on the floor in salt. Lair was watching Glittering as the young mare mumbled something before tossing a bit of salt.

“Ummm, what's all this?” I asked out loud.

"Cleansing this place of evil spirits and keeping them out," Lair answered. "The salt stuff is a bit primitive but seems effective here. Back home, salt is redundantly ineffective because salts everywhere out on the ocean."

Glittering huffed in the way only teenagers could. "It's because you're not using purified salt; spirits can't manipulate pure elements just like you can't boil pure water." We all raised an eyebrow at the red filly, so she huffed again. "Technically, you can boil pure water, but it won't bubble until you add other elements. Spirits are similar, where pure elements just don't move."

That still didn't make any sense to me.

“So it's not that a spirit can't interact with the pure element, it's that the pure element just doesn't do anything, thus… slows them down?” Harp tried to explain to herself.

Rattlebones chuckled as he trotted over. "Don't worry, we barely understand it ourselves. We all know that if you block an entrance with a pure element, like pure salt, spirits can't just get in or out. We use salt because it's easy to make, but other elements work, such as pure iron or silver."

Lair drew her rapier, "like how my sword can stab ghosts!"

"Pure mythril." Pewter said, "Not the most sturdy metal, but most of the weird things tend to avoid it when possible."

Rattlebones nodded at that. "Pure alcohol also makes an effective holy water and can be used to purify water too."

Greased Chain trotted in, looking somewhat baffled. "What in the tribal shit are you doing to my fort?"

We decided to let the old ponies defend themselves as we trotted into the barracks to avoid what was going to be some nasty chewing out.

Finding my bed at the top of a bunk near the back, I looked through my saddle bag, filled with primarily spare ammo and medical supplies. In there was also the .45 pistol, Checoves Promis. Each time I saw it, I was reminded of how Hardballer died, among the other lives taken by it. Though I kept it empty, I still got the feeling that if I pulled the trigger, a bullet would still be fired.

"That's a custom .45 Colt pony conversion Griffinstone pistol," Glittering said flatly as she was staring at the gun. "The steel looks like Stable-Tec grade steel."

That was… unnerving. “Ya… how'd you know?” She pointed at the Stable-Tec symbol on the gun. “Right, makes sense.”

"The gray of the metal is also different from other guns, not blued like most guns, and the metal has the same tone as found in a stable." She said.

“You… know what a stable looks like?” I asked.

She nodded. "My father was from a stable and had me born in it to ensure my health."

"Sounds like he was a good stallion," I told her.

“He was, once.” She said grimly.

That didn't sound hopeful. “And he isn't now?”

She shook her head. "He died, but Grandpa said that the wasteland killed him long before his body did. Yet he was too brilliant to simply go raider."

That sounded really bad, and I would regret asking, "And your mother?"

Glittering was silent for a long moment. "Mother… was killed by raiders. They were trying to get at my father, through me." It felt like there was more to it, but I dared not to ask.

So I put my gun away. “I guess that's why you're with your grandpa then, and he seems… fun.”

A slight smirk formed on her face. “Grandpa is more trouble than he's worth, but he's the best.” Her eyes then fell onto my pipbuck. “Say, what's with that? Never seen one like it before.”

I lifted my S&R pipbuck MK2. "This, it's… it's the last pipbuck Stable-Tec ever made. It's designed to help search and rescue, and can conduct medical scanning on others."

She tilted her head a little. "The last? How can you be so sure of that?"

I sighed, "Because I was there. I even helped out in a way. I'm not saying I'm some pipbuck technician; I'm just a fool in the wrong place at the wrong time." Her eyes went a bit wide. "You want me to tell you about it?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Glittering said.

We had time to burn, so it wasn't a big deal.

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It was cold, so cold that even my bones shivered. Waking up, I rolled, only to fall off the top bunk. Pulling myself up, I saw a few ponies stir. A few even looked at me before going back to sleep. Not everypony was a heavy sleeper, but none would stay awake because I fell off the top bunk.

Feeling like it was a waste of time to go back to sleep at this point, I decided to go for a trot, maybe find a way to warm myself back up.

It wasn't pitch black down here, as some of the lights were still flickering even after two hundred years, with the emergency lights glowing over the submerged subway tracks. It reminded me of the old horror movies about the striped slasher or some monster living in a subway system.

It felt disconcerting that those could exist now or possibly did back then.

My ear twitched as I heard a train's rhythmic clunk and ponies' chattering. Everything then became bright again as I stood in an active subway station. However, every pony was translucent, and I could still see the flooded station. It was like a film projection, but for life, or what was life?

The lights flickered, and the red emergency lights flashed on; over the intercom, a pleasant tune played before the familiar voice of Ministry mare Pinkypie spoke up. "Hello everypony! This is a test of our emergency warning system. Please be advised that this is only a test of-" Pinkypie's voice was cut off by a bomb siren that started blaring through the station.

Everypony looked confused. Was it a test, or was it the real thing? I could feel their confusion, nobody knowing if they should stay or run. Then the tunnel shook, and the lights went out for a moment, and as they flickered back on, ponies further back, near the entrance, began screaming. Soon, panicked ponies flooded in, pushing the ponies already here closer to the tracks, so many of them that we couldn't hold our ground and lost our hoof hold.

I fell, landing on the tracks with so many others, ponies screaming to stop, but yet more ponies pushed in. Some tried to pull the others up off the tracks, only to fall in themselves. Mares, stallions, fillies, and colts, we all had fallen onto the tracks. Then we could hear the clack-clack of the train, its light getting brighter. All we could do was hold each other and scream as the train came barreling in as more ponies were pushed into its way.

"Slowtrot!" Star called out, catching me right before I fell into the pitch-black water of the subway system. "Are you sleepwalking?"

Regaining my senses, I took a few steps back. “I… maybe.” Looking at Star, I was startled by her eyes shining red in the dark.

She sighed. "Well, don't, ya scared the shit out of me. I mean, unless you can breathe underwater like I can?"

"Still be a bad idea," Pewter said, his eyes shining red, and next to him was likely Lair with the same eye shine. "Who knows what contaminants are in there?"

Star looked over at the water. “Ya, I guess your r… what the fuck!”

I looked over, too. It was too dark to make anything out, yet I could barely see the silhouettes of many ponies in the water.

"A lot of ponies must have died in terror here, their souls stuck, reliving that moment over and over," Pewter said as he trotted over. "Their strong emotions can draw others to them, often causing the living to share their fate, though it's not their intention. Think of it like crabs in a bucket, nothing malicious, but damaging all the same."

"And on the tracks too, damn, that must have sucked," Lair said callously.

Looking at them, and though they were shadows, I could make out a few details. "Is there any way we can help them?"

Pewter trotted over, pulling out a silver coin and tossing it into the water. "Oh, Queen and King of the underworld, these poor innocent souls have suffered and are in need of guidance. Please, if you could, show them mercy, show them the way, and make right this tragic wrong."

In the water, for just a brief moment, I could see the coin shine, and with it, a few of the shadows disappeared.

"That's all I can do for them right now," Pewter said, sounding drained of energy. "They have been here for too long to just simply leave. Maybe in time, they will move on, but only the destruction of this place would ensure that their souls are set free."

"Souls can bind themselves to places, things, and even ponies. Making it hard to get rid of them." Lair further explained. "Without the thing they're bound to, it's easier to get a lost soul to move onto the underworld."

Looking back at the water, I wondered how many more ghosts I would see before this day was over.

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After Pewter and Lair set up a bit more spiritual protection and gave me some hard booze to help me get back to sleep, I woke to the lights flickering back on and ponies getting out of bed. This place had its own generator, which explained the power, though it couldn't always be on, explaining why it was off while we slept. But it didn't explain why the emergency lights had been on, though I didn't feel the need to have an answer to that haunting question.

“So the entrance is here?” Greased Chain asked in front of the Terra Timberwolf ad.

“Fruit Fly!” Fizzy called out.

After some clunking from the vent, the sprightly floated out. "Hello again, lady Fizzy!"

“Can you open the way?” Fizzy asked.

Fruit Fly bobbed excitedly. “Most certainly!” It flew back into the vent, and after a long moment, the ad rolled back, revealing a blast door that opened on its own. On the other side waiting for us was Fruit Fly, "Just this way, my lady.”

We all shuffled in one by one, entering a relatively well-preserved lounge, not that big, but just big enough for everypony to fit. There was a private bathroom, bedroom, and what looked like a private Railway with a coach.

Greased let out a whistle. "This is a bonafide shelter, and real snazzy at that." She looked about, seeing a lever near the entrance. "Good. It looks like I can operate the door from this end. Might even live here for a time with how nice it is."

“This was one of several VIP shelters used to hold certain guests of the Blackroots who could not get inside the Stable. Amongst the guests who used this particular shelter, Lady Blackcharry and Ministry Mare Rainbow Dash.” Fruit Fly explained.

“Wait, the Rainbow Dash was here!” I nearly yelled in shock.

The Sprite-bot bobbed. “Most certainly. She was escorting Lady Blackcharry, though they only stayed for a day and never returned.”

"Right, I remember hearing about that," Greased said. "It was when they pulled Shepherd out of the damn mall. Blackcharry and Rainbow Dash had to go in alone and deactivate the security system to let the rescue team in. But because of Molly and her damn friends, the resulting gunfire put the mall in full lockdown. And Arras counted his blessings to have saved the few they had."

“What happened to Rainbow Dash after?” Harp asked.

Greased shrugged. "Who the fuck knows. She left west with several M.o.A. agents, from what Arras told me. He offered her a place with us, but her loyalty was to Equestria and all its ponies, not to just us. You'll need to talk with Elder Smoke Signals; he was an M.o.A. undercover agent before the bombs dropped, something Arras never forgave him for. Even after two hundred years, great-grandpa refuses to hear anything about it. Smoke Signal has kept his lips shut in return."

I let out a long sigh. “That sounds just like the comics about the M.o.A.”

“You mean those Mare Do Well comics?” Greased asked.

“Ya, you know them?” I asked back.

She nodded. "My grandpa had the whole set and passed it down from father to son. You should ask the leader of the Afterburners; he currently owns them. And if you find preserved comics in that mall, he'll pay you good caps for 'em."

I made a mental note of that.

Harp let out a giggle. “Colts and their comics.”

The sound of glass clinking caught our attention as Fizzy pulled out red glowing Sparkle-Cola from a pristine Sparkle-Cola fridge. "Like, anypony want ice cold Sparkle-Cola before we go?"

I cringed. “Personally, I would rather not have my pee glow red.”

Harp, too, had cringed. "Ya, and that stuff is used for making explosives because of the flux in it."

"Wait, that shit has flux in it, fuck, that shit is dangerous," Greased commented, then looked at me. "And ya drank it before?"

I shrugged. "Won a free bottle at a job of mine. The stuff is a real kick in the face with the sugar and caffeine. Sparkle-Cola sold it to busy office workers with all their overnight work."

The sound of a bottle opening caught everypony off guard as Azure took a drink of the stuff. He visibly shivered as his green glow became a little brighter. “This certainly has a lot of sugar in it.”

Fizzy did the same; I swear her pink highlights and eyes glowed momentarily. "It certainly does, doesn't it! Anypony else want some?" We all shook our heads. "Oh well, more for us." She said as she packed several more bottles in her saddle bags.

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Leaving Greased Chain in the shelter, we all packed into the transport coach, Fruit Fly activating it and taking us to the Mega Mall. The rhythmic clatter of the coach brought back memories of traveling the subway system back in Applewood. The ponies chattered, and a sense of impending dread was all too familiar as well, but it lacked the sense of hopelessness I had been accustomed to in the past.

"So, is this how ponies used to travel?" Live asked.

Mostly, ya. Trains were how anypony got around, though vehicles were becoming popular too." I said. "Never owned one myself because I lived in the city, but it wasn't completely out of my price range. Actually, I wonder if my bank account is still active."

Harp let out a short laugh. “After two hundred years of interest, it must be sizable!”

I shrugged. "Unfortunately, it's all in bank notes because the war needed gold. So I doubt any of it is worth anything." I then looked at Live and wondered. "But I could always check and see if the mall would let me buy anything. Anything you want me to look for?"

Live rolled her eyes. "Unless they got preserved dresses or guns, I doubt there anything I'd give a fuck about. Anyways, why buy anything if we can just take it?" She pointed out

Notted, find dresses and guns.

“What about a mister helper? I read that they were sold in places like that.” Glittering asked.

“Food stuff would help a lot. Wouldn't be surprised if there was enough preserved food to feed the Desperados for years.” Star added.

Lair laughed out loudly. “Might as well look for booze if we're at it. Can't go wrong with more booze.”

"That I agree," Rattlebones said with a chuckle. "But probably should keep an eye out for medical supplies. Tribal remedies are effective, but they can't hold a candle to the shit the M.o.P. made during the war."

"I, like, just want to visit Sparkle-Cola Adventure! Oh, I hope the rides are still working. Molly, totes found me before I could check it out." Fizzy was visibly shaking as she spoke

"If we can locate gold, silver, and any gemstones inside, it might make calming the spirits easier," Pewter added.

"And artifacts," Azure spoke up. "I know everything in there is basically artifacts, but I'm sure we might find something of cultural value and possibly of magical significance."

"That's true. There's probably a lot of perceived arcano-tec in that mall." Harp joined in. "Stuff that could help us in the upcoming war. But everypony, let's not get greedy; the most important thing we need to get out of here is with our lives, okay?"

We all became quiet at that, which reminded us of the danger we were entering. Like with a Daring Do book, with great loot came an even greater danger.

As though waiting for this very moment, a soft chime cut through the air, and the pleasant recording of a mare spoke. “Now arriving at Molly Manticore Mega Mall. Please wait for the coach to come to a full stop before exiting in an orderly fashion. We hope you enjoy your stay." Her friendliness felt more like mocary, the past almost gleefully expecting the nightmare to come. It was a stark reminder of the fake happiness forced on everypony back then, where no one was allowed to share their true feelings unless it was about their hatred over the Zebras.

“You okay, Slowtrot?” Live asked.

I nodded. “Just… not excited about possibly meeting Molly again.”

Live nodded, “Ya, I get that.”

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