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

Fallout: Equestria

Desperado’s V4: Molly Manticore Mega Mall.

Ch 9, Third Floor.

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“It's safe to go.” Glittering, let us know.

Opening the employee-only door, Azure and I peeked out, seeing no animatronics or securities. After our way through the noisy jungle of Barnyard Bargains, it felt too quiet here.

This part of the mall was also a far less chaotic mess of colors and mascots, with a more cool and calm feel. It was still clearly trying to sell us anything and everything, but I got the distinct feeling that they weren't selling to foals or parents here. A sign pointing to a bar settled it for me, and I was sure that the third floor was meant for adults, not foals.

"I could go for a drink," Azure commented.

"You and me both," I agreed.

Trotting out, Order buzzed over to us, a curious look in the robot's eyes. "Found something?” The drone asked.

Azure presented two tool cases, the third had its contents moved to his M.o.P. case and the fourth left behind, as it had cracked. The tools inside had been corroded beyond recovery. "Basic wrenches and screwdrivers; the Desperados might like some spares."

“Seeing how they love to tinker, I have no doubt they would." Harp spoke up through Order. "I'll have, Order to return with them and put it with the other stuff we've collected."

Order clamped onto the two cases using its little graspers and buzzed off.

“There's a restaurant near the center where you can get to the fourth floor. It's called Griffinstone Beer Gardens.” Glittering instructed.

That was a place I hadn't heard about in a long time. "Now I'm a bit worried about seeing the beer garden a wreck."

“Familiar with the place?” Azure asked.

"Ya, it was the most fancy place a pony could go on a budget. I used to go there with…" I stopped, remembering the good times and how they weren't as good as I had thought. "Let's just say that I used to go there."

Azure nodded. "Then let's not take long or linger still."

Slowly making our way to the mall's center, we avoided the main path to avoid exposure, as they were heavily patrolled by the animatronics and gave us little cover. Going through the inner parts of the mall at least had more places to hide, and the winding corridors blocked the line of sight enough that we could hear anything coming before we could see it.

The shops here were more of what I've come to expect: jewelry, makeup, and adult clothing in about every third store, and some general stores that foals wouldn't be interested in but had necessities that adults needed. Many of the shops were specialized or brand-named, likely because Barnyard Bargains covered all generic products that all the shops out here needed to fill a niche. It was no different back in Applewood, though here it was all concentrated in this one mall.

There was some activity, but fortunately, it was from a cleaning service dusting the floor. The face on its screen resembled a tired laborer's, with a hat obscuring their faces. The robot paid us no mind as we trotted by, and we didn't want to test our luck with them anyways.

“Are you sure that thing is safe?” Azure asked.

I shrugged. “Probably. Whatever is wrong with the animatronics doesn't seem to affect any other robots as far as I have seen,”

“Strange, what exactly makes animatronics different?” He pondered. “There are all robots basically, yet one type is actively trying to kill us?”

"If I were to guess, Molly's cursed, and all robots based on her are also cursed." That was my answer to that question.

Azure sighed. "Truthfully, I wouldn't be surprised if that's actually happening. This world and its magic is rather mind-boggling."

There was no arguing with his logic; Equestria was always referred to as The Magical Land of Equestria.

A loud thud causes us both to stop, a thud that gets closer the second time. "Glittering, we got something coming our way." Looking around, I see an odd shop with blacked-out windows, so it will hide us. "Can you open up the Midnight Masquerade?"

“Got it!” Glittering said, and the protective shutter rolled open.

Trotting in, the shop was dimly lit as the rest of the mall, though a bit darker. Taking a hiding position, several more cleaning bots passed by as the loud thumping grew closer. There was no doubt that Muller was near, and I didn't want to mess with him.

"Oh my," Azure said quietly. "I see why this shop has blacked-out windows."

Looking around myself, I also saw why. This was a costume shop likely meant for nightmare nights. The bombs had dropped on the morning of the holiday, or so the ghouls had said, but this was the first time I saw a reminder of it. But the costumes here were very adult-themed. Some were just lingerie with extra bits added, along with collars, leashes, and other suggestive accessories. All of them were in poor condition due to time and moths eating the fabric.

Azure chuckled and I looked around, seeing his distinctive glow behind the counter. Trotting over, I saw what he was amused about. In his hooves was a whip, which he put on the counter. "I'd never use such a flimsy thing, but I know how to crack a whip. And yes, I know this is a sex toy."

"Good, because I really don't want to explain anything behind this counter," I told him as I tried to not look at the other more explicit sex toys on display.

He rolled his eyes at them. "Ya, you ponies seem to have the same fetishes as humans. But that's not why I'm back here." After a moment, Azure pulled out a first aid box and opened it. Inside was a vibrant red healing potion. "Lucky us."

I gave a sigh of relief as Azure hoofed the potion to me. Unlike the other healing potions I had seen, this one looked like it hadn't degraded or was like the less pure potions made today. "Thanks," I said as I downed it, and I quickly started to feel better.

The pain in my shoulder and leg from where Molly nearly killed me twice now dulled, and I could feel the bruises fading. The pain in my flank almost completely disappeared as I felt the hole there heal.

It was good to feel good again.

I took a few other things in the first aid box. They were mostly just different bandages, as all the medicine had expired, and I doubted they would do more good than the harm they could cause. Even my pipbuck labeled them as expired and toxic.

I then heard a squeak as Azure opened another drawer under the counter. The Lurker took a step back as several abnormally large rats burst out. We both froze as they scurried about, with even more coming out of a hole in the base of the counter. Fortunately, they weren't hostile, but they were starting to climb over everything, squeaking loudly. One climbs up on the display rack of oversized sex toys.

We heard a creek, and the display detached from the wall, falling onto another glass display. The shattering crash made the rats panic, knocking more things over and making noise. But eventually, the rats calmed down and quite returned, the two of us holding our breath in hopes that nothing would happen.

A loud screeching sound sent a wave of dread through me. Azure and I slowly looked over at the blacked-out window, seeing a massive shadow looming from the other side.

"First off," Azure whispered. "Though I'm not at fault, I am sorry."

"Nopony ever expects R.O.U.S's, so don't sweat it," I told him.

“I happen to not have sweat glands, so easily done.” He said back nervously.

"Not the time for jokes," I replied.

He nodded. "How about we play rock paper scissors so one can run distraction?" He then looked at his hoof. "Right, I forgot. Then I'll lead the robots away, and you can head to the restaurant."

I wanted to argue, but the Lurker was the most likely to get away from any robot without help. "Okay, see you there."

Another louder scratching sound was quickly followed by a crack, and the two of us got low. The glass shattered, and the store was flooded with light, causing the rats to rush out.

Azure crawled out, reaching the door as Muller entered through the broken window.

*Thunk*

The odd sound caught my attention as I heard Azure yell. “Hay ya overgrown mole rat! Over here!”

Peeking, I saw Muller with a large black stallion's member stuck to its head. The sex toy flopped as the robot looked at Azure like some unmajestic and monstrous unicorn. Azure then dashed away, Muller struggling to get out as it got caught on all the clothing at the front of the store.

With a heavy stomp, Muller Maulwurf left, slowly chasing Azure. I waited, listening to the thumping fade out of earshot before getting up. Several servictrons had entered the store, doing what they could to clean up the mess left behind.

I didn't stick around, knowing that soon another animatronic would appear. So, taking a different direction from where Azure went, I quickly and quietly trotted off.

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“Slowtrot, can you wait a moment? And where are you?” Glittering asked.

I looked around, seeing myself outside a jewelry shop. “Ya, I'm next to All that Glitters.”

The gate to the shop opened up. “Hide in there for a moment. More animatronics are heading your way, and Harp needs to lead them away."

I could only guess that Molly was getting more aggressive, and her forest friend was covering every avenue of movement. I didn't like the implications of that. Still, the fact that Quicktrot Fragment exists was all I needed to know to believe in intelligent psychotic robots. But why eat ponies?

I sighed as I trotted further into the shop. Unlike the other shops here, this place felt frozen, untouched by time or ponies. Even the servicetron here was intact; it was sitting in its charging station, waiting for the mall to open. Dust did cling to everything, and I could see cracks and rust here and there, but it was all fairly well preserved.

But not everything.

Near the back, as part of a display, was what should have been a pure white wedding gown and tuxedo. Both were covered in black mold, the manikins were damaged, and the suit was full of holes. A fake wedding cake was next to it, covered in cobwebs and mold.

Trotting up to the suit, it was a classic style from before the war, similar to one I had for my sister's wedding. The great war was still ongoing, but things were calming down, so everypony hoped it would soon end. Many soldiers were coming home then, so what better time for a wedding than to celebrate a return of peace. Poppy was my sister's maid of honor and was busy getting everything right. In contrast, I was just there as a family.

Back then, I was bored out of my mind, only there out of obligation and trying to avoid being a problem. Poppy knew this and hung out with me for a bit, though she was mostly just venting from the stress the wedding was causing. Actually, after the wedding, we started hanging out more. However, that was probably because my sister was now busy with her new life. That was also likely why Poppy joined the Relief core, as she always needed to be doing something.

"Would we even have been together if the war had ended?" I asked myself.

If it had, she'd likely never gotten hurt, and my sister wouldn't have asked me to help Poppy in her place. I know that she'd have been happier, with or without me there, that's for sure.

I shrugged to myself, “All in the past.”

"Um… sir? You okay?" I spoke to a mare, causing me to jump out of my skin nearly.

Everything was bright again, not just the room and light, but the display gowns practically glowed.

Turning to look at the mare, I had to bite my tongue hard to not say her name. It was Poppy, dressed in a bright yellow sundress, mane cut in a cute short bob. But she lacked the tired, sleepless eyes, the heavy perfume to hide the stench of alcohol, and she looked like she had been eating well.

“Sir?” She asked again.

“Oh, sorry, I'm fine. Just stuck in thought.” I said to Poppy, trying to keep my shit together. “So… how can I help you?”

Poppy rubbed her head nervously, as always, when unsure about something. It was a tick she had since we were foals. "Right, you see, I need somepony's opinion on a piece of jewelry. The robot's here are helpful, but… you know."

I definitely understood though I didn't know much about jewelry. "Is this for yourself?" I asked, hoping to get this over with soon.

She nodded. “For my wedding.”

I screamed inside. “Oh… then it's very important.”

My legs wobbled over to the counter, my strength failing me.

“Oh, sir, you don't seem well!” Poppy said with concern.

Straightening myself up, I looked over at what was on display. "I'm fine. I've just been having one of those days. And maybe ate something that didn't agree with me."

I really didn't want to talk about anything, or I might say something stupid. “So, what kind of jewelry are you looking for?:

“Earrings, just a simple pair of earrings. The robot keeps suggesting the current fashion, but I don't know.” Poppy said as she looked at them all.

She was never a fan of Rarity, and even now, it showed. Looking at them, I saw a mix of new and old styles, and I knew precisely which would suit her perfectly: a simple pair of rose quartz in the shape of a rose. "Call me biased, but the rose one. Back home, it was tradition for a mare to be covered in flowers on her wedding day. Nature's beauty and all."

Poppy smiled, "What a lovely tradition. Back home, we just tie wheat to the bride."

I nervously chuckled back. The flower was a lie, but I couldn't tell the mare the truth, so I dredged up an old romance film I knew well. Poppy never was a movie pony, so I knew she wouldn't catch on. "If you're getting that, you might make it a theme. And looks like they're discounted, so you're getting them for cheap."

She frowned, and I remembered that Poppy hated the word "cheap." However, her expression softened.

"Ya, that might do. And the design is quite lovely." A smile crept up on her face as she looked at me. "Thank you so much, I don't think I could have decided so easily without your help."

I nodded back at her. "Glad to help. But if you don't mind me, I need to get going. It's a busy day and all."

As I scurried away, she then called out to me. “Sir! Sorry if this is too forward, but can I have your name… You seem like… I should know you.”

"Lowmop, just Lowmop, mam. And good luck on the wedding." I told her before trotting off and rounding a corner.

My heart pounded, my breath was shallow, and I felt tears trying to break out of my eyes.

Why, why, why, why, why is Poppy here! Why!

“Oh, and here I thought you would rekindle the flame. How boring.” A mare said.

I saw a tall, thin pink mare in a long toga. A straw sunhat decorated with red roses and white ribbons covered her face, and I knew she was terrifyingly beautiful under it. “Who… are you?" I asked with a quivering voice.

She smiled, her teeth as white as the purest pearls, perfect in every way. “Oh, you already know who I am.”

"Ve…" I began to say, but she placed a golden hoof onto my muzzle, the touch numbing and invigorating.

"No, no. Not yet. Not when the play has only just started. Oh, this is just the opening act, after all." She then frowned with disappointment. "But why have you been so boring? Aren't you the stallion, yet you play second lute to the mares here. Worse, you keep falling, and I have to pick you up. So frustrating that I curse Redrum for dropping you on me."

“I don't understand?” I said.

She sighed. "Of core not, and shall you never will. It isn't your place to understand, only to entertain." The light grew brighter and brighter as though consuming the mare. "Now get moving before that disgusting thing comes and finds you."

I blinked and found myself sitting in a back alley of the mall, struggling to remember why I was even there. Wiping my face, I saw tears from my eyes, drool from my mouth, and blood coming from my nose. Something had happened, but my memory was blank.

After trotting out and looking around, I saw a sign pointing to a public restroom and quickly trotted off.

A stallion passed me on my way into the restroom, looking a bit disheveled and smelling of booze. It wasn't an uncommon sight for me, as alcoholism was just a thing, so I just ignored it. Seeing a perfectly clean bathroom was weirdly nostalgic… well, almost perfectly clean; there was puke in one sink, smelling of rancid bile. Unfortunately, I was about to add to it as I rushed to a clean sink.

Everything came out of me as I puked red glowing bile. Bits and pieces of food I had eaten were in there, along with a bullet. I stared at it, once again feeling like I had forgotten something. The deformed lead bullet has a bit of fur and flesh stuck to it, all coated in the red glow.

Looking up at myself, my jaw was dislocated, and my skin flopped out under it. Then I realized an eye was still looking at the bullet, dangling out of its socket.

“Oh dear, looks like it's starting.” a stallion said.

“Inevitable with everything that's going on.” Spoke a mare.

In the mirror behind me were two blue unicorns in tan suits—twins, the Lutece twins. Like myself, both had blood coming out of their noses.

"Hay!" I yelled as I turned around but found nobody. "Don't go crazy on me now," I muttered to myself, knowing it was too late for that.

Taking a deep breath and calming down, I turned around, scooting over to a sink without puking. Using the clean water to wash off my face and looking at myself in the mirror for the first time in… days, weeks, months? I didn't know when I saw my own face the last time. But the pony looking back at me wasn't me. It was, but it wasn't. I looked shabby, thin and desperately needed a good night's rest.

Using the soap from the dispenser, I began washing my hooves and face, dirty brown water dripping into the sink. Yet, it didn't feel like I was getting any of the dirt out, as if the wasteland had seeped deep into me, and I could never be rid of it.

A sigh from behind me caused me to freeze in place. “You can't go back; you do know that," Phobetor said, her face behind mine in the mirror.

Turning, she wasn't there; nobody was there. "There's blood on your hooves, just look," Quicktrot said.

I couldn't help but look down, the sink stained with a brownish red from the blood that wouldn't wash out.

“Don't try and pretend you're not a murder." Healing Herbs told me the hole I had put in her was still there.

"I'm not," I said back.

“Good, then you know what to do.” Ashy Oak told me as she put Checoves Promise into my hooves. "It's only justice.”

I looked down at the pistol, remembering the ponies it killed, the ponies I've killed. I had to; there was no way around it. But… murder was still murder.

“Murder is still murder." spoke an unfamiliar voice. Looking up into the mirror, it was pitch black, so dark I couldn't see myself in it, yet I knew the shadow mare was looking back at me. "So why not add one more life to it? Not saying it must be yours."

I stumbled back, and everything became dark.

Turning on the pipbuck's light, I was still in the bathroom, but it was all rusted and smelled of rot. "Slowtrot! Slowtrot, are you there?" My radio crackled with a glittering voice.

“Ya… I'm here.” I said.

The young mare let out a sigh. “Where are you? Why didn't you stay in the."

Glittering was cut off by Harp. “Did you time jump again?”

I took a deep breath before answering. "Ya, I'm in a nearby restroom. That aside, something else is happening; I keep seeing… things."

“Not surprised. Amazingly, there's so much stagnant magic here; we don't have true undead roaming about. Ghouls aside." Harp said.

"Well, it could be the stagnant magic that causes so many ghouls here," Rattlebones added.

“Let's not forget the cult of Venus under our hooves.” Pewter also added.

Harp let out a groan. “That aside, we can discuss it once the lockdown is lifted. What's important is Slowtrot getting to the roof before more animatronics come back around."

"On my way," I said before getting up. Looking in the mirror, I saw that they had all been shattered.

On the wall where the mirrors once were, written in brown rust, was, “No time for hope when all is STRIFE!”

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Peeking out of the bathroom, the mall was as empty and lifeless as before. The fact that everything out here was clean, but anything inside was falling apart felt macobly poetic, like a corps that still looked alive, but the insides were all rotten.

Shaking the thought from my mind, I made my way to the restaurant, which was closed now. There were more stores here not meant for foals, such as an alcohol and tobacco shop, which, if I had to guess, had been long raided right after the bombs dropped. Unsurprisingly, there was a private pharmacy near it because there was almost always a private pharmacy near the alcohol store. It wasn't much of a secret, but most chem that addicts got came from such places, except for stuff like mint-als, which, as far as I knew, came from back alley Zebra dealers.

There was even an Ironshod Firearms here, though, like the last two shops, I don't think anything would be found inside. Nothing useful, at least.

Reaching the mall's center, I saw the Griffinstone Beer Gardens; unsurprisingly, the place was a wreck. Oh, it had been cleaned up at some point, but no amount of polish can buff out bullet holes. It was a grim thought, but Imagining that some ponies had a last stand here wasn't hard. Likely, they were drinking their sorrows away as the city burned; the beer gardens were always good for trying to forget. Then Molly and her friends started killing, eventually making their way here.

Broken booths and claw marks on the wood floor and furniture made me think of Griffins. But like Pegasus, the Griffins could fly, so I doubt Molly would even be able to touch them.

In one booth were the scorched remains of combat armor and a partly melted rifle. Nearby were the torn remains of a securitron, a large combat knife embedded in the screen. It was all I needed to know about what had happened, how there was no escape for those trapped here. There was no hope for them.

My ears twitched at the sound of clinking glass and a green glow. "Azure?"

The Lurker popped his head up, putting a few glasses on the bar. “Just seeing if there's anything useful here. And no, I haven't found anything. Still, these beer mugs are nice.”

Looking at the glass mugs, I noticed they weren't anything special; they were just your standard Griffinstone mugs with the restaurant's name on them. But then I remembered that glass like this probably couldn't be made today. "Are you planning on keeping them?"

Azure shook his head. "Tools are one thing, but novelty glassware is at the bottom of the list." He then put the mug under a tap and pulled the lever. To Nopony's surprise, a foul and thick substance came out. "Ya, I should have guessed as much."

Order came buzzing around, perching on the bar. “Can you at least mess around on the fourth floor? I don't think any robots are up there, but they're down here." Harp said through her drone.

“Please heed Lady Harp's warning.” Order told is.

Both Azure and I nodded at each other, and we moved. There were stairs at the back, overlooking the mall's center, and I could see everything down there in the sunlight. The mall's center was a massive open floor Molly Manticore Pizzeria, all surrounding a large round stage with massive screens above it. Terra Timberwolf's advertisements were everywhere, including cutouts and even some statues. Other than Molly's name, there was nothing down there with the manticore's face on it… no, there was one, which looked like just a gift shop.

Though not a forest like Barnyard Bargains, the Pizzeria was infested with roots and vines, climbing up the walls and through the ceiling. Strangely, the stage wasn’t infested, as though the roots had avoided damaging it.

"You ponies really celebrated this, Terra," Azure commented as he looked through a pair of binoculars. "I guess Molly was getting phased out?"

“Yep, Terra was going to be the new Molly. And frankly, it couldn't happen soon enough.” I said as I watched an animatronic walk around down below.

Putting his binoculars away, Azure gave me an inquisitive look. “I've been wondering about this since we first got her. But why are all of the animatronics bipedal?”

That I had no answer to. "Esthetics, I guess?"

“Efficiency, I believe," Harp said as Order buzzed over us. "We had a remodeled assaultron in back in Stable 50. Their body plans are based around diamond dogs and minotaurs, which makes up for their lack of magic by being able to use their upper limbs.”

"I can see that. Walking on all four is technically more stable, but isn't as energy efficient and is harder to hold things as you walk." Azure said. "By the way, how's things in the basement? Have you found the way down to the second basement floor yet?"

“Unfortunately, no," Harp said.

“The only way down is at the center, but roots are thicker the closer you get to it, blocking all the doors," Glittering told us. "We're still looking for an alternative entrance, but Grampa suggests we might need to use explosives."

“Personality, if those roots are Mystic, I don't want to hurt her.” Harp said, “But if it's the only way, then it's the only way.”

"If it is Mystic, then I think she kept a way open for us," I said, pointing at the stage. "I'm sure Terra and her band rise from under the stage. Or at least that's how the advertisements show her starting a show."

Order looked at the stage, and Harp let out a sigh. “You might be right… but why?”

“Maybe Mystic was keeping Molly out?” Glittering suggested.

“Or keeping the cult from getting out," Rattlebones said.

“What if she's trying to help us!” Fizzy blurted.

“That's even assuming that this Mystic is even self-aware; last I knew, ponies that become trees tend to be brain-dead." Pewter pointed out. “We'll call back my niece and the others and have them prepare to check the stage once the lockdown is lifted."

I knew the girls could hold their own, but I didn't like the idea of them coming up here while the robots were still a threat. The more of us out here, the more attention we would draw. Not to mention that we didn't just have Molly to deal with, but Muller, Oliver, Oscar, and all the other animatronics.

It just gave me a bad feeling, like the Mega Mall isn't going to just let us have our way.

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