Fallout: Equestria
One Bad Day
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.”
“By Celestia’s shining flanks, what a night…” I groaned, a giant headache greeting me as I woke up. Even though last night was a big blur, the painful hangover and Wild Pegasus on my breath told me everything I needed to know.
Today was going to be a bad day.
Dragging myself out of the pillows and sheets, the last thing I expected to see was my partner Long Draw awake at the corner of the room, holding a gun to his head.
“W-what the hell are you doing?!” I scrambled out of the bed, ignoring my increasing headache. He turned to me, with a sad expression.
“Hey, Sharp Cut,” He greeted me, still holding that pistol frighteningly close to his skull. “Don’t forget to drink a lot today to help with the hangover.”
“Forget about that, drop the gun!” I ordered, staying a few steps away from my friend, in case he turned it against me. But he didn’t seem hostile, or even angry. In fact, he gave a tired chuckle.
“You don’t remember…” He sighed to himself, “I was just thinking of getting it over with early today.”
I shook my head rapidly, before wincing in pain, “S-shut up… Just drop the gun, a-and we can talk about this…”
He gave me a sad look, “There’s not much to talk about,” He did throw the gun onto the bed though, where I quickly grabbed it away. I looked him over quickly, but I saw that he didn’t seem to be trying to escape, or grab another weapon. Even his bags were on the other side of the room.
After making sure Long wouldn’t be able to hurt himself, I turned to him, “What the hell was that about?!”
“It’s a long story…” He said, looking way too casual about it.
“Well, you better start talking! Was it something that happened last night?” I strained trying to remember something from the previous day, but I was drawing mostly blanks. I knew we had gotten a hotel room in Glascolt, and I can assume we both got drunk off our rumps, but that was it.
He nodded to me, “Yeah… Last night,” he turned to the cracked window our room had, “Listen, I got stuff to do today, could we talk later?”
“No!” I hurt both of our ears with that, “You can’t just have stuff to do, after… that!”
He rubbed his head with a hoof, “If I promise not to kill myself today, would you be satisfied?” He gave me another sad look, “I really do have stuff to do today…”
Not exactly the best thing I could have gotten, but he was a full grown stallion and I couldn’t boss him around. “Fine, but if you kill yourself… I’ll kill you!”
He gave another weak smile, “Wouldn’t want that… Now go help yourself to some breakfast. I’ll see you tonight.”
I left the hotel sipping a Sparkle-Cola , my brow furrowed. Something really wasn’t right with any of this.
Now, Long Draw is a good pony. Truth be told, he might be a better pony than I am. Is unusually honest for a trader, tries to give second chances when he can, and taught me a lot of skills to keep alive without ever asking for repayment. He’s also a damn good shot, but admittedly that doesn’t have much to do with being a good pony.
And most importantly, he never showed any sign of wanting to die before. The only thing that made sense was that something happened at the bar.
I sighed to myself. Like it or not, I had to be an investigator.
It didn’t take long to get to the bar. A couple bright neon lights on the side showed that it was open even this early in the morning. Inside were various ponies talking, drinking, and cheating at blackjack. Taking a seat at the stool, I said coolly, “Hey, bartender? Mind if I ask you a couple of questions about what happened last night?”
The pony, huge and covered in scars snorted, “Sorry, kiddo. I ain’t the bartender. Just filling in for him.”
“…Oh,” I blinked, “Well, can you tell me where he is?”
He shook his head, “No idea. He was here last night, and this morning… poof. Like a ghost. Wasn’t in his room, wasn’t in town at all as far as I could tell. So I’m filling in…” He looked me over, looking thoughtful, “Hey… Aren’t you one of those two traders that came in last night?”
Least that was some progress. “Not sure, was hoping I could find out what we did last night. Memories are kinda blurred, you know?”
He smiled, and gave a small chuckle. “You don’t remember dancing nude in front of the piano?”
“Or owing me fifty caps?” A pony nearby asked.
“Or hitting on me?” A very… tough looking stallion asked.
I felt myself starting to blush, “Um… A-actually, I was trying to find out what my friend was doing last night. Name’s Long Draw. Anypony remember what happened to him?”
The non-bartender frowned, “Actually, now that you mention it… I thought I saw him with Shimmer Step. He was taking her upstairs, she has a room here I think…”
I got up quickly, heading for the stairs, “Thanks for the tip!”
“But what about my date?!” I heard somepony ask behind me. I couldn’t get upstairs fast enough.
The top floor of the bar looked about as broken and beaten as everything else in the wasteland did, and I saw a pair of rooms. Shrugging, I knocked on one. “Hello?”
The door opened to reveal one of the prettiest mares I’ve ever seen. Light green body, combed purple mane, a brilliantly glowing necklace. She looked concerned, but still gave me one of the greatest smiles I’ve ever seen. “Can I help you, Mr…?”
“Sharp Cut,” I answered. “Are you Shimmer Step?” At her nod, I continued, “Listen, I’m trying to find out what happened to my friend Long Draw last night, can you help me? Some of the ponies downstairs told me that he went with you.”
She flinched a bit, but the unicorn nodded, “Come in…”
The room itself looked as if some raiders had come and gone. The walls were bare, the bed on the side was stripped of all blankets and pillows, and there was nothing but a bag on the table. “Sorry, but I was just leaving…” She explained. “I forgot something here a few weeks ago, so I came back for it today.”
I frowned, “What do you mean, ‘came back today’? You were here last night, right?”
She paused, than nodded, “Yes I was,” Before I could respond, she shushed me with a hoof, “I don’t want to talk about it, and I hope you respect that.”
“Fair enough…” Enough ponies in the wasteland didn’t like talking about what they were up to, it was normal, “Listen, if you could help me find out what happened to my friend, I’d really appreciate it.”
Her eyes went sharp, “I’d be more careful about calling that monster a friend.”
I was so taken aback by the venom in her voice, I faltered, “W-why would you say that? He’s no Littlepip, but he’s a good guy. Saved my neck more than a few times.”
She shook her head, “He’s a perverted freak that deserves everything he’s getting,” She grabbed her bag, “Now if you’ll excuse me…”
I moved back to the door, blocking it, “No, listen to me. I don’t know what happened last night, but even I can tell something bad went down. Please tell me what’s wrong with him.”
She glared at me, a hoof moving to that weird necklace. “I’m warning you…”
I didn’t know what she was trying to do, but I wouldn’t be deterred. “I’m asking for your help… I just wanna get this whole mess sorted out, please… He tried to kill himself this morning, and has been acting all weird, and I want to help him!” A bit of desperation entered my voice at the end.
Neither of us moved for a moment, our eyes locked. After an eternity, she sighed, “Listen… You obviously care a lot about this guy… But I can tell you that he is no good. I think…” She hesitated, “I think you should leave town today. Before nightfall.”
I blinked, not the advice I was expecting, “Uhh… Why?”
She shook her head sadly, “A mistake… You won’t see me again after this, no matter what you choose. I’m never returning to Glascolt ever again, and if you’re smart, you’d do the same.” Her horn began to glow before Shimmer Step vanished in a bright light, leaving me alone to my thoughts.
After climbing out of the window to avoid any unnecessary attention… and dating, I was back in town, wandering around aimlessly. She had teleported to Luna knows where, leaving me with even more questions than answers. Something bad was brewing; I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Somehow, Long Draw had gotten himself into more trouble than I could have ever imagined. I had no idea why I was warned to get out of town, either. Were slavers going to attack? Did somepony put a bounty on Long’s head? The more the mysteries grew, the more my mane was itching.
I looked up at the sky, it was already getting dark. “What the heck?!” I wasn’t in there that long, was I? Of course, I did sleep in, I think… It was hard to tell with the whole ‘stopping-Long from-killing-himself’ thing going on. Not to mention my headache was still pounding hard, although Long’s advice about drinking did help some. Before I could continue my thought process, I heard a familiar voice nearby.
“Take care out there, and remember… Stay away from Glascolt,” I turned a corner to see Long Draw waving farewell to another trader, who seemed to be running away from him in a hurry.
“Long! There you are!” I trotted up to him, “Where have you been?!”
He pointed over to the fleeing trader, “Just wanted to talk to him today, is all.”
I watched as he ran, frowning, “Looks like you put the fear of Celestia into him.”
“With any luck,” He nodded to me. We stood in silence for a minute, him staring wistfully at the fading silhouette. Me staring at him in angered confusion.
“Okay, what’s the deal? I’ve been running all over town, and I still have no idea what happened last night. Except that it somehow involves a pony named Shimmer Step.”
He flinched at the name, looking away, “…Sharp, I’ll tell you. But only so you know why you need to leave town today.” He took a seat on a broken brick wall at the edge of town, staring into the wasteland. I sat next to him, preparing to hear anything.
“…I tried to rape her…”
I almost fell off the wall. That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. He must have seen my expression, because he held up his hooves in a disarming gesture.
“I-I didn’t mean to, I was drunk! I-I wasn’t thinking straight, and… and… I kinda thought she wanted it at first…” He looked down, “Obviously not…”
“Obviously!” I sounded angrier than I meant to, “So what happened next?”
He looked off into the sky, “I don’t know how… But I think she put a curse on me.”
I hesitated, because I wasn’t sure how to react. Curses were powerful, but rare. Even if they existed, I doubt that little lady had the magical power to use one. But the seriousness in his voice made me wonder.
He continued, “Every night, when the sun sets… I wake up in our hotel. Every morning, the same as the last one. We’ve been repeating the same day over and over, and only I seem to remember it,” He turned towards me with the coldest expression I’ve ever seen, “I’ve been trapped here for weeks. Maybe months… I don’t even know anymore.”
I shook my head slowly, trying to wrap my brain around it, “Long… is this a j-“
“It’s not a joke, not a dream, not a trick, and not a dying hallucination,” Long went over each casually, like this happened all the time.
I felt myself rubbing my eye with a hoof, thinking hard, “So… Let me get this straight. We’ve been in this town for weeks, just going through the same day over and over, and only you remember?” I tried to keep my voice calm.
He nodded, “Yeah. If I try to leave the town, I just end up back at the start of the loop. But I’ve noticed that it doesn’t apply for everypony else. They can get out of the curse if they leave the town.” That’s when he unhooked one of the bags on his side, pushing it towards me.
“What’s this for…?” I asked, opening it. It was full of food, water, medical supplies, clothing, everything a pony would need for a trip.
“I want you to leave Glascolt, and never come back,” He told me, his voice like steel, “I’ve tried to get you out dozens of times. Most times you don’t believe me, or don’t want to leave town because of your hangover. Sometimes I get you to take it seriously, but it’s always too late. Always… until now,” His voice rose sharply, “Take your stuff and go!”
I kept looking down at the bag, my head feeling much heavier than a few minutes ago, “And you’ve… you’ve been doing this for everypony? Everypony in town?”
“Yeah. One at a time, I’m slowly getting everypony out.”
“What will happen when you’re all alone?” I dared to ask.
He sighed, “I’ll be trapped here, alone. I guess I’ll just make sure nopony else ever comes back here.”
The two of us were silent after that, hearing nothing but the light breeze of wind and the sounds of ponies going back into their homes for the night, unaware of their fate. The silence broke between us when he spoke again.
“Sharp Cut… just go,” A plead entered his voice.
Something in my mind just clicked when he said that, and everything became clear for me. I slowly reached down to grab the back, making sure I got a good hold on it. Making sure I had a tight grip, I threw it as far as I could in a random direction, away from me.
Long looked furious, “Why?! Why did you do that?!” He got off the wall to face me. I took a breath to face him.
“I did that… because I’m not gonna leave you,” I stared him in the eyes, feeling more confident than I had the entire day, “I don’t know how you were cursed, or how long this will last, but you won’t go through this alone. I’ll stay with you no matter how this turns out.”
I took a deep breath, stepping closer to Long, “I’m staying because you’re my only friend in the wasteland. I’m not running away from this.”
We were inches away from each other now, waiting for one of us to make a move. That was when Long finally moved closer, and wrapped me into a tight hug. I hadn't been hugged for as long as I could remember, and even this awkward one made me smile sadly.
“You’re a good friend, Sharp Cut…” He whispered.
I hugged back, watching the sun finally fade down, “This is it…”
“Thank you for this…” He sniffed, sounding somewhere between sad and at peace. I thought I felt a couple of tears hit my back. I tried to answer, but the world was becoming dark. The last thing I felt was a strong shiver that swept through my entire body before the world went quiet…
“By Celestia’s shining flanks, what a night…” I groaned, a giant headache greeting me as I woke up. Even though last night was a big blur, the painful hangover and Wild Pegasus on my breath told me everything I needed to know.
Today was going to be a bad day.
Dragging myself out of the pillows and sheets, the last thing I expected to see was my partner Long Draw awake at the corner of the bed, giving me a long look, "How are you feeling, Sharp Cut?" He asked softly.
I grabbed my head, a pounding headache hitting me, "Like a raider smashed my head in... What happened last night?"
He smiled, than before I could react he pulled me into a tight hug. I hadn’t been hugged for as long as I could remember, but it felt strangely familiar, like it happened recently. "It’s a long story. I'll tell you as we go. Right now... we have work to do."
Author's Note
This is my entry to the Fallout: Equestria 300 member special: writing contest. The theme being "Why would you do that?" I would like to thank the RP group 'Turn of an Era' and Wild Wasteland teams for offering support and advice. Thanks for reading!
