A Pony In The Wasteland

by Ribe_FireRain

A Terrible Truth and Old Memories

Author's Note:

Now on to Brady's past in Vault 26. I should also say I dunno if there really is a V26, and even if there is, I dunno the story of it, so this is my own version.

ENJOY! I'll be upset if you don't...Pinkie-Promise that you will!

I dunno what is wrong with me. I've been back about two weeks now, and in that time, I had been scavenging in semi-dangerous areas with Rainbow, teaching her a thing or two as I went along the way with her by my side. We hadn't gone out in a short while, and just after I managed to get myself back to good health after being half dead and laid up in Tenpenny Tower, I suddenly feel like shit all over again. I've been vomiting quite a lot recently just as well as coughing up blood. From the looks - and pain - that I feel, I think I might have something severely wrong with my insides.

Even Rainbow has been concerned about this. The first time it happened, I woke up and the next thing I know my head just randomly starts thumping with intense pain like I've been guzzling down tequila twenty-four seven and then when Rainbow woke up, she just froze. She said I look paler than she's ever seen anything be, and even said that blood was dripping down my lip. I didn't even think she was serious until I rubbed my bottom lip and saw that blood was smudged over the top of my hand.

''God damn, I feel like hell...'' I moped as I lay flat on one of the patients beds in Doc Church's clinic with Rainbow at my side. Oddly enough, we were the only ones in the room. Normally, there would be quite a few patients in here to fill the beds that remained unoccupied.

''I'm sure you'll be fine, Brady. You survived last time, didn't you?''

''Yeah, but that wasn't internal pains, that was external damage that could of killed me. I'm just thankful Gustavo killed Burke before he killed me.''

''I am, too. I just hope you'll be okay.''

''I hope so, too.''

Some time later, our conversation was cut short by Doc Church coming in with a medical clipboard and a medical kit. He pulled up a chair and placed himself on it, setting down the medical kit on his lap. He looked at the clipboard, going through my medical status and health report. He looked up shortly after reading it and stared into my pale, blue eyes.

''Brady...I dunno how to tell you this, so I'll just say it.''

''What? Is it bad?'' Rainbow asked, gripping my hand tightly with her hooves.

''I'm afraid its worse than that, Rainbow. He has been exposed to a dangerous amount of radiation. I'm actually surprised you're still breathing.''

I froze as I felt Rainbow's grip become intensely tight around my hand. My mouth hung agape, as did Rainbow's at the news.
How was this possible? I haven't even been near anything radioactive enough to make me this messed up. Could it of been something else like the night at the bar when we had those strange beers?

''You can't be serious...how high is my radiation level?''

''Nearly at five-thousand. Normally, a person would die at just one-thousands rads. Even I don't know why you're still alive.''

''Hmm. Wait. This still makes no sense to me. I've been near nothing irradiated enough to poison me that much! The only thing I had that was a week ago was when I was out at Moriarty's with Rainbow. Gob gave us a crate of some strange beers called Fire and Blood. Could that explain something?''

Doc Church froze up. His glare turned ice cold as he looked back between me and Rainbow a few times.

''D-Did you just say Fire and Blood? How much did you have? Didn't you know that Fire and Blood is the most toxic beer type around?! It can kill you if you have a lot!''

''WHAT?!'' Rainbow Dash screamed out loud, nearly falling off the side of the bed. ''I had like ten bottles of the stuff!''

''You had ten?! Are you fuckin' nuts, Rainbow?! That's enough to kill like four or five people! Don't either of you two know its venomous? Its the most toxic drink brand ever created! The time when it was first made was catastrophic!''

''What the hell do you mean? You're barely making sense to us! How the hell am I poisoned and she barely has any of it? I just don't get it!''

''Well, obviously, someone like you is more resistant to radiation than you think you are. As for her, I have no idea. But its still surprising. How many bottles did you have?''

''Like two or three..''

''Just ONE bottle is equivalent to the venom of a Radscorpion! Two is like saying you took a bath in nuclear waste!''

''Oh, fuck...'' I weeped as I planted my free hand into my face, covering my watering eyes. ''Isn't there anything you can do..?''

''Unfortunately, no. The medication to rid radiation from a human system while they are irradiated as you are could kill you. I'm sorry.''

None of us said anything. I cried silently as Rainbow held me tight, weeping into my side. It looks like our time together was limited after all...

''No...'' Rainbow muttered, not looking up at me once. ''No, you can't die! You just can't!''

''Doc...how long do I have?''

''I don't really know, to be honest. But I'd say around a week or two.''

''B-But...there must be something you could do!'' Rainbow said, looking up at the doctor with pleading eyes. ''Please...''

''I'm sorry, but there just isn't any known type of radiation killing medication that could cure you without killing you. I can only suggest you make the most of the time you have left.''

---

When we got home, I took in what the doctor said. ''Make the most of the time you have left.''. His voice echoed through my head, tempting me. Rainbow hugged next to me as I knelt down next to her, me hugging back. I don't know how long the hug lasted, but being with Rainbow was all I wanted to do. I loved her. I cared about her, and especially if I'm not gonna be around long, I wanted to spend every moment with her. Before she came into my life, I didn't have anything. I was more of a nobody than a somebody. I left my vault to venture the wastes, and look how I ended up: Caring and looking after a pretty, cyan Pegasus as much as she looks after me when I need her by my side.

Here I sat on my bed, looking at some old things of mine that I kept in the filing cabinet from my vault. I found it as good a time as any to go through my past of when I was growing up. The only thing that worries me about the past I have is what happened to everything I loved and cared for. The first thing I pulled out of the filing cabinet was an aluminium Vault 26 themed canteen. It was a little scratched and battered up, but it was one of the many things I had left from my time in the vault as a child, so I kept it with me.
The second thing I pulled out the draw was something that caught my full attention.

It was a picture of me and my friends with their friends and my mother and father at my twentieth birthday.

I kept my focus on some of my friends, but mostly on my mum and dad. I ran my fingers across the glasses picture, trying to get a glimpse of them as I felt tears of sorrow well up in my eyes. The only thing that hurt me more is that even though we were young and very close to each other, I knew in my heart it wasn't that way anymore. If only I didn't leave the vault, I would probably still be friends with them. I've actually been thinking about it a lot, and taken it into consideration. Even though it was dangerous and probably still very irradiated, it would be nice to go back and see the old vault. The only thing that gets me down about the idea is that the fires killed most of the people living there and that now no one lives there because of it all.

I was so focused on thinking about them I didn't even notice that Rainbow was standing in the doorway with a face full of sadness, tear stains on her cheeks as fresh tears drops were pouring from her eyes. She quietly walked over, me barely noticing that she even came next to me. She sat next to me on the bed, looking at my teary eyes and then focusing on the picture in my hands. She eyed at it with curiosity, but she didn't say anything about it. For a long moment, none of us said a thing. The only thing in the room that could be heard were the tormented sobs that came from me.
Eventually, Rainbow gently placed a hoof to my back, making me snap back into reality.

''GAH!! Huh?! What?!'' I exclaimed, startled by her touch, making her flinch a bit. I immediately returned into my calm state as I realized Rainbow was sat beside me, staring up at me with concern clearly plastered onto her face. ''Oh. Its just you.'' I said, sighing out through my nostrils lightly. ''Sorry about that, Rainbow.''

''Hey.'' She said, not once looking away from my eyes. ''You okay? I could hear you crying.''

It was then I placed the framed picture on the bed and rubbed my face with the palms of my hands. When I put it down, Rainbow looked at it for a few moments, and I could tell that she was trying to think about who those other people were in the photo. She didn't say anything for a while but just sit there and look at it. She took it into her hooves to get a closer look. First she looked at me in my younger years then at my mother and father. Next she shared the same confused expression once she looked at my former friends.

''W-What's this?'' She said quietly in her usual sweet voice.

I looked at the framed photo she held in her hooves, the memories still burning through my mind. I looked at her a few times, motioning between the picture and her a few times with my eyes before I finally spoke.

''That was taken on my twentieth birthday, Rainbow. Its the only picture I've got to remember my family and friends.''

She stared blankly, and it really didn't take long to sense that she could sense my emotions through my teary and hurt eyes. I could easily tell she could feel my pain.

''Whats wrong? You seem very upset...''

''Yeah. I am.'' I stated bluntly. ''Just today I learned that I'd be dead in like a week or so. Doesn't that answer enough?''

Rainbow placed the picture down, looking me back in the eyes with a hurt expression of her own as dash's ears flopped back over her head. My response didn't exactly come out the way I wanted it to. It instead came out with a hint of annoyance and hurt feelings.

''S-S-Sorry, Rainbow...I...Its just...I'm so, so depressed about my past. I never have and never will have the chance to try make things right again. Its too late for me.''

''What? What is it that's making you so depressed? You just always seem really happy, despite all this world has done to us both.''

I hummed a gentle ''Hmm'' as a response and looked down at the floor. ''I know it may stupid, but its more of what I did to everyone I loved in the vault. That's what I'm depressed about. Just the hurtful pain of knowing I will never see my parents or friends again because I left them behind after the events that happened that night...because of me...''

''What are you talking about? What events?''

''Dashie, I really don't know if I should talk about this. It was like a few years ago, and it even haunts me still.''

''Please, Brady? Wouldn't it help if you got it out of your system?''

''I-I-I dunno, Dash. I really don't like to talk about it.'' I said as I shifted uncomfortably on the bed, picking up the photo and carefully placing it back into the filing cabinet and shakily shutting the drawer. I stopped for a short while, an aching feeling tugging in my chest, making me cough heavily. As I coughed, small spurts of warm blood sputtered out of my mouth and onto the floor. Rainbow etched back, freight clearly displayed on her face as she watched me writhe and cringe with intense pain. For what seemed like minutes, I coughed until I eventually stopped. My head left me feeling dizzy and the last thing I see is blackness taking my vision as I collapsed to the floor.

Comments

[dukesofhazzardftw]

Hes.... Dead...

[Ribe_FireRain]

4407930 Patience, kid. Its not confirmed. The story is still MILES from ending! I got a few things in mind, just you wait. I'm sure you'll be surprised...

[dukesofhazzardftw]

4408972 YAY THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUUUCHHH!!!!!