• Member Since 20th Jul, 2012
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Phoenix_Dragon


Just a friendly cyborg dragon-bug thingy

Comments ( 2451 )

So here it is, a brand new story! Once again featuring a changeling Infiltrator. :twilightsheepish:

I'm getting to do some new stuff, though. I've got a female protagonist, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. It's first-person, which is a bit of a first for me, though it almost wasn't; Without a Hive would have probably been done in first-person if it wasn't leading into a mutual sequel with Fragments. I'm also tweaking my portrayal of changelings in various ways. For example, Whisper is female, and her ability to sense emotions is more specific, among other possible changes.

And of course, the setting, with all the good and ill it brings. Action, adventure, creepy decaying ruins of the old world; Whisper is going to have a difficult time ahead of her.

Though I'd like to note, I don't intend to make this some long chain of suffering and misfortune for her. She will likely have a hard time of things--this is the Wasteland, after all!--but it's not going to be some unrelenting train-wreck of misery. Her situation may look bleak, but I can promise there will be good to go with the bad.

So far, I'm having a lot of fun writing this. The setting, the situation, all of it. It's interesting writing a character that's very good at dealing with stressful and possibly life-and-death situation, without being a good fighter. Hopefully Whisper can put those good wordy Infiltrator skills to good use!

So, welcome to The Chrysalis. I've got a lot planned for this. I hope you enjoy the ride. :twilightsmile:

I'm all for a FoE fic where there is no never ending train of pain and misfortune. Project: Harmony is driving me up the wall with that insanity... though I'm addicted to it.

I'll fav this and see where you spin this yarn!

6606356
Oooh, a FO:E story from you? Nifty!

[edit] You need better contrast on your title pic, though. You can barely see there is a title, on the thumbnail.

6606682
Oh, I got a pretty mild one, too, if you're interested. Adventure and comedy, heck, bordering on Slice of Life, with a side order of ancient dug up sads. :twilightsmile:

6606682 If you want real heartbreak, Hit up Murky #7. I'm waiting to eventually tackle that 50k word chapter.. someday. Horizons never clicked from the author, or the story. I loved FoE, and many of the lighter or darker ones its inspired. But, that one struck me wrong.

6606863 Well, I really do think it is waaaay darker than the orginal FOE. However, I hated how it ended. I'm hoping all the dark crap in Horizons eventually has a happy ending, or I think I shall be displeased with it in the end. I like the story, there are some parts of it I find darker than it needs to be.

6606871 There's a good way to do dark. But it goes Pitch black for the dark. I love murky for being where its situated, especially since its aimed at the fallout 3 expansion of The Pit. And it delivers that kind of bleak, and yet the moments of brightness are glorious too. And it's, well, ive had to set it down and read something nice and fluffy after a few chapters. But murky is like a 1-99 prize fighter thats made it to the champs, it doesn't matter who you are, you keep rooting for him to win. It's just one of those stories you process very very slowly.

Anyhow, this goes into the insta-faves. I know you do well with changelings, and that you are doubling down with foe. Good luck with writing this!

Heck of an ending on this chapter. Bravo. Just bravo.

jxj

Man, this is long. May take me a while, busy day.

I was afraid to no get more of your high quality lings, but you are doing it again, and in a perfect fallout story,no less
I am eager to read more :)

Now, I want to clarify for any who might be confused: that’s lower-case chrysalis, a changeling cocoon, not upper-case Chrysalis, the changeling queen. I figure it’s probably clear from context, but I wouldn’t want anyone to think I came from her.

Hah! :rainbowlaugh:

So I opened my eyes again, shakily raising my head, and turned to look at the empty husk of Queen Ephema.

Oh. Yikes :raritydespair:

External radiation at 168% of safety threshold.

Wellp now. Do these messages have date stamps?

I ignored the message that opened automatically to look for the time-and-date display. I stared at it in confusion until I realized that there was some sort of error. The time-and-date display was showing nonsense. For some reason, the terminal thought it was a couple centuries in the future.

Ohey. Date stamps! :yay:

EnvExternalRad1.68
EnvExternalAirTox0.63
EnvExternalWatTox3.32
EnvExternalAirTempTRUE
EnvExternalAirLiveTRUE

WakeUpCall FALSE

Looks like their strings file loading failed, there. That looks about the same as my error messages when the system can't find the translations of coded message strings in the program's language files. Though my fallback system at least puts a space between the code string and the value :rainbowwild:

On that note, it's peculiar how that last on does have that space, though. It's a bit of an inconsistency. Might wanna fix that :trixieshiftright:

The number kept going.

Horror started to dig at my gut as the number climbed higher and higher, refusing to stop. Years rolled by before my eyes.

Ah yes. Time to get that truth laid out in front of you in cold, hard numbers.

You have 73,741 unread daily reports.

Welp. That's a bunch. Better get reading! :rainbowwild:

Error: could not read external device.
File system corrupted.

C.L.T. was some small-bit company that had managed to have dealings with five of the six ministries of the Equestrian government, thanks to its research in cryonics and suspended animation. It wasn’t a big player, not even close, but those connections drew enough interest to be one of the companies we kept tabs on.

Hmm. So these guys went for changeling stasis cocoons instead, somehow. This actually makes it likely that the Queen was simply working with them. It would explain how she was there, anyway. Probably because Stable-Tec wasn't too concerned about making a changelings Stable :facehoof:

Not that I really needed fine details to get the idea that “minor atmospheric contamination” was probably a bad thing.

Let's hope it's local enough that you can get away from it :unsuresweetie:

Still, a pistol might come in handy. They weren’t useful for infiltration and impersonation--in fact, weapons could be a major liability!--but they could be useful in case of emergencies.

And, when going into literally completely unknown territory... might be safer to have it.

So, lacking a more obvious solution, I stabbed my horn through the membrane, just as I had done to free myself.

It was not, in retrospect, one of my brighter decisions.

Please welcome on the stage... the new Death Metal band... SHOWER OF FILTH! :flutterrage:

Part of its curved, white outer shell had been broken away when it had been disassembled, leaving a large chunk of plastic with a jagged edge. I grabbed it in my mouth and got to work.

Achievement unlocked: TOOL USE! :yay:

It left some tiny hope that they had survived, as I had.

Sure. Until you remember the "two hundred years" detail.

Retrieving my commandeered medical box, I set off to find my way out of the facility.

So, I'm wondering... You never actually describe how she takes the box along. It'd be far more reasonable for her to use some of the cables from these egg pods to hang it over her back or neck than to levitate it in her magic the whole time.

Rooms branched off from the hall, pricking at my curiosity, but I didn’t have the time or energy to indulge more than a quick glance.

I'd say you're missing primo looting opportunity, but then again, chances of finding more love there to feed on are probably pretty slim.

One held a dozen of those egg-shaped pods I had seen before, though only half of them were assembled and hooked up.

If "hooked up" means "closed and possibly occupied", you might want to check them for survivors, because they might just have powered down together with yours then :unsuresweetie:

A short flight landed me on the upper landing, a warmth spreading through my chest as my wing muscles began to join all the others crying out at my abuse.

Woo! Obstacle conquered! Wings ftw! :yay:

The room would have been a treasure trove if it had been intact. One crate had held at least twenty medical boxes, now warped and ruined from the flames. Another held the remains of a couple dozen rifles.

Oh, wow. What a gigantic shame.

I opened the lid, and was greeted with the sight of dozens of military-style rations. I quickly opened my medical box, loading it until I could barely close the lid over them. Then I tore open another ration, scarfing down the contents. My stomach, still aching from the earlier exertion, felt slightly more comfortable.

Ah, so normal food does help, then? Alas, being MRE's, I very much doubt they were made with love :rainbowwild:

There were even a spattering of bullet holes in one of the walls, and another bore a scorched crater left by some sort of magical energy weapon.

Yikes. That means there was violence inside the complex...

It was an emergency recall, and not just any. It was the most extreme category; drop everything immediately, abandon all resources, and flee the country as fast as you possibly can. It was the kind of message we dreaded getting, the sort of warning one would get moments before the Ministry of Morale burst in.

Only, it wasn't the Ministry of Morale. It was the equivalent of a Stable Call.

Then another flash, but in front of me, far away enough that it had to be beyond the border of Equestria. Far off to the south, in the badlands. There were no pony settlements there. No zebras. Only changelings.

...what? :twilightoops:

But... who would... why would either side even bother?

At least it was sunny and pleasantly warm, though the dark clouds that filled half the sky, dominating the horizon, threatened to change that. The more distant lands were darkened by their shadows, looking dull and oppressive. The clouds seemed particularly unruly and chaotic, as if the pegasi arranging them couldn’t be bothered to care, and had simply tossed them wherever.

Hmm. So, unless this is an inaccuracy, that places it after Littlepip royally screws over the Enclave?

A couple minutes later I emerged, feeling a little better about myself.

And a little more irradiated, no doubt...

I pulled out a cable from the wreckage of a skywagon, running it through the brackets on the back of my medical box and tying it into a loop.

Achievement unlocked: BACKPACK! :yay:

They were armed, too. The ponies, that is, not the cattle

How thoughtful of you to specify :rainbowlaugh:

My point is, my hive didn’t view ponies as being just prey, much less enemies. If anything, they’re more like… valued livestock. I know, that probably sounds horrible, but it’s the best comparison I can think of.

I dunno. That's not all that horrible; do remember that ponies kept sapient cows.

So finding a small group of them here offered me not only food, but the chance of some small degree of comfort.

She's gonna get shot. So calling it.

Now, I know re-using disguises is generally a bad idea, but all things considered, I really doubted I would run into anyone who might recognize me.

Well, unless you bump into some sane bicentennial ghoul, or if you happened to meet Spike two centuries ago, you're probably safe :twilightsmile:

I braced myself, mentally going over several quick “facts” for an improvised backstory.

Yeeah... that'll go well. You don't even have the basic world facts to build a backstory on, lass :facehoof:

“...But seriously, rainbows!” the smiling mare said, looking up again to the darkening sky. “I’ve never even seen a rainbow before.”

Sunshine... and rainbows. And very suspicious towards anything coming from the sky. I think we have a time frame!

It was at that moment I began to worry that I had made a terrible mistake.

Well, at least you didn't change into a pegasus :rainbowwild:


Remarks and corrections:
> Why else would she still be laying here
> but I couldn’t just leave them, laying there, abandoned.
"lying", on both.
> I would have gladly laid down and slept
"lain down". (Have a lovely little guide!)
> I drug the husk over to join the others
I'm fairly sure the past tense of "to drag" is "dragged" :rainbowhuh:
> I had been flying
Missing a period at the end.
> After a couple minute’s rest
Should be "After a couple [minutes'] rest"

6607965

Though my fallback system at least puts a space between the code string and the value :rainbowwild:
On that note, it's peculiar how that last on does have that space, though. It's a bit of an inconsistency. Might wanna fix that :trixieshiftright:

That was actually intentional, as kind of a joke to anyone familiar with coding. "CoolBugz" just quickly hacked together some code, so it would output the (very basic) name and values... he just forgot to add a space in there when formatting the output string. I'd originally intended for them to be different, where he remembered to add the space in the main line when he'd forgotten for the others, but I suppose it'll probably work better without that. Changed. :twilightsheepish:

So, I'm wondering... You never actually describe how she takes the box along.

Ah. I hadn't thought it important to mention, but since she mentiones avoiding the use of magic when possible, she's carrying around it in her mouth. I slipped in a casual mention of that, now.

Ah, so normal food does help, then? Alas, being MRE's, I very much doubt they were made with love :rainbowwild:

Tastes like indifference and boredom. :pinkiesick: But yes, normal food helps. Or more, they need regular food as well (That gets a minor mention in-story, though not until the beginning of chapter 3).

Sure. Until you remember the "two hundred years" detail.

Shhhh. They could be alive. Maybe in some other facility. Just... not here. For reasons. But they could still be alive! :pinkiecrazy:

But... who would... why would either side even bother?

Reasons. :trollestia:

How thoughtful of you to specify :rainbowlaugh:

What, you've never heard of cows with guns?

(Oh god why do I remember these things? :rainbowhuh: )

lain

:twilightangry2: Damnit English! Every time I think I've finally got things figured out, I end up tripping over something else. And participles can just go :yay: themselves!

I'm fairly sure the past tense of "to drag" is "dragged" :rainbowhuh:

:facehoof: Aaand then there's this stuff. Yeah, you're right. Dragged is the correct way. Drug is an uncommon variant used in some areas, and I hear it a fair bit, but I'd rather use the more common version.

(Hah! I even replied to the right chapter this time! Haha! :pinkiecrazy: )

That didn’t seem to impress him. “Really? You’re telling me you were just wandering around the wastes and happened to stumble across us?”

Well, at this point, it probably wouldn't really matter if she just downright said she had been following them for a while but was unsure how to introduce herself, given their well-armed state and her complete lack of arms. :unsuresweetie:

“Wait,” Sharps said, abandoning his scanning of the horizon to look back at me. “You’re trying to tell us you lived on an actual, working farm, and just decided… what, ‘fuck it, I’m going for a walk?’”

What'd I say? Lacking an entire world of backstory :rainbowwild:

“Wait!” Starlight said, her pale-blue eyes lighting up. “You went by the tower, then, right? You saw what happened?”

Heehee. Sunshine and rainbows, all right :rainbowlaugh:

Wait. Maybe it were the Sonic Rainboom shockwaves that actually caused the failures that woke her up?

...well. More likely it was the crashed whatever outside the door, actually :unsuresweetie:

Yeah, it wouldn’t, but… “My… my mother died recently. She was the one who did the farming. I-I could never figure it out. Heck, I couldn’t even grow a weed.” I swallowed, managing to tear up a bit as I put on an act of trying to stay strong.

She's a smooooth playah!

Ehahaha!” I blurted out, then cringed and placed a hoof over my face. It took a few moments before I was able to still the sudden rapid breathing and re-order my thoughts. I lowered my hoof, doing my best to look as if I weren’t in a very fragile mental state. “S-sorry. It’s… been a very exhausting day, both physically and mentally.” I smiled. “I think that’s a very fair offer, thank you.”

Ahh. The Giggle State of Exhaustion. I'm familiar with that.

I noted that she referred to money as caps, rather than bits. I remember thinking it was strange to name money after headwear, but figured it was probably just a name.

Heh. Headwear :ajsmug:

As I began flipping through the various menus, I asked, “So, you said something about the most awesome gun in the Wasteland?”

Sneaky! :rainbowlaugh:

I remember hoping that his barding was warm. He lied to me. He didn’t have an extra blanket.

Ohey. The quiet one likes her :duck:

Offer to share! You know you wanna! :rainbowwild:

but I couldn’t help mentally grumbling that I had spent far too long doing nothing for the past two hundred years, thank you very much.

I had apparently moved past denying reality and on to being bitter about it.

Hah!

She smiled as I approached, her voice just above a whisper. “He likes you.”

No, really? What gave it away?

I’m normally loath to use insect metaphors, but I have to admit, the one about a moth being drawn to flame seemed particularly apt at that moment, especially when it would probably end just as poorly if I followed the instinct that welled up in me. The love I felt between them was intoxicating!

"'Scuse me, lady? This is a two-person nuzzle." :ajbemused:

“Better dress warm, all the same,” Sharps noted, tugging on the straps of his barding. “Those are some dark clouds we’re heading towards. I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts raining soon.”

Littlepip, get yo rear in gear, girl! You got weather to manage :rainbowwild:

On a related note, a little-realized fact is that the destruction of the cloud cover was most likely accompanied by a rain of cloud-grown crops all falling down to the wasteland. The Day of Cabbage and Carrots Rain!

When I glanced his way, his look immediately changed my mind. I got the impression he was considering the exact same thing. I didn’t need to ask. If it did start to rain, it would spur things on quite well if he were to “come to my rescue”.

Romantic! Together in the rain!

I ship it. Dun care she's a love sucking bug. I ship it.

The curved white surface was just like those weather-control towers the Ministry of Awesome had been working on, and would explain what Starlight meant by a “tower” exploding. Had they actually gotten those online?

Oh! Well now. That means one of the towers malfunctioned and blew up from the stress of the Sonic Rainboom? :rainbowderp:

The three sharp sounds were so close together that they were almost one. A couple puffs of dirt kicked up beside Thunderhead, who was walking just in front of me, and the stallion toppled forward. His chin and chest hit the dirt, hindquarters lifting up with his momentum before flopping to the side.

Welp. There goes that ship. Thoroughly sunk.

The flicker of flame caught my attention. I watched in stunned fascination as a pinwheel of fire silently arced through the air, fixed to the neck of a bottle. It came down to shatter against Chuck’s side, fire bursting forth and flowing across Long Haul and Silver.

Oh-kay. This has gone officially tits-up :rainbowderp:

The second, possessive and protective, insisted that these ponies were mine.

Hah! Her cattle.

I didn’t understand what had just happened. It wasn’t just chaotic; it was wrong. This wasn’t some minor scuffle, or even a battle. It was ponies--ponies!--ambushing other ponies, for… for what? The merchant’s wares?

Welcome to the Wasteland! Here's your complimentary t-shirt. It may be made of pony hide. I dunno. I just took it off that dead raider over there.

No, this was reaching deep inside of her, into the depths of her mind, and tearing out the love within.

She tensed, giving a little gasp and fidgeting in her sleep. Moments later she gave a weak, strangled cry, her legs kicking out.

Well. Yikes :rainbowderp:


Remarks and corrections:
> I figure having one piece with a bit more range and punch should compliment that nicely, don’t you?
"compl[e]ment".
> I wanted to just lay there for a while
"just [lie] there"

6608122

(Hah! I even replied to the right chapter this time! Haha! :pinkiecrazy: )

Good for you! :rainbowlaugh:

What, you've never heard of cows with guns?

Ohgods, what did I just watch :rainbowhuh:

6608214

"'Scuse me, lady? This is a two-person nuzzle." :ajbemused:

That awkward moment when the strange new pony starts drooling over your moment of affection with your partner...

I ship it. Dun care she's a love sucking bug. I ship it.

Oh dear. :rainbowderp:

Yeah, I sunk that one deeper than the Titanic. Sorry. :twilightsheepish:

Well. Yikes :rainbowderp:

Eeeyup. It's been an all-around wonderful day, hasn't it?

"compl[e]ment"

:ajbemused: Oh yeah, another thing I love about English. Words that sound the same but mean something different, so I occasionally screw up and write the wrong one. Almost as good as words that are spelled the same, but sound different. Freaking Homage...

[lie]

:facehoof: How do I keep doing this...

6608291

:facehoof: How do I keep doing this...

To be fair, I actually had to look up the laid/lain one in the previous chapter. I knew "laid" wasn't correct, but I had no clue what the right one was :rainbowlaugh:

jxj

Really good story, this is the first fallout equestria side fic i've read and you didn't disappoint. It'll be really interesting to see where this goes.

Holy shit. That got intense quickly. I had been worried that I was setting my expectations too high for a story I hadn't read anything of yet, but this instead exceeded my expectations rather decisively. I'm really looking forward to what comes next! :pinkiehappy:

I could even use the same name: Whisper Winds.

I suppose she must be related to Frosty Winds. :ajsmug:

6613030
Heh, I forgot about her! Although given her history with changelings and general danger to everyone around her, Whisper may want to stay well away! :twilightsheepish:

I haven't read an FO:E story in like, a year and a half. And i believe I'm going to enjoy this one.

...certainly more than Whisper is enjoying her day :twilightoops:

6614909 your comment reminds me, I have got be so far behind in Project Hotizons by now.

6616410
I've read about half of it. I'm currently waiting for the Fimfic version to complete uploading so I can read it as an .epub on my phone.

6616681 i believe i was around chapter 45 or so, but couldn't tell you what was going on.

I was tempted to title this chapter "Random Encounters", since the idea amused me, but I figured that might be a little misleading. :twilightsheepish:

Wohoo! an update! And huh, that a reference to horizons in wondering? But interesting start none the less.

That’s not to say we’re saints that can do no wrong; I’m certainly not skilled enough of an Infiltrator to pass off a lie like that

Hah! :rainbowlaugh:

“Pretty much every pony you’ll find is here only because their ancestors lived in a stable. Even the fucking raiders.”

I guess some of these Stables really messed up their inhabitants :facehoof:

An alicorn. I was looking at an alicorn. It wasn’t one of the princesses--the color was wrong--but there was no doubt that it was, truly, an alicorn.

Thank goodness (and LittlePip) this is post-Goddess :ajsleepy:

She shuddered and shook her head. “Me neither, but… I heard stories, from up north. They’re not ponies. Not like normal ponies, anyway. They’re like the worst of raiders and slavers, only--”

Ah. News of these developments don't seem to have reached her :unsuresweetie:

I spent the waking moments of the night thinking of alicorns.

I honestly expected the scene change to be followed by them being sniffed by a curious alicorn :rainbowlaugh:

As many things did those days, the thought terrified me. I had heard horror stories of what happened to changelings that fell into the hooves of the M.A.S..

Ahh. That wonderful, wonderful shapeshifting ability. So useful in war times. Irresistible, really, especially given the Zebras and their stealth cloaks. Yeah, they'd be guinea pigs all right :facehoof:

“No,” she said. “Raiders! The ones that attacked us. They’re camped out at the mine!”

Ooh. Are we in for some spectacular Alicorn vs Raider Scum combat? :rainbowdetermined2:

“Whisper, we need to keep going.”

Aww. No raider slaughter.

while a large heap of bones filled most of the space beneath it. There were probably a dozen skulls among the bones, at least two of which looked to be pony skulls.

Umm. That sounds suspiciously like "lair of some beast" to me...

It felt to me like that was skirting a very blurry line, but at the same time, I had to admit that I lacked the perspective to give an accurate judgement.

Well, really, food that's abandoned is just wasting away there. Better that someone use it than that no one can use it.

“The fuck are you two cunts doing in my house?!”

Well, crap :facehoof:

It was a fishing net, full of severed pony heads.

Lair of some beast, indeed! Yikes. To be honest, now I'm somewhat wondering what made her decide not to kill off these two trespassers.

...maybe she was just tired and sleepy, I guess :unsuresweetie:

Only a few seconds later, her walking slowed. “But what if those were ponies from Rust?”

Well, what if those ponies were raiders, and she was being paid by the head? :ajsmug:

My bets are on "thoroughly uncivilized bounty hunter" at the moment. Heck, might be an ex-raider who found a promising change of career.

Smiling, we continued on to Rust. Together.

Welp. Food source secured. If they manage to rest up a bit, that is.

Aww. The ending there was really cute. :twilightsmile:

...It's weird to describe a chapter that contains a bag of severed pony heads as being "cute". :twilightoops: But that's Fallout: Equestria for you, I guess.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

She isn't raider or bounty hunter, thats heads are just her dinner ;D

Awww the heart aching bittersweet mix of a fallout equestria mix with the spice of love bugs.... Delicious

Finally caught up. Yay, now I can wait on cliffhangers! :)

Very daring, introducing a whole bunch of ponies and letting us get to know them and then wiping them all out. Chapter 2 exceeded the body count of all of your other stories combined (in fact, I can only think of one fatality in your other stories offhand).

6653685
Hopefully won't have to wait too long! Next chapter is just waiting on editing, and I'm already a fair way through writing the next!

I'm guessing that one was Ceymi? What is it with me and making interesting characters just to kill them off immediately? :twilightsheepish: Though I think Without a Hive still holds the record; there were also the two soldiers and about a dozen nymphs along with her. But I'm sure that record won't hold for long... :rainbowderp:

6653814 Oh, wow, I completely forgot about the massacre at the beginning of Without a Hive. :) I was thinking of the assassin that got killed in A New Way. I was really hoping Twilight would get a chance to hang out with her after peace broke out, so I guess that stuck with me.

6653887
Ah, yes! That would have been a wonderfully awkward conversation, wouldn't it? "Sooo... you were trained to kill me, huh?" :twilightoops:

6653937 I've always imagined it'd be pretty awesome, actually. Twilight would get to hang out with someone who has intensively studied all of her personal interests. It's like she was training to be Twilight's best friend. I imagine if anyone would be weirded out it'd be the assassin. :twilightsmile:

Edit: Oh, I should probably say something more about this story while I'm in its comments section, rather than continuing to ramble on about your previous story.

Um. Good thing they got away from that crazy pony with the bag full of heads, I'm sure we'll never see her again and her head-bag wasn't significant? Yeah, that seems likely. :)

6654039

Um. Good thing they got away from that crazy pony with the bag full of heads, I'm sure we'll never see her again and her head-bag wasn't significant? Yeah, that seems likely. :)

Yep, no chance of ever running into her again. Just some random encounter thrown in to fill time, no reason to any of it. Nope, nope, nope. She couldn't possibly have any influence on the rest of the story at all. :pinkiecrazy:

(On a completely unrelated note, we seriously need an liar-jack emote!)

So this is very late in the fallout world's first storyline, huh. Very interesting. And I'm wondering when the double cross is going to occur.

“Whole damn world’s going to shit.”

Hey guy, the whole damn world already went to shit. :pinkiecrazy:

Didn't the Raptors fall on the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows? That happened a few days ago in this story. What's happening over there?

6675486

Didn't the Raptors fall on the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows?

Some did, but not all. The Epilogue talks about it tearing "most" of the remaining (About 20 or less) Raptors out of the sky, and that the rest rejoined with the surviving Thunderheads. So the enclave probably still has two Thunderheads and 5-10 Raptors. Minus one Raptor, now. :twilightsheepish:

I took lots of notes on my last read-through. :twilightsmile:

That sounds like some pegasi wanted to stay in the sky, some pegasi wanted to not, and the first group decided to expedite the others' wishes.

jxj

Somehow this didn't get favorited. I corrected that mistake and now I'm catching up.

I had set my expectations low, and I was still disappointed.

That bad, eh? :ajsleepy:

Well, the place is called "Rust", y'know. That implies water and iron :rainbowwild:

The unicorn reached up, tapping the side of his head. "The right ear. Cut it off and bring it here, we'll give you forty caps for it. Fifty now, I suppose."

They're raiders, though... chances are they already cut that off themselves, for shits 'n' giggles. :trixieshiftright:

None of that really mattered to me. It held the warmth in and the rain out, so I was hardly going to complain.

She's adjusting quite well. That's the Wastelander Mindset :moustache:

I reached out, wrapping my foreleg and blanket around her shoulders, a silent reply to her statement. She didn't say anything in return, merely leaning into the sideways hug. A tiny hint of affection met my senses. It was faint, but holding. I left it alone. Just as one does not graze on a seedling, I was not going to eat away at that nascent emotion.

This is so cold and calculated and yet so heartwarming at the same time :unsuresweetie:

I would have gladly reverted to my natural form just to escape the flaws of that flesh-covered body I had assumed, except then I'd probably have the dirty wounds on the inside of my exoskeleton

Yikes. I think having them cleaned out in pony shape is preferable :twilightoops:

I chuckled faintly, popping it in my mouth, and only barely stopping myself from swallowing it like the pill before it.

Given Whisper's somewhat sedated state, Star should really have specifically mentioned that :rainbowlaugh:

Fortunately, the shanty-town-like construction of Rust, with its multiple levels of structures, meant you could go from one end of the little town to the other without actually touching the ground.

Ah. Megaton-inspired design? Nice. I think No One did that too with the place Silver Hired Gun originally came from (though back when I read that I had never laid eyes on Megaton, so I had no clue).

Even with the flurry of paranoia and propaganda, there had always been a certain feeling to pony settlements. The best comparison I can think of is living near a particularly prolific bakery, with the constant smell of fresh baking bread. You could feel the love in the air, as if it had soaked into the town itself.

Rust didn't have that feeling.

Oh, ouch. A harsh and loveless world :ajsleepy:

"You any good with plants?"

"I grew up on a farm, but I've never been any good at it. I could dig and water where somepony tells me, but other than that…"

She's better with livestock :trollestia:

"Scrap and parts, mostly," he said with a shrug. "Machine parts, bearings, lubricants, new tools, gaskets. Heck, anything with rubber. Not so much electronics, but just about anything else."

Well, there are bound to be a lot of interesting parts in the complex she came from. Unfortunately, between Rust and there is confirmed raider territory :ajsleepy:

"Well, except steel, we got plenty of that."

I bet :rainbowlaugh:

"Met a guy who knows of a place that hasn't been touched since the war!"

Uh-oh. Those never bode well :unsuresweetie:

She led me to a building with an ancient sign that simply read "Food", right across from a general store with a crude sign that read "Stuff".

They sure are practical people :rainbowlaugh:

Fortunately, it had started to warm up once the rain had stopped.

Betcha it'll be a baking hell once you get some decent sunshine... especially since the cloud cover means the whole settlement was made out of plate steel without any direct sunshine in mind :facehoof:

"First, when it comes to a fight, you do what I say, right then, no questions asked. I'm used to dealing with professional soldiers,"

Wait, what? Who is this guy? The only "professional soldiers" left are the Steel Rangers and the remnants of the Enclave :rainbowderp:

You never described whether he had a horn, or was wearing any clothing that could hide wings...

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Is it urban or rural? Are we going to need to be ready to climb up buildings? Are we climbing down? Is this above ground or below?"

Hah. "where" as in "environment". She's good!

"How about you let me handle that part. I can be subtle about it, make sure he sees just how useful we really are without bringing up the matter of money directly."

A little subtle changeling mindbending magic? :rainbowwild:

I raised the binoculars again. I'd just settled on the prow of the cloudship, with the name Cumulonimbus painted across it, when a gout of flame reached out from the clouds, striking the side of the falling ship.

Surprise bonus salvage? :pinkiehappy:

...what? Stop looking at me like that :trollestia:

the doomed ship's gunners defiantly loosing a few final shots toward whoever had struck them down.

Mad props for using "defiantly loosing" in a way that's entirely correct :rainbowlaugh:


Remarks and corrections:
> Other than a few day's worth of food
Possessive and plural: "a few [days'] worth of food"
> complimented by a pair of large saddlebags.
Should probably be "complemented". Unless you actually mean the saddlebags make him look good.

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They're raiders, though... chances are they already cut that off themselves, for shits 'n' giggles. :trixieshiftright:

Heh, now I'm getting the image of coming across a group of raiders who are all missing their right ears. "Well, we ran into some hard times recently and needed the caps..." :rainbowlaugh:

This is so cold and calculated and yet so heartwarming at the same time :unsuresweetie:

That's probably the most entertaining part of writing a changeling character. :twilightsmile:

Ah. Megaton-inspired design? Nice. I think No One did that too with the place Silver Hired Gun originally came from (though back when I read that I had never laid eyes on Megaton, so I had no clue).

Kind of half that, half general shanty-town inspired. I've always liked vertical elements in structures and settlements, and it made sense to me that, once they filled out the space inside the main walls, it'd be easier to build up than out.

You never described whether he had a horn, or was wearing any clothing that could hide wings...

Huh! I'd originally put in mention that he was an earth pony, but it seems I removed that bit. I added it back in.

Should probably be "complemented". Unless you actually mean the saddlebags make him look good.

Dusty knows how to accessorize! (Aaand fixed. Oops :twilightsheepish: )

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Heh, now I'm getting the image of coming across a group of raiders who are all missing their right ears. "Well, we ran into some hard times recently and needed the caps..." :rainbowlaugh:

And then they all die because they barely hear from that side, and get flanked from the right side... by some, afterwards, very disappointed bounty hunters :rainbowlaugh:

So I've been playing Fallout 4, and I've been finding a few similarities between it and what I have planned. It's partially amusing, but also a little concerning at times. There's certainly a lot I hadn't planned. When I started planning out this story, the only thing I knew about Fallout 4 that the two shared in common was that the main character lived before the "end of the world".

I mainly mention it because of a couple things mentioned in this chapter that made me take note of those similarities. One are the pipe guns, which I'd actually brought in from a post-apocalyptic roleplaying campaign I had worked up, as it made sense to have some cheapo weapons made post-war. The other is the PipBuck with a latch instead of a lock. There's an in-universe reason why that kind of PipBuck exists, even if it isn't mentioned yet. So they do have more reason to exist than just "Fallout 4 did it", even if I can't say exactly what they are (I don't plan on giving spoilers, even if they are minor ones). I just thought I'd make mention of it, because it's been a mix of being amused by the similarities and pleased with the differences.

Raider camp: Check.
Raiders: Not check.

I smell a ruin-dwelling monster infestation of some kind.

The relative lack of comments on this fic depresses me. Well, I love this story, at least.

"Just a scouting mission." Y'know, when the chapter ends right there, you just know that things will go terribly wrong. :ajsmug:

I'm curious about Emerald's reference to the Elements of Harmony. I was under the impression that only Spike and the ponies who knew about the Gardens of Equestria knew about them. Though I might be misremembering.

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The relative lack of comments on this fic depresses me. Well, I love this story, at least.

I'm a bit disappointed too, but not really surprised. Fallout: Equestria side-stories tend to not get as many views as other stories, since they're essentially a subset of a subset of fiction. I knew this story would get less attention than my other stories, though I wish it wasn't quite so much less. Still, outside of the few big-name Fallout: Equestria stories, there are some really good stories that just don't get the attention they deserve.

I do miss the amount of feedback I got on my other stories, though. But in the end, I'm mostly writing it just because I really like the idea that my brain cooked up. While the lack of feedback and commentary is a bit of a disappointment, I'm having a lot of fun writing this one. :twilightsmile:

"Just a scouting mission." Y'know, when the chapter ends right there, you just know that things will go terribly wrong. :ajsmug:

Pfft, nah. Now you're just being paranoid. Nothing could go wrong... :trollestia:

I'm curious about Emerald's reference to the Elements of Harmony. I was under the impression that only Spike and the ponies who knew about the Gardens of Equestria knew about them.

I actually double-checked when writing that scene. There were a few characters who refer to them. Calamity, for example, snarks about himself being the "Element of Generosity" when bartering with a merchant. :rainbowlaugh:

I get the impression ponies know of them, but they're more of a history kind of thing. Not exactly a fable, but the kind of old-world thing that's no longer around or that doesn't really apply to the world as it is now. It's hard to see the value of Generosity (Well, from yourself) when you're not sure where your next meal will come from, for example.

6725929
You know you could just made pipboy 2000, and pipe rifles/pistols
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/7/7f/Springun.gif/revision/latest?cb=20150426003540 vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/b/bd/Tactics_zip_gun.png/revision/latest?cb=20130109144339
Are nothing new, but I have felling you never played fallout 1 and 2 and only went through fanfic or 3/4/nv

For once, I was not the only one lacking in knowledge. Starlight hadn't heard that name before, nor did she know anything about what the pegasi had been up to since the war.

Huh. The pegasi split off during the war, though, as far as I remember. Probably some time before the megaspells. I imagine that would've been all over the news in Equestria :unsuresweetie:

It would be far easier to find an abundance of food in a safe, comfortable city in the sky than it would down here, surrounded by raiders and the constant struggle to survive. Still, I had reasons to resist that temptation.

Yeah... reasons like the fact Littlepip just blew all their comfort out of the sky :rainbowwild:

If it came down to her or my hive, there was no contest

Give it time :ajsmug:

Which was convenient, seeing as I'd feel a little bad about just abandoning her. I liked her.

Well, that took considerably less time than I thought :rainbowlaugh:

How much love and safety could I find in a nation that would turn a blind eye to the suffering of their fellow ponies?

Yeah, that didn't take long. Of course, it's a matter of perspective, seeing as most of the Enclave citizens were never even told the wasteland was inhabitable...

"Wonder if that's what kicked the Enclave into making a move."

They just lost an airship. Seeing as this area is still covered, I'm kinda betting on in-fighting over the last remaining pieces of cloud cover :unsuresweetie:

On that cheery note, we turned in for the night.

Yaaay... :yay: :ajsleepy:

"Think of all the salvage!" had been the core of her argument, combined with eager gestures made in the direction we had seen the Raptor falling.

I was thinking that too!

"Think of all the Enclave," had been Dusty's retort.

Alright. Fair point :rainbowlaugh:

The wall was topped by three emplaced magical energy weapons! The one in the middle appeared to be a multi-barrel plasma cannon, of the type one might have seen mounted to a sky-tank, and looking little worse for wear after so many years.

Wowza :pinkiegasp:

Somepony had discovered the invention of paint, and applied various colors to different buildings. Strings of lights and a few colorful signs accented the town. Past the mildly decrepit construction and the lingering mud, they gave Gemstone a true appearance of civilization.

Hee, nice :twilightsmile:

I'm sure she thought she was being subtle. Unfortunately, the sudden change of volume was more likely to draw Dusty's attention than it was to cause him to dismiss it. Sure enough, I caught him casting a glance our way.

He's totally thinking "Huh. Trouble in paradise?" :rainbowlaugh:

Emerald's smile turned mischievous. "I'll admit, having an excessive amount of firepower thanks to our local weaponsmith makes the altruism a bit easier."

An excellent point :rainbowlaugh:

"We need to get a closer look. If they really have cleared out, we could still find a lot of salvage."

Careful. Those fuckers are known to leave traps.

With the first tingles of adrenaline playing at the edge of my senses, we started to walk.

Wheee! Action! :yay:


Remarks and corrections:
> Emerald runs the store and inn, you'll meet her if you're looking for supplies.
Comma splice. That should be a semicolon, not a comma.

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