Epilogue - 5 Years Later
“... and that’s how I met your mother,” I finished.
Bright Skies, Vinyl and my adopted colt, blinked six times. “You died?”
“Yes,” I nodded.
Bright glared at me. “Horseapples!”
I giggled. “I’m a robot, hon. Grandma fixed me right up!”
My little peach maned tan colt dragged his forehooves across his eyes. “Okay but also none of that had really anything to do with… anything!”
I frowned and tilted my head. “What do you mean?”
“You just… stopped before… What happened to Pip? What was the Prince doing? What happened with the book he ordered? How did you stop the Enclave?” Bright whined, flapping his little wings irritably.
“Oh,” I shrugged. “Vinyl and I weren’t really around for any of that. Expect the book. I delivered it once I was repaired. But, Pip had a pulmonary edema from laying down too long. Katydid's doctor fixed her up and she moved with Homage onto Star Drop because the pre-war environment sounded therapeutic to her. We could visit, maybe?”
I cleared my throat. “The Prince had found a copy of the Black Book, not a magic one, just a copy of the text. He was going to use dark magic from it to let Celestia possess him, if she wanted, so she could fix the wasteland. She said no. Mom’s got a robotic body for her on her build list.”
I thought back over the last five years to try and get everything else I could for my little pony.
“As for how we stopped the Enclave… Um, I was offline for that. I heard that Loom, Speed, and Desi just sort of went and killed them all,” I answered honestly.
I’d heard that bit in a lot of detail, but unlike the rest of Vi and my story, it wasn't exactly suitable for little ponies.
Bright opened his mouth to protest, but Speed dipped her head into the reading room and smiled. “Almost all! A few actually managed to be faster than me and beamed out before we got the power offline. I like to go hunt for them sometimes. See, this one officer that got away is Type O, and that is the best!”
“Oh,” Bright said contently.
He knew full well how good Auntie Speed was at killing things.
“So yeah… they might pop up again,” I said with a shrug. “But, it doesn’t matter much. There won't be many of them left, and since Rainbow’s keeping the station online but under her direct control, and it’s not like you can kill her long enough to fire that thing before she reforms and kills you right back… We’re pretty safe. Everypony can start rebuilding properly now.”
“What about your griffon friend?” Bright asked.
“Oh he just went back home. We could also visit him, sometime. When you’re old enough to fly.”
Bright chuffed and crossed his little forelegs over his barrel and sank back into the library couch. “Fine… You could have just said “We met during an adventure!” though… and you didn’t say where I came from…”
I giggled, blushing a little. “Oh! Sorry… Um, Speed found you in a burnt out house to the south and—”
“And I gave you to my friends because I don’t know how to make life keep existing. That’s the opposite of my job,” Speed called loudly.
“Shhhhhh!” somepony hissed from the library shelves.
“Actually your job is assistant librarian,” I corrected Speed.
I’d been so happy when she discovered that shelving books was enjoyable to her. There weren't very many bad guys for her to go nuts on these days. That would probably change soon, but for now, it was a good thing my best friend the murder machine had something besides killing she could like doing.
I nodded and bit my lip a little. “Well, yes, but without all of the context—”
Bright hopped off the couch and trotted into the library’s main room. “Aunt Speed! You said it was a good story!”
“It’s a totally awesome story! Your moms airlock killed a dude,” Speed called back. “That’s rarer than a railing kill. Even I don’t have that achievement yet. Sheesh. Tough crowd.”
“But it’s so looooong!” Bright moaned. “And she didn’t finish it good!”
“I was dead for the end,” I huffed crossing my forelegs.
“Ugh, fine… that’s a good reason, I guess,” Bright grumbled bitterly.
I shook my head and stood up, giving him a little pat on his peach mane. “You’ll like it more when you’re older. Longer stories can be some of the most fun! Now I’ll see you the day after tomorrow. I have to get to work.”
I trotted past my son and gave Speed a polite nod. “Take good care of him while Vi and I are out. And remember, no more taking him Windigo hunting.”
“Yeah yeah,” Speed said with a dismissive hoof wave. “Don’t worry, I’m going to take him out target practicing so next time he won't get half eaten.”
“Good,” I said with a nod.
Most mothers would probably be concerned about that sort of thing. I wasn’t. Bright couldn’t have a better teacher, and he’d have to fight more than a few times if he wanted to make it to old age.
Besides, he’d managed to take down the Windigo before it killed him. That’s talent.
“Oh!” Speed exclaimed, turning after me. “Your mom said she and Desi will be at the Crystal City for a few more days. They think they might be able to get your dad out of the network this time.”
I looked over my shoulder. “I hope so… Will you be okay with your mares being gone a few more days?”
The three of them made for the cutest little herd. Though it did suck that a lot of ponies through Desi was their filly. At least it only took one or two corrections for them to remember the tiny space mare was an adult.
I passed through the library and stopped by the door to put on my coat, and the mail mare’s hat the Prince had made for me as payment for delivering his book. Then I slipped on my postmare’s bags, and headed out the door.
Vinyl looked up from her seat on the porch and tucked a sheath of papers into her saddlebags. The light caught the blood-ice amulet I’d gotten specially made for her as a wedding present.
Safe forever. No going feral for my mare.
“New song?” I asked curiously.
“Yeah,” she nodded and then laughed. “The Sparkle Cola Corporation wants a new jingle and I wrote the first one sooo, one of their big-huge amazon bots clomped through about an hour ago asking for me. Never thought I’d do work for a corporation again. Soooo, we heading out?”
“Mhm,” I began to trot down the walkway to the street.
“Any idea what we’re delivering?” Vinyl asked as she fell into step beside me.
“Nope, but we get to do route 8!” I said with a smile.
“Isn’t that the route you wrestled a polar bear on?”
“Mhm!” I mean they all were, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Sounds like fun,” Vinyl said shaking her head slowly. “Okay, let’s go deliver the mail.”
“There's nothing else I’d like to do with you more, dear,” I said with a smile and a happy sigh.
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Yeah they've got 'em at the Autozone down the street.
Awesome its pretty much done! Now I can actually read it like I promised.
10758579 Its actually done. I just forgot to boop the button to mark her complete.
Yeah that's pretty much what I expected
Sounds about right
Probably a good idea
Well this was fun, thanks for the story Meep
10758628 I'm glad you enjoyed it :3
That was one hay of a tail, and definitely going in the list. I wonder if a Type O is Tempest, or Storm King level, or was that Gale? And just how much tech Enclave had cached for overthrowing the world yet again emergancies?
Oh well, that would be another story.
Now for a song something like Hey, Mr Postman?
10758652 Type O, as in a blood type.
10758656
Wow, no wonder that guy was Fast.
mood, also good story.
Well, that was certainly a bit abrupt, but some ending is better nothing and it was a good ride overall. I thought the whole thing with Gale was he was being drugged/controlled by someone else though? Really expected some sorta redemption arc or at least some lucidity on his part before he died, especially after she told him she was his niece. I guess we're just going to write it off the mastermind behind all this as some mysterious enclave general that either got cleaned up in the big skip or ran away?
Does that include Soldier, Seeker, Eagle? I really enjoyed the last chapter of that one and was hoping for more soon.
You madbug, you went there
This story was amazing and I can barely wait for whatever more you have in the burner
Woohoo!!! the finally! It's been a long time coming but definitely worth it!
For what its worth I think you did the FOE universe justice, it felt like the script to one of the fan mod/DLC stories, definitely something good.
No, but you can order one through Planet Express
10758887
Yeah, I could have gone a bit more on this, but I think it would have just... suffocated things. Becides, the story was more about the characters than the events and our two main characters had their full arcs done so... I thought I would end it at a point where another adventure could begin.
Besides. This thing is already as long as a 5 novel series. And as I say to 10759044 I intended this whole thing to come across in a way which makes it feel like a fanmod of Fallout, or a DLC. I didn't want to make a definitive "And this is what happens next!" for FoE. It's best if the world is open and free.
The mastermind was as you expected, an enclave general. Gale's combat stims were responsible for a lot of his pyscocis, but he was also a genuinely evil person and... I don't really like redemption arcs. I am a big believer in the moral event horizon and as such that there is a line which once crossed it dosnt matter what someone does int he future, they have to die. It's a controvercial viewpoint sure but that's only because most people do not know that there are enough evil people IRL for CPS to have to have come up with the term "Dipping" to describe placing an infant in boiling water to drown them. So yeah no. Some people are just evil and gotta go. Gale was one of those.
It will get worked on, but not for some time. I wont leave a story hanging forever.
Do I smell side stories?
Or are those loose ends just gonna wiggle their tails at us... from spaaaaaace? 
Or you can just explode their wriggling plotholes with artillery, that works, too!
It’s odd... it’s a shame it’s over, but at the same time I’m glad it’s not perpetually unfinished like so many fics on the site, ya know?
Good ride, Meep!
Not at all surprised that Gears and Vinyl would adopt a kid. It sounds like their little group is working out nicely now that they have downtime, which is good. Far too often it seems like groups that save the world tend to break apart once the crisis is averted.
Gotta say, I wouldn't have expected Speed to enjoy shelving books in a library....but then there is something weirdly satisfying about collecting and shelving books in TES and Fallout games, so.... Also, very much in agreement with Gears that Speed is probably the best person to teach Bright how to properly handle a weapon. It's unfortunate that it's going to be pretty much required for his survival, but it would take some years before the world is rebuilt enough to be generally safe.
While the ending may seem abrupt, it definitely fits Gears. Completing her part of the mission, and ending Uncle Gale was the end of her part of that story.
I'm glad you managed to muddle through, Meep. I enjoyed the tale a lot. Now, I have my own I'm working on. Just hope I can see it to the finish. I have a lot of ideas, now to see if I can pull them off.
Thank you for what you have done and will do.
O.O.'s are available at your nearest Bed, Bath and Beyond, in the beyond section. If you can't find one, email me and I'll send you instructions on how to build one.
10761165 Well shoot, I've got about 40 bucks in credit at AZ... *grumble grumble grumble*
10761167
laughs, hugs
You're a winner, Meep!
I liked this. I liked this a lot. I don't care what anyone says, this is defo one of my fav FoE stories.
10761516 I'm glad you liked it. I was affradi the ending would make a lot of people mad... but this was less a story about the world and more a story of Gears and her relationships and growing up. So... Ya know. I think this worked.
Welp, it was a long ride but definitely worth it. Great job, Meep. :)
Gale got what was coming to him... 4 degrees absolute. Personally, I'd track him down with a BB gun and shatter him into a bigillion pieces... ya know, just to be SURE.
Gears is back to being the Postal Mare, but with her somepony. But I had a thought... Gears has the regenerating skin and 'soul' of a Zebra, and is a 'Spirit' as well... the fusion of which defines a Warlock. Ergo, Gears is a Warlock. Given to what she was doing with Gale's ammo being fired at her, I'd think she'd have little problem with dealing with random robots in the future/present.
Gears and Vinyl are effectively immortal, so they might live long enough to see Discord gain enough energy to become a shadow of his old self again in the world. Fully returning to his 'normal' would take thousands of years.
Again I say, great job, Meep.
*lotsa Thestral hugs*
Loved the story! It feels like a.much improved version of project horizons.
Also! I do have to ask, what all happened to Loom? I mean, she's displaced by two hundred years, is out if a job, and left the people she knew and loved for Gears and co. And then is never mentioned in the epilogue, beyond the fall of the space station.
10766677
Thank you. That's not what I was going for, but that's high praise from this subfandom
What do you mean what happened to... *checks story* DAMMNIT! Gdocs Import dropped a paragraph again. I thought that bug was slain in 2016.
Okay so, Loom, Desi, and Speed, formed a herd. Loom is serving as Katydid's bodyguard/enforcer at present. She's retained her access to Star Drop Station, and has a residence onboard since, ya know, teleportation makes a commute's distance meaningless.
I love this story, and I'm on chapter 34 right now.
Please, please, PLEASE her an editor in the future worth their salt.
You've used dose instead of does almost 30 times up to this point. Genders are swapped mid-sentence, and you've misspelled dozens of common words like through instead of though.
It really breaks the immersion when these happen so often to a dedicated reader.
Great story, need editor, love this tale.
10772933 I've got 2 editors and grammerly. Sorry you're annoyed.
10773456
You need editors that know the difference between dose and does, that's a good start. Lol
10773485 Or maybe you should be capable of using context clues to understand what something means rather than hyper focus on errors within a free bit of entertainment created to entertain you... for free. Maybe you shouldn't insult good people who volunteer their time to help with a project, without any rewards at all. Perhaps you should understand that even professionally published books contain errors and typos.
10773485
Typographical errors happen, and sometimes things get missed.
If you see one, you can point it out, but so far your statements have been unnecessarily negative.
10773485
Actually, I caught that most of the time, it's just a little difficult to pick out. I'm surprised that I caught all the from/form swaps. What you're seeing, in these instances, is actually autocorrect covering a letter swap into the wrong word. It's an artifact of how we automated the process over the year or so we spent on this. I could be more effective at copy editing, but that's not actually my priority when I'm working with Meep. What I do is check things like how the dialogue sounds, or catch continuity errors, or making sure that we maintain consistency and we're using tone and such appropriately. Typo checking is a small part of my actual task.
You could be more polite.
10772933
>her an editor
Wow. Demanding that editors for a fanfic get EVERY last typo while not proofreading your own sentences.
slow clap
10773485
I will agree with Pseudonymous. It's one thing to point out errors, but you have directly insulted at least two people here. That's how you make enemies, and I think you've just made a few.
10773530
Indeed.
Also, boop.
10773504
Good point, I'm reading the whole thing via TTS and as an ebook, as work, so stopping work to submit a comment isn't practical, but I'll work on it as more of a suggestion than a criticism.
Basically, I'll be driving a forklift and something will come across and I can't just make a note or anything, but it hits like a brick.
I like the story and just keep getting distracted by the one glaring error though the whole story.
Dose is used instead of does constantly.
I didn't mean so much offense, but you are the best and most reasonable replier, so I'll just let you know.
10773532
I have room for enemies, just means more instant down votes on stories I post. :)
10773530
Dose is used instead of does in nearly every use, that's the issue. Not every typo.
10773528
Then you're a proof reader and don't need to take it so seriously.
You and the rest of the team did fine, it's a great story.
10773498
I do and the only constant error I pointed out is the dose does. I didn't critique every single typo and belittle the entire story or your team for them. I brought up a single issue out of a great story that's constant.
10774264
Oh, so you're a troll? Interesting.
10774266
You seem to have proofreader and editor confused, but ok.
“Okay, but, also, none..."
before… what
Enclave... um,
Rainbow’s keeping the station online, but under her direct control, and it’s not like you
back... we're
Oh, he just went back home.
Bright chuffed and crossed his little forelegs over his barrel and sank back into the library couch. “Fine… you could have just said, 'We met during an adventure!' though. And, you didn’t say where I came from…”
"Oh, sorry... um, Speed found
"Shhhhh!" Somepony
"Actually, your job ...
I huffed, crossing my forelegs.
"... Now, I’ll see you the day after tomorrow. I have to get to work.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Speed said ...
"Good." I said with a nod.
"I hope so... will
"Mhm." I began
"Sounds like fun." Vinyl said, shaking her head slowly.
10775193 What style guide do you use? This is the opposite of what I was taught to do. Not saying it's wrong, just wondering.
10775533
Creative writing style. We're taught a general style in school, it doesn't apply to creative writing, only mostly business or personal (dear mom) kinda stuff.
That's why they have creative writing classes out there, because the writing styles are so different people have to learn how to actually write.
It's the school systems fault for teaching everyone a basic style and not telling us that there's more than one way to write.
There's MLA, APA, and others.
(Sent from my alt account because I was blocked over something trivial)
10775890 Yeah so fun fact... I have a master's in the Humanities and minored in Creative Writing. I have, as a matter of fact, taken the classes you talk about. I've probably also taken more than you, because, you know, it was my minor. The way I do it is one of several "correct" styles for creative writing. You seem to be adhering to the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting text. Which is fine. But it's not what I do. Especially not with dialogue.
For instance, you insist that you MUST use a period at the end of a sentence within quotation marks. This is not true, even within the style guide you seem to be using. The CMS states that spoken dialogue which is followed by narration is to be ended with a full stop (aka period). If you did even a cursory web search for how to format dialogue, you would have found that out pretty quickly. Here's proof.
What's more, these are just guidelines. Not hard rules. There are times that you could and should break them. My use of punctuation within dialogue is very intentional. They way people speak is not the same as how we write. There are many ways to characterize a specific sentence to try and put emotion or personality into it. You inst that there should be a comma after the first "Yeah" in Speed's line, but you've put no thought into HOW she's speaking and who she is. When you're upset and irritable, or annoyed, do you say "yeah" pause for half a second then say "yeah" again? Probably not. You likely say "yeah yeah", maybe even slurring them together into "yeaheah".
Dialogue shouldn't be written in the same way as narration for this purpose. It is part of characterization. Were it not difficult for most people to read phonetically, I would write accents in the same fashion Brian Jacques used.
Now, I admit I have terrible spelling. That is a weakness of mine that I doubt I will ever overcome. But if you want to lecture me on the formatting of dialogue, and grammar within creative writing... Well, what are your credentials? You didn't know that there's multiple style guides for CR, so I'm guessing you don't have much experience outside a class or two. But I could be wrong.
10775890
I've literally never known this site to block over anything you could describe as trivial, but ok.
Well, finally finished reading this. I enjoyed it overall.
Then I got a little carried away with my thoughts though and wrote a long-ass review of the story. It might be a little much to post in the comments.
10780560 Feel free to do so! But if you really don't want to, please PM me. I live for feedback.
10783731
Ooo. Yeah, that will go directly to Tracking. None of this waiting around mistake.
...dang it, I'll have to read my notification feed.
10783739
That is terrifying. Thanks for the information!
10783916
Fair enough. It's one of the only other Fallout Equestria fics I've seen address Discord, so I find the comparison interesting. But yeah, not for everyone. Same with any book, I suppose.