Fallout Equestria: Taking Life By The Horns

by Pokonic

Talking, Talking, Drama Bomb, More Talking, Not Entirely In That Order.

After slowly regaining my senses, I very carefully took off the crown-like object off my head and, hands trembling, set it on the cart, and set the black orb into its spot in the case and quickly closed it. Almost immediately after doing so, I swiftly took the object on my belt that was the source of Blueberry’s sadism in the present and in the past, the horrible little pony princess tiara-necklace- thing, and simply stared at it for a few moments. I couldn't simply get rid of it, as it was not really mine to get rid of, but it was almost certainly one of the reasons, if not the reason, for Blueberry’s troubles, which, by shear unholy luck, became mine a few days ago.

I simply, for a lack of better words, had no idea what to do. It might have been my place to make a choice for the little pony I happened to be traveling with, but I was unsure if I was ready to do so. I wasn't entirely sure where to start, at that. Hiding it would presumably not work, nor would simply keeping it on my person. Either way, she would find it or try and get it’s location from me, possibly with magic or simple force. That was another issue in that as well, the fact that Blueberry could use magic, not just the typical wastelander tricks but genuine magical spells. While it was true I was three times her size and at least twice her weight, it was also true she had a decent sidearm and could simply conjure up those magical chains she once made to bind me.

That also raised dark questions regarding how much the little metal thing cradled in my hands assisted her in her magic, as I felt something in that memory orb rise up from it into her horn, but those were questions for another day.

After a few moments of thought, I placed the source of the source of my troubles in the same bag as the memory orb case and placed it where it rested. Seeing that Blueberry was still asleep, and that the day was still young, I wondered for a few moments just how long I was put under when I went into it. As she was presumably not going to wake up anytime soon, I wrapped the few spoils of the trip into the Seahorse in a larger piece of green silk-cloth and turned the radio on for accompaniment.

The road, while empty, and therefore safe, was also boring, and I needed a distraction before my mind imploded from the fact that, in twenty-four hours, I went through a cannibalistic village, talked to a fifteen foot two-hundred year old meat eating seapony, discovered that dead ponies can rise from the dead with the help of magic, found a tiny talking manticore who could talk and may or may not have given me a strange mark that would probably send less rational types into frenzies, and learned that my traveling companion fought in some sort of arena or some such and killed many ponies, which would not have been so much as a shock if it where not for the fact said pony’s accountability for her prior actions and words were now questionable.

And of course, there was also the realization that this was my life, I had few plans for the future, and I had no idea what to do but go with the flow. Was that okay, simply going where life takes you? Should I have challenged Bull’s Strength’s judgment? It might have worked, I wasn't exactly popular at home but I wasn't hated, and I knew the Elder at the very least would have preferred any viable contender for head of security and outside relations than a bull who’s first thoughts on the matter of outsiders was when he could lead a raid on them.

But that was a silly thought, to think I could have said no to him and stayed home. While it sounded great in theory, in practice it would have resulted on my head on a pike, and becoming a outcast, however bleak it sounds, is preferable to being reduced to a head on a pike. Traitors do not get burned, as is the respectable way to be deposited of, but rather become the bait the hunters use. Of course, few things are attracted to a dead minotaur, so the few unlucky fools who try to leave and get caught are doomed to a slow mummification in the wastes in some isolated outcrop on the hills.

At least, that’s what the hunters claim they do with the bodies. Some of the old men and many small one’s half my age claim they do worse things to them, but further thought on that would probably make me lose my lunch. I still could still faintly taste blood in my mouth.

In order to help ease my thoughts, I played with the knobs on the radio for a few moments until I got it to the rough configuration Blueberry had it on to get the signal that came from Tauronto. To my mild confusion, rather than a speaker that would presumably be on at the time, a din that reminded me of several broken robots hitting one other came out of the speakers, stopping for a few moments after a little hiss, only to start up a new round of electronic abuse that sounded somewhat different than the first one.

Frowning, I looked at the possibly broken radio and then at Blueberry. I dearly hoped I hadn't broken the device. It was one of the few things I was hauling around that had equal value to the two of us. I decided to keep it running as I stepped inside the front harness of the cart, on the off chance it began working again.

---

After a half-hour of brisk walking on the half-frozen road, it did. A little burst of static interrupted the electronic whirring, and to my mild surprise, as apposed to the rough feminine voice from before, the mare, if not filly, on the radio was very quiet, very soft, and sounded like it needed a hug and a few encouraging words before it did anything.

“Err, hello? Is this thing on? Oh, I hope it is, that would be really embarrassing if it doesn’t…oh, goodness, is that light working? That light is, that’s the…oh, that’s the one that means this is on. Wait a moment.”

A thick muffled whine that might have been a sob or a genuine issue with the sound system emerged from the radio, and after it stopped the pony on the radio lightly coughed a few times into it, as if to test it.

“Sorry about that, well, onto the main reason why I…oh, I don’t know if…oh, bother!”

The pony on the other side of the radio took in several sudden, clear breaths, presumably to calm herself down, and I could not help but feel very bad for whoever was talking. Obviously, they were not used to this and were scared out of there minds.

“Ahh, well, it’s working now. Sorry, everyone, or at least who is still listening. Really sorry.”

A brief pause.

“Well, I am Nightcore’s assistant, and this broadcast is live.”

Wait, these were taped?

“I would like to…well, no, I have to announce that Nightcore will not be maintaining the radio system from this moment forward, and will not be able to be contacted from the main radio tower for…oh, sorry, Tauronto, but she’s not going to be contactable for a long time. Well, err…”

Another brief pause, accompanied by the rustling of plastic.

“Don’t worry, everyone, she is alive, but she and I are taking a permi…ohshootI mean extended vacation. Now, every one, Nightcore did plan on making that informative broadcast about Tauronto, and we are both really sorry for not making due on that. While Nightcore is not here to talk for her own sake, she does have another taped statement for everyone. It’s very, err…however, you might want to tell the little one’s listening today to cover there ears, it’s not very kind and is rather, oh, how to put this, filthy? I am going to put a few seconds of it on, it’s quite long, about an hour or so, but I am sure you can get the general message from it. Excuse the language, she was…well, she still is, but…she was very angry when she recorded this.”

Yet another pause emanated from the radio, and I nearly jumped when the mare from before started screaming at the top of her lungs!

“Fuck this worthless city! Fuck the zombies in the tower, fuck the Purebred and fuck the slavers! Fuck the N.C.R and fuck the Rangers! Fuck the cult and fuck everyone who is listening to me right now! Fuck everyone who crawls around in this city who doesn't give two fucks about what it will look like the next day! Everyone here is born useless, and any pony who thinks this hellhole can survive next winter without blowing up is wrong! Fuuucckkk yooo-”

The rant was then cut off by the sound of heavy breathing, and the mare on the radio took some time to gather herself. Shakily, she continued.

“Well, that was…very…yes, that was louder than I thought it would have been. Well, was. Err, sorry about that, everyone. Especially the little ones. There is another...well, it isn't a broadcast, but rather a...oh, I would rather not put it on, considering that I really don't know who is hearing this right now."

She paused, almost embarrassed. At what, I supposed, was up for debate.

"Well, that’s…it, I guess. Five years of doing this, and well, this is it. Huh. This…well, sorry, every pony, but... Nightcore and I, we need to go elsewhere. I really am sorry about this; this is obviously going to affect more ponies in more ways besides a lack of background music. Really, I don’t think the city is..”

There was a pause, and, quite suddenly, the radio simply went to static..

No vaguely musical electronic noise, not silence, simple static. I felt somewhat lost on what, exactly, was going on on the other side of the radio, considering what seemed to be the local news source just went stark raving mad and recorded a rant about the place I was going to that didn't sound very nice.

"Huh, that was odd."

I nearly jumped. Blueberry snickered slightly.

Turning my head, I found that she was nibbling on a food bar and was curled up inside the grey blanket, the orb balanced between her chin and the cart.

"Blueberry, you could have given me a heart attack." I grumbled as I turned back around and kept walking.

She tisked.

"Oh, stop it Watchful. Besides, I just got out of this memory orb. Actually, this one is really weird. I wouldn't think you have used one before this one, right?" she said questioningly.

I thought for a moment. Actually, when compared to the one in the case, it was odd. I couldn't tell if I was the pony or myself the entire time.

"Aren’t you supposed to be the creature whose memory you are looking in, mostly?" I said, even if it was phrased rather oddly.

"Well, uh, yeah. How did you know that?" she said, somewhat puzzled. I smirked.

"I read a bit."

Blueberry said nothing for a few minutes.

"Oh, okay. Well, yeah, this orb is weird. I guess it must be experimental or something like that, but it's doesn't seem to have anything important on it or anything like that. Didn't that pony we got this from say it was from a university or something?"

The way she said that pony nearly made me want to pick her up and shake her around, but I kept my voice steady. "Yeah, he did. Blueberry, Anyway, I have a request."

"But I want to talk about the radio and the memory orb and the water talisman, Watchful." she all but whined.

I groaned. "Fine. Blueberry, the radio might be shut down, the orb is strange, and there was no water talisman."

She paused for a few moments. "What, no talisman? What was in the..."

The fact her voice trailed off shakily reminded me that I needed to talk to her about what happened in the aquarium.

"Watchful, where is my tiara." Blueberry said. It wasn't a question so much as a demand.

"Blueberry, you are not getting it back."

Bad move on my part, apparently.

"Watchful, where is it! I need it, and it is mine!" she said, now standing up and voice full of annoyance and need.

"Blueberry, I think it's the cause of your problem." I said simply, not turning my head to meet her gaze. She stomped a hoof indignantly.

"My problem? Watchful, my only problem is that I don't have my tiara. I don't care a-"

"Blueberry, I am talking about your memory loss, and other things. Do you even remember what happened in the aquarium after you got hurt?"

She made a little croaking sound in the back of her throat. "My...the aquarium?"

I sighed. I didn't really want her to cry again. "Blueberry, you put it on right after you got hurt. Can you remember what you did between going in and out of the shark tanks?"

The fact she said nothing was enough, and she was quiet for a very long time.

"But...I had it for so long. I really don't think that anyone...oh..."

I stopped walking when I heard that.

"Blueberry, it's okay now. I would think that, as long as you don't have it, you won't have those black outs as often. And I am here to help you."

She stopped sniffling, and I felt something soft and warm pressed into the lower part of my shoulders. I didn't need to turn around to know it was her face.

"Th-thank you, Watchful, you are a t-true friend, you know that?" she said shakily.

I started walking again. "I could only hope so, Blueberry. You know, we really are alone on this trip, right?"

She laughed lightly. "Oh, I have no doubt we are doomed to do this alone, this little trip to Tauronto."

That reminded me of something. "Blueberry, are we going to have to pass a river to get into the city?"

She raised her head off me and trotted a few steps away from me. "Well, yeah. The river Donk is really big, but there's a big town that has a working bridge called Watershed that's on this path that doesn't charge to let ponies through. Why?"

I shrugged slightly, hiding my intentions in my voice. "Mind if we stay there for a few days? Watershed, I mean."

"Well, yeah, I don't see why not. We have enough caps to pull through, and we don't need to spend money for food. We just need to be quick to get that letter to the Purebreds." she said distantly. "Hey, Watchful, what was down in that aquarium making that water flow, anyway?"

I shrugged again. "It looked like a sort pillar of sorts made out of glass with a plastic base, and it had six orbs filled with white stuff that sort of glittered. There was a big dome in the center filled with light purple stuff, and two of the domes at the top were broken and leaking the stuff inside. There were also a lot of tubes connected to the base, but a lot of them were either underwater or leaking."

"Oh. Well, now I want to see it. Perhaps on the way back?" she said jokingly.

I actually laughed a little. "Maybe, just maybe."

"Speaking of that...ohh!" Blueberry nearly squealed in delight.

Turning my head around, I saw her fumbling around with the purse and its contents.

"Be careful with that, Blueberry. It's the only thing I got out of there." I said somewhat sternly.

"Ah, it has little moons on it. That's adorable." she said softly in return, clearly ignoring me and cradling a long piece of green fabric which, truth be told, did have little half-moons on them.

"Blueberry, please." I said, pleadingly. Groaning, she did so. I chuckled, and kept walking.

---

After a few minutes of silence, Blueberry nearly said something, but decided against it a few moments later. Finally, I decided to bite.

"What is it, Blueberry?" I said, still in somewhat of a good mood.

She spoke hesitantly. "Oh, just thinking about something your leader said, Watchful."

I blinked. "What was it?"

She giggled nervously. "I can't say for sure, but...didn't he say he was from a stable? Stable 125?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, it was a surprise for me, too. Why?"

"Well, I only know of a few things about minotaur’s, but I do know that there's only a few in Equestria. I have only seen one or two myself, but there really uncommon there, anyway. But I heard that, a long time ago, there used to be a lot of them living in the southwest, but then they got forced out. Well, I guess I am really asking is what your Elder's real name is."

It took me a few moments to actually remember it, as it was rare that the Elder was ever addressed as anything but. "His real name is Bitter Truth. Why?"

She sighed slightly. "Oh, I was just...well, I was wondering if he was part of them. Apparently, they were wiped out entirely."

"Well, that's slightly upsetting." I said lightly, trying to carry on the conversation. "So, yeah, Watershed is a few days away?"

"Oh, no, it's a day, at most."

Pleasantly surprised, I began walking just a little faster on the road. Blueberry laughed a little.

"Well, what about your Elder, your mother?"

She stopped laughing, to my mild displeasure, and her voice became a little harder. "I thought I already told you my mom's name is Blueberry Sabre, Watchful."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

I could practically feel her gaze soften on my back. "Oh, it's no big deal. It's just that I miss her a little." she said, sniffing slightly.

Shifting her weight on the cart a bit, she continued. "What about your mom?"

"Don't know her. Could've been any one of three or four different cows. I look a lot like my dad, so it's hard to tell. I think it was one named Sweet Heart, though."

Blueberry audibly gagged slightly. Was it something I said?

"What do you mean by that, Watchful? What does that even mean?" she said with something between horror and concern.

I sighed. How to explain this? "Blueberry, you know what I said about how the males and females get separated early?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we get raised like that. I mean, we almost always know our dads, but that's because they make it clear by who they tend to favor. I think the cows would know who there mothers are as well. I really never bothered to ask, in case my mother was anything like my father."

"That's sick. You never got to meet your mother?" she said, almost disgusted. I felt something heavy rise from my stomach, but I suppressed it.

"It's just how things are done. I don't believe ponies do the same thing, but that's just how it works." I said amiably.

Blueberry snorted lightly and I heard the blanket shift slightly. "Well, okay, if that's what you think. It's weird, though."

I chuckled at her flustered reaction, and kept walking on the frozen ground.

Even if I cannot truly hate ponies, I can still find them odd.

Comments

[Cloverman The Purple]

My thought: When Blueberry said "Well, okay, if that's what you think. It's weird, though."
Watchful could have said "Well, we walked through a town of pony cannibals , I don't think minotaurs are that odd."