• Published 6th Jan 2013
  • 1,755 Views, 135 Comments

Fallout Equestria: Taking Life By The Horns - Pokonic



A minotaur goes on a journey of self-discovery, adventure, and snark in the irradiated north. Mostly snark.

  • ...
11
 135
 1,755

PreviousChapters Next
Bahmut and Kujata

"My mommy told me that everyone is equal in their own special way, and that donkeys and other species add to the world, even if it's in ways we can't see."

"Your mother was a liar, my dear. It seems I will have to see if we cannot get you into a more traditional classroom setting."


It took me a few moments to get used to the smell of blood that permeated the area now, thick and coldly metallic. It wasn't especially strong, giving the weather, but it was still there.

Sea Salt was a sight, too.

Somehow, against all logic, she managed to make it out of the water and a few good feet away from the river, and she her entire bulk was stretched out on solid ground. Her hide was almost entirely free of blood, of which, if the color of the grass she was laying near was any indication, showed that she must have cleaned herself off after eating the brahman.

Looking past her head, I saw that Umbra and Candy Cane were sitting around the roasting calf on the spit, talking quietly.

"Hmm? Ever Watchful?"

I couldn't help but be slightly startled at the huge head of the sea-pony raising itself off the ground slightly to look at me, voice remarkably quiet giving her size.

"It's me, yes." I answered, giving her a brisk nod. "Are you okay?"

"That-" she said, pausing to let out a wide-mouthed yawn, "-is a loaded question."

Going by her tone, that was supposed to be funny, but I didn't see the humor in it.

"Sea Salt, please. I don't think I can read emotions well. If there is something that you want to talk about, please tell me."

My bluntness seemed to startle her, and she answered me sounding far more subdued, almost afraid.

"Well, that is reasonable. I was wondering if you could do something for me, just one thing before I go off and attempt to swim towards the lakes."

I felt a wave of unease, just from the way she said it.

"Whatever you need."

For a few moments, it almost seemed like she was upset.

"Thank you." she said slowly, "And I am sorry for...most of my actions since I have known you."

"How did you eat that entire cow?" I said suddenly, my brain deciding at that moment to make that connection. "Were you really that hungry?"

A sickly look came over her face, and her head lowered slightly, like a weight was being placed on it.

"I found it prudent to...well, purge that last meal at the bridge a few hours after doing so. After that, well, yes, I was quite hungry."

Ah.

"Do you want to talk about that? The bridge?"

She shook her head, "No, I would rather not. Actually, can we please not talk about me? I think I have a good idea about...well, everything about myself. Including the pony-eating parts."

She was frowning lightly, but it wasn't because of me.

"That's fine. Did Dawn talk to you?" I asked, nodding once to make sure I respected her request.

A large grin broke out on her face. "She did! Quite the interesting creature, isn't she? At first I was a little afraid that I was going to scare in her in some way, just from how she acted, but then she undid that little scarf on her mouth!"

She paused, giving me a oddly amused look. "You didn't tell me that there were others like her. Knowing that a day or two ago would have been nice."

I raised a hand in the air, more of a gesture of admittance to my ignorance then anything else. "I didn't know ponies like Dawn existed until a day ago. She's a special case, and so are you, I would suppose. What did you two talk about, anyhow?"

She shrugged, or did something with her shoulders that resembled a shrug. It could have been something like a nonverbal sigh or something; I wasn't sure if I could be trusted to interpret body language on something as different from the norm as her.

"Nothing much. She had questions, of course; mostly about who I was and if I had any ill will towards her, but after I explained who I was she was calm enough. We did have a fascinating talk about Candy Cane and her batpony friend;" she stopped, and turned her head to the right slightly; the leather-winged mare near the barbecued brahman seemed to be in the middle of carving up the short loin, "and I just can't believe some of the things she told me! Is it really true that there are zombies walking around? I always assumed that they would be made by some sort of virus, but apparently they really are real! And the pegusi all abandoned the rest of the ponies and live in the clouds! It's all quite fascinating, really."

"It is. Do you know what Umbra is? I have never seen her kind before her." I said in return, somewhat happy that she wasn't especially upset at what she heard. I personally would have thought that anyone who lived before the war wouldn't cope well with the currant state of things, but that was just my own half-formed conclusion I came up with a long time ago.

She nickered, turning back to me entirely. "Oh, yes, I studied her kind almost exclusively for a month or so! She even has Lunar Guard armor! I only ever saw pictures of it before, it really is quite pretty!"

"What's a Lunar Guard?" I said, curious.

"Ask her herself!" Sea Salt replied, motioning behind me with a claw.

Blinking, I turned my head to the side, past Sea Salt and to the house.

There was no one at the fire pit.

"For a guy named Ever Watchful, you don't watch your back often."

I didn't spin around; it was more of a stumble in a circular motion.

"Whoa, buddy, watch where you'r stepping, you might tip over if you move like that." Umbra said jokingly.

She wasn't wearing anything a few moments ago, but then again a few moments ago I knew she wasn't behind me. She was wearing the same sort of shiny armor I recognized from the few split seconds I saw her in the docking bay.

The chest piece seemed to be in two parts; one was obviously more heavy, set on her front and colored a dark purple that was nearly black. It was decorated with flame-like designs that were a deep slate blue, framing the edges of the armor and seemingly engraved into it. Set in the middle of it, on top of her collarbone, was a striking oval object; a light blue gem with what resembled a slitted green cat's eye, one that almost seemed as real as Umbra's own eyes.

Her back was protected by a set of grey plates, which overlapped smoothly over her wings and tail. Her hooves were sheathed in light purple metal boots, with the front pair having a simple set of two large claws on it, sticking straight out of each of them. Both gauntlets had two small green gems set in the middle of them, for whatever reason I could not fathom.

She was giving me a grin that didn't look good on a pony face, toothy and leer-like.

"Please do not do that." I said, turning to her after sparing a look at Sea Salt, who seemed content to just look at the two of us. "Really, don't."

Snorting, Umbra waved a hoof in the air, and it didn't seem that the weighted weapon on her hooves bothered her at all.

"Not my fault if you can't see me." she said haughtily.

"Stop that." I said, my patience growing thin. "There's no reason to sneak up on others like that, with weapons and armor."

"I agree, that seems hardly fair."

Suddenly, Umbra looked a lot more nervous as she turned to look at Sea Salt, who was looking at her with mild disapproval.

"It's called a joke, you know, a-"

"It is hardly funny," Sea Salt said firmly, not quite like how would address a child but something close to it. From the angle I was at, I could actually see only one of her eyes, but I could tell she was giving Umbra a withering, piercing look that was akin to a superiors; not parental, but certainly judgmental. "to sneak up on another and then blame them. We were having a conversation."

Umbra blinked once, and after a few seconds pause she, without saying anything else, or did anything else, really, turned around and took off soundlessly towards the radio tower, making her way behind the slightly tilted structure in just a few moments. She didn't make a single sound as she did, even in her armor.

Sea Salt breathed in and let out a huff of indignation after watching the bay pony fly off, while I was just looking at the spot where Umbra was standing, still slightly amazed that she was silent throughout the entire flight.

"What a rude thing to do!" she half-muttered, turning her head over to me, "To leave like that!"

"I do not especially like her either, but she is strong and, as you could see, very fast. She also has been raising Candy Cane."

A look of mild resignation passed over her face. "Yes, she told me that. I wasn't especially happy to hear it, but she told me that she raised Candy Cane. The filly doesn't seem to be worse off from it."

She sighed lightly. "It's a pity she seems so immature herself!"

I had another word for it, but 'immature' fit nicely.

"I have to agree, she is a bit strange. She probably has her reasons, though." I said, mostly for my own benefit.

Sea Salt seemed to believe my words as much as I did, but tried to hide it anyway.

"Well, we all have our reasons for acting the way we do, yes? But that doesn't excuse such behavior." she said, now sounding like she was just trying to carry on a conversation.

"I would think that's the case, yes." I replied, in turn.

"But enough of that, let's talk about something more pleasant; you!"

Slightly startled, I looked at Sea Salts face, which was a just a great big grin.

I guess I didn't have a choice at this point.

"Sea Salt, how about I just ask my questions, and then you can ask away."

Nodding briskly, she laid her neck down, and even her shouldered slackened a little. Her right ear twitched slightly, for whatever reason, and I couldn't help but notice that her tail, as large and as lopsided it was sitting on one side on the ground, even seemed to be making a valiant effort at moving back and forth.

"How are you doing?"

She stopped wagging her tail.

"Didn't you ask me that already?" she said, sounding slightly puzzled.

"I asked you 'Are you okay'. They are different questions."

She pouted slightly. "Do you expect a different answer?"

Shrugging, I nodded. "Well, it's the difference between 'I am fine.' and 'I am not okay.', so, really, it depends on your own mood right now."

"Well, I am doing quite well, honestly." she said slowly, like she was unsure if there was a right answer to the question.

"Are you cold?"

Sea Salt shook her head slowly, almost in disbelief. "We are already talking about the weather?"

"It is the start of fall." I replied indomitably.

She shifted backwards slightly, and the tip of her tail was now touching the water.

"A little, but I would prefer to be a little cold then very warm. One could always warm up, but it is very hard to make one cooler."

Feeling like this was going to be a long conversation, I decided to sit down and cross my legs on a patch of grass closer to Sea Salt's head, so I didn't have to speak much louder then I normally did.

"I have to agree," I replied, not skipping a beat, "my own home wasn't well insulated, but there was plenty of blankets around if one needed them. Blueberry has the opposite idea, but that might just be her."

Sea Salt nodded sympathetically. "She is a little pony, though. I would imagine it would be a matter of scale, wouldn't it? I mean, you are, what, eight feet tall?"

I coughed lightly. "The horns add a bit of size. It's more like...seven feet, plus or minus a inch or two."

Mildly amused, she continued. "See? You are at about twice as tall as the average pony, and probably around three times as tall as Blueberry."

"What about yourself?" I said, to get the conversation off myself, "How tall is the average horse?"

A pleasantly surprised look came over her face, but for what, I couldn't tell. "Well, I was about five feet tall, but..."

After a few moments of preparation, she decided to take that as a cue to unfold her legs, standing up and arching her neck slightly as she did. At this angle, even without standing a few feet away from me, her head was above mine.

"I suppose I have grown some." she said, lowering her head slightly so her head was at level with mine.

It was surreal, seeing something even like a pony as tall as me.

...

Ah, now there's a conversation topic!

"Do you ever get the impression that ponies are strange?"

For a second, she looked delightfully surprised.

"I was going to ask you that!"

After a few moments, however, she answered the question in full.

"Sometimes. When I first arrived her, I had the most fascinating experience with a doorknob. I don't believe there are any other creatures with such mutability like them, either. A unicorn and a unicorn might have only earth pony offspring, or only unicorns, or simply one foal of each species! And they are so colorful, too! Isn't it strange that such creatures as small as they are are so prone to violence?"

"But arn't colorful animals often colorful as a warning to predators, often because they are dangerous themselves?"

I read that, somewhere. It seemed oddly appropriate.

Sea Salt found it profound, apparently, and she seemed to take that as something very interesting.

"That is a interesting thought, ponies as predators. But they didn't eat meat often, before the war, but there might be some truth in that."

"Did you eat meat?" I said carefully.

"Before the war? Only once." she said slowly, lowering her upper body on the ground again, face expressionless. "Ponies ate meat, but only fish and poultry products, like eggs. But I was inducted into a sort of club when I arrived in Tauronto, called a sorority. Apparently, part of becoming part of one involves one being pranked, and the day I was told I could join the leadership of the club took me and a few others to a restaurant that specialized in griffon food, and I had to eat something blindfolded."

I frowned. "What was it?"

"It was lamb, actually. Mutton was the word they used for it, but that just sounds rather impersonal. I never did find out how they obtained sheep for butchering."

"Did you like it, then?" I said, before I could squash the thought in my head.

"Actually...yes. The reaction from the group I was with was rather interesting. I remember it well. It was mostly laughter with a few gasps for air." she said fondly. "Admittedly, I wasn't familiar with Equestrian customs then, but it seemed funny at the time."

I wondered if all the ponies at that table had Sea Salts best interests at heart, but I didn't comment on it.

"What was that favor you wanted?"

She looked at me strangely, like I wasn't supposed to be the one who was asking that. "Well, I did have a few questions, but now that you mention it, I suppose..."

Her face suddenly slackened, and she lowered her head entirely to the ground.

She coughed lightly, and there was a funny aspect to her voice that wasn't there before.

"Well, um, would you mind giving me a hug?"

I blinked. And blinked again.

What kind of favor was that?

"Why do you think that's such a big thing to hold over someone? A hug?"

She looked mildly embarrassed. "Well, it is a little cold, and I haven't really...touched anything warm since I left the aquarium. I just feel a little cold now. Just...something warm."

What could bring something to a point where asking for a hug had to formatted like a request?

Standing up, I barely realized how utterly depressed she looked. She looked dimly hopeful, which just made it worse. She looked like she didn't have anything driving her, with no real goal in mind besides continuing to breath.

It was more of a friendly neck hold, then anything else. In retrospect, she probably didn't want to stand up again, and she didn't seem to be in the mood for me to try and do anything else then, well, hug her.

"Thank you. You'r like a big teddy bear." she mumbled weakly, but only after a few minutes of silence.

There was only so many ways one is able to respond to something like that. Being called anything fluffy by someone of the opposite gender should pretty much always send some good vibes though you, even if said opposite gendered person is on the brink of crying. In fact, even more so.

"Are you going to fall asleep?"

It was a honest question, and it was also one that really didn't need to be said just then.

But I said it anyway.

"...I always found it easier to sleep when I know someone else is nearby." she said slowly, like she was admitting a secret. "This isn't uncomfortable, is it? For you?"

A fascinating question! I seem to be a sponge for emotional tears: with Blueberry and Candy Cane, I would have thought this day couldn't become more charged with bad feelings. But here I was, half-holding a horse's neck and acting as a heat sink for said equine's body, all while in a kneeling position that made my back ache lightly.

"It's not." I lied. "If this is okay with you, it is okay with me."

"Thank you. I haven't gotten any sleep in days." she said slowly, breathing in deeply.

When she exhaled, that funny aspect to her voice appeared again. "If I don't see you again, because I would think you would be gone when I wake up..."

She stopped speaking for a moment, and for a few seconds she shivered. "You truly are a nice person, Ever Watchful. I would think that, if you were born at a different time, we could have been friends."

"Do you want to be friends?" I said lowly, slightly amused at the whole situation at hand.

"That...would be nice."

She said that last part sleepily, because by the time she was finished talking that last hard c was just a wheezy snoring sound.

I knew she was asleep then; I didn't really question it. She was awake for at least two days straight, almost. She was probably going to sleep most of the day away.

But I didn't get up.

I don't think it was a selfless thing to do, holding on to comfort her. I didn't know another word for it, though. I couldn't say I pitied her, but....






.....I only got up when I saw two little ponies walk out of the radio tower, after what seemed like a hour or so just sitting out, besides a river, doing nothing but helping someone sleep better.


I could bore you over a lot of details about other things, but almost none of them are really important, on the grand scale of things.

So let's skip ahead some again, to my last conversation with Nightcore and at the point where the four of us were to leave.

PreviousChapters Next