//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Welcome Home // Story: Fallout Equestria: Dust // by Mr Foster //------------------------------// My eyes fluttered open, and for a moment I was in panic. For the last 3 days, I had been sleeping in a truck, so waking up in a room, lit by warm sunlight, was kinda a surprise. I looked next to me, and Blue Blossom was sleeping quietly in my arms, her head propped against my chest. I smiled, and exhaled. I closed my eyes for a couple more minutes, thinking of how this would have been every morning for everypony 400 years ago, back when all there was, was friendship, happiness, love, and tolerance. It had been a nice night; love had filled the hotel room. Nothing over the top though. Blue Blossom stirred in her sleep, slightly squirming. I looked over at the window, which gave us a clear view of Canterlot, and I nearly flew out of the bed. The Enclave were attacking Canterlot. And it looked like they were winning. “What!? What is it?!” Shouted Blue Blossom, sitting up. “We have to go. NOW!” I shouted hurriedly. I pulled on my barding and clothes, repairing them with my spells. Blue Blossom did the same, and we ran out of the hotel room. “What’s wrong?! Is someone attacking us!?” Asked Blue Blossom, concern leaving her voice, and now being replaced by pure panic. “Canterlot! The Enclave are attacking Canterlot!” I shouted back. I reached the bottom of the stairs, and used my magic to open the Truck door. I jumped in, opening Blue Blossom’s door as well, and put the truck in gear. I wasted no time. As soon as Blue Blossom got in the truck, we drove off, at top speed. While the truck didn’t seem fast, with a few spells, it could go as fast as an angry Pegasus. We drove down the destroyed highway, kicking dust up in our rear. “Oh my Goddesses. Canterlot is screwed if we don’t get there soon!” Said Blue Blossom, but I didn’t respond. It was hard enough to drive this thing at 50 MPH, but nearly topping 150 MPH was a nearly impossible task. Canterlot was rapidly approaching, so I knew we would be there in about 30 minutes or so. The speedometer read 176, and counting. It would be a hard park as soon as we reached Canterlot, so I needed to get everything in check. “Blossom, arm the canon. I need you to be on gunner while I drive.” I said, and Blue Blossom obliged, taking the computer pad out, and syncing it with the canon. I heard the Mini-guns barrels spin once or twice, making sure they were operational, and then a couple test shots. The red tracer rounds flew in front of us, and then exploded when they hit the sandy dunes. Explosive rounds? This was going to be fun. The Speedometer read about 194, and was still climbing. Soon, the needle would fall off the chart, and that was bad news. “I hope the brakes on this are good!” I screamed over the sound of wind buffeting the windshield. “Yeah, me too!” Shouted Blue Blossom, and I looked at her with dismay. She gave me an awkward smile, and I returned one. Canterlot was within 20 miles now, and we would be there soon. “Look, I just wanted to say, last night was one of the best nights of my life!” I shouted over the noise. It sounded barbaric, but if I said it sweet and low, it would sound like a murmur. “It was one of the best nights of my life too! I-I really mean it Dust!” Shouted back Blue Blossom and I smiled. I looked back at the road. I could hear the rocket explosions from inside the cab of the truck, and screams of people dying. The gates of Canterlot were fast approaching, and I turned back to Blue Blossom, giving her a nod. She pulled up the computer pad, and we smashed through the gates. Time slowed to a crawl as I watched the scene unfold before me. Darin’ was flying through the air, killing his Pegasi brethren. I saw tears fly out of his eyes, as he flew around, using his dual semi-auto rifles to kill off Pegasi. Below, Sophia was carrying wounded NCR soldiers to the hospital, using her magic to use her weapon. Her white coat was covered in blood, and tears were streaming from her eyes as well. I guess she thought that all was lost. Stallion Rangers were on rooftops, picking off Pegasi in the air. They were doing a pretty good job of it too. One of the rangers was tackled by a Pegasus of the building, so he pulled the pin on his grenade, and held the Pegasus in his arms. He exploded, taking the Enclave soldier down with him. Time sped back up, and I slammed on the brakes. They were good! I stopped in just under 5 seconds, and I gave Blue Blossom a stable area to shoot in. Within 10 seconds flat, the skies were clear. I sat there, the smoke rising from the barrels of the Mini-gun, and started to grin. I guess the enclave weren’t so tough. I put on my gas mask, turned on the Red HUD, and kicked open the door of the truck. I stepped out, and looked around. NCR soldiers had their jaws hanging from their heads, Darin’ looked at me with a look of approval, and Sophia collapsed in relief. “Miss me?” I asked, and everyone cheered. I have to admit, I felt like a badass. I had just saved most of Camp Alicorn, since over a hundred soldiers were emerging from their hiding spots. I motioned for Blue Blossom to get out of the truck, and she tentatively opened the door. She stepped out, and I heard a bunch of whistling from the men. “Cut the chatter, you big bag of mules!” Shouted Darin’, and he winked at me. I guess he got the idea, about Blue Blossom and me. Sophia got up, and started to throw up. “Buck! Sophia!” Shouted Darin’, and he ran over to her side. I did the same, and Blue Blossom followed. “What’s wrong, baby? Are you okay?” asked Darin’, sitting her up. “I’m actually marvelous. I wanted to tell you this morning, but we didn’t have time.” Said Sophia, smiling gently. “Tell him what? Are you sick?” I asked, and Sophia shook her head. “We’re having a baby, Darin’.” said Sophia, and Darin’s jaw dropped. I laughed a bit, and Sophia hugged Darin’. “We’re gonna have a baby! We’re gonna have a baby!” Shouted Darin’, half crying, half laughing. I smiled, but looked back at the sky. Canterlot was still under siege, and someone needed to do something about it. “Sorry to rain on your parade, guys, but I still have a job to do. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” I said, standing up. “Alright. Screw ‘em up, will ya?” Said Darin’, and I nodded. “Where’s Napalm?” asked Sophia, and I sighed. “That traitor was an Enclave, so you probably know what happened to him.” I said, and there was silence from behind me. I opened the door of the armored truck, and Blue Blossom got in after me. “Is that the good friend you were talking about? The mare?” Asked Blue Blossom. I put the truck in gear. “Eeyup. I trained with her.” I said, and Blue Blossom nodded. We drove to the gates, and two lanky looking earth ponies opened it for us. We drove into Canterlot, and almost immediately Blue Blossom started to shoot at Enclave agents. She was accurate, almost never missing a target, and always, always, killing them. “We got about ten more at 12 o’clock!” I shouted, and the Mini-gun spun around, and started to fire at the Enclave. She killed about 6 of them, but the other four were obviously good fliers. They shot rockets at the truck, and I knew that they were going to impact us. “Get out!” I shouted, pushing Blue Blossom out of the truck. She tried to resist, but I was stronger. I opened the door with my magic, and shoved her out. She covered herself with a forcefeild, and the rockets impacted the truck, sending it into the air, a massive red and orange ball of flames. “Dust, wake up.” I heard a familiar voice say, and I opened my eyes. I was not in the paved street, stuck in the carcass of the a destroyed truck, staring at Blue Blossom. Instead, I was hanging by my forehooves, in a bright white room, looking at Princess Luna, Blue Blossom, Darin’, Sophia (Who had a slightly swollen belly), and the six ponies of harmony. “Did we win?” I asked, looking around. My head burned, and I felt my stomach wobble a bit. “Yes. We won by a long shot.” Said Darin’, who looked a bit uncomfortable. I noticed he was staring directly at my lower-midsection. I tried to look down, but something was holding my head up. “How long has it been?” I asked, looking around, horizontally. “Three months, I believe.” Piped up Twilight, and everypony else nodded. “I’ve been out that long? Wow, I’ve been asleep longer then I’ve been awake, this year.” I said, and laughed awkwardly. No one else laughed. “You actually haven’t been asleep, you’ve been dead.” Said Sophia, her voice slightly wobbling. “We’ve been working on you for a while now. First, we gave you replacement organs, that was the main problem. While it was costly, you are pretty much invulnerable to sickness, and radiation.” Said Twilight. “Plus, we gave you a magic booster. It recharges through solar exposure, and it’s much more powerful now.” Said Luna. “Also, we repaired your weapons. And replaced your skeleton with steel. Nothing to fancy.” Said Rainbow Dash, and I sighed. “Can I please look down?” I asked, expecting my legs to be replaced. Luna released the latch on my neck, and I looked down. Well, they were still there, for sure. No modifications, or anything. Just a scar from my throat down to my crotch. “So, I’m still an organic being, then? I’m not a Robo-pony, or anything, am I?” I asked, and Luna nodded. “Still same old Dust. Hopefully.” Said Luna. Then she went up to my ear. “Blue Blossom told me the whole plan to get them back home. We can prevent the whole war if we do this! I’ve already explained what their roles were in the war, and such. Pretty much filled them in on the past 400 years, I guess.” Whispered Luna, and I sighed with relief. I was already in enough pain, seeing as how my body was getting used to my new organs. “Girls, and guy, I think Dust would like to get dressed.” Said Rarity, and I heard murmurs of compliance. They all left the bright white room, and the braces let go of me. I looked around the room, making sure that no one else was in, and I walked over to a table with some dark looking clothes on it. I put on the clothes, which included some new barding, a new duster, some leg armor, new helmet, and new boots. It was a nice change from my brown, dusty overcoat, my bloody barding, and my cracked helmet. I then looked over to another table, where my weapons were laying. There was the flame thrower, the Assault rifle, the .50 pistol, my .454, and the Mosin. I put the handguns on my thigh holsters, the flamer in my left battle saddle weapon holder, my assault rifle in the right weapon holder, and I strapped the Mosin to my saddlebags. I walked over to the door, and punched the red button to open the door. Blue Blossom was waiting right outside the door, tears filling her eyes. “I thought you were dead…” She said, and my eyes softened. “Far from it. I’m still here, aren’t I?” I asked rhetorically, and she smiled a bit. “Yes, yes you are.” Said Blue Blossom, and she leaned in for a kiss. I did as well, and I heard a large amount of awwwwwwwwwww’s from the other ponies, who I hadn’t even realized were there. It didn’t discourage me in the least though. I pulled my lips away from Blue Blossoms slowly, and she just smiled at me. “You haven’t lost your touch over three months.” She said, and I laughed a bit. “Um, excuse me lovers, but I think we need to look at the problem at hand. I’ve already got the Steel Rangers geared up for a full frontal assault on Moon Cathedral.” Said Luna, and Rainbow Dash beamed. “I still can’t believe I make their armor in the future! It’s so awesome!” Said Rainbow Dash, hoof pumping. “Alright. How long ‘til we head over there?” I asked, looking at my Pipbuck. I took inventory on what Ammunition and medical gear I had. >100 .308 rounds >350 5.56 rounds >50 .454 rounds >50 .50 rounds. >900 seconds of flamer shot >20 stimpacks >10 healing potions >5 rad away >10 Speed Seems like everything was in check. “We leave in an hour. All of us. We’ll be meeting our agent, Sandstorm there.” Said Luna, motioning towards the window, in the large, dark room. I walked over to it, and saw that there was a NCR Phoenix (A massive Helicopter with 4 propellers, and a massive amount of armaments). “Well, hopefully, if we can break into the Area, after dealing with Chrysalis’ legion, we can send you guys back home.” I said, pointing over to the ponies. They smiled, and started for the elevator that would lead us down to the Heli-pad. I continued to stare out the window, over the wasteland. It had changed in the past months I had been out. New Canterlot was being expanded by builders and it was being repainted. Probably something that had caught on when the Six ponies of harmony decided to clean the place up a bit. I sighed, and stared at the long, destroyed land that was once the beautiful land of Equestria. “Welcome home.”