//------------------------------// // What About the Sun? // Story: Fallout Equestria: Road Home // by EchoUnicorn //------------------------------// Silence surrounded me. No sirens. No explosions. Nothing aside from the faint whispering of wind around the mountain. I lifted my head and something fell from my face. It made a small plop as it hit the ground. Holding myself up in a sitting position, I pawed at the glowing green substance. “Snow?” A gust of wind rushed past me. I covered my eyes to protect them from the harsh wind. When I lowered my foreleg my eyes opened to the great expanse before me. My breath caught in my throat. Equestria spread in every direction in front of me, but this was no longer the warm happy Equestria. The green snow covered everything. Through it I could see the cities and forest, now dark and uninviting. I climbed to my hooves and a sickly feeling washed over me as my fur stuck fast to the ground and ripped free. I steadied myself then proceeded to look my body over. No terrible wounds just some missing fur. My legs moved just fine and nothing was causing me pain. My eyes drifted up toward where I had fallen from. I was not too far down the mountain but far enough to have been severely injured. Why did I not have any injuries? A tightness formed in my chest. I took a deep breath to calm myself before panic set in. Trotting back and forth, I racked my brain, trying to think of what I should do. I need to find Echo. He received a pass for Stable 1. Hopefully him and Treble made it before the mist started. Everything in me said that I should find Cat Eyes before I do anything. But he is in Tall Tail and hopefully in the Stable as well. I sat down hard and held my head in my hooves, forcing away the thoughts that suggest they might not have made it. Taking another breath to calm myself I tried to run my hoof through my mane. What I felt was along the lines of soft plastic. The panic found its way to the surface. I jumped up and took another look at myself, taking in the plastic like texture of my fur and tail. I ran my hoof across the end of my sleeve. There was no separation. The pink water had a larger effect than I had anticipated. I stared at my hooves, horrified. Then I smacked myself to change my focus. I am not dead and I at least do not feel as if I am dying. I need to get to the Stable. They should have doctors that can help me. But first, I need to find a way back up to Canterlot. There were no roads or tracks nearby so I had no choice but to climb. The mountain did not offer as many ledges as I could have hoped. I made do, carefully testing each step. Progress was slow but I finally managed to reach the top. I had emerged back where I had been washed off. There, before me, sat the city of Canterlot. It looked at if a giant pink cloud had settled and covered the city. The river had returned to normal but was still heavily saturated with the mist. Pieces of the bridge had collapsed. Some sat in the river, cutting the pink surface with their jagged edges. On the bank, right under the bridge, something was pinned under a chunk of marble. I approached it, praying it was not somepony. The lumpy brown form was in fact my saddle bags. They managed to survive the torrent of water. Digging my front hooves into the mud, I pressed my back hooves against the chunk of marble and rolled it off of my bags. They had survived surprisingly well. One side had been completely crushed, leaving broken Sparkle Cola bottles and some ruined apples, but the bag itself had not been torn. I emptied it out and turned to the other one which held the jar with the Poison Joke flower. A crack had formed and some of the pink water managed to seep in. A strange reaction had occurred causing the flower to change from its bright blue to the same pink as the cloud. I placed the jar back in the bag then slipped them on. Turning toward the road I stopped in my tracks. I had no idea how I was going to move through Canterlot with it covered in that pink cloud. I approached the edge of the cloud, running through any idea that popped into my head. There was no safe way to test it nor anyway around it, so I thrust my foreleg into the mist expecting the worst. Nothing happened. I turned my hoof over, watching where the mist touched it, then stepped forward into the cloud. The water had burned, perhaps it had to do with the high concentration that was trapped in the bubble at the time. I continued forward. If the cloud is not affecting me now perhaps there is a chance that Echo and Treble have survived. ---------- My hope grew bleak as I entered the city. Bodies lay everywhere, misshapen and grotesque. I quickened my pace, keeping my eyes ahead of me. The apartment was not too much further. The building sat fairly untouched aside from shattered windows and the pink cloud that enveloped the entire city. I pushed open the door to the psychiatrist office and poked my head in. It was as untouched as the outside, the cloud was also much thinner. I minded my steps around the broken glass and entered the stairway to Echo’s apartment. As I approached the door I could hear some form of scraping on the other side. Unlocking the door I slowly pushed it open. Nopony was there. I stepped in and stood in the entrance way between the kitchen and living room. My eyes scanned the rooms and caught a small movement down the hallway. Staying cautious, I approached. I turned toward the bedroom. No movement aside from the shadows cast through the window. I sighed and turned to check the bathroom and froze in place. Something that looked like a melted pony stood in the doorway. It stumbled forward and I panicked, launching myself into the bedroom and slamming the door. I pressed my back against it, listening. All that I heard were soft hoof steps and the same scratching as before. I opened the door and peered down the hall at the melted pony. As I approached I noticed the white mane and blue hide. Dread washed over me as I found the cutie mark, a rising line of notes. I bit back my shock and watched what Treble was doing. His hoof scrapped around the door knob, never making a connection. After a few seconds he stopped then walked back down the hall to the bathroom. I followed him. He just stood in front of the mirror, then he started the loop again. When he passed me in the hall I tried saying his name. Treble would stop for a brief second then start again. I stepped in front of him then tried it again. This time he cocked his head, so I said more. “Treble? C-can you understand me?” He stared blankly at me. His eyes were covered in a pink film. “Treble! Do you know where Echo is?” He stared at me for a moment then stepped around to the door. This time Treble just stood in front of it. I watched him but he never continued the cycle. I pressed my hoof to the handle but the door was locked. The door groaned as I fought against the latch. Eventually I turned and gave the door a swift buck. It flung open with a hard smack. I entered and Treble followed behind me. He walked over to the terminal where a pink mass sat. I gave it a concerned look and stepped closer. Reaching a hoof out, I gently turned what used to be a head to reveal a partially exposed skull. I had to step away. Even though I knew that it was Echo it still caught me off guard. During my time conducting research on site in the Everfree and the Zebra lands I had witnessed many terrible sights: ponies torn apart by Ursa, poisoned by Manticores, withering from illness. Nothing prepares you for those kind of things, and you never get used to it. My eyes drifted to Treble who had moved into a sitting position next to Echo. He stared blankly at the pink mass. Everything in me said to take his body and bury it but there was no way that I could, the cloud had fused him to the desk and floor. I looked from Echo to Treble and sighed. After a long few seconds I turned my attention to the terminal. There was a document open with a mess of letters. I could make out a ‘Dear Spring Leaf’ but the rest was illegible. I closed it and looked at the recent entries. One was entitled ‘Dear Treble.’ I opened it. Dear Treble, I'm sorry. I heard you pounding on the door but I didn't answer. I couldn't. I rushed into the room just in time to see that pink mist seeping through the window. It melted my hooves to the floor then when I pulled free you stopped. There are more explosions now. I hope you made it to the Stable. I'm sorry. I love you. I'll miss hearing your music. I'll miss your lovely eyes. I'll be waiting for you. Echo I looked up from the terminal. Treble still sat next to Echo. Raising to my hooves I stepped next to Treble and sat down again. I looked him over. He was as still as a corpse. Pressing my hoof to his chest I waited for the faintest of movement but I got nothing. He did not even respond to my touch. I leaned down and pressed my ear to his chest hoping and praying for something, anything. Again, nothing. Backing away I began shaking. I sat and held my head in my hooves. “What kind of fucked up necromantic magic did this?” I wanted to scream. To run up to those aristocrats and tear them apart. But I did nothing but sit there. I pressed my hooves to my own chest looking for the beat of my heart and the movement of my breath. My chest rose and fell and my heart did beat, although a bit slow considering the situation. Standing, I regarded Treble once more. He sat there with Echo. A terrible zombie created by this terrible war. I said his name a few more times and waved my hoof in front of his face. Nothing caused a response, so I left. I made sure to shut and lock the door (my buck managed to not break anything). If I could not take Treble with me I could at least make sure no one ever bothers him. The apartment felt cold. Silence surrounded everything. I no longer knew what to do. It felt like I should not be here. That I should just leave everything in its place and leave. I sighed and stepped into the guest room. My suitcase sat open on the bed. I regarded my pile of clothing and attempted to adjust my shirt color. Sighing again I moved it all aside leaving a extra sack of bits, my journal and the ticket to Stable 7. Hopefully it will allow me access to Stable 1. I tucked them into my saddle bags and left to the kitchen. I grabbed a few odds and ends. Food, water, some tools, anything that would make my survival easier despite the knowledge that the pink cloud had already poisons me. Approaching the door, I hesitated with my hoof on the handle. A million thoughts forced their way to the surface. I shook them away. I had to continue, to see if anyone even survived. So, I forced myself through the door and out into the Canterlot streets toward the Ministries. As I walked I occasionally glanced up to the sky. Thought the pink and grey clouds the sun fought through. It was nice, knowing our sun was still fighting for us. I needed the distraction because bodies lay everywhere. There were more of those zombies, shambling down the streets. Following set paths with no memory of why or where they were once headed. They reminded me of ghosts. I neared Ministry Walk, the vast buildings rose into the pink mist. I veered toward the Ministry of Wartime Technology where the entrance to Stable 1 resided. Bodies lay on the stairs in front of the building. That was not unusual given the state of the city and probably the rest of Equestria. It did make me question if anypony even made it into the Stable. I made my way up the steps doing my best to avoid the legs and other parts fused with the marble surface. I misstepped and slid down a few steps coming to rest next to what used to be a purple unicorn. She sat next to another unicorn, this one white. I looked from one to another, something sparked in my mind and I backed up the stairs and gazed horrified at the two ponies. It is one thing with all of the unfortunate ponies laying everywhere, it is something completely different when you recognize them. I tried to take another step but stumbled again. Lilac and Star Dust, they did not make it to the Sable. They may have given me a hard time the entire time we worked together but I would never have wanted this for them. Shaking my head free of more of those terrible thoughts, I started making my way back up the steps into the building. Hanging my head low, I did my best not to look and anymore faces. My hope had already faltered, I needed to keep going before I lost it all. The entrance to where the Stable door was only had a few bodies along the way, guess that was a little better compared to outside. Large shop lights directed my attention to the massive gear shaped door. I marveled at the shear size of it and made my way to the intercom. I pressed the button and was welcomed by a ear piercing static. As soon as my hoof released the button the sound stopped. Guess the system is malfunctioning. I followed the wires to try and find the problem, but this is far beyond my knowledge and expertise. After many attempts at fixing wires and some close electrocutions, I eventually resorted to banging on the giant steel door. With no response I tried the intercom again, shouting to anypony over the loud static. I fell into a loop of shouting at the door and shouting over the intercom static. This turned out to be a bad idea as after a few loops I fell into ragged coughing fits. Each fit ended with me expelling a glob of pink slime covered in specks of blood. Now I just lay on the metal grating next to the intercom, my breathing ragged. I had no idea what to do now. The only hope I had left was that Cat Eyes survived. There was little hope that I could ever make it to Tall Tail let alone into that Stable. Who knows how toxic the road there had become. I adjusted myself, letting my head hang over the edge of the raised pathway. Something caught my eye passed the shop light, toward the back of the small cave. Raising and stepping over to the shop light I rotated one of its lamps to illuminate the corner. Boxes of some kind sat in a dark alcove out of the way. Looking closer I could see each one had the Stable-tec logo. I pushed the lid off of the closest one and peered in. It was full of jumpsuits. Regarding my shirt and sweater and how they were fused to me, I left the box and moved to the next one. Inside were packs of seeds and various gardening supplies. I picked a few and looked them over. There were plenty of root vegetables, fruit bearing bushes, and flowers even. Pocketing a few hoof fulls I turned my attention to the last box. I reared back and fell into coughing again. The box had about a dozen pipbucks. I held one in my hooves. When you were given your ticket for the Stable the contract mentions that everypony would use one. They supposedly could track your vitals and act as a personal terminal. It definitely could do other things but I just could not remember what. For whatever reason these boxes never made it into the Stable. I assumed these were just extras if the ponies inside have yet to retrieve them. I turned the pipbuck over, observing the buttons and dials. Opening the latches I closed it around my left leg. Good thing the fall ripped off the sleeve, I do not think it would have worked through it. Sitting back on my haunches I switched on the power and watched as the screen flashed to life. The Stable-tec logo appeared for a moment then blinked away to a list of my vitals and a mass of warnings. The red words warned about high radiation levels, an unknown toxin detected, and an alarming amount of other problems. I definitely was dying. It sure did not feel like I was. Ignoring the warnings for now I flipped through the other tabs. One held an entire list of the items in my saddle bags, another had a map, and the last was the radio tuner. A few stations popped up, so I tried one. My ears were blessed with the same defining static as the intercom. The pipbuck was brand new, the pink cloud must have an affect on radios. I decided I would just leave that tab be for now. What next? If I stayed here waiting for the Stable to open I would certainly die. I flipped to the map and scanned the area. Canterlot was out of the question for finding a hospital or medical clinic. Everything nearby was either down the mountain or in the sky. I positioned the map over Tall Tail, where my house would be. Then over the MoP facility. There was no way I would just die here without knowing. I have to see Cat Eyes just once more. ---------- Pausing on the station platform, I took in the scene. Ponies lay where they had been waiting for the train. The train never made it though. Down the tracks I could see where it wrecked against the shield. Passenger cars hung over the mountain side, a few were missing. I jumped down onto the tracks and began walking toward the train. I had decided that following the railroad is my best option. It is a more direct path and cuts straight through the mountains rather than over them. However the tracks do lead right under where Cloudsdale sat in the sky. The balefire bomb would have vaporized the entire city of clouds and rained the radiation down on the area below. I was not looking forward to that. The pipbuck registered my radiation levels to be extremely high already, I do not think I could live with much more. In fact, I am surprised I have not show signs of radiation sickness. Looping around the remains of the engine I stopped on a cliff overlooking some forest. I had finally exited into an area outside the pink cloud, so I turned my eyes up to the sky. Ominous clouds blocked most of the sunlight. Few places gave way to the blue sky only to quickly close again. I turned my gaze toward the mountains off to the west and set out.