//------------------------------// // Chapter 38 - Wish You Were Here // Story: Fallout Equestria: Blue Destiny // by MagnetBolt //------------------------------// I struggled to get the Exodus armor off once we were back at the Sanctuary. Even after downing some Dartura and a healing potion I felt like I was raw all over. Some combination of sweat and mild burns had left me on the edge between itchy and painful where you just knew scratching would hurt. “Let me help you with that,” Opening said softly. He tugged at a catch and flakes of solidified pitch broke free before he got the latch to cooperate. “There we go.” “Thanks,” I said, shrugging the left pauldron off. “It’s sort of a field repair, so it’s a little, um. Improvised.” “Whoever put it together does good work!” Opening said. “There aren’t a lot of decent smiths around. Most ponies just make do with rough scrap parts. This is quality metal, and it’s obviously been fitted for you. The rest is, well… it’s obviously a relic. Something we couldn’t make anymore.” “Not without a microthamuatic inscriber,” Destiny agreed. She was resting on the rest of the armor parts. The experience down in Stable 83 had drained her, and she wasn’t even levitating if she could help it. “I could make a few spare thaumoframe tiles, but I’d need the right equipment and I know you don’t have it.” Opening shook his head sadly. “We lost a lot since your time.” “It’s not your fault,” Destiny said. “But other things are.” Opening looked at the piece of armor he was holding again, running a hoof over a burn mark. “I’m sorry about the mission. I completely underestimated the amount of danger I put you in, and I have to beg your forgiveness. I'll be more careful next time.” “What?” I blinked. “No, it’s no big deal.” “Yes it is,” Opening said, giving me back the pauldron. "It's my job to plan out a war and give Unsung options. Good options. Not ones that get ponies killed." A pony called out from above. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Opening." Unsung flew down from the rafters above us in the old subway station. "You do good work. We're outnumbered a hundred to one and we're still making a difference. Any progress on that plan with the radio station?" "I have an outline of a plan," Opening said. "It needs a lot of details. It's half a plan with no payoff." "I like to think of it more as an opportunity waiting for its chance," Unsung said. "Like all of us!" "I'll get my notes together for you to look at," Opening said. He nodded to me and trotted off. Unsung watched him go, waiting until he'd closed the door to his little office off the side of the platform. “Kasatka is like a family to him. To all of us. It’s all we have left after we were kicked out of the Enclave for our beliefs. He helps me make sure I don't put ponies in danger with my big plans." “I’ve been in worse danger than that,” I said. “It wasn’t even the biggest monster I’ve had to kill. You should have seen this big green mecha-dragon I had to take down -- that was really dangerous!” Unsung laughed. “I’d love to hear the story when you have time.” She took a deep breath and the crimson and black pegasus straightened up, giving me a serious look. “But I regret to say I have a mission lined up for you. It’s something that needs to be done, and I think only you can do it.” “What is it?” I asked. I was tired, but if it was really important… Unsung looked to the side, where Four was standing with Klein Bottle and helping the short pegasus mare with the machinery inside the massive Grandus Armor. “This place is a little gloomy. I would appreciate it if you’d take Four Damascus out and away from the darkness for a while. I don’t think she’s had a real meal in a while, and she keeps saying she’s too busy to eat. Do you think you could convince her to get a meal and enjoy herself for a few hours?” Unsung held up a bag of caps. “Payment in advance, of course,” she said. “Are you asking me to take her out on a date?” I asked. “If that’s the way you want to think of it,” Unsung said. “I don’t want either of you breaking down because you’re working too hard.” I took the bag. There were a lot of caps in there. “You don’t have to bribe me for this, you know.” “Maybe, but you did take the money,” Unsung teased. I snorted. “Hey, Four!” I called out. She looked up, surprised, her ears swiveling. “I just got paid for that Stable job! You want to get some dinner?” “Are you sure this is really okay?” Four asked. She looked around the streets nervously. I couldn’t entirely blame her. Every other block or so, we’d either see somepony in an Enclave uniform getting fleeced at a store or hear them flying overhead. I was very conscious that hiding my wings under my bearskin cloak was not the best disguise. “It’s fine,” I assured her. “You know, in some ways this reminds me of being back home!” “Really?” I nodded. “I grew up… well, really I grew up all over the place because Mom and Dad traveled around a lot, but when they split up, Dad settled us down in a prewar city called Cirrus Valley.” “I’d love to see a pegasus city someday,” Four said. “It must be so different from living on the ground. I heard it’s just… amazing up there. Everything’s the way it used to be, before the world was broken.” She glanced up at the clouds. “Bright colors, smiling ponies, no worries about raiders or food or anything!” “I mean, that’s mostly right,” I agreed. “The food down here is way better, though.” “That can’t be true.” Four frowned. “It totally is! I was staying with this, uh, tribe…” I decided to leave out that they were zebras, just in case. “And they had this stuff called mead, which is made from honey and it is like the most amazing stuff in the world!” Four giggled and smiled sadly. “It sounds like you have a lot of really good memories. I wish… I wish I had memories like that.” Oh right. She had almost total amnesia. “No problem,” I said. “We’ll just make some good memories right now. Easy as.” “What?” Four blinked in surprise. I grabbed her hoof and gave her a smile. Without giving her a chance to be sad or try to politely refuse or anything, I pulled her into one of the shops along the wide street. “Let’s get some new outfits,” I said. “I could use something a little more stylish than something’s skin, and you deserve something new, too.” “What? Me? Why?” “Excuse me, miss?” I waved down one of the ponies folding clothing. If we’d been in the Enclave it would have been rude to assume she worked there, but she was the only pony I’d seen in the wasteland not making things more of a mess, so she had to be the store owner. “Could you help my friend with something new? Maybe try on a few things and see what looks good on her?” I held up my bag of caps, and the mare’s expression changed from suspicion to a happy customer service smile. “Of course. Come right this way, miss. We’ve got a changing room in the back!” Four gave me a scared look and got dragged off to the world of fashion. I was kind of curious to see what they’d come up with. The clothing options I’d seen so far in the wasteland came in two varieties -- carefully preserved pre-war designs, and rags stapled together to keep rain off. I poked around at the clothing racks while I waited. I had no idea how she had it all sorted. It didn’t seem to be by size, or style, or even color. Somepony cleared their throat, and I turned around to see the shop owner. “I believe we’ve found something quite fetching,” she said, motioning for Four to step out of the changing room. The shy, thin unicorn walked out. This is the point in most stories where the pony telling it would go on about how they were struck suddenly by how beautiful the mare was, how they’d been a diamond in the rough and how a little treatment had made them shine. That was sort of demeaning, in my opinion. It wasn’t the clothing that made Four shine. She was the one who made the outfit work. A black bodysuit made out of something soft and stretchy was cut short on her long legs, ending just below her knees. Over it, she was wearing a sheer blue dress, big enough that it was like wrapping a blanket around her, yet fitted so she wasn’t awkward or swimming. It was like she was carrying part of the ocean with her, the fabric light enough to dance in the wind when she moved, transparent enough that you could just see her form thanks to the dark bodysuit she was wearing. “That looks great on you,” I said honestly. Four blushed. “You really think so?” “Absolutely.” I stepped closer and reached for her hoof. She took mine and squeezed lightly, smiling and sneaking glances at herself in the mirror. “Now for you,” the shop owner said, rubbing her chin. “We don’t have a lot of pegasus clothing.” I froze up. “You can tell--” “I’m not blind and you’re not hiding it well,” she snorted. “Come along. I’ve got a few things, but with your size it’ll probably have to be stallionwear…” She dragged me away from Four, who just waved placidly and let me be led off. “It’s definitely not as elegant as yours,” I said, once we’d paid and left. I’d been worried that buying clothing would eat up all of my budget, but Unsung had been extremely generous. I had more than enough for a good meal and a few drinks even after the shopkeep had cottoned and fleeced us for all we were worth. “I like it,” Four said, looking up from the cafe menu. “It suits you.” “Really?” I glanced down at myself. I felt a little exposed, truth be told. The new outfit meant I couldn’t even pretend I wasn’t a pegasus. A black tracksuit with white lines running up all four legs and a white turtleneck under it. It was one of the few outfits she’d had in my size that were cut for ponies with wings. The long sleeves did cover my right forehoof, so at least it had that going for it. “It’s got sort of a dangerous look to it,” Four teased. “You could be some kind of dangerous gangster!” I blushed and glanced around. We were far from alone. There were a bunch of other ponies in the cafe. I even saw an Enclave uniform. Nopony had given me a second look, but I really didn’t want to start a fight if I could help it. “Not so loud,” I whispered. “What if they take you seriously?” She smiled. “Then you’d have to save me again.” “Let’s try to get a meal in before we start a brawl.” I looked over the menu again. “Huh. I’m kind of surprised it’s not all gruel or prepackaged junk scavenged out of ruins.” “You don’t think most ponies eat like that, do you?” Four asked. “Even I know most food comes from farming. It’s not easy since there’s not a lot of sun, but…” “I’m not stupid,” I said defensively. Four recoiled like I’d hit her. “No, I mean… sorry.” I mumbled. “I’m not mad. I just, you know. I’m not very smart. And other ponies know that, so they talk down to me a lot, and… it’s sort of a reflex. Sorry.” “I don’t think you’re stupid,” Four said. “I think you’re sweet.” I sputtered something that was a little like words and tried to focus on the menu. Four giggled, and we ordered our food. By the time the waiter came by I was able to form enough words to order soup and a sandwich without having to point at the menu wordlessly. Four and I talked over the food. It was… easy to talk to her. We started off talking about nothing, and I thought she’d want to hear about the adventures I’d had, but she liked hearing about normal, boring stuff instead. Daily life. Things from when I was a foal. I was in the middle of telling her about my very brief stint as a bartender when I saw him. He was sitting on the far side of the cafe, and there’d been a table full of ponies between us. When they got up to leave, I saw what was on the other side, and he saw me. Rain Shadow. Our eyes met, and I forgot all about dinner. We both stood up at the same time. Four blinked in surprise and said something that I didn’t hear over the tension in the air. I could have bailed and run for it. I could have tried an apology. There were a lot of ways to handle the situation, and some of them might even have resulted in calm and collected dialogue where we resolved our problems like adults. But those were loser options for losers. I smirked and shrugged at him. He started walking towards me, shoving a waiter out of the way when he got in the way. “I didn’t know you were alive,” I said. “This is awkward.” “How are you here?” Rain Shadow growled. He stopped a few paces away from me. I saw him touch a pistol at his side, but he wasn’t drawing yet. This close I could see scars peeking out around the edges of his uniform. I tilted my head. “Let’s see, last I remember, you went crazy and killed a bunch of relatively innocent ponies and I had to stop you. Then you tried to drag me down to Tartarus with you.” “I spent a month in the hospital before I could even walk again!” he spat. “You can’t… you shouldn’t…!” This was the part where I could probably have calmed things down and tried to talk to him rationally. It was an option. But I was still kind of pissed off at him. “How’s your sister?” I asked. He drew his gun. I could see it in his eyes. He was going to shoot me. I knew it wouldn’t do anything. He must have known it somewhere too, but he was too mad to care. I was going to let him take a shot, and that’d be the last thing he ever did. A hoof grabbed the gun out of his teeth. “Stop it!” the mare holding the gun snapped. “What’s wrong with you? Both of you!” “This is the witch that ruined my--” Rain Shadow started. “You’re on medical leave!” she said firmly. Rain Shadow’s nose scrunched up and he just looked so incredibly punchable that I was only able to resist the impulse by a feat of pure willpower. “Chamomile, what’s going on?” Four asked. She stood up slowly and stumbled. “I don’t-- you-- I don’t feel good…” “Four?” I turned just as she collapsed, shaking and twitching. “Four!” I was down on my knees, trying to hold her still. I had no idea what was going on. She wasn’t just unconscious and twitching, every muscle in her body was fighting. The mare who’d stopped Rain Shadow was next to me. “She’s having a seizure,” she said. “Does she have a history?” “I don’t know! What do we do?” “Don’t panic,” the mare said. “Let go. If you try and hold her, she’s more likely to hurt herself. We just want to keep her away from anything dangerous until it passes.” I swallowed and nodded, letting go. Four shook like a leaf, kicking and twitching. It only lasted a minute or so, but it was a terrifying minute, being unable to do anything at all except watch her suffer. It eased up, and she went still. “It looks like it’s over,” the mare said quietly. “She needs rest. You should take her somewhere safe and quiet.” “We can’t just let them go,” Rain Shadow protested. “Come on, Nova Stella! She’s the one I told you about!” The mare, whose name was Nova I guess, sighed. “We’re not turning this into a battlefield. I don’t think she’s going to hurt anypony today, is she?” She looked up at me and smiled a little. “And she’s got more to worry about.” “What do you mean?” I frowned. “This.” Nova Stella moved a lock of Four’s mane aside, revealing small scars along the base of her horn. “I’ve seen this before. I don’t know where you found this mare, but… I’ve met another mare like her. These are surgical scars.” I felt my blood start to chill. “What kind of surgery?” “I don’t know, not exactly,” Nova admitted. “They were some research group operating down here on the ground, taking ponies in from the wasteland and trying to… improve them. Dangerous experiments we wouldn’t do to Enclave citizens. I’ve seen some of the successes. They were examined by the local hospital. It felt more like we were doing quality control on a product than a real medical check.” “So they were all like Four?” “No. I don’t think… she’s one of the successes.” That made me tense up. Nova stepped back, sighing. “This is a mistake,” she mumbled. “This girl probably doesn’t have all that long. I don’t know all the details, but I know the things they did to them… the subjects all required a regular drug regimen to stay stable.” “I can get her whatever she needs,” I said, standing up. Four was still out of it, but I could see she was slowly waking up. Nova hesitated, then nodded and fished a pen and pad of paper out of her uniform, scribbling a few things down. “This is a list of drugs we had to supply the test subjects with. I know they can be found locally, and I’m sure you have sources.” “I’ll figure something out.” Nova nodded. “Be careful with her. The Damascus lab had some kind of accident and the whole place burned to the ground. I’m not sure what they were working on, but it was dangerous.” Rain Shadow fumed. “This is stupid! We’re putting them under arrest. We can take the filly to the hospital for whatever treatment she needs, and put that monster in chains!” “You almost died trying to get revenge last time,” Nova said. “I told you, if you want to heal, you need to let it go.” She put a hoof on his chest. “It’s not easy. I know. You want to hurt her because you were hurt, but that won’t make you better. Only forgiveness heals wounds of the heart.” “I just want to get Four somewhere safe,” I said. “Rain Shadow, I get why you hate me. If you want to have it out next time we meet, fine. But we won’t involve other ponies. That’s fair enough, right?” He scoffed and looked away. “Fine. I’m not a dishonorable monster like you. Go and take your marefriend out of here.” I nodded and picked Four up, carrying her on my back. “Thanks, uh, Nova Stella, right? You seem like a decent pony.” “I swore an oath to do no harm,” she said, with a sad smile. “That comes before everything else, even the military.” “I can walk on my own,” Four said. She’d said that four or five times now, and I had very carefully not listened every time she protested about being carried like a foal. She sounded exhausted. I wasn’t going to let her exert herself for even an instant. “We’re almost there,” I said. “Can’t you be nice and let me carry you across the threshold?” I gave her a teasing smile and her cheeks lit up like bright red apples. The darkness of the subway system gave way to the light of Sanctuary, and Four stayed still right until the moment she realized other ponies could see us. “T-that’s far enough!” she said, scrambling to her hooves and flopping off my back, trying to look cool and collected. Four was barely on her hooves, her thin legs shaking with exhaustion and her stance wide while she fought vertigo. “Did you two have fun?” Unsung asked, from her perch above us on some of the architecture of the old station. Her expression changed from amused to concerned when she saw the looks on our faces. “Something happened,” a pony whispered from way too close by. Grey Gloom stepped out of the shadows. I’d swear on a stack of books on camouflage and optics that she either hadn’t been there or had somehow learned to become invisible. “A destined meeting for the star-crossed.” “We ran into somepony who has a grudge against me,” I said. “It’s fine. We didn’t even get into a real fight. We talked it out.” I felt the silent gazes all around me. My coat bristled with annoyance and I shot a glare at the ponies who barely knew me and shouldn’t have assumed already that I was violent. "You need to tell us what happened," Opening said. "If there's something that could impact future missions..." “I’m serious!” I snapped. “I didn’t even punch him! Anyway, there’s something more important. Something happened to Four.” Destiny floated over to get a closer look at us. “I thought something might happen. When was it?” “Maybe thirty minutes ago?” I shrugged. “We were in the middle of dinner and she had a kind of, um, attack. I think it was a seizure. There was somepony there who knew first-aid, so she’s okay now, but--” “A seizure?” An earth pony I didn’t recognize, all in light shades of pink and pinkish shades of white, stormed over to us. The suit she was wearing was tailored, and the same violet as her eyes. The suit was cut around her flanks to show her cutie mark, a big violet gem with a white star in the middle. “We shouldn’t have allowed her to go out if she has some kind of medical problem!” “She’s not a prisoner,” Unsung said, dropping down next to the pink pony. “Chamomile, I’d like you to meet Asterism. She’s kind enough to finance our activities.” “In other words, I’m in charge since I’m paying for this mess!” Asterism snapped. She was getting on my nerves, and her sharp attitude drove Four back a step. I got between them protectively. “We need her to pilot the weapon! If she can’t even do that, I wasted a lot of money for nothing!” “She’s not a tool for you to use,” I growled. I took a step toward her, and an earth pony all in black - coat, mane, barding, even his eyes - got between us, putting a hoof on my shoulder to halt my advance. He had some decent muscle on him, but wrestling monsters had sort of given me a different view on what was actually an impressive amount of flesh to flex. “Who’s this chump?” I asked. “Shadowmere is the highest-paid bodyguard in the city,” Asterism said. “He keeps thugs like you from getting my suit dirty.” I looked him over. I was pretty sure I could take him. He looked like he was pretty sure he could take me. Unsung cleared her throat loudly and stopped both of us from finding out. “We have bigger enemies to fight than each other,” she said. “Asterism, if Four isn’t able to pilot the weapon we have other plans. Her health comes before anything else. I won’t throw ponies away. That’s what the Enclave did to us, and we’re better than that.” “Speaking of her health, there’s a list of drugs she needs,” I said. I pulled it out of one of my new tracksuit’s pockets and gave it to Unsung. Asterism snatched it out of her grasp and read over the paper. “This is a strange list,” she mumbled. “I’ve never heard of half of these. X-cell? Calmex?” “The pony who gave me the list said they should all be available at the local hospital.” “Oh, the hospital under Enclave military control? The one where every pill dispensed comes with a stack of paperwork I’ll have to forge and a doctor that will have to be bribed? That hospital?” Asterism snorted in annoyance. “That’s why you need me. Half of you probably already started coming up with a plan to break in and shoot up the place and steal the medicine on the way out!” I had indeed been starting to plan that out. I didn’t want to admit it, though. “I’d consider it a personal favor if you were able to get these supplies,” Unsung said softly. Asterism huffed. “Fine! But you’d better not ask me for a single extra cap! I’m already risking enough on this, and so far all I’ve got is a hole in the ground filled with crazy ponies. Shadowmere, let’s go. I have legitimate business to attend to. I can’t be down here all night.” She put her nose firmly in the air and walked past us. Shadowmere gave me a small shrug. “Nothing personal,” he rumbled, before following her out. I watched them go. Destiny floated down next to me. “So what happened?” the ghost asked. I told her and the others about what happened in the city with Rain Shadow and Four’s seizure. They all nodded along, looking concerned. “That must have been right around the time we were running activation tests on the thaumatic booster,” Klein Bottle said, the short little fluff pegasus leaning against one of the Grandus’ massive metal legs. “Can’t be a coincidence.” “It’s been tuned to a precise magical frequency,” Destiny said, her tone implying she agreed. “You remember how I had to retune the Exodus armor’s thaumoframe to work with your magic instead of mine, Chamomile? It’s the same idea. When we turned it on, it must have created some kind of resonance.” “Probably needs fine-tuning,” Klein said. “The seizure could have been a result of the patterns being close enough to interfere but slightly out of phase so it was causing destructive interference instead of boosting the signal.” “Postpone any more tests until after we’re sure it’s safe,” Unsung ordered. “Grey Gloom, could you help Four to a bunk?” Gloom nodded and silently helped Four towards one of the side rooms. I still had no idea how she managed to walk totally silently with hooves on concrete. Unsung sighed and sat down. “I’m sorry about that, Chamomile. Asterism is an extremely valuable ally, even if she’s somewhat abrasive. I don’t think she likes having to resort to working with us.” "If it wasn't for her we'd be down to fighting with sticks and stones," Opening agreed. “Why is she working with you?” I asked. “I thought the Enclave would be good for business.” “It’s not just about business to her,” Unsung explained. “Before the Enclave came here, Asterism essentially ran this city. Now she’s just a small fish trying to swim with the sharks and wondering when they’ll snap her up.” I grunted. “Will she actually get the medicine Four needs?” “She will. She’s reliable,” Unsung assured me. “She just likes to complain. It’s a negotiating tactic. If she really couldn’t do something, she’d just tell us. There’ve been things we haven’t been able to get.” “Like when Big Barrel wanted a Balefire Egg Launcher,” Opening noted. “Asterism told him to go pound sand and she wouldn’t allow something like that in her city.” “A wise decision on her part,” Unsung muttered. “Big Barrel would use it at the first opportunity just to watch the explosion.” Grey Gloom emerged from the side rooms and closed the door quietly behind her. “She’s settled in. She was more tired than she looked.” “Thank you,” Unsung said. She stood up. “I think it’s time I told you what we’re planning, Chamomile.” “I’m guessing you’ve got some kind of plan to kick the Enclave out of the city,” I said. “White Glint was sure you’d be here just because they were here too.” Unsung smiled. “She’s not wrong. This is the largest operation on the surface in decades.” "Most Dashites get killed by monsters or raiders before they even get their heads on straight," Opening said. "White Glint helps us out once in a while by passing on news about recent exiles, and we try and find them before they can get killed." “Okay, you help each other, but then what? Is this really what you should be doing?” I asked. “I mean, you’re Dashites, right? So you want to help the ponies down here on the surface. Isn’t the Enclave helping them?” “It’s a poison pill,” Grey Gloom whispered. “They offer trinkets and small luxuries to the ones in power so they can take what they want.” “Some of what they’re doing is good,” Unsung admitted. “But it’s not being done authentically. It’s propaganda hiding the exploitation. You remember the orphanage? They’re making ponies dependent on them. They want to create order, just like they have above the clouds. You come from the Enclave, you know what it’s like! The military on top, answering in theory to the civilian government, but who really has the power? Every year, their budget increases, and everything else withers! They’ve drained all they can from the ponies they claim to protect and the only thing left is conquest!” “But life is so bad for some ponies down here--” Opening shook his head and whispered. "She's on a roll now with her speech. Just wait for her to finish." “Will they eat bits when the Enclave buys up their crops? Will the Enclave help build new homes for ponies living in ruins? There might be a few less raiders, yes, but only because the Enclave will shoot anypony who crosses them. They’re exploiting these ponies and selling them a dream of an old Equestria that doesn’t exist anymore! I won’t let them do that. These ponies won’t survive in a world where the Enclave has stripped everything to the bone!” “So you’re planning on stopping the Enclave before it scoops up everything worth taking in Dark Harbor,” I said, sitting down and folding my hooves. “The Enclave won’t be driven out easily,” Unsung said. She flew up to stand on one of the tall cabinet-style consoles around the platform. “They’ve invested a lot in this operation. Careers are relying on this working. A few little attacks here and there will just make them dig in deeper and deeper. The operation at Stable 83 was a big success -- you sealed off a source of essentially free resources that they can no longer rely on!” “Well, there were also crazy monsters,” I mumbled. “Don’t be afraid to take credit for doing good work,” Unsung said. “We need to keep hitting them like that. The ponies in charge can’t just leave or they’ll lose everything. We’ll make them double down, commit more and more, until the pony in charge has to come down himself. If we do everything just right, we’ll drag the Grand Admiral of the Enclave Northern Joint Fleet down here to the ground and bury him in it!”