//------------------------------//
// Toughing it Out (Fallout Girls — Fanfic) 
// Story: Sunset's Isekai 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//


Sunset's Isekai
Toughing it Out (Fallout Girls — Fanfic)
By Wanderer D & Universal Librarian







Sunset Shimmer huffed as she strode through the snow, her breath turning to fog in the chill air. It had been months since she and her friends had been dumped in the Capital Wasteland but, despite everything they had dealt with, from violent raiders and hostile mutated wildlife, right up to the travails of a desperately-fought war, this was the lowest point that she had ever reached. 

Kicking angrily at a patch of snow, Sunset swore under her breath and headed towards the nearest checkpoint. The Adams Air Force Base had such checkpoints all over the place, mostly staffed by overly eager young cadets whose uniforms were much too big for them, but luckily Sunset had high enough clearance that none of them dared to stop her. The fact that she stood out clearly thanks to being one of the only brightly-colored people in this washed-out world also meant that she didn’t have to bother with trivial details like presenting her holotags for identification.

Once she was past the checkpoint, Sunset turned down the street to the house she was sharing with Luna, Trixie and Sonata. She didn’t particularly feel like going to the house, mostly because the urge to stab Sonata if she was there was almost overwhelming, but just as she was considering just wandering off somewhere, Sunset spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

It was a door. Normally, a door wasn’t anything to be suspicious of, but this one was so out of place that Sunset had to wonder if her new meds were making her hallucinate. 

A lovingly-worked door, constructed with some golden-red wood, was nestled in a stone archway. A crystalline version of Sunset’s own cutie mark adorned the door, glittering in the light of a vintage gas lamp that hung next to it. The door probably wouldn’t have looked so out of place if it wasn’t sparklingly clean compared to everything else in the Wasteland, not to mention the fact that it was apparently built into the side of a steel-walled armory that had definitely not had such a door when Sunset had passed it this morning.

Suspicion bloomed in Sunset’s chest. The Enclave had been messing around with Equestrian magic already, she knew that, but none of their experiments had involved anything at all like this. Not that she knew of, anyway. 

Sunset glanced up and down the streets, but no-one else was in sight. She briefly considered heading back to the checkpoint and radioing for a squad to investigate, or maybe even Horrigan, but she quickly decided against it. It was her cutie mark, after all, so whatever this thing was, it was probably meant for her. 

Just in case, Sunset patted her sides, making sure that she had her Nova Pistol and combat knife safely holstered and ready for use. She idly wished that she had her plasma rifle too, but she wasn’t interested in going back to the house to get it. 

“Well, I guess it’s not like things can get any worse,” Sunset muttered to herself. With a fatalistic shrug, she stepped over to the door and turned the handle.





"I'm still not sure about this," Mirage Farina Jenius muttered, glancing down at her current… uniform? Dress? Armor?

"Nonsense dear," Rarity responded, walking around making little adjustments to the purple and black shoulder pads. She arranged Mirage's cape a little more, hummed to herself and added a silver pin. "There. How does she look, Hiccup?"

"Eh," the dragon rider shrugged. "I think she'll be fine. You said this stuff was fire resistant?"

"Yes."

"Ice?"

"Yes."

"Poison?"

"Yes."

"I'm starting to second-guess my willingness to do this," Mirage muttered. "Are you going to teach me to fly dragons or are you planning on torturing me?"

"Sometimes it's the same thing," Rarity declared, earning herself a glare from the Valkyrie pilot. "But Hiccup is a Master Dragon Rider, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Sunset?" Mirage turned pleading eyes to the bartender, who shrugged.

"You did fine piloting those other models, this is just… the live version of an airplane. One that doesn't have to swallow you whole for you to pilot." She tapped her chin and gave Mirage a calculating look. "I could arran—"

"Nope! I'm ready to go, Hiccup!"

"Finally!" Hiccup stood up from his seat and grabbed his gear. "Come on, Astrid is waiting."

"And that's also my cue to be on my way," Rarity said, packing up her gear. "I will see you soon, darling. Maybe we can visit Niffleheim soon for some materials."

"See you soon, Rarity," Sunset called, watching the procession walk into the small hallway towards the exit. "Don't do anything… that will follow me for the next one hundred years even if I was unrelated to it!"

Rarity's voice faded into the room. "You know me better than that, darling!"

"That's why I said it!" Sunset countered, hearing the bell chime as the door opened and closed. She sighed and looked at all the pieces of equipment on the bar. "And maybe next time help pick up? Well at least I have—" the silver bell chimed again "—a guest!"

She glanced at the things on the bar, and then leaned a little to listen. Whoever was at the door was the type to carefully look around before walking in. But they hadn't left, so she still needed to hurry. She carefully stacked the UN SPACY uniform and helmet inside a box, put in the far-too-advanced-forHiccup's-world weapons, and was just placing the whole thing down behind the bar when her guest finally stepped into the bar proper.

It was another Sunset, but one that had been through some tough times, if looks alone were a good indicator. Although she couldn't see much under the tan-and-black leather trenchcoat her guest was wearing, she could see thick fur lining the inside of the coat, hanging open to show the military gray uniform under it. The snow and mud on her boots also told the story of a very not-nice day out there, but it was really her face and tense body-language that really gave the impression that this version of her was not in a good place right now.

Sunken in eyes, lips pressed thin and a little cracked, (probably from the cold out there) she was glancing around in a calm-but-ready state, her hands neutral, but close enough to her gun to jump into action at a moment's notice. Better not mention they wouldn't work anyway, that would definitely not help things. 

Rarity would have a stroke just seeing how unkempt this Sunset's hair was, as if it hadn't seen shampoo in months. Not even the horse kind she had bought the first few months in the human world. 

Then again, Rarity would freak over the boots alone, although on a practical level they seemed sturdy and well-fitted. This Sunset had an obvious scar over her right temple, mostly healed, but still reddish, and eyes that reflected frustration and exhaustion.

It was a look she was familiar with, having seen it on other warriors, or visitors that had gone through the inhumane conditions of war.

At first, when her guest's eyes had settled on Sunset, there had been a slight moment of confusion and panic, slowly melting into even more wariness, and oddly enough, resignation.

And so, she smiled, waving her hand towards the bar. "Hey there, Sunset. Come on in. Welcome to Sunset's Isekai, my little bar in the omniverse."

"A bar?" Sunset asked flatly. She raised an eyebrow and looked around again, focusing in particular on the pictures. "Is this another alternate reality?"

"Sort of, yes. By the way, you can call me Isekai, to make things easier." Isekai pulled out a menu and set it on the bar. "I set this place up for people that needed… a bit of a break, someone to talk to and have them listen. If anything… think of it as a bubble that touches on many realities, some familiar, some not so much." 

"Can it connect to more than one world?!" Sunset practically yelled, her eyes widening and a touch of hope reaching her features. "Would you be able to get us back to our world?!"

Isekai sighed. "Unfortunately, it wouldn't work like that… the bar, as much as I can control it, would allow me to say, have you visit a place or two, but it wouldn't fix your current situation. If I left you back in your original dimension without you getting there in the natural way that you would otherwise, you'd just pop right back to where you were trying to escape." 

She nodded at the pictures. "There's a lot of ponies and people out there that are in similar situations, but I'm only able to provide them with a safe place to recuperate for a little while as their journey continues. In some cases, I can even let creatures visit other universes than their own, but it's always limited time and they end up back here, and then back home." She shrugged. "I guess otherwise I'd be breaking the omniverse."

Sunset sagged, the hope dying as quickly as it had come. "Figures." She sighed heavily and looked up at Isekai. "So you're another me, huh?"

"Yep, probably similar origins, but at some point our universes diverged," Isekai said, "Mine did when I met a Rarity from another universe visiting my world. We talked, became business partners, and here I am. There are a multitude of us out there. Even Pokemon versions."

"I don't have a damned clue what a Pokémon is, but I figured there'd be more of us out there. You're actually the fourth me I know of." Sunset looked around at the pictures again, glanced back at the exit, then shrugged and stepped over to the bar. "Mind if I stick around for a bit? I don't think I can face going back to that hellhole right now."

"Not at all," Isekai said, smiling encouragingly. "That's the point of this place. Relax and have a drink on me. If you don't like alcohol, my Hot Chocolate is Babish approved." She paused. "I guess. A lot of people like it, is what I'm trying to say."

Sunset's eyes widened. "You have hot chocolate?" She asked tentatively. 

Isekai nodded. "Absolutely, take a seat and let me prepare that for you. If you want, you can put your coat on one of the other stools, I don't think we'll be interrupted. And it's practically impossible for the bar to be full."

She turned around and started pulling out ingredients, which Sunset could tell included three different types of milk, and no less than four different types of chocolate. "You've been in this other universe a long time?" she asked.

"A few months, but it feels like a lifetime," Sunset replied, watching her counterpart's movements like a hawk. She took the opportunity to strip off her coat and dump it on one of the stools before sitting on one adjacent. "The only things we've been able to drink are water and brahmin milk, unless you're willing to risk the irradiated crap."

"Ah, Wasteland scenario," Isekai sighed, shaking her head. "Definitely not one of the top ten destinations for visiting. Did you get Deathclaws and murderbots? A friendly Assaultron named Ada?"

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "We've got Deathclaws, and I'm sure that I've heard of Assaultrons, but I've never heard of Ada. You've had people from the Capital Wasteland here before?" 

Isekai coughed. "Well, a few. Nick Valentine is a regular. But also… I'm not sure how to put it, but it's a popular video game in some worlds."

A low chuckle escaped Sunset's lips. "Good one. What's it called, Radioactive Rainbooms? Or Pinkie's Wasteland Treats?"

"Mostly it's just called 'Fallout', with New Vegas being one of the sequels." Isekai started pouring the chocolate into a glass. "It's funny, it's just so prevalent in the multiverse… there's versions where Equestrai becomes like that place, with Twilight and the others in charge of Ministries, and causing a war where only the wasteland is left."

When Sunset didn't say anything, she continued, "then there's worlds where our world is just a cartoon. Or a comic." She started adding the whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, cracker and marshmallow to the drink. "The omniverse is definitely not for people that buy too much into their own importance. It sort of beats humility into you through sheer exposure."

Sunset gave Isekai a dumbfounded look. "You're not joking?" She asked quietly. "Me and my friends are trapped in a god-damned video game world?!"

"Not exactly," Isekai clarified. "I've found that themes can span the consciousness of people across different dimensions. Right now, someone could be writing our conversation for a fanfic, or watching it on TV. But it's not because we're not real, it's that they perceive that as their imagination and give it form to the best of their ability. You see where I'm going with this?"

"It sounds like the plot of some crazy meta-series," Sunset said bluntly. She frowned and shook her head. "Actually, I'd probably watch a show like that religiously. Hang on…" Sunset looked up at Isekai, an odd look in her eyes. "Have you seen any worlds where they worship a Sunset as a goddess?"

Isekai chuckled. "I've uh, been there. Done that. But yes, it's happened." She slowly slid the hot chocolate over to Sunset. "In some worlds, it's just a magical culmination of Harmony Energy, and in others, well…" She summoned a fireball for a second and then let it dissipate. "People just assume. Doesn't help when you get gods visiting on the regular."

Sunset stared at the air where the fireball had been a second ago. "So some of us have different magic, there's real gods that actually exist, and some of them regularly visit this place for a drink. Right. Cool. Good to know." She blinked rapidly a few times, then turned her attention to the hot chocolate sitting in front of her. Sunset reached out to it, almost cautiously, and gently pulled the cracker out of the cream. "What kind of wafer is this?"

"Graham cracker," Isekai replied proudly. "Classics never fail." She let Sunset study the chocolate as she poured herself some, albeit without all the extra addons and took a sip. 

"I suppose you're right." Sunset eyed the cracker warily, then bit the cream-covered end off. She perked up instantly, her eyes widening at the taste. "This is amazing!" Quick as a flash, she scooped up some more cream with the cracker and took another bite, moaning softly. "Oh, sweet Celestia, I've missed real sweets. And this is real cream, too!" Sunset froze, apparently realizing something. "Aw, crap, this is all real, isn't it? I'm not just hallucinating or dreaming?"

Isekai grinned. "It's real. You really became an omnidimensional bartender in another world."

"No shit?" Sunset heaved a tremendous sigh and shook her head again. "Whoa." She smirked and scooped up a little more cream. "These new meds are just as good as the doctor said. I'd probably be freaking out right now without them."

"Well, the bar does have a calming effect," Isekai admitted. "Not enough to be invasive, but it does project a lot less hostility than you'd get outside. Can you imagine how some visitors would immediately react otherwise? I'd be having gunfights all day."

"Sounds like a Tuesday," Sunset said with a huff. "I don't think I've managed to go a single day without firing a gun or punching someone since we first left Megaton."

"Well, at least here you don't have to worry about that," Isekai assured her gently. "You're safe, nothing can come in here that can harm you." 

Sunset glowered as she finished the cracker. "That's what my Disciples said about the Temple, but some Talon Company psycho with a Geode still managed to get in and cause a scene." She sighed and sat up straight. "Still, I suppose a bar outside of reality should be a little bit safer than anywhere back in the wasteland."

Isekai nodded, sipping her own chocolate. "Well, that and I can blow up planets. So, no fighting here." She sighed happily with the taste of the chocolate. "I'll never get tired of this stuff. I'm curious though, earlier you mentioned you had met other Sunsets? How did that happen?"

"That's… kind of a long story." Sunset picked up the glass and blew gently on it. "The first one was actually the Capital Wasteland's version of us. Her name's Becky. She was a scientist working for an organization called the Enclave that was, uh, not exactly benevolent. Still, Becky helped me and my friends escape, then there was a whole war between the Enclave and us with the Brotherhood of Steel, which ended up with the pair of us helping to hash out a peace treaty. She's actually the President of the Enclave, now."

Sunset sipped the hot chocolate and closed her eyes, savoring the flavor. "Oooh, I'm going to hate having to go back to water after this." She hesitated for several seconds, before finally opening her eyes and continuing, "Anyway, I haven't actually met the other Sunset yet, but I've heard about her from Sonata. It turns out that the Sunset Shimmer native to Canterlot High worked with the Sirens and a changeling to, uh...." Sunset paused and looked at Isekai. "I'm assuming you know about the Sirens and changelings?"

"Yep. Met a few of them. I'm good friends with some versions that have had it… rough. But I went through some things with my original universe ones that made me a bit wary of them for a long time. As for changelings, I'm sure you've seen some of the pictures here."

"Good point," Sunset said sheepishly, looking up at the pictures on the walls. "Well, the native human Sunset worked with the Sirens and a changeling to sabotage a project we were working on." Her grip tightened on the glass and her expression hardened. "She's the reason me and my friends were dumped in the Capital Wasteland in the first place."

Isekai grimaced. "I'm sorry to say that not all versions of us I've met are, well, benign. We do have a temper, and we did start our dimensional travels with a mostly bitter disposition in most cases. Do you know why she's doing it? Some sort of revenge?"

Sunset shook her head slowly. "No idea. Most of the time the changeling was the go-between for them, and Sonata apparently didn't pay much attention anyway." She took a sip of the chocolate and added darkly, "When I finally meet her, though, you can bet your last cap that I'll find out what she has against us."

"Sonata tends to be like that," Isekai said, shaking her head. "I hope you find out though… and I hope she realizes what she's done." She walked around the bar to sit next to Sunset. "You said she was responsible for you guys being there… does that mean everyone else is there? Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack too? I can't imagine Fluttershy and Pinkie especially having an easy time adjusting."

“Yeah, things have been… difficult,” Sunset admitted quietly. “I think Pinkie was the first to… to break, but I was in a coma at the time, and the other girls still won’t tell me what happened. She does seem to be getting better though. Or was, anyway.” Sunset took a deep breath, apparently trying to calm herself. “Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack all seem to be coping okay. Not well, but okay. Twilight is… having trouble. She had a close encounter with a Deathclaw that left her in a wheelchair for a while, and ever since she’s been a little, what’s the word? Zealous?”

Isekai winced, squeezing her counterpart's shoulder with her hand. "That's horrible! Especially only to find out that, well, it just seems like petty revenge from this side of the story." She shook her head. "And people are now also treating you like a goddess? I can't imagine that being stressful,"  she added with a small roll of her eyes.

“They’re treating all of us like goddesses,” Sunset clarified, blushing faintly. “There’s a group calling themselves the Disciples of Harmony based in Megaton, then there’s the Church of Atom that treats us like angels of their weird radiation god. The two groups even worked together to build a Temple dedicated to us in Megaton.” She pouted and swirled her remaining hot chocolate. “Every time I go back there it seems like there’s even more of them leaving offerings or praying in the Great Hall.”

"Well, who knows, three thousand years from now, they might have ceremonies between one hour to three singing songs about you, putting words in your mouth, and starting wars in your name." Isekai nodded. "Good times."

Sunset groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I didn't even think about what the Disciples will do when we finally get back home. Damn it. I'll have to make sure that I lay down some rules and drill it into their skulls that they are not open for interpretation, and I'll get the rest of the Rainbooms to help out."

"Piece of advice?" Isekai said gently. "Don't give them that until you're ready to leave or they will never leave you alone."

"Duly noted." Sunset glanced sidelong at her. "Talking from experience?"

"Had the one god or two drop that tidbit. I usually don't use any powers in places where it's not the norm, or where there's no people that might be as strong or stronger than I."

Sunset snorted. "Wish I'd had that option. We tried to keep our magic hidden, but life or death situations kept coming along, then we made the mistake of giving up and letting the wasteland's main radio host in on our secret." She sipped the hot chocolate again and sighed. "Then there were the magical explosions. That kinda let the cat out of the bag on a pretty big scale. Half of the creatures in the wasteland seem to have magic these days."

"Sounds like things keep getting more complicated," Isekai said. "But to be fair to yourself and to your friends, when there's no choice left but to reveal that secret or die? I think you made the right choice, inconvenient as it might seem sometimes."

A dark expression flashed across Sunset's face. "I wish it was only an inconvenience. Ordinary war was bad enough, but now there's threats out there that are more powerful than anything I've ever seen."

Isekai reached over, gripping the younger Sunset's arm. "Hey. You've got this. You'll get the girls safely home. Believe me, I know you have it in you. And hey, there's always this place for the occasional chance to let it out."

"Heh, I guess you're right. I hope you are, anyway." Sunset downed the last of her hot chocolate. "Random question, do you have any advice on how to deal with psychics? Like, mind control and stuff?"

"Depends on the psychic, I suppose," Isekai ventured, tilting her head. She hummed and took a sip of her chocolate. "It really depends on the rules of the world, some places magic just doesn't mix with that… but if you're asking… there's always mental exercises you can do, or figure out the limits of their power. Sometimes a small injury will break control, and if they're trying to read your mind, you could always start doing complicated math in your head. Others… well, they might require equipment of some sort."

Sunset chuckled darkly. “Yeah, injuries make her lose control. Unfortunately, the thing we’re dealing with shrugged off having a hole blown through her skull.” Sunset patted her pistol meaningfully. “I’m immune to her powers, I think it’s because of my Geode, but the others…” She looked down into her cup, her expression grim. “She’s got my friends. All of them. And the majority of the Brotherhood of Steel. We have a plan for beating her, and I think we’ve got a real shot at it, but, yeah… It’s not a fun situation to be in.”

Isekai nodded. "There's a couple of things that I could think of, but most of the preparation for simply blocking psychic powers on your own usually takes training and time. Have you tried figuring out the frequency of the psionic signals? Maybe if you know that, you can make something to lessen them, or even interrupt them."

“One of the Enclave’s scientists, a woman named Lily, has a psychic inhibitor that makes her immune to psychic powers,” Sunset replied. “We’re building another one for Horrigan, that’s one of our soldiers, and we’ve got an undead beast or two, don’t ask, that can’t be mind controlled. Anything else is beyond our resources at the moment. We’re pretty sure Horrigan will be able to deal with the issue, but… I don’t know.” She sighed and slumped over the counter. “I just hate not having my friends around. I keep feeling like I’ve failed them, and every day that passes is yet another twist of the damned knife.”

"I know words are just that, but, you need to listen to this," Isekai said, making sure the other Sunset was facing her before continuing, "you need to remember that we all fail, and that things get out of control. For someone like us, it's… it's hard. We've always strived to be perfect for the most part." 

She motioned with her hand at the pictures around the room. "From trying to be Celestia's perfect little fillies, to Prom Queens, to lead singers, to… well, bartending." She smirked. "Or even the best fighter in an interdimensional tournament when there's no way you're beating the bald guy." 

She met Sunset's eyes firmly, with a small encouraging smile. "This is who we are. What you're feeling is normal. But it's not the end of things. You are working to help them. And you will get them back. And it's going to be really hard to do that, but when it's done, you will also have to remember that you have succeeded, and don't let fear of failure keep you from moving forward with your chin up."

Sunset nodded slowly. “Aside from the fillies and the interdimensional asskicking and the, uh, bald guy, that’s pretty much what the doctor said.” She straightened up and slowly breathed in and out. “Ugh, the next few days are going to suck.” Sunset drained the last of her hot chocolate, then sighed, stood up, and stretched. “Still, I guess you’re right. I can’t let myself give up just yet. If other Sunsets can handle this kind of mess, then so can I.” 

"Well, I was mostly projecting," Isekai admitted, her grin never fading. "But I'll knock out Jiren within that universe's constraints someday. In any case, yes, I can definitely say that right now is the time to listen to yourself rant a bit about how strong you really are."

“I’m not sure if I’m strong, or these meds are, but either way I’ll take it.” Sunset smirked and glanced down at Isekai. “Alright, I’d best get back to the Air Base. Thanks for the chocolate and the sympathetic ear.”

"Anytime," Isekai said, "but before you leave, we need to take a picture together, and I need to give you a business card. Otherwise you won't be able to bring the girls here for a party when you're all together again."

Sunset nodded. “Pinkie would like that. Alright, fetch a camera.”





Chill air practically slapped Sunset in the face as she stepped back out of the interdimensional bar. She shivered and looked back at the door, but it had already disappeared. “That was… weird. Nice place though.” Sunset stared at the now-blank steel wall. If it weren’t for the warmth in her stomach from the hot chocolate, she would have almost believed that it was a hallucination, and there was one other thing.

Sunset fished the little business card out of her pocket. It was a simple little thing, just a silver card with Sunset’s Isekai engraved on it and a cocktail glass decorated with her cutie mark in the corner as a logo. 

“There you are, we were getting worried!” Sunset looked up to see Luna crunching through the snow towards her. “Was there some trouble with the inhibitor?”

“Nah, it’s going okay so far,” Sunset replied as she slipped the card back into her pocket. Her older counterpart had been right, she could get through this situation, no matter what it took. The thought of having Pinkie’s reaction to that place made her smile softly. Sunset’s head snapped up as she suddenly realized something. “Whoops, I forgot to tell her about how Fluttershy’s a vampire now!”

“Huh?”