//------------------------------// // SS1: Forgetting Eternity // Story: Fallout Equestria: An Eternity to Rebuild // by Fillyosopher //------------------------------// Fallout Equestria: An Eternity to Rebuild Prologue: Forgetting Eternity #Spike// RUN memwipe.x -warnings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memory Wipe Ver.1_7 By Eternity Research and Development Based on Original by Eternity Initializing... Broken Hoof tapped away at his keyboard. The light from the monitor radiated out, casting a shadow on the far wall of the cave. There it twisted and danced as the text flashed by, distorted by the uneven surface of the wall. The tapping of the large, hoof sized keys rebounded across the domed room, deflecting back from various angles and distances, traveling down side tunnels and reappearing from others. The constant rattle had changed from distinct clicks to a wave like rattle, rising and falling as the pony typed on. From the side cave entered a snake-like head. scales glistening purple, the head was followed by the long body, wings, and finally tail for a dragon. With a slightly irritated glare, the dragon approached the lone pony, drawing near enough to see the miniscule words flashing across the screen. "I really wish you didn't have to run that here." The dragons voice was deep, as is to be expected from a dragon of multiple centuries. Yet despite its age and maturity, it still contained a hint of the annoying whine the had characterized it so long ago. The pony barely reacted, perhaps having heard the dragon enter (not particularly difficult considering its bulk). The typing never faltered, nor slowed in the slightest as the pony responded. "You know I don't have much choice Spike," the dragon grimaced slightly, but didn't interrupt. "Only three Crusader mainframes were ever built, and this beauty is the only one worth working from. Unless you want me to make the stab at Stable 23 again." The pony's voice stayed monotone throughout his speech, grey as the remnants of his coat. If Spike had not known Broken Hoof for Quite a long time, this would have been more concerning. But right now he could recognize the total dissociation from the world. Broken Hoof was tired of trying, tired of striving against an inevitable fate. It had taken a decade, but the Wastelands had broken him and only the last pieces of instinct drove him to continue. "I suppose not, considering last time. But couldn't you just go back to the Ministry of Awesome? Even if your relationship with the Enclave is tense, they still respect you. And they can't deny a war hero access to their own records." "I tried Spike," another twitch from the dragon, "but they canceled my clearance a generation back. Apparently having a hero who eventually left the clouds was a bit too inspiring and was causing some ponies to actually DO something. Not to mention, they've cut off all remote access since the Enclave Remnant fiasco." "You could still ask." taptaptap. "Or I could use the machine I can get direct access to with mostly no hassle," the pony shot an empty glare vaguely in the dragons direction. "I'd have to come here afterward anyway, since I can't send out the orbs myself." "I just hate having to see you like this. it's like seeing..." The dragon cut off as the pony quit his typing and turned around in the chair, a bloody glare dominating an unholy head of crackled leathery skin. The pony's distraction had been replaced by rage. "Like seeing what! A Dying Friend‽ A acquaintance returned from the grave‽ You know Spike, as much as you watch you'd think you'd know more about reality! But your century of hidden solitude has robbed you of your sense of importance! You watch your screens as if you were watching a fiction, as if all those deaths and all that pain was just someone's idea of good television. It's not surprising I guess. I mean, who could keep caring, keep feeling for decades of pain, let alone centuries‽ But it doesn't excuse you for acting the part of a goddess. it doesn't ... Doesn't..." the pony's glare and anger began to fade as quickly as it had begun. "Fuck, who cares. Nopony depends on you enough for it to even matter." The gray pony turned back to the monitor, ignoring the dragon once again. The dragon stood in place for a minute, then two, unable to think of something to say. As he thought, the echos of anger bounced around the cavern of his mind. Slowly the drone of tapping replaced it and with a resigned glace the dragon left the pony to his solitude. System Diagnostic... Charge Matrix.....stable Central Computing Matrix.....stable Transfer Matrix.....stable Orb feed..... functioning Memory feed.....viable source found System Diagnostic complete. A new room now, this one dominated in the center by a giant pillar of computational equipment. The Crusader was one of the pinnacles of Arcano-tech engineering, allowing for massive calculations to be performed. This one was programmed with the functions for mass magical manipulation, which Broken Hoof was grateful for. A previous attempt with another mainframe had required him to write his own version of half those functions, and the time commitment had not been pleasant. Not that he really remembered it that clearly. After a few minutes of downloading and preperations, the pony stood and pressed enter. For a second nothing happened, but then his mane began to slowly rise from his neck, defying gravity for a moment before begining to emit sparks of arcane energy. With a yelp, the pony ran from the mainframe, fearful of causing it harm. The sparks were still erupting when Spike entered a moment later. "Gah! Spike, help me! this darned brace is throwing sparks around inside my neck!" Spike, seeing no other option, grabbed the pony by the neck, using his bulk to ground the pony momentarily. Looking closely at Broken hoof's crest, he reached a single talon in and pressed a protruding button gently. instantly the ponies body went limp and the sparks ceased. "Guh, i hate that feeling... like your entire body going to sleep. Almost the same as taking a bullet through the neck, but without the painful reminder that you're still alive." "Aren't you supposed to keep a fuse in here?" asked Spike, poke around between the ponies shoulder blades. Where one might expect muscle, or in the case of this ghoul, torn ligaments, Broken Hoof instead had a giant metal plate. Shaped to be unnoticeable, Spike knew the center bar replaced Broken's spinal column. It made for an interesting way to interface with computer's but given Broken's current state it was obvious he wasn't following safety procedures. " Nah, I just need something better then my spine to ground it. Mind sticking around?" "Well, I suppose i could. I was going to be in the viewing room, but..." "Just leave you tail in here. I promise you won't feel anything." Spike could barely pay attention to the monitors for those next few hours. Checking Available Resources... Memory Orb count.....7836 orbs Magical Charge stored.....395083 transfer years Max Access speed....27.4 transfer days per hour Max Save speed...11.3 transfer days per hour Transfer Matrix availability.....12.7 year storage Available Resources logged. "Where do you want me to leave you this time?" The pony sat with Spike in the viewing room, eating some war food from the smaller tunnels. He was wearing battle barding and a battle saddle loaded with two multi-barrel laser weapons. The entire thing would strain the muscles of an Earth pony, but the ghoul ignored the weight against gravities wishes. Both he and the dragon continued to watch the screens as they talked. "Preferably somewhere that isn't radioactive or tainted. Other than that, I don't care. Take your best pick." "I already have. I'm out all my best options these days. Not many places left with both ammunition and an open-mind." "Maybe a ghoul settlement?" "It works, but there's always the chance you won't leave. I don't think you want to be left out of the events of the next few years." "What I want doesn't really matter. Truthfully, you shouldn't be asking me in the first place. Spike, you've watched the Wasteland for over 200 years. I know that where ever you choose will be perfect." "I still want to take your wants into consideration!" "My wants are too caught up with such stupidities as pain and sorrow. You managed to overcome such useless burdens and can thus choose with total impartiality." There was a pause as Spike considered his next words. "You aren't corrupt you know. Just because you've lived through unjust times doesn't make you any less worth saving." "Wrong word there Spike. I've died through unjust times. I've been dying for twenty years now, and I'll be dying for the next twenty, assuming I don't kick the bucket early. Even before the Tempest, before Eternity, even before Nexus, I have always been dying. And when I finally finish dying, the only person who knows me for who i am will put all my pieces back together and have a little pitty party. Quietly, where no one else can hear, so that no one is tempted to retrace my steps. in the end, the entire project of my life will lay as unrecognized as your contributions to the Wastes." "But it will still be there. It's effects won't end with you, they'll last up to eternity. you said that once and I still believe you." "I didn't say that Spike! I'm not your friend of old. heck, I'm barely your friend at all! You're just another useful tool to my sick inventor," this was somewhat unsettling to hear from a monotoned, un-emotioned pony. "I will never be Eternity again Spike. You know it too. You think I don't notice how you flinch every time I say your name. You know I'm not really a friend, that I'm just using your name because i know who you are. You never told ME your name. Truthfully, you're still Watcher to me." "Perhaps you could just call me that then." Setting System limits... Max transfer length.....99517.2 years Max time per orb..... 24630.1 minutes (17.1 days) Limits set. Initialized. "What do you want me to do with this time's arsenal?" Broken hoof was shoving a thick granite chest across the uneven floor, straining for every inch. Still, the strain could not have been to hard, for his voice betrayed not a hint of it. "I'd like you to keep it for now. If you are right about the next few years I'll need it back some day. You still have space in that giant weapon chest don't you." "Nope. You filled that one up quite a while back actually, But I've got 4 more in the caves." "really! I don't remember ever bringing that many back here..." "It was an interesting time. Perhaps you'll find out about it this round?" "meh, maybe. i probably won't care when I do though... stupid curse." The dragon watched the pony struggle across the ground, moving toward the lower tunnel into which Spike could barely fit these days. Spike could have offered help, but either stubbornness or determination had kept the pony from asking. Regardless, the last hours of the last day were always difficult for Et... that pony. best let him spend it as he wished. Starting main program... Selecting Only Available Memory Feed: MF2.5-Z1beta (2 channel mode) Memory Feed.....stable. "You know, Broken hoof, what I said about losing a friend is the truth. Every time you do this, its like you dying all over again. And even if we haven't been on the best of terms, I don't enjoy seeing anyone die, despite what you might think." "But I won't be dead. I'll keep living on, helping out until I'm beaten down again or end up as mental as a raider. The I'll come back and you can unweave the basket to my case all over again." "It doesn't help though. You will still stare at my sprite-bots in confusion. You'll still walk into my cave in awe. It will still be years before you'll trust me, and still more before you speak to me like an equal. And by the time we've finally worked everything out, you'll want to quit. You have any idea how many times I've convinced you not to suicide? How many times I've pleaded with you to put on a brave face and go out again? Do you know how many times I've asked you to stay you, regardless of who that currently is?" "No, and I don't want to. Truthfully, I'd rather just quit this and be done with undeath. My project will fail in the end, so why stick around. I don't really know, i guess I'm just working on routine right now." "You're much to old to be deceiving yourself like this." "What do you mean? I'm only 20." Transfer options... Start date: NOW -32y End date: NOW Separate Awake-Sleep Ops:Y Awake: Separate Awake by emotion (option still in beta):N Keep trivial:N Keep daily:N Keep Important:N Keep Integral:N Save trivial:N Save daily:N Save Important:Y Save Integral:Y Sleep: Separate Sleep by emotion (option still in beta):N Keep sleep-time:N Keep dreams:N Save sleep-time:N Save dreams:N Time per orb:EVENT Add another instruction set:N WARNING: The options you selected will significantly impact the personality of the subject. In extreme cases this can result in permanent memory loss or death. Please change your options! WARNING: The options you selected will require more than a week of constant processing. During this period, the subject will be unable to eat or drink. Please change options to ensure patients full recovery. Change command list #: 1 What part of this command will you change: OVERRIDE full ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Override level:full Override command: SET warn_flag_death = 0; SET warn_flag_week=0; Override authorization: ******************************** Override accepted... overriding current warn_flag_death value. overriding current warn_flag_week value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Commands loaded: list1 Memory removal ready... Execute memory removal:Y Are you sure:Y "What are you going to do with the orbs, Spike." "I explained that to you once. You tried to shoot me seconds later. On the off chance the two were connected, I think I'll keep quiet." After a moment, the pony turned and looked Spike in the eyes. his own Eyes had changed hue, both the iris and pupil swirling into a little blue. Taking a deep breath, Eternity spoke. "Thank you Spike. Thank you for keeping the promise. Thank you for keeping me going all these years. Despite everything I've said, the Wasteland wouldn't be here without you. So keep your chin up and eyes on the screen. If you do, maybe one day I'll release you from that promise and we can be friends for real." "We are friends for real. You just haven't seen it yet." But the moment had already passed. Turning away, Broken Hoof got to his feet and climbed the small platform set up near to computer. The Element of Magic lay on a podium the dominated the platforms center, and Broken hoof pressed against it's side to fit. "Well Spike, I had something planned, but it seems you've ruined my speech." The pony's shape crumpled to the ground. "I've already heard that speech." Memory removal initiated... Running analysis..... Saved Time: 24days 13hours 57minutes 13seconds Required Orbs: 328 Estimated Time: 12.8days Beginning Memory Removal and Saving... Blue and Gold lines of magic formed, waving around as they emanated from the ponies neck, thickening slowly until, with a blinding blaze and sharp crack, they snapped onto the computer and began to pulse. The pulses seemed to hold images, a video blurring with speed, rewinding. Spike watched for an hour when a slight pop caught his attention. A single Memory Orbs rolled across the floor from the small hole in the computers case. Starring, the watching dragon picked it up and with a sigh of resignation picking up the orb between his talons and with a *puff* sent it off to destinations unknown. This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat; a familiarity with the source material may aid your understanding. You can read Fallout Equestria by Kkat on Equestria Daily The Fallout: Equestria logo used above was designed by DotRook, who, according to the original deviantArt page, allows usage in supplementary materials created for and associated with the series. Images really do make a difference, so he has our eternal gratitude and respect. If you enjoy Fallout Equestria Side Stories, you will want to check the Fallout Equestria Side Stories post on Equestria Daily and the Fallout Equestria Side Stories thread on Ponychan The Ponychan group is also a hatching ground that you can join if you want to share your experience, writing or comments with us.