Awakening
Beep…beep…beep…beep…
Isaac stirred ever so slightly as his battered body regained consciousness. One by one, his senses came back. He was alive, he knew that much. He could feel his heart beating strongly in his chest.
Beep…beep…beep…beep…
He could recognize that noise; it sounded like a heartbeat monitor. As his sense of smell returned, his nose was hit with the distinct sterile odor that is commonly associated with clinics and hospitals. As he pieced those two bits of information together, he concluded that he was in an infirmary of some sort, but where?
He racked his brains, trying to remember just what had happened. It had been painfully obvious that he had yet another close brush with death, this wasn’t the first time he had woken up in a clinic.
Gradually, he became aware that he was lying on a cot or a bed of some sort. His limbs felt like they were made of lead, it seemed to take a monumental effort to even budge them. Almost involuntarily, his right hand raked across the soft downy sheets…wait, soft downy sheets? This immediately puzzled him. He had never, even come across any infirmaries with anything other than lumpy, two-hundred year old spring mattresses, cots, or bits of cardboard that served as an extra layer between a body and the cold ground. Any higher quality mattresses were extremely rare and very expensive.
So, I’m in an infirmary, I was injured, and they have really soft bedding.
As his vision returned, he gasped an immediately clenched his eyes shut at the sudden bright light. Sucking in a deep breath through gritted teeth, he slowly reopened his eyes. The source of the luminosity was a bright fixture set into the ceiling, while a secondary beam of cool light was streaming in somewhere out of sight. The light seemed unusually…pure, for a lack of better words. It was bright, soothing, and it did not flicker at all. Not as good as pure sunlight, but it was a close second.
The state of the room also perplexed him. Rather than the wooden, canvass, or haphazard scrap metal walls he was so used to, he beheld walls made of clean, polished white stone, and a tidy floor made of unblemished tiles. Slowly, he lifted his head from the pillow, which seemed extremely difficult and found his body covered all the way up to his neck in pristine white sheets. Even though he had grown up in a vault which was kept neat and orderly at all times, the constant dust of the wasteland and the ruins within had made the feeling of seeing such cleanliness seem almost alien.
Come to think of it his skin felt raw and ruddy ; he realized that someone had cleaned him. He had grown up in a clean Vault 101, where showering was common, yes, but when he was forced to leave and enter the wasteland, it was either get used to being dirty or…screw that, you will get dirty.
Prior to Project Purity coming to fruition, the idea of using clean water for bathing was completely outlandish. Most wastelanders had the choice of either being dirty, or taking a dip in the Potomac River; not only would a wastelander have to deal with the rads, they would also have to worry about the mirelurks, roving bands of raiders, and super mutants. On a related note, it helped to smell like the wasteland; the scent of a clean human clashes with the decay of the wasteland, the contrast standing out to hungry predators like a flare in a pitch black cave.
As he pondered his improved hygiene, Isaac turned his head slightly and took in more of the room. The medical equipment surrounding the bed was strange; it all looked so antiquated, even more antiquated than he was used to, and…was that thing made of wood? What sort of advanced medical equipment was entirely wooden? He could clearly see the grain. Also, feeding into his right wrist he identified what appeared to be an IV, which was connected to a bag partially filled with transparent fluid. There was an open doorway off to his right, the wooden frame set into the stone wall. Oddly, there seemed to be some sort of translucent white film over it. Some sort of energy shield perhaps?
He could vaguely hear the rhythm of the heartbeat monitor increase in tempo as his situation dawned on him. Unfamiliar place, injured, equipment removed, door blocked. Under most circumstances, that was definitely not a good sign.
Taking in a ragged gasp though his parched lips, Isaac forced his head to turn in the other direction. On the opposite side of the room was a lone glass window with a thin beam of light trickling in through a gap in the curtains, and below that was a wooden table. The quality of the light pouring through suggested that it was cloudy outside. But what caught his attention the most was the dark-coated equine that was sitting in front of the table.
Isaac was confused, very confused.
Where am I? What had happened? Why is there a strange dark-coated equine sitting just off to my left? Why is…oh…
Slowly, the scattered pieces of Isaac’s mind fell back into place. Images of the alien ship, the dark forest, the abominations, the deathclaw, that strange wave, dying by the river and…the ponies ran through his mind in a distorted blur. A sting went through his chest as he recalled the moment when the monster had attempted to crush him in its jaws.
Did all that really happen?
He tightly clenched his eyes, counted to ten, and reopened them. The fact that the pony refused to disappear reinforced that hypothesis.
He recognized her, she was one of the ponies that he had encountered in the forest; her ebony-black tiara glimmered in the light, and her starry mane continued waving in a nonexistent breeze. Her back was facing him; she was balancing something in her front hooves, though Isaac couldn’t see what. The princess-pony was seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had just awoken; she kept right on doing whatever it was she was doing, mumbling under her breath all the while. Immediately Isaac’s eyes were drawn to the table right behind her. On it sat his power armor, completely cleaned of dirt and below that was a reinforced chest. He could see that it was secured with a padlock.
Isaac blinked once as his gaze continued boring into the back of the unaware equine’s cranium.
Did they help me?
How they managed to administer any form of first aid with hooves evaded him. Now that he thought about it, he could vaguely recall being transported into something, some sort of vehicle? It was dark inside, he remembered that much, yet how had they managed to get a vehicle through that thick, untamed forest, he had no clue. He sincerely doubted that they had vertibirds. Then again, the pony in front of him does have a rather prominent pair of wings jutting out from her shoulders, and Isaac had seen her use them. If creatures that existed in ancient mythology lived on this world, perhaps they did have some sort of aerial transportation; he wasn’t one for skepticism.
But still, he wondered how they managed to accomplish anything with clumsy limbs, such as hooves. The gears in his head were turning.
Maybe they have some sort of device they use for more delicate work? Perhaps they have a mutually beneficial partnership with another species with hands? They definitely aren’t working with the aliens, I’d recognize their equipment, but still-
Isaac’s thought’s were interrupted as a barely audible chiming sound rang out through the small room; the pony’s horn lit up, and the object she was manipulating rose above her head.
Oh…telekinesis…I remember what that horn of hers is capable of- wait what?
Isaac’s jaw involuntarily went slack as he the telekinetically lifted object came into full view; he recognized what was unmistakably a Pip-Boy. His Pip-Boy. Even though he had seen many other Pip-Boys before, some part of him could instinctually recognize his own on sight.
He had been captured before, yes, he had been stripped of all of his equipment plenty of times, though his captors had never managed to remove his wrist-bound computer. Forcing open the biometric locks on a Pip-Body was possible but extremely difficult; it was typically much easier to simply amputate the poor sod’s arm, and take it from there. Even the aliens had left the stubborn computer on his arm.
Isaac had once stumbled across a rather unpleasant audio-log of someone going through that ordeal. Immediately fearing the worst his right hand frantically searched for his left forearm, blindly groping for it beneath the sheets. Much to his relief, he found that his left arm was still most definitely attached to his body; however, it was in a cast of some sort.
Well, they didn’t amputate – thank god – but how DID they remove my Pip-Boy?
Right off the top of his head, he could think of absolutely no obvious methods for them to have done so; just another unanswered question.
Once more he was drawn from his musings when as the pony lifted a single booted…or whatever they called those things that were tipping the hooves – horseshoes, horseslippers, whatever – and began gently tapping the telekinetically lifted Pip-Boy.
This sudden development made him realize just where he had heard his father’s voice emanating from mere moments ago, from this…pony tampering with his equipment. That made him feel a slight pang of irritation, he had learned the hard way plenty of times that messing around with strange new items can lead to some very dire consequences. Plus, it was his gear that was being tampered with. On the other hand, his Pip-Boy was loaded with countless amounts of data, both harmless and volatile. He didn’t want the pony to stumble across any potentially frightening audio-logs; although they did not speak the same language, he suspected that terrified screams carried across the barrier. She had already stumbled upon his father’s farewell message, he knew it was only a matter of time before she came across more.
If the items lying out on the table in front of the pony were any indication, the Pip-Boy wasn’t the only thing that was tampered with. Isaac could distinctly recall an incident where one of the ponies was playing with his grenades. The last thing he needed was to have inadvertently blown up one of his assumed rescuers.
He weighed his options; the pony was still seemingly unaware that he had awoken; he figured he could feign unconsciousness, and wait for an opening to escape, but he decided against that idea. They had shown him no hostility in the forest, and they had apparently saved his life. Yet who knows how the pony will react when she realized he was awake?
They’re just waiting until you’re weak a nagging voice said at the back of his mind, so they would have an easier time finishing you.
His brow furrowed slightly, If that was the case, why would they bother healing me, why would they clean me? That didn’t seem right, he could remember how the ponies were openly crying when he was badly wounded by the river; they could easily have let him die, but they didn’t, and it didn’t seem likely that they would be sad because they never got a chance to torture him.
…
Yet what is up with that barrier in the doorway? Am I their prisoner?
He pondered this thought for a moment. While the barrier, if that’s what it truly was, was troubling, he realized it was probably for his own safety; after all, to the ponies, he was the alien. If he was truly being held prisoner, he suspected that there would be a lot more than just a barrier between him and freedom; there would at least be guards, if they were anything like his own species. On a different note, they very well could have let him die and then studied his corpse; they didn’t.
What’s the worst that could happ-…ah, I just jinxed myself, great.
Sucking in a deep breath through clenched teeth, he decided to throw caution to the wind and tried to get the equine’s attention. He had no idea how long it had been since he had last had a drink of water, but if the weak rasp that came out of his throat was anything to go by, it had been some time.
But it was enough.
The pony’s ears twitched at the noise. With the Pip-Boy still suspended in the air, she turned her head and glanced towards the door, a glimmer in her eyes. He could hear her call out to someone in her language, to which nobody responded. She held her gaze towards the door for a few seconds, shrugged, then turned back to her work.
Stifling a sigh of irritation, Isaac coughed again. Once more, the pony turned; her eyes darted all over the room, searching for the source of the noise, before she finally settled on Isaac’s eyes.
He stared at her.
She stared at him.
Slowly, those large blue eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Out of fear or surprise, he could not tell at a glance. Her gaze darted between him and the Pip-Boy that was still held in her telekinesis, before the suspended device was abruptly jerked out of view, hidden behind the pony’s head. A sheepish grin spread across her muzzle and she shifted about nervously as Isaac arched an eyebrow. He had to suppress a chuckle at how the pony was acting like a child who was just caught with their hand in the cookie jar (whatever a cookie jar is), and he was the parent.
The silvery glow surrounding the pony’s horn faded, shortly followed by the audible clatter of Isaac’s Pip-Boy falling to the table. Slowly, the princess pony’s entire body turned towards him, and she trotted up to the bed, her hooves lightly tapping on the floor, her mouth still agape.
The pony started quivering. Slowly at first, but gradually it increased in intensity. At first, Isaac was worried that it was out of fear, but as a wide, kooky grin slid onto the princess pony’s face, he realized that it was out of excitement.
He couldn’t help but find it strangely cute how she was acting. She cupped her cheeks with her hooves, and was rapidly speaking in…ponytongue. Her grin continued to get wider and wider all the while.
Isaac’s amusement was all but blow out the window when the pony slammed one hoof on the ground, stuck the other in the air, and yelled in that same gale-force causing voice he had seen her use before. It felt like a grenade had gone off way too close to his ear. What had once been silence to him was replaced with a cacophony of dull ringing, and a painful throbbing in his head.
Cradling his good arm to his now-aching cranium, he groaned in pain, silently cursing whoever conceived the idea of loud noises. Through his haze, he noticed that the princess pony was quickly cantering out of the chamber, her starry tail disappearing through the white barrier.
While Isaac pondered the fact that the pony had effortlessly just walked through the barrier, it didn’t deactivate as she approached or anything, he realized his situation. He was alone, and the alien equine was running off to god knows where.
She’s retrieving guards or a science team to slice you open! A part of him screamed. Another portion doubted that assumption, but then again, what was she doing? Calling in a doctor maybe? Do they even have doctors? They must have, someone had to do these bandages.
As the ringing in his ears subsided, he cast aside his doubts for now; Isaac tried to get up. It would be nice to get his bearings before the pony returned.
He couldn’t.
He tried again.
Isaac’s eyes went wide as he found himself unable to stand. It felt as if everything below the chest had been heavily weighted down. He instantly assumed that he had been restrained, fear taking hold in his heart, evident by the fact that the heart monitor began beeping at a more frantic pace.
His good arm shooting under the sheets, he frantically searched around for any harnesses or belts that were keeping him tied to the bed. Much to his confusion, he found absolutely nothing. Even this minor exertion made his arm feel like he had just carried over a hundred pounds of equipment for several miles. He thought back, trying to remember just how it was he got injured.
Let’s see, slashed across the chest, just lacerations, that would just be superficial…but then it…oh no… his heart raced even faster, it didn’t crush my…I can’t be paralyzed! He lifted his head and glanced at foot of the bed, namely the dual peaks in the sheets caused by his toes. Much to his relief, he found himself able to wriggle his toes and lift his legs from the mattress, albeit barely before the strain brought them back down.
What’s…wrong…with me? He thought as the ordeal took its toll on his mind, which was still pounding from the princess’s outburst. It wasn’t radiation poisoning, he was well acquainted enough with rads to recognize those symptoms, he wasn’t being restrained, he wasn’t paralyzed and if they had drugged him, the Big MT implants would have filtered it out; he was simply so weakened that he could barely move, and he had no idea why.
His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of rapidly approaching hoofbeats from somewhere outside the chamber.
An icy lump settled in Isaac’s stomach. He was entirely at their mercy, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He could only hope for the best.
~~
Over a thousand years of repetition had led to Princess Celestia following her morning routine with near mechanical precision. It was always wake up early, raise the sun, have breakfast, bathe, and then relax until the much more hectic Day Court started. Her sister’s return had initially disrupted her usual schedule but she had quickly adapted to it, and the changes were appreciated, mostly the extra sleep.
Frequently checking up on Luna, following her sister’s new habit of spending her morning studying their guest had not caused the sun diarch to deviate from her routine. Most mornings following her bath were usually spent basking in the quiet, reflecting on the many past years, or occasionally devouring cake. However, Celestia had bequeathed her last remaining slice to her dearest sister as she watched over their guest. Their…guest. He was on the princess’s mind as she returned to her chambers following her brief foray into his room, though it practically doubled as Luna’s room as well, given how much she was down there.
Celestia was unsure of what to make of him; over a thousand years of repetition, save for the occasional escaped mad spirit of chaos, and she had no idea how to deal with this situation. Celestia realized that it would have been easiest to simply let the alien die, and sweep the whole thing under the rug, yet she nor her sister would have any of that, it went completely against pony nature. Based on what Luna had told her, he was badly hurt throwing himself in harm’s way for the sake of their ponies, but for all she knew the alien could just be using that to mask his true intentions, building up trust, waiting for a moment to strike. Yet he was willing to defend what were total strangers to him, taking such a hit that rendered him comatose and possibly bedridden for an indefinite period of time; that did not reek of malevolent intentions.
Also, there were no telling how the general public would react if they got wind of what had transpired, how what had fallen from the sky was an alien vessel, how she and her sister were sheltering a being from another world. Would they panic? Would they accept it? Would it excite them? Celestia was more than a little ashamed at how her little ponies tended to be a tad xenophobic, but as past experience dictated, they would be unlikely to congregate into a frenzied mob, assaulting the castle to kill the alien.
What she was more worried about was how other kingdoms would react, accusing the ponies of hording the potential fruit of such a discovery. The warlike gryphon kingdom far to the north concerned her the most; Luna had spoken of how the alien was wielding some strange, powerful, yet non-magic weapon. The gryphons would be most likely to try to seize such technology for themselves, and who knows what sort of devastation such weapons would wreak in the wrong hooves?
But even amidst her concerns, she too shared her younger sister’s fascination with the being. The possibilities excited her; she hoped that the alien’s visit would bring change for the better. There was something that got her attention though; for that reason she requested that the librarian deliver several certain books to her quarters.
The same books that were sitting on her desk right at this very moment.
Using her telekinesis, she lifted the heavy gem-encrusted collar that she wore in public and placed it on a nearby stand, crossing her lavish bedroom and stretching her feathery white wings all the while. Her hooffalls were muffled by the carpet, which was lit up by soft sunlight streaming in through the balcony door. Philomena’s gilded cage was empty, hanging from a hook on the wall; Celestia always let the majestic bird out in the morning, the time she returned would vary, though she was always back by sundown.
Celestia sat down on her haunches as she reached her bed, settling her slender form into it, folding her wings at her sides as she lifted the dusty books with her magic, and carried the entire stack towards her. She looked up and down the pile. It was a collection of old myths and legends, each of the novels of varying age and wear. Some of them were relatively new, while some of them were older than anypony alive, save for she and her sister. Even after centuries of tender care, they were barely holding together; the once-bright lettering on the cover long faded away, pages missing the spine peeling away.
Some early-morning reading would be a good way to spend the time, she decided as she lifted the first once from the stack.
Slowly, she opened the cover.
The first story was an old creation myth about how ponykind had come to be. Everypony knew this story. It was the type that was told by parents to children, and to their own children; Celestia had fond memories of when her own mother had told this story to she and her sister countless generations ago.
In the beginning, ponies were little more than animals, little more than the beasts that lurked in the Everfree. Yet one day, these strange beings came; it was said that they were enamored with the ponies, found them worthy of advancement and sought to elevate them to their own level. They gave the ponies the ability to think, to reason, to thrive, and harmony. They taught them how to speak, to laugh, how to be happy, how to cooperate. In the end, the benefactors left the world, satisfied with what they had accomplished, allowing the ponies to flourish on their own.
Setting aside that book, Celestia set it down on the carpet with a faint thud and pulled the next from the stack.
She continued reading for some time. The genre of the stories varied, be it tragedy, or adventure, or a short happy story intended for foals, but each and each and every one of these stories had something in common. Although their names varied, being it benefactors, wanderers, outsiders, and they always stood on the side of good, there was always some mythical creature helping the ponies, teaching them something new, or just showing them kindness, they were always depicted in the same way.
Tall, bipedal, four digits and a thumb on each hand, and their manes were the only fur on their bodies; several of the books even had illustrations.
They looked strikingly similar to the otherworldly guest that was sleeping in her palace.
Celestia closed her eyes and sighed as she pondered the implications.
It's as if a mythical creature had fallen right into my beloved Equestria, she thought with a hint of a chuckle; Celestia didn’t know if the similarity in appearances was purely coincidental, or if these old myths actually held an ounce of truth.
Satisfied, she closed the final old book, a small puff of dust coming from the musty old pages. She glanced at the ornate clock in the corner of her bedroom. Celestia smiled when she saw the time, she still had a couple of hours until court started, more than enough time to get her thoughts in order. It was just her, and the silence…
…the same silence that was then abruptly shattered like glass under a hammer-blow.
BZZZZZZZZAAAP!
Her eyes shooting open and her irises shrinking, Celestia nearly jumped out of her hide at the abrupt bang and shot to her hooves, knocking over the neatly stacked books, wincing slightly at the flash of light and quickly turned her entire body towards the source of the noise, her whole body tense only to find Luna standing in the middle of her bedroom, the dark alicorn’s horn still aglow and sparking from her recent teleport. The younger princess was visibly bouncing on her hooves, a wide grin on her face.
“Dearest sister!” Luna said excitedly.
Recovering from her stupor, Celestia’s hoof found its way to her forehead, a small smile forming on the elder sister’s face and she laughed quietly. She had missed her sister’s antics on her thousand year hiatus, it felt so good to have her back.
“You know Lu,” she pointed at the door, “You could have used the door, or maybe the balcony if you’re feeling daring.”
“There is no time!” Luna said dramatically with a flourish of her hoof, “Something has transpired!”
Celestia smirked at her sister’s behavior. She certainly seemed oddly cheerful, considering how withdrawn she had been acting when Celestia had checked up on her earlier. Lifting an eyebrow, Celestia took a step forward, “What has happened Lu?”
Luna beamed at her, before taking a deep breath; Celestia’s smile vanished.
Oh no…
“Our otherworldly guest has awakened from his long slumber!” Luna bellowed, one foreleg firmly planted on the ground, the other in the air as her shout echoed throughout the bedroom, “This is a most glorious occasion! I have come to retrieve thou so…”
“Luna…” Celestia said calmly, even as her mane was getting blown about the gale-force winds generated by Luna’s excited exclamations, “You’re doing it again.”
Abruptly, Luna went silent, blushing furiously out of embarrassment and cupping her hooves to her mouth, “Sorry,” she squeaked.
Celestia couldn’t help but giggle once more, even with the dull ringing in her ears and the signs of an oncoming headache. Her smile fell when she saw how Luna suddenly looked crestfallen, with her head hung and her shoulders slumped. She didn’t like seeing her sister like this. Quickly, she walked to her sister’s side and put a hoof on her shoulder, “It’s okay, I forgive you.”
Luna looked up and met her sister’s gave, her wide grin returning.
Celestia cleared her throat, “Why don’t you repeat that?” she said, “At a much more manageable volume, if you wouldn’t mind,” she added as an afterthought
Luna began bouncing again, “He’s awake!”
Celestia cocked her head, “Who?”
Luna rolled her eyes, “Him of course!”
Celestia thought about her words for a moment before the proverbial light bulb turned on in her head. Although she hadn’t been following the alien’s recovery nearly as fanatically as her sister had been, she could recall how poor his condition was when he was brought in, an inch from death with severe magic poisoning and barely saved by their own medicine. It hadn’t even been a week, and he had already awoken?
“Really?” she said incredulously.
Luna bobbed her head, “Yes sister! I informed the doctors before I came to fetch thou so you could witness this for thyself!” she said with the same grin lingering on her face.
A sly smile came to Celestia’s face, “Judging by how you were acting when you came in here, I suspect you may have used the royal Canterlot voice on him.”
Luna rubbed the back of her head, “Yes…well…no…um…” she stammered before shrugging, “Maybe a little.”
Celestia chuckled and shook her head, “You would do that, wouldn’t you sister?” she glanced off to the side at the toppled pile of books and grimaced as she noticed that she had accidentally jarred half the pages out of one of the older books; nothing a fixit spell could handle though she supposed. “I’ll be with you shortly, I want to get this cleaned up.”
Luna stared at the books as well, “What have you been reading, Tia?” she asked, snatching the nearest book from the toppled stack before her sister could respond, flipping the novel open in sticking her muzzle in it.
“Well I…”
“Oh Tia,” she looked up from the book meeting her sister’s gaze, “I haven’t read this in ages, I’ve always loved this story,” a smile came to her face as she too recalled fond memories of their dear departed parents.
Celestia nodded once before the reason why she had checked out these books in the first place came to the forefront of her mind, “Oh, one last thing before we go. Earlier, I noticed something interesting…”
She then relayed to Luna what she realized when she was reading through those stories earlier. Luna’s expression went from puzzled, to intrigued, her mouth forming a small o as Celestia described how the mythical creatures in the stories were seemingly identical to the being that had recently fallen from the sky and into their kingdom.
Luna’s jaw was agape when Celestia had finished.
Luna struggled to form words, “I…er…” she put a hoof to her chin, her expression constantly changing, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice that before,” she murmured, before shrugging, “Well, if this is an apt comparison, we have nothing to fear right? The beings from the old legends are the ultimate force of good, and in that case…”
Celestia silenced her sister with a wave of her hoof, “Let’s leave speculation for another time, shall we? Unless we’ve nothing better to do, then let’s go greet our guest in person.”
Luna smiled and bobbed her head, “I’ve got no objections to that, sister.”
~~
Well, I’m not dead yet, that’s a good sign.
Shortly after the princess pony had nearly deafened him and sped out of the room, Isaac quickly found a small crowd forming around his bed, all of them ponies. There were four of them, all of them different colors and sizes. All of them, save one, were excitedly talking amongst themselves in their strange language, their expressions bright, and their shoulders straight. Isaac merely laid there and watched.
A quick observation showed that of the four types he had seen, all of the ones currently crowding around him were either of the ‘unicorn’ or ‘regular’ variety, the former of which was staring at a clipboard being suspended by its telekinesis. Did this give the unicorns a definite advantage over the other ponies? Were they the only ones who could easily manipulate and move objects? Isaac failed to see how the other…breeds of ponies could accomplish anything by using their mouths, it looked clumsy and unintuitive.
All of them were wearing clothing, one of them wore a white coat, two of them wore hats. The final pony, a larger fellow standing in the corner of the room looked like he was dressed up like a Roman Centurion; a real one, not those imitators in Caesar’s Legion.
He was shaken from his thoughts when one of the ponies, a tan-coated pony with a close-cropped mane tried talking to him, its voice deep.
“(Well, good to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?)”
Isaac met his gaze and shrugged, hoping that it would get the message across. The speaker’s eyes widened slightly, before they sighed and said something that sounded resigned, its ears folded against its head.
Judging from the pitch of the pony’s voice, Isaac assumed that he was meeting a male of this species for the first time, would that be a…stallion? All of the ones he met in the woods were definitely…mares. Like his own race, the males had much deeper voices, broader shoulders, and their muzzles were much more defined and straight.
In the brightly lit room, he could clearly see that each and every one of them had some sort of mark on their flanks. They looked too…perfect to be a mere dye job and no two marks were completely identical, it was as if the hairs themselves were naturally that color. With the exception of the guard, whose flanks were hidden under gold-plated armor, all of the other ponies had marks that had something to do with the medical field; a red-cross, a stethoscope, bandages forming an ‘x’ shape…perhaps the marks had something to do with their occupations? If that was the case, at least none of them had a bonesaw or a scalpel…yet the princess pony had a moon for her symbol, what job would that represent?
Isaac passed in and out of consciousness over the next several minutes, making it a mystery just how long it had been. Most of his time awake was spent being poked and prodded by the ponies, much to his chagrin. They relented when they tried prodding at regions best left covered by the sheets; the scathing glare he sent their way may have encouraged them to stop.
Other than being poked, it went along just like any other medical checkup, minus the fact that he could barely move. Isaac had a brief pang of panic, the skipped beat was made evident by the heart monitor, when the doctor pony retrieved what was clearly a blade of some sort. He relaxed, however, when it was merely used to cut the cast from his left arm. The doctor-pony gently examined his arm, moving both hooves up the entire length and pinching gently.
As his arm was at the mercy of the ponies, Isaac realized that this was the first time he had seen his left arm entirely bare since he was ten years old. The majority of his skin was paler than one might expect, given the fact that he spent most of his time encased head to toe in power armor but there was still a huge contrast, the tan-line was practically screaming. The middle of his forearm all the way to his hand was stark white, never having seen the sun.
The doctor-pony exclaimed something, a look of wonder on his face as he finished his examination of his arm.
Isaac watched as the doc-pony exchanged words one of his colleges, the latter of which trotted out of the room, she returned shortly later with what most definitely appeared to be x-rays…wait they had x-ray technology? Isaac thought with confusion. The doctor examined them briefly, and then showed them to him. In what was unmistakably an x-ray of his left arm he could clearly see a multiple nasty fractures scatter across his arm.
If the doctor’s reaction was any indication, his arm had already fully healed. Isaac healed unnaturally quickly, just one of the many perks he had picked up on his countless adventures in the wastes.
They did more seemingly harmless tests; at one point the doctor pointed his horn at him. It went aglow and an odd feeling came over him briefly, before leaving him feeling even more strangely tired. The doctor frowned and shook his head, scribbling something down on his clipboard, that wasn’t a good sign.
Isaac frowned as well.
When they took a blood sample, Isaac looked away from the needle, staring blankly into space as he felt the prick on his arm. Isaac threw a glance at the syringe that was now filled with a dark red liquid, his blood. With a slight chuckle, he was amazed that he still had blood, given how much he had lost in total over the years whether due to being shot, or slashed, or blasted, he had bled more than anyone.
His musings were interrupted as a brief coughing fit took him, the dryness of the coughs reminding him of how long it had been since he had drank anything. Almost immediately after, one of the nurses, a unicorn mare with a white coat and a mint-colored mane tied back into a tight bun offered him a glass of water, seemingly pulling it out of nowhere; at least, it looked like water.
Isaac usually refused to consume anything unless he could test it for purity, but as the wasteland changed him, it became more of a habit rather than necessity. The Big MT implants essentially made him immune to poison, his body had become tolerant of low levels of radiation, even absorbing it at low levels, and he practically had a lead belly after all the gruel he was forced to eat to survive. Tentatively, he snatched to floating glass out of the air and stared deeply into the clear contents within. He brought it close to his nose and took a whiff; it definitely didn’t smell suspicious, but it might still…
Just drink it already! A small part of his mind screamed at him.
Without another thought, he put the glass to his lips and tilted it back. What was unmistakably cool water poured into his mouth, soothing his dry mouth and parched lips. Greedily, he knocked the glass back, trying to take large gulps. It turned out to be a bad idea as his began choking on the water in a fit of coughs, spraying some of the precious water out onto his chin.
The nurse gripped his shoulder, her expression concerned. “(Woah, take it easy, dearie!)”
Regaining his composure, he began taking much more modest sips. It didn’t taste strange; it was pure, refreshing, cool, water. It was the best water he had ever tasted, even better than Aqua Pura.
The glass was emptied and Isaac settled back onto the pillow, sighing with relief.
“(Feeling better now?)” said the nurse in a soothing, motherly tone.
Isaac cleared his throat multiple times, reveling in the refreshing feeling. He looked the nurse that had given the water, and hint of a smile coming to his face, “Thank you,” he said plainly.
Isaac’s ears perked up at the rapid sound of approaching hoofbeats, he propped himself up on his right arm and turned towards the door. The rest of the ponies noticed it too. It was then that the princess pony returned to the room, her starry mane and tail billowing behind her. Every pony present bowed to her when she walked in; this definitely cemented her status as some sort of authority figure.
She exchanged several words with the doctor, thankfully in a manageable volume. While they were speaking, Isaac’s attention was drawn to the door when yet another pony walked in.
Isaac felt his jaw drop a little.
Like the princess pony, she had both a horn on her head and a pair of feathery graceful wings tucked at her sides and she stood with a pose that radiated authority and power. She was even taller than the other equine, standing on long, slender legs, tipped with golden shoes. Her coat was a pure white, save for what Isaac could make out to be a sun on her flank, and her mane and tail were of a blend of a blues, greens and violets, shimmering in the light and waving in a nonexistent breeze. She looked down at him with intelligent violet eyes they purveyed wisdom and age.
An ornate golden collar, set with a large purple stone hung around her neck and a tiara of similar design was perched atop her head, just behind her horn.
All the ponies, save for the dark-coated moon pony bowed once more.
Isaac was puzzled; were they both rulers? Was the larger white one a queen and the smaller one a princess? Mother and child? More and more unanswered questions. He couldn’t help but feel a hint of amusement at the whole sun and moon theme both of the royal ponies had going.
The ponies continued to chat amongst themselves, he settled back onto the pillow, staring up into the light situated in the center of the ceiling. One of the ponies entered his vision; with the way he was situated, the creature was silhouetted in the light. One by one, the rest of the ponies did the same.
There he lay, staring up into the silhouettes. He couldn’t help but be reminded of…
A bright light was shining in his face. He winced, he tried raising his arms to shield his eyes, but he found that he could not. He slowly became aware of the cold shackles holding his arms down. He struggled against them, but it was to no avail, he could not free himself.
The room he was in came into focus.
The walls were of a cold, white metal. The corners were smooth and rounded. He was lying on a table of some sort, belly up, and in the ceiling was the source of that blinding light. He would have examined the rest of the room, but his neck was restrained as well. Somewhere, he could hear faint chatter in a language he could not understand. Strange figures entered his vision, silhouetted by the light in the ceiling…
Isaac shuddered as the memories passed through his mind. What was he remembering? Involuntarily, his hand drifted under the sheets, gently running his fingers across an almost invisible scar running up his stomach…
Something turned on, there was a faint buzzing sound followed by a whirring noise. A long, black flexible object extended from somewhere off to his right. It was tipped with a strange, thin apparatus than ended with a point.
And it was pointed directly at him.
He eyed it with suspicion. The tip of it started glowing with a hostile blue light. Much to his horror, the object began slowly moving towards him.
‘Oh no…not again…’ he thought with a peel of horror. He knew what was going to happen next.
He could do naught but watch as the machine drifted slowly closer, and closer, and closer…
Isaac’s entire frame began trembling, sweat poured down his face.
“I am Alpha and Omega…” he murmered and he tightly gripped the sheets of his bed as the vivid memories passed through his head as if they were as real as life. Some things were meant to be forgotten.
The glowing tip of the machine came lower, closer to his skin. He cried out to the figures standing around the table, imploring them to see reason. They ignored him.
The machine burned when its wretched tip came into contact with his soft flesh. He gritted his teeth and the painful feeling, clenching his eyes shut.
“I…I am Alpha and Omega…the b-beginning…and the…e-end…” he gasped as the pain continued. His mother’s favorite passage gave him comfort when life was at its darkest. The machine continued cutting, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“I…will g-give…unto him…that is…a-athirst of the w-water of life…f-fr-…”
The pain was overwhelming. The strange beings continued their vile operation. He could feel them. He could feel them inside, underneath his skin. A roaring filled his ears and his vision was tinted red. His world faded to white as the searing agony continued…
Isaac snapped back to reality when something clamped down on his stomach. The infirmary came back into focus, and he found that the ponies were in a panic. Someone was screaming.
He found that it was the moon-pony had placed her hoof on his stomach, and she was staring at him, yelling in her language, though the words were lost to the mighty roar overtaking his hearing.
It took a moment for him to realize that the screams were his own.
He stopped; the room went silent.
The doctor and the nurses continued rushing about the room in a panic, with the exception of the royal ponies and the guard, the latter continued to stand in the corner as expressionless as ever. The moon pony stared down at him, her eyes wide and fearful and her ears flat against her head. He stared back. His heart was racing, his hair was soaked with cold sweat, and he was shivering violently. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps.
She said something to him, her voice low and concerned.
He reached out to her with a trembling hand. He could feel her tense up briefly when his skin contacted her fur. He traced along her muzzle, grazing her ear before his hand found itself lost in her starry mane. It didn’t pass through it as if it was vapor, the fine strands of hair flowed around his hand as if it were water.
Woah, soft…
He didn’t know what compelled him to do it, but he threw him arm around the pony’s neck and buried his face in her chest, his ragged breaths muffled by the fur. The pony squeaked in surprise, but shortly after, she returned the hug.
A wave of exhaustion following that vivid memory crashed over him. The pony cried out in surprise as he suddenly dragged her down with him. He promptly let go and fell back down to the mattress, utterly spent.
“…f-fr-freely … ” he murmured before unconsciousness took him.
~~~~
Annnnnnnnnd that’s that. Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you to this guy for prereading it.
Time for questions!
1. While I was waiting for this chapter to be edited, I had an idea. How would you guys feel if I put short <500 word snippets detailing some of the Wanderer's adventures between scenes? They would fill in the blanks as to what happened between 3 and NV, and after NV, as well as my take on the end of some of the quests in game. Figured I should ask, since not everyone is familiar with fallout.
2. Has anyone noticed how in a lot of Fallout fics/x-overs, that most writers tend to have their Wanderer/Courier carry around way too many weapons? Seriously, who uses that many weapons? I tend to use like...one or two consistantly.
3. Can I have a hug?
On a lower note, I'm afraid I have some bad news.
My prereader has announced that he is throwing in the towel, so I don't have an editor anymore. Anyone interested in filling the gap?
On a different, yet slightly higherish note, I think I'm going to go back and rewrite some of my earlier chapters, namely the ones that never got preread for a few reasons.
1. I'd say my writing's gotten better since I started, anyone new to the story would see my inferior chapters first.
2. I've come up with some better ideas, namely regarding what happened to the Wanderer prior to this story.
3. It's too damn long until the humans and ponies meet. People read HiE stories for Human/Pony interactions (I think), and the first three chapters and the prologue total up to nearly 30,000 words. Way too long to wait for that Human and Pony action. I can't be the only one with a tendency to skim the pre-first contact stuff in HiE, and 30k is a lot of skimming.
4. It sort of feels like...like a....TUTORIAL LEVEL! AHHHHGGGHHHH....
Enough venting, see you next time!
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This was Heavy's face when I saw this story updated.
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Need I say more?
EDIT:
*Gives Explodium A bone crushing hug*
...I use 5-6 weapons pretty consistently. I like to have the right weapon for the right enemy.
awesome
You bastard.
Another cliffhanger.
Twilight and her friends better be in the next chapter or ill have your head!
The wanderer needs to be insanely over-armed at all times. From a survivalist standpoint, it makes sense too. You never knew if you were going to run out, get the gun damaged, or run across a bad matchup. Just as in New Vegas, heavier armor was very difficult for Energy Weapons to deal with, sometimes the right gun for the right situation is important. Plus, if your bio-mechanically enhanced, wearing a composite power armor, you have some carrying capacity to spare, not that a person can reasonably expect to carry several hundred pounds of gear at all times and be functional... I swear, mid-game I was effectively pulling a sled around behind me.
As for your questions, unfortunately, this chapter was a bit... 'lite'. It's still good, but not much really happened unfortunately. I'd like to see how you combined the Courier and Wanderer. Simply walking across the US, especially through the Legion controlled lands, would probably be a bit difficult, nevermind the fact that he'd of lost all his stuff/perks at some point, only to regain them and fuse them together.
I'll pre-read if the position's still open.
.....HUG
Oooh, pre-reader? Awesome, sign me up!
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721386 You'll have to fight me for it! I propose an epic duel with giant Pixi-Stix!
i nearly had a heart attack when i saw it was updated. i love this story!
Hugz.
And yes, You should do little shorts of the wanderer's adventures. The extra back story would be helpful.
People seem to be misunderstanding me when I said "Too many weapons".
By that I mean writers tend to have their character carrying around what would seemingly push them over the encumberence limit, as well as ignoring the fact that ammo should have weight. (Hardcore in NV/FWE in 3 FTW bro!)
Just a fact is that my guy in this story had like...5 or 6? Let me list them...
1. Combat Knife
2. Super Sledge
3. Novasurge
4. Modded Laser Rifle
5. Minigun
6. Grenades.
1: Nope.
2: I carry at-least one of each type.
3: If you don't mind hugging a guy who's bi, of course you can!
Finally a new chapter! Already waiting for the next one. And yes you can has hugz, but only if you hurry up with the next chapter :>
I normally tend to a use a few weapons as well, depends a lot on the situation, and how much ammo you got really..
As for the 500 word snippet thingy, suit yourself x) Most readers probably know something about Fallout, since they are reading a Fallout crossover fic.
OMG it updated...
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Great chapter, the ending especially. I'll have to admit, when i first read mention of the language barrier I was a bit sketchy, Language barriers limit interaction in most literacy, but you've done well with it thus far, though I'd be lying if I didn't find it as annoying as Issac probably does.
Wish I had the artistic talent to drawn vault boy hugging Luna.
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
now read...
Hurry up and write more.
Now.
Like,
Right now.
Please?
My reaction to seeing this.
'YES!!! Please be what I have been thinking! Please be it, please be it, please be it'
*Reads* "...whole new wonderous world, untouched by the horrors of nuclear devastation."
'DAMN IT!!!'
Disappointed as I am, I'll try reading it later.
721507
Huh? Were you expecting the LW to fall into nuked Equestria or something? A la Fallout Equestria/Fallout Not-Equestria x-over?
I'm assuming that's what you meant.
Worth the wait.
1. Absolute-fucking-lutely NOT!
2. I HAVE to carry a fuck-ton of guns. I always buy ALL the ammo a merchant/vendertron is selling.
3. YOU CAN'T HAVE A HUG...(Holds up Woona)...CAUSE YOU GET WOONA!!!
Well, I didn't mind the pre-contact bits. It gave us lots of insight into both the human and pony side of things, as well as establishing some behavorial patterns (i.e. Dash's excitement over meeting an alien
). Plus, it also provides us with ample information about where everyone is situated and how they got there (otherwise, we'd just have seen the CMC randomly enter a crashed ship as if it were an everyday occurance...). 
Another story I've read, "Over the Edge and Through the Wood" is a good example of how the lack of early interactions can lead to a more enrighing plot. The initial lack of effective communication allows for both sides to make their observations (both good and bad, as well as speculations) while simultaneously enriching the detail. (the axiom "actions speak louder than words" comes to mind)
721515 I've had this story idea in my head for months now.
The ponies developed technologically at an unbelievable rate in Fallout: Equestria. In around twenty years they went from horse drawn carriages to AI controlled sentry bots and from simple plate armor to high tech powered exo-suits. Even in today's world, that kind of development is an impossibility.
So, I had this little idea in my head that their progress is actually borrowed knowledge. Borrowed how, you ask? Those weapons they use seem verrrry close to Fallout's, don't you agree?
Here's how I always imagine it.
Earth ponies, in some way have the ability to summon items from alternate dimensions. For whatever reason, they were able to hook up with the Fallout verse and summon items and ideas from the pre-war era, study them, and turn them around for pony usage (magic instead of nuclear materials for example). When it comes to armor and weapons and the like however, they are drawn from a being they accidentally summoned as well.
In my mind, the Lone Wanderer is the being they summoned, and this is after Zeta and Broken steel, so he's a well established Brotherhood member. Frozen, they take his weapons, armor, medicines, everything, and turn them to pony usage.
I have it kind of developed in my head, but I keep holding off putting it down on paper on the off chance that someone else will come up with something similar. So I keep getting really excited when I see something similar.
Very well done. If you need a prereader, I'd be willing. I'm fairly good at editing.
721431 What about the .50 caliber anti-material rifle? Or the LAER? You haven't got a sniper weapon in that line up.
This is one of the few stories I get truely excited about when I see that it has updated.
Your writing is amazing, and I'm always dissapointed when I come to the end of the chapter and have to wait for the next update. Your work always makes me want more. Keep it up. 
LOVE IT!!!
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Side note: Is he going to have a love interest with Applejack or so, I realy hope that the love interest doesn't go to any other...maybe Luna... or none at all.
I just think that the others wouldn't be as good as a "match" to Isaac.
I would realy like it if Isaac gets radio connection or has some music like the o so good "Dear hearts and gental people" or "Way back home".
Anyway
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Is realy good, can't wait for more
721668
The closest equivalent to a sniper in that lineup would be the laser rifle; in my imagination, it's scoped. plus realistically lasers would have no travel time, and would have indefinate range. I'd also like to imagine that it's more powerful then it is in the base game, especially after playing the original two games and seeing how much more powerful the energy weapons are there.
Don't stick too rigidly to the source material, use your imagination a bit.
It would be really nice to see what sorts of adventures that Isaac got into when traveling from the Capital Wasteland to the Mojave. Crossing that much land is bound to spawn a whole lot of interesting stories
721431
a) Ah, so the rifle IS a laser rifle. Perhase the Metal Blaster? Oh God please let it be the Metal Blaster.
b) I could pre-read for you, though no promises that I'll be as good as your last editor was. I'm kinda a Fallout nerd, so I could easily catch contradictions of lore (aside from the whole Wanderer/Courier in one thing). I will be gone for three weeks (starting today) but I would be happy to do it when I get back.
c) If this chapter does not prove WanderxLuna, then nothing does.
d) *hugz.*
e) Oh, and I see what you did there with "lead belly".
1. Yes.... FLASHBACKS
2. Yes... Lots of useless and un-used weapons.
3. *hugz*
721600
It's the craziest thing, but I had the same thought when I was reading Fallout Equestria. Though I imagined it would be Unicorn scientists that summoned a Fallout-verse soldier, and that it would be during the war with China.
Then the zebras summoned a Chinese soldier in response...
Ahem, anyway...
1. Sure, that seems pretty neat.
2. I played Hardcore in NV, so that limited the number of weapons I carried. Ammo can get pretty heavy. Usually I ran around with Elijah's advanced LAER, A Light Shining in Darkness, a Saturnite D-25A super-heated, and either the Rocket's Red Glare or the YCS/186 . Mostly I just used the LAER (this is all at max or near-max level, but generally it was energy weapon, pistol, emergency melee weapon, and if I had one and could carry it, some kind of heavy weapon).
In Fallout 3 I used A3-21's plasma rifle, the alien blaster, the Rock-It Launcher, and either Fisto! or the Deathclaw gauntlet (along with absurd amounts of ammo for everything and anything except the blaster).
Of course, in both games I dumped a lot of extra weapons/armor/ammo/misc on my companions.
None of that is really relevant, but I just kinda wanted to compare my usual loadouts to yours and see what is typical/reasonable.
I am not sure which fics you are referring to, but then again I haven't actually read many Fallout fics/x-overs. Mostly because I just didn't find many good ones when I originally looked for them (And yes, yours made the list of good ones). I think you did a good job of giving him a decent selection of weapons and equipment without making him a walking armory.
Also, I have never tried FWE. Is it worth starting a new game in FO3 to try it?
3. I cannot give you a hug over the internet because that technology does not exist yet. I can give you the knowledge that I would like to give you a hug, if that works (It's the thought that counts, right?).
Here Have All My Life
In Fallout 3 I always carry at least 10 to 20 weapons and in New Vegas atleast 15 to 30 weapons and 1 to 2 full sets of armor and zero miscellaneous items and sid items that weigh more than zero.
Love this story! I have a couple of questions :P
1. How is Isaac going to communicate? Is that going to be revealed later or will he have a learning curve or maybe magically taught? Maybe even his pip-boy will recognize a different language and help him learn.
2.The heavy feeling is magic sickness right?
3. Moar plz :3
*hug* and hell yeah you should tell about his adventures I would read!
721921
1) You'll find out eventually! Though one hint I'll give is that initial communication involve's Fluttershy's super-empathy skillz, later followed by Twilight doing stuff (it's not magic)
2) Yuppers!
721882
Although it can be pretty frustrating at times, yes, FWE is fun. Give it a go if you want to. The increased weapon damage makes combat a LOT harder, though it get's much easier once you get access to power armor. But unfortunately anything that isn't wielding a gun got really, really gimped. Like deathclaws are total pushovers now that the weapons do a ton of damage, and they haven't been buffed at all to compesate for it.
721332
Ditto. I usually carry several weapons to make use of various ammo types, generally one weapon that makes the most use of single shots. Like, in my current FO3 game I'm hauling around an Alien Disintegrator (APMs), the Novasurge (SECs), the Metal Blaster (MFCs), the Perforator (5.56mm), a Dart Gun (Darts) (HA! Let's see those albino radscorpions chase me down when their legs are all crippled!), and a Deathclaw Gauntlet. I don't really use the Alien Blaster though. Sure it's more powerful than the Novesurge, but it also has a very finite ammo supply.
Great work. Every time I read this fic I have the sudden urge to go play Fallout 3... Moar updates plz! Also for an interesting fic that is the exact opposite of this, look up "Rules of Engagement".
721882 Never played New Vegas so that's the reason I chose the LW. And what Fallout 3 expansion knowledge I have is derived from either other fanfics or researched from online wikias.
1) It was one of my weird thoughts. And my weird thoughts tend to be great story ideas. Current weird thought that's being worked on? How would the Conversion Bureau events effect the Halo timeline?
2) Like I said, I never played NV so some of that went over my head. However, my last playthrough loadout is, of course, dedicated to the level I've gotten to and how I want to play.
Heavy weapons, I carried two. Fat Man, and Gattling gun/Vengence when I retrieved it.
Med. weapons, I carried a varried loadout. China AR, A3-21's Plasma rifle, Lincoln Repeater, (very early) hunting rifle, and a Combat shotgun, (until I get A3) laser rifle.
Small weapons, I carried 4. Sydney's Ultra (when I can get it as I never kill potential partners), Blackhawk magnum, Alien blaster, and dart gun.
Can you let Celestia use a translation spell or something on the wanderer?
The whole language barrier thing is driving me crazy.
Honestly I like the introductory chapters the way they are now. I find that too many stories fail to lay the necessary pipeline down to set up the meeting properly. It almost always feels rushed and there's often a lot of missing context. Your intro chapters are in pretty good shape and form a nice introductory arc. I noticed a few typos, like having 'and' when there should have been 'an', and that kind of thing. We all make those... at least I do. The biggest problems I saw were tense errors.
e.g. 'Sometime in the future, he realized how lucky he was that he was wearing his armor.'
might read better as: 'Sometime in the future, he would realize how lucky he was that he was wearing his armor.'
or: 'He found it amusing how the little fella was able to sleep through all of that, and she still is.'
might read better as: 'He found it amusing how the little fella had been able to sleep through all of that, and she still was.' or 'and she continued to sleep.'
I'm all for more reliving of past experiences and the aspects not covered in game, though I do like how up until now they have been related to, however tangentially, what was going on at present in the story. Having unrelated bits of history scatted through the story might be a bit jarring.
Damn these cliffhangers, I desire more!
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this story is freaking great!!
...... also no hug for you
MWAHAHA!!
722183
It's not the context of the earlier chapters that bothers me, I just feel that they progress too slowly; it feels sort of sluggish and heavy handed, like a...TUTORIAL LEVEL! And as I mentioned earlier, I feel that I've improved as a writer since I started writing this story back in February, so I fell that I'd be able to touch up on the old stuff.
You guys have way too many guns.
Fallout 3 I had a missile launcher, that's it.
New Vegas I strictly used Oh Baby!, Knock-Knock, and Pushy.
I'm willing to pre-read. I have some recent experience writing crossover human in Equestria stories.
Also, great chapter. This is definitively one of the best human in equestria stories on the site.