Fallout Equestria: A Different Storm

by Dark0592

Prologue p.2: Into the Storm

Mommy didn’t come back for a while, dinner was cold. All I really did was roast up some veggies, but they were good! It wasn’t until about 6 in the afternoon when she came back. She stepped in, stumbled ever so slightly, and immediately went to the dinner table to eat.

“Dewdrop, this is so goooooood!” She exclaimed between bites. I felt my chest puff up in pride at the compliment, but I knew that tone. Mommy was drinking. She didn’t do it often, only when really bad things happened. I was going to ask her about it as she finished, but she shushed me.

“Ahhhshshshshhhhhh, we’re having a secret party tonight!” She whispered very loudly at me, putting a hoof ot my lips to stop me from talking. I couldn’t help but grin and nod enthusiastically. Usually when Mommy gets drunk she gets sad and mopey, but sometimes she did it for fun. Maybe this was for fun because she never liked parties.

“Oh, I know! Here, try this!” She said as she held out a mostly empty bottle. I sniffed at it and it burned my nose. But it smelled like apples, my favorite!

“Mommy, isn’t that only for adults?” I asked, unsure, this had to be a test right? She snorted and giggled a bit and wiggled it at me.

“Right now, you’re more adult than I am. C’mon, it’s fun!” She insisted. I can never say no to Mommy, so I took a brig drink. She giggled as I coughed and sputtered. It tasted awesome, but it burned going down! Like that one time I drank my tea right out of the pot, only I didn’t get actual burns all the way down.

“I just wanted to give you the chance to experience it…” Mommy said, almost sadly. That kinda scared me, but I immediately stopped caring as I looked at her sad smile and grinned back. The burning apple juice made the room start moving, and we both giggled together. She took my forehooves in hers and we started twirling around the room, dancing. There wasn’t any music, so I started singing! It wasn’t really singing, it was just noises in a terrible tune, but pretty soon Mommy joined in and we were just singing and laughing and spinning.

And crying. Mommy was crying, holding me tightly.

“I… I just want you to have fun tonight… I… I just…” She was sobbing!

“I am having fun! See Mommy? S-See?” I tried to assure her, but even with the burning apple juice making the world spin and making me want to smile and laugh I cried too. It wasn’t long before we finally stopped, maybe an hour. The world had stopped spinning too, though I felt really tired. Mommy was super tired, though, because she fell asleep in the middle of the room holding me. I let myself fall asleep, the burning apple juice making my eyes super heavy.

The Somber look Mommy gave me as she made me my favorite breakfast, pancakes with chocolate chips and baked apple slices on top, made me not want to eat it. Or anything, really. I knew what was going to happen, and she knew I knew, but she still wanted to try and keep me happy like I was an oblivious child. The splitting headache wasn’t helping, but I couldn’t waste it. It was the only thing she could do, and so I forced it down. It was amazing of course, but it didn’t feel right having something this good. Not when she was going to be sad again right after.

“Come on then, brush your mane and wash your face. The Overseer requested you specifically to talk to. I-I won’t have you looking like you spent the n-night d-drinking.” Mommy said when I finished, walking towards the bathroom. I just followed her, not able to say anything. What could I say? I just let her dote over me, scrub my hide and wash my mane. I would have goggled at the little filly staring back at me, she was so pretty! But it wasn’t me, not really. It was a happy little filly dressing up to go on a date, or something like that. Mommy was just trying to get just a little more out of me, and I couldn’t help but nuzzle her as she brushed my mane.

“I’m sorry…” She whispered shakily. I just nuzzled deeper.

“We don’t want to keep him waiting do we? Let’s go…” I said, my voice cracking. She just nodded and quickly blow dried my mane.

The walk through the Stable was somber and silent, it seemed that nobody wanted to interrupt us or distract us. They all must have known what was coming, we sure did. Mommy started dragging her hooves as the Overseer’s door came into view, but I just nudged her and soldiered on. I was a strong filly, I had to be. Mommy just smiled at me and caught up as I knocked. The door opened and he sat there in his chair. He had a stern gaze, but it softened as he saw me.

“Dewdrop, you look lovely today. If I would have known you were going to freshen up so nicely I would have done the same…” He said with a little smile. He looked like a mess, honestly. His jumpsuit looked like it hadn’t been washed, his mane was a rat’s nest, he had bags under his eyes, and I could smell the burn from the burning apple juice in the room. He was drinking last night too.

“Please, sir… let’s just get this over with…” I said. I didn’t want to stand here and exchange pleasantries like this was a normal day. He gave mommy a surprised look, she responded by shaking her head.

“You are an incredibly smart little filly, Dewdrop… I… I’m sorry… I…” He started. I felt my face scrunch up as I got mad.

“How long do I have?” I snapped. He was trying to beat around the bush. I just wanted the conversation to be over. His look softened again.

“The day, of course, and you’ll be given a few bottles so you don’t suffer immediately… I’m so, so sorry Dewdrop… Raindrop… If there wa any other way to make this work I would have taken it in a heartbeat…” He started, and he went on explaining why decisions were made and how there were no alternatives. I stopped listening, I knew why already.

I was being expelled from the Stable, it couldn’t maintain the supply of medicine with me needing so much. They probably could have sent someone else away, probably Mommy, but she’s super i’m the only other pony here that knows anything about Pipbucks, and a lot of the other ponies in here are super important as well. With so few ponies living here, everyone has a very important role. I haven’t even found my cutiemark, I didn’t have a job. I normally wouldn’t even be factored in to the survival equation when it comes to the medicine, but I need an entire bottle a day or I start dying… it’s the only thing that made sense.

“Stop…” I said softly, Mommy and the Overseer were arguing about something. They both stopped short and looked at me. Mommy was crying, and the Overseer looked like he was about to cave into whatever she was demanding. He never was a brave stallion. I shook my head and turned.

“Mommy, I’m gonna go get ready… I’ll… I’ll make dinner again tonight, be sure to get there when it’s ready so it’s nice and hot. Overseer, sir, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.” I said softly and started walking. I heard Mommy sniffle, but I couldn’t stop to turn around or I’d break down again. I missed the overseer’s pained grimace. Mommy’s footsteps followed me to the door and stopped me. She kissed me on the head and ruffled my perfect mane, back into its usual untidy mess.

“You got it, kiddo. I’ll be around quickly and we’ll see if we can’t cross a few things off our bucket list before the day is over.” She said, I could hear her tone wavering. She was trying to be strong like me. I smiled and nuzzled into her. No more words needed to be said. She turned back to the Overseer as I left, heading straight home. I’ll never forget the rest of that day, the fun Mommy and I had…

I’ll never forget that first step outside, seeing the drab and muted wasteland. The Overseer told me that the sky always hung people up the first time they saw it, but I really didn’t feel anything as I looked up at the grey clouds. Six bottles of medicine, that’s all that could be spared. Even that much couldn’t be spared, but it was. So, I had one week to explore the wasteland. I had heard that there were many places the Ministry Mare Fluttershy had created for the research and development of medicine, maybe one of them had supplies and fabrication talismans so that I could make more?

I’ll never forget that first step outside. And I’ll never forget the baseball bat to the head.

Author's Note:

I had originally intended for this to go on for a little while longer, but first person perspective has always been a crutch for me, though I think this chapter went better than the first one for sure.

Comments

[Aeluna]

Hey there,

Just wanted to say, your story might get a better reception if you spelled "Equestria" correctly in the title.

Best of luck!

Aeluna