22 Short Films About Fallout: Equestria

by hahatimeforponies

The Long Morning

My head pounded. No matter which way I turned, the sheets felt like microwaved cobwebs. My mouth felt like it was full of glue. I had been asleep, but I was in too much pain to return to sleep.

Yep. Hangover.

In vain, I tried lifting the sheets and waving them to get them feeling fresher, and maybe try sleeping face down, because like a dumbass, I'd forgotten to close the curtains before throwing myself in bed, so the morning sun was working against me. This was when I noticed far more resistance than I was expecting. I yanked, tugged, squirmed in my bleary stupor, nothing got it free. It even pulled back. Well excuse me, bedsheets, far be it from me to want to get halfway comfortable when all I wish for is oblivion. I reluctantly winched open one eye to try and locate the blockage. That blockage turned out to be another pony. My stomach sank (and not just because I had like, a 10-15% desire to barf). I gave the sheet another, firmer pull, and it got a reaction at least. The lump in bed next to me turned over, rolling up in the sheets some more, like some kind of concussed silkworm.

Then I screamed.

Then my startled bedmate screamed.

Then I, also startled, screamed again, and fell off the side of the bed.

I didn't want to get up. Just... shitty pre-war ceiling, collapse on me now, please. It would be preferable to getting up and facing the reality of what had somehow happened last night. No such luck befell me, so with a groan and a new reason to feel dizzy, I peeled myself from the floor and reluctantly peered on to the bed, where Shooting Stars stared out from her bedsheet cocoon like she was about to be eaten by a bear.

I opened my mouth, but all that came out was an inarticulate croak.

"We didn't, did we?" She sounded like I felt.

"I think we did," I gargled.

Stars groaned, and buried her face in the pillows, like that would be the most expedient method of death. "Get out."

"Uh..." I rubbed my eyes and looked around. "I think this is my house."

"Shit."

"Like, my old house. The one I sold when I fucked off to San Palomino."

Stars looked up, jaw agape. "What."

I couldn't hold it anymore. I snickered. "Yeah, we're in someone else's house. I must have led us back here by memory."

"How even..."

"Listen." I stood up. That was a mistake. "I'm not exactly thrilled about this development either, let's just figure out what happened over a nice cup of tea, and then we can just agree to never mention this again, okay?"

"You're going to steal a stranger's tea?"

I snorted. Ow. "We just broke into their house and shagged on their bed, and they also evidently aren't here, and you draw the line at borrowing some tea?"

Stars huffed and wrinkled her nose at me. Yeah, okay. She's cute. I can see how we got into this mess. Sort of. "Fine."

---

I returned to the bedroom about fifteen minutes later. I still wanted to expire, but I'd at least located some water to chug while I waited for the kettle to boil. I couldn't find milk - or at least, any milk that wasn't cheese at this point - so black tea it'd be. I found a tray to bring two steaming mugs in, along with some water for Stars. I mean, might as well. When I entered, Stars had located her glasses, and was sitting up in bed, having fixed all of the sheets, and tidied up some mess that I didn't even know was there until it wasn't. The tea floated away, and she sipped with a glare.

"The water's yours too."

"What?"

"I had some already. Take it."

She squinted. "That's uncharacteristically considerate of you."

I chuckled. "Either we somehow got to bed without me saying anything about what I got up to on the mainland, or it's just been bleached out by alcohol."

"What could possibly have happened in that time that made you act like... y'know."

I sighed. "Not a fucking psychopath?"

"Yeah." She was still looking at me like I was going to stab her at any moment.

I pulled a smirk, and sipped my tea. "Stars, it's been like, five years. I was a shithead when I was 19."

"A shithead that did a lot of murdering."

"Politically convenient murdering, mostly. And don't pretend you didn't have a bash yourself."

Her eyes narrowed, and she slammed her tea on the bedside table, spilling half of it on the floor. "Don't you fucking dare equate those, I was emotionally compromised, you just killed whoever happened to be in the way! I'm amazed you weren't fucking gunned down the second you got off the boat!"

I closed my eyes and put a hoof up until she stopped yelling. Her accent really slipped in. "I understand."

She snorted. "The only thing you understand is the quickest way to blow someone's head off!"

"No, I..." I rubbed the back of my head. "I have a brother."

"Yeah like- what?"

"He's ten years older than me, and a Paladin in the San Cimarron Steel Rangers."

Stars squinted. "You got the name right. What have you done with Atom Smasher?"

I smiled, and looked at the floor. "That's what I was doing over there. Big weird family reunion in the desert. He left when I was a kid to go looking for our dad. It's kinda what messed me up."

"Sob story as an excuse, real classy."

"No, what I mean is..." I held my mouth open as I looked for the words. "I didn't realise what you were going through when Comet died, until I had someone in my life who cared about me. Who just also happened to be my Paladin older brother." Stars' scowl softened. "I mean, I didn't lose him or anything, he's actually come over with me and his wife, but I just never had that connection before. Everyone in the stable wanted to pretend I didn't exist, and everyone topside over here was..." I chuckled darkly. "I just fuckin' used people, Stars. I didn't have a single damn meaningful connection with another person from age 9 to age 21."

"I'm starting to see how we ended up in this mess."

I flashed a smirk. "Is it because you're cute and have a soft spot for waifs and strays?"

"No!" She scrunched her nose behind her mug. I barely contained a laugh. "I mean, I'd assumed we'd just had angry sex..."

"I mean, that's also possible. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh..." She rubbed her forehead. "Dark... loud... pub? Not sure why I was in a pub. I have no idea how we got drinking together since my gut reaction to seeing you again would probably have been to turn you into geological ejecta, but here we are. Still is a little bit, but y'know..."

"Listen, I don't blame you. You had to put up with a very weird week in my life, and I'm sorry."

"Apologising? You must be still drunk."

I laughed. "Nope, definitely well into the aftermath. Let's see, there was the... I think I was already drinking by the pub, Rainbow and Ivy went back to their camp with... oh fuck."

"What?" Is that genuine concern?

I paused. "It's probably fine. My dog. I think I left him with my brother when I went to the pub but I'm not sure."

"You have a dog? Again?"

I sniffed and smiled. "Yep. And he's pitch black. And he's called Nevada."

Stars rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"He's a dog-dog, not a coal puppy. He's the best boy though."

"Save it, please, I've had enough of your big black dogs for one lifetime."

I laughed. "He's not here, I'm just worried about him." Stars said nothing, and started on the water. "So what's been going on over here in the mean time? I've been monopolising things."

"Oh, not... not much." She looked aside. "Things have kinda settled down. I've been spending most of my time picking through Enclave salvage from the battle of Manechester."

"Just kinda married to your work?"

"A little."

"That's cool."

"I don't much like... going outside these days. It's a lot less dangerous than it used to be but I just..."

I frowned. "That's my fault, isn't it?"

She nodded, then tilted her head. "Old you."

"Still me."

"I mean... I've seen people change a lot less in five years." I shrugged. I finished my tea. Was never that big a fan of black tea. "Say... do you think..." She paused again. "Could I meet your brother?"

I squinted. "Probably, I mean, I thought you wanted to be done with me as quickly as possible..."

"I want..." She stopped and cleared her throat. "I'd like to move on. Not... hide from the past. Confront it." She smiled. "I guess it's... kinda lucky we bumped into each other again, or I might not have gotten the chance to."

I sat on the bed. "I'll take your word for it." I heard a clock ticking somewhere. "While we're here, wanna cuddle?"

The scowl returned. "No."

"Suit yourself."

Comments

[JOEBLACK]

yay. more atom smasher. i enjoyed the first story and the second one was okay so i am happy you are bringing her back.

[Spypone]

Sometimes this is how it's best to do it, not all ideas need a full story structure around them, fling 'em out in their own bolus of authorial ingenuity. Looking forward to seeing just how many depths are plumbed into, old style or new.

[JOEBLACK]

ok, been awhile since i read your stories. honestly have only a vague idea of who this is. i presume from her lack of knowledge of the events of the second story she's from Duck And Cover. gonna have to go back and read the story again at some point.

edit: so, went back to read Duck and Cover. was right. both in what story she is from and who she was. Atom picked her up during a debacle involving enclave and a tower.

[Comrade Bagel Muffin]

HAZAA
Will read as soon as back from work.

[StAnon]

WOOT!

[Tomoko Tanue]

yay!

[Ankaru]

I’m super hyped about this

[Dededont]

Fallout: Return of the King

[Pip_Mouse]

Aww no cuddles? :( Rude :c

[The Crazy Cazadore]

Didn’t get a third book to round it off as a trilogy but did get this scene. Score.