Fallout Equestria: Our Will (rewrite)

by AngryPenguin

Chapter 21: Of Silk and Satin

"Remember the 'want it, need it' spell?"

"STAY AWAYYY!!!"

An extremely deep, thundering voice echoed around us. Nico, Redd, and Dad stopped, dead in their tracks.

"I thought ferals didn't speak?!" I yelled.

"They don't!" Dad yelled back, running up next to us.

Silky reared up, letting out another inequine shriek. Everypony covered their ears, again. The monstrous pony picked up a giant chunk of concrete and threw it at Pepper and me. Thankfully, she dodged. I made a mental note to compliment her on her speed. I heard the familiar crack of Nico's rifle as the bullet tore through Silky's neck. For a moment, I felt relieved as she didn't move, until a pink, slimy, glow enveloped the wound. The color drained from mine and Pepper's cheeks as the hole magically closed up. The flesh grew back like she had drank a super healing potion.

"Violet?" I squeaked.

"The security keeps blocking me. I'm going to try and decode the password, again." She said, a little too calmly.

Unfortunately, the ghoul must have had some of her sanity. Violet's statement only made her more angry. She growled as she charged towards Pepper and I. The ground shook as as each of her giant hooves impacted the ground. Pepper let out a curse as she bolted away from Violet, towards the wooded area nearby. I was about to object to her fleeing, until she lifted a head-sized stone and hurled it towards the ghoul. The rock hit her shoulder, sinking into her flesh. I felt nauseated, again. Silky stumbled. Then, she threw her head back and launched the same stone out of her throat. Pepper dodged that, too. Only barely. We jumped behind some dead trees, panting.

"This ghoul is definitely not a normal ghoul." Pepper said, peeking over her hiding spot. "If I knew nothing bad would happen with us sharing my body, I would take a few Luna Stone."

"I don't want to find out what happens if drugs are mixed with this magic." I said, flatly.

Redd zoomed overhead, trying to get the ghoul's attention away from us. His rifles buzzed to life as he let loose a steady stream of energy beams into Silky's side. It looked like slow motion as she fell. Mud splashed around us when she hit a few puddles. Her abdomen gaped open, melting away. It took her several seconds to regenerate her hide. It was gruesome, to say in the least.

"There's no way we can beat her!" I flattened our ears.

Redd cursed as he watched the dead tissue knit back together. "This is going to be a long day."

Before she could get back up, he rushed over to us, hurriedly digging in his bag. He pulled out my beloved Bob and hoofed it to me and Pepper. "Here. I figured you would need this." He said.

I nodded, thanking him.

Without replying, he turned and unloaded more into the ghoul before she could get back up. I forced our eyes to my energy pistol. Redd must have cleaned it.

Pepper dropped the, still holstered, gun. "Fuck you."

I forced a hoof to reach for it. "Pepper, this is my gun. We may need it."

Our hoof didn't move. I felt like something was pulling it back. "I said, no! I don't need your fucking weird weapons. The Enclave probably has some kind of listening device inside of it."

Damn it, Pepper.

"It's just... a weapon." I struggled to move the hoof forward, only barely getting closer.

Redd turned back around. "Pick it up!"

"No! I wouldn't dare use your feather brained technology!" Pepper screamed at him.

He stared in shock. "What? It's a gun! For protection!"

"It's a long story, Redd." I said through my gritted teeth.

He watched us for a moment before he turned back to the fight. Silky was already back on her hooves, throwing parts of her store at Nico and Redd. Dad stood next to Violet, holding a piece of wall up to protect them from flying, pink slime. The ghoul leaked the stuff. It was in puddles all over the ground. Luckily, the others managed to avoid the nasty liquid. Redd had to fly in a zig-zag pattern to keep from getting splashed. I watched as he slammed a gem cartridge in the energy rifles.

Pepper still resisted my control of the hoof, causing the limb to shake.

A wide piece of wood flew towards us, making us duck back behind the trees. Bob still sat in the dirt.

The two stallions fighting were barely holding up. Silky kept charging them, despite being filled with ammo, over and over. Every shot they took, no matter how large, would simply absorb into her. She would then regenerate, unfazed. Even shots into her brain weren't enough. That would kill any ghoul. It would kill any pony.

I whimpered. "We can't keep this up. It's just a waste of ammo!"

"Any more ideas, genius?" Pepper replied.

I bit my lip, looking for an answer. All my years of training never really prepared me for this. Think, Sienna, think!

I frantically looked between Nico and Redd. They'd take turns reloading and and shooting the monster. I did notice that they managed to slow her down with each larger shot. I looked back at my gun. That's it!

"We need to give her all we got at once! It won't kill her, but it will slow her down enough to buy Violet some time." I stomped. "But, we need my gun to help them out!"

Pepper tensed. "If it's not going to kill her, why would you bother trying?"

"Because, as long as we get in the basement, she can't fit down there. We will be able to run once we get what we need." Then, I added. "She's invincible, so trying to fight won't do anything but waste our time and energy."

She stayed silent.

"Pepper, please. I just need to use Bob to fire off some extra shots into her. After that, I'll give it back to Redd so you won't have to touch it, again." I begged.

"Bob?"

"My gun's name. No, it doesn't stand for anything." I said.

She hesitated. "You'll give it back to that other feather brain?"

"I promise."

Finally, she sighed. "Fine. But I don't want anything else to do with that tech, after this is over."

I smiled, her control being replaced by mine.

I jumped out from behind the trees, sliding over to the pistol. Whistling for the others' attention, I waved our hooves. "Nico! Redd!"

They looked at us, briefly, before going back to their original synchronization.

"Listen! We need to give her all we got! You keep taking turns shooting, but we need to all be shooting at once! It won't kill her, but it will take longer for her to regenerate!" I yelled.

They nodded, willing to try anything at that point.

"Explosives would probably help!" Nico levitated the grenades we found at Violet's bunker out of his bag.

Nice.

I picked my gun up in my teeth, but it was immediately pulled out of my mouth by Pepper's aura. "If you have to use it, do not use my mouth. I'd be pretty fucking pissed if it blew up in my face."

I nodded. "That's fair." Then, I paused. "I can't use your magic."

Our eyes rolled. "Let me handle that. You just aim and tell me when to shoot."

Before I could agree, Silky began to gurgle louder than usual. Her mouth opened as she reared back. A pink light began seeping from her throat. I watched in horror as she hacked up a glowing ball of slime, flinging it towards Nico. He rolled to the side, it missing him by an inch. It landed behind him, splashing into a group of bushes. They started sizzling

"Don't let them hit you!" My dad warned. "If that stuff touches you, it'll melt your skin away!"

I really wanted to throw up.

The twigs under the slime melted away, leaving a bare spot of dirt next to Nico, who was getting to his hooves. He watched the shrubbery disappear in horror. I could only imagine what that could do to a pony. Whatever magic caused Silky to be... that, had to be dark in nature. I looked back to my gun, getting it out of its holster.

"Watch out!"

It was all I heard before Pepper and I went rolling towards the trees. When we finally stopped, I heard the explosion. I looked up, dizzily, to see rotten gore and pink slime all over the place. Nico dropped the grenade pins and ran towards us, yelling something. I couldn't hear from the ringing in our ears. Pepper put a hoof to our head. The smell was awful.

"Redd!!" Violet called, zooming to where Nico had stopped. Her voice barely audible over the ringing.

A pile of slime covered half of a piece of concrete slab. Redd was leaned against the slab, unconscious. Thankfully, the slime hadn't hit him. Pepper and I tried to control our hooves at the same time, making us stumble. I forced our direction over to where they were standing. Violet dragged Redd away from the slime with my dad's help. It was then, I knew why they were freaking out.

The slime had, indeed, hit the white stallion. His wing was covered in the gunk, along with some of his armor. Thankfully, it didn't go through all the way to his side, but the wing was an absolute mess. It sizzled, the feathers eroding away. I galloped over to him, sliding to a stop.

"R-Redd..." Tears formed in my eyes.

He winced, turning his head to his side. His eyes widened. "O-Oh... shit..."

"What do we do?!" Violet asked, urgently.

I could already feel the ground trembling as something bubbled behind us. Silky. It would take a minute for her to regenerate completely, but I knew she'd be back with a vengeance. I tore my gaze away from my friend's melting appendage to see a pile of flesh pulling together.

Redd groaned.

"We have to get it off of him, first." Nico said.

Violet didn't waste any time. She snatched the canteen off her shoulders and unscrewed the top. Nico held the wing out with his magic as she poured the water on it. The water mixed with the sludge as it trickled onto the dirt. He hissed at the sting, taking his eyes off the wing. He looked at me.

"Redd... I-I'm so sorry... I..." I whined.

"Sia, n-no." He forced a smile, a vein making itself known on his forehead.

I shut up, gazing at him, sadly. The last of the pink stuff hit the dirt, but the bloody, bare wing was still cooking in the acid. It was slowly snaking towards his torso.

"The slime is off, but it's still making its way down the base of your wing." Nico said, trying to keep calm.

"What do we do?" I asked.

He flattened his ears, closing his eyes.

"What do we do?!" I repeated, louder.

"I-I don't know."

"Washing it off won't work." Dad said. "I knew a pony who's mother got hit with one of these slime balls. They tried to rinse it off, but it spread all over her body, practically melting her away." He bowed his head.

Redd's face paled.

No. No!

"There is one thing." Pepper's words forced themselves out of our mouth. "You won't like it, though." She focused on the pegasus.

Everypony looked at us, expectantly.

"I don't know if it will work, but..."

"What? Tell us!" Violet pleaded.

Pepper swallowed. "You could try to... amputate the wing."

Everyone stayed silent, except for Redd groaning.

There was nothing to say. I wanted to object, but she was right. He wouldn't be able to fly, but he would be alive. I knew how prideful he was. It would just have to be up to him.

"Pepper, pegasi are... sensitive, there." Nico said.

"I know. I'm not forcing you guys to do anything, it's just a suggestion." She said, clenching our jaw.

A tear fell from my green eye. I did not want to imagine that pain. It reminded me of Clockwork.

"Do we have time to get to Zangth?" I questioned.

"I'm afraid not." Dad said.

Violet stomped in frustration.

"You guys d-do it."

Every one of us looked at Redd, shocked.

He glanced around. "I-I don't want to die. Just..." He gulped. "Do it."

Goddesses, I felt so bad for him.

The gurgling quickly turned into shrieking as Silky came back. I gulped. We would have to distract her even longer.

"Dad, are you sure a healing potion won't work?" I asked, quickly.

He shook his head. "It's the magic in the slime. It wouldn't do anything."

Shit. "Okay, do we have the right supplies? Redd, do you still have the sewing kit?"

He nodded, shakily pushing his bag forward. "Y-yes... scissors, included." He was losing strength.

To my surprise, Pepper levitated a syringe of Med-X and set it next to the bag. "I have this."

"Thank you." I said.

Another shriek from Silky made us tense.

"Nico, I need you to do the surgery. It's probably best if we have a unicorn, so you don't touch that slime. Dad, help Nico. I'll distract Silky while Violet gets us into the basement. We'll be safer in there." I said.

Everyone nodded. Pepper didn't argue. I figured it was because she didn't want to watch Redd be mutilated.

Our chest tightened, forcing me to rub it. Pepper groaned at the sensation. I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable, but I couldn't control it. I snatched my gun up, checking it over. New cartridge. Redd really did think of everything. He had saved me. Pepper, too. He sacrificed his flight for us. I immediately felt guilty from the thought. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have even gotten into this mess. Pepper took a deep breath, calming me down.

"Pepper, I'm sorry you have to be a part of this." I said, walking towards the half-formed ghoul.

She didn't reply.

I kept my distance from the goo. We came to a halt several yards away from Silky as she stood, headless. I could hear Redd yelling in pain. I had wished I was there, instead of him. Bob levitated in front of me, pointing at her. We were ready for battle, preparing for a hard fight. When her head finally formed from the slime, I noticed her eyes were wet with tears. I faltered. She could speak and she could cry. She was crying. Was she in pain? Did the regeneration hurt her? Maybe, she wasn't a monster, after all. We did kind of invade her boutique. Or, what was left of it. I should have kept up with the Wasteland Surprise Count.

I can't kill an innocent pony.

"What are you doing?! Blast it!" Pepper said.

"Wait. Do you see that? She's crying." I said, quietly.

"I doubt those are tears. It did just get reborn from slime."

Silky growled as she stood before us, ready to charge.

"Pepper, lower the gun. Drop it." I said

"You're insane! You begged me to pick it up, now you want me to drop it?"

"I know, I know. Please? I don't think she will attack if we don't have any weapons."

With an angry sigh, she did as I said. The pistol set down on the ground in front of us. Silky stomped, but didn't attack.

"S-Silky... We didn't mean to intrude..." I called to the ghoul.

She gurgled, opening her mouth to form another slime ball.

"Nice work, feather brain. Any other great ideas?!"

I swallowed, again. This is it. Nothing could stop Silky. She was pissed and we had done it. Our hooves shuffled, getting ready to dodge the aforementioned ball of acidic mucus. Just as we got ready to book it, Silky stopped. Her mouth closed, leaving the glowing ball to die in her throat. She swallowed it. Gross.

"What is she doing?" Pepper hissed.

Pepper's heart raced. I thought my anxiety would cause her to have a heart attack.

"R-Raaarrr....iiittyyyyy..." Silky's low raspy voice was like thousands of hooves scraping a chalkboard.

I didn't dare take my eyes off of her, but she wasn't looking at us. She had spotted the necklace around our neck.

"Y-Yeah. It was a gift from a friend. I know it s-sounds crazy, but Rarity actually is a part of the necklace. She's my friend, too." I said, trying to hide the timidness.

Silky lowered her head, getting a closer look at the gem. I felt Pepper's muscles lock up. I was ready to run, too. The gem in the necklace began to glow, slightly. It reflected off of Silky's eyes. I could see the tears forming in her eyes, again. One giant tear rolled down her cheek, falling to the ground with a splash.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Silky." I said, sincerely. "There are some bad ponies who want to get the rainbow pearls. They need to be stopped. So, I'm wondering if it's okay that we get into your basement. I promise, we only want to get the pearls. Nothing else will be touched."

Silky said nothing. Her milky eyes lingered on us, for a moment. I expected a nod or shake of her head. Instead, she turned and limped back to her sleeping spot. With a loud thud, she lay down onto the mound of rubble, covering herself with some of it. The glowing pile returned to the way it was before.

I gave a sigh of relief. Death, avoided. Again.

"That was... fucking weird." Pepper said. "This whole thing? Insane!"

"Yeah. I-it is. But, I don't think Silky is a bad pony." I said, quietly. "Maybe, she's just tired everyone attacking her for being what she is."

"Let me guess... Feeling guilty?"

I cleared our throat. "M-maybe."

Pepper sighed. "Let's just get out of here before she changes her mind."

I took control of Pepper's hooves, moving us back to where Nico, Redd, and my dad were. Thankfully, they were finishing up the operation as we walked up. My breath left me when I saw Nico cutting the thread. There were stitches where Redd's wing should have been. It didn't look like it had been as crudely done as Clockwork's scars, but any doctor definitely would have done better. Redd had passed out, probably from the pain. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to just grab him up and smother him with my love, but I knew Pepper would draw the line. If I had to be in her body, we weren't going to be hugging any stallion she didn't know.

"Is he... okay?" I looked at Nico.

He nodded. "Yes. He just couldn't handle the pain." The sewing kit sat next to him. Blood covered some of it.

A flutter of feathers behind us caught our attention. Violet landed next to me, cringing at the sight of Redd's stitches. "I got it. The basement door is open, now."

"Thank you, Vi." I smiled at her.

"So... How the hell did you beat Silky?" Dad asked with narrowed eyes.

I grinned, sheepishly. "Well, I didn't. She just kind of... gave up."

He stared with wide eyes. "You're kidding!"

I shook my head. Pepper spoke. "It said something about Rarity, then it cried, then Sienna asked if we could destroy her pearls, then she went back to sleep. It was easy."

"Not easy." I corrected her. "It was... unforeseen."

"Understatement of the century." Nico mumbled.

Redd groaned as he lifted a forehoof to his head. "I-is it over? Can I look, now?"

"You can, but the stitches are not professional, by any means." Nico said, levitating the sewing kit back into Redd's bag. "I already gave you the shot of Med-X. You should drink the potion. That way, we can take the stitches out, sooner."

Redd looked over at his wingless side. He folded his ears back. "I guess... No flying for me." He sighed. "Nah. I don't need the potion. We should probably save it for a real emergency."

"I'm sorry, Redd." I looked down. "I took it away from you. I-I should not have-"

"I'm gonna stop you there, Sia. I don't regret coming with you and I damn sure don't regret saving your life." He held Pepper's hoof, making her tense. "I'd do it, again."

We stared at each other for a second.

Pepper snatched her hoof back. "Okay, that's enough. Wait until you get back in your own body before you start your wild love making."

I felt our cheeks blush. Redd turned pink, too.

Nico cleared his throat. "We should get to the basement."

"Right." I said. "Do you need help?" I looked back to the pegasus.

He shook his head. "It's okay. I got it."

He slowly got up, stumbling from the lack of balance a couple of times. Eventually, he got it right, throwing a salute with his remaining wing.

I nodded, turning to head towards the basement. The others followed behind.

"He really is the one, huh? Like, not only the sex stuff." Pepper whispered.

"I-I..."

"Relax, I won't tease you, this time. He's... alright, I guess. Just... be careful with that love stuff."

I smiled, again. Now, that was weird. Pepper actually became sentimental instead of insulting him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was warming up to us.

The basement door was wide open, leading down a steep set of stairs. They weren't as numerous as the ones leading to Violet's bunker, but there were still a lot. I hated stairs. We descended down the dark steps. The only light was from Nico's horn. The cracked walls had definitely seen better days. We closed in on the vault door. Luckily, I didn't see a key pad or another terminal. I did, however, see a key hole.

I slumped. "Great. We're going to have to go on another looong journey to find that-"

"Found it." Violet said, picking up a key from under a mat. She grinned as she slid it into the hole, twisting it. "You'd think all those great, prewar minds would find better hiding places than under a mat."

That was way, too easy.

The creak probably would have woken Silky up, if she wasn't already aware we were down there. The rusty hinges barely moved. It took Dad, Nico and Violet to push it open so we could fit through. Redd sighed. He probably wanted to help, but given he just had literal surgery, it probably wasn't a good idea.

"Oh, boy. Pepper, prepare your body. Sia is about to get you hot and heavy for her hobby." Violet chuckled.

The lights were already on, despite being over a century, old. When I stepped inside, I almost fainted. It was like Luna picked me up and took me to my own, personal heaven. Fabric and thread lined the shelves. Beautiful thread. Beautiful fabric. All the colors of the rainbow and some metallics. Solids, floral patterns, chevron patterns, geo-patterns. All the patterns! There were rolls of leather. Silk. Furs. High quality stuff! Jars of gemstones sat under the spools of string. All of them were organized by color and size. They shined in the light, making the room look like a disco ball had been hung up. Across from the shelves were baskets of accessories. Pony shaped mannequins wore fancy dresses and casual wear. I walked over to the dresses, running my hoof over the satin fabric of one. This dress in particular was an orange dress with beautiful, yellow sunflowers. It matched my mane! I daydreamed how I might look in some of those outfits. A greedy, selfish part of me wanted to claim this basement as my own.

But nothing there belonged to me.

I slumped a little, but was still happy I got to see the magnificent collection. "It's so... beautiful."

"Right? Better than that rock collection, eh?" Violet nudged me.

I coughed. "Er..."

Pepper sputtered as she stifled a laugh. "Rock collection? Who the hell collects rocks? Nerd."

Violet snickered as she wandered around the vault, gazing at the clothing like it were a museum exhibit.

"I feel kinda dizzy." Redd said, sitting on his haunches and putting a hoof to his head.

Dad pat his back. "You'll be fine. You did lose more blood than what's probably considered safe."

Redd groaned. "So... I'll be feeling like crap for the next couple of hours?"

Dad nodded, earning a sigh from Redd. "I hope we don't come across anything else until then. I doubt I could even aim, correctly."

I was about to apologize for the hundredth time, until Nico spoke up.

"I think I found them." He said, off to the side.

Pepper and I trotted over to where we had heard his voice. He stood in front of a glass case behind some nude mannequins. When he stepped to the side, I definitely knew I had found what I had been searching for. There were only three of them. The most beautiful pearls I had ever seen. They gleamed in the light, letting off a soft, rainbow aura. The pearls' outer shells were a pearly white. The inside reminded me of a memory orb, but prettier. Rainbow colors swirled around, slowly. I couldn't stop staring at them. For one hundred and sixty years, the famous rainbow pearls sat in that basement, untouched.

Power. The power they held. If anypony could harness that energy and control it, they'd be able to do almost anything. I could-

"-do anything..."

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SUBJECT CANNOT BE DETERMINED

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Level Up!

New Perk
Dodgeball - Your speed has a permanent 10% increase.

Author's Note:

Thanks to Kkat for this amazing world!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy, and as always, constructive criticism/ error spotting are welcome!
Stay safe, everyone!

-AP

Comments

[PonyofEntropy]

Great update! Keep up the good work!