Fallout Equestria: Cultivation

by LilithGalac

Scattered Memory

… How much have I slept in the last few days?

I left the stable on what… twenty hours or so without sleep? I was out for like, twelve hours after I got shot, I had the whole trip to Nighttown, headed into the swamps, passed out for two hours…

And to think, I thought I’d be able to find a comfy bed and snuggle in for the night like a kid on a sleepover. Whew. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually sleep WITHOUT losing a bunch of blood in the process.

Maybe these zebras can help with that… Heartbeat and Traverse, the two stallions, and then this older mare, The Way. She seems nice, if… a little weird.

Either way. I have six days to get back to Ten Bit with payment from this Death Roll guy, and some prototype from in some old tech place. I… really feel like I chose the harder one first.

---

“Are you still with us, Seven-Ten Split?” The mare calls, from ahead. I’m pulled from my thoughts, shaking my head free of cobwebs.
“A-ah, yeah, I’m awake. Sorry. Just… long few days.” I say, with a weary laugh.
“A-and, uh, you can just call me Split. No need to be so formal.” I offer. The zebra chuckles.

“Mm, names are a peculiar thing.” She murmurs.

We walk in relative silence for a few minutes. The air is warm around us, and distantly I can hear birds chirping through the trees. The sky above us is streaked in orange, the sun slowly beginning to rise as we finally come to a large, wooden wall. The Way knocks on its surface sharply, the sound swallowed by the trees around us- I can hear something moving behind us, but don’t get a chance to look back as part of the wall slides open, and I’m ushered inside.

I’m greeted by… a town. Nothing massive, it’s definitely not as intimidatingly busy as Nighttown, but a town nonetheless. The wall behind us circles all the way around the edges of several islands, bridges all leading directly to the central point, a single island in the middle of the swampy lake. Four ramshackle buildings sit atop it, and what appears to be an utterly ancient riverboat is embedded partway into the far side of the island, making for a fifth building, looming in the back of the sleepy place.

The buildings are relatively small, probably the size of the suburban house Downpour lives in. I can see zebras moving about, working on repairs or farming- A quick glance shows me about… twenty or so.
This is a pretty small community…

The Way is already halfway across one of the rope bridges leading onto the island itself by the time I’m done taking in the sight. The island seems pretty unique in how separate it is from the other landmasses of the swamp- Whereas the lakes only stretch about ten feet across there, this one is almost completely isolated by about twenty feet of murky water on each side, and the edge of the island is pretty steep- Even with her claws, I can’t see an alligator-mare like Bite Strength climbing on too easily.

Finally, I realise I should be following, as Heartbeat and Traverse step on ahead, calmly walking along the rickety bridge. I follow behind, stepping carefully and trying not to look down. There’s a gentle hum of people talking as we approach, the sounds of life, of a community. It’s a nice, familiar sound- It reminds me of the cafeteria back in the stable, where there’d always be a few ponies just living. It puts me at ease as I finally step onto the island surface, and The Way turns to face me. Zebras nearby look up to glance at me, giving me curious looks.

“Well, welcome to our humble home, Seven-Ten Split.” She offers, with a calm stare. I nod, not entirely sure what to say.
“Ahh, it’s nice!” I answer, looking around. I’m… being honest, surprisingly. I didn’t expect a town in the middle of a swamp to be as nice as this is- The buildings are well-maintained, and one of them even has a coat of weather-worn paint on it. The riverboat on the far end of the island is surprisingly well-kept, too.

“... Er, do you guys have a place I could, like… sleep?” I ask, with a weak smile.
“I-I’ll be happy to help you with whatever you need after I’ve had some rest, I just…” I trail off, and The Way smiles.
“Don’t worry. I can see you have been in need of rest for a long time. Follow me.” She nods to the two stallions that came with us, and they both glance at me.
“Come see me when you wake up, stablemare, I have a job for you.” Traverse grins, nudging my side and gesturing to the boat on the far end of the island, before trotting off toward it.

All I can give him is a weak nod, before walking next to The Way, letting her lead me into the painted building.
“He is… Excitable, but if you can keep him busy, I’ll be grateful.” She laughs lightly, as we duck into the dim building. The windows have curtains that have been drawn tightly shut, letting little light into the front room. It’s very warm inside, and there’s a calm scent of flowers in the air. A soft pink mist curls around our hooves, making my fur tingle wherever it touches.

“Nonetheless. It is… Fourteen hours until sundown. As much as I would like to offer the friend of a friend shelter for longer, you do understand-” I cut in before she can continue, nodding weakly.
“I-it’s okay. I’m… on a bit of a timer, anyway. Uh… W-would it be alright if I talked to you when I wake up? I… I need some answers, if you can give them. E-er, I’m sure I can find a way to pay you…?” I ask. The Way smiles, leading me into an even dimmer room, through a curtained-off archway. The smell is stronger in here, and it’s making my head spin.

I’m briefly worried about just how trusting I’ve been, and how I may be being drugged right now. My legs are shaking from trying to keep me standing, and The Way is able to calmly lead me over to a comfy-looking mattress, which I collapse onto.

“We will see what your questions are, hmm? Find me in the riverboat when you awaken... For now, take some rest. We sleep in shifts, so you may be awoken when your bed is needed. I only hope you can find some peace.” She says. Her hoof touches my forehead. Her fur is soft…

That’s the last thought I remember having before everything just… shuts off. Days without real sleep finally hit me like a train-carriage crashing down on my head, and everything goes black.

---

I’m back in my Stable, but everything feels… Slightly off. Is this a dream? I’m not sure…

I’m moving without meaning to. I feel my legs pulling me forward. It’s a queer feeling, I can feel the cold, stiff air around me, the rubber mats beneath my hooves, yet I’m not in control. I breathe without consciously needing to, and can’t stop myself. My heart is beating, yet it’s not the rhythm I’m used to. I can hear my thoughts, and… And why aren’t they in my voice?

Ugh. Can’t believe that old weirdo shmoozed his way into the Overmare’s office. “Assistant” my flank, I bet he’s trying to get the job for himself.

Wait, what? I can barely hear myself think, what’s… going on? Wait…

I shake my head, clearing my thoughts. Now’s not the time to be spiteful. I’m sure everything will be fine. I need to focus on keeping my head down for now. The fact I’m even in this place right now is a blessing, I can’t mess that up.

I head into the cafeteria- It’s pretty quiet this late, thankfully. And waiting for me is-

Dad?! Wait, what’s going on? Why… why does he look so… different? Is that a leather jacket?

-Twisted Valve. Sometimes I still can’t believe he’s sweet on me of all people. Hmhm. I get all giddy just imagining what it’ll be like to have a foal with him some day… But I can’t get too ahead of myself.

We’ve only been dating for a few weeks now, and he’s this fancy scout who gets sent out into the Wastes all the time.

Wait wait, that voice… Is that… No, it can’t be, why am I hearing mom’s voice?

I stop, and frown. Something feels… wrong, why is this happening? What’s going on? The world around me shifts and warps, it’s like I’m not in the right body! I… I… I can feel myself panicking, what’s going on?

Everything goes dark.

---

And I awaken with a scream, covered in sweat. My heart is pounding against my ribs. Even the sweet scent tickling my nose isn’t enough to calm me. My breaths are short and shallow, I can feel myself beginning to hyperventilate.

However, a sleepy, irritated grunt comes from a mattress next to me, bringing me crashing down to reality. Blinking the bleariness from my eyes, I realise that I’m back among the zebras. I’m in a dim room, with six soft mattresses, three pushed against each wall, with about two feet between them. In the centre of the room, a huge metal pot bubbles with some concoction, soft pink mist seeping from the top and collecting around the floor.

That must be… whatever caused whatever the hell just happened. I… I guess if other zebras are sleeping here, it might not be an organ-harvesting factory?

Despite myself, I still pat down my sides to make sure I’m not hanging open, and thankfully it seems I’m fine. I quickly check my pip-buck to see the time- it’s been about seven hours. I have seven hours until I need to get moving out of here. Seems fair.

I shake my head, quickly rolling off of the mattress. I whisper a quick apology to the zebra I’d awoken, and get another sleepy grumble back. I quickly trot out of the room, then bolt out into the sun outside, collapsing on the dirt and gulping in deep breaths of fresh air, much to the amusement of some passing zebras. One of them stops, offering me a hoof.
“First time sleeping among zebras, mm?” She asks. I take the hoof, letting her help me up.

“What… what was… I…” I trail off, panting lightly. The mare giggles lightly, brushing my hair out of my eyes for me. She’s about my age, with curly, messy hair framing her face.
“We find it easier to sleep amongst the memories of those who came before us. It helps us keep the lessons they learned fresh in our minds.” She says, simply, giving me a small wink before going back to her companion, the two trotting off and leaving me still in shock.

“... That… doesn’t really answer my question.” I murmur, not really considering the fact that I hadn’t asked one. I shake my head, deciding I need to find The Way and ask her questions myself. I vaguely remember she mentioned the riverboat before I passed out, so I collect myself, wiping sweat from my brow and taking a few more breaths before I head for the looming silhouette.

As I approach, I finally get a proper look at it- It really is fully embedded into the island these zebras have called home, the roots of the trees nearby have fully grown into and around the deck of it. It’s surprisingly intact, but that may be a result of years of repairs. It’s hard to tell from outside.

The building on top of the boat is definitely… worn, but liveable. There’s no glass in any of the windows, and most of the doors seem to be long gone. But the walls are intact, the roof doesn’t have many holes in it… And well, it’s not sunk. There’s a few more zebras coming and going here, with crates full of plants and construction materials, coming up from an open trapdoor that leads to the decks below.

I guess this is where they store stuff. I think. I flag down a passing zebra, asking him where I can find The Way-- He gestures inside the boat’s main building, and I thank him, quickly heading inside.

The ground floor of the thing was a casino once, if I had to guess- Long-abandoned roulette tables, ancient cards glued to the floor from weather damage, the occasional poker chip long-forgotten in a dusty corner… Whatever the zebras use this place for, they don’t seem to use this room much. I head up some old, creaking stairs, onto a balcony overlooking the casino floor.

I’m not entirely sure where I’m going, but… I’m sure I’ll find The Way eventually.

The upper floor of the boat isn’t as dusty as the casino floor, it seems this part gets more hoof-traffic, for whatever reason. Despite that, and despite the business out on the deck, though, it’s just… so quiet in here. The only sounds are my breaths and the occasional creak of the boat around me.

I follow the balcony around, heading through an open archway into a long hallway. The paint is peeled from the walls around me. Paintings that once hung proudly on the wall have been pulled down, their canvases torn to shreds, leaving almost no traces of the ponies that were once painted on them.

My hooves pull me onward, down the silent hall. I finally come to the end of it, stepping into a quiet office… I assume. A desk is overturned against the far wall, and centuries-old papers are pasted to the ground from rain and wind, their words illegible. The Way stands next to the desk, looking out a window, the glass long-gone, letting in the gentle breeze and the faint scent of the swamp outside. A few old, tattered armchairs sit here, their stuffing sticking out in various places.

I step forward.
“Erm, you said to come find you when I woke up? I-I have some questions to ask you.” I say, quickly. The mare jumps a little in surprise- She mustn’t have heard me come in, glancing over her shoulder before turning to face me.
“Ah yes, Seven-Ten Split. Apologies, I was… Reminiscing. Please, walk with me. I have some… matters to attend to, so our time is short.” She gestures to the doorway I just entered through, and I glance back, nodding.
“Er, sure. I suppose I should go find Traverse, anyway…” I nod, stepping aside as she approaches, taking the lead.
“Aha! He’s nearby, very good! I’ll take you to him.”

The two of us walk back down the quiet hall in silence for a moment, before I decide to start with my questions.
“Er, so. Uh. When I was asleep, I… had a weird dream, where I was seeing through my mother’s eyes. What… happened there? A-another mare told me it was something about, uh… ancestors?” I ask. The zebra smiles faintly, shaking her head.
“Ah, just a… tradition of sorts, amongst our people. We use a similar spell to the unicorns from before the war, that was able to extract the memories from a person and crystallise them. When the love of a pair truly flows within something as special as a child, they put themselves forward into that child.” She smiles lightly, as if talking about something she remembers fondly.

“Parts of themselves, their personalities, their talents… Even their memories can be passed down. We have ways to allow ourselves to experience that which is passed to us.” She says, simply.

“Books and computers fade away with time. They can be damaged, destroyed. But the memories shared between family… Those remain even now, centuries later.”

“Uh… That… makes sense, yeah.” I lie. Not wanting to get too deep into whatever that whole thing is, I continue on another line of thought.

“... Do you know anything about Death Roll? I… have to go talk to him.” I say, quickly. The mare stops, glancing at me with a frown.
“... And who has sent you to do such a thing?” She asks. I answer quickly.
“... A mare named Ten Bi-”
“Ten Bit! Of course!” The Way scowls lightly, shaking her head.
“That mare is so very…” She sighs, and continues forward.

“No matter. I won’t weigh you down with my troubles. Nonetheless, if she has sent you to speak with Death Roll, you are… In need of more help than I first expected. I will have to speak with my people here.” She slowly walks down the stairs onto the empty casino floor. I’m not sure what to say as we step out into the sunlight.

“Erm… Actually, I have another question. Why… Why do I not want to be out in the swamps while the sun is up? Is it a visibility thing, or the alligators, or-” I’m interrupted by The Way shaking her head.
“Ghouls. A very… peculiar kind of ghoul, at that. Whatever was done to this swamp mutated the ponies hiding here in… horrible ways. They are fully dormant during the night, but when the sun comes up, they awaken and hunt down the living en masse.” She explains. I feel my heart sink a little as I realise just how close I was to having that happen to me…

The Way continues to the opening in the deck that zebras were coming from earlier, leading me toward the stairs.
“... I have one more question, do… Do you know a mare by the name of… Er, Icy?” I ask, carefully. The Way stops again, turning to look at me with a raised eyebrow.
“... yes. She once lived here. However, she decided that she could make her own way in the Wasteland on her own. I assume if you’ve dealt with her, she’s doing rather well?” The mare chuckles. I hesitate, not sure how to share the information that I shot Icy… With water, yeah, but… still.

“Er… Yeah. She was my guide, but I… I decided to part ways with her.” I say, quickly.
“Sounds like the Icy I remember. She was good at pushing people away.” The Way says, with a laugh. With that, she turns and continues down the stairs, into the lower deck of the riverboat. Crates are stacked nearly to the ceiling here. There are holes dotted here and there in the floor, showing the murky water directly beneath. Why isn’t this place halfway underwater…?

I don’t get much time to dwell on it, however, as I follow The Way through an open archway into what appears to be an engine room. A bulkhead door lays off to the side here, looking as though it was ripped off its hinges. However, what catches my eye most is the utterly huge, faintly humming engine sitting in the centre of the room.

Traverse is here, along with two others- Another zebra, and an earth pony. The zebra is off to one side, hammering on some pipes, while the pony appears to be welding something. Traverse turns as we enter, clapping his hooves on the ground excitedly.
“Yes! Welcome, welcome stabledweller!” He says, quickly trotting over. The Way taps my side.
“I will need to speak with you before you leave. Wait by the gates when you are ready to go, and I shall be there.” She tells me. I give her a small nod.
“Erm, thank you, Way.”

With that, she’s gone, leaving me alone with Traverse, who excitedly ushers me over to the machine.
“I was hoping you could help us with something, since you’re from a Stable. See this? This is what is keeping this boat afloat.” He says, looking up at the thing. It’s a nightmare of wires and piping, metal and brass all stapled together and patched together. There’s something glowing at the heart of it all, but the light occasionally flickers, making the entire boat groan.

“... It looks like the generator from our Stable.” Is about as much as I can offer. I’m a little worried they need mechanical help, this was more dad’s forte…

Traverse nods.
“Exactly! We… don’t have a lot of stable-tec records out here but what we know is that some Stable generators use a similar design to this!” He pats a smooth part of the metal.
“It’s a shield generator, originally manufactured for wartime, repurposed into something to keep a boat afloat! Wild, isn’t it?” He asks, definitely excited to share the information.

“That… Actually is pretty cool.” I say, nodding slowly.
“So, it… makes a forcefield between the boat and the water, to keep them separate? Like…”
“An airboat!” Traverse interrupts, nodding eagerly.
“That’s actually something that we’ve seen before, old shield generators being used in airboats to make them go faster. It’s… risky, but possible!” He excitedly explains. I nod, looking back at the machinery.

“So… what’s the issue?” I ask.
“Well… The power source is dying. We do have a replacement, but we need skilled hooves to swap it out. If something goes wrong, well…” He waves a hoof.
“We lose the safest place we have to store things and hide if things get messy with the gators. If we flip a switch, this entire boat becomes impenetrable. Without it, well… We’re pretty exposed in case of an attack.”

I look around, nodding slowly.
“... Yeah, I can see why that’d be an issue.” I say, with a weak laugh. He nods, sighing lightly.
“This generator is based on old Zebra tech, so we can at least keep it repaired by relying on the memories of our ancestors. But… Well, ponies modified the design to change the power source. We have no idea how to swap out a new one. We had it done a few years back, but that was a pony… And he apparently didn’t share how to fix it. We do have a pony mechanic on hand, but well, she’s never worked with this kind of thing before… It’s pretty old-world tech.” He explains, looking at me hopefully.

“... I… Well, I… wish I could help.” I say, nervously. I try to ignore the way his face falls as I speak, continuing quickly.
“Maybe… Maybe once I’m done, I can go get my dad, and he can come help. He’s our head engineer back at the Stable.” I offer. Traverse hangs his head, sighing lowly.

“That won’t do. We need to act now, and get this done in the next few days, or else we run the risk of the entire thing shutting down permanently.”

I feel a weight settle in my gut, and I close my eyes. Everything’s on a time limit, it seems… Suddenly, inspiration strikes.

“Wait, maybe… maybe that memory stuff can help?” I offer. Traverse raises an eyebrow.
“Wait, it works on you? That’s… Whatever, that’s a great idea! Err… Err… Posh!” He gestures to the pony, who looks up, raising her welding mask. She’s a soft yellow, with messy orange hair. Thick goggles obscure her eyes as she puts her equipment down.
“What’s up, boss? Need something?” She nods to me, and I give her a small nod in return.
“Yeah. I need you to head to the sleeping quarters, get a bottle of memory stuff. We’ll need to hit this stablemare hard if she’s gonna help us out.”

The mare nods, quickly getting to her hooves and darting out of the room. Traverse turns back to me, excitement in his eyes again.
“This is fantastic. If you can help us out like this, maybe we could use that as leverage to keep you around! Posh helped us fix this thing once when it sprung a leak, so maybe-”

I quickly interrupt, shaking my head.
“... I-I can’t stay. Sorry. I… I’m on a time crunch here, I have six days to get some stuff for Ten Bit, so I can get back home… My Stable is in pretty dire straits at the moment.” I explain. Traverse stops, then nods, looking away.
“... Yeah, that’s fair. We all got homes to go back to, hah! Well, if you ever change your mind, you seem cool, so I’d vouch for you.” He says, with a wink.

I smile weakly, straightening my jacket.
“Thanks, Traverse. You’re pretty cool, too.” I sigh, sitting down. I light my horn, tightening the tie on my ponytail, and checking my super soaker. It’s only about half full, and… How am I going to refill this thing?

“... Erm. You know, I haven’t really had a chance to ask anyone yet, but… How hard is it to come by water out here?” I ask. Traverse blinks.
“Well… If you wanna risk a passing gator coming along and snapping your face off, pretty easy!” He snorts.
“But if you want clean water, well… We have some purifiers for rainwater set up, but they work slow. We only really have just enough to keep us from going completely thirsty.”

“... Seems I made a mistake bringing this stupid thing with me, huh.” I mutter, looking down at it, sighing lightly.

---

“Wow, a gun! That’s so cool, thanks mom! Best birthday EVER!”

“It’s just a water gun, Split. I can’t have you blowing holes in the walls now, can I?”

“Aw man… I-I mean, thanks mom! This is still really cool!”

“You’re bad at lying, Split. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find a good use for it.”

“Yeah! I can work on my aim for when you get me a REAL gun!”

“... Don’t count on it, Split. If I have my way you’ll never get your hooves on a real gun.”

… A real gun would probably be nice right about now. Maybe I can talk to Downpour about getting one in Nighttown if I get back. Er… when I get back.

---

“... Split? You there?” Traverse asks. I jolt from my reverie, shaking my head.
“Ah, sorry! Just… Distracted, sorry.” I tuck my water gun back into my jacket, looking at the mare, Posh, who’s back with a bottle of the weird pink stuff. Traverse takes it from her, nodding and letting her get back to what she was doing.
“Okay, this stuff is… weird. It’s basically bottled magic, so uh, it can be a little wild to take raw like this. But desperate times, right? Aha… Just, er. Think really hard of your dad, and the generator of your stable. Maybe… Just maybe this’ll work. If you can think of any details about how to replace the crystal, you just might be able to get this done for us… And we’ll owe you, bigtime.” He laughs weakly.

I try to ignore the nervousness in his voice as I light my horn and take the bottle, bringing it to my lips. I try my best to focus on thoughts of dad, and of home, and the generator he’s been working on for years… The second the bottle turns up and I feel the weird, sludgy liquid touch my tongue, everything goes dark.

---

I’m still in the shield-generator room. Did… something go wrong? Why do I feel so… Wait, this… this feels familiar.

Can’t believe it. I finally get sent out as a scout and get my head out of the mess of machines in the Stable, and the first thing I run into is people in need of mechanical help. Just my luck.

Wait… I… I remember mom saying something about this, dad was a scout…? He’s never told ME about that.

Whatever. I look over my shoulder, and there she is. Pray Tell. Can’t believe I was lucky enough to get sent out with her. She really wants to help these zebras, and if she wants it done, I’ll do it; Maybe she’ll give me the time of day if I do the whole “charitable” thing...

Standing in the doorway is a rather pretty mare. She’s yellow, with her mane covering half her face. She’s an earth pony, and seems to be wearing makeup. She’s wearing the usual vault suit, but with a weird… dress-thing over the top of it. It looks all fancy, like something out of the old pre-war records back in the vault. Most importantly though...

Who the hell is she?

I mean, she’s pretty, sure, but… I’ve never heard dad talk about her, either. How long ago even is this? I mean, I don’t… feel old, I guess… It also feels weird seeing through dad’s eyes, in dad’s body. Something about it just feels… I dunno. Whatever. I can feel the wood beneath my hooves, and I can hear the hum of the engine behind me… us? Whatever, and standing next to this Pray Tell mare is… Is that The Way? She looks so young!

I turn back to the engine. I look down at the softly humming crystal at my hooves, and gently lift it. Can’t use magic here, or the entire thing will explode in my face. Just gotta open this cap, and reeeeach in… Careful, gotta… Watch out for that bit, and that bit…

Dad knows a lot about this… So, I just gotta… Urgh, I hope I can do this right. He said it might explode? What the hell? And what “bits” is he talking about? I can’t see in there, I can only feel, this isn’t good...

Okay, just reach past the gamma-cogs, and then... Gotta detach the crystal. Everything is shaking a little now. The generator is… Okay, the humming is dying down, that’s… Nothing to be concerned about. Okay, now… Now… Gotcha! The spent crystal falls to the ground, bouncing away into the shadows, and the new one slides right into place… And the generator hums back to life! Huzzah!

I turn back, and… Pray Tell is gone. The Way steps forward, nodding in thanks. She’s telling me I’ve done a great job, which is cool and all but… Dammit, how long was Tell gone?

Dad saved these zebras and only cared about catching some tail… jeez, you were a dork when you were younger, dad. Whatever, I think that’s enough…

Whatever. I tell her no thanks are needed, heading for the door. The boat is saved, the day is saved… And I guess I’ll probably find another way to get Tell’s attention.

I can feel my head spinning… I think I’m waking up, but… My vision is swimming, my head is pounding, why does everything feel so wrong…?

---

I’m awoken by a hard slap to the face, and I roll onto my side, gasping for air. My mouth is achingly dry, and my lungs feel like they’ve been crushed under a buffalo. I wheeze and rasp, shaking my head. My eyes hurt, as if I haven’t blinked in hours. Traverse is suddenly there, grabbing my shoulder. He’s speaking, but my ears are ringing and I can barely make out a word. He looks worried.

Finally, my hearing begins to clear up, and I can make out what he’s saying.
“-ear me? Split, are you there?” He lets go of me, letting me drop to the floor.
“Oh gods, Way’s gonna kill me. We let this mare in, and I go and break her! Crap, what are we gonna do?”
“You could check her again.” Another voice offers. Traverse waves a hoof.
“I just did, she’s unresponsive! This is bad!”

Suddenly, the second zebra I saw earlier is standing over me. He’s… Big. His face is blank as he calmly sits me up, the movement making me groan in pain. Traverse spins around, eyes wide.
“Oh my god, she’s awake! Okay! Thank the gods, we didn’t break her!” He falls back onto his flanks, wheezing in relief.

“You just passed out… We expected it to take a while, but it’s been four hours, then you started seizing up, and… and frothing at the mouth, and, uh, there was a bit of screaming right at the end there…” He says, concern in his voice. I smile, swallowing hard and doing my best to speak, despite the pain in my throat.
“I-it’s fine. I… I think I learned what I need to know. It’s, uh, not gonna be easy, but I... I just need a drink…” I cough. Traverse nods, hoofing me an old, battered bottle half-filled with clean water.
“It’s, er, all I could spare, sorry.”
“It’s fine.” I nod, drinking the whole thing in a few short swigs.

Once I’m refreshed, I shakily stand. My head is still reeling, I don’t remember much past the first thing I saw, just blinding light and my head spinning. I try not to think too much about it, focusing on the matter at hand for now.
“So, uh, where’s the crystal?” I ask. Traverse blinks, then gasps.
“O-oh yeah, doy. You’ll be needing that, yeah…” He quickly rummages in some crates nearby, pulling out a battered, old metal briefcase.
“We’ve used some old equipment we salvaged to test this thing, it should last us a few years. Hopefully enough time to figure out something else…”

I look down at it, trying to remember what dad was talking about. I… I can’t quite… I know he mentioned a lot of “bits” and something about a gamma...cog? I think? And… I can’t even use my magic for this! I look at Traverse with a small frown, trying to figure out how to break this to him gently.

“... I don’t know if I can do this. I-I mean, I experienced dad doing it, but… I-I’m better at throwing bowling balls than I am handling crystals.” I bury my face in my hooves. Traverse pats my shoulder, and as I look up I can tell he’s trying to hide his disappointment.

“... Did you get anything from him? I know engineers can use a lot of jargon, anything could help.” He asks. I nod slowly.
“Y-yeah, he said, er… ‘Past that bit, then that bit. Then past the gammacogs, and… there. Disconnect the crystal, then slide the new one in.’ I think.”

Traverse’s face lights up.
“Wait, really? That’s how to get to the power source?!” He slaps his head with a hoof, grinning brightly.
“Never woulda thunk it! No wonder we couldn’t get in there! None of our schematics or memories show that as an entrypoint. The gammacogs, huh? Our model has the power source up way higher than that, and the chamber for the cogs is completely sealed off from that, so… Maybe it was to improve engine efficiency? … It’s probably also why these ones fail a lot sooner than our models, but, y’know…” He shakes his head, grinning and shaking my hoof.

“Okay, I… I think I can do this myself. Thank you, stablemare. Let’s… Let’s see if this works.” He takes a deep breath, opening the case. The crystal inside is gently glowing, a soft pink.

I can’t quite see what he’s doing as he climbs up onto the machinery, sliding a panel open and reaching inside. He moves carefully, and slowly… Suddenly, there’s a faint click and the pink light within the engine suddenly stops.

I try not to yelp as the entire boat shifts slightly. The engine’s hum dies down, and everything rattles around us. Traverse is stock still, hesitating as he slowly pulls the spent crystal out, letting it clatter to the ground at his hooves. He’s calm, even as I feel the boat around us groaning under it’s own weight. I can hear crates in the room behind us beginning to shift as the boat slides down, but I try not to panic, even as my heart threatens to pound right out of my chest.

“Careful… Careful… There!”

Click.

There’s a few terrifying moments of nothing but the boat threatening to pull itself apart… And then the engine finally hums to life, light pouring out of it as the new crystal floods the system with power. The creaking and groaning around us dies down at the boat rights itself around us, and I let out a breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding in, my head spinning from the lack of oxygen. My legs shake, then give out under me as I collapse to the floor, while Traverse and Posh whoop and cheer in excitement. The bigger zebra pats my side, looking down at me.

“Thank you, stablemare.” He offers me a hoof, and I take it, letting him help me stand. My legs are shaking, but I can at least stay standing, letting out a weary sigh.
“N-no worries, uh. I-I’m glad I could help figure out the issue...” I say, meekly. He nods, leaving me alone as he goes to his tools to get back to working on the machinery.

Traverse bounces over, tackling me in a hug.
“Thank you so much, stablemare! I’m so glad this worked! And, uh, we didn’t kill you.” He laughs weakly, letting me go. I nod, smiling wearily.
“N-no worries, I...I’m just glad I could help. I definitely need to rest my legs for a bit though, uh…” I look down at my pipbuck. Three hours until sundown.

“... Especially since I’m heading out soon…” I mumble. Traverse grins.
“Okay, you know what? We’re gonna help you rest in style. Come with me.” He helps me up again, and leads me out into the cargo area.
“Posh and Job can keep an eye on the engine to make sure nothing goes wrong. I think you deserve a meal after all that, it’s the least I can do! Ha ha!” He cheers, leading me back up out into the dwindling sunlight above…

---

Pray Tell… She was a mare dad was sweet on, then he must have lost her out here, somehow. I… I’ve never heard anyone talk about a mare with that name, but I know something happened. Who was she?

Dad doesn’t really talk about what it was like when he was younger, and neither does mom, come to think of it. I… I don’t really know a lot about either of them, do I? I spend so much time just thinking about how much I want to come out into the wastes, I’ve never actually sat down and had a discussion with them.

… Then again, would they have told me what I wanted to know if I’d asked? Who knows.

Whatever, I… I’m sure I can ask them when I get home. I just need to focus on that. My end goal is getting back home, and I can’t lose sight of that. Once I get some food in me, it should be late enough to head out.

… I hope Icy is okay. I… I might not like her, but I don’t want to KILL her. I’m… sure she’s fine. Probably…

Either way, I need to get this done. Soon.

Author's Note:

(Visual reference for Pray Tell pending)

Comments

[Doomande]

Nice seeing someone writing a few chapters written before they submit their story!

[LilithGalac]

10704556
Heck yeah! I figured I should at least have a nice baseline down to add onto instead of just a single chapter :D

[Backlash91]

bowling pony meets wasteland?!

Some one 's gonna strike out....XD

[Ace of Blackjack]

Once again I’m in love!