Fallout: Equestria - Shadow of the Day

by Kaciekk

Chapter 10: Familial Ties

It only took a couple hours for SwiftHaze’s group to find their way to EchoBeat’s home. The sky had become the brightest it could be below the clouds. Haze thought she could see a bright spot in the sky where the sun was behind the clouds. She remembered how sunlight felt like in one of the memory orbs. Would she ever feel that for herself? She did have the advantage over her friends with the ability to fly above the clouds.

Echo greeted them at the door and let them in.

“Is Flash here yet?” Haze wondered.

“No. Why? Did he say he was coming?” Echo asked.

Haze nodded.

“Sierra's home is quite a bit away,” Chance explained. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

“Do you think we can make it to Stable 47 and be out before dark?” Haze questioned.

“Hmm, hopefully,” Chance said.

“If not we can spend the night at the Stable!” Ray suggested.

“What?” Haze croaked. “No way! I don’t want my mom finding out I came back!”

“Fine, we won’t,” Chance assured defensively. “I guess we can always camp outside.”

They continued to walk forward into the room.

“In the meantime, is there anything I could get for you?” EchoBeat offered. “Food? Tea?”

“Some tea would be nice,” Ray said.

She began to follow him. Haze quickly trotted over to alert Echo.

“So, uh, did you look at any of those memory orbs?” She wondered.

“A couple, yes,” Echo replied. “One from HyperBlitz, and one from SweetHooves. I think they are safe for public viewing. Oh, as well as the one Chance viewed. You can find them on the coffee table over there. The ones I viewed are in the bottom right corner of their boxes.”

“Awesome! Thanks Echo!” Haze said with excitement.

She turned around and headed back into the living room. She stared at the orbs on the table, wondering which one she should view first. Initially, she thought of Hyper’s orb, but favored the idea of being able to actually see her ancestor. It was possible that Hyper was also in his wife SweetHooves' memory. Haze picked that one, and set it on the couch.

The first thing that stood out to Haze was the noise. So very loud clammer, which eventually shifted to familiar music as her senses became more keen. Haze’s host, SweetHooves supposedly, was standing on the side of a stage, out of the view of the public. Haze could feel the form of a recollector on SweetHooves’ head. To the left was a bustling crowd with hundreds, no, thousands of ponies. It was dark, but Haze could still make out the size of the crowd. It had to be several times larger than the population of Stable 47.

Ahead of SweetHooves on the stage was Linkin Pony, playing their instruments. Haze recognized EchoBeat, in his original, non-ghoul form. HyperBlitz was singing away at the microphone.

As the song ended, the crowd erupted into an adoring cheer. HyperBlitz’s gaze met SweetHooves’. He had a pleasant smile which was emphasised by his cute wrinkles. The grey in his hair indicated he was closer to being in his fifties. Haze felt SweetHooves smile back at the stallion with love.

Hyper turned to face the crowd again, and when he spoke on the mic, the crowd fell silent. Haze was amazed at just how much the crowd respected this stallion.

“You guys are fucking awesome, you know that? You’re fucking awesome,” Hyper told the crowd, which proceeded to give him a pleased cheer. He giggled into the mic. He had a sweet laugh.

“We’ve been doing this for years. Hell, we’re all fucking old now,” Hyper remarked with content in his tone. “But you all are the reason we keep going.” He extended his hoof out towards the crowd. “We love making music, and we love playing it for you.”

At that, the crowd cheered again. But Hyper wasn’t done, so he waited until they settled. For a second, he took a glance at SweetHooves, a smirk on his face, amused by the crowd’s ability to keep going.

“I want to take a moment to thank all of you for purchasing a ticket to aid our charity cause. We appreciate it, and the ponies at the Ministry of Peace appreciate it. I hope you all support our ideals of ending the war peacefully.”

The sea of ponies shouted in a tone of agreement.

“Alright. You guys ready for some more music?” Hyper asked and was replied with another roar. “Alright, let’s fucking rock.”

HyperBlitz grabbed the microphone in his hoof and turned around to face his band. The intro of “Burn it Down” started playing. Before Hyper could even start the first verse, the memory faded. SwiftHaze was sure she’d be hearing buzzing in her ears for hours.

She arose from the memory orb. For a moment she sat in astonishment at what she had seen. She wondered what it was like to be a pony that influential with thousands of ponies looking up to you.

Haze lifted her head up and saw OrchidRays sitting on the floor across the other side of the coffee table. She was tying duct tape to the stock of the shotgun they had found a few days ago.

“What are you doing?” Haze asked.

“I’m reinforcing the stock so it doesn’t fall apart the next time somebody uses it,” Ray explained.

“Huh.” Haze hadn’t realized until recently that Ray was an inventive type. Well, she had mentioned that she had made sculptures, but Haze didn’t think of a correlation to crafting and repair.

Haze’s eyes settled on the memory orb boxes on the table. Did she have enough time to view another one? Flash still wasn’t here, so she assumed so. She placed the first orb back and took one from the second box.

After the world around her faded, she slowly started to feel her hooves moving beneath her. Her host was walking through a hallway with another pony next to them. A red stallion with a grey streaked brown and red mane. He turned his head to reveal his nearly completely grey beard. EchoBeat. His brown eyes, hidden behind glasses, looked to Haze’s host.

“Now, Hyper, try not to curse around her. She doesn’t like it much.”

“Don’t worry,” Haze felt Hyper say with a smirk, “I’ll try not to. But how would you even know? You’ve been around her once before.”

“But I’ve heard my peers talk about her.”

“And it’s just easy to tell what kind of pony she is, honestly,” a new voice said. Hyper turned to face the source. Haze recognized CharmingRhythm.

“Yeah, yeah, you know everything,” Hyper teased. Rhythm just rolled his eyes.

“Well, I guess I gotta get all my ‘fucks’ out before we go in,” Hyper noted, and after a pause, just blurted out “fuck!” There was a snort of laughter from Rhythm. Echo shook his head with a smile.

The three of them continued down the hall until they reached a set of double doors. Echo pushed them open and led his friends inside. There was a large oval meeting table with at least a dozen stools around it. A pink mare looked at the approaching stallions.

“Ms. Fluttershy will be in shortly,” she told them. “You may take a seat.”

The stallions took their seats at the table next to each other. Hyper tapped his hooves impatiently on the table. Haze wondered how his flame tattoos stayed so vibrantly blue. CharmingRhythm tapped his own hoof on one of Hyper’s playfully. Hyper glared at him then batted a hoof back. They kept returning light slaps until EchoBeat gave them a disapproving stare. Hyper placed his hooves under the table and sat up straight.

The doors opened and a light yellow mare stepped inside. She raised her head to push her long pink mane out of her eyes. As she sat down, something white and fuzzy hopped onto the table. A little rabbit? It seemed to be giving Hyper a hard stare.

“Thank you for coming today,” the yellow mare said in a small, cute voice. Fluttershy? “You are aware my Ministry has requested a partnership with your charity foundation.”

“Yeah, I think it’s a fantastic idea,” Hyper remarked.

“I just need to know,” Rhythm now spoke, “will we still have control over Music for Relief?” He seemed concerned. It must have been an important project.

“Um… yes,” Fluttershy replied meekly.

The pink mare by her side added to the conversation, “you will still have control over the organization of your charity. But we know you use the funds for providing aid to ponies suffering from natural disasters. We would like to utilize that, as well as towns badly affected by the war.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy continued. “This is still your foundation, but we would like you to represent the Ministry of Peace. I know you have quite a large fanbase.”

“So, you want to use our exposure to promote your office?” Rhythm wondered with caution.

“And help ponies in peaceful ways, just as you already have,” the pink mare confirmed.

“I say it’s a good idea,” Hyper reaffirmed. “The war is affecting everyone now. We’ll be able to aid those suffering from it.”

“We aren’t prohibiting anything, we are extending our range,” Echo explained. “We’ll still be able to do what MFR was intended for, but expand it to the war effort.”

Rhythm nodded, taking that in. “Alright, we’ll do it. But we’ll have to organize the legal information as well as the displacement of workers.”

“We’ll work with that over time,” Fluttershy said.

Haze couldn’t comprehend any of the words after that as the memory was cut short. She re-emerged in EchoBeat’s living room to see SilverFlash standing in the corner staring at her. Ray was still sitting on the floor.

“Welcome back!” Ray acknowledged Haze with her hooves raised.

“Now, if you’re done leisuring, we have to get moving,” Flash told Haze promptly.

“Geez, you don’t have to rush me,” Haze groaned. “You can’t even say ‘hi’ to me?”

Flash glared for a moment and then said, “hello,” in a flat tone.

Haze rolled her eyes and pulled the recollector off her head. She stomped away into the kitchen where she would find the food rations Echo had provided for them.

“Why does he have to be so crabby,” Haze muttered.

Echo’s gaze followed her as she passed by. “Believe it or not, there was once a Flash that would have humored you.”

“Hmph, yeah,” Haze mumbled as something crossed her mind. She turned to Echo. “Actually, I saw him in a memory orb and he seemed so much different than he does now. But I also saw you in one and… you seemed similar to now.” Granted, she had only seen both stallions in one memory each. “Why is that? You bo-”

Before she could continue, Chance interrupted from behind Haze. “Um… sorry… wanted to know if you’re coming, Haze.”

Haze threw her muzzle up and groaned. “Ugh, would you guys stop rushing me!” She stomped a hoof. “I want to talk to EchoBeat!” She waved her wing at Chance. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you. I can fly after all.”

“You sure you’ll know the way?” Chance asked cautiously.

Haze raised her foreleg up. “I’ve got a map on my PipBuck, don’t I?”

“Alright,” Chance said as he pulled away. “Meet you along the way.”

After he left, Haze turned her head back to Echo and huffed. She realized Echo had witnessed her bad attitude. “Sorry,” she grimaced with ears pressed back.

Echo shook his head. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“You’re right,” Haze admitted regretfully. “I’ve got to get better at not snapping at ponies.”

“Everyone has something to work on. You are a pony like everyone else,” Echo assured. “You do remind me of HyperBlitz.”

Haze’s ears perked up. “Really?”

“Well, a young Hyper. When he let his emotions get the better of him. He learned to control them better as he aged. Your temperance may come with wisdom, and wisdom will come with time.”

Haze nodded at that. “You’re really wise yourself. But I guess you would be, since you’ve lived as long as you have…

“But that was a part of my point. Both you and Flash became ghouls. Why does he act so much different than he did before?”

Echo’s eyes widened a bit and he thought for a moment before speaking slowly. “Grief affects different ponies differently. Perhaps it affected Flash more than me because he was a much more outgoing type than I was. I was comfortable being alone for a time, while he often needed company. So, when the last day came, he was utterly alone. It crushed him.”

“But he has ponies around him now. It’s been many decades. Wouldn’t he have healed at all?” Haze wondered.

“The wasteland can harden you. He’s been traveling it far more than I have,” Echo sighed. “Perhaps he grew so regretful and cold that he became used to it, and letting go of that would feel wrong. Like he wasn’t himself. I would really like to see the old Flash return, even just a bit, but I feel that day will never come.”

“I’ll do anything I can to make that happen,” Haze assured resolutely.

“Then maybe start by catching up with your friends,” Echo replied with a soft smile.

“Right. Thanks for talking with me,” Haze smiled back.

She took her pack of food and bid the old ghoul farewell.

Soaring above the rooftops, SwiftHaze sought out her group of friends. She was unable to locate them while following her PipBuck’s map. She landed on the hillside below the large ‘Applewood’ sign and waited for them.

She placed one earbud in and searched her PipBuck for something to listen to. She was drawn to the recordings from CharmingRhythm’s computer. Many of them were from FeatherTune. He seemed like a funny and caring guy, always checking up on his friend.

At last Haze’s unoccupied ear flickered at the sound of a voice beyond.

“Look, it’s Haze!” OrchidRays exclaimed from the base of the hill. She climbed the slope with the two Unicorns. Haze fluttered down to meet them.

“Oh, good! We thought you got lost!” GleamingChance remarked goodnaturedly.

“What took you so long?” Haze countered.

“We don’t have wings like you,” Chance said matter-of-factly. “Also there was another pack of feral ghouls.”

Haze grimaced at that.

She turned to face the winding path that led to Stable 47’s cave. She began to climb on hoof with her friends. When she looked back, she noticed Flash remaining at the foot of the hill, watching.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Haze called down. “I’m sure if we can get Chance in we can-”

“No,” Flash replied firmly. “I’ve already explained this to Ray. They won’t let me in because I am a ghoul. Believe me, I’ve tried. My radiation could be hazardous to residents.”

“Oh.” Haze felt her wings droop.

“But I’ll be waiting here until you get back,” Flash assured.

“Right,” Haze nodded and continued forward.

The narrow portion of the cave was dark, but it soon gave way to a lit clearing. A lamp illuminated the large “47” on the massive steel door.

“So, how do we get in?” Chance’s eyes stayed glued to the door as he spoke, as if entranced.

“Erm, I think there’s a camera somewhere,” Haze responded. She extended her wings out and flailed them around, hoping for the hidden camera to capture motion.

With a crackle, a voice echoed through the cave, coming from an intercom.

“Stable 47 security. State your business.”

“Security, huh?” Haze remarked. “Y’know I worked with you, right? You know who I am. Let us in the Stable.”

“Geez, blunt much?” Chance muttered. Haze flicked a feather in his face.

“You’ll have to go through the overmare for that,” the stallion on the intercom said.

“Ugh. Then get her down here,” Haze groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Haze, we’re meant to get in the Stable. Don’t ruin this,” Chance hissed.

“Don’t worry, they’ll know who I am.”

After a moment of quiet, there was a new voice on the intercom.

“Hello, this is the overmare. It is great to see you fillies still alive. Are you coming home?” The overmare asked.

“Um, not exactly,” Haze said. “We do want to get back into the Stable, yes, but… we brought a friend. He needs help.” Haze looked to Chance.

“We are not accepting strays as part of our residence.”

“No, no. We just need to see some information,” Haze explained. “His mother was from the Stable. We want to see if there’s any information about her in your archives.”

“Is that so?” The overmare challenged.

“We brought supplies,” Ray spoke up.

“Yeah,” Haze added. “We’ll trade you what we brought for some information, then we’ll be on our way. We have weapons and a spark battery.”

“Hmm. Your friend, they aren’t radioactive, are they?” The overmare asked.

“Um, I don’t think so.” Haze looked at Chance quizzically. She even lifted her PipBuck to his chest as if to test for clicks. “If you’re asking if he’s a ghoul; no, he’s not.”

“Very well,” the overmare finally accepted. “You will be let in.”

A few moments later, the air compression of Stable 47’s door hissed as it slid inward. It rolled away with loud clangs. Hesitantly, Haze led her friends into the Stable she never thought she’d set hoof in again. She knew she probably would have dropped off supplies, but assumed she wasn’t reentering.

A pair of guards escorted them inside. One of them gave Haze a dirty look. She knew what it meant, for she was familiar with this pony. His look told her “you really left us hanging and ditched us, huh?”

They stepped into the atrium, unsure where to go next. A few ponies gave passing glances at the group.

“Wait here,” one of the guards said. “The Overmare wishes to speak with you.”

Haze felt a tap on her side. She turned to see Chance holding a small sack in his magic.

“Here,” he said, offering it to Haze. It made a jangling sound as he dropped it in her hoof. She just raised a brow. “Some caps. For the next ponies that venture outside,” he explained.

“Wow, that’s really nice of you, Chance,” Haze remarked. She remembered how protective he was of his stash of caps. Once again he had offered something of his to help others.

“Oh, and I’m sorry about sassing you back at Echo’s,” Haze noted.

“It’s alright,” Chance replied softly.

“No, it shouldn’t be,” she refused. “You're my friend. I should treat you like one.”

He gave her an appreciative look. Before anyone could say anything else, a light pink Unicorn stepped up to them. The overmare. She was eyeing Chance, wary of the outsider.

“So, what is it that you’d like to see?” The overmare asked.

“There’s got to be some information about his mother in the archives. We want to look at them,” Haze responded.

“How do we know this information won’t be used against us,” the overmare addressed.

“What?” Haze cocked her head. Who would do that? Maybe the Enclave… “No, Chance is good, I promise. We won’t look at anything else, only the records on his mother.”

The overmare sighed. “Very well. I’ll show you to the archives. But I’ll have a guard stand watch while you’re in there.

After handing over their goods to the overmare, the three younger ponies followed her out of the atrium and through the halls. When they stopped, the overmare floated out a keycard to gain access to a door. It slid open, and she let them inside. One guard stayed near the door which shut behind them.

At the end of the narrow room were two terminals, one lit up. Above them was a large blank screen with wires that ran down the wall to the terminals. Storage boxes on the walls lined the room. Haze stopped at the lit terminal. She clicked a few times through the menus, looking for a way to enter a specific search.

“Here, let me look,” Chance said. Haze almost denied him, but realized he was smart enough to figure out a terminal, even if he’d never been in a Stable.

As they switched places, Haze curiously examined the other terminal. At her touch, the screen lit with bright green words. This was another of the archives. It claimed to have images and videos while the other terminal held collections of data on ponies from over the generations.

“I wonder what’s in these boxes,” Ray commented, referring to the locked storage boxes on the wall.

“Nothing meant for you to see, probably,” Haze muttered.

She continued her search: “HyperBlitz.” Immediately many, many files appeared, including pictures and videos. She selected one. The terminal displayed a message: “Casting to screen.” The monitor above them illuminated and began playing a video. The volume was low, but there was definitely music.The image was of Celestial Hall, a wide shot of the stage and a portion of the crowd. While the image was grainy, it was evident that HyperBlitz was sitting on a stool on the stage, singing into a microphone. He was clearly much older than what Haze had seen in SweetHooves’ memory. Despite his age, he still had a fantastic voice. Haze didn’t recognize the song.

Ray stepped next to Haze to admire the video too. “Oh, look! It’s BlazingFlair!” She remarked, pointing to the screen. On the side of the stage was an orange stallion strumming an acoustic guitar. Haze couldn’t make out his face, which was hidden in the shadow of a hat.

As the song ended, the crowd gave a polite applause. Not as rowdy as the concert crowd. HyperBlitz spoke into the microphone. “Thank you. I’m glad we can still play music for others to enjoy.” He sighed. “I know it’s not the same as before the war.

I hope one day the world can be like how it was when I grew up. I hope there are those brave enough to strive for change. I know the world is broken, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I might not live long enough to see this change, but I believe that future generations will. Hate brought us here. But love is stronger.”

After another round of applause, BlazingFlair began strumming again. This time, Haze recognized the melody of “The Messenger.” It was fitting after the speech, which had left Haze in awe. She really did want to watch more, but knew they had a mission. She paused the video and heard Ray “aw” in protest.

“Did you find anything?” Haze asked Chance.

“Well, there’s archives on her, but nothing in her personal journals indicate anything about going outside or where she may have gone,” Chance sighed.

“What’s that?” Ray questioned, pointing to a star next to the name on the screen.

Chance hovered over it. “Significant ancestry,” he read aloud. He opened the tab. “Origin of Stable family tree is… CharmingRhythm and Heartfelt Tale.”

Ray took in a huge gasp. “Oh my goddesses! If your mom is related to them, that means you are, which means you and Flash are practically family!” She shook him a bit at the shoulders. “We gotta tell him!”

“Eh… but am I really? After that many generations there’s barely any genetic similarities.”

“Well, I still think it would be nice to tell Flash,” Ray said.

“Might be the best thing he’s heard in a long time,” Haze agreed.

“Not like it helps me find my mom,” Chance muttered.

“Maybe I can find something,” Haze offered. She leaned over to read the name on Chance’s terminal: Wisteria Snap. Haze then entered the name into her terminal of choice. She found a few results and clicked one. Once again it casted to the screen above. This time it was a still image of a violet Unicorn mare.

Chance’s eyes widened. “That’s her. Much younger of course… and less scars.” Haze pondered what she looked like now.

“Do you think we could have this image printed? It might be a good thing to have if we’re asking around for her,” Chance wondered.

Haze nodded. “I’m sure we can. I’ll ask the overmare.” She linked her PipBuck to the terminal so she could download the image file to it.

As they exited the archives room, Ray remarked, “Isn’t great knowing you’re related to Flash!”

“It’s… odd,” Chance admitted. “I’ve already looked up to him like a mentor for years.”

“I can tell you value his opinion highly,” Haze commented.

“Yeah,” Chance said, aloof.

Not long after they left the room, the overmare approached them. “Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” Chance mumbled.

“Actually, we were wondering if we can have an image printed,” Haze requested. “It’s on my PipBuck.”

“I suppose so,” the overmare responded. “Come. I’ll show you to our printers.”

“If we get this then maybe coming here wasn’t a complete waste,” Chance whispered hastily. He seemed troubled.

“Are you okay?” Haze questioned.

“Yeah. Just thinking of some things I read in there.”

Before he could elaborate any further, Ray alerted them. “Um, Haze, I think we have a problem!” She quickly darted behind the other side of the Pegasus.

Haze instantly identified what she was referring to. “Fuck,” Haze cursed as she saw the older green mare marching towards them.

“SwiftHaze!” her mom called out. “You really thought you could come back in here without me finding out?”

“Ugh, I only came back in here because I’m helping my friend!” Haze snapped.

There were ponies staring as they passed in the hallway. The overmare watched the scene quizzically.

“I know OrchidRays but who is this?” Emerald gestured to GleamingChance. “Don’t tell me he’s your boyfriend.”

“What?” Haze squawked while Chance gagged a bit at that statement. “How do you think I could get a date in that short of time?”

“I’m not sure. Seems I don’t know my daughter as well as I thought I did,” Emerald scorned.

“Good! That’s how it should be!” Haze retorted.

“No! I won’t let you go out again! You’re staying right here!” Emerald argued.

“Ha! No way! I’m my own mare - an adult! I don’t have to listen to you!” Haze sneered.

“Overmare! Tell her she can’t go back out again. It’s too dangerous!” Emerald pleaded.

The overmare blinked. “Well, it was her own decision to go out to begin with. I allowed her to. She doesn't have to stay here if she’s unhappy,” she reasoned. “Since she is old enough to be independent, you have no say over where she goes. I’m sorry, I cannot act on your behalf.”

“Are you kidding me?” Emerald spat.

“Security, please take this mare to her living quarters,” the overmare ordered, pointing at Emerald. One of the guards that had been escorting them began ushering the Pegasus mare along.

“What? You can’t do this!”

“Please cooperate and you will face no penance,” the overmare said.

EmeraldShowers just glared as she was escorted away. SwiftHaze was relieved that the overmare had seen things her way.

“Now, as we were. To the printers,” the overmare announced.

Once they had a few portraits printed, Haze thanked the overmare for her help. She guided them back to the atrium and to the entrance tunnel.

“Alright. Let’s leave for real this time,” Haze claimed as they were waiting for the door to be activated. “I’m really not stepping hoof back in this place after today.”

“Oh yeah?” Chance teased. “Want to bet on it?”

“I’m sure you’ll come back one day,” Ray commented hopefully.

Haze huffed. “We’ll see.”

A security guard activated the opening sequence. Haze relived the same sights and sounds she had a few days ago. Ray was even still on her right side. Except this time Chance was on her left. The door tumbled open and they proceeded to exit.

Comments

[Ahsoka Tano]

Surprised Ray still chose to go with them wouldve been her opportunity to stay away from the crazy but i understand main character and all

[Kaciekk]

11597327
Ray has some attachment issues, and latches on to Haze, given she wasn't really accepted in the Stable growing up (she's actually autistic but I haven't gotten to that talking point just yet)