Fallout Equestria: Taking Life By The Horns

by Pokonic

Backstory Time with Blueberry and Watchful

"I don't like this, Watchful." Blueberry said bitterly.

"Blueberry, they seem like nice people. And I really do not think that Dawn is a slave." I said for the umpteenth time that day, stretching my legs as I did, making Blueberry walk around them as she stomped around on the floor.

The room Blueberry picked out upstairs was very large and empty, looking like it could be able to hold far more than two beds, a mantelpiece that she was unsure if it was appropriete for her to open, and a small table. Otherwise, the walls were a bare white and the rest of the room's upstairs in general didn't seem to be furnished in the same way that the lower floor was.

But rather than appreciating the hospitality I was receiving, I was mostly concerned with trying to get Blueberry convinced that our hostess was not some sort of slaver, cannibal, raider, or cannibal slave-taking raider.

"Well, that other mare, Nightcore, she's weird too! Did you see her? She and her living alone in the middle of nowhere-"

"We are a day's length from Tauronto, Blueberry." I reminded her patiently.

"It doesn't matter, Watchful! Dawn acts like a puppy around her, and even lied about what Nightcore's real name is! Ponies don't...they don't lie about there names like that unless they have something to hide!"

I had to admit, she had a point. Blueberry came down the stairs a few moments after I took out the Alicorn Amulet, as Nightcore called it, and so met the mare who seemed to have control of the house while I hid what was probably a cursed object of horrible power behind my back while Dawn just gave me a funny look.

"I mean, really, let's see what they have here, shall we Watchful?" Blueberry rambled slightly. "These two mares are living in the middle of nowhere in a big fancy pre-war house with a electric fence around it, and one is smart enough to have the ability to work the local radio station and the other wears a full-bodied outfit and wears a scarf around her face! Do you know how weird it is to wear pants in the wasteland, Watchful? Pants."

I shrugged a little. "I don't."

Blueberry looked a little upset that I wasn't immediately agreeing with her. "Well, it's weird. Anyway, they have fresh food and electricity and ice, real ice, and the more I think about it the more I am starting to regret bringing Candy Cane here!"

I was a little startled by how loud she was raising her voice, so I just put a finger to my lips and shushed her. "Blueberry, remember that we are not the only people here." After a few moments of thought, I continued. "How is she, anyway? She chose the room furthest down the hall, right?"

I hadn't checked on the little filly yet, but Blueberry's quick nod relived me slightly. "Yes, I was a little upset that she didn't want to stay in the same room as one of us, but I understand why she wanted to. The room she's in looks like a foals room anyway, lot's of toys and stuff, so she might just want to rest." Blueberry started to shift a little on her legs, looking at me with a pained expression. "She knows me, right? You said her name right before we left that building. I met her before and forgotten it, haven't I?"

I felt a lump of lead form in my gut. "You and I found her in that docking area a day and a half ago. I didn't want to say anything. You knew who she was before I talked to Sea Salt, but when I returned you didn't recall the name."

Blueberry was quiet for a little bit, shuffling her legs a little. "I remember going in there, sitting around a fire, exploring a bit, and then finding you on the ground, and then we had a argument. It's all just...a blur, what happened in between all that."

I looked down on Blueberry, but I had little choice in doing so due to her looking up at me. "Were you going to tell me that, Blueberry?"

She sniffled. "No. I noticed it...right before we were going to leave. I think I just kept thinking about how upset I was and after a few minutes I couldn't remember why I was angry at you. I just was."

I took a breath, and sat up fully on the bed, putting my hands on my knees and relaxing my shoulders to look as open as possible.

"Blueberry, you are too stressed out to be thinking like this. You are tired, Candy Cane's tired, and I'm tired. Please, just lay down for a few moments and after that we can talk this over."

Blueberry sniffled. "This isn't fair. Why are you the one who is sounding agreeable?"

I shrugged. "I would guess that I am the one who's the least tired."

At that, the little mare gave me a expressionless look, and after a few pretty funny attempts on jumping onto the bed with her little legs, she managed to get on it and walk to the side with the pillows, sighing as she fell to the side.

"That wasn't funny." she said, too tired to be entirely angry at me.

I didn't respond to her directly, not really wanting to agitate her. "Do want to talk about something, Blueberry?"

She took her time to move in my general direction, little pudgy body flipping over once until her face was resting on a pillow. "Yeah. Watchful, is there anything I need to know about minotaurs?"

I was not entirely surprised at her words, but I still wasn't expecting them now. "What do you mean?"

Blueberry didn't bother to look at me when she talked, and that wasn't a good sign. "I know you have a father and a grandfather, but you said..." she took a moment to form the words in her head, "you didn't know who you mother was."

So, it was that. "Well, yes. Remember when we had that conversation about how males were raised apart from the females?"

Blueberry lifted her head off the pillow and looked at me, but she didn't seem any less tired. " I...guess?"

A mildly alarmed look passed over her face. "No, I do remember it, I really do, it's just been a while."

I took a few moments to let her know that I wasn't worried before speaking again. "It's just another part of that, really."

She gave me a blank, unamused look. "Not knowing your own mother is a part of that?"

"Yes." I bluntly replied.

Blueberry gave me a withering look. "Watchful, that isn't right. That's horrible."

I shrugged a little. "Really, it's not a question one just asks someone else. What would I do, ask my father who he had sex with?"

She blinked, looking startled. "Watchful, you don't know your mother and..." she frowned, a truly concerned frown. "Your dad was the big black minotaur who was in that hunting lodge, right? The one with the scary looking armor?"

I nodded. "Yes, his name is Bulls Strength. He's the Elder's right hand."

Blueberry gave me a intense stare. "Bitter Truth, right? Your grandfather?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

Blueberry closed her eyes, and she started to tremble a little. "Watchful, don't you get it? You are talking about your family. You are talking about them like...like they are strangers. That's not right."

I was confused where she was going with this. "Not really, Blueberry. No one else really know's who there mothers are besides the cows. Really, all that's expected for a father is to claim a newborn as his own when he's born. Normally, that's that, but..."

Blueberry looked at me intently. "What?"

I knew what I was about to admit might not sit well with most ponies, just out of what I had seen from the few who learned of it. "Well, you know how he is the leader of the hunter's, right?"

Blueberry raised a hoof, as if to stop me from talking. "Can you tell me about them, please? They seem to be important."

I took a few moments to gather my thoughts. Really, she was right; they were the reason I wasn't sleeping in my own little home right now. "Well, the hunters are the one's who actually leave the commune and get foodstuff. Geckos and red-hogs and things like that. They also defend the commune on the rare occasions when it's threatened."

Blueberry thought over that. "So it's sort of like a militia, then."

I nodded. "I suppose, but that's not the right word. Every adult has to guard the commune, and we all have at least one handheld weapon or two, but they always deal with the threats before they ever reached the commune."

"You keep using that word, commune. Is it short for community, or something?" she said questioningly.

"Not really." This was actually a topic I remembered asking about when I was younger. "It's not a village, really. A long time ago, the Elder and hundred other minotaur's settled the ruins of what used to be a village. It's a commune because it's able to survive without any outside contact."

Blueberry blinked. "How old's the El-" she stopped herself, "Bitter Truth? Did he tell you this?"

I nodded. "He's the only one who is old enough to remember the settling of the place. My father was born there soon after, however."

She raised a eyebrow. "How old do minotaurs live to be?"

I wasn't entirely sure myself. Dying from old age was unheard of. It was always a hunting accident or a fall down the stairs. "I don't know. I suppose until we get too weak to walk, I guess, I think the average age in the commune is thirty or so. I heard a rumor that the Elder has actually gotten taller as he aged, though."

Blueberry looked a little miffed at that. "Watchful, does anyone else in your commune have grandparents?"

I never thought much of that, really. It never seemed important. "No, I don't think so."

Blueberry rolled her eyes, and waved her hoof in the air as if telling me to get on with it. "You were saying about your father being the leader of the hunters?"

I stretched my arms out into the air, taking note that much of the hair on them were still somewhat matted and was in need to be cleaned. But then again, the same could be said for the rest of me. "He's the leader of the hunters, yeah. He killed a dragon."

Blueberry took a sharp breath. "He killed a what?"

I frowned a little. I wasn't sure if I had told her that or not already. "A dragon, a young one apparently, but a dragon regardless. He had armor made from it's hide. He's really important."

She looked at dubiously. "So, what was the big deal that makes you not know about who your mother is?"

"Well..." I said slowly, trying to put it into the best light possible. "Normally, one of my kind could pick out who their mother is simply by who there father's spent time with. Sometimes, it's even stated by her. But there are certain privileges to being a leader, and one of them is having...choices when it comes to the cows."

Blueberry opened her mouth, as if to say something, but slowly closed it as her eyes widened. "You are saying he...you said that the average minotaur in your community is around thirty, yes?"

I nodded knowing where she was going with this and not liking where it was heading. "Yes, I would think. We do not do much regarding birthday's, but my father turned forty four during this summer, and besides a few aged individuals he's the oldest actively working bull."

Blueberry sat up on her haunches, and gave me a horrible scowl. " Are you saying he has the ability to do whatever he wants to anyone he wants!"

I quickly shook my head. "No, no, it's not like that, it's...it's not a rape licence, Blueberry! There's a...there are records for this sort of thing that are kept to keep the commune in working order. With number's like ours, there is always the chance that anyone you see might be a cousin, so there are deep restrictions about who one could, well, produce a child with." I took a deep breath, watching Blueberry's reaction carefully. "Being the second most important minotaur in the place gives him access-"

Blueberry narrowed her eyes at the use of that word, but there wasn't a better one for what I was trying to get across.

"- to three cows. It's...something they all agree to. It's kept private, but...I know who they are, but none of them spend much time with him anyway. There's only a little bit of prestige in it for them-"

Blueberry's nostrils flared.

"-look, that's it, okay. I don't think talking about it much more would make it any better for you." I said lamely, feeling something in my chest squirm a little, like I just told someone a secret that would only get me in trouble.

"That's...there's not a word for just how...that's not right." she said, sounding not really angry so much as empty. "You know what? I don't want to know anything about minotaurs anymore. Congrats, Watchful."

I layed back down on the bed carefully, making sure my horns did not touch the wall to make sure they didn't scratch the paint. "Blueberry, you have told me about your mother. Tell me about your father."

The little mare buried her face into the pillow, but it didn't muffle her words. "Oh, Goddesses, I thought therapy was a dead art." She sighed. "You really want to know?"

I understood what she meant, but I still pressed. " I do, Blueberry. It would be only fair. I was going to check on Candy Cane soon, so I will stop bothering you."

Blueberry shifted her weight a little and raised her head, making her do that weird thing ponies do with there heads up high but the rest of there body resting on the side. "You are not bothering me Watchful. You have never really bothered me." she said gently.

I couldn't help but smile, but I dropped it a little when she continued. "If I said anything about my father being in Fillydelphia, that was a lie."

"Why would you lie about something like that, Blueberry?" I said, a little hurt.

She sighed. "It's something I learned to do over time, really. My mom and dads...thing wasn't really normal in the Rangers. It's not really a dramatic thing, like him being an exile or something, but it's not really something that's looked at fondly."

I nodded, understanding where she was coming from a little.

"Well, it kind of start's with a story, I guess. The Elder of the Bridle Hills Steel Rangers was newly chosen, and it's generally custom for another Elder to see a new Elder if it's possible. As it is, Bridle Hills was isolated as far as Rangers went, being sort of..." she paused for a moment, giving me a odd look, as if she was wondering if she was going to continue to speak. "It's the central hub for Rangers in the southern region of Equestria. but Steel Rangers in Fillydelphia were the closest to them."

"And your mother was Elder, I guess?" I said.

"No." Blueberry said firmly, but she relaxed her glare when she saw the look on my face. "She was a Paladin at the time, but she was a Senior one, so she was part of the bodyguard for the one Elder at the time, Toasted Oats." Going by how she was talking, she was trying to formalize the rest of story in her head, as if she was telling it for the first time. "Anyway. she met a Scribe named Cherry Charmer."

I didn't show it, but I wasn't entirely sure if I liked the sound of that name. I remembered the name of a pony in the text I found deep in Blueberry's stuff. Cherry Bomb. A name of a pony to go for help. I didn't know what to make of that detail, if only because I wasn't sure if I wanted to think about it.

"I know you must be thinking that this is about him being a unicorn and her a earth pony. That's not true, really. It was about distance." Blueberry looked at me expectantly, possibly wondering if I was going to say anything. "There's nothing that's wrong about a Scribe and a earth pony loving each other very much, but while all foals are raised communally," she said that last word like it was spoiled for her forever,"they live with their parents. Now, it's okay to marry out of your platoon, because there's only so many Rangers around, frankly, but most mares request to move in with the father or vice versa. But my mom...didn't." she said quieter than before, more subdued.

"She didn't even tell the others she was pregnant until she literally couldn't fit in her armor anymore, and by then Red Eye was starting to be a real thorn in our side. We lost the only radio strong able to reach Bridle Hills a long time ago, and, well, they don't let others in without prior warning. It's like a stable down there anyway, sealed off from everyone else, and it has to be. It's sort of a hub for most of the civilians in the Rangers, especially since times have been getting rough for us lately."

She started to frown.

"But my mom never talked to me about meeting my dad. I don't think she really cared about him, really. She always cared more about keeping the Steel Ranger's afloat in Filly, and by the time I got my cutie mark she was Elder, so she was always a little distant."

I had a feeling she was going to start talking about her mother and how she loves her.

And she did.

"She did love me, really. She got me things when she could, toys and dolls and other things most of the other younger foals didn't have. But she told me how she got everything she gave me. It was always from some pre-war household, and she would tell me what she saw in it. She would tell me what was hanging on the walls, what was in it that she didn't see, and even...who was left in it."

I winced.

"One time," she took a shallow breath, and her voice became a little shaky, "there was another filly named Sweet Tart. Her father brought her home a simple game, I think it was a ball game, something square you tilted to get a ball into a basket or something silly like that, and I wanted a turn with it, but she said no. My mom noticed that, so on my eight birthday she had Sweet Tart's father take the game away from her and give it to me. As a present. But she noticed that I wasn't happy that Sweet Tart had it taken away, so she stomped on it with her hoof after the party and broke it." Blueberry sniffed. "Sweet Tart didn't talk to me after that."

I winced again. The more I learned about Blueberry Sabre, the less I thought that the pony saying about having something bad is better than having nothing at all was wrong.

Leaning forward to the point I was halfway off the bed, I turned my head to face Blueberry. "Hey, I am going to talk to those two downstairs soon, okay? We are not in a real hurry, so just sleep. I am going to talk to Candy Cane now."

Blueberry still somehow looked at me from her weird pony position from where I was, neck turning oddly at me. "Okay, Watchful. I did mean what I said, though. About therapists and you being here. I think I needed that off my chest."

I nodded a little. "It's no issue, Blueberry."

She didn't respond to me, and after a few moments I realized that she wasn't going to, given that she was snoring.

Making note of that, I took to the floor and made for the hallway.

The entire upper floor wasn't really unfinished so much as barren. It was a little cold, perhaps lacking the insulation that the lower floor had, but that wasn't a issue. I groaned a little when I noticed how much noise my hooves made on the wooden floorboards, but I kept moving until I got to the end of the hall where the door to Candy Cane was.

When I opened the door to the room without much thought, three things became apparent.

The first thing was that Candy Cane was sleeping on a small brightly colored bed, one apparently made to look like a tiny boat going by the shape of it and the wave patterns on the blanket she was burrowed under.

The second thing was that Golden Dawn was standing off to the side, carefully picking up some overturned stuffed animals and toys.

The third thing was that she wasn't wearing the clothing she had on when she greeted us.

The fourth thing was that the reason she wore said clothing was very, very apparent as soon as I got a good look at her.

We both stared at each other, both of our eyes wide and full of shock.

Golden Dawn did nothing more than look at me, but even as she cried out in surprise I started to feel lightheaded and feeling gravity pull me to the floor, out of shear instinct, perhaps.

To be frank, I thought I had seen the strangest individual I would ever know in a dusty old aquarium.

That wasn't true, as not even Sea Salt made me black out at the first sight of her.