Fallout Equestria: Taking Life By The Horns

by Pokonic

If Murky Met Her, He'd Probably Cry

"Remember that talk we had about humility?"

"I remember how boring it was."

---

When I woke up to the feeling of hooves prodding me in the head, I sighed and leaned forward, only to find that I had a blanket tangled up on my horns, obscuring my sight. Sighing, I carefully took the thin little cloth off my horns so it didn't tear, and only then did I look down at the little pony who was trying to get me up.

Which was hard, because all I saw around me was a pitch black wall of darkness, all around me. I wondered for a moment if I was just going crazy and now I was feeling things, but that thought was dismissed from my brain when Blueberry lit her horn up and gave the three-sided room some light.

She didn't look too good. She was breathing heavily and had a face that could have been a scowl, if she wasn't so tired. Before I could ask what was the matter with her, she told me.

"Watchful, Candy Cane's gone."

I breathed, and hoped that this had nothing to do with the Amulet, which, I could only pray, was still hidden in the hole in the drywall I had found in a out-of-the-way room on the fourth floor.

As I began to stand up, Blueberry made her way towards the door, throwing the room into a faint blue light. Indeed, Candy Cane was missing, and nothing else was. While it did seem bad for her to be missing at this hour, I considered what was in front of me and tried to calm the frantic blue unicorn who was waiting impatiently at the door.

"Blueberry, is all of her clothing there?"

She shook her head, frowning. "No. Her hat is missing."

I sighed. "The little white one with the little tuft on top of it?"

"Does she have any other hats that I don't know about?" she snapped.

I rubbed my temples, trying to understand why I could wake up to such a headache.

"Blueberry, if she was kidnapped, I don't think she would get the chance to grab something warm. If she was taken and whoever wanted to take her wanted to keep her warm, then all of her things would be gone, right? She's probably exploring this place. She's probably used to wandering by herself."

She took that in well enough, but when she began to shake her head, I realized that this was going to be a long night.

"It doesn't matter, Watchful. This place isn't safe. Candy Cane could be left by herself because Umbra was a pre-war bat pony ghoul who's from a extinct elite military order who moves stupidly fast and has lightning claw gauntlets and can see in the dark. And right now, Umbra isn't here to protect her, and this is a building filled with ponies that we don't know and have more reasons to kill us then help us."

I had to admit, her logic was sound.

"Have you checked this floor, then?" I decided to ask, feeling slightly more worried about the filly than before. Although I trusted her, to an extent, because I knew she had to have spent extended times alone while Umbra was away, Candy Cane was still a tiny pony that was barely two feet tall, and she could probably lose a fight with a determined rad-rabbit.

Blueberry let out a little huff, but it didn't sound like she was angry, just slightly disappointed. "Of course I did, Watchful. She's not up here."

I clenched at my temples again, but before I could get into a properly sullen mood, something spoke.

"The filly is safe."

The voice sounded like it was coming from down the hall. It was clear, feminine voice, but not one I had heard before. Blueberry turned away from me and over towards the door, clearly startled, while I just hoped that whoever was speaking wasn't about to say anything along the lines of 'For now'.

"Who's there?" I decided to ask, as Blueberry didn't seem to want to talk and the muffled sounds of hoofsteps was only growing stronger.

The mare who came into sight near the door was one I recognized, to my surprise and unease. While she wasn't wearing the odd jump-suit she had earlier nor the strange bulky powered hoof-weapons, she was wearing a set of what looked like rubber boots and still had that odd look on her face; she simply didn't look like she had ever laughed in her life. It wasn't that she didn't look like she had ever smiled so much as her facial muscles simply couldn't contort into anything that was like a smile.

Otherwise, though, I was slightly pleased that wasn't wearing anything that could hide a weapon, but I kept that to myself.

"My name is Charger." the mare said, looking down slightly at Blueberry, before looking back up, as if looking straight forward into empty space was the best social solution to talking to two differently-sized people at the same time. Her eyes were just a shade darker than Blueberry's magic, which gave them a odd glowy effect in the half-light that I did not find remotely comforting.

Blueberry didn't take a step back away from the mare, but just trotted in place for a few moments, as if doing so was going to solidify her position in the room. Pony body language was really weird.

"Mine's Blueberry Cream." she said, trying to sound friendly. I didn't know if she had spotted Charger alongside Charity or was simply unnerved by how she acted, but it was clear that she wasn't comfortable with the yellow mare's presence.

Charger shrugged, seemingly in dismissal. "I know your names. I also know that the filly is safe."

Blueberry looked her over once, starting from her rubber boots and up to her burnt orange hair, and eventually her slightly frightened expression turned into a light scowl.

"Why are you dressed like that?" she asked, sounding suspicious.

The yellow mare's face was expressionless, and she talked the same way. "I helped pick up the glass and debris after the attack. These boots are helpful in not getting cut by shards of glass and getting an infection and dying."

I almost thought I heard a bit of snark in the mare's voice, but I must have been imagining things, because Blueberry didn't seem to see it.

"Where's Candy Cane now?" she asked; well, demanded really.

"The filly..." the mare paused, seemingly taking her time to think, "is in a safe part of the building. One of the guards found her sleeping outside, on top of one of the exterior walls. It is cold enough to snow, so naturally she was brought inside immediately."

Her words both relieved and concerned me. It would seem that Candy Cane and I would need to talk.

Blueberry, on the other hand, seemed to be relieved at Charger's words, and nodded at her gratefully.

"Thank you." she said, trying not to sound as tired as she was.

"For what?" Charger replied, not in the sarcastic way some ask the question but in as a actual statement, "I had nothing to do with getting the filly inside."

Blueberry didn't respond to that, which was enough for me to tell that she didn't have anything she could possibly say to the odd mare, so I decided to speak up once more.

"I'll go down so you can get some rest, Blueberry."

She turned around and gave me a look that was somewhere between anger and surprise, but after a few moments she closed her eyes and shook her head, a smile forming as she did.

"Thanks, Watchful. You better be back with Candy Cane with you when I wake up."

I forced a smile. "I will."

She gave me a tired, lazy grin, and went over to where her makeshift bed was. I think I actually saw her fall asleep, because after a few moments after shoving her face into the pillow her horn flickered out and she stopped moving.

It was dark for only a few moments, though, because Charger turned on a flashlight soon enough and motioned for me to follow her. I wasn't sure where she was hiding it before, or how she was holding it with her tail, but I wasn't about to question weird pony things, even now.

While the hallways were still dark, they were not as oppressive as they could have been. Charger seemed content not to talk to much, and I didn't expect more from her. This was all quite awkward, really, and she seemed to be a quiet sort of pony.

---

"I have a question for you, minotaur."

Charger's voice was low enough that I almost missed it, and on the fourth floor of the hotel and after ten minutes of walking silently, I stopped and decided to humor the mare.

"What is it?" I replied, hoping that I didn't sound as tired as I felt.

"What is your exact relationship with Blueberry Cream?"

I looked down at the yellow pony, who, while not walking anymore, was still facing forward, as if turning around wasn't worth it. I think I was getting too used to ponies wanting to know about me.

"We are friends, I guess." I said, trying to make myself sound like I was absolutely sure about what I was saying, "I mean, we've only met recently. But this city is new for the both of us, and better the devil you know, right?"

"Ah." she said, before shaking her head lightly. "My apologies."

I had a feeling with where this was going, but I didn't like it.

"Why?"

"The room you were sent to wait in was bugged." she said plainly, "The Alicorn insinuated that the filly's parents worked for Red Eye, and the Goddess of Maripony is not known to be taken aback by harmless fillies. Gabriel the Griffon, a day before you even arrived, also told of how Blueberry Cream was apparently a former Steel Ranger of the Manehatten Congregate, and while Charity herself only knows of this from another hidden recorder it is evidence enough."

She paused, to gauge my reaction. "You were also involved in some manner with the death of Cheesecake Crumbles, who was often believed to be the best fighter the Purebred had. Under this thinking, it's not to much of a stretch to assume that you might have ties to the local slavers, if you are not actual emissaries from Red Eye himself."

I was slightly stunned. It sort of made sense, but I felt a bit lightheaded at the concept that a guy I barely know had suspicions that I was some sort of horrible person.

"I have never associated with slavers." I said, hoping that the mare would not take offense, "Blueberry would probably be horrified to be mistaken for being one of Red Eye's workers, and Candy Cane does not know what the significance of what her mother did. The Alicorn was as hostile to me as it was to Gabriel, but I..."

I had to pause, because I couldn't come up with a lie on the spot that could possibly cover everything that was wrong with the picture of the evil pony princess monster not acting like a evil pony princess monster because of a almost perfectly normal filly.

"I have no idea why the Alicorn likes Candy Cane so much." I eventually said, not knowing what else what I could say.

"I see." Charger replied in a way that told that she probably didn't, "I was told by Charity I was to explain to you about how the sabotage of Boffenspark's wedding was to occur, and your role in it. However, Charity is a fool to believe that I am in any sort of debt to her."

"I understand." I didn't, really, but it sounded like a good to say.

Charger seemed to know that I didn't mean what I said, though, and continued to speak in a slightly disapproving tone that made me feel like our heights were reversed, and she was the one looming over me.

"This town is a good place in the wasteland. It has been attacked by raiders several times in the past, but there are several capable fighters here, of which I will include myself, and with the others who have taken residence here this town has always prevailed. Charity, after this wedding, intends on selling half the population to slavers and allow drug manufacturers and slavers can sell their wares on the floors that are currently abandoned. She has no intent to attempt to control Sunnyside."

"She said that she doesn't like slavers." I said, feeling like I had utterly no idea what was going on.

Charger's look turned hard. "Charity is, besides being a fool, a liar. Rollcall is now one of the ponies scheduled to be killed during the wedding, as it is, along with most of his ponies. As things are going, Charity is assuming that you and Blueberry are agents of Red Eye, and she wishes to look impressive to you, regardless if you actually are. If she is mistaken, she is also under the belief that you would have no moral issues in working for her, as she adamant in assuming that you are at least someway connected to Fillydelphia."

Charger was looking at me intently, seemingly watching for any sort of tells on my face that would prove Charity's suspicions.

Eventually, though, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them their was a faint look of satisfaction on her face.

"We must speak about this later, in the morning. But if it is true, and you told the truth to Charity, than I believe you find this situation as abhorrent at I myself do."

I think I waited too long to reply to her, because her satisfied look faded from her face after a few moments of waiting.

"Of course I do!" I blurted out, "I didn't ask to be a part of some sort of murder plot!"

Charger shrugged lightly. "Most do not. However, Temperance is now dead, and this town is in need of leadership. If Boffenspark lives and this plot is foiled, the Purebred will not will not survive as a unified force, and that would be a good thing. This town was originally not owned by the Purebred, and it can survive without their influence. I will see to it."

I raised a eyebrow, wondering what she meant by that. "Do you want to be in charge?"

Charger shook her head immediately after I finished speaking. "No, but this is not the place to speak about this. There are others with similar obligations as yours and mine where the filly is."

She then turned around, as if she wasn't planning on turning back towards me until we reached wherever it was we were going, and I decided to follow her.

I mean, it wasn't like I was going to try and fumble my way back upstairs, in the dark.

---

The place we were going, apparently, was some sort of break room, but I only knew this because I recognized the signs.

The trappings were different, but the rest was all the same, mostly. The carpet here was thick and soft, possibly from a lack of traffic even after two hundred years, and the walls were not of the same green felt as the walls upstairs were, and were simply drywall and yellowed wallpaper.

A dozen guns, large and small sat in a large case off to the side of the room, next looked like two score boxes of bullets stacked upon one another, and next to this collection of arms was a small bench with large gun, in pieces. There was a large table in the center of the room, one flanked by two sturdy chairs laying against the wall on one side and a large couch on the other. Next to the couch was a small open cooler, which held what looked like half the city's supply of soda crammed into it's small frame.

There were also two ponies in the room, and I only knew one of them.

Candy Cane was asleep, wrapped up in a big bundle of blankets on one of the couches and in front of at a big bowl of some sort of red thick soup that was halfway gone now, still hot enough that steam was coming off it, and she didn't look a single bit sorry. She was content in smiling like she was completely innocent of sneaking off in the middle of the night and getting ponies I didn't personally know involved in things they shouldn't.

But, then again, there were two little ponies in the room.

Seated on the couch opposite of her was a single pony wearing a dull purple robe, fringed around the edges with black silk. She was a pony mare, but, most importantly, her appearance was purely, utterly unnatural. If the creator of ponykind was a artist, and every pony was a living, breathing work of art, this mare was a piece of line art that never got finished. Her blemish-free coat and short, bowl-cut mane was pure white, not really the color white but more of the absence of any color at all, like fresh snow. Her ears were prominent on her head, reminding me of a cat's for whatever reason, and they had fuzzy tips on them. That was odd, but it wasn't anything that was worth noting compared to the rest of her.

Finally, her eyes were the only splash of color on her entire face, giving them a striking appearance. Pony eyes were big and expressive, and without any extra color framing them it made them look even moreso. Unfortunatly, this mare's eyes were colored red, no exactly the color of blood but a dark wine color that was close enough to it to be a bit more than unsettling.

The tiny little smile she had wasn't helping, either.

Albinism is a rare thing, that I knew, but I had seen it once before, on a baby goat that was born when I was younger. The goats themselves put it down because they said it was a cursed thing that would only bring death. I couldn't help but wonder if the same was true with ponies, looking at her.

When I turned to look at Charger, wanting to see her reaction, she was already on her way back down the hallway, heading for some place I probably didn't know about and probably never will.

Somehow, I figured that I probably did not want to follow her.

"Hello." said the albino mare in the robe, who actually had a perfectly normal high-pitched pony voice, "Please, sit."

I decided to go over to the couch where Candy Cane was sitting, which wasn't a issue because it was a large one and Candy Cane was all but knocked out cold.

"Hello." I belatedly answered when I finally got comfortable. "Are you a friend of Charger?"

It was the best question I could think of that wasn't immediately demanding and didn't relate to her appearance. Forgive me if other's would have said something more relevant in the position I was in.

"No." the mare said, sounding rather agreeable regardless. "Does Charger strike you as the sort of pony who makes friends?"

That was a very good question, but it didn't seem like the mare wanted me to answer it.

"She isn't, but it's no fault of hers. She is a very serious pony, in truth." she continued, sounding like she was trying to be as delicate about talking about someone who wasn't in the room as possible, "She is the sort to make allies."

I wanted her to say something else, so she would elaborate, but it seemed like she wanted for me to reply to what she has said.

"Are you an ally of hers, then?"

She shook her head, and gave me a little half-smile. "No. However, we have goals and similar wishes for what is to happen within the Purebred in the immediate future, and we both have the power to do what we wish, so, functionally? Yes, we are allies, even if we do not collaborate."

The mare said that with a grin, but a small one. It was a grin that I had only seen on ponies like Charity; it was a grin made to hide as much about one's feelings as much as possible.

"You are not a member of the Purebred?" I asked, wondering where she was going with this. "Did you not bring in Candy Cane?"

She blinked. "No. That was the donkey's doing. She found the poor little filly and brought her inside, made her a bowl of beet soup and lent her a blanket."

I wished I knew where Karen was, because I was quite certain I needed to thank her.

"But as for being a member of the Purebred, no. I am not actually supposed to be here, to be honest."

"Why are you here, then?" I asked, trying not to sound startled by her words.

The mare sighed lightly. "I was alerted of a unfortunate incident that happened here today. This place was attacked, and you saved it, yes?"

For a brief moment, I wanted to say no, but the mare had a intent look to her that made me wonder what she would do if I lied.

"I did."

"Ah." she replied, before continuing, "Thank you."

I didn't expect to be thanked for what I had done, mostly because all the people I knew seemed to think that I did the wrong thing in not letting Rollcall's ponies blow up everything.

"I appreciate it." I croaked out.

"No, the pleasure's all mine."

She paused, and looked at the Candy Cane, who was sleeping noiselessly.

"I suppose you have no idea who I am, do you?" she asked, a tinge of humor in her voice. "Good. That means that I have done my job well."

I blinked, because I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Who are you, then?"

The mare smiled without showing her teeth, like she had done every other time. But this time, it seemed like it was a honest smile. Something in her eyes told me that she found this all terribly amusing, and she wasn't about to tell me why.

"My name is Shade, and I am the high priestess of the Scions of Nightmare Moon."

Comments

[Oubliette]

Well that's f*cking ominous.