FoE: Fly Away Chapter 3 Virtue

Fallout Equestria: Fly Away
By Freeflyingwolf
Chapter 3: Virtue
"You. Thank you, for the offer, I mean, but I'm afraid I have to say no."
Sunlight streamed through the grime-coated windows. As usual, Sunshy awoke to the bright light he was accustomed to. The yellow colt stretched out his body and wings, soon imitated by Celly. Sunshy took his new Twilight Sparkle statuette in his mouth and placed it in his saddlebag. While he was at it, the little one took out the Pipbuck. Then he trotted out the door and gasped through the metal in his teeth.
Big Sol was waiting outside, basking in the warmth of the sun. The monster…didn't look at all like a monster. Bat wings were stretched out, soaking up as much of the warmth as he could. Golden fur rippled in the light wind. It glimmered in the brightness. His wild brown mane was frazzled outward, in every direction, and yet so tame. The dark red scorpion tail was curled around his side, the same as it was when it wrapped around his children protectively.
It was like staring at a piece of living art.
For his entire life, Sunshy had heard nothing but negativity directed at the ground. All of those seemed…so wrong. They never saw what he was seeing now. They couldn't know the beauty that survived, even in such unlikely places. At that moment, Sunshy swore he would prove everyone who thought the world was disgusting and horrible wrong. He would prove it was wonderful.
And then he realized he really needed to use the potty.
After that was taken care of, Sunshy came back to find something not-so-pretty. Celly and Big Sol were gorging themselves on another poor animal. Fighting back the urge to puke, the yellow colt flew away as fast as possible.
Once he was far away from the smell, he decided to soar above the trees. Then he would be able to actually see what was out there. Smiling through the Pipbuck in his mouth, he flew up above that treeline.
Despite everything he had thought…Sunshy was agape. His new two-hundred year old Pipbuck fell out of his mouth.
Brown.
Everything was so…brown.
No green life of plants anywhere. Even though the rain was so heavy.
A tear streamed down his face.
It looked exactly like the maps he was shown had depicted. There was Ponyville, with some spots moving around; probably ponies. Over in the side of a mountain was Canterlot, covered in the pink cloud. Then there was a…a town? It was a bunch of old railcars shoved together, but the smoke said there was life there. There was Appleoosa, Manehatten…. There were so many abandoned towns and buildings everywhere. All wrecked beyond imagination.
Sunshy didn't notice he was going down until he touched the ground. The Pipbuck was right under his hooves, deactivated and dark. He didn't see it. He didn't care.
Everypony was right. This world was dead. The Goddesses had been crying almost everywhere. Mom must have been wrong. They could see past the clouds. They saw and they cried. The Goddesses wept for their ponies, for their land, for the war and destruction they had been unable to stop.
Sunshy cried with them. Tears poured, cascaded from his cloudy blue eyes. He had so much hope that he world was not as bad as everypony said. It was crushed with one look above the trees. Unlike when he cried for his lost home and family, Sunshy's crying was soft and quiet. Those eyes refused to close. They stared, unfocused, on the grass.
Grass was so-so.
No.
It was wonderful. Grass was a gift. It said that not everything could be killed. Some things, like ponies, like zebras, like manticores, like dragons, like so many things, would just not give in. They would not stop living, not even for the end of the world. They would grow and prosper and live.
There was hope.
Do better.
Yes!
Sunshy lifted his head, wiped away his tears, and stood proudly! He would make Fluttershy proud! He would do better with the world! He would make her and Twilight Sparkle proud! This he vowed.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Sunshy Pinkie Pie promised, making the motions as he spoke. Now he would never break his promise.
"Mrow!" Celly shouted at her new brother.
Renewed hope in his heart, Sunshy looked over to his smaller sister and smiled brightly at her. She took this as a good sign and pounced upon him, knocking him onto his side and nipped at his ear. The pony laughed as he fell down and tried to push her off.
After he lightly kicked her off, Sunshy crouched down with his wings up, a pretend-scowl on his face and a smile that broke through. Celly mimicked him, even sticking her wing that hurt a lot less than it had the first day; she was careful to keep her poisonous tail down. With a mock-roar, the only slightly bigger pony launched himself at the monster.
Celly yowled in surprise, turned tail, and bolted. Laughing, Sunshy landed on the ground before roaring again while rearing and galloping after her. They did not go far before they came upon Big Sol, who seemed surprised. Then he stared down at Celly in disappointment when she ducked behind her father's large paw.
Slowing down only a little, Sunshy yelled 'roar' as he chased Celly out of her hiding spot. Smiling at their play, Sol sat down and kept a careful eye as his children tousled on the ground. Sunshy did not have to be careful, as he was not strong. Celly made sure she was just as careful, keeping her claws hidden, her wings against her back, and her tail down.
Only ten minutes passed before Sunshy held Celly down with a hoof on her face. He laughed victoriously, jumped off her, and then bounced around in a circle. The baby manticore sulked over to her father, looking dejected. Every couple moments, the yellow colt stopped jumping long enough to graze and then went back to bouncing in a circle with a mouthful of grass.
A little later, the group went back to retrieve Sunshy's Pipbuck. After turning it on, he nosed the buttons until he got to the radio. All he received was static. Remembering what Drakon told him, Sunshy flew to the top of the treeline to find which way would lead him to the edge of the forest. Though he paused near the top, he went through and found his direction.
Though Sunshy was fine walking down, Sol bugged him for the directions. Then he put his children on his back, broke through the trees, and soared away. Celly cowered against her father, holding on tightly, but Sunshy stood up, whooping it up in exhilaration. This must be what it felt like before making a sonic rainboom!
Big Sol slowed down as the edge of the forest closed in on them and dived back down under the cover of the forest. Once he was slow enough, Sol trotted against the ground, slowing further until he could fold his wings away. Only then did Celly stop digging into her father's back with her claws and jumped off like his back was coated in fire. Sunshy picked up the Pipbuck in his mouth, jumped off, and laughed in jubilation as he galloped at the borderline between the Everfree forest and Equestria.
The sudden and distinct change in the borderline was so shocking that the colt gasped, dug his hooves in, and even used his wings as parachutes. He skidded to a stop just before he could enter Equestria. A strange feeling overcame him, making him nervous and jittery. Sunshy whinnied and backed away, staring at the sudden change. It was a perfect line between brown death and lush life. It was eerie and sent a shiver down his spine.
Shaking away those thoughts,"I'm a big pony now!",  Sunshy sat down with his Pipbuck between his front hooves and turned the radio on.
HOLY HORSEFEATHERS!
Sunshy jerked and jumped back like a frightened filly. When he could no longer hear his heartbeat, the yellow colt was able to hear the music. It was so different from the music he had heard before; all Enclave propaganda. This was so…so…cool! It was the lullaby he heard every night, but only upbeat and it made him dance! When his family arrived, Celly joined in his dancing, though she wasn't very good. Sol kept his eyes and ears aware of anything that might attack them unawares.
"Helloooooooo my little ponies! I hope you liked Sweetie Bell's 'Hush Now, Quiet Now' never sleep edition!"
Curious yellow ears perked out from red hair. Who was this? This buck had a nice voice; Sunshy could listen to him forever. And he sounded so happy and nice!
"This is DJ-Pon3 bringing you dah-dah-dah-dah! Some news."
"DJ Pon-three?" Sunshy wondered. Light bulb! "Oh! The three looks like an uppercase 'E' backwards!"
"Still no sign if that little yellow ball that fell over Everfree Forest is done for or not, but knowing that place, their chances are grim…"
"Ohmygosh I'm on the news!"
"I'm sorry to say, the news doesn't get any happier than that, fillies and gentlecolts. Start avoiding Ponyville like your life depends on it, because it does. It seems that raiders have decided to throw out all the good ponies living there or just used them as, ugh, decoration. Stop all trade to that place; you're more likely to be shot than anything else.
But I leave you with some happier music! Here's Sweetie Bell with her rendition of Pinkie Pie-approved 'Giggle at the Ghosties'!"
The mare's voice was still upbeat and happy; she had a beautiful voice, too. However, Sunshy did not like it nearly as much as DJ-Pon3's voice. It was so smooth and deep and melodious. He could listen to that buck forever… Did he already think that? Didn't matter, it was true.
A sort of trance had taken over Sunshy as he listened to the radio. The music, the DJ, knowing about the outside world, it was so enthralling. He loved every minute of it. Then the sky grew darker, even though the clouds still covered the sky. Big Sol tugged on Sunshy's mane, telling him it was time to go home.
The next day, Sunshy went to visit Drakon. By the way the dragon looked at them, it was obvious he had not expected them to actually come back to visit him. It was so nice to speak to something that could speak back. Sure, he could understand Big Sol and Celly through body language, but speaking in words was so much better.
They visited until sundown and left with one saddlebag full of jewels as thanks for their company. They went to the edge of the forest for a few hours past night, until DJ-Pon3 stopped talking, and then went back to Zecora's hut.
The day after, the group went straight to the edge of the forest to listen to the radio. The family had planned to stay until evening, visit Drakon, and then go back home. Of course, it didn't go as planned.
Noon brought with it something unexpected. Or rather, expected, but put on the backburners of the mind.
From the sky there arrived three ponies. Pegasi dressed in Enclave power armor. Though they looked like creepy insects, Sunshy was not afraid of that. His mommy was an Enclave worker, so he knew not to be afraid of them. But he was scared. He feared they would brand off his cutie mark. Make him a Dashite and dishonor his family.
"Sunshy Rays?" A mare's voice asked through the mask.
"Y…yes." Sunshy said in a defeated voice. Celly and Sol had backed into the forest, out of sight but still watching.
"Sunny! It's me, mommy!" Another mare called out.
Ears perked up and cautiously, slowly, Sunshy crawled out of the darkness of the forest into the grayness of the outside. Encouraged by this, the mare leaned down and removed her helmet, despite the protests of the other mare and buck with her. A cream colored mare with a vivid gold mane smiled brightly at him.
"Mommy!" Sunshy shouted before flying at her with all his speed.
The mother rose onto her rear hooves and spread her front hooves wide. She laughed and cried as her son shot into her embrace. Golden Rays cried, babbled, and kissed her colt fervently as if she would die without him in her arms; Sunshy cried along with her. Once they were out of tears, the mother and son parted. The other mare walked forward as Golden Rays put her helmet back on.
"If you're done here, we need to decide what to do with this liability." The mare Sunshy recognized as mommy's friend Risen Moon said.
"Liability? This is my son, Moon, in case you have forgotten. I am the one who has spent every moment trying to find him since he vanished." Golden pulled Sunshy to her side, glaring and just daring the other to try something.
"I know and I'm sorry, Goldie, but he's been here for days. Just taking your helmet off contaminated you; imagine how poisoned he must be." Risen Moon countered with a strictly business tone.
"But it's not poisoned!" Sunshy rebutted, pulling away from his mom to stare up at Moon. "The air here doesn't smell or feel any different than it does up above. I'm positive it's perfectly fine."
"Sunny, dear…what's that on your flank?" Goldie tried to sound happy, but she was unnerved. No pegasus had gotten their cutie mark on the ground in two hundred years.
"It's my cutie mark, momma!" Sunshy told her in elation, forgetting his small anger at Moon, jumping to face her and showing his cutie mark to her. "I got it after healing my new family!"
"N…new family?" Golden could not hide her fear behind her smile.
"Yeah, they're broken like us, but they make it by. It's a daddy and his daughter, the exact opposite of us!" Sunshy turned to the Everfree Forest and shouted, "Big Sol, Celly, come on out!"
The Enclave pegasi gasped and backed up. The buck armed his battle saddle as the large manticore slowly walked out of the safety of the forest. A tinier version of it bolted at them and was under Sunshy's hooves before any of them could react. Golden held her hoof out at the other two, silently ordering them not to panic or attack.
Big Sol slowly walked over to the group of pegasi. There were more ponies in one spot than he had seen in his life. And they were armed and looked almost nothing like ponies. Sol was nervous, but tried to look brave. For his children, he would brave anything.
Once he was close, Big Sol reached his head back and then placed Sunshy's saddlebags at his hooves. Scared out of her mind, Celly peeked out to the Enclave ponies. Golden took her helmet off again, crouched down, and smiled what she hoped was a sweet smile at the baby. Celly whimpered and crawled backwards, right under Sol and between his paws.
"This is Big Sol." Sunshy pointed to the father, "and this is Celly," he pointed to the scared baby.
"How…adorable." Golden Rays tried to seem warm about it, but she was scared. Her son not only had these abominations for a cutie mark, but they were his new family? It was…Goddesses give her strength.
"Can they live with us, mommy? Then we'll be a whole family!" Oh no…
"Hell no." The buck asserted.
"Kicks! Watch your mouth around my baby."  Golden snapped at him before looking back to Sunshy. "I'm so sorry, Sunshy, but we can't let them above the clouds. They were born here and they will have to die here. They can't even stand on clouds."
"But…they have wings." Oh no, Sunshy was tearing up, his lip was pouting, and he looked so sad.
"No way, kid. We're taking you home without those monsters." Kicks asserted, stomping his hoof down.
"But they're my family. They took me in and kept me safe. If they hadn't found me, I would never have gotten my cutie mark and I'd be dead!" Sunshy shouted at them, backing towards Sol and Celly.
"Sunny, I understand, but if you refuse…you'll be a Dashite." Golden told him in as calm a tone as she could. "You won't be able to come home ever again."
"I…but…they…" Sunshy was torn as he looked between his mother and his adoptive dad. He was crouched against the ground, his usual position when he was scared.
Big Sol moved his head down and picked up the saddlebags. Then he gingerly placed them on Sunshy's back. He licked the red mane and nuzzled his face. Sol picked up Celly, put her on his back, and then turned around and walked back into the forest. Celly stared back at Sunshy with large, heartbroken eyes and mewed at him. Why wasn't he following?
"Now that that's taken care of, let's go get you decontaminated and see what the big men want to do with you." Risen Moon said as Golden placed her helmet back on.
"Oh…okay…" Sunshy stated as he faced the group with his head down.
"Don't look so sad, bumbkin. We're going home." Golden smiled and kissed her son's temple.
Risen Moon took off first, heading almost vertically into the air, facing away from the Everfree Forest. Golden Rays moved to place Sunshy on her back, but he asserted that he could fly on his own, plus he was too old for that. Kicks was the last to go, flanking the group. Keep the important cargo in the middle.
A scream of a mare pierced the air. All but Sunshy continued flying up. Kicks shouted and stopped just short of bumping into the much smaller male, swearing under his breath. He received a buck to the side from Golden for it.
"Mommy, that mare is being attacked!" Sunshy pointed down to the ground.
Indeed, he saw what their built-in S.T.A.T.S and zoom told the Enclave ponies. There was a disgusting male pony charging at an injured mare. The buck wore rusted armor, boarding made of animal hides and spikes, while a sawed-off shotgun floated beside, held aloft by unicorn magic. The mare was naked, as most ponies were, but blood caked the insides of her thighs.
"Look away, dearie, this is nothing you should see." Golden cooed at her son. He was too young to see violence.
"No!" Sunshy shouted, flying away from the group. "That mare is in trouble and you're Enclave! You're supposed to help ponies!"
"We help pegasi, kid. Not those ground ponies." Kicks corrected.
And then Sunshy was shot in the side.
The colt shouted as pain spiked in his chest, and his training kicked in. He looked at the wound, determining what had happened through the pain and shaking vision. Okay, bleeding, not good, not good at all, but not a lot. Either really good or really bad. It didn't hurt too bad, must've been a graze and not a direct shot into his body. Goddesses, why did it hurt?!
Golden shouted more profanities than Sunshy had heard in his life as she grabbed her colt so he would not fall. Risen Moon and Kicks shot down at the ground, the latter using his battle saddle to fire at the ground. Sunshy had learned how energy weapons worked. He saw it that day. The raider turned into pink dust.
Then the raiders DJ-Pon3 had warned about started shooting at the sky pony-shaped bugs. They were wiped out in a matter of minutes thanks to energy weapons. Their pathetic boarding could not stand up to it.
Sunshy was so distracted, he did not even notice as his mother bandaged his wound with his supplies and wondered why he was so heavy. A check in his other saddle revealed the answer; millions of bits worth of gems. Kicks and Risen Moon flew back to the small family, the former grumbling and the latter telling them it was all clear now; Golden made sure to close the box so they could not see the fortune.
"No…no it's not all clear. We…we have to help her…there are probably ponies in the town too…" Sunshy squirmed out of his mother's grip and dived down.
The Enclave ponies were shocked still, but recovered quickly. Not before Sunshy touched down beside the mare, who was lying on her side. She was bubble-gum pink with a light blue mane. A bleeding hole in her flank marked she had been shot. Sunshy slipped off his metal saddlebags and quickly set out his supplies.
"Hi, I'm Sunshy, what's your name?" Sunshy tried to converse, keep her calm and alive.
"Cotton Candy." She answered with a weak voice. "You're a pegasus."
"Yes, and I'm here to help you. This will take away the pain, it's Med-X." Sunshy told her before sticking the needle near her injured area. He tried not to think about how she received the wounds inside her thighs. The Enclave stood behind him, watching. They did not know what to do.
"Th-thank you. Thank you." Tears streaked down Cotton Candy's face.
"I'm going to have to pull the bullets out, okay? Hey," Sunshy called over his shoulder, looking at his rescuers, "I need you to hold her down."
Golden Rays and Risen Moon fluttered over to them. The two girls held down Cotton Candy's hooves uncertainly. Kicks sighed in defeat, walked over to them, and laid on the mare's middle. Sunshy gave the wounded mare a piece of wood, which she held in her mouth to prevent herself from biting off her tongue.
"Okay, Miss Candy, this will hurt even with the Med-X. I need you to be brave for me. It's fine to scream and kick, just not too much or you'll hurt yourself and the nice ponies trying to help you, alright?"
Cotton Candy nodded and braced herself. Sunshy pulled out a pair of tweezers in his mouth and hovered over her flank. He was sad to see that the buckshot had destroyed her cutie mark. Still, there was a job to do and he was trained for it. The tweezers dug into Cotton Candy's side and dug carefully for the bullet. She whimpered and flinched, but remained as frozen as she could, biting on the wood so hard she was sure her teeth would break.
The first bullet came out and was placed on the dirt ground. The next half dozen bullets were much the same, the pain made the mare flinch and tense, but she did not kick or scream ever. Though he did not notice it, Golden Rays stared upon her son with admiration and pride that swelled in her chest. She loved her son, manticore cutie mark or no. He not only would make Fluttershy proud, he made her so proud. Her little hero. Daddy would be so proud of him.
"There, all done." Sunshy proclaimed as he finished with the last bandage. Then he blushed, "I, uh, I'm sorry but…I can't help with…your thighs."
"No, it's fine, you've done…so much. I thought I would die here." The Enclave pegasi moved off of Cotton Candy, allowing her to stand. Until she almost fell and had to be held up by Kicks, who grunted.
"I guess we can escort you somewhere safe until you're able to move." Kicks grumbled.
"Are the raiders gone from Ponyville?" Miss Candy asked cautiously.
"Affirmative. We cleared them out for attacking us." Moon replied robotically.
"Just take me there and I'll get to New Appleoosa when I'm better. Thank you all again."
"Stop thanking us or I'll let you fall." Kicks grumbled as he walked with the mare.
"Now can we get back home?" Moon stomped at the ground.
"I'm not going." Sunshy replied calmly as he repacked his things.
"Dear?" Golden asked, quite baffled.
"The Enclave isn't what I thought. I'm disillusioned." Sunshy asserted as he slipped his boxes on.
"Do you even know what that means, kid?" Risen Moon questioned without hiding her annoyance.
"Yes I do. It means you don't help ponies, you help pegasi. Well, Fluttershy believed in helping everypo—no, not everypony, everybody she helped all creatures, trying to end the war." Sunshy turned to his mother, determined. "Everypony says I'm just like her. Well, I have every intention to fill those big shoes."
Golden Rays' eyes misted over with pride. She grabbed her baby boy and held him close. As she did, she whispered, "I'm so proud of you, Sunshy, whatever you do. I love you. Now run."
Confusion coursed through Sunshy as his mom pushed him away. But he heard her, and he was a good boy, so he followed her orders. The small colt began galloping away before flying at the forest. Moon shouted at him and he flinched when a pink bolt flew past. Sunshy shouted for Big Sol and Celly, but there was no need. A pack of Lupis Majors swarmed out of the thickness of the trees, barking madly. He didn't stop or slow down, and had to pray that his mommy and her friends got out safely.
Not far into the forest, Sunshy bounced against a large, firm, and fuzzy body. Large paws wrapped around the small body and the purring rumbled in the chest vibrated against him. Holding Big Sol, the colt sobbed into his fur. His home was gone for good. Now he was a Dashite, just without the mark. And if he stayed in the Everfree Forest long enough, they might give up looking for him and he would never have to get the mark. At least he hoped so.
Exhausted from such an emotionally distressing day, Sunshy flopped onto Big Sol's back, where he was greeted with a nuzzle by Celly. The yellow colt lied his head down and curled up into a little ball. Within moments, he was asleep.
Level up! You are now level 3!
Medicine at 75.
Perk added! Professional healer: You're just great at healing and can do just about anything with the right tools. Nothing is more important than the health of those around you, and they know it by the way you talk to them. You gain +1 in Charisma when facing an injured creature.