Fallout Equestria:
The Sound Of the Wasteland
By: ZKPony
Ch. 0- Prologue
~~~~~
“
War. War never changes. Since the dawn of pony kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from Goddess to justice to simple, psychotic rage. In the years of peace, during the reign of Harmony, the mistrust of our neighbors drove us apart. The world was plunged into an abyss of balefire and radiation. But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another chaotic chapter of pony history. For we had succeeded in destroying the world - but war, war never changes. In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the Fall by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as Stables. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them – Even those from Stable 92. Filled with the most cultured minds and talent of the day, the hope was to once again touch the hearts of others when Ponykind was ready to emerge from their exile. But the very ideals which sealed away our hopes and dreams gave way to our worst nightmares. Because while love and tolerance were the lyrics of their songs, war was the chorus. And war, war never changes.
~~~~~
‘ “ I am tired, so very tired… I have lived a long life, such a rarity in this era. I have loved, fought, killed, shared, and stolen. I have saved ponies, but also doomed them to death or suffering. I cannot claim to be a saint, but I am not a demon, either. My family is comfortable, and I am proud that I could give them more than what I started with.
But I am old. I know that my time is almost done. I only wish to tell the truth now, while I am still able. Tell the story of how it happened. Everything.
Because some things should not be forgotten.
Some things are worth remembering.” ’
~~~~~
*BEEP BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP BEEP*
“Ugh… It can’t be time to wake up yet…”
*BEEP BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP BEEP* My hoof groped around as I searched for my alarm clock.
“Where’s the snooze button?!”
*BEEP BEEP CRASH!* Oh, there it is… I cracked open an eye and saw just how gentle a groggy earth pony could be. The clock was in pieces, shattered on the ground. Another one bites the dust…
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
“AAAGH!” I jumped up and stomped on the offensive device, further shattering the already tiny pieces. Then I kicked the stuttering pieces to the far wall, just for good measure.
But now I was up. Awake. Great…
My room was dark, but I could see the crack of light seeping in through the door. Stable 92’s doors never sealed quite right…
“Stable Maneframe, deactivate Sleep Mode. Bring up my morning protocols.”
*BRIIIIING* *Command accepted. Good morning… Accoustic.” The computer’s voice was cheerful, as it had always been. Music began to softly fill in the silence. It was my favorite part of the day, when I could just blank out and listen…
Only I didn’t recognize the song. It wasn’t quite like one of the old symphonies…
*DING*
Oh, the shower was ready. As I washed and scrubbed, I listened to the track being played. I didn’t know of any new pieces recently composed, and such things traveled like fire down here. I grew increasingly frustrated when my shower ended, and I still hadn’t placed the instrumental. Octavia damn it…
“Stable Maneframe, identify current track.” Can’t even remember the last time I had to use that stupid command…
*BRIIING* *Request denied. Restricted file.* I frowned as I grabbed my data stick and hung it over my neck.
“Restricted file? There aren’t any restricted files…”
*BRIIIING* Oh crap, class!
I rushed from my room, said a quick goodbye to my parents, and took off down the hallways. The Stable was never very crowded on the way to class, so I ran as fast as I could. My dark brown mane whipped my chocolate eyes as I turned corners. I almost tripped a few times, but I made it only a few minutes late. It might even be the earliest I’d ever arrived. My classmates were already there, gathered around one terminal, all turned away from me. I took my chance as I stealthily made my way to the breakfast cart and grabbed one of the few muffins left. Ugh, blueberry…
“Accoustic, you are late again.”
“Gah!” I jumped what must have been two feet into the air and slowly turned around. The stallion staring me down in thinly veiled displeasure was Tight Wire. My technology teacher.
“Don’t… Scare me like that. Geez Mr. Wire, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Do you try to be late? You must, there’s no way you could possibly be so consistently tardy without putting forth effort towards that endeavor.” I stole a glance at the terminal that all the other fillies and colts were looking at. It was a speaker schematic. The B-LAST series, if I recalled correctly.
“Accoustic? You were late because…?” I liked Mr. Wire. He was never accusing, always stating things as facts. Although, he did tend to exaggerate… And ramble. And use fancy words.
“My alarm clock broke.” Perfect. It was true, if not the answer to his question. Mr. Wire sighed and started to turn back to the monitor.
“Wait, Mr. Wire. Are there any restricted files? Music files, I mean.”
“Hmph, what use would there be of a music file that nopony could access? No, there are no restricted music files. Don’t let the other foals make mockery of you again. Now, back to class… Students! I want everypony to take a look at this B-LAST speaker schematic. We use them for Stable announcements and general music use. See how these are connected in series? Who can tell me why we would connect them in this way?”
I sighed as I raised my tan hoof, thinking solely about that song I couldn’t identify. This speaker was one I had already studied, and I prattled the answer to the teacher’s question absentmindedly. I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d lie to me.
Unless he didn’t know?
“Accoustic… wake up, Accoustic.” My eyes drifted open lazily to see the Overmare gently prodding me with a hoof. Her kind eyes and gentle smile helped rouse me into wakefulness. With a great yawn, I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes as she continued teaching. Ms. Service was our history teacher too, and she was the best. Never minding if we drifted off a bit, she always went on with her lessons and never got angry or told our parents. She also gave out candy for right answers, so I decided to pay attention.
“… where we get the fresh air that we all need. Now, the layout of the Stables was different depending on which Stable ponies were ushered into. Our records show that there were four commonly used construction schematics, but most of them had a custom layout designed specifically for the purposes of that Stable. For example, our Stable is adapted specifically for musicians. The rooms have great acoustics, but are soundproofed from the outside. This lets us practice in two adjacent rooms without ever hearing each other. Our speakers and recording equipment were top-of-the-line before the Fall. But ponies still need to eat and sleep. So Stable Tec’s engineers put in two great cafeterias, and we have expanded sleeping quarters. This is all on page Six hundred and ninety three in your textbooks by the way. Our recreation-” I quickly turned to the page she had referenced and saw our Stable layout illustrated in beautiful detail. At the top, on SL-1, was the Overmare’s quarters, more of a political thing than a practical thing. I think political is the right word, everything was decided by the Council… Anyway, the Great Door, Maintenance, and Council Room were below that, on SL-2. The two smallest levels in the Stable. Below that, on SL-3, were the Atrium, Sound Booths, practice rooms, Classrooms… everything we needed in order to develop our music. Then came the Cafeterias and Recreation rooms on SL-4, which were really just giant theaters. This level also housed storage and the cleaning facilities. Lastly, on SL-5, were the Dormitories. They were labeled ‘Living Quarters’ in the book, but somepony had penciled in ‘Dormitories’ next to it. Might as well be called Dormitories, that’s what they were. Rooms large enough for twenty ponies, bunk beds, big open spaces… It was like being at a giant sleepover. Of course there were smaller rooms for families or couples, but those were-
“… and have never failed us. Our lighting systems, on the other hoof…-”
“Ms. Service?” A tiny voice squeaked through the classroom. If we hadn’t been silent, nopony would have heard it. We all swiveled to see a cowering earth filly. Her mane was just a darker shade of blue than her coat. She had engrossing red eyes.
“Yes, Blue Runner?” Blue shook in a quiet way so that her desk that rattled slightly. She looked like she was in pain.
“Can I go to the nurse, Ms. Service?” Our history teacher pretended to give it a moment’s thought before pointing a hoof at me.
“Accoustic. Please accompany Blue Runner to the nurse’s station.” Blue Runner and I got up and left, but she was slouching and dragging her hooves. We walked slowly down the hallways, following the signs that we didn’t need to get o the nurse’s station. After about half a minute of walking, Blue Runner slowed down even further.
“Do you need some help?” Blue looked surprised that I had offered to help, or maybe that was just her ‘I’m sick’ look.
“No, I don’t really need help. I’ll be fine.”
“No you won’t, look at you. You look terrible.”
‘ To be fair, I should mention that I was young and naïve. ‘
“I don’t think I feel well enough to be angry at you for that, Cozy. You ass.”
“There you go. See, you’re already feeling better.” That got me a sad smile, but not moving any faster irked me a bit. So I picked her up and put her on my back. I was fairly strong for a colt.
“What- Accoustic! Put me dow- What are you- Hey!” She squirmed and uselessly tried to lift herself off of me. When she realized that she wasn’t able to get off on her own, she slapped me lightly in the cheek.
“You ass.”
“Yeah. You were taking too long.” As I carried her in silence, I could feel her breath on my neck. It felt nice, in an odd way. I can’t remember ever feeling this way in my young life. As we neared the nurse’s station, I heard her barely whisper.
“Thanks.” I gave her a smile as I let her down, and noticed she’d gone red in the face.
“Hurry and see the nurse. You look like you have a fever.” She turned and shook her rump before heading in to get medical attention.
‘ To be fair, I should mention that I was young and naïve. ‘
“Mr. Accoustic, are you listening? Mr. Accoustic?” I slowly opened my eyes to see a plump mare standing over me, ruler in hoof. Her nasal, whiny voice scraped what was left of my daydream away. Shame, it had been going so well…
*SMACK!*
“Mr. Accoustic, pay attention! Honestly, no wonder you haven’t found your special talent if all you do is daydream during your classes…” Some of the other students giggled and I brought a brown hoof over my eyes. I hated musical theory. Mrs. Quarter Stroke was so prim and proper and expected us all to understand everything after hearing it just once. I whispered as she walked away.
“I wish you’d have a stroke…”
“What was that, Accoustic?”
“I said I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, Mrs. Stroke.”
With a small ‘Harrumph’, she curtly turned and resumed her lesson on how certain pieces of music affect ponies in certain ways. It just made me… so… sleepy…
“Psst.” I turned my head to my right and saw a blue unicorn with a blonde mane smiling at me.
“Hi. I’m Crescendo.” Whoop-de-freaking doo…
“Accoustic. Nice to meet you.”
“I don’t like musical theory either. It’s boring”. Understatement of the century.
“Yeah, I’d rather just work with our equipment.” This elicited a blush from my class neighbor. Odd.
“Really? I thought I was the only-“
“Accoustic! Crescendo! What is so important that you need to discuss during my class?!” We both jumped when Mrs. Stroke yelled. I hadn’t even seen her coming…
“Well?!”
“Sorry, Mrs. Stroke…” Crescendo and I sounded like an echo of each other. We both smiled.
“This is not funny! I am trying to teach you! If you do not want to be here, then just leave, so that we can get some learning done. Honestly, I-“ I grabbed my data stick and got up. Crescendo raised his eyebrows and followed me, looking to me for cues. We turned to the door.
“Sit down this instant! This is ridiculous! I have never met such-“
Today was going to be a loooong day…
*BRIIING*
Ha! Or not.
As I waited in the dinner line, my eyes wandered over everypony else in the vain hope that I might find a friend to sit with. There were the popular foals, there’s the druggies. High-function musical theorists over there, and bookworms over in the corner. Oh! There were the tech geeks! If anypony could be said to be friends of mine, it was surely them, right?
Except for the sad fact that every time I approached them, they wanted nothing to do with me for some reason. Maybe it was the lack of a horn on my head. Elitist unicorns…
“Accoustic!” The small shout brought my wandering eyes up front towards the front of the line, where a blue unicorn was waving furiously at me. He left the front and came to stand beside me.
“Crescendo! You didn’t have to leave your spot. It’ll be at least another 10 minutes until I make it up there.”
“I know, but I never have anyone to sit with, and I just happened to see you. I didn’t know we had the same dinner slot.”
“Yeah, me neither. A real stroke of luck, then. Fancy that.” I wanted to gag.
“I’m really glad that I finally found a friend in Mrs. Stroke’s class. I can’t stand her.”
“You either, huh? Guess it’s a pretty popular opinion.” My blue stalker smiled and shook his head.
“Nah, not really. My mom invites her to tea, and she always goes on about how funny and great Mrs. Stroke is. She’s like a completely different mare outside of classes.”
“Ha, wow. I’d never have guessed. Personally, my favorite teacher is Mr. Wire. He teaches te-“
“Ahem! Hey, move up!” My unicorn friend and I both turned to see a cream-colored filly with a very determined expression on her face. The way her mouth was scrunched up was just so cute…
“ Excuse me?”
“Look, lover boys, you two need to move up. The line… I mean… You’re at the head…. I’m sorry…”
I looked back and, true enough, we were at the head of the line. I couldn’t believe it. Normally the line took forever… Crescendo nudged my side.
“Sorry about that. My friend and I got deep into a conversation. Come on, Accoustic.”
As we moved forward and collected our food, I found a small smile assaulting my face. I tried to shake it off, but found that I couldn’t. I finally had a friend at dinner.
“Accoustic, where do you want to sit?”
It was nice.
When I say I woke up, I really mean that I jolted awake. I also couldn’t see. The room was, at the risk of sounding cliché, pitch black, whatever pitch was. I opened my eyes as wide as I could, but no crack in the door. Not even a little. No light. For some reason, the door had sealed all the way, effectively cutting off my regular ‘night-light’. I reached out instinctively, searching for the way to turn off that infernal ra- Wait. There was no alarm clock beeping. That was odd. Why was it so quiet?
“Oh yeah, I broke that last one…”
Weird morning… Well, might as well get up and start the day…
“Stable Maneframe, deactivate Sleep Mode and bring up my morning protocols.”
Silence was the only response. I hated silence. But more pressing than that slight hate was my growing confusion. The Maneframe, for some reason or another, was not responding. Why was it not responding? Was it down? Did something happen to the Stable? Did I just not speak loud or clear enough?
Yeah, that must be it.
“Stable Maneframe, Deactivate Sleep Mode and bring up my morning protocols.”
…
The speakers came on with a palpable *click*. It remained silent for a few seconds before leaking that strange song from yesterday. This was too much. I ran to the door as well as I could in the dark, and after a few frustrating minutes, I placed a hoof on the control panel. No response. I kicked the emergency override , and got the same result. The door stayed shut.
No lights. No door. No Maneframe. No powe-
“No, wait. The speakers are on. There must be power. Stable Maneframe! Respond!”
Again, nothing. My breathing picked up as I struggled to stay calm. I found my hooves gently rapping against the door. It formed a careful rhythm with the mystery song.
“Hey! Is anyone out there?!”
I was alone.
Where was everypony? Why couldn’t anyone hear me?
The beating against the door grew louder.
“Hey! Somepony, answer me!” The strange music flew upwards in dizzying arcs, and flittered about my room. A dance in which I was an unwilling partner. I became angry, suddenly full of rage. I stomped on the door with the strength only an earth pony could muster. The door rang, but didn’t dent. The hinges stayed put. This only served to fuel my heated hatred, and I started thrashing around wildly. I hit a desk, smashed it. Something small and metallic flew across the room, shattering like an icicle. I ran around the room in a froth, searching for something else to break in the darkness. Finding nothing, I began to hit myself. Some small, rational part of me assured me that it was just a dream, and if I hurt myself enough, I would wake up.
I struck my face, making my world spin. I kicked at my stomach, and threw up. The music changed into a much slower, sad song, as if not wanting to hurt me.
I hurt myself anyway. What was the point? I was trapped here anyway. And where was everypony? What time was it?
My head fogged up and hid my anger. I stopped running and stood perfectly still. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t find the energy. It had all been sapped away, quick as a wink. My thoughts started to ooze together, making no sense even to myself. I felt myself sway, as if I were going to fall.
The music changed again. A sharp, evil note cried out in the room. It demanded attention, which I unwillingly provided.
My vision watered over and I couldn’t control the shaking in my hooves. I crumpled to the floor against my will and and felt myself curl up. Quiet sobs wracked my little body.
I was alone.
Then the speakers cut off.
Silence.
Wonderful, glorious silence. Like an angel had come to intervene for me.
“Hello?” Silence. Beautiful silence. I somehow found the strength to stand up, if shakily.
“Stable Maneframe, respond.” The only sounds were the ones I made.
My breathing.
My hoof steps.
I hated silence.
“Let me out! Please!” Tears streamed down my face. I was so confused…
Anger. Hate. Fog. Clarity. Sadness. Silence.
All at once, I felt everything.
I cried out, a pitiful cry in the maelstrom of my own making. Something inside of me shifted as I released an almost feral noise.
Snapped.
Broke.
A bright light filled the room. Flashed me into blindness.
Then silence.
I woke up thinking several thoughts at once. They jumbled around in my head, some of them actually conversing with one another. Were they all me? Was I me?
I was only vaguely aware of the nurse as she entered the medical ward. She ambled over to my bed, the only bed in the room, in slow motion. She spoke as she walked towards me, but I couldn’t hear what she said. She looked worried.
Leaning over me, she shined a very bright light into my eyes. I tried to catch a glimpse of what she looked like, but the light hid her. When the light went away, she frowned and said something. Again, I couldn’t hear her. I tried speaking, but my mouth refused to let the words out.
A sad smile was my parting gift as the obviously relieved nurse left the room. But this only added more questions into my now full head. Each part of me asked.
“Where are you?”
“What happened back in that room?”
“Why are you just laying down? Get up!”
“Why didn’t the Maneframe respond?”
“Who are you?” ~Who am I. Good question, me. Very astute. I’m…~
I tried lifting me head, but was rewarded with a terrifying dizziness. After a few minutes, I felt well enough to try lifting my hooves. But they remained as stationary as could be. Okay….
So I lay there. Waiting. It seemed a good idea. A logical idea. Until the angry thoughts came.
They came in a flood, as if they had broken free from some levee. Urging me to hurt, destroy, break… It was relentless. Violent.
The straps holding my hooves down snapped. I didn’t know there were straps on the bed… Red alarm lights blossomed around the room, further fueling my causeless anger. My body lifted off of the bed just in time for ponies in Stable 92 guard’s armor to burst in the doors. The sight of them made my body tense. I wanted to hit them all so badly. Break them.
My throat started hurting, and a part of me idly wondered if I was screaming or not. I certainly couldn’t hear myself if I was.
I saw the guard ponies’ guns discharge as I flung myself at the nearest one. It was an odd sensation to see the guns go off, but not feel the bullets hit me of hear the loud *BANG* that was supposed to accompany. For half-a-second, I wondered if I was even being hit.
The crimson rain that fell from me proved me wrong. I could see their mouths moving, making horrified faces. A gasp? Anger. Disbelief? Anger! Grim determination? ANGER.
One stepped forward and raised a a hoof. The guns stopped discharging. The pony removed that ugly helmet…
It was a mare. A familiar mare. Her mouth moved, as If she couldn’t decide what to say.
“…”
-“I can’t hear you! I can’t hear anything! What’s going on?!”-
She stepped forward, reaching out to touch my head with her hoof, but I backed away. The other ponies raised their guns.
-“Stop! Don’t come near me!”-
Another step. She held a needle, looking sad and pleading.
I swatted the needle away. And drew blood. The mare’s leg was broken right above the hoof, and she cried out, still holding up her other fore-hoof to stop the guards. I wanted to feel bad. She was defending me. Probably trying to help me, and I’d hurt her. I should have felt like a terrible pony. But I didn’t.
The anger started boiling up inside me again, and before I could kill her, I pushed her with a hoof. She went flying into the guards, knocking three of four over. Two guards started dragging her away, but she shouted and pushed back. She was trying to get back to me. This made me even angrier for some reason, and I stomped on the ground. I wanted to tell her to leave before I killed her, but the words wouldn’t come.
The last thing I saw was my hoof on a pony’s windpipe. Pushing down…
Breaking.
- “…can’t condone… tests… unfortunate.”
= “Un… hmm? …bloody failed!”
- “Tell them… matter. Nopony…”
= “…won’t work… color… believe us.”
= “Yes… Councilmare.”
= “Crescendo… change.”
= “…stop… would… succeeded…”
- “It… way for… know… leave.”
= “Not… worth…”
- “…leave. Nopony…stay… worth it.”
= “…can’t… son…”
*BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP*
“Aaaargh, my head…” Not just my head. I felt like my entire body hadn’t been used in years…
*BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP*
A hoof slowly wandered over to the source of the beeping, eradicating the offensive noise with a soft click. I opened my eyes, and a soft light barely lit the room, coming from a crack in the door. It kept the room from being bathed in total darkness.
It felt profoundly wrong. Wrong, and familiar. On the edge of my mind…
“Stable Maneframe, deactivate sleep mode. Bring up my… morning… protocols… Oh Luna.” And I remembered. I had killed ponies. Unable to control myself, I had killed them in cold blood. My body shook gently.
~Actually, in warm blood, now that I thought on it. It was very warm after it left the body…~
No! This is no time for silly, unimportant arguing over definition!
*BRIIIING!* *Command accepted. Good… *BZZZZZT* Accoustic.” Cheerful. How could the computer’s voice be so cheerful? Why hadn’t it responded back there?! Music began to play, an older, but recognized song. A popular one from a few years ago…
Stop it! Stay on topic, stupid thoughts!
*DING* The shower… Could I wash off the blood of the ponies I had murdered? More parts of me agreed that it was at least worth a shot, and so I ambled over to the awaiting warmth and safety of my available shower. It burned me. It wasn’t any different than any other shower I had had before. Same temperature. Same soaps and shampoos. Same slippery spot in the tub. It burned me the same. Burned my soul, body, and mind.
Tears started leaking from my eyes, leaking as the faucets sometimes do. When a fixture started leaking, you had to call over a repair pony. They either were able to fix it, or something had to be replaced. Leaking was an unacceptable crime in Stable 92. It took water away from ponies who could have used it, and wasted it on nothing. It was the most frivolous waste you could harbor.
I was leaking.
Tears came out of me. For those ponies I’d killed. For my family. For me. For me. For…For…
I looked at my hooves then. Noticed it. My hooves were white. They weren’t supposed to be white.
I jumped out of the shower, dripping wet, not caring about the wasted water anymore. The mirror of my bathroom showed me a dark truth.
Or rather, a light truth. I had changed colors.
The face looking back at me was one I didn’t know. My dark brown mane had been bleached of all color. It was white as the purest light, whiter than the music sheets. Once chocolate eyes became burning emerald, the color of green grass in our books on Equestria before the Fall. Tan hooves were white now, a dirty white, almost. Though I didn’t know if that was from actual dirt or not. And I was taller. Mane longer. Could I have aged? But how? A panic took me then, as I forced myself back into the shower. Would it wash away? It had to be just some joke. Everything had been a bad dream, while somepony had played this cruel joke on me. The thought made me unreasonably angry.
My hoof slammed into the wall, making a dull thud and a cracking sound. I felt an unfamiliar pain in my hoof. I was bleeding. I hadn’t broken the wall, I had broken my hoof. No… just cracked it. I thought I was stronger than this…
Not sure if I was in shock or not, I absently rubbed my other forehoof along my head to check for a horn. Then, finding no such appendage, felt along my back for wings. Nope, not a pegasus either. I was still an earth pony. ~Well, that sucks.~ I turned at the voice, and my head swam. I knew I’d heard it before…
~Yes, about the blood. Once before, too, but I don’t think you remember. You were in quite the state.~
“Who are you?! Where are you?!” The bathroom door was still closed, there was no way anypony could have…
~I’ve been with you this whole time. Well, I am you, in a way. The part of you that was you before. Not the you now. Well, not quite, but that’s the best I can do. I know it’s a little confusing, but don’t worry. I know I wouldn’t.~ Chuckling.
“…I’m going crazy.” That’s the only explanation…
~Not quite. And that’s so rude! Writing me off as nothing more than a figment of your imagination, you’d think I was nothing more than a convenient plot device in some story. No, I am you, as you were. But more… enlightened, shall we say. I have seen everything in my brief time away from you, and I’ve decided to help you-~
I banged my head against the wall. It seemed to work in silencing the voice. Not the most elegant solution, but…
~Stop that, you idiot! You’ll hurt yourself, and by extension, me!~
“Get out of my head, then.”
~I’m not really in your head. It’s a complicated situation for me. If I’m not with you, I am nowhere. It’s an unsettling place, nowhere. Not nearly as nice as this Stable. So, I am going to stay with you. Questions?~
I had heard of insanity before. Ponies were diagnosed with it fairly frequently down here in the Stable.
~Hey, don’t ignore me!~
Usually, they were confined until they got better (which never happened), died, or became so violent they were put down. It was not a comforting thought. If ponies started to suspect me of being crazy…
~I don’t think you’re crazy. You are perfectly… well, not sane, but you know what I mean.~
Would the other ponies even recognize me? How would they react to the truth? What was the truth?
~It wasn’t pleasant, you know. All the death. But that wasn’t really your fault. No, I don’t want that on me either. It was the strange track you’d heard. Quite sinister, really. To think that a bit of music could do that to a pony. It wasn’t just music, though. No. You’ve-~
“Shut up!” The voice in my head stopped rambling as I stomped out of the door, bold as brass. Dripping wet and starting to shiver, I strode into the hallway, each step coming down with more force than necessary.
The ponies in the hallway stopped and stared. Four of them, though I recognized not a one. Vaguely confused, they seemed to be searching for something to say. I had to capitalize on this somehow.
“Do you know who I am?”, I said with all of the seriousness that I could muster. My voice was low, and the sound of water dripping from my coat and mane made this whole scene seem slightly absurd.
~Don’t know if this was the best route…~
A scream. No, wait, two screams. For help. Guards. Oh crap…
I ran down the hall, slipping a bit and careening into the walls. I wasn’t nearly as agile as I’d been before… Before what?
“Stop in the name of the Council!” A guard, dressed in the lightly armored vest of Stable 92, crouched in the hallway. I stopped. The guard looked up at me with a ghost of remembrance.
“Accousti-“ I ran in the opposite direction, down the hall I had just come from. There were more guards. More appeared from behind me as I stood, gawking.
“Accoustic.” A voice, one that I knew. Slightly annoying, but older…
Crescendo stepped out from behind the guards. But he was older. Taller, lean and fit, he looked ten years older than when I’d seen him last. What had happened?
~I’m getting tired of you asking that, you know.~
“Shut up! I’m not listening to you anymore!”
Crescendo looked hurt for a second before putting on an air of authority.
“Accoustic, you need to calm down. Everything will be fine. Trust me.”
“I wasn’t talking to you Crescendo. It was the voice. I can’t make it go away. What’s going on? Why do we look older? Why-”
*PEW*
A pinch on my shoulder. I turned my head to see a dart sticking out of me. A tiny trickle of some green liquid trailed down my leg.
“Wha-“ My sentence was interrupted as I hit the floor. Everything was slowly going black…
“Sir… him?” Crescendo put his dart gun away as the guard walked over to me.
“Yes. Take him away. To the council chambers. It’s time-”
~-----~
Quest Perk added:
White Anger: An uncontrollable anger courses through you! When you lose control, your strength and endurance are raised to 10, while intelligence, charisma, and perception are lowered to 1. Get out there and destroy!
Chapter One: Kicked out and Kicked in.
Fallout Equestria:
The Sound Of the Wasteland
By: ZKPony
Ch. 1- Kicked out and kicked in
~~~~~
‘ “Where should I start? At the beginning, of course! But the beginning is too far away, and not relevant enough. It would take too long to get to the heart of the story. So.
A long time ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two sisters who ruled. Celestia, the older sister, was the goddess of the sun. She governed the daytime. Luna, the younger sister, was goddess of the moon. She watched over the night. But Luna grew unhappy. See, everypony loved the daytime. They worked and played and learned during the day. But at night, all the ponies slept. Luna thought it was unfair that ponies never get to see her beautiful night. This went on for a long time. One night, Luna got so tired of everypony just sleepin’ through her nights that she declared that night would last forever. She wouldn’t let the sun rise. Celestia pleaded with her to let the sun rise, but Luna refused. Celestia had no choice. Without the sun, the ponies couldn’t grow food. Celestia banished Luna to the moon for a thousand years.”
But grandpapa, that would make Celestia a big meanie! How could she do that to her own sister?!
“Now calm down and let me tell you the rest of the story…
See, it broke Celestia’s heart to send Luna to the moon. Luna was just lonely, she figured. So while Luna was away, Celestia strived to make Equestria a better place. She focused on teaching her kingdom friendship, love, and tolerance for those who were different. She started trade relations with the zebras, griffons, and even dragons. Even invited some of them to stay in Equestria. She worked very hard, day and night, to make Equestria the best it could be for when Luna returned. For one thousand years she did this. She even trained an apprentice to help transition her people back to Luna.
Twilight Sparkle!
Yes, children. Twilight Sparkle. When Luna finally did come back, however, she was… changed. So long in isolation had allowed her dark side to take over.
N-nightmare Moon! She’s scary.
Let me finish. Nightmare Moon had taken over Luna’s heart, letting only her darkest, nastiest thoughts and feelings through. She was not a nice pony. But Twilight Sparkle was ready. She and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to free Luna, and everypony rejoiced. But not all was well…” ’
~~~~~
I recognized the room I woke up in. It was the Council room, where the ruling council for Stable 92 met. I’d been in here a few times as a young colt. Never for anything serious, mostly for broken equipment, but I had seen the Council a fair few times. It was a tall room, the ceiling as high as the Atrium, with a large bench set above a lower sitting area. There weren’t any ponies on my level. Five faces looked down at me from the Council Seat. Five faces that didn’t match up to my memories. This wasn’t the Council, unless the Council had gone through a radical change since I’d…
“Are you awake?” Three ponies sat on the Council that I recognized. Crescendo still looked older, but now he was joined by Blue Runner and Soundbyte. They looked older as well. Did time pass? How could that be?
“He’s awake. No doubt still sleepy from that tranquilizer dart. Why don’t we give him some more time to wake up before we-”
“No. No more putting this off. We have to get this on record, and then dispose of him. If we wait any longer-”
“Enough!” Crescendo shouted, focusing all of the Council on him. My eyes started to drift shut.
“We don’t have much time. Accoustic, do you know where you are?”
“I’m… in the Council room. But what-”
“Do you know who you are? What Stable you’re in?”
“Well, yeah. I’m Accoustic. Stable 92… That doesn’t-”
“You are hereby sentenced to death for the following crimes: You’ve…” I couldn’t hear what Crescendo was saying. Sentenced to death? How is that poss-
Darkness claimed me as I slumped forward.
“Wake him!” A hoof viciously tore across my face, clawing me into wakefulness. The gears in my mind immediately started turning, grinding my questions and thoughts against my consciousness, waking me up.
“What’s going on?!” Crescendo sat straighter, putting on a scowl. The first I’d ever seen on him.
“We are sorry, Accoustic. You were doing so well, and then this. We have no choice. We appreciate your technical services for these past years, but it’s past time for you to be put down. Your little episode yesterday proved that beyond a shadow of any doubt.”
“Crescendo…” One of the Council I didn’t recognize gestured with a hoof.
“He obviously isn’t in any condition to stand trial. Look at him.”
“He is cognizant and awake, which is more than I can say for some of you. Besides, he may lapse again. Any objections?” Crescendo turned and looked each of them in the eyes. Nopony raised a hoof or spoke up.
“Then it is decided. Guards, take him away.”
A pair of hooves grabbed me by my forelegs and lifted me up, half dragging me. I didn’t even know I had been on the floor…
~Are you going to just take this? I mean, sentenced to death… Pretty heavy, don’t you think?~
“I still don’t understand what’s going on…” A grunt and jostle from one of the guards.
“Answer me!” The unicorn and earth pony just looked ahead and walked.
There was no answer. Only silence.
A deeper silence than just one devoid of noise. No, this silence was more profound. It was in the chains as they rattled against my hooves. It was in the floor as the guards stepped casually, as if they were simply bringing another drunk back to his room. But we weren’t going anywhere as nice as that. The silence was in me, in my breath. It pushed the pause button on my thoughts, and stole my resolve. The silence was deafening. It was suffocating. It was smothering.
I hated silence.
~Well, looks like I was wrong about you. Not going to fight back? Just let them take you?~
“ You heard Crescendo. He’s sentenced me to death. What can I do?” If the guards thought my talking to no one strange, they didn’t say anything about it.
~Coward. What happened to the fearless earth pony who doesn’t afraid of anything?~
“You’re not making any sense. I was never fearless. You’ve got the wrong pony.” An odd anger sprung up in me before I’d even finished the sentence. It wasn’t the wild, uncontrollable hate from back when I killed all those ponies, but it fought to push to my surface. It boiled in me.
~There you go! Get out there and destroy!~
My hooves found purchase on the floor and I lifted from the guards’ grasp. The unicorn guard lifted his baton in a rose colored aura, but I smacked it away. A sharp hoof to his noggin sent him sprawling on the floor. Out.
His companion took the opportunity and leapt on me, I guess trying to pin me to the floor. He swung his baton as he landed on my back, but I was stronger than I thought, and held up. His baton passed over my head once before hitting me on the backswing. It hurt, but I’d felt worse. I bucked, sending him flying into the wall, where he slowly tried to lift himself back up. A well-placed kick to the head stopped that.
Then the anger left me. In a cold wash of clarity, I realized what I had done. I had attacked ponies again. Thankfully not killed them, but I had lost control again. All of the questions that had been stored in the back of my mind bubbled their way to the surface…
~Hey, no time for that. Get going! Somepony is bound to have heard-~
“Aaaaaaah! He did it again! He’s a murdering psychopath! Run!” I barely caught a glimpse of a pony rounding the corner. It was so short, I couldn’t even tell you what color he or she was. But I could hear the screams. I sat, dumbfounded for a second. Red alarm lights dropped from the ceiling and sirens blared from the speakers, waking me back into my thoughtful self. I needed to run. Guards were going to be coming for me, and this time, they wouldn’t give me a trial.
I ran. Turning randomly, I almost tripped down the staircase, and kept running. I was a lot slower than I remembered being… And then a guard rounded a corner.
“Hey, you! Stop right there, criminal scum!” I did the only sensible thing and changed direction. He started after me with a shout. I kept running. Turning. Eventually, another guard rounded a corner, and I was trapped. I ducked into the nearest room I could and heard the door close. I glanced around for anywhere I could hide. I had run into a Sound Booth, a recording station, by the looks of it. There were two desks, both with way too many wires for me to hide under. A closet, filled with neatly organized wiring racks and mic stands and-
The speakers clicked on as red alarm lights started to flash.
“This is an emergency broadcast. Please remain calm. All ponies are to report to their rooms at once, and stay there until instructed otherwise. Stable 92 will enter emergency lockdown mode in… 5… minutes. Message repeats. This is an emergency broadcast. Please remain…”
Another voice from outside the door. A thumping against it. Shouting.
A familiar voice took over the speaker in the booth.
“Oh, Accoustic, you have been one bad little pony.”
“Crescendo?! What’s going on?”
~There’s that stupid question again. Just stop and think sometimes.~
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know. We can’t have you running around, hurting and killing ponies again. The last time was an accident, or so the old Council said. But this time…”
The red alarm lights flashed brightly. More thumping on the door. It sounded like ponies were ramming against it…
“I don’t know how you managed to lock that door, but we’ll be in soon enough. I really wish it hadn’t come to this. We were friends, once upon a time. I wanted to believe that you’d changed, but I was wrong. A lot of ponies were wrong.”
*doomth doomth* That would be security…
I had to do something. I started pulling wires out from the sound-boards. Maybe there was something that could-
The red alarm lights flashed brightly. I sat at the desk, head hung and resolve faded, and realized how stupid my plan was. A way out? Really? The only way out was through that door. And through the security ponies behind it, the rest of the Stable behind them, and then what? Everypony knew it was death to go outside. The red lights flashed brightly.
‘Should I fight? Oh Celestia, I don’t want to fight!’
*DOOMTH DOOMTH*
The red light flashed brightly. Here I was, going to die, and never even knowing the real reason. This was like some crazy storybook nonsense. The blue light flashed weakly. ‘Maybe if I give up…’ The red lights flashed…. Wait. A blue light? A couple seconds later, I saw it again. Coming from under the desk. Under the… floor? There was a tile open, just enough for the blue light to get through. I wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t already looking under the desk. The emergency alarm? I went under the desk, my flank awkwardly raised, and I was able to lift up the loose tile. There was a hole just big enough for me to squeeze through. How… convenient. After I squeezed through, I closed the roof (floor?) and looked around. The door (roof?) clicked as it locked behind me. A long hallway only barely lit up by that weak blue light, and a staircase at the end of it. I heard the Sound Booth door crash in, and gunfire filled it. Shouts. The blue light flashed weakly.
”Nowhere to go but down…”
~~~~~
The Stable was a clean place. Ponies took turns, called cleaning rotation, to clean the Stable. Even then, most of the main areas had automated cleaning robots. Everything was spotless, most of the time. It was very pleasant to live in. No dirt. No grime. Nothing to get in the way of our beautiful music.
The complete opposite of where I was now. The floors and walls were piss yellow, with splotches of black. I idly wondered if it was safe to breathe down here. It looked like nopony had cleaned this place in forever, which might very well be the case. I guess secret passages weren’t given the same priority as places like bathrooms, which is what this hallway smelled like. I still heard the alarms above and below me as I trotted on. No soundproofing here, whoever had built this had skipped a few steps… Water was leaking from the ceiling, too. How wasteful. The blue lights continued to flash, echoing in a strange, hypnotic rhythm down the hall. I fit it to some old beat in my head. After my little song ended, I tried to figure out where I was going. No luck. The water had formed a slight film on the floor, and I took off running. Then, with a small jump, I slid down the hall in a foalhood whimsy. A couple throws later and I was bored again. Then I saw the hallway open up. A ladder at the end. I made a mad dash, hoping that I had finally found the way out. I skidded at the end of the hallway, just in time to trip and fall flat on my face.
“Owww…” My head… I rubbed my cranium with a hoof and gently pushed myself up. There was something stained and scattered lying in front of me. It was sprawled in the same way a pony might lay… I poked it with a hoof. The bundle crackled and fell to the floor, making a distinct clattering noise.
The kind bones make. These were bones. Unmistakably pony bones.
My eyes went wide as I skittered, backing up and finding the wall. Pony bones. There were the bones of a pony down here. Somepony had died down here. I suddenly became interested in everything but the middle of the floor. The little alcove I’d found had a ladder going up, and a ladder going down. A terminal and crate in the far corner. They looked almost new, but for the grime and nastiness covering them. I edged along the wall, past the hallway, and next to the terminal. The bones remained in the middle of the floor. I stole a glance at the glowing screen.
‘ Terminal lockout-Timeout. System reset.’ I pressed a button and the screen erupted to life with lines of code. They were… entries… Data files. Some of the titles looked to be corrupted, with random letters or number or even symbols interjected into them. I opened the one at the bottom. Line after line of gibberish flooded the screen. When it ended, I pressed the ‘enter’ key again. This time, only one entry showed up o the screen. I pressed the back button, but nothing happened.
~You’re so good with technology, Accoustic. Well done.~
“Shut up…” I clicked on this one good entry.
‘Darling,
I don’t have a clue if you’re ever going to get this, and I really hope you never do, but it’s here anyway, just in case. I added this section to the Stable after it was inspected, so nopony knows but us, Octy. If you’re reading this, then the emergency alarms have gone off. The only reason for that is… the NOISE. Look. Stable-Tec… lied to us. The Stable wasn’t designed to keep us safe. It’s part of some sick experiment to make us kill each other! I was rooting around in your files (sorry, I was bored!) and I found it. A sound file. The documents with it made it sound like it would create the perfect soldiers. But that’s not what it does. Remember Blues? I had been playing the file in his quarters for about a week when he killed that other stallion. It’s bad news, Octy . It makes ponies mad enough to kill, babe! If it’s been released to the whole Stable... I want you to be safe. There’s a gun and some supplies in the crate over by the wall. I have the terminal locking an escape hatch. Live, my love. V. Scratch ‘
The entry ended with a click, and the screen returned to the one I had just seen. Just this one entry, titled: Octavia. I heard the distinct sound of a door unlocking.
Was this for real? Everypony knew about Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. They were the first and second Overmares. The first ponies on the Council. Would that make…
I looked back over to the skeleton. Could it be?
The pony was in Stable 92 barding, much like my own, except far less clean. She, I guess it was a she, had a saddlebag and gun holster, and on her leg…
It was a Pipbuck. Pipbucks were small armlet-like computers that fit around your foreleg. They managed a huge assortment of data, and could do some pretty amazing things. Our Stable books told us that Pipbucks were common in other Stables, but in Stable 92, they were rare. Only ponies in high ranking positions or security were given them. I had never held one, much less owned one. The closest I’d gotten was that time I tried to steal one from storage, back when I was a foal. Good times.
The Pipbuck sat slightly open. Only loosely clasped to the bony leg of the pony. I carefully stepped over to it. If this was Octavia, our founding leader… Would it be a bad thing to take her stuff? I mean, she was dead. She wouldn’t need it. I might. But was it sacrilege? Close enough?
I took the Pipbuck out from under the bones, and they clattered to the ground. The skull tilted, as if questioning me.
“I promise to bring this back, Octavia.” I felt stupid right after saying it. Blushing, I slid the miniature computer around my leg and smirked. It looked good. Then I realized that I had it upside down, and felt immensely stupid. After righting it, I closed the clasp around my left fore-hoof.
I felt a strange sensation course through me. It was like I was being stabbed with a needle, and it traveled from my new Pipbuck through my leg, and then spread over the rest of my body. I briefly wondered if I’d made a mistake, but then my suspicion was confirmed when it reached my head. It stabbed my eyes, my brain, my tongue, my ears.
My mind went numb. My eyes shut. I prayed to Luna and Celestia to end the pain, but no sooner had I thought their names did the pain go away.
*DING*
I opened my eyes, and… saw things. Things that weren’t there before. Things that were very distracting. A box in the left-bottom corner of my vision. >This shows your current health. HP BAR<
“Who’s there?!” I turned around and saw the middle box at the bottom of my vision move. S turned to the left and W came into center view. >This shows direction and destination markers. COMPASS< Okay, that voice was really annoying, but at least I knew it was coming from the Pipbuck.
An empty box in the bottom-right. >This shows your currently equipped weapon and ammunition status. WPN<
A small X sat in the center of my sight, and as I wandered over the skeleton lying in the middle of the floor, a word popped up above the… compass?
‘Chrysanthemum’
I assumed it was this pony’s name. Not Octavia, then.
*BING* >New audio file. Check the NOTES section.<
Notes? What the heck?
The Pipbuck itself was very simple. A large screen, one large knob, one spinning knob that clicked, and three buttons. The buttons were marked: STS, INV, and DATA. I pressed the DATA button, and tabs opened up on the bottom of the screen. There, second from the right, was NOTES. The scrolling wheel knob turned once, twice, and there it was. An audio file.
*click*
~Oh Celestia, it’s over! I’m trapped! I was just cleaning the floor, how was I supposed to know there was a fucking hole here?! I got locked out of the terminal, and the crate won’t open either. Some kind of link with the terminal, I think! Oh Luna, I’m going to die down here! I’ve been screaming for days, and no one has heard me… Oh, Red… Why don’t you save me? I tested the collar just like you asked, you said you’d protect me, why why why WHY WHY WH-~
*click
I ended the recording, not wanting to hear anything else that might be on it. This mare… She’d been trapped here and… what a way to go.
A glint caught my eye and I bent over her bony form. Around where her neck would have been, there was a small band. Studded on the inside with gemstones that shone faintly and clasped together with a simple catch, it sat there. I assumed it to be the collar mentioned in her final recording. Did I hear that right? She tested this? What does it do? I took it off of Chrysanthemum and tried to place it around my own neck, but it was too small. Into the saddlebags it went.
I looked through her other belongings, now that I knew it wasn’t Octavia, and found a bottle with some purple liquid inside, two syringes marked ‘Med-X’, a small gun, and a box of ammunition. The saddlebags went over my back, and I removed the worn holster from Chrys’s leg, and strapped it to my own. It was slick and loose and I decided that it wasn’t going to stay there, especially if I wanted it to. I made a quick trot around the room, and as per my expectations, it slipped right off. Fixing it more across my shoulder helped a little, but I just knew that it’d be falling off eventually. I stuck the pistol in my new (-ish) holster, and looked around for a way out.
*BRIING!* *CHK*
1 - Healing potion added. 2 - Med-X added. 1 – 9mm Pistol added. 25 - 9mm rounds added. 1 – Unicollar added.<
After looking through the Pipbuck and finding no way to turn the noises off, I resigned myself to just suffering through it. I ambled over to the crate, my new, unfamiliar accessories making me stumble like I was drunk. The crate was empty, so I decided to check out my last two options. The ladder going up had a steady stream of water running down the rungs, and was the most rusted thing I’d ever seen. When I placed a hoof on the first rung, it seemed to melt away in an orange and black flood. There was no way I was going up. Looking over my shoulder, that left only one option…
Down.
Amazingly, the rung felt solid. Slippery as all Tartarus, but solid nonetheless. I slowly made my way down into the dark depths, the blue lights flashing every few seconds. After what felt like an eternity, I finally stood on solid ground. The blue lights ended as I beheld a new tunnel, carved from rock. It was dimly lit by a decaying wooden door at the far end of the way. Light peeked through the rotted planks, and I slowly walked towards it. Outside…
We’d always been taught that the Outside was death. Radiation so intense that we would burn as easily as a candle. Monsters looking to make a meal of anything with four hooves. No water, no food.
Death.
I stood before the decrepit wooden barrier, only seeing the light breaking through. There was no chance for me to survive if I went back. Was there one if I went forward?
I felt the breeze flowing in from Outside. It was soft, and carried no hint of death. It cooled me, slightly. Would it burn as I hit it full force?
I heard the cacophony of sounds that belong to the mouth of a cave: dripping water, moving door, tumbling wind, crooked floor. There were other noises coming from beyond the door. Carried by fast winds, from far away was shouting, gunfire, cries. Was there death beyond this door for me?
Possibly.
But what was behind me?
Silence.
…
I hate the silence.
My hoof pushed open the rickety door, which decided to collapse in on itself in a broken heap, and I cried out as I was blinded by the light surging through.
Well, at least it won’t be quiet.
~-----~
Special stats:
Strength: 3
Perception: 7
Endurance: 4
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 8
Agility: 4
Luck: 8
New Perk!
Sound Tech- Years of working with sound equipment has raised your sensitivities to in-pony levels, even if you can’t remember all of it! Your repair skill gets +15 on every repair attempt, and when your head is uncovered, you get +2 Perception!
