Fallout Stalliongrad

(There are often secrets of the past that should always remain hidden)

Almost a full week had passed since I proposed to Short Fuse and life continued as it always had; I continued my job, along with going out on patrols with the salvage team and was quickly becoming really good at finding useful stuff. One day we found out about an old pre-war military office building and were going to check it out the next day. Knowing that there was little to no risk in being on the team I invited Short Fuse along on this operation; the *squee* was her way of saying yes of course. Knowing her gift was taking old world tech and making it work I knew this would be right up her alley, she had always wanted to go out with the team; but had also been frightened at the possibility of getting hurt or captured, needless to say I had been too, but the recon team had said the area surrounding the place was clear say for a few ghouls that were dispatched. Just as a precaution they would go with us anyway, that way if there was any trouble it would be dealt with as we scavenged.

"Wow, the city sure does seem to get worse the farther in you go.” Short Fuse said; talking to Tinker as they walked through the littered streets. "Yeah, we are too busy dealing with those raiders and other pests to focus on what we want to do." "Oh, and what is that; if I may ask?" "When we first got here we had a construction team, but as they went to work one day there was a loud explosion outside our base. The sky wagon they always took into the city had been rigged to explode via pressure plate, the poor bastards didn't survive. Not two days later did a raider show up with a note from Cold Blood, the leader of the Coltchevics. The letter claimed that he had taken control of the city, and in not so many words declared war on us. From then on any time we try to fix the city the project is sabotaged, so we just gave up. Now the only time we deal with trying to fix anything is the tavern; we give the locals a numbing agent, booze."

"I guess it could be worse, I mean they hardly ever attack the scavenging teams and if they do it isn't the heavy duty ponies; no it's usually one or two ponies with maybe a pistol....if they are lucky that is. The real fights are between Shadow Squad and Cold Blood`s elite troops; though few and far between, they can get pretty intense.” Fuse saw my eyebrow raise at that and told me that if I ever wanted to experience anything that intense all I had to do was ask, there was a wink that went along with that as I stumbled over a rock. “Oh I am so asking when we get back!" I thought to myself; "wait....why..did.she wink at Tinker and me at.........OH NOW I'M REALLY ASKING WHEN WE GET BACK!" It wasn't like we hadn't done it with others already, but still she was getting spanked for messing with my already fragile mind.

...

It took a good couple hours of the two mares chatting and my face getting more and more flush before we finally stood outside (Stalliongrad Navel Defense, Records Offices) and quickly let ourselves in. Two hundred years had really taken its toll on the place, as there was an old terminal sitting atop what we assumed used to be a receptionist's desk; to our shock the damn thing still worked. Normally we would leave terminals alone due to no pony on the team having sufficient skills to break the often encrypted codes, but Short Fuse had already hooked her Pipbuck into the machine and soon *squeed* in delight signaling that she was in; good thing too because she was able to shut down not all but quite a bit of the security measures; we all made a mental note to take her with us from then on.

"So Fuse, anything useful on there?” I asked trying to look at the screen.

"Hmm, there.. is an audio file.....annnd got it. Do you all want to hear it?” She asked preparing to play it without the ear-bud.

"Why not, could point us to something valuable.” Tinker said looking to the rest of the team. We all agreed and Short Fuse played the message that would soon lead us both on a journey not just across Rusha, but far, far beyond.

(If you are listening to this then it means it has come to the un-thinkable; it means the world is dead and we are to blame, this fucking war...it's taken everything we used to love and cherish and executed it in cold fucking blood. Fuck the zebras, fuck both Luna and Celestia as well; didn't they realize that war goes global....FUCK NO THEY DIDN'T! Now we suffer relentless zebra infiltration tactics in our own streets. I hope they all die a fiery death; they fucking deserve it, NOT US! There is hope however; something with a code name.....Iron fish I believe. Please, if you can find out anything on it; it ma........ What are you doing! TRAITOR... STOP IMMEDIATELY... PLEASE.....IRON FISH, IRON........ *BLAM!*......THUD)

Looking to the rest of the team I could see hints of rage, hate, and remorse at what we had just heard.

"Fuse is there anything else on there?” Her hooves and magic worked frantically at the keyboard when there was a beep from her pipbuck.

Looking down to it she turned as white as a ghost. "I...I dont know why, but my pipbuck is picking up a broadcast; normally this wouldn't be odd...but this....is coming from the middle of the Sea of Japon, rather being relayed from there to.......Vladihaystock...wait that can't be right... it says the transmission is over two hundred years old; the fuck? It seems to be on a loop..here Ill play it...give me a second ann.......WHAT?! Signal protected under Code name Iron fish, last mission total catastrophic failure; unable to intercept zebra vessel inbound with payload of....OH FUCK ME! The damn zebras were en-route to Japon and this Iron fish...whatever it was, failed at sinking the vessel. That must be why these aerial photos show a before and after....THEY DETONATED A FUCKING MEGA-SPELL IN THE HARBOR! That was just a ploy; the real threat was in Oponawa, one of the busiest and populated cities....they..they killed millions. There is still more though, it seems this Iron fish managed to make it home after its final mission; and that is where things get strange, something about an unknown flag and a number ninety one keep coming up, odd after the crew returned home no pony ever saw them again."

Looking again to the crew I saw...fear this time; fear of what, I had no clue at the time. Most of the team actually left the building saying they needed fresh air; leaving Tinker, Short Fuse and I to further investigate this strange mystery. Making our way to an adjacent office we found that all the terminals had their screens shot out, decades ago considering the now still dust covering the shells used in what we could only assume was a battle with in the building. Making our way to the security office things began to feel unnerving; for instance the lighting had all been shot out, and as I passed a utility closet I caught sight of the word (TRAITOR) in crimson paint, at least I hoped it was paint. When we made it to the security office it only got worse, sitting on a desk was a skull with a bullet hole in the back of it, deciding to be brave I inched closer to get a better look. The skull was face down in an old bowl as if he/she were in the middle of eating when they had been shot. The corpse was slumped on the floor in a near mummified state; reaching out to move it I accidentally nudged it too hard and it rolled over revealing the word (traitor) carved into the cutiemark. Too frightened to move I knocked over a glass of liquid and it shattered spilling two eyes with a note wrapped in plastic; the note read as follows.

(Dear Twelvegauge, I know you are head of security here and have been for many years; that does not however condone your activities with the zebras. I cannot and will not allow this to continue! Have you any clue how treacherous those striped bastards are? They killed innocent foals in Equestria! INNOCENT FUCKING FOALS! I will not stand for this and that is why your eyes have been placed with this note. SO YOU MAY FOREVER SEE!)

This only piqued my curiosity more; what had really been going on for this pony to die so...horribly? Sure it could have been what it seemed, but something felt....off. Everything seemed..staged; from the recording on the terminal to the corpse laying in front of me. It was like there was more than met the eye, I couldn't quite put my hoof on it until a voice came from the terminal.

"Well shit, now that Twelvegauge is dead what do we do now Gold? I mean with the only one who knew about Silver`s dealings with the zebras dead it is now our word vs. his. The secret police are on their way and the zebras refuse to leave until they are paid by Silver who has apparently fled the country. If we try to escape they will kill us like they did that poor bastard in the reception area; of course you could say he deserved what he got; trying to leave incriminating evidence behind he is no better than Silver Scroll. Of course we won't be treated any better by either side; as far as...Wait was that a gunshot? Looks like the police are shooting it out with the striped bastards....No that can..the fuck? Holy hell I think we are under attack, Golden Wing where do you think you ar.....NO!...GOLDEN.....fuck...why did you have to try and run. Well at least I have my side ar........AHHA!.....damn it....load you stupid piece of shit...FUCKING LOAD! No please...I..I.have a filly and a........*BLAM! P...please If yo..you hear this...te.ll my daughter I l...I..so cold....Hey look what I found! Another traitor....well bitch any last words? Help......me..dying...need to..pick up...my *BLAM!* Guess not, tell the team the zebras can have the place now; fuck Silver didn't pay us enough!)

Short Fuse looked like she was about to cry and Tinker didn't look any better; I however was enraged at what had happened in this place. It all made since now, the fake raid was meant to act as a staged act; one that a paper on the wall announced as (Greatest fear comes true with several zebras killed in what could have been the worst leak of vital information. The leader of the raid, agent Gold wing credited with zebra killings.)

"So Gold Wing had not been killed as that poor mare thought; he must have been a planted agent. But why kill her then; and in cold blood? This makes no sense Fuse, is there something we are missing? I know we are supposed to be scavenging but something is not right about this place. I am going to investigate more okay? Are you two coming with me?"

"Pin I think we are getting ourselves into something that should be left alone; I'm afraid of what we may be getting into. The rest of the team has left the building as has Tinker. You call me your reasonable side don`t you? Well I say we go; now!"

"I do Fuse, but I feel like I need to solve this; things don't add up and you know it. Look well go to this Silver Scrolls office if we find nothing then we`ll meet back up with the team okay?"

"Fine but don't expect anything from me tonight!"

...

Leaving the main floor we found ourselves on what was called the executives level. There was a big sign that stated CO`S Office straight ahead so we followed the arrow and came to what used to be a very fancy office, with a panoramic window long blown out. The prize was sitting on a wooden desk, weathered from two hundred years of no care. Short Fuse set to work on the terminal as I explored the office. About twenty minutes later I heard her say she had gotten in, and I got my first look at information that could have changed the war.

(Dear Kaiser; I wish to inform you that Iron fish will fail its mission; the order is already en-route to Vladihaystock and will be carried out by the captain, trust me. In other news, my dealings with your operatives is..how should I put this? Under suspicion by my head of security; sad considering we are best friends. I have already set a plan in motion though; it seems one of the new mares has taken a liking to Golden Wing, the head of my elite section of the special police. Sad really, if she only knew about my plans I may have recruited her; but instead I posted them together for my little surprise. The secret police have no choice but to go with my plans, the money they think they will get is incentive enough. Will report back in soon; just have to tie up a loose end. Until I report back in. HAIL KAISER! MAY THE WORLD ONE DAY BE OURS! Your faithful follower, Silver Scroll.)

After reading that; I could see that even Short Fuse wanted more information; and it was found in a safe under the desk. Leaving the lock picking to her I tried to look for anything else on the terminal, but all other files were very badly corrupted. The only other bit of information was yet another article in a news paper, which just showed who I could only guess was Gold Wing and Silver Scroll shaking hooves as the dead zebras were taken away. Now I was very curious; had Silver Scroll been playing the zebras for fools? If so what about the terminal entry? This whole thing seemed too well executed to just be some Intel hack job. Had the zebras he had been meeting with found out that he had planned to skip the country? If that was the case then the message on the terminal easily could have been a forged letter implicating him in what had transpired; however it could have been him playing the leader of the zebras, making him think that he was in fact a traitor to his country. If that were the case then the raid really was planned to catch them in the act of accepting money from Silver, thus giving the impression that the records held in this building were being sold off to the highest bidder. My head started to hurt from all the thinking when Fuse announced that she had opened the safe. What we found would put my suspicions on overdrive.

Taking each item out of the safe we set aside useless things for later. The thing that surprised me was a zebra made short stock twenty gauge shotgun. It was very pristine and was wrapped in what looked like a cloak; wrapped with the shotgun was a picture of not only Silver scroll, but a whole squad of zebras. A short message was scribbled across the back that made my blood run cold.

(This is a small token of gratitude from me for that help in my homeland. May many more of your country folk feel its wrath. LONG LIVE THE KAISER, AND THE ZEBRA NATION MY BROTHER.)

I wanted to buck something so bad it hurt; so the terminal flew across the room. There were also other items as well; including old zebra money, plenty of ammo for the shotgun, some old book called Zebra Infiltration Tactics, and last but not least a map of Rusha with small x`s placed in numerous locations. Now I am not a very smart pony, but for some reason my mind was making sense of all of this; however the thought that came to the front of my mind was what could possess a pony who seemed to have it all just turn his back on it and join the enemy? There clearly were intentions to this madness, but what were they? Had the ponies in power done something to drive these seditious acts; because if they had I kind of agreed with him. If it wasn't that however it may have been the allure of money he was getting by doing so. All I knew was that some pony two hundred years ago had royally fucked his country.

After we had collected everything I told Short Fuse to get the rest of the team; we still had a job to do of course. I also told her to have them take everything of possible worth as well. Sure a few of these ponies at the place were innocent, but to me nothing was sacred in this place and if it could bring in the caps it would be taken.

...

"Damn, you ponies sure took your sweet time at that place. We were about to send out a search team; so what did you come back with Tinker"

"Why dont you take a look sir? Firing Pin bring the wagon around to the back, well unload it there!"

...

I was still curious about everything that we had discovered but no pony seemed to want to talk about it; no pony except Short Fuse that was. She for her part just sat in our apartment for a day and went over all we had come across trying to make sense of it all.

...

"Captain will you come in here please"

"Y..yes sir, you wanted to see me"

"Storm how many times do I have to tell you to not call me sir? We are family are we not? Besides it is after duty hours; anyways Cold Storm I have been getting reports of some pony sticking his muzzle where it doesn't belong and finding things out about our country that should have been erased but weren't. Now I know The Enclave has nothing to do with the hellhole that is the surface; but if this pony is able to continue his...prodding then he will soon uncover truths about other things as well, do you catch my drift? I can not allow this to happen! I want you and a small team to shadow this pony and report all you find to me and me alone, do you understand?"

The young Pegasus Captain saluted before trotting out of her father's office. She was on her way to the chow-hall before being called into her father`s office. Trotting down the hall she felt her stomach groan and picked up her pace.

Captain Cold Storm had just recently been promoted and this was her first mission. "Great; I fucking make it to Captain and my first assignment is on the surface; real fair dad!"

Making her way finally to the large and crowded chow-hall she stood in line with the others; thinking back as far as she could remember she suddenly had an epiphany, she hated the Enclave. She had seen what it had done to her brother when she went to his funeral; her sister was already a Major and in charge of her own squad, but Cold Storm was looked upon by both her father and sister with resentment. When she was born her mother had complications and died; both her sister and father never got over it and looked upon her as a cause to their pain, in fact her brother was really the only one who loved her. When he was killed however so too was any form of love for her. She quickly set a plan together; yes she was going to the surface alright, but something about what her father had said nagged at the back of her mind. Instead of spying on this pony; she wanted to help him.

Unknown to any of us, the choices we would make would lead us to the greatest discovery and losses since the war that created the very wastes we were now living in. Now if I was a smart pony I would have simply ditched the thoughts that now ran through my head, but sadly alas I'm not. Thus changing the wasteland either for good or bad; depending on who you happened to be.