Chapter One: Into the Wasteland

Chapter One: Into the Wasteland

"Let's get searching."

It was the annoying beep from my alarm clock that woke me. I stuck my right foreleg out from under my covers, felt around for my nightstand, found it, and slammed my pipbuck down onto the tabletop until I hit the right button making it stop. I groaned and stretched, earning a series of pops from my back. "Morning sleepyhead." A soft voice said. Looking up, I saw a red unicorn mare with a periwinkle mane and violet eyes peering down at me from the top half of my bunk.

"Hey, sis." I mumbled as I half-crawled, half-tumbled out of bed.

This is my sister Ace, though everypony referred to her as Vet. She's well known for causing trouble every now and then, such as, picking locks, sneaking out of the stable (or at least tried), and most recently drawing a mustache on the Overmare when she was asleep. The only reason the Overmare doesn't get rid of her is because of our father, who was a friend of her family, but that didn't mean she couldn't punish Ace.

"Rough, night?" she asked, giggling as I got up.

"You have no idea," I answered, trotting toward the mirror on the far side of our room.

"I would think so, you worked non-stop on the generators last night." She replied hopping off the top of the bunk.

"Don't remind me." I huffed, looking at myself in the mirror. My mane and tail were VERY messy, but at least they sill had their brown color. My coat was dark blue but, covered with grime. Some of it covered my cutie mark, a screwdriver. Ace trotted over to the mirror giving me full view of her body. Her mane and tail were combed perfectly, her coat didn't have a single speck on it, her cutie mark, a pink heart with a red cross in the center was flawless. It was like a contest to see who's cleaner.

"You look like you could use a shower." she said, looking at my reflection, and trying really hard not to laugh.

"No, shit." I replied.

"Why don't you head on down to the showers, I'll meet you there." she said, her laughter dying down, trotting to the closet to get her uniform.

"Good, idea." I mumbled, leaving the room.

Trotting down to the showers, I passed the library where I saw Sunflower the librarian, who I have to say is one of the hottest mares here, reading a story to a group of foals, waving as I passed by, to which I waved back blushing. Seeing them reminded me of when me and Beth were foals. Open Book, the librarian back then, read storybooks to us about the Princesses and the Element's of Harmony, we used to pretend we were element's, and go on crazy adventures throughout the stable. One time, Beth pretended the Overmare was a "dark lord" and decided to "end her reign of terror", or in other words "drop a bucket of mud of her head." Boy, was she angry, mom grounded Ace for a year! I'm glad I wasn't her.

As I reached the showers, giggling attracted my attention. Looking into one of the stalls, two mares were "playing" in the kind of way that got any stallion aroused. If behavior like that was caught in public, it was punished by non-stop twenty four hour work. Seriously! The worst part is one of my jobs is to stop that kind of behavior. I guess you can say that sucks. Pretty soon they looked up at me with shocked expressions before turning them to seductive ones. Oh boy, I know where this is going.

"Don't mind me ladies, I'm just here to get a shower." I say attempting to get to the next stall.

"I don't know about that," the white mare, Silver, said turning to her partner. "he peeked in at us as we were enjoying ourselves, I think he needs to be punished. What do you think?"

"I agree," the violet mare, Orchid, replied as they slowly trotted towards me, tails swishing from side to side. "besides, he's filthy, he'll need some help cleaning those "tough to reach spots."

Oh, crap! Well, I had to have seen this coming. Most of the mares in the stable had a crush on me, so usually they would try to drag me away to someplace private, asking for some "help". I didn't mind, in fact I liked it, but only with a few mares. Sometimes when I was cornered by the ones I don't prefer, or by one of my favorites who got carried away, Ace would usually come to my rescue, either tossing her homemade smoke bombs, using stun spells, or casting a blinding light spell, I owed her lot. Silver and Orchid were the among the few mares I prefer, but since I was really tired, and Ace would be waiting for me, I decided to decline.

"Sorry ladies," I said as they were circling me, "I'm afraid I don't have time right now."

Their expression turned to disappointment, but then turned  mischievous, apparently they came up with a new way to seduce me.

"Are you sure?" Orchid asked, giving me puppy dog eyes, "Can't you stay for a "little" fun?" trotting past me, brushing her tail under my chin.

They got me! They new I couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes, I guess Beth's gonna have to a few minutes.

"Well, a "little" fun's never hurt anypony now has it?"

Instantly, their frowns turned upside down, grabbing my hooves they began to drag me to their stall. "You're gonna enjoy this, I guarantee it." Silver said, as we reached the stall.

"But first," Orchid said, licking her lips, "let's get you cleaned up."

Goddess, I'm the luckiest stallion alive!

By the time the "fun" was over, and I got cleaned, Ace was waiting outside dressed up in her uniform, she was holding a towel and my uniform. She had and unimpressed look on her face. scratching the back of my neck chuckling I said goodbye to Silver and Orchid, then trotted over to Ace smiling sheepishly. "Hi?"

"Seriously?" she asked, levitating me the towel. "This is the third time this week."

"I know," I replied, drying myself off, "they got me with the puppy dog eyes, it's hard to resist them. Sorry."

Ace rolled her eyes, "You know, sometimes I think you just make up excuses to see mares."

"Why?" I replied, throwing the towel into a nearby washer, putting my uniform on, and slyly grinning, "You jealous?"

Ace stepped back shocked, her cheeks flushed a shade of pink, "No! It's just, you have a bunch of mares chasing after you, and I have nothing! Not since..." she burst into tears.

My grin disappeared, and in one swift motion I wrapped her into an embrace, which she returned crying. This attracted the attention of a couple of workers trotting down the hall, I gave them a death glare and they were gone. I continued to embrace Ace as she cried into my shoulder, dampening it and my uniform, I didn't mind, all I cared about right now was staying with her. You see two years ago, Ace had a colt friend named Steel Girder, he was a engineer, and a good friend of the family, he was like a brother to me. He was good at making jokes, and always had knack for stealing my lunch. One day there was a problem with one of the generators, while repairing it he was electrocuted. Ace wasn't the same for 6 months! It's hard to believe it's still bothering her now.

"Look at me Ace," I said lifting her head up to look at me, "I miss him too, he always was there you when you were feeling lonely, and haven't I done the same ever since his death?" Wiping away her tears, she nodded, "Exactly, so the reason your angry is because I have a lot of mares chasing after, and me it's keeping me from spending time with you. Is that it?" She nodded again, "Okay, if that's the case, then I'll stop hanging out with the mares, and only spend time with you, okay?"

Smiling, she nodded one last, "Okay." She then snuggled into my shoulder, and tightened her embrace, "Thanks big bro, your the best!"

"Anything for you little sis," I reply, returning the embrace, "anything for you." Our embrace continued for a few more minutes before we pulled apart. "So, wanna get some breakfast?"

She beamed at that, "Yes please!"

"Alright, let's get going before they're all out." As soon as my back was turned Ace bolted past down the hall. "Last one their is a rotten egg!" she called back.

"Oh, you!" I shouted back, chasing after her, the both of us laughing the whole way.

It was tie.

We were both pretty exhausted once we made. So we heading straight for the kitchen, grabbing our trays. I got french toast, eggs, and a cartoon of milk. Ace got pancakes, a bowl a fruit, and a juice carton.

"Mech, Vet, over here!" a voice called.

Turning, we both saw a earth pony stallion sitting at a table, waving at us. He had a dark gray coat, brown eyes, his mane was black and was a mohawk with yellow zigzags, his tail was short, black, and had yellow zigzags as well. His cutie mark was a flashlight. It was Shine.

Oh, you're probably wondering why he called us Mech and Vet. The reason for that is because of our jobs. My job is being a Mechanic, hence the name Mech, Ace's job was being a nurse, but that wasn't why she was nicknamed Vet, the reason for that is because she was also a veterinarian due to her love of animals.

We trotted over to the table Shine was at to see 2 unicorns over there as well, one was a mare, she had a brown coat,a red mane and tail,green eyes,her cutie mark was 4 green gems, it was Gem Stone, an expert jewel finder. The other unicorn was a stallion, his coat was white, his eye, mane and tail were bright green, his cutie mark was a green apple, coincidentally his name was Green Apple.

"Hey, guys!" I said as we reached the table.

"Hey, Mech, Vet," Gem Stone greeted.

"Hello," Green Apple said as well.

"How are things with you guys?" Ace, asked.

"I've been stuck, helping out in dark places," Shine replied. "The workers have been having trouble using magic to see in the dark, since it requires a lot of concentration, keeping them from working. So they need me to 'shine' the light for them."

I cracked as smile as Ace, Gem, and Green giggled at the last part.

"Well," Gem Stone said when she stopped giggling. "I've been helping the excavators with digging up some recently discovered amethysts."

"Cool," Ace replied. "Those are the purple ones right?"

"Correct."

The excavation teams job was to dig up as many gems they could to be harvested for power. I know what you're thinking, 'How the heck are crystals used for power sources?'

Well, about 50 years after the war the generators for the stable started malfunctioning, so the engineers needed to come up with a way to make it work, so the scientists while inspecting the blueprints discovered that gems had special abilities depending on the color.

So the brown ones could be used as fuel, funny huh?

"We've also dug up some rubies and emeralds." Gem said.

"The rubies are green, and the emeralds are red right?" Ace asked.

"Complete opposite actually."

I chuckled, "What's the matter Ace? Going colorblind?"

"That's not funny!" Ace cried, as everypony busted out laughing.

When everybody calmed down, Green spoke up.

"I've been busy with the gardens, worms have been eating the apples."

"Eww." Ace commented. I rolled my yes and smirked, Ace was always creeped out by bugs.

"So, Shine, what am I going to be working on today?" I asked, as I began to eat my french toast. Shine's usual job was giving the workers here their jobs, whether fixing a broken pipe, cleaning the air vent, or dusting the ceiling, so I would usually ask him what I would be doing.

"You're not doing anything today, Mech."

I paused mid-bite, "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, neither are you Vet, all it's says it that you both need to check in with Blossom." Shine responded, holding up a clipboard.

"We need to check in with mom?" Mom was in charge of security her at the stable, after dad died she taught me to use a gun. She has always been protective of us, mostly to Ace since she was always getting into trouble. Why would we need to check in with her?

"Does it say why?"

"No, all it just says for you two to check in with her." Shine replied, looking at a clipboard.

This is strange. "Well Ace, lets finish up, and go see her. Hopefully she'll tell us whats happening."

After breakfast we trotted down to mom's office wondering why she would want to see us.

"What do you think she wants?" Ace asked, as we reached her office.

"I don't know, but were about to find out" I replied pushing the door open. Inside was a unicorn mare with a cream colored coat, a brown mane and tail, and green eyes sitting behind a desk, and reading a book. On the desk was a picture of her along with Me, Ace, and a pegasus stallion with a dark blue coat similar to mine, blue eyes, and a black mane and tail. It was dad. She looked up and smiled at us as we came in and sat down.

"You wanted to see us mom?" I asked, looking at her.

"Yes." she replied in a kind and gentle voice, getting up from her desk. "The Overmare has a very important task to be done, and I think you two have the skill to complete it."

"What is it?" Ace asked, curiosity in her voice. She probably thinks it will involve an adventure.

"The Overmare needs something to be delivered,"

"A delivery? Inside of a Stable? Where would we take-"

"outside of the stable."

"Well that's- wait, what?! "

"Awesome!" Ace cried, jumping from her seat, "Finally, I'll be able to see the outside for the first time!"

"Wait a minute!" I cried, causing Ace to look at me in surprise, " Mom, you're not serious are you? Do you have any idea what might be out there?! There could monsters for all we know!"

"Oh, lighten up Gadget!" Ace replied, "You should be excited, were finally gonna see the outside, I can't wait!"

"Mom, you really can't be serious, I mean dad never came back and he-"

At the mention of my mention the atmosphere dropped significantly, with none of saying a word. Ace looked like she was on the verge of tears while mom just stared at her desk with a blank expression, never looking up. After what felt like hours, she looked up.

"I am aware of the dangers outside of the stable, but you two are perfect for this job. Ace, you have the medical skills of an expert, and you can talk to animals, which will be a great advantage. Gadget, you know enough survival skill to survive 3 months outside, and don't forget you're a mechanic, which means you can fix or make anything that will help out with this delivery."

Well, she does have a point, but we still need to know what were delivering, who knows, maybe somepony or something with try to get it. But if the Overmare chose us for the job, we may as well do it.

"Alright, but still, what is is that has to be deliver?"

'I'm glad you asked!" She replied using her magic to levitate a key, unlocking one of the drawers to her desk, and taking an envelope out. "This is it," she replied putting it into a saddlebag, and levitating it over to use, "take good care of it."

That's it! An envelope! This will be easy.

"So," mom said, drawing my attention, "will you accept the job.?"

I pondered about it, we don't know what's out there, somepony could try to take it, but then again it just an envelope. "Yes."

"Alright!" Ace shouted, jumping into the air, falling onto the desk, knocking everything on it off, and causing all 3 of us to laugh.

We stood there, in front the stable door, waiting for it to open. We were given saddlebags full of supples for the trip. Mom was with us waiting for the Overmare to give us directions.

"I am freaking out!" Ace cried, shaking with excitement.

"Calm down, it's only a delivery." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I know, but still!" Just then, the Overmare, a mare with a pink coat, blue eyes, a purple mane and tail, and a gold key for a cutie mark came in, glaring at Beth, which she returned, and I think you know why.

"I believe, you two know what your task is?"

"Yes ma'am." we replied, though Ace tried her hardest not to.

"Good, you must find a town known as New Appleloosa, give the envelope to a unicorn stallion doctor named Stethoscope, then return to the Stable. The coordinates are in your pipbucks. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am." We replied.

"Very good, Lookout, open the gate!"

Lookout, a brown earth pony stallion with a blonde mane, and a telescope for a cutie mark replied "Yes ma'am!", and typed in the code.

Immediately the gate open up to reveal a tunnel that looked like it was underground, leading to the surface.

I looked towards Ace, "You ready?"

She looked at me with a smile, "I was born ready."

"Good luck." Mom said.

With that, I took one last look at my home, and at Mom who smiled and waved,  with us waving back, and trotted into tunnel with Ace beside me, the gate closing behind us.