Prologue(REVISED)
Prologue: A New Hope
The Wasteland is full of surprises. Many of them are unpleasant. A small number of them are pleasant, like finding a near-perfectly preserved gem of a sports car amidst the rotting remains of a former house. I am full of surprises. My name is Blaze, I'm a twenty three year old earth pony, a big gamer, and an automotive aficionado. I'm known throughout Stable 33 as the "resident racer", no coincidence since the majority of the games I play are racing games. And at least half of them are about street racing.
As for the car I found, it was a late model (redesigned) Mazda RX-8,painted dark blue, and a complete blast to drive. Stable Thirty Three, on the surface, was just another Stable, nothing really stood out. Delving deeper, though, revealed that it was intended for Equestria's greatest mechanics, able to get even the worst junkyard find running again, and making fiction and dreams become reality. It even had a couple of racetrack, though I occasionally wished the asphalt
track had a few hills or corners with changing elevation so I could really put the Maza through its paces.
It was only a matter of time before my knowledge, skills, and juvenile streak attracted some attention, and by the time I earned my cutie mark, I already had a small group of friends that, over time, became like family to me. A good thing, because I went through some sharp mood changes while I was a teenager. Of course, who didn't? Anyway, Stable life was good, but not great. It became repetitive at times, and you would sometimes want to leave, but you would then remember that you would likely die within five minutes outside.
The Overmare was also not what you would expect, in that she frequently socialized with residents like she herself was one. My guess was to escape the dull, repetitive life cycle in the Stable. It sometimes made you want to shoot yourself. As for my friends/second family, we often shared any less than pleasant feelings we were experiencing, and helped each other through the tough times. We joked, talked, and played games together; you know, typical friend stuff.
Of the group, including me, there was also Sparks(earth pony), Jesse(unicorn), and Raul(unicorn). The four of us spent the majority of our time working on our own cars, or working on anything interesting we found while scavenging outside, such as the "General Z", a ratty, old orange 1978 Datsun 280Z that we had turned into a dirt racer.
I was on break, enjoying something that Jesse had picked up from the cafeteria. I didn't say it, but over the years, Jess had become like a sister to me. Maybe that was because I was an only child, as was she. Jess was purple, with a blonde mane and pink eyes. Her cutie mark was a steering wheel. I was orange, with a red mane and yellow eyes. My cutie mark was a flaming tachometer. Sparks was yellow, with a black mane and orange eyes. Raul was green, with a blue mane and purple eyes.
Ivory, named so for her pelt color, was helping us change the General's spark plugs, and had a brown mane and eyes. "Free Wheel Burning" by Judas Priest was playing on the radio we kept inside of the garage.
"So, have you fellows finished building the new engine for your Ford?" Ivory asked. The ford we owned was a 2012 F150 SVT Raptor, and we were in the process of building a Mustang 5-liter V8 to replace the thirsty 6.2L, with only a small drop in output. We wanted to maximize the time we could drive it between fill ups.
"Almost." Sparks said. "We just need to finish the heads and bolt it to the transmission." The transmission was the same stock six speed automatic, but modified for quicker shifts. The lighter materials it was made of also helped shed some precious pounds from the ~6,200 pound pickup. With its speed and handling that betrayed the roughly three ton curb weight and the fact that it was more than seven inches wider than a standard F150, so wide it likely wouldn't be able to fit through a car wash. It was painted black, to help make it less noticeable to any unsavory types.
"How long do you think it will take?"
"At our current point, just a few hours at most." Raul said. Ivory herself was a bit of a gearhead, she often consulted us for dealing with problems that came up in 33's ragtag group of vehicles that traveled outside.
"I just remembered, Jesse, Blaze, I need to see you two in my office in an hour. It's private business."
"Check." I said, before resuming one of my favorite pastimes, watching Futurama on my iPhone. Fifty five minutes later, we headed up to Ivory's office.
"Why do you think she wants to tak to us?" Jesse said curiously.
"It's probably some difficult scavenging mission." I suggested. "That's going off of past experiences." She had assigned a difficult mission or two in the past. And it could be anything.
"I'm glad you two have come." Ivory said. "I asked you two up here because this is some very important business."
"Is it another scavenging mission?" I asked.
"No." She said with a sad tone. "Jesse, Blaze...it pains me to say this...but...I'm afraid you two have to leave Stable 33." Silence filled the air for at least five minutes afterward, before I finally spoke:
"Why?"
"Because we're all in danger." She said. "We have been running low on supplies for the past three months, and at the current rate, we'll all begin to die in another three months. Since you two have the most survival experience out of all of us, and I need to stay here, you two must leave and establish contact with a town outside of here. We have many things that can be of benefit to Wasteland residents, and they have things we need, so you two can set up a trade system."
"So, we're the last hope of Stable 33?" I asked.
"Essentially, yes. I was worried about the entire population going insane, but while reviewing target practice performances, I saw a new hope, and that is you two. You are the only ones that can save us." Jesse was to stunned to speak.
"So...do you have any gear that we can use?" I asked.
"I'm glad you asked." She said, entering a password in the terminal that resided in a corner of her office. The nearby wall retracted, revealing a yellow, low slung Ford Mustang. "I've taken the liberty of preparing this for you to explore the Wasteland with. Inside, you'll find a pair of 9mm pistols and SMGs." The Mustang itself looked fierce, it had an armored sloped nose that made the whole thing appear more aerodynamic. Large exhaust pipes exited just in front of the rear wheels, though it still retained the standard rear exits. The hood held a large scoop, a pair of black stripes ran from bumper to bumper, and the windows themselves had armor plating. Just in front of each mirror was a custom six barrel machine gun, and it sported large wheels that showed equally large brakes. "This car can achieve ninety miles an hour, one hundred and thirty five with boost. I've loaded it with a total of thirty missiles of three variations and energy attacks. Your unique forms of offense are a chain gun and missile gun." Ivory said all of this with a hint of pride in her voice.
"That's a lot to take in." Jesse finally spoke. Ivory sighed.
"It is, but you need to be as prepared as possible. I'm relying on you two to inform your friends." She sounded sad again, and handed us a piece of paper with a code written on it. "Here is the code to open the Stable door. Good luck."
Naturally, Raul and Sparks were a bit taken by the news. They were sad, but thankfully accepted it. And that was how we were introduced to the Wasteland.
NEW SIDEARMS UNLOCKED!
Mounted Guns: Has unlimited ammo and a decent rate of fire. Weak, but useful in just about any situation.
Sub Machine Gun: Has a higher rate of fire than the mounted guns, but shoots in limited bursts, followed by a short pause between rounds. All sidearms reload automatically.
NEW VEHICLE UNLOCKED!
Death Warrant, 2007 Shelby GT500
Class: Lightweight
Notes: Tied with Reaper for fastest special regeneration, tied with Reaper, Roadkill, & Talon for third highest top speed, tied with Reaper and Roadkill for third highest boost speed.
Speed: 3/5(90/135 mph), Armor: 3/5(180 points), Specials: 2/5, Overall: 8/15
Minigun: Unleashes a rapid series of mildly homing bullets on your target; not very powerful against vehicles, but is devastating when equipped with MG rounds, and it can rear fire; Great for finishing a foe on the brink.
Zoomy Rockets: Together with the primary special, is twice as powerful than the Minigun on its own. It only fires forward, but can be used to wear down a strong opponent.
New perk obtained: Quick Learner: All XP gained is increased by 10%.
