“Who am I?” I asked the darkness, occasionally broken by a flash of red light. I was... I was a pony, I knew that... A unicorn. Mare. Definitely a mare. Did I have a name? If so, what was it?
“Where am I?” Well, I recognized that I was in a tight space (me and tight spaces don't get along), and I knew the feel of steel against my hide, but above and around me was darkness, blocking any sort of visual input my brain could have used to my advantage. I felt... alone.
Speaking of things that I felt...
“What the fuck is stuck in my--” I began, but it wasn't just in that protected place down there, it was everywhere. Wires and tubes ran all across me, slithering like snakes into every hole in my body. Even, to my horror, under my eyes and into my eye sockets. I could feel... things moving through the tubes and into me, making a faint slurping sound.
I was not okay. I knew that right away, as my body was screaming in horror at what was happening, but my mind had yet to catch up. I was slowly coming across thoughts as if my brain was a boat in the middle of a lake of molasses, the rower desperately paddling towards the shores of sanity, as if escaping from an evil that lay just beyond sight.
A moment of panic struck me as I felt something wet crawling across my forehead, terrified that of all things I would be stuck in here with an insect. However, the falsely accused bead of sweat made it's sweet time down my muzzle. It reminded me of something. How damn stuffy and hot it was in... here.
I lifted up my fore-hooves, shocked at how weak they felt, as if something had found it amusing to replace my skeleton with gelatin. I tried to push above me at the smooth surface I recognized as glass, but either it was sealed or I was too weak, for it would not open. I let my sore legs flop to my side in defeat.
I wasn't afraid to die. At that point, I wasn't sure if the concept of death even meant anything to me, the thought of suffocating alone in a steel coffin didn't scare me, for at that point I had yet anything to live for. My mind felt like it had a fuzzy blanket over it, so comfortable that I no longer wanted to get out of bed.
If you die, you're not the only pony who loses. A voice whispered to me. I was startled for a moment, before I realized the cool feminine voice was in my head without bothering with the trouble of passing through my ears. Was that my sub-conscious?
Thinking about what it (or I) had implied, it occurred to me: Was somepony counting on me? A sense of duty struck me, the feeling odd but nonetheless powerful, as I focused my magic on what I assumed was the glass frame over me, trying to lift it open. Stubbornly, it still stayed stoically shut, but my failed effort seemed to have triggered something.
“Error.” A loud voice sounded around me, causing me to flinch instinctively. “Transfer system failed, checking database for solution. Power supply offline, tapping into back-up power. Back-up power supply offline. Please contact administrator.”
With the hiss of machinery at work, the glass above me lifted itself away, allowing cool, fresh, and slightly stale air to fill the pod. I gratefully let it fill me, never feeling more respectful of cool oxygen. My gratitude towards the machine was short lived, however, as the wires and tubes pulled themselves free from my body, the eye ones being particularly uncomfortable in doing so.
It took me a few moments of calm breathing before I finally worked up remotely enough energy to sit up in the pod. The room I was in was huge, I could tell from just how far the edges of the red light reached, and I thought I could see large machinery all around me. The red light itself was coming from a monitor a metre away from my bed, displaying in large red letters 'MALFUNCTION'.
Curiosity started to build in me, but some unknown force pushed it back down, replacing it with something in the corner of my vision trying to catch my eye. It was another pod, this one still sealed. And this one still had a pony in it. I trotted over, finding it containing another mare, this one more elderly, with a sagging tan coat and wings.
She wasn't breathing. I felt a wave of sadness flow over me, but I couldn't put my hoof on why. I would have said I was just feeling bad for the mare, but this was somehow... personal. Taking a few steps back, I once again took a look at the room around me, and spotted a rectangular outline of light not too far away.
Trotting up to the large metal door, I put my hoof against it's cold surface. I couldn't make it out in the darkness, but I could feel bolts and lines running up along the door, but alas no handle.
So, I knocked.
Nothing what-so-ever happened. Figures.
Try your magic. My conscious pointed out, in a disturbingly calm voice. Magic. Right, I was a Unicorn, of course I had magic! I had been in so much of a daze when stuck in the pod I had not even recognized what I was doing. Slowly, a small bit of knowledge trickled back to me. Each Unicorn had their own specialization of magic, but all of them were capable of levitation.
I lowered my head, focusing on the door. A black glow enveloped my horn, causing me pause as that struck me as odd. I wasn't sure why, but it just looked wrong. Trying to snap my focus back into shape, I shook my head and pointed it towards the door, trying to command my horn to magically lift it.
The door, it figured, was much to heavy, so much so that I felt a both mental and physical strain in trying to lift it. Panting heavily, I let the magic go and raised a hoof to my throbbing head, as if that would help with the slight headache the effort had given me.
Well, not all hope was lost, right? Each Unicorn had their own specialization of magic, maybe mine was... unlocking doors? As stupid as it sounded, I had hope beyond hope that it would be the case. Could I even do my magic when I didn't know what it was?
I had to try. Lowering my horn again, I focused first on the door, but when that failed to do anything, I started pushing power to build up in my horn, the glow around it growing larger and larger. My whole body was shaking with the effort, and pointing my horn towards the door, something in my mind urged to let it go. I did exactly that.
ZZZAAAPPP!
A thick bolt of black lightning shot out of my horn with such force that it blasted me off of my feet, colliding into the door with so much force that it dented it. For a few seconds, lingering black sparks sprouted along the door, then the door slid up into the ceiling.
I didn't fare nearly as badly as the door, but it was a close run as I tumbled and flew through the air, smacking into the sealed pod. A gasp of pain left my lips as I slipped to the floor, my vision blurring as I stared at the opening I had made. My horn throbbed, not painfully, but as if to remind me that committing such magical power wasn't without it's cost. Pulling myself to my feet, I was grateful I hadn't broken any ribs.
I slipped through the doorway quickly in case it decided to close itself again, which was a good choice as it closed behind me a few steps into this new hallway I had encountered. Low hanging light-fixtures swung from the ceiling, basking the long hallway with an eerie low lighting. It was certainly better then just flashes of red.
Grotesque images littered along the wall in what I could only understand to be some kind of mural. The one nearest to me depicted a stallion and a colt, presumably his son, playing in the sun. The one next to it depicted the colt tripping, twisting his leg as his father watched. Expecting the father to come to the aid of his wounded son, I was instead sickened by the following image of the father instead yelling at his son, the expression on his face criticizing!
Feeling discontent, I started walking slowly to the other end of the hall, not sure what else to do with myself. The images just got more and more horrid, the colt being left alone, and ravaged by timber wolves. The father getting yelled at by his wife, who was also crying. The father picking up a cleaver and chopping up the poor mare. The father running down the street from authorities...
I closed my eyes. What kind of horrible pony came up with these images? I kept my head down the rest of the way down the hall, but found myself sneaking a glance up every once in a while. The father starving to death. The father cornering a mare in an alley and murdering her. Brutality. Rape. And most horrifying of all, cannibalism...
Unable to take it, I shut my eyes tight and collapsed to the floor, tears squeezing their way through my clenched eyes. The voice told me to keep going, but I ignored it. Thoughts slowly began to trickle into my mind again.
Where was I? Why was I in this horrible place? Why was I in that pod? What 'transfer process' was the automated voice talking about? Who had that pegasus been? Why couldn't I remember anything!
I didn't even know my name.
With that, the dam broke and everything came crashing down at once, loud sobs escaping from me as tears poured freely down my face. At that moment I really, really tried to break down the wall separating me from my memories, but at the time it had proven just as useless as my attempts to open the door with levitation. I wanted to remember, the fact that I could remember farther back than a few hours was tearing me apart.
“Oh, they're not THAT bad,” A mechanical voice chimed above me, “I mean, sure, they're pretty gross, but most people just vomit rather then breaking down to tears.”
“Th-that's not what I'm crying about...” I said, too absorbed by my depression to question the presence of the voice.
“Then what, may I pry?” It asked, in a tone that I could have swore was genuine concern.
“Everything. I- I don't know where I am, who I am,” I looked up to the ceiling above, spotting the speaker fixed into the ceiling above my head, “And... And...” It hit me, stronger then it had before, still confusing me as to why it bothered me so much. “... I'm so alone.”
There was a long pause, and for a moment I thought the voice had been embarrassed to be around such a cry-filly of a pony, but it chimed back in.
“You're not alone.” It said, quietly. I sniffed, wiping away the tears with my leg. “You... may not remember, but nopony goes their whole lives without friends. Even if you can't remember them, even if they aren't with you right now, even... even if their dead, they will always be with you, whether or not you remember them.”
Something... Something in that voice told me that while directed at me, the speaker had first hand experience in it. I took a deep breath, fixing the speaker with a stare. “Th-Thank you.” I managed, gulping down the last of the regret that still left it's sour taste in my mouth. “Who... Who are you?”
“Oh me?” The voice asked, tone immediately going from somber to one of good cheer, “You can call me Moss Stone!” I blinked. Thinking about this for a moment, “It's not a very good name, I know, but it's certainly mine!”
“So... Where are you?” I said, looking around the hall, averting my eyes from the horrid images.
“Erm. That's a complicated question. I'm in the main security station for this building.” He said, shiftily. Didn't sound very complicated to me!
“Well, come out so I can see you!” I told him, impatiently. That little speech certainly made me feel better, but seeing another living pony would sweeten the deal.
“Uhm. Ah. Hmm.” He said, as if testing the words for contamination, “I... No, no thank you. I'd rather not.”
I blinked. Why not? I spotted something I had missed on my first view of the hall – A side-door with the words Authorized Ponies Only. That seemed like a start. I trotted over to the door and pulled it open, revealing a slightly darker, rusted hallway, but thankfully missing all of the horrifying imagery.
“Where are you going? Hey, don't go in there, read the sign!” Moss Stone said, angrily, “You're not authorized!” I ignored him, trotting down the hall towards the lone door at the end, with the bold words 'Security' on it. I could hear the buzz of computers behind the door.
“Hey! Stop--”
I pushed open the door, revealing a small computer room with only three things in it. A desk, a monitor, and a small box in the corner.
“--... that.” He finished, near silently.
“Where are you?” I asked, confused. He had said he was in here. I looked at the monitor.
Mass Overseer Security System
Standard Training for Operation New Equestria
M.O.S.S
S.T.O.N.E
* * *
“So, yeah,” Moss Stone said evenly as I fell onto my haunches, “I'm a computer program.”
I was in shock but I wasn't entirely sure why. 'This voice was just a program, big deal!' Is what I wanted to say to myself, but I just didn't believe it. “Since when do computer programs have a personality?” I asked.
“Eh, don't ask me. I've only had about a half-an-hour to figure it out myself. From what I can gather from the files left here that aren't corrupted, something shut down the entire facility. Turning off the power systems that control all the equipment, doors, and lights. Including the pods you and that other mare were in.”
“Then, you know something about all this!” I cried, hopefully. Something, anything to work of of, was all I wanted.
“Sorry Kid,” Moss Stone said, sadly, “My memory is blank too, I woke up at the same time as you. I just have the processing equipment to figure everything out faster then a organic mind.”
My hopes sank, but something he said before caught my attention, “You just said the lights shouldn't be working, but they are!”
“When the facility stopped powering this terminal, a back-up internal power supply turned on, with enough power to turn on a couple of lights.” He said, “I thought I'd help you find your way out.”
“But...” I countered, the slow locomotion train of my mind speeding up, “That means... your power source is running out! What will happen when you run out!?”
“I'll die.” He said, calm as somepony else would have said; 'That wall is blue'. “I've only been alive as long as you've been awake, it's no big lose.” But it was to me. The first contact I'd had with someone other than my own mind, and I wasn't going to lose that!
“There's got to be someway, you can't just sit there until your power runs out!”
“I kind of have to. I can't move.” He pointed out, dully. “Look. I appreciate the offer, but there's really nothing you can--” He paused, quiet for a few moments, causing me to panic and think the power had already run out. But the lights were still on.
“Moss?” I asked, tentatively.
“That box in the corner, what's in it?” He asked, and arrow appearing on the screen in the direction of the box. I trotted over to it, lifting the lid. Inside was a cylinder. Thick and metal, with a LED screen. Along the sides of it were dials and buttons, one of which indicated, 'User Radiation Levels'. I levitated it up, and returned to the monitor, holding it out.
“That's... That's a PipBuck!” Moss exclaimed excitedly, “You can transfer all my AI systems into that!” I looked at it, seemed easy enough to carry, albeit being a tad heavy. But when he spoke again, Moss Stone's tone has once again sunk, “But... I don't know how to do it. Only a expert would be able to...”
Something snapped in me. To this day I'm still not sure what it was. It might have been the defeat in his voice, maybe it was my own determination, or maybe it was the refusal to lose the only friend I had.
I slammed the PipBuck onto the table, pulling a extension wire cleverly hidden in the frame and plugging it into the side of the monitor. I heard Moss Stone say something, but I was too focused on what I was doing to hear him. The Monitor flashed computer jargon at me, and while I had no idea what I was looking at, I somehow knew exactly which paths to follow and which keys to hit. After a few minutes, the message of 'Downloading' came across the terminal with a little progress bar.
“Thank you,” Moss Stone's voice rang out from the PipBuck as the download completed, “I owe you so much.”
“I'm just doing what's right.” I found myself saying, to even my own surprise. I slid my hoof through the inside of the PipBuck, pressing a few buttons until the inside tightened around my foreleg, holding it in place.
“Ooooh!” Moss Stone's voice rang out, “This is one special model! Hand crafted, by the feel of it.” I couldn't help but smirk at the pleasure in his voice. “Holy crap, an Eye-Seven processor, I didn't even know they went that high!”
I looked at the screen of the device as he rambled on about all the technological stuff I couldn't understand. Flicking through the menu options, I was overwhelmed. This thing was amazing! It could tell me everything from what condition I was in to what I had with me! I saw a little message under the skeleton model of a pony that said 'minor rib damage'. Huh.
“So...” I said, cutting Moss Stone off in the middle of his rant, “Any idea where we are?” I headed out of the Security room and made my way for the main hall.
“Not a huge deal, I'm afraid.” He replied, “It's just referred to in all the notes as 'Bloodmane Facility', whatever that is.” I turned the corner, sighing as I made my way to the far door, keeping my eyes off of the nearby imagery.
I stopped in front of the door, gleeful to see a button that announced 'Unlock'.
“I found out your name.” Moss Stone said, so quietly I almost missed it. I stopped, my hoof hovering mid air inches from the button.
“..What?” I said, trying to keep my voice from betraying my emotions. My name. The name that had been given to me by my parents... I think... that made me who I was. It was how everypony would refer to me, know me as. When you think of someone, the very first thing that comes up in your mind is their name. I didn't even know if I was ready or not to hear it.
“Violet Flames,”
____________________________________________________________________
Character Creation Complete!
S4 P6 E5 C5 I7 A5 L5
Tagged skills: First Aid, Small Guns, Speech.
(( Special thanks to Kkat for creating the fantastic world of Fallout Equestria, and thanks to Somber for writing the Project Horizens spin-off, both of which are huge inspirations to me as a writer! ))
Tears welled up in my eyes and I shut them tight from the onslaught of dirt and sand being blown by the wind into them. Before I had been blinded by nature, I had seen a landscape of horrors; a stretched rocky place, littered with the dead skeletons of trees and warped metal debris that had once been water towers.
I had come out of the front door of the Bloodmane Facility to find a huge boulder just sitting in front of it, blocking it from outside view. A little bit of effort and thankfulness for my small frame allowed me to squeeze past it, only to immediately be assaulted by the rough winds.
“Well, we are up in the more mountainous regions of Equestria,” Moss Stone pointed out from my PipBuck's speaker when I had expressed my discomfort, “The elevation and shape of these mountains makes the wind viscous and almost unrelenting.”
“How'd you know that?” I asked, trying to hold one hoof over my eyes to block some of the heavy winds.
“This PipBuck has a built-in copy of 'The Wasteland Survival Guide: Friedrichshorfen Edition.' I'm just directly quoting the page on wind dangers.” He pointed out cheerily. Huh, I wondered what else it had built into it? Before I could question it further, something else came up in my mind.
“Friedrich... What?” I asked, the name ringing some sort of bell that I just couldn't put my hoof on.
“Friedrichshorfen! It's a major city just south of here, let me see what the Guide has to say about it...” Moss told me, “Friedrichshorfen was one of the only cities in Equestria that focused almost entirely on firepower! Trading their large supply of gold deposits to Stalliongrad, they used their wealth to help the Ministry of Wartime Technology produce top grade weapons!”
Ministry of what-now?
“Everypony who called themselves a citizen was required to own a firearm, and ammunition was dead cheap! It was almost directly hit on it's south side by a balefire megaspell, but over the years the radiation has died down. Today, Friedrichshorfen is split into two sides; The north and south districts. The south-side is run by the infamous group calling themselves the P.A.Z.I, while the north-side is made up of tons of rival gangs fighting for control thanks to all the guns left behind!” Moss took a deep breath after his spiel, although somehow I felt it was for dramatic effect rather then any actual need for oxygen
“What's... what's the Ministry of Wartime Technology?” I asked, again surprised by the sense of familiarity the name brought me.
“Uhm,” Said Moss, sounding momentarily lost, “It's... Let me see...” I heard the sound of papers shuffling from my PipBuck. “Huh, I can't find very much information on it. All I got is that it was some sort of pre-war company.
Disappointed, I moved onto my next question, “What about the P.A.Z.I? Anything in there about that?” Unlike the other two, the name hadn't really meant anything special to me, but I was still curious.
“The P.A.Z.I,” Moss intoned, as if reading from a script, “Abbreviation for the Ponies Against Zebra Influences, which apparently was a pre-war organization in Friedrichshorfen that helped regulate gun control in the city. Apparently the name is today used by a group of terrorists operating out of the irradiated areas of the city. They seem to be largely neutral unless provoked. Or if you have something they want.” Didn't exactly sound like the best group of ponies around, that was for certain.
I took my hoof away to look at my PipBuck, which was a mistake as my eyes were ones again hit by flying particles of pain.
“You know, we should probably find something to protect your eyes with.” Moss suggested as I let out a gasp of pain, “We're not exactly going to make it very far if you can't see where you're going.”
I stumbled forward, trying to walk with my eyes open as little as possible. The rough rocky ground felt rough against my hooves as I occasionally stepped on a jagged rock, giving me reason to let out a slight whimper. I was finding I didn't like pain very much.
“I'm picking up a building on the radar just to the north of here,” Moss said after what felt like an hour of walking, “Let's take shelter in there until the wind dies down.” Grateful, I broke into a quick trot in the direction I was informed was north. Even with my squinted sight, I could make out the shadow of a building in the distance. It was rather large, maybe three stories and containing many wings. As I got closer, I could make out it was made of thick concrete, the few blown-out windows overlooking a rather large parking station filled with the wrecks of carriages.
Weaving my way through them, I slowed as I approached the front door swinging wide in the wind. It was thick and wooden, with a cracked sign that read 'Welcome to Selten Clothiers'. What caught my attention about this door, however, was that it was riddled with bullet holes.
“It's probably nothing,” Moss assured me as I relayed my observations to him, “You'd be hard put to find something that's not riddled with bullet-holes in the Wasteland.” He didn't sound very confident.
Stepping into the building and closing the door behind me, I felt immediate relief as the onslaught against my coat died, allowing me to properly open my eyes and observe my environment. The main lobby of Selten Clothiers was spacious, filled with knocked over racks of rotten cloth and mouldy lumps that may have once been beautiful hats. Dominating the centre of the room was a large donut-shaped desk with the skeletons of a number of ponies sitting around monitors.
I walked up the the nearest skeleton, feeling a twinge of pity as I pushed it off it's chair, causing it to clatter loudly against the floor. I took it's seat and stared at the monitor, which prompted me for the password.
“It needs to be hacked,” Moss told me, “Unless you want to ask one of these skeletons to tell you it.”
“How the heck do I do that?” I asked, befuddled. Hello, pony who just woke up from bliss a few hours ago? Not exactly skilled with computers.
Moss let out a metallic sigh, “Plug me into a with my USB cord.”
“Your what now?” I asked, looking over the thing on my arm with confusion.
“The thing that looks like a duck,” He pointed out, allowing it to catch my eye immediately. I pushed the duck's beak into a slot shaped perfectly for it around the side of the monitor. My PipBuck screen lit up with a host of letters and numbers, some of which formed words, “Alright, one of these is the password.”
“How do I know which one is the right one?” I asked, feeling my heart sink at the sheer number of options.
“Guess,” Moss said. I could almost hear his shrug.
“Dress?” I guessed, tapping the corresponding word on the screen.
Nothing.
“Celestia?” I tried, once again with no avail.
“Only one try left before it catches on and locks me out,” Moss worriedly said as 'Muffins' failed to work either. I looked back down at the list and one of the words caught my eye. It was a simple, six letter word that was no more unique then all the others, yet seeing it made my heart jump for a second.
“Rarity.” The monitor beeped as I hit the word, displaying a welcome message and a number of missed alerts. I unplugged the PipBuck and tapped the first message.
Cherry,
You'll never guess what I heard! I was just getting a drink from the fountain when I saw the boss talking to his secretary secretively. I 'overheard' that a 'special somepony' is coming here for a 'inspection'. I bet it's one of the Ministry Mares! I know how much you've always wanted to meet them, so I thought I'd let you know so you can keep your camera handy!
Reading the message of a long-dead pony mollified me a little bit, and I felt bad for simply tossing her skeleton to the floor. I tapped into the next message.
Cherry,
I can't imagine you chose NOW to go on a vacation, right in the heat of the war! You know how suspicious that looks, and I don't want the Ministry of Morale breaking down your door, or worse, the P.A.Z.I!
Please, Cherry, come back to work! I don't think I can keep getting through these depressing days without you to crack jokes about the boss!
Well, there was a name-drop for another so-called 'ministry', and my curiosity was beginning to get the better of me. I tapped open the third and final message, this one full of spelling and grammar mistakes, obviously written in a rush.
To anyone reading this,
I'm sending this message out from Selten Clothers, Friedichsofen just got hit by a megaspel! Swet Celstia we could see the rxplodion from here! The shockwave shock the hole store, and a one of teh lights came down ontop of Cherry! I think... I think she's dead! It was her fist day back from her vacation too! Somepony, anypony, Help us!
I turned off the monitor silently, the screen going black but the words of horror forever burned into my mind. Slowly, I lifted myself out of the chair, numbly hearing Moss Stone saying something, and looked back down at the pony skeleton.
Her body lay completely devoid of flesh, but that didn't hide the bullet hole going clear through her temple. I slowly lifted her back into the chair, trying to position her in the same position in which I had thrown her off of it.
I looked back at the bullet ridden door, which was directly to the right of where she was sitting. Questions flashed across my mind, but before any could be formed into rational thought the sour voice of Moss Stone interrupted my thoughts.
“Are you even listening to me?” He accused, sounding a tad hurt.
“What?” I said, shaking my head in an attempt to relieve the daze I was in. As quick as they had formed, the questions dispelled into nothingness.
“I said you should check the second floor for anything,” He muttered, “You know, something to protect your face from the wind?”
“Right...” I said, slowly. I stumbled towards the spiral staircase that led into the ceiling that I had failed to notice before. It creaked under me as I climbed it, but held strong until I made it to the top. This second floor was much smaller then the one below had been, but seemingly with just as much crammed into it. Racks of clothing and shelves lined the walls, rotten curtains led to long forgotten changing rooms, on the far side of the room was another stairwell, this one straight, that led up to a wooden door.
I only spent a few minutes on the second floor before I headed for the other stairs, unable to find anything that wasn't rotted or damaged. I climbed the stairs, feeling an odd sense of trepidation as I approached the door. It was surrounded by a purple frame, with golden twirls and loops around it.
I pulled on the handle, and found to my dismay that the door was locked. I looked around both fruitlessly and pointlessly for the key. Wherever it may once have been, it was long gone now. I sat down on my haunches, staring at the door sadly.
“Why don't you just zap it open?” Moss Stone said, breaking my disappointment, “Like you did with the door. That amount of force should be plenty to knock if off it's hinges, especially if it hasn't seen maintenance in the last couple hundred years.”
I trotted back down to the bottom of the stairs, turned around, and aimed my horn for the door. A moment of worry struck me; What if I couldn't do it again? What if I damaged what was behind the door by accident? What if I hurt myself?
I found the urge to see what was behind the door much more powerful then these thoughts, as I let power flow into my horn, and let it go.
ZAP!
Much weaker than the first one, but non-the-less powerful, the bolt of black lightning shot out from the tip of my horn, crashing into the door followed by a sickening crack of thunder. That was new!
The door simply shimmered for a minute before bursting into open black flames, causing me to jump. Unlike a real fire, however, the fire did not spread, and turned the door to ash after but a few moments.
“Wow.” Moss Stone said, quietly. “I'd be more careful with that if I were you, I felt the static charge from here!”
I stared at the pile of black ash where the door used to be, into the room beyond as I climbed back up the stairs. It was an office of sorts, with a few filing cabinets, a desk with a monitor, and a safe built into the wall. I stepped up to the monitor and found to my joy that it had no password. I tabbed through the entries and hit the most recent one.
It's the P.A.Z.I! First, a megaspell hits the city, and the whole of Equestria goes to shit, but now we've got soldiers trying to break down our door?
What the hell did we even do!? We're just a clothing boutique, and for that matter, the P.A.Z.I should be protecting us, not opening fire on our doors!
Oh Celestia, I think I heard the door break in. Shit shit shit! Fuck, well I'm not letting them get anything of value, I'm locking my office from the inside!
I can hear them muttering outside my door. I think they already killed everypony downstairs, dear gods...
Wait... I think I hear them leaving! As soon as their gone I'm getting the fuck out of here before they come back!
I looked up at the locked door. It was locked from the inside, but... there was no skeleton or anything left in here. I trotted over to the safe, the mystery giving me headache, to find to my frustration that it was locked too! I knew trying to blast it open would just destroy the contents, if the door was any example.
Instead, I turned my attention to the filing cabinets. Rifling through them, I found nothing but a dusty old folder. A lone not slipped out of it as I picked it up.
Dear Director of Selten Clothiers,
Despite how busy I am with Ministry issues, I'm more then happy to visit your store since you put so many of my favourite dresses on display! I even have a special gift for you, it's something that I no longer have any need for, but I dare not give it to anypony who can't appreciate it. Who better then the nephew of Photo Finish? You'll enjoy it immensely I assure you, so be excited! I'll see you as soon as I have free time.
Sincerely,
Rarity.
I leaned down to pick the note back up, when something caught my eye. I hadn't noticed it until now, but taped to the underside of the desk a glint of gold flashed. I trotted over, the note forgotten as I felt under the desk until my prize fell free. It was the key!
I almost ran to the safe, sticking the key into position and turning, my heart fluttering as the satisfying 'click' filled my ears.
Inside was a few items; a purse filled with small gold coins, a pair of saddle-bags, a large pair of fashionable but practical glasses. The prize of the safe caught my eye, folded carefully and lovingly in the back. I picked it up and let it unfold, staring at the beautiful striped pink scarf.
* * *
The wind grew worse as the hours past, and what little light was let in from the smashed windows began to fade with the approach of night. Moss Stone had suggested that we set up for the night, considering the storm wasn't likely to calm until morning. The store sadly had a distinct lack of bedding, and as night rolled around I found myself lying on a pile of rotted scraps that had once probably been beautiful attire.
I took one last look around the store. The walls were not enough to keep out the sound of furious winds slapping into the building, and wisps of dust and cool night air blew in through the smashed windows, giving me a shudder. The skeletons of long dead ponies slept eternally, forever free from their torment.
In my mind's eye, I could picture the store how it must have once been. I looked down at the skeletons at the desk, and saw rather bored looking ponies serving customers, receiving bits and giving a cheery farewell. Beautiful dresses and suits hung on pristine silver racks around the store, being perused by both the high-class socialites as well as just your average pony.
To my left, a young but very fashionable stallion with a bow-tie for a cutie mark came down the stairs that led to his office, observing the store with pride. He trotted over to where I was, looking down at his workers as they served with less then enthusiasm.
He turned to me, looking at the pink scarf that I had wrapped around my neck for warmth.
“Hey, that's mine!”
And as soon as he finished, the entire store around me returned to it's destroyed state, the ponies within vanishing with any knowledge of their future fate. I stared at the spot where the Stallion had talked to me, confused.
Assuring myself that I was imagining things, I curled up and tried to bring myself to sleep in the rough bedding I had made for sleeping. Just before the darkness overcame me, I reached out with my magic, pulling the scarf closer, unsure why but sure non-the-less that it was the most important thing I owned.
* * *
“Wake up, my little pony.” A soft, lovingly cool voice whispered in my ear. I felt a muzzle press into the side of my face, giving me a nudge of encouragement. I opened my eyes, looking up at the tall form of my mother, smiling down at me, somehow achieving pure beauty through the rags she wore as clothing.
I got to my hooves, looking around at the small shack with a hastily formed fire in the middle of the floor, surrounded by three sleeping bags. It wasn't much, but it was still my home.
No, our home.
“Your father just went out to catch something for breakfast,” My mother told me, pushing my mane out of my eyes with her horn, “Go outside and wash up, Violet, it's been a while since you've gotten a good cleaning.”
I didn't like bathing, but I didn't have nearly enough willpower to refuse the kind face of my mother. I stepped outside into the early morning, unable to see the sun through the thick cloud cover, and stepped around to the back of our shack to the small puddle that had formed there.
I stared back at the reflection of a young purple filly with a orange mane looking back at me. I was certainly dirty, I had to give my mother that, and without further hesitation I threw myself into the puddle and began to roll around, letting it wash away the dirt that matted itself in my coat.
A deep and kind laugh fell into my ears as I shook myself dry, and looking up I spotted my father with a large dead rabbit slung over his back, smiling down at me. He simply continued to chuckle as I ran up to hug him, trying to show off how clean I was for once.
“You missed a spot,” He said, putting a hoof on my forehead to point at the tips of my mane.
“Daaaaad,” I moaned, “You know that my hair is always red at the tips!” I stomped my hoof, “It's not my fault!”
He simply replied with another chuckle that made the world just seem like a better place, and ruffled my hair, “I know, sweetheart. I'm just playing with you.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead, “Come now, let's go cook this up and have some breakfast.”
He trotted around the shacks, and I heard the faint sounds of him conversing with my mother, but I was too distracted to pay any attention. As I slowly rounded the shack, I felt incredible joy that I was here with the two greatest ponies in the Wasteland, my parents.
* * *
“Violet!” Hissed Moss Stone, “Wake up!”
I awoke with a start, in an incredibly good mood but not sure why. I had been having the most wonderful dream about... something. I tried to think, but it was like trying to catch water with a strainer as the dream blinked into non-existence.
“Stay down!” Moss whispered at me as I began to sit up, a layer of severe urgency playing his voice, “There are raiders in here!”
Fear struck me. Moss Stone had earlier told me the Wasteland Survival Guide's view on bandits, how they would raid settlements and towns indiscriminately, killing and raping their way to whatever supplies they could steal. It was even said they sometimes ate their victims when they had nothing left to go on, sometimes even while the victim was still alive.
I slowly rolled onto my stomach, peering around the rack that kept me hidden from most of the store. I saw two of the raider ponies, and the built in Eyes Forward Sparkle spell that was in my PipBuck told me that there was four more on the floor below.
I had no weapon, no armor, and no means of defending myself should these raider ponies find me. Horrifying images of what would happen to me should they find me filled my mind, giving me incentive to crawl back behind the fallen rack.
One of the raider ponies kicked a can across the room, giggling in his mad tone, “Hehehe, lot's of pretty ponies this far south, yes...” I could hear him lick his lips, as he looked at his friend, “You sure there's someone in here? I'm getting hungry...”
I felt my heart skip a beat as the second pony replied, “Of course! There are hoof prints leading in, but none leading out! Our little morsel is in here somewhere...”
Oh Celestia, they were going to eat me! I looked around me for something to defend myself with, but found myself surrounded by nothing but rotten cloth. Cold sweat dripped down my forehead as realization that I was going to die filled my mind.
“Your magic, Violet.” Moss whispered from my PipBuck, causing me to jump in fright. The two raider ponies turned my way at the sound, their dirt-ridden blood caked faces lighting up into grins. One pulled out pistol, pointing it at me while the other slowly advanced.
“There you are, babycakes!” He teased, causing a shiver to go up my spine that had nothing to do with the cold, “Looks like we got ourselves a mare this time.” He looked back at his companion, who began to nod vigorously. “It's like a dream come true. We get to eat our cake, and fuck it!”
Unimaginable hatred crashed into my heart as if carried by a thousand-pound weight, and black-lightning shot out of my horn without even waiting for me to build up power. The lightning jerked across the room, smacking into the chest of the raider pony approaching me, and jumping from the end of his tail across the rest of the way into the face of the pony with the gun.
The first raider fell into a twitching mass, while the second pony's face turned into jelly around his gun as he fell to the floor, dead. The noise didn't go unheard by the remaining raiders below, who immediately began to scramble up the stairs, firing wild shots before even being able to see me.
Thinking fast, I lunged across the room to the raider with the melted face, snatching up the pistol from the remains of what had once been his mouth, and aimed for the stairs. A head came into view from the stairs, holding a length of steel-pipe in it's pony-devouring mouth.
BANG!! BANG!!
The sound of the shots of my pistol cracked through the air, while the ten-millimetre rounds themselves buried themselves into the raider's head, who proceeded to tumble back down the stairs. Shouts ranging from shock to anger came from the other three as their comrade snuffed it. I wasted no time in bolting forward to the top of the stairs and aiming down at the three--
--And stopped time.
I was shocked at first, as I saw everything around me had frozen-- no, not frozen, just slowed down to a ridiculous level.
“This is S.A.T.S, the Stable Assisted Targeting Spell,” Moss informed, apparently not frozen with the rest of the world, “I kicked it into action since you seem to be oblivious to it. It allows you to target specific body parts and tells you the chance you'll hit them.”
“How in Tatarus does it do that?” I asked in disbelief.
“No time to explain, just shoot them already!” Moss urged, and I lined up the rest of the clip at their heads, helpfully being informed only about half my shots were likely to make it. Time returned to normal as I fired the shots, the first two raiders managed to come out unscathed, but the third received three bullets across his neck and chin, felling him.
Suddenly, incredible pain burst from my foreleg and I let out a gasp of agony. One of the raiders had fired the shotgun rigged to a saddle he wore (which I would later know as a 'battle-saddle') and the spread of hot lead had peppered itself across my left leg. I fell to my knees as the two raiders approached, taking sharp intakes of breath and clenching my eyes to hide back the tears.
“Dumb cunt killed Smudger!” One growled angrily, as he pressed the barrel of his shotgun against the top of my bowed head. “Let's blow her fuckin' brains out, right here!”
“Or we could sell her!” The other one suggested, gleefully.
“Hey! I told you we ain't no slavers!”
“Black Tooth, I don't give a shit! So what you were a slave once upon a time, this is different!”
“Fuck you, I ain't selling anypony to those fucking pricks, let alone this cunt.” He gestured down at where I used to be.
Both raiders stopped and stared at the empty space in front of them, just in time for looks of horror to cross their faces as they erupted into black flames.
Their screams filled the early morning air.
It was music to my ears.
