Fallout: Equestria - Burning Earth

Stable 6 was as silent as a tomb. Sprawled across the floor of the bunker were hundreds of dead Stable dwellers. Raiders trotted over - but more often, on top of - the piles of bodies, looting anything that wasn't nailed down. A few survivors had taken to running and hiding when the raiders had opened fire; now the savages were searching for them, laughing and shouting like it was some form of a game.

An old stallion, his Stable barding bloodstained and torn, attempt to run away. He was cut down almost immediately by a raider, who grinned maniacally. "Got one!" he called to his mates.

"Ah, give it a fuckin' rest, Jet," said another raider. "We're not keepin' score, ya don't have to brag." He went back to rummaging through dead ponies' saddlebags.

A third stallion trotted into the room from the atrium. "Hey guys! They've got hundreds of Sparkle-Cola crates! We're gonna be living like princes!"

'Jet', the trigger-happy stallion, looked at the stallion. "Holy shit! We've gotta get some of that!"

Fizzy Pop was partially buried under a corpse heap, but otherwise unharmed. She was staying as still as possible in hopes that they would go away soon and allow her a chance to escape. She tried to keep it together, but tears were streaming down her face. Everypony she ever knew was either dead or about to be. Her parents, friends and teachers. As the raiders all filed out of the room to examine their incredible find, Fizzy continued to play dead.

A pony that she couldn't see trotted over her, stepping on her back. She gritted her teeth in pain. What kind of world existed out there if this was what people were like?

For quite a long time, there was no sound. Had they gone yet? Could she finally get away from here? Very slowly and deliberately, she craned her head to see what was going on.

It appeared to be that they were all gone. After a moment of hesitation, Fizzy Pop climbed out of the pile. The smell of death was beginning to form in the room. It was a scent that she would despise for the rest of her life. As she galloped out of the Stable's doors and into the adjoining cave, she knew that she would be haunted forever by this awful memory.

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The cave was darker than Luna's flank, so Fizzy decided to make use of her PipBuck, the magic wrist device that was issued to every Stable dweller. Lifting her wrist, she pressed a button that activated the light function. The cave was illuminated well enough for her to see, so she kept going.

Eventually, she reached a rusty metal door that marked the end of the cave. Hoping that it would lead to the outside, Fizzy tried the knob. Despite its rusted nature, it opened with little difficulty. What greeted her on the other end was something she had never seen before.

Clouds spanned the entire length of the sky. The air itself, and everything around it, seemed to be tinted an ugly greenish-brown. There were skeletal metal structures that littered the landscape. Where were all the great cities? The cheerful ponies? This wasn't how it had been described to her at all!

A thought occurred to the young Fizzy. Perhaps the teachers and textbooks had lied to her to keep her hopeful. After all, as long as ponies had hope, they could accomplish anything, right? All that she had to do was stay hopeful and she would be okay. Maybe not everypony was bad. Maybe there was somewhere safe out there where good ponies lived. She decided right then and there that she would start looking for that place.

Fizzy set off at a trot, her ears listening for any more raiders. For all she knew, they could be anywhere. Hay, they could be everywhere! However, she realized that there was hardly a point to getting paranoid. She levitated a bottle of Sparkle-Cola from her knapsack to her lips and was immensely calmed by the refreshing carroty beverage. The soda seemed to have the opposite effect for her than it did on other ponies: drinking some always soothed her nerves, made her feel safe. Sort of like a security blanket, she had once mused.

When the bottle was empty, she threw it aside, then put the bottle cap in her bag with the rest. The young unicorn began to wonder why she had even brought all of them. When did hoarding ever come in handy, anyway? They were just a bunch of stupid caps. Without putting much thought into it, she took the bag of caps out and threw it aside. She would need the space in her knapsack for food, if she could ever find some.

Fizzy trotted along some more, but she soon began to feel tired. It had been a long day, what with her entire life being destroyed and her parents dying. All she needed was some sleep...

She shook her head. No. It wasn't safe, she was sure of it. If she could just find some sort of town, she would sleep for at least a day and a half.

After what felt like an hour of trotting, she sat down on the ground and rested her aching hooves. She had never walked this much before. Back in the Stable, there was never any reason to. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something shiny. She picked the object up, then groaned when she realized what it was.

It was the bottle of Sparkle-Cola she'd thrown earlier. She had been walking in circles the entire time.