Fallout: Equestria- The Nightmare Initiative

Chapter 3:

Learning

”Facts and figures, I recite with ease!”

“Now, if you wanna survive out in the wasteland, you gotta be willin’ to start a fight. Lotsa stuff out here will kill ya just as soon look at ya.” Searchlight, my rescuer from yesterday, was taking the time to ‘show me the ropes,’ as she put it. In essence, she was using me to help her dive into a dangerous ruin that required the use of magic to traverse deeper into. In return, however, Searchlight was giving me some healing potions, ammunition, and a twenty percent cut of anything useful.

Searchlight emphasized her point by trotting up to an unusually large insect and stomped on it with both forehooves. “That there’s a radroach. Er… was a radroach. They ain’t nothin’ to worry about on their own, but they can be nasty in groups.” As if on cue, another radroach entered the hallway we were in, looking for a pony-flavored snack. “You wanna take this ‘un?”

“You want me to shoot it, or…”

“Just give it a good ol’ squish. Ain’t no reason to waste the bullets. Besides, ya never know what else is lurkin’ in the shadows. Best ta try and go in all sneaky like.”

I nodded and approached the radroach. It skittered at me as if to meet my challenge. Smashing it with my forehooves was simple, though kind of gross. “Bleh. I didn’t expect its guts to be so slimy.” I vigorously wiped my hooves on the dirty hallway carpeting with little success in removing the gunk.

Searchlight chuckled at my disgust and nodded her head down the hallway. “C’mon. Ain’t much further ‘til we get to where I’ve been needin’ some help.”

“So what exactly is it that you need a second pony for?”

“There’s a turret.”

“A turret. Um… I’m afraid to ask but why do you need another pony to help you with a turret?”

“It’s still active.”

I really didn’t like where things were going. “So… elaborating on what I’m needed for…”

“I need somepony to act as a decoy.”

“A decoy… you want me to be bait and draw the fire of a machine with a targeting talisman specifically designed to target and kill anypony who tries to enter the restricted area it was set up in?”

“Eeyup.”

I dropped my head and sighed. “I’m only doing this because I owe you my life, you know.”

“I know. I promise I won’t let anythin’ happen to ya. I jus’ need to get behind it long enough to turn it off.”

“If you say so.” I huffed as we trotted onwards to what I could only hope was something worth risking life and limb for a pony that was essentially a stranger. “Any chance we could just shoot the turret first?”

“Ponies will pay good for functioning turret parts. Like I said, the wasteland’s a dangerous place.” Searchlight shot me a look that said I know what I’m doing, please stop with the questions. I followed in silence until we arrived at the turret she spoke of.

“So… you want me to walk in front of it, or did you have a better idea than that?” I poked my head into the room just enough to get a rough idea of what I was up against. The hallway we had been walking down ended in just one doorway. On the other side of the doorway was what had to be some sort of conference room, complete with a large mahogany table and rolling chairs. The turret was affixed to the floor on the far side of the room in front of another doorway.

“Well, unless you got another idea, I was hopin’ you’d run an’ take cover behind that there table. While you do that, I can sneak around and disable the turret.”

“What if it targets you after I take cover?”

“Then I s’pose you’d have to turn off the turret.” Searchlight rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “You any good with machines?”

“Yes, but most machines I’ve dealt with weren’t weapons actively attempting to kill me.” I shot her a deadpan look as I spoke. “Why are we looting an office building anyway? Why aren’t we looking for a grocery shop or a pharmacy? It has to be easier than this.”

“Mostly ‘cause raiders usually control the spots like that. Unless you got a way to get past crazy ponies, buildings like offices are more likely to have stuff still.”

I let out a groan of frustration. “Fine. Ready?” I asked her before I knew whether or not I was ready myself. Searchlight simply smiled and nodded. “Go!” I ran with a scream as I made my way to the relative safety of the conference table. It looked sturdy enough to stop bullets, and I sincerely hoped my estimations proved true.

The turret whirred to life the moment I was in the room, leaving a trail of damaged wall and floor in my wake. Searchlight slipped in much less dramatically, keeping low to avoid the targeting talisman prioritizing her rather than myself. I dove for cover behind the table, and the turret immediately ceased fire. I let out a sigh of relief. Searchlight was remaining out of sight from the turret, but I knew she would need me to attract the turret’s fire again if she was going to make it past the turret.

Searchlight stopped and glanced back at me, silently giving me a cue to hop out of cover again. I took a deep breath to still my nerves, but before I could move, a panel slid open from the ceiling and another turret lowered itself into the room.

“Aw shit!” Searchlight swore as a volley of bullets let loose from the unexpected second turret, forcing her to roll underneath the table as best she could. The movement brought the attention of the first turret, which opened fire as well. Searchlight let out a cry of pain as one of the turrets found its mark.

“Hang on Searchlight!” All thoughts of personal safety went out the window as I charged forward. The first turret returned its attention to me as I rushed in heedlessly.

In an instinctual effort, I reached out with my magic and started flinging as many chairs as I could between myself and the machine of death. The turret simply turned these into mulch. In an act of either brilliance or complete stupidity, I jumped onto one of the chairs that hadn’t been turned to splinters and fluff and rode it across the rest of the room. I slammed into the wall just behind the turret, but that didn’t mean it was done with me. It was perfectly willing to attempt to face the wall and tear me apart.

I reached out with my magic as quickly as I could, inspecting the machinery that made the turret run. I closed my eyes, focusing hard. I could feel every gear turn within the turret. Every movement was smooth, with no grinding whatsoever. A small part of me couldn’t help but to appreciate the craftsmanship and design of the machine trying to kill me.

That didn’t stop me from disabling three power couplings and dislodging the motor of the turret. Doing so caused a resounding snapping sound to echo louder than the gunfire in the room and smoke began to pour from the disabled turret. I quickly repeated the process with the second turret.

“Searchlight, are you okay?” I wasted no time in moving to the wounded mare’s side. She was bleeding from her left flank and her muzzle. “Oh goodness! Hold still!” I took out one of my healing potions and upended the purple liquid into her mouth. The healing effects were instantaneous as two bullets were pushed from Searchlight’s flank and the hole in her muzzle closed.

Searchlight simply smirked weakly at me. “I told ya it was a two-pony job.”

***

“All right, I’ll bite. How in what’s left of Equestria did you manage to disable these turrets with just a bit o’ magic?” Searchlight attempted to wipe some oil from her forehead, managing only to smear it more.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you just did your unicorn thing on not one but two turrets and you disabled them both without blowin’ up the good parts. How’d you know what not to break?” Searchlight had torn apart both turrets, salvaging the targeting talismans of both along with various scrap that she deemed good stuff.

“I don’t know. I just kinda did it in the heat of the moment. Normally I wouldn’t be able to do that nearly so quickly.”

“Well ya saved me, so thanks for that. I guess that makes us square, huh?” Searchlight’s gaze fell to the scrap she had organized on the floor. “If ya want, you can take your twenty percent and head out. It was good workin’ with you, Bright.” She scuffed a hoof across the ground. “So what’d you want for your chunk? I can give you one of these talismans. Or maybe you wanted some of this other good stuff?”

I tilted my head, giving the mare a shrewd look. “Why would I leave now? We still have more rooms to search. Besides, the last time I went outside alone I got stabbed and shot. At least together we stand a better chance of not dying.”

The Chestnut mare smiled appreciatively.

***

We made our way further into the building, stopping only to scavenge the offices we passed. I managed to find some extra magical energy cells for my weapon, and Searchlight managed to scrounge up some pre-war bits and some bottle caps (some ponies collected the weirdest things).

We didn’t speak much. Only enough to call who’s turn it was to squish the odd radroach or to announce what items we had found. Many of my items were deemed worthless by the more experienced scavenger.

“Hey Bright!” Searchlight’s voice stirred me from the desk I was poking through. “Come ‘ere a sec.” I obliged my companion and headed further down the room of cubicles we had found ourselves in.

“Yes? Is something the matter?”

“Nah. I just found an elevator.” The elevator in question seemed out of place. Most of the office was done in a traditional style, with wood and earthen colors (Pinkie was friends with Rarity. You pick up things after a while). The elevator was a metallic scar on the beige wall. Next to it was a small computer terminal. “You any good with computers?”

I stepped up to the terminal as Searchlight moved to finish sweeping the room for anything we missed. The computer had a password on it. Guessing the password would have been nigh impossible. I inspected the terminal closely. Maybe there was a reset? No, that would have been too easy. The only thing I found to be of any interest was a Stable-Tec logo.

My mind connected a convoluted series of dots that I doubted meant anything, but I shrugged and inspected my PipBuck. As it turns out, there’s a small panel just above the latch where somepony can use the PipBuck to interface with compatible Stable-Tec systems. It even came with a little cable to do so.

My PipBuck connected, it quickly pulled up a new debug screen, followed by a series of gibberish symbols and a few potential new passwords. Apparently the debug goes through a password check program to confirm valid users. A bit of guessing later (the password was clouds) and the computer granted me access to everything left in it. It wasn’t much though, simply a command to unlock the elevator.

“I’m done Searchlight. The elevator’s unlocked.”

“Wow, you are handy. I think you stickin’ around was a good thing.” She nudged me jokingly as we stepped into the elevator. “Third floor please. I’m lookin’ for make-up and dresses today.” I felt like I was missing the joke. I pushed the only other button that wasn’t the ground floor and the elevator began a slow descent.

The ride down was agonizing. I was trapped in a small metal box, where the only means of escape were either a tiny hatch above me into a narrow elevator shaft, or two sets of metal doors that would have to be pried open by force should the elevator become stuck. I tried to think of non-plummety thoughts as the elevator crawled its way downwards.

“You okay?”

“I’m… not a fan of elevators.” I blushed lightly at the confession.

“Well shoot, that ain’t nothing to be ashamed of.” Searchlight looked like she was trying to suppress a giggle. “We all got things we’re afraid of.”

“I’m guessing yours isn’t elevators though.” The door of the elevator opened, offering sweet relief from the ride down. I stepped out first.

“Nah. I don’t much care for bloatsprites though. Creeps me out when they eat stuff.” I had no idea what she was talking about. Searchlight didn’t seem like she was going to elaborate though.

The floor we stepped out into was much different from the upstairs. It reminded me of Stable 117 a little bit. Everything was metal, but care had been taken to make everything feel a bit homier. Rugs were placed on the ground, there were paintings on the walls, and there were even a few tribal zebra masks and statuettes.

“Well, I never expected to find somethin’ like this.” Searchlight broke the silence with an awed tone. “Think this is one o’ them stables?”

“I don’t know.” I hadn’t actually told Searchlight that I had come up from a stable about three blocks from our current location. I think she attributed my lack of knowledge about Equestria being gone to a head injury or amnesia. She never explained what happened to Equestria, at least.

“Ooh boy, if this here’s a stable, then we got ourselves a fortune to be had.”

“What if it’s dangerous?”

“Then we’ll know for sure there’s somethin’ good down here.” Searchlight had already taken two of the zebra statuettes and placed them in her saddlebags. She moved with a bounce in her step, like a filly on their way to the toy shop. “Well don’t just stand there! You gonna help me carry some o’ this?” I sighed and began looking for anything that Searchlight deemed valuable or useful.

We’d cleared two rooms and were working on our third one, all of which were lined with bunk beds. Searchlight was now carrying enough that her saddlebags were beginning to bulge, and had begun using my saddlebags for storage. Searchlight was happily humming to herself as she worked.

“I’m going to check the next room. Yell if you need me.” Searchlight simply waved a hoof, so I left her to adding to her bottle cap collection and headed into the room next door. I noted that there were two more rooms to go through after the one I was entering. What I found was a far cry from the previous two rooms.

Inside the new room was a really big computer. Now when I say really big computer, I mean that this machine took up the bulk of the room, leaving just enough space to cram a desk and chair in the room and have a single pony maneuver.

“Wow,” I gasped at the sight of the machine. “You’re so… beautiful.” I was mesmerized by the marvel of computer engineering before me. Built into the front of the computer was a small monitor and flip-down keyboard. I resisted these temptations for the time, attempting to size up the specifications of the machine. “Whoever built you deserves a medal.”

“Ya know, I’m sure you could get somepony to marry you two.”

“I’m just appreciating the work. I’ve seen blueprints, but they were just concepts back then. To think I’d find a Crusader Maneframe underneath an office building. I’m amazed there wasn’t an army guarding it!”

“Right… what’s a Crusader Maneframe?”

I facehoofed. I couldn’t help it. “It’s essentially a massive, thinking computer! I had the chance to help with some of the blueprints back in Canterlot, but it was all theory and concepts then.” I turned back to the impressive machine. “And I get to use it!”

“You sure that’s a good idea?”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” I clapped my forehooves together excitedly. It was like Hearth’s Warming Day! I took a deep breath and approached the monitor and keyboard on the Crusader Maneframe. It needed a password, but I’d discovered the workaround with my PipBuck earlier. To the Maneframe’s credit it took a good half-hour to finally find the password in all the lines of code, during which Searchlight excused herself to continue searching for valuables.

I was giddy with anticipation. What would the Maneframe hold? Blueprints? Information on the surrounding area? I was nearly bouncing as the main screen loaded up.

Activate: Y/N?

I rolled my eyes and hit the Y key. I was eager to see what the pinnacle of arcano-technological science had to offer.

Download Complete._

Activating Nightmare Initiative._

Waiting for System Initialization._

I stared at the small screen on the Crusader Maneframe for some time longer. “That’s it? I spent a half-hour of my life trying to unlock one of the most amazing machines I’ll ever see and all I get is a load screen?!” I banged on the computer with a hoof to no avail.

“What’s goin’ on with the computer?”

“It’s not doing anything! It’s stuck!”

“Well maybe it never got finished. Come on. I got one more computer for you to unlock, egghead.”

“Fine. Maybe this one will give me something for my time.” I grumbled to myself as I followed Searchlight. I couldn’t help but feel that it was a massive waste of time and energy to build such a powerful computer only to have it be so useless.

The computer Searchlight lead me to was much easier to crack than the Crusader Maneframe, but behind the door it locked was not the treasure trove we had been hoping for.

”Kill ‘em all! Let Celestia sort them out!” Just behind the door was a multi-limbed floating robot with a variety of weapons and tools at the end of said limbs. Behind that robot was the army I inquired about. A few dozen pony-like robots with glass-domed heads lined the walls of the room beyond.

Searchlight and I wasted no time in fleeing. A jet of flame chased behind us as the floating robot followed us from the room. Bolting down the hallway towards the elevator was not as easy as I had hoped. The multi-limbed robot floated behind us spouting pro-Equestria propaganda.

“Better wiped than Striped!”

Green balls of magical energy chased us down the hallway, one passing above me close enough for me to smell singed mane. Searchlight let out a cry of pain, and burned flesh joined the smells assaulting my nose.

We dove for the elevator, Searchlight slamming a back hoof into the button to go up as soon as we had cleared the doors. We were panting for breathe, and Searchlight had been hurt, but we were alive. Searchlight downed a healing potion, its healing effects working slower against the magical burns inflicted on her side.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Nothin’ another healing potion won’t fix. I think I got two more in here.” She fished out another potion from her saddlebag and knocked that back too. “I’ll need to replace this barding though. I still have a few sets of barding back at my shack.” Searchlight shed the leather barding she wore, revealing a cutie mark of a spanner. A part of me wasn’t surprised. The elevator gave a lurch and shuddered to a stop before I could ask how she got her cutie mark.

“What was that?” Panic took hold as I remembered that I was in a metal box that mocked gravity. A metal groan resonated through the elevator and it slipped downwards slightly. “That’s bad! I need out!” I began to pry at the elevator door ineffectually.

“Bright. Bright. Bright!” The third time Searchlight said my name she spun me around and smacked me with a forehoof. “I need you to calm down. We can get outta this, but I need your help.” I nodded. “I’m gonna give you a boost up through the maintenance hatch. Then you’re gonna help me up and we’ll go from there, okay?”

I flushed lightly. I had been foalish. I used my magic to open the maintenance hatch, and moments later we stood atop the elevator, which was a few feet shy of the ground floor. The elevator shifted again, spurring us to move quickly. Together, we were able to force the door open enough for a pony to slip through. Searchlight gave me a boost and I was back on solid ground. I turned and used both my forehooves to help Searchlight up. Before she could climb up the elevator gave way.

A high-pitched squeal echoed through the elevator shaft as the elevator picked up speed. “I’ve got you!” Searchlight hung over an abyss, the only thing keeping her from falling was my grip. I reached out with my telekinesis spell to try to help her climb up, silently wishing I had stronger magics in my repertoire.

“I trust you, Bright.” The cables of the elevator zipped downward, the snapped cables flailing wildly against the walls of the shaft above. Then they were past us. Then Searchlight was gone, and I was left holding a single leg.

I watched in horror as the rest of Searchlight plummeted after the elevator, which hit the bottom of the elevator shaft with a deafening crash. I will never forget Searchlight’s expression of shock as she disappeared into the void, a trail of crimson following her.

I was alone. I sat a few feet from the elevator shaft, replaying my last few moments with Searchlight over and over in my head. I kept trying to come up with a scenario where I could have saved her. I could have helped her up first. I could have been quicker. I could have been braver. I could have done any number of things that I didn’t.

Instead, I had let a pony die who didn’t deserve it. I wanted to scream. To yell. To cry. But right then wasn’t the moment to do any of these things. I sniffled lightly and turned my back on the elevator shaft that would now mark Searchlight’s grave. I turned and walked out of the building, which my PipBuck belatedly marked in its mapping program as Four Stars Accounting. As I walked away I made a silent vow to never allow another pony to die because of my mistakes.

Level Up!

Perk Gained:

Science Pony (rank 1 of 3): Your experience with computers comes in handy. Hacking computers is now 10% easier.