Before I tell you this story, I should first tell you about PipBucks.
What is a PipBuck? A PipBuck is a device, worn on a foreleg just above the hoof, issued to every pony in a Stable when they become old enough to start work. They can track ponies, your health, aim at targets, navigate, listen to Velvet Remedy's music, and more.
So yes, PipBucks really are a testament to unicorn pony arcane science. But it's hard to impress upon ponies who never lived in a Stable just how ordinary, how pedestrian, a PipBuck was. And why I was disappointed to have one as my cutie mark.
Oh, my name is LittlePip. Go figure.
Fallout: Equestria
Four ponies sat around a small, but better than nothing fire in the wasteland of Equestria. Littlepip, a light blue unicorn with a brown main; Steel Hooves, an earthpony that was fused to his robotic armour; Calamity, an admirer of Rainbow Dash; Velvet Remedy, an admirer of Fluttershy and a wonderful singer; all stood around that little fire. There was a building far off into the distance that Little hadn't noticed until now.
"Hey, guys; wanna see that building over there?" she asked.
"Don't," Steel Hooves replied in a deep, deep. "It could be too dangerous."
"Well... there might be some weapons, food, and bottle caps to scavenge!" Littlepip suggested.
"She... might be right," said Calamity, "We've been runnin' real low on our bullets, and I am starvin'."
"We are all starving, Calamity. We always are. It's not worth it." Steel Hooves replied.
"Well, I won't be alone." said Littlepip.
"Yeah, Pip 'n' I will go. Seriously, we'll at least need the bullets." Calamity agreed.
"... I still don't approve."
"An' we don't care." Calamity said before Pip and he left.
The old abandoned building they found was dark, and had two hundred years worth of rotting. It was fully made out of wood, and was big enough to house four dozen ponies. Calamity flew up to the old, well faded sign.
"'Moonlight Sonata Foster Home'." he read aloud. The two walked in, and found what was expected- all the photos all the walls faded; the walls weak and ancient; old toys and other items; books in shelves all dusty; everything there was old and rotting. Littlepip and Calamity looked everywhere- in every shelf; in every hall; behind and under every table and desks; every corner for anything to take. Soon enough, one of them found something.
"Hey, Littlepip, take a look." said Calamity said from an office. Littlepip carefully trotted her way through the old home to keep it from collapsing. What she found once when she reached the office where her dashite friend stood was an old document. Somehow, it was still fresh, seemingly by magic. The document read,
Dear Emma Jean,
Your deal has been expired. Take all the foals and leave. We are coming for you.
And on the bottom was a symbol with circles connected, and within them were smaller circles.
"There's no signature, jus' the circles." Calamity observed.
"That name, 'Emma Jean'. What kind of name is that?" Littlepip wondered aloud.
"An' what was that 'deal' they had?"
"And who made that deal with her?"
"Hey, who turned off the lights?!"
With that last line said, Littlepip and Calamity turned and saw that they weren't alone. Behind them stood a pony shaped plain white space suit, with a collar that glowed whenever the suit spoke. Inside that suit, they saw the skull of a pony that must of died two hundred years ago, and it was still standing, but it was no ghoul. There was no remaining flesh, it all rotted away far too long ago.
"Hey, who turned off the lights?!" it repeated.
"Run?" asked Littlepip.
"Hell yeah." Calamity replied, and as swift as a bullet from the Little McIntosh, Calamity bucked the suit down, which gave them more than enough time to run past it and into the halls.
"Hey, who turned off the lights?!"
They ran with all their might and found the door. But what stood in their way were two more suits, only without ponies.
"Please enter the suit."
"-Please enter the suit."
Both suits said in unison, with one a second behind. The two suits both opened, and revealed buckles that unhatched on their own, and chords that moved like snakes with needles made to pierce deep into pony flesh.
"Wanna chance it?" asked Calamity.
"Nope!" answered Littlepip.
"Hey, who turned off the lights?"
"Please enter the suit."
"-Please enter the suit."
Calamity and Littlepip chose to run into a different hall and hoped that they could find a different exit; maybe an emergency fire exit. They thought they lost them at one point, but then they encountered another suit with a pony inside.
"So cold... so dark..."
They both turned, then headed for a closet to hide and think. The Little McIntosh was held in Littlepip's magic, ready for any unwanted visits. The reason she didn't use the bullets earlier was because she only had three bullets left, and no clips for more bullets to fill it. They held their breaths for a time, afraid that the suits might hear. After a long wait to be sure that they really were alone, Calamity felt it had been long enough to break that silence, but only in a low whisper.
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know. Those ponies... they're dead, but..."
"Now, don't be like that. You've seen a lot of ghouls 'n' zombies, this is basically the same."
"No, it's not the same! Ghouls are still alive, just not the same way. Those suits... those ponies... they really are dead, Calamity! It's not them walking, it's the suits! Didn't you seem them earlier? The buckles, the chords, the whole suit; it all moved without a pony inside! Calamity, none of these ponies are alive; just the suits!"
"Livin' suits? I've seen weirder. Now that I think about it, the suits did want us in... ya think they jus'... take ponies 'n' walk 'em 'till they die, then keep goin'?"
"... I think so..."
"Please enter the suit."
Before they could react, an empty suit unfolded from behind, and grabbed Littlepip with it's sleeves as it starts to open.
"Calamity!"
Littlepip couldn't concentrate hard enough to wield the Little McIntosh anymore, and was left to use her bare hooves. Calamity responded by immediately aiming his guns, and realized with horror that Littlepip and the suit were huddled too close together for a clear shot. He resolved to just his hooves, and started to wrestle with the suit.
"Please enter the suit."
"No! No, don't! No!" came a sudden cry.
But it was not from Littlepip... the doors opened, and in came another suit with a pony inside; this, Calamity could shoot. He turned and used up his remaining bullets by firing a furry of bullets. The only result was that the suit had holes all over; that pony already died a long time ago.
"Damn!" Calamity cried. The suit raised a hoof, and a blue round laser shot from it, stunning the stallion. He turned his head, and the last thing he saw was Littlepip being buckled and hooked by the needles.
"Calamity!" he heard her cry before he fell into a deep slumber.
Calamity stirred, and awoken. He tried to get up, but found that he couldn't. The moment he realized that, the moment he started to panic and struggled with the bind.
"So cold... so dark..."
"Run, just run!"
"No, don't! Please don't!"
"Please enter the suit."
His panic worsened.
"What are you?! Where the hell is Littlepip?!"
"Run, just run!"
"So cold... so dark..."
"No, don't! Please don't!"
"Can y'all say anythin' else besides the same thing over 'n' over again?! Where's Littlepip?! What 'r ya gonna do t' me! Why didn't ya put me in a suit while I was unconscious?! Stop sayin' the same damn thing over 'n' over and tell me!" Calamity demanded. There was silence in the room for a time, until the empty one stepped fourth.
"Please enter the sui-- Please enter-- e-e-e-enter theeee-- the-- the- the-... we need you conscious in order to do the operation properly." said the suit after a short struggle.
"What operation?! Why the hell are you doin' this?!" Calamity demanded.
"We are only obey-- Please enter the--ing our program."
"Who made you?! Why did they make you?!"
"We can not-not-not-not- Please en-- not answer that, all the information about our creator is not in our data base. I only answered your questions so you can be still. Now. Please enter the suit."
Once when the suit finished it's explanation, it walked towards Calamity close enough before the straps that held the stallion were automatically released. With no time to waste, he swiftly push the suit away with his front hoof, then turned to buck it with his back hooves. He was not an earthpony, but his kick was great enough to make the suit fall on it's back.
"I gotta get the hell outta here," he said to himself as he ran out the door, "An' find Littlepip!" he added as he dogged flying blue circles and crashed his way through.
"Run, just run!"
For once, Calamity agreed with one of the suits. He ran as quickly as he could with all his might. He searched and searched through the halls to find Littlepip, so he could save her, if she hadn't already saved herself, and then leave the foster home forever.
"Calamity!" called a voice. Calamity stopped, then his expression turned from urgency, to released. But half way before he turned his head to see her, he noticed that her voice had more fear to it than the feeling of unity, and worst of all; it sounded more like it came from speaker than her own mouth.
"Save yourself!"
"Calamity!"
Once when he fully turned his head, he saw what he had feared not seconds ago; Littlepip was in a suit.
"Please! I can't control myself, I can't get out, and my suit is going to get you! Just run!"
"Calamity!"
"No, I ain't leavin' you like this! Y'r gonna be buried when you die, ya hear? Y'r not gonna be like 'em walkin' skeletons; I'm gettin' you out!"
"Calamity!"
"Just don't, it's too late!" Littlepip whaled; tears in her eyes. Her hoof slowly raised, and she started to cry louder. "Leave! I don't want them to take you too! Just leave and warn the others to stay as far away from here as possible!"
She shot, and Calamity dodged.
"Ya have t' fight it!" he yelled.
"I'M TRYING!" Littlepip cried as she shot again. "Just go!"
"But--"
"Go!"
"Calamity!"
She shot again. Calamity couldn't get close enough to free her, for every shot was getting more and more accurate, and it was getting close and closer. Calamity swore to never forgive himself once when he realized that he had no more choice. He ran towards the door to the hall, and he stopped to take one more look at her.
"Calamity?"
"Calamity!"
"Yes?"
"Tell Homage I love her... please..."
"I will, Littlepip. I will..." Calamity replied reassuringly with tears in his eyes. Littlepip shot again, and Calamity ran.
"Calamity!"
The suit cried again. As he ran, the voice grew quieter and quieter as it called out his name over and over again in that same tone. He looked away, and focused on the path ahead.
"Hey, who turned off the lights?"
Calamity stopped in his tracks as the suit blocked his only way to the exit.
"No, don't! Please don't!"
"Please enter the suit."
"Run, just run!"
"So cold... so dark.."
"Please enter the suit."
All the other suits entered from every hall and closet as they gathered in the front room of the foster home. He looked around, and felt his hope start to shatter.
"Calamity!"
This time it didn't come from a sound clip. He spun around and saw Littlepip; still in the suit.
"The Little McIntosh, it's right over there on the floor!" she informed and tried to gesture at it with her head. "I threw it over there when I almost lost control of my magic!"
Calamity found the Little McIntosh lying on the floor. He scoped it up as quickly as he could to arm himself. A suit shot at him, and he dodged. He accidentally pulled the trigger at the sudden shot as he dodged. He looked to find where he shot, and then everything in his mind immediately turned dull. He saw Littlepip with wide opened eyes, and those green eyes showed fear, sadness, and shock, as her head hung back with a red hole on her forehead that rapidly dripped with blood.
"Littlepip... what have I done...?" Calamity asked with the lowest and softest breath he had ever breathed. With him frozen, an empty suit swiftly took advantage and advanced on him.
"Please enter the suit."
