What a Wonderful Life

by Dustchu

Rating: teen
Tags: Fluttershy, Science Fiction, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Crossover, Fallout, Human, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other
Length: 12757

Life in the Columbia Commonwealth is a strange and new experience, especially for a butter yellow pegasus named Fluttershy.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As a part of The Interspecies Friendship Project, Fluttershy has moved from Equestria to the United States in order to show that friendship can be had between two entirely different species. And the Columbian Commonwealth is a strange and wondrous place, with many different things, technology and people.

And she's about to experience it all.

But behind the scenes... darkness awaits, plans are formed, weapons are built and forces are rallied, as war looms on the horizon...

What a Wonderful Life.

Fallout and MLPFIM Belong to their respective owners.
I only own my characters, the story and certain elements.

Things may change and some canon may be twisted to fit
Better Cover Art Needed

Published 2015-11-20 22:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-25 07:33:15 UTC

Leaving Home

Fluttershy stood on the tarmac of the human's airport outside of Appaloosa, human soldiers patrolled on the outskirts of the airfield, staying on their side of the fence. Ponies dressed in their guard armor and holding spears were on the other side of the fence, patrolling their own side. The towers and hangers were all built out of concrete and steel, something Equestria didn't use very often. Ahead of Fluttershy sat her transport, a large green aircraft that was to take her halfway across the world to the US.

Behind her stood the Elements of Harmony, all of whom were accompanied by several soldiers, both Equestrian and American. Fluttershy had a saddlebag on her back, filled with a few personal objects she was taking with her. She was absolutely terrified of this, she was leaving her home, her place of birth, and headed to an entirely new land filled with many things she knew so little about. The United States of America, Equestria's Ally.

Fluttershy had heard many things about the country, and the others populated by humans. They were said to be dangerous, war mongering psychopaths. And she was scared, because she was asked by Princess Celestia herself to be the first of many ponies to live in the country as a part of Project called, The Interspecies Friendship Project. There were so many other ponies that would have jumped at the opportunity to live in America. Fluttershy knew Lyra was a human fanatic, but apparently the poor mare had come down with something and couldn't go.

So... for some strange reason, that left poor Fluttershy. Out of the hundreds of thousands of ponies, Celestia choose Fluttershy for this project. And her friends, while they were said Fluttershy was moving - temporarily it seemed - they were happy she was getting a once in a lifetime chance. And so, here she was, standing just a few feet away from the stairs that would lead her to a whole new world.

"Are you alright, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked her friend, coming up to stand beside her. She had been a bit worried about Fluttershy, as the pegasus was acting more scared than usual. The Princess of Friendship only hoped the younger mare was going to be alright, she knew humans tended to be rather aggressive - something they shared with Griffons - but from the very few she had met personally, they could be very nice and helpful individuals.

After a few seconds, Fluttershy nodded her head. "Y-yes, Twilight," she said, gulping as she stared at the aircraft. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind taking my place?" She asked with a nervous smile, she desperately wanted to be home with Angel Bunny, possibly hiding under her bed with some snacks and a good book to read.

The lavender mare giggled. "As much as I would love to go in your place, the princess said it had to be you." Twilight chided, her eyes drifted skyward for a moment, as she started saying, "the advanced technology, the hundreds of books on their history and species, the fountains of knowledge and the diverse cultures!" She looked back at her friend, "you're getting such a rare chance here!"

"I-I know, Twilight." Fluttershy squeaked, she knew only a little about humanity's culture and their ways, most of which involved mornings scrambling baby chickens over a pan and deep frying their parents in oil...

She was not looking forward to such a morning.

"I'm just not really as excited as you all are." She whispered, shuffling from side to side.

One of the soldiers standing by the plane spotted the group, waving his hand and jogging over. The man was dressed in simple light olive green combat armor, and had a firearm in a holster by his side, dark green eyes stared at Fluttershy from under the helmet. "You're..." He looked down at a clipboard he was holding, murmuring to himself before asking, "Fluttershy, right?"

Fluttershy, being the ever so adorable pony she was, eeped, hiding behind Twilight. "Please don't eat me!" She squeaked.

That poor soldier's heart melted.

He made a tsking noise, taking off his helmet and showing brown hair. He knelt down, showing a soft smile. "I wouldn't eat you Miss Fluttershy," he said, giving her an honest look. "No one is going to eat you, so you don't worry about that."

Twilight smiled sheepishly, she expected this to happened, and decided to take over. "I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, might I ask who you are, sir?" She was curious about this human, his rank - from what she saw on his uniform - showed he was a Sergeant in the US Armed Forces.

The man held out his hand to the princess, "I'm Sergeant Samuel Conner, you can just call me Sammy." He told her with a smile. "I'm Fluttershy's guard during her stay in America."

The mare returned his smile, he had a distinct southern air about him that she couldn't help but notice. Twilight friend's also noticed it, Applejack in particular. The mares all approached the man, Applejack at the front. The country mare tipped her hat back, grinning at the human. "Say partner, where're you from?"

Sammy thought for a moment. "I'm from Texas originally," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he thought of his home, it seemed so far away. "From the city of Austin! But I did grow up on a farm before I moved there, growing potatoes and what have ya."

Applejack grinned wider, eyes twinkling with merriment, she hadn't expected the human soldier to have been a farmer! "That's pretty interestin'! Ah'm a farmer myself!" She said, crossing one leg in front of the other. "We grow apples on my farm, nothing but the best in all of Equestria!" It was true in a sense, they did grow some mighty fine apples, and she could attest to them, as well as her friends and... well, pretty much any pony in Equestria could.

The soldier widened his eyes, "I love apples, I have to try yours sometime." He said, turning back to Fluttershy, eyebrows furrowing and a thoughtful frown on his face, "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah," Rainbow chimed in, a playful grin on her face. "She's always like that, she'll come around in a second or two."

As the group decided to ask Sammy several questions, most of which consisted of his home, family, and what he thought about the project, to other random things like when his birthday was, how many people has he killed, if he liked cupcakes or not, and his choice in military fashion. The last four courtesy of Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was taking one last look at Appaloosa, the airfield blocked off most of the view of the town, but she could see several ponies standing on the other side of the far northern fence, most of them holding up signs and yelling things she couldn't make out.

Sammy seemed to have caught her line of sight, saying, "Protesters." He said aloud for everyone to hear, the girls all stopped talking to look at the fence, the fence was knocked against by angry earth ponies, all of which were protesting something.

"What are they protesting?" Fluttershy asked, eyes darting from side to side.

"Us," Sammy pointed to himself, then the area around them. "First contact between our two nations didn't exactly go so... smoothly." He admitted, remembering what almost happened between Equestria and America when they came into contact with one another sixty years ago. It was hectic, and almost led to World War III. "Ever since then, some of Equestria's population haven't been to... happy with us establishing bases and facilities on your soil."

"I'm afraid that's true," Twilight nodded, she had heard about how some ponies didn't take too kindly to humans and their ways. She had heard that there have even been a few attacks done by ponies, something she couldn't believe. Celestia had informed Twilight of the ponies that were against humans being on Equestrian soil. It was disheartening to hear about. "Some ponies don't like the humans all that much," the mare admitted, much to her friend's shock.

Specially Pinkie's.

"They don't!?" The pink mare gasped, Rainbow and Rarity had similar expressions on their faces. "How could they not! Humans are like, super interesting!" She bounced over to Sammy, then grabbed at his face. "Look at his face! Its so squishy!" She emphasized her point by squeezing Sammy's face, much to his and the girls' amusement and Twilight's annoyance. "And he's so cute!" Pinkie added, pulling the human into a quick hug. "How can they not like them!"

Sammy shrugged, patting Pinkie on the back. Good thing my superior isn't out here, jeez. Sammy thought with a slight smile on his face. "Some just don't like us... who are you?" He asked the pink pony hugging him.

Pinkie Pie pulled away for a second, staring him in the eyes with a large smile on her face. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" Quickly she moved away from the human, going over to her friends. "This is my friend Rarity!" She pointed to the mare, who bowed her head, then to Rainbow Dash. "And this is Rainbow Dash!" She then pointed to Applejack finally, "And this is Applejack!"

"Hehehe, well it's nice to meet you six," Sammy nodded to them all as an air horn sounded. "Whoops, looks like it's time for us to head out." He stood up, putting his helmet back on and nodding to Fluttershy. "We should get going Miss Fluttershy, don't want to be late, eh?" He questioned the mare, who looked up at him with a pleading expression.

The mare trembled, walking out from behind Twilight. Suddenly she found she was on the receiving end of a hug from her pink friend, followed by Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Twilight. She returned their hug as best as she could, eyes stinging from tears. "We're gunna miss you sugarcube." Applejack said, Fluttershy couldn't say anything, only returning the hug tenfold and wishing she didn't have to leave.

But she had to...

Letting go of her friends, Fluttershy turned to Samuel. "I'm ready." She muttered, steeling herself. She told herself she couldn't be scared now, she wanted to be strong for her friends, and strong for whatever new friends she might make in the new world she was headed into, called the United States. She started forward, the soldiers behind her giving her encouraging glances, and her friends giving her heartbreaking but happy smiles. Samuel trailed beside her, walking by her side and leading her to the stairs.

The plane was fueled up, and both pilots were getting ready for take off. Samuel went up the stairs first, opening the side door and letting Fluttershy in. The pony carefully made her way up the stairs, the metal feeling odd and foreign against her hooves, each step produced a clank noise until she reached the top. She gulped, staring at the inside of the plane before turning around, she saw her friends waving to her, she smiled faintly, waving back to them, she made her way inside the plane.

Samuel gave a salute to the soldiers looking his way before disappearing into the plane, closing the door and locking it behind him.

As Fluttershy went inside, she saw most if not all of the seats were empty. She felt cramped inside of the massive airplane, and briefly wondered where she was going to sit. Can I sit anywhere?

Samuel came up behind her, startling her slightly. "You can just sit anywhere, though if you want a nice view of the outside you can sit near a window seat and get a nice look outside while we fly." He suggested, "want me to put your bag away?" He asked her politely.

Looking back at her saddlebag, she slid it off of her back and presented it to Samuel, the man picked up the bag and proceeded to put it away while Fluttershy looked for a nice seat. All of the seats were made of soft cushy material, and a distinct smell lingered in the air, it wasn't a bad smell however. Eventually she settled for a seat where Samuel was standing, putting her bag above in an overhead compartment. She hopped up into the seat, kneading it with her hooves before settling down, her gaze turning to the window.

Next to her, Samuel turned to face her, kneeling down, "I'm going to have to strap you in," He told her as he reached for the seat straps.

"Straps?" She questioned curiously, watching as the human grabbed some straps attached to the seat and began wrapping them around her waist and shoulder.

She was about to protest, but Sammy's next words destroyed it. "These will keep you safe, more or less if something goes wrong with the plane."

Straps stay on! STRAPS STAY ON! Fluttershy cried mentally, gulping down the possibility of something going wrong with the plane. She didn't know much about aircraft, only that through some kind of magic and technology that these massive beasts of steel could fly through the skies as effortlessly as a Pegasus. It felt somewhat unnatural to her, but she reasoned that some ground bound species had to travel somehow. After being strapped into the seat, Samuel took a seat next to her and strapped himself in, taking off his helmet and setting it aside.

With a grin, he said, "don't worry, the take off might be a bit rough, but the flight will be smooth as a baby's butt." He told her as his grin morphed into a smile.

Fluttershy felt confused about his terminology, her face scrunched up and her brows furrowed. She shook her head, deciding not to question it. The pegasus felt the plane tremble beneath her, and she felt the beast was moving. The engines on both sides turned on, the blades slicing through the air and propelling the aircraft forward.

"Attention all passengers, departing from Appaloosa, Equestria, for the Columbia Commonwealth, United States." A voice over the intercom system of the plane, Fluttershy tugged on the straps holding her in the seat with a fearful gaze as the plane started moving.

She hoped she knew what she was getting into.

Author's Note

Look! A wild story appeared!

Will it ever finish?

...

Edited: 11/22/2015

Fixed typos and errors

The Flight, My Moon, and The Landing

Countless hours had passed since Fluttershy boarded the plane and left her home of Equestria, and the poor mare was somewhat terrified. She clutched her hooves onto her seat, her eyes staring out of the window above the clouds. Fluttershy heard from the pilot that they were flying at a comfortable thirty thousand feet... she hadn't expected the aircraft to fly so high up. She's flown to high altitudes before, but never this high up before.

It was terrifying, and doing a number on her poor fragile heart.

And the turbulence, don't get her started on the turbulence! Every now and then the plane would shake ever so slightly, and a small whine would escape her. She wanted out of this thing, and back on the ground, where it was safe and not prone to apparent mid-air explosions. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand how Samuel was so calm about this flight!

Any second now, this plane could explode! She whimpered, waiting for the inevitable explosion that would swallow her up and turn her into a cooked pegasus...

Only it never came, Sammy assured her of that.

"Plane crashes are rare, unless someone sabotages the engines, kills the pilot, or shoots at us with Anti-Air ordinance, we'll be fine!" He smiled brightly like a foal at Hearth's Warming Eve.

His optimism and explanation didn't help her any in regards to calming down.

If anything, it made it worse.

Please don't crash, please don't crash, please don't crash! The pegasus pleaded as the plane trembled, the sound of the steel creaking her lightheaded and she feared she'd pass out. Fluttershy, in hopes of passing the time and hopefully forgetting she was over thirty thousand feet in the air, decided to think about the United States. The country that she was going to be living in for the duration of the project, she really wished her friends had come with, but they had to stay in Equestria.

Samuel had only filled her in on a little of where she was going to be living, a small town called Springvale which was located near a city known as Washington D.C. She was told it was a modestly sized community with a very small population, and was said to be a friendly sort. Sammy informed the mare that she already had a house set up for her when she asked where she was staying, and the town was informed of the project before hand. He said nothing more then that, saying he wanted most of it to be a surprise.

Springvale, what little of it Sammy explained to her of it, was a nice community that was pretty accepting of the Project. She hoped that the people she was going to be living near were friendly, ponies were very easy to get along with at times, and so far the humans' she's met were very nice to her. One of them being Samuel, and another being a doctor that checked her at the airport in Appaloosa to make sure she wasn't going to be bringing any sort of disease over.

She was a teensy bit miffed, but understood why that was an issue. She didn't want to be the cause of someone getting hurt or sick, that would be bad.

I do hope nothing bad happens. She turned to look out of the window, seeing the clouds filling the skies. Fluttershy sighed to herself, relaxing her grip on the seat. Samuel was sitting in an aisle seat next to her, and was reading from a small magazine that had a picture of a symbol followed by the words Vault-Tec Corporation on the front. Vault-Tec? She wondered, as the plane shook once more, making the pegasus grip the seat again. I hope this ends soon...

"Estimated Time of Arrival to the Columbia Commonwealth is just a little over five hours, we're sorry for the inconvenience."

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she sunk into her seat... a tiny whimper escaping the mare.

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
Back in Equestria - Twilight Sparkle

Twilight had left Appaloosa a few minutes after the aircraft left the small airfield, the princess of friendship was sitting in her castle in Ponyville, looking out a window and into the sky. She saw another one of those planes flying over the town, it was high up in the sky well above pegasi flying range. The princess sighed, turning back to her desk, several books were lying across it in alphabetical order, all of them gifts from the Vault-Tec President on behalf of the Friendship Project.

Most of the books were about Vault-Tec's history, the United States history, a Big Book of Science - something she was fascinated by - and various pamphlets about Vaults. She didn't know what Vaults were, but apparently they were being built across the United States due to the rising threats of nuclear war. Twilight couldn't understand why there was such a threat, but from what Princess Celestia told her, the entire human infrastructure and economy was run off of a precious resource... Oil. Oil was something humans used to power their vehicles, cities and towns, and their war machines, without it, they were about as powerful as Griffonia.

For years, there were wars in the other human countries, specifically the European Commonwealth, where it had dissolved into squabbling nation states that started fighting over what little resources remained. It was terrifying what had happened, she wasn't aware there were were any wars going on until she overheard a few classmates of hers talking about it. Europe and the Middle-East had become nothing more then a barren wasteland filled with people fighting over precious few resources.

It was sad to hear such a thing was going on, and now there was another war going on, one between two of the biggest human superpowers in the world. China and the United States, biological weapons, armed conflict and so on. Alaska was in the midst of a war, two of the superpowers fighting over the Oil fields beneath the snow. It was chaos over there, and she was glad Fluttershy wasn't anywhere near the fighting.

Sighing, she chanced a look at the Vault Pamphlet, a picture of a strange cartoonish human was on the front. Behind him was a large door with the numbers 101 on the front of it. She held it up in her magic, looking it over before flipping open the page, coming across a index. "I have nothing better to do." Twilight told herself, settling down and reading the pamphlet.

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
Equestria - With Princess Luna

"Luna, sister?" Princess Celestia questioned her sister, who's angry face had worried her somewhat. The princess of the moon was staring down at the street in Canterlot, eyeing the United States Relations Building with a disdainful gaze. "Lulu?"

Luna snorted, turning to face her sister. "Yes, dear sister?" She asked, a tired look replacing her look of anger.

"Are you well?" The princess of the sun questioned, she had never seen her sister so angry before. She wasn't as angry as she was centuries ago, but she was still a good amount of angry. Like, don't touch my cookie jar, angry.

"I am fine, sister." Luna informed the mare beside her, turning back to glare at the building.

Sitting down beside Luna, Celestia tilted her head. "You don't look well, you're angry... why?"

"I am not angry." Luna protested weakly, brushing off what her sister was saying.

"Are you sure?" Celestia nudged her sister gently, "because you look like you're about to attack something..." Lowering her voice, she draped a wing around her younger sister and pulled her close. "What is the matter?"

Sighing heavily, Luna turned to face Celestia. "Those humans, and their violation of the moon during my absence! My moon!" She growled, the memory of what the humans accomplished still fresh in her mind. Several months after her return, she was updated on what had happened during her banishment, and one thing, out of all of the things that happened, stood out above them all... it was possibly one of the worse things she could ever imagine...

The humans, landed on her moon and stuck a flag on its surface.

She demanded the humans be exterminated for the atrocious desecration of her moon... Celestia managed to talk her out of it, but it was still something that peeved Luna to no end.

Celestia snorted softly, "I understand that, what they did is more or less an insult to you, but there was little I could do to stop them." Celestia explained, there truly was little she could do on the matter. The humans had gone to the moon several times, and if what she heard was true, they had several stations built in space, for what purpose, she was unsure. "I did not know they had the technology, let alone the capability to send humans into space, let alone land on the moon."

A scoff, followed by a hoof stomp. "The moon is mine, Celestia, and they planted a flag on it like they were claiming it for their own!" Luna scowled, the moon was hers, she claimed power over it, and the humans had the audacity to land on it several times. She knew because the moon had felt strange, she could feel the moon calling to its matron, informing her of what was happening. And now...

Her moon was silent...

"They did something, Celestia, they did something to it!" Luna cursed, shaking in anger. Ever since her moon stopped calling to her at night, she had grown worried, and now she knew why it had stopped... the humans that landed on it years ago did something to it. She knows they did!

She just lacked any viable evidence to present.

"I'm sure its nothing," Celestia assured her little sister, rubbing her back. She knew what that was like however, she had her own connection to the sun, and spoke with it on occasion, sometimes it didn't speak.

Crazy crazy magic.

"It can't be nothing!" Luna scowled further, teeth grinding against one another. "Why must we deal with these humans anyway?" She changed the subject, ever since the humans came to Equestria, they had been everywhere, building facilities and such on their ground and she wanted to know why. "Why have you allowed them to construct military facilities on our land?"

A closed mouthed sigh, She was bound to ask at some point. She thought before saying, "Trust," She looked out into the city of Canterlot, where her and Luna's little ponies lived and flourished. "And protection. The PLA have threatened Equestria in the past over our alliance with the United States, threats with nuclear weapons," She closed her eyes, thinking back to that day.

She was having a nice lunch with one of the American Diplomats, a man by the name of Richardson, when the first threat had come, in the form of a messenger. The man was allowed into the castle and brought before the princess because he was said to be an ambassador from China sent to Equestria to negotiate a trade deal.

However, the only thing the man said was that Equestria was now an enemy of China for siding with the treacherous American scum, and will pay dearly for it.

The next thing that followed was the man pulling a knife and tried to attack both the Diplomat and Celestia, he underestimated Celestia however. She managed to stop him with a simple spell, pulling the knife from the assassin's hands and disabling him with another spell. He was locked up and apologies were given by both parties.

The following week, Celestia heard the man had died in his cell, foaming at the mouth and writhing on the floor. An autopsy showed he was poisoned, and further investigation showed one of his teeth was cracked open, hollow on the inside containing remnants of a small capsule.

Suicide. She sighed, she hadn't expected that in the slightest. "The US decided to help us, while we remain a neutral party in this war, they have agreed to protect us. Hence the bases and fortifications built along the northern borders." She explained, recalling the many forms asking for certain building rights in locations across Equestria, most of which were in the north. So far, seven bases had been constructed, one of which housed some of the United States Navy forces. "While our own forces are fully capable of repelling many threats, the PLA are far more advanced then we are, and so we need the Americans help."

The princess of the night huffed, turning to look out into the city. It was true, she read the reports. Equestria's technology paled in comparison to the most primitive Chinese homeowner. Equestria still utilized spears, shields and swords, their griffon neighbors were more advanced then they were, having cannons and airships capable of war. Pathetic. She grumbled, back in her day, if she had been in control of the military R&D department centuries ago...

...

Hmm... Luna hummed in thought, an idea forming in her head.

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
With Poor Fearful Fluttershy

"Now approaching Adams Air Force Base, we hope you enjoyed the flight." The pilot announced over the PA system.

Fluttershy nearly fainted from relief, this horrible flight is almost over with! She cheered mentally.

Samuel wasn't as excited as she was, after all, he enjoyed flying in planes.

Fluttershy called him crazy for that remark.

But now, now the flight was almost over! And she could finally rest, after all, gripping onto the arm rest for five hours straight really took it out of her. She was going to enjoy staying at her new home, specifically the bed part, she desperately needed a nap, post haste!

She could see the plane was descending, several large buildings coming into view on the far left side of the massive airfield. She saw even more planes sitting about, smaller ones then the one she was inside of. Massive buildings holding more of those aircraft were nearby, it was an entire base filled wit hangers, tall towers with strange dish like objects on the top of them. She could also make out several smaller aircraft flying around the base, she didn't know what those were.

Eventually the plane landed on the runway, bouncing slightly before steadying itself. Once the breaks were hit, Fluttershy was glad for the straps, they kept her from getting launched from her seat and into the one in front of her. The engines roared still on the outside, but eventually the sound was dying out, until the engines cut and the plane came to a stop screeching against the concrete of the runway. The pegasus stayed in her seat until it was safe to get up, and passed the time by looking out the window.

Fluttershy also spotted some small vehicles driving along the runway,, and one of them drove up to the plane. The mare wondered if that was going to take her to her home, she didn't know.

Samuel unbuckled himself form his seat and stood up, moving over to Fluttershy who waited as Samuel undid her straps. "Okay, now that we've landed, I should tell you-" He undid one of the straps, "-that we're not at your home yet, we're going to be taking a jeep to the front where a bus will be waiting, that will take us to Springvale." He explained to the mare, finishing so she could get up.

Fluttershy took the time to stretch out her wings and joints, her legs and back felt stiff from sitting for so long. She would have gotten up, but walking around the aircraft while it was flying, didn't sound like a good idea at the time. Shaking her head, she looked up to see Samuel grabbing her bag form the overhead compartment, "thank you for putting that away for me." She told him as he placed the bag on her back. "I don't think I would have been able to."

"Your wings are more then for show aren't they?" Samuel asked as he turned around to pick up his helmet from the seat he left it in. Putting it on, he added, "you can fly right?"

"Um... yes..."

"You could have flown in here, I guess to get up there... but eh, you're welcome." He smiled as he turned around to face her, with a nod from her he walked over to the door and began to open it.

Fluttershy trotted over to Samuel, watching as the door was slowly opened up. I'm here... She thought to herself as she was thrust out into a whole new world.

Author's Note

ITS BEEN UPDATED!

TAKING A BREAK!
Oi this hurt.

Enjoy!

The Drive, Luna's Plan, and Rainbow's Secret Letter

It was a few minutes after landing at Adams Air Force Base in the United States, and Fluttershy was terrified of the place. It was not so much the cloudy unrestrained weather patterns, nor the sounds of soldiers training or even the imposing sights of the walls surrounding the place... no, it was the soldiers themselves, she remembered the ones back at Appaloosa, the men and women dressed in their armor, walking around the airfield. They were friendly, and very nice when she met them.

However, the ones in the base, were radically different. They weren't outright hostile to her, but when she held eye contact with a few of them... she saw anger in their eyes, she could sense the sadness in their hearts. They weren't like the animals back home, but she had a good eye for sensing when someone or something was feeling sad. And some of the soldiers sitting by or standing to the side watched her, and she could sense they were troubled somehow.

Aside from the humans, the building she was passing by was huge, several stories tall and colored a dark gray. The base itself lacked any vibrant colors, and had mostly dark grays, greens and red. She saw aircraft being prepared on the runway behind here, where they were going and what for she wasn't sure.

Fluttershy was sitting in the back of the jeep, a vehicle that was taking her to another vehicle which was going to drive her across the commonwealth and to her home in the town of Springvale. Samuel was sitting beside her, carrying a large green bag that held some of his personal effects. Driving the jeep was a man who introduced himself as Major Thomas, he didn't talk much, only greeting the two before driving them towards the front of the building.

As they drove, the pegasus thought about what her home would like, she didn't know what human homes looked like. Were they big? Small? Made of steel and glass, or crafted from wood and metal? Were they underground or above ground like most human buildings she's seen? She didn't know, but she would find out soon. Up ahead She spotted a gate, a large one with a few soldiers standing around it, and a small booth on either side and several stop signs.

The jeep pulled up to the gate, and they went through a small checking process. Fluttershy was scanned with some strange device that scared her to no end, with all of its beeping and whirring, she thought it was going to explode for a second. But after a bit, they stopped and they were allowed through. Driving through the gate, the three came up to the front of the base, which was different then Fluttershy thought it as going to be. There was grass in a small rotunda in front of the base, along with a statue of some planes and a bunch of street lights. Humans dressed in both combat gear and suits walked across the sidewalks, going into and out of some of the buildings, cars were driving up and passing by them slowly.

And at the very front, there was a large vehicle, the bus, Fluttershy figured. The bus was large, and bulky looking, and on the sides were the words City Liner. It had four wheels in the front, and four in the back covered by metal. The windows were tinted and small, and on the side in between the city liner was a large door that was open. The jeep drove up to the bus and stopped the breaks squealing slightly as they came to a stop.

"Here's your stop." Thomas told them, biting on the end of a cigarette.

Fluttershy timidly hopped out, hitting the ground with a clop of her hooves, she looked up at the bus, it was huge and the engine rumbled like a manticore ready to pounce on its prey. She gulped, Maybe its not too late to go back home! She thought, turning around and hoping to see the Jeep... which was now gone from sight. She gulped down a knot in her throat, that was just her luck. Sammy walked up to her, duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"You ready to go?"

A sigh, then she nodded as she was herded onto the bus.

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
In Equestria - Princess Luna

Trotting through the streets of Canterlot was Princess Luna, she was dressed in her regalia as per usual, By her sides walked two of her night guards, outfitted in armor that shone a nice dark blue color. Luna was on a mission, one she gave to herself ever since she talked to her sister on the matters of what the humans were doing. It had been an hour or so, but that was more then enough time for her to contact a certain human she had met some time ago during the peace summit between both races.

She had met the man during the summit, both were bored during the talks and had met during a walk, they hit it off actually and managed to actually talk about some things regarding the war with the Chinese forces and life in general. And, while she didn't like the majority of humans, this one was the exception. After her talk with her sister, she had sought him out and contacted him for the purpose of starting something that would help Equestria in the coming days.

"Princess! Over here!" The lunar mare heard from nearby.

She perked her ears up, looking over at one of the shops she spotted her friend, the man was sitting at one of the tables and donning a clean black suit. A smile graced her face as she trotted over. "Mr. John! I'm so glad you came!" She smiled brightly as the man stood up, bowing slightly and taking the hoof she offered and giving it a shake.

The man nodded, saying, "Well when you called me up, I just couldn't resist." John smiled back as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down in, which she took graciously as he scooted her forward. He took his own seat, sitting across from her as her guards stood off to the side, giving the two their privacy. John clasped his hands together, smiling slightly, "care for anything?" He asked, "I'm having coffee myself."

Luna hummed in thought for a moment, taking a moment to look at the offerings the establishment sold. "I think I will have some tea." She said, John nodded his head and alerted a waitress over. After seeing it was Princess Luna, the worker quickly retrieved their refreshments, bringing them back and asking if they would like anything more. "Hm, no, I am good." John also nodded his head.

"So, Princess," John started, before Luna raised her hoof.

"Please, we are friends, John, you may call me Luna." She told him, getting a light laugh from the man.

"Or course, of course." A sigh from the man, before he took a quick sip of his coffee. He made a Mmm sound, setting his cup down and saying, "This is why I love this nation, you make some damn good coffee." He chuckled.

A nod from Luna as she sipped her tea, "I hope that my asking for you to come here wasn't too troublesome, how was the trip?" She asked, she wasn't sure how their aircraft worked, but it was a fast way for ground bound species to travel. It was innovative, and quite creative from what she was able to understand of human aircraft.

"Oh, quite bumpy I must say," John informed her, his smile ever present. "The flight was quite bumpy, but the carriage ride to this city was lovely." He told her, looking out at the city with an excited look. "Canterlot sure is a marvelous place, one of the more well received cities by the American Elite." He told her with a slight frown, before it turned back into a smile. "But the trip on land was enjoyable, I saw many fine places, one of which was a farm I believe was called Sweet Apple Acres?" He asked, getting a nod from the princess.

"Yes, Sweet Apple Acres is one of the mass producers of Equestria's apple stocks," Luna smiled, "there are none like it in the world as far as I know."

"Ohoho, I can attest to that fact," John held up his cup in a true story fashion. "They are very sweet, but not by much, perfect for making pies with, or other apple related goodies!"

The two shared a nice hearty laugh, it lasting for a good minute before they both stopped. John took one last sip from his cup before sitting it down, Luna did as well.

The time for small talk was over.

"So, Luna." John started, clasping his hands in front of him. "I read your message over and over on the way here... and... are you sure about doing such a thing?" He asked, giving her a concerned look. "I mean, I understand the idea behind it, but..." He was cut off when Luna raised her hoof, gently placing it on the table in front of them.

"I... am fully aware of the consequences of such actions," She said, flashing a look at her guards. The bat ponies were no doubt listening in, but she could trust them to not reveal anything. They were trained from a young age, loyal and dependable, much like Rainbow Dash in a way. "Going under my sister's radar, but... I feel this must be done to ensure Equestria's future, and I need your help with doing this."

John sighed, frowning thoughtfully. He was also aware of what would happen should he be caught doing such a thing, even though Equestria and America were allies, the pony nation did little to nothing to help with the war effort. That didn't help with america's opinions of the ponies either, allies that did nothing to help. "Alright, Luna... I will help you, but..."

"This will all be kept under wraps until the time is right, dear friend." Luna promised, getting another sigh, and a small smile from him. "How soon can we begin?"

"From what I understand of our request," John tapped the table in thought, "a month, two tops. We already have a facility built that can be used for this, all I need to do is gather some trustworthy staff, both of us need to."

Luna smiled. "Splendid."

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
In Equestria - Applejack

Applejack hummed to herself as she walked through Ponyville, hat tilted back and blocking out the sun. She was headed to nowhere in particular, just out for a nice walk. Angel, surprisingly was on her back, having perched himself there after Fluttershy had left. He refused to go with anyone else, mainly because of certain aspects. Rarity was too clean and near, and he disliked the cat, Pinkie Pie was too hyper, Rainbow lived in the clouds, so that was out, Twilight could barely take care of herself. So that left Applejack, he liked her, because she was brutally honest, dependable, and he was good friends with Winona, who was also trotting by AJ's side.

The three were just out for a walk, well... two, anyway, the third was lounging on the first's back. It was a nice day, and it was about to get... interesting.

Applejack saw Rainbow Dash walking through town as well, and just when she was about to say howdy, when the mare saw her, and had disappeared into an alley. AJ furrowed her brows in thought, trotting over to the alleyway, only to see at a prismatic tail vanish out of sight. "Rainbow?" She said, mostly to herself, where was she headed? She followed her friend, curiously wondering where she was going.

Applejack's movement seemed to have annoyed Angel a tad, and he was about to reprimand her, when he had caught sight of Rainbow sneaking around. He was curious as well, as to the Rainbow pony's motives for being sneaky. He allowed this to happen, and went along with the pony. He had no choice in the matter regardless.

They followed Rainbow through some of the paths, watching as she crept through some of the alleys, past stalls and other unsuspecting ponies. AJ noted she had her saddlebags on, and she seemed to be... super sneaky about whatever it was she was doing. The pegasus kept glancing behind her, keeping an eye out for AJ, figuring the apple pony was following her. However, Applejack was staying well hidden, taking cover behind carts, bushes, and even a flabbergasted pony or two.

Where's she headed? Applejack wondered as they came into sight of the Postal office. She mailing something? Why's she being so sneaky about it? Applejack had no idea what was going on. "What are you up to, Dash?"

They watched as Rainbow went up to the postal officer, and Derpy came out, spotting the mare. "Oh, hi Rainbow Dash!"

A nervous chuckle from Dash, "hehe, yeah, hi Derpy." Rainbow greeted as Derpy flew over to her. "Um... can you mail this for me?" Dash asked as she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a letter before hoofing it to Derpy. "I'd... appreciate it a lot."

Derpy smiled her lovable smile then took Rainbow's letter. "Sure Dashie! Boy, you sure have been mailing a lot of these lately," She noted, not even noticing the blush on her face, or AJ's somewhat poor hiding choice. "Got a special somepony you writing to~?"

"W-what?! No, I'm... just writing a friend! That's all!" Dash huffed, turning away with a flip of her mane. "Can you just mail it for me?"

Seemingly unfazed by Rainbow's outburst, the mailmare nodded her head before heading back to the postal office. "Anything else you want to mail?" Derpy asked as she ascended the steps, turning only to look back at the mare... only she was gone. "Huh..." With a shrug, Derpy went back into the postal office.

AJ had watched and heard the entire thing, she rubbed her chin with a hoof in thought. She's writing somepony, well that ain't nothing too strange... I suppose, but why is she being so secretive about it?

Angel seemed to pick up on her thoughts, bopping heron the back of the head and getting her attention. When AJ looked back at him, he gave her a series of gestures with his paws, pointing to Rainbow's cloudhouse in the distance. AJ looked towards the house as Angel gave her a suspicious look, pointing again.

"What? You think th' letter's something important?" She asked him, getting a firm nod and a frown from him. "Ah... suppose its a bit odd bu-" Angel shushed her, making a sneaky gesture with his body, then a cupped his paws over his eyes and squinting. "You want us to spy on her?" Another nod.

AJ thought about that for a second, was she really willing to spy on her friend?

...

"Eh, why not."

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
Back with Fluttershy in America

Fluttershy expected a lot of things when she climbed on board the bus, she expected the road to be somewhat like the base she had just left. Dark and cold, a lonely road of shadows. However, she was pleasantly surprised to see it was nothing like that, in fact it was quite colorful. There were plenty of green trees, lush forests on either side of the road complete with grass and even a few odd flowers. She could see some birds flying through the trees, and she smiled.

I wasn't expecting this at all. She admitted to herself, watching as the forest passed them by. Other vehicles passed them on the road, small cars with large bubbletops and three wheels, and others with sleek bodies that roared like a manticore as they passed the bus. The bus itself was quiet, save for an almost quite rumble from within the vehicle. Samuel sat by her side, tapping his feet to some some unknown beat and patting his knees in tune to it.

There were few people on the buss itself, she had seen a woman in the back, reading from a book of sorts. Across from her was the only other passenger, a tall looking human donning a black suit and glasses, he was looking down at a newspaper. She wondered if they were as friendly as Samuel, however, when the man glanced up at her, cold steel blue eyes locked with her own and she looked away.

That was different. She noted, she had never seen eyes as blue as his, pony eyes were pretty colorful and some human eyes tended to be rather bland but still very pretty in her opinion. But that man's, they were an impossible shade of blue.

A bump in the road jolted her and she tugged onto the seat, she was no stranger to bumpy rides, but she hoped they didn't crash or anything.

Turning to Samuel, Fluttershy asked, "Um... Samuel?" The human turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Um... the town we're going to... its not... like the buildings back there, is it?" She dearly hoped that wasn't the case, those buildings were, dark, scary and quite depressing to see, especially since she is supposed to be staying here for who knows how long.

"Oh no no no, its nothing like the base, trust me on that one." Samuel told her with a calm happy tone of voice, "I've been there several times, its a really nice neighborhood, it has a school, plenty of nice views, and I even hear a Vault was built out that way."

"I'm s-sorry, what's a Vault?" Fluttershy wondered, tilting her head in a totally not cute way.

Reaching to the side, Samuel rummaged around some papers before pulling out a small piece of folder paper and handed it to her. "Vaults are these massive underground shelters, they're built as a means to protect our population in the even of an attack." He explained to her, getting a shocked look from her.

"A-attack?!" She squeaked, looking at the paper she was given, the Vault Boy was on front, flashing a thumbs up and holding out a piece of paper that said; Sign up now for a spot in the fabulous Vault! Vault-Tec, your safety is guaranteed! For some reason she felt like trusting those words, and these Vaults... while she wasn't sure what they were, they sounded safe from what the paper told her. "Um... is there going to be an attack?"

At that, Samuel gave her a smile. "Of course not, its just in case."

If one looked into his eyes... they could have seen the fear...

Author's Note

I...I'm not even going to try and fathom how that kind of debate started in the last chapter :rainbowlaugh: hahaah, enjoy this chapter :derpytongue2:

Apologies for not updating sooner.

Welcome to Springvale

Fluttershy was, confused, impressed, but confused as she read the Vault phamplet. The idea of a nuclear war was a terrifying prospect to her, even though she had no idea what Nuclear meant, she knew little about human weaponry and how they functioned. But the mare figured by how these Vaults were built, and judging from the cartoony pictures, they were rather destructive. She gulped, she hoped to never experience such a thing in her lifetime.

Or the next.

The Vaults seemed to be America's crown jewel when it came to protection. Samuel told her hundreds were being built across the country, and from the look of the price tag just to get in, it must be expensive to build. She sighed, setting the paper aside before looking out of the window and out into the wilderness off the east coast. The road they traveled along took them through a few small towns and vast fields of green, and ever so often she would see one of the human cars pass them on the road before speeding away.

She idly wondered how fast they could go?

That sounds more like Rainbow's department, She mused with a smile, Fluttershy had no doubt Rainbow would find fast vehicles interesting. Perhaps a chance to challange them to a race, and beating them, thereby setting in stone that she is the fastest flyer in all of the world.

"We'll be arriving in a few minutes," Samuel spoke up fomr beside her, pointing out of the window and at the town that was approaching.

Looking out of the window again, she focused her keen pegasi eyes on the town. She saw there were several houses situated near a hill leading to a construction site, the logo of Vault Tec on every wall blocking off entry. The road they were on led to an four way intersection, on the right was a small gas station and bus stop, and on the left were several houses, each one two stories with bright paint jobs, ranging from white to darker shades. Up ahead was a large building, three stories high with a bright yellow bus sitting out front, and several smaller humans walking inside.

The bus Fluttershy was in stopped by the gas station, which was empty as of now. Samuel unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, "well, time to go see your new home." He smiled, unbuckling Fluttershy from her seat so she could move and fetching her bag from above.

Fluttershy stood up, following Samuel once she had her saddlebags put on, and exited the bus. The warm feeling of the sun made the shy pegasus smile brightly, looking around she saw the gas station was a Red Rocket gas station, the statue of a large Red Rocket nearby giving it its namesake. Behind her, several other people got off, including the man with the blue eyes she had been caught staring at, he made his way past the soldier and pony, before heading off down the sidewalk away from the crowd.

Some passerby caught sight of the pony, and waved with friendly smiles. Fluttershy was a bit surprised, by waved nonetheless, it was comforting to know there were some other friendly humans around. She chanced a look over at Samuel, and saw him giving a smile.

"Want to see your house?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. When she nodded, he put his helmet on his head and guided the pegasus past the front end of the bus, and eventually across the street, hurridly moving across so they wouldn't be hit by passing traffic. The last thing Samuel needed was for the pony he was assinged to be protecting to be hit by a speeding car.

The two made their way onto the sidewalk, and Fluttershy honestly could not stop the smile that creeped onto her face, friendly smiles and faces were outside of their houses, waving to her as she went by, and she waved back. The front yards were nothing but the greenest and well trimmed lawns, and under every window there were bright colorful flowers that added a sense of beauty to the small town. Sitting in just about every driveway were several vehicles, like the ones she saw on the road, each one a different model, color and size. Human children - she figured - were outside in the yards, playing with balls and shouting out cries of happiness.

It warmed her heart to know there were peaceful places like this in the world.

So far, what she had seen in the town, at first glance, it was calm, quiet, peaceful, everything she liked. And most of the humans she saw here were friendly, waving to her, offering smiles and just giving off good vibes that she readily picked up on. She liked this place already.

Soon though, they arrived at a rather quaint looking house sitting on the left side of the road. It was colored a bright yellow color that Fluttershy swore matched her coat color, a white front door with a floral pattern style window on the front. It was two stories high, and obviously built with humans in mind, and the driveway had a van sitting in it, painted a dark grey color. The grass had been well trimmed, and several plants were growing out front.

Samuel stood out front, and held out his arms and said, "Welcome to your new home, Fluttershy." He smiled again when Fluttershy's own smile grew wider.

"Its such a beautiful looking house," The mare admitted, tilting her head. "its a bit big though." She noted, admiring the outside. She was used to living in the small cottage she had back in Ponyville, and this was a vast change.

"Well this is just the outside, and most houses in the states are a bit on the big side." Samuel explained, turning around to open the door with a key he produced from his pocket. Inserting it into the keyhole, he continued, "Personally, from what I've seen of your town, I think you would have done nicely with a ranch house, or something smaller. But the big wigs up top wanted to make sure you were comfortable and had plenty of room to do whatever it is that you do."

When Samuel opened the door and allowed Fluttershy inside, she gasped, jaw dropping in awe. The inside of the main room was well decorated, potted plants and othertypes of flora were inside of the house, some from Equestria itself! To her right was a opening leading to a rather moderate looking kitchen filled with plenty of appliances, most of which she had never seen before. In the foyer, there was a staircase leading to the second story - which she would have to check out later - a lounging chair situated by a table with a small pot of flowers on top and a radio. Far off to the left was what appeared to be a living room, with a comfortable looking couch, two chairs and a small box like object sitting by the window.

Samuel gave a quick look around the foyer before nodding his head. "Bedroom's upstairs, along with a bathroom and another bedroom." He told the pegasus as she stared wide eyed at the interior of the house.

After taking a few breaths, Fluttershy asked, "How much did this place cost?" The house itself was quaint, but looked expensive.

A good natured chuckle, "Hahaha, no, not as much as you'd think. Besides, you won't be paying for it, the government will be paying the bills, so you don't have to worry about it." The soldier explained as Fluttershy made her way up the stairs, he sighed softly before taking off his helmet. "You get settled in, I have to make a call."

Fluttershy nodded to the young man, making her way to the second story to inspect the rooms.

Samuel sighed as he made his way over to the kitchen, noting the phone that was set up by the door leading to the back yard. He made his way over to it, picking up the phone from the reciver and dialing the number he had been asked to memorize. After putting it in, he held it up to his ear and waited as the line rang. It took a few seconds, but eventually someone on the other end picked up.

"Yes?" A male voice responded, his CO.

"This is Sergeant Samuel Conner," Samuel responded to the man. "Reporting in from The Homefront."

"How is the subject?"

"She's taking it in rather well, so far everything is going well." He explained, a bit miffed that Fluttershy was referred to as a subject. "Any further orders?"

"Negative, keep an eye on her, make sure she is not harmed." The man ordered, before the phone hung up.

The soldier sighed before hanging uip the phone, taking a seat nearby.

Meanwhile with Fluttershy, she had discovered the master bedroom. A large room with a large double bed, a closet that was, as of this moment, empty. Two empty dressers sat on either side of the bed, with a lamp sitting on top of both. A window sat to one side, but she hadn't looked out of it yet, instead setting her saddlebags aside and with a flap of her wings flew over to the bed and landed on it. And to her surprise, it was probably the sofest thing she's ever felt, softer even than her own bed.

"Oh my." She giggled, kneading the bed and looking over at the window with a bright smile. Maybe... this won't be as bad as I thought.

Author's Note

Sorry for the lateness of this update, oi oi oi... I am disappointed in myself for not writing more...
ENJOY YOU CRAZY SHITS!
:pinkiecrazy:
Fan art is much appreciated, as well as doritos, nachos, and taco shells.

Getting Settled In - The Next Day

Author: Dustchu

Editor: Bendy

One day passed since Fluttershy had left her home in Equestria, to go live in the commonwealth for the Interspecies Friendship Project. One whole day, she had spent in the United States, away from her friends, family, and Angel Bunny. She would have liked to bring him over, but she was scared he would get hurt, or worse...

Eaten.

As of right now, Fluttershy was taking another look see around her bedroom. From what she knew, it was The Master bedroom, quite spacious, had a nice big closet and nice wallpaper plastered on the walls. She sat on the floor, pulling over her saddlebags and opening them up, she hadn't brought any clothes, cause Ponies always went around in the nude, and she didn't think she would be going to any events that required formal wear. Even if she had to, she'd need to find someone to make her a dress, she wasn't sure how well human dressmakers were with their craft.

Inside of her saddlebags, she had brought the simple things. A toothbrush, backup toothbrush, some oddities like soap and personal hygiene items, a few books she had been given by Twilight for her stay. Most of the books were somewhat detailed texts about what Equestria knew about humans, their culture and so on. She figured she might give it a quick read sometime later in the day, after all. Fluttershy had no idea how long she would be staying here in this country, and she might have to learn new things.

Sighing softly to herself, she picked up her bag and headed into the bathroom. This room was far different than the bathroom she had at her cottage, it was larger, and had many devices sitting about for everyday use. The mirror above the sink was a bit high up, but there was a sort of stand that was placed in front of it for her to use so she could use them both. The shower was very odd to her, she was used to tubs and such, but the shower was large enough to fit her, and three other ponies, and was enclosed in glass.

This was all so new to her, and while she was a bit scared to find out what else she had to deal with, she figured that everything would be okay in the end. After all, she had a nice human to help her out.

*Crash*

Speaking of which.

After quickly depositing her bag's contents - certain items that belonged in a bathroom of course -she exited the room and returned her bag by the closet before deciding to see what the human was up to. It sounded like he was having trouble with something, she wasn't sure what though. But judging from the cursing noises, it was something frustrating.

As she exited the room, she took a moment to admire the hallway decor, which mostly consisted of a few potted plants like flowers, and even a few small trees, and some paintings of sunsets, beaches and other pretty locations she wouldn't mind visiting if she got the chance. Beaches were one of her favorite places to go to, and the mare wondered if there were any good ones in America?

Maybe I could ask Samuel? She smiled, humming to herself as she made her way to the stairs, and descended them into the foyer. She could hear Samuel cursing in the kitchen, "Samuel?" She called out to him, and as she did she heard something fall to the floor.

"Oh, Miss Fluttershy?" Samuel asked as the pony entered the kitchen, when she did she saw the soldier was standing in front of a large pod like device in the kitchen, sitting in a small closet. A small vertical window revealed a round white object inside, what it was she didn't know. "Did I wake you?"

A shake of her head, "No, I was already awake." Fluttershy replied, looking at the device Samuel must have been messing with. "Are you having problems with something? Maybe I can help."

The man huffed, sitting down in a bright red chair sitting by the countertop. "I was just trying to set up that danged thing," He said, jerking a thumb towards the device he was messing with. "It's a Mister Handy Service Pod, and most homes have them. Seems the big wigs wanted you to have one of these as well." Reaching over to the table, he picked up a small piece of paper. "Top of the Line Type I Mister Handy personal butler bot." He read off, turning it over and looking at the back. "These things are expensive."

Fluttershy gulped, "Um... how, expensive are they?" She wondered, she hoped if the bot ever broke, she wouldn't have to replace it out of her own pocket. She didn't have any money, as she left her bits at home. But then again, she had no idea what a bot was.

"Mmm, last time I checked, they were around..." Samuel looked up at the ceiling, tapping his chin as he set the paper down. "Ten thousand dollars?" At Fluttershy's quizzical look, he remembered she probably didn't know the conversion rate was for bits to USD. "Oh right, um... conversion rate would be..." He muttered a few things to himself, before snapping his fingers. "Around, probably five to eight thousand bits?"

The mare blanched, E-eight thousand?! "O-oh my..." She barely whispered, shivering slightly. "Are... are you sure it's that much?"

Noticing her unease, Samuel assumed that was a lot. "Yes I'm sure, but don't worry, like I said before, for this project, the Government is paying for pretty much everything. Water, power, food, and some extra spending money for you to in case something catches your fancy." Samuel explained, turning back to the Mister Handy. "Now to turn this on." He stood up once more, walking back to the pod and began fiddling around with it.

After a few moments, Samuel finally found out why he couldn't get it to turn on...

He missed the activation button that was clearly on the side.

After hitting it, the pod door open, shifting inward on itself before sliding away into the back, revealing said Mister Handy. It was odd looking to Fluttershy, it almost looked like a dead spider, it had a round pristine silverish body with three arms curled up against itself. But then it sprang to life, nearly giving Fluttershy a heart attack. Below its body she saw a burst of flame shooting out, and to her shock it started to fly! Its arms extended outward, and she saw three smaller metal arms extend from the top of its body with a small round lense of sort on each one. The three arms it had on its lower body each had something different on them, each one that scared her quite a bit.

A pincer like hand.

A very large buzz saw that whirred.

And something that looked like it could spew flames.

Samuel grinned, "finally! Jeez, so much trouble."

The Mister Handy whirred, hovering in the kitchen before speaking. "Hello sir! Might I say how wonderful it is to meet my new caretakers, I am here to tend to your every need!"

"So Miss Fluttershy, what do you think?"

...

...

*Thud*

"I dare say, that equine has fainted!" The bot chimed in, as Samuel face palmed.

"Oh jeez."

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
A Few Minutes Later

Fluttershy woke up to Samuel shaking her gently, and the sounds of the robot suggesting they call a vet. She was confused of course, why would she need a vet? Blinking her eyes, the mare slowly sat up and gave her head a dainty shake before looking up at Samuel, who was giving her a concerned look in return.

"Are you okay? I didn't think seeing a bot would do that to ya." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head as the bot continued to hover nearby.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I-it's fine." She told him as the bot hovered closer to her, making her turn to him with a curious yet somewhat fearful gaze.

"Dreadfully sorry madam!" The bot apologized, and Fluttershy had a hard time reading its face... seeing how it didn't exactly have one, so she couldn't tell if he meant it or not. "I was unaware you were my new caretaker, and it would seem I frightened you a great deal, please accept my humblest apologies." He asked in a quiet tone.

Fluttershy looked him over, given that he had a metal body it was very hard to read him, she couldn't exactly feel anything from him. Her instincts told her, there were no feelings. But she pushed that aside, instead smiling gently and replying. "It's... it's okay, I-I'm sure you're not all bad."

Seemingly more chipper, the bot perked up. "Quite the opposite madam! I am your personal assistent, tending to your every need from cleaning up the house, to cooking you breakfast in the morning!" He told her. "I can also do laundry, fix up any appliance, mend clothing, tend to any garden you wish to plant, moderate animal care, and if needed I am able to dispense five bottles of water a day and tell jokes!"

Fluttershy perked up when she heard animal care, maybe he wasn't all that bad if he knew how to take care of animals. "Oh my, that's quite a list you have there... um, if I May ask... who are you?" She said, holding out her hoof. "M-my name is... uh, Fluttershy." She introduced herself, it wouldn't hurt to get to know him before he made any final decisions.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance madam," The bot started, taking her hoof in his pincer claws. It felt cold against her hoof, and she suppressed a shudder. "I am your personal assistent, Wadsworth, at your service." He then gave a little curt bow... well... as much a bow as a robot can give, anyway.

"Oh, well... it's nice to meet you Wadsworth." She smiled again, pondering why she needed a robot all the while.

-ooo000=+=000ooo-
Later

After talking a bit with Wadsworth, Fluttershy decided to give the house a look around, might as well, considering she might be living here for the foreseeable future. She left Wadsworth in the capable hands of Samuel as she left to explore the house, to admiring the decor mostly and see what all lie within. So far she had seen a few nice plants, adding to her checklist of plants that needed water, and some nice paintings. She had gone through the kitchen for a bit, finding it had a larger than normal fridge that contained some food supplies for both her and samuel, most of which consisted of milk, eggs, butter, bread, and some meat.

She didn't like that, but she understood that humans were omnivorous.

There was also a large stove, a spacious counter that went from the stove to the window, on top of it were some smaller appliances, a coffee maker, microwave and some dish holders which held some nice looking glass plates with a floral pattern on them. The cupboards held just that... cups, some more dishes, and utensils, among other things needed in a kitchen.

She had looked through some of the other rooms, such as the garage outside which had an abundance of tools and gardening supplies in it. The tools were unknown to her, and after a talk with Samuel, he told her they were for working on vehicles or the appliances around the house. She understood... sort of. The two bathrooms were well stocked with fresh towels and various soaps and shampoos she hadn't heard of before, the kitchen had plenty of food so they wouldn't starve, the other bedrooms were a bit smaller, one being occupied by Samuel and the other being a guest room.

The living room she was in as of now was large, and she wondered if humans liked their houses large. She spotted a comfy looking couch situated against the wall, colored a nice baby blue color that reminded her of Pinkie Pie's eyes, and in front of it was a small coffee table, with a nice comfy looking lazy chair on either side, all of them were facing a television which was currently off. Deciding to see what was on it, she cantered over to the device and looked for a way to turn it on.

She saw a series of knobs on it, five to be exact. She saw on that said on... Well... I guess that's it, silly me. She chided herself as she flicked the switch to the right, turning on the tv. It popped up with a burst of static, startling her slightly into moving away from it. The TV started out as static, before it cleared up into a picture, specifically one of the human soldiers near a large fence in a desert.

"Tensions arise along the American Mexican border today, as more protesters arrived just last night to protest the increase in American soldiers patrolling their borders." A human female reporter spoke, holding up a microphone as soldiers in the background indeed patrolled on one side of the fence, while hundreds of people on the other side all held up signs and yelled. "Due to the increase in personnel, the Mexican government has asked for the US to cease all operations inside its country, however the President has given no comment on whether or not this will happen."

Fluttershy watched the exchange between the soldiers and civilians, pondering why the US had so many soldiers along the border. What was going on there? She didn't know, she just hoped it wasn't going to be bad.

*Knock knock knock*

"We have visitors!" Wadsworth called out, almost excitedly.

"Yes, yes we do." Samuel replied to the bot from within the kitchen, his tone deadpan. "Brilliant deduction Wadsworth."

"Thank you sir!"

Fluttershy chuckled before getting up and turning off the tv, and made her way to the door. She wondered who was visiting, she didn't know anyone, yet. Maybe its a neighbor? Once she reached the door, she reared up on her hind legs and opened the door before spotting who it was.

It was a tall man, well dressed in a nice suit and fedora and holding a clipboard. Striking blue eyes peered out from under his hat as he flashed a million dollar smile the mare's way.

"Hello there!" The man greeted in a chipper tone. "I'm from Vault-Tec, and I'd like to ask you something."

Fluttershy gulped, he was very tall, almost taller than Samuel. "Y-yes?" She asked, wondering what he wanted as Samuel and Wadsworth popped up from behind him.

"I'd like to ask you, if you would like to secure yourself a place in one of our fabulous vaults." He said, still smiling as Fluttershy felt something in her stomach twist up.

A V-Vault? She thought, not saying anything. The pegasus stood there in the doorway, unsure of what she should do. Looking over to Samuel, she saw him with a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly he looked over at Fluttershy, and he gave a shrug. Gulping again. she turned to the man. "I... I suppose, I'd like to hear more about them?"

The man seemed to smile even wider, and Fluttershy wondered if he had any distant relation to Pinkie Pie. "Great! May I come in?"

Moving to the side, he moved past her and to the living room with Samuel following him. Fluttershy soon followed them both, closing the door behind her and wondering if she made a tiny mistake all the while.

She'll soon find out.

Author's Note

Big thanks to Bendy for editing this tripe and making it better. Thank you man, so much!

Sorry for the late update, been going through some... serious crap as of late.

What a lovely month this has been~ :pinkiecrazy:

ENJOY THIS!
:heart:
~I love you all~