Fallout: Equestria - SURVIVOR

FALLOUT EQUESTRIA: SURVIVOR

Chapter 4: Good Girl

“This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.”

I stood on a hill overlooking a flat plain. Old rotten tree stumps spread out down the hill and across the field. In the distance was a lake with two rusty boats; half sunk in the middle.

It was almost as if the whole wasteland was nothing but dead tree stumps and old vehicles. I’d passed many on my way here from Stalliongrad. Some sat rusting away in random places. And others were either smashed into nothing or in the middle of a crater.

I scanned the field carefully, making sure there wasn’t anything hiding away farther beyond. “I don’t want to be jumped from behind. Besides, that building looks dangerous enough as it is,” I said. I looked back up at the building that sat in the middle of the field.

It was large, and shaped like the top of a metal can. Faded yellow paint was still visible even at this distance. In terms of height, it looked to be only one floor. The top of the building had a fence running along the outer edges of it. The same setup occupied the area around the building. It looked like a pretty shoddy defense build, but I never judged anything by sight alone.

Ponies stood at different points behind the fences. It looked like there was only four, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I knew little about these ponies, and what I did wasn’t very encouraging.

In terms of what they were wearing; it looked like shity armor. Brown fabric covered their bodies from the front to the middle. Larger patches sat on their shoulders and knees, making sure the parts they needed to run were protected. But they all looked like they hadn’t been washed in years. And for all I knew, that was probably accurate.

“Dam, these ponies know how to build defenses,” I said, lowering the binoculars. There was little chance I could just barge in there; I’d be swiss cheese in no time flat. But my options for sneaking in were limited.

The trees were all gone, so I couldn’t use them for cover. And the area around the back would be another long walk for me. “But it’s the safer, and smarter way,” I said to myself.

When Mayor Drop had sent me here, I hadn’t given much thought about the raiders that lived in the building. I was too focused on what I supposed to get, not the problems that would be in my path.

I’d been told before I left what exactly raiders were. As Mayor Drop put it; “They are crazy and cynical ponies who only care about killing other ponies and getting what they want. If you see one, don’t worry about killing it. Because if you don’t, he won’t hesitate to kill you!”

That was a good a reason as any to shoot them in the head.

I put my binoculars back into my saddlebag, and turned to head around to the back of the building. The area that laid between it and me was littered with ruins from the past. Old picnic tables sat alone along a small walkway. Empty packages of food covered their dirty tops, while others covered the ground.

On the other side of the path were old wrecks of carriages. Some had the words “Scenic Paths Tours! Home to the Majestic Roaming Bulls, and the amazing Ministry of Peace center.” written on their sides. A bright pink pony with curly hair was smiling next to it. From the looks of it, she almost seemed too happy.

I continued along the path until it ended halfway from the building. Luckily boulders littered the area between here and the point where the fencing ended. Hopefully the raiders wouldn’t notice me as I snuck towards the fence. I slid behind the first boulder, then moved along to the next one.

Every time I got behind a new boulder, I waited and listened. At any time those raiders could come sneaking up on me. But I didn’t hear anything the whole time, and soon I reached the last boulder.

I scanned the area carefully, keeping my E.F.S. on the whole time. The fences ended a little distance from my current stalking spot. Looking down, my E.F.S indicated there were at least two ponies behind the fence.

“Are they carrying weapons though?” I clicked my shotgun into place, ready for when things went to hell. I sneaked up to the opening and peaked around it.

Two ponies were looking out across the plain, guns floating near their eyes. “Great” I thought “they had to be unicorns!”

The one nearest me had a blue coat and a brown mane that looked like it had been white at one point. He had on some pretty slapped together barding; held on with string and patched up with duct tape. Not really the best defensive clothing.

The other one had a red coat and….was that a pink mane? His mane and tail were a bright pink color! The rest of his clothing was the same as the other one’s. But seriously….his mane was pink!

“Heard anything from the boss?” asked the one with the brown mane.

“No, and why should I? She doesn’t tell us guards anything. She tells her second in commands what’s going on.” said…I decided to call him Pinkie. It suited him well.

The brown mane one rolled his eyes. “Well duh, we’re not important enough. All we get to do is guard the building and shoot anypony who comes near it.”

Pinkie laughed. “Not that that’s a bad thing.” Soon the two were chuckling like old friends telling a joke. “Sickos,” I thought.

I didn’t know much about these ponies, but I knew they couldn’t be reasoned with. Just from listening to these two, I could tell that the one way to get through to these guys was with some bullets. Luckily, I had a large supply.

I slipped into S.A.T.S and stepped around the corner. The ponies were so busy laughing they didn’t even notice me. As my perception kicked into overdrive, I saw their body parts glow green as the spell activated.

I selected both their heads, and bit down on the trigger. The bullets left the barrel and turned their heads into flying chunks. Blood splattered the fence and sprayed on me. Their bodies fell to the ground almost in slow motion.

“Yuck,” I said, walking up to the headless ponies. Their blood colored guns had fallen near their necks, and I was quick to pick them up. Hey, you can never have too many guns.

I looked through their bags too, hoping to find something of value. Mostly it was either junk or a pack of cigarettes. I left everything but the cigarettes; a pony in Stalliongrad was paying a lot for any pack anypony could find.

I was about to head off, but then I looked down at the bodies again. As dead as they were, they still had more protection than me. Their barding was slapped together, but it was more protective than what I was wearing.

I looked down at my stable jumpsuit, remembering when I got shot outside Stalliongrad. “I need more protection if I’m going up against more of these ponies.”

So I began removing the barding from the carcasses. The pads came off easily, but the chest pieces took a bit of work. However, I soon got enough pieces to beef me up.

Once I’d made sure I had enough protection and everything was on tight, I began sneaking around the side of the building. Red dots covered the lower half of my vision, but they were mostly jumbled to the left.

Soon I came across a pile of sandbags stacked in a curve. Behind it sat a few cases of ammo and a syringe of Med-X. Reminding myself to get those later, I ducked behind the cover and looked over the top.

Two more ponies were guarding a large door a few feet away. But unlike the last two, these two looked deadly. They both wore wicked smiles, and their beady eyes scanned the area. The only good thing was that these two were earth ponies.

“Finally, an even playing field,” I said, making sure my gun was fully loaded. S.A.T.S was still charging, but I didn’t want to wait for it to finish. Those ponies could come over here at any moment to get ammo, and then I’d be dead. So, without taking a second thought, I jumped around the barrier and began shooting.

***

Sweet Celestia was I stupid.

I fired without thinking….or even aiming. The bullets rained into the wall and gave the raiders time to react.

“Oh good, fresh meat!” one screamed, aiming her gun at me. The other ran up beside her, keeping his gun on my face.

“I get his legs, them’s good eatin!” he called. I saw his gun go off and heard the bullet whiz past my ear. I jumped to the left, taking cover behind the barrier of sandbags.

“Stop moving cunt! We only want to kill you,” called the mare, firing twice at me. One bullet was stopped, but the other one flew through the barrier and bounced off my barding.

S.A.T.S. was still charging, and I didn’t want to fire randomly again. But these ponies were moving so fast, I couldn’t aim properly without it. I needed a delay, just long enough to distract them so I could get a shot through.

The sound of gunshots ended, and I peeked around the corner. The two ponies were quickly trying to reload their guns. As they went to get more, I sprang out from behind the barricade. I lined up my shotgun and fired at the stallion. The bullets hit him in his barding and his leg.

He screamed in agony as he and his gun dropped to the ground. I turned my attention to the mare, who was loading the last two pellets into her gun. “Get ready to die cunt,” she screamed.

“You First.” I aimed my gun and bit down on the trigger. Bullets exploded out the barrel, all heading for her. They mostly hit her barding, but luckily some hit home. One bullet hit her neck, and as she bent down from the blow, another nailed her right in the eye.

Her head became a mass of flying chunks as the body slumped and fell to the ground. The stallion screamed angrily, and was now trying to crawl towards his gun “You killed my fuck buddy cunt, now I’m gonna kill you!”

But with his leg injured, he was moving at a snail’s pace. The tiny bar in my vision informed me that S.A.T.S. had recharged, but I didn’t need it for this. I quickly aimed at the stallion and opened fire. The pellets blasted his head apart, and his body went slump on the ground.

Breathing heavily, I wiped my leg across my forehead, flinging sweat all over. “That was...invigorating,” I said, walking towards the fallen bodies.

Blood began mixing into the dirt, making a large puddle. I walked up to the dead raiders and began raiding the corpses. Like the last two, I mostly just found ammo and junk. I examined the guns carefully, checking their condition.

“Too broken,” I said, flinging the stallion’s sawed off shotgun over my shoulder. The mare’s pistol looked alright, so I slid it into my saddlebag. I rummaged around her barding, trying to find any extra ammo she might have.

“Got to be something…” I stopped speaking when I felt my hoof touch something. It felt rough, but was easily compressed. I pulled it up and out of the barding. It was a small folded piece of paper.

“What the hay is this?” The mare didn’t seem like the kind of person to keep records, but then again I knew little about these kinds of ponies. I unfolded the paper and began reading.

Overdose,

I had to send this message the old fashioned way, unfortunately. I got word from The Boss that you and Poison will be on the next shift to hit Stalliongrad. Grab gear from room 56 tomorrow, and head out to meet with the other group.

The Boss, again, reminded me to tell you that your group is to capture Textbook alive, or at the very least mildly injured. Whiplash knows what he looks like, so ask him if you want to know who not to shoot. But if you do happen to shoot him, make sure you collect all his records, projects, and everything else from his facility. And if you fail, I’ll personally throw you in The Pit and see what Knockout does to you.

Slice Dice

“Geez,” I said, finishing the letter. “Guess she doesn’t have to go to the Pit,” I thought as I looked down at the dead mare. But now I was beginning to think.

“So, the reason their attacking Stalliongrad is to capture a pony named Textbook. But why?” I asked, rereading the note. What could one pony have that makes somepony else hire raiders to get him.

But more importantly, who was the pony behind all this! The note only said The Boss; no name at all. White mane and Pinkie had talked about him earlier. So, it seemed he was a big deal for these ponies.

I pocketed the letter, intending to show Mayor Drop when I got back. I still had medical supplies to get, and they were all on the other side of the door.

But so were at least seven red dots, all moving around my field of vision.

“Can life out here ever be easy?” The answer was a big fat no, but I couldn’t change it. So I slowly opened the door before slipping inside the building.

***

Once the door closed behind me, I looked around the area. It looked to be a lobby, given the chairs lining the wall and the desk at the other end. But it did have some gruesome features.

Limbless bodies hung from chains to the ceiling. A few cages, all containing dead ponies, sat huddled in a corner. Blood stains ran across the dirty carpeted floor.

“Ugh,” I thought, holding my hoof up to my mouth. “What kind of sickos would do something like this?” Stable 11 was looking merciful compared to what these ponies were doing.

The red dots were split to the left and right of the room, more than likely behind the doors on either side. But one dot was coming closer from the left.

I didn’t even have time to move before the door opened. Another earth pony stallion walked into the room, wearing bloodied barding. He turned my direction; his eyes widening when he saw me.

“Kick ass!” he screamed, his mouth turning into a wicked smile. He reached behind himself and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun. He aimed it at me faster than anything I’d seen before.

And this time, I didn’t have time to move out of the way.

The stallion fired, keeping his aim on me. The shot covered our distance quickly before hitting my left leg. I almost lost my balance, but was able to stay upright.

“Shouldn’t have come in here cunt!” he called as he aimed the shotgun again. But this time I was more alert, and slipped into S.A.T.S. I selected his head, then opened fire with my shotgun. His brains exploded backwards, before covering the back wall.

I relaxed for a second, but then kneeled down. “Shit, he got me right in my leg.” The wound was small, but it was still making me bleed a whole lot. I didn’t know much about medicine, but I knew I had to do something about this.

Lifting my PipBuck up to my face, I scrolled through my medical supplies. I had plenty of healing potions, some Med-X, and thankfully a pack of bandages. I rummaged through my sack, pulling out one of each.

I downed the healing potion, then injected a syringe of Med-X into my bleeding leg. The pain began to go down, at least enough to where I could work. I tried wrapping the bandages around the wound, but it didn’t feel right the first time. After another two tries, I finally got it wrapped comfortably.

Once I’d tied it off, I tried standing up. The pain was still there, but nothing like how I felt back at Stalliongrad. “At least I can walk.”

I examined the red dots again, looking to see if any were getting closer. But even with the sound from my gunshot, the dots stayed on their respective sides.

“These ponies must have terrible hearing. How can you not hear two guns going off?”

I walked up to the body and looked through his items. I took the shotgun and ammo, but left the barding. Mine wasn’t damaged enough that I needed to replace it.

“Okay, now I got to find out where the medical supplies are kept,” I said, looking towards the desk. Terminals sat along the top, old but looking to be in working condition.

“Maybe they have some plans for the building in there. Or even better, a note telling where the supplies are kept.” I walked around the desk and examined the terminals.

“Broken….Broken….Really Broken….Ah Ha,” I said, finding a non-damaged terminal at the end of the desk. The screen flickered, so at least it had power. I activated the home screen, but was welcomed by a password screen.

I mentally cursed myself as I began working through the possible codes. Eventually I found the right one “Angel”, and found myself in the man file storage.

I looked over the list of files on the screen. They were labeled by date, starting from earliest to latest. The top one was titled: “Working for the Ministry of Peace.”

“Best place to start off,” I said with a shrug. I opened up the file and began reading.

Hello there fine mare/stallion/griffin. If you are reading this, you have been hired as a receptionist for the Ministry of Peace Animal Care Center. We are happy you chose to work with us on our trip to make the world more peaceful.

As a receptionist, you will be in charge of dealing with anything that has to come through our building. That includes calls, meetings, inspections, paperwork, and of course being friendly to others. That last part isn’t in the job requirements, but it is important none the less.

Now, there is a matter that has to be discussed. There are two levels to this building: the floor you are on right now, and the basement level. The first floor houses all the animal kennels as well as medical wings. There is also a break room for employees, as well as barracks. We do hope the accommodations are comfortable.

Now as for the subbasement, that area is off limits to all without a pass. Nopony except those with clear access given by me will be allowed down there. If anypony defies these rules, they will unfortunately be terminated on the sight. We do hope this doesn’t happen.

Finally, I just want to wish you luck with your new job. It’s just as important as any other job in Equestria, so be proud of yourself. Because every pony, in any job, can make a big difference.

Signed,

Ministry Mare Fluttershy

I blinked, thinking about what I’d read. “Well, I guess that explains all the cages,” I said as I looked around the room.

But I didn’t have time to focus on that now. This tape had given me the location of the medical bay. The only thing standing between it and me were a few raiders.

All I had to do was clear them out.

That was easier said than done.

***

The dots in my vision were split to both sides of the room. Four were on the left, while four were on the right. But were they on this floor, or the bottom floor? S.A.T.S. may be able to tell you when enemies are nearby, but they didn’t tell you how high up they were.

I rubbed the back of my head, grimacing. “I hate to say this, but I’ll just have to walk through and see.”

I trotted over to the door the raider had come through. It was still partially open, so I peaked into the other side. A long hallway curved ahead of me, with doors running along the sides. More dead bodies hung from chains, while some littered the floor.

I put a hoof up to my mouth, trying to keep the Sugar Apple Bombs in my stomach. “Why, why do these ponies have to do this,” I thought, walking into the hallway. My E.F.S. showed me that one dot was close. It seemed to be behind the door on the left.

I crept over to the door and pushed it open. The room looked like my dorm back in the Stable. A desk sat in the corner, covered in piles of junk. A dresser was lying on it side next to it. And along the wall sat a large bed, with a snoozing pony lying on top of it.

His mouth widened open with every snort that escaped it. The few teeth he had were yellow and chipped. His barding lay in a heap at the foot of the bed, while a loaded gun holster sat on the desk.

“Idiot. Never get into bed without wearing protection,” I thought, slowly walking over to him. Not wanting to use my noisy shotgun, I pulled out my pistol. The mouth grip felt just as good as the one on my saddle.

I didn’t want to waste S.A.T.S., so I pressed the barrel to his temple and fired. The close range muffled the blast, and sent lead and blood spilling out the other end. He didn’t even open his eyes.

“Okay, now it’s time to gather and go,” I said as I started to route through his room. I took the gun from the dresser then looked through the draws. I found a few boxes of ammo along with some bobby pins. I took both, though I didn’t know what I could do with the pins.

Once I had made sure everything had been searched, I headed back towards the hallway door. Three red dots still shown on my E.F.S. towards the left side. That meant I had three more raiders to deal with. But as I neared the door, I felt my hooves push against something.

I looked down and saw what looked to be two metal apples sitting down below me. A stem on the top of them, and the bottoms was as round as a ball. I picked them up, looking over the two carefully.

“What are these?” They definitely weren’t apples that you could eat. “Probably a weapon,” I said, pocketing the objects. The PipBuck indicated the items was called “Grenades.”

“But what do they do?” I asked as I walked into the hallway. The dots were still jumbled to my left down the hallway.

“Down that way,” I thought. As I continued to walk down the hallway, I tried to ignore the bodies that hung like cured meats in a locker. The whole place smelled of piss and iron, and a whole bunch of other things I didn’t want to think about.

Almost all the doors were closed, but then there were some that weren’t. Rooms filled with cages or more bodies were behind almost every open door. But strangely I didn’t see a single raider.

I was beginning to think the dots were on the other floor. But as I began to turn a corner, that’s when I saw another raider. It was a unicorn stallion, standing in front of a large metal door. He leaned back in a chair, reading an old magazine called “PlayMare.” His smile only made me wonder what it was about.

As soon as I saw him, I ducked back behind the corner. My breathing was quick, but I was able to keep my cool. The stallion didn’t seem to have noticed me; most likely distracted by the magazine in his hooves. I peaked behind the corner, hoping he kept his eyes away from my location.

“OH, we don’t have ponies like that anymore. All we get are the leftovers from the beat towns and scumbags from the Brotherhood,” he said, flipping through more pages. His grin only got bigger each time.

I heard the sound of shuffling hooves from somewhere behind him. Then the large metal door opened, and a black earth pony stallion walked out. A cigar was stuck in his mouth, which shot ash and embers into the air when he flicked it. His faces was frozen in a frown, with his eyes narrowed in distaste.

“Hey Shank, stop reading about sluts and keep an eye out like you’re supposed to. I sent Dart to get supplies ten minutes ago, and he hasn’t come back yet,” said the stallion. He moved his cigar around, dropping ashes to the ground.

Shank looked up from his magazine, his mouth drooping and his eyes half open. “Yeah, so what? I’m doing my job, and I’m not responsible for what Shank does. If you want to find out, go see for yourself.” He looked back at his magazine and began reading again.

The stallion growled at Shank. The end of his cigar grew brighter, making more ashes blast from it. “You’d better watch your flanks Shank. One of these days I’ll get ticked off enough to blow them right off your hindlegs.”

Shank rolled his eyes, still looking at the magazine. “I wait for the day when you finally keep that promise.” The other stallion huffed before walking in my direction.

My mind began racing as the stallion drew closer. He didn’t look like he was armed, but it could mean he had a concealed weapon. What kind? That’s what worried me.

If I didn’t want to get killed, I’d have to take both of these two out as fast as possible. I could take the black stallion out first, then use S.A.T.S. to take out Shank. I’d have to be fast, and accurate. One false move and I’d have two angry raiders bearing down on me.

Taking a deep breath, I shot out from behind the corner as I slipped into S.A.T.S. Time paused as I picked the stallion's head as the target for my gun. I bit down on the trigger and watched the pellet shoot out.

The shot hit him right in the head, which blew out a perfect hole in the front of it. His eyes widened before rolling up into his head. As his body hit the ground, I turned towards Shank.

He looked up at me with his eyes wide open. His magazine was still open in his hooves, and I could see him sneaking quick glances at it. “What a pervert,” I thought.

I ran over to him, pushing my gun's barrel right up to his chest. I put on my best you’re going to be dead unless you do what I say face, hoping it would work. But for some reason I felt it looked like I was constipated.

“If you say anything, and I haven’t said you can speak, you’ll meet the same fate as your friend,” I said. I had never had to use a gun to make a pony do what I want. But I didn’t want to take any chances with this one.

Shank’s eyes looked all around me; most likely sizing me up. I could almost see the gears in his head starting to turn. After a minute he nodded his head.

I pulled my gun back a little, but kept it close enough that I couldn’t miss him. “Good, I’m glad we understand each other. Now I’m going to ask you some questions. You answer them, and say nothing else. If you do, I won’t hesitate to use this.” I pushed my gun forward again before pulling it back.

“Question 1: I took out four ponies outside, then three more inside. How many raiders, including you, are left?”

Shank took a moment to answer. “Four.”

“Good. Question 2: Are you carrying a weapon?”

“Yes.”

“Take it out and throw it to the other side of the hallway,” I said sternly.

Shank didn’t do anything for a moment. Maybe he was thinking of ways he could get out of this situation. But I guess a gun pointed at you is a pretty good indicator of what would happen.

He reached inside of his barding and took out a small pistol. He flung it over to where his dead friend's body lay.

I knew what I need to ask next, but my curiosity got the better of me. Keeping my eyes and gun on him, I pulled the metal apple out of my bag. “Question 3: What is this?”

Shank looked at the apple, which caused his eyes to widen. “Woah bud, you aren’t going to use that on me are you?” He seemed a little more scared than usual.

I decided to play on his fear a little. “Maybe, but first I want to know what it does. You seem to know, so tell me!”

Shank swallowed a little, keeping his eyes on the apple. “It’s a grenade alright. You pull the pin and throw it at something. After a few seconds, it explodes wherever it lands.”

Suddenly the “grenade” felt a lot more heavier than I’d thought. This tiny thing could cause a big explosion? And I was holding it in my hoof? I quickly put it back inside my bags.

“Final Question: What are you all doing here?”

Shank’s face of fear soon turned into a sleazy grin. “We’re just trying to survive, like everypony out in the wastes. That’s what you're trying to do, am I right?”

“You’re not in the position to ask questions,” I said, putting the gun barrel against his chest again. “And I’ve seen what you’ve done to other ponies. That isn’t surviving, that’s inhuman.”

Shank chuckled. “That’s what you think cunt. Out here, it’s killed or be killed. If you haven’t figured that out by now, you never will. We do what we have to do to survive. And if that means killing and eating a few ponies, I’ll do it. Maybe one day you will too.”

My insides clenched up, making me grit my teeth. “Never,” I said, and I bit down on the trigger. Shank’s chest soon had a nice bullet hole in it, and he didn’t say another word.

***

After I looked through the two bodies, I walked through the large metal door Shank had been guarding. The room on the other side was just as big as the atrium. A row of desks sat on one side of the room, each covered in blood and pony meat. On the other side sat a staircase that lead to the bottom level. A sign on the door at the bottom read Restricted: Authorized Personnel Only.

I spotted another large door on the other side of the room and walked over to it. I had to step over a few bodies, but they didn’t have anything loot worthy on them.

I opened the door and looked out into the hallway beyond. More rooms stretched down it, but there weren’t any bodies lining the floor. Just streaks of blood where bodies had been dragged. I made a note not to go into any room that wasn’t medical.

I trotted down the hall while keeping an eye on my E.F.S. Three dots still lined my vision, which I guess proved Shank was truthful. One was on the left side, the other two on the right. And they seemed to be closer than the left one.

I kept walking down the hallway, keeping an eye out for the last three ponies. The blood streaks began to disappear the farther along I went. In fact the whole area seemed cleaner and nicer.

Which means that something wasn’t right.

The walls were starting to gain color, and the doors were all intact and closed. I began to question the whole thing, until I saw the two dots move to my right side. I looked over and saw that they stopped right in front of a door. I could hear slightly muffled voices behind it.

“Found them,” I said, kicking my shotgun into action. I made sure S.A.T.S. was charged up before opening the door. The first thing that met my eyes was two ponies going at it.

I sat frozen in the doorway as I watched these two slapping flanks and calling names. I wanted to turn away, but I was too shocked to do anything. But after a moment I was able to get myself composed.

Slipping into S.A.T.S. I aimed my gun at the two ponies’ heads. With a bite of the trigger, the two ponies collapsed into a bloody mess on the bed. And thank goddess none of the blood looked old.

“Well,” I said, backing out of the room “I guess that’s why this place is so clean.” It only made sense that even raiders would keep the place they had fun clean and intact. But sweet Celestia, I wish I could unsee that. If anything, at least those two died happy.

But for all that had happened, it also meant I was down to one pony. “After that, I get the medical supplies and I get out.” So I headed off towards the last red dot on the E.F.S.

***

I soon came to the door that the red dot was in front of. The last raider was behind this door, and all I had to do was shoot him. After that, it was medical supplies and then back to Stalliongrad. So simple...yet I felt myself hesitating.

If this was the last raider, than he was either lucky or smart; maybe both. For all I knew, he had a military issued turret behind there waiting for me. Maybe the door was rigged to explode. All these questions ran through my head as I stood in silence.

“Worry about that later Flatfoot, you have to get the job done.” I took a few deep breaths and opened the door. The thing didn’t blow up, so at least I could walk inside.

The room wasn’t very large, and was covered in machinery. Old computers sat along the walls, and mainframes sat on the opposite sides. The floor was carpeted like the hallway, only this one was covered in screws and puddles of oil.

I looked over at the wall opposite of me, which is where a large computer sat. The screen took up most of the wall, while the controls took the bottom sections. A medium sized orange unicorn mare was typing away on the curved keyboard. She didn’t even seem to notice me.

I raised up my shotgun and prepared to blast her head off. I moved my mouth over to the trigger…

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

My mouth stopped moving, and I stood wide eyed at the orange mare. She kept typing away on her keyboard.

“I’ve been watching you since you got into this building colt, and I must say I’m impressed.” She turned her head to face me. She wore half-cut glasses which surprisingly went well with her red mane. “I thought that you’d be dead before you got to Shank.”

I didn’t know why this mare was actually congratulating me. More importantly, she didn’t seem like a raider. She seemed more like a science whiz than a bloodthirsty killer. So why was she in a place like this?

“Well, now that you’re here, I suppose you’re going to try and kill me,” she turned back towards the computer.

I blinked as I tried to think of a response. “Uh, well, yeah. I mean, you’ve obviously seen what I did to the rest of your buddies.”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Oh, those weren’t my buddies; far from it actually. They were more like my...employees. I tell them what to do, and they do it. In exchange they get caps, a place to stay, and all the freedom they want.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true.” I said, keeping my gun pointed at her sleek, rubbable flan...no, I’m not getting sexy thoughts. Not after what I’d seen a while ago.

“Oh it was, and still is. Ponies love nothing more than getting what they want for doing a job they love. And that’s what I provide. With the help from my employers of course.”

I raised an eyebrow questionably. “I thought you said you were the boss?”

“I said I was the boss of this group of ponies. Hence the term was,” she said, raising an angry eyebrow at me. “But I hire my boys out to those who require our services. We’ve been hired by other groups, towns, single ponies, and so on. Ponies pay good caps for our excellent service.”

This mare seemed smart, which got me worried. I couldn’t see any guns on her, and I doubt that any could be hid behind that labcoat. But she was already dangerous for one reason: she had gotten me scared. However, if she was in charge, then maybe I could get some information out of her.

“So,” I said as I took a few steps closer to her “you're the boss? You know every single job that your boys went out and did?”

“Well that’s fairly obvious.”

I took a few steps closer to her, but she was too focused on the computer to notice or care. “So would you mind if I ask a question?”

The mare looked at me questionably, but for some reason still typed on the computer. “And just why would I answer the questions of a pony like you.”

I leaned against one of the terminals, trying my best to look smug. “Because this pony just blasted his way through all your boys and into this room.”

Her face became questionable, but then slowly changed. Now she looked at me like how Zest used to look at me...oh man, Zest. I still had trouble thinking about her, and what she must be going through.

“Well that is true; you did beat all my best ponies. Then again, you beat the worst ones to. But I’ll admit; you’ve intrigued me.” Her glasses fell a little ways down her nose. “So I’ll answer any question you ask me.”

Great, now I had a chance to find out what’s going on. “I only have one question: Why are you attacking Stalliongrad? I know you want to capture a pony named Textbook, but what for?”

The mare’s grin grew wider. “Oh, you know about Textbook. Well I guess I can’t keep anything from you then.” He turned back towards the computer. “It’s simple; somepony hired us to go capture him. We’d bring him to some location, then He’d send other ponies to collect him and pay us.”

“But what was his name,” I asked, stepping closer. This info had given me some insight, but it still had many holes in it. “And why is Textbook so important?”

“That’s not my problem; I was just told what we had to do. Whatever happens after that has nothing to do with us.” The mare looked over at me. “Now that I’ve answered your question, what are you going to do now?”

“Oh…” I really hadn’t thought about what I was going to do. Well, I did, but things had changed after talking to this mare. Or maybe I should just stick to the original plan.

I aimed my gun at the mare, keeping S.A.T.S. on standby. “I’m giving you a choice; surrender peacefully, or be killed. And you’ve seen my shooting skills, so don’t expect me to miss.”

I expected the mare to looked worried, maybe even scared. That she’d get down on her knees and beg me to spare her. Maybe even offer me something. But instead, she started laughing.

“What’s so funny,” I asked, keeping the barrel pointed at her.

The mare, still laughing, looked up at me. “You are. I mean, you really think I’ll do what you say? I guess you weren’t as smart as I thought you were.”

“Coming from the mare who has a shotgun barrel pointed at her, containing a bullet with her name on it.” This nerd was getting more annoying, and more interesting, the more time I spent with her.

“Yes, it seems that I do. By the way, the name is Spark. Now you can engrave that bullet if you want.” She turned back to her computer. “But if you do shoot me, you’ll have something worse to deal with.”

I pressed closer to Spark, making sure my gun was always a few inches from her. “And what exactly would that be?”

Spark chuckled. “Shoot me and find out. Then again, when my client wonders what happened to us, he’ll probably come after you. That is if you survive my little surprise.”

“And what happens if I don’t shoot you?”

“Well,” said Spark, looking at me, “then I walk out of here and get more of my colts. It’ll give you enough time to run for your pathetic life, but I must warn you. When I get my colts, we’ll find you and kill you...slowly.”

If she was trying to intimidate me it wasn’t working. If she was trying to confuse me, it was working. “You’re surprisingly forward with your information.”

“Because I know that there’s no way you can win this. Either you kill me and get killed by my surprise, or you don’t and my boys find you. It’s a lose lose situation.”

I was never okay with lose lose situations. There was no chance of success, and I always liked a chance of success. And no matter what she said, I was planning on making one.

“Actually, it’s a win lose situation,” I said. I aimed my gun and pulled the trigger, not even trying to open V.A.T.S. The bullet pierced her above the heart, and exited below her neck.

Spark’s eyes widened, before looking down at her bleeding bullet hole. But instead of looking shocked, she actually looked happy! “Well, it looks like you’ve made you decision. Now get ready to face the consequences.”

She raised her leg and slammed it down at a large red button on the console. “Face the beast,” she said, but then she crumpled to the ground and moved no more.

“Face the beast,” what had she meant by that? It didn’t sound very good, and that was probably an accurate statement. I was beginning to think about what it could mean, when I heard something roar.

***

“Oh Shit.”

I ran out of the computer room and into the hallway. I couldn’t see anything around, but my E.F.S. had a new large red dot. It looked like it was farther down the hallway I’d come down.

My senses told me that I should probably hightail it in the opposite direction. Not knowing what that thing was is probably worse than knowing what it was.

“But I have to finish my mission,” I thought. It seemed stupid that I was so hooked about finishing this mission when my life was in danger. But Stalliongrad was counting on me to get them medical supplies. I was one pony, they had thousands.

I took a deep breath and ran down the hallway as quickly as I could. Whatever was up ahead let out another roar, which sounded louder than the last. “This thing must be pretty big.”

I can up to the room with the terminals I’d passed through earlier. The door at the bottom of the stairs was now open, and a large creature was standing in front of it. It was on all fours, and had it’s back hunched up. It’s eyes were slinted, and rang along towards it’s long snout. Sharp teeth protruded from it’s mouth and drool dripped down to the ground.

“What the hell is that?” I thought.

The quickly turned it’s head towards me, with his eyes narrowing when the faced my direction. He began to growl and slowly claw up the stairs.

“Okay, S.A.T.S. time,” I said as I activated the spell. The beast slowed to a crawl and my perception sped up. I selected the head and let loose a magnitude of pellets. I eagerly waited for the head to become a bloody splat on the wall.

But instead, I watched in horror as the bullets bounced off the creature’s skin. The skin didn’t even look scratched, let alone pierced. The beast let out a loud roar and quickly ran towards me.

“Shit,” I thought as I turned and ran down the hallway. The beast busted through the small door and followed close behind me. Even at my best speed, I knew it would soon catch up to me.

I soon came up to the hallway from before, with both room doors still open. I ran into the computer room and quickly shut the door behind me. I felt/heard the beast on the other side; pounding on the door.

“Come on Flatfoot, think,” I said through gritted teeth. The door was strong, but it wouldn’t last forever. And I doubt that creature would give up easily.

But what could I do? The bullets from my best gun had just bounced harmlessly off the thing’s head. If my best wasn’t good enough, what else could I try. “All my other weapons aren’t even close to my saddle.”

The beast continued to pound on the door, and I could hear the nuts and bolts begin to pop. Feeling desperate, I pulled up my PipBuck and scrolled through my inventory. “Bullets, Guns, Stimpacks, Grenades, Water….wait a minute,” I said as I scrolled back a little. A little icon of the metal apples I’d picked up appeared on the screen.

“I’d almost forgotten about these,” I said as I reached back and pulled the two out of my bags. “But what kind of damage can you do?”

The door gave a resounding shudder as one of the bolts popped out of the wall. “No better time to find out,” I said. But if I was going to use a new weapon against a strange creature, I needed a smaller space.

I came up with a plan fairly quickly, and it was incredibly stupid.

***

I grabbed the door handle with my mouth. It tasted like the rusty thermometers they used in Stable 11’s medic bay. Shaking the thought and taste away, I pulled the lock slowly down.

Once it clicked into place, I let go and scrambled away as the door flew open. The beast charged through the door, cleared the room, and slammed into the computer on the other side. The screen blasted glass shrapnel and the beast fell to the floor. As it began to rise, I quickly ran out the door.

“Hopefully this works,” I said, as I reached for the door handle. I grabbed it and swung the door until it was just a few inches from closing. I pulled out one of the two grenades, holding it gently in my hooves. I pulled the pin out of the slot and threw the thing into the room. As it landed, I pulled the door closed and ran across the hallway.

I could hear the beast rush over and smash into the door. But this one opened the other way, so it would be harder for him to open. I waited….and waited….and waited.

Until...BOOM!

The sound of an explosion hit me first, then I felt the shockwave run through the building. Dust and bits of mortar fell from the ceiling. When everything settled, I tried my best to regain my senses. My vision was blurred, and my ears were still ringing from the blast.

The red dot on my E.F.S. had vanished, which I hoped meant that thing was dead. At the very least, I hopped it was so close to death I could put it out of it’s misery. So with my shotgun loaded, and another grenade on standby, I slowly walked over to the door. It didn’t look and worse for wear than when the beast had been smashing into it.

“Strong door,” I said as I grabbed onto the handle. But just when I did, I felt the door and handle begin to pull against me. The metal slab fell backwards and onto the ground with a resounding thud. The metal bolts lay in melted pools on the floor to the left.

“Maybe not.” I walked over the door and examined the damage to the room. The terminals along the walls were blackened and torn apart. Portions of the rug were still burning, while others had been torn from the floor. The large computer on the other side had fallen to the ground, with the hard drive lying charred on the floor.

But then I focused on the large burnt body that lay in the center of the room. The carcass had large burn marks all over it, while it’s left leg sat severed in a corner. I walked over the carcass, but I now had the biggest smile on my face. “I need to use these more often.” That was probably a lie, but I was feeling so good at the moment I didn’t care.

I carved out a bit of meat that wasn’t so burnt, hoping to either eat or sell it. My inventory surprisingly couldn’t tell what it was; the name that came up was “Mystery Meat.”

“Sounds appetizing,” I said as I walked back into the hallway. My hooves made nice prints in the newly fallen dust. Overall the computer room was the only one that looked to have received damage. I walked down the hallway towards the room the beast had come from. The doorframe was now gone, having been blown apart as the beast had busted through it.

Inside the room, things were still the same. I trotted over to the steps that lead towards the previously locked door. It now stood wide open with a dark expense behind it. “What else could be down there,” I asked. My E.F.S. didn’t show and hostiles, but then again that thing hadn’t appeared on it either.

Slowly I walked down the stairs and up to the door. I couldn’t see anything more clearly than from upstairs, so I turned on my PipBuck light. Green light shown across the now visible hallway beyond.

“Sweet Celestia.”

Pony skeletons were stacked in piles along the hallway. Some had on old lab coats, while others had vest with the MoP insignia on them. The walls were covered in claw marks and blood. Doors ran along both sides, some open while others were closed.

“What happened here?” I walked into the hallway, stepping around to avoid walking on the bones. “Did that thing do this?”

I looked closely at one of the skeletons, more specifically the clothing. It didn’t have any claw marks or blood on it, and the skeletons had a brownish color to them. “Must not have; these have been here for a long time.”

I looked up and scanned the hallway, hoping I could find some kind of clue. These ponies weren’t raiders, and those doors had definitely been locked when I’d first arrived. And if that beast hadn’t killed them, what had?

My luck was probably high, because near the large door sat a old but functioning terminal. Maybe these ponies kept records, or maybe there was some recording of when they died. Either way, I hoped I would find something that would give me a clue.

Like the reception desk, this terminal was locked. The first few tries brought up nothing, but thankfully I found the password on the fourth: Centaur.

But for the get go, I knew something was different about this terminal. The logs all had strange titles to them; Experiment 343, Mangled Fox Dead, Words from the Ministries. I didn’t know what these had to do with the building or it’s staff, but I was about to find out. I scrolled up to the first one and clicked it. I almost jumped as a stallion’s voice spoke out.

Lead Scientist Bunsen Burner

Log Number 1

Today marks the first day of my work in the Ministry of Peace Animal Care Center. I’ve been transfered from the Ministry of Arcane Science center in Maripony. Ministry Mare Twilight Sparkle herself selected me to lead the projects we have planned.

From the start I knew we had what it took to go forward with these projects. Both the MoP and MAS made sure that this base was fully stocked with test subjects and lab equipment. Later, once we have everything ready to go, I’ll be giving each group their respected task. I just hope they have near the amount of intelligence my other colleges have.

I blinked in confusion as the passage processed in my brain. “Test subjects, Arcane Science, experiments. I thought this place was supposed to be an animal care center.” I scrolled down to the next recording.

Lead Scientist Bunsen Burner

Log Number 5

It has been 2 weeks since we started on the projects given to us by the Ministries. Unfortunately not all of them have been perfect successes. Just last week one of the test subjects broke out of it’s cage and attacked the two members in the room. We were able to subdue it, but those ponies will have some serious scars after that.

But it hasn’t been all bad luck this week. We’ve made progress in the hypersleep syrym that Stable-Tec had us test. We were able to get a small bunny’s body to slow its processes down to nearly 5%, then bring it back. Stable-Tec is pushing very much for this to be successful; apparently this is going to be used in one of their stables.

“Stable-Tec….” I had to clench my teeth to stop me from lashing out in anger. Even after leaving, I couldn’t forgive that company for what they did to my home. And from this tape, it seemed it wasn’t the only stable they messed with.

Lead Scientist Bunsen Burner

Log Number 34

It’s been….too long since I made a log. I’ve, well everypony, has been in the dumps lately. Not much has been going right for the last few weeks. Experiments 1-19 have all ended in failures; each test subject has died. The other scientists have begun to question the purpose of these experiments; some were threatening to quit if they don’t get an answer. Let’s just say that we’re three staff members down.

At least I can say that the project I have been working on has been a success. Similar to the hypersleep project, I have been working on a Cryosleep project. This, like hypersleep, is a way for ponies to sleep their way through the recovery of Equestria. Only this uses ice as a way to preserve the body for hundreds of years. This was….also given to us by Stable-Tec. But with these tests a success, I can move on to stage two.

The next experiments will begin tomorrow, and I already have a new test subject. One of the Ministry Mares volunteered her own pet to be part of the experiment. She said that, if it works, then she wants her pet to sleep through the turmoil and into the  new Equestria. It’s currently up in the kennels with the others, but it’ll be brought down here tomorrow. I eagerly await the start of the tests.

Now I was starting to get somewhere. Experiments were failing, but were they the cause of what happened to the scientist. Wanting to know more, I clicked on the next log.

….Bunsen Burner….

Log Number….I can’t remember

I’ve finally got this thing working again. The circuitry was trashed, but I salvaged one from the other terminals.

It happened, it actually happened. Two days ago the world came to an end. Me and the others were enjoying a nice breakfast in the cafeteria when we heard the alarm. Not many worried, “Just another drill” they said. But then we felt the shockwaves, and heard the explosions.

Everypony started screaming and running towards the doors. Where they wanted to go I had know idea, but it was all in vain. The security doors had locked shut when the Megaspells hit, trapping us inside.

We quickly sized up the amount of food and water we had, and projected how long we could survive. The final count came to just 100 days. I don’t know if that’s enough time for rescue to arrive; if they’re even coming at all.

Until then, all we can do is wait.

***

“And they did.”

I looked down at the piles of skeletons down the hallway. “They waited for help to arrive, but it never did. Instead, they sat down together and died.” I looked down at my PipBuck, which was showing me slightly higher amounts of radiation.

“I guess whatever did survive got mutated. That’s probably where that beast came from. Some mutated animal that was living down here for Celestia knows how long.”

The best thing I could do now was walk back up the stairs, get the supplies, and leave. Never turn my back and never think about this place again. Everything that happened here had nothing to do with me; it never did.

But instead, I started to check the rooms. Even though these ponies were dead, I was alive. And that meant I had to find things I could use. If all these ponies were scientists, then maybe I could find something valuable.

The first few rooms came up as duds; just old empty packages and broken lab equipment. Others had varieties of cigarettes and a few healing potions. I kept those in my bags for when I got back to Stalliongrad.

It wasn’t long before the hallway was all but clear. One of the doors had been smashed apart, likely from the beast. The room wasn’t much better, and smelled like a sewage processor. I decided to leave that room along.

Soon I came across the last door in the hallway. Unlike the others, this one was locked. I didn’t have any bobby pins with me, so I pointed my saddle and shot the lock.

I pushed the door open and almost immediately I was blasted with a string of cold air. I was able to see my breath, and noticed a layer of frost on the floor. “Woah, who turned on the AC,” I asked as I walked into the room.

It wasn’t very big; about the size of a room back in the stable. On the right sat a workbench with a bunch of beakers and test tubes on it. All the contents they once held had long since spilled onto the floor.

When I looked on the other side of the room, I found myself staring at some kind of pod. It was oval shapes, sitting above the ground by some kind of machinery. A terminal sat on one side, and the top of the pod was made of glass.

Once the confusion settled in, I remembered what Bunsen had said in his recording. “Cryosleep,” I said as I walked over to the terminal. It too was frozen over, but I simply wiped the frost off.

“Bunsen said that one of the Ministry Mares had volunteered her pet for this experiment.” I got as close as I could to the glass, but I couldn’t see anything beyond it. “Is it still in their?”

I found it strange that a machine like this could still be operating after all this time. “It should have shut off a long time ago.” I turned back to the terminal and started it up.

Thankfully, this one didn’t require a password. Only two files came up; Cryosleep and Power Options. I clicked on the first one, which opened up a short document. I began to read it over.

***Caution: For Authorized Personnel Only***

Dear Mr. Bunsen Burner

I’m writing to you today to inform you of the latest project we wish for you to start work on. Earlier this week Stable-Tec sent to your laboratories a new Stable-Tec cryopod. After much research and experimentation at our labs, we wish for you and your personnel to do further tests on the machinery.

Our research has shown that these pods will have the ability to freeze all cells in an organism, therefore suspending them in an ageless environment. If this project is a success, then this could be used to help ponies go from wartorn to rebuilt Equestria.

We are very hopeful that these experiments will turn out a success. It is the hope that a form of this can be used in one of our stables; Stable 111 to be precise. But for scientific purposes you understand; we’d never use this on a pony without their consent first.

Now your job is to use the pod provided on the animals that you have in the facility. If it is proven that it works on animals, then we can further work on making them work on ponies. We have complete faith in you Bunsen, and hope for the best.

Signed,

Stable-Tec Research

My mind raced with thoughts of bullets and a Stable-Tec representative; in the same scenario. “I’ll bet my Battle-Saddle that they didn’t tell ponies about the freezing.” I made a mental note to myself to inspect the Stable if I ever came across it.

Exiting out of the message, I selected the Power Options menu. Only one option came up: Shut Down; Open Pod. I looked again at the frost covered glass of the pod.

“There’s an innocent animal in there that’s been asleep for over 120 years. The world’s not much better, but I think it’s slept long enough.” But for added protection, I kept my saddle fire-ready.

I clicked the Off selection and backed away from the pod. It began to hiss as the cover slowly began to raise away from the body. Mist rolled out of the inside and across the floor. Once the mist cleared, I walked over and peered into the pod.

“...Sweet Celestia…”

Inside of the pod, curled up in a napping pose, was a dog. It had brown fur, but also some white patches on its tail, chest, paws,  and noise. A nice red collar ran around it’s neck. It was slowly breathing, like most ponies when they sleep.

I’d read a little about dogs when I was in the stable. There were a lot of picture books that showed dogs running around and herding animals. They were even described as a “Stallion’s Best Friend” in some cases. “Are you thought?”

The moment the words left my mouth, the dog's eyes popped open. I almost staggered back in surprise, but was able to keep my footing.

The dog lifted its head and let out a big yawn. Then it rose and stretched it’s legs, before hopping out of the pod. This time I did lose my footing as I moved to get out of it’s way. I fell on my flanks and watched as the dog started looking around the room.

Then it’s eyes landed on me.

It looked up and began to wag its tail, before running over and sitting right in front of me. It huffed and continued to wag its tail, while I just looked at it. “What does it want?” I wondered.

We stayed like that for a few minutes; the dog and me looking at each other. I didn’t know what it was waiting for, but I was determined to outwait it. Then, it did something strange; it walked over to my hoof and nuzzled it gently.

“Hey,” I said, quickly drawing my hoof back. The dog looked up and me, it’s eyes growing wider. Then it whimpered; almost like it was crying. Now I was even more confused. “What did I do wrong?”

The dog, still looking sad, stared at my hoof. I looked at it too, and then back at the dog. “Does it want me to touch it?”

Testing my theory, I reached over and gently sat my hoof on the dog’s head. Instantly, it smiled and began to rub it’s head against my hoof. Soon I found that I was repeating the action while it just sat there. “So, you just wanted me to pet you?”

The dog barked happily, leaning more into my hoof. “Well you do seem more happy,” I said. I moved my hoof down to it’s back, and it thumped it’s foot happily. “Wow, you really like to be pet.”

It was then that I noticed the tiny golden plate on the dog’s collar. I brought it closer to my face and saw there was something written on it.

“Winona,” I read. The dog raised it’s ears and looked at me with it’s full attention. “So your name is Winona.” I looked over the rest of the tag. “But it doesn't say who you belong to.”

Winona just barked as I continued to pet her; this time it was her belly. I knew that whoever had owned her was long since dead, but I didn’t want to tell her it. She was happy now, and I didn’t want to ruin it.

I stopped the petting and got back on my hooves. Winona got up to, still keeping her eyes on me. “Well I have some medical supplies to get. Try not to get into trouble,” I said to her. I didn’t know if she could survive on her own, but at least now she had the chance.

But as I walked towards the door, I heard the sound of paws on the floor. Looking back, I saw Winona stopped right behind me with her tail wagging. “You’re following me,” I said with a raised eyebrow.

Winona just continued to look at me with happiness. I think I was beginning to understand why. “Do you want to come with me?”

Winona barked happily and started running around my legs. Then she ran in front of me and began to lick my front hooves. “Hey,” I said as I looked at my now slimy hooves. But I could help but smile at the whole thing.

“Well then, let’s head out.” I said. And with a resounding bark, Winona and me set off down the hallway towards the doors.