Fallout: Equestria: Scootaloo's Pre-War Blues

Chapters

Chapter 1: You're Gonna Go Far Kid
Chapter 2: When You're Smiling
Chapter 3: But I Don't Have to Trust a Soul
Chapter 4: I'll Explain Everything to The Geeks
Prologue

Chapter 1: You're Gonna Go Far Kid

Chapter One: You’re Gonna Go FarKid

By: oki_all_day

<)-------(>

It was a dark and rainy night. Manehattan's skyscrapers towered above me as I walked towards the sky chariot stop. My tightly fitted businessmare's suit was soaked through, and squeezing my wings under me. I would need to talk to Rarity about getting this tailored better. As I walked, tufts of my fuschia mane obscured my vision of the chariot stop I was heading to. I lifted my right foreleg, and looked down at my new digital watch hugging my orange hide. It read, in glowing cyan colored numbers, ‘2150’.

"Luna dammit, I missed the last chariot!" I cursed aloud, not knowing that anypony was near.

A slim golden unicorn stallion under a raincoat slumped against a store window overheard my curses and replied with a slow speaking voice, "Ma'am, calm down. The driver of the Sky Bandit arrives in just 'bout ten minutes. He rides from here to Fillydelphia then to Cloudsdayle."

While I felt ashamed that I cursed so freely in public, I thanked him quickly and stood next to him. I took off my suit jacket, airing my wings out under the awning.

After a good minute of silence, he asked me "What brings a pegasus mare to Manehattan anyway?"

"I had to visit the Manehattan Branch of the ESE."

"The what?" he asked.

"The Equestrian Stock Exchange."

"Is that like a farmers market for livestock?"

Stifling a laugh, I replied, "It's similar, but really hard to explain. I don’t really understand it too much myself. I guess it’s for ponies to make money off of other companies."

"Do you have your own company?" he asked.

"Yep. Red Racer!" I replied a little too excitedly.

"So you're the one who makes all the little scooters that my foals love so much!"

"Well... I designed them, but..."

He cut me off, "I’m tellin’ you, my little ponies love them scooters so much. I can't believe I'm meeting you!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, mister umm..."

"Names Snails. And what's yours, miss Red Racer?"

(Snails… Hmmm… that seems so familiar… ohmygosh. He was Snips best friend back in Mrs. Cherilee's class!) "Snails, we've met already. I’m Scootaloo, the pegasus from Mrs. Cherilee's class."

"Well, no wonder you looked so darn familiar. Scoot, is there any chance I could get your autogra..."

He was cut off by a loud whoosh, as a charcoal grey pegasus with a raincoat on swooped in front of us with a large bus sized chariot in tow with the name "Sky Bandit" written across the side in a militaristic font.

"Let's get on 'fore I get my autograph" Snails told me.

We both climbed onto the large, magnificent ride as the sudden relief of being out of the rain washed over me. I sat down on the first open bench. Snails sat down right next to me.

"Now lemme see if I got some paper in my saddlebags... Damn! It's soaked through!"

I snickered for feeling ashamed of cursing in front of this stallion earlier, as he just cursed in front of a bus full of ponies.

"Aw hell, just telling the little ones about meeting the mare who made their scooters ought to make them so excited that they'll bounce around like they did when I took 'em to that Fun Farm back at Fillydelphia."

"The what?" I asked

"That brand new Ministry of Morale park, with all those balloons in the sky and roller coasters, and everything. It's a ways across town from where we live, but it's such a sight to see the little ones when we get there."

Sadness came over me as I remembered being so happy playing games and going crusading as a child, and how I hadn’t felt that way in years. My expression must've been obvious because, as I pondered these thoughts, Snails asked me if I was alright. I told him that it was a long day, and he seemed to respect that.

I had dozed off when Snails started shuffling around and told me goodbye.

"Huh?" I answered, barely awake.

"I gotta go. We've reached Fillydelphia.”

I told him to have a good night as I dismissed the thought that nothing fun was going on with this damn war. I saw the giant Pinky Pie shaped balloons not far from the chariot stop. As we lifted off, I noticed the slender golden unicorn walking along in the drizzle through the pitch black night. WAIT! What time was it? My watch read ‘0103’. Luna! was it late (or early). I guess I couldn’t do anything from this point except wait out the ride to Cloudsdayle. I looked around the chariot, and noticed that a familiar looking pegasus mare and I were the only passengers. She noticed me and waved. She looked so familiar for some reason. I just had to ask.

"Have I seen you before, Miss?”

"Scootaloo!" she laughed, "You're so silly. I was the delivery pony back in Ponyville. I was at the Manehattan ESE today too. Didn't you see the Absolutely Everything kiosk?"

"Hey Ditzy! Good gracious, I haven't seen you in forever!"

“I know, Ponyville seems so far away. I’ve been putting my own business to work. It’s a delivery business, but I sprained my wing last week, and I’ve had to pay a replacement flier. I've been seeing your work though. I've had so many Red Racer deliveries in the last few months. Your business is booming!”

"You know, Ditzy, maybe we could work out a shipping partnership…"

"Scoot, I was never the one for business. I just like helping out ponies and…”

“How about a payment in muffins?" I cut her off.

"Deal!" she said with pure joy as her eyes did that silly thing. "Anyways," Ditzy said, "how did you do at the ESE?"

“I’m not really sure," I responded, “I don’t really understand the concept of these exchanges. I met some salespony offering robots for shares, and I really didn’t understand what was going on, so I took one of them off his hands.”

“I don’t get it either. As I said before, I’m not the one for business.” I stifled a laugh as her eyes started to correct themselves.

"Anyways," I said," how long until we arrive to Cloudsda..." I was cut off as we passed above the cloud cover and the rain let up with a loud whoosh.

Ditzy smiled, "Just about five minutes."

It was such a relief to be out of the pouring rain. I turned to Ditzy and jokingly asked, “Who the hell decided to make it rain so hard today?”

Ditzy was oddly serious with her response, “There’s some weird official exercises going on. For the last two days they haven’t let my flier take my wagon above the clouds in certain areas without searching the goods.”

“I sure am glad I don’t have to worry about traveling with a wagon, ” I sympathized.

She smiled as her eyes started to do that funny thing again and told me, “Scoot, you know I’m just in it to help ponies, and I don’t mind if some friends want to make sure that everyone is safe.”

I was wondering why there was a need to search someponys goods, when suddenly the Sky Bandit slowed up, and touched onto the soft cloud surface.

The driver called back “End of line, mares. Let’s go, let’s go!”

We both trotted off the Chariot. I wished Ditzy a good night, and then turned and flew up the cloud paved street towards my apartment.

<)-------(>

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but my humor emitter array requires recharging," said my new robotic butler that I traded for shares yesterday. I thought the design was intriguing; six arms attached to a floating orb like body with three different ‘eyes’ that glowed a dim yellow.

"Aww... but your jokes are so funny," I lied, but I was bored, and my breakfast oats didn't look too appetizing (the robot was better at making water than food).

"My apologies, ma'am."

"May I have some water?"

"Certainly ma'am, here you are!"

I downed the glass and asked for more.

"Certainly, ma'am. Here you are!"

I decided to down the unappetizing oats and used the glass to wash it down.

My robotic butler floated (or hovered, or did whatever flying robots do) over to me as I placed my plate in the sink and asked exitedly, "Ms. Scootaloo, did you enjoy your breakfast?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks!" I lied, but it was better than making it myself (or maybe not).

"I must tend to the cleaning that needs to be done. I wish you a good day ma'am!"

"Enjoy yourself!" I called out to the now unresponsive robot. I guess he could only do so many things at once. Just as I was about to open the door I heard the phone ring.

Milliseconds later, a certain robot called out, "Ms. Scootaloo, the phone is ringing!"

"Well no shit, huh," I muttered as I galloped to the source of the ringing and pressed the answer button with a light hoof step.

"Scootaloo!" asked a voice with a slight country twang.

"Hey Apple Bloom!" I answered with my happiest voice. "Whatcha up to?"

"Well, uh, nothin' much, but Ah want you an' Sweetie Bell to help me with something."

“Like what type of ‘something’?”

“Like ‘make us a lot of money’ type of something,”

"Okay, You have my undivided attention," I said with a trace amount of sarcasm.

“Well, now that the zebras could wipe out Equestria with their new shiny Megaspells, we need some form of shelter in case of an attack, and Ah was doing some research on ancient earth pony architecture, and Ah stumbled across some old pictures of old earth pony shelters that went underground everpony’s home, where they could hide in case of wild weather.”

“So?”

“So whose to say that these shelters can’t protect people from Megaspells. Provided if we could dig deeper, and reinforce ‘em with concrete and steel. This would save their lives if the zebras attacked.”

“But how are you going to put one under everypony’s home?”

“Ah’m not planning on doing that dammit. Ah’m planning on making huge shelters. Like almost communities!”

"So to sum it all up, you wanna throw groups of ponies underground because of what the zebras could do?" I asked (even though I knew what the answer would be).

"Well... yeah, but you made it sound bad. Ah meant for this to help people."

"Apple Bloom, you're basically making money off of chickens," I said in all but a nice way, "It seems wrong."

"Listen Scoot, if Ah wanted to make money off of chickens Ah'd ask you for some bits. This could save people, and it will make us money. Ah'll need to talk to Sweetie Bell before we go through with this, but keep in touch 'cause Ah'll call you when we can schedule a meeting between the three of us."

"Fine."

The phone made a monotone buzz to notify me that she hung up, as I stepped off of the talk button and turned around, I was greeted with a dim yellow light to the face, and an overly excited robot wishing me a good morning.
"AAAAHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed loud enough for my neighbors to hear me through the almost soundproof cloud walls.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I do not know how to respond to that," it said.

"Sorry, just please don't sneak up on me like that."

"Noted, ma'am."

<)-------(>

Find me on an old Appleloosan road out on the country soil,
Away from the hustle and bustle of the Manehattan highways,
Where the rainy skies steer clear from what I know as home,
and then you and I can start anew,
going through the things that we never got to.
Livin’ our life like we just don’t care,
We got an attitude without fear, so we’re never scared.
Stop for a moment, and think about where we’ve been.
Laugh at the fact that we ain’t goin’ back again.

The music played through the old radio sitting in the untouched corner. I wondered to my self how long it had been in that corner, and how long it had been on that frequency. It was early. Three o’clock in the morning early. No one was at the bar besides the bartender and myself. I wondered why Apple Bloom had told me to meet her here so early, then I remembered her 'idea'. I didn’t mind downing a few shots of AppleJackDaniels Whiskey, but at three in the morning it was different. My internal clock wasn't in the drinking mood (more in the sleeping mood) but this 'idea' was important, so I needed to stay sober and awake for it.

The bartender looked towards my way and started to ask me if I was alright, but he seemed to stop halfway through the question, and continued to wash the shot glasses.
I could totally do some shots I thought to myself. But the rational pony told me I could really do for nap, then the I remembered what Apple Bloom said when she called me this morning.

"Catch a ride to Appleloosa, and wait at the watering hole. Ah'll pay you the bits for the ride back if you can stay awake."

I wasn't sure if she’d been kidding, but that ride was expensive, and drinking would just make me sleepier. "Challenge accepted," I muttered to myself. The bartender glanced at me, but when I returned his glance, his eyes went back to the shot glasses.

He had a light gray mane with a bluish gray coat and a cutie mark of what else? A mug of cider.

I found myself dozing off when Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell walked through the door. The bartender’s eyes shot up to check out the new visitors, then they went back down to the row of about ten shot glasses sparkling under the dim yellow lights.

"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Bell! It's about time you guys got here!" I said with a happy, yet tired voice, and then sat back onto the stool.

“Ah’m sure glad to see that you’re awake. Ah just might’ve brought enough extra bits to give you for the ride back!” she smiled as she spoke.

I still wasn’t sure if she was kidding, but I hoped for the money and smiled back.

Sweetie Bell telekinetically pulled out her chair and kept quiet. She had a very tired expression. She looked far more tired than I was, so I let her be.

"Let's get down to business." Apple Bloom replied as she pulled out the stool in front of her.

Apple Bloom opened up with a very harsh but true fact, "After Big Mac's death, we've all been fearing the zebras..."

I winced at the words.

She continued without batting an eye, "...and after the zebras acquired their own Megaspells, we've known that they have something to wipe us out with. Now, Ah know that everypony’s scared, but that means that the people that can afford safety will be able use their money and be sheltered in case of an attack."

"But why does it have to be all the rich ponies? Everypony deserves shelter from an attack,” I interjected.

Sweetie Bell finally spoke up. "Yes, Scoot, everypony does deserve shelter, but there won't be enough of these shelters to protect everypony and like everything, there won’t be much supply, but there will be a lot of demand."

Luna dammit, why did she have to be right, I thought to myself.

"That's what Ah've been trying to tell ya." Apple Bloom explained.

"Okay, well I get it now, but can we do something like a lottery that elects spaces for poor families?" Dammit, listen to myself. Treating safety like a casino game. This war fucked ponies up so bad.

"Ah don't know, maybe..."

Sweetie Bell interjected, "How come it's always ponies? What about a stable for griffons?"

"Or what about the zebra citizens that live here in Equestria?" I added.

"Enough! We need to plan these stables and resources are limited. We'll probably need to number them or something." Apple Bloom stated.

"Like Stable One, Stable Two, and so forth?" I suggested.

"How will we order them?" Sweetie Bell asked.

Apple Bloom explained, "Ah don't really know just yet. This is a lot, and Ah don’t really know how we’ll handle it."

<)-------(>

I would like to throw some thanks out to a few of different people, so here we go.
sargecadet & okiinovice for introducing me to MLP: FiM in the first place.
Kkat for creating the amazing FO:E Universe.
sargecadet for convincing me to write this, and doing a lot of major editing (you can thank him for most of that little song too), and being a totally swag guy.
If you haven't read Fallout: Equestria, then please do so. Also, you should check out Honest Herds by 'sargecadet' if you get the chance.

Chapter 2: When You're Smiling

Fallout Equestria: Scootaloo's Pre-War Blues

Chapter 2: When You’re Smiling

By: oki_all_day

<)-------(>

As I arrived home from the grocery store I was greeted by my lovely robot (which I had reprogrammed with more recipes), and he notified me of a missed call. I walked over to the phone and activated the answering machine.

"You have one new message, and no saved messages. Message one: 'Hey Scootaloo, It's me, Sweetie Bell. I brought up the stable ideas to Rarity, who brought it up to the Ministry Mares, who brought it up to the princesses, and guess what? We're being funded! We have basically unlimited resources, and money to buy any equipment needed! We can make this happen! We'll be saving lives! Talk to you soon!'" The answering machine buzzed, and I took my hoof off of the button.

I placed a call to Apple Bloom, and waited.

After a few rings, she answered, "Hello?"

"Did you hear about what Sweetie Bell did?"

"Mother of the princesses, did Ah! Can you believe it! We'll have this dream come true in no time. Ah have so many plans! We need to get together soon!"

"Can it be later than three in the morning next time?"

"Of course. How does four in the morning sound?"

"Oh shut up."

“We'll see when we can meet up. Ah hope that it will be later, 'cause Ah'd hate to hear your whining."

"Okay, see ya soon."

She hung up, and I turned around to find my robot's main 'eye' just about two feet away. I jumped a little.

"I learned how to not sneak up on you, Miss Scootaloo!"

I smiled at the cute little thing. It had the programmed accent of a Canterlot pony, but the true heart of a Ponyville pony.

<)-------(>

“But we can’t do that!”

“We can do anything we want.”

“Scoot, this is a horrible plan.”

“This will reshape the future! This is gonna teach the inhabitants how to act properly. If you count the years it would take for the fallout of magical radiation to disappear, and the amount of generations to go through what gets taught in the stables, then the new people will know how to act. They’ll be better than us. They can learn so much after a few centuries underground. There might not be anymore wars after this one when they emerge!”

<)-------(>

I was seated at my dining room table, eating my newest treat that the robot made (a daffodil sandwich), when suddenly, the wall to my right ripped open in a large flame filled explosion. Now, I know you’re thinking, “But Scootaloo, aren’t the walls made of cloud?” And the answer to that would be yes. Tightly packed industrial grade cloud. This cloud is packed so tight, that it is more solid than wood. The lethal cloud of cloud shrapnel ripped through my nightgown, and found a home in my hide. Thousands of pin-pricks buried themselves into my right side of my body. “SHIT!” I screamed out in pain. After what felt like hours, but was only seconds, I turned to look over to where the explosion came from. As I hid my face between my hooves, I found huge hole in the wall. In the hole, I could see two pegasi stallions, a white one with a yellow mane and blue eyes, and a charcoal one with a dark grey mane and light grey eyes.

The charcoal one turned to the white one and said, “Damn. You suck at cooking, bro.”

<)-------(>

I awoke, in my comfortable bed. I figured it was just a bad dream, but milliseconds later, the pain under the new bandages on my right side told me it wasn’t. I rushed to the main room to check the damage, and found the two stallions I saw the night before sitting on my couch.

“Why the hell are you in my house?” I asked, weak from pain.

“Hey, you said she wouldn’t be able to walk in the morning.” The white one said to his friend.

“Maybe she’s a strong mare,” he replied, as he got up. He started heading my way, as he spoke, “Ma’am, I am truly sorry. Last night my roommate here decided he’d try his hoof at cooking.” He then lifted a hoof towards the gaping hole in my wall. “As you can see, he sucks.” He paused, and looked me over. If in any other situation, I would’ve figured he’d be staring at my flanks, but then I realized that he must’ve been checking on my injuries. “Please take a seat. You need more rest.”

I sat, in the same chair that I was sitting in when the wall ripped open the previous night.

He sat across from me, and started talking. “I’m Lightning Runner, and this is Cloud Chaser. We are truly sorry for your injuries, and your wall.”

Cloud Chaser came up to me, and told me, “I was the one that patched you up. Lightning over here had to remove all the cloud shrapnel from your side. It was one helluva night, but our training in advanced first aid helped.”

“Wait, but why are you still in my house?” I feebly asked.

Lightning Runner answered, “Well, if you haven’t noticed, with the hole over there, we can walk straight through, and after we patched you up and set you down in your room, I figured we should stay, and check on you in the morning.”

Cloud Chaser continued his friend’s sentence, “And neither of us got work today!”

“Thanks for helping me after you blew me up,” I muttered. “What about my robot?”

Cloud Chaser answered. “Some shrapnel took out one of the spark batteries. An inch higher, and it would’ve hit the combat inhibitor.”

“And that would be really bad.” Lightning Runner added. “The thing probably would’ve killed us, with that flamethrower, and that saw. I keep a lot of spare batteries, and I got him ready to run again. He got pretty annoying calling out ‘Have you seen Miss Scootaloo?’ every five seconds, so you’ll find him disabled on the kitchen counter.”

Cloud Chaser scoffed, “Yeah, this guy has heaps of the damned batteries. Always afraid that he’s gonna fall out the sky while working.”

“Wait. What is it that you guys actually do for a job?”

“I’m the pilot of the Sky Bandit!” They said simultaneously.

Cloud Chaser turned to his friend and said, “No, you're just an assistant.”

“Wait, I’m pretty sure he was flying it when I rode the Sky Bandit a few days back,” I said.

“He probably was in this rain. That’s why they call him Lightning Runner. He flies for me in the rain,” said Cloud Chaser.

“Yeah, only because you’re too wimpy to fly in the rain.”

I started to smile at their childish argument.

Cloud Chaser shot back “You only got the job because of these official training exercises messing with my schedule, and the fact that I’ve known you forever.”

“Shut the hell up!” I joked with a smile.

The two looked at me, and then each other, and laughed. After a few minutes of some medical blabber from Cloud Chaser, I walked over with these two, and activated my robot.

“Bring me some water. We got company!” I commanded to him, and then proceeded to walk into the living room, and collapsed on the couch.

Cloud Chaser and I held some small talk about business. It appeared that Lightning Runner felt left out, since he was only a worker, and not a pony of business like myself or Cloud Chaser. I looked at him, and asked him what he thought about these training exercises.

He laughed and said, “I couldn’t care less. Now I’m employed because of them, so that’s good enough for me!”

As we ran out of water, I called the robot over. After getting three more bottles, I finally looked at the clock. It was still early, almost dawn, but not quite there yet.

Why must the most fun I’ve ever had in the morning involved an explosion?

<)-------(>

“Can any of you explain what happened here?” the officer asked.

Lightning Runner stepped up, “Well, sir, my friend here had a cooking accident, and...”

The police officer raised his voice as he cut off Lightning Runner, “Now listen here slick, I don’t know who you’re thinking you’re fooling, but that doesn’t look like a ‘cooking’ accident to me.”

Cloud Chaser backed his friend, “Sir, it was. I left the can of kerosene on the stove, while I went to go and get the broccoli I was going to steam, when,” he pointed a hoof at the hole in the wall, “that happened.”

The grumpy officer lifted a hoof at me and asked, “And where were you at this time, lady?”

“I was right here in this chair, when the shrapnel from the explosion hit me.”

“Are you alright?” The officer asked.

“Well, I passed out,” I said blatantly.

“And then we patched her up.” Cloud Chaser said.

“We’re both trained in advanced first aid,” Lightning Runner added.

“Okay, whatever. Lady, would you like to file any charges against these two?” The grumpy officer asked.

Cloud Chaser and Lightning Runner shot looks of worry at me.

“No, not at all. This was probably the most fun I’ve had in a while,” I answered.

A sigh of relief came across the two as I smiled at them.

The officer spoke up again, “I gotta do a damage assessment and take some measurements, so if you could give me some time...”

“Oh no problem,” I told him. I turned to these new friends and asked, “You guys wanna go for a walk before I have to go to work?”

“You’re gonna go to work in this condition?” Cloud Chaser asked.

“You just got blown up, and now you want to go and clock in?” Lightning Runner added.

“Absolutely, I’m the boss.”

<)-------(>

As we walked, the wind started to pick up. There was a lot of debris around. Ever since the war started, the streets in all cities were a huge mess. Ponies were too busy to pay attention to stuff like clean streets. Cloudsdale had gotten pretty windy since many of the weather specialists had gone to join the military. As we walked through the empty streets, with the debris flying around us a full-sized poster found a home on Lightning Runner’s snout. As he pulled it off, he got a better look at it.

“VICTORY” Was written across the top in the colors of the rainbow. Under, the sentence continued, “JUST A WING’S BEAT AWAY” The poster showed none other than Rainbow Dash in her Shadowbolt Flight suit, backed by two silhouettes of other Shadowbolts. In the background there were eight more Shadowbolts flying patriotically in opposite directions. On the bottom of the poster was Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, separating the only other text on the page from the rest. “JOIN THE R.E.A TODAY!” was on the left side, and on the right was “Fight With Honor, Fly With Dignity, Kill With Vengeance”

There was an indescribable look on Lightning Runner’s face, similar like a foal in a toy store, but something was different. He seemed more... intense. He quietly rolled up the poster and held it to his side with his wing. Nopony said a thing, as we continued our quiet morning walk.

<)-------(>

Do you know what it means to fall in a rut? It means to be stuck in the same daily cycle, day in and day out. Even if you’re the boss of a company, you’ll always find yourself in a rut. Sometimes I find myself out of that rut, like when something new happens. Like meeting some old friends and conspiring live saving ideas, or making some new friends after they blow a hole through your wall. All in all, however, I found myself in the same rut again. Hail a chariot, head to Manehattan, walk a block north to the Red Racer HQ, check in with my secretary, and then walk to my office. Then, I’ll sit back in my chair, and do... nothing. Sometimes I’ll find myself out of the rut again. Maybe a meeting, a performance review, sometimes I might have to lay somepony off (that’s one thing that’s always tough to do). Red Racer is not thriving in my eyes. Ever since the war, metal is sent to help the war effort. Not to make scooters. Today, I found myself out of the rut. A manilla folder that I had to look at awaited me at my desk.

COMPLAINT FILE: HIGH VELOCITY WIND DANGERS was the title stamped on the folder.

“High Velocity Wind Danger? What the hell does that mean?” I muttered. Curious, I opened the file.

I skimmed it, knowing that most of the complaints never got resolved and that I’d probably throw it out anyways. Most of it was math and graphs of Manehattan’s average uncontrolled wind speeds. There was something that caught my eye though. A watermark. Three balloons, two light cyan blue, and one light yellow. Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark. My eyes instantly jumped to the bottom, and found the signature. ‘Pinkamena Diane Pie, Ministry of Morale’ “What do they need to complain about? Now I actually have to read this whole file,” I muttered. After reading it multiple times, I found out that they were afraid of my scooter on top of the building falling onto their building and causing a lot of damage. They had sweet talked it so much, and put so many fancy graphs on the paper, that I didn’t even understand what the point of the letter was until re-reading it for the third time. Pinkie Pie is so random. I chuckled, knowing that I designed it myself and nothing short of a megaspell shock wave could knock it over.

<)-------(>

I left work later that evening. Such a long time working, but nothing gets done. I responded to the complaint file from the Ministry of Morale, just because it seemed like somepony who I’ve known since childhood deserved some recognition. As I was waiting at one of the chariot stops, I heard a child crying. I looked towards the source of the noise, and found a zebra foal being held by its mother, while a policepony was putting hoofcuffs on its father.

“Do not cry little one, they do not know what they have done,” he assured his crying child.

I wanted to say something. I wanted to help, but just before I could decide in my head what to do, a small taxi chariot stopped in front of me.

“Need a ride, ma’am?”

Almost paralyzed by what I was seeing, I replied, “Uh-huh," and climbed in.

“So where to, ma’am?”

“Cloudsdale,” I said, with my mind somewhere else.

After a few minutes of silence, he asked me, “You see that train there? That’s all military recruits.”

I looked down, and saw the long line of olive drab train cars heading out onto the horizon, away from Manehattan.

“My son wants to go to the recruiting depot, and sign up to help Equestria. I support him, but, well... my wife thinks differently.”

I nodded. I was still somewhere else in my head. I wanted to scream out I HATE THIS DAMN WAR, and many more obscenities at the top of my lungs, but what good would that do? I felt for all of those mares and stallions on that train. Good ponies at heart trying to help their land. I felt for that zebra father. Arrested by paranoid cops, who were trying to help their land, but didn't understand. I wanted to hate the cops, but I knew that they probably had their heart in the right place, but their minds were in the wrong one.

“You’re not the talkative type, are you?” the chariot driver asked.

“It’s just... everything that’s going on. It’s a little much,” I replied.

“Well, alrighty then.”

<)-------(>

I unlocked the door to my house and stepped in. I walked over to the giant hole and called out, “Hello, neighbors!”

Lightning Runner walked over to the hole, and invited me in. “I wanna talk to you guys about something.”

I sat with the two on their couch, as Lightning Runner calmly started talking. “I’ve been thinking," he began, "I found this poster this morning when we were walking.” He unraveled the poster on the coffee table, and continued, “and, I really want to go and see this recruiting officer. I’ve looked in the phonebook, and found the address and hours of operation. He closes soon, and I’d like to see him before he leaves work.”

“Are you sure, man? Military doesn’t sound like you,” said Cloud Chaser.

“No, it doesn’t, but helping ponies is something I’d like to do, and this is it.”

“Well, maybe you can just go and see what they have to offer,” I said.

“Then let’s go. He won’t be open for long.”

<)-------(>

The recruiting officer was a older brown and grey pegasus. He was wearing an olive drab suit-like uniform, and his olive drab cover sat on his desk next to him decorated with a brass pegasus in flight on the front, just above the brim. He had multiple medals and ribbons across his chest. He seemed to be showing them off as he slouched back in his chair, belly and chest up towards the ceiling.

“So you wanna come and help fight the good fight?” His voice sounded very deep and rough.

“Sir, I’d like to see if I could do anything to help Equestria.”

“Hell, we could use more kids like you in this army! Here, I’ll contact you when I can if you leave your name and number on this note. I gotta head home, I don’t get paid for overtime.” He laughed a gravelly laugh, and tossed a pencil to Lightning Runner. He turned to Cloud Chaser and me, and asked if we were looking for any military jobs.

“No, sir,” I said.

“We’re business ponies, sir,” Cloud Chaser answered.

Lightning Runner handed the note to the recruiting officer, and we all left the the building.

<)-------(>

After I arrived home, I headed to my bedroom, and just sat down. What a day. Twenty four hours before I had almost been killed by two stallions I’d never met before in an explosion, and then made friends with them. I received a letter from a Ministry Mare, somepony who I hadn't heard from in years. I watched as an innocent zebra stallion was taken from his family, and I watched as hundreds of ponies were shipped off to go fight for their land. One of my newfound friends was planning on joining the fight from the air. And as I sat here, pondering my thoughts, I got the sudden feeling to turn on the radio.

“Thanks for tuning in kids! You’re listening to the Adventures of Daring Do! In this quest, our intrepid heroine is on the search for the Diamond Snowball!

<)-------(>

I enjoyed the story. The action packed thrill of adventure was all I'd ever wanted as a kid. I felt carefree and young again, floating on a cloud of nostalgia, but I was suddenly kicked off of that cloud when the phone rang.

<)-------(>

[NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR]

Okay, I’d like to throw out some more thanks here.

‘sargecadet’ for being a totally rad editor, and helping me get past my procrastination.

‘good-nut’ for giving me the ideas for Cloud Chaser and Lightning Runner.

‘okii95’ for looking over and helping me improve my work, especially improving dialogue.

‘Kkat’ for creating this amazing universe to add on to.

I’d also like to thank Louis Prima, aka ‘The King of Swing’, for creating the inspirational song ‘When You’re Smiling’ which is what the title is named after. Go look him up if you get the chance.

Also, if you haven’t read Honest Herds by ‘sargecadet’, you’re missing out.

And if you haven’t read Fallout: Equestria by Kkat, you should.

Chapter 3: But I Don't Have to Trust a Soul

Fallout: Equestria: Scootaloo’s Pre-War Blues

Chapter 3: But I Don't Have to Trust a Soul

By: oki_all_day

<)-------(>

Fear. We're all living in fear. Fear of war, fear of espionage, and overall, the fear of each other. When that wall ripped open, I feared that some attackers were trying to kill me. Looking back, I wondered why I would've thought of that. All I do is run a Scooter company. Maybe I thought it was somepony that I had to lay off coming back for revenge. I don't know, I don’t remember what I thought at the time, but I'm glad it turned out the way it did.

<)-------(>

"When will your schedule be open?" the pony with a country twang on the other end of the line asked.

"Well, hello to you too," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Ah'm sorry Scoots, Ah'm just a little excited and everything. It seems that we hit a good streak getting that funding from Princess Luna, and we need to make use of it as soon as we can."

"I agree with you. You know what they say, 'every day is a day closer to the end of the world'." I said with an odd amount of happiness in my voice. What the fuck is wrong with me, joking about the end of the world?

She chuckled. "Ah don't know who they are, but Ah'm pretty sure that's not what they say."

I laughed. I don't even know why, I just laughed about the end of the world, my possible demise, and the possible demise of many other ponies, and I just laughed at it. Just giggle at the apocalypse.

"But seriously, when can you meet up with us?" She asked. "It'll be at the same place as last time."

"I don't work on Sundays, so anytime then. Anytime after ten o'clock in the morning."

"Well that sounds good. Sweetie Belle doesn't need to be at her recording studio on the weekends either, so the time should be good for us to get together."

"Alright. Sounds good."

"Oh, and a bit saving trick, try riding the train into town. It's much cheaper than a taxi chariot. They just take a little longer depending on where y'all are coming from."

"Okay, I'll try it. Thank you."

"Goodbye, Scoots."

"Bye, Apple Bloom."

I hung up and slowly turned around, expecting my robot to be right behind me. To my surprise, he wasn't. How odd. Maybe I'll call his name, wait... I didn't name him. How the hell did I forget to name my robot? I felt so embarrassed, to a robot. I searched the house for him, and found him, dusting my Flight School Trophies.

"Good evening, ma'am. What can I do for you?"

"Can you tell me your name?"

He stopped dusting and turned to me. He lifted the mechanical arm holding the feather duster, and pointed to himself. "I am Unit Number Four-Seventeen, but you may program me to have a more equine name."

"Would you mind if I did?"

"Ma'am, I am a robot, I wouldn't mind if you dismantled me, and melted me for scrap metal."

"We'll, that's one way to say; 'I don't give a fuck'” I muttered. After a few moments of thinking, I told him, “Umm... I'll call you... umm... LittleBlip!”

“Okay, just give me a moment to change my settings and...” He suddenly turned off, and fell to the ground in a limp mechanical heap.

What am I supposed to do now? I asked myself.

Before I could decide to do anything, he popped right back into the air, as if he'd never turned off.

“Good evening ma’am! What can I do for you?”

“What’s your name?”

“I am Unit Number Four-Seventeen, but you may call me LittleBlip.”

“Sure thing!” I smiled at my little success at properly naming my robot, even though all I had to do was ask it its name. Now it was time for sleep.

<)-------(>

I became fascinated with the world traveling around me. I watched as the cacti, steep hills, and plateaus passed by at a ludicrous speed. There was an occasional tumbleweed flying through the empty desert. I lost myself in my thoughts, and pretty soon my eyes stopped looking through window, and I found myself staring at myself. After some deep thinking, I started making silly faces to myself. I am such a child at heart. I’m stuck in the middle of a war-time Equestria, and I’m just making silly faces like a little filly would. But now the last of my innocence is going to leave me. I’m going to go from a simple business mare to what I guessed as an important figure in whatever we’re going to do here, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be all too innocent. We’re being funded by the ones who basically own the war, for the love of Celestia, how could I get caught up in this?

<)-------(>

Damn. These trains take forever. No wonder they’re so cheap. Four hours didn’t seem like too much when I read the timetable at the Ponyville station, but I couldn’t stand it anymore. A sky chariot could make this run in maybe one to two hours. Not that I’m complaining about the amount of bits I’ve saved with this form of transport. This is just taking forever, and I still have two hours left.

<)-------(>

“WELCOME TO APPLELOOSA!” The cheery older stallion startled me as I got off of the train.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Braeburn, Apple Bloom's cousin. Since I didn’t have work today, and Apple Bloom knew I was in town, she wanted me to greet you. Would you like a tour of Appleloosa!?”

“No thanks, Braeburn. I’m already running a little late.”

“Well alrighty then!” He muttered under his breath about how nopony appreciates the town as he walked with me to the watering hole. It was nearing dusk, and I hadn't gotten any sleep on the train. I yawned, and thanked him.

“Well, it’s no problem.” He turned off and walked towards the apple orchard.

I walked into the saloon, which was filled with loud, drunken ponies of all (legal) ages, sexes, and races.

I wasn’t even three full steps in, before some male earth pony offered me a drink.

I brushed him off, and scanned for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Behind me, I heard Apple Bloom’s voice above all the noise.

“HEY SCOOTS! BEHIND YOU!”

I turned around, and found her and Sweetie Belle in a booth. I sat down with them, next to Sweetie Belle, and put my “pissed off” face on.

“YEAH, AH KNOW IT’S A LITTLE LOUD IN HERE!” Apple Bloom had read my face.

“NO SHIT, HUH?” I retorted, barely able to hear myself.

“NOW LET’S ALL CALM DOWN, NO NEED TO MAKE OURSELVES LOOK DRUNK!” Sweetie Belle said loudly, yet elegantly.

“NO OFFENSE, BUT WHY THE HELL IS APPLELOOSA EVEN SO POPULAR?” I asked, directed towards Apple Bloom.

“BUSINESS!” She replied.

“NOW LET’S GET DOWN TO OUR OWN!” Sweetie Belle said.

“NOT UNTIL WE GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I CAN BARELY HEAR EITHER OF YOU, LET ALONE MYSELF.” I retorted.

We all got up and when we got outside, and I could hear myself again. “So where are we going to talk at?” I asked.

“Ah know a cool little place, not too many people go there.” Apple Bloom suggested, “Follow me.”

Apple Bloom led us to a small little cliff overlooking the amazing apple orchard.

Out in the apple orchard, I could see ponies in suits, exchanging suitcases, and realized what was going on. A sudden look of fear came onto Apple Bloom’s face, as she told us that we needed to leave.

“Why? What’s going on?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Business,” I said, as we turned around to leave.

<)-------(>

“So what you’re telling me, is that you want to go and talk to the Ministry Mare for the Ministry of Magic?” I asked.

“Uhh... Well, they are the ones who designed the megaspell systems in the first place,” Sweetie Belle retorted.

“And plus, our sisters can always talk to Twilight, and see if she has the time, They’ve known her for, like, forever.” Applebloom added.

“Well, that sounds cool then. Are we done then?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said, “You enjoy the train ride?”

“Nope. Some damn filly behind me wouldn’t stop kicking my seat,” I told her.

They both laughed. “Why do you hate foals so much when you own a company to make their damned toys?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, what are you going to do, make a dangerous scooter that can really hurt some little filly, but not give them a recall?” Sweetie Belle jokingly asked.

“You all are messed up in the head. I swear, what’s up with you? I don’t even hate fillies, I hate the parents that can’t control them” I said as I tussled both of their manes. “That’s child’s play, anyways. I’d rather create a simple scooter, and make it seem so appealing, and then raise the prices. The perfect way to ruin a parents day is making them spend money.” I said sarcastically.

“You know, Scoots, that ain’t half a bad idea.” Apple Bloom told me, “You actually ought to do that.”

“Aww, get outta here. I wouldn’t do that. Red Racer is an honest company.” I told her.

Sweetie Belle jumped in between us, “Scootaloo? Is that you?” She jokingly asked as the knocked on my head.

“What are you trying to say?” I asked.

“All I’m saying is that I’m pretty sure ‘Honesty’ isn’t your middle name.”

Apple Bloom laughed, “Look who’s talking!”

“What have I done?” Sweetie Belle’s voice was now much louder.

“Don’t act like nopony remembers that nice earth pony who you dated until he ran outta money.” Apple Bloom laughed.

“Who?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yer bein’ disohnest right now. You couldn’t have forgotten. You dated him for at least seven months.”

“It’s not ringing a bell,” Sweetie Belle said as she looked away from Apple Bloom.

“Ah know you know. He was Big Mac’s replacement in Sweet Apple Acres. He left for the city. Isn’t he like pulling trains now or something?” Apple Bloom answered.

"Are you talking about that tall one who was taller than Big Mac?" I asked, although I knew, I just wanted to be a part of the conversation.

"Yeah, the really muscular one. Ah know you remember, Sweetie," said Apple Bloom.

"I would not do such a thing. I just couldn't stay with him. He had... financial problems." Sweetie Belle said as she turned her snout away from us and into the air. She sounded so similar to Rarity when we used to get in trouble at the boutique.

"Like sister, like sister," I said.

Apple Bloom started laughing.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Sweetie Bell said.

"What she's saying is that you are just like Rarity," said Apple Bloom, still laughing.

"Rarity is a great sister!" Sweetie Belle was obviously pissed at us.

"We never said she wasn't, but I think you might have been taking advantage of that guy," I said.

"Since we're back on the subject of that guy, did y'all ever... Uhh... Get to know each other? Like really get to know each other? Like really really really get to know each other?" Apple Bloom was on the brink of laughing again.

"This. Conversation. Is. Over." Sweetie Belle’s voice was not sounding like the beautiful singer’s that we knew so well on the radio.

"Welp, I gotta go and get on a train. I'm saving my money." I said, knowing that too much fun leads to no fun, and making Sweetie Belle any more pissed off could possibly result in a homicide.

"Now hold up Scoots. The last train of the night goes to Olneigh. That's like eight hours in the opposite direction of where you want to be. You can spend the night with me an Sweetie. We're riding to Ponyville tomorrow, and that train is the one you came here on. You can just fly yourself to Cloudsdale from there." Apple Bloom is such a life saver.

"You just saved me so many bits, and so much time. Thank you. I'll totally crash at your place here." I said. I then turned to Sweetie Belle, "You know we're just playing right? It's okay if you only dated him for the money and the sex."

I gave off the most innocent smile as Apple Bloom started to laugh. Sweetie Belle screamed, and chased me. I took flight, while laughing my flank off. Sweetie Belle then telekinetically grabbed my tail and pulled me down. As she looked me in the eye, pissed off more than I had ever seen anyone pissed off, I couldn't help but laugh. As she stood above me, threatening to hit me in the face with her hooves, I just laid back and laughed. Apple Bloom had caught up to us, and fell to the ground and laughed too.

As she noticed us, her two oldest childhood friends, laughing their flanks off, her face of anger melted into a smile as she started to laugh herself. As we walked through the dirty, unpaved streets of Appleloosa, we laughed and talked about what we might do with all the funding, and our ideas of a Stable.

<)-------(>

“Here we are! This is the place!” Apple Bloom said.

I looked in front of me, and saw a large two story building with many doors which all faced towards the unpaved street. All of which were numbered starting from ‘101’ on the first floor, and ‘201’ on the second.

“I thought you meant you had a place here,” I said, dissapointed with the motel that she had taken me to.

“Oh, get over it Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, “You can still either fly home, or pay for a ride.”

“Either of those aren’t bad ideas,” I said.

“It’s really not that bad, Ah mean, There’s a little living room with a TV, and there’s two beds in the bedroom.” Apple Bloom seemed to be trying to sell me the chance to stay.

I looked at her with a face of dissaproval, “Two beds...”

“But you can sleep on the couch! Come on Scoot, it’ll be like when we spent the night with Miss Fluttershy, ‘cept we don’t break the table.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll sleep on the couch then.”

Apple Bloom jumped into the air, “YES!”

After buying some junk food for dinner at the vending machines, and putting some tap water into a cup for a drink, I sat on the slightly torn loveseat, which was a lot smaller than Apple Bloom made it seem. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were already asleep in the two small beds that were in the bedroom.

I decided I'd turn on the television to pass the time. As the screen flickered on, I saw some white text on a black screen that read,

OUR DEDICATED BUCKS KEEP THE PEACE ON THE FRONTLINES

The title card was pulled away, and the screen showed two Steel Rangers who seemed to be talking as a zebra soldier to their left was tied up, and struggling to move. One of the Steel Rangers walked over, and leaned forward, with one of his oversized rifles on his back pointed at the zebra’s head. The shot rang out, and the zebra fell to the floor, with most of his head gone. As the Steel Ranger turned around, his buddy pointed out that one of his hind legs was still twitching. The Steel Ranger turned back to the body, and leaned forward further. He sent another bullet into his spine. His buddy and him noticed the camera. He casually waved a hoof at the camera, and his buddy did the same. The screen switched to an advertisement for the Steel Rangers.

I instantly switched off the television, as I pulled the hole filled blanket over myself. As I lay in the worn out loveseat, I shuddered.

“What horrible thoughts could lie behind that buck’s helmet? What cruelty did he have to endure to make him kill all while holding what I guessed was a smile beneath that cold steel visor? What did he see from their perspective? What did his buddy see? Did they think they were doing good? Did either of them worry about the zebra? What did he feel besides the recoil? Was it a mental burden to kill? Was there any psychological damage to them for all that they must’ve seen? What did they think about when they weren’t killing defenseless prisoners? What if they saw their killing as if it was just... business? What if... what if killing is onlybusiness?” All these questions I wanted an answer to, but staring at the ceiling wouldn’t get me them. Come to think of it, I don’t really want the answers to those questions anymore.

I tried my best to put the bad thoughts thoughts behind me as I made an attempt to find a comfortable position to sleep in on the small loveseat.

<)-------(>

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

Hello everyone! You may be wondering why this chapter took so damned long, and is shorter than the other two. The answer to that is Laziness! Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take too long for Chapter 4, but then again, I’m not making any promises. Thanks to Kkat for creating the FO:E Universe, and thanks to sargecadet who is my editor. Without him, this fiction would be horrible. If you were waiting for this chapter, I apologize, and thank you. I really appreciate it. I’m glad you could enjoy it. More to come soon... Okay, maybe not soon, but more to come Trust me.

And in case you were wondering, the chapter title "But I Don't Have to Trust a Soul" was based off of the song Afraid Of Everyone by The National.

Chapter 4: I'll Explain Everything to The Geeks

Fallout: Equestria: Scootaloo’s Pre-War Blues

Chapter 4: I'll Explain Everything to the Geeks

By: oki_all_day

<)-------(>

As I placed the key into my door of my apartment, I started to wonder how my robot would react to me arriving after being absent for two days. I figured he probably wouldn’t have even noticed my absence.

I opened the door, and noticed something off the second I stepped into the room. The wall had been repaired. It was a very crude repair done with simple harvested cloud. It was still soft, and could easily be opened up and closed again by any pegasus, but still, it was repaired.

"I wonder who did it." I said to myself aloud.

"Oh, it was those stallions from next door, the gray and white ones." LittleBlip called out from the kitchen.

"Huh, that's cool." I muttered as I made my way to the fridge.

"Why yes, I do believe it is 'cool'. They carried all of that cloud from the factory itself in bags. That is why it is still soft," LittleBlip informed me.

"Mrhrmm..." I mumbled in agreement, worn out completely from the train ride, with a mouth full of daffodil sandwich (a dish which I had grown very fond of).

“Yes, the white one left me a holotape to give you. Please excuse me while I retrieve it,” LittleBlip said as he floated off.

I waited in silence for a few moments, finishing the rest of the sandwich. I walked over to the wall repair. It really was some good work. The cloud had been lightly packed, and tightly fitted into the areas where the explosion ripped the original cloud from. As I admired the carpentry work, I heard LittleBlip hover into the room. I turned around and watched him float up towards me.

"Ma'am, would you like me to play the holotape?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," I replied.

"As you wish, ma’am," as LittleBlip started playing the holotape, his accent changed to that of Cloud Chaser's less refined, cheery voice

"Dear Scootaloo, I'm leaving this holotape for you regarding our repair. We went down to my sister at the weather factory and picked a little bit of cloud up to make the repair. Lightning talked me out of charging you for the work. What a laugh! Lightning was always a one for making some quick bits. After he decided to join the REA he's been acting very different. I'm glad that he found a good job, many employers are close minded enough to not accept a stallion with even minor mental problems such as his own, but he isn't slow, just has odd tendencies. It's pretty complicated to explain. Anyways, I'm getting off track, I hope you enjoy the new wall! Bye!"

"Wow, Lightning is..." I said aloud.

"I must admit that I caught signs of a mild case of something that differs between his behavior and that of other ponies." LittleBlip said sounding slightly proud of himself.

"Shit, he sure didn't seem... retarded," I said, unaware of a way to properly word it.

"Well, chances are, it is a very minor problem. Either that or he is hiding it very well."

"We'll he sure doesn't show it, if that's what you're getting at. I thought they were, like, really quiet. He seemed pretty lively and happy to me." I said, half ashamed for separating ponies with a mental problem into their own group.

"If my memory sensor recollection is correct, I do remember him being more on the quiet and observant edge while you and Cloud Chaser had a conversation, and earlier, before he shut me down, he also seemed to have a case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with his tools, and if you ask me, he obviously hoards batteries. I'm not sure if that qualifies as a mental illness to equines, but if he were a robot, he and I would be best friends!" LittleBlip said, excited at the thought of a friend.

"Okay, some assholes might not accept it. Hell, even Cloud Chaser implied that he had been turned down from a job or two before, but it doesn't make a difference to me at all though, he's still a friend," I told him.

"Ma'am, you never fail to touch my simulated robotic heart."

<)--------(>

I woke up to the yells of a simulated Canterlot pony coming from LittleBlip. "Ma'am, there's somepony at the door! Would you like for me to invite them in?" LittleBlip's voice projected throughout my home. I really need to find a different voice for you.

"Uhh... Yeah. Sure. I'll be there in a moment," I said, not thinking rationally, due to my current lowered state of awareness. I put my hooves to my head, and tried to wake myself up.

"Thank you kindly." I heard a voice that seemed to be Lightning Runner's from the living room.

"We appreciate it," said Cloud Chaser's voice.

"Oh, it is no problem, gentlecolts. We appreciate your wall repair," LittleBlip replied.

I hung up my nightgown and brushed my mane. Afterwards I walked into the living room. "Please, take a seat, guys. What's up?"

We all sat down on my couch, and Lightning Runner spoke up. "They're sending me to off to join the REA. I'll be going through training, boot camp, and then they'll probably send me somewhere. I might not be in contact for a while."

Although I could understand the need for troops, I couldn’t believe they needed them this much. To accept a troop into training only a few days after signing up must mean that the war is getting pretty serious down there. As my brain raced through what could be happening on the front lines, I sat speechless.

“Yeah. I’m not sure whether or not to be excited or sad.” He replied, looking down towards his hooves.

“You should be happy! You’ll be able to work now, and get paid!” I tried to cheer him up.

“But I won’t be with anyone I know for a while. I’ll have to make friends all over again. I’m not the best at making friends.”

“You don’t have to be. You’re all on the same page. Just try to be friendly. I’m sure you’ll be fine in no time.” I assured him.

Cloud Chaser nodded in approval. "Hell, we became friends by making fun of eachother."

“Alright,” Lightning Runner said. “By the way, would you like to be there when my train leaves, Scootaloo?”

“Of course I’ll come,” I said.

“Okay. It’s tonight at seven o'clock on the Luna line in out of Manehattan. I hope you guys can make it.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Cloud Chaser said.

“I’ll make it there when I get off work. Nineteen-hundred, right?” I asked, trying to test him on military time.

“Yes. Thank you,” he responded with a smile.

The two then quickly got up and left my apartment.

“Well, that was unexpected.” I told LittleBlip.

“Mmm... yes, quite.” He responded as he started to busy himself with doing the dishes. “I do believe that they are rushing the recruitment.”

“Things must be getting serious down there if they need troops this desperately.” I stated the obvious.

“Indeed. Luckily, your friend will have training to do before he can fight, so perhaps that may postpone his possible demise.”

“Yeah. I hope.”

<)-------(>

“Miss Scootaloo, you have a letter,” the secretary mare informed me, without looking up from the phone as she dialed a number.

"Regarding...?" I asked.

"It's a letter from a young filly regarding scooters," she said in a slightly annoyed tone while she peered over the rim of her glasses.

"Okay, thank you." I told her with trace amounts of sarcasm.

I walked into my office, and spent a moment to look at the small scale scooter that hung from the ceiling. I'm a success in life, I thought. I've risen above the others, and became a wealthy mare of business. "I am great," I silently whispered. I smiled, and sat down in my chair.

"Scootaloo" was written on the center of the envelope in a young filly's scratchy writing. Underneath my name was the address of the headquarters, nicely written by an adult. The return address read "1945, Parable Avenue". I opened the envelope, and pulled out the letter, written on a piece of notebook paper.

Dear Scootaloo,
I would like to tell you thanks for making such awesome scooters! All my cousins and brothers and sisters have one, and so do I. We have so much fun rideing around in the street, and raceing each other. We all love to have fun with the scooters, and we all want to thank you for makeing them. Please make more soon!
Love,
Margarine

I grinned, as a warm feeling formed inside of me. I was happy to know that I was bringing delight into other people's lives. I pulled out a blank sheet of lined paper, and started my response.

Dear Margarine,
You do not know how happy I am to have received your letter. You've brought a great big smile to my face today. I'm glad you and your siblings have fun with scooters. When I was just a little filly my friends and I did the same. Making more scooters is a tough thing to do since a lot of metal is being used by the military, but I'll try my best!
Sincerely,
Scootaloo

I opened up and took out an envelope. After writing out Margarine across the middle, I made sure I spelled out the street address correctly, and put my name and return address in the corner.

After sketching out designs on the undersides of the paperwork I was supposed to sign, I got bored and dozed off.

<)-------(>

My digital watch made an annoying beeping noise, which awoke me from my slumber. I pressed a hoof to a button on the side to stop the alarm, and then noticed that it was already six in the evening.

"I guess now'll be a good time to get off," I muttered as I straightened out the wrinkles in my suit and walked out of my office.

"Having a busy day?" My secretary asked, as she peered over the edge of her glasses.

"Yes, extremely," I said in a sarcastic tone as I rolled my eyes. "I take it that you've just been overloaded with work also."

We laughed for a short moment before composing ourselves.

"I sure have. That phone rang twice!" she laughed.

I chuckled alongside her. "I'd hate to overload your already filled plate of work, but I need this letter sent," I said as I placed the letter onto the desk.

"No problem, enjoy your evening!" She smiled as she went back to flipping through her fashion magazine.

I turned and walked through my building, observing all the ponies busy at work. Some smiled and waved to me as I walked through the halls. I proudly waved back, and continued my happy stroll out the door. I looked up to the surrounding buildings. The scene of the crying zebra foal, his father being arrested, and the sad, but comforting mother played through my head again. I looked at the spot where I saw the act occur and shuddered.

By hovering myself into the air, I found myself above the buildings. I flew west towards the departing stop for the Luna Line.

After arriving, I hovered around for a short amount of time until I saw a familiar looking white pegasus that was pulling large chariot bus land in the parking lot.

I flew over to Cloud Chaser, and helped him out his harness.

"Thanks, Scootaloo," he said as he stretched his tall body as if showing off for me. "You see any signs of Lightning?" he asked as he preened his wings and brushed his mane with his hoof.

I smirked at his immature antics, and replied, "Nope. Nowhere."

As soon as I finished answering, the gray pegasus landed next to us, dressed in a simple pure white button up shirt. "Hey, glad you guys could make it!" Lightning Runner exclaimed. "I saw this guy carrying the Sky Bandit, and figured that you two wouldn't be too far away."

"Lightning, there you are! Nice shirt by the way," I said.

"Nice suit, Scootaloo. Nice harness, Cloud Chaser," Lightning Runner responded with a smile.

I laughed, "Yes, it absolutely brings out your eyes!"

"Okay, you two, that's enough," Cloud Chaser smiled. "What are we going to do?" He asked Lightning Runner.

"I'm going to say goodbye, and then I'll get on that train, and you two will miss me, and then I'll come home and everything will be back to normal," Lightning Runner laughed. "Or, at least that's how it should go."

"Okay. So, on a smaller scale, what do you want to do before you leave. You still have about thirty minutes," Cloud Chaser said.

"Why don't we just sit down for a moment?" Lightning offered.

"Yeah, I like that idea," I responded.

All three of us flew up to the roof of the train station, Lightning Runner carried his largest bag, Cloud Chaser held the medium one, and I took responsibility of the carry on.

We reached the roof and set the baggage down. All three of us sat together on the edge, Cloud Chaser to my right, and Lightning Runner to my left.

The roof held a beautiful view over the river, the orange and purple evening sunset glimmering off of the clouds above, and water shining below set the mood to a happy, peaceful one.

Lightning Runner looked at me and smiled. "I'm glad you could make it. This moment is one that was meant to be shared. Same goes for you, Cloud Chaser."

I looked to my left and noticed that Lightning Runner had tears forming in his eyes, and a smile spanning across his face. I threw my forelegs around both of my friend’s necks and smiled along with them.

"One day, under better circumstances, we need to get together and watch the sunset," Cloud Chaser stated.

"Yes, we totally should. I love sunsets. Orange and purple seem to look so good together," I said with a small smirk.

The two both looked at me and started laughing. "Of course you think that," they said in unison.

I smiled. "Of course I do."

We silently watched as Celestia's evening sun dipped closer towards the ground, eventually starting to dissapear. We all leaned onto our backs as we laid, our forelegs around each other’s necks, and observed the darkening blue sky that showcased the small specks of stars in the early portion of the night.

The hustle and bustle of the ponies below us seemed to die off. As the peaceful night was starting to get enjoyable the train whistle rang out and startled all of us.

"LAST CALL, LAST CALL FOR THE ROYAL EQUESTRIAN ARMY TRAIN, LUNA LINE," a loud voice blared over the announcing system.

Our warm smiles transformed into slight frowns as we all left the roof, and landed in front of the olive-drab sleeper car.

"I-I-I gotta go now," Lightning Runner stuttered between tears that had started to form.

I tried to smile, but found that I too had started crying. "I know. Have fun."

Even Cloud Chaser had started tearing up as he threw a forehoof around his friend’s neck. "Be strong, dude. I'll miss you."

As the whistle sounded off again and we finished putting the bags onto the train, Lighting Runner wiped off his tears and said, "Thanks."

The train started to slowly accelerate forward. Cloud Chaser and I said "Goodbye," together as Lightning Runner headed into the car, and the train left the station.

"Can you help me get suited up?" Cloud Chaser asked.

"Yes," I replied quietly.

Together we walked among the masses of the crying family members who had a child or sibling on the train. Slowly but surely, we quietly made it out to the parking lot. We both hovered and flew over the cars towards the Sky Bandit.

Cloud Chaser landed in front of it, and I got out his harness.

"I'll miss him," Cloud Chaser stated. "He's been my only good friend for a while." His expression was a sad one as he looked down towards the asphalt.

I helped pull the harness onto his back, and looked at him. "Hey, don't worry. He's gonna miss you too. Hell, even I'll miss him, and I've only known you guys for a few days."

"But what if he doesn't make it?" Cloud Chaser worried.

"He will," I assured him as I tightened the straps that ran around his wings.

"I hope," He muttered as he flapped his wings, testing the harness.

"You're good to go," I said as he started to lift off, out of the parking lot.

"Thanks Scootaloo," he said as he started to fly away through the darkening evening sky.

<)-------(>

I laid on the couch in my living room, sipping water from a glass. LittleBlip floated around, and occasionally went to the corner of the room, where he would "sleep" by powering down. Paralyzed by the sudden realization that things are much worse than I thought, I stared intently at the wall. The portion which had been repaired stood out, and I couldn't help but think about all the families that have already been affected by the war.

As I traveled deep into my thoughts, I was interrupted by the ringing of my phone.

"Ma'am!" LittleBlip yelled.

"I know, I know," I muttered as I got off the couch and walked to the phone.

As late as it was, I could only figure that it was a friend that was calling. I almost found myself hoping to hear from Lightning Runner, although I barely knew him, and then I realized he'd only be gone for two hours, and trains are pretty slow in my experience.

I answered and listened as the shuffling of papers came through the other side.

"Hiya Scootaloo! Guess who we're scheduled to meet tomorrow?" Sweetie Belle's voice asked in anticipation through the phone.

"Apple Bloom?" I asked.

"Nope, she's coming with us though. Guess! We already talked about it!" She seemed overexcited about it.

I suddenly remembered. "Twilight Sparkle!"

"You got it! All the way down at some little place called Maripony."

"I thought the hub was in Canterlot," I told her.

"Did it ever dawn on you that research and Megaspell testing probably would not occur right on Princess Celestia's doorstep?" she asked with extreme sarcasm.

"Point taken. So, when will we be scheduled to meet her?" I asked, as I motioned LittleBlip to come over to me with my free hoof.

"Tomorrow night at ten o'clock," she informed.

"Ten o'clock, on a Friday night? Is there gonna be a party or something?" I laughed.

Sweetie Belle laughed too, "A secret party. You'll know when it happens," she said.

"Ummm... Okay then. I'll be there," I responded as the call ended. I walked away and thought, a party, a secret party, at a research facility for weapons of mass destruction run by a select group of intellectuals... Seems legitimate... enough.

"So, ma'am, what did you need me for?" the robot asked.

"Can you tell me where Maripony is at?" I asked looking up to his main sensor.

"Well, I doubt the exact coordinates that I've been programmed with would help you, so in a relative sense, I'd say just south of Old Olneigh. Of course, I hope you realize that this facility isn't too well known to the public, and asking directions to others could raise some eyebrows," he informed me.

"What do you mean about 'not well know by the public'?" I asked.

"All I'm saying is that I'm surprised that you know about it."

"How were you programmed to know about it?" I asked. "As a matter of fact, who programmed you?"

A smooth mare's voice was put out from LittleBlip, similar to when he replayed Cloud Chaser's recording. "The files you are trying to access have been restricted. Please consult an Equestrian Robotics associate for assistance. Enjoy your day!"

"What?" I asked nopony in particular.

LittleBlip's sensor leaned towards my face, "What is it that you need, ma'am?" he asked in his normal voice of happiness.

"Nothing. Nevermind. I'm fine," I responded, concerned by the amount of shady things that seemed to be happening around me.

"Well, I'll be occupying myself with trivial activities such as cleaning," he laughed. "Goodnight!" he exclaimed after composing himself.

I walked back over to the coffee table and took the cup of water off of it. After making my way to the kitchen, and dropping it into the sink for LittleBlip, I made my way to my bedroom.

I was tempted to turn on the radio, but I realized that I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow, and the more sleep I got, the more awake I'd be for this "party" that Sweetie Belle was talking about.

I tugged my nightgown on and pulled myself under my blanket, and slowly dozed off, making small attempts at not thinking about how bad things might actually be.

<)-------(>

After getting out of work the next day, I made my way towards the taxi chariot stop where I usually headed to. This time, a pegasus wearing dark black hooded robes pulled up, carrying an equally dark black chariot.

"Get in," he commanded me.

"Umm... I think I'll catch the next one," I said as I started to back up.

"Listen, mare, are you going to a 'party' tonight?" he asked, with 'party' being the emphasized word.

"Yes, in Maripony," I fearfully said.

"Then, get in," he commanded, sounding slightly pissed off at my reluctance.

I climbed into the covered chariot, and before I could even sit down, he rushed into the the air, sending me stumbling around the cramped inside. I found my bearings, and sat down in the seat.

"So, you and your friends are quite lucky to be given this opportunity. Miss Sparkle must trust you three a lot to allow you to visit her at Maripony," the deep voiced stallion flying the vehicle informed me.

"Why are we lucky? What's with all the secrecy?" I asked.

"Do you seriously think all that the public needs to know about this line of work? Most people who work don't leave. In the base is what one needs to survive, and live their lives," He answered.

"Wait, so you don't even leave the base?" I questioned as fear and curiosity slowly formed a lump on my throat.

"Yep. I'm sworn into secrecy, and so is everyone else. No one is to hear about this base. As a matter of fact, I believe the party we're throwing is for you and your friends. Just to celebrate the first civilians to ever even hear about the base," he said sarcastically.

"So there actually is a party?" I asked.

"Of course, do you think the government would lie?" he laughed.

I laughed along with him. "Of course not. What kind of government lies to their ponies?"

"Only the ones that work, young filly," he joked as he reached a landing pad above the Maripony Research Facility.

From the landing area on the roof, I spotted two other dark black chariots in the sky, coming towards us. All across the horizon was rolling green hills, and below the structure was a luscious green valley.

The driver that brought me here lifted off as the next chariot landed, and Sweetie Belle emerged.

A smile erupted across her face as she walked over to I waited. The driver lifted off, and a few short moments later, Apple Bloom's driver landed. Each driver moved with such efficiency that the landing of these three chariots only took about a minute.

Sweetie Belle and I waved to Apple Bloom as she made her way to us.

Once she joined us, we noticed that we were the only ones on the roof. All the drivers had left with the chariots. We ended up going to the edge and observed the scenery.

"How'd the drivers know where we'd be?" Apple Bloom asked.

A mare's voice from behind us replied, "Magic!"

We all turned around and found Twilight Sparkle, who was standing next to a red unicorn stallion with a black mane. His mahogany eyes seemed to be more focused on the ministry mare than us. He also wore robes and a hood similar to the drivers that had picked us up.

"Miss Sparkle!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "It's been too long!"

"Please, you know me personally. Twilight is fine. And yes, it's been way too long. I remember when you three were just little ponies," Twilight said with a warm smile.

We all laughed, even the red guy next to Twilight.

"So," I said after everyone finished laughing, "What is this place?"

Twilight backed up and pointed to the stallion next to us.

The stallion took off his hood as he started to speak, "Welcome to Maripony Research Base, girls. Here we study many different things, most of which I'd have to kill you if I told you about, and overall, this is a center where we record and test all our data from the Megaspell research and testing facility that's just a stones throw away. My name's Fusion, and I'm the overseer of all work that goes on at the other facility that I just told you about, White Sands. Miss Sparkle here is my boss. Any questions?"

I had so many questions, but couldn't think which ones were legitimate questions, so I didn't ask.

No questions arose from Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom either.

"Okay then," he said. "Let's go on a field trip, shall we?"

"Sounds cool," I said.

As we started to walk towards the door, Fusion started talking again. "You all are lucky. Half the ponies here have barely ever been to White Sands, and you three are going there tonight."

Twilight Sparkle added to his statement, "It's amazing what trust earns you. You never know what you might get to see,"

Fusion looked up to his boss, "Do you trust me Miss Sparkle?"

"You are the overseer of all activities that go on in a secret testing facility of mine, so I obviously trust you a lot," she replied.

"So," he cleared his throat, "what will you let me see?" He asked in a smooth tone with his eyebrows raised.

Apple Bloom and I burst out laughing as it took a second for Twilight to realize what he meant.

She chuckled and looked him in the eye, "Oh, silly Fusion. I'd let you see everything..."

His eyes seemed to light up.

"...but if I were to show you, I'd have to kill you."

At this point, all three of us were laughing as Fusion's expression switched to a very scared one, and Twilight's face lit up with a grin.

As if nothing had happened, Twilight leaned over and put her eye over the retina scanner.

As the machine calibrated the readings it received, I noticed how cold it actually was outside, and longed for the door's opening. Luckily, it only took about five seconds. We walked into the facility, and the thing that shocked me the most was how clean and pure it was.

The door we walked on led to a balcony which overlooked a large, lobby like room.

Ponies with clean white lab coats littered the room, and killed time by sipping coffee and talking to each other.

As all five of us walked across the balcony, Twilight and Fusion in the lead, as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and I followed closely, I started to wonder, "What's the reason for all the secrecy if it's science?"

Twilight and Fusion then turned back to us as we reached an elevator.

"Well," Twilight said, "I actually have to get back to Canterlot, so I'll be leaving you now. Fusion will guide you through the rest of the facility from here, won't you Fusion?"

"Of course, ma'am," he responded in obedience.

She then walked back from where we came and left through the door to the roof.

Fusion cleared his throat. "So, you all ready for a ride?"

"What type of ride?" I questioned.

"Similar to a train, except underground. It's called a subway," he informed us. "Is there anyone here who isn't comfortable with trains?"

"As long as there's no foals kicking my seat, I'll be fine," I said.

"As long as it's safe," Sweetie Belle stated.

"Ah like trains," Apple Bloom said, "Ah Ride 'em from Ponyville to Appleloosa at least once a week!"

"Good then. This'll only be about fifteen minutes of a ride," Fusion said, "And only us four will be on there, no children," he laughed.

The elevator door then opened with a hiss, and Fusion motioned us inside.

"So, what do you mares do for work?" Fusion asked as he used a key to open up a hidden panel, and pressed the button for the underground level.

"I'm a singer," Sweetie Belle boasted. "You may have heard of me on the radio. My name is..."

Fusion cut her off. "Yes, Sweetie Belle. We listen to quite a few songs of yours around here. You bring a smile to our faces daily,"

"Wow, thank you!" she replied.

Fusion turned his eyes to Apple Bloom. "And you?"

"Ah work with architecture. Ah'm kinda the whole reason we are here at this facility right now," she said modestly.

"I see. And you, ma'am?" Fusion asked as he looked at me.

"I... I run a scooter company," I muttered, feeling inferior to my friends.

"By any chance, would it be Red Racer?" he asked.

"Why, yes it is! How'd you know?" I asked in excitement.

"We use them around here from time to time," he replied.

I wondered, "What would grown mares and stallions need scooters for?" in my head as the elevator door opened.

The narrow concrete corridor ahead led to a small metal door. As we silently walked through, no words were shared between us. Fusion reached the end and turned around. "Alright, I'm gonna need you to turn around. All of you. I gotta put in this access code, and I can't do it while you are looking."

We all turned around, facing the closed elevator door that we came from.

Fusion muttered under his breath, almost inaudible, but I could still make out a few words that he said as he pressed the buttons, "Zero, zero, zero, zero... And... Uhh... Zero!"

I tried to hide the laugh I could barely contain as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom whispered to each other.

"Okay, it's safe to turn back now," he called to us.

We all make mistakes sometimes, don’t we? Although being the most coordinated out of all my friends, my brain decided at that moment, to trip and fall.

My initial reaction to falling was to flutter my wings for balance, but the suit coat made that quite difficult.

In short, I fell flat on my face.

Ashamed, I got back up and tried to act like nothing happened, similar to how Fusion acted after being embarrassed by Twilight. I walked into the small, empty train station like room, and stood next to my friends on the yellow line. I brushed my foreleg over my face and found my nose had started bleeding.

"Are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Fine, just fine," I responded as I held my head up, keeping more blood from coming out.

"You ain't tipsy any, are yah?" Apple Bloom questioned.

"Not in the least," I responded. "Speaking of drinks, will there be any at this party?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Fusion responded, "but I could get some while we are down there."

I slowly tried to make the decision between my choices. Before I could, Apple Bloom spoke up.

"Buck yes! Ah hope you're able to hold your liquor, colt!" she said as she danced around Fusion.

"I hope you're friends will be able to carry you out, filly!" was his retort.

"What type of drinks are we talking about?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Only the hardest whiskey, the finest wine, the sharpest vodka, and the sweetest cider. You can pick your poison once we get there," he boasted, “It’s all free. The government thinks that we need more money than we actually do, so why not buy an over abundance of alcohol?”

"What do you do? Test weapons of mass destruction, or run a bar? Make up your mind," I laughed.

"What do you expect a bunch of bored scientists and engineers to do?" he laughed.

"I'll give you that," Sweetie Belle responded.

The faint sounds of the subway clattering down the tracks could be heard through the tunnel.

We watched in anticipation as the large metal beast veered around the bend and came to a screeching halt right in front of our faces.

The doors opened, and we all stepped in. Fusion calmly walked to the corner and sat down. He pulled his hood over his head and started to rest.

I walked to the other end of the subway and slipped off my blazer. I laid down in the row of three seats, and used my suit jacket as a blanket. I looked to my watch and realized it was already eight forty five in the evening. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle copied our actions and laid down in different seats around the subway car as it started to leave the station.

My eyelids started feeling heavy as the slow chugging accelerated to a faster speed. I then remembered that Fusion said the ride would take about an hour.

I laid back in the row and told my friends, "Wake me up when we get there."

They responded with nods and mmhhmm's of approval.

I closed my eyes and let the rocking of the subway guide me off to sleep.

<)-------(>

I felt weird. I saw the subway car interior once again, but from a different perspective than the one I would see from where I fell asleep at. I looked down the aisle and saw Fusion, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle sleeping. In the seats that I remember laying down in, all I could see was my crumpled up suit jacket.

At the end of the car stood Pinkie Pie. She looked to where I felt I was standing and started to speak to me as she bounced my way.

"Rise and shine, Miss Scootaloo! Rise and shine!” she said as her bounce turned into a slow walk in my direction. “I don't mean that you've been sleeping at the wrong time, no pony needs a rest more than you!” She gave off a big grin, making me feel less weird in the imminent surroundings. “Without all your help to come, saving Equestria won't be possible! But... let's just say it's your time to shine! So, wake up, you silly filly!"

She was now standing right in front of me. She leaned in and spoke.

"Wake up and smell the balefire!"

The word "balefire" hit me in such an odd way that I jumped up and then realized I was dreaming.

I lay in the same row I had fallen asleep in. My blazer still rested on me. The other three occupants remained asleep as we traveled. I looked out the glass window and only saw cave walls pass by. My boredom started to get to the better of me and I slowly found myself making silly faces with the reflection before dozing off again.

<)-------(>

I felt a small gentle nudge in the shoulder. After yawning, I opened my eyes and saw Fusion's mahogany eyes looking to mine. "Any foals kick your seat during this trip, ma'am?" he asked.

I smiled and responded with, "No, sir. I don't believe I had that problem."

"Good," he said. "We'll be there in about twenty seconds, so please be ready to go. We're about to miss the party," he rushed.

I hopped up out of the seats I had claimed, and slung my blazer over my shoulder. If we needed to get somewhere quick then I'd rather fly.

The subway lurched to a stop, and the doors started to open. Fusion was out the door before they had fully opened, and started in full gallop.

"Hurry up mares! You don't want to miss the party!" He called back as he ran through the corridor, identical to the one I fell down in about an hour ago. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom ran while I flew to the end of the hall.

We reached the elevator at the end of the hall, and lucky for us, it was already at the bottom.

We all got inside, and Fusion spammed the roof button with constant presses, even after the elevator had already started going up.

We got off at the roof level and followed Fusion as he used his telekinesis to open the door to the outside. The moonlight illuminated the roof area, and I took notice of the foldout table that was filled with food, clipboards, and pens.

Fusion walked up towards a unicorn mare who leaned on the edge, and looked out over the valley.

"Hey," he said. "I'm gonna need the keys."

"Yeah, whatever, boss," she sighed, and tossed the keys over her head, completely disregarding his presence, and not tearing her gaze from the pure desert valley, consumed in the night.

He effortlessly caught them, and headed over to a small shed on the roof. After telekinetically opening the door, he closed it behind him.

We waited for a few moments, silently observing the scientists that had gathered themselves on the roof.

Some looked happy, unlike the mare who had the keys, and others were asleep.

Fusion came out again with a lab coat on instead of his robes, and held three more lab coats in tow with his telekinesis. He floated each clean white lab coat to Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and me. After going back in, he came out with a small device, which worked for purposes unknown, and gently set it down on the table.

"Okay, everyone listen up!" he yelled from one end of the table. "Test Town Bravo is prepared?"

Some scientists nodded yes, while a younger buck, maybe around our age jumped up and screamed, "Buck yeah!"

Fusion smiled, "Okay, so no one needs to go back? Nobody left their wallet there, or a watch or something?"

Everyone smiled, "Nope!" they said in unison.

"Alright, which one of our beautiful guests should be the one to do the honors?" He asked the group.

I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, so I raised my hoof into the air.

"Scootaloo!" he called. "You are going to take the honors! Please, press the largest button on that little remote," he said as he pointed to the device on the table.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing special...” He looked back to the other scientists, and then back to me. “It's just a megaspell detonator." He rushed the words out of his mouth, making almost everypony laugh. Everypony except Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and I.

"A megaspell to where?" I asked, afraid that I'd kill people if I pressed the button.

"A small simulation town that we built for the exact purpose to blow up about five miles away. Trust me, this is science," he informed me.

Without another word, I pressed the largest button on the remote, and waited.

About two seconds later, a blinding orange flash erupted from the small testing city, and clouds of smoke rose up in a mushroom shape from the detonation area, thousands of feet into the air.

The oddest thing was that I couldn't hear anything. Was I deaf? "Is it supposed to be this quiet, Fusion?" I asked.

My question was instantly answered with a loud roar, and a wind that blew my hair back, and sent me, and the others stumbling. The papers on the clipboard fluttered in the air, and plates of food slid around the table, two of which fell onto the ground, as the smoke rose higher and even higher into the air, making an amazing orange and grey mushroom in the sky.

Ponies cheered, and us civilians stood speechless in awe.

Fusion looked at me, and answered my question, "Yes."

<)-------(>

A note from the author.

So, I'd love to lie to you all, and tell you that I took so long to release this because it's about twice as long as my other chapters, but that would be lying, because I actually wrote around 5000 words in the last five days, through the new Google Documents app while four other students from my school and I studied at a university as guinea pigs from our school, because, apparently I'm a genius. I just didn't know.

So, let me thank the all gracious editor, sargecadet. Also, as always, thanks go out to Kkat for making this freaking amazing universe to play around in. In case y'all didn't know, this is my first fanfiction, and I really am amazed at how popular I think it actually is becoming. And also, let me thank... Damn. I got no one else to thank this time. Oh well. Until the next chapter!
-oki_all_day

PS: In case you were wondering, the chapter title for this chapter is a line from the song Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks which was done by The National.

Prologue

Fallout: Equestria: Scootaloo's Pre-War Blues

Prologue

By: oki_all_day

<)-------(>

War. War Never Changes.
Armed conflict and weapons of mass destruction were what brought Equestria down, kneeling, and begging for mercy. But these inanimate weapons gave it none. Neither did the zebras behind the buttons. The Megaspells and Balefire that brought upon the wretched end of all we knew created a new chapter in the bloody history of pony and zebra kind. Before the attacks, the selfish nature and cynicism of both Pony and Zebra kind sent them seeking refuge. A certain pony had a plan, and with her friends she made that plan a economic success. That plan was initially to create deep underground stables to protect their inhabitants. When Balefire ravaged Equestria, as the Megaspells rained down, warhead after warhead, the stables closed. Some scheduled to live in these stables made it in. Others did not, and during all this confusion, more selfishness came from the pegasi who closed up the sky. One pegasus refused this fate for earth and unicorn ponies alike. She was Rainbow Dash. Little is known of her fate today, but she will be remembered for her loyalty to ponykind, and her unselfishness. Following in her footsteps was another pegasus, the Vice President of Stable-Tec. This is the story of Scootaloo.

<)-------(>