War, war never changes. It all started with a war between the Ponies of Equestria and the Communist Griffins to the east. When the griffins invaded Equestria's northern frontier the ponies held their ground. But the conflict quickly escalated to encompass the globe. Then on one fateful day the bombs fell and the world was bathed in nuclear fire and radiation. Those that were spared the holocaust retreated to underground shelters called Vaults and for the most part remained undisturbed. Over two centuries have passed and the dwellers of Vault fifty have yet to reopen its door. But one mare is about to change all that and the wasteland may never be the same again.
It was just another typical day in Vault fifty. Analog or Ana as she liked to be called was working on one of the power generators. She was a technician and an engineer, if there was a program error or mechanical issue she could fix it, if she had the parts she could build it. Only twenty four years old and she was already one of the most valuable ponies in the Vault, she was a unicorn with a white coat and blond mane, and her cutie mark a computer with a wrench leaning against it. She finished giving the generator a tune up and started it back up while one of her colleagues ran a diagnostic from a nearby terminal.
“So, how does it look?”
“According to these results all system are optimal.”
“That’s good. Is there anything else we need to do today?”
“Not that I know of, besides it’s getting late. If there is anything it can wait until tomorrow.”
“Alright, good night then.”
For Ana life in the Vault could be a little…dull at times. Though she had no reason to complain, after all the Vault provided everything she needed. But one thought was constantly on her mind, the surface. What was it like up there? It had been over two hundred since the bombs fell, had Equestrian society been rebuilt, was it even necessary to stay underground anymore? It was these kinds of questions that continued to plague her mind. At breakfast she decided to bring up the subject with her best friend IV a physician by trade. She was a pegasus and had a brown coat and a black mane with an IV bag for a cutie mark.
“IV have you given any thought as to what might be up there on the surface?” she said in a hushed tone.
“Not this again, you need to stop thinking about that. You know no pony can leave the Vault without permission from the Overseer and that’s never happened.”
“I know but it’s such a big mystery. What if we don’t need to stay underground anymore, what if it’s livable up there? We won’t know until we have a look.”
“Ana as your friend I’m asking you, please stop dwelling on the subject.”
Ana let out a sigh. “I’ll try.”
A couple of days passed by but in the end her curiosity got the best of her. Ana was determined to see the surface. So she sent a fake message to the Overseer’s office requesting her presence in the generator room. After the Overseer left and the coast was clear Ana made her way into the office and hacked into the Overseer’s terminal. A few minutes later she found what she was looking for, the code to open the Vault door. She logged off and made her way to another section of the Vault, and not a moment too soon as the Overseer made it back to her office a little pissed off that somepony had played a joke on her. It was midafternoon and she decided it was as good a time as any. Thinking she would be back before anypony noticed she didn’t bother to take any supplies with her. Ana made it to the Vault entrance, punched in the code and pulled a lever. Lights started flashing and an alert sounded. A machine of some kind lowered from the ceiling and latched onto the gear shaped door. It began to open, pulling the door back, making a horrible screeching noise. But what she didn’t know was once the door started to open an alert went to the Overseer’s office to inform her of what was happening, she quickly switched on the feed to the Vault entrance and a pony who see recognized as Analog was waiting for the door to finish opening. Back at the entrance the door finally opened all the way and she hesitated for a second.
Come on Ana you made it this far, you can do this.
She began to make her way out when she notice skeletons just outside the door, probably been there for two centuries. But she pressed forward and closed the door behind her not wanting somepony to stumble upon an open Vault door. She was in a cave of some kind that led upwards at an angle. At the top she saw a wooden door with light peeking through the cracks and went towards it, reaching for the handle.
When Ana opened the door she had to cover her eyes. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust having never been exposed to sunlight before. When her eyes came into focus she got her first glimpse of the wasteland and the ruins of what she believed to be according to Vault records the city of Fillydelphia. Luckily she had a map of the area on her Pip-Boy although it was probably a little out dated. She marked the location of the Vault so she could find her way back and not wanting to waste any more time started toward the city at a good pace. She estimated the Vault was about a mile or two away but managed to make it there in a timely fashion. The city was in a horrible state of disrepair with rubble everywhere. Most of the buildings looked burnt out, partially collapsed, or fully collapsed. When she passed by an ally she saw something that startled her. Huge oversized roaches at least over a foot long, she quickly scurried away. Every second that passed by she began to regret leaving. She had hoped to find somepony out here. Then she came across some bodies lying in the street. They looked like ponies but were terribly disfigured looking. They were furless, their flesh looked rotted, their manes and tails had fallen out for the most part, the feathers of the pegasi had mostly fallen out, and the horns of the unicorns were rotted as well. But how was she to know they were feral ghouls. Suddenly they began to stir and get up, then they started to sprint toward her.
“AHHHH!”
Ana used her magic to push the ghouls back and ran for it. She went down an ally and after a couple of turns and ducking into a building she had just managed to lose them. Heart racing and breathing heavily she tried to calm down.
Okay, I’ve seen enough.
While trying to escape she got a little turned around but she still had her map to guide her out of the city. Although it took longer than expected do to some of the paths being impassably do to rubble or were walled off. But she made it out and back to the Vault. She had been gone for over two hours, longer than she thought it would take but she was just happy to be home. Ana went to the controls, punched in the code, and pulled the lever. Nothing happened. Perhaps she hit the wrong key, she tried again. Nothing happened. She tried a third time and a fourth time. Panic and worry began to creep into her. Then she realized somepony must have changed the code.
“No, no, no, no.”
Out of desperation she started inputting random codes hoping to get lucky. After a few minutes she was in full panic mode and though her rational side knew it wouldn’t work she began bucking the Vault door hoping somepony could hear something. Finally the notion that she had been locked out and there was no way back in sunk in and she stopped bucking, had a seat, and started crying.
“What have I done?”
After a while of crying and feeling sorry for herself she pulled out of it realizing it would get her nowhere. Her only chance for survival at this point would be to go back to Fillydelphia and find supplies and shelter until she could think of something else. She knew she had to hurry too. The sun setting and she didn’t want to find out if anything came out after dark.
The trip back took longer having been tired from the previous trip back and forth. Ana made it back to the city but the sun was on the horizon leaving her no time to look for supplies. She had to find someplace to hold up for the night. She wondered around with extreme caution not wanting to run into whatever it was she ran into before. Finally she came across an apartment building that looked mostly intact. She went in and found the interior vary grimy but she wasn’t exactly surprised by that. She made her way up the stairs to the third floor and found a room that would do, not like she can afford to be picky. The sun now fully set Ana did her best to clear the bed of two centuries worth of dirt and debris. She crawled into bed and tried to sleep. Having tossed and turned for hours she managed to nod off but it was short lived. Two hours later she awoke to the sound of an explosion and gun fire in the distance. A few minutes later the gun fire stopped and everything fell silent. After that she knew there had to be somepony or at least something out there intelligent enough to use a firearm but then again there was no guarantee they’d be friendly. The sun came up and after lying there for hours unable to go back to sleep she checked the time on her Pip-Boy, it read 9:13 AM, and once again her stomach reminded her that she was hungry as it had been doing throughout the night. If she was going to survive she needed food and water, and even though she was incredibly tired she got up, marked her location on the map in case she couldn’t find better accommodations, and headed out.
Ana wandered around for what felt like hours then finally came across a general store. Odds are the place was picked clean over a hundred years ago but she decided to have a look. To her surprise there were a few items left on the shelves. Instamash, mac and cheese, and some other non-perishable food. She found a bag, went down an aisle, and started to grab what she could. Unbeknownst to her three ponies entered the store. Ana bumped a can while grabbing another item and it rolled on to the floor with a thud. The others heard it and went over to where it came from. Ana looked down and picked it up and when she looked up she saw the three ponies, startling her. They were armed and looked to be wearing some kind of makeshift armor pieced together from rusty scrap metal. The two on either side looked to be earth ponies with gasmasks on hiding their faces’, the one in the middle looked to be a unicorn stallion whose face was visible, but what was most interesting was he had a Pip-Boy on. Their overall look though was enough to send chills down her spine.
“W-Who are you?”
“Isn’t it obvious, we’re raiders,” said the unicorn.
“Raiders?”
“Hmmm based on your Pip-Boy and your attire I’m going to guess and say you’re a Vault dweller.”
“Y-Yes, I’m from Vault fifty.”
He leaned over and got a glimpse of her cutie mark. “What’s your name?”
“Analog, but Ana is fine.”
“My name is Sledgehammer. I’m also going to guess since you didn’t know what we were that you haven’t been out here very long.”
“Yes, I left yesterday.”
“Tell me, what was your duty in the Vault?”
“I-I worked as a technician and engineer, I kept the Vault systems running, performing tune ups and maintenance and stuff.”
He had an unsettling grin on his face. “Reeeally, the boss is going to love this. You’ll have to come with us.”
“And if I don’t want too.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Ana swallowed hard and tried to run away but Sledge grabbed her tail with his magic stopping her in her tracks. The two earth ponies grabbed her and held her down while Sledge slipped a suppressor on her horn.
“HELP!”
He tied a rag around her mouth to keep her from making too much noise and possibly attracting some unwanted attention. Then he pulled rope out of his bag and used it to bind her hind legs together and her forelegs to her sides, and then placed her on his back and made for the door. A barrage of possible scenarios as to what could happen next raced through her mind, none of them good. Once outside she saw two pegasi in similar outfits guarding a wagon with various junk and scrape. Sledge picked her up in his magic and genteelly placed her on the wagon then covered it with a sheet.
“Alright everypony back to base.” The wagon started moving. Unable to see her surrounding all Ana could do was cry some more, surprising herself that she still had tears left in her. An unknown amount of time passed as they traveled across the bumpy terrain, then she heard voices. “This is Sledgehammer returning to base, inform the boss to meet me at the gate, I found something he’ll be very interested in.”
“Roger that.”
The second voice had some static in it, most likely said over a radio. Then the sheet was pulled back and Ana tried to look around as best she could. There was something off in the distance dead ahead but she couldn’t make it out very well. Everywhere else there was…nothing. No burnt trees, no foliage, no buildings, or structures of any kind. Aside from a few small shattered rocks there was just bare ground all around. As they got closer she could better make out what she was heading towards. It looked like a tall concrete wall stretching to the left and right, curving around an area. There were some buildings on the other side, most likely a town of some kind. A wooden gate allowed entrance and exit. There were some automated turrets on both sides of the gate. Above them on the wall were two wooden shacks on either side of the gate with a spotlight on top and an opening with the barrel of a minigun sticking out. Along the rest of the wall were more shacks probably spaced out twenty feet from each other but couldn’t see anything sticking out of them. The gate opened and when they passed through she saw a lot of ponies all wearing similar armor and outfits. She even saw some of them had a resemblance to the things that attacked her yesterday. She was lifted out of the wagon and placed on her knees. A pony approached and the rag was removed so she could speak but couldn’t find any words to say. The pony stopped a couple feet in front of Ana and she looked up. It was a larger unicorn stallion with a white coat like hers and a longish black mane. His cutie mark was of crossed rifles and he was wearing a more professionally made metal armor covering his upper chest, back, and shoulders but painted to match the rust color of the others, a pistol holstered at his side, and he too had a Pip-Boy. Although if she wasn’t so terrified she’d think he was handsome.
“Well what do we have here? Sledge, who’s our guest?”
“Her name is Analog. She said she is from Vault fifty and claimed to have left only yesterday. She also told me she worked as a technician and engineer, maintaining the vault systems and the like.”
“Perfect.” He untied her but left the suppressor on and she got to her hooves. “Follow me.” Not having much choice Ana thought it best to comply for the moment and followed him. As they walked they passed by some rundown buildings, some looked somewhat refurbished, and others she guessed the raiders had built judging from how rickety and slapped together they looked. They also passed a few raiders that just watched them go by and some had dogs that growled at her. Eventually they approached what she guessed was town hall. They went up some steps and when they were inside she was surprised to find the main room looked more like a rec room than anything else. There was a pool table, jukebox, Nuka-Cola machine, a suit of raider modified T-45 power armor minus the helmet, some chairs, a couch, and a small radio with some mare named Serenade giving a short news story before moving on to the next song. He motioned to the couch. “Have a seat.”
“O-Okay.” She took her seat.
“Hungry?” And as if on cue her stomach let out a loud growl. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He went over to the Nuka-Cola machine and there were some shelves next to it with food on it. There was also a small bag next to the machine as well. He popped the cap off the Nuka-Cola and managed to slip something out of the bag unseen. He poured a little bit of a mild sedative into her drink, just enough to help her relax a little. He grabbed an apple and a couple of carrots, shut off the radio, and made his way over to her. “Analog right?”
“Ana is fine.”
“Alright Ana, I’m Iron Sight.” He gave her the food and beverage and she quickly started devouring it. Iron took a seat to her left and waited until she finished eating before speaking. “So tell me, how did you end up in this wasteland?”
“Well while I was in the Vault I had begun to wonder what it was like on the outside, if there was anything left on the surface. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me, I got the code to the Vault door and left. I had made it to the city and wandered a little coming upon some very disfigured looking ponies lying on the ground, then they got up and started chasing me.”
“Did you happen to see some ponies similar to them when you got here?”
“Yes.”
“Those are what we call ghouls.”
“Ghouls, what are they?”
“There ponies that have been exposed to high levels of radiation and it left its mark their flesh. Oddly its help keep them alive. Ghouls are ageless. There are even some ghouls around that lived before the bombs fell. The ones you ran into are called feral ghouls, where the radiation has detreated their minds leaving them as nothing more than wild animals that will attack anything but their own. I’m guessing you got away.”
“Yeah I managed to lose them thankfully. After that I had enough and went back to the Vault. But when I got there the door wouldn’t open. The Overseer must have realized I was gone and locked me out. I went back to the city and found a place to spend the night and the next day your raiders found me and brought me here.”
“Interesting, you know I use to be a Vault dweller too once upon a time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but that was five long years ago. Although how I came to be out here is different from yours. It all started years ago in Vault forty seven. I was a security officer age twenty two. Life was good. I had friends, family, and a marefriend I loved. Then my world came crashing down around me. One of our dwellers was a bit mentally disturbed and one day he went off. He held up in the kitchen. I had gotten there and went in to resolve the situation. I found him on the other side of the room. He looked at me in a very aggressive manner so I backed up a little to put some more space between us but I slipped and fell down. He charged at me on the attack and with only milliseconds to respond self-preservation kicked in. I drew my pistol and shot him which killed him. It was justifiable self-defense but the Overseer and the others didn’t see it that way. I was charged with murder and as punishment I was exiled from the Vault with nothing but my Pip-Boy, a Vault suite, and my ten millimeter pistol with two loaded magazines. I suppose I should be thankful that I could take a weapon with me. But that doesn’t excuse what they did to me. What hurt the most though was the fact that no pony so much as disagreed with the order. My friends turned their backs on me, my family turned their back on me, and worst of all the mare I loved turned her back on me.” That last sentence was laced with venom.
“That’s…horrible.”
“Yes well, after I made it to the surface I had to quickly learn how things worked out here. Luckily my combat training in the Vault helped me survive long enough to do so. After that I had to figure out what to do with myself. I traveled around as a mercenary for two or three months I think. But that wasn’t as profitable as I had liked. There were times I barely had enough caps to get by on.”
“Caps?”
“Right, you haven’t been out here long enough. Bottle caps, they’re the currency of the wasteland, don’t ask me how that happened it just did. After that I looked for more steady work. I could have worked as security for a settlement or a caravan trader but there was little room for advancement and after being up here for the time I have been, I wanted something more. That’s when I came across this raider gang living in a section of the ruins of Fillydelphia. I offered my services but the raider boss at the time by the name of Skull Crusher wasn’t about to let me join without proving I had what it took to be a raider, and he gave me a test or inchoation of sorts. You see one of their own was caught trying to pocket some extra caps for himself and they didn’t like that. So they brought him before me and told me to kill him. So I looked him over for a second and nonchalantly drew my pistol and put a bullet in his brain. We’d raid settlements, caravans, duke it out with rival gangs, and plenty of other stuff. For three years I worked my way up and when Skull died I asserted myself as the new boss, although I would have to prove I could deliver before I got the full backing of my fellow raiders and deliver I did.”
“What did you do?”
“The first thing I did was have everything packed up and relocated to this town, the vary town my old Vault was buried under.” Ana didn’t like where this was heading. “You see what my old Overseer didn’t know was I had learned the code for the door before I left and he didn’t bother to change it. The others thought I was crazy for dragging them out to a ghost town. I never told them I was from a Vault which surprised them. They had just assumed I got my Pip-Boy by either finding it or killed a dweller and took it. I led them down to the Vault, punched in the code, and the door opened. When it did all doubt about coming here was gone. We stormed in and picked off the security easily enough and gathered everypony in the main chamber. You should have seen their faces when I walked in. I confronted some of them and chewed them out. Then turned my attention to my ex and pulled her from the group but a former friend of mine tried to intervene. Turns out they were married and I confronted her about it. She said that they started dating when I left. This got me thinking. Those two hung out together frequently while we were dating but I never thought much of it. The fact that they hooked so soon after I left was unsettling and I pried further. She openly admitted to cheating on me with him during our relationship. When she turned on me it hurt, but this was excruciating. I called her a whore, pushed her back into the crowd, and gave the order to open fire.”
“You…had them all killed?”
“Yes, I was too blinded by rage at the moment to care. But it doesn’t matter anymore. They dealt me a great injustice and paid the price for it. But I’m a fair pony, be good to me and I’ll be good to you, cross me and you’ll regret it.” By this point even though she shouldn’t be she was starting to calm down, the sedative starting to take effect. “After that the Vault was ours and it had everything we needed. Supplies, a source of purified water, power, and a small armory. It also had a wealth of knowledge teaching us everything from agriculture to architecture and more. We started to make this town livable. We built a wall, defenses, turned this place into a damn fortress. I had everything for a mile in all directions cleared away so we could see any possible threats coming with plenty of notice. When we got here we numbered…maybe twenty five at the most. Now we’re over two hundred strong. The last two years have been very productive since I took over. I’ve been able to introduce things like discipline and a proper chain of command making us more militant. Also I’m trying to implement new policies with some resistance such as only killing when necessary.”
“So why am I here exactly?”
“I was just getting to that. Even with all the progress we’ve made there have been some setbacks. My short sighted decision to kill off the Vault personal has left us with a problem. The Vault systems are failing or are in a state of disrepair. Even though the Vault has all the information on how to properly maintain it, raiders aren’t exactly the intellectual types and have a hard time with technical info. Which is why you’re such a fortunate find.”
“Wait, you want me to work for you.”
He smiled. “That’s right. I want you to join my crew. Be our resident technician, maintaining the Vault and anything else you can apply your talents to. In exchange I offer security, this is a safe place protected from any external threats. You’ll have everything you need here.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
“Then you’re free to leave.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but let me ask you. How long do you think you can survive out there for, alone? I doubt you’d be able to make it back to the city without encountering some of the local wildlife. You’re lucky my men found you when they did. There’s a multitude of things out there that would tear you to shreds without a seconds hesitation. Feral ghouls you’ve met but between Yao guai, Mirelurks, Radscorpions, and Deathclaws it can get so much worse, and that’s just the mutated wildlife. Besides other raiders you also have to worry about super mutants.”
“What are super mutants?”
“They’re mutants that somewhat resemble ponies but are bigger and green. They’re not vary bright but smart enough to know how to use weapons, and they eat ponies.” She swallowed hard. “And if all that wasn’t enough there are a myriad of factions throughout Equestria vying for power and control. The major players being The Brotherhood of Steel in the north, The Enclave in the south, Celestia’s Legion in the west, and in the middle is the NCR or New Canterlot Republic. They don’t have defined boarders so they’re constantly butting heads with one another. The east hasn’t seen anything major like them, but I suppose there is the Institute.”
“What’s the Institute?”
“No pony really knows for sure. There the boogeyman of the Fillydelphia area. The most anypony has been able to gather is it’s some kind of instillation run by scientists but no pony knows where. They are the creators of the synths or synthetic ponies. The gen ones were pony shaped machines with skeletal features. The gen twos were a slight improvement and had a plastic skin covering their inner workings. But the gen threes, they could pass for pony. On the inside they’re still machine but they have flesh, fur, a mane and tail, and even a cutie mark. They look like a pony, talk like a pony, and are capable of thought and emotion.” Ana never thought something like that was even possible. “They have the whole area in a grip of fear. Imagine being taken and replaced by a synth that looks just like you, sounds like you, acts like you, and knows everything about you in order to spy on those around you.” A revelation like that should have had her quivering, and yet she was oddly relaxed. Her eyelids starting to feel a little heavy. “Anyways getting back to my offer, you don’t have to give me an answer now. You can think it over a little and…” Iron stopped when he felt her lean against him. He looked at her and she was fast asleep. Either I gave her more than I thought or she was dog-tired to begin with.
He gently laid her down on the couch and retrieved a blanket to cover her with. He could let her rest for now and continue this at a later time.
