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Some say when one door closes, another opens. For some this would bring them joy into their lives, but for others would bring only suffering and agony. The latter had befallen the world as it was thrown into chaos in the midst of war to which ended in total atomic annihilation throughout the world of Equis, leaving only death and distant memories behind.

Only few have survived by the use of underground Fallout shelters known as Vaults. Built for the occasion of a Nuclear Holocaust, the company behind the manufacturing of the Vaults was Vault-Tec, the very same corporation that would ruin the lives of those that survived.

As time went on, the few who survived were subjugated to a specific experiment, whether it was to see how their lives would be when given a daily dose of hallucinogen or to see the effects of long term exposure to white noise. Though there were a few selected Vaults in which the experiments weren't so severe but despite whatever severity any if not all Vaults had, they all ended in failure in one way or another.

These experiments inspired future researchers to conduct their own experiments in hopes to achieve what Vault-Tec could not. These researchers were a part of a large faction formed to bring order back to the country of Equestria and hopefully, the world as a whole. This faction was known as the New Canterlot Republic and with their mass armies that grew over the years with their intentions to bring peace at any cause, Equestria slowly became the very country that was destroyed long ago.

Deep underground under a facility long forgotten through time, an old research and development facility can be found rusting through time and covered it either cobwebs, vines or piles upon piles of rubbish. Insects by the hundreds have taken the corridors and rooms as their home while large rodents occasionally roamed the halls.

Their comforting peace and tranquility was soon shattered by the sound of screeching metal coming from the surface access elevator. The screeching was the result of years without use and maintenance, in fact it was merely a wonder how it still hasn't crashed down from the lack of maintenance. A very large roach like insect stopped in its tracks as it simply waited for whatever accessed the elevator to appear from the closed doors. A multitude of the very same insects waited for the doors to open, wanting to get rid of the intruder as soon they opened.

As the screeching came to a halt, one could hear the clicks coming through the doors but the roaches thought nothing of it until they heard the large metal door being slightly forced open. Not a second after the door slightly opened that a small canister was thrown out from the door.

This canisters began to let out a cloud of toxic gas that affected the insects around the corridor. As the gas covered the majority of the insects, the toxin began to take effect and the roaches slowly died from the gas.

Minutes passed and all the large roaches lay on the floor, lifeless and without a scratch. The gas soon dissipated after minutes of exposure to air.

A female grunt eliminated from within the elevator as the door was once again forced to open, but this time the door was to be opened completely. Standing on the open door was a young tigress in her twenties dressed for combat and survival. Her attire has seen better days, her shirt having few torn areas and her trousers weren't without damage as well but not as much as her shirt. On her back was a fully functioning Laser Musket Rifle but it seemed to have no charge left in it. The tigress had a backup though, in the form of a small yet powerful handgun.

She let out a series of coughs as she inhaled the dust from the air. Reaching in a back pocket, the tigress pulled out a small handheld flashlight and turned it on. It barely lit up the pathway in front of her but enough to see the floor beneath her. Carefully maneuvering over the dead roaches, the tigress let out a sigh before shining her light in front of her, seeing nothing but the darkness at the end of the corridor.

Noting she may need to get another source of light, she began making her way down the corridor and each step she took emitted an echo that was heard throughout the abandoned facility. Stopping in front a vine covered door, the tigress peeked through the small opening but saw nothing of interest inside.

“There has to be something of value here.” Said the tigress as she resumed her walk through the poorly lit corridor. Room after room were searched without any findings as the tigress walked out of another room full of worthless junk, she was seconds away from giving up entirely before hearing a loud crashing down the corridor.

Curiosity now fueling her, she began to move towards the source before coming upon a split but from the state the left path was in, making the decision easier and the tigress continued on to the right. Another loud crash was heard this time being followed by the sound of electricity and the sounds and as she walked closer to the source of the noise, she stopped just before seeing a broken down stairway leading deeper underground. Shining her light onto the stairs itself, she noted the lack of steps as well as the holes on the walls.

“I'm really beginning to regret my decision of ever coming here.” Spoke the young tigress before taking a step onto the broken stairs before quickly making her way down. Once she finally stopped her rapid steps down, the sounds from before were heard once again but closer than before yet behind the heavily fortified door in front of her. The handle was a valve, similar the ones found in old boats yet much more sophisticated than the latter. Placing her hand on the valve, she was greeted with nothing but the freezing cold steel of the door. Reeling back in shock, the tigress’s hand felt as if it touched ice.

“I hate this.” She said, placing her hand back onto the valve. “I really hate this.” She said while adding her other hand before gripping onto the valve and giving it a twist. It didn't budge as she put force into it. Then came the second attempt and then a third.

It all seemed hopeless if it weren't for the last attempt. Managing to move it from its original position finally gave the tigress what she needed to put more force into the turning of the valve and before she knew it, loud noises began to emit from the door just as steam was pouring out. The door opened to reveal quite a surprising sight.

As if it was ripped straight out of a science fictional book, the room was not only huge but a warehouse with rows upon rows of large pods. From where she stood, she was able to see a pod containing a Ghoulified stallion wearing pre-war spring wear clothes. In front of the ghoul was another pod containing a female ghoul, a mare in a sundress.

The tigress wanted to see more and took a step inside and immediately felt the sudden drop in the temperature. Shivering slightly, the tigress kept on going and looked inside the pods she passed by, noting that they were cryo-pods. Two pods stood out from the many rows, one pod contained a tall and bulky green minotaur. The skin had horrific blemishes and gashes.

“No way.” Said the tigress. “No fucking way. That's a Super Mutant!” Exclaimed the tigress in awe. She looked down at a label.

“Master Generation Super Mutant, what?” She said with a bit of confusion in her tone. She shook her head before looking at the second pod containing a large and ferocious looking creature. Standing tall at about ten feet tall was the nightmarish mutant known across the Great Waste, the Deathclaw.

Its claws were razor sharp and the size of the tigress’s arm. She was also told of their impressive speed despite being such big creatures. Shivering by just the thought of seeing those roaming the wastes, the tigress continued to walk down the aisle of pods coming to a stop just in front of another pod.

“Well hey there handsome.” Said the tigress in a flirtatious manner. Inside the pod was a very well built but wingless male griffin. Unlike the ghouls, he wore no clothing but half his torso was wrapped with what appeared to be bandages. Walking up to the pod, the tigress wiped the foggy glass before peeking through, seeing that the griffin truly wore no clothing and she couldn't help but smirk at the griffin’s endowment. With only a small but unnoticeable blush, she took a step back before reading the sign written onto the pod.

ID: SD-450

Threat level: Alpha

Subject must never be taken out of cryostasis unless told by a high commanding officer. Take precautions when shutting down the subject’s pod as he may act violent from the sudden awakening. If subject does happen to go on a violent rampage, usage of High voltage cattle prods is advised before subduing.

Subject is to be taken down to Research and Development for further implants for Project Cyber.

Reading the rest proved quite difficult as the paper it was written on had been ripped while the remaining paragraphs were redacted. The tigress looked back at male griffin, thinking if she should even try to do what she thinks might be a good idea. It was when she heard a loud thump followed by a crash that she was taken out of her thoughts as the sounds of moaning echoed across the room.

The tigress took a step back as she heard what could be described as footsteps. Another moan echoed around the giant room as a hideous monstrosity appeared from within the many rows of pods.

The tigress felt the urge to vomit at the sight of the monstrosity but resisted. The creature moaned, groaned and yelled at the same time while one of its three heads spotted the tigress. Quickly reacting to this, the tigress pushed the button labeled release on the pod before drawing her handgun and firing at the creature but unfortunately missed due her state of shock and disgust. She fired once again this time hitting the thing in its left head.

The bullet went in and blood started coming out but before she could even hope to celebrate, the bullet wound closed in on itself before the very same head vomited a disgusting orange goo onto the floor. Seeing this, the tigress quickly dropped the small handgun and took hold of the Laser Musket on her back. Gripping the gun, she cranked up the fusion cells that powered the weapon she held before firing after the sixth crank. The laser hit the center head, disintegrating it and leaving a large gash where the head once was but to her dismay, it grew back after a few seconds. She began to back up slowly as it crawled closer but because her back was turned, she had tripped on a loose wire and landed on the floor with a loud thump.

Now it was just a few feet away from her and backed up against the wall on the far end from where she first stood, the monstrosity pounced and as it lunged itself towards its prey, it was soon batted away by small led pipe. The thing was sent crashing back onto the floor with a loud thump and a sickening squish.

Looking at the one responsible, the tigress was greeted with the very same griffin from the pod. He stood naked and holding a led pipe. He let out an annoyed grunt before walking closer to the hideous creature before forcing it up by one of its heads before hitting the side of the center head and with a sickening crunch, it hung limp and the remaining heads screeched in agony. With a loud yell the griffin impaled his weapon into the forehead of the vomiting head before pushing it deeper and downwards. The constant stream of orange goo had stop flowing from the mouth before all too suddenly causing the head to explode in a gory mess, leaving only the wide-mouthed, screeching head left.

His gaze was that of pure rage and this is what the creature was able to see before being blinded. The unknown griffin had punched the eye of the creature, destroying it and sending more pain across its body to which caused to twist, turn and squirm before dropping onto the floor, blood profusely pouring out from the three open wounds.

The sight alone has made the tigress gag in disgust before setting her gaze at the blood covered griffin. The latter looked at his surroundings, noting the many pods similar to the own he was in. The tigress’s quick breathing slowed into a steady rhythm just as both she and griffin both looked at a broken hatch of an old goo covered pod.

“Thanks for the help.” Said the tigress, hoping to break the silence between them. “For a moment I thought I was goner.” She added in a whisper.

“You were goner as soon as it saw you.” Came the hoarse reply from the male griffin to which was followed by a few coughs. Taking a deep breath, the young tigress stood.

“We shouldn't be here any longer. Who knows if there is another one those things.” Suggested the tigress, earning a single nod from the griffin before both turning towards the bubbling mass that was the creature. “Come on, I know the way out of this shit hole.”

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed it.