Author's Note

Hey everyone, Trgammill here. Just a few quick announcements. First off, I'd really appreciate all and any feedback you can offer, as long as it doesn't evolve to being rude to others in the comment section. I am always looking for ways to improve.
Second, if anyone is willing to edit or prof-read for this story in the future, just hit me up with a PM.

Hope you enjoy, and I hope to see you next time.

Chapter One: End of the past

Quite.

The silence was almost deafening. Save for a few drops of water echoing through the halls and the faint sound of scurrying legs, there was nothing. The emergency evacuation notice had long since stopped working, leaving the roaches to scurry around the floors and walls in an eerie tranquility. One of said massive insects stopped on the wall, right next to the image plastered onto the wall; The stable-tech logo, the bold, if not faded, number '14' just below it.

The radroach's antenna twitched almost uncontrollably as it scurried to the floor, following it's senses as the soft thudding of boots hitting the hard concrete floor of the Stable, constantly getting closer. Then... it stopped. A squeaky door opening echoed throughout the halls. Curious, the over-sized bug scurried into the room the noise came from.

It never got a chance to see the source of the noise, however. A boot had firmly been slammed onto the radroach's abdomen, it's green slime splattering onto the already unclean floor. The boot, however, clearly did not belong to a pony, but to the single tallest thing the roach had never seen. Other than the most recognizable feature of the creature being bipedal, it wore a flashy blue and yellow jumpsuit.

It's only fur, located on it's head, was short and unkempt, as if the jet black hair hadn't been taken care of for the past one hundred eighty years. The flickering lights, just barely, lit his figure up, revealing the facial features of the man; most notably, the fish out of water expression etched on his face. The man stepped over the corpse -and it's gooey insides now all over the floor-, and continued wandering.

Now, the man wasn’t wandering aimlessly, either. He knew what he was looking for: The Stable’s security room. That single room should contain several things he needed, weapons and ammo, door controls and keys, and something to wear other than the god-awful jumpsuit he received upon entrance to the stable, supposedly to help protect him from freezer burn in the cryopod, or some other bullshit reason.

Then, he found it. The sign above the door easily told what the contents of the door was. Breaking into a jog, the human rushed up to the door. Much like the others, the door didn’t open for him. This is because Stable doors are not automated, and worked on the push of a button. Looking to said button labeled ‘open’, he found yet another obstacle.

The flashing red word on the small screen above the button read ‘locked’. This meant he had two options. Find the key to the room and hope that it’s still here even, several of the terminals he encountered did have a message; The Stable had been evacuated. It wouldn’t surprise him if a Stable Security officer locked the door and left with the keys. That left him with one option: Pick the lock.

Thankful for both the utility belt he picked up and the bobby pins he found in the locker cabinet, he looked for something that he could use to help turn the lock. There. He reached out for the tool box just next to the door and opened it.

Moving a few items in the steel box around, he found what what he was looking for; a flat headed screwdriver. Taking the tool out and setting it on the ground, he opened the small bobby pin box, removing just one and bending it to make it nearly flat before inserting the pin into the lock. Picking up the screwdriver he also fit the tip of it in. Making careful, almost practiced movements with his fingers, the lock finally gave in.

Then, there was a noise. A thump on the other side of the security door caused the human to move back a bit. The snarls of something feral from the inside prompted him to grab the first thing his hand landed on in the toolbox; a large pipe wrench.

The man breathed out slowly, adjusting his grip on his make-do weapon. He hovered his hand over the button that would let him in… and whatever was in there, out. He hesitated.

“Dammit, Jake, get a grip. You fought in the war, for christ’s sake.” The human spoke, a slight hint of anger towards himself. He knew there was nobody, or really anything besides what is behind that door, to listen. He didn’t mind, either. Soon enough he’ll be out of the Stable and back into Equestria that lies above, so why not berate himself?

In one, decisive motion, he slapped the button, resulting in the door opening. What was behind the door, was terrifying. Jake had fought alongside the ponies before the bombs fell, so being face to face with the rotten, shriveled up, yet still living pony was quite uncomfortable.

It wore what appeared to have been a Stable security uniform, an ID card dangling from it’s lanyard. The creature in front of him looked nothing like the mare on the photo. It looked like it hadn’t eaten or drank anything in years. It almost looked like a zombie of some kind.

It charged. The sudden movement startled Jake as training kicked in full force. He reared the wrench back and swung, earning a sickening crack as the tool slammed against it’s head. The force alone sent the former pony to the ground, blood falling through the hole produced in the temple by a shard of the creature’s skull.

The human watched, assessing the status of the threat. It wasn’t moving, not even writhing in pain. It was dead, a pool of crimson forming underneath the corpse. Slowly, he crouched down, and examined. It was, with no doubt, deceased.
While the man could have just left the corpse there, he knew that he should at least show some respect for the pony it once had been. Slowly running his hand down it’s face, he closed the long clouded, lifeless eyes before taking the identity card from the apparent mare’s vest.
“Secure Light;” Jake read aloud. “What happened in this Stable?” Deciding there is no point on staying, he walked into the security station.
There, on the wall, was one of the things he was looking for; the Stable’s all-access key. The man took it, taking note of the door named ‘Armory’. It just so happens that he had acquired the keys, too…

Maroon is in a bit of a pickle.
She had been separated from her caravan just a little bit ago. How would she, let alone her family, know raiders were holed up in the ruins this close New Appleloosa?
Sure, raiders are a common issue for all caravans, but she wasn’t the best with a weapon. No, she was best at fixing up injuries; after all, she was the group’s doctor.
This is not to say she is useless in a firefight, however. But against that many raiders? On her own? She wouldn’t stand a chance. So, she was on the run, dipping in and out of alleys, taking the occasional pot-shot with her 9mm as she went.
Ducking into the a hatch that the mare had almost missed, she covered her mouth with a hoof, trying keep her heavy breathing down. Her horn surrounded by an amber glow, her pistol levitated mere inches from her face as witnessed the silhouettes rush past the slight crack left by the closed doors.
After a few moments, Maroon let out the breath she hadn’t even known she had been holding, panting to regain her breath. Slowly, she turned her head, and let out a gasp at what she saw. About thirty or so yards away, was a massive, gear shaped door; the number in the center reading ‘14’. She had just stumbled upon a sealed Stable...

Jake had hit the jackpot. Not only had he found the clothes he had worn when the Stable sealed just over one hundred and eighty years ago, his Equestrian first infantry uniform; one of, if not the most prized possessions of his, but also a few other ‘goodies’.
The human hefted the familiar weight of a weapon he hadn’t used since his last tour for the Equestrian Army. Most civilians simply called it the ‘Combat Rifle’, but it was really named the R91. A smile that had played on his face vanished when the charging mechanism refused to budge. Removing the pins that held the upper and lower receiver together quickly revealed the issue, but still made things complicated.

The bolt and bolt carrier was rusted beyond repair, he’d need to replace the carrier group all together. Thankfully, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Hell, he could fix that right here in the Stable. Besides, while there was only one of the exact model he needed -the one he was holding-, there was still more than a few R91A1's.

The only difference there was at all between the two is the A1 variant was designed so that pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns could use it, while the standard could only be used by unicorns and griffons. The biggest bonus, however, was that the both used the same feeding system; the same bolt carrier.

Upon removing the upper receiver, he noticed something. Something almost out of place. Slowly, Jake reached for the wrist-mounted computer peeking from the locker...

Fallout: Equestria

Tales of service

Chapter one: End of the past

For maroon, nothing scared her more than the Stable door opening; and not because the door opened. The noise it had generated surly would have let the raiders know where she and anypony still in that Stable was. But she couldn't panic, she couldn't afford to. Just as the Stable door rolled open towards the side, she could hear words that made her blood run cold.

"Found ya', bitch!" Taking a brief look over her shoulder confirmed her fears. The majority of the group she had been running from just fifteen minutes ago were just going down the stairs. They never left a walking pace; after all, they had her cornered with nowhere to run, and they knew that she knew it. Their minds swarmed with ideas on what they would do to her.

With only one why for her to go, Maroon ran into the Stable. "CLOSE IT CLOSE IT CLOSE IT CLOSE IT!" She shouted at what she had assumed would be a pony on the door controls. Maroons heart nearly faltered to a stop when she saw the creature giving her a confused look, despite her rather young age.

The trance on the two very different species was abruptly ended with the sound of a gunshot, the bullet landing just at her hooves. The human sprung into action, pulling the rifle slung across his back and vaulting over the guard rail, the safety being turned off with an audible click as the man and the raiders faced off.

Maroon, while shaken, wasn't an idiot. She herself had bolted to the nearest thing she could use as cover, some old sandbag wall. Normally, this would strike her as odd, but she honestly couldn't care at the moment. She dared not to look when bullets started flying.

Then, it was quite. Maroon heard the tell-tale click of a bolt being worked, though it sounded it was only pulled back without being released. Deep in her heart, she knew she was going to die as she listened as a weapon was being reloaded. She closed her eyes, waiting for what she knew was going to happen. But it never did.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The young mare slowly opened her eyes. The creature that had scared her more than she would have liked to admit was right in front of her, squatting down as it set it's rifle down besides it. "Are you okay?"

Jake watched as the mare scrambled to comprehend what was going on. He couldn't blame her really, one hundred and eighty-five years would defiantly cause ponies to forget that Equestria ever had a human.

"I... uh... I'm fine?" She stammered, undoubtedly shaken up from all of what had just occured. "W-what the fuck are you?"

"I'm Corporal Jakob Riley, First Infantry, Equestrian Army. I'm human, the only to ever come to Equestria."

To be continued...