Fallout Equestria: Echoes of a Nightmare

by Ronglar

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 11487

How can you survive in the wasteland if the nightmare is part of you?

The Equestrian Wasteland is an unforgiving place. It does not care who you are, where you are from or what you do. It will bite and tear at you until there is nothing recognizable left. It has no morals, no sympathy, no pity and no remorse. It is the cold, hard truth of post-apocalyptic life. Everypony knows that, some more so than others. You must find a way to cope with the nightmare and push through to a new day, but how is that possible if the nightmare is a part of you?

Published 2012-07-28 16:54:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-23 21:57:05 UTC

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Wasteland

Boring.

If I had to use just one word to describe my town, my life, me, I would go with boring. Nothing ever happens around here. To be specific, nothing ever happens in Aqua Falls. That’s the name of the town I live in and have lived in my whole life, the town where absolutely nothing interesting ever happens forever and ever and ever and- well, you get the point.

From what I’ve been told Aqua Falls used to be quite the popular tourist destination before the war. I am quite positive that the name comes from, or came from the huge waterfall that goes right down the cliffs on the eastern edge of the town. I say came from because the river now is a dirty brown color that would put the name ‘aqua’ to shame. But I guess that’s what happens to nature after two centuries of radiation and pollution. Go figure.

Nowadays tourist destinations and nice scenery won’t make you a cap. Ponies are too busy surviving and fighting each other to admire once beautiful landscapes. Lucky though (I think) Aqua Falls has a small water purifier plant that doubles as an electricity generator working on the riverbanks. It’s not much but it keeps the town alive and makes a little surplus for trade.

Any traders who do come through usually do so through the north or south along Highway 36. The roadway follows the Galvanic Valley throughout the northwestern plains of Equestria. Before the war Highway 36 was one of the major networks that connected the heartland of Equestria with, well, whatever is past the Blaze Mountains to the North.

What? How am I supposed to know about whatever is past a mountain range? I’ve never even been outside of this Valley for Celestia’s sake!

So uh, yeah. Traders and the occasional caravan pretty much sum up the overall outside contact for Aqua Falls. I think the most interesting thing that has happened here recently would be that radroach nest Juniper uncovered on a hike. We found a nice wrench inside. I know! So exciting!

In case you were wondering (you totally were) Juniper is my best friend. We grew up together in Aqua Falls, spending the years exploring the valley. I know this place like the back of my hoof, Juniper… not so much. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got lost in town. Hold up, I think that did actually happen. Twice. I shit you not. If not for me she probably would’ve gotten lost in the forest years ago. She’d be fine though, the biggest things in the valley are mole rats. Well, you know, aside from ponies.

Oh, yeah, did I mention? The Galvanic Valley has a huge forest that spans the whole thing. It’s pretty tame though. Nothing like what I’ve heard of the Everfree forest where even the flowers with try to kill you. Our forest on the other hoof is nice enough to have a type of tree that produces an actually edible fruit! We call it dirtfruit, because well, it tastes like garbage. But hey! Any calories are good calories amiright?

So uh, I think I’m getting off topic here. Um. What was the topic? Wait was there even a topic? I think so. Maybe. Probably. Possibly. I don’t think so. I don’t know.

…

Whatever. As I think I was maybe saying. Actually I don’t think I said this yet. Alright. Hi. My name is Moonlight. Pleasure to meet you. I am a female unicorn with a gray coat and deep blue mane. My cutie mark is a half-moon with some little blue sparkly things around it. Yeah I don’t know what it means either.

Juniper and I both work as guards for Aqua Falls, which is actually kind of a joke. The only way in or out of the valley is through the north or south passage along Highway 36. As I’ve already said the only real outside contact we get is from the occasional caravan that mulls on through towards the Blaze Mountains. There isn’t really that much to see or do out here. I’ve heard from traders that there are settlements to the west of here and even some large city, but nothing really in specifics.

Um, I guess that would pretty much sum everything up. A boring unicorn, living in a boring town where nothing ever happens. Ever. Oh! No wait! There is one thing I forgot to mention. I have an awesome thing called a Pip hey Moonlight!

…

The hell?

…

As I was saying I have a hey Moonlight!

Okay. Dafuq.

…

What the get up already you lazy bum!

I awoke with a start, rolling and falling out of my rather comfortable hammock onto a rather uncomfortable ground. “Ow.” I muttered, rubbing my jaw with my hoof. Seriously? Why can’t I ever take a nap in peace? Nothing ever happens here! I should be able to take a mid-day nap without anypony waking me!

“Ahem.” The rude sleep-ending beast said as it loomed over me. I rolled over onto my side to look up at the offender. The face of a light green earth pony with a long pink mane wearing a disapproving smirk stared back at me. I was still half asleep so I closed my eyes and rolled over away from it.

My thoughtful action (well for me anyway) was kindly rewarded with a not-so-gentle tap on my back. “Eehhh, away with you vile demon. Can’t you see that I’m still shnoozing over here?” Now I got a firm kick to the flank.

“Alright, alright I’m going, I’m going.” I relented. Slowly, one hoof at a time I gently raised myself into a sitting position facing the intruder. Blowing a strand of blue hair out of my eyes, I looked up to see a pair of big orange eyes looking back at me. Only my so called “best friend” would dare interrupt me while I was sleeping.

“So uh, any specific reason you woke me up today Juniper?” I questioned. “It is a Sunday. We’re off duty today in case you forgot.”

The green and pink pony smiled back at me. “That’s exactly why I woke you up today!” Juniper cheerfully stated. Please explain to me how that makes any sense whatsoever. “A day spent asleep is a day wasted! And I’ve got something awesome for us to do!”

“Wasted?” I snorted “That’s a good one there. Hah, day wasted sleeping.”

Juniper glared back at me. Okay, I’ll admit it. There are not very many things that scare me. Ghouls? Nothing. Sentry Bots? Nope. Hellhounds? ‘Kay maybe a little. Nothing however compares to a death glare from a green pony with a pink mane. Yeah that might sound ridiculous to you, but you’ve never experienced it!

“Fine.” I submitted. The death glare instantly vanished. “What is it?”

“Well, I picked up something nifty from a passing trader!” Juniper giggled. Something nifty from a trader. Wonderful. Because on a quiet Sunday afternoon the exact thing I needed was to be woken up about a topic regarding shopping.

Juniper turned her head around and stuck her nose into her pack. I watched her pink mane bob from side to side for a few seconds until it spun back around to reveal a piece of paper. Juniper opened her mouth and the sheet fell down in front of my hooves. I peered down for a closer look.

“19472653?” I blankly read off the paper. “Really. You woke me up for some numbers written on a sheet of paper?” Juniper nodded enthusiastically. “Ugh. Why am I not surprised?”

She started giggling again. “Can I tell you why those numbers are so special?” Sure. Amuse me. “Well, the trader I got it from said that this is the code for the stash of treasure in Stable 41!”

*Sigh* I could now see where she was taking this conversation. For those of you who don’t know, a Stable is a fallout shelter that was built in Equestria before the war. They kept a group of ponies safe during the apocalypse and then released them into the wasteland.

Stable 41 was constructed right into the walls of the Galvanic Valley. Juniper and I have passed the entrance several times on our walks but have never really had any incentive to explore it. Most likely because there is usually a ghoul or two walking around the entrance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared at all. It’s just why would I go in to get my ass bit over the fun of exploration? Treasure thought, that was another story.

“So let me guess.” I began “You want to go into the vault to find this treasure that might or might not be there?” Juniper nodded with a big goofy smile on her face. “What do I get out of it?”

Juniper was quick to respond as usual. “Well honestly, I’m bored right now.” Has there ever been a time when either of us hasn’t been bored? “I wanted to finally explore vault 41 and this code gives a good reason too!” The look I was giving her said that I was still unconvinced. “I just want something to do, so how ‘bout this: come with me and you can have whatever the treasure is!”

Okay. Good enough for me. I stretched out my fore hooves and was rewarded with a satisfying crack. “Ugh, I hate it when you do that.” Juniper commented. Haters gonna hate. I stood up and gave my back legs a stretch just to annoy her. It worked nicely.

My horn let out a soft glow as the piece of paper levitated off the ground in between us. I saw how Juniper watched jealously as I stuck it in her pack. Yeah, I’d be jealous too if she could use magic and I couldn’t. Honestly. I can’t imagine how anypony could live without magic!

“Yeah, that’s sounds fine. Go grab your stuff and let’s meet back here in say half an hour?” I suggested. Jun gave a quick nod before walking off back to town. Me? I sat back down, pulled a round dirtfruit from my bag and chomped down. *Bite* What? Jun lives *Munch* on the other side of *Swallow* town. I live like, right there on the other side of the wall. Hey, if you’re gonna make a hammock to sleep in, makes sense to keep it close to your base of operations right?

Finishing my dirtfruit, which tasted like shit mind you, I packed up be saddlebags and began trotting along the large perimeter of Aqua Falls. The perimeter consisted of a large wall that encircled the town. It wasn’t too overly tall, only about three or four meters. I’m sure I could have climbed a tree and hopped over, but right now I was still kinda sleepy.

Making my way around the bend, I passed under the not-so-large southern gate. There were only three entrances to the town, a gate in the north, west and south with two to three ponies usually stationed to each. There was no east entrance because in the east was the huge cliffs of the valley.

Looking to the little guard room in the gate, I was surprised to see it empty. Odd. There’s always somepony in there. I knocked on the glass thinking maybe they were underneath the table but received no reply. I walked through the gate and turned my attention to the ramparts above. “Hey Rex! Why’s the office empty?” Within a few seconds a brown earth pony’s head popped over the edge looking back at me.

“What, Cascade’s not in there?” Rex asked. I shook my head. “Eh, he probable left to go work on his art.” As an afterthought he added “You want to fill in for him?”

Tempting offer. Sit in a security booth waiting for arrivals or go on a treasure hunt in a stable. Yep, I’m thinking what you’re thinking. “Sure!” I replied.

For some indescribable reason, Rex looked shocked at my answer. What? I’m a nice pony. I help ponies. “Really?” He sceptically poked. I saw the faint glint of hope in his eyes, that his job today wouldn’t be so undeniably boring. Which made what I was about to do all the more fun.

“Come to think of it, I’m good. I already have plans to go exploring with Juniper.” I said with a huge grin. On that note, I quickly left the scene before Rex could make any sort of rebuttal. Hey, I never said I was always a nice pony. Heh.

From the gate I walked a total of about 10 seconds before reaching my house. I told you it was close didn’t I? My house wasn’t the biggest in town, but it was good enough for my mother and I. My mom’s name is Meadow by the way. She works at the water plant along the river. Meadow has a deep green coat and a lighter green mane. He cutie mark is a drop of sparkling water. She built the house by hoof, which I’m actually pretty impressed by.

The front of the house had two dirty windows that you couldn’t really see through any more. There was also a hole in front partially covered by a sheet of metal that come to think of it I don’t want to say what caused it. You guys don’t have to know all the embarrassing details about me.

I outstretched a hoof and gently pushed open the front door. It let out a large creek as I stepped inside. I living room wasn’t much. There was a table in the center with four chairs, a desk with some tools on it, a large couch, a refrigerator that wasn’t running (we finally managed to catch it and tie it down), a door to my mom’s room and the staircase to my room.

Meadow was sitting at the table, packing a few papers into her bag. “Hello dear.” She greeted. “You’re home early. Didn’t you say you’d be sleeping all afternoon?”

“Well I’d like to, but Juniper convinced me to go exploring with her.” I replied. I left out the part about going to Vault 41; mom would just get worried and upset for me. And that’s definitely something you people do not need to see.

“It sounds fun, “She said “don’t do anything dangerous now.”

“Don’t worry mom, I can handle myself in the forest. It’s not like some radroach will get the best of me.” Or a ghoul.

“Alright then.” Mom said while closing her bags. She stood up and walked by me. “I’m going to a meeting with the Mayor. You two have fun while you’re out!” The door clicked shut behind me as I was left alone in the house.

Having no business in here, I trotted past the table and up the flight of stairs leading to the second floor. Once at the top, I pushed open the door to my room and stepped inside (well technically I was already inside but you get my point). Just as the living room and the rest of the house, my room wasn’t much. About half the size of the main room, there was my bed, a small desk and my trunk.

I kicked my off my saddlebag onto the bed as I walked around to the trunk. Now this, this is where I kept my awesome stuff. Mostly combat related items and neat things I’d collected. I tossed open the trunk lid and immediately began taking out various items of use.

Healing potion, I’ll take five of those. We’re going into a ghoul infested stable so some rad-x and rad-away should be useful. A tablet of buck and dose of med-x never hurt… Okay maybe it could hurt, but it was better that than getting my ass whooped.

I floated out a neatly folded suit of leather barding. It wasn’t anything special, but I didn’t feel like having a ghoul sink its teeth into my flank. I lifted my hooves one at a time and slipped into the barding. It fit like a glove; I could move as if it wasn’t on but it still gave me some limited protection.

With that settled I began looking over my weapons. “No, a rifle wouldn’t be very helpful inside a stable.” I placed the rifle back in the trunk and brought out my shotgun. “Now we were talking.” A nice hunting shotgun would do wonders against a horde of ghouls. As a safety measure I also brought out my 10mm pistol. I’dw need something quick in case I’m caught reloading.

Strapping my bag down tight, I levitated it onto my back and attached it to the barding. I slung the shotgun around my neck and holstered the pistol at my shoulder. “Alright, I think I’m good.” I gave one last look around to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Satisfied, I walked out the door only to walk back in a moment later. “I… need ammo.”

Once again I lifted the lid of the trunk I sifted through its contents. I took out a couple dozen shells and multiple clips for the pistol. Better to have extra ammo than to run out right?

Packing up my bags again I noticed a glint from the trunk. I took another look inside and smiled. My horn glowed as a miniature figurine floated out in front of me. A flaring cyan and rainbow pegasus looked back at me as I read out the words below it. “Be awesome.” I have no idea who the pegasus is or what the figurine is supposed to mean. I just picked it up from a trader a while back because it looked (as the description would tell you) awesome. Also I have no idea what the damn thing is made of because no matter what I do to it, it stays in pristine condition. I’ve tried shooting it with my rifle, not even a scratch.

I placed the figurine back in my trunk and closed the lid. Once again I looked around my room to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything again. A thought struck me as I was leaving though. Rex might possibly be pissed at me. Maybe not the best idea to go back through the gate. Um, isn’t my hammock right there? Yeah it is! Kay that works!

I opened the other door in my bedroom and stepped out onto the balcony. From here I had a clear view of the whole town. I have to admit, the cliffs and the waterfall did make quite a spectacular view. Aqua Falls itself wasn’t that big actually. Maybe a hundred, hundred fifty ponies in all? I’ve heard that’s actually pretty good by wasteland standards. Well enough of the admiring, I’ll leave that for Juniper.

Turning around, I grabbed a little hoof hold that I’d made on the outside of my room. I grabbed a second one above it, and proceeded to pull myself up; grabbing more holds one after another. Eventually I stuck a hoof out over the roof and yanked myself up. Standing up I looked over to the town wall below me and the perfectly placed tree hanging over it.

You can probably guess what was coming next. I took a deep breath before launching myself over the wall. Time seemed to slow down as I reached for the huge branch outstretched from the tree. I got it! I got it! I don’t got it! My body completely fell short but my front hooves wrapped around the branch. I swung forward and brought my stomach against the tree, wrapping my back hooves around it. Okay, not the most graceful but it got the job done.

I slowly began inching my way along the branch. It gave a creak of protest to the sudden weight. Whatever, I’m almost th- *Crack* Uh oh. I stepped up my inching as I really didn’t feel like falling to the ground. *Snap* Fuck.

The entire branch, along with me, broke off and tumbled down to the ground. Because of the unfortunate way I was attached to it, I landed squarely on my back with the branch landing directly on my chest. It was never a nice feeling to be winded. I brought my hooves up and shoved the offending branch off. I coughed and sucked up a large gulp of air. “Ack, ugh, that hurt.” I groaned.

“Told you, you were getting fat.” Somepony mocked beside me. I looked over to my left to see Juniper smirking above me.

“I’m not fat!” I protested. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve used that branch! I’m pretty sure I’ve grown since I was, what? Eight?”

“Sure, sure.” Jun smiled, sticking out a hoof at me. I gladly grabbed on and she helped pull me to my hooves. I shook my head, getting a few wayward leaves to fall out. Well. Not the best way to start a treasure hunt.

“C’mon, let’s go.” I said. The two of us began our walk down one of the smaller paths along the valley. It would only be about the five or ten minute walk from Aqua Falls to the stable; assuming we didn’t get into any trouble.

“I see you brought Quicksilver.” I commented.

“Well of course!” Juniper replied. “We’re going into a vault filled with ghouls, I couldn’t think of a better chance to use her!” Quicksilver was Jun’s signature weapon. It was a composite metal blade attached to a bracer that she wore her front right leg. It could cut through a leg or neck like butter. On her left front leg Jun wore a protective metal shield that she could raise to block income fire. It could deflect small caliber bullets and lasers but did a poor job against heavy gunfire and plasma. This worked perfectly for Jun as she had the freakish talent of being able to walk on her back two hooves! I know! Creepy as hell!

“So what did you bring?” Jun asked.

“Do you really need to ask?” I stated, gesturing to the shotgun slung around my neck and the pistol holstered at my shoulder. I’d thought it was pretty obvious what I had with me. Jun pouted at the response. “What?”

“I’m just trying to make conversation here. Jeeze.” She huffed. Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.

“Jun,” I said firmly “we’ve known each other for how many years now? Why do I still get first time meeting small talk?”

“Cause it annoys you.” She said with a smirk. Damn right it does.

“Well stop it.” I deadpanned.

“Sorry, too much fun.” Does this really need to go further?

“*Sigh* Are we really going to go through this again?”

“Not unless you agree to the terms and conditions.”

“Which would be?”

“That you formally give up your title as Emperor of the Valley.”

“Hah! Fat chance.”

“Do I need to bring Quicksilver into this?”

“In this fight all she’d do is open up my can of whoop ass on you.”

“Oh yeah? Well- *Groan*” What was that? “Oh, looks like we’re here!”

“What now?” I mumbled. Jun stopped walking and stuck a hoof out in front of me. I came to a halt and followed where her hoof was pointing. Oh yeah. We are here.

Just down the end of the makeshift path was the wooden door in the Cliffside that lead to Stable 41. In the small clearing two ghouls walked back and forth, never straying too far from the door. Huh. We got here quick. I suppose time does fly when you’re having semi-fun arguments.

Erm, sorry for not explaining this earlier for those of you who don’t know what a ghoul is. It’s basically a pony that soaked up a shitload of radiation and lost its mind. They look like zombies, missing hair, contorted limbs and grotesque faces. Most are feral and will attack anything on sight. Some ghouls however can still think and interact with ponies normally. These two in front of the stable were of the feral variety.

I began to unsling my shotgun but was interrupted. “Can I have these two Moon?” Juniper pleaded. It’s always fun having the first kill of the trip; this being no exception. It was pretty damn hard to argue with those large orange eyes though. Fine.

“Yeah, yeah. Go right ahead.” I waved my hoof dismissively.

“Thanks! You’re the best!” Jun beamed. Without another pause she rushed down the path, sword blazing. I almost felt sorry for those ghouls. What? I said almost.

The first ghoul realized that something odd had happened just as its severed head bounced on the ground. The body took a few steps before it finally registered that it was dead and fell over. The second ghoul was fast enough to actually look over and see Quicksilver impale it right between the eyes. Jun withdrew her blade from the skull and whipped off the greenish blood on a nearby bush. The twitching corpse of the second ghoul fell to the ground. “How’d I do?” She asked as I walked up into the clearing.

“Eh, I’d give it a nine out of ten.” I replied. “Good points for speed and efficiency but you need to work on your flare. Maybe stick in a move or a one liner to spice it up.”

“Whatever, everyone’s a critic.” Jun sighed.

I stepped over the body of ghoul number to join up with her. Together we trotted up to the open wooden door leading to stable 41. I could hear faint growls and moans coming from inside; no doubt the other ghouls.

I unslung my shotgun and floated it beside me. Yeah, good chance I’ll probably get bit but whatever. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And this was still better than sitting on guard duty in town.

“Alright Jun!” I hollered while leaping through the doorway. “Onwards to glory!”

Footnote: Level Up!

New Perk: Miss Talks-a-lot - The longer you talk, the more persuasive you become. For every additional dialogue option selected in a conversation, you gain +1 to your speech skill for the duration of the conversation.

*Authors Note: As I am have started up a new story I am currently looking for an editor. If you would be interested feel free to contact me. Thank you!

Chapter 2: Treasure Hunters

Chapter 2: Treasure Hunters

The equine body is a wondrous thing. It can adapt to many, many different situations. These can range from conserving heat in low temperatures to adjusting your eyes to see in the dark. Some changes also have useful side effects. Take say, adrenaline for example. When in danger, adrenaline is pumped in to speed up reflexes. The side effect to this useful benefit is the dulling of pain.

Pain distracts you. When in a life-threatening situation, distraction will get you killed. Adrenaline is the best friend of the action-fighting adventurer. It is also the not-so-best-but-still-pretty-good friend of the bumbling oaf. Falling, getting hit and generally hurting yourself can be quite painful. An adrenaline-pumped oaf will still probably hurt, but at least it’ll be less than a regular oaf. I would consider myself in the former group when I jumped through the door.

As soon as I stepped into the cave my front hooves smacked into a stone and sent my beautiful face careening into the ground. The shock cut off my magic which in turn released my floating shotgun which had the nerve to land on my head. The first thing I heard once my ears stopped ringing was Juniper laughing behind me.

What’s with me and falling today!? Is the wasteland out to get me since I’m doing something partially interesting!? Ugh! I stretched out my jaw to confirm nothing was broken; only a mild soreness. See? Adrenaline is a good thing. “Ow, that hurt.” I grunted while rising to my hooves. My horn lit up as my shotgun rose beside me.

“Well that’ll teach you to go charging into a dark cave head-first.” Juniper smirked. I extended a back hoof and kicked her in response. She just laughed again. Ass. I could feel her grin burning into the back of my skull.

“Hey, somepony’s got to do it.” I retorted.

“Yeah, I’d rather you smack your face than me.”

“Whatever,” I sighed “let’s just keep going.” Jun continued to giggle as we walked down the cave. Another kick from me finally shut her up though.

From what I’ve heard most of the stables had short entry caves to the main doors. I suppose it was to keep the stable hidden and therefore safe from the outside world. I’ve never been inside a Stable before, but I’ve heard about them. This one wasn’t anything special as far as I could tell so far; a long, dark cave leading deep into the ground.

Suddenly I heard a crack under my hoof as I stepped on something. I lifted my hoof and saw a broken bone on the ground. Looking over to my right, I was a little saddened to see two pony skeletons, a large one encircling a smaller one. I wonder what happened to them. Ah, can’t be thinking like that. Nothing I can do about it now.

I continued marching down the cave with Jun in tow. My PipBuck did a good job illuminating the way, so it wasn’t like we were walking around in the dark or anything.

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention as I got rudely interrupted last time; I have a PipBuck! For those of you who don’t know what a PipBuck is, I shall inform you. A PipBuck is pre-war magical super computer device that you wear around your leg. They’re highly prized items as they give whoever is using them a huge boost in pretty much everything. A PipBuck can do all manner of things like sort items in your bag, mark locations on the map and even tune into radio stations!

By far the most useful part of a PipBuck is the Eyes Forward Sparkle and the Stable-Tech Assisted Targeting System. The EFS is a heads up display that you see when in combat, or really at any time if you need it. It can even tell you the intentions of anything around you! A little bar appears underneath anything In front of you; blue is friendly and red is hostile.

SATS on the other hoof is an amazing tool while in combat. When used it stops time (as far as I can tell) and lets you line up attacks on different body parts of enemies. When time flow resumes, those lined up attacks are executed with near perfect accuracy and speed. I know! Amazing! Don’t bother asking me how it works though, I have no idea; some mixture of pony technology and magic no doubt.

Well regardless, anypony who has a PipBuck has a huge advantage in pretty much everything. I really lucked out as I got mine for a steal price from a trader. He said it was broken and sold it to me for just a hooful of caps. Really he had just turned the thing off and didn’t know how to turn it on! Score one for me! Well, technically two as it was that same trader who sold me the pegasus figurine. That was a good day…

Okay, enough with the daydreaming. Back to adventuring! I marched around one of the rock corners with my PipBuck lighting the way and, “Oh shit!” I cried as a ghoul stuck it’s head out and opened its putrid mouth wide open in an attempt to bite my face. Now, a reasonable pony would have shot the damn thing, especially with a shotgun floating beside them. I however, in my adrenaline-pumped shock, swung my gun around and smacked it in the head.

Now I don’t know if it was from the impact or something, but the ghoul actually stopped for a second and looked at me as if I was some kind of idiot. I could be for all it knew, hell I probably was.

This close up gave me a perfect view of the ghoul’s disgusting features. It had pieces of skin and hair falling off of it’s face and was missing it’s left ear. The ghoul’s teeth were lopsided and green, but still looked like they could do a good job cutting into meat. It had discolored brown and green eyes that stared right back at me. And the smell! Holy hell, I wanted to puke right there!

This son of a bitch was already ugly beyond belief, and I think my shotgun actually made it worse! Damn, that hit did a lot of damage. The ghoul’s right cheek was caved in and it’s lower jaw was shattered from the impact. That didn’t stop it however from resuming it’s quest to eat my face. So I did the only thing that seemed logical in the situation. I smacked it with my shotgun again.

This time the ghoul wobbled over from the impact but didn’t fall over. Now with a second to think, it occurred to me that my shotgun could be used as a gun and not just a club. Genius! Doing the smart thing I pointed my shotgun at the ghoul’s face and shoved the barrel down it’s open gullet. In hindsight, probably not the best way to handle a ghoul. Very messy.

With a satisfying *click* of my gun, the ghoul’s head exploded into mushy green goop. As I was unfortunately standing at point blank range, my entire face and chest became covered in horrid disgustingness. Thank Celestia though that my mouth was closed and therefore remained mostly clean.

“Oh, that’s gross. That is gross.” I shuddered, wiping off my face with a hoof.

“And that is why you don’t blow ghoul’s heads from the inside out.” Juniper laughed behind me. “Damn, are you working on a comedy act or something? Cause you’re killing me back here!” Oh. I’m so funny am I? I raised a hoof and splashed some of the ghoul mush onto her face. That shut her up. Well, technically she was even louder now because of the coughing and gagging.

“Well if you think you could do better, go right ahead.” I stated, moving aside and gesturing a leg down the cave. Hey, I’m not a wuss, but it’d be nice returning the laughs at some point.

Jun spat out a piece of ghoul and confidently strutted in front of me. What? Is this some kind of game now? ‘Cause if it is I’m totally gonna win. I don’t know what it is that I’m going to win, but I know it’ll be awesome. I should get a prize. Brand new gun? Caps? Bragging rights? Bragging rights sounds good. Wait, what will I be bragging about? Umm… Oh! Red bar! Time to get the show on the road!

On my EFS I could see a red bar around a corner moving slowly towards us. This was going to be great! Jun doesn’t have a PipBuck and therefore doesn’t have EFS! She’s going to be so surprised when that ghoul pops in her face. Oh I ca- wait wut.

The ghoul rounded the corner predictably and as soon as it saw the both of us it lunged forward for an easy meal. Turns out that meal wasn’t so easy. Jun also jumped forward, but lower than the ghoul. With a clean upward slice it’s head came soaring off it’s body in mid-air. As Jun landed back down onto the cave floor the body flopped onto the ground and the head bounced and rolled into a little hole in the cave wall.

“And that is how you deal with a ghoul.” Juniper grinned, wiping the blood off of Quicksilver on her leather bracer. Okay fine, she wins this one.

“Alright, fair enough.” I sighed while I walked past her. “C’mon, I think we’re getting close to the stable.” I thought this because the smell of death was slowly growing more prominent around us. It was like a mix of rotting flesh and, uh, actually that’s it. Rotting flesh was the smell, and what a horrible smell that was.

My assertions were proved correct as the two of us rounded another corner and stopped in front of a huge door. The metal was rusted along all of the edges and had begun to crack. The doorframe was built in the shape of a large gear with grooves along the metal floor for the door to slide back on. The door itself was lying in a heap on the inside of the room, the large battering-ram style handle having broken off from the ceiling. The door had a faded yellow “41” etched onto the outside portion.

“Oh this is going to be so much fun!” Jun giggled behind me as I walked into the dank entry room. Right. Fun. I stepped up the tiny staircase into the main welcome area, which incidentally was not very welcoming. Aside from the huge door we had just walked through, there were two other regular sized doors in the room. One ahead of me which I presumed lead deeper into the stable and another off to the side of the room next to a large pane of cracked glass. There was a light on the ceiling which bathed the room in a dim, yellow shine. Compared to this, a green glow emanating from the small room behind the sheet of glass caught my attention.

“Moon, where are you going?” Jun called behind me “I’m pretty sure the rest of the stable is over there.”

“I know. I just want to take a look over here.” I replied while walking towards the light. I could hear Jun sit down hard on the floor. Floating my shotgun close beside me, I carefully peered through the door into the small room. I relaxed slightly as the only thing in here was a large terminal built into the wall. The screen was giving off the strong green glow.

“Wow. It still has power? Stable-Tech built these things to last.” I muttered as I walked up the monitor. I was no technician, but I had some limited knowledge about computers. I placed the shotgun down against the wall beside me and using my magic hit the enter key on the keyboard.

A wall of numbers and letters scrolled down the screen, nothing I could translate or understand. The screen cleared itself after a few seconds and then transferred to a menu of sorts. There were only two options, >Action History and >Administrator Log. I clicked the first link and read the text as it was typed out.

>Manual restart complete.

>Systems online.

>Running diagnosis.

>Diagnosis complete.

>Error: Main server offline.

>Functionality limited.

>Error: Backup server not responding.

>Disconnecting from server.

>Please select operation.

>Administrative commands

>Password required.

>18472

>Password accepted.

>Welcome Administrator Shale.

>Please select operation.

>Execute command X82R7

>Executing…

>Warning. Action is prohibited.

>Override: Fluffy

>Override accepted.

>Would you like to open Stable 41 main door? Y/N

>Y

>Warning. Action may compromise safety of Stable 41. Proceed? Y/N

>Y

>Action accepted. Executing…

>Operation complete.

“Huh,” I murmured “it doesn’t sound like they were in the best of situations when they opened the door. I wonder if the entry has anything else to say…” Clicking back to the main menu, I selected the only other option and watched as a wall of text appeared on screen.

That’s it. It’s all fallen apart. Those things are crawling all over the stable now and the overmare has barricaded herself in her damn office. Shit. This is going to be the last entry. Shine and I managed to lock ourselves in here while they massacred the living quarters. Agh! Why they hell did they have to continue with the experiments even after the first one!

We won’t last long here. The Geiger counter can’t get a reading through the huge door, but if what Stable-Tech said is true, by this time we shouldn’t have anything to worry.

I don’t want to die here in this Celestia forsaken tomb. I don’t want Shine to either. If anypony does ever find this, leave. Leave this hellhole and don’t ever return. The only things you will find here are pain and misery. That’s the only thing I've ever had here.

I never wanted this to happen. I knew there was something wrong with the experiments, but even when the first one came back to life nopony listened to me. Now they’re all dead; even Sheet. I’ll miss him until the day I die. Celestia, if you’re still watching over all of us, please grant me mercy for all the terrible things I’ve done.

Well this is it. We have enough food and water to last about a week, a few doses of rad-x and rad away. Hopefully we can survive out there.

Goodbye.

- Shale

“Wow. That definitely didn’t sound good.” I spoke to myself. Seeing as there were no other options on the terminal, I picked up my shotgun and headed for the door. Before I rejoined Jun however, I looked over at the terminal once more. A pang of sadness struck me. I wonder if they managed to get out safely. I hope they did.

“Find anything interesting?” Jun asked as I walked up beside her. She was still sitting like she was when I left to the other room, but there was a decapitated ghoul laying on the metal floor a few hooves away. Wow. I didn’t hear a thing outside the room.

“Yeah, a journal entry. From what I can tell the stable became infected with ghouls somehow. Somepony named Shale locked herself and another named Shine in here before opening the stable door.”

“Did it say anything about the treasure?” Jun excitedly asked, rising to her hooves.

“Nothing specifically,” I replied “there was something about an overmare locking herself in an office. I don’t know if that’s relevant or not though.”

“Well, overmare sounds like the leader right?” Jun stated “If I was the leader of the stable and I was blocking myself off from everypony else I would keep my most valuable things with me. Therefore, we find this office and boom. We find the treasure.”

“Genius!” I grinned. Jun took a moment to bask in her near-arrogance. “Well if that’s the case, then lets head on out.”

Stepping over the ghoul, I shone my Pip-Buck ahead of me and strode towards the door. I could hear Jun stepping behind me. I could also hear the growls and grunts of ghouls further into the stable, but my EFS didn’t register any bars ahead of us. I kept my shotgun close and poked my head through the rusted doorframe.

Wall. That can’t be right. I spun my head and looked the other way. Stairs. Much better. I stepped into the hall and began a careful decent down the steps. As I reached the bottom, the last step let out a spectacularly loud groan. I grimaced as that practically announced to anything nearby: Hey! There are intruders in the stable! Go get them!

A long hallway rested after the stairs with a door on either side. Surprisingly, actually not that surprisingly a red bar appeared on my EFS ahead of us and slightly to the right. Within a few short seconds, a ghoul stepped out of one of the doors and looked straight at me. It let out a low growl right before charging down the hall.

I calmly rested my shotgun by my cheek and peered down the iron sights. The ghoul continued barreling towards me. I carefully adjusted the sight as it grew closer. Just as it was about to reach me I pulled the trigger and sent out a cluster of buckshot. The ghoul’s head tore into bloody chunks as it was ripped off. Without any more guidance, the body tripped and stumbled to the floor in front of my hooves.

“Easy.” I smirked. I floated out a single slug from my pack and loaded into the shotgun. What? I like to keep my clip topped up. “Jun, check over the room on the left. I’ll take the one on the right.”

“No problem.” Jun replied as she walked past me and into the nearby doorway. I slung my shotgun around my neck and walked past said doorway. I turned right and stepped into the room the now-deceased ghoul had occupied.

The room wasn’t very big. There was a bed against the far wall, a broken desk beside it, a jukebox in the corner and another door which presumably lead to a bathroom. There was a large poster above the bed which had a picture of the Stable-Tech logo and in big, bold letters the words: Everypony must do their part to keep the stable running! Huh. From the looks of everything so far I guess some ponies where slacking off.

I trotted over to the broken desk and began sifting through the debris for anything of value. Caps, chems, and ammunition are the standard items to look for when scavenging. Even if I find something I can’t use, like a spark battery or something, I can always sell it to somepony else who can. Somepony’s crap is somepony else’s slightly more valuable crap as the saying goes and whatnot. It’s a win-win-win, win. Win. Everypony wins when you scavenge good crap! Scavenging is a good thing is what I’m trying to say in case you haven’t caught on by now.

Lifting over a piece of rotted wood, I noticed something red sticking out of the pile. I grabbed onto it with my magic and yanked it out. “Aw.” I murmured. I was quick to throw the toy car back into the garbage. Hey, all that before was about good salvage. I never said you always find good crap. Usually you find, well, crap. What a twist.

Disregarding the less-than-amazing find in the debris, I scooted over and taped on the large metal door. Nothing. I smacked my hoof on it. Again nothing happened. “Ugh, must be locked.” I muttered. With nothing else interesting in the room, I turned tail and walked back out into the hallway. I could hear some shuffling coming from the room at the far end as I trotted over. “Hey Jun! Find anything noteworthy?”

Her pink main and green face was quick to jab itself outside of the doorway. “Yeah, gimme a sec.” She replied before disappearing back into the room. I waited a second.

“You’re Late!” I smirked. No reply. She’s taking a long time. It’s already been 5 seconds; six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. There we go! I stopped my counting as Jun finally came out of the room. “What was all that? You took 12 times longer to come out than you said you would need! Old age finally showing its signs?”

Jun calmed reach into her pack and brought out a glass bottle filled with orange liquid. My eyes lit up as soon as I realized what it was. “Sorry I’m holding you back.” She mocked in a voice dripping with sarcasm. She waved the bottle around in front of me. “I guess you don’t have any time for loot or delicious Sparkle-Cola beverages like this.” Oh you damn well know I do and you better not do what I think you’re about to do.

Jun bit down on the end of the bottle and yanked off the cap. My ears immediately perked at the sound of fizzy decarbonisation. She placed the bottle under her nose and gave a large inhale. My eyes pleaded for all their worth, but to no avail. In one swift motion Jun upended the bottle and drank the whole damn thing.

“Fuck you.” I hissed. For those of you who are uneducated in my ways, which would be all of you, I shall edumacate you. I love Sparkle-Cola. I love it more than any other beverage in existence. The orange tang, the delicious carrot flavoring, the sparklyness, it is the stuff dreams are made of. It is the life-blood of the gods!

Whenever the opportunity arises, I horde and drink any bottles of the orange nectar I possibly can. This has led to some awkward and downright lethal situations for me and anyone involved. I won’t go into detail now but suffice to say, I love the damn stuff. And Juniper is a little bitch.

“I highly doubt it, but maybe that’ll teach you to not be a total smart-ass all the time;” Jun deadpanned. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. I’m the smartest ass that has ever lived and ever will live. “but,” Yes? Jun reached into her pack and brought out a second bottle of Sparkle-Cola. My eyes instantly lit up again. “*Sigh* that’s also why I love yah.” She smiled while throwing the bottle to me.

The glow around my shotgun cut out as it was redirected to another much more important task. In the time it took the gun to smack against the floor I had already popped off the cap and gulped down the fizzy drink. “Ah, now that’s the good stuff.” I sighed, content in my post-orange bliss. Okay, so Jun isn’t a total bitch; just a small one.

Suddenly something tapped me on the shoulder. I looked over to see Jun holding a slightly annoyed face. “I’ll say it again, ready to keep going?”

“Say it again?” I mirrored “When did you say it the first time?”

Jun was quick to raise a hoof and smack herself in the face. Now why would she go and do something like that? “Moon. You’ve been standing there for 30 seconds with a look on your face like you just had sex.”

I recoiled slightly at the comment as a light blush invaded my facial area. Sparkle-Cola’s good, but not that good. Okay maybe it is that good. Stop that. Stop thinking like that. Shut up. “Ahhh…” I moaned while pushing Jun aside. I walked down to the end of the hall before I turned back towards her. “Stop your smirking already and let’s go.”

Jun was quick to rejoin me as I descended down a second flight of stairs that rested at the end of the hallway. I was still kinda pissed off with her, but I knew it wouldn’t last. I have a very erratic personality. I’m the overall calmest pony out of anyone I know, but at the same time the smallest thing can seriously tick me off. No matter how mad I am at something I can never hold a grudge. Even if I really want to stay mad at somepony, I can never last more than 10 or 15 minutes. I suppose this is a good thing; most of the time anyway.

Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, I came face-to-face with a rusted, metal door. Not a problem for an explorer like myself! I reached out a hoof and tapped a circular button beside the door. With a shudder-inducing screech the door dropped down into the metal floor. Well that probably alerted every ghoul nearby if nothing previously had.

I unslung my shotgun and floated it beside me as I squeezed through the open doorframe. This room was much bigger than the last one. A tall, vaulted ceiling loomed over Jun and I as we walked onto what looked like a balcony that spanned one wall to the other. On the far side of the room was a second balcony that mirrored ours. A single metal walkway connected the two on the left hoof wall. Directly opposite on the right wall rested a large circular window that overlooked the chasm below.

Looking for the next place to go, I could see two doors on the far balcony. One was by the window and the other placed at the other end of the walkway. Looking to my left I saw another door by the walkway but on our balcony. Okay; large room, fancy second story and a large round window overlooking everything else. Hmm.

“I think that might be the overmare’s office over there.” I said, pointing a hoof at the window. “If so then to get in we need to get over to the other balcony.” I thought for a second. Yes, I know. A whole second. I’d consider that pretty good. “Over the catwalk it is.” I announced.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” Jun commented. Oh? Why not? At my confused look, she waved me over to the railing. “That’s why.” She said as I stuck my head over the edge. About 5 or 6 meters below the two balconies was a large open space filled with 6 ghouls. All of them were walking back and forth while staring right up at us. Honestly it was kinda creepy.

“Now look at the walkway.” Jun stated. I looked at it. The thing was rusted just like every other piece of metal in this place but aside from that looked fine to me. I looked back at her, and then back to it. I don’t get it. What it she trying to point out? “Do I have to spell it out for you?” I nodded enthusiastically. “That catwalk looks like it’ll snap in two if you so much as breath on it. While I do like a good fight, tumbling down in a mess of steel into a mosh pit of ghouls ready to jump me doesn't sound very appealing.”

“Nonsense!” I proclaimed “That walkway is fine. It’s held up all these years hasn’t it? I’m sure it’ll hold up the two of us for a few seconds.” If not, we get some exercise fighting a few ghouls right?

A worried look crossed over Jun’s face as I strutted to the walkway. “Moon, I really don’t think walking over that is a good idea.” She said while looking around the room. “Let’s just take that door over there and find a way around.” Why? The walkway is right here and going around would take a long ass time.

“Jun,” I said sternly “The catwalk is fine. Look.” The metal gave a light groan as I stepped directly onto it and moved to the center. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the ghouls shifting closer in my direction. Turning around, I looked back to Jun. “See? Stop worrying and get over here, we got treasure to loot.” To emphasise my point, I stomped my hoof on the grate.

The catwalk shook heavily in response and for a split second I thought it would, in fact, break as Jun had prophesised. Fate must have boon on my side however as the metal held firm. Holding a smug grin myself, I backpedaled onto the second balcony while Jun watched me.

“There yah go!” I called out while waving Jun over. “Sturdy as can be! Now get your ass over here!”

I watched as Jun apprehensively walked towards the opposite end of the catwalk. What was she so worried about? The thing held me, so it’ll hold her. Cautiously she stuck a hoof out onto the grate. “C’mon already!” I yelled, annoyance coating my voice.

Jun slowly began walking out onto the catwalk. I really don’t understand why she would want to find another way around. The office is right here and finding a way around would be very time consuming. Plus the catwalk is holding fine, Jun’s already halfway across! She should really- wait what’s that?

Suddenly one of the ghouls below the walkway lunged towards Jun. While it didn’t have enough height to reach her, it did have enough to reach the metal. I watched as is smacked into the underside of the path. A sickening crack echoed in the room as the walkway drooped a few inches. Jun looked at me in panic just a split second before the metal snapped.

“Jun!!!” I screamed as my best friend tumbled down with the catwalk. I immediately whipped out my shotgun and peered over the edge. I could see Jun pinned under the catwalk, unable to move. The ghouls that had been watching us where beginning to surround her and the wreck of metal. Oh no you dont! You bastards arent making this any worse!

“Get the hell away from my friend!!” I yelled while jumping off the edge of the balcony. The ghoul directly below me didn’t know what hit it. The impact completely shattered the bones in it’s back and actually did a good job cushioning my landing. The not-very-stealthy entrance had the unfortunate side effect of alerting the other four ghouls to me presence. I really didn’t care at this point. My plan was to slaughter all of them.

Now I know four-on-one doesn’t seem like good odds, I did have one major advantage: my PipBuck. With but a thought, I activated SATS and everything crawled to a standstill. My EFS immediately locked onto the ghoul in front of me. While in use the SATS user is completely immobile but is able to look around.

Jun was lying under a large beam of metal, trying to push it off while one of the ghouls was only a few hooves away from her. The three other ghouls where trained on me with the leftmost one actually caught in mid-air.

I moved the target over to the flying bastard and highlighted it’s grotesque face. I queued a buck shot with a 95% chance to hit. Even magically-assisted guns can’t have a 100% chance to hit. Now I should probably shoot that one. I rotated the target onto the far ghoul over by Juniper. My EFS registered a 45% chance to hit so I lined up two shots.

I would have lined up shots on each ghoul, but I couldn’t. The one limitation of SATS is your Action Points. Each attack you prepare cost points to use. Weapons like a shotgun or sniper rifle have high AP costs, so therefore can’t be used many times in a row. Pistols and submachine guns on the other hoof have low AP costs and therefore can be used lots.

Confident with my selection, and not having any more action points to spend, I released SATS and felt the PipBuck’s magic take hold of me. In slow motion, my shotgun swung around and blasted the airborne ghoul’s head into chunks. Without pause it aimed at the far ghoul and blasted away. The first slug was slightly off-target and shot off it’s front legs, sending the ghoul to the ground. The second shot was dead on, hitting it right in the chest.

With the actions completed SATS ended and time flow resumed as per normal. The two standing ghouls barely even registered what had happened before attempting to jump me. While it is powerful, my shotgun suffers from the condition of “Smallmagsizeites”. This sucks. To buy myself a second or two, I pulled back and threw the shotgun at the ghoul on the right.

While it did score a direct hit, I had only one shotgun-bludgeon against two ghouls. While the first one recoiled from the hit the second leaped at me. I literally ducked and rolled aside to avoid those sharp teeth. With my shotgun across the room, I yanked my 10mm pistol from the holster and opened fire. The first shot flew wild but I managed to adjust and the next three hit dead center in it’s chest. The bastard dropped like a rock.

“Okay,” I grunted “That should be- Ow! My Ass!” I turned to look over my shoulder to see the ghoul I had thrown my shotgun at had bitten right through my leather barding into my flank. “Get off me you piece of shit!” I yelled. When the ghoul failed to comply I pulled my hind leg back and let out as strong a buck as I could muster. Sure enough the bastard went flying across the room; with a chunk of my flank in it’s mouth. Before I could give it another chance I aimed down my pistol’s sights and shot it square between the eyes.

“Oh that hurts.” I muttered while scanning the room for more enemies. Big surprise. Missing a piece of yourself would tend to hurt. I quickly opened my pack and fished out a healing potion. I think it’d be nice to have my beautiful ass whole again. I greedily gulped it down and was rewarded with the feeling of my flank mending itself back together. Suddenly I remembered something. “Jun!”

As fast as I could I ran over to the large mess of metal were Jun was buried. She was still struggling to lift a rather large chuck of metal off of herself. “Are you alright?” I asked. I also mentally kicked myself for asking. Seriously. Why do you ask that if it is clear that they are not alright? Okay I’m getting off topic here.

“I would be a lot better if you could help get this thing off of me.” Jun rasped. While I doubt I could lift the whole damn catwalk up and away, I could probably lift it enough to get Jun out. Wrapping my magic around the hunk of metal, I concentrated as hard as I could to lift it. Slowly, inch by inch, the beam rose into the air. As soon as she could move Jun scooted her way into the open. I cut my magic and the metal dropped to the floor with a resounding thud.

I could now easily see Jun was not alright. Her face was twisted in pain as she held her back leg. “How bad?” I gently asked.

“I think it’s broken.” Jun replied. She flinched while trying to move her leg. Once again I opened my pack. After a few seconds I floated out a second healing potion and a small needle labeled “Med-X”. Jun pointed to her back leg was she gladly drank the potion. I floated over the needle and stuck it just above the joint which had swollen. A slight jolt of pain crossed Jun’s face but it was quickly replaced with relief.

“Listen Jun,” I began “I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you to cross the catwalk. It was a stupid, stupid idea that-” I stopped talking as she raised a hoof. There was a slight moment of silence before she started speaking.

“It’s alright.” She sighed. Like hell it is. “This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lead me into trouble.” I stayed silent as she took a moment to catch a breath. “Heh. So I doubt we’ll be exploring the whole stable.” I nodded in agreement. “Look, I need a minute here for the healing potion to work it’s magic. No pun intended. You agreed to come here because of the treasure right? Well the office is right up there. Go take a quick look, I’ll be fine here.”

“You sure?” I asked while looking up to the far balcony.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” Jun smiled “Now go get me some awesome loot.”

Before moving anywhere, I tossed Jun my pistol. If anything else was still alive, which I doubted, she should be good. Turning my attention back to the balcony, I began theorizing ways to get up there. Huh. That support doesn’t look too strong. I wonder if I can use that. Oh yeah! My shotgun! I can definitely use that!

I quickly scanned the room and found my gun lying near the middle of the room. I noticed Jun’s eyes following the shotgun as I floated it over to me. Pulling out a few slugs, I loaded them into the chamber. I then aimed the shotgun at the underside of the balcony. It took the whole clip but the leftmost support finally broke.

With an ear-splitting screech the left half of the balcony slid towards the ground. Well. That worked out nicely. Now there was a convenient ramp leading up to the other half of the balcony. Alright then, up we go. Climbing up the slanted balcony I found myself in front of the door to the office.

“Alright, there better be some good stuff in here.” I muttered. Jun didn’t deserve to get hurt because of me. Whatever’s in here better make up for it. I reached up and tapped the button beside the door. When nothing happened, I tapped it again. A small screen above the button flashed with the words: “Overseer’s Office on lockdown. Access denied.”

“What. It’s locked?” I growled “The damn door is locked!?” I could feel my voice rising, but either I didn’t notice or didn’t care. “After everything that just happened you mean to tell me that the god damn door is locked!? Jun nearly dies just because I’m a greedy bitch and it was all for nothing!?” I smacked my hoof on the door. “Are you fucking kidding me!?” I smacked it again. “NO!!!” I screamed while smashing my hoof on the door one final time.

The sound of the door crashing back into the room snapped me out of my rage. I felt like I had just woken up from a deep sleep. Slowly I stepped through the busted doorframe into the office. “Holy shit.” I murmured. The immense steel door was bent like a toothpick around a single hoof-size crater in the center. Just under it was a single dull green hoof.

“I wonder if that was the overmare.” I mused while walking around the room. A large desk dominated the room, behind hung a large picture of a blue unicorn with a purple mane. I looked back at the green hoof under the door. I wonder if they were one and the same.

Just beside the desk was the large circular window. I Walked over and peered through the stained glass. What stared back at me was quite scary. I could see my own reflection, but my eyes were glowing a deep shade of blue. “That doesn’t look good.” I said. I continued staring at myself for about minute. Gradually, my eyes returned to normal. I really hope that isn’t anything deadly.

Turning back to the desk, I walked over and began looting. I opened each drawer, rummaged through, and took anything of value. Afterwards my total reward amounted to seven bottlecaps, three 9mm rounds and a 9mm pistol in crappy condition. Okay, what the hell. I opened my saddlebag and pulled out the little sheet that Jun had given me earlier.

This has to be a code for a safe or something; but where is the safe? I took another look around the desk but didn’t find anything. While looking around the room a thought struck me. I moved in front of the large portrait on the back wall. I picked it up with my magic and removed it from said wall. Bingo!

Built directly into the wall was the door of a small safe and a small keypad beside it. I brought up the sheet and punched in each number. With a hiss and a crack, the door flew open. The contents of the safe included a single black box. I floated it out and gave it a once over.

The box was covered in a silky black material. The edges had a golden trim which shone in the light of my PipBuck. A small red buckle held the box closed. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” I flicked up the buckle and slowly opened the box.

Inside was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. I placed the box on the desk and floated out a beautiful, pristine PipBuck. Compared to mine, this one was completely black with a gold trim around the edges. Just like the box it was stored in. Looking it over it, two things stuck out other than the color. On the back was a little slot that looked like it could it could hold spark battery or something. I wonder what that’s used for.

I could tell this was something special. Even aside from the fancy decorations and the input on the back. On the front of the PipBuck just below the screen was a raised inscription also trimmed in gold.

Omega - 001

Footnote: Level Up!

New Perk: Rapid Reload - After years of having to reload in sticky situations and just reloading out of habit, you have taught yourself how to do it even faster! Reload speed for all weapons that use ammunition is decreased by 30%.