Author's Note

[Disclaimer © (this story is loosely based on the canon of Fallout Equestria and Fallout 76, however, it is my interpretation of the material and lore, some things that are canon is other stories will not be in this one do it only being 25 years postwar. So 90% will be fallout 76 lore and the other 10% is Equestria.) ]

Name: Apple whiskey or Apple
Age: young adult (25)
Gender: female
Species: earth pony.
Height: 5'09.
Weight: 145lb.
Mane color: orange.
Coat color: pale caramel.

Eye color: emerald green.

Name: Dusty Petal or Dusty
Age: young adult (23)
Gender: female
Spicier: Pegasus
Coat color: Dusty gray
Mane color: Black
Eye color: ocean blue

Chapter 1

[Chapter one]

(Country roads)

[Holo-tape begins]

{A song started to play over the intercom of the stable, followed by an older mare's voice}

A rather hungover caramel-colored earth pony with a curly orange Mane fell out of her bed woken by the loudspeaker playing the music and that mare's voice coming over it, she looked around her stable room and realized it was very quiet, way too quiet, there was a huge party just yesterday, and today was her 25th birthday, it was also the day she was supposed to depart stable 76.

Apple blinked and held her forehead with her hoof "Oh shit... ouch my head, ... I reckon one day I'll stop all my drinking... One day...maybe ."
She always said it but she never meant it, after all, she owed her cutiemark to alcohol, all the members of her father's family had an alcohol cutiemark, it was a family tradition and Apple whiskey wasn't going to be the pony to end a family tradition!

She looked at the good morning stable-tec window with its happy little birds and smiling sun, the stable colt smiled back at her reminding her she was late.

"Good morning stable 76, this is the Overmare, I hope you all enjoyed the party last night, even those who might have overindulged and overslept. But it's time to get up and get out there, we've been locked away long enough."

She listened to the Overmare speech as she brushed her teeth and combed her mane, it didn't do anything to help, her mane and tail was a knotted mess of curls and tangles, she had tried to keep her hair nice but since her mother died Apple had a hard time with managing it.

"Stupid mane... ouch! How am I expected to brush this mess if I ain't no unicorn!?" She yelled frustrated by her lack of magic or her mother's hairdresser bot.

Her mother was a robotics engineer, the best in Equestria or so others told her. The stable was full of the best and brightest members of Equestria and many of the ponies once worked for stable-tec or rob-co, some were doctors and musicians, others were bankers, scientist, farmers, painters, chefs and more, if they were the best they were in 76! and the offspring, the children of the generation of genius ponies? Why they were told daily that they were going to save Equestria... and the world, that day was today... But Apple wasn't running to the stable door as the others had.

A robot brought Apple her pipbuck, it had a big {76 Pip-buck 2000} In blue and silver numbers on it with the ugly brown and tan pipbuck casing, Apple placed it on her fetlock and began to adjust to its weight, Apple thought her pipbuck was very ugly and useless, all she ever used it for was the radio and the stable news.

"Stupid heavy thing..." said Apple.

"Oh miss Apple I thought you would never wake up" said the floating Mr. Handy.

The over mare's voice pulsed for a moment or two then continued.

"Today is Reclamation day, I know..." the voice was drowned out for a bit.

"What? Why? " Apple asked.

"Why its Reclamation day don't you remember? Most of the stable is already gone ." Said the robot.

"All ready gone?! But I reckon it's only..." Apple looked at the time.

"Half-past noon! How'd you let me oversleep that long you bucket!?" She started to run to get her stuff packed.

[The Overmare's voice started again.]

"It may be time to leave but I'll always remember the day you all entered stable 76, you come from every walk of life, every pony race, color and creed, but you all share one very important trait, you are Equestria's best and brightest but more importantly you will always be my family."

[The broadcast ended.]

"Wow Overmare ... I wonder if the old mare is still hanging around? ... would make sense that the Overmare would be last to leave." Apple got all the things she wanted to take with her.

{Apple packed a large saddlebag with 5 bottles of purified water, 3 stem packs, 2 boxes of big-mac and cheese, 1 picture of her parents, a hoof pistol and a hoof full of bullets, 2 Med-X, 2 healing potions, 1 sparkle cola cherry and 4 bottles of her famous Apple whiskey and the recipe so no one else could make it.}

"Miss Apple you mustn't forget about you're camp " said Mr handy.

"My camp? What is that? ... you'll mean my still bot? " Apple asked.

The Mr. handy looked insulted by her calling that metal pot a robot.

"No miss Apple not that busted excuse for bolts.... the camp unit is your home away from home miss... " he handed her the rather small box.

"This is a camp?" She looked bewildered.

"You need a home base out there. The Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform is designed to give you one." Said the handy.

"So this will help me survive? Good to know... uh ok " Apple took the camp and stored it in her saddlebags.

"Wow it fits a lot... one day I'll learn how it carries all my junk..." she was impressed by the bags, she thought it had to be part of the stable-tec spell Matrix.

Apple strapped the saddlebags to her back and holstered her pistol.

"Ok looks like that's everything Handy...what yah do once I'm gone?" She asked.

The Mr. Handy hovered around and brought her a tiny Mr. handy statuette.

"Miss Apple please take care of yourself... I'll be here, I must lock up the stable, and once I do the life support will be turned off... no living creature will be able to close the stable door." The handy said.

Apple looked sad but she understood she would never see the first friend she had again, tears fell down her pale caramel coat.

"Goodbye old friend " Apple gave the bot a quick nuzzle and a kind smile.

Apple set out of her room and into the corridors of the stable, the gray dreary walls of the stable gave her a bit of comfort, she was very nervous about leaving, if it was up to Apple whiskey she would have stayed there until she died un old mare with many grand foals running through the many hall's.

As Apple walked past the Overmare's office she popped her head in to say goodbye however the office was completely empty of life.

"Overmare!... eh? ... Nana?... Overmare are you here? " ( there was no answer) "I wonder where she went? " Apple walked around her desk and sat in the big chair, it smelled so nice, the smell of foal hood memories.

The Overmare loved to let the foals play in her office while their parents worked their various jobs in the stable. Her happiest memories were learning how to be an Overmare from the only grandmother she would ever know.

"Overmare... I guess I'll never get to say goodbye to her..." Apple saw that her terminal was still on, normally she wouldn't snoop but she was a rather nosy filly.

Apple clicked her hoof to the keyboard and ejected a holo-tape from the Overmare's office terminal.

"For the love of luna?... a holo-tape? " she wondered if it was a goodbye from the Overmare.

"Overmare what could you be up to?" Apple noticed the holo-tape port in the side of her pipbuck, she put the holo-tape in.

[The holo-tape started to play]

"Overmare's log, or should I say, direct communication. Because whoever is listening to this had the moxy to try to find out where I've gone." It paused for a moment.

"But I'm glad you did. Truth is, I need your help. I've been given a task, and... I've decided to break protocol and tell you what it is. Because If there's one thing I've learned in these past few years, it's that we need to rely on each other." It paused for a moment.

"There were three active mega spell silos in the Whitetail Mountains before the Balefire Bombs fell. They blew up the Equestria before. We can't let it happen again. So we've got to locate and secure all of the silos, or die trying. Hopefully the former. Hmph." It paused for a moment.

"But it's been twenty-five years. I just don't know what we're going to find out there. Or where to start... My directive was to go to the nearest population center and assess the situation. I'll set up a C.A.M.P. on the way once I get my bearings. Find me there." The holo-tape stopped.

Apple felt confused as she tried to figure out and take in all the information she just heard. Apple wasn't exactly sure what she could do to help her but if the Overmare needed her she would try her best to find her and help... not because of Stable tec but for the only grandmother she had... the pony who called her family.

"Looks like I'm going out there after all..." she thought to herself.

"Reckon I best get going then" she said to herself.

Apple started to walk out when she stopped at the Overmare's bedroom door, she had taken the time to make her bed and straighten her room, maybe she should have cleaned up her room before as well but she didn't want the handy bots to have nothing to do for all time.

"Wow Overmare you really need to relax... hehe" Apple said with a giggle.

She smiled at the handy bots that met her at the hatch to the stable door.

"Goodbye, handy... I wish you'll the best, look after the stable for everypony. " Apple hugged the Silver handy bot.

"Goodbye miss Apple, and we will look after your still bot... even if we think it's a waste of technology and fermented grains." Said the Mr. handy.

Apple smiled, she rubbed her eyes.

"I'll miss you all so much " Apple attempted not to cry as she walked through the stable entrance and stepped out into the world beyond.

Apple stepped out of the stable-tec door and was surrounded by the damp humid air of the outside, it was harsher then she thought it would be, the smell of rotting plant matter and Death that covered the mountains and over the rolling hills of the land her parents once called home, it made her feel sick.

Apple felt like a stranger, being born and raised in the stable she was shaking with every single step. Apple dropped to her hunches and screamed into her hoofs, she tried to muffle it but she was so scared as she saw there was no walls of any kind, she turned to go back in but the door had closed and refused to move no matter how much she screamed or cried loudly for the handy to let her back in.

"Handy! Please! LET ME BACK IN!" She cried for help but no one answered her.

The sounds of the outside made her realize she should not make any more noise. Apple wasted no time to pull out her namesake and took three quick swigs of the golden liquid and she slowly started to calm down, the warm liquid made her feel better.

"Get ahold of yourself Apple... let's see where we are...." Apple always talked to herself when she was alone, when you're born in a stable full of ponies and are suddenly alone you tend to lose your mind a little bit.

"Well great I reckon I'm talking to myself again..." Apple sighed. "Well at least no one is answering back haha" She was starting to feel better and started to mess with her pipbuck.

Apple checked the radio stations first, three stations showed up, Apple tried the first one {Whitetail Mountain radio} a stallion's voice came out.

{Radio plays country roads}

Apple loved the music, it was way different from the music in the stable, she locked the station to her favorite list.

"Wow, I reckon it might not be smart to be blasting the radio out here but horse apples to it, better than the Silence " Apple shivered as she looked out at the dark night full of clouds.

She checked the time and it changed from stable time to her surprise, it was the middle of the night not noon.

"It's so late!" She was very upset with all the changes.

Her pipbuck beeped out of the blue, a message rolled across the screen, camp mod yes or no?

"Camp mod? ... oh right I see makes a camp unit set up." Apple saw an arrow pointing her to the woods.

Step one, please place camp in a relatively flat terrain that is not near existing structures nor in a restricted area.

Apple checked her pipbuck for the camp kit and put it down in a pretty flat area not far from the stable but still covered from attention from unwanted pony eyes.

"Looks like I'll need wood and stones... and some clean water..." apple looked around her makeshift camp.

"Easier said than done " she pulled out some water and a cooking pot and cooked one of her big-mac and cheese boxes.

Apple checks her pipbuck and saw lots of red pips and warnings for rads from the food but she was hungry and too scared to leave the little campfire.

"Relax Apple... the campfire should keep us safe until morning." Apple laid close to the firelight and slowly fell asleep.

It was a little past 4 AM when a loud scream rudely woke Apple from her poor sleep, the voice that reminded Apple of somepony else from her stable.

"What!? A filly?" Apple pulled out her pistol and ran to help.

The screaming was coming from a dark gray female Pegasus with three lightning bolts for a cutie mark, she was wearing the stable barding for 76, this young mare was from the stable but Apple couldn't remember what she was called, Apple wished she paid more attention to other ponies in the stable... she must have been around Apple's age, maybe a bit younger than her but still a young adult.

"Hold on Filly! I'm going to help you!" she ran to help the screaming filly.

The gray Pegasus was in a tree being chased by four radroaches, she clearly didn't like bugs and was trying to blow them off the tree, Apple went into S.A.T.S and targeted three shots and fired her pistol exploding the roaches with one bullet each.

Apple was so grossed out by the guts of the huge bugs raining down on her head.

"Yuck!... so gross " Apple wiped off the bug guts. "Thank you!" The pegasus hopped down and hugged her tightly.

"AIR!" Apple cried out.

The gray Pegasus let her go. "Oh sorry, but I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come along when you did."

"Yeah don't mention it." Apple dusted off her coat and looked at her. "I'm Apple whiskey... and you are?"

The gray Pegasus looked at her confused. " oh I'm Dusty Petal... I was at you're cuteceanera... I was one of four filly's born in the stable since it closed... you were one of them... " she looked almost hurt.

Apple felt bad. " okay it's not that I don't know who you are... more of I don't right know what your name was Dusty... sorry."

Dusty smiled kindly "Yeah I guess I don't stand out, you know other than being one of two Pegasi in the stable."

Apple saw that she had a pipbuck that was dark blue and yellow however the 76 was the same as the one on her ugly pipbuck, Apple always thought pipbucks were the same.

"Dusty why do you have that Color? Eh the pipbuck." She points out the right foreleg.

Dusty looked down. "Oh yeah this is for maintenance ponies, the color of your pipbuck shows the job in the stable... my mother and I both have this Color.

Yours shows you're a resident of the stable without an essential job, that's why it's brown and bland." Dusty showed her maintenance badge on her stable barding collar.

Apple worked in the cafeteria and when she was old enough she was promoted to a Soda-Jerk what was a fancy way of saying a Bartender.

"Eh Dusty why are you alone... didn't you say your mama was with you?" Apple hoped she didn't die. Dusty looked at the cloudy sky, she smiled sadly.

"My mother said she was going to fly up to the clouds and see what became of the Pegasi... my mother told me to hide from any enemies until she came back but she flew up there hours ago." Dusty tucked away her wings.

"Why didn't you fly with her? " Apple asked.

Dusty looked nervous. "My wings are misformed, I can't fly, mother tried to teach me but I can't fly... I fall like a rock." Dusty looked like she was ashamed of her wings.

Apple lead her back to her camp and fed her. "Eat, when the sun comes up we'll go look for your mama and the Overmare." Apple saw a spring that became a stream.

"Oh we can get some water, it will have to be tested for radiation and boil it ." Apple got a bunch of dirty water and started to boil it in her cooking pot.

"Wow how do you know to do that Apple? " asked Dusty.

"My Father was named Moonshine... Two guesses on what his special talent was {smug smile}, so with my Mama wanting to keep his memory alive so she taught me everything he taught her, Mama was a great robotic engineer but not a great Moonshiner haha!" Apple laughed loudly as she remembered her mom.

"So she taught you how to boil water before drinking it?" Asked Dusty with a little blush.

Apple nodded. Yes'm, she gave me a survival book from the colt scouts and filly scouts, even if the water didn't go click click click...you should always boil rain or dirty water. " Apple gave her bottles of boiled water.

The mare's both sat together talking and laughing late into the early dawn, neither were paying attention to the woods around them.

Apple heard something moving and her pipbuck showed four red pips around them.

"Reckon we got company!" she jumped up and pulled her pistol out.

Dusty didn't have a weapon, she picked up a stick. Two large tick like bugs jumped out and attacked them, two more attacking from behind, Dusky swung and hit one of them sending it flying like a hoof ball.

"Wow! Home run..." Apple said with a smile as she shot the other three using S.A.T.S.

"Oh um thanks... but I'm better with energy weapons " Dusty put the stick in her saddlebags.

"Good to know we're gonna keep an eye out for better weapons." Apple bucked the ticks away from the camp, she packed her camp up and put it away.

"We're going to have to find the Overmare's camp Dusty, I reckon she is the only pony who can possibly find your mama..." Apple looked down the mountain at the nearby town that the pipbuck called Flatwoods.

"Ok I'll follow you Apple " Dusty trotted happily behind her as the two of them headed down South towards Flatwoods.

Apple smiled, she was feeling more confident now that she wasn't alone, and Dusty was very glad to finally have herself a friend.

[Holo-tape ends ]