Fallout Equestria - For a Sparkle Cola

Fallout Equestria - For a Sparkle Cola

Chapter 6: Welcome to the Show

It had been a little over an hour since they first entered Kandy Kingdom, and in that time they had been sprayed with irradiated water multiple times. That didn’t include the strange ghouls that were roaming around. Smalls had seen that several of them were feral, and more to the point they had been painted. The ten millimeter didn’t do anything against them. Whatever had been painted on them acted like some kind of armor. So far the only one that had something powerful enough to deal with them had been Poetic Pen.

His sniper rifle would bark out a shot, and then another ghoul would be taken care of. It bothered Smalls a little. He knew that the ferals were lost, and there wasn’t any bringing them back. Poetic had said that most ghouls end up losing themselves at some point. What bothered him the most about it was that originally they had been ponies. He didn’t want to kill them, but he knew that it came down to protecting his friends. So far it had been Poetic that did most of the killing.

“Ugh, that’s it,” Poetic said, “I’ve got ten shells left. After that we’re going to have to fight them hoof to hoof, unless we can find more ammunition.”

Cosmic looked at him, “Well, an amusement park would have security stations in them, right?” she asked, “So, surely there’s a security station here.”

Poetic nodded, “Maybe,” he said, “Hopefully they’ve got something better than ten millimeter.”

The four of them walked together, heading further into the park. The idea to search for the security office was about as good of an idea as any. For the most part they had begun to pick up on the movements of the feral ghouls in the area. They seemed to mainly hang around larger attractions, and if those attractions were merely snuck by then they were able to not have to deal with them. Cosmic had noticed that what Poetic had said about being stealthy wasn’t boasting. He was quiet, far quieter than she had expected.

He was able to blend into the shadows, he moved toward the tops of refreshment stands, and he seemed to do it all with barely a sound. She had expected his hooves to at least click on the cement at some point, but apparently he used his weak flying skills to keep most of his weight from touching the ground. She noticed that when they walked he’d have his wings stretched out, where he could, and he’d gently flap.

It wasn’t enough to draw attention, but it was enough to keep his weight from shifting his hooves harder on the ground they covered. As they walked she noticed that his skills were something that obviously had been fairly well used. She knew that eventually she was going to talk to him about it. She could guess that he had been more than just a ground soldier. From what she was seeing she wondered if he had been trained to be an assassin. It made sense.

They stopped for a moment and Smalls seemed to be studying something. Then he grinned, “Okay, the security office is over there,” he said as he pointed toward a large ferris wheel, “According to this map there’s a maintenance area behind that wall, and security is in there.”

Cosmic looked toward it, “And there’s also at least fifteen of those ferals over there too. Is there any other entry point?”

Smalls looked at the map again, “Not without going toward the center. It looks like there’s a castle and mirror maze, both of them have maintenance accesses in them, but it looks like we’d be walking a lot in the tunnels.”

Poetic shook his head, “Not a good idea,” he said, “Those tunnels are likely to have several ferals in them, and if not I would bet that there’s something else that none of you need to get around.”

He studied the area, “I can get into the tunnel, and get to the security office,” he said, “Ferals don’t usually mess with ghouls anyway.”

Cosmic looked at him, “Poetic, have you not been noticing that they’ve been attacking you too?”

He sighed, “Sure, but I’ve been shooting at them. I’m guessing that they’re reacting to the sound.”

She shook her head, “No, it’s not a good idea. I can teleport over to the door.”

Smalls looked at her, “What if it’s locked?”

She sighed, “Then I’d be fucked,” she said, “Look Smalls, there’s not an easy answer to this. Poetic goes, and maybe he can get through because he’s a ghoul, but he can’t pick a lock.”

She smiled, “I can, but I’m not great at them, so if I go and it’s locked then they’re going to get me,” she said, “So, there’s really nothing else that we can do about it.”

Smalls smiled, “Yeah there is,” he said, “I’ve got an idea.”

They watched as he moved toward the refreshment stand, and after a few minutes of digging he came out with what looked like a small disk. Poetic looked at it and his eyes widened.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked, “Smalls, did you really just pull a spark generator relay out of that refreshment stand?”

He nodded, “When we were in the diner I noticed that the cooking station had a spark generator relay,” he said, “Not enough power for much other than cooking, but if you crack it and throw it then it works as a pretty good grenade.”

Poetic groaned, “Smalls, it’s not like a grenade, it’s like a damned bellfire egg,” he said, “Well, maybe a missile, but it’s more than a grenade.”

Cosmic looked at him, “So, this would work?” she asked, “Like we crack it and throw it?”

Poetic looked at her, “Sure, if you can manage to throw it far enough. The only one that might be able to do that would be an earth pony… Oh tartarus,” he said, “Our plan is going to rely on Smalls throwing that thing.”

Clouded Hope watched as Smalls looked at the spark generator relay, then he lightly rapped it in the center. When he did a bright light escaped it for a moment, and she could see it getting brighter. Then she watched as he pulled back with one hoof, and he tossed it as hard as he could. The relay flew over the ferris wheel, and then it landed past the ferals. He’d thrown it too far, or she thought, when it went off it knocked all of the ferals down, blew some back, and Poetic looked like he was about to get mad until the ferals began running toward where the explosion had happened. In a few seconds they were gone.

“Good,” he said, “I didn’t kill any of them.”

Poetic looked at him, “Are you seriously saying that you were trying not to kill those ferals?”

Smalls nodded, “They didn’t ask for that,” he said, “I know that it’s maybe better to put them down, but I just don’t want to have to unless there’s not another choice.”

Poetic walked toward him and then shook his head, “You’ve got the softest heart in the wasteland,” he said, “Hopefully it won’t get you killed.”

They got to the door, all while the ferals were investigating the blast that had been made by the spark generator relay. A quick try revealed that the door was indeed locked, and a few moments later Clouded Hope had picked the lock letting them inside. They closed the door, locked it, and inside of the tunnel the hanging lights were all on, and in faded paint on the wall were two arrows. The first pointed toward the left. Under the arrow was the words: clinic, security, and employee dorms. The other arrow pointed right under it was the following words: shipping and receiving, breakroom, employee showers, Queen Kandy’s Castle maintenance, The Kandy Witch’s Mirror Maze/Fun House maintenance.

“Well, that seems fairly obvious,” Poetic Pen said as he began to move left, “There may be more ferals in here, so keep an eye out.”

The sound of their hooves clicking on the cement floor echoed throughout the tunnel. All of them listened for the sounds of something else moving. It almost seemed as if there was something that fate had decided to throw them a bone. There were no sounds of ferals, no sounds of people hanging around. Instead they were able to move fairly freely. After ten minutes of walking they found the door to the security office. Like the door outside of the tunnel it was locked.

Clouded once again stepped up, began picking the lock, and then with a click it opened. The group of them stepped inside and one of the first things they noticed was the two skeletons in the corner. Smalls walked toward them, saw a Pipbuck, and checked it. He connected it to his own Pipbuck and after a few minutes he transferred the files over. He clicked on the first one.

“I got news today that my old squad mate got a job at Shattered Hoof,” the voice said, “To be honest I’m a little jealous. Don’t get me wrong, a job at Sparkle Cola World is pretty sweet, but I’d rather be dealing with Zebra sympathizers instead of dealing with idiot ponies that have more bits than sense.”

Smalls listened as the voice sighed, “Well, it doesn’t matter. He invited me out to the cave system at the Celestia National Park where we did most of our recruitment training. He was really big into maintaining his survival skills,” the voice laughed, “Well, I won’t make it to the park, but maybe next weekend I can go and visit him and Sweet Kisses. I heard that they moved to Oneigh. If they did then maybe we can have dinner, visit, and maybe even go bowling.”

There were the sound sirens going off in the distance, and then the sound of the PA system as it crackled to life. “Attention all employees and park visitors. We have received word that there has been a massive attack launched on Equestrian soil. We’ve received word that multiple cities have been hit. As such we are asking all visitors to please remain calm. Our highly trained employees will escort you into the various shelters located throughout the park. If you are in the Demonstration Stable in the Lunar Zone then we apologize that you are currently in lockdown. If we receive an all clear then you will be released. May Luna and Celestia smile upon you all.”

There was a sound of rapid breathing, “Oh Fuck…”

The file clicked the end, and Smalls hit the next one.

“Shit, This is month two of lockdown. Our shelter was the fucking employee maintence tunnels. Sure, they were designed by the folks at Stable Tec, but I doubt that they’re meant to actually protect from fallout,” there was a cough, “I’ve been getting sick too. Iron Side has been watching me pretty hard. We don’t have a fully stocked clinic anymore, and we’ve been told that unless we’re dying we’re not to report in.”

Another cough, “The thing is I breathed some green cloud. It’s been making me sick, really sick. Iron Side seems fine, although his skin has been flaking.”

He studied the skeletons and shook his head, “He died of radiation poisoning, didn’t he?” he asked, “he died of the poisoning, and his friend turned into a ghoul.”

Poetic Pen nodded, “More than likely,” he said, “Most likely his friend put them both out of their misery.”

Cosmic checked both skeletons for a moment, looked at the Pipbuck, and slowly pulled it from the skeletal foreleg of the now dead unicorn. She studied it for a moment. In truth Smalls’ Pipbuck had been incredibly useful, and the idea of having one would be nice. She wasn’t sure how to put it on, but she could carry it until they found a way of putting it onto her own foreleg. She saw Smalls looking at her.

“Ummm, what are you doing?” he asked, “Are you wanting a pipbuck?”

She nodded, “I’ve seen how useful yours is, and I figured that there was a good chance that it would really come in handy,” she said, “And besides, if nothing else I’m fairly sure that we can wipe the memory and sell it. I don’t think that he’s going to mind, and it should be used one way or another.”

Smalls nodded, and they looked around the room for a moment. Opening the gun cabinet revealed a combat shotgun, about forty rounds of buckshot, ten rounds of slugs, and a battle saddle to put it on. Near it were a couple of ten millimeter pistols, which were practically worthless according to Poetic Pen, and finally there was a revolver like the one that Rosie had gotten at Hangin’ Pony Corral.

The pistol was a forty-five, and it looked in decent shape. Clouded put it into her spare holster, and she gathered up the thirty-five bullets that were there for it. Once again Smalls was squeezing into a battle saddle, which luckily had an autoloading feature, and he selected the buckshot first. He didn’t like the idea of killing any of the ferals, because like he had said they honestly never asked for what happened to them.

Checking around they found some security armor. A helmet that looked as if it was designed to withstand getting hit with a hoofball bat, baton, or just a big stick. Poetic looked at it and realized that while it would be good against hoof weapons it wouldn’t do anything against firearms. It was made of a thick plastic, with a form barrier inside, and a place where a horn could slide into a slightly raised dent on the front of it. It was simple, obviously made for an amusement park, but not really for any kind of real combat.

Cosmic looked at it, “So, this any good or not?” she asked, “Because it kind of looks like crap.”

He nodded, “It’s not worth anything,” he said, “Sure, against a feral it might help, some, but I wouldn’t trust it. The security barding looks good, it’s heavy, and it feels like there is some steel plates inside of it.”

She looked at the barding, and in a few seconds she had managed to slide into it. The barding itself was neon pink, with gold trim, and had large green letters that said “Kandy Kingdom Security” on the back of it. It was quite possibly the single most ugly thing that Cosmic had ever put on in her life, but she could feel the weight of the plates. Like Poetic had said it felt like it had steel plates in it. It felt well made.

She looked at her foreleg in the bright neon pink barding. Her first order of business after getting out of this section of the park would be to find someone to dye the barding to a more presentable color. Maybe blue and gold, similar to Stable Tech. At least it wouldn’t be so hideous. Unknown to her, and pretty much everyone else in the room, a little over two hundred years ago the same design she was now wearing had caused the Mare of the Ministry of Image to scream, demand to know who had signed off on such a hideous uniform, and then spend the next two hours on a conference call with the Mare of the Ministry of Morale asking why she thought that those uniforms needed to look so ugly.

It was to be one of the very last conversations they had, and the only response was that nopony else would be able to confuse them for anything other than security for Kandy Kingdom. Two centuries later Cosmic felt the humiliation of wearing what every security pony had worn inside this section of the park. They exited the security room, and they began walking down the hall toward the maintenance area under Queen Kandy’s Castle.

“Why are we heading toward the castle?” Poetic Pen asked, “Honestly, I’m not sure what we’re going to find.”

Smalls looked at him, “Well, when we were at Hangin’ Pony Corral there was that message that the survivors all went to the castle. Maybe there’s somepony left in there that needs help,” he said, “and besides, it might be worth checking out.”

Poetic rolled his eyes, “Sure, and it’s not going to come back and bite us right in the tail either,” he said, “You know, this is the kind of thing that usually ends up being a really bad idea.”

Clouded looked at him, “But he’s been right so far,” she said, “Wouldn’t it make sense to check?”

Poetic nodded, “Sure, it makes sense, but let’s say there are survivors there,” he said, “It’s likely they’re all ghouls, which is fine, but what if they’re feral. We’re not going to be able to distract them and get away. Smalls is going to have to end up shooting some at some point.”

He looked at Smalls, “I’m sorry, but you know it’s the truth. There’s a very real chance that you will have to kill some feral ghouls,” he closed his eyes, “You’re a good stallion Smalls, you don’t want to hurt anypony that didn’t choose to become a monster, but this isn’t hurting them. This is ending their misery. I promise you, I sincerely promise you, that not one of them wanted to become some mindless creature that feasts on living ponies.”

Smalls nodded, “I know, but maybe it will be ghouls that are okay. Maybe they don’t realize that the world is safe outside.”

Poetic shrugged, “Maybe, and if that’s the case then we’ll get to be big damn heroes.”

They neared the entrance to the maintenance area beneath Queen Kandy’s Castle. A quick try on the door revealed that it wasn’t locked. It opened, and behind it was nothing but darkness. Stepping into the room the four of them slowly moved, and finally Smalls’ Pipbuck lamp began to light the area around them. The room was filled with what looked like old puppets and animatronics.

Two hundred years ago these creations delighted foals with musical and dance numbers, but now they sat abandoned. There were no laughing foals, no singing and dancing puppets, just a section of a park full of ghouls. Most of which had lost their sanity long ago. They pushed forward to the other end of the room, and the door opened to reveal what looked like a locker room. Stepping into it Clouded Hope saw someone in the corner. She neared them, trying to be quiet.

“Hello?”

The pony turned. She had been a pegasus, but now she was a ghoul. She didn’t growl, didn’t snarl, but she smiled.

“A...Are you here to help?” she asked, “Is it safe?”

Poetic looked at Smalls, then he stepped forward, “It’s safe,” he said, “I’m Sergeant Poetic Pen of the Equestrian Air Forces.”

She grinned and hugged him, “Thank Luna,” she said, “We’ve been waiting. We’ve just kept working, making sure that everything is going well, but a few of us started acting strange. They wouldn’t talk anymore, and we ended up letting them wander outside of the castle.”

Smalls grinned, “How many of you are there?” he asked, “Because we can get you out if you want out.”

She smiled, “Oh, about thirty, that includes the foals that were with their parents,” she said, “But you’ll have to talk to Azure Blaze. She’s in charge.”